With everyone he's ever loved gone, his brother, his mom, and his neighbors, Dimentio was left broken and bitter, the devastation fueling his powers. It didn't take him long to gain control over his magical abilities, and it took even less time for him to start the search for those responsible.

The story goes the same as always. A story of a lost book of prophecies. A tale of love. A tale of a heart that beat an unstable tune of destruction against a group of legendary heroes. Friends were betrayed and lives were lost, but in the end, the world was saved.

Timpani and Blumiere? Missing.

Dimentio? Dead.

Mr. L? Dead.

Luigi? Never the same.

Nastasia? Heartbroken.

Mimi and O'Chunks? Just trying to get by.

Everyone had their ways of dealing with the scars the story gave them. Everyone was left feeling like they had lost a part of themselves along the way. They all couldn't help but feel so out of place now.

Nastasia was left feeling without a purpose, and Mimi and O'Chunks had no idea what to do with themselves without the Count around to lead them.

And Luigi... poor man, was still trying to process all that had happened to him and the people around him. He knew it wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help but feel partially responsible for Blumiere and Timpani's disappearance. He felt taken advantage of, and he couldn't see things the way he used to.

Before he died, Dimentio had been so angry. So determined to get his way, Luigi couldn't help but wonder why. What made him that way? Everyone had to be fueled by something. Not everyone was JUST evil, right?

Well, that's what he used to think. Now, he wasn't so sure...

But it wasn't like he could talk to anyone about this. For months, Mario tried his best to pretend that nothing even happened. Whenever Luigi tried bringing anything related to the subject up, Mario would start a new conversation. He didn't want to even think about what had happened. It hurt too bad. He missed Tippi. He didn't want to deal with the bad memories. It was so much easier just to push them away.

And nothing changed. People continued to keep their thoughts and feelings to themselves. They continued to let themselves feel out of place. After all, what else could they do? The only thing left was to move on and try to forget what had happened. To grow up and live on. Even if something always felt wrong.

This is where this story ends. Yes, the heroes had won, but it was most definitely not a traditional happy ending.

______

. . .

Only...

What if there was another world with another ending?

What if there were infinite realities, consisting of the same characters? The same people, only different events and outcomes?

There are an infinite number of universes always being created, with an infinite number of outcomes. And just as fast there are an infinite number of universes being destroyed, disappearing forever.

Once upon a time... there was a world exactly the same as this one. Only, instead of young Dimentio's town getting found by a murderous tribesman... it never was. His home was safe and as happy as ever.

Once upon a time... It was a nice day outside. An isolated village of half-bloods was just waking as the sun rose over the hillsides and onto their land. This was a place of safety. A place of security. A place where beings who were half ancient, half-human could live, hidden from the Tribe of Darkness. It was always hidden, for if the tribe found them, there would most definitely be dire consequences.

"Hey," A little boy whispered. He was lying on his back on the bottom bunk of a classic bunk bed. "Are you awake?" He whispered, lifting his legs and kicking the bunk above him while hugging one of his many, many stuffed animals.

"No," Another child replied. He lightly smiled and pulled the blankets around him closer, keeping his eyes shut and yawning. Unlike the other child, this one enjoyed his rest.

"Oh. Okay..." The first boy nodded, lying down and closing his eyes as well, before he finally realized and opened his eyes, sitting up with an annoyed expression on his face. "Wait, hey! You liar!"

"I'm not lying," The other boy said, eyes still shut. "I'm really asleep. Honest."

"Then how the heck are you talking to me?!" The younger boy exclaimed, holding his arms out. "You're a dirty liar, Dio!"

"I'm sleep-talking. Obviously," The older boy calmly replied, not taking any offense to being referred to as a dirty liar. "So don't wake me."

"Come onnnnn," The younger boy whined, getting out of bed and standing up on his tiptoes so he could peer onto the older boy's bunk. "You said we could play in the woods today! You promised! Get your lazy butt out of bed!"

"But sleep is calling. And I must answer..." The older boy yawned.

The younger boy scowled, then looked around the room, before smirking and snapping his fingers, making a few purple sparks appear in his right hand, like electricity. He quickly jumped up and tapped the black-haired boy on the shoulder, which caused the older boy's hair to frizz up. This made him jump, sit up, and hit his head on the ceiling. "OW! Oitnemid, what the heck?!" He cried, opening his eyes and rubbing his head.

"You weren't getting out of bed, Dimentio," The younger boy giggled.

