A/N: As a reminder, I'll be traveling on vacation for the week, so I cannot upload next Monday. The story will resume on June 26th or in July.
Secondly, thank you guys for an amazing month of May and a great start to June because I received so many views to reach 4000+! Thanks again for taking the time to read the story. Special shoutouts to Steel Magicant, Tiger of Darkness, MalevolentDarkness16, and Sonar for leaving reviews! I received 50+ reviews, and I appreciate each and every one!
Disclaimer: I don't own Mario or Sonic. They are owned by Nintendo and Sega, respectively.
Chapter 25: It Lurks at Night
Midnight approached the Mushroom Kingdom. Thin, wispy clouds of light gray slowly passed under the light of the full moon shining above Luigi's personal mansion and E. Gadd's lab in Boo Woods. The temperature dropped to where it was moderately cool, but not freezing on a summer night. And during that time, there was nothing but silence that roamed throughout the spooky region.
Inside the bunker, Mario, E. Gadd, Peach, and Daisy all helped to recover Luigi as much as they could. The professor persuaded Dr. Toadley to pay a visit to check on the green clad man the following morning. With Peach and Daisy, they used his first aid kit to heal the bruises and scars he sustained. Mario helped as well before he headed back to his house to receive new clothes for Luigi to change in for the next day.
Meanwhile, Sonic entered the Storage Room where he found Tails and Amy alongside Colombo and Zephyr. It was almost an exact replica of E. Gadd's secondary bunker in Evershade Valley. Only this one was larger to have space for its own separate computer and other technical accessories. Directly below the room was a similar version of the Vault. And like the Evershade bunker, one could enter it by standing on an elevator panel.
"Wow, I've never seen this place of old coot's lab before."
Tails turned around to see his blue friend. "Oh, hey Sonic. I was surprised myself when we came here to give Zephyr the Poltergust."
Said ghost was attaching a power generator to charge up the vacuum for more Shriek Shields. When he was finished, he hovered over to the computer where Colombo sat in a chair next to him.
"Anything important we should know about?" asked Amy.
"The professor called the doctor to set up a morning checkup. Luigi's still out cold. The princesses decided to stay here to look after him. And Mario retreated to his home.
Tails expressed a worried look. "Why did Mario leave?"
"Dunno," the hedgehog shrugged. "I think he said he was getting clothes or something related to that."
"If he's thinking about shopping, then I should have gone with him. I could use another dress."
"Amy, it's midnight and all the stores are closed. Second, I'm pretty sure he would be getting new clothes for Luigi since his current ones are burnt," the fox reminded her.
"Oh yeah," she sighed sadly.
"Not only that, but I think he needed some time on his own again. Can't say I blame him. Have Blaze and the others found anything about our missing friends?" Sonic asked.
"I got a call from her, now that you mentioned that," Tails answered. "Unfortunately, they had no luck. She and Rouge brought Cream and Cheese back to Vanilla's house. The other girls probably retired as well. I even tried to contact Shadow, Silver, and the Chaotix. But none of them answered back. I'm starting to get a bit worried."
"What about Knuckles?"
"Amy, didn't you remember what that knucklehead tried to do at Luigi's party?" Sonic said annoyingly.
"Oh yeah, that. Now I remember."
A sound notification played, getting everyone's attention. A tunnel appeared from the floor with a rectangular entrance. The three watched the Greenie place the hose of the Poltergust to the tunnel and transferred the ghosts Luigi captured down into the Vault and inside a large, red canister. That way, the Possessor and the others were unable to escape and cause chaos inside the lab.
"Wow. So are the ghosts going to stay down there?"
Even though Zephyr didn't speak their language, he nodded at Amy to confirm her question. He tried to explain that the ghosts Luigi may capture in the future will be held in the canister until the curse of the Dark Moon goes away.
"Speaking of which, Professor E. Gadd told me to give you this as well."
Tails took out the corrupted piece from his namesakes. Zephyr grabbed it and thanked the fox. He pressed a button to reveal a large model of a familiar contraption.
