"Luigi... Wake up... wake up..."

   Out of the darkness it called him. "Luigi... What's the holdup?... I need you!!"

Luigi stirred with a moan. The incessant voice kept nagging overhead, just loud enough to annoy him. He hadn't even known he was sleeping – or he couldn't remember going to sleep, anyway. But he must have been, because all was dark; or at least it had been until now.

   He certainly didn't feel very comfortable; underneath him he could suddenly feel a cold, hard floor. Maybe he had dozed off somewhere and Mario was trying to get him to move.

   "Okay, I'm getting... up," Luigi mumbled grouchily. Carefully pushing himself up, he blinked a few times and looked around.

Right away something was off kilter. His head ached something awful, and he didn't feel very rested. In fact, his limbs were weak, like he'd run himself into the ground; and it was only with a good amount of pain that he moved. Rising to his knees, he gasped and froze with a start.

   "Mario?"

   He wasn't in his bed. He wasn't even in his house. He was in a dark foyer – and as he stared all about him he saw the floor littered with metal bars and broken pieces of glass.

   Some huge accident had happened here... and he was lying in the middle of it.

   Luigi jumped, the terrible memories of his last moments flooding in. The mansion! Something had happened... he had gotten hit!

   Quickly trying to stagger to his feet, Luigi's fears were soon confirmed when he was overwhelmed by a sudden wave of throbbing pain in his head. It felt bad – really bad. Almost as if...

   He realized with a jolt that he had been knocked out.

   It all came back to him quickly after that. Suddenly he remembered the blackout; the eerie ghosts from the parlor who had been chasing him... and then...

   No. Slowly, Luigi raised his eyes skyward - and swallowed.

The chandelier. The enormous piece that had once lit the foyer with an antique glow no longer hung in its place overhead. Luigi looked now at the huge wreckage that littered the floor in all directions. It had been severed from the ceiling in a single act of violence... and he realized with a shudder of terror that it had fallen on him.

Fallen on him!

   ...Then where had the ghosts gone?

   On the instant alert, Luigi whirled both ways, heart pounding. The ghosts had had him, hadn't they? What had happened?

   He had expected them to pop up anywhere, grab his quivering neck and drag him to places unknown; but after several long seconds he realized it was in vain. How could that be...?

But it was safe... he was alone.

Where had they gone? They were chasing him... he had been done for!

   Why had they left him there? Did they think he was dead?

   Luigi felt around for his flashlight and turned it on. In any case, it appeared they really had left... at least for now. Casting his beam through the darkness, his eyes fell upon the ancient clock built into the grand staircase over the heart doors. It read three fifteen.

   Luigi swallowed nervously. Three o'clock... wasn't there something bad about that hour?

   He tilted his head and watched it for a moment doubtfully. Had that clock even been working? He had never actually noticed. Still, it seemed to propose a reasonable time.

   How long had he been out? Judging by the darkness that still consumed the foyer, he guessed that the power still hadn't come back on. It could have been hours for all he knew.

   Of course; that's what he'd been doing. He'd been on his way to the breaker room...

   Feeling in his pocket for the key he'd gotten from Uncle Grimmly, Luigi let out a sigh of relief to find it was still there. His Poltergust was still on him too; he hadn't been touched. He was still on track!

   With a groan he backed out of the wreckage surrounding him, looking with a kind of horror on the remains of the destroyed chandelier. Twisted metal beams were bent at bizarre angles, and ornate bulb chambers were smashed open like eggshells. Seeing the jagged glass and sharp edges made him cringe. Ouch.

   As if activated at the sight of it, Luigi's head began to throb anew with a sharp pain. Oh no, that couldn't have been good. Not good at all.

   Carefully easing his hat off, Luigi gingerly reached a hand up and felt the tender spot. His hand met hair damp with blood.

   Owwww... Letting out a sharp breath at the pain, Luigi clutched his hand and tried to keep from whimpering aloud. He'd been hit alright; he could feel a bit of the dried blood even on his face.

