Mario, Luigi, Starlow, Dreambert and John were going as fast as they could, knowing they had no time to waste. If they wanted to stop Dark Nico, they would have to figure out a way to enter the Nightmare World. And that was why they had to find Eldream, because he sure would know a way to reach Nico. The five of them finally reached Pi'illo Castle, much to Kamek´s surprise.
"Back already? What happened?" he asked them as they entered the castle.
"Things got more complicated, and we need to see Eldream immediately," Starlow told him.
"I see. He should be in his room. I´m still concerned about everyone…we don´t know what Dark Nico could do," the Magikoopa replied.
"Don´t worry, we´ll stop him before he can inflict any harm on anyone," Dreambert assured him.
"That´s what I hope as well. I´ll go and patrol around the castle," Kamek said and flew outside.
"Well then, let´s go," Mario said, and they went towards the secret staircase.
They arrived at the staircase a few seconds later and entered it. After walking up the stairs, they reached Eldream´s room and knocked at the door. The Pi'illo Elder opened the door, and looked surprised by the amount of visitors he had.
"Prince Dreambert? And the other ones as well? What brings you here?" he asked the group.
"Greetings, Eldream. We were going to stop Dark Nico, but he has escaped into Nightmare Dozing Sands. We need a quick way to reach him without having to look for Nightmarepoints. I thought that you might know a way to do so," Dreambert explained.
"Hm, interesting. I think I know something that could help you. The Dream World and the Nightmare World are two separate worlds, but they both have a point where they cross each other. And you know this place as well," he told them.
"Dream´s Deep!" the Pi'illo Prince exclaimed after a short while of thinking. Eldream nodded.
"Correct. If you enter Dream´s Deep, you should be able to access both the Dream World and the Nightmare World at any point. I´ll join you, so I can tell Dreambunny to assist you. You´ll need him so you can create a pathway to both worlds," he continued.
"Alright, we have a plan! First, we need to get to Dozing Sands…" Dreambert began, but Eldream interrupted him.
"That won´t be necessary. With Dreambunny´s help, you can reach new areas in Dream´s Deep. It is one big area, divided in several parts. You can reach Dream´s Deep between Dreamy Dozing Sands and Nightmare Dozing Sands, even if you enter Dream´s Deep here in Dreamy Pi'illo Castle," the old Pi'illo told them.
"Ah, I understand. Well then, into the Dream World we go!" Dreambert said, and they made their way downstairs.
Soon, they arrived in the Exhibition Room, and Luigi and Dreambert opened a Dream Portal on the Dreampoint. Eldream, Mario and Starlow entered the portal, while John stayed next to Luigi. The trio arrived in the Dream World, and Dreamy Luigi and Dreambert showed up a few seconds later.
"Now, let´s enter Dream´s Deep," Mario said.
"How is it down there? Is it like the Dream World and Nightmare World?" Starlow asked them.
"Well, it´s…complicated. You´ll see for yourself once we arrive," Dreambert replied.
"Alright, I guess…" Starlow said, curious.
They reached the access to Dream´s Deep, and jumped into it. Everything became darker and darker as they travelled into the depths. When they reached the ground, Starlow saw what Dreambert meant. The outlines of Luigis were floating around everywhere, as well as sentences.
"What…is this place?" she wondered.
"If you want to be precise, you can say that we are in the very depths of Luigi´s consciousness. Everything he thinks, everything he feels…it´s all here," Dreambert explained.
"That´s…creepy and fascinating at once," she said, as they watched the Luigis float by. "And what is Dreamy Luigi, then?" she asked.
"This place is basically Dreamy Luigi. Dream´s Deep changes, depending on the person dreaming," the Pi'illo Prince replied.
"Anyways, we have work to do. And by saying 'we', I mean you guys. C'mere, fluffykins!" Eldream shouted.
After a few seconds, Dreambunny hopped towards them. The Pi'illo elder petted the bunny, and then whispered into its ears. After he told the bunny what he had to do, it hopped around excitedly.
"My work here is done. Just tell him where you want to go, and he´ll guide you there. Good luck," he said, and disappeared into the Dream World again.
"Well then. We want to go to Nightmare Dozing Sands," Mario said to Dreambunny, who was waiting.
The bunny turned around and started hopping, the four heroes following him. After some walking, they found a small, definitely not natural passage in a wall. The bunny hopped through it, and they soon saw another portal leading to the Dream World.
"Are we below Dreamy Mushrise Park?" Dreambert asked the bunny, who nodded and continued hopping.
After more walking, they reached a wall. The bunny stopped in front of it and jumped repeatedly, spinning while in the air.
"Do you want us to drill through the wall?" Dreamy Luigi asked him.
Dreambunny jumped twice in confirmation, and Mario picked him up. He performed the same technique as he would use with the Side Drill, and the duo drilled through the wall, creating a new path for them. They continued walking, and after a few minutes, Dreambunny stopped and stomped the ground with its right foot.
"It appears that we arrived in the desired location," Dreambert assumed.
"So Nightmare Dozing Sands is below this point?" Starlow asked.
"Probably yes," the Pi'illo replied.
Mario and Dreambunny drilled through the ground, gaining access to the Nightmare World. After a few seconds, they reappeared.
"Will you wait for us here?" Dreamy Luigi asked him.
The bunny nodded and lied down on the ground, where it fell asleep quickly. The rest of them jumped down into the hole, but instead of everything turning brighter again, it stayed dark in the Nightmare World. They looked around, and tried to figure out how to find Nico. It wasn´t long until Mario spotted something familiar.
"Hey, doesn´t that look like a Nightmare Chunk?" he asked Dreambert and Dreamy Luigi.
"Yeah, you´re right. Why is it here?" Dreamy Luigi said.
