It took every ounce of strength and courage within Dimentio for him to finally decided to go find the man in green. He recalled Luigi saying that his house was east. Though Dimentio didn't quite know which way that was, he could use the sunrise as a natural compass. The next morning as the sun began to stream through the trees, he used the direction of the rays as a guide, since the sun would always rise in the east and set in the west. At least

Surely enough, he eventually could hear the sound of distant chatter. The sun was rising, so about half of the town was still resting. Good, Dimentio thought to himself. That'll mean I'm less likely to be seen.

He tried recalling where Luigi said his house was located, heading to the far edge of town while also trying to stay hidden within the shadows. He didn't like how exposed he felt. He probably looked like a mess as well.

He could spot a few of those mushroom people walking around, but thankfully none of them spotted him. Or maybe they did, but they didn't pay him any mind. He was hoping that without his mask and usual jester attire they wouldn't be able to identify him as the "Psycho Clown who nearly ended all worlds."

He was a little worried that he'd get the wrong house, but that fear melted away as soon as he actually saw the Mario Brothers' home. It was clearly theirs since there was a mailbox in front that said both the brothers' names. How convenient.

The box had two halves. One was marked for Luigi and the other for Mario. Both looked equally stuffed. Dimentio cringed slightly, wishing that he could just take all the mail inside so the mailbox wouldn't look so disorganized. However, that would be taking things a step too far, wouldn't it?

Actually, he felt him just being there was taking things a step too far.

Dimentio took a shaky breath, then walked up and gently knocked on the wooden door, which hurt his fist more than it should have. The sound of the knocking also almost made him jump, though he wasn't sure why. It was louder than he thought it would be. He wasn't sure if it was the fact that he was starving or the fact that he was exhausted, but he was almost certain that the knocking echoed.

He secretly hoped that no one would be home, but of course, the world was not that kind. In fact, it turned out that the world was even crueler than he originally thought, because the door DID open, only instead of it being Luigi opening it, it was Mario. And instead of smiling, he glared.

Oh no.

"....And you are?" The man in red asked, raising an eyebrow in a suspicious, yet VERY intimidating manner.

Dimentio was at least grateful that the world was kind enough for Mario to not recognize him.

"Uhh..." Dimentio trailed off, immediately hating himself for using his voice in fear of Mario recognizing it. His voice was quite memorable since it was one of the only parts of himself that he could never hide behind a mask.

The man in red's eyes went wide as soon as he heard it, and Dimentio silently cursed himself for being such an idiot.

"You-" Mario started, lowering his eyebrows to a hard glare, taking a step forward–

"Hey! Dimentio! You came!" Luigi suddenly chimed, walking up behind his brother and gently grabbing Mario's shoulder, plastering on a bright, warm smile. He then waved him in, turning and heading towards the kitchen. "I'll fix you something. You must be starving."

Dimentio watched as Luigi left, then looked at Mario. If looks could kill, the glare in Mario's eyes most certainly would. The two of them just stood there, staring at each other and waiting for the other to react somehow.

When it became apparent that they were in a stalemate, Dimentio finally made his move, taking two steps into the house when Mario suddenly grabbed his shoulder just as he was about to walk past him.

His grip was firm. It was almost painful, but Dimentio didn't cry out. If anything, it surprised him more than it had hurt. The man in red then turned his head to the side so he was facing Dimentio, lowering his voice to a harsh yet firm and steady whisper. "I don't know what you think you're doing here, but I don't like it. I won't hurt you or jump to conclusions, but if you dare try to pull anything, I won't hesitate to end your game. Is. That. Clear?"

Dimentio wasn't sure if hearing this put him at ease or made him more so nervous. He honestly had expected a far worse reaction out of Mario. Instant death seemed a better fit for the situation, so the fact that Mario was waiting for him to screw up seemed like an act of mercy. Or perhaps it was just out of pity. Heroes often didn't attack unless they felt they had to because they were so 'heroic and noble.'

Dimentio swallowed and nodded, unsure how to respond to a threat like that. If he still had all his power and respect, he most certainly would have barked back with some sort of witty remark pointing out that he was the stronger one, but the truth was that he was no longer the one holding the power, so he said nothing. Mario then loosened his grip, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows as if he was silently saying, 'well? Are you gonna go or not?'

Dimentio let out a small breath that he didn't even know he was holding in, then followed in the direction Luigi had gone, trying to be as small and silent as possible. He didn't like the fact that his footsteps made echoed. He also didn't like the fact that he was tracking dirt inside. He wished he could float so he wouldn't make such a mess. He desperately needed to get cleaned up. He felt so uncomfortable.

It turned out that Luigi had set out bacon, eggs, and toast for breakfast. Dimentio hadn't even thought about the time. The sun was rising, so it was indeed breakfast time. He sincerely hoped that he didn't interrupt their eating. He already felt out of place and uncomfortable.

He then looked down at the food longingly. Smelling it had only seemed to make him even more desperate for it. He wasn't usually one to eat meat, but he wasn't quite a vegetarian. He usually just preferred carbs. If he listened closely, he could swear he heard the toast calling his name. The hunger must have made him go delusional. It took every ounce of strength from within him to prevent him from launching forward and inhaling all the food on that table.

"Go ahead and help yourself," Luigi chimed. "You liked toast, right? I'm trying to remember which foods you did and didn't like. I think I recall you disliking bacon, so sorry about that."

