...For once, it was morning when Dark Matter woke up. But when he thought that he'd been free from Nightmare's grasp, he found that he still couldn't move or speak.
"You know, I always did think that a change of scenery was a good thing," Nightmare said playfully. "I prefer to work during the night, but sometimes you can't help but sit down and watch the sunrise, you know?"
Dark Matter let out a weak growl. And upon hearing him growl, Gooey gently nuzzled against his brother.
"Now from what I've heard, you'll be going to the Fountain of Dreams soon. I personally can't wait to meet my new toy in person. There's something in particular that I really wanted to try out."
If Dark Matter could find any way to stab Nightmare, then he absolutely would. However, his thoughts turned to fear as Nightmare started to pet him again.
"I know, I know...you're a very angry little blob. But just for now, I'll be sure to save the torment until you reach the Fountain of Dreams. All right?"
All Dark Matter could do was let out another weak growl.
"Good, then I'll be seeing you REAL soon."
As Nightmare had seemingly disappeared, Dark Matter was able to move again. Gooey gave him a worried look, "Are you OK?"
"I'm fine," Dark Matter said in a somewhat bitter tone. "I just wish that Nightmare would leave me alone!"
"Well, Meta Knight's s'posed to come over, which means that we can get rid of Nightmare, too."
Leave it to Gooey to think about the bright side! Dark Matter hopped out of bed and changed into his Blade form. "So what do you think we should do? Should we look for Taranza?"
Gooey nodded, "Sure."
The duo quietly left their room and looked around the castle. Dark Matter was still getting used to all the color on the wall. But now that he thought about it, they started to remind him more of insect wings, which was fitting given that this this place was supposed to be inhabited by bugs.
The duo made their way to the top of the castle. Here, Taranza sat at the edge as he watched the Dreamstalk sway contentedly like it did last night.
"Good morning, you two!" Taranza greeted as he looked back at the two brothers. "Did you sleep well, last night?"
"I slept as well as I was able to," Dark Matter replied. Granted, Nightmare wasn't being as sadistic of a bastard as he was before.
"That's good," Taranza said while smiling. "I'm sorry I can't show you all that Floralia has to offer right now, but there is plenty to do in the castle should you ever get bored."
"Do we got any food?" Gooey asked as he started to drool. "Because I'm kinda hungry."
"Oh! I could make you two breakfast if you'd like!" Taranza offered, Dark Matter couldn't help but tilt his head. "Are you sure?"
"Of course, you're my guests after all."
"Well if you insist..."
Taranza began to float as he lead the brothers downstairs, surely a quick breakfast wouldn't hurt...right?
Surprisingly, Taranza was pretty good cook. Granted, the food he made was just bacon and eggs, but it still looked good nonetheless.
Gooey, being the glutton that he was, dragged all of his food into his mouth. He let out a small burp as half of his body lied on the table. Dark Matter enjoyed his food too, of course. However, he found that he didn't like the taste of egg yolks very much. There was just something about the texture that he didn't like.
"...Would you like the rest of this, Gooey?" Dark Matter asked as he pushed the plate over to his brother. Gooey stared at the plate for a moment before he dragged the food into his mouth again.
"So how did you like it?" Taranza asked as he arrived with his own plate full of bacon and eggs.
"I love it," Gooey said with a content look on his face. "I dun think brother likes the yellow stuff in the egg, though."
Dark Matter frowned. "I could've told him myself, you know."
"It's all right, Paintra's the same way." Taranza said while he grabbed a fork. "She prefers her eggs scrambled, so I think you might like them better that way."
"But wouldn't that mean mixing the yolk with the white?"
"Yes, but I promise that you'll barely taste it."
"It's even better with peppers and ketchup," Gooey chimed in. "But not TOO many peppers."
"...I'll take your word for it."
Dark Matter stared at the ceiling as his mind began to wander. While he enjoyed the trip to Floralia, and while he was happy to get to know Taranza more, he had to wonder how the others were doing. He'd hoped that Kirby was doing OK, especially since he had Dedede and Meta Knight to protect him right now.
But what if Nightmare attacked them all? What if they were all turned into his puppets like Kirby was?
"You OK, Brother?"
Dark Matter came back to reality as Gooey waved his tongue in front of his brother's face. The larger blob nodded in response. "I'm fine...I'm just a little tired, that's all."
It went silent for a moment until Taranza began to talk.
"You know, there's something else I'd love to show you two if you're interested."
"Ooh, are you gonna show us more flowers?" Gooey asked excitedly.
"Well...yeah, I was." Taranza said while rubbing the back of his head. "That is, if you're interested."
"Uh...perhaps one look wouldn't hurt." Dark Matter said quietly. If he were being honest, he'd half-expect them all to be the same pink flowers growing on the Dreamstalk...Not that they weren't pretty, but he'd seen plenty of them while on his way to Royal Road.
Still, it wouldn't hurt to humor Taranza for a little bit.
The group headed outside, once they were done with their breakfast. While a few of the Dreamstalk's vines poked through the floor, there were several different flowers here as well. Not only did the Dreamstalk's flowers poke through, there were also tulips, roses, lilies, and even a few sunflowers planted here.
Sitting under one of the vines was Paintra, she held a book with her cape. When she noticed the group, she put her book down and waved. "Good morning, everyone!"
"Good morning," Taranza repeated. He then turned his attention towards the brothers. "Now, you can look, but you can't touch them."
As Gooey made his way over to the tulips, Dark Matter couldn't help but let his eye wander a bit. Much like the Dreamstalk, the flowers were like small creatures swinging in the breeze. He'd even noticed the tulips had eyes on them, though their eyes were all closed as they bathed peacefully in the sun.
Then there were the sunflowers. He could never get over how much they looked like his own kind despite giving off such a friendly warmth.
"...Did Sectonia ask for this, too?" Dark matter asked. Taranza shook his head. "Actually, this was all my doing."
"YOU did this?"
"I like 'em!" Gooey said carelessly.
"Thanks you two." Taranza replied. "Flowers are VERY important here, so you tend to see a lot of gardens in this country. It's important to take care of them when you can."
"I try to take care of them, but it's more fun to paint pictures of them instead," Paintra chimed in.
Although his kind might not care for such things, Dark Matter couldn't help but admire the flowers that grew here. He sat down and watched as the flowers continued to sway in the breeze. While he had no plans to move out of Dream Land anytime soon, he would certainly be happy to visit Floralia again when he had the chance.