The red-cloaked ancient watched as the girl in orange left, then looked back at his house. It was a mess of memories, filled with countless scrolls and books he couldn't quite understand, but couldn't bear to let go. It was strange, how part of him was fighting so hard to move away from that old life while another part of him still held onto every item that represented the home and life he once had.

He walked over to the wall and traced his hand over the stars painted on it. Merlon always loved stars.

He had painted a few flowers as well, though they were harder to see because they were smaller and lower on the ground. Bleck liked them, which he was grateful for. It was comforting to see that aspect of him carry over to who he was now.

Sometimes, it still felt unbelievable. Of all people, he was the one still standing. He was the one still there, even though he was perhaps the one who deserved it the least. But he wasn't that person anymore. He wasn't an executioner, he was a founder. He built Flipside and Flopside up from the ground in hopes of creating a place where people of all different backgrounds could come together. All to keep Merlon's dream alive, all to build that perfect world his old friend and his son had always wanted.

He took a deep breath, then waved his hand. 

He teleported and landed in a white room. It took a moment for his head to stop spinning after teleporting so far. Pins and needles seemed to prickle at his hands, as they always did when he used more power than he had.

"Countess?" he asked, raising his voice slightly. He brushed his hood off and held his hands by his mouth in an attempt to amplify his voice. "Timpani, I need to talk to—"

"Go away," she said from behind him.

Pierre flinched and whirled around. She was crossing her arms and glaring at him with a gaze so fiery it could almost make him sweat, and he never sweated anymore. The constant state of being ice-cold was hard to get used to, but eventually, he stopped noticing it.

She looked slightly smaller. Still angry, but she looked paler... a little weaker. He remembered her as a young girl, sitting beside Blumiere in that meadow with ribbons tied in her hair.

"Are you going to give it to me?" she asked.

He shook his head no.

"Timpani... we don't have to fight."

"Then give it to me."

"No," Pierre said, holding his hands up. "Just listen, please—"

"No pixl, no negotiation," she hissed.

"Timpani, please try to understand," he begged, stepping forward when she suddenly reached forward and harshly shoved him back.

"Don't," she warned. "I've tried to be civil. I've told you how to stop this. I begged you to hand Bleck over so this fight could stop. But you said no, you always said no!"

"I can't hand him over," Pierre breathed, stumbling back. "But doing this... it's not going to make the pain go away. We can figure something out, something better for everyone! I have everything I need to fix it now."

"It's a little late for that," Countess Tippi scoffed, turning away.

His eyes softened slightly. He spent years trying to despise her. Trying to partially blame her for what happened and hate her for how she allowed her hatred and anger to turn into something so dangerous. But she was just as scared and desperate as he was. 

The difference between them was that he had Bleck, and she didn't.

"Go back, Pierre," she demanded. "There's no stopping this. Send your little heroes in. We'll see which side wins. Light or dark."

He let out a sigh, then turned away.

He should have known that of all the people in the world, he was the last one she'd ever listen to.

He waved his hand, then teleported to the top of Flipside Tower, where the heroes were waiting to embark on the final portion of their long quest.

The heroes all stood in front of the doorway to Countess Tippi's castle. The last section was near. All their hard work had led up to this very moment.

"Pierre, there you are!" Bleck chimed as soon as the red-cloaked man was able to get his balance. Pierre nodded and quickly pulled his hood up over his head, then held his hands behind his back. He opened his mouth to speak but needed another moment to catch his breath.

"You took forever," Prince Mario complained, raising his eyebrows. "We probably could be finished with this by now, but Bleck insisted on waiting for you."

"It's so he could see us off and maybe give us some words of wisdom," Bleck chimed. "After all, nothing will ever be the same again after this."

"Ha, wisdom? From that guy? That's funny," King Boo laughed.

Pierre chuckled along, though he wasn't fully present.

Bleck turned to face the large white doorway before them.

"This is the final door. All the Chaos Heart fragments, coming together in the arms of four legendary heroes to take down the Light Prognosticus..." the pixl explained with determination lining his tone. "We have all made it this far because we believe in a balanced and peaceful future. I know we can do this!"

King Boo slowly clapped as Mario impatiently tapped his foot. Daisy and Peach were used to these words of wisdom, though. They were often given before major challenges and final bosses. And, as far as inspiring speeches go, Bleck's wasn't all that bad.

Bleck then turned to look back at Pierre.

The red-cloaked ancient was silent and still, watching with wide eyes.

"Anything you want to add?" Bleck questioned.

Pierre didn't move.

Bleck looked from side to side, then cleared his throat. Pierre was supposed to also say something inspiring and uplifting, right? Or maybe even something silly. Bleck always looked forward to when Pierre spoke during important moments like this, his words always made him feel so important and hopeful. When Flopside and Flipside first came to be and Pierre made a speech, the pixl remembered thinking that Pierre must have been the smartest, best public speaker in the entire universe, even though the speech was fairly silly. Was it wrong of him to expect something as hopeful and positive now?

Pierre just paused for what seemed like an eternity, then shook his head, as if he had nothing to say.

"Oh," Bleck muttered, briefly looking down before turning back to look at Peach. "Well, should we be off? Let's go save all these worlds from destruction! We must hurry, for the void continues to grow."

