Trust (A SPM Story)

Chapter 9

Luigi POV

I waited for Dimentio to get out. The more time went on, the more worried I became. What if he doesn't make it? What if he takes the key and the scrolls and leaves??

He won't do that.

I waited hours, before he finally reappeared.

He just showed up, twirling the key around his index finger. "May I preset, your key!" He tossed the key over to me. I caught it and looked down at it, running my fingers over the smooth metal. I smiled, then looked over at Dimentio. "You did it!"

He smiled. "Yes. Did you ever doubt me?" I ran over to hug him, before he teleported up a few feet. "Whoa, no hugs." I smiled and grabbed his foot, pulling him down to a hug anyway. "Too bad. You did good. You deserve it."

He smiled, before slowly hugging me back. "Alright, alright, enough now." He let go and floated a few feet away. "So, we have two, right? Only two more then." I beamed. "Yup! We should be able to free my brother in no time!"

I pulled out the scrolls. "Okay, so where are the next two." I looked down at the first scroll....

My face went pale. He looked over at me. "What? What is it?" I immediately switched the scrolls and looked at the other one. No way we could go to that one. Not right now.

I looked at the next one. Seriously? Of all places for the key to be, they chose to leave it there??

My face must have gone even more pale, because Dimentio had a concerned look on his masked face. He teleported behind me. "What? What does it say??" I turned around and hid the scrolls behind my back. "Nothing! Nothing." His concerned expression shifted to an annoyed one. "Luigi, we need to see the scrolls in order to move on."

I sighed and handed them to him. He read over the first scroll. "Ohhh, the Mushroom Kingdom. Well, we obviously can't go there right now, since the princess has issued an arrest warrant on both of us..."

I looked down. I don't know what I'm gonna do about that issue, but it doesn't matter to me. As long as Mario's free, I don't care about what happens to me. They can lock me up for however long they want. As long as he's alive, I'll be happy.

He turned over and read the next scroll. His eyes went wide. "Um, WHAT?? Nope. Nah. How about, no." He threw the scrolls to his side. I quickly ran over and picked them up. "Oh, come on! You said so yourself, we can't go to the Mushroom Kingdom." He turned away. "No. I just got out of there. I can't go back. I CAN'T GO BACK!" He was shaking. 

"I can't go back to the Underwhere. You have no idea what it was like for me there." I sighed. "Well, according to this, queen Jades keeps this key under her own surveillance. We have to get it."

He shuttered. "No. Queen Jades probably want us just as much as the princess does. I can't do it. We'd be walking into our demise, like lambs to the slaughter."

I met his eyes. We both knew he was right. I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Okay, okay. You're right. We need time to come up with a plan." He nodded. 

We needed to find a place to rest, but where? I'm sure all the nearby kingdoms would know who we were and try to turn us in. He seemed to be thinking the same thing. He floated down next to me, and sat down, trying to think of something. He began to speak. "Are there any places we could momentarily stay without being turned in? Maybe a kingdom that isn't close with the Mushroom Kingdom."

My eyes went wide, as I realized something. "Wait, yes! There actually is!" He looked up at me. "Great! Where?" I smiled. "Well, it's gonna sound a little weird, but Bowser's castle is far away. Quite a few people live over there under his rule. Mostly koopas and stuff. They aren't very close with the Mushroom Kingdom, so I'd be surprised if anyone over there knew about us."

He smiled. "Well, looks like that's where we're heading." He lifted his hand, and pressed his thumb to his middle finger. 

I noticed a tiny drop of blood on his glove. How peculiar.

I wonder what happened when he went in that door to get that key....

"Ready?" He asked. I smiled. "Ready."

He snapped his fingers, and our surroundings changed. The desert heat turned into a different kind of heat. The kind of heat you feel when near Lava and fire. I turned around. It looked like we were in a small town near Bowser's castle. I could see the castle towering over us about a mile away. In front of us looked like a bar and a small hotel.

Dimentio floated over and held the door open for me. "After you."

I walked inside to see a red koopa sleeping at a desk. I looked around. This place was a mess, and it was so dark. Dimentio rang the bell, causing the koopa to wake. 

"A-ah. T-travelers??" The koopa stuttered. Dimentio leaned over the desk and handed the Koopa a pile of coins. "We need a room. Two beds." The koopa nodded, and handed him a key. "O-of course, sir. R-right this way!" The koopa grabbed the pile of coins and led us down the hall. "W-we don't get many costumers. I'm g-glad you chose to stay here!" I smiled. They showed us our room, and left us. 

I turned to Dimentio. "Where did you get that money?" He shrugged. "I don't know." He snapped his fingers, making a shroom shake appear. I snatched it from him. "H-hey? Are you stealing those??" He laughed. "Oh, relax. No one will even notice it's gone." I let out a sigh, before he snapped his fingers, summoning another and offering it to me. I wanted to refuse, but I was rather exhausted from today. "Oh, come on. You're already on the run. What's the harm?" I sighed and took it. "Okay, fine. But I don't want you stealing anymore. Even if there's no real harm in it, it's still a bad habit and it's wrong." He laughed. "Alright, alright. But for the record, breaking people out of the Underwhere is also a bad habit, and wrong. So don't lecture me on being a rule breaker."

I wasn't sure how long we would be staying. I didn't want to waste time, but I needed a break. These past few days have been so hectic. I could see that Dimentio was also somewhat exhausted.

He almost instantly fell asleep. Did you know he whimpers in his sleep? I wonder what that's about. I'll probably ask him about it later.

I dreamed about being Mr. L again. I'd occasionally get these dreams. Mario thinks that they could be memories. All my memories of my time as Mr. L have been really fuzzy. I often wonder where he is. 

That's not true. I know where he is. At least I think I do.

I'm pretty sure Dimentio thinks he's hidden away in the back of my mind. 

Anywho back to the dream. I dreamt I was Mr. L. I was hanging out with Dimentio at castle Bleck. Were they...friends? In this dream, I kept explaining all these crazy robotic blueprints. Wow...Mr. L was really smart. I wonder why I'm not as smart as him. Maybe I am...anyway. Dimentio seemed genuinely happy to listen to me. It was nice. Someone was actually interested in what I was doing and what I had to say.

I wonder what happened. Where they friends?

I woke up, hearing Dimentio quietly whispering in his sleep. He was shaking. Was he...afraid?

"N-no.... I'm sorry." He whispered. I looked over at him. He continued. "I'm sorry....this isn't what I want...."

There was a tear falling down his mask. Was he crying?

"I'm trying. I'm trying, but it's to late for me. I'm a monster. I don't deserve a second chance." 

I ran over and poked his shoulder. "Hey, are you alright?" He immediately jerked awake, looking at me with his mismatched eyes. He rubbed the sleepiness out of them. "Huh, oh I'm fine." I gave him a concerned look. "What were you dreaming about?" 

He turned away and lied back down. "Nothing. Just go back to sleep."

I nodded, and walked back to my bed. "Alright. I won't make you talk about it....."

I waited for a few minutes, before asking him another question. "Dimentio?" 

"Yes?"

"Were you and Mr. L....friends?"

Dimentio waited in silence for a moment, before answering. 

"Yes. We were."