Daisy gulped as Rosalina's sedan rolled up the drive. The tall blonde exited her vehicle, slammed the door, and marched up to Daisy with clenched fists and an accusatory expression. "I knew it! I knew something was up with you! Why leave me in the dark? I thought we were friends, Daisy! Why didn't you tell me you were…" she waved her hand around vaguely, "doing whatever dangerous thing it is you're doing here?"
Daisy pursed her lips and threw up her hands in frustration. "Well, why should I tell you? You'd only try to stop me. You didn't even believe me when I told you about Luigi!" She crossed her arms across her chest and fixed Rosalina with a glare of her own.
The others in the group looked back and forth between the two young women. Luigi rubbed the back of his head self-consciously. Slim, meanwhile, openly gawked at Rosalina. "Now, that's a woman!" he muttered dreamily.
Rosalina sighed as her expression softened. "Daisy, look. I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt your feelings. It's just… What you told me was so unbelievable."
"Even now?" Daisy countered. "You still can't believe it? Even with all these ghosts standing right in front of you?"
Rosalina blinked and a very concerned frown graced her features. "Daisy, you're really worrying me. I don't see any ghosts!"
Daisy huffed in exasperation. She gestured to the specters around her. "I know they're a little harder to see in broad daylight, but you'll see them if you just look!"
Rosalina looked wide-eyed in the direction Daisy had indicated. "Daisy, there's no one there!" Rosalina cried in a panicked voice.
"Seriously?" Daisy threw up her hands again. "You still don't see them? Are you just so determined to not believe me, that you won't see them?"
E. Gadd interrupted the spat with a knowing chuckle, and the two girls turned to look at him in annoyance. E. Gadd just smiled. "That's not it at all, Miss Hawthorne. This young lady can't see ghosts."
"Of course I can't see ghosts because ghosts don't exist!" Rosalina exclaimed in vexation. "Aliens? Maybe. But not ghosts!"
E. Gadd chortled. "Oh, they certainly do exist, young lady, but not everyone can see them." His face brightened. "Come over here, Luigi! I meant to show you this earlier, but we were interrupted by our friend Mr. Grimmly over there." Luigi jumped a little in surprise and timidly came forward. E. Gadd pointed to the Poltergust 5000. "See this button here, my boy? This activates the Dark-Light device." When E. Gadd pushed the button, the flashlight hummed and emitted a kaleidoscope of multicolored light. He pointed it at Luigi. Luigi's form smoked and bubbled around the edges.
Rosalina's eyes went wide, and she screamed in alarm. She brought a hand up to cover her mouth as she backed away. "W-what? W-what is this? What is that?" Her eyes flicked up and down Luigi's form, widening further when she saw his wounded neck.
"That, my dear," answered E. Gadd, "Is the ghost of Luigi Martelli." Luigi gave a nervous smile and wave. Rosalina trembled as she dropped to her knees. "And over here," continued the professor, "We have the spirits of Timothy Banks, Biff Atlas, and Thaddeus Grimmly." Gadd moved the flashlight over to reveal the forms of the other ghosts one by one. Slim waved and flashed the most winning smile he could muster.
Rosalina began breathing rapidly. Daisy, her earlier resentment forgotten, knelt next to her roommate, and put a steadying hand on Rosalina's shoulder. Odette crouched on Rosalina's other side. "Are you alright?" Daisy asked with concern.
"Oh, yeah. Just fantastic." Rosalina squeaked in a small voice. "Th-this is just a prank, right? Some kind of a trick? A-Are those projections?"
Daisy sighed. "No, Rosie, those are ghosts. I-I guess you couldn't see them before. I'm sorry I yelled at you."
Rosalina swallowed and did her best to steady her breathing. Slim floated up to the three college students. "Hey, Professor? Can you shine that rainbow light on me again?" E. Gadd obliged and Rosalina flinched as the tall pool shark appeared before her. "Hey there, Miss!" Slim said warmly. "Don't be frighted! My name is Timothy Banks, but you can call me Slim! That's what my friends call me."
Rosalina stared up at Slim with frightened eyes. "I-is it trying to speak to me?"
Daisy looked at Rosalina in surprise. "You can't hear him?"
"I-I hear a voice," Rosalina answered, "But it's muffled. I can't tell what he's saying."
