A/N: Happy early Independence Day, everyone.
Also, to guest reviewer, Mimi, I initially put this under the Mario/Sonic crossover category, but I moved it to the Mario section since this fanfiction mainly focuses on Luigi. Mario, Sonic, and Tails have major roles while other characters such as Peach and Amy are integrated, but having Luigi as the main lead is my reason for this move. You are correct that it should be under crossovers, but I changed it. I've explained this in the (edited) prologue and in Ch. 19. Nonetheless, I appreciate the review!
Disclaimer: Still don't own Mario, Sonic, or anything but the story and my OCs to this day.
Chapter 27: Mine Cart Rampage
Location: Barrel Cannon Canyon (1)
Luigi, Tails, and Colombo crossed through the grassy terrain, but were unsuccessful to find any leads on the whereabouts of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. The only action they ran into was similar to Mario, Sonic, and Amy's experience. They fought some Kritters and got rid of the Klaptraps, one of which unfortunately bit Luigi's ass. The only difference was that they managed to find a couple of Edge's robot henchmen. Tails used his namesakes to destroy the androids with the help Colombo chewing off their legs. Luigi used his jumping techniques and ice powers to deal some damage and freeze the foes. Even though there weren't any ghosts, he activated the Poltergust to use two Shriek Shields, one for both him and Tails, while Colombo used his disappearing ability to avoid any counterattacks.
By the time they finished their battle, Luigi ate a Super Mushroom to regain health and a Refreshing Herb to heal his wound from behind. Tails was given some brewed Mushroom Tea and Colombo swallowed a golden bone whole. Feeling refreshed, the trio made their way to the Barrel Cannon Canyon, a large jungle region with various abysses and cannons to use for fast travel.
Tails had one good look at the area and was amazed. "Wow, this place is full of barrel cannons. I can see how DK and Diddy get through this jungle with ease. I mean, whenever they're not climbing trees, that is."
"You don't have to ride them. You can fly over these gaps easily with your tails," Luigi pointed out.
"True. But then again, I've never got shot out of a cannon before."
"Well I won't stop you if you want to go that. Regardless, I'll have to the barrels either way. I don't think you would want to carry me over. This abyss looks pretty deep and the other side is far away. Plus, I have to carry Colombo which would make it more difficult for you."
"I carried you and Mario before back at the castle."
"I know. But I don't want to fatigue you even more. You've already fought a lot of robots back there and chances are more of them could be coming up later."
"I understand, but I'm okay, Luigi."
"Bark! Bark!" Colombo barked at them, slightly irritated that they're wasting time.
"Sorry, Colombo. You're right. Come on, Tails. Let's use the barrel cannons."
Tails went in the barrel first and shot out in a spin dash form while screaming with excitement. His trajectory shot him to another cannon and continued the path with some barrels moving up and down or rotating around. The fox strategically timed his shots to make his way to the next one. By then, he shot out of the last barrel and flew to the other side of the canyon.
"Wahoo!" he shouted before landing safely. "That was awesome! Your turn, Luigi!"
"Ready, boy?" he asked while picking up the Polterpup in his hands.
"Arf!" Colombo yipped.
"Let's-a-go!" Luigi hopped inside the barrel and shot from cannon to cannon across the gap. The plumber managed to reach Tails after shooting out of the last barrel.
"Whoa!" Luigi landed awkwardly, but at least he didn't fall. He rebalanced himself before setting Colombo down. "Well, that's my thrill ride of the day."
"Heh, you weren't that scared, were you, Luigi?"
"What? Scared? That wasn't so bad," he chuckled embarrassingly.
"Don't worry. I was just playing with you."
Luigi looked around and hollered with his hands on the sides of his mouth. "DK! Diddy! Are you here?!" There was no response.
"Looks like they aren't."
"Come on. Let's keep going. If they aren't here, maybe we can find them up ahead."
"Gotcha. I'm right next to you."
"Bark! Bark!"
Luigi, Tails, and Colombo walked towards the next set of trees as they delve deeper in Kongo Jungle in search of the captured primates.
Location: Monkey Mines
Sonic and Mario continued running to find where Amy was taken away. The hedgehog ran faster than the plumber, but he tried not to go too far ahead of him in case they both got separated.
"Come on, Mario! We have to hurry!" Sonic shouted.
"I'm sorry I'm not as fast as you," Mario called from behind.
"Just keep running!"
"I don't plan on stopping anyway!"
Eventually, the two paused their running when they came up to the Monkey Mines. The old, rocky terrain had some tunnels that led into the mountain. The mines featured the famous Mine Cart Carnage where DK and Diddy rode on the mine carts to traverse through the multi-leveled tracks.
