*While gazing in awe at all of the advanced machinery in this room, you almost walk straight into a person. They're dishevelled yet focused, eyebags circling their eyes as they methodically click buttons & twist dials*
*With a squeak, they jump, whirling around to face you* “Ah! Ahh, ah hello! Uhm, hello!”
Player: “Hi?”
Mysterious Person: “Uhm...”
Player: "Is this your house?”
Mysterious Person: “Oh, uh, no! No no no.”
Player: “Uh...”
Mysterious Person: “Wait, no, I'm not a robber or a uh, a burglar! I know that sounds bad but look, my intentions are pure uh, let me explain. I'm Archibald, nice name huh? Yeah, I picked it myself! Uh, my friends would call me Archie if I uh... Had any... But that's beside the erm, point! I'm a person of science!”
Player: “Okay...”
Archie: “I am a ghost researcher! Uh, one of the only spiritual scientists... Actually... Well, I aim to slice & dice into the secrets of death itself!”
Player: “Yuck. Sounds messy.”
Archie: “Oh, it is! Ectoplasm is! But I love it! See, everything has a science to it. Even magic, even ghosts! I'm just one of the few who is morbidly intrigued in the more practical answers to the mystical! Ah... Although... People say I'm boring and unimaginative for it, but I just prefer my answers to be as clear as crystal! Don't you? Like, don't you want answers to the magical & mysterious too?”
Player: “...”
Archie: “Uhm... Say... You know... If uh... It's not too much to ask... I could use your help with something...”
Player: “What?”
Archie: “*Can you help me capture some ghosts for my research?* This whole wing is filled to the brim with em. It's why I'm here, actually! A few months ago, I was looking for the perfect place to set up my research... & Happened to come across this mansion! You don't know how determined I am to know everything & anything about this place!”
Player: “You built this lab in a few months?”
Archie: “Yeah! Uhm, sorry it's a bit too small & underwhelming for my liking... Anywho, I honestly have a uh, reasonable uh... Hesitation, towards ghosts. Reading about 'em is all fine & dandy, but put me in a room with one, &... Uh, well...”
Player: “You research ghosts, yet you're scared of them...?”
Archie: “Yes... I mean, no... Yes. I guess. Sort of? Agh, I hate not having a proper answer for you! It's complicated. The unknown is quite an ordinary thing to be afraid of, yet I'm also intrigued by it! Regardless, if you & maybe some of your friends can help me, *I can pay you handsomely with candies*! Eh, I know you really want em, I have tons that I don't need. I witnessed all of you apple bobbing & running yourselves ragged down the hill, you know! Yeaahhh, aha, there's a reason I don't talk to anybody around here. I'm too busy, & the residents are, uh, confrontational, let's just say that.”
Player: “If it'll get me candy, I'll do it.”
Archie: “Inspired! Right, here's what I want you to do, It's very simple. Grab a gun from the "Gun Load Up" area. Go through the doors behind me to find the ghosts, then blast energy from the gun at the ghosts until their health is depleted. After this, you can then trap them! Once trapped, you vacuum them into your gun by standing close to them. You have until the timer runs out to capture them. Once you're done & you've captured them, you can empty your pack into the "Ghost Return" once it's full, the bar at the side of your screen should tell you when it's full; it'll be at 100%. If you run out of ammo, you can walk up to the "Ammo Refill Capsules" for more. You can also borrow some of my night vision goggles to see the ghosts better if it'll assist you! I highly suggest bringing some companions for this, the stronger ghosts will require more people to bring them down!” [END]
[click them again and u get these options:]
Archie: “Well, ahoy there! How is the ghost hunting faring?”
Player: A: “Can you explain how ghost hunting works to me again?”
Archie: “No problem, I love explaining my work!"
Archie: "It's very simple! Grab a gun from the "Gun Load Up" area. Go through the doors behind me to find the ghosts, then blast energy from the gun at the ghosts until their health is depleted. After this, you can then trap them! Once trapped, you vacuum them into your gun by standing close to them. You have until the timer runs out to capture them. Once you're done & you've captured them, you can empty your pack into the "Ghost Return" once it's full, the bar at the side of your screen should tell you when it's full; it'll be at 100%. If you run out of ammo, you can walk up to the "Ammo Refill Capsules" for more. You can also borrow some of my night vision goggles to see the ghosts better if it'll assist you! I highly suggest bringing some companions for this, the stronger ghosts will require more people to bring them down!"
Player: B: “So, how did you end up here, Archie?”
Archie: “The same as you I presume? I was born over twenty years ago but uhh, I shan't disclose my assigned birth gender... Uh, I excelled academically but struggled to make friendships-”
Player: “I meant to ask how you ended up at this house, Archie...”
Archie: “Ohhhh, uh, you're asking about that? Okay! Well, it was actually a big mistake. I grew up here, a long time ago. Actually, maybe not so long ago... Time seems to move differently here... Anywho, I left town, I thought I forgot about this place. But, gosh, I dunno. Something brought me back here, fate, destiny, a train. Whatever labels people like to give to inevitable choices that humans make thanks to some fluid mix of their upbringing & uh, brain functionality.”
Archie: “That's how I got here, yeah, I remember now! I fell asleep on the train, ah, I can't even remember where I was going... Was I going anywhere? When I woke up, I was suddenly here, Wickery Station. I couldn't believe it. After so long... And not so long... I was back. It almost felt like a dream. I walked around aimlessly, searching for a spot to set up my research... Then, I was pursued by the phantoms who haunt the hill... Sprinting, the doors to this building beckoned to me. For once in my life, I didn't question it. They flung open, & swallowed me whole, into darkness...”
Player: “It was... Sort of like that with me, too.”
Archie: “The rest is ancient history. Or not. Maybe it's the future, maybe it's right now, right this second. Who knows? I'd certainly like to, one day... I want to know everything about this place now!”
Player: “You're strange, Archie.”
Archie: “I get that a lot, but nobody ever said that geniuses weren't strange, right? So, I gotta be doing something right I hope... Somewhere... Hey, if you ever wanna ghost hunt, or, a uh, a chat. I'll be right here, don't be a stranger now, okay?”