E. Gadd sighed. "I was afraid of that. As you can see, The Dark-Light Device breaks illusions and reveals phenomena not visible to everyone. It can even reveal ghosts to a person who can't normally see them. However, The Dark-Light device, while brilliant, is not perfect. Many people who can't see ghosts are also unable to hear their voices clearly, and some can't hear them speak at all. The Dark-Light Device can't help you with that." Slim deflated at this revelation. The Dark-Light suddenly buzzed and fizzled out, and E. Gadd jumped as though shocked. He huffed in annoyance. "On top of that, the darned thing overheats if you keep it on for too long, so be careful."
Odette patted Rosalina's right shoulder. The tall blonde gasped in fright and whipped her head around rapidly to look at the younger girl. Odette smiled kindly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. My name's Odette. I don't think we've ever met properly, but I've seen you around campus."
Rosalina let out a small huff of nervous laughter. "Yeah, 6-foot-tall women aren't exactly common, so I do tend to stand out." Her voice dropped to an anxious whisper. "C-can you see the ghosts, too?" Odette nodded. "H-how many are there?" Rosalina inquired.
"Six," yawned a small, sleepy voice. Daisy and Odette looked up to see a little ghost girl with blonde pigtails leading an older spectral woman by the hand. The woman blinked at them drowsily. "Sorry we're late," the girl continued with another yawn, "What'd we miss?"
Daisy smiled and waved cheerily. "Hi, Madame Clairvoya!" She looked at the little girl. "Um, sorry. I don't believe we've met before."
"Oh," said the girl tiredly as she rubbed her eye with her fist, "I'm Sue Pea." Daisy snorted in laughter and Sue Pea narrowed her eyes in annoyance.
Rosalina's cyan eyes darted from Odette to Daisy to the space where Sue Pea and Madame Clairvoya stood. "M-more?"
"Oh! Yes," said Daisy, "Um, Professor Gadd? If you would?"
"Why certainly!" E. Gadd answered as he approached with the Dark-Light.
"This is Madame Clairvoya," Daisy introduced, "and uh, Sue Pea," she added with a poorly concealed snicker.
"Right," Rosalina said weakly, "Sue Pea. from the story…"
A spectral canine bounded in and out of the ray of Dark-Light and leapt into Odette's lap. Odette giggled and hugged the little Polterpup.
Rosalina glanced bemusedly at Odette. "Was that a ghost dog I just saw?"
"Yes!" Daisy laughed. "How are ya, Polterpup? I didn't know you were coming!"
"What's up with that dog, anyway?" Slim questioned. Rosalina started a little at the sound of his voice. "He's been hanging around Luigi."
"We call him Polterpup." Todd addressed the pool shark. "He lives with Professor Gadd in Evershade Valley."
E. Gadd stroked his chin. "I think he may be the ghost of my father's childhood pet, but I'm not certain."
"He wanted to come with us, and we were happy to let him. It's not like we could've stopped him anyway," Todd chuckled. "He seems to have taken a liking to Luigi, too."
Daisy reached over Rosalina to scratch Polterpup under his chin. "Oh, you've met Luigi already, boy?"
Luigi himself floated over to Daisy. Polterpup looked up and barked playfully at the plumber. The ghost dog hopped out of Odette's lap and scampered over to Luigi. Polterpup jumped up and placed his front paws on Luigi's legs, looking up into Luigi's eyes. Luigi smiled shyly and patted Polterpup on the head, who then got down and began running circles around the plumber. Luigi chuckled. "Okay, doggie, no more coffee for you!"
Luigi looked over at Daisy. "Daisy… I don't know how to thank you." He said with an earnest smile.
Daisy beamed. "No problem, Luigi! I'm just happy I could help." She looked at the ghosts surrounding her. "It looks like you've managed to recruit some more allies. Is everyone here now? What's the plan?"
"Yes, I've been wondering that, too," Grimmly stated. "We're all gathered here together. Now, what exactly do you intend to do?" he asked Luigi severely.
"Well, ah…" Luigi faltered. "I-I guess we should start by investigating the well? That's where Sue Pea saw the altar."
"The bottom of the well, actually," Sue Pea clarified. "There's a passage at the bottom of the well that leads to the altar."
Daisy looked from Sue Pea to Luigi. "Altar? What about an altar?"
"Oh!" said Luigi, "I guess I haven't told you yet. We found out where Mario is being held prisoner! He's trapped in a painting that's hanging above an altar in King Boo's lair." Daisy gazed at Luigi in surprise as she processed this information. "I-I know it sounds far-fetched, but it's what Madame Clairvoya saw in her vision."
Madame Clairvoya gave a wide yawn. "It's an ability I've long had. I can tell an absent person's fortune or fate by examining something that belongs to them. Luigi brought me his brother's hat, and my crystal showed me Mario's location."
