The concert hall door burst open and Daisy charged in alongside Waluigi. She faltered when they saw what was happening on stage.
A massive, swirling orb of dream energy gathered over the outstretched arms of the sorcerer Wart. The remaining captives, chained to their seats in the auditorium, shrieked and gasped as they were drained of their vital energies. The whole band was on stage: Mouser on Keyboard, Clawgrip on bass, Tryclyde on drums, and Fryguy on electric guitar. Wart flashed a wide manic smile as he spotted the intruders.
"You think you can stop this?!" he said as he absorbed all the gathered power and flashed with the invincible rainbow power of the stars. "I've worked my whole life for this moment! You're NOTHING!"
Daisy cracked her knuckles. No one talked to her like that. She scanned the room and spotted the Sundream Stone tablet seated right behind the band on stage.
"There!" Daisy whispered and pointed. "You still have the dream gems, right? I'll keep 'em busy and you put Sunny together."
Waluigi's brow arched in surprise. "Can you handle them all on your own?"
"Who do you think I am? I got this. Do YOU need help?"
"Don't insult me," he said.
She smiled at him. The two sprinted down different seating rows, past the wheezing and depleted hostages. Waluigi disappeared out of sight as Daisy ran straight at Wart and his bozo brigade.
"Hey idiots!" she said, "You know why I didn't join you?! Your music sucks!"
"What'd you say?!" Wart said.
"I'd rather listen to the top 40 than any of the dreck you put out!"
Wart crackled with black lightning as he levitated into the air, his eyes bulging in rage as he let out a shriek that shook the whole castle.
"Kill her!"
All five of the 8-bits charged off stage into the audience to hunt her down, with Wart floating behind, engulfed in a pulsing sphere of power.
"Uh-oh," she said.
She dove into the audience as Fryguy and Tryclyde let loose with a barrage of yet more fireballs.
"Real original, guys!" Daisy said, as she fumbled through the audience seating.
Clawgrip headed her off, ripping an empty seat up and hurling it at her. Daisy ducked, let the chair sail over her head, and watched it collide with both Fryguy and Tryclyde to knock them out.
"Sorry mateys!"
"If you like pop, you'll love this BANG!" Mouser yelled, as he lobbed a lit bomb at Daisy.
Daisy watched the bomb arc toward her and, minding its trajectory, leapt to kick it away. It shot through the air and burst right in Wart's face. The smoke cleared to reveal Wart was not even scratched.
"Useless," Wart laughed before snapping his fingers.
Globules of dark subspace erupted around Daisy, forcing her to clamber over the heads of the audience members to retreat. She glanced over her shoulder to see Waluigi on stage, slapping Sunny's face back into place on the tablet. Good. She just needed to buy a little more time.
A flock of panicked Wandas came scrambling through the concert lobby doors like a whole cave's worth of spooked bats. They fused back together high in the air just as the brainwashed fans came pouring into the room.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry! Couldn't hold 'em!"
Enemies were closing in on both sides now. Daisy looked up at a chandelier hanging over the seating.
"It's fine! Gimme a boost!"
Wanda swooped as Daisy double jumped. She bounced off the Sprixie's back and got just enough height to grab onto the chandelier. She climbed up the tinkling ornament as Wart spat bubbles that punched through the delicate ceiling fixture like bowling balls. Daisy swung the chandelier back and forth as broken glass sprayed over her head and leapt over the dark goop below.
On her way down, she noticed Waluigi was taking his sweet time socketing the dream gems via trial and error. The relic apparently wanted them in just the right order. She tucked into a roll as she hit the ground.
"Oh, what's this?" Wart said. "Sneaky, sneaky."
Wart teleported right in front of Waluigi and swatted him out of the way just before he seated the last dream gem. Waluigi fell onto his back and Wart spat a bubble right on his chest and subspace mire took hold of him.
"Guess what, losers!" Wart said. "The dream gems only protect you if you've got all of them! You fell right into my trap!"
Waluigi struggled to get free but was sinking. The final dream gem was still clutched in his hand and Sunny was beyond his reach. His eyes met with Daisy's. She held her breath.
"Think fast!" he said.
Waluigi pitched the dream gem high. Daisy dashed to receive it and it fell right into her hands just as her friend disappeared into the black.
"Avast ye!" Clawgrip said as he sidestepped to block her path. "Hand it over!"
Daisy bounced the gemstone off Clawgrip's face, and he collapsed to the floor.
"Yar… How did ye remember me only—"
She dashed ahead before he could finish, dodging bombs and bubbles, trying to get to Sunny, only for Wart to teleport right in her path. He flashed with power as he charged up a powerful attack.
"There'll be no encore for the likes of you," he said.
"Daisy!" Wanda said from above. "Look out!"
"Huh?" Wart said.
Wanda hovered above them and waved her wand over Wart's head. A massive whale appeared out of thin air and Daisy stepped back as it fell right on top of Wart. He groaned in stunned surprise, crushed under rolls of blubber.
Daisy seized her chance. She jumped on stage and slammed the last dream gem right in its socket.
"You did it!" Wanda said and then exploded.
"Got her!" Mouser cheered while lighting his next bomb.
"Wanda!" Daisy shouted.
Wart's fans rushed the stage, tramping the sprixie. Before Daisy could do anything else, the Sundream Stone hummed to life. It burst with a sparkling energy that knocked back the charging brainwashed fans and engulfed Daisy in a warm light.
"Wowee!" Sunny said. "Thanks a bunch, you put me all back together! That's nice."
