~ About Ten Minutes Later ~

Mr. L sat alone in a cell, sitting against the wall, just listening to the sound of water drip...drip...drip...

It's all he ever did anymore. Just listened to the noises he could hear. After all, there wasn't much else to see. There wasn't much else to touch or smell. There overall just wasn't much else.

Mr. L slowly blinked his eyes, listening to the familiar sounds of water dripping from the ceiling.

Drip...Drip...Drip

He suddenly sat up, bringing his hands to his face.

"Oh my Grambi," He muttered, quickly standing up and grabbing the cell bars, letting out a happy cry in relief when he saw that he could indeed grab them. He could feel the cold metal. He could feel the slight rusting. He could feel it.

He was real again. He was real.

"...So what now?" Asked another voice across the hall, bringing the man in green's attention forward to the cell across from his.

Across from him, stood Dimentio, no longer upset. Just... calm. He asked the question not in an accruing or annoyed manner, but with a sense of curiosity. 

"I-I'm not sure..." Mr. L replied, still smiling. He didn't care if he didn't have the future planned out, because truth to be told, all he wanted was the possibility of a future. "But... we'll figure it out. Together."

The jester slowly smiled back at him, and for once, was okay with not having some sort of elaborate plan to get what he wanted. For once, he truly felt fine.

______

Meanwhile, another man in green, wearing a green hat and overalls, slowly stepped from the Overthere into the cold landscape, two people behind him. One, a girl with long, flowing white hair and grey eyes. The other, a tall man wearing a monocle and a top hat, both holding hands and tracking behind the man in the green hat.

"Stay close," The guy in the green hat whispered. "I... have a few more people I have to find."

The pair behind him followed closely as he snuck around to a prison, doing his best to remember the way, though he never actually had been down here. Yes, he had been to the Underwhere before, but not to this exact section.

At least not in this lifetime.

He continued walking when he finally got to a long line of cells. He silently held up a hand, telling the other two to wait there. Then, he started forward, pulling out a small lock pick and getting down to some of the last cells, looking at the people inside.

"Hey," Luigi whispered, looking into Mr. L's cell and smiling slightly, causing the other man in green to jump slightly and look up at him with a confused expression. 

"Luigi?!" Mr. L questioned, curious as to what he was doing, knowing that Luigi couldn't remember anything. Why would he be down here? Him, of all people... "W-What are you doing here?"

"Breaking you out," Luigi shrugged, taking the lockpick and slowly picking Mr. L's lock as if it was second nature.

"Wh- Hey, where'd you learn to do that?!" Mr. L demanded, frowning slightly.

This only caused Luigi to smile brighter, unlocking the door and slowly swinging it open. "I learned from the best," He beamed, turning and going to unlock Dimentio's cell as well, leaving Mr. L starstruck. 

It didn't take him long to open Dimentio's cell, finally freeing them both and looking forward. 

"Now come on," He smiled. "It's raining at home, and I still want that trip to space."

Mr. L frowned slightly, confused.

He couldn't remember... could he? 

"Do you... do you remember?" Mr. L asked in a soft tone, almost hopeful. Not that it mattered if Luigi remembered or not. It just was nice, because memory was something Luigi from the other world didn't wish to let go of.

"Remember what?" Luigi asked with a smile and a wink, turning and catching up with Blumiere and Timpani again. But before leaving, he turned and gave the two one last smile. 

"You guys are free now. So go. Use your second chance." He beamed.

And with that, the group of Luigi, Timpani, and Blumiere left, leaving Mr. L and Dimentio alone. Though Blumiere and Timpani were unsure why Luigi would free Dimentio and Mr. L, they didn't stop him, because he had told them that if Blumiere was getting a second chance, then so should Dimentio and Mr. L.

"...He remembers," Dimentio stated after pausing for a long while, waiting for Luigi to be long gone.

"Yeah, clearly," Mr. L laughed, turning and looking at Dimentio, smiling slightly and holding his hand out to him. "Well... shall we try this again?"

Dimentio paused for another minute as if he was thinking. As if he was questioning whether to trust L and take his side this time. Truth to be told, Mr. L didn't expect him to, but to his surprise, Dimentio took that hand, smiling. 

"We shall."

