MONSTER!! - A Tale Of Darkness

The Pains Of Loss: Reprise

"Hey, mind if Luigi and I just have a one-on-one conversation for a bit?"
Mario asked. Daisy shrugs,
"Sure, I don't see why not."
He stood, gesturing for L to come along. His heart sank, but Wendigo spoke up in that moment,
>you knew this was going to happen...

He was right. L saw this coming many, many kilometers away. He followed, and they sat together in a bedroom.
"Hey, Weeg, what's going on? And be honest, please..."
L frowned. This isn't going to end well. He thought about it, not knowing what to say.
Mario sighed, "Is it safe for me to guess it's difficult to explain?"
"Yeah..."
"Well... I guess it's because things seem... off. Some... thing starts to make a presence on the news, about it killing people, my friends included, and the rumours saying it got you too... it was too much for me to take, especially in such a short span of time. Then you both showed up... Daisy says that she just fell, but honestly? I don't buy it. I know she's not that clumsy, if at all, and those scratches on her neck... they seemed suspiciously deliberate. And, I can't figure out why, but you seem different, too. I mean, every time either of us say your name, you get this look, like we said something you didn't understand... you seem way more conscious of everything you do, and while we were eating, you tensed up, like you heard something you didn't want to, but nobody even said anything when you did that..."
His voice cracked, blinking away tears.
L tried not to tear up as well, but to no avail.
"... It's just that..."
He choked back a sob.

"It's just that when you call me that, I just don't remember that name. I barely remember anything beyond the past year... I can't even remember who I was last December. I'm supposed to remember all this, I'm supposed to remember you! And I don't! I've forgotten almost everyone and lost everything that went with it! I don't think I'm the same person I was... It feels like there's other people in here... I can see them... I know they see me..."
L's heart pounded, his head turning frantically. He cowered, getting as close to his brother as possible. Mario pulled him into a hug, though looking shocked. L knew that his heart had been shattered like windows in a car crash. He glanced around and said, trying to sound reassuring while trying desperately not to cry,

"There's nobody else here... it's just the two of us..."
"Four..."
L corrected.
"What?"
He tried ignoring the watching eyes of the shadows as he explained the two voices who doubled as personalities.
"They're terrifying... I've seen what they can do... I'm trying to get better... I'm trying to help them get better... but they still scare me so much..."
Mario shook a bit, not knowing what to say. L didn't quite mind that. Daisy barely knew what to say, he couldn't expect him to either. He instead just rested as best he can, and said quietly,
"You don't need to know what to say, all I ask is that you help us".
Mario nodded, a choked sob escaping him. L hugged his brother tightly, and shut his eyes.