Hey. Is everyone still doing okay?
Yeah.
I'm good.
Doing great. How about you? How are you holding up?
The best I can. But wow—why did this have to happen again?
I don't know. There are just some things that we simply can't control, and they happen. The trick is—moving on from those things.
I—I couldn't save you, and I couldn't save myself, and now Luigi—
Luigi's doing fine. While we're sealed in these portrait frames, we're with him in spirit, guiding him along, keeping him strong. He's done this twice already. It should be a piece of cake by now.
Yeah—a piece of cake. You know—any ordinary people would give up any hope of rescue at this point. But not us. Not us.
…
Pollen tickled Luigi's nose as he stepped out of the elevator, Gooigi and Polterpup behind him. The ensuing sneezing fit soon subsided, however, and he glanced around the room. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but flora.
"It's beautiful," mused Gooigi, drinking in the various flowers blooming in the Garden Suites.
"It is," conceded Luigi, "in its own eerie way."
"The next elevator button is probably hidden somewhere," said Gooigi.
"Let's get to searching, then," said Luigi.
They moved down the corridor, vacuuming up any vegetation that impeded them, Polterpup briskly trotting between the two. In his usual way, Luigi began humming a tune as he pushed himself forward, and Gooigi soon joined in, the sound lightly resonating through the latter's body. Gooigi took one hand off his Poltergust and rested it on Luigi's forearm. "S'okay," he said quietly. "S'okay. I'm with you."
Humming in sync, they continued working their way down the hall. But just as they reached a door, a snake jumped out of the green grass and pounced on Luigi!
Swearing, Luigi clawed at the snake, trying to pull it off of him. Barking, Polterpup charged forward and seized the snake's tail in his jaws, trying to yank it away from its master. Gooigi used Burst to try and dislodge the snake. Eventually, Luigi gained enough presence of mind to use Burst himself, finally scaring the snake off.
"J—s! Where did that guy come from?!" Luigi demanded of nobody in particular.
He caught his breath and pulled himself together as Gooigi and Polterpup checked him for injuries, the latter licking at the where the snake had latched on.
"The good thing is—that snake wasn't poisonous," said Gooigi.
However, that fact gave Polterpup little comfort.
"Don't worry, puppy," said Luigi. "I'll live."
He gave the ghost dog a quick, comforting pet before the trio walked into a large room.
A large stairway spiraled above them, vines and branches wrapped around the banisters. In front of them was an empty bird bath—with another elevator button hovering over it!
"There it is!" shouted Luigi, running toward the bird bath, picking up the button and examining it. "Funny how they left it out in the open…"
"Excuse me, sir…"
A green, fluorescent hand reached over and plucked the elevator button from Luigi. "I'll take that, thank you."
"Hey!" shouted Luigi, spinning around and staring at a bespectacled green ghost with thick eyebrows and an equally thick beard. In one hand, this ghost held the elevator button. And in the other, he held a red watering can.
"Hey, yourself," said the ghost with a smile. "I'm Dr. Lionel Potter, and I'm a certified botanist. In fact, this entire floor is my playground."
"That's very nice," said Luigi. "Now may I have that elevator button, please?"
"No can do," said Dr. Potter. "I have orders from our mutual friend to keep it with me at all times."
As he spoke, Dr. Potter tipped his watering can forward, sending a sprinkle of water onto a blue stalk. Luigi watched as the stalk grew into a carnivorous plant which opened its jaws. Then, Dr. Potter dropped the elevator button into the plant's maw, the jaws snapping shut around it.
"Feel free to look around my garden, though," said Dr. Potter as he watered the plant again, "and when you're done, hopefully we can chat some more." He tipped his hat at Luigi and then disappeared as the blue plant grew to titanic size.
Luigi turned to Gooigi and Polterpup. "We gotta follow that botanist," he said urgently.
So they did.
Up the stairs they went, vacuuming any obstructing shrubbery and vegetation, once again listening to the music on Luigi's smartphone. Of course, Dr. Potter was there to throw more obstacles in their way, using his watering-can to grow big, long and thick plants which smashed through one flight of stairs, forcing the adventurers to detour. However, they surmounted this setback by stepping across large plant leaves and swinging on plant cords.
A large plant blocked them from another door, but pulling on an exposed root caused it to practically fall to pieces. Exchanging looks, the duo accessed an overgrown bedroom.
"There's no sign of him," said Gooigi, "but the door up ahead is blocked."
Together, Gooigi and Luigi scoured the bedroom for anything of interest before vacuuming all of the plant life from the door. Just as they were finished, however, a pinkish-purple gate slammed over the door, and a Goob appeared, armed with a flower.
