The dimension was dark, the green now vanished into black holes. A single candle was the only source of light for miles on end. The silence. It spoke louder than any commands could ever, and with twice the ferocity. Everything needed to be perfect.
Dimentio approached the Crown Orb, his mask showing no signs of emotion whatsoever. Gracefully he waved his bony fingers around the magical item, sensing its power. Removing his hands from view, the jester smiled wider than he ever did before. It was anything but comforting.
"The time draws nigh," he said at last; "Like a powerful sneeze, I will soon make my presence known. Then everything will return to perfection. Splendid, don't you think?"
He addressed this question to Mimi, who cowered next to him in less threatening silence. "Depends on your definition of perfection," she answered with a slight sneer. Once the job was complete, the changeling planned on washing her hands of the whole thing and finally moving on with her life. Dimentio thought otherwise.
"My dearest Mimi, your lack of enthusiasm displeases me."
With that he slapped her across the face, making sure the girl got his message. She rose without another word, remembering her place once again.
Neither of the two said anything more of the subject. Instead, Dimentio summoned his dark book in front of him, allowing Mimi to get a close look at it for the first time. Her eyes bulged the moment she did. She recognized the piece of literature all too well.
"How did you get the Dark Prognosticus?" she asked in grim severity. Dimentio barely looked at his assistant from the corner of his eye (a hard thing to do, considering he had no pupils) and chuckled. "None of your concern, Mimikins. What matters is that I have it, and I'm doing as foretold."
He flipped the book open, skimming through the pages. Once he reached the middle, he carefully turned each page one by one. Whatever the jester was looking for, he couldn't afford to miss it. He eventually found the desired section and began reading under his breath. When he finished, Dimentio looked up. Mimi looked at the horrifying expression on her master's face. She had never seen it before; pray you never see it in your life. What she saw was so disturbing, so unexpected, that I so wish that I didn't have to write it. But you need to know, so here goes…
Dimentio was frowning.
The jester shut the book with a loud slam and made it vanish into thin air. Whatever he had just read, it must've put a wrench in his plans. Mimi was too frightened to ask what the problem was. She just waited until Dimentio decided to speak. When that moment finally came, he did so with the smallest smile he could manage. That smile would grow as he spoke, turning into one of genuine delight.
"It seems I have missed something in my planning. How dreadful. You see, Mimi, though the Crown Orb's magic is rather potent, it is still not enough to accomplish what I'm after."
"How so?" Mimi dared to ask.
"I knew it would be no easy feat. And yet I still underestimated the task like a kindergartener with a yoyo. I knew I needed to put in some of my own magic. I knew I needed sacrifices, too."
"Sacrifices?!"
"Don't worry, Mimikins, I already found some. I won't be sacrificing you yet. What I overlooked, my dear, was the fact that I needed a host."
This is about the time where Dimentio's smiled grew into a genuine one. He turned his wicked expression of content to face Mimi, who cowered in its glow.
"But I know just where to get one."
Ashley sat at her desk, thinking. Ever since her encounter with the legendary jester, the little girl had been pondering a way to save Red. It can be inferred that she had no such luck. Every idea she had seemed to include a weakness or two that could be easily exploited. At this rate, the witch would never be able to save her assistant.
"I have to be overlooking something, but what?" she asked herself as she chewed the eraser of her pencil. "Perhaps I could summon an army of possessed teddy bears that can… No, he'll tear them to shreds. Wait, I could make his pants not fit… No, they're already baggy as is."
The witch worked late into the night, even as it became dark and stormy. She concocted potions and tried to perfect spells she prayed would work on Dimentio. She was about ready to give up and go to bed. Face it, there was no way she could beat him.
DING! DONG!
Ashley fell out of her seat as the doorbell sounded. She never really liked that thing and was considering getting it replaced with a much softer one. Putting that thought aside, the little girl went downstairs.
DING! DONG!
She fell off her feet again as the second bell shook the entire house. "I'm coming already!" she hollered while regaining her balance. Brushing her night robe off, Ashley finally made it to the front doors. Slowly they creaked open, revealing the visitor's dark silhouette, emphasized with bouts of thunder. Ashley's eyes widened upon getting sight of the person.
There, wearing a straw hat and a Hawaiian shirt, was none other than Red, a big smile on his face.
"Hiya, Ashley! Did you miss me?"
"Red!" the witch cheered as she pulled the little demon into an embrace, nearly suffocating him. When she finally let go, Red looked at her in confusion and fright.
"Ashley, are you okay?" he asked slowly, as if the witch wasn't fully there at the moment. You would feel the same way too if the girl who abused you on a daily basis suddenly hugged you.
Regaining her cool demeanor, Ashley suddenly noticed Red's strange attire. "Where were you?" she asked.
"Isle Delfino. I won a trip. Didn't you know that?"
"But I thought you were captured and being tortured."
"Trust me, the only torture was the line at the snack hut on the beach. I mean, sheesh!"
Ashley didn't understand. If Red wasn't in harm, then what did she see those many days back? Did she even actually see anything? The questions rattled in her brain like a rattling rattle that won't stop its rat-a-tat rattlation.
Soon the two were sitting in front of the fireplace, a cup of hot cocoa in each of their grasps. Red drank his almost instantly, while Ashley sat there motionless, waiting for her assistant to answer the question she had just asked.
Red finally finished his drink, sighing in satisfaction, followed by his response. "I was sitting here in the lounge, waiting for you to get home from work, when there was a knock at the door. I answered it, and it was two weird-looking guys, a man and a girl. The man told me that I won an all-expense paid trip starting that very day. The woman didn't say anything, really. After I packed, he somehow teleported me to the Islands, where I relaxed for a good long while. You shoulda been there, you would've…" He stopped himself, realizing that Ashley and fun were polar opposites. "Never mind," he finished lamely.
Ashley considered everything she heard. She looked at the cocoa in her hand, then back at Red. "If that's the case, why didn't you leave a note as to where you went?" she asked.
"The guy said he'd leave one because the offer was about to expire and I didn't have time to."
"This man… What did he look like?"
"You're never gonna believe this. The guy was dressed as a jester. Crazy, right?"
Ashley dug deep into her knowledge of Count Bleck's minions before she continued her questions. "The woman with him. Was she…green?"
"How'd you know?"
That was the last piece she needed. So Dimentio tricked her with the help of a shape shifter? The little girl's fury doubled in sized. She put her cup on a small table and started to stomp away.
"Where're you going?" Red asked, simultaneously eyeing the cup of cocoa on the table. Ashley looked back with a glare that could challenge Dimentio's own.
"I've got work to do."