Hey, remember when I said this would be the last part of the prologue? I lied! But hey, at least this means that the NEXT chapter will be the last part of the prologue! For sure this time!

...No, really!

... :c

"So uh, you said you'd show me around a bit on the way there, Yassie?" Luigi asked, trying to change the subject to anything else at all other than himself as the duo continued to make their way westward.

"Oh yeah, of course!" Yassie said, nodding agreeably. "You won't find a better tour guide to show you around this city than me! So you just relax and let me show you all the, uh, 'wonderful' things this city has to offer. If you have any questions at any time, feel free to ask!"

"Okay..." Lugi muttered, a question already eating at his curiosity. "In that case, why is the sky so dark around here? There isn't a cloud in the sky, it's just... Slowly getting darker the more we walk this way..." Luigi let out a small shudder.

"Ah, that's actually one of the great mysteries of New Appelle." Yassie stated, before pointing at a huge, strange looking building a short ways off in the distance that reached high into the sky, higher than almost any of the other skyscrapers that dotted the city. However, unlike most of the skyscrapers, which all had much more modern looking facades, even the ones that had been standing for decades, this building's exterior was unlike anything Luigi had ever seen in real life. It looked like something straight out of some sort of bizarre science fiction movie about what buildings would look like in the future from the perspective of fifty years ago. The blue and yellow metal that made up almost the entirety of the building reflected dimly and eerily in the sunlight, and despite its enormous size, there did not appear to be a single window anywhere on it. There were, however, an incredible number of bright, flashing and blinking lights in many different colors that ran up and down the building that were clearly visible even in broad daylight under the darkened sky, making it look almost like a giant pop can pretending to be a Christmas tree. At the very tip top of the building, Luigi could make out a bright yellow star shaped structure, that he instantly remembered noticing in just about every single picture he'd ever seen of New Appelle.

"Haha, yeah, that's the reaction most people have when they see this thing up close for the first time." Yassie chuckled, stopping alongside Luigi as the plumber had involuntarily rooted himself in place to stare up at the bizarre building in awe.

"Mama mia..." Luigi muttered, unable to take his eyes off of the building. "What is this place? I swear I've seen it in almost every picture and TV show I've ever seen of this city, but I don't think I've ever actually heard anyone talk about it."

"Well, that's probably because most people choose to act like it doesn't even exist." Yassie said, drawing a look of confusion from Luigi. "It's called the Twinkle Tower, though it's generally known better these days by its more infamous moniker, the Terror Tower."

Luigi gulped. "T-T-T-T-Terror T-Tower? D-Do I even want to know why it's called that?"

"Well, it probably has something to do with all the vicious, wild monsters and criminals that roam its floors from top to bottom." Yassie stated, causing Luigi to jump up in shock.

"W-What?! Monsters and criminals?!" Luigi repeated in disbelief. "What in the world are they doing in there?"

Yassie shrugged. "No one knows. It was built about sixty or so years ago by the reclusive billionaire Tomithy Twinkle the 3rd, apparently spending over half of his fortune just to construct the thing. At the time, it was considered to be some sort of modern marvel and, ha, 'work of art', drawing visitors from all over the world who wanted to see it in person. Unfortunately, around a year or so after its construction, Twinkle suddenly shut the doors off from the public and locked himself up on the top floor, never to be seen again. No explanation was ever given, and he was already considered a wackjob as it was, so people just gradually forgot about the building. For whatever reason, however, around the same time that Twinkle closed the doors, the skies around the building started darkening in broad daylight, and they've been like that ever since. You can't even tell from far away, either, just when you're near the building itself, which just makes it all even creepier. No one even dared to come near the tower for decades, until about ten or so years ago when the famous TV reporter Anderson Koopa conducted an investigation of the building on live TV to try and solve its mysteries once and for all. Of course, all that did was add more mysteries, as that was when people first discovered that it was infested with monsters."

Luigi let out a shudder. "W-Why hasn't anyone tried doing anything about it? Surely it's not safe for such a place to be standing in the middle of such a great big city full of people!"

"Actually, that's another weird thing about it, as if it needed anything else." Yassie began, shaking her head. "For whatever reason, the monsters inside never leave the building, or if they do, they do it when absolutely no one is looking, which would have to be quite a feat in this city. They only bother people who come into the building itself, and if the stories are to be believed, they just get stronger and stronger the higher the floor you're on. No one has ever gotten any further than the fourties and survived to tell about it, at least no one with a shred of credibility."