"Whoa, what's that?"
"If I remember, this is the Energy Suppressor E. Gadd explained back at Toadley Clinic. Only this one must be the larger version he used beforehand."
Zephyr nodded at Tails. He set the piece on the turntable and four brushes appeared to clean off the sparks. This was a fascination for Amy as it was the first time she witnessed an invention like this. Sonic and Tails already had a taste of this when E. Gadd cleaned the first piece, but they were still entranced by the process. Once the fragment was restored, it shined brightly. And at the same time, across the Mushroom Kingdom, more of the purple fog disappeared above Evershade Valley. Once the piece was clean, Zephyr shut down the Suppressor and it retracted into the floor with the Dark Moon fragment. The piece was transferred down into the Vault's safe where the first one was kept safely.
Sonic put a hand to his hip. "Well, that's two down, four to go. And we have to find a way to get those Chaos Emeralds back from Edge."
"And find our friends," added Amy.
"Before he destroys everything with the Oblivion," Tails finished before he yawned. "Man, I'm so beat."
Sonic looked at the digital clock on the computer, reading 12:08 a.m. "Damn, I forgot how late it is right now."
Colombo hopped off the chair and barked at Zephyr to indicate that it's probably best to go to bed. Zephyr agreed. He offered the three to stay in the bedrooms in the large mansion here.
Amy was fascinated by the idea. "I never slept in a mansion before. I bet it has bigger and prettier bedrooms than the one I live in. What do you say, Sonic?"
"I guess it won't hurt to sleep here. To be honest, I don't feel like running all the way back to our home after all we've been through today."
"I agree with that."
"By the way, Tails, how are you feeling with your injuries?"
"I bet I'll feel much better after a good night's sleep. Other than that, I'm okay right now."
"That's good," Sonic smiled. "Come on, let's head out to check the mansion."
Zephyr asked Colombo to tell the Professor that the three would stay at the mansion for the night. The Polterpup barked and ran off to find him. The Greenie floated ahead and asked them to follow him. They exited the lab and walked up the dirt path leading to the front door.
As they got inside, they were greeted by a double staircase leading to the second floor. They walked up and Zephyr assigned them separate bedrooms to sleep in. However, Amy wanted to sleep in the same room with Sonic, causing the Blue Blur to give her a questionable look. Zephyr had an idea and waved his hand forward, indicating to follow him again. He opened a door and showed them a large room with three beds against the wall, table dressers separating the space in between, and a ceiling fan spinning above them. There was also a large screen door that led to a balcony with a view of the backyard and the rest of Boo Woods. (1) They were impressed with the layout and thanked Zephyr for the hospitality. The Greenie bowed and wished them a good night before leaving the mansion. Sonic hopped onto the bed in the middle, Tails took the one on the far end, and Amy had the bed close to the door. They all wished a good night to each other as the fox and the hedgehogs slumbered in peace.
Meanwhile, Peach and Daisy were sleeping on a sitting couch against the back wall of the guest bedroom. After they did their best to heal Luigi, E. Gadd told the princesses that they can take a break. Colombo found him and yipped to explain that Zephyr allowed Sonic and his friends to sleep in the mansion. Gadd thanked him for knowing this. He would have offered the ladies the same thing, but he took one look and saw how exhausted they were that he didn't bother to wake them up.
The elderly man turned to the unconscious man in green with a grim look. He felt half guilty for the Pixelator malfunctioning, and half upset that Luigi got hurt again. He signaled to Colombo to leave the bedroom and the three guests alone. Colombo whimpered because he wanted to sleep next to his owner. After thinking for a bit, he gave the Polterpup a sad smile and let him do as he pleases. Colombo wagged his tail and panted happily without making a lot of noise to accidentally wake them. E. Gadd turned off the lights and shut the door gently while the ghost dog carefully jumped onto the bed. He turned in circles before making himself comfortable. He laid his head near Luigi's left arm as he went to sleep.
