Chapter 8 Sneaking Spectre?

"Happy Halloween!" Ludwig exclaimed to the kids at the front door. He smiled as the little guys bounded over one another to get away from the castle. They had been scared of the big Bowser headstone resting in front of the door; their comments while Ludwig had handed them candy as well as the comments they were making now made that abundantly clear.

"That Bowser head is scary!"

"Yeah! I bet it would swallow you whole!"

"Nah. If it's going to eat any of us, it'll eat Reggie cause he's fat!"

"Hey!"

The sounds of their voices disappeared as they walked away. Ludwig chuckled and backed up as the door was closed. The candy bowl was officially empty, which therefore meant that Bowser's Castle was officially closed.

"Whew!" he exclaimed once the door was completely shut. He turned toward the hammer bro who had closed it and smirked. "Now I can get out of the cold."

"Hey, just be thankful we don't live in World 3," said the hammer bro. "We'd be up to our chins in snow."

Ludwig nodded. "Yes. Yes, of course." He sighed and set the empty candy bowl down on a side table. "Well, I think I'll turn in for the night."

The hammer bro blinked. "You don't want to stay up?"

"Nah. Dealing with children all night can leave one in a sleepy mood. Any parent will tell you that."

The hammer bro chuckled. "Fair enough. Have a good night, Master Ludwig."

"Thank you." With that, Ludwig started making his way toward his room in the east wing. He whistled a tune as he did so, one that bounced in a chaotic and spooky way. While he didn't regret his choice to stay behind while his siblings went trick or treating, he wanted to show his love for the holiday in a different way. Oh yeah, he loved the holiday. He adored it, actually.

"Tingling down the spine is the spirit of the day," Ludwig sang. His rose into the air. "Laughing like a crook is the ghost of Auntie May." His blue cloak hugged his body as he floated through the air, making him look like a spirit of sorts. Why bother dressing up when your usual clothing makes you look freaky? Ludwig chuckled internally at that statement and continued making his way toward his bed.

"The headless horseman will chop your head off, one eyed jack will gut you now. The little ghosts will all cackle, as on your insides they will chow."

Finally, Ludwig got to the door of his and Lemmy's room. He let out a sigh of relief and set himself down on the floor. He took the time to look at the decorations in the hallway one last time. The orange and the purple tinsel worked well together. The blue fire was extra spooky. Ludwig smiled to himself; he really outdid it with the decorations this year.

"Well, time for…" something caught the corner of his eye. "...bed."

Ludwig turned toward the thing that caught his attention. To his surprise, he saw that the lights to the candles in the windowsills had extinguished. The only evidence that was left of the life they lived was a small stream of smoke, wafting uselessly into the air.

Ludwig removed his hand from the doorknob and made his way in that direction. He made sure to rise into the air, just to make sure he didn't make any unnecessary sound and frighten off the potential sneak. He bit the inside of his cheek as he rounded the corner of the hallway. Flames continued to go out just seconds before he could pass them. His skin prickled up as a cold wind beat down on his back and slapped him in the face.

"Hello?" he asked. He reasoned that if he was dealing with anyone friendly, they wouldn't have a problem responding to his greeting. However, instead of doing that, the being just slipped away and bolted up the stairs, as indicated by the soft, light clacking sound of feet slapping against stone in a rhythm.

Ludwig scrunched up his brow and followed the sound up to the east wing's third floor, making sure to keep feet off the ground. As he silently glided, he wondered what he was dealing with. A spectre? A boo? Would he be able to fight against either of those? He wasn't sure. And the fact that he wasn't terrified him.

Once he made his way up to the third floor hallway, chills ran up and down his spine. Since this part of the castle was seldom occupied, no one had bothered to decorate it. The lighting was pretty much nonexistent, the only source of light was the dim glow of the lamps hanging from the second floor hallway ceiling shining from the stairway. Ludwig gulped and activated his pyrokinesis. The blue glow just made his fear of the surrounding area increase; it looked like the insides of a haunted house. It was better than nothing though, so Ludwig let the fire crackle around his closed fist.

