I'm surprised you guys didn't say anything about the Spongebob reference from last chapter. Oh well. I like to sneak in references just to make it funny. ;)


Chapter 7: Roses and Sprouts

After at least an hour of walking through the underground tunnels, O'Chunks started to get impatient. "How much longer teh go, Dimentio?"

"We're almost there." He grinned upon seeing a green warp pipe. "Ah, here we are. All we have to do is go down the-"

"Aberdeen butteries! How am I s'pposed teh fit down there!?

Dimentio frowned. "Ah, that's right. You are rather...big-boned. Well, I'll teleport you. Wait here for a second." After going down the warp pipe, Dimentio twirled his finger and shot a burst of magic. O'Chunks appeared at his side. Dimentio nodded, satisfied, and stroked his chin. "Hmm...He said that he'd meet us here."

O'Chunks looked around. "So, if yeh don't mind me askin'...who's we meeting?"

"His name is Jarred. He's one of the head Floro Sapiens. He's also in charge of distributing strength-enhancers for the workers down here."

The Scotsman let that sink in. He grinned. "Strength-enhancing, ey? I like teh sound o' that!"

Dimentio chuckled. He neglected to mention that the workers were actually Cragnon slaves and the "strength-enhancer" would mostly make O'Chunks a vegetable. Then again, the floro sprout may have some strength-enhancing qualities. Dimentio wasn't sure. That was why he had to test it out.

Just then, a floro sapien popped out of the tube Dimentio that just used. He had purple petals and a plain black face. He looked around, waiting for someone.

Dimentio grinned. "I believe there's our man now."

The jester went up to the floro sapien. The flower creature nodded at them, but he had suspicion written all over his face. "Hello. Who are you?"

Dimentio bowed. "Hello, Jarred."

The floro sapien jumped. "How do you know my name?"

The magician floated to his side. "Well, Jarred, I wish I could say, but the pollution is corrupting our water."

Jarred's face lit up, as if a light bulb switched on in his head. That was the key phrase he planted in his mind. "Ah, Dimentio. We've been expecting you. Remind me what you do for King Crocus?"

Dimentio chuckled. It was easy to make these creatures think he belonged here. All he had to do was cast a few spells and he was in. "I am one of his new hires. He instructed me to pick up a delivery of floro sprouts for the...workers down here."

Jarred glanced at O'Chunks. "And who are you supposed to be?"

The warrior frowned, somewhat offended. "O'Chunks is me name. I'm with him."

"He is my right hand man," Dimentio explained. "So, can you show me where you keep the floro sprouts?"

Jarred nodded. "They're right this way. Follow me."

After leading him to the king's palace, they went into a special room. The room had white walls and gray tiled flooring. One wall had a whiteboard with complex equations written on it while the rest of the walls were covered in cabinets. In the back of the room, there was a table with some test tubes on it. There were also many chemicals as well as a box on the table. Jarred grabbed the box and handed it to Dimentio. "Here you are. 10 floro sprouts. Be sure to use them wisely. These things aren't easy to make."

"Thank you, Jarred," Dimentio said.

"No problem. If you don't mind me asking...How long have you worked for the king? I haven't seen you around here."

"Oh, not long."

Jarred frowned. The suspicion was coming back. "Really?"

Oh dear. My magic must be wearing off. I must leave while I still have the chance. "Well, I wish I could stay and chat, but I really have to get going. Ciao, Jarred!"

"Wait a minute. I'm not-"

Before he could finish, Dimentio and O'Chunks were gone with the floro sprouts. O'Chunks grinned. "Well, t'was shorter than I thought."

"See? You have to trust me. I've always believed that trust is the glue that holds us fragile beings together."

"I guess yer right. Come on."

The two continued on their path. Halfway through, Dimentio kept thinking back to Mr. L. The jester sighed in frustration. Just when he thought that that damn mechanic was out of his head, he came back with twice the force. The magician pondered what to do. He could survive being away from him awhile longer, or...

