Chapter 2: Defeated

Fawful

Blackness.

Blackness all around.

He couldn't see or feel or smell or think. Everything was blank and unknown.

Blackness.

Horrible blackness.

His mind was jumbled, out of place. Nothing made sense. Who was he? Where was he? Did he die?

Wait, there was something...something distant. Something bright and warm at the end of the blackness...

Heat.

Light.

And then came a soft wind. He remembered wind. Heat and light too, he remembered those.

Grass, grass against his skin. Grass and skin.

Memories were rushing back. Sensations: textures, smells, tastes.

Memories of places, people, events.

There was one that was important though. A male, not even out of his mid-teens, with dark blue skin and black and white hair...

Dimentio...

A laugh cut through everything. His laugh.

Fawful's eyes fluttered and he rolled over, resting on the ground, his temples pulsing. Dimentio. He had fought with Dimentio at his castle at the centre of the Void. He had lost and fell to his end...and then a pure, clean force had washed over him and brought him straight to his foe. After that...he'd blacked out.

But now...something was different. He opened his eyes and sat up; green grass. Blue sky. White clouds. Where was he?

He stood up and looked around with difficulty; his vision was blurred and his head was light, which made it hard to focus. He seemed to be in a field; it looked somewhat looked the Beanbean Kingdom, only without the plants with the faces on them. Their grinning mouths were always incredibly unsettling. Maybe that had been what people thought of his face.

He patted himself; his swirled glasses were on his face, his black shirt and pants and red cloak covered his body. He felt his blaster in his holster and his storage cube in his pocket. He was exactly as he had been before his battle with Dimentio, with the exception of the Chaos Heart.

Now that he thought of it, he felt really...light. His vision was clearing and now that the Chaos Heart wasn't in his body there was something different about him, as if he was...clean.

He realized with a jolt that Dimentio had the entire Chaos Heart. If Dimentio had the entire Chaos Heart than he would be insanely powerful. Not to mention...

Dimentio had the desiring of a world of perfection, Fawful remembered. Then...is this place of newness...?

It couldn't be. Dimentio...couldn't have done it. It was impossible.

He took a deep breath and tried to remember. When he found Dimentio and the Chaos Heart things became...jumbled. He couldn't figure things out at that point, what he had wanted. But he did know that the Void had changed. He'd felt that.

A pit formed in his throat as he realized the truth. His world was gone. He knew nothing anymore.

The pit came out in a yell that echoed across the field. 'I HAVE FURYYYYYYYY!' he screamed, stomping his foot. Everything was gone! His home, his country, his world, his friends! Not even a tiny fragment of anything he knew or remembered remained.

'Hey!' a distant voice called. Fawful turned and looked as a woman approached him. 'Is something wrong?'

Fawful just stared. The woman had short, black hair, dark blue skin and bright yellow eyes. Exactly like Dimentio and Blumiere. She was dressed in pants and a shirt which were dirty and worn, yet her skin and face were fair and clean. The most shocking thing of all was simply that there was a person standing right in front of him. An actual, sentient person.

'...hello? Can you talk?' She leaned forward. 'Are you mute?' She looked around fifteen. 'Did you lose your mommy and daddy?'

The Bean boy choked. 'M-mommy?' he snarled. 'What age are you thinking Fawful is?'

'I dunno, nine?'

Fawful set his jaw and crossed his arms. 'Person of stupidity...' he growled, his cheeks flushing.

'Well fine, if that's how you're gonna be then I won't help you.' She turned and made to walk away.

It suddenly occurred to Fawful that it would be smarter to get a native to assist him. 'W-wait!' he called. 'I...I did not have meaning that!'

The girl stopped and paused. 'You sure?' she asked.

'Y-yes! Fawful is very sure!'

She turned around and smiled. 'Tell me I'm awesome,' she demanded.

'Wh...huh?' The boy gulped.

'Tell me I'm awesome,' she repeating, ending the sentence with a giggle.

'Uh...you have awesomeness,' he told her.

