Author: ALL the Luigi! 8D Seriously, I love the man more than I should, and yet I'm terrible to him. Thank you to everyone who chooses to review. I do appreciate them all.

Disclaimer: Nope.

Chapter 2

The last thing Luigi expected when he opened the door the morning two days after the race to get the newspaper from a Yoshi was for the dinosaur to give him a strangely apologetic look and hand him an official-looking envelope. Luigi tossed the newspaper on the kitchen table after closing the door and opened the envelope, a familiar feeling of dread stealing over him.

He skimmed the letter before his eyes caught on a single word.

He had been paralyzed by the contents of the message, and it was only when Mario took the letter out of his numb fingers that h was brought back to reality.

"Mario!" Luigi exclaimed, jerked out of his horror, his eyes daring to his older brother's. "I'm…I'm disqualified? But, but—" Luigi descended into sputtering incoherence, disbelief clinging to his throat. "How can—why would they…?"

Mario shrugged and gave his brother a small, reassuring smile. "Look, it's all probably just a misunderstanding. I know you aren't the kind of person to go out of your way to hurt someone."

"Bowser was racing," Luigi pointed out.

"Which is why this is probably nothing," Mario said and casually ripped up the notice and tossed it into the trash can. "Just do something to prove that you're not what they think you are. I think I remember overhearing Daisy saying that a nearby town is dealing with an infestation of ghosts. Clearing them out will definitely clear your name."

Luigi tugged absently on his mustache, anxiety making his skin itch.

Who noticed? He wondered. I would have thought that people would have been happy to peg it on Bowser and his cronies.

Luigi briefly felt a flash of suspicion that somehow, somehow, Mario was responsible, but that made no sense—he had been really sick, how would he have watched the race?

"Maybe you can also help clean up the Turnpike?" Mario offered. "Since they also cited the damage you did to the track."

Luigi rubbed the back of his neck. Manual labor or ghost hunting. Great.

"I'll go get the ghosts first," Luigi heard himself say. "And if…and if they still don't believe me, I'll help make repairs."

Mario gave him a congenial slap on the shoulder and said, "That's the spirit, Weegee!"

Luigi had the vey strong urge to hit his brother back with malicious intent—he hated that nickname and wished he could do something to stop Mario from using it (although it was entirely possible that Mario used the nickname because he knew it bothered Luigi).

"Have you been cleared to race?" Luigi forced himself to ask.

Mario shook his head. "Peach told me I need to rest another day," Mario replied sullenly. "But it looks like Bowser won't be coming back anytime soon."

Luigi strained to hear the "Thanks to you," but he knew it would never come. Of course it wouldn't. Luigi couldn't do something like that, be responsible for something worthwhile, something that Mario would do.

It never came, just as Luigi expected.

"I'll find out where this place is, then get my stuff and head off," Luigi said, no hint of disappointment in his voice. "Feel better, okay?"

Mario nodded and smiled before turning to the dilemma of what to have for breakfast.

Luigi's ears were continuously burning from all the anger directed at him, but he refused to curl in on himself and scurry along to where Daisy lived, which was adjacent to the palace. It would make people think he was guilty, and he wanted to project innocence. The illusion of righteous indignation would make people reconsider their appraisal of his behavior. Luigi refused to be pigeon-holed into a new box, especially if it was worse than being Mario's brother.

How'd they find out, anyway? he wondered. I bet that someone can be disqualified from the races for any number of reasons...

Still, given the reaction he had been getting, he wasn't surprised when he was turned away from Daisy's abode.

"Princess Daisy is busy," one of the guards said, voice laced with disdain for Luigi.

Okay, I really want to know what the public thinks I did.

"Then could you send her a message for me?"

"No."

The answer was brutal and final, and Luigi squared his shoulders against the rudeness. "Fine," Luigi answered evenly.

He turned away and had taken a few steps before a voice pulled him up short.

"Luigi!"

Luigi turned to see Daisy running towards him, and the guards reluctantly parted for her.

