Author Notes - I found it kinda weird that one of the first floors you go to gameplay-wise was floor number five.
Chambrea was a fun boss though, as she's rather unique. She requires slamming to reduce her health (even MacFrights doesn't need to be slammed in his second phase), she doesn't stay in the one arena, and when you beat her the button does not go flying out of the Poltergust. (Update from Future Me - I forgot that Johnny Deepend and Polterkitty exist, apparently.)
Speaking of which, according to LM3's settings, the official term for using the Poltergust is 'poltergusting'.
Thanks to Fee1919V, TAWOGfan2000, breath20k, and WarryarusBoi for the favourites/follows!
UPDATE 14/05/20 - Moved beginning flashback scene to end.
UPDATE 8/02/21 - Less typos, less paragraph breaks, and other minor changes, cos if the changes weren't minor that would require re-reading and I don't want that
CHAPTER FOUR - SUITE OR SOUR RETREATS
'Goodness! How do those mortals and ghosts deal with all this dust?!'
Chambrea brushed her feather duster against just about every surface in that red plumber's room. She wrinkled her nose at the very sight of the half-eaten pizzas on the floor.
'What a hero... can't even clean up after himself! Why can't he be more like the nice green boy? There isn't even anything worth taking!'
Truthfully, she only did her job because everything needed to be sparkly clean. Helping others was an afterthought. She would've liked one more thing though - money. It'd be nice if Hellen Gravely ever paid her. After a while, she finally finished with that room. She sighed, and nearly dropped her duster in exhaustion.
'I swear, if the mushrooms are even worse... I need a raise...'
She looked down to her impressive gut, and the painting that lay within it. The terrified look Daisy gave her through the still portrait put a smile on her face.
'So, what do you think? Did I do a good job at fixing up this mess of a room?'
Daisy couldn't respond, but behind the stillness one could see the fear and frustration in her eyes increase. It made Chambrea chuckle.
'Of course you agree. I don't slave away for hours for nothing, you know. Even if I do... Now... time to clean up the mush rooms.'
What the heck could E. Gadd's interesting thing be? He already had the new Poltergust, and the Dark-Light device, so what else was there? It could've been something as fantastical as another magic paintbrush, or maybe the 'Hydrogush 5000'.
'Wait just a moment, sonny.' E. Gadd said as he approached his car. 'You'll see it soon enough.'
He walked up to the trunk of his car, and without even looking he booted it with his elbow. The latch flew open, revealing a, uh... silver dome-looking thing with lines criss-crossing over it, whose sheen reflected the ceiling lights well. E. Gadd took it out, making how big it was in comparison to him that much more obvious. Luigi's eyes sparkled at the sheer shine the thing gave off. In fact, it practically hypnotised him.
'Shiny...' He muttered, reaching for the Shiny. 'Me like shiny...'
'Luigi!' E. Gadd snapped. 'Don't touch!'
Luigi yelped and backed away, his arms stuck to his straightened sides. E. Gadd sighed, remembering why he never had children.
'Okay. What is it?' Luigi asked.
'Just another one of my brilliant inventions. Come on. I'm certain you'll be amazed.'
Polterpup gave him a questioning look. Regardless, Luigi followed E. Gadd when he walked into the middle of the carpark where there were no parked cars in the way.
'Behold!' E. Gadd announced, motioning to the, uh, wall I guess. 'The Portable-' He turned around, and remembered that he hadn't activated the darn thing yet. 'Oh, for goodness' sake...'
As he settled the dome thing on the floor, Luigi contemplated getting the guy thrown into a retirement home. E. Gadd pressed the big red button on the top, and the crossing lines glowed bright green. It emitted smoke, while the sound of gears could be heard. E. Gadd backed up all the way until he stood by Luigi's side. The man in green leaned forward with his curiosity piqued, until E. Gadd held his arm out to stop him.
'So, uh, what does it-?'
'Just a few more seconds...'
For a few seconds, the dome thing just sat there, emitting steam like an overheated car engine. Until, of course, it suddenly grew about fifty times its size, and sprouted very E. Gadd-like features on its walls.
'Wait, wha... wait, what?!'
The dome thing now resembled both E. Gadd's bunker in Evershade Valley and his face. Before Luigi could piece any thoughts together, a couple of satellites burst from its top and into the ceiling. They left a noticeable dent in the concrete above, scattering dust everywhere.
'So sonny, what do you think?'
Words were completely beyond Luigi at this point. All he could do was stare with his jaw wide open.
