It was just as she expected: Death wasn't what she thought, as she was falling. Though the path to get there took several detours thanks to her half-brother, the outcome was the same. She was falling to her death in the void. And Siita Stomach had lost her brother.
It was checkmate. Everything she worked to accomplish had been all for nothing. She wasn't a hero to the Granutes; she was just another one of its failures. What was the point anymore? Siita simply hung her head, and waited for the inevitable end. She knew she wouldn't survive crashing into the floor, and at this point she didn't care.
Akane was looking sadly at a photo of her mom's grave when Zenkichi ran up to her.
"You're a bit late. It's already noon."
"Sorry..." Zenkichi said, "I'..."
Akane sighed and turned to him, only to get shocked by the sight of everyone else.
"Whoa, are these all your sidekicks? Wait, where's Frasier?"
"Back watching the agency," Zenkichi explained.
"Ah, gotcha," Akane said, "But seriously, I'm just glad you were able to make it at all. Seeing your actions in the Last Resort... I didn't think you'd wind up in anything major."
Zenkichi chuckled.
"Chalk it up to my newest sidekick."
Akane then noticed the X-Squad.
"No way... How'd you get partners as cool as the X-Squad!? I remember watching their stream in Camp Little Big Moose! And their Soulstone scavenger hunt beforehand... Just epic!"
Drakus looked sheepish.
"Yeah...Nice to meet you..."
"Ah, Luigi! X-Squad! Dove! You're finally back, eh? You shouldn't keep an old man waiting, y'know."
"Well, excuse us for not wanting to die, gramps!" Dove mocked him.
"Heh heh heh! I'll give you that, Princess. Oh, and I see the Toad you've rescued from Amadeus and Melody! Great work, everyone!"
"Wow, this is a really cool lab you got here," Thad complimented.
"I appreciate your gracious words, little fella. Anyway, you can go ahead and deposit those ghosts into the Container."
Furina, Coomer and Dove followed his instructions and took turns inserting the nozzle to the rectangular slot. They regrouped in front of E. Gadd to hear what he had to say.
"Now that you're all here, I want to say that I've been pretty impressed with your progress. The lot of you are satisfactory at exploring the Last Resort with the limited amount of buttons you've uncovered so far. You have great chemistry, and you haven't let those devious ghosts slow you down with your Poltergust Z-00 and 5000, respectively! Slowly but surely, you'll make your way up to the top where I presume Hellen Gravely, Reaper and Wattles are hiding."
"My sentiments exactly," Luigi firmly agreed.
"So, Akane," Makoto said, "Is it just you here all the time?"
"Well, my grandparents make sure I eat decently," Akane said, "Not to mention Dad tries to make time to visit regularly, or he'll send Frasier if he can't make it for some reason."
"Akane seems well-behaved," Yusuke noted.
"Well, she is the daughter of a cop," Zenkichi pointed out, "She actually inherited my Quirk when she came of age. She's pretty good with it, too. Her mother... Well, she was Quirkless."
"What happened to her?" Kanade asked.
"Two years ago, my wife was a victim of vehicular manslaughter," Zenkichi explained, "I was able to figure out the culprit, one Jyun Owada."
"One of my father's former associates," Akechi noted.
"Yeah, which made things difficult for a while," Zenkichi admitted, "At first he blamed the whole thing on his secretary, despite evidence that he was the one driving. The poor secretary committed suicide when it looked like he'd be indicted. I refused to let his family bear that stigma. Owada tried applying pressure, using his connections to the Antisocial Force to threaten my daughter's life. That might have worked with an ordinary cop, but he had forgotten that I'm also a hero. Sending him photos of his hired assassins all chained up and arrested made it clear he wouldn't be throwing me off the scent with brute force."
He sighed.
"So rather than apply pressure, he simply went underground. I lost the trail. He simply refused to take responsibility for what was essentially an accident. Like the very idea of being caught in that sort of scandal, minor as it was, would ruin his reputation forever. I mean, not to be callous, but drunk driving accidents happen all the time."
"Uh… huh. Right…" Ryuko raised her eyebrow, then shrugged and leaned back with a little sigh. "By the way, if you want progress on Hyodou's training… he's doing pretty good, actually. Gaining stamina really fast thanks to all the workouts he's doing and the healing that Asia's giving him. Turns out Twilight Healing really does make you stronger if you use it after a workout. Still need to do a strike force test, though… eh. I'll let that happen after Hyodou finishes the rest of his shit today."
Tenko peered out of the window, idly rolling his neck and checking on the twos' progress. "By the way, how come you don't make Asia workout too? She's the medic, y'know? If she gets hurt, who's gonna heal everyone else? Y'can't expect that she always has time to heal herself if she takes a hit. Might as well teach her how to dodge too. And for that matter…"
He pursed his lips, standing up from his seat and tapping his heel on the ground in irritation. "Koneko's attack form is kinda terrible and her martial arts forms are sloppy. Not enough force for the amount of power she should have as a Rook. Hell, do you guys even train much?"
"Not… as such. There isn't particularly a need to train," Rias explained lightly, though her expression had darkened slightly at the implied insult to her Rook. "I notice that you don't train much either."
"Yeah, find any of us a training partner that can survive a flurry of death that isn't Nadohs or his council," Ryuko deadpanned, holding up said fist for emphasis. She clenched her fingers tight, drawing on her well of power and making sparks erupt around her while a heated wind burst into existence and started shaking the entire building just from the merest flex of her power. "Trust me. We keep up with training, and it shows."
Once they got Yang and Lyre temporary prosthetics until they could get back to Sinner's Lane, they returned to the elevator where Lyre inserted the '6' button to its respective slot. On the way up, the tracker revealed the name of the next floor: Castle MacFrights. While it intrigued the squad, they had a strong feeling that the theme was no normal castle.
Once they reached their destination, Arsene was the first to walk outside the doors. She took two steps forward and-
*CRASH*
"Whoa now!" Arsene became startled when a boy(?) with black and white hair fell in front of her. The squad jumped back since they also didn't expect that to happen, as the boy fell into Drakus' hands, and woke up.
"Oh dead god, my heart is racing!" Hibikii held a hand over her chest. "Whose idea was it to place that in front of the elevator?!"
"I don't know! But I have a ghost of the past in my arms!" Drakus chuckled, as Siita woke up.
"Have your laugh," Siita said as she looked away, her voice making it clear as day that she was a girl. "I know you've waited a long time for this moment."
"If only I was still working for your dad, I could take credit for this catastrophe," Drakus chuckled. "But who am I to balk at playing the scavenger? Either way, I get to enjoy the view of your ultimate failure, Siita."
"You may not have caused it personally, but your signature is all over everything else," Siita remarked. "Dad falling for a human... Me losing my job... Now, being separated from Jiibh... It was all you. And for what?"
"Because the girl that I loved was a bit too screwed up for my tastes," Drakus answered. "Surely you can appreciate that your signature is just as clearly written as mine."
Siita simply laughed at that. Drakus' brow furrowed.
"Something funny?" Drakus asked.
"Just that after all the mistakes I made, the one that caused my whole life to fall apart was a bad break up," Siita answered. "It's absurd the level of insanity that you would sink to just to get back at me."
"I don't handle rejection well," Drakus said with that same shameless grin Siita loved so much.
Neo peered over with her flashlight as she spotted a strange knight statue to her left, at least eight feet tall, and the one beside it was far larger, around the size of a small building, both of them wore great, golden armor of differing designs.
"No wonder the Last Resort is completely different than any other normal hotel. This place looks massive based on what the map shows. It's much larger than the other ones!" Furina remarked.
Dove took a gander using the VB goggles. He realized she wasn't lying when she saw that there were three individual levels in this gargantuan floor.
"Unless this place is linear, it's going to take forever to find the button!"
"We might as well get going." Roman remarked, as the two statues moved, and the smaller one grabbed Roman.
"Where... the fuck... is the sun!?" The statue asked, looking out a window to the dark, star-filled sky in as much dismay as he could possibly muster, tears filling his eyes as he gazed upon the void.
"Ornstein, please, be calm! There has to be a logical answer to all this!" The larger statue pleaded, being the more rational of the two. But Ornstein did not listen, and continued to wail his anguish to the heavens, letting all in an exactly 28-mile radius know of his pain and loss as he gripped the larger statue, shaking him violently.
