Luigi staggered to the side of the crib, gripping the bars in the last moments he had before his knees gave out. He had done it. He had beat him, sucked the ghost into the Poltergust.
Slowly the frenzic, biting panic left him and he slid down on the cushions, utterly drained. He didn’t even have the energy to wonder how he was to get out of here. As it turned out, though, he didn’t have to worry about that.
Gently he felt the bars begin to melt between his fingers. When he opened his eyes he found himself once again on the nursery floor. The lights were on.
Luigi didn’t do much with this information, just slumped all the way down and rolled over, sinking deep into the rug and staring vaguely at the star-painted ceiling. The Gameboy Horror began to blare from inside his pocket. He was too exhausted to be startled; he sat up slowly, fished the device out, and flipped on the screen
“-an you hear me, lad?” the professor asked. His face was drawn and full of concern. “Are you alright?"
“I’m alive,” answered Luigi.
“Good,” said the professor, heaving a massive sigh. “I was right worried there for a moment. One second you were wandering into the nursery, next thing’s next the system’s screamin’ about a monster of a ghost and the whole thing goes to static.”
“Well, there was a ghost in here. I’m not sure what it did…” Luigi started, then trailed off as he realized he didn’t have anything else to say.
The professor gave another long sigh. “Well that’s that I suppose, and you seem to be in one piece. You aren’t hurt are you?
Luigi closed his eyes and gave a weak shake of his head.
“Just tuckered out then, I suppose. Don’t worry, lad, anybody would be wiped out after a fight with Chancy. He may be a little tyke, but I can tell you first hand he can pack a punch.”
Chancy.
Luigi’s eyes flicked open and he stared. The professor knew the ghost, knew it by name. How could he not? He had been here for years studying them, after all. E. Gadd had known all along the kind of monster Luigi was walking in on, and he’d hardly given a word of warning.
As usual on went the professor, oblivious to the look plastered over Luigi’s face.
“I’ll tell you what: how about you come back to the lab for a bit, take five, and I’ll clean out the Poltergust tank?”
Luigi pushed himself up onto his feet again. You know what? Maybe that was a good idea. He had a few questions he wanted to ask the professor.
The boy was turning out to be a bit difficult to keep up with. Mario followed as best he could, limping behind and casting every third glance over his shoulder. The ghost darted forward like a fish, bouncing around the corridor and in and out of the walls like they didn’t exist. He did stop every once and again so Mario could catch up, though, glancing up and down the passages while he waited and making a show of being watchful. That was the only reason Mario hadn’t totally lost him by now.
Another problem Mario was having involved the boy’s odd tendency to double back on himself. He would rush down a hall with full gusto only to come barreling back without warning. He had actually run into Mario on one of these occasions, or more specifically, run right through him.
The situation had scared Mario more than he cared to admit, but after the fact he was glad it happened. If the boy wanted to harm him that would have been the time to do it, but he hadn’t; the sensation was chilly, and maybe a bit tiring, but not blatantly harmful like a touch from the other ghosts. And it wasn’t even comparable to the horrible bite of the butler. The boy himself had been horrified. He had apologized profusely, terrified that Mario would send him away. It had taken quite a bit of effort to get him to calm down again. All in all, it had set Mario more at ease with his new companion than anything else probably could.
But the potential of getting run into--though still something Mario wanted to avoid--wasn’t the reason the ghost’s behavior bothered him. The boy was navigating the halls like a minefield, and it made Mario wonder how many dangers in this place he just couldn’t see. It was possible the boy was overplaying things a bit, but given the circumstances, Mario wasn’t about to take that chance. As crooked as the path was, he followed the ghost’s every move.
There was something else interesting about his new guide as well: the longer he watched the more he realized that there actually were two of them, and he was positive they were twins. When one boy would disappear through a wall and the other would dart out to take his place. At first it was the clothes that had tipped Mario off--their shirts were different cuts and ever so slightly different
colors--but slowly he had began to pick up on other differences as well. It was extremely subtle but they were there, slight variations in the way they moved and spoke.
He couldn’t help but grin at the notion, though the situation struck another cord as well, a significantly less pleasant one. Maybe it was that it hit just a bit too close to home, but it made Mario more desperate than ever to get his situation under control. It couldn’t be much longer until Luigi showed up. If he wasn’t here already.
After a fair period of mucking about, the boy’s pace began to slow. At first Mario wondered why, until he recognized the hall as the one the crooked ghost occupied. He slowed his pace too at that point, heckles up and senses on high alert.
The boys stuck very close to him now, both of them. The offending passage came and went, but they didn’t seem any more at ease. They watched every corridor they passed with intense, anxious expressions. Periodically one the boys would drift ahead to check around corners. It was hard to tell whether these precautions were for Mario’s safety or their own, but any way you sliced, it they really did seem shaken up.
Suddenly the boy ahead whipped back around a corner, grimacing horribly and giving all sorts of strange gestures. The other boy took one look at the situation and with a frantic glance at Mario retreated back down the hall, diving into a shadowed nook a short distance away. Mario backed slowly into the same spot, eyes locked on the passage ahead.
A moment later the other ghost joined them.
“Is it Shivers?” Asked the first boy.
“No, it’s Melody. She’s out of her room.”
