"Your name?!" Luigi questioned, less afraid and more generally confused.

Wait, was this, or was this not Dimentio? He didn't look the part, though his strange personality seemed to fit the role.

Maybe Luigi was dreaming. This didn't seem like a very real scenario to him, to be honest. How often does a random young adult show up and just so happen to have the same voice and name as Dimentio, the person who scarred and traumatized him for life?

"Yes. My name. How did you know it? H-have we met before?" Dimentio(?) asked, sounding confused and lost as well. Luigi was glad he wasn't the only one unsure of what was going on.

"I'm honestly not sure..." Luigi trailed off. "I... who are you?"

"Dimentio!" The boy chimed, standing up and holding his hand out with a goofy smile that did not resemble Dimentio's wicked and sinister grin in the slightest. "Remember the name well!"

He even sounded exactly the same. Just ever so slightly younger and WAY more upbeat. Different eyes, different smile, but same voice and name. How odd.

"Uh, Charming..." Luigi muttered, carefully shaking his hand. He wasn't exactly afraid, but still, he felt the need to be cautious and alert. "D-Do you have amnesia or something? What happened to your eye?"

"My eye?!" Dimentio asked, furrowing his eyebrows, thrown off by the randomness of the question. What was wrong with his eye? Did it look funny? "W-What's wrong with my eye? I mean... It was itchy the other day, but I didn't think there was anything wrong with it. I-I don't have pink eye, do I?! BACK UP! PINK EYE IS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS, AND I DON'T WANT TO INFECT-"

"No, no. You don't have pink eye," Luigi lightly laughed, no longer feeling afraid. Dimentio's reaction right there pretty much told the man in green that he no longer needed to be afraid, allowing him to be put at ease. Which was good, because it was easier to think and problem solve when his mind wasn't racing in fear. "Umm... can you explain to me where you came from...?"

"Oh! Well, I used that knife to teleport here!" Dimentio happily chimed. "I'm... not very good at magic... So the knife helps me actually bring forth and use my powers! I had to use the magic in my blood to get here."

"Oh... OH! That's YOUR blood?!" Luigi asked, his eyes widening with realization. He then let out a sigh of relief. Not that he was happy about this kid having to use his own blood to get here, but he couldn't help but be grateful that he wasn't in the presence of a murderer. "Oh thank Grambi. I was worried you killed someone or something."

"Killed someone?!" Dimentio exclaimed, taken aback. It was as if he found the claim completely and utterly extreme. "That was the first conclusion you jumped to?"

"Well... you had a bloody knife..." Luigi pointed out.

Dimentio paused, looking down at the knife. He then smiled and shook his head, immediately putting Luigi at ease. "Oh, no, no. I would never do anything of the sort. I'm not a particularly violent person!"

Luigi carefully nodded, trying to put together what was going on in his mind. So here was this person, who claimed his name was Dimentio and who sounded EXACTLY like Dimentio... but he wasn't Dimentio. At least not the one he knew. He couldn't be. The eyes, smile, and personality simply didn't match. Dimentio may have been a good actor, but there was something genuine and real about this kid. Luigi could tell he wasn't lying or acting.

"Well... what did you say you were doing?" Luigi questioned much less afraid and more curious.

"Trying to go home!" Dimentio chimed happily, getting right to the topic. "Do you know anyone by the name of Oitnemid? That's my little brother! I've been trying to find him for years. He's got pale skin and white hair. He has electricity powers too. And he's about yae big," Dimentio stated, holding his hand out to gesture to how tall his brother was the last time he had seen him, even though realistically with all the years that had passed, it was unlikely that his brother would still be that height.

"Umm... I've never seen or heard of anyone with that name," Luigi admitted.

"Okay, okay. Well, what about Cosmo?! He's an illusionist! EVERYONE knows him! You know of him, right?" Dimentio asked, sounding almost hopeful. "He's a lot taller than my brother."

"Um... no..." Luigi trailed off.

Dimentio's smile then slowly faded. "O-Oh..." He muttered off, looking down. Disappointment had quickly filled the air. And with Dimentio's mood, went Luigi's as well. He wasn't sure why, but he was feeling guilty. It was like he just unintentionally crushed this poor kid's dreams.

