"So, Mr. L," Oliver starts. "How much money you got saved?"

"Huh?" Mr. L asks while closing up the shop.

"For your dream? I mean, I know it's probably not much because you gotta pay for all these supplies, plus rent and living expenses. But how much do ya got?"

Mr. L shrugs and thinks about it for a second. "I... should actually check. Here, come with me, we'll find out," Mr. L says while grabbing a coat.

"Cool. Cool, I'm still getting paid for this, right?" Oliver asks.

"Sure. Whatever. Just hurry up."

The two of them start walking towards the nearest bank. It was about to close so they had to rush inside.

"Wait," Oliver asks. "How much money do you even need to go and live your dream?"

"Well, it's not just about money. It's about the people too. But... I'd need probably about 50,000 to help me get started wherever I go if I were to go. I'd need to probably keep traveling so Mario doesn't find me, so I'd say that's a good number to start."

"50,000?!?! Bruh, good luck saving that much. I'd be surprised if you had one cent in there-"

"Are you Mr. L?" The banker asks, interrupting the kid. Mr. L nods. "Yes, we'd like to just check-"

"Before you say anything, I need to inform you about some... changes to your account." The banker interrupts.

"Huh?" L asks. "What changes?"

"Well," He starts. "We found you were connected to someone else. Someone by the name of 'Luigi,' does that name ring a bell?"

Mr. L's face immediately goes pale. "Uhh...yes..."

"He called," The banker says, handing the man in green a piece of paper. "He said he went to the Underwhere to find you. Something about wanting to help you out. He felt bad that he got to live on but you didn't. But then when you weren't there he called all over, searching for any sign of you. He wanted to give you this."

Mr. L looked down at the piece of paper, before gasping and dropping it.

"W-what?! What's the meaning of this?!"

The banker shrugs. "He said something about getting married? To some sort of royalty, I don't know, but he got a huge wave of money and wanted to give you a portion. He also wanted you to know that he didn't tell anyone that you were still alive. He knew you were probably purposely avoiding everyone. Which, to be fair, is what about half the people on this block are doing."

Oliver furrows his eyebrows before kneeling down and picking up the paper.

"HOLY CRAP! 96,000?!" Oliver exclaims. "Tu plaisantes. Oh mon Grambi!!!"

"Oliver, don't swear." Mr. L replies, before turning back to the banker. ".....HOLY CRAP, 96,000?!?! How did Luigi get this much?!"

"Bro, you could do so much with that kind of money!" Oliver excitedly shouts. "Think about it! You could get on a plane and go! For reals! You could get out of here! Stand on the sky!"

"96,000...." Mr. L whispers, taking the paper back from Oliver. "Dang...."

"96,000," Oliver repeats with a big smile. "C'est fou"

"I can go..." Mr. L whispers with a smile forming.

"You can get out of here! See the world! Live your dream!" Oliver adds, excited.

"I can fly away!" Mr. L beams, before grabbing Oliver's arm and dragging him out. "It won't be long now!!!"

_______

"It won't be long now," Dimentio tells the homeowner. "I have nearly enough money! And I have all the forms! Here! I can-"

"Ummm, about that," The homeowner starts, slowly handing the rental forms back. "I meant to call you. Your statement didn't go through...."

Dimentio's smile slowly fades. "I beg your pardon?"

"Your statement. You just don't have enough finance to back this up. But perhaps you have family who can help you out? Do you have any living relatives? Parents perhaps?"

Dimentio visibly winces before looking down. He doesn't say anything, and just grabs the forms and walks away.

He walks alone down the streets as people give hard stares. "It's fine..." He mumbles. "I don't mind..."

He slowly sits down on a bench and looks up at the sky, a small tear falling down his face. "It... won't be long now...."

______

About a day later, Mr. L still didn't tell anyone about the 96,000. But he bought a plane ticket and started working on what to do with the shop. He was planning on selling it. Once that was taken care of he'd be announcing to Timpani and Blumiere that he'd be leaving. He was sure they'd probably be sad about it at first but overall happy for him.

That's when Oliver came in.

"Oliver, you're late-" Mr. L starts, before looking at the young boy and freezing.

His clothes are ripped and there is a large scrape across the side of his face.

"Is it..." Oliver starts with a sad, almost broken quality to his voice. It didn't match his usual cheerful tone. "Is it true... that colleges only accept humans?"

"Oliver!" Mr. L shouts, running up to him and grabbing his arms, kneeling down. "Kid, what happened?"

"Is it true?" Oliver asks, tears peaking out of the corners of his eyes. "Is... is it true?"

Mr. L pauses.

"I...don't know." Mr. L admits, causing the young boy to lower his head into his hands. "What happened?!" Mr. L asks, worry in his tone.

