Can you hear me? Amore, can you hear me?
Yes. I'm here. I'm here.
Wh—where are you?
The roof.
Why does he have you on the roof?
I don't know what he's planning, but I know it's bad news for all of us. Luigi needs to be careful.
What is he doing to you up there?
Those horrible purple eyes of his are eating me up—and sometimes, he has his appendages all over me. I'll take that turtle over him any day of the week.
Peachy, stay calm and stay brave. Luigi's on his way up, and he's gonna get us both out of this.
He'll probably save you first, because bros before—well, you know. When he comes, just follow his instructions. That's all I ask of you.
Don't worry about me, amore. Save your energy, and save your strength. He's coming, okay? He's coming.
Yes—he's coming. My brother-in-law in all but name is coming…
…
Gooigi felt Luigi stir between his arms, willing himself from his slumber. Blue eyes blinked open, cloudy from leftover drowsiness, and his hair and cap were tousled. A soft sound escaped the plumber's lips as he raised his head and looked his gooey companion in the eye.
"How are you feeling?" asked Gooigi.
"Refreshed," replied Luigi, pushing a few locks of hair from his face. "Everything doesn't hurt as much anymore."
"See? You needed that rest, after all," said Gooigi, "and so did I."
"Thanks for patching me up," Luigi said softly. "Again."
"You're welcome."
They lay there in silence, their bodies still pressed together, stomach to stomach and chest to chest. Almost hesitantly, Gooigi cupped Luigi's cheek in his hand, searching his face, admiring his double-swooshed stache and his lips. His supple, smiling lips.
Before either of them knew what was happening, Gooigi's own lips were gently pressed to Luigi's soft ones, the latter tasting the hints of coffee and green apple. For a moment, Luigi was surprised, but then he sank right into the kiss, allowing the gooey tongue to mingle with his own and lap away at his warm mouth. Gooigi kissed him again, deeper, probing, tasting, humming, still holding Luigi to him, feeling his heart speed up and seeing a blush crawl over his face. He'd expected his flesh-and-blood counterpart to resist—even freak out—but he didn't. And he was actually kissing back.
Gooigi blotted his lips on Luigi's again and again, not stopping until they both ran out of breath. They locked eyes, gasping, lips swollen and pupils dilated on Luigi's part.
"I—I…" spluttered Gooigi. "I don't know why I did that, Luigi. It just feels like I've been lying dormant for a long time, and then suddenly—I'm awake!"
Luigi nodded to show that he understood.
"Nobody has touched me so deeply before," said Gooigi. "Each moment we spend together, every time we're in danger—I find myself growing fonder and fonder of you."
"Ditto," whispered Luigi.
"But—we're supposed to be brothers. And I just did—what brothers aren't supposed to do."
"Relax," said Luigi. "We're not technically blood-related, after all. We're just brothers in bond."
"Brothers in bond," repeated Gooigi. "I like the sound of that."
The magic lingered, and then it passed, Luigi and Gooigi reluctantly separating. The former headed to the bathroom to freshen up, washing his face, jumping into a quick shower and combing his hair. After toweling dry, he peeled off his bandages, stunned to find that his wounds had practically healed. Then, he slipped into a pair of form-fitting, royal blue gym pants. Once again, he didn't bother with a shirt. Maybe he'd throw one on before confronting Hellen and the King…
"Since we'll be exploring a fitness center," said Luigi, "I might as well dress for the occasion."
"Yeah," laughed Gooigi.
The ghost-hunter wolfed down a granola bar before packing a change of clothes, a gym towel and a sports drink into a duffel bag. Then, he checked his Poltergust before sliding it onto his back.
"All right," said Luigi. "Let's get back to work."
They walked out of the room, where Polterpup energetically greeted them, offering to carry Luigi's duffel bag for him. Luigi accepted, and the three of them strode down the hall, got into the elevator and ascended to the 13th floor.
When they arrived at the Fitness Center, the trio headed to the front desk, where Luigi signed in out of habit. Polterpup took his master's duffel bag and pranced off in search of the men's locker room while Luigi and Gooigi looked around.
