Silence, a Luigi's Mansion fanfic

A/N: And this counts as a separate fandom why? Well, whatever, I have a little oneshot here to liven the section up. Not exactly as romancey as I wanted it, but I managed to fix that at the end…hopefully… :D *shottossedoffaskyscraperthro wnincowpentrampled, but not necessarily in that order*

Disclaimer:

King Boo: This game is miiiiiiiiiiiine-no wait-everything is miiiiiiiiiiiiiiine haaaaaaaaaaahahahahaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa-*is bricked by Nintendo Agents 1-2948*

Nintendo Agent 2948: We own everything. And everything we don't own goes to its respective owners. (Yay for logic-defying Nintendo Agents!)

A flashlight beam played over the walls, ceiling and floor of the dark mansion. To many, the place seemed to be deserted; already giving it a haunted air. Some, like the toads and Mario, had excused that. There were no such things as ghosts, right?

Wrong. There were. After all the childhood teachings about things that supposedly 'weren't real', like monsters, ghosts, the bogey man, and UFOs, you grew up to find that all of those things were real and that you had been taught lies. And that was the reason that Luigi, who absolutely despised almost any form of ghost, was trekking through the mansion with no weapons but a vacuum cleaner, a flashlight, a Gameboy Color, and an extra sweater to take out the whole mansion full of ghosts.

Exactly how he wanted to spend his weekend.

So Luigi was left pondering things that he normally would not be thinking about. Like how the Boos claimed to be ghosts, but you could physically injure them, contradicting the whole 'I-am-a-spirit-and-you-mortals-cannot-harm-me' façade that many of the 'residents' showed to invited and uninvited guests.

Or how a vacuum could hold spirits that could deal bodily harm on various levels, but supposedly mortal people couldn't touch?

And why couldn't he just slam the Boos into the wall or crush them by jumping or hammer like he had before? Seriously, what exactly happened?

Luigi's contemplations of life were interrupted by a pink bat that had decided he would make a good landing post. Needless to say, the ghost rodent got a space in a crammed and slightly dusty vacuum instead of a human's life force. The green plumber shoved nozzle back in its position and continued on down the hallway, once again sinking deep into thought.

For a haunted mansion, this place is pretty new. Then again, I suppose it did just appear in the night.

To Luigi, that was a rather puzzling concept. How could something like that magically pop up onto the hill with only some ghosts for an excuse? Was it possible for ghosts to even conjure enough power to create this place? If not, then how did it even exist? Was this just an illusion? Was he dreaming? What-

BANG!

The source of the bomb-dropping annoyance was taken out in a mere three seconds, along with a few more bats and a random blue ghost mouse.

As Luigi straightened his hat for what seemed to be the hundredth time that night, a foreign melody drifted through the night from one of the rooms. He tilted his head, wondering what it was, and if they were friend or foe. He tried to track the music to its source, defeating any other ghosts who tried to distract him from his quest.

Finally, he came to a stop in front of a plain but slightly fancy door. There was a small, golden label next to it.

Conservatory

Luigi shuffled through his various keys (it was a wonder that they didn't make an annoying cacophony that attracted every ghost in the Mushroom Kingdom) to find one that would fit in the door. About ten keys later, he found a match.

The room generally wasn't unpleasant, but the music had stopped. The green-clad man nervously surveyed the room, before noticing some of the instruments.

A harp…some drums…a piano…

He had always wanted to see one of those up close…

No. Save the best for last.

Luigi walked over to the closest instrument, a xylophone, and nervously started playing with it. When he left it several minutes later, the sticks kept playing to a vaguely familiar tune. Though he checked it with his Gameboy Horror, Luigi could detect no ghost. Still slightly suspicious, the ghost hunter (COULD NOT RESIST PUN) moved on to test another instrument. This time, he selected the -insert instrument here-. It, too, kept playing to the same song. After testing the -insert-, Luigi relaxed a little. The musical instruments were-hopefully-safe to play with. So Luigi forgot about his troubles and got lost in the calming, but still happy world of music, possibly the only 'safe haven' in this terrible mansion.

Finally, he reached the piano.

But much to his dismay, the moment he sat down, the green clad man felt a presence beside him that had become all too well-known over the course of the night.

So much for his peace and quiet.

Instead of threatening him, however, the ghost that materialized next to him simply floated on the piano bench. Luigi felt drawn to stare her in the eyes, but they were closed. After what seemed to be a small eternity, the ghost turned to the piano and began to play. The other instruments immediately began to accompany her in the odd but peaceful melody. Luigi didn't move; afraid to break the music's spell. It was unlike anything he had ever heard before…

All too soon, the song ended, and the ghostly musician turned to him and finally returned his curious gaze. Luigi wasn't quite sure what to do now. Should he flee, or stay? It seemed rude to capture the ghost who had given him a much-needed break…

That piece…do you know what it's called?