"Nooooo!!! The sun is GONE, Smough! GONE!!! And not even NEAR the time it is supposed to rest! This isn't possible! There is no logic in this place, Smough! ONLY SIN AND DARKNESS!!!" Ornstein cried, and then the proud knight of the sun proceeded to curl into a fetal position and place his thumb against his helmet, as if sucking it. Thus, with much futility, Smough tried to retrieve his maddened friend from the clutches of madness, but to little avail; Ornstein was simply beyond help, and Smough was so very close to giving up himself. But then, out of nowhere, a rustling in the dead vegetation was heard by the two, and they bolted upright, wary of an impending ambush of whatever horrors lurked in this land of perpetual darkness.
"Ornstein, did you hear that?" Smough asked, nerves shot and adrenaline pumping, as Ornstein replied:
"Of course. It is no doubt the abominations that dwell within this abysmal, lightless land come to feast upon us, the last true believers of the most sacred star in the sky!" Ornstein exclaimed accusingly, and the rustling occurred again, but with greater intensity. And then, the two brandished weapons, eager to destroy whatever opposed them.
"Smough... when we're done here, I hope to find the one who has taken my beloved sun, and destroy them!" Ornstein exclaimed at last as the sounds of movement drew near, and Smough promptly responded:
"We will, Sir Ornstein, we will! You will not go un-avenged, O beloved sun!" Smough yelled, but as he did, the movement stopped, causing the two warriors to look around, hearts pounding, and heads confused as to the reason of the sudden silence.
Only for Ornstein to start groaning in pain when his arm was pulled by a young girl with ghostly pale skin, long silky black hair that was stringy in a few places, and was wearing a grey long-sleeved dress shirt, black skirt that reached down to her knees, and black loafers with no socks, who seemed annoyed.
"Ornstein..." The girl frowned. "A little more civility is always appreciated."
"Sorry, lady Bamia!" Ornstein managed.
Suddenly, several ghosts appeared behind the squad. An army of ghouls – all dressed up in armor – were holding weapons in their hands. They pointed the sharp edges at the heroes as they cornered them to the balcony's edge. Biscuit barked angrily, growling his teeth as he stood in front of the squad. Just when the ghosts were about to swing at them, a new ghost emerged on the throne from across the ghost hunters. He had red facial hair, gloves, and a crown decorated with rubies sitting on top of his head.
"Hear ye! Hear ye!" he announced in a Scottish accent. "I am the most wondrous King MacFrights, the prime ruler and caretaker of this luxurious castle! I see that we have some special guests entering my home! If I'm not mistaken, it's the X-Squad and Shadow Strikers, the main VIPs whom Hellen Gravely invited! It's an honor to meet you, good sirs and madams," he bowed.
"What am I, chopped liver?" Bamia narrowed her eyes, same as Ornstein and Smough.
"In case you were curious, Hellen Gravely made a generous offer to build a castle for me to own! In exchange for such a fabulous prize, the lady gave me one simple responsibility. Allow me to point out the obvious, what exactly is my objective? That, dear guests, is to make sure you don't advance any further up the hotel!"
"And why would you even consider that?"
"Because I'm certain I have the one thing you desperately need!" King MacFrights taunted as he waved a shiny, circular object in his hand. Even from a far distance, the squad's eyes bulged when he realized that the apparition was carrying an elevator button. "Oh ho ho! I can easily bid by the looks on your faces that you want this in thy collection, aye? Besides, our master, Hellen Gravely, and her partners, Baron Wattles and Sir Chappell, are the only ones allowed to settle their fates." The ghosts begrudgingly obeyed his order. "As much as I would love to receive bragging rights for stopping these peasants, I'll strike a deal with you."
"A deal?" Ornstein echoed.
"I challenge you to an old-fashioned medieval joust. Meet me down at the Coliseum's base and take part in a glorious square to the death."
"What?! I thought you said you weren't going to kill us!"
"As a king, I don't really make any promises," MacFrights snickered.
"What's the point in this duel anyway? What kind of incentive do we get out of this?"
"You can retrieve this elevator button out of my possession as long as you win the battle, fair and square! However, if you fail to defeat me, I shall earn all the credit of defeating you! And if you don't want to accept the challenge, that is if you're too chicken, you might as well say farewell to your trapped friends..."
"Yo, Smough, I smell parlor tricks around here. You smell it, too?" Ornstein whispered.
"Yeah, I smell it, and it smells bad." Smough replied, and a wave of confusion washed over Ornstein as he contemplated the executioner's words.
"Who, Nikki, Lindsey and Ginny? They're always like that." Mystle retorted, and was greeted by a bemused response from Smough in return.
"Not THOSE ones, the girl in the suit! She's got mad black mana flowing off him like an Ozzy Osborne concert, man." Smough explained, and Ornstein, upon hearing this, slightly jumped in surprise, and wasted no time in readying his weapon as the squad leapt into the colosseum: No one crashes a party on their watch, especially not a party that they've already marked to crash themselves... not even royalty.
"Okay, before we jump Offbrand King Arthur, who're you three?" Drakus asked.
"We are the true adherents of the sun, the warriors from the land of Sunlight, Ornstein, Ecto D. Bamia, and Smough!" Ornstein answered. And as if on cue, Smough spoke next to the odd dragon child that dare ask of their names.
"We hail from the land of Lodran, a land you doubtlessly have never heard of, judging by the inherent and all-consuming darkness here. Now, where are we, and who dares to challenge us so?!" Smough ordered, and the squad looked at them, and all became deathly silent as an oppressive wave of judgement washed across the field.
"Is... is Lodran the afterlife?" Siita asked.
"No, the Underworld doesn't get much sunlight," Drakus remarked. "I've guess I'm not done tormenting you yet, so I've spared you."
"Very well," Siita said. "I have nothing left to live for, anyways. Do whatever you want to me."
"Well there's no sense in torturing the willing," Drakus remarked, though he truly had no intentions of torturing Siita in the first place. "I suppose I'll just have to make use of you for some more hands on deck."
"The name is MacFrights! Get it correct, foolish dragonborn!"
The gang watched the royal leader float down to the arena as his men blew their horns to commence the joust. He got into a large suit of armor with a metal steed below. Holding a golden shield and an elongated sword, he showboated with a tenacious battle cry. In the background, a huge audience of cardboard cutouts, shaped into the common ghosts that the squad has already faced, filled the seats beyond the stone walls. They began cheering for the king, even though the squad could tell they were recorded to make the place sound enticing yet raucous.
"Looks like a pathetic display," Bamia scoffed.
"Ho ho ho! Are you entertained yet, band of miscreants? Or are you more intimidated to back out of the joust? Regardless of the decision, Hellen Gravely and her allies shall soon imprison you into your new permanent home!"
Furina mustered up as much courage as she could to properly respond. "I'm not backing out, especially not this early. I'll fight you if it's the last thing I'll do."
"...How'd you fit your horse in here?" Neo asked the towering form that appeared in the stadium.
He didn't answer, instead raising his hand to his face and-
"Oh. That's not normal." Neo hummed as he dragged a hand over his face, revealing a strange, monstrous skull face.
"Keheheh…" The creature spurred the horse and it suddenly dashed into the air, diving into a painting as though it were a real road.
Evil Spirit From Beyond
Phantom Ganon
BGM: The Last Stand (Sabaton)
As King MacFrights was prepared, he attempted to lunge at the squad.
"Executioner Smough, I turn thee loose." Ornstein commanded, and with that, the squad charged MacFrights with blinding speed. In mere seconds, Smough brought out his spear, his momentum straitening it in the ground, and before the ghost could react properly, he turned his lunge into a swinging kick, and his boots connected with the side of the king's head, sending him flying to the left, and tumbling undignifyingly onto the floor. Then, on the back-swing of his attack, Ornstein's spear came loose as he predicted, and he stood up once his feet were on the ground, holding his spear defensively at the bitch that ruled this castle.
"Live in fear, spirits, for I have modded wolves into creatures that should never have existed!" A man with red eyes and brown hair, clad in a green shirt, blue pants, red and white sneakers and a black coat, as a chicken in a top hat followed him, along with a pack of wolves.
In the background, Smough and Bamia were wrecking everything, Deadlight's minions, cyborgs and ghosts alike becoming colorful smears beneath Smough's massive hammer and being eaten by the creatures that reside in Bamia's mist, as they indiscriminately destroyed everything that stood in the warpath.
"Welcome to Dark Souls." Ornstien said simply, his voice devoid of emotion as he yeeted Macfrights into a wall. And moments later, Bamia quickly spin kicked him towards Furina, as his body was lodged into the Poltergust Z-00. He dug his sword into the hardwood, letting out a final declaration.
