Author Notes - It's rebuilding-the-hotel time! This time, with more watching of Morty's movie. So now everyone gets to watch it.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN - THE NEW LAST RESORT!

Lucky for the Mario Brothers, they were well-versed in construction. After Undodog accidentally summoned a Reset Rocket to, uh… The point is, Mario and Luigi had to help rebuild Peach's Castle from scratch.

'I'm sorry, you did what to my castle?!'

'Uh, um... so Weegee, how about we get to building already?'

Better yet, now that King Boo no longer had an influence on the area, the sun had risen and shone its beautiful light all over the valleys and mountains.

All the 'generic' ghosts - and Fishook's animal crew too - left to find supplies and materials, while Serpci used her powers to make the foundation. The Mario brothers, alongside the princesses and the professor, discussed the blueprints with the other remaining ghosts at a table, a table that was one of the only things left of his portable lab.

Dr Potter grabbed some leaves from the poor plants that didn't make it and used them to fashion a makeshift cast around Daisy's leg, and it did a surprisingly good job. The princess used some hand-made crutches built by Clem and Billie to get around.

'Here's an idea I had.' E. Gadd said. 'Now, I'm no expert in building, but a tower that goes straight up and defies gravity itself can't be the most stable thing in the world. So I was thinking about building something more like this.'

He showed everyone his blueprints, with a building resembling a mansion while still retaining a (albeit far more stable) tower. No one really questioned the thing at the top that resembled E. Gadd's hair, nor the big green windows resembling his glasses.

'Okay, I was getting ready to blast your bloody head off,' Ginny admitted. 'But that actually looks really cool!'

'And look at that!' Steward said, pointing. 'It's still got the same amount of floors. I get dibs on the top floor!'

Gloria scoffed. 'No way, José! I'm claiming that totes boppin' floor, ya dig?'

'Alright everyone,' E. Gadd said. 'I know you all want the top floor, but I'm thinking we should build this a bit more... logically. No giant ocean or crazy pyramids over ten storeys above the ground. We want this hotel to last, don't we? So, we'll be trying to have a civil discussion while Ug helps me decide if anything that you say is a good idea. Okay, I want the CIVIL discussion to start... now.'

The professor did not get a civil discussion.

'OOH OOH OOH! I, like, should totes have that boppin' top floor!'

'I want zee most quiet, undisturbed place in zee whole building. Which I believe would be zee top floor.'

'Don't limit me ocean, mate! I need room for me beaut of a ship.'

'With how little compensation I've had over the past few seconds, I definitely deserve that top floor.'

E. Gadd and Ug looked at each other with the 'what were we expecting?' kind of look. Amadeus put his head to his forehead and sighed.

'I don't see why we're arguing here.' Amadeus said. 'Clearly, we should give the top floor to the most powerful of us all. Which, obviously, is me.'

Kruller gave him his own attempt at a glare. 'Youse just used a condition dat youse knew only youse could win!'

Clem and Billie were the only other ghosts not participating in the argument. After all, their floor was still just fine. They instead spent the time snickering at the expense of their friends.

'Ug,' E. Gadd said. 'Help me out here.'

The caveman ghost grinned. 'Sorry, but you're on your own.'

Luigi chuckled. The ghosts really were one big happy family, bickering like siblings. Speaking of siblings, his own brother had disappeared from the group. Luigi noticed Mario sitting by himself on a nearby rock, staring at his feet in solemn silence. Seeing as everyone else was distracted, he sat next to Mario on the grassy ground.

'Hey bro.' Luigi said. 'What's up?'

Mario didn't say anything, and just sighed. He held a stick and used it to draw random scribbles in the dirt. After their little break, the bruising around his eye had darkened from red to a dark violet. Luigi still couldn't look at it without being reminded of what he had done.

'Mario? What's wrong?'

'It was all my fault.' Mario said, his voice cracking like he was moments away from crying.

'What?! What are you talking about?'

'If I wasn't so frightened of King Boo...' He shuddered. 'If I wasn't so weak... he wouldn't have been able to possess me. My weakness nearly got you killed... by my own hands.'

Luigi stared at his own feet, wondering what he could possibly say. He brought Mario into a soft hug, one that was returned immediately.

'You're not weak, Mario.' Luigi said. 'You're braver than anyone else I know. Iit isn't easy dealing with trauma. And I saw you fight him off. You battled even though it hurt, even though it exhausted you.'

'I-It was so difficult, Weegee. K-King Boo wouldn't stop dragging me back down. I could see everything he was making me do, a-and I couldn't do a thing to stop it. He always makes me feel so... so... helpless.'

