Dimentio was able to sneak back in and fall asleep in his bed, making sure to keep the window open so the sun could wake him up when it rose. He didn't have an alarm clock or anything, but he hoped the morning light would be enough to prevent him from sleeping away one of his last days. Most of the time the sunlight was enough to wake him.

He wasn't quite sure what time it was when he woke up the next morning but looking out the window he could see that it was already nearly mid-day because of the positioning of the sun. However, he didn't have time to kick himself for sleeping in. He didn't have time to be upset.

He instead got dressed and ready as fast as he could, putting Luigi's jacket on over everything, even though it wasn't quite cold enough to be wearing a jacket, and carefully walking down the stairs, trying to ignore how hard it was now.

Each and every step felt like a challenge, and it took all his focus not to collapse and fall. He felt too dizzy and weak. He almost wanted to go back to sleep, but he knew he couldn't do that.

As soon as he got down the steps, he saw that Mario and Luigi were sitting at the dining room table, eating lunch. He let out a small sigh of relief, then sat down with them, looking to see what they cooked. It was grilled cheese with tomato soup on the side. A little simple, but Dimentio wasn't complaining. Simple foods were all his stomach could seem to handle.

"Oh, hey!" Luigi chimed, casually. Dimentio was silently grateful that he seemed to be acting as if nothing happened, thank goodness. Mario was sitting across from Dimentio. His eyes did briefly flicker to him, but then he continued looking down, still acting as if he was afraid of making eye contact.

"Greetings," Dimentio muttered, taking one grilled cheese sandwich and splitting it in half, knowing that was likely all he'd be able to eat.

As Dimentio ate, Mario briefly looked up at Luigi, nodding forward as if he was silently saying, "Well? Are you gonna do it?"

Luigi simply smiled and shook his head no, looking at Dimentio and asking, "Are you only eating half of that?"

"My stomach hurts," Dimentio replied casually.

Luigi shrugged, deeming that a fair excuse, then continued eating his own sandwich.

"Well, I could get you some painkillers. I'm going out to town anyway-"

"I want to go," Dimentio stated.

Luigi stopped talking, looking at Dimentio with a confused expression. "Huh?" he asked.

"To town. I want to go." Dimentio repeated with a straight face. Luigi continued to blankly stare at Dimentio, wondering why Dimentio would suddenly want to go to town, especially since he had been so careful to avoid it this entire time.

"Why?" Luigi asked.

"Well, I'm leaving soon and I... I don't know, I wanted to see the town before I left."

Luigi then looked at Mario, as if he would hold the answers. The man in red simply shrugged then stood up, taking his plate and walking into the kitchen so he could wash it. "Sure, why not? Luigi, could you come in here for a second?"

Luigi sighed and picked up his own plate, allowing Dimentio to finish his food. But this more so gave Dimentio the chance to place the rest of the half of his sandwich under the table so Polterpup could eat it.

"What is it-" Luigi started, walking into the kitchen when Mario suddenly grabbed his arm and lowered his own voice to a low whisper.

"Listen, he's leaving soon. So you don't have time to 'figure things out,'" Mario started, using air quotes with his free hand. "You have to tell him and make him stay. You can't be silent and blow this, Luigi."

"I know, I know," Luigi whispered back. "And I'm planning on telling him sometime today. It's just... it's so much easier to say nothing and keep things the way they are, you know?"

"Well, things aren't going to be the way they are. He's going to leave and then everything's gonna change, so you have to tell him so he decides to stay! It's literally like he said! You have to do it before it's too late."

"Okay, okay, I will," Luigi assured, stepping back and smiling.

"Good. You better," Mario breathed, letting go of Luigi's arm and pushing him back out. "Now go with him. Just don't let him get arrested. I don't think anyone besides maybe Peach will recognize him, so just steer clear of her castle."

Luigi nodded as Mario kicked him out of the kitchen, causing him to stumble into the dining room. Dimentio jumped a little at the sudden arrival but relaxed quickly when he saw that it was just Luigi. He wasn't sure why he felt so nervous and jumpy. It almost felt as if the claws of death were waiting in the shadows, ready to grab him.

"What did Mario want?" he asked.

"He wanted me to make sure you didn't get arrested," Luigi replied, grabbing a bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He then opened the front door and looked back at Dimentio. "Whoa, did you eat the whole sandwich?" He asked, noting that both halves were completely gone.

"Yep," Dimentio plainly lied, slowly standing up. "It was quite delicious."

"Good. I was getting a little worried. You haven't really been eating as much lately," Luigi noted with a smile. "You can leave your plate. Mario will get it. He's basically on dishes duty today."

Luigi took Dimentio outside, then told him to wait by the door while he went around back. About a moment later, Luigi came around the corner dragging what looked like a green go-kart. "Um, what is this?" Dimentio asked, eyeing the car.

"Toad town is quite large, and you seem tired, so we're driving!" Luigi chimed, sitting down in the cart and scooting forward so there was room behind him. "This will also save time."

