Luigi quickly wrote a note for when his brother got home, stating where he was going and what he was doing. Mario often worried, so Luigi was usually very good about letting his older brother know where he was in order to put his mind at ease. He also sent Mario a text message on his cell, but Mario rarely responded so Luigi left the paper note just to be safe.

"What are you writing?" Dimentio asked, peering over Luigi's shoulder and cocking his head to the side, curiosity in his eyes.

"I'm just telling my brother where we're going." Luigi quickly replied.

Dimentio nodded and looked down at Luigi's handwriting. It was rather charming. Sloppy and rushed, it had its own personality. Much more interesting than his own fine cursive which he perfected as a child. Reading Luigi's words was like trying to de-code a puzzle, trying to figure out what each letter actually was. It was quite wonderful, really.

The note read: Hey Bro. Need Merlon's help. Heading to Flipside Be back soon.

It was a funny way of wording things. Luigi had kept it short and sweet, cutting out all unnecessary words. He didn't waste any time with details.

"What's a Flipside?" Dimentio muttered.

"Just a place," Luigi replied, placing the pen down on the table next to the note. It was a blue pen, Dimentio observed. The ink was a little smeary, but a beautiful dark blue color. Very pretty.

"How descriptive," Dimentio laughed. "And who is this Merlin?"

"Merlon," Luigi corrected. "And he's an ancient. He knows a lot of stuff, so I think he could help us."

Us, us, us. The reminder of him not being alone sounded so sweet, like gentle wind chimes in the blissful spring. "Wonderful!" Dimentio beamed, turning on his heel and marching for the door. "Then let's go-"

"Hold up," Luigi interrupted, grabbing the back of Dimentio's cloak and preventing him from taking another step forward. "Before we show up at Flipside, there are a few things we need to... take care of."

Dimentio coughed and stumbled backward a step or two as he felt the cloak tug at him, but was quickly able to recover, shaking his head and turning to look at Luigi. "Oh. Okay! Like..." Dimentio trailed off, curious.

"Your name," Luigi breathed. "There was... a really bad man with the same name as you. So I'm worried that if people hear it, they'll confuse you for him. Is there anything else we can call you? Any nicknames or something?"

"A bad man had the same name as me?" Dimentio questioned. "Who? What did he do that was so bad?"

"He... did a lot of stuff. He was this jester who nearly ended all worlds," Luigi mumbled. "Is there anything else I can call you, just so people don't get worried?"

Dimentio paused, tapping his chin in a thoughtful manner.

"Well... you could call me Dim. It's short for Dimentio!" He chimed, smiling and looking at Luigi again.

"No. That's too similar." Luigi replied.

"Dimmy?" Dimentio asked with a light giggle.

"No... Mimi called the bad man that name. Did you ever have any other nicknames? It just has to be different enough so that no one would get PTSD upon hearing your name."

Dimenito took a moment to think about it. It had been so long since he had been home. He had a nickname, but something felt wrong about using it. No one had called him that since he got lost. But...

"Well..." Dimentio started, offering Luigi a small smile. "Back at home... people used to call me Dio."

"Perfect!" Luigi chimed. "That's different enough! From now on that's your name."

"Sweet!" Dio chimed, lightly giggling. "Any other matters to attend to before we begin our valiant journey?"

To this, Luigi nodded. There was one more thing. His voice. His oh-so-familiar voice. Even if he wasn't the same Dimentio, he had sounded just like him. And Luigi knew with no doubt that if Nastasia, Mimi, or O'Chunks heard it, there would be issues and misunderstandings.

"Yeah... just, try to be quiet and let me do most of the talking when we're around other people. Okay?"

"Sounds great!!" Dio beamed. "I'm the BEST at being quiet!"

Somehow Luigi doubted that.

Then, Luigi pulled out a return pipe, and the duo headed for Flipside.

______

Going back there was almost nostalgic, appearing on the top of the Flipside tower once again. Only now there was no void in the sky threatening to destroy any and everything Luigi had ever loved. There was no looming terror which rained over all the town's citizens. A part of Luigi thought he would never come back here again, for fear of it bringing up too many bad memories. But... he was actually doing much better than he thought he would. He felt fine actually.

Dio seemed absolutely starstruck by the lovely little town. The boy wanted to run around and explore everything. All the shops, the people, the heart pillars, Flopside, he was fascinated by it all! He reminded Luigi of a child going to a theme park. It was hard to keep the boy focused on the task at hand when there were distractions around every corner. Plus, Dio asked A LOT of questions. This is a town between dimensions? How do the Dimensional Doors work? Where can you buy that interdimensional return pipe? Does the return pipe work across different universes?

The questions continued for far too long. Dio kept running off to look at any and everything that caught his mind. But Luigi didn't really care. It almost gave him a warm feeling, seeing someone so excited by things he had deemed so regular.

______

"Hey, so what is, 'the tea'?" Dio asked, walking behind Luigi as the man in green tried leading the boy back to Merlon's house and away from any more distractions.

