Whoa! Luigi has the Super Suction now?! Now that he can vacuum up everything in his path, he'd practically unstoppable! King Boo and Hellen had better beware!
That's right! And now he can do away with that ship's hull blocking that restaurant, get inside and save you from that ghost pirate shark!
Eh—he's not too bad. He's spent some time telling me stories about his adventures and teaching me old sea shanties. But he's still starting to weird me out. Speaking of which, where are you two?
In Hellen's penthouse. You should see her, pitching a fit as Luigi keeps cutting through every boss ghost in his way. Apparently, she's late to the party—no ghost can ever trump a brother's loyalty!
You got that right! Oooh—I can't wait to watch Luigi knock this rhymes-with-witch off her paranormal high-horse!
In due time, Peachy. In due time.
…
Back on the 12th floor, Luigi purposefully strode towards the ship's hull, Polterpup at his side and Gooigi bringing up the rear. He quickly spotted a socket similar to the one in the Great Stage's auditorium against a nearby wall and walked straight up to it. There was that blinding flash, and then that electrical current snaked out and attached itself to the Poltergust, the vacuum purring with energy as euphoric sparks sizzled down Luigi's veins.
Luigi threw back his head and shouted as he let the Super Suction rip, tearing away at the obstacle before him. In seconds, the ship was obliterated, revealing the porthole-shaped entrance to the restaurant. The socket powered down, and Luigi laughed softly as he and his companions stepped inside the Spectral Catch.
"Are you having fun with that?" asked Gooigi.
"You'd better believe it," replied Luigi.
They took a moment to contemplate the scene before them. The Spectral Catch definitely had a pirate theme, as it was built to resemble a secret cave where the swashbuckling scourges of maritime history would stash their plunder. Barrels stood in for tables, stools stood in for chairs, they could see a treasure chest or two, and a couple of waterfalls cascaded down, permeating the restaurant with the smell of the sea.
"Wow," breathed Luigi.
"Way cool," Gooigi joined in.
In the center of the room was a large, round table with several chairs—and the opposite wall was shaped like a giant skull, a pirate ship visible through one of its eyes. And no references to piracy would be complete without the Jolly Roger! The skull-and-crossbones motif was all over the restaurant, from hidden flags to the gems Luigi and Gooigi began to uncover. If it weren't for the fact that there were ghosts hiding about, and that the entire place was a trap, then Luigi would've paid a fair amount of money to eat here!
As they further explored the area, Luigi and Gooigi saw the skeleton's jaws slowly and ominously slide open, revealing another door.
"This looks like the bar area," said Luigi, "so I'm guessing the actual restaurant is through that door."
Gooigi nodded, and the pair cautiously pushed open the door—and stared in amazement.
They were now in a beach-like area, complete with sand, palm trees and a wooden dock with a bell. Large, gray rocks were scattered near the shoreline, catching the moon's beams. Further ahead of them was a dark ocean, small waves moving calmly along the wrinkled surface. And on the horizon floated a ship with white sails.
"This place is really outdoing itself," mused Luigi.
The DLD unveiled some wooden walkways, which they crossed to explore small islands, where they found more skull-and-crossbones-shaped gems along with the obligatory buried treasure.
"I wonder if they do something special for kids' parties," opined Gooigi. "Like—organize treasure hunts or something?"
"Treasure hunts, scavenger hunts, live shows," Luigi mused. "Yeah, I suppose they could do something like that."
Their music on low, they resumed exploring the beach area and the islands, collecting as much treasure as they could. When they were finished, they walked onto the dock and approached the bell.
"Let's see what happens when we ring this," said Gooigi.
"Okeydokey," Luigi said warily, yanking on the cord next to the bell.
And as the bell tolled, the duo watched as the ship disappeared into a sepulchral fog—and then began sailing toward them. Now, they could glimpse the Jolly Roger flying proudly on the ship's mast, as well as the mermaid displayed on the ship's prow. Silently, the ship sailed into the port and dropped anchor, splashing Luigi with seawater and causing Gooigi to melt. The gooey ghost hunter soon regenerated in the Plexiglass tank, and once the area was dry enough, Luigi let him back out.
Once the ship came to a complete stop, she lowered her ramp, as if inviting Luigi and Gooigi aboard. Exchanging a nod, the two carefully boarded the ship, their legs taking a few minutes to acclimate to the ship's swaying motion. Several crates with candles atop them were on the main deck. And on the upper deck—was Chad, still sealed in his portrait prison!
Thank Heaven you've come, Luigi! I cannot listen to ghost stories or sea shanties anymore!
Luigi giggled—a pleasing sound to Chad's ears.
"Ahoy there, Chad!" he called. "I'm gonna get you to safety, all right?"
Safety? Where's that?
