Blumiere and Mr. L ran out into the crowd once the door was down, desperate to find Timpani and Dimentio.

Mr. L stopped in his tracks and turned to Luigi, who was standing in the doorway, shaking ever slightly.

Mr. L: "Luigi?! You coming??"

Luigi: "Um, nah. Not really.... I feel like I'd just slow you all down, or get lost.... I'll just stay here! Heh..."

Mr. L nodded, then looked to Blumiere, not wanting to waste a single moment.

Mr. L: "I'll check the other floors for them! You look around here!"

He quickly ran off and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Blumiere to search around the tower.

Mr. L: "DIM? DIMENTIO?! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

He was about to use an elevator to scan the other floors but-

Mr. L: "OUT OF SERVICE?! Stupid blackout."

He frantically  marched around, trying to find another way to get to the other floors. He'd use his thunderhand to light the way, but there were a lot of people pushing and shoving, and he'd probably end up accidentally hurting someone, so he didn't.

Mr. L: "I swear to Grambi, if I lose him again because of a stupid blackout I'll kill someone."

He continued looking for another way down, quickly pushing through the crowds, when he ran into someone, causing them both to trip.

Timpani: "Ow..."

Mr. L quickly helped her up so they wouldn't get trampled.

Mr. L: "Timpani! Great! I found you! Where's Dim??"

She brushed herself off, a worried expression on her face.

Timpani: "I was gonna ask you the same thing."

His face paled. He thought she'd be with Dimentio. They were together, right? Why wasn't he with her??

Mr. L: "What? But, you were with him! I saw you with him!"

Timpani: "We got separated when the blackout hit! I've been looking all over for him!"

Mr. L: "So, if he's not with you, then where is he??"

______

Jacq sprinted as far as he could, before collapsing to his knees and hugging himself. His pulse was rushing, a million voices shouting in his mind.

Why'd you do that??

Why'd you run??

Coward.

Why didn't you finish the job??

You should have killed him.

NO! No, you don't want to kill him.

No bad thoughts!

What's wrong with you!

You hurt Dimentio!

It's not your fault.

It's her fault.

She made you do that.

It's not your fault.

He hugged himself, squeezed his eyes shut, and began to shake.

Jacq: "Why..... Why did you make me do that??"

Shadoo: "Do what?"

Jacq: "HURT HIM! WHY DID YOU MAKE ME HURT HIM??"

Shadoo chuckled. Funny that he thought SHE did that.

Shadoo: "I didn't. I was there, but when you and your brother met, I wasn't in control at all. That was all you."

Jacq: "No. You're lying. I... I didn't mean to. I didn't want to do that!"

She shushed him, trying to comfort him and calm him.

Shadoo: "Shh, it's gonna be okay. The important thing is, you found him. He didn't leave yet. We can still get him back for you."

Jacq rubbed his nose, and stood up.

Jacq: "O-okay.... so now what? What am I supposed to do now? I yelled at him... I hurt him.... I maybe even killed him! Maybe it would be better if I went back to the Underwhere-"

Shadoo: "NO!"

He flinched ever so slightly at the sound of her voice, causing Shadoo to bring back her calming, slightly manipulative tone.

Shadoo: "No.... you can't give up on him. He's your happiness. As your.... friend.... I won't let you give up."

Jacq: "But, he's got a family here. He's-"

Shadoo: "Then take them away. You're his real family. His real brother, and he left you. Don't let him leave you again. If you want something, you're gonna have to work for it. Can I count on you?"

Jacq shrugged, feeling more and more unsure. His mind kept going back and forth. He didn't know which voices to listen to anymore.

Jacq: "I don't know...."

Shadoo: "Think of all that time, alone in your cell. The loneliness, the pain. Who's fault is that?"

Jacq slowly tilted his chin down, and clenched his fists.

Jacq: "Mr. L's...."

Shadoo: "Exactly. And he's gonna keep taking Dimentio away from you unless you stop him. So, what are you gonna do about it?"

He slowly smiled, a giggle forming in his throat.

Jacq: "Tear him apart.... limb by limb. Or rip his throat in front of him. We'll see how I feel."

______

Blumiere: "TIMPANI? DIMENTIO? HELLO??"

He let out a worried sigh. Dimentio pretty much rejected the idea of them being related, but he still felt as if he was an older brother, who needed to at least look out for his younger sibling. He also had a deep gut feeling that something was wrong. 

