Dimentio sighed and snapped his fingers, bringing the Countess and his former teammates all back to the inner sanctum, all of them looking around in confusion.

"Wait.... we won?" Peach questioned, slowly stepping forward, still holding her stomach in pain.

"We won...?" Mario and King Boo echoed, Mario slowly standing back up while King Boo raised his head, not bothering to waste any more energy than necessary.

"No, he won," Dimentio clarified, gesturing to Luigi, then reading through the dark book, looking for the correct page.

Daisy slowly sat up, rubbing her head, utterly confused as to what was going on, similar to everyone else in the room. Most of the heroes were confused why and how Luigi showed up to fight at the last minute with Ms. D at his side, but it led to their victory, so they weren't going to ask questions. Team Tippi as well as wondering how the heck Ms. D got there, but doing some simple math they could assume that Dimentio must have lied about her death or something of the sort.

And the Countess herself simply didn't care. Instead, she immediately rushed over to Bleck, who was still watching over an unconscious Pierre. "Blu!" She cried, sliding down to her knees and hugging him for a moment, then slowly letting go and looking at Pierre.

Just like before... he still resembled Blumiere. Sure, his skin and hair were no longer a vibrant, lively blue color, but he still looked so much like him. A similar facial structure, a similar body type, they clearly resembled each other. 

Even while unconscious, he still refused to let that soft smile go. He didn't look in pain at all. He just looked, calm. Like he was having a good dream.

"Is... is he alright...?" Tippi asked, frowning slightly.

"I...I think so," Bleck whispered. "I just... can't believe he... all this time," 

The pixl sighed and shook his head, looking down. "I hope he wakes up," He whispered. "I... know I should feel upset at him for not telling me after all these years... but I just hope he's okay."

"Wait, so what the heck is going on?!" Mimi exclaimed. "The Chaos Heart isn't destroyed, and Dimmy's here, I'm so confused..." She trailed off

"Long story short," Dimenito breathed, not looking up from the book. "I switched some things around, and now I'm gonna set them back. You will all be sent back to another world, going back to the roles you belong in." 

"ANOTHER WORLD?!" Mario cried, voice somewhat harsh due to him being injured. "W-What do you mean?!"

"He means," Luigi answered, "That we're not from here. We all... kinda got swapped."

"Well, not everyone," Dimentio clarified. "I only swapped the roles I thought necessary to swap for this to work." He explained.

Everyone else kinda just stood around looking at him, not sure whether to believe any of this or not. On the one hand, it was pretty unbelievable. But on the other, it wasn't impossible. The dark prognosticus had a variety of different chapters, each with its own stories.

But Luigi had one small thought on his mind. Actually, two small thoughts. They had been there for a while and he simply had to know the answers before everything switched back. "B-Before we go... I have a question."

Dimentio briefly looked up at him, but that's not who he was asking. The Prince was actually looking at Mr. L for this one. 

"Will... will I remember any of this when I go back?" He asked.

Mr. L's smile slowly faltered, and Luigi immediately knew his answer. "Not Likely," Dimentio answered. "If you have no memory of your old life, then you should have no memory of this one when you go back as well."

"Alright..." Luigi breathed, trying not to be saddened by the fact. He wasn't supposed to live this life anyway. So why was he sad about leaving it behind? Why did he think he'd miss it?

He guessed this adventure was just so... fun for him. So eye-opening. He didn't want to forget it. So, he slowly walked over to Mr. L's ghost, who no one else could see.

And he hugged him, one last time, making the ghost seem to almost flicker into reality for a second. "Thank you," Luigi whispered. "For the adventure... and for everything."

Mr. L seemed to pause, looking around at everyone else in the room. To them, it must have looked like Luigi was hugging air. But he wasn't. Luigi helped give him a voice. Luigi helped make him real.

So, he hugged back.

"Thank you. For... being my friend," Mr. L smiled, slowly pulling back and smiling at perhaps the only person to ever stay by his side through everything. "When... when you get to the new world, go to space. The rain and stars are waiting for you."

Luigi lightly smiled at him, then turned his attention back to Dimentio. "A-And one last question."