"Professor Gadd's here, and he has a lab set up in the basement. It's the perfect place to wait out the danger."
What about the others?
"I've already rescued Thad and Brad, and they're waiting for you."
Peach and Mario—you'll get them, too, right?
"Right. But first, I'm gonna find my way up there and get you out of that painting."
Hold that thought for a sec, Luigi. We've got company…
Luigi, too, sensed that he was no longer alone, and he turned to see a shark fin gliding ominously toward the ship. But this was no ordinary shark fin. There was a golden hoop earring attached to it, and it was illuminated by a pink glow. Luigi's grip tightened on the Poltergust. His best bet was that a ghost was possessing that shark, which meant that he had an intense battle ahead of him.
As it turned out, Luigi was correct for the wrong reasons.
He let out a small yelp as the shark leaped out of the water. This shark wore an eyepatch over one eye, and the other eye was blood-red. One fin was missing, and in its place was a sharp-looking hook. Luigi instantly thought of infamous pirate captains, like Long John Silver and Captain Hook. This shark had almost all of the pirate captain regalia—all that was missing was the talking parrot.
The shark flopped onto the deck and somehow stood up on their tail, grinning at Luigi before lifting up their eyepatch to reveal the next elevator button. And then they spoke.
"Belay there!" they said. "Have you come to Parlay with Captain Fishhook? Then state your business!"
Luigi opened his mouth to speak, only for Fishhook's good eye to drift toward Chad.
"Ah," they said with a laugh. "You want to steal my booty, don't you? Well, I'd like to see you try!"
Captain Fishhook phased into the ship's main deck, where a square-shaped face with a glowing mouth grinned up at Luigi. Seconds later, four Oozers arrived on the scene, armed with barrels. One after the other, they tossed these barrels at Luigi, who dodged about while also avoiding the wooden face with the glowing mouth. These weren't any old barrels, either—they were kegs of gunpowder, which the Oozers had made sure to set alight before chucking them at their target! The yellow-hued ghosts laughed as the powder kegs exploded mere inches from Luigi, flinging him all over the deck.
Wiping his brow, Luigi turned to Gooigi. "I'm gonna have to ask you to scoot, okay? This is shaping to be an explosive situation."
Reluctantly, Gooigi retreated into the Plexiglass tank as Luigi once again faced Captain Fishhook and their Oozer helpers. Snagging one powder keg, he aimed at the face shifting along the deck floor and fired. The keg exploded, stunning the face, and then Luigi grabbed another powder keg and moved in close, waiting for the glowing mouth to open. When it did, he sent the powder keg directly into the face's jaws, causing another detonation to rip through it. He followed up with a third powder keg, forcing Captain Fishhook out of the ship, where they reeled in the air for a second or two before going back on the assault.
True to their name, Captain Fishhook weaponized their hook fin, slashing it at Luigi as if it were a sword. But Luigi used the main deck's open space to his advantage, dodging and leaping and searching for an opening. That infernal fishhook drew blood and almost blinded him, but it was worth it, as he was finally able to stun the swashbuckling ghostly shark. Without a word of prelude, Luigi briskly slammed Captain Fishhook against the deck of what was presumably their own ship, in a rhythm closely matching a lively sailor's hornpipe.
Luigi heard Chad singing a made-up sea shanty of his own, extolling his soon-to-be rescuer's good looks, good heart and skill with a Poltergust. Although he took the shanty's lyrics to heart, his focus on defeating Captain Fishhook didn't waver for a second. He knew that pirates didn't give up their loot easily, and a ghostly pirate shark was no exception to the rule.
With an amused guffaw, Captain Fishhook broke free of the suction.
"A little fight in you," they said. "I like that. May our battle be preserved in the pages of maritime history!"
"Hear, hear," said Luigi, readying the Poltergust.
Laughing, Captain Fishhook dove back into their ship, and the Oozers resumed throwing powder kegs at Luigi.
Once again, Luigi used those powder kegs against his opponent, firing them off in quick succession into the wooden face's glowing mouth. Even when some of the powder kegs managed to hit him, or when the shock waves from detonating powder kegs knocked him off-balance, he stayed fully in the fight, listening hard to Chad's singular song. He hearkened back to the icy face in the Secret Mine six years ago, where he gave pursuit in a bomb-launching sled and had to time his shots so that the sled wouldn't overheat and the icy face wouldn't swallow him whole. It was an encounter that had thrown his adrenal glands wide open, and the same thing was happening here.
It took a little while, but eventually, Captain Fishhook was forced back out of their ship, their hook fin glinting menacingly. The hook lashed out again and again, managing to cut along Luigi's shoulders, upper thighs and the sides of his body. However, he breathed through the stinging and the pain and kept going, managing to catch the ghost pirate shark off-guard with a Strobulb flash and initiate another round of frenetic slamming.
