Chapter 11: Invitation

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Tempo Town

"We don't have much to go on," Larry stared at the various notes the three of them had compiled over the last few days. "We still have no exact idea of which direction they are coming from." They had spent the last few days in town, hunting down and attacking every zombie they came across, now that the infestation is next to nil they were ready to find out where the monsters are coming from.

"Except for that news report from Chorusville," Kamron said.

"There were two other reports," Larry reminded him. "And the sightings and attacks are just as bad."

"Don't forget two of the places are from the north," Silhouette was looking over the vials of different waters, the ones that were labeled with the image of a heart were the pure water, and those that were labeled with a cross were the holy water. "And according to the map, Chorusville is in the north west."

"Wasn't that where you found the lab, Larry?" Kamron asked.

"No that was in the town of Half-Note Bay," Larry reminded him. The lab was set up in an abandoned hospital, how fitting for a place to generate zombies. "The cause wasn't pure science. A crystal, documented as the Lazarus Stone, was the primary ingredient."

"Someone got themselves a chunk of ol Lazarus?" Silhouette asked.

"Doctor Phillip," Larry could already feel the tears burn the back of his eyes. "He was prevalent in children's medicine. He had a daughter named Chloe. She had hair the color of corn silk and the most beautiful green eyes."

"You had a crush on her?" Kamron asked. "You never mentioned her before."

"It was too painful," Larry stared at his reflection in the television screen. "The hospital lost funding and the patients had to be moved. Chloe was one of them. She had a painful disease that weakened her. Doctor Phillip was afraid the move would have killed her. He stayed at the hospital and used every last coin in his bank account, even sold his own home and moved in the hospital to continue to try and cure her. He had a partner named Doctor Howard."

"That is a name I remember," Silhouette said. "He was mentioned in the news and in the game, except he was the main villain, not Doctor Phillip."

"He was," Larry felt a bitter tang in his mouth and the mere thought of that guy. "From what Chloe told me Howard started out nice and friendly. He was eager to help out Phillip and always encouraging. He was the one who came across the Lazarus Stone. He just never had an opportunity to test it out."

"Let me guess, he suggested using it to heal Chloe?" Silhouette asked

Larry nodded. "Philip didn't believe in magic and asked Howard to try and be more serious. He refused, but Howard made a serum involving the Lazarus stone, and it was only until Chloe had died he wanted to give it a try."

"But it was too late?" Kamron asked.

"No, it did work. Chloe was given a second chance at life and came back healthy and strong. Both Howard and Philip shared the credit, even though it was Howard's creation he insisted on sharing. They used the miracle serum on others who were sick, some wanted to use it on relatives that had recently died, but Philip refused. He didn't mind using it on those who have been gone for seconds, minutes, even a couple hours at most, but not those who have been dead for days. Howard thought differently."

"I think I know where this is going," Silhouette said. "He decided to try it out, was a success and he went mad from it."

"Mad, greedy and selfish," Larry continued. "He wanted to test it out further on corpses in the ground. He had been working on a machine that would also use the stone in privacy and he stole the rock and used it. The zombie rising had started. Howard killed Phillip."

"What about Chloe?" Silhouette asked.

"She helped me out. She was there when I arrived. She actually saved me. It was because of Chloe that I know about the zombie's weakness to pure water and sunlight and how to kill them. Because of her I was able to contact Iggy and he built my first salt rock launcher."

"Larry," Kamron placed a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to continue."

"What?" Larry blinked. He felt the tear hanging from his chin and he wiped it away. He wasn't aware that he was crying. "I think need to get this out. She was there until the end. We set it up so the lab would explode. Howard wasn't going to go down without taking me with him. Chloe managed to tackle him and struggled with him. She told me to get out of there. I refused, except I was pulled out by a few Boos."

"By a ghost?"

Larry nodded. "My father and Kammy both got worried and sent Boos to find me. I returned home. I said nothing to anyone, until I reached Kammy, and I cried in her arms for hours. I never cried like that before."

The room was silent. The only sound they could hear was the various metallic dings in the cooling system and their own breathing.

"I'm sorry," Silhouette broke the silence with a whisper.

"That is why I came back, not for these people. I came back for her."

"I'm fighting for someone too," Silhouette said. "That is why we gotta keep moving, and I have a feeling this is not going to lead us to a mad scientist."

"We should stop by that lab," Kamron said. "If we are heading north west. We can go there, and then go north. We might find more about what we are dealing with."