The Goob jabbed the flower at Luigi's nose, causing him to sneeze, but then Gooigi took charge, vacuuming the flower away. Once Luigi recovered, he stunned and captured the Goob.
"Turn around," said Gooigi. "There's more!"
Three or four more Goobs appeared and armed themselves with flowers, using them to either make Luigi sneeze or tickle him. The flowers also blocked the Strobulb flash, so he and Gooigi had to vacuum them away or Burst them out of the Goobs' hands before going on the offensive.
After defeating the Goobs, the duo walked into the just-as-overgrown bathroom, where rose petals gently drifted down from the ceiling.
"Hm," said Luigi. "Very American Beauty."
He and Gooigi vacuumed the piles of rose petals on the floor, and then Gooigi slipped through a drain pipe to scour the area beneath the floorboards. They found some coins and a gem, and then they cleared away some more foliage to discover a hole in the wall, which took them back to the stairway.
They walked up the next flight of stairs to the next level, where Dr. Potter waited for them.
"So—how's the sightseeing going?" asked Dr. Potter.
"Very well, thank you," Luigi replied, "save for the snakes that keep jumping out at me."
Dr. Potter rubbed his hands together. "You haven't seen anything yet," he said. "Plants have fascinated me from the time I was a boy—especially the big ones. The bigger, the better. Once I began my botany career, I researched ways to cultivate the biggest, longest and thickest plants the world had ever seen. Even Death itself hasn't been able to stop me."
"I can see that," said Luigi.
"The water in my can has magical powers," explained Dr. Potter. "It can turn any small, pitiful plant into an arousing, florid wonder. Observe…"
He sprinkled some of the aforementioned water onto a small, pineapple-shaped fruit. The fruit shuddered for a few seconds before it transformed into a large, bush-like plant. And this plant commenced to spit giant pineapple-shaped fruits at Luigi!
Luigi grabbed Gooigi's hand, and they retreated down the stairs to evade the initial projectile. Then, they endeavored to force their way up to try and take out the plant giving them trouble, only for the succeeding projectiles to knock them back down. Before long, the man in green was bruised, scratched up and cross. How in God's name was he gonna…?
"Puppy, no!" he exclaimed as Polterpup bounded up the stairs, seized the knotted root in his jaws and pulled.
Instantly, the plant withered away to nothing.
Polterpup reached the top of the stairs and barked angrily at Dr. Potter, who immediately got the message and fled.
Luigi dropped to his knees and threw his arms around the puppy.
"Wow—he's really looking out for you," said Gooigi.
Luigi leaned into Polterpup's ear, murmuring loving words.
"Just be careful next time, okay?" asked Luigi as he stood to his feet.
"Arf!" Polterpup replied.
A thick, green vine with red thorns obstructed the rest of the stairwell, so the adventurers stepped through another hole in the wall and into another bathroom. The place was filled with fallen leaves and sprawling with vines, and there was a heavy trash bin nearby. Using this trash bin and a Suction Shot, Gooigi and Luigi took turns breaking the toilet, sink and bathtub, allowing them to yank on the vines' knotted ends, thus getting rid of them.
The duo turned to leave, only for another gate to slam down.
Ghostly laughter echoed all around.
"Who's there?" asked Luigi as some leaves began to stir.
A chill crept up the back of his neck, and he whirled just in time to see a purple ghost leer at him!
He leaped backwards with a sharp cry as the ghost slunk backward. A Slinker—that was a good name for this ghost.
Using their Dark Light Devices, Luigi and Gooigi uncovered the Slinker and stunned them in tandem. The Slinker, like the Hammers, had two tails, allowing Luigi to suction onto one tail and Gooigi to suction onto the other. The pair maintained a sharp cadence as they slammed the Slinker into the floor and the remains of the porcelain bathtub. A low growl sounded just as they defeated the Slinker, and they whirled to see a Hammer burst out of the tub, their face covered in leaves.
Blindly, the Hammer swiped at Luigi and Gooigi, who carefully vacuumed the leaves away from the ghost's face. When they were finished, the Hammer blinked a few times, gave them a small grunt of thanks and left peacefully, much to their shock.
They approached the next flight of stairs, where they heard Dr. Potter laugh as he watered yet another pineapple-shaped fruit. This time, the resulting plant spat two giant fruits at a time.
"Yes—yes!" said Dr. Potter as he watched the scene with greedy eyes. "Now isn't that a huge beauty?"
"Puppy," Luigi said softly. "Could you…"
Polterpup scampered up the stairs and took care of this plant the same way he'd taken care of the first. Dr. Potter beat another hasty retreat, and the trio proceeded into another overgrown bedroom.
