"It's pretty…" Aimee hesitated. "…Big. Yeah, it's big."

"It definitely lives up to its name, that's for sure." Erick admitted.

"Well, let's get that Ruby Star as quick as possible then." Red motioned. "Try the gate."

"It's locked." Robbie shook it to try to open it. "Won't budge, Ma'an."

"Think: How can we get in?" Red thought aloud.

"Hey!" Abbie pointed. "Robbie can roll under that gap over there and open the door from the other side!"

"I'll give it a try." Robbie rolled up, and painted an ink trail so the whole group could cross through.

"I'll get the door, so we don't have to keep coming that way." Erick busted the door from the inside to clear the way.

"Ready to head inside, team?" Red asked, leaning on the door.

"The sooner the better!" Paul shuddered.

"Let's do this." Red opened the door to get inside. It was a large room, with an exposed upper level.

"It's actually not to bad in here." Aimee was surprised. "Not like I'd want to spend a night in here, though."

"Hey!" Robbie realized. "There's a room I can reach back here!" He rolled underneath.

"What can you see back there?" Red yelled.

"Oh, some good stuff, Ma'an!" Robbie rolled out and pinned two badges on Red. "Here: Ice Smash. Says 'execute superbly to freeze foes. Also, I found a Quake Hammer Badge. It can damage all ground-bound foes.'"

"Neat!" Red smiled. "Can't wait to give them a whirl." He adjusted their position on his shell. "We'd better keep moving, though. Can't be too sure what we can expect." They walked up to a door. Suddenly, a ghost emerged from the door.

"EEK!" Paul ducked behind Gyanna.

"Don't be such a chicken, Paul!" Gyanna laughed. "It's just a ghost."

"Hey, pal!" Red greeted. "What's up?"

"My friends are all gone…I'm so very lonely…" He mumbled.

"Are you gonna let us pass, pal?" Red asked. The ghost just faded. "Paul, what is that?"

"Are you BLIND!?" Paul shouted. "That's a damn GHOST!"

"I know, dummy. What does the book say?" Red reiterated.

"Let's see…" Gyanna flipped through the book. "That's a Boo, the most common ghost in the Mushroom Kingdom. Some can be hostile, while others are peaceful."

"Good to know." Red nodded. "But we still don't know where to go here."

"C'mon, Fred!" Erick leaned on a star statue. "Something will turn up." Suddenly, Erick began to move the star statue to reveal a hole in the ground. "Whoa!" Erick lost his balance. "AAAAAAAaaaaaaah!"

"ERICK!" Aimee yelled. There was a moment of silence.

"I'm good!" Erick yelled up. "You need to come down here!" He ordered.

"Let's head down, then!" Aimee leapt down the hole in the ground, along with the rest of the group.

"Neat little room." Red observed. "Let's head through this door." He pointed. The group entered a hallway with a fancy chest in the middle.

"C'mon, Paul!" Erick taunted. "Open it!"

"WHY ME?!" Paul angrily but frightfully responded.

"Oh, just because." Erick laughed. "But seriously, open it."

"Sure." Paul opened the chest. Out of it flew an almost infinite amount of Boos! "HOLY CRAP!" Paul bolted it into a corner in the room, shuddering.

A final Boo flew floated out of the chest. "All right, quiz time, interlopers!" The Boo announced. "Who was the guy that opened this chest?"

"He's in the corner over there." Gyanna smugly pointed.

"ALL RIGHT!" the Boo floated over to Paul. "QUIZ TIME!"

"Bleep off, you freaky fiend!" Paul swatted the air, with his back turned away from the wall.

"How many Boos came out of that chest when it opened?" the Boo asked, firmly.

"I don't know, but there's one too many in here right now!" Paul angrily responded.

"FOOL!" the Boo slapped Paul upside the head. The group laughed.

"Look at Paul!" Gyanna was on the floor, laughing. "He just got slapped by a ghost!"

"Answer the question!" the Boo commanded. "How many?"

"TOO MANY!" Paul answered.

"FOOLISH FOOL!" the Boo slapped Paul upside the head once again. "How many in a number?"

