Author Notes - This chapter was about 10,000 freakin words the first time around. I've certainly reached my '20% shorter' quota with this one.

CHAPTER EIGHT - A TOTAL COP-OUT

From the speeding floor, popped out a ghost. A big red ghost with a size comparable to a Thwomp, with the rectangular shape to match. And his glowing white scowl stood directly in front of Daisy's face.

'Whoa!'

Jumping back in surprise, she lost her footing and fell backwards. She bounced down the escalator like it was a staircase, only coming to a stop once her rear hit the stationary floor on the bottom.

'Daisy!' Luigi cried. 'You o-?'

She stood up and dusted herself off. 'No need to keep asking.' She clenched her fists, the lights on the gloves glowing.

The big red ghost, known as a 'Hammer', pounded his chest with open palms like a gorilla on the attack. Each pound unleashed a small shockwave. Luigi gulped, but Daisy stood tall.

'HAROLD MAD!' The Hammer yelled. 'HAROLD CATCH GREEN GUY AND RECEIVE MONEY!'

Purple spectral walls emerged from thin air and slammed into the ground, blocking off the way to the stores on the bottom floor and the entirety of the top floor. Daisy smirked, and gave the Hammer a gesture that screamed 'bring it on'.

'S-Should you be doing that?' He asked.

'Absolutely!'

The Hammer, known as Harold apparently, clenched his huge fists and charged down the escalator with his hand out in front.

'HAROLD HURT ANNOYING PRINCESS!'

'Head's up, sweetie!' Daisy announced with a grin.

'H-Huh?!' Luigi stammered.

Harold swung his fist her way, aiming directly for the face, but she ducked under it and rolled to the side. She flawlessly transitioned from the roll to a stand and beckoned for another attack.

'Show me what ya got!'

'D-Daisy!'

The Hammer growled and, without warning, slammed his fists into the ground, unleashing a grand crimson shockwave with a nice loud THUD. Luigi immediately activated the burst function to jump over the shockwave. Luckily, Daisy jumped with him at the same time.

'That's all ya got?'

'P-Please stop antagonising him...'

Harold turned even redder. He pounded his open palms against his chest again, more violently than before.

'HAROLD MAD!'

Daisy nudged Luigi's shoulder with her elbow, and murmured something along the lines of 'alright, your cue'. After a few seconds of thinking it over, he nodded and began charging up his Strobulb.

'MORTALS MUST PAY SO HAROLD GETS PAID! BOSS ONLY PAY IF GREEN GUY DELIVERED! SO MORTALS MUST-'

Luigi cut him off mid-sentence with a flash to the eyes. Despite the Hammer's bulk, the bright light stunned him the same way as all the ghosts before him.

The green-clad ghostbuster jumped at his chance, and began sucking the big ghost into the Poltergust. Oh wait, no, he tried to suck up the big ghost. Though the stunned Hammer couldn't move, he wouldn't get into the Poltergust no matter how long Luigi held the button down for.

And unlike Chambrea, who at least got her tail stuck, Harold didn't even do that.

'I... I can't get him in!' Luigi cried. 'The Poltergust can't get a grip!'

Harold shook off the daze from the light, and glared at the plumber. It didn't do him any good, as Luigi just stunned him again.

'Hold him there!' Daisy said as she handed the key to Luigi.

He shoved the key away into his pocket. 'Uh, okay?'

Luigi kept the Poltergusting going, even though all it accomplished was removing tiny little specks of energy away from the Hammer's unmovable body.

Daisy left his side and ran around to the other end of the big angry ghost. He was just as bulky from behind as he was at front, except for the two small tails sticking out from what appeared to be his rear end. If ghosts even had rear ends. With the lights on the gloves glowing bright, she slapped her hands over the tails, one in each hand, and held on tight.

'HUH?' Harold said, feeling something on his tails. 'GET OFF HAROLD SO HAROLD CAN KILL PRINCESS!'

Harold flew around the small area the spectral fences had gated them into. Luigi watched, with a growing grin, as his princess hung on tight while the ghost dragged her across the floor.

She let go of one tail to wave her hand in the air like she was twirling a lasso. 'YEEEEEE-HAW! Ged along li'l ghostie!'

