A/N: I'm back from the hiatus! Well, kinda. My schedule for updating will be a strict "whenever I can" schedule. Sometimes, it might suck, but I'm working hard as is. Anyways, I know I said that they'd be going to the Kingdom of the Light Tribe in this chapter, but that didn't happen. That's going to be happening in the next chapter. I'll explain the rest at the bottom. You just go ahead and read this chapter! But be warned, there is friendly fluff ahead! Yes, be afraid! Be very afraid!...Just kidding!...Or am I?
The very next morning, Timpani and Blumiere told everyone that they would have to wait a couple of days before leaving because of Vanessa throwing up. The purple-haired woman insisted she was fine, but Timpani wasn't going to take any chances of Vanessa getting any sicker, or getting anyone sick. So Vanessa had to remain in her room for the next forty-eight hours. Someone would come in to check on her every now and then to see if she needed anything, then leave. Vanessa just sat there, hour after hour, bored out of her mind as she waited for Timpani to finally decide she was well enough to travel. Finally, it was time for dinner in the castle. "Dimentio, would you please take Vanessa's plate up to her room and keep and eye on her while she eats? You know, just to make sure she doesn't throw up again." Timpani asked. "Sure," he replied. The jester then grabbed his plate and Vanessa's and headed upstairs. Behind him, he could hear whispers. No doubt those of Mimi and Mr. L, who seem quite bent on making a spectacle of the "spark" between the jester and the purple-haired female. Dimentio only rolled his eyes and continued down the hallway. As he neared Vanessa's room, he noticed that the door was slightly ajar. Peeking inside, he saw the woman sitting on her bed. She had her knees brought up to her chest, and her arms wrapped around her legs as she stared blankly at the wall, rocking back and forth and muttering incoherently. Tears trailed down her cheeks, washing away a streak of makeup on her face that Dimentio didn't even know she wore. Using his magic to levitate the plates, he then knocked on her door before he entered. Vanessa whipped her head around to face Dimentio. "Good evening, Dimentio." Vanessa said. "Hey Vanessa. Are you ok?" he asked. Vanessa stared at him blankly for a moment. Dimentio could tell she was in some kind of mental debate, as if she were deciding to brush off the question or give him an honest answer. Finally she sighed and shook her head. "No, I'm not ok." she said quietly. "Well, maybe eating something will help." he suggested. Vanessa nodded, and both of them ate in silence. About thirty-five minutes later, Vanessa had finished her food. She would've finished eating in half the time, maybe even less. But Timpani and the others had insisted she eat slowly so that she wouldn't upset her stomach. "Thanks for bringing up my dinner, Dimentio." Vanessa told him. "You're welcome," he replied as he took her plate. He snapped his fingers and the dishes were warped to the sink downstairs. They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Vanessa looked up at Dimentio questioningly. "Timpani told me to stay up here a little longer to make sure you don't throw up." Dimentio informed Vanessa. "I figured. She thinks I'm still sick." Dimentio raised an eyebrow at the statement. "But you are still sick. You threw up in the middle of dinner the night before last." Vanessa lowered her head as the memory played back. "I didn't vomit because I was sick, Dimentio." she said, her voice getting quieter with each word. "It was because I was... scared..." she finished in a whisper. "You? Scared? Vanessa, even I don't scare you. You said so yourself. And if that's true, then what in the multiverse could make you so scared that the mere thought could make you vomit?" the jester questioned incredulously. "Something you couldn't possibly understand." she answered. Vanessa then began shaking. Was it from fear? No. She was sobbing. Quietly sobbing. Dimentio got up out of the chair and sat next to Vanessa on her bed. He didn't know a lot about comforting people, but he took a leap of faith and wrapped his arms around her frame and pulled her close.
