Joker's Running Wild (Deltarune, Super Paper Mario, Kirby Super Star)

Chapter 11

Present

"Jevil? Yeah, I know Jevil. How do you know Jevil??" 

Luigi sighed. "He came to flipside looking for you." Dimentio's eyes went wide. "He came all the way to flipside?? How'd he manage to pull that off?? Last I checked he was locked up with no way out. He didn't even want to escape."

"I don't know! I just want to know if there's anyway to stop him!" Dimentio looked up at Luigi's eyes through the slot, before bursting into a laughing fit. "You?? Stop him?? Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha~! You're funny." Luigi's face shifted to a worried expression. "What? What's so funny??"

Dimentio continued laughing. "That man is broken way beyond repair. Given all that time he's spent alone, I'd say that all his sanity is gone. There's no stopping him."

"What? So there's nothing I can do??" Luigi asked. Dimentio continued laughing. "Nope. Even I alone couldn't beat him. You minus well give up and go home. Let him have his fun."

"But, don't you want a perfect world?? He's laying waste to flipside. Doesn't that bother you??" Dimentio shook his head. "Why should I care about anything that goes on up there anymore? I'm stuck down here for all eternity anyway."

Luigi nervously fidgeted around. "....Uhh, well, what if you could redeem yourself? Then you wouldn't have to rot in this cell." Dimentio started laughing even more.

"ME? Redeem myself?? Ha! You really never learn. Have you forgotten who I am?" Luigi shook his head. "No, but you can still help! Come on, you don't want to be locked in this cell forever. Alone, with nobody to talk to." Dimentio continued laughing. 

"You know, Jevil was locked away in a cell. I wonder if this is what he felt like. You keep waiting and waiting and waiting for nothing. You just sit here with your thoughts, your sanity slowly slipping away." Dimentio's black eye began to twitch.

Luigi had a determined look on his face. "Which is why you need to help me. I can help you redeem yourself. You can be good. You won't have to spend eternity locked in here. You just have to help me."

Dimentio walked to the other side of the cell. "....Are you saying you can get me out of here?"

Luigi let out a shaky breath. Was he really doing this? Dimentio was the worst of the worst. Was it really worth it? This was a bad idea.

"...I can try."

Past

"Hey, Jevil. I have something kinda important I have to tell you today." Dimentio appeared, floating towards his friend. Jevil was always a little shorter than him. It was fun to be the tall friend. 

"DIMENTIO! DIMENTIO!" Jevil ran around him. "WHATEVER COULD IT BE, BE?"

Dimentio sighed. He was not feeling good today.

"My game has nearly been developed. I have been assigned my role." Jevil froze. "OH, WELL THAT DOESN'T MATTER, MATTER. SINCE YOU'RE RUNNING AWAY ANYWAY!" Dimentio shook his head.

"I'm not even a character. I have nothing to do with my game's story, just like you. At least Marx was important. We're nothing."

Jevil smiled. "THAT'S GOOD THOUGH. IT MEANS YOU CAN SLIP AWAY WITHOUT BEING NOTICED, AND BE FREE WITH ME! ME!"

Dimentio shook his head again. ".....No. I'm not running away this time. I have a plan to get everything I've ever wanted."

Jevil sat down. "OH? WHAT IS IT?"

Dimentio smiled. "Well, the game's main antagonist, Count Bleck, is weak. I can tell he's just an overdramatic heartbroken man. So, I begged to join his team, giving myself a larger role. As a member of his team, I'll have access to many things, including the Dark Prognosticus, which is a book that holds many prophecies. Now, Count Bleck plans to destroy all worlds, but what he isn't telling me and my other 'teammates' is that he plans to leave the world in ruin. Now, there is also a prophecy of four heroes. So I plan to secretly help them. In the end, they should join me and together we can Defeat Count Bleck, taking the Chaos heart, and destroying all worlds, only to make perfect new ones. It should be fairly easy. I have everything planned out, and I barely have to do anything! Just pull a few strings here and there. What do you think?"

