Mr. L POV
"Perfect world...." I mumbled.
I began to frown.
That couldn't be right.
This wasn't real.
"Why do you frown?" Dimentio asked me. I looked back up at him.
"Because. This isn't real. You aren't really here. You're gone. I'll never see you again."
He gave my hands a squeeze, then let go and cupped my face in them.
"You see me now."
I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut. "But it's not real. None of this is."
"So?"
I opened my eyes and looked at him. He wiped a tear from my cheek. I hadn't even realized I was crying. "So what if it isn't real?"
He floated up and kissed my forehead.
I stood completely frozen, processing what he just did. Was he messing with me?
Then he pulled away and turned around. "I think you're about to wake up."
It took me a second to actually understand what he said. I had an incredibly late reaction. "......What? No! Wait!"
He chuckled. "Don't worry. I won't go anywhere."
The world started to fade to darkness. I tried running towards him, but couldn't move my legs.
"Ciao, L."
He started fading away. "No! Dim! Wait!"
He turned to face me again. He smiled at me.
I could feel tears on my face. "Dim, Please. Don't leave."
He bowed his head, then faded away.
"Mr. L, wake up!"
"GAH!" I shot up. Varian was leaning over me, hands on my shoulders. "A-are you okay? You were crying in your sleep! I was worried."
A dream. Of course it was a dream. I know it's ridiculous, but a small part of my really hoped it wasn't.
I brushed his hands off my shoulders and shrugged. "Yes, yes. I'm fine." He let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. I was worried you were in pain or something." I smiled, trying to put the kid at ease. "Nah, I'm fine. Thanks for caring kid."
The kid went back over to his side of the room.
My mind was just being cruel to me. It was just showing me something I could never have.
"So what if it isn't real?"
It hurt that it wasn't real. It could never be real. First of all, even if Dimentio was alive, and even if he succeeded and got his perfect world, it wouldn't have looked like that. He wanted to be the king of all worlds. He wouldn't have been satisfied with that. And he definatly wouldn't have kissed my forehead. He wouldn't act like that. I don't even know if he ever cared about me at all. It's very likely that he just pretended to be my friend to use me for his plan back then.
My mind was just taking something that could never be and dangling it in front of my face, taunting me.
And yet, the next night I saw it again.
Once I drifted off, we were in the same spot yet again.
"I see you've returned." Dimentio said, facing away from me.
I looked around. Everything was exactly the way it was before.
I clenched my fists. "No. I can't be here." He turned to face me and cocked his head to the side. "And why not?"
"Because, it hurts. It hurts knowing that I'll never really have this."
He calmly floated towards me and took my hands.
"You have this now."
I shook my head. "But it isn't real."
He looked down and sighed. "I know."
He lowered himself to the ground so he was standing. "But, I'm dead, L. This is the best I can do."
I could feel more tears fill my eyes. Ugh, I hate crying. Especially in front of people. It made me feel weak.
I think he noticed. He looked a little guilty. "I'm sorry, L. I can't help that you dream of me." I shook my head. "I just wish I could see you. The real you."
He sighed, and sat down. Then he looked up at the night sky again.
That beautiful night sky.
"You know, this all may not be real, but your mind came up with this. So, everything here is made up of real memories." I cocked my head to the side. "Huh?"
He smiled and pointed at the stars. "When you get out of that cell, take a look at the night sky. See if you can see my star."
I looked up at his bright yellow star.
"In the real world, you can look at my star. And I can look at yours in this fictional world."
I smiled, before frowning again. "That doesn't change the fact that you won't be there." He looked down to the side.
"I know."
We both waited in silence for a minute.
"Even though I'm not real...." He started. "These feelings are....right?"
I shook my head. "I don't know."
He looked back up at the sky. "Why can't we just enjoy the time we have together now? I mean, why should it matter if it's real or not?"
I sighed and looked away. "Because it'll only make the fact that you aren't there sting more."
He smiled. "But I will be there. I'll always be with you. Wherever you go. I'll be right there, watching you. Waiting for you." He pointed to the star.
