Brother's Loyalty

Come Play With Me

Chauncey giggled as he stared down at his "playmate". "Now, that's better," he said. "And now, we can really have fun!" He giggled again.

Luigi stood there with the Poltergust, breath coming fast, waiting for Chauncey's next move.

Shaking his rattle, the baby summoned a giant rocking horse which nearly dive-bombed Luigi! The man in green leaped out of the way just in time.

"This isn't funny!" he chided as he got back up.

"To you, it isn't," retorted Chauncey, summoning another rocking horse, "but to me, it's hilarious. C'mon—let's play!"

Luigi cartwheeled aside as the second rocking horse rushed at him. "You are seriously lacking in the discipline department," he said.

Chauncey just grinned and shook his rattle again. Three balls dropped down and began bouncing about the crib, and Luigi had to avoid getting flattened by them. But when he noticed a ball bouncing near Chauncey, inspiration struck. If his parents weren't gonna discipline this baby, then he would!

Luigi caught the bouncing ball in the Poltergust's nozzle, aimed for Chauncey's center of mass, and fired. It was a clean hit, sending the baby reeling and exposing his heart. Before he could recover, Luigi let the Poltergust rip.

"You are so in for a time-out, mister!" he cried as Chauncey thrashed against the suction.

With his body braced against the side of the crib, Luigi managed to vacuum away about a third of his opponent's HP before Chauncey managed to escape.

"No fair!" wailed Chauncey. "No fair! No fair! No fair!"

He let out a wail so mighty that it shook the battlefield. Chill bumps began forming on Luigi's skin.

And then Chauncey began bouncing like the balls he'd summoned, trying to squash Luigi himself! As far as he could recall, he'd never thrown a tantrum like this when he was a child!

But of course, he always had Mario to comfort him. Whenever he was upset at his parents, Mario would just give him a hug powerful enough to calm his sobs, his touch cooling his temper, speaking to him softly. And after he'd calmed down, Mario would help him see his parents' side of the story. Ah, Mario—he had a way of getting Luigi to listen to his parents...

Luigi suddenly whirled on Chauncey, glaring daggers at him. The look made the little brat back off slightly, but alas, this wasn't to last.

The man in green caught his breath as Chauncey sent more rocking horses at him. His reflexes were always reliable, but that didn't stop him from taking several glancing blows from these oversized rocking horses. One even managed to knock him to the floor!

I'm not gonna stay down, Chauncey. I made a vow, and I won't break it just because you're not having your way.

Luigi stood back up just as the bouncing balls bore down on him. There were more of them this time, and they were quicker. After taking blows to the shoulders, backside and the side of his chin, Luigi managed to snag one of the balls and launch it straight at Chauncey. Thus, another tug-of-war between them commenced!

"There's an enfant terrible, and then there's you," Luigi remarked, gripping his vacuum as tightly as he dared, sticky sweat rolling down his skin. "Neville and Lydia must've had the patience of a saint because—holy [bleep]."

"Oooh! You said a bad word!" Chauncey admonished. "Now, you're in big trouble!"

Breaking free for the second time, the baby bounced joyfully after his opponent, managing to nail him a few times. The pain hardly registered, though.

"I've got you now!" Chauncey sang out as he summoned faster rocking horses, two at a time now.

Luigi had a difficult time dodging and leaping over them, but he stayed with it, nonetheless. Chauncey was almost defeated, anyway. All that was required was one more ball, and then Luigi could get his foe into the vacuum so his parents could give him a good talking-to.

"Don't give up!"

Luigi knew that voice.

"Don't give up! You've got this!"

Wherever he was, could Mario see him? Or could he just sense his presence, like a sixth sense?

Where are you, Mario? Where are they keeping you?

"You'll find me! I know you will. Just keep going. Keep going, Luigi..."

Straightening, Luigi caught a ball as it bounced toward him and sent it back at Chauncey. The plumber's eyes flashed, and his face hardened as he had one last go at the infant with the Poltergust.

"Playtime's over," he announced in a low voice.

The nozzle kicked back slightly in his hands, and there was a satisfying pop as Chauncey was finally sucked into the Poltergust. Luigi jumped into the air and struck a flashy pose as he landed.

"Yeah! I did it!" he cheered.

He breathed deeply and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was back in the nursery, standing next to a gold chest. Luigi opened that chest and smiled when he saw a baby pink key with a heart shape on one end. He palmed it, pressed it to his lips and laughed.

The Game Boy Horror rang.

"Hey, Professor," Luigi said upon answering.

"Hey, Luigi—can you hear me?" asked Gadd.

"Loud and clear," replied Luigi.

Gadd sighed in relief. "Thank God you're okay! I lost contact with you all of a sudden—I was a tad worried."

"You're not gonna believe what just happened to me," said Luigi.

"Well—you seem to be a bit tuckered out after that long battle," said Gadd.

"I am," Luigi told him, "and the Poltergust is starting to get a little heavy."

"That's because boss ghosts tend to fill the Poltergust 3000 to bursting," said Gadd. "Why don't you head back to the lab? You'll have the opportunity to empty the Poltergust and recharge before heading into the second area."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," said Luigi. "I'll see you in a bit."

He hung up, pocketed the pink key and strode out of the mansion, feeling accomplished.

I didn't even wet myself at the sight of a ghost, he thought. Progress comes in slow steps...

But as he emerged from the mansion, the adrenaline rush wore off, and he became conscious of the blows he'd taken, the pain slamming into him hard and at once. He let out a gasp and leaned against the mansion's veranda, his mind beginning to spin.

The Poltergust is full, and I haven't even found Mario...

Breathing through the pain, he faced the mansion, which now seemed to be glowering down at him, a look which Luigi fiercely returned.

I'll be back.