Worlds Apart Chapter One: The Fight Begins
"LET GO OF ME!" the fifteen-year-old shapeshifter shrieked.
"NO! If you're going down, I'm going down with you!"
Mimi would have stomped the ground, were it not for the fact that she was hanging in the air, being held by a pink princess. "Stop being so stubborn! I mean, seriously, you were like just trying to kill me!"
"I wasn't going to kill you! And you're not going to die now either!" Peach suddenly gasped. "M-my grip is s-slipping!"
"Good," Mimi replied haughtily. "My arm is starting to hurt."
"You're so selfish!" Peach wheezed. Before she could lecture the girl any more, however, the void gave off another tremor, causing Peach to let go of the ledge she was hanging onto.
Both Mimi and Peach screamed loudly as they plunged into the darkness below them. After what seemed like an hour, they finally landed with a soft thud on something, well… soft.
Mimi made a small confused "huh?" before leaping off of the… couch. We're in the living room?" she exclaimed. "How… what… But we were like, just in the foyer!"
She looked back to find that Peach was still lying on the couch. With closer examination, Mimi found out she was unconscious. "Well, that's okay, she was annoying anyway!" Mimi said rather chipperly. She teleported upstairs to the hallway that held the minions' rooms, hoping to find Dimentio.
She quickly arrived at his bedroom door. Jumping up and down, she knocked on the door and called, "Dimentio!"
Luckily, she'd come at the right time; he hadn't left yet. He opened the door, looking weary.
Mimi retold her entire fight, and warned Dimentio that the Mario brothers were on their way in practically one breath.
Dimentio thanked her and made to leave, a grim look still on his face.
"Come back soon, okay?" she whispered. "I don't want to worry that you've gotten hurt if you take too long."
Dimentio paused, though he was still facing away from Mimi. He drew a deep breath and spoke in a quiet, solemn voice, "I'll do my best, Mimi. If I do not make it back, however, I would like you to know," he turned towards her again and looked deep into her eyes. "You're my best friend. I'll never forget you."
Mimi giggled and blushed at that statement. Pulling him into a tight hug, she replied, "Oh, Dimmy, I just know you'll beat them! You're really strong and you've got magic!"
He pulled away slightly so he could look at her. He moved his hands to the sides of her face and stroked her cheeks, whispering ever so lightly, "Goodbye, Mimi." He backed away and drew a box around himself, teleporting to the interior of the castle.
Mimi stood alone in the hallway, feeling a shiver travel up her spine at Dimentio's last statement. He had told her goodbye. Not just a simple 'goodbye, see you later!' type of farewell. He had said it with an absolutely solemn face. No jokes, no laughter, no joy, just, "Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Dimentio." She whispered in return. For some reason, she felt like this would be the last time she would say something like that to him.
"Ahahaha! And now, to have some fun!"
Dimentio finally arrived at the room the Count had assigned to him. It was a ways into the interior of the castle, with many traps in the rooms leading up to it.
Stupid Count, he thought. Splitting us all up like this. If he truly cared about his minions like he says he does, he would have let us all fight together, so we could help one another if we fell. But no, we each get our own separate rooms, far enough away so we won't be able to hear each other's cries for help if we need it. He's willing to let his so-called precious minions fall one by one. To make it worse, he's going to let himself be killed at the end of all of this, just because of some stupid girlfriend he had in the past.
A slightly insane smile made its way onto Dimentio's face. "Let him die," he laughed. "He doesn't deserve to make people suffer anymore."
A creak sounded behind him, and Dimentio whipped around, turning invisible in the process. One of the large doors at the end of the room opened up, and two heroes walked in; the brothers, Mario and Luigi. Snickering inside his head, Dimentio thought about ending both of their games right then and there. Of course, that would go against his plan. Not the Count's plan, his plan. So, instead, he waited. They brothers approached him, walking through what they thought to be just another empty room.
"Aha ha ha ha!"
Both brothers whipped their heads upwards towards the cold laugh, looking around for the source of the noise.
"You're a bit far from home, don't you think?" As Dimentio watched the brothers cower in confusion, he prepared for the next part of his plan by moving silently behind them and making himself visible.
"It's him, bro." Luigi shivered. "It's that freaky Diment-gah!" The younger brother was cut off abruptly as Dimentio grabbed him from behind. Mario spun around and immediately was on top of the young jester, kicking him in the stomach. Dimentio cried out and let go of Luigi, involuntarily curling up to protect his stomach from further damage.
He groaned, slowly got up, and floated high above the two brothers, deciding to find a different way to get Luigi alone.
"Come down and fight, you bully!" Mario cried, fists raised in a fighting position. Luigi was lying on the floor.
Dimentio snapped his fingers and a large explosion threw Mario off of his feet. "How about your scrawny little excuse for a brother fights me up here?" he laughed. "After all, he has the ability to jump this high, does he not?"
"Scrawny?" Mario exclaimed. "Luigi is anything but!"
Dimentio laughed. Yes, insults would work. "Can the poor mutt not defend himself? Or does he rely completely on his older brother?"
"Quiet, you big jerk!" Luigi yelled.
"Ahahahaha! Such bold words from a man who used to be one of us!" Dimentio smiled broadly. This was fun.
Luigi jumped up. "At least I'm not a mindless slave any more, serving that freaky Count!"