"H-How many floors are there?" Luigi asked, gazing back up at the star shaped protruberance that capped the building.

"A hundred, with Twinkle's personal living quarters at the very top." Yassie answered. "You wouldn't even believe the amount of rumors that have been started about the place, some people even claim that Twinkle is still alive and waiting at the top floor for someone to make it through to him so he can give them his entire fortune. Of course, he'd be about 170 years old now if that were the case, and he was a notorious skinflint when he was alive, so he'd never willingly give even a cent of his money to anyone. It's stupid rumors like that that cause so many people to go missing in the building in a vain attempt to reach the top, never to see the light of day ever again, seemingly joining the ranks of the monsters inside. Pretty much the most prevalant rumor about the place is that it drives those who enter it insane, but you'd have to be absolutely mad to go in there in the first place... But hey, don't worry about it, Luigi, there's no way we'd ever have to go anywhere near the place, unless there's a Dream Caster in there somewhere. But what are the odds of that?"

"...Painfully high, now that you've said that..." Luigi whimpered.

"Oh, stop it, don't tell me you're THAT superstitious!" Yassie said, folding her arms and giving Luigi a look of disapproval. "You know what, let's just forget all about it, we still have somewhere to get to, don't we?"

"O-Oh right..." Luigi muttered, nodding his head eagerly as he began following Yassie towards their destination once again, all too happy to forget about Twinkle Tower. Suddenly, a thought entered Luigi's mind. "Hey, wait, didn't you say you had someplace you had to be, Yassie?"

"Huh? I did?" Yassie asked in confusion.

"Yeah, you said you had something to do that was in the same direction as Merlon's house, and that you'd get it done after you showed me to his place." Luigi reminded her, not wanting to cause her any trouble.

"Oh, well..." Yassie stopped momentarily as she muttered to herself under her breath, trying to remember what it was that she was doing before she had met up with Luigi. A few seconds later, however, she merely shrugged her shoulders and continued on her way. "Like I said then, this whole deal is MUCH more important than whatever it was I was doing, and I'm sure whatever it is can wait until I have some free time. So don't worry about it, Luigi!"

"Er, okay, if you say so..." Luigi said, not entirely as convinced as Yassie was.

"Anyways, look, we're coming up on the most famous part of town, the Circle!" Yassie said in excitement, as she pointed ahead of her. They were beginning to enter back into a much more heavily populated part of the city, but Luigi could still make out a particularly neon area where Yassie had pointed. "You know what the Circle is, right?"

"Uh..." Luigi scratched his head as he struggled to remember anything he had heard about New Appelle before. "That's... The city's entertainment hub, right? Where all those theaters and fancy shmancy restaurants and stuff are?"

"Yup, that's it!" Yassie said in confirmation. "All we gotta do is pass through there, and our destination will be right on the other side!"

"Oh, okay." Luigi said, happy to know the trip wouldn't be too time consuming, as he already disliked walking around such a crowded, busy place. He quickly frowned however, as he noticed just how packed the streets and sidewalks in front of them were, their movement slowing down to a crawl. "Uh, are you sure we're gonna be able to get through, though...?"

"Of course, why wouldn't w-" Yassie began, not looking where she was going as she walked straight into the back of a big, burly looking blue man wearing a suit and a pair of sunglasses, which is also what most of the other people who were standing in front of the duo looked like, strangely enough.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I-"

"Hey, watch where you're walkin', ya putz!" the blue man growled, shooting an intimidating glare Yassie's way. "Don't even THINK you're gonna cut in line!"

"Line?" Yassie repeated quizzically as she rubbed her nose in pain. "What line? The whole street is packed, how do you call that a line?"

"We can call it whatever we want, toots!" the man said menacingly. "And no matter what you wanna call it, you ain't gettin' through!"

"But we just need to get to the other side!" Yassie pleaded, trying to find even the smallest gap in the group of horrifically muscled, suit wearing goons that blocked the road off entirely. "The fate of the world rests on our shoulders, for crying out loud!"

"Tough luck then, kid, guess you'll have to take the long way around!" the man said, sneering in delight at Yassie and Luigi's plight.

"Jeez, you're the biggest jerk I've ever met!" Yassie stated indignantly, which only seemed to please the man more. "What are you freaks doing here, anyways?"

"Why, we're here for the Legitimate Businessman's Association's annual septic worker's convention, of course!" the man explained, all too casually. "As you can see, it's a VERY popular event, and until we can all get in, you and everyone else are just gonna have to wait!"

