Author Notes - YAY! Everyone's most favouritest level in the game. Personally I like it (banjos and all), but most people don't. For many reasons. Oh hai rubber duck floaty thing! But to say the least, I'll try to make this cursed floor interesting. Especially since we'll be here for three chapters.
Also, according to my dictionary/spellcheck, 'Boilerworks' is a word the game made up.
What's this? It appears that nexus4123 has followed my story!
(Random note, I picked up Battle for Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated. Perhaps flaws and in need of some extra patches, but still fun as heck!)
CHAPTER TWENTY - HOE-DOWN BY THE BOILERWORKS
Luigi decided, immediately upon stepping out the door, that the Boilerworks were not meant to be visited by guests. Why the elevator - which would be predominately used by guests, surely - went down to this floor was a mystery to him.
The place seemed to be unfinished, like they forgot to cover up all the pipes and foundation. Luigi could see metal plates, steel scaffolding, and dusty concrete walls that gorgeous wood would normally hide. Steam poured out of the pipes, and the smell of steel piping and sawdust was thick in the air.
But why would they bother covering up everything? It was just for the workers. Supposedly.
'Well.' Daisy said, banging an exposed pipe with her fist. 'This is a fine welcome, now isn't it. YOW!' She jumped away when the metal of the pipe turned out to be far hotter than expected.
Polterpup sniffed a toolbar that lay by the wall. It smelled of banjos, whiskey, and rubber ducks. An odd combination to be sure.
Polterkitty tugged on Luigi's pant leg, as if trying to give it another tear. 'Mow-meow.'
'You'll take us to where you think the button is?' Luigi echoed.
Daisy rolled her eyes, but said nothing. She was going to stick by her 'you trust her, I trust you' mentality even if it killed her.
Polterkitty scampered down a hallway to the left - why were they always to the left? - and the others had little choice but to follow her. It led to a metal door right at the very end, and had some wooden scaffolding, a workdesk, and a massive pipe travelling from the floor to the ceiling along the way. Not to mention the few, slightly-out-of-place rubber duckies in costumes scattered on the floor.
And something else. Something that made Luigi, Polterpup, and Polterkitty stop in their tracks.
'So what are we-?' Daisy tried to ask, before Luigi held his hand up for her to stop. 'What? ... Oh.'
There was a ghost, lying down and leaning up against the workbench like it was a pillow. Judging by how he looked much more humanoid than the Goobs, he must've been one of the 'Grand Ghosts'. He had neck-long unkempt blond hair, as well as short hairs on his chin. His white singlet and blue overalls had clearly not been washed in ages, and his green gloves and blue cap did not look much better.
'Wow.' Daisy muttered. 'He looks like someone who'd get a little too close to his sister.'
Luigi gulped. 'Uh, P-Polterkitty,' He whispered. 'W-Who is that?'
'Mmm... miaow-yow.'
'C-Clem? And h-he has the next button?'
Luigi backed up a little, and Polterkitty did just the same thing. Daisy silently clenched her fists, while Polterpup braced himself for a sudden attack.
'I bet that if we sneak up on him,' She said, stepping forward as quietly as possible. 'I can bash the button outta him before he wakes up.'
*SQUE-EAK*
'MROOOW!'
Everyone tensed up. Polterkitty hadn't watched where she was going and tripped over a rubber ducky, triggering its squeak and scaring the heck of herself. In the silence of the room, it seemed especially loud.
Clem's eyes opened up slowly. 'Dumplin'... was that ya just squeakin'?'
Daisy glared at the kitty, seeming aiming her fists at her now. 'You stupid cat...'
Clem lifted up the brim on his cap, and when he saw our heroes his whole face lit up.
'Woah! Hooooooooooooooooooo-wee! Looks likes Ah found maself a coupla wayward guests!'
The quartet still didn't move, not wishing to run away but willing to give him a chance.
'Ah don't knows why y'all are down here. It ain't no place fer tha guests!'
The genuine smile on his face faded away, and he bonked the back of his head several times as if trying to swat an annoying insect.
He let out a sigh. 'Seems likes ma boss thinks now's a good time tah mess wit' ma brains. Ah don't approve of that no moar, but whaddya gonna do?'
Daisy groaned. 'You could, I dunno, try to fight it.'
Clem shrugged. 'Eh. Sounds like too much effort tah do somethin' like that. Ah hope y'all don't mind none!'
Her expression should've answered it for him - yes, yes she did mind. She minded a lot, actually. He took no notice of it, and just spat into his gloves before rubbing his hands together, much to Luigi's disgust.
'Looks like Ah gots a job tah do. Normally Ah wouldn't bother, but ma boss says Ah should and Ah sure as moonshine ain't disobeyin' that dixie!'
He floated up to a valve attached to the big pipe, and with his spit-soaked gloves gave it a spin. Thanks to the valve seeing very rare use it took a little bit of struggling to get it, but when he did he laughed mockingly. Water could be heard flowing through the pipe faster than before.
It was then that Luigi noticed that he was standing right by the pipe, right next to latch that looked like it could be opened with a strong enough force.
'Uh oh...'
The latch shot open, and water fired out directly into Luigi's face.
'Wah!'
The pressure knocked him down, and the coldness of it nearly sent him into shock. He held his hands up to block the watery blast, but it accomplished little. Worse, though the water looked clear it certainly didn't taste clean.
Some of it splashed into Polterkitty's face.
'MRYOOOW!'
The feeling of the liquid against her ghostly fur immediately made her panic.
'Sweetie!'
Daisy tried to hold the latch down, but the water fought with so much force that even she couldn't fight back against it.
