"Is everything arranged?" asked the King.
"Yes, Your Grace," replied a Boo.
"The train exhibit, yes?"
"That's the place."
"Good." King Boo smiled. "We have him wrapped around our appendages. He'll come in there, hoping to find his beloved brother, and be met with our special surprise for him instead. I defy him to try and escape our little trap!"
"Fear not, Your Grace," said the Boo. "Our muscle is very dependable. They've waited twelve long years for a rematch."
"I can't wait to watch him get his just desserts," King Boo sighed pleasurably, "and once he's been taken care of, I intend to join my reclaimed prize in Miami Beach for a few restful months. Our muscle and right-hand Boo will rule in my stead until I return."
"Sounds like a plan," said the Boo.
The King dismissed the other Boo and then settled back, patiently waiting for the man in green's moment of reckoning…
…
"You were right," Luigi spoke urgently into his phone. "King Boo has him—and he's probably had him since this mess with the Dark Moon started! I don't care where you are—get inside the castle, lock the windows, lock the doors, arm the security system and arm yourselves! Have Peach declare a state of emergency and issue a shelter in place warning! There might be Boos coming after you all as we speak!"
"Done and done," said Brad. "Nobody's using us as bait."
"I don't think he wants to use you as bait," Luigi told him. "He wants you for something far worse. To hurt me—by hurting you!"
"Well, we're not gonna give him that chance," vowed Brad. "Don't worry about us, and don't worry about Peach. We'll know just what to do. Now, go and save your brother—we're counting on you!"
"God be with us," breathed Luigi before ending the call.
He rejoined Gadd and his Toad Assistants.
"Please tell me that you hooked up the Pixelator to that small camera," he said.
"It wasn't easy," said Gadd, "but we got it done."
"Thank God," said Luigi.
"The Parascope is still picking up that huge paranormal signal," said Ed. "It's got to be King Boo!"
"The signal isn't moving, so we suspect he's up to something major—and evil—in there," added Ted.
Luigi stomach churned.
"It's the perfect time for us to strike!" said Gadd. "If we can surprise him, then he won't have time to react."
"Good point," Luigi said quietly.
"With the mini camera right there, they'll never see you coming!" trilled Fred.
"Are you ready, Luigi?" asked Ned. "This is it!"
"Yes it is, Ned," said Luigi. "Yes it is. I'm gonna head in there, get the drop on King Boo and rescue my bro!"
"And while you're at it, capture King Boo," added Zed.
"This is a golden opportunity," said Gadd. "Good luck, Luigi!"
Luigi squared his shoulders as Gadd sent him off to the train exhibit.
…
The miniature train model wasn't much to look at. A small, simple track ran in a circle, and the train model itself was simply a few bright red boxcars. About three feet or so from the train was a bunch of multicolored balloons. But the oddest thing about the exhibit was that the train's engine was missing.
That could only mean one thing…
Luigi shone the Dark-Light Device toward the front of the train, the engine gradually revealing itself and expelling a handful of Spirit Balls. Once he vacuumed up the Spirit Balls, the train tooted her whistle and began to chug down the track, popping the balloons as she went.
"There goes my element of surprise," huffed Luigi.
Looking around the exhibit, Luigi realized that the Boos he'd seen earlier were missing—as was Mario.
"Hello?" he called. "Mario? Can you hear me? Are you all right?"
He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of high-pitched, maniacal giggling, whirling around to face a Boo.
"Looking for someone?" they mockingly asked.
This Boo was immediately joined by several more Boos, all of them giggling and leering at Luigi as the heat rose to his face and he brandished the Poltergust.
"Get back!" he shouted. "I'm not afraid to use this!"
"We know," said the Boo.
His vacuum poised, Luigi watched as the Boos merged together to form one ginormous Boo.
"Dear God in Heaven," he murmured. This had to be Boolossus, looking for a rematch!
"I may not be the King, but I sure am big," boasted Boolossus. "Big enough to crush you!"
With a laugh, they barreled themselves at Luigi, but he leaped out of the way before they could crash-tackle him. That was when he knew—King Boo and his constituents had anticipated his arrival. Instead of him trapping them, Luigi had been the one ambushed and lured into a trap!
That sly dog, thought Luigi as Boolossus—if that really was Boolossus—dove after him again. He tightened his grip on the Poltergust's nozzle and steadied his breathing. The man in green was gonna fight his way out and find Mario, or perish in the attempt!
As the train chugged around the two combatants, Boolossus—Luigi decided to call them Boolossus II—continued to attack the plumber by crash-tackling him from above or ramming him from slightly underground. But Luigi hearkened back to his fight with the first Boolossus and how he "popped" them into their smaller Boo components with the horn of a nearby unicorn statue. Well, there was no unicorn statue here, but there was a drill mounted on the front of the train's engine. If he could find a way to stun Boolossus II and then launch them onto that drill—
A small smile quirked onto Luigi's lips, and then he rolled clear of another attack, sending Boolossus II ramming into the side of the train. Quickly, he ran forward, grabbed the giant Boo's tongue in his vacuum and pulled it taut. When the drill was in sight, Luigi aimed carefully, took a deep breath and released Boolossus II like a slingshot. It was a clean, direct hit, and just as he predicted and hoped, Boolossus II "popped" into their regular-sized Boo components.
