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A Broken Heart Chapter 23: O Mistress, Farewell

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Chapter 23: O Mistress, Farewell
Fawful

      There was a moment where Fawful and Cackletta, the two scourges of the Beanbean Kingdom, just stood there, staring at each other. 'This might just still work...' Dimentio muttered to himself.
      Then they attacked. Cackletta flew through the air straight at him, black lightning exploding from her palms. Fawful shot straight up, sending a volley of energy attacks her way. She protected herself partly with her wings. When Fawful's barrage ceased, she flung her hands out and sent a wave of magic at him, knocking him right off his feet. He landed Headgear-first on the ground, the glass storage dome clanging from the impact and sending a vibration through Fawful's head. He tried to get up, but he was seeing three of everything. Lightning bolts raged around him, burning him with explosions. His cloak provided very little protection, but it was something. One bolt struck his Headgear right on the mechanical mouth and the whole thing shut down immediately. He plummeted and hit the floor hard, an audible snap resonating throughout the whole dimension.
      'Fawful, are you okay?!' Mimi cried.
      The Bean groaned, his legs unable to support him. 'I have wellness!' he said. He felt his legs, wincing as he got to his lower legs. He had broken a few bones. 'Ung...or perhaps unwellness.'
      'How disappointing Fawful,' his former mistress huffed. 'You're already out?'
      Fawful could feel the Chaos Heart's dark energy seeping into his body, magically mending his shattered bones. 'N-no...' he answered shakily. He struggled to his feet. 'I am Lord Fawful, and Lord Fawful is not giving up with that ease!'
      'Unlike Toady Fawful.' Cackletta snickered.
      Fawful grinned with pride. 'Correctness!' His Headgear sparked and rebooted, humming to life again. It lifted Fawful off his still-healing legs. 'It is being your turn, Cackletta!' He felt amazing; it was like an adrenaline rush times one hundred, full of energy and excitement. It was time to break his chains and move on. His heart panged with loss at the thought too; for someone who had her watch him grow for seven years of his life, it was hard to let go. Suddenly he realized how young he really was: an early teen at the very most, taking into account the blank number of years before he was found by Cackletta. She would never see him truly grow up...no matter how this battle ended. Either she would win and he would lose his life, having not surpassed her, or he would win and have to...he didn't want to think about that right now.
      He couldn't. She descended into her shadow, multiplying into three and ascending back up. 'Do you remember this move?' she asked. She was grinning savagely, and years ago the look would have scared the life out of Fawful, but now he stared her down and grinned as well.
      'Oh yes, it has much impressiveness!' Fawful beamed. 'But this is also!' His Headgear unlatched itself from his head and he landed on his feet, wincing just a little, and aimed his blaster at the nearest Bean witch. He fired, and the Headgear fired at a different one. Both of them dodged, floating in the air for brief moments before going back to the ground and each firing blasts of dark magic. Fawful was able to dodge most or reflect them back with his Headgear, but one hit him square in the chest, right over his heart. A powerful shock travelled through his body and mind, making him collapse and spasm on the ground.
      'AAAAAAARGH!' the Chaos Heart roared in his mind.
      'Mind the Heart Cackletta, mind the Heart!' Dimentio called anxiously, wincing and gripping his chest.
      'Quiet, you!' they all snapped.
      Fawful pulled himself to his feet, gripping his chest just like Dimentio. 'Perhaps you should not be minding the Heart!'
      'Insolent brat...' The Heart was not happy.
      Fawful will have the dying if you are too, so none of the worries.
      'I'll keep that in mind.'

      'I like your deal Dimentio!' the Cacklettas all cackled. 'I get more power and you kill the plant! Eeyah ha ha!'
      Fawful zoned back into reality just as another three blasts were about to hit him. He put his hands out to his sides and a shield of energy blocked the attacks from all directions. He strained through the effort, beads of sweat trickling down his face. He forced the shield outward and the attack dissipated.
      The three Cacklettas' jaws were dropped. 'You can use...magic?!'
      Fawful didn't reply, just sent dark orbs of energy soaring towards the three foes. Two dodged, but one was hit dead on. His Headgear caught an orb in its mouth and fired it back at another Cackletta. Both exploded into a small army of Cackletta-esque bats, flying straight at him. He ducked into his cloak but they were still vicious, tearing holes in it and biting at his flesh.
      'Your Headgear's gotten better,' his ex-mistress complimented. 'But can you get out of this one?'