He made his way around the side of the tower. Less people were over here, but something felt eerie. Like something could jump out and scare him in dark.

Blumiere: "Timpani? Dimentio??"

He came around the back of the tower. It was nearly pitch black back here. He couldn't see even four feet in front of him.

Blumiere: "Hello??"

As he walked he could hear the sounds of the crowd fade as he got further and further away. It was much quieter back here. Almost nothing but the sound of his steps...  and a faint sound of breathing.

The breathing noises caught him off guard, causing him to immediately raise his staff out in front of him.

Blumiere: "Who's there?? Show yourself!"

He continued cautiously walking around when he suddenly tripped on something, and fell to the ground.

He turned around to see what he tripped on. Or, more specifically, who he tripped on.

Blumiere: "Oh, no no no....."

He crawled over and shook Dimentio's shoulders, fearing the worst.

Blumiere: "Dimentio?! What happened?! No NO NO! Come on, we just got you back!"

He began to sob, when he heard a sharp, pained inhale.

Dimentio: "I'm not dead you idiot...."

Dimentio opened his eyes ever so slightly.

Blumiere: "Ah, thank goodness! You're not dead! ....What happened?!"

Dimentio acted as if he didn't even hear Blumiere. He squeezed his eyes shut and clutched at his wounded stomach, writhing in pain

Dimentio: "....He's back.... I don't know how.... but he's mad. I left him.... and he's mad. I abandoned him...."

Blumiere noticed the large gash in Dimentio's stomach, along with the pool of blood they were sitting in. He felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at his gloved hands. Sticky, warm, red blood covered them. He hadn't even noticed until just now.

Blumiere: "How... how did this happen??"

Dimentio either just completely ignored him, or chose to disregard Blumiere's question.

Dimentio: "....he was mad at me...."

Dimentio began to cough up a little blood, and that was enough. This was something that needed fixed Blumiere, and fast. Blumiere carefully scooped up the jester in his arms and stood up, trying his best not to cause any unneeded pain.

Blumiere: "Can you teleport us into the tower?"

Dimentio slowly raised a shaking hand, and snapped his finger, but nothing happened. He made a small whining noise, slightly disappointed with himself.

Dimentio: "Can't.... quite focus enough...."

Blumiere frowned, eyes softening.

Blumiere: "I was afraid of that."

He quickly flipped them both into the tower, then gently lied Dimentio on the couch.

Blumiere: "I apologize. I've never been strong when it came to healing magic.... so, this may take a while.... but I'm going to save you, okay?"

Dimentio couldn't even hear Blumiere over the ringing in his ears. He didn't even realize the ringing was there until just now. He was staring to feel more light headed and tired. Blumiere gently placed his hands on the wound, sending jolts of healing magic through Dimentio's body. And, boy, did it burn. Dimentio whimpered in pain, as Blumiere focused on the task at hand. It felt like a bunch of hot needles were poking at him, cutting into his stomach.

Luigi walked in holding a small candle, upon hearing all the noise.

Luigi: "I heard you guys come in. Need any- OH MY GOODNESS!"

He dropped the candle onto the ground, causing the flame to go out, leaving them in complete darkness. Blumiere didn't even turn his head to meet Luigi's eyes. He just continue focusing on the jester.

Blumiere: "Luigi, could you please go out and find Mr. L, and tell him I found Dimentio. While you're at it, if you could find Timpani, that would be great."

Luigi: "WHAT HAPPENED?! IS HE OKAY?!"

Blumiere: "We're wasting time. Luigi, go."

Luigi quickly obeyed, stumbling for the door.

Luigi: "A-alright. I'm going, I'm going. But what if I get lost or tram-"

Blumiere: "GO!"

______

Mr. L: "Seriously, I can't believe you lost him!"

Timpani: "Me?! You're blaming me?!"

Mr. L: "Well, yeah! You were with him last!!"

Timpani: "Ugh! That's so unfair!"

Mr. L: "And this all happened because YOU were acting all weird, forcing him to just pack all his things all the sudden! What the heck is going on?!"

Timpani: "Listen, I'm only trying to help him. I just don't want to freak anyone out."

Mr. L: "THEN TELL ME WHAT'S HAPPENING!"

Timpani: "ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! YOU DON'T HAVE TO YELL!"

