Luigi wasn't sure what he had expected when the professor offered to help him. One thing was for certain, though, it hadn't been this.
At first E.Gadd had put together a field kit. In addition to the device--which looked for all the world like some sort of vacuum cleaner--he had given him a set of emergency tools, five or six mansion keys, the rest of the mushroom drops, a more powerful flashlight, and some sort of tablet called a 'Gameboy Horror'. Each of these items had been stashed in a storage compartment on the vacuum, and Luigi should have been ready to go.
How he had gone from that to being locked in the professor's cellar was something Luigi was still figuring out.
He took a calming breath, adjusting the deadweight on his back. It wasn't the space so much that bugged him. It looked like a half-gutted utility room: hoses and wires tacked across the roof and an assortment of capped off storm drains lining the walls; nothing too out of the ordinary. He would have felt a lot better, though, if the place wasn't made of steel reinforced brick, and the only way out hadn't sealed like a vault behind him.
The things on the floor were also somewhat concerning. For all intents and purposes they were just more storm drains, almost identical to the ones on the walls. These were sealed differently though, capped off by what looked to be some sort of electric hatch.
It was cold down here.
There was a blare of sound from the vacuum, punching a hole through Luigi's anxious thoughts. Sure enough, it was the Gameboy Horror, a yellow light on top of it flashing in time with the obnoxious tune. He grabbed the thing from its niche and pressed the 'on' button; the screen sparked, the image crisped, and there was the professor.
"-ow are you doing there, lad?" he asked, before the screen had fully settled. "Getting comfortable with your new gear?"
No, Luigi wasn't getting comfortable with his new gear. He felt like an idiot and was more than a little glad no one was here to see him. But he had adjusted the straps some, making the canister a bit less awkward on his back, so he nodded.
"Good, good," said the professor, pressing buttons on something out of view.
"So, you use this thing to fight ghosts?" asked Luigi, a tad uncertainly.
"That I do, it's the only way to take on a ghost in my mind. I wouldn't have been able to do the half of my research without it. I call it the"--he snickered a bit before he could continue--"I call it the Poltergust. The Poltergust 3000 to be precise."
Despite everything, Luigi smiled too. That was actually pretty good. The professor nodded approvingly at his reaction and started pushing buttons again
"Hang in there a moment, and I'll tell you how to work her.”
Luigi nodded again then jumped violently as the lights snapped off. He scrambled for his flashlight, eyes darting violently around the blackness.
"Hold on, hold your horses that was me," said the professor quickly. "Don't worry, I won't pull anything on you until you're ready."
Luigi didn't answer. He had found his light by now and flicked it on, but every minute he spent in this darkness was making him more uneasy. If the professor wanted to wait until he was ready he would be waiting a long time.
"Now, you see that hose?" continued the professor.
Luigi fumbled at his side until he found it.
"Yes."
"That's the business end of things. You're going to need to get comfortable grabbing it; you'll be picking it up and putting it down a lot."
Luigi hooked the Gameboy back into its niche and practiced the motion a few times.
"That's the stuff. Now, you're going to use the Poltergust in conjunction with the light: just give the ghosts a flash, then push the button on the hose to slurp ‘em up."
Luigi felt out the button and nodded.
"Ready," he added out loud, remembering the professor probably couldn't see him anymore.
There was a grinding, clanging sound from the center of the room. A ring of light pulsed around one of the flood drains, and Luigi could have sworn he saw something dart out of it. Then it was all gone, and the room was quiet and dark.
"Get ready, here it comes!' said the professor.
Luigi grip the hose tighter, taking a few steps back towards the wall. There was a growl to his left, and he jumped away, pivoting his light as he turned. The growl changed to a squashed gargle; he got a brief glimpse of one of the orange things he had seen in the mansion, then it was gone.
His stomach turned over. He had his suspicions given how the room was built, but now it was confirmed: he was training against real ghosts.
Luigi suppressed the upwelling of fear in his system and tried to focus on his target. Even though he couldn't see the thing he could hear it, yattering angrily to itself somewhere in a corner. Then all was quiet. Luigi grit his teeth and began shuffling backwards again, eyes raking the room. There was another snarl, and he whipped round to face it, swinging the flashlight like a mace. The squawk of discomfort rang out again, and the ghost vanished, this time before he could see it at all.
