Author's Notes- Thanks to Space Dimentio for editing. The original has version has some unused content. It was advised that this content be cut for better flow. I respect the critiques and did my best to replace it with something that flowed better. With every critique, I become a better writer, which is what I strive for.

Chapter 22

Nastasia and Count Bleck discuss what they will do with the grinder Fawful built. They decide to just keep it in case they need a large stack of papers shredded ASAP or something of that nature.

Fawful heads for the door carrying only a suitcase of the stuff he's collected over the short few months he's lived with Count Bleck and his minions. And speaking of minions, the only two that come to bid him farewell are Dimentio and Mimi.

Fawful's confused expression effectively communicates to Dimentio that Fawful is utterly confused as to why he would come to bid him farewell. Well, Dimentio has an answer for that. "Fawful, two things. The first is that thanks to you, I finally understand how my co-minions truly felt when I betrayed them all. Second, Mimi took my library book, and I assume you have it." Fawful reaches into his cape and hands Dimentio the library book. Dimentio turns to leave, but stops. "Oh, and one more thing. I will get my revenge on you one way or another. Don't you forget it. Ciao, for now." He would have teleported dramatically, but he's lost his powers. Oh, he will get revenge on that bean.

So many emotions invisibly fly through the air between the shape-shifter and the mechanical genius. Neither of them knows what to say. The silence seems to make Fawful's heart slowly, but surely accelerate. Mimi's mind travels from memory to memory at a hundred miles an hour. They both wonder to themselves "where did it all fall apart?"

"So, you will have the keeping of the cape of Fawfulness?" Fawful finally forces words to form from his mouth.

It takes Mimi's brain a second to process what it just heard, and several seconds more to formulate an answer. "I-I guess so."

The rest of Mimi's thoughts just start flowing like normal. "Fawful," she shakes her head; not with disapproval, but thought. "What happened? I mean like, for a while, it just seemed like you were an addition to the team, but then this happened. It seemed like you liked it here. And hey, I hate to admit this, but I was starting to warm up to you."

This catches Fawful's attention. "You were?"

Mimi only shrugs in response.

The unpleasant silence returns.

The silence doesn't last as long as last time. Mimi says, "You never answered my question. What happened? Why'd this go downhill?"

'Gone downhill'; that's a term that Fawful is pretty familiar with. When his plans aren't going as planned, Fawful shows his signature grin, whether he is confident or not. Now, like always, Fawful's arrogant, toothy grin is plastered across his face. He responds to Mimi by saying, "Fawful is the super tasty ice cream that should complement the pie, but ends up stealing the pie's spotlight."

And once again, Fawful's odd metaphor perplexes the receiver; in this case, Mimi. This is exactly why Fawful isn't quite Mimi's type of guy. Fawful is way too… out there. With a dramatic wave of his cape, Fawful runs off with gusto. There is part of Mimi that feels the wistful breeze… but then again, there is another part of Mimi that is thinking "thank Grambi he's gone! Now back to puking at the thought of him."

Later, in the meeting room, Nastasia finds Dimentio just simply doing… nothing.

"Dimentio?"

The jester turns to look at Nastasia in a way that gives Nastasia a pang of guilt deep down in her heart. For the first time, Nastasia sees true regret and sorrow in the jester's eyes. Slowly, everybody else filters into the room.

"There. What is done has been done, and I am free to spend time with my wife and the minions that really matter to me," Count Bleck states, indirectly narrating the end of an adventure.

But Nastasia knows that even though it is the end, and the evil has been vanquished (sort of), it is not a happy ending for everyone in the room.

Mimi becomes confused at the sight of the unhappy jester. "Hey Dim, why so blue? Were you and Fawful good friends?"

"Friends?" Dimentio says, trying and failing to put on a fake smile. "I will never even attempt to forgive the man that robbed me of my most precious gift. Not even the end of time will bring the end of my hatred towards him."

O'Chunks gets a worried expression. "Those are big words, lad."

Mimi snaps, just now realizing what Dimentio is talking about. "Oh yeah! Fawful took away your-," She manages to stop herself before she says it.

