(AN: This song is one of my favorite songs. Ever. It's so beautiful, and so sad and I love it! This is actually what inspired this whole book! The book's not a musical, so you don't have to listen to it, but I just wanted to link it at the top to share it, because its one of my favorites. Also, different characters get different kinds of POVs. Luigi got 3rd person. This chapter will be in 2nd person.)
You open your eyes, vision blurring. Who are you? What are you doing? Where are you? You can't even recall what your name is.
You find yourself in a strange place with no recollection on how you got here.
Okay, think, think, think. What do you do when you wake up in a situation such as this? Make a plan.
Step one, figure out who you are.
You're about to search and scan your memories, looking for answers, when you notice the two sets of eyes staring down at you.
You take a brief pause on your own quest to remember who or what you are and blink a few times, clearing your vision so you can begin to notice features. One is a girl. Pink hair. She looks familiar, but more on her later. Your eyes and mind are drawn to the other person immediately. The guy.
You feel something itching in the back of your mind, and even though you've just met him and have no idea who he is, you want to say something.
Hey, don't do it please.
You see the two of them speak to each other, but don't quite process what they're saying. You're too busy thinking. Why do you want to say that? Why do you care? You don't know who any of these people are.
Just focus on yourself.
Figure out who you are first, then assess the situation.
But... you can't find it in you. Curiosity forces you to take a deeper look at the guy. You're a little ticked at the fact that you're mind is making you waste time on this.
He wore a top hat, monocle, and a large white cloak around himself. He seemed to often keep it around his own body, a way of closing himself off from the world. His eyes were a glowing, unnatural orange, and he wore a metaphorical mask which showed a powerful leader. But you aren't fooled.
No, if you look closely, you can see through the cracks. When you look closely, you can see it all. His pains, his reasoning. Behind the orange glow of his eyes, you can sense some sadness. You can also see it in the way he holds himself. He is trying to appear as a powerful leader.
You think the girl next to him can see it too. You don't know what believes you to think this, but never mind that. You take a deeper look at him.
The way he frowns slightly as he speaks, it makes you believe that maybe he had lost something important to him in the past. He has the look of someone who is missing a piece of themselves.
How can you tell? You have no idea. You have no idea why you're just sitting here, theorizing about these random people who you've never seen or met before.
You shake your head and sit up as they continue talking.
For Grambi's sake, please?! Am I serious?! I can't believe that for some stupid reason I'm letting this get to me?! Why am I wasting time thinking about this?! Why do I feel bad for him?! He's lucky that he at least knows who he is! He's lucky he knows what's happening! I'm an idiot for thinking about this! Just get back to figuring out who I am. Stay on task.
Yet, something inside you wants to help him, so you stand up and offer a hand.
______
Alright, next day! It's time you figure out who you are. You sit down to eat lunch, after making sure nobody was here so you could get time to think for yourself.
No getting distracted today.
But then, across the table you see a small girl. You try shaking your head and looking away. No, you tell yourself. No, no no.
No getting distracted today.
But as time goes on, you can't help but stare at her. Watching and observing her attitude, her actions, and her expressions, coming up with an analysis.
You can see her pains. You can tell by the way she's always trying to impress people, by the way she's constantly asking for attention, that she need constant validation. Curiosity makes you wonder why, so you ask her a question to try and get more information.
When you ask her about her past, she merely replies "A failed experiment."
As you watch her, you can guess that due to her expressions and reactions to things, that everyone use to ignore her, and she never fit in with anyone, which is why she seems so desperate to impress.
You groan and hit your head against a wall. You can't be serious. Why are you still on this. This is stupid.
You. Don't. Care.
Even if she didn't fit in earlier in her life, she's still loved by everyone now. Why do you feel bad?! Why do you feel guilty?! There's always dinner waiting on the table! She's got everything she could ever need!
But, you see that she's still hungry for more. You can tell by how quickly she eats at dinner. By how desperate she is for love and affection. For more money. For more.
______
And just like that, you find yourself figuring out all these people before yourself. You can see a man who failed previously in a moment of weakness, so now he feels the need to constantly prove he's strong enough.
And the girl with pink hair, always putting others before herself because she feels like she owes it to them, pushing her own feelings and desires aside.
But yet, you never get the chance to figure out yourself. And nobody seems to care.
You can't help but be frustrated with yourself. You try your best, but something inside forces you to figure out all these people. And it's frustrating. You still have no idea who YOU are. You were told that your name was Mr. L, and you were told that you were a loyal minion of Bleck, but you know for a fact that this wasn't always the case.
______
There's one more person you've yet to form an analysis on. Well, besides yourself. You let out a groan as you look at him.
Great. Here we go again.
He wore a mask and a purple-yellow poncho like cloak. It's a real mask, not a metaphorical one, though he appears to have one of those as well.
It's hard to read him with the mask on. All you can see are his eyes and his smile.
But, you can see from behind the mask. From behind the smile, that he's more than what he seems. He's more than a masked man, but nobody knows. Nobody knows who he really is.
Just. Like. Me.
You continue watching him for some more time, but can't get a better read on him. Everything he does all seems to be part of an act.
But, you see a similar look in his eyes to what you saw in the first guy, and begin to feel worry. You see him try to cover it, but something tells you that something bad is going to happen to him. You can feel it in your gut whenever you look at his eyes. He's going to do something drastic, you can tell. And something forces you to speak when you pass each other in the hall.
"Hey, don't do it please."
He freezes in midair and turns to face you, a confused expression on his masked face.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Dimentio.... don't do it."
"Do what?"
You don't know. Yet. You don't know, but you feel like you have to stop him, or he's gonna get himself hurt.
"I... I don't know yet."
He smiles that fake smile and taps a finger to his chin.
"Mr. L, Mr. L, are you perhaps feeling unwell?"
You shake your head no, as the thoughts race in your head. You don't know what to do. Oh, Grambi, you DON'T know what to do. You can't stop this guy. Why do you care so much?!
You don't even know for sure what these thoughts are. You could be completely wrong. Why are you making these assumptions.
But, even so, you look into his eyes, and for a brief moment, you see! He knows exactly what you're talking about. That look in his eyes behind the mask, just that looks tells you everything.
I'm sorry. But you don't understand, his eyes tell you.
Then why don't you tell me! You want to cry. Help me understand!
"I'm feeling fine." You say. He nods and continues floating off past you.
Then he disappears.
______
You wander pass the mirror hall.
I guess it's time.
You look around. It's just you in here. There's nobody left to interrupt you. No one to get in the way of your quest.
You take a look at your reflection to see,
Someone who's lost everything they knew.
Someone who feels like a failure.
Someone who isn't strong enough.
Someone who spends his life in service to others.
And someone who nobody can read. Someone who is just a masked man on the outside, and that's all people will ever believe him to be.
"Huh," You say.