   Horrified at the thought, he did his best to rub it away on his sleeve. He could go wash in a bathroom... but if the ghosts were still out in force that could be extremely dangerous. He needed to get to the basement, now.

But now could wait for half a moment, while he stumbled back and leaned heavily against the wall for his bearings.

Closing his eyes, Luigi focused on breathing. He was alright... he was in a lot of pain but he was alright. His head had already numbed a good deal - and his ankle had dried up a while ago. That didn't mean he wasn't extremely tender, but at least he could move.

   He had no doubt he'd need some sort of medical attention, but it could wait. Everything could wait – he had already been lying around for far too long.

   I've gotta... keep moving, he thought. Got to get the power restored...

   Stepping around the enormous accident to the heart doors, Luigi took his Poltergust once more in hand. His fingers were weak but it felt comfortable; he could pick up where he'd left off. His mansion trek wasn't over yet.

Such an untimely stroke of ill luck! If only he had been a couple of seconds sooner...

   But nevertheless, that wouldn't stop him this time. Not ghosts, not a dark mansion, not hundred-pound falling chandeliers would keep Luigi down.

He would get up, and keep going.

~

   Descending the old, musty basement stairs to the cobwebby corridor below, Luigi came to the conclusion that the hallways were less dangerous than the rooms themselves. He only encountered one purple ghost in the hallways before he arrived at the dark, stale foyer below the stairs. He remembered it from a long time ago; that one time he'd ventured downstairs and found the creepy basement.

This should be it... Putting a hand to the rotting door he'd gone in before, Luigi tried to push once again inside.

   The door wouldn't budge. Surprised, Luigi tried harder. The breaker room had been unlocked earlier, he'd been sure of it!

   Whatever he had done earlier wasn't working now. Heart sinking, Luigi realized the terrible truth: the door was locked.

   How? He had gone in there earlier and...

   Suddenly the answer hit him. Of course; the key Uncle Grimmly had! Had the old man locked the room himself with the purpose of keeping him out?

Why would anyone love the darkness so much?

   It was a creepy thought, but it was the truth; fishing in his pocket for the key, he was soon proved correct as it turned in the rusty lock. Victory. Holding his breath, Luigi peeked inside.

   All was quiet as before; the coast seemed clear. Clutching his flashlight tightly, Luigi slunk inside and up to the huge fuse box on the wall that he'd observed earlier.

   Holding up his light to see, Luigi squinted at the ancient switches. Mario knew more about this than he did, and he tried to remember what it was Mario had always done.

   "Off... off... aha!" Luigi muttered to himself. "This should do the trick..." He flipped a switch and waited.

   For a second he stood in uneasy silence, praying that it would work. Please... please come back on.

...Pop!!

   Then all at once like an answer to prayer the light bulb came to life, lighting up the breaker room for the first time; and the great darkness that had swallowed Luigi for so long was instantly banished. The rest of the mansion almost seemed to shudder with the force of its power.

   Yes!! Finally letting himself breathe, a huge sigh escaped him. Luigi hungrily took in his surroundings, almost feeling released from some sort of chains. At last, light! He'd almost forgotten how sweet it was...

Better late than never. It was okay; the power was restored. Everything would be okay now.

   I made it, he thought, nearly dizzy. I made it. However long it took me.

   Backing away in weak relief, Luigi bumped into an ancient table, gathering dust by the door. Surprised, he turned around and jumped back to find a small golden mouse - evidently the ghost of one - scamper away with a squeak and disappear into a crack in the corner.

Ghost mice again, he thought, peering closer. I wonder if they always lead to caches of treasure?

Bending down, Luigi wasn't really interested in finding more money; but something else soon caught his attention. There in the corner where the mouse had lingered... that wasn't a key, was it??

Shining his flashlight directly overhead, Luigi got his answer... and a slew of other questions.

...No. Why; why??

There lay indeed a dirty old key, evidently having fallen from the hook that was mounted several feet on the wall above. He never would have seen it there before unless he was very lucky, or... perhaps if he had followed his nose.

