Luigi let out a cry as the darkness swirled around him.

Suddenly he found himself thrown into a stormy tumult; he was unable to keep silent as it picked him up and he no longer felt the passage surrounding him. His scream was lost in the harsh wind; he no longer felt King Boo's presence, and he no longer felt himself. 

Where was the floor? Where was he?

What in all the worlds had happened?

   His chest hammered violently in the center of the storm, reminding him of his mortality; and for a moment he was beginning to doubt it would last long.

But then, as abruptly as he had been swallowed up, the great force suddenly ceased its hold and died to silence; the darkness vanished away and Luigi's feet hit the floor with a thud, cutting him off with a startling reality. Heart still in his throat, he whirled in a circle, wild with confusion.

He was in... the foyer?

   Luigi blinked, covered in a mild sweat. Wh-what?... What happened? Stricken with a slight panic, he immediately felt his pockets, everything, but it was all there: Game Boy, keys, flashlight, Poltergust... He was untouched. It was as if he had been picked up by the mysterious force... and carried right back to the start.

The penetrating gaze of King Boo returned to his memory for an instant, sending Luigi stumbling backwards in disbelief. No... that had not happened. He hadn't just met the kidnapper... he hadn't just confronted such a waking terror!

...And now he was here?

Perhaps it had been another dream. At least nothing was missing, except... the chandelier.

   Struck by a sudden revelation, he froze. Feeling more unsettled than a snow globe, Luigi backed out of the center of the floor and snapped his gaze upwards.

It was impossible.

   The regal chandelier hung from the ceiling high above him, lighting up the room with the familiar light. Aside from the toadstools, who had apparently left him alone in the mansion a while back, the foyer was restored to normalcy – all was as usual.

   Luigi looked in disbelief from the floor to the ceiling several times. There was no mess, no broken glass... no signs of an accident. It left no trace or indication of the scene that had occurred there only a short while ago.

He couldn't be seeing this right. It was playing tricks on his eyes, surely...

   Slowly, Luigi brought a hand to his head, which had been plaguing him where he'd been hit. That was where the chandelier had all-too-realistically bashed him; he couldn't have imagined all that. His memories were confirmed at the sharp stinging pain that he immediately aroused on touching it; the bump felt bigger than his head was. Luigi let out a tiny whimper and started forward again.

Well, the chandelier could fix itself. It didn't matter; why should he care? Right now he should be more concerned with how he'd even gotten here in the first place.

Just instants ago he'd been before the face of evil itself... down in the deep darkness below the mansion. He had met King Boo...

And suddenly, almost in the blink of an eye, now he was back here.

   But when was the last time logic made sense?

   With a shudder, Luigi opened the heart doors and paused in the hallway on the other side, thinking it better to get out of there for now. What if the terrifying creature was watching him; leading him, trapping him?!

With a shiver Luigi rubbed his arms and glanced warily around the hallway. He hated the idea of being manipulated and used; hated not being able to foresee what lay around each corner. And now most of all, he hated the thought of that boo he had never wanted to see.

But that was how it was; as long as he was in the mansion, it could do with him whatever it seemed to choose. Sometimes he felt as helpless as a doll in a dollhouse – where he was just a playing piece.

   Everything was alight again in the hallways as it had once been – so at least the breaker switch had worked. This meant the ghost levels should be down to normal now...

   Luigi let out a breath of relief and glanced around the empty hallway. That was great, of course – but what now?

...What now?

   Quite suddenly he realized that he didn't know what to do. The blackout was fixed... no ghosts nearby... what was he supposed to do?

Slowly Luigi's hand tightened into a fist. His first impulse - partially - was to charge right on back down to that basement and confront King Boo again, this time telling him what he really thought; and the second impulse was the one that never wanted to see him again as long as he lived.

He knew that such a wish was impossible - the king had to be confronted; but he knew it was pointless. King Boo had more power – Luigi had a feeling he'd only had a tiny taste of it – and as of right now Luigi was defenseless against it. His heart trembled at the thought of the dark, weightless spell that had consumed him for a moment, distorting reality; and Luigi shivered. He had been cast away; what could he do against that?

   The mysterious power...

   Mario's words of warning came back to him then, almost as if he'd heard the question. The power Clairvoya had mentioned... and hadn't King Boo himself said something of it too? And - Boolossus!

   Just then Luigi started. Of course; where did King Boo get his power from?