He slowly turned around and limped backward, definitely still feeling the broken rib. It hurt real bad, but he was comforted knowing that the pain would go away soon. He walked back, finding Ms. D and grabbing her arm, turning back to Dimentio. "If Mr. L wasn't in this world... does that mean..."

Dimentio paused, mismatched eyes seeming to frown slightly.

That wasn't the answer he wanted.

Luigi felt his eyes soften and his face frown, the silence breaking his heart. Sure, she wasn't Daisy, but she was human. She deserved a life too. 

But Ms. D didn't seem quite so devastated. Or, perhaps she was, but she didn't show him that. She just shrugged it off and offered the prince a smile. "Hey, don't be upset. It's cool. It's fine," She assured.

He wondered how she could act so relaxed after hearing news like that. She really wasn't afraid of anything. He envied her for that.

"B-but..." Luigi started, "You deserve a life too."

"It's okay," Ms. D calmly assured, patting his shoulder. "If all this weird swapping bologna is true, then I was never meant to exist anyways. And besides, who knows. Maybe I'll come back as a ghost thing and haunt the heck out of Daisy until she lets me see ya. That actually sounds pretty fun, now that I think of it," She laughed.

"I'm sorry, huh?" Daisy asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Ehh, don't worry about it," Ms. D laughed as Luigi lightly smiled at her.

"Well... I hope this isn't really goodbye," He whispered. "T-Thank you for helping me."

"Hey, you're the one who gave me a second chance," Ms. D pointed out. "If anyone should be thanked, it's you."

Luigi softly smiled, then stepped back from her, feeling sad that he would likely not even remember her, but a part of him feeling grateful since that meant it would hurt less.

She continued smiling until he turned away, only then allowing herself to frown. Was she upset about being deleted? Well of course, but she didn't want to show him that. Not after he had worked so long to make it this far. She didn't want to make him feel guilty. There was nothing she could do anyway.

Dimentio scanned the book for another few minutes, when he finally found the right page, clearing his throat and grabbing everyone's attention. "Alright, are we-"

"NO! NOT YET!" Bleck exclaimed, grabbing everyone's attention.

"The Chaos heart and the void won't wait much longer," Dimentio pointed out, rolling his eyes and impatiently tapping his foot on the ground.

"I-I know, b-but he hasn't woken up yet!" Bleck cried, his voice shaking slightly as he still floated over Pierre. "I just... before we go I wanna see him."

Dimentio paused in annoyance, tapping the imaginary watch on his wrist to symbolize the fact that they didn't have time for this.

"On it!" Ms. D chimed, quickly sliding over and kicking the red-cloaked man in the stomach, causing him to wince and curl up.

"Ow..." Pierre squeaked.

"Oh, look, he's up!" Ms. D laughed, bowing and walking away. "I have done my part. You're welcome."

Everyone cast a quick glare at her, then turned their attention to Pierre as he slowly sat up, hugging himself and keeping his eyes shut. "Am I dead yet?" He asked.

"I'm afraid not," Bleck replied, trying to keep himself from beaming, hiding how happy he was that Pierre had in fact been alive.

"Did the good guys win?" Pierre questioned, slowly opening his now grey eyes and rubbing his head earning a small gasp from Bleck.

"D- Pierre, Your eyes..." Bleck pointed out.

Pierre paused, then slowly brought his hand to his face, gently touching his fingers to just below his eyes, almost frowning. "...They're grey, aren't they." He whispered, almost sounding dissapointed.

"...I'm afraid so," Bleck replied.

Pierre paused, then lightly smiled and cocked his head to the side. "Well, are they still pretty?"

"Very much so," King Boo laughed from the other side of the room.

Pierre lightly smiled at that, then shakily stood up, clearly in pain. "So, what did I miss?"

"A lot," Bleck explained. 

"Yep. Apparently, we're all from some sort of other world where our roles are swapped. I dunno, it's really confusing," Peach giggled. "But honestly, things have been so crazy, so who am I to question it?"

"Another world..." Pierre questioned. "Where are roles are swapped... Oh! I've read about that! It's a spell in the Dark Prognosticus, correct? Er, I mean... pfft, I have no idea what you're talking about..." Pierre nervously trailed off.

