Dimentio scooped up more water in his gloved hands—amazed that still they were not even dampened—and promptly splashed the waters over his mask. He shook most of the water off, then leaned over the edge of the fountain to peer at his reflection again.

Luckily, Jaydes seemed to be right. The scratches had vanished completely, and most cracks healed over. All that now remained were the delicate cracks around his eye and a rather large chip out of the black half of his mask. Dimentio frowned, reaching up to lightly finger the chip.

"Sumthin' wrong?" Dimentio blinked at the water, somewhat stunned, then slowly lifted his gaze upward and just to his right. He had not been mistaken—Mr. L stood there, hands deep in his pockets, watching him.

Dimentio offered the Green Thunder a shaky smile, quickly turning back to the water. "Um… possibly… there may be a piece missing from my mask—its not healing over properly…"

The jester didn't have to turn around to know what face Mr. L was making. "…part of your face is missing?" he asked, the disgust in his tone assuring Dimentio his assumption was correct.

Dimentio laughed, fingering the chip again. "The mask is a façade, Mr. L… though used as a representation of my true face, it most certainly is not…"

Dimentio smiled at the expression he found on Mr. L's face. And this would be the usual point in our conversation at which you've realized what a terrible decision it was to speak with me… Dimentio thought to himself, turning back to the waters.

Mr. L shook off the thoughts running through his mind—apparently deciding, with Dimentio, it was always better not to ask. "Okay, uh… anyway… when are ya headin' back?"

Dimentio splashed his mask again, wiping the water away before asking. "Back? To where, might I ask?"

"Uh… Castle Bleck…" Mr. L clarified, taking a seat on the edge of the fountain. Dimentio turned so the Green Thunder wouldn't seen his expression scrunch up in confusion. Why suddenly so friendly? Something was wrong here. Very wrong.

"Ah… whenever the Fangirl is through playing, I suppose…" Dimentio said simply, turning to nod at Livi. She was seated on the stairs, her expression perplexed, as Luvbi floated before her—clearly irritated. By the sound of their conversation, Luvbi was teaching Livi how to properly speak like a Nimbi.

Dimentio smiled, recalling Livi's expression on Mimi's face. Dimentio was using his musical tones and silly similes to teach Mimi how to be Merlee for some trick she wanted to pull on the heroes. He'd found her request odd, but according to Mimi, it "just wasn't good enough for those stupid-heads the first time so shut up."

Dimentio turned back around to find Mr. L staring at the ground very intensely. Hm. How peculiar—as long as the jester had known him, and as close as their relationship had been, Dimentio could have sworn he had never seen an expression on Mr. L's face quite like that.

"…Mr. L?" Dimentio gently called. "Is… is something wrong?"

Mr. L shook his head. Dimentio waited a few moments more, but he never said anything.

"So, um…" Dimentio said nervously, dipping his fingers in the water to run them carefully over his eyelid. Excellent—that was working much better. "…I noticed Jaydes pull you aside… she say anything of interest?"

Mr. L shrugged. "Um… kinda…" he said, sounding somewhat uneasy.

"Kind of?" Dimentio smiled mischievously. "…how so?"

Mr. L looked up at the sky, laughing nervously to himself. "I think she's off her royal rocker…"

"Oh?" Dimentio asked, brightening up. "And what makes you say that?"

Mr. L shook his head, lifting a hand to scratch the back of his head. "She said… she's got this… crazy… delusion… that you're…" The man paused to laugh again. "…that you were gonna… stay here… so I could go back… issat crazy or what?"

Dimentio was staring very quietly at the water, his expression unreadable.

Mr. L's smile twitched nervously. "I mean… c'mon, that's… that's crazy, right?"

Dimentio slowly smiled, though he didn't look very amused. "…she wasn't supposed to say anything until I'd left…"

Mr. L's expression dropped to absolute horror in point-five-seconds flat. "…it's true…" he finally whispered.

Dimentio slowly nodded, smiling as he pushed himself up off the ground to sit beside Mr. L. "Indeed it is… I spoke with Jaydes, and she's willing to allow me a trade-off of sorts… I can send you back outside, if I would take your place in this realm…"

Mr. L's eyebrows pushed together. "You mean… stay here in the Underwhere…"

Dimentio sighed shakily, looking at the ground. "No, ah… I'd be sent… back… back to the Prison…"

"What?" Mr. L snapped. "You—you're insane!"

