You guys, you guys! I'm next in line! He's on his way up to my floor!
Really? Where are you?
Some sort of seafood restaurant with a pirate theme. I'm currently hanging on the wall of a pirate ship. I was that psycho's "gift" to the ship's captain.
A ghost pirate, huh? Well, that's interesting.
Try a ghost pirate SHARK.
No way. The King gave you to a GHOST PIRATE SHARK?!
He did.
J—s C—st. And I thought I've seen everything.
Let's hope Luigi has his sea legs. He's gonna need them.
…
"But there's gotta be something we can do!" Thad persisted.
"No!" said Gadd, gently but firmly. "You and Brad are safe here. We're guiding Luigi to the top of this hotel from this laboratory, not running off into ghost-infested territory!"
"And we just watch helplessly from the sidelines while these characters do God-knows-what to him?" huffed Brad.
"Do any of you know how to use the Poltergust?" challenged Gadd.
Thad and Brad exchanged a look.
"Okay—then that doesn't leave you much of a choice, now does it?"
Thad sat back, his head in his hands. "I am so sick and tired of being helpless," he groaned. "First, we have Koopa 'visiting' twice a week, and now this. Luigi's risking life and limb for us against an opponent willing to see this world burn if it'll make him king of the ashes, and we can't even lift a finger to assist him. Not to mention the additional years of therapy he'll probably require when all is said and done."
"This sucks," Brad agreed. "I can't believe we fell for the oldest trick in the book. 'Oh look, we just got invited to stay at a new hotel. Nothing wrong with that'."
"It isn't your fault," Gadd said consolingly. "Stop beating yourselves up. Luigi fought his way out twice before, and I know he'll do it again."
"Okay," Thad sighed resignedly. "Okay—where is he now?"
"En route to the 12th floor, a seafood restaurant called The Spectral Catch," said Gadd. He spun over to his console and pressed a few buttons. "Wait a minute. What's this?"
"What's what?" asked Brad.
"I see a big barrier obstructing Luigi's path," said Gadd, "and he probably can't get past it with the tools he has now." He snapped his fingers. "I have just the thing that'll help him!"
"And that is…" prompted Thad.
"A component to the Poltergust G-00 known as—the Super Suction!" Gadd replied. Then, his face fell. "However, I forgot where I put it."
"Typical," said Thad, rolling his eyes. Then, his face lit up. "Well, I'll be d—ned. Maybe we can help, after all!"
…
Luigi, Gooigi and Polterpup stepped out of the elevator and into a nautical-themed room, with barrels, nets and anchors. To their right was the bow of a wooden ship, and portraits of sea life and sunken treasure hung on the walls.
"Hey," said Gooigi, his eyes falling on a menu. "I think we're in some sort of restaurant. A seafood restaurant, to be exact."
"If that's the case," said Luigi, "then the bow of that ship must be the entrance."
He walked over to the bow and peered through a small crack. "Hold on a sec. There's a door!" he cried. "The bow isn't the entrance, Gooigi! The bow is blocking the entrance!"
"Perfect—just perfect," huffed Gooigi. "How are we gonna get the next elevator button now?"
The VB rang.
"Right on time," mused Luigi as he answered it. "Yello?"
"Hi, Luigi," said Gadd. "With that boat in your way, it doesn't look like you can go any further!"
"I think that's kinda obvious," said Luigi.
"What's a boat even doing there, anyway?" muttered Gadd. "However, that's not my top priority at the moment. Could you come back to the lab? Something has happened, and—well, I'll give you the details later."
Luigi's heart skipped a beat.
"Just get back to the lab, okay? I'll be waiting. Hurry!"
"I'm on my way," said Luigi. "See ya in a jiff."
He hung up and raced back to the elevator with Polterpup and Gooigi. Once they stepped inside, Luigi smacked the B1 button, and the elevator started down.
"What's going on?" asked Gooigi. "Is the Professor okay?"
