-Chapter 14-

Perchance to Dream

Wart's Castle

Wart was in the middle of tinkering with the Dream Machine when Bernie entered.

"Master Waaaart…" he began.

"Bernie..." Wart sighed.

"Bad news sir… A group of Dreamers has arrived in Subcon."

"I see… And judging from your 'chipper' attitude, I assume they escaped?"

"Mm-hmm."

Wart set his tools down, taking a deep breath.

"Are you mad, Master?" Bernie asked nervously.

"Me? Mad? Of course not…" Wart put a hand on Bernie's shoulder before strangling him. " I'm absolutely FURIOUS! " He bodily lifted the Shy Guy, shaking him like a maraca. "How am I going to spread my rule to the waking world with you idiots working for me?!"

"Please...stop...Master...you're...making...me...sick!" Bernie managed.

"I'm about to do more than make you sick, Bernie !" Wart dragged him over to the Dream Machine. "Tell me, what do you see before you?"

"Uhhh...your Dream Machine?"

"Gooood. And what does it do?"

"It...makes whatever you dream up real, even in the waking world?"

"Very goooood! And what does it run on?"

Bernie paused. "Oh no."

Wart grinned evilly. "GOOD!" He dropped Bernie into one of the tubes, the Shy Guy screaming. The machine hummed to life as Bernie's scream became more and more distorted before eventually dying down completely. Once it was finished, the machine spat out his mask.

"Twit," Wart spat before his pendant glowed. "Oh, for the love of…" He answered it. "WHAT?!"

" Wartyyyyy! " came Birdo's voice.

"Oh, hello Birdo," Wart sighed.

" Bir-DEE! I told you to call me Birdie! "

"Whatever. What do you want?"

" I just had a run-in with some...new faces in town from the waking world. Unfortunately, they managed to get away. Totally ruined my outfit too! I sent Bernie to fetch me a spare, but he's running late. Have you seen him? "

Wart looked at Bernie's mask. "Nope."

" Well, if you do, tell him to hurry up. Knowing our luck, those fools are heading for the Sands of Slumber to see the Dream Keepers. And I would rather not get sunburned, TYVM. "

"Yes, I will let him know."

" Great. Well, I better get going. Bye, Warty! " Birdo hung up at that.

"Prima donna-saurus," Wart grumbled before thinking. "So, the Dreamers are on their way to meet that fat fool, Hassan? That's going to be trouble. If they were to team up, they might be able to get past..." He shook his head. "No, that's preposterous. They can't even touch him, let alone harm him. He, on the other hand, very much can."

He grinned evilly before cackling.

Sands of Slumber

Meanwhile, Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Peach were wandering through the desert.

"Hey, guys…" Toad panted. "Is it me...or is this desert really, really hot?"

"Mama-mia…" Luigi let out, tugging at his collar and fanning himself. "if I'd known we'd be going to a desert, I would've brought my summer gear."

Mario panted heavily, wiping his forehead.

"Water... I'll even settle for some meat sauce…" He perked, seeing an oasis ahead. "Hey, a pool! Last one in's a Koopa!"

He ran in, performing a perfect swan dive... into a sand dune. Toad and Luigi all winced, letting out groans of sympathy.

"Are you alright, Mario?!" Peach exclaimed.

Mario raised his head, spitting out a mouthful of sand.

"Yeah… I'm good. Just got some sand between my teeth." He sighed. "Just my luck. A stinkin' Looney Tunes-style mirage. What next?"

At that moment, they heard a screech before something leaped onto Mario, shoving his head back into the sand before hopping off. Mario pulled his head out of the sand, dusting himself off.

"What the heck was that?" He rubbed his head, only to blink, feeling his hair instead of his cap. He patted his head repeatedly. "Please tell me that thing didn't steal my cap."

They heard monkey noises, looking ahead to see a monkey playing with his cap.

"It's an Ukiki," Toad explained.

"A what now?" Luigi asked.

"A breed of monkey in our world. They're known for their sticky fingers."

The Ukiki held up Mario's cap, staring at it before putting it on its head, jumping around, and performing Mario's iconic jump, complete with "Wa-hoo!"-like screeching. Mario's eye twitched before he got to his feet, holding out his hands and approaching slowly.

"Okay, Chimpy," he said calmly. "Just hand over the cap nice and easy, and we won't be having Primate Parfait (1) for dinner."

Peach raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

Luigi shook his head. "Trust me, you don't wanna know."

Mario approached slowly. The monkey tilted its head to the side in confusion. Mario then dove at the monkey, who just leaped away with a screech, allowing Mario to faceplant in the sand again.

"Why you!" Mario gave chase. "Get back here!"

