Author Notes - The Tomb Suites is an absolutely brutal level, being quite long and filled with deadly puzzles. Several of which will spell your doom if you don't finish them in time. It was kind of painful to write too!

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - TOMB RAIDER

In the silence of her artificial pyramid, a beautiful pharaoh ghost slept in her sarcophagus. As always, the coffin was not fully closed, with a slight opening to allow a slither of light to get through.

Serpci... Serpci... SERPCI!

'AHH!'

The pharaoh jumped awake, hitting her head on the lid of her bed.

'What? Where?! Get away!'

The mystic voice of her boss sighed. Must you always panic every time you hear my voice?

Once Serpci realised it was just her boss and not some scary creature, she sighed in relief.

'S-Sorry boss.' She said, trying to speak gracefully. 'I thought this was my break time. What has compelled you to interrupt me?'

Oh, sweet Serpci, you appear to be out of the loop. Our lovely guest is arriving at your floor.

Serpci's eyes widened. 'Wait, you mean it? You mean...?'

Why, yes! I mean the legendary Luigi himself!

The pharaoh gasped. 'EEEEEEE!'

She shot out of her bed with the energy of a happy child, spinning around in the air, and flew over to a wall in her tomb. Her tomb was beautifully decorated with ancient rugs and urns, along with real treasures, but this wall was her favourite part of the hotel. It was a picture of her hero, surrounded by a beautiful Sand Kingdom background, carved into the stone wall and painted with bright vibrant colours. The green-clad plumber depicted posed like the humans in hieroglyphics.

I still think you should get rid of that ugly carving.

Serpci crossed her arms. 'Well, it's my pyramid. If I want pictures of my hero, then I'll have pictures of my hero.' She smiled again. 'I can't believe... I finally get to meet him! I've been waiting my whole afterlife for this!'

You are making quite the fool of yourself. I think you should know that.

Serpci's big smile dropped, and she adopted a far more serious look. Her tensed arms fell, and resumed a crossed position.

'Yes. Of course. A graceful pharaoh such as myself should not act like such a child.' A small squeal slipped through her teeth.

But I do have good news for you, Serpci. How would you like to have Luigi as your friend forever?

Serpci scoffed. 'I'm afraid I don't exactly trust you, Boss.'

Ah, so you say. But why would I lie about something this important to you?

The pharaoh cocked an eyebrow.

'Sorry Boss.' She said, shaking her head. 'No deal. As excited as I am to talk to my hero, it is simply not right to force him into a life like what you obviously have planned. As a fan, I want him to be happy.'

Hellen laughed. Oh, naive little Serpci. You truly want to be with Luigi forever. You need him by your side at all times. Admit it, sweetie. You want him.

Serpci tried to ignore the words, but even her power couldn't overcome it. Her ability to deny it slipped away, and she unleashed a fit of giggling that got more and more unhinged by the second.

'Yes... YES! I shall have Luigi all for myself! And I will make him love me the same way I adore him! He'll be mine FOREVER!'

She returned to her sarcophagus and lay back down on her bed, awaiting the moment her hero came around.

The elevator door opened, and before Luigi even stepped out of the cage, he winced from the musty smell. The door opening had scattered sand particles into the air, and it made his nose sting.

The elevator hall resembled something straight out of a pharaoh's throne room. The yellow brick work made it look like a pyramid. The floor was decorated with green lounges, a few dusty vases, and a fruit basket. Polterpup sniffed them, and even he didn't feel like eating them. There was a giant triangular plate in the middle of the floor.

'Again,' Daisy said. 'HOW is this in a hotel?! What kind of a budget does Hellen have?'

Glancing around at the (admittedly pretty) decor in the room, she walked forward and stepped on the metal plate. Her heart almost stopped when it sunk into the floor.

'Oh lord...'

The four pillars in the room spun around, revealing metal snake heads that aimed at where she stood.

'Oh dear...'

Poison-tipped arrows fired from the snake heads, and all four projectiles shot for her face.

'AH!'

She jumped back, all four arrows missing her and crashing into the walls instead. One in particular whisked straight past her eyes.

'I hate this floor already!' She yelled. 'Hate it, hate it, hate it! I've already got gashes on my chest. I sure as hell don't need an arrow to the face!'