This room had even thicker vegetation, with vines wrapped around the closet, some of the furniture and the next door. Gooigi's and Luigi's vacuums weren't strong enough to clear away this foliage. Then, Polterpup directed their attention toward a contraption with a green panel on it. Luigi flashed at the panel, and then the tool whirred to life, the serrated steel wheel beginning to spin.
"A buzzsaw," grinned Luigi. "Perfect."
Whistling a tune, Luigi began to tear his way through foliage and furniture alike, effortlessly cutting through the thicker vines swathed everywhere. By the time he finished shredding the last of the vines, the bed, bedpost, closet, sofa and drawer were no more.
"I think that's everything, Luigi," said Gooigi.
Luigi set aside the buzzsaw and wiped his brow. "Guess so," he said.
He'd just turned the doorknob when a glowing, blue vine burst out of the wall, grabbed him and hoisted him aloft.
Luigi kicked, flailed, and screamed, but his efforts did no good. Not even using Burst could help him escape. The vine was squeezing him, squeezing him and groping him and caressing him all over his body. Dr. Potter's laughter floated in as the tip of the vine shamelessly fondled its captive.
"That one seems to like you," he chuckled, "and I can see why. When I was your age, I had lots of heads turning, as well."
"Gooigi! Get the saw!" shouted Luigi.
Spurred by his pal's increasingly hysterical tone and the nightmarish undertones of the situation, Gooigi snatched up the power saw and ran to Luigi's aid. In seconds, the saw sliced through the vine, the withering plant releasing Luigi at once. Gooigi caught him before he could hit the ground.
"Party pooper," huffed Dr. Potter's voice, and then all was quiet.
"L—Luigi!" gasped Gooigi. "Are you…?"
"Yes. Yes, I'm fine," Luigi swiftly cut Gooigi off. "Let's—never speak of this again."
With a whine, Polterpup trotted over to join Luigi, and the man in green picked him up and buried his face into the puppy's "fur".
They proceeded into a room filled with watermelons, with one particularly large watermelon leaning off to one side. When Gooigi and Luigi broke that watermelon, they found four Goobs hiding within. Quickly, they defeated the Goobs before breaking open the rest of the melons. A hole in the wall led them back to the stairwell, where they had to use some long plant leaves and vines to step and swing their way up.
A door on the next level was blocked, so they walked up the next set of stairs, toward the top of that carnivorous plant. Dr. Potter saw them approaching and doused the plant with his watering-can, laughing as the ground began to shake. Another extension of the plant burst out from the stairs, and before Luigi could give it enough distance, he was sent flying into a wall, leaving a hole which allowed him access to the previously-blocked room.
"And I thought the Haunted Towers was bad," muttered Luigi as he got to his feet and walked inside.
This room had multiple levels, and some purple, bouncing mushrooms were scattered about. After examining his surroundings, Luigi surmised that he'd have to use those mushrooms to progress up each level.
"Get back in the tank," he said to Gooigi. "I'll carry you to the top."
"Okeydokey," said Gooigi, hopping back into the Plexiglass tank.
"Come here, puppy," said Luigi, and Polterpup scampered into his arms.
After tucking Polterpup into his overalls, Luigi carefully climbed onto one of the mushrooms, and with one Burst, turned it into a trampoline. Steadily, the man in green bounced his way to the top, collecting treasure and duking it out with more ghosts along the way. He reached a door that took him back to the stairwell and then worked his way across a series of leaf bridges until he reached the top of the flytrap-like plant.
"We made it," Luigi said to Gooigi after freeing him from the tank. "Now we've got to get the elevator button out of this flytrap's jaws. I'll take this side, and you can take the other."
Gooigi walked over to the other side of the flytrap. Together, the pair launched a Suction Shot at the plant's jaws, opening them with a good tug.
The elevator button flew into the air and then descended, Gooigi making a grab for it and missing. As the button rolled toward the edge of the flower, Luigi raced toward it, only to watch his prize roll off the edge and drop back down to the floor.
"D—mit!" he swore.
"Sorry," Gooigi apologized.
"It's not your fault," said Luigi, putting an arm around his gooey bro.
"Hey! I see it!" exclaimed Gooigi. "It's down there!"
Luigi followed Gooigi's finger and saw the elevator button laying on the ground, thankfully still intact.
"Well, how are we gonna…?" Luigi was interrupted when the leaf he and Gooigi were standing on snapped from the weight, sending them both plummeting.
Fortunately, they landed on the plant's stem, which broke their fall and allowed them to slide safely back down to the bottom.
"You okay?" asked Gooigi.
"Yeah, and you?"
