Luigi opened his eyes and expected to drown, but water didn't fill his eyes or his mouth. His body was laying OUTSIDE of the Misty Lake instead of INSIDE it. Upon instinct, he closed one of his eyes - after all, it had been stabbed straight through with a knife. Upon feeling it, though, there was no knife. It might've fell into the lake at one point.

"Huh..." His blurry eyes couldn't believe it. He couldn't have FLOATED up, couldn't he? That Poltergust was too heavy to lift him up... And the Hourai Elixir only heals him, not carries him. He slowly scraped the back of his foot to a point he got his bearings, then lifted himself up slowly on his feet.

"Oh, you're up?"

Can't even walk two steps and there's already a new female. He turned to see a girl...

WITH A FISH TAIL.

...Luigi had to double take for a second, there. A mermaid? Yes. A mermaid, sitting on a lone rock.

"...I am. I think." Luigi spoke 4 words that made him doubt himself. Was he truly alive, or was Gensokyo all a dream after he fell off the Youkai Mountain?

...Nah. That's ridiculous. He looked at his Poltergust. Cracked and battered. Welp, that's one trip to E. Gadd's then. Luigi awkwardly looked at the mermaid. "I think I'm just gonna... go now."

The mermaid pointed. "Without going back? Someone's going to mock you for not being strong."

"Who-ooooh..." Luigi realised. He totally forgot.

There, was a small ice fairy, covering her mouth with her palm and snorting at Luigi. "PffffffAAHAHAHAHA!" She let loose. "You got absolutely destroyed by that mansion! Ahahaha!" Of course... Cirno. "Stupid lanky man who can't even jump!"

...And with those last three words... can't even jump?

Luigi sprinted away from the two, not even asking the mermaid's name.

Luigi started practicing his jump while running to Alice's House. Slow hops, slow hops... He's lifted way heavier before... He's off the ground...

He spots a cliff and jumps right up, carrying his Poltergust with him. "Right. Let's get back." Luigi sprinted full speed ahead.

Red Toad wrapped up his story. "And that's why you never touch a bunny girl's ears. Ever."

Alice sighed. "That's... your own fault for being curious in the first place."

"Is it? Is it really?"

The door silently squeaked open. Alice turned. "That must be Luigi-Ooooh my goodness."

When Alice and Red Toad saw Luigi... he looked... sorta worse for wear. Sorta. Torn clothes, busted up Poltergust.

"H-hey..." He hunched the Poltergust off his back. "Fancy taking this to E. Gadd? I'm gonna take a quick..."

He dropped to the floor, unconscious.

"Luigi...!"

...Moments later, he woke up. Nobody in his face to scream about what happened. His fuzzy eyes blurred a bit to get used to his surroundings. His lower body felt a little warm... Turns out he's under the covers in his bed. He looked left and right, no sign of Alice. But he did look down to see Red Toad staring at him at the side of the bed.

Luigi blinked a couple of times. "...Are you my sleep paralysis demon?"

"No." Red Toad looked stern.

"...How long have I been out?"

"A few hours. Alice is in the other room, making tea. Because all Gensokyo girls do that. It's hard to take me seriously because of my squeaky voice, but it's true."

Luigi tried to get up, but Red Toad cleared his throat. "Ay-hem. Luigi, it's time to stop being so secretive." He insisted. "What happened out there, why were you in such a mess?"

"A mansion raid with impossible odds happened..." Luigi closed his eyes. "I tried to go in, and raid by myself... But no avail."

Red Toad narrowed his eyes. "Uh huh. And where's Bowser?"

"No sign of him. It went abruptly quiet. Whoever's in that mansion has insane power." Luigi thought.

Red Toad slowly confirmed what he needed to do. Luigi got up from the bed, still in his torn clothes. He didn't feel the weight of his Poltergust, so he assumed that the suction device was indeed with E. Gadd.

...Luigi remembered something. His suitcase. What seemed like an afterthought of his vacation at the Last Resort seemed like a crucial idea right at this moment... If Luigi remembered correctly...

He sprung into action and checked under the bed, pulling out a green briefcase. Or it was, but it was actually his suitcase. Small and puny, he's aware... but... He checked inside to find... not his spare overalls, but a new set of clothes altogether.

Then again, he shouldn't be surprised... Flashback to how he found it in Gensokyo.

Luigi heard a rustle in the bushes. "Rumia must be near... I-I gotta face my fears!" Luigi ran off.