'Uh, Daisy?' Luigi asked.

Her heart skipped a beat.

'That, uh, was still surprise.' She said. 'Not fear. Seriously, why do you guys keep thinking it's the same thing?'

'Um, did you need to specify that it wasn't fear?'

'Just needed to make the distinction. That was all.'

Luigi cocked an eyebrow. Already, he had some suspicions over her 'no fear' claims, and her shaky tone didn't help. Don't be silly, Luigi. Why would she be scared of anything?

Polterkitty walked across to the hallway going down the left with her massive paws kicking up dust with each step. She hoped that maybe, just maybe, Serpci would make it easy on them and gladly give Luigi the button.

'If we keep going this way,' She said. 'We'll find Serpci's tomb. Believe me when I say that you cannot miss it.'

As the group travelled down the hallway, Luigi ran his glove across the wall. The amount of dust it picked up was extraordinary. If they had any time to, he'd vacuum up every single speck.

They passed a banner, made entirely of woven fabric, with lovely cream-coloured tassels. It depicted a pyramid by a river, surrounded by palm trees and a gorgeous sunset. Luigi leaned forward, paying attention to every individual stitch.

'Wowie...'

'Uh, Luigi.' Daisy said from a little further down. 'You might wanna look at this.'

Luigi saw the rest of his team staring at the second banner hung up on the wall, and he soon understood why.

'M-Momma mia...'

This banner depicted a man, performing the famous 'walk like an Egyptian' pose associated with hieroglyphics. This man, done up in a green shirt, green cap, and blue overalls, had a red vacuum cleaner on his back. In other words, the man depicted on the banner didn't just look like Luigi. He was Luigi.

'Um... w-why is there a picture of me on the wall?' Luigi asked.

'I dunno.' Daisy said. 'Why are you asking me?!'

Near the end of the hallway, they came across a door with an arch somewhat resembling the entrance to a pyramid. It had been painted lovely colours that had faded away from time, or at least it mimicked paint fading throughout the years. There was just one thing stopping his ancient adventure - a large heap of sand piled in front of the door, just enough to cover the handle.

Daisy groaned. 'Gah, I hate sand! It's coarse, and rough, and... so IRRITATING!'

'And it gets everywhere.' Luigi added. 'But the Poltergust should be able to deal with it. Hopefully.'

'I'd hope so too.'

Luigi aimed his Poltergust at the pile and began sucking up every last grain of sand. The fine dust travelled through the vacuum just as easily as ghost energy did. It disappeared grain by grain in a way that resembled water and gave Luigi perhaps more satisfaction than it should have. He didn't stop until all the sand was gone, even long after he removed enough for them to get through.

Daisy smiled. 'My castle is going to be so much cleaner when you move in.'

'Don't you have maids that clean up for you?'

'Well, yeah, but as a gardener I bring so much mud indoors that they sometimes give up for the day.'

He chuckled. 'Maybe I won't be moving in after all.'

'HEY!'

Luigi opened the door, to a sight that the mortals nor their ghost dog expected.

It was like the door had teleported them to the Sand Kingdom itself. A starry night sky (actually painted) surrounded a desert landscape filled with remains of ancient structures and treasures. Among the slight dunes stood a glorious pyramid, perhaps not as big as the real ones but still big. Though most of the outer covering was long gone, mostly thanks to looters, slivers of the limestone walls and golden top could be seen from their reflections of the dim 'stars'.

Daisy shivered. 'I-I forgot... d-deserts are F-FREEZING at night!'

'AH-CHOO!'

Daisy jumped back, her heart stopping for a moment. 'Oh g-geez, that w-was you! Are y-you a-a-alright?'

'Yeah.' He sniffed. 'I'm just, um, sensitive to dust and stuff.'

'Ah. That w-would explain a l-lot.'

Polterkitty stepped out in front, making sure her steps didn't scatter too much dust. Her ethereal skin barely felt much of the cold at all, but she could still feel the cold breeze generated by the fans passing through her fur.

'That's where Serpci usually stays, in her pyramid replica.' She explained. 'She doesn't leave very often.'

'Uh, then I guess that's where we're going.' Luigi said.

The group began making their way over to the wonder of the world in the middle of the giant room. This had to be one of the quietest parts of the entire hotel yet.