“Is Shivers there too?”
“No!”
Mario shushed them as loudly as he dared, and the bickering dropped to silence. He placed his back to the wall and slowly and carefully peeked into the hallway. A shadow was playing over the wallpaper from around the corner. Not the spindly shadow but a flowing, graceful one. It drifted aimlessly, twirling in almost a dance. If Mario listened closely he could have sworn he heard her humming and maybe singing to herself.
“Is she still there?” asked the boys when he drew back.
Mario put a finger to his lips.
After a long moment, the song from up the hall trailed to nothing. When Mario checked again the shadow was gone.
He was far from relieved. Mario scanned the passage both ways, tracking it up and down for movement. He wouldn’t be at all surprised if the ghost was still there, just waiting for them to come out of hiding. But he could see nothing. The boys watched him anxiously, and when he didn’t draw back right away, poked around the corner themselves. Cautiously, Mario stepped back into the passage, waving for them to follow.
They did follow, and after a moment of hesitation, one of them vanished from sight. Mario watched as his shadow flitted to the bend in the passage and disappeared around the corner. After a moment the boy came back, poking through one of the walls. He looked serious, but relieved.
“She’s gone to her room,” he said. “I heard her playing piano again.”
“What about shivers?” said the other boy.
“He’s not there.”
“He wasn’t the other way either, though, in the halls or the rooms. Where else could he be?”
“I don’t know, but he’s not here now. Let’s just get going before Melody comes back.”
And they were off.
As soon as they were clear of ‘Melody’ their pace picked up again, and Mario was back to his haphazard trot. Drastic changes began to take place in the hallways from that point on. They grew broader and began to take on a more polished sheen. The second boy had taken control of the situation now, leading the way in a more straightforward fashion. The first boy took a place more or less at Mario’s side, continuing his energetic watchfulness and keeping tabs on his limp.
“Are you still doing okay, mister?” he asked.
Mario chuckled. “I’m fine. And my name is Mario; you don’t have to call me mister.”
“Oh. Well, I don’t mind. But I can call you Mario if you like it better.”
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Henry, and he’s Orville,” the ghost said.
There was a short silence.
“How did you wind up in this place anyways?” Henry asked somewhat cautiously.
Mario sighed and began the long explanation of how this had come about: everything from the appearance of the mysterious flier to a glossed over version of the fight and his escape (no need to scare the boy after all). Henry listened wide eyed.
“Wow,” he said when it was all over.
“But… why?” asked Orville, who had drifted closer to catch the story. “Are you a friend of the professor’s or something?”
Mario shook his head. “I’d never even heard of him before now."
The boy looked confused. “But, if you don’t know the professor I don’t see why the boos should be after you like that.”
“I don’t either,” said Mario, and it was true.
He had never tangled with King Boo before, and the king had never shown any interest in the Mushroom Kingdom as far as he knew. Any ghosts Mario had ever fought were either casual troublemakers--who usually packed off when they realized he would put up a fight--or boos under the direct control of Bowser. The one time he had dealt with an actual clan of boos had gone remarkably well (all things considered), and he and the boos had parted on surprisingly good terms. Mario couldn’t see how the king could be angry about any of that.
And as malicious as the king was he didn’t seem to hate, or even appear to be particularly angry with him; something Mario would have expected if this was a revenge plot. He couldn’t for the life of him figure the situation out. But ultimately it didn’t matter.
\
“How did you two end up here?” Asked Mario when the lull in conversation began to drag.
“We’ve been here a while,” answered Henry. “We used to live in an old house by the Evershade Valley, but then the professor invited us here.”
“Was that a long time ago?”
“Oh, ages and ages. The professor even had hair back then.”
Mario laughed outright at this, then became solemn as the implications sunk in.
“No, don’t worry about it,” said Henry, almost frantically. “It’s not that bad being like this, at least not anymore. And we’re not on our own now either; we’ve got the professor to talk to, and the other ghost are nice.
“Except the ones that try to kill you.”
Henry pulled a face. “Yeah, they’re pretty bad. But they aren’t even supposed to be here, you know; the professor kept them locked up. Then King Boo came and let them all lose…”
Mario pocketed this information readily; another clue to just what was going on around this place.
“What else can you tell me about the professor?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” answered the boy with a shrug. “He’s short and bald and crazy. Not like the ghosts are crazy, but still crazy.”
“A bit too interested in dead people,” chipped in Orville.
“Do you know where he is?”
“Not a clue. I think he’s still at one of his other labs,” said Henry.
“No he’s not,” said Orville. “The cameras all started working again, remember? That’s why the boos killed all the power?”
“Cameras?” asked Mario.
“Yeah, cameras,” said Henry, pointing at the ceiling. “There are a lot of them around here. The professor likes keeping an eye on things, you know? Anyways, they started wiggling around a few days ago. The boos smashed a few of them but were afraid they wouldn’t be able to find them all, so they did something to the power. That doesn’t have to mean he’s here, though,” he said. This bit was obviously meant for Orville.
“Do you have any idea what they did to the power?” asked Mario, before Orville could come up with a retort.
Orville gave Henry a flat look then turned his attention back to Mario. “I’m not really sure. Some sort of bind I think. I do know it’s attached to ghosts, though. The mansion ghosts mostly, but us too. It’s really annoying, and it kind of makes you tired.”
