I wake up the same way every time the world starts over. 

I'm on the ground. I sit up and look around, only to see that I'm all alone once again. Then, I sit and wait for Timpani to find me.

I can't wait for her to find me this time, though, no matter how badly I want to. If I do, then nothing's going to change. I pick myself up and run down the halls. I'm not sure what I'm looking for. I ignore almost all of the tape recorders I pass since I've listened to almost all of them by now. Most don't make sense.

I told myself that I was not looking for my father, but I still found myself thinking of his words.

Every great story begins in mystery. Although things may be dark at the start, the truth will always illuminate the way. Don't be afraid of who you are. Only fear what you may become, and banish it away. 

He used to tell me that, whenever I was feeling afraid of the dark. It never was the most comforting, if I'm being truthful. 

Look at me now. I became exactly what I was afraid of becoming. A villain. 

No one seems to know it was me who broke the world down here. They all fear the Ink Demon and blame him. If they knew, I KNOW they'd look at me the way they look at him. 

As I continued walking, I began to notice more and more. Usually, I walk down this hall by Timpani's side after she finds me. The walls are often decorated with the same cartoonish posters that usually fill the halls. Now? There wasn't a poster in sight.

"Attention, my children," his voice echoed over what sounded like intercoms. 

I knew very well that the castle didn't actually have intercoms. This was a trick that Mimi was able to utilize before, only now the same trick was being used by someone else.

I flinched. It had been so long since I heard his voice, so I didn't expect to hear it so suddenly.

"It is I. Your friend. Your protector. I want you to know that you no longer must live in fear while the Ink Demon haunts you. I have at last banished him away. I have torn his body in two," he explained.

He what?!

No way. No one could actually kill the Ink Demon himself! The Ink Demon wasn't even technically alive! It was just a manifestation of Count Bleck's fears and hatred.

I think...

"In return for my heroics, I only ask of you one thing. There is a wolf among you sheep. The perfect Brooks. I need you to bring him to me."

I shivered, remembering how desperate Mimi was to get her hands on the "Perfect Brooks," only so she could rip out his insides and use him to make her beautiful. I have no idea where she got the idea that finding the perfect Brooks would help her with that.

My father couldn't have possibly wanted the same thing though. He didn't care about beauty. His motives were never clear. 

Still, I didn't like the idea of him looking for me. I know how much the people feared the Ink Demon. If my father truly found a way to end that creature, then I'm sure that all the lost ones would be eternally grateful and would do anything for him, including bringing me to him against my will.

Basically, what I'm saying is that I'm not sure if I can rely on anyone anymore, which was a bummer because I was used to always relying on others. 

I was having a hard time believing my father somehow just magically showed up and found a way to defeat the Ink Demon, however. Ink is a substance. It can't quite be killed. Darkness has spread throughout the world. It grabs ahold of people, stalking closely behind everyone until they give in to it. Darkness cannot be defeated by another being of darkness, and my father was perhaps the darkest person I ever knew. 

At the same time, my father was never a liar. He was always truthful about how he felt and about what he had done. So... I was having a hard time deciding what to believe. Could someone like him really kill the Ink Demon so easily?

I shook my head and continued walking on my own. Eventually, I think I found Mr. L's old room. I remembered the time I sat next to him and looked through his drawing book, simply trying to distract myself. It's funny how a simple distraction can become something so big.

He had a mini-fridge next to his desk. Usually, he'd store shroom shakes in there. However, now when I look, there's nothing but cans of bacon soup. Does bacon soup even need to be refrigerated?

I reached inside and pulled out one of the cans, reading over the label.

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you."

I jumped and whirled around to see her standing there.

It wasn't the face I fell in love with, I'll admit that. But still, I could tell it was her. She was my angel.

"Sorry for scaring you," she breathed, smiling and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "It just... the soup helps restore health, but the aftertaste is horrible. What's your name?"

She never recognized me. I knew she never would, but still, it hurt to see her speaking to me as if we never met before.

I frowned and looked down.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you," she breathed. "You look like you need help. You're him, right? The perfect Brooks that the one who defeated the Ink Demon wants, yes?"

Oh no, she wasn't going to bring me to my father, was she? I wouldn't emotionally be able to handle her being anywhere near him!

I slowly nodded, remembering that she was Timpani. She was the love of my life. I could trust her. I never had to be afraid of her.

She paused for a moment, then slowly smiled at me.

"Don't worry. Let's just say I came in here and found only empty bacon soup cans," she smiled, taking the can from my hand and shaking it slightly. "Hey, uh... I have to go. I'm trying to figure out a way out of here."

Go? She was already leaving me?!