Dimentio smiled warmly. "Why thank you, Mr. L—I don't recall ever receiving a compliment from you before!"

"Shut the hell up!" Mr. L yelled, giving Dimentio a good shove. "Look you can't do this! You've busted your ass and crawled through more hell than I know for this—you're not gonna give it up for me!"

"But, I did all this for you." Dimentio said quietly, his expression desperate.

"I don't care what you—" Mr. L abruptly shut himself up, turning to the jester with that same horrified, stunned expression. "…what?"

Dimentio sighed, looking down at the ground. "…Mr. L, you've been here long enough… have you ever heard of Queen Jaydes releasing someone from Bonechill's Prison, simply because they craved redemption?"

Mr. L looked away as well. "…no… I guess not…"

"That's because it doesn't happen…" Dimentio's eyes slid closed, his body slumping over as though he were still exhausted. "…Jaydes released me not to restore myself… but to right my wrongs… I'd done so much damage… I'd left so many things suspended in mid-air… I couldn't leave like that…

"There's no way I could bring back the Count to Nastasia and O'Chunks… so for months I've served as their slave and punching-bag… I let them have the revenge they wanted…

"And my poor little Mimi… the last she saw of her Charming Magician… I…" Dimentio cringed a bit, choking on his own voice. "…I was a monster… I betrayed everyone… I shattered all the hope and trust in her heart… I had to take that from her… I had to find a way to restore her love… to keep her the sweet, innocent little girl she always wanted to be…

"All that remains of my debts is you…" Dimentio lifted his mismatched eyes—flooded with pain and grief—to Mr. L. "I stole away a life that was not mine to take… I've trapped you in this prison… I destroyed your trust in me, the friendship we'd formed…

"So, while I was mending everything else I'd left broken… Jaydes had me chasing redemption… She said it'd be enough to get me back to life—back to the mortal's realm… she said, if I wished… I could choose to send you back instead…"

"But…" Mr. L slowly shook his head, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Come to think of it, he probably couldn't. "…why would you do that for me?" Mr. L demanded, suddenly turning to narrow his eyes at the jester. "You betrayed me. You murdered me. I'm finding it a little hard to believe you suddenly care so much."

"Suddenly?" Dimentio asked, sounding shocked. He closed his eyes, slowly shaking his head. "I've always cared for yo—"

"Don't give me that shit!" Mr. L suddenly roared, jumping to his feet. "If we've been such great 'friends' all this time, why the hell did you KILL me? How could you betray me like that?"

Dimentio's eyes narrowed. "…I never intended to betray you. You've got it all wrong."

"Oh, no!" Mr. L yelled. "Don't you turn around and point the crazy finger at me! I know what freaking happened! You—"

"Stabbed you in the back, murdered you, betrayed you, lied to you!" Dimentio yelled, standing up as well. "You think I don't know what I've done! I'm trying to tell you that was never my INTENT! I didn't want to hurt you—you were my best friend!"

Mr. L flashed the jester a twisted smile. "You're full of shit! When you caught me alone, snapped your fingers, and blew me up… what did you honestly think was gonna happen?"

Dimentio's shoulders jerked upwards, his entire body going rigid. "…do you honestly think I intended to lose that final fight? I thought ultimate power was mine."

"Well, clearly, you thought wrong." The Green Thunder sneered.

"I thought I was in control." Dimentio went on, his voice an icy hiss. "I thought time and space were at my mercy. I thought I was to be ruler of all dimensions."

"Didn't work out so well, did it, O great King Dimentio?" Mr. L said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he dramatically rolled his eyes.

Dimentio was trembling in rage by this point. "I thought… if such were true… I could come back for you… I thought I could bring you back…"

Mr. L blinked. Of every psychotic, strange, twisted thing he'd ever heard Dimentio say, he was totally blindsided.

Dimentio relaxed ever so slightly. "Clearly… I thought wrong…"

An eternity of silence passed between the two. Mr. L looked away, scratching the back of his head. "I… I didn't… know… what the hell am I supposed to say to that?"

