What a Wonderful World

Chapter 23

Everyone gathered around at the bottom of Flipside tower. Almost all the citizens were present, being put at ease, knowing that the person who nearly ended all their lives was going to be taken care of for good. They all formed around the execution as Dimentio looked down at his feet, refusing to make eye contact with a single person. The only person he wanted to see wouldn't be there, so he didn't wish to see anyone. He didn't wish to see the look of hatred in their eyes. He didn't want to see them knowing the way they saw him, because when they looked at him, all they could see was the bad in him. Not a single person out there could see any of the good.

Well... it was unfair to judge them all. In fact, it was highly likely that a lot of them were truly good people. They all had lives and friends or family. They all had their own stories. Some were probably kind. Some were brave. Some were helpful. But, the point was that they couldn't see the good in him. And why should they? He'd done nothing to show them that there even was good in him, so why should they see him as anything other than a villain? All they knew him by were the horrible things he had done, so why should they feel anything else?

"Hey, uh, Mario," Nastasia asked Mario as the man in red, Peach, and Daisy began to walk over to the scene.

"Yeah," he asked, stopping to look at her. "Oh. Hey Nastasia! What is it?"

"Well... since Dimentio has caused you so much trouble, and you were the one who nearly vanquished him the last time, I was wondering if you'd do us the honors of lighting the fire," Nastasia asked, readjusting her glasses. "Finally finishing what should have been done long ago."

"Oh..." Mario mumbled, biting his lip and nervously rocking back and forth on his heels. "I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with-"

"Please?" Nastasia requested. "I think it would mean a lot to everyone if the hero from the prophecy was the one who defeated him for good."

Mario exchanged glances with Peach, who only offered a slightly uneasy shrug. He sighed and looked back at Nastasia, then offered a smile. "Well... then I'd be honored. For the people of Flipside, and for Luigi."

"Yeah, because I'm sure Luigi loves when you kill people for him-" Daisy muttered under her breath when Peach suddenly elbowed her in the side. "OW!" Daisy shouted when she noticed Peach was glaring at her.

"Okay, okay. I know. This person's different. I get that he deserves it. You don't have to elbow me." She breathed, rubbing her side and rolling her eyes.

"Thank you." Nastasia nodded, not paying any mind to the two princesses. She didn't even waste time introducing herself to Daisy, whom she still had yet to formally meet. "Now let's hurry. The execution will start once you're ready to light the fire."

"Okay..." Mario breathed as Nastasia ran off. Once the blue girl was gone, Peach and Daisy both gave him slightly concerned looks. "Are you really going to do this?" Peach asked, grabbing his arm.

Mario paused a moment, then straightened up. "Well... I'm the hero. It's my job to get rid of bad guys," Mario breathed, turning and walking. "Will I still feel bad about it? Well, of course. I never feel good about ending lives. But... Dimentio has done so much. To these people, to us, and to Luigi... so, I'll do what I must. To protect these people. To protect my friends. To protect my family."

______

Luigi immediately jumped out of the return pipe, landing on top of the tower and rushing to the side, feeling his heart rate accelerate. He scrambled over and looked down on everything, seeing Dimentio tied up all the way down there, but still alive. He let out a small, nervous laugh in relief, so so happy that Dimentio wasn't dead. 

Yet. 

Then he rushed over to the other side and pressed down on the elevator.

"Come on, come on, come on!" He urged as the elevator slowly came up for him. "Please, hurry up! I'm running out of time!" He exclaimed to no one. The man in green waited a few extra seconds before he just decided to screw this and take the stairs, sprinting down as fast as he could. He was almost afraid of tripping but didn't slow down. He couldn't slow down. He needed to save every second he could.