"I'm fine."
They stood, dusted themselves off and walked toward the elevator button.
"I got it!" laughed Luigi, reaching down to grab the button.
There was a hissing sound, and then a fearsome, carnivorous plant lunged toward Luigi, seizing the button in its jaws.
"Not again," Luigi groaned, scuttling backwards.
"Hello, there," said Dr. Potter as he lovingly stroked the top of the plant's head. "Nice to see you again. You've now reached the piece de resistance of your tour. I'd like you to meet my greatest creation—Audrey." He indicated the plant.
"H—hi, Audrey," greeted Luigi, his voice rattling.
"Audrey is my ideal plant," Dr. Potter went on as Audrey stared hungrily at Luigi. "Just look at her. Look at her! She has a great reach, she can grow enviously tall—and witness her magnificent tumescence!" He laughed. "It took most of my life, but my work is now complete. I've grown the species of carnivorous plant, one that's bigger, longer and thicker than any carnivorous plant in the history of humankind. However—Audrey's story has only just begun."
Audrey spat the elevator button into Dr. Potter's hand.
"Thank you, dear," said Dr. Potter, pocketing the button. "Now, how would you like some dessert?"
Audrey's eyes glowed in response.
"I thought so," giggled Dr. Potter. "Well, my young friend, it looks like the tour is over. But for what it's worth, I have nothing personal against you. I even gave you an opportunity to leave. But Audrey's a little hungry, and I have instructions I must follow. And so—I bid you—adieu!"
Audrey stretched across the room, snapping her jaws at Luigi. Crying out, Luigi dove to his left, watching the carnivorous plant bite off a small piece of the towering stalk. And then he saw it—another buzzsaw.
"That's it!" he whispered, getting up and darting toward the weapon.
Audrey attacked again before Luigi could grab the buzzsaw, snatching him around the waist and dragging him away. She tossed him in the air once, grabbed him in her jaws and squeezed. In a wild flash of inspiration, he used Burst to escape from her clutches and managed to land on his feet. Gasping, he looked over and saw Gooigi, holding out the buzzsaw to him.
"Thank you!" he exclaimed breathily, taking the buzzsaw in his vacuum's suction and turning back toward Audrey.
"Do you see one of those fruits over there?" asked Gooigi.
"Yeah!"
"Trick her into biting into one of them!" said Gooigi. "It's your only chance!"
Luigi spun around and ran to one of the aforementioned fruits, sliding behind it just in time as Audrey lunged at him once more. Her jaws wound up stuck in the fruit's flesh, and her stem was now stretched taut. The carnivorous plant, and by extension, Dr. Potter, was now open to an attack.
Brandishing the buzzsaw, Luigi broke cover and began using the power tool to cut through Audrey's stem. Dr. Potter desperately tried to pull his plant away, but it was no use. The saw chewed through the last of the stem, snapping the plant cleanly in two and throwing the ghostly botanist back a short distance.
"Audrey! My beautiful Audrey!" Dr. Potter exclaimed.
With a shout, Luigi cast aside the buzzsaw and moved in on Dr. Potter at once, stunning him and beginning to vacuum him up. Once the power gauge was full, the man in green mercilessly slammed Dr. Potter this way and that, not stopping until his arms were tired.
Breaking free, Dr. Potter just smiled at Luigi and doused his now-empty flowerpot with his watering-can, causing Audrey to re-grow. Once again, the carnivorous plant pursued Luigi and Gooigi, snapping her jaws at them. She managed to take a few bites out of Gooigi, but the humanoid reacted to it like it was nothing and quickly reformed. Following some heart-pounding maneuvering by both ghost-hunters, Audrey wound up inadvertently biting into another of those fruits. Grabbing the buzzsaw, Luigi cut through the plant a second time, exposing Dr. Potter to the Strobulb, and the vacuuming and slamming began again.
It went on for what seemed like forever. Audrey hissing and snapping. Dr. Potter laughing. The buzzsaw whirling. Heavy breaths kicking from Luigi's lungs. His face-off against Dr. Potter and Audrey left him scratched, scraped, cut and bleeding from the instances where the latter managed to grab hold of him. But he didn't run, instead baiting the plant into biting into a fruit so he could have another go at her with the saw. For them, he thought. For them.
Ultimately, Dr. Potter and Audrey were no match for Luigi's determination, and he managed to subdue the latter and slam the former into submission. After one last slam, the suction overcame the ghostly botanist, but as a parting shot to Luigi, he threw the elevator button out of his reach. However, Dr. Potter didn't count on his watering-can ejecting itself from the Poltergust. Nor did he count on a small sprout materializing nearby.
