Author Notes - Now for the chapter whose title probably only makes sense to British people or (like me) have British parents.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN - ALL GONE TO POTTER

Daisy continued to breathlessly call out the name of the one person who could save her.

'Of course!' Luigi yelled, snapping his fingers. 'The saw!'

Daisy was running out of air, feeling her bones about to crumble. Luigi grabbed the saw by its handle and ran over to the aggressive plant. He sliced through the floral menace, the blade going as fast as his heart.

After what felt like an agonisingly long time, the saw finally cut through all the way. The vine lost all life and went limp, unravelling itself from around Daisy. The princess landed on her face, and coughed violently, both from the scattered dust and her strained lungs.

'Oh Grambi...' She muttered between coughs. 'Oh sweet, sweet Grambi...'

Polterpup sat by her side, and gave her little licks to the face. She chuckled, and strained her arm to give him a stroke.

'You're a good boy...'

Luigi dropped the saw, and stood silently. The only part of his body that moved was his hands, which wouldn't stop shaking.

'Oh, this is all my fault!' He cried, on the verge of tears. 'If I didn't drop that button, you… you…'

Daisy gasped, and immediately brought the green-clad man into a tight hug. He held onto her like the world was going to rip her from him, like he had to reassure himself that she was still there. Polterpup joined in, cuddling up to his owner's legs.

'Hey, hey, don't beat yourself up over it.' She said. 'It was a mistake. And I'm sure I would've done the same thing. Remember when I faceplanted during that practice match?'

'I know, but...' Luigi said, and sighed. 'But I can't help but think... it's my fault. Because it... is.'

'Don't apologise.' Daisy said. 'I understand. But... if you think you've made such a big mistake, how about we go fix it together?'

His look of weakness turned to one of determination. 'Yeah. Yeah! We'll get that button back. Together! I'll make my big bro proud!'

Daisy leapt to her feet. 'For Mario!'

'Yip yip!'


Dr Potter waited until the mortals slipped through the next door to materialise inside that room. The first thing he saw was the activated chainsaw. The very sight of it boiled his ghostly blood.

'GAH! Who allowed that there saw ta enter ma domain?! I'm sure it was that disrespectful Gravely. And she wanted me ta morph ma family to look like her obsession - BLEGH!'

He picked up the saw and chucked it into the wall. It smashed into pieces, which was the fate the horrid tool deserved.

'And that's what I think of yeh, Gravely! Tryin' ta hurt ma family tha way yeh do...'

He gasped, seeing the cut up remains of his beloved vines resting on the floor. They curled up and browned as the last bits of their life drained away.

'Oh no… Those mortals... those heartless mortals... slaughterin' ma family like yeh don't matter...' He gritted his teeth. 'I'll kill 'em! I'll make 'em pay fer what they've done!'


No two rooms on this floor seemed to be alike, other than sharing a basic layout. The bathroom of the ivy suite had several watermelons growing from the walls. Three smaller ones grew in the bath, and a giant one nearly as tall as Daisy blocked a hole in the wall. They smelled rather succulent and, judging by their polish and size, were rather well cared for. Daisy breathed on the grand melon, and polished it with her elbow.

'How could such a jerk be such a great gardener?' She wondered out loud. 'I envy his work. It's beautiful...'

Polterpup took a big bite out of one of the melons in the bathtub, finding them to be just as delicious as they looked.

Luigi gently pulled him away by his collar. 'Don't do that, boy. We don't want Dr Potter madder at us than he already is.'

Daisy peered past the giant melon, and saw slivers of the hole behind it. She found herself unable to even stick her hand through it.

'A melon.' She muttered. 'A melon is going to be our downfall.' She turned to Luigi. 'Unless your plunger can lift this beast.'

The plumber placed his dog down. 'Um, it might. I might need a little help though.'

'Say no more!'

Luigi fired out a plunger onto the giant melon's polished surface. He and Daisy yanked on the rope at the same time, causing the juicy fruit to go flying over their shoulders and smash into the melons in the bathtub. It broke apart into several, much more manageable pieces. Polterpup yipped in absolute joy, and devoured all the pieces in one gulp each.

Daisy chuckled. 'So much for not angering Hairy more.'

Luigi gulped. 'He is gonna kill us.'