"Well, you got the right idea," said the professor. "But you've got to stun it long enough to get him with the Poltergust. Try turning off your light, and don't flash 'em until you see the whites of their eyes. That always busts 'em."
Luigi flinched; was he serious? He hesitated a moment longer then reluctantly followed the advice.
Darkness fell over him like a blanket. He swallowed hard and strangled the hilt of the Poltergust, eyes flicking blindly through the room. The orange glow burst into existence again; it was right in front of him this time, smiling hugely as it advanced. Luigi could see in its beady eyes it though it had him. He waited, stubbornly holding his ground. He could hear the buzz of the professor's voice coming from his pack gabbing out more instructions. After a few vicious moments he whipped up his light, mashing its on button with extreme prejudice.
The ghost took it full force this time, right in the beady black eyes (which did not have whites no matter what the professor had said). It was too startled to even yowl this time, jerking back with a blank, glassy expression. It was both visible and solid. Luigi didn't wait for it to recover, pointing the vacuum nozzle and jamming the on switch for all it was worth.
He didn't have any idea what he was doing, but apparently he had done it right; the suction seized to the ghost in a way Luigi wasn't expecting, pulling so hard he was nearly tugged off his feet. He planted his stance and pulled back, which was just as well since the ghost had come out of its stupor by now. It howled and wailed, bucking, thrashing, and generally flying all over the confined space. The Poltergust followed it's every move, drawn along by an invisible connection. Luigi was dragged bodily forward, despite his solid stance. It was all he could doto hold on, stumbling this way and that in an attempt to not be pulled flat onto his face. It felt more like a fishing than vacuuming. He followed the metaphor, pulling back on the nozzle as if he were reeling in. It seemed to work. With one final despairing warble the ghost was sucked down the tube into the belly of the machine.
Luigi just stood there gasping and swallowing, his scalp prickling and all his hair standing on end. He could hear the professor trying to talk to him again. It sounded like a complement.
Rigidly, he walked back to retrieve the flashlight he had dropped.
Luigi nabbed quite a few ghosts before the training ended. The whole process was relatively without incident, accepting the time he had been backed into the hatch by a pack of three ghosts. E. Gadd hit him with five specters at once on the last round. He had ducked and wove, moving in little more than a panicked flurry, but somehow managed to deal with them all in the end. The professor was ecstatic.
"Well done lad!" he blared as the lights turned back on. Luigi winced and brought up an arm to guard his eyes.
"You're a right natural at this!"
That was encouraging at least. Luigi was under the impression he had been utterly inept. There was a hiss as the door behind him unbolted.
He stumbled out of the training room, still strangling the nozzle of the Poltergust and looking a bit wild-eyed. The professor was waiting for him and gave him a hardy slap on the back.
"That was brilliant! The finest bit of ghost hunting I've seen in quite some time!" he gabbed out. Enthusiasm was radiating off him in waves.
So maybe he was being serious.
Luigi blinked a few times, clearing away light induced tears. His legs felt like they were liquefying now that the adrenaline was wearing off. One thing was for sure, though, he had made his peace with the Poltergust. He didn't care what it looked like, he was glad to have it and exceedingly grateful to the professor for lending it too him. It made his nerves creek to think he had been about to go into that mansion without it.
"Are you doing alright, lad?" asked the professor, watching him keenly.
Luigi gave one more hard blink and rubbed his face.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
The professor watched him for a moment, then just shook his head.
"Anyhow, I think you're about ready to look for your brother."
Luigi steeled himself and nodded. He was as ready as he was ever going to be. His first step was shaky, but the rest were solid. He crossed the room in three long strides, the professor clipping along behind him.
"Just remember," said E. Gadd when they reached the ladder, "I'll be right here if you need me, just use the Gameboy Horror."
Luigi froze, one hand on the iron rungs. "You're not coming with?"
"I'm sorry, lad. I would if I could," said the professor, "What you're wearing now is the only Poltergust I have here, and even if I had another I'm afraid I would only slow you down."
Luigi looked down at the little man ruefully. That was probably true.
"You still won't be going in there totally alone. I'll be at the monitors the whole time telling you anything you need to know; you have my word on it. And I'll see you to the mansion at least.”
