Prologue

And here we are, the sequel to The Last Resort's Special Guest. Don't have much to say other than enjoy and look forward to the wacky hi-jinks our hotel ghosts will get up too.

Kooper the Paratroopa whistled a jaunty tune as he flew around the landscape of the Mushroom Kingdom, making his daily mail deliveries. He had already finished making his deliveries in Toad Town, and now he had flown into the outskirts of the Kingdom in search of the next house on his route. Once he spotted the decently sized house, all alone in its own little area of creepy forest, he descended to the ground and made his way to the mailbox…

Only for a ghostly dog to pop his head out of it, glaring and growling at the Mail Koopa.

"GAAH!" Kooper shouted in surprise. He did his best to recover from the shock and addressed the spectral pup with a shaky voice in a desperate attempt to calm it down. "Nice… puppy. I just n-need to put the-the mail in the box. Okay?"

The dog continued to glare and growl at the Mail Koopa, ignoring the words said to him. Kooper pulled out the letters he needed to deliver and tried to angle them so that he could sneak it past the dog. It simply snatched the letters from the Mail Koopa's hand and started to float towards the shivering man.

Kooper reacted the only way he knew how: fly the heck away!

Polterpup watched as the Paratroopa flew into the distance, and immediately regained his usual, cheerful demeanor, as if the encounter with the Mail Koopa never happened. He trotted back to the house, mail in mouth, and fazed through the door. He walked up to his owner's red brother, who was staying at his brother's house after accidentally blowing up his own via fireball into the bathroom. The red clad brother was reading a newspaper on the couch, and Polterpup reared up and put his paws on his legs to gain his attention.

Mario looked down from his newspaper to see Luigi's Polterpup with a bunch of letters in his mouth, wagging his tail happily and expecting a reward for a job well done. "Ah, good boy. Hey, Luigi! Polterpup brought the mail for us." He shouted towards the kitchen as he took the letters out of the dog's mouth and started scratching its head.

"I'm still making breakfast! Could you sort them out for me, bro?"

Once Polterpup had been sufficiently loved, he started looking through all of the letters, tossing them onto the table as he did so. "Bill, bill, "Mustaches of the Mushroom Kingdom" magazine, bill. Oh! Bowser invited us to Bowser Jr's birthday party next week! And he remembered to send you an invite too!"

"He remembered me? That's new." Luigi said as he entered the room, carrying a plate of sandwiches in one arm and a bowl of dog food in the other. He put the plate on the table and the bowl on the floor next to his chair, watching as his beloved pet dug in. "He usually doesn't even remember my name."

"That just means you're becoming popular, and you deserve that popularity with everything you've done."

"Awww, you flatter me, bro."

"Don't mention it." Mario resumed checking the mail. "More bills, a letter from Peach, probably about last week's dinner with Rosalina."

"Did they ever get rid of the leftovers in the fridge?"

"No idea, all I know is that the Luma managed to get out. Anyway, another bill and- oh, not again." Mario grumbled out as he stared at the last letter in his hand. Luigi simply quirked his eyebrow out of curiosity.

"What's wrong?"

"I got another vacation invite to Isle Delfino."

"Again?"

"Yeah! It's the same every time! They give me three tickets for an all expenses paid vacation to Delfino Island as an apology for the last time I vacationed there, I accept, I get arrested, I get pardoned, and I go back home and get another apology letter. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice- "

Luigi gave his brother a deadpan look.

"Fool me seven times, shame on me." Mario opened the letter and pulled out the same three tickets with the same brochure and the same apology letter he got the last seven times. "I went alone all those times, and I got arrested all those times, so this time, I'm not going."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Luigi said as he nommed on his sandwich, definitely agreeing with Mario's terrible vacation experiences. As he thought about it however, an idea came over him. "Hey, how many tickets do you have?"

"Counting these? 17. Why?"

"I remember E. Gadd telling me that he was gonna close the hotel for the week. Something about it being the slowest time of the year."

A look of realization came over the red plumber as he realized what his brother was thinking about. "And?"

"If you don't want the tickets, I know a few people who could use a vacation."

"I see where you're going with this, and I agree. We can give it to them in person right now!"

"I'll get the professor to Pixelate us over!"

The two brothers got off their chairs, Luigi to go call the professor, and Mario to go find the tickets in his suitcase where he kept them hidden. Polterpup simply followed Luigi, tail wagging happily at the idea that they were going somewhere. He liked going through the Pixelator. It made him feel tingly.

At the receptionist desk of the Last Resort, Steward sat at attention, waiting and hoping that someone would come through the doors and ask for a reservation. It was the slow season, the time of the year where the hotel would barely get any residents, and he hated it with all of his undead heart. Without anyone to help carry heavy luggage, answer questions, or just running errands for them, he felt like he was one step away from going insane. The others told him to get a therapist for himself, but with his work hours, he never had the time.

As he twiddled his thumbs and took occasional glances at the clock behind him, the phone rang. He immediately grabbed it and addressed the caller with manic energy.

"Hello, welcome to the Last Resort! You'll love your stay so much you'll wish you could die here! How can I help you?... Oh, hello, sir." His mood deflated as he realized it was just Professor E. Gadd on the phone. "What do you need, sir?... Uhuh… really?... uh, yes, I'll get them all right away!... of course, sir." He hung up the phone and left the receptionist desk, making his way towards the elevator. He entered the elevator, greeting the current goob occupant, and pressing the button to the B2 floor.

"Hello, boss. Why the rush?" The goob asked him.

"The professor asked me to get the others together for a staff meeting." He said quickly. "Actually, quick question: what's a vacation?"

The goob simply stared at the bellhop with a look of pity on his face.

Up next, another meeting and some necessary preparations for their tropical adventure.