"There we go now. Nice and tight... we wouldn't want our special guest roaming away now, would we~?" His voice breathed while my vision and consciousness slowly returned. I tried moving, only to find that I had been tied in place.

I blinked a few times and looked up at him. 

He didn't look like himself. Not at all. I could tell it was him by the voice, but his whole body had been covered in ink.

No...

His whole body was MADE of ink. He still wore his puffy jester pants, but his cloak was gone, revealing a black tank top. His arms were all dark, as was his neck. His mask wasn't the mask I was used to either. Instead of his usual theatrical mask, he wore a cutout of Inky's face over his own. 

He chuckled, taking a step back and crossing his arms. "I must admit, I'm honored you came all the way down here to visit me. It almost makes what I'm about to do seem... rather cruel. But believers must honor their savior. I must have him notice me..."

"D...Dimentio?" I asked, still barely on the verge of consciousness.

He drew back slightly. I couldn't tell what expression was on his face behind the mask. (If he even had expressions anymore. I had NO IDEA what the ink had done to him. It was clear this was NOT the Dimentio I knew. Yes, I know Dimentio was insane, but... this felt different.)

"That face... you look familiar to me..." he muttered. His voice was cold, yet I could tell he wasn't teasing me or messing with me.

Did he not remember me?

"It's me, idiot!" I hissed. "Mr. L? You know, the guy you nearly killed before disappearing. What was up with that, by the way? What the heck is going on!? What did you do this time, Dimentio?!"

He stilled.

"Dimentio...?" He muttered, cocking his head to the side slightly. "...Huh. That's me... isn't it? Dimentio..."

I frowned. Why was he acting so weird about it? It was like he was just remembering what his own name was. 

"Huh?" I asked. "Obviously. What's wrong with you?! Do you have brain damage or something-"

"Not now!" He interrupted, his confusion seeming to vanish and be replaced with excitement. "I've no time for confusing memories. For our lord is calling to us, Mon petit mouton~! The time of sacrifice is at hand! Ah ha ha ha!"

I felt the color drain from my own face.

Sacrifice?

What the heck was he going to do to me?! 

Was this going to be like the execution box all over again?!

"S-Sacrifice?!" I asked. "What- why?! I just want to get out of here! Is that too much to ask?!"

"Oh, no, no, no," Dimentio cooed, slowly walking behind the chair I was tied to. I could hear his footsteps behind me. Each step he took left inky footprints on the floor. His breath was cold.. "It is not too much to ask, for I have been asking for the same thing ever since we arrived in this prison..."

"What?" I cried out. "Um, care to explain?"

"With pleasure," he smiled, chucking to himself. He kneeled down, then used the ink dripping from his hands to draw a circle around the chair I was tied in. He crawled around the floor, drawing a star within the circle, all while quietly laughing. Then, he grabbed a few of the handles he had lining the hall and placed them on each point of the star.

"Uh... Dimentio?" I started.

"Hush, Mon petit mouton..." he whispered, still laughing to himself. "The ink demon, he is our savior. Our hero. With this sacrifice... he will be grateful and I will finally be freed from this prison. Aha ha ha... this dark... inky abyss I call a body will return to what it once was, and I will go home, free at last!"

"What?! Have you lost your mind?!" I squeaked. "Are you talking about the distorted monster?! Dimentio, I don't think that... that thing is good by any means. Just untie me and together we can figure a way out of here. Come on. You know me-"

"SHHHH," he shushed, pressing an inky finger to my lips. His hand felt cold and so not right. "Quiet! Listen... I can hear him... aha... I can hear him crawling above! Crawling!"

I shivered, noting the sounds of something moving around above us. It sounded like loud footsteps.

I felt very unsafe.

Dimentio excitedly looked around, then clapped his hands, taking a few steps back so he was outside of the circle. 

"Let us begin. The ritual must be completed!" He giddily exclaimed. "Soon he will hear me... he will set us free! The nightmare's over!"

With that, he sat down in the corner of the room, excitedly waiting while my heart raced in fear.

"Dimentio?!" I asked, trying to break loose. "Dimentio, untie me right now. Look, I'm fine if you want to worship weird ink demons or whatever, but leave me out of it. Please?!"

"Hush..." he muttered, closing his eyes. He looked calm and content. "Trust in our savior, mon petit mouton..."

Yeah, well, his "savior," chased me down a hall while growling and flooding the castle with ink, so... trust wasn't really an option. 

"Sheep, sheep, sheep... it's time for sleep. Rest your head... it's time for bed..." he quietly sang, giggling softly between phrases.

Nope, nope, nope. I did NOT want to be here. If this was a nightmare, now would have been a great time to wake up. I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't sign up to be sacrificed while Dimentio creepily sang in the background. That was NOT how I wanted to spend my day.

"In the morning, you may wake. Or in the morning, you'll be dead..." Dimentio sang.

I want out, I want out, I want out.