“Stiff upper lip, lad!" said E. Gadd when Luigi's uneasy expression lingered. "You're a natural, I have full confidence in you."
Luigi forced up a smile.
"I appreciate it."
With that, he swung onto the ladder and climbed.
• • •
The boo was gone.
Apparently it could only take so much of Novi's nonsense; when it was absolutely sure she wasn't going to budge it had simply disappeared. At first it made her uncomfortable; she listened for a long while, sure he had only turned invisible, but as time dragged on her suspicions began to ease.
When the old chittering started bouncing off the walls again her doubts were erased entirely.
With the fresh wave of sound, though, came a fresh wave on concerns. The chatter was farther away than it had been before, but there was more of it, as if a whole pack of the glowing creatures were hanging around in the passages. Then, without warning, everything would go quiet and stay that way for long periods of time.
It was these bouts of silence which made Novi the most uneasy. Her mind kept casting images of a twisted face leering behind her, crawling up from the shadows of the table.
Ultimeltly, that was why she moved.
She didn't go far, just to one of the square tables in the corner, but having a wall at her back made all the difference. Another perk of the spot was a better view of the room: it was the perfect place to learn more about the creatures making all the noise.
They were closer than she had realized, quite a few of them drifting around the edges of the room. They were an extremely bright bunch when they bothered to show themselves, coming in every color you could think of. Their glow tainted everything around them, turning the floor and walls into a proper kaleidoscope. They were also quite lively, yacking between themselves and chasing each other around the chamber.
For the most part the creatures left her alone. A few came over to check out her light, but that was the extent of it. As soon as they realized they couldn't reach her they went about their own business, paying her hardly any attention at all. It was like bird watching in a way, and Novi found it rather enjoyable. Unfortunately, this didn't last long.
After a short time something seemed to agitate them. Their calls changed, hardening out into excited yelps. Instead of lingering they moved in tight, quick packs, only showing themselves for a moment before whisking off to other places. They were also more aggressive. A few of the swarms tried homing in on her hiding place. Novi hunkered down hard whenever this happened, weapon in hand, jabbing out from under the table at anything that got too close. After a bit of dodging around they would generally move off again, in varying states of disgust.
There was a different sort of call bouncing around the walls as well: it was more raspy, and it reminded her distinctly of the voice of the boo. It never seemed to be in the same room as her, but it was in the surrounding halls, and particularly under the floor. It didn't maker her terribly comfortable.
Novi kept a sharp eye, watching for any signs of her old companion's return. She wasn't particularly worried about the boo itself, all things considered he had turned out pretty benign, but she had got the distinct feeling he would harm her if he could. There was also the concern of what he would bring with him when he came back. Novi hadn't missed the emphasis on 'our house' during their earlier conversation.
For the first time in quite a while she considered moving for real, plunging back into the halls. It would make her harder to track down at least. Then again, there did seem to be a lot of ghosts out there at the moment; whatever was causing the commotion was out there too, and by the sound of it, it was close. Wandering around again could very well land her in something sticky. So she waited.
Eventually the area seemed to clear out entirely, silence creeping across the room like twilight. No more calls and chirps, no more ghosts. Even the sound of bat’s wings in the rafters came to a gradual end.
Novi wondered what had happened in the halls. Had the ghosts dealt with the situation, whatever it was? Or maybe it had just moved off, taking the storm of glowies with it.
Softly, the thought that it may have been Comet stowed into her mind.
She cringed, all at once the feeling like a horrible idiot. Now that she thought about it, there was a good chance that's exactly what it had been. What else could it be in this place? They were the only ones here after all. She should have checked on the situation at least. Novi could have helped, but she had waisted her opportunity. Now she was on her own, and Comet was too.
That was exactly the kind of mistake she was not allowed to make.
Novi took a deep breath, reeling in her thoughts. Maybe she had missed Comet, but she was probably fine; the ghosts would be the ones in for trouble if they caught up with her. After all, if Novi could handle them, Comet would flatten them. Despite the efforts to dismiss it the worry stayed, batting around her consciousness like a moth. Novi was very familiar with Comet's tendency to miss details, and that could get her into trouble here, particularly if the boos got involved.
There was a low shuffling across the room.