   Setting his brow with newfound determination, Luigi took the Poltergust and started down the hall, heading not for the basement stairs but the turn that would lead to the second floor. He wasn't ready to go downstairs just yet – he still had some more work to do.

   In the end, of course, nothing would keep him out of that basement – but if King Boo was too strong for him now, why not weaken him first by taking some of that power away?

~

   Luigi paused to lean against the telephone room door in exhaustion. After what had seemed like another hour-long walk, he had finally arrived once again at the top-most floor where he'd answered the phone. Making a face of complaint, he let go of his hurting ankle.

   The hallways up there in the attic were still dark, of course, having no lights; but when he went inside Luigi found the telephone room alight.

   It all seemed about the same in the dark as it was with the lights on. It definitely had been some sort of lounge, and a good place for it at that – at least until Luigi noticed with disgust that all the furniture was riddled with moth holes.

   Well, I'm not here to relax anyway, he thought, turning away with a snort. I'm here to look for boos.

   That was his brilliant idea, his plan of attack for right now: collect every boo he could find to weaken their power. Ultimately it must have boiled down to the professor's claim: they had power in numbers, didn't they?

   That was the only solution he could exact from what he'd heard, what he'd experienced in the dungeon tunnel; and it was something to go on. Now, he kept the Game Boy Horror closer than ever, an ear on alert for the Boo Radar. If having them everywhere all around him made King Boo stronger, then catching boos off one by one was bound to help, wouldn't it?

   Luigi figured there were probably boos hiding upstairs, in the rooms he hadn't been able to explore. So as the professor had said long ago, turning on all the lights would probably do the trick to flush them out.

   Running an absentminded hand over the burnished telephone, he shook his head. He didn't know for sure that he was on the right track - but it felt better to be doing something productive.

   Luigi turned to the big window on the south wall, facing the front. He knew it was the direct center of the front of the mansion; the middle window among the big three gables. He knew he'd probably find no better place to look out on the whole front yard. He liked it because when he was there, he could tell exactly where he was geographically, both in relation to the ground outside and from his mental picture of the mansion. Still, the ground was a long way off.

   Leaning gently against it, Luigi pressed his hands to the glass and scanned the trees beyond the clearing. From this vantage point he could see their sharp branches which almost melded with the dark sky above them, as if the sky at any moment would come crashing down on top of them. He could see the tiny opening among the trees – the small path from which he'd come all those hours ago. Staring at it now, Luigi could imagine it as the mansion had seen it: he'd come out of the trees and right up into this building – the same, he realized, as Mario must have done before him.

   The mansion had not attacked. Instead it had stood and waited, somber and still, knowing that its prey would come of its own accord. Now, it did not expect any more visitors. The ruse had accomplished what it had been intended to do.

   Luigi closed his eyes and stifled a cry of despair, suddenly overcome with a wave of emotion. With his forehead to the glass, he wondered how long he had really been here. Sometimes it felt like he'd been trapped here for years and years.

   "Hey, watcha crying about?" a voice behind him asked.

   Luigi whirled around with a start to see the boo floating there, watching him. How had it snuck in without him noticing?

   Quickly, Luigi drew an arm across his forehead. His eyes may have given away some fear, but his voice reflected nothing but sadness.

   "I'm not crying."

   The boo chuckled. "Well, sooner or later, you will be. That is my ugly forecast. And now it's time for the ten o'clock boos!"

   Luigi gave him a sidelong look. "T-ten o'clock?"

   "Oh, is it that late already? I mean four o'clock. Story at four."

   Luigi just stared. "I don't understand."

   "It's almost time for the four o'clock report! You know!" Shrugging as best he could, the boo sighed. "I'm a Booscaster. I hear about it all, and most of it isn't pretty, I must say. The news of the house, I mean. I've heard a good bit of your story, you know... It's my business to keep the king updated, after all. Ah, the boomanity."

   The ghost hunter shivered a little. He hated being watched.

"Very funny," Luigi replied quietly. "I wonder who will be left to report your capture." Then he easily and almost effortlessly pulled the boo in.

   He shook his head and snorted. "And this has been the four o'clock boos."

   With a sigh, he looked around and spotted the door in the back corner of the room which he'd never gotten an opportunity to enter. That would be where he'd continue: he knew he really shouldn't be lingering around. How many hours now had Mario been in the painting? If what Booscaster said about the time was true, it was ever-steadily getting later.