"That's... That's..." Yassie began, practically fuming as she struggled to figure out the perfect insult to give the man. Luigi, not wanting at all to get in another fight so soon, let alone against such a beast of a man, quickly stepped in before Yassie could speak.

"H-Hey, I'm a plumber, th-that's a septic worker, right?" Luigi asked, trying to sound as polite and friendly as possible. "C-Can't I get through, at least? And uh, bring my 'assistant' along with me?"

The man stared at Luigi for a moment before bursting out into obnoxious laughter. "Ha, yeah right, pal, that's a good one! You don't look anything LIKE a plumber! And even if you were one, where's your toolbox, huh?"

"Where's your's?" Luigi countered, drawing to attention the fact that the man nor any of his clones didn't seem to be carrying anything either. Nor did they look like septic workers in any way, shape, or form. Hearing this, the man simply glowered at Luigi.

"Oh, I don't think you WANT to see where mine is, pally." the man said, puffing his chest up and towering over Luigi. "That'd probably cause you a considerable amount of pain, and I don't think you or your little 'assistant' there would like that very much, now would you?"

"Er..." Luigi glanced at Yassie out of the corner of his eye, who still seemed to be fumingly angry, and then back at the man, who looked about ready to turn the two into dogfood. Plastering a horribly insincere smile on his face, Luigi nervously spoke back up. "I-I think taking the long way sounds like a great idea, l-let's go Yassie!"

Without giving Yassie or the man a chance to say anything further, Luigi grabbed Yassie by the wrist and hastily dragged her away from the scene, not stopping until the terrifying group were out of sight.

"Ooh, I can't BELIEVE those jerks!" Yassie shouted once they were out of earshot. "Who does they think they are, blocking the busiest street in the whole city and telling people they can't get through?!"

"You know, I don't think those guys are really septic workers..." Luigi said, shaking his head.

"No kidding!" Yassie said, scoffing in disbelief. "Legitimate Businessman's Association my butt, it WOULD be those freaks pulling this kind of stunt!"

"I take it that they're not very legitmate at all, are they?" Luigi asked of the incredibly suspicious sounding association.

"They're about as legitimate as a wooden coin." Yassie said, shaking her head in disgust. "Their supposed headquarters is in the Circle, and it stands out like a sore thumb. Everyone who goes in and out of there is a suit and sunglasses wearing creep, and whatever it is that they're doing in there, it is DEFINITELY NOT legitimate in any way, shape, or form!"

"Maybe it's best if we avoid them, then..." Luigi said, not wanting anything to do with such a creepy sounding group. "We have enough on our plate as it is, after all."

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Yassie said bitterly, unhappy that she wasn't able to give them a piece of her mind, or of her boot. "I guess this way you'll be able to see a little bit more of the city, at least..."

And so the duo begrudgingly began walking back towards Merlon's house, passing by the sinister tower once more on the way there. Arriving back at Merlon's, the duo this time headed north, towards what Luigi thought had to be the world's biggest parking lot, with cars of all shapes and sizes packed in like sardines as far as the eye could see. Far off in the distance, Luigi could just make out an impressive looking stadium peeking out from amidst the sea of cars, the noise that emanated from it faintly audible even from where Luigi and Yassie were standing.

"Wow, I've never seen so many cars in one place before!" Luigi exclaimed, as he and Yassie began wading northeastward through the sea of cars. "Is that where the septic worker's convention is being held?"

"No, that's what the parking lot usually looks like when the Chomps are in town." Yassie said dismissively. "They're New Appelle's baseball team, and they're the most dominating team in the league by far. They've won the last seven championships, and they don't seem ready to slow down any time soon."

"Wow, that's... Impressive." Luigi stated, though to be honest, he didn't particularly keep that up to date with professional sports.

"Yeah, that's the Chomps." Yassie said, with more than a hint of disdain in her voice. "The league has only been in existence for a little over a hundred years, and they've won the championship 44 times now, so yeah, to say their fanbase is big would be an understatement. To go along with that, their stadium is the biggest in the league by far, with 200,000 seats that are routinely filled every single game."

"200,000?!" Luigi repeated in shock. "Mama mia, that's ridiculous!"

"Not as ridiculous as the prices, you don't even WANT to know how much those people are having to pay for those seats." Yassie sighed in disgust.

"I take it you're not a very big fan of them, Yassie?" Luigi asked with a smirk, noticing the less than enthused body language that Yassie had been using.