Clem just laughed it up, pointing at them like a fourth-grade bully. 'Ah never git tired of watchin' othas gittin' splashed!'
Daisy directed her glare at him. 'And I never get tired of punching jerks in the face!'
The redneck's smile dropped. 'Well, come tah think a it, Ah think one a tha pipes needed a li'l bidda work. See y'all later, li'l doggies!'
Smirking at them for one last 'screw you', Clem hightailed out of there through the metal door. By then, Polterpup - with great difficulty - managed to turn the valve back round and stop the flow of water.
'Luigi, are you okay?' Daisy asked.
The plumber spat out some more of the awful-tasting water, and got to his feet. 'I'm remembering why Mario and I stopped being professional plumbers.'
Once Daisy was certain the worst Luigi sustained was a damp moustache, she leered at Polterkitty. The ghost cat stood perfectly still, her face still dripping. She seemed as if getting hit by the water traumatised her.
'Good job, kitty.'
That final word came out with such poison and bitterness, that it snapped Polterkitty out of her trance. Now her terrified look was aimed at Daisy instead.
'Meow?'
'Because of your brilliant show of competence, you have officially wasted our time.'
Polterkitty's eyes widened and her ears flattened. Luigi felt his heart sinking as he looked into those frightened blue eyes.
'Daisy, you shouldn't-'
The way Mean Lady towered over Polterkitty, giving her that domineering glare, reminded her of the many, many moments Master brought her anger out on her.
'And that's assuming you didn't just do it on purpose.'
'DAISY!'
Luigi yelled louder than he ever wanted to, but it did what it needed to - it got Daisy's attention. The moment she looked to him, all the anger disappeared from her face.
'Okay sweetie,' She said, a little too calmly considering how terrified Polterkitty was. 'What is it?'
For once, he didn't feel hesitant in explaining himself.
'That isn't fair, Daisy.'
'And why not? She's the entire reason this trip has probably been extended to three hours!'
'The same way I was the reason our trip to the Garden Suites was so long?'
Daisy flinched. She opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a single 'uh'.
'Is... is this really how you felt about what I did in the garden?' He asked with watery eyes.
'What? No! Of course not. That was an accident. I would've done the same thing!'
'But what if I stepped on that ducky? Or Polterpup? Or even you?'
Daisy wanted to retort with something - anything! But nothing came up. So, she simply slumped her arms and sighed.
'Good lord, what am I doing?' She wondered out loud. 'I know I should be more fair, but... but she tried to hurt you and bring her to Ms Gravely! And she's literally Hellen's pet. It's hard for me to-'
She stopped when she felt something rubbing against her leg. Polterkitty rubbed her cheeks over the bare skin, simultaneously saying 'this is mine' and 'it is alright'.
Luigi smiled. 'I think she forgives you.'
'Heh. Let's hope I'll be able to do the same thing.'
Polterpup put his nose to the floor, suspecting that the scent of a three-day-long hoedown had to be the ghost. The fact that everything smelled like 'moonshine' threw him off a bit.
'Don't worry, Master.' He said. 'I'll track that moonshiner down.'
The next room past the metal door was, well, something else. It looked even less finished, with metal plates covering the floor and an entire wall replaced by a network of pipes and valves. That wasn't what surprised everyone.
'Uh...' Luigi murmured.
'Alrighty.' Daisy said.
Two ghosts, an Oozer and a Slinker, both wearing straw hats, chillaxed by the pipes. The Oozer rested the back of his head on his hands, while the Slinker strummed a calm tune on her banjo. The Oozer tapped his tail on the floor to the slow beat of the song.
'Gimme a home...' The Slinker sang. 'Where tha polterpups roam...'
The ghostbusters and their pets could do little beyond just watching with a mix of 'huh' and 'why'. The Oozer glanced their way, looked at them for a few seconds, and with a rather delayed reaction yelped and took to the air.
'Oh nelly!' He said. 'It looks like we've been spotted by that there prissy li'l princess! And tha orange one too. Let's git oudda here, Tammy!'
He flew into one of the pipes, and was seemingly washed away. The Slinker, whose name was apparently Tammy, was too deep into her banjo-playing to notice her friend slipping away. Or the mortals watching her in shock either.
'And I t'was chillin' by tha pipes, before ma friend ran away.' She sang. 'And tha mortals have arrived, an' they're here tah stay.'
Or, she did notice and just didn't care. Even when Daisy stomped up to her with clenched fists. Tammy just glanced at her for a moment, and returned to her strumming. She pulled out a piece of wheat from behind her and put it in her mouth.
'Well, ain't y'all that group who's bustin' them ghosts left n' right?' She said, without any fear at all.
'Yeah. We are.' Daisy said. 'So I suggest you start a-running.'
Tammy just strummed her banjo. 'Ah knows y'all well. Ah've heard stories of y'all - well, mostly tha green one - bein' nice tah ghosts who ain't no fighters. So, Ah knows Ah won't be hurt if'n Ah don't do nothin'.'
Daisy sighed. 'Okay, I see this conversation is going nowhere. Com'on guys, let's just get that button back.'
The princess held the door open, waiting for her green-clad counterpart to follow her. Luigi only made it halfway across the room when Tammy spoke to him.
'Ah warn ya, Greenie. Ma bosses down 'ere ain't no nice guys no moar. They t'was nice before, but when ol' Miss Gravely gits involved, ain't no one escapin'. That advice goes fer y'all too, princess.'
Luigi scratched the back of his neck. 'Uh, I'll keep that in mind.'
'Luigi!' Daisy called. 'Polterpup and the cat too. Let's stop talking to the miscreants and get going.'