'And that I'm super pretty,' she added with another giggle.

'You have the prettiness which is being super.' Fawful began to frown; she was messing with him.

'And that I'm just the best.'

The Bean sighed. 'You are being the best,' he told her, annoyed.

The girl suddenly exploded into laughter, making Fawful's mouth twist into a growl. 'Wow, you're the most obedient kid I've ever seen!'

'Fawful is not being a kid!' he objected.

The girl shrugged. 'Well you're certainly younger than me.' She extended a hand. 'I'll help you out. My name's Danni. I guess your name is Fawful?'

'Yesing,' the Bean answered, taking her hand and shaking it.

'You talk funny,' Danni noted.

'Many people have had saying that,' Fawful responded.

'And why is your skin green?'

'That is not the business of you!'

'Well that wasn't nice!' She turned away and crossed her arms. There was silence.

'So...can you have the helping of me?'

She grinned widely. 'Tell me I'm awesome.'

Fawful smacked his face.

The two of them were walking along a dirt trail in the grass. After Fawful's offensive comments earned him three more declarations of how Danni was an awesome, super pretty individual who was simply the best, he finally decided that it was better to just be quiet most of the time, aside from the endless amounts of questions he had.

'Where are we going?' he asked her.

'To the castle,' she answered excitedly. 'I've only seen the place once so I really can't wait to get there.'

'This castle...' Fawful pressed. 'Is your world having a king?'

'A god, actually. He appeared only a short while ago.' She shook, obviously attempting to contain her emotions. 'It's really unbelievable. Now, of all times! He appears and...!'

'A god,' Fawful repeated. 'What is its name being?'

Danni grinned widely. 'Dimentio.'

Fawful shuddered. Danni revered Dimentio as a god. There was likely to be millions of people on this planet who all had the same opinion as her, too. Only Fawful knew what Dimentio was truly like, how he had brutally murdered so many people and destroyed every world before he had created this one.

'Why don't you know this stuff anyway? Everyone does.' The girl looked at him strangely; it wasn't likely that she knew there had been other worlds before this one, so the idea that he wasn't a resident of hers would be unthinkable. As Fawful tried to think of an excuse, Danni just shrugged. 'Whatever, it's not my business anyway. Like how your skin is green. You must be made fun of a lot.'

'Why are we going to this castle of Dimentio's?'

'Well Dimentio's here, right? He's opening the castle to the public. I'm not really interested in living there, but I do want to see it. My parents went ahead of me, I had some stuff to do before I started.'

Fawful clenched his fists. 'Dimentio...' He looked at the girl beside him, his eyes bright with vigour. 'Danni!' he said fiercely. 'I am needing to get there now!'

'Hey, the faster the better!'

Fawful started running before she did.

He also stopped before she did.

'Huff, huff, haah...s-stopping now...' he croaked, his muscles burning.

'C'mon Fawful, we're nearly there!' Danni turned around and tugged on his cloak. 'I thought you needed to see the castle now.'

'A...after...I have resting...haaaah...' Fawful flopped down on the ground.

'You're a wuss.' Despite this, Danni sat down beside him. 'I wonder what Dimentio looks like...' she wondered aloud. 'Probably tall and muscular and super handsome...' Fawful snorted in a short burst of laughter. 'What's so funny?'

'Oh, nothing,' the boy giggled.

'Well. I wonder if he'll pay attention to me. Gods probably have better things to do.'

'If he is having the ruling of you then he would have to have the paying of attention to the problems that are yours,' Fawful pointed out.

'Hey, you're right! Hm, what are some of my problems...?'

'Fawful is not caring,' he huffed.

'Well that wasn't very—'

'Fawful is not calling you awesome again.' He stood up and inhaled deeply, then exhaled. 'We must have the running again!'

Danni got to her feet. 'Finally!' she groaned falsely.

The two of them resumed their running and determination blossomed in Fawful's chest; Dimentio would not escape him again.

The castle was very big.

That was really all Fawful had to say on the subject. It certainly wouldn't have been anything he would live in. But it was big, and size mattered when having a base of operations in which to rule over the population of the world.

