Play "Joy of Remembrance" from Celeste.
Act 2: Forgotten Subspace
Madotsuki's broomstick was running out of energy, so the make-believe witch landed on a floating asteroid. She seemed to be in outer space, with lots of swirling stars and alien fish. Marshadow was flying ever further with the pale white cloak that garbed him. Her eyes cried for reasons she didn't know, but her desire to know those reasons compelled her to follow. Madotsuki mounted her new bike and used its speed to jump a series of far-apart asteroids. She then shot her Hookshot at a Hook Gem overhead, then swung herself leftward to hit a spring that would send her across a long chasm. She used a Hover Bubble to cover the rest of the distance, landing on a safe ground. There was an orange fish floating above a sideways spring, facing an upward spring, and another fish above. When Mado jumped on the fish, it gave her a high bounce. The fish bounced down and against the side spring, which sent it to the upward spring, and Mado caught up to bounce on it and toward the higher fish. By getting next to that fish, "WAAAAH!" The explosion blasted her a great distance, and she barely reacted to hook a Hook Gem in time.
Mado landed on a long path, where she pressed a switch to open a gate at the end, but its time was limited. A series of spike pillars blocked her way. She hookshotted over the first one, then had to drop to the ground and jump through a gap in the second. With a spike floor threatening her, she hooked a Hook Gem, then had to carefully glide between a descending set of gaps between pillars. She quickly hooked one more gem and made it through the timed gate. Mado faced up a tall section with blockades of spikes. She hooked a gem between a gap in the spikes, hovered leftward to get under another gap with a gem, then had to bump into a Popperfish to be blasted leftward. She could hook another gem, then bounce a stairway of fish to reach the safe foothold.
Madotsuki would have to ride a large, bouncing ball down a hill of spikes. Despite the spikes, the ball bounced fluently, and Mado stayed gyroscopically stable on top. The ball's bouncing enhanced her own jumps, which she needed to jump more spike pillars, then quickly land to duck other ones. She couldn't let her momentum slow to keep up with the ball, but she scraped her arm on a spike in her quick thinking. The ball bounced through some tight gaps, requiring Mado to duck continuously, before having to quickly hook a gem directly above. Immediately after, she hit a spring that shot her right and downward between two rows of spikes, her momentum quick enough to catch up and land on the ball. She could then leap up to a safe ledge.
Madotsuki found a large blue jellyfish that was as floaty as a parachute. She used the jelly to glide across a chasm, but to get over a spike pillar, she pulled herself up in a jump to get over and Hover Bubble the rest of the way. She found another jellyfish on this platform, but the following spike pillar was too high to jump. She had to ride the jelly over, then Hookshot a Hook Gem, carrying the jellyfish with her. The momentum helped her ascend several feet, flying over the spikes. She repeated the process, but she couldn't float high enough to travel between all the spikes. She hooked them downward as her speed built, then hooked that same gem to launch back up with enough momentum.
Mado landed on a platform beneath a vertical shaft with several spikes, along the sides plus several rows. She had to jump and grab a thin ledge on the right within a tight gap, then pull-jump herself up past the spikes before carefully floating over to a left ledge. She repeated this careful formula several times on her way up, but cut her leg on a spike during one jump. The last segment required her to pull-jump along the same side. Once she reached the safe foothold, Madotsuki stopped to catch her breath, holding her wounded leg. "Huff…huff…?" Above her, there was a cookie in a bubble. She curiously stood, took the cookie, and ate it, her wounds healing.
"You know… this is still my dream, isn't it? So, what was all this created from?" All these obstacles were sure making it hard for her to catch up. It's almost as if Marshadow flew this way for that exact reason. …Or was there something else at play?
The following path led to a dead end, but it was actually a long platform that threatened to fall. She could see underneath, where several rows of spikes lay and gaps between. Mado used the Stoplight power to prevent the platform from falling until she was above the first gap. She released the Stop to fall through, but repeated the process to get through the other gaps. After passing this section, Madotsuki had to float with a jellyfish and carry it up a series of Hook Gems, the momentum carrying her a great height. She reached a platform at the top, and Marshadow was just within reach.
She changed back into a witch and took flight. She reached for the pale robe with determination. "Marshadow! No… whoever you are! Please stop! I have to know… what am I still forgetting? Why are you-" (End song.)
A glove suddenly appeared and struck Madotsuki with electricity. She fell off her broom and crashed on another platform. "I have done enough harm to you, Madotsuki. You should not lose your happy ending. If you leave now, the incomplete memories will fall apart again. You can still forget. So, stay away from me…"
The distance between Mado and Marshadow widened again. As the electric coursed through her, Madotsuki could feel her memories coming apart at the seams. "No… I can't forget again!" Mado tried grabbing her head to hold it together. However, the image of that monster, reaching and grabbing her, swelled in her mind like a balloon. "I…I want to forget… I don't want this horrible memory inside me… but I can't. I shouldn't. Because there's something… I really want to remember. Even if you don't want me to, I'LL REMEMBER YOU!" (Play "Beyond the Heart" from Celeste!)
