Mario sighed. He didn't know how much time had passed since Peach had entered the portal, but he did know it was a long time. He was bored.

Mario stood from the chair and stepped out of the room to find something to do. He first thought to find something to eat but immediately shot that idea down because it would be rude to go through the castle's kitchen. He turned to the back of the castle, noticing the throne.

He looked back and forth to confirm no one was watching. No one was around. He chuckled and climbed into the seat, smiling. He felt like royalty. It was fun. For all of five seconds.

Mario sighed again. He felt alone. The castle was uncomfortably quiet. At this point in time, Luigi would have stuttered out a joke and Peach would laugh at how ridiculous it sounded. The thought of it made him crack a light smile, but things around the castle haven't been the same since his brother started having nightmares.

The once cheerful atmosphere was quickly replaced with a more dull one before turning downright gloomy. Mario wanted things to go back to the way they were but had a feeling it would take a lot more work than just sitting around.

He stood up from Peach's throne to continue the vast exploration of the castle. Not too off from the throne room was a library with more books than Mario swears he had seen in his whole life. Surely something in this room could help him cure his boredom and clear his mind.

~~~~~

Peach spun herself in a circle trying to remember the way out, pointing every which way. She couldn't remember where they had come from. "I... I don't know," Peach responded to Luigi. The two turned to Dreambert, assuming he could find the way out.

Dreambert looked between the two, pursing his lips into a nervous smile. They didn't say anything to him, but he knew what they were asking. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, taking mental search throughout the dream world. Shortly after, his eyes shot back open.

Turning around, he told the two, "It's in this direction," and headed off to the forest, Peach and Luigi in tow.

Mr. L swung from tree to tree, branch to branch, when he saw, in the corner of his eyes, a smidge of orange, pink, and green. They were making way to the portal too. Dammit, he thought. He needed to slow them down.

Mid-jump from his next swing, he snaps his fingers. Suddenly, hundreds of off-colored enemies littered the ground. Gray goombas, white koopas, green shy guys, blue bob-ombs, scattered all over the place. He laughs to himself as he only gets closer to his freedom.

Luigi, Peach, and Dreambert stopped dead in their tracks as they were instantaneously surrounded.

"The only way out is through them," Dreambert stated, gesturing the little he could to the swarm.

"Then through them, we go," Peach replied defensively, drawing her parasol as if it were a weapon.

Mr. L stopped at the foot of the forest, hopping down from the trees, distracted by the aura the dream portal was emitting. This was it. His freedom. The first part of his plan was nearing completion. He could not contain his excitement.

Taking a running start, Mr. L dove head-first into the portal

~~~~~

On the outside world, Mr. L stuck his head out of the portal to the room. It was empty. Perfect. He quickly jumps out of the portal, landing shakily on his feet. He wasn't used to having his own legs, his own limbs, or even his own body.

He felt around for a little bit before pressing his hands to his cheeks, feeling himself smile. He was finally free. Mr. L realized that someone could find him out at any moment. He needed to make a run for it.

With his new legs, he bolted out of the room, leaving the castle, and making a break towards the bros.' house, taking occasional breaks in awe of his new body.

Mario returns to the room shortly after, a blue book now in his hands, and sits back on the chair in the corner of the room.

~~~~~

A shockwave could be felt throughout the dreamworld. Anything created in this world was knocked back by it. Trees, enemies, Luigi. Luigi is pushed to the ground by the wave while Peach only felt it as a gust of wind.

Dreambert was even knocked back a tad. The feeling unsettled him. He knew that something wasn't right. Something had just left the dream world.

An overhead fly guy was pushed back by the wave, causing it to lose its grip on the bob-omb it was holding. The sentient explosive fell to the ground and landed on its stubby little legs. It starts to tick as it walks over to Luigi.