He was half-asleep when his cell phone buzzed.
"Hello?" he mumbled.
"Hey, Luigi—it's Brad."
"Hey, Brad," greeted Luigi. "I assume you heard the news?"
"Yeah, and everyone's getting antsy. A threat to Mario is a threat to us, after all."
"Did you have any luck?"
"Unfortunately not, but we just want you to know—we'll be working our [bleeps] off around the clock to find your brother," Brad assured him. "Don't you worry."
"Thanks," said Luigi. "I should be finished helping the Professor before long. If not—leave a message, and I'll call back when possible."
"Done. Be careful, Luigi! I believe in you!"
"Thanks, Brad," said Luigi before ending the call.
He stood, stretched and rejoined the professor.
"All right, Luigi," said Gadd. "Got those pinwheel vanes with you?"
"I have them right here," said Luigi, removing the vanes from his pocket and handing them to Gadd.
Gadd looked them over, and then he pulled out a wrench. "Take this," he said, "and use it to attach these vanes back to the gate."
Luigi took the wrench, twirled it, and then slipped it into his pockets along with the vanes.
"Remember—lefty loosey, righty tighty."
"Okeydokey," said Luigi.
"Once you open the gate, enter the Hollow Tree and look for a way up," said Gadd, marking the location on the Dual Scream. "I get the feeling that the Dark Moon piece is somewhere near the top."
"And if that's the case, then there could be ghosts guarding it," said Luigi. "That grouchy Possessor was certainly unwilling to let the piece he was holding go."
"I'd count on it," said Gadd. "Okay—I'll be comfortably monitoring your progress from here. You know, as usual. Anyway—good luck, kiddo!"
"Thanks," said Luigi, bracing himself as Gadd activated the Pixelator.
…
He landed at the Haunted Towers' entrance, only for a Flytrap to snap in his face! Yelping, he jumped out of the way and scanned his surroundings, looking for one of those spiked fruits. At the moment, there were none. However, he did find a bucket, a sprout and some running water.
Moving quickly, Luigi picked up the bucket, filled it with water and used it to douse the sprout. He smiled when the sprout grew into a spiked fruit, and then he launched it into the Flytrap's maw, subduing it. With that threat removed, he doused some more plants, which grew into those dollar bill-dispensing flowers. Finally, he proceeded into the courtyard and toward the pinwheel gate.
Unfortunately, a Greenie and a Slammer hovered in front of that gate, the former encouraging the latter to pull off the last vane. The Slammer yanked on that vane with all their strength, but it just wouldn't budge. Meanwhile, the Greenie watched in amusement, only for their eyes to dart to Luigi. Eyes widening, the Greenie made a break for it, leaving the Slammer still tugging on the vane.
Brandishing the Poltergust, Luigi confronted the Slammer, only for two more Slammers to burst out of the ground with flowerpots on their heads. He battled the Slammer messing with the gate first, and then he turned his attention on the other two Slammers. Their clapping and shockwave attacks could slam him hard against the front gate, but he hung in there, nailing both of them at once with a lucky Strobulb flash and capturing them after a protracted struggle. The Greenie reappeared, only to be unceremoniously vacuumed up, as well.
After making a quick stop in the tower lobby to uncover a hidden pipe, a Golden Bone and an emerald, Luigi strode up to the pinwheel gate, where he pulled out the vanes and studied them.
"Okay—I can do this," he said softly. Carefully, he inserted each vane into its proper slot before tightening the pinwheel with a few quick, crisp turns of the wrench. In no time flat, the pinwheel was successfully repaired.
"I did it!" he laughed when he was finished. Blowing on the pinwheel to open the gate, he added, "Now, for the hard part…"
He approached the Hollow Tree and knocked on the door, which slid open to allow passage. Inside the tree, there was a short flight of stairs on each side of him, both lit by torches bearing blue fire. Between them was a lake of sorts, and beyond that lake was a door blocked by spiderwebs.
The only direction he could go at the moment was up. So he did.
