Hello, everyone! This week, we'll finish the Rumblebump Volcano arc and will start the next arc next chapter. Thanks to CaptainAC and OcelotGamer for leaving a favorite and follow! (Do it of you want future updates!) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Paper Mario belongs to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Chapter 8: Duo vs. Statue

Luigi trailed along the jungle, his head down in despair as he thought about Blooey's words back in Rumblebump Village. Was he really meant to be a hero? He didn't know. He thought about all those people and how he ended up endangering them. If it weren't for Blooey, they probably would've ended up dead by the monkey. He stomped his foot. He sometimes hated how his anxiety would take over him. When that happens, all thinking and logic disappear without a trace. Why did he have this trait? Was that why Mario got the credit for doing stuff? Did they think Luigi was too weak to do anything by himself? He accepted the trip so he could chanhe, but should he even be here? He wished Crêpe picked Mario instead of hik. He always wanted to be like him, but now, is it even worth it? He didn't know. He sat on a log and sighed. "Hey, dumbo!" Luigi sat up, trying to find the source of the sound. "Dumbo, wait!" Luigi gasped. It was the blooper who chastised him. What was he doing here? Blooey used his tentacles and launched him in the air. He landed in front of the plumber with a precise landing. "Phew! Man, you sure know how to cover quite a distance in a few minutes."

"Get away from me!" Luigi cowered away from the blooper. "Don't hurt me! Please!"

Blooey rolled his eyes. "Dumbo, lighten up, will you? My goodness."

"Well, sorry, but you scared me the last time we met! You criticized the heck out of me!"

"It's true, though," Blooey said. "You did endanger my people. I mean, were you not even thinking? How stupid are you?"

"Look. I'm sorry, OK? I admit, I was stupid, but I have a tendency to get scared easily. Just go on your stupid trip and leave me the heck alone." He huffed as he walked away, leaving the blooper to himself. He sighed. He was back to his old ways. He whacked himself.

"Wait." Luigi stopped. "Can we talk? Please? There's something I want to talk to you about. I'm sorry for snapping at you. To tell you the truth, this isn't easy for me to admit, but I need help."

"Since you're so cocky, why don't you do it yourself?" Luigi growled. "I have something I need to do, so whatever you need, go do it yourself."

"I need to find my parents!" Luigi stopped again. He shook his head. Why was he being stubborn? "Look, I know I have a short temper and a tendency to snap at people, but it stems from one reason. I have to find my parents." The plumber didn't move a muscle. "All my life, I haven't known my parents. They've been missing for as long as I can remember. I have to know why they left me. Was it for wealth? What was it?"

"So you assume they abandoned you for negative reasons," Luigi said without looking at him. "That surely explains your attitude with people. It surely rubs people the wrong way when you just assume they abandoned you on purpose."

"I know." The blooper gazed at the ground. "When I found that out at the age of ten, that was all I would focus on. I had to know, but by myself. No one should be burdened with such a problem. No one. I just realized by not asking for help, I was pushing people away. I need help. I miss my parents. I need to find them." For the first time since they met, Luigi softened his expression. Being born without knowing his parents was something he was used to. He didn't know them very well in his baby years. The only thing he could remember was growing up with the Yoshis on Yoshi's Island and having Mario and Yoshi rescue him and the stork from then Baby Bowser and Kamek. He wished he could've learned more about them.

"You know, I grew up without mine, too." Blooey gazed at him. "I know why that feels. I don't know anything about my parents." He gazed at the blooper. "But I'll help you find yours," he said with a smile. Blooey ran and hugged him, for once, he shedded tears, not of sadness, but of joy. Luigi smiled. He made someone happy. Maybe he was worthy of this quest after all. "Hey, let's make this a mutual friendship, yes? You help me with something and I help you in return. How about that?" Blooey nodded vigorously. "Good. Come on. I'll tell you all about my quest." The two nodded and went towards the volcano.

"So you need to rescue Princess Éclair?" The two were trekking along the jungle and Luigi finished sharing his quest with Blooey. "And you need to find the Marvelous Compass pieces?"

The plumber nodded. "Yes." He pulled it out. It glowed in his hands. "Apparently, the piece is behind a statue. It's-" He gasped at the spewing lava pouring out the sides of the volcano. "Oh no! We need to move!" They ran, the volcano coming into view. "Has it ever erupted like this before?"

"No!" Blooey yelled. "For years, the volcano's been dormant. I've been on-and-off from this island for ten years and this is the first eruption we've seen yet!"

"Is there no way to stop the lava? It's gonna destroy everything!"

