Hermitcraft Shots

Mumbo's Mansion

Mumbo glanced from his map to the mansion several times, his stomach sinking. This was indeed the mansion he was looking for, but it certainly didn't look like the picture on the map. To be honest, he never really believed the cheerful map in the first place. A pristine white mansion in the center of Vex Woods? As if.

Rumors had been going around town that there was a mansion in the center of Vex Woods, all alone for centuries. Supposedly the building had been abandoned because it was haunted. People reported walls moving, torches floating down the hall by themselves, and music playing from nowhere.

"But can't redstone do all that?" Mumbo had countered. They didn't seem like very strange sightings at all.

"No, there's no redstone! Everything moves on it's own, like it's haunted by ghosts!" The man in the post office claimed. Mumbo simply shook his head at the time; ghosts weren't real, but surely whoever made that house was a redstone master.

Mumbo, excited by the idea of a mystery- and redstone obviously- called Grian immediately. Grian had heard the same rumors, and was curious to see such old architecture in person. The pair happily agreed to meet at the front doors of the mansion at 6 pm sharp, and went their ways.

Now, leafless trees arched over Mumbo's head, trapping him in the dark forest. The sun was setting already, but the thick clouds covered any sunlight that may have remained, leaving Mumbo to guide himself by torchlight. As Mumbo approached the gates of the mansion, it was becoming increasingly clear that Grian was nowhere in sight. A bolt of lightning struck, inseparable from the pealing thunder that accompanied it. A storm, because a haunted mansion wasn't scary enough already.

Mansion, Mumbo corrected, just a mansion. The porch groaned loudly as Mumbo approached the door, almost discouraging Mumbo from entering. He shook his head quickly; these thoughts wouldn't do at all. There was nothing to be afraid of but an old, unstable house. Unstable indeed, as a floorboard broke under Mumbo's weight, throwing him onto his hands and knees.

Mumbo quickly clambered to his feet, reaching for the doorknob, but the front doors swung open before he could grab it, sending him stumbling into the front room. Heart racing now, Mumbo took a deep breath as he glanced around the front room. It was grand, the two-story ceiling adorned with an enormous chandelier. Twin staircases wound up both sides of the entryway, framing another set of double doors just ahead of him. It was certainly a grand foyer, although that made it that much creepier in the dark.

As Mumbo observed the eerie room, he considered waiting outside for Grian to arrive. One glance at the rickety porch gave him his answer, and he gently closed the door behind him. Grian will be here any minute, I'll just wait in here.

Several minutes passed before Mumbo finally got bored. He ran his fingers along the bannister as he climbed the stairs, noting with disgust that every step sent dust flying, swirling in the beam of his flashlight. At the top, another set of double doors greeted him, along with a nondescript door off to the left. Mumbo idly tested the handle, and blinked in surprise when it opened easily.

Poking his head in, he noted that this must have been a parlor of some kind, with a couch, a table and chairs, and countless paintings lining the walls. His flashlight caught a glint under the table, and as Mumbo stepped closer, he gasped quietly, realizing they were gold coins littering the floor. Without hesitation, Mumbo scooped them up, adding up a total of ten coins, which were neatly tucked in his back pocket. Grian would totally get a kick out of those.

With a loud slam, the room was plunged into darkness. Mumbo whirled around, a squeak escaping him. The door he had entered through was closed, and he certainly knew that he hadn't closed it. He quickly reached for the doorknob, but it didn't budge; he was locked in. Maybe the wind had blown it shut and it had locked automatically. Probably the redstone. It would certainly be an odd redstone feature to have, but that seemed to be the likely explanation.

The room looked entirely different in the dark, and Mumbo pressed his back against the door. Sweeping the pitch black room with his flashlight, Mumbo spotted a smaller door in the far corner of the room. He wondered if that door would be unlocked, and where it might lead but his legs wouldn't move away from the main doors. He felt a lot safer with his back against the wall.

