Mr. L and Alex carefully navigated through the maze for a few hours, though there was no sign of Dimentio. Mr. L tried calling out for him, but gave up after a few hours and pretty much accepted the fact that Dimentio wasn't going to be coming back. 

Little did they know that Dimentio was trailing not far behind, mushroom in hand. He kept his distance, staying out of sight for as long as possible. He wasn't sure why he was stalling for so long. Jaydes commanded him to give Mr. L the mushroom, so he had no other choice. Stalling wasn't going to change what he was going to have to eventually do. 

The man in green and the D-man walked up to a large river filled with murky purple water. The water had a current, but it was slow and eerie. It sent chills down their spines.

"The River of Twygz?" Mr. L questioned.

"Yeah," Alex explained, closing his notebook and tucking it into his jacket. "The river runs through a small section of the maze. But unfortunately, Charold, our ferryman, doesn't work inside the maze, so he can't take us across."

Mr. L nodded, looking down at the water. If he squinted, he could see a few skeletal hands, slithering in the depths like slimy snakes. A few of them were grasping unfortunate dark souls who had messed up and been thrown in.

"Alright... so how do we cross then? I don't think swimming's an option," Mr. L breathed.

"SWIMMING?! Oh, no no no! Definitely not," Alex breathed. "I think there's a bridge somewhere around here..."

The kid turned around himself, squinting until he finally spotted one. He grinned and pointed at it, then grabbed Mr. L's arm and quickly dragged him over. 

The bridge was made of stone. It was narrow, but it seemed sturdy enough to support anyone who wished to cross. It looked like there would be no troubles.

Then again, not everything was as it seemed.

"STOP, TRAITORS!" A voice loudly cried out just as Mr. L was about to step foot onto the bridge.

The man in green winced while another dark soul quickly jumped out in front of him. The new soul wore a similar outfit to Dimentio, only instead of a facemask covering the lower half of his face, he had a bandana. He wore all black as well, but his pants were less ripped and more noble-looking. He also wore a black cloak over his shoulders in a cape-like way. He had messy blue hair and dark blue skin which matched his almost glowing blue eyes.

Mr. L took a step back, immediately recognizing the soul. 

"Count?"

The "Count" ignored Mr. L's question and pulled out a long, black sword, pointing it at the man in green's throat while laughing. 

"T'is I!!! Soul D-21221!! And YOU SHALL NOT PASS! FOR I WILL STOP YOU! HA!" The dark soul exclaimed, clearly smiling through his eyes. 

Mr. L frowned, then turned to look at Alex.

"Is this Count Bleck...?" The man in green asked.

The kid shrugged. 

"If you're talking about the guy from the prophecy, then I think his real name is technically Blumiere," Alex explained.

Mr. L frowned more. He didn't know that the count had a secret name. Why would he hide something like that? Although, it was always pretty clear that there was a lot of stuff that the count was hiding.

Mr. L let out a small sigh, then lowered the tip of the blade, trying to walk past the dark soul.

"I don't have time for this. Just get out of my way-"

He was cut off by Blumiere firmly pushing him back, then pointing the sword at him once again.

"My apologies, good sir, but I am sworn to do my duty! If we must duel, then so be it!" Blumiere exclaimed, grinning through his eyes and holding his free hand behind his back, slowly getting into a dueling stance. 

"Wh- Count, I'm not going to duel you..." Mr. L breathed, looking down and pinching the bridge of his nose. 

"No, no, of course. You have no weapon. It would be unfair. No, no, I'm requesting to duel the D-man who wields the spear!" Blumiere beamed. "A fight to the double death! Rookie number seventeen versus dark soul number two twelve twenty-one! Our battle shall be legendary! Should you defeat me, I shall allow you to pass!"

Alex's face went slightly pale and he took a step back, holding both his hands up.

"Yeah... I'm not gonna do that," the kid breathed. 

Blumiere lowered his blade and re-sheathed it, attaching the large weapon to his belt.