"Daisy," Luigi said, relief blooming in his chest at the sight of his love.

"How dare people assume that you set the race up yesterday to make you look good!" Daisy said once she had reached him, her eyes bright with anger. "I swear, when I find out who spread that rumor..."

"Aha," Luigi tugged apprehensively on his mustache. "Well, I should prove that I'm not what they're saying I am, right? That I wouldn't do something like stage a race."

"I'll vouch for you, they'll take my word. I'm a Princess"

"You're also my g-girlfriend, Daisy. They won't believe you because of that." Luigi hated that he stumbled over the word 'girlfriend' every time, but still couldn't entirely believe that a woman would want to be with him. "Mario said that he overheard you saying a town is overrun with ghosts…?"

Daisy's expression clouded with worry and she nodded. "Yes. But, you're terrified of ghosts."

Luigi didn't manage to hide his wince effectively, given how Daisy lightly patted his upper arm. "I am. But, then, won't me clearing out that town convince people more than anything else that I'm not…what I've been accused of?"

Daisy hummed, which told Luigi that she saw the merit in his argument but still didn't entirely approve of the idea.

"Well, if you're set on it, the village isn't that far outside the Capital, so you can see how it's important that the ghosts are chased out."

'Not that far' was a very subjective statement. The Village was within a day's walk of the Capital, which, to Luigi, was still fairly far. He wasn't the kind for physical exercise, but if that was what it took, so be it.

Luigi nodded. "Right. I'll get on that."

Daisy gave him a smile and said, "I will always love you."

"I love you, too," Luigi replied, taking her words to heart. "I'll be back soon!"

Luigi didn't dare to kiss her with two guards watching, so he simply kissed the back of her hand before turning to go back to his home.

Daisy had other ideas, however, given how she grabbed his hand, turned him around, and kissed him on the lips.

"Come back to me, no matter what. You're my hero, no matter what anyone else says. Remember that."

Luigi gave her a grin and nodded. "Right. I'll be back soon."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Daisy kissed him again and shooed him away.

Even the fact that Mario was, unfortunately, still at home and reading the paper did nothing to dampen Luigi's good mood.

"Hey," Luigi said and Mario responded with a grunt.

"I'm going to the out," Luigi said. "I'll be back later."

"'Kay," Mario replied and Luigi ascended the stairs to his own room.

It didn't take long to collect the Poltergust, a portable version of the Portrificationizer, and some other small things he'd need, idly hoping that the town would still be able to supply him if he needed anything more. Once he was packed, he left and was surprised to see a Yoshi waiting for him just outside his home, obviously willing to bear him to his destination.

Luigi gave her a smile, which was responded to with a chirp. Luigi carefully maneuvered onto the Yoshi's back, and once he was settled, they took off.

Yoshi were poor conversationalists unless one knew their language, which Luigi did not, so they settled into a surprisingly companionable silence.

She thinks I'm innocent, Luigi thought, darkly amused.

Admittedly, all the accusations were true, but he couldn't let on to that.

It had been easy.

It had been fun.

He hadn't though anyone would notice. They hadn't before.

Perhaps it was because they were all too focused on Mario to notice what I was doing, Luigi mused as the scenery passed swiftly by.

They reached the village at dusk, and it became obvious that something was terribly wrong. The Toadstools that usually made their homes in the area were clumped together in camps, clinging to each other and casting nervous glances towards where their real homes were.

The Yoshi brought Luigi to the Toadstool that was obviously the leader. Once Luigi had dismounted, the Yoshi gave Luigi a long, slobbery, loving lick before trotting away, probably to rest.

The Toadstools' leader gave Luigi a critical once-over and obviously found him wanting.

"We wanted Mario, but I guess you'll do," the mayor said and Luigi barely resisted the urge to kick the smaller creature, reminding himself that he was trying to prove himself a hero. Heroes didn't hurt the people they were trying to save.

Right?

"You have a ghost problem?" Luigi prompted, and the mayor gestured for Luigi to follow.

