Dimentio slammed the stolen book down on Count Bleck's desk, along with the arrow. "You owe me," he said firmly.

Count Bleck picked up the arrow and looked it over. "This is perfect," he said. "You have pleased Count Bleck."

"You owe me," Dimentio repeated.

Count Bleck thumbed through the book. "What is this?"

"It might have something to do with the arrows," Dimentio explained. "There's apparently a tribe of them living out there in the forest."

Count Bleck nodded. "I had a feeling."

Dimentio looked up and down Count Bleck. "You owe me." Then he disappeared.

Count Bleck opened it and began to take notes for the Beige Prognosticus. "Interesting," he said to himself. "I've heard this story before."

O'Chunks was standing outside of Nastasia's office, pacing nervously. In all his days, he had never made such a heartfelt speech as the one he was preparing. Nothing in a warrior's life could prepare him for the perils of romance.

"'Ey, Nassy," he said. It was only practice, but he was still nervous as all get out. "Nah, that ain't right... Pardon me, Miss Nastasia... nah, too phony..."

Just then Nastasia came out of the room and walked quickly down the hallway.

"Wiat fer me!" called O'Chunks, and he fell into pace a step behind her. "Lissen, Nassy, I jus' wanted teh say I'm sorry 'bout our little--"

"Sorry, I can't talk right now," she replied briskly. "I have a very important message for the Count."

"Oh, all righ' then," he said awkwardly. He slowed down to a stop as she walked on, business as usual, without giving O'Chunks a second look.

He sagged, wondering what he could do to make it right.

"Count," said Nastasia, putting a memo on his desk. "I have a little note for your inbox. Someone's out calling for help, and nobody's answering."

Count Bleck picked up the memo. "Where's Mario?"

"Thousands of miles away from it," replied Nastasia. "Yeah, he's nowhere near close enough to deal with this. You got any orders?"

Count Bleck scanned the memo. Hundreds of robots had descended from the sky and were terrorizing a small town of Toads. Bizarre, to say the least.

He put the memo down. "Call everyone and tell them to meet me in the Meeting Room. And tell Nawrocki we're going out for a while."

Nastasia nodded. "Got it."

Within minutes, the regular crew was assembled in the meeting room.

"Good news, everyone," said Count Bleck cheerfully. "I'm going to send you on an old kind of mission today."

"Do I get teh use me chunks?" asked O'Chunks, flexing his muscles.

"Do I get to use magic?" asked Dimentio.

"Will this mess up my hair?" Mimi fluffed her recently styled pigtails.

Count Bleck laughed. "Yes, yes, and yes! Minions, there are robots attacking a village that's closer to here than it is to Mario. I feel it is our duty to crush them with our mighty fist!"

"Yahooo!"

"All right!

"Yes!"

"Excellent!"

"Okay, settle down," Nastasia cut in. "Yeah, so this is pretty standard stuff like from back in the days of the Dark Prognosticus, but there've been a few rule changes since then and I wanted to make sure everyone saw the bulletin. Basically the Count doesn't want us to use 'undue force' or 'underhanded techniques.' So, let's have a nice clean fight, 'K?"

"Yes," agreed Count Bleck. "Now that I no longer want to destroy the world, I'd rather we didn't inflict too much damage on it."

"If you must," said Dimentio.

"Can I bring Brobot?" asked Mr. L.

"Absolutely. I think he may be a necessity."

Luigi threw his fist up in the air triumphantly. "Awesome!"

"Now run along, minions," said Count Bleck. "Contact Castle Bleck if you need help. Protect the villagers and destroy the robots. So commands Count Bleck!"

The minions couldn't get on their way soon enough. Tippi came to rest on the top of Count Bleck's hat, her favorite nesting place. "I think you handled that just fine," she said.

"I do hope the minions haven't figured out that I don't have the foggiest idea what I'm doing. I think they may be getting suspicious."

"Mmm, I don't think so. At any rate, you certainly are in good spirits."

"Thank you for noticing. I'm counting the days until we can be together just as we were before."

Just then, Count Bleck noticed Nastasia had hopped off her platform and was walking away. "Excuse me a moment," he said, and caught up with her. When he hopped down, Tippi fluttered off her hat.

"Need something, Count?" she asked.

"No, actually, I was just going to ask you that very same question. Has something been bothering you?"

"No," replied Nastasia. "Well, kinda, but its no one's problem but my own."

"I see. Well, if you ever want to discuss it with Count Bleck, do not hesitate. The happiness of my minions has always been important to me."

As soon as she left, Tippi landed back on Count Bleck's hat. "Although, I think she may have noticed that you don't have any idea what you're doing with her," she commented.

"Don't I know it." Count Bleck shrugged. "I've always let her make her own decisions when it comes to us. Her feelings are one place where I don't even pretend to know what I'm doing."

Toads were scrambling around aimlessly like mad while large, gray machines were stomping the village. It was pure chaos, and Bleck's minions were thriving. The machines crumpled like tissue after a few blows from the minion's raw power, and it was so much fun to just cut loose and lay down some damage.

