The queen waved her hands, causing Dimentio's surroundings to quickly change in the blink of an eye. One moment, he was standing right in front of her. The next, he was in the woods, surrounded by bright lush greenery.

He blinked a few times, looking around himself. The air was chilly. He felt cold! He had never been so glad to feel cold. The air felt so nice and refreshing. He could feel the oxygen enter and fill his lungs, he could feel his heart begin to beat once more!

"I did it..." He breathed in awe, his eyes wide. He then smiled, bringing his hands to his chest and looking around at the world, actually feeling the steady rhythm of his heart, beating strong and steady. "I actually did it!"

That was much easier than he thought it would be! He couldn't believe he was actually alive again! He looked down at his arms, seeing that he still was wearing the stupid clothes that he was wearing in the Underwhere, but that hardly mattered. What mattered was that he was there and alive!

He looked down at the simple patch of bright green grass beneath his feet. He wasn't wearing shoes, so he could feel the softness and the light dew that had covered the small, gentle green blades. It felt odd, and he couldn't even remember the last time he felt grass beneath his heels. Had he ever even experienced it before?

Next to him was a small creek. It was too shallow to drown in, but he still didn't like the trickling sound of the water rushing downstream.

When he looked up, he could see a dark twilight blue color through the trees and leaves. Even though the air was deathly still with no breeze, it was still rather cold outside. He could only assume that it was midnight. That way it would be easy for Jaydes to track exactly three months down to the very minute. He wasn't sure how much time had passed since the Ultimate Show, since the way time passed in the Underwhere was different from how time passed in the land of the living. What felt like a few hours for him could potentially have been months or years for all the people who were still alive. Time was a strange concept, especially when paired with the concepts of life and death.

He liked the light green color of the leaves above him. It appeared to be either late spring or early summer, as the plants and trees all around him seemed to be booming with life.

"Okay... now for a plan," He told himself, slowly walking through the woods with no destination in mind. In the past Dimentio would usually pace in the air in order to clear his mind while trying to think of future plans and such, but seeing as all his magic was gone, pacing on the ground would have to suffice.

He had nowhere specific in mind for where he could go from there. He had no idea where the nearest form of civilization even was. On top of that, he was powerless. Without his magic, he couldn't really find a way to make that perfect world he wanted so badly before, not that creating the world of his dreams would even be possible in three months...

"Oh, Grambi..." He muttered softly under his breath as he brought his left hand to his head and combed it through his jet-black hair, the weight of only having three months hitting him. "What am I going to do now?"

He didn't think he'd even make it this far. He didn't bother coming up with a plan for what to do once he made it back. People would surely remember what he had done. No one would welcome him with open arms. If anything, they'd welcome him with pitchforks and handcuffs. The only thing everyone ever would know him as was who he was when he was alive. Everyone knew what he used to be.

And no one knew what he was going to be. Not even himself.

What was he going to do? Just wander the woods like some sort of hermit?

No, he needed to just come up with a plan. That was all he needed to do. Come up with a plan and stick to it.

Step 1. Figure out where he was.

Step 2. Find a place where no one will know or recognize him.

Step 3. Find SOME way to extend those three months.

It wasn't a solid plan... but it was a start. Even though the last step seemed impossible, he was sure he'd be able to come up with something. Yes, Jaydes was the queen of the Underwhere, but if Dimentio knew anything about himself, it was that he could usually weasel his way out of any situation and manipulate scenarios to go his way.

______

There was a room with a bed situated right next to an open window. A man in green was peacefully sleeping when he felt a soft ray of sunshine tickle his face, kindly telling him that morning had come. His eyes softly opened, then closed again as he gathered the strength to sit up and start the day. It usually took him about five or ten minutes of just lying there to get up, but he eventually did allow the idea of more sleep to drift away, sitting up, stretching his arms, opening his eyes, looking out the window at the morning sun, and smiling because the morning had come.

Today was a new day.

About fifteen minutes later, he walked down the stairs of his house after getting dressed and ready. He made his way to the kitchen and rifled through the cabinets to find a suitable breakfast that would be easy to make. He ended up going with the pancake mix and started on that. After breakfast was made, Mario finally made his way down as well, looking about twice as exhausted and half as ready as his younger twin brother.

"Yeesh," Luigi muttered as soon as he saw his brother's exhausted appearance. "Rough night?"

"Is it that obvious?" Mario asked, plopping down at the dining room table and resting his head on it, the bags under his eyes seeming to weigh him down.

Luigi softly smiled at him, then placed a plate of pancakes in front of his brother, setting the butter and maple syrup next to it. Mario briefly raised his head, then lowered it once again, almost seeming disappointed in himself as he muttered, "I'm sorry... I was supposed to make breakfast today, wasn't I...?"

