Mr. L paused, just looking at Dio's outstretched hand as if it was a foreign concept.

He couldn't be telling the truth. This had to be some sort of trick. Some sort of trap. Nothing was ever straightforward with Dimentio. Even if this was another Dimentio, which he doubted it was, who was to say that he wouldn't be exactly the same? Who's to say that he wouldn't also end up betraying him?!

"Dio, a word?!" Luigi whispered harshly in Dio's ear.

"Yes?" Dio whispered back, though he didn't move. He didn't take his eyes off Mr. L. He just continued standing there, holding his hand out.

Luigi waited for him to move away, but the cloaked boy didn't move. He really was rather oblivious. It was astounding how different he was from the other Dimentio. Once it became apparent that Dio wasn't going to be stepping away, Luigi just sighed and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"We can't just break people out of prison and become friends with them!" Luigi whispered. "Mr. L clearly doesn't trust you! What are you doing?!"

"Simple. I'm showing him that he doesn't have to not trust me!" Dio replied, though his voice wasn't a whisper like Luigi's was, and he seemed to be talking more to Mr. L than Luigi.

"But-" Luigi started, when Mr. L suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Dio's hand, shaking it.

"Deal," He stated, making Luigi immediately facepalm and step back.

"Oh, brother..." Luigi trailed off while Dio excitedly squealed and beamed as if this was the most exciting thing since Flipside.

It was apparent that there was still much Dio had to learn about the world. Yes, his joyful personality was refreshing, but it was also worrying.

"Oh, how wonderful! This will be so much fun! Like friends going to a carnival at dusk!" Dio exclaimed.

"Glad to see the annoying similes are still there," Mr. L sarcastically stated, taking his hand back and wiping it on his shirt as he rolled his eyes. Dio wasn't offended, however. He just smiled and took his hood off so Mr. L could actually see his whole face, which was actually somewhat shocking to Mr. L.

"What are you doing?" Mr. L asked in a slightly softer tone as if he was confused. Dimentio was always very strict about keeping his face covered at all times. Or at least... the Dimentio he knew.

"I want you to see my face so you know what I look like!" Dio chimed, smiling. "It'll help you trust me faster! And besides, friends don't need to hide from each other!"

Mr. L frowned in confusion at the use of that word.

Friends.

Dio threw that world around quite a lot. The word initially shocked Luigi too the first time Dio had called him a friend.

Was this REALLY not his Dimentio? Was this really someone else? Before Mr. L had been so sure that this was a trick. But now... it was harder to tell. The compliments, the politeness, showing his face... even his smile was different. It was less of an evil, cunning smile and more of a sweet, gentle smile.

Mr. L wasn't sure which he liked more. Was he just setting himself up to get stabbed in the back again?

Or was this time going to be different?

______

"So, you were close with other me?" Dio asked Mr. L as the three of them walked back through the Underwhere with no true idea where they were going. Luigi followed behind the pair awkwardly, almost feeling like some sort of third wheel. This was why he hated groups of three. He always ended up being pushed to the back and getting left out.

"Um, you could say that..." Mr. L trailed off, looking down.

"You don't think he was evil, do you?!" Dio asked with a hopeful expression. It was odd, Mr. L noted. It was odd seeing expressions on his face. Dimentio's mask had always covered everything up.

"Not this again," Luigi whined from behind them. "Dio, Mr. L probably sees him the exact same way I-

"No." Mr. L stated, shocking both Luigi and Dio.

"Wait, what?" Luigi asked, holding his arms out. "But he KILLED you! He KILLED you DEAD!"

"Yes. I believe that Dimentio is a jerk and a horrible person. And I can't even begin to describe how much I hate him for doing that to me. But I don't believe he was evil," Mr. L shrugged.

"HA!" Dio exclaimed, pointing back at Luigi as if he was a sibling who had just won an argument. "I TOLD YOU!"

"Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight. So you're saying that you hate him, you think he's a jerk, AND you consider him a horrible person, but you WON'T say that he's evil?!" Luigi clarified, absolutely flabbergasted.

"Yes." Mr. L shrugged. "I mean... no one is truly evil. Evil isn't born. It's taught. He was probably good once. And... I used to believe that maybe he could be good again-"

"THAT'S WHAT I SAY!" Dio excitedly yelled, grabbing Mr. L's arm and shaking it, showcasing his excitement. Mr. L couldn't help but smile at Dio's excitement. Was he always like this?

Was his Dimentio ever like this...?

"Okay, okay, calm down," Luigi breathed, inserting himself between the two of them. "No need to get so excited. Dimentio's still a criminal who broke loose. And he could be literally ANYWHERE!" Luigi pointed out.

