Luigi tasted his own blood. It trickled and dribbled into his mouth, sweet-tart, metallic and warmer than tears. However, he gave it no thought, clenching the nozzle of his trusty ghost vacuum tighter in his fists, feeling its ridges deep in the nerves of his fingers. His thumb hovered micrometers above the red button, pressing it as soon as the power meter filled, producing one resounding Surge after another. In his mind, he pictured Mario's round face, blue eyes twinkling with encouragement, a big smile on his lips, as the decisive final battle continued to rage between him and King Boo.

The Master of Illusions wasn't making it easy for Luigi, of course. He thrashed himself against the platform over and over in an effort to escape the Poltergust's suction. He continued to call forth those large, spiked balls, viciously yanking Luigi in their direction. The man in green leaped, rolled or leaned out of the way before the balls could land on top of him, but they continued to roll around the battlefield. As a result, he was cut and slashed from the balls' spikes, and there was no doubt in his mind that King Boo was using his magic to control them.

Still—Luigi continued to use those spiked balls to his advantage. Whenever King Boo broke free, Luigi would dodge or try to dodge his counterattacks, his athleticism and agility serving him well whenever the King tried to pounce on him. He'd be on the lookout for those spiked balls, and when he spotted their growing shadows on the platform, he'd trick King Boo into floating directly under one of them before shining his flashlight in his face. Once the spiked ball landed on the King, Luigi would turn the suction on him once more, summoning all of his strength to keep the vacuum—and himself—steady.

With a low growl, King Boo harshly jerked his body around, sending Luigi stumbling into a spiked ball and causing his hold on the nozzle to slip. But Luigi hardly felt the spikes tearing into him, or the impact of his body hitting the platform. Breathing hard, he rolled to his knees and got right back up, the nozzle back in firm, gloved hands.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?!" spat King Boo.

"I can do this all day," Luigi retorted.

King Boo grinned like a shark. "Oh, we'll see," he cackled before flying into the air and crashing towards Luigi.

Luigi cartwheeled out of the way, and minutes later, he again subdued the Boo King, vacuuming away his remaining HP. He activated the Power Surge, feeling it thrum through his bloodstream as it dragged King Boo toward the nozzle.

No. It can't be that easy. There must be a catch.

And he was right.

King Boo was mostly sucked in—when he pulled himself back out, glaring daggers at Luigi. That was when the ghost-hunter knew—he had a Hell of a fight on his hands.

"Impossible…" he gasped.

King Boo just cackled. "Try this on for size, Luigi!" he exclaimed, slamming against the platform hard enough to tilt it.

Luigi's fingers scrabbled for purchase on the ground as he slid toward the edge of the platform. He saw a mansion hallway appear in front of him seconds before he was practically flung into it, crashing through the window and landing on his stomach. Behind him, King Boo laughed.

Back on his feet, Luigi did what any sensible person would—he ran.

He ran, and King Boo became a big, ghostly ball, rolling after him. It was as if Luigi had found himself on the set of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

However, the pop-culture parallels would have to wait. As Luigi ran through the hallway, various drawers in front of him would spring open, pillars would fall—basically, his route would be obstructed in some way. He had to be on the lookout for these obstacles while trying not to get rolled over at the same time. Gold bars were scattered all over the hallway, but Luigi knew better—the King was trying to entice him. He did snag some of those energy-replenishing hearts, however.

Lightning bolts crashed down around him, making him quicken his pace. These bolts left sand patches in their wake, patches which could slow him down if he ran into them. So, he ran around them and eventually took to just jumping over them. He saved a lot of precious time that way.

Luigi couldn't tell how long this madness lasted, but it felt like an eternity. He was thankful when he saw some springs up ahead, which helped him vault over larger obstacles like desks and nightstands. One such spring vaulted him out of another window and back into the pink and purple void, where another platform waited below him.

He managed to stick a perfect three-point landing like a seasoned action hero, drawing himself up and turning back around to face King Boo. Below him, all but one of the platform's squares glowed ominously, and he made a dive for the non-glowing square just as more lightning sizzled down around him. King Boo attacked in this fashion twice more before summoning patches of sand, ice and spikes in an endeavor to trip Luigi up.

And then it all began again. And again. And again. And again—

…

"This is bad," said Ned. "This is very, very bad."

The Bunker had been thrown into chaos since King Boo dragged Luigi back into that dimension. Fred, Zed, Ned, Ted, Ed and Gadd had repeatedly tried to call Luigi on their cell phones, only for pink electric bolts to shoot out of their devices, nearly electrocuting them. Next, they'd tried sending him text messages, only for those texts to come out as scrambled messes. And when Gadd attempted to get in touch with Luigi with the Dual Scream, it nearly made his console short out.