"Nope." she replied, shaking her head firmly. "I just don't see the appeal in rooting for a team that never loses. Besides, I doubt I could afford to be a fan of them even if I wanted to be..."

With not much left to say on the subject, the two continued to make their way through the maze of a parking lot, and after what felt like an hour at least, finally made it through to the other side.

"Yeesh, remind me not to go this way anymore..." Yassie said in exasperation once the two had made it out. "I swear, how people even find their cars and get out of this mess with them, I'll never know."

As Yassie continued to mutter dirtily under her breath at the parking lot, Luigi took a moment to survey the area that they had arrived in. Amidst the ever-present throngs of people who crowded the streets, the most predominant landmark in the area was the giant blue and pink radio tower that, fittingly, towered over everything else in the vicinity. Nearby the tower, which bore the letters WONK in big vertical letters down its side, was a rather unassuming building with a gigantic sattelite dish and antenna mounted atop it, with a sign on its facade identifying it as the Mushroom Kingdom Broadcasting Network's television station. It seemed unusually busy compared to the places around it, with people rushing to and fro inside and out as if they were on fire, causing Luigi to figure that some sort of breaking news must be going on that had everyone up in a tizzy.

Besides those two places, the only other building of note in the area was a sprawling museum, with architecture that did not match anything else around it at all, looking as if it were the only remaining relic of an old city that had had a newer, flashier one built around it. A large, somewhat decrepit looking sign in front of it proudly proclaimed it to be the New Appelle Museum of Everything, though by 'everything', they apparently didn't count patrons, as Luigi couldn't see a single person anywhere near the museum itself, and its parking lot was comically empty compared to virtually everywhere else around it, with one lone, beat up car resting in the museum's single reserved parking space.

"So, what's the deal with these places, Yassie?" Luigi asked as the two began moving again, hoping to get Yassie's mind off of the accursed parking lot that she was still cursing.

"Huh? Oh, right, sorry for the ranting..." Yassie said in slight embarrassment, before clearing her throat and putting her tour guide voice back on. "Ahem... Well, as you can see, this is the city's main information hub, where all the newsworthy events from around the city and elsewhere get processed and delivered to the eager, waiting eyes and ears of New Appleians everywhere. Or at least, I'm sure that's what it USED to be like. These days, MKBN spends more time broadcasting their dumb reality shows than anything actually worth watching, and the radio station recently passed ownership to this wackjob that used to live in a sewer in an even worse city than this who rambles on and on about pointless things and utter nonsense like pressing imaginary buttons to do things that would break the laws of reality. People seem to love him though, so go figure. As for the museum, they've been down on business as of late, as no one really seems to want to go to places like it anymore, rather, they just staying home and look the exhibits up on the internet. It's such a pleasant, peaceful place, though, since there's never anyone inside, and the curator is just the nicest old man, you should totally check it out sometime if we ever have the chance, Luigi. I've heard the curator is trying to open a new exhibit to drum up some more business, so who knows, we might be able to help him out!"

"Sure, if we ever have time." Luigi said agreeably, as the duo continued on their way east, Yassie gushing on and on about the museum the whole way. Soon enough, they had made their way to the next part of town, which was easily dominated by the presence of the city's main train station.

"Ah, the train station, the very first place I ever set foot in in New Appelle." Yassie said reminiscingly, before letting out a heavy sigh. "Oh, if only I could somehow talk to my past self and convince her not to get off here... Not that she would have listened to me anyways, but still... Well, regardless of my dumb little whining, the train station still sees a fair amount of business as an alternative for people who can't stand flying or pipe travel. It travels to all the other big cities around here, like Windmoore, and Starsville, provided you can afford the ticket."

As the two continued on their way, this time turning south, they passed by a small shopping center, containing a Chuckola Cola Sports Bar called the Doghouse, a cheap looking inn called the Cloud Nine which Luigi assumed was owned by some sort of awful pun-loving Lakitu judging by its cloud motif sign, a small item shop that didn't appear to have a name at all, and a building at the very end with a name Luigi recognized, Crazy Rowf's Badge Emporium, that had a big 'Coming soon!' banner across its doors, indicating it wasn't open yet.

