Around mid afternoon, Dimentio slowly opened his eyes, his head feeling a slight pain. He groaned a bit, rubbing his head as his eyes adjusted to the light.

Why…why did he feel like someone had been drugging him?

Dimentio glanced over to his side where Mimi had been last night, and to his disappointment, she was not there.

Must have gone back to her room.

After getting the energy and stability to stand, Dimentio got out of bed and went over to Mimi's room. To his surprise, the door was wide open.

"…Mimi?" Dimentio called out softly.

No answer came.

Dimentio's heart started to pound faster.

He looked inside and there was no trace of Mimi.

Dimentio's eyes widened.

Where…where could she have gone? Have the boo's taken her away? Intense panic went through him.

"Ugh, this is taking forever!"

Dimentio froze at the sound of one of the boos. It sounded like it came from the other side of his door. Dimentio slowly approached the door and put his ear against it. He heard another boo sigh.

"What did you expect? Of course it is going to take forever! They went to the Underwhere after all."

Dimentio's eyes widened.

The Underwhere? Who went to the Underwhere?!

The first boo groaned.

"I know, dude! But it is just so boring guarding this guy! I mean, I know he is that psycho who escaped the Underwhere, but he has yet to do anything…you know, psychotic!"

"Are you high?" the second boo exclaimed, loud enough for Dimentio to hear him perfectly. "Dude, we would be dead in, like, two seconds if this guy goes off! It is a miracle Bootler was even able to drug him to keep him unconscious!"

"Speaking of drugging him, shouldn't we give him another dose? He could wake up at any time now…"

And so I did.

Dimentio grinned at that thought.

"Oh what's the matter? Weren't you complaining about there not being enough action?"

"S-shut up!" Boo One exclaimed, his voice shaking. "I just…well, I just don't want to be the one that the psycho targets!"

"And if you want to stay on my good side," Dimentio replied. "I suggest you give me an explanation."

There was a long silence.

"…Holy shit dude, he is awake!" Boo Two whimpered in fear.

Dimentio rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I have established that by talking to you," he said. "Now, would you be so kind as to explain to me why you drugged me?"

"Uh..."

There was a pause in Boo One's reply.

The two boos whispered to each other, and unfortunately, Dimentio couldn't understand them. He tapped against the door with his fingers, indicating he was growing impatient.

"Uh…hey, Dimentio, dude," Boo Two finally said. "We would love to tell you, but we can't. You see…we had specific orders not to tell you…"

"Yeah, and we also can't tell you where your hot girlfriend is!"

There was a loud slap sound as Boo Two hit Boo One. Dimentio's eye twitched.

"Oh, so you know where Mimi is?" he asked, surprisingly calm.

"No, no we don't!" Boo Two quickly said.

"Yeah, we don't!" Boo One agreed. "She totally did not go to the Underwhere with Lady Bow!"

Again, there was a loud slap sound.

Dimentio clutched his fists, leaning against the door as he tried to control his emotions. Mimi…the boos have taken her to the Underwhere! This…this was worse than having him being sent back to there!

"Uh…crazy jester dude?" Boo One asked nervously. "Please don't tell me you are about to start a massacre or something… I really don't want to die…"

"Dude, just shut up," Boo Two said coldly. "You pretty much spilled the beans to him. Don't make things any worse!"

"But what else was I suppose to do?!"

"Uh, I don't know? Stay quiet!"

"But he would have killed me if I didn't say anything!"

"Now he is going to kill you because you told him everything!"

"And perhaps not, if you answer me one last question."

There was a tensed silence. Dimentio's breathing thickened.

"Tell me…did you send Mimi to the Underwhere dead or alive?"

"Holy crap, you actually think we killed her?" Boo One exclaimed.

"Shut up and let me do the talking!" Boo Two snapped.

He turned his attention to Dimentio.

"She is alive, Lady Bow just took her down to see Queen Jaydes for something important. I don't know why, I swear, but your girl is safe. Now, as long as you stay here in your room and not do anything crazy, you will see her again in no time, I promise."

"But doesn't the Underwhere time work differently then-"

Boo One couldn't finish his sentence as Boo Two slapped him again.

Dimentio smiled.

"Thank you for cooperating. Now if you excuse me…"

Taking a step back, Dimentio summoned an electric sphere at the door, causing it to get destroyed.