'No need to worry about him anymore. He won't be getting out of that container unit any time soon. And if - only IF - he does, I'll be sure to cram him back in there. Hellen Gravely too. They won't be hurting you anymore.' He paused. 'Do you need a good cry?'

Mario didn't even get to nod. He wept into his brother's chest, revelling in the warmth from both his body heat and his heart. Polterpup and Polterkitty rushed over for a little cuddle time too.

'No, Chambrea.' E. Gadd said. 'We may not take advantage of the fact that Serpci is too busy stabilising the ground to give her the worst floor in the hotel.'

Ug rolled his eyes. 'Must Ug do everything? Not even leader, but Ug must step in anyway. Ug understand how this should be done.'

Building this hotel would take a while. After day one, only the framework for the ground floor and basement had been built, and that was with the help of all the ghosts and phantom animal friends. Most of the ghosts, and Princess Peach too, did their part by hammering and bolting the beams together, though Johnny and the Hammers - with surprising help from the Toads - did all the heavy lifting.

Everyone was lending a hand, whether they were building or not. The music made by Amadeus and Gloria helped stave boredom away, while Soulfflé's meals cooked with Mario's Firebrand were delicious despite the limited resources. Ug preferred to stay out of the construction itself, providing help by suggesting the best measurements and angles while taking full advantage of Pythagoras's Theorem.

Gooigi used his body to contain various tools so he could deliver them to the workers. Thanks to his composition, he didn't even need a hardhat. Daisy, still on the crutches, approached the triplets. The young girl ghosts were using their wands to weld some metal together. Johnny did his part by holding the beams in place.

E. Gadd had to chase after MacFrights, who apparently thought that smaller beam was a lance. At the same time, Steward had to watch for Chambrea and make sure she wasn't stealing the stuff that they needed. She had literally coughed up about twenty nuts and bolts already. On top of that, Fishook - by complete accident - had been responsible for five broken beams by now.

Luigi looked around. He could see every single ghost nearby, even the ones in the construction vehicles, but he couldn't see his own Polterpets anywhere. Or, heck, even his own brother and, by extension, Soulfflé. Keeping his hard hat on, he searched around the area for his seemingly-lost friends.

He found Mario and Soulfflé sitting by an unused excavator, far away from the actual construction site. They were peering under the excavator. Luigi, approaching quietly, knelt next to them and looked behind the vehicle's wheels. Polterpup and Polterkitty were there. Polterkitty lay on the soft grass, purring quietly but no less contently, while Polterpup sat by her side.

'What are they doing here?' Luigi asked.

'We're not quite sure.' Mario replied. 'They've been sitting here ever since we got this excavator.'

'You are zee man with zee translator.' Soulfflé said. 'Perhaps you should ask her.'

Polterpup only then noticed that his master had arrived, and jumped into his arms. Through all those doggy kisses, Luigi could notice a... nervous expression on his face.

'So, uh, hey Master.' He said. 'Do you, um, wanna know what's going on?'

'Yes, that would be nice.'

'Um, okay. So when we had a rest in the bunker before heading out for the final floor, Polterkitty and I, um... kinda sorta maybe succumbed to our natural urges.'

Luigi's eyes shot wide open, making Mario and Soulfflé unsure if they wanted the answer.

'So, in other words,' Luigi said. 'You're gonna be the daddy to a bunch of ghost kittens.'

'That's about the size of it, yeah.'

Mario's eyes went wide. 'Wait, what?!'

'Alrighty-then. I'm just going to leave you two here. Tell me if you have any problems.'

'Well do, Master!'

Luigi had to admit, he hadn't quite predicted that his act of kindness would lead to... this. Well, ghost animals were impossible to neuter, so this was probably an inevitability.

'DANG IT, RAMOS!' Chambrea yelled from a distance. 'How many times do we have to tell you? PLANTS WEAKEN FOUNDATION, NOT STRENGTHEN IT!'

'At least I ain't stealin' a buncha stuff like yeh are!'

Amadeus sighed - a pianist's work was never done.

'If you'll excuse me, sweetie.'

'Right on, Daddy-O!'

'WAHHH!'

Luigi was really regretting his decision to stand on one of those girders for a moment, especially when it was MacFrights behind the controls. The girder flew out of control, barely missing the framework for the next 'block' each time it flew by.

'HEELLLPP!' Luigi yelled, barely hanging on.

Amadeus sighed, and stepped away from his piano for the fiftieth time since this construction started. 'Okay MacFrights, you've just lost your vehicle privileges.'

'I'll save you, oh amazing Luigi!' Serpci cried.

Kruller rushed after her. 'Hey, I wanna help him too!'

'By the way Luigi,' Serpci said, approaching her hero awkwardly. 'When we get my special carving repaired, can you... sign it?'