"So you zapped me?!" The older boy exclaimed. "There are more humane ways to get someone out of bed, you know."

"I know!" Oitnemid chimed, giggling more. "But none of those ways are as fun!"

"Alright, I get it, I get it," The older boy sighed, rolling his eyes and brushing his hands through his frizzy black hair, trying to smooth it down. "I'm up. Happy?"

"Very!" Oitnemid beamed while Dimentio climbed down from the top bunk. "You promised me we'd play today!"

"And I intend to keep that promise," Dimentio breathed, yawning and stretching his arms. "But I have some chores to do, so I can't play for long."

"Awwww, why do you always have chores?!" The little boy whined. "Can't you just take a day off?!"

"I wish," Dimentio shrugged, giggling and leaning down to mess up his little brother's hair. "But you know how it is. There's always work to be done."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it." The little boy said, cringing and pushing his older brother's hand away. "Can we at least play for an hour? Please, please, please Dimmy!!!"

"Alright, alright," Dimentio smiled, standing up and grabbing a small backpack, slinging it over his left shoulder, then reaching for the door. "But only an hour. I don't want to get too behind."

"YES! You're the best!" Oitnemid giggled. "LET'S GO CLIMB A TREE!"

"We'll see," Dimentio smiled, grabbing his younger brother's hand and walking downstairs into the kitchen, where he rushed to one of the cabinets and grabbed two simple apples, biting down on one and tossing the other to his brother as he grabbed his father's old cloak, stuffing it into his backpack.

"Heading out?" His mother asked the two, sitting in a rocking chair and putting the book she was reading down.

"Yep," Dimentio nodded with a mouthful of food.

"Dimmy and I are gonna play in the forest!" Oitnemid added with a big smile.

She smiled softly at the two, then looked back to her book. "Alright, but don't spend too long out there."

"I know, mom. You say that every day." Dimentio giggled, readjusting the straps on the bag, then leading Oitnemid towards the door. "I'll see you later."

"Alright. Have fun today!" She waved, as the pair left the house.

______

"Hey, check this out, Dio!" Oitnemid beamed as they walked into town. He then squeezed his eyes shut, and teleported a foot forward, holding his hands out and bowing. "TA-DA!"

Dimentio immediately applauded. "Bravo! Bravo!" He clapped, lightly laughing as his brother grabbed his hand again and pulled him towards the woods. "I can see you're getting even better. Maybe you'll even be as good as Cosmo someday!"

"You really think so??" Oitnemid gasped. Dimentio smiled and nodded in response.

Dimentio himself wasn't all that great at magic yet. Even his younger brother was more powerful than him, but he had hope that someday he too would be powerful. Magic fascinated him, and he loved watching people use it.

Once they got out to the woods, Oitnemid immediately started up a tree, grabbing a branch and hoisting himself up.

"Dio! Look at me!" Oitnemid beamed as he jumped from branch to branch.

"I see!" Dimentio shouted from the ground, lightly giggling and cupping his hands around his face to amplify his voice. "You're as tall as a giraffe!"

Oitnemid giggled in response, climbing up higher and higher. It almost made Dimentio nervous. But his brother climbed trees all the time, so he wasn't too afraid.

"Come up here with me!" Oitnemid called down. "It's fun!"

"Are you crazy? What if I fall?!" Dimentio pointed out.

He hated to admit it, but he had a fear of heights. Actually, it was not quite a fear of heights, but a fear of falling from them.

"Come on Dio! Please? Don't let your fear stop you from doing cool things," Oitnemid pointed out.

"Well, I'm not as athletic as you! And I don't know how to teleport even a little bit to save myself if I do fall!" Dimentio called back.

Oitmenid then reached the top of the tree, looking down at his brother, who looked so small now.

"Come on! It's like I'm standing on top of the world when I'm up here. Come stand with me! Please?" The kid begged.

The older brother stilled for a moment, almost considering following his brother. He actually reached for the branch, but then stopped, and stepped back.

Too afraid.

"... I'm sorry," Dimentio muttered, looking down. His brother frowned at him for a moment, then climbed down as well, offering a smile that said, it's okay. Maybe next time!

Maybe next time.

______

Dimentio loved his life. His family, his neighbors, everything. Yes, people were struggling, but people were also happy. He loved the town with all its imperfections. He was carrying a box of extra food his mother had collected for one of his neighbors when he suddenly felt something placed on his head.

"Hey, Kid!" A familiar voice chimed. The nine-year-old gasped and turned around to see who, but his favorite illusionist, smiling at him. He was no longer wearing his traditional red tophat, as he had placed it on Dimentio's head.

