I'm finally updating this story! :o
Sorry for the long wait, guys. ^^;
I had writer's block but last night I stayed up a little late just started typing away. I seem to write better when I'm tired; it just opens up my mind a bit more. =/
RoseMarie Fanfics: Thanks. :)
I didn't really mean for that to be funny, but if you want to laugh at it, go right ahead. I tend to laugh at odd moments sometimes, too. XD
Same here. They make such a cute family, don't they? :3
Friend of Fawful: We hope. Dawn and Star still have to find the berry, remember. ;)
If you felt bad for him in the last chapter, you're gonna feel even worse in this one...
Aside from Luigi, it takes time for me. In fact, it took until I beat SPM for the first to realize I want Nastasia to be one of my fandoms, not just a character I like. :)
For me, "like" does not mean "fandom". You know?
ME IS A PIKACHU: This really isn't soon, but here you go. ^^;
Dimentio's Epic Girlfriend: *Crosses fingers*
Hawkholly: Ha ha, Oran Berries are from Pokemon. XD
Sorry if I confused you!
Thanks! :)
Don't worry, I stayed safe as I live in Wisconsin and all we got was some wind.
Wafflegirl0304: They look a lot like blueberries! XD
"I am Dr. Mario and I am saving lifes..." XD
Thanks. Here's more! :3
Zora Princess: Ha ha, thanks! :)
Oh yeah, I think I saw that... ^^;
Cool! Our homeschooling has been a little crazy lately. For now we're mostly just reading books about history from the library. :p
Mimi didn't know how long she had been sitting by Dimentio's side, but she must have closed her eyes and rested a little, because the next thing she knew Mario was whispering in her ear, "Hey, are you awake, Mimi?"
She opened her eyes. "Yes, I'm awake.
Mario smiled as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"Is everything okay up here?"
Mimi nodded. "Everything's fine. He's asleep…"
"Good." Mario sat down at the foot of the bed. "It's better for him that way."
"I'm sure it is…"
"Hmm?" The red-clad man looked at Mimi. "Is something bothering you, Mimi?"
"I just…" Mimi sighed. "I feel so bad for him. He was in so much pain just a few minutes ago. Mario, I-I've never seen anyone suffering so much before."
Mario's friendly blue eyes held a look of worry. "What do you mean? What happened?"
"Well…when I first came up here and saw how sick he looked, I thought I'd rub his stomach a little. You know, to see if that helped him feel any better."
Mario nodded and waited for the girl to continue.
"When I reached out to him, my fingers barely touched his stomach and he just cried out in pain and back away from me." Mimi trembled slightly. "I got scared; I didn't it was possible for someone's stomach to be that sensitive to being touched."
"I was afraid this would happen…" Mario sighed.
"What? Is Dimentio going to be okay?"
"He will be as soon as Dawn and Star get back with that berry." Mario casted a worry glance at the sleeping boy.
"Is everything alright?"
Mario and Mimi turned to the doorway and saw Blumiere standing there.
Mario gave a small smile. "Yes; for the most part, everything is fine."
Blumiere nodded. "Okay then. You were up here for a while, so I started to worry a little."
"Since you're here…you might be able to help me with something. I trust you still practice magic?"
"Of course."
"Do you know a spell that can put people into a deep sleep so they won't wake up for a while?"
Mimi became to wonder where Mario was going with this.
"Yes, and I also know a spell to counter it and help awaken someone." Blumiere paused. "Exactly, what do you need me to do?"
Mario looked at Dimentio again. "I need you to put him in a deep sleep for a few minutes."
"But, he's already asleep…" Mimi said, looking confused.
"I know, but I have to do something, and I don't want him to wake up."
"Mario…what do you have to do that you don't him waking up to…?" Blumiere narrowed his eyes and looked serious. "There is something wrong, isn't there, Mario?"
"I'll admit; something's bothering me about his condition. I'll explain in a moment. For now, please use your spell to keep him asleep."
With a reluctant sigh, Blumiere gently put his right hand on Dimentio's head and unleash a gentle pulse of soft white light.
"There." Blumiere took his hand back. "He'll be asleep for a while now."
Mario nodded. "Good. Thank you."