By the time Professor Gadd returned to his main hub, Mario returned to the shelter. He was holding a pile of clothes for Luigi and him to wear the next day. He even brought his own nightwear.
"Aah, Mario, welcome back," he spoke softly.
"Why are you whispering?" Mario asked, not with an inside voice.
"The others are asleep in the guest room. Don't want to wake 'em up."
"Oh, I see," he answered back softly. "I take it that Toadsworth allowed them to stay here?"
"The old chap was reluctant at first, but he eventually gave in because of how late it was at that time."
"Did Sonic, Tails, and Amy return to Mobius?"
"No. Zephyr offered them to stay in the mansion. They should be asleep as well."
"Okay. That's nice of Zephyr." Mario set Luigi's clothes down on a table and took a seat with his pajamas in his lap. He rested a hand on his cheek. He looked tired, which was obvious, but there was more than just that.
E. Gadd looked at him and noticed how crestfallen he was. "Something wrong, young feller?"
Mario shot a glance at the short man. "No, I'm fine."
Elvin didn't buy it. He slowly walked up and stood in front of him.
"My boy, if you have something on your mind, it's best to talk it out to a friend. Is there anything you want to say to me? I'm willing to listen."
Mario didn't respond. He kept his mouth shut, refraining from exposing his inner thoughts.
"Is it about Luigi?"
At first, he didn't want to answer. Nonetheless, he nodded.
E. Gadd sighed. "I understand why you're feeling this way. But if you think about this again, you're going to keep blaming yourself. You should take pride in yourself to know that he'll continue his games until they're over. Do not kick yourself down because of one mishap. It's deteriorating your morals."
"Since when you do care about morals?"
"I'm trying to sugarcoat this for you, youngster. I was blaming myself for the Pixelator incident. But I ignored my negative train of thought and looked on the bright side. Luigi's back, he'll be healthy again, and he'll get back to adventuring. I suggest you do the same."
Mario sighed. "I guess I'll try. Maybe I'll feel better if I get some sleep."
No later when he mentioned that, the Greenie returned to the lab.
"Zephyr, sorry to trouble you, but do you mind sending Mario to one of the mansion's bedrooms?"
The Greenie didn't mind and he obliged.
"Thanks, Zeph. I'll see you in the morning, Professor."
"Good night, lad."
After they exited the door, E. Gadd turned off the lights and retired to his room. Mario walked up to the mansion with the ghost leading him to a cozy bedroom with a king-sized bed. The plumber thanked the ghost before he left. After refreshing himself, he changed into his white and red-striped pajamas and nightcap. He pulled the covers down and made himself comfortable. He closed his eyes as rest sent him to dream land.
~3:00 a.m.
It was the middle of the night, only the sounds of crows cawing could be heard if anyone was walking outside. The only source of light came from the large moon hanging high in the dark sky. Inside the mansion, Mario was asleep in his room. Amy, Tails, and Sonic were slumbering in their shared bedroom. It was tranquil for the four of them, but the mansion had a fifth unexpected member.
Someone appeared onto the balcony and slowly opened the screen door. After shutting it gently, the mysterious person went in between Tails' and Sonic's beds. He creeped his hand under Tails' sheets and near his tails. Trying not to accidentally pull them, he ruffled in the fur and took the yellow Chaos Emerald. He went over to Sonic's bed and reached into his quills very carefully. Thankfully for him, he didn't hurt himself, and he got away with the green Emerald as well. He exited out the balcony without getting caught.
Next, the figure infiltrated the bunker after disabling the security camera and picking the locked door. He made his way to the Storage Room and hacked into the computer. He cut off the signals of the security cameras throughout the shelter. Then, he activated the elevator panel to descend to the Vault. Upon reaching the lower level, he approached a safe attached onto the wall. He took out a stethoscope and placed the bell near the combination dial. Hearing the ticks click into place, he unlocked the safe and found the two Dark Moon pieces. Smirking, he grabbed the elements and went back upstairs. The thing is, however, the figure did not leave E. Gadd's lab. Instead, he shuffled his feet against the floor into the hallway. The hallway that led to the guest room.