Madotsuki used her bike to jump a stairway of far platforms, but once at the top, she switched to socks and slid down a rainbow slope. She flew up a ramp between a narrow arch of spikes—there was an even tighter arch incoming, so she shrunk herself while keeping her momentum and was able to leap through. She quickly resized and latched a Hook Gem just before crashing a spike wall. She hooked up to a safe platform with a jellyfish. Overlooking an electric river, Madotsuki saw a sealed door and six switches underneath narrow gaps in the electric. Madotsuki began floating on the jellyfish and shrank once more, then had to split into and drop clones between the small gaps. Those clones would press the switches to open the door.
In the following room, Mado had to travel upward using platforms that quickly shifted left and right, going in and out of electric fields. She rode the first platform, but used her Stoplight to freeze time when she was in position to jump and grab the next. She unfroze time, ducked as it carried her beneath an electric current, but Stopped before it could go through another. Mado jumped, unfroze time, and hovered until another platform could zip out and catch her. A bunch of platforms blocked the vertical shaft above her, but she jumped before her platform could move, and when those platforms zipped aside, Mado quickly latched a Hook Gem above. She landed on one last platform that zipped her across with momentum, flying her over a chasm and onto safe ground.
Madotsuki had to jump on a Popperfish, which would bounce a series of springs that would carry it upward. However, Madotsuki had to use these springs to progress as well, starting from the third one as she managed to stay ahead of the fish. After bouncing off the last spring, she held herself back a bit so that the fish could explode and send her flying. Madotsuki bounced down a stairway of fish, and those fish ricocheted down more springs. When Mado made it down, the fish had spread out enough to where they could each blast Mado across the chasm in quick succession. She then latched her way across a series of Hook Gems within a zigzaggy path between electricity.
Mado then had to water a shrunk cloud before jumping to a platform. There was a jellyfish, but there was little room to float on it with a massive electric field. Mado could throw the jellyfish into the field while Mado could drop down and run across a lower path, mixing ducks with jumps to navigate the electricity. The jellyfish was hitting springs to travel across, and Madotsuki caught up in time to latch a Hook Gem and grab the jellyfish at the same time. The momentum launched her over the electric as Madotsuki rode the jellyfish across space. They were once again gaining on Marshadow, but the pale robe cast large fireballs. Madotsuki had to alternate between dropping, latching Hook Gems, and regrabbing the jellyfish to make it across.
"AAAH!" Lightning struck from the gloves again as Madotsuki took the fall—she landed on the roof of a UFO. "W-What?"
"You're almost there." Masada said from inside the ship. "Don't give up, Madotsuki!"
Marshadow was floating above a series of small clouds. Madotsuki pulled out her umbrella to make it rain, watering all the clouds at once. The clouds were bouncy, but they couldn't bounce her high enough, until she morphed her body into jelly to gain extra bounce. Flash Eyes spawned in attempt to strike her down, but Mado was ceaseless and determined, bouncing one cloud after the other. From the final cloud, she launched up to grab her jellyfish friend, riding it up to a great, white cloud at the top of space. (Play "Bounding Through Time" from Super Paper Mario.)
As whiteness enveloped her, Madosuki felt herself land on a solid surface. She let the jellyfish float away and raced across the fluffy surface, faintly seeing the white cloak through the mist. "WAIT! Please…" She gasped for breath as the cloak flapped just out of reach. "Why…Why are you running from me?"
Marshadow slowed to a halt and turned around. "Just leave me, Madotsuki… If I stay around you, you're only gonna get more afraid. You'll never feel happy again. Please…"
Marshadow flashed as the whiteness of the cloak totally swallowed him, but as a result, a blank pair of eyes appeared under the hat. "Please… Madotsuki… I cannot bear… to hurt you again…"
". . ." The Memory's faint form reflected off the tears streaming down her face. No memory of a name, nor a clear form could be pictured in her head… but her desire was all too clear. "No… I want you to come back to me!"
"Forget about me, Madotsuki!" The Memory raised his gloves threateningly.
"NO! I never want to forget you AGAIN!"