"I have a few ideas where he may be..." Mr. L trailed off, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

"REALLY?!" Dio squealed. He then crossed his arms and smugly smirked at Luigi. "See, and you didn't wanna bring him along."

Luigi just shook his head and looked at Mr. L, ignoring the confident, cocky look Dio was wearing. "And where would that be?" He asked.

"Well, losing really broke him..." Mr. L trailed off. "He... wasn't really himself. His mood would constantly change. Sometimes he would be devastated. Sometimes he'd be angry. But the night before he left... he claimed he wanted revenge. I wasn't sure who on exactly, maybe the Count. Or maybe you and the heroes. But he mentioned going to 'the place where it all started' and looking for this person." Mr. L described.

"The place where it all started..." Luigi trailed off, bringing his hand to his chin in a thinking manner. "That HAS to be Castle Bleck, right? Or maybe the alter. Or maybe-"

"Home!" Dio interrupted, earning confused glances from both men in green.

"Yes..." Mr. L sarcastically muttered. "Home IS another word for Castle Bleck I guess-"

"No, no, no. HOME home! Not mine, but your Dimentio's! Home is where everything started! He's probably going to his universe's version of home!" Dio explained.

Mr. L and Luigi both paused, waiting in awkward silence and exchanging confused glances.

"Umm, no offense, but Merlon said that his home was destroyed when he was little..." Luigi trailed off.

"Yeah- Wait, what?!" Mr. L exclaimed, his eyes going wide. "Dimentio never told me about that?! How on earth did Merlon know that?!?!"

Dimentio had never told him that his childhood home was destroyed. Was that why he was so... messed up? Was that why he strived for perfection? Was that why he did everything he did? Because of the trauma he gained from losing a once safe place?

And if Merlon knew, why did he never help? Why did he never reach out to Dimentio? Did he just let the poor guy suffer alone? Mr. L grit his teeth. There were a few words he wanted to share with the ancient the next time he saw him...

"Um, I think the ancients keep track of all that kind of stuff..." Luigi muttered, shrugging. "He had a book. They seem to keep track of everything and everyone. Dimentio's home was supposedly destroyed by the tribe of darkness, I believe."

Mr. L shook his head in disbelief as Dio's smile faded at the thought of the topic being brought up. He couldn't imagine what the other version of him went through. Permanently losing everyone and everything. At least Dio still had the knowledge that his home was still out there, waiting for him.

See, no one is born evil. The amount of trauma and emotion from losing everything was enough to make anyone break. He didn't blame this other version of himself. If anything, he wanted to give him a big hug as soon as he saw him. He wanted to hug him and tell him that he wished he could transfer some of the emotional pain to himself because no one should have to deal with that kind of loss. No one deserves that kind of pain. Not even the worst person in all worlds.

"Well... where IS home exactly?" Luigi asked.

"I haven't the slightest idea," Dio giggled, trying to hide the grim feeling and replacing it with a happy vibe. "But I know that it was a town in the woods. We lived about twenty miles from where the tribe of darkness resided since most of our town was made of people who fled that tribe. If you get me to where the tribe was, I can probably get us there.

Mr. L seemed to nod in understanding, while Luigi shook his head in confusion. "Um, the tribe was kinda destroyed a long time ago..." Luigi muttered when Mr. L suddenly shushed him.

"BUT, Castle Bleck was built upon the land they left empty. So if we take you to Castle Bleck, you can lead us to whatever is left of Dimentio's old home! We find him, and boom! .... I don't know what happens next," Mr. L explained.

"Boom! He teaches me how to teleport and I go to my REAL home!" Dio finished, determination lining his voice as he looked up and forward.

"Yes! That," Mr. L added, nodding in understanding.

______

The three of them journeyed up and out of the Dimensional door, finally leaving the Underwhere behind. Mr. L had forgotten what the sun felt like. It was really bright and REALLY warm. He couldn't help but look amazed as he stepped onto Flipside tower.

Truth to be told, he had never actually been to Flipside before.

"Pretty amazing, right?" Dio asked, nudging Mr. L with his elbow and smiling as if he could read Mr. L's thoughts. "I love this place! I hope that there's a Flipside back home in my universe too."

"Do you think there will be?" Luigi asked, generally curious.

"Well, yeah!" Dio beamed. "If there's another me in this universe, who's to say there's not another Flipside in mine!"

That was a good point.

Luigi and Mr. L both wondered if Dio's universe had another version of themselves. How was that world affected without Dio present? How different would things have been?

Both the men in green continued to think about this as Luigi led them across Flipside and into Flopside. He ignored both Mr. L and Dio as they oooohed and aaaahed at Flopside.

