"You mean, he hasn't called you or anything?" asked Fred. "He doesn't even know where you are?"
"I don't know where he is, either," said Luigi. "I've texted him and left him voice messages—but he hasn't answered!"
"He's not someone who'd deliberately ignore your messages," said Fred.
"Exactly. Which means that he's in some kind of trouble, and I can't help him!"
Fred rubbed Luigi's back comfortingly. "The good thing is—everyone else in the MK is aware of the situation, and they're doing what they can to get to the bottom of this," he said. "And certainly, your brother won't go down without a fight. You shouldn't count that out."
"You're right," said Luigi. Fred's words made him feel a little better.
He sent a few more texts to Mario, Peach and the four Toad retainers before turning to Fred. "We'd better go check on the Professor," he told him.
The two of them walked over to join Gadd, who had a big smile for them.
"You're just in time, Luigi," said the professor. "I have your upgrade ready. When the Power Gauge flashes red, you can give the ghosts your most powerful Surge yet!"
"Thank you," said Luigi, sliding the Poltergust back on.
"Regarding our current objective, though, I have good news and bad news," said Gadd. "The good news is that the ghost dog who took the special key is somewhere in the Haunted Towers."
"And the bad news?" asked Luigi.
"The dog is running from room to room, so we can't actually pinpoint him."
"Well, what do you expect?" asked Fred. "He's a dog—and a puppy at that. Puppies rarely stand still."
"However," Gadd went on, "the Parascope discovered something that may help us."
"What's that?" asked Luigi.
"The dog left behind a trail of spectral paw prints starting in the Courtyard," smiled Gadd. "If you follow that invisible trail, then you should eventually find him."
"I can use my Dark-Light Device to uncover the ghost puppy's paw prints," Luigi realized.
"Bingo," said Gadd. "Are you ready, youngster?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," shrugged Luigi.
"Don't even think about coming back here without that special key."
Luigi rolled his eyes. "I can't come back from there unless you recall me with your Pixelator," he said, "but okay."
"Try not to hurt the puppy too much," added Fred.
"Don't worry," said Luigi. "I won't. He's simply too cute to harm!"
Gadd rolled his eyes as he activated the Pixelator, sending Luigi on his mission.
…
The first sound Luigi heard after regaining his bearings was the ghost puppy's happy barking. Through the front gate, he could see that the special key was still in the puppy's jaws. Quietly, he stepped into the courtyard to find the ghostly puppy prancing back and forth.
Maybe if I distract him, I can get the special key back without any hassle, thought Luigi. He hearkened back to the gold bones he'd discovered all over the valley so far. Well, since dogs liked gnawing on bones, perhaps they could make a trade.
The pup turned, his big, pupil-less eyes fixed on Luigi. The special key fell out of his jaws, and his tongue dangled from his mouth.
"Hi, doggie," Luigi greeted. "I have something for you."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the golden bones.
"I thought you'd like to have one of these," he said as he approached the ghostly pup. "It's a special treat. And I've saved it just for you."
He knelt down so that he was at the pup's eye level.
Woofing excitedly, the pup rushed forward, licked the golden bone and then gathered it in his jaws, gnawing it hungrily for a few seconds before swallowing it whole. Then, he pranced up to Luigi and licked his face.
Luigi chuckled.
The puppy then rolled over onto his back, staring pleadingly at Luigi.
"Okeydokey—I know what you want," said Luigi, beginning to rub the pup's tummy.
The pup closed his eyes in enjoyment.
"You just want attention, don't you?" asked Luigi.
The pup whined softly in response.
"I don't really blame you. There's—not a lot of people in the valley to give you some puppy love, is there?"
Another whine.
Luigi lightly scratched the puppy behind his ears. "Listen—do you see that key over there?"
The puppy opened his eyes and gave Luigi a questioning look.
"There was a key at the rooftop pool, and you took it and played with it a little, do you remember?"
The puppy glanced over at the aforementioned key, and then back at Luigi.
"Well—I really need that key to get to the treetop," Luigi explained, pointing to the Hollow Tree. "Something really important is located there, and I need to get it for one of my friends." He smiled. "I'll give you another treat if you give me that special key."
The puppy woofed, licked Luigi's face a second time and trotted over to where he left the key. He picked it up and then trotted back toward the man in green.
"Aw—thank you," said Luigi. "You're a good puppy!"
The puppy then stopped, and a mischievous glint emerged in his eye as he tossed the key into the air—and swallowed it.
"Hey!" cried Luigi.
"Arf! Arf!" the puppy replied before racing toward the door to the Hydro Generator and leaping through.
"Aw, man!" Luigi rose to his feet and shook out his legs. "Well, it was worth a try."
He walked into the Hydro Generator room and used his DLD to follow the trail of spectral paw prints to the toolshed. The puppy was hiding in one of the drawers, and when Luigi opened it, the puppy pounced on him, licking him and giving him doggie kisses.
"Ah—okay," spluttered Luigi. "Can you please give me the special key?"
The pup woofed once and raced off into the garden.
"I'll take that as a 'no'," said Luigi as he followed the spectral pup.
In the garden, the pup waited expectantly near the lawn mower, and when he saw Luigi, he pulled on the cord. The lawn mower came to life, the puppy escaping in the ensuing confusion. But the plumber owed the pup some thanks—he'd uncovered some more treasure to collect.
Once the treasure was collected, Luigi started to go back into the toolshed and resume the chase, only for those gates to slam down and a trio of Sneakers to surprise him!
