Chapter 8: The Conclusion
Sooo... You might be wondering why this is late. You see, due to college stuff, I ended up running late and didn't have the story finished for it's original date. So, I decided that I would spend a little extra time, postpone the story for Sunday to give myself more time and finish the story on Friday. Thing is, Microsoft Word started freaking out on me, I end up making multiple files for the story, and in deleting the excess, I end up deleting the original.
So, yeah.
Anyway, at the very least the next chapter is the last, so enjoy what I've provided for you all.
Luigi's Mansion 3 belongs to Nintendo.
"Found it!"
Potter and Nikki quit their nervous pacing to see Clem raise the book triumphantly above his head. The book was open to a page, labelled "Pixelator's and You," showing sketches of the inner workings of the machine.
The two ghosts floated over to Clem to watch him read the instructions out loud.
"Alright, in the event of catastrophic coupling destruction, remove the broken coupling, carefully install the new one, re-adjust all wiring and tubing according ta schematics, and weld the new coupling with a… Spectral Welding Torch?"
"Ok, what the hell is a Spectral Welding Torch?" The magician complained. Luckily, there was a footnote that led them to the page they needed to read, which was pretty much the only kind of organization and categorization in the damn book.
"The Spectral Welding Torch focuses ghostly energy into a powerful blast akin ta spectral fire and allows fer spectral energy ta properly flow through circuitry." Clem scratched his head as he realized something. "Didn't Steward say the boss left ta look fer this thing? How we gonna fix the thing without the thing?"
Potter nervously looked around for a any kind of solution, the endless banging of the door a constant reminder of the army of brainwashed coworkers trying to force their way in. If they didn't fix the Pixelator, then Luigi can't come to capture Julius, which meant that he could escape the other's grasp and get everyone under his control. Who knows what he could do with an army of undead.
As he looked around, his eyes landed on a nervous looking Nikki, and an idea started to form in his mind. Perhaps…
"Hey, Nikki, how does your magic work again?"
Nikki looked confused at the botanist's question. "Heck if I know? Lindsey keeps saying it's something about how we use our own ghostly energy… to… use…" She trailed off as she slowly realized what the botanist was implying. Pulling out her wand, she stared at the tip of it, focusing her energy into it and visualizing the kind of flame she usually saw coming out of Clem's own welding torch.
The other two ghosts held their breath (somehow) as they watched Nikki, hoping for a miracle.
They all jumped when a flash of light came from the wand, stunning them briefly. A smile growing on her face, Nikki repeated the process a few more times, until finally, an intense, dark blue flame was emanating from the wand tip.
Potter and Clem applauded the magician, who started to give bows to her adoring audience. A loud bang that reminded them of the army trying to break in put an end to that very fast, and Clem started to drag the young ghost into the Pixelator.
"Alright little lady, just follow ma lead and we should be able to get this doodad fixed in no time. Ah hope."
As the two got to work, Potter stared nervously at the door. He had heard Amadeus scream in anger, and the banging intensified, to the point he could actually see the door budge. Hopefully they would be able to get Luigi to the hotel soon. And hopefully, the others at the museum floor were handling the situation down there well enough.
The situation was not being handled well at all.
Ug was rampaging around the museum floor, trying to squash anyone that he could get close to. This was a huge problem for Fishook and MacFrights, who had to juggle dodging the ghost possessed dinosaur and making sure Julius didn't escape.
And all the while, Julius was laughing jovially as he dodged the T-Rex's foot stomps, trying to lead Ug into squishing his enemies.
MacFrights charged towards the conqueror but had to veer off course when Ug's foot blocked his path.
"Quit hiding behind our coworker like a coward and fight us like men!" The king hollered at Julius.
"Nah, it's two against one! Give me a minute to chat with the dino and then the fight'll be fair!"
The king responded by charging at the conqueror once more but was too late to stop once he saw that Julius was smiling. He jumped out of the way, and before MacFrights knew it, a giant, bony foot crushed him, wrecking his armor and flattening him.