'HAROLD HATE PRINCESSES! AND PRINCES TOO! HAROLD SEE NO DIFFERENCE!'

She rolled her eyes. As fun as wrangling the guy was, she already had enough of his butchering of language itself. Not to mention that grabbing onto such a big target was actually beginning to tucker her out.

'Alrighty, that's enough.' She said, like an exasperated parent.

'Get 'em, Daisy!' Luigi cheered into a makeshift megaphone made from his hands.

'ARF ARF!' Polterpup yelped while dancing on his hindlegs.

Daisy flashed the green-clad plumber a wink, making him blush. She held onto both the tails tight, and with a great heave slammed his face into the floor. The shockwaves created knocked the bins over, covering the floor with trash.

'PRINCESS ANNOYING! PRINCESS IN WAY OF HAROLD'S PAY!'

'Pronouns; use them!'

She bashed his face on the floor many, many more times. Each time, she could feel the struggle against her grasp slipping away. No matter how much she struck him, she refused to stop until he broke apart into scattered red particles.

A quiet voice whispered as the particles flew past her ear. 'Harold understand... Harold leave princess and green guy alone.'

Daisy dusted her hands off, marvelling at her work as the ethereal fences lifted and vanished.

'Yeah, yeah!' Luigi continued to cheer, now joining his pet in the hoppy dance. 'Daisy, Daisy, she's the best! She, um, something something... than the rest!'

Realising how his cheer fell apart just about immediately, he blushed and laughed nervously.

He rubbed the back of his neck. 'Hehe... I'll, uh, work on that.'

Daisy chuckled. 'No. It's perfect as is.'

Now free from the control of the Hammer, the escalators moved properly once again. As they ran past the gift shop, Luigi stopped for a moment. At the corner of his eye, he could see a table with four chairs stacked onto it. The chairs weren't stacked regularly though; more like a balancing puzzle that hardly obeyed the laws of gravity at all. He turned around to get a better look, only for all four chairs to be resting on the floor like regular seats should. He blinked, and suddenly they were all back on the floor.

They arrived at the office with the star lock finally with the star key in tow. Luigi took the key out to unlock the door...

*THUD*

'Ah!'

Only to be interrupted by Daisy slamming her fist into the door.

'Ow!'

Luigi dropped the key in shock. 'W-What are you doing?!'

She took her hand away and shook the pain off. 'I thought I'd punch right through this door like I did before! Are the gloves malfunctioning or something?'


*THUD*

'WoooAAAH!'

Officer Kruller fell out of his chair for the second time that hour. The sound came directly from behind his office door.

He peered his bare eyes over the edge of his desk, his hands shaking. 'Oh no... they've reached my office. How? I thought I hid dose keys perfectly.'

His attention fell to the lost-and-found room to his left. He was yet to close its gate, so it was still open to the general public, assuming they got into his office.

'Alright den. If dat's what youse want.' He said, slipping his sunglasses back on.

He picked up his walkie talkie. It still wasn't on.

'Breaker breaker, I got some intruders about ready to storm into my office. Don't bother wit' sendin' back-up. I got dis. Over!'

While the intruders on the other side of the door conversed with themselves, Kruller got down onto the floor and made an epic sideways roll into the lost-and-found. Or at least tried to. In reality, he stopped halfway through and flailed his arms about as he tried in vain to keep the roll going.

'Uh, correction. I might need back-up. Over.'

After a few seconds of struggling, he managed to heave his body towards his destination. Bumping into a box, he got up and reached his hand inside it.

'I'm sure dis is where I left it...'

He felt his hand grab something. Pulling it out, he was greeted with a tiny box. A puppet sprung out of it, and smiled right in his face.

'Gah!' He exclaimed, throwing it away. 'I t'ought I got rid of dat t'ing!'

When he reached in again, he grabbed a more spherical object, one that jabbed into his translucent skin. Turned out to be a puffed-up pufferfish.

'OH MY JAYDES!' He screamed in a voice higher-pitched than normal.

He shook his hand as wildly as he could to shake that confounded fish off.

'Who is even losin' dese fish?! Is it Fishook's? Or Soulfflé's? Or... whatever, get it away from me!'

Giving that box one last chance, he peered into it and searched for the object he desired.

He smiled. 'Bingo! I am now armed and ready. Over!'


