"You know, it's the strangest thing," Luigi muttered. "Not being able to recall how I died."

I rolled my eyes, fighting to keep up with his pace. Luigi had decently long legs in comparison to mine, so it was difficult not to fall too far behind. 

"No one can," I stated. 

"I know. But it's a strange rule," Luigi clarified. "I mean... we remember most of our lives, but we can't know what did us in. Why?"

I shrugged. I could spend centuries wondering why certain rules were made, but it would never get me anywhere. Maybe Jaydes took those memories for our sake, or perhaps it was to torture us with the unknown. 

White trees. Their branches hunched downward from the weight over them. Winter always weighed heavily on nature. 

"I guess it's comforting," Luigi continued. "I mean, if Mario knew he died by falling off a ladder, he'd be humiliated. Do you know if I'm allowed to tell him?"

"You are," I stated. "But most people who reunite with their loved ones don't, though I don't understand why."

"I think I get it," Luigi said dumbly. "I mean, I wouldn't want to burden you with how you died."

"Do you think our parents would miss us if we were to just disappear?" he had asked me once. 

"Everyone would miss you," I replied. 

He smiled. I loved his smile. 

I missed his smile.

"I didn't say me. I said us," he chuckled. "Keep up, Dimentio."

I rolled my eyes and grasped a small pebble. It was ice cold, yet felt different from frozen water. Harder, somehow. An earthy aura surrounded it, like power. 

Like magic. 

It reminded me of him. 

I wrapped my fingers around it, then threw it out onto the frozen lake. A small dent was made as it landed.

The rock will always be stronger than the ice. 

"Why do you ask?" I questioned. "We're not going anywhere."

"Yet."

"Oh, so you have a plan?" I huffed sarcastically. It wasn't meant to be a serious question - I knew very well that he hardly ever made plans. 

"No," he admitted. Thank Grambi he was at least being honest. "I don't really care what happens, so long as I'm always with you."

"I'm so flattered," I muttered sarcastically to hide the fact that I was. 

"You are?" Luigi asked. "Oh, good! I thought you'd be mad."

I blinked a few times. The icy landscape had shifted back to the overwhelmingly warm atmosphere of the Underwhere. Beside us was not a frozen lake, but the same river that had always cut through the Underwhere. A river that would never freeze over. 

"I..." I trailed off, slightly confused. "What did you say?"

"We were talking about death," Luigi chimed. 

Death, yes, right. Dying. The hot topic of the Underwhere. 

How did the man in green die? 

How did I die?

I stopped walking.

Luigi took a few extra steps, then turned back to make sure I was following. His shoulders dropped slightly when he caught sight of my stillness. 

"What is it?"

I bit at the inside of my cheek.

"You... were there," I murmured, though my voice came out soft. I would be surprised if he could hear me. 

"You remember?"

"No," I stated quickly. 

I looked up to his eyes. 

There was anxiety.

A confirmation. 

Suddenly the thought of ghosts was gone. Everything I had been working toward was gone, replaced with that overwhelming curiosity. 

How did I die? 

He could tell me how I died. 

"What happened?" I asked. 

I wanted to sound assertive and commanding, but instead, my voice came out meek and desperate. No matter, I no longer cared for how the world saw me. I needed answers. 

The color from Luigi's face had drained slowly. He shivered and looked away. 

Had he forgotten? 

No, he couldn't have. It wouldn't be fair. The most crucial moment of my life did not deserve to be forgotten by him of all people. The world could forget my name, I could disappear into history, but he could not forget that moment. 

There was so little I knew. There was no way of telling if Count Bleck or Lady Timpani made it past the entire ordeal. I had expected to find the count with me in the Underwhere, but I had yet to see him. I figured this must have meant he survived somehow. He had to have, there was no way someone like him could pass over to the Overthere. It wasn't possible. Where was Nastasia? Mimi, O'Chunks, were they all living happy lives? How long had it taken them to forget me? Were they happier now that I was gone? 

I hoped they knew I was responsible for their happy ending. The future the count had planned for them was far worse, far darker. Why did he get to have his happily ever after when he was the main villain? He was the one who set everything in motion, he was the one who couldn't get his emotions in check. He let something as silly as love drive him to the point of madness. He was out to destroy, I was out to create. Like it or not, the life they were likely living now only happened because I stepped in. Without me, Mario would have never gotten far enough to defeat the count - he would have never been reunited with Luigi, we would all be DEAD, stuck down here. 

If you think about it, I wasn't the villain. I was the sacrifice. My death earned everyone else their happy endings. So why was I forgotten? Why did no one care?! What did I do that was worse than the count to deserve this?! Why should he get to be happy while I sit and rot-

"Dimentio, you're crying," Luigi breathed.

I blinked again. He was now standing right before me. His ungloved hand sat ice cold on the exposed side of my face. He wiped molten hot liquid from beneath my right eye, then winced slightly. 

"Hot!" he gasped. "You're burning up. Grambi, you must be sick."

"Don't touch me," I hissed as I slapped his hand away. "And I'm dead. I don't get sick."

"Back in the day I had the theory that you were always sick," Luigi stated. "Mr. L thought that you were too skinny and sickly to be healthy. I figured that was your motivation for joining forces with the count. To find some kind of cure for some obscure terminal illness you had."