"Mario, wait for us!" Luigi shouted.

"I'll get you, you hairy little thief!" Mario screamed.

"Mario!" Peach cried.

The others chased after him as well. Mario eventually rounded a corner to find the monkey seated on the lap of Imajin, who was reclining on his carpet and looking over the cap.

"All this fuss over a silly hat?" he pondered.

"A cap I've had since I was a baby," Mario clarified. "May I have it back, please?"

Imajin shrugged. "Catch."

He tossed it at Mario in a frisbee-like fashion. The plumber caught it, placing it back on his head. "If you can't control that furball of yours, put a leash on her."

"Yeah, sorry. Rusa's always been sticky-fingered."

Luigi, Peach, and Toad all caught up.

"Finally, we…" Peach perked. "What the…?"

"Is that Aladdin?" Toad questioned.

"Not exactly," Imajin rose to his feet, a scimitar appearing in his hand. "Name's Imajin. And I just wanna apologize in advance."

"Apologize?" Mario questioned. "For what?"

"This." Imajin suddenly dashed forward and swung his sword at Mario.

"Hey, whoa! Can't we just sit down and talk about this?" Mario ducked a slash. "Guess not!"

"C'mon, Dreamer!" Imajin yelled. "Fight me! Or is the thought of losing to a child too much for you?"

"More like I have no idea why you're trying to fight me! We literally just met!" Mario's eyes narrowed. "But if you want a fight, you've got one!"

He dodged another slash. As Imajin threw a punch with one hand, Mario blocked with one hand before ramming his kneecap into his gut. Imajin slid back, a hand to his side.

"Nice technique. What is that? Karate? Kickboxing?"

Mario knocked him back with a cross to his right cheek. "Actually, we call it fist-fighting. Straight from the streets of Brooklyn."

Imajin grinned. "I see. Well, let me show you mine."

Imajin shoved Mario away before taking a deep breath, his blade glowing with otherworldly light.

"That can't be good." Toad let out.

" Biaism alhalma. Biaism alnaayimi. Biaism… (2)"

"IMAJIN!" a female voice yelled.

Suddenly, something whacked him in the back of the head.

"What the-?!" Toad exclaimed.

The group turned to see a human girl around the boy's age with long dark brown hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in similar Arabian-style clothing consisting of a pink hijab with a heart-like icon on the front, a red-and-black shirt over a red vest with pink trim, and red and pink pants with red shoes, alongside golden bangles and hoop earrings.

"Where did she come from?" Peach demanded.

"What in the name of Grambi do you think you're doing?" the girl demanded. "Why are you attacking these people!?"

"I was getting a feel for their intentions, Lina," Imajin explained. "The only way to really get to know someone is to fight them, y'know?"

Lina just whacked him over the head again. "Idiot! That only happens in cartoons!"

With that, she walked over to Mario and the others. "I apologize for the behavior of my betrothed, travelers. Imajin has a good heart, but is sorely lacking in brains."

"Hey!" Imajin objected.

"My name is Lina," Lina bowed respectfully. "And you are?"

"I'm Mario," Mario gestured to each of his friends in turn. "This is my brother Luigi, and my friends Toad and Princess Peach."

"The Mushroom Kingdom princess?" Imajin looked between Mario and Luigi. "Then you're the guys who beat Bowser."

Mario blinked. "Wait...You know?"

"Word travels fast in the Mushroom Land, especially in the Dream World," Lina explained. "So... what brings you to Subcon?"

"A fairy named Tiana called us here," Mario answered. "She sent us this way to find the Dream Keepers."

Imajin smiled. "Well, you're in luck then. You've found them."

Mario and Co. looked on in shock.

"Huh?" Mario let out.

"You're the Dream Keepers?!" Toad demanded.

"But… you're just kids!" Luigi exclaimed.

Imajin shrugged. "Okay, so we're Keepers-in-training. Semantics."

"Imajin's mother and father are the current Keepers," Lina explained. "If you just follow us, we'll take you to them."

Lina clapped her hands, summoning a magic carpet of her own. Imajin whistled, his own carpet rising from the ground as he stepped on.

"You guys coming?"

The quartet looked at each other before Toad broke out into a grin.

"Heck yeah! Magic carpet ride!"

Toad and Peach joined Lina on her carpet, while Mario and Luigi climbed onto Imajin's.

"A-are you sure this is safe?" Luigi stammered.

"Of course," Imajin assured. "Quality magic carpets, straight from Sam Shalam's dealership in the Cloud Kingdom."

"That doesn't fill me with much confidence," Peach deadpanned.

"No time!" Imajin declared. "Hut-hut!"

