Author Notes - I hate this boss I hate this boss I hate this boss I ha-
On the plus side, after this painful level we get to progress to everyone's favourite part of the game - the Paranormal Productions! Which may or may not have a guest star.
I give my appreciations to NoxObscurum and TrimusicaDrag00n90 for the favourites/follows!
CHAPTER FOURTEEN - GONE TO POTTER
Daisy continued to breathlessly call out the name of the one person who could save her.
'I... I... I don't know what to do!' Luigi cried.
'Arf arf!'
Polterpup nudged at the still-activated saw, pushing it towards him slowly. Luigi's snapped mind got it together.
'Gah, of course! The saw!'
Daisy found herself running out of air, feeling her bones hitting their limit before they would crumble and become mush. She was no longer scared; just angry. Not at Luigi, but at herself.
Luigi grabbed the saw by its handle, noting the symbol of Hellen Gravely's face imprinted on it before running over to the aggressive plant. His sweaty palms helped remind him of why he wore gloves all the time. He sliced through the flora menace, the blade going as fast as his heart. Everything but the saw got blurry, like he couldn't focus on anything else. His mind still blank, he ran only on instinct.
After what felt like an agonisingly long time, the saw finally cut through all the way. The vine lost all life and went limp, unravelling itself from around Daisy. The princess landed on her face, and took as many deep breathes as her dried-up lungs could handle. She coughed violently, both from the scattered dust and her strained lungs. Her cheeks were bright red.
'Oh Grambi...' She muttered between coughs. 'Oh sweet, sweet Grambi...'
Polterpup sat by her side, and gave her little licks to the face. She chuckled, and strained her arm to give him a stroke.
'You're a good boy...'
Luigi tossed the saw away, and let the situation sink in. He watched his princess seizing in pain, unable to stop coughing. His breathing turned sharp and harsh as tears came to his eyes.
He did this.
It's my fault! It's all my fault!
And then... he gave up. He sunk to the ground, buried his face in his knees, and proceeded to cry his eyes out. It was all he could do.
Daisy saw this display and gasped. 'Sweetie! What's wrong?'
No answer. She didn't understand it. What did he have to be so sad about? She crawled over to him, making her steps quietly to not stir him up further. Once close enough, she heard him muttering something.
'It's all my fault...'
It took her aback. For what? Saving her? She was about ready to laugh at the idea of something so silly.
'What?' She said instead. 'What are you on about?'
'I'm so sorry...'
And there was the apologising again. The guy seemed so frightened to offend. Daisy opened her mouth to press him further, but stopped herself. She sat down, waiting for her plumber to calm down a bit.
Whatever got him acting like this, a good cry was sure to help. After a minute or two, he got the will to look her in the eye. She cringed from looking at his red, watery eyes.
'Sweetie, what's wrong?' She asked in an unusually gentle voice.
He wiped his eyes and sniffed. 'I-I'm so sorry... this is all my fault. If I didn't drop that button...'
She, by accident, chuckled. 'That's what this is all about? Luigi, that's nothing to be-'
'IT WAS MY FAULT!'
She jumped back.
'If I didn't drop that button, we'd be out of here by now! And you... you wouldn't have been caught by that plant...'
He stared at her with those big, sad eyes. Polterpup crawled into his lap, and Luigi cuddled him tight.
Daisy, learning from her mistakes, took her time to think of the right words. It was the one hurdle in their relationship - having to learn how to properly talk to each other.
'Don't beat yourself up over it. It was a mistake. And I doubt I would've held onto it any longer. Remember when I faceplanted during that practise match? And, uh, I think Hairy Potter would've taken it from us anyway.'
Luigi fiddled with the name tag of Polterpup's collar. The random movement and quiet jiggling helped calm him down.
'I know, but...' He said, and sighed. 'But I can't help but think... it's my fault. Because it... is.'
Daisy sighed. 'Nothing I say will convince you otherwise, will it?'
He shook his head. 'I just can't... shake the feeling. I'm so... so... I'm sorry.'
She glanced down at her shoes, when a proverbial lightbulb went off. Giving him a gentle smile, she slowly ran her fingers through his hair. It seemed that, even with those bulky gloves on, this little action never failed to cheer him up.
He smiled. He had no idea why it made him so happy, but why would he complain about that wondering tingling feeling?
'Don't apologise.' Daisy said. 'I understand. But... if you think you've made such a big mistake, how about we go fix it together?'
His look of weakness turned to one of determination. 'Yeah. Yeah! We'll get that button back. Together!'
He got to his feet, wiping his eyes one last time. He puffed his chest out and held his fist up high, imitating his beloved brother.
'I'll make my big bro proud!' If I ever save him...
Daisy leapt to her feet, a decision she regretted due to her sudden vertigo. 'For Mario!'
'Yip yip!'
Dr Potter waited until the mortals slipped through the next door to materialise inside that room. The first thing he saw was the activated chainsaw. The very sight of it boiled his ghostly blood.
'GAH! Who allowed that there saw ta enter ma domaine?! I'm sure it was that disrespectful Gravely. And she wanted me ta morph ma family to look like her obsession - BLEGH!'
He picked up the saw and chuckled it into the wall. It smashed into pieces, which was the fate the horrid tool deserved.
'And that's what I think of yeh, Gravely! Tryin' ta hurt ma family tha way yeh do...'
He gasped, seeing the cut up remains of his beloved vines resting on the floor. They curled up and browned as the last bits of their life drained away.
'Oh no...'
The corpses of his brothers and sisters called out to him. He lifted up one of the pieces, and held it close.
'Those mortals... those heartless mortals... slaughterin' ma family like yeh don't matter...' He gritted his teeth. 'I'll kill 'em! I'll make 'em pay fer what they've done!'