After uncovering a hidden bell and vacuuming up a Gem Goob, the two heard the phone near the elevator ringing. Luigi stepped outside to answer it.
"H—hello?"
"Are you looking for the perfect music for your workout?" asked the voice on the other end. "Then look no further! Each of our cardio machines has a built-in radio, so you can get your blood pumping to hits from yesterday and today!"
"Thanks," said Luigi.
Placing the phone back on the cradle, he went to rejoin Gooigi when the phone rang a second time.
He answered with a curt "Yeah?"
"A little birdie told me that someone likes hitting the gym," Hellen sang out, "especially when they're feeling upset. I really hope our fitness center is to your liking."
Luigi clenched his jaw. "Look, Hellen—I'm very preoccupied right now…"
"Oh, right—right. You're trying to save everyone. How could I forget?" Hellen chuckled mirthlessly. "I must say—you're looking so good right now in those gym pants, baring that enviable body of yours to the world. I can see where you get it from, though. That brother of yours has a very lovely body, too. Maybe after I get my hands on you and turn you over to the King, your big brother and I will have a little—party."
"Hellen," Luigi said in a shaky yet calm voice. "Would you like to know what I think?"
"And what's that, my lovely Luigi?"
"I think," Luigi told her, "that you should take a big step back—and quite literally [bleep] your own face!" His voice had risen to an enraged shout. "Now, I don't know what kind of twisted sadist show you're trying to run here, but no matter how hard you try to frighten me, I'm just gonna keep coming back until my friends are safe, so you'd better get your f—ing head around that! I'm gonna go check out your fitness center and get nice and pumped and sweaty, and when I'm finished, I'm gonna head up to your little hideout, wherever that may be, and I'm gonna rain down an ungodly f—ing firestorm upon you! You're gonna have to call in a f—ing legal team to negotiate a f—ing binding agreement to keep me from f—ing destroying you! I am talking scorched earth, pu—na! I will pulverize you! I will [bleep] you up!"
He slammed the phone back into the cradle, ripped the whole d—n thing out of its wiring and bashed it against the table a few times before flinging it against the wall. Then, he stood there, simmering with fury, fists clenched, breathing hard.
Whoa, whoa, whoa—you might wanna take it easy there, Bro.
"When she's making these comments about you?! Who does she think she is?!"
She wants you to lose it, Bro. So when you do confront her, you won't be able to think straight. If you wanna capture her and save me, then you need a level head. Now, breathe, fratellino. Breathe…
And Luigi breathed, feeling himself calm down.
There you go. Now run along, and collect the last two elevator buttons. I'll be waiting for you!
Luigi turned and walked back to the front desk.
"What was that about?" asked Gooigi.
"They need a new phone," Luigi bluntly responded.
They walked into the fitness center proper, where they discovered that the door to the pool was blocked. The door on the other side of the front desk was locked, as well. Suddenly, a volleyball smacked against the window behind the front desk, and Luigi and Gooigi rushed forward to take a look.
There was a rather buff ghost in the pool which reminded Luigi of Biff Atlas, the bodybuilder ghost. However, this ghost was clad in a lime-green swimsuit and had darker hair. The ghost also had the next elevator button attached to a lanyard, next to a whistle.
"We have to find a way into the pool area," said Luigi. "How else are we gonna get the button from that swimmer ghost?"
The buff ghost sent another volleyball into the window, Luigi reflexively leaping back. Soft chuckling sounded behind him, and he whirled to see several Goobs admiring him. Quite a few of the Goobs wore goggles to protect themselves against the Strobulb.
Still noshing on the eye candy in front of them, the Goobs advanced on Luigi. Quickly, he stunned the first Goob he saw, grabbed them in the suction and slammed them into their buddies as Gooigi did the same. The ghosts managed to land a few rough punches, but Luigi hardly felt them. He didn't have time to rest after capturing the last Goob, however, as a Slinker grabbed him from behind! Luigi used Burst to break free and then stunned the Slinker, he and Gooigi working in tandem to subdue the purple ghost. Defeating the Slinker earned them a key, which unlocked the door to the locker room.
