Author Notes - I was stuck on the fight with MacFrights WAAAY longer than I care to admit. Prepare to hear me say that a lot. It did take me 12 hours to beat the game the first time round. I don't know if that's good or not.
BUT, I did manage to solve not just the castle's death trap but those in the Tomb Suites without dying once. That's gotta account for something, right? But I did die to Chef Soulfflé, so I guess it evens out... question mark?
Forget to mention this last chapter, but I am beginning to post bits of concept art of the Boss Ghosts on my DeviantArt account. I'm currently up to Kruller, by the way, but if my drawings outspeed my writing I won't post the art until the Boss Ghost is defeated.
Thanks to ChrisGamer3095, The Worst Writer21 (surely you're not that bad), DARKPHANTOM13 and Kelstar159 for the favourites/follows (combining them saves words!)
CHAPTER TWELVE - THY BATTLE IN YE COLISEUM
*SLAP*
Luigi stopped screaming immediately.
'GET IT TOGETHER, LUIGI! If you give up now, we're both going to die!'
Everything else came to a standstill. He rubbed his cheek, barely even flinching when the pain intensified. No emotion could come through as the realisation sunk in.
She just slapped him. Hard. He couldn't even ask her why.
'Don't look at me like that!' She yelled. 'I can't do jack squat. Use Gooigi to get the gate open before we're turned into paste!'
The slap did one good thing though: whether it was the pain or merely the action itself, Luigi forgot how broken he was two seconds ago.
*THUD*
The walls jerked forward once more. Some of their spikes sparkled under the flashlight. The rest were covered in too much dry blood to be able to do so.
Polterpup yanked the rope with his mouth, and dragged his paws across the dirt as he tried to pull the ball any further. The rusted mechanics inside the walls needed more force than he was capable of applying.
Luigi stepped up to the gate, and deployed Gooigi. Squeezing his gelatine body through the bars, he already felt relief wash over him.
'Open the gate! NOW!'
He couldn't blame her for yelling.
*THUD*
'HURRY!'
With half his time already gone, Gooigi ran over to the rope and got it into his Poltergust. He stepped back, taking great care not to break his fragile gooey body.
Daisy pulled on a couple of the bars, her rage allowing her to bend them quite a bit. But they stopped bending before she could quite fit her body through them.
'Come on...' She said through gritted teeth. 'COME ON!'
The Goob from before materialised behind Gooigi, holding another bucket of water. He seemed to take far too much delight in what he was about to do.
'GET AWAY FROM HIM!' Daisy shouted.
He just stuck his tongue out at her. 'And what are you gonna do about it? Oh, that's right. Nothing!'
Daisy shouted incoherent angrish as she shook the bars. 'Gah, I can't do ANYTHING! WHY AM I SO USELESS?!'
*THUD*
Had Gooigi been in his proper body, he would've stopped pulling on the rope the moment Daisy called herself useless. The stoic body he occupied prevented him from doing anything but dragging the ball back, though his mind thought of nothing but what she said.
She thought she was useless? Why? If anything, he was the useless one. She could've controlled Gooigi herself if given the opportunity.
He hadn't noticed the Goob floating above him, ready to dissolve him into a green puddle once again.
'ARF ARF!'
Polterpup leapt from the floor and headbutted the bucket out of his hands. It spilled onto the floor, harmlessly flowing away from its intended target.
'Bad dog!' The Goob yelled, pointing right in his face. 'Bad dog! I got orders by our so-called king to help him, and you're getting in the way of-!'
*CHOMP*
'OW!'
Polterpup, done with the Goob's nonsense, clamped his jaws down hard on the blue ghost's hand. The Goob held his hand close, clearly trying not to cry. The fear in his empty eyes only increased when he got a good look at Polterpup's death stare, taken straight from his owner himself.
'Okay, okay!' The Goob cried. 'I get it!'
Not wanting to deal with this rabid beast any longer, he retreated through the floor. The ghost pup puffed out through his nose, as if saying 'serves you right'.
Daisy looked up, and saw the gate move down by an inch or two. She smiled the widest she had since they went inside this deadly castle.
'You're doing it Luigi! Keep going!'
*THUD*
She jumped. The walls were that close already? The previously-wide and open room was now an eighth of that size, and those spikes got shockingly close to Luigi's unconscious body.
Her breathing turned heavy and fast, in an attempt to stop herself from crying. She could hear the clanking sound that preceded the walls moving forward. The gate had only moved down a few inches, and still had plenty to go.
In desperation, she held her arms straight out to the side, her eyes shut tight. The walls slammed into her hands...
And stopped.
She opened her eyes, and saw the walls being kept perfectly in place. She felt an extra push, no doubt the mechanics trying to push it forward some more, but otherwise held them dead in their tracks. Sweat poured down her face, and she struggled to put on a grin.
'E. Gadd... when we meet again... remind me... to thank you.'
Gooigi pulled the rope as far as it would go, until it went straight. The gate had sunk back into the floor completely.
'Ya did it... Luigi! Now let's... get outta here...!'
He had not looked at her since grabbing the rope, and so had no idea why her voice sounded so retrained. He simply transferred back into his regular body, and thankfully Gooigi kept hold of the rope.
Luigi did not delay, and rushed out the open gate. After a few seconds of letting it sink it, he shot his fists into the air triumphantly.
'Yeah! We did it! Daisy, we-' He gasped. 'Daisy!'
All that happiness disappeared into proverbial flames when he saw his princess strained between the determined walls.
'Don't... panic... sweetie!' Daisy insisted. 'I... got this!'
She took one step forward, making sure to keep her hands against the walls. Thank Grambi the spikes were fairly far apart. Her hands left a slight yet noticeable dent in the stone.