"I'm sorry, did you just ask me what the tea was?" Luigi questioned, not looking back at Dio.

"Yeah!" Dio chimed from behind him. "Why do you sound so confused by it. Did... did I use that phrase wrong?"

"Um, no. Where did you even hear that phrase? It's like three years old. No one uses it anymore." Luigi pointed out.

"Oh, the girl on your cellular device sent it to you in an electronic message." Dio beamed, causing Luigi to freeze in his tracks and turn to the boy, who did in fact, have Luigi's phone in his hands, looking down at the device as if it was the most fascinating, wonderful thing he had ever seen.

"Wh- HEY! How did you get that?!" Luigi exclaimed, snatching the phone right out of Dio's grasp.

"It fell from your pocket. I picked it up to give it back to you, but then it vibrated. I got worried that I had made it angry somehow, so I opened it. That device of yours is truly remarkable!"

Luigi let out a groan and checked his messages. Sure enough, there were a few pings from Daisy. "You HAD a conversation?!" Luigi cried, scrolling through all the texts that Dio and Daisy had shared.

The messages read:

Hey ur location says that you left the Mushroom Kingdom. What's the tea?

Tea? As in the heated beverage?

Huh?

Lol, what?

What do you mean by, "The Tea'?

I mean what's goin on. U ok?

Fit as a fiddle! Me and the green guy are on an adventure!

U and the green guy? Who this??

Where is Luigi??

Luigi? Who is that?

OH!

IS THAT HOW HIS NAME IS SPELLED?!

Aha, of course. That makes MUCH more sense.

I assumed that he spelled it like "Looweegee,"

Your version makes much more sense.

Is that name Italian?

Yea. I think so.

Who r u?

Is Luigi ok?

He's great! Such a nice man! We're sightseeing right now!

What?!

He took you sightseeing?!

Are u on a date?!

Who is this?!

My name's Dimentio!

Oops! I mean my name is NOT Dimentio!

;)

I'm winking right now if you can't tell.

Call me Dio!

Hold up, did you say DIMENTIO?!

DIMENTIO AS IN THE INSANE JESTER?!

No. I said NOT Dimentio!

I'm winking again if you can't tell. ;)

Wink wink!

What are you doing with Luigi?! How did you find him?!

Oh, it's quite a funny story.

I just showed up at his house with a knife and now he's helping me!

Daisy didn't reply to this last message. This was where the conversation ended. Luigi could feel his face pale more and more as he read. WHY ON EARTH WOULD DIO LITERALLY POINT OUT THAT HE WAS WINKING?! And did he seriously text her, 'I just showed up at his house with a knife'!?

Luigi wouldn't be surprised if Daisy was already on her way over here to beat someone up. So, he slid the menu down from his phone and turned his location off. For Dio's safety, because knowing Daisy, she'd absolutely destroy him.

Meanwhile, Dio was smiling as if he had just made a new friend.

Oh Grambi...

"Why... why?!" Luigi muttered, facepalming and letting out a sigh. "How did you even get into my phone?! I have a password!"

"Well, perhaps you should change it, my friend. Password1 is not exactly the most secure password." Dio chucked, covering his mouth as he laughed. To this, Luigi groaned and texted Daisy that he'd explain later.

"Who is she? There is a heart next to her name." Dio pointed out. "Is she your significant other?"

"Yes! I mean NO! I mean, i-it's complicated. N-Not yet, but I hope, I mean, I- uh, well-"

"Say no more. I see," Dio giggled, holding his hand and silencing Luigi as if he understood. Although Luigi doubted he did since Dio CLEARLY didn't understand much in this world, hence the phone conversation.

"Just don't take my phone again," Luigi breathed. "And DO NOT text or call anyone. We're supposed to be keeping a low profile. We don't wanna have any misunderstandings."

Dio eagerly nodded, then continued following Luigi to Merlon's house. However, he was very puppy-like in the sense that he had to see everything he passed by. Luigi had to still take him through all the stores and drag him away from nearly every person they passed. Dio very much reminded him of Polterpup, who he left at home to watch over the house. That was probably a mistake, now that he thought about it. He wouldn't be surprised if he got home to all the couch cushions being chewed up and scattered around the house. Polterpup was indeed notorious for being a troublemaker, so it wouldn't be shocking.

"Okay, I understand that you're excited," Luigi started after Dio had quite literally dragged him down a few floors because some kid told him that a fish was down there, and Dio wanted to see. "But can we PLEASE see Merlon now?"

"In a moment," Dio chimed, not even giving Luigi a glance. He was mesmerized by the family of fish swimming in the water. He stuck his hand in and swirled it around while the fish swam around him.

He then smiled and laughed, looking genuinely happy. "Look! They like me!"

Dio continued smiling and playing with the fish, a child-like glimmer of magic in his eyes, and it was hard for Luigi to stay annoyed. But they HAD to figure this out, so Luigi lightly grabbed his shoulder and gently pulled him back. "They do. But we've got to go. Maybe we can come back and see the fish later. Okay?"

