Author's Note: Hi guys, and welcome to another MxL mini-shot! *cheers* The reason I haven't posted this one up yet was because of school things and other life things, which have been really impacting the time I have to write and draw. D: But now I can finally post up this one! :D This mini-shot is slightly shorter than the previous one, but it is also darker than the previous one, just to keep in mind for you folks.

I don't know what else to write about this, so I'll let you to read. :P Enjoy! :3

Disclaimer: I don't own Mario, or its characters, they belong to Nintendo.

2. Worst Nightmare

The Mushroom Kingdom, a once beautiful, peaceful kingdom, had fallen. The streets were messy, the skies were a dark gray, the whole place was burning in flames. Citizens of the kingdom laid on the streets, in pools of blood, either dead or nearing death as they bled out on the cold street.

There was only one person standing left, though they were slightly injured. It was a young male still standing, the clothes he wore were a red long-sleeved shirt, blue overalls with bright yellow buttons, brown shoes that fit nicely on his feet, and a red cap embroidered with a red 'M'. He had long, thick brown hair, big and bright baby blue eyes and a big, bushy mustache that was nestled comfortably under his nose.

Mario had a very shocked look on his face, as he looked around his surroundings. "What h-happened to t-the k-kingdom?!" he stammered, as his hands covered his mouth in disbelief. He began to tread forward, his eyes locking forward, not to dare look at the dead citizens on the cold streets.

Every step that Mario took, no matter how hard or soft his steps were, puddles of blood would splash onto him and into his shoes, soaking his socks with the icky red substance. Mario cringed at the feeling of more and more blood that soaked into his shoes and socks. He took off his cap, as the heat from the fires was beginning to get to him. He began to glance left and right at his surroundings once again, watching as buildings and trees continued to burn ferociously.

"You've failed…" a voice screeched. "You've failed us…"

Mario jumped in fear and frantically looked around his surroundings. "Wh-Who was th-that?" he shrieked, shaking and trembling in fear. Mario looked around his area again, trying to find if anyone or anything was there. When he didn't see anyone, he sighed and continued walking forward, but now at a much slower pace.

He crossed his arms with insecurity and his eyes were open wide in fear. "Wh-What happened to e-everyone?!" he whined.

As he continued to walk forward, the skies and ground and everything else began to darken, then later disappear. "What's happening?" he wondered. He looked down to the ground and noticed it was a mix of black and purple. He shrieked and jumped high into the air as he realized that he had entered a void. He shrieked even louder as he turned his head and noticed the void closing rapidly from the way he entered. Mario tried to run towards the exit in order to escape the void, but it closed when he tried to stick his hands in.

"Let me out of here!" he screamed.

"You can't escape me… you fell right into my trap, Mario," a voice said, snickering.

Mario's face turned pale as he turned around. "H-How do you k-know my n-name?" he stammered. "Wh-What do you w-want from m-me?"

"Oh, Mario, how can you not remember me or my voice? We've had such a history together, Mario!" the voice sneered.

"What history?" Wh-Who even ARE you?" Mario said shakily.

"I think a good ol' evil laugh of mine will refresh your memory," the voice said. The voice then began to laugh in a very evil, very eerie, very high-pitched way, that of which Mario recognized almost immediately, the red plumber then gasping.

"No way…" he whispered, clenching his fists in fright.

A white light began shining, and slowly it transformed into the familiar ghostly figure of King Boo. "It's MEEE!" he screeched loudly, a smug grin now forming on his face.

"King Boo!" Mario gasped. "Wh-What are you d-doing h-here?!"

"I've been around the area, and thought I'd come and visit my favorite worst enemy!" King Boo replied, still smirking.

"No! You did something to the kingdom! Wh-What did y-you d-do to the k-kingdom?!" Mario stammered, shaking and trembling in fear.

"Did you not see, Mario? The kingdom is up in flames!" King Boo cackled.

"But why?" Mario asked sadly.

"What do you mean why? You're the one who caused this!" King Boo exclaimed.

"What? No I didn't!" Mario shouted.

"Your stubbornness is the reason that your beloved kingdom is now up in flames, and why its citizens are now on the grounds, bloody and dead," King Boo said. "You fucked up hard, Mario. You really did…"

"Where is Luigi, Princess Peach, and the rest of my friends?!" Mario shouted, louder than the last time.

"In the same state as the rest of the citizens: DEAD!" King Boo replied, cackling evilly.

Mario froze, as tears began to roll down his face. "D-Dead…?" Th-They're d-dead…?" he whimpered.

"Every single one of them," King Boo confirmed. "Including your little Luigi, he especially suffered the most brutal death…"

Mario's tears continued to fall down his face as he heard those words come out of King Boo's ghostly mouth. The plumber's legs buckled, and he fell to his knees and put his hands over his face, crying softly into them. "Luigi… my one and only… gone…?" he whispered sadly, as he continued to cry.

"That's right, hun!" King Boo snickered. "And since your pest of a brother is no longer with us, it means that I get to do this…"

"Wh-Wha…?" Mario said softly.

