Author Notes - This epilogue is basically just a building montage for the most part. Mostly just because I really like writing the 'Grand Ghosts' doing fun things together. Badly worded, but you get my point.

You know how I said that I like to use the Albums feature in LM3 to play music as I proofread? As I found out, 'Rooftop - Track 10' got me a little emotional as I thought about how far I've come with this story, all the people who loved reading it, and the fact that it's almost over. Listen to it yourself if you don't believe me.

Originally, this and the next chapter were the one chap. I decided to divide them up a bit to make the finale a little easier to swallow. It was either that, or a 14,000 word long finale, which is a bit much even for me.

It's nice that, even as the story nears completion, I still have some new favourites/follows to acknowledge. That honour goes to: Cinderfall20412, edd5689, UltimateCCC, Darren R, AlphaGirl404, and MiraLotta. To say that this is the most attention I've ever gotten is an understatement, and I'm happy with this being my most famous story if nothing ends up surpassing it.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN - THE NEW LAST RESORT!

Lucky for the Mario Brothers, they were well-versed in construction. After Undodog accidentally summoned a Reset Rocket to... actually, this makes little sense without context. Long story short, Mario and Luigi had to help the Toads completely rebuild Peach's Castle, and they could sure as heck do it again.

'I'm sorry, you did what to my castle?!'

'Uh, um... so Weegee, how about we get to building already?'

Better yet, now that King Boo no longer had an influence on the area, the sun had risen and shone its beautiful light all over the valleys and mountains.

All the more 'generic' ghosts - and Fishook's animal crew too - immediately left to go find some less utterly-destroyed supplies and materials for building with while Serpci used her sand-controlling powers to make the ground more stable. Yes, dirt was much harder for her to control than sand, but they were both earthly grains. While she worked on that, the Mario brothers, alongside the princesses and the professor, discussed the blueprints with the other remaining ghosts at a table, a table that was one of the only things left of his portable lab.

While Daisy would unfortunately have to sit out for most of the construction thanks to her broken leg, it turned out that Dr Potter didn't just major botany but also did a little bit of medical treatment too. He grabbed some leaves from the poor plants that didn't make it and used them to fashion a makeshift cast around her leg, and it did a surprisingly good job. The princess right now was using some hand-made crutches built by Clem and Billie to walk around with.

'Here's an idea I had.' E. Gadd said. 'Now, I'm no expert in building, but a tower that goes straight up and defies gravity itself can't be the most stable thing in the world. So I was thinking about building something more like this.'

He sketched a building onto the blueprints, one resembling a proper mansion much more than the original building while still retaining a (albeit far more stable) tower. No one really questioned the thing at the top that resembled E. Gadd's hair, nor the big green windows resembling his glasses. The ghosts gathered around and 'ooo'ed at the design.

'Okay, I was getting ready to blast your bloody head off,' Ginny admitted. 'But that actually looks really cool!'

'And look at that!' Steward said. 'It's still got the same amount of floors. I get dibs on the top floor!'

Gloria scoffed. 'No way, José! I'm claiming that totes boppin' floor, ya dig?'

'Alright everyone,' E. Gadd said. 'I know you all want the top floor, but I'm thinking we should build this a bit more... logically. No giant ocean or crazy pyramids over ten storeys above the ground. We want this hotel to last, don't we? So, we'll be trying to have a civil discussion while Ug helps me decide if anything that you say is a good idea. Okay, I want the CIVIL discussion to start... now.'

The professor wasn't quite sure what he was expecting, but what he did get didn't surprise him.

'OOH OOH OOH! I, like, should totes have that boppin' top floor!'

'I want zee most quiet, undisturbed place in zee whole building. Which I believe would be zee top floor.'

'Don't limit me ocean, mate! I need room for me beaut of a ship.'

'With how little compensation I've had over the past few seconds, I definitely deserve that top floor.'

E. Gadd and Ug looked at each other with the 'what were we expecting?' kind of looks. Amadeus put his head to his forehead and sighed.

'I don't see why we're arguing here.' Amadeus said. 'Clearly, we should give the top floor to the most powerful of us all. Which, obviously, is me.'

Kruller gave him his own attempt at a glare. 'Youse just used a condition dat youse knew only youse could win!'

Clem and Billie were the only other ghosts not participating in the argument. After all, their floor was still just fine. They instead spent the time snickering at the expense of their friends.

'Ug,' E. Gadd said. 'Help me out here.'

The caveman ghost grinned. 'Sorry, but you're on your own.'

Luigi chuckled. The ghosts really were one big happy family; they certainly argued like siblings. Speaking of siblings, he noticed that his own brother had disappeared from the group. While the ghosts continued to fight among themselves, the green-clad plumber noticed Mario sitting by himself on a nearby rock, staring at his feet in solemn silence. Seeing as everyone else was distracted, he sat next to Mario on the grassy ground.

'Hey bro.' Luigi said. 'What's up?'

Mario didn't say anything, and just sighed. He held a stick and used it to draw random scribbles in the dirt. After their little break, the bruising around his eye had darkened from red to a dark violet. Luigi still couldn't look at it without being reminded of what he had done.