"I don't know, 200?" Paul figured, still shuddering.

The Boo hesitated for a moment. "Good. Very good. Take this, math nerd." He handed Paul an Ultra Shroom. "Thanks for playing!"

"Nice move there, Boo!" Red applauded. "I'm Red, and these are my friends."

"Nice to meet you guys." the Boo smiled a toothy grin. "If ever want to, you know, talk, come find me in the main room." He flew off.

"Well, wasn't that grand?" Robbie laughed. "Let's go open that door we couldn't before."


After opening the door blocked by the Boo, the group travelled down a narrow hallway. Some Swoopers tried to attack them, but Red scared them off with his Hammer Throw. They reached a switch, which they pressed to cause the floor to rumble.

"Wh-What was that?" Paul asked, quietly.

"Sounded like a heavy object moving." Abbie figured. The group opened the door to the next room, to find a staircase, leading to a door above.

"Let's head farther up," Aimee suggested. "The Ruby Star lies close! I can feel it!"

"Whoa." Red stumbled as he noticed the long drop to the first floor. "Be careful, it's a long way down."

"Don't worry, one of these nice Boos may catch us if we fall." Gyanna assured.

"May!?" Paul asked, angered.

"Oh, turn back." Erick had run forward. "Door's locked. We need to find a key."

"What is with this kingdom and keys?" Robbie sighed.

"Dunno." Erick answered. "C'mon, lets go find a key."


"We haven't been through this door yet!" Abbie called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey!" Aimee yelled. "I see the key on the other side of the room!"

"We need to move the staircase to get there!" Red realized. "I'll go hit it. Aimee, stand by the door so I know when to stop hitting the switch." Red was given a nod from Robbie, and Red hit the switch. Instantly, the staircase began to shift to the other bridge.

"There!" Robbie stopped Red. "That's good. Gyanna, go grab it, you'll need your glider." Gyanna nodded, and ran up the stairs. She returned a few moments later with the key. Red activated the switch again, and they were back at the locked door. Red unlocked it, and the group headed into the next room.

"Whoa." Erick glanced up. "Tall staircase."

"Lets go." Red ordered. "The Ruby Star is almost ours!" The group dashed up the stairs, hopped onto a spring and was at the top of the steeple. They regrouped in a messy room, with a rug, a closet and most of the essentials.

"Hey! Hang on there, Slick!" a voice called out.

"Hello there!" Red greeted.

"What are you guys doing, interrupting my "me" time?" He asked. He had a ghostly face, and wore a white sheet and a party hat. He was seated in front of his TV, watching a program.

"Is this the monster Mayor Dour was freaking out about?" Erick asked.

"Hey!" the ghostly figure yelled. "Who are you calling a monster? What's your problem? Why do you need to pick a fight?"

"Easy, Erick." Red eased. "We can work this out…I'm sorry. Didn't catch your name."

"None of your beeswax, Slick." he rudely responded. "I'm busy thinking up new pranks and stuff, and it ain't no cake walk. Get lost!" He paused for a moment. "But of course you guys won't. That's right. No way you interlopers go away quietly, am I right?"

"Boy, he talks a lot." Aimee whispered to Abbie.

The mystery man hopped down from his chair. "Well, all right then, Slick. I turned the villagers into pigs. Biiiiiiiig deal."

"Big deal!?" Paul growled. "You scared the living daylights of out me! Why did you do it?"

"Well…" The figure stopped. "They're all so depressing and dimwitted AND boring all of the freaking time… so instead of wallowing in gloom, I thought they could wallow in MUD! HA! And now they're pigs get it? Isn't that just sooo perfect? It's like IRONY!... or something."

Erick snickered. The group turned to look at him. "That was kinda funny. What he did there. Yeah." Erick stepped back. "Ahem. Go on."

"Anyway, you got a problem with what I do? I guess you do, huh?" the ghostly man figured. "YOU! Leader-guy! Let's play, Slick."

"Be careful, Red!" Aimee warned.

"Don't worry. I'm not about to be beaten by some freak in a sheet."

"Bold talk, but can you walk the walk? Like I said, let's play, Slick."