Oh, my holy God! For a second there, I thought he was a goner! Especially when he was trapped in the room with the poison gas!
I don't know about you guys, but I never want to hear him cough and choke like that ever again. My own chest was constricting the whole time; it was like I couldn't breathe—I was feeling my bro's pain. I've always been able to feel what he's been feeling since we were boys.
But he's okay now. He's okay—and getting closer and closer to the top. As we speak, he and Gooigi are exploring the 11th floor. And whatever ghosts await him there—he's gonna clear them out.
D—n straight, Peachy. D—n straight.
…
"Why is this next floor called the Twisted Suites?" asked Gooigi.
"I don't know, but I really don't like the name," replied Luigi.
The elevator stopped, and the doors slid open. Together, Gooigi and Luigi stepped onto the next floor, which was decorated with velvet curtains and magicians' memorabilia.
"A—magic show-themed floor," breathed Luigi. "That's interesting."
Playful giggling filled the air as three young ghost triplets materialized in front of them. They were purple-hued, had blond hair and were dressed in top hats and magician's attire, replete with white gloves.
"Why, hello, there!" greeted the leftmost triplet. "I'm Nikki!"
"I'm Lindsey," said the triplet in the middle.
"And I'm Ginny," said the one on the right.
"We're magicians!" the trio chorused.
"Uh—hi, Nikki, Lindsey and Ginny," said Luigi. "My name's Luigi, and this is my gooey bro, Gooigi."
"Hello," Gooigi said with a wave.
"Do you like magic, Luigi?" Nikki asked enigmatically.
"Well—yeah," Luigi replied.
"Awesome!" the triplets cheered.
"Everybody likes magic," cooed Lindsey. She fanned out a deck of cards and held it out to Luigi. "Pick a card. Any card."
Luigi picked the first card he saw, and Gooigi did the same. Then, Lindsey shuffled the cards before holding them back out.
"Do you see your cards anywhere?" she asked.
"I—no!" gasped Luigi as he looked at the deck. "They're gone!"
"Are they?" asked Lindsey, reaching under Luigi's cap and pulling out the two cards.
"Whoa! How did you do that?" asked Gooigi.
"Lots of practice," replied Lindsey. "Hey, do you know what people also like? Flowers." She pulled a flower bouquet out of her sleeve and handed it to Luigi. "Here, those are for you."
"Thanks," said Luigi, tucking the bouquet into his pocket.
"And do you know what else people like?" Ginny chimed in. "Elevator buttons."
As she spoke, the next elevator button appeared in her palm.
"But this little guy has the aggravating habit of—vanishing." Ginny closed her fist and then opened it, the elevator button nowhere to be seen. "Vanishing—into thin air."
"Only to show up someplace else," Nikki sang out, holding up the elevator button. "Can you keep up, Luigi? Can you keep up?"
"Ooh—I know something better than elevator buttons," said Lindsey.
"What's that?" asked Nikki.
"Money," said Lindsey, a gold coin materializing between her fingers. "The almighty dollar." She waved the coin in front of Luigi's and Gooigi's eyes. "But money—can sometimes—disappear." She spread her hands, revealing that the coin had mysteriously vanished. "At least…" She reached toward Luigi's ear. "…that's what we—hear." She seemingly pulled the coin out from behind Luigi's earlobe.
Luigi was awestruck. "You guys are pretty good at this!" he gasped.
"The public agrees," said Nikki. "We've been hailed as the best young magicians across the globe!"
"What you just saw was only the appetizer," Ginny chimed in.
"We have a long ways to go before we get to the finale," said Lindsey.
"Enjoy the show, Luigi!" the triplets chirped in unison before flying off.
"Okay," said Luigi, "since this floor is magic-themed, we're probably gonna wind up dealing with illusions of some sort. We'd better keep our Dark Light Devices handy."
The two ghost hunters went into a bedroom, which had a wheel for a knife-throwing act pinned to a wall and a cardboard box and some saws for a "saw someone in half" act. Spinning the wheel caused some nearby knives to levitate off the ground and imbed themselves into the wheel, yielding a gem. Alternating between the vacuum and the exhaust allowed our heroes to move the saw embedded in the cardboard box, causing two Gold Goobs to pop out. Three minutes later, the duo captured the Gold Goobs, collected all of the treasure and explored the bathroom. Interacting with all of the objects there caused an overhead lamp with playing-card suits on it to light up, panel by panel, eventually spitting out a gem and some dollar bills.