Polterpup was waiting for them in there, perched next to Luigi's duffel bag, a warning in his eyes. Slightly, the ghost dog jerked his head up, and Luigi followed his gaze to an Oozer, casually spraying on some deodorant.
Luigi tried to sneak up on the Oozer, but they noticed him first, threw the can of deodorant at him and ducked into one of the lockers. Polterpup raced over and kicked the locker's door with his hind legs, the cacophony forcing the Oozer back out. Quickly, Luigi vacuumed up the dazed Oozer before dealing with some Mini Hammers, followed by some Mini Goobs.
Once all of the ghosts were cleared out, Luigi turned to his ghost puppy. "Thanks for watching my stuff," he said, petting Polterpup.
"Over here!" called Gooigi. "There's another door to the pool!"
Luigi ran over and tried the door, only to find that it was also blocked.
"I should've know that it wouldn't be that easy," he huffed. "C'mon, Gooigi. Let's explore the gym area for clues."
In the weight room, Luigi and Gooigi found one Hammer shadowboxing while another Hammer bench-pressed one of the weights. They saw the duo's reflection the mirror and whirled on them in an instant. The shadowboxing Hammer threw jabs and hooks at them, while the bench-pressing Hammer tossed weights at them. Luigi and Gooigi wound up getting hit by weights while trying to dodge the boxing Hammer, or a gloved fist would mash into one or the other's midriff while trying to dodge a thrown weight. It was an arduous and painful ordeal, but they somehow managed to defeat the two Hammers by tricking the bench-pressing one into throwing a weight at the boxing one. The battle became easier after capturing one of the Hammers, however.
"All right," said Luigi when the skirmish was won. "This is a good way to work out, considering."
He let off some steam by taking some casual swings at a nearby punching bag before he and Gooigi continued on their way.
"Here we are," said Luigi as he and Gooigi walked into the cardio area. "My favorite part of the gym."
"How come?" asked Gooigi.
"Whenever I have a rough day or get into an argument with someone, the cardio area is how I clear my head," Luigi explained. "The intense physical exercise helps me put things into perspective. And while I'm sweating it out, I don't really have to think." Indicating a row of spin bikes, he went on, "That's one of my favorite cardio machines, by the way. It really puts my muscles to the test. An hour or so on that does away with the worst of a foul mood."
"What about these?" asked Gooigi, indicating the row of treadmills.
"Yeah—those are cool, too," said Luigi.
A hand tapped Luigi's shoulder.
He turned—and then he prepared for a fight.
A Goob hovered before him, wearing a muscle shirt and a sweatband. Instead of attacking Luigi, however, the Goob waved hello before pointing to one of the spin bikes.
"Wait," said Gooigi, placing his hand over his companion's. "They—they want you to do something."
Again, the Goob pointed toward one of the spin bikes.
"Do you—want me to hop on one of those?" asked Luigi.
The Goob nodded.
Warily, Luigi obliged, sliding off his Poltergust and placing it beside the front of the bike.
The Goob chattered something, and Luigi took it as a command to begin pedaling. So, he did—slowly at first, and then gradually picking up speed. As he pedaled, the spin bike seemingly began adding resistance on its own. First, it was a "mild headwind" kind of resistance, then a "biking through mud" resistance, then a slight incline, then a moderate incline and finally a steep incline. All the while, the Goob chattered for Luigi to keep going, to pedal faster, and while he didn't see the point, he reasoned that following the Goob's instructions would somehow get him into the pool area.
Soon, the bike's resistance was at its highest setting, and while Luigi normally tackled steep inclines during his regular workouts, this was challenging him in ways he'd never been challenged before. He watched as the panels in front of him lit up in a fluorescent green, still pedaling fast and brisk, breaking a sweat and breathing deeply. Behind him, the Goob giggled. He knew that they were checking him out.
A pair of headphones dropped over his ears, upbeat tunes playing to help him maintain that fast pedaling pace. He gripped the handlebars, closed his eyes and pedaled on and on and on, letting out the doubt and angst still clinging to him, pushing himself to the point that perspiration was flying everywhere. Hopefully, none of it landed on Gooigi.
