Your Pursuit of Perfection

You Can't Escape Your Fears

Saiko was putting on a rock concert for all the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom. She thought she was doing well until the crowd started to turn on her. A chanting of booing came from the crowd and they all shouted mean insults.

"You suck!"

"I wasted my time on this!?"

"You'll never become a rockstar!"

Saiko could feel her fear overcome her until someone jumped onto the stage. "Saiko! It's not real!" Three had come to save her along with One and Two. "No! Look at this! I'll never achieve my dream of being a famous rockstar!" One tried to persuade her that this was all fake. "This is all just a nightmare. See?" Saiko turned to see how the crowd had a shadowy look to it. Of course! The mist of nightmares. "My fear is what's causing this?" Gaining back her confidence, Saiko picked up her guitar and shouted "I AM NOT AFRAID OF YOU MONSTERS!!!" She had escaped the smoke and was back with the other three.

Mario was despairing as the world had run out of spaghetti. Three came crashing through the door and yelled "Mario snap out of it! It's just a nightmare!" He was still shaking as he said through his tears "But...Mario will never be with his true love again..." Saiko used her hammer to slam through. "Wake up Mario! We need your help!" He remembered how much he loved his friends and how he really wanted to save Smg4. He stood up and screamed "You think you can scare Mario with your dumb tricks. Well guess what? Mario is strong and he will not let you control him!" The scene faded away as he hugged his friends and thanked them for saving him.

Tari was surrounded by hundreds of angry ducks. "I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you all. I just love you so much." The ducks didn't listen as they inched closer. Mario hurdled into the room with a gun and said "Freeze!" Three came up behind him with Saiko and said "Tari those ducks are stupid fakers!" Mario grabbed one and shook it with all his might. "FAKER!" Tari was still panicked induced as she still defended her "little friends." "No. They are just scared. I should have treated them better." Saiko pulled out her hammer as the ducks attacked her. "Look around Tari! This is just the work of the nightmare mist!" Tari gasped as she said "How could they?"

Bob was trying to be a successful rapper, but nobody supported him. All the friends that he had made over the years went back to their old ways of rejecting him and pushing him aside. Even Birdo didn't think he was cool anymore. He was about to give up when he heard clapping in the distance. Mario was supporting Bob and the others had came to get him. "This is just a nightmare Bob!" Saiko questionably said "Your worst fear is being rejected from rapping?" Bob tried to deny it. "NO." Saiko then knew what to do to snap him out of his nightmares. "Then prove it." Bob took his microphone and smashed it on the ground. "SHUT UP! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK!"

Melony's nightmare was taking a huge hit on her. She had failed to rescue Axol and now she was all alone. Zer0 had won and killed all of her friends. Just then a huge team of heroes stepped in to fight the eldritch monster. "Melony help us!" Tari called out as she looked up from her tears. "B-b-but Axol i-i-is..." Saiko sighed and said "I know. But we defeated Zer0 and we can defeat this nightmare as well." Melony rubbed her tears and inquired "This is a nightmare?" She turned to the huge creature and remembered how she saved all her friends in 2021 and 2022. That filled her with determination, as she pulled out her sword and ended the life of this bad dream.

Luigi was running his successful flower shop until he got terrible news that it was being shut down forever. He curled up into a ball on the ground and started crying. "Luigi!" He looked up to see who that familiar voice belonged to. "Wake up!" shouted Mario as he kept slapping his brother on the face. "What about my flower shop?" Tari stood in a confident pose and told him "Remember when Meggy coached us. Don't let her or your friends down. I faced my fears and so can you!" Luigi remembered Meggy's final assignment as a flashback of her giving him a thumbs up was playing and Boopkins was dressed in her beanie and headphones. He got up with a determined face and yelled "You're just a stupid nightmare! You don't scare me!"