   Dragging his feet across the boards, Luigi headed for it. He had to admit he'd felt sprightlier; his ankles felt like lead, and the Poltergust seemed to be getting heavier on his shoulders. He was in such a daze for a moment that he almost walked right into one of the wooden ceiling supports in the middle of the room.

For just an instant it flashed across his mind that perhaps he should sit down for a minute - get some rest he so badly needed. Just a couple of moments couldn't really hurt... Grabbing the doorknob, he very nearly convinced himself to give in to that desire.

   No, he reminded himself firmly in the nick of time. Remember Mario down there with... King Boo right now... He doesn't have time to waste on you recuperating. Every second... he's suffering...

   So Luigi moved on into more unknown.

This time he opened into a room of similar proportions; the wooden planks were unpainted and the room had an old smell he couldn't identify. Immediately his eyes were drawn to the other side of the room, where some sort of huge, colorful wooden playhouse had been built.

   And glowing in the darkness, stationed in front of it like waiting sentinels, stood three ghostly soldiers.

...Portrait ghosts?

   Mama-! Luigi almost jumped in alarm when he first caught sight of their spectral light. Breathing so quietly he couldn't hear himself, he crept inside. Ghosts out in the open??

   Never taking his eyes off the soldiers, who were frozen in place as if on very important duty, he came closer cautiously. They were all identical as far as features went; each was tall, green-skinned and firm-looking, with blonde crew cuts. So far as he could see, the only differences between them were in the color of their uniforms, which were red, blue and green. They all wore white pants, and - oddly enough - these ghosts had feet.

   For a second he stared in bewilderment at their black boots and enormous showy hats which reminded Luigi of play toys. Their coats were studded with golden buttons, and each carried some sort of rifle which was poised as if to warn off intruders.

   What in the...

   Clinging to his vacuum, Luigi finally came to pause only a few feet away from the nearest one. Still they didn't move, didn't react. It was as if they'd been turned to statues.

   He tilted his head and stared at each ghost, eyes flitting from face to stony face. They're just... standing there, he thought in bafflement. It wasn't enough to comfort Luigi – he almost felt more intimidated by the fact that they didn't attack. With a shiver and an extra watch on his back, he tiptoed past one. Still nothing.

   Can they not see me, or do they know I'm here? It was a creepy thought. Finally he slowly raised a hand near the red one's face and waved. No response.

   "He-hello?"

   At last, puzzled, Luigi turned away to look around the room. They're like frozen in time. He was fully aware it might all be some clever trick to lure him into a false sense of security, so he never let his guard down completely – but then, when had he ever taken such liberty?

   Luigi shifted along the floor, his tiredness nearly nonexistent now that he was in a dark room. Of course, underlying it was still there, but he was on the alert now. The nagging need to watch himself had been ever-present in the back of his mind for what felt like ages now; Luigi had become used to living with it. He longed to at last be able to rest, to let it all go, but the chances of him getting to relax anytime soon were unlikely. He wasn't sure if he'd ever truly be able to let his guard down again.

   Looking around in the dark, Luigi found two small tables in the middle of the room with junk piled on them; it looked like old tools and such.

   But when his yellow beam suddenly fell upon a face in the darkness, he jumped so suddenly he was surprised his head didn't hit the rafters.

   Oh my gosh -

   Chest thumping, he risked a second look at the cause of his jump scare and let out an enormously huge sigh to find that the 'face' he'd seen was only a baby doll.

Well, part of a doll; when he felt brave enough for a closer inspection he found that only the head was there, as if someone had been tinkering with it and it had been decapitated.

   Turning away at the chill that ran down his spine, Luigi tried to focus on something else. In the corner of the room was another shelf, this one with more promising contents; Luigi looked curiously on the two fancy clocks that sat displayed there, each adorned with cute little figurines that were probably supposed to move. They're cuckoo clocks, he thought, touching one that looked like a flower. I wonder if they still work...

   Feeling around to see if he could get it to turn on, his hand hit a button and suddenly it came to life in the silence, small mechanisms whirring and whistling the way he'd imagined. It was cute until abruptly, the clock began to play a song like a music box, notes hitting the darkness in chimes.