Dimentio was almost impressed with how Luigi was able to remember that so well, but that didn't matter. He carefully sat down in one of the four chairs situated at the table. He wondered why there were four since it was apparent that only two people lived in this house. Perhaps the other two were guest chairs. Seeing as Mario and Luigi were heroes, they probably had guests around often, so it was probably easier for them to just have four chairs out at all times.

He then gently took a plate, (there was a stack of eight plates just off the center of the table. Again, Dimentio wasn't sure why they had eight plates out when there were only three people present,) and took two pieces of toast, then scooped up some scrambled eggs. He was careful to eat slowly and carefully since if he were to eat too quickly he was sure he'd make himself sick. The bread was perfectly toasted and already buttered. It was warm, he noted. He liked the warmth. Not as much as he liked the feeling of cold, but when one spends a week feeling cold all the time, warm is a welcome feeling.

He continued slowly eating while Luigi sat across from him and Mario sat next to him, continuously looking back and forth from Luigi to Dimentio as if he was waiting for something to happen. He knew his brother was weird and unnaturally kind, but just inviting the enemy in for breakfast seemed too random and odd. Luigi didn't seem to notice, however. He just cheerfully ate as if this was all normal. Dimentio secretly wondered if this was actually a normal occurrence for him. Did he just casually invite past villains and rivals to his home just to share a meal?

How in the worlds was he still alive??

Dimentio continued silently eating when he heard a small high-pitched whining noise that made him flinch. He wasn't sure where the noise was coming from until Luigi lightly laughed, then said, "It wants some bacon. Do you mind?"

Dimentio frowned, confused by that statement when he carefully looked down to see what looked to be a small white dog. However, it wasn't a live dog. It was partially transparent, wearing a red collar with a small tag. It sat at the foot of Dimentio's chair, wagging its tail and smiling up at him with its tongue out as if waiting for attention.

Oh, THAT was where the whining was coming from.

"... Is that a ghost?" Dimentio softly asked, still looking down at the dog. "Can it even eat...?"

"Polterpup makes it work," Luigi smiled, taking a piece of bacon and tossing it on the ground. As if on cue, the ghost dog rushed over to it and quickly licked up the bacon, barking in approval.

"Fascinating..." Dimentio whispered, taking another small bite of his toast. Ghosts were always such odd, foreign concepts to him. They were different from most souls, though they most certainly didn't choose their fates. Oftentimes they were spirits who were unable to make it to the afterlife, so they were just left to wander the living world with no body to be tethered to anymore. Most didn't have memories of their past lives and were blank slates, waiting for someone or something to follow. It was sad, really, but at least they could persist after life and find joy. Dimentio almost wished he was lucky enough to become a ghost so he'd never have to truly die and so he could forget the pain from his life before.

"Yeah! Sometimes I can get it to do tricks!" Luigi smiled. Mario then cast Luigi a glance, seeming to communicate through his eyes in some sort of silent language that Dimentio could not understand. Luigi nodded back, then lightly chuckled. "Right, right, staying on topic."

The man in green then looked back at Dimentio, leaning forward on the table ever so slightly. "So, why are you here now, exactly? I mean... you usually have a reason for doing things, so what's your reason for being here?"

"You invited me." Dimentio said plainly, causing Mario to tilt his head at Luigi and widen his eyes, seeming to silently say 'Seriously?! This is your doing?'

"I know, but why did you accept?" Luigi asked, ignoring Mario's glare. "I mean, you seemed to want nothing to do with this place. So why are you here?"

Dimentio stayed silent. He wasn't sure if he should just be honest or not. If he were to, they most certainly wouldn't believe him. However, there were no lies that could give him better outcomes, and to be honest, he didn't have time to lie anymore.

"Y...." Dimentio started, biting his tongue and stopping himself. He REALLY didn't want to say this and appear weak, even though he knew very well that he already appeared weak. He was starving, tired, filthy, and in the house of the enemy. This was probably the lowest he had ever appeared in his life. He hated it.

Mario continued to just silently sit there, giving the air a sense of tension. Luigi acted like he didn't notice it, even though it was so clearly there. Dimentio nervously swallowed, then looked down at his now gloveless hands. There was dirt under his fingernails. He was usually very good about keeping his hands clean. Mimi even had once called him a germaphobe. He was repulsed by how messy he allowed himself to get simply because he was afraid of doing exactly what he was doing now.

"You... when you were Mr. L-"

"Don't call him that," Mario harshly interrupted.

Dimentio looked up at Mario briefly, then back down. "Fine. While you were... staying at Castle Bleck, you... were always good at finding ways to enjoy it. You could... always make the best of your situation."

"I suppose..." Luigi trailed off, frowning slightly not because of the memories, but because he was confused by where Dimentio was going with this. He didn't see a clear path. "And...?"

"Can..." Dimentio started, swallowing, then looking up at Mario. He stayed silent for a moment, wondering if Mario was going to kill him for asking this or not. He waited another moment, then looked at Luigi. "Can you teach me?"

"Teach you what?" Luigi asked.

"Teach me how to do that. How... how to find the good. How to be happy."

Luigi stilled for a moment, briefly looking at Mario. The man in red simply shook his head no, silently praying that Luigi would turn his head away since this seemed like such an obvious trap for Dimentio to somehow gain control over Luigi once again.

Luigi seemed to ignore these silent warnings, however.

He just looked back at Dimentio.

Then smiled.