~9:00 a.m.
Mario's eyes felt groggy from the sunlight beaming past the curtains. He yawned and sat up from the bed. He rubbed the rheum away and headed to the bathroom to shower. Feeling more awake than before, the man put on his new set of clothes, despite it being the same red shirt, blue overalls combo. He brushed his teeth and carried his old clothes to the washer, found in a small closet. He tossed them in, added some detergent, and let the machine do its own business.
At the same time, another door opened. Out came the yellow fox and the pink hedgehog.
"Good morning, Mario," they both said.
"Morning Tails, Amy," Mario responded. "Where's Sonic?"
"Probably out for a run. You know him. He likes to wake up early and go out for his daily exercise."
Mario smirked. "Yeah, I should've expected that."
"Um, Mario. There's something I should probably tell you. I haven't told Sonic yet because, you know, he's not here."
"What's wrong, Tails?"
"Well…" Tails quivered his lips. Amy nudged him to spill it out. "The Chaos Emerald is missing."
"What?! What do you mean it's missing?!"
"It means it's gone, Mario! What else do you expect?"
Mario gave Amy a dirty look. "You don't think I fucking know that?" Amy leaned back, not expecting him to swear at her. Mario turned to Tails again. "Do you remember where you left it before you went to bed?"
"Yeah, I had it stuffed in my tails. The yellow one, specifically. Sonic should still have the green one."
"Well, what happened?"
"I reached into my fur, and it wasn't there! So, I started searching, and I asked Amy to help me find it."
"And?"
"We searched everywhere in our room. It wasn't there."
Mario put a hand on his forehead. "Oh, Mamma Mia. This is not good at all."
"What if Edge stole it in the middle of the night?" Amy wondered.
"That is highly improbable! How and why would the Shadow Spirit sneak into the mansion and subtly take the Chaos Emerald from my tails? You probably would have expected him to take me as a hostage for ransom, or even barge in trying to attack us rather than just take it and leave like it's no big deal."
"You better tell Sonic about this soon. I don't know how he'll react to it, but you better cross your fingers that he doesn't flip like hell," Mario told him.
"That's what I'm afraid of. It's one of my fears since the day he took me in as my adoptive brother."
Brother. Speaking of which, Mario forgot about his brother for a second. How could he be that forgetful over his family? He was unconscious and hurt last night, damn it! He was going to head down to E. Gadd's lab, but he noticed the female hedgehog started sniffing.
"Mmm… do you smell something?"
Tails did the same thing. "Smells like food to me. Scrambled eggs, blueberry pancakes, French toast, it's like someone made a smorgasbord."
And his thoughts were correct. The three heard a ringing bell and a voice calling out to them.
"Everyone! Breakfast is ready! Come on down!"
"Well, let's see what's up for today," Mario wondered as he led the pack down the stairs.
They entered the dining room to see a breakfast buffet laid out in front of them. Peach, Daisy, and Zephyr were already there.
"Good morning, everybody," Peach greeted them.
"Morning, Princess Peach," the three replied.
"Did you guys make all of this?" Amy asked.
"Sure did! We woke up early and decided to cook you a big breakfast before you guys head out," Daisy said happily.
Mario looked around him. "Is Luigi okay?" He was kind of hoping his brother was somewhere in the mansion, possibly in the bathroom to wash up.
Daisy's smile faded away and she sighed. "From what we heard, he's still not awake. Dr. Toadley should be visiting soon. E. Gadd's in the lab waiting for his arrival. If not, he's probably in the lab looking after him right now."
"I hope the diagnostic doesn't have Luigi stuck in another coma. I wouldn't bear to think about that," Tails said hesitantly. Mario shifted his eyes to him without moving his head.
Peach wanted to drift away from the awkwardness. "Come on, guys. Let's enjoy this buffet at least."
