Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, I didn't expect so many people to like this story! :)
This chapter is a bit shorter than the last one, but hopefully the next chapter will be longer.
By the way, there's a small Legend of Zelda reference in this chapter. If you have played those games (specifically Majora's Mask) you might notice it. Enjoy!
Chapter 3: Midnight
The darkness was like a shroud, surrounding me, pressing in from all sides like some monstrous creature. The echoing crash of my flashlight hitting the ground still resounded through my ears like the after-effects of a thunder roll. The sound of the door slamming shut, apparently by its own volition, had left me standing stock-still with horror as though some invisible force was keeping me from moving. However, it wasn't the silence or solitude that was frightening me most of all; it was the lack of light. The room I stood in was completely, utterly dark. It was as though I had gone blind in the space of time it had taken me to cross over the threshold of the door, which had then crashed shut behind me. It seemed somehow colder than it was outside, my breath turning to frozen vapour in the air, curling like smoke towards the ceiling that lay fifty feet above me. There was no light, no sound. Only silence and a lack of light that swallowed me as though my eyes had stopped working and left me in darkness.
But worst of all was the memory of that laugh. The unmistakable laugh of a ghost, more specifically a boo. Just as I had thought, the mansion was haunted and I was now trapped inside it. My only comfort was that the owner of that laugh seemed to have disappeared for now. I didn't consider the alternative – that they were hiding somewhere in this room and waiting for the best moment to ambush me.
After what felt like hours, I realised that I couldn't just stand here and do nothing. The door lay right behind me; it would be an easy matter to turn around and open it again, even without my flashlight. But I didn't want to turn my back on the rest of the room while I tried to locate the doorknob. Although the room was silent, I felt as though someone was watching me from a dark corner. What if they could see me but I couldn't see them? OK, I was probably just thinking that because I was terrified of the dark. But my instincts were telling me otherwise. I could not risk turning away, even if it was just for a few moments while I searched for the doorknob. And anyway, there must be a reason for the door to have slammed shut, seemingly of its own accord.
There was nothing I could do except stand here and wait. Trembling in fear in the dark, waiting for something to happen or someone to appear and help me. Lost in a silent mansion, trapped behind a locked door, enveloped in eternal darkness...
But was it eternal? Turning my head shakily from side to side, I realised that I had not lost the ability to move after all. The floor beneath me felt soft, like carpet, and I could smell dust rising thickly when I brought my foot down on it. In spite of its well-cared for appearance, the carpet had obviously not been cleaned in a long while. Gingerly putting one foot in front of the other, I walked away from the front door, reaching out with one hand in an effort to feel what lay ahead of me. My fingers struck something solid which, upon further investigation, proved to be the curve of a banister. A staircase? It was difficult to figure out where the first step lay, but eventually I managed to locate it. Gripping the banister with one hand and stretching the other out to make sure I didn't walk into anything, I scaled the staircase, which turned out to be smaller than I had expected it to be.
I reached the top. I was on the upstairs landing. This was the moment when things turned dangerous, because I could easily fall down the stairs without realising where they were. The best solution would probably be to crawl along the floor; at least that would eliminate any risks of stepping out into thin air. I hesitated for a few seconds, and that hesitation, that brief moment of uncertainty, caused it to happen. My worst fear came to life in front of my eyes, and I found myself face-to-face with it.
It started out as a glow in the darkness, a small circle of white light that remained distant and hard to see. It seemed to hesitate just as I had done, its white glow soft and wavering. Then it moved swiftly towards me, solidifying into the shape of a ball, with a long tail and two small, pointed hands protruding from the liquid-like body. For a split second, I stared into the mischievous yet cunning face of the ghost, my eyes travelling downwards until they came to rest on the enormous tongue, hanging out of the enormous mouth, and the long sharp fangs sticking out of the upper jaw, on either side of the tongue. For no more than a second I stood there, confronted by the very creature I had hoped more than anything to never see – and then I fled. Instinct took over as I threw myself down the staircase which I somehow knew lay behind me, landing on my feet, and promptly finding myself cornered. The front door was locked. I had nowhere else to run.
