Time for a spooky chapter.
It's going to feature both a ghost house and the Woohoo Hooniversity.
I hope you don't get too scared.
I'll try not to make it too scary.
If you find it too scary, let me know.
As a side note, I heard Akira Toriyama perished.
God bless his soul. I didn't think he would die while I was writing this fanfic. But at least it encourages me to continue. Maybe I'll make this fanfic a tribute to him. If Shigeru Miyamoto dies, I could make the fanfic a tribute to him as well.
This makes writing about a ghost house ironic.
Chapter 27: Falling Sway to Ghosts
This time, Professor E. Gadd gave Luigi a Water Element Medal.
Now Luigi had more elemental coverage.
He was going to write a thank-you letter to the professor. He appreciated it when he gave him gifts. And this would likely give him an edge in future battles.
Perhaps he would give him the Ice Element Medal next.
It wouldn't be very useful in World 4, but maybe it would come in handy in World 5.
Wario decided to accompany Luigi and Jessica.
He wasn't going to let ghosts scare him from potential treasure.
Luigi had gained a surprising amount of treasure when he went ghost hunting, after all.
Swaying Ghost House
For some strange reason, the house seemed to be swaying a bit.
It made them feel a bit seasick.
Even though they weren't actually on a ship.
Some Deadnauts appeared.
They were similar to the skeletons they had fought earlier.
But they were more heavily armored and better equipped.
This of course made them harder to take down.
They also had some dance moves.
Dance moves that could lower their attack.
It was something they needed to watch out for.
"Oh no! My attack!" exclaimed Jade.
"Hey! Don't mess with my power!" shouted Wario.
He punched a Deadnaut in retaliation, causing him to fall apart.
"Darn it! Now I have to reassemble!" exclaimed the Deadnaut.
That was going to take a while.
Some Dancing Flames appeared.
It was a bad idea to try dancing with them.
It usually resulted in burns.
Luckily, Alistair could eat flames just fine.
Perhaps his gullet was fireproof.
"I wasn't expecting a fire enemy in an ice world." noted Jessica. It was an unusual sight.
"Well, some of the monsters were hoping for a warm fire to warm them up." explained the Dancing Flame.
"Perhaps you should ask the Flamethrowers as well." spoke the sorceress.
"We already have." answered a Deadnaut.
Sure enough, some Flamethrowers appeared.
"This is starting to remind me of Hailfire Peaks." noted Jade. Banjo-Tooie was creative with its levels, though staples such as haunted mansions and deserts still existed.
Luckily, Luigi realized his Water Medal would work wonders against them.
So he began splashing them.
"Oh no! We're being extinguished!" exclaimed a Dancing Flame.
However, a Flamethrower tossed a fireball at Luigi.
"Mamamia!" exclaimed Luigi.
He narrowly ducked underneath the fireball.
It hit a wall instead.
She then cast Whack on Wario.
But nothing happened.
"Aww…" said the Flamethrower. For some strange reason that spell didn't usually work. It'd likely be a game breaker if it did though.
At the Woohoo Hooniversity…
Ashlynn found herself in a university after being sucked through a portal.
"Huh? How did I end up in a school?" asked Ashlynn.
She had been at a funeral for Akira Toriyama.
Most of the DQ characters had been at that funeral.
They wanted to pay tribute to their creator.
Incidentally, there had also been a lot of slimes.
She decided to look around.
It seemed some of the students were studying laughter.
They said the Beanbean Kingdom was full of laughter.
A notable exception being Joke's End. That was a sad place. It wasn't recommended for vacationeers to go there.
The headmaster approached them.
His name was Professor Wu Hoo.
He had a white beard.
And he had a lab coat on.
And he wore some glasses.
He bore some resemblance to Professor E. Gadd. But he was a Bean. And he didn't study ghosts. He was more interested in studying laughter. Though he also studied ? Blocks.
"You're not a student here!" exclaimed the professor.
"Sorry if I'm trespassing, I just showed up out of nowhere." noted Ashlynn.
"Really?" asked the elderly Bean.
"Yeah. I got sucked into a portal." explained the sorceress. Perhaps this had to do with the disappearances of multiple Drafon Quest heroes, starting with Jessica Albert.
"A portal, you say?" questioned the Bean.
"Mm-hmm." spoke Ashlynn.
"There have been reports of portals showing up throughout the Beanbean Kingdom, so I believe you." noted the professor.
"Phew!" exclaimed the sorceress.
"Would you like to study here by any chance? I try to be welcoming." noted the professor. He felt like all his pupils were destined for greatness.
"Hey, you're an OC! All the characters seemed to be canon so far." spoke Ashlynn.
"Well, the author figured he would be creative since in Superstar Saga we only saw the students for a few seconds. And the staff were turned into monsters so you didn't get to know them." said the professor.