“But if that’s how it works then getting rid of the ghosts should turn on the lights, right"
“Well it should, I don’t see why it wouldn- wouldn’t…”
Orville trailed off, a look of horror crossing over his face. Mario had seen that kind of look enough times to know there was something behind him. He dodged to the left and darted forward, whipping around to face his enemy.
His heart sank. It was the crooked ghost again.
The butler was a terrifyingly short distance away, towering over all of their heads like some sort of twisted spider and looking with utter annoyance at Orville.
“You little…” it hissed.
The boy started to drift backward, looking faint.
“Look out! Run!” Shouted Henry, but it was too late for that option. The butler charged.
Mario dove between the two and pivoted, presenting his good side to Shiver’s onslaught. This time the ghost didn’t falter; it rushed him strait on, and when the blast of fire came, ducked through the wall. Next moment it had repeated, this time behind him.
Mario whipped around as soon as he realized what had happened, but he wasn’t fast enough. The creature was already swinging at him with one long arm. The blow hit hard and solid, sending Mario tumbling into the opposite side of the passage. He scrambled to get up again, but the ghost was on top of him already, bearing him down against the wall.
There were a pair of high pitched squeals and the twins threw themselves at Mario’s attacker. They grabbed onto the butter, dragging him back as far as they could. Shivers screamed something unintelligible and lashed out at them. The boys darted away again; Orville made it through a wall in time but Henry wasn’t so lucky. He took a hard smack and went flying end over end down the hall.
Mario had had enough of this thing.
“Hey!” He shouted, launching toward it. The ghost turned, glowering down at him from its absurd height, just in time to take an inferno to the face.
There was a second in which Shivers was too startled to react. He reeled back, fluttering away from the blast in mute hysteria, and then he started to shriek. The sound was long and head-splittingly loud. Mario kept the attacks coming, pounding at him again and again with raging bursts. The ghost thrashed away and tried to dart through the wall, but apparently forgot to turn ethereal, and bounced off. After a few moments of flopping it opted for the most straightforward method of escape, careening around a corner and vanishing into the maze of halls, shrieking all the while.
As soon as Mario was sure the butler wasn’t going to come back, he rushed for Henry. Orville was already there, pulling him out of a large vase he was half merged into.
“Are you alright?” asked Mario.
Henry floated upright again, shook his head to clear the fluff, and beamed. He started to say something, but it was cut short by a wave of chattering from down the passage.
Mario’s stomach clenched.
Boos.
Without thinking he grabbed hold of both the boys and pulled them to another alcove leading off the hall. There was an armchair nestled in this one, and Mario ducked behind it still pulling the boys with him. It wasn’t a moment too soon.
Hardly had they taken cover when no less than twelve boos flooded into the hallway, some coming from up the passage, others filtering in through the walls, filling the place with their noise and a misty white glow. Most of them kept right on going, tearing after the wailing butler, but a few of them stopped not far away, apparently at the scene of the scuffle, chittering among themselves.
“Quiet!” hissed one, slicing through the excitement. “He can’t have gotten far, not how he is now. You, catch up with the others, for pity's sake shut them up and send them back this way. Then find that butler and see if you can get any sense out of him. You, lock down the fake doors then tell the king what we've found. The rest of you, with me. We’ll head him off at the blocked passages."
There were a few chirps as the groups acknowledged their orders, and the boos disappeared as quickly as they had come.
There was silence.
Nevertheless the group stayed crouched behind the chair, listening. The boys were so faint they were hardly visible, and Mario’s expression was deathly grim.
"Are they- are they gone?" Asked Henry in the softest of whispers.
Nobody answered, and nobody seemed inclined to check. After a moment Mario started to rise, but Orville shook his head.
"I'll go see," He said then vanished from sight before anyone could complain.
"There're gone," came his voice from the hallway.
Slowly and cautiously, Mario stood up and stalked back into the hall. It was dark, bleak and empty. Orville was floating just around the corner, looking anxiously down the passage the boos had taken.
"I've got to go," he said quickly, "If they head that way and find our room empty... I'm- sorry." He said, looking at Mario.
Mario's grim expression stayed, but he nodded.
"Thank you for your help."
"But I'm staying," said Henry firmly. "If the boos ask just tell them we're playing hide and seek or something."
Orville hesitated, then gave something between a shrug and a shudder. "Okay. I'll come back and find you guys as soon as I can."
"And we'll be coming that way shorty," said Mario.
"Okay," Orville said again, vanished, and flitted away.
"How much farther do we have to go?" Asked Mario when his shadow had disappeared down the halls.
"Not far..." answered Henry.
"How far is not far?"
"Just- just at the end of this passage. Up at the top of the tower."
Mario nodded and started to walk again.
Alcoves became more frequent as they proceed down the passage. They were bigger too, some draped over with curtains and most all of them furnished with luxurious chairs, reading tables, and an occasional dead, cracked lamp. Before long the hall widened out again, giving way to an open chamber. It was a library.
Mario and Henry slowed when they reached it, sticking close to the wall and hiding in the deep shadows at the mouth of the hallway. There were ghosts in that room, mansion ghosts mostly and one portrait ghost sinking around the lower shelves, but no boos that they could see. The portrait ghost didn't stay long, just took a few books and drifted away. As soon as it was gone Henry darted forward into the room, scattering most of the mansion ghosts in his wake. Mario followed behind.