"We think King Boo is responsible," the mayor said. "There have been rumors that he's set his sights of the Capital, afterall…"

Calling what had happened to the town a problem was an understatement of epic proportions. Every house was obviously haunted, and the streets swarmed with spirits. Luigi was not looking forward to trying to clean it up, even with the Poltergust.

"You're gonna chicken out, aren't you? Great, just great," the mayor muttered. "I knew I should have specified that we needed Mario."

Luigi looked sharply to the mayor, and Luigi immediately felt the distinct need to re-learn how to keep a leash on his temper, from how the mayor took a number of very quick steps back.

"I'll take care of it," Luigi said tonelessly. "Just keep everyone out of the way. We don't want anyone else to get hurt, right?"

Luigi nearly stomped his way towards the village, but his temper cooled quickly when a gust of preternaturally cold wind swept up and around him.

Luigi shuddered and terror raced through him. He hated ghosts. He was terrified of them, and he had no idea why he thought that being a hero was a good thing. If being a hero meant facing things like ghosts, he'd prefer to go back to the shadows.

Except that was a lie.

Luigi looked over his shoulder at the Poltergust strapped to his back and let out a long sigh that ended in a sob. Maybe doing this would prove that he was a hero and he'd never have to face ghosts ever again.

Except he knew that that, too, was a lie.

Being a hero meant facing your fears and conquering them time and again. It meant not flinching and running when other people would. Luigi wasn't sure he had that kind of steel naturally, but he was damn well going to develop it if such was what was needed to wrench himself out of Mario's shadow.

Luigi stopped at the end of the street and took a deep breath.

I can do this. Just one house at a time.

Luigi's skin was crawling as he slowly opened the first door, peaking inside. He nearly slammed the door shut at the sight of four ghosts hovering in the living room. Still, he needed to prove that he was a good guy, and if that involved clearing out ghosts, so be it.

Luigi took a deep breath, then dashed inside.

Before the ghosts had much time to react, Luigi had captured three of them in the Poltergust, and the fourth fled deeper into the house. Luigi frowned at the reaction and gave chase.

He eventually cornered it in the basement, where it cowered, Luigi's flashlight forcing it visible and freezing it in place.

Luigi knew that some ghosts were, while not friendly, at least indifferent to non-ghosts, and that one was trying to avoid Luigi rather than attacking him was…intriguing.

"Why are you here?" Luigi asked, the Poltergust still leveled at the spectre. "If you're gonna cause trouble, I'm gonna make you leave."

The ghost looked at Luigi (or Luigi thought it looked at him) and said, "This was the only place we could go. Ghosts can't be outside except at night, or else they disappear. We had no other place to go…"

"No other place to go?"

"We were driven from our homes by humans," the ghost replied. "Many of us barely made it here."

An idea tugged at Luigi, and he took a moment to consider it. It wasn't particularly heroic, but Luigi himself wasn't either. It wasn't like he was actively using the Mansion anyway…

"Look, I have a deal for you," Luigi said, but didn't lower the vacuum cleaner's nozzle. "You and all the ghosts here get in the vacuum, which'll let you travel during daytime, right?"

The ghost looked intrigued.

"I have a really big house that I'm not using. Let's say I give it to you all. Will that keep you from causing trouble elsewhere?"

The ghost blinked three times with its large yellow eyes. "How big of a house?"

"It's held a lot of ghosts before."

"You're not lying…?"

Luigi shook his head. What was the point if it meant he wouldn't have to fight?

"Not everyone will want to go."

"Then I'll capture the ones who want to use the Mansion, send them along, and then trap the ones who won't behave."

"Trap them?"

"In paintings."

"You!" the ghost gasped. "But, but, you…why would you want to help ghosts…?"

Luigi sighed. "Because I don't like fighting and there are a whole lot of you here."

The ghost was silent for a long moment. "Fine. I don't know why, but…all of the ones who will take you up on your offer will come to this house. Just wait here."

Luigi nodded, and the ghost disappeared. It had dawned on Luigi that he could quite possibly be waiting in a trap, but Luigi could make it equally a trap. He had a weapon, afterall.