"True." acknowledged Ashlynn.
"So are you interested in learning?" asked the teacher.
"Well, if you teach magic, I'd be happy to learn some." admitted the girl.
She felt weakened after entering that portal. Before she felt like she could take on Hell Gladiators and Loss Leaders, which were both powerful monsters. They might appear in the fanfic eventually.
"I have a few spell books you can read." said Professor Hoo.
"Sounds great!" exclaimed Ashlynn.
Perhaps she could learn something new from them.
She still remembered some of her magic, but this still seemed like a good idea.
Back at the haunted house…
Luigi used the Water Element Medal against the Flamethrowers.
"You put us out…" spoke one of the Flamethrowers, speaking for all of them.
Our heroes encountered Wickermen. It was unusual to see candles that were purple and with a green flame.
But the color purple was a sign of power, and these candles were more powerful than their counterparts.
And they also had stronger fire magic.
Instead of Frizz, they used Frizzle.
And yes, these fireballs were colored green. More creative liberties, though the attack wasn't changed otherwise.
They were still vulnerable to water though, as Luigi found out.
"Oh no! Our flames are going out!" exclaimed one of the Wickermen. There went their fire magic.
There were also Prancing Pillars.
They were similar to Wax Murderers due to the torches on their hands (and by extension Wickermen), but they were a lot bigger.
And of course, they were made of marble.
"Don't we make for a nice decoration?" asked one of the prancing pillars rhetorically.
"Yeah. Most decorations don't move around though." noted Jessica.
"True. But this IS a haunted house." pointed out the pillar.
These pillars were stronger than the candles.
But they were also slower to compensate.
And they were still vulnerable to water.
"Oh no! Our torches!" exclaimed one of the pillars that had their torches put out.
Wario punched one, causing him to fall over.
"Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!" exclaimed the Prancing Pillar.
The boss of the level was the Wight Knight.
The same knight from Dragon Quest IX. Players of that game might remember him. Of course, there were a lot of bosses in that game. Including some from previous Dragon Quest games.
Of course, the Wight Knight had been in Dragon Quest spinoffs as well. Hence the author's decision to include him.
"Another named monster?" asked Jessica.
Well, this was Krystalinda's last guardian. So it would make sense.
"If thou wishes to pass, thou must fight me!" exclaimed the Wight Knight.
"I guess we're fighting him." noted Jessica.
At the Woohoo Hooniversity…
While Ashlynn was studying some spellbooks, Iggy and the Koopa Troop approached the hooniversity.
"Why are we here again?" asked one of the Koopas.
"We're here for their science!" exclaimed Iggy.
If they stole from them, they could use their chemicals to enhance Bowser's minions.
So it seemed like a good idea.
"I get it." said one of the Koopas.
The Koopa Troop stormed into the Hooniversity.
The students inside immediately recognized them.
"Oh no! It's the Koopa Troop!" exclaimed a student. They had heard about how the Koopa Troop were causing trouble throughout the Beanbean Kingdom.
It looked like the Woohoo Hooniversity was their latest stop.
The students began to panic.
This was definitely a crisis.
Immediately, they all looked for a place to hide.
Iggy let out a laugh. He wasn't exactly stable.
Ashlynn heard the screaming.
She wondered what was going on.
So she decided to investigate.
"The hooniversity is under attack?" asked Ashlynn.
She had to protect the students.
It seemed they were being attacked by turtles.
Boomerang Bros, to be precise.
Luckily, since she knew magic, she could fight back against them.
Back at the haunted house…
The Wight Knight charged at them.
And yes, he was similar to the Bone Baron they had fought earlier.
However, he was stronger.
Speaking of which, he summoned some Bone Barons for help.
The Wight Knight was someone they looked up to.
So they would be glad to fight by his side.
The Bone Barons charged towards our heroes.
Wario ground pounded them.
"Why is he so fat?" asked one of the Bone Barons.
The Wight Knight stabbed Jessica with his spear.
"Ow!" exclaimed the mage.
That wasn't exactly pleasant.
He then followed by casting a haunting spell.
Luigi began to feel haunted.
"Mamamia!" exclaimed the plumber.
Being haunted made it more difficult for him to attack.
He tried to whack the Wight Knight with his hammer, but he missed.
Was there any way to get rid of the ghosts haunting him?
Perhaps he should try using a refreshing herb.
His bag was filled with them, since a lot of enemies could inflict status ailments.
Jade kicked the Wight Knight, causing him to nearly lose his balance and fall off his horse.
The Wight Knight swung his lance at her in retaliation.
But she ducked underneath it.
She then punched him in the face.
The Wight Knight considered himself lucky he wore a helmet.
Otherwise that attack might have knocked him out.