'Okay, s-seriously!' Daisy said, looking around. 'H-How do t-they af-f-ford to k-keep a p-place like this i-in a h-hotel?!'

Luigi could see the goosebumps on her arms. Turns out that shorts and a T-shirt was a bad outfit for exploring a night-time desert. Overalls were, evidently, much better.

'You okay, Daisy?' He asked.

A silly question, seeing that the freezing air made her shiver so much that her teeth clattered. She rubbed her crossed arms in any attempt to warm herself up even slightly.

'I-I am f-fine!' She claimed, to no avail. 'Y-You t-think I c-c-can't handle the c-c-cold?'

'Your teeth are clattering.'

'I kn-kn-KNOW THAT, L-Luigi! S-Sarasaland isn't e-exactly known f-for being c-cold. T-Tell that t-the pyramid is w-w-warmer.'

They ascended the short flight of stairs that led up to the entrance, which was similar to the last door except now topped with a stone snake head. A solid slab of hand-carved rock covered up the door. The entrance was 'guarded' by two statues of Serpci herself, both holding a snake-shaped staff but one holding it higher than the other.

Daisy knocked on the slab. 'So, is t-there an invisible d-d-door h-here, or...?'

Polterkitty, cursing for a moment that only one mortal could understand her at a time, shook her head. She walked over to the statue with its arm raised. Checking to make sure that the others were watching her, she grabbed the raised arm with her mouth and moved it down to match the other statue.

'Uh, are you sure you should be doing that?' Luigi asked.

As if to answer his question, the eyes of both statues glowed. The stone slab blocking the door shook about, loosening some sand, before it slid upwards far enough to reveal the entire door behind it.

'Oh.' Daisy said. 'Why t-though?'

Polterkitty shrugged.

'Is t-the entire f-floor l-like that?'

The kitty didn't answer, and just gave her an awkward stare.

'Oh j-j-joy.'

'Well,' Luigi said. 'We won't get it over and done with if we don't go inside.'

The inside of the 'ancient' tomb was, as promised, much warmer than the outside. Right after all four members of the party got inside, Daisy relaxed her muscles.

'Ooh yeah...' She murmured. 'That's the stuff.'

Luigi shined his flashlight across the room. It certainly felt like he had entered a tomb, yet one that was refurbished to be a comfortable living space. The heater in the corner of the room, though painted to match the sandy walls, ruined the otherwise impressive illusion. A cupboard, a lounge, a leaf fan... the four torches surrounding the coffin in the middle couldn't quite keep up the ancient façade.

The light of the 'moon' - actually a powerful ceiling light - shone down on the sarcophagus through a hole in the ceiling. All four torches lit themselves at once, the flames bursting from thin air.

Luigi flinched. 'Wah!'

Polterpup sniffed the air, sensing about ten forms of danger. 'I have a bad feeling about this...'

'Y-Yeah. Me too.'

Luigi's nerves went stiff when he shone his light over another picture of him on the wall. Whoever this Serpci was, she clearly knew who he was. And that thought made him shudder.

Daisy, very casually, approached the slightly-open sarcophagus. 'Now let's see what treasures you're hiding.'

'Daisy? Don't! You could-'

The princess ignored his warning, and pushed the lid open just a little bit more. She immediately regretted it when she saw who lay inside.

'Uh, Luigi? I, uh, think I found her.'

Serpci looked so calm and relaxed, lying in her resting place with her arms crossed. Until her eyes shot wide open.

'EEK!'

Daisy jumped back, landing inelegantly on her rear on top of a circular carving in the floor. Serpci exited her sarcophagus, floating in a way very akin to a snake slithering through a grassy thicket. Her body and arms moved in an almost hypnotic fashion.

'I am Serpci Sphynx, ruler of the sands.' She chanted. 'What brings you to my magnificent lands?'

She stared down at the terrified princess, her gentle yet domineering glare practically forcing an answer. Not that Daisy would allow herself to look scared much longer.

'Listen Queenie!' She yelled. 'I don't have time for this. Just give me the button so we can get out of here!'

Serpci just giggled. Luigi backed away just a bit. Just a bit.

'You seem quite cocky, my brave little sweetie.' The pharaoh mused. 'What makes you think you can beat this Nefertiti?'

