Luigi had no idea how long it had been since Dimentio had last spoken to him. At least a few days. Never before had the prince spent so many nights away from home. He missed having a big, safe, warm bed to sleep in, the way his freshly cleaned blankets would smell, warm from being dried.

He kept opening and closing his umbrella to pass the time. Some say that opening umbrellas indoors is bad luck. Maybe that's how he got into this whole mess, by opening his umbrella inside when he first got it in the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario used to call him silly for remembering all those superstitions, but Luigi was always one to believe the unbelievable. Maybe that made him weird, but he didn't care. Well, that was a lie. He always cared what people thought of him. Especially Mario. He just came to terms with the fact that he couldn't stop people from judging him.

Prince Luigi stopped calling for Dimentio to come back long ago. It was clear he wouldn't, despite promising Luigi that they'd speak again. Even though he kidnapped him, Luigi found himself wishing he'd come back just so he wouldn't be alone. Being alone was far scarier than being in the presence of a bad guy, at least to him. Which was strange, because he was alone all the time. He would think he'd be used to it.

Ever since Dimentio left, he tried his best to picture what was going on in the world outside. He knew Peach, Daisy, Prince Mario, and King Boo were all gone, and after hearing Dimentio hint at Mario was there at one point too, he knew that this situation he found himself in had to somehow be linked to theirs. He also could remember Dimentio mentioning the girl in orange.

That must have been Daisy. What did that mean, though? Daisy wasn't usually the one being focused on, it was always Peach.

Dimentio also mentioned the man in green. Was that really him?

Light Prognosticus... Dimentio said that the Light Prognosticus requires the girl in orange to host the Purity Heart and that the Dark Prognosticus requires the man in green to host the Chaos Heart. What did that mean for him and Daisy? Would they be sacrificed in some creepy way? And who were the Light and Dark Prognosticus? Or what? He assumed they were people from the way they were referred to, but they very well could be things. Maybe even spirits or ghosts. Peach and Daisy dealt with ghosts a lot, so that could be very possible.

He shivered slightly at the thought. He never did like ghosts.

Dimentio also kept calling him "L." Why L? L for Luigi? Was it a nickname he already formed in his head? How did he know Prince Luigi's name? Luigi never actually got the chance to introduce himself.

It was hard to come to terms with the fact that this was real. It all felt so crazy and dream-like. The fact that he was being pulled into this craziness was enough to convince him he was making it all up, only dreams never felt this cold and dark. Even with his eyes closed, he could always sense light somewhere. But not down here, at least not without Dimentio and his glowing eye there.

Why did his eye glow? What did he even look like? It was too dark for Luigi to tell. He was short, right? Or maybe he was leaning down. From where his eyes were, Luigi assumed he was just barely shorter than Prince Mario. His voice was also smooth and a little theatric, yet cold at the same time. It had a nice ring to it, listening to it was like listening to a performer. Where was he from and why was he doing this? Did he have a family or any loved ones?

Luigi shook his head, trying to get his mind back on track, though it was hard to stop his thoughts from wandering in times like this.

There was a brief chiming sound, then the rushing of footsteps. Prince Luigi perked up and grasped the dark bars that kept him imprisoned.

"Dimentio?!" he asked, his voice frantic.

The hurried footsteps continued, drawing closer and closer until there was a dark figure in front of him. Luigi couldn't see through the darkness, but he could sense someone there.

It wasn't Dimentio, though. If it was, his eye would have been glowing.

"No," a slightly out-of-breath voice breathed. "J-just hang on for a second."

There was the sound of something hitting the ground, then a deep blue glow filled the room, though it was dim.

Luigi flinched and squinted his eyes. In front of him was the silhouette of a tall man. The room had just become light enough for the prince to make out a long red cloak. The figure was holding a staff with a glowing blue gem on it, the gem being the source of light.

"Wh-who are you?!" Luigi stuttered as he let go of the bars and drew back, suddenly frightened.

"No, no, don't be afraid," the man said as he quickly used his free hand to reach up and pull his hood off, revealing a slender, yet kind face. The glow of the gem almost made his skin look blue, but it was too dark to tell what he really looked like. "I'm Pierre. A friend Peach and Prince Mario. Well, kinda. I'm here to rescue you."

Luigi's eyes lit up as the cloaked man waved his staff, teleporting into Luigi's cell. Luigi jumped back slightly as Pierre stumbled to catch himself.

"Sorry, I don't teleport this far often," he breathed. "I also haven't teleported anyone other than myself in... many years, but I'm sure we'll be fine. Worst case scenario, we end up in the middle of the ocean. You can swim, right? Just checking, because I definitely can't."

Luigi nervously swallowed and nodded. That wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear in this situation, but honestly, at this point, he was just glad not to be alone. Besides, if this man was really working with Peach, then he had to be trustworthy.

"Is your staff low on power or something?" Luigi asked, not knowing how magic works.

"Hmm? Oh, no, the staff helps me control my power," Pierre explained. "The power is in me. Now, here, grab my hand."

Pierre held his hand out to Luigi. The prince hesitated, then slowly took it, shivering as he did so. It felt like he was holding ice, only it was somehow colder. Like being burned, but the opposite. The prince visibly flinched upon touching him and almost pulled back, but he didn't.

"Sorry, should have warned you, cold hands," Pierre breathed with a quiet chuckle. "Now let's go, quickly!"