No two rooms in this floor seemed to be alike. They shared a layout, but otherwise seemed to be from different hotels. The bathroom of the ivy suite had, um, several watermelons growing from the walls. Three smaller ones grew in the bath, and a giant one nearly as tall as Daisy blocked a hole in the wall.
They smelled rather succulent, and judging by their polish and size were rather well cared for. Daisy breathed on the grand melon, and polished it with her elbow. She 'ooo'ed at how well it reflected her face; individual hair strands were visible.
'How could such a jerk be such a great gardener?' She wondered out loud. 'I envy his work. It's beautiful...'
Polterpup took a big bite out of one of the melons in the bathtub, finding them to be just as delicious as they looked.
Luigi gently pulled him away by his collar. 'Don't do that, boy. We don't want Dr Potter madder at us than he already is.'
Daisy peered past the giant melon, and saw slivers of the hole behind it. She found herself unable to even stick her hand through it.
'A melon.' She muttered. 'A melon is going to be our downfall.' She turned to Luigi. 'Unless your plunger lift this beast.'
The plumber placed his dog down. 'Um, it might. I might need a little help though.'
'Say no more!'
Luigi fired out a plunger onto the giant melon's polished surface. Despite the slight curve, the plunger stuck on just like it would for any flat surface. To his lack of shock, no matter how hard he pulled on the rope the melon didn't move an inch.
'Hang on.' Daisy said, grabbing onto the rope and giving him a smile. 'Just like with the...' She shuddered. 'The piano, huh?'
'Uh, yeah.'
'Alright. Three, two, HEY!'
Luigi did not remember that number. Either way, both yanked on the rope at the same time, causing the juicy fruit to go flying over their shoulders and smash into the melons in the bathtub. It broke apart into several, much more manageable pieces. Polterpup yipped in absolute joy, and devoured all the pieces in one gulp each.
Daisy chuckled. 'So much for not angering Hairy more.'
Luigi gulped. 'He is gonna kill us.'
The princess walked through the hole, glancing up at just how close they were getting. 'Not unless we kill him first.'
The plumber followed her out. 'Uh, but he's a gh-'
'I know that!'
Luigi got to feel a little of relief. After all, they only had another storey to go. The relief vanished when he saw that the stairs to the other side of the tower had already been destroyed by that plant.
'Maybe Dr Potter has a point.' He said. 'These plants are out for us.'
Daisy shook her head. 'That's just how he grew them. ... I hope.'
Though the higher up floor on the other side was perfectly intact - the insane amounts of blue moss aside - they had seemingly no way of actually getting to it.
'Welp.' Daisy said. 'Roll the end credits!'
'Roll the what?'
'You got any ideas?'
'I'm running out.'
While the two mortals discussed possible ways to continue, mostly consisting of Daisy being thrown somehow, Polterpup noticed something about the floorboards they stood on.
'And then you shoot me from the Poltergust!'
'It's... not strong enough for that. It can only launch small objects.'
'Are you implying something?'
'Um... what? You're taller than me.'
They didn't look especially stable. In fact, he bet that a strong enough push could easily turn them into extreme seesaws.
Actually...
Quite a shame even his owner couldn't fully understand his adorable barking. Oh well. He positioned himself in front of Daisy, neither mortal noticing him.
'Maybe you could charge up a bunch of bursts, and then unleash them by side-stepping off the ledge!'
'The Poltergust isn't F.L.U.D.D. with a rocket nozzle. Even if they were both made by the professor.'
'Exactly! So maybe they have a similar mechanic!'
'I don't think the super-rocket-thing was an intended feature.'
Polterpup jumped up and slammed his belly into one end of the floorboard. The other side flung up -
'WAAAHHH!'
And launched Daisy across the room. Her limbs flailed in a comedic fashion as she soared through the air.
It took until halfway through her trajectory for Luigi to comprehend what was going on. 'AH!'
*THUD*
Daisy crashed into the floor on the other side face-first, stuck in a rather unflattering position with her rear in the air. Luigi stared with his mouth agape, before beginning to laugh. Not necessarily at her, I'll add.
'Are you okay?'
Daisy got up, and shook dirt off her face. 'Too many toasters...' She glanced at her arms. 'Think the gloves took most of the shock.'
Luigi sighed in relief. Polterpup took that as his cue to jump onto the floorboard his owner stood on, putting a bit more force into it to account for the weight of the Poltergust.
Just like before, Luigi went soaring just like Team Rocket.
'OH M-M-M-MAMMA!'
And Daisy had to deal with him flying at her now.
'Hang on sweetie! I'll catch you!'
She severely underestimated his velocity. She also severely overestimated her ability to stand her ground. After all, her strength was in her hands, not her feet. Luigi crashed into her arms, and while she did manage to not slam into the back wall, the force of him flying into her knocked the both of them to the floor.
'Ooh...'
'Owie...'
Give her credit, she had managed to catch him, just like she said she would. Polterpup waltzed across the air, with the most smug way of walking you can imagine. He hung his head up with so much pride.
'Oh, so you think you're a clever one, huh?' Daisy said. 'You think it's funny to send us flying?'
Luigi blushed, realising his position. 'Well, uh, it did get us across.'
'I suppose. But I want him to warn us next time. Understand, Poltiepup?'
'Arf arf!'
Dr Potter watched the mortals and their masterful stunt from up above, hidden among the greenery. To say the least, his intruders had not gotten any better in his eyes.
'Blast it!' He yelled, slamming his fist into the brick work. 'Them whippersnappers ain't leavin' ma family alone, are they?'