The two boos who were guarding his door screamed at the top of their lungs, along with the other boos. Dimentio turned himself invisible and levitated through the mansion, the boos all in a panic and leaving the mansion.

Why are all these boos so scared, like frightened children on Halloween? All I did was break down a door.

Suddenly, a huge explosion went through the mansion, sounding like it was coming from the front door.

Well that explains it.

Dimentio teleported down to the location of the explosion. His eyes widened when he saw it was caused by a huge robot with a large metal green hat and mustache. It had blown a huge hole into the Boo's Mansion, causing some fire to spread. Jumping out of the cockpit, a man dressed in all black came out, his dim blue eyes filled with amusement. Dimentio couldn't help but show himself.

"…Mr. L?"

Mr. L looked up at the sound of his name. He smiled at the sight of Dimentio.

"Long time-no-see, Dimentio," Mr. L said with a smirk. "How was it getting to know the lighter side of me?"

Dimentio clutched his fists, giving off a mad chuckle.

"Oh, I don't think that is too hard for you to figure out, my dear old friend."

He flew down to Mr. L's level.

"But, what brings you back? I thought you were gone for good."

Mr. L laughed.

"You will never get rid of me, Dimentio! Either side. And as to why I am here, I came by to claim what is rightfully mine."

He looked into Dimentio's eyes.

"I'm here for Mimi."

There was a long silence as Dimentio and Mr. L glared at each other.

Suddenly, Dimentio began to laugh uncontrollably, his eyes glowing with madness and procession. He slowly backed away from Mr. L, though his eyes never left him.

"Ah ha ha ha ha!" Dimentio cried. "You will regret every single word you just said to me, my friend!"

He summoned an electric sphere and sent it straight at Mr. L.

"For I will never lose Mimi to you! I will have you drown in a pool of your own blood!"

Mimi, Blumiere, and Timpani finally arrived at Queen Jaydes's palace, where Bow and the queen waited for them. The dark queen smiled.

"Have you gotten all you needed to accomplish?" she asked.

Mimi nodded.

"Yes. And now I am ready to return to the Mushroom Kingdom."

She paused.

"…Along with Blumiere and Timpani."

Bow's eyes widened, as if surprised by the request. Blumiere gave a worried expression while Timpani refused to remove eye contact with Queen Jaydes. Queen Jaydes hesitated for a second.

"…Under normal circumstances, I would never allow, especially with a spirit with Blumiere's sins, to return to life. It is unnatural and very painful for the spirit's love ones, despite seeing them again for a short time."

She paused for a second, her eyes unreadable.

"However, loosing someone who you love tragically can cause some great psychiatric trauma, which defiantly happened to Nastasia. So I will allow it, anything to get the Star Rod back into the right hands."

Blumiere nodded.

"I understand. I will do what I can. I just hope…that it is the right thing to do."

Queen Jaydes nodded as well.

She then moved her gaze to Timpani.

"Though you have no connection to Nastasia, you do have a connection to Dimentio. I'm only letting you go in case Mimi needs help with controlling him."

Timpani's eyes darkened a bit.

"I…don't know how much I could do, but I will try. I will do anything to help my friends."

"And that I do not doubt."

Queen Jaydes met Mimi gaze.

"I wish you luck on your battle. Do not underestimate your opponent, for even though you are facing a shadow spirit, they can still be as deadly as the real person. Especially one of a powerful magician."

With that said, Queen Jaydes left and went back to the castle.

"Well, this shall be interesting," Bow said once Queen Jaydes was out of ear shot. "I will admit I have no idea what will happen when a ghost of the Underwhere passes through the door."

She turned to Blumiere and Timpani.

"Anyway, my name is Lady Bow, head of Boo's Mansion. Pleased to meet you."

Blumiere tipped his hat in reply and Timpani smiled.

"So do we just leave the same way we came?" Mimi asked.

Bow nodded.

"Yep. And again, it shall be interesting what will happen when the count and countess go in."

Mimi blinked, but she did not question it. After all, they needed to get back to the Mushroom Kingdom, and fast.

I hope Dimentio is doing okay...

Had he even realized she had been gone yet? And if he did, how well was he taking it? How would he react to seeing Blumiere and Timpani again?