Boss fight: The Lingering Memory
The Memory cast a white flame on the ground, blocking Madotsuki from him. He cast a storm of fireballs into the sky as they all rained down, Madotsuki dodging them with quick succession. The Memory curled into a ball and conjured two smaller balls around him, beginning to bounce around the field like a pinball. Madotsuki struck the Memory twice to destroy the orbs, resulting in him bouncing faster. Regardless, Mado dealt one more blast with her bubble. There was the sound of glass shattering, and when the Memory unraveled, his right shoe attained a dark-blue color. The Memory struck lightning, catching Mado off guard as she was electrified.
He conjured two walls of white flame and cast more fireballs. This time, they flew horizontally, Mado having to jump, quick-fall, duck, or hover with precision, but one of the flames burned her. Once the flames passed, the Memory curled up and began bouncing around with three orbs protecting him. Each time Mado destroyed an orb, he would shoot fire, but she dodged the attacks until she could land the next attack of her own. With a shattering noise, his left shoe returned to its dark-blue color. Mado also noticed that the fog cleared up a bit with each strike, faintly showing the blue sky.
"You taught me how to ride a bike! You read me stories every night! You made me so happy!"
"You don't need me for such things, anymore. You're a grown girl, Madotsuki. Move toward the future!"
The Memory conjured two more firewalls, but landed on the opposite end of the field. He cast two fireballs per round, each pair crossing in figure "8" fashions as Madotsuki had to dodge between them or jump. The pairs traveled at different speeds, so Mado was burned by one, and she barely reacted in time to jump the lightning he struck at the ground. He curled up again with four orbs protecting him, but instead of ricocheting, he began looping around the "sides" of the field, only bouncing diagonally against the floor and ceiling. Madotsuki kept track of which angles he would show up, landing four hits to his defense and one last strike to the Memory. This time, the left glove attained a pale blue color.
"I don't care if I'm grown up! You were always there for me… I want you to be there for me again! Without you… my heart is empty…"
The Memory trapped Mado between two firewalls, quickly moving them left or right as she ran to stay between them. They slowed down as the Memory began to cast more figure "8" fireballs, and dodging them was tricky while still moving with the flames. As she predicted, he struck lightning, but she jumped just in time. The Memory curled up once more and flew skyward. "OW!" He popped up from below and hit Mado. It seemed he was now looping vertically and bouncing against the sides to make it more tricky. Mado kept track of where on the ground he would rise up and struck him four times to destroy his barrier, followed by another blow to restore life to his right glove. A soft blue sky was slowly becoming apparent through the fog.
"Don't you understand? I hurt you, Madotsuki. With me around, your life will be misery."
"No it won't! I have a new family, and friends! Even though I don't want to remember that nightmare… I can live with it. As long as I can have you back!"
The Memory conjured an electric guitar with piano keys, light drums on the underside, and some saxophone parts. With powerful strums of the guitar, a tower of fire rose to completely block her way. Madotsuki used the Yuki-onna power to cool the flame into steam, but he began to blow a strong wind with the saxophone. Mado mounted the bike and pedaled against the current, so he used the piano keys to make the ground wave. Madotsuki jumped the waves and caught up to the Memory, bravely leaping off the bike to grab him in a hug. As he squirmed to shake her off, his hat shattered, returning to a night-blue color with a dark-pink strip around it. The eyes were beginning to flicker a yellowish color as he slightly hunched over, the robe opening and exposing Marshadow.
The little Nightmare's eyes were twitching as he spoke in synch with the Memory. "Madotsuki… how could I possibly… return to you…"
"Because you're… my best friend…"
The Memory began to bop the small drums under the guitar, sending a string of fireballs that Madotsuki dodged. However, she recognized the rhythm at which he was bopping the drums: it was the same rhythm as when she first played the flute that she borrowed from that man. So, she took out her own flute and played the same song. It was a simple little jingle with the same repeating verse, but the sound of it caused the Memory to slow his attacks. Soon, the blank eyes drooped, along with his guard. "You'll always be a part of me. So, don't push me away ever again!"
Madotsuki lunged with arms open, and as she embraced Marshadow in her hold, the remainder of the white veil totally shattered. There he flew, his night-blue cloak waving in the wind, its interior a dark-pink. Jingle bells hung from his hat, and his big yellow eyes gazed warmly at his creator, met with her watering red eyes. "D-D…DARK-SAN!"
Madotsuki hung her head and hugged Marshadow to her window. "…But why, Madotsuki? I was erased with all the nightmares in your heart. We did this, so you could be free. If you remember me, then those terrible dreams will return. Why would you want that, Madotsuki?"
"Because you were the best dream of all. I never realized how empty my heart was…"
"But I've caused you so much evil…"
"I don't care. I love you… Dark-san."
"Madotsuki…" And as Marshadow's little arms hugged the warm chest of Mado's sweater, so too did Mr. Dark's gloves hold her to his cloak. Her tears soaked the waving piece of clothing.