Luigi stepped forward and reached out to her, but hesitated. Did she need help? Did she want help? What could he even do?
Daisy, maintaining her look of confidence despite the sweat falling from her face, stepped all the way to the end of the walls. Luigi didn't want to watch, but he couldn't look away.
Just one look at him was enough to give her confidence. Giving her quick prayers to Grambi, she leapt out.
'Waaaah!'
*THUD*
And landed on her hands and knees as the walls smashed together behind her. Luigi nearly fainted from how much relief smacked into him. She looked at the death trap behind her, and grinned.
'Thought you could take me out that easily?' She said. 'That's the funniest joke I've heard all night!'
She stood up, and without thinking or giving her time to think Luigi jumped into an embrace. He hugged her so tight that it began to hurt her, but she said nothing.
'We made it, Daisy!' He cried. 'Y-You made it!'
She gave him a soft pat on the back. 'What? You expected anything less?'
'I thought I was going to lose you!'
'Don't worry. I wouldn't make you go through something like that.'
Luigi continued to cuddle up to her like she was a teddy bear, until a horrible smell hit his nose. He hadn't realised until now, but her sweat combined with the murky water that soaked her pants did not make a good combination. He didn't want to, but he had to back away slowly.
Polterpup jumped in instead, standing on his hindlegs and refusing to leave until he got his own cuddles.
'Okay Polterpup, you get yours too.'
She stroked his head, and he yipped delightfully. Considering the trauma the lot of them went through, they really needed a cute moment like this.
'I'm tellin' ya now, Luigi. If we could survive that, we can survive anything this hotel throws at-'
She cringed. Only now she noticed the red hand mark on Luigi's cheek. Did she really hit him that hard? And there was the feeling of guilt. She hated that feeling.
'Ooh...' She murmured. 'Ow...'
'What?' He asked.
'Oh, I am so sorry for slapping you. I just... I just...'
She stopped herself there. What could she possibly say to excuse that bright red mark she left on his face?
Despite the pain it had caused him, Luigi smiled. 'It's okay. Yeah, it hurt, but-'
'Gonna have to stop you right there, sweetie. There is no 'but' after 'yeah it hurt'.'
'N-No. Really! I understand. It, uh, it was kinda scary, us nearly dying. I needed that.'
She sighed in relief. 'Okay, good. But I don't wanna hear you defending me if this happens again. Understood?'
He nodded. 'Yeah. I get it.'
'OW DARE THOU FAILETH THY KING?!' MacFrights shouted at the Goob from the dungeon.
The Goob returned to his king to admit that his trap didn't go as planned. Unlike those confronting Hellen, who were scared out of their wits, those 'confronting' MacFrights just wanted the boring conversation over with.
'Ya know, if you really want him dead, you could just do it now yourself.' He said.
MacFrights laughed, mostly at him. 'And ruineth ye fun of ye challenge? Ye mortals must passeth ye olde tests before thou geteth to battleth me. I would 'ast thou throwneth into me dungeon for suggestingeth such a silly idea!'
The Goob blinked at him. 'You mean the dungeon I was literally just in?'
Apparently, that slightly snarky comment was MacFright's breaking point. He picked up a scrunched up ball of paper from the floor of his throne, and chuckled it at his 'servant'. The Goob gave him a 'you moron' look as the ball bounced harmlessly off his face.
'Guards!' MacFrights yelled. 'Taketh yon traitor awayeth to ye dungeon! Thou must suffer for thy insolence!'
No guards came to his order. After all, they would have to actually exist in order to do that. MacFrights, as always, didn't notice this.
The Goob sighed, and hung up his shoulders like the non-existent guards actually did grab him. He turned himself around and drifted away.
'Oh no, don't touch me.' He said like he couldn't give less of a poison mushroom. 'I can't go back there. It's too scary. Ahhh.'
Despite how intentionally-unconvincing his performance was, the 'king' fell for it hook line and sinker.
'If I witnesseth more anarchic be'aviour from thou servant again, I will 'ast thou EXECUTEDETH!'
Yeah, that threat might actually mean something if he wasn't, ya know, talking to a ghost.
'I doubt that anyone's gotten past that room, but what the heck? I really like recording these. Ahem... you have successfully gotten past the horrid dungeon and its sandwiching walls! Very few people continue to this point of the tour. You are so close!'
If Daisy had to hear that condescending pre-recorded voice one more time, she would throw a brick at the speaker.
The door led to a rather abrupt change in scenery. Compared to the tight yet empty feel of the dungeon, this room was wide and open. Our heroes stood on a stone platform that connected to another by a wooden bridge.
Luigi couldn't take his eyes off the giant bronze sculpture of MacFrights's face in the wall. Its 'eyes' stared directly at him, refusing to focus on anything else no matter how much he moved.
Why a bridge? Simple. The entire lower half of the room was a large pit, filled with spikes and spears. A treasure chest lay among the sharp weapons, but neither mortal cared to loot it.
Daisy stayed a couple feet away from the platform's edge - there were no walls or guard rails of any kind - and looked over the entire pit. She really had to wonder what was with MacFrights and his obsession with spikes.
Luigi gulped. 'H-How many bodies?'
'None.' She answered. 'Absolutely none.'
'... What? How?'
He didn't dare look over the edge himself, but from what he could see of the pit she was correct. Despite all the spears and spikes, not a single body or even drop of blood could be seen. Not even Polterpup, who was waltzing through the spike field without a scratch, could pick up any decaying scents.
'If I had to guess,' Daisy said. 'We've either reached the easiest room of this tour, or...' She paused. 'No one else has ever made it this far. We should be proud.'
