Dimentio sat down just outside of the entrance, guilt keeping him weighed down. He felt horrible. 

He knew as well as everyone else that the human world was dangerous. He knew that this was probably what was best for Blumiere. This would probably give the kid a wakeup call and snap him to reality.

But... the look in Blumiere's eyes when he spoke about the human world... the way he smiled when thinking about that girl... it made Dimentio feel guilty.

Would Blumiere ever be able to smile like that again? Or was that smile all gone because of Dimentio?

He really didn't mean to tell. He didn't want to tell. But of course, whether he meant to or not didn't matter to Blumiere. What was done was done-

Blumiere suddenly started walking out of the cave, his pace faster than usual. There was a heartbroken, yet determined look in his eyes. 

"Blumiere?!" Dimentio asked, quickly scrambling up and running so he was out in front of the blue boy, holding his hands out to stop him. "Blumiere, what are you doing?"

Blumiere refused to look Dimentio in the eye, keeping his chin raised and his fists clenched. 

"I'm going to see Shadoo," he stated, his voice steady. He gently pushed Dimentio aside and continued walking.

Dimentio's eyes widen slightly. He felt his blood run cold.

"Shadoo?!" Dimentio whispered out of shock, running up to Blumiere again and grabbing his sleeve, trying to pull him back. "Blumiere, you can't! She's a monster! She's a demon!"

Blumiere suddenly turned around and shoved him back, making Dimentio stumble and fall onto his bottom. "Why don't you tell my father, then? You're good at that."

Dimentio winced slightly, Blumiere's words feeling like salt being poured onto an open word. Blumiere's expression hardened as he turned away and continued walking.

"But...I...I..." Dimentio whispered quietly to himself. He couldn't help but look hurt. Not because Blumiere had hurt him, but because Blumiere had been right.

He paused, then stood up once again, rushing after Blumiere. Not only because it was still technically his job, but because this was serious. If he couldn't stop Blumiere, he could at least follow him and get a proper read on the situation.

Blumiere quickly walked out towards a set of larger caves which were closer to the cliffside. Everyone knew where Shadoo remained. It was one of the places adults told children NOT to go under any circumstances.

Blumiere was used to breaking the rules, though. Rules were made to be broken, after all.

He coudln't help but feel nervous as he walked up to the cave entrance. He was already getting unsettling vibes. The entire place looked eerie. 

He knew what Shadoo was. He heard stories. But... he also heard inaccurate stories of the human world, so maybe Shadoo wasn't as bad as his father implied. After all, his father had a habit of making everyone who wasn't a part of the tribe of darkness seem like some sort of monster.

"Come in, come in my child," A voice similar to the voice of the shadow before chimed. Blumiere gasped quietly and peered forward, seeing a shadow similar to the one before, only much larger, step forward. "We mustent lurk in doorways. It's rude."

Blumiere nervously swallowed, then timidly walked forward, his hands brought together in front of him.

"I-I'm here because-" Blumiere started, when shadoo rushed up to him and pressed a finger to his lips, gently shushing him.

"I know why you're here," She cooed. "You're here because you have a thing for this human. This... Lady Timpani. Not that I blame you. She IS quite a catch!"

The shadow monster drew back, lowing her finger and chuckling to herself. When she spoke, it almost sounded like she was speaking more so to herself than to Blumiere.

"Well, the solution to your little problem is simple! The only thing to get what you want... is to become a human yourself!" She chimed.

Blumiere's eyes softened as he watched her walk around him. 

"Y-You can do that...?" He asked in quietly, looking at her in awe.

Shadoo seemed to grin to herself, then turned and grabbed Blumiere's chin. He couldn't help but wince.

"Why, my sweet child... it's what I do! It's what I live for! To help poor, unhappy tribesmen like yourself!" She chimed happily, letting him go and rifling through her stuff. She had potions, spellbooks, all kinds of illegal items that Blumiere's father would most certainly freak out over. "I admit that in the past, I've made some mistakes... but I've mended my ways! All I care about is helping others!"

Her voice was so sweet that her words were convincing. It was almost hypnotic. Blumiere nodded to himself while she grabbed a few speelbooks, reading them over.

Dimentio poked his head into the cave, silently gasping to himself and watching in horror as Shadoo stepped towards Blumiere holding a large book. It couldn't have been the Dark Prognosticus, since that book was under the tribe's protection after the last incident she caused... but that didn't mean it wasn't something dangerous.