The princess walked through the hole, glancing up at just how close they were getting. 'Not unless we kill him first.'

The plumber followed her out. 'How are you going to kill a ghost?'

'I'll find a way!'

Luigi felt a little relieved. After all, they only had another storey to go. The relief vanished when he saw that the stairs to the other side of the tower had already been destroyed by that plant. Though the upper floor on the other side was perfectly intact - the insane amounts of blue moss aside - they had seemingly no way of actually getting to it.

'You got any ideas?' Daisy asked.

'I'm running out.' Luigi replied.

While the two mortals discussed possible ways to continue, Polterpup noticed something about the floorboards they stood on.

'And then you shoot me from the Poltergust!'

'It's... not strong enough for that. It can only launch small objects.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Nothing! I just-'

'Yeah, I know. Just messing with ya.'

'... Can you not?'

They didn't look especially stable. In fact, a strong enough push could easily turn them into extreme seesaws. He positioned himself in front of Daisy, neither mortal noticing him.

'Maybe you could charge up a bunch of bursts, and then unleash them by side-stepping off the ledge!'

'The Poltergust isn't F.L.U.D.D. with a rocket nozzle. Even if they were both made by the professor.'

'Exactly! So maybe they have a similar mechanic!'

'I don't think the super-rocket-thing was an intended feature.'

Polterpup jumped up and slammed his belly into one end of the floorboard. The other side flung up -

'WAAAHHH!'

And launched a flailing Daisy across the room.

It took until halfway through her trajectory for Luigi to comprehend what was going on. 'AH!'

*THUD*

Daisy crashed into the floor on the other side face-first. Luigi stared with his mouth agape, before beginning to laugh. Not that he wanted to.

'Are you okay?' He asked.

Daisy got up, and shook dirt off her face. 'Too many toasters...' She glanced at her arms. 'Think the gloves took most of the shock.'

Luigi sighed in relief. Polterpup took that as his cue to jump onto the floorboard his owner stood on, putting a bit more force into it to account for the weight of the Poltergust. Just like before, Luigi went soaring.

'OH M-M-M-MAMMA!'

And Daisy had to deal with him flying at her now.

'Hang on sweetie! I'll catch you!'

She severely underestimated his velocity. She also severely overestimated her ability to stand her ground. Luigi crashed into her arms and the force of him flying into her knocked them both to the floor.

'Ooh...'

'Owie...'

Still, she managed to catch him, just like she said she would. Polterpup waltzed across the air, hanging his head up with so much pride.

'Oh, so you think you're a clever one, huh?' Daisy said. 'You think it's funny to send us flying?'

Luigi blushed, realising his position. 'Well, uh, it did get us across.'

'I suppose. But I want him to warn us next time. Understand, Poltiepup?'

'Arf arf!'

Luigi and Daisy continued to converse with each other as they walked up the stairs while Polterpup followed behind. It was mostly just about how much they hated the hotel. The little talk boosted their spirits.

'What else do you hate about the owner?' He asked, already knowing but wanting to hear her rant some more.

'Well, let's see... kidnapping all of my friends, kidnapping me, nearly kidnapping you, trying to kill us on multiple occasions, freeing King Boo, further traumatising all of us...'

He glanced away from her mid-conversation. Though he still listened to her every word, his visual attention was more on the path ahead.

'... making Wolfgeist think his daughter was in danger, pinning that annoying freaking cat on us, not simply opening this place to the public and removing all the traps to reap the benefits...'

With another flight of stairs cleared, they only had one more to go. The stalk's giant petals practically touched the top of that set of stairs. He sighed in relief... nearly done. He hoped.

'We're nearly there.' He said.

'Oh thank Grambi.' Her smile faded, and she groaned. 'Cue Hairy popping in with his stupid can in three, two… right on cue!'

The floating watering can appeared alongside Dr Potter's laugh, and proceeded to fly underneath the platform they currently stood on.

'Oh lord, what is he doing now?' Daisy whined.

Luigi heard the sound of water trickling out of the can, and the moment that sound stopped he felt vibrations from down below.

'Oh no...'

'What?'

'I think we should run!'

His instinct told him to run back down the stairs. Daisy, not in the position to question things, ran down the stairs right behind him. Another branch - more like another whole tree - sprouted up right where they were standing a mere second ago, tearing through the floor like it wasn't even there. A second one shot up behind them, barely missing Luigi but throwing off his balance.