The train stopped briefly, the tops of her boxcars opening into small compartments, before continuing on, and then Luigi knew exactly how to defeat Boolossus II and escape the trap.
He whirled on the first Boo he saw, pulling their tongue taut and launching them into one of the compartments, the door slamming shut and trapping them inside. Then, he did the same to as many Boos as he could, shining the DLD on them whenever they turned invisible and buying himself a few extra seconds. The Boos could attack individually, as well, ramming into him from behind or from the side, and though the pain made his eyes water, he dared not stop fighting.
The remaining Boos reformed into Boolossus II, and then it all began again. Stunning the gigantic Boo by tricking them into hitting the train, or waiting for them to mess up an attack by missing their target and landing on the train instead. Yanking none-too-gently on their tongue and sending them flying into the drill. Trapping the individual Boos into the train compartments. As the number of open compartments dwindled, Luigi had to improve his timing as well as his aiming, and the Boos would attack fiercer and fiercer, slashing into his belly, sides and near his chest. He also wound up taking hits from Boolossus II; while he managed to avoid getting flattened, he'd get knocked to the floor by their ramming attack or winded by a crash-tackle. Sometimes, Boolossus II would knock him into the train! However, Luigi kept getting up and cutting the colossal Boo down to size, knowing that he was the only one who'd keep Mario from succumbing to the Boos' physical and psychological torment.
If I let the Boos overcome me, then he'll break. I can't let that happen. I can't! I won't!
No, you won't. You can do it, Luigi!
And so, Luigi whittled Boolossus II down to one last Boo. That final Boo was a pain in the [bleep], since there was only one open compartment left. He'd keep missing by only a few millimeters, or his timing would be off by only half a second, or something would happen to cause him to mess up. The Boo managed to get in a few more attacks before Luigi finally succeeded in trapping them.
You're hurt…
"It doesn't matter," said Luigi.
You're bleeding…
"It doesn't matter," Luigi said again. "Nothing else matters—except saving you from him."
Oh, Luigi…
The Dual Scream rang.
"Yello?"
"That was definitely not King Boo!" exclaimed Gadd.
Luigi nodded. "We've been duped," he said.
"Was that—Boolossus?" asked Gadd.
"I think so," replied Luigi, "but maybe that was a different Boolossus. The Boolossus I fought back in 2001 had glowing eyes."
"Thank God you managed to escape their little ambush maneuver," said Gadd.
"I don't see Mario, though," said Luigi. "My guess is that they lured me here before taking him somewhere else."
"Don't you worry—we'll find him," promised Gadd. "Now hang on. I'll try to get you out of there."
"Ciao."
Overjoyed that he'd turned the Boos' ambush maneuver around on them, Luigi did a goofy little dance before getting pixelated to safety.
…
"Are you okay, youngster?" asked Gadd.
"I'll live," said Luigi.
He slid off the Poltergust, and the Toad Assistants proceeded to help him tend to his wounds.
"I can't believe King Boo pulled a fast one on us like that," lamented Gadd. "As a man of science, I should've known better. He probably staged the security image to lure you there!"
"Who's to say that he didn't stage all of them?" Fred piped up.
"Better not answer that," muttered Ned.
"It's just like you told me, Professor," said Luigi, wincing as Zed applied dabbing alcohol to his injuries. "Boos always spell trouble, especially when they gang up."
"But those Boos won't be bothering us anytime soon," said Gadd. "They were still trapped in that train when I brought you back, but I made a quick tweak to the Pixelator and sent them all down to the Vault!"
"Good going!" cried Ted.
"King Boo is still out there, though," said Fred, "and this won't end until we defeat him."
"Do you know where he's hiding now, Professor?" asked Luigi.
"Uh—let me find out," said Gadd, firing up the Parascope.
"You're not going anywhere until we've finished dressing your wounds, though," said Ned.
"I know," sighed Luigi. "I know."
…
He hovered there, slack-jawed, unable and unwilling to process what he just saw. Boolossus had Luigi dead to rights, but that plumber and that f—ing vacuum just—unbelievable! The King's right-hand Boo was manhandled by that drill, and then the Boos making them up were unceremoniously flung into those train compartments before being sent off to God-knows-where! He was so looking forward to a vacation on a warm, sandy beach, but Luigi always had to ruin everything, didn't he?
King Boo spat out a flurry of invective directed at the green-clad ghost-hunter. His constituents saw their ruler's current state of mind and wisely made themselves scarce. That was fine by him. All he wanted at this moment was Luigi, to hear him beg for mercy and eventually scream in fear and pain as he took everything from him.
"So that's how you want to play it?" hissed King Boo once he'd calmed down. "No problem. I'll see this universe burn if that means getting you into my clutches!"
Please R&R.