It was always nice to be back in the safety and security of the lab. And now that Peach was saved, she could just wait out the night in here, while Luigi looked for the others. But thanks to the interference of... someone... they cannot track down Mario and Daisy. "I really have to hand it to our opponent. They are a very talented thinker." E. Gadd admitted. "Is there any way to block out the hacker?" Peach asked. "Well, most of the data on my network is personally encrypted by me. I doubt they'll EVER come close to getting into anything important. But unfortunately, I'm afraid they've scrambled my radar program to the point that it's unusable."
Vinny looked at the screen. "Then we'll simply need to do a more thorough search. We've already been through 5 floors, so we can mark those off the list. I suppose we'll simply have to check the remaining floors one at a time." Luigi sighed, he wasn't gonna like this approach, but they didn't really have any other choice. Peach walked over to him. "Please, Luigi... Do this for Daisy, and Mario." E. Gadd then pulled up a map of the 6th floor. "Alright Vinny. Your information has been on point so far. Know anything that might be useful?" Vinny studied the map. "I believe so. That floor happens to be the gift shops. The only ghosts who can regularly be found on that floor are Kruller, and..." she paused. "Vinny?" Peach asked, in concern. "Sorry, just... my mother is usually on that floor."
Everyone in the room expressed their shock. "Your mother works there? I mean, I guess that makes sense. It'd be horrible for someone to leave their young daughter all by herself in some random hotel." Vinny looked at the floor. "Yes. For as long as I can remember, she's always treated me kindly. I can't possibly imagine her being one of those traitorous hooligans." E. Gadd leaned in his chair. "Then she probably won't be an issue. Alrighty! You two know what to do. Search that floor, and see if you can find anything." The two of them nodded, Vinny seeming reluctant, but that was understandable.
As the duo stood in the elevator, Vinny turned to Luigi. "Anyway, under normal circumstances, Kruller wouldn't be a threat whatsoever. From what I've heard, he grew up on TV shows of police taking crooks to justice, and foiling the ambitions of crime. Now he works as a security guard here, but he happens to have a fear of... pretty much everything." E. Gadd then chimes in on the Joyconnector. "Oh! So in other words, he's just like Luigi." A silence filled the room. "Erm... in terms of having big dreams. My mistake." Luigi was grateful the professor atleast felt inclined to cover up his brutal honesty. The doors to the 6th floor opened, and the two of them stepped off. "Alright. Let's do this thing." Vinny stated, as they both walked out into the darkness. It was nowhere near as dark as the 2nd floor, but to the paranoid mind, a ghost rat could be hiding behind any corner.
(The music "Basement Floor" by Kevin MacLeod plays)
"Not detecting any abnormalities at the moment, but stay on your guard." E. Gadd advised. They started exploring the floor. Through the various shops, and rooms. Luigi was surprised to see some mechakoopas available in the toy store, but in all likelihood they were just forgeries with all of their dangerous functions taken out. "Beanbean... Sarasaland... Dinosaur Island... I guess whoever collects the stuff for these shops is quite the explorer." Gadd commented. "Yes. We like to give our tourists a little bit of everything in our merchandise. Most of them were bought off a man named... 'El Piantisimo', I think it was... But yeah, he did seem to have a zest for adventure." They didn't find any leads so far, but they hadn't yet checked the security office. However, just as they were going to head in its direction, they saw the light of a flashlight peeking from down the hallway.
"Someone's coming. Hide!" Vinny whisper shouted. Luigi hid behind the counter, and Vinny possessed a life-sized Angelic Amber doll. Then, coming in with a nervous expression on his face was Kruller. His skin tone was the same hue of purple as Wolfgeist, and he did have a big gut to him, but not anywhere close to the degree of the phantom. He wore a stereotypical police officer outfit, and shakily held a flashlight in his hands. "Hello...? Is anyone there?" He asked, looking cautiously around the room with his flashlight. Luigi was probably just as scared of Kruller, as Kruller would be of him. Kruller did a double take, to be absolutely sure no one else was here. He then almost got a heart attack, as he floated by a mirror, causing it to creak. He pointed his flashlight at it, as he tried to calm down. "You talkin' to me...? You talkin' to me?" Luigi stayed silent, and Vinny stood still inside the doll. Feeling more confident, Kruller struck a dramatic pose at the mirror.
"You have the right... to remain silent." He said to himself, no doubt practicing his one-liners. He then floated over to the very doll Vinny was possessing, still unaware he wasn't alone. "Don't worry, ma'am. I'll keep you safe. I've done this a million times. Just doing my job, you know?" Vinny was finding it increasingly hard not to laugh at his display, knowing full well the jig would be up if she did. Kruller then flexed his muscles exaggeratedly. "You like my badge? Yeah, I get that a lot. Comes with the title, I suppose. One day, it'll shine as bright as the city streets... You know, because I'll... I'll clean up the streets? Of crime? Ugh, no, that doesn't sound right." At this point, Vinny was at her limit and the doll she was possessing cracked a smile, as her stifled laughter managed to break loose.