'Oh come on!' Daisy yelled, as she ran past Luigi without really thinking about it.

She reached the end and jumped to the right while he was only halfway down.

'Faster Luigi!' She yelled, to little help.

'YIP YIP!'

A third tree grew, but this time he wasn't so lucky. It knocked against his Poltergust. Combined with the last one throwing his balance off, he tripped and fell down the stairs.

'LUIGI!'

He slammed into the floor stomach-first but kept going, bouncing back up into the air. He crashed into the wall Poltergust-first, and fell onto his rear.

'Owie...'

Thankfully, the Poltergust took most of the impact this time. Daisy and Polterpup sighed in relief.

'You're alright!' Daisy said, going in for a gentle but loving hug.

He blushed from the sudden intimate contact, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

It seemed the wall that he had just crashed into wasn't exactly strong, as the stone work broke apart into pieces and fell to the floor. It revealed the wooden boards, which were covered in moss and looked about ready to break. Daisy tapped the wood planks lightly, and they fell apart immediately. It left a hole more than big enough for them to walk through.

'Welp.' She said. 'We can manage one more detour.'

Luigi mentally disagreed with her. When he stepped through the hole after Daisy, he forgot all about his stress, if only for a moment.

'Wow...'

It was the biggest room in the entire floor, excluding the atrium, thanks to being two storeys with a big hole connecting them. Moss covered the walls and floor, revealing little of the stone beneath. Blue vines grew around the dilapidated bed. The room was dim, with little light provided by many big glowing mushrooms growing out the walls and floor. They came in various colours, mostly pink, light green, and deep blue. They emitted a dim light of their respective colour.

Combined with the misty aroma, it felt like Luigi had walked right into a relaxing night-time forest.

'Yip yip yip!'

Polterpup floated up to the ceiling of the bottom room and through the sizable hole. He barked, signalling for his friends to follow him.

'And once again,' Daisy said. 'Polterpup forgets we can't fly.'

She looked around the room, for any sort of way to get up there. One of the glowing mushrooms, a pink one, had not been growing on the floor but instead in a wagon. She approached the mushroom, and rubbed her hands across the surface. It moved up and down like a trampoline.

'Aha! I was right!' She announced, to Luigi's surprise. 'An old friend of mine grew a few of these. Trampoline Caps, she called them. Inedible, but very pretty. And very well named. Observe.'

Grabbing the wagon by its handle, she pulled it away from the wall and placed it right underneath the hole. As a quick precaution, she put little bits of rubble around its wheels so it couldn't roll away. She, in one step, got from the floor to on top of the mushroom cap. Just like her old friend had told her, it held her weight just fine.

'Then all you have to do is jump, and the mushroom does the rest!'

And that's what she did. She jumped in place, and the elasticity of the cap sprung her into the air. Way into the air. High enough that Luigi couldn't even see her anymore.

'D-Daisy?!'

She fell back down to the bottom floor, and the cap launched her into the air again. And again.

'ComeonLuigi!' *BOING* 'It'sreallyfun-' *BOING* 'Anditgetsyou-' *BOING* 'Tothenextfloor!'

Then she disappeared for good, landing on the top floor. Luigi looked straight up through the hole, falling onto his rear in the process. Daisy waved at him from above.

'Just get on the cap and burst!' She said. 'Polterpup and I will be here to catch you.'

He gulped. After what MacFrights did to him, he did not feel like falling again. Seeing no other option however, he climbed onto the wagon and then the mushroom. With great difficulty.

'So, if I do the burst thing,' He said. 'It'll bounce me up there?'

'Yep! Trust me, it's fun.'

Luigi grabbed the Poltergust and put his hand over the two buttons. Actually pressing them was the hard part. Three, two, one... press!

'Whoa-ho!'

He fell back onto the mushroom, and... it worked! He was soaring up into the air, and found himself eye-to-eye with his princess on the upper floor.

'See?' She said.

Then he became a victim to gravity and plummeted down again. He didn't fall very far, however.

'Alright, let's reel him in!'

Daisy and Polterpup pulled him along until his feet touched solid ground. They let go of him, and he immediately fell onto his knees and hands.

