Inside Castle Bleck 8: Rise of the Green Thunder

Mr L and Dimentio sat in an awkward silence having been summoned to Count Bleck's private closet, a small but sumptuously decorated room off the side of the Presence Chamber. Count Bleck sat at the desk behind a sheaf of papers apparently ignoring them.

He put the papers down and regarded them coldly. In a voice quiet with rage he spoke.

"I have heard reports of you two fighting. Unacceptable!" He shouted. " I cannot accept dissent amongst my minions - it is imperative you follow my orders otherwise the plans for the cleansing of this cosmos will be voided. You will have that on your conscience for the rest of your games!

"Mr L, I expected better from you. You swore your fealty to me and you would follow my orders without question?"

"Yes Count." Mr L said nervously.

"So was there any point I gave you permission to assault your fellow minion Dimentio?".

"No Count." Replied Mr L, his tension rising.

"SO WHY DID YOU DO IT?!" Hissed the Count, his face pale, his monocle flaring red.

Mr L twitched and stuttered " H-He came up behind and, uh and....surprised me! Uh I uh didn't want him to touch me!"

He sagged, now he had said it, he felt deflated as he felt he could not reveal the strange, stomach-twisting sense of danger and dread that he saw when he caught sight of Dimentio idly hovering behind him. Now he had spoken, the incident seemed so much more trivial.

"Oh I see." Said the Count, dripping with sarcasm. "It seems that our jester has forgotten that there are times and places to be a clown and this is not one of them. Tell me - how would you like to spend some quality time entertaining the Toads down in the kitchens? Or the Koopas in the generator room? It would keep you out of my way."

Dimentio's mask showed a look of distain. "No my Count." He said hurriedly.

"Hmm I did not think so, your power are considerable but this is my domain and I have the final word. Do not underestimate my powers, you do not want to come against them!"

"Now, you both know what you need to do. Dimentio, you are to ensure that Mr L does not lack for anything in his endeavour to build a craft to fight those who are against us. You know very well you are on the thin end of the wedge. Trans-dimensional shopping is if anything too light a duty for you after what you have done, but needs must."

Dimentio's mask twitched as it seemed he would speak but stopped as if he felt he'd better not.


"Mr L, you know what to do, but I remind you that you must take care of yourself. The Solarium, Hydroponicum and Gymnasium are at the disposal of all my minions so that they are fit and well at all times. We cannot have people becoming sick in mind and body can we?" The Count said in a slightly less frigid tone of voice.

"Yes Count!" Mr L and Dimentio said almost as a chorus.

"You both know what to do, consider yourselves dismissed!" The Count said. He watched as the two men left his office, walking towards the door without a backwards glance. Once the door had latched back in place he slumped in his great chair and sighed.

What I do for Prophecy and for the good of all, although they do not know nor care, he thought. He seldom allowed himself to indulge in these sombre moods but now that the Void was growing and his plans were unfolding he felt a strange and disturbing new turmoil grow. Dimentio! That was it!

Before he had hired that jester, there had been a companiable dynamic amongst himself and the others. In those days there had been Nastasia, O'Chunks, Mimi and himself. There was plenty to occupy the time in those days; his studies of the Dark Prognoticus, while the minions busied themselves with overseeing the running of the Castle.
He had misgivings about hiring Dimentio, even though Prophecy ordered it as alone out of all those there, he was the only person to have found Castle Bleck intentionally. Even in the early days he had been a loose cannon but after several run-ins with all of the minions at some point, some sort of equilibrium had been established. This had been the way for a few months, when upon checking the Nodes it dawned on him that if he did not act soon the opportunity to locate and recruit the final minion would soon be lost. Having been too distracted with disciplining Dimentio, he realised he had to act fast based on one passage, which roughly translated read as:

One who is rescued
One who wandered in
One saved by others
One who sought you
One you must seek

He closed his eyes - the fifth minion. Mr L. It was the need to obtain him which led him to the conclusion that the Chaos Heart must be created in order to lure him into his presence. It had worked as he showed himself by stamping on the newborn Heart, but barely, as now the growth of the Void was out of his hands. All he could do now was to make sure the Heroes of Prophecy were blocked from assembling the Purity Hearts, the only way to stop the Void and hence the purification of all worlds could be halted.
However, that was just the start of the whole messy business. He cursed himself for thinking it would every be just a case of offering one who was named in prophecy as an agent (or angel) of Chaos, simply the gift of power. Still then,the ends will justify the means, and Nastasia had done well in treating him.
Get a hold of yourself man! This is not a time for softness. Mr L will not disappoint you, he will work to his full capabilities. Dimentio may have the power of dimensions but you have the Dark Prognosticus, you are the executor.
He sighed. Perhaps he should take his own advice. He got up and started to make his own way towards the Solarium.