It hurts Timpani's heart seeing the sorrow on Dimentio's face. She never thought she could ever feel pity for him, knowing what he's done in the past. She turns to Count Bleck and says, "Blumiere, is there any way to restore his magic?" This gets Dimentio's attention.

Count Bleck smiles. "Perhaps there is,"

Everybody looks at Count Bleck with hope. Dimentio has a look of skepticism.

"His power was only scattered; not destroyed. I can make his power visible. All we need to do is search the castle and gather ever little spark of magic. Once all of it is brought together, it can be returned to its owner."

"But it could take years to recover every inch of my magic," says the uncharacteristically bleak magician.

O'Chunks laughs with confidence. "Yer fergettin' one thing, ye crazed loon! We're Count Bleck's minions! Not teh mention that the count be right 'ere with us. We can do anythin' we set our minds to!"

Timpani steps forward, now full of confidence. "He's right. Dimentio, we can get your magic back."

"And we'll get it all back today," Count Bleck adds. Everybody looks at Count Bleck with shock. Count Bleck reassures them with a nod and a confident grin.

Dimentio rolls his eyes. "If you all manage to complete this task, I'll never doubt you all again. But since this task is impossible, I have no reason to fret."

"No," Nastasia abruptly exclaims. She smirks and states, "The stakes need to be higher than that."

O'Chunks becomes confused. "Wait, Nassy, are yeh proposing some sort of bet with the jester?"

Nastasia walks over to Dimentio. She answers, "Yes, I am."

Dimentio smirks and says, "Wager away."

"If we manage to restore your magic by nine o'clock tonight, then you'll swear an oath to the count and be his loyal servant for the rest of your days."

Dimentio gives an unsettling smile; classic Dimentio. He says, "And if you fail to do so, I will leave."

Mimi is shocked. "Wait, you're going to leave us if we can't get your magic back?!"

"There is nothing left for me here. To stay in a place where my passion was destroyed is worse than the Underwhere," Dimentio says. O'Chunks and Mimi didn't know how much his magic meant to him until just now.

Being her usual self, Mimi says, "Well, we could kill you if we can't find your magic."

"Now Mimi," Timpani starts to lecture. "Was that a sensitive thing to say?"

Mimi smiles. "Nope."

"Deal," says Nastasia. The wager is set, and the stakes are fair in Nastasia's eyes. Nastasia feels that if they are going to help Dimentio get something precious to him back, that he should at least swear loyalty to them in return. Dimentio doesn't deserve such kindness from them, but Nastasia knows that if she doesn't at least try, she will never look at herself the same way again. She has taken inspiration from Count Bleck's compassion towards the magician, and wishes to do the same. She knows she'll never have the same kind of compassion as Count Bleck, but she can at least try. This is where she starts.

Several hours have passed. Count Bleck, his wife, and his minions have been searching for magic since the wager was set without cease, with the exception of when any of them had to use the restroom. The deadline gets closer and closer with every tick of the clock. There is only five minutes left.

Nastasia, used to thinking while she does other tasks, has had loads of time to wonder to herself why she wanted to set a wager anyway. She kind of did it by impulse. Ever since Dimentio returned, Nastasia hasn't fully trusted him, secretly thinking that he'll betray them again. Her talk with him before their final battle with Fawful didn't change her mind. She figures that is why she set the wager as she did.

About an hour ago, Nastasia had a pang of emotion. She had collected only a small container of magic, and when the clock struck 8, she started to panic. She doesn't know how much the others have collected, or how much there is to find in the first place. She started to fear that if they lost the wager, Dimentio would leave. When she first realized that she was worrying about Dimentio leaving, she wondered why. But she didn't have to wonder why for long. It was the bond created by time. She's experienced it many times before. The only reason she followed Count Bleck in the beginning was because she owed him for saving her life; now, she follows Count Bleck because she can't imagine a life without him. Nastasia doesn't know if she has similarly strong of feelings for Dimentio as she does for Count Bleck, but she knows that a bond does exist, whether it be just a familiar face (mask?) or something else. If Nastasia can say one good thing about this whole experience, it's that if Fawful never came, she never would have seen the other side of Dimentio; the side with sorrow, regret, and a good heart. Perhaps, through all of this, she can learn to finally forgive Dimentio for what he did to them so long ago.