Kruller practically jumped out of his skin! "AH! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" He then ran er... floated as fast as he could out of there, fleeing into the security office and locking the door. Not long afterwards, some weird sound was heard. Luigi came out of his hiding spot, but Vinny spoke up through the doll. "Luigi, he just turned on the laser security system!" E. Gadd then weighed in. "Don't panic. Don't panic. Luigi, my boy. The dark light should be able to show you where the lasers are. From there, it's only a means of getting through without touching them." Luigi contemplated how terrible the profession of ghost hunting is, but he complied. When the lasers were revealed, they were all pink instead of red. "Phantom lasers!? I didn't even think those were possible! Be wary, Vinny. Those things will work on you too." If there was any time to channel their inner James Blonde, this was it.
(The music "Midnight Museum - Main Theme 2" from Skylanders: Trap Team plays)
Vinny exited her hiding place, as she and Luigi carefully weaved around the lasers. Perfectly aware that one wrong movement would mean getting fried. Vinny did have the advantage, since she didn't have to obey the laws of gravity, but she did have to take special care to avoid having the ends of her hair sliced. After a few minutes of tension, they were able to get out of the store and into the relative safety of the space between them. With that conundrum over, they shifted focus to breaking into Kruller's office. They went up the escalators to get there. Vinny always enjoyed the escalators for no apparent reason. Probably because they were an interesting method of going from one place to another. The world needed more of them. And moving sidewalks.
When they reached the top, they saw another ghost standing there, but facing away from them. It was a thin, but curvaceous woman. She wore a black fur coat, and a long silk dress. She had a black beret, and an onyx ring on her finger. Her skin was pale like Vinny's, and she had matching black hair in a pixie cut. She was holding a Japanese style fan. Luigi went quiet at the sight of her, but Vinny approached her. "Mother...?" The woman turned around, and greeted her daughter with an inviting smile. "Vinny, it warms my heart to know you've decided to pay me a visit. But really, sweetheart, it's way past your bedtime. You should be asleep." Vinny was relieved to see her mother's outward kindness hadn't changed. "There were some... complications. I'm hoping to sort them out as soon as possible." Elline knelt down and hugged her. "That's okay. Just don't make a habit of it. Your father was committed to his work, and soon enough it was like he forgot about the outside world altogether. So understand that I'll always be here for you."
Vinny blushed, and hugged back. "Don't fret, I have no intention of that... Mother, I don't think it's safe in the hotel. Someone is using our staff for their own devices." It was only at this moment Elline noticed Luigi. Then silence filled the room. "Vinny... Is that man the one causing all these problems around here?" She spoke in a warning tone. Vinny stopped hugging. "No, this is our guest. He's actually helping me with the investigation." Luigi waved, trying not to seem afraid. Elline narrowed her eyes at him. "It's unmistakable... The overalls, the mustache. You. You're Luigi, aren't you?" Luigi swallowed hard, not knowing what to say. Elline paused, like a predator analyzing her prey. "Vinny, darling. You can get some rest, now. I've located the source of our problem, and I don't want you getting hurt over it." She snapped her fingers, and summoned some ghosts. Yellow ghosts, with a very lanky build. They were oozers. Not really that tough, but they have a pension for throwing blunt objects at their enemies.
"Mother, what are you doing!?" Elline stood there with an empty expression. "Don't fret. I've given them specific orders not to hurt you. But please stay away from that man. He's a bad influence." She then floated away, vanishing through the ceiling. The oozers then picked up some random knick knacks to toss at Luigi. "Be careful, Luigi!" Peach voiced through the Joyconnector. Luigi ducked behind cover, as the oozers threw whatever they could at him. When they rushed over to get more ammo, Luigi used the opportunity to suck two of them up. Leaving only the other two remaining. One of them threw a globe at the plumber, but Vinny grabbed it mid-air, and chucked it back at him. It landed straight in his mouth, getting stuck as the other ghost tried to rectify the situation with the heimlich maneuver, but Luigi quickly sucked them up as well. The final oozer forcibly spitting out the globe, as the joined his friends in the poltergust.
After the fight, Luigi walked over to Vinny. Clearly she wasn't taking this turn of events very well. Vinny then walked over, and kicked a trash can across the room. Thankfully, it was an empty one. "Has the whole world gone to madness!?" E. Gadd then rang up. "Give her a minute to herself, Luigi. I'm sure she just needs time to think. Anyway, I believe there's a way to break into Kruller's office. There should be a vent nearby that will get you there." Luigi obliged. He opened the entrance to the vents. Taking a moment to look back at Vinny, who was moping on a bench. Right now, his top priority was seeing if there was anything he needed in that office. He climbed into the vent, and started doing the old army crawl. He had been in many pipes over the years on his adventures with Mario, but this was the first time he'd ever been crawling through a vent.