Mr. L slowly calmed down as she took a deep breath. He was right. Secrets never helped, and everyone deserved to know what was happening. Even if it was scary. She started explaining really quickly, all in one breath.

Timpani: "Okay..... When Dimmy died so did the Chaos heart, because he was the one in control of it, so now that he's back, it lives on inside of him, and someone's gonna come after him, so I gotta get him somewhere safe or he could get hurt again or worse and I really really don't wanna lose him again because I missed him so much and I felt like it was my fault he died and I didn't get to really even say goodbye and I just can't let him get hurt!!!"

She started breathing heavily. It was scary saying it out loud. She couldn't stand the idea of him going away again. Not when things finally seemed okay.

Timpani: "I'm not gonna let him get hurt again. Not when there's something I can do to stop it."

L stared at her for a moment, blinking as he tried to process what she said.

What he got from that was, 'Dim was I'm danger, and they had to take him somewhere safe.'

I can still save him this time.

Mr. L: "Okay.... how can I help?"

Timpani: "You're not.... afraid? This is the chaos heart we're talking about. It-"

Mr. L: "The only thing I'm afraid of, is losing Dim again."

She smiled at him. Thinking about how sweet that was. He was such a good friend to Dimmy. Probably a better friend than she ever was.

Mr. L: ".....Well, that, and ghosts. I don't care for ghosts. Probably got it from Luigi. Don't tell anyone though."

She giggled, and grabbed his arm. She felt a lot better now that she got that off her chest, now that someone was willing to help.

Timpani: "Alright, well you can help by helping me find Dimmy!"

They were about to take off, when they heard someone calling their names in the distance.

Luigi: "MR. L?! TIMPANI?! WE NEED YOU! IT'S AN EMERGENCY!"

They both looked over to see Luigi, desperately trying to get through the crowd, nearly getting trampled.

Luigi: "Guys, GUYS, hey- let me through. This is an emergency! I- HEY, don't push me! Ow-"

They exchanged glances, before sprinting in the direction of his voice. They ran over to see him sitting on the ground in the middle of the crowd, hugging his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth.

Timpani: "Luigi?"

Luigi: "Get. Me. Out. Of. here!"

She slowly grabbed his arms and lifted him up. He was shaking and breathing heavily, like some sort of lost, scared puppy.

Timpani: "Luigi, what's wrong?"

Luigi: "I-I came to find you, and- and the crowd basically trampled me! And- and...."

Mr. L: "Yeah, yeah. We don't care about that. You said there was an emergency!"

Luigi slowly began to calm down, taking long, deep breaths. There were more important things at stake. 

Luigi: "Okay, okay... it's Dimentio."

Timpani and L's faces lit up.

Timpani: "Dimmy? Did you find him? What's wrong?"

Luigi took a deep breath.

Luigi: "Dimentio's hurt."

______

Timpani, L, and Luigi burst into flipside tower through the door that was broken down, pushing and shoving, worried that if they didn't get there fast enough, it would be to late. 

Timpani: "I was afraid of this. We're already too late. She must already be after him!"

L shoved her aside and sprinted up to Dimentio and Blumiere.

Mr. L: "Is he okay?? How bad is it? Can you save him? He'll be okay, right?? RIGHT?? "

Blumiere didn't look up, but nodded ever so slightly, a calm, cool expression on his face.

Blumiere: "Shh, I have to focus. I'm not good at this kind of stuff. He passed out from blood loss a few minutes ago."

Mr. L took a few steps back, face ghostly white. His hands shook and he felt sick. This couldn't be happening.

Timpani: "Blumiere, did he say what happened??"

Blumiere: "All he said was that someone was mad."

Someone was mad. Probably that thing Professor Mago warned Timpani about no doubt. They were already to late. There wasn't a moment to lose. She could be back any minute to finish the job. 

She began to pace back and forth, mind racing.

Timpani: "Okay, we gotta leave. We gotta get him somewhere safe. Now! Blumiere, can you flip us somewhere? Anywhere!"

He shook his head, not daring to stop healing for even a second.

Blumiere: "I'm a little busy at this moment, Dear. He is on the verge of bleeding out. He's in critical condition, if I were to let go he could die in an instant."

L made a small high pitched squeaking noise at the very thought of Dimentio dying again, and leaned against the wall, one hand over his mouth and the other hand over his stomach. 