'Mario? What's wrong?'

'It was all my fault.' Mario said, his voice cracking like he was moments away from crying.

'What?! What are you talking about?'

'If I wasn't so frightened of King Boo...' He shuddered. 'If I wasn't so weak... he wouldn't have been able to possess me. My weakness nearly got you killed... by my own hands.'

Luigi stared at his own feet, wondering what he could possibly say. Obviously, everything that Mario just said was wrong, but he knew that simply saying 'you are wrong' never solved anything. He brought Mario into a soft hug, one that the red-clad plumber returned almost immediately.

'You're not weak, Mario.' Luigi said. 'You're braver than anyone else I know. I can't say from experience, but I know that it can't be easy dealing with...' He gulped. 'Post-traumatic stress.'

The brothers didn't like calling it by its real name, but there was no denial about it.

'And I saw you fight him off.' Luigi continued. 'A coward would've just succumbed to the possession and not even tried to fight back. But you did, big bro. You battled even though it hurt, even as it exhausted you. I know I definitely helped, but... if you didn't fight back on your own, you wouldn't be here in my arms right now.'

'I-It was so difficult, Weegee. K-King Boo wouldn't stop dragging me back down. I-I could see everything he was making me do, a-and I couldn't do a thing to stop it. H-He always makes me feel so... so... helpless.'

'No need to worry about him anymore. He won't be getting out of that container unit any time soon. And if - only IF - he does, I'll be sure to cram him back in there. Hellen Gravely too. They won't be hurting you anymore.' He paused. 'Do you need a good cry?'

Mario didn't even get to nod. He wept into his brother's chest, revelling in the warmth from both his body heat and his heart. Polterpup and Polterkitty rushed over for a little cuddle time too. As much as the other ghosts wanted to ask for Luigi's advice, they decided to leave him alone.

'No, Chambrea.' E. Gadd said. 'We may not take advantage of the fact that Serpci is too busy stabilizing the ground to give her the worst floor in the hotel.'

Ug rolled his eyes. 'Must Ug do everything? Not even leader, but Ug must step in anyway. Ug understand how this should be done.'

The caveman ghost provided everyone with his own explanation as to how the floors should be done. Steward took the ground floor as it was the closest to his work desk. Johnny's gym would be on the same floor so they could interact a lot more. The more 'loud' members of their group - namely, Amadeus and Gloria - shared the tenth floor which would have some sound-proofing surrounding it. Soulfflé's restaurant had been moved all the way to the thirteenth floor, where he could get some peace and quiet. Ug himself took the eighth floor in the middle, so every ghost in the hotel could easily come to ask him questions. Kruller had the second floor, where he could guard the massive shopping complex. Serpci had the sixth floor and MacFrights had the seventh, with the unfortunate consequence that the traps would need to be severely limited. Dr Potter got floor eleven and twelve - one room for him, everything else for his plant family.

'How is that fair?!' Chambrea cried, to which no one responded.

The triplets got the third floor all to themselves, as long as they promised not to prank the guests. Lindsey would make sure that they kept their promise just by giving them puppy-dog eyes. Fishook and his animal crew had floor five, which alas had to cut out most of that massive ocean but could still have that glorious pirate ship - once it was rebuilt. Floor nine would be dedicated to making and watching movies, in memory of their great friend Morty. The thought of their friend may have dampened their spirits, but they could sense Morty smiling down upon them from wherever he was. Of course, Clem and Billie got to keep the Boilerworks, mostly because no one else really wanted them.

This left four, fourteen, and fifteen. Floor four would become the new RIP Suites, though perhaps renamed to 'VIP Suites' for PR's sake, while fourteen would be reserved specifically for Luigi and his friends. The top floor would obviously become the office for the new owner - Professor E. Gadd. Not only that, but it became Chambrea's office too. Why? If it wasn't for her defiance and stubbornness, they'd still be stuck in that container unit.

Chambrea gave all the other ghosts a devilish smirk, not caring at all that Ginny was giving her another backwards-peace-sign. She was just content to finally have proper compensation for her hard work. Yet another argument was about to erupt among the ghosts - with the princesses being caught up in it - before Serpci gave her little announcement.

'Alright everyone, that ground is as stable as it's gonna get! And look! The other ghosts are nearly here with the building materials. Anyone else ready to get to building?'


Building this hotel would take a while. After day one, only the framework for the ground floor and basement had been built, and that was with the help of all the ghosts and phantom animal friends. Most of the ghosts, and Princess Peach too, did their part by hammering and bolting the beams together, though Johnny and the Hammers - with surprising help from the Toads - did all the heavy lifting.

Even the ones not directly helping were lending a hand. The music made by Amadeus and Gloria helped stave boredom away, while Soulfflé's meals cooked with Mario's Firebrand were delicious despite the limited resources. Ug preferred to stay out of the construction itself, providing help by suggesting the best measurements and angles while taking full advantage of Pythagoras's Theorem.