'Maybe it has a cool-down?' Luigi suggested as he turned the key. 'Or maybe it's an anger thing?'

Daisy huffed. 'Well, I suppose that gives me another reason not to just break every door down. It won't work half the time!'

Luigi pushed the door open, not at all expecting what greeted him on the other side.

'FREEZE wit' your hands up!'

Office Kruller stood on the other side, towering over all three of our heroes. He had a gun, pointed directly at Luigi's head.

'Wah!'

Luigi stood straight and put his hands up, shaking like an overplayed maraca. Daisy, on the other hand, gave Kruller the most 'are you for real?' look you have ever seen, which contrasted against his super-serious expression.

'Officer...' She glanced at his nametag. 'Kruller, that's a water gun.'

And she was absolutely right. With its bright red colouring and the big tank on top, no one - except a Luigi in a panic - could mistake it for the real thing.

'Youse have da right to remain silent!' He declared. 'Anythin' youse say can and will be used against youse when, um, Ms Gravely eventually comes to pick youse up.'

'Once again. Water gun.'

Just to make it worse, Kruller's hand was shaking so he couldn't even hold the harmless weapon still.

'I said hands up!' He yelled.

She gave him the look for a few more moments, and raised her hands up in the most unenthusiastic manner she possibly could.

'N-Now, state your name and business.'

With a sigh, she answered. 'Princess Daisy of Sarasaland. This guy is my partner Luigi, and his pet Polterpup. We just want that elevator button.'

Kruller's hardened expression softened, and he lowered the gun just a bit. 'Dat's... Dat's it? Just da button? Not... all of da merchandise, or my money, or anythin'? Just da button.'

'Yep. Just give us the button and we'll be out of here.'

The panicked cop pondered the deal over. It seemed fair to him. He was about to drop his weapon and hand over the button with no questions asked, until something stopped him.

Don't give them that button, you fool! His boss's voice rang through his head. They'll betray you and your friends. You don't want that, do you? Those mortals are scum. They capture our kind indiscriminately. If you give them that button, you'll be no better.

He slipped his gun into his belt and folded his arms. 'Okay then. You'll hafta come wit' me.'

Daisy dropped the 'you serious?' look. 'What? Why? Can't you just give it to us now?'

'We hafta talk it over foist. Make sure it's a fair deal, ya know.'

Refusing to take his eyes off them, Kruller floated backwards into the lost-and-found, beckoning for them to follow.

Daisy sighed. 'Okay. Fine. Just make it quick. Com'on Luigi.'

She followed Kruller with about as much excitement as a rock. Luigi shook in place for a few seconds before going after her with a stumble. The hairs on his neck stood up; something felt wrong here. Horribly, horribly wrong.

'Is this really a good idea?' He asked as he stepped into the next room.

'We need the button.' Daisy responded. 'Enough said.'

Luigi glanced around. The lost-and-found clearly didn't have a lot of people (or ghosts) coming into it. The musty air greeted him once again, albeit much more breathable this time. The boxes had been stacked precariously, with their various contents spilling out. Everything between golf clubs, pineapples, shoes, sports balls - wait, shoes? For ghosts?

Daisy kicked at a pair of sunglasses. 'Okay. We're in. What now?'

*CLANK*

The gate slammed shut behind them.

'Wah!'

'Hey!'

Daisy rushed to the bars and shook them violently. The lights on the glove glowed, but not nearly bright enough. Kruller finished locking up the lost-and-found, and glared at her through the bars.

'Youse've been convicted of vandalism and t'reatenin' to hurt a cop!'

Luigi brought his flashlight to his chest and hugged it tight.

'What?! We never threatened you!' Daisy yelled. 'The vandalism, fine. I take full responsibility. But we just want the button! You even seemed willing to give it to us at first! What changed?'

Kruller's leer hid his serious contemplation. 'Robbin' a police officer is a felony. And I'll see to it dat Ms Gravely gives youse da proper punishment.'

Daisy squeezed the bars of her prison as the lights on her gloves illuminated brighter. The metal morphed to her fingers, but it just wasn't enough to break through. Kruller picked up his walkie talkie from the desk. Still wasn't on.

'Officer Kruller comin' t'ru. I have apprehended da criminals. Dey tried to steal my elevator button away from me. Very soon, I will deliver dem to Ms Gravely who shall do as she pleases. Over!'