He pulled back the covers.
"Mimi, when you told me his stomach had become sensitive to being touched… I think I know what's happening here.
"You see, with Shokuchu Flu, there were rare cases in which the honey—instead of just sitting in the victim's stomach—would actually coat the walls of the stomach, causing extreme sensitivity and discomfort. I believe Dimentio has become one of those rare cases."
"Oh dear," Blumiere sighed deeply. "He can still be cured, can't he?"
"Oh, yes. But he'll most likely have a sensitive stomach for the rest of his game."
Mario chuckled when he saw Mimi's fearful expression. "Don't worry, Mimi; it won't be as bad as it is now. I promise."
"So, what are you going to do that he needs to be asleep for?" Blumiere asked.
"I'm just going poke around a little; make sure everything's okay."
Mario slowly pushed Dimentio's nightshirt up until he could fully see his stomach.
"Hmm mmm, I can tell the honey's irritating his stomach; if you look carefully, you can it's a little swollen."
Mimi looked closely and saw he was right; her brother's usually flat stomach did look a bit…off.
She was reminded of a few years back when some kids at school had dared him to eat an entire lager jar of peanut butter in one sitting…
Dimentio put the empty peanut butter jar down on the ground next to him and sighed quietly.
"Hmm, that really wasn't so bad," he said.
Iggy and Lemmy Koopa looked each other.
"Wow," Iggy started. "He—"
"—actually did it," Lemmy finished.
Their older brother Roy looked impressed.
"Not bad, Dim," he laughed. "I didn't really think you'd do it."
Dimentio smirked. "I guess I showed you then."
"Heh heh, yeah ya did! You have my full respect."
"Good to know, Roy. Good to know."
"Come on, Iggy, Lemmy. We're goin' home now."
The three Kooplings walked away, leaving Mimi and Dimentio alone.
Mimi frowned. "Why would you do that? I wouldn't be surprised if you get sick later."
"You wouldn't understand, Mimikins. It's a pride thing. Besides," Dimentio said as he stood up. "I'll be fine. It's time for us to go home, too."
He took his little sister's hand and they started walking home.
They had been walking for a while when Mimi heard funny noises come from her brother tummy.
"Are you okay?" she asked, looking up at him with worry filled eyes.
He smiled down at her. "I'm fine."
The young shape-shifter wasn't so sure this was the truth, but said nothing more.
By the time they had reached Dark Land Forest and were ten minutes away from home, Mimi could tell Dimentio wasn't "fine".
He was using his free hand for slowly rub his stomach, and even with his mask on, Mimi could see he looked distressed.
His stomach let out an upset growl.
Mimi looked up at him again. "Dimmy…"
He sighed. "Okay, you win. I…might feel a little sick…"
"I knew it!"
"Hmph."
Mimi smiled. "Come on; let's hurry home so you can try to rest it off."
They walked for only a few more minutes before Dimentio groaned softly.
"H-hey, Mimi? Let's sit under this tree for a minute, okay?"
They sat down.
"Ugh, I guess it wasn't such a great idea, after all," Dimentio muttered.
Wanting to do what she could to him, Mimi put one hand over her brother's upset stomach and helped slowly rub it.
She paused for a moment.
"Dimentio…what's wrong with your tummy? It feels a little bigger than it usually does…"
Looking concerned, Dimentio placed a hand near Mimi's.
"You're right. It feels a bit odd…"
Mimi gave his stomach a gentle poke.
"Ha ha, it's kind of squishy!" she laughed gleefully.
"Hey now, cut that out."
Dimentio pushed her hand aside softly and lifted his shirt a little.
His eyes widened with surprise and he let out a quiet "Oh…"
"Whoa…" Mimi said, looking over his now ever so slightly but still noticeable swollen stomach.
"I guess the peanut butter is starting to make my stomach get a little bloated," Dimentio mused, lightly patting his stomach. "Funny how I didn't notice before…"
As soon as he said it, he leaned forward and hugged his belly.
"Ohhh… N-nevermind."
"Do ya notice now?" Mimi giggled.
"It's not funny, Mimi!" her brother growled.
