Brother's Loyalty: Endgame

Riders in the Sky

Brad had every right to be frazzled. That caveman ghost was terrifying! Did you see the way he possessed that T-Rex?

He nearly tore Gooigi to shreds and flung my poor bro around like a ragdoll—it's a miracle he's still standing. But who would've thought of using those eggs, huh? I have such a resourceful little brother.

Yes, you do. But now, he's headed toward the Boilerworks. I really don't like the sound of that place.

Me, neither. It's only gonna get more perilous from here. Knowing him, he's gonna knuckle tight, but—

I know. I know.

...

"We're in the bowels of the Last Resort," said Luigi as he, Gooigi and Polterpup disembarked. With the orange glow emanating from grated windows and the steam rising from various places, it was as if they'd arrived in the pits of Hell—Luigi's personal Hell, that is. And he'd fight his way through his personal Hell and claw his way out if it meant freeing his loved ones from a worse Hell.

Soft snoring pulled Luigi out of his thoughts, and after some thorough vacuuming, he and Gooigi walked down a hall to find a purple-hued ghost reclined against a workbench, fast asleep. The ghost was clad in a dirty white shirt and worn blue coveralls, with a dirty blue-and-white baseball cap covering his eyes. His hands were clasped behind his head, but Luigi could see that the ghost was wearing green gloves.

Turning to Gooigi and Polterpup, Luigi put a finger to his lips. Then, the trio slowly tiptoed forward.

All was going well until Luigi accidentally stepped on a rubber duckie, which gave a loud squeak.

The ghost reached up and pulled his baseball cap from over his eyes, one eye peeping open, closely followed by the other. His eyes slid over Luigi, and then Gooigi, and then Polterpup. And a crafty smile slowly formed on his lips.

"Well, howdy do?" the ghost asked in a distinctive Southern drawl. "Name's Clem, and I'm the sheriff around these parts. Now, how can I help you?"

"Sorry to intrude, Clem," said Luigi, "but I heard there was a leak somewhere around 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 Luigi 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 a mechanic, too?"

"I was," said Luigi, "but I'm a plumber now."

"Plumber, huh? Well, there's lots of pipes around here," said Clem, "but I know you're not here to clean some pipes, and you're definitely not here to gawk at my rubber duckies. You're here—for this little guy." Tantalizingly, he held up an elevator button. "Isn't that right?"

"Yes—yes it is."

"Well, too bad," laughed Clem, "because this here button has an imaginary stamp on it that says, 'Property of Clem'. Which means you can't have it!" He floated up to a valve and turned it, watching as some pipes hanging overhead began shuddering.