Daisy scoffed. 'Please. We captured every ghost below you and we'll do the same to you!'

The smile on Serpci's face dropped. Completely. It morphed into a small frown and then a scowl.

'Excuse me?' She questioned. 'Did you just say you captured every ghost before me? Every one?'

'Yep! So how about you save yourself some trouble and give us any elevator buttons and/or portraits you have on you now?'

'Including the king?'

'Uh, you mean that delusional actor? Yeah... why him?'

Serpci's body language hardly changed at all, aside from her clenched fist, but her orange aura shifted to a more red colour. Luigi squeaked in alarm, while Daisy regretted a decision for the second time.

'You captured my sweet, sweet husband?!' Serpci yelled.

Daisy did a double-take. 'Wait, your hus-? That guy was your husband?!'

Luigi could feel the angry vibes emanating from the pharaoh, even after she regained her composure.

'For your crimes against my sweet William MacFrights, you shall now be trapped in my tomb for a-thousand-and-one nights!'

She snapped her fingers, and on its cue the carving beneath Daisy opened up. She had all of half-a-second to even comprehend her situation before she plummeted down screaming into the chamber below.

'DAISY!'

Polterpup stepped forward and growled at Serpci, to which she paid no mind at all. If anything, she floated over to Luigi much closer than he was comfortable with.

'AAAHHHH-! Oof!'

Daisy landed on her rear again, this time after a much higher fall. Whatever she landed on was hard as rock, yet covered in what felt like snake scales. She looked up, and saw the hole that she fell through. It was at least two storeys above her.

'Greaaat...'

She had no time to check out her new surroundings, as the platform beneath her disappeared just like the one above.

'WAAAH!'

This fall ended quicker, and a little more softly. Instead of hard rock, she landed in a pile of sand. Somehow managing to get her head stuck in the grains.

'Now that she's out of the way,' Serpci said to a terrified Luigi. 'You can be mine forever! Don't you know? I'm your biggest fan!'

Luigi's cheeks turned a deep shade of red. 'Y-You are?'

'Oh, I love you, Luigi! You're so brave and glorious. And with that princess gone, you're all mine!'

Luigi gulped back bile. 'Um, I-I'm taken. And, uh, aren't y-you married?'

Serpci giggled again, and blew him a 'kiss' made entirely of a small sandy blast to the face. He shivered, and fought the urge to sneeze.

'Don't be silly, Luigi! I don't love you like that. My sweet William could never be replaced. But I still want you. And my boss has promised me that I will have you on the walls forever!'

Luigi's eyes darted to the hole. He took one step to the left to get around the pharaoh ghost, but she kept her face inches away from his.

'Oh boy, would you look at the time!' He said. 'Gotta go!'

And, with that, he leapt into the hole after Daisy, with Polterpup and Polterkitty diving right after him.

'You get back here, Luigi! You will be mine!'

Then it dawned on her: perhaps Luigi being forever lost in her chambers wasn't so bad after all. Someone as amazing as him could survive the traps with ease.

Polterpup caught Luigi just before he hit the ground, guiding him down into the bottom of the pit nice and gently. Once Luigi's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw Daisy still stuck in the sand.

He gasped. 'Daisy!'

Both Luigi and Polterpup grabbed onto her legs and managed to yank her out. Polterkitty, standing off to the side, wasn't sure what to do. Daisy fell flat on her face and tried to sit herself up. Luigi's heart didn't relax; she looked hazy.

'Daisy, say something!' He said.

No response.

'Daisy?'

'Ah… AHH-CHOOO!'

Sand flew out of her mouth and nose, and the sound echoed in the tiny space. Now with that over, she was able to get up onto her feet as though it never happened.

'Welp, I guess we're here now.' She said. 'What's it like having a fangirl?'

'I don't like it.'

They were trapped in a circular chamber, lit only by the dim light of Luigi's torch, its bottom filled up with sand.

'So,' Daisy said, admiring the way her voice echoed. 'Did you have a plan when you jumped down here? Or did you just-?'

'Jump down here without thinking? Yep.'

'Eh, it's not like I would've done anything smarter.' She turned to the ghost cat. 'Alright, Kitty. Tell me you know what to do, or I'm gonna have to hurt you.'