'Uh, I don't have much of a signature, but sure!'

'EEEEEEEE!'

Mario entrusted Polterpup to keep the mother-to-be Polterkitty safe, so he decided to pitch in. He stood on a platform attached by ropes to a point up above, one without any guard rails to boot. He was helping some of the ghosts put the windows into their appropriate places.

'Alright, give me the next window.' He said, holding his arm out.

He turned to look at the ghost, and gave her a look. The window rested in her gut.

'Chambrea, why?'

'Old habits die hard, okay!'

The plumber rolled his eyes. 'I want a new helper.'

Gooigi was hammering together some frames. It didn't concern him one bit when he had driven a nail directly through his hand, simply hammering away. Steward, on the other hand, was very concerned.

'Oh my Jaydes!' He cried. 'A-Are you alright there, Goo-weeg? That looks painful!'

Gooigi shrugged. 'I don't think I have any real nerves. And I can pull my hand away without a problem anyway. This is the perfect job for me!'

Steward shuddered. 'If you insist...'

Since Daisy couldn't do much with her broken leg even as it was almost healed, she chose to sit by Polterkitty and cuddle with her instead. She patted Polterkitty on the head, to which she responded with loud and endless purring.

'I didn't know ghosts could have babies as, well, ghosts, but I guess that makes sense. That Chauncy kid was born a ghost, wasn't he? It looks like you're gonna have a lot of kittens.'

'Mew!'

'It's really weird because I'm pretty sure mortal cats and dogs can't have babies together. Then again, you can morph into a giant panther beast. Maybe I shouldn't question ghost logic.'

Construction on the tower had finally begun. Better yet, Daisy's leg had fully healed and now she could properly participate in the process. Gloria used her razor-sharp vinyls to cut through wooden beams for her friends. Amadeus stayed on the piano, occasionally getting involved when his friends did something stupid again.

At first, Luigi was quite against having his lunch on the higher building frames, but with ghosts below to catch him, he could really appreciate the view. Gooigi had joined them sitting on the girder, even though he couldn't really eat anything.

'Who ta thunk that such a horrifying hotel would be found in this gorgeous setting?' Daisy said. 'Seriously, this place is beautiful! No wonder the ghosts like it here.'

'Much more lovely than that dreary Evershade Valley!' E. Gadd said, taking a bite of his apple. 'Of course, the ghosts there love it being dank and dreary, but these guys much prefer something more... pretty. Which will certainly make working here far more pleasant!'

Mario slurped up the last string of his pasta, long before anyone else had finished their meals. A little bit of sauce had been flung off the spaghetti and managed to hit Mario between his eyes, to which Peach giggled. Luigi spotted Fishook down below him, swimming around a little aimlessly. He plumber looked into his lunchbox, and spotted a ham sandwich.

'Hey Captain Fishook! CATCH!'

He tossed his ham sandwich down to the shark below him. Fishook panted like a dog and jumped into the air like a breaching dolphin. He snatched up the sandwich and licked his lips.

Soff gulped. 'H-He's not gonna eat us, is he?'

Parr laughed. 'Hey, I've forgiven Amadeus for holding me hostage.'

'You were held hostage by a pianist. Fishook is a freaking shark.'

Gus groaned. 'Oh, so no one cares that my captor was a FREAKING DINOSAUR?!'

'No, not really.' Daisy said, swallowing a tuna salad in just two bites. 'Bowser's kinda like a dinosaur, right? It's been done before.'

The blue-capped mushroom glared at her, but otherwise said nothing. The sun was beginning to set. No wonder all those other mortals took the invitations at face-value too. Luigi stared out at the beautiful view. Surrounded by no one but his closest friends, he felt at peace for the first time since this vacation started.

The heartwarming scene came to an abrupt stop when Daisy suddenly - and loudly - belched, much to everyone's annoyance. Everyone, including the ghosts, gave her a look.

'Daisy...' Peach said. 'Is this really the behaviour expected of a princess?'

The tomboyish princess shrugged. 'Eh. Depends on which princess we're talking about. You? Heck no. Me? Always.'

Dr Potter showed up with the young Audrey 2 in his hands. The baby plant looked just like Audrey 1, but was a lot nicer. Yet, no less sneaky. She snatched a slice of cake directly out of Mario's hand, and Dr Potter fled the scene before Mario even noticed.

'What the-?!' Mario exclaimed. 'Give that back, Potter!'

'Sorry, sonny. I'm 'fraid that once Audrey 2 decides that she wants a snack, she ain't givin' it back!'

Now the outsides were completely... well, complete! And it looked gorgeous enough to put even the daytime Last Resort to shame. There was just one problem - the insides were a mess. Nothing but plain walls and rooms with the bare minimum of electricity and plumbing.