He had a guest next to him, watching the intruders too. It was none other than Audrey, his actually sentient venus flytrap friend. She snarled at the mortals like a dog, and slobber fell from her mouth and dripped onto the princess's head. The princess didn't seem to think much of it.
'Woof woof woof!' Audrey barked angrily.
'Darn tootin' yer right! They just want ta destroy ev'ryone o' us. I don't doubt they'll go after yeh next!'
Audrey whimpered. Dr Potter patted her head, making her purr like a cat.
'Don't worry. I won't let them get near yeh. I'll die a second time before I let them hurt yeh!'
The mortals and their mangy mutt made their way up the next set of stairs, causing the little spiders hiding in the tall grass to scatter away from them.
'Woof woof! Woof woof woof!'
'Ah, good idea Audrey!'
'If I may, can I say that Hairy managed to make a garden my least favourite part of this hotel so far?'
'Wait, you liked the castle more? Compared to being squished, the worst part of this garden was those flowers I was allergic to.'
'Actually, now that you mention it... yeah, we're never gonna get worse than that stupid dungeon. But still? Hairy made me hate a garden.'
'Is it just because our date went bad?'
'That, and about a hundred other things!'
Luigi and Daisy conversed with each other as they walked up the stairs while Polterpup followed behind, feeling just a little left out due to his inability to properly join in on a conversation.
The little talk boosted both their spirits. It made Luigi seriously wonder how on Earth he managed to get through the first couple ghostbusting adventures without her, or anyone else for that matter.
'Like what?' He asked, already knowing but just wanting to hear her rant some more.
'Well, let's see... kidnapping all of my friends, kidnapping me, nearly kidnapping you, trying to kill us on multiple occasions, freeing King Boo, further traumatising all of us...'
He glanced away from her mid-conversation, something most people would consider rude but she saw as no reason to stop talking. Though he still listened to her every word, his visual attention was more on the path to go.
'... making Wolfgeist think his daughter was in danger, pinning that annoying freaking cat on us, not simply opening this place to the public and removing all the traps to reap the benefits...'
With another flight of stairs cleared, they only had one more to go. The stalk's giant petals practically touched the top of that set of stairs. He sighed in relief... nearly done.
Well, considering how far into this chapter we are... yeah.
'We're nearly there.' He said.
'Oh thank Grambi.' Her smile faded, and she groaned. 'Cue Hairy popping in with his stupid can in three, two...'
Right on cue! The floating watering can appeared with Dr Potter's laugh, and proceeded to fly underneath the platform they currently stood on.
'Oh lord, what is he doing now?' Daisy whined.
Luigi heard the sound of water trickling out of the can, and the moment that sound stopped he felt vibrations from down below.
'Oh no...'
'What?'
'I think we should run!'
His instinct told him to run back down the stairs, as dangerous as that seemed. Daisy, not in the position to question things, ran down the stairs right behind him.
Another branch - more like another whole tree - sprouted up right where they were standing a mere second ago, tearing through the floor like it wasn't even there.
The vibrations didn't stop. A second one shot up behind them, barely missing Luigi but throwing off his balance.
'Oh come on!' Daisy yelled, as she ran past Luigi without really thinking about it.
She reached the end and jumped to the right while he was only halfway down.
'Faster Luigi!' She yelled, to little help.
'YIP YIP!'
A third tree grew, but this time he wasn't so lucky. As it pierced the wood and grew up, it knocked against his Poltergust. Combined with the last one throwing his balance off, he tripped and fell down the stairs.
'LUIGI!'
He slammed into the floor stomach-first but kept going, bouncing back up into the air. He crashed into the wall Poltergust first, and fell onto his rear.
'Owie...'
Thankfully, the Poltergust took most of the impact this time. Daisy and Polterpup sighed in relief.
'You're alright!' Daisy said, going in for a gentle but loving hug.
He blushed from the sudden intimate contact, but he appreciated it none the less.
It seemed the wall that he had just crashed into wasn't exactly strong, as the stone work broke apart into pieces and fell to the floor. It revealed the wooden boards, which were covered in moss and looked about ready to break.
Daisy tapped the wood planks lightly, and they fell apart immediately. It left a hole more than big enough for them to walk through.
'Welp.' She said. 'We can manage one more detour.'
Luigi took the moments of him sitting on the floor to mentally disagree with her. He could feel the stress mounting. Every little detour piled on top of each other, and he wasn't quite sure how much more he could take.
When he stepped through the hole after Daisy, he forgot all about his stress, if only temporarily.
'Wow...'
It was the biggest room in the entire floor, excluding the atrium, thanks to being two storeys with a big hole connecting them. Moss covered the walls and floor, revealing little of the stone beneath. Blue vines grew around the dilapidated bed.
The room was dim, with little light provided by many big glowing mushrooms growing out the walls and floor. They came in various colours, mostly pink, light green, and deep blue. They emitted a dim light of their respective colour.
Combined with the misty aroma, it felt like Luigi had walked right into a relaxing night-time forest. It reminded him of that one area from Pokémon Sword - as disappointing as he found the game to be, he loved that area.
His eyes began to sting again. Oh great, those Glowing Hibiscuses were back, but fortunately in much smaller numbers. Only a couple of them grew, peeking out of the closet covered by more vines.
'Hey Luigi?'
'Hm?'
'Want a fun fact about mushrooms?'
'Ooh, yeah!'
Daisy knelt at a pair of non-glowing mushrooms growing out of a pile of moss. They were the one thing - other than ghostbusting - they were both experts in.
'Did you know that mushrooms aren't actually plants?'
His eyes widened. 'Really?'
'Yep! Fungi have their own kingdom, seperate from the plants. Pretty cool, huh?'
'Yeah...'
'Yip yip yip!'
