World 1-4: The World of Halos

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It feels so weird.

I can't move my body but feel it moving through a current.

It's like I'm floating, but not on water.

Just... nothingness.

And most importantly, the feeling of deja vu I'm currently having with the scenery in front of me...

A brilliant sky surrounded by golden and pinkish clouds filled my eyes.

I thought the timeholes were simply spirals of colors transporting someone to a location in the past...

This is definitely NOT a timehole.

So this is a portal to another world... another universe, maybe?

I still remember the first time I saw this scene, back when Mario and I first came to the Mushroom Kingdom. It was... terrifying.

But I'm not saying this because I'm going to end up in an ashen place filled with Dry Bones, Shy Guys, and lava.

Right?

...

Right?!

As I try to move around in this place, I notice two things.

One: Polterpup is lying down on top of my belly, which is adorable.

Two: The clouds, once pink and gold, started to change color to blue, white, and gray.

Does that mean I'm reaching my final destination?

Polterpup and I reach the other end as a flash of light hits us. Not knowing what might happen...

I can only pray that everything will be alright.

Once the light dissipated and allowed me to open my eyes, I found myself in a corridor of a moving vehicle.

Is this a train? Must be. But it's so different from the ones I know... Well, I know the ones from Mario's stories but this? This is surreal. It's like I'm inside a science fiction movie!

As I gather my thoughts, observing the amazing construction I'm currently in, I hear a bark.

"Polterpup! Thank-a goodness, you came-a with me!" Relieved, I let out a tired sigh. We didn't get separated.

As I called him, he came and petted my legs with his small head, thankful that I was alright.

"Hehe, good to see you are good-a as well, buddy!" I say it as I pet his head.

After making sure I was ok, Polterpup ran towards the door in front of the passenger car and started scratching it, barking out loudly.

Is he... telling me to follow him?

Well, I trust my dog as much as I trust my friends, so I see no reason not to follow.

As I open it, the light from outside the train makes contact with my vision... It's a beautiful blue sky with a rising sun. But what caught me off guard, was not it...

It was the huge rings that crowned the heavens. It's like the halo from the girl E. Gadd trusted, but it wasn't on top of a person...

It was in the sky itself.

In the distance, I could see a city covered in halo rings, one structure above all releasing a pillar of light.

As I ponder what that structure could be, Polterpup barks loudly again as he directs me to the next car, which I quickly follow.

As I enter the new car, Polterpup rushes to something ahead of me and sits beside it, barking and licking it.

As my eyes focus on the figure ahead of me, a shocked face surges in my face.

Is that... the girl from E. Gadd's cafe? No... This one has long hair, instead of short hair.

"Hehe... this tickles, little one." The girl giggles a bit, seeing the excited ghostly pup wag his tail side to side quickly.

It's almost as if... Polterpup knows her... No, I know her as well. I'm sure of it. But why? Why do I know this person, like she is an old acquaintance? I'm so confused...

"Are you... The GSC President? A haloed girl asked me to help you." I ask her.

She softly nods.

"Hehe... To think the hero I asked Azula to bring would be none other than Luigi Sensei... I'm glad." She speaks up, signaling me to approach with a slow but precise hand gesture.

As I get closer to her, I see something dreadful.

Blood. Something so rare to appear in the Mushroom Kingdom. And something that I learned the hard way during my medicine classes... She's wounded, badly!

I rushed towards her and quickly took a better look at her.

"Oh god...! A-A-Are you a-ok?! A-Are you in pain?! O-O-Oh my god, we need-a medic! ... Wait, I am-a doctor! B-b-but what can I do without-a my equipment?!" I panic as I try to calm down to help her, only to fail miserably and cold sweat drips from my head.

She must be in so much pain! I need to help her or... Or else she will...!

"Sensei." She calls me by the title given to me earlier today, making me look at her with concern.

"I'm okay. Thank you for always putting others' safety above all... But please, if you could... Sit down." She gives me a big smile, signalizing with her hand to sit in front of her to which I... begrudgingly do so.

"Thank you, sensei." She nods.

"If you could be so kind as to listen to my request... Would that be okay?" She asks, her voice a bit off... like she is disappointed in herself for having to ask me for help.

