Author's Note: Well, looks like I'm back on this fanfic again. After refreshing my obsession with SPM and M&L, I'm continuing on writing this beautiful garbage.
P.S.The timeline in this chapter was before Nightmare attacked Luigi in the real world, this is about him preparing for the first night.
Deep down in the Underwhere, two disconsolate beings are imprisoned. Routinely tortured and reminded of their crimes in their disoriented state. Despite being separated fields away, their suffering is one alike.
The once glorious bat king of nightmares is now reduced to a powerless soul and confined in a deep, frigid cave. Being beaten, burned, and maimed on a daily basis. While the other, an attempter of universal omnicide, was reminded of his past regrets and confronted with insecurities that he hides for years from the waking world. Being mentally butchered over and over again.
Both suffered the same fate, dying at the hands of the Mario Brothers. Yet both achieved something that past enemies of theirs did not, manipulate their minds. More specifically, Luigi's.
And it was this achievement that makes them the main target of a certain mechanical nightmarish being.
Antasma was awakened by an unprecedented sensation, which is strange considering the fact that for the past 5 years, he was pitted against these same sensations that burned and maimed his soul on a daily basis. He should be used to it by now, and he is. But still, he can't shake this feeling of uncertainty. He can sense someone, or rather something is here. But he can't quite put a claw on it. He can tell that it has similar properties to him but in a different aspect.
He unfurled from his sleeping position to have a better look, perhaps to have a glance at the entity to get a better idea of it.
The moment he opened his eyes, he was immediately greeted with a pair of red ruby-like eyes that just screams bloody murder at every part of his soul. He froze, unintentionally returning the gaze that it bore into his mind a few moments earlier.
"Hello, Antasma'' it said. Its chilling voice produces a slight glitch while it talks. "You're going to be my servant now."
Before he could react, two metal claws gripped his head. Enacting a screech from him, he instinctively struggled against it but was proven fruitless by the steel grip of the hold and the several unbreakable chains that held him.
He can sense its powers penetrating his mind. Attempting to take over the helm that pilots his soul, he immediately resorted to redirecting all of his energy to block out the creature's influence. Trying to buy some time for the D-men that must have heard his distressed screech to arrive and take out this entity. Nightmare can tell what he's doing, so before Antasma can reinforce more of his mental defenses, his mind was suddenly dragged downwards like quicksand into an unknown state of consciousness. He fought it the best as he could, but ultimately with his weakened state. He succumbed to the battle.
With the bat king under his control, his sight turned onto the madden jester.
Dimentio felt numb, he had been imprisoned in this stark white room for years. Wearing only white clothing and staring at white spotless walls, he knows what kind of torture this is, he was well aware of its effect. Yet he can't help but feel forsaken despair crawling up his spine and into his chest, he knows that he deserves it, he knows that he will spend a numb eternity here, and he knows that his fate was sealed the moment he got his hands on the Dark Prognostics. Yet. he couldn't help but regret all of his actions that lead up to this phase, regret his thought processes, regret what his mind has made him do, and he absolutely regret the fact that he even prepared to face the consequences should he fail. And so, it's a well-deserved punishment for thinking so naively.
While dwelling in his self-pity, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Perhaps it's time for another trip down memory lane, he thought bitterly, believing that the D-men were here for another round of phycological torture.
He waited and waited, anticipating the sounds of pounding marches crawling slowly toward his cell. However, there was nothing. No sounds of D-men coming towards him, no sounds of gruff voices, shouting orders that echoed throughout the walls, there was nothing. Which made Dimentio more alert than he would usually be.
This is strange, he thought. They should be here by now.
He turned around to look at the door, perhaps blankly staring at its pale white surface for another hour, wondering when his punishment will come.
When he was met by a dark void-like haze that covered half of his cell, Dimentio yelped and leaped back from where he was just sulking. He hasn't seen a drop of a different color other than white for years, the dark haze seems to be creeping closer and closer toward him.
Did the Chaos Heart come back? He thought. Did it come back to take revenge on him for mistreating it so badly from its last encounter?
Just as he presented his theory in his head, it was quickly made incorrect when a pair of red eyes appeared within the haze, staring at his soul as if it knows everything that can make him squirm in terror. Whatever it is, it's obviously powerful if it can hide its slowly expanding aura from someone as sensitive as him.
Before he knew it, two disjoint claw-like hands came rushing out from the haze and firmly gripped onto Dimentio's legs, and began to drag him towards the haze, closer to the unknown entity that wanted his soul.
Dimentio instinctively tries to use his magic, but ultimately fails since his magic has been completely stripped from him the moment he enters the Underwhere, so he resorted to screaming and clawing at the floor of his jail cell like a horror movie victim, which frankly he was during the moment.
The primal fear that he hasn't felt for thousands of years hit him like a truck, not even death to the Mario Brothers or the punishment of the Underwhere has ever made him feel so afraid as he uselessly attempted to crawl back towards the safety of his bleached prison.
The second he entered the haze, all of his senses were dulled as he was forced into an unconscious state, much like his predecessor who was captured a few moments ago.
With both of his weapons crafted to the finest they can be, Nightmare prepares an assault into the mind of Luigi.
Authors Note: I've posted this story onto Ao3 with additional artworks on it. So go ahead if you want to check it out.