The library was huge, with layer upon layer of scantily filled, wall-mounted bookcases. A spiral stair filled the center of the room, branching off into scaffolding around the high layers of shelves, leading off to different levels of the castle, and finally disappearing into the high distance of a tower.
Mario slowed again as he got a better look at the room. The base of the stairs was directly in front of him; he... was on the ground floor. It made no sense, he’d been on at least the third level last time he checked, and he hadn’t gone down more than one flight of steps since then...
Henry waved at him from the center of the room and Mario shook those thoughts away. It didn’t matter.
“The observatory’s all the way at the top,” he said as Mario approached.
Both of them looked up the center of the spiraling steps.
“It’s a long way up…”
“I’ll manage,” said Mario reassuringly.
“And there’s nowhere to hide up there…”
“We’ll just have to make it quick then.”
The climb was largely uneventful. There was no trouble from the mansion ghosts (thanks to Henry), and accepting two which drifted obliviously by on the ground floor, no boos. Despite his assurances, Mario’s pace did slow as they continued to climb. But he kept on, ignoring the growing dark patches on the white of the bandages. Henry hovered around him in anxious little circles, keeping an eye on thing and making faces at any mansion ghosts who got a too interested in the situation.
At long last the stair ended in a small, blue painted door. Henry knew exactly which key was needed to open it; he pointed it out off the ring, and Mario let himself in.
The observatory was a small room: round, the ceiling sloping away into a traditional cone-shaped spire. Most of the floor was dedicated to a large, round table over which was carved and painted a detailed map of the heavens. Across the stone walls were a plethora of window shutters and a single, star etched door. These had been painted a cheering shade of blue as well, but the colors was faded now and the paint was peeling. Many of the shutters hung open or had fallen off entirely, revealing a half clouded night sky and leaving the room at the mercy of the elements.
Maps, charts, and graphs littered the corners in wind blown heaps or clung with a wish and a prayer to the most sheltered portions of the walls. There were telescopes as well; bulky, metal cased, tripod mounted ones covered over with knobs and handles. They rested in a ring around the edge of the room, pointed at the windows. Those near windows where the shutters had fallen were weather stained and dark with rust, but the few graced with more sheltered positions still shone a faint bronze.
“It’s in here somewhere,” said Henry, and began to poke around the chamber. Mario looked as well, somewhat stiffly, sticking close to the ghost to take advantage of his blue glow. The initial search turned up nothing, though, just mounds of moldering, soggy paper.
“The professor said it kind of wanders…” said Henry, casting a worried glance at Mario.
Mario just nodded. That sort of thing wasn’t unusual; unless a star very much liked its position they tended to do that. Nonetheless, he was certain the star was in this room. He could hear it.
Well, hear wasn’t quite the right word. Stars didn’t make any sound, per say, at least according to most people. Nevertheless he could sense them. It was like a glow or buzz; a ringing in the ears, but friendlier. Mario had given up trying to tell people about it, but the crux of the matter was he could hear them, and there was definitely a star in the tower. The question was, where was it hiding.
Mario circled the chamber again, this time slowly, trying to narrow down a general location.
“I think its over here,” he said, eyes sweeping over a corner of wall. The more he stared the more he was sure it was the spot, but he couldn’t see anything, just a few musty papers huddled under the legs of a telescope. Was it outside somewhere? On the balcony maybe? Mario turned to investigate that option but froze as Henry grabbed hold of his arm.
“There it is!’ said the ghost in an excited whisper.
Mario tuned back to look at him than to the spot he was pointing. The star was hovering at ground level, pressed against the wall behind the telescope and half buried in wet paper. Mario blinked. It hadn’t been there moments before… But never mind.
Henry hung back as Mario approached it. He reached a hand out slowly, trying to be as non-threatening as possible. It was obvious from the star’s dim glow that it was trying to hide. The star made an aggressive dart for his hand as it drew near, and Mario froze, sincerely hoping it didn’t try to shock him.
But it didn’t. It stopped its charge at the edge of his outstretched fingers, where it hovered curiously. Slowly its shallow glow began to increase, and it floated into the palm of his hand.
Cautiously, Mario drew the star away from its hiding spot. He could still sense its hesitation, though it had shown him this much trust. He waited patiently for it to decide if it liked him or not. Mario was sure it would come around; he had yet to encounter a power star that hadn’t--though he had been shocked a few times--and this one was no exception. After a few moments it began to glow in earnest. Mario felt its power rush through him in a wave. The relief was instantaneous, all his tiredness and pain melting away like so much ice on the kitchen floor. As wonderful as it felt, Mario pushed it away. Not yet, he needed to wait for the opportune moment. The star accepted his instructions and the light began to fade, leaving him ragged again.
‘Just a bit longer,’ he thought to himself.
Gently he tucked the star into his pocket, smiled at Henry, and turned back towards the stairs.