'I. I. You. The. Huh?' Was the most coherent statement he could come up with.
'Impressive, isn't it?' E. Gadd said, approaching the mouth-door. 'It's another one of my brilliant inventions: a portable lab! Thank goodness I packed this for my trip, eh? It's sturdy, safe, and air conditioned!'
Luigi still stared with his mouth agape. I'm fairly certain that his mind snapped.
'Well? Get in here, boys! This bunker is a hundred percent ghost-proof - except for Polterpup, of course - so you best get in posthaste!'
Polterpup realised his owner wasn't going to break from this trance, so he grabbed his arm and pulled him along. Once he finally got inside the lab, Luigi snapped out of his stunned staring. It reminded him of the bunker from Evershade Valley, what with the various computer screens hanging from the wall above E. Gadd's desk. The ghost container unit rested in the corner. E. Gadd already had himself placed on the spinning chair.
'Wow... this is impressive.' He said, mostly just happy to have breathable air and no phantoms to worry about.
'Of course it's impressive! When do I create anything less than impressive?'
A shiny bit of paper on the desk caught his attention. Upon peering at it closer, he noticed how familiar it was.
'Congratulations, Elvin Gadd! You're the lucky winner of a free stay at a world-class hotel, The Last Resort! We look forward to dazzling you with first-rate-'
He gasped. 'You were invited too?'
E. Gadd nodded, his expression far more serious than usual. 'Long story short... I was tricked. They said they had a precious collection of ghosts, gathered from all over the world! No self-respecting ghost researcher would pass up on such an appealing offer, obviously!'
Luigi sighed, as if he was really in a place to judge, Mr-Fell-For-The-Same-Trap-Twice.
'They captured me, and got their spindly little arms on my ghost collection! Fortunately, it seems most of them are still in the container. If that hotel owner took away King Boo, that'd really get under my skin! He's my favourite...'
Luigi's eyes widened, and he scratched the back of his neck. Things suddenly got very awkward very quickly.
He laughed nervously. 'Uh, y-yeah... um, about that...'
'What? They've released King Boo?!' E. Gadd yelled, his jaw and glasses falling. He buried his face in his hands. 'Ugh! That hotel owner! What has she done?!'
Luigi played with his hands for a moment, trying to soothe the stress of his current predicament. Most of said stress came from how he knew exactly where the professor was about to go.
'Luigi!' E. Gadd said, lifting his head back up. 'You're our only hope! Against all odds, without any hesitation, and at any cost...get my favourite ghost back!'
The plumber sighed again; he wasn't surprised that the professor had skewed priorities. Just disappointed.
'What's with that look, Luigi? Am I forgetting something important?'
Luigi raised an eyebrow at him.
'Oh. Oh! That's right! I forgot about saving your friends and family. Completely and totally forgot.'
Between this and treating his Toad assistants poorly, he has a bad track record. Polterpup growled at him again. While he would never attack a friend, it was really tempting right about now.
'Regardless! To find ghosts and your friends, you'll need to explore this hotel! To help you out, I'll give you one of my greatest inventions yet!'
Seemingly from his pocket, he pulled out a big red device bigger than his body. And those Nintendo nerds out there might recognise it.
'I call it...the Virtual Boo! VB for short!'
Luigi's eyes widened. The VB didn't just look somewhat familiar. It was practically identical to that old Virtual Boy that literally everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom thought was the dumbest thing ever. Luigi himself thought it was alright, or at least he would have if it didn't give him a headache every time he tried to use it.
'It's a state-of-the-art virtual-reality device fitted with a fancy red screen! Really cutting-edge stuff. And red is all the rage, you know? Just wait until I finish the marketing materials on this. It'll fly off the shelves!'
Luigi just barely managed to stifle his laughter. Polterpup glanced at him to say 'just let him have this one', though letting the professor find out the inevitable disappointment doesn't seem much better. Wondering how the VB could've been such a downgrade from both the Game Boy Horror and Dual Scream, he took it and stuffed it into his own oversized pockets.
'You can use the VB to communicate with me at any time. Hey, maybe we can test out the communications system later... Oh, and I have one more thing to give you.'
From presumably the same pocket, he pulled out a... red cylinder looking thing. You tell me how to describe his devices.
Luigi took it, and inspected it all over. 'Okay? What is it? What do I do with this?'
'The very first thing you need to do is install this elevator tracker inside the elevator for me, OK? As for what it is... I'll tell you later! Go on and get it installed! Head for the elevator! I'm counting on you, Luigi!'
