Luigi's Mansion 2: Dark Moon
Chapter Three: Car Chase
For a moment Luigi was frozen as the headlights on the very old car got closer to the point where they were the only thing he could see, but somehow he was able to dive out of the way at the last minute, with the car's brakes squealing in reaction. The bright light was gone for a second while the vehicle collided with a work bench and some of the storage shelves, but once the sound of breaking furniture and falling tools stopped, the light came back as the old car came for him again in reverse. It's metal frame bounced a little while rolling over the broken shelves, hitting the other wall of the garage when the green plumber had a much easier time of getting out of the way, and then one of the tires popped when it came for him again, must've rolled over something sharp.
"Luigi, look out!" The Professor's voice came through his earpiece. "That green ghost seems to have possessed my car, and now it will use it to try and kill you!"
"I've noticed!" He yelled back, faking left and then dashing right to avoid the next attack. "I'm gonna have to find another way to reach the vacuum!"
Smoke was starting to come out of the vehicle now, and maybe it was his imagination, but the headlights looked like the tops were slanted just a little into an expression of anger while the dented grill in front almost looked like snarling teeth. The old car was getting a lot more aggressive now as well, and even though Luigi had to crawl on top of one of the remaining work benches to avoid getting hit, the vehicle now seemed more concerned with getting to him than trying to hit the green plumber with any kind of accuracy. It was bumping into things now, struggling to get itself oriented properly like a nervous teenager taking their driving test, and this was the opening that he needed.
Instead of continuing this game of being chased around by a possessed car, Luigi got down from the work bench and ran for the door he had used to come in, easily reaching it before the old car even got aimed right, but there was a problem. The knob turned easily enough, but the door just wouldn't open no matter how hard he pulled on it, with the strange part being that each time he tried, the door seemed to glow for a second with a strange blue energy. Now the lights were shining at him from behind, stopping his efforts to pull open the door and making the green plumber slowly turn around to see that the car had finally gotten itself aimed right… and now there was more smoke as the tires squealed loudly.
Fluids were spraying and leaking out the bottom as the vehicle started forward, and the headlights kept swaying back and forth as if the ghost possessing it was having difficulty keeping it straight from all the damage, but it was still moving so fast that Luigi felt the rush of air from that metal frame passing by his face when he instinctively jumped sideways out of the way. Well, it was more like backwards, because the green plumber tripped over a bucket or something, falling down on his back just as the garage was filled with a loud, echoing CRASH when the old car rammed into the corner of the wall next to the door. Part of the exterior wall was busted open, allowing some of the rain to come in from outside, and as the old car's battered frame slowly rolled backwards with only one functional headlight, Luigi gasped when he saw that the ghost had been ejected.
The green phantom was lying on the concrete floor in front of the car, having hit the blue energy and then just slid down, and now it appeared to be disoriented while trying to sit up. Gasping once he realized that this was his chance, the green plumber scrambled to his feet, stumbling over fallen buckets and tools as he partly crawled his way over to the damaged vehicle, and the storage hatch was already broken open. The upgraded Poltergust 5000 didn't appear to be damaged when he pulled it free from the dented compartment, but there wasn't exactly any time for a test, since by this time the green ghost had shake off its dizziness enough to glare at him as it started to float upward.
Struggling to mount the flashlight into the vacuum head before the phantom got away, the green ghost suddenly cried out in surprise and pain, forced to cover its eyes after floating right up into the beam of the old car's remaining headlight. Without the flashlight attached, there wasn't going to be a better opportunity than this, so the green plumber aimed the vacuum and pressed the button… and the unit came to life. Crying out again as its glowing green head was sucked into the nozzle, the phantom kicked and fought, dragging Luigi across broken shelves and clamoring tools as it tried to fly away, the green plumber even rolling into the old car's damaged frame while the ghost vanished more and more until it was just gone.
Everything in the garage fell silent now, including the Poltergust when he let go of the button, and now the green plumber was just sitting there on the concrete floor in the middle of the mess, trying to catch his breath. All right, well the vacuum still worked, and now that he had a second to get the flashlight attached, it should be a lot easier to deal with the other ghosts that were hiding inside of Gloomy Manor. At some point while getting to his feet, the old man's voice was heard congratulating him, but that was drowned out by the horrible scene unfolding before his very eyes. The blue light from the door had vanished, replaced by the same color glow of a phantom that was now passing through into the garage.