Luigi soon discovered that one of the staircases was false. If he tried to walk up a false staircase, he'd be sent sliding back down with a Greenie to fight. He had to play this guessing game twice more before reaching the Hollow Tree's upper level. There, he found another passageway, also blocked by a spiderweb. Luckily, there was also a loose web cord, with a torch next to it, allowing him to burn away the web.
"All right," said Luigi. "Time to find the Dark Moon."
Just as he was about to step through, however, the passageway was sealed shut, and Luigi heard a low rumble as a few web balls toppled out of the sky. He also thought he heard—laughter.
"What in the Inferno?!"
The Dual Scream rang.
"Yello?"
"My God!" Gadd's face was pale. "Where'd that creepy-looking door come from?"
Luigi shrugged. "One thing's for sure—it almost ate me," he said.
"That passageway is the only way up to the treetop," Gadd explained. "Hold on just a sec—bingo! I found something in the Haunted Towers' records!"
"What is it?"
"There's a special key that opens that door, but it's hidden in the crypt," said Gadd. "I hope you're not scared of graveyards, Luigi. It's not like they're full of vengeful spirits or anything." He chuckled.
Luigi rolled his eyes. "Relentless man—oh, you're a relentless man," he said.
Gadd chuckled again. "All right, Luigi—I'll leave you to your search."
"Ciao."
Luigi put the Dual Scream away and sighed. He wasn't going to enjoy poking around in a graveyard. Not after what happened twelve years ago…
He snapped himself out of it. The sooner he found this special key, the better. Luigi turned around to find a dry web cord dangling over the rail and attached it to the nozzle. With those stairs out of commission, he'd have to rappel back down to the lower level.
Luigi's heart stood still as he glanced over the railing, studying the fairly steep drop. Then, he took a deep breath, swung both legs over and prepared to jump.
"Tallyho," he murmured, his heart doing about a thousand as he let himself fall.
He whooped and hollered the entire way down, the web cord pulling taut when he was only a few inches over the pond and then acting like a bungee cord. Luigi could easily swing himself to dry land and then disengage the nozzle from the web. He sighed in relief that he'd emerged uninjured before examining the web balls strewn in the water.
He waded in, took one of the web balls and then ignited it before wading toward the web obstructing the wooden door. Not only did he have to keep the burning web ball above water, he also had to watch out for underwater obstacles. He'd seen enough of those old public information films about that particular subject on YouTube to be aware of the consequences. Fortunately, the water was shallow enough, only waist deep. But he wasn't about to take any chances.
After burning away the web, Luigi took another web ball and burned away another web, taking some golden spiders along with it and recovering a bucket. Using this bucket, he watered a plant, earning him another emerald. Then, he walked through the wooden door and into the tree root.
A strong, earthy smell was prevalent in his nostrils as the soles of his boots smacked against the moist ground. Trudging along, he pulled down curtains of moss and green, knotted stems to reveal some sort of elevator which took him up—and into a graveyard.
Luigi was deposited outside of a crow's head statue, and he quickly got to his feet. He wasn't shivering only because it was chilly. As he ventured through this haunted-looking graveyard, pulling weeds and stunning spiders, he remembered his encounter with the creature named Bogmire.
Bogmire, also known as Elh, was the product of that mansion's fear and despair. Fighting him had been both physically and emotionally taxing. If he wasn't slashing at Luigi with his scythe-like arms, then his shadows were grabbing at him, trying to smother him with their negativity. And before that fight, the Boos had played a cruel trick on him. Tears sprang to his eyes as he recalled the glowing headstone with Mario's name on it, and the way the Boos had taunted him by writing messages on that headstone. But they'd slipped up, allowing him to realize that it was only an illusion and that Mario was still alive. Imagine if they hadn't, though…
Thank God there wasn't a Bogmire, or Elh, or whatever, to fight in this graveyard. After collecting a few dollar bills and an emerald, Luigi walked up the stairs and into a crypt. A knotted stem dangled from a brick wall, and when he yanked on the stem, it caused the brick wall to crumble. Following one strong yank, the brick wall collapsed, Luigi jumping clear of the falling debris.
