After filling up on some mac and cheese, Luigi was ready to examine the security camera image that Zed had brought back. When Gadd displayed the image on the monitor, one of the first things Luigi saw was the Possessor ghost he'd encountered when he first arrived at the Old Clockworks. And by now, he'd understood that where there was a Possessor, a Dark Moon piece wasn't far behind.
"That area is just behind the Clock Tower Gate!" exclaimed Gadd.
"And there's one of those Possessors," Fred chimed in. "I can see a Dark Moon piece inside them!"
"That Possessor and those other ghosts seem to be headed to the top of the tower," said Zed. "Luigi, you need to follow them if you want that Dark Moon piece back!"
Gadd stepped back, allowing Luigi to use the console to zoom in, zoom out and pan along the security image as needed. Everyone in the Bunker was surprised at the number of Boos filling the shot.
"How strange..." murmured Gadd. "They seem to get along with the Possessor ghosts. Boos don't usually get along well with other powerful ghosts, but if they're willing to make an exception..."
"...then that means trouble," finished Luigi. "The Boos have something planned, and the Possessors are in on it. I don't know if they willingly volunteered, or if the Boos threatened them, but the Boos must be desperate if they're willing to set aside their animosity towards powerful ghosts."
On lower right corner of the image, a Boo cast more of those Spirit Balls.
"Who gave them that ability?" asked Gadd. "They can't have just started doing that on their own."
"I didn't know they could do that, either," said Luigi. "It must be a relatively new power."
But then, his attention was drawn toward the center of the image. Some more Boos floated around, carrying that portrait in a sack. Luigi squinted—he thought he could see a hat in that portrait—a hat with a "M" on it. No, no—he had to be seeing things.
"Oh, my God—is that a painting in that sack?" asked Fred.
"And why are the Boos guarding it so closely?" added Zed.
"Wait a minute—there's something familiar about that cap!" Gadd exclaimed.
Luigi felt sick.
"Excuse me," he said.
Stepping away, Luigi whipped out his phone and sent Mario another voicemail before texting Chad, Brad, Thad and Conrad.
Gadd faced his two Toad Assistants. "Did you see that glow coming from outside the limits of the image?" he asked.
Fred and Zed nodded.
"Something about that glow gives me a very bad feeling!" Gadd told them. "It's almost like there's an evil presence ordering the Possessors to guard the Dark Moon pieces."
"You mean—they're being brainwashed?" asked Zed.
"They could be," shuddered Gadd. "And not just them—this evil presence could also be brainwashing all of the ghosts in Evershade Valley."
Silence. Luigi finished his phone calls and texts and rejoined Gadd and the Toads.
"We need to get to the top of that Clock Tower ASAP," said Gadd.
I need to get to the top of the Clock Tower, Luigi mentally corrected.
"I trust you've still got that rotor on you?"
"I do," replied Luigi, holding up the item in question.
"Excellent! You'll need to install it near the big clock face," Gadd told him. "And here—don't forget our precious clock hands." The scientist handed Luigi the hour and minute hands as he spoke.
Luigi stowed everything away as Gadd laughed.
"It's a good thing you have such deep pockets in those overalls!" he said brightly.
"Tell me about it," said Luigi.
"All right, youngster," said Gadd. "It's showtime! Get to the top of the Clock Tower, and find that Dark Moon piece."
"You should have your guard up, too," added Zed. "The Possessor ghost is likely at the top of the tower."
"Be careful, and look lively!" Fred sang out.
"Okay," said Luigi.
"We believe in you!" Fred and Zed said in unison as Gadd activated the Pixelator.
...
When Luigi arrived at the Clock Tower Gate, he used his old mechanic skills to repair it. First, he attached the clock hands to the large clock face. Then, he screwed the rotor in the slot next to it. As soon as the rotor was in place, both hands automatically moved to the twelve o'clock position.
"Okay," he said. "Now how do I open it?"
Luigi glanced around for clues and saw a smaller clock which read 7:30. Deciding to give it a shot, he spun the rotor until the clock hands on the gate matched the time given on the smaller clock. Smoothly, the gate lifted to reveal a door which took Luigi into the movements.
The place was teeming with gears and rotors, and Luigi found that the latter would raise the long platform he was currently standing on. Using his vacuum to blow on the rotors, Luigi slowly ascended to the top of the clock tower, finding gold coins, gold bars, dollar bills and even one last ruby along the way. He realized that he should've taken a dump before Gadd sent him on this mission. Whatever the Possessor had in mind, Luigi was definitely not looking forward to it. Shaking his head, he plugged in his earbuds and found a good playlist on Spotify to psych himself up.