Luigi didn’t do much with this information, just slumped all the way down and rolled over, sinking deep into the rug and staring vaguely at the star-painted ceiling. The Gameboy Horror began to blare from inside his pocket. He was too exhausted to be startled; he sat up slowly, fished the device out, and flipped on the screen
“-an you hear me, lad?” the professor asked. His face was drawn and full of concern. “Are you alright?"
“I’m alive,” answered Luigi.
“Good,” said the professor, heaving a massive sigh. “I was right worried there for a moment. One second you were wandering into the nursery, next thing’s next the system’s screamin’ about a monster of a ghost and the whole thing goes to static.”
“Well, there was a ghost in here. I’m not sure what it did…” Luigi started, then trailed off as he realized he didn’t have anything else to say.
The professor gave another long sigh. “Well that’s that I suppose, and you seem to be in one piece. You aren’t hurt are you?
Luigi closed his eyes and gave a weak shake of his head.
“Just tuckered out then, I suppose. Don’t worry, lad, anybody would be wiped out after a fight with Chancy. He may be a little tyke, but I can tell you first hand he can pack a punch.”
Chancy.
Luigi’s eyes flicked open and he stared. The professor knew the ghost, knew it by name. How could he not? He had been here for years studying them, after all. E. Gadd had known all along the kind of monster Luigi was walking in on, and he’d hardly given a word of warning.
As usual on went the professor, oblivious to the look plastered over Luigi’s face.
“I’ll tell you what: how about you come back to the lab for a bit, take five, and I’ll clean out the Poltergust tank?”
Luigi pushed himself up onto his feet again. You know what? Maybe that was a good idea. He had a few questions he wanted to ask the professor.
• • •
The boy was turning out to be a bit difficult to keep up with. Mario followed as best he could, limping behind and casting every third glance over his shoulder. The ghost darted forward like a fish, bouncing around the corridor and in and out of the walls like they didn’t exist. He did stop every once and again so Mario could catch up, though, glancing up and down the passages while he waited and making a show of being watchful. That was the only reason Mario hadn’t totally lost him by now.
Another problem Mario was having involved the boy’s odd tendency to double back on himself. He would rush down a hall with full gusto only to come barreling back without warning. He had actually run into Mario on one of these occasions, or more specifically, run right through him.
The situation had scared Mario more than he cared to admit, but after the fact he was glad it happened. If the boy wanted to harm him that would have been the time to do it, but he hadn’t; the sensation was chilly, and maybe a bit tiring, but not blatantly harmful like a touch from the other ghosts. And it wasn’t even comparable to the horrible bite of the butler. The boy himself had been horrified. He had apologized profusely, terrified that Mario would send him away. It had taken quite a bit of effort to get him to calm down again. All in all, it had set Mario more at ease with his new companion than anything else probably could.
But the potential of getting run into--though still something Mario wanted to avoid--wasn’t the reason the ghost’s behavior bothered him. The boy was navigating the halls like a minefield, and it made Mario wonder how many dangers in this place he just couldn’t see. It was possible the boy was overplaying things a bit, but given the circumstances, Mario wasn’t about to take that chance. As crooked as the path was, he followed the ghost’s every move.
There was something else interesting about his new guide as well: the longer he watched the more he realized that there actually were two of them, and he was positive they were twins. When one boy would disappear through a wall and the other would dart out to take his place. At first it was the clothes that had tipped Mario off--their shirts were different cuts and ever so slightly different
colors--but slowly he had began to pick up on other differences as well. It was extremely subtle but they were there, slight variations in the way they moved and spoke.
He couldn’t help but grin at the notion, though the situation struck another cord as well, a significantly less pleasant one. Maybe it was that it hit just a bit too close to home, but it made Mario more desperate than ever to get his situation under control. It couldn’t be much longer until Luigi showed up. If he wasn’t here already.
After a fair period of mucking about, the boy’s pace began to slow. At first Mario wondered why, until he recognized the hall as the one the crooked ghost occupied. He slowed his pace too at that point, heckles up and senses on high alert.
The boys stuck very close to him now, both of them. The offending passage came and went, but they didn’t seem any more at ease. They watched every corridor they passed with intense, anxious expressions. Periodically one the boys would drift ahead to check around corners. It was hard to tell whether these precautions were for Mario’s safety or their own, but any way you sliced, it they really did seem shaken up.
Suddenly the boy ahead whipped back around a corner, grimacing horribly and giving all sorts of strange gestures. The other boy took one look at the situation and with a frantic glance at Mario retreated back down the hall, diving into a shadowed nook a short distance away. Mario backed slowly into the same spot, eyes locked on the passage ahead.
A moment later the other ghost joined them.
“Is it Shivers?” Asked the first boy.
“No, it’s Melody. She’s out of her room.”
“Is Shivers there too?”
“No!”
Mario shushed them as loudly as he dared, and the bickering dropped to silence. He placed his back to the wall and slowly and carefully peeked into the hallway. A shadow was playing over the wallpaper from around the corner. Not the spindly shadow but a flowing, graceful one. It drifted aimlessly, twirling in almost a dance. If Mario listened closely he could have sworn he heard her humming and maybe singing to herself.
“Is she still there?” asked the boys when he drew back.
Mario put a finger to his lips.
After a long moment, the song from up the hall trailed to nothing. When Mario checked again the shadow was gone.