Pride was not the emotion Luigi felt. Agonising fear seemed more appropriate. Daisy backed away from the edge, and looked at the bridge instead. It looked far more realistic than the plastic one for the 'moat', but didn't seem the most stable in the world.
'Well, nowhere to go but forward.' She said.
She took a single step forward onto the wooden bridge, testing to see how much it bent underneath her foot. Fortunately, the answer was 'not much', though it did creak quite a bit.
'Polterpup?'
The spectral mutt exploring the spikes looked up at the mention of his name.
'Cover for me.' The princess said. 'This might be risky.'
'B-Be careful!' Luigi said, standing right behind her.
'I don't plan on doing anything else at the moment.'
The lack of guard rails on this creaky bridge only served to make all three parties infinitely more nervous. Daisy took a few more steps, and her heart stopped when the boards below her moved down.
They only moved down an inch, but turned out to be a pressure plate.
'Huh? ... WHOA!'
'AHHH!'
A pressure plate that activated three giant swinging axes no less. The implements of death swung in front of them, in such a way that they missed the bridge by only an inch. They passed over the creaky wood one at a time, one second after the other.
'How badly do they want to kill people?!' Luigi cried.
Daisy watched the swinging weapons intently, nothing but her eyes moving. Noting how the axes swayed, she saw how much time they had before getting sliced.
She chuckled. 'Wow. They really didn't expect anyone to make it this far.'
Waiting just a couple more seconds to be sure, she dashed across the bridge without a sweat, much to the strain of Luigi's heart. She reached the other stone platform without the axes even getting close.
It was quite the miracle that Luigi didn't faint.
'Why...?' He stammered. 'Why did you...?!'
'I wasn't even running at full speed. Just sprint and go!'
Polterpup popped out of the floor behind her, barking and panting. He bowed down, inviting his owner for play. Luigi, with a gulp, stepped forward. His foot sank slightly in the rotting wood, assaulting his ears with an intimidating creak.
'Um, can you give me a motivation?' He requested.
'A motiv-?' She sighed. 'Is Mario enough of a motivation?'
'Yeah! Keep talking about him.'
She pondered for a moment. 'Oh Luigi, your dear brother has been kidnapped by the horrid King Boo!' She said in her most dramatic voice. 'Oh, the poor thing is entrapped inside a painted limbo!'
Polterpup couldn't help chuckling at just how much she was milking it. Regardless, Luigi let every word get to him.
'OH, if only someone could save the Mushroom Kingdom hero. If only there was a courageous man in green armed with a vacuum cleaner who could save him. But instead Mario must wait in agony for someone to-'
'MAAARIIIOOO!'
To say the least, that did it. Luigi charged forward with hardly a care, rushing past the swinging axes like nothing. As expected, they didn't even scrap the Poltergust.
'That's it Luigi! You're doing-'
He didn't stop at crossing the bridge. Instead, he ran past Daisy, up a small flight of stone stairs, and-
*CRASH*
'Ow...'
-ran directly into the wooden door at the top, smacking his face into the wood. He fell backwards onto his Poltergust, swinging his limbs about like a defenceless Koopa on its back.
'Um... help.' He said, whimpering.
Polterpup immediately ran off to help his owner out, while Daisy chuckled at the reminder of why she loved him so much.
'Ya made it.' She stated, going after him. 'Good job.'
'Because you're any better.' Luigi said as Polterpup helped him off the ground. 'Getting hit in the face with a frying pan was a really good idea.'
'Ooh! Touché, my sweetie. Touché.'
Daisy opened the door, and into the next (and hopefully final) room. It returned to the more usual design of a big stony box, with at least five banners of the 'king' himself hanging on the walls. A rail connected the left wall to the right wall, and a minecart filled with tomatoes rested on it by the right wall.
The door opened to a small set of stairs to the right that led up to the rest of the room. With no one else to go, the trio made their way up.
'Uh, how more rooms do I have to record for? ... The minecart one. Right. If you have managed to make it to this room, then you are spectacular! Very soon you will-'
'Oh, just shut up!'
*SMASH*
And the speaker was completely demolished. What little remained of it on the wall emitted sparks. A hole in the stonework stood at Daisy's feet.
She sighed. 'Sorry. I really had to do that.'
Luigi stepped back a bit. 'I... I thought you were joking.'
Polterpup, not even thinking about the Phantasma-Gloves, stepped back too.
Daisy spotted the next door on the opposite wall, all the way on the left and completely unguarded. Now that was the epitome of 'too easy'. Her eyes glanced around the room, searching for an obvious trap. They landed on three 'figures' - in reality, just armour stands wearing purple cloaks - armed with crossbows.
Normally she'd write them off as harmless stands, but after those sentient suits of armour she wasn't going to take any chances. She took one step forward.
The figures fired out shots, all at once, covering a large chunk of the room with a flurry of wooden arrows. Every second or so they reloaded and fired again.
'Whoa!' Daisy yelled, jumping back.
Luigi gulped. On the bright side, the figures seemed incapable of turning. On the not-so-bright side, the chances of getting through that barrage without taking an arrow to the knee (or worse, the face) seemed very very low.
'Should I risk it?' Daisy asked.
'No. You really shouldn't.'
'That's what I thought. Alright Idea Man, whattaya got?'
The first thing to catch Luigi's attention was the tomato cart resting peacefully. Though its wooden walls had worn and were beginning to grow moss, it looked sturdy. Sturdy enough to withstand wooden arrows, at least.
'Maybe if we pushed that cart along, it would-' He began.
'Way ahead of ya!'