But as soon as he realized what it was playing, Luigi began to back away in terror. No... surely you're kidding! He'd recognize it anywhere... that song.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

   The song that had been annoyingly stuck in his head all night; the one he was reminded of every time he broke into whistling it, or humming it; the one that the doorknobs squeaked, and that earlier on Melody had been playing on her piano. The one she'd gotten so angry about...

The mansion's song... the mansion's theme.

   So the mansion has a theme, Luigi thought breathlessly, backing further away. What is it with the mansion and that song...?

   Whatever it was, Luigi knew it would probably haunt him forever.

But before he had a chance to think any further, he was jolted by a sudden sound in the room, a new sound: all at once, as if awakened at the sound of the chimes, the three soldiers came to life in unison, shouldering their guns and stepping forward. Luigi gasped and backed away as the glowing ghosts stopped and looked around for a moment, as if processing their surroundings, then promptly started towards him.

   Three on one... no fair, he thought nervously, grabbing the Poltergust. He tried to get a good look at their rifles, but as far as he could tell they didn't seem to be real; they looked like big cork guns. Another odd thing Luigi noticed was the way they moved: as they rotated their heads and walked towards him, they made strange winding sounds, almost like mechanical toys.

   Luigi kept a good distance away, watching nervously as they continued to follow him. They didn't seem to exceed their pace though; it was as if they were incapable of walking any faster. Without a word, the soldiers advanced on their intruder. What had they been guarding, anyway?

   Luigi was starting to get concerned as to what they were going to do when he spotted the red one's heart. In a split second, he lunged forward for him.

   Yanked forward by the sudden pull, the ghost dragged Luigi all over the floor, each fighting for prominence over the other, while the other two tried to catch up. A couple of times he heard a pop! as the other soldiers tried to fire at him, but they missed. Thank goodness, Luigi thought, chest pounding. Thank goodness they're not real.

   Due to the slowness of his comrades, the red soldier was soon put down by Luigi, who was by now becoming an expert at this sort of thing: dodging and maintaining control. Brandishing the Poltergust, he turned towards the two remaining. Just like clockwork, he thought.

   A short time later, when the lights came on at last, they also extinguished the little music clock, which had been playing annoyingly throughout the whole tussle. Not that it really bothered anybody; the Poltergust in action combined with the strugglings of a ghost was usually loud enough to drown out any other sounds in a room.

If they had even been ghosts. True, they'd had hearts; but even still their odd behavior led Luigi to believe they were more than ordinary beings.

   With all three finally caught, Luigi sighed in exhaustion and fell back on to an old chair. He had been hit a few times; with both soldiers on him he had been unable to completely avoid a few hard shots from their cork guns. Rubbing his sore arm, he quickly forced himself to rise again. If he stayed there he might never bring himself to get back up.

   With the room alight, he could now see everything much more clearly; aside from the fancy clocks, all sorts of tools were hung on racks on the wall: screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, and all sorts of junk. In one corner he also saw hanging, suspended in a mess of strings and sticks, an old life-size puppet of a soldier. Luigi shivered at the sight of it. How disturbing.

   As he stood up, he accidentally knocked a toolbox to the floor. With longsuffering patience, he replaced it all. Maybe I should get some of those do-it-yourself books, he thought to himself. This seemed to be some sort of creative building room, after all; Luigi had tried a little bit of woodwork before himself - with Mario, of course. He wasn't afraid of a little honest work.

   With everything tidied up he finally turned his attention towards the big wooden playhouse which the soldiers had been standing in front of. He had to admire the fine carpentry work that had gone into it, the curved doorways and checkered patterns as if to amuse children; but when he came to the biggest door in the front Luigi was in for a surprising discovery. The playhouse wasn't just an empty children's toy; it was a cleverly concealed entrance to an elevator!

   An elevator? he thought in surprise. There was an elevator inside!

  Now I find an elevator? I thought the mansion was too old for that. Glancing around in uncertainty, Luigi ducked his head and stepped inside. It was actually quite roomy; he wondered who had built it. Did the lift still work? Where could it lead?

   In answer to his questions, the floor beneath him suddenly rumbled, as if activated by his weight, and before he had a chance to give it a second thought, it began to rise all by itself with him on it; up, up... the shaft was overtaken with darkness as the room below passed beyond him.

   Stomach lurching, Luigi tried to keep his footing as the platform rose, taking him... away. What's going on? he thought in a rising panic as he could feel himself being abruptly lifted. Uh oh... shouldn't have done that... He was positive he hadn't touched anything but the floor. There weren't even any buttons in here. What if it led to nowhere... what if it was all some sick trap?