The young girl stopped giggling. "What's wrong, Dimmy?"
"Ugh, it hurts…"
Mimi hugged him, being careful not to hurt him, and whispered, "It's okay; It'll go away soon."
Mimi didn't even remember why Roy had dared her brother to do such a thing.
She did, however, remember sitting under that tree for a long time until Dimentio felt well enough to walk again.
It was dark outside by the time they got home!
Their family had gotten worried about them, but luckily they didn't get in too much trouble.
Focusing on the present again rather then the past, she watched Mario slowly lower his hand toward Dimentio's stomach until his gloved fingertips were barely brushing against the boy's skin.
"He doesn't seem to be in any pain yet," Mario reflected. "A good sign."
He continued to gently press down until Dimentio whimpered softly.
Mario smiled. "Okay. The irritation is kind of bad, but it could be a lot worse. I can tell you now his stomach will continue to be sensitive, but it won't be that bad."
"In other words…" Blumiere said slowly. "He's going to be just fine?"
"Pretty much."
"That's good to hear. I'm so relieved…"
They all hear the main doors opening downstairs.
"Sounds like Dawn and Star are here." Mario sighed in relief and stood up. "You can go ahead and wake Dimentio up now; I'll be back in a minute."
Mario went downstairs and Blumiere placed his hand on Dimentio's head once more, then casted the spell to awaken him.
"Wake up, my littleistigatore," Blumiere whispered affectionately.
Mimi smiled at the nickname Blumiere had given Dimentio. She knew istigatore was Italian for "troublemaker".
The boy slowly opened his eyes, then blinked a few times before managing to keep them open.
Blumiere helped him sit up then sat down beside him. "Are you feeling any better?" he asked, even though he knew what the answer would be.
Dimentio shook his head tiredly.
"No." He moaned. "Not really."
Blumiere put an arm around the boy's shoulder. "Shh, you will soon. Dawn and Star are back; we're hoping they found the berry that will cure you and make you feel better."
Dimentio managed a weak smile. "Yay."
Mimi smiled and held his hand. "That's the sprite, Dim!"
Blumiere chuckled mildly.
Mario came back with a pleased grin on his face.
"They did it, they found the Curar Berry." He held up a dark green fruit with little white dots on it. It was about the size of a peach.
"Curar Berry… An interesting name," Blumiere mused.
Mario laughed. "It makes sense when you know that Curar means 'cure'." He sat down on the bed and smiled at Dimentio. "Hey, I take it you're more than ready to start feeling better now?"
Dimentio nodded.
"That's what I thought." He held out the fruit. "Just eat this. There aren't any seeds or anything, so don't worry about that. Just eat the whole thing."
The boy took the fruit then hesitated. He looked a little uneasy.
Mario smiled reassuringly. "I promise it'll stay down."
With a sigh, the boy started to slowly eat the fruit.
This illness was quite unforgiving; Dimentio had had a hard time keeping anything down—no, scratch that.
He hadn't been able to keep anythingdown all day. Even little sips of water would come back up in minutes.
All of the vomiting had upset his stomach to the point that he just gave up trying.
He hoped Mario was right; that fruit would be an exception…
Dimentio began to notice a dull pain beginning to form in his stomach.
He tried to ignore it and focused on the sweet fruit he was eating.
It was weird; after going all day without being the least bit hungry, eating something actually felt pretty good.
The pain was slowly getting worse.
Half way though the Curar Berry, Dimentio moaned and looked at Mario.
"You…ugh…didn't tell me it would hurt," he said in a low voice.
Mario looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. I know I probably should have warned you, but I was afraid you might not eat it if you knew."
"Is there…anything else I should know?"
"Do you want the truth?"
"Yes."
Mario sighed. "When you finish eating the Curar Berry, you…well, it's going to hurt a lot for a few minutes."
Dimentio cringed. Mimi stood up and said quietly, "I'm going downstairs for a little while…" She didn't want to see her brother in anymore pain.
Blumiere nodded understandingly.
"The pain is the berry doing its job," Mario explained as Mimi left.
"I understand."
"Good. Now come on, try to finish eating. And remember that no matter bad it hurts, it will get better."
Dimentio bravely nodded and continued eating.