O'Chunks turned to Dimentio. "Somethin' on yer mind?"

Dimentio spoke without thinking. "There's some matters I must attend to back at the castle."

His eyes widened. "Wait...What? How am I s'pposed teh know where teh go if yer not here!?

Dimentio snapped his fingers and a map of the cavern materialized. He handed it to O'Chunks. "Here's a map."

"I don't understand this one bit!"

Dimentio sighed and pointed to the red circle on the map. "We're here," He pointed towards the X. "We want to go there. Just follow the benchmarks here and you should be fine."

"When will yeh be back?"

"In a moment. Don't you worry your little head about it."

O'Chunks hesitated. "Can yeh at least tell me what yeh have teh do?"

"I need to..." The magician paused to think. "To talk to the Count. He will want a report on how things are progressing. He's trusting me to be there and you to make your way through this maze, though I use that term quite loosely. Can you do that?"

The determination from earlier came back. O'Chunks grinned. "Fer teh Count? Anything."

Dimentio nodded. "Good man. I'll return soon, like a frost-covered rose after a long winter's end. Ciao!" He snapped his fingers and teleported back to the castle, leaving O'Chunks alone with the map.


Dimentio teleported to a window on the fourth floor of the castle. Using his magic to float, the magician peered inside and smiled at what he saw. Mr. L was reading a book in bed. He was obviously thinking hard; he had a crease in his forehead and was chewing his lips again.

The jester chuckled and decided to surprise him. He opened the window and floated inside. "Hello, L."

Mr. L didn't look up at first. "Hey, Dimentio." A few seconds later, his eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. He put down his book and stood, inching back towards the wall. "D-Dimentio!?

"Yes. It is I, appearing like a rabbit pulled out of the magician's hat. How are you, darling?"

"I, uh..." Mr. L shook his head. "How long have you been back?"

"Only a few minutes."

A small smile crept onto his face. "You know that Nastasia is gonna come in here and yell at you any minute now, right?"

Dimentio appeared by his side. "Nastasia doesn't have to know I'm here."

Mr. L looked around. "Where's O'Chunks? Isn't he with you?"

"He's with the heroes. I promised that I would help him in his next duel if he agreed to try something out for me."

The man in green smirked. "Oh yeah? And what is that something?"

The jester chuckled and poked his large, round nose. "That is for me to know and you to find out. Stop asking so many questions. I don't have long here, and I want to spend as much time with you as I can."

He raised an eyebrow. "If you're gonna go back to O'Chunks anyway, then why bother coming back here and risk punishment?"

"I wanted to see you. Besides, I'm not too worried about Nastasia. Give her some time to cool down and she'll let me off the hook. Come on. Get dressed."

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere with just the two of us."

Mr. L chuckled. "Is this your way of asking me out?"

Dimentio grinned. "You caught me."

The Green Thunder looked to the side. "I don't know. It is getting pretty late."

"Please? If you want, I can tell you a bit more about your past."

The man in green thought about it. "This is a bit sudden, but...alright. Just give me some time to change."

After Mr. L put on a black shirt and a pair of worn down jeans, Dimentio grabbed his hands. "Good. Now, close your eyes." Mr. L shut his eyes. Dimentio teleported him to Dimension D. "Now open them."

He did so, looking around. "What is this place?"

"Well, I like to call it Dimension D, but it can be wherever you want it to be." Suddenly, the room changed into a familiar black room with white platforms. The meeting room. However, before Mr. L had time to process it, the room changed into the Whoa Zone. Next, it was pure white with nothing filling the empty space. After that, it returned to the default green room. All of this happened in five seconds at most. "So...where would you like to go?"

The mechanic stroked his chin. "Hmm...I'm not sure. I haven't really thought about that."

Dimentio moved closer to him. "Do you mind if I read your memories?"

