Given the name, Dark Matter pictured Rainbow Resort to be a colorful place. Normally, he wouldn't have minded the lack of color, but in this case, it was enough to give him chills far beyond what the cold gave him.
The sky was pitch-black, it was as if someone had plucked the stars out of it. As for the water, it looked like a thick tar-like substance.
"I never imagined that Rainbow Resort would look like...this," Taranza said quietly, two of his hands covered his mouth in shock.
"Just wait until you see the Fountain of Dreams," Meta Knight said in a more serious tone. "It looks like someone covered it in black paint."
Gooey gave his brother a worried look, "D-do you think N-Nightmare might've gotten t-to Kirby and Dedede already?"
"I w-would hope not," Dark Matter replied. With that said, the group followed Meta Knight through Rainbow Resort. It looked so dull and lifeless, Dark Matter probably would've welcomed it had he succeeded in taking over Popstar. But he knew that this place was supposed to give people good dreams, so there was no reason for it to look like this.
Once the group had reached the fountain itself, they could see that Kirby and Dedede were nearby. They looked bored, but they appeared to be just fine.
"Kirby!" Gooey yelled as he tackled Kirby to the ground. "Are you OK? Did Nightmare get you?"
Although surprised, Kirby picked himself up and hugged Gooey. "We're fine, Gooey. I'm just glad that you're here."
"Took you guys long enough to show up, though." Dedede said as he impatiently crossed his arms. Meta Knight responded with a shrug. "We did get a little sidetracked on our way back."
"Doesn't surprise me," Dedede said before he turned his attention over to Taranza and Dark Matter. "As for you guys, I hope you had a good time in Floralia. Can't say the same for us, I'm afraid."
"So how do you suppose we get rid of Nightmare, then?" Taranza asked, all Dedede could do was shrug. "Well, I figured that he'd try to do somethin' with me and Kirby at first. But we haven't seen him. So, my second guess is that he'd want to go after Dark Matter."
"He...he did say th-that he wanted to t-try something with me," Dark Matter said quietly. "Th-thinking about i-it now, I c-can't stop shaking."
"Hey, it'll be fine," Dedede said as he placed a hand on Dark Matter's back. "Once Nightmare shows up, Kirby and I'll beat him up, restore the Fountain of Dreams, and then throw you into the water.
"...What kind of plan is that?"
"LOOK OUT!"
Gooey tackled Dark Matter without warning. There was a star-shaped light that barely missed Dedede's head and struck Gooey's side. It looked like it shouldn't have hurt as badly as it did, and yet Gooey looked as if he'd gotten the wind knocked out of him.
"GOOEY!" Dark Matter yelled as he lowered himself to examine his brother. "Gooey, please tell me you're OK. PLE-"
Suddenly, the same star-shaped light that attacked Gooey had struck Dark Matter in the head so hard that his mask flew off. There was pain that coursed through his body, it was as if he'd been struck by lightning.
Before anyone had time to react, an orb flew by and grabbed the two brothers. Dedede looked at the orb angrily. "Hey, what gives!?"
"Sorry, but I can't let anyone take my toys away from me!"
Everything was blurry for a moment, but once the orb changed shape, he held onto the two brothers like a couple of stuffed toys. He hovered over the fountain itself with a menacing grin. It was Dark Matter's tormentor, Nightmare.
"Now, I wasn't going to take the blue one, but what kind of person would I be if I separated my toy from his own brother?" Nightmare said as he squeezed Gooey with his fingers. "it just means that I have more ways to watch him squirm!"
Dark matter tried to call for help, but just like every other time Nightmare was around, he couldn't move nor speak. He was in too much pain.
"They're NOT your toys!" Dedede yelled angrily as he pulled out his hammer from seemingly out of nowhere. "Now let 'em go, or else!"
"Or else what?" Nightmare asked maliciously. "I thought that you'd be happy to see the one that possessed you and tormented you get what he deserved!"
"I wouldn't want that on my WORST enemy."
"Well, in any case. I guess it's time for me to bid farewell."
Nightmare created a portal over his head and flew inside. Dedede attempted to throw Kirby at the portal, but it closed tightly before the pink puffball could reach it. At this point, Dark Matter started to lose consciousness. All he could do was with that this would all end soon.
"Ugh..."
Gooey woke up with a sharp pain that coursed through his body, he slowly dragged his tongue into his mouth as he looked around.
He wasn't in Rainbow Resort anymore. Instead, he was surrounded by a dense fog. The good news was that there was no sign of Nightmare, but the bad news was that Brother wasn't here, either. After all, Nightmare took him too, right?
With whatever strength he'd gained back, Gooey made his way through the fog.
"Brother!" Gooey called out in an attempt to find him. "Brother, where are you!?"
The only thing that responded back was Gooey's echo. Regardless, the young blob continued to call out to his brother. But as he moved, he couldn't help but wonder if Kirby had gone through the same thing while he was here. He had to wonder if Kirby was forced into this foggy maze, and that was how he lost control of himself. And once he did, that was when Nightmare sent Kirby to Dedede's Castle. It was a horrifying thought. And with the way Nightmare targeted Brother, Gooey had to wonder if the same thing will happen to him?
After a while, Gooey felt as if he was just going in circles. No matter how far he went, Gooey couldn't feel his brother's presence.
"Brother!" Gooey called out, once more. He'd hoped that his brother would find him this time, but he still couldn't detect his presence.
"Is that you out there, Brother!?"
Gooey looked around for a moment as he heard his brother's voice. He was able to make out a spiky outline in the fog. Soon, his brother had finally approached him. Gooey still couldn't detect his presence, but maybe the world they were dragged in made it harder to do so?
"Are you OK," Gooey asked while he hugged his brother. "I tried to protect you from Nightmare, but-"
"It's all right now, little one," Brother said gently as he wrapped Gooey in his cloak. "I managed to get away from Nightmare, so we should be safe for now."
"But how are we gonna get out?" Gooey asked. His brother tried to think for a moment. "That's a good question...Perhaps we should rest while we think of a solution. And if Nightmare shows up, then I'll be sure to chase him away."
"Hopefully, he won't show up at all." Gooey said as he yawned. His brother replied with a nod. "I understand, Brother. But for now, try to get some rest.
Gooey nodded as he curled up against his brother's side. But before he dozed off, he could've sworn he'd seen stars on his brother's cloak.