Polterkitty flinched. Knowing well that Daisy had no way of understanding her, she delivered her information to Luigi.

'She says that she hasn't been here in a while,' He translated. 'But she remembers the puzzles kinda well. At least, she knows how to get us out of here.

Polterkitty turned herself around and headed for the closest thing the chamber had to a 'corner'. She dug through the sand, making quick work of it thanks to her massive paws, until she uncovered another Serpci statue resting by the wall. Like one of the statues before, this statue had its arm raised. She grabbed the raised arm and slid it into its proper position, prompting the eyes to glow. One of the walls on the chamber slid down and sunk into the sand, revealing a small hallway.

'Okay, I get it.' Daisy said. 'There's gonna be rooms with puzzles we gotta solve, and they involve something to do with these statues. Correct?'

Polterkitty nodded, to which Daisy sighed. The princess stepped up into the hallway, shaking sand off her mismatched shoes, and helped her male partner lift himself and the Poltergust up the small step.

'I joked about it,' Daisy said. 'But seriously, that queenie is creeping me the heck out! The way she spoke of having you on her wall, forever? What is wrong with her?'

'She might be the creepiest one yet...' Luigi added.

As the group walked down the small hallway that Polterkitty could barely fit her body through, the Panthergeist thought about Serpci's actions. Not once did the pharaoh even hint that she wanted to 'have him on the walls forever'.

She growled to herself, knowing well that Master had something to do with it. But she wouldn't question it; Master always knew best. Yet, she began to wonder, did Master really know best?

'I believe every ghost deserves a second chance, if they're willing to cooperate. You're currently on chance number eleven right now, Ms Gravely.'

Wherever King Boo went off to when he wasn't discussing with her was beyond Hellen's capacity to care. All that mattered was that whenever he did return, he had very few nice words to say.

He didn't even sound angry. Just disappointed. Which Hellen saw as much, much worse. And it was beginning to make her nervous. She tapped her fingers together as he stared at her the same way headlights looked at a deer.

'N-Now Sweetie,' Hellen said. 'I know the situation seems very unfortunate right now.'

'Understatement of the century. Those hillbilly twins, of all ghosts, got close. Frustratingly close. It would've been preferable if they weren't close at all.'

'Oh, don't worry about that! Serpci is a powerful fighter, and there's no way she will pass up the opportunity to have her hero framed on the wall!'

'Uh huh. Didn't you say that Amadeus and Ug were the most trustworthy of them all? And that caveman lost to the princess with hardly any experience at all.'

Hellen wiped away some sweat from her brow. 'Uh, well... if that confounded man hadn't won them over with his diplomacy, they would've succeeded.'

'Surrendering is just as bad as getting beaten.'

The hotel owner felt ill. She watched the mortals navigate the passageway, and use Gooigi to get around a simple poison arrow trap.

'He just... has so much!' She said. 'His Poltergust, that gooey body, that cocky little princess, that horrid dog-!'

'And your pet?'

Hellen chuckled. 'My sweet Polterkitty is too clever for that. If all else fails, she'll double-cross that plumber and hand him to me directly. And if she doesn't... well, that's what the electroshock collars are for.'

The nonchalant way she said that managed to unnerve even King Boo.

'Uh, riiight.'

The passageway wasn't that long, and with Polterkitty's help getting up the ladder at the end wasn't so bad either. The top of the ladder lead to a much smaller corridor, with barely enough surface area to fit all four of them. At the end of the tiny corridor was one of many sarcophaguses to be found in the pyramid's walls.

Daisy, with a weary sigh, approached the coffin that served as their way out.

'Be careful when you open that.' Polterkitty warned. 'When you open it, there might be some-'

Of course, Daisy couldn't understand her warning, and opened the coffin up without hesitation. It took her by surprise when three bats swooped out of the golden husk, squeaking incessantly as they flew by her head.

'AH!'

Like most wild animals, the bats had no intention of fighting and simply flew away back down the ladder. One in particular bumped its head into the wall on its way down.

Daisy groaned. 'Okay, mind telling me why that coffin had bats in it?!'

Polterkitty shrugged, much to the princess's frustration. Against his better judgement, Luigi peered into the now empty coffin to see that it had no back. It led directly into the next room.

He gulped. 'H-Here goes nothing...'

