Out of Place

Ticklish

The man in green turned around to see Nastasia standing next to Merlon, looking as if they had just come from the tower. "Um, who are you?" Nastasia asked, pointing at Dio while Merlon gave him a thoughtful look.

"Me? I'm-" Dio started when Luigi quickly stepped forward and interrupted him. 

"He's no one important! Just a friend! W-We came to see Merlon about a... private matter."

Nastasia immediately crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, suspicious as ever. Why on Earth would Luigi of all people be back in Flipside? She had seen Mario around a few times, but never Luigi. The man in green had always been too traumatized to return. So there had to be a reason.

And the other guy, his voice... there was something off about it. He had only spoken so briefly, so she wasn't sure. But she already had her suspicions.

"... Leave us, Nastasia," Merlon breathed, looking at Luigi and gesturing into his home. 

Nastasia, staying professional as always, nodded and stepped back, folding her arms in front of herself. "Um, K then. I'll see you later then. Yeah." She then scurried off.

Merlon nodded back at her, then welcomed Dio and Luigi into his home, sitting himself down and giving them a thoughtful look. "It is great to see you again, man in green. I was afraid I never would."

"Well... something weird came up," Luigi breathed, curiously looking out the window. He didn't want to admit out loud that he too thought he never would be returning. "Why were you talking to Nastasia?"

"Oh, the same reason as always. She wishes to find a way to bring Blumiere back into her life. Though I have told her time and time again that it is impossible." Merlon admitted, clearly not shy to share information on other people's problems. This almost made Luigi reluctant to tell Merlon about the whole situation he found himself in. He could only hope that the ancient wouldn't go around and spread the word.

"Blumiere, what a funny name!" Dio giggled, unintentionally inserting himself into the conversation. "Is that French?"

To this, Merlon's face paled. The smooth sound of that voice... it could only belong to one person.

Luigi could see Merlon's yellow eyes widen and immediately stood up, holding his hands out and trying to explain. "I-It's not who you think it is, I promise! Merlon, just stay calm-"

"How are you here?!" Merlon questioned in an almost panicked manner, looking at Dio and pointing an accusing finger.

Dio however didn't catch the accusing tone. "Oh! I showed up at Luigi's house with a knife! And then he took me here to see you!" Dio chimed happily.

"OKAY, YOU GOTTA STOP TELLING PEOPLE THAT!" Luigi exclaimed.

The man in green then took a deep breath and turned back to Melron in a desperate attempt to recover from what Dio had said before the ancient went and called Mario to take care of the problem or something. "Merlon, this isn't Dimentio. Well... Er, it is. B-But not the same person. H-He's from somewhere else, and he's just trying to get home. C-Can you help?"

Merlon didn't reply, but Luigi could see his eyes squint slightly as he straightened up, slowly and carefully approaching Dio, curiosity lining his strides. "Hmm... his voice greatly resembles the jester... but his eyes are different. Could you... describe yourself to me, my boy?" Merlon started, still sounding cautious.

"Sure!" Dio chimed. "I'm Dimentio! But Luigi is calling me Dio in order to prevent any misunderstandings! I've been traveling from universe to universe in an attempt to get home to my family! I also LOVE your little town! It's so amazing. I've never seen anything quite like it-"