   But thankfully, a dim white light soon appeared overhead and helped calm his fears. A rush of cool air suddenly filled the small space; Luigi could feel a drastic atmosphere change. When the ride jolted to a stop and Luigi stepped forward in his destination, an unexpected blast of cool wind hit him: he was outside. Coming out of the elevator, he turned around and saw with awe that he had just come out of a small stone hut – a little building that could only be the central spire rising out of the top of the mansion!

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

   Breathing in the cold night air, Luigi turned around and stared. He appeared to be on another balcony of some sort; not as big as the other one, but roomy nonetheless. There were no rails though... With a frown, Luigi carefully stepped forward.

   Several paces away, the stone floor gave way to nothing; cautiously approaching closer, Luigi felt his breath leave him as he stared over the edge, treated with a sight that was almost too much to handle. He was looking directly down the dizzying drop off a black slope, which gave way at the end of the steep incline to the ground far below.   

   I'm... I'm at the top, he thought in shock, backing away. I finally made it. The elevator had taken him to the very top level of the mansion; he had found the roof! Suddenly, looking around at the open air and all the emptiness around him, he began to feel a little uneasy at how high up he was. There is a platform up here...

   So this was the flat surface on the very top of it all. Looking around, Luigi could make out stone pedestals lined along the roof, and on either end he saw the two smaller chimneys like small buildings. It's so wide and airy up here. Not too far away, on the other end of the roof, a glowing light suddenly caught his eye, making him do a double take. What...?

   Luigi turned towards it. He could scarcely believe what he was seeing: a small campfire had been built and left burning on the rooftop, and dancing around it like at some spooky ceremony, several of those shy guy ghosts surrounded it.

   What are they doing up here? Luigi thought in disbelief. His travels had taken him to the farthest reaches of the mansion, and even way up here he found ghosts. Feeling strangely unafraid, he took the Poltergust and headed right towards them.

   The fire was small, but it glowed bright and orange in the enormous void of the night, welcoming, like a tiny beacon of hope. The ghosts dancing around it all looked up at once as Luigi drew near, and one let out a squawk of defiance. Time to get to work once again.

   The ghosts were few, and it wasn't long before they all succumbed to his machine. Of course, it was easier when you had a whole entire roof to battle on.

   When the last one went down, it dropped a tiny key to the stones after it. Luigi let out a breath of relief and picked it up, utterly exhausted.

   With the ghosts gone, he paused to stare at the small fire still burning. Why would it be on the rooftop? It cast an orange glow on him, sending a small wave of gentle heat over his weary body. For a moment he was lost in its mesmerizing glow.

   A fire sure feels good on a night as cold as this, he thought, shivering against the cold wind around him.

   When he finally turned away, Luigi was unsure what to do. Deciding to leave the fire burning, assuming it would likely snuff out soon anyway, he walked around to just explore the mysterious rooftop a bit.

   Luigi was surprised to find, on the left chimney, a ladder built into the bricks on the side which led up to the top. Curious, he tested his weight and then climbed up.

   At the top he found not an opening, but a metal grate; as if the chimney had been modified so one could stand on top. Definitely a bad idea when the fire's going, Luigi thought with a snicker. Carefully, unsure why, he pulled himself up, and as he unsteadily rose to his feet the world he saw around him took his breath away.

   Surrounding him in all directions was nothing but a sea of trees; it was as if the entirety of Boo Woods was stretched out before him, as far as the eye could see. The air felt lighter here, as if he was touching the higher reaches of the atmosphere; and as he looked out over the roof and the forest beyond, he realized that he was at, quite literally, the highest possible point of the whole mansion.

   From here Luigi could see the horizon curving off on all sides, as if he were so high he could almost see the spherical shape of the earth below. Suddenly he looked up, and a strange familiar feeling swept over him as he saw that the moon, bright and real, was right there; this time, he stood below it, and it almost seemed close enough to touch. Its unobscured glow bathed the rooftop in moonlight.

   A small wind swirled around him, seeming to remind him that he was still on earth; and when at last Luigi looked down, he almost staggered at the terrifying distance he was from the ground. He couldn't fall; the chimney still had a small stone lip which came nearly up to his waist to discourage him falling off. Still, he felt so uncaged – free – that Luigi suddenly felt as if at any moment the breeze might sweep him away.