He lifted his staff into the air and briefly waved it. With a soft chime, the two of them vanished. 

For a moment, Luigi felt like he was falling. The air around him seemed to spiral, like a vortex. Then, the cold shifted to warm and the dark shifted to light, and he was standing in a small house filled to the brim with different books and small objects.

Pierre let go of his arm and basically collapsed onto a chair.

"Oh... my Jaydes, I did it," he breathed, heaving slightly. "Go...me... heh."

"A-are you alright?" Luigi asked, taking note of his suddenly exhausted appearance. Pierre's skin was so pale that it looked gray. Was that normal?

"Yes... yes..." Pierre assured the prince, grasping his hood and pulling it over his face. A shadow covered most of his features, though his glowing blue eyes were still visible. He looked a lot scarier with his hood up, and Luigi found himself wishing Pierre would leave it off. He didn't say that out loud though, not wanting to come off as rude.

"Um... thank you," Prince Luigi breathed, bowing his head slightly. 

He had a lot of questions, like where was he? Or what had he been locked up? How did Pierre even find him? Those questions could wait, though.

"Where's Mario?" the prince asked.

"He's with Peach on an adventure," Pierre tiredly answered, still trying to catch his breath. "They're collecting Chaos Heart fragments. It's a bit of a long story, but each heart fragment takes a few days to collect, so we have time if you want answers."

Luigi drew back slightly. Prince Mario, on an adventure? Pierre had to be joking.

"Um, answers, yes," Luigi breathed. "Who's Dimentio? And what's the Light Prognosticus? And what's this Chaos Heart fragment thing you just mentioned?"

"Dimentio is Countess Tippi's closest comrade," Pierre answered. "Countess Tippi is the bad guy. The Light Prognosticus is a book she has. It's basically her instructions manual for destroying darkness. She's the one who stole your friends from their homes in hopes of using something called the Purity Heart to banish all darkness from the universe. Your brother and Peach are on a mission to collect Chaos Heart fragments so they can put the heart back together and stop her."

That seemed a little backward. Usually, good guys were on the side of light, right?

Although, he supposed not everything was black and white. How could light even exist without darkness? They went hand in hand. Or, at least they did in the stories Luigi grew up reading.

Was this why there was a large gash in the sky over Sarasaland?

"And who are you?" Prince Luigi asked.

"I'm an ancient," Pierre answered. "Quick history lesson; you're currently in the center of a town called Flopside. Our sister town Flipside is just across the way. We're located between a variety of dimensions. It was built years ago. Though most ancients are extinct now, our job was to read these big books and prepare ourselves to guide legendary heroes on specific journeys that have been foretold to happen by older ancients thousands of years ago. It's a bit complex and honestly, I don't really understand everything yet myself, but I'm doing my best."

"Where are the other ancients then?" Luigi asked. "Why are they mostly extinct—"

"That's another story for another day," Pierre quickly interrupted. "Um... I mean, I can tell you, but it's... really sad. Especially to me, since they're... well, they were my people."

Luigi nodded to himself, immediately feeling guilty for even asking. He could only imagine how he'd feel if almost everyone in Sarasaland died. The guilt would eat him away, even if it wasn't his fault.

"So... you're like, the leader of this place then? Or just the wise old mentor character?"

"Old?" Pierre chuckled. "Ouch."

"Well, you don't look old, but you know what I mean," Luigi quickly said. "In stories, this role is usually played by an old guy with a long white beard."

"Remind me not to shave anymore, then," Pierre joked. "And don't worry. I actually am a few thousand years old. I forgot the exact age, there's a point where that stops mattering."

A few thousand?! Luigi felt his eyes widen and his mouth drop. He must have looked ridiculous, but how could he not?! This guy looked to be no older than twenty-five!

"Anyway, yes, I lead Flopside," Pierre laughed. "I actually helped build the town long ago, so it's really special to me. That's one of the reasons why I'm so passionate about this mission your friends are going on. This is my home and my life, and I don't know what I'd do with myself if I lost it. I'm just... trying to keep what I have. And these people deserve a safe place to live in, too. Flopside is technically built on a foundation of dark magic, so if the countess were to succeed, all these people, all these homes, they'd all be destroyed."

Luigi nodded. He could see why Pierre couldn't let that happen.

Where did Prince Luigi fit into all of this, though?

"Dimentio..." Luigi trailed off. "Dimentio mentioned a man in green. He said something about a Dark Prognosticus, and that I would host a Chaos Heart or something?"

Pierre nodded to himself, then grabbed the large book that had been floating on a podium next to him. He opened it and flipped through a few different pages, quickly scanning it.

"Hopefully, if everything goes the way I want it to, we won't need anything like that," Pierre breathed. "My goal is just to keep you safe from the countess. Not to throw you into any unnecessary danger. You weren't hurt down there, were you?"

"No, I'm okay," Luigi quickly stated. "It was cold and dark, but that's all."

"Good, good," Pierre breathed, softly smiling through his eyes. "Well, your brother and the hero should be here soon. I can explain more once they arrive, then we can figure out what to do with you. Is that okay?"

Luigi nodded, trying to hide the small bubble of excitement that formed deep within his chest.

Did this mean he was going to be part of the story?

"Yes," the prince answered, nodding and smiling slightly. "Yes, that would be wonderful."