Shiver me timbers, Luigi! You almost got him! Chad trilled.
But of course, Captain Fishhook had one final trick up their nonexistent sleeve. Instead of phasing into the main deck, they phased into the balcony elevating the upper deck, which sprouted two eyes and a colossal mouth with rows of dangerously sharp teeth. The giant face then roared mightily, sending Luigi scrambling for a safe spot!
Violently, the ship bucked to and fro, seawater splashing and spraying over her railing and onto Luigi. The huge mouth inhaled, trying to suck Luigi inside, but to no avail. Noticing a small plank of wood with a red bullseye on it, Luigi fired a Suction Shot onto it, grabbed it into his vacuum and held on for dear life as the entire ship plunged forward, the stern rising almost completely vertical. He just stared up at the night sky, feeling the balmy air on his skin, keeping his breaths carefully controlled until the ship righted herself.
Now, the Oozers were lined up in front of him, tossing their powder kegs in sync as if they were a firing squad. Luigi caught the first powder keg he saw, ran forward and launched it into that gaping maw. As more explosions raged around him, he sent powder keg after powder keg at that giant face, his breath now kicking against his throat, Chad's spirited sea shanty the only thing preventing him from turning back. That sea shanty was to a large can of spinach as Luigi was to Popeye the Sailor Man.
Again, the ship pitched forward, Luigi grabbing back onto the plunger attached to the bullseye to keep himself from falling into those jaws. When the ship righted herself, the Oozers resumed rolling the powder kegs at him, which he continued to launch at the snarling face. This maddening cycle repeated several more times, and by the time Luigi finally forced Captain Fishhook back out, his ears were ringing, his legs were almost cooked noodles and he was covered in sweat, seawater, soot and mild burns.
The fishy pirate captain could care less, though, introducing another attack in which they chomped on the main deck, trying to ram into his opponent, following up with their trusty hook slash. Luigi easily evaded the ramming attack, but he still wound up taking hits from the fish hook. His upper body was liberally slashed up before he finally stunned his opponent and slammed them against the main deck, still maintaining that hornpipe-like pace despite the wounds he'd sustained.
His blue eyes shone as he slammed Captain Fishhook into the deck for the final time.
"I don't understand," gasped the ghostly pirate shark. "What interest is my booty to you? Why fight me so fiercely for it?"
Luigi held his vacuum's nozzle like a fishing rod, rapidly cranking the handle as if to reel in the day's catch.
"A personal connection," he responded tersely. "Leave it at that."
On those words, Captain Fishhook accepted their defeat like a true pirate legend, their good eye glinting good-naturedly at their opponent. "Keep fighting the good fight, matey," they said before they were sucked into the Poltergust.
The nozzle shuddered, the next elevator button was expelled, and Luigi swayed on shaky legs before dropping to his knees, grabbing big, deep breaths.
Polterpup was on the scene in one leap, taking stock of his master's injuries, giving an alarmed whimper when he saw the slashes on Luigi's shoulders, arms, upper thighs and torso. Gently, his tongue lapped at the wounds before he nuzzled against the base of Luigi's chin, the young man finally responding by splaying a hand against the ghost pup's back.
"Hey, puppy," Luigi said softly once his breathing was under control. "It's okay. I'm okay."
He reached over and picked up the elevator button, grimacing when he saw the number on it. "Lucky 13," he mused. "I'll bet a host of horrors await on the next floor."
Polterpup licked Luigi's cheek before bounding over to the upper deck and dropping down a rope ladder for his master to use.
"Good boy—good doggie," said Luigi as he scurried up the rope ladder and approached Chad.
"Okay, Chad—you ready?" he asked.
You bet I am!
With a smile, Luigi shone the DLD on Chad's painting. Gradually, Chad became colorized, and he fell out of the painting, slid down a nearby cannon and stuck a perfect landing in Luigi's arms.
"Right on time, Luigi!" Chad sang out, throwing his arms round Luigi's neck. "Though a few minutes ago wouldn't have been so bad, either…"
Luigi held Chad close. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" he asked.
"No. But he taught me a lot of sea shanties, and he was quite the storyteller!" laughed Chad.
He closed his eyes and snuggled against Luigi's chest. "What do you say we—abandon ship?" he asked.
"Great minds think alike," said Luigi.
"Well done, Luigi!" Gadd's voice piped up. "Chad has been rescued! Bring him to the Lab on the double, where he can wait with Thad and Brad until things are safe."
"Okeydokey," said Luigi before turning to Chad. "Let's head over to the elevator. I'm sure Brad and Thad are anxious to catch up with you."
He knelt down so that Chad could climb onto his back, and together, they descended the rope ladder before disembarking from the ship.
