Flipped (Super Paper Mario SWAP AU)

One Skeleton Key(14)

It was ironic, really. All that bravery, all he sacrificed to achieve freedom, and he still ended up right back where he started. Prince Luigi supposed that's what he got for being so trusting. It took every ounce of strength and bravery to take that step and run from Bowser's castle. He risked his life, he risked it all, and for what?! Now, he was back in the dark, behind bars.

The jester hadn't said much to him. How Luigi found himself in a dark and lonely cell was fairly boring, actually. The jester held his hand out to Prince Luigi, Luigi took it, then he was brought to this cage, which was miraculously smaller than the one in Bowser's castle.

The jester was gone. He hadn't visited since he brought Luigi to that dark, lonely place. It wasn't warm like the one in Bowser's castle. In fact, Luigi was freezing. It was practically pitch black down there, which was frightening. The prince could only hear the squeaking of mice occasionally, which sent chills down his spine. 

Mice and rats, now those were terrifying creatures. Especially the creepy ones with red eyes. Spiders could be handled with a shoe, but not rats, and one could argue that rats have the potential to cause much more damage.

Maybe Luigi was only this scared of them because of a short story he read years ago. He could never remember what it was called, but the story stuck with him throughout the years. A story of a man working in a remote lighthouse with one, maybe two other people. All was well until a ship of rats came in, infested with disease. These rats weren't cute or nice like the ones in the movies, they were vicious. One of the people working in the lighthouse died because of them, or maybe two people died. No... just one. One died, because of the infections from rat bites and scratches. The other didn't die, he just went mad enough to get sent to an asylum. Maybe he died in there, Luigi couldn't remember. The main character didn't perish, though. Even after being attacked, hospitalized, and practically driven mad, he ended the story right where he started, working in the lighthouse again. The brutal imagery of the rats flooding the stairs and attacking people isn't what terrified Luigi to his core, though. Well, it was, but what somehow felt even darker was the fact that no one was on the ship the rats had arrived on. How did they get there? Was there once a crew? Did the rats kill them first? How many more people would the rats kill?

Was Luigi next?

He might have been if the story was more than just that, a story. 

But weren't all stories more than stories?

Three Skeleton Key... that's what it was called, right? Creepy name for a creepy story that he hardly remembered anymore. He'd make a point to remember the name well this time. Three Skeleton Key, written by some French guy or something.

The prince's train of thought was broken by two soft voices talking. He couldn't tell where the words were coming from, as the walls were dark and damp, allowing sounds to bounce. It seemed the noise was coming from somewhere above, though. Maybe there was a dark staircase nearby.

"He's the one. I'm certain. I've been watching for long enough," one voice breathed. Prince Luigi recognized it, it must have belonged to the jester.

My most terrifying experience? Luigi thought to himself. The time I was trapped in the darkness with no true idea of who it was I was dealing with. 

This was different from being kidnapped by Bowser because he knew Bowser well enough to know that he wouldn't be killed. Bowser wasn't as common of an enemy as King Boo, but he was common enough for Luigi to know that while he was in danger, it wasn't real danger. 

This guy? This guy seemed like bad news. He had no idea what the jester was capable of, what his intentions were.

"Alright... is it cold down there? I can never tell. Why don't you give him some blankets and... explain the situation? We'll have him moved somewhere far more comfortable soon, be sure to promise him that," a second voice breathed, far gentler and kinder.