Everyone took a seat around the circular table. Mario sat with Peach and Daisy to his left, and Tails and Amy on his right. Zephyr went around with a piping kettle of tea and poured it in everyone's cups. While everyone was picking up some food on their plates, they heard the front door open. They heard a blue streak running up the stairs and down several seconds later. He stopped when he reached the dining room.
Sonic held his hand up and showed off his trademark smirk. "Morning, guys! I see you're already having a feast!"
"Hello, Sonic. Please, join us," Peach offered.
"I saved a seat for you, sweetie," Amy patted the chair to her right.
Sonic slightly blushed and sat in between her and Daisy. He saw the array of food on the table.
"Holy Mobius! Did you make all of this?"
"Daisy, Zephyr, and I cooked the entire meal for everyone. And knowing how much you like a certain dish, I decided to make some for you."
Peach handed him a plate of chili dogs. Sonic's grin widened.
"Now that's a big pile of chili dogs!" The hedgehog grabbed one and took a scrumptious bite. Instantly, he fell in love with the flavor.
"Whoa! This is some good food right here! This tastes just as good as Tayce T.'s! My compliments to you, Princess!"
"Thanks, Sonic! I'm glad you like it."
As he finished his first and grabbed another, a question popped in his head. "By the way, where is the professor?"
"He's still in his lab with Luigi. He's waiting for Dr. Toadley to arrive for a personal checkup," Daisy reiterated.
"Is Luigi up and running again, at least?"
"No. Or at least not yet," Mario replied with a depressed tone. He slouched back in his chair as he sipped his cup of tea.
Sonic, who sat across from him, frowned. He didn't like to see his friend upset. He tried to build Mario's hopes up. "Well, I'm sure he'll be back sooner than later. You can count on it."
Ten minutes into breakfast, the telephone rang from the living room. Zephyr picked it up and listened to the caller. He formed a grin when he heard the response from the other line. He hurried over to the dining table.
Amy leaned to her left towards the fox and whispered. "Tails, when are you going to tell him?"
"I'll say it later. I rather do it if we're alone."
Sonic eyed his two friends talking to each other. He was going to ask what they were talking about. In fact, he had something on his mind to say. But before he could speak, the Greenie reappeared in the room. Zephyr handed the phone to Mario. He held it to his ear while the others looked at him curiously, wondering who was talking and what for. They observed the look on his face during the conversation.
"Are you serious?! …Okay! We'll meet you there!" Mario hung up the call. "That was E. Gadd. He said that Luigi's awake again!" he announced with a large smile.
"Really?! Oh, thank heavens!" Daisy clasped her hands together with a face full of hope.
"Come on, let's go see him now!" Tails shouted.
Everyone got out of their chairs and exited the mansion. Mario was the last one to leave as he decided to bring a breakfast plate to his brother. He was relieved and ecstatic to hear that Luigi's okay after the incident last night. Zephyr stayed behind to clean up the dishes.
Amy, Tails, Sonic, Daisy, Peach, and Mario entered the garage where they saw the professor standing proudly in his laboratory. He led the group into the guest bedroom where they saw their green friend sitting upright, Dr. Toadley sitting at his bedside, and Colombo resting in his lap. They turned their heads to the door where they saw the party. Luigi smiled brightly at everyone.
"H-Hello, guys," he stuttered.
Daisy ran up to him and gave him a hug. "Luigi! Are you alright?"
"I am now, thanks. The professor mentioned that you guys helped take care of me last night. I appreciate it."
Mario and Peach joined Daisy next to her while the animals stood on the opposite side of the bed. Dr. Toadley stepped outside the room to talk to E. Gadd in private.
The older brother handed the bedridden man a plate of blueberry pancakes. Then, he noticed something in front of him. In fact, everyone saw it and were shocked, except for Luigi and Colombo. On top of his sheets and sitting a few feet in front of the patient were the two Dark Moon pieces and…
"The Chaos Emeralds!" Sonic and Tails yelled simultaneously. They gave each other a look, surprised they said that out loud.