"He's too deep in the portal for us to reach him," said Gadd, "and even if we tried retrieving him, then King Boo will drag him right back—and possibly us along with him." His face turned scarlet, and he cursed, punching a nearby wall. "How could I do this—how could I be so stupid? None of this would've happened if I hadn't been distracted and sold King Boo's painting!"

"Professor…" Zed started to say.

"I think my mind's starting to go," Gadd went on, "and a man who's like a son to me is in danger because of it!"

"I have faith in Luigi," said Fred, trying to stay optimistic. "He'll fight his way out. He has to."

Gadd considered this. "Yeah—maybe he will," he mused, allowing himself to hope.

Ominous cackling filled the room.

"Don't worry," King Boo's voice sneered. "He'll be just fine. I'm taking good care of him. And maybe when I'm done taking care of him, I'll take care of you, too!" Giggling. "Ah—Professor Elvin Gadd. You haven't aged a bit. How've you been?"

"Just swell, until you showed up," Gadd replied, standing protectively in front of his Toad Assistants.

"Relax—if I wanted your five employees back in my clutches, then I would've grabbed them already. My main focus right now is Luigi—and you."

"What kind of depraved soul threatens a senior citizen?" snapped Gadd.

"The kind with a score to settle, Professor. And I can see how worried you are for your protégé. Tell you what—I'll hang your portrait next to his, so you can be together forever. How does that sound?"

"Not a chance," growled the Professor.

"My, my—you have a pretty fiery spirit for an old geezer. I'm gonna have lots of fun with you, with Luigi, and with anyone who's ever associated with him!" More cackling.

"Luigi will have you in the Poltergust 5000 before he lets that happen!" vowed Fred.

"Will he?"

"Yes, he will!" Gadd led the charge, "and after he defeats you, I'm gonna lock you up in the most escape-proof vault known to humankind!"

"Yeah, well—good luck with that. But think about this—you may hear my voice, but I'm not actually here. I could be anywhere. In another dimension, having my fun with Luigi, for instance. And I escaped from my vile prison close to two years ago. What do you think I've been up to since then; where do you think I've been? You fill in the blanks."

Gadd and the Toad Assistants sported revolted looks.

"This—this pains me, really. Luigi may have personally humiliated me all those years ago, but for all of his faults, he doesn't deserve to die in such a strange, hostile place. But sometimes, before ushering in the new, the old must be put to rest." Giggling. "See ya round."

Another round of cackling, and then—silence.

"Oh, my God," breathed Ed.

"He controls that dimension," said Gadd, "and he's holding Luigi smack-dab in the middle of it! It's just like he said—he wants the poor youngster to die alone, hurt and frightened in an alien place, knowing that he failed."

Quiet in the Bunker.

"But Fred's right," Gadd continued. "Luigi won't go down so easily, even if he's scared. He'll fight to survive and escape, and he'll fight to get his brother back. This much is certain."

Ted nodded. "For Luigi's sake and for Mario's sake—we have to believe," he said softly.

Gadd then stared at his monitor, which still showed that pink static.

God—please help Luigi through this, he prayed. Please…

…

The outlook was pretty iffy for Luigi at the moment. He was battered, slashed and in an unbelievable amount of pain. His lungs ached from all of those times he had to flee through that obstacle course with King Boo in hot pursuit. These obstacle courses now had suits of armor which hacked at Luigi with their medieval weapons as he dashed past them. With each passing moment, King Boo's attacks grew more ferocious and lethal. He'd stop at nothing to see Luigi dead—just as Luigi would stop at nothing to see the Master of Illusions captured and Mario safe. This was no time to throw in the towel—he couldn't give King Boo what he wanted! So, he pushed aside each new wound and each new frightening surprise the King sprung on him, forcing himself back on his feet after his nemesis knocked him sprawling, even when he wanted to stay on the purple-spiraled ground, curled up in a ball in the hopes that it would all just go away. And each time King Boo forced himself out of the Poltergust, Luigi would simply ready himself for yet another grueling round.

Whenever he managed to blindside King Boo, Luigi dashed in with the vacuum, anchoring himself to the battlefield and holding on tight, regardless of how wildly his opponent thrashed against the suction. Surge, vacuum, breathe. Surge, vacuum breathe. The spiked balls were rolling around everywhere, and it was getting harder and harder for Luigi to evade them, but it didn't matter. Nothing King Boo threw at him mattered anymore.

Only Mario, and getting him home. Getting him out of this place. Even if he didn't get out, as well. Even if he stayed here forever as a sadistic ruler's plaything.

All that mattered right now—was Mario.