"Are you sure that is wise?" Silhouette asked.

"It's a good starting point," Kamron frowned.

"We are going there," Larry said. He still hadn't said a proper goodbye.

---

Dark Land

Luigi fell to the ground, from the sheer force of Ludwig's tackle. The younger Koopa had gotten a good hold on him, and held Luigi down by his arms.

"C'mon Luigi," Wendy cheered from the sidelines. "You can still defeat him."

"That's it Ludwig," Dru cheered on.

Luigi winced from Ludwig's strength. For someone who spends most of his time composing music, he was certainly strong. There was only one idea he still hadn't tried. He slid his tail along the floor and against Ludwig's feet, causing him to loose balance.

"Watch out," Dru shouted.

Luigi rolled out from under Ludwig and once he rose to his feet he tackled the younger Koopa.

"Good try," Ludwig said before he slammed Luigi against the wall.

Actual stars sparked in Luigi's eyes once his body came in contact with the stone walls. His body was already sore from the various stretches, and exorcises. Bowser wanted the boys to improve their hands on combat by having them wrestle each other. The women, and Junior watched from the sidelines. First it was Morton verses Ludwig, while Luigi defeated Lemmy and now he and Ludwig had to duke it out before the champion went head to head with Roy.

"Luigi be careful," Wendy called out.

"I think this is just about over," Ludwig grabbed Luigi and pushed him to the floor. "Ready to call it?"

"Hell I'm calling it," Roy said. "This round goes to Ludwig."

"I'm going to take fifteen minutes before we can wrestle," Ludwig grabbed one of the damp towels folded neatly on top of a Goomba's head.

"Fine," Roy cracked his knuckles. "You are only delaying the inevitable." He smiled at Luigi. "Not bad. I thought you'd go down about five minutes in with Ludwig." He slugged Luigi in the arm.

"Thanks," Luigi choked out through clenched teeth.

"You keep forgetting about how he defeated us in the past," Wendy handed Luigi one of the towels.

"Along with Mario," Roy said.

"He can hold his own," Wendy said. "Defeated King Boo all by himself." She used her most smug stone and folded her arms across her chest.

"I did," Luigi took the towel and, while ignoring the protests from his arms, mopped the sweat from his face.

"We are going to use the hot tub," Wendy took him by the hand.

"Hot tub," every inch of his body cheered. "That is exactly what I need."

"This way dear," Wendy led him toward the elevators. "Its on the first floor."

"Along with the racquet ball court," Luigi recalled the first day he had met Tethys as she and Roy were walking from the court to the tub. He wasn't sure what to make of her at first. He now knew she was a princess from the prairnet kingdom, second in line to the throne and seems to be attracted to the bad boy types.

"You are knowing your way around the castle better," Wendy beamed.

He nodded. He still needed a map at times, but he new where all the master bedrooms were located, where the main dining hall and kitchen was, along with the gyms and training rooms. It was still going to be a while before he figured out where every location was in every single part of the area.

A familiar scent caused Luigi to freeze in his steps. "Your father is here." It hadn't taken him long to recognize Bowser's scent. Everyone had a scent that was unique to them and he can tell the difference between his in-laws, detect the different species that served the Troop. He also recognized Kammy and Kamek by their scent.

"Oh that kid," Bowser chuckled. He didn't even seem to notice them and instead was staring at a letter in his hand. "Sweet little guy. He used to be a bit of a crybaby."

"Daddy," Wendy greeted her father.

"Ah," Bowser blinked. "How was your training, Luigi?"

"Not bad," Luigi tilted his head until he heard a few joints in his neck pop. "I wouldn't call it exactly good either."

"I know you didn't wipe out that early," Bowser said. "I saw Morton head to his room over an hour ago, although I wonder if he allowed himself to be defeated. I had to drag that kid out by his horn. You know what he does? He uses a cam to create an online talk show where he answers email, unbelievable."

"I fought against Lemmy at first," Luigi said. "And he is quite agile, and then I lost against Ludwig."

"He lasted nearly an half hour," Wendy added.

"Not bad at all," Bowser's smile grew. "Looks like it is down between Roy and Ludwig, and the champion gets to face off with me."

"You didn't say that earlier," Luigi said.

"That's the surprise."

"Nice surprise," Luigi refrained from gulping. He was glad he had just lost. The idea of wrestling against Roy was bad enough already.