"Argh! I misprise to say these words, but you won fair and square! This joust has come to an abrupt and unexpected end. The victors are the band of miscreants, the lady of mist, the Dragonslayer and executioner! As the loser, I accept defeat. Your prize awaits!"
King MacFrights made a royal bow and released his hands off his sword. His entire body got sucked into the Poltergust Z-00 as it began to shake violently. The elevator button eventually flew out of the nozzle and landed in the center of the Coliseum.
"What… is this? Who… What…?" Phantom slowly looked around, rising, his horned head casting about. "...Who… am I?"
"Oh boy." Mystle mumbled. "Hey, can we explain this later? We gotta get out of this place."
Drakus stepped into the blue light, offering the tall Phantom his hand.
"Hi! I'm Drakus Hydrax, Prince of Drakonia and Captan of the X-Squad! You were a soulless puppet, and now you have free will!"
"I think that raises more questions than answers, but I suppose it's a place to start?" Phantom nervously scratched his head.
"No, no it doesn't..." Volvagia muttered.
END BGM
Just then, a creature emerged from a cage, many were left stunned, seeing the seven-foot-tall creature with snow white fur and skin, its primate-like features and sharp teeth giving him an incongruous appearance. However, what was most frightening about the creature were his gleaming, yellow eyes… This… was a yeti. And not just any ordinary yeti, either.
Standing at his full height, the yeti wore a gnarled, insidious grin as he made his own formal salutation. "Ah… Greetings and Bienvenue."
The formerly dead yeti was about to continue, but was cut off… but loud, high-pitched screaming. "AAAAAHH! NO WAY!" Chris and Hibikii began jumping up and down, beaming wide at Argost. "A-Are you THE V. V. Argost?!" Chris asked.
Argost's nose wrinkled at the Valkyries. "I am, yes."
"AH! Mr. Argost, it is such an HONOR to meet you!" Hibikii lowered her head, prompting Chris to do the same. "I watched every single episode of your show! You're an inspiration to cryptid fans! You have our ETERNAL respect!"
Needless to say, Argost wasn't expecting such fealty right off the bat from his resurrection… but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Hm, is that so?"
"DO YOU… KNOW WHERE… YOU ARE... FRENCHIE YETI?!" Drakus shouted, spacing his words out.
"I'm reanimated, not deaf!" Argost snapped, only for his attention to be diverted as Carol facepalmed. The yeti responded with a fond grin. "Ah, Madam Deinheim!" Argost raised his hand to the alchemist. "Of all the faces to see upon my resurrection, it pleases me that the daughter of Da Vinci was one of the first."
"Wait… Then… the yeti's saying that-" Maria gasped.
Carol facepalmed. "Yep, my papa, Izak Malus Dienheim… In another time, another life, was known by the name of Leonardo da Vinci. And while I recklessly threw away so many of my memories with him in my foolish vendetta against the world, at long last, I remembered the most important thing he ever told me: that he was smart enough to include a failsafe in the new world maker!"
Everyone gasped in amazement as Argost seemed more annoyed with the alchemist than thankful. "I seem to recall the failsafe being my plan." he said matter-of-factually. "I gave Leonardo the blueprints for the machine before his unfortunate run-in with the pope." Taking a moment to inspect himself, Argost found that there were no parts out of place, or any parts added on, much to his relief. "But, I suppose I should be grateful nonetheless. If only for the fact that I am not some towering monstrosity of random cryptid parts like I had feared."
"I thought the most important thing he told us was that he loved us," Elfnein interjected.
"Well yes, of course, that goes without saying," Carol admitted.
"Did he also add that you should never do memory combustion because while it's probably an incredibly powerful form of alchemy, it causes mental instability?" Drakus added.
"Okay, yes, that too-"
"Also it turns out he explicitly told us not to destroy the world if he should die an unfortunate end at the hands of alchemist-fearing religious zealots-" Elfnein continued.
"That's enough, Elfnein, I think they get the picture!" Carol hissed.
"Now, you will be needing this!" Drakus reached behind his back, pulling out the white stone mask that he had been keeping. Along with it, Neo and Furina held the rest of the outfit; the black cloak, suit and boots, and the white gloves.
Argost grinned as he reached for the familiar clothes, putting the cloak and suit on first in a flash. Next came the boots and gloves, then finally, he placed the skull-like mask over his head, his yellow eyes shining through the eyeholes. "Ah, yes, perfect!" he proclaimed, pulling back on his gloves to make certain they fit properly. "It certainly feels satisfying, being in these old clothes again. Now, we ride!"
Soon, the man, simply called Gray, looked at the Poltergust. "When I look at this, there is a distinct lack of zeros here, as such, I must do something that should have been done sooner..." He then spawned a crafting table, and dropped 6 more Poltergust Z-00s, dropping Coomer and Furina's Poltergusts onto it. "What happens when you create the unholy circle of vacuums?"
Soon, lightning and unholy screams filled the room, as the vacuums fused into one, with cyan lightning decals and glowing like a rainbow. "Now, after the creation of this glitzy and glitchy mess, I have not yet tested exactly what this does, but we'll probably turn Cthulhu into a nice hat if it gets turned on. And, yes, that is a chicken with derpy eyes and a top hat. His name is Reginald, I killed his brother, yeah, he got brain damage and is also effectively immortal." Gray explained.
The lamps on each side of the elevator were the only main sources of light in the elevator lobby. As the doors creaked open, Furina cautiously took several steps outside as she was met with several flowers, potted plants, trees, and even a sitting couch. While the beginning area didn't seem too ominous, what worried her was the darkened hallway around the corner. He barely found clumps of ivy and grass planted on the floor which led to a stone walkway.
"Hmm... I wouldn't exactly choose these kinds of flowers for a display. But if that's what suits Hellen's taste, at least they're decent looking," Mr. Puzzles commented.
Chomp began sniffing away as he followed the trail ahead. He jumped a little when he noticed the grass move, as a snake slithered right at him.
"What the heck?!" he cried.
Dove promptly rushed to his side and used her Poltergust to suck up the dirty serpent.
"Sorry you have to deal with something like this," she sympathized.
"Thanks... I just hope I won't get poisoned or anything worse. I appreciate you getting that snake."
"Like I said earlier, I got your back," Dove smirked, making the triceratops smile as well.
The squad turned another corner, approaching the end of the corridor as they reached a set of bronze doors. So many plants covered the entirety of the room. If it weren't for the nearby lamps, Luigi thought he was stuck in some sort of dark greenhouse. The only things missing were a bunch of carnivorous Piranha Plants lurking to chomp on his overalls. Then it'd be a killer garden. Literally.
Luigi pushed the doors open as they all entered the Garden Suites' Atrium. The plumber had his eyes glued to the long staircase that ran along the edges of the humongous room. Now that he knew what this place looked like, he hoped this stairway wouldn't be similar to the one he had to climb to reach the top of the Haunted Towers. And that was hell on its own whenever he slid to the very bottom just from choosing the wrong flight.
Speaking of which, this kind of environment reminded Dove of the Haunted Towers her and her universe's Luigi excavated in Evershade Valley. Ironically, it was the first location they ran into the Polterpup back when he was more of a mischievous pooch who ran off with key items that they needed. At least this time, Biscuit wasn't planning to run away or cause bedlam.
Then, Neo tapped Furina's shoulder, pointing at a shining object lying on an iron garden table.
"There's the elevator button!" Furina exclaimed. Without any signs of ghosts, she happily ran over to grab it before anything could interfere.
Oh, how naive she was...
"That was easy!" Neo laughed. "Now let's get out of here!"
"You said it, babe! Huh?" Furina got distracted when she spotted a Venus Flytrap flying at the button, barking like a dog.
"Oh shit..." Lyre shook in fear.
The barking didn't come from Biscuit at all. Instead, it was a Venus flytrap in a small pot. The plant extended its stem over and ate the button.
"So, what the heck is that?" Ivy asked.
"Do you think I'm a botanist or something?! You know more about plants than most of us!" Roman remarked.
"Yeah, but I've never seen one that looks so drunk!" Ivy sniped.
"You dare call my beautiful flower 'drunk'?!" a voice rasped near Ivy. "I'll show you what my baby is capable of... Pumpkin! Kill them!"
"Wait a second. First of all, you gave that thing a name? Secondly, you call it 'Pumpkin'?" Mystle asked, bamboozled.
Luigi was about to comment on why Mystle would even question such a topic, but he recoiled as his hand got trapped in the plant's mouth. He tried to hold onto the button tightly in his fist, but the plant wouldn't back down.
"Yah! Get off of me!"