On the other side was the massive chamber that Daisy was only able to see for a brief moment. Though not as big as the atrium of the Garden Suites, it had to be at least as big as the Great Stage. Coffins with snake heads lined the walls. The middle of three doors stood underneath a giant headless statue big enough to take up the entire wall, and had two snake sculptures holding boulders in their mouths guarding it. The dusty brown bricks that made up the walls and floor, unlike those in Castle MacFrights, seemed genuine. In the middle of the giant room was the pit that they were just in.

Daisy's eyes drifted up to a fourth door, one that no doubt was the way out. Just one problem - the door was on a platform near the ceiling, with seemingly no way of climbing up to it.

'Kitty, please,' She said. 'For the love of Grambi, tell me that non-ghosts can get out of here. PLEASE.'

Polterkitty explained the floor to Luigi, pausing every now and then so he could relay the message.

'This room is kinda like an escape room, uh, thing.' She explained. 'There are three puzzle rooms you have to beat, and once you do sand will fill the room and grant you access to that door up there. The thing is... the traps are made for ghosts, who can't die. Obviously. But since you're both mortals, the traps might kill you.'

'Sorry?' Daisy asked, after Luigi finished. 'The traps might do what?'

Luigi gulped. 'That's what she said.'

The princess shuddered. She glanced at the three doors, dreading what lay behind each one of them.

'Then what are we waiting for?' She said. 'It's either that, starve to death, or get captured by King Boo. If we're gonna die, I wanna do it on my own terms!'

Luigi managed to smile; her enthusiasm and determination were exactly what he needed.

'And I think the first room we should try is... that one!' She declared, pointed at the rightmost door. 'For no other reason than it's the closest.'

Luigi looked at that door, and got an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Regardless, he followed the rest of his group through the door and into the first room.

Sand covered the entire floor, aside from four randomly placed platforms that stuck out from the dunes at varying heights. One platform stood in the back corner, holding another Serpci statue. The 'ceiling' consisted of a giant steel slab, held up by sturdy chains.

'So if I have this right, I just gotta fix up the arm on the statue. Right?' Daisy asked, to which the Panthergeist nodded. 'Sweet!'

She ran across the sandy floor, over to the statue, without a care in the world despite the feeling of dread she still had.

'Wait, Daisy!' Luigi yelled. 'Don't-!'

She stopped running the moment her foot touched the platform, but the statue sunk into the stone anyway.

'Uh oh...' She muttered.

At first, everything was quiet. The silence broke when a bronze snake head popped out of each of the other platforms. All three heads turned to the point where one of the chains connected to the wall.

'I don't like where this is going...' Daisy muttered.

Everything hit the fan when the snake heads opened their jaws, revealing three lasers that all aimed directly at the chain. That point of the chain began to glow bright orange as the metal heated up to its melting point.

Daisy laughed like someone had a knife to her neck. 'Those lasers aren't real, right? Right? RIGHT?!'

She was quickly proven wrong when the chain shattered, leaving it to fall limp to the ground. The steel slab above moved down a foot with a heart-stopping thud, stopped just barely by the other chains.

'WHAT THE HELL?!' Daisy shouted, her heart nearly giving up on the spot. 'Are you kidding me right now?!'

Any hope that either may have had that it would be the only chain to break was immediately dashed when the snake heads slowly began to turn their lasers towards another chain.

'M-M-Maybe there's another way- oh...'

Luigi turned around to run back out the door, with his friends in tow, only to see that a stone slab with Serpci's face carved into it had blocked his only way out. The lasers already began their work, heating up the next of the few chains holding up their metallic doom.

'Luigi!' Polterkitty yelled. 'This is part of the puzzle. All you have to do is-'

Daisy cried out in frustration, and stumbled over to the middle platform. Emphasis on stumble, as her movements were clumsy on the bumpy ground. Caring none for the grains infesting her shoes, she climbed up onto the platform and bashed her fist into the metal snake's forehead.

It didn't shatter, surprisingly, but it closed its jaws. With its purpose served, it disappeared back into the platform like it was never there at all. Daisy muttered many exasperated swears to herself. The only thing that was decent was a bewildered 'that WORKED?!'.

'Yeah, that.' Polterkitty said. 'You do that. I'd do one, but breaking the snake heads is considered a foul, and it drops the ceiling immediately.'