"But of course! You can ask me anything!" I blurt it out. I promised the haloed girl back home that I would help her but...

I want to help this girl. I have to. I know I must. It's... my responsability.

"Hehe... Once again, thank you." She smiles.

Silence fills the location as she tries to find the right words to transmit her message loud and clear.

...

"... It was all my fault." She begins.

"My decisions, and everything they caused."

A flashback comes to my head.

A girl with long grey hair corrupted by a dark power unknown to us with a concerned face pointing a gun at me and what seems to be an apparatus with 3 shot marks on it.

"It had to come to this for me to finally realize you were right all along..." Her smile disappears and becomes a frown.

"So forgive me for being so bold, but I must ask for your help." She says as both her hands squeeze together, nervously.

"Luigi Sensei." She looks at me in the eyes.

"You'll forget these words, but it won't matter."

"Even without your memories, you'll probably make the same decision in the same situation..."

... She's holding her tears, I can see it.

"Therefore, I believe what matters most are the choices we make, not the experiences we have."

"There are choices only you can make."

... Her smile is slowly trembling.

"I've spoken of responsibility before."

"I didn't truly understand it then, but now I do."

I slowly get up from my seat as she continues to tell the details with her eyes closed.

"Adulthood, responsibility, obligation... and the choices you make that extend beyond those ideals."

"I even understand their implications."

... She's barely able to contain it anymore. It's time for a bit of comforting.

I sit next to her and hug her.

"You did-a well, dear. Your hard work won't be in-a vain." I say it, proud of her.

"..."

"You are so unfair, Sensei... I was trying so hard to be serious... and to not cry...!"

She lets her tears drop a bit from her eyes.

"Mhm." I just nod and smile.

"Hehe... I'll... miss this..." She recovers her bright smile as she hugs me back.

The warmth and comfort of this action make her happy, and that's good enough for me.

...

After a bit, she continues to speak, satisfied with the gesture.

"Therefore, Sensei..."

"... You are the only one I can trust."

She then gives me a letter. It's addressed to someone named "Rin-chan".

"Find my best friend Rin-chan and help her out."

"Only you can free us from this twisted, distorted fate..."

"... And find the choices that will lead us to a new reality."

"So, Sensei. Please... Save Kivotos. Like you have done to your world before." She finishes.

"Oki-doki!" I assure her of my decision.

Slowly, my vision starts to black out. Meaning my time with her is soon coming to an end.

"Goodbye, Luigi Sensei... and remember..."

"We thirst for the seven wailings. We bear the Koan of Jericho."

As she says the last sentence, I nod and wave my hand to her as I fall into darkness.

I wonder if I'll ever see her again...

"...e me" A voice calls.

"... cuse me, sir?" She seems to be calling someone...

"Excuse me, mister with the green hat! Wake up!" She shouts.

"Uwaaaaahh!" I let out a silly scream as I got up from my seat.

All the other passengers of the train car I'm currently in look at me in either shock or nervousness.

"I-I'm-a so sorry!" I apologize profusely to everybody, bowing like a madman as seemingly being accepted by the annoyed folk... Which seems to be animals, mostly dogs, cats, and birds walking on two legs and girls with guns and halos... wait, guns and halos?!

As the apology ended, a girl who seemed to be an attendant approached me. Wait, she has a gun and a halo as well?

"I'm sorry for shouting, sir. But the next stop will be the last our train does for today, so we cannot allow you to continue traveling with us. You must disembark at the next stop: The Sanctum Tower, alright?" She explains.

"Ah... N-No worries, I'll do as told." I scratch the back of my head while giving an awkward smile.

And soon enough, the train comes to a stop, with the intercom speaking up.

[Last stop, Sanctum Tower. I repeat. Last stop, Sanctum Tower. Do not forget to get your belongings and exit slowly to not hurt anybody on the way out.]

I saw my suitcase next to me, which I quickly grabbed and checked.

Everything is here. Thank god!

... And there's one more thing. It's a letter.

A-Anyway, let's leave before the attendant calls me out again.

As I disembark the train, there are a few things I notice.

First... There are a lot of bipedal animals here. However, it doesn't surprise me since I have seen Yoshis doing the same thing.