He sat down in his desk chair, putting his head on his arms as he leaned back. Licking his lips, he reached for a box of donuts that had been resting on his desk.

'Ya done good, Kruller. Ya done good.'

Daisy turned around to Luigi. He remained in the middle of the dusty room, holding onto his flashlight for dear life.

'Luigi!'

'Huh?'

Her voice brought him back into reality, the cold reality of being trapped. The sound of the princess calling his name calmed his nerves, even if just a bit.

'Use Gooigi!' Daisy said. 'He can get through these bars.'

Luigi knocked his fist against his skull. Gah, I'm so stupid! Why didn't I think of that before? He deployed Gooigi onto the floor, and took a few moments to get his bearings. The wobbly green filter still disoriented him, but the musty air seemed so much fresher when in the body of someone without lungs.

As he ran towards the gate, he noticed that he walked with much more balance now, without his jelly legs making him wobble all over the place. If Gooigi had a mouth, he'd smile; he was getting the hang of this new body faster than he thought he would.

'Show 'im, Luigi!' Daisy cheered.

Though the bars were close together, Gooigi slipped his viscous body through them with ease. Any rips in the goop reformed almost immediately. The fear he felt did not appear on his blank face. Kruller glanced to his left as a green figure entered his point-of-view.

'OH GOODNESS!'

He didn't fall out of his chair this time - an improvement to be sure - but dropped his half-eaten cruller on the floor.

'How... how did youse get out? Mortals can't go t'ru walls! ... C-Can dey?'

It didn't take him long to realise that mortals typically weren't monochrome or made of gummy bears. He noticed the other man in green - the original - still in the middle of his cell like he fell asleep standing up.

'Dere's t'ree of youse?! Ms Gravely told me dere was only two! Where did dis squishy guy come from?'

Gooigi hesitated. A wannabe hero who's scared of everything... who does that remind me of?

'I-I already told youse!' Kruller yelled. 'You can't have dis button!'

'Not to rush you or anything...' Daisy said, still behind the bars obviously. 'But could BUST HIM already?!'

Gooigi nodded, the only real way he could confirm that he got her order. He approached the cop, emotion gone from his gooey face. In contrast, Kruller looked more and more horrified for each step he took.

'B-Back away! I-I have a weapon!'

The fear in his voice cut Gooigi to his core. For a moment, a very short moment, he stopped in place and debated his choice. But he knew he needed that button.

Let's just make it quick...

He charged the Strobulb quickly and flashed Kruller without really paying attention as to where he was aiming it. The light consumed the ghost entirely. Once the flash disappeared however, it revealed Kruller still sitting in his seat, as horrified as ever.

Huh?

'What?' Daisy asked. 'Why didn't that work?'

Gooigi didn't need to wonder for long. Experience from his time in Evershade Valley told him the answer. Just like what Greenies often employed, the dark sunglasses Kruller wore over his eyes negated anything the Strobulb would've done.

'Dang it.' He muttered, still not used to his distorted voice.

'F-FREEZE!' The cop yelled.

In one flawless movement, Kruller hoisted his aquatic weapon out of his holster and aimed it dead between Gooigi's eyes. His already-gelatine legs shook even more. And he couldn't understand why. He had known from the beginning that the weapon was nothing more than a squirt gun. Suddenly, he realised that he was in grave danger.

'Watch out for the-!' Daisy tried to warn.

Kruller fired his gun, and a stream of water hit Gooigi between the eyes. The moment the liquid made contact and trickled down his face, he could feel himself fading away. He could feel every individual drop of goo disconnecting from every other drop. His legs dissolved and joined together into a single green puddle on the ground. Almost like quicksand, the growing puddle seemed to be consuming him. His hands dropped off and plummeted to the floor.

All the while, the process was totally painless. Gooigi expressed nothing more than annoyance, but Luigi's mind raced through a hundred different incoherent thoughts. His vision turned into nothing more than a green swirl.

'Wah?'

He lifted his head back up and found himself back in the lost-and-found, locked behind bars.

'Huh? Where am...?'

Upon noticing that he was no longer surrounded by a slimy filter, he realised what just happened. He blinked a few times; the process went by so fast, he couldn't even tell how he got here.