Boopkins was crying while holding a picture of him and JubJub. Bob burst in and said "LET'S GO BOOPKINS!" He turned and said "I failed on protecting my brother. I'll never see him again." Bob rolled his eyes and said "BEING SAD ISN'T AN EXCUSE! GET A MOVE ON!" Boopkins wiped tears from his eyes. "THIS IS A NIGHTMARE!" Boopkins looked around and realized that it was. JubJub was back home and safe. Boopkins threw his arms in the air and yelled "I am not afraid!" Bob watched and then turned to the camera. "DANG BOB. YOU'RE A NATURAL."

There was only one person left...

Meggy had lost the big game of splatfest. The crowd was yelling in disbelief and Desti looked at her. "You promised to win splatfest for me." One Shot Wren shook his head and said "I expected better things from you kid." She held her head in her hands and whispered "I tried. I really did try." Her friends came running into the stadium. "Meggy snap out of it! It's only your fear!" Three tried to call out to her, but the opposing team started shooting them with their splatshots. While they all tried to avoid it, Three said to them "You distract them while I try to save Meggy." Bob immediately pulled out his grenade launcher and says "NOW YOU'LL SEE HOW A TRUE ATHLETE DOES IT!" Three slipped through the crowd up to Meggy, but the nightmare versions of Desti and Wren stopped him.

They tried to punch and kick him, so he thew them off the ledge. "Get out of here you stupid nightmare creatures." He ran up to her and tried to snap her out of it. "Meggy let's go now!" Her eyes were still full of tears as she whimpered "I lost. I'm a failure. I deserve this..." Three stopped in his tracks when he heard what Meggy said. "Believe me, I know how that feels." Three mumbled as Meggy looked up. "All those times I was lost in thought, it was about Four. My worst fear is that I failed to protect him and he died because of me." Meggy didn't move an inch.

"I just don't want to lose him...or you." He looks towards the ground, but then feels a warm embrace. Meggy hugs him and says "Thank you Three. I don't want to lose you either." He smiles and puts his arms around her as well. After a few seconds he pushes Meggy away from him and reverts back to his tsundere behavior. "Okay that's enough. Give me some space squid." She giggles and looks down to see that the rest of her friends are in trouble. She grabs her splatshot and fires at all the inklings. Once she defeats them, the scene melts away and they all find themselves back in the Nightmare realm.

They weren't alone as the icky creatures were surrounding them. "Ooooo very scary goop." Mario said, wriggling his fingers. They then see a man with a tv head come out of the shadows. "But some of you still are." He said as he directed his attention to Three. "Isn't that right Smg3?" He backed up, but didn't let his guard down. "I won't believe your dirty lies." The smile on the screen did not fade away. It actually got a bit wider. "But there is something you fear. If you surrender, I might be willing to spare your little friends."

An uneasy expression went across his face as the TV Adware continued. "After all they have done for you, this is how you repay them? Taking Smg4 away from them?" Darkness crept closer as Three yelled out in a state of defeat "No! They did nothing wrong! I'm the one who deserves this! I will-" He was about to make a deal with the Adware till Meggy stopped him. "NO! Smg3, you're our friend and you aren't going anywhere. Nobody blames you for what happened."

He stops in shock. "I'm your friend?" They all nodded. "Of course! Mario loves you!" Tari took a gentle approach. "And we know we can trust you." The TV Adware backed up and said in a slick voice "Well I see you have some real friends. Those who would do anything for you."

"This is your last chance. Before they see what you let happen." The others were confused, but Three knew what he meant. "You wouldn't dare..." Only Meggy, Mario, and Three saw their corrupted friend from the inside. Everyone else had taken on the goop outside.

The Adware chuckled and said "Well it seems we are not able to make an...arrangement. Don't worry though. I came prepared. I will get the kingdom I so desperately deserve."

A pink light started to shine through as a figure came up behind him. The creature had pink cracks on his face, his clothes were dirty, and his eyes looked desperately strained. When he was seen clearly in the light, everyone gasped in shock as they all said the same thing. "SMG4!?"

"Now you will all be destroyed and the Mushroom Kingdom will be defenseless! Meet my new friend...NIGHTMARE FOUR!!!"

Your friend is mine now...