'Oh!' Daisy exclaimed. 'Are you alright?'

'Uh... yeah.' Luigi replied, trying not to puke. 'Y-Yeah. Just give me a moment...'

Once the world stopped being jelly, he could see that he had indeed made it to the upper floor. No vines this time, but there was a bed covered in ivy. Despite sitting right on the edge of the hole, it seemed perfectly stable. Next to that was a hammock, swaying slightly for no clear reason. In the corner, a bunch of tools rested on a cork board along with many pots stacked on shelves. Next to the shelves, was the way out.

'It kinda looks like this is Dr Potter's room.' He said.

'In that case,' Daisy said, helping him off the ground. 'Let's destroy it.'

'Let's not.'

'Right. He's peeved off enough as is. Let's just get the button and get out of this hellhole.'

Before they could get to the door, Polterpup got between it and them. He growled and snarled at something that stood at the door, something invisible to the mortal eye.

'Don't worry, Polterpup.' Daisy said. 'I got this.'

She reached her arm out to grab whatever the mutt was yapping out, only to find herself unable to move her arm any further. At all. Something had wrapped itself around her wrist, like a small but thick vine. It definitely wasn't a vine, as it felt wet. What felt like saliva soaked her skin. She tried to yank her hand back, but whatever had grabbed her held her tight.

'Uh... little help here?'

Luigi grabbed his flashlight, with the intent of Dark-Lighting the mysterious being, but found himself unable to step again. Or move his legs for that matter. It felt like a wet rope had been wrapped around his legs. The sticky rope around his legs pulled his feet forward out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor.

The being who had them roped up revealed itself, its translucent skin appearing with a reddish-orange light. Unsurprisingly, it was a ghost, but a new kind. And, unlike the Slinker, was not one Luigi was somewhat familiar with. She resembled a pile of orange goo, a pile mostly consisting of a mouth. The most notable part were her two long blue tongues, one wrapped around Daisy's wrist and the other Luigi's legs.

Immediately, Luigi gagged from the sight and sensation of saliva.

'I can assure you.' Daisy said, still trying to pull away. 'Humans taste absolutely awful.'

Luigi did a double-take. How did she know that?!

'I disagree.' The Trapper said, rather incoherently. 'Humans are delicious! Clothing and all. Even ones that smell as awful as you two.'

Luigi shuddered; getting eaten by a ghost was not exactly high on his bucket list. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand. Wait a minute... He looked at his hand with mild shock and grinned. So, he grabbed his flashlight and beamed the Trapper right in her face. The Strobulb left her dazzled, and she released her grasp on her victims.

Daisy grabbed onto the tongue that had her wrist, and yanked on it. The Trapper, even in her stunned state, remained firm in her spot. Luigi got up, and used his Poltergust to grab the other tongue.

'Hey!' The Trapper yelled. 'I need those to taste your delicious flesh! All I'm tasting is metal and dust.'

Unsurprisingly, they didn't listen to a ghost who ten seconds ago tried to eat them. With one simultaneous pull, they slammed her into the floor and made her particles scatter and dissipate.

'And that's what ya get!' Daisy yelled.

With the 'Trapper' taken care of, the trio walked through the door and... there it was. The plant they had spent all this time trying to reach stood right in front of them. Though the walkway they stood on was nothing but a balcony, the plant's giant leaves extended all the way to their tiny platform.

Daisy sighed the biggest sigh of relief you will ever hear. 'Oh thank you, lady Rosalina! We're nearly done!'

She ran over to the big flytrap and Polterpup made loops around it, while Luigi stood there and let it sink in. The plant that had given them so much trouble now lay in front of him. Daisy got her hands in between the hulking jaws of the beast, but no matter how much she struggled they would not open.

'We're gonna need a little more power here!' She said.

Luigi nodded, and stepped onto the leaf that served as a bridge.

'You think a plunger would open it up?' He asked.

'Any extra power would help.'

He fired a plunger onto one of the jaws, and pulled back. The plant looked like it was trying to open up, but some sort of lock prevented it from doing so.

'If I had a plunger-firing thing,' Daisy said. 'I'd go for the second jaw myself. But I-'

'Gooigi!'

She blinked. 'That works too.'