   Everything seemed so far from here – the little secluded room far, far below him was the farthest away from him yet. At the thought of it Luigi began to feel strange. It was curious, after all, that he had spent all night working his way up to the very top of the mansion, only to discover that Mario was being held in the basement. A confusing conflict stirred inside him. How strange, that Luigi was so high up... and yet he felt so low.

   I'm on top, he thought slowly. I'm on top of it all.

   Now, he was quite literally on top of the mansion – and as he stood atop it as some conqueror or owner, looking over the forest of dead trees that was the land he had won, he realized that he was very near the end. Everything else was now under his feet.

   I guess this is where I do my King of the World impersonation, he thought with a hollow chuckle. Or King of the Mansion, maybe.

   Luigi stopped at that thought. King of the Mansion... he suddenly realized there already was such a king. A real king; King Boo.

   He was king over it all; and suddenly Luigi realized this was why they were at odds. Luigi had challenged his power, and King Boo wanted to put him down. He quite simply wanted to rule over him.

   Luigi stood taller as he looked down over it all. King Boo may have been king of the woods; he may have even conquered Mario. But the mansion had been given to Luigi.

   He inhaled in the strong wind as it hit his face, turning back to look at the moon beside him. The gorgeous moonlight almost seemed to seep through his skin, as if invigorating him for the task ahead. He realized that he liked this place; he found that the rooftop was one of the most peaceful places he'd ever been. It was sad somehow; the air chilled him and the wide emptiness around him reminded him of the similar void in his heart. But at the same time, it also filled him with encouragement; even over the dead forest, the moon still shone bright. Despite the terrors he knew were concealed in the house below, Luigi found a relaxing calm. He wouldn't let the house own him any longer. He'd be king of his own mansion.

   Feeling renewed by his ambition, Luigi was about to go back down the ladder when he got a sudden idea and paused to turn back. He couldn't resist trying it just once... He came up to the very edge and looked out one more time, letting out a shout that carried on the night air and over the forest.

   "Mario!..."

"...Mario! Mario! Mario!..."

   Luigi stayed and watched as the call echoed through the trees, seeming to fill the whole forest and carrying on long after he said it. As it faded away on the wind, he closed his eyes and almost felt it take him away.

   Then the wind abruptly died; the cool breeze was gone and the hint of magic he had felt suddenly disappeared. Luigi at last turned away. He knew Mario wouldn't hear his call; not literally. But Luigi loved the sound of it in the air; he didn't care if it was odd. Luigi knew that he lived by his brother's name.

   Once down safely on the surface of the roof again, he crossed to the other side, where the opposite chimney was. He didn't expect to find anything useful, but went nevertheless.

   There was also a ladder mounted on this one; when Luigi climbed it, he had expected a similar platform on top. However, as soon as he pulled himself up, he found himself on a wooden plank, as a diving board; and as soon as he stepped forward, before he could stop himself, it wobbled beneath his weight and gave way to the open pit beneath him.

   "AAAAHHHH!!!"

   For just a few terrifying moments Luigi's heart was in his throat as he slipped and was plunged into the blackness, falling, falling... the wind whistled past his ears as the night and the roof around him passed beyond and he plummeted through the narrow hole. Where was it going... What was going to happen to him??

And then, as instantly as he had fallen, he abruptly landed, smacking the ground with a sickening thump.

   At first Luigi thought he might have been paralyzed. The cool fresh air and the moonlight were gone; it had left him behind, giving way to a surprisingly warm setting. Lying on some hard floor, he finally stirred his jarred bones and gingerly brought himself to move.

   Oww... Luigi panted for air after nearly having the wind knocked out of him. After being sure he had hit solid ground, shaken but still in one piece, he became suddenly aware of the Boo Radar's soft alarm from his pocket. But that was at the back of his mind just now – almost every part of him stung like he'd taken a punch; Luigi had a hard time thinking of a place that didn't hurt. I'm still alive... I think, he thought in a daze. Groaning in pain, he carefully sat up and looked in confusion about him.

   He found himself sitting in a bright room. More specifically, he was in the fireplace; Luigi was in some dark hatch, looking out from within. Standing up and crawling out, trying to go easy on his tired limbs, he saw with a kind of horror that he'd gotten dusted all over with ancient soot and ash from the floor. With a cough he observed the dust all over his clothes and grimaced. Wait... I... He blinked incredulously and turned around. He'd actually fallen down the chimney!

