Heart To Heart

October 31, 2020...

Mario, Luigi and Polterpup were walking down a path in the woods in the nighttime as Mario had a fireball materialized in his hand, using it like a flashlight to light their way. Polterpup was also prancing beside Luigi with his usual, happy expression. It was the month of October. A month Luigi knew really well. He would never forget the first time it happened... The second time it happened... And now the third.

He's been trying his best to fight his fear. He's been trying his best to get over his phasmophobia. His fear of ghosts. His fear of the dead. He was scared of many things...but the dead really sent a shiver down his spine.

It's been nineteen years since the first encounter, six years since the second encounter, and then another six years later...he encountered him again. Six years... It didn't feel like six years at all. And now that he mentioned it, one year after the encounter didn't feel like a year either. These chain of events just felt so recent. So surreal. They didn't feel long at all.

As the brothers walked through the dark woods, Luigi did feel nervous. Nervous that he was in the dark, but not too nervous since he isn't alone. But the idea... His own idea... That idea is what brought them here today. Luigi was surprised he managed to talk Mario into coming with him. But despite having him with him...he had to do it alone.

"Luigi, are you sure you wanna do this?" Mario asked him worriedly. "The professor's been keeping him there for a year already. You don't have to do it if you're really nervous about it."

"For the third time, Mario. Yes." Luigi said, slightly rolling his eyes. The place they were heading to was the new hotel that was built to replace the old, haunted one. The one E.Gadd took charge off. The brothers and Polterpup haven't been in the woods for fifteen minutes, and Mario asked Luigi that question three times already...but he couldn't blame him.

Luigi was nervous about the choice he made. He was nervous. He was scared...but that didn't mean he was going to run away. During those three encounters, that's what he learned. So why? Why was he nervous about this next encounter?

He had to do it for his own reason. Not to get it off his chest, or to get it over with. He had to do it...to make amends with himself. He's been running from it. Running from what made him scared.

Just because he defeated his fear doesn't mean he's over it. It was a pattern. He would defeat him, and walk it off like it was nothing. That's what he's been doing. He did it for others, but not himself. He didn't want to do it anymore. He didn't want to run anymore. He had to confront his fear one more time. Give him a piece of his mind.

"I'm sorry, Mario. I know you're nervous about me doing it, but I have to do it." Luigi said to his older brother. "I have to do it for myself."

"I know. It's just..." Mario bit his bottom lip as he took his eyes towards the ground. Although Luigi already knew he was nervous, he could feel something else was going on. He had a pretty good feeling what it could be. Polterpup whined with small concern.

"Yeah..." Luigi said. "The first time it happened definitely wasn't pretty. But some good came out of it the second time. Right Polterpup?"

The ghost dog barked and they hovered up to Luigi and licked his face as he chuckled. Mario smiled seeing this. He remembered Luigi telling him how he met Polterpup. It was a cute story. How Polterpup was causing trouble for him, trying to make it hard for him to keep going.

However, Luigi thought his behavior was...adorable. He remembered that if he got knocked out, he'd come by and wake him up. He wasn't exactly on anyone's side. He just wanted to have fun. The brothers each talked about their own experiences during the hotel. Mario's experience about being captured again. Luigi's experience of exploring the haunted building.