For the first time in a while, he deployed Gooigi. He moved his gooey counterpart over to the other side and fired another plunger, this one the same translucent green as the rest of him. He grabbed it and pulled backwards.

'So, how are you supposed to plunger it at once?' Daisy asked.

Gooigi spent no time thinking about it. Somehow, he already knew both Weegees would act at once.

'I'm putting my might into it.' Daisy said. 'You ready?'

'Yep.'

'Now... pull!'

Both Luigi and Gooigi pulled on their plungers at once. Like a crowbar on a chest, it pulled the jaws wide open until they collapsed. The button flew out of its trap, and into the air… and bonked off an unconscious Luigi's head. It rolled on the curved leaves, getting frighteningly close to the edge.

'Oh no!' Luigi yelled, finding himself back in his original body. 'Oh no no no...!'

'AH! Get the button!' Daisy cried. 'Get the freaking button!'

All three members of the trio ran for the button with their arms and paws out. But, regardless of how many desperate people ran to grab it, the button still rolled off the edge.

Luigi reached for it as it plummeted, as if he had force powers. 'Noooo-ho-ho!'

The button plinked against the floor, only visible by its dim glow. Luigi pouted, but Daisy stood by his side with far too much serenity. Her face was blank, but her twitching eyes burned with rage.

'Um... Daisy? Y-You okay?'

She slammed her fists into the ground.

'OH COME ON!'


Suddenly, all the way down in the boilerworks beneath the basement, a sleeping redneck mechanical arose from his nap.

'Eh?' He lifted his cap and looked around. 'Wha' in tarnation was that?'

Well, he couldn't see anything. So, no problem. He rested his head back on his duck floaty, hoping to get in some more nap-time before his twin sister arrived and ruined everything.


Daisy sighed in relief for a few good seconds. 'So...' She said, overly serene once again. 'How do we get back down?'

Polterpup wasn't even around anymore, convinced that he had heard horrible thunder. Luigi looked at her with his traumatised eyes.

'I... I don't know.' He replied without really thinking about it.

Daisy huffed. 'Brilliant. So now we're up here, while the button's down there.' She groaned. 'Oh for f-'

She got interrupted by the last sound you'd ever want to hear when on the top of a giant plant: a creaking branch, or in this case, a creaking leaf. And the giant leaf they were on was definitely beginning to droop.

Their nerves went stiff as a horrible realisation sunk into them.

'We're gonna fall, aren't we?' Daisy said.

'Y-Y-Yep.'

The leaf gave out completely, sending the couple plunging. Screams filled the air, but stopped after a few seconds. They had only fallen a few feet, when they were caught by a vine that wrapped around the stem all the way down.

The only problem was that it was a very slippery vine, and they could already feel themselves beginning to slide downwards.

Luigi tried to dig his fingers in like a cat about to fall into a lake. He reached out for Daisy, his other limbs instinctively clamping onto his slippery platform. It didn't help at all, seeing as she was beginning to slide down too. The both of them picked up speed fast, hurtling down a circling slide, screaming their lungs out as the outside world turned to blurs.

Luigi didn't want to look, and closed his eyes. The air rushing past his cheeks and Daisy's distressed screaming did enough. He couldn't even tell if he was still on the vine anymore.

'Luigi! Look out!'

He opened his eyes, just as the vine dropped him off.

*THUD*

And he smacked into the floor, feeling like his guts had spilled out like a torn beanbag. Daisy dug her gloved hands into the trunk of the plant, slowing her own descent down just a bit. Her landing was less rough than Luigi's, though not by much.

'Oof...' She muttered. 'You okay, sweetie?'

Luigi lifted himself off the ground, his limbs just a little achy. 'Relatively speaking, yeah.'

Polterpup descended from wherever he had been, now sure it wasn't thunder he heard, and gave his owner an affectionate lick to the face.

'Thanks, boy.'

The doggy's kisses always seemed to rejuvenate him, with or without the magic of a golden bone.

'Oh my Grambi, there's the button!' Daisy announced, springing to her feet and ignoring the immediate lightheadedness.

The button lay in the middle of the room. Daisy ran over to it and yanked it up before anything else could happen to it. She stared at the button longingly, like it was a childhood toy she hadn't seen in years. Its glow and the big '8' on it beckoned her.

'Daisy! Look out!'