And I heard its laughter behind me.
Trembling uncontrollably, pathetically, I backed up against the nearest wall. My foot stumbled against something hard on the floor, which I realised was probably my flashlight, fallen where I had dropped it earlier. If only I could grab it quickly I might be able to scare off that ghost –
I almost fell forwards in my haste to locate the flashlight, my only possible weapon against the boo. My gloved hands found nothing as they grabbed wildly at thin air. The impact of my foot must have rolled the flashlight out of my reach, and now I would never be able to find it in time. I glanced blindly towards the ceiling and saw a circular, glowing light drifting lazily in my direction. The ghost knew I couldn't escape. It moved slowly, as though approaching a dangerous wild animal that it could not trust; yet there was nothing wary or cautious about its movements. It merely looked bored, as though it knew I had no way of escaping and it was taking its time to chase after me. Haunt me.
I was still on my hands and knees, shaking in fear and trying to locate my fallen flashlight. It must be lying on the carpet somewhere. I hadn't kicked it with enough force to send it rolling that far away. Yet, despite my best efforts, I could not find it. The glowing light that was actually a boo had come closer, and seemed to be watching me with a kind of amusement on its ever-crafty expression, drifting nearer all the time. At last, it was floating directly in front of me, less than three feet away; if I had stretched out my hand I could have touched it. Not that I wanted too. Really.
The boo grinned, displaying its canine teeth to their fullest extent. I felt like passing out. Or screaming at the very least. But the ghosts didn't need to know how much terror they caused me; just the sight of their glistening teeth and huge red tongues made me want to run away and hide in a corner. I stood my ground, trembling, not wanting to look at the boo, yet my eyes were inexplicably drawn to it. I could not turn away.
It had taken a lot of time and effort to get this far, but... oh, it was definitely worth it, so thought Wario as he flew over the forest.
The mansion had been thrown into even deeper shadow than usual by the arrival of an enormous helicopter. Its approach had been nearly silent, and so the ghosts had not noticed it, even when it was hanging directly over the roof. Painted black like the wings of a beetle, it was sleek and shiny and powerful. One the left side of the machine (from the pilot's point of view) there was a large purple circle, on which was emblazoned the letter 'W'. Coloured bright yellow against the dark aluminium of the helicopter, it stood out like ink spilled on fresh snow. The machine would have been well-suited to travelling at night without being seen, if not for the addition of the large yellow letter on its side, but its silenced propellers still enabled it to fly very close to the mansion without having to worry about being detected.
Silenced propellers weren't the helicopter's only special feature, either. It was equipped with two cannons at the front, positioned underneath its elongated nose, and a plentiful supply of Bullet Bills to use as ammunition. There was a third cannon hidden somewhere in the end of the helicopter's tail, close to the tail propeller, which could be used as a flamethrower as well as a Bullet Bill shooter. Lastly, the machine contained a self-destruct feature that would activate if anyone other than its owner attempted to fly it. This feature had never been tested, otherwise the helicopter would not exist anymore, but there was no reason why it shouldn't work if the occasion called for it.
Fast, manoeuvrable and deadly, the helicopter was Wario's latest pride and joy. He had built it himself, spending years on it, adding new features and improvements until the machine was almost perfect. Strong metal plating covered its body to deflect most projectiles, including Bullet Bills. The helicopter's only weak point was its tail, at the point where it joined onto the body; a well-placed missile could easily break the tail off and leave the helicopter unable to fly in a straight line due to the loss of its second propeller. However, these were considered minor flaws compared to the sheer power and beauty of the vehicle that Wario had spent the last half-decade of his life carefully planning and building. And now, after all that time, the day had come for him to put all his plans into action.
Some people would have considered Wario's love of money ridiculous. It was true that he would gladly go to any lengths to obtain a few more gold coins or another gemstone, but he was always careful about it. He never put himself in danger, never failed in his intentions. He was more intelligent than most people suspected, and he used his cunning to his advantage.
