The Evils Within

Chapter 5

Mario was concerned for his brother. More so than when he was awake for three days straight. Luigi's been asleep for four days and was showing no sign of waking up any time soon. His light snores could be heard throughout the house, which relieved Mario to know he was still alive and breathing.

The first, if not, the first two days were understandable. He desperately needed that sleep, but this felt a little excessive.

After getting ready himself, Mario helped the unconscious green-clad hero get ready as well. He then slung him over his shoulder and started walking towards Peach's castle.

He was thinking. Thinking of what could be the cause of his brother's seemingly eternal slumber. He remembered a remark. Luigi said he was afraid of what he could do to him, but who was 'he'? A couple of suspects came to mind, but none, in particular, seemed possible at the time.

Mario arrives at the castle where Peach greets him at the door. Her attention shifted to the unconscious brother slung over his shoulder. "What happened?" she asked, concerned.

"That, I need to find out," he responded.

Peach led him to a small guest room. The room barely had enough space to fit the three of them. Mario laid his brother down on the bed and stood to the side of him, Peach on the opposing side. Luigi's light snores, and occasional twitches with moans of discomfort, were the only sounds that were heard.

Mario looked down at his brother. A once confident look in his eyes was replaced with a more vulnerable one. "He's been like this for four days now. I don't think people are supposed to sleep this long," he explained.

"Have you tried waking him up?" Peach suggested.

"Definitely!" Mario responded, "I've tried shaking him, but he was incredibly limp in my hands, which made me uneasy. I've poured water on his face and he looked annoyed but didn't wake up. I've... hit him a couple of times, but stopped because that made me uncomfortable. I've even tried scaring him, that works all the time, but... Nothing."

Mario's gaze shifted from the princess to his brother. He crossed his arms and placed them on the bed, shifting his weight from his legs to his arms. "I know he's not gone, I know there's something we can do, but..." he sighs, "what?"

Peach saw the dejected look in his eye and put a hand on her chin as she thought. An idea popped in her mind shortly after. "Could we wake him up from inside of his dream?" she suggested, rubbing the back of her neck. It sounded more ridiculous out loud than it did in her head.

Hearing that, Mario thought for a moment and gasped with a smile. "That's right! And I know just who could help us," he exclaimed, beginning to head towards the door. He stopped himself in the doorway, looking back to Peach and Luigi with a soft smile. Peach smiled back with a nod and off Mario went.

Peach sat in a chair that stood across the foot of the bed. She rested her head on her arm on the small dresser that was next to the chair. Peach sighed. Seeing Luigi like this reminded her of a dream she had not too long ago.

Respected? Ha! Don't make me laugh. How could anyone respect a ruler who gets kidnapped every other week? You can't protect your own kingdom, let alone yourself

Those words echoed through her head. She couldn't deny them as they were true. She felt helpless. She wanted to help.

You can't just leave the safety of your kingdom in the hands of... one person... You've got to take matters into your own hands. This kingdom deserves someone like that, not someone like you

Peach knew she had to help. She couldn't just sit around and wait for the problem to be solved like she did all the time. She was going to help him.

Peach looked to her unconscious friend. Luigi lied in the bed, sleeping soundly and occasionally twitching in discomfort. She placed her elbow on the dresser beside her, rested her hand in her palm, and sighed. "I'm going to get you out of there, trust me," she said to him.

Having drifted off to sleep herself in the position she had sat in, Peach was awoken by the sound of the door. Mario optimistically walked into the room, an orange pillow-like figure following behind him.

The pillow turned to Peach and nodded in acknowledgment. "Princess Peach," it greeted, "What a pleasure to meet you again."

Finally recognizing this pillow, Peach smiled back. "Prince Dreambert?" She returned the greeting to the Pi'illo Prince, "Pleasured to meet you again as well."

"Now that we have the formalities out of the way, you say you want to help your friend here?" Dreamer floated over to Luigi, examining him in his unconscious state.

Mario nodded, his once optimistic smile was now replaced by a concerned look. "Yes, we don't know what is causing this, but I figured if anyone could be of help, it'd be you."

"Well, I'm not sure what to do, but as I am forever grateful for you saving my people, I can see what I can do to help," the pillowy prince smiled in response. Floating down to Luigi's side, he squeezed himself between the bed mattress and the green-clad hero before transforming into a large orange pillow beneath him.

A colorful cloud appears above Luigi's head. The dream portal. Mario took a step forward and spoke up, "Peach, you stay here and wait for him to wake up, I'll be back."

Peach interjected, "Wait, if he suddenly wakes up while you're in there, the portal will close. How would you get out?"

Mario hadn't thought of that. How would he get out of his brother's head without the portal? He can't just have him go right back to sleep for him to get out. He's been out for four and a half days, it would most definitely be very well-rested.

"I'll go," She said with a confident smile, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"What? You can't go! It's too dangerous," he informed her.

"And let you get stuck there? We're going to need your help in case something happens out here while you'd be stuck in there," she responded, "And besides, I really want to help." Mario seemed skeptical, but Peach reassured him. "I'm going to be fine, trust me," She told him with a soft smile.

Mario thought about it a bit more but sighed in defeat. He couldn't say no to her. "Okay, you can go get Luigi back and I'll just wait here," he smiled a defeated smile. Peach approached the portal, taking one more glance at Mario. "Just- stay safe, okay?" he spoke up.

She nodded, turning back to the portal. She took a deep breath before jumping into the multi-colored cloud that floated above Luigi's head.