Why Mario, why?!

The bitter smell sprang to him again, filling the air with its nauseating scent. Luigi clutched the table and covered his mouth, tears threatening to spring to his eyes as he held back a gasp.

Why... why do I have to endure this??

What had either of them done, to deserve this?

Bracing himself against the smell of rotting iron, Luigi cringed and carefully reached out a hand, closing his eyes as he plucked the old key from its place in the corner. A shudder rippled through him as he did.

How... why did they do this?? Was the world this cruel?

Covering his nose, Luigi rose to his feet and prepared to leave the room. He was going to do something with it - he didn't know exactly what. Definitely not put it in his pocket.

He had no idea what one did with a key found in a puddle of blood.

Fortunately, as if with great mercy, the mansion soon presented him his solution.

    When Luigi exited the breaker room, he found the lightbulb in the corner of the small foyer alight. He guessed that when he'd restored power, lots of the other light fixtures must have gone on – the greater part of the mansion was probably lit up now. He felt a kind of security at the thought... but a single glance at the dripping object in his hands quelled that comfort quickly.

   He was just about to start up the stairs when a thought occurred to him. The other door here in the basement foyer – it had been locked before. Maybe... yes. Surely.

   Holding his breath, he inserted the bloody key in the ancient door. Like gaining admission to an asylum, it opened for him on a creaky hinge.

The key fell from his hand - and clattered to the floor, never to be retrieved. Luigi inhaled one more time at the sight of it, getting lightheaded. No more. No more.

   He had never been more eager to move once again into the unknown.

When Luigi entered into the darkened room now waiting for him, he almost immediately sneezed. His flashlight showed why: the air was filled with floating dust particles, and seemingly enormous piles of dust and dirt were lying everywhere, as if someone had swept but never finished.

"Ah-hchoo!!"

   Ancient-looking crates and burlap sacks sat around in corners among rickety shelves, filled with all sorts of junk; old dishes, vases and boxes of what looked like wine bottles. The brick walls were decorated all over with stagnant cobwebs. This place certainly hadn't been used much recently.

   It... it must be the cellar, Luigi thought as he finally dared to step inside. He knew cellars were supposed to be for storing aging wine and such, but he knew what they more often than not contained.

   Another itch suddenly caught his nose and Luigi let out another enormous sneeze.

   Ughh... so much dust! This place will never pass the white glove test... if I had white gloves, he thought with a moan, refusing to look at his reddened hands. But then he got an idea. He was holding a vacuum cleaner, wasn't he? 

   Taking the Poltergust, Luigi put it to the floor in front of him and turned it on. It ought to help at least a little.

Watching the ancient dust stir through the air and spiral towards him, Luigi couldn't help feeling like a genius. It made the job much easier – much more powerful than a normal vacuum, and much more convenient too.

   Of course it didn't get everything - Luigi still sneezed a couple more times as he moved through - but he soon forgot about all of his allergies when he came around the shelf in the middle of the room and found another door.

   Oh boy, he thought in exhaustion. There's more.

   Of course, did it ever really end?

   Just as he began approaching it, an upright barrel sitting by the door suddenly shook. Just a tiny bit - only a little rattle - but it definitely moved.

   Luigi froze, but before he had time to properly react or even groan a purple puncher sprang out and lunged at him.

   Skittering out of the way just in time, Luigi brandished his vacuum. Now it was really time to take out the trash.

   The ghosts in the cellar weren't very numerous. Heart hammering, Luigi was able to put them all down, although their delightful chuckles and sharp fangs teased him a few more times than was comfortable. It had felt like a while since he'd caught any ghosts - an oddity. That didn't make them any less creepy - he didn't know what kind of demented creature would want to hang out in an old cellar all night waiting for someone to walk by. If he lived through this, he wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to go into his basement again.

   When the ghosts were over and the cellar thankfully lit up with the dimmest of lights, then came the boo. It was all by himself, and appeared from one of the wine boxes on the shelves just after the lights came on. He flew out and chuckled when he saw Luigi.