"We're gonna find out," said Luigi.
They reached the basement, filed out of the elevator and headed straightaway to Gadd's lab.
Gadd swiveled around when he heard Luigi approach. "L! I've been waiting for you," he said.
"What's this about?" asked Luigi. "Did a ghost try to force their way inside?"
"No, thank God," said Gadd. Then, he started. "What's with the getup? Was it the work of those three magician sisters? Here, let me get you something to put on…"
"No, I'm fine, thank you," said Luigi. "Please, tell me what's happening." He looked around, and that's when he saw that Brad was the only Toad present. "Wh—where did Thad go?"
"That's what I was about to tell you," said Gadd. "You see—I was thinking about modifying your Poltergust G-00. You know, powering it up. And Thad wanted to help."
"He shouldn't be wandering around this hotel," said Luigi. "He should be waiting it out, with you!"
"The part I needed for the modification was somewhere in this Godforsaken place," Gadd continued, "and Thad volunteered to look for it. I tried to stop him, truly, I did. I told him that it was near-suicide, but—I guess he wanted to help you after you helped him."
"That's understandable," said Luigi. "Any idea where he is?"
"I'm not entirely stupid, so I gave Thad a camera so I could keep track of him," Gadd told him, "and—well—you've just got to see this."
He pressed a button on his console, and one of the monitors came to life, playing the camera footage.
It was a first-person view of the Boilerworks, everything seeming taller due to Thad's small stature. The audience heard his squeaky footsteps as he tottered across the room, whistling a tune. Occasionally, the camera panned down toward a mysterious object in his hand. Thad paused his whistling to laugh to himself, and then he continued toward a door. But just as he reached it, a Slinker rose from the ground in front of him, chuckling darkly, and made a grab for him!
Screaming, Thad jumped back, turned and ran, tripping and losing the mysterious object in the process. The Slinker floated over to the object, picked it up, and studied it before glancing back at Thad, licking their lips lasciviously. With another yelp, Thad fled toward a door and into a room filled with crates, scurrying his way to the topmost crate. The camera slipped off of him and crashed to the floor, followed by several more crates.
And then the image went to static.
"Holy mother of God!" Luigi exclaimed. "I gotta go in after him!"
"The footage you just saw will give you clues to help track him down," said Gadd, "but above all else, you simply must bring me the part Thad was holding!"
"Above all else?" repeated Luigi.
"My invention is at stake," said Gadd. "You obviously agree that this is a mission of the utmost importance, right?"
He chuckled as Luigi gave him a piercing look.
"We're counting on you, Luigi," Brad chimed in. "Please, bring Thad back safely."
"You can count on me," said Luigi.
After purchasing a chocolate bar from the shop, Luigi and his two companions took the elevator to B2, the former eating half of his chocolate bar along the way.
He emerged from the elevator and into the Boilerworks with his Poltergust leveled and his senses on high alert. Right off the bat, Goobs and Oozers popped out of hiding and went on the attack, swinging wrenches at him and throwing any projectile within reach at him, respectively. Luigi stunned the first ghosts he saw, the sounds of his exerted grunts and breathing echoing throughout the room as he slammed his opponents around with all his might, Gooigi helping in any way he could. Eventually, Luigi defeated them all, walking into the large room that Clem had flooded earlier.
"The Slinker chased Thad here," mused Luigi, "and here is also where Thad dropped the part the Professor was talking about. And then, he must've fled into one of these small rooms." He spun toward a door behind him. "I remember this room—there were some crates stacked against the wall. And—the footage showed Thad hiding in a crate-filled room."
"We'd better take a look," said Gooigi.
They walked inside, where they heard muffled thumping and whimpering from behind a steel wall.
"I think that's him," said Gooigi, slipping through one of the green pipes along the wall.
Luigi heard Gooigi use Burst to knock something away, and then…
"I found him!" Gooigi exclaimed. "He looks okay—just a little rattled. I'm gonna use my vacuum to shoot him over the wall!"