Daisy got behind the produce transportation, and put all her strength into pushing it forward. The difficulty came more from its rusted joints, not so much its weight. The wheels hardly moved, but the raw strength of the orange-clad princess overpowered the rust.
Well, the gloves sorta helped.
'Am I there yet?' She asked.
'Uh, a little more. You got one of them. Okay, that's the second one. And... that's it!'
She stopped pushing the cart on his word. The three figures continued to fire their weapons without question, but the arrows broke apart on the wooden panelling the very moment their stone tips struck it.
The sight made Daisy laugh. 'They must've stopped caring after the dungeon.'
'Well, was anyone meant to get past the dungeon?' Luigi asked.
'NNNope.'
As Luigi passed them, he could've sworn the figures repeated the same nonsense words the sentient suits of armour from the first room did. Did those words mean anything, or were they just gibberish? What gave them life? These questions distracted him so much that he didn't notice-
'HALT! Who goes there?'
'Wah!'
That. He didn't notice that, a Goob standing by the door that now had a paranormal gate barring it off. The ghost held up a wooden shield, with MacFrights's face on it, and glared at our heroes with a look of indignation on her face.
An expression that Daisy shared. She crossed her arms and sighed.
'Really?' She said. 'Reeeally?'
'I, Miss Elizabeth the Eager,' The Goob announced in her best Elizabethan voice. 'Will only be paid if I keep guard of this door!'
'Do you need to do the voice to do that?'
'No I do not! But it makes this tedious job much more enjoyable. I must stick to the title our quote-unquote king has given me!'
Both Daisy and Polterpup gave her the 'you cannot be serious' look. Luigi, meanwhile, cleared his throat and stepped forward.
'We, uh, r-really need to get past you.' He said. 'Could you maybe-?'
'No sir!' Miss Elizabeth yelled. 'I repeat, King MacFrights will only pay me if I do my job!'
'Um, maybe I could pay you?'
'Sorry sir, but you do not look like you possess many assets.'
He blinked. 'I own a mansion.'
'It doesn't matter! I do not allow simple peasants to make their way to our king.'
Luigi, already done with her nonsense, lifted up his Strobulb and didn't even bother with charging it up. It unleashed a weak beam that was regardless strong enough to stun a ghost. Elizabeth must've seen it coming though, and lifted her shield up to block the rays.
'I see what you're doing.' She said. 'You are engaging an attack!'
'If you would let us through, I wouldn't-'
'Now I must summon my fellow knights! Boys, get out here. I need ya help!'
Two more Goobs emerged from the floor, both holding their own shield identical to Miss Elizabeth's, behind our heroes. Luigi jumped, while Daisy cracked her knuckles.
'I am Sir Nicholas the Noble!' The one on the left declared with such vigour.
'And I am Sir Richard the Reserved.' The right Goob said with hardly any energy at all.
Daisy turned back to Miss Elizabeth with a cocked eyebrow. If she had any words to sum up her feelings about this ridiculous situation, she would say them. Alas, no words fitting enough came to her mind.
'And we are the Knights of King MacFrights! Get it? It rhymes. And we will defend our 'king' until the day we-!'
Without a sweat or even a blink, Daisy grabbed her shield away from her, and smashed it on the ground. It broke in half, right down the middle.
'Uh... so what was that about paying me?'
Daisy grabbed Miss Elizabeth by her tail, and bashed her against her own shield until her particles scattered away.
Sir Richard, seeing the destruction of his partner, put his shield down and backed away while holding his arms up.
'I know when to fold them.' He said.
'I do not!' Sir Nicholas declared. 'I fight stubbornly until my second demise. It is what MacFrights pays me to do!'
The more crazy of the two ghosts charged at Luigi, his shield held out in front of him. His courageous charge came to an end when the man in green fired a plunger into his shield.
Sir Nicholas cried out. 'Dah! This was my favourite shield!'
Caring not for his sentiments, Luigi grabbed onto the plunger and yanked the shield out of the Goob's hands. Its wooden shards joined the other broken shield. Polterpup used one of the shards to teeth on.
'I didn't need that shield anyway. I will defend my 'king' with my bare hands!'
Flash. Suck. Slam. Capture. A process that only got more repetitive each time, but always yielded satisfying results. With the last defiant ghost gone, the paranormal gate vanished.
Daisy scoffed. 'You blue guys don't put up much of a fight, do you?'
Sir Richard shrugged. 'I don't think we're supposed to. But Ms Gravely has so many of us, she just figures that she might as well throw us at the wall to see what sticks.'
The tomboyish princess opened up the door, and saw a hallway that turned to the right further down. It looked like a regular old stony hallway, with the exception of the seemingly hundreds of MacFrights banners that covered up every inch of the wall.
'Okay, what is this guy's deal?' She asked. 'Bowser has less images of his face in his castles. Combined. Is this all for his bit or is he just that egotistical?'
Sir Richard chuckled. 'Oh, you poor mortals. You honestly think that he's doing a bit.'
Luigi's eyes widened. 'Wait... so h-he actually is a king?'
The Goob laughed again, this time much louder and more heartily. He wiped his eyes and regained his composure.
'I'll give you a hint.' He said. 'It begins with a D, and rhymes with illusional.'
'He's... delusional?' Daisy guessed.
Richard snapped his fingers. 'Bingo! Let me give you this impromptu poem to explain it. Ahem... He was never a king. That was never a thing. He was an actor in a play. And then he died one day. Like it?'
Luigi's eyes only grew wider.
'Actually, he died during the play apparently. How? No one really knows. But he was acting as a king, and the guy's been under the belief that he's a genuine king, or at least was one, since his death a few centuries ago. I hear that happens sometimes with actors.'
