Exar was sitting in the land of the dead, snarling over his failure. He had carefully planned out every part of his plots and yet, none had worked.  He had thought of himself as brilliant, but those cursed Koopalings,  especially that one, what was his name, Lemmy, had foiled every one.

He  began to, for the 500th time, think about his failures. His initial plot, to steal their magic, worked well, but they defeated him. That was the closest he had to a victory, but all that did was destroy their old castle. Then he had kidnapped Bowser, and during that final battle he had managed to kill all of the Koopalings.  However, Bowser killed Exar’s mortal form. Then to add insult, his old teacher, DAD, had brought them back. His plot to resurrect himself out of a crystal had gone beautifully, but then that cursed Lemmy, and his brother, Iggy, had destroyed him. Even his brilliant plot of poison had been foiled, by the blundering of Lemmy and Ludwig, no less! They had even killed his basilisk, his most prized pet. He had sent the basilisk to guard the only way to cure the poison. Then, Lemmy had turned its weapon against it, by using reflective glasses!

He had analyzed almost all of the mistakes in his plots and corrected them, but he had cheated death one too many times. The Lord of the Dead had ruled that now he could not leave. He could only appear in dreams now, and even that took some maneuvering around and stretching laws.

Then he happened on a brilliant idea! He had discovered earlier that even dreams could be harmful.  Earlier, a vanquished enemy had appeared in a dream to him, and they engaged in a horrendous battle. The enemy had managed to wound him, and when he woke up, the wound had been real. Chuckling evilly, he left to see the Dream Master. He would have to be sneaky, for the last time he appeared in a dream, he had been punished severely by the Lord of the Dead.

Lemmy was asleep and dreaming.  He was dreaming about Wendy.  Exar, looking from above, scoffed at “Young Love.” He then brought out the potion the Dream Master had given him. He sipped it and began to sink towards Lemmy.

In Lemmy’s dream, he had come clean to Wendy, and she had just begun to  kiss him.  As he gazed into her  eyes, they suddenly turned blood red. Then she bit him on the lip. He pushed himself away just as she brought her nails down across his face. They had been transformed into wicked claws. He screamed as he felt them rip into his flesh.

Lemmy woke up in a cold sweat. As he began to pull himself up, he began to chew on his lip. He recoiled in pain as he tasted blood in his mouth. Then his hand fell across his cheek. He gasped as he felt torn flesh on his cheek, and felt blood. He was so unnerved that he stayed up the rest of the night.

Exar rose, chuckling, from Lemmy’s room. Then he went into Roy’s room.  He was dreaming about beating  up Iggy. Exar began to think about  the best way to get him.

Roy was laughing as he beat up Iggy. He had just thrown Iggy across the room and was coming to get him.  Then Iggy jumped up and grabbed Roy’s throat. Iggy began to punch and kick Roy with bone shattering force.

Roy awoke with a gasp.  He stood up, and fell down with a hiss of pain as he put pressure on his cracked  leg. He levered himself back up and got back in bed, where he stayed awake for the rest of the night.

Then Exar decided to only do one more that night. If the Lord of the Dead found out, he  would be… He shuddered. He came to  Wendy’s room. Wendy was dreaming about Lemmy. Exar rolled his eyes as he sank towards her.

Wendy was kissing Lemmy. Lemmy then suddenly pushed her away. With a snarl, he brought out his wand.  Wendy pleaded with him as he shot at her.

Wendy screamed and woke. She sighed and settled back down, only to sit bolt upright when her burnt shoulder touched her pillows. She sat up in bed, being careful of her shoulder, and stayed awake for the rest of the night.

The next day, Wendy, Roy, and Lemmy all reported the strange events that  had happened that night. Since they could all be treated, Bowser dismissed it as a sick practical joke. As Bowser put it, “If they wanted to  hurt you enough, it would be a serious injury.” They were not comforted, however. That night, all three stayed awake.

Meanwhile, Exar was disappointed at the outcome so far of his plan. His dream meddling had only made them nervous, when they should have been terrified. He decided to use a bit heavier medicine.

That night, Exar couldn’t enter Roy’s, Lemmy’s, or Wendy’s dreams because they were awake all night, so he went into Morton’s room. Morton was dreaming about giving a speech that people actually liked. Exar rolled around in midair, laughing for a few minutes.

“HA HA HA HA! I- I can’t believe the wishful thinking of this one!” Still chuckling, Exar began to descend into Morton’s dream.

Morton was talking about the Gettysburg Address, photosynthesis, and comic books. Suddenly, someone in  the crowd yelled and came onto the stage. He sneered and drove a knife into Morton’s shoulder.

Morton awoke and shuddered. What a lifelike dream! Good  thing it was only a… What? Morton’s shoulder was covered in blood! He shuddered again. He decided to stay up.

Then Exar went to Iggy’s room. Iggy was dreaming about getting a trophy in a strength contest. Exar chuckled some more and lowered himself down.

Iggy was giving a Morton-like speech about the “little people” when  someone laughed, “Yeah, right.  He  couldn’t lift a feather!” When he came down to find that person, something hit him in the face.

