Chapter 9: Hide and Shriek
Luigi was extremely confused about what he was looking at. When Mareon had started yelping in a panic, Luigi had thought the had been attacked or something. Well, he wasn't completely wrong. It seemed that Luigeon had fallen into another of his panic attacks, but it seemed different than before. Instead of covering his face and hyperventilating, he was just standing there, not responding to anything. But Luigi thought it was strange that his panic attack was caused by a random pile of dust of all things.
Finally, Mario kneeled down and waved his hand in front of Luigeon's face for a few minutes, making him blink multiple times, before looking around. "Hey you okay?" The green pokemon's eyes darted between the people around him and then back at the pile of dust. Mareon had climbed on top of it at this point and pulled off the gold crown on top of it, bringing it over to the group. This made Luigeon squeak in terror, before scampering over to Luigi, who had been standing a ways away, trying to figure out the situation. The Jolteon hopped up onto Luigi's shoulder and dug his claws into the fabric of his shirt. He was shivering, eyes shut tightly and pressing his face against Luigi's, cold tears pressing against his face.
Both Mario's watched with concern as Luigi's eyebrows raised a bit, confused. "Can I see that?" Luigi asked kneeling down to Mareon's level. The pokemon shrugged and hauled the crown over. Luigeon, getting nervous again, jumped off of his shoulder and scampered behind Mario, shaking uncontrollably. Luigi took the crown and held it close to his face to examine it. The crown itself wasn't impressive at all, just round gold plating that was spiked a bit. On the inside however, there was a line of purple dust and scratches, a shade of purple that Luigi remembered vividly. "This couldn't possibly…" Luigi never finished his thought as a voice behind him said, "I do believe that is mine."
Luigi dropped the crown as he realized whos voice it was. Slowly, he turned to face the huge Boo behind him. "Boo," was all the boo had to say to make everyone squeal with fright. Luigeon, who was already terrified out of his mind from the dust pile, cried in terror, lunging off of Mario's shoulder and toward the closest door. He slammed his weight against it and dashed away, squealing like a pig. "Wait!" Mario yelled, getting up and running after the panicked pokemon. Mareon went to follow, but stopped when he noticed Luigi standing there, legs quivering, hand shaking as he gripped the nozzle of the vacuum and obviously terrified, though, in the end, he really didn't get a choice. One Gastly and two Boos appeared in front of him, shoving him back toward the plumber. Mareon growled, but trotted over to Luigi and glared at the king of Boos.
"Pfft, I didn't realize how much of a wimp that version of you was. I always thought you were the biggest wimp I was ever going to know," King Boo said, shrugging. "Guess I was wrong." "How in the w-world did you escape the p-professor's Boo tank?" Luigi stammered, holding the nozzle close to his chest. "Let's just say, my boss not only let me out but also gave me my new crown," the Boo said, pointing at the crown on his head. The crown itself wasn't very flashy or fancy at all. It was a simple gold plating and had a few blood red gems implanted in it. The main thing that caught Luigi's eye was the gem that sat on top. The gem was a smokey gray, sparkling slightly in what little light was given off of its luminescent surface. "The diamond…" Luigi mumbled under his mouth.
Mareon barked angrily at the giant ghost, though his eyes showed tons of fear. "Oh? What do we have here?" King Boo cooed, floating over to the Flareon. He backed up slowly, growling fearfully. "Stay away from him!" Luigi cried stepping in front of him, starting up the vacuum. "Alright, alright plumber. I'll leave that stupid creature alone," King Boo said, a bit startled. "Did you get a little bit more aggressive since I saw you last?" "Shut up," Luigi growled. "Just give me the stupid crown so we can leave!"
King Boo tapped his chin with his nubby hand. "Hmmm… I don't think so…" His eyes drifted to the open door. "I do think you have to earn this, my friend." "I'm not your friend," Luigi growled fearfully. "Besides, I think your friend had a good idea. You do remember the hide and seek game you had with the boos when you were first here?" the king of Boos giggled. Luigi scowled and gripped his vacuum nozzle tighter. "Let's play that game again, except this time, I'll be it and you and your friends get to hide. You have to last 30 minutes without getting caught by me. If you all survive for all 30 minutes then you can leave with my crown, but if two of you are found, then I get to put you all in paintings and display you in my mansion. And it will only be I seeking you and all Boos and Gastlys will stay far away. Do we have a deal?"
"Why the heck would I ever make a deal with you?" Luigi growled. "Oh I don't know, I guess it would be the only way to get the crystal in my crown, hmm?" Luigi scowled at the ground, legs shaking with fear. Mareon stood next to Luigi, looking up at him. Looking at the pokemon's eyes, Luigi thought about not being able to go home. He really didn't want to accept this deal, knowing very well that there was something else going on, but he was going to accept, for Luigeon's sake. For Mareon's sake.