'Man!' Danni exclaimed. 'This is great! Soon I'll get to see Dimentio in the flesh!'

Fawful resisted the urge to tell her that it wasn't as good as she thought it was. As they approached the town they could see that it was quite hectic. Understandable when their god appears and suddenly declares that he'll be living there.

They approached the gates of the village. 'I never really get over how big this place is,' the girl mused to herself, then crossed her arms. 'The guards are gone. That's weird. Ah! Hey!' she exclaimed as Fawful suddenly ran through the crowd. 'Where're you going?'

Fawful didn't answer; his body and spirit were fuelled by a powerful fire in his belly. He needed to get into that castle and stop this madness once and for all. He ran through the streets of blue-skinned people up to the gates of the castle, which were closed. People crowded at them, pushing and shoving and preventing Fawful from seeing what he was doing. He slammed into people in a frenzy, ignoring their shouts. He grasped the gates with his hands and pulled to no avail.

He gritted his teeth angrily; he needed to get into that castle! He jumped and scrambled and grasped at the gates, desperate to gain entry into the castle. He grabbed onto the twisting metal and yanked himself up, climbing the huge doors. He reached the top and wobbled, the height dizzying.

'I have sickness...' he muttered, keeping himself balanced. Bracing himself, he jumped forward. The sudden lurch and weightless sensation gripped his throat and chest and he screamed as he fell. His feet hit the ground hard and he threw himself forward, a roll lessening the impact. Disoriented, he took out his storage cube and was relieved to see a Mushroom he'd had in storage. He gobbled it down and stood up, ignoring the surprised noises of the crowd behind him.

He wasn't even in the castle, he realized, just a garden closing in the castle itself. Huge doors loomed overhead, denying his entry. Fawful walked around the garden, the sounds of the frenzied crowd blocked out from his ears. It was actually quite...peaceful. He found that surprising.

The walls closed off the entire castle, reaching all around it and forming a large barrier. The only point of entry were the gates at the front which Fawful had climbed over with relative ease. Nobody had followed his example, he noticed, probably out of respect for their god.

There were windows along the other three sides of the castle which had no glass or anything to cover them, so the Bean could get in that way. He put his fingers in between a couple of bricks and hoisted himself up, fighting against gravity to get his other hand up to clutch the windowsill. With effort he lifted his body up and rolled over the top, shrieking as he fell over the other side of the window onto the ground.

'Ooof...' he groaned as he got up. 'I have pain...'

Utter silence enveloped the huge bastion. Nothing could be heard besides Fawful's breathing. He broke off at a run, not caring how his loud footsteps shattered the quiet. He raced through the halls, checking each and every room for his nemesis.

A short while after he'd checked what seemed to him like the majority of the castle's first floor he noticed quite large doors that were already open. He went over to them and looked in, catching his breath as he saw the throne room of the castle.

In it, Dimentio sat on the throne, a delighted smile on his face as he spoke to a group of blue skinned, black haired people. The jester had dispensed with his poncho, hat and mask and simply wore the black clothing underneath. The Bean noticed with a jolt that he had changed. His...

'Yes,' the jester said, his voice echoing. 'Your services will be drastically changed from this day forward. As the ruler of this world I hold the highest authority, of course.'

'Yes, your Highness, but...' one said. 'If you hold the highest authority than we are effectively useless. As the Grand Senate we have always handled the affairs of the people. If you—'

'You will still do so,' Dimentio interrupted. 'However, it is imperative that any problems in the order of this world be reported to me. I am the one who will act upon certain problems.'

Another person spoke up, a woman. 'Your Highness, is there...something wrong?'

Dimentio tapped on his throne. 'Why do you ask?'

'Well, you seem to be, um...expecting problems. As if you know they are going to happen. We largely haven't had any issues before, so why would we now that you're here?'

The magician looked around at each of them. 'Because I did not come here alone.'

There was general confusion at this statement. 'What do you mean?' a man asked.