   I can't believe I did that. Brushing the black stains from his jeans as best he could, hoping they'd come out later, he glanced around at the room he'd landed in. He didn't recognize this place. At first glance it was very impressive; the walls were yellow and all the decorations golden, with pictures, trophies and chests that sparkled in the light. There was a small step in the back of the room that led up to a slightly higher level, where paintings were draped with red curtains. It all appeared very fancy, as if it was here that the owner had hoarded their valuables. Most obvious of all was the door on the right: it was barred over with two wooden boards.

   Of course, Luigi thought, knowing instantly where he was. The sealed room!

   He was on the second floor, then; he knew exactly the spot. So it could be accessed; from the chimney! Shaking his head in disbelief, Luigi started forward to have a look at all the expensive-looking stuff, now that he was here. It all looks like it would fetch a pretty penny... Was someone trying to show it off, or hide it?

   Pausing in front of the shelf, he curiously opened a small jeweled box he found sitting there. Inside were two beautiful gemstones.

   Luigi soon found that he must have been right; before he'd gotten very far he'd come across about five more ridiculously large or valuable jewels and ornaments, some made with gold. Realizing that there was no reason to leave them, Luigi felt his head start to spin as he pocketed them all: a ruby, an emerald, a couple of gorgeous decorations encrusted with gold and pearls, and one more beautiful diamond, although not as large as the other one the flower had given him. By the time he was done, Luigi felt heavier than twice his normal weight.

   Maybe I'll give some to the professor, he thought. I don't need all this money. E. Gadd could probably do something more useful with it.

   Just as he was thinking so, a small voice chattered behind him. "Hey, what do you think you're doing??"

   Luigi jumped and turned. The boo had appeared as most of the others did: while his back was turned.

   "Nothing of your concern," Luigi replied a little harshly. "What do you think you're doing?"

   "No one questions my authority from among the living! This is my house, fool!" it scolded angrily. "I am the one known as Boorepides, overseer of this fine exhibit; and you, are a tragedy. Quoth me: go away!"

   "...No," Luigi said stubbornly. "It's my house! I don't care if you guys made it, it's mine now!"

   The boo snorted. "As if! We rule this place; you just walk around in it." He stopped and gave him a dirty stare. "It torments you."

   Luigi stared at his harasser, unable to do anything but pant for air. That rotten little thing...

   He hated to admit it. But in some ways, the boo was absolutely right.

   All night – ever since the first moment he had laid eyes on it – Luigi had lived under a constant burden. He couldn't identify what exactly it was; he had tried his hardest to appreciate the mansion, to try to like it. It was his new house, after all; his prize. Originally he had had great plans for it; imagine all he could have done, if it had really been all he'd hoped it was!

   But now that he was in it, caught in some kind of snare... it was as if the mansion had its own personality, its own desires. The ever-mysterious mansion knew much and revealed little; what did it want from him? It held a great many dark secrets that would likely never see the light of day; it didn't want him to leave.

   But was it willing to accept him as its master?

   Finally Luigi shook his head. "No," he said. "I own this mansion, and I'll rule over it one way or the other. Just you wait and see."

   "Right," the boo said. "And I'll be king one day."

   "Well, good luck with that," Luigi replied, turning the Poltergust on him. The boo swerved and made a run for it, but Luigi was able to get a hold on him and yanked back just before he faded through the wall.

   Thank goodness, he thought as he soon made quick work of him. I wouldn't have been able to give chase if he'd escaped.

   ...Wait.

   That thought made Luigi freeze. I wouldn't be able... What??

  Suddenly, he realized like a wrecking ball to the chest what should have been obvious from the start: he couldn't leave this place. The only door was boarded shut.

   No, he thought, a small panic starting to rise within him. I can't... No, that can't be true. There's got to be a way out... there always is!

   Stomach tightening, Luigi began to dart from one end of the room to the other, scanning the walls desperately for some sort of opening; a mouse hole, anything! When he came up to the fireplace, looking hopefully up the dark chimney for a possible way out, he was quickly discouraged. He couldn't possibly climb up out of there, and now he was too weak to even attempt it.

   The door, then. There had to be a way to get those boards down; there had to be a way through!

