He wanted to say no, but what kind of monster would he be if he did?! He'd be worse than he already was! He already felt like a monster for wanting to hold Dio back. Why did he even want to hold Dio back?!

Was he really so sad and lonely that the only person he could seem to find a friend in anymore was himself?! How pathetic.

He always knew that goodbye was coming. So why was he purposely pushing it back?! And why was the fact that Dio wanted to leave so painful?

He supposed it was just the idea that no one wanted to stick around him. He knew that wasn't why Dio was leaving, but his mind still told him that it was. He knew that Dio had a family he desperately needed to get back to, but all he could hear in his mind was 'I don't want to stay with you.'

".... Other me? Are you okay?" Dio asked as Dimentio stood there silently thinking to himself.

The jester blinked, then looked up, seeming to have been brought back to reality. "Hmm? Oh, yes. My apologies. I was just... thinking," He admitted, swallowing. "Let's be off." And with that, he snapped his fingers, simply teleporting the three of them to the count.

Now, he'd be a liar if he said that this wasn't the first time he teleported to the Count. Yes, he led Mr. L and everyone else to believe that he had no idea where the Count was. He led them to believe that the first person he was searching for was the one with the green eyes, but that was false.

In reality, the first thing he did once he broke out of the Underwhere was go straight to the Count.

But... he didn't interact with him. He didn't get his revenge on him as he planned to. And here's why:

When he was a child, Dimentio once lived among the tribe of darkness. But the love his parents had shared would never be accepted. So... they all fled to find a place where they could be safe and happy.

Blumiere fell in love with Timpani. But their love would never be accepted. So... they fled and found a small town... filled with people like them. A town filled with kind people accepting of all.

It was far off, in a completely different dimension in a completely different world. A place hidden and cut off from everything else. He could have very easily killed them, but... when Dimentio first showed up to get his revenge... something inside stopped him from ruining their peace as the man with the green eyes ruined his.

"Whoa..." Mr. L murmured as the three of them landed just outside a house. It was a small house, but it looked cozy. Next to it, there were about twenty other houses that looked exactly the same.

The man in green then looked up at the sky. There must have been a drastic time change because the sky was dark blue, the stars bright. Mr. L didn't recognize any of the constellations. There were two moons, both barely more than a slim crescent. If he had the time, he would have loved to sit down with a notebook and chart every single thing he saw in the sky.

There must have been a meteor shower or something happening because the number of comets streaming across the sky was beautiful. How did the Count find such a wonderful place?!

"This is where your Count lives now?" Dio asked, raising an eyebrow. "... It feels like home."

"That's because it is home. Just not ours," Dimentio breathed, nudging Dio towards the door. "He's in there."

"Wait, you're making me talk to him?!" Dio squeaked, frowning and looking back at Dimentio, who was taking a few steps backward.

"Yes. This was your promise, not mine. Besides, I don't think he'd take too lightly to seeing me." Dimentio replied.

"Okay, I see your point," Dio admitted. "But I've never met-"

"Dearest? I think someone's at the door," A woman's voice came from inside the house. "Could you get it? I'm busy trying to get Alice to sleep."

"Who's Alice-" Mr. L was about to question, when Dimentio grabbed his wrist and made the two of them invisible, seeming to leave Dio standing in the doorway all alone, looking like some sort of weirdo trying to sell newspapers.

"Wow. Thanks, guys," Dio sarcastically muttered. "Real courageous of you."

He sighed, lifting his hood up onto his head, but not so much as to cover his face. Then, he knocked. "Alright, I'm coming," A male voice breathed. There was then the sound of movement, then a click in the door. Not a moment later, it swung open, relieving a bright, happy-looking home and a smiling man with dark blue skin and glowing blue eyes.

Dio quickly gasped upon seeing him. Not in a terrified way, but in a more shocked manner. Shocked, because he didn't know what the count would be. Or more specifically, he didn't know that he'd be a tribesman.

"May I help you?" The man with blue skin breathed, smiling and brushing his hand through his messy blue hair. He didn't wear his usual tophat or his cloak anymore. Just normal clothing, as if he was a normal person.

Dio stilled, looking at the man's seemingly carefree smile. "Y...You're a tribesman," He softly observed, sounding small.

Blumiere's smile faded slightly. No one called him that anymore. In fact, he was sure the world had forgotten all about the tribe of darkness ever since they went extinct.

"I was," Blumiere corrected.