They still didn't say a word, but they did hear a girlish scream from inside.
"SOOOONIIIIIC!" cried Amy. Her call echoed from inside.
"She's definitely in here," Sonic said to Mario and turned to the entrance. "Hold on, Amy! We're coming for you!" He was about to enter, but Mario held him back.
"Wait! Don't you think we should wait and call Tails and Luigi to meet us here?"
"But Amy's in there, Mario. If we dawdle too long, she could get hurt, and I cannot let that happen!"
"But the Harsh Possessor is also in there, maybe even some Evershade ghosts. We don't have the power to stop them, not even your Chaos Emerald is effective to stun them. Only Luigi's Strobulb can."
Sonic folded his arms. "That's so lame."
"Maybe, but I honestly doubt we can survive without Luigi's help. Seriously, you do not want to mess with the Possessors. You may be smart and strong enough to fight Eggman's robots, but chances are that Harsh will play another trick on us. We could end up in trouble if we're not prepared. We could be bait, just like Amy. Believe me, Sonic, that's happened to me more than once."
Sonic took in Mario's advice, juxtaposing to his capture from the Grouchy Possessor and the other times from King Boo. He sighed as he knew Mario was right. "Alright then. I'll give Tails a call." He contacted Tails' communicator and waited for his buddy to pick up. In little to no time, the fox immediately answered the call.
"Sonic, Mario. What's up?"
"Tails, we're at the Monkey Mines. Meet us there as soon as possible."
"Hold on. Where's Amy?" Luigi asked.
"That's the thing. She was taken away from us."
"What?!" they both yelled.
"We think the Harsh Possessor took her here," presumed Mario. "And if we're correct, DK and Diddy might also be trapped somewhere inside."
"Listen, we don't know what's in there, but we're gonna wait for you. Because who knows if there's more ghosts other than Harsh. And we don't have the ability to catch them. Only you can, Luigi."
Luigi nodded his head. "You have a point. We'll get to the mines quickly then."
"Thanks for telling us, guys. We'll see you soon." Tails hung up the call.
Sonic turned back to the entrance of the cave. "That ghost better not have harmed Amy," he muttered bitterly.
Mario was facing the other way towards the blue skies and the sun shining down. He watched the trees move from the small breeze. He thought to himself, "And he better not harm Luigi again. Because if he does… Ugh, he's going to fucking regret it."
Sonic turned around and caught a glimpse of Mario's scowl. He was going to say something, but held back to avoid starting another argument with him. Instead, he sat down near the mine entrance and looked at the same view before closing his eyes.
Less than ten minutes later, Tails, Colombo, and Luigi finally made it to the Monkey Mines after receiving the distress call. They saw Sonic resting on the ground while Mario stood next to him, leaning against the wall with a hand. He turned to see the party of three.
Tails caught his breath before speaking. "We're here. Sorry if we took too long. We had some more fights against the robots and Luigi caught a couple of ghosts."
"It wasn't easy, that's for sure," Luigi panted.
"No, you're fine," Mario responded.
Sonic opened his eyes when he heard talking. He yawned, stretched his arms out, and scratched his back. "Oh, you guys are here. Great."
"Everyone ready to enter?" Mario asked everyone. The others nodded.
"Okay. Let's-a-go!"
Mario led the gang inside the mine entrance. They continuously walked down a rocky path and came across some barrels. However, there was something odd about them.
Tails investigated one of them. "Is it just me, or do these barrels look like they're levitating?"
Sonic joined him and scrutinized. "Yeah, I think they are. But why?"
Luigi had an idea. He took out his Dark-Light Device and shined a rainbow streak towards the barrels. Two images became clear and showed some Greenies.
"Look out!"
However, the Greenies reacted and threw the barrels at Sonic and Tails.
"Ooof! Jeez, where did they come from?!" Sonic yelled.
Luigi activated his Strobulb and stunned the ghosts. He sucked them up at full power and caught them in his vacuum.
Mario helped the Mobians back up. "You two okay?"
"Ugh, sort of," Sonic dusted himself off. "Those Greenies are so cheap!"
"Cheeky, too," Tails added.
"Sorry, guys. I should have shot a shield at both of you," Luigi apologized.
"It's not your fault, Luigi. We just didn't expect it in time," said Tails.
"Bark! Bark!" Colombo barked to get everyone's attention. In front of him were two mine carts found on separate tracks.
"Hey! Maybe these carts will take us to the Harsh Possessor," Mario pointed out.