Kruller gaped at his water gun. 'Um... I did not expect dat to work.'

Luigi groaned. 'Dang it.' He muttered again.

His nerves tingled, like a harmless electric shock, drowning out whatever concerned sentence that Daisy was muttering. Glancing behind him, he saw that Gooigi had returned home.

'Oh... sei serio?'

'What are you complaining about?' Daisy said, not entirely sure what he said. 'Get back out there!'

Following her advice, he summoned Gooigi once again. As soon as he saw everything in green, he spun around and slipped through the gate again.

'What?!' Kruller yelled. 'B-But I shot youse! How did youse...?'

The cop readjusted his sunglasses and scowled. He pushed his chair away, though it was completely unnecessary, and floated around his desk while keeping his eye and gun pointed directly at the gooey being in front of him.

'Don't move a muscle.' He said. 'Or I'll shoot.'

Gooigi stood as still as a lucky cat statue; as if he'd do anything else in that body.

'GRRR...!'

He turned his head and saw Polterpup by his side snarling at the officer.

Kruller looked down to the mutt for just a moment. 'I've worked wit' dogs. I know how to handle youse. I-I t'ink.'

Polterpup looked up to his owner with anticipating eyes. Gooigi pointed at the sunglasses, and that was all the dog needed to know.

'I'll need da two... three... uh, four? Yeah, da four of youse to remain behind dose bars. Breakin' out of jail is a horrible crime and Ms Gravely will punish youse appropriately.'

Daisy groaned for a good three seconds. For each word that guard said about them being arrested or whatever, the bars in her hands got more and more crushed. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be enough. Polterpup, just as fed up as she was, leapt past the cop's face. Before Kruller could even flinch, the spectral puppy snatched up the sunglasses right off his face.

'Huh? Hey!'

Giving Kruller a smug look, Polterpup chomped the glasses into nothing more than black shards on the floor.

Kruller gasped. 'D-Dat counts as destruction of property. At dis rate, your sentence will extend into da afterlife!'

In response, Polterpup turned around, shoved his rear into the air and waved it about.

'Hey! Annoyin' a cop is definitely a crime! ... Maybe. I-I haven't read da rules in a while.'

Polterpup blinked at him.

'Oh! Uh, I mean... dat automatically adds an additional five years to your sentence! Over!'

Daisy cocked an eyebrow. Gooigi wasted no time, and beamed him in his exposed eyes.

Kruller shuddered from the sudden flash. The sensation rendered him feeling helpless, even worse than the stories had him believe. And when the blinding light vanished, he found himself on the wrong end of a green vacuum cleaner.

He unleashed a scream nearly high-pitched enough to break glass. 'U-UNHAND ME! AT ONCE! ... P-Please?'

All he got from his assailant was a blank, apathetic stare.

'GETOFFMEGETOFFMEGETOFFME!'

Kruller, just like the other ghosts before, raced around the room and dragged Gooigi along with him, making clear circles around his desk. Through the translucent green skin, one could notice the purple ghostly specks that were flying off the ghoul's body travelling through the pipe and into storage. The cop fired his weapon about randomly, not getting even close to his intended target. He did, however, succeed in splashing Daisy in the face.

She spat out some water. 'Yeah! Go Luigi!' She cheered, keeping one hand on the bars. 'Bust that cop! Show 'im what... for.'

Watching her man in green take out the guard with (relative) ease, her grip on the bars loosened. A nasty thought infested her mind. Wow. She thought. He doesn't really need me, does he? It was just the Poltergust though, right? All she'd have to do was take it, wear it on her back, and then she'd be controlling Gooigi herself. She took one step, and stopped herself. No, I can't. She thought. I wouldn't know how to use the dang thing.

'Ow!' Gooigi yelled.

Daisy snapped back to the fight scene, seeing Gooigi lying face down on the floor and Kruller panting heavily in front of him.

'Dat's what you... get for... attackin' a... police officer...' Kruller said in between puffs.

The lights on the gloves began to glow intensely. The bars, even if just barely, bent in her hands. Kruller reached into his pocket and pulled out another pair of sunglasses, except this pair more resembled Groucho glasses. Why on Earth he had those on his person was yet to be seen, and irrelevant as he placed them over his eyes.

'FREEZE!'

