Dimentio woke up the next morning once he felt the gentle morning sun filling the air. It was still cold, but he could smell the morning breeze and he could feel the light dew that had covered the land around him. But something felt different.

There was something else covering him. It wasn't heavy. It was warm and soft. It felt almost familiar. For some reason, while waking up he didn't feel quite as horrible alone as he had almost every other morning of his life. He didn't wake up and dread the idea of another day, but instead woke up feeling... well-rested? That was new.

He slowly blinked his mismatched eyes and looked up, seeing the beams of sunlight covering the land. He then sat up, feeling the cloak that covered him gently fall off.

Wait a minute... when did that get there?!

Dimentio paused, then gently took the cloak in his hands and eyed it in confusion. "How...?" He muttered under his breath when he suddenly heard someone clear their throat from behind him.

"C-could I have that back now? I'm freezing," Dio giggled, causing Dimentio to jump and teleport himself around to see Dio sitting there on his knees about three feet away, holding his hands out and smiling.

"Wh- were you watching me sleep?!" Dimentio exclaimed, feeling somewhat violated. What kind of creep does that??

"Hmm? Oh, No. Not at all. I just came for the cloak," Dio breathed, still holding his hand out. He didn't mention the last night. He didn't feel the need to.

Dimentio didn't remember the last night anyhow. All he could tell from the current situation was the obvious. Dio had given him the cloak during the night for some reason, and now he was sitting there, asking for it back.

"... Please? It really is cold," Dio breathed, blinking a few times as Dimentio just waited, looking down at the cloak in his hands.

"... Where's L?" He questioned, sighing and tossing the cloak back. Dio immediately let out a sigh of relief upon catching it and quickly put it back on, seeming to relax as soon as he did.

"He's just over there," Dio pointed. Dimentio raised a masked eyebrow and followed his gaze over to Mr. L, who was lying sprawled out on the ground, lightly snoring with his mouth wide open.

Honestly, Dimentio couldn't say he was surprised. Mr. L had always been the type of person to stay up really late only to sleep in for hours and hours the next morning. He could recall one time back at Castle Bleck where the man in green stayed up until 4:00 AM working on his brobot. The next morning he quite literally slept in until 2:30 PM. He had missed not only breakfast and lunch, but a team meeting as well. It was quite humorous, really, to see him wake up looking all sloppy and exhausted.

"... you slept next to him?" Dimentio asked next, voice slightly quieter than before as if he was embarrassed to ask.

"For a while," Dio shrugged. "Although I found sleep hard to find. I was feeling too excited by the idea of learning magic from you. I wanted to make sure you were better rested for today, so I gave you my cloak and just watched the sky for a few hours," He plainly lied. A lie so natural that it was actually believable. It was not often that Dimentio chose not to question the legitimacy of a person's statements. But this sentence was so plain that he didn't even bother and chose to just believe it, which was odd because he was usually fairly good at detecting lies.

But then again, that was a secret power Dio had. He was good at telling lies when it really came down to it. He was naturally a bad liar when it came to some things, making it so no one would suspect him when it came to REAL lying.

Dimentio just waited. He wasn't sure why he felt bothered. No. That was a lie. He knew that was a lie. There was no point in lying to himself. It bothered him how close this other version of himself had gotten to L, and he knew it.

"... Are you okay?" Dio asked, cocking his head to the side and furrowing his eyebrows slightly. "You look as if I've got the plague-"

"Just... remember your place," Dimentio breathed, looking down and to the side. "You won't be staying here. Remember that."

Dio winced slightly, drawing back. He frowned and almost looked like a kicked puppy for a moment. "Is something the matter-"

"No." Dimentio interrupted, holding a hand up. "I am fine."

Now that was a lie that anyone could spot. He didn't even bother trying to cover it. But Dio didn't press forward. He could tell Dimentio didn't want him to, so he said nothing. He just silently listened while Dimentio tried pushing this unpleasant moment forward by explaining magic to him.

He made no progress. The spark within himself wasn't ignited. He didn't wish to make more projectiles, for fear of hurting someone. Dimentio harshly explained that in order to use magic you cannot fear hurting others, but Dio begged to differ. He still believed that anger couldn't be the only fuel for his magic. That he could realize it by getting intact to some other emotion.

Like the healing power! That was fueled by his empathy. His feelings for others. Perhaps he could use that to realize these powers. Or maybe different feelings went with different powers.

Dimentio really did try to make this other version of himself understand. He really did try to teach, because the faster he did this the faster he could send him away. But it was frustrating when Dio questioned literally everything he was told. It was almost as if he was speaking to a child. A stupid child with no sense of reality.