Tammy glared at her. 'Be thankful Ah'm a veeerrry stubborn ghost.'
Luigi followed Daisy through the door, and found a room much more open than the last. It had to have been at least two storeys. Two giant red pipes in the ceiling constantly dropped bucketloads of water into a circular pit surrounded by steel plates.
On top of the metallic pit was an 'L'-shaped platform, leading from about where he stood to a ladder. The ladder led to a steel platform on the second storey, and what could only be described as a giant metal bank lock.
There was another second-storey steel platform all the way on the other side of the room, that didn't need the platform to get to. Its ladder, however, was folded up at the top. Next to the pit was a red box with a fan. A wet floor sign and a banjo could be seen leaning against the walls.
Luigi cringed - the waterfalls hitting the shallow water travelling along in the pit below was a little louder than he anticipated. Despite that, he could hear Tammy's banjo-playing rather clearly through the pipes.
'Oh no.' Daisy said. 'I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this.'
Polterkitty froze and stared a thousand miles into the distance. The sight of all that water, pouring down from the ceiling, locked up every nerve in her body. Luigi noticed.
'You okay, Gattina?' He asked, kneeling down and stroking her.
The feeling of his warm glove relaxed her a bit. 'I don't like water. At all.'
'That's fine. Most cats don't.'
Polterpup, almost getting distracted by the water, followed the hoedown scent across the 'L'-shaped platform until he reached the ladder. He was beginning to find that moonshine quite aromatic. He floated to the higher platform, and stood his ground like a proud little lion.
'Arf arf!'
'He says Clem is up that ladder and through the door thing.'
'Then that's where we're going.'
Daisy climbed up the ladder without a problem, but when Luigi tried going up too it reminded him just how much that Poltergust dragged him down. He could feel himself struggling to lift himself up more than usual.
'Water. Water. Water.'
And he just noticed that a terrified Polterkitty had perched onto his Poltergust to boot. Fortunately, she wasn't heavy at all; lighter than Polterpup in fact. There's a lot of 'Polter' in this story, isn't there?
'It's okay.' He reassured the scared kitty. 'I won't let you fall into the water.'
Daisy looked at the bank vault door with her hand on her chin. It had an arrow that currently pointed to the 'locked' symbol. It didn't take a genius to guess one had to move it to the 'unlocked' symbol instead.
'Not exactly much of a lock, huh?'
She reached her hands out to turn the valve connected to the arrow, when she heard someone knocking on glass. She and the rest of her team looked to the long window next to the door, and saw Clem waving to them on the other side.
Luigi gulped. Polterpup growled. Polterkitty began to rethink her choice of side.
Daisy rolled her eyes. 'Alright bud, give us the button and y'all go free.'
Clem snickered. 'Y'all really think Ah'd done fall fer that? Ah ain't as dumb as Billie. Hey, y'all wanna see a cool trick o' mine?'
'Not really, n-'
'Hooo nelly! Check this out!'
He flew away, back into the big room on the other side of that window. His specific destination was a machine resting on a high metal platform, one with pipes moving in and out of it. With a lot of struggle, he managed to flip the big red switch to an upright position.
'Oh, I have a very bad feeling about this.' Daisy remarked.
Turned out, that switch activated a mechanism to block off one of the outlets. And it turned out that the outlet in particular was important, as water began to flood the room until the level met the steel floor below the machine. And, as Luigi found out when he leaned over the railing, it wasn't just that room. The clamber the group was in also filled with water, quick enough to send Polterkitty into a panic. It stopped just a couple of feet away from where they stood.
'Neat trick.' Daisy deadpanned. 'Now give us the button.'
'Now darlin', tha trick ain't done yet. I wancha tah look intah tha water.'
Daisy groaned, and doing as he instructed she joined Luigi in staring into the watery abyss. After a few seconds, seemingly nothing happened. But Daisy narrowed her eyes. She could've sworn she saw something approaching them from the darkness.
'Huh?' Her eyes shot wide open. 'Luigi! Get ba-!'
'HOWDY, Y'ALL! Name's Billie!'
Another ghost emerged from the water like a shark. In the half-a-second Luigi had to process the scene, he noticed that this other ghost looked almost exactly like Clem. The only visual difference was that they wore their long hair in a ponytail.
'GIT 'IM, SIS!' Clem yelled.
Billie grabbed Luigi by the hands, and pulled him over the railing.
'WAH!'
'Luigi!'
'Yiiip!'
Luigi tumbled overboard and landed with a splash. His heart raced when he felt his entire body get submerged in the waters. Clem and Billie watched and laughed with glee as he began to sink.
'LUIGI!'
Luigi flailed his arms and legs on instinct, trying his damnedest to keep his head above water. But no matter how hard he tried, the Poltergust dragged him down. He could see the water surface moving away from him. The only good part was that Luigi, just like most Mushroom Kingdom residents, could hold his breath for a few minutes. But definitely not forever.
Daisy stopped caring about her own safety, and vaulted over the railing herself. Polterpup dove after her. Polterkitty stayed away from the water's edge. No matter what, she couldn't go near that liquid. Clem saw her, and phased back through the window.
'Hey sis,' He said. 'How 'bout y'all go after tha mortals while Ah deal with tha cat?'
Billie huffed. 'Tha cat? All y'all gots tah do is drop her in tha water! But them there mortals? They're stronger than that!'
'Oh, don't start this against. Ah thought we had this here plan all thought out!'
'Y'all didn't tell me nothin'!'
While the twins bickered like a married couple, Daisy grabbed Luigi's arm and battled against the gravity. As she unfortunately found out, the Poltergust was far more dense than the water. She felt as though she was trying to carry a safe out. Polterpup grabbed the Poltergust instead, attempting to drag his owner up by the straps. He made very little progress.