I grasped her arm and shook my head. I know I wasn't technically supposed to just sit around and wait for her to find me, and if I did what I did every other time and just let her lead me around, surely the same thing would happen again, but I didn't want her to leave me behind.

"Hey, you'll be okay. Maybe we'll see each other again, alright?" She breathed, turning away from me. 

It took every ounce of willpower inside me to let her go.

Around here, it's probably best to stay out of sight. People can't just run into places head-on and attack the problem as the classic heroes do, or they'll just end up in trouble. People have to watch, listen, and wait for the time to be right in order to push forward. That's why people like Mario don't make it very far. 

I knew a majority of the layout of the castle fairly well, not from my time at Castle Bleck, but from my time as Brooks during each and every re-run. However, a large portion of the place was unexplored by me since I only ever went where Timpani went. The place I was currently headed was actually uncharted territory for me. Most of the world was unrecognizable to me. I know that this place somewhat disguises itself as the interior of Castle Bleck, but it really wasn't. No building could be this massive. Walls shifted and staircases appeared and disappeared. No one could ever trust their own memory.

I went down a set of wooden stairs into a set of rooms filled with barrels tables, and pillars I didn't recognize. I would have instantly turned around to leave, only the second I tried to, the wooden staircase I had walked down had vanished, leaving behind nothing but a brick wall.

Then, there was a rumbling.

I winced and hugged myself. I missed Timpani. The world never seemed this scary when she was around. I wanted her back.

Was trying to change things really worth this loneliness? What if after all of this, history still just continued to repeat itself? I couldn't let that happen. I was going to have to find Mr. L eventually and prevent him from restarting the cycle. 

But first, I would have to deal with this. 

There was the sound of metal scraping, then a door opening.

In walked one of the lost ones. It wasn't someone I recognized. I could tell by the empty face and the two glowing yellow eyes. It's what practically all the lost ones looked like.

"Brooks..." they called out as they slowly started to search around the room. "Oh, Brooks! Someone important is looking for you."

I tensed up slightly and crouched down behind one of the barrels. They were looking for me. They were looking for me so they could turn me in and take me to my father.

I had to get out of there without them spotting me.

"Brooks.... quit hiding. I'll find you sooner or later..."

I looked around. There weren't many good hiding spots, but if I timed things right, I could stay out of their sight, stay silent, and escape without them seeing.

I watched them walk across the room, then while continuing to stay low, I slowly moved towards another barrel so I could hide. I made sure my steps were soft and quiet so I wouldn't alert them. I could hear the slushing of the ink with each and every step they took. 

I was hit with the fourth feeling I felt when I got into this world. Guilt. They weren't a bad guy, I want that to be clear. I was just avoiding them because I didn't want to be taken to my father, and the only reason they were looking for me for him was that he claimed that he defeated the Ink Demon, (which still may or may not be true.)

I could hear them muttering to themself, but couldn't quite pick up on what they were saying. It did, however, make me miss my ability to speak. I mean, I wasn't able to talk to Timpani and tell her who I was, or better yet, who SHE was. I also couldn't think out loud. I never learned sign language, and there was no way of really learning it down here. I'm sure everyone who knew it either forgot since memory down here is funny, or wouldn't bother teaching me anyway.

I moved as they walked to make sure I stayed out of sight. They checked practically every nook and cranny of the room. If I were being less careful, I probably could have just made a break for it and escaped, but I wasn't going to be taking any chances. People who took chances like that end up hurt. 

They stopped at a table on the opposite end of the room and picked up one of those audio recordings. I took this to be the perfect time to sneak out, so I began slowly making my way toward the door they first came through.

However, I couldn't leave without catching what the audio recording said.

"How could I ever be okay knowing that everyone I ever cared about was being imprisoned like this when none of them deserved it? Dimentio didn't deserve this, Mr. L didn't deserve this, Mimi, Nastiasia, O'Chunks, and Timpani didn't deserve this! I couldn't let things continue to repeat for another twenty years. Enough was enough. I couldn't just stay afraid and silent while everyone around me suffered. I was not okay. I was holding onto too much guilt, and it was going to break me if I didn't find a way to unload it anytime soon. I couldn't speak. I could only act. I had to find a way to fix this. Mr. L wasn't the only creator, so why was everyone putting all the pressure on him? I was the one who did this. Even though I was just as confused as everyone else about why everything happened so differently from how I planned, I was still responsible. I had to do something about it. "

-Brooks

First of all, I couldn't stand the fact that the tape was labeled as Brooks when it clearly came from me. Second of all, I never said any of that out loud. Brooks was physically incapable of speaking. Yet, I vividly remembered thinking those exact words not long ago. 

This place was recording my thoughts. It was recording everyone's thoughts, then leaving them out in the open for anyone to find, which meant my father could find and have access to anything going on in anyone's mind.