Chapter 10: The Professor is In

Luigi blinked groggily. Memories swirled around his head in a jumbled mess, and he couldn't seem to remember what had happened to him. Suddenly, he saw the image of Mario, being flung away from him in a whirlwind. Then everything snapped in place. He panicked.

"MARIO!" Luigi screamed, bolting upright. "Where are you?!"

"Aha!" exclaimed a voice. "Our visitor awakes! Don't worry, you're safe for now!"

Luigi calmed down enough to look at where he was. He was sitting on a table in a large, dim room. He was totally surrounded by gadgets and gizmos of all kinds, lying on the floor, cluttering tables, and hanging on walls.

"Who's there?" asked Luigi timidly.

From behind a rather large machine, a funny little man stepped out. He had a head too large for his body, a single tuft of white hair on his head, a lab coat, and glasses with swirls for lenses. Though he looked weird, he smiled in a friendly way, and Luigi did indeed feel safe.

"Greetings and salutations, Luigi! My name is Professor Elvin Gadd, and I am pleased to make your acquaintance," said Professor Elvin Gadd. "But please, call me E. Gadd."

"Um, nice to meet you too…?" said Luigi, shaking his hand. "Wait- how do you know my name?"

"I found your business card in your pocket., and you have a large L on your hat, so it wasn't exactly hard."

"Where am I?"

"In my laboratory!" said Gadd. "I am a scientist and what you may call an inventor. I create these machines to help me carry out my experiments and execute many practical tasks, yes!" E. Gadd seemed to be very happy to have someone to talk to.

"How exactly did I get here?" asked Luigi.

"Well, I was about to ask you the same question! After all, it was you who fell out of the sky!"

"WHAT?!"

"I was just outside, taking dirt samples for a test of my new invention, the SoilSucker 4000!" explained Gadd, holding up what looked like a blender. "It takes soil in the top, and separates it into separate components, like rocks, sediment - "

"That's nice," interrupted Luigi, noticing Gadd's train of thought derailing. "What does this have to do with me?"

"Oh yes," said E. Gadd, tossing the SoilSucker aside. "I was taking dirt samples, when I heard the most peculiar sound – a kind of boom, or maybe a KA-POW, or – "

"Keep going…"

"Yes. I heard this noise, and I looked around to see what it is. Then I looked up, and I saw a bright green thing coming directly towards me. I backed away to a safe distance, the thing landed with a bang, and I find – it's a person!"

"So, I fell from the sky?"

"Right as rockets!" Gadd exclaimed. "I took you inside, and you didn't wake up for a few hours at least. Now, why did you fall out of the sky, exactly?"

Luigi told him everything he remembered, right up to Kamek's whirlwind that separated him from Mario. "And now I miss Mario," said Luigi. "Sure he was a little bossy at times, but he's the only family I've ever had. I feel so weak and helpless without him."

"Truly, a fascinating story!" said E. Gadd, who had never once looked away as Luigi was talking. "So you too came from another dimension!"

"What?!" started Luigi. "You're from the real world too?"

"Not quite. In all probability, I'm from an alternate version of your world, just as the Mushroom Kingdom is another version. Also, I didn't come here by Warp Pipe."

"How'd you get here then?" asked Luigi. "Toad said only the Warp Pipes connected to other dimensions."

"That's because only I know about the way I got in!" E. Gadd explained. "In my world, everyone is a scientist of some kind. That's how I know how to build gadgets, you see. My crowning achievement, however, was none of the machines you see here. It was an interdimensional portal projector. If it worked, I would be one of the greatest people in the world. But the only way to test it would be to go through it myself. You couldn't get anyone to do favors for you in my world. So I selected a dimention at random to which to travel, went through the portal, and wound up at this exact spot." He pointed to a bare space on the floor, marked by an X of duct tape. "At first, I was ecstatic, since I would become the greatest scientist ever. However, as I was about to go back, Kamek and his minions attacked. He'd detected the energy from the portal, you see. The bad guys took my portal, leaving me stuck here. And here I am still."

"Wow." Luigi gaped. "Has Kamek been using the portal to raid other dimensions?" He shuddered at the thought.

"He couldn't," smiled E. Gadd. "I still have the key." He produced a shiny silver card from his pocket. Luigi sighed in relief.

"So, Luigi," said Gadd, "We have a lot in common, apparently, being fellow dimension-travelers and all. I would be delighted to help you find your brother and Toad."

"You mean it?" Luigi jumped up. "Oh, thank you, E. Gadd! But how do you think you'll do it?"

"Here's my plan," explained E. Gadd. "I have a teleportation device on hand that'll send you straight to your brother Mario. However, it needs an immense amount of power. The only thing around here that can give us that power is the magic Crown Jewel, which, fortunately, can be found not 50 yards away."

"Awesome!" cried Luigi.

"However," E. Gadd contradicted, "the Jewel is in the possession of King Boo, the undead ruler of the ghosts living in the haunted mansion not 50 yards away."

"G-g-g-GHOSTS?!" Luigi turned white as a sheet and dived under a table.

"Yup," Gadd said. "Mushroom Kingdom logic, huh?"