      He was about to say yes when one of the bats sunk its teeth into Fawful's arm. He instantly felt the deathly venom seep into his veins and his skin began to pale almost right away. 'Hck!' he gasped, collapsing to his knees again. 'V-v...ve...'
      'Venom, yes!' Cackletta beamed. 'The first time you've felt my venom in your veins...and no Refreshing Herbs to cure it I imagine.'
      'I am...not needing...items...' he groaned. His limbs felt like lead. He couldn't move, and his skin was paling to become more white than green. He could feel the Chaos Heart expelling the venom, destroying it, erasing it from existence, but it burned in his body like flames. He stood up, stumbling, shielding himself from the bats.
      'You're stuck now.' Cackletta chuckled.
      He groaned and released a wave of dark energy that dissolved the bats into nothing. He clenched his fists, dark energy flickering around him.
      'Magic...' she grunted. 'That's not possible.'
      'All is being fair in love and...war.' Fawful tapped his chest tiredly. 'I am using the Chaos Heart!'
      'That's hardly fair,' she complained. Of course, she didn't point out that she was doing the same thing.
      'Villainy is not being fair.'
      Cackletta grinned. 'That's my toady.'
      Fawful reached for his cube and took out a few silver, spherical explosives, hurling them at the witch. She shielded herself while simultaneously attacking him with more lightning. The venom was dissipating and he was getting more nimble now; the lightning barely grazed him, and when it did it was no more than a burn on his cloak. He strafed aside one and rolled, pulling out his blaster and firing harmful rings of energy at her. Fawful's Headgear flew back on to him and he flew at her. The Bean witch flung her arm out to the side and an explosion of energy hurled him upward. His Headgear opened wide and stuck him to the ceiling. Hanging there, Fawful opened fire with his blaster. Cackletta snapped her fingers and more bats were summoned, covered in a shadowy substance. They soared up at him, baring their fangs menacingly.
      'Pah, patheticness!' Fawful scoffed, grinning. He summoned more of the Chaos Heart's power and snapped his fingers. All the bats instantly exploded. 'HAHAHAHA! Fun, like a sandwich possessing the decker of three!'
      'Stealing my attacks...' Dimentio sighed.
      Fawful dropped down and  flew at Cackletta once more, swinging his hand and creating a small quake that threw her off balance. In the blink of an eye the mouth of his helmet was pressed against Cackletta's stomach.
      Her eyes widened and she froze. 'You aren't seriously going to do that to your mistress are you Fawful?'
      He laughed. 'You are no longer being the mistress of me, remember?' He pulled the trigger.
      'AUGH!' she howled, flailing back from the blast. She gripped the burn wound on her stomach, panting. 'You've grown strong,' she said, breathless. 'I remember a time when this would have been over in no time. You've pushed me to my limits!'
      Fawful crossed his arms and grinned widely. 'And I have not yet had my limits shoved!' Perhaps he was pushing it; he was tired...but not yet at his limits.
      'No more games!' Cackletta growled. 'This time it's over!' She reared up and suddenly grew, all her features becoming larger, fiercer, and all together more monstrous. She let loose a primeval roar and black pulses of nothingness soared through the air and along the ground. Lightning flashed everywhere, and between dodging both attacks it was hard for Fawful to manage. He had witnessed this attack only once before: when Cackletta had fought the Mario Bros. in Woohoo Hooniversity. He shot up into the air and prepared to fire, but his Headgear was struck by a bolt of lightning yet again. Fawful muttered the curse he had heard from O'Chunks (which would have made Timpani livid) at the low droning sound of the engines failing. He fell, arms flailing, to the floor. He jumped over a speeding hole and ducked under a black orb before falling into a second hole. He could no longer see, feel, hear, smell, or taste anything. He just fell, screaming, forever and ever. Then, suddenly, he fell from the roof of Dimension D and smacked against the ground.
      'EYAHH HA HA!' Cackletta cackled, her voice distorted from the power. 'Can you overcome me, Fawful?!' He could barely move. He felt as if his entire body was being weighed down by an incredible force. He was practically pressed against the floor, and when he removed his Headgear and put it back in the storage cube he found it made no difference. 'I guess not. You came close, but it's over, and now you must pay the price. If you can't defeat me, then you will die by me!'
      Fawful gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Slowly, he rose to his feet, fighting the crushing gravitation. 'Finish her Fawful!' the Chaos Heart urged. 'Submit to my power...become one with it! No one will stand in your way!'