"If so, that will lead us to Amy, DK, and Diddy," Tails figured.
"Alright! I could handle a high-speed mine cart ride. It'll be like a roller coaster!" Sonic smirked.
Mario, Luigi, and Colombo entered the first mine cart while Sonic and Tails hopped in the other. As soon as they got on, both vehicles began slowly before descending a steep slope. The carts went down at almost one hundred miles per hour. It may not be fast for the Blue Blur, but he seemed to be enjoying the experience.
"Woohoo! This is awesome!" Sonic pumped his fists in the air.
"Whoa-ho-ho! I agree! This is so fun!" Tails shouted next to him.
"Oooooh, I don't feel so good right now," Luigi started to feel sick in a couple of seconds.
"Just hang on tight, Luigi! We're getting there!" assured Mario.
"Arf! Arf!"
The mine carts twisted and turned across the metal rails. The winding paths had the heroes standing sideways while holding onto the front of the carts. They went through some corkscrews, jumped over large gaps, and alternated between multiple levels of railing. At one point, both carts were parallel to each other.
"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Sonic yelled to the others.
"Hopefully this ride can sooner than later," Luigi mumbled.
Suddenly, Tails noticed a Greenie rushing behind Mario's cart. He was holding a boulder with his hands, preparing to throw it.
"Guys, duck!"
Mario and Luigi turned around to see the ghost and he launched the rock at them.
"Whoa!"
The brothers ducked in their cart with Luigi protecting Colombo as they avoid getting hit.
"Hey! That was not cool!" Mario hissed.
The Greenie grabbed another rock and hovered towards Sonic's cart. Luigi noticed this and just as the ghost was about to hit them, he shot a Shriek Shield. Luckily, the barrier protected the entire cart and his friends inside rather than having one of them shielded. The rock bounced off and hit the Greenie from the rebound. That got him worked up and he sped towards them again.
"Uh oh! Look out!" Sonic pointed at the end of the path ahead. About two hundred feet away, everyone saw the tracks were obstructed by a hoard of Greenies who were hoisting more rocks and Slammers preparing to smash their hands on their rides.
"Oh no! We're doomed!" Luigi yelled.
"Everyone, we have to jump off!"
"What?! Bro, are you crazy?!"
"We have to if we want to avoid getting slammed, Luigi!" Mario searched the path ahead and saw a separate tunnel on the right. "Look, there's a place we can jump to before the carts reach the ghosts. Get ready on my count!"
"We're waiting!" called Sonic.
As the mine carts rushed down the tracks, the ghosts were set to attack.
"One, two, three, JUMP!"
Mario, Luigi, Colombo, Sonic, and Tails all jumped out of their vehicles onto the slab of rock. The mine carts ran down the rails before falling off into the mine's chasm. The twin-tailed kit easily made it over by flying while the others landed safely. But for Luigi…
"AAHHH!" He landed on the edge of the flat surface, but it crumbled off when his foot barely caught ground.
"Luigi!" Mario leaned forward and grabbed his brother before he could fall. He was laying on his stomach near the edge while grasping Luigi's hand tightly. "Don't let go, bro!"
"I'm trying not to!"
"Hurry, Mario! The ghosts are trying to chase us!" Tails panicked. He pointed out the Greenies and Slammers who saw their escape route and decided to run into them.
Mario finally managed to pull Luigi on the ledge. Being quick on his feet, Luigi rotated and activated his Strobulb with a weak, yet fast flash. He was able to stun two Greenies and a Slammer.
"Defend yourselves, guys! I'll take them out as quickly as I can!"
While Luigi started sucking up the ghosts, the others dodged the punches and slaps the remaining ghosts were pulling off. Mario wall-jumped away from a Greenie, causing him to crash into a wall. Sonic spin dashed a different Greenie and started a chain reaction of homing attacks on the Slammers. Tails whipped his namesakes to wipe out a pair of ghosts. Colombo used his invisibility powers to help his friends since Luigi was unable to send Shriek Shields while capturing his set of ghosts.
"Get in here, you!" Luigi struggled until he finally captured the Greenies and Slammer he was dealing with. Soon after that, he managed to suck up the other ghosts after Mario, Sonic, Tails, and Colombo avoided their attacks. "Is everyone alright?" he asked the team.
Tails wiped some sweat of his forehead. "Yeah. Man, that was too tiring to handle. First we go on a high-speed mine cart ride. Then all of a sudden we run into some paranormal trouble."
"I have to admit, Mario. We probably wouldn't have gone further than this without Luigi and his vacuum," Sonic stated.
"Exactly. Thanks again, Weege," declared Mario.