"Fine," Luigi said eyes drifting up. "Oh?" King Boo said a bit confused. "You actually accepted!" King Boo drifted closer, making Luigi back up. "I honestly wasn't going to give you a choice!" He clapped his nubbs and everything around the group faded away. Luigi and Mareon screamed as everything around them started to rematerialized. Luigi covered his eyes as everything around him flashed white. He waited a few seconds before he opened his eyes again. He was sitting in a gray room with a few closets and tables. Confused he stood up and looked around. Mareon was gone and everything was just plain wacky. Running to the doorway, Luigi poked his head out and looked around. There were tons of candles lining the hallways and grandfather clocks sat at the ends of each hallway, all of them ticking in unison. It was honestly getting kind of creepy. Luigi assumed that there were tons of halls and rooms in this labyrinth.
King Boo's voice boomed around the hallways, though he was unseen. "I'm going to repeat myself since two of you weren't present when we were discussing the rules," he boomed, sounding kind of annoyed. Luigi knew he was talking about Mario and Luigeon, who weren't in the room at the time. "You all can run around this labyrinth I have created for 30 minutes. I will roam these halls looking for you. If I find two of you within these halls, I win and if I win you all are going in paintings, but if you all win then you get my crown and you can leave." Luigi gulped, not sure where exactly to go and hide. He could stay and hide in the room he was already in, or he could walk around and find the others. Thinking for a moment, Luigi turned and started to walk down one of the halls. He was going to find Mareon.
Luigeon had been wandering the halls for a while now, confused, lost, and scared out of his mind. That pile of dust had really spooked him and honestly, this whole situation was worse than yesterday's. Luigeon trotted down the hallway he was in, trying to figure out where others were. He was so scared when he heard the penalty to loosing this little game. Everything was just getting worse.
It started with that stupid panic attack in the lab and then he went into an aggressive outburst. He almost commited suicide, had his story exposed to Luigi, seen something he had left to rot back home, embarrassed himself in front of the person he had wanted to impress and he was now running around theses halls being stalked by a creepy ghost. Yeah, this situation was just becoming worse and worse.
"Why does everything happen to me," he grumbled to himself. He was about to turn the corner when he noticed the white b**** going down the farthest end of the hallway. Quickly, Luigeon backed up and into a nearby room. This room specifically had giant pots, closets, chests and a few tables. He decided to hide as he heard the boo's laughter filled the hall, coming closer. He hopped into one of the large pots and held his breath.
Luigeon could hear something enter the room. He didn't dare move or even peek out to see who it was. It could be King Boo, Mario, or basically anyone else. He was just so terrified. He heard something come into the room. It was only for a moment though it sounded like a ghost… A very small ghost. "But I thought only King Boo was in here" Luigeon thought to himself. Luigeon peeked his head out, just barely, so whatever it was didn't notice him. Two small ghastly's floated near the doorway, making Luigeon head bolt back into the pot. He strained his ears to see if he could hear what the two ghosts were talking about.
"Man this place is huge!" said one of the ghosts. "I'm so glad that King boo let us have this job," said the other ghost. "Pfft. I don't really care for the job itself, there are other boos and gastlies that can handle it. All I want is revenge!" the first ghastly declared triumphantly. "Revenge on who?" the second ghastly ghastly asked, obviously being the dumb one. "On that stupid guy who flipping took out King Gengar, you idiot!" the first ghastly growled. There was a slapping sound and a light "ow," though Luigeon didn't hear it. He looked at the ground, images of the mansion and vacuum filled his vision. He shook his head. He needed to focus, he couldn't go into a panic attack or that could screw them all.
"Well, come on," one of the ghastlies said (Luigeon couldn't tell which one). "Let's go find ourselves some prey." Luigeon waited for a moment before coming out of the pot, not wanting to be spotted. "I have to warn them," Luigeon thought to himself. "If there are more ghosts in here that means there is a higher chance that King Boo will win. That lying, cheating…" The thought immediately stopped as Luigeon's eyes widened. A sharp pain had started to roll down his back, spreading quickly throughout his body. He was paralyzed as the pain reached his legs, making him feel weak and wobble a bit. It reached his lungs, making him gasp a bit, but the worst pain came when it reached his heart. His heart throbbed as whatever the pain was hit it. The pain made Luigeon roar in agony. His legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground gasping for air. The world started turn a gray color as laughter, very familiar laughter, filled the pokemon's head and everything soon turned black.
A small Boo floated in the corner of the room, watching the green Jolteon lay on the floor, convulsing in agony and then going still. It say or do anything, simply staring at its victim. A small black liquidy spot was nestled into Luigeon's fur above the place where his heart was located. One target down, one to go. The boo wasn't quite sure why King Boo had wanted him to take these random floating balls of… ink? And take care of… his assigned victims.
The boo really didn't understand why he got this assignment while everyone else kept their eyes on the "Heros." All he had to do was throw these ink blobs at the green pokemon's heart and the short red man's shadow… He had wondered why the shadow and had even asked King Boo. The king had simply shrugged and said, "The boss said to." The Boo had decided not to question it and just obey his orders. He just floated and waited for his next victim. He knew the guy had heard the scream, since he had seen him a few hallways down before coming into this room. It was now just a waiting game… A waiting game.