Blooey thought about what Luigi mentioned earlier. It seemed so surreal how sudden the eruption was. Unless… "Dumbo, we need to find that statue!" Luigi gazed at him. "I have a feeling that that thing might have a mind of its own and used the Marvelous Compass piece to cause the volcano to erupt! There must be some kind of grotto on the side of the volcano! We must look for it at once! Come on!" He grabbed the plumber by the legs as he screamed in fright.

"N-No! Blooey, put me down!"

"Secret move: White Torpedo!" He launched himself in the air with great force, tugging Luigi along as he almost lost his cap. He closed his eyes and screamed. Blooey rolled his eyes. "Dude, lighten up already! You're giving me a headache!" They managed to land on the side of the volcano near a cave not covered in lava. "Ta da! We've arrived! Quit your panicking and get moving! We don't have all day!" He threw him across the ground and huffed. Luigi gasped and kissed the ground.

"Oh, ground, how I-a missed you! You're-a so sweet and solid!" Blooey rolled his eyes and the two walked inside the volcano. The heat of the volcano blanketed the plumber all at once. He heaved. "It's a little warm in here," he muttered, the sweat dripping from his brow as he followed the compass's direction.

Blooey snorted. "A little? You must be out of your mind to think 'it's a little warm'. We're in a freaking volcano for crying out loud! What did you expect, that it would cold as a shower in the morning? Give me a break, dumbo!"

"The name's Luigi to you!" the plumber hissed. "Get it into your thick skull!" Blooey rolled his eyes. The duo walked through the cave as Luigi kept his eye on the compass. After a couple minutes of walking, the two stopped and glanced at the bottom. Lava poured out of the volcano's many holes and towards the side. The sight scared the plumber.

"Come on, Luigi," Blooey said. "The more we wait, the more lava this volcano throws up. We need to find that statue." He nodded and they kept walking. As Luigi walked on the ground, he tripped over a pebble. The pebble hit the ceiling, causing a stalactite to fall. "Watch out!" The blooper grabbed him and threw him across the room. The stalactite crashed into the ground, the sound echoing down the tunnel. "Must you be clumsy now of all times?! You aren't blind! Watch where you step!"

"Sorry!" Luigi glanced at the ceiling. "That didn't seem normal. I trip on a pebble and that-a triggers rocks to fall? The heck is going on here?!"

"It seems my theory isn't completely wrong," Blooey said. "That was some sort of trap to protect the piece. Come on, and this time, watch where you're going. Your eyes work great in these situations should you not be lazy." The blooper trudged on.

Luigi shook his head. "Man, that guy has a temper even when I'm helping him."

"Move now, or do you want me to call you dumbo again?"

"Coming!" He ran after him.

There was a few more minutes before Luigi started a conversation. "So," he said, "Wanna tell me anything else about you, besides what I already know? Any special abilities you have?"

Blooey sighed. "You really are that bored, aren't you? We're on an important mission to save my village from its utter doom, and that's what you ask me? Why don't you focus on getting us to the statue so we can kick its butt and leave this dreaded place? The heat's enough. Anything else, and I would feel like I'm about to burst like a balloon."

"Just creating conversation is all."

Blooey sighed. "Fine. I'll do just to satisfy that pique of curiosity you have. At home, people call me the White Torpedo. It's a move where I launch myself at incredible speeds using my tentacles."

"Ooh! Can you show me?"

"Are you out of your mind, dumbo?! You're asking me to show you my move in a volcano, which I've said more than once that is exploding, mind you?! Exploding?! I can set you on fire right now for what you asked! You already saw it earlier! Come on! I can feel my head explode from this yelling. Bring us to that statue or I swear I'll dunk you in the lava for being such a pain!" He stomped away in frustration. Luigi rolled his eyes. This was going to be a long trip. They walked a little more as the Marvelous Compass piece started to glow brighter. "Does that thing even work?" Blooey asked. "It doesn't even show how many steps are left. Worst compass ever."

"I-a think we're getting close."

"Are you sure? Cause that thing ain't giving us any sort of clue and who knows how far the lava is. We'd better not be wasting any time. Hurry." The two picked up the pace as they scrambled to find the statue. Luigi stopped and stared at a river of lava with sinking rocks. A cave stood at the other side. Blooey huffed. "A lava river isn't going to stop me. I'm gonna execute my move, and I'd better not hear you scream, do you understand me?" He nodded and took off his cap. Blooey hunched his shoulders and launched himself in the air with the plumber in tow. As they neared the edge, the blooper's tentacles slipped off the rocks and they tumbled to the ground, luckily landing on a rock that was on the lava. It began to sink. Blooey growled and hopped from one rock to another as they sank. He gave one final heave and launched himself over the edge as the rock sank and they landed on the ground. Blooey sighed.