He bit his tongue to stay silent, trying to quietly figure out how to fix the situation and save Blumiere from falling under this monster's influence.

"Now, here's the deal," Shadoo started, waving her hand as if gesturing for Blumiere to come closer. Blumiere obeyed, walking next to her and following her as she paced around, reading from her little spellbook. "I can give you a spell that'll turn you human for three days. Now listen, this is important!"

She closed the book and placed a hand on Blumiere's shoulder, leaning in ever so slightly.

"Before the sun sets on the third day... you need to get Lady Timpani to fall in love with you. Meaning she has to kiss you. Not just any kiss... but a kiss of true love..."

Blumiere's eyes widened and he nodded. A true love's kiss. He could do that! Easy peasy!

"If she does kiss you before the sun sets on the third day, then you'll get to remain human! Permanently! But if she doesn't... then you turn back into a tribesman, and your soul belongs to me." 

Her voice seemed to drop in pitch with her last three words, sending chills down Dimentio and Blumiere's spines.

"NO! BLUMIERE!" Dimentio cried out, when another shadow creature identical to shadoo came up behind him and covered his mouth. He continued to make muffled protests, though all his efforts were being wasted. There was no way HE of all people could get through to Blumiere and stop him.

"So, have we got a deal...?" Shadoo asked, grabbing Blumiere's chin and making the boy look at her once again.

Blumiere hesitated, thinking it over.

"What about my father...?" Blumiere asked quietly. "If-if I become human, then I'll never get to see him again..."

"That IS true," Shadoo giggled. "But you'll have your girl. Life's full of tough choices, isn't it?"

Blumiere nodded, thinking over his options.

"Oh! And we haven't even discussed payment yet!" Shadoo chimed, interrupting Blumiere's thoughts. "You can't get something for nothing, you know!

"P-payment?" Blumiere asked. "But I don't have anything-"

Shadoo pressed a finger to his lips once again, silencing the blue boy while using her spare hand to pull out another spell book. 

"I'm not asking for much! Just something small! You won't even miss it! All I want from you is..." She started, lowinging her finger so it was below his chin and making the slightly terrified boy look up at her. 

"Your voice..." She whispered.

Blumiere's heart froze. He nervously swallowed, suddenly feeling very cold. 

"My... voice?" He asked quietly. 

Shadoo nodded, quietly laughing to herself and leaning in slightly. "That's right. Just your voice!"

Blumiere swallowed once again, a small bead of sweat forming on his forehead.

"But without my voice... how can I-"

"You'll still have your looks! Besides, the humans don't like a guy who talks too much! Up there they prefer people who just keep their mouth shut anyway," Shadoo promised. "Now hurry up and make your choice. I haven't got all day, you know!"

Shadoo took a scroll out and unrolled it in front of Blumiere, handing him a small ink quill.

Blumiere nervously gulped, quickly reading over all the terms of agreement on the contract. It was a binding contract where he would be exchanging his voice to the former Pixl queen in exchange for becoming human for three days. All the details she had already told him were listed, there were no secret terms and conditions.

Blumiere swallowed, taking the quill and sighing his name at the bottom of the page. As soon as he dotted the i, Shadoo took the scroll back, rolling it up and setting it aside.

Dimentio's eyes widened in horror as Shadoo red a spell from her book, chanting words from an ancient lost language. 

She grinned then reached two shadowy hands out to Blumiere. Though she wasn't touching him, he immediately brought his hands to his throat, dropping to his knees. It didn't quite hurt, he was hit with an overwhelming feeling of discomfort. 

A moment later, a blue glowing orb flew forward from his neck. Blumiere looked up at it with wide eyes while Shadoo held up a small gem necklace, seeming to catch the orb in it, which made th gem turn from clear to blue.

Shadoo clutched the gem tightly then began to laugh, turning away and waving her hand. 

Blumiere's blue skin slowly faded to a tan color. His hair turned from blue to black. He could feel the magic within him drain quickly until there was none left. He looked down at his arms in awe. 

Shadoo kept laughing to herself while the shadow holding Dimentio finally let him go. The boy quickly grabbed Blumiere's arm and teleported the two of them out away from the creepy scene, down to the base of the cliffs where no one could see them.