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

74

"Take two." Mario announces as he takes his place beside the Ultibed.

"Please remember we're looking for Merlee's attacker, not to implicate her." Clark reminds Luigi as he lays down on the bed.

"Loud and clear." Luigi replies.

"Inducing REM sleep in 3...2...1...GO!"

"Merlee's watching Mimi and Merluminia fight again." Luigi tells Mario.

"No one would even care about your show if it wasn't on my network." Merluminia reminds Mimi. " And now you expect me to just hand over the best spot just because viewership goes up?"

" I deserve it and you know it! " Mimi snaps.

"You know how we run things here. " Merluminia huffs. " Hand over your contractual obligations. " Then walks away, making Luigi notice a dark aura surrounding Mimi as Merlee approaches.

But when Merlee touches her shoulder, Luigi catches a flash of spiders crawling all over Mimi before it ends, and she's turning to face Merlee.

"She's being ridiculous!" Mimi exclaims. "She's gonna pay. Big time."

"Merlee saw more spiders." Luigi tells Mario. "I think she's sensing Mimi's insecurities."

"Tread lightly, don't tempt fate, the joy's in your journey, before it's too late." Merlee advises.

Mimi only rolls her eyes, then walks away.

Luigi watches as Merlee walks back to her table, but when Luigi sees a crystal glowing, the same one Merluvlee gave Mario, he can't resist touching it, feeling himself being pulled into another flash.

Mario, inside the glass box, not waking up.

"MARIO!" Luigi screams, reaching for him in a panic as Mario immediately comes closer.

"Talk to me." Mario orders gently.

"You're okay?" Luigi can't believe it, even with the proof of the other man standing right in front of him, looking confused.

"Me? I'm fine." Mario laughs nervously. "Are you okay?"

Luigi's already shaking his head, "Yeah, I'm...fine. Thought something happened."

Then the dreamscape suddenly changes, and Luigi sees a bunch of models walking down the runway.

"LUIGI! Where did you go?" Mario calls out suddenly.

"I'm at Mimi's fashion show." Luigi tells him.

"No you're not!" Mario says in a panic. "The fashion show isn't till tonight! I can't see you or anything at all!"

"That would explain why I don't see Merlee." Luigi notes.

"Pauline, what the fuck is happening, and where the fuck is he!" Mario yells.

" I've never seen this before." Pauline replies. " The machines can't pick up Luigi's dreamy self is there at all."

"Shit." Mario hisses. "Okay, Lu, if you can still hear me, something's really, really wrong. Your subconscious pulled you into a fantasy of how Mimi's fashion show is gonna play out."

"Never been one for business casual." Luigi replies. "I can see Mimi and Merluminia again."

"That's it. I'm leaving and waking you up." Mario says angrily, right as Luigi watches the dreamscape change to the fight from last time.

"It's them. She's attacking her." Luigi narrates.

"Mimi's attacking Merlee?" Clark asks.

"No, Merlee's attacking Merluminia!" Luigi corrects adamantly.

"That can't be." Snoozemore says despairingly.

" I still can't find Luigi. " Pauline says.

"That's it!" Mario snaps. "Reduce the Mount Pajamaja spring water, force Luigi's subconscious to let go of him, so we can get him back with us!"

"No need. I just found her." Luigi says as he pulls out his hammer and smashes open the nightmare chunk. "Go!"

"I'm sorry, okay?" Luigi defends to the team as he stands up from the bed. "I tried to see who attacked Merlee, but Merlee's adamant on telling on herself for attacking Merluminia. I think she's planning on attacking tonight at the fashion show."

"Merluminia may play favorites, but from what you told me, Merlee's one of them." Clark points out. "She has no motive for attacking Merluminia over anything."

"Unless it's happening tonight." Luigi suggests, wrapping the bed's blanket around him.

"If it's all the same to you, I'm going to help the person who was actually petrified." Clark snaps. "You remember that's Merlee, right?"

"If Clark's going to help us, she needs concrete evidence, not gut feelings." Snoozemore says.

"Last I checked, that's up to the victims, not me." Luigi reminds him.

"Wrong." Mario looks especially pissed as he comes closer, eyes just slightly wet. "Whatever bias you had from talking to Merluminia was so strong it pulled you away from me, and into a fantasy where Merlee was justified in attacking her."

"Okay, I get you're a man of science who needs to believe everything is a coincidence." Luigi says, then looks around the lab. "Just curious. If I'd told any of you you'd be putting me to sleep so I could dreamwalk through a petrified person's subconscious, would you have me committed or just straight up laugh at me?"

"I'd wonder when you decided to take up writing sci-fi and ask to read it when it's finished." Spike answers honestly.

Luigi looks at Mario pointedly, who just looks at the bed and shrugs, then starts to walk away.

"Fine, I'll stop her myself." Luigi decides.

"Hey, Bruno, can I talk about you for a second?" Mario stops Luigi right as he's about to jump in the pipe.

Luigi looks at him, clearly still not happy with him, but just waits.

"Listen, I may not trust fortunetellers." Mario starts, grabbing his arm. "But I trust you, 100%. So if you're really gonna go try and stop Merlee, so am I."

Luigi looks tempted for a moment, before the flash from Merlee's dreams hits him again.

Mario in the glass box, not waking up.

"Mario, I saw something in Merlee's dreams." Luigi says.

"What was it?" Mario asks, and somehow Luigi knows if he tells Mario the truth, Mario will believe him, no questions asked, no matter how crazy it sounds.

But even with Mario right here in front of him, ready to listen, Luigi still can't bring himself to say it.

"Nothing." He shakes his head. "But you're still not coming."

With that, Luigi jumps in the pipe, unable to hide his worried look as he watches Mario disappear from his sight as the pipe sucks him in.