      I...am not needing your assistance! he shot. Your power has only brought the sadness to me, and I will not be losing control again!
      'I...will not lose!' he cried to both the Chaos Heart and Cackletta. 'And...and I am not needing the Chaos Heart's dark power either!'
      'Heh heh. You're grasping Fawful. It's over, and I'm going to prove it, right now!' She reared up and flew at him, her mouth spread in a wild and satisfied smile.
      'I...' Fawful tensed. 'Have...' He shut his eyes.
      'BYE-BYE! EEYAH HA HAACK!' In the last second before impact, the Bean scientist raised his blaster, now set on the highest setting, and fired, searing a hole right through his mistress' body. 'Wh...wh...what...?' She fell across his shoulder, his arm put out to catch her.
      'Fury,' he finished, his mouth right next to her ear.
      Cackletta was shrinking, reverting back to her normal form. 'I...l-lost...'
      'Cackletta...?' Fawful's heart suddenly rose up to his throat.
      'I...I...' She suddenly smiled. 'I lost to you...Fawful. It's...over.' She fell from his arm.
      'Cackletta!' Fawful cried in alarm.
      Dimentio stared in shock. 'I don't believe it...' he breathed. 'He actually...'
      'Dimentio?'
      The jester turned to face Mario, who was cracking his fists menacingly. The magical boxes must have worn off in his distraction! Dimentio jumped and prepared to snap his fingers, but Mario grabbed him by the arm and punched him square in the face. 'Ow! Uncle, uncle!'
      'No Dimentio, not uncle.' Everyone else backed Mario up, looking ready to fight. 'It's time to get what you deserve.'
      'Ah...I disagree.' He smiled. 'Ciao until later, Heroes of the Light Prognosticus!' He warped out and Dimension D fell away in squares, leaving them all standing before the bridge to Shooting Star Summit.
      Everyone felt tension leave them. The fighting was over for now.
      A squeak of alarm from Fawful brought their attention to him. He was kneeling before Cackletta, who was breathing in wheezy gasps. Fawful's heart was beating in his chest and his whole being was fraught with worry. He was shaking and he couldn't steady his hands. 'Cack...Cackletta?' he whispered with fright.
      'F...Faw...ful...' She moaned in pain.
      'I am here!' he choked. 'Your toady is here!'
      'You aren't...my toady...anymore...'
      That was right. Fawful's heart sank. 'I...I am not wanting to...to let go...' His eyes were moistening. She couldn't leave him! He needed her! He had never got on without her!
      'You don't...need me, Fawful...' she coughed, as if she had read his mind. 'You sound like you done...so much without me...'
      Fawful swallowed some saliva and nodded. 'I...have done many things of evil...even when I was waiting, waiting like an elevator for the chance...'
      'Waiting...good...' She coughed again. 'Never give up...'
      'Cack—' He fought back a sob; he would not show weakness in front of her. 'Cackletta...I will be making you proud!'
      'When will you learn...?'
      Fawful started. 'What?'
      'What you do...can't be for me...or for anyone else. It can only be for...you. Your drive...your goals...your power. All you, Fawful...'
      Fawful didn't even know what his goals were anymore. He had seriously begun to question villainy. Was it worth it? Why did he do it? All until now had been for Cackletta's vengeance. What did he want? Why was he to be considered "evil?" 'Cackletta, I am having a ques—'
      'I can't...hold on...' his former mistress croaked. 'Fawful...I have to...to tell you...'
      'What? What is it you are saying?'
      'I...love you, Fawful...'
      He froze, his heart skipping a beat. '...wh...what?'
      'I love you...you were like the...the son I never had...' Her voice was getting weaker.
      The Bean scientist couldn't breathe, let alone speak. For his entire life he had adored Cackletta, hailing her as the greatest villain ever, the most powerful witch...but there was something more there, and he had never really explored it. When he thought about her feelings...he thought he was merely a minion to him. She loved him...he was like her son! He was shaking where he knelt, his emotions running wild.
      'Fawful...I killed...your real par—'
      'No!' Fawful shouted. 'No no no no no! They...you are the parent of me...you!'
      'Fawful...'
      'I am loving you too! You are being like Fawful's mother...you are being better!'
      Cackletta closed her eyes and sighed. 'Promise me one thing...' she breathed.
      Fawful gripped her dress tightly. 'Anything!' he squeaked. His eyes were moistening, and he felt like his heart, body, and soul were going to shatter any second.
      'Promise me...that you will let go.'