   But as he gripped the planks forcefully and pulled with all the might he could muster, he already knew it was a lost cause. It was pointless; he couldn't tear off the heavy bolts with his bare hands. A terrible realization threatened to seize him. No... am I going to let it end this way?

   Luigi stared, near trembling, at the door that kept him from his goal; so small, so insignificant. How could this keep him back?

   At last, feeling defeated and alone, he banged his fists against it in despair, throwing his body against the boards until he was breathless, as if someone might hear on the other side.

   Then that was it... he couldn't get out. He'd let himself be trapped here, all with one careless mistake... at last turning away, Luigi felt an awful wave of failure wash over him. How strange that this lovely room, filled with treasures, would turn out to be his ultimate roadblock – his clever prison. Would those two silly little planks keep him contained; would the mansion win and consume him here? No; it just wasn't right!

   Making his way towards the fancy pictures displayed on the other side of the room, scarcely daring to hope for an answer, he finally stopped before one that was covered over with a white sheet or curtain of some sort; probably a mirror. Luigi tore it off with one heart-wrenching swipe and stared at his sorry image; lost, desperate... and seeming utterly hopeless. The same person he usually saw when he looked in mirrors.

   Gingerly rubbing his aching head, he bit his lip and cringed. How could he have let this happen? Was this really it... was he going to be trapped in here forever? The sight of his own misery was almost too much to bear. He let out a choked sigh and looked down, unable to take it. Of course he was scared, but then there was the underlying defeat that hurt even worse: the thought of... failing Mario...

   Luigi sniffed and lifted his head. No; he couldn't give up yet! This couldn't be the end... Mario was waiting for him; what would happen if Luigi never showed up?

   The sudden thought gave Luigi all the force he needed. He had to come through this; he just had to! He had to stay strong... he had to keep his head. Surely he could think of a way out of this... What would Mario do?

   Luigi found himself startled at that question. What would Mario do in a similar situation?

   Mario was generally less of a fatalist than Luigi was, and he always believed there was a way out. Luigi, trying to keep that in mind, took a couple of deep breaths. Okay... The first thing Mario would say was probably 'Stay calm, Weegie'.

   Unexpectedly a slight smile touched his face at that thought. Weegie... that was what Mario had used to call him sometimes, mostly when they were younger. It had started back when they were only babies, and the young Mario had been unable to properly pronounce his brother's name. Then, as they got older, the nickname stuck; Luigi always assumed Mario would use it as a kind of term of endearment.

   Luigi closed his eyes and willed himself to calm. It had been a long time since he had heard Mario use it – but now he could almost hear it as if Mario had called out to him. Gently, his panic began to dissipate.

   Okay... think, he told himself. I've warped through the mansion before... where's King Boo when you need him?!

   Luigi was incredulous at his first thought; that perhaps the boos could have gotten him out of here by using their mysterious booish magic, taking him back to the foyer. He highly doubted that if King Boo showed up it would end well in reality, however.

   He sighed again and came forward, resting his forehead against the glass of the mirror. He wished that the mansion really did have a voice of its own; that he could talk to it and it would acknowledge him. He'd be its king and ask it to let him out, and it would dutifully comply...

   With all the curious happenings surrounding the house, he wouldn't have been extremely surprised if the mansion was keeping him here on purpose. So perhaps the most obvious thing to do was to ask it.

   "Please... please let me out," Luigi murmured. "I've got to get to the basement again; you've got to let me go. Please?"

   The room didn't reply. So Luigi pleaded more. "Come on," he whispered. "You're my mansion, and I'm not going to let you conquer me. You may think you own me... but I'm not giving up that easily. I've come this far... and I'll win this one if it's the last thing I do."

   He sighed and tried to hold back the tears that threatened him again, putting a weary hand to the glass. As he did so, begging to be let out, a very strange feeling came to him, if only for a couple of seconds. It was as if he had been doing this all night; the most strong sensation of déjà vu.

   But before he could even think on that, he suddenly became aware of a small warmth beneath his hands; a hum, or a tingle, coming from the glass. He felt it, but Luigi didn't move from the mirror, nor did he open his eyes; something inside already told him it was okay.

   The warmth grew; the tingling increased beneath his hands and he could feel the glass begin to vibrate before him. His shallow breathing matched the hum that gently shook his body. Calm, as if in a deep meditation, Luigi didn't twitch. Please... let me out...

   Beneath his hand, the mirror began to glitter and sparkle with purple light.