"Wow," Daisy commented. "Professor Gadd, have you ever heard of such a thing?"
"Believe it or not, I have," answered the professor. "Ghosts can possess inanimate objects, including paintings. In a similar manner, a spirit can also be trapped in an inanimate object through supernatural means. Some ghosts even have the ability of interdimensional travel and manipulation. Mario Martelli's ghost could very well be trapped in a painting. He could also be trapped in a pocket dimension connected to the painting."
"Well, it sounds like we have promising lead," Daisy asserted. She turned to Sue Pea with a businesslike expression, "Where is this well?"
Sue Pea opened her mouth to speak, but Grimmly beat her to it. "Hold on now," he commanded. Daisy turned to him with a glare, still sore about their first encounter. Grimmly ignored her animosity. "Do we really think it wise for so many people to go traipsing around King Boo's territory?"
Slim shrugged. "Well, we could use all the help we can get."
Grimmly shook his head in annoyance. "But do we really need such a large group to investigate? Don't you think that would be a mite bit suspicious? Besides, what can the livings do? They can't defend themselves."
"Maybe Mr. Grimmly has a point," Biff chimed in, "This may be a mission just the ghosts can handle."
"Even with just us ghosts, I think we'd be wise to limit our numbers," asserted Grimmly.
"Welp, that sounds prudent to me. You boys have fun," E. Gadd waved cheerfully.
Daisy quickly stood up. "Wait! Hold on just a minute! I'm coming, too!"
Luigi gazed at her with apprehension. "D-Daisy, are you sure?"
"I'm coming." Daisy stated firmly. She turned to E. Gadd. Don't you have a second Poltergust? Teach me how to use it. Then I can defend myself and no one needs to worry about me!"
E. Gadd stroked his chin. "Well, I suppose it may be a good idea to bring both Poltergusts, but I could teach one of the other ghosts to use it." Daisy fixed him with a dangerous glare. "Eh, that is, of course I can teach you to use it, young lady! Just let me grab it."
E. Gadd hopped over to the lab. After a moment, he returned bearing the Poltergust 3000. Daisy donned the vacuum and adjusted its straps. E. Gadd took Daisy and Luigi aside for some quick coaching. Polterpup even allowed the ghost-catching pair to try out the machines' basic functions on him. Once they'd finished, E. Gadd reached into his lab coat pocket and produced a device that resembled an obsolete hand-held gaming console. Its plastic outer cover was transparent, with the device's hardware visible underneath. "Take this with you. It serves as a communication device. I've also downloaded a map of the mansion for your reference. It even features a camera and back lighting. It's connected wirelessly to my computer so please contact me if you need anything. I'll be on standby in the safety of my lab."
Luigi took the device and looked it over bemusedly. Daisy peered over his shoulder and smirked. "Seriously, Professor? Did you use an old, converted gaming console to make this? I think my dad used to have one of these."
E. Gadd folded his arms. "Maybe I did, and maybe I didn't. Anyway, I call it the Game Boy Horror. Brilliant, eh?"
Luigi seemed unsure what to do with the unfamiliar technology. "Gaming console?" he asked confusedly.
"Yeah, you know…" Daisy chimed in, "for playing games? Video games?"
Luigi's eyes brightened in recognition. "Oh, yeah! Of course. Wow. A handheld device for playing video games? I've only ever played arcade games. I-I really wanted a Magnavox Odyssey, but they were kinda expensive…"
"Here, let me help you!" Daisy offered cheerfully. She flicked the power switch and the two of them familiarized themselves with the Game Boy Horror's functions. Luigi stared wide-eyed at the screen, marveling at its graphics in awe while Daisy chuckled at his reactions good-naturedly.
They were presently interrupted by someone clearing their throat. "As fun as this looks," Grimmly griped, "We've been waiting around for a while. Do you plan on getting started any time today?"
"Uh, sorry, everyone," Luigi called, "We're ready now. Uh…W-who wants to come?"
Slim jabbed a thumb in Madame Clairvoya's direction. Well, Madame Clairvoya went to sleep." Luigi and Daisy turned to where the old fortune teller was slumped against the wheel of E. Gadd's trailer, snoring loudly. Slim continued, "But Biff and I will come with you." The bodybuilder nodded in agreement.
Sue Pea, looking more awake now, hopped over to Luigi. "Don't forget me! I need to show you where to go!"
Grimmly shook his head and addressed Sue Pea. "There's no need, child, I know about the passage in the well."