Blumiere: "Don't worry. I won't let that happen. I just have to stay focused."

Timpani: "But we HAVE to get him out of here! They're literally attacking him!"

Luigi: "Well... I could give you my return pipe. The one that takes me back home to the Mushroom Kingdom. And- and the Mushroom Kingdom has a variety of different aircrafts you could use to escape quickly. Planes, balloons, helicopters, blimps!"

They all slowly looked over at him. To be completely honest, most of them forgot he was even there with them. Mr. L suddenly walked over and held out his hand.

Mr. L: ".... Hand over the return pipe. Blumiere, can you still heal Dimentio while carrying him over?"

Blumiere slowly nodded, and lifted the Jester up, hands still glowing with magic. Timpani dusted her hands off and turned to Luigi as well.

Timpani: "Okay, okay, Luigi, tell Nastasia she's in charge."

Luigi: "Wait, why can't I be in ch-"

Timpani: "And tell Dio that we'll be back soon, okay? Okay."

Mr. L snatched the return pipe from him, and was about to jump in, when he froze.

Mr. L: "Wait.... I need to get something. Be right back!"

He suddenly sprinted out, as everyone just watched, exchanging confused glances. He came back a few minutes later, slightly out of breath, a dark brown satchel over his shoulder. It was closed, so no one could see what was inside, but they didn't have the time to question it.

Mr. L: "Okay, let's go!"

Everyone nodded, then Timpani, Mr. L, and Blumiere, holding Dimentio, quickly jumped into the pipe, leaving Flipside. Luigi just stood there, slowly shaking his head in defeat.

Luigi: "Well.... there goes my ride home."

Nastasia came into the room, holding a candle. She was holding Dio's hand. Dio held Dimentio's mask in his other hand, playing around with it.

Nastasia: "What's going on? We heard voices."

Luigi: "Uhh.... Timpani, Blumiere, Dimentio, and Mr. L are going on a little trip. She wanted me to tell you that you were in charge, and that they'd be back soon."

Dio: "Mommy and Daddy left?"

Luigi kneeled down so he was at eye level with the kid. He was always fairly good with kids.

Luigi: "No no no, they'll be back. They're just, taking your Uncle Dimmy somewhere safe."

Nastasia gave him a concerned look.

Nastasia: "K... why exactly?"

Luigi: "I.... have no idea."

______

Mr. L and Timpani jumped out of the pipe, in front of the empty Mario Bros home. Mario was still out on one of his many, many.... many many adventures, so he wasn't home. Blumiere was right behind them. Once he was there, he carefully set Dimentio down on the ground, and continued healing.

Blumiere: "I still need more time. You guys will have to find something and bring it here. I'll stay and heal him."

Mr. L and Timpani exchanged nervous glances.

Mr. L: "Okay... but don't let him die. If you do, I'll never forgive you."

Blumiere: "I'm doing my best! Quit pressuring me!"

L was about to start a whole argument when Timpani grabbed his arm and took off.

Timpani: "Okay, where do you think they keep their big, expensive planes? Ooh! Maybe we could get a blimp! Or a helicopter! OR A BOAT! Dimmy has always loved boats!

Mr. L: "Timpani, do you see any water around here? The ocean is like, I don't even know how far away. And I have no idea where the Mushroom Kingdom keeps their aircraft. I didn't even know planes existed here. I thought that there were just those airships or something!"

Timpani: "Well, what if we just ask someone where they are?"

Mr. L: "I'm pretty sure the princess is currently being kidnapped for the billionth time, and Mario's saving her. Who here would just hand over an airplane to US of all people."

Timpani tapped her chin, in a thinking manner.

Timpani: "You're right.... however.... they'd probably hand one over to Luigi."

Mr. L: "Yeah, but Luigi isn't here."

She chuckled, and crossed her arms.

Timpani: "How's your Luigi impression....?"

Mr. L's face went pale.

Mr. L: "No. No, I refuse to go back to acting like that! Not again! I spent nearly a month pretending to be him all those years ago! I'm not gonna do it again! Nope!"

~ Ten Minutes Later ~

Mr. L stood awkwardly at the front door to Peach's castle. They didn't have a par of Luigi's clothes, so he just took off his hat and mask.