He took my hands again. "I'll be here whenever you close your eyes. I'll be here whenever you drift off."
"But it's not you." I muttered.
"I....I just want the real thing."
He pulled me into a hug. "I know."
Every night I'd go to that place, and every morning I'd wake up, knowing none of it was real.
"It's been two weeks." Dimentio started one night. "Huh?" I responded. He shrugged. "It's been two week since you sent the toad Captain to Chapter 6. She's probably already on her way back. Your escape is nearing."
I let out a breath. "Oh. Right."
I never told him about that. Another reminder that he's simply apart of my mind.
"When your free you'll look for my star, right?"
I nodded. "Of course."
"Good."
"LUIGI!" I heard an angry voice echo down the hall the next morning. I looked over at the kid. He nodded and got his stuff ready.
"O-okay, we got this. We got this." He whispered shakily. I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's going to be fine. You're going to be okay."
"Can I take the blanket?" He asked. I shrugged. "Umm, sure I guess. I don't know why you feel the need to ask." He smiled and grabbed onto it. "It's just, it's the first thing that was just given to me in a long long time. I want to take it out in the world with me. I know it's kinda childish and dumb, and it may be a waste of space, but....I don't know." I placed a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to explain."
He was clearly nervous, but I didn't have time to calm him down.
"LUIGI!" Captain Mushroom yelled, quickly grabbing onto the cell's bars. She looked MAD. I turned around and smirked. "Yes, Captain Mushroom?"
Her face turned red. "DON'T 'CAPTAIN MUSHROOM' ME! YOU LIED! WE SEARCHED AND SEARCHED, BUT THE STUPID CLOWN WASN'T THERE! YOU WASTED MY TIME!"
I tapped my finger to my chin. "Huh....really. I could swear, that was the last place I saw him...." She griped the cell bars so tightly, I almost thought they'd break. "YOU DIRTY LITTLE LIAR! I'M TAKING YOU IN, AND THIS TIME, YOU'LL TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO KNOW OR ELSE."
I laughed. "Or else what?"
She pulled that taser back out, and turned it on. I stepped back.
Ugh, not that thing again.
She smiled. "Each time someone is hit with one of these, it has a longer, more painful effect. To many shots, and it could cause some permanent damage."
She opened the cell door. I quickly glanced at Varian.
He was frozen.
".....Kid, now or never." I whispered.
He glanced at me and mouthed something.
"I can't."
The Captain grabbed my arm, taser still in hand. She was about to lead me into that interrogation room. I looked back at the kid. He was shaking.
I gave him a pleading look.
"Kid...."
His worried expression shifted to a more determined one. He raised his hand into the air, and threw one of his smoke bombs onto the ground.
The room filled with an orange smoke. I quickly elbowed the toad in the gut, causing her to let go. "OW! WHAT THE HECK!" She yelled.
I swiftly kicked her down and snagged the keys around her belt. She started coughing. I grabbed the kid's arm and started running for the door.
The smoke was stinging my eyes and lungs, but I had to ignore that. I heard the kid coughing behind me. "We're almost there, Varian." I told him.
Once we got to the door, I fumbled through the keys. "Which one, which one??" I asked. Varian examined the lock, then the keys in my hand. He shoved his blanket into my hands, took the keychain and thrust a key into the lock. "It's this one! You can tell by the lock shape, plus this is a new lock, so it's going to be the least rusted key."
He unlocked the door and swung it open. I saw him shield his eyes from the light.
"HEY, THEY'RE ESCAPING! STOP THEM!" I head voices call from behind us. I grabbed the kid's arm and started running outside. "No time to savor this! We gotta go!"
I took him and ran as far and fast as I could. Clearly he wasn't the best runner, since he was tripping and trying to catch his breath the whole time. "S-SLOW DOWN! I-I CAN'T KEEP UP!" He called. I couldn't slow down though. Not until we were safe. I pointed to the woods. "The trees will provide good cover!" I immediately ran into them. I waited until we were about a quarter mile in before slowing down.
