I've Got the Strangest Feeling This Isn't Our First Time Around

45

"Alright, where are we?" Mario asks the moment he lands inside the dreamscape.

"Uh...downtown Brooklyn, I think?" Luigi says like he's not sure as he watches the dream play out. "Danny just paid someone a lot of money."

" You won't regret this. " The stranger tells Danny. " And trust me, I know how to keep a secret. "

"Looks like Danny's got some kind of secret he doesn't want anyone finding out." Luigi says.

"Okay, I--" Mario starts right as the dream changes. "Where'd we go?"

"Now we're in some kind of office. Could be a hair salon." Luigi says quickly. "Or maybe a hospital?"

"Danny's workstation?" Mario offers as he sees the dreamscape unfold in front of him. "What made you say hair salon?"

"That." Luigi points and describes quickly. "Some kind of chair with some kind of intracranial helmet attached to it." He reaches out to touch it, and flashes play across his vision.

"We're finished." Danny says to the man in the chair. "You can relax now."

"Okay, they just finished treatment. Danny and Nastasia." Luigi describes for Mario.

" Results are showing improvement, but not at the levels we need. " Danny tells Nastasia, who walks over to the patient.

"Well done. The treatment should start to take effect soon."

"Nastasia is really passionate about this." Luigi notes, right as the dream changes again.

"Now we're in Danny's house." Luigi says, as someone unfamiliar walks in. "With his roommate."

" Done. "

Luigi and Mario watch as Danny turns off his computer quickly, which makes the roommate snap, "Knock that off, would you?"

"What?" Danny looks at his roommate curiously.

"Turn off your computer whenever I walk in the room ." The roommate says as he sets a plate of hot dogs on the table. "Not a science geek like you, don't have to worry about me selling you out."

"Hey, I'm sorry, okay?" Danny tries to keep the peace, but the roommate is clearly not interested.

" Fine, keep your secrets for all I care. " He says in a huff, then walks out.

" Danny's roommate is his cousin. " Pauline says into their earpieces. " Nick. "

"They don't get along." Luigi notes, prompting Mario to ask, "What makes you say that?"

"You saw it too. Whatever Danny's hiding, he doesn't want Nick to see it." Luigi replies as the dream changes yet again. "Wait, why did we move? Did you do that? We're back in the research lab."

"I haven't moved since I came in here." Mario says. "Guess Danny's mind is pulling us all over the place."

"This is a serious problem! " Danny says urgently.

" No, the only one with the problem is you. " A colleague says dismissively.

"Danny's arguing with a colleague." Luigi tells Mario, who nods once he can see it as well.

" The results are moving at a snail's pace. " Danny says.

" That's better than no pace at all." The colleague dismisses.

" We need more people to test this on, or the committee is gonna shut us down, and we'll never get where we need to with this. " Danny says right as the dream shifts again.

"Ugh, these dreams are pulling us everywhere." Luigi says, annoyed.

" You don't even care how messed up this is, do you? " Danny accuses Nastasia.

" Danny. " Nastasia says calmly. " You were right on target. "

"Where are we now?" Mario asks.

"Now we're outside the lab. Maybe the lobby?" Luigi guesses. "Danny's with Nastasia, and he's not happy at all."

" Look at all these improvements. " Nastasia shows him some papers.

"I think this is Danny's most important memory." Luigi says.

" Wow this is...astounding. " Danny says in awe. " Should've given the benefit of the doubt. "

The next change in the dream lands them somewhere shaky, and it only takes a second for Luigi to understand why.

"We're on the train with Danny." Luigi describes, but Mario's the one who notices, "And the train car is about to detach from the rest of it."

Luigi spots the nightmare chunk, "Mario!" he calls, and they waste no time smashing through it, right as the train car not only detaches, it derails, and Luigi can only call out, "Get out of here!" right at the moment of impact.

It's only because of the pinch it doesn't last more than a second.

"Danny didn't do this to himself." Luigi says, and Mario agrees, "The train car detached while it was moving."

"Mm, yes. Odd for a steam locomotive running for years now." Snoozemore points out.

"Then let's go see what it can tell us." Spike offers.

"In a standard locomotive." Spike narrates as he hops in between the train cars. "You have a cut bar, which is accessible from anywhere. Lift the lever," Spike does so. "It'll rotate and lift, allowing the knuckle to move. And then all you gotta do is give it a kick." Again, Spike does so, and they all watch it separate. "Pretty simple stuff to figure out."

"Why do you know so much about trains?" Luigi wonders.

"You know how parents warn you to stay away from train tracks?" Spike says as he jumps down. "I didn't listen. Spent a lot of free time messing with broken down trains."

"I made posters for my dad's campaign." Pauline offers up.

"I was in school." Mario says.

"Me too." Luigi agrees.

"Aw, cute." Spike pretends to gush as he inspects the coupling on the detached train car, then stops, "Wait a second."

"What, what is it?" Pauline asks.

"Train cars should only be detached when the train isn't moving, like in a train yard or somewhere they could follow proper safety regulations." Spike explains. "The conductor would've had to have declared it some sort of emergency, to warrant someone risking their lives to detach it like that. And from what I can see, there's no emergency."

"So this wasn't an accident." Luigi realizes.