"This area reminds me of a part in the Dream World we have been in. Maybe, after you broke the Nightmare Chunk there, it reappeared in its world, without a Pi'illo being held captive in it. Perhaps that´s why Dark Nico needs the Dark Stone Spirit´s help, so he can gather these chunks in order to recreate the Dark Stone…" Dreambert assumed.
"So basically all we need to do is wait here for Nico to come and collect this thing?" Starlow asked him.
"I think so. Let´s set up an ambush around here," he confirmed.
They all hid behind a rock, so they could watch the Nightmare Chunk. If Nico came to collect it, they would have to strike fast, so he couldn´t escape another time. Time went by, with the heroes growing more and more impatient. He sure had to find other chunks as well, but it couldn´t take him that long…
It had been two days since he disappeared. He didn´t tell him anything, simply gone without a trace. At least that's what he thought up until now. But now, he had found a sheet of paper in his room. How could he possibly betray him like this and meet with his archenemy?
He´d follow him, although he never thought that he might return to this island ever again. He would teach that guy a lesson, and maybe beat up these plumbers as well while he would do that. The figure walked over to a flying vehicle, and set off to reach a new location.
"It´s your turn," Dreamy Luigi quietly told his brother. They were playing UNO because Nico took so long and Mario had a pack of UNO cards with him, and Starlow was currently in the lead with three cards, while Dreambert and Mario both had five and Dreamy Luigi had six.
"Sorry, Dreambert. This is my only blue one," Mario apologized, and played a +2 Card.
"I don´t want that. You take them, Starlow," the Pi'illo said and played a red +2 Card, forcing the Star Sprite to pick up four cards.
"I´ll pay you back eventually," she said, and played another card. They would have continued, but they suddenly heard voices.
"Ah, there it is. That should be the last one around here, right?" someone asked, and they identified the voice as Nico´s.
"Yeah. As soon as we have that one, we can go to the next Nightmare World," the Dark Stone Spirit confirmed.
"Well then, let´s go," Nicbot said.
"Strange…I feel a disturbance in this section. I think it´d be a good idea to look around here," the spirit said after a short pause.
"Hey! Look at what I´ve found," the robot shouted after a few seconds.
Mario, Dreamy Luigi, Starlow and Dreambert peaked out of their hideout, and saw the trio starring to the portal to Dream´s Deep. They had to strike now, or their cover would be blown too early.
"Wait…this should lead to Dream´s Deep. These portals don´t open up at random, someone created it," the spirit told them.
Mario picked up the cards and put them into his pocket. They ran out of their hiding spot and approached the villains, when the Dark Stone Spirit sensed them coming closer. It turned around and spotted them.
"Guys? I think we have visitors," the spirit told the other two. They turned around as well.
"No, not YOU again. You are starting to annoy me again, do you know that? And whenever something annoys me, I feel the need to blast it out of existence," Nico told them, seemingly angered by their presence.
"Well, here we are. Do you want to test your luck?" Starlow challenged him. They took battle stance, expecting the third fight against him.
"Master, I doubt that we are in the position to deal with them by ourselves yet. Perhaps we should use 'Plan F' for now," Nicbot suggested after a short while of silence.
"Hm…would that be enough power?" the human asked the spirit.
"I think so, but we´ll need this chunk as well. Only then I can start doing something," it told him.
The four heroes positioned themselves in front of the chunk, which would force Nico and Co. to battle through them. The human realised that he didn´t have another option right now.
"Alright then, I see where this is going. You want us to stay here, so you can possibly defeat me and Nicbot. Nice plan, but I think you forgot about one thing," he said, and created a blue ball of energy between his hands. With a grin, he said "I never play by rules".
A giant blue beam emerged from the ball of energy, which hit the heroes and sent them flying all over the place. They landed quite far away from him, and started running towards their foe again. Nico on the other hand shattered the Nightmare Chunk, and absorbed the Nightmare Energy in it. He then created a purple ball of energy, and threw it at the Dark Stone Spirit.
It absorbed the energy, and stated glowing. It focused, and started to create a being between them and the heroes. After it was finished, a portal appeared above them, showing Nightmare Somnom Woods. The trio jumped through it, the portal closing after them. The purple mass formed into something that Dreamy Luigi could only describe as a nightmare beyond nightmares.
The Nightmare Energy formed into what appeared to be a Nightmare King Boo, with several Nightmare Boos appearing around him.
"Are you scared yet, little plumber? I will enjoy every second of this fight, although you won´t be able to do anything other than standing there and shivering at my sight. HAHAHA!" he taunted Dreamy Luigi.
They had no choice right now. If they let this thing haunt Luigi´s dreams (or nightmares), he would most likely turn insane within a few days. Everyone, except Dreamy Luigi, took battle stance, as he was paralyzed from fear. Mario noticed this, and patted his back.
"Come on, you defeated this guy all by yourself, two times in a row! If we team up, he will be gone faster than you can say 'Poltergust'," the red plumber tried to calm him down.
It seemed to work, as he shivered less than before. He fused together with Mario, who felt stronger immediately. The trio waited for the Boo to attack, ready to take it down.
No no no no, you won´t make this a cliffhanger right now!
Oh yes, that´s what I´m doing. Deal with it, I´m going to sleep right now.
I might have figured out something: If I take longer for a story to write/finish, I´ll be able to enjoy this much longer. Perhaps that is why I took so long with the last chapters…well, we´ll see. Maybe I´ll just take my time, maybe I won´t.
We know what Dark Nico´s plan is, but dammit, he escaped yet again. And now he left a literal nightmare behind to fight the heroes. How will this turn out? I´d say…
…Review if you want to, and stay tuned for the next chapter!