When Luigi reached the top of the movements, he walked through a door into the belfry. A mountain of crates was on either side of him, but he paid them no mind, striding purposefully toward the ladder up ahead. However, he didn't account for the spring in front of the ladder, which catapulted him out of a small door and into the starry sky. His limbs flailed, and he screamed as he tumbled up into space—and then back down onto what appeared to be the belfry clock. Fortunately, he emerged more stunned than injured.
"Wow..." Luigi breathed as he got to his feet and studied his surroundings. The belfry clock was massive, powered by the myriad of gears which constantly turned. Mounted atop the belfry clock was a large birdhouse, presumably reserved for the wooden cuckoo.
He reached over and closed the door he'd been launched out of, only for the Possessor to fly out and confront him. Laughing, the Possessor circled Luigi a few times before hovering over the belfry clock and casting some sort of magic upon it. Gasping, Luigi jumped back as the clock's hands started winding backwards, the numbers on the clock face disappearing. Then, the Possessor gave one final laugh before darting into the birdhouse.
Recovering, Luigi took a step forward, only for a loud chime to make him jump. The long minute hand swung around once, so that the belfry clock read 1:00. A single Greenie flew out of the space where the "1" should be and started in on Luigi. Quickly, Luigi stunned them and sucked them into the Poltergust, and then he watched in awe as the "1" reappeared on the clock. The minute hand swung around again, and three Greenies popped out of where there was once a "2".
The Possessor was possessing the entire belfry clock!
The Greenies giggled as they flew toward Luigi, but he was ready for them. He stunned and captured the first two at once, and then he whirled on the third Greenie as they tried to punch him, dodging the blow and counterattacking with a Strobulb flash. Once all three Greenies were in the Poltergust, the "2" reappeared on the clock, and the minute hand swung around so that the face read 3:00.
Five Greenies emerged from where the "3" should be located and wasted no time surrounding Luigi. He dodged their attacks, and then he turned his Strobulb on the first Greenies he saw. These skirmishes were getting harder, and since the minute hand was ticking around the clock throughout, Luigi reasoned that he had only a minute to win each round.
Darting about the clock face, Luigi took a few sharp blows from the Greenies before managing to outsmart them. The "3" reappeared on the clock face, and then the minute hand swung round so that the clock read 4:00.
This time, Luigi was greeted by two Slammers who attacked the second they saw him. The man in green found himself buffeted around the belfry clock, only managing to get in one good Surge before they broke free of the suction. He didn't really know if he could defeat these two in one minute. However, he soon discovered that he could "cheat" a little by manipulating the minute hand with his vacuum, giving himself extra or less time as desired. That was good to know.
He was breaking a sweat by the time he wrestled the Slammers into the Poltergust. But there was no time to rest. After the "4" reappeared on the clock face, the Possessor burst out of the birdhouse, formed a paranormal shield around themselves and charged at Luigi. He leaped, slid and cartwheeled aside, waiting for the Possessor to drop their shield, and then let the Poltergust rip, vacuuming away his opponent's first layer of skin.
The Possessor retreated into the birdhouse, and it all began again.
At 5:00, sand filled the area, and those green beetles accosted Luigi. He was able to stun most of them into submission before they reached him, but a lucky few managed to escape and get in a few good nips before he subdued them with the Strobulb. When he was finished, the sand disappeared, and the "5" rematerialized on the clock face before the clock hands transitioned into the next hour.
6:00 arrived with sand and a trio of Sneakers. Luigi was able to stun all three of them at once, but they soon tore themselves free before flying off in different directions. He could uncover them with his DLD, but they still managed to occasionally sneak up on him for a powerful scare. He had to vacuum the minute hand backward at least twice before he managed to defeat the Sneakers.
But it would only get harder. 7:00 arrived with three Greenies armed with hammers and shields, using both to knock Luigi sprawling. They'd only be open to an attack for a pitifully small amount of time after finishing their attacks. Eventually, however, Luigi settled for disarming the trio first before capturing them, emerging with dull aches all over. He swallowed back the pain, caught his breath and awaited the next wave.
8:00 came with three "mummies" shambling after Luigi. He tried to make them trip over the clock hands as well as stumble against the walls, but it was easier said than done. Then, when he finally got the mummies on the ground, he had to unravel their bandages without accidentally pulling the minute hand forward and losing much-needed time. After he yanked the bandages off, capturing the Greenies was a breeze.
The "8" filled in on the clock face, and then the Possessor flew out of the birdhouse to confront Luigi a second time. He evaded their charge until they tired themselves out, and then he pounced, stunning them and vacuuming away their second layer of skin. As the Possessor retreated, both clock hands began to glow red-hot.