"I wouldn't recommend the sports bar, obviously." Yassie began, as they strolled past the buildings. "The Dew Drop Inn is a decent little place, regardless of how scuzzy it looks on the outside. The owners are from a place called Nimbus Land, which is like, this totally choice place way up in the clouds, so goodness knows what they're doing in a city like this. The item shop is just your typical every day store, with all the essentials you need for adventuring or anything else, like Mushrooms, Syrup, and Fire Flowers. We should definitely stop in there before we go anywhere, it's never a good idea to go somewhere you've never been before unprepared, especially somewhere potentially dangerous."

"Er, well, I would, if I still had my wallet on me..." Luigi said in chagrin, causing Yassie to instantly bury her face in her hands.

"O-Oh, gosh, I'm sorry, I, I completely forgot about that..."

"Don't worry about it, Yassie." Luigi said quickly, giving her a reassuring look. "I, uh, brought a few Mushrooms and the like with me, so we should be okay for a little while at least."

"Oh, okay... That's a relief." Yassie said, breathing a sigh of relief before smiling knowingly at Luigi. "Silly me, I should've guessed a pro like you would have come prepared!"

"H-Ha, yeah, a pro like me..." Luigi laughed nervously, not bothering to tell Yassie that the only reason he had the items on him was because he had put on an old pair of overalls by mistake and the items had all been ones that were left over inside them from his last adventure with Mario. Which had been a few months ago. He really, really hoped that they wouldn't have to consume said items, as he was sure Mushrooms, regardless of their name, weren't supposed to have nearly such a curious, mushy consistency. And that's to say nothing of the vile, greenish yellow liquid that Luigi was certain at one point was some form of Syrup.

"But anyways..." Yassie continued, breaking Luigi out of his horrified thoughts of the surely inedible and possibly toxic things that lined his pockets. "The badge shop, I obviously know nothing about, other than the fact that it's supposed to be opening any day now, so we should remember to come back when it does to buy some badges. Though, I'm not too sure how much we should trust a person who willingly calls themselves 'crazy'..."

"Yeah, I already know not to..." Luigi muttered under his breath, reminded instantly of the Doogan's sleazy nature and ridiculous prices. He still remembered the asinine and apparently completely legit '0% off' flyer that he had sent his brother in the mail, and could do little more than scoff at the prospect of having to conduct business with him ever again.

...Not that Luigi ever read his brother's mail, of course. Why, that would be almost as bad as if his brother were to have read his secret diary! He just happened to 'accidentally' open a few letters on the way to putting them in his brother's private letterbox. It was an honest mistake, of course, since the letters could've been addressed to either of them, thanks to their confusing last name.

...Not that Luigi ever got any mail in the first place. Well, besides the one from the Waffle Kingdom that DEFINITELY wasn't addressed to his brother, and the ones from Beanish billionaires asking him for his banking information so they could deposit their vast fortunes in it for safe keeping while they flee the country. Luigi knew better than to listen to any of those letters, though, since he knew how pathetic the Beanish to Shroomish coin exchange rate was first hand.

"...Um, Luigi? Helloooo? You still there?"

Luigi was brought back to the present at the sound of Yassie's voice. He soon realized he had been standing in place for over a minute mumbling to himself, which needless to say, had drawn the attention of curious onlookers and the confusion of Yassie.

Putting on another bout of fake laughter that was so loud he began to cough and hack, Luigi nodded his head far too enthusiastically as he began walking without waiting for Yassie, assuming she would follow behind him.

"L-Luigi, wait, that's the way we just came!" Yassie cried out after Luigi, causing him to whip around on a dime and walk back the correct way, his face as red as his brother's hat at this point as people around him started to point and laugh.

"Luigi, are you-"

"I-I'm fine! Perfectly fine!" Luigi shouted, still nodding as Yassie scrambled to catch up with him. Taking a moment to calm down as she reached him, Luigi looked down in embarrassment. "I-I mean... Yeah, I'm... Hey, we're almost there, right?"

"Um... Y-Yeah, it's only a little ways farther..." Yassie said slowly, choosing to ignore what had just happened to spare Luigi any further embarrassment. "It's in this little residential area up here, you really can't miss it."

Moments later, the two indeed reached a cozier, much less populated residential area that was filled with simple brick and brownstone apartment buildings and houses as opposed to the sleek, shiny skyscrapers and businesses that towered over every other square inch of the city. The people that were out and about were much friendlier than those in the other parts of town as well, as nearly everyone they passed took the time to say hello and wish them a good day.

"Wow, this place feels like a totally different city..." Luigi stated, as he smiled and waved back to another citizen who was sitting out on their stoop and enjoying the crisp summer evening.