Dio swallowed, then leaned forward ever so slightly, looking inside to see who, but a human woman holding a mixed-blood child. His almost scared expression slowly shifted. His eyes first went wide, then they softened.

"Is she your wife...?" Dio asked, his voice still small. "And is that your child?"

"Yes," Blumiere answered, stepping between Timpani and Dio so the cloaked boy's line of sight was blocked.

Dio then slowly smiled. Smiled... because even in this universe... there were still families like his own. There were still places like his own.

".... You're like me," Dio smiled. "Your family... is like mine."

"I beg your pardon?" Blumiere asked, leaning forward slightly. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I'm Dim-... I'm Dio," Dio beamed, holding his hand out and smiling a genuine, comforting smile now as if he and Blumiere were once old friends, even though they indeed had never met. "My apologies for interrupting your night. I've just come here per your friends' request."

"My friends...?" Blumiere asked when his eyes suddenly went wide. "You mean Nastasia? Mimi? O'Chunks?"

"And Dimentio," Dio added.

"Dimentio?!" Blumiere exclaimed, suddenly smiling and leaning forward as if the mention of the name sparked something within him. "You mean Dimentio is alive?!"

Dimentio's eyes softened slightly as he waited, still invisible alongside Mr. L. Why did the Count sound so happy upon hearing that? Had... he cared?

"That he is!" Dio beamed, smiling.

Blumiere beamed, once again brushing his hands through his messy hair and acting as if this was simply the greatest news he had heard in his life. "Well, why have you come then? Are they doing well?" Blumiere asked next.

"Yes. They are alright," Dio assured. "A tad lost without you, but alright."

"That's splendid! So why have you come?" Blumiere asked again.

Dio held his hand up, opening his mouth to speak, but then stopped himself before words came out. He briefly frowned, then looked up. At the house, at the sky, at the neighborhood. He then shifted his gaze inside, looking at the happy home and family.

How could he say, 'I've come to take you away from this wonderful, perfect world where you can finally live in peace and harmony with your family.'

The answer was... he couldn't.

"I've... just come to tell you... that they miss you dearly. And... they're glad you've finally found what you've been searching for," Dio breathed with a small smile.

Blumiere's eyes softened and his shoulders sagged slightly as if the very thought warmed his heart. He truly was happy now. He had everything he had ever wanted and more.

And Dio couldn't take him away from that happy place. Even if he had promised Nastasia.

"... Here," Blumiere breathed, quickly rushing back and grabbing a pen and paper. "Since I see you are the messenger, I'll have you pass this along to them for me,"

Blumiere then began scribbling a long list of notes. Once he was done, he neatly folded it up and held it out to Dio, smiling. "I hope they know I am alright, and I do wish them all the best."

Dio smiled back and took the note, carefully holding it by the corners. "I'll make sure they do. I promise."

They then both nodded, said farewell, and went their separate ways. Once the door was closed, Dimentio allowed the invisibility to fade. He then rushed up to Dio, a confused look in his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell him the truth?" Dimentio asked him. "Didn't you promise Nastasia you'd bring him back?"

Mr. L wore an equally confused expression. What on earth was Dio planning on doing? Just leaving his promise unfulfilled?

"Because..." Dio trailed off, pointing to the stars and looking up at the sky. "Look at this place. Look at this life. Only a monster would want to take someone away from it."

Mr. L frowned slightly as Dio shrugged, handing the note to Dimentio.

"It's not meant for me, so I won't read it. But I have a feeling he wanted your eyes to see."

Dimentio frowned slightly, then unfolded the paper, being greeted with the Count's pre-cursive style handwriting. The letters were inconsistent in size, as were the spaces between words, but it didn't bother him so much.

There, he carefully read the note, making sure not to skip a single word. It was slightly humorous, as there were one or two spelling mistakes, but instead of making him cringe it made him smile.

The note made him smile. It wasn't quite sad, but bittersweet.

Suddenly he didn't regret so much anymore. Yes... he had done much bad in his life... but if everything he had done in life led up to this happy moment, that seemed okay.

Mr. L read the note over his shoulder too, though it was clearly not meant for him. After all, Blumiere must have still thought him dead. But that still didn't stop the note from speaking to him too. Even though he didn't know the Count for all that long... he almost now felt like had he been there longer... they could have all almost been like family.

Mr. L never was given a family. He was just... created and tossed out. He never lost anything because he never really had anything to lose. But now... he felt maybe he did.

"Come on," Dio smiled, gently taking the note back. "I think she'll want to read this too. Let's deliver it to her."