"I-I'm sorry. B-but that doesn't mean that Oatmeal and Costco aren't out there somewhere," Luigi muttered, trying to be positive.

"Those... aren't their names," Dimentio muttered under his breath just before he looked up and put on a small smile. Again, Luigi couldn't help but notice how incredibly different it was from the Dimentio he knew's smile. "But it doesn't matter. I'm used to failure. I'll get there eventually. I just... have to try again!"

He then kneeled down and picked up the knife.

The blood on the black blade had long dried, so he needed more. But it was okay. He didn't mind. He didn't care how much of his own blood he had to give. He'd be willing to give every last drop to get home and see his family again.

He slowly took the now red cloth off his arm, revealing a partially healed cut that was no longer bleeding. He was hoping that it would have not healed by then since he really didn't want to make another slice in order to get more blood, but it was okay. A small price to pay, really.

"H-Hold up, you're doing this right now?!" Luigi questioned, once again sounding afraid. "I-In my house?!"

Dimentio paused, holding the blade to his wrist, then turned to Luigi. He waited a moment as if he was trying to process why Luigi sounded so shocked when he suddenly giggled and facepalmed.

"Oh, my apologies. I could go outside if you don't wish for me to get blood on your flooring. I understand that stains are difficult to remove." Dimentio beamed, sounding oddly pleasant.

"What? No, no. That's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about YOU!" Luigi clarified. "Is it... healthy for you to... keep doing that?"

Dimentio slowly frowned. His own health had never mattered to anyone ever since he was separated from his home, including himself. So it was odd to see someone concerned. He wasn't sure if he was flattered by the fact that someone cared, or annoyed by the same fact. "Um... I'm not sure. But it doesn't matter. I'm fine!" He chimed, pressing the blade to his wrist as if he didn't know any better.

Only Luigi couldn't just stand by and watch this. It didn't matter who this person was or what they were doing. He couldn't just stand by and let him hurt himself. Luigi quickly grabbed the blade and snatched it away, holding it up over his head so Dimentio couldn't reach it. The cloaked boy was surprisingly short. "I'm so sorry, but maybe you can find another way. A way where you don't... don't have to hurt yourself."

Dimentio immediately frowned and tried jumping up to reach the knife. However, Luigi was significantly taller than he was, so he couldn't even reach it, and he didn't have the ability to levitate himself as the other Dimentio could.

"Okay, I appreciate your concern. Really, I do, but could you please give that back?!" Dimentio asked.

"No!" Luigi exclaimed, still holding it up. "What's even your plan?! To just keep doing this until you find the right place?! What if you don't get it on the first try? You can't just guess and check like this. Not when it hurts you every time you get it wrong! I-I won't let you!"

Dimentio furrowed his eyebrows. He couldn't believe the audacity of this man! Now he really was annoyed. Not upset, but annoyed. "Sir, I have no other choice. I'm FINE. Just give it back. You don't have to be concerned for me. I don't care about a momentary stinging sensation!"

"Well I do," Luigi spat, though he wasn't sure why. "Who would I be if I were to just allow someone to keep hurting themself. A bad person, that's who. Here! Instead, why don't we just go find Merlon and come up with another solution?"

"I TOLD YOU, I'M FINE- wait... did you say we?" Dimentio questioned, his voice suddenly getting soft.

It shouldn't have shocked him as much as it had... but the idea of and not just he was so exciting. The idea of having help and not having to be on the run... the idea of not being alone, it sounded so wonderful. So enticing. Even if this was a small roadblock... perhaps with help, he could find a better solution. A REAL solution. Perhaps he could get home faster this way.

Perhaps he could get home. Perhaps he could see his brother again. Perhaps he could hug his mother and apologize for leaving her all alone. Perhaps he could find forgiveness. Perhaps he could go back to that happy, perfect world. Perhaps everything could be good again.

"....Okay," Dimentio muttered, lowering his hands and no longer fighting for the knife.

Luigi slowly relaxed, then took the knife and put it in one of his cabinets for safekeeping.

"Okay."