'Alright, no one's gonna come to a hotel that looks like this.' Serpci said as she 'marvelled' at the plain sixth floor. 'Let's make this place look stunning!'

Each 'grand ghost' was given their own floor to do whatever the heck they wanted with, as long as they stuck to the rules laid out by E. Gadd and Ug. While Serpci waited for the professor to finish flushing out all of the sand from the ghost container unit, the others got to work. Amadeus and Gloria had to work out how to share their floor thanks to their wildly different music. Eventually, they came to an agreement that Amadeus had the left half and Gloria had the right.

'But listen to this, Daddy-O!' Gloria said as she and Amadeus pushed her turntable into place. 'Who said that our bopping tunes can't just, like, be combined too? I say that right in da middle, we should totes, like, make a stage together!'

The end result was... interesting, to say the least. The grand stage itself looked just like the old one, but with a disco ball hovering above it. Instead of rows of seats there was a multi-coloured dance floor, and colourful spotlights shone upon the stage. The speakers on the walls had been lined with neon blue lights, and so had a nearby harp.

'Oh my...' Amadeus murmured upon seeing the final product. 'This is...

'Totes the most ROCKIN' stage I have ever, like, seen!'

Amadeus shrugged and smiled. 'Well, if you like it sweetie... then I do too.'

Steward and Johnny had a much easier time with their arrangements. Though the grand lobby looked just how it did in the last, um, Last Resort, there was an extra door to the left of the main entrance that led to Johnny's gym. Of course, the pool remained - as if Johnny would ever get rid of something so important.

'This set-up is totally gnarly, dude!' Johnny said as he leaned back in his pool. 'I can, like, be the lifeguard to our bodacious guests and I get to see you waaay more often than I could before.'

Steward was in the same room, trying and failing to lift a small weight. 'Better yet? With our witch of a boss gone, I might just start to love my job again! I can't believe I'm saying this and meaning it, but... I'm actually excited to open up again!'

Kruller had employed quite a few of the generic ghosties to help him stock all the shops. They weren't just sticking with four this time - they were going full on. Luckily for him, the old hotel was LOADED with gold, for reasons no one quite understood. Something about Hellen Gravely's laundering scheme. Regardless, he was taking full advantage of it. Stationary, clothes both former and casual, records, video games, merchandising, gardening supplies, even groceries... EVERYTHING! If people were going to stay at a hotel in the middle of nowhere, he was going to make sure that everyone could buy anything they needed.

'Hey! Don't drop da merchandise. We wanna make sure dat all da guests get everythin' dat dey need!'

Delfina had taken some of Serpci's sand while she wasn't looking so she and the rest of her crew could spread it among the fifth floor. Sure, they couldn't have a proper ocean anymore, but they could certainly have a nice beach to rest the great ship on.

'(Where did you get that sand from?)' Enguio asked.

'(Isn't it obvious? She stole it...)' Nagi said.

'(I know we're pirates, but we're not supposed to steal from our friends!)' Awahia scolded.

'Don't worry about that, mateys.' Fishook said, using his hook to chop up some wooden planks. 'I'm sure the sheila won't mind.'

It was not Serpci that the shark captain was worried about; all he needed to do was flash his pearly whites and she would go a-running. It was MacFrights he was scared of. Despite the two of them being the best of friends, no way the 'king' would appreciate his wife getting spooked like that.

Speaking of which, Serpci hadn't noticed a single grain of sand missing as she moved it all into the sixth floor. She wasn't allowed to have all those chambers with all those traps anymore, but after being told that Luigi nearly died to them she would've removed them anyway. However, she could still have a pyramid. Better yet, her recreated carving had a beautiful signature on it, one that Serpci promised to take care of long after Luigi himself passed on.

'I can't believe it... he actually signed it. HE ACTUALLY SIGNED IT! EEEEEEEE!'

In her excitement, she accidentally dropped a load of sand onto a colony of her snake friends. The serpents dug through the sand and each gave her a look. She returned with a stern expression and crossed arms.

'Now don't you give me that look, my sweeties! Some of you tried to bite Luigi, and that is off limits. No treats until each and every one of you apologises to him!'

MacFrights marvelled at the gorgeous recreation of his mighty castle. Yes, the walls were still made of styrofoam. Yes, the traps all had to go. Yes, it wasn't quite as massive. He didn't care. It was just as regal as he remembered it. Dr Potter set up his one bedroom, which was all he ever needed, and immediately got to work growing everything else. Venus had returned, even if she couldn't grow quite as large anymore. Audrey 2 yipped with joy as vines and trees overtook the entire double storey. In fact, there wasn't much of a ceiling dividing the two floors anymore. The plants had smashed straight through it, combining the two floors into one.

