Let's Try This Again, Shall we? (A SPM Swap AU)

The First Step

"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!"