Woo! 700 word upgrade and smooth up 11-04-2019. Thanks to Stardown for proofreading.

I had WAY too much fun with this one. I hope it would please you guys too. You know, share my joy and all that xD

Chapter 10: Castle Crashers

Luigi marched through what should have been Toad Town, except it looked nothing like its real world counterpart. All buildings looked uniform and stood parallel to each other on the side of a time worn rocky road that stretched for far longer than it should, or so Luigi felt. The castle was somewhat far off in the distance. A behemoth of black bricks, purple roof and two towers with that ended up in what looked like a feral form of Peach's head.

"Oh boy... That can't be good news," Luigi winced at the knockoff of Bowser's design. Things were getting weirder by the minute and his hunch had started to materialize in a far worse manner than he had first envisioned.

"Just keep walking, Luigi," Starlow advised, no less nervous herself. "No need for any unwanted attention."

Several guards were deployed, one in front of each house. They stood motionless, making sure no one got in or out. They saluted their 'fellow' guard as he moved past them. Their unblinking gazes only served to make Luigi even more nervous, making his unflinching walk much harder to pull off.

"I don't know how Mario deals with these 'red carpet' dealies. It's nerve wracking." Luigi kept thinking about all the times he witnessed that from the spectator's point of view. Sure, he lead such parades multiple times, but he wasn't the target of the spotlight. How he longed for the days he was simply 'Green Stache'. Fame and attention felt too troublesome for his taste.

Luigi reached the castle entrance a few minutes later. Two guards were stationed there, guarding what looked like a nebulous purple gate.

"How do you plan on getting past them? Take another page of Mario's?" Starlow asked, expecting the employ of Mario's Modus Operandi.

"Why do that when we can just use the front door like normal people? Just leave this to me," Luigi replied confidently and approached the guards, saluting them.

"What is it, number two?" the guard on the left asked, barely emoting.

Number two... Why am I not surprised. Luigi groaned. Starlow giggled at the fact. "I have an urgent report for Her, uh, Nastiness!" He tried keeping a straight face saying that. The guards stared for a moment but seemed to buy it.

"One of our soldiers was found dead in the outskirts of Forever Forest," Luigi continued. "We suspect that it is that miscreant Luigi. I need to report this to Her Highness!"

"Understood!" The second guard lifted his spear and crossed it with the other one the first guard was holding. The nebulous door wiggled and twisted, before smudging to the sides, revealing the entrance. "Make haste!"

With a mutual salute, Luigi carried on into the void.

The inside of the castle was different as well, although not as drastic as its outside. It looked like a mixture of both Peach's and Bowser's castle designs. It served to only add more confusion to both Luigi and Starlow. There was no doubt in their heads anymore. Something happened to the princess, and Perhaps even Bowser himself. Either that or that the Dream World is collapsing on itself.

"See? Told you I got this." Luigi trailed off as he eyed the surrounding area. Fortunately for him the corridors and the general structure was identical to the real castle, so he could navigate it with ease.

"I never doubted you," Starlow replied as Luigi only rolled his eyes skeptically. "It's too early to celebrate though. We need to fetch that stone, whatever it is."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

The castle was unsettlingly peaceful without the Toads running all over the place. The guards were outside the castle en masse and there was no trace of any retainers whatsoever.

The throne room's door soon came into view, and as expected, it was also guarded by two imposing Thwomp lookalikes, or rather large cubical angry looking Toads with spiked contours. It reminded Luigi of the Blorbs, except it looked a lot worse. He leaned close to the wall and eyed them from a distance.

"You don't suppose there is a Star Cure for this, do you?" Starlow said, unsure of what else to comment on.

"I don't think so. It is obviously the same deal as those Toad-Koopas," Luigi replied, slowly and carefully moving along the wall. "I doubt they'd let us past that gate, not that we want to do so anyway. If the 'Empress' is behind that door, then I don't think she'd let us abscond with her precious stone."

Starlow nodded in agreement. "What does that leave us with then?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Luigi let out a hearty but silent chuckle. He then knelt down and crossed his legs. "I plan to make more use of you and your powers."