Gooigi lifted his face off the floor, and found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. A water gun held by a very shaky hand, but a gun nonetheless.

'M-Ms Gravely has given me an order, and under n-no circumstances can I disobey her! So I-I suggest you drop your weapon and cease fire immediately.'

The conscious being inside Gooigi struggled to look at the ghost before him. At that moment, he cursed his apathetic body. If only he didn't need Gooigi for this fight, he could say so much.

I'm so sorry, Officer. I don't want to hurt you. I know what it's like to want to be a hero, only for your fears to let you down. Please, don't fight me. You don't have to. I'll deal with Ms Gravely myself. Just give us the button and we'll leave.

Only one thing came out.

'I understand.'

Those two simple words made Kruller stop shaking.

'Y-Youse understand?'

Gooigi nodded. Maybe Kruller thought he meant 'I understand why you have to do this', or 'I know what it's like having crippling fears'. It didn't matter. Kruller understood him.

'RUFF RUFF!'

Polterpup, seeing an opportunity, left the remains of the old sunglasses and leapt at the new pair. Without even flinching, Kruller grabbed on his collar and held him in place. He did so without a hint of fear on his face, when in reality it was his terror that let him commit such a feat in the first place. That's right. Ms Gravely's voice spoke to him. Make me proud. Show the others that you're more than just a coward. Keep that green man locked away and become everyone's hero.

Kruller nodded. 'I will make youse proud, boss.' He said, seemingly to himself, in a monotone voice. 'I will help youse catch dis man.'

Gooigi got to his knees and went to grab his Poltergust. The closer his hand got to the nozzle, the closer Kruller was to pulling the trigger.

'I can and will fire. I am willin' to hurt you. Don't even try.'

All of the fear in his voice had vanished, replaced with nothing, like another force had taken over his mind. Gooigi couldn't believe it. Daisy, however, didn't care about his sudden change in attitude.

'HEY!' She shouted.

Unbeknownst to her, she bent several bars at once. She breathed heavily; she may not have noticed, but it took a great deal of her energy. Kruller turned his head to her in an instant and, just as quickly, his usual terrified expression came back to him.

'W-What?! H... how?' He stammered. 'I-I-I wasn't told dat mortals could do dat!'

His eyes darted to Gooigi, just quickly enough that the cop didn't notice what the gelatine man was about to do. With Kruller distracted, Gooigi hopped to his feet, and activated the burst function once more. Unlike Luigi's Poltergust, which brought him into the air by its shoulder straps, a solid mass of goo connected the 'Poltergoo' to Gooigi's back.

Just as he wanted, Kruller rolled backwards onto the floor, let go of Polterpup, and - most importantly - lost his sunglasses for a second time. He had just a moment to realise that his best defence was gone.

'Uh oh...' He muttered, milliseconds before Gooigi enveloped him in a bright green light.

The gooey ghostbuster, desiring to get it over with, got him into the Poltergust immediately. Kruller dragged him about, but Gooigi couldn't help but notice that keeping his tether was far easier this time around.

'I ADMIT IT, HELLEN!' Kruller shouted as loudly as he could. 'I never wanted to do dis! I'M SCARED, HELLEN! I knew da green bud was too strong... I knew he would capture me! BUT YOUSE MADE ME DO IT ANYWAY!'

Hearing such desperate cries for help almost made Gooigi give up and let him go. Almost.

'I'm not brave like da others. I KNOW DAT, HELLEN! Just fire me already... I DON'T WANNA DO DIS ANYMORE!'

If Gooigi could, he'd smile. At least he won't have to work for Ms Gravely anymore... He could feel his grip on Kruller get extra tight, and with a simple flick of the Poltergust sent him flying through the air and crashing into the ground. Gooigi grunted; the big ghost had been the hardest thing to slam yet.

The next few slams came in quick succession, not relenting once as all Gooigi wanted was to help this guard out. After what seemed like an eternity of bashes for the both of them, Kruller finally gave up. He smiled for a moment, before wincing.

'I'M SO SORRY, HELLEN!'

And that was the last thing he said before he disappeared into the Poltergust, leaving nothing behind except for dissipating purple specks of energy. The nozzle rattled as a yellow light emerged from inside it. Gooigi got hit with nasty recoil as the elevator button burst from its prison and landed gracefully on the desk.