'I am not telling her. You can go tell her.'
'And face her wrath? Heck no! You tell her.'
'Look, how about we play on it. Okay?'
'Alright... scissors, paper, roc... DANG IT!'
'Congratulations honey! You get to tell Ms Gravely that we done goofed.'
'Uh... best of three?'
'Sam, get going.'
Sam sighed, in frustration and despair. She and her partner Charles stood just outside Hellen Gravely's office. The arguments had gone on long enough, and now Sam had been elected to tell her.
'I don't wanna...' She whined.
'Okay, how about this?' Charles said. 'You have to talk to her now. I have to talk to her next. Deal?'
She grinned. 'You mean when she's probably gonna be even more furious? Heck yeah!'
With an air of confidence, she flew into Hellen's office. The hotel owner was looking away, focused on her screens. She must've been paying a lot of attention to them, because she didn't make any sounds. And instantly all of Sam's confidence vanished.
She cleared her throat and waved. 'So, Ms Gravely, we-'
The chair spun around, greeting her with a peeved-off Hellen. 'YOU IMBECILES!'
Hellen took out her make-up and powdered her whole face, multiple times. With that done, she slammed her hands into her desk.
'How could you let him get a hold of that blasted vacuum cleaner?!' She yelled. 'That was the ONE thing we couldn't let happen! And what did you do?'
Sam chuckled nervously, just loud enough so she couldn't hear her partner violently bashing his forehead into his arms.
'Er... we let-'
'YOU LET IT HAPPEN!'
Sam unleashed a very high-pitched sound as she flinched, covering her face with her arms while muttering 'please don't hit me' over and over again to herself.
'How do you work for me for this long and still remain as INCOMPETENT AS HELL?!'
Sam had been reduced to a shivering pile of blue. She swallowed her fear, and tried her hardest to look her boss in the eye.
'T-To be fair to us, all you told Charles and I to do was mark off those pictures and keep an eye on him. And we did exactly that. AND, Owen and whats-her-name did hide that Dark-Light thingy like you told them to.'
'So why does Luigi have the 'Dark-Light thingy' on him then, hm?' Hellen questioned, much more calmly.
'Wait, he got the light thingy?! Oh my Jaydes, we're doomed!'
Charles groaned, and drifted into the scene. Upon seeing her partner in the room, Sam smiled and relaxed.
'Let's not panic right now.' He said. 'He still hasn't saved anyone, has he?'
'Other than that professor, no.' Hellen responded, tapping her fingers on the desk. 'Which I'll take the blame for. I should've known putting him in the mezzanine was a bad idea. But I wouldn't worry too much about that.'
She glanced at the Mario portrait leaning up against the wall. The terrified look in his eyes made her happy.
'Luigi, being the 'hero' he is, will refuse to leave without Mario. So by the time he gets up here, I'm sure you'll have taken care of him. And if you don't...' She slammed her hands down again. 'YOU'LL KNOW WHY THEY CALL ME MS GRAVELY!'
Charles went stiff, and nodded like a broken bobble head.
'Y-Yes ma'am. I assure you that Sam and I will keep watch of him. Isn't that right, Sam? Sam?'
Sam did not respond, as she was no longer by his side. Instead, she had made her way into the corner, where a fluffy cat bed rested. She crawled along on her hands, getting her smiling face very close to a pink ghost cat that slept in the bed.
'Hi there, Polterkitty.' She said.
The cat, Polterkitty, slowly lifted her head and opened her blue eyes. Her three tails lashed, and she looked at Sam with her eyes half-closed.
'You're such a cutie, ya know that?' Sam said, holding her hand out.
Polterkitty rubbed her cheeks against the open palm, purring contently. Her ruby collar jangled as she pushed her head into the welcoming hand.
'Mrow!'
'N'awww, you're so cute!'
'Polterkitty, darling.' Hellen said.
Sam retracted her arm as soon as she heard her boss's voice. Polterkitty looked up at her owner with wide eyes, not blinking once. Hellen gave her a smile that was a little too sweet.
'I'm sure you know that our workers aren't worthy enough to pat you. We all know only I can do that.'
Polterkitty kept up her wide-eyed stare, but nodded.
'Good. Glad to see you still remember that. Now, as for you two...'
Charles and Sam waited, hating how every second of silence built up the dread for her inevitable orders.
'MAKE SURE MY STAFF HAVE THEIR CRAP TOGETHER!'
