AN: Eh, have one more thing from me before the New Year. This takes place after Forgotten Memories, so knowledge of that story is pretty much vital going into this one. Also, spoilers for the beginning of Sonic Forces. Enjoy! And make sure to check out the continuation of this story in Crossed Dimensions.

~Over~

It was the strange, pulsating blue light coming from under his bed that Luigi noticed first. Nervously glancing around and making sure his brother wasn't present, he reached under the bed and wrapped his fingers around the golden ring from Sonic's world - the one Tails had told him to get from Professor E. Gadd and keep hidden from Mario. Concentrating on speaking to Tails, a hologram of the fox appeared, looking panicked.

"Luigi?!"

"Tails? What's wrong?" Luigi asked, his brow furrowing in concern.

"I... It's..." Tails stuttered, tears welling in his eyes. Luigi flinched and sat down on the edge of the mattress.

"Tails, please tell me what's going on." He heard an explosion come from behind Tails, startling the both of them. "W-What was that?"

"...Eggman." Tails managed to stutter out, a chill shooting down Luigi's spine at the name of the heinous villain. "Eggman... he... Sonic..."

Luigi felt a tiny stone drop in the pit of his stomach at the sound of his brothers ex-boyfriend. "What about Sonic?"

Tails choked back a sob as Luigi's stomach twisted into anxious knots waiting for a response. "...Eggman killed Sonic."

A dull thud came from behind Luigi, and whipping around saw Mario standing at the door, the glass of water he'd been holding having slipped through his fingers. His expression was something akin to shock, wide eyes and mouth slightly agape as he took in the news that had been unceremoniously dropped on him.

"M-Mario..." Luigi started, before Mario spun on his heel and wandered down the hallway, Luigi flinching when he heard the front door close.

"Oh no..." came Tails' voice. "I didn't..."

"I'll... speak to him..." Luigi mumbled. "After I get the whole story. How did this happen, how did Sonic die?"

Tails sniffled. "Eggman had some sort of new sidekick with him..."

/~/

Mario wasn't sure how long he'd been walking before he finally collapsed at the base of a gnarled old tree, taking off his hat and running a hand through his hair before clutching the hat close to him, as if it was some form of comfort. His jumbled thoughts spun in a confusing whirlwind at the information that had just been dropped on him.

So now he knew where Sonic's ring had gone - Luigi had had it all this time. Though he wasn't sure why Luigi had felt it to be necessary to hide it from him, he wouldn't have gotten rid of it. But it was the other thing that disturbed Mario the most. The thing that made his heart ache and tears press the back of his eyes.

His ex-boyfriend was dead. A chill shot through Mario as the words Tails had said replayed in his mind; Dr. Eggman had actually managed to kill Sonic. Mario's eyes lowered to the ground, an overwhelming sense of guilt washing over him as he recalled the last conversation he and Sonic had ever had.

It was right after they'd gone to get revenge on Eggman for kidnapping Sonic. Sonic - having found out Eggman was his father and the truth behind his past - had gone berserk and had almost managed to kill Eggman before Mario had stepped in, putting Sonic into a sleeping trance thanks to Peach's magic and retreating back to Sonic and Tails' shared house in the Mystic Ruins. It was there they'd gotten into an argument over morals, which had led to them breaking up.

'Maybe I should have let Sonic... no... no, he wouldn't have been able to live with that guilt. But... he'd still be alive...'

His last words to Sonic had been 'I love you' in Italian, so at least they hadn't been words of hate. But even still, Sonic's response had basically told him that he didn't love him anymore, a response that had left him quiet and stoic for days.

He'd always hoped that they could reconcile... that they could talk it out and start fresh. That they could go back to their usual wacky antics with each other; Mario sighing in exasperation as Sonic restarted the Mongolian throat singing CD after he'd just listened to it, Sonic dragging him out to Smash Plaza to the music store because a string on his guitar broke or he lost a pick.

How they'd build blanket forts... how they'd opened up to each other... how they'd trusted each other. All of that was gone.

Forever.

The tears that he'd been holding back came forth, and Mario shuddered as tears rolled down his cheeks, dripping off his chin and splattering to the ground below. He sat in silent grieving for a few minutes until he heard footsteps, and glancing up saw the blurry silhouette of his brother approaching him.

"Bro..." Luigi started, sitting next to Mario and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

Mario sniffled and wiped his eyes, keeping his gaze on the ground beneath him. "What happened?"

"Apparently Dr. Eggman has a new sidekick, and got a bunch of other villains on his side as well. Even Shadow."

Mario frowned. "But... he was on our side..."

Luigi could only shrug. "Apparently not anymore. According to Tails the last thing he saw was Eggman picking up Sonic's corpse. He wasn't moving, and there's been no indication that he's still alive."

Mario slowly shook his head in disbelief. "I don't believe it. He's Sonic. How could he have been taken down so easily?"

"I don't know, bro." Luigi whispered. "And I'm sorry you had to learn like this."

"I suspected you had his ring," Mario admitted. "And... I guess it's better I know than find out from you later."

"How do you feel right now?"

Mario frowned as he contemplated that question. "...Shocked." he finally managed to utter. "And... it feels like someone's ripped out my heart. Again."

Luigi's eyes dulled as he brought his brother in closer to him to attempt to provide any sort of comfort. "I know you really loved him, and I know that you weren't over him. But..." he took a deep breath as he prepared his next words. "Now you can focus on moving on. I know you don't want to, but you have to in a situation like this."

Mario said nothing at first, and he felt Luigi tense as he waited for his answer. After what seemed like an eternity Mario turned to his brother and managed to crack a smile.

"...You're right. I... I have to move on. You're absolutely right."

Luigi slowly nodded his head. "It'll be difficult, but I know that you can do it. Because you're my big bro, and you can do anything!"

Mario resisted the urge to scoff and retort the statement. Instead he bit his tongue and forced himself to smile. "You're right! Grazie bro."

"Prego," Luigi responded, before freeing himself from his brother's embrace and standing, dusting off his overalls. "How about we go home now?"

"You go, I'll just stay here a bit longer." When Luigi gave him a doubtful look, Mario waved him away. "I'm fine bro, really. I'll be home in a bit."

With one final concerned look at Mario, Luigi slowly turned and walked back in the direction he'd come from. As soon as he was out of view Mario's face crumpled and he hugged his knees to his chest; wishing that moving on was as easy as Luigi was making it out to be.

'Because it's hard to move forward when there was never any proper closure in the first place.'