   "Hey, look who it is! You ready to do the Boo?"

   Luigi tensed up and watched him warily, in no mood to play. "I don't know what that means."

   "You'll find out soon enough," the boo shrugged. "But oh look, so close!" he teased. "Too bad I'll have to draw the line now."

   Luigi's breath caught. What did the boo mean... he was close? Close to...?

   His heart sped up a bit with an unavoidable excitement at the underlying possibility. "No, this is where I draw the line. You boos have already crossed the line far enough!"

   "Mm, I'm feeling some serious vibes from over here. Anger. Not healthy, you know."

   Luigi forced himself to remain rigid. "It's not healthy for you to be loose in a mansion with the power on." And with that he attacked.

   "Oh yeah? Check out these moves!" Before the Poltergust could get any kind of resistance from it, the boo darted to the side and managed to escape, disappearing through the wall to the next room. Luigi stopped for a second and stared at the door after him. Did he dare?

   Deciding there was no time to waste, he ran to it and opened the door. It was no mistake; the door was real, and unlocked at that. Luigi ran through - and screeched to a stop.

   He found himself in a hallway. It wasn't an ordinary hallway, and absolutely nothing like any of the others. It was dark, first of all; but this darkness was so complete and dim it somehow managed to outdo even most of the others.

   What is this place? Shining about the yellow beam of his flashlight, Luigi felt his skin begin to crawl. It could barely even be called a hallway; the tiny corridor looked more like something out of a dungeon or a morgue. It could have even once possibly been part of the mansion's sewer system.

   Stone walls surrounded him, packed together tightly. A couple of old wooden doors stood further down the path to his right; to his left was only a dead end. It was all a far cry from the seemingly comfortable hallways of the first floor high above.

   Suddenly a realization struck him like a blow to the stomach. Of course: these dank passageways; he had been in these before! Not this exact section, but Luigi had encountered these similar conditions... when he went down the well.

   His heart began to race. The words of the boo replayed in his mind. He had to be close!

   "BOO!"

   Luigi jumped back against the harsh wall. "Ahh!"

   "Haha! Got you good!" the boo laughed.

   Luigi turned furious eyes on him. "There you are," he scowled. "I was almost afraid I'd lost you."

"That would be a pity. Anyway, I am Boogie, chief boo dancer extraordinaire. And - I would ask for your name, but everyone in the house already knows who you are."

"Well, two can do that dance," Luigi replied grimly, flipping his nozzle at hand. And then he put the little bugger down right there.

   With that deed soon done, Luigi removed his hat and took a shaky breath. Wiping an arm across his forehead, he looked again around the dirty hallway.

   This had to be it. He was a decent ways underground now, he knew; somewhere around here...

   Abruptly Luigi stepped forward and faced the end of the corridor, shining his light down as far as it would go. He saw at the end, dimly illuminated, an ancient-looking, enormous metal door with a small window and bars, as in a prison. It beckoned like a siren.

   Could that be...?

   As if controlled by hypnosis, Luigi slowly began to walk toward it. Past the other doors, through piles of crumbling rocks, down the constricting passage that was nearly touching his head now. The walls almost closed in on him, but he didn't feel it.

   Behind that door... it called him, and suddenly that was all he could feel. He didn't think, didn't rush. He only knew where he was going. Surely, this... this must be his goal; that for which all night he'd searched.

   At a small sound his daze was broken. When Luigi was only a few feet before the door something told him to stop, and he did without hesitance. It was only a tiny sound, like a rushing breath of air; then, he stood and watched, with only mild surprise, as something white began to materialize before him. A ghost, a spirit, perhaps another boo. But nothing - nothing - he had encountered before could have prepared him for this.

   A piercing gaze suddenly met his in the darkness.

   The next instant Luigi was staring straight into the eyes of King Boo.

