EPISODE 3-3
EPISODE 3-3
Count Bleck was in Flipside.
He didn't fit in. All the confidence he had been experiencing only a week or so before in Rogueport had leaked out of him like water from a goldfish bag. He was standing in the shadow of the tower in Flipside. He could see the people walking back and forth, taking care of their own little tasks in their own little lives. If he so much as moved an inch, they would see him.
Right next to him, so close he could lean over and touch it, was the answer to his problems. Merlon's house. And inside Merlon's house, the Light Prognosticus. The Light Prognosticus would have everything he needed to know about the Pure Hearts in it somewhere. Perhaps Merlon himself already knew everything about the Purity Heart and would be able to give Count Bleck any answer he needed. All he had to do was knock on the door, introduce himself, and ask…
They would know him here, he knew it. He had caused so much pain and suffering to these people. He had done so much evil. Surely they would remember that, and what would they do? Would they just hand over the Light Prognosticus, simple as that, "Oh, here you go, have it back by Wednesday for book club?" Ha! As if.
And yet… all he had to do was ask. All he had to do was reach out, knock on the door, and ask. Someone as kind-hearted as Merlon would see the regret in his eyes, the desire for redemption… the love for his wife. Would Merlon do it for Tippi, if not for him? He had known Timpani as Tippi for quite a while, and they had been close friends. Tippi had later spoken to Bleck about how much Merlon had meant to her during those times when she had no memories. When she had nothing else to depend on, she could depend on Merlon. Merlon would do anything to help her, wouldn't he?
You won't know unless you ask, he reminded himself.
It would be so easy. Just step out, knock on the door, and ask. All your problems will be over.
Right, he thought sarcastically. All your problems will be over because the second they see you here, they are going to end your game on the spot.
No! No negative thoughts! Where's that charm and confidence you used to have, that Timpani fell for? Now is not the time for pity and woe-is-me and boo-hoo-hoo-ing. Just step out of the shadow, knock on the door, Hi my name is Blumiere, and take it from there.
It would be so easy.
It would be so easy.
All you have to do is ask.
It would be so easy…
It took the rest of the morning and a good portion of the afternoon to finish cleaning up the aftereffects of Charlotte's rampage. True to his word, O'Chunks had helped Mimi the whole time. Nastasia pitched in as well, using her magic to put things back together. She was even able to restore Mimi's precious wardrobe, so now Mimi was now eternally indebted to her. After they finished, Mimi went outside to visit Charlotte.
Charlotte was still firmly attached to the castle wall out by the front walk. O'Chunks had installed a hook in the wall and attached Charlotte's chain to the hook. Now Charlotte couldn't hop away freely, and the wall was strong enough that she couldn't tear the hook out. So now she was bouncing back and forth, barking and yipping like a chain chomp does.
"Good girl," Mimi cooed as she rubbed Charlotte on the head. She had brought an armload of things with her from her vanity. "Now we're going to make you look pretty." She set the items down and began to go through them one by one. "Look at what I brought for you. Here's some makeup. You'll look pretty once we get some nice lipstick on you, maybe hilight your cheeks and eyes. I have this dress that would look so cute over your chain. It'll look just like you have a little body! Tee hee! And then once you're as cute as I am, we can go to town and look for Mr. Chomp. Won't that be fun?"
Dimentio could see Mimi and Charlotte from his bedroom window, although they were little more than bugs to him from that distance.
"Look at that," Dimentio said to no one in particular, although Nastasia happened to be passing by. "What is the deal with Mimi and that chain chomp? She's treating it as if it were a little purse dog, or a dress-me-up doll. Or some ungodly combination of the two."
Nastasia took it upon herself to answer the statement. "Yeah, well, Mimi finds it easy to get attached to things, you know? She's a lot younger than you are, anyway. Didn't you ever have, say, a childhood pet or a toy that played your imaginary friend?"
"No," said Dimentio, "I never had an imaginary friend."
"Sometimes I think all your friends are imaginary," she said under her breath.
Dimentio caught it. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.
