A Nutcracker and the Beast

Chapter 7: Once New; Now Broken

"Toss him over here!"

"No, no! Over here! I need him."

"You're all a bunch of brats! Hand him over right now! I wasn't done with him!"

"You want him so bad? Then fetch!" Yelled a ghost with turquoise skin in a red vest as he threw a Wooden-Doll to his identical twin.

"I got him! I got him! I-" yelled the twin in a purple vest, failing to catch the Wooden-Doll as it hit the wall hard. "I don't got him."

Luigi held his head as he lay on the floor. Being the new punching bag for many ghosts, you'd help imprisonment in painting was not fun, especially when some held a grudge. Luigi tried to get up but stumbled as he couldn't. He looked down at his feet to see if something was pushing him down or had trapped him. But, instead, he saw that his right leg was gone, out of sight. It had detached.

"AHHHHHHH!" Luigi screamed in agony as he turned on his back. "Oh stars, OH STARS! My leg! W-what happened to my leg?!" Luigi started to hyperventilate as tears built up. It was already a nightmare that he couldn't eat or sleep, as food still made his stomach growl, and the nights still made him tired. However, now his leg was gone. There was no feeling in his hip, but the sense of a portion was still there; a ghostly pain as if he just broke it soon started to creep in. It was insufferable.

"Look what you two did!" Scolded a grandma ghost, "Leave before you break the funny man again!"

"You're no fun, Nana!" Said the red vest ghost.

"Yeah!" Add the purple vest ghost before they both left.

"Oh no. King Boo isn't going to like that we broke his property..." said a slim ghost with a pool stick.

"Oh please, Slim. King Boo only cares if he is brought back to him. I've seen the funny man beaten just as much as he is now." Nana replied, picking up Luigi's leg as he had a panic attack on the floor. Luigi was rocking back and forth as he tried to calm down. But the shaky breath, the constant shaking, and the deafening silence made his heartbeat worse. He wasn't going to be calming down any time soon.

"Key word there is beaten. Not broken," Slim said before leaving the two unattended, not wanting to watch what would happen next. Nana rolled her eyes; she lined his leg with his hip before she tapped his shoulder.

"Luigi, my funny man. I need you to focus on me." Nana said, placing her hand behind his hip. Luigi only paid attention briefly, but it wasn't on her - on his leg. He started to pull back, trying to run away, but with her hand by his hip, he couldn't escape. "This is just like a dislocated shoulder. It will be over soon."

"NO!" Luigi yelled as he shot himself up. His breathing was heavy as he took a second to pat himself down. That was a bad idea as his left arm sent a wave of pain. He held it as he thought about that memory, making him shake. He felt that he was back in Evershade Valley.

"I see that you're awake" This spooked him turning to Kamek, watching him brew something in a cauldron. That's when he noticed where he was. It was a tower with different magic items on shelves and some hanging off the ceiling. It also had colorful window-stained glass that let the light in, making the room bright and not spooky. Luigi would think that the right-hand man of the Koopa King would have a mysterious tower, not a colorful one. Kamek soon puffs his broomstick away and moves to Luigi; Luigi notices him and tries to move back but feels the stone wall behind him. "Easy, Luigi. I'm only here to help."

"Please... don't touch me." Luigi pleaded, trying to make himself smaller.

"Don't worry, I don't plan to. I have yet to figure out whose magic is enchanted on you. My grandbaby has told me about this 'wish' you told him about. But that is not true, is it?" Kamek explains. Luigi turned away; Kamek was an odd case. Luigi believes he's never met him, so the curse didn't work on him as it did on the others, at least not until the monster got a hold of him. At the same time, he wouldn't be surprised if his memory was failing him. Even then, Luigi still couldn't speak about the curse.