Lightning flashed outside the window as Luigi slowly sat up. He had no idea how he had gotten onto the stone floor. One minute he had been exploring a haunted hotel and the next he had woken up here. He wondered how that was even possible. Luigi had seen the ghosts at the hotel board up the entrance so that no one could get out, and yet he knew that he wasn't there anymore. The floor he sat on was cold and hard, very different from the plush, carpeted hallways of the hotel.

Luigi shakily stood up. Fortunately he was still in possession of his brand new Poltergust G-00 with all of its new and exciting features. He knew if there were any ghosts in this building he would at least be prepared. That thought didn't comfort him as he took in his surroundings, especially not when a loud clap of thunder caused him to almost jump out of his skin.

The plumber stood in a hallway of a cavernous castle. Torches lined the walls, although none of them seemed to be lit. The only light Luigi could see came from the storm outside. He shivered and made his way down the hall.

Luigi heard a soft scraping coming from ahead of him followed by unearthly moans. He turned to run in the opposite direction, but his feet were rooted to the spot, his body refusing to cooperate. Then he saw the source of the noise. Two unusually tall figures wrapped entirely in bandages were shuffling straight towards him.

Finally Luigi's body remembered how to move again. He did the only thing he could think of. He aimed the Poltergust at the mummies and adjusted it to vacuum them up. Their bandages moved slightly in the breeze he had created, but they continued to come toward him. Then Luigi put his weapon on the suction cup setting, and he aimed straight at one of the monster's heads. The suction cup stuck to the mummy's head for a second, then dropped off.

Panicking, Luigi turned and ran the opposite way. A hooded skeletal figure stopped him in his tracks. A wicked grin was plastered on its face, and its eye sockets were vacant. It held a scythe in its bony hands. Luigi screamed. Before Luigi could run, the figure raised its scythe and sliced through Luigi, rending his soul from his body.

Luigi looked at his hands and down at his prone body, then back at his hands. His hands glowed an eerie bluish hue. He glanced at the monster who had done this to him, and the bony figure headed straight towards him. Luigi opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. He knew he was done for, and he realized that this end would most likely be a lot more painful than being trapped in one of King Boo's paintings.

The hooded monster raised its scythe again to finish Luigi off but abruptly stopped. Its jaw was hanging wide open as it stared at something behind Luigi. Luigi turned around to see a tall figure with a hood over his head. His armor was leather, and he carried a long chain whip. Luigi couldn't help but notice the man's muscled physique, which was quite different from his own scrawny body.

Before Luigi could see what was happening the whip shot past him and hit the skeletal monster in the face, cracking its jaw. The figure threw off his cloak to reveal a man Luigi had never seen before in his life. Lightning flashed again, showing the man's blond hair and piercing blue eyes that seemed to glow for just a second. The man reached into his armor and took out a glowing blue cross, which he threw with terrifying accuracy at the monster. The cross hit the monster in the chest, and the creature let out a shriek and disappeared.

Luigi looked down once more at his corporeal form lying lifeless on the stone floor. There had to be a way to get his soul back into his body. Luigi's best guess was to simply fly back in. He took a deep breath and plunged himself into his earthly form.

The plumber sat up and looked down at his hands, which were no longer glowing. He tested his legs, and to his relief they moved when he willed them to. He was about to push himself up when a deep voice came from behind him.

"Need a hand?"

Luigi almost screamed again, but by that time the voice's owner had grabbed his hand and hauled him to his feet. Luigi looked up to see the man who had saved him. He towered over Luigi.

"Th-thanks," Luigi stuttered. "And thanks for saving me. Without you I could've died. I mean, I did die, but, you know…"

"It was nothing," the man said dismissively. "Now I must be going." He turned to leave.

"Wait!" cried Luigi. "Where am I? How am I supposed to get out of here?"

Luigi's savior sighed and turned back. "There are two ways out. One is back the way you came." The man pointed into the blackness behind Luigi. "The other is through Dracula's chamber. Of course, that would involve fighting Dracula himself. That's where I'm headed."

Luigi wasn't thrilled at either prospect, but he knew he had only two choices. "I'll come with you," Luigi blurted.