For many long moments the two beings could not move. They simply stared, each unable to speak; his thoughts hid from the other behind an unreadable mask. At first the sudden appearance almost seemed an illusion, a trick; but it didn't falter, didn't fade, not one for the other.

This vision was real.

For a couple of seconds, frozen in time, the adversaries were completely still.

   The eyes of the boo were not like other boos' eyes. They rather defied the norm and glowed a strange, fierce purple, and seemed cast in dark shadow, as if they held many secrets. Further, his dagger-like fangs were larger than most; and his tongue, which hung out of his enormous mouth like most boos', was instead a pale blue.

This creature - true or apparition, whatever he was - was by no means an ordinary boo; but rather he appeared tainted by an unnatural power. The dark force filled the air of the constricted hallway, causing it to feel suddenly far too small for the both of them.

   Luigi stared back with vivacious blue eyes that almost seemed to defy reality itself: as if in his startled gaze he reflected the afternoon sky. It opposed so fiercely against that cruel stare he suddenly faced: weariness against power, innocence against evil, living against dead.

And above all, it clearly shone forth with the frigid fear paralyzing him inside.

   All at once Luigi was struck dumb at the terrifying sight of the boo now before him, his mind numbly aware of what he had just walked into. Who this was... what this meant...

That this must be the one behind it all.

   The one the professor had long ago told him about; the one who created the mansion from nothing but a memory long gone. The shady opponent whose dark power he'd felt in every pain, every vision; the one who had pulled every trick, every string... who undoubtedly knew where his sweet brother was this very second. Luigi had known this would be inevitable.

It was him... it was King Boo.

   The monarch was somewhat small for a leader. He wasn't anywhere near as big as Boolossus; but he was at least a little bit larger than other boos. His commanding position was instantly announced by the good-sized crown that sat atop him, consisting mostly of golden leaves that held an absolutely enormous scarlet jewel. Despite its seemingly being real, it rested on the transparent boo's head without issue.

   And so for an instant that was an eternity the two faced each other at long last.

Luigi didn't know, in that moment, if he would ever be able to move again. He sensed many controversies, many chains, in the stare of the one before him. Under that all-consuming stare, he suddenly understood... and it all came clear.

The mysterious power held him gripped in the face of it; the force of his presence was astounding, keeping him in a surreal hold. Even Mario would have been caught off guard by such power.

Surely, surely Luigi wouldn't be able to pass this one by. With even a deadly glare he might be held captive, frozen under a dark spell.

   And then at last it was all abruptly shattered.

   King Boo made the first move; he raised his stern eyebrows in what appeared to be genuine surprise, taking in the sight of the boy in front of him. Luigi felt himself shrink as the king suddenly began to size him up with those probing eyes, as if the human was much punier than he'd envisioned.

   "...What... What is this?!" he demanded angrily, in a growling voice so deep and abrupt  it almost cut Luigi to the core. It bounced off the enclosed walls, coming back at him from several different angles, assaulting him... and at the sound of it Luigi gasped.

   He already knew that voice... of course! It was the one he'd heard... it was the voice from his dream!

   Luigi's heart began to speed up, but he didn't have much time to think. The king had already jumped to a conclusion, and now he looked mighty angry.

   Fidgeting in a fit barely above rage, he demanded, "How did you get out of my...?!"

   Luigi stopped when the boo trailed off. My... w-what?

   All of the sudden, he realized what this was about – and despite the deep-seated fear of the moment, Luigi couldn't help but be a little amused.

   King Boo couldn't tell them apart!

   He... he thinks I'm Mario! he thought incredulously, scarcely daring to believe. For real??

   It was a problem the brothers encountered every so often when meeting new people; some just didn't have the eyes necessary to tell the two apart. Luigi honestly didn't see how that was possible. He understood that they looked similar, but Mario was visibly bulkier than he was, among other things. How could people get them confused? But then, Luigi knew all their similarities and differences.

   For a moment the two stared at each other in awkward silence, Luigi unsure if he should – or could - speak up. Could he somehow use this mix-up to his advantage?