"We made it!" Luigi cried with joy, holding his hands in the air. "Thank-a the heavens!"

The blooper rolled his eyes. "Come on. We should be getting close." Luigi nodded and they took off.

"Though I must say," the plumber said, "Your tentacles are really strong. You've been working out tons? What's your secret?"

"Working out. It's not a secret. I have to keep these tentacles strong. Thankfully, it helped that you were light. How much closer are we?"

Luigi glanced at the compass. The glow was even brighter than before. "Hopefully, it'll be at the end of this tunnel. That's just a guess. Let's-a go!" They took off towards the end of the tunnel where dim red light was waiting at the end. They walked into a giant corridor with many holes that led to many different tunnels. In the center was a giant gray statue with a red stone on its forehead with its arms raised in concentration. Luigi gasped. Behind the gemstone was a mysterious room behind the statue. "The piece is behind the statue in that room! We have to defeat it!"

"Hey, dumbo!" The statue turned its head at Blooey as he distracted it. "Why don't you stop activating this volcano?! You're destroying everything!" The statue stomped, making its way towards the blooper as he ran. "That gem thing is what's controlling the statue! Find something to knock it off!" Luigi glanced around. He found a small pebble and chucked it at the statue. The pebble hit the gem, but it wasn't enough to knock it off. The statue turned its attention towards the plumber and fired a laser at him. He ran, screaming for dear life. Blooey shook his head. Using its tentacles, he grabbed onto the stalactites above and threw them at the statue as it tried to stomp on the plumber.

"I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!"

Blooey growled. He swung from one stalactite to another and launched himself at the statue, knocking it toward with force. It turned around and launched its laser at the rocks above, causing them to crash to the ground. The duo ran out of the way as they crashed. They heaved in exhaustion. "We need to find a different way to take that thing down. Not only is it humongous, it's got amazing reach with that laser of its. We need to find another way to take it down." Luigi glanced at the gem. Blooey managed to loosen it a bit with his blow. He grabbed the blooper and ran at the statue. "Hey!" Blooey growled. "What the heck are you doing?! Let me go!"

"All you, man!" Luigi was prepared to throw him when he tripped on a pebble, aiming way off as Blooey zoomed many feet past the gem and dunked into the lava. Luigi stood up and ran to the lava pool Blooey fell in. "Blooey!"

The statue took advantage of the plumber's mistake and shot its laser at him. He shrieked and ran out of the way, destroying most of the rocks below as the cavern shook. The lava pool started to bubble seconds later. Blooey shot out of it at a fast velocity and shrieked on the top of his lungs, "YOW!" He ran around, trying to cool off his skin. He screamed and threw rocks at the statue. "Take this, you jerk! How do you like it, huh?!" Luigi was surprised he survived. How come he didn't get burned to ash? His skin was turned from white to a dark orange color. The rocks managed to knock the gem off and crash to the ground. It cracked, causing the statue to fall. Blooey huffed as he walked to the statue. "So," he said, examining the gem, "This was why the volcano was erupting. Not because of the Marvelous Compass piece, but because of this gem. How long was the statue trapped in here? And why turn on now?"

"I don't-a think we can get the answer to those questions right now," Luigi said. He walked into the room behind the statue. A small treasure chest stood at the end of the room. He opened the chest and picked up the Marvelous Compass piece and attached it to the base, causing another image to appear in his mind: a small village stood in the middle of the island surrounded by strudels. The name of the place was called Plumpbelly Village.

"Great," Blooey muttered, "We have your dumb piece. Can I address the other elephant in the room? Excuse my language for I don't normally curse, but what in the bloody hell is wrong with you?!" He examined his skin. "Look what you did to me! My precious skin is gone! It's crispified because of you! What was going through that hollow head of yours?!"

"I'm-a sorry! I thought since you were tough I could use you and knock that gem off! Please! Forgive me!"

Blooey whacked him in the guts, causing him to wheeze. "Heck I won't! You thought it was a good idea to throw me at the dang-on statue over the lava and try to knock that gem off?! Since when did you have my permission to do so?! Never! You didn't speak with me. You just did it because you bloody wanted to! Let me tell you something, dumbo! This might sound a bit overused, but you will not get away with this! I will crush you and you won't see it coming! Forget my original mission for right now! I will plan a devious scheme that you won't see coming and you will feel my pain! Touch my skin." Luigi hesitated. "Touch it!" The plumber touched the blooper's skin and caused him to yelp. "Now you know how I feel," Blooey growled. "Whether it was intentional or not, I will get back at you for this. You just gave me another reason to stay with you. It's your own fault! Let's get out of here before you ruin something else!" He marched out of the cavern with a huff and the gem in hand. Luigi sighed, relieved to finally have the first piece, with a sacrifice made, but in the end it was worth it.

