Luigi sat at the kitchen table, face down in his arms. Next to him lay a half empty cup of milk and a partially eaten slice of cake. The morning sun was just beginning to shine through the window, casting thin rays of light onto the green plumber. All was silent except for the birds chirping outside until a voice ruptured the peace.

"Rise and shine, sunshine. Time to wake up." Mario gently shook Luigi until he lifted his head from his arms and looked up at his older brother, exhaustion evident in his eyes. Luigi groaned and rubbed his eyes groggily.

"Hey, bro…" Luigi's voiced cracked. "Sleep well?"

Mario raised an eyebrow. "That's what I should be asking you." Pulling up a chair, he sat down next to Luigi. "Is it the nightmare again? Luigi, you know there are people you can talk to about this…"

The brother sighed. "Mario...it's not just a nightmare. There's a… reality to it. Almost like a warning. It gives me the feeling that something bad is going to happen. The darkness… it traps me..."

Mario gave his brother a worried look before answering. "Luigi, this has been going on for weeks now. You're really starting to worry me. Is there any way I can help?"

Luigi abruptly stood up, slamming his hands down on the table resulting in nearly knocking over his glass of milk. "I don't need help, Mario! I've told you this before! If I wanted your help then I would ask!"

Mario stared at Luigi in shock. His brother wouldn't meet his gaze, instead staring down at the table. Mario opened his mouth to speak after a few seconds had passed, but nothing except silence came out. Not being able to find words, he let out a sigh of defeat. Luigi's glare into the table softened when he heard this, and he fell back into the chair, shoving his face back into his arms. The older brother wrapped a comforting arm around the younger brother, frowning as he saw his brother's evident distress.

"Sorry…" Luigi started, his voice muffled into his arms. "I guess I'm just a bit on the irritable side…"

Mario gave a weak smile. "People do tend to get a bit cranky when they lack sleep. I remember one time I went an entire week without sleep due to Bowser's mischief. I was so irritable that, well… let's just say I'm not welcome back into Toad Town's Glass Crafts shop."

Luigi let out a small chuckle and looked back up at his brother. "So, that's why we get suspicious looks when we go near that shop. Wait, no. That's why you get suspicious looks when we go near that shop."

Mario gave Luigi a guilty smile. "Yeah… that's why. But I think people are overreacting. I mean, it happened like, over a year ago."

Luigi smiled genuinely at Mario. "You're such a dork."

Seeing the sudden change in his younger brother, Mario decided to keep the subject light. "Hey, why don't we go out and get some fresh air? The sun is really shining out there, and I thought it might be nice to take a trip out to see the Princess today."

Luigi thought it over for a moment before ultimately deciding it might do him some good to get some sunlight. "Alright. Yeah. I haven't been out of the house in a couple of days. I'm probably deficient in vitamin D by now."

"Well, then let's be on our way." Mario stood up and walked over to the door, opening it for Luigi. "After you, my good sir."

Luigi rolled his eyes good heartedly before following his brother to the door. "Dork." He muttered with a smirk as he exited the house.

Mario smiled softly. I hope the sunshine brightens up his mood. He thought to himself.

XXX

Princess Peach lay belly down on her bed, painting her nails a ruby red. She had just finished the last nail when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. "You can come in!" She called out. Peach's face lit up upon seeing Mario and it dropped just as quickly when she saw Luigi. She noted the dark bags under his eyes along with the tired look he had plastered onto his face.

"Um, Princess…?" Luigi asked, growing uncomfortable from her unwavering stare.

The Princess visibly jumped. "Huh? Oh, my goodness! I'm sorry! It's not very polite to stare, is it? I guess I was just...lost in thought." She smiled an awkward, embarrassed smile.

Luigi gave her a knowing look. "Please excuse my appearance, Princess. I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in weeks."

Peach's face brightened once more. "Sleep problems? I've got something that can help with that."

Luigi's eyes widened as he watched the Princess get up and rummage through her dresser drawers looking for something unknown. He could feel the corners of his mouth turn up into a smile. Just the thought of a full night's rest was enough to make him giddy.

"Ah-ha! Found it!" The Princess pulled out a small vile of caramel colored liquid. Luigi stared at it for a few moments before giving Peach a confused look.