   But there was once again no time; King Boo had already stopped and was now studying him carefully, thinking aloud to himself as he did so.

   "Huh? Wait just a second," he growled. "Your clothes are... green..."

   Luigi, waiting under his sharp stare, dared to shift his weight a tiny bit, but his expression never changed. He couldn't bring himself to say something – not yet.

   It was both uncomfortable and slightly hilarious to watch the mighty ruler mess up, but still. The king was already on to his mistake; and it was as if in one moment his anger dissipated to nothing.

   "Hey, you must be Luigi!" the boo declared, as if meeting a new acquaintance. "You had me a bit confused for a moment there," he admitted with a friendly chuckle. Too friendly.

   Then he seemed to compose himself a bit. "You look so much like your brother I almost..."

   Luigi carefully let out the breath he'd been holding as King Boo trailed off. This is him. This is the one holding Mario...

   Luigi's thoughts began boiling over so fast he could barely process them anymore. Suddenly, all the worries, all the concerns and fears and hopes began tumbling on top of one another so that he could barely think. But above it all, the anger he'd been harboring all night towards the boo gave way to immense fear.

   He'd wanted to be firm, to tell the monarch all he really thought of him... but at once all his resolve crumbled to his shoes. Now, in the sight of him, Luigi found he could not say a word in offense. The boo was a terrifying sight, surely; but despite all appearances, he actually seemed quite down-to-earth. It would be all Luigi could do to find his voice.

   King Boo meanwhile appeared in a suddenly conversational mood; he was not held back by seemingly anything as he went on. "Well, I mean, you definitely have his looks, which actually aren't that bad. But good looks won't get you any mercy around here."

   Luigi just stood there, trembling, at the same time feeling somewhat awkward. We're going to have this conversation now?

   He couldn't address the king directly. It was just too much. But still... here he was; this was his chance!

   Instead of answering, Luigi chose to disregard the boo in front of him; and all of the sudden he let out a shout past the boo's shoulder, directing it to the dungeon door behind him.

   "Mario! Are you there?!"

   If he could just let Mario know he was here...

   His only hope was in the possibility that Mario was nearby, just beyond the walls. He didn't hear any immediate response. But King Boo beside him laughed in amusement, his deep voice reverberating through the small corridor.

   "Yes, yell to your heart's content... it never does any good. Although it could theoretically, he can't hear you, I'm afraid," he told the boy with a chuckle. "Your brother is a little... unavailable."

   Luigi turned troubled eyes back to him, quite still with dread. "I-I know what you've done," he finally got out the words. His voice quivered a little as he watched the terrifying creature he was speaking to, but he resolved to keep going. "I s-saw -

   King Boo spoke again before he got the chance. "Ah, so you've been a sneaky one, haven't you?" he asked with a sly grin. "Well, I suppose I should've expected nothing less. But you were taking so long even I was starting to wonder if you'd ever show up."

   Luigi let out a slow breath and fixed the boo with as steady a gaze as he could manage. King Boo had been expecting him, all right. It was a plot. It was all part of a plot...

"Yes. Your brother is alive," the boo stated plainly, seeming quite uninterested in the idea. "If you can call his faint, artful condition alive."

Madame Clairvoya's old words flickered across his mind. "D-Don't try to scare me," Luigi stammered, knowing he sounded like a child saying it. "I've s-seen what you've done and my brother is going to be fine."

Here King Boo raised his dark eyebrows in pleasure. "Ahh... so you say. But the question is, will you be fine?"

   Involuntarily, Luigi took a step backwards.

"Why do you stay here, searching?" the king asked now, as if it was a very stupid thing to do. "For a brother so oblivious, to fight against everything for him - him, who is so close to giving up that he passes out at the top of every hour -

"Don't bother," Luigi interrupted quietly. "I-I'm not going to give up."

King Boo flattened his gaze, almost in annoyance. "How charming. It would almost sound like a threat..."