The fear in Luigi's eyes pressured Daisy to keep trying. She cursed that kitty - able to morph into a strong beast, and refusing to help at all. Yet, she felt as though she was getting close.
At least, until Billie dove back into the water.
'Y'all mind if'n Ah ruin yer hopes and dreams?'
She grabbed Luigi by his legs and dragged him down like a sea predator, yanking him out of Daisy's arms. Before the princess could even blink, the plumber disappeared into the darkness below. The last thing she saw was his hand reaching out to her.
Polterpup barked out for his owner, his words turning back into random animal sounds to Luigi. He too vanished into the watery abyss. Meanwhile, Clem held Polterkitty above the water by her neck. She was reduced to nothing more than a shivering mess.
'MROOO-YEEOOW!'
'Y'all know what?' Clem said. 'It ain't no fun just droppin' y'all intah tha water. How 'bouts Ah throw ya instead?'
Polterkitty's desperate shrieks fell on deaf ears, as Clem tossed her into the drink like shark food.
Daisy saw just one good thing in the hell she found herself in - the Poltergust, which had slipped off Luigi's back when he was dragged down. She hoisted it into her arms, and kicked her legs harder than she ever had.
Just one platform in her vision seemed reachable from where she was - the one in the back corner, and the same one a doggy-paddling Polterkitty swam for. Too high on adrenaline to stop and think about her situation, she tucked the Poltergust under one of her arms and reached for the platform with the other.
The moment she got her head above water, she took in a deep breath.
'Should Ah worry 'bouts tha princess? Hmm... nah. Can't be bothered. 'Sides, our boss is lookin' fer tha green one. She don't care 'bouts no princess!'
And he flew through the vault door, leaving Daisy and Polterkitty alone together in the flooded room. Daisy slammed the Poltergust into the platform first, and dragged the rest of her stressed body onto the metallic land. She stood on her hands and knees, trying to relax her heartbeat.
She gasped. 'Luigi!'
Without getting off her hands and knees, she turned around and stared into the quiet, empty water with terrified eyes.
'Luigi? Luigi, can you hear me?!'
No response. Daisy knew Clem and Billie wouldn't kill Luigi - they couldn't, lest they earn the wrath of their boss. She could sense him, somewhere. But he was nowhere to be seen. Slowly but surely, the realisation that she was now alone dawned on her and hit her like a truck.
'No... no no no. I can't be alone. I... I can't...'
Tears swelled in her eyes. Her eyes fell upon a little grey object floating on the surface. She yanked it out of the water - it was the universal translator. Everything she had been bottling up erupted all at once.
'I can't be! I... I can't survive on my own! I don't have the experience. I... I won't make it. I'll never see my sweetie again... LUIGI!'
Forget trying to hide those silly feelings anymore. She sunk to the ground and let the tears flow uninterrupted. Her cries were overpowered by the water falling from the pipes.
Polterkitty, against her better judgement, spoke up. 'Miaow?'
Daisy, in a poor attempt to channel her emotions, grabbed the poor kitty by the neck and reeled her in. Polterkitty stared into the princess's furious glare.
'This is all YOUR fault, Polterkitty! Your panther form was absolutely strong enough to fish Luigi out of the water, but you didn't do anything! You just sat there on the sidelines while we were drowning. And now, Luigi's gone forever because you didn't do a thing to help him!'
The kitty, shaking a leaf, mewed out her defence. Daisy, grunting, grabbed the universal translator off the floor and clipped it over her ear.
'Again. What's your excuse?'
'Water... it scares me.'
Daisy gave her a look. 'Uh huh. The water scares you. Luigi's afraid of everything but that doesn't stop him from doing what he has to! You're just a-'
She looked into Polterkitty's terrified eyes and ceased her tirade in an instant.
'Oh my Grambi... I can't bring it out on you. It's not your fault if you're scared of water.'
The princess got off her hands and sat on the metal floor. She took a deep breath, and buried her face in her arms.
'Here I am calling you a coward, when I'm no better.'
Polterkitty tilted her head. 'Huh? What do you mean? You're not scared of anything!'
'Oh really?!'
Polterkitty jumped back, shaking a little. Daisy grabbed onto the railing, hard enough to leave obvious impressions.
'Not scared of anything, huh? You really think I'm some brave, fearless warrior or something?'
'Uh... maybe?'
'Well I'm not!'
Daisy slammed her fists into the solid metal flooring, leaving a noticeable impact. Polterkitty backed off so much, she nearly fell back into the water.
'You wanna know the truth, Polterkitty? Do you promise you will never tell anyone else, especially not Luigi?'
Petrified for her afterlife, Polterkitty nodded.
'Good. The truth is... I'm terrified! Absolutely horrified by everything!'
The spectral cat couldn't believe the sight. The brave and bold princess had been reduced to making Green Man look fearless.
'But... but you don't seem scared.'
'Good! That's how I prefer to keep it. I don't think anyone knows that I've been scared out of my mind ever since King Boo showed up! That damn pianist was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen! I don't know how Luigi does it...' She sighed. 'Luigi can never know.'
'Why not?'
'He thinks I'm some brave hero. And that's how it has to stay.' She sighed again. 'Not that it matters right now. He'll never found at this-'
The ringtone of the VB interrupted her. Groaning for three seconds straight, she fished the waterproof device and put it to her eyes. Despite engaging in a conversation, she grabbed Polterkitty by the neck.
'What?' She demanded, more bitter than intended.
