(As Long as We're Together) Everything's Gonna Be Okay

Poor Mario...

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? But I don't think it's fair to keep living here when I really don't want to."

Mario feels like he's been punched in the stomach, "What are you saying? You're leaving?"

"I'm saying that living in the same house, in the same room, isn't particularly fair to either of us right now, wouldn't you agree?"

"Weegee, please." Mario begs, almost going to reach for his little brother before stopping himself. "If you just remembered everything, remembered us ..."

"But I DON'T, Mario!" Mr. L, as he'd insisted on being called, shouts. "That's what I'm trying to say! You and I both know we're at the end of the line here. Nastasia did everything to undo what she did, but even she can't counter the Chaos Heart. On top of Dimentio tossing himself in alongside it."

"But if you remembered, you'd see just how wrong all this is! You're my brother. I know you!"

"Do you know me right now?" Mr. L counters, making Mario go silent. "Because you've yet to call me anything but a name I can't remember being called. But I believe you."

At that, Mario looks at him quizzically.

"I believe you when you say I'm your brother. I believe all the stories you've told me about our adventures together. But the fact of the matter is they still feel like stories in a book. Or like they happened to someone else."

"Then forget about us." Mario says, trying something else. "What about everyone else? Peach? Your dog? E. Gad?"

"I know you're not stupid enough to think that's any different. More people I don't know, more memories that may as well not be mine at all."

"So you're just going back to Mimi, O'Chunks, and the rest of them, just like that?"

"Oh my god." Mr. L covers his face with his hands. "I can have more than one set of friends. There's room for all of them. But I don't need to be here with you to do that."

Mario steps away, taking a deep breath as he tries to stay calm.

"I'm sorry." Mr. L repeats. "Really, I am. Until I figure things out for myself, without anyone's personal bias, I can't be your brother. I tried to kill you, twice. By your own admission, that's something your brother never would've done, no matter how bad things got between us."

"Lu, the fallout from the Chaos Heart wasn't that long ago." Mario tries to reason. "Everyone's still recovering from the universe almost being destroyed. You just need more time to let everything sink in."

"You mean let my memories come back." Mr. L points out. "Which we've seen isn't gonna happen anytime soon. So I'm giving it up."

"No." Mario cries. "No, Weegee, please don't--"

"Mario, stop. I know it's hard, but--"

"Please --"

"I need to do this on my own!" Mr. L yells, cutting off the rest of Mario's begging spiel.

"Not without me." Mario insists. "Please."

"I hate how I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but I am sorry." Mr. L does look remorseful. "I'm leaving."

Mario can't say anything anymore, just bursts into sobs and leaves the room.