Mr. L: "Hello? Its-a me. Luigi. I'm afraid of everything, totally LOVE my older brother, and am definatly OKAY with constantly being in Mario's shadow.... ugh, gross."

He continued mumbling, trying to nail his Luigi impression. After he was confident in himself, he held a fist forward and knocked on the door. Toadsworth answered.

Toadsworth: "Luigi? What are you doing here?" 

He looked the man in green up and down.

Toadsworth: "And what's with the strange attire? I don't think I've ever seen you dress in all black. And what's in the bag?"

Mr. L held in a groan and plastered a fake goofy smile on his face.

Mr. L: "That is quite a good observation. I just wear this when my other clothes are being washed. And the bag... it just has some personal belongings. Heh.... so, umm, Toadman-"

Toadsworth: "It's Toadsworth. And I thought you were going to hang out in flipside while your brother was out on his adventure. You know, to make sure everyone was okay. I know you felt particularly guilty for what happened to Dimentio."

Mr. L: "Yeah, well I was just- Wait, what?"

Toadsworth: "Well, you cried for weeks, saying that if you woke up sooner, you maybe could have saved him, and that everyone could have gotten a happy ending if you weren't such a screw up. But you already know this."

Mr. L's eye began to twitch. Was that true? Did Luigi feel guilty for Dimentio's death? He's ran a lot of scenarios through his head, blaming different people for what happened, but he almost NEVER blamed Luigi.

Mr. L: "Uhh, right. Yes. Of course.... wait, so why did I go back about a month ago again?"

Toadsworth: "Well, once Mario left for his adventure, you said you wanted to help out Timpani, Blumiere, all of them. You wanted to kinda make up for not being able to do anything about the whole... death thing. Plus, you wanted something to take your mind off of the loneliness."

Mr. L: "Oh. I was... lonely?"

Toadsworth: "Do you have amnesia or something? Luigi, are you feeling alright?"

He looked back behind him, to where Timpani was hiding in the bushes.

Mr. L: "Yeah... yeah, I'm fine. Um, do you know where we keep our aircraft?"

Toadsworth seemed slightly thrown off by the question.

Toadsworth: "Uhh, what?"

Mr. L: "Where does the Mushroom Kingdom keep the aircraft?"

He tried not to hide the frustration he was feeling, but his voice had a hint of an edge to it. He was worried that by the time he got the plane, Dim would already be gone. And he didn't want Dim to die without him by his side again. He wanted to at least be there to comfort him this time.

Toadsworth: "What a.... strange question. May I ask why you need an aircraft. I didn't even know you could fly."

Mr. L: "I JUST NEED ONE! IT'S AN EMERGENCY!"

Toadsworth: "Okay, okay! We have a small jet you could use! It's around the back of the castle. I'll get you the keys! Just don't yell at me!"

The old toad shut the door, and quickly ran to get the keys, then opened the door back up and handed them to Mr. L.

Toadsworth: "Just don't crash it, or I'm gonna have to bill you for it, Luigi."

Mr. L: "Yeah, yeah, thank you! Gotta go now, bye!"

Toadsworth: "WAIT!"

Mr. L stopped in his tracks, and slowly turned to face the old toad again.

Toadsworth: "Something seems off about you."

Mr. L let out a deep breath. Great. He was really hoping he wouldn't have to do this.

Mr. L: "Oh, well the truth is... something IS wrong. It's.... it's...."

He began to fake cry.

Mr. L: "I'm just SO worried about my dear brother. What if while he's on his adventure he gets hurt! What if King Boo comes and get's him! I just get SO worried about Maria!"

Toadsworth: "Mario."

Mr. L: "Mario, yes! I'm just SO worried for him!"

Toadsworth was still skeptical.

Toadsworth: "What's really up?"

Mr. L: "Okay, fine. The truth is..... I'm having trouble with Daisy."

Toadsworth gasped.

Mr. L: "Yep. I just don't think I'm good enough for her. You know, since I'm afraid of everything. So.... I wanted to take a jet, and learn to fly! To impress her!"

Toadsworth: "Ah. Yes, well.... I guess that makes sense. Good luck impressing her then. (You're gonna need it)"

Mr. L: "Thank you! I'll be off then! Catch you L-ater!"

He quickly ran off with the keys, back to Timpani, who immediately gave him a high five.

Mr. L: "Got the keys. There's a jet around back."