The couple soared out of the office, screaming their heads off. Hellen groaned, her eyes falling upon a framed photo on her desk. Oh, how she loved that photo. It was of King Boo, and all of his handsome glory. She placed her head in her hands, and sighed blissfully.
'Don't worry. I'll make sure you get what you want. Then I'll get what I want.'
She lifted her feather boa up to her face and gave it a sniff. It made her exhale with glee; thanks to a special detergent, it smelled exactly like King Boo.
Luigi - after nearly dropping the thing several times in the process - managed to install the elevator tracker right where E. Gadd wanted him to. It opened up into two screens that hung from the wall, one that showed the layout of the floor he was on, and the other much smaller one above it that was blank, until E. Gadd popped up on the feed.
'Hello Luigi!' He said. 'It seems the installation was a success! That device takes the data of the floor layout and displays it on the monitor. Isn't that great? Hey, why don't you take those elevator buttons you've collected, and insert them into the panel?'
Of course, Luigi still had those buttons on his person. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the one labelled '1'.
'A-ha!' He said, holding it up like a trophy.
But as he went to install it into place, it began jiggling around in his hand like a wild animal trying to break free. He glanced at it for a moment, before it flew right out of his hand.
'Whoa!'
It seemed to do so for no reason other than 'haunted hotel'. Polterpup had to fight his urge to play fetch with it, as drool pooled down the sides of his mouth. It came in for a landing, and twisted itself into place.
'Uh, that works too.'
He took out the '5' button, and just like the last one it flew into its correct spot.
'Oh yeah!'
'Oh, did I mention that the data is automatically sent to the Virtual Boo?' E. Gadd continued. 'So you'll be able to check the map at any time! Those buttons will let you reach new floors, ripe for exploration! Oh, and you might find your friends there. No guarantee though!'
Whether that ending comment was more of E. Gadd's wonderful priorities that made Luigi very concerned, or him reminding Luigi to keep his expectations down, is up to you.
'Before you head off, we'll need to test the VB's communication capabilities. You should be getting a call, right about...'
Luigi jumped a little as the ringtone played rather suddenly. It was a familiar one, similar to the song he hummed to in that first mansion. He answered the call by putting the clunky VB up to his eyes. The red-on-black graphics hit him in the face, but fortunately for him they were far more subdued this time around, making any headaches unlikely.
E. Gadd popped up right in the middle of the screen. 'Testing, testing, one two three. This is E. Gadd, resident genius! Am I coming through loud and clear?'
It sounded like the voice was coming from directly inside his head.
'Uh, yep.' Luigi responded.
'Fantastic! It appears to be working perfectly! Which means you can contact me at any time if need be.'
Luigi smiled. Between this and his Polterpup, he knew he'd be a lot less lonely this time around.
'OK! Testing my inventions is fun, but we should get back to work. Speaking of which... I have a job for you!'
His smile faded.
'I was actually staying in a room on floor five. There's a briefcase in there. Could you fetch it for me?'
'S-Sure, I guess.'
'Wonderful! My room number is... oh blast, what was it? I believe it was all the way at the back. Eh, you'll know when you see it. Good luck, Luigi! Try to come back alive!'
E. Gadd's laughter was the last thing Luigi heard before the call ended. The plumber put it away, groaning. He looked down to his dog, who was wagging his tail.
'Heh. At least one of us is excited.'
The elevator ride up there was both too long, and too short somehow. The doors opened up, and the only brevity Luigi had here was that he knew this floor would be at least a little familiar. Polterpup waltzed out like he wasn't in some sort of horrific situation. Then again, it wasn't like he could die. Luigi followed after him, his knees shaking the most they had yet that night.
'How do you do it?' He asked his partner.
'Woof!'
'Heh. So that's your secret.'
He barely got five steps out the door, until E. Gadd called him again. After getting over his flashbacks of getting called every two seconds in Evershade Valley, he answered.
'Sorry for the call sonny, but I just realised I forgot to tell you about another of the Poltergust G-00's new capabilities. I call it... the Suction Shot!'
Though you couldn't see it through the VB, Luigi had a very concerned look on his face.
'It fires out a plunger at whatever you're aiming at, and if you use your Poltergust on it you can hoist anything over your shoulders! Okay, maybe not everything. Some things may require double the power, but we'll get to that later. Try it out!'
With the call over, Luigi now had the time to wonder what the heck the professor was on about. He inspected the nozzle of his weapon, and noticed another button at the back.
'How did I not notice that?'
He held the button, and right out of nowhere his flashlight got replaced by the end of a plunger.
'Ah! O-Okay. So I...'