"Look, I have an appointment, 'K? I'll talk to you later." She left his doorway and continued down the hall.
"I don't recall ever asking for your opinion anyway," Dimentio said, again to no one in particular. He turned back out the window and saw Mimi, still playing with Charlotte. Now they were playing Fetch, or Tug, or some sort of dog game.
"A monstrosity like that has no place in the fine halls of Castle Bleck," Dimentio said. "In fact, I believe I shall do this magnificent bastion a favor and take care of the beast. Ah ha ha ha ha ha…"
Nastasia was sitting in her office. Count Bleck was supposed to have arrived by now to help her take care of business, and he hadn't. The business was sitting across her desk in the form of two X-Naut soldiers, patiently waiting quietly.
"Let's get this started then, shall we," she said to them. "So, um, can you give me your names?"
"Yeah," said the first X-Naut. "My name is Sherwood, and this is Gary."
Nastaisa made a note of that. "K… any experience working in this field?"
"We've been X-Nauts since Sir Grodus first started the organization," said Sherwood. "Before that, I was a gate guard in my town."
"Reason for leaving your last job?"
"The, uh, the organization lost it's direction," Sherwood said, gathering his thoughts carefully. "Ever since our leader's just a head, he's lost his passion for taking over the world. We've been sitting at our base near Fahr Outpost since 2005 waiting for something to go down, and it hasn't, so we're expanding our horizons."
Nastasia gestured to Gary. "And, what do you have to say about it?"
"Gary doesn't talk," Sherwood explained. "He's autistic. I've been looking out for him since we were stationed together. Don't worry!" he added quickly. "He learns fast and he can do anything you show him. He'd be a great asset to any organization. He does math like a demon."
Nastasia eyed Gary curiously. Gary was looking in her general direction.
"Our organization does value diversity," she said. "We've never had anybody with a disability in our ranks. The minions could learn from him."
Sherwood breathed a sigh of relief.
"Any special skills I should know about?" Nastasia continued.
"Um, I run up real fast to guys and bonk them on the head for three points of damage," said Sherwood. "Um… Gary does that, too."
"Is that it?"
"That's all I can think of."
Nastasia wrote a few more notes down on her paper. "So, tell me, where do you see yourself a year from now?"
Sherwood checked his watch. "Probably eating lunch," he said. "On a patio under a sunny umbrella. With a girlfriend."
"I mean career-wise."
"Oh. Um, working in the same field I am now, but more advanced." Sherwood scratched the back of his head. Gary started to fidget in his seet.
Sherwood waved his hand in front of Gary to get his attention. "Sit still, okay? We're almost outta here."
Gary clicked his mouth.
"Don't you take that tone with me."
Nastasia put her clipboard down. "So, we're almost done here," she said. "Yeah, so, we've got your number on file, so we'll be in contact with you within the week… 'K?"
"K," said Sherwood. He stood up and they shook hands. "Thanks very much for meeting with me. Come on, Gary, let's go get some burgers or something..."
"Have a nice day."
Sherwood opened the door and left with Gary. They passed Count Bleck in the doorway.
"Excuse me," said Count Bleck.
"Pardon," said Sherwood at the same time.
"You missed it," Nastasia said after Count Bleck closed the door. "Where were you?"
"Taking care of some things," Count Bleck answered. "Were those the X-Nauts from Rogueport?"
"Yeah," said Nastasia. "Their interview was very successful. I'd recommend extending an invitation to them to join the team. But, of course, it's your call."
Count Bleck pulled his hat down over his eyes, as he always did when he was thinking. It was as if he was shielding his eyes from visual distractions to give him a complete inward focus.
At length, he said, "I believe I'll give it some thought." He put his arms back at rest. "After all, we have to ask ourselves if this is really the best time to be hiring. We can barely control the minions we have."
Just then, Dimentio appeared in the room. He held his arms out and grinned joyfully. "You'll never guess what Charlotte's doing!" he said happily.
Count Bleck put his face in his hands and groaned.
"That chomp has got to go," he grumbled.