"A small box?" I ask myself, once I return to Castle Bleck.

I shake the thoughts away and continue prepping. Not to be rude, but I simply don't have time to be distracted by what the man in green had said. It's not like he ever mattered to me. He was a simple pawn in my plan. This was way bigger than he could ever imagine.

Still, I find it hard not to be curious. I often find myself thinking of it. What did he mean by a box? Like a cardboard box? Seems strange that Mr. L would want me to have that.

Curious leads me to peak into his room just to see what he's talking about.

And there it is.

"It's.... a music box," I observe, just staring at it for a moment.

I walk up to it, and slowly pick it up. Just a grey box with a little crank on the right side. A few yellow gems are on it, along with some carved patters. But that's all. Just a simple music box.

I scoff and set the box down, without listening to it.

Then, I walk away, shutting the door behind me, not giving it any more of my thoughts. I've got work to do.

Hey, don't do it please.

I wonder... how did he know. All that time ago, why did he say that?

Doesn't matter. There's no stopping me. I don't care who I have to sacrifice for this. I don't care what the cost is. I've come this far.

Yes, I've come this far.

"Let me go! Do you know who you're dealing with?! Unhand me," I cry, as two D- Men drag me forward, dropping me at Queen Jayde's feet.

"Oh, we know exactly who you are," Her cold, chilling voice commands. "Dimentio, I sentence you to an eternity at the bottom of the River of Twygz for taking command over the Chaos Heart, Nearly bringing about the end of all worlds, and murder."

"Murder?! Now, I hate to be a bother, but I do not recall successfully murdering anyone," I say with a light smirk. "Name one person I've murdered."

"The Man in Green? The legendary heroes? And your actions led to the disappearance of Blumiere and Timpani!"

"Hmmm, well are Bleck and the little fairy here now? No. So that is NOT murder." I snap back. "And those heroes? They all returned unscratched! So your arguments against me are invalid. I'll take a pass to the Overthere now, thank you." I smile to myself and can't help but let out a laugh.

She didn't appear to appreciate my words. Instead she turned her attention to the D-Men on either side of me.

"Lock him away in the most secure cell we've got." She stated.

I could feel my face go slightly pale, a small pinch of fear showing. Good thing I had my mask to block her from reading my emotions-

Wait.....

My face felt bare. My eyes suddenly went wide, my smile fading immediately. "Wait!" I interrupted. "Where is my mask?!"

She rolled her eyes, appearing slightly annoyed, as I began to breath heavily. Without my mask, people can read my face. I can appear weak.

"Your mask is in the land of the living."

I shook my head, trying to move closer to her, despite the D-Men holding me back. "Give it back! GIVE IT BACK NOW!"

"It no longer belongs to you. If you want it back, we offer prisoners one gift from their lives after a year of good behavior. If you're good, you can get it then."

I shook my head. A YEAR?! That was preposterous. "Surely you must be joking."

"I am not. Now, as much fun as this conversation is, we've got a schedule to keep. Take him away," She commanded. Within seconds the D-Men were dragging me backwards towards the river.

"NO! I'M NOT DONE! I HAVEN'T WON YET! I'LL WIN! I ALWAYS WIN! YOU'LL SEE! I-I HAVE A PLAN, AND WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE, YOU'LL ALL SUFFER!"

Yeah.... there was no plan. I had nothing but rage. How dare all these insignificant beings gaze upon my face?! I can feel them reading my expressions. I can feel them judging me.

And I hate it.

"Mhm. We'll see about that," One of the D-Men told me, before shoving me backwards into the water.

Skeletal hands pulled me down, scratching and clawing me. It was rather unpleasant. I tried setting off explosions to get them to back off, but my magic appeared to be broken. I couldn't teleport away, I couldn't kill these stupid hands, I couldn't do anything.

Once I got to the bottom, I seemed to fall through the water, onto dry land. The water was now above me. I looked up and squinted my eyes, since that seemed to defy the laws of gravity. But then again, I did that fairly often, so who was I to judge.

Immediately upon landing, before I could even get the water out of my ears, two D, Men grabbed ahold of me and started dragging me elsewhere.

"Awww, come on fellas, must you so violently drag me these places?" I questioned. "I would think that the queen's guards would be much kinder and more welcoming!"

That's when I felt a sharp pain in my back. I quickly yelped and turned my head to see a hint of blood drawn. I glared up at the D- Man who had stabbed me. "Excuse-"

"Shut up. In case you couldn't tell, you don't matter anymore. Your words and opinions will be disregarded. Nothing you say or do matters anymore. So why don't you make things easier for all of us and shut up."

I-

How dare he.

"Why you-"

I was suddenly thrown into a small cell, then chained to the floor by my left ankle. The door was shut, then locked.

"Welcome to your home for the rest of the afterlife," One D-Man cooed, before walking off. "We'll be assigning you a D-man soon to monitor you."

I felt my face heat up with anger, my fists clenching and unclenching.

"Oh, we'll see about that." I muttered.

I pulled against the chain, however, physical strength was never my strong suit. There was no way I could ever gain enough force to break it. I sat down and began to fidget. "This is all but a minor inconvenience. I'll finish what I started." I mumbled, a smile creeping onto my maskless face.

______

"So, may I have my mask back," I asked the D-man on guard the next morning. He said that he'd be in charge of watching me. Poor guy.

"Not yet, Dimentio. You need a whole year of good behavior before we allow prisoners to receive one gift of their choosing from the land above."

"Ah, so good behavior? What would that require of me, exactly?"

"No tricks. No escape plans, no insulting the guards. No causing unneeded trouble. Stuff like that."

"Ah, I see," I muttered.

I could wait a year. I would need my mask if I were to return and finish what I had started.

Hey, don't do it please.

..... I frown slightly.

"Is something the matter?" The D-Man asked me. I shook my head no.

A year of good behavior. Then I can get my mask back. Then I can finish my plans to destroy all worlds and create perfect new ones.