Another chain shattered, scattering its hot metal pieces onto Luigi. He cringed from the hot metal singeing his skin, his clothes just barely creating a thin barrier. He pointed at the laser in the left corner opposite the one with the statue. It was the tallest of the platforms, being taller than Luigi himself. Polterpup gave him a tail salute, and floated over to the snake head. He slammed his entire body onto it, deactivating it and sending it away in seconds.

'You're doing it!'

The remaining laser, now on its own, had begun work on the next set of chains.

'I got this!' Daisy declared.

The final platform was tall, but nothing that Daisy couldn't handle. She hoisted herself up on top with barely a sweat, at least compared to the way she was already sweating. With a confident smirk, she bopped it on the head.

Nothing happened. Her heart racing, she bopped it again. And again. And again.

'Why isn't it working?!' She yelled.

Another chain broke, sending the steel ceiling of death one step closer to our mortal heroes.

'P-Polterkitty,' Luigi said, about ready to throw up. 'W-Why won't it work?'

Polterkitty did not want to admit that she had no idea. Initially. Now that she peered at the snake head closer, it was surrounded by a similar energy to the paranormal gates. The difference was that only ghosts could see it.

'You got an answer as to why it won't work yet?!' Daisy demanded, yearning to smash the damn thing.

Neither Luigi nor Polterkitty responded. They were too focused on a ripple in the sand, one that moved around and seemed to be approaching Daisy. The man saw nothing but a slight shift in the sand, but the cat saw a ghost.

'Daisy!' Luigi yelled. 'There's a Slinker coming right for you!'

He set foot onto the sand, following right behind the moving ripple. Yet another chain collapsed, leaving only a few more left. The steel slab was now so down low, it touched the highest tip of Daisy's hair.

'Any time would be nice!' She cried, hearing the Slinker laughing right in her ear.

Luigi wasted no time and flashed the Strobulb, without even waiting for it to charge up.

'Hey!' The Slinker said upon realising he had been stunned. 'Bud, what makes you think that you can-?'

Luigi also wasted no time listening to this Slinker speak, and got to sucking him up straight away. Even on terrain as rough as the sandy dunes, he managed to keep his grip no matter how much the ghost panicked. Daisy watched him in awe. How in the Underwhere did he manage to do that so well in such awful conditions?

'I'm suing whatever company you work for for this!' The Slinker yelled.

The plumber, more than a little fed up, slammed him into one of the platforms. As he bashed the Slinker's face in, Luigi noticed something about the slams. They came out far quicker and stronger. No doubt the result of that upgrade. The Slinker had been reduced to cosmic atoms in the Poltergust by the time another chain was broken. Daisy ducked as the ceiling nearly snapped her neck.

'Now, Daisy!'

With all her might, Daisy slammed both her fists into the head of the snake. Whatever power the Slinker had over it was gone, and Daisy's bash connected. The snake head closed its jaws, and disappeared.

'Tell me, for the love of JAYDES, that we are done with this room!'

As if to answer her question, horizontal paranormal gates formed just under the ceiling to keep it in place. Luigi fell to his knees, holding back tears of fear and relief. Daisy resisted doing the same thing, sweating like crazy. Polterpup ran into his owner's arms, which calmed him down just a little.

The Serpci statue from before re-emerged, and Daisy ran over to it and lowered its arm. Its eyes glowed purple, and the stone slab that blocked their way out lifted. Luigi was too exhausted to celebrate, but Daisy wasn't.

'Holy crap, we did it!' She declared. She then added, in a far sadder voice, 'Only two more to go...'

Luigi wiped his brow and turned to the Panthergeist. 'Gattina, please tell me... that was the hardest of the three... please.'

Polterkitty's eyes darted back and forth. 'Well, it's certainly the quickest one.'

The plumber let out a sound akin to a mix of a sigh, a groan, and a whimper.

'Hey, if we got through this, then the next two will be easy!' Daisy said, slowly walking backwards towards the door. 'I-I hope… And, since I don't trust this ceiling to not crush us, we're moving on right now.'

Once she got her hand on the door handle, she opened it and dashed right on through. She ran through it so quickly that it slammed shut just as quickly as it was opened. By the time Luigi processed the situation, she was already on the other side.

