The next Chaos Heart fragment was taken just after the strange encounter with that girl, Ms. D. It shimmered a deep blue color, like outer space. The Chaos Heart was one step closer to finally being complete.

Bleck was practically beaming with energy as Peach used the return pipe to take the crew back to the top of Flopside Tower. He knew he and the rest of the heroes were making Pierre proud with each heart fragment they found. On top of that, they were getting closer to saving the world from Countess Tippi.

"I'm glad that's over," Prince Mario breathed as he removed the fishbowl from his head. His hair was slightly messy, which looked strange on him since he was a prince and usually had well-maintained hair.

"Aw, quit being so negative," Peach giggled, gently nudging the prince's shoulder. "I saw that smile on your face while you were flying through the stars. You like this adventuring thing, and you know it."

"Yeah, Mario. You like us," King Boo teased, earning a glare from the prince.

"Like is a stretch," Mario breathed, crossing his arms. "And I'm not having fun. It's just... some parts are interesting, I guess. I wouldn't say I like it, though. I just enjoy seeing new places."

"And the crazy robot lady was fun, too," King Boo added. "She had some pizazz. Peach or Daisy could never."

Peach rolled her eyes, her mind going back to Ms. D. The way she spoke, the emotion behind her voice, it all felt so real. Almost familiar... but she couldn't recall ever meeting anyone by that name.

"Alright, where's Pierre?" Bleck asked, floating around. "Usually he can sense when we come back."

"How?" King Boo asked. "I mean, I noticed that he usually will conveniently show up when we arrive, but I thought that was just because he has no life."

"Well, I'm his pixl, so he senses me I think!" Bleck chimed. "It's how he used to always catch me whenever I tried sneaking out a few years ago!"

"You tried sneaking out?" Prince Mario asked.

"I was having a rebellious phase," Bleck shrugged, quietly laughing to himself.

Bleck figured Pierre was either one of three places; in his house reading, in the library reading, or in a cafe... probably reading.

"Let's go check his house!" Bleck chimed, floating forward, when he suddenly slowed down, his colors dimming slightly. "We... should..."

He sounded like a machine running out of battery and powering down. He slowly stopped floating and fell to the ground, going stiff and still.

Peach flinched as he fell, then ran up to him, kneeling and carefully nudging him.

"Bleck? Bleck, what happened?!" she asked as he remained unresponsive.

"Is he dead?!" Mario exclaimed, his eyes wide and his face paling slightly.

Peach shook her head, unsure how to answer as King Boo floated over and gently scooped the pixl up into his arms.

Peach drew back slightly, pale as well. For one of the first times since this journey started, there was real panic in her eyes. A panic that she had never felt before, even when her adventures seemed the most dangerous. Yes, the gash in the sky was scary and not knowing where Daisy could be made her worry, but if Bleck just died, then how could she continue on? She needed him, the world needed him.

"We need to find the ancient guy," King Boo quickly said. "I'll float down. Meet me there."

For once, his sarcastic and joking tone was gone. It wasn't often that he actually cared about people who weren't boos, but Bleck was different. Maybe he wasn't before, but he was now.

Peach and Prince Mario nodded, then rushed to the elevator as King Boo floated down and frantically knocked on Pierre's door. When there was no answer, he decided to barge in and set the pixl down on the small coffee table in the center.

Peach and Mario weren't far behind. They both rushed in, looking at Bleck. The pixl had still yet to respond or awaken.

The three of them gathered around, unsure how to help him. What would Pierre do once he found out? Could the world still be saved without Bleck?! How did this happen? Why did this happen?!

The three heroes all remained tense, waiting for the silence to be broken and praying to Jaydes that Bleck would wake up when there was a cheerful knock at the door. King Boo, Prince Mario, and Peach all flinched, turning to look at the front door.

"Hey, um, I know you're all in there," Pierre chimed from the outside. "I can feel the Chaos Heart fragment! Great job! My hands are full. Heh, I was at the library and picked up more books, so if someone could get the door, that would be great!

The heroes all froze in place while Pierre continued to knock. He was probably knocking with his foot, based on the fact that his hands were full. Plus, the knocks were louder and seemed to be coming from the bottom of the door.

"Um, hello...? These books are kinda heavy, so it would be nice if you could let me in." Pierre lightly chuckled, completely and utterly oblivious to the tense atmosphere he was about to walk into.

There was another long pause, so Pierre gave up on knocking and suddenly teleported into the room. His hood still covered his face, but as always, he was still smiling through his eyes.

"Hey, is everyone alright—"

His sentence was immediately cut off when his glowing blue eyes landed on the pixl.

He inhaled sharply and froze in place, high spirits seeming to completely drop like icicles falling from a gutter. It was like an unsettling chill had filled the room. He slowly dropped all the books he was holding, allowing them to tumble onto the floor. Never before had his eyes looked so wide and terrified.

He slowly lifted a shaking hand to his hood and brushed it off his head, revealing a terrified expression on his face, which was paler than usual. He looked ill.

Peach couldn't recall ever seeing him look this unhappy. Not when the void was growing, not ever. It was unsettling to see a usually joyful person's spirits drop so suddenly. It didn't feel right. It didn't feel natural.

He reached out to the wall, leaning on it for support. His gaze wouldn't move from Bleck.

"....Everyone needs to listen to me," Pierre breathed. His voice was lower, more serious. "It's going to be okay. He'll be okay."