The triplets had a lot of fun with the third floor, which would function mostly as a place for the guests to rest. They had the rooms all scrambled up and filled with wonderful and bizarre themes, just weird enough to confuse mortals but not enough to turn them away completely. Most important - no fire, no water, and no loose stones. The young girls didn't feel like reliving some awful memories once again. Like their last floor, they had a stage for them to perform all their amazing tricks.

Soulfflé enjoyed himself all the way up on the thirteenth floor. He already had his kitchen and restaurant sorted out, and this time he had a few other ghosts helping him out with the cooking. His standards for co-workers may have been absurdly high, but he only wanted the best of the best. The best thing about being so high up? He actually had some peace and quiet, which is all he really wanted. That, and freedom to cook anything that he desired.

The friendly ghosts of the Paranormal Productions had built up the ninth floor just how Morty wanted it to be. Most importantly, they made sure that every single one of his films could be easily watched on the many televisions located throughout the floor. Daisy lived up to her promise and helped Ug rebuild all the dinosaur fossils for his museum, as painful as that was. He spent the whole time spouting off interesting science facts, to which she listened to most of them. As expected, the domaine of Clem and Billie hadn't changed much at all, but Billie did notice that her brother seemed a bit more willing to get off his behind now.

As for that grand final floor, Chambrea let E. Gadd do most of the decorating. She didn't mind being surrounded by so much sciency stuff, as long as she was allowed to keep it clean and tidy. In fact, she only had one other request. She approached the professor at his desk - which was right next to hers - and raised her question.

'So,' She said with a cheeky grin. 'You know how I've been keeping that empty portrait on my person since you guys were freed from it? I've got an... idea on how we can use it. And I think it would make a neat decoration.'

Chambrea hung up a painting right behind the desks, smirking at the sight of the terrified and furious Siren behind the tapestry. For how much torment that Hellen Gravely had put everyone through, the maid could see no better punishment for her than being hung up on the wall for all eternity. As for King Boo... he would just have to chill in the ghost container unit. Alone.

'What a shame, Ms Gravely.' Chambrea said, admiring the portrait. 'If only you bothered to pay me, there's a good chance I would have remained loyal to you. Doesn't it just suck that you didn't though?'

Luigi and Gooigi were working together, using their vacuums to roll out some carpets in the grand lobby. The green-clad plumber couldn't even recognise this place anymore. The bright welcoming golds and yellows had returned, and he could breathe so much easier with all that dirt and dust gone. Once the carpet had been fully rolled out, Gooigi turned to his flesh counterpart.

'I think I might stay here.' He said. 'The professor said that I can decide if I wanna stay here or go home with you. I just think I fit in better with the ghosts. I am made of the same stuff they are, after all.'

Luigi stopped using his Poltergust in an instant, and gave the gooey man a smile.

'That's alright with me.' He said. 'I'll miss you, for sure… but nobody said we can't visit each other.'

'And who knows? I might end up changing my mind soon. The professor never said it was set in stone.' He paused. 'There's something I need to tell you. I-'

'MASTER! MASTER!'

Polterpup came rushing into the lobby through the front door, panting like mad. Luigi had never seen him so panicked before.

'What is it, boy? Is Polterkitty alright?'

Polterpup took a moment to catch his breath. 'That's just it, Master. It's time.'

'It's... time?'

'It's time! IT'S TIME! You gotta hurry or you'll miss it!'

Without another word, he hopped back through the door and ran off. Luigi gasped as the realisation hit him.

'Oh my gosh! Gooigi, I hope that you don't mind that I-'

'No no, it's okay! I can finish this by myself.'

'Okay, good. I gotta go see Polterkitty!'

The Panthergeist in question had not moved from her spot this entire time. Mario had been keeping watch over her all day. The time was coming now. Polterkitty yowled, almost chomping down on Mario's hand.

'I-It's okay Polterkitty...' He said. 'My bro's gonna be here soon!'

'MARIO! GATTINA!' Luigi called from afar. 'I'M COMING!'

Luigi had finally arrived, just a little bit too late. The sight before him was more than worth it.

'Oh... oh my Grambi...' He murmured in awe.

Polterkitty, still rather exhausted after all that, gently licked at the fur of the runt of the litter - a little pink kitty just like herself. The other seven members of the litter were already cuddling up to their momma, and there weren't just kitties either. In addition to the little pink kitty, there were two other pink kitties and two white ones, as well as two white puppies and a pink one too. Some of them had three tails like their momma, but others only had one. Being newborns, none of them had opened their eyes yet. Polterpup sat by Polterkitty and awed at his new children as the little kittens and pups slept together in a little pile of fluffy ectoplasm.

