So this one day, Mimi and Dimentio weren't speaking to each other. They spent the whole day as far away from each other as possible. In Castle Bleck, that's no small distance. Mr. L was shut up in the garage working on Brobot, installing upagrades and performing regular maintenance. O'Chunks spent his time working out in the gym, as any good warrior should.

In short, it was quiet.

"Do you hear that, Timpani?" said Count Bleck as he strolled through his castle, his wife fluttering at his side. "The sweet sound of peace finally settling on my household."

"It won't last," said Tippi.

"Don't I know it. At least when it's quiet like this I can pretend that peace has found us at last."

"It won't last," she said again.

"Hush, dear."

Of course, it didn't last. They were passing the gym, discussing the weather and other such things, when peace abandoned Dimension Bleck mercilessly and trouble reared it's ugly head. Suprisingly, though, it was in the form of O'Chunks.

By pure chance, peace bolted the moment Count Bleck and Tippi were passing by the gym. O'Chunks suddenly, and seemingly without provication, burst out of t he door, ran into the hallway, saw his master, and threw himself shaking at Count Bleck's cape.

"Oh, dear," said Tippi.

"Ah, me Count!" O'Chunks howled. "I ehn't fit teh be yer muscle anymore! I don't even deserve teh sully yer castle wit' me foul presence!"

Count Bleck stared blankly down at O'Chunks, blubbering at his feet.

"Told you," said Tippi.

Count Bleck cleared his throat. "O'Chunks," he said, "Please, compose yourself and tell Count Bleck what the trouble is."

O'Chunks gulped in some air and stood up, shaking. "Ah, Count, "I'm getting' useless. I let meself go idle fer too long. I can't even lift the Brobot no more! Me chunks are barely crumbs! I'm no warior- I'm just a slug!"

Count Bleck puckered his pumpkin mouth to keep from groaning outwardly. "Now, now, O'Chunks. Your place here is set."

"As what? Yeh really need a slug like this teh serve yeh?"

Now Count Bleck felt very guilty. First and foremost, it was on his orders that the minions were no longer on the offensive. Because of that he didn't have much use for a boss-powered fighter. Most of the opponents they had to face were random encounters, ones that were easy to push out of the way. O'Chunks, simply put, was wasted here.

Of course, he had a much worse reason to feel guilty, and it was a doozy. He'd gotten O'Chunks to work for him by preying on his insecurities and frailties, and in doing so made him completely dependant on the approval of Count Bleck. Without that, the poor man didn't even think he had any reason to live. It wasn't fair to him, and it wasn't nice.

It wasn't right. O'Chunks was a fine warrior who deserved more than to be trapped under the thumb of a shoddy relic of power. In that instant, Count Bleck made a snap decision.

"You're right," said Count Bleck.

"Eh? Whassat?"

"It's not fair of me to keep you here where your magnificent potential is restrained. I've been a bad master."

"Wha—no, Count, I wasn't sayin—"

Count Bleck waved his hand. "No, you aren't. This is what Count Bleck has decided. You must leave the castle and find a place that deserves your raw power."

"Don't' send me away, Count! I can do better!"

"I know you can. Count Bleck his holding you back. You must be free, O'Chunks."

"But—"

"Count Bleck orders it."

O'Chunks was completely flabbergasted. This was the absolute last thing he expected to come out of the conversation. But the Count was clearly serious. "A- well, all right. I'll pack my stuff an' be outta yer hair." He trudged away sadly.

The Count watched him go, already doubting that he had done the right thing in releasing him. At the very least, he assumed he'd chosen a poor way to do it.

Tippi said, "I told you so."

"My love, will you do me a favor?"

"Yes?"

"Stay close to him and make sure he doesn't kill himself."

"You're a stellar leader, Blumiere." Tippi gave him a peck on his face and fluttered off down the hall.

Later, in the meeting room.

"Minions!"

"Hail Bleck!"

"It is with regret that I call this meeting," said Count Bleck.

"Why?" asked Mr. L. "We haven't done anything wrong."

"No, this time that his not the case." Count Bleck lowered his hat. "Surely you have noticed the absence among us tonight?"

"Um… Nastasia? Nastasia's not here?"

Nastasia, who was next to the Count as always, raised her hand. "Yeah, I'm right here."

"Oh, that's good!"

