Luigi stood on the abyss, wondering what compelled Professor E. Gad to suggest this type of madness. He had jumped over chaotic chasms for years, his brother making it look so easy. And yet, this bordered on madness even for the man who invented the means to battle chaotic specters with a modified vacuum cleaner.
Just hop on down there, Luigi. I'm 89% certain the drop won't lead to bone-breaking injury or death. Please, make sure my invention survives the fall.
Trembling, wondering why life continued to be The Worst, the plumber straightened his green hat and jumped.
Sturdy brown shoes scrapped against the rocky surfaced, scraping at his back, wind rushed up as the slight connection made him tilt forward. The absolute sense of zero traction or support, knowing that the sensation would not stop until… the bottom, terrified him into silence. A growing chill as all light and warmth that belonged to the surface, to life, left him, Luigi grew tempted to close his eyes before it ended.
No.
Through the growing fatigue some deeper iron-clad ambition came to life. He remembered seeing Mario in bed, horrible bites on his body that the Mushroom Kingdom's best healers from every world struggled to mend. The Princess, Peach, never left his side. The Professor had confirmed at that injuries were of a supernatural nature. What was a brother to do but try and get answers?
Even if resolve hadn't kicked in, Luigi imagined his senses would have been shocked to life by the smell. Corrosive rot and bile created horrible toxic clouds that chocked his lungs with barely a whiff. Tears formed in his eyes, Luigi worked through the stinging pain to see what awaited below. Some deeper part told him it would not be wise to turn on his flashlight. Bracing for feet-first contact, the thump jolt every bone in the plumber's body. Luigi rolled, tumbling, bashing against stone, bits of green shell, and crunching into something semi-moist that promised nightmares if dwelt on too long. The tumble stopped abruptly, Luigi managed to remain standing with only a few scratches, nothing bleeding or broken, and all his equipment in one piece. An itinerary, he realized while looking out into the darkness, did not include anything to climb back up with. Haunted houses at least provided stairs…
After taking several awkward breaths, Luigi turned on a flashlight and started to move forward. Dark soil with stickiness of mud made each step a struggle against the Earth. Everything felt cold even with bundled layers, as if the land knew nothing but death and couldn't recognize the living or didn't care. Before, the plane had been to simply seek anything unusual and bring it back… someway…
Now Luigi simply needed to process what didn't feel like it belonged.
The groaning made him yelp, both noises bellowing for unknown miles. Luigi timidly moved towards the source. After moving around a massive mound of mangled creatures too decayed to specify, the Plumber found himself facing a large blue box. Out stepped a strange looking woman in a grey coat with blonde hair and strange glowing device in her hand.
"You know, it's when we come to places like this, that I miss Barcelona." The woman muttered at the strange box. Luigi trembled, nothing in his world could be given a chance of being called harmless; even plants had learned to grow teeth simply for survival. Also, while not towering, the woman happened to be taller Luigi, a detail he never felt safe about. Daisy even made fun of his anxieties, that his radar for danger had been over-worked that nothing could be safe. Pointing out how that trait many times had saved his skin never seemed to have the spine he wished it would. Granted, outside of her slight advantage in height, nothing screamed danger. Even when she looked right at him.
"Excuse me," she said. "I'm a bit lost. Or more specifically, I'm looking for something that should remain missing. Anything bad going on around here?"
Luigi fidgeted, not finding the words, so he allowed his flashlight to explain the rest. The light showed a grim history. Many beasts fell to their doom in the Mushroom Kingdom's deep pits. There were times Luigi imagined almost imagined he had fallen below, but clearly that couldn't be possible… right?
"Is this a feeding pen?"
"Um, wha," Luigi stammered. "N-No."
"That's' a shame," the woman said. "Because something didn't get the memo."
Swallowing fear, ignoring the familiar cold knots, Luigi stepped over to where the woman knelt. Yellow light from her device illuminated stubby legs and the lower half of mauled jaw. He had faced too many to not recognize the truth, this was a chewed up Goomba.
"Even for a minion of Bowser, this is too cruel." The woman said sadly.
Curiosity broke through his fear. This stranger had knowledge of the realm, enough to brave the abyss. Not a local, because no one else besides the Plumbers ever bothered to face these dark forces. Suddenly, Luigi remembered a curious story Mario once told him about an adventure with someone who had the same mannerisms some time ago.
"D-Doctor?"
She seemed surprised to hear the name. Turning the screeching device on him, Luigi felt as if unwillingly searched, especially with the fixation his hat.
"The brother," she said with a bright smile. "Mario told me if things got bad, the kingdom could count on you. Yes, I am the Doctor, it is a pleasure to be officially acquainted." She shook his slightly rigid hand. The woman sensed the unease.
"Something wrong," the Doctor asked. "You know, other than the atmosphere."
"Well, I'm a bit… confused," Luigi said. "You see, my brother, Mario, the Doctor he met was a man. Are you his sister?"
"Nope, not even close," she said firmly. "I am the same Time Lord who helped your brother. I've merely changed is all."
"I see." Luigi said in a way that proved he had no clue whatsoever.
"So, Luigi, right? Tell me what's happened?"
The Plumber explained the situation with few to no stutters. How Mario herd about Shy Guy tribes going missing. A mysterious group, but incredibly territorial. Even Bowser had to settle on a truce, so he could have any Koopa Troopas left. Yet whole tribes near haunted mansions vanished with no explanation. Seers who communicated with the Boos managed to attain one mutually agreed upon translation.
Our bodies are no longer ours in the Dark.
Mario had descended to the deepest depths of a haunted mansion, the places no one dares realize exist. Charged with Fire Flowers for illumination and protection, few forces could have faced him. Toads were called in, guided by Boos to where Mario dragged himself up a flight of stairs, bleeding. He ordered Luigi be contacted before losing consciousness. Professor E Gad had been the one to conclude Mario's wounds carried a supernatural edge.
"That's where I come in, Mario can face the living, but I've had experience with… the departed." His reluctant tone did not dissuade the Doctor's spark of admiration in her eyes.
"There is nothing braver than someone full of fear who charges forward regardless." The Doctor said. "Must come with the family. Fear is a superpower, and you've embraced it."
"Meaning?" Luigi asked nervously.
The Time Lord lowered her tool.
"It means you've found yourself the best kind of help, someone who appreciates that courage. How about it, partners?"
When Mario talked about the Doctor, he told his brother of stranger who managed to thwart a nightmare deadlier than anything Bowser could create. All without a weapon and the brightest smile. Regardless of gender, he could feel an energy that promised anything could be possible. With Mario in need of answers that could lead to a cure within this realm of nightmares, there could be no greater ally. The darkness, for once, no longer looked too grim for Luigi.
With a miracle woman leading the charge and a vacuum for whatever lay ahead, the two forward towards unknown horrors in the dark.