Dimentio clapped three times.

"Hear me, Inky, and arise from the darkness! Arise and claim my offering!!" Dimentio cried out, holding his arms up. "Free me! I beg you!"

I want out, I want out, I want out.

"I summon you, ink demon! Show your face and take this tender sheep-" Dimentio started, when a blur of black darted through the room, tackling him to the floor. 

I could only gasp and watch with wide eyes as the demon growled a low, dangerous growl at Dimentio, who seemed a mix between confused and betrayed.

"What, no! No, my lord! S-stay back! T-This is a misunderstanding. I am your prophet!" Dimentio cried out, trying to push the distorted demon off of him, only for his hands to pass through the ink like a liquid. "I-I am your- AGH, STOP! Please!!"

I couldn't want anymore. I closed my eyes and turned my head away, wincing upon hearing Dimentio screams in terror until they finally subsided.

Once the screams faded to nothing, I looked over at the monster, who was standing over nothing more than a puddle of ink and a broken mask. I couldn't help but gasp in horror when the demon turned to face me, then slowly began stalking closer.

New plan; Forget an escape. Just escape the ink demon.

I squirmed, knocking the chair I was tied to over and breaking it. Finally freed, I grabbed my flashlight, flicked it on, and ran down the halls.

I ran down the hall, past another door, then quickly put a board up, separating me and the demon. I could only hope that the walls could stop it.

I waited in blissful silence for a moment before letting my guard down. I couldn't even catch my breath. 

What happened to Dimentio?! Was he- did the ink demon- he was okay, right?

I knew better than that. I know what I saw. I know what I heard...

I normally wasn't afraid, but oh my Grambi... no wonder Luigi was such a coward when it came to haunted houses. Although, I'm not sure if I would classify this castle as a haunted house. No, this was on a whole other level of horrific. 

A small part of me wanted to go back and see what was left of Dimentio. That pile of ink... was that really him? Was he really gone? Just like that? Could a person like him really disappear so quickly?

I had a hard time believing it. Perhaps I was just going through denial. 

It felt easier to deny that he was gone instead of facing the wave of feelings that would come with the truth. 

Wait, would I even be sad if he died?

He never was all that kind to me. He almost killed me multiple times now. There are no good reasons why I should care about him.

Then again... I didn't really know him. Not the real him. The him who loved music.

In those last moments before he fell silent... he sounded afraid. Truly afraid. I could tell this whole world wasn't his doing. It couldn't have been. He wanted to escape as much as I did. He was like me. Afraid and looking for a solution.

If he was willing to go to the lengths of summoning a demon and sacrificing me... then escaping clearly wasn't going to be as easy as finding a door and walking out. 

Still, I wasn't going to give up. I was going to find a way out of there, even if it killed me. I wasn't going to fall into madness. I wasn't going to accept this new world. I was THE man in green, after all. If anyone could find their way out, it would be me. 

If I do escape, not if, when. When I do escape, maybe I can learn an instrument or two. I know it's a little late now... but I still want to get to know Dimentio better. I still want to understand him. It's not the same, but maybe by understanding music, I'll learn more about who he was. Who he really was. Not the insane jester he presented himself to be, but the Dimentio beneath the mask.

I felt like I owed it to him. After all, he died alone. He died feeling betrayed by someone he thought was his savior. Yes, it was partially his own fault, but I still felt sorry for him. Dying that way was truly pitiful. He died before anyone could understand him. He died before he could feel free again. He died not as Dimentio, but as a crazy lunatic who was willing to sacrifice someone who once saw themselves as his friend. 

I never wanted to die like that. If I were to die, I would want to die as myself. The real me. Not the cocky, arrogant genius I presented myself to be, but as the man who refused to give up. As a man who was determined to search for a greater understanding. 

That's the person I was going to die as. It didn't matter if I boiled down to being remembered as a hero or a villain. As long as I was still me in the end, I would consider my life a success. 

Now, what to do...

I clearly couldn't go back the way I came. I wasn't about to face that monster again. I usually wasn't one to admit to being afraid, but... well, that thing was terrifying. After seeing what it did to Dimentio... well, I could only hope that I would never have to see it again.

However, I had no idea how to push forward. I couldn't see any tape recorders lying around ready to give me a clue. Yes, the hallway stretched onward, but I had no idea who or what was waiting for me around the corner. If Dimentio was trapped in here, then there was no saying who else I may encounter. 

I nervously swallowed, then started forward, when a small can of bacon soup slowly rolled from behind the corner. 

I jumped slightly and stepped back, holding my flashlight with both hands out in front of me as if it would protect me. I wasn't usually that scared, but I felt rather jumpy after what had just happened.

"Hello? Is someone there?!" I asked, shaking slightly. "I-I know you're here. Come out and show yourself."

I waited in silence for a moment, when someone slowly walked out from around the corner, silent.

It was...

"Brooks?" I asked, lowering my flashlight.