He let go of the button, and the Poltergust fired the plunger - which had a rope attached to the end of it - exactly where he was 'aiming' at. It stuck to the wall, before popping off and vanishing.
'Ah, I get it! Luigi understand now.'
But what was this about hoisting objects over his shoulder?
'Okay, so now I know I can do that. Maybe we should be looking for that suitcase, huh? You think you can find E. Gadd's room for me?'
Polterpup nodded, and put his nose to the ground. He picked up a lot of scents on the floor, each one unique for every guest. The aroma of pizza was definitely Mario. The perfume that made him sneeze belonged to Peach. And the smell of coffee and ectoplasm...
His head shot up. 'Arf arf!'
Luigi smiled. 'You got something?'
Polterpup nodded with his tongue hanging out.
'Take me there!'
The ghostly puppy dashed off to the left hallway, where the Toads' rooms were. He leapt over some suitcases that blocked the way. Luigi, on the other hand, was totally weighed down by the vacuum on his back.
'How am I supposed to...?' He smirked at Polterpup. 'Watch this!' He said, while not being sure that it would work.
He aimed a plunger at one of the suitcases, and fired. It latched onto the side of it, and unlike the last shot this one stayed in place, no doubt a very consumer-friendly feature. Intuitively, the end of the rope fit into his Poltergust perfectly without getting sucked up. With the rope in his grasp, he backed away until the rope couldn't be stretched any further. Just like how he would when slamming ghosts, he lifted the nozzle up.
'Eee... YAH!'
Like a charm, the suitcase went flying over his head, and crashed into the floor behind him. It fell to pieces, and practically nothing remained except shards of broken leather and shattered bits of luggage. Polterpup yelped in surprise, and cheered on his awesome owner. He even performed the most adorable dance you will ever see a little dog perform.
'That's right, Polterpup! I am strong! Nothing is too heavy for Luigi to lift!' He claimed while flexing, which only showed his lack of muscles.
'Arf!' Polterpup barked in a manner a little more annoyed than usual.
'O-Oh, right.'
Luigi joined his dog on the other side of the suitcases now that he could walk on through. He saw a little lounging area in front of him, and to his left the rest of the hallway. The moon provided him with plenty of white natural light.
He looked down to Polterpup. 'You think the professor's room is down there?'
'Arf arf!'
'Well, then let's get the briefcase and then out of here.'
The duo walked down the hallway, enjoying the beautiful moonlight while they still had it. Luigi had the Strobulb in his hand, just in case something leapt out at him.
'Be careful, boy.' He said. 'Ghosts could jump out at any-'
He saw something move in the corner of his eyes.
'AH! Get away from me!'
The beam from a fully-charged Strobulb filled the hallway. Once the light vanished from both the room and his eyes, he saw that there was nothing in the hallway but a cart of cleaning supplies in front of him.
'Oh! ... Oh.'
But then the cart, without anything in sight to make it seem possible, rolled across the floor on its own until it crashed into the floor. It fell over and sat there like a dead zebra. Luigi didn't scream, but he did stare into nothingness.
'Get me to the professor's room. Right now.'
Polterpup lead him around the corner and down the next corridor. For each room they passed, Luigi grew more and more uneasy. Maybe it was how the candles lit themselves as they walked past them. After several minutes of paranoia later, they arrived at the last room in the hallway, No. 508, exactly where the coffee-ectoplasm trail lead to. Polterpup sniffed at the door, and felt something on the other side. Whatever it was, it emitted an awful aura that he could feel through the wall. His owner didn't sense it, but he wouldn't be able to anyway. Only ghosts could feel the aura of another ghost.
'So, this is the professor's room?' Luigi asked.
'Yip!'
Luigi breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth, just like his parents taught him. Following the logic that hesitating would just delay getting out of there, he pushed the door open and entered. It seemed that Polterpup was right. Vials filled with unknown fluids were scattered across the floor. Blueprints and diagrams of various inventions dotted the walls. Wrenches and screwdrivers covered the bed and desk. It had E. Gadd proverbially written all over it. Luigi couldn't focus on these details, as his attention was set on the ghost in the room.
She was the same ghost Luigi saw from before, the maid ghost who was dusting the railing back when the hotel was golden. Chambrea. Polterpup growled at her, just quietly enough that she couldn't hear him. It took Luigi a lot of might not to scream immediately. Chambrea hadn't noticed them yet. She was too busy dusting the desk. She had a look of very visible disgust on her face. She picked up some of those papers, and arranged them into a pile.
