It didn't last long, not that we expected it to. Without us actually trying to actively fight the heroes, it turned out to be an easy battle. The only thing I had to fight was Count Bleck's voice in my mind, which kept yelling at both me and Mr. L, trying to manipulate us into fighting back. 

Don't give up, he had said. 

We're not giving up, I thought back.

I knew it was over when everything went dark and quiet. I could no longer hear Mr. L's thoughts or feel his presence. 

It hurt, but only for a little while. Not that I was afraid. Dimentio said I would be okay.

....

The quiet was kind of nice, actually. There were no sounds, no sudden movements. Just darkness and silence. I couldn't feel pain. I couldn't really feel anything anymore. Just peace. It was quite a strange sensation if I do say so myself. 

This was the exact kind of thing I aimed to create earlier. Absolute and total peace. I wanted the darkness to surround me and keep all the scary, painful experiences far away. 

The only problem was... that wasn't what I really wanted anymore.

...

A realization hit me. Slowly, but surely.

The first thing I felt was confusion. 

Why? Why wasn't anything happening? Dimentio said I would be okay.

The second thing I felt was worry.

What if they were looking for me? What if Timpani was looking for me?! Would she be okay without me?

The third thing I felt hit me the hardest. 

It was acceptance.

I was dead.

I died.

...but it's okay.

I just-... it's just a little sad. I never did get to speak again. There was so much I wanted to say, and now I could never say any of it.

I spent so many years wanting this for myself. Wanting safety, tranquility, and total peace. 

It took me so many years to realize that the darkness wasn't what I really wanted.

I wanted a future. A future with Timpani. One that was messy and wild, but true. It's the messy stuff, the chaos, that makes life feel real. 

I wanted that.

But I'm okay. So long as everyone else is alright, I'll accept the darkness. 

I'll be okay.

. . .

"Luigi?! Mr. L? Wake up! BRO! You have to see this!" A voice distant-sounding voice urged. 

A voice that I hadn't heard in such a long time.

There was the sensation of someone shaking my shoulder. 

My vision slowly cleared, revealing my brother Mario, leaning over me and grinning.

"There he is!!" Mario beamed once our eyes met. He immediately leaned down and hugged me tightly. I felt like I was being suffocated. "We did it!! We're back!! The colors are back! Everything's back!!"

We did it?

I could hardly even remember what happened.

I was fused with Blumiere and Inky. I remember that. After that... it all seemed like a blur.

"LUIGI!" Peach exclaimed, suddenly popping her head up over Mario's shoulder just as she pulled back. "Or do you prefer being called Mr. L? I'll call you whatever you want. See Mario, I KNEW he looked familiar! And you called me crazy when I said the two of them looked alike."

"I did," Mario admitted while sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "Luigi- or, er... Mr. L... I just need to tell you that-"

"Don't say sorry," I breathed while exhaustedly rubbing my eyes.

"What? But I am sorry!" Mario exclaimed.

"Yeah, but if you apologize, then I'll have to also apologize for not recognizing you either, and apologies aren't really my thing," I stated. 

He made a face at me, then rolled his eyes and shook his head.

I quickly looked around, just to make sure everyone was alright. The guy who claimed he had killed the Ink Demon was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Mimi, Nastasia, or O'Chunks, but that was because they were nowhere near us when everything ended. I was sure they were somewhere, just waking up and being hit with all their missing memories. 

Mario was here, Peach was here, and a girl with long white hair who I could only assume was Timp was here.

Then there was Dimentio. He stood off in the corner, looking down guiltily.

"Dimentio?" I asked, pushing myself up and walking past my brother. "What is-"

"Where's Blumiere?!" Timp suddenly asked. I turned to look at her. She wore a worried expression. "He's supposed to be here, right?"

I frowned, then looked around. He WAS supposed to be here. I mean, I survived, so why wouldn't he? 

"Did he run off, perhaps?" Peach asked.

"No," Dimentio muttered. 

We all turned to face him. 

Now that we were back, he was back in his old jester attire. He held his old mask in his hands and looked down at it. I couldn't tell if he was going to put it on or not. 

"No?" Timp asked. "What do you mean?!"

"I mean he's not coming back," Dimentio breathed. I could see his grip on his mask tighten slightly. His voice was strained.

We all fell silent.

Timp slowly got teary, but she didn't dare utter a word. For once, she was the one who could no longer speak. 

We watched her slowly break down. Silent tears fell, but she never made a sound. 

We won. We made it out of that horrible place. Yet... it didn't quite feel like a win anymore. 

"It's my fault," Dimentio eventually said. He slowly brought his mask up to his face, then put it back on.

"Huh?" Mario asked. "How? Did you KNOW he'd die?!"

"I didn't think he would... but I knew it was a possibility," Dimentio quietly admitted. 

Then, the truth slowly came pouring out.

"It's my fault. All of this. Not Blumiere's, not L's, it's my fault," Dimentio started. "I... I had originally planned to betray you all and save these worlds, but I was afraid. I was afraid of killing L and killing myself. I was afraid of putting myself in the position Blumiere put himself in, then being lost forever. I didn't want to die. So, I backed out, and now Blumiere's the one who's dead in my place."

Wait, what?

Was that why he had me trapped in that execution box all that time ago? Was that why he suddenly said he couldn't do it and ran off?

"I always remembered that," Dimentio continued. "Even when I forgot everything else, I never could forget that this was my own fault. I could never forget that song. The song that was supposed to play when I was supposed to take the Chaos Heart for myself. The Ultimate Show. It stayed in my head, playing constantly. It constantly reminded me of my original plans and how I backed out and let this world fall."

We all just looked at him, somewhat shocked.

No one else spoke for quite a while.

"I'm sorry..." Dimentio eventually said. He turned away from us, then began to walk off.

Walk, not fly. It was always strange to see him walk, however, it was probably normal for him by now. After all, he had probably become so accustomed to walking in that dark world since he didn't have any of his powers.

Still, I couldn't let him leave on such a sour note. I quickly ran up to him and grasped his wrist.

"Dimentio, it's not your fault," I breathed. "Please, don't go. It was never your responsibility to die in his place."

Dimentio stilled, then briefly looked down at my hand before looking up at me.

"He's right..." Timp muttered while sniffling and wiping her eyes. "No one should have had to die..."

We won. It cost us, but we did win. The victory felt bittersweet, but at the end of the day, we made it home. "Come on," I breathed, trying to offer a small smile. "We finally escaped. You're free to make music again. To do whatever you want. Don't waste your life regretting and thinking that you should have died in his place."

Dimentio stilled, then briefly glanced around the room before bringing his eyes to me. Beforehand, he was so good at hiding his emotions. Now? Even with his mask on, I could see the guilt and sorrow. 

"Okay... I'll try," he promised.

That's all I wanted.

. . .

Here I was, back at the very beginning. 

I returned to my old room and sat down at my desk, where my old sketchbook was sitting. I could recall when Count Bleck had looked through the drawings. It was perhaps one of the first times I had ever seen him truly smile. 

With Blumiere gone, I wasn't sure what would happen in the future. I had no idea where my friends would go, or what they would do. 

We could never go back to the way things were. 

That world of darkness was real. It happened. 

Everything has consequences. 

That world was seeping into our own.

I let out a sigh, then picked up a pen to draw. I watched the black ink slowly seep onto the page, bleeding through slightly.

"So, what's next?" I asked. 

I turned to my left and looked down at Inky. 

The small, silent demon looked around the room, as if fascinated by the colors, then looked back at me and offered a smile.