Gooigi used his body to contain various tools so he could deliver them to the workers. Thanks to his composition, he didn't even need a hardhat. Daisy, still on the crutches, approached the triplets. The young girl ghosts were using their wands to weld some metal together. Johnny did his part by holding the beams in place.

'Here's a question.' The tomboyish princess asked. 'Why can't you just magic up materials or something?'

'We would love to do that,' Nikki said. 'But there's this thing that Ug calls the conservation of mass. We can't just magic things out of thin air; we gotta pull them away from something.'

'And if we did it,' Lindsey added. 'We'd end up taking someone else's stuff! And that's mean.'

Ginny scoffed. 'I still think we should've just bloody done it, but did you jessies listen? Nooo...'

E. Gadd had to chase after MacFrights, who apparently thought that smaller beam was a lance. At the same time, Steward had to watch for Chambrea and make sure she wasn't stealing the stuff that they needed. She had literally coughed up about twenty nuts and bolts already. On top of that, Fishook by complete accident had been responsible for five broken beams by now. To say the least, this would take even longer than the average building at this rate.

Luigi looked around. He could see every single ghost nearby, even the ones in the construction vehicles, but he couldn't see his own Polterpets anywhere. Or, heck, even his own brother and, by extension, Soulfflé. You'd think that a giant ghostly panther would be easy to find, but apparently not. Keeping his hard hat on, he searched around the area for his seemingly-lost friends.

He found Mario and Soulfflé sitting by an unused excavator, which was a redundant vehicle to begin with considering Serpci's powers, far away from the actual construction site. Neither were preparing any sort of meal, but instead peering under the excavator with smiles. Luigi, approaching quietly, knelt next to them and looked behind the vehicle's wheels. Polterpup and Polterkitty were there. Polterkitty lay on the soft grass, purring quietly but no less contently, while Polterpup sat by her side.

'What are they doing here?' Luigi asked.

'We're not quite sure.' Mario replied. 'They've been sitting here ever since we got this excavator.'

'You are zee man with zee translator.' Soulfflé said. 'Perhaps you should ask her.'

Polterpup only then noticed that his master had arrived, and jumped into his arms. Through all those doggy kisses, Luigi could notice a... nervous expression on his face.

'So, uh, hey Master.' He said. 'Do you, um, wanna know what's going on?'

'Yes, that would be nice.'

'Um, okay. So when we had a rest in the bunker before heading out for the final floor, Polterkitty and I, um... kinda sorta succumbed to our natural urges.'

Luigi's eyes shot wide open, making Mario and Soulfflé unsure if they wanted the answer.

'So, in other words,' Luigi said. 'You're gonna be the daddy to a bunch of ghost kittens.'

'That's about the size of it, yeah.'

Now Mario and Soulfflé really didn't want the answer, even though they had about a billion questions. Luigi had some questions too, that he would give to E. Gadd at some point soon, but he decided to put that aside for now.

'Alrighty-then. I'm just going to leave you two here. Tell me if you have any problems.'

'Well do, Master!'

Luigi had to admit, he hadn't quite predicted that his act of kindness would lead to... this. Well, since ghost animals were seemingly impossible to neuter he supposed this was an inevitability. Still, he felt weird about it. He wouldn't have to think about it for very long, when he heard a crash.

'DANG IT, RAMOS!' Chambrea yelled. 'How many times do we have to tell you? PLANTS WEAKEN FOUNDATION, NOT STRENGTHEN IT!'

'At least I ain't stealin' a buncha stuff like yeh are!'

Amadeus sighed - a pianist's work was never done.

'If you'll excuse me, sweetie.'

'Right on, Daddy-O!'


Now they were really cooking. Just a month in, the first 'block' of the hotel had been mostly finished - from the outside at least - and now the cranes were being put to good use. After all, even though Johnny could lift those massive girders like they were nothing he was only one ghost.

'WAHHH!'

And Luigi was really regretting his decision to stand on one of those girders for a moment, especially when it was MacFrights behind the controls. Apparently, thinking you were from medieval times also made your vehicle skills on medieval level too. The result was the girder flying out of control, barely missing the framework for the next 'block' each time it flew by.

'HEELLLPP!' Luigi yelled, barely hanging on.

Amadeus sighed, and stepped away from his piano for the fiftieth time since this construction started. 'Okay MacFrights, you've just lost your vehicle privileges.'

'Doth thou really expecteth me to doeth well? There be-th no ve'icles ineth me olden kingdom!'

'Exactly. Help the triplets with the metalwork instead.'

With MacFrights removed from the crane and replaced by a much more competent Oozer, the beam stopped flying around everywhere. Luigi still held on tight, feeling so dizzy he was about ready to throw up.

'We gotta find the Princesssss...' He slurred. 'And YOU gotta help us!'

Luckily for him, Serpci arrived and lifted him into her arms before he could plummet to the ground below. Luigi was about to thank her, until he looked into those big excited eyes of hers. She could barely contain her squeals as she looked upon his glorious face.

'You okay there?' He asked.

'I can't believe it!' She shrieked. 'I just saved the brave and glorious Luigi from a grim fate... HEY EVERYONE! I SAVED LUIGI!'