'Ugh, the professor is even worse than the red boy!' She cried. 'This isn't even organised chaos. It's just insanity! Couldn't even be bothered to put these papers in numerical order...'
Her eyes fell upon a briefcase resting against the desk. It had E. Gadd's face on it, and the shininess of it attracted her attention.
'Ooh, this looks neat.' She said, lifting it off the floor. 'Most of this professor's junk is just nonsense words, but this could be interesting... wonder what's in it?'
Some maid she was. She peered closely at it, looking for any sort of clues for what its contents could be. Actually, Luigi wasn't paying attention to her, nor the fact that the briefcase she was looking at was definitely the one they were supposed to be looking for. No, he was focused on what lay in her belly. It was a portrait. But not any ordinary portrait. The terrified woman inside was very familiar to Luigi.
'Daisy!'
He slapped his hand over his mouth, but knew it was already too late. Chambrea turned to him immediately and gasped.
'You're... you're that green boy!'
She held the briefcase close to her chest, enwrapping it in her arms like it was her child.
'You want to take my briefcase , don't you?'
Luigi blinked at her, trying to piece a coherent sentence together.
'Uh, it's not your-'
'How DARE you?! I found this briefcase first, so now it's MINE!'
Can you believe that this maid is about fifty-four years old? At least, that was her age before she died. Luigi attempted to approach her, but she just hugged it tighter, reminding him of his preschool days.
'Can you just-?'
'Do you know how little compensation I get for the hours I slave away, doing this work?! I spend so much effort into keeping everything clean, then you mortals and those ghosts show up and mess it all up again! I think I deserve something, don't you think?'
Luigi opened his mouth to speak, but had to admit that she had a point. Granted, not a point that redeemed theft.
'Uh, h-here's a deal.' He said. 'J-Just give me the briefcase, and I'll-'
'You just won't give it up, will you? Fine then. I'll just make sure you can't get it.'
Luigi and Polterpup did not expect her next move. She lifted the briefcase up, opened her mouth wide, and shoved it down her throat. Somehow, she didn't just choke on it, and it slid through her throat like it was greased.
'Huh?' Luigi said. 'No!'
The briefcase - the entire reason they were here to begin with - landed in her gut and joined the portrait of Daisy.
'Wait, I-I needed that!'
Chambrea ignored his pleas, and flew into the wall. She got half-way through until her belly got stuck. Turns out that swallowing the giant trunk may not have been a good idea.
'Ugh... dang it! Come... on...' She muttered, struggling in place. 'Just... get... through!'
She managed to squeeze her way through after much struggling. Luigi stared at the spot where she disappeared into. He couldn't think of anything else but one thing.
'Daisy...'
The VB began calling him, but he didn't notice it. The thoughts of Daisy overtook anything else. Her look of terror buried its way into his mind. Polterpup nudged his leg.
'Huh?'
Then he noticed the VB calling.
'Oh!'
E. Gadd had a steaming cup of coffee on his desk, and was just now getting comfortable. He picked up his coffee and looked at the camera.
'Sorry sonny. I was just brewing up a Lunoman Greenie blend, so I hadn't the time to check on you. Have you gotten my briefcase back, by any chance?'
Luigi lifted up the VB to stare at the spot again for a moment, and returned to the call.
'Uh... I found it. But, uh, the maid ate it.' Only by saying it out loud did he realise how strange it was.
'She ate i-?! Ghost maids eating people's luggage? That's a new one. You'll have to go after her to get my briefcase back!'
'What's in it anyway?'
'It's a surprise, Luigi! But we'll both need it.' There was a small dinging in the background. 'Ooh, sounds like my whipping cream is ready. I'll have to call you back. Hope you get that important briefcase back!'
'Oh, and I found-'
E. Gadd hung up on him abruptly before he could mention the more exciting discovery. Though, did E. Gadd know about Daisy? Luigi had never mentioned her to him as far as he could remember. Luigi put the VB away, and armed himself with the Strobulb. He headed for the door with his chest puffed out. Though his knees shook, the determination emanating off the rest of his body was enough to hide it.
'Okay boy. Let's go after that maid.' He spoke just like an actor in an action movie.
'Arf?'
Even Polterpup couldn't believe his owner's change in attitude. Heck, Luigi could barely believe it. The next time his mouth opened, however, the confidence had disappeared. His voice sounded weaker, and close to tears.
'I just want Daisy back.'
