The library's domain provided leagues of literature to read. Bookcases lined the walls, a couple tables divided the room, and a piano accented the old architecture. A couple hanging lanterns provided the necessary light to not stub a toe or crack a knee on the furniture. The window's curtains were tattered, and only swayed when Gamer slammed the entrance shut. Dust covered everything.
Gamer immediately ran over to the piano, "I swear to Gawd, if you staw-rt playing on your own, I will kick your ah-ss!"
The piano didn't make a peep.
"Sheesh, we need a plan. Let me check the deets, bro; we can't just keep running from these things," Samira sent.
A glitchy, violet-colored text box appeared with ༼ つ ╹ ╹ ༽つ Samira reacted with (˚ ☐˚ ")/ as it started moving across the screen. The last thing Gamer received was ༼ つ ╹ ╹ ༽つ 三三ᕕ( ･o･)ᕗ
"They're in the UI now? Great, talk about a system shock..." Gamer grumbled. Minnie walked over, uncertain about what he meant. Gamer opened his inventory and took out her shell. He passed it over, "I don't know how, or if, these bastards can hurt us, but let's play it safe for now."
"You got it!" Minnie saluted. She went to fit it over her head, but stopped. She held the opening towards Gamer, and he peeked in. Inside was a baba with a trollish expression. Minnie said, "There's a ghost in the shell."
The baba sprang out like a jack-in-the-box and Gamer reverse lived. He crumbled to the ground in a pale heap, and Minnie spun in circles while holding the shell out. The baba in the shell flew out thanks to the cylindrical force and disappeared into a wall.
Gamer's heart beat in his throat, "If this place isn't burnt to the ground by the end of all this..."
Minnie wiggled into her shell. It fit snugly on her, "If you can't fight ghosts well, maybe you need more protection?"
The colorful blue outfit did stick out like a sore thumb in a horror-themed location. He went into customization and sought something a little more appropriate. He found a dull blue police uniform with a large star motif on the front. The star had eyes, and the word STARS was stitched in on the chest of the shirt. It came with elbow and knee pads, which Gamer appreciated.
Minnie liked it, "Rockin'! What's our first move?"
"If my gaming logic isn't wrong, then we need to look for secrets. In these kinds of games, they always have the items needed to beat the enemies stashed away somewhere or hidden behind puzzles. We gotta loot that shit!" Gamer advised.
"Got it!"
Unseen babas cackled. Books floated off the bookcases and hovered for a moment. They then launched at the duo. Gamer dodged back and up against the piano. Minnie used her shell to block the attacks entirely.
The piano suddenly animated and opened its lid like a gaping maw. Sharp teeth extended along the edges. It closed around and munched on Gamer. Its chords thrummed as it continuously bit down like a wind-up toy.
"I...fucking...knew...it!" Gamer angrily cried between chomps. His new police gear prevented lacerations, but not for long. Gamer was but a screaming dog toy in the mouth of a ravenous musical mutt.
Minnie mini-panicked and looked for a way to intervene. She spotted the empty spaces created by the babas in a nearby bookcase. She scaled up to the top, and then cannonballed towards the monster instrument.
On the first floor, there was an extravagant studio with plenty of space to enjoy paintings of blocky landscapes, portraits of funky individuals, and concept art. A six-foot statue of a star stood in the center. The masonry's refined craft exemplified a passionate hand and galactic vision.
The ceiling cracked above the statue, followed by a whole piano falling through. The piano destroyed the statue, and vice versa. Gamer and Minnie rolled sideways out of the debris.
Gamer cracked his Bach as he stood up, "Thanks, Minnie."
"No problem!" Minnie gave a thumbs up. They recovered and checked the new room. The animated piano lay in a cracked state, and a strange, flat-looking wisp flew out of its lid. It disappeared into the wall. Minnie cocked her head, "What was that?"
"Some type of poltergeist. Nothing good," Gamer shivered.
The remnants of the statue carpeted the gallery floor. Gamer's eyes fell on what remained of the star and its perch. Set in the center of the statue, amongst all the grey stone, was a tiny, yellow item. Shaped like a star and the size of a kiwi, it also had a bit of a sparkle to it. Gamer stumbled over the piano's corpse and reached out for the star, "Now what's this easter egg?"
A baba emerged from below the statue and picked up the star. Gamer freaked out, and the baba giggled evilly, "This ain't yours! This belongs to our queen, Yaga!"
"Yaga's that dead bride? Well tell her it's finders keepers. Give me that item!" Gamer demanded. His thirst for more power ups overrode his fear of ghosts.
"Nah!" the baba zipped past Gamer. This caused him to stumble backwards in fright and trip over the piano. He accidentally ran into a portrait, but instead of hitting something solid, he fell into the painting. It rippled like water. Minnie and the baba moved over, curious what actually happened.
"Is that normal?" Minnie asked the specter.
"I only know one person who could do that..." the baba was baffled.
Gamer fell out of another portrait on the opposite wall, along with a deluge of seawater. He splat against the floor, and a gulp gulp flopped out of his police uniform. He coughed up a bunch of water, "That...was the largest eel...I've ever seen!"
"You're like Marco!" the baba gasped. "You can use the portraits here to teleport to different locations."
"Teleportation?" Gamer eyeballed all the frames in the gallery. He denoted two that had a snowy mountain in them. He experimented into the nearby one. It took a moment, but he popped out of the second picture, along with a snow flurry. Atop his head a tiny snowman with arms and legs danced. It wore shoes and a funny, jester-like cap.
"Hee hoo, hee hoo, hee hoo!" the snowman broke it on down. However, the heat of the mansion hit it like a microwave and quickly melted it, "Eeegh!"
"The mansion has claimed another," Gamer stared ahead, unfazed by the water that dribbled along his face.
"If you're like Marco, then do you know Ouija?" the baba asked. It wiggled with concern, no longer interested in scaring the two.
"Don't care," Gamer wasn't about to entertain a ghost. He cartwheeled into a frame of a jungle with a bunch of bananas. Minnie and the baba searched for him in other frames. He ended up popping out of a sunset picture near the baba. He snatched the star item away. It even scared the little guy.
"Ah! Thief!" the baba turned nearly invisible as it covered its eyes.
"Booya!" Gamer held the star up in victory.
The baba dove into the piano. The instrument animated again, its noise grungy and warped. Gamer's bravado immediately dropped, but Minnie leapt in front of him. The piano rammed into her, she rammed into Gamer, and he grabbed onto her. They flew backwards through a farmland painting and disappeared.