"Okay," said Luigi.
Seconds later, Thad sailed over the steel barrier and into Luigi's waiting arms.
"Hey there, L!" greeted Thad as the two hugged.
"Hey, Thad," replied Luigi, gently setting the Toad down.
Then, his face became serious, and he knelt down so that he was at eye-level with Thad.
"What in the Inferno were you doing?" he asked. "You're supposed to stay in the Lab. It's the safest place at the moment."
"I was only trying to help!" said Thad. "We saw the barrier blocking access to the Spectral Catch, and the Professor said that he could modify that vacuum of yours so you can get rid of it! And Brad and I were just—sitting there and watching you take all of this abuse from these ghosts, and we just couldn't take it!"
Luigi's face softened, and he took Thad's hands in his. "Thank you for trying to help," he said, "but I can't risk you getting hurt. Not after…" He pulled Thad into another hug. "I'm gonna get you back to safety, okay? But you have to do something for me. First, you have to stay with me at all times. Second, you have to follow my instructions at all times. Are we clear?"
"Crystal."
"Okeydokey," smiled Luigi, giving Thad the other half of his chocolate bar. "Let's get out of here."
He stood back up and took Thad's hand. Then, he heard Gadd's voice.
"Great—you found Thad," said Gadd. "Now it's time for the main event! Try to find the part I asked you for! You saw it in the footage, remember?"
"Yeah," said Luigi.
"Good luck," said Gadd before hanging up.
"I was carrying it back to the lab, but then that ghost startled me," said Thad. "Worse yet, I tripped, and it flew out of my hands and…"
"I saw the camera footage," Luigi said comfortingly. "Don't worry, Thad. We'll find it."
They walked back into the large room, and then Thad pointed.
"There it is!" he exclaimed. "The part Professor Gadd was talking about! I didn't think it would be up there!"
The part in question rested atop a small shelf. It was shaped like a snail's shell and surrounded by a golden hue.
"That catwalk in the middle—it rotates, right?" asked Thad.
"Right," said Gooigi.
"Well, one of you can use that fan over there to rotate the catwalk to the three-o-clock position," said Thad, "and the other can launch me onto that shelf, so I can grab that part!"
"We're on it," said Luigi.
Gooigi spun the catwalk to the orientation Thad mentioned, and then Luigi led Thad to the shelf, stuck him onto the vacuum and launched him at the mysterious part.
Thad grabbed the part in his arms before jumping back down, Luigi breaking his fall.
"Here you go," said Thad as he relinquished the part.
"Thanks," said Luigi as he took the object.
"Awesome," said Gadd's voice. "That's the part I wanted you to find. Good going!"
"What does it do?" asked Luigi.
"I'll explain in due time," said Gadd. "Right now, you should head back to the Lab, so we can power up the Poltergust."
"Okeydokey," said Luigi. "Bye-bye."
He hung up and turned to Thad. "Shall we?" he asked.
Gooigi spun the catwalk back around, and they walked toward the door. But when they tried to push it open—it barely budged.
"Oh, no! The way out is blocked!" exclaimed Thad.
"Then we'll find another way," said Luigi. "C'mon."
He hoisted Thad onto his back and climbed up a ladder to another door, which led to the control room he'd explored earlier.
"Say—have you been to this area before?" asked Thad.
"I have," replied Luigi, "and trust me, it was much worse. A mechanic ghost flooded the place, and if it weren't for Polterpup…" He trailed off. "I spent half of the time on a pool floatie, trying to use my vacuum to navigate the floodwaters. It may sound fun—but it wasn't."
"I'll take your word for it," said Thad.
They walked down a few more ladders into the bowels of the Boilerworks, and then—
"Luigi! Behind you!" shouted Thad.
Luigi whirled, pushed Thad behind him and faced the Slinker that had accosted them. He wet his lips and stunned the ghost before vacuuming them up, slamming them into the floor as the Toad shouted encouragement.