"Ah, I see. Too intimidated by my power, are you? I don't blame you. My strength is a force to be reckoned with, I must admit," Blumiere stated proudly.

Mr. L let out an annoyed sigh while Alex simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.

Blumiere proudly placed his hands on his hips and raised his chin, grinning beneath the black bandana. The pose looked rather heroic, especially for a dark soul. 

"Now, without a duel, I am afraid I cannot let you and your party pass, for I have no way of telling if you are truly worth or not-"

"Calm down, D-21221, they're with me," Dimentio breathed, letting out a small sigh and finally stepping into view. 

Mr. L whirled around, his eyes lighting up as soon as he saw the familiar dark soul. He wasn't sure why seeing him again filled him with so much joy. Perhaps it was because he was worried that he would never get the chance to see Dimentio again, and he didn't want things to have ended on such a sour note. 

Blumiere gasped, his blue eyes seeming to light up as well. He quickly ran to Dimentio, wrapping the shorter soul in a tight hug while cheering. 

"HUZZAH! MY LONG-LOST COMPANION HAS RETURNED!!" Blumiere cried out, pulling back and ruffling Dimentio's hair. "I've missed you, 4913!!"

Dimentio smiled slightly, then pushed himself away from the taller soul and dusted himself off.

"Yes, yes, I've missed you too. Could you please just allow my companions to pass-"

"ANYTHING FOR YOU, MY BROTHER!!" Blumiere triumphantly yelled, pumping his fist into the air. "If these fine gentlemen are companions of yours, then they shall be companions of mine as well!! Let us all travel forth!!"

"Wow, so much for loyalty to the queen," Alex mumbled, chuckling and pulling out his notebook, writing a few quick notes down. 

Mr. L couldn't help but smile a little. The Count he knew was dark and cold. This person before him seemed bright and full of energy. The man in green never considered how much losing memories could change someone, and he never even thought that it could affect someone in a positive way.

Although, it was slightly sad as well. 

"LET US TRAVEL FORTH!" Blumiere exclaimed, turning and marching across the bridge with his chin proudly raised. He marched with authority. Mr. L was glad to see that he still strived to act like a leader, even without knowing who he even was.

The rest of the group followed. While doing so, Mr. L lowered his voice so only Dimentio could hear.

"You came back," the man in green noted.

Dimentio nodded, looking down. He had tucked the mushroom away so it was hidden from sight. He wasn't sure what possessed him to step up and help once again, but it didn't matter. In the end, he was going to have to give the mushroom to Mr. L anyway. He was just continuing to stall. Continuing to manipulate the man in green into thinking he was trustworthy when he really wasn't.

"You... referred to D-21221 as a 'Count.' Did you... did we know him as well?" Dimentio asked in a hushed tone.

Mr. L nodded, then explained everything he knew about the count, adding on what Alex told him about his name apparently being Blumiere. Dimentio listened closely, noting that he and D-21221 must have died around the same time since they were grouped together the second their memories were taken.

It was hard for Dimentio to imagine Blumiere as the person Mr. L described him to be. To the dark soul, Blumiere was nothing more than an energetic soul who wanted to do his best at whatever it was he was doing. He didn't seem like the type who would want to organize a team of elite individuals in order to destroy all worlds and such. 

Then again, he thought that he himself didn't seem like the type who would betray his close friends. 

Blumiere and Alex walked slightly ahead. Blumiere himself had a small amount of knowledge of the layout of the maze, though he wasn't sure about the exact route. The kid was quick to review his notes with the dark soul and explain everything that was going on so far and why they so desperately needed to make it to the end. They had at most ten hours left before time was up, so they needed to be quick.

Mr. L couldn't help but tense up slightly whenever Alex mentioned the amount of time he had left. He hadn't been too worried before, but the pit of fear in his stomach seemed to be growing and growing as more seconds passed. 

"You're afraid," Dimentio breathed without even having to look at Mr. L.