Iggy  woke up with a hiss of pain.  His nose was broken!  Bandaging it up to the best of his abilities, he sat up the rest of the  night.

Exar rose, snickering, out of Iggy’s room. The next Koopa’s room he went to was Ludwig’s. Ludwig was dreaming about his inventions. He dreamt that one of his inventions didn’t actually blow up in his face. Exar thought for a while, and then descended into Ludwig’s dream.

Ludwig had finally got an invention right in his dream. He was reveling in the thought when he saw a beaker of explosive chemicals tottering on the edge of one of his shelves, right over the machine’s control panel.   Ludwig ran to try to catch it, but he was too late. It fell and shattered. His machine’s control panel was  drenched. Then, before he could react, it ignited from the heat.  BOOM!

Ludwig awoke in pain. His body was scratched all over. Getting some first aid supplies, he bandaged himself up and sat on the floor the rest of the night, as his bed was wet from blood.

Exar floated back to the Realm of the Dead. The next day, Bowser was a bit unnerved. He ordered guards around their rooms. Exar laughed contemptuously. Little did they know that it was no use. He decided to hit them right where it hurt.

That night, Exar went into Larry’s dream. Larry was dreaming about his plants and creating a potion that would give them super powers. He suddenly heard a sound behind  him. He half turned before he was  struck to the ground.

The scream reverberated throughout the castle, echoing in the corners, bringing everyone running to Larry’s room. When they got in they screeched to a halt at the scene that awaited  them. Larry was lying on his bed. When they walked closer to see him, they discovered that the back of his skull was caved in. Blood stained the bed and the floor. Bowser shakily walked over and tested his pulse. He felt one  flutter, but no more. Bowser  wailed.

“Larry!  My son! If only I had died instead of you! I would have given my life if I thought that it would save you! Oh, Larry,  my son, my son…”

Bowser stayed there the rest of the night, holding Larry’s lifeless claw and saturating his body with tears.   The next day, a red-eyed Bowser walked out of the room. He called a meeting. They talked about their dreams.

“I was dreaming about… about Wendy,” Lemmy blushed. “Suddenly, she turned evil and she brought her claws down, and, well, you can see what happened.” He pointed to the scars on his  face.”

“Really?” asked Iggy congestedly, “I was on a stage when this person came up and broke my nose.”
 

“Hmmmm…” Wendy sighed, “Well, there’s no use in hiding it any  longer. Lemmy, I was dreaming about  you. Suddenly, you shot me with  your wand and…” She needed to go no further.  Her wound was very visible.

“You mean it?” Lemmy asked, and, at her nod, Lemmy jumped up and swept  her up in his arms.  With a  flourish, he kissed her soundly. She looked overjoyed, which was very rare in her over the past few days.

Bowser muttered, “Well, I’m glad you’re happy, but can we get back to the problem at hand?”

“Okay,” Roy said, not as sure of himself as usual, “I was in a fight and suddenly, my enemy kicked me and I got this.”

“I must concur,” Ludwig added, “I had created a magnificent invention, but it blew up in my face.”

“I was giving a terrific speech and was getting lots of money when someone came up and stabbed me with a knife. I don’t know why, do you?” Morton babbled.

Bowser appeared to be deep in thought. Then he brightened up. “Why don’t we go into a group dream and try to defeat this menace? It may not bring Larry back, but at least we don’t have to worry about…” He choked up.

“…About it happening again,” Iggy finished.

“But isn’t that a very experimental technique?” Ludwig asked, “I mean, we could all be twisted into each other, and…”

“I know, I know,” Bowser interrupted, “But it’s better than waiting for whoever it is to come and kill us.”

Later, Bowser and what was left of the Koopalings all sat at a table. Some Magikoopas stood around them.  Their wands were charged up  to full power.

“Ready?” Kamek asked.

“Ready,” Bowser and the Koopalings answered.

Kamek and the other Magikoopas began to chant. The chant was a secret closely kept by the Magikoopas. It soon reached its climax. Bowser felt an immense lethargy come over him. He was soon asleep. The Koopalings soon followed.

They all awoke in a field.  Bowser was being shaken by Larry. He snapped awake.

“Larry! What are you doing here?”

“This is the Land of the Dead.  Welcome, Living Ones, as we say.”

They soon had everyone awake.  They were very happy to see Larry.  They started walking. Larry was walking astride Bowser. Bowser suddenly spun and slammed a fist upside Larry’s head, knocking him to the  ground. Wendy ran up to him.

“What did you do that for? I thought you would be happy to have him back!”

Bowser looked on, unrepentant.  “This isn’t Larry. Even I know that a dream isn’t death. This is an imposter!”

Larry lifted himself up off the ground. He seemed to see the with rage. “You’re right! I’m not Larry!”

He suddenly began to glow and when it subsided, it revealed…

“Exar!  I should have known!” Bowser shouted. The Koopalings formed an immediate circle around him.

\“You are correct sir,” Exar growled, “And now, you will die!”

\Wendy, who was behind Exar, fired a deadly beam at Exar. It reflected off the back of his  head. Iggy, who was next to her, had to jump aside to avoid being vaporized. Exar spun on her, in a rage.