Next, they walked down a hallway, where portraits of various ghosts performing magic tricks hung on the walls. Some of these paintings hid safes, which granted them more earnings. Above the pair hung some small cages, where crows cawed or more treasure rested. But at the end of the hall, a wastebasket came to life and attacked! Luigi knocked it over with a Suction Shot, and then he and Gooigi drew out the purple Spirit Balls possessing it.
After that short fight, Gooigi and Luigi walked into another bedroom, where the bed was against the wall, the love seat and the coffee table was against another wall and the ceiling fan was on the floor. This was almost like Sue Pea's room in 2001, where the entire room was upside-down!
"Now I know why this floor is called the Twisted Suites," said Luigi.
He turned and saw the ghostly magician twins enjoying tea at another coffee table, laughing and socializing.
"There he is," Nikki sang out, producing a magic wand. "Care to join us?"
Before Luigi could respond, Nikki waved the wand, lifting him and Gooigi up and placing him on the ceiling.
"Are you upside down?" asked Lindsey. "Or are you right side up?"
"No one knows," said Ginny as the triplets phased through a door.
But before she left, Nikki waved her wand again, dropping Luigi and Gooigi back to the floor.
The two were a bit discombobulated, but they soon reoriented themselves and uncovered a door beneath the bed by flashing a nearby cuckoo clock with their Strobulbs. This door opened into another bathroom, where fish continuously jumped out of a drainage pipe.
While looking around, a treasure chest came to life and ensnared Luigi in its jaws. His surprised cry arrested Gooigi's attention, who immediately ran over and shone his DLD on the chest, causing the purple Spirit Balls to fly out. The now-benign chest released Luigi, and the two opened it to reveal a key.
This key unlocked a door to some sort of showroom, with a few small, round tables, a vending machine and a stage in the middle. Flashing a green panel caused the four glass cases around the showroom to open for a brief period of time, forcing Gooigi and Luigi to move quickly. Once they collected everything in the cases, Luigi got on the stage and took a bow, and then two more Gold Goobs popped out. After defeating the golden ghosts, he peered through a hole in the wall and saw a key resting in a cage.
"Gooigi," he said. "Take a look at this!"
Gooigi padded on the stage and joined Luigi in gazing through the hole. "Is that backstage?" he asked.
"It's a—bedroom," Luigi replied. "We need to find a way over there."
They pulled down a vending machine with their Suction Shots to reveal a door, which opened into a bathroom. It was unlike any other bathroom, with a water tank wrapped in chains for an escape artist act standing in for a shower. There was a drainage grate for Gooigi to slip through and explore, and there was a hidden door behind a false wall. To Gooigi's and Luigi's joy, this door opened into the room with the key.
It was a very spacious room, with metal rings hanging from the walls—even a mini-fridge. Spinning the rings granted the two treasure, but what they were really interested in was the key. Fortunately for them, the cage door was open, allowing them to just reach inside and take it.
They should've realized that there was a catch.
As Luigi stuck his hand inside, he saw the purple Spirit Balls fly up and surround the key. Anticipating the key's transformation into some sort of monster, Luigi pulled his hand back. But then the Spirit Balls subverted his and Gooigi's expectations by turning into a cute, golden bunny rabbit that attempted to hop away from them.
Gooigi and Luigi chased the golden bunny around the room, the former eventually trapping it in the vacuum's suction while the latter shone the DLD on it, drawing out and sucking up the purple Spirit Balls.
"Bunny rabbit—of course," said Luigi as he and Gooigi left the room. "Magicians pull bunny rabbits out of their hats. Whoa—this is good."
They explored a laundry room with ribbons for an aerialist act, and then they used the key to unlock the door to another spacious bedroom. In this room, the bed appeared to be hovering a few feet off the ground.
"Now I've seen everything," said Gooigi.
The pair set about exploring, and Gooigi started slightly when he saw Luigi seemingly disappear behind the bed.
"Wait a minute!" he cried when he retreated two paces and saw himself staring back at him. "That's a magic mirror! The bed's on top of some magic mirror!" Giggling, Gooigi waved at his own reflection.
"There's a door behind me," Gooigi went on. "Let's see where it takes us."
"All right," said Luigi.
They walked through the door—and then a giant top hat dropped down on Luigi! As Gooigi chased after him, trying to get the hat off, Luigi ran blindly for a short distance before using Burst to shake the hat off of him. A glowing, purple spiral staircase emerged, leading to a treasure chest containing yet another gem.
"They should've called this the Weird Suites," opined Luigi.
After subduing another possessed wastebasket, the duo proceeded to a room with a wooden floor, some tape arranged in an octagonal shape around it. They were able to explore that room without incident, but when they walked into the adjoining room, three levitating top hats waited for them.