"Pierre, I remember everything. I know who you are," Bleck stated, still trying to keep himself from smiling and bursting into happy tears.

The grey man suddenly froze up as if the room had gotten ice cold.

"Y...You do...?" Pierre asked, suddenly sounding much more nervous.

"I do..." Bleck replied.

Pierre slowly looked down as if he was almost ashamed. "Ah... I see. Well, Blu-"

"As sweet as this is, we don't have the time," Dimentio interrupted, tapping his imaginary watch again.

"Oh, right right right!" Pierre nervously laughed, looking over at the jester. "So another world! Sounds cool! Am I someone important in this other world?! Ooh! I bet I'm swapped with Merlon!" He chimed, actually sounding almost excited.

"That... would be interesting," Dimentio shrugged. "However, that doesn't happen. You swap with no one." 

"Huh?" Bleck questioned, turning and looking over at Dimentio. "You mean, he'll still just be my, er, Merlon's friend?"

"Not exactly..." Dimentio trailed off. "His role and his personality remained exactly the same. I never changed a single thing about him. The only changes made were the people around him. He acted differently when the tribe required him to kill his own son versus when the tribe required him to kill a random girl he never met. And, more importantly, Countess Tippi hesitated when trying to kill him in this world simply because he reminded her of you for a moment. But... the came could not be said for Count Bleck..." Dimentio trailed off.

Bleck paused for a moment, as if what Dimentio just said completely went over his Pixl head. "W-what are you saying...?" Bleck asked, sounding somewhat oblivious.

Everyone else's smiles faded, including Pierre's. 

They all understood.

"Uhh, guys, why are you frowning?" Bleck asked, looking around the room, slightly nervous. "W-What does he mean?!"

"It means..." Pierre started, looking at Bleck and softly smiling again. "It means I'm not in this other world. Is that right?" He asked, briefly looking at Dimentio.

"...Yes. That is correct," Dimentio nodded.

Bleck's eyes suddenly went wide. "What?!" He cried. "N-No! But, but what about Merlon?! Who would help him!? Who would be his friend,"

"Bleck..." Pierre whispered.

"Or who would I laugh with and make silly audition tapes for western sci-fi movies?!" Bleck exclaimed.

"Blu..."

"Or who would make us smile with his overly bright personality-"

"Blumiere, none of that matters." Pierre interrupted, the Pixl finally going silent and looking at him with an almost hopeless expression in his one good eye. 

"...None of that matters," Pierre assured, smiling again. "I just..." Pierre started, a no longer blue tear falling from his left eye as he looked down at the Pixl. "I just wanted to say..."

He paused, then looked over at the Countess, her red eyes softening slightly. She had once held so much hate for this person. But now, she was unsure how she felt. 

"I'm sorry. To both of you. For... for everything." Pierre breathed.

"Pierre, I already forgi-" Bleck started, when Pierre held up a hand, silencing him.

"I don't want your forgiveness," Pierre breathed, somehow still smiling and crying at the same time. "I don't want you to forgive me. All I want... is for you to be happy. It doesn't matter if I'm there or not."

"But... n-no. I don't want that. A-All this time you've been nothing but kind. Y-You, don't deserve to... I don't want to be the one who... Dad, I-I don't want that," Bleck squeaked. "Please, I-I don't want to forget you."

Pierre's smile faded as he kneeled down to Bleck's level, slowly grabbing the Pixl and lightly hugging it. "It's gonna be okay," He assured, voice shaking slightly. He was still terrified of his fate, not going to lie. Death was scary. But... he was okay with it now. Truth to be told, he should have died long ago. He deserved to die long ago. "You'll be alright. You won't even remember who I am. You'll just remember who I was. I-It won't hurt so much that way."

"B-but, please. I don't want that." Bleck squeaked. "I want to remember this you. The you that was my friend. The you who liked to smile and laugh and make everyone happy. The you who used to read me books in your spare time. The you who dressed up as a space cowboy and made me laugh. I want to remember that you."

"Then remember this me right now," Pierre breathed, letting go and stepping back. "Hold onto this memory... for as long as you can. I've run from the past for long enough. It's time I stop running. Stop hiding from it." 