Polterpup floated up to the ceiling of the bottom room - which, frankly, was big enough to be two rooms itself - and through the sizeable hole. He barked, signalling for his friends to follow him.
'And once again,' Daisy said. 'Polterpup forgets we can't fly.'
'We're just stuck in this situation again.' Luigi added.
Daisy looked around the room, for any sort of way to get up there. She noticed one of the glowing mushrooms, a pink one, had not been growing in the floor but instead a wagon. She approached the mushroom, and rubbed her hands across the surface. It moved up and down like a trampoline.
'Aha! I was right!' She announced, to Luigi's surprise. 'An old friend of mine grew a few of these. Trampoline Caps, she called them. Inedible, but very pretty. And very well named. Observe.'
Grabbing the wagon by its handle, she pulled it away from the wall and placed it right underneath the hole. As a quick precaution, she put little bits of rubble around its wheels so it couldn't roll away.
She, in one step, got from the floor to on top of the mushroom cap. Just like her old friend had told her, it held her weight just fine.
'Then all you have to do is jump, and the mushroom does the rest!'
And that's what she did. She jumped in place, and the elasticity of the cap sprung her into the air. Way into the air. High enough that Luigi couldn't even see her anymore.
'D-Daisy?!'
She fell back down to the bottom floor, and the cap launched her into the air again. And again.
'ComeonLuigi!' *BOING* 'It'sreallyfun-' *BOING* 'Anditgetsyou-' *BOING* 'Tothenextfloor!'
Then she disappeared for good, landing on the top floor. Luigi looked straight up through the hole, falling onto his rear in the process. Daisy waved at him from above.
'Just get on the cap and burst!' She said. 'Polterpup and I will be here to catch you.'
He gulped. After what MacFrights did to him, he did not feel like falling again. Seeing no other option however, he climbed onto the wagon and then the mushroom. With great difficulty.
'So, if I do the burst thing, it'll bounce me up there?'
'Yep! Trust me, it's fun.'
Yeah, for a thrill seeker maybe. Luigi grabbed the Poltergust and put his hand over the two buttons. Actually pressing them was the hard part. Three, two, one... press!
'Whoa-ho!'
He fell back onto the mushroom, and... it worked! He was soaring up into the air, and found himself eye-to-eye with his princess on the upper floor.
'See?' She said.
Then he became a victim to gravity and plummeted down again. And then bounced into the air again. And then, well, you can guess. And all that up-and-down movement was beginning to make him feel horribly dizzy.
Where was up anymore?
'Alright Polter... grab the Polt... Luigi himse...' Was all he could hear.
Something grabbed his shirt, and his Poltergust. At least, he was sure something like that happened. He certainly didn't feel himself coming to a stop.
'Alright, let's reel him in.'
Daisy and Polterpup pulled him along until his feet touched solid ground. They let go of him, and he immediately fell onto his knees and hands.
'Oh!' Daisy exclaimed. 'Are you alright?'
If he had anything in his stomach, he'd be puking it out. Heck, he was very close to puking out the stomach itself.
'Are you alright?'
'Uh... yeah. Y-Yeah. Just give me a moment...'
Once the world stopped being jelly, he could see that he had indeed made it to the upper floor. No vines this time, but there was a bed covered in ivy. Despite sitting right on the edge of the hole, it seemed perfectly stable. Next to that was a hammock, swaying slightly for no clear reason. In the corner, a bunch of tools rested on a cork board along with many pots stacked on shelves. Next to the shelves was the way out.
'It kinda looks like this is Dr Potter's room.' He said.
'In that case,' Daisy said, helping him off the ground. 'Let's destroy it.'
'Let's not.'
'Right. He's peeved off enough as is. Let's just get the button and get out of this hellhole.'
Before they could get to the door, Polterpup got between it and them. He growled and snarled at something that stood at the door, something invisible to the mortal eye.
'Don't worry, Polterpup.' Daisy said. 'I got this.'
Bravery to some, stupidity to others. She reached her arm out to grab whatever the mutt was yapping out, only to find herself unable to move her arm any further. At all.
Something had wrapped itself around her wrist, like a small but thick vine. It definitely wasn't a vine, as it felt wet. What she guessed was saliva soaked her skin. She tried to yank her hand back, but whatever had grabbed her held her tight.
'Uh... little help here?'
Luigi grabbed his flashlight, with the intent of Dark-Lighting the mysterious being, but found himself unable to step again. Or move his legs for that matter. It felt like a wet rope had been wrapped around his legs, keeping them together to make a kidnapping easier.
There was nothing worse than a threat preventing him from moving.
The sticky rope around his legs pulled his feet forward out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor.
The being who had them roped up revealed itself, its transparent skin appearing with a reddish-orange light. Unsurprisingly, it was ghost, but a new kind. And, unlike the Slinker, was not one Luigi was somewhat familiar with.
She resembled a pile of orange goo, a pile mostly consisting of a mouth. The most notable part were her two long blue tongues, one wrapped around Daisy's wrist and the other Luigi's legs.
Immediately Luigi gagged. As if the tear wasn't bad enough, now he faced a ghost drooling all over his overalls.
'I can assure you.' Daisy said, still trying to pull away. 'Humans taste absolutely awful.'
Luigi did a double-take. How did she know that?!
'I disagree.' The Trapper said, rather incoherently. 'Humans are delicious! Clothing and all. Even ones that smell as awful as you two.'
Luigi shuddered; getting eaten by a ghost was not exactly high on his bucket list. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand. Wait a minute... He looked at his hand with mild shock.