"Did you lose your Emerald, Tails?"
"Well, that's what I was going to say to you, if I had the chance to speak to you alone. I thought you were going to get angry. But I'm also surprised that you lost yours as well."
"And that's what I was going to tell you! I couldn't find mine when I went out for my run. I'm not mad, because they never left us. But I'm totally confused that they're here."
"And with the Dark Moon pieces as well. We saw Zephyr locked up the second one in the Vault last night!" Amy pointed out.
"So, how did they get here?" Princess Peach asked.
"I don't know. It was the first thing I noticed when I woke up before Dr. Toadley came in," mumbled Luigi.
Meanwhile, Professor E. Gadd was in the hallway conversing with the doctor.
"Were you sure you had them locked up in your safe?"
"Technically, my ghost assistant took care of that. I trust him as I much as I trust Luigi doing the ghost hunting. But the weird thing is, Luigi seemed to be normal after a similar incident. It happened once back at the hospital on Monday. The first Chaos Emerald and Dark Moon piece combined its powers and entered his body. Soon after that, he stood up and walked like he wasn't injured! Just this morning, I found the Emeralds and the fragments on his bed sheets! Before I could investigate what happened, you arrived and I decided not to bother you during the checkup. Instead, I went down to the Vault and the first thing I saw was my wall safe open. I even checked the security cameras and they were all out during the night. Frankly, to say I'm bewildered by this is a massive understatement."
"Hmm… Do you think someone intruded your Vault and the mansion to steal both sets of items? If so, who? And how? And why would they suddenly appear in Luigi's bed? Wouldn't the thief just run away with said objects? The answer… is a mystery."
E. Gadd pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his head. "Ugh, all this thinking is making me stressed out. At least Luigi is back again. Thanks again for coming here." He held out his hand to shake.
Dr. Toadley took in the gesture. "Am I glad that Luigi's okay, again? Most certainly. Am I confident that he'll resume his business? I believe so. Just give him time to recompose himself. Until he's ready, you can let him go. Anyways, I'll be heading off. Make sure you keep a close eye on him and his friends."
"Will do, doc. Will do." And so, the professor waved Dr. Toadley goodbye. He returned to the guest room where the others were huddled around Luigi, setting the plate down after finishing his food.
"By the way guys, I have something I need to tell you. About last night."
"What is it, Luigi?" questioned Daisy.
"Well, Myster Edge did pull me back from the Pixelator subspace into a dark area. It was probably an illusion to the Oblivion again."
His comment made Mario clench his fist. His prediction was right on the money. Meanwhile, Sonic was perplexed.
"Wait, I thought you dreamt about the Oblivion when you were hospitalized. How did you suddenly appear in it physically?"
"Even I don't know. But it was him who held me back from returning. And yes, I did meet him again. But there was something I noticed before he appeared."
"What happened?" Peach asked.
"The Dark Moon piece, when it still had negative energy, showed an image of something. It was Kongo Jungle."
"Kongo Jungle? You mean Donkey Kong's home?" Daisy repeated.
"Yes. And speaking of DK, I saw him and Diddy Kong being dragged by a robot and the Harsh Possessor!"
"The Harsh Possessor?" Amy echoed.
"The Harsh Possessor is the second of the five Possessor ghosts who guarded the Dark Moon fragments," E. Gadd explained as he joined the party. He stood in front of the bed. "Pray tell, Luigi, he does have a Dark Moon piece with him, correct?"
Luigi nodded. "Yeah. And he was with this robot. He seemed to look like E-123 Omega, the robot you guys talked about in one of your past adventures," he directed his reference towards Sonic and his friends. "Except he was more gold than red."
Peach's eyes widened. "Hey, that was the same robot we saw in the Vanilla Dome Caverns!"
"Yeah! It was that stupid Alpha guy!" Daisy acknowledged. (2)
"Oh yeah! That was him! Man, he was such a jerk. Unlike the original Omega, and not even as benevolent as Gamma."