How did they know about me, though? Is there some kind of ghost-world that no-one knows about it, where they get together and hang out or something?

The very idea made Luigi shudder.

It didn't take long for the ghost to return, and from how none of the other ghosts made to attack, Luigi's shoulders relaxed marginally.

"You'll hold to your promise. You'll take us to the Mansion and then leave us alone," the ghost he had been speaking to said.

"Promise," Luigi said solemnly.

By the time he had sucked up all the ghosts, the Poltergust was full. When he ascended the stairs and moved out into the street, it was to find that he had about half of the population trapped in the Poltergust.

He quickly ascended the hill to the Toadstool camp and gave the Mayor a nod before turning his attention to the Yoshi. He changed bags on the Poltergust and handed the full one to the Yoshi.

"I need you to go to my Mansion and drop this off. Open it when you get there, then leave."

The Yoshi looked at the bag curiously, but nodded and trotted away once Luigi gave her directions to his quasi-home-away-from-home.

Luigi turned back to the village and sighed silently.

"What was that?" the Toadstool mayor asked.

"Trapped ghosts," Luigi replied and readjusted the Poltergust on his back. "Back to work."

The ghosts that remained in the town were there to actually cause mischief, which made them much harder to catch, since they fought back.

Once they figured out what he was doing and how much he could do, they came at him in swarms. He could collect a maximum of three at a time, but he found himself pushed hard enough that he was limited to one at a time—if he was lucky.

He dodged a strike from one of the phantoms and turned the Poltergust on high, catching its tail and reeling it in quickly. Luigi was sweating from the constant movement that was required, but was shaking with chills because of the cold that clung to the ghosts and, by proxy, the environment. He was breathing hard, and it was taking every ounce of his nearly non-existent courage to keep him in the town and not running for the hills.

He found himself trapped in a dead-end with the Poltergust full of captured ghosts.

No! It can't end this way! It can't! I promised Daisy…

At that moment, the sun crested the horizon, and every ghost that was outside a house immediately vanished into nothingness.

Luigi's heart was pounding, and he couldn't help but voice a disbelieving laugh of relief.

Thank god, he thought. Some luck for once.

He shifted the Poltergust on his back and looked up at the hill he needed to climb to get back to the camp. He knew that if he didn't go up, they wouldn't believe that he had captured all the ghosts he had, so he did his best to ignore his exhaustion and made his way slowly up the hill.

When he finally crested into camp, he expected at least one person to look at him and ask if he was okay.

Instead, not a single thanks was uttered, the focus being on moving back into their homes.

"But there might still be some there!" Luigi said, trying to catch the mayor's attention. "I need another night."

The mayor looked over to Luigi and frowned. "You're not done? Mario would be done. If only they had sent me him instead of you…"

Luigi stared and instead of thanks, his need for another night earned him angry glares and muttered comments regarding his ineptitude.

Luigi stared at the Toads around him and staggered back a few steps under the force of their disdain.

I don't believe it. I don't believe…

Bile rose in Luigi's throat and he turned away quickly, not wanting them to see the angry tears that gathered in the corners of his eyes.

I can never do enough.

Luigi spent the day changing the ghosts he caught into paintings before hiding them where they would never be released. Twilight was falling by the time he had finished that task. Luigi looked down into the town, and sighed softly. He was pretty sure that there weren't many ghosts left, but he wanted to make sure he got every last one, because he knew that word would get back regarding any one he missed.

Luigi trudged back down into the town and went house-by-house, searching out ghosts. The only ones left were the smart ones, which meant they were the strongest. Luigi had gotten no sleep, so he wasn't as sharp as he should have been, but, he had agreed to clear the town of ghosts, and if he didn't, he wouldn't purge his name of suspicion, so it had to be done.

Luigi blinked at the phantom that inhabited the final house he entered.

Oh, no…

King Boo himself floated in the parlor, and gave Luigi a malicious grin.