No one really payed her any attention, seeing as this behaviour was quite regular for her. Luigi wasn't used to having a fangirl, and he wasn't quite sure if he liked the attention so much. She seemed to love it though, and that was all he cared about.

'By the way Luigi,' She said. 'When we get my special carving repaired, can you... sign it?'

'Uh, I don't have much of a signature, but sure!'

'EEEEEEEE!'

The very thought of her pyramid containing something signed by the amazing Luigi made her so excited! So much so that she accidentally dropped Luigi when they were still quite a bit away from the ground.

'WAH!'

She gasped. 'AH! LUIGI!'

Very luckily for him, he had a soft landing - Kruller just so happened to be standing underneath him, and the cop managed to catch him in his arms. Only by instinct though, as both ghosts and the plumber were terrified.

'Uh, sorry Kruller.' Luigi apologised.

'OH MY GOSH, I'M SO SORRY LUIGI!' Serpci apologised much louder.

Kruller just smiled. 'Dat's okay. Serpci can be... quite da excitable one. I would know. We hang out all da time. Cos, youse know... da timid ones get along wit' each other really well.'

Gus threw yet another girder onto the ground next to the crane manned by Ug, who was arguably the best at using the vehicles. The blue-capped Toad collapsed backwards onto the ground and groaned.

'Why did you guys agree to help them?' He asked. 'We have to deal with enough slave labour as is.'

Soff gently placed a couple more girders onto the nearby pile for the Oozer. 'Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty certain you were the one to volunteer us.'

Parr arrived with a whole stack of wooden beams. 'Don't try it, Softy!' He giggled. 'He'll never admit something like that!'

Princess Peach had been carried by a Hammer onto the higher levels of the tower-in-progress. Two Slinkers stayed by her side as she drilled a few girders together from one of the support beams. She hummed a cheery song to herself, seemingly unaware of the fall below her.

'How do you do that?' One of the Slinkers asked. 'If I weren't a ghost, I'd be terrified to be this high up.'

Peach giggled. 'Bowser locks me up in towers and high cages all the time. Sometimes above bottomless pits! I'm desensitised to long falls and cramped cages. And pits of lava. And impending spikes. Actually, I'm desensitised to a lot of things.'

While everyone above worked on the actual structure of the hotel, Clem and Billie had summoned a bunch of generic ghosts - and Enguio the electric eel too - to help them with the less extravagant parts of construction: all the wires and plumbing inside. Most of the generic ghosties got to work while the twins bickered with themselves over what to do.

'Ah t'ought we had this system figured out already.' Clem said, crossing his arms. 'Ah give ya all tha ideas, and y'all tha one does tha stuff.'

Billie shook her head. 'Ah heard what y'all said durin' tha big battle on tha rooftop. Y'all said that actually doin' things was surprisin'ly fun. So now y'all don't have no excuse not tah help!'

Clem grumbled. He hated it whenever his sister said something actually clever, mostly because it was at his expense.

After a while, he sighed. 'Fine. Ah'll help y'all out. Just promise me Ah get tah take a big long nap afterwards!'

'Eh, y'all always do that anyway. Deal!'

The first thing they built was a quick, portable oven for Soulfflé. That way, he wouldn't need to rely on Mario's Firebrand anymore. It was the first time in years that the chef actually complimented the twins for anything, and it wasn't even a backhanded compliment either!

Mario entrusted Polterpup to keep the mother-to-be Polterkitty safe, so he decided to pitch in. He stood on a platform attached by ropes to a point up above, one without any guard rails to boot. It didn't concern him too much at all. After all, it was only King Boo that inflicted him with crippling fears. He was helping some of the ghosts put the windows into their appropriate places.

'Alright, give me the next window.' He said, holding his arm out.

He turned to look at the ghost, and gave her a look. The window rested in her gut.

'Chambrea, why?'

'Old habits die hard, okay!'

The plumber rolled his eyes. 'I want a new helper.'

Gooigi decided that he didn't want to stand out with the tools anymore, and was now hammering together some frames to be hoisted up. Unlike mortals and ghosts unlike, who always had some dread of hurting themselves, Gooigi didn't care at all. It didn't even concern him one bit when he had driven a nail directly through his hand, simply hammering away. Steward, on the other hand, was very concerned.

'Oh my Jaydes!' He cried. 'A-Are you alright there, Goo-weeg? That looks painful!'

Gooigi shrugged. 'I don't think I have any real nerves. And I can pull my hand away without a problem anyway. This is the perfect job for me!'

Steward shuddered. 'If you insist...'

Since Daisy couldn't do much with her broken leg even as it was almost healed, she chose to sit by Polterkitty and cuddle with her instead. Even after Luigi explained the news to her, she couldn't quite believe how much fatter the Panthergeist had gotten. Plenty of fishbones lay by her side, most likely provided by the chef ghost. She patted Polterkitty on the head, to which she responded with loud and endless purring.

'I didn't know ghosts could have babies as, well, ghosts, but I guess that makes sense. That Chauncy kid was born a ghost, wasn't he? It looks like you're gonna have a lot of kittens.'

'Mew!'