"Cosmo!!!" Dimentio exclaimed, nearly dropping the food box. Luckily, the fifteen-year-old was able to help him catch it so nothing spilled.

"Whoa, sorry!" Cosmo breathed, lightly laughing as Dimentio regained his balance. He then took his hat back. "The hat looks better on me anyway!"

"I can't argue with that," Dimentio shrugged. "What are you doing?"

"On my way to my girl's house!" Cosmo beamed. Dimentio was not surprised in the slightest. Turned out Dimentio was heading to the same place, so they walked together. Cosmo showed the kid some of his newest tricks and illusions, and the kid watched with the same glint of wonder that his eyes always held whenever Cosmo did magic.

The teenager was like an older brother to him. All the kids in town looked up to the guy. He was kind, helpful, and overall just fun to be around, after all. Cosmo was what some would call an 'extrovert.' He would recharge by being around people and making them happier. It was something Dimentio wished he could do. Make people happier with such ease.

He smiled and waved goodbye to the teenager once he dropped off the food box, then walked through town. Once his chores were finished, he planned on going back to the woods to find his brother and maybe play a different less terrifying game.

That's when he felt a sudden... chill in the air, which caused him to freeze in his tracks. It was midday, so it should have been warm. It was always warmest around noon.

The sky also seemed to be going... dark, which again was quite odd, because it was the middle of the day. The kid wasn't concerned, or anything. Just curious.

The small boy furrowed his eyebrows and looked up at the sky, frowning slightly. "What the..." He mumbled, confused. Was a storm coming? There had been no clouds earlier that had indicated a growing storm, but then again, the weather was so unpredictable.

"DIO!" Cried a voice from behind him all of a sudden.

The kid quickly turned around, seeing who, but the fifteen-year-old boy running towards him, a worried expression on his face, which wasn't common.

Where did his bright, oh so wonderful smile go?

"KID!" He cried, quickly kneeling down and grabbing Dimentio's shoulders. "I don't know what's going on, but you gotta get out of here!"

"Huh?" Dimentio asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "Cosmo, what's going on? H-Have we been found?"

"No! It's not the tribe of darkness. I think it's something else. Now hold on. I'm not the best at teleporting, but I'm gonna try to get you to safety." Cosmo exclaimed with an urgent tone. Dimentio was confused by his urgency as the teenager let go and stepped back, cracking his knuckles and making red magic spark in his hands. "I've... had a feeling that something was wrong with our world for a while. But don't worry. This is HIGHLY experimental, but I'm gonna try to get you to a safe universe."

Dimentio probably should have asked more questions, but he had always trusted Cosmo's judgment. Maybe there was a tribe spy there, and Cosmo was just trying to hide the children.

"Safe universe? What are you talking about? What about Oitnemid?" Dio asked. "Where's he?"

"You're the first person I found. I promise I'll look for them right after I find my girl and save her." Cosmo explained.

Dimentio nodded, trusting his word. So without wanting to waste any more time, Cosmo waved his hand, making Dimentio and himself seem to blip out of existence. They both ended up in what looked to be almost exactly the same place, only there was no city. Just ruins.

"Whoa... this is weird. Where are we...?" Dimentio asked, looking up at Cosmo.

"Gonna be honest, I'm not 100% sure. I'm going to go back and save some more people. Don't go anywhere. Everything will be okay. I'll be right back." Cosmo promised.

Dimentio looked up to him. He trusted him. So he didn't worry. When Cosmo said that everything would be okay, he truly believed that not seeing anything actually wrong in the first place.

So he left him, and Dimentio waited there. Alone.

______

Seconds turned to minutes.

Minutes turned to hours.

Hours turned to days.

Days turned to weeks.

Weeks turned to months.

But... he never came back.

It took Dimentio a long time to accept that he was never coming back.

He didn't know what had happened to his home. He didn't even see what was going on. For all he knew, everything was fine and Cosmo was just having a weird reaction to the dark skies. Maybe that's why Cosmo never came for him. Because everything was actually okay. Maybe he just forgot about him.

But... It was so lonely. Dimentio looked at his backpack and pulled out his father's purple cloak.

Then, he let out a long breath and put it on, pulling the hood up and casting a shadow over his face.

He was going to get home. He was going to get back to his mom and his brother. He was determined to get the life he once lived back.

So... he started searching. Searching for a way to get back to where he came from. A way to get back to his family.