Past Lives Could Never Come Between Us

44

"This is the barrier found in Merri's dreamscape." Pauline points on the screen.

"What all this mumbo jumbo here is saying is that it's a man made pocket of sorts that Merri's brain can't access when she's awake." Mario adds.

"Man made? Meaning it's not supposed to be there?" Spike asks.

"Possibly." Mario nods.

"Mm, yes. Show us Gigi's brain scan." Snoozemore orders, so Pauline complies.

"See that? Same 'mumbo jumbo' as Mario called it."

"The Jellyfish sisters were manipulated." Luigi says. "By whoever this Tuki guy is?"

"But what did he want with them?" Spike wonders.

"Any luck finding Tuki?" Luigi asks as he walks to the Ultibed in his dreamwalking pajamas.

"All we know is he didn't live too far from the beach Gigi and Merri lived by, and he's only ever seen at the Yoshi Theater when he's working. But now that we know what's happening in Merri's subconscious, we can get around it to see what Tuki was doing to her." Mario tells him.

"Still haven't told Half Pint about your bloody feet?" Spike pops up out of nowhere.

"Bloody feet?" Mario repeats in alarm.

"It wasn't that bad!" Luigi argues quickly. "I heard something outside and went to check it out, stepped on something sharp."

"Did you clean them and get a tetanus shot?" Mario pushes.

"Yes, okay?" Luigi says. "Can we get back to work now?"

The rebound timer goes off, so Mario nods, "You said it, not me.", and goes to stand by the bed, leaving Luigi with Spike, demanding,

"Tattletale much?"

"Liar much?" Spike retorts. "If you think he's freaked now, imagine when you tell him the truth."

"Which is what, sleepwalking?" Luigi waves it off. "It happened all the time when I was a kid. Why is it a big deal now?"

"Because we're working a case where that's been happening." Spike reminds him. "And if you don't know, you could be next."

"You're right. If I tell Mario, he'll forbid me from dreamwalking, and I can't let anything get in the way of knowing once and for all if my uncle has something to do with all of this." Luigi says. "Spike, I'm begging you, okay?"

"Fine." Spike concedes. "But when your head explodes, I'm not going to your funeral.", then walks away to his station.

"Inducing REM sleep in 3...2...1...GO!"

"How's it looking? Where are we?" Mario asks as he joins Luigi in the dreamscape.

"I don't know." Luigi admits, trying to look around. "Merri's holding out her hand, like she's waiting for something to happen."

"Is Tuki around here?" Mario asks, as Merri lifts her other hand, a burst of electricity coming out of it.

"No..." Luigi says as the dreamscape changes to Merri looking at a movie poster. "Wake me up."

Mario nods, then makes a run for it and jumps back through the portal.

"Merri was brainwashed to kill someone." Luigi tells the team.

"Who?" Snoozmeore asks.

"I didn't see a name, I just know he had a bushy mustache, eyebrows and hair. And wore an egg costume." Luigi says.

"Boddle." Mario and Pauline say at the same time.

"The owner of the Yoshi Theater?" Spike asks as he taps on his tablet, then puts it on the screen.

"So apparently he made enemies when his theater featured a film with an idea that wasn't his. About Hand Techniques."

"Whose was it?" Luigi asks.

"Boddle's lobbyman, Tuki." Spike replies.

"L.T." Pauline realizes.

"According to him, he'd studied the Firebrand and Thunderhand techniques at WhooHoo University and pitched his idea based on his research about how the techniques can be used to turn anyone into an attack dog. Boddle wrote it off as nonsense, then made the film anyway." Spike keeps going.

"I take it he was fired?" Mario asks.

"Uh huh. And then Merri was set to film in it to show off the Thunderhand." Spike says. "Tuki had to have known, so he gave Merri the actual Thunderhand to kill Boddle."

"I'll get Clark to find Tuki." Snoozemore says. "Tuki used an ancient hand technique to turn Merri into his attack dog. He's not so dumb to not have someone else in his arsenal."

"Gigi." Luigi reminds them. "That's why she petrified Merri."

"But Hand Techniques don't exactly follow the rules, do they?" Pauline wonders.

"Gigi loved her sister. Maybe that was some kind of override." Mario suggests.

"There's no way Tuki didn't put a Hand Technique into someone else." Spike insists.

"Boddle still has a right to know." Luigi says.