Novi flattened into her space blanket and listened. After a few moments it came again. It didn't seem like a ghost; here was no chirping or giggling, just a soft, gentle swiff of fabric, faint but distinct.
She crept forward under the legs of the chair, peering out into the dark room, but with the light of the creatures gone her view was confined to her very narrow circle. She hesitated for a moment then doused her light and waited. Whatever it was would come around the table in a moment, until then, she didn't need to be giving away her position.
As the thing continued to approach, Novi's suspicions began pique. The cloth she was hearing was too light for the weather cloak Comet had been wearing, and despite her boots and notoriously heavy stride Novi never heard so much as a step.
Slowly, something became visible around the edge of the table. Novi still couldn't make it out properly, but it was obvious immediately that it wasn't Comet. The ethereal glow kind of gave it away. She retreated back into the depths of her hiding spot, watching the thing intently. It moved slowly, stopping at regular intervals around the table. Every time it stopped, there was another a soft swish.
It seemed like a ghost, though it was dimmer and had a different shape to it than the others. The thing continued on its rounds, steadily working it's way nearer to Novi's position. It was carrying a basket and seemed to be changing out the place mats around the table.
It passed the point closest to her without incident and continued on. Novi felt a small wash of relief, but as soon as the sensation hit her the creator stopped, looking back and forth in a confused way.
Novi lay perfectly still. It couldn't see her from there, it wasn't possible. She had no idea what had set it off, but it couldn't see her.
The creature set its basket on the table with a thump and began an earnest float around the edge of it. Novi got a small, unpleasant thrill as it grabbed the tablecloth and peeked under at her old hiding spot. It froze again then straightened, turning to look over the room again, eyes coming to rest on her little square side table. Novi gripped for the hilt of her weapon.
It's eyes plowed back and forth over her hiding spot a look of confusion pressed over its features. Slowly, it began to drift in her direction then stopped as Novi's heart gave a squeamish thump.
"Professor?" It asked, in a soft, far away kind of voice. It was obviously a she. Novi didn't respond.
It drifted forward again, resting a hand on the edge of the tablecloth, hesitation gone.
"Honestly, what is this nonsense?" she said, pulling it away with a dull swish. Novi whipped up her weapon, activating it's ionization with a fizz.
The creature dodged back at the sudden light. Carefully, and from a decedent distance back, she bent down and examined the underside of the table; then proceeded to have a mini seizure as she met Novi's gaze.
"But what are you..." It said when it had apparently remembered how to speak. "How did you- How did you get here? Darling, it's not safe!''
It really, genuinely sounded distressed.
"I know." Novi answered, not knowing what else to say.
This only made the thing more baffled. She gave a quick scope of the room again, looking very ruffled and uneasy, then turned to Novi again with an expression of pure worry and disbelief.
"I just don't understand- " she started, then broke off, her expression hardening. "But never mind that, not here."
She looking around the room again with a new air of severity.
"Come with me; you should to get out of this chamber at least, and quickly."
The creature shoved the removed tablecloth under one arm, grabbed her basket, and settled into another earnest drift, this time heading for the door of the room.
Novi watched her go. If it had been her custom to gape, she would have done it.
"Well, are you coming?" asked the ghost when Novi didn’t move.
Novi hesitated for another moment then grabbed her things and followed.
• • •
Comet had been having an interesting time since her discovery of the hoax.
As soon as she lost the imposter the building had jumped alive; colorful ghostly blobs appearing in every room and around every corner. The things weren't stupid, they learned pretty quick what happened if they got too close, and for the most part were giving her plenty of personal space, but that didn't mean they were leaving her alone.
They followed wherever she went, squalling like a pack of deranged banshees. It made stealth impossible, so Comet had simply stopped trying. She tore through the place, breaking doors and shouting; if she made enough noise Novi would have to hear eventually.
Even with this new turn of events Comet was still convinced Novi had only gotten lost. It was what had happened after that which had her so worried. She had no idea how Novi would respond to this. Yeah, she could defend herself, but that wouldn't matter if she panicked. And then there was the other worry. The dread that these things hadn't straight out attacked her tugged at Comet's stomach. What if they had come after Novi the same way they had come for her? Fooled her using Comet's own voice and led her away to who knows where.
Heaven knew Comet did that sort of thing often enough in reality.