Mr. L's eyes widened. "W-What? You mean...like mind-reading!?

"Not quite. Mind-reading is reading your present thoughts. This is different. I'm just taking a quick peek into your subconscious to see what you would like most."

He hesitated. "Will it hurt?"

"You won't feel a thing, and it will only last for a few seconds."

Mr. L sighed. "Okay...but if you bring up any of my secrets, I will personally beat the living shit out of you."

"Seems reasonable." The magician closed his eyes and placed his hand on the other man's forehead. As soon as he did so, his hand began to glow bright green. Dimentio saw a vision of an elegant ballroom. There was a girl in a yellow dress there, but Dimentio would leave that part out. He grinned, then took his hand off of his forehead. "Alright, close your eyes again." Mr. L hesitated, but did as he was asked. The magician changed the green room to look like the one he saw in his vision. "Now open them."

Mr. L opened his eyes and gasped. They were currently standing in the center of the ballroom. Shadows were moving all around them, their silhouettes dark and yet slightly transparent at the same time.

Dimentio floated to his side. "Well?"

The man in green looked down at himself. He was now dressed in a black tuxedo and a green bowtie. "This place..." He whispered. Looking back up at Dimentio, he continued, "It's straight from one of my dreams."

Dimentio grinned and snapped his fingers. POOF! He disappeared behind a cloud of dust. Mr. L coughed. When the smoke cleared, Dimentio looked different...And yet the same. He was in a more humanized form, but had the same aura as usual. His hair was dark on one side and white on the other. His face was also covered by his typical mask. The dark hair was on the white side of his mask and vice versa. Dimentio also wore a violet tuxedo and a black bowtie.

Mr. L stepped back. "W-What!? Since when did you have the power to transform!?"

The magician laughed. "Relax, Mr. L. This form is an illusion, as is the rest of this place. It's not like our dear Mimi's transformation powers. This is only temporary. Besides, I can only do so much with magic while Mimi can be anyone she wants. This only makes things easier for us."

"I see..."

Dimentio held his hand out. "May I have this dance, Mr. L?" The man in green shuddered. He stepped back, hesitating. The jester grinned. "What's the matter? Is the great Green Thunder going sensible on me?"

After a moment of silence, he shook his head. "Of course not." Mr. L took Dimentio's hand. The two started out by doing a slow waltz together. "So, why did you bring me here? Of all places?"

"I thought we needed a chance to establish a connection. Don't ask me why we're here; you picked the place."

The man in green chuckled. "Well...earlier today, Mimi mentioned dinner, dancing, and the moon. We at least got the second part down."

Dimentio smirked. "Yes, indeed. So, have you thought about our deal any further?"

Mr. L nodded. "I have, actually."

"And Mimi knows about us."

"Yes, I told her how you feel about me. She said she always wanted a gay best friend," Mr. L said with a frown. He sighed before continuing. "So, then I had to explain to her what bisexuality was and...you know what? Doesn't matter. The point is that she thinks we're a couple now."

"Understandable. That's what most would assume anyway."

"I suppose." Mr. L took a deep breath. "I've thought about it and I've decided to take you up on your offer. I will provide whatever you ask of me, as long as you provide information in return."

The magician smiled, nodding. "Good. I knew you would. You come across as a strategic young fellow."

"Strategic, huh?"

"You think before doing, at least most of the time."

The man in green nodded and got closer to Dimentio. The jester grabbed his hands and guided him through the small steps, making sure to keep his arm around him. After that, Dimentio took a break to twirl Mr. L around.

Once he brought him closer to him, Mr. L added, "Of course, I do have my limits and I expect an equal amount of information in return. For example, I'm not going to sleep with you just so I can learn what my best friend's name was in kindergarten. I want relevant information." After a few seconds, he blushed, realizing what he just implied. "It's not like I'll sleep with you anyway, but...you know.."

Dimentio laughed. "You're so adorable."