He heard a muffled voice that was unmistakably Kruller, and started heading towards it. "...You saved us, officer! How can we ever repay you?" He said to himself in a shrill voice, trying to imitate a little kid. "Oh, that? Pfft. It was nothing. I've dealt with micro goombas that are scarier than that guy." Luigi then peered down through the vent to see Kruller sitting in his chair eating a doughnut, and watching a clip from a Lego Police short. "Hohoho, yes. That one's a keeper. Actually... Let me write that down, real quick. I know I left my notebook in her somewhere..." He said, searching through his desk's cabinets. Luigi continued creeping by, but he then felt a jolt as one of the bolts in the vent he was on came loose. "Ah! Here it is. Oh wait, I forgot the pen's our of ink. Hmm, lemme see here, do I have another one?" The vent started shuddering and shaking, as Luigi hoped it would hold. But alas, the vent collapsed, and he fell through the ceiling. Landing right on his face in front of Kruller's desk.
"What- Whozat!? Whyzat!?" He screamed, scrambling to get his flashlight, at which point, he turned it on and looked at Luigi. Luigi innocently waved, sitting up from the rubble. Kruller then fell out of his seat with fright. He cowered behind his desk. "Oh no. Oh no. It's him...! The boss is gonna take my badge if I don't catch him...!" He then peered onto his desk, to see a pair of sunglasses. He then dawned a brave face. "No... You gotta do Chase McCain proud! Gotta show them why people respect the law...!" He put on the sunglasses, something that seemed to boost his confidence dramatically. He then peered our from behind the desk, as if peeking from behind cover. "Alright, sir. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. And you don't want the hard way." He then dramatically slided our from behind cover, but his slide didn't make it the whole way, so he sorta... awkwardly scooted to where he was trying to reach.
Said place was behind a pair of metal bars, protecting where they kept all the storage. He then dove through one of the many discarded cardboard boxes, trying to find something that will help him. First, he found a plushy of Scaredy Rat, which he immediately threw away in a panic. Then came a familiar looking paintbrush with the E. Gadd logo on it, which he also threw away. And then, he reached in to find what he was looking for: a super soaker. Using his wit, Luigi brought out Gooigi to slip through the bars and take on Kruller for him. Kruller was horrified that the bars didn't protect him, but he still stuck to his guns. "Alright then. Don't say I didn't warn you, sir." He and Gooigi then engaged in combat. "Uhm... I know this is a bad time to mention, but Gooigi dissolves in water... This isn't good." E. Gadd mentioned.
Regardless, Gooigi used his strobulb on Kruller, but his sunglasses protected him from his light. "When I take you down, maybe I'll even get a promotion! Everyone will love me!" He fired his super soaker at Gooigi, who skillfully avoided the attack, as he started using his vacuum. Kruller, noticing what he was doing, held onto his glasses hard as he engaged in a tug of war with the sentient blob of slime, squirting his water gun in the air in the hopes of hitting Gooigi. And while a few stray drops landed on the even greener Green Thunder, he still remained standing, and successfully sucked up his shades. "Oh man, this'd be so cool if only this were a movie!" Kruller said, as he dropped the weapon and tried to make a break for it, but Luigi was still on the other side, and began sucking him up. As Kruller was pulled in by the vacuum, he got out his radio. "Officer down, repeat! Officer dow-" and then he was captured.
It was a shame that nothing turned up on this floor. But if it meant anything, at the very least that narrowed down the choices of where left to look. Luigi walked back out, to find Vinny leaning on the guard rails longingly. Luigi walked over again, Vinny's pout had eased into a frown. Realizing her comrade was back, she put on a strong face. "So you got him? I had little doubt you would. Sorry you had to see me lose my composure like that... You understand how these things can weigh down on you." Luigi looked at her, once again expressing his concern. She sighed. "I'm okay, Luigi... The sooner we catch whoever's orchestrating this madness, the sooner everything can go back to the way it was." She then stood upright again, brushing her worries aside for the time. "Now come on. Let's continue our search." Luigi nodded, and the two hopped back on the elevator.
(Oh, and uhh, not to ruin the atmosphere or anything, but that "James Blonde" thing? That was not a typo. It was a reference to episode 127 of The Super Mario Brothers Super Show, where a parody of James Bond featuring that same name happens to make an appearance. Stupid? Maybe. But I like to flex my reference muscles any chance I get in this story. There are a bunch of them sprinkled in the previous chapters already, so it's only natural to keep the ball rolling.)