Chapter Text
“Professor!” Luigi squeaked, jolting forwards. Daisy followed a little bit slower, her body tense with unease. “Oh geez…ok…uhm…d-did we see a darklight when we were in the basem*nt?” he asked, turning around to fix the SarasaLand Princess with a desperate stare.
“I don’t believe so…” He made a whining sound, looking back at E. Gadd. The mad genius scientist that had helped Luigi multiple times in his efforts to capture King Boo and free his brother was now facing the same fate: Trapped within a picture with a gilded frame.
"Ok. We gotta get him out…we need a darklight,” he mused, randomly counting on his fingers.
“Ok, but what’s a darklight?” Daisy questioned, co*cking an eyebrow. Luigi kept talking like she knew what half of this stuff was.
“It’s k-kinda hard to explain,” he said. “It’s like…this other light strobe that can remove things from these paintings.”
“That didn’t seem hard,” she teased. He ducked his head in embarrassment.
“We gotta find one somehow…”
“Well, standing here and repeating that over and over won’t do any good.” Daisy scanned the room, noticing a door off to the left side that was slathered in gold and copper. “Come on. Let’s try that door.” The plumber nodded, shakily dislodging the poltergust power head and holding it in front of himself.
The atmosphere was incredibly still as they both opened the door, peeping their heads around the corner. It was a wide, short hallway that led to another door. It appeared there was another hallway to the right, with the floor being covered in a burnt orange carpet. Warm glows from the spotlights outside the hotel made their way up to the windows, casting an orange hue around the area as they reflected off the mass amounts of gold and silver accents.
“Wow…” Daisy breathed, “have the other mansions felt like this?”
“Kinda…I’m getting used to it, but it’s still unsettling.”
“Yeah, no kidding. No wonder you can be so jumpy. You just feel like anything could pop out and scare you…” At that very moment, Polterpup sprung through the wall, barking. Both parties let out an ear-shattering screech, falling to the floor in a pile. “GEEZ,” Daisy gasped, scrambling to sit up. Luigi had curled himself into a ball upon the floor.
“A-are we dead?” he asked quietly.
“No, we’re not dead,” the Princess murmured, mildly exasperated. “It was just Polterpup.”
“Oh.” He rapidly sat up.
“Alright, let’s go. Up and at ‘em.” Daisy stood to her feet, swiping the dust from off her casual clothes. “I’m now realizing my shade of yellow and orange can be spotted very easily…” she huffed.
“Yeah, well…oh well. Green isn’t the best color either,” Luigi sighed, hopping up. He struggled to grip the poltergust again, eventually managing to do so. “Ok…so we should check that door, I-I think.” He gestured to the one directly down the tiny hall.
“‘K.” Polterpup bounded ahead, yipping as he ghosted through said door. Luigi and Daisy shared a glance, smiling ever so slightly. They jogged over, turning the knob to inch the entrance open. But-
"Are you fricking kidding me?! Of course it’s locked!” Daisy spat, kicking it with her foot. Luigi winced.
“It’s ok…we’ll find a key somewhere,” the green clad man assured, turning to peer down the hallway next to them. “Hey, let’s try that one.” He waved her forwards, entering into a door not far from the locked one.
Inside were tons of clothes hung on multiple racks. Masks were strewn about, like they had been flung off in a hurry. Shoes were scattered upon the red carpet, and a large, slightly frosted mirror reflected back at the Princess and plumber.
“Tone down the purple a bit, huh?” Daisy snorted, pointing towards the violet walls.
“Yeah…it is a little over the top,” he half-heartedly chuckled. His mind was spinning, attempting to make sense of the room. It was quite busy in here…like it was purposefully trying to distract them from something.
“I can see your wheels turning,” the Princess commented, tapping his forehead playfully. “Whatcha thinking?”
“They’re hiding something…” Luigi answered slowly, creeping over to the clothing rack. Moving aside a few coats, he was now at the back, obscured by the mass amounts of fabric.
“Anything back there?” Daisy called from somewhere across the room.
“I think…there’s a safe?” He wasn’t sure, but it sure looked like metal encased in the wall over to the left of him. Forcing past the clothes, there indeed was one.
“A safe?” she echoed.
“Yeah!” Taking a closer look, it had a green scanner attached to it. “It needs the flashlight!” In an instant, Daisy had yanked a vivid purple coat off its hanger.
“Step back!” she exclaimed, charging up the flashlight. Luigi did as he was told as the beam shot out, prompting the safe to open. Inside was a freakishly large gem, cut so perfectly the glimmer blinded them.
“What a waste…” he muttered, stepping back into the middle of the room.
“It was worth a shot…Oh, hey, look! Another scanner!” Daisy announced, sprinting to the other side. Luigi perked up, skidding to a halt beside her as she flashed the light. A bright gleam escaped from the wall beside them, and they shielded their eyes. Suddenly, a large key sprung from the compartment onto the floor, floating magically above the ground.
“YES!” Luigi squealed, holding out his fist for a fist pump. Daisy laughed, completing the gesture.
“Right! Let’s go unlock that door!” She scooped it up and began to race down the hallway with Luigi exiting more steadily. Something felt off. He bit his lip, staring down the corridor. He couldn’t really see anything…”Weegie! The door’s unlocked!” the Princess called. He looked at her, blinking in hesitance before decisively heading towards her.
It was probably nothing.
