Third Person POV
"Princess! Princess!" A toad burst into the room. Peach turned around. She was exhausted. It had been years, and there have been a few sightings, but no one had captured Luigi or Dimentio yet. "Yes?" She asked. The toad composed themselves, before speaking. "The unstable man and the insane clown have been spotted. Here, in the Mushroom Kingdom." Peach's eyes went wide. "Here?? They're here??" The toad nodded. She clapped her hands. "Oh, that's wonderful news! Call the Captain, send out a squad, and bring them to me! This is a great chance to see our new Captain get into action! I heard she's tough as nails! And remember, whatever you do, don't hurt the man."
A short while after Mario was frozen, the Princess needed someone else to protect her. So, the Mushroom Kingdom hired a bright, strong young toad, who had big dreams to be a Captain. At first she was just a normal guard, but she recently obtained the title of Captain. Ever since she was hired, the Princess hasn't been kidnapped once. She's a stickler for rules, and she'll stop at nothing to protect the throne.
Ever since she was a child, this toad wanted to help others. Many didn't think she could do it, since she was small and weak. But her spirit was big, and her brain was bigger. She trained, practiced, and rose above the rest.
A small squad was sent after the wanted criminals.
When they got back to the sight, no one was there. All that was left was a large door. "How peculiar...I don't remember a door here." One toad said. Another toad, the Captain, Toadette, pulled them forward. "Alright, they obviously went in there. We're going in, boys."
Luigi POV
It was dark in here. I was in front, Dimentio and Daisy behind me. There was a torch on the wall, so I grabbed it, giving us more light.
"OW! Your stupid sword keeps poking me!" Dimentio whisper-screamed. "It is not! Ugh, can you move any faster. Seriously, you can fly! Why are you going so slow??" "Ah, you're right. You're right. Only, this stupid room isn't letting me float! My magic is probably being restricted again."
I turned around and faced them. "Shh, guys, stop fighting." Both of them fell silent.
".....He started it..." "I DID NOT! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO POKED ME!" I rolled my eyes and smiled. Oh, how they reminded me of having a brother....
We were walking down a long, narrow hallway. It was a little tight, which is probably why Dimentio and Daisy kept fighting.
"OW, QUIT POKING ME!" Dimentio exclaimed. "I'M NOT POKING YOU!" I turned around again. "Guys, please. Just stop-"
I looked at Dimentio.
"Dimentio.....?"
I walked closer and brought the torch near. "W-what is that?"
He looked down. There was a small dart sticking out of his hip.
Daisy laughed. "SEE! I told you I wasn't poking you!"
Dimentio and I both shot her a dirty look. She scratched the back of her head. "Ah, right. Sorry" Dimentio yanked the small dart out of his side and looked at it. There was a purple liquid dripping from the tip of it. He let out a small chuckle.
"Ah, poison."
My eyes went wide. "POISON??" He smiled. "Yup. Give me that." He took the torch out of my hand and looked around. On the ground were some small panels. "I wonder...." He said, before stepping on one. Another small dart shot into his side. I gasped. "DIMENTIO! ARE YOU OKAY??"
He nodded. "Yeah. Just don't step on those panels. This way." He yanked the dart out and took the lead.
"B-but you got shot! How are you so calm??" He smirked. "There's an antidote up there according to the signs." I looked around. "Signs?? What signs??" He put the torch up to the wall. "Those signs."
I quickly read over it. "Dark Dart room: Watch your step, poison darts. Antidote at the end." I shook my head. "Umm, how long before the poison takes effect??" He suddenly stopped me. "Careful! Watch your step!" I looked down to see that I nearly stepped on one of those panels. "Right...thank you." He then continued forward. "I don't know. The signs in this room aren't very specific. They kinda just state the obvious." Daisy drew her sword. "Well, you seem fine for now. Maybe the poison takes a while to go into effect."
He chuckled. "Why do you always pull your sword out? There's nothing it will do to help us." Suddenly a dart came flying towards me, but she blocked it with her sword. I looked down. "Oops. Heh. Thanks Daisy." She smirked. He crossed his arms. "Touché."
We kept walking, careful not to step on any more panels, when Dimentio's steps began to falter. "Dimentio? Are you alright?"
He nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little dizzy."
We continued marching forward. I could tell his breathing was a little off. He was slowing down.
Suddenly, he collapsed to the ground.
"DIMENTIO!" I quickly ran to him and picked him up. His breathing was shallow. "DAISY, WE GOTTA GO! COVER ME!" She nodded, and I quickly took off running down the hall, Dimentio in my arms. Daisy was right behind me, blocking the darts with her sword. I continued to run, darts flying past my face. I wasn't paying attention to where I was stepping now. I just needed to get to the end of the hall and get that antidote.
I could feel him shivering in my arms. He didn't look well. His skin felt clammy. I ran, faster and faster. I could hear Daisy cry out in pain. I turned around to see her pull a dart out of her side. "KEEP GOING! I'LL CATCH UP. I'VE GOT TIME!" She called. I nodded, and kept running. I could see the end. We were almost there.
"Hold on Dim. I've got you."
He stopped shaking, and went still in my arms. His eyes were both closed. I held on tighter and kept running. My legs and lungs were burning, but I didn't care. We were almost there.
I kept running. The closer we got, the more darts there were. I had about ten meters left, but here, the floor consisted of nothing but panels. Anywhere I stepped, I would get shot. But it didn't matter. I sprinted through. Daisy was about ten feet behind me, so she couldn't shield me with her sword. But again, that didn't matter. The antidote was right there. I'd be fine. I ran straight through, making sure to shield Dimentio. I didn't want him getting shot anymore.
"Yes! Made it," I cried out in joy once I got there. There was a set of needles. Inside, something that looked like a blue liquid. A sign read, "To use antidote, inject strongly and quickly into one's thigh." I quickly set Dimentio down and stabbed one into his thigh. Then Daisy arrived. She seemed a little dizzy. "I got shot three times. Quick, gimme that!" I handed her another needle and she quickly injected it into her thigh. She sat down. "Whew, that was fun."
I nodded. "Yeah. I'm glad we....." I began to falter. She looked over at me, "Luigi? You good-" Her eyes went wide.
"LUIGI! HOW MANY TIMES DID YOU GET SHOT??" I looked at my sides. About six darts were sticking out of each, for a total of 12. I felt really dizzy and sick. She quickly ran over and caught me just before I fell. She began ripping the darts out. Then she grabbed another needle and stabbed it into me.
I cried out in pain. I never liked getting shots. Needles honestly scared me. My vision kept fading in and out. I felt sick.
She looked around. "Come on, how long does it take for this stupid antidote to work??"
I could feel my eyes slowly closing. I got shot with a lot of poison. She looked at me, with her beautiful blue eyes. "No, Luigi, hold on. Any minute now and we'll all be fine." I slowly nodded.
"okay."
I'm not sure how long I was out for, but when I woke up Dimentio was leaning over me, smiling. I saw him look to the side. "See, I told you. He's fine!"
I could hear someone run over. Suddenly Daisy was up in my face. "LUIGI! YOU'RE OKAY! LISTEN, I'M SORRY I DIDN'T BLOCK ALL THOSE DARTS. THIS WAS MY-"
I raised my finger to her mouth, shushing her. "It's not your fault. I'm just glad you two are alright."
Dimentio helped me up, when we heard voices behind us.
"Hurry, I think they went this way!" Called a voice.
My eyes went wide. "Guys...are we being followed?" Daisy quickly turned around. She drew her sword and got into a fighting stance. "You two push forward! I'll hold them off!" Dimentio and I exchanged glances, then nodded. "Stay safe, Daisy!" I called. Dimentio took my hand and we ran into the next room.
I think he could see the worried expression on my face. "Hey, don't worry. She'll be fine. Have you seen her with that sword? She can handle them."
This next room was....a maze? I looked around. It was still dark. We didn't have the torch anymore. Dimentio dropped it when he passed out. I activated my thunderhand, giving off a small, green glow. There was a small sign. Dimentio walked up and read it. "Pass through the maze, but beware. If you make but wrong wrong turn, the strongest of your party will meet their match." I walked up next to him. "Meet their match? So we'll have to fight something really strong?" Dimentio shrugged. "Let's just try not to make a wrong turn."
