Prodigal Son

The Threat

Blumiere wiped the sweat from his forehead as he finished removing the debris from the Inner Sanctum. He had almost completely forgotten about the ominous letter he got from Dimentio. Almost.

As Blumiere closed the door to the Sanctum, Nastasia almost crashed into him. She was breathing frantically as Blumiere tried to calm her down.

"Whoa, Nastasia. What happened?" Blumiere asked.

Nastasia took a few seconds to collect her thoughts.

"Um, yeah, something has happened." Nastasia started, "Remember that photo you told me to get rid of..."

Blumiere held a finger up to her mouth.

"Shush, I'm sure that it can wait until after we have diner," Blumiere told her.

"B-but." Nastasia sighed, "Okay."

--------------

Blumiere, Nastasia, and Timpani were seated around a table well into their food. There was an awkwardness to the air, everyone seemed to be avoiding each other's gaze. Blumiere cleared his throat.

"So, what all did you find in the attic?" Blumiere asked, "I'm sure that there were quite a few interesting items tucked away up there."

Nastasia almost spit up her drink. She coughed as Timpani thought of what to say. 

"Well, we found some old boxes..." Timpani trailed off.

"Oh, well, what was in the boxes?" He asked.

"Y'Know, stuff like old clothes, books, old photos..."

Blumiere nodded. Nastasia was trying to assess the situation. She could tell that they were both keeping something secret.

"What pictures did you find?" Blumiere asked.

Timpani rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Oh, uh, pictures of..."

As Timpani trailed off Blumiere got hit in the back of the head by a rolled up piece of paper.

"Oof! What the?-" Blumiere exclaimed.

He turned around and saw the scroll on the floor, he immediately recognized the handwriting. Timpani peered over the table at him.

"What's that?" She asked.

He quickly hid it behind his back.

"Nothing, dear! I just... need to take care of something." Blumiere got up from the table, "Excuse me."

Blumiere rushed out of the dining room and to his own room before anyone could object.

He closed the door to his room and opened up the letter. Blumiere gasped as he read the contents.

'To the back-stabber formerly known as Count Bleck, I do not except your pity. Your true feelings toward me betray your demeanor. This wound cuts much deeper than your betrayal. Perhaps I did not make myself clear. You WILL accept my challenge to a duel. And if you decline again, there may have to be some... casualties.' There was a picture of a bat with severed wings next to it, 'I hope that this puts you in the proper perspective. From, Dimentio.'

Blumiere's mood became somber. He knew that Dimentio would keep persisting and that if he didn't accept, the ones closest to him would get hurt. Again. It was time to face the facts. He would have to accept his challenge. Blumiere took the note and wrote one sentence on the back.

'I accept your challenge.'

He rolled up the note and it immediately disappeared.

--------------

Dimentio chuckled as he read the response from Blumiere.

"Now there's the Bleck I remember!" Dimentio laughed.

He wrote a simple note and snapped his fingers, teleporting it to Blumiere.

--------------

Seconds later, another letter appeared. Blumiere took the note and read it.

'The dawn of the last day of the month. One weapon, all of your magic. At the death place of the Tribe of Darkness. Until then, Ciao!'

He crumpled up the letter in his hand and tucked it into his coat pocket.

~Lazy Time Skip!~

It was the next morning. Blumiere was stomping down the hallways, his mood in a permanent state of sour. His eyes now red, reflecting his anger. Blumiere flung open the door to Nastasia's room, causing her to bolt upright in her chair.

"Nastasia!"

"What is it, Count? I-I mean Blumiere?" Nastasia quickly corrected.

"I need the keys to the training room, now!" Blumiere demanded.

Nastasia wasn't un-custom to him acting like this, but that was when he was known as Count Bleck.

"A-are you sure? It's still quite a mess from..."

One glare from Blumiere told her that she was dealing with the Count now.

"Yes of course. Give me a sec."

Nastasia dug through a desk drawer and pulled out a key. She tossed them to Blumiere, who caught it and started toward the door immediately. Nastasia stopped him.

"Wait!" 

Blumiere turned around. 

"I need to tell you what Timpani found yesterday."

Blumiere pulled up a chair and sat down. Nastasia took in a deep breath.

"Remember that old photo you told me to destroy? The one with you, Timpani, and..." Nastasia inhaled, "Your son?"

Blumiere went wide-eyed and Nastasia regretted that she said anything.

"Oh, no, no, no, no..." Blumiere sighed, "I was trying to protect her."

"I'm sorry, it's my fault. I should've gotten rid of it in the first place." Nastasia claimed.

Blumiere got up.

"Get that picture back. She must not know..."

Blumiere got up and left toward the training room. Nastasia grew somber, she remembered all too well the story that Blumiere had told her about what happened to his son.