Chapter 7- Alligator Well and Boo Balcony
After a brief visit back at the lab, Luigi heads back to the secluded section of the back yard, where the maid's quarters once stood. "Dang, two burnt building in one night; people are going to start wondering if I'm a pyro or something," he notes as he observes the debris pile. "There has to be something here," he assumes, "there are no other paths without the need of a key." As he looks around, he notices a large well behind the burnt house plot. The well is made from brick and has the little shed that covers it with a pulley system attached. He shines his flashlight down the well to see water still inside and then something glittering in the bucket at the bottom. He yanks the rope, engaging the pulley to bring up the bucket. As the bucket comes into view, the plumber peers inside and the key glistens in the moonlight, but suddenly it disappears. Fretting, Luigi pours the bucket out onto the grass, revealing nothing but water.
Disappointed and confused, he looks back down the well and sees the key lying once again at the bottom. He grabs the bucket and chucks it back into the well; it lands on the water's surface and floats. He sits on the side of the well and swings his legs over, so they dangle into the well. With a deep breath, he slides into the well and falls into the water below. He dives under the surface, spots the key, and swims toward it. As he approaches the key, he reaches out his hand, but then recoils back as he notices that the dirt around the key does not look right. The key is lying in a little alcove of rocks, jutting out of the dirt almost like a perimeter fence. The odd thing that makes the plumber pause is that the dirt appears to be pulsating, slowly up and down. Luigi reaches down, picks up a rock, and chucks it next to the key. He watches as the rocks slowly sinks and lands next to the key with no adverse effects. Figuring there is no danger, the plumber starts to reach out when suddenly the rocks erupt out of the dirt and the key disappears as the rocks are actually part of a mouth; the mouth of a large alligator snapping turtle.
The turtle is just a bit larger than Luigi, its jaws about the size of the plumber's head. It roars in anger then charges at the green clad man. Luigi swims out of the way, dodging the charge, and the turtle slams into side of the well. The plumber reaches for the hose of the Poltergust readying to fry the turtle, but stops in mid-reach. If I use electricity, I'll fry us both in this water, he ten looks up to the surface and to the floating bucket. Quickly he swims to the bucket, the turtle not too far behind him. He grabs the bucket and yanks on the rope for some slack. The turtle's head emerges from the water with a large splash and jaws snapping. After gaining it's bearing, the snapping turtle turns toward the plumber and charges once more. Before the snapping turtle can crunch down on his leg, Luigi shoves the bucket into the turtle's moth where it becomes stuck. The large reptile thrashes around, trying to get the bucket out of its mouth. As the turtle struggles, Luigi uses the excess rope and wraps it around the turtle's thrashing body then climbs up onto the turtle's shell and then the rope to the top of the well. He climbs out of the well and searches for the end of the rope. After locating the rope the plumber pulls on it, bringing up the bucket and more importantly the alligator snapping turtle out of its home turf. The entangled snapping turtle growls as Luigi lifts it up out of the well and keeps it suspended in mid-air. Cautiously, Luigi braces against the bucket, that is still lodged in the reptile's mouth, and with his free hand reaches inside the turtle's mouth. He pats the turtle's tongue until he feels the key then pulls it out and throws it onto the grass.
After shaking the spit off his hand in disgust, he steps back and lets go of the rope, sending the turtle plummeting to the bottom of the well. It lands with a loud splash and seconds later, its head breaks the surface of the water. With the bucket now out of its mouth, the alligator snapping turtle bellows angrily up at the plumber peering down from the top of the well. Luigi smirks, picks up the key, and heads back to the mansion.
He takes the key up to the second floor, where it leads him to the west wing, which was inaccessible before. The door opens to a long hallway with two doors on each side; he opens the door on the left to find a large balcony similar to the one of the previous mansion. He steps out to the edge and looks out at the landscape. His eyes start with the garage then to the burnt greenhouse, the ruins of the maids' quarters, and the large well, but he notices something past the hedges surrounding the well and maids' quarters, a spire piercing through the trees. He squints trying to clearly identify the landmarks. A small path leads from the western side of the house, which he cannot see past, and winds up into the woods where it disappears behind the cover of the trees. "I bet that's where I need to go," Luigi observes, "but how do I get there?"
"You shan't worry because you won't be venturing any further," a deep voice chuckles.
Luigi shivers as he feels the air drop in temperature as if a shadow is falling upon him. The sharp clink of the black magical thorns causes him to inhale sharply as he knows that he must battle again to progress any further and survive. He slowly turns to see a large black boo staring at him with his bright yellow eyes, gleaming white fangs and bright red tongue. The boo reminds him of Boolossus, but ebony in color. His knees quake slightly, but he quickly grabs his flashlight and tries the strobe, but to no effect.
"Did you seriously think that minuscule flashlight would scare me," the boo heartily laughs. "Pathetic. How did you endure this long? However, your luck is about to run dry." The large boo splits into ten small boos and they charge at the plumber.