'Ooo-kay?' He said. 'I-I guess we should go then.'

Polterpup yipped, and hopped right through the door to rejoin Daisy. Luigi reached for the door handle, unaware of something awaiting him in the sands. A rattlesnake stuck its head out of the dunes, right behind him. It bared its sharp teeth and licked the air. Soaking its fangs with its venom, it rattled its tail and pounced. Luigi and Polterkitty spun around, alerted to the rattle. By the time they witnessed the reptile leaping at them, it was too late.

'AHHH!'

Luigi fell to the floor, screaming in pain as the snake sunk its fangs deep into his leg. It pierced through his thick overalls and began to inject its venom into his bloodstream.

'G-GET OFF ME!'

He flailed his leg around to shake it off, but it only made it dig its teeth in further. The weight of his legs suddenly increased, far quicker than it should have. In fact, every part of his body began to feel heavy. Even his eyes struggled to stay open. He could feel the world getting darker.

'ROWWWRR!'

The moment she saw the snake chomp his mortal flesh, Polterkitty grabbed it by the neck and dug her teeth in as deep as she could.

'LUIGI!'

Daisy burst back through the door, and gasped upon seeing her plumber falling unconscious on the ground. As soon as her eyes settled on the snake, she screamed. Polterpup was about ready to rip that snake to shreds, and only stopped himself from doing so because Polterkitty was doing a fine enough job of that herself.

'LUIGI!' Daisy screamed again, falling to her knees.

Luigi looked up at her grief-stricken face; no way he was going to let this be the final thing he saw. He reached up for her, and she grabbed his hand so tight that it hurt.

'Daisy?' He said, weakly.

'Luigi?!' Her voice came out worn and hoarse. 'Oh no, you are not gonna die on me! HELL no!'

He gave her the strongest smile he could. 'Don't worry. I'm not done yet.'

Polterkitty almost turned the snake into putty in her teeth, but didn't let go until its body stopped shaking. Once she was absolutely certain the snake had stopped moving, she ripped it out and plopped it onto the sandy floor. Every other snake in the room stayed well away from her.

'Luigi, you better tell me you're not going to die!' Daisy yelled.

'It's okay.' He said, breathing harshly. 'I'm not going that easily.'

Polterpup whimpered, and nudged his owner's cheek with his nose. Luigi used his free hand to give him a quick stroke on the head.

Daisy wiped her eyes and looked to Polterkitty. 'Please Kitty, tell me that Luigi will survive.'

With a big grin, the cat nodded. 'Miao-aow!'

'She says that... that snake's venom will make me sluggish for a bit... but if we just relax for a few minutes... I'll be okay.'

Tears threatened to fall from Daisy's face once again, but this time from all the relief slamming into her at once. She knelt down to the floor and rested her head on his chest. His heart-rate was scarily slow, but slowly returning to its usual pace.

'I don't feel safe in this room.' Daisy said. 'Can we drag him out?'

Polterkitty nodded.

'Alright. Gotta be careful...'

Daisy grabbed him by his underarms, and slowly dragged him out the door.

'You know,' Luigi said. 'I should be good to go now.'

'Oh no, my sweet Luigi!' Daisy replied. 'You are resting here until I know you'll be safe.'

He chose not to argue with her. No harm in being sure. Both him and Daisy let the moment sink in, knowing well they'd have to go back into uncertain doom afterwards. But for the time being, they could relax.

Grambi knows they needed it.

Author Notes - I really liked what I did with Serpci, especially since it sets her apart from other people's versions of her. The reasoning behind making her a Luigi fangirl is that there's literally a carving of him in her chamber. I really can't imagine any other reason as to why that would be there. When I was first 'planning' (if you could call it that) the story, Serpci's admiration for Luigi was going to be a revelation right at the end. However, I realised that it could be used during the Tomb Suites chapter to give her motivation and depth.

I tend to forget half of what I've actually written, and that can make proofreading a fun experience. Thus, I bore witness to a delightfully pointless change from the original that I totally forgot I even added. In the original scene, once everyone fell down the pit, it was Luigi who (metaphorically) sneezed his head off. For some reason, Just-Slightly-Younger Me changed it to Daisy. I just think that's funny. Maybe it was to balance out the suffering just a little more. I dunno.