Mr. L frowned. "Dimentio, be honest. Are you trying to mess with me?"

"I already told you I'm not."

"I'm not quite sure I believe you."

"Is that right? Well, does this prove my love for you?" With that, he kissed him on the mouth. It was more gentle than last time.

After the kiss, Mr. L stepped back. He was blushing even more than he was before. "Y-You owe me for that..."

The magician laughed. "It's interesting. One second, you're telling me you'd take the fair Princess Peach on a date if you had the chance. However, the second I mention how I feel about you, you hesitate."

"Well, I prefer women, so naturally I would be more quick to go out with one."

"That's your excuse? Alright then."

He glared. "It's not an excuse!"

"Whatever you say, L."

Mr. L pouted. "So...I'm giving you a dance. What information do you have to offer me in return?"

"Well, that depends. What do you want to know?"

He shrugged. "Who I am, I guess."

"You are Mr. L," Dimentio replied.

The Green Thunder glared. "I know that!" After a few seconds, he hesitated. "Well, actually, I don't even know if that's true. Is it?"

Dimentio twirled him around again. "That depends on how you look at it. On one hand, you are, and on the other, you're not."

"Stop being cryptic. Do I have a name? Or a family? Or anything?"

He brought him down in a dip. It looked like Dimentio was about to kiss him, but he didn't make any further movements. Instead, he held his chin up and whispered, "I'll give you a hint. Your name starts with the letter L."

After being brought back up, Mr. L muttered, "I could've figured that out." He shook his head. "Alright...what kind of family do I have? Are my parents okay? Or was I raised by a single parent? Or was I adopted? Am I an orphan? Do I have siblings?"

Dimentio chuckled. "Wait your turn. Hmm...parents and siblings. Well, let me set the scene for you."

Suddenly, he covered Mr. L's eyes with his hand. He cried out. "H-Hey! What are you-?"

A small family. A man and a woman. Two sons. All in a prominent neighborhood. The jester nodded and took his hands off. He needed to get a sample of his memories to make this look right.

With a wave of his hand, a forest green silhouette of a boy appeared. "Picture a young boy in green. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his parents and brother." He made more silhouettes. One of them was another boy, only his silhouette was bright red. The other two were a man and woman. The man's silhouette came in crimson while the woman was spring green. Mr. L was partially hypnotized by their captivating auras: so warm and familiar, yet so far.

Dimentio explained the silhouettes. "His family is poor, so both parents have to work. Their father, Marco, is a plumber and carpenter. Most remember him for his kind smile and enthusiasm. Only his wife and a select few know who he really is: a dreamer, adventurer, and writer who once visited another dimension."

"This dimension?"

"No, but a nearby one. The Mushroom Kingdom, to be exact." The magician turned his attention to the woman. "Their mother, Lilian, is a waitress at a local restaurant who dreams of having her own pizzeria. She is a lovely young thing. She's American, but she speaks Italian as well. Marco is native Italian."

"...And the brother?"

"A loud, bright adventurer, like his father. We shall call him the boy in red. The boy in green takes after his mother, shy and sweet. Despite their clashing personalities, the two siblings are inseparable."

Mr. L nodded. Yes, all of this sounded right. "And what's his name?"

Dimentio hesitated. "I can't tell you that either."

The man in green frowned. As he jerked towards Dimentio, the silhouettes disappeared. "Why are you holding back? We had a deal, didn't we!?"

"There's only so much I can tell you." That is, without breaking Nastasia's hypnotism completely.

Mr. L pouted and crossed his arms. "There's a lot you're keeping from me."

Dimentio sighed. He pulled Mr. L closer to him and tried to make him look at him. He kept his head in another direction stubbornly. Dimentio went back to leading him in a waltz. "I'm being generous as it is, my dear. Also, this bit is not well known, but the boys were born out of wedlock."

He frowned. "So I'm a bastard. Great."

"Worry not. Marco and Lillian married shortly after having their sons."