"Uh, it's no problem, I guess," Luigi scratched the back of his head in slight embarrassment. He still wasn't used to earning praise from his older brother.
Sonic looked ahead at the tunnel. "I guess this is the only way to go, now that our mine carts are gone."
"I wonder where this will take us," Mario thought out loud.
"We can only hope that it'll take us to DK, Diddy, and Amy."
Luigi switched back to his flashlight and turned it on. "I'm ready if you guys are."
"Bark!" Colombo barked for confirmation. The others nodded and walked inside following the man in green.
The long tunnel brought the heroes further down into the mines until they reached a large dungeon. Luigi, again, had some spooky encounters with a few Greenies and Slammers and even caught some Hiders for the first time in this adventure. He also had to waste a Shriek Shield on Mario when a Hider attempted to launch a fastball at him.
"I appreciate that you're helping me be safe, but how many shields do you have left?"
Luigi checked the meter. "Only six."
"That's not so bad. You probably have enough until you meet up with Harsh."
"Please don't remind me, Mario."
"I'm just saying," he shrugged.
"Hey, do you hear voices?" the heroes heard a gruff voice.
"Did you say something, Sonic?"
"That wasn't me, Tails."
"Ooh yeah! I do hear someone!" coming from a high-pitched screech.
"That sounded like Sonic and Tails!" an enthusiastic girl voice spoke up.
Sonic's eyes widened in realization. "Hey! That was Amy!"
"And she's probably with DK and Diddy!" Mario assumed.
They ran deeper into the dark room and within a few seconds, the five encountered their friends trapped in a cavernous prison with stalagmites and stalactites acting as the bars.
"Sonic! You came!" Amy delightfully yelled.
"Amy! Whew, I'm so glad you're safe."
"You're not hurt, are you?" Tails asked.
"Nope! But Donkey Kong and Diddy have kept me in good company, at least."
"Hey, mates!" DK greeted the Mario Bros. "I can see that you're here as well!"
"DK, Diddy! Are you two alright?" Mario wondered.
"We weren't at first. We got shot with tranquilizer darts!" Diddy complained. "And my tank top is ruined!"
"My necktie is torn, too. But other than that, we haven't been harmed after that."
"Do you know where the Harsh Possessor and that Alpha robot is?
"I heard Alpha returning to his boss's headquarters after locking us up. We haven't seen a trace of that despicable ghost, however."
"How are we going to get you out of here?" Tails scratched his head.
"It's actually simple. There's a button across from us that activates the barrier."
Everyone turned around and saw an orange button with a label reading 'DO NOT PRESS' above it.
Sonic was unimpressed. "Wow, that's pretty… anticlimactic and stupid for a security system."
"Should we press it?" Luigi asked.
"Gee, I don't know. For something that says 'DO NOT PRESS', do you really think we should?"
"I was just asking, Sonic."
"Just press it, Weege. I don't think anything that bad is going to happen," Mario responded.
Luigi walked up to the button and clicked it. The rocky columns activated to open the prison, but immediately a loud siren blared in the mines.
"Gah! That's so loud!" Tails shut his ears.
"You don't think anything bad is gonna happen, huh, Mario?!"
"I don't your damn back sass, Sonic!"
"Hurry, everyone! We know a shortcut to get out of here!" DK called the others.
"Yeah, follow us this way!" Diddy hollered with a hand gesture.
Everyone followed the two primates out of the dungeon and through a secret passageway. They knew that this would lead to a hidden exit of the mines to return to the jungle. With DK and Diddy leading the pack, Amy, Colombo, and Tails followed by behind. Mario and Sonic were running neck at neck and Luigi was at the back.
Then, he heard some internal screeching and shot a glance behind him. And what he saw frightened him. It was an angry figure with white eyes and a Dark Moon piece inside him.
Luigi's eyes bulged. He yelled to everyone in front of him. "The Harsh Possessor is behind us! RUN!"
END OF CHAPTER
Next week, another boss battle will embark: Luigi vs. the Harsh Possessor. But this time, he will have his friends to help him out in this fight. Can they avoid getting caught and recover the Dark Moon piece? Stay tuned for Ch. 28!
Thanks for reading as always! Be sure to catch up on future updates by following the story and favorite if you enjoy it so far! Please review to let me know how I did! This is TGN, signing off.
Post-Chapter Notes:
(1): Barrel Cannon Canyon is the fifth level in DKC. I wanted to implement that traditional barrel cannons as they are one of my favorite items to use. The irony in this is that I've used them in the Subspace Emissary story mode of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but not in a single DK game.