When he looked up, he immediately wished he hadn't.
"Oh. My. God," he said.
Hanging there on the wall was a painting of a Toad, his arms outstretched and his mouth open in a scream. Luigi swallowed back some bile as he remembered the sight of Mario in that altar, his fists pounding against the barrier of his prison as his voice screamed out, calling to his baby bro. The bruises, the cuts, the slashes, the bite marks. The sweat, the disheveled hair and the dilated pupils. This scene made a frequent appearance whenever his dreams morphed into nightmares.
But this Toad was in a far worse situation. He couldn't move, scream or call for help. All he could do was wait for someone to stumble across him. And luckily, someone had.
"How do I…?" Luigi started to ask before remembering his DLD.
He started to shine the DLD on the painting, only to notice a vase out of the corner of his eye. After he sucked up the Spirit Balls, he touched the vase, causing a Boo to pop out.
"I'm Booluga!" greeted the Boo. "I used to be covered in blubber, but then I went on a die-it!"
"Well, good for you," muttered Luigi before dealing with Booluga in his usual way.
Turning back to the imprisoned Toad, Luigi once again focused the DLD on the portrait. The Toad became colorized as he was drawn out of his prison, landing on the floor with a tiny squeak.
"Hey there," said Luigi as the Toad hopped to his feet. "Are you hurt?"
The Toad laughed and jumped for joy. "Finally! I'm free!" he cried. "Thank you so much!"
Then, the Toad cocked his head. "Wait—Luigi? What are you doing here? Where's M…?"
"I honestly don't know," Luigi replied.
"Aww, it doesn't matter!" the Toad chirped happily. "You're my hero!"
He hugged Luigi, and Luigi hugged him back.
"My name's Fred," said the Toad. "It's very nice to meet you."
"Same here," said Luigi. "Do you know who did this to you?"
Fred bit his lip. "Some Boos surprised me, and then…" He spread his hands. "The fact of the matter is…you found me! Yippee!"
"Boos? Did they hurt you?"
"Eh—I'm just bruised up," Fred replied. "I'll live."
"What brings you to Evershade Valley?" asked Luigi.
"I'm one of Professor Gadd's assistants," explained Fred.
"He—never mentioned any assistants," frowned Luigi.
"Yeah, he's—getting a little up there in age," said Fred, "but we'll talk about that later. Let's get out of here."
"Fred, you read my mind," said Luigi.
Just as they turned to leave, the Dual Scream rang.
"Yello?"
"No sign of the special key?" asked Gadd. "Those ghosts are really starting to ruffle my feath…" He trailed off when he saw Fred. "J—s! Is that Fred?"
"Yeah," said Luigi. "I found him imprisoned in a portrait."
"How did he get trapped in the first place?" Gadd wanted to know.
"Boos," shuddered Luigi. "Why didn't you tell me about him?"
"Dear God! Fred—I am so sorry! When the Dark Moon shattered, I must've panicked and forgotten about you! Thank goodness you're alive!"
"Believe me, Professor—these Boos won't bring me down for long," laughed Fred.
"We need to get you back to the Bunker," said Gadd. "Do you know where that special key is located?"
"Yeah. I managed to snap a security image and hold off those Boos awhile."
"Great. Now, I can't pixelate you both out of there, but—there's a Pixelator Screen in the gardener's lab. Luigi, I'm counting on you to lead him there safely."
"Don't worry, Professor," said Luigi. "These ghosts won't harm Fred on my watch!"
"The screen is an old prototype, but it should do the trick," said Gadd. "I'll see you two soon."
"Ciao." Luigi hung up and turned to Fred. "Let's get a move on."
They walked out of the crypt and set off into the graveyard. But just as they reached the first group of headstones, a ghostly arm reached up out of the soil!
Luigi and Fred whirled around as a light pink, rotund female ghost pulled herself out of the soil, clutching a mirror in her hand. Behind them, a thin, aqua ghost also emerged from the soil, followed by a small, gold ghost.
Fred gasped. "T—the," he stammered. "The Three Sisters!"
