I was currently working on a new, more royal outfit for myself when Dimentio came over to me.

"What are you doing?"

I looked up from my work. "I'm making myself some clothes."

"I didn't know you knew how to sew."

"I folded most of it, there's just some spots that need to be sewn or glued on." I finished the stitching on the spot I was working on. I tested the gloves to make sure I had gotten the size right. "May I ask what you're doing?"

"You said you wanted to talk to me? About what?"

"You need to stop hiding your pain."

"Pain? You think I'm in pain? You really are an idiot."

"You started hiding your pain when you mentioned Puppetino..." I resumed sewing. "You realized she was controlled by Black Rose the whole time."

I glanced up at him to see the pain return to his face. It turned to a scowl, and he faced away from me.

"So what? She isn't important to me! I don't care about her!"

"Then...how come you still have the puppet of her?"

Dimentio snatched it out of his poncho. "What, this thing?! I'll smash it like a toothpick! I'll break it right now!"

He raised his arm above his head, but then he froze. His arm started shaking and he lowered it back down and brought the puppet closer to his chest.

"Who am I kidding? I can't do it..." He leaned against the couch arm, then slid down so he was sitting on the ground. I saw him take of his hat so it'd be harder for me to see him.

"I know you're there, and I know you're in pain. You're hiding it when you should just let it go."

"I...I can't. She was the only person that loved me besides my mother."

"What about Em?"

"I don't think he was really here at all. She was willing to illusion a puppet of you just to get to me, why can't she do the same for Emotio?"

"Emotio? Is that Em?"

"Yeah..." Dimentio put his hat back on. "Peppi gave me this mask. Now it just reminds me of her..." His voice grew shaky.

"So that's why you have a connection to it," I responded. I stabbed myself in the finger with the needle. I ignored it and resumed stitching. "If it hurts, you should do something about it."

"But why? She actually cared about me..."

"Does she still care for you?"

"I-" He looked at the mask. "I...I hope she does. If she even has feelings anymore, I hope she still cares deep down inside."

I was saddened to say that she may not have cared any longer. She now belonged to Black Rose, who cared for nobody. Dimentio was already upset, and I didn't wish to make it worse. I tied off the end of the stitching and cut off the extra string. I quickly folded something and held it out to Dimentio.

"Would this be better? From somebody who wouldn't betray you? From...somebody who actually cares?"

Dimentio grabbed it and looked at it. It was a masquerade mask I made him that matched the colors of his current one.

"Oh? It's..." He put it on his face and it fell down a little. "It's nice?"

"You don't need to lie to me-" I started.

"It's not that I hate it, it's just..." He took it off. "It's not...me."

I saw that his right eye was a black color, and his left was yellow.

"I didn't know you had Heterochromia," I pointed out.

He quickly replaced his mask. "I don't."

"But...your eye is yellow?"

Dimentio clenched his hands into fists, then released them. "I got it from my dad."

"The Heterochromia?"

"No, the eye!"

"They died when you destroyed your home..."

"Just mother did. My dad...didn't."

"Oh? Do tell, you've piqued my interest."

"I don't remember what happened. I was super duper young then. But something happened and I lost my eye..."

"Oh, that sounds terrible."

"Dad gave me his. Demon-type Sprites can do that, so don't make it sound weird or creepy, okay?"

"Demon-type...Sprites?"

"Shut up, I'm sharing my life story here."

"Ah, oops."

"He had, sadly, died after that. I don't remember what he looks like or even how he acted but I don't really care. I mean, how can you miss somebody you haven't even met?"

"I never met my mother..."

"You have a mom?"

"I saw a picture of her and the Origami Craftsman's wedding day. I never saw her before in my life, however. I wonder what happened to her."

"I don't think about it too much," Dimentio said. "If she's dead, you'll see her in the Overthere when you eventually pass as well."

"Yeah, you're probably right..." I smiled at him. "Have you ever thought about your future?"

"What brings that up?"

"I just want to know you better, is all. I'll go first." I thought for a minute. "I want to be a good brother to Olivia and a good King as well. I want to forge a unity between all of the Kingdoms until I pass away happily knowing that I set a good example for my offspring-" My face turned red. "F-forget that last part!"

"I never really thought of mine. At first, I wanted to be a good kid for my parents, but when dad passed...Then, I wanted to be a troublemaker and go down in a blaze of glory so I would be well-known to all. After that, I just wanted to forget everything and restart my whole life over again from the beginning." He pulled his knees closer to himself, crossing his arms and placing them atop of his knees. "But now you've made me second-guess my whole life. Am I supposed to be a good kid, or a bad kid? I don't even know anymore."

"I-I'm..."

"It's okay, King Olly. I don't WANT to care anymore. I just want to see now, where my decisions take me. You've helped me, in a way."

"Are you sure...?"

He nodded. "Thanks for caring but," he held out the masquerade mask to me, "I think I can live past my trouble with Peppi."

I accepted it, and he stood.

"Plus, if Black Rose was REALLY controlling Peppi this whole time, I want to give them a piece of my mind. I'm going to give them a first-hand lession of why you don't mess with me or the people I care about!"

I smiled. "I'm glad we were able to talk again, Dimentio. Remember, don't hide your pain. Alright?"

"Oh, I won't." He pulled his sleeve down a bit. "Not when I have somebody I can use instead, like a punching bag of foolery!"

"There's the Dimentio I know," I said. "Are you ready? The battle is approaching and I want to know if you want to do this."

"Oh, I'm more ready than I was battling Mario and Green 'Stache!"