Dio seemed genuinely fascinated, but Luigi was 99% sure Mr. L was just trying to annoy him. It was working. He was indeed very annoyed. But he couldn't actually say anything about it because he knew that Dio was genuinely fascinated and he didn't want to upset him like he did when Dio was innocently humming the Ultimate Show. So he just stayed silent.

He led them to the top of the tower, thankfully without causing any problems or grabbing anyone's attention. It was almost too easy. He was VERY worried about people spotting Mr. L, but since it was getting late there were actually very few people out. So that was convenient. He brought them up to the doors to the Dimension Castle Bleck resided in, and he pushed them open.

"Whoa! It's so big..." Dio murmured, stepping into the dark dimension and looking at the large castle in front of them. It was a funny thing, really. This dimension. There were some areas where the sun never even shone. These were the areas the tribe of darkness had resided, so the land around Castle Bleck. The sun allowed itself to be seen elsewhere, but not over the tribe. It was almost as if the tribe had scared it away.

"Okay, so do you know where to go?" Luigi asked, trying to press forward. He knew that Dio was easily impressed, so he didn't want to waste any more time than necessary near the Castle.

"Um... yes, I-I think so," Dio muttered, stuttering slightly as if he was trying to recall. "When I was REALLY little I lived out here, actually. The Castle wasn't here, but it was kinda a town. This was before my family fled though. I-It's a hard memory to recall..."

"Why?" Mr. L wondered aloud, sounding oblivious.

Dio slowly hunched in upon himself as if he was trying to get smaller. He took his hands and gently grabbed the bottom of the purple cloak he wore, looking down.

"It's just... hard to remember. The day we fled was the day I lost my dad..." Dio muttered, voice much softer. "I miss him..."

"Wait, really?!" Luigi asked.

"Yeah..." Dio muttered. "We were running because my brother and I were 'impure.' But... my dad... he wasn't fast enough. The tribe got him..."

Mr. L frowned, then looked at Dio, almost concerned. Had Dimentio gone through that too?

If he did... then he really had lost everything.

Oh... that was horrible...

"Oh no, it's okay! You don't have to feel bad!" Dio told Mr. L as he read his slightly saddened expression. "It was a long time ago, and there's nothing I can do about it! It's over now. Yes, it hurts, but sometimes life hurts. It's okay, I promise."

Mr. L looked up at him, then slowly nodded. Truth to be told, he was learning more about Dimentio than he had ever thought he would learn, and his Dimentio wasn't even here. It was so odd. Or maybe this was his Dimentio, playing a trick on them as he had originally suspected. But... that option seemed to be getting less and less likely. The Dimentio he knew would never open up. Would never show his face. He was just... different.

"...Dio?" Mr. L asked, just as Dio was about to turn away and lead them forward. Dio stopped, then looked to him again, cocking his head to the side like a puppy does when someone says its name.

"Huh?" Dio asked. "What is it? I didn't do something wrong, did I?"

"No, no." Mr. L clarified. "I just heard Luigi call you that. Is that what you're going by?"

"OH! Yes! It's a nickname I had when I was younger," Dio giggled, covering his mouth as he did so. "Luigi here is just calling me that to prevent any confusion!"

Mr. L nodded in understanding, then lightly laughed to himself as he thought of his Dimentio. "I used to call him Dim," Mr. L muttered. "Back at Castle Bleck when we were... friends."

"Friends..." Dio repeated, with a smile.

It really was a nice smile. Back when Mr. L knew his Dimentio, he always wondered what Dimentio would look like when he genuinely smiled. It wasn't quite like he had expected. Dio's smile was a little crooked, but charming in its own way. It was smaller than Dimentio's cunning smile, but it was still bright and bigger in its own way.

"Why are you smiling?" Mr. L asked.

"Because..." Dio started. "It's just... nice to hear that other me had a friend."

Mr. L lightly smiled back. And Dio noted that it was different from Luigi's smile. Luigi's smile was more goofy and shy. Mr. L's was usually more smirk-like and cocky. But not this one. This one was closer to Luigi's smile, but it was straighter and a little more confident.

Both were wonderful in their own ways. Smiles were something really quite interesting, and it was fascinating how everyone had their own.

"So..." Dio trailed off, starting forward and around the Castle, waving Luigi forward as well. But he was mostly talking to Mr. L since he was new. He just had a few questions he needed to ask. "You're like Luigi... but not Luigi?"

"I supposed so..." Mr. L shrugged, lightly smiling that cocky smirk once again. It fit him, Dio noted. "And it seems you're Dimentio, but not Dimentio."

This made Dio genuinely laugh.

"Well, would you look at that! We have something in common," Dio beamed as if this made him happier than anything ever had before.

He was smiling because it felt nice. It felt nice to have friends, it felt nice not to be alone, and it felt nice to have someone who was similar to him.

It almost felt like he wasn't even out of place.