If you've ever been young, and stuck in a very long car trip for many hours, only to have the car stop and you were finally allowed to run free, stretch your legs and burn all the energy you wanted, you'll know how it felt for the minions. For so long everything had been confusing. There was no mission statement for their new organization, and no guidelines for every mission that came along. No one was ever sure what was okay and how it was supposed to go. So finally, Count Bleck had turned them loose and let them lay waste to a bunch of no-good monsters just like the old days, and it was the most satisfying thing any of them could have imagined.

Dimentio was blowing them up left and right. O'Chunks sent them flying with his fists. Brobot was stomping them under his giant boots. Mimi was hurling rubees like crazy.

The Toads took cover and watched in awe and terror. Who were these mysterious saviors, and why were they laughing like this?

"I can't remember when I've had this much fun!" Mimi squealed as she sent a tall, gangly gray one flying.

Brobot lifted his foot over one that looked like a knife with a face. Mr. L pulled a lever and in a moment it was gone, squished under his giant foot. "Me, neither," Mr. L called out to her. "Brobot hasn't had his daily smash in months!"

Dimentio laughed out loud. Not his usual condescending laugh, but a genuine, I'm-having-a-good-time laugh. He was having a good time, such a good time that he didn't want it to end. If it did end, he would go right back to being confused, and that was an unpleasant thought. To chase it away, he sent a blast at another machine, with an arched back and stubby limbs, and it exploded.

"They sure are funny looking," Mr. L commented.

"It don't matter a bean 'ow funny-lookin' they be," said O'Chunks. "They look even funnier after we squash 'em!"

One of the machines tore the door to a house off its hinges and reached inside, grabbing a Toad.

"Eek!" shrieked the Toad. "Let me go!"

Dimentio blasted the Machine from the side, sending it flying. It dropped the Toad, and he dove and caught it, then set it on the ground.

"Thanks, mister," said the Toad.

Dimentio ignored him and went to finish off the machine. It didn't dawn on him until much later that he'd saved someone's life just then.

Count Bleck was in his office reading the book Dimentio brought him when Nawrocki knocked on the door. Tippi was still on his hat, but she was napping.

"Hey, boss," Nawrocki said, opening it. "There's something funny going on in the basement."

Count Bleck looked up. "Funny how?" he asked.

"Like… I think something's down there. Maybe one of your Chomp guards? I don't know."

Count Bleck hesitated. "We don't have a basement," he said.

"Well, you have something under the ground floor, and I'm right disturbed by whatever it is that's going on down there."

Count Bleck stood up. "Show me."

Just then Nastasia walked into the room. "Hey, Count, just an FYI, I have—"

"Hold that thought a moment, Nastasia," said Count Bleck. "Nawrocki says something is odd in the basement."

"I thought you sealed it off, Count."

"I did."

"I know, right?" Nawrocki said.

"Would it make you feel better if I went and checked?"

"Yes," said Nawrocki. "Yes, it would."

"Fine," said Count Bleck.

"Can I walk with you?" asked Nastasia. "I really need to go over this."

"That's a good idea," said Nawrocki.

"All right," said Count Bleck. "I'll go check for the monster in the basement."

"One of us is gonna have to write up a report on this, aren't we?" Mr. L asked as they walked up the path to the castle.

"Who cares?" O'Chunks countered joyfully.

"Hey, yeah!"

Charlotte bounded over to welcome Mimi happily. Everyone else took a step away from her.

"Hello, precious, did you miss Mommy?" she cooed.

"That was awesome," Mr. L continued. "I can't remember the last time something so awesome happened to us."

"I would have to agree with you," said Dimentio.

"Ah, I ehn't felt so re-joo-vinated in nigh on half an age goin' on a fist o' chunks!"

"Do you even listen to yourself when those tragic excuses for words dribble out of your gaping maw, O'Chunks?" asked Dimentio.

"Ey, watch it!" He swung a fist at the air near Dimentio. "I'll smack ya teh next New Years if yeh keep insultin' me in ways I can't understand!"

Mimi giggled. "You both talk funny," she said.

Dimentio opened the door.

"Hey, Count, we're home!" called Mimi.

"Wonderful."

It was not the Count that greeted them at the door. It was two of those same machines they met at the village. They had small circle bodies and enormously long limbs and necks, with a pointed spear for a head, a long spear pole, and red capes.

Standing in between them was Nawrocki. Behind them, there were several more machines

"Hello," said Nawrocki. "Have you met my Machine-Mades? This is Yaridovinch, and this is also Yaridovinch. This is our castle now."

"What?"

"You can't do that!"

"It's nothing personal," said Nawrocki. "But I'm gonna have to throw you in the dungeon for a while."

Eight other Machine-Mades appeared then and apprehended them quickly.

"Big deal," said Dimentio, "We just took out like eight hundred of these guys."

"No," said Nawrocki, "you just took out eight hundred prototypes that I made with scraps. Those guys were like level two. These are the ones I've been perfecting. These are like level fifty."

One of them squeezed Dimentio's arm so tight the circulation was cut off almost instantly. He tapped Dimentio on his head with the pole and growled.

"Ah, I see," he said. "We'll just be going to the dungeon, then."