Chapter Text
A cold light washed across the tile floor. Luigi turned the corner, poltergust in hand with Daisy shining the flashlight, her chips dropped and forgotten on the floor. An unspoken agreement to keep silent was between them as a chill overtook the air, sending shivers coursing through both of their bodies.
The foyer was immensely different, with the gold accents being changed to a dark silver, just like all of the room they had been staying in. Despite the blue light that lit the area, the warm glow of the yellow lamps placed within the ceiling atop the front desk were still their regular selves. Directly above that were the 5 large banners he had seen the first time he had stepped foot in the lobby, each one displaying a different face: Mario, Peach, Daisy, Toad, and himself. Except now, they had a large, black, spray-painted “x” overtop each, blotting out some of their features.
A poke in his side caused him to leap into the air, pointing his poltergust at whoever it was. It was just Daisy, though she was staring past him with a frightened glimmer in her eyes. Slowly turning to face the direction she was staring in, he saw exactly what was scaring her.
Luigi slapped a hand over his mouth to keep him from yelping. Three blue wisps were dancing about, boarding up the main door. They’re lifeless white eyes squinted at each other before letting out screeches of laughter that pierced the still atmosphere. I mean, they were doing a terrible job at blocking the exit, but nonetheless.
In the process of preventing a scream, however, he hadn’t taken into account that he would be dropping the nozzle of his machine. With a clunk, it hit the ground, all sound ceasing in an instant. Luigi could hear Daisy’s breath catch in her throat, the flashlight beam beginning to wobble as her hands trembled. His heart pounded, the blood roaring in his ears. The ghosts floated above ground for a moment before an ear-piercing noise echoed throughout the lobby, almost like a warp pipe…just deeper.
In an instant, phantom gates appeared in every possible pathway, a brilliant, vivid violet emanating from them. The entire mood flipped on its head as Luigi felt a rush of adrenaline fill his body. Swiftly, he scooped the poltergust nozzle into his hands and spun around in a few circles. Lights were flashing; purples, greens, blues, pinks. It was pure chaos as the ghosts cackled from nearby.
“Luigi! What do we do?!” Daisy shrieked, shaking like a leaf. The flashlight was gripped with such force her knuckles were turning white.
“You have the flashlight!” he called over the mixture of sounds. “You have to stun them!”
“Me?!”
“Yes! Do exactly what you did at the green light scanner, remember?!” Daisy nodded, taking deep breaths. Neither of them could seem to locate a paranormal being…that was, until Luigi started peering at the front desk. He thought he could make out a gold glimmer somewhere over there-
“BEHIND YOU!” the SarasaLand Princess screamed, a blinding beam of light shooting his direction. Flipping around at a dizzying speed, Luigi stumbled backwards as the blue ghost was stunned inches away from him. “GET HIM!”
“Oh, right!” he gasped, almost dropping his weapon. Smashing his finger onto the button, suction instantaneously started, pulling the ghost’s wispy tail into the mouth of the poltergust’s nozzle. It was quite loud, but the green plumber ignored it, breathing a sigh of relief as the phantom disappeared into the invention.
“We got one!” Daisy exclaimed, smiling weakly.
“Yeah, but there’s two others…” Luigi said, panic rising in his chest. These ghosts were tricky. Locating them was probably the hardest thing he had to do when these situations happened. At any moment, they could pop out of nowhere…
He caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye, finding both blue apparitions trying to sneak up on him.
“There!” he announced, lunging towards them. A stun later, and the gates and ghosts vanished. Luigi and Daisy breathed heavily, gazing at each other with grins missing from their faces.
“Nice work, Weegie.”
“You too.” Luigi swiveled his head around to peer at the desk once more. Yes…yes, there was something gold there. Spurring himself forwards, he gently lifted the small divider door. Sitting upon one of the back shelves was a decently sized key, the comforting gleam of the lamp above making the gold shine like it had just been freshly polished.
Determinedly, he stuck his hand out and grasped it in his glove, staring at it for a second before exiting the desk space. Daisy stood not far away, a distant look in her cerulean eyes.
“Luigi?” she suddenly cut through his train of thought. He shook his head to clear it.
“Yeah?”
“What’s that key for?”
“Oh. I…I have no clue,” he admitted. “But, whenever you find keys in haunted places, it usually means something’s locked.”
“Well…I think we should check those doors,” she mused, pointing towards them. Up two flights of stairs that ran along either side of the desk and set directly in the center of the wall were two huge doors that were most likely made of some type of copper or bronze with ornate designs protruding ever so slightly from the metal.
“Alright.” She took off at a light jog. It took Luigi a moment to collect his thoughts and follow. “Try the key,” she commanded once they reached the entrance. He nodded, inserting it into the keyhole. He didn’t have to twist it, as it turned itself, ceasing to exist after the clicking of the door unlocking was heard.
“Ready?” he questioned, drawing in a breath.
“Yup,” Daisy replied, a tremor in her voice. Luigi placed his hand on the handle and swung the entrance open. What he found inside was something he never expected to see…or should he say, someone.