"Luigi, wait-!" Alice called out, but Luigi went forward. "Do you have any idea how ridiculously reckless you are?"

Luigi turned to Alice. "I gotta save my friends! They've been captured!"

"Captured? Friends?" Alice tilted her head.

"I'll tell you when I get back." Luigi wandered off back into what's now known as the Forest of Magic.

"..if you ever do..." Alice worridly looked at Luigi as she went back inside her house.

...but she paused as soon as she went inside. Who EXACTLY was this stranger, and how did he come to her house so unequipped? He must've dropped something along the way...

With that, she stepped outside her house and into the Forest of Magic. Luigi was already nowhere to be seen. How did he move so fast? She pushed those thoughts aside and started exploring.

She eventually stopped when she heard a fierce battle. She peeked behind a bush to see Luigi and Rumia duking it out. She then bumped against something with her ankle. She covered her mouth to try not to yelp in pain. She looked at what she bumped against. A small, square green briefcase with an 'L' emblem on it. That must be Luigi's property. She picked it up... and...

well, she didn't want to interrupt and distract Luigi, so she took it home with her. And she never brought it up... until Luigi was starting to head out for the Human Village for the first time.

"Alright, alright, Reimu it is..." Luigi was about to leave to E. Gadd's lab until Alice practically jumped out of her own house to stop him. "Luigi, wait!"

"Gosh, you're indecisive, aren't you?"

"Uhm... I found a square briefcase that kind of has your colors and the letter on your hat..."

"Ah! My suitcase! You found it!"

"Y-yes... but... uh... I didn't look inside it, so I put it under your bed."

Luigi just did a slight chuckle. "Ah hah, don't worry about it. It's just some spare clothes. I'll come back to it when I really need it, okay?"

"...Okay, sounds good."

Luigi then went to E. Gadd's lab and knocked on the door to meet with Red Toad-

...And now we're here. Although where did his spare overalls go?

"...Yukari must've gapped my suitcase along with myself and now my spare overalls are lost to time forever. Good thing I have another seventy pairs at home... Although these new clothes don't suit my famous iconic look, it's better than going out with everything torn..."

Red Toad respected Luigi's privacy. "Alright, I'll be with Alice, then." He walked offscreen.

Luigi then got to work on undressing out of his overalls and into his new outfit.

Red Toad walked into the other room. Alice was still making tea.

She asked without even turning. "Is Luigi up yet?"

"Yep."

"Right. Tell him I'll be a couple more moments."

They heard footsteps behind him. "No need. Already here."

They turned to Luigi, and he was rocking a fresh new look.

He was wearing an open-zip green jacket, over a plain-white T-shirt. Blue jeans underneath, with his brown shoes being one of two things intact from his original outfit. The other being, of course, his infamous L hat. He tipped his hat. "So how do I look?"

Red Toad twiddled his fingers. "You kinda look like some degenerate 14 year old who got isekaied into this world with gamer abilities and needs to remind us every 5 seconds by saying 'stats' or 'shop' every 5 seconds to increase the word count."

"Very specific, Red Toad!" Luigi pointed finger guns at him. "Alice, can I get a second opinion that doesn't sound like an overly critical critic?"

Alice stuck a thumbs up. "Very fashionable, Luigi."

Luigi clicked his fingers with a bigger grin than when Toad gave his reception. "THAT'S what I wanna hear. Anyway, I'm gonna talk to E. Gadd. See if my Poltergust's fixed."

Red Toad zipped quickly to appear right in front of him. "Not so fast, chief."

"Don't start with me, Toad. I've had a very long day."

Red Toad exaggerated his hand movements. "What are ya gonna do when you get the Poltergust back? Go immediately diving headfirst into danger without a plan? Or anything coherent?"

"I'll figure out all the details when I arrive to the mansion. Just like I always do." With that, Luigi casually put Red Toad to one side and went to E. Gadd's lab.

"It'll take a while to fix."

"WHAT?!"

Luigi was shocked at E. Gadd's unfortunate news.

The professor was turning it around, examing it. "There's all sorts of cuts and dents in it... If I ever had a word to describe 'this will take an entire day to fix', then I would find that word instantly."

Luigi thought for a moment. "What about Nitori?"

"Even if I sent it to her - which I REALLY don't want to - it would take her long because she's not completely familiar with the Poltergust."

"T-then I'll just go into that mansion again without my stu-"

"NO."