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Daisy said. "Do something, quick! Destroy Wart! Take away his power! Something so we can win!"
Sunny looked uncertain.
"I don't know if I can do that!"
"What're you talking about?! Daisy said. "We need your power to beat him!"
"Well, um," Sunny looked embarrassed. "My power is making dreams come true. I can't help you stop Wart if that's not your dream! That'd be silly!"
Daisy gaped. She glanced back to see the fans struggling to lift the whale off Wart. There was no way she could let things end like this. She had to think of something.
"Double check your sensors! Stopping Wart is absolutely my dream right now!"
"Hmm. Nope! I'm back in tip-top shape thanks to you! Here, let me just peek into your heart and maybe I can figure this out."
Sunny's eyes turned white and projected a laser that scanned Daisy up and down.
"Ah! I see! So that's your dream! You want to be a big star!"
"No!" She flailed her arms in frustration. "Are you an idiot?! I need to be a hero!"
"Well, that's no good. It looks like your dreams and your wishes don't line up! I can't help you like that! It'd be too dangerous!"
"Are you kidding me?!"
"Maybe you should go meditate on what you really want for a few days? Practice some mindfulness. Come back when you're at peace with what you want deep down."
Wart let out a croaking laugh as he floated onto his feet. He turned toward Daisy with a smile.
"We're out of time, you overgrown paperweight!" Daisy shouted. "Do something or we're all doomed!"
"Well, okay." Sunny said, crackling with dream energy. "But don't say I didn't warn you!"
The warm light shrank down and enveloped Daisy. Her vision blurred and images flashes in her mind of roaring crowds, television interviews, posters with her face on it, confetti, awards, piles of trophies, and mom's eyes smiling with love. Daisy shook her head.
"No! That's not what I want right now!"
"Don't lie," she heard herself say. "We both know why you're here."
"I…"
"You don't care about helping people. You just want to hang onto your crown."
"That's not true!" Daisy said, hearing the words ring false in her mouth. "Maybe that's how it started, but it's about more than that now!"
"Oh, please. You want to act selfless NOW?" Another Daisy took shape in silhouette. "Aren't you tired of being nice? Don't you want to stop pretending? Just be real about what you actually want."
"Shut up!" Daisy shouted. "I'm not like that!"
The other Daisy clicked her tongue in disgust. "I think we're done here. If you're not going to follow your dreams, then I guess it's up to me."
The light burst apart and grew dark. It gathered in the other Daisy, who took shape and volume and grew until she was more than Daisy. Two bright red eyes opened; eyes Daisy recognized. The specter of her mother lived on in them. Everything mom taught her, all her confidence and strength, blossomed in this other more perfect princess. A body formed, a burning black shadow darker than subspace, taller and stronger than anything Daisy could hope to match.
"W-what's going on?" Daisy said. "Who are you!?"
The figure lunged into a sucker punch, and Daisy slumped to her knees with a gasp.
"I'm the real you," she said. "Dreamy Daisy."
Wart and his minions moved to surround them. Daisy winced through her tears to look up at her doppelgänger.
"You think you're the real me?" Daisy said. "And just what does that make ME?"
"A coward," Dreamy Daisy said. "You're offered the world on a silver platter and you back down because you think too small. You want to fight Hiyohoi over one measly crown when you could be the biggest star in the world? Give me a break."
"Sunny!" Daisy groaned. "You made an evil version of me!"
"I did?" Sunny said. "Whoops!"
Wart bellowed with laughter as he levitated onto the stage.
"I knew it!" he said. "What can I say? I ought to be a talent scout! This is perfect!"
Dreamy Daisy smirked. "That offer still on the table, big boy?"
"For you? Absolutely!" Wart turned to look down on the real Daisy with pity. "Not so sure we need the wrapper, though."
Daisy rushed the imposter. She would not go down without a fight. She let loose with a flurry of punches and kicks, but this sideshow carnival mirror matched every blow with her own, only the fake hit even harder. Daisy was forced back, one step at a time, until she fell backwards off stage into an inky mire of subspace goop.
"No!" she shouted as she struggled to pull herself free.
"End of the line, princess," Wart said. "But thanks for doing the hard part for me."
Wart reached out and touched Sunny with his slimy webbed fingers.
"Oh no!" Sunny said. "A bad guy! I better get rid of the dream gems!"
Dreamy Daisy stretched out her shadowy arms, wrapping them around Sunny tight like snakes and trapping the dream gems.
"Not this time!" she said. "Grant his wish!"
There was another flash of dream magic and power flowed into Wart. He lifted his hands and with one fabulous twirl, a hundred black monitors appeared in the air all around him, each showing a different angle just outside the concert hall. Wart flicked his hands like an orchestra conductor and dozens and dozens of dream portal split open, each one peering into somewhere in the waking world.
"Yes!" Wart said "Yessss!"
The skylines of kingdoms, every kingdom Daisy could name and more, appeared on the monitors. Jewelry Land, the Mushroom Kingdom, Lake Lamode, Yoshi's Island, the Beanbean Kingdom, Nimbus Land, Monstro Town, Rainbow Road, the Pipe Maze, New Donk City, Port Prisma, Sarasaland, Bonneton, Diamond City, Flower Fields, DK Jungle, Rogueport, Decalburg, EVERYWHERE.
Dreamy Daisy let go. The dream gems shot through the air like frightened birds and vanished and took with them Daisy's only hope of defeating Wart.
"Now if you'll excuse us," Wart said, as Daisy sank up to her neck in the goop, "We've got a show to put on."
Daisy opened her mouth to yell only for her throat to fill with subspace.