Okay, ouch. Did I seriously look that bad??

"I wasn't sick," I spat. "Mr. L was just a judgmental freak."

"Hey, that's me you're talking about," Luigi joked. 

Oh, so this was funny to him. 

I narrowed my eyes and glanced away.

"Who made it out?" I asked.

"Hmm?"

"Well, I don't remember how I died. That entire last day is basically gone. Something big must have happened if I was killed, though. Did Bleck do it? I bet he did. I bet Nastasia caught on and warned him of my plan. He must have slit my throat in my sleep-"

"He did no such thing," Luigi assured me. "And your friends are safe. O'Chunks, Nastasia, and Mimi all have happy lives now. O'Chunks and Nastasia are actually married now! Mimi was the maid of honor and I was the best man."

Funny he thought I'd consider the people who had forgotten all about me friends. 

"Did they ever speak of me?" 

I braced myself.

"No," Luigi said. "I mean, a little at first, but... it was a hard subject."

"How did I die?"

He looked away again. 

"Luigi, damn it, how did I die?!" I said again.

He remained silent and started fidgeting with the golden ring that sat on his finger. The world reflected off its smooth, polished exterior. 

I allowed the tension in my body to slowly release.

"What... was it like?" I muttered, my voice much more gentle than before. 

"I don't want to hurt you-"

"Not my death," I groaned. "Your life, idiot. What was it like?"

He looked back at me again, his eyes glassy. It was as if a thin layer of ice froze over them. 

"I... what?" he stuttered. 

I let my head fall to the side slightly. I wasn't going to repeat myself for him anymore. He would either have to learn to pay attention or find a new person to bother. 

"Oh," Luigi squeaked. "W-Well... now I'm flattered. I-I didn't expect you to care-"

"Just talk," I huffed as I walked past him and continued to follow the river. 

"Right! Right, well..." the man in green trailed off. "We never stopped adventuring. Mario and I. There was another story to be made practically every month! It was wonderful. Frightening, but wonderful. Mario got married to Princess Peach. The two of them had two beautiful children. My niece is named Honeydew. She's got brown hair like her dad, but the same face as her mother. She turns thirteen in March! She's got Peach's kindness, but Mario's flair for adventure. Oh, and my nephew is named Pomelo. His birthday just happened! He turned ten on December 12th. He's blonde like Peach. Takes after his mother with the leadership, too. He'd make a wonderful ruler someday, though he's super jumpy like me. They're fun, I got to teach them how to play tennis!"

Children. 

The man in red had children.

Somehow that didn't feel right. How could he continue to adventure with the children in the picture? Why was he still selfishly putting himself on the line when there were people who depended on him? Was it for glory, or was he trying to be a good example for them? What would happen when they grew up - would they too be roped into his dangerous journeys? Was that the life he wanted for them? 

"And you?" I asked. My eyes fell upon his ring again. "Did... you have children?"

Luigi flinched slightly, though it was barely noticeable. His eyes started to dart around, searching for anything else to make contact with. 

"Um... no," he said. 

His voice dropped to become softer, less filled with the excitement that should come when one talks about a loving family. 

"I... it turns out I... n-never could," he explained. There was a meekness to his tone that wasn't there before. "But it's okay. I mean... did I want to? Yes, m-more than anything, but I wouldn't trade the relationships I have with my niece and nephew for the world. They're all I need. I-it would be selfish to want more anyway."

The air around us had dropped slightly cooler. 

I bit at my lip, then let myself ask the question I had been avoiding since I first laid eyes on the small piece of jewelry. 

"And... the ring?" 

"A wedding ring," Luigi answered.

My heart dropped, though I couldn't tell why. It was clearly a wedding ring, I wasn't shocked in the slightest. Why did I suddenly feel sick? 

"I... um..." he continued. "Daisy and I were together for many years. But... when... a-a year ago, we discovered my... problem. And... she's a princess. There needs to be an heir to the throne. S-so... it just... it... we were both devastated, but... I had to step back and do what was best for the kingdom."

The layer of ice over his eyes had thickened, though no tears fell. 

"I... I'm sorry," I said. 

I don't know why. I never apologized, especially for things I had nothing to do with. Still, somehow it felt genuine. I seldom lied, so I must have been being truthful. Why, though? Why did I feel anything for this man?

He shook his head, then forced a smile and ran his thumb beneath his eye.

"It doesn't matter," he lied. "I have Mario. Had Mario. I just... the only thing that's important now is getting back to him."

I hummed quietly in response, unable to find the right words to use. 

Polterpup let out a soft yap, to which Luigi responded by smiling and lifting his dog into the air. 

"Besides, I'm never alone," he chimed. There was a weight to his voice now, but I didn't point it out to him. "I have Polter. Who could ask for more?"

The dog panted and wagged its tail in response. 

"We just need to get back to Mario. Nothing else will matter after that," Luigi chimed. 

I remained silent. 

I hadn't seen a connection as strong as the one between Luigi and Mario. That kind of bond didn't happen to just anyone. Only special people were capable of building something so strong. 

People like him...

I missed him.