As he was about to walk out, a voice rang in his ear, causing him to stop. He gasped. It was Princess Éclair! The voice sounded a bit clearer than before as he could make out a couple words she said, yet things still sounded fuzzy as it still faded in and out. "Help me!"

"Éclair, is that you?" he said in his mind.

"Yes. I… help! Please… me!"

"What was that? Éclair, can you speak up?"

"I… help!" Luigi sighed. He had to strengthen the connection between them by finding the compass pieces.

"Hey," Blooey said. "You done gazing at nothing? We gotta go, so get your feet moving. They aren't glued to the floor, so make use of them." The plumber nodded and the two walked through the tunnels to the outside. Many minutes later, they walked outside the grotto they entered and Blooey used his White Torpedo move and landed on a soft spot on the ground. Blooey held the gem up.

Luigi gazed at him in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"Undoing the mess the dumb statue made. If the dumbo was able to start the volcano up, then maybe its dumb invention can stop or reverse it." The gem released a giant pulse that goes across the island, causing the lava to freeze to rock. It managed to travel a third away from the volcano. Luckily, it didn't devour any town. Blooey blew a sigh of relief. "Man, that was close! Come on, Luigi! Let's go see the village!" The two ran across the hardened rock. They arrived to the village where many of the villagers sighed with relief.

Mr. Tumbleton walked to them. "Thank goodness! You saved us all! How did you guys manage to stop the lava?"

"With its own invention." Blooey held up the gem for people to see. "It somehow used it to activate the volcano. It didn't seem to hit any towns." He received many strange looks. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

"No?" Mr. Tumbleton said, scratching his head. He sighed. "How do I put this? You look a bit different. Your skin color changed. Do you know that?"

Blooey growled. "Of course I do. It was all because of this guy!" He tugged Luigi to him. The plumber screamed. "There's no way you're escaping from eternal embarrassment, dumbo! You wanna know what he did to me? Well, if you don't, then you're getting told, anyway, because this dumbo deserves to be embarrassed! We were fighting the statue and I managed to crack the gem using my White Torpedo move. Guess what? He decided to chuck me at the thing, without my permission, I might add, and he completely missed! I dunk in the lava and now I'm burned because of him! It's all his fault! Well, guess what?! I'm gonna make him pay! I will make him feel my pain! I'm gonna make him beg and grovel at my feet! I'm-"

"You made your point." The old man glanced at Luigi. "You've a lot to learn around Blooey. Why don't you get a move-on? I'm sure you have to finish your quest." The plumber nodded and walked away in silence. "Blooey, please don't kill Luigi."

"I will," he growled. "In my dreams."

"Remember your parents." Blooey's expression softened. Mr. Tumbleton touched his shoulder. "Find them. Don't let this get under your skin. Remember the true reason why you're joining him."

"I know. Besides, it's already on me, quite literally." He walked out of the town with a scoff. Mr. Tumbleton chuckled. He had faith in the guy, despite his flaws. He will find his parents for sure.

"Hershel!" The sailor snorted himself awake as he walked out of his chair to see Luigi gazing at him. "Let down the ladder!" the plumber yelled. Hershel smiled and untied the rope ladder as he climbed on it.

He squeezed him in a hug. "You'd be back, sonny!"

"Yes," he wheezed. "I'm-a back."

Hershel let go of him. "You have lots o' stories to tell me tonight! I wanna hear all the ferocity of them! The explosions! Everythin'!"

"Oh, you will hear it, alright." Blooey walked to the sailor. "And I will make sure he feels every ounce of embarrassment."

Hershel chuckled. "Well, you got a partner! Welcome aboard, lubber! Me name's Hershel, the skipper of me ship!"

"I figured that much," Blooey said. "Also, 'lubber'? Did you just insult me?" He cracked his knuckles.

"You shouldn't do that," Luigi said in the sailor's ears. "He has a short temper."

The sailor backed away. "Well, I'd be settin' sail for our trip. Luigi, where we goin'?"

"Plumpbelly Village." He nodded and hoisted the anchor before sailing away. Blooey snorted and went below decks. Luigi smiled. He was happy he found the next piece. He was a sixth of the way there to finding Princess Éclair.

Thank you everyone for reading! That marks the first arc done for this story. The next arc will take place in Plumpbelly Village. You will have to wait till next time to see what happens (unless you already know). Anyway, normally at the end of each chapter, Luigi would travel back to Rogueport to tell Mario and co. of what happened, but I will cut that out for pacing sake. We will meet the next companion next time. See you then!