Mr. L hesitated. "Are they both alive?"

"Yes."

"And my brother?"

Dimentio didn't hesitate. "Most definitely alive."

Though there wasn't much doubt left in Mr. L's mind, he muttered, "I hope you're not lying."

Dimentio chuckled. "To you? Never." He leaned forward and gave him another sweet kiss.

The man in green bit his lip again. "Why do you like me so much?"

"That's an easy one." The magician gave him one last twirl. "I know who you really are. You have the heart of a Nimbi and the spirit of an adventurer. You are determined, humble, and kind. You sometimes feel severely underrated, and I suppose this has translated into over confidence now."

He brought Mr. L closer again and the two stared face to face. Mr. L glanced down. "Who I really am..." He drifted off, closing his eyes.

When he opened them again, Dimentio gasped. No, no, no. It was too soon for those eyes. Those painfully blue eyes.

He blinked a few times. He stared at his dance partner with confusion and traces of fear. "Who...?"

Without thinking, Dimentio leaned forward and kissed him hastily. Stepping back, he waited. The man in green blinked a few times. He rubbed his head, silver eyes gleaming in confusion. "What happened?" Mr. L asked.

Dimentio forced a smile. "Oh, nothing. Just taking my payment." Dear, Jaydes. That was Luigi just now, wasn't it? I wanted to tease him, not bring him back! I need to be careful...

Mr. L shook his head, smiling apologetically. Even though his eyes were back to normal, Dimentio still saw Luigi staring back at him. "I'm sorry...I don't really remember what you were saying just now. Could you please repeat it?"

That was too polite to be Mr. L, at least a hundred percent. The jester grabbed his hands. "Perhaps it's time we get going, then."

With those simple words, the illusion faded. Dimentio turned back into his normal self. Dimension D stood in its place. Mr. L looked around, worry in his eyes. "What? But...I..."

"Don't worry. We will surely return sometime, but for now, you need to get to bed and I need to go back to O'Chunks."

The man in green hesitated. "Will you be gone long?"

Dimentio shook his head. "No. Now come on." He took his hands gently and teleported back to Mr. L's room. The latter looked around, disappointed at his plain surroundings, but didn't say anything.

"Get a good night's sleep, alright? Don't worry about me. I shall return quickly, like a-"

"Wait!" Mr. L shouted, louder than he intended. He stared at the floor and lowered his voice. "Before you go...I want proof this actually happened and isn't some bizarre dream. I mean, it feels real now, but I might try to dismiss it in the morning."

"I see. Hmm..." Dimentio nodded. He knew what to do. Using more of his magic, he made a rose appear out of thin air and handed it to Mr. L. "For you, my dear."

Mr. L grinned. "It's lovely, but...is it going to last until morning?"

"You're right. You need something more memorable to go along with it." Dimentio planted a kiss on his forehead. The man in green stared back at him, not even bothering to hide his blush. Dimentio laughed. "Ciao, Mr. L."

With that, he disappeared. Mr. L sighed, then got in bed reluctantly. He buried his face in the pillow and let out another loud groan.


The name Jarred actually means 'rose' in Hebrew. I wanted a flowery name for a Floro Sapien.

No, Mr. L, you and Dimentio won't be sleeping with one another...At least, not anytime soon. ;)

I hope you guys enjoyed this. I wanted to try writing a chapter in Dimentio's POV. I also hope that the change from getting floro sprouts to going on a romantic date didn't come across as forced. I was experimenting with including a more humanized Dimentio because if he was his normal height, it would make dancing kinda awkward. Plus, I read through this quickly so I could post it today, so feel free to point out any errors and I'll correct them as soon as I can. :)

Also, according to the Mario wiki, Mario and Luigi most likely grew up in Flatbush. I'm not sure if that's a prominent neighborhood or not since I don't live anywhere near Brooklyn, but whatever. I tried.

-Colorful and Free