"Is this last of it?" O'Chunks asked as he brought down the last suitcase.

He, Mimi, and Nastasia were packing their things, about to go on their separate ways. Two days have passed since Count Bleck and Tippi destroyed the Chaos Heart. Nastasia, Mimi, and O'Chunks had decided, after having some time to recover from the incident, to leave Castle Bleck and go back to their own lives. Too many memories filled these walls, too many of more cheerful times and dark events that would forever haunt them.

It was time they moved on.

Mimi slowly walked down the staircase, dragging a suitcase with all of her stuff.

"I double checked the rooms," she said. "The place is completely empty."

"That's good," O'Chunks replied. "I can't wait to leave this place."

"Me neither."

Mimi looked around the half destroyed entrance hall.

"Is Nastasia waiting outside?"

"Yes, she couldn't bring herself to be here anymore then she had to."

O'Chunks paused for a moment.

"I'm really glad the lass decided to move out. I think it will be good for her health."

"She has taken Count Bl...I mean, Count Blumiere's, death real hard."

"So have you, lassie."

Mimi avoided eye contact.

"...So, what do you plan to do now, O'Chunks? You never said much on what you are doing next."

"I decided to move to Flopside with Nastasia. I don't want her to be alone, and I thought Flopside would be the best place for her, you know."

Mimi smiled slightly.

"I see. And you'll try to get to first base with her while you're at it, right?"

O'Chunks blushed.

"Well...maybe after she's recovered more. Right now, I'm just trying to help a friend. And what about you? Didn't you say that Merlee offered you a job at her mansion?"

Mimi nodded, excitement faintly glowing in her eyes.

"Yes, she talked to me about it last night. I'm going to be her lead maid, take care and be in charge of the house while she is gone. My uniform is even that cute maid's outfit she has!"

She paused.

"Though, I am surprised she offered me the job," Mimi admitted. "Especially after that time I infiltrated into her house..."

"But that's in the past," O'Chunks reminded. "We start a new life once we get out of this dark world."

"I do wonder though...what does Nastasia plan doing with this castle? I mean, it is technically hers now."

"I don't know, lassie, but let's not worry about it now. Right now, it belongs to Count Blumiere and Countess Timpani's ghosts. May they rest in peace."

Mimi nodded in reply.

Wherever they were now, she hoped that they were finally at peace. It was the least they deserved.

O'Chunks then lifted up his and Nastasia's suitcases.

"Well, I hope we see each other sometime soon, Mimi," he said with a small smile. "Come and see us the next time you are in Flopside."

"I will, and remember to visit me too!"

O'Chunks gave one last smile before he left the doors of Castle Bleck for the final time. Mimi watched him go, wondering how long it will be until she would see her old coworkers again.

Hopefully the next encounter will be in happier times.

Mimi let out a sigh as she stood in the big dark castle. Somehow, Mimi knew that she would never fully recover from this experience. Count Bleck had taught her so much, she had really changed from when she first arrived here. All of them did.

Setting her suitcase down beside the staircase, Mimi walked down the hallways to one certain place. A place that she wanted to see before she put the past behind her. She slowly opened the backdoor to the garden, it still looking as beautiful as when she first saw it. Mimi quietly walked on the dirt path, studying every black plant. Many emotions went through her mind, many memories coming back. From the time she and Dimentio discussed about the potion to when they set off for their date.

Dimentio...

Mimi then sat on the edge of the water fountain, gazing down at her reflection. Even her appearance had change. Her pigtails had grown longer and the look in her eyes had a wiser tone to it. No longer was she a child, a little rich spoiled girl, but now a girl who had a real reality check and had a better look at life. A tear went down Mimi's face, it hitting the surface of the water and rippling up her reflection.

Suddenly, a dark figure appeared behind her, staring at her.

"Why are you crying, my dear?"

Mimi gasped and turned around. Her eyes almost fell out of their sockets as she saw Dimentio standing before her, completely unharmed. He gave her a gentle smile. Mimi stuttered.

"H-how...D-dimentio? A-am I...?"

Dimentio chuckled softly.

"No, dear bellezza, you are not going mad. I am real, and in the flesh."

Mimi stood up, backing up to the edge of the fountain.

"But how did you survive?"

"I have my ways," Dimentio replied calmly. "You should know by now that I'm not easy to get rid of. I have cheated death once before and I can easily do it again. And that's what I did."

Mimi stared at him for a long moment, as if she was still trying to wrap her mind around the situation. Finally, she was able to calm herself down enough to look at him in the eye and demand, "Why are you here, Dimentio? I would think this would be the last place you would want to be at. If O'Chunks or Nastasia saw you..."

"Yes, I know," Dimentio answered. "That's why I waited to reveal myself to you when I knew they were gone."

"But why are you here?"

"It is simple, I wanted to see you again, Mimi."

Dimentio tried to get closer to her but Mimi moved out of his way. She glared at him, anger and heartbreak rising in her eyes.

"Are you that self centered, Dimentio?" Mimi demanded. "Do you really think things between us would be back to normal after what you've done? Do you really think I can just forgive you just like that? You used me, Dimentio! I can't trust what you say anymore!"

Small tears formed in Mimi's eyes. Dimentio stared at her.