'You know,' Mario said. 'When you told me we were invited to go to a luxury hotel, I wasn't expecting to see a ghost panther give birth to a bunch of ghost puppies. And... I'm not quite sure what to make of it.'

Luigi reached out for the runt of the litter and lifted the tiny pink kitty into his hand. It was small enough to fit in his palm. The little guy, or girl, mewed the most adorable sound Luigi had ever heard, purring like a plane engine as it cuddled into his soft glove. The green-clad plumber couldn't handle it anymore.

'EEEE-HEE-HEEEE!' He squealed. 'Mario, look at him! Her. I dunno. But it's soooo CUTE!'

Mario chuckled. 'Yes, I know. All kitties, even ghost ones with three tails, are cute.'

'Oh my gosh, we gotta name them! Wait,' He turned to the Polterpets. 'Have you named them already?'

'Nope.' Polterpup said. 'We were saving that so you and Daisy could do it.'

Luigi gasped. He couldn't believe that his own pets were giving him so much power! Holding the kitten close, he ran off as quickly and as carefully as he could. Much to Mario's confusion.

'Bro, where are you going?' He asked.

'I GOTTA TELL DAISY!'

Just before the official opening of the new hotel, the Last Resort staff figured there was only one way to truly celebrate it: with Morty's newest movie!

Morty stood in front of the projection screen, gesturing wildly. 'Ladies and gentleman, robots, cats, and dogs alike, I present to you... the greatest movie I have ever made! What a masterpiece! Filled with gripping action, dripping with emotion... Oh, and the suspense! It has it all! Feast your eyes on THIS! If it is not the very definition of true art, I do not know what is!'

And thus, the movie properly began. The words 'Written, Edited, and Directed by Morty Spookus' appeared on the screen for a second, before grand music began as it cut to everyone else's names that flew dramatically into view.

Starring, Luigi and Daisy!

Music by Amadeus Wolfgeist and DJ Phantasmagloria. Sets built by Johnny Deepend. Lights wired by Clem and Billie Hayseed. Plants grown by Ramos Potter.

Luigi and Daisy were quite shocked to see that there was, in fact, a lot more to the movie than they realised. It opened up with a brief (and rather nonsensical) explanation of what got our heroes to the point where they were.

… forced to flee their beloved home city in order to escape the terrifying beast!

This apparently led them to the forest with the creepy ghost lady. And Luigi was still terrified by her.

'WAAHHH!'

'Hello, gorgeous... Well, we've got the water! With the water from this, I believe we might have a chance to harvest the magical flame!'

'A magic what now?' Chambrea asked. 'You serious?'

Daisy blinked at the screen many, many times. 'That is… not what I said.'

Steward chuckled. 'Morty's way of making movies isn't quite like what you're used to. All he needs is a few basic scenes and lines, and the editing takes over.'

'T-There was definitely a better way to go about this…'

With this bucket, they arrived in a city swarmed by a cruel winter. They had to weave through a bombardment of arrows fired by people warring over resources. When they chucked the water onto the little sprout, it grew a mile high and bloomed into a ball of fire shaped like a rose.

In an instant, the wintry apocalypse ended. The snow melted and the sun returned, bringing warmth to the land and prosperity to the crops.

'I can't believe this foul beast!' Movie Luigi exclaimed. 'She not only banished us from our beautiful city, but doomed this kingdom to a neverending ruin!'

'And that's why we're here to stop it!' Daisy said. 'We're going to fix everything, even if it kills us!'

'Which I hope it doesn't…'

'YIP YIP!'

Dr Potter rolled his eyes. 'This is all just a way tah stitch tha disjointed scenes tahgether, ain't it?'

'That's what I love about Morty's films!' Lindsey said. 'They're so wild and FUN!'

'Wild is right…' Amadeus murmured.

Unfortunately, it seemed like Luigi and Daisy had to learn how to harvest the fire. Next thing they (or the audience) knew, an entire city was set on fire.

'OH!' Daisy yelled. 'That escalated quickly.'

'F-F-Fire…' Gooigi said, trembling. 'I-I don't like fire.'

'Neizer do I,' Soulfflé said. 'I've had some bad experiences.'

'How did y'all manage ta set fire ta an entire city?!' Clem demanded.

'Knowing these mates,' Fishook said with a laugh. 'I'm not surprised.'

A firetruck (played by Angelina) rode into the scene with a firefighter (Brad) charging to fight the fire. Alas, he was no match for the raging flames.

'We have to tame these wild flames!' Daisy said.

'I don't think I can do that,' Luigi said. 'I was never able to tame the flames inside of your heart.'