It was taller and skinnier than the green one, but with the same yellow light coming from its beady eyes and crooked smile, and as frightening as this was, it was again overshadowed by something much larger entering the room behind it. Obviously it was another ghost, but much bigger and rounded than the others, with muscular arms hanging down underneath its blocky head as it floated, and its whole body glowing red. Thinking that things couldn't get any worse, Luigi was shivering as the two ghosts just floated there looking at him, but then more light appeared as a yellow phantom passed through the closed door behind them a second later, its arms behind its back and nose in the air as if it thought itself better than the others, and inside of its enlarged cranium was something that looked like a… a pink brain?
"Oh dear, it seems our green compatriot has been taken." The yellow one said in a disappointed tone. "Perhaps this 'Luigi' character really is the threat we have been led to believe."
"I don't get it, how did the boss know he was gonna show up?" The blue phantom replied, its voice higher and more shrill than the other. "I mean, how did he even get here? I thought this guy lived in the Mushroom Kingdom."
The old car's remaining headlight had flickered out by this time, leaving the glow of the three ghosts as the only remaining illumination, but this also gave the green plumber a great opportunity while they were distracted. The flashlight was attached to his Poltergust, and now Luigi slowly crept forward, trying his best not to step on any of the tools or broken shelves scattered across the floor as he got closer and closer to the talking ghosts. Of course, as luck would have it, there was suddenly a loud crack as his foot pressed down onto one of the broken shelves, causing all three of the ghosts to turn their glowing eyes toward him… but they were also close enough, so Luigi shined the flashlight right at them, and… nothing happened.
"Why you uncivilized… ruffian!" The yellow phantom scolded, making him stumble back when it floated right up into his face. "Gloomy Manor is a place of culture and refinement, there is no place for your barbarism here… Mr. Hammer, would you be so kind as to take this 'brute' outside and beat him senseless?"
"Okay." The red ghost replied in a deep, slow voice. "Come here, little man… time for your whoopin's."
The other two phantoms turned away and passed back through the door, leaving the green plumber alone with Mr. Hammer, or whatever its name was, backing away while the large red ghost slowly floated toward him with those big arms outstretched. Again and again Luigi tried to shine the flashlight right into the phantom's glowing yellow eyes, but it just wasn't working even at close range, leaving him no choice but to run away. Not through the door, though, the other ghosts might be waiting there to ambush him, so Luigi ran for the broken part of the wall that had been damaged by the old car, scrambling out the hole and then falling down into the wet grass. He had to keep moving, though, since Mr. Hammer passed through the wall a few seconds later, making a slow grab at him so that those big red fingers brushed against the Poltergust unit on his back.
"Professor, the flashlight isn't working!" The green plumber exclaimed, running around the corner of the house. "I caught that first ghost, but now the light isn't blinding them anymore!"
"Luigi, listen, these ghosts aren't like the ones in your mansion." The old man's voice replied. "You're going to have to lose that ghost because a normal flashlight isn't going to be enough, and… and this sounds like something I should've told you before you headed out, huh?"
Yes, that was absolutely something that should've been mentioned before, but right now all the green plumber could do was find a way to escape from Mr. Hammer, which was possible since the red ghost was moving so slowly. The only problem was that Luigi needed to break sight with his pursuer, but since he couldn't just pass through solid objects it always seemed to give the red phantom enough time to see where he had gone. Rounding the next corner of the house, and starting to get out of breath from all the running, the green plumber spotted an old, empty wooden doghouse, and came up with a desperate, stupid plan, but it was all he had. Turning sharply and sliding into the doghouse like a baseball player stealing second, Luigi picked up a rock and tossed it so that the rock hit part of the house in the direction he was originally running… and now as the red phantom floated closer, he could only wait and see if the trick worked.
"Come on, little man, quit runnin'." Mr. Hammer said, floating away from the doghouse. "You're gonna get tired eventually, so just come get your whoopin's now and get it over with."
Yes, it had been a stupid trick, but thankfully the red ghost didn't seem to be the smartest guy around, either, leaving the green plumber safely hidden inside the old doghouse while his pursuer kept on going around the house. At least now Luigi had time to catch his breath, and there were also a few things that he needed to discuss with Professor Gadd before there was any more talk of ghost hunting.