Second... There are a lot of haloed girls in school uniforms, all of them with guns. But I have not seen a single male around... is this an all-girls school or something?

And third... The place that I saw on the train ride back then... This is the huge pillar of light I saw... The Sanctum Tower.

Before I get lost in my thoughts again, I slap my cheeks and check my suitcase again.

The Poltergust... The gun... My Dual Scream... my flashlight... and most mysterious...

The letter. Where did I get this? Although... I know it is very important for some reason.

Oh, there's something written on the other side. "To Rin-chan."

A lead! I just need to find this Rin girl and maybe I can understand what's going on! Heck, I might even find a way back to the Mushroom Kingdom.

...

... Now, where do I even begin?

As I ask myself that, Polterpup suddenly appears from inside my suitcase and nabs the letter from my hand, running off to the metro's exit.

"H-Hey! I need this, boy!" I ran towards the phantasmagoric dog to the exit, to reveal multiple buildings covering my surroundings.

I can't help but be amazed by everything! It's bigger than the kingdom where Pauline became mayor! Wow!

... What was I doing again? Oh yeah, the letter.

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POLTERPUP, WHERE ARE YOU?! WHERE DID YOU GO?!

I swiftly pick up the Dual Scream and activate the Ghost Radar... There it is!

He's going to a random building?! But that building does have a city logo on it... Perhaps that Rin girl is there?!

Breathing in and out, I decide to ask for help.

"E-excuse-a me!" I inquired a girl who was passing by.

She has orange hair with ribbons on her bangs, green cat headphones, and is wearing a green and white hoodie. She seems to have a green long-range rifle and a green halo with 4 pointy kites going inwards...

Oh wow, she does resemble someone to me... but who?

"Y-Yes...?" She sheepishly responds.

"Do you know if there's a Rin on that building over there with the city logo?"

"Umm...!" She tries to respond, only to freeze... I know how it feels, green girl. I know how it feels!

"Hey, mister! Are you bullying my sister?" A girl with the same clothes and halo, except with a pink color appears, looking a bit angry at me.

Must be twins.

"No! I-I'm so sorry if I made you feel-a uncomfortable!" I bow profusely.

"Nah, it's okay, mister! What was it that you wanted?" Her easygoing personality seems to calm not just my nerves, but her sister's as well, which is good.

I say my question one more time, this time to the pink girl.

"If you are talking about the Vice President of the General Student Council Nanagami Rin, then yes, she's probably there." She tells me.

Bingo, ohoho! It's better than having no Rin!

"T-Thank you so much-a for your help! I-I must-a hurry!" I bow and hastily run towards the tower, leaving the two girls behind perplexed.

"Now that was weird. Are you alright, Midori?" She asks her sister.

"Y-Yes, sis... Thanks."

"Anyway, I found a nice gaming store over there! I even saw a copy of Broly's Mansion in there! C'mon, let's go!" She holds her sister's hand and swiftly goes towards the gaming store.

"W-Wait, Momoi! Y-You're going to make me fall over!" She begs her to slow down, only to fall on deaf ears.

But little do they know, Midori and Luigi are going to meet again... sooner than you expect.

Upon reaching the entrance of the GSC Headquarters, all I can think is how am I gonna explain everything to the people here...

[Hey, I got this mysterious letter from someone I do not remember but she knows you, so please read it!]

Ugh, I can see their look of disgust coming towards me if I go like this!

But still, where's Polterpup? I'm sure this is where he went...

"Eeeeeeeeeeek!?" I hear screams coming inside of the building.

And that's my cue to enter.

As I step into the reception room of the edifice, I see a few students trying their best to catch what seems to be a small puff of cloudy fog that was Polterpup.

"Somebody catch that thing! Is this one of the strange phenomena that has been happening lately?!" One of them speaks up.

The girl has long, navy blue hair with pigtails, using a uniform resembling the girls I talked to before, and a halo that looks like a black circle with a blue line in the middle tries to put their hands on the ghostly pup, and only to phase through her delicate hands.

One thing that does get my attention is the design of her guns, which look very futuristic.

"I do not know, but this little one sure is slippery! He's too fast." Another raises her voice.