"Huh?" Confused, Starlow watched eagerly, curious as how Luigi was going on about this.

The Green Thunder closed his eyes and concentrated. His body started emitting a faint green light that soon enveloped his entire being. In a few seconds, his body shrunk into his Star Sprite form, before promptly fading away.

"There we go," Luigi smiled triumphantly. "We're now invisible to most people, I hope!"

"Hoping won't get us far," Starlow sighed a bit. "How do you figure we'd be invisible? I can still see us."

"The spectrum of light is large and varied. I just needed to assume the properties of one that isn't visible to the naked eyed," Luigi explained and took off to the air. "Either way, we need to be quiet. It's a shroud of invisibility, not silence."

"That's amazing, Luigi! No wonder Mario relies on you so much," Starlow said excitedly. She had learned more about her powers in one day than she had during most of her life.

Luigi smiled at her praise and flew over to a small air vent near the roof. The Toad-Thwomps stood still, staring intently at nothing. Luigi fizzled through the vent before immediately regaining his spherical form. He then continued floating quietly along the narrow path.

"It's a good thing I can shrink to this form."

"I know, right?"

*KRRKKK*

The sound of smashed pottery echoed through the vent. Luigi inched closer to the other end so he could peek into the throne room.

"Making me wait for two whole days! Who does that little worm think that he is?!" a feminine voice roared in frustration and annoyance. Her 'assistant' threw another Mario bust in mid air, which got immediately blasted by a surge of black flames.

Luigi hovered close to the vent door, casting his vision upon the scene. He could feel his heart sinking to his stomach at what he witnessed.

"You were right, Luigi. 'Oh boy' indeed..." Starlow said, at a loss for words herself.

The resentful voice came from none other than Peach, and she never looked so different before. Her dress and evening gloves were identical to the nebulous mass of shadows that served as the front door, constantly twitching and twisting as if it boiled. Her hair was a wild mess of golden and bright orange locks that obscured the two horns that jutted from her skull. She paced around the room, angrily stomping the ground which started to dent under the pressure of her legs.

Bowser stood calmly next to her and a pile of stone Mario busts. He looked exactly the same as he did in the real world, which came as a surprise considering the state Peach was in. He flung the busts periodically in the air for the 'Empress' to unload her rage on by blasting it to smithereens.

"How could he do this to me!? ME! I practically gave his life meaning!" the Empress complained, smashing another bust.

"It's a good thing you're taking your anger on these things, rather than the real thing," Bowser said. He looked relatively casual, amused even.

"As if! I'm going to smash him to an inch of his life, then I'm going to heal him, then I'm going to smash him again! That'll teach him to not come when his presence is required!"

"As long as he is still alive afterwards. Wouldn't want my number one adversary to die," Bowser shrugged, tossing another bust. The Empress jumped and punched it upwards. Like a bullet, it shot towards the vent, breaking the wall and denting the metal. Luigi had reflexively hopped backwards.

"Yikes! What's her problem?!" Starlow yelled. She had never imagined the princess could be this violent. "I wonder what she expects from Mario."

"Sounds like the dream world Mario has his hands full, if he was still alive that is," Luigi reasoned, before inching back to the dented vent and taking a closer look. Next to the throne stood a pedestal with a large cushy pillow on top. A singular melon sized gem rested on it.

"Looks like we found our quarry." The star sprite said. "I thought he said stones, though. Any ideas?

"If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that the stones themselves merged," Luigi stated flatly. "It looks like we don't have much of a choice besides sneaking in, snagging it and making a run for it." He didn't any other option, except maybe brawling, but he'd rather keep that as a contingency plan. He did feel like the odds wouldn't be in his favor, however.

Phasing through the metal bars, Luigi descended slowly, moving in to the pedestal while making sure to avoid the flying stones and the all consuming fire balls.

"I don't understand what it is exactly you are expecting from Mario. What would Mario do for you in this particular instance?" Bowser questioned his 'partner', taking a scrutinizing look at the Mario bust before lobbing it. "Flimsy second rate knockoffs."