Ludwig made his way forward, this time being extra weary of not letting his feet touch the ground. Gliding through the air smoothly and silently, he kept his eyes peeled for anything suspicious.

He found what he was looking for immediately in the form of a rustling curtain.

Ludwig approached the curtain, dusty and tearing apart at the seam due to not being replaced in a decade. He saw movement from behind it, causing his heart to pump. He reached the hand he wasn't using as a makeshift lantern out toward the curtain. Afraid to touch it preemptively, afraid to make the softest noise or even breathe, Ludwig inched his hand forward at a snail's pace. When he touched it, he let out a breath before pulling it back.

"AH HA!" He blinked when he saw…nothing? No one was there? How? He could have sworn…he saw the movement…

Ludwig shook his head. "I must have imagined it." He put the curtain back in its place and flew back to his room, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he did so. If his imagination was running this wild, that meant he was more tired than he initially thought. He needed to get his butt into bed.

Relief flooded his system when he made his way down the stairs. The warm lighting was a welcome sight. The only thing that set Ludwig off a little was the candles that were still out. He was wondering how that was possible when he noticed some open windows. He reasoned that the koopa troopa servants had opened them to let a cool breeze in.

That's all this was. There was nothing to get worked up over. Ludwig was just being a little paranoid, that's all. He put his hand on the doorknob to his door and opened it up. He telekinetically turned on the light as he let out a yawn.

The yawn was paused halfway through. He wasn't alone. Someone was already in here.

"AHHHH!"

The person(?) in question was wearing a black cloak, draped down their back and covering their whole body. When they faced Ludwig, he couldn't see their face due to the unnatural shadows created by their hood. Ludwig directed his gaze away from that unsettling lack of a face and down toward their arms. That's when he gasped.

"Hey! Those are my brother's!"

The figure held an assortment of Lemmy's sock monkeys in their arms. Before Ludwig could effectively react, the figure bounded toward the window. Not even thinking clearly, Ludwig fired a barrage of blue fireballs in that direction. Smoke flew up, causing the oldest Koopaling to cough.

"Okay," he said as he wafted the smoke away with his hand. "That was stupid." He cleared his throat and squinted at the window. He made his way over, looking down at the ground below. He then looked up into the sky. Both actions did not reveal where the figure went; they were gone. Like they were never there to begin with.

"Am I going crazy?" Ludwig asked. He looked back at Lemmy's bed. No, he wasn't crazy; the sock monkeys were gone. Why anyone would want them was beyond Ludwig's comprehension, but their absence from the place where they usually frequented proved that he hadn't seen things.

Ludwig put his hand to his chest, trying to process all that had happened within the last ten minutes. They'd…they'd been robbed! They had actually been robbed!

Bring bring!

Ludwig pulled his phone out of his hammerspace and answered it immediately. "Lemmy, the craziest thing just happened…"

"There's no time for that Ludwig; Roy and Celia have been hurt!"

Ludwig grew pale. "Wh…what? How?"

"I…I don't know! They're in the hospital right now."

"And everyone else?"

"Everyone else is safe. But Ludwig…I'm scared."

Ludwig nodded. "I…I don't blame you." He looked back at Lemmy's empty bed, his stomach doing flip flops and his throat tightening up. "You need to get back to the castle."

"What? But…we can't leave…"

"Just get here Lemmy; and get here as fast as possible." He swallowed a lump. "Something spooky happened."

There was silence. "What do you mean?"

"I'll explain when you get here. Just get here, and make sure you stick close to the others."

There was silence again as Lemmy hesitated. "O…okay."

With that, Ludwig hung up. He couldn't move his eyes away from Lemmy's bed. The scent of smoke lingered in his nose, and the sight of the figure stayed imprinted on his mind.

Something's going on, Ludwig thought. I don't know what it is, but we need to get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible.