The next morning, Nawrocki was still sitting outside the castle, planted in the ground, watching silently. He had run out of popcorn sometime during the night and switched to peanuts. This was evidenced by a ring of shells and skins littered around his stalk. The peanuts were also finished, and now he just watched quietly, consuming nothing.

By now, the castle was well aware both of Nawrocki's presence and the Count's mental state. They also had the presence of mind to connect the two.

"Just yank 'im outta the ground and throw him off a cliff," said Mimi to O'Chunks over breakfast.

"Was gonna last night," replied O'Chunks, "but he ehn't doin' anything."

"He's upsetting the Count," Mimi said. "Isn't that enough?"

Always knowing just when to enter, Dimentio floated into the room as Mimi spoke. "It isn't merely his presence that's upsetting the Count," he observed as he went to the cabinet and pulled out his favorite cereal. "He's far too inoffensive for that. Something else is bothering our beloved Bleck, though I would like to know what it is."

"I talked to 'im. He just gave me a bunch o' riddles."

"Well, perhaps someone with a bit more cerebral power should try an inquiry." Dimentio poured his bowl.

"Eh?" O'Chunks scratched the top of his head.

"He called you a dummy," Mimi translated.

Dimentio stuffed a spoonful of dry cereal in his mouth so he would have an excuse not to answer.

"Hey!" O'Chunks grabbed the table as if to flip it onto Dimentio, but composed himself at the last second, much to Mimi and Dimentio's relief.

"Still," Dimentio mused, mouth full. He held up two fingers and swallowed. "Still, one of us should endeavor to ascertain the purpose of his stakeout." He set his spoon down and pushed back from the table. "And as the most intelligent member of our triad, I-"

Mimi grabbed his cloak and pulled him back. "No."

"But certainly you want to send the most eloquent-"

"No."

"Surely my unique perspective-"

"No."

Dimentio crossed his arms. "Then what do you suggest?"

"I'm going," said Mimi.

"Very well." Dimentio had an amused smirk. "This, I've got to see."

O'Chunks came around the table quickly and grabbed Dimentio with both meaty fists. "Oh, no, yer not."

"Why does no one trust me? What are you even afraid I'll do?"

"We never know what you'll do," said Mimi. "That's why we're afraid. And I know you're using big words on purpose to try and slip stuff by us."

"Are we not past this, yet?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure we'll ever be completely past this."

"... Fair enough."

O'Chunks took Dimentio elsewhere in the castle to keep an eye on him while Mimi went to change into her best Bad Guy Confrontation Outfit. Forty minutes later, she approached him outside. The little peanut shells crunched under her stick feet as she came close to him. Nawrocki regarded her curiously, nodding in greeting.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, as accusingly as she could manage.

"Talking with the most beautiful young lady in the entire dimension, apparently," said Nawrocki.

Mimi's faced flushed. "Flattery won't get you anywhere! You're upsetting the Count!"

"I'm not. He was upset before our encounter. I'm just watching it unfold."

"That sounds mean."

"Well, I'm not nice."

"I'm not nice!"

Nawrocki laughed. Then he reached behind his head and pulled out his red hair tie. Next he pulled off one of his red neckbands.

Mimi tilted her head curiously,

Nawrocki fluffed his ponytail leaves down until they hung flat behind him. Then he ran his leafy fingers down from the center of his nose, between his eyes, and up to his leaf hair, where he carefully divided the hair into two sections. Then he pulled the sections up into pigtails, tying them in place with his old elastic and the neck band.

As soon as Mimi saw what he was doing, she squealed and clapped her hands. "Twins!"

"We're a lot alike, you and I, in ways I haven't told you about."

"You mean besides just not being nice?"

"I mean that we're both cast-away creations of someone we'll never know trying to make sense of what we're supposed to be."

"I know what I'm supposed to be," said Mimi. "The adorable and fashionable shape-shifting minion of Count Bleck."

Nawrocki smiled. "You're lucky; you had someone who eventually showed you your potential. I never had that."

"You still could," said Mimi.

Nawrocki shook his head. "No. It's far too late for me to be anything other than what I am."

"That's not what Count Bleck told me."

"Count Bleck saw something in you."

"Nobody ever saw something in you?"

"Sure. Lots of people did. Or, they thought they did..." He glanced away before turning back with a phony, plastered-on smile. "Mimi? Can I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure, I guess."

"How did you feel when you found out the Count lied to you?"

"What? When did he lie to me?"

"When you found out he never intended to build the perfect world, that he planned to just obliterate them all."

Mimi looked away. "Gosh... I don't really think about that."

"Were you mad?"

"Kinda..."

"But you stayed with him."

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because... because he's the Count." That was all Mimi had. And, despite Nawrocki's questioning, her resolve wasn't shaken. It was enough.

"You trust him with your life."

"Uh-huh."

"I admire you."

"G'wan."

"No, I mean it."

"What are you trying to pull, huh?"

"I just want to understand."

"Understand what?"

Nawrocki waved his leaves. "This. All of this. You. O'Chunks. Dimentio. Nastasia."

Mimi reached out and gave Nawrocki's snout a little pat. "I get the feeling that somebody's waiting for you."

Nawrocki looked away, and stayed looking away this time. "Yeah."

"Are you gonna go, then?"

"I can't."

Mimi nodded. "I think I understand you, now."

"I'm glad one of us does."

When Mimi came back into the castle. O'Chunks and Dimentio were waiting for her by the door. Dimentio was still trapped in O'Chunk's grip. O'Chunks had his arms wrapped tightly, pinning Dimentio to his chest. Dimentio seemed unfazed by this.

"How'd it go, eh?" asked O'Chunks as soon as Mimi came in.

"Actually," said Mimi, "I understand him a little better."

"Really? What did you find out?" asked Dimentio.

"He's lonely. He does bad stuff because he wants power, but he only thinks that's what he wants. What he really wants is to not be lonely anymore."

"Really? He told you all that?"

"I figured it out."

"How?" Dimentio sounded incredulous.

Mimi shot him a glare. "I'm not a big dummy, Dimentio. I can tell when somebody's sad and lonely. Count Bleck is really sad right now and Nawrocki is, too. He's not here because he's mad. He's here because he's sad."

"So what's he gonna do about it?" asked O'Chunks.

"I believe it's not what he will do," said Dimentio. "Rather, it's what the Count will do."