"Wait, what?" Slim exclaimed, "Since when?"
Grimmly rolled his eyes. "This is my house! I built it! Don't you think I'd know about its secrets!"
"Well, yeah, but that well is old! Wasn't it here before you built the mansion?"
"Yes," replied Grimmly, "It was dried up, so I used it to make a passage to my secret vault."
Slim's jaw dropped in shock. "You have a secret vault? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because, Timothy," Grimmly answered flatly, "you are the absolute last person I would ever tell about my secret vault."
Slim glared for a moment before looking away with a pout. "Fair enough," he grumbled.
"So, King Boo is using your secret vault as his lair, Mr. Grimmly?" Biff asked.
Grimmly shrugged. "Apparently. I haven't been down there since before I died. But I know that's what's at the end of the well's passage."
Sue Pea piped up again. "I can still come! I wanna help!"
Grimmly frowned at the small girl with his signature scowl, though it wasn't quite as harsh as usual. "Nonsense! You'd just be in the way. We have plenty of people already."
Sue Pea pouted and gave a frustrated growl, but before she could argue, Luigi knelt before her with a gentle smile. "I'm so grateful to you, Sue Pea! You told me about the well and gave me hope of finding my fratello. But I think we should listen to Mr. Grimmly this time. You stay here with Madame Clairvoya. We can handle it. We're just going to look around. Maybe you can come with us next time, when we have a better idea of what we're up against."
Sue Pea sighed and deflated a little. "Fine," she murmured in defeat. "But you'd better not take too long! I'll come find you if you do!"
Daisy walked over to Odette, who was still sitting with a shell-shocked Rosalina. Daisy gave an apologetic look. "Hey, there aren't any more Poltergusts, so maybe you two should stay here for now."
Odette gave an understanding smile. "It's alright. Just be careful! It's probably best if someone stays behind to look after Rosalina anyway."
"W-wha…? What do you mean? I-I'm f-fine!" Rosalina said shakily. Her body trembled as her cyan eyes nervously darted all around her.
Daisy grimaced. "It'll be fine, Rosie. I'll be back soon."
As the group of five, four ghost men and one young woman, made their way to the left side of the house, Luigi heard a cheerful yap. He turned to see Polterpup excitedly bounding towards him. Luigi chuckled. "What's this? You want to come too, cagnolino?" Polterpup jumped up and down, yipping in affirmation. Luigi grinned. "Well, I guess it's alright. But stay close to me, okay?" Luigi suddenly froze. "W-wait, where are we going?"
The group paused, and Slim raised an eyebrow at Luigi. "Uh… to the well? In the backyard?"
"B-but," Luigi stammered, "Do we have to go through the graveyard?"
Slim raised his eyebrows in surprise as Grimmly muttered something about Luigi wasting time. "Is that what you're scared of?" Slim inquired, "It's just the family cemetery. No offense, Luigi, but you're a ghost, kid. I know you're still relatively new to it, but don't you think it's a little silly of you to be afraid of a graveyard?"
"I-it's not just that," Luigi tried to explain. "I remember walking through the graveyard when I was alive. Something…terrible attacked me there. Look, can't we just go around the other side of the mansion?"
"The right side of the mansion is overgrown with trees," Biff elucidated, "We ghosts could get through easily, but it might be tough for Miss Daisy."
Grimmly rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Or we could just leave her with the others, like we should have done in the first place!"
Daisy shot Grimmly a glare before turning to Luigi with a kind smile. "It'll be alright Luigi! It was dark when you last went through the graveyard, right? Besides, even if something does appear, we have two working Poltergusts with us! I'm sure we can stand up against anything that threatens us!"
Luigi let out a shaky breath. "O-okay. You're right. We can do this."
Biff grinned. "That's the spirit, Luigi! Let's get to that well!"
The group reached the left side of the mansion, finding themselves in a small grassy area enclosed by a rusted gate. The damp, uneven ground was littered with bone fragments, some scattered atop the mud and grass, and others partially buried. Luigi couldn't help but shudder a little, although the bones at least didn't appear to be human.
In the corner of the enclosure loomed an old wooden doghouse, complete with spikes on its roof. An ominous growl emanated from the opening of the kennel, and the large head of a spectral bulldog emerged. The dog growled menacingly and dashed out of its doghouse towards Luigi and Daisy, who froze in fright.