______

A few weeks later, Blumiere and Timpani finally found the courage to see him. Timpani had been trying to convince Blumiere to go for a while, telling him that it was time to try to find closure. Blumiere, of course, didn't think it was a good idea, but she insisted. So, the two wandered far into the outskirts of Flipside, to an old graveyard where the Tribe of Darkness lied.

It took a lot of courage to go there. After all, Blumiere hadn't seen his tribe since he killed them all. He hadn't even visited once. He never wanted to. He still didn't want to.

However, he did. He felt okay doing so now because he was no longer in pain. He no longer hurt, so it was time to start healing. The two slowly walked over to the old graveyard. It was a rather sunny and happy day, which didn't fit the scene, but that was alright. The sunshine really gave the whole place a more cheery look.

And in front of one gravestone, was who but Merlon, simply placing flowers and cleaning off one of the graves.

"Sir?" Blumiere asked, his voice almost sounding familiar as he said that to Merlon, causing the ancient to jump and turn to him, yellow eyes going wide, but returning to their normal state when he realized who they were.

"Ah, Timpani. Blumiere. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Merlon casually asked.

"We just came here to see Blu's old tribe," Timpani chimed, holding Blumiere's arm and sounding WAY too cheerful. Blumiere couldn't match her optimistic energy. 

"Why are you here?" He asked, tone much less cheerful, but not quite dark. It just sounded genuinely curious.

"Oh, me?" Merlon questioned, shrugging. "Well, after the tribe disappeared, some of us ancients have been... taking care of them. They may have been our enemies... but they were people too." Merlon explained.

"Why are you giving that one flowers?" Blumiere asked, trying to peer around Merlon to see who's grave it was.

"Hmm?" Merlon hummed, turning and looking at it. "Oh! Well... truth to be told, I'm not sure. I guess I just... got a feeling that I should," Merlon stated, turning and looking at the now polished gravestone. 

Blumiere frowned slightly, stepping forward to see who's grave it was.

On the stone, carved one name.

"Pierre...?" Blumiere muttered, sounding somewhat confused. "Y-you're maintaining my father's grave!?"

Merlon just shrugged and sat down in front of it, almost seeming sad. "Yes," He replied. "He was the first victim of... you know," Merlon breathed. "And... lately I've been getting dreams. I've been dreaming of... what he maybe could have been, had he had a second chance."

Blumiere paused, then sat down in front of the gravestone as well, next to the ancient. There were beautiful, bright blue flowers in front of it which Merlon had just placed down. They matched Blumiere's now once again vibrant blue eyes. 

"What... what do you think he would have been...?" Blumiere asked the ancient.

Merlon paused, then smiled through his eyes. 

"I think... had the tribe not been there, he'd be silly. He'd be constantly breaking small rules, trying to find ways to tick people off."

"You got all of that from a dream?" Blumiere laughed, knowing that his father was nothing of the sort. The man he knew was deathly serious and very strict when it came to rules and restrictions.

"Yes," Merlon replied, sighing. "But... I also think, had he another chance, he'd be kind. He'd... do anything he could to make people smile and laugh."

Blumiere frowned slightly for a moment as his mind tried to come up with the image of that. It took a while, but once he imagined it he lightly smiled. That sure would have been a sight to see. But, of course, his father was nothing of the sort. "I wish I could see that. It sounds... really nice," Blumiere admitted. "But... I must inform you that my father was quite the opposite of what you've just described. He was never like that."

"That doesn't mean he couldn't have been," Timpani breathed, sitting next to Blumiere and grabbing his hand, leaning her head onto his shoulder. 

This threw Blumiere off slightly, especially coming from her. After everything his father had put the two of them through, how could she be so forgiving?

"Do you really think that man was capable of change?" Blumiere asked her, genuinely sounding curious.

Timpani hummed for a moment, still leaning into him. "Well, you were. We all are. I believe... that anyone could change for the better if given the opportunity."

Blumiere paused, then wrapped an arm around her. "I suppose you are correct," He muttered, softly smiling.

And for once, he believed her. 

And he no longer felt angry. Not at the world, not at the tribe, not at his father.

It no longer mattered. He was happy now.

He was with her, he was safe, and he was happy.

Just like Pierre had wanted in another life.