"So...Dimentio and you want to solve a murder?" Olivia asked. "The murder of Mario's grandfather? That happened over twenty years ago."
"Olivia's right. Any good evidence will be gone already. But if we do want to help you with your...report...I think it'll be a good idea to help."
"How come we weren't told about this report?" Olivia asked.
"Um..." Izuku stammered. "Well...I..."
"That's simple...They did not give you a big assignment because you planned on not staying for long..." Dimentio lied. Izuku was impressed with how quickly he came up with that, but it also filled him with worry. "So...you are friends with Mario and Luigi and therefore will not be questioned for picking at information for his death...I however...That will be very suspicious...That is why we need you two..."
"Are you sure you want to go back there, Dimentio?" Olly asked, worried. "Things might have changed since last time, and they might not be very accepting of you."
"We will be going to New Donk City...I did nothing there to evoke their wrath..."
"The city?" Olivia gasped. "I've never been to a city in the Mushroom Kingdom before!"
"Doesn't Pauline run that city? Mario's...cousin or something?"
"Wait, wait." Izuku waved his hands. "Cousin?"
Olly nodded and slammed a giant chalkboard next to him that he seemingly pulled from nowhere. "You see, I have been studying Mario's family ever since I found he can use our Origami Magic. Sandi and Mani were the only Origami Folk before us, so he obviously had to branch from our family somewhere! It makes it much more difficult since the Toads birth like mushrooms, so we have dozens of cousins, aunts, uncles, you name it." He blinked. "Waaaaiiit...What about Shroom City? You've been there."
"I feel like that's too small to count," Olivia responded.
Izuku examined the board. Olly did bear a terrifying resemblance to Sandi, only the black and white image made her skin and hair much darker than his. Olivia resembled Mani almost identically, Izuku noted though, that her hair was just the slightest shade darker. Small notes were written near all of the images. Izuku noticed a blue dragon with a light blue stomach that had written next to it:
"Mani cared for egg. No direct relation, but I find pleasure in knowing the Water Vellumental was helped by Livi's ancestor."
Izuku then saw the image of a large tree, the same tree as a grey-brown stump pasted next to it. Under the images read "Ol' Grandsappy and Sweet Sap Loggins." The note nearby explained a fact Izuku found mildly concerning.
"Olivia and my paper came from his bark when he was chopped down! So that means Ol' Grandsappy is our real father! I mean this as a joke, of course, but I really should visit him again..."
Izuku pointed at an image of a white Toad with glasses. "Who's that?"
"That's Renoth! He hinted at possibly being distantly related to the person who folded Sandi and Mani, so I put him up there."
Izuku realized Olly wasn't kidding when he said the Toads popped up like crazy. It almost looked like a board for theories or supernatural studies rather than a family tree. Izuku noticed something near the Origami Craftsman that worried him.
"Those two are pretty close on the family tree...They both came from Sandi's line...Did they...?"
"We have many things wrong with our family, starting with Sandi's accidental murder and Mani accidentally banishing Kaptaan Teeowed. My great grandparents incesting is the least of my problems."
"Woof," Dimentio gasped. "Your family is...a lot. Are you even sure most of this is...correct?"
"Ooh, I'm more than sure! If I really can use Sandi's powers, then I could travel back in time and figure it myself! Or time travel was just a rumor...Sometimes it's so hard to separate fact from fiction..." He pointed at Sandi. "Also, if you notice, everybody comes from her line except for Kaptaan Teeowed and his family. Strange to think that Mani was dating a pirate, innit? I'd've thought she was more of a good guy type, like the way she acted." He folded the board into a small square and shoved it into one of the folds on his small body. "But that is enough history today! We must discover the cause of our great-great-great-great-great-great-"
"Olly, you don't need to do that," Olivia tried, but not fast enough because Olly wasn't stopping now until he was done.
"-great-great-great-great-GREAT grandfather's death!" He exhaled sharply. "Ran out of breath there...Woo...Let's go!"
Dimentio pulled them all through a portal, a weird, tingling sensation going over Izuku's entire body. The journey was relatively shorter than Izuku expected, but a bit slower than he hoped. Izuku jumped to the sound of a car honking and jumped out the street.
"What the heck, Dimentio?! You just teleported us into the middle of the street!"
"S-sorry, Izuku...M-my mind must have been on something else..."
"We should split up and ask for testimony," Izuku said. "The twins can handle the east and north areas, Dimentio, you go south, and I'll handle the west area. Sound good?"