The mortals and their puppy stared at the storyteller, trying to come up with any way to continue the conversation.
'Wait, you said he wasn't doing a bit!' Daisy said. 'How do you explain that?'
Richard smirked. 'Easy. He needs to know it's a lie for it to be considered a bit.'
'And... and you guys never tried to tell him the truth?' Luigi asked.
The Goob's smile faded. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.
'Oh man, have we tried. We used to tell him every day. He never listened. So, we just gave up after a while.'
Daisy huffed. 'Well, if that's the case, then I'll just have to convince him myself.'
And with that, she stormed through the door and down the hallway, muttering something about teaching that 'king' a lesson.
'Daisy, wait!' Luigi cried. 'I...' He turned back to Richard. 'Is... is that all really true?'
'I wouldn't waste effort making up a lie as grand as that.'
'Aw... poor MacFrights. ... Wait for me, Daisy!'
The plumber and his ghostly pet finally caught up to the princess by the time she made it around the corner. The right turn led to a long, straight corridor that, aside from the abundant MacFrights banners had nothing else inside.
The pre-recorded voice spoke for hopefully the last time. And unfortunately, Daisy couldn't see where it was.
'I had more of these to make than I thought. No way anyone's made it to the corridor. Eh, I have nothing else to do right now, and it's quite fun recording these! To those who have reached this corridor, you are practically finished! All there is left for you to do is enter the arena and battle King MacFrights himself. Congratulations!'
Luigi had expected something, anything, to attack them in that empty hallway. And yet, nothing happened. Daisy got to the door at the end with not a single issue. Clearly, no one expected mere mortals to get anywhere near this spot.
'So, as long as that patronising voice wasn't lying to us,' Daisy said. 'We're finally at the end. Just gotta deal with a delusional idiot and we'll be done for real. Just let that victory sink in, sweetie.'
He adjusted the straps on his Poltergust, just to give himself a distraction. 'We're not really done. Are we?'
'What do you mean?'
'Arf?'
More strap adjusting, even though it was as redundant as could be.
'I mean, we haven't even explored half the floors yet. We... we were nearly squished and we still have so far to go.'
'We survived that stupid dungeon trap. That's enough of a victory for me.'
She opened the door and prayed that it truly did lead to the arena. Luigi shielded his eyes from the blinding light that seeped through the door, but he could hear Polterpup's excited barking.
'We made it!' Daisy yelled.
The princess pushed both the doors as far as they would go and ran into the middle of the arena. She laughed to herself, for no other reason but the pride she felt. Somehow, the coliseum looked even more grand from the inside. Luigi and Polterpup followed her swiftly.
Luigi's attention immediately fell to a helmet-less suit of armour, resting in the corner. It appeared to be 'mounted' on a 'horse' made entirely of remains of broken suits. A spear rested in its hand, and its chest had been adorned with a target.
King MacFrights paced around his throne, apparently unaware to the mortals' arrival.
'Hey!' Daisy yelled, cupping her hands over mouth like a megaphone. 'Ye mortals doth arriveth in thy coliseum!'
MacFrights glanced at the heroes for a moment, seemingly ignored them, and then looked at them for real with his mouth agape.
'Thou... I... 'uh?' He stammered. 'Ow art thou mere mortals standingeth in me coliseum? No mortal doth ever passeth me traps! Thou must've cheatedeth!'
Daisy snickered. 'Nope! We got through them all! Including that stupid dungeon trap, by the way.'
Luigi's grip on his flashlight tightened. Do you always have to antagonise the ghosts?
The 'king' scowled. 'No! Impossible! There doth be something wrongeth with me traps. I cannot believeth me guards and knights... useless ye lot of them! Useless! I will 'aveth thy 'eads on a platter fer thy insolence!'
Daisy groaned; the guy was no less annoying now than he was at the beginning of this mess.
'I hope you remember our deal.' She said. 'We make it through your castle, and we can challenge you for that shiny gold thing.'
MacFrights bashed his fist on the railing of his platform. 'If that if what thou mortals wanteth, then I will 'oldeth up me end of ye deal. Ye jousting challenge begineth!'
Daisy cracked her knuckles. 'A joust with a runt like you? Yeah, I'm sure I can take it.'
Luigi yelped. 'D-Daisy, you really need to stop-'
The 'king' bellowed. 'So thou thinketh she will be fightingeth just me alone? Even I art awareth of me puny stature. Tis why I 'aveth me backup weapon!'
He flew away from his designated platform, and into the lifeless suit of armour. His small body disappeared within its metallic glory, and the shiny iron's gleam turned orange.
Luigi gulped. 'I-I have a bad feeling about this...'
A whole audience worth of ghosts emerged from the coliseum seats, a grand mix of Goobs, Hammers, and Oozers. Some even had bags of popcorn, and they cheered for their 'king'. Except they weren't real. They were merely cardboard cutouts, moving around on stands while pre-recorded cheering played.
The free arm of the armour twitched, followed by the horse's head rising slowly. The metal equine got to its nonexistent hooves, floating a couple feet off the floor. The armour stood up with it, and raised its star-pointed spear into the air.
Fully mounted, it easily dwarfed both the mortals.
MacFrights stuck his head out of the suit. 'What doth thee mortals thinketh of me armour? Doth thou not trembleth at thy knees of ye sight!'
Luigi certainly did, his knees trembling so much they were close to breaking. Daisy's own knees shook, but only for a moment.
'You're gonna have to try harder than that to scare me!' She yelled.
The plumber buried his face in his hands. 'Why do you have to keep doing this?'
Polterpup gave her an incredulous look; even he had had enough of her constant antagonising.
