"Aha… and now… I lie here… like…"

Dimentio couldn't think of a good simile. In fact, he could hardly think at all. He was lying on the ground in front of Castle Bleck, his purple-and-yellow clothes drenched in bright crimson blood.

He had just tried to head off the heroes before they reached Castle Bleck, but… they had defeated him. Badly.

Now Dimentio just lay there, his blood dark against the stones. I'm going to die, he thought. Without even destroying Count Bleck… I am disappointed in myself.

Dimentio had just closed his mismatched eyes, waiting for the end, when he heard footsteps, and a loud voice calling, "Dimentio!"

Oh, no. "Leave me to die!" Dimentio called out weakly.

"You're not getting away from me that easily." A hand probed the wound on Dimentio's stomach.

Dimentio opened his eyes to see Mr L leaning over him, examining the dark stains on his gloves.

"Aha… hello, Mr L." said Dimentio weakly. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving you, of course." Mr L grabbed Dimentio by the hands and pulled him onto his back.

Despite being larger in size than Mr L, Dimentio was surprisingly light. So Mr L easily carried him into the castle. As they were walking, Dimentio murmured, "Why?"

"What?"

"Why are you… saving me?" Dimentio swallowed hard. His vision was going fuzzy at the edges; he was near passing out.

"Listen, Dim." said Mr L as he carried Dimentio closer to the upstairs rooms, so that the others could help. "I may not let it show a lot, but… you know, I actually really care about you."

"You… care about me." repeated Dimentio. Somehow, it wasn't so surprising.

"But I'm not saying I love you or anything." said Mr L quickly.

"No," said Dimentio jokingly, "That wouldn't exactly be taking it slow, would it?"

Mr L dropped Dimentio on the stairs. "Darn you, Dimentio! I am not in love with you!"

Dimentio laughed.

Mr L huffed. He was about to leave him there, when he noticed the tiredness in Dimentio's eyes, and of course, the large stain of dark red that covered Dimentio's stomach. So he sighed, and picked Dimentio up again.

"You really owe me for this, Dim." said Mr L crossly.

"I'm sure I do." Dimentio smiled.

A few minutes, Mr L got to Bleck's room. He knocked. "Let us in!" he shouted. "It's an emergency!"

A few seconds later, Nastasia answered the door. "Mr L," she began, but trailed off when she saw Dimentio.

Nastasia helped carry Dimentio inside. "Count?" said Mr L, as he and Nastasia laid the now-unconscious Dimentio on the floor. Nastasia's and Mr L's clothes were both soaked in Dimentio's blood… not to mention the floor that they had just laid him on. He was lying in a pool of red.

"He isn't here." said Nastasia. "Only me." She paled a little at her words. "Er… what, um, happened?"

"I think he tried to fight the heroes." said Mr L. He looked worried. "Can… can he be healed?"

Nastasia was staring, aghast, at the stains of red all over her once-pristine white blouse. She looked down at Dimentio. "Um… I'll try, 'K?" She kneeled down beside Dimentio, cringing as her knees touched the growing pool of crimson.

"Hurry!" exclaimed Mr L.

"Sorry, I'm just not used to, um, blood." Nastasia blushed a little. She placed her hands on Dimentio's stomach, right on the wound. A crease appeared between her eyes in concentration. Mr L waited with bated breath.

Suddenly, Nastasia let out a sharp breath. Her shoulders were shaking with exertion. "It isn't working." she said, sounding out of breath, and pulling her hands away to wipe her brow.

Mr L ignored the tears sparking under his mask. "Keep trying. Please." Nastasia nodded. She placed her hands back.

Suddenly, a white light began to shine from under her hands. And then, as they watched, the blood stopped flowing. The wound closed.

Nastasia sighed in relief. She stood up shakily and wiped her hands on her pants. They were already soaked in blood, so a little more didn't really matter.

"Did it work?" asked Mr L. "Is he alright?"

Nastasia opened her mouth to answer, but, just then, Dimentio took a sudden breath, and his eyes opened.

Mr L grinned.

"Aha…" murmured Dimentio. "What happened?"

Dimentio sat up. As soon as he did, Mr L jumped down and wrapped his arms around his friend. "Dim, you're okay."

"Of course I am… I spring back to life like a…"

Before Dimentio could even finish his simile, Mr L whispered, "You know when I said I didn't love you?"

"Yes."

"Well, I don't know anymore."

And Dimentio just smiled.