It didn't take Luigi long to find Chambrea again. After her glorious attempt at phasing through the wall, she snuck off into the adjacent room. He didn't even need Polterpup's help in tracking her down. Judging by the deflated balloons and streamers on the floor - and the yellow luggage - this had to be Parr T's room. The sunny fungus always felt the need to carry around a portable party with him wherever he went.
Chambrea floated in the middle of the room, leering at all the garbage on the floor. 'Ugh... the floor is still a lost cause.'
She hadn't quite noticed Luigi in the doorway yet. He stared at the shiny trunk in her stomach, the same trunk that hid the Daisy portrait away from him.
That stupid briefcase can wait... I gotta save Daisy first.
'I wonder why the green boy even wants my suitcase in the first place...' She muttered, sweeping away at the streamers. 'It clearly isn't his! His belongings have that green L on them, not some weird face. And he gets mad at me for stealing! I've seen that guy's mansion. He's well-off!'
With her distracted by rainbow-coloured pieces of string, Luigi approached her slowly but surely. He had the Strobulb a-charging for the right moment.
'And it's such a shame too.' Chambrea said. 'I thought a boy who holds cleanliness in such high regards would know better than to steal things that don't belong to-'
She noticed some green at the corner of her eye. She turned her head, and saw the green boy walking towards her. He flinched, but by some miracle hadn't let go of the Strobulb button.
'Haven't you learned?!' She shouted through gritted teeth. 'I found this suitcase first, and so it's mine to-'
'I need it!' Luigi yelled as he activated the flash.
'Hey!'
And, got 'er! Chambrea froze in place and stood defenceless, which considering that her weapon of choice was a feather duster wasn't much of a downgrade. Luigi could see Daisy looking at him through the ghost's gut, and it gave him all the courage he needed to get the maid's tail into his weapon.
'No, no!' She cried. 'Get off me!'
Sucking in her tail took practically no effort and she didn't even fly around the room, thus keeping Luigi in place. Just one problem: she wasn't moving at all. She remained with her tail stuck in the nozzle thanks to the briefcase, no matter (how do I word this) how long he held down the 'suck' button. What followed was a stalemate, where Luigi couldn't get her into his Poltergust but she couldn't move due to being stuck in it.
'I... believe this isn't how this is supposed to happen, is it?' Chambrea asked.
'Uh... no.' Luigi answered simply.
He held down the button anyway, in hopes that she could end up going down thus pushing both the briefcase and portrait out of her. It was clear it wasn't going to work, but he didn't want to give up.
'T-This might take a while...' He said.
In an attempt to get her to go down, he jiggled the nozzle around a bit, to no avail. Chambrea, meanwhile, smiled. She was certainly not getting rid of that briefcase now. Not to mention that she had the green boy in a prime position. She reached out her feather duster, and began tickling his face.
'Kootchie kootchie coo!'
Luigi struggled to keep his grip on the Poltergust. The feathers irritated his face, and that wasn't even getting into all the dust that was making him choke.
He felt a tickle in his nose.
Gah! D-Don't sneeze now!
'It's okay, Green Boy.' Chambrea said, her grin growing. 'I can do this for as long as I need to.'
He held onto his Poltergust tight.
'Ah... ahhh...'
His eyes began to water. The tickling only got worse. The urge was growing, and the worst part was that he couldn't do a thing about it.
'AHHH-CHOOO!'
Relief washed over him as he allowed his body to do as it commanded, ending the horrid tickling sensation. The relief soon disappeared when he realised that he - just as he guessed - had let go of the Poltergust. Sniffling and wiping his watery eyes, he gasped upon seeing that Chambrea had gotten free. She was waving at him with a big smirk on her face.
'Thanks for letting me free, Green Boy.' She said. 'I'd hate to say it, but it's about time I left. I can't have you getting a hold of my precious briefcase!'
She zipped out the door, managing to slip through the wall with ease this time. Taking Daisy's portrait with her. Luigi gazed at the door, and growled to himself. Just his luck that the one time a ghost was wielding a harmless weapon, it was a feather duster loaded with, well, dust! He clenched his fists; just thinking about it angered him more! He was so close to saving Daisy before his stupid allergies did him in.
'Gah! I can't even fight a maid without screwing up!'
'Yip?'
The sound of Polterpup whimpering melted most of his anger away almost instantly. Luigi's heart melted upon looking at his boy. The puppy's eyes couldn't have been any more heart-wrenching to look at, at least to him.
'You okay, boy?'
'Arf...'
Curse the language barrier. He made a mental note to ask E. Gadd for a Polterpup Translator at some point. In the mean time, he had to make some guesses.