"I don't care! It's his responsibility to take care of these complications like he always did. I did not allow him to stop!" The Empress folded her arms and looked at her right hand. She clenched it, and the shadows the gloves were made of twisted and writhed furiously. "MARIOOOOOOO!" She let out a thunder roar, coupled with a stream of scorching flames shooting from her fanged mouth.

As misfortune would have it, the torrent of fire shot in Luigi's direction. He barely dodged it by an inch of his life, although not without consequence. The sudden nature of the event caused him to lose the focus he held on the light and become visible.

"Uh-oh..." Luigi gulped as the glare of the Empress set upon him. He smiled awkwardly at her. "Hiiiiii?"

"YOU!?" the Empress bellowed, firing another ball of devastation at the Green Star. Luigi dove rapidly head first, regaining his human form. He grabbed the gem and hopped backwards, landing near the large double-door.

"Grah hah hah! What was that about him not coming?" Bowser guffawed, seemingly pleased with Luigi's emergence.

"I'm sorry to drop by and leave on a short notice, but I'll be taking this, see?" Luigi had a large awkward smile plastered on his face before zipping through the door gap, leaving a trait of green light in his wake.

"After them!" the Empress bellowed her commands, shaking the wall of the castle with its intensity. The air seemed to twist and rip open as two portals of shadows manifested. Countless masses of shadowy monstrosities of a multitude of races spewed from within, flooding the castle and started giving chase after the intruder.

The guards mobilized, marching in conjunction to the sloshing sounds caused by the shadows. Luigi didn't have time to stand and plan out his next move. It was time to Mario his way out and run for it.

"I don't care what anyone says! We are no longer calling anything dreamy in the Dream World!" Luigi began, shooting a jolt of electrifying light towards the two guards that caught up to him, paralyzing them.

"I always thought it was a stupid idea anyway. Dreambert and all," Starlow agreed. "Let's make a quick getaway before Peach and Bowser join in on the fun."

"We have to rethink Mario's concept of Fun. Wario's too, I suppose."

The strength and intensity of Peach's spheres of destruction sent a shiver through Starlow's body as she thought about them. Her magic combined with Bowser promised to be very strong, and painful to the ones opposing her. The entire situation wasn't one to sit and think about given their current situation. She'd rather just run for the safety of the outside world.

They neared the outskirts of the town and the chase the squadron didn't show any signs of relenting, not that it mattered if Luigi managed to get himself inside Forever Forest. Combining his natural agility with Starlow's light allowed him to run very fast for short bursts.

"I hear Wario deals with this crap on a regular basis. I'm not sure how he copes with it," Luigi chuckled awkwardly, recalling the various stories strung by Wario about how some wall or monster or whatever would chase him after he takes their treasure. "I honestly fail to see the appeal."

As that thought ran through his head, sinister shadows raced under him and then emerged in front of him. The gooey mass straightened up and solidified suddenly, causing Luigi to crash into it.

"Looks like we hit another roadblock. Are you all right, Luigi?" Starlow winced, imagining the sting Luigi felt when he face connection with the wall.

"I had better days..." He groaned and look up. The wall continued to stretch upwards, closing in the entire square in a dome of solid shadows. There would be no escape until Luigi dealt with it. He really had to Mario his way out this time.

"You know, I think I'm going to add shadows to my list of dislikes. Just don't tell Mario's friend." Luigi let out a deep sigh. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Let's get dangerous!" He cracked his neck and enveloped the gem in a blanket of light before pushing it against his chest. The entire gem sunk into his being, relieving him from having to carry it around. "I should tried this earlier..."

"'Should have' is right!" Starlow scolded with a sigh. "Also, Please refrain from saying such things when we're surrounded by such a mass of baddies."

The masses of shadows split into multiple small blobs. It contorted and twisted into new shapes and forms, finally reverting to its true forms. Barring the Toad-Koopatrol hybrids from earlier were several new additions which included Hammer-Toads, Toadrills, and Toadurns.

