Luigi's Mansion 2: Dark Moon

Chapter Four: A Study in Ghosting

Not daring to leave the relative safety of the old doghouse until he had a better understanding of what was going on in Evershade Valley, Luigi kept a fearful eye out for that big red ghost through both the door and cracks in the wooden walls while the Professor explained what he knew. Having heard about the tranquil ghosts of Evershade Valley, the old man had journeyed deep into Sarasaland, and for once he had discovered that it was exactly as the stories described. All of this had already ben explained to the green plumber with the exception of one very important detail: Since all these ghosts lived under the constant glow of the Dark Moon, they were accustomed to much brighter light than the ones in Luigi's estate, and therefore could not be stunned or even surprised by things like a flashlight beam.

"It was nice being able to have all the lights on while working in my lab." The old man explained. "But I was left high and dry when the Dark Moon disappeared, and although they didn't seem bothered by the lights, I believe the ghosts simply prefer darkness."

Continuing on with the lesson, Luigi already knew that different ghosts could sometimes do a couple different things, but these spirits were apparently a lot more different from each other than the members of that family he had faced before. All of them could be invisible at times, no surprise there, but from what the Professor had learned during his time in studying these ghosts up close was that the green one had the ability to possess and take control of objects, such as the old car that tried to run him down. During the possession the green phantom would be in complete control and unaffected by even the brightest lights, but somehow the ghost would also share any damage that the object took to the point of appearing to get dizzy and losing its grip, like when the car crashed.

"Leapin' linguini." The green plumber said quietly, shaking a little while thinking about all this. "Okay, the green one's trapped, so what about the others? I saw a thin blue one, that big red one, and, uh… oh yeah, the yellow one with the big head."

The big red ghost, known to the others as Mr. Hammer, was exactly as he appeared to be, a big strong brute of a phantom, with an emphasis on strong. In a physical contest, the red phantom had been able to overpower any other ghost's abilities, but thankfully this one wasn't too smart or ambitious, so Mr. Hammer just tended to go along with whatever the other ghosts around him were doing. The Professor had often asked that ghost to move furniture that was in the way or help place heavy laboratory equipment, while even asking the red phantom to move his car on occasion just to see if he could… he could. For now Luigi's only chance was to either hide or stay ahead of Mr. Hammer since this ghost never moved very fast, and he was probably still looking for him.

As for the long, thin blue ghost, it's primary ability seemed to be getting in the way of whatever was going on, at times even stopping the Professor from getting into the lab. These incidents before the Dark Moon vanished were harmless pranks, with all the ghosts and even the old man having a good laugh about it, but in this new darkness things weren't so funny. Now, to get in the way, the blue ghost could do a couple different things, the most common being to simply create a glowing blue barrier in the doorway, but those could be affected by a normal amount of light. The other thing the blue ghost tended to do was make doorways or other objects disappear while the victim wasn't looking.

"You mean it hides things from you?" The green plumber asked. "Like putting your books in different places."

"No, they are still in the same place, you just can't see them." The Professor replied. "This ghost can literally make things invisible, like making a doorway appear to just be another part of the wall, and if the blue phantom doesn't put it back, it takes either trapping him or using a lot of very powerful light… said light being useless if you don't know where what you're looking for is."

Then finally, there was the yellow ghost with the big head, the one that called Luigi a ruffian before sending an even bigger ruffian after him. The yellow phantom was physically weaker than the others, but incredibly smarter to the point where it often took the lead during activities involving multiple ghosts, and could also move things with its mind like throwing books around the room and such. The more the green plumber knew about the abilities of these ghosts, the more frightened he was, since the Professor had failed to answer one very important question; the car headlights were an accident, so how in the world was he supposed to catch these ghosts if regular light didn't bother them?

"See what a savage brute your boyfriend is, Daisy?" The old man continued. "I'm over here trying to teach him all about the different ghosts in Evershade Valley, and all this maniac cares about is how to crush them. I'm warning you, boy, one of these days all this 'living on the edge' nonsense is gonna to catch up with you."

"Oh, please do be careful, Luigi." The Princess's voice came through. "I know you're tough enough to beat any old ghost, but it would make me feel so much better if you listened to the Professor and were a little more cautious."