This time is a girl with long black hair, red eyes, and a crop top. Her halo has red sharp daggers on her star-shaped circle with a four-pointed star in the middle. She's wearing a very appealing set of clothing, but what's more interesting is that she has black wings on her back!

And my god, she is tall! Taller than me, for sure!

"Perhaps we could use something to bait into stopping? Does someone here have a bone?" One of them suggests it while throwing herself on the pup to catch it, only to fail and quickly get up to chase him again.

The girl has long white hair reaching to her waist, using a gray sailor uniform and her halo has a pale purple crosshair with arrows pointing outward along the edges. But what's more interesting is that she has a white wing coming out from her head! So cool!

"I'm afraid not. Should we call someone that specializes in that sort of stuff? I don't want to hurt him... He's adorable." She says smiling as she sees my pup wag his tail.

The next girl has long shoulder-length blonde hair tied in pigtails with red bands each and a black ribbon hairband, her halo is a small red circle with four red points forming a crosshair. She's wearing a white collared uniform shirt with a few decors, a red string tie and red armband on her left sleeve, and a huge bag filled with medical supplies. I can see long ears from her... Is she related to the hero of the kingdom of Hyrule in any way?

"P-Please! J-Just help me g-get him o-out of here!" The last spoke.

This girl has long wavy blonde hair and green eyes, on her forehead is a blue crystal and two black and she has angelic wings that extend from her lower back, just like the black uniform girl. Her halo is two concentric yellow rings. It's as if they are chasing one another. She also wearing a white uniform resembling the girl from the cafe, so she must be important!

As I was distracted by the 5 girls trying to catch a ghost barehanded, I didn't notice the ghostly animal rushing towards me with all his might.

"W-Watch out!" The blonde-haired girl tried to warn me, but it was too late.

Pain begins to surge through my body as my dear pup headbutts me right in the stomach and rubs his head on it, relieved that I indeed followed him as he did not see me entering the building with him before.

He must have gone berserk upon not seeing me with him...

"O-Ow... There, there, Polterpup... No need-a to worry, my boy..." I reassure him, although the pain is not helping me.

"Wow, he caught that thing so easily...!" The girl with blue hair speaks to the others.

"... Perhaps it is his owner?" The girl with long black hair reaffirms the other.

"Must be. The puppy stopped acting like a madman once he saw him." The girl with white hair tells the others.

"Rubbing his head on him and wagging his tail like that... So cute~!" The girl with glasses softly speaks. She must love animals.

"T-Thank you so much for s-stopping him, sir! The p-papers were flying everywhere!" The blonde girl approaches and bows while thanking me abundantly.

"I-It's alright! I was following him to this place anyway!" I try to make her stop bowing.

As quickly as I could, I picked up the letter inside of Polterpup's ghostly stomach, shocking the girls.

"D-Did his hand just passed through the pup?! How is that possible?!" the blue-haired girl, confused, speaks up.

"Well, when we tried to get him, I did feel my hand slipping through him somehow... But how?" The black-haired girl tries to make sense of it.

"Wait, he doesn't have pupils or... skin..." The white-haired girl notices.

"... A ghost?" The girl with glasses concludes.

Wow, the girl with glasses is perceptive! I'm almost convinced she's related to at least one of the heroes from Hyrule now!

"G-G-Ghost?! But this is impossible, it is not scientifically possible!" She tries to deny it.

"But haven't you noticed the strange events around Kivotos as of late? Objects floating and people being hit by something that wasn't there?" The tall one makes sense of the situation, going against the science girl.

The white-haired girl ponders about all the new events while the short-haired blonde girl with glasses approaches.

"Sir, can I... touch him?" She asks.

"Oki Doki, dear." I say with a smile. It's not every day that Polterpup gets new friends other than me and the ghosts from different places.

The girl slowly approaches the spectral dog, and he becomes wary of her.

"Don't worry, pup. She's a friend." I soothe him, making him drop his guard a bit.

She advances her arm towards him, not to pet, but to let him smell her and let him know that she is not an enemy.

Upon identifying her, he completely drops his guard and jumps at her, licking her face all around.

"Hahahaha! T-This tickles~! The girl amusingly proclaims, with a huge smile on her face, petting him as he licks her.

"B-But if it's a ghost, how he can touch you or you touch him?! I don't understand anymore!" The blue-haired girl is about to give up thinking.

"Just accept it, Yuuka. It's something we are yet to understand." The tall figure assures her.

"It's easy for you to say that, Hasumi..." She responds, giving up.

The white-haired girl just looks at the other girl playing with Polterpup.

"Must be so nice... I'm jealous..." She says it.

As I let them play around with my pup, I go to the reception desk.

"Excuse-a me." I ask for the people around the counter.

"Ah, yes sir! How can we help you?" The blonde girl with dark wings from before comes to my aid.

'You see, I have a letter for a "Rin-chan". Is this Rin-chan in here?" I question her. Hopefully, this Nanagami Rin is the correct Rin.

"Rin-chan...? But the only one who used to call her that is..."

"!"

She quickly pulls a paper under the counter.

"A tall man with green clothes and a green hat... a nice mustache...!" She looks at me with awe.

"Are you perhaps Luigi Sensei?!" She then questions me.

"Y-Yes!" I say it, surprised.

She then quickly grabs the table phone and makes a call.

"A-Acting President Rin! I-It's urgent!" She proclaims, getting the attention of everybody in the room.

...

"Y-Yes, a tall man wearing green clothes and a green hat with a nice mustache! It's Sensei! He said that he has a letter for 'Rin-chan'!"

...

"O-Okay, I'll do that!" She turns off the phone and puts it back in its place.

"Luigi Sensei! The Acting President Nanagami Rin wishes to speak with you!" She affirms me.

"Please follow me!" She hurries towards the elevator, to which I follow.

"W-Wait! What about us?! We have been waiting here makes almost 3 hours! We demand to see her too!" The girl with blue hair angrily comments while the other girls nod, even though the one with glasses is still playing with Polterpup.

"I-I'm afraid the acting president has only allowed Luigi Sensei to see her at the moment..." She shyly responds to her, to which she gets glared at with pure hatred by the blue-haired girl.

"H-Hold on, may I?" I speak up.

"S-Say ummm... You were curious about-a my puppy, right? How about I let you guys-a play with him while I go talk with-a Rin? I'll tell her to come-a see you guys after this."

The girl is stunned. She just wants to go back to her academy with answers to all the chaos happening, but seeing an actual ghost in front of her and even playing with him? That's a chance of a lifetime!

"Ugh... Fine... I'll trust you!" She begrudgingly accepts my condition.

"Alrighty. I'll do my best!" I smile at her, making her blush a bit.

"Polterpup, I'm-a going to talk with someone right-a now, so stay here and-a make new friends with the girls here, okay?"

Polterpup barks in affirmation, sitting down a well.

"How the heck does a ghost dog speak without its vocal cords...?" The girl with blue hair slowly approaches the small gathering of girls that gathered at the reception desk. But she didn't realize that Polterpup suddenly jumped at her and started licking her, to her dismay.

Everybody there giggles a bit and starts to call him "Cute" or "Adorable" many times.

Sometimes I feel like Polterpup is more popular than me... Sigh.

Anyway, I follow the dark-winged angel to the elevator.

As I entered, she clicked on the 12th-floor button.

...

Will I find answers to everything happening right now through her? I hope so...

I still need to hunt down the Portrait Ghosts and ensure they aren't causing too much destruction.

But most importantly...

I remember all the smiles of the girls playing with Polterpup. A weird feeling comes to my chest, but it's warm. It's a reassurance, I think. A promise that I forgot? But whatever it is...

I'll protect their smiles. I'm not allowing anything to hurt them.

I'll be the hero that this city needs. Just you wait!

Author Notes:

Heck yeah, we are in the middle of Blue Archive's Prologue! I feel like we are going at the speed of light... although it kinda worries me that I'm writing these chapters way too quickly. Perhaps should I take it slow? Who knows.

And we can see Polterpup already conquered the hearts of many students, golly. Being cute is such a power move!

I also put some references in the chapter, can you guys find them? Hehe.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Here's another Luigi trivia:

Did you know that Luigi's Mansion, at one point, had a bad ending in mind? The beta of the game originally showed the time on the Game Boy Horror, meaning that there was a big chance that the game was going to be time-limited.