Brother's Loyalty: Endgame

Pray for Me

Atop the towering peak of the Last Resort, eighteen stories above the ground and beneath an ironically calm and starry sky, two bitter enemies were having their last dance. In this corner was the black-hearted and morally bankrupt King of all Boos, Lord of Ghost Houses and the Master of Illusions. And in this corner was the pure-hearted, selfless man in green not known for his bravery but driven nonetheless—Luigi. He was joined by his gooey doppelganger, Gooigi, and his lovable canine companion, Polterpup. In the battle to presumably end all battles between them, only one of these parties would emerge the victor. The stakes—freedom or eternal imprisonment.

Usually, Luigi would pocket his cell phone, as a throwdown with his nemesis required both ears open. But tonight, he'd make an exception. He connected his phone to a portable Bluetooth speaker, turned the volume up to the max and selected a playlist which he knew would power him through this battle before pressing "play".

"All right, King Boo," he said, with just a touch of apprehension in his voice. "It's just you and me. Right here, right now."

Battle lust shone in King Boo's eyes, and he licked his lips. "D—n straight, Luigi," he said. "Let's dance. I'll lead."

His bejeweled crown glowed, dark thunderclouds rolling in as all but several sections of the roof were illuminated. Luigi had seen this move before during their fight in that nightmarish dimension, and he dashed toward a section that wasn't lit up, yelling out a warning to Gooigi as he did. The two reached safety in the nick of time, pink electricity sizzling down around them. King Boo repeated this move several more times, but his foe was just too fast, only taking hits whenever he shoved his two allies out of harm's way.

"Seriously?" laughed Luigi as he cartwheeled away from more rounds of lightning strikes. "That move's getting kinda old."

King Boo glared at him. "Well, here's a little something new!" he spat, lashing out with his long tongue.

Again and again, the tongue slammed onto the roof, trying to flatten Luigi. Luck was still on the man in green's side, as he got away with a few glancing blows. It was Gooigi who took the full impact, but he'd just regenerate in that Plexiglass tank and be out and about in no time. And of course, there was Polterpup, racing about the battlefield, seeing every opportunity to protect his master with well-timed affectionate tackles.

"How do you like that, Luigi?" growled King Boo.

Luigi gazed steadily at him, his grip on the Poltergust as firm as ever. "Not even a love tap," he replied.

Several times, the King swung his long tongue across the roof. But Luigi and Gooigi treated it like a jump rope, vaulting over it with Burst. After that was a swift barrage of large fireballs, which could be evaded with simple dodging or another Burst. However, Luigi took it upon himself to shield Gooigi from the onslaught of fire, taking several burns in the process.

"Don't worry about me!" Gooigi exclaimed. "I can reform after being hit by a fireball. You can't!"

"It's only a scratch, Gooigi," said Luigi as he prepared for the King's next attack. "It's only a scratch."

With a mad cackle, King Boo summoned those large, spiked balls, hurling them Luigi's way.

"God—I hate those things," huffed Luigi as he leaped and cartwheeled about.