I've Got the Strangest Feeling This Isn't Our First Time Around

83

Luigi's standing outside Clark's hospital room when Mario finds him.

"How is she?"

"Still comatose." Luigi says flatly.

"She can't die like this." Mario seethes. "Whether she ever admits it or not, she's our friend."

Luigi can't help but chuckle, so Mario uses that to get serious for a moment, "Snoozy's still pissed, you know that, right? He's asking, no demanding to know what you saw in Kamella's dreams."

"And he sent you as an emissary?" Luigi says logically.

"Course, but I said no." Mario tells him with a grin.

"So now he's pissed at you too." Luigi realizes.

"Hey, misery loves company." Mario's still grinning, and Luigi can't help but smile back for a moment, before he's looking back at Clark's unconscious body.

Then Luigi admits, "They knew Kamella was going to be prepped for dreamwalking. They wanted to talk to me through Kamella's dreams."

"Are you kidding me?" Mario demands in utter shock.

"The voice said things they only wanted me to hear, and then she was petrified." Luigi tells him. "Kamella was gift wrapped just for me."

"What the fuck?" Mario's shaking his head in disbelief. "That's so--"

"Disgusting?" Luigi offers.

"I was gonna say 'innovative', but you're right, it is disgusting." Mario says. "So it was important enough to petrify someone over?"

"Oh yeah." Luigi confirms, then remembers, "Kamella saw you when you walked past her outside the restaurant. Did you see anything?"

"Not that I can remember." Mario says.

"Try now!" Luigi pushes.

"Weeg, I just recovered from a concussion!" Mario defends.

"Mario, I'm asking you to try now. Please." Luigi begs.

"I can't!" Mario says adamantly.

"You call that trying?" Luigi says, pissed, but Mario's not about to let him get away with that, and puts one had on his arm.

"Lu, you know I want to catch the bastard that did this to Clark just as much as you, right?" Mario says, then realizes in horror, begging, "Weeg, whatever you heard that voice say, you can't listen to them."

Luigi refuses to take the bait, "I don't know that."

"Weegee, please." Now Mario's grabbing Luigi's face to make him look at him. "Have I not proven over and over you can trust me with anything?"

Luigi pushes him away. "You think I don't wish more than anything I could trust you with this? But look at what I just found out about my parents. What they did to Kamella to get to me. How am I supposed to trust anyone ever again after that?"

Mario can see it in his eyes, Luigi really is desperate, and he hates he has no answers for him.

Mario looks at Clark's body for a moment, then seems to get an idea, and tells Luigi, "I got it.", then walks away, with Luigi watching him go.

"Do you have what I asked for?" Mario asks the medic, right as Snoozemore and the rest of the team walk up.

"Why did you order him to bring you a vial of Mount Pajamaja spring water?" Snoozemore demands.

"You told him?" Mario snaps.