"But HOW?? There are no clues! How will we know which way to go?" Dimentio laughed. "Ah, never fear, I have always been quite skilled when it comes to games like these." I shook my head. "But, there's no strategy here. How can you be so confident?" He shrugged. "I'm the Master of Dimensions and Pleaser of Crowds. I'll get us through."
We walked through the dark maze. It looked like nothing but blackness. Dimentio wasn't floating, so I assumed he couldn't use his magic here either. He held his hip. The place where he first gotten shot. He had the poison in him for the longest, so I could see that it had a lasting effect on him. Even though I got the most shots, it wasn't in my system for very long. "Hey, are you alright?" I asked. He shook his head. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just stings a little." I nodded, before running into a wall. There were two paths. I began to sweat.
"Oh no...which way do we go??" He looked deep in thought.
"....Left."
I looked at him. "Left?? How do you know? What if that's the wrong way?" He shrugged. "It might be wrong....but....I don't know. I feel like we need to go left. The air coming from the left side is slightly warmer than the air coming from the right." I nodded. I'm pretty sure he was just guessing, but what else did I have to go off of. "Alright, then to the left it is!"
We continued through the Maze. Turns out Dimentio was really good at guessing. "We're almost there..." Dimentio muttered. I looked over at him. "How can you tell?" Dimentio pointed forward. "See how it's brighter over there, that light must be coming from the next room." I let out a sigh of relief, before we met another fork in the road.
There were two paths. I stepped forward. "The light is coming from this path, so obviously we should go this way, right?" I pointed to the path to the right. Dimentio nodded. "Yeah....that looks correct."
We stepped forward, and walked down the path.
The air felt slightly cooler.
Suddenly, the walls moved around. The floor began to shake, and it went dark again.
Dimentio and I stood back to back. He seemed a little confused at first, but then shook his head and started laughing. "Ah ha ha, wrong path. I should have known. Never go with the obvious answer." I frantically looked around. "So what now?? It looks like we're trapped in here!" He seemed to be thinking.
"The strongest of your party will meet their match... what does that mean," He asked. Suddenly, our surroundings began to change. I frantically looked around.
It looked like we were....in Castle Bleck??
I got into a fighting stance. "We're about to find out."
Me and Dimentio stood back to back, when a few others appeared in the room.
A hurt Count Bleck, Tippi fluttering next to him, and Nastasia standing on his other side. I was shocked. No one had seen or heard from Blumiere or Timpani in years! I almost ran over to them, but Dimentio gave me a look that told me I shouldn't.
In the middle of the room, floated a shiny black and grey heart. The Chaos heart.
"I do not have long to live. You must end my game before The Void destroys all." Blumiere said, sadly. My eyes softened. I remembered this....
This is what happened right before.....oh no.
"But, we're finally together again."
A magic projectile flew across the room, heading for Blumiere, but Nastasia quickly pushed him out of the way and took the hit, knocking her unconscious. I could see Dimentio cringe. "W-what's happening??" I asked him.
Suddenly, I heard his voice come from the other side of the room.
"Silly assistant. Absorbing my attack to protect him? What an adorably hopeless gesture."
Another Dimentio floated into view, standing above the Chaos heart. I looked at the Dimentio standing next to me, and then the one up there. "Wait, wait, wait, what's happening? Is that you??"
My Dimentio shushed me. "It's an illusion."
"I was about to give him the everlasting peace he so desperately wants."
Tippi turned to face him. She was still in the form of a Pixl. "Dimentio?! You're....alive?"
I could see the Dimentio next to me squeeze his eyes shut. I could tell he didn't want to be here. He didn't want to see this.
"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Of course. This is my moment. Even if the count dies, the Chaos Heart won't disappear if I continue to control it! But I needed the power of the pure hearts to beat him....I couldn't do] that on my own. So I had you do all the sweaty labor for me! And you even used your pure hearts to defeat Count Bleck! If they make greeting cards to thank people for helping with evil plans, I owe you one."
The other Dimentio was looking at us. Was he talking.... to us?? I could see the Dimentio next to me covering his masked face with his hands.
Was he embarrassed?