E. Gadd didn't care about her (understandably) rude greeting, and judging by his wonky glasses and messed up coat was a little stirred himself.
'Criminy!' He cried. 'I finally get the hang of hacking all those security cameras, and the first thing I see was that. There's so much to unpack!'
'I take it you saw everything?'
'Everything? Why, just Luigi getting kidnapped by a couple of hillbillies while the place floods! And by the looks of it, you're stuck alone with that panthergeist.'
'Oh gee, I couldn't tell. Please tell me the Poltergust is waterproof.'
E. Gadd smiled. 'That trusty device has been tested in depths of up to... really deep, I forget. But really deep!'
Daisy sighed, which turned into a whimper. It seemed like her chance of success was dropping every second.
'But that sonny has nothing to worry about. He's got you to save him!'
Daisy shrugged. 'Yeah, I guess...'
'What's wrong, princess? You seem a little down.'
'Oh, um...' She put on a cocky little smirk. 'Oh yeah! Those rednecks are no match for me. When I get to 'em, they'll wish they had moved on years ago!'
The professor seemed to buy it, as he smiled. 'That's the spirit, princess! If you'll pardon the pun. You could try swimming across, but that Poltergust will make you sink like a rock.'
Daisy was about to say that she could just use the ladder, but she peeped out from under the VB to see that either Clem or Billie had folded it back up. With a grunt, she returned to the conversation.
'So what you're saying, is that I'll need to drain the water?'
'Exactly! And stop being so bitter towards that cat. She's a living - sorta - piece of insider info! I'll be relaxing in my lab while you embark on a dangerous mission.'
'Thanks. Really.'
As E. Gadd disengaged the conversation, Parr T appeared on the camera for a second.
'You forgot to mention Gu-!'
Daisy put the VB away, and with a sigh got to her feet. She slipped the Poltergust on, wincing from the tingling feeling coursing through her nerves. With no one but the kitty around to witness it, she did the one thing she often did when hiding in her room while stressed.
'Here we go. Let's get to know, all of the ocean animals. Everybody wave, as the ways of all the ocean animals...'
Not even Luigi knew that she knew all the words to that song, and many many more.
'Meow?'
'Yeah, no kidding. I hate that I'm saying this, but I need you right now, Kitty. You are, unfortunately, the only one who can help me out here. Tell me how to get to Luigi. Please.'
Polterkitty thought about it. Mean Lady hadn't really given her any reason to help her. Yet, she desired full trust.
'Alright, I'll help.' She said after much consideration. 'As long as you promise you won't hurt me.'
'Seeing as you're my only hope right now, it's not like I can afford to hurt you.' Her eyes narrowed. 'But don't you go taking advantage of it. We're working together.'
'Together. Yes. Together.' She spoke as if she hadn't heard that word in years. 'I know how we can lower the... w-water level. Follow me.'
Polterkitty got her head through the heavy metal door, but struggled to get the rest of her body through. Her legs scraped against the floor until she finally managed to fit through. As Daisy opened the door to follow, she had to wonder why a ghost cat had such difficulty getting through walls when surely that combination would be perfect.
The kitty stood in the middle of a small, rectangular room. Calling it a poorly-kept maintenance room seemed most appropriate. It had a big window, covered in random sticky notes, that showed the machine Clem messed with off in the other room. The control panels had all sorts of grime on them.
Daisy kicked a broom aside. 'Can anything in this room help us?'
'I don't think so. I think the machine over there is the only way.'
'You sure you're not just saying that so I have to go the long way?'
'Believe me. I want this w-water gone as soon as possible. And in order to do that, we need to get to that machine.'
Polterkitty stuck her head through the next door, and once again the rest of her got stuck. Daisy could hear her grunting. It was like she was trying to squeeze herself into a bottle.
'Let me get that for you.'
Daisy opened the steel door, the sound of it scrapping against the floor echoing in the empty sewers. At least Luigi wasn't around to hear that.
Polterkitty looked up to her. 'Uh, thanks... question mark?'
'No, no, that's right.' Daisy said with little enthusiasm. 'You say thanks when someone helps you out. Like opening a door for a ghost cat who inexplicably can't go through walls very well. Speaking of which, what's the deal with that?'
The cat held up the blue pendant around her neck. 'This. Master gave it to me. It makes it hard to slip through walls so I can't get away from her easily.'
Daisy did a double-take. It wasn't even the words themselves that got to her, but instead the nonchalant manner in which they were delivered. Said as if it was just a little incident that happened the other day.
'And you're... okay with that?'
'It isn't nearly as bad as what she does to the other ghosts. It's fine.'
'Uh, riiight. So where are we now?'
A completely mess, that's where. She had ended up in a somewhat spacious sewer made entirely of bricks, cement, green pipes, and random metal gates that blocked the path. The occasional lacklustre lantern provided some dim light. Most importantly, water flooded at least the lower third of the entire room.
Daisy looked over the railings. The water was certainly deep enough to drown in, which was not exactly preferable. There was a ledge running along the wall wide enough for her to walk on, but due to it being a few feet off the ground she currently stood on Daisy would not be able to climb onto it with the safe on her back. Looking at her two options, it was either drown or fight against gravity itself. The railing dented in her grasp.
'Oh... what am I supposed to do?'
Polterkitty perched on the railing. 'See that pulley thing over there?'
She pointed at a pulley attached to the metal gate, hanging a few inches above the ledge.
'If we pull on that, it'll raise the gate so you can get through.'
'Good to know. How do I get across a flooded hallway to begin with?'
'Uh... with that, I guess.'
The kitty used her nose to point directly down at the water. Among the various garbage floating in the drink - empty bottles, paper boats, what appeared to be round red bombs - an inflatable duck floaty rested right beneath them.
