Luigi's Mansion

Chapter 5 - Family Portraits

    With a new key in hand, it was time for Luigi to resume his exploration. The thorny doors in the foyer still didn't hold much promise - why are they still blocked off like that with the lights on? he had wondered.

   Whatever the case, the only option left to him now was the locked door on the far west end of the upper balcony. After saying goodbye to the toadstools below, he soon proved his guess right. Once the door was unlocked, Luigi put the key with the other one in his left pocket. Better start differentiating these things now, he thought. Since he could see that he'd probably own a huge collection of keys before the night was up, he decided to put the ones he'd used in there so he could keep them straight.

   Luigi could immediately see he'd stumbled upon something useful when he looked inside his new destination. The new door opened not into a room; but a long, empty hallway with a dead end.

   Oh boy, my favorite, he thought nervously.

   Not surprisingly, there were no lights on, but candelabras mounted along the walls gave it a dim glow. A rich, red carpet lined the floor - almost like the walkway to a certain doom. The walls were covered in peeling yellow and green patterns above the worn wooden moldings, which covered nearly half of the wall. Luigi also counted six silent doors: four on the right, two on the left.

   Why did it have to be a hallway, he thought as the door closed behind him. Old fashioned hallways, especially the long ones, had always seemed creepy in his opinion – like something right out of a horror movie. Not that he needed to be thinking about that now.

   But before he could even put a foot forward, Luigi abruptly became aware of a vibration in his pocket, surprising him out of his thoughts. It was followed by a buzz, buzz sound; and then the air was filled with a rather loud and annoying beeping. Quickly realizing it was himself - the Game Boy Horror - Luigi pulled out the device to find the screen flashing 'Main Computer Requesting Contact'. 

   E.Gadd! The professor must have been calling him. So it works all the way out here in the mansion, he thought. That's cool... and a relief.

   In another second, E. Gadd's familiar face appeared on screen. Just like before, he appeared to be sitting comfortably in that same old lab chair; in that same old main room which now looked extremely bright and appealing. Lucky him, Luigi thought.

   "Hold up a sec, Luigi!" his voice crackled through the speaker. At first the static hurt Luigi's ears, but then it quieted down. "It's me, Professor E. Gadd."

   "I can see you," Luigi said. "What's going on?"

   "Well, I wanted to make sure that your Game Boy was working... and that you're still working, of course!"

   Luigi tried to smile, but it came much weaker than he'd hoped. It didn't really seem like a joke, the more one thought about it.

   The professor coughed and quickly moved on. "You're doing great, kid. But anyway, the real reason I called is because I detect spirits stronger than we've yet seen lurking ahead. I think... it must be some of those escaped gallery ghosts!"

   "Really? H-How do you know?" Luigi asked uncomfortably.

   "Believe me, I have my ways," the professor responded. "For now I just wanted to warn you. You should know that they're really different from the other ghosts... they don't show their hearts very easily. Nope, not at all."

   "Why not?"

   E. Gadd shrugged. "They're stronger. More determined to hold on. Believe me, they know what freedom is and how to use it."