When the Cowardly Lion Roars

Boos and Darkness

Wake up—wake up—Luigi, I need you to wake up...

My eyes snapped open at the sound of Mario's voice. My heart rate was sent through the roof. Mario sounded as cheerful as ever, but there was a slight undercurrent of anxiety to his chipper falsetto. I didn't care what Professor Gadd thought. Mario was in peril, and I needed to get to him—now.

A few splashes of cold water on my face chased the lingering drowsiness away. I pulled my clothes back on, grabbed the Poltergust and did a quick inspection of it before sliding it onto my back. Striding into the lounge area, I met Gadd's eyes, daring him to stop me.

He didn't.

"You're going back out there?" he asked.

"I have no choice," I gently but forcefully replied.

Gadd heaved a sigh. "God be with you," he said.

I flashed him an encouraging smile, and then I was out the door. Back inside the mansion where more horrors were destined to await.

Thad and Brad perked up when I arrived at the foyer.

"You look a little better," said Brad.

"I feel a little better," I told him, withdrawing the key I'd earned after defeating Chauncey.

The door behind the two Toad retainers glowed a soft pink, a perfect match with the key's color.

"At least we know which door that key unlocks," mused Thad.

I inserted the key into the lock and turned it. "I'll continue to keep you posted," I promised the two retainers before opening the door and stepping through.

The mansion's second area consisted of an expanse of hallways and doors, teeming with ghostly mice and bats and more of those ceiling ghosts. I simply steeled myself and got to exploring, trying each of the doors I knew weren't false and turning the Poltergust on any ghost who attacked. During one such ghostly skirmish in a bathroom, I encountered some grabbing ghosts, who, true to their name, liked to grab and squeeze me. They dealt a lot of pain, but luckily, I didn't emerge too badly hurt. I was even able to vacuum down a key from a shelf, which allowed me to access a ballroom.

Strangely upbeat music played as Shy Guy Ghosts attacked me with pitchforks. I could only defeat them by vacuuming away their masks, exposing them to my flashlight. But it was only the opening act. After I captured the last Shy Guy Ghost, I faced off against two more portrait ghosts, known as the Floating Whirlindas. The dance music was now replaced with an ominous waltz, parts of the checkerboard floor beginning to spin. The Floating Whirlindas appeared and disappeared frequently, giving me a truly frustrating fight. Eventually, however, I won, the two ghosts dropping another key in their wake.

Sweaty and cut all over, I now explored a dark storage room and fought some more regular ghosts, with some more grabbing ghosts mixed in. Defeating them caused one of the walls to slide backward, revealing a piece of paper which warned, DO NOT PUSH!

Beneath that paper was a flashing red button. Despite the warning, I pushed it. Why I did so—I'll never know.

That button opened a trapdoor, causing dozens upon dozens of Boos to spill out. These small, white, black-hearted ghosts were worse than normal ghosts, which is why I dreaded them more. The sight of them, swarming around me, gave a savage twist to my predicament, along with Mario's.

"Hey—look who it is!" they giggled, leering at me. "It's Luigi! Luigi's finally here!"

"Stay back!" I shouted, Poltergust leveled.