Luigi wandered the halls as quietly as he possibly could. Looking over at one of the clocks, he let out a sigh. Ten more minutes and this stupid game would finally be over. To his surprise, he hadn't even seen a glimpse of King Boo though, there was no sign of his brother or the pokemon brothers. He was honestly starting to get worried.
Had anyone been caught? If so, what had happened to them? Where were they? Did they know what to do? These questions swarmed Luigi's head as he wandered. The clocks all ticking in unison was starting to drive him mad. A small knot in his stomach started to form, as his anxiety started to rise.
There was a shuffling sound down at the end of the hall, so Luigi did the most rational thing he could think of… He started to run to one of the rooms. The sound of nails scraping the floor made Luigi stop in his tracks and spin around. An orange creature wearing a red hat was walking down the hall, looking confused and lost. "Mareon!" Luigi cried, running up to the flareon, startling him. Luigi slid to his knees and grabbed the pokemon and hugged him tightly against his chest. "I'm so glad you're okay," he said. The flareon couldn't help but smile. This reaction was exactly the reaction he'd expect Luigeon to make, before the Dark Moon incident anyway.
"Have you seen Mario or your brother anywhere in this labyrinth?" he asked placing Mareon on his shoulder. Before the pokemon could even respond, a loud booming voice rang through the corridors, "I think I can answer that question." The walls and rooms all faded away as the master of illusions himself was made known in front of them. Instincly, Luigi grabbed the nozzle of the vacuum, knees shaking with fright. They were on the roof, and it the exact same as of the last time Luigi was here. Pillars were scattered around the arena and a lone chimney stood by itself to the side.
Mareon was looking at something with a panicked expression and so Luigi looked over to. Two limp unconscious bodies lay on the far side of the roof. A green furry body lay unharmed there in a heap with a human body. The human also looked mostly unharmed, except for the fact that there blood trickling down his face from an unseen wound, probably the back of the head. Jar shards littered the ground around them. Luigi knew exactly who they were instantly.
"I found you," King Boo sneered, grinning maniacally. "What did you do to them!" Luigi shouted, anger and fear boiling underneath his words. "Oh I didn't do anything," King Boo said, shrugging. Luigi's eyes kept drifting over to his brother and Luigeon. Mareon, who had been growling softly the whole time, was now growling louder, ears twitching in agitation. Hopping off of Luigi's shoulder, Mareon opened his mouth a shadowy ball started to form in his mouth. Luigi stepped back in surprise and the king of Boos dissapeared in surprise as the ball shot towards him. The ball flew backwards until it hit an invisible boo and gastly.
"What in the…" Before Luigi could finish his sentence, Mareon threw a few more shadow balls around the roof. More and more Boos and Gastlies began to appear around the area, all of them looking surprised and dazed. "You… Cheated?!" Luigi shouted as King Boo floated back down looking oddly surprised at how fast the pokemon had detected his minions. "Oh Luigi," King Boo snickered, surprise wearing off fast. "I thought you would know me by now." The Boos and Gastlies started come closer, making Mareon step back nervously until his fluffy tail touched Luigi's shaking legs. " I am the Master of Illusions! The king of the Boos! I don't need to follow the rules!"
"Boss?" "What is it Inkay?" "The corruption you gave the Master of Illusions has been successfully planted." "Excellent." "Boss, I have a question." "Yes?" "Why did we plant the corruption in the shadow of the red man? Why not the heart like the other one?" "The corruption I created is to take out the will inside their body and take it over. The green creature's will is already battered and torn, possibly already fading if we're lucky. Unfortunately, both the human's wills are far too strong to control and manipulate. So, why have someone to control when you can have a personal spy planted on them…" "I still don't understand boss." "Oh, it really doesn't matter my friend, now I have to go and check on the progress of the capture of Foongus Town and Sylveon's Castle." "Alright boss, I'll see you later." "Ciao!"
Next time on Pokemon Fire Mario: "Where the hell am I?"/ "Who the heck do you think I am?"/ "A door?"/ "I am Eon. Eon the Stormbringer."/ "You can talk!?"/ "I hope you plan on staying, cause you're never going to leave!"/ "You haven't told him yet?" "I haven't told anybody and I'm going to keep it that way for the rest of time, even if it has to die with me!"
Author's Note: Sorry for not posting in a while. Everything has just been… Very redonkadonk recently. My sibling just had their tonsils removed, schooling, set crew, youth group, a camp conference. Everything has just been cracray so I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This is the last time I'm posting here on the Mario end of the fanfiction website because I am going to take people's suggestions and move this story to the pokemon and Mario crossover, so next post will be over there. There is a survey on my main page that I would appreciate you all taking (You don't have to if you don't want to). All you have to do is click on my username by the title of the story and it should take you right there. I want to see how many people like the sneak peek thing I tried at the end of this chapter. We have also hit 1000 views! Thanks for all the support and I do hope to post again soon. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and have a dragon-tastic day! Dragon Out!
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