The now completely grey man, leaving his son knowing he'd burst into tears and not want to leave if he stayed any longer. He didn't want Blumiere's last memory of this to be him crying. So, he was doing what he should have done years ago. Leave his son and his girl be and let them be happy.

He then turned and approached Dimentio, lowering his voice to a whisper. "You've got the book, so I'm assuming you're the one in charge, yes?"

Dimentio slowly nodded in response, not replying with a verbal answer.

"Good," Pierre whispered, smiling. "Please... make sure he and that girl are happy. I have to... say thank you to a friend. Just give me a few more minutes."

Dimentio nodded again when Pierre suddenly took off, sprinting through Castle Tippi as fast as he could, not knowing how much time he had before Dimentio set everything right.

Bleck paused, then floated over to the Countess, floating onto her shoulder and lightly sobbing.

"Hey... shh..." She whispered, her own voice shaking as well. "I-It'll be okay. We're together now..."

"Y-Yeah..." Bleck murmured, leaning into her. "I just... I wish I could remember..."

______

Pierre quickly sprinted to Flopside, his head and body still hurting from the nasty hit he took. But he didn't have time for that pain to weigh him down.

"MERLON?!" He cried, bringing his hands to his mouth in an attempt to amplify his voice. "MERLON, WHERE-"

"Pierre?! My friend, where are you?!" He could hear Merlon call from down below. The grey man jumped a little, then rushed to the edge of the tower to see Merlon and Nolrem at the bottom, both seeming to be searching for something.

"I swear, I left him in Flipside," Merlon told Nolrem, almost sounding worried. "I hope he didn't... I hope Countess Tippi didn't..."

Truth to be told, the ancient was worried about his friend. Sure, he was hard on him sometimes and he knew Pierre held no real importance to the fate of the world, but he held importance to Merlon. Yes, he had other ancients as friends, but Pierre felt like his only TRUE friend, and he was worried about losing him.

"MERLON!" Pierre shouted from the top of the tower, causing the two ancients to suddenly look up at him.

"I found him," Nolrem stated, pointing up at him. Pierre, not wanting to waste another moment, tried teleporting down to them, only to completely fail. Looked like that shot took away what little magic he had left. He was lucky he was still alive at all.

"Dang it, stupid magic," He hissed, quickly turning and rushing to the elevator, being forced to wait for the doors to open, get inside, wait for the doors to close, wait for the elevator to move to the bottom of the tower, then wait for the doors to open and let him out. It was quite a lot of waiting and quite a lot of time wasted.

As soon as the doors opened, he sprinted out and found Merlon, immediately pulling the ancient into a tight hug. "Thank Jaydes I made it," He breathed, clearly out of breath while Merlon cast Nolrem a confused glance.

"Pierre, my friend. Are you alright?" Merlon questioned, trying to wiggle free of Pierre's almost suffocating hug, only to fail. "We were worried sick. I was afraid you went after Bleck. Then the void continued growing. I was afraid I'd never see you again. What happened to your eyes?"

"I'm alright. I'm alright," Pierre assured, hugging tighter. "I just... wanted to say thank you."

"Thank you...?" Merlon questioned, lightly laughing. "What for...?"

 "For... saving Blu. For taking me in. For being my friend." Pierre beamed, hugging tighter and trying not to let tears fall.

"What's the matter? ...Are you crying?!" Merlon questioned, finally pulling away to see tears in Pierre's grey eyes.

Pierre paused, still smiling and slowly shaking his head no. "I'm okay," He smiled. "Everything's going to be okay!"

"What are you talking about?! Do you not see the void? ....Did you drink coffee!? Pierre, I told you that you weren't allowed any caffeine-"

"No, no," Pierre laughed, tears still falling. "Just... just wait a few minutes. You'll see."

Merlon cocked his head to the side as Pierre let out a long sigh and smiled at his friend.

Happy to spend his last moments not alone. Not filled regret.

Just in the company of his best friend, the person who gave him this second chance.

He truly was grateful for it. He enjoyed almost every minute. Even if he was weighed down by the past.

He held onto those memories until the end.