Dimentio smiled softly, placing a hand on either of Mr. L's shoulders. "Absolutely nothing… Just walk up to Jaydes, and tell her you accept my offer…"

Mr. L's eyes went wide. "Wh… what? Hell no! You've busted your ass for this redemption—I'm not gonna leave you to rot in Bonechill's Prison!"

Dimentio laughed, shaking his head. "I couldn't care less what happened to me… It'll be worth it to know my debts have been repaid… Nastasia and O'Chunks are content at last, my little Mimi is happy as can be—you'll take care of her, won't you? And now you'll finally be free as well…"

Mr. L looked crushed. "…but… I don't…" He slowly shook his head, unable to choke out a coherent sentence. "…how could I… ever… repay you?"

Dimentio laughed again. "I don't want payment. You don't have to do a single thing. Just tell Jaydes you accept—I've done everything else for you."

-

"Livi, seriously, we need to get going." Luigi said for the fifteenth time.

"But we can't yet!" Livi argued, looking around frantically. "We're gonna leave Dimentio!"

Fawful sighed dramatically. "Look, here he has being."

"Where?" Livi demanded, standing on tip-toes and grabbing Fawful's head for balance.

"Have the releasing of me!" Fawful shrieked, swatting at her hands.

"Owie!" The fangirl cried. "Weegee, Fawful hit me!"

"She had starting of it!" Fawful yelled.

"Here we go again…" Luigi moaned.

"Oh, please…" Kamek rolled his eyes. "You should try babysitting the Koopalings…"

Luigi's eyes went wide. "How the hell are you still in one piece?"

"I have no idea." Kamek said, in amazement himself.

"OMIGOSH DIMENTIO!" Livi shrieked, tackling into the jester as he floated up to the group. Dimentio immediately hit the ground, trying to pry the fangirl's arms from around his neck as he gasped for the air she was cutting off.

Jaydes smiled at the two. "Glad you made it, Dimentio…" She turned to see Mr. L coming slowly towards them, face downcast, and she smiled wider still. "Ah, Mr. L! You came to see your friends off after all."

Mr. L glanced at the others, then looked sheepishly up to Jaydes. "Actually… there's, uh… sumthin' I need to talk to you about…"

Jaydes took on a devious expression, so natural it seemed she never wore a single other emotion. "Mm? What about?"

"About… Dimentio's offer…" He slowly choked out.

"Yes? What do you think?" Jaydes purred.

"I want you to send Dimentio back."

Jaydes and Dimentio's faces both dropped with shock. The other fandoms and fangirl started chattering loudly, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Mr. L simply stood there, glaring defiantly up at the Queen, as if daring her to argue with his decision.

"…Mr. L…" Jaydes finally said as she recovered. "Surely you mean—"

"I mean exactly what I said." Mr. L interrupted, folding his arms over his chest. "I want Dimentio to go back to the Realm of the Living. He's busted his ass for this—I have no right to take it from him."

Jaydes smiled nervously. "But, of course you do…"

"I wouldn't have offered it if you didn't!" Dimentio called, looking frantic.

Mr. L shook his head. "I don't care what he offered. I don't want it. Revenge, I can live with. Anger, hatred, fine with me. But, guilt? I see why he's done this…" Mr. L cast a mournful glance over his shoulder to the jester. "…that's the kind of pain I just don't know how to deal with… I couldn't live with myself if I stole the freedom he deserves…"

"But, you aren't stealing anything…" Jaydes assured him. "Dimentio wants you to have this…"

Dimentio floated up behind Mr. L, grabbing firmly onto his arm. "I told you, L, this never was for me… This whole time I've been doing all I can to get you out… I don't want escape—I want you to be free."

"Ya see?" Mr. L snapped, gesturing wildly to Dimentio. "That right there! That's how he's been treating me for so many years! And what the hell have I done? Jaydes, you said it yourself—the only, only reason I'm stuck down here is because I can't stop hating him! I can't let go of my grudge! I can't forget it! I can't forgive him! Here I've been trying to send him back to the Prison, just to find out that he set out on this crazy journey, dealt with all kindsa shit, went through freaking hell—why? To set me free!"