The Hammer-Toads opened up with a spray of mallets, building up to look like a cloud of death from above. Gentle green light enveloped Luigi's body as he glided gracefully around the field, dodging the metal maelstrom. Unfortunately, two Toadurns rammed him from both sides.

Luigi grabbed one of the flying hammered and smashed at the urn as hard as he could. It cracked from the force of the impact. Luigi released himself from the grip of the Toadurns and hurled the broken one towards a group that advanced on him. He then gripped the second urn and spun it around, also launching it in their direction.

Picking up on the momentum, Luigi sprinted through them. His velocity allowed him to toss aside anything that stood in his way. The Toadrills dug underground, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. The rest converged on Luigi's position. He hurled a couple of electrically charged spears of light at them.

Mamma mia! Luigi thought, ducking in a roll as two figures leaped from the masses, sharp spears in hand.

Luigi just barely got out of the way, encasing his first in lighting. He slammed the first Koopatroll in the chest, sending him careening towards the second one. He made sure the spikes were pointing towards them.

The Toadrills suddenly emerged and closed in on Luigi as he was occupied. With a quick motion, Luigi whipped both arms conjuring two green spheres that resembled Starlow. They were tethered to his arms and followed their movements.

Luigi whipped the spheres openly, brushing aside the incoming drills and turning them around. He then flick his arms, sending the drills back at the rest of the army, digging through various Toadurns and Hammer-Toads. All enemies felled receded into the shadowy mess that spawned them for whatever reason.

Luigi continued to spin around, the orbs of light following suit, knocking everything that dared approach or get caught up around his axis.

Sensing their attacks to be ineffective, the remains of the army lunged at Luigi, dog piling him. Luigi swifty erected a light barely and struggled under the steadily increasing weight. He tried to push but he felt himself kneel on the floor, barely holding up.

"Oof, this is getting really heavy," Luigi gritted his teeth. "Say, I have an idea, Starlow. You wanna try it out?"

"Sure thing. Whatever stops you from getting squished under this pile!"

There was a bright light glowing under the pile of soldiers along with a few sparks of lighting that broke out. The cracking noise of electricity built up as the light grew brighter and brighter. In a burst of lightning and light, everyone on top of the green-clad warrior shot to the air.

Having freed himself, Luigi let out an impressive surge of energy that manifested itself in his image. Placing his palm over its face, Luigi transferred some of his consciousness to the construct of light.

"Look at me! I'm a Luigi!" the light duplicate exclaimed in Starlow's voice. There was still a mental link between the two so she knew what Luigi was planning to do.

In the next few moments, both Luigis were engulfed in a faint green light. In that duration, they moved so fast that time itself seemed to have been frozen to them. The army of goons was still suspended in mid air. Luigi and Starlow strung violently through them with a thread of light. From one body to the next, it was like a spider web, tangled through and through.

The two Luigis jumped backward and faced each other from a distance, the rope of light in their hands. They pulled hard on both ends, dragging everything they had tied to the threads.

The giant ball of minions dropped on the floor as time was set free once more. Luigi and Starlow dashed around them in a counterclockwise motion, tightening their grip on them.

Still in motion, the two charged up a surge of lighting in their free hands. It sparked and crackled as it grew in intensity. Finally, with a quick thrust of the palm, the collect energy shot forward, closing in on the masses.

The unleash surge engulfed everything in its path before it exploded as the two forces collided. There was a brilliant light accompanied by the sounds of crackling electricity and searing flesh.

The only thing that was left in its wake was the dried up remains that disintegrated into dust rather than return to the shadows. Luigi breathed heavily and fixed his cap. He then closed his eyes and drew his light duplicate back to himself, absorbing it.

"That was fun! We gotta do that again!" Starlow exclaimed in total amazement. She hadn't felt such a rush since forever. "By the way, I thought of a name for your star sprite form. We'll call it Lowigi!"