Jevil sat there in awe. "WHOA, YOU PLANNED ALL OF THAT?? BUT WHAT IF YOU FAIL?"

Dimentio smiled. "I have a few backup plans. I must prepare for the worst, and be ready to think on the spot. But...if I am to pull this off, it will require my full attention. So....."

Jevil furrowed his brows. "WHAT? WHAT IS IT?"

"....I won't be able to visit you for a while. Once I succeed, I will come back. But until then....I won't be able to return."

Jevil's eyes went wide. "NO! YOU'RE LEAVING ME TOO NOW??" Dimentio floated up. "I'm sorry Jevil, but I have to do this. I wasn't lucky like Marx. I have to work for my goal. I have to rewrite the norm and take what I want, because it's certainly not going to be given to me."

Jevil looked down. "BUT, WHEN YOU SUCCEED, YOU WILL RETURN, RIGHT?"

Dimentio nodded. "Of course."

Before leaving, Dimentio let out a small chuckle. ".....I saw Marx you know. I told him my plan." Jevil looked up. "OH?"

Dimentio smiled a small smile."Yeah... I wish you could see him now. He has grown so much. He really put on a show, and even though he didn't win, he's still managed to do incredible things. He has these wings now. These big, glorious wings. He looks incredible."

Dimentio paused. ".....I don't think he would have gotten to where he is today if he had stayed with me."

Jevil smiled. "I HOPE SOMEDAY I CAN SEE HIM,"

"You will. Once I get my world, I'll find a way to free you. And we can both visit him. Okay?"

"OKAY! OKAY!"

Dimentio came back one last time, to inform Jevil that his plan was almost complete. "If I cannot convince the heroes to join me, then I can just use the Man in Green. It's a win win. No way I can lose. My plan is foolproof."

"MAN IN GREEN? WHAT A WEIRD NAME! UEE HEE HEE." Dimentio shook his head. "Well, his name is really L...err. I mean Luigi. He plays a major role in the prophecy, so I've been observing him for some time. He's far more interesting than anyone else in my world. Everything will fall into place."

Jevil giggled. "IS THAT WHY YOU'RE USING HIM OF ALL PEOPLE? SO HE CAN JOIN YOU IN YOUR PERFECT WORLD?" Dimentio's face warmed up before he responded. "Do you listen to anything I say? I am using him because he plays a major role in the prophecy."

"SOUNDS LIKE YOU LIKE HIM. WHEN WILL I GET TO MEET THIS MAN IN GREEN?" Dimentio rolled his eyes. "Soon. I have already sent him down to the Underwhere to be reunited with his brother. My plan is very close to being complete. It won't be long, my friend."

Dimentio was about to leave before Jevil grabbed him and stopped him. "WAIT, WAIT! BEFORE YOU GO, I HAVE A QUESTION." Dimentio looked back. "Yes?"

Jevil sighed, lowering his voice. "I've been meaning to ask this for a while. How is Seam? Have you seen him? I've been waiting for him to come and join me. But he never came."

Dimentio's eyes softened before he responded. "Well, when I came here looking for you, back when you were first locked up, I saw him. It had appeared that he quit his job as Court Magician and became a shopkeeper. He also was covered in scars. It looked like something bad happened to him. That's all I know." Jevil nodded, feeling a little guilty knowing that he was the cause of those scars.

"Another thing, when we first met, why did you take such an interest in me? I mean, Seam's a Magician. Why didn't you talk to him?"

Dimentio laughed. "Honestly, because I saw you first. Plus, yes your friend is powerful, but he didn't have the right personality. He seemed to composed. He was satisfied with his life. He didn't crave something more like you secretly did."

Jevil laughed, his voice returning to the new normal. "FAIR ENOUGH. WELL, I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK WITH YOUR PLAN!"

Dimentio nodded, and teleported himself away, giving one final, "Thanks, Jevil. Ciao~!"

Jevil waited for Dimentio to return for him....

But he never came back.