The man raised an eyebrow. "You want to fight Dracula by my side?"

Luigi gulped. "Um, yes?"

The man gave a deep throated laugh. "You have some fire in you yet, small man. What is your name?"

"Luigi."

"Luigi. A strange name, I must admit. I am Simon of the Belmont clan." Simon paused a moment to take in Luigi's appearance. "Say, what is that is that contraption on your back?"

Luigi had all but forgotten about his Poltergust. He pulled out the hose and attempted to turn the machine on. It sputtered but failed to power up. Luigi frowned.

"It was my Poltergust. I use it to capture ghosts, but I think it's broken."

"Well, you may not have much need for that here. Your ghostly form is the only one I have seen in these halls. You need something to protect you from the other creatures of the night. Here."

Simon handed Luigi a vial containing a clear liquid. Luigi looked up at Simon. "What is it?" he asked.

"Holy water. Throw it at an enemy, and the vial will break. The water will burn up the foulsome creature instantly. Holy water regenerates, so you will always have it."

Luigi nodded. Simon motioned for Luigi to follow him, and the two made their way down the dark hallway. Soon they came to a wooden door. Simon pushed it open, and Luigi followed warily behind.

The awful smell hit Luigi before he could see what was on the other side of the door. He followed Simon in, and the vampire hunter immediately began cracking his whip in all directions. Luigi had never seen zombies before, and he definitely wished that were still true. Simon was quickly mobbed by walking corpses, each one in a different state of decay. He fought against them with all he had, but there were simply too many.

"Luigi!" Simon called as the zombies came at him. "Throw the holy water!"

Luigi did as he was told, throwing the vial at the nearest walking corpse. The zombie let out a final moan as it was consumed by flames.

"I did it!" he shouted.

Together Luigi and Simon fought off the zombies, and soon there were none left. Luigi huffed and puffed, but Simon seemed to have regained his breath quickly.

"Thank you for your help," Simon said. "Now all we need to do is climb that staircase, and we will be in Dracula's chamber."

Luigi's eyes widened. "What do we do when we get to Dracula's chamber?"

"Defeat him, of course!" Simon exclaimed with a glint of excitement in his eyes.

Luigi was about to ask Simon how they were going to defeat Dracula, but the vampire hunter had already started up the stone staircase. The stairs seemed to have no end, and at every bend in the staircase there was a new monster to intercept the heroes. They encountered more mummies, giant bats, and even the odd Medusa head. Luigi hung back as Simon took care of them.

At the top of the stairs was a set of ornate double doors. Luigi ran his hand over the carvings, horrific images of fearsome beasts and monsters. He gulped as Simon pushed open the left door.

The room was eerily quiet. Torches lined the stone walls, and there was no furniture except for a plush looking throne that sat at the top of three steps. Neither man spoke as they crept as quietly as they could toward the throne. Once they reached it, Luigi braced himself for...nothing.

"Maybe he's not home," Luigi whispered, relieved.

Quiet laughter echoed around the room. Luigi looked up to see if Simon was the source of the noise, but the man's lips were not moving. The sinister laughter grew in volume until it was deafening, and Luigi covered his ears and shivered as Simon took a fighting stance.

A faint light shimmered above the throne. Simon and Luigi looked on as the light grew brighter, and a figure materialized into view. The figure was even taller than Simon and wrapped in a black cape. He smiled at Simon and Luigi, revealing sharp fangs.

"I've been expecting you," the vampire said

"Dracula!" Simon exclaimed.

"D-Dracula?" Luigi stammered.

"And I suppose you're here to defeat me." Dracula flashed a fanged smile and took a step toward the two men. "I hope you two can understand why I can't let you live!"

Dracula lunged at Simon. Simon cracked his chain whip, but the vampire disappeared. He reappeared behind Simon.

"Look out!" cried Luigi.

Simon whirled around and managed to land a glancing blow to the vampire. Dracula shrieked and disappeared again. Luigi watched in terrified awe as the man and vampire fought. Each time Luigi thought Dracula had gained the upper hand, Simon would find a way to turn the tables. Luigi had never seen such an impressive fighter.