“You will be the first to die!” He yelled in an inhuman scream.

The other five fired powerful beams at him, but he absorbed them into his body. He was now crackling with  energy. He gathered it all into his hands, and with a wicked laugh, sent a huge ball of energy hurtling at  Wendy.

Suddenly, Lemmy screamed, “NO!” and dived between Wendy and Exar. He was just in time to be hit with the bolt of energy. Wendy screamed as fire engulfed Lemmy. When it  dimmed, there was nothing left of him.  Not even a bit of ash or a wisp of smoke. Nothing!

Wendy’s scream turned into a gasp of horror. As her mind comprehended what had happened, she sunk to her knees and began to sob. Exar laughed cruelly.

Exar then whirled on Bowser.  Bowser was too stunned to even cry. Exar laughed and began to float above their heads.

“You actually care about them? Then I will give you the privilege of watching them die!”

Iggy, mad with grief at the loss of his brother, sent a huge energy bolt at Exar. Exar whirled on him and  crossed his hands, palms open, before his chest. The bolt sprang off an energy shield, separating into six smaller bolts that flew into the chests of Bowser and all the Koopalings. They were thrown back with yells of surprise.

Meanwhile…

Kamek was watching over Bowser and the Koopalings, and became worried. Lemmy had suddenly  disappeared in a flash of light, and suddenly, incredible burns sprouted on their chests. Kamek would have  brought them out, but he was ordered not to do anything unless Bowser died. He would also run the risk of twisting them into each other. That is driving two spirits into each other and either warping them horrendously, or actually destroying them both. There was nothing else he could do. He ordered their wounds bandaged and settled back to watch to see if there was anything else he could do.

Meanwhile…

Bowser was on his back on the ground. His shell was scorched and partially destroyed, and there was a bad burn on his chest. He had no doubt that each of his children had suffered the same way. He struggled to his feet. He saw the others doing the same, but oh, so much slower. He decided to try to buy time. He staggered towards Exar and began to build up a belly of flame. With a weakened roar, he breathed a wall of flame at Exar. Exar held out a hand. The flame split around his hand and twisted in midair. It merged again and went on a return course towards Bowser.

Exar laughed and yelled, “Can’t you see? I am immortal!”

Bowser watched with a strangely peaceful expression on his face. The flame ripped into him. He fell and landed hard on the ground. He waited for the last beat of his heart. But it never came. Exar gestured and Bowser’s heart gave a beat. Another.

Exar laughed again, “I told you I’d let you see them die!” He gestured again.

Ludwig was pulled up on his toes. Exar gestured. Ludwig  grasped at his throat. He struggled until he went limp. Exar let him drop. Then he turned to Roy. He lifted Roy up. There was thousands of cracks and Roy  collapsed, limp, to the ground. Then he turned on Iggy. Iggy suddenly stared. He screamed. Suddenly, he dropped, pure terror on his  face. Then Exar turned to Morton. Morton’s face stretched. There was a muffled thump and Morton fell.  Then he turned on Wendy. He sent lightning surging at her.  Things looked doomed.

Suddenly, the lightning was turned aside. It was very close to Wendy, so close, in fact that a path of burns was etched across her chest. Exar screamed and looked behind him. He saw another floating figure. Exar’s lightning came towards his hand. It gathered  there. The figure blew. The lightning was blown away like  dust. When the dust hit Exar, he collapsed to the ground.

“Exar!  You have broken the  laws of the dead. You will be punished.”

Exar screamed in despair as he was pulled into the figure’s hand. The figure focused on Bowser.

“You have been a victim of a plot. This is not right. I will make it so that everything will be the same as it was before this renegade came and began this.”

Bowser tried to talk, but suddenly, all was dark. He woke up in his room. He thought, 'What a horrible  dream!' He went downstairs to tell the Koopalings about it.

“You’ll never guess what I dreamt last night…”He began to say when he saw the Koopalings.

“Was it about Exar?” Lemmy asked.  He had his arm possessively around Wendy.

“And we were having dreams about him?” Ludwig continued.

“And Larry and Lemmy died?” Wendy added. She turned and buried her head in Lemmy’s shoulder, remembering the horror.

“As well as most of the rest of us?” Roy added his part. He glanced at his leg.

“And we went into a group dream?” Iggy continued. He jumped at a sudden sound.

“And he mimicked me?” Larry added. He rubbed the back of his head.

“And he hurt us and when we woke up we were still hurt such as if we  were…” Morton was cut off as the rest glared at him. He massaged his temples.

“Yes, exactly!” Bowser gasped.  He looked at the rest of them.  Was it a dream?

Meanwhile…

“Exar, you have violated our laws for the final time. I sentence you to exile! You will be cast out into chaos and oblivion.”

Exar gazed on in horror as he saw outside the gate. As he was cast out, he let out one final scream, a scream that pierced the minds of all in the land of the dead, Earth, and Plit alike.

“I hate those Koopas!!!”

Smash would like to thank Specter for giving him the idea for this story.

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