'It's really weird because I'm pretty sure mortal cats and dogs can't have babies together. Then again, you can morph into a giant panther beast of death. I really shouldn't be surprised anymore.'

Polterpup was very excited to become a father, but part of him did hope there weren't just kitties.


Construction on the tower had finally begun. Better yet, Daisy's leg had fully healed and now she could properly participate in the process. Gloria had decided to abandon the turntable for a moment, now using her razor-sharp vinyls to cut through wooden beams for her friends. Amadeus stayed on the piano, occasionally getting involved when his friends did something stupid again.

At this very moment, the mortals decided to take a quick break for lunch. Lunch that Nikki and Ginny swiped from wherever the nearest store store was, which Lindsey would not stop reminding them of and berating them for. Having it on the ground was boring, however, so they instead had it on a girder high up in the sky as construction for the tower continued around them.

At first, Luigi was quite against having his lunch above such a frightening drop, but his ghost friends convinced him to enjoy it. Up that high, with the ghosts below to catch him if he fell, he could really appreciate the view. Gooigi had joined them sitting on the girder, even though he couldn't really eat anything. Polterpup had remained by Polterkitty's side.

'Who ta thunk that such a horrifying hotel would be found in this gorgeous setting?' Daisy said. 'Seriously, this place is beautiful! No wonder the ghosts like it here.'

'Much more lovely than that dreary Evershade Valley!' E. Gadd said, taking a bite of his apple. 'Of course, the ghosts there love it being dank and dreary, but these guys much prefer something more... pretty. Which will certainly make working here far more pleasant!'

Mario slurped up the last string of his pasta, long before anyone else had finished their meals. A little bit of sauce had been flung off the spaghetti and managed to hit Mario between his eyes, to which Peach giggled.

'I think this place might make a good honeymoon spot.' She said. 'What do you think, Mario?'

The plumber shrugged. 'I think Luigi's gonna take it instead. I don't know about you, but I think it's the best choice for him.'

'Oh, you're right! The ghosts here seem to adore him, especially that lovely pharaoh. Perhaps we could try out Isle Delfino again.'

'Only if they get their legal system all sorted out. Seriously, that place has the highest rates of false arrests by a mile.'

Luigi spotted Fishook down below him, swimming around a little aimlessly. Clearly, he had no idea what he could do with his sharp teeth and hook hand. The green-clad plumber looked into his lunchbox, and spotted a ham sandwich.

'Hey Captain Fishook! CATCH!'

He tossed his ham sandwich down to the shark below him. Fishook panted like a dog, and jumped into the air like a breaching dolphin. He snatched up his little bonus treat, reminding Luigi of an aquatic wildlife park but without the potential animal cruelty.

Soff gulped. 'H-He's not gonna eat us, is he?'

Parr laughed. 'Hey, I've forgiven Amadeus for holding me hostage.'

'You were held hostage by a pianist. Fishook is a freaking shark.'

Gus groaned. 'Oh, so no one cares that my captor was a FREAKING DINOSAUR?!'

'No, not really.' Daisy said, swallowing a tuna salad in just two bites. 'Bowser's kinda like a dinosaur, right? It's been done before.'

The blue-capped mushroom glared at her, but otherwise said nothing. The sun was beginning to set, and just like the landscape itself it was gorgeous. No wonder all those mortals took the invitations at face-value. Luigi stared out at the beautiful view, making sure not to look directly into the sun itself. Surrounded by no one but his closest friends, he felt at peace for the first time since this vacation started.

The heartwarming scene came to an abrupt stop when Daisy suddenly - and loudly - belched, much to everyone's annoyance. Everyone, including the ghosts, gave her a look.

'Daisy...' Peach said. 'Is this really the behaviour expected of a princess?'

The tomboyish princess shrugged. 'Eh. Depends on which princess we're talking about. You? Heck no. Me? Always.'

Mario and Peach just rolled their eyes, but Luigi giggled. With how different the green-clad plumber and the flower-loving princess were, it was a miracle that the two of them were such a strong couple. Then again, if a buff bodybuilder could fall in love with a scrawny bellhop, anything could happen. And the relationship between Serpci and MacFrights was a lot like theirs, just gender-swapped.

'Weegee,' Mario said. 'I think you can do better.'

'HEY!'

'It was just a joke, don't worry! A couple of goofballs like you are made for each other.'

'I'll... take that as a compliment.'

Dr Potter showed up with the young Audrey 2 in his hands. The baby plant looked just like Audrey 1, but was a lot nicer. Yet, no less sneaky. She snatched a slice of cake directly out of Mario's hand, and before the plumber could realise what just happened Dr Potter fled with his plant friend.

'What the-?!' Mario exclaimed. 'Give that back, Potter!'

'Sorry, sonny. I'm 'fraid that once Audrey 2 decides that she wants a snack, she ain't givin' it back!'


Now the outsides were completely... well, complete! And it looked gorgeous enough to put even the daytime Last Resort to shame. There was just one problem - the insides were a mess. Nothing but plain walls and rooms with the bare minimum of electricity and plumbing.

