If I could talk, I would have been speechless. I just- I couldn't believe she was here.

Timpani briefly looked at me and gave me a quick smile, then she turned to Dimentio to make sure he was okay. Meanwhile, Mr. L made his way down the stairs on the side opposite Peach and Mario. He actively avoided his brother's gaze as he made his way down to me.

"I suppose you're wondering how we found you," Mr. L chuckled.

I nodded. That indeed was one of the MANY things I was curious about.

"Long story short, I broke out of my little room to find Timp. I figured that you would be more useful with her around, Mr. SeparationAnxiety," he said with a half-joking tone. 

He was starting to sound more and more like his old self. It was refreshing to hear him call me that. I didn't even feel insulted. 

"Hey, you're the guy I ran into earlier!" Timp exclaimed after she was done making sure Dimentio was okay. The jester still was silent, but he didn't seem hurt, so she quickly ran down the stairs and over to me, smiling a perfectly beautiful smile. "That was awful brave what you did, facing that Angel like that. It's nice to see you again! Mr. L calls me Timp!"

She held her hand out as if asking for me to shake it. As always, I was somewhat heartbroken that she couldn't remember any of the life we led together before all of this. Even so, I counted myself lucky that I just got to be around her, even if she didn't have her memories. 

I reached forward and shook her hand, relaxing slightly as I did. 

"This is Blumiere," Mr. L explained. "Remember the cycle thing I explained to you before you got here? He was basically your best friend in previous cycles."

I wouldn't have used the term best friend, but sure.

"Oh? No wonder he gave me a familiar feeling!" Timpani giggled, taking her hand back. "Well, it's a pleasure to see you again, Blumiere!"

Blumiere.

It had been so long since she called me that.

I couldn't help but smile at her. Yes, I had been making sure to stay away from her in order to prevent myself from falling back into my old habits, but we were far enough along on this journey. I wasn't going to let her go again. 

Peach and Mario slowly came down the stairs, acting somewhat shy as if they were afraid of interrupting the rest of us. Not that I minded. There were many long-awaited reunions happening all at once. Meanwhile, Dimentio stayed frozen in place. I was going to probably have to check on him in a moment, just to make sure he wasn't having a stroke or something of the sort. 

Mario carefully took his arm away from Peach, then stepped up to Mr. L.

The man in green tensed up for a fraction of a second then relaxed slightly and smiled.

"Hey Mario," the man in green breathed.

Mario's eyes seemed to light up. I could tell that he wasn't sure whether or not Mr. L would recognize him. After all, there were many previous cycles where the man in green DIDN'T recognize his older brother. 

"Mario..." Peach trailed off. "Wait, IS THAT YOUR NAME?!" 

She looked at Mario with wide eyes while he grinned and shrugged. 

"Yeah," Mr. L chuckled. "He's my brother."

"YOUR BROTHER?!" Both Timpani and Peach gasped at the same time. 

I already knew that Mr. L and Mario were related, but I was somewhat shocked by the way the man in green just admitted that so casually. During his time at Castle Bleck, before the world fell, his attitude towards his brother wasn't exactly positive.

I honestly was relieved to see that he wasn't still angry. Truthfully, Mr. L never wanted to be angry at him. I just had Nastasia tap into that jealousy hidden deep within him in order to make him a better minion.

"Well, as fun as this reunion is, we need to get out of here and FAR AWAY from whoever that crazy man who captured us is," Mr. L breathed.

"Crazy man?" Timpani asked. "Wait, do you even know him?"

"No, but he's our enemy," Peach explained. "I mean, he ordered everyone to get Brooks."

"I know," Timpani started. "But... there have to be reasons, right? And maybe you think you know what those reasons are, but the truth is, nobody really knows anything about anyone else. You can never tell what someone is really thinking or what they're really like. I think if we just... find him and talk to him, maybe we-"

I immediately started shaking my head. There was no way I was EVER letting her get anywhere near my father. I already knew exactly who he was and what his plans were. I don't care if we would have to be stuck in this world for all eternity. It was preferable to letting him win. 

"I don't think he likes that idea," Peach stated as if that wasn't obvious. 

"Of course he doesn't," Dimentio said, finally speaking out. His voice was smaller than usual. "It's a terrible plan. I... know what we have to do."

All of us looked up at him. He was still up on the balcony, next to Mimi's body, which had faded to a puddle of ink. I knew very well that she was somewhere else, being reformed. She wasn't gone forever. Hopefully, we could figure this mess out before she comes back.

He looked down at us, then slowly walked down the stairs. He was slightly shaky, but not in the way he usually was, if that makes any sense. He didn't look like he was about to explode and start screaming at us. He looked quiet and meek, which was a strange look on him, I'll admit.

He walked up to the man in green, then took his mask off. He held it to the side, then dropped it onto the ground.

"You came back," he muttered.

Mr. L paused, then awkwardly started scratching the back of his head.

"Well... I promised I'd help you make music again, right?" 

Dimentio stilled, then slowly nodded. 

"Right..."

There was silence for a moment. Neither of them said anything. If circumstances were normal, I would assume that there was something going on between them. It almost seemed like there was chemistry. 

Wait, was there chemistry? Honestly, I have always been so focused on myself and my own plans, that I hardly noticed when there was chemistry between the people around me. 

Has there always been chemistry?! How long has this been going on?!

"Um," Peach started, clearing her throat. "Were you going to explain what we have to do, or..?"

Dimentio nodded, seeming to snap out of whatever strange trance he had been in. He turned away from the man in green, then slowly began to pace. I noticed him step on his cardboard mask, leaving an inky footprint on it. 

"Super Dimentio," he answered.

Super what?

Oh no, was he going to start talking about some random plan that involved him being a superhero? Dang it, JUST when I thought he finally got his sanity back.

"Super Dimentio?" Mr. L questioned. "What in GRAMBI'S name is that?!"

Dimentio shrugged. 

"I don't know."

What?! Then why would he bring it up?!

Sometimes I forget how confusing Dimentio was in this world. Actually, scratch that, Dimentio has ALWAYS been confusing. 

"Just... listen," he breathed.