Perhaps I should talk to him a bit before having him see them. After all, it would be a shock to see someone back from the dead.

Eventually, Bow, Mimi, Blumiere, and Timpani arrived at the same black door Bow and Mimi had used earlier. Bow opened the door and she turned to the others.

"Blumiere, Timpani, why don't you two go ahead and enter first," she said. "In case something goes wrong, Mimi and I will be able to help you."

Blumiere nodded.

"Alright."

Taking a hold of Timpani's hand, the two of them stepped through the door. As they did, their bodies immediately disappeared, like they had turned into thin air. Mimi's eyes grew wide and Bow chuckled softly.

"Don't worry. You did the exact same thing coming here. If everything went right, they should be back at my mansion."

Mimi stared wide eyed at the door.

"So...can I go through?"

Bow rolled her eyes.

"Yes, you can go. There is no reason why you can't."

Mimi took in a deep breath of air. Closing her eyes, she went through the door. Like before, she felt the air around her change, only from cold to warmth. The feeling of warmth was a great relief to Mimi, especially after spending so much time in the Underwhere. Soon, she reopened her eyes and found herself back at Boo's Mansion's basement. There, Blumiere and Timpani were waiting. Mimi smiled.

"I guess you guys have physical bodies again," she said. "That's good."

"Not quite."

Blumiere put his hand towards one of the boxes, where it went straight through it.

"Apparently Queen Jaydes made it to where Timpani and I could have a body to support us in this world for a short period of time," Blumiere explained. "With the ability to go through solid objects, we can't interact with the world."

His eyes darkened.

"Even though we are out of the Underwhere, Queen Jaydes made it to where we would have to come back."

"But she said you could come back," Mimi pointed out. "Doesn't she trust you, count?"

"Personal trust has nothing to do with it," Timpani said. "No matter who you are, once you are dead you cannot come back to life. Dimentio was not the first person to try to escape the Underwhere; he was just the first person to succeed. So, even though Blumiere and I have returned, we are still not fully alive. After all, Queen Jaydes can't have souls wondering free after they have been dead for some time, even with the reasons we have."

Mimi gave a blank stare.

"...This is far more complicated than it needs to be..."

Timpani laughed.

"In a way. But life and death have always been complicated."

"That is true."

Bow appeared as she closed the door to the Underwhere behind her.

"Now that everyone is here, we should start making our plan for getting the Star Rod back," Bow said, "and stopping this out of control shadow spirit. So...any ideas?"

"Wait, we can't start planning now!" Mimi exclaimed. "We still need to let Dimentio know what is going on."

Bow looked down at Mimi, a sympathetic look in her eyes.

"Mimi…let's face it, Dimentio is too unstable to be trusted with something as important as this. And since this shadow spirit is designed to destroy him, it would be best if he just stays here until it is dealt with."

"But Dimentio also knows its weaknesses the best," Mimi countered. "It is a replica of his father, after all."

"That may be true, Mimi," Timpani said gently. "But he can also get severely hurt. I know Lucifer just as well as Dimentio does. I can easily help with finding out its weaknesses."

"But..."

Mimi stared at both Timpani and Bow, shocked by their words. She quickly turned to Blumiere, hoping to find some support from him. But, to her dismay, Blumiere avoided eye contact.

"I think it is for the best if Dimentio stayed behind," he finally said. "Since I do not know how Nastasia will react to seeing him. If we are going to have our best chance at saving her, Dimentio needs to stay here."

Mimi clutched her fists.

She was about to make another reply, until Bootler rushed down the stairs.

"Lady Bow, thank goodness you have returned!" Bootler exclaimed, his voice filled with fear.

"Bootler, what's wrong?" Bow asked, sensing that something was wrong.

Mimi felt her heart stop.

"I don't know, it happened so fast!" Bootler explained, his voice shaking. "This...giant robot just appeared out of nowhere and started attacking the mansion! And then Dimentio escaped and I think he knew who that robot belong to, because a man came out of it. And, you won't believe it, my lady, but he looked just like Luigi!"

Mimi gasped and Blumiere's eyes widened.

"Oh my God, it can't be!" Mimi cried.

Bootler turned to her.

"Then you know this man?" he asked.

Mimi nodded.