"Hold on, Luigi! I'll help!" Furina got behind him and tried to pull his body away. They struggled for several seconds before Colombo angrily jumped on top of the killer flower. It became restless as it spit out Luigi's hand, forcing him and Daisy to fall backward. Unfortunately, the button slipped out of his grasp and became trapped inside the plant.
The plumber groaned from both the saliva and marks on his glove. "Seriously?!"
"Hoo hoo hoo..." the mysterious voice chuckled. "This is what happens when you don't tend your precious flowers properly. Or in your case, when you anger me and my dear Pumpkin!"
Right beside the plant, a new ghost emerged to reveal himself as he held the pot. It was a green-skinned ghoul who wore a yellow gardening hat with a small white flower sticking out near the brim. He also had a bushy beard, glasses, a knapsack, and a brown coat.
"You disrespectful lassies must have the gall to invade my ravishing, green paradise. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Slay him!" Gray said, whipping out a Poltergust Z-00 colored black and red with 6 Bud Light cans lodged in it. "Slay him, slay the non-believer!"
"Do not do dad dirty like that, you monkeys!" Pumpkin yelled, his voice sounding like Al-G Rhythm.
"Well, maybe a few more beauties will change your mind." Potter said, nonchalantly shrugging.
"What do you mean by that?" Raiden asked.
Dr. Potter snickered to himself while stroking Pumpkin's head. "Oh, Sisters! Come out from your graves!"
Luigi's eyes bulged as he witnessed a pair of hands reaching out from the floor. Biscuit cautiously took some steps back near his human. The squad was shocked as well. The hands were thick and purple, and the entity fully unveiled herself in front of the plumber. She wore a green hat and carried a large mirror. Another pair of hands came out from the floor. This one was a green, slender ghoul with a purple hat and a medium-sized mirror. Finally, some tiny yellow arms with an even smaller mirror popped out from the garden.
Dove didn't need a second to guess who these ghosts were. But someone else was quick to respond.
"My stars! Why, it's the famous Three Sisters!" E. Gadd bellowed. "You've fought these celebrities before in the Haunted Towers' graveyard!"
"Do you have to remind me about that, grandpa?!" Dove narrowed her eyes. "I wasn't a big fan of the graveyard shift, and I still don't like it!"
"Ha ha ha! Hello, Bloody Dove!" the purple ghost named Herlinda waved at her. "Do you miss us dearly?"
"I bet she hasn't forgotten us at all!" the green ghost named Belinda sneered. "It feels like ages since we've met!"
"Aw, the little cutie pie looks so cute whenever she's scared!" the littlest ghost, Lucinda, ogled. "She hasn't changed a bit, which suits her personality!"
"Hoo hoo hoo! Now do you see what you're up against?" Dr. Potter chuckled. "I've invited these three to attend my beautiful Garden Suites and live here happily for eternity! It was so simple to convince them since they adore gardening. But most of all, they agreed to surprise you if you managed to get close to this elevator button!" he pulled it out just to taunt the squad once more. "Prepare to suffer the wrath of my plants and the Sisters!"
"Get away from my gay ass, thots!" Furina yelled, her Poltergust Z-00 vacuuming up the sisters and most of the plants as they hissed and screamed in shock.
"Oh my God, it's more beautiful than I had anticipated." Gray muttered, as he saw the pure destruction the evolved Poltergust was causing. "Behold, effectively what you're holding is a black hole but easy to handle."
"At least make sure the plants won't die!" Potter bellowed as his beard got caught in the Z-00's nozzle.
Seconds later, he grabbed the elevator button and tossed it high in the air before his whole body and Pumpkin were officially trapped, as Furina grabbed the button, which had an '8' on it.
Soon, the elevator bell rang as it stopped at the new location, and the squad was introduced to an astonishing red carpet, a mountain and forest display with a suspended helicopter model to their right, a pair of loudspeakers, and a glass cube built over a raised platform to their left. Within the confined space were a television, a live camera, and a sparkling key placed inside a container display which was mounted on the wall.
Frankly, the squad thought this floor was alluring from the get-go. Nonetheless, they had to be cautious in case any new ghosts popped out to mess with him.
"Interesting. This place is like a movie studio!" Coomer was fascinated by the displays. "This is better than the Garden Suites!"
Siita sighed in annoyance. "Are you going to get to the point of this aside or must we endure this excruciating awkwardness for the duration of our time in this gaudy hotel?"
"You were wrong," Drakus said.
"Hmph, doubtful, but do go on," Siita said, slightly amused at this.
"You think that we couldn't just pick up where we left off after everything that's happened," Drakus continued as he stepped out in front of Siita, causing them to stop in the middle of the hall. "But we can. The two of us are here together, and we still mean something to each other after all this time. I know it. I am not going to give up the one thing left that your dad gave me."
Siita was silent for a minute as she thought about what Drakus had said. On one hand, she agreed with everything. She did still love Drakus and wanted him back, and her heart was practically doing backflips at the notion of being together with Drakus again. But then again, Drakus had hurt her before, worse than Shoma or Lango ever had. They had meant everything to each other, yet Drakus still chose himself over her, and, besides that, had at least five other lovers. How could Siita ever trust Drakus to choose her? Siita couldn't deal with that sort of rejection again. But maybe, just maybe, there was a way...
Drakus gently brought his hands up towards Siita's head. One hand drifted to the back of her head, petting the soft salt and pepper hair. The other hand cupped Siita's cheek. Siita and Drakus smiled at each other and slowly leaned in close until their lips interlocked.
And at that moment, it was as if an entire 6 years of hurt had never even happened.
Entering the Backstage, they didn't anticipate what was in front of them. Sitting in a director's chair was a blue-skinned ghost wearing a dark blue sweater and hat. He was, all of things, bawling. It genuinely confused the heroes because every other major spirit they've encountered was either cheeky, rude, or threatening to put up a battle.
But this? This was somewhat bewildering.
Not only that, but there was another ghost floating near the crying spirit. This ghost, also blue, was draped in a red robe, a gold necklace, and a veil concealing her mouth. She was busy consoling the male ghost, placing her hands on his trembling shoulders.
"Morty, please," the woman shook her head. "You need to calm down. Just because you lost something doesn't mean it's the end of the world."
"Oh, but you don't understand, Madame Clairvoya!" the male whined dramatically. Meanwhile, Dove's eyes bulged when she heard that name. "It's an absolute tragedy! It is the end of the world for me! For someone who has a passion for filming, directing, and editing films, I am destined for failure if I can't manage my equipment properly! I mean, how could I lose my precious red megaphone that I've used and adored since my childhood?! I was inspired by many directors that I wanted to become one myself! And that megaphone that I've cherished is out of my possession! I can't fulfill my job without it! Because of that, I'm nothing but a puny, worthless movie director..." he moped, covering his face with his hand.
The squad heard everything that Morty said from where he stood. A part of Luigi was scared by default since he was a ghost. However, his depressive state of mind made him feel sorry for him. Luigi faced many instances in his life where he felt miserable and useless in various ways that he could relate to the director. Personally, he hated it whenever someone was truly upset to the point where they broke down in tears.
"Morty, please listen to yourself! Don't you have any dignity?" Clairvoya remarked.
"How could I when I lost my megaphone?!" he reiterated. "Think about this. What's an artist without a brush? Or a chef without a knife? Even a dog without a bag of trash?! The answer is nothing! And nothing is what I am! No.. I'm less than nothing! My future is doomed to be bleak for the rest of eternity! Not even the sparkle from this beautiful button can light up my day when it's falling apart..."
Baxbtieatm's eyes widened as large as dinner plates. "Hey, there's a button! Let's snag it!" she hurried over, tiptoeing in her sneakers.
"Wait!" Luigi whispered as he trailed behind. Biscuit quietly ran next to him.
"I would give anything to be able to hold my dear, sweet megaphone again..." Morty wept.
"Oh, woe is me," Clairvoya felt hopeless yet sympathetic. Turning her head slightly, she caught the princess running over to them, attempting to swipe the button out of Morty's hand. "Excuse me!"
The squad soon stopped in their tracks.
"Hmm?" Morty wiped away his ghost tears. "W-Who are you?"
"Ahem," Raiden decided to man up and speak. "Um, hello. I'm Raiden. And this is the X-Squad. We're here to collect the elevator buttons to explore The Last Resort and find the hostages in this hotel."
"My goodness," Madame Clairvoya gasped, rubbing her eyelids. "Could that be?"
Morty raised an eyebrow at the fortune-teller. "Could who be?"
"Dove... Is that really you?"