"Friends of yours?" asked Luigi.
"The Professor and I met them when we arrived in the valley back in 2011," Fred explained. "The large one is Herlinda, the thin one is Belinda and the small one is Lucinda, though she also answers to 'Melinda'. She's the youngest, by the way, and as you can tell by their mirrors, they're pretty vain."
"Uh—thanks for the info," said Luigi as the Three Sisters floated around them.
The ghostly trio then zeroed in on Luigi, sizing him up and beginning to flirt with him. Belinda even blew him a kiss. The man in green didn't know what to think of this behavior, but one thing he did know—he had to protect his charge.
Luigi spoke calmly and in a low voice as the Three Sisters ogled and flirted away. "Fred. Get behind me."
Fred obeyed. "Kick some ghost butt, Luigi!" he cried.
"I can't do anything as long as they have their mirrors," said Luigi. "I need to wait until they either lower them, or…"
He was cut off as the Three Sisters giggled, circling the duo with their mirrors in front of their faces. Luigi watched them carefully, waiting for an opening.
Herlinda was the first sister to drop her guard, lowering her mirror to make a seductive face at Luigi. Luigi, on the other hand, acted fast, charging his Strobulb and releasing a powerful flash, freezing Herlinda in her tracks. Belinda and Lucinda chattered angrily as the man in green started vacuuming their sister up.
Suddenly, he felt something grab his waist and glanced over his shoulder to see Fred, his tiny arms wrapped around his hips as he helped his rescuer and bodyguard pull back against Herlinda.
"I got you," smiled Fred.
"I got you first," said Luigi.
Fred's eyes suddenly widened. "Look out!"
Lucinda and Belinda, trying to help their imperiled sibling, made a dive for Luigi, mirrors held threateningly high.
Luigi cursed, dodging the duo's swings while shielding Fred with his body, all the while keeping Herlinda in the suction. The large ghost dragged him all over the graveyard, with Fred clinging to him like a life preserver as he helped in any way he could. He'd managed to get in two good Surges when Belinda bashed him hard in the face with her mirror. Luigi yelled out in pain as he let go, allowing Herlinda to break free.
"Oh, my God!" shouted Fred.
Luigi recovered himself. "I'm okay," he said soothingly. He was barely aware of his face throbbing, focusing all of his energy on keeping Fred safe.
The Three Sisters were back to their flirty manner as they circled Luigi and Fred. The former licked his lips, his nerves poised for the slightest slip-up. This time, it was Belinda who drew the short straw, a little payback for attacking him with her mirror. Lucinda and Herlinda raced to her rescue, swiping at Luigi with their mirrors as he dodged, leaned and jumped out of range. It didn't take long for the man in green to break a sweat—something that the Three Sisters didn't fail to notice.
Herlinda swung her mirror in a low arc, whacking Luigi in the side. The breath was driven from him, and he doubled over, losing his grip on Belinda in the process. He could hear the Three Sister laughing softly, Fred urging him to fight on. The man in green decided to listen to Fred, straightening and stunning Belinda again as she lowered her mirror, this time vacuuming her up. Now, only Lucinda and Herlinda remained.
A singular lock of hair was now stuck to Luigi's forehead. That, along with his flushed cheeks and heaving chest, made him quite a sight for the ghostly sisters. The duo circled the man in green as before, marveling at him, until little Lucinda got distracted and exposed herself to the Strobulb. She had the least HP out of the three, but with Herlinda trying to clobber Luigi, it was still a difficult scuffle. Regardless, he managed to dodge Herlinda's mirror and capture Lucinda with four Surges.
Herlinda, with the most HP, was the most difficult fight yet, and the blows from her mirror could literally send him spinning. Her increasingly aggressive approach only served to drag out the affair and frustrate her opponent. Winded and in pain, Luigi turned to face Fred.
"Find somewhere to hide," he commanded, and Fred obliged without question, leaping behind a gravestone for cover and watching Luigi battle Herlinda.
"You can do it, Luigi!" cheered Fred.