The boy shakes his head and leans into the man in green, hugging him. "I... the kids at school. We... we were talking about what we want to do when we grow up..."

He pauses a moment before continuing. "I... said I wanted to go to college and learn to be something important. But... they said colleges don't accept people.... things like me."

Mr. L winces, as the kid continues explaining, "After school... they... found me out back and made sure I knew that no one would accept me."

Mr. L hugged the kid back and patted his head. "Hey, hey... don't say that. It's not-"

"IT IS TRUE THOUGH!" Oliver interrupts. "I... they said society doesn't accept mixed things like me! I..."

"Did you tell your parents?" Mr. L asks.

"No," Oliver admits, pulling back and wiping a tear. "My parents... they already feel guilty enough that they can barely provide me enough money to let me be a kid. If I tell my parents this... it'll destroy them. I... I can't do that to them."

"Hey, shh. It's gonna be okay. It's-"

"No. I... I can't be anything in life. I really am stuck here, all because of where I came from. Who I am. I... I'm powerless." Oliver cries, leaning into Mr. L again. "I'm powerless..."

Mr. L paused a moment, before gently wiping the kid's tears away. "Hey... Oliver. Listen." He starts. "Never have I ever seen a kid as powerful as you. You're smart, you're fun, and I know you wouldn't let some jerks tell you who you can and can't be."

"But I looked it up! I-I gotta have documents, I gotta be human, or ancient. I can't be both! I-"

"Well, your parents will be able to figure it out with you. I'm sure. Listen, the world needs you. The future needs you. You can do great things. You just... can't let people like them tell you otherwise. Don't let them rob the world of you. Okay, kid?"

Oliver slowly looked up at him, before softly smiling and wiping another tear. "Okay...."

"Now," Mr. L chimes, taking his hand. "Let's get you cleaned up."

______

Blumiere and Timpani were walking down the streets home from work. They learned to ignore everyone's stares. They never minded.

They never minded.

However, people still stared. Nothing could stop people from staring.

"With all the extra hours we worked do you think we've earned enough for Oliver to take a month off of work? I just feel bad that he's missing out on being a kid," Timpani mutters, looking at her paycheck.

"Well... we could, but then we'd be dipping into his future funds, plus with the rents escalating, it could be risky..." Blumiere admitted with an exhausted sigh. "But I agree. He works so hard all the time. I just... wish we could help give him the life he deserves."

Timpani lets out a long breath and wraps her arms around him. "I just wish... we had more to give him..."

And this is when they pass Dimentio, who is sitting on a bench looking up at the sky. Blumiere pushes the sad, defeated feelings of life weighing him down away, and offers a warm smile, waving a friendly wave. "Hello, Dimentio!"

"Count," Dimentio responds without even making eye contact. He just continues looking up at the sky, feeling defeated.

"Is something the matter?" Timpani asks, sitting down next to the jester, causing him to turn away from her. "No. I'm fine. As fine as the tip of a fine point sharpie."

"What is it?" Blumiere asks, eyeing the papers in Dimentio's hand. All he can really see on it is a red stamp. With... some letters? What are they? R...E...J... oh,

It's the word, 'Rejected.'

"Oh... Dimentio-"

"It's fine." Dimentio interrupts. "I don't need your pity."

"What? What is it?!" Timpani asks, when Blumiere whispers in her ear, "His request for the house got rejected."

"Oh..." She mumbles. "Do you know why?"

"I didn't have the money," Dimentio admits, shoving the forms into her hand. "Or a family to back me up."

He waits a moment, before turning and shaking his head. "It doesn't matter, though. Nothing can be done."

He walks off, leaving Blumiere and Timpani in silence as they look down at the form.

"He was short by 10,000," Blumiere observes. "Did the rates really shoot up that much?!"

"Oh, the poor guy," Timpani sighs, looking at the form.

______

"Wait, so you got $96,000?!" The young girl asks, leaning forward over the stars. "Why did I never hear of this?!

Mr. L just smiles and shrugs. "Does it matter?"

"Well, yeah!" She exclaims.

"How so?" Mr. L questions.

"Well... uh... you could fix that super run-down spaceship over there!" She points out, causing him to break out laughing.

"No, I won't be fixing that spaceship. That's my favorite. Do you know why?"

"Why?" She asks.

"Because of who made it."

"You didn't make it?" She questions, looking over at the run-down ship.

"Nope!" Mr. L chimes.

"Oh. Then who did?" She asks.

"You'll see. And besides, does me having 96,000 really change anything?" He questions, smiling.

"Huh..." She mutters. "I guess not. But what about Dimentio?! You did help him, didn't you?"

"Well, why don't you let me continue telling the story so you can find out," Mr. L chuckles, causing the young girl to cross her arms. "Fine. Fine. Proceed."