"Do you remember anything else?" Tails wondered.
"No. Actually, yes. He hurt me once, and I got shocked by his powers. Then, he tried to attack me a second time. I activated a Shriek Shield from the Poltergust to protect me. But his electric orb surpassed the barrier and it harmed me, more than the first one."
"What?!" exclaimed E. Gadd. "That's impossible. I invented the Shriek Shield to help you avoid any kind of attack."
"It must be a lousy prototype or something." E. Gadd stared at Sonic for criticizing his work.
"It just goes to show that anything can happen; expect the unexpected," Mario muttered. "First Luigi's defense backfired. Suddenly, the Dark Moon pieces and the Chaos Emeralds that we've collected ended up here."
"By the way, Luigi, did you get revitalized by these objects? Kind of like the time you were in the hospital?"
"I did feel better when I woke up, Tails. I do feel full of energy again, but I don't remember when I first felt that way."
"Maybe it occurred overnight," assumed Peach.
"If it did, then I don't know how we slept through that. We were in the same room," Daisy placed a hand on her chin.
"Regardless, I should be able to get up and start our next adventure soon. And I definitely believe we should head to Kongo Jungle."
"Well what about Sparkling Waters or even Evershade Valley?"
"Mario, I'm pretty sure the Dark Moon piece was sending me a message for some reason. And technically, Harsh was the second Possessor I faced. Ironically, he's in another area known for plants. (3) The stars align to lead us in the right direction, or in this case, the Dark Moon piece."
"Okay, if you feel confident about that."
"I'm going to head back and get the Poltergust. Meanwhile, I'll take these with me." Elvin took the purple fragments with him and exited the bedroom.
Sonic and Tails grabbed the green and yellow Emeralds and put them away. "Let's make sure that we don't lose these again."
"Roger that."
"I think Toadsworth would want us to return to the castle, so I don't think we'll able to accompany you guys," Peach declared.
The tomboy princess groaned. "That's a shame. I would actually like to join."
"We appreciate the offer, but I have to agree with Peach. You know how worrisome that Toad can be. I've heard enough ranting from him. Before we head off, we'll walk you over to the castle."
"Thanks, Mario."
"I guess the five of us will be going to Kongo Jungle."
"Bark! Bark!"
"Oops! Sorry, six of us." The Polterpup panted happily as Amy petted him.
Luigi leaned back on the headrest and looked at his brother. The two stared at each other with a mix of relief and uncertainty. Relief, coming from Luigi being alright and healthy again. Uncertain, because they have that instinct where things could go wrong in a snap. But they weren't going to chicken out when the fate of all worlds is at stake.
"Don't worry, Weege. I'll be with you along with everyone else. We got your back."
"Definitely," Sonic and Tails nodded at him. The girls all gave him a reassuring smile.
Luigi looked down at Colombo who had his tongue sticking out, ambitious for another journey. He grinned back at everyone, knowing he was in the comfort of his friends.
END OF CHAPTER
Luigi is, once again, ready for action! Their next destination: Kongo Jungle. What dangers and surprises await our heroes? As for the infiltration, whoever committed the, surprisingly helpful, crime must have helped our green protagonist overnight. But who done it? And why?
Stay tuned for Ch. 26 in the next two weeks or so. Thanks for reading as always! Be sure to favorite/follow, review, and I'll see you guys after I return from vacation! This is TGN, signing off.
Post-Chapter Notes:
(1): For those who have played Dark Moon, picture it as the West Bedroom found in the Haunted Towers, but bigger with extra amenities, fitting enough for a modern mansion.
(2): I realized that I never truly described what Alpha (Myster Edge's top robot minion) looked like, so there's your vague, lazy description of him.
(3): The Harsh Possessor was the main boss in the Haunted Towers, the location I was referring to, in Dark Moon. It's a greenhouse-like mansion built around a humongous tree and is full of plants, flowers, and other living things. It can be compared to the forest theme, and it kind of correlates to Kongo Jungle to an extent.