Gooigi let the whole situation sink in for a moment.

'Yeah! Luigi did it!' He cried with his fists in the air. 'Huh?'

He saw Gooigi slumping in the middle of the room, and it took him a few good seconds to realise that Daisy was dragging him by the underarms. In fact, she just got done carrying him through the hole she made.

'Oh, you're awake.' She said nonchalantly, settling him down on the floor.

Luigi tapped his fingers on his flashlight. 'Um, do you think we could free him?'

'WHAT?!' She yelled. When she noticed his worried eyes, she calmed herself down. 'Y-You really wanna do that? He arrested us!'

'I know, but... he didn't want to do it. And I... I know what it's like. You know, to be scared.'

Daisy sighed. 'Look, if it makes you feel any better, who knows what would've happened to him if you didn't catch him. I doubt Ms Gravely would've forgiven him for failing.'

This thought brought a smile to his face, albeit a small one. As he picked up the elevator button, something else piqued his curiosity. Underneath the button lay two documents, a couple newspaper articles to be exact. He spun them around to face him, and his eyes widened.

OFFICER KRULLER, A MALL HERO

It had a picture of a pudgy but still defined human security guard who highly resembled Kruller. Luigi was about to ignore the newspaper, until the one dated for November 18 1947 made him gasp.

TRAGEDY BEFALLS NEW DONK CITY, OFFICER KRULLER SHOT ON THE JOB

New Donk City has suffered a great tragedy. Beloved security guard Paul Kruller, known for his heroic yet friendly attitude, has lost his life at the tragically young age of 35.

The Rambi Mall was under attack by a shooter, who had taken three lives before finally being stopped. Kruller had stepped in to save young Johnny Deepend (6), and took the bullet for him.

'I can't believe we lost him.' Kruller's team mate 'Long John' said. 'I didn't think we'd ever lose such a dear friend. I can only imagine how guilty he feels that he couldn't save those three lives.'

Luigi stared at this news story, unable to speak or even really think. He held the button close to his chest, lacking the feeling to actually cry. The news before him painted an awful picture.

'He... he was a hero.' He murmured. 'A-And we...'

'Shhh...' Daisy said. 'It's fine. We did what we had to. And think of it this way. We've freed him from Ms Gravely now.'

Luigi's eyes settled them on the elevator button. It's okay, Officer. I'll take down Ms Gravely. For you. And Steward. And, um... Chambrea, I think her name was? Yes, for them. He broke away from the warm embrace, now filled with shaky determination, and grabbed the button. Floor 2...

'Let's-a go!' He said, with more optimism than either person expected. 'Come on, boy!'

With Polterpup by his side and the button in his hand, he ran out the door.

'Wait, Luigi!' Daisy said. 'What about Goo-?'

As Luigi made his way through the door, Gooigi gave him a thumbs-up before dissolving into droplets and returning to the Poltergust G-00.

'Oh. Alright then.' She turned around, but immediately stopped. 'Wait, did Gooigi just...? I must be seeing things.'

And she followed after her partner, to wherever the new button took him.


OFFICER KRULLER, THE COWARDLY COP

AGE - 35

GENDER - Male

CAUSE OF DEATH - Shot on the job

Officer Paul Kruller is a tragic case. He used to work for the Rambi Mall as a security guard, taking great pride in justice and donuts, and was as heroic and courageous as you'd expect a cop to be. Unfortunately, he was shot on the job while defending a young boy from a shooter. Since then, he has been terrified of everything. Since other lives were lost that day, he feels great guilt over his failure and hopes to make up for it.

Author Notes - Yes, Kruller's first name being 'Paul' is referencing EXACTLY what you think it's referencing. Despite that, the obvious reference had absolutely no influence on how I wrote the character. Mostly because I haven't even seen that movie. It was just meant to be a little reference to the in-joke. It's fairly common for Kruller to receive a rather tragic and traumatic backstory, and I can only hope I did it justice.

This time around, I'm actually going to be foreshadowing Gooigi's sentience! In the original story, I only started foreshadowing it in the very same chapter it was going to be important in, because I was making crap up as I went along. That wasn't very good writing, so now we'll be seeing the occasional hint that there's more to Gooigi than it seems.