Luigi was slightly startled by the question, then decided that it was safe to answer.

"No…I haven't. But it was beautiful."

The ghost smiled.

It's an ancient piece called Oranyos. Not many have heard it, and those who have passed away long ago. You are, perhaps, the only one who shall hear it, for the last one who remembered it lived almost five centuries ago.

The green clad human said nothing, so the ghostly musician continued.

I keep a copy of this music on my piano so that I may keep the song alive even when nobody else retains its' beauty.

She gestured toward the shelf of music next to the piano.

I have always loved music. It brings me peace, something that the other supposed residents of this place do not seem to appreciate.

The female ghost sighed, but then straightened up and resumed talking.

My name is Melody Piantissima. It bears similarity to both my love of peace and my love of music.

Luigi racked his brain to try and remember where he had heard her name, but nothing came to mind. He had no time to continue his thoughts, however.

If it is not too much trouble, may I ask of your name?

Pause.

"My…my name is Luigi."

Melody looked somewhat surprised.

Luigi…that was the name of my music partner…

The musician turned away. For a moment Luigi considered saying something to her, but he couldn't think of anything that might help. So instead, he tried placing a hand on her shoulder. Despite him being a human and her being a ghost, Luigi's hand didn't pass through the spirit. Normally, he would've taken time to question this, but he decided that now was not the time to consider that.

It felt like hours had passed before Melody once again turned to Luigi. Her eyes were like a melting pool for emotions; peace, sadness, determination, and perhaps even something else was mixed in with memories both ancient and new.

Thank you for listening to me.

For a moment, Melody stopped speaking, then decided that she would continue.

You are, perhaps, one of the only people to show me true compassion. I thank you for that.

Luigi with about to open his mouth to reply with something along the lines of 'You're welcome', but the ghost musician hushed him with her finger.

I can understand that you might not like the result, but you must return me to a painting if you wish to progress through here. There can be no exceptions, for if even one spirit remains in this place, more will flock to it. Unlike the other ghosts, I will not hate you for sealing me away. I have been alone for longer than anybody could wish. Before you give me peace, however, you must make two simple promises to me.

Half curious, half sympathetic, Luigi nodded.

First, you must take the music on my piano and preserve it. I do not want the piece that I have protected for this long to be forgotten again.

"I promise."

Though confident before, Melody once again turned away to stare at the piano keys. The two on the bench were drenched in quietness, with only the sound of occasional whispering in the background (one would never know whether it was from ghosts or the wind). The quietness ended, however, when a clock somewhere in the mansion announced that another hour had passed. With this, Melody 'stood' up, took some sheet music off the piano, and handed it to Luigi.

Time is passing quickly. You must continue your quest before you grow weary. Please finish me and be on your way.

Luigi looked up at her from the sheet music.

"But what was your second promise?"

It is not as important as-

"I need to know!"

The ghost musician was startled out of her calm demeanor for a few moments; then regained her composure.

Okay. Since you really wish to know, I will tell you. I simply ask that every once in a while, you would visit my painting in the Professor's lab.

Luigi smiled at her reassuringly.

"That's no problem. I promise you."

Thank you for your kindness. I could not have asked for more.

Melody waved her hand toward the Poltergust.

Now, I am truly finished with my work. Please remember your promises, and good luck!

The conservatory was once again silent as Luigi replaced the nozzle to the Poltergust.

He had to move on now. He had to save Mario.

But he also had to keep Melody's promises.

The green clad human gently folded up the music and placed it in a side pocket on the Poltergust so that it wouldn't get lost or damaged. One thing still eluded him, however.

No matter how hard he tried, he still couldn't put his finger on where exactly he had heard Melody's name before…

Luigi then remembered what he was supposed to be doing now. He could think about that later…

But as he folded the music up, he missed some names written at the top of the page.

Written and Composed By: Luigi and Melody Piantissima

End Notes: Not sure if that flowed the way I wanted it to, but whatever. And no, I will not continue this. You can beg, but I probably won't. I wanted to leave it with the mysterious ending.

Review please, and chow!

Random Trivia: The title of the Piantissima's piece is a spinoff of the ancient Greek word ouranoV (pronounced Oy-ran-os) that won't let me post correctly, which means 'heaven' or 'sky'. Although I used it elsewhere to stand for 'sky', in this instance it stands for 'heaven'.