Peach grinned, then looked around herself at all her friends. Prince Mario, King Boo, Daisy, they all had their own strengths. They were each strong on their own, but together... they were unstoppable.

She then turned her attention to Bleck, the pixl who started this all for her.

"Bleck," she started. "I don't know where we'd be without you—"

"Don't go!" Pierre suddenly interuppted.

All four heroes turned to look at him, Daisy raising an eyebrow while everyone else looked confused.

The pixl froze and looked back at Pierre, confused as well.

"....Huh?" the small pixl questioned.

"Please," Pierre begged, turning his attention specifically down to Bleck as if he were talking to him and only him. "Please, don't go."

"What? But Pierre, this is what we've spent our entire lives planning. We have to—" Bleck started.

"Don't," Pierre interrupted, trembling more and more by the minute. "Please. Bleck, please stay here."

"But we must go," Bleck argued. "What's gotten into you? The Dark Prognosticus states that the heroes must go and—"

"We'll send them without you," Pierre cried. He almost looked sick. His eyes looked like they would shatter at any moment. "You don't have to be there anymore! I know I said you did before, but I... maybe you don't! I think it's best if you don't."

"I have to go," Bleck replied calmly. "Besides... I like going out there and exploring the world. Yes, I love Flopside... but I don't want to go back to just hanging out with you and waiting for the heroes to come. I don't want to go back to waiting for my life to start. This... when I'm out there helping, it's like I can finally understand why you think I'm so important."

"You always were important," Pierre urged. "You don't have to go on an adventure to prove it."

The pixl stilled for a moment, then shook his head.

"No," Pierre begged, his voice getting slightly softer. "No, please don't go. I-I don't know if you'll return. I don't know if she'll let you return. What if you get hurt and I can't protect you?"

"Peach is here," Bleck pointed out. "And... I'm capable of protecting myself, now. You've taught and trained me well, Pierre. I promise I'll be okay. And... after this is done, I'll come back here and tell you all about all the cool things I've done. I'll be the one telling stories this time, and everything will be okay!"

"Yeah," Peach nodded. "He'll be alright. Besides, we need him."

"I need him," Pierre replied, his voice just barely above a whisper. He sounded desperate now.

His mind went back to the moment when Blumiere disappeared into the darkness for the first time as members of the Tribe of Darkness forced him to sit by and do nothing as his son was taken to his death. That was the single worst day of his life, and now it was repeating. It was happening all over again.

He knew this would always happen, the Dark Prognosticus said it would always happen, but he never came to terms with what the book was saying until just then. He was doing all this to save Blumiere, but what if he lost him in the process again? 

Back when he was young, he met with Merlon solely to save Blumiere from his fate as an executioner, and look where that got everyone. If something bad happened, it would be his fault again.

"I'll be alright," Bleck breathed, his voice gentle and reassuring, like it usually was.

"Please..." Pierre begged, voice breaking. "I... I promised I wouldn't let anything hurt you. I promised I'd keep you safe."

He couldn't take this anymore. He couldn't survive the same thing again. Maybe the person he was before could survive something so terrible, but he wasn't that person anymore. He wasn't a cold, ruthless executioner who had grown used to seeing the light leave people's eyes. He was Pierre now, not just the executioner. 

"This is fate, right?" Prince Mario asked. "I didn't want to be here either, but I remember what you said to me. About how important this was, about how much it meant to you. We kinda have to go. To save all worlds."

Pierre fell silent again. He wanted to say Bleck was worth more to him than all worlds, but he couldn't speak anymore. All he could do was desperately try to prevent himself from breaking down more. He couldn't win this fight, he knew that much. No matter how badly he wanted Bleck to listen and stay with him, he knew the pixl better than that.

Pierre lowered his head and quietly sobbed, grateful that the hood covered his face and hid how pathetic he must have looked.

Bleck had to come back. He just had to. So Pierre could tell him everything, so he could apologize for everything the person he used to be did, so he could apologize for everything he still did, because he knew better than anyone how imperfect he was. Even now, after changing so much, he had a long way to go.

Pierre let out a shaky breath, then held up his hand.

"Please... come back safe," he whispered before vanishing.

The heroes all remained silent, looking at the space the red-cloaked ancient once stood in.

"What was that about?" King Boo asked, frowning and tilting his head slightly to the left.

"Isn't it obvious?" Mario shrugged with a smirk. "Pierre went a little crazy."

Peach placed her hands on her hips and squinted her eyes, deep in thought. After a moment, she turned her gaze to Bleck, hoping that he might have had an answer. She knew he couldn't use his tattle ability on Pierre, but he had to know something, right?

Bleck seemed to just float there as if he was zoning out.

"Hey, you okay?" Peach asked. "Do you know what that was all about?"

Bleck paused as if he was trying to figure it out, continuing to space out while Daisy nervously fidgeted, looking down.

She couldn't help but feel for Pierre. A part of her wanted to not let Bleck go for him... but she knew she couldn't do that. Bleck was the glue that held this group together. 

"I..." Bleck started, looking down. "I have no idea."

He then let out a light laugh, dismissing the entire situation. "Pierre's just a weirdo. You can never truly tell what he's thinking. Heh heh..."

He seemed to pause, almost looking guilty, then he turned to the large door.

"Let's... let's just go..."