The Goob kept Luigi on the spin bike for half an hour before letting him dismount. Then, they had him climb onto the next spin bike and sweat it out for another half hour, followed by a third half-hour on the last spin bike in the row. By then, all three bikes' panels were lit, and Luigi was sopping with sweat. But it was worth it, as he was rewarded with a shower of treasure, which Gooigi vacuumed up.
Huffing for breath, Luigi stooped down and picked up his ghost vacuum, only for the Goob to steer him toward the row of treadmills.
"Whatever you say," said Luigi, setting the Poltergust next to one of the treadmills before stepping on.
Automatically, the treadmill started moving, gradually increasing in speed and incline. Ten minutes later, Luigi was engaged in an all-out sprint, arms and legs pumping, sweat blurring his vision. Both the Goob and Gooigi shouted encouragement to him, and Luigi was aware that there was a method to this madness. It was thirty-five more minutes before the payoff came—in the form of a key to the next room!
The Goob patted Luigi on the back and departed peacefully, leaving him gasping for breath and staring at the key.
"You know," said Luigi after he'd gained enough wind to speak. "That actually felt good."
He slid his Poltergust back on, and the exploration resumed.
The key Luigi had acquired from those 45 minutes on the treadmill unlocked the door to the yoga studio, where several lime-green yoga mats were arranged, two humidifiers releasing a relaxing scent. Luigi inhaled a few breaths before uncovering a secret passageway to the 13th floor's ledge. Slowly, he inched his way toward a chest which contained another key.
After grabbing the key and inching his way back to the yoga studio, Luigi had to take several more deep breaths from the humidifiers. But before he unlocked the door, some ghosts who were doing a private yoga session decided to attack him. There were two Slinkers, two Hammers and four Mini Hammers. With Gooigi's help, Luigi was able to capture them all, and then the adventurers proceeded into the next room.
"Uh-oh," said Gooigi.
The duo was now in the showers, where there was lots of running water about. There were also some Goobs showering, and when their eyes fell on Luigi and Gooigi, they freaked out as if they'd been caught naked! Luigi recalled Gooigi to his Plexiglass tank before using his vacuum to turn off the showers, removing both the water hazard and the steam that was reducing visibility. Then, he stunned and captured the Goobs, only for another Goob to arrive on the scene and signal for more ghosts to attack.
This group consisted of Slinkers and Goobs, and combined with the slightly slippery floor, they gave Luigi a tough fight. Using the leftover adrenaline from his previous workout, he still powered through, and when all of the ghosts were captured, he let Gooigi out of the tank.
Quickly, Luigi checked the map on his VB. "Wow, we made it!" he cheered. "The pool is just outside that door!"
"Just keep me away from the water, and we'll be good to go," said Gooigi.
They walked into the pool area, where they saw a scoreboard, several diving blocks and a large lap timer. A lot of volleyballs bobbed on the pool's surface.
"Hello?" Luigi called out. "Hello, hello?"
A hearty laugh sounded, and Luigi gasped as a volleyball sped toward him. He hit the deck immediately, the volleyball bouncing off the wall behind him.
"Hey!" he shouted.
"Whoa! Sorry, kiddo!" laughed the swimmer ghost as they materialized. "I didn't see you there! Say—what are you doing out here so late?"
"My friends are in trouble, and I'm gonna help them," Luigi replied.
"You sound like one selfless guy to me," said the swimmer ghost. "My name's Johnny Deepend. What's yours?"
"Luigi."
"Luigi—that's a nice name. Why don't you hop on in, Luigi? The water's fine!"
"Okay," said Luigi, again sliding off his Poltergust, which he handed to Gooigi. Gooigi took the vacuum with a slight nod.
Slipping off his boots and socks, Luigi sat on the pool's edge before slowly sliding into the water. "Oh, man—it's cold," he said.
"I had to turn the heater off," said Johnny. "I can't have it on during afterhours. Anyway, do you play volleyball?"
"Yes, I do."
"Okay, then," said Johnny, picking up a volleyball. "Let's see what you got."
He wound up and served the volleyball toward Luigi, who served it right back, striking Johnny in the stomach.