The pair continued to fight until Simon's energy was nearly depleted. Simon took a false step, and soon Dracula had him on the ground, fangs poised at his throat. Simon yelled to Luigi as he fought to push the monster away.

"Luigi! He's weak!"

Dracula looked up from Simon, his eyes boring straight into Luigi's soul. He froze as Dracula rushed at him,but Luigi couldn't will his body to move. Dracula was inches away from Luigi when he finally threw his holy water in desperation. The vial tumbled in the air and landed on Dracula's face. As soon as the water hit his skin the creature burst into flame, screaming, until all that was left of him was ash.

Luigi jogged over to Simon. "Are you okay?"

Simon sat up slowly. "I am, thanks to you, my friend."

Luigi offered Simon a hand, and he stood with the plumber's help. He was about to say something to Simon when he felt an odd tingling all over his body. He looked down at his hands, and he could see them beginning to disappear. He hoped he wasn't dying again.

Simon raised his eyebrows in surprise as the plumber faded. "Farewell, Luigi!" Simon called before Luigi disappeared completely.

When Luigi came to, he was lying on a carpeted floor. He felt something cold and wet nuzzling him and heard a faint whimpering. He opened his eyes to see Polterpup staring down at him. He reached up to pet the ghostly canine, and Polterpup licked his face in one long, slobbery stroke. Luigi laughed and sat up. He hugged his pet close.

"You'll never guess where I was, doggy," Luigi said. "I'm not sure I believe it myself."

Luigi stood and brushed himself off. He tried the Poltergust's "on" switch again but had no luck. He decided that he'd better get down to Professor Gadd's lab to get the device fixed and to explain himself. He was sure Gadd would have a lot of questions for him.

He took the hotel's elevator down to the basement and found his way to the professor's mobile lab. He pushed open the door and saw Gadd sitting in his chair, his head thrown back. The old man was snoring, a thin line of drool escaping from the corner of his mouth.

"Professor?" Luigi said softly. "Professor!" he shouted.

Gadd jumped out of his chair. "What? Who's there?"

Luigi shuffled back, a bit startled. "It's Luigi. Sorry for waking you."

The professor smiled. "Luigi, my boy! I am so glad you're back. When I lost communication I wasn't sure if my little experiment had worked."

"Your...what?"

"Why, interdimensional travel, my friend. I'm guessing you were in Dracula's castle, circa oh, say, the 16th century or so. How was your trip?"

Luigi scowled. "If it wasn't for Simon I would've been dead meat. I can't believe you sent me there without asking me first."

"Forgive me. I just knew that if I had asked you would've said I was crazy. Besides, you now have another tool in your ghost hunting arsenal, do you not?"

Luigi reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of holy water. He gaped. "How-how did you know?"

Professor Gadd smiled. "Research, and lots of it. You should have no problem confronting King Boo now."

Luigi shrugged. "I guess not."

The old professor giggled. "So I did you a favor, you see. Now, tell me all about your little adventure."

Luigi was unhappy with the professor for sending him on an interdimensional adventure without asking. Still, Gadd was right. Without the holy water Luigi would have a tougher time defeating King Boo. Luigi told every detail of his adventure to Gadd, beginning from the time he woke up in Dracula's castle to the vampire's demise.

"Hm, I see. So it seems you even made a friend in the process. Very good. And don't worry, I will fix up your Poltergust in a jiffy. I've even added some new and exciting features! If you could just turn around for me…"

Luigi heard an odd clanking, and soon he could turn on his weapon. He tried the suction function once more, and the Poltergust was so powerful that it nearly sucked the lab's steel door into its endless depths. When he turned on the flashlight it was even brighter than it had been before his journey.

"There!" exclaimed Gadd. "That should do it. Now, off you go to save your friends."

Luigi thanked Gadd and went back to exploring the haunted hotel. As he wandered the dark halls he realized he was not quite as afraid as he had been when he had started his ghost hunting adventure. He was beginning to feel optimistic for once and had a feeling that things just might turn out for him in the end.