Luigi's Beta Mansion

Ending 1 - Never and Always

Slowly but surely his tears began to wane. Luigi didn't know how long he'd been sitting there, sobbing pitifully at his brother's proposed fate. But at last he began to come around.

Rising shakily, Luigi took a deep breath and nodded. Okay... so he had to find Mario, and now. Glancing around cluelessly for a second, he set his brow with determination. Where else could he really go but forward?

Hesitating for just one last second as he glanced around the hall, Luigi sighed. He might not have much time at all.

Catching sight again of the black and crimson trail adorning the walls and floor around him, he shivered. One look and he had made up his mind - no, he had to go this way. It was written in the gore all over; this was his path.

Trying to ignore the awful smell and think about nothing but following that path, Luigi pressed forward. He kept a frightened eye on the bloody trail, forcing himself not to think on every inch, every disruption, every pattern. It was ridiculous, really; if he didn't know better he'd have thought they had done it on purpose: even with paintbrushes. Something told Luigi that somehow, it had been more of an accident; the result of a ghastly scene that made him faint to think about.

Heart thumping in worry, he ran for the next staircase and the third floor.

~

If the rest of the mansion had been deathly cold, the third floor was a far cry from it. As Luigi circled the stairs ever upwards into a small musty lounge of some sort, the warm air made him feel sweaty all over again.

Pausing at first, Luigi tilted his head. What was this place? Unfinished wooden ceilings and walls indeed made it feel rustic, if one could call it that. But despite the initial heat, Luigi soon felt something else in the air that instantly chilled his perception.

He was not alone here.

Laughing aloud as if someone had told the most hilarious joke, a huge, brawny ghost of a man abruptly appeared in a chair before him, great bushy beard bouncing as he did so. He was dressed in garb fitting for one on a safari, and in one moment Luigi realized what this was.

Leopard skins stretched across the floor and even the chair he sat on, and silent deer heads stared down at them from one wall. The sight of their frozen, startled eyes was enough to freeze Luigi to the core, at least for a second. So this was that hunter the journal had mentioned.

Looking Luigi over with a precise eye, the ghost chuckled again to himself. "Well I don't believe it! It's a human!" He bellowed.

Holding his breath, Luigi just stared at him, unable to make a sound. So the hunter was no longer human, or what?

"I've been waiting a many long years for one of you," he went on gleefully, slowly rising from his chair. "Boy, what luck is this!"

A terrible feeling of dread descending on him like a shadow, Luigi began to creep back towards the wall. "I - I don't mean to disturb you," he stammered, somehow getting the words out. "I'm just looking for another human."

"Another? Boy, you're wasting your time here then. If I had seen another he'd already be on my wall."

Luigi tried to gulp but it stuck in his throat. "W-well thanks for your help," he offered feebly, beginning to make again for the door. But the hunter let out a jovial laugh that nearly made Luigi jump.