"Why, if it isn't my favorite plumber," the ghost crooned, and Luigi took a number of quick steps back, only to find himself thudding against a closed door.

"Wh-what do you want, Boo?" Luigi asked, trying to put strength he knew he didn't have in his voice. "I defeated you before, I can do so again."

The ghost king scoffed. "You couldn't defeat your own shadow right now. But, come, try your luck!"

King Boo rushed Luigi, and Luigi cried out in horror. He barely ducked in time, but was pushed aside by a paranatural wind, tumbling into furniture.

They're going to say Mario wouldn't have damaged anything, that the fight was easy.

"Don't lose focus, Weegee."

Luigi bristled, anger giving him focus. "Don't you ever call me that."

"Hit a nerve, have I?" King Boo drawled before Luigi pressed an attack.

Luigi had to constantly be aware of both where he was and where King Boo was, and combined with his exhaustion and the ferocity of Boo's attacks, he was left barely able to stand.

I can't lose. I can't lose!

Luigi faceplanted and skidded along the wood floor, leaving a burn on his cheek. Luigi sprawled out, panting. Why not give up? I'm obviously not cut out to be a hero. Just fail here and never stray out of Mario's shadow. Was it really so bad there? I can't do this, I'm not a hero, why am I trying…?

"Pathetic," Boo sneered and Luigi grimaced against the floor.

I'll give up after this. Catch him and go home. Don't care about what those Toads say, it doesn't matter anyway. I promised Daisy I'd come back to her, and I'm sure I'm better than Mario at something, I just need time and patience to find it.

Luigi's body protested moving, but he managed to roll onto his back, pull up the wand to the Poltergust, and surprise King Boo. The ghost had obviously thought it had Luigi beaten, and was drawn into the vacuum as it voiced a screech of frustration, joining the other ghosts that had infested the town.

Luigi closed his eyes and took great gulps of air, trying to find energy in him somewhere. He had to make it up the hill, had to show that he wasn't tired, he really wasn't, that the captures had been nothing. Okay, sure, maybe there was a little damage to one house, but, really. He had fought King Boo!

Luigi shoved himself to his feet and staggered out of the house and down the deserted street. Above him, the stars shone brightly and he gave the sky an empty smile.

Suddenly, star after star plummeted towards the ground, but Luigi wasn't able to find it in himself to care that he was so close to a star-shower. All that mattered was completing the task. After that, he could rest.

He nearly had to crawl the final few meters up the hill, but he made it on his feet. The Toads were all busy collecting the falling stars, so no-one saw Luigi's triumphant, weary return except for the one Yoshi who had helped him. She watched him transform the ghosts into paintings, and then helped him drag them someplace different from where he had hidden the other ghosts. The only ghost he didn't transform was King Boo, opting to keep the ghost caged in the Poltergust instead. He didn't want there to be any chance that someone could unwittingly release the villain back into the world.

He turned the Poltergust off and gave the Yoshi a faint smile as the sun broke over the horizon. "All done."

The Yoshi cheeped something that was probably encouragement and helped Luigi onto her back.

Luigi felt that falling asleep on a moving Yoshi was probably a bad idea, but he must have passed out at some point, since it was only when they stopped in front of his home that Luigi realized he had.

"Thanks," he murmured to the Yoshi, still groggy and exhausted, and, after Luigi had slid out of the saddle, the Yoshi opened the door to his house for him, then closed it quietly after Luigi.

It was a little after mid-day, and Mario wasn't around, which was a small mercy.

Luigi contemplated going to see Daisy to prove to her that he was okay, but figured that his current state would do nothing to assuage any worry she had.

I'll see her tomorrow. Or whenever I wake up. So that I can be coherent and not just stare glassy-eyed at nothing until I pass out.

Content with his resolution, Luigi took a brief shower, just to get the clingy, cobwebby feeling of ghost off of his skin, then collapsed on his bed, only half in his pajamas.

How does he do it? Luigi wondered. Maybe I should leave it to him. Maybe it's better to not be known. Maybe…

Maybe I'm not meant to be someone.