"Are you serious?" he balked.
The Slammers laughed, but Luigi put their laughter to an end when he brandished the Poltergust and stunned all three of them at once. They dragged him all over the garden, the ghost wrangler eventually finding his footing and leaning against the brick wall. He waited until the Power Gauge turned red, and then he pressed that red button, a deep Surge thrumming through his nerves and forcing the Sneakers into the vacuum. That really felt good.
Back in the toolshed, however, most of the furniture had disappeared. More time was wasted as Luigi drew out and then vacuumed all of the Spirit Balls in the room. And to make things worse, there was a Boo hiding in the watering can!
"Yip! Yip! I'm French Boodle!" cackled the Boo. "Aren't I bootiful?"
"Look—I'm really on a time crunch right now," said Luigi.
"Sucks to be you, then," giggled French Boodle.
Luigi glared at French Boodle before proceeding to grab their tongue in his vacuum and launch them all over the toolshed. When they landed, dazed, Luigi vacuumed them up before using the DLD to track the ghostly pup to the toolshed stairs.
Once the fountain deposited Luigi there, the pup woofed happily, licked the plumber's face and dashed up to the next floor. The pup then lay there, watching amusedly as a Creeper confronted his pursuer. Luigi defeated the Creeper in no time flat before proceeding up the stairs, the pup vanishing once he reached the top.
Luigi sighed. "The little guy just wants someone to play with," he mused.
He followed the trail of paw prints up to the next floor, only for the pup to flee once more. Oh, well. At least he got to capture a Gold Greenie and earn more treasure.
Up to the next floor he went, where he searched the conservatory. The organ was hidden, so he used the DLD to reveal it. Remembering the Hiders who took the pinwheel vanes, he stretched his fingers over the keys, but just as he was about to play—
A Creeper surprised him with a slimy embrace!
Luigi kicked himself free, the action splitting the large Creeper into two smaller Creepers. He vacuumed them up, and then he played a few chords on the organ, forcing the ghostly pup out of one of the pipes. However, he didn't really count on the pup tackling him again, giving his face a few licks before scampering out of the room.
Before Luigi could follow suit, more of those gates barred the exit, and he found himself faced with several Greenies and a Gobber. During the ensuing battle, the Greenies would deliberately drag him into the Gobber's line of fine, so that he'd be hit by the gunk the large ghost constantly hawked up. He wiped the stuff off his face and kept going, capturing them all seven minutes later.
"The puppy must be in the west hall," he murmured to himself. "I gotta head over there."
He raced across the crow's next and into the west hall, using his DLD to uncover the puppy in the west bathroom. The pup leaped out of the sink, and Luigi chased after him until three Creepers surprised him in the west hall. After dealing with the Creepers, he followed the puppy into the west bedroom.
There, Creepers would try to drop down on him from the ceiling, and he'd dodge out of the way and vacuum them up one by one. And finally—finally—he located the spectral puppy in one of the beds. Luigi stunned the puppy and began to vacuum him up, feeling a twinge of guilt at the pup's frantic barking. And when he finally sucked the puppy up, the whimper he let out made him feel especially bad.
"Sorry, doggie," he said, "but I need that key."
And there it was, floating in the middle of the room. Luigi pulled out a few tissues and picked it up.
"I got it!" he cried jubilantly.
The Dual Scream rang.
"Yello?"
"Hurray! You finally nabbed the special key!" exclaimed Gadd.
"The puppy didn't damage it too much," said Luigi.
"Speaking of which, good work catching that dog," Gadd told him. "You know, I think the little guy just wanted someone to play with."
"I think so, too," said Luigi.
"Surely, he'll find plenty of playmates in the Vault," said Gadd. "I'll bring you back now, youngster. Hold on…"
"Ciao."
Luigi hung up and sighed. Gadd's Vault was no place for a puppy—even if said puppy was a ghost!
…
"Welcome back, Luigi!" Gadd sang out. "Let's send that spectral pooch down to the Vault right away."
"Okay," sighed Luigi, dutifully emptying the Poltergust.
But then, the vacuum began to shudder. As Luigi peered into the nozzle to inspect the problem, it nearly jerked out of his hand—and out popped the ghost pup!
The puppy scampered over to the professor and licked his face a few times. Then, he did the same to Fred and finally to Luigi, adding some extra doggie kisses, before making good his escape. Luigi was secretly relieved, to say the least.
Gadd composed himself, wiping his face with a handkerchief. "J—s! How did he escape from the Poltergust 5000?"
"Beats me," shrugged Fred.
"Guess I'll have to tighten up the containment unit," muttered Gadd. "But—that can wait. Let's see that special key!"
Luigi fished the special key out of his pocket and gave it to the professor.
"Ick!" exclaimed Gadd. "It's covered in doggie drool and a bit chewed up! Luckily, the damage isn't serious."
"Don't worry, Professor," Fred chimed in. "I'll help you fix up that key!"
Gadd nodded. "Thank you, Fred," he said. "The timing couldn't have been better, because—in layman's terms—I basically asked our Dark Moon pieces where their friend is hiding. And once I enter the data into the Parascope, we'll know exactly where the next Dark Moon piece is!"
"Knock yourself out," said Luigi. "I need to go wash my face."
Turning on his heel, he strode toward the bathroom.
The sooner we get the Dark Moon repaired, the sooner I can find my brother…
Please R&R.