The fog and clouded ground had completely cleared as they drifted in the sky. It was a daytime sky without any sun, with soft, darker-blue clouds to give a lulling sense of ease. The tears slowly subsided as Mado felt herself grow sleepy in the embrace of her dear friend.
"Tell me… Madotsuki… do you love… the new universe?"
"Yes…sniff… I do… Do you want to see it with me?"
"…I would be honored…" (End song.)
Sky Garden
Unable to follow Mado, April simply rested on a bench in the sky park, releasing a worried sigh. "…?" She saw a strange, blue and pink shape rising from beyond the cliff. April got up and hurried to the ledge. "…?!" She gasped, seeing Madotsuki being carried by a cloaked figure. "Is that…!" The memories came flashing back to her as well. "MR. DARK!"
"Ah…you're April Goldenweek." Mr. Dark said, setting Mado on the ground. "Sorry about all that rough business in the past…"
"Uh…no problem." She blinked. "I…I completely forgot about you."
"Yes… that is a curse we Imaginary beings bear. If our forms are destroyed, our memory fades from those who knew us, except from our Creator. And even then, it is difficult to fully recall us, without the right feelings…"
His cloak opened to reveal Marshadow within. "But, like… this is kinda weird. Are he and I… the same person?"
"I do feel an odd connection of sorts." Mr. Dark replied. "What all has been happening?"
Before they could answer, the group looked over to see the red Chiptoon descend over the garden. Madotsuki decided to walk up and collect it, feeling no sense of repulsion or uneasiness. "Well, the Protoon was destroyed, so we've been trying to collect the pieces to fix it. But, also…"
They explained the rest of the story, from Darkrai I's return and Madotsuki's supposed destiny. "A Firstborn Guardian? Heh heh…I'm proud of you, Mado."
"GUYS, GUYS!" They faced the sky as Murfy buzzed up to them in a hurry. "Man, things are gettin' really crazy! The Nightmare Generals are fighting the KND, and th-th-th-th-th-th-THAT'S MR. DARK!"
"Yes. Hello, Murfy."
"Don't worry, he's good now. I think…" April said.
"Murfy, do the Nightmare Generals have the other Chiptoons?" Mado asked.
"Yeah, they do! Well, some of them. We gotta hurry and fix the Protoon before any more die!"
"W-Wait, have some of them died?!"
"Er…well, they're not 'dead,' per se, more like… in a coma. Even if we fix the Protoon now, those ones aren't gonna wake up until their souls recover."
"Then, we have to hurry! Bringing the Chiptoons together will fix it, right?"
"Well, uh…that's another problem. We can't fix the Protoon ourselves. We need the will of the gods who created it in the first place. There's Jirachi, Mesprit, Cresselia, Mew, and…er, Darkrai. You don't think he's up for a ceasefire, do ya?"
"We shouldn't need Darkrai I if Darkrai II or Marshadow can do it!" April shouted. "They're Nightmare Gods, too!"
"But I broke the Protoon…" Marshadow said sadly.
"I bet you can do it now, Marshadow." Mado smiled assuringly. "Maybe it's because… you were incomplete. I'm supposed to be your Guardian… and it seems like Dark-san is a part of you, too. Now that he's back, maybe you can control your power together."
"I guess… but maybe my brother should do it, just to be safe."
"But we must secure the Chiptoons for now." Mr. Dark suggested.
"Hold on, Mr. Wind Cloak!" Murfy pointed accusingly. "You ain't got no one fooled, you're gonna try to take the Protoon all over again!"
"That past is behind me. Now that Madotsuki has the happy ending she deserved, I have no wish to corrupt either the Dream World or Waking World, anymore. But my prior experience in using the Protoon should prove beneficiary."
"Then let's go!" Madotsuki declared. "We'll save the Dream World no matter what!"
Chamber of the Protoon
The Holy Nightmare cast a storm of Ztars from his cloak, his son conjuring a barrier to defend his minions. But Darkrai I immediately cleaved through the barrier with his fingers, blowing them all down and even slashing Bowyer in half.
The purple jester known as NiGHTS spun through the air like a torpedo and drilled into the nape of Darkrai I's neck. Rayman blasted up a Light Fist to punch his long chin upright, causing his neck to bend even further along with NiGHTS' drill. The king spun in a tornado to banish all the nuisances. Rayman gasped for breath as he recovered from the force… when a light sparked in his brain. "OH!"
"Huh? Is something wrong, Rayman?" NiGHTS asked.
"I just… remembered something!" Rayman beamed with enthusiasm. "Ha hah! We're gonna have another ally soon enough!"
"As if you fools couldn't get any more aggravating…" Darkrai I grit his teeth in frustration as he glared at a giant star in the sky. "But I'll crush as many of your dreams as I can!"