"Yeah, it's-a-me," she nodded. "I remember you helped me and my Luigi in the spooky mansion where King Boo first kidnapped my Mario. In fact, you were one of the few ghosts who weren't belligerent to me. I... never really got to thank you for your help."
"Well, I'm glad I could be of assistance at that time! But my stars, it feels like it's been a decade since I've seen your face. It doesn't look like you've aged at all! You're still the same, young girl that I know!" Her comment made Dove blush.
"So, you two have some history?" Morty queried.
"Indeed. To give you a backstory, she is the granddaughter of the famous ghost hunter, Elvin Gadd! But she is also considered a hero – far more than just a simple sidekick. Though she doesn't possess the same amount of intellect as her grandpa, her cunning and heart shape her to be virtuous. She would help anyone in need of trouble."
Hmm... That is interesting. But I'm afraid I've never heard of you or this Gadd fellow at all."
"Seriously?" Mystle interjected. "Where have you been living this entire time? Under a rock?"
"Actually, I've resorted to this wondrous floor of the hotel. Hellen Gravely hired me to maintain this floor and allowed me to direct my projects! She also handed me this button to guard from some X-Squad folk and a person named Do-" Morty suddenly paused. "Wait a second. You are the ones that Hellen is antagonizing?"
Barinade gulped, scared to respond truthfully. "U-Uh... Yes..."
"Hmm... I don't see why she thinks of you as a menace," Morty tilted his head.
"In case you're unaware, three of us have vacuums on them that can suck up ghosts. And most of us are armed, dangerous, and are quite literally insane!" Drakus cheerfully added.
"Drakus, please." Snatchee turned back to the ghosts. "Listen, Miss Clairvoya, I couldn't help but hear your conversation earlier. You said you're missing a megaphone?"
Morty was brought back to reality. "Oh... Oh, the horror! My precious megaphone!" he sobbed into his hands again. Madame Clairvoya sighed as she tried to soothe him.
"I-I'm sorry we made you upset," Luigi felt guilty.
"It's not your fault, darling. Morty can be... overdramatic, for lack of a better term," Clairvoya whispered that last part to him.
"Well, is there anything we can do to help, Miss Clairvoya?" Snatcher asked,
"Archie, what are you doing?" Neo asked. Even Biscuit didn't know where he was going.
"Well, you know how Dove scavenged through the first mansion to find Mario's lost items? Could you possibly go around the movie studio and search for his megaphone? Somehow, the spirits are telling me that it's somewhere on this floor. But I can't exactly tell without my crystal ball."
"So, why can't you help us?" Daisy looked unimpressed.
"I would love to seek the location, but I'm too busy keeping Morty's tears at bay. This poor gentleman lacks confidence and passion whenever he loses his most prized possessions. In this case, it's his megaphone, obviously. But I believe he'll cheer up if you can find it for him."
"Don't worry, I have it!" Baxbtieatm said as she pulled a red megaphone from her shirt.
"Oh ho ho! You found it! And it appears to be untouched! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he shouted with joy.
Baxbtieatm handed it to him before he stepped back apprehensively. It did warm his heart that the director was finally happy. But he slightly cringed when he started hugging and caressing it.
"This isn't awkward at all," Dove murmured.
"You're telling me," Mystle whispered back.
"Where the heck did you get that?!" Siita exclaimed.
"From out of my cleavage," Baxbtieatm answered.
"You're wearing a cropped shirt, though!"
"Silly Siita-chan," Exlsgeil said, "Everybody knows a woman's cleavage is an unlimited hyper dimension that almost anything can be pulled out of." She reached into her coat and pulled out her tarantula Mitzy. "See? It's bigger on the inside!"
Critic was awe-struck. He then farted, reached behind him and pulled out a large red brick.
"That's a brick." Critic remarked.
"That is the most idiotic thing I've ever heard. You don't even have breasts." Sabrina remarked.
"Maybe not," Exlsgeil said as she put Mitzy on her head. "But it's enough to admire Bambi-chan's voluptuous body." She drooled a little.
"Please, for my sake, see a therapist," Icy Blitzwing said.
"Okay, Morty. Now that you and your megaphone are reunited, are you ready to move onto your next phase?" Clairvoya asked.
"Next phase? Oh, boy. What are they talking about?"
"Indeed! Now I can finally finish my movie! But... I'm missing something else," Morty held a finger to his chin.
"Oh, no. Don't tell me we have to do another scavenger hunt!" Mystle complained. "Finding the elevator buttons is tiring by itself!"
"No, no, it's not that. I actually need..." Morty paused until he faced the squad. Drakus flinched as their eyes locked on each other. "You!"
"What?!" Luigi's teeth chattered.
"I've been so depressed that I never noticed how you truly look until now. I must say... Did anyone tell you that you have some nice features?"
"Well, sure," answered the fortune-teller. "Dove's got plenty of traits that make her unique. Her hair, her glistening pools of purple, her drive to save her friends, her charming laugh..."
"Uhh..." Symonne hesitated.
Dove was starting to feel really uncomfortable. It's not just from Morty clinging onto her shoulders. She couldn't stop shaking as she was afraid of what the director was planning to do.
"Yes, those are some positive aspects about your personality. Not to mention, your build! You may look somewhat pudgy, but you're an incredibly, healthy girl with some solid muscles!"
"Are you coming on to Dove?" Mystle asked, as she cocked an eyebrow.
"One second. Just stand there." Morty floated a few feet away to get a better angle on the squad. He used his index fingers and thumbs to form a rectangular frame, inspecting them from a distance. "My goodness! I see all the makings of stars with my own eyes! My creativity is shaking off all the dust and surging to life! I won't be receiving raspberries or embarrassing awards with people like you. You're gonna be my star pupils!"
"H-Huh?" Siita sputtered.
"You've got tons of potential! How would you like to star in my film?"
"Uhh..." Symonne hesitated.
Suddenly, the large door with the number '5' opened up to reveal a brand-new set. It was a miniature city surrounded by water. Morty then shoved the squad lightly across the bridge. Siita stuttered as she was unable to escape. If there was any indication that she had stage fright, her quivering legs were the giveaway, while Madame Clairvoya floated behind as a spectator, holding a clapperboard. With everyone in place, Morty headed over to his chair, placed on top of a mechanical lift with his large camera. He lowered the machine to get the proper angle and close-up before filming.
"We need more lighting by the heroes' feet! Now just stand there until I get the camera focus... Ah, perfect! Okay, on my mark!"
"Good luck," the fortune-teller waved her fingers.
Once the camera started recording, Morty was ready to shoot. "Aaaaand action!" he shouted as Clairvoya clapped the board.
A toy car rushed past Arsene's boot, knocking it slightly as it veered off the road.
"Oops, sorry!" she mumbled.
The camera slowly moved up from his feet to his body. The dimensions made the squad look like a herd of giants roaming a bustling city. Even the shorter members were gargantuan compared to the buildings. As they each took several steps forward, they all heard a loud, rumbling sound.
"Huh?"
"What was that?" Ridley asked. He didn't say that line out of a script; he was frankly curious where that sound came from and what caused it.
"Hey, over there!" Biscuit was the first to notice the source. A giant dust cloud burst onto the scene from a distant part of the city. As it dissipated, a giant two-horned monster with dark green scales, being ridden by a knight in jet black armor. He spotted the squad and started making his way towards them.
Morty, who removed the camera from his mechanical lift, directed the shot at the plumber's face. His hands were planted on the sides of his head. His jaw dropped in anguish. "AYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Holy crap! Are we fighting against another Godzilla?!" Kanade sputtered.
"It looks like Godzilla, but due to international copyright laws - it's not!" Morty clarified.
"I was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. They'll only buy scripts from me if I cleanse it all in flames!" The ghost said, probably also improvising his lines.
"That's what Brianna said every time I made a risqué tweet." Gottfried remarked.
The monster continued wrecking the buildings while several explosions and fires sparked throughout the city. Hibiki quickly noticed that when the creature turned around, she spotted a ghostly tail below. Instantly, she knew it was a ghost wearing a costume. But with the movie rolling, she figured it was best not to ruin it.
"Hey you abomination against nature!" Cinadexc shouted. "My eyes are up here!"
The ghost, unbeknownst to the squad, was actually gay, and not the slightest bit interested. He did give them a wicked, and incredibly sassy, glare, though.
"All right, who votes we teach this sack of shit how we do things back in Beverly Hills?" Cinadexc asked.