"It's great that you had fun, but this thing was very taxing on my body." Luigi tried to recover his breath. "Lowigi sounds fine, but I'll have you know, we Marios don't name our forms because we go through way too many," Luigi reasoned, chuckled and shrugged. "Also, we can do that again, but only when it's absolutely necessary," he added with a slight smile.. "Talk later. We still need to get out of this mess."

"Worthless! Absolutely Worthless!" Bellowing, the Empress bore through the wall of shadows, Bowser right behind her. "You dare steal from me and think you can get away with it!?"

"Great job, Luigi! I haven't seen her this riled up before," Bowser laughed, clapping slowly. His comment felt genuine and it didn't seem like he had any beef with Luigi stealing the gem. "Good show I say!"

"Shut the hell up!" The Empress glared at Bowser, her eyes shining bright gold. "You impudent worms will pay for your insolence!"

"Can't we discuss this over a warm spot of tea? Maybe some of your famous cake?" Luigi smiled nervously and flailed his arms. The Empress just roared in response, calling in the shadows all around her. Bowser ended up collapsing into shadows himself and circled the Empress.

"Luigi! You have been found guilty of treason. Your sentence has been decided: Death!" Luigi's would-be judge, Jury, Executioner declared as the shadows shot up from the ground and engulfed her.

"I had a feeling something like this would end up happening," Luigi gulped as he could only watch the mass in front of him grow in size. "We mustn't worry. I'll think of something!"

"Um, Luigi, no offense but I'm inside your head now, and to be honest, It's EMPTY! We have to do something!" Starlow panicked at Luigi's lack of ideas.

Suddenly, a mysterious being forced itself through the shadowy dome. It was a young adult man in blue overalls and a green shirt and cap. He landed in front of Luigi and pulled his cap down slightly.

Meanwhile, outside E. Gadd's laboratory...

"DIVER INPUT RECEIVED! PLEASE ENTER COMMANDS!" Brobot D-L type announced in its robotic voice, drawing Zero's attention who's been resting in front of its legs. The metal hat's 'L' symbol opened up and a flashing button appearing. The Polterpup recognized the command and pressed it.

"COMMAND ACKNOWLEDGED!"

"I told you we were being watched!" Starlow exclaimed, unable to mask her happiness.

"I can't say I object to you being right for once," Luigi smirked, staring at his double.

Dreamy Luigi smiled at his real world counterpart and took to the air with a graceful jump. "Luigi pack, ASSEMBLE!" An influx of Luigis rained right through the dome, surrounding the real one.

"I have to admit, I always wanted to say that ever since I picked up a Double Cherry," Luigi laughed as he watched the waves of his being turn around him as it grew and grew. He was about to experience what Mario went through recently, although in a different form than Mario himself.

And I'll form the head!

I bet I confused a ton of people, maybe. I hope that was interesting since Luigi exhibited a lot of his new signature abilities and all :P

NormanWhitesmith: You speculated right :D As far as shared attributes go, Luigi will not go through much except the "larlow" form at will. As I stated before, this is due to his balance between himself and Starlow and their unity. There will be other things of course but as far as form is concerned, most of it would be willful on Luigi's part.

Pikminfan: Few other ones, courtesy of Luigi's imagination :D

Dreaming Creator: Like you wouldn't know xD This is the advent of Starlow's participation. Here it was a test drive to see if Luigi could pull it off, except more of that in the future. As far as Fawful is concerned, he is gonna send two very very interesting people which were hinted at many chapters before :D

Derick Lindsey: I thought that it was deleted since it didn't appear with the others but I just removed the moderation thing so I don't miss anything. Here is to hoping that cranking doesn't mean crapping in this scenario xD Luigi is at worst a cowardly lion, yeah he gets scared but still does what needs to do. Mr. L existed and Luigi is aware of it but he uses it as a learning experience. More accurately, he came in term with that persona since that is Luigi unhinged, or so i translate it. Glad you like it though :)

Next one is the last for Luigi then we go to another pair for a few chapters :D Hold on to your hats, folks!

P.S. Can you guess the material for the fused troops ?