Whoever tried to sound threatening? "Look," Luigi ventured timidly, a new tactic coming to him. He knew it was the cowardly thing to do, but it was worth a try. If he could be diplomatic about this, just maybe...

He swallowed as the boo started advancing on him.

"You s-seem like a pretty smart... leader... so if you could just return my brother to me... and let him go... I'll l-leave you alone. O-Okay? I'm sure this has all been just a big misunderstanding..."

   Here King Boo paused, interrupting with a deep-throated laugh. "Oh, it's no misunderstanding," he said. "You think you got that letter by accident? Like you said, I'm a smart guy. I know better than most how to plan a revenge."

   Luigi felt his pretense of agreeableness dropping. "I... I don't know who you are," he breathed at last. "I don't know what you want with him. I don't even... Just let Mario go. Please! I won't leave without him."

   "Aww, isn't that just adorable?" King Boo sighed mockingly. "He would give up anything to have his brother back... perhaps even... himself??" he whirled to Luigi with glowing eyes on full blast.

The startled human gave a broken gasp. Him... trade for Mario's freedom...

Himself?

He had never even considered such a possibility.

For about two seconds Luigi stood in absolute conflict, duty and desire warring within him. What a wonderful... preposterous... idea.

But then...

Fortunately, King Boo went on before Luigi could kill himself over the decision. "His Superness tried the same thing on me, I'll admit," the boo snickered. "He probably would've done anything if he thought it would have protected you from me... As if I only wanted one Mario brother. But it won't work, curse it, it won't work!!"

In an instant all of Luigi's momentary angst fell away and he found a breath. Thank goodness.

Deep down he didn't know what he would've said, had he been able to consider it. Probably no - would the king have kept his word?

...Wait. Had Mario suggested the same thing, to protect him?

Luigi's heart twisted at the possibility.

Whatever it all meant, the king had already left it all behind. "Super Mario is mine now," he murmured. "You understand? I don't care about the mansion and neither do you. We both know that. No, we each have different prizes in mind..."

   "Please," Luigi pleaded again. "I'll leave after that."

   "What?" King Boo snorted. "You think I want you to leave? Oh, quite the contrary, my friend."

   Luigi tried one more time. "J-Just give Mario back!" Beside him, his hand was already slowly reaching for the Poltergust, concealed in the shadows behind him.

   King Boo almost sighed, as if he were tired of going over this. "You want me to release Mario? Riiiiight." He shook his head and chuckled, his voice suddenly taking on a hint of something more firm and sinister.

   "No, no, no. I will not give up my favorite decoration. I like Mario just where he is."

   Luigi could feel his resolve shrinking rapidly. He knew there would be no reasoning with the creature over his newfound toy; he was insistent upon keeping him here. What a mess it all was. Nevertheless...

   "B-But... you have to," Luigi said quietly. "Please."

   The king had already become bored of the topic. "Do I have to repeat myself again? There will be no bargain. Hey, what's that you've got there?" he suddenly asked curiously, catching sight of his hand behind his back which was inching toward the weapon he wore.

   King Boo abruptly recoiled a bit in recognition, not requiring an answer. "It's... E. Gadd's Poltergust 3000! Why that old..."

   Luigi hardened his look, indicating that he wouldn't be afraid to use it. Suddenly the air seemed to change; it was as if King Boo's sudden mood shift had taken effect on the hallway. Feeling it, Luigi stood where he was, cautiously glancing around. Something wasn't right...

   "Uh oh!" King Boo exclaimed, but he didn't sound extremely concerned. With an air of superiority, he declared, "It would be dangerous... if only it was held by someone a bit more skilled. What shall we do, boos?"

   Luigi, confused and on the alert, took a step back. What was happening?

   "Good idea, guys! All boos in this area, gather your strength!" King Boo commanded to seemingly no one. He fixed Luigi with a dirty smile. "We'll take a big boo breath... and we'll blow him away!"

   That was the last thing Luigi saw before the floor was suddenly swept out from under him, and the stone walls around him span and gave way to blackness.