"I would appreciate that very much!" Dio smiled, allowing Luigi to pull him away. So, Luigi FINALLY got him up to Merlon's house, pretty much powering through, holding tightly onto Dio's wrist so he wouldn't get distracted anymore.

Once they arrived at Merlon's house, Luigi let out a sigh of relief, not just because they made it, but because they didn't run into any former Team Bleck members, which was something he was VERY worried about.

"Whoa... this is a nice house!" Dio beamed while Luigi stepped forward to knock on the door. "The decorations are very aesthetically pleasing! I love the stars. Do you suppose your friend enjoys astronomy?"

Luigi paused. He had never really thought much about it. He didn't really ever take Merlon for someone with interests other than the prophecies. He always had just assumed that Merlon's entire life revolved around the Light and Dark Prognosticus. But, everyone has their own life and interests, right?

"I'm... not sure," Luigi admitted with a small shrug. "He's never mentioned it. But my alter ego Mr. L was always into the stars."

"You have an alter ego?!" Dio exclaimed with wide eyes. "Whoa... Like, another half?!"

"Um, I guess you could call him that. He's dead now though, s-so you don't have to worry about him."

"Oh. I'm sorry..." Dio trailed off. "I bet you were devastated."

Devastated?

Truth to be told, Luigi had never really cared about Mr. L's death. It sounds horrible, but whenever he looked back at all that had happened, he would find himself feeling bad for Blumiere, Timpani, he even felt bad for Dimentio occasionally. But never Mr. L. Maybe it was because Mr. L was his own alter ego. Maybe it was because he never really considered Mr. L another person, but instead just a part of himself.

But... Dio was offering a new perspective, and Luigi wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Because, truth to be told, Mr. L wasn't JUST a part of himself. Yes, he was made up of Luigi, but he was more than that. He had goals, ambitions, and feelings. So maybe Luigi should have felt devastated for him too.

"I... I guess," Luigi finally breathed, knocking on Merlon's door. "But it's not really a big deal."

"Not a big deal?! Death is HUGE!" Dio exclaimed from behind Luigi, holding his arms out. "Imagine, one day, someone is there. But the next? Poof! Gone forever, with no way to get them back. It would kill me to lose someone like that permanently, no matter who they are."

Permanently...

That word had been bouncing around the man in green's mind for a while now. The idea of those lost permanently being gone. Permanently never being able to come back.

The idea that all worlds were almost permanently erased.

He didn't like the word. It implied that nothing could be done, and even if it was true, it hurt. It was easier to have false hope that maybe something could have been done instead. It was nicer to believe that death wasn't the permanent end that was coming for everyone.

But it was.

"I... just don't like to think about it," Luigi muttered, knocking on the door again, harder this time.

It hurt to remember.

".... Have I made you sad?" Dio asked, slowly furrowing his eyebrows.

"No. I'm fine." Luigi replied in a hushed manner, knocking once again.

"Your words may say so, but your voice and posture say otherwise."

"I said I'm fine," Luigi repeated.

"You're lying," Dio stated.

"Dio," Luigi muttered.

"I've made you upset." Dio pointed out.

"Stop," Luigi breathed, his voice slightly firmer. He knocked louder this time.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to upset you,"

"I said stop!"

"I understand that it is hard to remember things. To remember people who are gone,"

"Stop! Please..."

"But it's better to remember and feel pain than to live in emptiness."

"STOP!" Luigi begged, raising his voice and turning around, an almost angry expression on his face, but it immediately melted away when he saw the look in Dio's eyes.

There were tears in them. But how? It didn't sound like he had been crying.

".... I'm sorry," Dio breathed, slowly looking down. "I know it's hard to remember. Believe me, I know it hurts. At least in my case, my people are still out there. But for you... they're gone, and there's nothing that can be done."

Luigi paused. Was Dio... pitying him? No... this didn't feel like pity. This felt more like empathy.

"... I know," Luigi whispered, sighing and looking down, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. You're right. But-"

"But you shouldn't forget what happened. It shouldn't be some... unspoken event. You should remember it instead. People are a part of us, and forgetting them is like forgetting ourselves."

Luigi paused, blinking a few times and looking up.

Forgetting was easy. It was so much less painful to just not remember what had happened. To just... push it to the back of his mind and bury it deep down. It was why he stayed home while Mario adventured. Why he had avoided returning to Flipside until now. He didn't want to recall what had happened. He didn't want to remember.

"I'm sorry for upsetting you. I suppose I pushed too hard," Dio admitted, forcing a smile onto his face. "I... I've been alone for so long that I guess I've forgotten what it's like."

Forgotten what it's like? What did he mean by that?

"...You've forgotten what it's like to what exactly?" Luigi asked, slowly cocking his head to the side in curiosity.

"To have a friend."

A friend.

Were they friends?

Apparently they were.

Luigi didn't reply. He didn't confirm nor did he deny the friendship. So that would technically default to a yes, correct?

"Um," A voice suddenly started, interrupting the moment of pure silence from behind the pair. Luigi immediately paled, recognizing the voice.