"Yes. That is Mr. L, a darker side of Luigi that Nastasia created by brainwashing him. It is a long story, but Dimentio thought that there was something going on between Mr. L and I, when there wasn't, and he never took it that well. However...Luigi never let his darker half take control after..."

Tears started to form in Mimi's eyes.

"Luigi must have been caught by the shadow spirit and Nastasia and was transformed back into Mr. L. It is the only explanation!"

Imagines of what could happen between Dimentio and Mr. L played in Mimi's mind, each one more gruesome than the last.

Without warning, Mimi ran up the stairs and stormed out of the basement. The others tried to call her back, but she didn't listen. For she had to reach Mr. L and Dimentio before they severely hurt themselves. She pushed the door to the basement and her eyes widened in horror.

The whole mansion was catching on fire, Brobot standing in a huge hole where the front door once was. Boos were screaming in midst panic, all fleeing for their lives as their home went up in flames. At the first floor, Dimentio used his magic to throw, electrocute, burn, and so many other things to Mr. L. Mr. L was completely defenseless, his clothes torn with his hat and mask off. His body was covered in blood, his right arm seemingly broken.

If it wasn't for his screaming, Mimi would have thought he was already dead.

Dimentio threw Mr. L against what remained of the stairs, laughing like a manic at the top of his lungs. Mr. L cried out in pain, using all his strength to keep his eyes open. Dimentio smiled at his suffering, giving him more inspiration to shoot another electric sphere at him. And another, and another, and another. Mr. L tried to make eye contact with Dimentio.

"...S-so, you are really...taking...this so...personally?" he said, despite the pain. "I had no idea I...made this big...of an...impact...on you."

He smirked.

"Guess this...goes to...show who really...has the advantage...of winning...Mimi...over!"

Dimentio's sadistic glee vanished. His face glowed with rage as he fired another large electric sphere at Mr. L.

"Even at the face of death, you still have to be the arrogant bastard!" Dimentio yelled. "Though this time, I don't have to put up with it!"

He teleported to Mr. L's side and kicked him straight in the face.

"The only reason I didn't kill you last time was because I needed you to host the Chaos Heart," Dimentio whispered in a low voice. "But now that it is gone, you are absolutely useless to me!"

"Or…a threat…because you know…"

Mr. L didn't have time to finish his sentence as Dimentio got down on his knees and grabbed him by the throat. Mr. L gasped for air as Dimentio summoned a knife with his free hand. He placed the knife at Mr. L's throat, looking at him straight in the eye. A mad smile appeared on Dimentio's lips as Mr. L's eyes widened with fear.

"Ciao, Mr. L! Ah ha ha ha ha!"

"Dimentio, stop!"

Dimentio's body completely froze as Mimi quickly pulled him away from Mr. L. Dimentio dropped his knife.

"M-Mimi!"

"What were you thinking?!" Mimi shouted, her eyes burning into Dimentio's. "You could have killed Luigi!"

"Ah, sticking up for me?"

Mr. L weakly sat up a bit, trying to meet Mimi's gaze. He smiled slightly.

"I always knew you would choose me in the end," he said smugly. "After all, we do have the more stable relationship. And neither of us are freaks."

Dimentio would have attacked Mr. L again if Mimi hadn't restrained him.

"Dimentio," Mimi said, desperate to sound calm and gentle, "calm down. You're only going to make things worse…"

Dimentio met Mimi's gaze.

"She's right, Dimentio," Mr. L commented before Dimentio could reply. "You are just going to make things worse for yourself."

With the little strength he had left, Mr. L stood up and weakly approached Mimi. He smirked.

"Though, why you waste your time with a guy like him is beyond me. You could do a lot better, Mimi."

He gave her a small kiss on the lips. Mimi's body completely froze up, her face turning slightly red.

Like something snapped internally, Dimentio was able to get out of Mimi's grasp and threw a giant, powerful electric sphere. It hit Mr. L straight in the heart, causing him to fly across the room.

"Luigi!" Mimi screamed.

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Dimentio slowly approached Mr. L, who laid deathly still on the floor as some of the fire spread closer to him.

"My mansion!"

Bow and Bootler rushed out of the basement, Bow looking like she was going to faint from shock. She then saw Mr. L and Dimentio.

"Mimi," Bow said in a very low voice, "get him out of here. Now."

Being brought back to reality, Mimi took a hold Dimentio's arm and teleported to somewhere safe.