Brother's Loyalty: Endgame

Ready or Not

[This chapter isn't as bad as the previous, but there's some content which a few readers may find triggering.]

With a gasp, Luigi sat straight up in bed, Peach's scream echoing before it faded. He gazed at his surroundings, and for a second, he thought he was in a different hotel room altogether. The golden light bathing the room was no more, and in its place was darkness, broken only by eerie moonlight. Whatever drowsiness he felt was neatly dispelled by the klaxons going off in his mind. If Peach was screaming like that, then she was in trouble, and if she was in trouble—then Mario, Thad, Brad and Chad were in trouble! He had to help!

He leaped out of bed, smoothed the wrinkles out of his leggings and pulled on his socks and boots, not even bothering with a shirt. He didn't have time for a shirt right now. After grabbing his flashlight off the nightstand and clicking it on, Luigi was ready to investigate.

The first thing he noticed was the mist swirling about on his bedroom floor, and the gnarled branches and thorns replacing the flower bouquets from earlier. When he opened his drawer, the hand giving the thumbs-up was now flipping him the bird!

"Well, that's rude," huffed Luigi as he shut the drawer and continued inspecting his room.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he opened the closet door, as the smiley-face was now a demon face!

"What is this?!" he asked.

Polterpup trotted over, whining in concern.

"I don't know, puppy," said Luigi, kneeling down and petting him. "This could be a practical joke, or they could be getting ready for Halloween." Yet deep down he knew that something worse was afoot.

"Stay here, okay?" Luigi said to Polterpup. "I gotta check on my friends."

Polterpup frowned lightly, as this contravened Peach's instructions, but Luigi looked deeply into his eyes, trying to put him at ease.

"I'll be back before you know it," he assured him.

Polterpup whined again and licked Luigi's cheek, but he dutifully stayed put as the man in green slipped out of the room.

Luigi emerged into the hallway and let out a sharp cry at the scene before him. The golden light seemed to be receding, replaced by the darkness and gloom. It was almost as if the welcoming environment was merely an illusion—

"Oh, God," Luigi choked out. He needed to get to Mario, Peach and the Toads—fast!

There were balloons with jack-o-lantern faces lining the hallway, along with Gothic statues and skulls. Luigi glanced warily at the transformed décor before making his way to Mario's room.

"Mario?" he called. "You in here?"

His breath hitched as he drank in the room's condition. The curtains were torn at the edges, pizza boxes were strewn everywhere, there was glass from a broken champagne bottle along with an empty liter of soda on the floor and there were signs of a titanic struggle. Luigi's heart was about to pound right out of his chest. He remembered the night six years ago, when Mario wasn't returning his calls, and a welfare check had been performed. Mario wasn't in his house, and evidence of a fight had been discovered, as well. And Luigi knew how that eventually turned out...

"No—no," he whispered. "Not again..."

He whipped out his cell phone to try and call Mario, only to notice that there was no phone signal. His stomach twisted—this didn't look like a practical joke anymore.

Peach's room was in similar disarray. Her Parasol lay on the floor, bent and mangled beyond repair, and her frying pan was nearby. There was a bunch of jack-in-the-boxes in her closet, and goblin faces sprang out of them the second Luigi opened the door. It was all he could do not to barf up the pasta he'd eaten earlier.

Ten to one—the staff must be responsible for this, he thought, and they're coming for me, next!

Luigi exited Peach's room, where he heard the elevator ding and the doors slide open. Gripping his flashlight tightly, he crept over to the elevator bay, where he saw Hellen glide into the room, her eyes glowing yellow.

Hellen stopped when she saw Luigi, and then she smiled. It was the kind of smile a shark would give a small fish before eating it, the kind of smile the psychopath reserved for their latest victim in a slasher film. She thought he was absolutely perfect at this moment, standing there with those blue eyes dilated, flashlight tight in his fist, his breath coming fast and the color leaving his face as he started piecing everything together.

"Well, well, well," she cooed as she floated up to Luigi. "If it isn't my most esteemed VIP! I was just on my way to see you!"

"Hellen," Luigi said as evenly as he could. "What in the Inferno is going on? Where are my friends?"

"Oh, they'll be fine," replied Hellen, "but it's you I want to talk about. Is your room living up to your expectations? Doesn't it scream good taste?"

"My room is fine, thank you," Luigi responded in a clipped voice. "Now, I'm gonna ask you again, and this time, I want an answer. Where. The [bleep]. Are my friends?"

"Language, Luigi," chided Hellen, leaning in close and trailing a finger up her "guest's" chest. "Your friends are waiting for you, and you'll see them really soon."

Luigi jerked away from her. "Don't b.s. me!" he exclaimed. "You'd better tell me what's going on right now before I call the police!"

"How can you do that when I've disabled all forms of communication?" asked Hellen. She got right back into his personal space and inhaled his scent before licking the shell of his ear.

"Get the [bleep] off me!" barked Luigi, jerking free of Hellen as second time and retreating a pace as she followed him. "WTF have you done with my friends?! WTF have you done with my bro?!"

"There's really no need to get like that," said Hellen. "Like I said, your friends are still in one piece. I gave them some—special attention. And they enjoyed every minute of it." She giggled before suckling on his earlobe.

"You're f—ing sick," gasped Luigi. "When we were checking in, you were constantly staring at me. It was creeping me out!"

Hellen released his earlobe with a wet pop. "Oh, I can barely contain myself," she sighed. "You have no idea how much I wanted you to accept my invitation."

"Yeah? Well, now I wish we hadn't," said Luigi. "This is the last time I'll ask nicely—where are my friends, and what did you do to them?"

"Your friends—are in good hands," Hellen said ominously. "You see—there's someone I truly adore! He's the inspiration for some of my greatest ideas. Like inviting you here!" She laughed. "I just so happen to be his biggest fan! That's why it's so wonderful that I get to introduce him to—you!"

"Me?" Luigi repeated with a frown.

"That's right, Luigi!" chortled Hellen. "I hope you're ready!"

She glided off to the side, and then her friend made his presence known.

And when Luigi saw those eyes and that face, he knew that he—along with his loved ones—were now in the bowels of Hell.