Luigi stood protectively in front of Gooigi. "It's them," he warned.
As if on cue, the magician triplets materialized, all three holding magic wands.
"Hey, Luigi!" greeted Nikki. "How's it going?"
"Wanna see another magic trick?" asked Lindsey.
"Do I have a choice?" asked Luigi.
"Not really," smiled Ginny.
"Okeydokey then," said Luigi. "Show me what you got!"
Nikki tapped her top hat with her wand, producing a stuffed toy rabbit. Lindsey tapped hers and produced three cue balls. And Ginny tapped hers to reveal—Luigi's cap!
"What the..?!" balked Luigi, patting the crown of his now hatless head.
"Ew! How often do you wash this thing?" asked Nikki.
"I just washed it yesterday," said Luigi. "Besides, my current situation has me sweating a lot. Look, can I just have it back, please?"
The triplets exchanged a mischievous look.
"I have a better idea," said Ginny.
Nikki and Lindsey flew over with a curtain used for those clothes-changing tricks, which they draped over Luigi. They wiggled it around a few times, tapped it with their wands and then lifted the curtain.
"Ta-da!" the two sang out.
Luigi was now sharply dressed in a suit and bow tie, though his Poltergust was luckily still intact.
"That's a much better look, don't you agree?" asked Ginny. "Oh—here's your hat back."
She casually plopped the hat onto Luigi's head before she and her sisters took their leave.
Gooigi looked Luigi over. "Pretty nice," he said, fiddling with Luigi's tie. "A good fit, too."
"I'll give them that," Luigi concurred.
They pushed through the door and found themselves back inside the room with the knife-throwing and person-sawing acts, where some Goobs admired their nattily-dressed opponent before arming themselves with throwing knives and attacking. After loosening his bow tie a bit, Luigi brandished his trusty vacuum and engaged the Goobs, with Gooigi also eagerly partaking in the action. After taking a few swipes and scratches, the duo captured the Goobs and left the room—only to find themselves in the hallway with the spiral staircase on it.
"Those three mixed the rooms up with their magic," realized Luigi. "We're in some sort of maze, and we have to figure our way out!"
More Goobs attacked, throwing large pairs of dice at them. After dodging the dice, Gooigi and Luigi effortlessly captured the Goobs and walked through the door into the lopsided room, where they were beset by Oozers. The Oozers flew all over the room, looking for all sorts of projectiles to throw, laughing as they sent Luigi and Gooigi stumbling and slipping. Fair-sized bruises peppered the former by the time the last Oozer was subdued.
The next room they found themselves in was the bathroom with the water tank, which shattered, sending water sloshing everywhere. Luigi swiftly recalled Gooigi to the Plexiglass tank before facing the Hammer, taking a hefty thrashing before wrestling him into the vacuum.
"Sorry about that," he apologized as he let Gooigi back out. "I couldn't take any chances."
"S'okay," said Gooigi.
"Oh, no!" they heard Ginny's voice exclaim. "The poor guy's soaked! Let's get him out of those wet clothes before he catches a cold!"
The triplets dropped the curtain back over him and waved their wands a few times. When they pulled the curtain away, Luigi was now clad in a green polo shirt and blue jeans.
"Are you more comfortable?" asked Lindsey.
"Yes," said Luigi. "Thanks for asking."
The triplets giggled and flew off.
Now, Luigi and Gooigi were in the showroom, where the curtains on the stage parted to reveal a Slinker and several Goobs. The man in green let out a breath, and the battle began. He and Gooigi took down the Goobs first before working together to defeat the Slinker. Then, they had to face another Slinker in the next room, followed by a Hider which sent a heavy projectile into Luigi's face, and finally a Goob.
"All right!" shouted Luigi when all of the ghosts had been cleared out. "All right—what's next?"
"Come in here," Nikki's voice called from the end of the hall, "and we'll show you!"
Luigi and Gooigi followed Nikki's voice into the room with the wooden floor, where a spotlight shone down on them. The triplets' laughter floated around them as Luigi shielded his eyes against the light's glare.
And then Nikki, Lindsey and Ginny were right in front of him, huge smiles on their faces.
"We hope you're ready for our finale, Luigi!" giggled Lindsey. "For this one, we'll need a brave volunteer. And you'll do just nicely!"
"First, however…" said Ginny as the triplets dropped the clothes-changing curtain over Luigi for the third time. "…let's get you into something a little more comfortable."
Nikki, Lindsey and Ginny spun the curtain around a few times and waved their wands over it before pulling it away with a flourish.
Luigi quirked an eyebrow at them, now clad in a pair of black leggings and his usual socks, boots and cap—and no shirt. "Seriously?" he asked.