Fishook gasped at the sight of his friends squashed form. He glared at Julius with his one eye, dove into the ground and rushed towards his opponent.
Before Julius could react, Fishook lunged from underneath him, aiming to devour him whole. He tried his best to hold open his jaw, realizing the captain's plan when he saw Ug come towards them. He struggled to escape the maw of the pirate, who stared at the supply closet door, thinking "what's taking ye so long?"
He finally let go of Julius and dove back into the ground, while the conqueror desperately crawled out of the way of the T-Rex's stomp.
"-and that is why I've been lying about my opinion on your music." Serpci finished her explanation to Gloria, nervously twiddling her fingers as she tried to gauge the DJ's reaction. She had an unusually serious look on her face, and she thought she may have gone overboard in describing her music as "an endless cacophony of sounds," how it reminded her of the computer she was scared of using, to how she would have used it as a form of torturing war criminals.
Yeah, she may have gone a bit more than overboard.
The DJ, after mulling it over for a good few seconds, finally responded. "So, let me recap all this. You lied about what you thought about my mixes when we first met as a way to get closer to me,"
The queen nodded nervously.
"you agreed to test my music out every time I asked you,"
Another nod from the queen.
"And you kept up the ruse for all of the ten years we've known each other and the three we've been dating?"
Serpci gave one last nod before closing her eyes, dreading the reaction the DJ would have. Oh, she was going to end their relationship right here and now, wasn't she? Looks like it was time to return to her tomb and sleep for the next thousand years, waking up occasionally to grab snacks to deal with her depression while avoiding the presence of the woman she loved who would spend the rest of her unlife despising her-
"Don't beat yourself up, Serpci. It's my fault."
The queen let out a quiet "whut?" when she heard what Gloria said.
"I started off with the intense stuff too early. I shoulda shown you music that was closer to your taste. I never did take that into account, did I?" She asked Serpci, who awkwardly gave a "maybe?" gesture with her hand. "Yeah, I thought so."
An awkward silence befell the closet, occasionally being interrupted by the commotion outside.
"Hmm, hopefully the others have been handling Julius well without me." The queen said as she stared at the door. She turned to Gloria to address their situation. "Now, I understand that with what you've found out you no longer consider me worthy of being in a relationship with you."
"What? What made you think that?" The DJ questioned her. Serpci was confused by her reaction.
"It's just that I don't share in your love for what you call modern music. It's the thing you love the most, but I have the opposite opinion. Isn't that something that warrants breaking up?"
Serpci looked confused as Gloria did her best to suppress her laughter.
"Pfft, come on, babe, you're supposed to be the one with the braincell in the relationship." She said amidst her laughter. "Of course we're gonna have things we don't have in common. I mean, look at us! I'm a DJ, you're a queen. It's honestly surprising I managed to nab you as my girlfriend."
Her worries quelled, Serpci started to chuckle along with her beloved. She was worried over nothing. Smiling, she asked her. "So, do you forgive me?"
"Oh, no, not in the slightest."
Twice this night, Gloria confused Serpci. She was usually better at predicting the DJ's thought patterns.
"I'm still mad at you for lying to me for ten years straight. It doesn't mean we can no longer be together, it just means that you're going to have to work extra hard to make it up to me." She said as she gave the queen a peck on the cheek. "I'm thinking a back massage, treating me to dinner and you calling me "my queen" for the rest of the week should do the trick. How about that?"
"Hmm, if it will do the trick." Serpci said with a smile on her face. "Although you could just ask me to refer to you as queen whenever you like, you know."
"I know. But it's more fun when it's based on a punishment."
The two kissed each other before letting go, Gloria examining the door.
"Alright now, how do we get out so you can kick that Julius guys tail." She tapped her lip in thought, until an idea formed in her head.
Pulling out one of the many discs she kept hidden on her person, she showed it to Serpci. The queen saw the heat emanating from the disc, and immediately, Gloria's intentions were made clear to her.