'Alright, no one's gonna come to a hotel that looks like this.' Serpci said as she 'marvelled' at the plain sixth floor. 'Let's make this place look stunning!'

Each 'grand ghost' was given their own floor to do whatever the heck they wanted with, as long as they stuck to the rules laid out by E. Gadd and Ug. While Serpci waited for the professor to finish flushing out all of the sand from the ghost container unit, the others got to work. Amadeus and Gloria had to work out how to share their floor thanks to their wildly different music. Eventually, they came to an agreement that Amadeus had the left half and Gloria had the right.

'But listen to this, Daddy-O!' Gloria said as she and Amadeus pushed her turntable into place. 'Who said that our bopping tunes can't just, like, be combined too? I say that right in da middle, we should totes, like, make a stage together!'

The pianist nodded. 'I must say, that's a brilliant idea. I'm not sure how a classical aesthetic will look when combined with a more modern one, but I suppose there's only one way to find out.'

'Let's do it!'

With the help of Gloria's dancer group and Amadeus's ballerinas, they got the brand new great stage set up. Sure, it wasn't quite as grand as the old one, but they made do with what they had. The end result was... interesting, to say the least. The grand stage itself looked just like the old one, but with a disco ball hovering above it. Instead of rows of seats there was a multi-coloured dance floor, and colourful spotlights shone upon the stage. The speakers on the walls had been lined with neon blue lights, and so was a nearby harp.

'Oh my...' Amadeus murmured upon seeing the final product. 'This is...

'Totes the most ROCKIN' stage I have ever, like, seen!'

Amadeus shrugged and smiled. 'Well, if you like it sweetie... then I do too.'

Steward and Johnny had a much easier time with their arrangements. Though the grand lobby looked just how it did in the last, um, Last Resort, there was an extra door to the left of the main entrance that led to Johnny's gym. Of course, the pool remained - as if Johnny would ever get rid of something so important.

'This set-up is totally gnarly, dude!' Johnny said as he leaned back in his pool. 'I can, like, be the lifeguard to our bodacious guests and I get to see you waaay more often than I could before.'

Steward was in the same room, trying and failing to lift a small weight. 'Better yet? With our witch of a boss gone, I might just start to love my job again! I can't believe I'm saying this and meaning it, but... I'm actually excited to open up again!'

Kruller had employed quite a few of the generic ghosties to help him stock all the shops. They weren't just sticking with four this time - they were going full on. Luckily for him, the old hotel was LOADED with gold, for reasons no one quite understood. Something about Hellen Gravely's laundering scheme. Regardless, he was taking full advantage of it. Stationary, clothes both former and casual, records, video games, merchandising, gardening supplies, even groceries... EVERYTHING! If people were going to stay at a hotel in the middle of nowhere, he was going to make sure that everyone could buy anything they needed.

'Hey! Don't drop da merchandise. We wanna make sure dat all da guests get everythin' dat dey need!'

Delfina had taken some of Serpci's sand while she wasn't looking so she and the rest of her crew could spread it among the fifth floor. Sure, they couldn't have a proper ocean anymore, but they could certainly have a nice beach to rest the great ship on.

'(Where did you get that sand from?)' Enguio asked.

'(Isn't it obvious? She stole it...)' Nagi said.

'(I know we're pirates, but we're not supposed to steal from our friends!)' Awahia scolded.

'Don't worry about that, mateys.' Fishook said, using his hook to chop up some wooden planks. 'I'm sure the sheila won't mind.'

It was not Serpci that the shark captain was worried about; all he needed to do was flash his pearly whites and she would go a-running. It was MacFrights he was scared of. Despite the two of them being the best of friends, no way the 'king' would appreciate his wife getting spooked like that.

Speaking of which, Serpci hadn't noticed a single grain of sand missing as she moved it all into the sixth floor. She wasn't allowed to have all those chambers with all those traps anymore, but after being told that Luigi nearly died to them she would've removed them anyway. However, she could still have a pyramid. Better yet, her recreated carving had a beautiful signature on it, one that Serpci promised to take care of long after Luigi himself passed on.

'I can't believe it... he actually signed it. HE ACTUALLY SIGNED IT! EEEEEEEE!'

In her excitement, she accidentally dropped a load of sand onto a colony of her snake friends. The serpents dug through the sand and each gave her a look. She returned with a stern expression and crossed arms.

'Now don't you give me that look, my sweeties! Some of you tried to bite Luigi, and that is off limits. No treats until each and every one of you apologises to him!'

MacFrights marvelled at the gorgeous recreation of his mighty castle. Yes, the walls were still made of styrofoam. Yes, the traps all had to go. Yes, it wasn't quite as massive. He didn't care. It was just as regal as he remembered it. Dr Potter set up his one bedroom, which was all he ever needed, and immediately got to work growing everything else. Venus had returned, even if she couldn't grow quite as large anymore. Audrey 2 yipped with joy as vines and trees overtook the entire double storey. In fact, there wasn't much of a ceiling dividing the two floors anymore. The plants had smashed straight through it, combining the two floors into one.