MacFrights grinned. 'Doth thou thinketh I 'aveth nothing more? Yon match is just gettingeth started. Onward, Guinevere! Fastly!'
The horse buckled around, like he wasn't in total control of it. It galloped off, away from our heroes and instead towards the edge of the arena. It seemed MacFrights wanted to simply run circles around them, as that's what he did.
While Daisy laughed, Luigi shuddered. No way the warrior's plan consisted of just prancing around.
And of course, he was right.
'YAAARRRRH!' MacFrights bellowed out his questionable battle cry.
The 'king' held his spear high into the air, the star at the end glowing bright. He continued to charge around as five small gates, that were seemingly just part of the arena's wall a moment ago, opened up. A small star tip poked out of each wall.
'Keep watch, sweetie!' Daisy said, spreading her legs out.
He glanced at her. What else would he do? The stars revealed themselves to be the tips of arrows as they fired from their gates, one-by-one left to right. All aimed directly at our heroes.
'Oh boy!'
'Ah!'
Daisy jumped to the side, an arrow whizzing past her head. A second came her way, and on instinct she flew her arms up in front of her face. The tip of the arrow struck her metallic gloves and fell to the ground. She glanced down at it and chuckled.
Luigi, seeing two arrows coming his way, pressed both the suck and the blow buttons and launched his Poltergust upwards with a burst of air. The airy shockwave sent the arrows spiralling out of their course, breaking in two when they flopped pathetically onto the ground.
He glanced up, and saw the fifth and final arrow coming straight up him.
'Dah!'
In a panic, he covered his face with his arms and prayed the starry tip wouldn't hurt.
'Yip yip!'
Polterpup, partially due to his natural doggy urges but mostly because of his love for his owner, leapt up and yanked the arrow right out of sky like it was merely a fetch stick. He shook it about, and chomped it to pieces.
Luigi dared to look, and smiled at his pet. 'Good puppy!'
The ghostly dog grinned widely, as all compliments made him do.
Daisy kicked at the remains of the wooden ammo. 'Is this really the best he had?'
King MacFrights laughed from behind them. 'Thou doth thinketh that waseth me best attack? HA HA! Thou hath falleneth for me distraction. GIDDY-UP, GUINEVERE!'
The trio turned around, and before they could even wonder what 'distraction' he was talking about, MacFrights gave his 'horse' a kick to the flank and charged forward. He lowered his lance down, lifting his head out just to make sure he had it angled perfectly.
And he only gave them a second.
'Ah!' Daisy yelped.
The princess, not weighed down by anything, leapt out the spear's way before it even get close. Alas, the heavy Poltergust slowed Luigi down.
He simply couldn't get away in time.
The star tip hooked under the back of his shirt, just above the Poltergust. His legs ran in place before he noticed that he wasn't going anywhere. He tugged himself away from the lance, but it held him in place.
Each unsuccessful pull only made him more and more terrified. Tears came to his eyes as he screamed out.
'MARIOOO! HELP ME!'
Daisy stood in place, watching in shock. Not a single part of her body even twitched.
'RUFF! RRRUFF!' Polterpup barked at the 'king' angrily.
MacFrights returned to hiding in his iron host, and lifted the end of his lance up a bit, just enough so Luigi's feet left the floor. The plumber flailed his limbs in a fruitless attempt to get free.
'Let him go, you fake king!' Daisy demanded, shaking her fist at him and highly doubting he would listen.
The 'king' merely laughed. 'Ye fair maiden tryeth ta stopeth me? Thee really believeth that I would listeneth? Art thy brain small? Watcheth this!'
With no effort at all, MacFrights raised his lance and pointed it at the sky with Luigi still attached. He held it up as high as the metal suit arm would allow.
Luigi saw the floor moving away from him, and next thing he knew he was above even the highest point of the arena. He could see the door they used to enter this room in the first place.
When he committed the mistake of looking down at the great drop below - and at a terrified princess next to an even more petrified dog - the drop felt as tall as Mount Wario.
'MAAARIOOO!' He cried in desperation, caring none for how futile it was.
Maybe, just maybe, if he screamed out his name loud enough, his big brother would swoop in to save him like he always did.
'LUIGI!' Daisy shouted.
'Thou art a 'ardy one. Even I will admiteth that. But I knoweth thou will be ineth fer ye world of pain!'
He flung his lance back, just a bit. But that little bit was enough to unhook Luigi.
The plumber closed his eyes, not daring to see the floor getting closer to him. He fell for agonisingly long hours. At least, it felt like hours.
'LUIIIGIII!'
*THUD* He hit the floor chest first.
The only sounds that could be heard after that sickening thud were Daisy's heavy breathing, and the excited pre-recorded cheering from the cardboard crowd.
Luigi winced as the pain erupted through him. The fact that he could wonder how he was still conscious did nothing to mask the aching surging through every vein. He struggled to keep his eyes open, and everything around him became barely legible blurs.
Something orange, no doubt Daisy, ran up to him and got on her knees. A smaller white something, clearly Polterpup, sat by her side and licked his cheek gently.
'Luigi, sweetie? Luigi! Talk to me, please!'
'I'm... alright...' He gasped out.
A bold-faced lie if there ever was one, but the affectionate licks from his pet made it just a little more true.
Daisy was torn between sighing in relief and screaming out more. 'You sure? Do... do you think you'll be okay?'
Amongst the pain, he managed to note her tone. He couldn't remember the last time she sounded that close to tears.
He put on the best smile he could, and looked her in the eye. 'Yeah... I'll be fine... but it might - owie - take a while...'