Dimentio's head snapped towards the younger Mario Brother, a look of pure fury in his eyes. He hated how tables could turn so easily.
"I am not a mindless slave!" I never have been, and I never will be! "I, on my own, am more cunning, deceitful, devious, and intelligent than both of you combined will ever be!" He took a deep breath, trying to conceal his rage and hatred. Like most 17-year-old boys, this was something he struggled with. He needed to hurry up and separate these two.
"I seriously doubt that." Mario laughed. "Honestly, you're like fifteen years younger than us. Now, hurry up and fight or we'll just leave."
Another explosion threw the brothers to the ground.
"Are you too much of a wimp to fight, Mario? Or are you just protecting your little shaggy-'stache brother?"
Luigi's head snapped up at that last statement. He whispered to Mario, "He insulted my moustache, bro. You know how sensitive I am about my moustache."
Mario only nodded in reply, and Luigi stood up.
"You've taken it too far, Dimentio," Luigi said, with bravery that matched that of Mr.L's. Turning to Mario, he said, "You can leave now, bro. This is MY fight."
"But Luigi," Mario reasoned. "You remember…"
"Yes, bro, I remember what happened to Peach and Bowser. But I'll just have to be careful, that's all."
Seeing the fire building in his brother's eyes, Mario grinned. "Alright, bro. Don't take too long!" And with that, Mario left the room, leaving Dimentio and Luigi alone.
Dimentio was still high above Luigi's head, leaning back against thin air and yawning. He gasped as he was suddenly pulled from the air and slammed onto the ground.
Luigi was leaning over him. "Get up," he growled. "And fight."
"Yes, sir," Dimentio sneered mockingly. He rose into the air once again, but this time staying level with Luigi. The smile on his mask grew and he charged up a block of magic in his hand, glowing with dark energy.
Luigi assumed a battle stance, brimming with rage and endurance.
Both sides collided at once, beginning the fight.
Mimi was sitting on her bed, legs pulled close to her chest and arms wrapped around them. She couldn't seem to vanquish the thought that Dimentio might die and she'd never see him again.
Is he going to try to commit suicide? She thought. What if he lets those stupid heroes beat him? But why would he do that? Is he sad? Did I do something to him? Does he know something I don't? Is he scared about the end of all worlds? Is he going to try to stop the Count? No, no, no, Dimmy would never betray us. Or would he? Gah, I just don't know!
Finally, she couldn't bear it any longer. She had to find out if Dimentio was going to be alright. Hopping off of her bed, she made to teleport to Dimentio, when she realized she had no idea which room Count Bleck had assigned him to. The interior of Castle Bleck was practically a maze, and before she'd become used to the layout of the castle, she'd often gotten lost there. Taking a deep breath, Mimi took off for the inner rooms of the castle.
Dimentio threw three orbs of magic at Luigi, rising above his head.
Luigi twisted about, successfully dodging each one, then super-jumping to Dimentio's height and landing a few blows to his face and shoulders. One of his legs aimed too low, however, and Dimentio was able to grab it and fling Luigi to the ground.
Dimentio laughed and snapped his fingers, creating two clones of himself. All three Dimentios whizzed around Luigi's head, creating a game of 'hit or miss' for the older man.
Deciding against making choices, Luigi pulled out a Thunder Rage, and activated it.
After an intimidating pause, lightning bolts came from nowhere and struck all three Dimentios, the real one falling to the ground in a pile.
Dimentio clutched his head as the world spun around him, but managed to rise back into the air. He shook his head rapidly and glared at Luigi.
Said hero yowled as a sudden explosion threw him to the floor. A second explosion made him rocket to the other side of the room. Luigi wearily rolled onto his back, finding Dimentio's jester mask right in front of his face. He yelped and scurried backwards, only to back into a wall, trapped, with Dimentio in close proximity and closing in fast.
The jester raised his hands into the air, and before Luigi could move, he found himself trapped in a transparent yellow box. Crying out, Luigi pounded hopelessly on the side of the encasement. His attempts of escape were in vain, however, and turning around revealed that Dimentio too was inside of the box.
Crap, Luigi thought. He's planning on killing me inside of a tiny little box, where no one can hear my screams…
Dimentio laughed coldly, producing an odd echoing sound as it bounced off the close walls of the box. "And, now, for the grand finale of the Ultimate Show! The disappearing act! With a snap of my fingers, both you and I will be gone with the wind!" He pursed his thumb and middle finger together, getting ready to snap, when the door to the room suddenly flew open.
A loud gasp was heard, followed by, "Dimmy?" Mimi ran over to the box, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Oh, Dimmy, I just knew it! I knew something was wrong!" She pounded on the side of the box. "Please, Dimentio, don't do this! You can't just take your own life like this! What happened to the perfect worlds, Dimmy? You have your own perfect world ahead of you! Please, don't do it!" By now the young shapeshifter was sobbing, and she pressed her hands to the glass-like wall.
Dimentio leaned down next to Mimi. Chuckling, he said in a low voice, "Mimi, where I'm going, I assure you I'll have more than just a perfect world. Why, I'll practically be living in paradise!" He turned to Luigi, who was rocking back and forth hysterically. "What do you say, Luigi? Shall we go?" And with that, he snapped his fingers.
The sounds of explosions sounded in time with the ominous rumbling of the void, and a single, high-pitched wail split the air.