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When Bowser came to, all he could see was a dazzling void of deep blues and greens, with a variety of shimmering lights — stars, maybe? — peppered across the great expanse that surrounded him.
He tried to sit up, and immediately he laid back down as his head throbbed something fierce. His vision danced with lights, not unlike the ones around him. Rubbing his temples, Bowser tried to get a good feel for his surroundings while also being careful not to move his head while he looked. From the little he could see he noted that the area felt very, very familiar.
He closed his eyes, and, with a grunt, began to try and recall his surroundings and how he ended up here.
Hm…After a brief second and with very little trouble, Bowser found that he could remember how and why he was here — That was good, it meant he didn’t hit his head, or at least not very hard — and what he needed to do, along with a vague idea of where he was supposed to go.
Three days prior to his current situation, Bowser woke up at his usual time, around six in the morning. To his side in his bed was his boyfriend, still fast asleep with little signs of waking up. At first, he didn’t think anything of it- It wasn’t unusual for Luigi to sleep in.
He did grow worried, however, when the clock hit five in the afternoon with no sign of his boyfriend waking up. Not even when Bowser tried to shake him awake, or when commotion from Kamek and several other concerned castle staff filled their room with panicked chatter and shouts.
Bowser could remember that the ONLY reason he didn’t have a complete meltdown at the time was because Luigi was still warm, still had a pulse, and was still breathing on his own.
What he COULDN’T remember, however, was whatever the Underwhere he told Mario and Peach in his panicked state. Probably nothing he had to apologize for, since he had no recollection of Peach admonishing or glaring at him, but even so.
He was sure they’d both forgive him if he said something rude because he was worried about someone they all cherished, right? Right.
Okay, okay, Bowser was getting distracted now- him potentially having said something shitty wasn’t a problem, it was a common occurrence for him. He’d apologize later if he needed to.
Mario and Peach were immediately alerted about whatever was wrong with Luigi- by Kamek, since Bowser at the time needed a minute to breathe and make sure he didn’t burn a hole in the curtains. Within an hour of those two being contacted they rushed over to Darkland.
He could very vividly remember how Mario had looked at the time- So nervous and wracked with worry, he was shaking like a dog. At the time it made even Bowser nervous.
The princess was level headed, as usual, though Bowser could detect a shakiness in her tone. Her first thought was to seek help from the people of Pi’illo Island, naturally; Their speciality lay in the unconscious.
The three of them set off via airship that same day, with Kamek staying behind to oversee the kingdom in Bowser’s absence. Bowser had carried Luigi for the entire trip, the whole time he focused his energy on keeping him steady while not accidentally crushing the human to death, which made the journey the first and only airship ride Bowser had ever been on in his LIFE that failed to help him relax.
When they arrived, it took them an hour — And a LOT of yelling — to explain both Luigi’s situation and that it was actually okay for Bowser to be there this time. Afterwards, Eldream gladly inspected the sleeping human, quickly deducing one thing;
Luigi’s sense of synchronicity within himself had been completely severed in eight different ways- By a curse, he explained.
The hive mind among the Luiginoids inhabiting his own personal Dream World was completely severed, and his own sense of identity had been thrown for a loop. He was essentially stuck in a neverending dreamlike state, since his mind and sense of self was so scrambled it rendered him unable to coherently make decisions for himself while awake.
Nobody knew who would have or even could have enacted the curse, and, if Bowser was being honest, that little mystery could wait . His number one priority right now was to fix whatever the mystery creep did to his boyfriend- Then , when Luigi was awake again, they could pummel the culprit together.
Eldream had carefully explained to them all that the only way they could help Luigi was by entering his mind, similar to how they’d all entered the Dream World before- Through a portal. Though this one had to be summoned through some other means, as Luigi was already asleep when he arrived. Bowser didn’t remember what they did, though, he just remembered the portal worked.
Well…Obviously it worked, considering where he was now.
Then, all they had to do was find and repair something called a…
The, uh…shit.
Okay. Bowser couldn’t remember its name, marking three things he couldn’t recall now- BUT he did know it started with the word “Cortex”…probably. That sounded right, at least.
Whatever.
They just needed to go into Luigi’s mind, find something, and then fix another something. This was supposed to be pretty easy, all things considered. It even SOUNDED easy.
Of course, though, things were NEVER that easy for any of them, least of all when it pertained to poor Luigi and/or his health. Something, and Bowser couldn’t remember or even guess what , but something got messed up on their way into his boyfriend’s mind, separating them all before any of them could process where they were even going to land.
At least, Bowser assumed they’d all three been separated. It’d be JUST his luck if Mario and Peach actually landed somewhere safe and together- Although, if he only needed to find them and vice-versa, it would be pretty convenient in that they’d waste less time trying to reunite.