Luigi dives out of the way and rolls back onto his feet. There is no shelter on the patio, so no place for him to hide. He grabs his flashlight and tries to use it on the slightly large boos, in their attacks as they use the hit-and-run method. They sneak up on the plumber and lick him as they fly past. Their tongues release a much more potent shock than the ones in the kitchen; the shock drives Luigi to his knees as it causes his legs to give out. He is able to roll out of the way and avoid the pack's attacks while he is on the ground until two of the boos decide to work together. One attacks and brings the plumber to his knees and the other pounces, pushing him down onto all fours. Soon the rest of the boos join in and the shock of their tongues make it feel like his nervous system is on fire. Spots dot his vision and he drops down onto his belly as his limbs give out. He is about to give up as the pain in his nervous system wrecks havoc on his brain until one of the boo bites him. The sharp pain in his left arm overrides the constant pain in his body; he looks over to the boo biting him and smacks it with the flashlight in his other hand. The boo grimaces, but does not let go. Luigi flashes the boo with the strobe causing it to let go out of anger, he grabs the boo's tongue and flings it away. It collides with the rail and floats aimlessly, stunned by the impact. The younger Mario Brother turns his attention to the other boos despite the pain. He flips over and shines the strobe in their faces. They cover their eyes and retreat a couple of feet, giving Luigi the opportunity to get back to his feet. He looks back over to the boo that bit him to see it just now starting to recover from its collision with the rail giving him an idea. The boos start darting around once more, hoping to get the plumber pinned with another hit-and-run attack. The green clad man has wised up; however, and he takes position up against the mansion wall. One of the ebony boos dashes toward him, as it draws closer it sticks out its tongue for a swipe. Before the boo can lick him, Luigi grabs it tongue and swings it into the wall. The collision stuns the boo and the plumber pulls out the Poltergust to trap it with success. The green clad plumber repeats the process until only five are left, at this point the boos stop their dash attacks and recombine into the large boo.
"Crafty little man you are," the boo observes. "Your craftiness will not save you." The large boo dashes toward the man with tongue extended, Luigi dodges, and the boo smacks into the wall with a loud thud. The younger Mario Brother turns to the boo, ready to contain him with the Poltergust, but the boo shakes off the collision easily and turns back to the plumber. "It is not going to be that easy simpleton," the ebony boo informs then charges once more.
Luigi dodges and rolls underneath a shelf planter, which does not hide him very well. Seriously? Okay if the wall hit won't do it, an element surely will. I hope… He pops out from underneath the planter and aims the Poltergust toward his foe. The boo rams full speed ahead and as it gets closer, the plumber shoots out fire from the Poltergust into the boo's mouth. The fire does not slow down the boo, he continues to charge; the plumber dives down to the floor, barely avoiding the attack. After the boo sweeps overhead, he gets back to his feet and faces his adversary once more. When the boo turns and faces him, Luigi notices that the boo's tongue is on fire, but nothing else is affected. Hmm, with a flips of the switch he changes the elemental to electricity and aims for the tongue.
The boo laughs then starts to vanish, "Not going to be that easy…" The boo vanishes, cloaked under the dark of night.
"Shit," the plumber grumbles as he grips the hose of the Poltergust tighter, nerves starting to get to him. He watches his surroundings cautiously and constantly, waiting for the boo to make his move or reveal his location. A pot on the planter shelf moves slightly making a slight creak causing his head to turn then a firefly flies by his head, spooking him. "Heck with this," he unleashes the lightning and sweeps the entire balcony trying to flush the boo out. Near the rail, bolts of electricity swirl around in an oval pattern, out of character unless it is surrounding an oval object. "There you are," the plumber runs toward the boo with electricity pouring out of the vacuum. The boo laughs despite being found and charges toward the younger Mario Brother. As they collide, Luigi pays the price as the boo's electrified tongue deals a double dose of pain. The electricity transfers from the boo's tongue to the plumber's body then the sting of the poison from the boo's tongue follows causing him to drop to the ground.
The boo chuckles triumphantly, "Stupid little man, you just don't listen." The boo begins to swoop once more for an attack.
Luigi rolls over to see the boo coming at him once more. He switches the Poltergust to the next element and readies himself. When the boo comes into range, the green clad Mario Brother grabs his tongue and yanks hard. The boo is thrown off balance and falters, tumbling to the ground. With tongue in hand, the plumber smashes the end of the hose into the boo's mouth and turns it on. Ice crystals grow on the bright red tongue and quickly encase it. The boo screams as the ice continues to spread and encases the boo itself. With the black boo completely frozen, Luigi picks up the ice cube and lifts it over his head, "You were easier to catch when you were in pieces!" He chucks it down onto the patio and it shatters into five pieces; each piece containing a smaller boo. How the? Okay, not what I thought would happen, but whatever, Luigi shakes his head and turns the Poltergust back to its normal function and captures all of the frozen boos. The thorns on the door disappear and the door unlocks. The younger Mario Brother breathes a sigh of relief and heads back inside.