Mr. L's face dropped into his hands. "I can't accept his offer… he deserves freedom so much more than I do… he's been one hell of a friend… even after the way I've treated him… I tried to have him killed—and he still didn't back down…" Mr. L's eyes glanced warily upwards to meet the shocked eyes of the Queen. "…I don't give a damn what you do to me… I'll take his place in the Prison if I have to… I don't want him to suffer anymore…"

Needless to say, Jaydes was stunned. She couldn't think of a single thing worth saying in response to that.

"Mr. L, please…" Dimentio took Mr. L's shoulder, spinning him around to meet his eyes. "You know why I've done this… I want to make things right… I just want to fix everything I've done… how do you expect me to live, knowing I've condemned you to death?"

"You didn't." Mr. L insisted. "This is my choice, not yours. You're the one that's earned this—"

"I earned it for you!" Dimentio begged. "I don't care where I'm sent, I don't care what happens to me, I don't care about anything! Nearly a year ago, I lost my best friend… now I just want to make things right between us…"

Mr. L gave him a look. "Is that all you want?"

Dimentio nodded miserably. "Yes… that's why I've done all this… I need to fix the damage I've done between us…"

"Fine." Mr. L grabbed both Dimentio's shoulders, shaking him just slightly as he looked him dead in the eyes and said firmly, "I forgive you. Go home."

Before anyone could say anything, Luvbi gasped aloud, her eyes going wide. She smacked Jaydes with one of her wings and cried, "Mother! Didst thou hear that?"

"I did indeed, Luvbi…" The Queen put a hand to her forehead, shaking her head as she moaned in despair. "Oh, no… this isn't good… oh, this is just terrible…"

Livi leaned over to Luigi and hissed, "I don't get it—what happened?"

Luigi shrugged. "Who knows? We're not even sure what the hell's going on…"

"Wait…" Mr. L and Dimentio both gave the Queen a funny look as the jester cut in. "Jaydes… what is the matter?"

"Oh dear Grambi…" Jaydes glanced warily over the two trouble-makers. "Mr. L, you said it yourself… I assured you the only thing keeping you in this dimension was your grudge against Dimentio…"

"So?" Mr. L shrugged. "I knew that."

Dimentio smacked him in the stomach, realization striking like a bolt of lightning. "So…" he said. "Don't you realize? You just forgave me!"

"Waitaminute…" Mr. L's eyes went wide. "Jaydes… are you saying—"

"You're free." Jaydes moaned, rubbing her temples. "You lived your entire life hypnotized—other than the grudge, you had no sins to weigh. I told you if you would overcome it, I would gladly send you back."

"So… I'm… I'm going back?" Mr. L said, an eager grin spreading across his face. "Are you serious?"

"I'm afraid so…" The Queen heavily sighed.

"But… if Mr. L's earned his own redemption…" Dimentio began to muse. "…then the redemption I earned—"

"Mr. L can no longer accept." Jaydes finished, growing weaker at the thought. "It's yours to keep."

Dimentio's eyes went wide, his face falling to complete and utter shock—and it was extremely difficult to surprise Dimentio. "…pardon? …mine?"

"Yours, Dimentio." Defeated, outwitted, and sick to her stomach, Jaydes sat on the stone steps, holding her head in her hands, already aching with what she knew was coming. "I promised you redemption, you completed the tasks, thus, redemption is yours. You are free from my prison as well."

Mr. L and Dimentio exchanged an eager glance, each catching a familiar light in the other's eyes they hadn't seen in far too long. "…so… we're…"

"Both going back…" Jaydes finished. "Each of you shall, together, be sent back to Castle Bleck, to live your new lives…"

It took roughly five seconds for the full impact of Jaydes' words to hit them. As soon as they did, though, Mr. L and Dimentio each smiled like they'd forgotten they could, threw their arms around each other, and cheered and creamed until neither could speak a single word.

After all heavens, hell, and every world between had driven them apart, after the torture they'd each gone through, and the most bizarre of emotions that had haunted them, they had finally triumphed over fate itself.

Together, at long last, they were going home.