'Aww…' Luigi said.

'You sure you didn't say that?' Mario asked. 'It sounds like something you would say.'

'H-Hey!'

Serpci put her hands together and sighed. 'He's so romantic…!'

It took a while (and some wild dance moves) to 'tame the wild flames', but eventually our heroes learnt how to do so. And it turned out that the flames had more magical powers than seemingly burning things, because Luigi and Daisy used it to change their size! Unfortunately, all they did was shrink down to the size of mice in a workshop.

'What a catastrophe!' Daisy yelled. 'This is… well, this is just inconvenient.'

Daisy let out a rather inelegant laugh. 'Okay, now that's something I would say.'

After a giant (well, technically normal-sized) spider almost attacked our heroes and got set on fire for its troubles, Luigi and Daisy finally understood how to harness the fire's powers. How, exactly?

'I think I finally understand,' Movie Luigi said. 'We have to work together, for only the power of the most amazing love can possibly tame these vicious flames!'

'You're right!' Movie Daisy said. 'I can't believe I never saw it before. Only my sweet and passionate love for you can help us save the day!'

'Dis is da cheesiest ding I've ever watched,' Kruller said. 'And I wouldn't have it any odder way.'

'That's Morty for you!' Gloria said.

And you know how the rest of it went. Luigi and Daisy were suddenly gigantic and battled against the monster. Just like how it played out on set, the deflected fireball ended up destroying Sigourney's costume. The confusion in the actors' faces remained.

'Oh my Grambi. The Beast was a giant ghost the whole time?'

'Um, uh... yes! I definitely was this whole time! Not at all intended to be a beast from the gecko - uh, get-go.'

'Um, it would appear so! Who knows what compelled her to wear that strange costume? Maybe she was… lonely?'

S-Sure, let's go with that.'

Sigourney slammed her face into her hands. 'I am never getting hired after this.'

In spite of how awkward the poor Goob felt, Luigi managed to convince the Beast (which is supposedly still her name now) to be friends as the music turned into a delightful classical/disco hybrid.

'D-Daisy… Y-You're trying to seduce me, aren't you?'

'Trying? Oh, I'm not trying and you know it.'

The audience was practically roaring from a kiss so passionate! And, with that, the credits rolled- a happy little montage showed the heroes and the Beast returning to help the giant ghost fix what she had broken. The scenes were too oddly adorable for any bad special effects to ruin.

The credits lingered on one trio of names - Lucille, Harrison, and Adriana, all ending with the last name 'Spookus'. Everyone watching erupted into applause.

'WHOOO!' Daisy cheered. 'I don't know what I just watched, but I loved it!'

As the audience continued to cheer, Steward removed the film reel from the projector and turned the lights back on. Morty could contain his excitement no more, and flew around the room like an out of control airplane.

'I've done it! I've finally done it!' He declared. 'Thanks to my brilliant actors, I have produced the greatest movie that I will ever make! I have tried for decades and decades, never quite hitting that spark. But now... now? I have finally NAILED IT!'

Something strange happened. Morty's body began to glow, the light getting progressively brighter. The applause died down, slowly, as the revelation as to what was going on sunk into every one of them.

'Uh... what's happening?' Daisy asked, she and Luigi growing uneasy.

The other ghosts gasped.

'It's happening…' Steward said, before smiling. 'It's happening!'

'Doth art no drill,' MacFrights said. 'It happeneth right now, beforeth thy very eyes!'

Morty, in an uncharacteristically calm manner, floated over to Luigi and lifted his hands into his. The plumber seized up from the unexpected contact.

'Luigi,' Morty said, surprisingly relaxed. 'I would just like to thank you, one last time.'

Luigi gasped. Tears came to his eyes, but he still managed to smile. Daisy watched in shock.

'L-Luigi?'

'Morty,' Luigi said. 'I have to thank you too. I never thought I'd get to be in a movie. And for the button. And the, uh... you get it.'

Luigi turned to Daisy. The princess looked more than distressed, in contrast to Polterpup who understood what was going on.

'Say goodbye, Daisy.'

Daisy breathed in slowly. 'Goodbye, Morty.'

'Yip yip.'

'Meeeooow!'

Morty let go of Luigi's hands, and floated back. Luigi reached out, as if trying to anchor him down, but chose to wave instead.

'Goodbye, everyone!' Morty announced, waving to the entire audience. 'See you on the other side!'

The glow grew so bright, it consumed his whole body. Polterkitty hopped out of Luigi's lap and ran over to the blinding light.

'Miaaa-ooow!'

She reached out to him, but it accomplished nothing. The light slowly faded away, as all the other ghosts said their goodbyes.

'Bye Morty.'

'Bye-bye!'