Since Furina perceived the ghost actor first, her first instinct was to blind the monster with her Strobulb. Unfortunately, it wasn't effective. Streetlamps and fake trees starting falling as the monster stomped their way down the busy streets. He faced the squad and inhaled deeply. Seconds later, a blue fireball came out of his mouth. The fiery orb rammed into Ridley's chest, causing the dragon to fall backward near the bridge.
"Shit!"
"Ooh, what a stunning crash! That'll be perfect to edit in my movie!" the director smirked.
He quickly got up and shook off the pain. To his surprise, the fireball didn't burn him whatsoever. Nevertheless, his upper body felt a little sore. He pushed his thoughts aside and rejoined the party.
"Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeee..." Shirabe muttered.
"Death! Death, death, death!" Kirika added.
"Listen...girls in wigs...I just think you're kind of giving kids the wrong idea." Critic said.
"Actually, that's how they talk." Martin said, and Critic looked more confused.
"Heh?" Critic asked.
"I'm alright. How are we going to stop him?" Ridley asked.
"Maybe we can light his ass up." Roman remarked
"That's not a bad idea. Let's do it!"
The reptilian villain breathed out another flame at the heroes. "Let me try something." Cinadexc wound up her arm with a beach ball sized ball of lightning in her hand. "Yellow Wolf Frightshock!" She zapped the kaiju with her attack just as it was getting back up, electrifying its entire body and sending it to the ground again.
"Forgive them, Lord, they know not what they do." Momoko muttered.
A rather strong wind blew through the awkward silence and a million souls screamed out in agony as they were suddenly silenced.
Or that could've just been the sound effects Morty was playing.
"Oh, right, the ghost's still alive, isn't he?" Candice asked rhetorically. She flew around in front of the kaiju. "Hey, buddy!" she exclaimed. "You can't just go around eating people when we're having a conversation. That's against the rules!"
The kaiju breathed its hot fire breath in Cinadexc's face. Normally this would result in reducing his target to a skeleton, but it left Candice with little more than a few ash marks and mild annoyance, and another bad hair day.
"My hair! You fucking asshole!" Slapping her hand down, Cinadexc cackled. "Yellow Wolf Divine Lightning!"
A damning thunder clap shattered the sound barrier as it blasted the kaiju with so much electricity it could've powered an entire city in Arkansas.
"That's it! Blowing it up!" Siita shouted. She couldn't take much more of this stupidity. She stuck her hand down Baxbtieatm's shirt, and pulled out a giant gun shaped like a popsicle, and was so ridiculously large and overly complicated that even the biggest ammosexual NRA member would have thought of it as big enough to compensate for his absurdly small dick. How she was able to hold a gun the size of a skyscraper was anybody's guess- gravity was probably on vacation. Or just staying away out of common sense.
"Keep it going! This is your big chance to achieve stardom!" Morty cheered.
"Bombs Away!" Pulling the strangely normal sized trigger for such a large hand cannon, a plethora of rockets, missiles, and explosive cannonballs went sailing towards the Kaiju that, this time, had been politely letting the squad talk things out- it would just be rude to attack mid conversation, and he was a nice ghost whose mother had taught him the virtues of politeness-and blasted it into oblivion. Somehow, though, that didn't stop him from eating innocent civilians earlier. …his mother died when he was six. Don't judge him!
The weapon also blew up the whole set, but it's not like she and the others were paying for property damage.
"Anything's possible with popsicles!" Siita yelled, thrusting one hand into the air as she dropped the giant cannon, which crushed the ghost playing the kaiju, but nobody cared because people without a name were about as interesting and important as saltine crackers.
The young girl bit back tears as she watched another one of her allies fall, the deafening laughter of the marauders echoing throughout the city. The leader wielded a large, four foot sword, capable of taking out multiple foes in one mighty swing. Sweat glistened down her temple as she heaved her own weapon up from the ground, her giant axe shimmering in the fading sunlight that filled the room. Her helmet nearly obscured her vision, slipping down her forehead due to sweat. Her very being ached, her heart from the sorrow, her mind from depressing thoughts, her body from over exertion. All she wanted to do was succumb to the dark pit of death, to give up on this fight- to see her family again.
But she simply couldn't- it was her supposed destiny to defeat the villainous tyrant. It was up to her to free the people of Slivern, she was the heroine of legend- the girl destined to slay the Tyrant King of Terror. Yet, she was but a girl, a young girl who was no older than thirteen, having just started puberty. At the moment she began to think that's all she'd ever be called, a "little girl", because she doubted that she'd make it past the night.
Rolling to the left, she managed to slip under the Tyrant King's blade, her helmet incapable of protecting her head from sheer, concussive force. With a grimace, she wobbled as she stood, taking a weak battle stance.
The dragonborn before her laughed mockingly as he prepared to deliver a powerful blow.
"I pity you, watching your allies fall, unable to save them. I can picture the pained look on your face, longing to join them, to tell them how sorry you are... Fear not, I'll grant that wish!" Then he swung, the sword a blur as he turned his body around in a full circle. The heroine couldn't help but to gasp- he was performing a perfect spin attack! She attempted to get out of his range but tripped over a corpse, falling face first she landed with a painful sounding 'clunk'.
Once she turned over, she was surprised to see the monster towering over her. His foot set in the middle of her chest, the armor she wore nearly crushing her.
"And cut!" Morty shouted through his prized megaphone. "Oh, yes! This scene is going to be a work of art! You were all brilliant! Energetic! Right on the money! Your performances were, dare I say, c'est magnifique!"
Setting the camera back onto the stand, Morty pulled off the rolls of film tape that recorded the entire movie. With his spare hand, he floated over to eagerly shake the squad's hands.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" he echoed. Luigi nearly lost his balance as Morty went overboard on the handshake. "My movie will be a masterpiece once we do one last scene after this fiasco dies down, and I edit this footage altogether! I know I've said this before many times, but I can't thank you enough!"
"It's no problem," Luigi chuckled. "I'm glad we were able to help shoot your film."
"Which, by the way, will we get a chance to see it?" Chris wondered.
"Oh, most certainly! I would happily let you be the first ones to witness my project! After all, you were the main co-stars!"
Drakus helped the knight up and pried the helmet off of her head. First he saw the messy pink hair, next he saw the round face of a teenage girl, her blue eyes wide with fear, tears trailing down her rosy cheeks, immediately he lifted his foot off of her, peering down at her in shock.
"You're a kid?!" He sputtered. The heroine whimpered, struggling to find the courage to speak, releasing the axe handle from her grip, she began to raise her arms in surrender.
"P-please! I-I'm no w-witch, if that's what you think! M-my name is Delia- I'm a-actually the h-heroine of another world! I got sent here by dark magic!" Lotte closed her eyes, too afraid to look him in the eye. Had she looked she would have seen the strange man's eyes soften ever so slightly, he hugged her tight.
"Hey, it's alright," the dragon prince said. "You've played the part of a warrior beautifully and I'm so proud of you. But that's enough now. It was bad form to make you fight me. It's not your fault." He spoke in a soft tone but in actuality, he was, for the first time ever, beyond livid, not at the girl or her (admittedly very edgy) fashion sense, but at Wattles for sending children to try and kill the squad.
Delia shuddered, it was hard to breathe in her armor, she took his hand and clasped it tightly, Drakus looked her in the eyes as she spoke.
"Thank you, t-truly thank y-you. B-but I d-don't wanna go back to my world. I-I..." she looked away, ashamed to say the next few words. But Drakus willed her to continue. "P-please just... just let me stay... I h-have nothing in my homeland. My family is dead- my people only love t-the idea o-of me." Delia sniffled, snot pouring out of her nose, eyes puffy from crying.
Leaving the pair of ghosts on the seared and torched set, the squad, dragging Delia along, strolled all the way to the elevator. As they entered, Dove took out the new button they got, engraved with a 'B2'.
From the elevator tracker, the squad discovered that the new floor was called the Boilerworks. A wrench moved all the way to the far left of the elevator dial. As the bell rang, the doors began to open. Unlike every other floor, they opened vertically instead of towards the sides. The first thing the heroes noticed was how dank and murky it was. A few boxes, crates, and scaffolding were present inside the Elevator Hall. With limited lighting, the misfits had no clue what to expect.
As Raiden crept past the corner, he quietly gasped when he spotted a purple ghost leaning against a workbench. He was a purple-skinned spirit with blonde hair, a single tooth under his upper lip, and a small patch of facial hair. His attire included a white, sleeveless undershirt with blue overalls, a matching colored cap, and a pair of green gloves. Based on his outfit and the location he was in, the ghost was either a mechanic or a plumber, just like Luigi.