She glanced up from her precious button, only to get a face full of scraggly plant skin and two rows of sharp yellow teeth. The flytrap's glowing eyes stared directly into hers, roaring and splattering plant slobber all over her.

'Eep!'

The sudden sight of it made her jump back. The button went flying out of her hand, and the flytrap snatched it up clean out of the sky.

'Gah!'

The flytrap withdrew itself back to its friend, who happened to be a very angry looking Dr Potter. He took the button out of its jaw, and tucked it away in his pocket.

'Yer a good girl, Audrey!' He said, stroking her neck, or whatever it was. 'Teachin' them whippersnappers what fer!'

Daisy threw up her arms in exasperation. 'Are you serious?!'

'Yeh can only blame yerself for that one, young lady. Sweet little Audrey only took advantage of yeh. And we're nod very happy about yeh murderin' our family!'

'If you just gave us that stupid button, we'd be out of here by now!'

Both gardeners looked at each other with such hatred. Luigi couldn't stand it.

'Ged her, Audrey!'

'Woof woof woof!'

The flytrap opened her jaws as widely as they would go, and lunged teeth first at Daisy like a glove on a spring.

'Whoa nelly!' Daisy said.

The princess jumped out of the way, her feet skidding on the mossy rocks. Audrey missed her only by a few inches, but kept going until her vine body couldn't be stretched anymore. Her jaws got stuck on a pile of rubble that rested at the foot of the stalk.

'Com'on Audrey!' Dr Potter said, pulling on her pot home. 'Yer better than that!'

He yanked her back in, with enough force to dislodge the rubble and make it scatter. Underneath where it stood was another saw, already activated and ready for use.

'Woof woof!'

'That's right, Audrey. Yeh haven't had a fresh meal since those two Bubblainians! And these humans look like they'll be a lot more fillin'.'

Luigi shivered; as if the flytraps in the Haunted Towers weren't scary enough...

Dr Potter noticed the shaky little boy. 'This ain't between us, yeh green lad! Yeh can stay outta this. Yeh at least seem a li'l remorseful fer yer plant killin'. It's just between me and that murderin' missy!'

Daisy's hands went to her hips. 'Oh, so I'm the murderer here? Sure, let's just ignore the crazy amount of times you and your plants almost killed us!'

'I beg yer pardon? Ma plants were just tryin' ta defend themselves from yeh!'

'D-Daisy...' Luigi stammered. 'M-Maybe we could just talk it-'

'Talk it out with this guy?' Daisy said, keeping her eyes on the plant. 'Have fun with that. Meanwhile, I'll be fighting for my life.'

Audrey raised her head up high and cranked her jaws open. She had pushed her stem to its limits, towering over Daisy. The princess looked straight up, seeing a bottomless mouth and razor teeth above her. She narrowed her eyes, and jumped to the side. Audrey lunged downwards, her jaws open at 180 degrees as she chomped at the floor. Somehow, her head stayed together in spite of the harsh angle.

Lifting her head off the ground, she spat out bits of rock and grass. She sniffed around, and spotted the princess approaching Dr Potter with flexed knuckles. Dr Potter floated backwards slowly, unable to hold his hands up due to carrying the flytrap's pot.

'What are yeh doin', missy? I've seen what yeh do ta ma plants. Don't tell me yer thinkin' o' doin' the same thing ta me!'

Daisy snarled. 'After what you've done to me? Yeah, pretty much.'

Audrey gasped. How dare this mortal threaten her best friend! She lowered her head, and charged forward like a bull. By the time Daisy saw the flytrap in her point of view, it bashed into her with its forehead.

'Oof!'

'Margherita!'

The impact sent her flying into a bench. It knocked the air right out of her and gave her nasty whiplash. She lost her placement in the world.

'Fraid it won't be that easy, missy!' Dr Potter declared, patting his friend. 'Audrey don't like it when someone tries ta hurt me. Yeh wanna know how many dresses o' Gravely have flytrap bite marks in 'em?'

Daisy rubbed the back of her head, slowly getting her bearings despite the pain in her entire body.

'No,' Daisy said. 'But do you wanna know how many ghosts I've punched in the face?'

This snarky remark made Audrey let out an angry roar that echoed through the entire atrium.

