Stomped

"AH!" Dimentio cried, withering in pain. He fell to the ground as he watched his beloved Dimension D fade away, transporting him and the heroes back to the Dotwood tree.

"Ha! Wimp!" Bowser taunted, watching tears form in Dimentio's eyes. "Wow, you failed EPICLY! Why don't you go home, kid. Go cry to the Count!"

"UGHH!" Dimentio groaned as Bowser stomped on his stomach, knocking the air out of him.

"Bowser!" Peach cried. "That was cruel!"

"So what? He's gonna blow up the freakin' world!" Bowser kicked Dimentio onto his front, preparing to attack again.

"That doesn't give you the right to torture him! Now stop! He won't bother us now, at least not for a while." Peach put her hands on her hips.

"Fine!" Bowser replied, walking back to Mario and Peach. Mario walked over to Bowser, a stern look in his eyes.

"That was cruel." Mario scolded, crossing his arms.

"Oh, whatever. No one cares anyway." Bowser waved his hand dismissively.

"Well, obviously Princess Peach does!"

The two continued to argue. Peach slowly walked over to Dimentio, who was still laying on his stomach. Upon getting closer, she realized that blood was dripping out of his mouth.

"Thank... you..." Dimentio stammered.

"Dimentio, why do you do this? Do you have any idea what the count is trying to do?" She desperately wanted to hold his hand or some other form of comfort, however she knew it would be very dangerous.

"I-I..." Dimentio began, but Mario cut him off.

"Come on, Peach. He's not worth it. Let's go, we've done our job." Mario motioned for the princess to follow. Before she left, she whispered to Dimentio.

"I think you're worth it..."

Back at Castle Bleck, Mr. L, Mimi and O' Chunks were sitting on the couch watching T.V. While Mr. L was flipping through channels, they heard the front doors open.

"Hey! I think Dimmy's back!" Mimi giggled.

"Hey, Dim! How'd It go?" Mr. L yelled.

"Didja get 'em?!" O' Chunks questioned. Neither of them got a reply.

"Dim? Dimentio?" Mr. L was getting worried. Then, they heard a loud crash.

"I'm gonna go check on him..." Mr. L slowly rose from the couch and made his way to the stairs. Halfway up, he saw Dimentio laying on the stairs.

"Dimentio!" Mr. L cried. He fell to his knees and turned the purple and yellow-clad boy over onto his back. Blood was still dripping from his mouth.

"L..." Dimentio whispered. He then began to cry.

"Shh, shh. It's okay, shh... Crying will make it hurt more. Now, what happened?" Mr. L lifted up Dimentio and began carrying him up to his room.

"Bowser... stomped my... stomach. He kicked me, and then Peach yelled at him. Mario and Bowser started arguing, and Peach..." He was about to continue, but Mr. L cut him off.

"Shh, it doesn't matter what she did. All I want to know is how you got hurt. Now, did anything else hurt you?"

"No." Dimentio was getting quieter. Mr. L could tell he was about to faint. Probably from the blood loss.

Mr. L walked into Dimentio's room and put him down on the bed.

"Now, stay here and try not to move. I'm gonna go get Nastasia and see what I can do for you. Alright?" Mr. L pulled the blankets up to Dimentio's chin. "Alright?"

"Alright." Dimentio's voice was barely audible now. Mr. L then left the room, casting one last glance of pity before he shut the door.

"I-I, I just don't know what to do..." Mr. L sobbed downstairs.

"Shh, It's okay, L..." Nastasia soothed, rubbing his back.

"No, it's not. He-he's by best friend, and he might..." Mr. L sobbed harder, putting his head down on the table.

"Hey, he's gonna make it. The Count will be back soon, and then we can heal him, 'K? I'm worried too." Nastasia pulled him into a hug, and Mr. L cried into her shoulder.

"What's wrong, asked Count Bleck?" The two jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Oh, Count, I didn't hear you come in." Nastasia pulled away from Mr. L and stood up from her chair. "Dimentio's hurt."

"Badly, I'm guessing." Count Bleck cast a sad glance over the crying thief.

"Yeah, badly. Bowser stomped on his stomach!" Mr. L cried, between tears.

"Oh, no..." Count Bleck then ran up to Dimentio's room. He bust through the door and ran to Dimentio's bed.

"Dimentio?! Can you hear me?!" Count Bleck put a gloved hand on Dimentio's face.

"C-can't... Breathe..." Dimentio gasped.

Count Bleck put his hand on the boy's chest, causing him to yelp in pain. Bowser had not only caused internal bleeding, he also had broken part Dimentio's ribcage, pushing it into his lungs.

"Hang on, this is going to hurt..." Count Bleck then took off Dimentio's poncho and shirt, lifted him into his arms, felt for his ribcage, grabbed it, and pulled up.

"AAAAHHH!" Dimentio yelled, tears streaming down his face.

"Count!" Nastasia cried out in disbelief of what he had just did.

"Breathe, Dimentio breathe..." The count slowly laid Dimentio back onto the bed. As Dimentio breathed, thankful he was finally able to, he put his hand on Bleck's shoulder.

"C-count..." Dimentio whispered.

"Shh, just breathe..." Count Bleck slowly laid his hand on Dimentio's stomach. He summoned all his power, and after a flash of blue, the blood stopped coming out of Dimentio's mouth. Count Bleck grabbed a tissue off of the table next to the bed and cleaned Dimentio's mouth.

"Now, I can't heal your chest right now, that will take time..." Count Bleck soothingly stroked Dimentio's hair.

"How long, Count?" Mr. L asked shakily.

"That, I don't know. We'll just have to be patient." The count smiled at Dimentio, who had fallen asleep.

"Well, we should probably give him some space..." Nastasia walked to the door. Come on, L." Mr. L turned and walked out, his head down. Nastasia was about to close the door when she realized the count was still inside.

"Count, are you coming?" Nastasia asked.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, just a minute. I just want to see that he's breathing okay." The count replied, not taking his eyes off Dimentio.

"'K" Once Nastasia shut the door, Count Bleck sat there, carefully observing Dimentio's breathing. After a few minutes he came to the conclusion that Dimentio would be okay.

Count Bleck smiled. "Sleep well, Dimentio..."