Chad rode piggyback on his rescuer until they reached the restaurant's bar area. The yellow-spotted Toad slid to the ground and stretched his limbs.
"Hey, uh…" he said. "There's some green stuff in your vacuum's tank, and it's churning."
"That's my companion, Gooigi," explained Luigi, "and he's vibrating because there's a Boo nearby." A note of urgency rose in his voice as he said, "I want you to stay behind me until I deal with the Boo, okay?"
"Okay," said Chad, immediately darting behind Luigi.
Poltergust leveled, Luigi followed Gooigi's vibrations to a row of barrels near the circular table. He gestured for Chad to stand back before knocking one of the barrels over with his Suction Shot.
"Avast, me hearties!" chortled the Boo as they presented themselves. "I'm Booccaneer! Let me set sail—there's booty to plunder!" The Boo's eyes scanned Luigi, his green cap jostled to the side, clad in his usual boots and socks and wearing a pair of form-fitting black leggings with a tantalizingly low waistband and absolutely nothing on top. "Some very—very—nice booty," they clarified, licking out their tongue.
In their distracted state, Booccaneer didn't notice Luigi turn the DLD on them until it was too late. Luigi stunned the Boo, seized them by their tongue and slammed them down over and over as Chad watched in unrestrained delight.
"Serves you right, you black-hearted marshmallow!" crowed Chad once the Boo was sucked into the Poltergust.
"You think that's gratifying?" asked Luigi. "Just wait till I slam around King Boo."
Chad laughed and took Luigi's hand, and they walked the rest of the way to the elevator.
When they stepped inside, the newest elevator button fitted itself into place, with the next floor revealed to be a fitness center.
"Hm. Not too bad for the 13th floor," said Luigi before smacking the B1 button.
"Hotels usually don't have a 13th floor," said Chad, "but this isn't really a hotel, is it?"
Then, the Toad's eyes widened. "God Almighty! You're hurt!" he cried.
"The hook didn't cut that deep," Luigi assured him.
"Still—you need to get those slashes cleaned, disinfected and bandaged!" gasped Chad. "Oh, Luigi—look at what you're going through for us! What have we done to deserve this?"
"You're my family," said Luigi. "Plain and simple."
He sat down, and Chad and Polterpup spent the rest of the elevator ride snuggled in his lap.
Chad had conked out by the time the elevator reached its destination, so Luigi tenderly scooped him up and carried him to Gadd's lab. When he arrived, Gadd already had a yellow sleeping bag waiting for the Toad retainer. Luigi gently placed Chad into the sleeping bag and slid a pillow under his head before emptying the Poltergust.
"Hey, listen," said Captain Fishhook. "All of that back there—it was just part of my persona. I'm the restaurant's mascot, you see."
"Including the part where you claim one of my friends as 'booty'?" Luigi asked.
"Uh—apologies for that, matey. Mother Cary's chickens—I slashed you up something fierce! Do you need medical attention?"
"No. I just wanna save my friends and put my tormentor away—for good," Luigi replied. "And—apology accepted, I guess."
Captain Fishhook grinned. "Excellent! Your next meal at the Spectral Catch is on the house!"
"Thanks," said Luigi.
He gazed at Chad, slumbering peacefully in his sleeping bag, at Thad and Brad, conversing quietly as they shared egg salad sandwiches and soda, and at the Professor, diligently working at his console.
"I love you all," he said. "I hope you know that."
Gadd swiveled around and looked his mentee in the eye. "We love you, too," he responded. Then, his eyes swung down toward the nasty slashes on Luigi's upper body. "Luigi, my boy…!"
But Luigi cut him off. "See you guys soon," he said with a brave smile before turning on his heel and striding out.
The very sight was enough to take Professor Gadd's breath away.
"My prayers are with you, youngster," he whispered.
…
Luigi kept up that purposeful stride as he walked back toward the elevator, singing along to the music on his phone. After he called the elevator, he let Gooigi out of his tank, the gooey humanoid instantly zeroing in on his companion's latest injuries.
"We're about to explore the hotel's fitness center," said Luigi as he and Gooigi stepped into the elevator. "Won't that be fun?"
"No, we're not," Gooigi said firmly, pressing the 5th floor button. "Not until those wounds are dressed."
"They're not that big of a deal," said Luigi.
"'Not that big of a deal'?!" balked Gooigi. "You're bleeding! I'm taking you to your room and patching you up, and that's final!"
Luigi knew that there was no talking Gooigi out of this. Stubbornness was another thing the two had in common. "Okeydokey," he said resignedly.
They took the elevator to the RIP Suites, and then Gooigi splayed a cool, soft, gooey hand against the small of Luigi's back as he led him to his room.
Please R&R.