"Uh… all right… I'll try." The green plumber replied, taking another look outside through the door and cracks. "So, how am I supposed to catch these ghosts if light doesn't bother them?"

Thankfully, one of the projects the old man had been working on before the Dark Moon vanished was a way to do just that; it was an upgrade to the Poltergust 5000 that when attached could send out a powerful charge of light that was strong enough to stun the valley's ghosts, at least for a little while… if the light was right in their face and they were caught by surprise… sort of like the ghosts at the green plumber's mansion and the normal flashlight. Wondering why an upgrade this important wouldn't have been already installed on the vacuum, Luigi was getting ready to head back to the bunker, when he froze in reaction to the Professor's next words.

"The upgrade is inside Gloomy Manor." He explained, making the green plumber's knees shake a little. "I was just finishing it up when the ghosts went bad and I had to run for it, so the module is still in my lab on the second floor."

Oh, that was just wonderful, Luigi thought as he prepared to leave the old doghouse. Not only did he have to go back into Gloomy Manor, where the remaining ghosts were, but he had to make it all the way up to some room on the second floor without any real way to protect himself, not unless he happened on something else like the old car's headlights. The longer he waited to start moving, the more likely it was for Mr. Hammer to search the doghouse, so the green plumber crawled out through the door, the falling rain soaking him again as he went back the way he came, toward the garage. Hopefully, the ghosts would think he wasn't stupid enough to go back in the same way twice, and so far the coast was clear when Luigi climbed back through the hole in the wall.

Quickly shining the flashlight around, but then turning it off so that the beam wouldn't attract attention, the green plumber crept across the concrete floor toward the way into the entrance hall. First listening by pressing his ear against the wooden door, Luigi slowly turned the knob, the old metal hinges squeaking softly as he pulled it open. The entrance hall was the same as the first time he passed through, with candles giving off a dim, flickering light that made the shadows seem to move back and forth. Letting out a sigh of relief when another quick pass of the flashlight revealed still no ghosts, he walked on his tiptoes, trying to make as little noise as possible while moving toward the wooden double doors that led further into the manor.

The hallway ahead was much darker, only illuminated for a second when lightning flashed through the dirty windows, and allowing Luigi to see that the only decorations were several old suits of armor. Motionless and starting to rust like the two in the entrance hall, his flashlight showed that these suits were armed with swords and axes, looking like they were standing guard over the dusty red carpet that led from the entrance hall to the next door at the far end. Now that he knew about some of the ghosts' abilities, the green plumber was both comforted and disturbed by the fact that the green phantom was already caught, since if it hadn't been, the ghost could've possessed any of those suits of armor to attack him… but none of them moved.

In fact, the only thing that changed as Luigi walked down the hallway was the footprints he left in the dust, and when the next set of double doors were pulled open, suddenly Gloomy Manor seemed a lot bigger. The next room was wider and taller, a big open space with a couple doors on each side, and then toward the back a stairway that hugged the wall as it went up around to a couple doors on the opposite side. There were light fixtures like the rest of the house, but all were dark, just a bunch of candles lit and… and a lot of spider webs, like everywhere across the ceiling and some of the upper walls. All right, the lab was upstairs, so the green plumber headed over to the staircase, keeping one hand on the railing and moving the flashlight beam around as he climbed up toward…

Suddenly there was nothing to step onto, the stairs replaced by a smooth wooden surface that the green plumber slid backwards down after falling on his face, leaving him back at the bottom of the stairs, er, rather ramp while a hollow, echoing cackle filled the room. He was just sitting up when a glowing blue light reached his eyes, bringing with it a familiar thin blue shape that became clearer as it floated down from the second floor. From what Luigi could see, the blue phantom was alone, but even one on one, there was no way for him to defeat the ghost without some kind of effective light source.

"Hey, watch that first step, it's a doozy." The ghost spoke quickly in it's higher pitch voice. "But you know what's even more fun than that? Watch this!"

With a wave of the blue phantom's transparent arms, more of that same light started to form around the room's doors and windows, changing shape and spreading out so that it almost looked like glowing blue prison bars had been put over every possible exit. The green plumber was trapped, and now the blue phantom was closing in.