The plumber silently watched as King Boo took off his crown, took out something that looked like a piece of decorated wood, and placed the crown back on his head. "What is that?" Mario wondered.

"Oh, I think you'll recognize what this is rather quickly…" King Boo simply answered, and showed the plumber the item.

"N-No!" Mario screamed. The plumber began to scoot away from the ghostly king, as he held a large picture frame in his ghostly hands. "Not th-that!"

"It's time to get in the frame!" King Boo sneered.

"I don't want to go in th-that frame again!" Mario cried.

"You have no choice, Mario. Your little brother isn't here to save you, you'll be a permanent painting in my gallery!" King Boo announced.

"I-I don't want to be a part of your gallery!" Mario yelled. "G-Get away from me!"

"Time to enter the painting, Mario…" King Boo said, floating towards the plumber.

"No! Get away!" Mario shouted.

"You cannot stop me… you cannot be saved this time…" King Boo said.

"Get AWAY!" Mario screamed, tears falling down his face rapidly. "Please get away…"

"You're mine now, Mario… all mine…" King Boo gleefully said, grinning from ear to ear as he got even closer to Mario.

"I don't wanna go back!" Mario squealed, curling himself into a fetal position.

"Mario!" a voice exclaimed. The plumber didn't hear the voice, as he cowered in fear.

"Enter the painting, Mario, it'll be quick and painless…" King Boo said, as his grin became extremely demented.

"I don't wanna!" Mario cried, shaking his head frantically as he tried to scoot further away from the ghostly king.

"Mario!" the voice exclaimed again, louder. Mario could only cry as he began to accept his fate.

"Now, now, enter the frame, plumber," King Boo said, chuckling softly.

Mario could only cry softly as the cursed frame slowly came to his face…

"Mario!" Luigi shouted, shaking his brother awake.

Mario screamed at the top of his lungs, shooting himself up from the bed as he continued to scream.

"M-Mario…?" Luigi said much softer, wrapping his right arm over his brother's shoulder, and placing his left hand on Mario's left shoulder. "A-Are you alright?"

Mario turned his head left, and looked into Luigi's bright, sapphire-blue eyes, his own baby blue eyes watering as he then placed his hands on his face and cried. "Oh, Lu-Lu… I-I had such a h-horrible n-nightmare…" he said, as he continued to cry.

"What happened, Mar-Mar?" Luigi asked, very concerned. He moved his brother's hands from his eyes and tried to look him in the eyes. "Look at me, Mar-Mar, please don't cry anymore…"

Mario wiped his eyes several times before looking at Luigi, his brother's bright, sapphire-blue eyes glowing with concern. "The kingdom in flames… everyone dead… blood everywhere… King Boo… he said you were dead too… along with everyone else… he tried to put me in the frame again… it was just absolutely h-horrible…" he said, continuously crying softly.

"Oh, Mar-Mar… don't cry anymore… I'm here for you now," Luigi told him, hugging him tightly.

"I was scared, Lu-Lu… I-I don't ever want to go through any of that ever again…" Mario said, shaking in fear.

"You won't ever go through any of that ever again, I will make sure you never ever go through it ever again," Luigi said, grabbing his brother's hand and holding it tight, and staring into his eyes once more. "I'm here for you, I'll always be here for you."

Mario looked down and then stared into his younger brother's eyes once more. "R-Really?" he asked.

"Yes," Luigi replied, wiping the tears from his brother's face. "Now no more crying. Remember that I will always love you, Mar-Mar."

Mario wiped several more tears from his face, looking down abruptly then looked back up, then smiling at his brother. "I will always love you too, Lu-Lu," he said timidly. "Th-Thank you."

Luigi leaned forward and gave his brother a small kiss on his lips. "You're welcome," he said, blushing.

Mario started to blush twice as hard as his younger brother did. He glanced over his brother's left shoulder and noticed the time: 3:58am. "I think we should head back to sleep now, Lu-Lu, it's getting pretty late," he mentioned.

"Will you be alright, Mar-Mar?" Luigi asked.

"Yes, I'll be fine knowing you're right here for me," Mario replied, blushing again.

"Well, that's what broyfriends are for," Luigi simply said, blushing as he kissed his brother on the lips again. "Goodnight Mar-Mar, I love you."

"Goodnight Lu-Lu, I love you too," Mario said brightly.

As the two nestled into bed and under their covers, with Luigi already fast asleep in bed, Mario thought to himself of how amazing a little brother he has. He smiled to himself, and closed his eyes to sleep, knowing the love of his life would be always there for him, with a shield of protection that would always keep him safe.

Author's Note: When I was writing the ending of this one, it made me really smile, for Luigi to always be there for his brother, so cute. :3 But I'd be absolutely terrified if I ever had a nightmare like Mario's, that really scared him. D: I want to thank PhoenixDiamond for the review, it means a lot to me when I see reviews of my stories, I read every single one. :3 Until next time, bye! :)

Reviews please. :3