DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Luigi's Mansion. The only things I own are the original characters you'll be hearing about.

Enjoy!

~Tina's POV~

Having a Halloween birthday wasn't always what it was cracked up to be.

Getting candy from strangers while wearing a silly costume was something I used to appreciate, but on my 15th birthday, I realized I was ready for a change. This little town we lived in only had a few hundred people and not that many of them were children my age. I felt like the only teenager there while the rest of the kids were just so immature. I had no friends because of this. That was probably why I just always trick-or-treated on my birthday. I didn't have anyone to invite to a Halloween/birthday party, and even if I did invite people, they wouldn't come.

I looked out to the forest from my house, wearing my normal violet and amethyst dress with black tights and platform ankle boots. I played with the hem of my long-sleeved sweater, leaning against the railing as I watched the deer race off and the squirrels run around, looking for the food they buried. It was another October 31, another Halloween birthday of mine, making me 16 now, and my "parents" were passing out candy instead of celebrating the day I arrived with me. It was fine, don't get me wrong, they loved Halloween and to have a daughter "born" on Halloween was perfect for them.

But they never celebrated.

Now, use "born" and "parents" loosely, for I was found by the Grimms on the side of the forest near some trees and flowers. I was crying and Mrs. Grimm was there to help me. At least, that's what they told me. And they found me on Halloween, hence why I have a Halloween birthday with them.

I took a deep breath and looked out into the opening of the forest, grinning as I watched some of the colorful leaves fall to the earth's surface. Red, yellow, and orange hues littered the dulled green grass below and the crisp Autumn air cooled my skin from the heat inside. Fresh air...something I needed terribly. Hearing my orphanage parents laughing down below, probably at a cute costume a little kid was wearing.

I had gotten out of dressing up for Halloween when I turned 14. Especially after...

I took a breath, standing tall as I shook my head to rid myself of that thought. I wasn't going to think about it. I was 16 now and he couldn't hurt me anymore. I was home and safe, and he couldn't get to me anymore. He couldn't take that one thing I was saving for marriage away anymore. He couldn't keep prisoners anymore.

...

Then why could I feel his hands on me still? Burning me like flames on the side of my face. Why did his laughter, so creepy, echo in my head and haunt me at night? Why was his shadow still lingering behind me, waiting to pounce for another attack?

I clutched the crescent moon pendant I wore in my hand and prayed, closing my eyes. I prayed for protection and asked for guidance in this life. I prayed for a family who loved me and for a guy to actually show interest in me. I prayed for hope. Hope that I'll be okay from any other predators out there in this world.

...

This world. What was I kidding? This world would always be dangerous and filled with people ready to take an unexpecting girl to a hidden house for..."pleasure".

I didn't belong in this world. I was an outcast, a waste of space. I wasn't meant for the limelight or for the rose and the pearl.

I was made to be alone...forever.

All of a sudden, a warm glow covered my face, making me wince and open my eyes to see a silver pipe in the middle of my backyard.

"What in the world?" I turned and walked down the stairs to check it out. Its shimmering glow and glistening hue under the moonlight seemed to make it come alive before my eyes. "Where did you come from?" I walked further up to in and touched the rim. Cold to the touch.

"Valentina," It spoke, making me jump in surprise. "Valentina...you're needed home."

And before I could think...it pulled me in.

~Luigi's POV~

I slowly walked through the woods, gulping down nerves and trembling at the sound of my own footsteps crunching the leaves below me. Out of all the places this mansion could have been, this is where it would have to be.

Why me?

I took a few short breaths as I came up to the spot the map was saying the mansion was located. I stopped walking, looking at the map for a moment and tapping the spot that showed me the mansion. I then looked up and shivered. Instead of the beautiful mansion that was promised, it was a creepy mansion, looking like it's been around for decades, if not longer. Dark green and black dusted the bricks it was made from and the windows...the windows! They looked like they were evil and angry in the center above the front door. The other windows seemed fine. It was just the windows above the front door that scared me.

I gulped down the fear and went through the open and broken gate to the front door. I took a few breaths as I opened the front door and walked inside with the flashlight I brought with me. "Hello?" I called out, taking a few steps in as the door closed behind me.

The foyer looked relatively nice. Two winding staircases that go up to the second floor stood before me and a covered mirror was next to the staircase on the right-hand side. There was even a chandelier above me.

But something felt off here.

"Mario?!" I called out again, walking up the right staircase to the first door I saw. I tried to open it, only to be stopped by it being locked.

"He, he!" I froze, hearing laughter behind me. I slowly turned around, looking over the banister to see what that was. But nothing was there. I went down the stairs and stopped dead as an orange blur started floating in front of me. I stared in fear, knees buckling under the pressure of seeing this. Eventually, it saw me and darted away, dropping something in the process.

The heavy breathing got me light-headed. The fear in my chest clung to my heart like a rope tied around it. My chest burned with the anxiety that I just won a HAUNTED mansion.

"I believe in you, my darling boy," I could just hear my mom say that to me right now. So I took a few deep breaths before noticing what this ghost dropped. A key. I grabbed it and darted back up to the door I tried opening before. I placed the key in the lock and opened the door, stopping when I saw...

"Oh, my; God!" A young girl, with mid-back raven black hair, was out cold and not moving. I went to race to her unconscious form when an orange ghost appeared before me, making me scream and fall on my butt. I scooted back farther and farther from the approaching ghost before something started sucking it away from me. I watched as a little old man started fighting to keep this ghost in check, giving me the cue to crawl over to the young girl and flip her into my arms.

She had a cute face, with small freckles, barely noticeable, dotting a portion of her cheeks and across the bridge of her cute button nose. Her lips, pale and pink were parted slightly and her skin was soft to the touch. I caught a whiff of her perfume, which smelled like the beach. That was almost like Daisy's perfume. The scent was rich, though subtle, and it calmed my nerves.

After a while, the old man lost his balance and was sent tumbling back towards the door I just walked through. The ghost laughed before fading away from sight.

"Oof!" The old man began to say, "I sure take a lot of knocks in this line of work. I'm getting too old for this ghost-catching tomfoolery." He then noticed the girl in my arms. "Is she okay?"

"I'm not sure," I said, feeling a pulse in her neck. A sigh of relief came over me when I found it. "She's fine. Just out cold."

"Oh, thank God," He sighed as well before he stood up. "Anyway, nice to meet you. I'm Professor E. Gadd."

"This house," He began, "I swear, it seems to have more ghosts every day!" I gulped down the fear. "What's a young feller like you doing around here, anyhoo?" I went to answer when out of nowhere, three orange ghosts appeared before us. I quickly picked the girl up from the floor, holding her bridal style as I backed up from the approaching threat.

"Uh-oh! This looks ugly," Professor Gadd said. "All right, youngster, look lively! Follow me, posthaste!"

And we ran.