'You're kidding, right?' Daisy questioned. 'I have to ride on that? How would I even steer it?'
'I don't know. You'll have to figure it out.'
Daisy huffed as Polterkitty - after plenty of struggling - lifted her tiny body up onto the ledge. The princess watched her struggle, wondering if that pendent she insisted on wearing also prevented her from floating.
With nothing but a look of resignation on her face, Daisy sighed. 'Well, when you have no other options...'
She vaulted herself over the railings, and landed in the floaty with a mighty splash. The floaty sunk into the water for a brief moment, but popped right back onto the surface. Daisy would never admit to anyone that her heart missed a beat. She leaned back a bit, allowing herself to relax into it. She couldn't have felt like more of an idiot.
'Please tell me you can pull on that.'
Polterkitty scampered across the ledge - hopping over a stream of water that flowed from a hole - and yanked the pulley with her mouth. She pulled on it, but only accomplished making her teeth hurt.
'Mmm... no.'
Daisy rolled her eyes. 'Can't you just morph into a panther to pull it?'
Polterkitty shook her head. 'I might break it. Or fall into the w-water...'
'Grrreat...'
She looked around, searching for another way. It was then she noticed an alcove in the brick wall under the ledge, the floor of which stood level to the water. The only thing in the alcove was the entrance of a pipe, blocked off by a few steel bars. The ledge above had a network of pipes entering and exiting through the wall.
Daisy smiled. 'Wait a minute, I think I got this!'
The problem was, the alcove was a few feet away, and even though it had a ladder Daisy did not feel like risking anything. Wondering how to do something like this, she struck a possible idea. She lifted up the Poltergust nozzle, positioned it behind her, and - doing so blindly - pressed the 'blow' button. Air bellowed out from the machine, and thanks to Newton's third law pushed the floaty forwards with Daisy herself in tow.
She pressed the button as lightly as possible, moving through the water at a careful pace more fitting for her male partner. Her rump got a little wet, but frankly she couldn't care less about that. Something about the movement she could just barely control made her already shaky nerves plunge over the edge.
'Orchestra play for me, a beautiful symphony. Play something dramatic and bri-i-ight...' Singing the stupid little songs always helped her relax.
The floaty bumped against the edge of the alcove gently. Daisy, taking it slow and carefully, got her hands on the floor first and crawled onto the platform while moving her improv ride as little as she could.
'That's... impressive!' Polterkitty said. 'I hope you like doing that, cos this sewer is kinda big.'
Daisy didn't even feel like responding with a sarcastic remark. She looked down at the barred-off pipe, second-thinking her idea. Well, trying won't kill me.
'How was Gooigi summoned again?' She paused to think. 'Right! You have to imagine yourself being the goo, or something like that.'
She hadn't the faintest idea what any of that meant, but still she closed her eyes and imagined herself in that container.
'I am the goo. I am stuck in a glass container.'
Polterkitty watched the whole display with a very 'what the hell' look. Daisy winced. Suddenly, she felt like glass walls pressed against her and tried to crush her. She smiled; now she knew she had it.
'Where's the exit? Wait, I got it!'
Her body limped and went unconscious as a gooey Luigi fell out of the Poltergust and formed on the floor. She looked around - everything was swirly and absolutely green.
'MROW?!'
She flinched just a little when she saw her real body limping over, hanging like a zombie on strings. She reached out to tap her body, only to stop when she saw the all-green Luigi arm that moved instead of her own. Her mind was flooded with all sorts of thoughts, so she was shocked at her own reaction.
'Weird.'
The voice that came out sounded nothing like her own, and more like Luigi's but heavily distorted. In other words, just the same as Gooigi's regular voice.
Polterkitty gulped. 'I-I'll say. And the point of this was...?'
'Watch.'
Gooigi knelt down and pressed his - er, her - head against the bars that blocked off the pipe. After a little bit of force, not just her head but her whole body pushed through. Her limbs merged together with her body as she travelled through the darkness like a slippery snake going down a slide.
Her vision gone in the blackness, she felt herself going up, down, left and right... all over. If the body she currently possessed could, she would've screamed like crazy. Bad idea. Bad idea! BAD IDEA!
Just as she thought she'd never see the day again, she saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Her body passed through the bars like they weren't even there, and she plopped rather ungracefully on the upper floor, landing on her face.
Holy crap, I actually made it! Gooigi snapped back from being on the floor to standing up in mere moments. She could see the pulley not too far away. Just a few steps down the ledge-
'WAIT!' Polterkitty yelled. 'W-Water!'
Gooigi stopped before taking the next step. Indeed, water flowed from a hole right in front of her.
'Great.' Had she been in her proper body, she would have added: 'I need Gooigi in the place filled with water. Wonderful irony, that.'
Before she could have yet another mental break down, she spotted a pipe entrance right by Polterkitty, and another next to the one she just came out of. Figuring that the worst that could happen was drowning - which was bound to happen anyway - she squeezed herself through the other pipe.
The experience was no better the second time. When she plopped out and got back on her feet, she noticed the pulley right in arm's reach.
'Nice.'
She grabbed it, but found that her gooey hand passed right through it. She tried again, getting more of a grip, but still her hand slipped right off.
'Really?'
'Maybe try using the Poltergust?'
'Oh, thanks Kitty. Never would've thought to use my weapon until you mentioned it.'
'Um, should I-?'
'No.'
Gooigi got out her gelatin vacuum cleaner, having many questions as to how it could work so well despite being made of goo. It got a perfect grip on the pulley, and when Gooigi stepped back the gate lifted up high enough to give Daisy plenty of room to go under.