Dr Potter glared at her. 'Now look at what yeh've done. Yeh've angered Audrey! Yeh don't deserve ta wear those pretty jewel flowers on yer outfit.'

'Oh, for... my name is Princess Daisy! Get that through your thick hairy skull!'

She got to her feet, and took on a fighting stance that Little Mac would be proud of, beckoning the flytrap to attack her. Audrey answered her call, and snapped at her like a dog unexpectedly biting a stranger. Daisy jumped back with a look of shock on her face, avoiding the jaws with nothing but a fight-or-flight response.

Luigi took a step forward. 'Daisy! What should I-?'

'You should stay out of this!' Daisy yelled back, more angrily than intended. 'Hairy himself even said - whoa! - that it's just between me and him.'

The man in green watched his princess dodge the mouth of the flora beast, getting closer and closer to the jaws of death each time. He stood still, barely noticed, in his spot.

I can't do nothing! But what can I do?

'Arf! Arf arf!'

Polterpup pointed to the saw resting at the base of the behemoth stalk, its blade not sharp enough to pierce the thick stem. Luigi quickly understood what his pet was thinking of.

'What? I can't do that! That plant is Dr Potter's friend…' He closed his eyes. 'No. I have to stop him.'

Daisy jumped to the side again, forced into a game of perpetual dodging. The way Audrey so fiercely guarded the old ghost gave her no room to actually attack. Thank Grambi she had a great air capacity, but she knew that even her lungs had a limit.

'I suggest yeh just give up now.' Dr Potter said. 'Audrey won't give up on a meal til she's chomped it ta pieces. Especially if that meal has slaughtered her kind.'

Daisy groaned. 'Look, I love plants too, but I wouldn't say I've murdered them.'

'Then yeh simply don't like plants as much as yeh claim!'

She gritted her teeth and her face turned red. Her blood boiled. Now this was the baby that broke the Yoshi's back.

'Alright! THAT'S IT!' She shouted. 'You're going DOWN!'

She charged for Dr Potter with her arms out, fully intending to give him a new face. Her reign ended before it began, mere centimetres away from his face. Audrey grabbed her whole body and clamped her jaws over her. At that moment, Daisy's heart stopped. Luigi's did too.

'Nah, missy.' Dr Potter said. 'It will be yeh that'll be goin' down... Audrey's throat!'

The flytrap lifted her into the air, with only her head and limbs sticking out.

'Oh, did I mention that it takes a while fer Audrey ta digest her meals? It takes a few days till her prey loses consciousness.'

'Thanks for the factoid!'

Polterpup barked like crazy, dancing around the saw. Now Luigi had to act! He rushed over to that saw, and picked it right up. He did not feel right wielding the deadly tool.

Daisy reached her barely-free arms out, and with great struggle grabbed the flytrap's stem and stretched it between her arms. Not keen to wait for her rescue again, she sunk her teeth deep into the stem. Audrey cried out in pain, and dropped her in an instant. Daisy landed on her hands and knees, and took no time getting back up. The flytrap whimpered like a lost little puppy dog, unable to nurse her own wound due to the sheer size of her head.

'GAH, look at yerself!' Dr Potter cried. 'Carelessly bitin' the plants yeh claim ta care about!'

Audrey glared at the orange-clad mortal, her blank eyes now filled with more rage than ever. She barked into the air, as if belting out an epic battle cry, and launched at Daisy with her jaws open like a crocodile. Just as Daisy had planned. The flytrap's attempted jab at a meal came to a dead stop. Daisy stood her ground, holding the jaws wide with her powered-up gloves like a car-jack. She could feel Audrey trying to escape her grip, to no avail.

Dr Potter pulled on the pot as hard as he could, but a ghost at his age only had so much strength to work with.

'That saw would be really nice right about now, Luigi!' Daisy yelled.

'Oh! R-Right.'

With the saw in hand, he approached the middle of the outstretched vine. He only got the axe an inch above the stem before he hesitated.

'Um... Dr Potter?' He said, speaking just loudly enough so he could be heard over the saw. 'Maybe we can just talk this out?'

Daisy rolled her eyes; since when did diplomacy work out for him during this entire 'vacation'?

Dr Potter responded as she expected. 'Heh! I don't associate with murderers!'