'Hope you have a great time on the other side, Mr Morty!'

'Goodbye...'

When the bright light vanished, Morty was gone. Silence befell the studio. Luigi wiped his eyes, and continued staring at where Morty stood with a genuine soft smile.

'You're welcome, Morty.'

'Um...' Daisy stammered. 'W-What just happened? W-Where did Morty go?'

She turned around to the rest of the audience. It could only be described as 'bittersweet', with emphasis on the 'sweet'. Some of the ghosts embraced each other, while others continued to wave him off. MacFrights and Kruller gave salutes, and the triplets created a small firework in the shape of Morty's face.

'If I may, Miss Daisy,' Amadeus said, catching her attention 'You might be aware that when people die, they may become ghosts.'

'Uh, yeah. Duh. Mind explaining what just happened?'

'We become ghosts when we have something to finish. It could be anything between yearning to tell a joke's punchline, needing to make sure we had a fulfilling life, or even wanting to say goodbye to our loved ones one last time. Morty wished to make the greatest movie ever made, and you and your companions helped him finish what he set out to do.'

Daisy's eyes widened as she started to get it. 'And when we helped him do that...'

'He had no reason to remain as a ghost anymore. Thus, he finally got to fade away peacefully.'

Daisy fell into stunned silence. She stammered out some words that couldn't possibly be anything coherent. She looked around. The other ghosts had smiles on their faces, as if they hadn't just witnessed their old friend vanishing.

'And we're... okay with that?!' She questioned. 'He's gone now!'

'Oh, Daisy, you don't get it.' Nikki said. 'He's not really gone. He's still with us. Just in a... different way. I don't think I've ever seen a ghost move on before!'

'Morty first ghost in hotel to move on!' Ug added. 'Luigi and Daisy be proud.'

Pride wasn't exactly the emotion Daisy felt; it was bewilderment. She stood up from her seat, and placed her hand on Luigi's shoulder.

'You sure you're okay, sweetie?' She asked. 'If this has got you down, it's okay to show it.'

He put his hand over hers and smiled. 'I'm fine. It's sad, but happy. You get it, right?'

Daisy managed to smile too. 'Yeah. I get it.'

'Alright everyone!' E. Gadd announced to the crowd in front of him. 'Who's ready for the grand reopening of the Last Resort?'

Everyone responded with cheers, and it could be heard throughout the entire valley. The brothers, the princesses, the Toads, Charles and Sam with their son Lou, all of the Grand Ghosts… even Polterkitty's entire litter, who were old enough to walk on their own now, were all there.

The sign above the giant double door may have been near identical to the last one, but there was one major difference. Below the sign itself was a new plaque that read 'Dedicated to Morty W. Spookus - The Greatest Friend a Ghost Could Have'.

Only E. Gadd and Chambrea, the new owners of the hotel, stood in front of the crowd, by a ribbon tied between two potted plants. Chambrea begrudgingly gave the professor the scissors that she had been told a hundred times not to swipe.

'After several months of construction,' E. Gadd continued. 'And after months of just about everything going wrong, the Last Resort has finally been finished! We wouldn't have been able to do it without the help of all you fellas. But before we can officially reopen this grand resort, Gooigi has something he would like to say.'

The crowd went silent as Gooigi stepped forward and stood next to the professor. At this point, his jaunt had evolved from a mere copy of Luigi's to something far more confident and flexible.

'You may remember that I said that I don't want to be called 'Gooigi' anymore.' He said. 'It's a great name, yeah, but it sounds too similar to 'Luigi'. I love my big bro, but I wanna be more than just Gooey Luigi. Inspired by my big bro's native language, I've decided to rename myself to Verde. It's the Italian word for 'green', and I like how it sounds.'

Gooigi - oh, sorry, Verde - wasn't quite sure how his friends would react to his new name, but everyone cheered him on. No one cheered harder than Luigi himself.

'And now,' Verde said. 'It's time to unveil... the new Last Resort!'

E. Gadd cut the ribbon, and everyone cheered harder than they ever had.

Author Notes - I do not regret having Polterpup and Polterkitty have kids together. Even if I did, they show up in 'Last Resort Wedding', so I would have no choice. Does it make no sense that two species of animal were able to reproduce? Well, they're ghosts. You cannot prove to me that ghost dogs and ghost cats can't have a litter together, so I consider it fair game.

I chose to make this the only LM3 adaptation in existence to give Gooigi a proper name because his part of the story was about becoming his own person. If his name is just a pun on 'Luigi', that kind of undermines the whole thing. Thus, 'Verde', which is he called throughout the final chapter and 'Last Resort Wedding'. I could've renamed him earlier, but I figured that would just be kinda confusing.