He was far from relieved. Mario scanned the passage both ways, tracking it up and down for movement. He wouldn’t be at all surprised if the ghost was still there, just waiting for them to come out of hiding. But he could see nothing. The boys watched him anxiously, and when he didn’t draw back right away, poked around the corner themselves. Cautiously, Mario stepped back into the passage, waving for them to follow.
They did follow, and after a moment of hesitation, one of them vanished from sight. Mario watched as his shadow flitted to the bend in the passage and disappeared around the corner. After a moment the boy came back, poking through one of the walls. He looked serious, but relieved.
“She’s gone to her room,” he said. “I heard her playing piano again.”
“What about shivers?” said the other boy.
“He’s not there.”
“He wasn’t the other way either, though, in the halls or the rooms. Where else could he be?”
“I don’t know, but he’s not here now. Let’s just get going before Melody comes back.”
And they were off.
As soon as they were clear of ‘Melody’ their pace picked up again, and Mario was back to his haphazard trot. Drastic changes began to take place in the hallways from that point on. They grew broader and began to take on a more polished sheen. The second boy had taken control of the situation now, leading the way in a more straightforward fashion. The first boy took a place more or less at Mario’s side, continuing his energetic watchfulness and keeping tabs on his limp.
“Are you still doing okay, mister?” he asked.
Mario chuckled. “I’m fine. And my name is Mario; you don’t have to call me mister.”
“Oh. Well, I don’t mind. But I can call you Mario if you like it better.”
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Henry, and he’s Orville,” the ghost said.
There was a short silence.
“How did you wind up in this place anyways?” Henry asked somewhat cautiously.
Mario sighed and began the long explanation of how this had come about: everything from the appearance of the mysterious flier to a glossed over version of the fight and his escape (no need to scare the boy after all). Henry listened wide eyed.
“Wow,” he said when it was all over.
“But… why?” asked Orville, who had drifted closer to catch the story. “Are you a friend of the professor’s or something?”
Mario shook his head. “I’d never even heard of him before now."
The boy looked confused. “But, if you don’t know the professor I don’t see why the boos should be after you like that.”
“I don’t either,” said Mario, and it was true.
He had never tangled with King Boo before, and the king had never shown any interest in the Mushroom Kingdom as far as he knew. Any ghosts Mario had ever fought were either casual troublemakers--who usually packed off when they realized he would put up a fight--or boos under the direct control of Bowser. The one time he had dealt with an actual clan of boos had gone remarkably well (all things considered), and he and the boos had parted on surprisingly good terms. Mario couldn’t see how the king could be angry about any of that.
And as malicious as the king was he didn’t seem to hate, or even appear to be particularly angry with him; something Mario would have expected if this was a revenge plot. He couldn’t for the life of him figure the situation out. But ultimately it didn’t matter.
\
“How did you two end up here?” Asked Mario when the lull in conversation began to drag.
“We’ve been here a while,” answered Henry. “We used to live in an old house by the Evershade Valley, but then the professor invited us here.”
“Was that a long time ago?”
“Oh, ages and ages. The professor even had hair back then.”
Mario laughed outright at this, then became solemn as the implications sunk in.
“No, don’t worry about it,” said Henry, almost frantically. “It’s not that bad being like this, at least not anymore. And we’re not on our own now either; we’ve got the professor to talk to, and the other ghost are nice.
“Except the ones that try to kill you.”
Henry pulled a face. “Yeah, they’re pretty bad. But they aren’t even supposed to be here, you know; the professor kept them locked up. Then King Boo came and let them all lose…”
Mario pocketed this information readily; another clue to just what was going on around this place.
“What else can you tell me about the professor?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” answered the boy with a shrug. “He’s short and bald and crazy. Not like the ghosts are crazy, but still crazy.”
“A bit too interested in dead people,” chipped in Orville.
“Do you know where he is?”
“Not a clue. I think he’s still at one of his other labs,” said Henry.
“No he’s not,” said Orville. “The cameras all started working again, remember? That’s why the boos killed all the power?”
“Cameras?” asked Mario.
“Yeah, cameras,” said Henry, pointing at the ceiling. “There are a lot of them around here. The professor likes keeping an eye on things, you know? Anyways, they started wiggling around a few days ago. The boos smashed a few of them but were afraid they wouldn’t be able to find them all, so they did something to the power. That doesn’t have to mean he’s here, though,” he said. This bit was obviously meant for Orville.
“Do you have any idea what they did to the power?” asked Mario, before Orville could come up with a retort.
Orville gave Henry a flat look then turned his attention back to Mario. “I’m not really sure. Some sort of bind I think. I do know it’s attached to ghosts, though. The mansion ghosts mostly, but us too. It’s really annoying, and it kind of makes you tired.”
“But if that’s how it works then getting rid of the ghosts should turn on the lights, right"
“Well it should, I don’t see why it wouldn- wouldn’t…”
Orville trailed off, a look of horror crossing over his face. Mario had seen that kind of look enough times to know there was something behind him. He dodged to the left and darted forward, whipping around to face his enemy.
His heart sank. It was the crooked ghost again.
The butler was a terrifyingly short distance away, towering over all of their heads like some sort of twisted spider and looking with utter annoyance at Orville.
“You little…” it hissed.
The boy started to drift backward, looking faint.