'You saying that I shouldn't be so hard on myself?'
Polterpup nodded. 'Yip!'
It was a message that Luigi had received from a lot of people. Mostly Mario. Mario said it all the time.
'You're amazing, Weegee!' He would say. 'Don't be so hard on yourself.'
Mario had to say it all the time, because that was how often Luigi had this problem. If only being told essentially 'stop being insecure' actually solved the problem. The fear on Daisy's face had engraved its way into him. Instead of ignoring it, he focused on it. He closed his eyes and imagined that face in front of his.
He smiled. 'Y-Yeah... I gotta save Daisy!'
He adopted a more serious, determined expression, the same Mario often had when going to face Bowser. His shaky hands kinda ruined the look.
'Let's go, boy.'
'Woof!'
Author Notes - E. Gadd's dialogue in the game goes on FOREVER, so I tried my best to cut it down as much as possible while retaining all the basic points. Com'on professor, I already love ma words. You're making it worse!
Did I make Hellen Gravely creepy enough? I wanna make her obsession with King Boo really, really creepy. Granted, it's creepy enough in the game, but I want to up it to Disney's Frollo levels.
By the way, with Polterkitty I'm trying to get her mannerisms to be akin to an actual cat. Mostly my own, the weirdo Tommy and the affectionate late Stanley. I love my boys, even if Stanley is long gone now. So if you know cat body language you might get my interpretation of her.
Princess Daisy's excitement could easily be seen due to it manifesting into her running so fast, you'd blink and miss her. What got her so excited was that she had been invited to the Mario Star Tennis tournament in the Mushroom Kingdom. Not only did she like sports, but it would be her first time in the kingdom. Finally, she could meet up back with her saviour Mario, and her best friend Princess Peach.
As she dashed through the town populated by sentient fungi, most of them stared at her in shock. How could a princess move so... unladylike? Daisy didn't mind her 'not like other princesses' reputation. In fact, she loved it. There was nothing wrong with being a typical princess, but it just wasn't for her. She saw that grand white castle approaching her as she took to the nice dirt path, and was so focused on her destination that she barely paid attention to the road.
'Ah! Look o-!'
Which was why she ploughed right into a man who had been walking on the path himself, and who Daisy just barely saw before smacking into him. The two of them fell to the ground, a cloud of dust enveloping them.
'Ow...' The man muttered.
Daisy gasped, lifting her torso off the ground. 'Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I-'
Her words trailed off as she finally got a good look at the man. For a moment, she thought he was her saviour from the evil Tatanga, and she was about to freak out. Upon further inspection, however, she noticed that it wasn't quite the same guy. This man was noticeably taller and skinnier, and though the outfit was very similar he wore green instead of red. Instead of an 'M', his cap read 'L'.
'Are you... Mario's brother?' She asked.
She heard nothing about Mario having a brother, but that was the only possibility with how similar he looked. He must not have been nearly as famous. He said nothing, and instead looked at her with half-closed eyes while breathing rather jerkily. It took her a little while to notice that he was just trying to hold back a sneeze. And failing.
'AH-CHOO!'
She didn't care at all that he just got spittle over her new tennis outfit. Upon hearing that delightfully weird sound, she began to giggle.
'Oh my gosh! That had to be the funniest yet cutest sneeze I've ever heard!'
As if he weren't adorable enough, her remark made his cheeks redden more than the clothes of his apparent brother. Without even getting off the ground, he sheltered his eyes under his cap.
'There you are, bro!'
With excellent timing, Mario arrived. So Daisy was right; they were brothers!
'Oh, hi Daisy!' He greeted. 'Should've known you'd arrive early.'
With no delay, the blushing man in green jumped to his feet and hid behind Mario. He lifted his cap up slightly to peek at her.
'Go on, bro.' Mario said with a smile. 'Introduce yourself!'
Mario stepped to the side, as if knowing the man in green wouldn't move. Upon laying his eyes on Daisy, his blushing intensified. He gave a weak little wave, to which she returned.
'Hi I'm Daisy!' She said, stepping a little closer. 'What's your name?'
He gulped, and muttered a few times too quietly for anyone to hear. After a while, he finally managed to speak.
'L-Luigi...'
AND he had a skittish, nasally voice to boot? Now this guy was just perfection.
'Luigi's a little shy.' Mario explained, giving the ultimate understatement.
'And he's quite the cutie too!' She blurted out with no regrets.
His entire face turned red. Then he fainted.