"I will admit, I did use you at first," he said sincerely. "I admit I lied to you for the longest time. But, that doesn't matter. What matter was that I really did fall in love with you. My love for you, your love for me, destroyed me internally. You prevent me from succeeding in my plans and I've come to realize that you are the only thing that can keep me sane, keep me human. For without you, I am nothing but an empty shell. Mimi, bellezza, I need you to stay alive!"

There was a long silence.

"...Then prove it to me."

"I will. I will do anything."

Mimi narrowed her eyes.

"Then take off your mask. Show me your true face. The face of the jester who supposed to have died in the fire, the jester who was friends with Lady Timpani and severed her family. Dimentio, if you have ever truly loved me, if you ever thought of me as a friend, you will show me who you really are."

Dimentio's eyes widened, a spark of fear in his eyes. It looked like he was internally panicking, but Mimi didn't dare look away. Dimentio and Mimi stared at each other for a long moment, looking into each other's eyes. His gray and yellow eyes met her green ones, emotions flowing in each of them.

Finally, Dimentio put his hands on the edge of his mask. Slowly, and without removing eye contact from Mimi, he removed it from his face and dropped it on the ground.

Mimi's eyes widened.

The skin on Dimentio's face was pure white, like he hadn't seen the sun in years. The amount of skin on his face was uneven, for at some places his skull was seeable. It was even hard to tell if there was any skin left on some places. His mouth was long and narrowed, the only feature that Mimi could recognize as being normal. His nose was bent at an awkward angle, looking like it was crushed between to bricks. His eyes were mismatched, just like underneath his mask. His yellow eye was bright and full of life while his gray eye was dull and foggy. It almost looked like he was losing his sight in that eye, though it was the first time Mimi had ever noticed it. His eyebrows were completely burnt off and parts of his long, thin, uneven black bangs tried to cover half his face.

Dimentio's eyes turned cold.

"Now do you see why I never showed you before? This is what Blumiere did to me! Because of him, I have to live as a disfigured abomination! I forever have to wear a mask to hide my hideousness, to even have the chance of blending into society! And now you can't even look at me in the eye anymore, even with the mask back on! Because you know what face, if you can call it such a thing, that these eyes belong to! For no one can love someone as ugly as I've become. To have Death's Head on my shoulders... No one can truly accept... "

Dimentio busted into tears, falling to his knees and covering his face with his hand. He was losing it completely, his wall that kept his emotions closed up had finally collapsed. Dimentio didn't even bother to look back at Mimi, for he knew that she would leave him.

But Mimi just stood where she was, her eyes on Dimentio. She watched him for a moment, as if she wasn't sure what she should do.

Slowly, Mimi approached Dimentio and sat down in front of him. Gingerly, she removed his hand from his face and forced Dimentio to look at her in the eye. There was a sympathetic look in her eyes, a loving look. Mimi placed her hand on Dimentio's cheek, bringing his face closer to hers as she kissed him.

Dimentio tensed up, shaking a bit. But then he pulled Mimi closer to him. He kissed her back, his kisses becoming more and more passionate. Finally, Mimi broke herself out his grip, moved his bangs out of his face and stepped away. She turned her back to him as tears went down her eyes.

"Go now, Dimentio," Mimi said in a low voice as it cracked with emotion. "I will let you go this time, but if I ever see you again, I will kill you. I never want to see you again."

Mimi could feel Dimentio's stare burn into her but she did not dare turn back. She then made her way back to Castle Bleck, to leave this place for once and for all.

But before she could get to the door, Dimentio teleported from behind and grabbed her by the waist. Mimi froze as he pulled her close to him.

Without making eye contact, Dimentio put his mouth to her ear and whispered ever so softly, "You will not regret your decision to keep me alive, my dear. I see, even though I will never fully understand it, that I have hurt you greatly. I will disappear from your life for a little while and give you time to heal. But I will come back for you, bellezza. You are, and will always, be mine. Until we meet again, my love."

He kissed her cheek.

"Ciao."

The warmth from where he was holding her turned cold as Dimentio teleported away. Mimi stood where she was, Dimentio's last words repeating in her ears.

A part of her felt frightened, for what twisted idea did he have in stored for her? Will she ever be free of his grasp, always be his puppet?

But, another part of her was sad to let him go. For deep down, Mimi's heart still felt love for him, and Dimentio would always have a hold of a part of her heart.

A criminal of life itself. I'm in love with a criminal.

Author's Note:

And there it is everyone! The ending of Criminal, my quickest finished fanfic! But is it truly the end? Not by a long shot. I will not only be writing a sequel, but a prequel as well! The prequel will be a much detail version of Dimentio's backstory, since I greatly enjoyed coming up with it and thought that it would be a good full length story. So, for all of you who liked the love triangle between Dimentio, Timpani, and Blumiere, you all should really enjoy it. As for the sequel...you'll just have to wait and see what drama I have in stored XD.

Finally, I would like to thank all of you for reading and reviewing my first Mario fanfic. Hopefully there will be more to come. Until the prequel and sequel comes out, ciao for now!

Link to sequel, A Cruel Demon's Fate: www .fanfiction s/9044631/1/A-Cruel-Demon-s-Fate

Link to prequel, My Fair Lady: www .fanfiction s/9044655/1/My-Fair-Lady