Grimmly let out a sharp whistle. "Spooky! Heel!" He sternly commanded. The bulldog stopped in its tracks a mere foot away from Luigi and Daisy, turning its head to look up at Grimmly. The dog's expression instantly changed from a murderous snarl to benign curiosity as he panted at the eldest ghost in a friendly manner. Grimmly gave Spooky a wide smile, an unnerving expression which looked rather out of place on his features. He bent down to give the large bulldog a gentle pat. "There's a good boy!" he cooed. Spooky perked up and greeted Grimmly with a low, friendly "woof!" before turning to the rest of the group with a grumpy snarl.
Slim rolled his eyes. "Hi, Spooky. Yes, I hate you, too."
Polterpup bounded up to Spooky and barked happily, but Spooky growled back threateningly. The smaller dog yelped and retreated behind Luigi's legs.
Grimmly sighed. "It's all right, Spooky, they're with me," he said as though he wasn't particularly happy about that fact. "We just need to get to the well in the backyard. Can you be a good boy and keep holding down the fort here?"
Spooky jumped up with a friendly woof before turning and trotting to the other end of the enclosure, where he happily began digging up a bone. Grimmly smiled at the bulldog fondly for a moment before he once again donned his typical grumpy scowl. He gestured to the small cemetery beyond Spooky's kennel. "Well, come on then," he said gruffly as he let the group forward.
The group quietly made their way through the gloomy, unkept graveyard. About ten solemn headstones stood grimly throughout the small cemetery, partially obscured by moss and overgrown ferns. Daisy shuddered and Luigi gently placed a hand on her shoulder. He quickly removed it a moment later, realizing that touching her would probably just make her chillier. "Are you okay?" he tentatively inquired as he as he awkwardly withdrew his hand.
Daisy smiled reassuringly. "Yup, I'm fine. It just got really chilly all of a sudden." She glanced around the graveyard. "I gotta admit, this place is super creepy. I don't blame you for being nervous about it." Her eyes saddened when she spotted two small headstones right next to each other. "Henry Portrait and Orville Portrait… 1926 to 1931. They were only five."
"Yeah," Luigi muttered sadly, "They're twins, just like me and M-Mario. They're actually in the mansion right now, with their parents."
Daisy's eyes lit up in recognition. "Yeah, I think I remember Rosie telling me their story. Aren't they related to you, Mr. Pool Shark?" She looked over at Slim, but the tall ghost made no indication that he heard her. He was staring, stone-faced, at different grave.
"Er, Slim?" Luigi called out nervously, "A-are you okay?"
"Slim?" Biff floated over to Slim's side and put a supportive hand on his friend's shoulder.
Slim jumped slightly and glanced at the bodybuilder. Then his eyes flicked over to Luigi and Daisy. "S-sorry. Were you talking to me?"
"Yeah," Daisy said bemusedly, "I was just asking about Henry and Orville Portrait. They're your cousins, right?"
"Oh. Yes. Well, first cousins once removed, actually. Their mother is my cousin." His eyes flicked back sorrowfully to the headstone he had been observing before. He hunched over and wrapped his arms around himself, suddenly looking tired and much older.
A gruff "humph!" sounded from the graveyard's exit and Luigi, Daisy, and Biff looked over to see Grimmly waiting impatiently for them. "Are we done sightseeing?" He sighed with exasperation and rolled his eyes, "Come now, Timothy, stop moping!"
Slim stiffened but didn't turn from the headstone he was staring at. Biff patted Slim's shoulder. "Come on, buddy, let's get out of here." Slim hesitated for a moment before nodding curtly. He turned away from the grave and silently made his way over to his uncle with Biff close behind him. Luigi, Daisy and Polterpup followed. Luigi spared a glance at the stone Slim had been staring at, only just managing to make out the weathered inscription beneath the lichen clinging to the stone. Timothy Banks 1875 – 1904.
They entered a yard surrounded by a rusty metal fence and overgrown with weeds and ivy. A few crumbling garden statues perched throughout the untended garden and a half-collapsed tool shed stood haphazardly in the far-right corner. A large, but derelict old fountain was located a few yards away. The once picturesque fountain now stood dry and forgotten. An ancient-looking well stood just beyond the fountain. The simple wooden frame that had once held up the well's crank and pulley lay collapsed around the circular stone structure.
Luigi caught up with Slim and Biff. "Are you alright?" he addressed the pool shark.
Slim looked down at overgrown grass. "I'm fine," he said tersely. He looked away from Luigi, rubbing his upper left arm in a nervous manner. "It just all came rushing back." He grimaced. "My fault. Shouldn't've looked." He shook his head slightly and looked toward the well. "Ah, look! There it is!" He said a little too cheerfully. He hurried to catch up with Grimmly. Biff and Luigi followed, but not before sharing a worried glance.