Bowser brought his thoughts back to the now, and cautiously he reopened his eyes- Only to immediately squint again when it hit him:
This area, or a place similar, was where he met that chump Antasma, WAY back when…
…Oh, jeez.
When he was still a huge DICK to his boyfriend and everyone he loves, that’s when!
Before they summoned the portal, Eldream briefly went over every location they’d have to check for signs of the… thing that they needed. From how the elder pi’illo explained it, Bowser surmised that he had landed in a place called Dream’s Deep. Specifically, a kind of Dream’s Deep exclusive to Luigi’s own mind.
The curse had also made it so Luigi was unable to connect with the larger Dream World- it essentially kept him trapped in his own head, alone, for…over 16 hours now, at the very least.
That explained why the area was a deeper shade of basil than how he remembered it- It was Luigi’s.
Ugh, Bowser felt like a huge JERK. At least he somewhat knew what to expect down here, but still- That was from him being an utter nuisance in the past.
For another minute he sat up on his knees, thinking to himself about what to do next and what else he could remember from his and Antasma’s short lived ‘partnership’. The koopa suddenly jumped as he was very abruptly…
Spoken to? Alerted?
He- He wasn’t sure how to explain it.
He looked up, seeing that several messages had begun to light up the sky, but he could also feel something- feel someone trying to communicate with him audibly, visually, and…and through some other means entirely.
So many sensations at once…The best way he could describe it was he could feel what was being said to him on a level he no doubt couldn’t in the waking world.
One message must have been picking up on the guilt that was radiating off of him- His mind and ears were being filled with urgent reassurances such as “the past is the past!” and “I forgive you! I forgive you! Hey! I forgive you!”
The rest of the messages were pretty random, but Bowser noted they all tied together in that they were still pertaining to him , no matter how loosely.
They all communicated in a deep, gentle, and excited tone- with a hint of nasal to it.
Oh…Oh! Of course!
Bowser excitedly sat up and took a deep breath to try and ground himself. He closed his eyes, and tried to hone his focus on just one of the many messages flooding his mind- On the simplest one he could pick up on.
It was just one word; “Hey.”
Bowser smiled. “Well, hi there, babe.”
Immediately he was swarmed with various “hi’s”, “hello’s”, “I missed you’s”, and several giggle fits.
Bowser stood up, trying his best to remain balanced despite the influx of sounds and feelings.
“Okay, okay, crud, hang on- I love you too, please calm down- I just need a second to think here.” Bowser looked around, noting how vast the area looked. “Do you know what’s going on? And do you know why I’m here?”
He was responded to with a wave of what felt like a very nervous no.
“Okay, don’t worry, it makes sense that you don’t.” Bowser crossed his arms. “Some anonymous douche cast a curse on you, so we- Uh. Mario and Peach did come in with me, right? Or, wait, I dunno if you can tell right now actually…” He scratched the back of his neck, his words trailing off.
Bowser was given several messages telling him “bro” and “princess” and “elsewhere” over and over in response. He uncrossed his arms and threw them up in the air, defeated.
“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me!” He groaned, throwing his head back. “So only I got stuck in the one place where you and I can’t have a normal conversation. Awesome.” Bowser clicked his tongue. “Dang. At least you can tell they came in, though, that’s gotta be a good sign- The Pi’illo folks told us this curse has it so you’re all…out of sync with yourself. Do you feel like that at all?”
Bowser nearly stumbled backwards, startled as several lights merged together into a construct of Luigi’s face. It nodded at him, though it frowned.
He felt another wave of messages, now conveying three things: that Luigi was afraid, that Luigi was starting to go crazy with boredom prior to Bowser’s arrival, and that Luigi was very relieved that his family came to help him.
“ Oh, I’m gonna destroy the guy who did this to you.” Bowser hissed. “But first I need to get somewhere less, uh…abstract.” He gestured vaguely to his surroundings.
Bowser then barely took a step before he felt his arm enveloped in a gentle warmth- and then he felt himself being tugged, no, yanked back. Hard.
He turned to find another construct of Luigi, this one resembling his boyfriend more, with only his legs remaining unformed. His face wore a panicked and almost offended expression.
It- He , this was part of Luigi trying to communicate with him- Cried out, “Please don’t leave me!”
Instead of jerking away out of impulse or surprise like how most people probably would, Bowser relaxed and began to pet the construct's outreached arm with his own free one.
“It’s okay, baby- I won’t! I’m right here.” He grinned reassuringly. “If anything I’m coming back to you, yeah? Or, well, I’m trying to. I might need you to help me out a bit here.”
He looked up at the vast void above him, searching for a way out. He knew there was one- He’d found it the last time he was here.
Or, maybe bat-breath helped him find it last time? Whatever, that didn’t matter now.