"... I don't think I should go," Dimentio admitted, just as Dio raised his hand, about to snap his fingers and teleport the three of them, since he knew how now.

Dio paused, then cocked his head to the side. "Oh? And why not?"

"Simple. They haven't forgiven me." Dimentio breathed.

"How can you tell?" Dio asked.

"Well... I haven't forgiven myself yet. So why should they?" Dimentio asked.

He then turned away.

He was afraid. That was the truth. He was afraid of how they'd react. Afraid that he'd always just be the bad guy. And he didn't want to see those who used to be his closest friends look at him that way.

"Just... teleport back to me when you are done," Dimentio breathed, suddenly vanishing, leaving Dio and Mr. L alone, and allowing himself to truly be alone.

Dio didn't like that. He didn't like the idea of Dimentio being alone.

"...He's afraid," Mr. L pointed out.

"I know," Dio replied, frowning. "... But can you blame him?"

Mr. L paused. He really couldn't. After all... he knew how he felt after getting betrayed. He couldn't even begin to imagine how everyone else felt too. Especially after how much longer they knew him. Their blood must have been boiling.

"... I don't want him to be alone with his thoughts," Dio admitted. "I know how that feels. So... is it alright if I send you back with him?"

"What makes you think I'd make him feel any better?" Mr. L asked.

"Trust me, I know you will," Dio softly smiled, waving his hand and seeming to make Mr. L disappear.

He secretly hoped that he teleported Mr. L to the right spot. Otherwise, that would have been super embarrassing. He was better at teleporting himself than other people.

But he didn't have time to worry about that. If all went south, he was sure he could teleport himself to Mr. L later and fix his mistakes if he made any. So, alone, he tried thinking of the wonderful place of Flipside and teleported over. Right to where he needed to be.

______

Nastasia was waiting just outside a small shop, a cup of coffee in her hands. There were dark circles under her eyes, so it looked as if she hadn't slept in a long time.

"Nastasia!" Dio called, rushing up to her and waving, again acting as if they were friends, even though in reality they had met only once. As soon as she heard his voice, her face made an expression of distress. But it melted into relief when she saw that was just him and not the Dimentio she knew.

"Oh. It's just you again," She breathed. "Where's Luigi?"

"Oh, he went home with his girlfriend," Dio shrugged.

Nastasia nodded in understanding, although a part of her was shocked by the idea that Luigi could get a girlfriend. She wasn't sure why, but it was funny to think about. "Alright. Well... have you found-"

"Yes." Dio interrupted. "I've found your Count."

Nastasia's eyes both widened. She wasn't expecting such a quick and definite answer. "Wait, really?! Then where is he?!" She asked, almost sounding excited.

Dio beamed and held out the note. "Safe and happy," He replied. "He's home."

Home. Such a wonderful word. Such a wonderful place. Nastasia paused, then carefully took the note in her hands. As soon as she opened it, it took everything within herself not to burst into tears upon seeing his handwriting. She knew it was his. There was no other like it.

She carefully read through, checking each and every word. She lightly smiled each time the Count misspelled something, and tears seemed to form more and more as her eyes continued scanning the page.

He was okay. He was alive. He was happy.

He had forgiven the world. He had almost forgiven himself. He was pushing past all the dark and finally allowing happiness into his life.

And she couldn't be prouder.

"I'm sorry I didn't actually bring him back as I promised..." Dio trailed off, looking down slightly. "I could have... but he seemed so happy. I... didn't want to take him away from-"

His speech was cut off by Nastasia suddenly jumping up and hugging him tightly. It honestly shocked him, as she didn't seem the type to do that. Her grip was firm and tight. Her eyes were squeezed shut, tears falling from them. But she didn't seem devastated. She seemed happy.

"Thank you," She whispered. "Oh Grambi, thank you, Dimentio."

Dimentio. It almost felt wrong to be called that once again, even though it was his real name.

He supposed he'd have to get used to being called that once again once he got home. Even if it felt like the name no longer belonged to him.

... Or maybe he could change his name to Dio. After all, it was a nickname he had anyway. And throughout the years he too had changed. So why should everything go back to the way it was?

"Call me Dio," He smiled, hugging her back. "My name is Dio."

After a while longer, he was off. Nastasia had promised that she was okay with just the note and gave him her blessing to go. She said she'd show the rest of the team and that they would be forever grateful, even though he didn't do exactly as he had promised.

But before Dio could leave, he promised he'd say goodbye to a few friends.