The group gathered around the well in a circle, each looking down into its inky depths. Polterpup eagerly jumped up onto the wall of the well, peering down with a loud, happy bark that echoed into the darkness. Everyone flinched, and Grimmly turned to Luigi furiously. "If you can't keep that mutt quiet, then get rid of it! Do you want to alert every Boo in the lair?" he whispered through gritted teeth.
Luigi hastily grabbed Polterpup and shrank back from Grimmly's fury. "Shhh. We have to be quiet now, Doggie," he said softly. Polterpup closed his mouth but continued wagging his tail.
"How are we going to get down there?" Daisy inquired a little nervously.
Biff raised his eyebrows and looked at Daisy with an inquiring expression. "What do you mean? Oh…"
"Yeah," Daisy responded flatly, "I meant how am I going to get down there?"
"You could just wait out here," grumbled Grimmly.
Slim turned his head to search around the yard. He pointed towards the shed. "There's a ladder over there."
Daisy looked over and spied the old weatherworn ladder. She grimaced. "Yeah… that looks precarious. Not sure I trust that."
"Luigi could carry you," Biff suggested with a grin.
Luigi blushed a deep blue. "W-What?" I-I-I… I guess I could?" He quickly spun around to address Daisy. "T-That is, if you don't mind!"
Daisy smiled. "'Course I don't mind. Besides, it's not like I have a better idea."
"O-Okay," Luigi stammered. "J-Just try to keep still if you can. I don't want you to fall through my arms." The nervous ghost carefully scooped her up, his face still dark. Daisy couldn't help but shiver a little, but she held as still as she could. Luigi peered over Daisy into the dark well and swallowed nervously. "Well… H-Here goes…" Luigi cautiously floated down to the bottom of the well with Daisy in his arms. Polterpup and the other three ghosts followed closely behind them.
They landed in a damp, musty stone passageway. Luigi squinted into the blackness beyond. Daisy turned on her flashlight and illuminated the corridor. Spiders scurried along the walls, and a mouse dashed into a nearby pipe. Grimmly took the lead, directing the rest of the group to a rusty metal door. Thankfully for Daisy, the lock was rusty enough to break, though Slim had to dash back to the garden shed to retrieve an axe. Once they managed to open the door, the group continued their trek along the dark passageway until they came to a wall with a small opening on the right side.
"Eh? Well, that's new." Grimmly remarked quietly.
"W-What do you mean?" asked Luigi.
"I mean, the entrance used to be here, but now it's walled off."
"We ghosts could just phase through, though," observed Biff. He approached the wall, trying and failing to stick his hand through it. "Huh?" he asked confusedly, "I can't get through. The wall's repelling me somehow. It's just like the professor's lab."
Slim floated forward and pushed his large hands up against the wall, grunting with effort. He dropped his hands to his sides and backed up a little. "You're right, Biff, it's impenetrable." He touched his chin in thought. "Could it be some kind of supernatural barrier? I guess we should have known it wouldn't be this easy to infiltrate King Boo's lair."
"What about that opening?" inquired Daisy. "There's some light shining through."
"Slim squinted at the small hole in the wall. Well, unless it's effected by the barrier, I think we ghosts could wriggle through it. It looks too small for a living human, though."
"Or a solid Poltergust…" Luigi added disappointedly. "Still, if we could sneak inside, we might figure out where Mario is." Luigi approached the hole and managed to stuff his head in. "Hey, it worked!" he cheered with a muffled voice. "I-I think I can get through." With some effort, Luigi managed to squeeze through, but he soon felt the Poltergust 5000 slide off his back. It landed on the floor of the stone tunnel with a loud clank. Luigi flinched. "Whoops," he whispered. He wriggled through the hole and peeked out the other side.
He seemed to be peering out of the head of a statue; perhaps a lion or dragon statue, as it had four fangs, two on the top and two on the bottom of its mouth. Luigi grabbed the two bottom fangs and pulled himself through into the chamber beyond.
He emerged in a dimly torchlit subterranean room with incense burners and thick, ornate stone pillars. He trembled and took a step forward, eyes gazing around the room for any clues. He glanced to his left and froze. A simple wooden altar stood between two large stone incense burners. Right above the altar, in a beautiful golden frame, hung the image of his brother Mario.
A/N: Thanks so much for reading! I appreciate any feedback. :)