      His grip tightened. 'I...'
      'Promise me...'
      Fawful hesitated, then answered. 'I have promise...I will let go.'
      Cackletta smiled. 'I've...trained you well. Goodbye...Lord Fawful.'
      'Wha...wait!' he exclaimed. 'I am having a question to ask of you!' No answer. 'A QUESTION!' he screamed, shaking her. 'I am needing to know what villainy is! I...I am needing to know!' The witch's body was limp and slowly getting colder. No blood pumped through her body. No breath escaped her lips. 'Cackletta...I need...knowledge of...'
      'The witch is dead,' the Chaos Heart said. 'Let your emotions flow. Feel the sadness and sorrow in your heart...and feed me.'
      That was when his control was destroyed.
      Complete, utter sorrow engulfed his entire being, crippling his will. He shuddered and went limp, smacking his head on the ground and burying his face in Cackletta's dress. Tears were freely flowing, wetting the dress she so cherished. He dug deeper in and screamed, his voice muffled by the fabric. He screamed out all his sadness, and in doing so he felt like he was screaming out something else. Memories were flashing through his mind: all the amazing times he had spent with her. The training, the playing, the scheming. All the heartfelt moments he cherished that had been so rare, all the times Cackletta had taken him into her lap and sang to him, whispered comforting words to him. When a problem arose, she was there. Everything they had shared and everything they had done was passing. Even the things he had long since forgotten, his early years in her company. The bad memories were there too: memories of painful punishments and horrible words, but the good memories were so wonderful to him the bad ones didn't even matter. Every time one passed through his head his heart broke just a little bit more, as if part of his soul was leaving his body with every scene. In a sense, it was. This was a turning point for him: this was his story now, not the story of Cackletta and her loyal toady...and he couldn't bare it. He wanted nothing more than to cling on to the old memories and keep Cackletta at his side. He felt like a little child, lost in a big world. The page was turning...and he would never get the years with Cackletta back, ever. He would never again hear the voice that had comforted him in his nightmares.
      'I love you...you were like the son I never had...'
      He screamed again, his voice breaking into sobs. 'CACKLETTA!' he cried into her dress. 'COME BACK! COME BACK! Come...back...' He felt empty inside...the whole world was nothing without her. He was like a hollow shell with nothing inside...because the person who had filled it was gone again. 'Mom...' he breathed, his voice cracking. 'Be returning to me...please...'
      'It's useless. That hag is gone...forever.'
      He boy let loose a cry of anguish and pounded his fist on the ground, over and over, letting his anger pile out. He didn't stop even when his knuckles started bleeding. He didn't stop when the pain was so unbearable that he couldn't take it. Cackletta was gone. Pain didn't matter anymore. He didn't matter anymore. 'Hate...' he muttered. 'Hate...hate...hate...' Every pound saw a new proclamation of his hatred. 'Dimentio...you...' He flung himself up and howled all of his pain out to the entire world, a howl louder and worse than anything he had ever screamed out of his mouth. He brought both of his fists down on the ground and his head followed. He ignored the shattering pain in his knuckles, he shut out the furious ringing in his ears and the throbbing of his head. He closed his mind to the Chaos Heart's words. Everything was quiet. Everything was nonexistent. Nothing should live or exist anymore. Not even him.
      'Fawful...'
      The Bean didn't even react in the slightest as Mimi sat down beside him and wrapped her arms around him. Her warm touch was nothing to him. It might as well have been the cold sting of a frozen River Twygz. It was all the same. 'Gone...' he breathed sorrowfully, tears stinging his eyes.
      Mimi squeezed tightly and moved in closer. 'You did the right thing. She's proud of you.'
      'No...' Fawful shook his head. 'No no no no...gone. She has deadness...again. All the fault of Fawful...all the fault of me...'
      'You've done what her life was dedicated to,' Mimi insisted. 'You've taken her place. Mistress Cackletta may be gone, but in her place is Lord Fawful. You're better than her. You're beyond her. Down in the Underwhere, she's looking up at you with pride. I know she is.'
      'Not wanting...to replace her...'
      'This had to happen eventually Fawful. You know it did. You were her...heir, I guess.'
      'Never again...' Fawful shuddered. 'I will never have the seeing of my mistress again...'
      'That's not true,' the girl countered. 'You told me before that Mario and Luigi destroyed her soul, right?'