The triplets had a lot of fun with the third floor, which would function mostly as a place for the guests to rest. They had the rooms all scrambled up and filled with wonderful and bizarre themes, just weird enough to confuse mortals but not enough to turn them away completely. Most important - no fire, no water, and no loose stones. The young girls didn't feel like reliving some awful memories once again. Like their last floor, they had a stage for them to perform all their amazing tricks.

Soulfflé enjoyed himself all the way up on the thirteenth floor. He already had his kitchen and restaurant sorted out, and this time he had a few other ghosts helping him out with the cooking. His standards for co-workers may have been absurdly high, but he only wanted the best of the best. The best thing about being so high up? He actually had some peace and quiet, which is all he really wanted. That, and freedom to cook anything that he desired.

The friendly ghosts of the Paranormal Productions - or at least what was left of them after Hellen 'took care' of Leonardo and Meryl - along with Shinypants had built up the ninth floor to be just how they expected Morty would want it to be. Most importantly, they made sure that every single one of his films could be easily watched on the many televisions located throughout the floor. Daisy lived up to her promise and helped Ug rebuild all the dinosaur fossils for his museum, as painful as that was. He spent the whole time spouting off interesting science facts, to which she listened to most of them. As expected, the domaine of Clem and Billie hadn't changed much at all, but Billie did notice that her brother seemed a bit more willing to get off his behind now.

As for that grand final floor, Chambrea let E. Gadd do most of the decorating. She didn't mind being surrounded by so much sciency stuff, as long as she was allowed to keep it clean and tidy. In fact, she only had one other request. She approached the professor at his desk - which was right next to hers - and raised her question.

'So,' She said with a cheeky grin. 'You know how I've been keeping that empty portrait on my person since you guys were freed from it? I've got an... idea on how we can use it. And I think it would make a neat decoration.'

Chambrea hung up a painting right behind the desks, smirking at the sight of the terrified and furious Siren behind the tapestry. For how much torment that Hellen Gravely had put everyone through, the maid could see no better punishment for her than being hung up on the wall for all eternity. As for King Boo... he would just have to chill in the ghost container unit. Alone.

'What a shame, Ms Gravely.' Chambrea said, admiring the portrait. 'If only you bothered to pay me, there's a good chance I would have remained loyal to you. Doesn't it just suck that you didn't though?'

Luigi and Gooigi were working together, using their vacuums to roll out some carpets in the grand lobby. The green-clad plumber couldn't even recognise this place anymore. The bright welcoming golds and yellows had returned, and he could breath so much easier with all that dirt and dust gone. Once the carpet had been fully rolled out, Gooigi turned to his flesh counterpart.

'I think I might stay here.' He said. 'The professor said that I can decide if I wanna stay here or go home with you. I just think I fit in better with the ghosts. I am made of the same stuff they are, after all.'

Luigi stopped using his Poltergust in an instant. He hadn't thought about Gooigi leaving or staying until now, and with how much he was quite literally attached to the guy, it would feel... weird saying goodbye to him. Still, he gave the gooey man a smile.

'That's alright with me.' He said. 'I'll miss you, for sure, but nobody said we can't visit each other.'

'And who knows? I might end up changing my mind soon. The professor never said it was set in stone.' He paused. 'There's something I need to tell you. I-'

'MASTER! MASTER!'

Polterpup came rushing into the lobby through the front door, panting like mad. Luigi had never seen him so panicked before.

'What is it, boy? Is Polterkitty alright?'

Polterpup took a moment to catch his breath. 'That's just it, Master. It's time.'

'It's... time?'

'It's time! IT'S TIME! You gotta hurry or you'll miss it!'

Without another word, he hopped back through the door and ran off. Luigi gasped as the realisation hit him.

'Oh my gosh! Gooigi, I hope that you don't mind that I-'

'No no, it's okay! I can finish this by myself.'

'Okay, good. I gotta go see Polterkitty!'

The Panthergeist in question had not moved from her spot this entire time, except occasionally to use the grass as a litterbox. Mario had been keeping watch over her all day, wondering if the time was coming soon. Turned out that the time was absolutely coming soon. It was coming now. Polterkitty yowled and bit down hard on Mario's hand, which fortunately had some good covering but it still hurt. After Polterpup ran off to fetch his brother, Mario had to take care of her.

'I-It's okay Polterkitty...' He said. 'My bro's gonna be here soon!'

'MARIO! GATTINA!' Luigi called from afar. 'I'M COMING!'

Luigi had finally arrived, just a little bit too late. Which, perhaps, was for the better - he was a tad too innocent to watch a cat, ghost or not, give birth. He didn't care either way. The sight before him was more than worth it.

'Oh... oh my Grambi...' He murmured in awe.

Polterkitty, still rather exhausted after all that, gently licked at the fur of the runt of the litter - a little pink kitty just like herself. The other seven members of the litter were already cuddling up to their momma, and there weren't just kitties either. In addition to the little pink kitty, there were two other pink kitties and two white ones, as well as two white puppies and a pink one too. Some of them had three tails like their momma, but others only had one. Being newborns, none of them had opened their eyes yet and they all looked like the most adorable hairless rats you can imagine. Polterpup sat by Polterkitty and awed at his new children as the little kittens and pups slept together in a little pile of fluffy ectoplasm.