Daisy smiled, weakly but genuinely. With how much her plumber went through on his various adventures, whether it was getting trapped in Battlerock Galaxy or getting inhaled into Bowser's gut, she knew he could survive more than this.
'HA HA HA!' MacFrights laughed behind her.
The sound of his mockery reminded her of the battle at hand. She leapt to her feet, making sure she fenced off the path between her plumber and the 'king'. In a moment of defensiveness, she felt as if she could stop the lance like a brick wall.
The lights on the Phantasma-Gloves got bright. Really bright.
'Polterpup,' She muttered to the dog who looked up her immediately. 'Stay by Luigi. I'll handle this. By myself.'
Though Polterpup did not want to leave her on her own, his owner took priority. He gave her a nod, and perched himself by Luigi's side.
MacFrights's triumphant laughter echoed from within his metallic shell. 'And I thoughteth ye green peasant would be 'arder ta defeateth than yon! But it appeareth that thee waseth a mere weakling. I 'ath battledeth rodents with more might than him!'
Daisy gritted her teeth. The gloves' lights grew even brighter, alongside the rage that boiled within her. As if hurting her sweetie wasn't enough, mocking him went the extra mile.
'HEY!'
The 'king's' laughter stopped.
'Come at me!' The princess shouted.
MacFrights stuck his head out. 'Doth thou challengeth me? That is what I liketh ta see! Tis more fun if ye challenger doth not runneth away!'
Daisy circled around him slowly, keeping her eyes directly on the tip of the lance.
'You gonna go already?! Ye princess awaiteth!'
'I shall answereth thy call! Fastly Guinevere!'
The 'horse' buckled, and charged forward. MacFrights lowered his lance, and held it back as if planning to skewer right through her. All the way, she stood still.
Luigi felt like an ocean's worth of pressure had been dropped on him as he tried to lift himself up. His arms shook and ached underneath his own weight, but still he tried.
'Daisy...!' He yelled in a hoarse voice. 'L... Look out...!'
Unable to read her own thoughts through the anger that clouded her mind, Daisy held her arms out.
'Tis ye endeth of ye road for thee, fair maiden!'
He stopped, not by his own control, abruptly enough to give him whiplash.
'... What?!'
Peeping out from behind his safe zone, he couldn't believe it. And neither could Luigi.
'D-Daisy...?'
The princess stood her ground, her shoes scrapping against the floor as MacFrights continued his failed attempts to turn her into a human kebab. She held onto the star-tipped end of the spear, so tight she almost broke it.
MacFrights shuddered when he saw the unbridled anger in her eyes. She didn't even seem to struggle, though her knees trembled.
'Now listen here, you delusional actor.' She yelled through gritted teeth. 'Give me that shiny gold thing, before I take it back myself!'
The 'king', despite being completely unable to get his lance back, just grinned. 'Doth thou thinketh I will giveth up ye gold yon easily? I ameth a king, and a good king fightseth until he goesth down with his kingdom!'
Luigi found the strength within him to lift his heavy, aching body off the floor with grave difficulty. Polterpup grabbed him by the overall strap and carried him up. He refused to let go until he was absolutely certain his owner could stand up on his own.
'Margherita!' The plumber yelled. 'H-He'll-' He coughed due to his weakening throat. 'He'll skewer you alive!'
Daisy, in her emotional state, could pay him no attention. Her focus fell purely on making the 'king' pay. And being refused her rightful prize only made it worse.
'YOU ASKED FOR IT!'
She pulled the lance in closer, and just like she had used Suction Shot she flung it over her shoulders with hardly any effort.
*CLA-ANK* *CRASH*
It hit the ground with the most ear-drum-shattering metallic sound imaginable. Bits of metal went flying around the arena, scattering all over the floor. The entire free arm fell off, and half of the 'horse's' framework could be seen.
Luigi, who had his hands over his ears, stared in shock and awe. 'D-Daisy...?'
Polterpup dropped the overall strap when his own jaw fell open.
MacFrights popped his head out, his eyes travelling in every direction.
'I seeth that thou fair maiden is... is tougher than I previously thoughteth. But you willeth 'ath to, uh, to try 'arder than that.'
By this point, her face was bright red. 'So that wasn't enough, huh? You wanna more, huh? Alright. I'LL GIVE YOU MORE!'
She lifted it over her head once again and slammed it into the floor a second time. Even more pieces flew off, one coming uncomfortably close to smacking Luigi in the face. The only thing left of the 'horse' was its wooden frame, and MacFrights had been dismounted from it entirely.
He held onto his lance, but had to resort to dragged the giant metal body around by his regular spindly ghost arm. It was like he was the sole survivor of an attack, and was now dragging his dying body back to the real king to report their loss.
'GET OVER HERE!'
Daisy ignored the lance and went straight for what was left of the main body. She held it up above her head, not even breaking a sweat, and chucked it across the entire coliseum.
It struck the drawbridge-shaped door that led to the exit stairs, and broke apart into hundreds of pieces that went flying in a glorious shiny metal explosion.
Luigi could finally say something. 'Go Daisy!'
When the hundreds of metal bits settled, it left a dazed MacFrights in the middle of the clanking debris. He held a sword and a shield, both seemingly held together with duct tape, that he apparently had stored in that suit of armour.
The lights on the gloves faded, retaining only about half their brightness.
'Looks art deceivingeth...!' The dazed 'king' mumbled. 'When Ms Gravely is involvedeth!'
Daisy groaned. 'Did thou forgeteth about thy battle?'
MacFrights slammed his shield into his own face - on purpose, mind you - and got his head back into the game.