Once everyone was on, the carpets took off.

"Whoa!" Mario exclaimed.

-X-

Eventually, the carpets pulled to a stop before a simplistic Arabian-style home amid the desert.

"Thank you for choosing 'Magic Carpet' for all your travel needs," Imajin recited, channeling an airline stewardess as the carpets landed. "Don't stand till the rug has come to a complete stop. Have a nice day!" At Lina's deadpan look, he shrugged. "What? I'm just having some fun."

Lina turned to Luigi. "Now, maybe you should let go of your brother before you kill him with your death grip?"

Luigi blinked, looking down. Indeed, he had clung to Mario the whole trip in fear, and the older Mario brother was starting to turn blue in the face.

"Whoops," Luigi let go of Mario, who collapsed, gasping for air. "Sorry about that, Bro."

"Mama Mia…" Mario coughed before standing up. "You have got to work on your anxiety, Lu."

"Kinda jumpy, isn't he?" Imajin asked.

"He's working on it," Peach replied.

" Marhaba (3), travelers."

The group turned to see an older woman approach. She was wearing a blue dress and a dark blue hooded cloak with matching shoes and white elbow-length gloves.

Imajin bowed in her direction. "Hi, Mom."

"Mom?" Luigi let out.

"Wow…" Toad said.

"She looks so… young and beautiful," Peach noted.

"A combination of good genes and just taking care of herself," Lina replied.

The woman bowed in their direction. "Princess Peach, it's truly an honor to meet you. I am Amani. I bid you and your companions welcome to the Sands of Slumber."

Mario stepped forward at that. "So you're one of the Dream Keepers? Then I need to know one thing. Is Subcon real? Any of this? Or is it all just a dream?"

"Of course Subcon is a dream, Mario," Imajin's father cut in, emerging from the house. "Why should that mean it's not real?"

With him were two smaller children, identical except for distinct red and blue outfits, looking at Mario and his friends curiously.

"And you are?" Luigi questioned.

"I am Hassan. These are my two youngest, Poki and Piki."

"Daddy, who are these people?" the twin in blue asked.

"Are they real people?" the red-clad girl asked. "Or dream people?"

"They're real people, dear," Hassan assured. "Dreamers." He gestured to the door. "I'm sure you four have many questions. Come, sit. We were just about to have dinner."

The group gathered around the table as Amani passed out food.

"Try the baba ghanoush, Mario," Hassan offered. "It's positively heavenly."

Mario took a bite. "Hmmm…" His eyes widened. "Tastes just like Ma's spaghetti!"

"What?" Luigi tried some. "Holy ravioli, it does!"

"But… how?" Toad pondered.

"It tastes like strawberry shortcake to me," Peach mused.

"That's because those are your favorite foods," Lina explained.

"In the Dream World, one is not tethered by earthly limitations," Amani added. "Conventional logic and reason do not apply here. The reality of Subcon bends to your will and desire."

"That's incredible!" Mario exclaimed.

"So if I'm right...this should taste just like Tayce T.'s Shroom Steak," Toad took a bite, his eyes lighting up. "It does…"

"Keeper Hassan-" Peach began.

"No need for formalities, Princess," Hassan assured. "Hassan will suffice."

"Okay, Hassan," Mario chimed in. "Just what's going on here? Who's this Wart guy?"

Hassan's expression became grave. "Wart is an ancient and powerful evil. One that has plagued this land for centuries."

"This has all happened before," Imajin added. "He came to Subcon, and seized control of the Dream Machine."

"Dream Machine?" Toad questioned.

"The weather and quality of life in Subcon are determined by the nature and quality of dreams, day by day," Amani explained. "The Dream Machine was created by the Subconians to ensure good dreams and weather... until Wart came along and seized control of it."

"But what does he want with it?" Luigi asked.

"Tell me, Luigi," Hassan began, "If in Subcon one can shape the world how they wish, why are my family and I living in this modest, little house?"

Luigi scratched his head. "Well… because you want to?"

"To keep ourselves grounded in reality," Hassan replied.

Luigi blinked. "I don't get it."

"In Subcon, one can literally do or be anything they want," Lina said. "A peasant can be a king. A fool can be a genius. A weakling can be strong. And a coward can be a hero."

"Now imagine if you could do all that in the waking world," Imajin said.

"Oh…" Luigi perked in realization.

Hassan nodded. "Many years ago, the one who calls himself Wart came to this world. Nobody knows who he was or what kind of life he had before. All we know is that as soon as he discovered the reality-bending power of this world, he quickly became addicted to it. He seized control of the Dream Machine, using it to unleash a menagerie of nightmares upon this world, all so that he could acquire greater control over the world's power."