The residents of Castle Bleck, minus Vanessa and Dimentio, were sitting at the grand dining table making conversation. "I wonder what's taking Dimentio so long to get back down here. He warped his and Vanessa's plates to the sink fifteen minutes ago." Timpani wondered aloud. "Maybe he's upstairs making out with his girlfriend." Mr. L said. Nastasia slapped Mr. L on the back of the head. "Yeah, um, we've already told you to stop saying there's a spark between those two, so shut up about it, k?" the secretary said sternly. "Well, I'm sorry if I'm finally right for once." the mechanic replied sarcastically. "Maybe she's started throwing up again." Timpani said a bit worriedly. "I'll run up there and go check. I'll come back down to get you guys if there's any trouble. L-ater!" Mr. L jumped out of his chair and headed upstairs and down the winding corridors to Vanessa's room. As he neared the hallway her room was on, he slowed to a walk. He started tip-toeing to the woman's room. He then noticed the door was slightly open. He peaked in and stopped cold. He quickly but quietly turned around and hurried back downstairs. As soon as he was far enough away from Vanessa's room, he broke out into a run. He nearly fell down the stairs, and was doubled over gasping for air once he got back to the dining room. "Mr. L, is something wrong?" Timpani asked. "Gotta...follow me...Gotta...see...what's...happening...It's...unbelieveable!" he said in between breaths. As soon as he caught his breath, he beckoned for them to follow him upstairs. As soon as they got near the hall where Vanessa's room was, Mr. L motioned for them to stop. He then tip-toed forward to Vanessa's door. He turned to them and placed a finger over his lips. With his free hand, he motioned for them to come. The five walked quietly to the woman's door and peeked inside. What they saw surprised them. Vanessa was crying and sitting in Dimentio's lap with her hands resting on his shoulders and her head resting on his chest. Dimentio had one hand around Vanessa's waist and the other calmly stroking her hair as he whispered in her ear. Everyone's jaw dropped at the seemingly impossible and extremely unbelievable sight. They all knew Dimentio wasn't one to heal pain, but cause it. Not only that, but he'd make it worse! They all watched as the scene continued to unfold before their eyes.
After many minutes of comforting the woman, Dimentio finally pulled back from the warm embrace and looked Vanessa in her red, watery eyes. "Vanessa, whatever it is that is scaring you so badly that you lose your dinner, you can't keep letting something like that scare you. You can't let you past rule your life, whether it be in the present or the future. You need to either forget about what is scaring you, or face your fear." he told her. Vanessa slid out of Dimentio's lap and to the front end of her bed to grab a tissue from the box on her nightstand and wipe her eyes. "Y-your ri-right, D-dimentio," she managed to stutter out, her voice sounding hollow despite it being a whisper. Finally composing herself, she turned back to Dimentio. That was when he saw it. Her tears has carved trails in the makeup on her face, showing something along the top of her right cheek. "Where did you get that scare?" Dimentio asked her. Vanessa stopped cold and reached up to touch her right cheek. Her fingers traced the scar from the top of her cheek, not too far from the bottom of her right eye, to about an inch above the right corner of her mouth. She could practically feel the pain from when she first got it as the memory ran through her mind. She cast her glance to the side, avoiding Dimentio's gaze. "I don't like talking about my past." she said. "Well, aren't you a hypocrite?" he asked, a slight playfulness to his tone. Vanessa looked at him with a frown, one eyebrow raised, and a slightly warning look in her radioactive eyes. "Excuse me?" she asked, a slight edge creeping into her voice. "Well, for someone who doesn't like talking about their past, you sure do live in it." he answered with a slight smirk. Vanessa threw a challenging smirk to him. "Well, at least I don't look like a retarded clown." she whispered with mock-sincerity. Dimentio's face -or rather, mask, went completely blank. "What did you just say?" he whispered, his voice flat and void of any emotion. "You heard me, Dimmy." Vanessa replied, punching him playfully on the shoulder as she said his nickname. Dimentio smirked, an air surrounding him that was both evil and playful. "What'cha gonna do? Hmm?" she asked. "What are you gonna do, Clown Boy?" A flurry of purple, yellow, and black swam before Vanessa's eyes before she felt a force push her. Before she knew it, the purple-haired woman was lying flat on her back with her arms held down on either side; she was pinned down to her bed. "Now what are you going to do?" Dimentio asked. Vanessa allowed herself to look scared for a moment until the jester's grip loosened. She then took the advantage he had unwittingly given her and knocked him off of her. She then pinned him to the floor. "The Damsel-in-Destress act; works every time!" she exclaimed triumphantly. "I guess brains does beat brawn." Dimentio replied in a defeated tone. Vanessa, feeling she had won, now loosened her grip. "Too bad for you, I have both!" Dimentio finished. Then Vanessa was on her back again. The jester had flipped her and pinned her down again! "Alright, I get it." Vanessa said, "You're smart and strong." Then Vanessa pushed Dimentio's chest with her feet and flipped them both, and pinned him down again. "But that doesn't always win. Sometimes it more about leverage than strength." Dimentio disappeared from beneath Vanessa, leaving the woman confused. She stood up and looked around before she was pushed, and pinned to the wall. "That's true my dear. But some people don't know how to correctly use either. Like you," Dimentio said. "If that's true, then how did I pin you twice? Riddle me that, Mr. Know It All." Vanessa replied. "Sure, you pinned me twice. But I've pinned you three times. And I'd like to point out that, despite popular belief, I don't know everything." the jester informed her. "Well, I think you're smart, if not a genius." Vanessa replied. She then stood there, and inched forward ever so slightly. Vanessa reached out, since only her shoulders were pinned against the wall, and grabbed his arms, pulling him a little closer. She then leaned forward and laid her head on his shoulder, as if she was making an attempt to hug him, despite being pinned against the wall. The jester could feel his cheeks heating up, and knew that behind his mask, his face was red. "And though you are so smart," she began, whispering. "You are so gullible." she finished, now turning them around and pinning him to the wall. "Now, we're tied, 3 to 3." Vanessa told him. They then continued in a non-stop pinning war, each person trying hard to win. Dimentio found it quite surprising how deceitful and underhanded she was, as well as how many tricks she was able to pull on him. But he pulled an equal amount of tricks on her to even to odds. They laughed as they continued to fight.