He grinned. It had seemed that, despite being clever enough to ambush them at a door and prevent Daisy from using the gloves, the Trapper forgot to secure his hands. So, he grabbed his flashlight and beamed the Trapper right in her face. The Strobulb left her dazzled, and she released her grasp on her victims.
Daisy grabbed onto the tongue that had her wrist, and yanked on it. The Trapper, even in her stunned state, remained firm in her spot. Luigi got up, and used his Poltergust to grab the other tongue. Because quite frankly, even if he could touch ghosts like Daisy could, he would never touch a ghost's tongue.
'Hey!' The Trapper yelled. 'I need those to taste your delicious flesh! All I'm tasting is metal and dust.'
Unsurprisingly, they didn't listen to a ghost who ten seconds ago tried to eat them. With one simultaneous pull, they slammed her into the floor and made her particles scatter and dissipate.
'And that's what ya get!' Daisy yelled, before turning to Luigi. 'Have you ever seen ghosts like that before?'
He scratched his head. 'Uh, no. The closest I think were the Creepers, but even then they were completely different.'
Daisy put her hand on her chin, and made that grin one usually makes before a stupid joke.
'Sooo, that means there are five ghost types in this hotel, right? Excluding the big guys, obviously.'
'Uh, so far. Why do you ask?'
That cheeky grin just grew.
'Since I don't think they have names yet, allow me to name them. The blue guys who come in the dozens are Goobs. The hiding ones are Hiders-'
'Hiders is already taken.'
'Ah, crud. Um... the big red guys are Hammers. The hiding ones are, er, Oozers. The sneaky ones are Slinkers. And that jerk was a Trapper.'
Well, those are the names I've been using this whole time. Turns out that I wasn't the one who came up with them.
Luigi pondered those names, knowing she named them that for a reason. 'Goobs... Hammers... Ooz-' He paused, and chuckled. 'It spells ghost!'
She winked his way. 'Nothing gets by you.'
With the Trapper taken care of, the trio walked through the door and... there it was. The plant they had spent all this time trying to reach stood right in front of them. Though the walkway they stood on was nothing but a balcony, the plant's giant leaves extended all the way to their tiny platform.
Daisy sighed the biggest sigh of relief you will ever hear. 'Oh thank lady Rosalina! We're nearly done!'
She ran over to the big flytrap and Polterpup made loops around it, while Luigi stood there and let it sink in. The plant that had given them so much trouble now lay in front of him. If only he didn't drop the... no. No time to be thinking like that.
Daisy got her hands in between the hulking jaws of the beast, but no matter how much she struggled they would not open.
'We're gonna need a little more power here!' She said.
Luigi nodded, and stepped onto the leaf that served as a bridge. His nerves almost stopped him, but he wasn't going to let nerves ruin it for him now.
'You think a plunger would open it up?' He asked.
'Any extra power would help.'
He fired a plunger onto one of the jaws, and pulled back. The plant looked like it was trying to open up, but some sort of lock prevented it from doing so. So, he yanked the plunger a few more times, which did good for his already peaking stress levels.
'If I had a plunger-firing thing,' Daisy said. 'I'd go for the second jaw myself. But I-'
'Gooigi!'
She blinked. 'That works too.'
For the first time in a while, he deployed Gooigi. He moved his gooey counterpart over to the other side and fired another plunger, this one the same translucent green as the rest of him. He grabbed it and pulled backwards.
'So, how are you supposed to plunger it at once?' Daisy asked.
Gooigi spent no time thinking about it. Somehow, he already knew both Weegees would act at once. He didn't know how he knew this, and nor did he care.
'I'm putting my might into it.' Daisy said. 'You ready?'
'Yep.'
'Now... pull!'
Both Luigi and Gooigi pulled on their plungers at once. Like a crowbar on a chest, it pulled the jaws wide open until they collapsed. The button flew out of its trap, and into the air...
And bonked off an unconscious Luigi's head. It rolled on the curved leaves, getting frighteningly close to the edge.
'Oh no!' Luigi yelled, finding himself back in his original body. 'Oh no no no...!'
'AH! Get the button!' Daisy cried. 'Get the freaking button!'
All three members of the trio ran for the button with their arms and paws out, in a manner that resembled a ridiculous comedy movie. But, regardless of how many desperate people ran to grab it, the button still rolled off the edge.
Luigi reached for it as it plummeted, as if he had force powers. 'Noooo-ho-ho!'
Polterpup would've dove after it, but what was the point? It was nearly on the ground, and they'd have to get back down anyway.
The button plinked against the floor, the only thing visible from that distance being its dim glow. Luigi pouted, but Daisy stood by his side with far too much serenity. Her face was blank, but her twitching eyes burned with rage.
'Um... Daisy? Y-You okay?'
She clenched her fists, and bared her teeth like an aggressive dog.
'OH COME ON!'
Suddenly, all the way down in the boilerworks beneath the basement, a sleeping redneck mechanical arose from his nap.
'Eh?' He lifted his cap and looked around. 'Wha' in tarnation was that?'
Well, he couldn't see anything. So, no problem. He rested his head back on his duck floaty, hoping to get in some more nap-time before his twin sister arrived and ruined everything.
Welp, Luigi was not recovering from that for a long, long time. Polterpup was probably in Honeylune at this point.
Daisy sighed in relief for a few good seconds. 'So...' She said, overly serene once again. 'How do we get back down?'
Luigi looked at her with his traumatised eyes. Somehow, her serenity managed to scare him just as much as her scream.
'I... I don't know.' He replied without really thinking about it.
Daisy huffed. 'Brilliant. So now we're up here, while the button's down there.' She groaned. 'Oh for f-'
She got interrupted by the last sound you'd ever want to hear when on the top of a giant plant: a creaking branch, or in this case, a creaking leaf. And the giant leaf they were on was definitely beginning to droop.