"What are you saying?!" Tippi asked. The other Dimentio turned to face her. "I'm saying that you no longer have value to me, so I'm ending your games. They're all yours, Mr. L."
He then snapped his fingers. "Oh no!" I cried. I immediately brought my hands to my head, thinking a sprout was there.
But it wasn't.
Another Luigi walked out from behind us, a sprout on his head. He was waving his arms. "I am Mr. L. Master Dimentio...what is your bidding?"
My eyes went wide. "W-wait a minute..."
My Dimentio and I exchanged nervous glances. I think we both knew what was coming, only this time we were fighting on the opposite side.
I remembered this well. Memories of this moment would haunt my dreams often. And here I was, actually reliving it. Dimentio placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's just an illusion." I didn't know if he was trying to calm me, or himself down. I could tell we were both nervous.
"Mr. L, run along now and get ready for your big entrance." The other Dimentio raised his hands in the air, causing the Chaos heart and the other me to mix. I watched in horror, memories flooding my mind. I watched as Super Dimentio once again formed, only this time I could actually see what it looked like. I wasn't trapped inside this time.
It looked horrifying.
"GREEEEEEN"
"The Dark Prognosticus says he's the ideal host for the chaos heart. And now I'm going to add my own power to this spicy little concoction."
"Wait, are we going to have to fight this??" I asked. "Looks like it, but remember, it's not real. It's an illusion. The chaos heart was destroyed long ago."
I nodded. The other Dimentio then went inside Super Dimentio. I shuddered.
"Now the Chaos heart is mine! I will use this to destroy all worlds... and create perfect new ones! So, shall we get started? Now I have all I need, to become the King of all worlds!"
He sent Blumiere, Nastasia, and Tippi away. It was just me, Dimentio, and Super Dimentio. I began to sweat. "Wait! Where's Mario? And Peach? And Bowser??" Dimentio shook his head. "We're taking on the role of the heroes. We're here instead of them. It's like we're taking on their role in this show."
"Do you at least have your magic??" I asked Dimentio. He floated up about a foot. "Yeah! I do, that's weird. A minute ago I didn't..." "THEN QUICK, TELEPORT US AWAY!" He nodded, grabbed my shoulder, and snapped.
We teleported right into a wall, then fell onto the ground.
I rubbed my nose. "Ughh, ouch." He looked at his hands. "What??" He then started teleporting all around the room, constantly running into walls, before coming back to me.
"Looks like we can't leave the room."
My eyes went wide. "So, we have to FIGHT him?? But...I can't. Mario could barely do it, and he had Bowser and Peach with him. Super Dimentio is basically us, but more powerful since he also has the chaos heart!"
"You think I don't know that?? I made him!!" Dimentio looked around. "Okay, okay, we just need to avoid getting hit. He has a shield, making him invincible until Bleck and Tippi send the hearts over or whatever, right?" I shrugged. "I don't know. Last time I was trapped in there with you. But that sounds about right."
We waited. Dimentio held on to me and teleported us around the room, dodging attacks. We didn't have any Pixls with us, but I had Dimentio.
Suddenly, the pure hearts formed in front of us. Dimentio held my shoulders tightly like he was about to pick me up. "Okay, now's the time to attack. You ready?" I nodded, then he floated up, taking me with him.
He floated over Super Dimentio's head, and dropped me, making it so I would land on Super Dimentio and do some damage. He then made three clones of himself and shot magic projectiles from all directions.
This was so weird, being on the opposite side of things. I bet it was even weirder for Dimentio, but he seemed to be doing a really good job. It makes me think...how would things have been different if Mario and I had agreed to join him when he asked. He was powerful, and a good fighter. He just had the wrong end goals.
I wonder if he still has those goals. I honestly didn't think he'd stick by my side this long. But I'm really glad he did. He reminded me of my brother. Strong, and a hero. I know no one viewed him as a hero, but I did. He saved me from that river, even though the water triggered him. He came all this way with me. He's even fighting Super Dimentio by my side. His own creation. I can only imagine what he's thinking of right now.
I saw Dimentio get hit. He flew across the room and into a wall, before falling onto the floor. I ran over to him. "Dimentio?? Are you alright??" He picked himself up and brushed himself off. "Yeah. Luigi, use the platforms and you thunderhand to strike him. I dealt a lot of damage, so he should be almost done. I would but....I'm just...a little tired."