A breeze whistled through the crack in the door Mumbo, sending a shiver through him. All this ghost talk was getting under his skin. It's all redstone, and it's just the wind. A loud growling came from the china cabinet, which started rattling. The storm outside, that's all. That's all it is. Mumbo's breathing was uneven as he tried to convince himself to calm down. After a few deep breaths, he decided to check the far door; anything to stop his overactive imagination.

This time, the sound was clearly a giggle, and it came from directly over Mumbo's shoulder. He whirled around, finding himself face to face with an orange creature. It was no bigger than Mumbo's head, with spindly arms dangling from it's sides. It's eyes glowed yellow, and most notably, it's lower half faded into nothing, leaving it floating at eye level. With another giggle, it bobbed closer to Mumbo.

Mumbo yelped, stumbling backwards. He tripped over his own foot, falling painfully on his rear, his flashlight rolling out of arms reach. This wasn't good. The creature- obviously a ghost, although Mumbo couldn't admit it was real- floated closer with a grin, sharp teeth glinting in his glowing mouth. Mumbo pushed himself across the floor backwards, startling himself as he bumped into a corner. There was no escape now. Mumbo trembled uncontrollably, unable to even cry for help. It was the end, and he was going to die to a real life ghost.

A flash of light blinded Mumbo, and in an instant the room was thrown into chaos. A loud whirring filled the room, along with unearthly screeches pounding at Mumbo's eardrums. The afterimage from the light cleared. He discovered there was another human in the room- or at least, they seemed human- with a vacuum strapped to their back. Said vacuum was pointed directly at the ghost, which cried and screamed as it was sucked into the vacuum's mouth suddenly. The room fell silent, aside from the loud heartbeat pounding in Mumbo's ears. He watched nervously as the person dusted off their hands with their back still to him, as if the whole scenario wasn't bizarre.

"Oof. I sure take a lot of knocks in this line of work." The voice seemed human- female, at that. The statement gave Mumbo more questions than answers unfortunately. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out, just heavy breathing as he tried to understand what just happened. The figure spun around, giving Mumbo a full view of them for the first time.

She had long red hair, and although it was unkempt and ratty, it was endearing. She was surprisingly tall, and sturdily built- definitely more so than Mumbo was. She also wore odd goggles, which seemed completely opaque with swirls in them. Mumbo wondered if she could even see out of them in such a dim room. As odd as they were however, the goggles certainly weren't the oddest thing about this woman. No, her mottled green skin was definitely the strangest. "I'm getting too old for this ghost-catching rubbish."

Mumbo's jaw hung open, his mind still struggling to process what all just happened. A zombie woman with a vacuum just saved me from a ghost.

"Shut your trap or you'll catch flies," she teased. "Or maybe a ghost bat. They're everywhere you know."

This made Mumbo snap his mouth closed, swallowing thickly. Finally, the adrenaline was wearing off, and he had a lot of questions. "Who are you? What are you doing here? Was that a real ghost? How did-"

"I can only answer so many, slow down!" She laughed. She offered Mumbo a hand up, which he accepted gratefully. His legs still felt like jello, making him stumble, but the woman held him up with a laugh. At least she seemed to be friendly, Mumbo was glad to note. "My name is Zombie Cleo, or just Cleo if you're of a shortening mind. Why am I here? I could ask you the same thing! Well, it's complicated, but-"

Demonic laughter bounced off the walls, startling both of them. Cleo spun around, and three more of the orange ghosts appeared, grins wide as they began to approach. Cleo took a step back, shaking her head slightly. "This looks ugly... Alright kid, look alive, because I can't! Let's get out of here!"

Cleo snagged Mumbo's hand, and the pair burst out of the mansion. They ran as fast as they could, Cleo whooping as she dragged a panicked Mumbo behind her.

I'M OBSESSED WITH MY LUIGI'S MANSION AU HELP

Love you, my little stars!
-RaeTheStar