"Didi, happy birthday!" Piper held up a neatly-wrapped box. The wrapping was yellow with a purple bow on top.

He turned it over in his hands. "You know I like purple more than yellow, right?"

"Ah, I knew dad got something wrong."

"You were the one who gave him the instructions!" Emerald teased.

"Shut up, Em! Nobody asked you!"

He couldn't believe it, he was ten years old today! It's been five years since...He didn't want to think about it right now, today was his happy day! Oni and Power Sprite children get their powers at ten, and he couldn't wait to see what his were.

He wanted to open Piper's gift first. "Okay! Peppi, you're first!" He tore off the wrapping and bow and pulled out something hard.

It was a black and white jester's mask.

It was too big for his face.

"Peppi! Why did you shove your stupid obsession of clowns into my birfday for?!" He covered his mouth, embarrassed that his lisp slipped out.

"It's a jester! They get paid tons of money to perform for Kings and Queens! Plus, they can make fun of people without punishment!"

"Fey wear dumb hats!" He responded. He blushed. Not the lisp again...

"What's wrong with a hat with bells on it? I think they're cute!"

"You're so weird for liking clowns-"

"I told you it was a jester! How about this? We become jesters when we gwow up, and you can make fun of me then. Deal?"

"Fine, but only if I getta wear purple and yellow!"

"I'll be black and pink then!" Piper cheered.

"What about me?" Emerald asked. "Do I get to join you?"

"Not until you get over your fear of clowns!" He snapped back.

"I'm not scared of them!"

He held the mask to cover his face and quickly faced Emerald yelling "Oogly Boogly!"

Emerald screamed. "Didi! That's no fair! I wasn't expecting that!" He tried not to cry.

He and Piper laughed. "You're so sensitive all the time. Loosen up a bit, Em!" Piper exclaimed excitedly.

"I told you to not call me that, Didi." He calmed down a bit. "Has your Dimensia acted up recently?"

His gaze went to the floor. "Now fat you mention it..." He hated his lisp.

Reality seemed to distort for a quick moment before fixing and he could see himself standing in front of a mirror. He was clothed in his now casual attire.

"See, Peppi? I did it for you. I became a jester, just like what we agreed on. And I also became a mercenary! Aren't you proud of how far I've come?"

Silence.

He sighed and tore the bow off the front of the collar. "Who am I kidding? You're dead, and there's nothing I can do about it." He walked out.

Reality distorted again and this time showed Count Bleck towering above him. He knew this was turning into a nightmare, this never happened.

"What if she's still alive, Dimentio, and she's disappointed in what you've become?" He faded away to reveal Mimi standing in his place.

"You told me I remind you of her. Does that mean you'll backstab me too, Didi?" She too vanished.

The last one was the scariest one of all. It was his younger self, angry and disappointed at him. He was the first, in a long time, to call him by his full name.

"Are you happy now, Didinoloc? After everything you've done, are you happy about your fate? After all, you're the insane one. The one who gets too attached. The one who gets left behind. How would it feel to be the one trapped in that fire you caused? I bet it would hurt, and leave you with scars you could never escape from."

He jolted awake with a scream. Panting heavily, he looked around. He was alone, in the dimly illuminated room that he was recovering in. Olive was sleeping on a chair near his bed. His breathing slowed, and he relaxed a bit.

"Why is he still here?" He examined the clock. "It's four in the morning...Does he really worry about me that much? Why should he? I've been awful." He sat alone for a moment. "I feel much better today...maybe I might be able to leave?" His gaze, despite how many times he looked away, kept coming back to Olive.

He tapped the bed a few times, then decided to wake him and tell him he could leave.

He cleared his throat. "Olive."

Olive stirred. "Hm..."

"Olive, get up."

Dimentio saw him open his sapphire eyes and move his gaze to him. "Huh...? Master?" He rubbed his eyes to remove the overtaking desire to fall back to sleep. "You can move now? Does that mean you're feeling better...?"

"I think so. You should leave, Olive. You shouldn't have to worry about me so much."

"Why not? You've-" He was stopped by a yawn. "You've proven you can change, and I promised Olly I would help you do so..."

"You promised Olly? I thought he didn't like promises."

"He's changed too. Everybody's worried about you, Master."

"You can just call me Dimentio. It sounds weird, calling me Master, when you're not following my orders anymore."

"Okay, Dimentio. I can leave, if you want me to. I've been making sure you recover properly. It's not that I don't trust the doctors here, it's more like that I wasn't informed how bad your status was! I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to die..."

"It'll take more than that to kill me, and you should know it. Now get out."

Olive stood. "I'm glad to see you being nicer." He exited the room.

"Nicer? I'm not any nicer than I have been, am I? Ooh, that Olive gets on my nerves!" He huffed and crossed his arms. "That dream...That was the first time I ever had a dream like that. I hope it doesn't mean anything terrible..." He flopped back down onto his pillows. "Olive's a weakling. He's too soft. He'll get eaten alive." He yawned. "So Olly better protect him, because I surely won't."

He dozed off to sleep.