"Minions, use your minds. Who isn't here?"

"Dimentio isn't here," said Mimi.

"Mimi, Dimentio is right—"

"No, he isn't." She crossed her arms and pouted.

Dimentio pointed at Mimi. "She isn't, either."

Count Bleck turned aside. "Give me strength," he muttered. Then he turned back and said, "Minions, is O'Chunks really so invisible that you don't notice him gone?"

"I think the answer to that is pretty obvious," said Mr. L.

"O'Chunks has left the organization to pursue other opportunities," said Nastasia. "Yeah, so we're all going to have to work hard to fill up the space left by him until permanent arrangements can be made."

"Very well," said Dimentio. "I shall attempt to master his dialect, and Mimi can continue raiding the snack cabinet when she thinks nobody is looking."

"If you were here I'd be so mad at you."

"I'm afraid I can't hear you, for you are in a different room."

Nastasia cleared her throat. "Yeah, guys? I'm gonna have to ask you to go ahead and stop pretending you aren't here. It was cute at first, but now it's getting a little annoying. 'K?"

"What are you fighting about this time?" asked Mr. L.

"They bicker because Dimentio has an deep infatuation for Mimi and doesn't wish to admit it," said Count Bleck.

Dimentio sputtered. "That—I—most certainly—but--- I can assure you, oh Count, and anyone else, that it is most certainly not the case. I despise the little wretch with every fiber of my being."

"The jester doth protest too much, methinks," said Count Bleck to Nastasia, who nodded in agreement.

Dimentio disappeared in a rage. Mimi, embarrassed, was gone as well. Mr. L looked up at Count Bleck and said, "Does he really?"

"I doubt it," replied Count Bleck. "I find that it's an effective way of muting his protests."

Several weeks passed without much word from O'Chunks. The minions went on several missions and succeeded in restoring peace to the world of Mousers and Bandits, who had been feuding over territory for months. They failed in returning the stolen diamonds to either party, but Mimi did suddenly become more protective of her closet than before, even though Dimentio assured everyone that she now kept her diary on the top shelf of her closet.

Nastasia was fixing breakfast one morning when the Count staggered into the room, more asleep than awake and more hungry than asleep. She poured him a cup of coffee and his glove groped the air in front of him until he found it. After two large sips he was able to say, "Good morning, Nastasia."

"Morning, Count," she replied. "Did you sleep well?"

"Never," said Count Bleck. He took another long drink of coffee.

"Yeah, so, we got a message from O'Chunks."

"Wonderful, said Count Bleck with as much enthusiasm as he could manage at this ungodly hour. How is he?"

"He's got a new job," said Nastasia, "and he would like very much for us all to come and see him."

Count Bleck emptied his cup of coffee. Now he was awake enough to pour himself a second cup, but too tired to add any cream or sugar. He gulped down half of it black, blistering the inside of his mouth, and then shook his head. The last cobwebs of sleep cleared from his eyes.

"Wonderful," said Count Bleck. "When shall—"

Suddenly he felt a tug on his cape. He turned around and saw Mimi behind him, tugging on his cape.

"May I help you?"

"Yeah," said Mimi. "So, um, I was wondering… do you have a body?"

Count Bleck stared for a second. "Bleck is Bleck," he told her. "What you see is what I am."

"So where does the coffee go when you drink it?"

He held out his cape to the endless star pattern it concealed. "This isn't a pattern," he told her. "My cape conceals the body of a vortex which leads into the vast emptiness of space. All that is and ever will be is concealed under this white cape and waistcoat."

"Really?"

"No. I am lying to you. Now, may I please finish my conversation with Nastasia?"

"Okay. Can I have some coffee?"

"Absolutely not, it will stunt your growth. Besides, you wouldn't like it."

"Aw, rats."

Mimi busied herself with colorful breakfast sugar cereal, leaving Count Bleck to finish his conversation with Nastasia.

"When shall we make the voyage?" asked Count Bleck, picking up right where they left off.

"It's not a far trip," said Nastasia. "We have a few blank days on the schedule until our next mission, so we can start today? Yeah, so it's a plan."

"Wonderful," said Count Bleck. "Where is O'Chunks now? Has he said?"

"Yeah," said Nastasia. "Basically, he's a major-league fighter in the Glitz Pit."