Fishook flailed around the museum floor, Julius clinging to his fin as Ug chased them around. At some point in their skirmish, the man had latched on to his fin and tried to steer him into the path of Ug's rampage, and it was really starting to get on Fishook's nerves.
Suddenly, the captain performed a U-turn and charged towards Ug, fully intent on letting the caveman crush him along with the conqueror.
What ended up happening however was Fishook rushing past the T-Rex and crashing into one of the pillars. Julius was knocked off the shark's back, and when he recovered, he looked at Ug to see him staring at the hallway, foot still raised in the air. Following his line of sight revealed the reason for his behavior: Chambrea had returned, staring in confusion at the carnage that was the main exhibit hall.
Ug cheerfully waved his stubby T-Rex arms at the maid in greeting, her waving back slowly as she processed the scene in front of her.
"Chambrea! You made it!" Julius straightened out his hair, trying to approach her, but being stopped by a growl from Ug. "Did you tell the others what happened?"
"Uhm, yes, sir. I talked to one of our goob workers and she said that she knew where the other ghosts you haven't talked to were."
"Great! That's perfect. I see a big tip for you in your future. Now, if you wouldn't mind, could you please explain to Ug here how I've been relentlessly assaulted by these incredibly rude coworkers of yours." He pointed at Fishook, who was rubbing his nose in pain while glaring at him. He couldn't see MacFrights anywhere though. "And that he should deal with them instead of me, the innocent party."
The maid bit her lip in thought. Things have been so weird ever since their dear guest had arrived. But she couldn't remember what was so weird. All she could remember was talking to the guest about… something, and him reassuring and complimenting her on her work etiquette. Then again, the last time her coworkers ever acted this violently towards a guest was when they were all brainwashed by King Boo. So maybe they had been brainwashed and Julius was here to save them in the same way Luigi did? Did that make sense?
As she mulled it over, Ug sat down on the floor with a loud thud, earnestly waiting for Clean Lady to explain things to him. Julius sat down as well, letting the maid properly think things through. He had full thrust that his ability would not wear off on Chambrea, so he wasn't worried.
The maid's face slowly changed from one of confusion, to one of realization, and she walked up to Ug. "Ug, I need you…"
Julius smiled to himself as Chambrea explained to Ug who was on his side.
"To go after him." She pointed at Julius, who belatedly realized exactly what was happening right now. Just enough time for Ug to turn around and swipe him with his tail, flinging him directly into one of the remaining exhibits.
Trying to get up from the rubble, Julius heard the telltale shout of a charging scotsman. He saw MacFrights and Fishook materialize mid charge, the former riding on the latter's back. Suddenly, Fishook jammed his hook into the ground, causing him to stop abruptly and to fling the king into the air.
MacFrights pulled out a boneclub, raised it over his head, and let the laws of physics affect his ghostly body for once, allowing him to fly towards the would be conqueror, and letting him smash his face in with the club.
Huffing to regain his bread, he examined his handywork: one unconscious ghost laying beneath him. He turned towards the others, raised his bone club in the air, and shouted.
"ALL HAIL THE KING"
He basked in the applause that Chambrea and Ug were giving him. Fishook came over to give his congratulations, chuckling at the sight of the unconscious Julius.
"I'll tell ya, I never thought ye were actually going ta pull that off. Congratulations."
"That's what ya get for doubting me, my friend." He let the bone rest on the ground. "Ah do wish Serpci was there ta see it, though. Would have loved ta rub it in her face."
"Eh, ye can't always get what ya want." They wandered over to Chambrea and Ug. "So, ye finally broke out of his little spell, didn't ya?"
"Yeah. I had my suspicions, but when I thought about you guys being brainwashed, it got me thinking that maybe it was me who was brainwashed, not you. I still don't understand why mister Graves is trying to take over the hotel."
"We'll explain it to ya in a moment. Now, let's get Serpci out of the closet again."
Their rescue attempt was interrupted when they heard the voice of Carl screaming in pain. They saw as the hammer ran into the hallway with his ghostly tail on fire, and turning around, they could see Serpci and Gloria wander out of the closet, the latter with a flaming disc in hand.
