Brother's Loyalty: Battle for Evershade Valley

E-1: Front-Door Key

"All righty, then," said Professor Gadd once his mentee had significantly thawed out from his trek through the Secret Mine. "The final Dark Moon piece appears to be located in the Treacherous Mansion!"

"Dio," mused Luigi. "That's a name to run away from really fast."

"It's a suitable name," Gadd told him, "because I'm reading the highest levels of paranormal activity ever recorded—in the history of forever!"

"J—s," said Luigi. "They do not wanna let that Dark Moon piece go!"

Fred, Zed and Ned shook their heads, agreeing with him.

"No paranormal researcher worth their salt would go near the place," said Gadd, "but you, on the other hand—well, you don't really have a choice, do you?"

"I suppose not," said Luigi, "seeing that I'm the only one who can recover the last Dark Moon piece."

"Bingo," said Gadd. "Look on the bright side, though! You—um—you—ah—you have a very bushy mustache!"

"That's it? That's all you've got for me?"

Gadd looked sheepish.

Luigi rolled his eyes. "Gee—thanks for the motivation," he said.

"Hey—you also have the Poltergust 5000!" Fred piped up. "And it's recently been upgraded to the Super Poltergust! Don't count that out!"

"Yeah!" the other three Toad Assistants led the charge.

Luigi lanced the Professor with a glare. "The Toad Assistants give better pep talks than you," he said.

"Well—I'm no good at them," Gadd shot back, flustered.

He pulled out a green key and handed it to Luigi. "This is the front door key for the Treacherous Mansion," he said. "It'll make getting into the place a whole lot easier, so don't go losing it!"

"I won't," said Luigi as he tucked the key into one of his pockets.

"We tried to pinpoint the Dark Moon piece," said Zed, "but there's just too much paranormal interference in there."

"So—I take it I'm on my own this time around?" asked Luigi.

Gadd sighed heavily. "I wish I could lie to you, my boy."

"Oh, joy," said Luigi. "This is gonna be fun."

"Good luck," said Gadd. Under his breath, he added, "You're gonna need it..."

"What was that?" asked Luigi.

"Nothing," replied Gadd, hastily activating the Pixelator.

...

Luigi stuck a perfect landing on his feet, directly in front of an ominous-looking iron gate. He pushed it open and drank in the sight of the Treacherous Mansion—a large manor almost the size of that one, resting in the middle of a large ravine. A narrow walkway connected the mansion to the steep cliffs around it.

The wind picked up, blowing Luigi's hat away. He reached out to snatch it back, nearly losing his balance and toppling into the ravine in the process. After taking a few calming breaths, he began the perilous trip across.

Portions of the walkway collapsed as he went, leaving only pitifully thin beams. Combined with the strong winds, these beams put Luigi's sense of balance to the test. Sometimes, he had to hop from one beam to another. He blocked it out—blocked everything out except the need to cross to safety.