Swords began budding from the pink and purple morass around the battlefield, and gears floating around in the void zoomed toward Luigi. King Boo all but weaponized the air in this dimension, ripping open the wounds he'd previously given him as well as dealing out new ones, leaving burns and bruises and giving no quarter as he pummeled him. But Luigi simply refused to die by this psychopath's hand.

Here he was, and there he stood, in unfamiliar territory, fighting it out with someone who hated his guts. Luigi stared into King Boo's eyes and saw his death warrant neatly written in them. He also saw that the King was, as he'd said, completely off his rocker. This was someone who was now gunning for anyone who even remotely interacted with Luigi—the Toads, Mario, Peach, Daisy. There could be Boos on their way to get them at this very moment! And what King Boo said he'd let his minions and allies do with them—he'd take special delight in doing that to Luigi's significant other while making him watch. Just the prospect of that happening, coupled with the image of Mario immobilized in that monochrome portrait, lit a fire in him. He tightened his grip on the Poltergust and gave the Master of Illusions a malevolent glare.

Then, he forced himself to calm down. Getting upset wouldn't help him, and King Boo would quickly take advantage of that. He did his best to evade the King's next round of attacks and pounced on him as soon as the tyrant dropped his guard. But just as he thought that this would finally be it, King Boo practically tore himself out of the vacuum.

"That's it!" roared King Boo. "I have had enough of you SHWEERRPP-SHLOOOORP-WHOOORPP-SHLEEEOOORG-ing with that f—ing vacuum!"

With a body slam, he tilted the platform, sending Luigi toppling into the most harrowing obstacle course yet. There was plenty of ice to slip on, innocuous pieces of furniture turned into death traps, icicles dropped down on him from above and rows upon rows of suits of armor attacked, more medieval weapons swishing past his head. But Luigi sprinted, slid, jumped and cartwheeled his way to safety, much to King Boo's detriment. Violet, wild, hate-filled eyes bore into the plumber, who kept in control by silently reciting his mantra.

Do it for him. Do it for him. Do it for him. Do it…

No.

Do it for them.

Apoplectic and frustrated, King Boo lost his head and started making countless mistakes. Luigi had no qualms over capitalizing on those mistakes, eventually tricking the King into taking a powerful hit from his own weapons. Hardened sapphire met crazed violet as Luigi let the Poltergust rip and gave it everything he had left.

You almost have him. Push, Lil' Bro. Push, push, push…

Mario—you can see me…

I can feel you, Luigi.

You're completely frozen in that portrait, unable to—to—

There are things about our bond that King Boo failed to consider.

Mario's voice softly whispered from all around this madness, giving Luigi a sense of familiarity, stability and comfort. He wasn't fighting this battle alone.

My body may be in this painting, but my mind roams free. In the middle of nothingness, Mario's voice was so calm. In my mind, I see you, feel you, hear you. You're hurt and stuck in a nightmarish pocket dimension—but you're still fighting. King Boo's giving you everything, but you're still fighting. I have faith in you, Luigi. I had faith in 2001, and I have faith now. And because of this, King Boo and his minions can't frighten me. Because in spite of your fears, you'll fight for me. You'll die for me. You'll come for me all the same. You can't give up now—

Pain—there was so much pain—and yet Luigi planted his body and held fast to that nozzle, pulling it tightly in the opposite direction King Boo was trying to drag himself. He was on his last leg, and as such, he was resisting harder than ever. Thick sweat rolled down Luigi's face and seeped into his mouth, mixing with the blood. His arms trembled with the effort he was putting in, but he responded by doubling that effort, tripling, QUADRUPLING…

Overriding the signals in his body that were begging him to quit.

Keep going, Luigi. Keep going. Keep going…

Luigi licked his lips and gave King Boo a look that could freeze a reptilian overlord's b—s.

"You…"

Surge, breathe.

"…will never…"

Surge, breathe.

"…hurt anyone…"

Surge, breathe.

"…ever…"

Surge, breathe.

"…again!"

Stridently, Luigi shouted out that last word as he gave his trusty vacuum one last Surge.

And that Surge was all it took.

"Nooo! That's not possible!" screamed King Boo as Luigi sent him into the confines of the Poltergust 5000.

The entire contraption gave a titanic shudder—and then King Boo's power-enhanced gem shot itself out of the nozzle. Luigi was propelled backward by the recoil, landing hard in a corner of the purple-spiraled battlefield.

He remained seated there for a bit, chest heaving, heart pounding, throbbing and shaking all over. A laugh bubbled at the back of his throat as his grip on the Poltergust finally slackened. The floodwaters of adrenaline gradually dissipated, allowing the laughter to burst freely to the surface. Luigi laughed and laughed and laughed, and he swore he could hear Mario laughing with him.

The nightmare was over.

He had won!

We're approaching home stretch! Please R&R.