Two minutes till 9. Dimentio waits in the meeting room. He too has been thinking. What he was thinking is rather obscure, but it makes sense to him.

Count Bleck, his wife, and his minions return to the meeting room, each with a container of the magic they collected.

Mimi is the first to stop in front of Count Bleck and look up at him. "Count Bleck, did we collect it all?" She opens her clean jam jar of magic. Count Bleck gently pushes the lid back on the jar in order to keep the magic from escaping.

"I don't know, Mimi. I'll have to combine it all."

Timpani says, "Ok everyone, release the magic you've collected on Blumiere's signal." Everybody gets ready to open the containers they hold.

"Ok. I'm ready."

Everybody releases the magic they've collected, except for Dimentio, who appears to not have collected any.

Many black, white, and purple sparkles fill the air. For all the dark purposes that this magic is used for, and has been used for in the past, it sure looks beautiful in its purest form. Count Bleck holds up his scepter, which seems to attract all the sparkles to it. The magic condenses, creating one large ball of different colored magic. After that, nothing seems to happen.

Everybody looks at Count Bleck, all wondering the same thing. Count Bleck answers their question; "We did not collect all of it." That's when the clock strikes 9, signifying not just the time, but the end of a wager; the wager that Nastasia lost.

"Oh well. It seems as though you've lost. I was right; it is impossible to collect all of the magic that was taken from me."

"Dimentio," Count Bleck interrupts. "Without all of it, your magic cannot be restored to you. That's why we needed all of the stray pieces."

"I understand that," Dimentio states bluntly.

After a moment of silence, O'Chunks asks, "So, yer just goin' teh leave, even without any magic?"

Dimentio nods. "As I said before, I would rather not stay in the place where I lost my only passion."

"But where will you go?" Timpani asks.

Dimentio shrugs and says, "Perhaps my friend from the library knows of a place my services are needed."

There is another moment of silence.

"Do you wish to take anything with you?" Count Bleck asks. "I would be happy to lend you my magic for a suitcase or something."

"No thank you, Count. I would prefer to start out fresh, wherever I may go next."

Mimi asks with a sorrowful tone, "When are you leaving?"

"Now."

This gets Nastasia's attention. She was distracted by her thoughts, wondering why fate would have it so she lost the wager.

Count Bleck sighs and says, "Very well then. I bid you good wishes, from all of us." Count Bleck understands wanting a new start, so he can't blame Dimentio for just abruptly leaving them. He knows that perhaps when the wounds are healed, they will see the magician again.

Dimentio walks towards the front doors. He would be levitating, but his magic is gone. He would've carried some of his stuff, but he couldn't snap to get his stuff and a suitcase. Oh boy, this life is going to be hard to get used to.

"Wait!"

Dimentio stops and looks over his shoulder at the hallway. Nastasia runs down the hallway, which is very unusual. Usually she'd yell at anyone who was running through the hallway. About ten feet away from the jester, Nastasia slows to a stop.

Without taking a breath to restore lost oxygen, she forces herself to say, "Don't leave." Then she takes a big gasp of air.

Dimentio smirks. "Oh, but you lost the bet, Nastasia. The task you set out to do just couldn't be done."

"You're wrong," This catches Dimentio off guard. Nastasia continues, "We can find all your magic. Just give us more time."

"You had all day to find my magic," Dimentio turns towards Nastasia. "If the task couldn't be done within a day's time, then perhaps the task can't be done."

Nastasia, without any other option, resorts to just letting her feelings speak for her. "Please, just forget the bet. Just stay with us. It doesn't matter to us whether you have magic or not."

She stops speaking, expecting Dimentio to make a rebuttal. He doesn't. He only stares at her. He doesn't have to tell her to continue for her to continue.

"Dimentio, your life isn't over because your magic is gone. O'Chunks was no less of a minion when he lost to Mario, several times. You're no less a minion because your magic is gone."

Now Dimentio has a rebuttal. "That is where you are wrong. I was recruited to serve under the count for use of my magic; because the Dark Prognosticus prophesized me."