Johnny just laughed. "Not bad!" he complimented. "Oh—before I forget…" He tossed some goggles toward Luigi. "These will protect your face. I don't want to accidentally knock an eye out or something. I can be pretty strong." He flexed his muscles as Luigi fastened the protective goggles. "Okay, where were we…?"
Grabbing another ball, Johnny sent it arcing toward Luigi, but the latter hit back with a powerful spike, beaning the ghost in the shoulder. Meanwhile, Gooigi stood back and watched as the two quickly got a rally going. How could he forget that volleyball game between them on the afternoon they met? Even though the game was on dry land, Luigi could keep up with the arcing ball no matter how hard it was hit. Now—the volleyballs were being sent out like projectiles by a buff ghost, sometimes two at a time, but Luigi's hand-eye coordination was sharper than ever. Breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth, he whacked the volleyballs sent his way back into Johnny, hard enough to temporarily stun him.
"Is this volleyball or dodgeball?" Luigi wanted to know as he gave several more volleyballs expert serves toward Johnny.
"Maybe it's a little bit of both," Johnny said craftily. "It gets the blood pumping, though, doesn't it?"
"Yes, it does," exhaled Luigi, dodging a volleyball to the face before picking it up and smacking it back toward Johnny.
Gooigi remained poolside, watching as the volleyballs flew back and forth more furiously than ever. Then, he spotted some sort of valve on the other side of the pool. Maybe turning that valve could help Luigi end this game and capture Johnny. A sidelong glance Luigi cast him let him know that he saw the valve, too. Giving his pal a nod of understanding, Gooigi squeezed past a small gate and headed over to the valve, spinning it with his vacuum while Luigi kept Johnny distracted with their volleyball game.
That valve opened a drain at the bottom of the pool, which began sucking all of the water out. Luigi swam over to a nearby pool ladder and pulled himself up, putting his socks and boots back on and watching as Johnny was snagged by the ensuing vortex. The swimmer ghost's tail wound up caught in the drain, severely limiting his movement and making it safer for Luigi to approach Johnny and attempt a capture.
"Here!" shouted Gooigi, tossing Luigi his Poltergust. Luigi slipped it back on and climbed back down the ladder to the now-empty pool.
Johnny remained a good sport despite his current predicament, continuing to snatch up nearby volleyballs and serve them at Luigi. This time, however, Luigi deliberately used the volleyballs to stun his foe, giving him time to vacuum Johnny's goggles from his face and expose him to the Strobulb. Johnny's HP was surprisingly low for a boss ghost, allowing Luigi to subdue him in three solid tries.
"Good game, my friend!" said Johnny as his HP reached zero. "Come by for swim practice sometime!"
"I will," said Luigi.
Johnny took the opportunity to flex his muscles one final time before he was sucked into the Poltergust. The nozzle then shuddered, and as before, the elevator button was violently expelled from the vacuum.
The button sailed through the air and landed right in Gooigi's palm. "Got it!" he cried.
Luigi gave him a thumbs-up. "Good job!"
He hoisted himself up the ladder and out of the pool, only to notice that Gooigi was beginning to jiggle. That could only mean one thing—
"Where…?" asked Luigi.
Gooigi walked toward a nearby laundry basket, where he began wobbling like crazy. Luigi vaulted over another small gate and kicked the basket over, unceremoniously dumping out the Boo.
"I'm Boodybuilder!" greeted the Boo. "You're pretty good! Have you been working out?"
Boodybuilder floated into the empty pool, and Luigi quickly joined them, exposing them to the DLD, grabbing their tongue and slamming them against the pool bottom several times before wrestling them into the Poltergust.
Luigi wiped his brow, exited the pool and smiled at Gooigi. "Let's go," he said.
They made a quick stop in the locker room, where Luigi changed into a dry pair of pants and emptied his bottle of Gatorade. Polterpup scampered over, and Luigi gave him a quick belly rub.
"Were you watching my duffel bag this whole time?" he asked.
"Arf!"
"Good puppy!" laughed Luigi.
He picked up the duffel bag, and he, Gooigi and Polterpup walked toward the elevator.
Please R&R.