Luigi's Mansion

Chapter 8 - The Man in Red

   A left... and then a left at the fork, Luigi thought as he tried to remember his way through the dark halls. Moving quickly both from concern for Freddy and fear that yet something else might pop out of the walls, he rounded the corner near the place where he thought the bathroom had been.

His nervous humming was cut off by a startling sight: there in the corner at the end of the hall was another door - not the one he was looking for - begging for attention as it was covered in the same familiar, poisonous vines from before. They glowed in the darkness, illuminating the corner of the hallway in an eerie purple light.

Whoa... This was definitely not here before, he thought in amazement. Actually... wasn't this a dead end?

   Uncertain, he tilted his head. "Where do these things even come from?" he murmured.

Whatever the case, it was there now; and thinking about it, Luigi stopped. He regarded the door in silence for a moment, then slowly started forward, reaching out a hand. I have gloves, he reasoned. If these things can be removed, maybe I should do it.

The pulsing in the thorns seemed to quicken as his hand drew nearer, but Luigi didn't stop. It didn't appear to do anything at all until the instant his fingers touched the vine; and a stinging shock ran through his hand up his arm.

With a gasp, he jumped back and clutched his wrist, feeling almost as if he'd been burned. What is that thing?? Examining the glove under his flashlight, there was nothing unusual that he could see – like nothing had happened.

"Ow," he muttered, shaking it off. Hopefully those things aren't poisonous. Still perplexed, Luigi cast a dubious gaze over it and noticed something else: this door, like the other one in the foyer, had an elaborate decoration carved into it. This one depicted a clover, loud and plain, visible even beneath the thorns that swathed it. Surely it had to mean something.

Looking at the doorknob, which was thickly wound with vines, he shook his head. Yikes. I don't think this door is going to open...

He turned back to the door which he was pretty sure was the bathroom. At least not yet, anyway. He still wasn't sure what the deal was with the heart doors, but he could stay optimistic that eventually the blocked doors would open.

Without much hesitation, Luigi rapped on the bathroom door. "Freddy? Are you still in there?"

"Luigi?" the familiar voice replied. "Oh, I was beginning to think something had happened to you! What took you so long? It has to have been more than an hour since you left!"

Luigi let out a small sigh of relief and let his hand slip from the door. "Oh, it's a long story," he said in exhaustion, not wanting to talk about it. "Things did happen, and I was delayed, but... I'm here now. I'm sorry, Freddy," he went on. "Are you ready to let me in now?"

In response, he heard a shift on the other side and the doorknob clicked. Then the door slowly opened.

Finally, they saw each other face to face: there stood the little toadstool, colored a dark blue hue with an expression to match. Luigi let his shoulders relax a bit.

   "I'm sorry," he said again, this time more gently.

Freddy shook his head. "No, I should be the one apologizing," he said, looking pretty miserable. He turned back to the bathroom, which Luigi noticed was already lit up. He followed the toadstool inside.

It was a vibrant little room, with stripes and checkered tiles adorning the walls. Luigi saw with some awe that it was all old-fashioned: the sink stood on four legs beneath a mirror, and the toilet was plated in bronze adornments, with a tank which was suspended on a pipe that nearly reached the ceiling. A pull-switch hung down on the side for obvious reasons. He was about to comment on its unique design when Freddy spoke.