Chase the Nightmares Away

9: Love

"Count Bleck! You looked so tattered and pathetic, I nearly forgot about you. I'll squeeze the life out of you later..."

He heard those words as the world spun around. It would have made him feel sick, if he hadn't already felt so beaten down and broken. The wounds the heroes had inflicted on him were nothing compared to the pain his heart was feeling. It had been a long time since it had felt so strongly.

He didn't know if what Dimentio said was true. Did the boy harbor that much hatred because of a single lie? It didn't matter. Nothing could be worse than knowing he had failed. Things weren't supposed to happen this way. She was supposed to be gone.

"We have to do something! We have to save Mario and the others!" she cried, fluttering around the small green room desperately. She looked so different, but he knew her voice.

He stood shakily, and reached out a hand. After a moment's hesitation, she settled onto his palm, trusting that he wouldn't crush her with his fist. "W-We cannot... Without the Pure Hearts, there is no way to counter the Chaos Heart. All we can do is give up..." He hung his head, feeling nothing but despair. To be reunited at last only to lose everything was too much. He had no strength left.

Timpani shouted at him, her wings quivering with anger. "What are you SAYING?! You promised we would find happiness together! Was that all just a lie?!"

He shook his head sadly. That was so very long ago, in a different lifetime, and yet she still remembered. "It was no lie... But without the Pure Hearts, all worlds are doomed. What can we do?" He closed his azure eyes, a sign of his defeat. A few tears made their way down to his collar.

"Blumiere!" Timpani bumped into his cheek, getting him to look at her. His heart twinged at the sound of the name no one had been allowed to call him for years. "Snap out of it! How can you think it would end here, after all we have suffered without each other?"

"But-"

"No! We found each other again because we stayed alive... How can you admit defeat?!"

He glanced down at his side, where Nastasia lay, not breathing. "I am sorry, Timpani, my Timpani... I have nothing left..."

She sank down a little, and whispered, "I will not... I will not give up! You promised we'd find happiness! You PROMISED!" She grazed his cheek again, this time wiping away the tears there. She settled on his shoulder, but he reached up and removed her from there, cupping her fragile form in both hands.

There was a sound from behind. He turned, expecting Dimentio, but saw his remaining minions instead. "My minions... How did you find us here?"

Mimi grinned at him, her cheerful demeanor unmarred by the dirt on her clothing or the way her hair was mussed up. "Gosh, I could follow your big smile anywhere, count!"

Beside her, O'Chunks sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, she lies like a wee rug, this lass! Nastasia told us, count! She said you'd come 'ere...or... She said she FELT you'd be here...or something along those lines."

He looked down at her again, dropping his hands and letting Timpani fly on her own. "Nastasia..." She had also known this was going to happen?

O'Chunks spotted her and gasped. "S-She even sacrificed 'erself teh save yeh! ...Lissen, count, I promised me life as well, an' I'm not afraid tah live up teh it! So... Yeh gotta let me 'elp!" He flexed his muscles, giving the count a look that said he wasn't going to take no as an answer.

Mimi jumped and clapped her hands. "Yeah! I mean, there's no WAY Dimentio's getting away with this! He pulled a really dirty trick on you, but we'll always stick by your side!"

He felt more tears welling up and pulled down the brim of his hat to hide them. "My... My loyal minions..." The dark hand on his heart loosened, and he felt warm. There was suddenly a flash of white light, and then the Pure Hearts appeared, circling around all five of them with bright energy. "W-What's this? The Pure Hearts?! But...why?"

Timpani fluttered by his head. "Isn't it obvious, Blumiere?" He could hear the smile in her voice. "Pure Hearts are the very feelings of our souls. As long as we feel love, they live on!" She slowly left his side and gathered up the powerful relics. "I will take these to Mario. Don't give up!" She disappeared, never having been trapped in the dimension in the first place.

Neither had he been. His own emotions had trapped him here to await cold death. But now... He walked over to his minions, tears shining in his sapphire eyes. Without question, Mimi jumped into his arms and he enveloped her with a warm hug. O'Chunks grinned and crushed the both of them in a strong embrace. Count Bleck laughed, a loving, genuine laugh, for the first time in an eternity. "Thank you! Thank you..."