The Order of the Slice

Chapter 5

The Tomato Trials had begun. Luigi struggled as he took the patties out of the oven. The Knights of the Burger watched him cook. Their faces blank and emotionless. Cheryl was watching too, but instead of a blank, emotionless expression, she had outright fear on her face. Luigi tried to push down his own fear as he cut tomatoes.

"I-I can't do this," He whispered. He couldn't make the perfect burger. He was going to fail.

"Don't be stupid," Cheryl hissed. "You've trained for this. You're ready." He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

"You're right, I-I can do it," He said softly. His focus went back on the tomatoes. Once he was done cutting, he put the tomatoes on the patties. Three tomato slices on each patty. He remembered making the practice burgers, trying to perfect them. Trying to figure out the perfect ratio of condiments-to-patty. Contemplating how long to cook the patties. Questioning how much cheese to use, how much mayo to use, he'd done it all before. "Uh-I'm finished!" He yelled, unsure of what to do next. One on The Knights came over to inspect Luigi's work. He nodded approvingly and waved some other Knights over. "Do you-uh-want some?" Luigi asked nervously. Each of The Knights took a burger and bit into them.

"This... This is amazing," One of The Knights said, a single tear trailing down his cheek.

"It's even better than perfect," Another Knight said softly. Cheryl smiled and leaned towards Luigi.

"Pizza quality." She whispered. He smiled.

"S-so can I be a Knight?" Luigi asked.

"You must meet him," Another knight said, ignoring Luigi.

"Uh-meet who?"

"Sir Patty."

Luigi's eyes widened. He looked at Cheryl, who looked just as surprised. A different Knight pushed through the crowd. He knelt before Luigi, holding out a burger pin.

"Luigi Lazzaretto, you are now a Knight of the Burger." The Knight gave Luigi the pin and he pinned it on his shirt. "Now you are one of us." Luigi looked at the pin, then back at the Knights.

"Th-thank you," Luigi said. "I will not forsake this great honor." The Knights all nodded.

"You will meet Sir Patty tomorrow morning." Luigi smiled and bowed.

"Until tomorrow, fellow Knights." He wave and move swiftly out the door. He looked at Cheryl, who was smiling. "We did it." He said.

"You did it." Cheryl corrected.

"Yeah," He said. "I'm a better actor than I thought."

***

Luigi tried not to look at his pin as he sauced a pizza. He couldn't stop thinking about the trial. He completed it. He didn't die.

"Uh... Luigi?" Luigi looked down and realized he was drowning his pizza in marinara sauce.

"Oh! Uh-I'm sorry!" he looked over at Thomas, who was looking at him curiously.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I-I'm fine," Luigi said. Thomas's gaze dropped to the pin on his shirt.

"What's that?"

"Uh-it's nothing! Don't worry about it." Luigi sped walk to the trash can. He opened the lid and tossed the pizza in. He quickly closed the lid and turned around to leave, only to find Cheryl waiting for him.

"What was that?" She asked.

"Thomas is-he's getting suspicious." She narrowed her eyes in thought.

"We can't tell him," she said.

"No." Luigi agreed. He didn't want to rope Thomas into this.

"Then what do we do?" She asked. He shrugged helplessly. Thomas was his friend, he didn't want to lie to him anymore, but he also didn't want him to get hurt. "I'll deal with him later," Cheryl said. Luigi's eyes widened.

"Y-you're not going to kill him are you?" He asked. She looked at him, startled.

"No, of course not!" She said.

"I'll just lie to him."

"Oh-uh-okay." Luigi nodded. Luigi went back to where he was making pizza. He got out some new dough and started over, trying to focus only on the pizza, and avoid looking at Thomas. Fear and worry bubbling in stomach.

***

The next day, Luigi got dressed and prepared to meet with Sir Patty. Cheryl sat with him as he ate breakfast.

"You ready?" She asked.

"To steal a cat from some burger obsessed weirdos?" He shrugged. "I guess."

"Great," Cheryl said, standing up. "Let's go." They left his apartment and headed to the abandoned school. Luigi took a deep breath and walked through the doorway. The school was lit by the natural light that came from the windows. He walked past the dozens of lockers that lined the hallways until he spotted the Knights.

"Ah Sir Luigi!" One of the Knights greeted. The Knight waved Luigi over. "You're right on time! Sir Patty's in the throne room."

"Th-the throne room?" Luigi asked, unable to hide his confusion. The Burger Knight cleared his throat.

"It's the old teacher's lounge." He explained. Luigi bowed.

"Uh-thank you!" Luigi yelled as looked for the teacher's lounge. Finally Luigi spotted a door with a little window, inside he could see a white fluffy cat laying on a coffee table. He opened the door and entered. The cat looked up at him and mewed. He wondered how he would get him out of here. He held out his arms and scooped up Sir Patty. The cat was surprisingly docile. Barely moving a muscle as Luigi tried to sneak him out of the school. Luigi tiptoed through the old schools hallways, avoiding the Knights. He had to be careful not to make a sound. He snuck behind some Knights, who seemed to be in deep conversation about burgers. It was going very well, until Sir Patty began to purr. One of the Knights turned their head. Luigi froze.

"What are you doing?" The Knight asked slowly.

"I-uh I'm just-um-" All the Knights were looking at him now.

"He's taking Sir Patty!" One of them screamed. They unsheathed their swords. Luigi gaped at them

"H-how did you get swords?!"

The Knights didn't answer, instead they raised their swords and charged at Luigi. Luigi sceamed and ran away. Sir Patty was still in his arms. He couldn't outrun them. He needed to get out of the school. He dashed down the hallways, trying to escape. One of the Knights caught up to him and slashed at his arm. Luigi let out a cry and almost dropped Sir Patty. The Knight swung his sword at him again. Luigi rolled to the side and dodged the blow. He ran to the exit and spotted Cheryl waiting for him. "Cheryl!" He threw Sir Patty as hard as could towards the exit. Cheryl scrambled to catch him. One of the Knights grabbed Luigi by the shirt and pulled him back into the school.

"You've betrayed The Knights of the Burger," The Knight hissed. "And now you will pay."