Stinging icy cold burned at Luigi's hands as the thick snow and layers of ice soaked into his dirtied white gloves as he continued his climb. The sun was nearly set which left the forest blanketed in a gentle darkness as night loomed every closer. The intense wind howled loudly and grew stronger as Luigi climbed higher, escaping the temporary shelter of the gorge walls.
Reaching the leather satchel that had been snared by its strap on awkwardly jutting stone, Luigi braced himself for the worst as he opened the satchel and peered at the vials inside.
"Good... They're okay!"
The glass vials miraculously survived the violent avalanche. The medicine within was safe.
"C'mon." Luigi carefully lifted the satchel from the rock and slipped it over his shoulder, wincing as the weight of the satchel strained the bleeding injury to his side. "We need to get back!"
Beyond the satchel the gorge wall was being bombarded relentlessly with the harsh wind, heavy snowfall and shards of ice. The already slick wall was becoming all the more slippery as Luigi ascended in the increasing darkness.
"K-kind of wish m-my hands were s-s-still numb!" Luigi muttered to himself through chattering teeth as he struggled to reach the top of the gorge. Glancing back down into the gorge he looked at the tiny daisy in the distance. "But I c-can d-do it!"
While his body went into auto-pilot, instinctively climbing without any focused effort, his mind wandered back to Daisy and to Peach back in the Mushroom Kingdom. He thought about how happy Daisy was when she arrived in the Mushroom Kingdom. He thought back to all the days they spent together playing friendly games with Mario, Peach, Yoshi and all their friends and how often they just spending evenings alone enjoying each others company. Even the memory of the first time he had ever seen her flashed back with vivid detail, making him blush in response.
His palm touching down on relatively flat surface of the top of the gorge pulled Luigi back to reality. He made it!
"Almost there!" Luigi struggled to pull himself up and over the edge of the gorge and onto the top of the hill. Falling onto his back he took in deep breaths, his tired chest heaving with each exhausted gasp for fresh air. He rested his arm across his abdomen and looked down at the blood stain at his side. Pressing his hand into the wound he flinched and retracted his grip and gritted his teeth. "Must've hit a rock on the way down..."
Looking away from his wound and to the brightly lit town shining in the East from the top of the hill, he smiled. "Daisy..." His vision blurred as fatigue threatened to steal away his consciousness.
It was still a long way down, but Luigi was ready to make the slide down the hill back to Toad Town.
"I never th-thought I'd be s-so happy to be surrounded by s-so much i-ice..."
Mario was growing increasingly worried as the time slowly ticked by. The sun had long set and night had fallen over the Mushroom Kingdom. The night had brought forth a heavy drop in the temperature which chilled everyone who had huddled together in the waiting room of the hospital. Snow continued to fall steadily leaving fresh pure white flakes that covered the entirety of Toad Town beneath a chilly layer of untouched ice.
"Luigi, come on. I know you're coming back, I just wish I knew when." Mario was anxious and feeling incredibly tense. "Just be okay."
Every cough that echoes out of the many rooms of the hospital made Mario flinch. The coughs were becoming louder and sounded more and more painful with each passing fit. Chronic wheezing had given the hospital a horrific ambience of life struggling to fight back against the affliction that had hospitalized nearly all of the female denizens.
"Master Mario." Toadston, Daisy's loyal ward came strolling to the hospital with a low voice and a lit pipe between his teeth. "I take it there has been no change?"
"No." Mario confessed while shaking his head. "Not yet."
"I understand that Luigi has braved the blizzard alone in an attempt to bring the required medicine from a neighboring village. Is this true?"
"Yes. Luigi left without a word. We didn't know what happened until HavenBrooke Village contacted us."
Toadston flashed a small smile and stood at Mario's side and continued to puff on his pipe. "I do believe that our Princesses are in good hands then."
Mario nodded in agreement. "The best."
"Toadsworth has been doing his best to manage the affairs of the Mushroom Kingdom during Princess Peach's unexpected absence." Toadston attempted to strike up a conversation to help the time pass by quicker. "I'm certain that as soon as Luigi returns with the medicine our fair maidens will be able to rest without needing to worry about prior responsibilities."
Mario had stopped listening to Toadston when his keen eyes locked onto something moving in the distance. "Is that...?"
The surrounding light shined on the lone figure with a ray of hope.
Taking a few steps forward Mario watched eagerly as a tall figure limped toward the hospital at an uncomfortable pace. "Luigi!" Mario shouted his brother's name without absolute elation. "Toadston, tell Dr. Toadley Luigi's back!"
"Right away!" Toadston marched into the hospital at a brisk pace to locate the good doctor.
"Luigi!" Mario rushed to meet Luigi a little ways down the walk from the hospital. "You made it!"
"Mario..." Luigi was almost out of breath, the pain in his side now searing and cumbersome. "I have it!"
Slipping the satchel from his shoulder Luigi handed the vials to Mario, who gave it a passing glance and focused more on his brother. The sight of Luigi was almost alarming as his face was pale blue and the dark blood stains on his shirt and overalls were visible even in the night.
"Take it inside," Luigi asked weakly as he stopped short and began losing focus again. "take it to the princesses..."
"Luigi!" Mario slid on his knees to catch first Luigi as he passed out and next the satchel before it hit the ground.
Dr. Toadley and Toadston were racing toward the brothers eager to see what had happened.
"Luigi," Mario carefully cradled his little brother in his arms and smiled proudly. "you did it!"
...to be continued...