If he absolutely had to, Bowser would try to brute force a way out like how he did in most situations. The only thing making him hesitate though, was the fact that his method could, and probably would , hurt his Luigi.
Speaking of Luigi, one of his…thoughts, Bowser would just call them that- One of Luigi’s thoughts was clinging to his shoulder, silently pleading for him not to leave so soon.
Normally Bowser would be smirking, secure in that he’d probably win every faux “you love me so much it makes you look stupid” argument for the rest of their lives now. But considering the situation?
Considering what was probably making this part of Luigi panic this much?
The only thing on the koopa king’s mind was how slowly he was going to murder whoever was responsible for this, and what method he’d be using during.
With a scowl, he shook his head, shook away his thoughts. He had to focus- He’d have plenty of time to decide on a form of torture after he dealt with this mess.
“Hey…Hey, babe? If you help me out of here, there’s a dream version of you, right?” Bowser turned towards the thought as he quickly quieted his pleas to listen to him. “Like, one I can talk to a bit more coherently?”
As if to congratulate him, some of the ‘thoughts’ responded by surrounding him with a dozen constructs of clapping hands, while some responded with the word “dozens” over and over.
“Thought so. And if I can get to him, I’ll let him- you , I’ll let you hold on to me as much as you want. Deal?”
After a brief moment of silence, Bowser felt a warm and pleasant buzzing feeling trickle in, reverberating around and through him in response.
The thought that was gripping his arm dissipated, replaced with another- This one resembling a fully formed Luigi, legs and all. He took Bowser’s hand from the same arm as before, but this time far less desperately.
With a trusting smile, he silently guided him towards a path that the koopa king didn’t notice before. After what felt like maybe ten minutes of walking, they arrived at a bright, glowing portal.
They stopped in front of it, and the construct opened his mouth and whispered a hesitant “Here.”
Bowser turned towards the construct and, with a smile, gently pulled him into a parting kiss. The lights forming the construct blinked three times, and, with a giggle, he faded away.
“I’ll see you soon- I promise.” Bowser grunted with a nod. He braced himself, then stepped through the portal.
Mario had been the first person to enter his brother’s mind and he, unknown to him, was also the first out of them all to wake up.
When he opened his eyes he found himself lying face up in a field of grass, surrounded by seven Luiginoids, all staring down at him.
One had been trying to smooth out his hat, while another held open his eyelids and shined a light into both of his eyes- To check for signs of a concussion, he later explained. The rest were merely watching from a distance (if you could consider hovering directly over someone to be distant) and quietly discussing what to do once Mario finally woke up.
He quickly learned, both from recognizing his surroundings and through asking the Luiginoids in order to confirm, that he’d landed in a place similar to Somnom Woods.
Only this version of it was much brighter and far more…Luigi-like. He didn’t mean that in a bad way, of course- that just meant it was very peaceful! And bright. And very green, even more so than how Mario remembered it.
It made sense, though. This was Luigi’s dream world.
When he first woke up, Mario hardly managed to get a word out before his brother (or brothers, rather?) began to fight over who got to hug him first. It took them no less than fifteen seconds to start cursing each other out in their mother tongue, with some of them even raising their voices- Mario very quickly stepped in before it escalated further. He knew his brother, he knew he only raised his voice when he was either angry beyond words or utterly terrified.
Normally the sound of shouting so soon after waking up would aggravate Mario, but the squabbling over something so ultimately minor was so out of character for his brother that all he could feel in the moment, even in a groggy state of mind, was concern.
As quickly as they had descended into an argument they all apologized, both to each other and to Mario for overwhelming him. They pulled sticks, at Mario’s suggestion, to determine the order of which Luiginoid would be hugged first to last.
“It’s okay Weegee,” Mario smiled and tried his hardest to push down his concern. “How have you been?”
Each Luiginoid responded with a different sound, varying from a sigh of mild discomfort to a cry of utter despair and disgust.
“It’s been terrible, bro!”
“Yeah, it’s been very tense around here! We can barely tell what the other is thinking-“
“We’ve been trying to figure out a way to-“
“We’re trying to learn how to communicate in a different way, like, through guessing, but-“
“There’s been like seven mishaps this morning alone from us trying to guess what another one of us has been thinking or feeling in this.”
“Eight if you count us almost ripping you apart.”
“Yeah, again- I’m really sorry, bro.”
“No need, I can only imagine how scared you’ve been trapped in here.” Mario removed his hat from his head and ran his hands through his hair with a sigh. “I swear to Grambi, Luigi- Er, Luigi’s - I’m gonna kick the ass of whoever did this to you.” He put his hat back and smiled. “After we fix this, of course!”
The Luiginoids all looked at each other, visibly confused.
“I’m sorry, we?”