Mr. L finally woke up a few hours later. The sun was directly overhead, so it was approximately noon. Dio was told to take a break, but it was less for himself than it was for Dimentio. The jester just needed a minute to clear his mind, annoyed by the fact that he had spent hours on this and still made absolutely no progress.

So, Dio decided to search the woods for the spot he and his brother used to play, just for nostalgic purposes. Just to see if it was still there.

While he was gone, Dimentio took this opportunity to speak to L. WITHOUT Dio. "I need to talk to you," Dimentio stated, sounding as empty as possible as he pointed at Mr. L. The man in green had just woken up, so he was still partially exhausted. His hat was on the ground and his hair was messy. He yawned, stretching his arms, then reached down and grabbed his hat, sloppily placing it on his head.

"M'kay..." He yawned, blinking sleepily. "Where's Dio-"

"Don't call him that. That's my name." Dimentio stated.

Dio. The nickname his brother had for him. The nickname his mother called him. HIS nickname.

"Umm... okay?" Mr. L replied. Though it sounded more like a question than an understanding. However, he wasn't about to argue with Dimentio. He wasn't about to point out that it was Dio's name too.

So, Dimentio grabbed his arm and left, going slightly deeper into the woods just to be safe. He didn't want Dio walking in and overhearing them. Mr. L was slightly confused, but he didn't rip his arm away and run back because he knew that if Dimentio wanted something from him, one way or another he was going to get it. Dimentio was much stronger and more powerful than Mr. L. He had the high ground, aided by magic and such. Yes, Mr. L had thunderhand, but it was easily no match for all Dimentio had.

______

Meanwhile, Dio did in fact find the place in the woods where he would use to play with his brother. It was exactly the same as before. Peaceful, green, beautiful.

But there was one major thing missing. One thing that was noticeably absent.

His brother wasn't there.

And without him... something just felt so... empty. It didn't feel right.

Dio waited a moment, then took his backpack out and pulled out the small stuffed giraffe he had stolen. It was one of the many things he stole for his sibling. One of the many things that made him think of home.

But... this world's Oitnemid had nothing stolen for him. Dimentio, as far as Dio was aware, hadn't collected stuffed animals for his own brother, (because he was dead and there was no point.) This Oitnemid had nothing.

So... Dio hugged the small stuffed animal tightly, then set it down on the ground, with its back to one of the trees his brother used to climb.

A gift. A gift for this Oitnemid, who was long gone, but still deserved one.

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

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

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

"Are you crazy? What if I fall?!" Dio 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. So he never did follow his brother up there.

Until...

"...Okay," Dio breathed, softly smiling to himself as if his brother was still there. As if he was still extending his hand to him, begging him to play.

He stepped towards the tree, then grabbed a branch and hoisted himself up. Step after step, he kept climbing higher and higher.

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

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Dio answered even though no one was there, climbing higher still.

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

"Maybe next time," He had said back then. Dio just smiled and shook his head, almost seeing Oitnemid climbing the tree up above him, until he made it to the top. The shade no longer covered him. It was just sunlight. The tree gently swung with the wind, but it was stable and secure.

His brother was right. It really did feel like he was standing on top of the world up there. He could see so much. The trees hid the ground well, but he could see the sky, the clouds, the air.

"Wow... you were right..." Dio whispered, lightly smiling and turning his head to where his brother should have been.

But... he wasn't there.

"... right," Dio muttered, looking back down, then up as he felt the breeze blow against him. It was slightly windier from way up there, but it wasn't nearly as frightening as it had seemed when he was younger.

The only scary thing was the impending feeling of loneliness.

He frowned, then slowly began to climb back down once again. "I promise..." He whispered, "When I get home, together we're going to stand on the top of the world together."

______

He wearily walked back into town, ready to continue the lessons so he could get home faster. Only... instead of being met with Mr. L and the other version of himself, he was met with no one.

Alone... he never liked the familiar feeling of being alone.

Even though it was sunny out, he suddenly felt cold.

"Mr. L?" He asked, carefully hugging himself. He wasn't sure why he felt so uncomfortable now. He was used to being alone. He had been alone for so many years. Maybe it was the fact that he was standing alone in the remains of a ruined town which resembled his own. But he felt almost afraid.

"Mr. L...?" He asked, softer now. "O-other me?"

There was no one around though. No one to hear him. There was no one.

"Hello?" He called, nervously looking around himself while his mind began to panic once again.

He didn't want to go back to being alone. He didn't want to go back to the horrible feeling. So he looked for them.