Luigi was shaking a little as he took the watering-can and watered the sprout, watching it grow into a leafy ladder. Then, he shimmied up the ladder and grabbed the hard-earned elevator button.
A laugh escaped him as he held up the button. "I did it!" he exclaimed.
Gooigi helped him back down. "Wow. You're shaking," he observed.
"I'm fine," said Luigi. "I just need to calm down."
"You're hurt," Gooigi went on. "Audrey nailed you badly a few times."
"I'm fine."
"Luigi—I'm sorry I didn't do more."
"Gooigi…"
"You won't be any good to your friends in this state," Gooigi persisted. "Okay, that's it—you're going back to the 5th floor, and I'm gonna patch you up."
"No, no, no! Mario…"
"I wasn't asking, Luigi," said Gooigi. "Audrey did a number on you, and you're not going anywhere until you're disinfected and bandaged."
Gooigi's tone left no room for argument, and Luigi sighed. "Fine," he said.
They left the room and walked toward the elevator, Gooigi supporting Luigi with his weight. Once they called the elevator and stepped inside, Luigi fished the elevator button out of his pocket and watched as it fitted itself into place.
"Paranormal Productions," he mused as he studied the VB's projected layout. "Looks like we'll be heading to a movie studio next."
"Yep," said Gooigi. "First, however…" He pressed the button to the 5th floor.
Luigi sighed deeply, allowing his head to come to rest against Gooigi's shoulder.
"That's right. Just lean on me," Gooigi said softly.
When they reached the 5th floor, Gooigi lifted Luigi and carried him bridal-style to his room.
"C'mon, Gooigi," said Luigi as his gooey brother laid him on the bed. "I'm not an invalid."
"I just want you to save your strength," said Gooigi. "Okay, could you—take off your shoes and unbutton your overalls, please?"
Luigi obliged, kicking off his shoes and dropping them before the nightstand. Then, he unhooked his overalls and slid them down to his waist. As he did this, Gooigi prepared the first-aid kit.
Once Gooigi had the materials set out, he looked over at Luigi. "The shirt, too, of course," he said.
"Whatever you say," said Luigi as he pulled the shirt up and over his head.
"Oh—wow—okay—Audrey got you good," murmured Gooigi as he studied the lacerations on his pal's torso.
His—liberally muscular torso.
Gooigi was shocked that the injuries Luigi had sustained thus far didn't eclipse his good looks. The older, healing wounds barely even left a scar, and even the fresh and fading bruises seemed to give his beauty a bit of an unkempt quality. Gooigi marveled at Luigi for a bit, his matter shifting so that he matched his companion's appearance, before he snapped himself out of it, straddled Luigi and tended to his wounds.
First was the dabbing alcohol, Luigi jumping a little and hissing at the stings. Then, Gooigi applied a cold compress, feeling Luigi's muscles relax as he sank into the mattress. He stared deeply into Luigi's eyes, seeing that singular restlessness shining in them, and then he watched him bite at his lower lip.
"S'okay, Luigi. I got you. I got you," said Gooigi, stroking Luigi's cheek and jawline with a gooey thumb. "S'okay. S'okay."
He finished treating the wounds with the cold compress before bandaging them, his fingertips lightly skimming the expanse of that bare upper body as he worked. Leaning down, Gooigi gently kissed across the bandaged cuts before doing the same to any bruises he came across.
"Wow," breathed Luigi. "That's what Mario used to do when we were kids."
Gooigi raised his head. "Does it help?"
"You bet," said Luigi. "Thank you."
"Almost done," said Gooigi as he tended to the last of Luigi's injuries. "And there—we—are. See, that wasn't so bad."
"No—it wasn't," said Luigi.
The two stared intently at each other. And slowly, Gooigi leaned toward Luigi until his body was hovering over his, their lips micrometers apart.
"Gooigi, wha…?"
He fell silent as their lips brushed, Gooigi taking in the softness of his counterpart's lips and the warmth of his breath. And he wanted to press his own lips to Luigi's—he wanted to taste them—he suddenly wanted to kiss him all over his body and make him—
..and it felt so weird. First of all, they were brothers—in a way. Second of all, Luigi was spoken for. Gooigi had no idea why he was feeling like this, and there was no time for him to dwell on the matter.
"Okay?" Gooigi asked, breaking the moment.
Luigi nodded. "Okay," he said.
He sat up and re-dressed. "Let's head over to Paranormal Productions," he said.
"I've always wanted to tour a movie studio," Gooigi said brightly.
"Hey—me, too."
Hand-in-hand, Luigi and Gooigi walked toward the elevator.
And the adventure resumed.
Please R&R.