Groaning softly to herself, Mimi slowly walked up the stairs to the training room. She was incredibly angry, as Nastasia woke her up five minutes earlier than usual. She had only gotten a few hours asleep, so she felt extremely exhausted. And Nastasia didn't wake her up just to get her to come for breakfast, but for the count had an important announcement to make. It sounded urgent, so Mimi didn't complain that much.

But after breakfast would have been nice.

But the main reason she was angry was because of Dimentio. One moment he was flirting with her and the next he was pushing her away. When he wanted something, he would complement her and get close to her. But when she wanted something, he would tell her to back off. This was worse than having their relationship go nowhere, for now it was going in circles!

What is with him? Mimi asked herself constantly. I am I doing something wrong, am I doing something to scare him off? What goes through his mind? If he thinks I'll be scared off by a couple of zits, he has to be the most shallow person ever! I have done many things for him in the past, why can't he just do something for me? Sure, he taught me to teleport, but then he left me while in the middle of training! Why can't he notice that I want more than just friendship? Why can't things go my way for once?

"It's not fair!"

"What's not fair?"

Mimi turned around to see O'Chunks, not even realizing he was right behind her. She looked away from him.

"Nothing, O'Chunks. I'm just a little frustrated, that's all."

"With what?" O'Chunks asked still confused.

"It's none of your business," Mimi replied. "Unless you can read peoples' minds..."

"'Read peoples' minds?'"

There was a long pause.

"Aw...I think I understand the situation, lassie."

"I highly doubt it."

"But I do, for I am experiencing it too. You're having romance troubles?"

Mimi stopped in her tracks.

"Wait...your having romance troubles?" she asked shocked. "With who?"

O'Chunks blushed.

"Well...I don't want to get into much details, but there is this one beautiful lass I've had my eye on for awhile now. I really like her, but I don't know how to approach her. For she is...a bit distracted by someone else..."

Mimi blinked, trying to figure out who O'Chunks could be talking about. Suddenly, it clicked in her mind and she smiled sympathetically.

"Aw, I see who you're talking about... You know, later today I could talk to Nastasia, give her a few hints."

O'Chunks's eyes brightened.

"You would? Much appreciated, lassie! If you could do that for me, maybe I can help you with Dimentio."

Mimi rolled her eyes.

"I don't think anyone can get through that doofus. But we should probably get going, we don't want to be late. I don't think Nastasia would appreciate it if you're not on time again."

O'Chunks nodded in reply, laughing nervously.

As fast as they could, Mimi and O'Chunks headed to the training room. When they arrived, Nastasia was there to greet them.

"You're a little behind time," Nastasia announced. "I told you to be here by seven fifteen. It's seven eighteen."

"Sorry, Nassy," Mimi replied. "But I'm a little slow in the morning. You should know that by now."

Nastasia sighed heavily.

"Yeah, I suppose some things never change. And will you stop calling me 'Nassy?' It's such an unprofessional nickname!"

Mimi laughed.

"Whatever...Nassy!"

Nastasia growled in reply.

"Anyway," she said, back in her professional tone, "I'll let the count know your here."

She looked down at her watch.

"And get Dimentio out of bed while I'm at it. I swear he sleeps like the dead at times. See you in a bit, k?"

And with that, Nastasia teleported out of the room.

That's odd...Dimentio was never late. He was always the first one to arrive for everything, always ready to train or do whatever the count needed to get done.

Maybe he was tired from last night? Mimi thought. After all, he did look worn out.

Not putting much thought into it, Mimi and O'Chunks took their stand on one of the platforms. It wasn't even five minutes before Dimentio teleported into the room. He levitated to his platform, while giving a small smile and saying, "Ciao."

O'Chunks said hi back.

Mimi tried to make eye contact with Dimentio, but he seemed to ignored her. Mimi narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, hoping that he would see how displeased she was. There was a long silence, none of the minions wanting to speak. O'Chunks looked like he would have liked to say something, but he kept his mouth shut. It was like something told him that he shouldn't get involved.

Suddenly, Count Bleck and Nastasia appeared on the highest pedestal.