The kid dropped down onto his hands in knees.
"*Gasp* *Sputter* Y-you're really fast." The kid breathed. I patted his back and handed him his blanket. "Yeah. Sorry about that. Are you okay?"
He looked up. The sun was directly above us. He squinted his eyes. "W-wow. It's so much brighter than I remember....."
He kept coughing. "S-sorry. It's been years since I've really exercised." He muttered. I smiled and helped him up. "It's alright kid."
He looked around. "I-I can't believe we did that..." He whispered. He walked up to a tree. "It's...... so much more colorful than I remember."
He kneeled down and felt the grass.
"819 days now...." He mumbled. I gave him a confused look. "Huh?"
He smiled. ".....819 days since I've last seen the sun."
He started laughing. He picked up a nearby pile of leaves and threw them into the air. "It's even bigger than I remember!"
He looked up at the birds in the sky. "Look! Birds! I remember them! And, and, look at all the plants!"
I couldn't help but laugh at the kid's amazement. "Yes, yes. It's all pretty great."
He hugged a tree. "I didn't think I'd miss regular things like trees so much." I laughed some more. "Alright, kid, now you're getting weird."
"And I never would have even considered doing this if it weren't for you." He ran over and hugged me. "Thank you, Mr. L. Thank you!"
He started softly crying. "I never wanted myself to see the sun again....until you came. Then I felt like I needed to help you. You gave me a reason to see the light. Thank you."
I felt awkward, so I pushed him away.
"No hugs please. But thank you for stepping up and getting me out of there. I know it was hard. Now, let's find out how to fix that gun."
That night, we slept out in the woods. We didn't want to risk being seen.
It felt warmer out here than it did in the dungeons, but still chilly. The kid slept peacefully, with his blanket.
I'm glad he liked it.
But me? When I finally dosed off, I didn't see Dim.
He was gone.
I was back at that perfect little house, but it was quiet.
"Dimentio?" I called. No response. Something felt.....eerie.
"Dim? Where are you?"
"He won't come,"
I quickly turned around.
Someone was standing in the hallway. The light was flickering above them.
"Who are you?" I asked.
The person was facing the other direction, so I couldn't see his face. I couldn't really see anything. Just his silhouette.
He just tilted his head to the side.
I didn't like the new feel this dream had to it. Just yesterday I felt happiness here. Now, it felt unsettling.
I clenched my fists. "Where's Dim." I asked, in a more serious tone.
The man laughed.
A horrible, hysterical laugh.
I remembered this laugh.
"....no....." I whispered. "Luigi?"
He continued laughing. "I killed him! I KILLED HIM, REMEMBER?"
I grabbed my head and started shaking it. "No, no no. I know, but not here! He was still here!"
Luigi turned to face me and stepped into the light. I could see his face now.
"I killed him. And I'll kill your new little friend too. I'll kill everyone."
I suddenly heard Varian's voice calling from outside the house. I ran outside to see the kid on the ground, Luigi towering over him, pointing that weird staff at the poor kid.
I looked back. The Luigi I was just talking to was gone. I reached forward. "NO! STOP!"
The kid was crying. "Mr. L! Help me! Please!"
I ran towards him. "Luigi! Stop! DON'T!"
Then, Luigi smashed the staff down onto Varian's head.
I screamed out. "NO!"
"NO!"
I jerked up. It was dark out. If I had to guess I would think it was 3:00 am. I looked to the side. The kid was peacefully sleeping. Safe and sound.
My breathing was heavy.
"He's going to kill him to...." I muttered.
I leaned back. I use to have comfort, falling asleep. Because I knew that I would go to that perfect world. But now....I couldn't even go there without Luigi taking it away.
Losing his brother must have really broken him.
I wanted to hug myself and cry, but I didn't. Instead, I looked up at the sky.
It wasn't nearly as beautiful as the sky from my dream, but still beautiful. And calming.
"I wonder...."
I began to search for it.
Then, there it was. The bright yellow star.
"Huh....it really is here." I muttered. A small smile made it's way onto my face.