She slid to a stop at another crossroads, breathing hard. She needed to find a way outside and get to Murzim, but this place was a labyrinth, and she was getting nowhere. This was taking way too long; the sense that time had run out was suffocating. Every minute waisted was another minute for something horrible to happen.
This was it. The ultimate screw up with the ultimate consequence.
Comet had a sudden and fierce desire to smack the vase next to her to the floor. Maybe grind the pieces into the carpet for good measure. The only thing that stopped her was the look Novi would have given if she was there to see. That flat 'are you serious' look, the one that drove home exactly how much older Comet was than her and how she should act like it.
She kept moving.
These halls were infuriating; they weren’t just hard to navigate, the layout didn't make sense. It was impossible, like trying to navigate 'the doors', and do what she might she couldn't find an exit.
Comet rounded on the next door she found and began the tedious process of getting inside. The ghosts around her squealed with excitement as the wood shuddered under her boot. It gave with an explosive crash revealing yet another dim, half furnished room. There was a long, rectangular table and two cabinets, one upright the other fallen a multi colored shower of china glistening in front of it. The far wall was entirely dedicated to large windows.
The windows were the only thing Comet was interested in, and she made right for them. Her shoal of ghosts flooding in behind her, filling the space with sound and light.
Like most of the other windows in this place they were the old fashioned, barred kind: little panes of glass suspended in a lattice. This lattice in this particular was wood rather than the metal, but it was thick, solid wood, the kind that wouldn't be breaking any time soon.
Comet knew from experience windows like this were a security measure, something more than a sheet of glass to keep casual thieves out, particularly on the lower levels. So far they had proven equally effective at keeping her in. This set did seem to open, though, or had been able to open once. They were an ancient take on the slide-up variety but were so warped Comet couldn't imagine they worked anymore. Nevertheless, she flipped the latch lock and pulled.
The first window came open about a half an inch before it jammed, swollen wood sticking in the old grooves. Comet tried the next one and then the next; every single one stuck within the first inch, and two of them refused to budge at all. Fresh, cool air swept in through the cracks bringing with it the smell of ocean and rain. Cold as it was, it was heavenly compared the close, dusty stuff in here.
Comet threw a quick glance back at the ghosts to make sure none of them were getting any ideas. They didn't seem to be, so she returned to the softest-stuck window and began dealing with it the old-fashioned way: wiggling, banging, and generally forcing it along its tracks. It gave in millimeters, groaning with every shift. The sun would rise before she made a big enough gap to squeeze through. She desperately wished she could just use her sword for this job, but it didn't work that way. Ionized blades were meant for slashing, not hacking; they were soft, and the edge of hers was already warped from ignoring that. If it warped too much its inner workings would tweak, the ionization would fail altogether, and she would be left with a simi useless chunk of metal. Considering it was the only thing standing between her and the ghosts it wasn't a risk she could take.
Comet continued to rattle and pound, glancing over her shoulder every few seconds to check on her colorful ‘friends’. They watched her like this was some sort of show, eyes staring divots into the back of her head. It made her skin crawl.
All at once the window gave, jerking upward a whole three and a half inches with a shriek of distressed wood. Comet's heart jumped; the slit wasn't quite big enough to get out of yet, but it was so close. Now all she had to do was get her shoulder under and push a little harder...
"What was that?" a voice barked.
It was a thick, wet voice. Comet went rigid; the ghosts around her did too then scattered like a pack of minnows, flitting through the walls.
That was not a good sign. She grit her teeth and flipped off the flood lamp, sliding back into the shadow of the fallen cupboard. There was a heavy, gurgling gasp from the next room; she stayed low, thrumming the hilt of her weapon, and watched the adjacent door.
But it didn't use the door. Slowly and laboriously, a grotesque thing drifted through the wall. It was huge, fat hanging off its body in translucent rolls, too-small head perched like a toy over a pair of massive, sagging shoulders. The abomination waddled to the middle of the room, tail dragging the ground as if it could hardly stay afloat. It glowered over the place with small, watery eyes until its gaze fell on the open windows, a look of disgust dribbling across its expression.