I could tell he wasn't tired.
He didn't want to be the one to destroy this Super Dimentio. He didn't want to be the one to give the final blow. I could see it in his eyes. He didn't want to send this other version of himself to the Underwhere.
I nodded, activated my thunderhand, and turned around. I jumped up on the platforms, aiming for the head. "Okay, I got this. I got this. I got this."
With one strong strike, I sent a wave of green electricity at Super Dimentio, causing a series of explosions to go off.
I fell to the ground, and turned around.
Dimentio turned away. I think he didn't want to watch his old creation go down in flames again.
I was about to go over and comfort him, but the room shifted, and we were back in the maze. He started walking to the left. "This way." He said, avoiding my eye contact.
We made our way to the final room. There was a small sign, and an energy field between us and the key.
On the sign. "Congratulations on making it this far. Only one may enter."
Dimentio and I exchanged glances, before he let out a sigh.
"It should be you." I looked slightly shocked. "M-me? But you're so much stronger." He shook his head.
"No. I'm not. You're more capable than you realize. Plus, you haven't gotten a key yet. This is your time."
I slowly nodded, and stepped forward. He had a point, plus, I did say I wanted to be more helpful. Daisy and Dimentio did all the work when it came to the other keys. "Okay."
I didn't want to go in alone. I hated being alone, but only one could enter. I turned to face him. He gave me a small smile. I smiled back, and walked through. "For Mario," I whispered.
In this room, was nothing but the key, and a bunch of signs. There were signs and pictures.
"Beware. Only the strongest can withstand the Grey's temptations"
"Your desires must be selfless."
"Only take what you need."
"Or you'll become lost."
All these signs were...warnings.
"The Grey wasn't created to counteract the Dark or the Light. It was made to help those with their own selfish desires, however, selfishness can change a person. One must stay true to themselves and trust their selflessness to keep them stable, or the one who wields the book will become lost."
"You must keep it away from anyone whom could potentially abuse it's power."
My actions were selfless. I was trying to save Mario. That's all I wanted.
Yeah, I promised Dimentio that I'd try to separate L....but....never mind. I couldn't tell him the truth about that. Not yet, and who knows, maybe I could find a way. I really did want to bring L back for him.
I pushed these thoughts away. I'll figure it out when the time comes. I stepped towards the key, and took it.
Suddenly, all the signs in the room faded away. The torches blew out. It became dark, and cold.
A whole bunch of images flashed through the room.
It was like I was in a weird movie theater, screens everywhere.
I saw us. Me, and Dimentio. Daisy wasn't there.
Only me and Dimentio.
I saw us in the room with the Grey Prognosticus. It was calling to us.
.....
I saw him grab it.
I could feel a small feeling of fear resonating inside me.
".....No...no, you're just trying to scare me!" I called out to no one in particular.
The room was trying to scare me into not going. Trying to make me turn back.
I saw him take it, and leave me.
"No, h-he's not going to do that."
Images of him, taking control. I closed my eyes and covered my ears. This room must be testing me. Trying to make me loose faith in him. I wouldn't though. He's changed. He's stood by my side for all this time.
"He's not going to do that."
I didn't stutter that time.
"I don't care about what you're showing me," I told the room.
"I trust him."
I held the key tight, and turned around, using my hands to shield my eyes from all the images. They were all over the room, wherever I looked. It was as if the walls became screens. I started running. Running out. I went back through the small electricity field and ran right into Dimentio.
I tripped into him and we both fell to the floor. I quickly got up and showed him the key.
Oh my goodness. We have all the keys now. We did it! A big smile spread across my face, joy replacing the fear I just felt.
"Look Dimentio! I got it! I got it! We have them all now! We can go get the book! We're so close now! We did it! We did it! After two years, we finally have them all!"
I held out my hand and helped him up. I could see him smile....but he looked somewhat conflicted. I wonder why....it doesn't matter. We got all the keys. I grabbed his arm and started retracing our steps. "Let's go back and get Daisy. I hope she's doing okay." He slowly nodded.
"Okay."