“Look out! Run!” Shouted Henry, but it was too late for that option. The butler charged.
Mario dove between the two and pivoted, presenting his good side to Shiver’s onslaught. This time the ghost didn’t falter; it rushed him strait on, and when the blast of fire came, ducked through the wall. Next moment it had repeated, this time behind him.
Mario whipped around as soon as he realized what had happened, but he wasn’t fast enough. The creature was already swinging at him with one long arm. The blow hit hard and solid, sending Mario tumbling into the opposite side of the passage. He scrambled to get up again, but the ghost was on top of him already, bearing him down against the wall.
There were a pair of high pitched squeals and the twins threw themselves at Mario’s attacker. They grabbed onto the butter, dragging him back as far as they could. Shivers screamed something unintelligible and lashed out at them. The boys darted away again; Orville made it through a wall in time but Henry wasn’t so lucky. He took a hard smack and went flying end over end down the hall.
Mario had had enough of this thing.
“Hey!” He shouted, launching toward it. The ghost turned, glowering down at him from its absurd height, just in time to take an inferno to the face.
There was a second in which Shivers was too startled to react. He reeled back, fluttering away from the blast in mute hysteria, and then he started to shriek. The sound was long and head-splittingly loud. Mario kept the attacks coming, pounding at him again and again with raging bursts. The ghost thrashed away and tried to dart through the wall, but apparently forgot to turn ethereal, and bounced off. After a few moments of flopping it opted for the most straightforward method of escape, careening around a corner and vanishing into the maze of halls, shrieking all the while.
As soon as Mario was sure the butler wasn’t going to come back, he rushed for Henry. Orville was already there, pulling him out of a large vase he was half merged into.
“Are you alright?” asked Mario.
Henry floated upright again, shook his head to clear the fluff, and beamed. He started to say something, but it was cut short by a wave of chattering from down the passage.
Mario’s stomach clenched.
Boos.
Without thinking he grabbed hold of both the boys and pulled them to another alcove leading off the hall. There was an armchair nestled in this one, and Mario ducked behind it still pulling the boys with him. It wasn’t a moment too soon.
Hardly had they taken cover when no less than twelve boos flooded into the hallway, some coming from up the passage, others filtering in through the walls, filling the place with their noise and a misty white glow. Most of them kept right on going, tearing after the wailing butler, but a few of them stopped not far away, apparently at the scene of the scuffle, chittering among themselves.
“Quiet!” hissed one, slicing through the excitement. “He can’t have gotten far, not how he is now. You, catch up with the others, for pity's sake shut them up and send them back this way. Then find that butler and see if you can get any sense out of him. You, lock down the fake doors then tell the king what we've found. The rest of you, with me. We’ll head him off at the blocked passages."
There were a few chirps as the groups acknowledged their orders, and the boos disappeared as quickly as they had come.
There was silence.
Nevertheless the group stayed crouched behind the chair, listening. The boys were so faint they were hardly visible, and Mario’s expression was deathly grim.
"Are they- are they gone?" Asked Henry in the softest of whispers.
Nobody answered, and nobody seemed inclined to check. After a moment Mario started to rise, but Orville shook his head.
"I'll go see," He said then vanished from sight before anyone could complain.
"There're gone," came his voice from the hallway.
Slowly and cautiously, Mario stood up and stalked back into the hall. It was dark, bleak and empty. Orville was floating just around the corner, looking anxiously down the passage the boos had taken.
"I've got to go," he said quickly, "If they head that way and find our room empty... I'm- sorry." He said, looking at Mario.
Mario's grim expression stayed, but he nodded.
"Thank you for your help."
"But I'm staying," said Henry firmly. "If the boos ask just tell them we're playing hide and seek or something."
Orville hesitated, then gave something between a shrug and a shudder. "Okay. I'll come back and find you guys as soon as I can."
"And we'll be coming that way shorty," said Mario.
"Okay," Orville said again, vanished, and flitted away.
"How much farther do we have to go?" Asked Mario when his shadow had disappeared down the halls.
"Not far..." answered Henry.
"How far is not far?"
"Just- just at the end of this passage. Up at the top of the tower."
Mario nodded and started to walk again.
Alcoves became more frequent as they proceed down the passage. They were bigger too, some draped over with curtains and most all of them furnished with luxurious chairs, reading tables, and an occasional dead, cracked lamp. Before long the hall widened out again, giving way to an open chamber. It was a library.
Mario and Henry slowed when they reached it, sticking close to the wall and hiding in the deep shadows at the mouth of the hallway. There were ghosts in that room, mansion ghosts mostly and one portrait ghost sinking around the lower shelves, but no boos that they could see. The portrait ghost didn't stay long, just took a few books and drifted away. As soon as it was gone Henry darted forward into the room, scattering most of the mansion ghosts in his wake. Mario followed behind.
The library was huge, with layer upon layer of scantily filled, wall-mounted bookcases. A spiral stair filled the center of the room, branching off into scaffolding around the high layers of shelves, leading off to different levels of the castle, and finally disappearing into the high distance of a tower.
Mario slowed again as he got a better look at the room. The base of the stairs was directly in front of him; he... was on the ground floor. It made no sense, he’d been on at least the third level last time he checked, and he hadn’t gone down more than one flight of steps since then...