"Yep!" Olivia agreed.
"Sure, I can do that." Olly said with a nod. "You can take the east side."
"Okay!" She flew off.
"Izuku, make sure Dimentio is alright. I can tell something is bothering him, but I don't wish to pester him. Make sure he can get help, alright?"
"Okay."
Olly flew off as well, leaving Izuku and Dimentio alone like he had planned. Dimentio had started to leave. "Wait! I wanted to talk."
"Alright...What is it?"
"I want you to stay here. If you go looking around, people might be suspicious of you. If you stay here, at least you won't get hurt. Can you stay here?"
"Alone?"
"Yeah, but only for a few minutes, okay? I'll try not to be long. I know this is bringing back some bad memories for you, but this will keep you from hurting someone by accident." He started off, turning around after saying, "I promise I'll be back."
"I...promise I will...be back...I hate how familiar that sounds..."
He stood still for a few minutes, but grew restless and walked away. He left a clone there so Izuku wouldn't worry. He needed to clear his head.
"What is wrong with me? Why am I like this? Why was I alone...? I was only twelve, I should have had an adult with me in the city...Did I run?" He stopped thinking about it when his hand began to shake.
He wandered for about thirty minutes without rest, and only stopped when the place he was in became all too familiar. He walked towards the alleyway, taking a quick peek inside. There was a poster pasted onto the wall for a missing child. He tore it off and brought out a small ball of light to read it.
"This child..." He accidentally crushed it, then dropped the paper. "M-my name is Dimitri...?" The light vanished when he heard something shuffle around and jumped. "I need to go back...I-I..."
He backed out of the alley and saw the rustling was just from a racoon scouring the trash can near the entrance for any scraps.
"I-it is fine, Dimentio...Nothing here is going to hurt you-"
A car honked for him to move and he jolted back and tripped backwards on the curb. The car kept on driving, ignoring him.
"I-I j-just...!"
The TVs on display behind him came to life, scaring him to his feet.
"Today," said the man on screen, "we celebrate the twenty sixth anniversary for Jumpman's death. This hero not only saved the city, but also our beloved mayor Pauline's great grandmother and the life of a poor child."
Dimentio backed away, breathing hard. "That is not today, is it? I-it cannot be already...!"
The screen showed footage of his death, staring with Dimentio standing in the street. Dimentio grabbed his chest as the footage kept playing, his breathing speeding up and he could feel himself shaking.
"That child was saved thanks to the heroic actions of Jumpman Mario, our hero and founder."
"I-I did not mean it...I am so sorry...!"
"Unfortunately, the search for this child still continues after he vanished after that incident, and so does the cause of his murder."
He covered his ears. "I told you, I did not mean it...! Leave me alone...!"
"That was over twenty years ago," said the lady news anchor sadly. "We may not be able to find them."
"But we still haven't given up hope! If you see anyone resembling the child, please contact the authorities. They can help find their family."
"I do not want to find my family!"
Dimentio ripped a stop sign out of the ground and tossed it directly at the TV in the center of the pile. The glass window shattered along with the television, sending sparks and glass shards raining down on the sidewalk. Dimentio regretted the decision when the alarm began to blare. He looked at his hands, the gloves ripped with his corrupted blood dripping from the cuts on his hands.
"Leave me alone!" He screamed and tried to run.
He tripped over his own foot and landed face first to the ground. He heard his mask crack, but did not care. He tried to get up, but the cuts on his hands prevented that. He instead gave up and began sobbing.
It was silent for a minute before an older man's calming voice asked, "Are you okay, young man? That was quite the tumble there, no? Here, I'll help you up."
Dimentio felt somebody gently grab his hand.
"Oh dear, that looks pretty bad. Precilla, could you grab the bandages? He's gone hurt himself."
Dimentio finally looked up to find the old man was smiling at him. He wore beige pants with black suspenders, and a light blue dress shirt.
"Nice to see your face, young man," said an old woman, who came over holding bandages and some peroxide. "You were lying there for quite a while, we were worried." She pulled a handkerchief out of her small purse and dumped some peroxide onto it. "This will sting, but try not to fight please. It'll stop hurting soon."
"Who are you?" Dimentio finally got the courage to ask.
"I am Precilla," the woman answered.
"I'm Onix," the old man smiled.
Precilla wore a red dress with a light brown blouse over it, her brown leather purse hanging around her shoulder. She also wore a bonnet to cover her thin silver hair. Both had managed to bring Dimentio into a sort of comfort with their sweet smiles and kind actions.