"Meh, I don't mind," Luigi assured his older brother with a smile, sitting across from him and taking a bite out of his own meal.

"So... more nightmares?" Luigi asked between bites.

Mario nodded, sitting up and rubbing his eyes before picking up his fork and taking a small bite out of his breakfast.

"Same ones?" Luigi pressed. Though the topic was somewhat sensitive, his face was completely relaxed. His body language wasn't tense or expressing unease. If someone were to be watching the conversation on mute, it would look as if they were simply engaging in small talk.

Mario on the other hand didn't look quite so relaxed. His shoulders sagged and he hunched forward slightly, tilting his chin down and looking at the lovely plate of food in front of him with eyes that seemed filled with melancholy.

Mario nodded, avoiding eye contact and focusing on his food. It had been one year since the Ultimate Show. Ever since then, Mario would often get nightmares about the whole event, having visions of Luigi being taken away again. He would wake up nearly every night a nervous wreck, horrified by the idea of something bad happening to his younger brother. He was worried that he wouldn't be strong enough to protect him if something like that were to happen again.

"Well, hey. I'm okay," Luigi smiled. "We can't waste time being worried about the future. We can only focus on making now worth it."

"I know..." Mario trailed off, eating another bite, then taking his plate and standing up. "I'm not too hungry. I'm gonna put these in the fridge and save them for later. Thank you for the breakfast."

Luigi smiled and nodded in response, then continued on his own plate.

Unlike Mario, Luigi actually didn't get nightmares about the Ultimate Show. Yes, it had scared him, but his mind didn't like to dwell on that. He always had this analogy. Focus on making now the best moment it can be. Don't waste time worrying about the future or regretting the past. It won't do anyone any good.

Once Luigi finished his food, he cleaned and put away his plate, making sure everything was neat and orderly. Then, he headed out, opening the door and stopping as soon as he felt the brisk, chill air. He took a deep breath in, then let it out, stepping forward and walking through toad town. The community was friendly and kind. People waved at him as he passed. He waved back with a smile. It felt nice to feel connected to all these people around him. It made him feel important and a part of the bigger picture.

He strolled through town and out to the woods. He wasn't sure where he was going that day, but he never really had a set plan when he went for his morning walks. Sometimes he would end up at the harbor, sometimes he would end up at Peach's garden, and sometimes he would end up in the woods.

It seemed that the woods were where he was heading this particular morning.

He really did enjoy every aspect of these walks he took. He didn't have a specific reason for taking them, he just liked walking. He liked having this time set aside so he could appreciate the world around him. Everyone was always in a rush to get life done, but he liked to take the time to slow down and appreciate the small things.

He wished that others appreciated slowing down the same way he did, but most times they didn't. Once he suggested Mario come on one of these morning walks with him, but the man in red was too stressed the entire time, wasting the walk by worrying about everything that needed to get done. Once Luigi even took Daisy on one of these walks, but that didn't really work out well either. She's the type of person to get bored easily, so just walking around and appreciating the tranquility wasn't quite her style, which was okay. Different people had different opinions.

He found himself walking past a meadow of wildflowers, which had just past their peak but were still bright and full of life. It was early June, the world was leaving spring behind and heading into summer. The woods were always so bright and green around that time of year.

Luigi always had a hard time choosing which season was his favorite. Mario had a solid answer, claiming that the winter was clearly the best with all the holidays and the snow. However, each season was so unique and beautiful in its own way. Spring was so colorful. It was almost inspiring to see the world come back to life after a cold winter season. Then there was summer, which was so bright and warm. People everywhere seemed so happy during the summer season, as they could go outside and smile brightly in the sun. Then there was fall, where the leaves would all turn beautiful shades of orange and red. There was almost nothing Luigi loved more than the feeling of autumn leaves crunching beneath his feet. And lastly, winter. The fields of ice and snow, the smiling faces during the holidays, it was just so magical. The entire year had good to it. There wasn't a single season that Luigi dreaded.

He felt the shade of the trees block the warming sun from him and shivered slightly as he listened to the wind softly rustle through the leaves. He could hear the rushing of water from the nearby creek he would often take his shoes off and walk in. He could hear a few birds chirping up above, which made him smile. He loved how much life there was around him. If he looked up, he could see the butterflies flutter and hear the birds sing.

He continued walking for a moment, then took a brief pause, sitting down next to a tree and resting the back of his head on the trunk, slowly closing his eyes and just listening to the sounds of the forest as he relaxed.

He wasn't sure how long he had been out, but he knew that soon he'd have to get back home so he could get on with his day.

After another five or so minutes, he got back up, took a few deep breaths, then checked his watch. It was 9:00 AM. Probably a good time to start heading back home so he could get on with all his daily chores and such.

So, he walked around the trunk of the tree, heading homeward bound when he suddenly ran face-first into something, causing him to fall back.