The trio began to spin around Luigi, ogling him.
"I see no problem with it," Lindsey said flirtily as they spun faster and faster and faster.
Then, the triplets ducked into their hats, each playfully bumping into Luigi a few times. As he watched, the plain wooden floor transformed into a brilliantly-lit stage in the middle of nowhere, dice and playing cards lazily floating around. His gut did a loop-de-loop as he remembered that nightmarish dimension he was pulled into and—
"Okay," he said, pulling himself out of it. "Okay. Focus. I can do this."
He jumped as the hats appeared in front of him, spinning like tops and shooting playing cards at him. He evaded some of them with well-timed dodges and Bursts, but one or two cards would scratch him. However, they were papercuts at worst. After the playing cards stopped volleying at him, the hats again surrounded him, beginning to close in. But with another Burst, he knocked the hats backward, tipping them upside down and exposing the twins' ponytails.
"Abracadabra," he exhaled.
Luigi ran over to the first downed hat he saw and yanked hard on the ponytail, forcing Nikki out. Then, he stunned Nikki and commenced to slam her against the stage, defeating her in only five slams.
"Presto," he said, giving the vacuum's nozzle a twirl.
"Hey, you idiot!" snapped Ginny. "That's our sister!"
"Yeah, you don't do that to our sis!" Lindsey led the charge.
Luigi raked his tongue across his lips as he watched the remaining triplets, waiting for their next move. "Sorry I have to do this," he said, "but in my defense, you attacked me first."
Lindsey and Ginny exchanged a look and then shrugged, and with a flick of their wands, Nikki's hat appeared, hiding a bomb with a short fuse.
"How fast are your eyes, Luigi?" asked Lindsey before she and Ginny ducked back inside their hats.
"A shell game," breathed Luigi. "This is gonna be fun."
"Don't worry," Gooigi piped up. "I'll be your eyes."
The two watched intently as the three hats shuffled around, slowly at first, and then picking up speed. After about 15 seconds, the hats repeated their attack pattern, first spitting out playing cards, and then encircling Luigi and closing in on him. At the right moment, Luigi activated his Burst function, knocking the hats over. He gazed at Gooigi, and the humanoid pointed to his right.
"You sure?" asked Luigi.
Gooigi nodded.
Warily, Luigi ran over to the hat and yanked on the ponytail, unearthing Lindsey. She pointed her wand at him threateningly, but he just sucked in a breath and stunned her. Like Nikki, Lindsey was easy to capture, her HP depleted in five hard, brisk slams.
Now, only Ginny remained.
"Catch me if you can!" she sang out as she summoned two bombs and dropped her sisters' hats over them.
As the hats shuffled, the lights started flickering on and off. Gooigi swore.
"I don't know if I can keep track with the lights blinking like this," he said. "Looks like we'll have to play this one by ear!"
"Just do the best you can," said Luigi, his eyes still on the hats.
It took three tries for Luigi and Gooigi to finally locate Ginny. Since she had the most HP, she was harder to vacuum, lashing out with her wand and nearly breaking free twice. Still, Luigi kept up the slams until his opponent's HP reached zero.
Ginny clawed at the stage floor for a few moments before accepting that she was beat.
"Thank you for participating!" she said cheerily before she was sucked into the vacuum.
"You're welcome," Luigi replied.
He held tightly to the nozzle as it shuddered, expelling the next elevator button from the vacuum. The minute it clattered to the floor, the room returned to normal, the stage once again a simple wooden floor. Luigi picked up the button, pocketed it, and then swept off his cap and took a bow.
"Great job, Luigi," said Gooigi as they walked out of the room together. "Maybe you could've been a magician yourself in a previous life."
"I don't know about that," said Luigi. "Before we leave, how about we check this floor for any Boos?"
"You read my mind!" said Gooigi, taking Luigi's hand. "As a matter of fact, I think there's one nearby!"
That vibrating pulse started up as Gooigi led Luigi into the room with the magic mirror, increasing as they approached a drawer. With a jiggly hand, Gooigi reached out and opened the drawer, and out popped the Boo!
"Let me guess—Boodini?" asked Luigi.
"No," replied the Boo, looking him over. "I'm Boofuddler. And it looks like you saw through my trick."
"Too bad," said Luigi, capturing the Boo with little hassle.
After that, Gooigi and Luigi returned to the elevator, where the button to the 12th floor fitted itself into place.
"Wanna stop back at the 5th floor and change your clothes?" asked Gooigi.
Luigi shook his head. "I'll do that later," he said. "Something tells me that I need to keep going."
And little did he know, he was right—
Please R&R.