"And then, he basically blew me up. That's where MY story ended," Mr. L explained after about two hours of intense storytelling.

WOW. Now that was a lot to take in. He spent I don't even know how long talking about this weird jester guy, a Count, and how he was supposed to fight Mario, who supposedly was a brave hero.

The very thought of Mario being a hero was strange to me. Especially since he was rather whiny and complained about almost everything. "That's...um... wow," I nervously chuckled, rubbing the back of my head, not sure how to process this whole story.

"Yeah..." He admitted. "I know... you probably think you're going crazy. But it all happened, I swear!"

"So, wait a minute. That still doesn't explain why... I'm a prince. Or why I don't remember any of this." I pointed out. "That actually... doesn't explain anything! I think I'm even more confused now than I was before!"

Mr. L's face seemed to tense up as if he didn't wish to speak about what went down. "Well... Some stuff happened after that. But... I don't really wanna get into it," He muttered, looking down, almost seeming... ashamed?

"Stuff like..." I started, raising an eyebrow.

"Personal stuff. Basically, long story short, I made someone mad and he sorta 'deleted' me because he thought it was MY fault he messed up the first time." Mr. L huffed. "Which is why we have to do something to stop him! He has the power now! He's going to keep trying again until he wins!" Mr. L exclaimed, floating forward slightly.

"Okay, who is 'he,' and why does he have this power?!" I questioned, still not sure whether to believe everything Mr. L was saying or not. For now, I was just playing along. A part of me really did want to believe all of this, but it was just so... well, unbelievable. 

"HE is Dimentio. The guy who killed me. Remember, the clown I told you about? And to answer why he has this power....well... it's kinda my fault. It's a long story. I-I'll explain later," Mr. L replied, sounding a little disappointed, but quickly shaking that feeling away. "But first you have to help me! You're the only one I can get through to, and I'm the only one who can possibly get through to him!"

"Yeah, okay. I see your problem. Only... we're locked in my room. And I have NO idea how to even get to this Dimentio guy," I muttered, standing up and walking to the large window, pressing my hand to it. "I...I can't even get outside to see the rain. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not strong. I'm not brave. I'm not smart. I'm not some hero. Maybe I use to be according to you, but not anymore. I've never even really spent much time outside of Sarasaland or the Mushroom Kingdom!" I exclaimed.

"Hey," Mr. L whispered from behind me. I turned to see him floating over so he was next to me. "The Luigi I knew would never say no to an adventure. When someone was in need of help, he helped them. So please... I'm begging you. I need help. You have to help me. You have to help me save my friend."

"I-I don't know..." I muttered, looking down. "I... I want to help... but I can't! I've got kingdoms to run and things to do! Plus, I'm not cut out for adventure!" I argued.

The ghost just paused, then looked down as if he was trying to come up with a way to convince me. He waited a long, awkward moment when his face suddenly lit up.

"They're going to brainwash Daisy." He stated in a WAY too cheerful tone.

"WHAT?!" I nervously exclaimed, feeling my face suddenly heat up and my eyes go wide.

"Yep. Since you and her have seemed to swap roles, it's is very likely that they are going to brainwash her. They might have already done it by now!"

"Oh my Jaydes!" I exclaimed, worry filling my very soul at the mention of Daisy being in harms way. She was the strongest person I knew, so if she got brainwashed... that would be BAD. VERY BAD. "I-I gotta help her!!!"

"YES! THAT'S THE SPIRIT!" Mr. L shouted. "Now... how to get out of here?"

"Yeah, how exactly do we get out of here?!" I frantically questioned, looking at the door. "The door is locked and I'm pretty sure the front entrance is heavily guarded..."

"Aha! Lucky for you, I happen to know how to pick locks!" Mr. L chimed.

"AWESOME! That's great. Only... you're a ghost. You can't exactly hold things," I pointed out. "So that doesn't do us any good. How would you pick a lock if you can't even touch anything?!"

"I can't... But you can," He smirked, pointing at me.

... Ha... this ghost was funny. Like I could actually pick a lock! I never had done anything like that in my life! In fact, I'm not sure if I had ever broken ANY rules in my life. I slowly straightened up, a nervous smile on my face. "H-huh?"

"Go to the bathroom and grab a bobby pin." He commanded, pointing to the bathroom attached to my room.

"Wh- hey! Who are you to command me?" I asked, putting my foot down and staying still.

"Just do it."

"Okay," I nodded, quicky rushing inside and fumbling through the drawers.

Yeah... sometimes I try to act strong, but I find it hard to say no to people. When someone asks me to do something, I almost ALWAYS end up doing it, whether I want to or not.

I continued searching until I finally found one. I held it up and smiled, bringing it back out to Mr. L. "Now what?" I asked.

"There's a rope in this drawer right here" Mr. L stated, floating over to a cabinet and pointing to the drawer.