Thad whooped once the Slinker was defeated. "Yeah! Not so tough now, are you?" he crowed.
"Don't make them mad," cautioned Luigi.
"Oh. Right," said Thad. "Sorry."
They continued walking through the Boilerworks, Luigi eventually pulling out his phone and choosing yet another 80s playlist to brighten the mood. But as always, Luigi kept one ear open, as he could hear ghostly laughter from time to time.
Thad shuddered. "I think that's the ghost that chased me down," he said. "They were purple, and they had long arms."
"I know just the ghost you're talking about," said Luigi. "They're called Slinkers."
"Slinkers," said Thad. "Got it. Hey—see that anchor over there? Launch me into it."
Luigi obliged, and the anchor fell down, taking some bricks in the wall along with it and creating a large hole. In the next breath, Mini Goobs began surging out of the hole, as well as from a smaller hole behind them.
"Thad—stay calm and get behind me," said Luigi, and Thad obeyed without a questioning word.
Gooigi moved to Thad's other side, and he and Luigi worked quickly and quietly, stunning and sucking up groups of Mini Goobs. The tiny ghosts kept coming in seemingly endless waves, swarming them and enthusiastically tickling Luigi and Gooigi in an effort to get to Thad. But that only made the two double their efforts to defend him. In response, the Mini Goobs dive-bombed their bare upper bodies, latching onto their stomachs for even more tickling fun. The pair was sent into uncontrollable laughter, but they were still able to prevent the Mini Goobs from approaching Thad, capturing them all through teary eyes and breathy gasps.
"Are you guys all right?" Thad asked when Gooigi and Luigi were finished.
"Never better," said Luigi. "The Mini Goobs like tickling people, is all."
"Then I owe you a 'thank you'," said Thad. "I'm super-ticklish."
The group collected themselves and continued on their way, the sounds of ghostly chuckling becoming more frequent. Thad now walked between Luigi and Gooigi, three abreast, each of them holding one of his hands, as Polterpup trotted vigilantly behind the Toad.
After they passed through another gate, Thad pointed excitedly. "This way!" he cried. "If we go this way, then the exit should be through here!"
Energetically, he led Luigi and the others toward a small archway. However, Luigi wasn't about to let Thad take point, walking beside him with his Poltergust out.
There was a creaking sound, and then a glowing purple gate slammed down over the archway. Thad screamed loudly, and Luigi spun around to see him being held around the waist by a Slinker, raising him aloft.
"Luigi, help!" yelled Thad.
Luigi didn't waste a second, using Burst to jar Thad out of the Slinker's grip. As Gooigi and Polterpup hastened Thad to safety, the green-capped man stunned the Slinker and heaved them against the floor, not stopping until the ghost was soundly defeated.
"Way too close!" gasped Thad.
"Did they hurt you?" asked Luigi.
"No, L—I'm fine," said Thad.
Luigi let out a breath, and he and the others walked through the archway into a small corridor.
"Look!" cried Thad when they reached the end of the corridor. "It's some sort of door. But it looks like it doesn't have a handle…"
Gooigi saw a green panel against the wall and flashed it with the Strobulb. It didn't open the door, but it caused several steel flaps above them to drop down, leaving behind areas big enough for Thad to explore. And in one such area, Thad found the door handle, which was wheel-shaped.
"Allow me," said Thad as he screwed the handle into place.
"Thanks, Thad," said Luigi, spinning the wheel with the vacuum until the door unlocked.
With a grunt, he pulled the heavy door open, and he, Thad, Gooigi and Polterpup walked into a room with a partially destroyed catwalk and paint cans strewn everywhere.
"There it is!" Thad sang out, pointing to a door with a sign of a running person on it. "The exit!"
"This catwalk is similar to the one we came across earlier," said Gooigi. "That means there must be a fan or a wheel to control it somewhere."
They all climbed down the ladder and broke through a brick wall, and then Thad hit a few switches to reveal the fan.