'Sweet.'
Now how to swap back? She pictured herself lying back in that floaty, and suddenly she found herself right there with the bizarre green filter gone.
'Oh my grambi... how is Luigi so used to that?'
'You seem good at it.'
'Thanks for that, I guess.'
Once again, Daisy positioned the Poltergust behind her and gently moved herself forward. Once on the other side of the gate, she found that the sewer took a rather abrupt turn to the left. Not only were there even more pipes, but another gate. Better yet, Daisy found the floaty moving towards the gate on its own. The water had a slight tide to it. She grabbed onto it like she was to fall off a cliff.
'Be careful!' Polterkitty said. 'That gate has spikes on it.'
'The gate has what?!'
Just as Polterkitty said, the next gate had big, long, and very sharp spikes jutting out of it and covering most of the surface. Assuming she'd survive getting impaled, no way her ride would endure that.
'Down here on the farm, we make things gro-o-ow. And you know the seeds we've sown will grow and grow and grow and-'
'What are you singing?'
Daisy cringed. 'You don't need to know!'
The princess had some things she'd never admit to: being frightened of just about everything, and unironically loving Bubble Gusties. And especially not singing Bubble Gusties songs whenever frightened.
With a sigh, she returned to Gooigi as her host. The second time around felt much more natural, but she still wasn't used to everything being green yet. Nor did she appreciate the wobbly knees.
'That gate has a pulley too, right?'
'Yep.'
'What the heck kinda sewer is this?'
The ledge came to a stop right at the corner, but fortunately there was another pipe right next to them. Gooigi pushed herself through, and ended up on the other side of the tunnel, where a metal platform on rickety stands waited to catch her.
'Oh joy.'
The pipe dropped her off next to another pipe, making her wonder why it wasn't just one whole system to begin with.
Polterkitty approached the edge, shuddering upon looking into that horrible liquid. She wanted to scream just thinking about getting that dreaded water on her fur. With a gulp, she leapt across the watery chasm and towards the platform Gooigi stood on. She mostly made it, but her hindlegs slipped. She dug her claws into the ground and cried for help.
Gooigi, with a groan, grabbed her by the collar and yanked her up. 'You're a ghost. You can't drown.'
Polterkitty glared at her; she couldn't drown a second time, the mortal clearly meant. With how nice Mean Lady was towards Green Man's fears, she didn't understand why Mean Lady wasn't so nice with hers.
The kitty glanced back at the floaty. Huh. It made a lot more progress than Polterkitty thought it did. It was getting incredibly close to the-
'MRRROOOOW!'
'What?'
Gooigi peered over the edge, seeing the floaty - and by extension her real body - inching uncomfortably close to the spikes.
'AHHH!'
Without any warning, Daisy found herself back on the floaty. She glanced back, only to see a spike getting uncomfortably close to her face.
'EEP!'
She, without a second thought, held the Poltergust nozzle in front of her and pushed the 'suck' button instead. Luckily, it accomplished the same task of moving her away from getting impaled. The floaty rushed across the water, thanks to her holding the button down way too hard.
There was a net hanging between two platforms, full of random objects such as dead fish and dollar bills. She reached out and grapped it, hanging in for dear life.
'A p-princess is kind, a-and a princess is loyal. G-Gotta have manners if you wanna be royal-tee-ee-ee.'
Holy Grambi, did she feel stupid singing such childish songs out loud, but she didn't care. She just needed to relax her nerves at once. She choked back tears that demanded to be released.
'Are you okay?' Polterkitty asked.
'Okay?! I'm just SWELL! Haven't felt any better!'
The spectral kitty winced, which made Daisy cringe.
'L-Look, I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm just so... GAH! I can't take much more of this!'
Daisy slapped her forehead with her free hand. She couldn't believe herself. How could she move on after those gashes, yet being on her own with nothing but a cat she barely trust completely shut her down?
'Maybe we should just leave Green Man behind...' Polterkitty suggested.
'Excuse me?! Absolutely not! Luigi would never give up on trying to rescue his friends, and neither will I! How could you suggest something like that?'
'You don't seem confident you'll be successful. It isn't that I don't care about Green Man. I just don't see why we should try saving him when even you doubt our chances.'
Daisy narrowed her eyes. 'I admit, I see your point. But there's a chance we can. I'll save him, or die trying.'
Polterkitty didn't understand the devotion, and it shocked her. Even at her nicest, Master never got to 'I would die trying to save you' levels. Granted, she had always been a ghost, but that was beside the point.
'I'll probably let go of this net when I swap back to Gooigi,' Daisy said. 'But dang it, I'm getting that blasted gate open.'
Now the switch to Gooigi seemed as natural as walking. Just as Daisy predicted, the princess let go of the net the moment her body went unconscious and limp. Gooigi wasted no time ducking into the next pipe, and reemerging on the other side. Polterkitty, on the other hand, ran across the exterior of the pipe that was helpfully just about the water's surface.
When Gooigi got up, she couldn't have felt more relief. The next pulley was right in front of her. She got it into the Poltergust and pulled back, lifting up the spiky gate. Right in time too, as the unconscious Daisy floated underneath it as it rose.
'Great.' Gooigi said. 'How many more gates?'
'Just one more.'
'Wow. Good. I'm happy. Does it have spikes?'
'Uh, I think yes.'
Gooigi was incredibly tempted to throw herself into the water at that moment.
'I gotta hurry.' Is what her epic one-liner turned into once said by Gooigi.