"And that's for breaking my Beatles record collection, Carl!" She yelled at the hammer, and without missing a beat, she turned to the others. "So, did we miss anything fun?"
"Nothin much. Just MacFrights actually backing up his claims fer once."
"Ya shoulda been here, I tell ya."
"Hmm, so you've taken care of him already." Serpci said while she stared at the unconscious body of her old enemy. "A shame, really. I wanted to throw him around a little more to impress my beloved. Oh well." She raised her hand in the air, causing the sand that was still in the room to gather beneath Julius, raising him high enough into the air to smash him into the roof, then lowering him down to show him dazed and inside a cage of sand.
"What took ya so long ta get out, anyway? Ya usually don't like missin out whenever we get ta fightin people?" MacFrights asked her.
"Oh, just some… minor relationship squabbles." She said while Gloria stood next to her, arm interlocked with hers and a smug smile on her face.
"I told ye this was gonna happen one day, lass. Just goes ta show, always listen when the pirate shark is giving ye relationship advice."
"Oh shush." The queen took notice of the maid she had put her trust on and approached her. "Ah, Chambrea. I see my faith in you wasn't misplaced. I always knew you would break out of his spell eventually."
"Oh, no need to thank me, ma'am." Chambrea said with a blush. "Although I did end up telling one of the goobs to go look for the others. I hope they haven't found them yet."
"Aye, it's no problem. While Fishook and I head out to rescue the lads, you can stay here and keep an eye on our prisoner until we can get him captured. Then, we'll break his foul spell and we will all celebrate." MacFrights said, and he and Fishook began to leave the main exhibit hall…
Only to stop in their tracks when they took notice of the massive ghost army in their path.
Ug would have gone ahead and stomped them down if Chambrea didn't tell him to stop. Brainwashed or not, these were their coworkers and guests, they couldn't just attack the people they've known for so long.
"Everyone, please listen to me!" Serpci took charge to address the situation. "I understand that this may look suspicious but know this: the one you're trying to rescue is not Ghoulanu Graves! He is an imposter who has infiltrated our home for his own nefarious reasons!"
The ghosts stared at each other in confusion, but her speech did not change their opinions.
"No way, ma'am. That's our new boss now. Please hand him over immediately."
With no other option that wouldn't result in having to attack their brainwashed cohorts, Serpci lowered Julius' sand prison, letting the dazed villain float over towards the crowd of ghosts. Once he was safe behind them, he spoke.
"Alright, this has been a minor setback. You might have had me there for a second, but at the end of the day, you guys have no way to capture me. Let that be a lesson to you all that you should never mess with those that are superior to you." He told the currently cornered ghosts, who slowly backed away from the encroaching armada. "Anyway, I have some business to do now, so why don't you guys keep them locked up all safe and sound so I can have a little "talk" with them later."
Satisfied with how things were finally going as planned, Julius had a satisfied smirk on his face. All he had to do now was meet up with the ones who got away from his little spell, and he could finally have the army necessary to invade the Mushroom Kingdom. Julius sighed in satisfaction as he pictured the carnage he could cause, and he turned around to make his way towards the elevator…
Only to come face to face with a trembling green plumber and his fully charged strobulb aimed at the ghost's face.
"Oh."
Luigi flashed the ghost, stunning him. And just as quickly, he latched onto the him with the poltergusts nozzle and proceeded to drain what little HP Julius still had. The beating he had received had weakened him drastically, and he could only struggle for a few seconds before his health was fully depleted. His lower half was sucked in, Julius holding out on the nozzle to push himself out.
"Wait, wait! I'm not finishe-" The conqueror was absorbed into the poltergust, bringing an end to his evil plans at last.
Luigi stared as the ghosts stared at their surroundings in confusion, the spell wearing off at last. He raised the poltergust triumphantly into the air and shouted.
"Haha, I did it!"
In the epilogue, our heroes make a discovery that may just save the hotel. See you all then.