Jessica launched a fireball, but he blocked it with his shield.
"That was a close one." noted the Wight Knight.
He then used Multithrust.
Everyone was hit, except for Luigi who leapt over it.
"Oof!" shouted Jade.
"Mamamia!" exclaimed Wario. Treasure hunting certainly had its risks.
Luigi found that a refreshing herb did drive off the spirits.
"You're really quick with that-a spear!" exclaimed the plumber.
"Thy had a famed reputation back when thy was alive…of course, people still remember thou even after all this time." noted the Wight Knight.
He had been famous for defeating Morag. However, he did not actually defeat her. She had been in love with him so he was able to persuade her to leave the kingdom be. He had his heart set on Mona, however.
While the legends were a bit different from reality, he was still a competent fighter. That much was true.
Luigi decided to zap him with electricity.
"Aaarghhh!" exclaimed the Wight Knight.
Wearing metal as armor had its downsides. Though it did provide sturdy protection for the most part.
He then finished him off with the Fire Element Medal.
The Wight Knight decided to admit defeat.
"Thou has defeated me. Wait, shouldn't thy be fighting the forces of evil instead of serving them?" asked the knight. That didn't seem like him at all. Though he did admit that Morag had been attracted to him.
"Wait, he's a good guy?" asked Jessica.
Perhaps not all undead were her enemies.
That was good to know.
Of course, her brother had briefly become a ghost, so perhaps she should have known in advance.
"Maybe you were brainwashed." suggested Jade. She wouldn't rule that out.
"Now that thy thinks of it, thy noticed something off about Krystalinda's staff." spoke the knight.
"Really? Perhaps that's the cause of her turn to the dark side." noted the martial artist. Perhaps it was enchanted so those who wielded it would end up under the control of the Dragonlord.
"Thy imagines that caused thy to turn to the dark side as well." admitted the undead rider. That staff was spreading its evil influence.
"I think we should try to destroy it." noted Jessica.
Presumably, Rhapthorne's staff couldn't be destroyed, hence the decision to seal it away.
Jade nodded.
If Krystalinda turned back to normal, she could help them in their adventure.
"If thou wants thy help…thy would be happy to." said the Wight Knight.
The Wight Knight joined their side as a summon.
He would cost a lot of summon points.
But the power he possessed would make it worthwhile.
Perhaps they should use him against Krystalinda.
They were about to enter her castle, after all.
Luigi pulled on the flagpole.
He was glad that he had been brave and had faced the Wight Knight. His team might not have won without him.
This was the second time a member of the undead had become his friend...which rhymed, incidentally.
"Hahahahaha!" laughed Wario.
There was indeed treasure in the mansion.
In his case, he had found pearls. All the portrait ghosts seemed to have them. Aside from the bosses, of course.
"You should probably spend those on getting new weapons and armor." noted Jade.
Wario sighed. She was probably right.
Krystalinda noticed the heroes approaching her castle.
"I guess I should get ready to fight them." noted the sorceress.
Luckily, she had her spellbook ready.
And her minions inside the castle would be ready to fight them as well.
They weren't getting to her without a fight, that was for sure.
Meanwhile, in the Beanbean Kingdom…
On the way to Woohoo Hooniversity, our heroes encountered Troopeas.
It seemed that some Koopas lived in the Beanbean Kingdom.
These natives didn't usually work for Bowser though.
They had healing powers that normal Koopas did not possess.
This made them a bit harder to fight.
But they could still be flipped like normal Koopas.
"Aw, man!" exclaimed a Troopea.
As soon as the heroes entered the hooniversity, they heard screaming.
Unfortunately, it looked as if the Koopa Troop had gotten there before they did.
It was a shame, but they got there as fast as they could…excluding the time they spent preparing to fight.
They decided to ask one of the students if they had seen Iggy.
"You mean the Koopa with the green hair?" asked the student.
"That's him." nodded Peasley.
"I think he went deeper into the hooniversity." answered the student.
For now, they would focus on protecting the students.
No doubt the Bowser Baddies intended to cause mischief.
"I hope the headmaster is alright." said the learning Bean. He would feel bad if anything happened to him.
"We'll look for him." spoke Alena.
"He wears glasses and has a long white beard." noted the Bean.
"We'll keep an eye out for that." spoke Peasley.
Kiryl was sitting this one out.
He thought the school was creepy.
The heroes would not rest until the school was saved.
And of course, Iggy was defeated.
Could they defeat four different Koopalings?
Hopefully our heroes can protect the students.
And yes, I'm featuring a Dragon Quest VI hero this time.
I like to branch out.
I wonder who I'll use for Dragon Quest IX. Aside from the Wight Knight, of course. I figured having him be the boss of a haunted house was too good an opportunity to pass up.
See ya!