9:00 arrived, heralding at least fourteen Beetles, chasing Luigi all over the belfry clock as he stunned as many at a time as he could. Some of them brought about their own downfall by alighting on the glowing clock hands. Still, Luigi wound up with more Beetle bites by the time he defeated them all.
At 10:00, Luigi had to deal with five Creepers, using his DLD to force them out of their puddle state and his Surge to yank them off the floor and into his vacuum. Somehow, they were impervious to the glowing clock hands, and they managed to get him into their gooey embraces several times. And yet, even while dealing with the brunt of this madness, he hadn't even considered bailing. It was out of the question now; he'd made it so far that there was no direction to go but forward.
11:00 came with eleven Robombs, some of which activated upon contact with the glowing clock hands and set off a chain reaction. The next half-minute consisted of Luigi outrunning as many Robomb detonations as he could. Each detonation produced a small shockwave with flung him forward, which helped in its own way. By the time the last Robomb exploded, Luigi was winded and shaken. But he couldn't give up.
12:00 was the grand finale—a nightmarish morass of enemies seemingly without end. First was a Greenie, followed by a Robomb, a Sneaker, five Beetles, a Slammer and then an armed Greenie. Luigi took a breath and dove right into it, taking on the Sneaker and the Slammer before dealing with the Robomb, Beetles and Greenies. If the Slammer and the armed Greenie weren't swiping at him, then the Beetles were nipping him, the unarmed Greenie was throwing punches at him and the detonating Robomb practically threw him off his feet. He got up quickly, though, focusing on clearing out the rest of his adversaries, taking slow, deep breaths through his nostrils as he vacuumed up the ghosts one-by-one.
As soon as the 12 was filled in on the belfry clock, the Possessor practically threw themselves at Luigi, ramming him during their first charge and landing a glancing blow during their second charge. The man in green wrenched himself erect and stunned this overset Possessor the second they dropped their shield. And with a satisfying Surge, the Possessor was sucked into the vacuum, the third Dark Moon piece violently expelling itself from the nozzle and landing with a tinkle on the now-cooled minute hand.
Luigi sat there for a few moments, catching his breath. Adrenaline still buzzed through his nerves as he got to his feet and walked over to the Dark Moon piece.
"All right!" he cheered as he plucked the shard from the minute hand. "I got it!"
He tucked the Dark Moon piece into his pocket as the Dual Scream rang.
"Yello?"
"Outstanding, Luigi!" cheered Gadd. "That Possessor didn't stand a chance. Way to make them clock out!"
"Yeah!" Zed agreed. "That was totally wicked!"
"Well, they threw everything but the kitchen sink at me," said Luigi. "Thank God, that didn't stop me from getting the Dark Moon piece."
Gadd nodded his approval. "Hold still," he said. "I'll bring you back."
"Ciao."
Luigi sat on the minute hand to rest—only for the wooden bird to pop out of the birdhouse and make him jump.
"Are you kidding?!"
...
"Welcome back, Luigi!" Gadd, Fred and Zed shouted in unison when Luigi returned.
"Hi, guys," replied Luigi.
"You were mighty heroic up there, fighting that Possessor," said Gadd. "As a matter of fact, I can actually hear them raging around inside the Poltergust 5000! Let's get them into the Vault quickly."
"You don't have to tell me twice," said Luigi as he emptied the Poltergust.
"The longer the possessor ghosts remain with the Dark Moon pieces, the stronger they seem to get," Gadd said when Luigi was finished. "Good thing I've been working on those upgrades for the Poltergust 5000!"
"They really come in handy," said Luigi. "I'd be a sitting duck without them."
"Anyhoo, that Dark Moon piece has probably been corrupted by dark energy," said Gadd. "Let's get it all cleaned up."
Luigi withdrew the Dark Moon piece from his pocket and placed it on the cleaning device. As the device's many arms wiped away the dark energy, he heard another whooshing sound. More of that purple fog was probably clearing away.
"The more Dark Moon pieces we find, the more I think someone shattered it on purpose!" said Gadd.
"But who?" asked Fred.
"The bigger question is—why?" Zed joined in. "For a cheap laugh?"
"After we get the Dark Moon repaired, we're gonna find out," said Gadd. "In the meantime..." He lowered the fourth monitor, and everyone watched as another location appeared on the map.
"Where...?" breathed Luigi.
"The top of the mountains," Gadd exclaimed. "That's the coldest part of Evershade Valley."
"That means I'm gonna have to bundle up," said Luigi.
"That's the truth of it," said Fred.
"But for now, how about you rest awhile?" suggested Zed.
And Luigi agreed.