Dimentio screamed when she dabbed the handkerchief against the wound, and she stopped.
"Are you alright?"
"Just startled me..."
She dabbed it a few more times.
"Oh, honey, is this color natural?" Onix looked worried. Dimentio was taken by surprise at first and actually grew worried, but remembered quickly that the Chaos Heart tainted his blood.
That, however, was unnatural either way.
Both gave him a worried look.
"Young man," Priscilla said, "you have blood coming from your face. You hurt yourself pretty bad."
Dimentio noticed the small puddle of black blood on the ground by his knees. "I am fine, Precilla." He tried to stand, but his ankle hurt so he fell back down.
"Now there," Onix comforted. "We should take it easy. Precilla, help me help him stand."
She crossed over to the other side of him and they both grabbed his arms and gently pulled him to his feet. They helped him over to a bench near the main street by the square Dimentio had first brought Izuku, Olly, and Olivia to.
"There you are, young man."
Dimentio flopped into the seat, his hands still in terrible pain but the bandages helped the pain die a bit. "Why did you help me?"
"Why wouldn't we?" Priscilla said happily. "You looked so helpless there and we noticed nobody else wanted to help you. We stepped in to make sure you were okay."
"Why, you didn't introduce yourself!" Onix invited.
"My name is...Dimentio."
"That's why you looked familiar! You were that clown who tried to rewrite the world! Do you remember that, Precilla?"
"What are you doing all the way in the bad side of town? Nobody like you should be going that way!"
"Like me?" Dimentio sat up a bit, feeling a bit better.
"Yeah, like you." Onix smiled. "You wanted to do something selfless, even if you did it the wrong way. This world may not be the best in the multiverse, but it's home. I find it sweet how you wanted to get rid of crime and those horrible people running the government."
"Good...? I never thought of my actions that way before...Good..."
"Dimentio!"
Dimentio looked to see Olly, Olivia, and Izuku running towards him. The others looked worried, but Olly was clearly upset.
"Why did you run off? Ooh, it looks like you got yourself hurt! You better have a good reason for this, Dimentio! We were all worried sick about you! Your idiotic plan with your hologram would've worked if it wasn't intangible!"
Dimentio stood from the bench. "I should leave. I apologize for taking up your time..."
"Oh, balderdash," Onix said with a dismissive hand. "You run along now and have fun. You didn't waste our time at all."
"We're glad to help somebody in need," Priscilla said.
Dimentio followed them back to the square.
"Are you going to answer me?" Olly demanded. "What is wrong with you?! What were you thinking, running off by yourself? You're still a wanted criminal, I mind you!"
"Olly, don't yell. I'm sure this can be handled calmly," Izuku said. "Dimentio, I asked you to stay there. Why did you leave?"
"Oh, you know...I could not let you have all the fun," he responded sarcastically. "So I thought I would injure myself and get bandaged by an old couple; thanks for asking."
"Dimentio, you need to tell them. They're worried for you, and the longer you hide it, the worse this'll get. Just tell them already!"
"You think I am hiding something?" He smiled, but it came off as creepy and forced rather than legit. "Does this look like something is bothering me to you?! Even if something is bothering me, why would I tell any of you?! You two twins are just children, and you get attacked on a near-daily basis! You have grown people with superhuman powers who want your head mounted on a wall, Izuku! So why worry about my problems?! You clearly have some of your own!"
"Dimentio, calm down! I was just saying the twins deserve to know about this just as much as I did!"
"Fine! I will tell them! You really want to know why we are here?"
"Wasn't it for-" Olivia began.
"I killed your great granddaddy! Yeah, that is right! I killed Jumpman!" He laughed hysterically, sending shivers down Izuku's spine. "And then I killed Luigi! And almost killed Mario! I almost ended your entire family line, because I would have killed all those Toads and everybody else in your stupid little world! Are you happy now?!"
Olivia looked worried, but Olly scowled. "I knew I couldn't trust you. I can't believe I gave you back the Chaos Heart. Maybe I should have left you there, bleeding out on the ground."
"Olly! Stop being so mean! There has to be some reason he would kill Jumpman! He would only have been twelve when that happened, so you can't jump to conclusions!" Izuku snapped.
"Jump to conclusions?! Izuku, he's insane! You think he would do something like that for a reason?! He murders out of sheer, absolute boredom! I had a sneaking suspicion that I couldn't trust you, and it looks like I was right!"
"Dimentio! Tell them what you told me!"