"What is in the letter?" Wendy pointed at the paper in Bowser's hand.

"Oh this?" The Koopa King held it up. "It's a letter from Prince Mallow."

"I know him," Luigi smiled. "He's a cloud person, originally from Nimbusland but he ended up at Tadpole Pond. He and Mario went around finding the pieces to Star Road." He tried not to let the fact that it was another adventure that Mario went on by himself.

"That's the one," Bowser nodded. "Turns out his parents are having a nice ball and he sent me two invitations."

"Two invitations?" Luigi raised his brows.

"Yeah, for me and someone else."

"I can help you with the decision," Wendy held out her hand. "You can give them to me and Luigi."

"Not so fast," Bowser held up the letter and the invites. "What makes you think you deserve them?"

"Because I'm your only daughter?" She batted her lashes at him.

"Still waiting."

"Luigi and I could use an evening out?"

"So could Ludwig and Dru, the same for Roy and Tethys."

"Because we came across you first," she frowned. "Those are all very good reasons."

"Is there a reason you might not want to go?" Luigi asked.

"I do have to prep my troops and fine tune some of my plans," Bowser said. He stared at Wendy. "I still don't see why you should still get them."

"Well who are you going to take?" Wendy asked.

"I hadn't thought about that."

"Do you know who is going to be there?" Luigi asked.

Bowser shrugged. "Knowing Mallow, he probably invited the whole pond, plus Mario of course, and—Mario."

"It would be kinda awkward for you," Wendy continued her cute poses.

"It would be," Bowser nodded. "It would be awkward for him, even more if the Koopa that arrives is his own brother, even more if he finds out Luigi is now a member of the Troop." He still had no idea that Mario already knows about his brother's new form.

"That means we can go?" Wendy asked.

"Certainly," he handed her the two invites.

"May I get a new dress?"

"Now you are pushing it," he pointed at the two of them as he made his way down the hall.

"It was worth a try," she shrugged.

"New dress or old dress you will still be the most beautiful there," Luigi told her. "And if you still want a new dress I think Kammy can play the role of Fairy Godmother."

"You are so right," she smiled. "Lets get that hot tub set up."

---

That long soak helped. Luigi felt a little better once he stepped out of he hot bubbling water that was treated with both Epsom salts and menthol. His whole body had a hint of mint fragrance, but he did not care. He felt better, but was still too sore to continue training. Wendy suggested that he stay in bed until dinner.

The idea of a new meal prepared and cooked by Wendy brought a smile to his snout. Each new recipe she tried she cooked flawlessly and her use of spices and herbs made each meal flavorful and memorable. It was almost a shame that Mario could not sample some of her food.

Luigi yawned. He tried to take a nap, but he couldn't. He rested in bed for nearly an hour, but still did not feel sleepy enough. He thought about just looking for a book to check out and read, but there were not many books in the room.

"Probably have a whole library," he sat up. There was the option of using the computer. Perhaps he could play a game, or better yet he could send e-mail to both Mario and Peach since it was most likely that they did receive invites. He could also see if Iggy was online and ask for a status report.

Iggy was indeed online. "I'm taking a quick break." Was the message he sent to Luigi.

"How is it coming along?" Luigi asked. He was also in the middle of typing out a small letter to Mario.

"We have determined that your DNA is one hundred percent Koopa."

Luigi rolled his eyes. It took them that long to figure it out? "Anything else?"

"We have been going through books on genetics, not to mention wasted a handful of pocket notebooks working out equations and gotten high off dry erase markers, and no we were not sitting around just sniffing them. It's from constant use of the dry erase board."

"What ever happened to the chalkboard?" Luigi typed.

"Hey get with the times," Iggy typed back. "But we have come to the determining factor of changing your DNA back to human, without damaging your unique chromosomes that make you, well you."

"Great." Luigi had also finished the e-mail. He pushed send. Now he just had to write one to Peach.

"Now we just have to start building the machine, oh and there is someone else helping."

"Is it one of the ghosts?" Luigi asked.

"Shivers has helped with the cleanup and Neville has gone through several of the books with us, but it is someone who is still alive…oh and she is reading the message and she wants it to be a surprise."

"You want me to come over?"

"As soon as you can."

"It might night be until tomorrow," Luigi typed. "I was wrestling with Ludwig."

"Yeah, good idea to wait until tomorrow, okay break time is over."

Luigi wished him a silent good luck while he finished the letter to the princess.