Through the corridors and platforms, Mario pursued the fleeing ghost. He could barely see it as it turned around corner after corner, but he never slowed his pace. Other boos watched the spectacle from nooks and crannies afar, wary of the Poltergust 5000. Mario seemed to dare any to get close to him with a fleeting glare, but none did so. They could see he was here for the one ghost, the recently deceased Luigi. The one boo was panicking like crazy, not knowing where he was going but not caring, so long as he was kept away from that machine. He didn't know why he was so afraid, but the warning whispers of the boos nearby reassured him that he was right to feel that way. Mario was tired from having run so long, but his endurance helped him to keep going. He was calling out to the ghost, "Luigi! Luigi, stop! It's me! I'm here to help you!" The ghost tried to ignore him, flying wherever it could to distance him from the pursuer. He went into the wall into another place, feeling he had lost him now. Mario stopped then, seeing him disappear. He briefly looked around before choosing a direction to go. The boo rested, cackling at the wall and sticking out his tongue. Ha! That'll teach the little red man; There's no way he would know where he went now, he thought. But when he turned toward the door, there was Mario standing in the doorway, annoyed as much as an Italian plumber can be. The ghost squeaked and covered his eyes again, feeling the man's glare upon him. "Did you think that was going to work?" Mario said, stepping inside, Poltergust 5000 at the ready, "I'm not taking my eyes off you again."

"What do you want?" the boo whimpered, "leave me alone."

"I'm here to save you! I'm here to bring you back home…"

"Save me from what? My home is here."

Mario stared confusedly at this ghost for a moment before realization dawning on him, "you don't remember…?" The ghost huffed, "they said I wasn't supposed to remember. That everything would be better, so much better…"

"You don't remember me? It's me, Mario!"

"I don't know who you are, and I don't care," the boo snapped, still covering his eyes. Mario stood there, silent. After what seemed like minutes of silence he spoke again, softly, "your name is Luigi. I'm your brother, Mario. There's Toad…Princess Peach…Daisy…you remember Daisy, right?" His voice seemed pleading, almost desperate. The ghost hesitated before peeking out, "…what?"

"We went on many missions together," Mario continued, moving closer, "we saved Peach from Bowser many times. You remember Bowser too, right? I don't think you could ever forget him. And dear old Yoshi?" Mario was trying everything he could think of to jog the boo's memory. With hope he saw the faint outline of a cap on the ghost's head begin to appear more solid, more colourful. The ghost was muttering to himself, "Luigi…yes that was it...Daisy…Toad…"

"And you remember this?" Mario asked, holding up the Poltergust 5000 for Luigi to see, "Professor E. Gadd gave this to you once. Remember E. Gadd? He helped you save me once!"

"Yes…yes, E. Gadd…" Luigi whispered. Mario began to tremble, "and do you remember…what happened the day you died…?"

"The day…I…" Luigi's voice halted. He began to shake, "no…no no no! No I don't want to remember that! Make it stop!" He began to cry and shriek, tearing at the ghostly cap on his head. Everywhere in the mansion there was silence, save for Luigi's anguish. Mario looked on in horror as his brother's form seemed to slowly turn into a shade of black. Were there consequences to recovering your memories as a boo? "The fall…the fire…it burned so much!" Luigi cried, "you told me to jump…and I did…and it burned everything off! It was the worst pain!"

"Luigi!" Mario ran up, trying to shake him out of it; try to stop whatever bad thing was happening, "don't think of that! Think of…think of our victories! Saving our friends! Going on our adventures! Our sports competitions? You loved those, right? Remember the races?" Luigi seemed to calm a little as those memories came back to him, "yes…yes those were nice…"

"Remember E. Gadd! He was very fond of you," Mario continued quickly, "and Daisy, she cares for you! No…they ALL care for you. They all miss you very much."

"I…I was there…at the memorial," Luigi whispered, "I saw…I didn't know what was going on…" Mario hesitated, thinking, "that…was immediately after the mission. You must've regained consciousness then. I…I think I saw you there! I thought I was seeing things!"

"They took me away then…" suddenly Luigi's form lightened and became skinner and longer. Mario stepped away, tears coming to his eyes from relief. There stood before him was the bright, transparent figure of Luigi as he was before his death, cap and all. Luigi was still covering his eyes, but for a different reason. He was sobbing, "I didn't understand why you didn't hear me…why you couldn't see me…then I saw the boos and I was so afraid. But they took me away…and I realized I was dead." He sniffled, "I failed you Mario…I tried so hard to jump…and I couldn't do it." Mario felt like crying himself. He held his brother as best as he could, Luigi's body feeling little more than cold air to him, "you were wonderful, Luigi. You did great. I…I pushed you too hard. I believed that if I just told you to do something, you'd be able to do it. It just…it just made you disappear, in the end." Mario pulled away with Luigi looking at him with teary eyes, "there's not a day that goes by…when I don't wish I was a better brother to you. When I should've told you, you did a wonderful job…to thank you…to say you're a hero Luigi…or to say I loved you." Mario hiccupped then, wiping away the tears from his eyes. "Mario…" Luigi was close to crying again, but he was smiling. Mario looked back up at him, "I want…I want to take you back home."

"Back home?" Luigi frowned, "but Mario, I'm dead. I belong to the world of the boos now…they said it's the natural order…"

"But it doesn't have to be like that!" Mario argued, "It hurts too much to have you gone. I've done you wrong. And Professor E. Gadd…he thinks he can create a machine to bring the dead back to life!"

"R…really?"

"Yes! He said as long as we have the boo, and if the boo has his memories, it's possible!"

Luigi's chin trembled, "but I got myself killed…I failed the mission for both of us…I'm better off-"

"Don't say you're better off dead!" Mario cried, "don't you dare." Mario took a moment to calm down before speaking again in a calmer tone, "it wasn't your fault…don't you worry about it, okay? Accidents happen sometimes…it's unavoidable." The red man looked at Luigi with a sad smile, "even if it DID end badly for both of us…if you're gone…it won't be the 'Mario Bros.' anymore, you know?" Luigi stared, "Mario…"

"Please Luigi. Everyone wants you back home, even if they won't admit it. I'll take you back safe and sound in the Poltergust 5000. No boo will ever be able to drag you back here, or wherever it was they took you. You'll be okay…I promise. I'll protect you…" Mario pleads quietly, "please…" Luigi stared for a moment, thinking. Mario began to get worried after a minute of silence. Did Luigi want to stay and return to being a boo? Finally, Luigi smiled, "It was nice…forgetting for a little while. Having no care in the world. But…I think it'll be okay…to return for a bit longer." He gestured Mario to go ahead, squeezing his eyes shut. Mario grinned happily and turned on the Poltergust 5000, "thank you Luigi…thank you…" The machine began to pull Luigi in, and Luigi could only think about how it was just like how he was alive. How they were going to go on another adventure once more, as the incredible Mario Brothers.

(author's note: Thank you all very much for your interest in this story...and for your patience. I'm sure some of you have waited for a more satisfactory ending. The reason it took so long is because after every chapter, I believed it was the last one. As the comments came in I became inspired to let the story grow a bit more. But now I believethis is where it stops. I hope you enjoyed reading this. And I appreciate your feedback. Happy reading~)