(As Long as We're Together) Everything's Gonna Be Okay

Not How Luigi Was Supposed to Get Back With Mario, Is it?

"He needs to wake up." Mario says as he gets back from clearing the castle of just him, Mr. L and an unconscious Wario, having sent Peach to her chambers. "We can't leave him like this."

"Mario, take a breath." Mr. L tries to soothe him, but Mario's too panicked, "Bowser grabbed you, and I saw red." he says in a rush as he kneels down, trying to slap Wario awake. "I just wanted to get him away from you."

"Mario, stop." Mr. L pulls him back up to his feet, making him turn to look at him.

"When I saw you clutched in his hand, all I could think about was--"

"How he did it the first time?" Mr. L finishes.

"And how you almost died at his hands. I wasn't gonna let him or anyone else take you away from me again." Mario says fiercely.

"It's okay." Mr. L grabs Mario's shoulders, squeezing them. "You were protecting your brother. Got it? You were protecting me. You saved me from Bowser again."

Mario nods slowly, letting the words sink in. "You're right. I was protecting you.", then turns to look behind him, until he sees Mr. L start to leave, and panics. "Where are you going?"

"We need to alert the authorities."

"Nonononono. We can't do that."

"We have someone unconscious here."

"Not just anyone." Mario reminds him. "Someone who turned me in for embezzlement and was refusing to take a settlement, now unconscious in the castle. Where he was last seen by me. What are they gonna think if they find him like this?"

Mario can't look away from Wario's body as he starts to panic.

"No one can know what happened here."

"Mario." Mr. L makes him look right at him. "I get it, you're terrified. But you have two different witnesses who saw everything."

"And what did you see? Someone getting hurt because I made like a vigilante and threw Bowser out with my own hands?"

"The authorities will understand Wario getting hurt was an accident."

"Even if they did believe that, think about how it looks!" Mario's eyes start to water. "The kingdom's already vulnerable because of me, and now I'm handing them a noose to hang me with!"

"You weren't trying to hurt him!" Mr. L insists.

Mario keeps turning away to stare at Wario's unconscious form. "No one is ever going to trust me—"

But he's cut off when he feels two arms yank him around and hug him, "We have the real invoices. They'll know what really happened. Bowser orchestrated everything."

Mario pushes Mr. L away. "Or the invoices are just the proof they need to conclude I did it! And the day before the Chancellor makes his ruling?"

"Hey, I never said it wouldn't be hard." Mr. L says. "But we're gonna get through it. Together."

"What's the Chancellor gonna think, huh?" Mario asks. "Or the public? This is all they need to run me out of the kingdom! No one can ever know what happened here."

"Are you suggesting we sneak him out of here?" Mr. L asks, flabbergasted. "How are we supposed to do that?"

"We can't do anything else." Mario whispers desperately. "We have to get him out of here."

He drops to his knees again, desperately trying to move Wario onto his back.

"Mario, what are you saying?"

"Wario may be a scumbag, but he didn't deserve that. But he's unconscious, and the longer he lays here, the less chance he has of waking up. We have to get him to a hospital."