      At the mention of their names, Fawful tensed, an old fury beginning to burn again in his eyes. 'Mario...' he growled through clenched teeth. 'Luigi...' His fists were tightened so hard his knuckles had started bleeding again despite the Chaos Heart's healing properties. He jerked his body up for a moment before Mimi grabbed him and pulled him down. 'Fury...fuuuuryyyy...' His jaw hurt from clenching it too tightly. Cackletta was gone again, and who was to blame? Who forced him along on this stupid adventure? Who set it up that he would have to fight his mistress? It was them, Mario and Luigi!
      'Fawful, stay down,' Mimi warned.
      'Revenge...' he whispered venomously. 'Must...have...GAAAAH!'
      A blast of dark energy sent a shockwave through the group, hurling Mimi right off him and knocking everyone else who were further away over. He could feel power coursing through his veins unlike anything he had ever felt before. Not even the Dark Star made him feel this way, only giving him half of its power. This was an ancient power, tens of thousands of years old, maybe even more, filling him up with an indescribable force. He felt for sure that the Chaos Heart was talking to him, but he couldn't hear the words. It was all blocked out. All his emotions were gone except for a burning hatred overtaking his mind. His eyes glowed red in their sockets and his skin was fading into a darker tone, much like those of the Tribe of Darkness, yet it was also tinged with the familiar shade of green Fawful always had. Even his clothes were changing. His shirt and pants were changing from black to a lighter shade: dark purple. His cloak was morphing, changing into a lighter purple one outlined with red and jagged around the edges, much like Cackletta's dress. Where the hood-like part of his cloak was, a grey, jagged part stood up, completing his cloak's look and his shoes were blackening from the usual grey. In the middle of his shirt was the thing that finished it all: a black heart.
      Mario and Luigi peeled themselves off the ground first and drew their Ultra Hammers. 'Fawful!' Mario shouted. 'Snap out of it!'
      'Power...' Fawful muttered. 'Haha...so much...of the power...I am overflowing! Hehehe...haha...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!' Sparks of black, magical energy were crackling all around him, the Chaos Heart's magic surrounding him like a ghoulish aura. 'The power, like millions of tasty batteries, is belonging to me! All the power is for Fawful! HAHAHAHAHA!' A grin spread across his face.
Luigi's eyes widened and he gulped, stepping back. 'We...we can take this guy bro, right?' he asked Mario, more for his own shattered confidence. Mario didn't answer. 'Uh...bro?!'
      What Luigi saw astounded him. Mario was doing exactly what Luigi was, wearing an equally terrified expression. 'L-Luigi...I...'
      Fawful's smile didn't normally scare Mario, but this was different. Normally, Fawful's smile was one of madness and sometimes excitement or smugness. That he could deal with. Fawful was crazy, and he knew that, and he was used to seeing Bowser's evil grins. That was all fine. What scared him now was the absolute evil behind it. It was a hungry, wicked, even sadistic grin that he instantly likened to Dimentio. He had never seen the boy use such a smile, and instantly he knew they weren't dealing with the Fawful they knew. 'Mustaches!' he screamed at them. 'For Cackletta...DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!!!!!!'
      A blast of energy tore open the entire ground beneath their feet, throwing them through the air. They crashed against the bridge that led above the home of Merlow and Merluvlee. Luigi managed to flip up onto the bridge, but Mario crashed into it with the back of his head. He fell to the ground, unconscious.
      'Mario!' everyone gasped.
      'I have chortles! The Red Mustache has little fight!' Fawful chortled.
      'Why are you doing this?!' Mimi screamed.
      'QUIET!' the Bean roared. His voice reverberated, a mix of his own high-pitched squeak and a much deeper, more malevolent growl. 'Revenge is the only thing of importance!'
      Luigi leaped into the air and hurled his hammer at Fawful, headfirst. The boy swung his hand and batted it aside. The plumber landed and ran forward, blue electricity enveloping his hands. 'This one's for Mario!' he cried.
      'Hmph.' Fawful flicked his wrist and Luigi flew up into the air.
      'MAMMA MIAAAAA!' he screamed before landing with a crash.
      'Not much impressiveness,' the scientist yawned. 'Boring like a death of quickness.'
      Everyone in the camp suddenly felt afraid; Fawful's similes were getting less humorous and more evil.
      Whoosh! Something whizzed through the air at a high speed. Fawful sniffed and turned around, catching the deadly Rubee out of the air and crushing it in his palm. He sighed and dropped the stone on the ground. 'Efforts that have wastefulness.'