'You know,' Mario said. 'When you told me we were invited to go to a luxury hotel, I wasn't expecting to see a ghost panther give birth to a bunch of ghost puppies while I was here. And... I'm not quite sure what to make of it.'

Luigi reached out for the runt of the litter, looking to Polterkitty for permission. She gave him a smile, which he took as a 'yes'. He lifted the tiny pink kitty into his hand. It was small enough to fit in his palm. The little guy, or girl, mewed the most adorable sound Luigi had ever heard, purring like a plane engine as it cuddled into his soft glove. The green-clad plumber couldn't handle it anymore.

'EEEE-HEE-HEEEE!' He squealed. 'Mario, look at him! Her. I dunno. But it's soooo CUTE!'

Mario chuckled. 'Yes, I know. All kitties, even ghost ones with three tails, are cute.'

'Oh my gosh, we gotta name them! Wait,' He turned to the Polterpets. 'Have you named them already?'

'Nope.' Polterpup said. 'We were saving that so you and Daisy could do it.'

Luigi gasped. He couldn't believe that his own pets were giving him so much power! Holding the kitten close, he ran off as quickly and as carefully as he could. Much to Mario's confusion.

'Bro, where are you going?' He asked.

'I GOTTA TELL DAISY!'


'Alright everyone!' E. Gadd announced to the crowd in front of him. 'Who's ready for the grand reopening of the Last Resort?'

Everyone responded with cheers, and considering how many people and ghosts were there, the cheering could be heard throughout the entire valley. The brothers, the princesses, the Toads, Charles and Sam with their son Lou, all of the Grand Ghosts, a fully-repaired Shinypants... even Polterkitty's entire litter, who were old enough to walk on their own now, were all there. Clem and Billie had even brought precious Daphne with them. The generic ghosts preferred to stay in their new home to make the finishing touches.

The sign above the giant double door may have been near identical to the last one, but there was one major difference. Below the sign itself was a new plaque that read 'Dedicated to Morty W. Spookus - The Greatest Friend a Ghost Could Have'.

Only E. Gadd and Chambrea, the new owners of the hotel, stood in front of the crowd, by a ribbon tied between two potted plants. Chambrea begrudgingly gave the professor the scissors that she had been told a hundred times not to swipe.

'After several months of construction,' E. Gadd continued. 'And after months of just about everything going wrong, the Last Resort has finally been finished! We wouldn't have been able to do it without the help of all you fellas. But before we can officially reopen this grand resort, Gooigi has something he would like to say.'

The crowd went silent as Gooigi stepped forward and stood next to the professor. At this point, his jaunt had evolved from a mere copy of Luigi's to something far more confident and flexible.

'You may remember that I said that I don't want to be called 'Gooigi' anymore.' He said. 'It's a great name, yeah, but it sounds too similar to 'Luigi'. I love my big bro, but I wanna be more than just Gooey Luigi. Inspired by my big bro's native language, I've decided to rename myself to Verde. It's the Italian word for 'green', and I like how it sounds.'

Gooigi - oh, sorry, Verde - wasn't quite sure how his friends would react to his new name, but everyone cheered him on. No one cheered harder than Luigi himself.

'And now,' Verde said. 'It's time to unveil... the new Last Resort!'

E. Gadd cut the ribbon, and everyone cheered harder than they ever had.


HELLEN GRAVELY, THE OBSESSED HOTEL OWNER

AGE - ?

GENDER - Female

Hellen Gravely, unlike her workers, was never actually a mortal or even a ghost. Instead, she is a Siren, a rare all-female ghost-like creature who lures in mortals to seduce and eat them. Her hotel functions as a very sophisticated trap. Her penthouse suite is filled with pictures and statues of her 'one true love' - King Boo. She is obsessed with the ghostly king, to the point where her feather boa even smells like him. She plans on doing... things to him.

KING BOO, THE VENGEFUL KING

AGE - ?

GENDER - Male

King Boo is a phantom with a mysterious past, but is regardless the ruler of the Boos and cares about his subjects very dearly. With how much humans despised his kind (for partially warranted reasons), he swore revenge on the Mushroom Kingdom's hero, Mario. Luigi intercepted this plan, and now King Boo has made it his life's goal to make the green-clad man suffer. He could just kill Luigi, but making him suffer in agony for all of eternity is far more fun.


Author Notes - That little construction montage over the end credits is one of my favourite parts of the original game, by the way. I referenced a few of the actual photographs themselves too.

I waited until the very end to rename Gooigi to Verde because I figured that doing so earlier would result in the prose being horribly confusing. This is because, minor spoilers, for the rest of this story he will be referred to as 'Verde' instead of 'Gooigi' by the characters and the narrator. I did this cos I wanted Gooigi's arc to be about him becoming his own person, and keeping his name as a pun on 'Luigi' kinda ruined that.

Anyway, just one more chapter to go. It's a bit of a short one, so expect a quick release assuming I don't forget/procrastinate on that.