"Minions!" Count Bleck exclaimed. "Count Bleck apologizes for waking you a bit early, but he has a few things he needs to announce. First off, Count Bleck has figured out what the Hero of Legend, Mario's plan is. If I remember correctly, the Light Prognosticus says that if the eight Pure Hearts, being made of light magic unlike the Chaos Heart, come together, they will undo the prophecy. Mario has already collected one, and he will surely go after the others in different dimensions. We must stop him from doing that in any way possible. Which means we may have to try to destroy the Pure Hearts. The Pure Hearts look like the Chaos Heart, but smaller and brighter so they shouldn't be hard to miss. Any questions?"

No one spoke. It sounded simple enough, at least to Mimi.

"The second thing I want to say, is that Count Bleck as found a new minion to join us. He was the missing fourth person Count Bleck mentioned when you first arrived. It took awhile, but he finally found his way here."

Stepping to the side, a new person appeared on the pedestal and stood beside Count Bleck.

He was a tall Italian man wearing all black clothing with a green bandana around his neck and green hat. He had a black mask to hide most of his face and a great big mustache. His eyes were bright blue, though they had a bit of a blank expression to them.

"This is the last member of our team," Count Bleck said. "This is Mr. L."

Mr. L gave an arrogant smirk.

"So, you three are my coworkers? Strange, I was expecting something more impressive looking..."

O'Chunks narrowed his eyes.

"And what it that supposed to mean?"

"Well, from the way you were described," Mr. L explained coolly. "I was expecting you three to be amazing looking or something. And from the way you speak in that thick, unintelligible accent, I'm assuming you are O'Chunks."

O'Chunks popped his fists together in response. Mr. L smirked and then turned to Mimi.

"You must be Mimi, the shape shifter. You must be really good at it, as you're the only thing pleasant to look at. Seriously, why is everything here so dark and dull?"

Mimi blinked, but said nothing. Dimentio narrowed his eyes.

Finally, Mr. L glanced over at Dimentio.

His eyes widened briefly, as if something was trying to tick in his mind. Dimentio smiled.

"Ciao, Mr. L. I am Dimentio, master of dimensions and pleaser of crowds. It is...very nice to meet you."

Mr. L glared at him.

"Err...yes. Nice to meet you too."

Mimi glanced over from Mr. L to Dimentio. There was a lot of tension between them. Suddenly, a thought appeared in her mind.

Could Dimentio have met up with Mr. L when he was in the dungeon?

It would explain the fearful look in Mr. L's eyes.

"Now that everyone is acquainted," Count Bleck said breaking the silence. "We can focus on stopping Mario."

He turned to Mimi.

"From what Count Bleck heard, you want to be next to face the hero, Mimi?"

Mimi nodded, excitement glowing in her eyes. Count Bleck chuckled.

"Glad to see the enthusiasm. Count Bleck will let you know when Mario is on the move. I expect him to go hunt for a Pure Heart about every day, so all of you need to be prepared to face him. Count Bleck advices you to train as much as you can, for it is the only thing you can truly do to prepare. Any last comments or concerns?"

No one made a reply.

Count Bleck nodded in response, he and Nastasia teleporting away. O'Chunks mumbled to himself, as he stormed out of the room. Mr. L was right behind him, though he seemed a bit confused. Mimi watched him go.

She smiled slightly.

Perhaps he could solve her problems with Dimentio. Mimi saw the irritated look in Dimentio's eyes when Mr. L complemented her. Perhaps if she could make him jealous, he would finally start to take their relationship seriously.

Maybe a little competition will be enough for him to finally see!

With her plan in mind, Mimi left to catch up to Mr. L.

"Mr. L," she said casually. "Have you've been shown the castle yet?"

Mr. L turned to her, holding a small card in his hand.

"I'm finding my way around," he replied. "Though it is hard to tell where I've been with everything looking the same. Right now I'm looking for my room."

Mimi nodded.

"I agree. It took me awhile to figure out where everything was when I first arrived here. Perhaps I can help you find your room and give you a tour."

Mr. L shrugged.

"If you want. I've got nothing better to do anyway."

"And this is the dining room," Mimi said as she and Mr. L walked in. "This is where we have all our meals. Breakfast and dinner are always at seven, but we pretty much do our own thing for lunch. The kitchen is just through those doors."

She pointed to the doors on the other side of the room. Mr. L looked around.

"I would like this room, if it wasn't all black. The table decorations are really nice, but so dark."

"I know," Mimi replied. "But haven't you said that about every room in the castle?"