"What happened?!" King Boo demanded. "He was fine one moment, then he suddenly collapsed—"

"Shh..." Pierre whispered. He held a shaking finger up in front of his own mouth as he slowly kneeled down by the coffee table. "I... I know what happened..."

"What then?!" the ghost king demanded.

Pierre remained silent for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed. He looked concentrated, yet terrified all at once.

"Bleck... Bleck may be losing his ability to maintain his pixl form," the ancient finally explained.

"His pixl form?" Prince Mario questioned. "You mean he has another form?!"

"He does. He did," Pierre corrected, his voice slightly breathier than normal. He always seemed too immature and goofy for the role he was given in all of this, but now? Now, Peach could see why he was in charge of the Dark Prognosticus. He could focus and be serious when he truly needed to me.

"Did?" Peach asked.

"Bleck was not always a pixl," Pierre quietly explained as he carefully pulled Bleck into his arms. His voice was quieter now. "I... years ago... there was an ancient named Merlon who could create pixls. Bleck... he was nearly dead, cursed. His body was shutting down, he couldn't hang on. He should have died. He would have died... if Merlon's magic wasn't used to save him. It saved his spirit, his true self, simply by turning his soul into a pixl."

King Boo frowned slightly.

So... Bleck really did have a mother once. Maybe even a father. He was alive.

"So where's Bleck originally from then?" the ghost king asked.

"He doesn't know," Pierre answered. "When he became a pixl, all his memories of his life were gone."

Pierre kept his blue eyes trained on Bleck, trembling slightly as he spoke, yet his voice had become steady.

"You all put the heart in the next pillar," he stated. "It's in Flipside, our sister city. I'm sure you can find it. I'll... I'll make sure to help Bleck. He'll be okay."

Peach wanted to say something, but what could she say? She couldn't do anything except nod and promise to put the heart where it needed to go.

She briefly looked at Mario and King Boo. They all nodded at one another, then quickly left, leaving Pierre and the pixl alone.

The red-cloaked ancient flinched as the door shut, then immediately burst into tears, clutching the pixl tightly.

"I'll save you," he whispered as he pressed his eyes shut. 

Thick, blue tears pooled at the corners of his eyes and dripped down his face, like heavy raindrops. He set the pixl down once again, then grasped the Dark Prognosticus, quickly flipping through the contents. 

"I'll save you," he repeated. 

He was trembling uncontrollably now. He could hardly hear himself, hardly breathe.

"You'll be okay."  

He closed the Dark Prognosticus, then quickly scanned his line of scrolls until he found a lone page that looked to be torn from some kind of book. He held it up, then used his free hand to summon his staff. It glowed a lighter color, one it almost never glowed.

"You have to be okay," he whispered as he placed the tip of his glowing staff on top of the pixl. "You'll be okay, Bleck."

He shook his head, pressing his eyes closed once again.

He slowly pulled the staff away, then placed his hand on his hood, pulling it back up over his face so no one could see him cry. Not that anyone was there to watch.

"You'll be okay," he repeated, kneeling down by the pixl. "I'll stay here. I'm not moving... I'm not going anywhere. No running away or shutting down. I'll be here until you wake up..."

After a few moments passed, the pixl slowly started to stir. Pierre let out a sigh of relief, then quickly brushed away the frightened, shaky feeling.

"Bleck! You're up," he chimed, his voice returning to what it once was.

"Hmm...?" the pixl asked. "Pierre...?"

"The heroes are putting the heart away. You decided to take a nap, you silly," the ancient laughed. "Don't worry, though. They're probably at the top of the tower, waiting for the next part of your journey to start."

"Oh... sorry..." Bleck trailed off. "I guess I got dizzy."

"Oh, no need to apologize!" Pierre beamed. "I'm just glad you're okay. You are okay, right? Because if you need to, we can wait for you to get better. Or, the heroes can take the next section without you while you rest! I can read to you! You used to like it when I did that. Or we can play games! Like—"

"I'm okay now, Pierre," the pixl chuckled. "Thanks, though. You're a good friend."

"Oh, okay... Whatever you want," Pierre beamed, his voice just slightly quieter than before. "Take things slow, though. I don't want you scaring the heroes. Heh..."

"You don't need to worry about them. Aside from Mario, they don't scare easily!" Bleck chimed, quickly getting up and floating off.

Pierre turned and watched as the pixl quickly floated to the door, eager to get to his friends and help them on their journey.

However, Bleck stilled before flying out.

Pierre frowned slightly, then tilted his head to the side.

"What troubles you?" the ancient asked.

"Nothing, nothing," Bleck breathed. "I just... remember when I used to ask you what love was?"

Pierre fell silent.

The pixl waited for a few moments, then seemed to look down.

"Well, King Boo said it was a bit like wanting someone to belong to you. He said it involved holding hands and stuff, and not wanting other people to have them." Bleck explained.

Pierre slowly nodded to himself, briefly looking down at the scroll in his hands.

"Huh..." he trailed off.

"Huh?" Bleck asked. "Huh, what?"

"I... don't know if I believe that," Pierre said. "I... it's hard to talk about... but I think love isn't wanting someone all to yourself. I think... it's wanting someone to be happy. And safe. It's... the desire to make someone's life better in any way you can. Love isn't just one thing. It's warmth... support, care, empathy, in a way, it's everything."

"Everything..." Bleck nodded, looking down slightly. "Huh... love is big, then."

Pierre quietly laughed, shaking his head.

"Yes... love is very, very big," he nodded. "I think it's bigger than words can explain."