"If he's that powerful in this world, how did they stop him the first time?" Luigi questioned.

"My ancestors, the previous Dream Keepers, traveled to his castle in the sky," Hassan answered. "There, they fought a fearsome battle and defeated him, using his one weakness."

He held up a cooked vegetable on his fork.

"Hold on...vegetables?" Toad let out incredulously.

"His greatest weakness is vegetables?" Mario asked.

"The power of belief in Subcon goes both ways," Amani clarified. "Wart despises vegetables... and in this world, that translated into making them poisonous to him."

Luigi chuckled slightly. "Good thing Mips (4) isn't here. If she even smelled a mushroom she'd be keeling over."

"And no doubt the same thing would happen to Wart if we managed to get him to eat some." Mario mused.

"So if Wart was defeated, how is he still causing trouble?" Peach questioned.

"After defeating him, the old Keepers sealed him away in an enchanted book," Hassan said. "Where he remained until recently."

Poki and Piki winced, while Rusa looked away, whistling casually.

"Something wrong, kiddos?" Toad asked.

Peach perked. "Wait… did they…?"

"Not intentionally," Imajin clarified. "Rusa got ahold of the book and gave it to Poki and Piki. They fought over it, and ripped out the last page."

"In doing so, they erased the ending, breaking the seal on Wart," Hassan finished.

"We're sorry," Poki and Piki said sadly.

"Hey," Mario knelt down to their level. "You didn't know what would happen. It was an accident."

"But...we messed everything up." Poki pointed out.

"And now Wart's hurting everyone and taking them to his castle," Piki added.

"That's what we're here to fix," Mario promised. "Just leave it to the Super Mario Bros."

Poki and Piki smiled at that.

"So…" Luigi began, "how do we get to Wart's castle. Fly on your carpets?"

"I'm afraid that's impossible," said Lina. "Wart's castle is surrounded by thick clouds of nightmare. They disrupt all other dreams that approach them."

"It's not completely impossible, Lina," Amani said. "If one were to envision a dream strong enough, one could pierce through the nightmare and reach the castle. But it would need to be something powerful, fast, and most of all...wondrous."

"But what could be more wondrous than a magic carpet?" Imajin questioned.

"A good question, son," Hassan answered. "I don't know of any means of flight that could match."

"The only thing that keeps coming to my mind is when we would play pretend with Mips," Luigi remarked. "With the evil wizards defending the Fortress of Darkness."

"Oh yeah!" Mario recalled. "Or going to outer space and exploring other planets!"

"Mips always had the wildest ideas," Luigi chuckled.

Lina blinked. "Other...planets?"

"There are worlds beyond the stars?" Hassan asked.

"Kinda," Luigi answered. "None of them have life or anything, at least from where we come from. But yeah."

Hassan looked intrigued. "And how would one get to these 'other planets'?"

"Well, they'd have to ride up there in a rocket ship or something," Luigi answered.

Mario perked. "That's it!" Everyone jumped at his exclamation. "Luigi, you're a genius!"

Luigi blinked. "I am?"

"Yes! We'll dream up a rocket ship!" Mario said. "It's fast, it's powerful, and it's chock full to bursting with futuristic, space-age wondrousness! Just what we need to blast through Wart's barrier!"

"That's perfect!" Toad exclaimed. "Hassan, you gotta show us how to dream up a rocket!"

"I would be happy to help, but I fear there may not be much time," Hassan told them. "Wart and his forces have nearly conquered all of Subcon, and the dreaming arts are not something that can be mastered quickly."

Luigi thought for a minute. "Well... can we steal a rocket from a dream? Maybe... tweak a dream to match our needs?"

"Not quite," Lina said. "You'd have to have a connection to the dreamer, be a figure in their dream."

"We would also need a large amount of dream essence," Amani added. "And that kind of essence doesn't exist in adults. It would have to be a child, or at least not an adult yet."

Mario and Luigi exchanged looks.

"You thinking what I'm thinking, Bro?" Mario asked.

"You mean…" Luigi scratched his head. "But… would we even be able to reach her?"

"Well, anything's possible in a dream," Mario replied. "And... honestly I don't have any better ideas."

"Well, it's worth a shot, at least," Luigi conceded.

"What's up?" Imajin asked.

"We need to find a Dreamer," Mario explained. "Specifically our sister, Mary Pat Mario."

"You guys have a sister?" Toad asked. "But Peach never said anything about-"

"Not by blood," Mario clarified. "She's our sister from our adoptive family back in Brooklyn."

"Their biological kid," Luigi added. "Not that we ever cared about that stuff."