"Okay, you know the drill," said Thad.
He and Luigi shimmied back up the ladder to stand in the middle of the catwalk, and Gooigi blew on the fan to rotate it.
"Let's go," said Luigi, and they walked through the door to a sewage area, where they heard a Hammer above them, snoring. "Quickly, now."
He recalled Gooigi to the Plexiglass tank, slung Thad onto his hip and waded across the water to another door, which opened into a dusty area beneath the floor.
"There's a ladder up ahead," said Thad. "Climb up that, and we'll be home free!"
After shifting Thad onto his back, Luigi quickly ascended the ladder and found himself back at the elevator.
"Oh, yeah! Made it!" he cheered. "First, however…"
Luigi made a quick stop to vacuum up the Hammer that had inconvenienced them, and then he rejoined Thad in front of the elevator, letting Gooigi back out of his tank.
"Thanks for helping me—again," said Thad.
"No problem," said Luigi as he smacked the elevator's call button. "Now, all that remains is to take this mysterious part to the Professor and find out what it does."
The dial above the elevator swung wildly, and there was a heavy thump that startled Luigi off his feet. Slowly, the elevator doors slid open, and two Slinkers emerged with Thad in their sights!
"Oh, no you don't," snapped Luigi, standing protectively in front of Thad and charging the Strobulb. "You're not getting your hands on him again!"
He released the Strobulb flash and began slamming the Slinkers about, simultaneously keeping Thad safe from their grabbing arms. Gooigi also stood as a gooey shield in front of the Toad, arms stretched out to the side, using himself as a distraction whenever one Slinker drew too close. After a brief but exciting scrap, the Slinkers were captured, and everyone stepped into the elevator.
Luigi pressed the B1 button and wiped his brow.
Thad gazed over at his protector. "You must be cold," he said.
"Not really," said Luigi. "I have a lot of ghosts to fight, and that keeps my blood pumping. I mean, initially, I was caught unawares, and I had no time to dress properly. It wasn't until Gooigi joined the affair that I was able to slip into my normal clothes. Then, on the 10th floor, it started getting a little warm, so I ditched the shirt. And then three magician ghosts pulled the old 'clothes changing' trick on me, so…" He indicated the black leggings. "I'm gonna be walking around in this for a while. Yes, I could stop by my room and change, but should I, when three of my friends are still unaccounted for?"
They got out of the elevator and strode down the hallway toward Gadd's lab. And it was there that one final Slinker, joined by some Mini Goobs, endeavored to sneak up on them and make off with Thad.
The Slinker was fast.
Luigi was faster.
Planting his body in front of Thad, he wheeled about and stood in a balanced stance, both hands firmly on his vacuum as he stunned the Slinker. As the Mini Goobs moved in, he easily defeated them by repeatedly slamming the Slinker into their midst. He continued with these heavy slams until the Slinker was also defeated.
Sweating and breathing heavily, Luigi turned to Thad.
"Okeydokey," he said. "Let's go see the Professor."
…
"Ah!" Gadd exclaimed when Thad and Luigi strode into the Lab. "Thanks for bringing back the part!"
"You're welcome," said Luigi, turning the part over to Gadd.
The Professor then faced Thad. "Thank God you're okay," he said.
"Sorry I messed everything up," said Thad.
"You didn't mess up anything," Gadd assured him. "The part is still intact."
He removed something small from the part before tossing the rest aside. "I'll need the Poltergust, too, of course," he said.
Luigi slid off the Poltergust and handed it to Gadd, watching as his mentor fiddled with it.
"And—done!" laughed Gadd as he gave the Poltergust back. "The modifications are complete!"
Luigi took his trusty vacuum and slid it back on. "I don't see any difference," he said.
"You will," Gadd assured him. "This modification is known as—Super Suction! It has increased the suction power exponentially! Unfortunately, you have to plug the vacuum into a special electrical socket in order to use Super Suction—a minor inconvenience that you can surely handle!"