"See? What did I tell you? There's a spark between those two, and they know it." Mr. L claimed as they watched Vanessa lean forward and whisper something to Dimentio. Mr. L was disappointed as his theory was once again proved wrong when Vanessa revealed it had been a trick and pinned Dimentio for the third time. The six residents of the castle went back downstairs. Nastasia had to drag Mr. L along so that he'd stop trying to find evidence that there was a spark between Dimentio and Vanessa. "I'm telling you guys; there is a spark!" Mr. L told the others as they sat back down at the dining table. "I'll be honest," Timpani said, taking her seat next to Blumiere. "Mr. L may be on to something. Dimentio has never comforted a soul in this castle, and probably in his entire life. And I have seen him steal a glance at Vanessa once, and there was something different about him. The look in his eyes wasn't emotionless, nor was it hateful or spiteful at all. I saw what could've possibly been.. dare I even say it...love. As insane as it sounds, it does make sense to a certain degree, does it not?" Timpani revealed. Mr. L jumped up. "I was right! Haha!" he proclaimed proudly. "Look, I don't mean to sound like a jerk, k? But Dimentio tried to destroy all worlds, recreate them, rule them, and kill Lord Blumiere." Nastasia pointed out, "He's a heartless, soulless, psychopathic, freak show. He can't love Vanessa. He can't feel love. It's impossible!" All eyes now feel on the pink-haired secretary and silence fell over all of them. "That's hardly a nice thing to say, don't you think Nasatsia?" Dimento asked, now walking in the room. "Allow me to correct you." the jester began as he took a seat at the opposite end of the table so that he could face all of them at once. "I do, in fact, have a heart and a soul. It's debatable whether I'm a psycho or a freak show. But I can tell you that while I do have a heart and soul, I am not in love with Vanessa whatsoever. So that little debate is over now." the jester informed them. He then snapped his fingers and disappeared. Mr. L shook his head. "Yep, it's worse than I thought. There isn't a spark between them." Mr. L said. Everyone else rolled their eyes, but breathed a sigh of relief, knowing the debate about the spark was over. "There's a full on flame!" Mr. L exclaimed. Everyone now groaned unhappily, knowing that now Mr. L would be running around the castle trying to prove his theory ten times harder.
A/N: Yay! Longest chapter so far! Ok, so when I got to the part where they all started to spy on Dimentio and Vanessa, a bit of Writer's Block hit me, so I stopped working on the chapter for a few days as I thought about how to transition from what was happening, to the next scene because I had a couple of ideas for the chapter already planned out. When I got back to writing on it, I finished it the same night. Now, for those of you who have seen "The Lion King" you might start thinking about the scene where Simba and Nala were pinning each other when you read over the scene where Dim and Vanessa get into a pinning war. I did not steal the idea from the movie, but when I was writing the scene I noticed the similarities. But as I thought about the scene in my story and that scene in the movie, it inspired the title for the chapter. Anyways, I do hope you all are enjoying the story. Prologue and all, I'm estimating it's going to be 12 or 13 chapters long. But then again, I didn't expect this little pinning war scene to appear, and the trip to the Light Tribe Kingdom, as well as what goes on there may have to be dragged out into two chapters. Plus, I have a few extra things I want to put in that are swimming in the back of my mind. In conclusion to this long author's note: ~Ciao!