"It's my honest opinion. Like my room. Dear God! If I didn't have that window, I probably would be blind going in every time!"

"At least the light switch is right next to the door."

"Yes, but even that doesn't help!"

Mimi laughed.

"So, Mr. L, why did it take you so long to get here? Didn't you get an invitation like the rest of us?"

Mr. L paused for a moment.

"I...think I did. I was walking with someone and a piece of paper blew in my face..."

He gave a blank expression.

"...You know, I don't really remember. In fact, I'm not a hundred percent sure how I got here in the first place."

"Do you have amnesia or something?" Mimi asked concerned.

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter."

Mr. L leaned against the wall.

"What matters is that Mario is stopped. These worlds are too evil to stay, a new world of perfection needs to take place."

"I feel the same way," Mimi replied. "Hopefully, I can stop him when I face him. I've been training very hard since I've came here and I will not let him get away if I can help it."

"I wish you luck, though I doubt just shape shifting will be enough to stop Mario."

"Oh don't worry. I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Mario won't get away from me that easily."

Mr. L laughed.

"Now that sounds interesting. Perhaps later tonight we can train together. After all, I need to get my reputation up somehow."

Mimi rolled her eyes.

"Okay, but don't start crying when you get beaten up by a girl."

Mr. L gave a competitive smile.

"Consider challenge accepted."

Just then, Dimentio came in the room. He slowly approached Mr. L and Mimi, his eyes seeming emotionless.

"Mimi," Dimentio said, "Count Bleck asked me to find you. Apparently, he has found Mario's location. He'll be in the training room waiting to give you orders."

Mimi's eyes brightened up.

"That's great! I'll be right there."

She turned to Mr. L.

"Now you just wait, Mr. L. For when I return, there will be nothing left of Mario!"

Mr. L smirked.

"Don't get your pride destroyed too quickly. I'm still looking forward to our battle tonight."

"As am I."

Mimi glanced over her shoulder, hoping to see a reaction from Dimentio. There was a tint of anger in his eyes, though he didn't say anything. Mimi giggled a bit.

"See you tonight then."

Winking at Mr. L, Mimi slowly walked out of the room. She closed the door behind her, smiling to herself.

Everything was going perfectly!

As Mimi left the room as sassy as she could, Dimentio clutched his fists so tightly that his fingernails were about to break the fabric of his black gloves.

What...what just happened?

Mr. L let out a small laugh.

"Dang, she's got style. I hate to be on her bad side."

Dimentio let out a small chuckle.

"Indeed, it would be a horrid experience."

There was an awkward silence.

"...Well, I've got to get going," Mr. L said, his voice shaking a bit. "I need to get everything in my room settled, you know?"

He quickly made his way to the door. Dimentio teleported in front of him, blocking his path.

"Why leave so soon?" he asked coldly. "I would like to get to know my new fellow comrade a little bit more."

Mr. L backed away, giving a nervous laughed.

"Uh...whatever. Just make it quick."

Dimentio smiled.

He did find it strange how Mr. L went from a pathetic frightened man in a cell to an arrogant bastard acting like he already owned the castle. Or the way his eyes seemed dull.

Count Bleck must have done something to him after I left. There is no way this could be the same man I saw last night.

"So, Mr. L," Dimentio finally said, "you've been absent for quite some time. Is there a reason for it?"

"What is it to you?" Mr. L questioned. "It doesn't seem like any of your business."

"Why are you getting so defensive about it?"

Dimentio moved a bit closer to him.

"I'm just asking a simple question. Is it a touchy subject for you?"

Mr. L glared at him, backing into the table.

"Have you ever heard of personal space?" Mr. L demanded. "Look, I don't have time for this. I need to get my stuff organized."

Dimentio smirked, amused at his fear and anger.

"Of course. I'm sorry to keep you. We'll have time to talk later."

He backed away a bit.

"However, must warn you of one thing. Be sure that you know where your place is here. Because if you step out of line, or start to take things that don't belong to you, I'm afraid there will be some consequences."

Dimentio summoned a small solid yellow and purple sphere in his hand. He then crushed with all his strength, the sounds of it cracking under the pressure.

Mr. L flinched a bit. Dimentio smiled.

"I'm glad we had this chat, Mr. L," he said as he teleported away. "Ciao."