Grinning, he manoeuvred the helicopter downwards until it was hovering right above the roof of the mansion. The wind caused by its silent propellers blew against the trees and grass below. Rolling down the window, Wario leaned out and observed the unsuspecting mansion whose many treasures would soon be his. By the looks of things, those stupid ghosts hadn't even bothered to put up any defences against him. There was nothing that could stop Wario from getting what he wanted now. With the power of his beautiful little chopper, the ghosts' mansion – and the gold and jewels that lay tucked safely inside – would soon belong to him, every little bit of it.
But not just yet. Now he must wait. For Wario preferred to carry out his foul business in a dramatic and memorable fashion. He would wait in the forest, sheltered by his beloved helicopter, until the night of Halloween came around. And then, only then, would he bring forth his plans and steal the treasure he had longed for, endlessly; the reason he had originally constructed his helicopter and given it all the special features that made it perfect for the evil intentions that would soon become known.
Laughing insanely, he rolled up the window of his helicopter, swung the machine around and made his way back towards the forest. The darkness of those trees would stop anyone realising he was there until he was ready to carry out his plan.
I hated the silence, the suffocating darkness, the terrifying solitude. Those were the things that frightened me most, and the reasons I had never wanted to enter the mansion in the first place. Had it not been for my brother going missing, I wouldn't have set one foot over the threshold of this place. Even if Bowser and his entire army were chasing me, I wouldn't have chosen the mansion as a place to shelter – I would have rather dug a hole with my bare hands and hidden at the bottom of it until they had gone. Now I was faced with a dilemma. The grinning ghost in front of me wasn't going to disappear anytime soon, so it was up to me to find some escape route. Confronted by the boo's face – its hanging red tongue, cunning black eyes, long silver canines – I was basically left with three choices. 1, scream, run away, hide in a corner and hope it loses me. 2, scream, pass out and hope it decides to ignore me. 3, wait and see if it actually does anything.
I pondered my three available choices, even though it was hard to think straight when there was a boo grinning at me. None of them seemed like suitable ways of evading ghosts, especially boos. On the other hand, I was already feeling slightly light-headed from constant fear after I had set foot inside the mansion, and I was probably going to end up choosing Option 2 without my volition.
The ghost was still there. Staring. Its long, pointed fangs were gleaming slightly, though there was no light in the room to reflect off of them. It was like being trapped in my own worst nightmare; I was stuck in a pitch-black mansion, without my flashlight, face-to-face with my least favourite type of ghost. The dusty carpet muffled my footsteps as I slowly edged away, trying to keep the movement as hidden as I could. However, the boo saw my action and simply floated after me with an even wider grin. Just as I was beginning to think that there were no options for escape left to me, the boo opened its mouth a little more, folded its tongue away and spoke.
'Green hat... white gloves... could you, by any chance, be the great Luigi?' The ghost's voice didn't echo, as I thought it might. Instead, the tone of the boo's words were similar to the sound of its laugh – soft-pitched and whispering. 'Well, well, well. I've been looking for you for a looooooong time. Actually, the King's been looking for you. Told me to stay here and wait for you, he did.' The boo observed me with a quizzical expression, its head tilted to one side as it drifted in mid-air. 'Well, can you speak? Helllooooo? Umm, Luigi?'
I snapped out of my terror-induced trance and shook my head vigorously. 'N-no... I'm not L-luigi.' Maybe, if I lied, the ghost would just give up and go away. It was a vain hope; the boo simply chuckled at my answer and shook its own head.
'Nah, I recognise you,' it said. 'The King described exactly how you looked, and trust me, I'd know that moustache anywhere. Sooooo... let's get down with the introductions before you pass out on the floor, shall we?' He held out one short arm in a casual handshake gesture. 'You're Luigi, right? Honestly?'
'Y-yes,' I stuttered, staring at the ghost's outstretched hand and wondering what to do. Was he actually trying to be friendly? Or was it just a trick, or worse... a trap? Nevertheless, something about him made me want to trust him, even if it all turned out to be a prank in the end. I put aside my fear for the moment and shook the ghost's hand firmly, trying to ignore the strange coldness of its touch. 'I'm Luigi.'
'Nice to meet you,' said the ghost, releasing my hand with a roguish grin. 'My name is BooGie.'
