Redemption

Chapter Three

Dimentio blinked, and saw the dusty, dimly lit halls of Merlee's Mansion. And sniffed in that smell of decaying wood ...or something worse. He decided not to think about too much, because he feared if he knew the truth he would not breathe there again. At the very least he did not see Mimi, and hopefully he could figure out a way to meet her with any harm being done to his person as a result. Feeling inexplicably woozy after the transportation, perhaps because he was still very weak from his defeat, he turned around, and - WHAM!

Dimentio had no time to see anything but a flash of yellow. He felt something hard connect to his face and went flying a surprisingly (relatively) long distance across the hall and smashed into the floor face down. He was taken completely off-guard. But his attacker needed to only utter one phrase for Dimentio to understand what was happening.

"YOU DUMMY!" said everyone's favorite shape-shifting girl. Dimentio turned over to face her. She was extremely angry, as evidenced by her grimace. She pulled out some red rubees from her yellow purse which she held (and had apparently hit him with). Dimentio immediately sensed what was going to happen and hid his face. Just as he had thought, Mimi immediately started throwing those rubees with painful accuracy.

"Mimi..." he said weakly. Mimi did not stop; if anything, she started to throw the Rubees harder and became angrier.

"SHUT UP! You BETRAYED us! How COULD you! You *sniff* DOOFUS!" she said in a high-pitched voice, her face twisting as she broke down crying. Her tears started streaming down her face, and soon her yellow dress with white polka-dots was being ruined by her tears despite her best efforts. Dimentio found this dual display of sadness and anger to quite odd, and also rather frightening.

Jaydes, can you read me? I know you're there! Get me out of here! he thought desperately.

I'm reading you clearly Dimentio. came the reply. Mimi gradually started coming closer, throwing rubees at the same time.

Well, what are you waiting for?

I'm not going to 'get you out of there', Dimentio.

WHAT? She's going to end my game at this point! She's as unstable as me! ...If not more. he thought. He started crawling away from Mimi and her rubees, but given his weakness he knew it was futile. To his annoyance, he was also being covered in dust and dirt from the floor, ruining his favorite (and currently only) poncho.

She's right, you know. And she has a right to do whatever she wants with you. She has redeemed herself.

But what about my rehabilitation? he thought. Before he could 'hear' the reply he was interrupted by Mimi who had finally gotten close enough to start kicking him in the ribs, while crying at the same time.

"Ow! Ow! Mimi, STOP!" he finally burst out. That did not seem to faze her.

"NO! After *sniff* what you've done to the Count, and Nassy, and all of us, you want *sniff* mercy? NO! You're a filthy TRAITOR!" she yelled. Dimentio did not have anything to counter that with. His mind raced on how to calm her down, or at least make her stop beating him to a pulp. In a final burst of energy, he spanned his fingers and tried to teleport. Nothing happened.

Jaydes, have you STRIPPED ME OF ALL MY POWERS? he thought. No reply. It seemed she wasn't even bothering at this point. And Mimi was still kicking him, as well as throwing rubees when he had the chance. Then, it finally came to him - his mouth, that is. Without consenting his mind, his lips moved.

"Mimi... I'm so-" he abruptly stopped. Apologize? To her, or any of THEM? Never! Thankfully Mimi didn't notice. But Jaydes did.

Yes, say it! SAY IT! It's your first step, Dimentio! he heard in his head. But Dimentio vehemently disagreed.

I shall NEVER apologize to them, Jaydes! NEVER! You have to live with that!

Well, enjoy getting beaten to a pulp, if you think so. he heard in reply. Damn. There was no way out. He would have to say it. How hard would it be? Just say 'I'm sorry'. Right? And so he suddenly said "Wait!" and got up. Mimi paused, looking at him with tears still running down her face, though slower than before. Hesitantly, Dimentio started to say it.

"Mimi, I'm s- bleh." he could not bring himself to finish. He started again. "I'm so... sor... sorry. I'm sorry. For what I did. Much like a man is sorry for murdering his beloved wife in the heat of anger." That went farther than he had intended to, but it was good enough... hopefully.

Mimi looked at him, blinking. Then, she hugged him with her thin arms and started crying on his shoulder. Dimentio was taken aback at this, to say the least.

"Why did you *sniff* betray us, Dimentio? We had *sniff* so much fun together! We could've been friends! You, me, O'Chunks, and Nassy!" she said in between her crying. Dimentio recoiled inwardly. Friends? She was stretching it, to be sure. He may have pulled pranks, but it was only for entertainment. He was above all this comradery. Right?...

Mimi continued berating him in between her tears for betraying them, and so Dimentio just let her cry without listening too attentively. He was rather happy he was not being beaten and that was enough.

Well, well, well, Dimentio. What did I say? You took your first step towards rehabilitation. 'said' Queen Jaydes in a happy tone.

Oh, quiet. angrily replied Dimentio.

I can read your thoughts, so there's no need to be defensive. You just can't defend yourself.

Sigh. Very well. replied Dimentio, who was becoming flustered at how he was being read like an open book.

By this time Mimi had finally stopped crying and was wiping her eyes.

"Gosh, Dimentio, you made me ruin my favorite dress!" she said with a smile.

"Well, you completely destroyed my poncho and beat me to a pulp!" retorted Dimentio.

"And you betrayed my friends and tried to kill all of us! ...But you said sorry. And you said it with one of your similes! So, apology accepted." she said. Then she got a mischievous look.

"Well, mostly! Tee hee!" she giggled. "I don't know where you came from, and you could lie anyway, so I can't exactly trust you. So, one, you'll have to stay here for now so I can keep an eye on you; and two, you'll be my slave for some time!" she said. Dimentio stared at her.

Jaydes... don't tell me...

Yes, Dimentio, you'll have to listen to her. This is going to be part of your rehabilitation. Have fun! Mentally, Dimentio started hurling expletives left and right. However, he simply closed his eyes and took a deep breath on the outside. Then, he finally said

"...Fine." Mimi responded with a gleeful "Yay!".

"So, let's have a grand tour! First, your new bedroom. Assuming you sleep. Right?" she asked. Dimentio simply nodded.

Should I have taken the other punishment instead? he thought.

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Author's Note: Thank you, 56 visitors from all over the world! However, I would like for my readers to review. I need some sort of commentary! It feeds me, as a writer. And it will help me write a better story for all of you 56 (and going up). As a note, I will probably edit this one a lot, but I need to update.

And as always, thank you Dimention!