Within five minutes the berry was gone, and all he could do was wait for it to do whatever it supposed to do.
Waiting for the large brust of pain Mario had been talking about felt like waiting for a bomb to blow up: It was a bit scary for him.
A few more minutes passed, then...
"Ohhhh..." Ah, yes, the time had come.
Mario hadn't been kiding; it really did hurt a lot.
Even though he knew it wouldn't help much, Dimentio hugged his stomach and leaned forward. This only worsened his discomfort, making him cry out in pain.
It hurt so bad he felt like his game would end. Heck, it hurt so bad he almost didn't care at that point if it end or not.
In an attempt to take the boy's mind off of how much pain he was in, Blumiere gently pulled Dimentio towards himself and hugged him tightly.
"Shh," he whispered. "It will be over soon."
Dimentio moaned and snuggled closer to his father.
"Is this…ungh…is this what childbirth feels like?" he wondered out loud.
That did it; both Mario and Blumiere burst out laughing.
Dimentio weakly chuckled as well. "I couldn't help but wonder."
"I guess us guys will never know," Mario said, clearing his throat.
The minutes passed slowly.
"No one should ever have to go through this kind pain," Mario sighed while shaking his head. "No one."
Blumiere nodded in silent agreement.
Ten minutes later, Dimentio's moans finally died down to quiet whimpers.
A little while after that, nothing.
Mario glanced at the boy. He had been quiet for five minutes now.
It seemed his suffering was finally over.
"Hey, Dimentio; did the pain stop?"
There was not answer.
Mario smiled when he realized the boy had dozed off.
"I guess he's feeling better, eh Blumiere?"
The man's smile grew wider when he noticed Blumiere had fallen asleep as well.
He gently tapped his friend on the shoulder.
"Blumiere, wake up."
The dark skinned man jolted awake.
"…I fell asleep, didn't I?" he asked
Mario nodded.
Blumiere looked embarrassed. "Sorry."
"It's okay; you both dozed off. I'm guessing he's feeling better, but we should wake him up and check."
"Alright." Blumiere gently shook Dimentio by the shoulder. "Time to wake up, istigatore."
Dimentio yawned as he opened his eyes.
"Have a nice nap?" Mario asked.
"Yes…"
It was clear he was still tired, so Mario decided to hurry this along.
"Are you feeling better now?"
Dimentio gave a tired little nod.
"Good… Here, look at me a second…you're looking a lot better now."
It was true; his ghost-white face had a little more color to it now, and his mismatched colored eye which looked dull before were full of life again.
"You don't look quite so shaky, either. Do you feel a little stronger than before?"
"Yes."
Blumiere put a hand to the boy's forehead and added, "His fever's gone, too."
Mario smiled. "All good signs." He gently put a hand on Dimentio's stomach.
"Does this hurt at all?"
Dimentio started to get worried when Mario placed a hand on his stomach, but was surprised when he didn't feel any pain or discomfort.
"No, it doesn't hurt…" He started to smile when realized what he had said. "It doesn't hurt."
Mario laughed. "I can understand your joy in that. Lay down now and go back to sleep. Tomorrow you should be feeling well enough to get up and move around a little."
"I look forward to that," Dimentio said, sounding tired again. "Maybe I can take a shower…"
Mario chuckled. The boy looked up at him.
"Why is that funny? I smell like sweat and vomit; wouldn't you want to wash up if you smelt like this?"
"Fair enough; I guess I would."
Blumiere fondly ruffled Dimentio's hair a little then the two men left to let him sleep.
He's okay! :D
At first i was going have a scene showing Dawn and Star looking for the berry, but I couldn't a way to make it work well, so I said "Forget this crap!" and picked up from where I left off in the last chapter instead. :)
Things To Be Explained:
Where to begin...?
According to Goggle Translate, Curar is Spanish for "cure" and istigatore is Italian for "troublemaker".
If I got either of those words wrong, blame it on Google. ;)
The new facts about Shokuchu Flu I (obviously) made up. But I made up Shokuchu Flu to begin with, so I guess it doesn't matter too much. :p
I think that's all for now. Bye guys! ^^
~Dawn