"Where can I find these sockets?" asked Luigi.
"You'll find them all over this hotel," Gadd replied. "Be sure to try out your new feature as soon as you find one!"
"Great!" cried Luigi. "Maybe this Super Suction will help me get rid of that boat blocking access to the restaurant on the 12th floor!"
"The Spectral Catch?" demurred Gadd. "No doubt, it will! Just be sure to look for one of those sockets!"
Before heading back out, Luigi emptied the Poltergust and checked on the boss ghosts he'd captured. "Is everyone still doing okay?" he asked.
He was met with murmurs of assent.
"We hope you work things out," Ginny said quietly.
"Me, too," said Luigi, and then he walked out of the Lab.
…
"Hey," said Gooigi as he, Luigi and Polterpup walked toward the elevator. "Wasn't there a socket-like thing on the 4th floor?"
"Yeah—there was," said Luigi. "Let's head over there first."
So, they took the elevator to the Great Stage, and from there, they walked over to the auditorium, battling a few ghosts along the way. Up on the auditorium's stage was the electrical socket they'd discovered during their first visit. Slowly, Luigi approached it, only to jump and shield his eyes when the device gave a bright flash.
A current snaked out of the socket and attached itself to the Poltergust, sending a euphoric thrum down his nerves. "Whoooaaaa!" he exclaimed as he felt his vacuum surge with power.
When he pressed the vacuum's trigger, a powerful vortex emitted from its nozzle, a vortex strong enough to rip through the wall behind him. He clutched his vacuum as tightly as he could, balanced himself on his heels and enjoyed the ride, laughing heartily as the Super Suction finished chewing through the wall like it was warm bread.
Behind that wall was a ghostly orchestra comprised of Goobs. His thumb moved toward the Strobulb, but thanks to the Super Suction, he could easily vacuum up the Goobs without stunning them first. They didn't even stand a chance.
A gleeful whoop tore itself out of Luigi's lungs as he tore through the ghostly orchestra and everything else in his way with his brand-new Super Suction. Finally, the socket powered down with a little whirr, and he stood there, chest heaving, staring at his vacuum in awe.
"Oh, my God!" he said shakily. "That—I—that—that was f—ing awesome!" He whirled toward Gooigi. "Did you see that?! Holy [bleep]! That felt amazing!"
He caught his breath and spotted another one of those TV teleporters, which he activated with the Strobulb. The teleporter took him to one of the auditorium's balcony seats, where he picked up a gem.
"We gotta look for more of these sockets," said Luigi as he, Gooigi and Polterpup left the auditorium.
The three of them didn't find a lot of those sockets, however, but before resuming his adventure, Luigi decided to stop at Paranormal Productions to check on Morty.
The ghostly director gawked at Luigi for a few seconds, drinking in that muscular upper body. "What happened to you?" he asked. "Do you ever have a normal day?"
"Not really," Luigi replied. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."
"I'm doing okay. And you?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. I fought a bone monster, a caveman ghost, a pharaoh queen ghost, three magician ghosts—and now I'm about to explore a seafood restaurant called The Spectral Catch."
"Wow—uh…" With a start, Morty realized that he was beginning to drool over Luigi's physique, swiftly composing himself and looking his guest in the eye. "Are you sure you don't need anything? Water, coffee, something to eat—some salve for those bruises, some ice?"
"No, but thank you for offering," smiled Luigi. "Oh, Morty—you're the only ghost I've encountered so far who hasn't tried to hurt me."
"I have no reason to try and hurt you," Morty said softly. "Here—I want you to have this." He pressed an autographed photo of himself into Luigi's hand. "It's a souvenir."
"Thank you, Morty," said Luigi. "Stay safe, okay?"
"Okay," said Morty.
Luigi flashed Morty another smile and left. The ghostly director's gaze lingered on the ghost-hunter's backside as he determinedly strode away.
Please R&R.