Their nerves went stiff as a horrible realisation sunk into them.
'We're gonna fall, aren't we?' Daisy said.
'Y-Y-Yep.'
The leaf gave out completely, sending the couple plunging. Screams filled the air...
And stopped after a few seconds. The heroes' plunge came to an abrupt finish. They had only fallen a few feet, when a vine that wrapped around the stem all the way down caught them.
Daisy sat on it, as if she were using it as a balcony of sorts. Luigi had his hands and feet planted firmly on it. They both smiled, and then ceased doing so upon seeing that the vine wasn't flat. It ramped downwards, and continued to travel down as it wrapped the stem into its grasp.
And it was a pretty slippery vine to boot.
Luigi felt his body getting dragged down, and tried to dig his fingers in like a cat about to fall into a lake. He reached out for Daisy, his other limbs instinctively clamping onto his slippery platform. It didn't help at all, seeing as she was beginning to slide down too.
The both of them picked up speed fast. What would look like a funny scene to any outsider was certainly not comedic to them, hurtling down a circling slide, screaming your lungs out as the outside world turns to blurs.
Luigi didn't want to look, and closed his eyes. The air rushing past his cheeks and Daisy's distressed screaming did enough. He couldn't even tell if he was still on the vine anymore.
'Luigi! Look out!'
He opened his eyes, just as the vine dropped him off.
*THUD*
And he hit the floor in the same manner of a beanbag being chucked at cement, and he felt like his guts spilled out like a torn beanbag to boot.
Daisy dug her gloved hands into the trunk of the plant, slowing her own descent down just a bit. Her landing was less rough than Luigi's, though not by much.
'Oof...' She muttered. 'You okay, sweetie?'
Luigi lifted himself off the ground, his limbs just a little achy. Compared to what MacFrights did to him, this was nothing.
'Relatively speaking, yeah.'
Polterpup descended from wherever he had been, now sure it wasn't thunder he heard, and gave his owner an affectionate lick to the face.
'Thanks, boy.'
The doggy's kisses always seemed to rejuvenate him, with or without the magic of a golden bone.
'Oh my Grambi, there's the button!' Daisy announced, springing to her feet and ignoring the immediate lightheadedness.
The button lay in the middle of the room, and Daisy was gonna get that button into the elevator even if it killed her. She ran over to it, and yanked it up before anything else could happen to it.
She stared at the button longingly, like it was a childhood toy she hadn't seen in years. Its glow and the big '8' on it beckoned her.
'Daisy! Look out!'
She glanced up from her precious button, only to get a face full of scraggly plant skin and two rows of sharp yellow teeth. The flytrap's glowing eyes stared directly into hers, roaring and splattering plant slobber all over her.
'Eep!'
Where it came from was beyond her, and the sudden sight of it made her jump back while flailing like a beached Magikarp. The button went flying out of her hand, and the flytrap snatched it up clean out of the sky.
'Gah!'
The flytrap withdrew itself back to its friend, who happened to be a very angry looking Dr Potter. He took the button out of its jaw, and tucked it away in his pocket.
'Yer a good girl, Audrey!' He said, stroking her neck, or whatever it was. 'Teachin' them whippersnappers what fer!'
Daisy threw up her arms in exasperation, groaning both because of him and herself. 'Are you serious?!'
'Yeh can only blame yerself for that one, young lady. Sweet little Audrey only took advantage of yeh. And we're nod very happy about yeh murderin' our family!'
'If you just gave us that stupid button, we'd be out of here by now!'
Both gardeners looked at each other with such hatred. Luigi couldn't stand it. He'd hoped two people with such similar interests would get along better than this.
'Ged her, Audrey!'
'Woof woof woof!'
The flytrap opened her jaws as widely as they would go, and lunged teeth first at Daisy like a glove on a spring.
'Whoa nelly!' Daisy said.
The princess jumped out of the way, her feet skidding on the mossy rocks. Audrey missed her only by a few inches, but kept going until her vine body couldn't be stretched anymore. Her jaws got stuck on a pile of rubble that rested at the foot of the stalk. She pulled away bit by bit, making sure she didn't break her own teeth.
'Com'on Audrey!' Dr Potter said, pulling on her pot home. 'Yer better than that!'
He yanked her back in, with enough force to dislodge the rubble and make it scatter. Underneath where it stood was another saw, already activated and ready for use.
'Woof woof!'
'That's right, Audrey. Yeh haven't had a fresh meal since those two Bubblainians! And these humans look like they'll be a lot more fillin'.'
Luigi shivered, his knees about as stable as a late-game Jenga tower. As if the flytraps in the Haunted Towers weren't scary enough...
Dr Potter noticed the shaky little boy. 'This ain't between us, yeh green lad! Yeh can stay outta this. Yeh at least seem a li'l remorseful fer yer plant killin'. It's just between me and that murderin' missy!'
Daisy's hands went to her hips. 'Oh, so I'm the murderer here? Sure, let's just ignore the crazy amount of times you and your plants almost killed us!'
'I beg yer pardon? Ma plants were just tryin' ta defend themselves from yeh!'
Luigi didn't know who to root for. Obviously, he wanted Daisy to win, but he didn't want Dr Potter to lose. Even if the guy was utter bonkers, he was just defending his family.
'D-Daisy...' He stammered. 'M-Maybe we could just talk it-'
'Talk it out with this guy?' Daisy said, keeping her eyes on the plant. 'Have fun with that. Meanwhile, I'll be fighting for my life.'
Audrey raised her head up high and cranked her jaws open. She had pushed her stem to its limits, towering over Daisy. The princess looked straight up, seeing a bottomless mouth and razor teeth above her.