With a sigh, Luigi knew what he had to do. He closed his eyes, and lowered the saw through the stem. The distinct sound of a saw cutting through greenery filled his ears. Another sound accompanied it.

'No... no!' Dr Potter pleaded. 'How dare yeh even consider sawin' ma best friend!'

'Ignore him, Luigi!' Daisy countered, her voice slightly strained. 'Just cut the stupid plant!'

He knew that the moment the saw went straight through that the deed had been done. Daring to open his eyes, he tossed the weapon aside.

'NOOOOO!' Dr Potter cried.

Daisy let go of the flytrap and tossed her to the floor. Audrey's disembodied head unleashed one last dying cry, before the light in her eyes vanished. She went limp, like a cat at its last vet appointment.

'Audrey!'

Luigi stumbled backwards with wide eyes, and tumbled backwards onto the floor. He broke into a cold sweat as he watched the life drain away from the plant in front of him. Dr Potter threw his pot away, and knelt by the remains of his best friend. He rubbed her face, trying to assure himself there was still life in her closed eyes.

'Ged up, Audrey. Yeh'll be fine. Just look at me. Please, wake up...'

The roughness and impatience in his voice seemed like a distant memory now. That was all gone. Luigi turned away, feeling no better. Daisy cringed as the old ghost's weeping filled the silent air. She began to wonder if she really was right. Polterpup sniffed the flytrap head, noting its lifeless scent. Dr Potter didn't care about him at all anymore.

'I never thought I'd lose yeh...'

With a forlorn sigh, he looked up. He looked so different now, despite his appearance hardly changing.

'Young green man...'

Luigi jumped around, and wiped his eyes. 'Y-Yeah?'

'Capture me, please. In that newfangled vacuum of yers. I'd prefer to rejoin ma ghost friends... for once.'

Daisy wanted to scream out the word 'WHAT' at the top of her lungs, but nothing in her body did what she wanted it to.

'U-Uh...?' Luigi stuttered. 'O-Okay. You... you mean it? I-If you want...'

'Don't even bother with yer flashlight.'

Luigi stared at him, his blank expression not showing his several conflicting emotions. But who was he to deny a sad ghost's wishes? One press of the suck button, and Dr Potter was dragged in. Luigi could feel absolutely no struggle. The eighth button came tumbling out of the nozzle, as weakly as its possessor went in. Luigi didn't celebrate. He didn't feel like it. Neither did Polterpup, who kept nudging Audrey's head in case she sprang back to life.

'S-So...' Luigi said. 'W-What do we do now?'

Daisy picked up the button and held it tight. 'We make sure that Audrey's death wasn't for nothing, that's for sure.'

She took one last look at the atrium, finding herself appreciating the place a bit more now. No doubt she'd come back here after all this insanity was over.

'D-Daisy?'

'She died so we could get this button, right? Then let's use the button and save our friends.'

She bashed the double doors wide open, and charged off with the button in hand. Luigi simply wanted to forget this entire floor, and so went after her.

Polterpup was about to go along with them, but his keen eyes picked up something shiny laying in the corner of the room. It was Dr Potter's watering can. He wasn't sure if it would work, but still he picked up that can and sprinkled it over the bare pot that Audrey used to call her home. A little sprout grew out of it.

It didn't smell quite like Audrey though, so it definitely wasn't the same plant. Polterpup named this plant 'Audrey ll'.


DR RAMOS POTTER, THE LONELY BOTANIST

AGE - 85

GENDER - Male

CAUSE OF DEATH - Old age

Dr Potter is, indeed, a very smart and talented botanist past his several layers of extreme insanity, not that anyone knows this. He genuinely sees plants as his family, even when he was alive. In fact, anyone who messes with his 'family' will be seen by him as an actual murderer. The plants never filled his social gap, so he went insane and died alone, surrounded by nothing but plants he thought were sentient. If you stay out of his domain, however, he is a perfectly happy man.

Author Notes - I'll be honest, killing off Audrey is probably one of the cruellest things I've done while writing. Like, she's a bit player, but I still severed a strong bond that I created. I went through with it because the battle against Potter literally involves you cutting her head off with a sawblade. The game doesn't really bring it up, but it's still pretty brutal.

Oh, and 'Audrey' is a pretty obvious reference, but I couldn't help myself.