Henry waved at him from the center of the room and Mario shook those thoughts away. It didn’t matter.
“The observatory’s all the way at the top,” he said as Mario approached.
Both of them looked up the center of the spiraling steps.
“It’s a long way up…”
“I’ll manage,” said Mario reassuringly.
“And there’s nowhere to hide up there…”
“We’ll just have to make it quick then.”
The climb was largely uneventful. There was no trouble from the mansion ghosts (thanks to Henry), and accepting two which drifted obliviously by on the ground floor, no boos. Despite his assurances, Mario’s pace did slow as they continued to climb. But he kept on, ignoring the growing dark patches on the white of the bandages. Henry hovered around him in anxious little circles, keeping an eye on thing and making faces at any mansion ghosts who got a too interested in the situation.
At long last the stair ended in a small, blue painted door. Henry knew exactly which key was needed to open it; he pointed it out off the ring, and Mario let himself in.
The observatory was a small room: round, the ceiling sloping away into a traditional cone-shaped spire. Most of the floor was dedicated to a large, round table over which was carved and painted a detailed map of the heavens. Across the stone walls were a plethora of window shutters and a single, star etched door. These had been painted a cheering shade of blue as well, but the colors was faded now and the paint was peeling. Many of the shutters hung open or had fallen off entirely, revealing a half clouded night sky and leaving the room at the mercy of the elements.
Maps, charts, and graphs littered the corners in wind blown heaps or clung with a wish and a prayer to the most sheltered portions of the walls. There were telescopes as well; bulky, metal cased, tripod mounted ones covered over with knobs and handles. They rested in a ring around the edge of the room, pointed at the windows. Those near windows where the shutters had fallen were weather stained and dark with rust, but the few graced with more sheltered positions still shone a faint bronze.
“It’s in here somewhere,” said Henry, and began to poke around the chamber. Mario looked as well, somewhat stiffly, sticking close to the ghost to take advantage of his blue glow. The initial search turned up nothing, though, just mounds of moldering, soggy paper.
“The professor said it kind of wanders…” said Henry, casting a worried glance at Mario.
Mario just nodded. That sort of thing wasn’t unusual; unless a star very much liked its position they tended to do that. Nonetheless, he was certain the star was in this room. He could hear it.
Well, hear wasn’t quite the right word. Stars didn’t make any sound, per say, at least according to most people. Nevertheless he could sense them. It was like a glow or buzz; a ringing in the ears, but friendlier. Mario had given up trying to tell people about it, but the crux of the matter was he could hear them, and there was definitely a star in the tower. The question was, where was it hiding.
Mario circled the chamber again, this time slowly, trying to narrow down a general location.
“I think its over here,” he said, eyes sweeping over a corner of wall. The more he stared the more he was sure it was the spot, but he couldn’t see anything, just a few musty papers huddled under the legs of a telescope. Was it outside somewhere? On the balcony maybe? Mario turned to investigate that option but froze as Henry grabbed hold of his arm.
“There it is!’ said the ghost in an excited whisper.
Mario tuned back to look at him than to the spot he was pointing. The star was hovering at ground level, pressed against the wall behind the telescope and half buried in wet paper. Mario blinked. It hadn’t been there moments before… But never mind.
Henry hung back as Mario approached it. He reached a hand out slowly, trying to be as non-threatening as possible. It was obvious from the star’s dim glow that it was trying to hide. The star made an aggressive dart for his hand as it drew near, and Mario froze, sincerely hoping it didn’t try to shock him.
But it didn’t. It stopped its charge at the edge of his outstretched fingers, where it hovered curiously. Slowly its shallow glow began to increase, and it floated into the palm of his hand.
Cautiously, Mario drew the star away from its hiding spot. He could still sense its hesitation, though it had shown him this much trust. He waited patiently for it to decide if it liked him or not. Mario was sure it would come around; he had yet to encounter a power star that hadn’t--though he had been shocked a few times--and this one was no exception. After a few moments it began to glow in earnest. Mario felt its power rush through him in a wave. The relief was instantaneous, all his tiredness and pain melting away like so much ice on the kitchen floor. As wonderful as it felt, Mario pushed it away. Not yet, he needed to wait for the opportune moment. The star accepted his instructions and the light began to fade, leaving him ragged again.
‘Just a bit longer,’ he thought to himself.
Gently he tucked the star into his pocket, smiled at Henry, and turned back towards the stairs.
Notes:
Two things to say about this chapter.
The first is the belated announcement that I have seriously altered the layout and shape of the mansion for this story. You know, in case people haven’t noticed already. I just thought I’d say that officially since there are no spires in the original layout, and I want to be clear that I’m not talking about somewhere on the roof when I say ‘the tower’.
The second concerns Mario’s ‘sixth sense’.
So, in the Mario games based around collecting stars: Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and I’m pretty sure in Mario Galaxy as well (though I’d need to double check that one) you can hear the stars when you get close to them. The odd thing is, nobody else seems to realize they’re there, despite the racket they’re making. Maybe the other characters are just oblivious. Or maybe they legitimately can’t hear them.
Mario has something of an aptitude for stars, after all. As do Luigi, Peach, and Bowser it would seem. What if these characters are the only ones that can hear that sparkly aura we are all so
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