She narrowed her eyes, and jumped to the side. Audrey lunged downwards, her jaws open at 180 degrees as she chomped at the floor. Somehow, her head stayed together in spite of the harsh angle.
Lifting her head off the ground, she spat out bits of rock and grass. She sniffed around, and spotted the princess approaching Dr Potter with flexed knuckles.
Dr Potter floated backwards slowly, unable to hold his hands up due to carrying the flytrap's pot. Compared to the angry old man who constantly made things miserable for the heroes, he looked even wimpier now.
'What are yeh doin', missy? I've seen what yeh do ta ma plants. Don't tell me yer thinkin' o' doin' the same thing ta me!'
Daisy snarled. 'After what you've done to me? Yeah, pretty much.'
Audrey gasped. How dare this mortal threaten her best friend! She lowered her head, and charged forward like a bull. By the time Daisy saw the flytrap in her point of view, it bashed into her with its forehead.
'Oof!'
'Margherita!'
The impact sent her flying into a bench. It knocked the air right out of her and gave her nasty whiplash. She lost her placement in the world.
'Fraid it won't be that easy, missy!' Dr Potter declared, patting his friend. 'Audrey don't like it when someone tries ta hurt me. Yeh wanna know how many dresses o' Gravely have flytrap bite marks in 'em?'
Daisy rubbed the back of her head, slowly getting her bearings. Even with the pain taking over her body, she still had the energy to glare at the elderly ghost.
'No, but do you wanna know how many ghosts I've punched in the face?'
This snarky remark made Audrey scream out an angry roar that echoed through the entire atrium.
Dr Potter glared at her. 'Now look at what yeh've done. Yeh've angered Audrey! Yeh don't deserve ta wear those pretty jewel flowers on yer outfit.'
'Oh, for... my name is Princess Daisy! Get that through your thick hairy skull!'
She got to her feet, and took on a fighting stance that Little Mac would be proud of, beckoning the flytrap to attack her.
Audrey answered her call, and snapped at her like a dog unexpectedly biting a stranger. Daisy jumped back with a look of shock on her face, avoiding the jaws with nothing but a fight-or-flight response.
Luigi took a step forward. 'Daisy! What should I-?'
'You should stay out of this!' Daisy yelled back, more angrily than intended. 'Hairy himself even said - whoa! - that it's just between me and him.'
The man in green watched his princess dodge the mouth of the flora beast, getting closer and closer to the jaws of death each time. He stood still, barely noticed, in his spot, grasping his flashlight tight.
I can't do nothing! But what can I do?
'Arf! Arf arf!'
Polterpup, like before, pointed to the saw resting at the base of the behemoth stalk, its blade not sharp enough to pierce the thick stem. Luigi quickly understood what his pet was thinking of.
'What? I can't do that! That plant is Dr Potter's friend...'
It took him all of two seconds to wonder if he should've been even considering that line of thinking. An enemy of his friend was his enemy, surely.
Daisy jumped to the side again, forced into a game of perpetual dodging. The way Audrey so fiercely guarded the old ghost gave her no room to actually attack. Thank Grambi she had a great air capacity, but she knew that even her lungs had a limit.
'I suggest yeh just give up now.' Dr Potter said. 'Audrey won't give up on a meal til she's chomped it ta pieces. Especially if that meal has slaughtered her kind.'
Daisy groaned. 'Look, I love plants too, but I wouldn't say I've murdered them.'
'Then yeh simply don't like plants as much as yeh claim!'
She gritted her teeth and her face turned red. She couldn't believe him! Her blood boiled. With everything he had done to her, his insistence that her passion didn't exist was the baby that broke the Yoshi's back.
'Alright! THAT'S IT!' She shouted. 'You're going DOWN!'
She charged for Dr Potter with her arms out, fully intending to give him a new face. And with how bright the lights on the gloves were, it seemed like a likely possibility.
Her reign ended before it began, mere centimetres away from his face. Audrey grabbed her whole body and clamped her jaws over her. In that moment, Daisy's heart stopped. Luigi's did too.
'Nah, missy.' Dr Potter said. 'It will be yeh that'll be goin' down... down Audrey's throat!'
The flytrap lifted her into the air, holding her like a hotdog in a toothy bun. Only her head and limbs stuck out.
'Oh, did I mention that it takes a while fer Audrey ta digest her meals? It takes a few days till her prey loses consciousness.'
'Thanks for the factoid!'
Polterpup barked like crazy, dancing around the saw. Now Luigi had to act! No matter how much he may have cared about that plant, his true friends took priority. He rushed over to that saw, and picked it right up.
He did not feel right wielding the deadly tool.
Daisy reached her barely-free arms out, and with great struggle grabbed the flytrap's stem and stretched it between her arms. Not keen to wait for her rescue again, she sunk her teeth deep into the stem.
Audrey cried out in pain, and dropped her in an instant. Daisy landed on her hands and knees, and took no time getting back up. The flytrap whimpered like a lost little puppy dog, unable to nurse her own wound due to the sheer size of her head.
'GAH, look at yerself!' Dr Potter cried. 'Carelessly bitin' the plants yeh claim ta care about!'
Audrey glared at the orange-clad mortal, her blank eyes now filled with more rage than ever. She barked into the air, as if belting out an epic battle cry, and launched at Daisy with her jaws open like a crocodile.
Just as Daisy had planned.
The flytrap's attempted jab at a meal came to a dead stop. Daisy stood her ground, holding the jaws wide with her powered-up gloves like a car-jack. She could feel Audrey trying to escape her grip, to no avail.
Dr Potter pulled on the pot as hard as he could, but a ghost at his age only had so much strength to work with.