"But what about the second time?" Once again, Nastasia threw Dimentio off guard. She says, "Count Bleck gave you a second chance. You told me yourself; 'how do you thank someone for that?' He made you a minion again just because."

This is becoming too painful to think about. "I have to go." Dimentio starts to turn for the door.

"After everything that just happened to us, now you're leaving?! You can't just walk away from this! You've become a part of us all. We aren't complete without you. I don't care how long it takes; I'll continue to look for your magic forever if that's what it takes for you to stay. Just don't go," Nastasia pleas. Her heart was desperate, and so it poured itself out. It's like having a neighbor move away; you desperately don't want them to go away because they've been there ever since you were little. That's how Nastasia feels; only the feeling is magnified. The tears that were welling in her eyes have finally reached the maximum limit, and the tears have started to roll down her cheeks.

Dimentio stopped moving once Nastasia finished her first sentence. The thoughts Dimentio had before the clock struck 9 were returning. He was afraid of what would happen if they didn't find all his magic. If he won the bet, would everything that had just happened in the past few months be just a huge waste of time. He now realizes that even though his magic is gone, he never wanted to leave. Nastasia was right; he couldn't just abandon everything that had happened. He would never forgive himself for leaving the only place that someone had welcomed him back to. Through the past few months, these people, though sometimes annoying, had become the only family he's ever known.

And now, the one woman that has always hated his guts is pleading for him to stay. It is really fun to annoy her, but it's upsetting seeing her upset.

Dimentio reaches behind him and pulls out a jar… a jar with some of his magic in it. Nastasia stares in disbelief. Dimentio confesses, "You couldn't find all of the magic… because I had some of it."

"Wait," Nastasia wipes her nose. "You're telling me that you purposely made it so I'd lose the bet."

"Part of me was afraid of committing myself to Count Bleck. That same side of me is the side that believes that staying here will only bring pain. I now realize… that side of me is wrong. You did manage to find all of the magic; some of it was just hiding behind my back. There doesn't have to be mourning of something that is lost, because all of it has been found again."

There is a pause.

"Also, by swearing an oath to serve Count Bleck loyally, I'm also swearing an oath to follow the one person who forgave me for such greed and evil. Swearing an oath to the count is swearing that I will stay with the only people who wish for me to stay with them. I can clearly see that now. How can I leave when the perfect world I've always been looking for is right here?"

Nastasia gives a silent gasp of joy. The kind of joy she's feeling is greater than any joy she's ever felt before. So much weight on her heart has been lifted, and what were tears of sorrow are now tears of joy.

Dimentio opens the jar, releasing the last bits of magic. They immediately join with the rest of the magic, and that magic returns to its rightful owner. For the first time in hours, Dimentio's feet leave the floor without Dimentio falling to the floor. Dimentio thinks that perhaps all a perfect world needs is the feeling he is feeling right now.

"Dimentio, do you remember when you were rehearsing for that one play, where you would dance and sing?" Nastasia asks with the first smile of pure joy she's had in a very long time.

Dimentio nods, also smiling with pure joy for the first time in a long time. He asks, "You… don't wish to dance, do you?"

Nastasia shrugs playfully. "Some exercise wouldn't hurt."

He takes that as a yes. Letting all the joy be unleashed, Dimentio takes Nastasia's hands and starts to dance with her.

My job is a game

It's the best game I've ever played

Once you tell me your name

You're in the game too!

Ah, memories.

The jester always has goals, and now, he can focus on one goal that will make his world even more perfect; making Nastasia's heart his own.

As for Nastasia, this experience has granted her wish; to learn how to forgive someone like Count Bleck does. Today, she has forgiven that naughty, self-absorbed, psychopathic jester she never thought she would ever look at in a bright light.

So you see, now you'll never doubt that with a little time and adventure, even people like Fawful and Dimentio can be forgiven for the crazy things they've done.

Author's Last Notes- I may or may not have set this up for a sequel. If so, Fawful might have to get creative for more mischief making. Once again, I can't thank Space Dimentio enough for editing, and for helping make this story the best it can be. Ciao.