He smirked. 'I must admiteth, thee fair maiden art a powerful fighter. Thou would maketh a fine warrior! It 'ath beeneth centuries since I last 'adeth a fight like yon. I appreciateth ye glorious battle!'
'Thanks. Now how about you handeth- ugh, hand that gold thing over?'
He shook his head. 'Nah, lassie. A king must fighteth until ye end! But thou should not worryeth. Thy prowess in battle will no doubt equaleth victory!'
Daisy didn't know if she should've been annoyed or happy, but either way she stood ready to finish the match.
'Luigi!'
The mention of his name snapped the plumber in question back into the fight.
'Get the strobulb ready! I have a feeling that this match is just about over.'
Luigi fumbled his flashlight around, and approached the 'king' cautiously as he charged up his weapon. He stood just a step behind Daisy.
MacFrights held up his sword and bellowed out his battle cry once again. He swung his sword around like a tornado, spinning towards them like the ballerina ghosts from the Great Stage. Unlike his prowess with his lance, his ability to use a sword seemed to be lacking.
Daisy held her arm out causally, like she was just opening a door, and grabbed onto the blade when it clanked against her hand. His shield fell to the ground and dragged him down with it. The way he hung there was like a puppet being controlled by two different people.
Despite the embarrassing position, the 'king' smiled. 'Now yon is ye might I expectedeth from thou, lassie! But ye real question is - willeth thy green friend proveth his worth in a battle?'
Luigi wasn't so sure. Compared to Daisy? Absolutely not.
'Arf arf!' According to Polterpup, yes and them some.
The plumber unleashed the Strobulb, stunning the 'king' without giving him a chance to block the rays. MacFrights fought the pull of the Poltergust almost as well as Soulfflé, dragging his shield against the ground.
'And now!' He announced. 'Tis time fer ye finishin' move! Goeth, thou green man, and emergeth victorious!'
Luigi smiled, albeit softly. Never had an opponent given him such encouraging words before their defeat.
'And I shalleth emergeth victorious! Now... eth.' He declared, the most confident that night.
He delivered the 'finishing move' onto MacFrights, slamming his body into the ground four times until he let go of the shield.
'And ye winner is...' He said. 'Ye fair maiden and her li'l green friend!'
And just like that, he joined his friends in the ghost container unit.
'BOOOOO!' The fake crowd jeered.
'To you too!' Daisy yelled.
Perhaps in response to her, the cardboard cut-outs sunk back into the stage.
And, like most of the grand ghosts, the Poltergust nozzle rattled around and glowed yellow before the next elevator button shot out of it. The 'shiny gold thing' landed in the middle of the arena.
'Ya know,' Daisy said. 'That delusional actor may have had a bigger ego than Bowser, but you gotta love a guy who congrats those who beat him.'
Luigi nodded, and picked up the button. Just as he saw it before, it had a '7' on it. He thought back on the map and pamphlet he looked at; what floor was that again?
'The number?' Daisy asked.
'Seven.'
'Seven?'
It piqued her interest, greatly, but she couldn't quite recall why.
'Um, I think it's that indoor garden we were supposed to go to together.'
'Wait, the GARDEN?!'
She rushed over to him and yanked the button right out of his hand. Her eyes sparkled at the thought.
'Oh my gosh, it is! I was so excited to go there, before, ya know, King Boo happened. But now we can go for real! Ohmygosh, we have to go. Right now!'
'R-Right now?'
'Yeah! It's an indoor garden, sweetie! Can you imagine all the pretty plants? I gotta see it, now!'
She grabbed his wrist, and dragged him away as she charged for that elevator. She was going to have that indoor garden date with Luigi, and no ghost was going to stop her.
KING MACFRIGHTS, THE FAUX RULER
AGE - 42
GENDER - Male
CAUSE OF DEATH - Specifics unknown, but died performing in a play
William MacFrights used to be an actor, and his final role was as a king. He's now convinced he was always a king, and tries to get others to know this 'fact'. No one buys it, so he has to make fake crowds to celebrate his jousting tournaments.
Speculation claims that, due to William's character dying to poison, another actor purposely swapped the harmless water with real poison.
Author Notes - Also known as 'the chapter where I justify the existence of both Daisy and the Phantasma-Gloves in this story'.
For some reason, I feel like Daisy's slap might be the most controversial part of the story. Which is why I tried my damnedest to make sure it was ONLY because of stress, and not something that Daisy would even think about doing otherwise.
King MacFrights' faux nature came about when TV Tropes drew my attention to the fact that he needs cardboard cutouts to cheer for him. And seeing how he's named after MacBeth - a play - the 'actor' thing happened. His 'horse' Guinevere is named after King Arthur's wife cos why not.
'AHHH! Get away! GET AWAY!'
Another night of nightmares. Distressed screams from the Mario brothers' residence at night happened so often that those who lived nearby no longer had any real response to it.
'Get away from me, King Boo! SOMEONE, HELP ME!'
Until recently. Because it wasn't Luigi who was screaming in his dreams anymore. The man in red shot awake, but did not relax.
'LUIGI! WHERE ARE YOU?!'
Indeed, it was Mario. Ever since getting captured by King Boo - after the second time especially - that royal phantom infested his dreams and sent him through a hellish nightmare every night. Thank Grambi Luigi was there for him.
'Mario! Big Bro!'
The moment Luigi got out of bed, Mario ran over and hugged him tight. Luigi still wasn't used to being the security blanket now, especially not to his big brave brother.
'HE'S AFTER ME LUIGI!'
Luigi, every night, would hug him back and tell him that King Boo would never get him again. But it never seemed to work for long, as the nightmares came back the next night. What was he doing wrong? No matter what, Mario appreciated whatever his brother tried to do.