'That saw would be really nice right about now, Luigi!'
'Oh! R-Right.'
With the saw in hand, he approached the middle of the outstretched vine. He only got the axe an inch above the stem before he hesitated. Did he really have to do it?
'Um... Dr Potter?' He said, speaking just loudly enough so he could be heard over the saw. 'Maybe we can just talk this out?'
Daisy rolled her eyes. Since when had diplomacy worked out for him during this entire 'vacation'? Chambrea? Never listened. Kruller? So close, yet so far. Soulfflé? Not even close. MacFrights? Luigi barely even tried. Only Amadeus was even a little close, and even then only after the fight.
Dr Potter responded as she expected. 'Heh! I don't associate with murderers!'
With a sigh, Luigi knew what he had to do. He closed his eyes, and lowered the saw through the stem. The distinct sound of a saw cutting through greenery filled his ears. Another sound accompanied it.
'No... no!' Dr Potter pleaded. 'How dare yeh even consider sawin' ma best friend!'
'Ignore him, Luigi!' Daisy countered, her voice slightly strained. 'Just cut the stupid plant!'
He knew that the moment the saw went straight through that the deed had been done. Daring to open his eyes, he tossed the weapon aside.
'NOOOOO!' Dr Potter cried.
Daisy let go of the flytrap and tossed her to the floor. Audrey's disembodied head unleashed one last dying cry, before the light in her eyes vanished. She went limp like a cat at its last vet appointment.
'Audrey!'
Luigi stumbled backwards with wide eyes, and tumbled backwards onto the floor. He broke into a cold sweat as he watched the life drain away from the plant in front of him.
I did that. I killed her. How... how could I do that?
Dr Potter threw his pot away, and knelt by the remains of his best friend. He rubbed her face, trying to assure himself there was still life in her closed eyes.
'Ged up, Audrey. Yeh'll be fine. Just look at me. Please, wake up...'
The roughness and impatience in his voice seemed like a distance memory now. That was all gone. He sounded like he was on the verge of tears.
Luigi turned away, his emotional state no better. Daisy cringed as the old ghost's weeping filled the silent air. She began to wonder if she really was right. Polterpup sniffed the flytrap head, noting its lifeless scent. Dr Potter didn't care about him at all anymore.
'I never thought I'd lose yeh...'
With a forlorn sigh, he looked up. He looked so different now, despite his appearance hardly changing.
'Young green man...'
Luigi jumped around, and wiped his eyes. 'Y-Yeah?'
'Capture me, please. In that newfangled vacuum of yers. I'd prefer to rejoin ma ghost friends... for once.'
Daisy wanted to scream out the word 'WHAT' at the top of her lungs, but nothing in her body did what she wanted it to.
'U-Uh...?' Luigi stuttered. 'O-Okay. You... you mean it? I-If you want...'
'Don't even bother with yer flashlight.'
Luigi stared at him, his blank expression not showing his several conflicting emotions. But who was he to deny a sad ghost's wishes?
He'll be happier with his ghost friends, Luigi told himself.
One press of the suck button, and Dr Potter was dragged in. Luigi could feel absolutely no struggle. With how much they fought to get here, it almost felt like an anticlimax.
The eighth button came tumbling out of the nozzle, as weakly as its possessor went in. Luigi didn't celebrate. He didn't feel like it. Neither did Polterpup, who kept nudging Audrey's head in case she sprang to life.
'S-So...' Luigi said. 'W-What do we do now?'
Daisy picked up the button and held it tight, so tight that if it weren't for the gloves her hands would turn white.
'We make sure Audrey's death wasn't for nothing, that's for sure.'
She took one last look at the atrium, finding herself appreciating the place a bit more now. No doubt she'd come back here after all this insanity was over.
'D-Daisy?'
'She died so we could get this button, right? Then let's use the button and save our friends.'
She bashed the double doors wide open, and charged off with the button in hand. Luigi simply wanted to forget this entire floor, and so went after her.
Polterpup was about to go along with them, but his keen eyes picked up something shiny laying in the corner of the room. Hey, that was Dr Potter's watering can. He wasn't sure if it would work, but still he picked up that can and sprinkled it over the bare pot that Audrey used to call her home. A little sprout grew out of it.
It didn't smell quite like Audrey though. Hm...
Audrey ll!
DR POTTER, THE LONELY BOTANIST
AGE - 85
GENDER - Male
CAUSE OF DEATH - Old age
Dr Ramos Potter was so obsessed with plants in his life, he had practically no humans around him. No one wanted to hang out with him. So, he died alone, surrounded by plants he thought were sentient. Though he has friends as a ghost, he still prefers the company of his flora.
Author Notes - It's come to my attention that the Mario fanfiction page does not have a character filter for Polterkitty. That's disappointing. I had plans.
Since both Daisy and Dr Potter like plants, I knew I had to do something with this. I had some ideas, like them actually being friends. But then I found the idea of them hating each other despite sharing interests to be more interesting.
The idea of Dr Potter being insane and convinced his plants are sapient was always a thing, but slowly I ended up making him genuinely see his plants as his family. I managed to make even Dr Potter somewhat sympathetic.
'Keep them out... keep them out... keep them out! We... we don't need no people intrudin' in on our family! They can't be trusted... they can't be trusted! They'll tear right through all o' us if we let 'em!'
Dr Potter had secluded himself for... how long was it? No one could remember anymore. The eighty-five year old had driven himself insane, locking himself in with those plants that simply didn't fill in that social gap. Not that he realised that.
He may have been healthy physically thanks to his isolation, but it wreaked absolute havoc on his mental health.
That's how he died. No one knew he was dead for a decade, and when they did find out, no one seemed to care.