Luigi was startled by E. Gadd's sharp and loud response.

"J-just..." The professor eased his words. "No. You can't go in there empty-handed. That's askin' for trouble. I'll fix it. Go relax for a day."

Luigi was sent out with those words. "Relax for a moment...? Either the princess or Mario are in that mansion, with Bowser's sudden silence too..." Luigi put his hands over his cheeks and closed his eyes for a moment. "What do I do?"

"Hey."

"Luigi stopped grimacing and turned to the voice. It was Red Toad. The fungus man smiled. "Hey, Luigi, you seem pretty stressed, so I let Alice know that you and me are going on a walk within that village we've been to! Don't worry about Blue Toad and Yellow Toad. They're off doing... errands. Something to do with bunny girls and lolis."

"What's a loli?" Luigi blinked.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The plumber sneezed.

"...bless you."

Luigi pointed at himself. "Me?" He then pointed at Red Toad. "You?" He dropped his pointed hand? "Walk? In the Human Village?" He shrugged. "But I have so many complicated tasks to do-"

Red Toad smiled even wider.

"...Gadd set you up, didn't he."

"He did."

Luigi and Red Toad walked into the Human Village. Luigi awkwardly tugged his green jacket. "This is really breezy. I feel like it's threatening to fly off if I have it too loose..."

"But the jacket makes you look extra swag!" Red Toad complimented.

"Never say swag again." Luigi shook his head. "Why are we here anyway? We've BEEN here before!"

"Oh, if only you'll figure it out soon..." Red Toad ran ahead, disappearing from Luigi's sight.

Luigi's glare deepened. "I wish everyone would stop being so cryptic..."

He walked forward into the village some more, and stumbled into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry-WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Luigi looked up and screamed at the sight of a headless person.

He then paused.

"Oh."

"Wait."

"It's just Sekibanki."

"..."

Luigi continued because he's never going to get used to someone being headless. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Sekibanki's head floated back onto her body. "Relax. I'm not gonna eat you."

Luigi nodded. "I know. AAAAAAAAAAH!" He screamed regardless.

"What?! What's wrong?!"

"Just needed to get that one out of my system."

Sekibanki sighed, and during her sighing, she noticed Luigi's drip. "Huh. You wear more than one outfit?"

"You don't?" Luigi blinked

"..."

"..."

"..."

Luigi's concern grew wider. "Okay, I know that Reimu didn't have a shower, but now I'm worried for all citizens of Gensokyo..."

He paused.

He realised what he just said.

"Reimu..? That's right...!"

He finally understood why Red Toad brought him here. Although he didn't want his pride tarnished, he'd have to crawl to Reimu for help.

Sekibanki was confused when Luigi just started running for it. He ran past Mokou's joint, past Kogasa's joint - wait, Kogasa? Luigi slowed down to process that but kept running ahead.

He turned right around the corner and up the stairs.

Straight to the Hakurei Shrine with Red Toad and... Marisa?!

The magician turned to them and stumbled back a bit. "Wah - it's the green guy!"

Luigi aimed his Po-oh, wait, Luigi was grabbing onto nothing. "Alright, Marisa, what's your game here? What are you going to steal this time?"

Marisa raised her fist. "Hey! It's not stealing! It's borrowing! Besides, I'm sorry for takin' your friend earlier, ze! We got a serious situation! Where's Reimu?"

"..." Luigi walked toward the shrine. "Hold the phone..." Luigi knocked on the shrine entrance. "Oh, Reimuuuu! It's your food delivery guy! Luigi! Here to deliver food for free! That's right, absolutely free...!"

"Luigi!" Red Toad shouted.

"Hai, it's-a-me, Luigi..."

"Have you finally figured it out yet? Come here!" Red Toad pointed before himself.

...Luigi awkwardly obliged and stood in front of Red Toad.

"Now, kneel down so we're face to face. I have something important to say."

...Luigi kneeled down. This is so awkward.

Red Toad curled his fist back and punched Luigi in the face, knocking him to the ground. Marisa watched in amazement.

Luigi rolled in pain. "Oooow..."

"You may never take me seriously with my squeaky voice, but..." Red Toad looked angry. "You've been through three mansions, doing it entirely by yourself! And I'm tired of seeing you struggling because of it!"

He loomed down on Luigi and uttered words that Luigi wanted to hear from Reimu.

"I'm joining your mansion raid."