“Yeah, we? ”
“Oh, wait, you know what? I actually-“
“Hang on, yeah! I felt-“
“I did kinda feel like two other people entered the-“
“Are Bowser and Peach here too?”
“Yep! We all came to help! Though, we all got separated coming in.” Mario winced. “Which, you can probably tell, since they’re not here here.”
“Aww, those two are so sweet, though!” One of the Luiginoids sniffled.
“You three are so sweet.” Another chimed in.
“Yeah!”
“Yeah, thanks for coming bro!”
“Oh Stars, I hope Bowser isn’t too worried…”
“I’m so relieved!”
“Wh- Of course we’d come Weegee, we love you!” Mario chuckled. “But uh…Wishful thinking here, but since you could feel the other two enter, do you have any idea where they may have ended up?” He asked, gesturing with his hands. “Like, an intuition or something?”
The Luiginoids all responded with various frowns and a near resounding “no”, with two of them shaking their heads for further emphasis.
“Darn,” Mario snapped his fingers. “Alright, well, no use in just standing here, right?”
“Right!”
“Yep!”
“So true, bro!”
“I don’t see a point in sitting around, no-“
“Well, I actually read somewhere once that if you get lost you should probably stay in one place until people come to rescu-“
“Yeah, let’s go look for those two!”
“Yeah!” Mario nodded excitedly. “Let’s go! Normally I’d suggest we split up to cover more ground, but-“
Before Mario could even turn his body, he was interrupted by a distinctly gruff shouting coming from very close by.
He and the Luiginoids quickly turned towards the source, catching sight of Bowser right as he collided with a patch of grass, only a couple of feet away.
Landing with an “oof!” Bowser quickly stood up from where he landed, furiously wiping clumps of grass and dirt from his legs and face.
“Blegh! You’ve gotta be kidding me…”
“Oh!” Mario grinned and placed his hands on his hips. “Well, now we just have to look for Peach.”
In near-perfect unison the Luiginoids gasped, most out of excitement but one out of worry. Four out of seven of them rushed towards Bowser with very little hesitation or thought, seemingly having already forgotten about the peace that had to be sanctioned in only minutes prior. The other three stayed beside Mario- Not to keep themselves from overwhelming Bowser, but to squabble from a distance.
“Wait- WAIT, guys, don’t rush him, we have sticks you can pu-'' Mario weakly called out, exasperated.
The koopa king grunted in surprise, but quickly smiled down at the four Luiginoids who were practically shoving each other.
“Oh my goodness, are you okay?!” One of them cried out while gripping Bowser’s arm, inspecting it for any bruises.
“Bowser! Bowser, I’m so sorry if I scared you-“
“I’ve been so worried!”
“Thank the Stars and Grambi and- and everything, thank everything that you’re here!”
Bowser continued to grin, while subtly trying to keep each Luiginoid from accidentally stabbing themselves on one of his bracelet or shell spikes.
“Hey there, you- Agh! And you- And you, hi babe! I’m safe, don’t stress.” He looked over to Mario and the other Luigi’s, and waved. “Hey, red.”
“Bowser,” Mario waved back. “Good to see you’re alright.”
“Yeah, yeah, you too I guess, plumber boy.” Bowser teased. “Where’s Peach?”
“Not here.”
“Wh- Duh! Obviously!” Bowser exclaimed, rolling his eyes. “Guess we gotta find the cortexa-whatever-mabob ourselves, then.”
Mario pouted. “Well wait, Eldream stressed that we needed to be together all three of us in order to-”
Bowser quickly cut him off. “Yeah, yeah, I’m just joshing. I remember what that geezer told us- Any idea where she might have ended up?”
“Well, I take it she wasn’t in…”
“Dream’s Deep.”
“She wasn’t in Dream’s Deep with you?”
“Nah. Luigi’s thoughts would’ve probably, uh, thought about it for me.” Bowser scratched the back of his head. “Guess we better get to exploring now, huh?”
Mario nodded. “Yes, I’m sure we’ll meet up with her soon! Especially since we’ve already narrowed down where she could be by a bit.”
One of the Luiginoids pulled away from Bowser, and began to suggest; “We could try going around and asking the others if they’ve seen her?”
Another nodded. “Yeah, but, at that point we’ll probably just run into her.”
“Hm, good point. I don’t think any of us would see her without having her tag along.”
“Yeah, in case she’d get lost.”
“That is true…”
“Well,” Bowser cleared his throat. “Either way, we’ll still be looking for her. Right?”
All seven Luiginoids and Mario nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, and like I said before you fell from the sky,” The latter spoke. “There’s no use in just sitting here. Let’s get going!”
And so they embarked, with Bowser carrying five of his boyfriend as the other two chatted with their brother, who walked with a spring in his step and a determined look on his face. They were all hopeful.
Hopeful to find both the princess and, if they got lucky, the solution to the curse along the way.