It lumbered to the windows, and much to Comet's distress, tried to force the thing down. She needn't have worried. Almost immediately the ghost began to puff and wheeze, the window hardly budging a millimeter under its massive, almost fingerless hands. After a moment it gave up and returned to glowering over the room, tiny head jerking erratically on its voluminous neck. It's nasty pink glow licked over everything, glittering off the glass of the cabinets and muddling the colors of the carpet. Frustration was obvious in its expression, but there was something else there too, something almost akin to anxiety.
Comet stayed crouched in her shadow, equal parts horrified and disgusted, eyes locked on the abomination in front of her. She hoped with everything in her that it would just leave, go back to where it had come from. But one thing was for sure, she wasn't getting run off. Not now.
Eventually, the thing did start to leave. It gave one last peer around the room and with a colossal wheeze began to retreat, floating backwards with a jerky uneasiness. Comet's face twisted into a determined snarled and she tensed, ready to bolt for the window the second the it gone. The ghost stopped again, inches from the wall, eyes resting beside the fallen cabinet.
It was staring right at her.
There was shock on both sides as they met each other's gaze. The creature's expression morphed between anxiety to suspicion then to a twisted kind of curiosity. It's body posture shifted, reading loud and clear it wanted to advance, but that trace of anxiety held it back. Slowly, it opened its wide mouth, displaying a massive black gullet, and belched a huge wad of flames.
Comet was too shocked to even yelp. She scrambled back as the mess hit the cupboard, burning globs splattering everywhere. The dank smell of singed wool and pine eeked into the air. She jumped to the side diving behind the table as another flaming ball of glop arched through the room. The wood smoked on contact, white lace tablecloth melting away to bits of ash.
Whatever reservations the thing had they were gone now. It lumbered forward, picking up steam like a rock down a hill, plunging right through the table in its charge. Comet jumped to the side again, and it careened past like a runaway train, momentum sending it straight through the wall. There was an angry, wheezing wail from the hallway and a crash. Comet rolled under the table again as it came launched back into the room, rage globbed across its whole gummy persona. It didn't hesitate for an instant, despite the empty room. It lurched to the table, grabbed the corners with its beefy hands and threw it to the side.
Tableware, candles, and what was left of the table cloth spilled across the floor. Comet flattened against the ground to avoid getting snagged by one of the table legs as it whipped by her head. She rolled to her feet with a shout as the thing charged forward again, throwing chairs to either side as it came. Every nerve in her body told her to move, but she held her ground. Comet dropped the extinguished lantern, drew her weapon, and slashed the thing deep through the bloated stomach.
It let out a horrible, shrieking squeal the like of which Comet never wanted hear again, but it kept coming. She bounced off its flabby bulk as it hurtled past, falling to the floor as it hit the windows with a wall rattling splat.
The ghost wheezed and peeled itself off the wall, hatred burning in its chest quite literally. Comet scrambled away as it rounded, narrowly avoiding another shot of magma, then threw herself to the floor as it charged again. It careened over her head with an infuriated yowl and tried to stop itself, but as before it was useless. A moment later it was back out in the hall, bellowing a string of wet, dirty sounding gibberish.
Comet scrambled to her feet. Time to leave. It was time to leave.
She lunged frantically for the window, rammed her shoulder under the half-open panel, and heaved. The gap widened with two jarring slides, and Comet climbed up onto the sill. For one instant she lined up her route then planted her boot on the roof. The step held, griping through the water onto the solid tile beneath, and she swung the rest of the way out balancing precariously on the slanted surface.
That's about when the massive hand jutted through the window, locking down on her shoulder live a vice.
Comet grabbed at the hand, trying to pry it off, but the gummy, semisolid fingers were having no such thing. A not nice word crashed through her mind as that sickening, draining sensation engulfed her system. She twisted and thrashed, her feet slipping on the slick tiles. The ghost let out a choked exclamation as she slid. Its grip broke and she spilled off the roof, landing with a sticky plop in the mud below.
Notes:
So, I have a little request for you guys.
The main point of this project all the way from the beginning has been practice. Practice with character, dialogue, and maintaining tension. Practice knuckling down on a project and getting it done. So the question is, how have I been doing?
Honestly, brutally, what do you think of this story so far? Good or bad? Where are it weakest and strongest points? It's almost impossible to pick out all the flaws in your own writing; if you have notes, comments, criticisms, anything, please let me know. It would be a great help.
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