There were two differences, however. One, he was a ghost. Two, he was sleeping on the job with his cap covering his eyes.
His aura was somehow glowing yellow. Raiden had a suspicion that he was keeping the button somewhere in his attire, but he couldn't be certain. Biscuit tried getting close to him as his nose began sniffing for the object.
"Biscuit, no!" he whispered.
The Polterpup obeyed his owner and stood back next to him. What Raiden failed to notice was the rubber duck that sat on the floor behind him. When his boot stepped back, a loud squeak echoed in the hall. He cringed, swearing to himself.
"Erm... Ah! What in tarnation?" The ghost lifted the brim of his blue and white cap. His left eye opened up before he yelped in surprise. "Huh? Hey, what da y'all think yer doin' here, ya coot? Ya tryna to disturb me from my ten-hour nap break?"
"Oh, crap..." Raiden muttered. "Um, hello... How are you? And who are you?"
"Name's Clem, and I'm the sheriff around these parts. Now, how can I help you?"
"Sorry to intrude, Clem," Raiden said, "but I heard there was a hostage situation here, and I've come to fix it."
"Mmm-hmm—now I see what you look like when you're lying," Clem said lazily, again looking Raiden over. "Now let's see what you look like when you're telling the truth." He grinned. "Bet fixing a leak doesn't require a vacuum, hm?"
"Wha? Oh, I…"
"S'alright, s'alright," Clem said disarmingly. "Everybody lies sometimes. I tend to do so, too. But I'm looking at your getup, and I can't help but wonder—are you that samurai that Ms. Gravely and Wattles were talkin' about? Because, hoo boy, you do look ridiculous!"
"Buddy, green doesn't suit your gloves." Drakus remarked.
Clem held his hands up and realized his point. He grunted to himself. "Touché, I'll give ya dat. But those long sleeves? Y'all need an undershirt like mine – cut off at them shoulders to keep yerself from sweating a lot! Just looking at ya makes me think y'all perspire very easily! I'll do ya a favor and snip them bad boys off! What d'ya say, eh?" The ghost then brought out a pair of scissors from his bench.
"Please, don't! We're here to find an elevator button!" Dove yelped.
"Oh, really?" Clem asked as he carelessly threw them away and then tossed them a button labeled '9'. "Well, I ain't supposed to hand ya my elevator button like it's a piece of candy, but then again...Ms. Gravely is a right asshole anyways, so I ain't complaining. Lemme know if yer arms wanna take a small breather, or if this whole 'Darwinism' thing falls apart!"
"I didn't get a chance to see what the tracker said when the elevator button was placed in the panel. Let's see," Mystle gazed over at the screen. "The Unnatural History Museum. Interesting. I wonder what we'll discover there."
"Maybe some vintage bones!" Colombo barked in anticipation.
A fossil bone moved over to the eleventh tick mark above the elevator. As the doors opened, the squad initially noticed a pair of pink plants on both sides of the lobby. Above them, the man shined his flashlight at a hanging pterodactyl fossil. Several feet in front of them was a service desk, currently occupied by a murder of crows. A few 'caws' from them slightly spooked Luigi, but he simply ignored the birds in case they tried to peck his nose or anything worse.
With the Virtual Boo, Furina put on the goggles and inspected the map. The lobby was shaped in a rectangle which led to a large room up north. There wasn't much ground to cover, so he had a feeling that this won't take as long or as perilous as any of the previous three floors. Then again, Paranormal Productions wasn't truly terrifying after he met Morty and Madame Clairvoya. For the archon, all she hoped was that this place wouldn't be as fear-provoking as Castle MacFrights or the Garden Suites.
"Who's the challenge n-" A man dressed like Kieran said, stomping towards the X-Squad, before suddenly stopping, as Drakus dragged him along. "Why the FUCK do you have Raiden with you?!"
They soon trekked towards the T-Rex. But that wasn't the only thing in the Exhibit Hall. A skeleton of a Stegosaurus and a pair of Raptors both stood tall near the entrance. Around the border were more artifacts, eggs, fossils, and even a strange block of ice behind the elongated railing. They were entranced by the paleontology displays that they didn't notice a lonely ghost floating in the center of the gallery. It was a teal-skinned ghoul with a mustache, a beard, and white hair. His attire consisted of a green overcoat with a red and yellow-striped shirt and a red beret. In his hands were a paintbrush and his palette as he was busy painting something on a canvas.
Dove froze from her spot as she recognized the ghost. "Vincent Van Gore..."
The artist flinched as he heard his name spoken softly. Rotating around, he was aghast to see the man in green in front of him.
"What is this? You again, Bloody Dove?!" Van Gore scowled. "What exactly are you doing here?!"
"U-Uh..." Neo hesitated.
Biscuit got in front of his human and barked twice at the painter.
"Ugh! Back off, pooch! I don't need to waste my business with you!"
The Polterpup took offense as he growled with his teeth showing.
"I remember you well. You and that eyesore in gree had to get in the way and ruin my valuable creations!"
"M-Mr. Van Gore, we needed to rescue Mario at the time and-" Dove sputtered
"Poppycock!" the ghost disrupted him. "You're nothing but a nuisance, little greenie. Now answer my question from before! What exactly are you doing here?"
When Biscuit kept growling, Luigi had to make him stop as he leaned down and rubbed his back. The Polterpup's angry expression faded as he reluctantly let him speak.
"A Nazi bird kidnapped your universe's Mario and me, except he's also got Princess Peach and a few Toad friends. We've been here to explore Hellen's hotel to find them all, as well as stop her, Reaper and Wattles." Luigi explained
"Hrmm... Typical. It's just your character to help out anyone since you cherish their lives more than your own. Selfless, I'll give you that. But I'm still ticked that you had to interfere with my work!"
"Your 'vork'?" he repeated in confusion.
"Gah! Stupid tongue. My work! And if you dare disrespect my paintings again, then I shall release my wrath!"
"Y-Your wr-wrath?" Luigi stuttered.
"Indeed. Take a look at this!" Vincent floated to the side to reveal his latest art. It was simply a black void.
"Um, what does zis- Ah, I mean, this have to do with your wrath?" Luigi had to ask.
"Oh, you'll find out soon enough," the artist sneered.
If only Luigi saw it coming, but he didn't get the picture until something literally popped out of it.
"REEEEE!"
"YAAAH!" Luigi jumped. The squad became startled from his scream.
There was a tall, violet apparition jutting out from a puddle below. His arms stretched out like a bird flapping its wings. With creepy, yellow pupils, he made gurgling noises while a few smaller, black versions of himself formed around him.
"Yes, prepare yourself for revenge, Bogmire, go and catch them!"
"Fancy meeting you here." Hurricane said, walking out from behind the stegosaur skeleton.
"You knew we'd come." Raiden muttered, chuckling. "For a hired killer, you're not very good at your job."
"The war is the big payoff!" Hurricane said, smirking.
"Right. Big raises all around once Wattles gets all those contracts..." Drakus said.
Hurricane gagged. "I ain't talking about money. I'm talking ideals!" He clarified.
"But why!? What do you get out of it!?" Ruby exclaimed.
"Forget it. We've all heard enough speeches about higher causes by now. History will decide who's right. End of story." Hurricane calmly said.
"I don't care who thinks I'm right, not anymore, fishhead." Raiden said.
"Wh--? Oh, good. Why that's very good! Yes, I like that." Hurricane laughed.
"Must you really fight in front of my creations?!" Van Gore groaned.
"Oh, it's a fight you want? Behold, BUDGET INCREASED STU!" The Ghostface said, as another Ghostface walked beside him.
"Don't look at me! The author got addicted to Garrysfactor and thought me and Billy would be a good fit!" Stu added.
Cell looked up at the ceiling. "You crazy bastard."
Unexpectedly, a shadow crossed over, pausing Luigi from his rescue mission. There was a giant skull in front of them with a guttural snarl. Even Biscuit was shaking that he was too scared to turn around. Luigi did the honors first.
He immediately regretted it.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex roared loudly as its breath made Luigi's mustache hair flutter violently. As his legs shook, Biscuit noticed the dinosaur opening its mouth again, but for a different purpose. He pushed Luigi away in time as the T-Rex chomped its sharp teeth at the Toad painting, narrowly missing the plumber. Disappointed that it didn't satisfy its carnivorous craving, the T-Rex bellowed once more as several eggs from above started falling from the hanging pterodactyl skeletons. Nevertheless, the reptile swallowed the portrait down its throat before disappearing into the light found within the ribcage, as another roar echoed in the Exhibit Hall. As if the monster was breathing fire, the block of ice nearby started to melt. To Luigi and Colombo's shock, there was a ghost that appeared from within – one whom Luigi had also fought in the first mansion.