Dimentio couldn't argue with that, since he knew he was slow and he didn't want to waste any time, but he had never really been in a go-kart before. "Okay... you won't crash, right?"

"Probably not," Luigi chuckled. "Just get in."

Dimentio hesitated, trying to think this over. But in the end, there wasn't time to think, so he got in. "Where are the seatbelts?" Dimentio asked.

"There aren't any. Just hang onto me tight. You'll be fine." Luigi laughed, starting the engine.

Dimentio's eyes widened slightly. There were no seatbelts AND no roof? There would be nothing stopping him from completely flying out of the car! What kind of death contraption was this?? He quickly wrapped his arms around Luigi. If Luigi crashed and took these last days away from him, he was going to be very upset.

First Luigi drove all the way across town. He drove fairly slowly so he wouldn't scare Dimentio, but the poor guy still was terrified, squeezing his eyes shut and hanging on to Luigi as tight as he could, (which wasn't very tight at all.)

As Luigi drove through town, he waved at everyone who was out, smiling like they were friends. "You should open your eyes, Dimentio," Luigi lightly chuckled, looking back at Dimentio and smiling. "I won't crash."

"How can you tell my eyes are even shut??" Dimentio muttered, keeping them closed. "Can you see me?? Keep your eyes on the road!"

"Alright, alright," Luigi laughed, looking forward again. "But you really should open your eyes. You'll miss the world if you keep them closed."

Dimentio waited for a moment, wincing every time the cart made a sharp turn or sudden stop. However, he eventually found the courage to open his eyes and look around. The town was bright, the road below them made up of different stones, each of which were either white or light grey. The sun reflected off of them, giving the whole town a much brighter vibe. The houses were also all either white or light yellow, sticking to the traditionally "good" colors themes. There were a few toads out, walking around, but when they saw Dimentio they didn't freak out. Instead, they smiled and waved, which was odd since he didn't even know them.

"See, it's not so bad-" Luigi started, looking back at Dimentio again.

"Watch the road," Dimentio reminded him, trying to hide the forming smile on his face. It was almost like the toads' happy and cheerful moods were contagious.

"Right," Luigi chuckled again, looking forward. Dimentio lightly chucked, resting his head on Luigi's back and looking to the side at the town they were passing by. They drove by fountains, small parks, bridges, and more. It wasn't the same kind of natural beauty he found in the forest, but it was still quite wonderful. He was glad he opened his eyes.

A few moments later Luigi pulled up to a small building near the far end of town. He made sure to drive the long way so he didn't drive by Peach's Castle. He then hopped out, helping Dimentio out as well. "You okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine," Dimentio replied, actually sounding much more believable now than he ever had before when using that phrase. Luigi smiled, then gently grabbed Dimentio's hand, leading him into the store.

There were quite a few items inside. Healing mushrooms, power-ups, items for adventures, sure. But there were also casual items like clothes, toys for children, regular food, and more. Luigi immediately walked to the counter and asked for some painkillers. The cashier working the counter told him that she had some in the back, so Luigi had to wait a moment while she went to get it.

Meanwhile, Dimentio found himself walking around the little shop, just looking at everything. It was weird, seeing all these un-owned items just waiting to be claimed. Waiting for someone to purchase them.

It was odd, walking down the clothes aisle. He could spot about five dresses that Mimi would have likely owned. He also could see cooking supplies that made him think of O'Chunks. And small little trinkets for staying organized that made him think about Nastasia. There was even a monocle for sale that made him think about the Count.

He missed them all.

"Hey, do you see anything you want?" Luigi asked from the counter, looking back at Dimentio. "I can buy you something."

Dimentio was about to say no, not wishing for Luigi to waste money on him, but something inside him kept him from outright objecting. He then looked back at all the items, thinking.

That's when his eyes were drawn to these little cloths. They weren't large, but simply small pieces of fabric with symbols on them. Some had crowns, symbolizing monarchy. Some had books, likely symbolizing knowledge. But there was one with a green mushroom on it that caught his eye.

Ah, yes. The green mushroom which symbolized life. The mushroom that the heroes often used to get second chances.

The cloth was a light grey color, the green mushroom vastly standing out from the rest of the plain cloth. He gently picked it up, feeling the smooth fabric in his hands. He then held it up, looked over at Luigi, and said, "I want this."

He wasn't sure why he wanted it. The cloth was too small to be actually used for anything besides maybe a small hand towel, but even then the fabric was too thin for that. Maybe he just wanted it because it represented life. It reminded him that he was still there, still alive and breathing. Something about holding onto it made him feel safe.

"Really? ... Okay then," Luigi shrugged, waving Dimentio over. About five minutes later, the cashier returned with the painkillers and Luigi bought all the items, putting the pill in his bag and handing the cloth to Dimentio. Dimentio looked down at the small item, softly smiling, then putting it in his (technically Luigi's) coat pocket.

He planned to keep that on him at all times. He knew that in the end, it wouldn't change anything, but he wanted to believe that it would. He wanted to believe that as long as he held this small cloth, nothing could hurt him.

It was a nice thought.