Luigi's Mansion

Chapter 24 - The Dastardly Duo

Concealed in the darkness of the underground tunnel, the worn dungeon door slowly creaked open. The stale silence of the passage was disrupted by the stealthy tread of footsteps, and then the faint breathing of a living intruder.

Luigi gasped at the tiny sound of pebbles crumbling from the wall beside him, eyes flashing with unease. He used his flashlight to swing the door shut behind him, cringing at the loud squeak of the rusting metal that echoed through the dank tunnel before him.

The final journey through the mansion's familiar halls had proved quite difficult. Each door, each room he passed held some memory for Luigi as he'd gone on his ghost safari: the ballroom brawl, the noises from the dining room... it went on for quite a while, with no door that didn't stir up some sort of reaction. He had gotten to know them all – so was this the end?

Each episode in his adventure had caused different challenges, different emotions. So many rooms, so many portrait ghosts he'd met and caught... it was tough, at first, to remember them all. But his last walk through the empty house had quickly sparked his recognition; thinking back, reflecting on all he had done in that almost eternal night, each event had seemed both recent and a long time ago. How was that possible?

Passing one last time through the same old first floor hallways he had been treading all night, he had paused almost with sadness when he came near the conservatory door; that one wonderful room where he'd played the requiem for Mario. These halls had quite nearly been like his home for the past several hours; it was strange. It was the most conflicting feeling; he hated this place, but at the same time... he found that he was going to miss it. Confused, Luigi had finally turned and forced himself to walk on. He knew where he was going.

Perhaps he had changed somehow over the course of the night; maybe his own view had been swayed. As he had looked for what might be his last upon the ancient halls, stroking the worn wooden moldings, the strange feeling that came over him was almost astounding. Was he relieved? Sad? Afraid?

Either way, the utter quietness that remained in the empty halls was a stark difference to the way it had all once been; Luigi had felt it in the air around him. The mansion was no longer alive; no longer did darkness swallow the area. No longer did the chatter of ghosts and the strange sounds of the mansion itself resound through the walls; it had been emptied of the ghouls that plagued it. All but one...

Now it was, quite simply, a haunted house that had lost its haunt. Luigi had always wanted that – but now that it suddenly seemed to be a reality, he wasn't so sure. So big, quiet and empty... was that really what he wanted?

The feeling of the entire empty house overhead made Luigi feel even more alone with every frightened step he took. This was no time to be thinking about all that anymore. Now, that long and difficult trip was over. One part had finally finished; another had likely begun. He didn't know what still lay ahead exactly; he couldn't even be sure of tomorrow. He tried not to think about it directly. But with every inch closer, he was aware that he may never see any of it again; not the rest of the mansion, not the toadstools, not the professor. There would be no chance to say goodbye.

Wishing that he could shrink down into the floor, Luigi shone his flashlight nervously above and around him, taking in the ghastly sights of the cold tunnel ahead. A shiver ran down his back as he cast a sidelong glance at the long, terrible claw marks that raked across the stones on one wall. It was like a different world; if these signs meant anything, this dungeon had once been most certainly used.

The hallway before him twisted in a bizarre way to the left, and then again to the right, as if the original builders couldn't put two stones straight. Its ominous feel only added to the suspenseful atmosphere.