As Herlinda brought her mirror crashing down, Luigi sidestepped and hit his foe with a powerful Strobulb flash, bracing against another headstone and breathing in measured beats as he vacuumed her up. It took several more tries and getting nailed in the shoulder and solar plexus, but he finally defeated Herlinda, sucking her into the Poltergust as Fred whooped with glee.
Luigi could faintly hear the Dual Scream's ringtone over the blood pounding in his eardrums.
"Yello?"
"As I live and breathe! Those were the ghosts of the Three Sisters!" breathed Gadd. "They're regular paranormal celebrities!"
"Yeah—Fred told me a little about them."
"The Parascope was going bonkers for a minute there, but it's back to normal now," Gadd continued. "The Sisters are normally very polite ghosts. It's disturbing to see them act so—rude!"
"Well—they were kinda flirting with me back there," Luigi said with a blush.
"Were they?"
"Yeah. I've always been easy on the eyes."
"Hm. Well—good job capturing those sisters," said Gadd.
"Ciao." Luigi hung up and smiled at Fred. "Shall we continue?"
"Is there even a way out of this place?" asked Fred.
Luigi checked the map on the Dual Scream. "Let's stand on that coffin over there," he said.
So they did, Fred perched on Luigi's shoulders. Thanks to their combined weight, the coffin lowered them into the sewers.
"Perfect," said Luigi. "We can get to the gardener's lab from here."
First, however, Luigi and Fred looked around for treasure, noticing a coffin leaning against the wall. When Luigi opened it, however, an unseen force sucked both of them inside!
They found themselves in a maze filled with gold coins and red coins, two Flytraps on each side. A LED display came to life in the maze's center, showing a timer which began to count down from 13.
Exchanging a nod, Fred and Luigi dashed through the maze, collecting all of the coins and evading the Flytraps. The two of them reached the end with just 3 seconds to spare, earning them a chest stuffed with gold bars.
"Yeah!" cheered Luigi, high-fiving Fred.
Back in the sewers, Luigi led Fred to the gardener's lab, using his vacuum to carry the Toad across bodies of water. He quickly found the Pixelator Screen and pulled the lever, watching it come to life.
"Here you go," he said brightly.
"Thanks, Luigi!" cried Fred.
The two of them waved as the Pixelator Screen transported Fred to safety.
Seconds later, the Dual Scream rang.
"Yello?"
"Well done, Luigi! See, that graveyard wasn't so bad, was it?" Gadd chuckled.
"You have no idea," said Luigi.
"Nice work capturing the Three Sisters and leading Fred to safety," said Gadd. "He just popped out of the screen over here. Now it's your turn, kiddo!"
"All right. Ciao."
Luigi hung up and did a little victory dance while waiting for the Pixelator to work its magic.
…
"Good work up there," said Gadd once Luigi landed in the Bunker. "Although—I really hoped we'd find that special key inside the crypt."
"Yeah—me too," said Luigi, "but this is one of your employees we're talking about here. I'm just happy he's out of danger."
"Me, too," said Gadd. "Plus, you didn't come back totally empty handed! Let's have a look at those ghosts!"
After Luigi emptied the Poltergust, Gadd sighed. "It's too bad we have to keep the Three Sisters down in the Vault," he said, "but it's for their own safety. Once we restore the Dark Moon, maybe they'll be willing to join me for a steaming cup of ghost tea!"
"I'm sure they'll hold no hard feelings," said Luigi. "I don't, if you can believe that."
"What about Fred?" asked Gadd. "I hope he can forgive me for leaving him at the Boos' mercy. Being trapped inside that painting couldn't have been fun."
"Toads don't hold grudges," Luigi assured him. "Usually."
"When I asked him what happened, he was reluctant to share the details. However, he brought back a little snapshot taken by my special tridimensional security camera!"
Luigi chewed his bottom lip. "He did say something about a security image."
"I need a couple of minutes to unscramble the image, though," said Gadd. "I'll let you know when it's ready."
"Okeydokey," said Luigi, joining Fred in the lounge.
He needed some time to recover from his fight with the Three Sisters, anyway.
Please R&R.