Hassan nodded approvingly. "Well said."

"She's a teenager, so she should have the dream energy we need," Mario noted.

"But... here's the thing," Luigi chimed in. "She's from Earth, on the other side of the Warp Zone. Could we reach her from here?"

"The Dream World is tied to all those who dream, regardless of world or dimension," Hassan answered. "But forming a connection will be difficult. We would need to gather a few things."

"Name it," Mario said. "We'll get it."

"First, we need an object of power. Something with strong emotional ties to the dreamer you wish to contact."

Mario and Luigi nodded at that.

"Her cap," they said in unison.

Mario held out his cap. Amani put a hand over it.

"I sense strong feelings emanating from this hat," she mused. "Feelings of joy… of love."

"As I said earlier, we've had these hats since we were babies," Mario said. "And Ma made Mips one just like it. She's worn it every day since."

"Perfect," Amani smiled.

"Next, we'll need a Crystal Ball," Hassan added. "Luckily, Amani has several."

Amani summoned one at that.

"Amazing…" Peach let out.

"Anything else?" Toad questioned.

"We would need a Dream Key," Hassan answered. "It has the power to open any gate or pathway that isn't stronger than it. Unfortunately, Wart's stolen that away."

"Damn!" Mario thumped the table in frustration.

"But Daddy, what about-?" Poki began.

"Poki, no!" Piki cut in. "It's too scary! He'll eat them!"

"But he's got a key!"

"Who's got a key?" Mario asked.

"Hold up," Luigi cut in. "Eat us?!"

The Keepers winced.

"There is one key that Wart missed," Hassan explained. "It's kept in my family's Dream Well. Only Keepers can access it, so Wart could not take it. Wart was not happy that he could not take it out of the well, so to make sure we could not use it against him, he put something inside it. Something… evil."

"Oh no…" Luigi shuddered.

"Doesn't matter," Mario said firmly. "We're getting that key."

"Then you will need our help," said Hassan. "Imajin, Lina."

"You got it, Dad!" Imajin stood up at that.

"Come with us," Lina said. "We'll take you to the well."

"Two of you should probably stay behind though," Imajin pointed out. "Last thing we want is for that creep to have more targets."

As Mario and Luigi stood up, Luigi was shaking like a leaf.

"Don't worry, Luigi," Toad soothed. "It's only a dream, right? So we can't actually get hurt or killed."

Amani shook her head. "That would be the case... had you not physically crossed into this world through the gateway."

Toad perked. "Wait, seriously?!"

"Not that it would matter," Hassan said. "The creature in the well is a being of nightmares. It feeds on the spiritual energy of its victims, destroying their minds."

"Oh, thanks," Luigi said sarcastically. "Like I wasn't about to wet myself already."

"Calm down, Luigi," Mario told him before turning to Hassan. "What can you tell us about this creature?"

"Its true name is...impossible to speak in any mortal tongue," Hassan replied. "However, many have taken to calling it… Phanto."

Meanwhile…

Deep in a dark place, a single golden key glittered in the darkness.

"Hmmm… that smell…" a pair of glowing red eyes glittered in the dark. "What is that beautiful smell?" He took a deep sniff. "It smells like… feeeear."

An ominous cackle pierced the dark.

Author's Note:

(1): Reference to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. If you've seen the movie, you'll get it.

(2): "In the name of the dream. In the name of the sleeper. In the name of..."

(3): "Welcome" in Arabic.

(4): A nickname for Mary Pat. Also a reference to the bunny from Super Mario 64.

Well, quite ominous, no? Will Team Mario prevail against the nightmare?

And yes, we tweaked Phanto quite a bit. Wait and see for how exactly.

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Hassan - Mike Pollock (Dr. Eggman in Sonic X and the games from 2005 onward, Adon Coborlwitz from Berserk, Meat from Ultimate Muscle, Langston Lickatoad from Viva Piñata, Suikyou from Ikki Tousen, Beast in the Astonishing X-Men motion comic, Garbageman in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003)

* Lina - Alejandra Reynoso (Neon in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Sypha Belnades in Castlevania, Flora in Nickelodeon's dub of Winx Club)

* Amani - Freida Pinto (Queen Shanti in Mira, Royal Detective, Phaedra in Immortals, Messua in Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle)

* Poki - Eva Bella (young Elsa in Frozen, Shimmer in Shimmer & Shine)

* Piki - Hadley Gannaway (young Anna in Frozen 2, Betty in Final Fantasy VII Remake, Thalia Flint in Monsters at Work)

* Phanto - Wagner Moura (The Wolf in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Pablo Escobar in Narcos)

Please R&R. Until next time!