"Yeah, I know, right?" Yassie said as she did the same. "This is where most of the 'normal' citizens live, the ones who don't drive the big fancy cars and spend all their time talking on the phone to people who are right in front of them. That's not to say it isn't dangerous here too, but most of the people here are good, honest, hard-working folks who try their best to keep trouble out of the area so that they can all live in relative peace. Unfortunately, the further south you go, the slummier and scarier the place gets, but generally, this area right here is the best place in the whole city by far... At least, if you were to ask me."

Nodding along to what Yassie was saying, Luigi's attention was soon drawn to two buildings that stood next to one another, pretty much the only two building that stood out at all in the quiet, unassuming little burg.

"Also, we're here, in case you couldn't tell." Yassie stated, stopping alongside Luigi to look at the two strange looking structures. On the left was a building that was painted in so many different colors that it made Luigi's eyes hurt to look directly at it, with a small sign of lovingly crafted letters emblazoned above its doorway that read 'Helping House'. Directly to the right of it was probably the strangest looking 'house' that Luigi had ever seen. It appeared as if it WAS a regular house at one point, but now there were so many random bits of machinery, wires, and other metal and electrical doohickies protruding every which way from it that it seemed more akin to being the house that Frankenstein built.

"That house that looks like a rainbow yacked on it is called the Helping House." Yassie began, shileding her eyes as she attempted to stare directly at it. "It's run by a group of concerned citizens who want to try and make the city a friendlier place to live, one person at a time. They invite people to come in whenever they have a problem that they need help with, get their information, send them on their way, and then wait for someone else to come in and help them out with whatever it is. In theory, it's the concept of one person helping out another, then that person helping out someone else, and so on and so on, but unfortunately, it's mostly a small group of about ten or so people who take on most all of the problems, as most just come in to get their own problems solved. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, since that's what the place is for in the first place, but it's kinda disheartening to know that seemingly so few people care enough to help their fellow citizens out. I know I probably sound like a broken record, but we should try and drop by sometime when we're not busy, some people post some pretty nice rewards, and it just feels good to help out, y'know?"

"Oh, of course." Luigi said with an understanding nod. "They had a place like this back in Rogueport too, I think. If nothing else, it lets you know that there are at least some people left in these types of places that wanna help others."

"Yeah, that's true..." Yassie said, sighing as she realized how pessimistic she had probably been the entire time so far. "But that's for later... Right now, our destination is that other house, the one that looks like it fought a car in a blender and all three of them lost."

"Oh boy..." Luigi muttered, not really wanting to have to go anywhere near such a sinister looking house.

"Don't worry, the guy who lives there is harmless..." Yassie said in a reassuring manner, before quietly adding in a much less confident tone, "...Well, at least intentionally..."

"Wonderful..." Luigi said sarcastically, sighing and shaking his head as he readied himself to go knock on the building's wacked out looking door. With Yassie following close behind, he tentatively walked up the building's front steps, taking care not to accidentally come into contact with any of the machinery that whirred and buzzed about the house, lest he lose a limb or four. Bringing his hand up to knock, Luigi was once again interrupted before he could do so by someone on the other side. This time, however, they didn't even open the door, they merely phased through it.

"BARK BARK BARK BARK!"

"A-AH! S-S-SPOOKY?!"

Without warning, Luigi was pounced upon and knocked down the stairs onto his back by the Polterpup that had shot through the door like a hot knife through butter, and the poor plumber was soon subjected to the tongue of a thousand licks, his face instantly getting covered with ectoplasmic drool as the spectral dog's tail began to wag so fast that it was lifting him off the ground. Or off of Luigi, as the case was.

As Yassie merely stood by, unsure of what to even begin to make of the situation besides laughing like a loon, the front door opened, and out stepped a bizarre little bespectacled old man that Luigi knew only too well.

"Oh my! Luigi, my boy! What a shocker to see you here, of all places! ...Er, that IS you, right? I can't quite tell with all that slobber all over your face..."

Unable to speak at all due to the absolute whitewashing his face was receiving courtesy of his Polterpup's tongue, Luigi could merely groan and lament inwardly in dread at the sound of his old 'friend' Professor E. Gadd's voice.

"Oh no... Not AGAIN..."

Yeah, this was basically just more world building, dipping into places that Luigi and pals will no doubt stick their noses in sooner or later. Sorry if it was too boring, honest to god the next chapter should be the very last part of the prologue, and then the 'game' itself can finally begin.