The man in green softly smiled and chuckled.

"I'm not afraid."

"Yes you are," Dimentio pressed. "Your hands are clenched again and your shoulders are slightly tense. You don't show fear through your face, but it's obvious you don't even care to try hiding it elsewhere."

Mr. L shook his head, still softly smiling. It was slightly comforting to see that this was the same old Dimentio, still somehow able to notice the small things. 

"I... have a question," Dimentio whispered, looking down at the mushroom he had hidden.

"What is it?" Mr. L asked.

The dark soul took a shaky breath, trying to rehearse his lines in his mind before speaking them. One voice was telling him to quit wasting time and to just give Mr. L the mushroom already.

He didn't like that voice.

"You're a neutral soul. You already have a fairly good afterlife. You don't have to work or labor or anything! So why want more? Why risk what you already have?" Dimentio asked. "I would kill to have what you do."

Mr. L pondered a moment before answering.

"I don't want to rest in peace. I want a chance to live. To REALLY live. I want to smile and dance, to see the stars. Maybe even fall in love someday. I don't know. I just want to feel alive," the man in green admitted, grabbing Dimentio's hand and spinning him around.

Dimentio cast the man in green a confused look. "What are you doing?"

"Showing you why I want to go back!" Mr. L chuckled, grabbing Dimentio's waist and his hand. "Remind you why being alive is so wonderful! No magic spell could replace the feeling of being alive."

Dimentio frowned while Mr. L began to sway back and forth. Alex and Blumiere both looked back at the pair, then smiled.

"Awww," Blumiere gushed, placing his elbow on Alex's head and chuckling. "How cute."

Dimentio looked up at the man in green while Mr. L smiled, occasionally spinning the dark soul around and laughing. 

Eventually, Mr. L's smile grew contagious, and before Dimentio knew it, he was smiling under his mask as well. 

Mr. L spun the dark soul around one more time, then pulled him close, smiling down at him. Dimentio felt his heart flutter while he looked up at the man in green, standing closer than he had ever stood before.

He didn't even know his heart was capable of fluttering anymore.

The man in green's eyes softened and his smile slowly faded. He tilted his head to the side slightly, gently letting go of Dimentio's hand and taking his chin while leaning closer.

For a moment, Dimentio relaxed, closing his eyes and leaning up.

Then, he pulled away, just before their lips could touch.

"I'm a coward," Dimentio admitted, taking a few steps and turning away. "I'm a coward."

Mr. L frowned, his face turning slightly red from embarrassment. 

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Dimentio shook his head, hugging himself and looking down. 

"I'm a coward. Jaydes scares me," Dimentio explained. "I..."

Mr. L paused, then slowly smiled, reaching for Dimentio's hand and giving it a soft squeeze.

"Well... then maybe we can face your fears together," Mr. L smiled. 

Dimentio paused, looking down at their hands, then to the side. 

"... Are you hungry?" He asked.

Mr. L frowned and drew back, slightly confused by the seemingly random question.

"Um, n-not really. I'm dead, so I don't exactly have to eat..." Mr. L trailed off with a small chuckle.

"I know, I know, but... I don't know, maybe eating will make you feel more... alive." Dimentio breathed, pulling out the purple mushroom and holding it out to Mr. L.

The man in green smiled, then took the mushroom, looking down at it.

"Oh, awesome!! I love mushrooms! When I was alive, shroom shakes were my favorites!" Mr. L chimed, smiling and taking a bite.

Dimentio winced and looked away.

Mr. L's eyes softened slightly. He swallowed the bite, then slowly lowered the mushroom, looking at it with confusion. 

"This... tastes strange..." Mr. L breathed.

Dimentio bit his lip beneath the mask, taking a shaky step back.

".... Dimentio...?" Mr. L asked, suddenly feeling very dizzy. His limbs felt heavy and his head tingled. 

Before he could even finish his next thought, he fell to the ground, unconscious.