"What… is it?" Luigi asked.

"This, Luigi, is a little something I had a local healer brew up for me when I was suffering from a case of sleep insomnia." Peach answered. "The stress from ruling an entire kingdom can really get to you sometimes, ya know?" She walked over to Luigi and put the vile in his hand as she explained how to use the strange potion. "One drop into any drink right before bed and you should sleep like a baby."

"Seems simple enough." Luigi added. "I really can't thank you enough, Princess."

Princess Peach smiled gently at Luigi. "Anything for one of my heroes. Oh! Would you two be interested in joining me for a birthday party? One of my royal guards, Billy, is having a party upstairs. I baked a cake just for the occasion."

"Anything for some of your homemade cake, Princess." Mario said. "I haven't eaten all day."

Giggling, Princess Peach walked to the door. "Then let's head on out. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can eat cake."

Mario and Luigi followed the Princess as she led them out the door and to the party.

XXX

"Ugh…" Mario groaned as he stumbled through the front door, Luigi walking in after him.

"Full, Mario?" Luigi asked with a smirk.

"Full to the point of exploding!" Mario exclaimed. "That Princess sure knows how to bake a cake."

Luigi chuckled. "Maybe you should sleep this one off, bro. You're even looking a little pudgier than usual."

Mario scoffed, sending Luigi a scowl. "I'll have you know, I'm the most attractive man in the entire Mushroom Kingdom!"

"Considering the Mushroom Kingdom is full of Toads and Koopas, that's not saying very much." Luigi retorted.

Mario tried to repress a laugh as he walked towards the bedroom. "I-I'm going to bed! And you should really do the same!"

"I plan on it, big bro." Luigi replied, beginning to brew a cup of tea. "I need to fix a drink for this elixir first."

"Don't take too long, Luigi! You really should try to get as much sleep as possible!" Mario shouted from the bedroom.

"Goodnight, Mario." Luigi said, listening to the creaking of the ladder on the bunk bed. He really is a little pudgier than usual…

After drinking his concoction of tea and sleep aid, Luigi headed off to bed. He climbed under the covers of his bottom bunk and stared up at the underside of the top bunk. If he really focused, he could see the mattress move with Mario's steady breathing. He couldn't help but let his mind wander. At least someone doesn't have a problem sleeping. I would give anything to be able to sleep like that. Luigi felt his eyelids becoming increasingly heavier. Maybe I will be able to sleep tonight…" Luigi thoughts trailed off as he drifted off into slumber.

XXX

Luigi had to let his eyes adjust to the darkness. Squinting, he could make out a large black figure in the distance. There was a distant ringing that could be heard in the direction of the black mass. I-I should stay away from that… Luigi thought to himself. He turned and began walking into the other direction, picking up speed as the ringing behind him appeared to be coming his direction. Luigi turned back to look, something he wished he would not have done. The black mass appeared to be pursuing him at an incredible speed, one he knew he couldn't outrun, but deep down he knew he had to try.

Frozen. Frozen in fear. Run… He told himself. RUN! Luigi forced his unwilling legs to move and ran like he never knew he could. Closer. He could hear the ringing getting closer. I-I can't outrun it! It's going to catch up! Tears pricked at Luigi's eyes, threatening to spill over as the ringing became deafeningly loud. He covered his ears with his hands, begging for the excruciating noise to stop. Pure fear wracked his entire body making him feel like he was in slow motion. A poorly placed step sent Luigi plummeting to the ground with a thud, and he turned around just in time to see the black mass topple over him like a tidal wave.

Thick, warm, black liquid engulfed Luigi. Reaching his hand out of the substance, he tried desperately to grab onto something that could save him. Only air met his hand as he struggled to reach the surface. The black liquid was too thick to swim through. Panic overwhelmed him as he slowly, helplessly sank to the bottom. Not able to hold his breath any longer, Luigi let it go, desperately gasping for air, sucking in mouthful after mouthful of the bitter tasting, suffocating liquid.He could feel it flood his lungs as his consciousness began to fade. I can't fight it anymore… The darkness was winning, and Luigi was entirely powerless to it. Blackness enveloped his mind as all consciousness was lost.