'I mean there is an interloper in this world. Someone who does not belong.' Fawful froze as Dimentio's eyes met his and his grin showed teeth. 'In fact, he seems to be here right now.' He waved. 'Come out Fawful, there is no need to hide.'

Heart pounding, the Bean slowly walked into the room, the confused muttering of the people going over his head as his eyes were locked onto Dimentio's. 'Dimentio,' he said.

The magician snapped his fingers and the Grand Senate jumped as one. 'Leave us, the jester commanded. They all scurried out of the room. Another snap of his fingers closed the door.

Dimentio leaned back in his thone, making a tsk tsk noise. Fawful clenched his fists. 'Dimentio!' he yelled, fighting down shivers as he looked him right in the face. 'I have fury!'

'So you do, the magician agreed. 'Understandable. What do you plan to do now that you have rudely barged into my castle?'

'I...I have come to have the destroying of you!' he answered angrily. 'I have come to have the avenging of everyone!'

Dimentio laughed loudly. 'Ahahahaha! Oh what a joke! What a gag! AHAHAHAHAHA!'

Fawful pulled out his blaster and pointed it at the king. 'I do not have joke!' he retorted. 'I will have the destroying of you!'

Dimentio giggled and quieted down. 'Oh you poor child.' He grinned widely and the Bean backed up slightly. 'I am the god of this world. You are the only person on this entire planet who knows the truth about me. Everyone else worships me absolutely and without question.'

'I...I will have the telling of the truth to them!' the boy told him.

'Why would they believe you? Who would they trust more: their god, or a little child they have never met before?' Fawful gulped, but kept his blaster pointed at Dimentio. 'There is nothing you can do to me. I have complete control here, and you...you have nothing. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, no one to trust in and no one who will care about your safety. Everyone you've ever met is gone, their souls annihilated by the Void and replaced by my perfect creations. It would be foolhardy to attempt anything now. Why bother? Even if you shoot me and your attack hits, what good will that do? I will be hurt, yes, but I have an army of millions behind me and you only have yourself.' Fawful felt his resolve breaking down and dying; Dimentio was right, he had nothing. How could he hope to succeed? He found himself backing up and shuddering uncontrollably.

'I...I...' he sputtered, his arm lowering.

'Face it Fawful: you have lost.' Then, he clapped his hands, smiling. 'But what a good duel it was! You and I fought mercilessly for victory, and I was the one who came out on top. An excellent war to be sure. The fact that you even survived the destruction of the last world is to be commended. Not even the Heroes of the Light Prognosticus survived as long as you have now. It is safe to say that you are truly my nemesis. I'll almost miss you when you're gone.' He chuckled. 'Almost.' He stood up. 'But of course I'll have to kill you now. We can't have my perfect world carrying around an imperfect little splotch, can we?'

Fawful turned and ran, not turning back as he heard his blaster clatter onto the floor, left behind. He raced through the halls, his every footstep ruled by absolute fear. He scrambled into the entrance hall and staggered as he saw the main doors open and the crowd of people come in. He couldn't go back, so he just ran forward into the crowd, his body battered by the mass of people. He burst out of the front doors and saw that more people were coming in through the gates. Not stopping for anything, he forced his way through and bolted through the magnificent silver gates, finally leaving the crowd and flying through the streets at a breathless sprint.

His world spun as he collided with someone and his glasses flew off. The ground felt hard and unforgiving as his head bounced off it.

'Hey, what the heck?' a very familiar voice exclaimed. 'Watch where you're—hey!'

The Bean found his glasses and slammed them onto his head to see the baffled face of Danni. He got to his feet in a hurry.

'Fawful, what...what's happening? What's going on? Fawful!' The boy didn't bother looking back as he took off again, not noticing the cries of the girl. He went through the unguarded entrance to the village and kept running. He didn't know what he was going to do or how he was going to live. This wasn't his home, these weren't his friends. He was an alien on a planet that he didn't belong in. All around him was a foreign world that threatened to swallow him whole.

There was nothing more he could do.