Luigi's Mansion

Chapter 6 - Dancing with Danger

   "Good job, Luigi!" E. Gadd greeted him when Luigi arrived outside the lab. "You made it back in one piece!"

   Luigi gave him a half grin, unable to completely hide his pride. "Thanks." Despite his reluctance to leave the house, he had to admit it felt great to be out. The cool outside air surrounded him, making it strangely easy to breathe; it was as if the mansion had an entirely different atmosphere.

   "Well, I know you want to get moving, so we'd better get your Poltergust emptied," the professor replied, as if teasing his thoughts. "Come on, I've got to show you something." Luigi followed as the professor led him inside and once again underground. He still hadn't completely shown off the full extent of the lab, as Luigi soon found.

This time they came to a new place; a room right off the side of the underground gallery. The first thing he noticed, before he'd even entered the room, was how loud it now was down there – the place was filled with the noise of banging metal and working machinery. What's he up to? Luigi wondered.

   His question was soon answered as they stepped into the new room. Luigi was immediately dumbfounded by what he saw: probably the biggest, most complex-looking machine he'd ever seen. It was a mess of gears and gadgets – it filled the room, nearly from floor to ceiling, from one side of the room to the other. Not to mention it appeared to be on – giant gears turned behind the big machines in front, which were all moving or giving off steam in some way. There was what looked like a giant oven, a stove, perhaps a washing machine, and something that looked like a modified dumpster, among other things. It was like the niftiest recycled project in the world.

   "Wow," Luigi breathed, following E. Gadd to the opposite end. He had no idea what it did – not that it was very obvious – but it appeared to have a conveyor belt running through it in the front, like a miniature factory of some sort.

   "Take a gander at this," the professor said with an air of pride. "This fine piece of work took nearly twenty years to develop. I call it the Ghost Portrificationizer!"

   "You built this yourself?" Luigi asked, astounded. Talk about someone with free time.

   "Yesiree. This machine lets us turn the ghosts you catch into paintings."

   "Really? So do you build stuff a lot?" Luigi asked, watching what looked like a teapot bob up and down on a dryer hose.

   "Well, it is kind of how I make a living. I'm an inventor, in case you didn't notice. Among other things." He chuckled to himself. "I think I'm probably going to start a company soon, once I can't hunt ghosts anymore."

   "It's very impressive," Luigi said in earnest, looking up at the machine that stood over them. "What did you say it was called again?"

   "The Ghost Portrificationizer," E. Gadd replied with a grin. "This is how I originally got my gallery ghosts. Not only that, but it works in reverse, too!" He nodded wistfully. "Many scientists in my day would've killed for this boy. Not that I've ever considered pricing it."

   "How do we use it?" Luigi wanted to know.

   "Hm? Oh, well it's simple." The professor walked over to the big blue machine - the one Luigi called a dumpster - at the beginning of the conveyer. "Easier just to show how it works. Just plug that Poltergust 3000 into that slot and enjoy the ride, my boy!"

   Luigi took his nozzle and, after a moment of hesitation, inserted it into the rectangular-shaped hole as the professor indicated. As soon as he did, he could feel the pull of the machine and watched as it began to vibrate in his hands.  It was almost a literal feeling of having the Poltergust sucked empty.