"DID THAT MOTHERFUCKA STEAL A TOAD'S SOUL?!" Billy sputtered.
"Blah! What?! My new icicle home has melted?! Why does this keep happening to me?! I can't stand the heat!"
It was Sir Weston, a light-blue ghost who wore a brown anorak and a red backpack with some climbing gear. He did a double take when he spotted Luigi.
"You there! I bet you were the one who ruined my ice block! I recall that you lit some fires like you were trying to burn my skin, so it must be you!"
"What? I never meant to do that!"
"Never meant to?! What tomfoolery are you talking about?! For all I know, you must've-"
Sir Weston didn't get a chance to finish his statement as the T-Rex caught everyone's attention. Luigi's jaw dropped when the dinosaur fought against the pole that restrained itself. Soon, it became free as it destroyed the railing and several more pillars. The dinosaur unintentionally whacked Sir Weston from his sitting area.
"You wanna play rough with Ug of the Jurassic?" the skeleton growled. "Okay, then!"
The hulking skeleton roared. "Say hello to my little friends!"
Laughing madly, Ug swung it's claws at the squad as Bogmire and Weston went on the attack, same as Hurricane, but the squad leaped and dodged clear of most, if not all, of the swings. Some of those swings produced shock waves, and Ug would have a tough time unsticking his hands from the ground afterward. After observing this, Luigi immediately formed a battle strategy—evade the swings as best he could, Burst over the shockwave and turn the tide when Ug was trying to unstick his claws. It was easier said than done, of course. But it would be done.
"Come along, X-Squad—I ain't gonna hurt you," Ug cackled. "I'm just gonna smash you into paste on the floor! That's all I'm gonna do. After all, all work and no play makes Ug a dull boy!"
Just then, a strike hit the fuse, and Owada, villain name Bishop, was shocked to see the group as he fell to the floor.
"Impossible! I haven't even set things up properly here! And how did you even get in!? How have you been able to get in!?"
"Turns out the power of dinos work to," Cendrillon said, "A little oversight, but that's what you get when you rely on bootlegs for your electronics."
Bishop got out a large rocket launcher.
"Try dealing with this using your worthless superpowers! For Admiral Shido!"
But he never ever got a shot off. Akane, hero name Cosette, had already wrapped up his arms using her chains. Bishop was shocked.
"You... You have the same Quirk?!"
"Like father, like daughter," Valjean said, a hint of pride in his voice.
He started manifesting his own chains.
"It's time you finally take responsibility for Aoi's death! Cross Link Chain!"
Bishop grunted as his whole body was wrapped up in chains.
"Drakus," Valjean said, "Let's give him a traditional send-off."
"Yo, Stu, you got the strap?" Billy asked.
"You know it!" Stu said, tossing Billy a glock.
"This is quickly becoming my favorite part," Drakus admitted, "Die!"
Bishop was blown back by the force of the open palm and mag dumping, right into Weston, Van Gore and Bogmire, crashing through the dino and into the Z-00.
"You... Damn... Heroes..." Owada groaned as he was sucked in, as Van Gore, Bogmire and Weston yelled in shock.
Another loud boom of thunder echoed outside the hotel before the squad noticed a large fist breaking through the heap of bones. It was a brawny, mustard-yellow ghoul with an orange fur cloth, red eyes, and black hair. He was very dizzy at first, but his face switched to an irate expression.
"WHAT THE OOGA?!" the ghost sputtered, before grabbing a giant bone club that turned into a minigun. "That's it, you die now!"
BGM: Dystopia (Starset)
"Oh shit, he's packing heat!" Billy said. "He's gon' crash out like the fucking stock market!"
"Venom...crash out right back!" Drakus yelled, as the symbiote emerged from his body and morphed him into Venom.
Billy's eyes widened. "VENOM!?" He yelled, as he then started hyperventilating and hid behind Stu. "No! No! Not the 19 inches! Stu! Please! PROTECT ME!"
Venom looked confused. "What do you mean by nineteen inches?"
Neo whispered something into Venom's ear, as his eyes narrowed, then widened. "Oh...oh my...that is shocking..."
There was an awkward silence, marked by most of the squad eyeing up their leader's symbiote partner in a whole new light. "Well, in the interests of keeping this meeting as dignified as I can, I assure you two I do not have 19 inches...hopefully." Venom said.
Ug banged his club repeatedly as more rubble fell from the ceiling above. One piece was about to directly land on Biscuit. The Polterpup immediately became invisible as it cracked onto the ground. After another round of close calls, Ug swung his club and released it from his hand. In a surprising twist, the bone came back like a boomerang.
"Oh god, the big guy's about to pound y'all into spaghetti sauce!" Courtney yelped.
Somehow, Ug was just able to hear her through the microphone. "Huh? Who was thay? Sounds like a girl. Is she pretty?"
"Ew, if he's trying to hit on me, I'm glad I'm not in the hotel with you."
"Is she cute? I wanna speak with the pretty lady!"
Then, Furina formed a crazy idea in her head. It was cruel, sure, but she needed to finish this fight. "Hey, Ug!" she got his attention. "Uh, the pretty lady is in here! She's a ghost, right inside this vacuum!"
"Oh! Really?!" Ug was excited.
"Uh, yeah! The thing is, we can't release her. This vacuum won't eject ghosts, but we can let you see her inside if you want to. But on two conditions!" Venom quickly added.
"Conditions?" he repeated, scratching a finger on his head.
"Yeah. Number one, we want our Toad friend back safe and sound. Number two, do you have an elevator button with you?"
"Ele-whazzit? Button? Button?" Ug was confused for a moment before searching through his loincloth outfit. He pulled a yellow, glowing circle. "Oh, this?" he showed it to the squad.
The squad hid their excitement. Biscuit, on the other hand, yapped happily.
"That's it! If you hand it to me and bring out my friend, I'll let you meet the lady inside of my vacuum!"
"Hmm, maybe I should accept this..." Ug thought about it for a few seconds. He soon made up his mind. "Fine! You may suck me!"
"We shouldn't, this is a family friendly fanfiction..." Dot muttered.
"That's not at all perverted out of context," Venom remarked sarcastically as he heard Zarbon moan.
Nevertheless, Ug hurled the desired object to him, and he caught it with his hands. Stuffing the prize in her pocket, Furina had Ug right where she wanted. The cavemen dug through the remaining pile of bones to retrieve the Toad portrait he 'ate' with the possessed T-Rex fossil. He set it down next to him.
"Okay! Show me the lady now!" he threw his club away.
"As you wish!" Furina feigned eagerness. One more flash of the Strobulb and Ug allowed the Archon to suck him inside the nozzle. As the caveman made his way into the Z-00 and Hurricane fled into a portal, it took a few seconds to realize that he had been tricked.
"Huh, there's no pretty lady... Eh, this'll do nicely."
"Good lord, can you watch where you put your hands?" Vincent Van Gore complained. "You almost grabbed my arse, and that'd be worse than getting a boot to the face!"
"I said I was sorry!" Owada yelled.
"At least it's sort of chilly here," Sir Weston mumbled. "Maybe being trapped isn't so bad after all."
END BGM
Furina finally took a breather as he was finally done with the Unnatural History Museum. He did feel bad for deceiving the dim-witted ghost. But he needed to progress. All that was left was to free the Toad. With no other distractions, the Dark-Light Device shined directly on the frame.
"Whoa!" Bradford rolled out of his prison. He stopped directly at Neo's boots. "Ow, my head..."
"You okay, dude?"
He blinked his eyes to focus. When he saw Dove's face, he was instantly ecstatic. "Oh, Dove! You saved me! Thank you so much!" he hopped around gleefully. He hugged her left leg in appreciation.
"Hey, Bradford!" two voices chimed in on the Virtual Boo's microphone.
"What? Thad? Chet? Is that you?"
"It sure is!"
"We're glad you're free, too!"
"Don't worry, youngster. They're both with me in my lab located down in the hotel's Basement. You can gladly reunite with them and stay here for safety," E. Gadd explained.
"Oh, Professor! I'm surprised to hear you, too. But I'll spare the questions for later. It's great to see all of you again!"
"Same here, Chet. In fact, the only one missing is Peach, and this universe's Mario and Luigi. Although I can't say I'm surprised they're the last ones," Dove moped.
The Toad sympathized and laid a hand on her leg. "I'm sorry. But if you were able to save our friends, you can rescue them like you've done in the past!"