She squeezed herself through the wire fence blocking her way, and found that the sewer took another abrupt turn to the left. With a shrug, she and Polterkitty ran across the ledge that continued to wrap around the wall uninterrupted. With no obstacles in the way, they could outrun the floaty.
'This is nice. For once.' Gooigi remarked. 'But I'm waiting for the-'
'Look out!' Polterkitty cried.
Gooigi stopped, and half-a-second later water gushed down from a pipe above, just barely missing the tip of her nose. The water fell into a grate in the floor.
'And there it is.'
The water flowed for a few seconds before stopping. That revealed another pillar of water that also stopped a moment later. Behind that was another pillar. And then another. And another. Gooigi bothered to count - there was about ten of them. After a few more seconds passed, the water flowed again.
'Geez. First time we use Gooigi in a while, and there's this.'
She took a quick look at her real body; they had plenty of time. Yet, she didn't feel like that was enough.
'Gotta wait. Yay.'
The moment the first pipe stopped streaming water, she dashed across. Polterkitty kept up with her, unable to bare the thought of touching a drop of water. Gooigi knew when the pipes were about to flow when a small cloud of dust fell from them.
'At least this body doesn't have lungs.'
Gooigi arrived at the next pulley without getting a drop of water on her body. She lifted the gate up before her real body even got close to it. The floaty bumped against a buoy floating in the water.
'That was easy.'
Polterkitty, her eyes wide open, tapped her shoe. 'Uh, l-look.'
Gooigi looked into the water, and flinched. Were those sharks? No, those fins closing in on Daisy had duct tape holding them together, and through Gooigi's eyes she could see the otherwise invisible Goobs swimming through the water with them on their backs. The light reflected off the sharp edges of the fins.
'Oh no.'
The Goobs may have been moving slowly, but their sharp fins made Gooigi feel nervous. Especially as they approached the floaty.
'No!' Gooigi yelled with the most emotion anyone could through that body.
In an instant she returned to her normal body. The shark fins approached her, slowly but surely.
'Red-orange-yellow-green-purple-blue-white. I l-like them all, b-but one's just right. G-Gotta go through all I know...'
Singing to keep her nerves in control, she lightly touched the 'suck' button with the Poltergust out of front of her. It felt like she had more control that way. She inched her way forward, moving around the oncoming Goobs with her nerves completely shot.
'T-This is the Arctic life... la la la la la laaa... this is the Arctic life...'
In the corner of her eyes, she saw the Goobs turn slowly and continue to pursue her.
'You're nearly there!' Polterkitty said. 'Just keep going.'
'You're. Not. Helping!'
She passed under the gate, feeling the ghosts ganging up on her. She could almost her the 'shiiing' sound of their sharp fins.
'Gonna dig it with my backhoe, scoop it with my bucket loader... dump it with my dump truck, maybe even move a boulder...'
'Daisy? Is that you? HEEELP!'
Daisy let go of the 'suck' button. She recognised that voice - it was Gus T.
'Wait, Gus? What are-?'
She saw the blue-spotted Toad on the platform, next to the machine that had caused all their problems. He looked absolutely terrified, and carried a round thing that she couldn't quite tell the details of yet.
'Gus? What are you doing here?'
'Forget that!' Gus yelled. 'BEHIND YOU!'
'Huh? ... EEP!'
She didn't even need to look behind her. She dropped the nozzle in her panic.
*POP*
Luigi opened his eyes slowly, feeling something wet on his cheek. As he found out, it wasn't a Polterpup kiss, though he did see his royal pup by his side.
'Boy? Where...?'
His face lay in a puddle of water. He sat up against the wall, and tried to focus his hazy vision on his surroundings. He sat on a metal floor, surrounded by walls thanks to being stuck in a small alcove.
'Where... where am I?'
Polterpup hopped into his lap and whimpered.
'Where's Daisy?'
His head hurt so, so much. He felt totally lost. Once his vision came back to him, he realised that purple he saw was a paranormal gate. It blocked off any escape he could see.
'Oh no...'
He couldn't see much past it, and certainly not his beloved princess or new kitty friend.
'Ah y'all sure we can't go tah our boss an' hand over tha green guy, bro?'
'Eh, it can wait. Ah need ma rest, woman!'
'That makes sense! But hooooo nelly, y'all need tah be moar motivated. Them dishes won't be cleaned if'n y'all don't.'
'Ah t'ought we talked about this, sis! That was yesterday. Today, it's yer job tah clean tha dishes, while Ah mop tha floors!'
'Y'all haven't done that, either!'
Luigi tried to ignore their bickering, and focus more on the nice banjo music he could hear from the pipes. He stroked Polterpup's head, letting tears trickle down his cheeks.
'I failed you, bro...' He sighed. 'Margherita, I hope you're alright.'
Author Notes - Indeed, almost this entire area will be a Daisy only mission. With Polterkitty to accompany her as well. Why did I do this? Simple - since the first few chapters were just Luigi and Polterpup, I thought it only seemed fair to give Daisy her own chapters. Originally both spectral pets would join her, but I figured only Polterkitty was far more interesting.
As for why Clem now has a twin sister named Billie... A, I wanted at least one OC that wasn't just giving a Goob their own identity (i.e. Charles, Sam). B, to get that full 'redneck' effect, I feel there needs to be a family element. Think of Applejack or Cleetus and their massive families.
And the songs that Daisy was singing, errr, 'Bubble Gusties' is a pun on Bubble Guppies, a rather popular preschool show that I love. Unironically. Don't ask why. You may think I had to Google those lyrics. I didn't. I know them by heart.
If you want to know how the Hayseed twins died before it's officially revealed, look up the 1904 privy disaster. I warn you, it is absolutely NOT a nice read.