"Ummmm, how do you know that?" I questioned, cocking my head to the side.

He gave me an annoyed look, then held up his hand and waved it through the wood. "I can see it, idiot."

"Okay, okay! Geez." I muttered, walking over and opening the drawer. It was filled with mushrooms, ropes, a grappling hook, and a small backpack. This was probably where Peach stored some of her emergency supplies in case Mario was kidnapped while she was at the castle.

"Actually... just take everything," Mr. L shrugged. "We'll need it."

"O-Okay...." I muttered, nervously picking everything up and putting it into the bag. Then, I swung it over my shoulder and looked in the mirror. 

"Huh... hey! Look at me! I'm wearing a backpack!" I laughed, looking at my reflection. I almost looked like some sort of adventurer. "I almost look like Captain Toadette! Just give me a headlamp, and you'd hardly be able to tell the difference!"

"Luigi, focus." Mr. L begged. "I'm gonna need you to listen very carefully, and don't ask questions. Got it?"

"Okay, fine." I muttered, readjusting the straps on the backpack so they would fit better. "What now?"

"Pick the lock. You're going to take the bobby pin, bend it exactly ninty degrees, insert it into the door lock, push inwards and down, turn it to the right a few times, and fumble around until you hear a click. Got it?" He explained, making sure to talk slowly so I would understand, which I was grateful for.

"Okay. Got it!" I chimed, doing as he said.

This was almost thrilling. I mean, ME! Picking a lock! It was like I was a secret agent on a special mission, trying to break into some top secret vault. 

I wonder how Mr. L learned to pick locks. He didn't describe learning this skill when he told me his whole backstory.

Then I heard the click. I gasped and let out a nervous laugh, reaching for the door and twisting the knob, pulling it open. "Oh my Jaydes, I did it!!" I squealed. "Mr. L! Did you see? I did-"

"HEY!" A toadette called, looking at me. "Sire, what are you..."

"Run! TO THE ROOF!" Mr. L suddenly shouted, floating forward. "HURRY!"

I paused, looking at the toadette in fear, unsure what to do.

This just got WAY more stressful. The fun feeling immediately vanished and was replaced with fear. So, I followed Mr. L, getting up and sprinting to the roof.

"WHY THE ROOF?!" I asked in between breaths, trying to remain calm.

I really hoped I wouldn't get in too much trouble for this.

"Just trust me!" He urged.

So I did.

Big mistake.

I quickly ran up the stares and through a small door which lead to the roof, shutting it behind me as the rain fell onto me, splashing against the roof all around me.

I briefly paused, me eyes going wide as water dripped off my crown and onto my hair, dampening it.

"Whoa..." I muttered.

"LUIGI! WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" Mr. L cried as I walked around, holding my arms out so the water could fall onto them, utterly mesmerized.

It was cold... I loved it.

"Mr. L..." I whispered, smiling. "Look, I can see lightning in the distance!"

"Yeah, yeah. It's great. But we gotta go!" He urged as I looked up and closed my eyes, feeling the drops fall onto my eyelids.

I lightly smiled, then started laughing. I could hear the little droplets hit the roof, thunder going off in the distance.

It has been so long since I've been in the rain. I wanted to just sit, feeling the water fall and cover the land, me included. I wanted all my worries to be washed away by it.

But, then the door to the roof opened, about six toadettes barging through, ruining this peaceful moment. Cutting my time with the rain short.

"Sire, we need to escort you inside." One stated, holding out her hand. "Your therapist doesn't want you on the room. She's afraid you'll hurt yourself."

I nervously stepped back, pulling out the backpack and hugging it to myself. "Uhh, what do I do now? What do I do?!" I asked Mr. L, clearly worried.

I didn't want to go back inside. Not yet.

"Umm, remember the grappling hook?!" Mr. L asked.

I nervously nodded, rain dripping down my face as I reached in and pulled it out. "Okay... what do I do with it?!"

"Sire, what are you doing?!" One of the guards asked, a concerned look on her face.

"I need you to hook one end to the edge of the castle and jump." Mr. L replied.

"I'm sorry, WHAT?!" I cried. 

"You have to do it! There's no time to argue!" Mr. L urged. "Just hold on, and it will catch you!"

I nervously backed up towards the edge of the castle, the toadettes all cornering me, looking very concerned. 

"Your majesty, please be rational and come back inside," One urged, a helpless look on her face. "We need you."

"I..." I muttered, looking down at the grappling hook in my hands. "I...."

"PLEASE, LUIGI!" Mr. L begged. "I NEED YOU!"

I looked around, then bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut.

My heart was beating so fast that I thought I would explode.

"...I'm sorry."

Then, I shot the grappling hook at the nearest castle tower, seeing the hook attach to it. 

I let out a deep breath...

And jumped.