"Why? I told them what I told you and you took it as 'Dimentio is still a nice person!' You are the reason we are here anyways!"
"See?!" Olly pointed an accusing hand at Dimentio. "Even he admits it! He knew exactly what he was doing! At least he does have some brain left in there!"
"So now you are trying to offend me?!" He pointed back at Olly. "Because at least I do not look like a napkin! At least I was able to keep loyal followers without having to use mind control!"
"Stop it, both of you!" Izuku shoved them apart. "This is getting ridiculous! You two are acting really immature right now! Olly, stop yelling at Dimentio and let him explain! Dimentio, stop yelling and tell them what you told me! They'll understand!"
"I will have you begging for mercy when I am through with you," Dimentio threatened Olly.
"Then beg. I would like to see you try and beat me. After all, I beat you last time, fair and square."
Izuku kept trying to calm them, but it looked like Dimentio was actually going to start a fight with the both of them. Olivia didn't like how Olly was acting, and felt betrayed by Dimentio as well. She fought tears, hating seeing her brother mad again; especially since that was the way he talked to her when she fought him too.
"St-stop fighting...Please. Stop fighting." Nobody was listening.
"I will tear you to shreds and use it as confetti in a parade, so people can step all over you like you did to them," Olly mocked Dimentio.
"Olly!" Izuku pointed at him. "No matter how good that was, no!"
Olivia felt mad now. They weren't listening to Izuku, ignoring her pleading, and still fighting with each other.
Olly suddenly grew quiet and Izuku saw his eyes widen. "Wait...That power..."
"I said STOP!" Olivia screamed, finally getting Izuku and Dimentio's attention.
Everybody fell over, Olly tumbling down into the grass. Olivia covered her face, worried. Izuku had hit the grass pretty hard, and Dimentio landed on the sidewalk.
"Wh-what was that? Did I do that? Oh Grambi, I am so sorry. I-I have no idea what just happened!"
Olly got up from the ground and went to his sister. "Are you okay?" He had calmed down, probably from shock and worry. "Was it because of Dimentio and me?"
"I think so..." She grabbed her brother's hands. "But what was that?"
He smiled. "Fold of Life, respectfully. You tapped into it from your anger, like I did. I know that's not really a good thing...but I did sense your energy spike. That's why I stopped. I noticed what happened."
"I'm sorry...I have no idea how I did that..."
Dimentio got from the ground and stumbled a bit. A small chunk broke off his mask.
Izuku got up last, and saw the piece fall from Dimentio's face near his eye. "Oh no...Dimentio, your mask-"
"I know, Izuku."
Izuku picked up the piece and held it out to Dimentio. "Here. I know how important that mask is to you."
"It is worthless now, Izuku! You think I can use it when it is broken like this?!" He tore the mask from his face and tossed it to the ground.
Izuku noticed he was missing a contact, which is the one Izuku had found after his battle with him in Dimension D. Dimentio fell to his knees, crying into his hands.
"What is wrong with me...?"
Olly went over to him. "Nothing's wrong with you."
"You always say that...And then you further prove that something is wrong with me..."
"Hey, don't say that," Izuku said. "You're fine, Dimentio. You're a little mentally messed up, but you're fine overall."
"No...I am not...I killed Jumpman, as you know...But it was me who controlled the driver...He was connected to my strings...He was a puppet..."
"So Jumpman was ran over?" Olivia asked.
"B-by a truck..."
"Oohh..." Olly muttered. "Brutal..."
"He saved my life...and I kill him...I am a monster...No matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to change..."
"I thought the same thing, Dimentio." Olly picked up his mask. "But Olivia showed me I could. And Izuku too. So now I'll return that favor and show you that you can change too. I mean, if Fawful would give up being a villain just so he could stop you, shows you how much we can accomplish when we try hard enough. And I'm not talking about villain acts, by the way."
"I need to fix my mask..."
"Now what Izuku said makes sense. If Dimentio really did feel awful about this, it would make sense on why he had no intention of telling us. I apologize for getting upset at you, Dimentio. That was heartless of me."
Dimentio reinserted the piece the best he could and put the mask back on. He stood back up. "Also, Izuku, I found this...People have been looking for me ever since that day." He handed the missing poster to Izuku.
Izuku examined it for a long while. "Wait, your name is Dimitri?!"
"Shh! Keep your voice low! Only we know about this!"
"Your name is Dimitri?" He asked again, bringing his voice to a whisper.
Dimentio nodded. "I had no idea either. Strange, hm?" He smirked.