      Mimi had the most piercing glare on her face that Fawful had seen in a while. More Rubees hovered around her, sparkling like diamonds and looking as dangerous as knives. 'You're a liar!' she yelled. 'You promised you would control this!'
      'PAH!' Fawful spat. 'Nothing has importance anymore! I am Lord Fawful, and now I have darkness! All will have bowing to Fawful!'
      Mimi gritted her teeth. 'No they won't...'
      Fawful immediately spun around and grabbed Blumiere's sceptre, smiling evilly. 'Slow!' he taunted. 'Too slow!'
      'Fawful, you can fight this...!' the dark prince grunted. He wrenched the sceptre out of the Bean's hands and swung it at him. 'This isn't you, this is the Chaos Heart!'
      'Have the up shut!' he snarled. 'I am Dark Fawful! I will destroy all!'
      'I know what this feels like!' Blumiere insisted. 'To feel like you'll never be your own again, to feel like you need to destroy everything to make things right...you can escape that!' He jumped over a blast of dark power and kicked Fawful in the stomach. Far from knocking the wind out of him, all it did was make him stagger backwards. 'You only have half of what I did, and I escaped it too!'
      Fawful kicked Blumiere in the stomach, returning the favour. His attack was much more successful, and blasted Blumiere off his feet. Mimi tackled him, sending them both rolling across the ground. When they were still, Fawful was forcing Mimi against the floor, smiling. 'Your trying has goodness, but not enough of it!'
      'Fawful...you can't do this!' Mimi cried. 'This isn't you, I know it!'
      'Wrongness!' the Bean snarled.
      'No, I'm right! You...' She looked into his eyes. 'I know you still love me.'
      Fawful's grip faltered as the darkness in his heart and mind wavered. 'I-I...' He was fighting that fact right now, whether he wanted to or not.
      'And I...' Mimi continued, her voice dropping. 'I...I love you too.'
      The boy's red eyes widened. 'What...?'
      'You've been there for me every time I needed it,' she whispered. 'I love you.' Her voice held traces of conflict in those words, but Fawful didn't notice them in the slightest.
      'Mi...Mimi...' Things were clearing in his mind, and the youthful feelings of love were slowly overpowering important things. Like how to speak. He was also suddenly aware that the Chaos Heart was yelling at him in a painful tone.
      'KILL HER YOU FOOL!' it roared in agony.
      Without another word, she grabbed the sides of his head, pulled him towards her, and kissed him.
      What happened to Fawful in the next few moments was hard for him to comprehend. First, it was as if a cleansing light spread from heart throughout his entire body, dispelling the Chaos Heart's influence and making him turn back to his normal appearance. The Heart's raging words were drowned out in a sea of pure light.
      When his consciousness was reverted back to normal, that was when the physical sensations kicked in. He was suddenly aware of Mimi's lips on his and his heart seemed to swell up, making his body warm with affection and excitement. All the feelings he had been alienated from growing up until now suddenly took over his whole body. Everything melted away: the stress of Dimentio's onslaughts, the power of the Chaos Heart, the fact that they weren't the only people in the immediate vicinity, even the world around him. Nothing mattered...not even the death of Cackletta could shake this. His mind even seemed to numb, losing its grip on things it was always occupied with: plans, inventions, memories, and important bits of information (ie: his name). Everything was shoved aside. This was the only thing that mattered at the moment.
      Mimi stopped and lightly pushed him away. She stared up at him, her cheeks pink, and he stared down at her, his cheeks the same colour. 'Mimi...' he breathed.
      Mimi looked breathless and shocked. 'I...'
      'Um...' Luigi muttered, then coughed loudly. Too loud for it to be normal.
      Suddenly the two green beings realized exactly what position they were in. Their eyes widened and they both yelped in surprise, Fawful instantly jumping off of her and Mimi scrambling to get up. Both were blushing, their faces red. 'Uh...I...' Mimi couldn't talk.
      'We need to get going,' Mario said bluntly. 'Come on. Our mystery aid won't find itself.' He started to walk and motioned for the others to follow. Timpani smiled girlishly at Mimi and giggled, making the green girl become even redder. Blumiere took her hand and led her off, but paused and looked back into Fawful's eyes, studying him.
      Lord Blumiere... Fawful thought, and Count Bleck... Both of them were one and the same. Count Bleck had been born from Lord Blumiere, his mind twisted and corrupted by the Dark Prognosticus and the Chaos Heart. Count Bleck wanted to destroy everything and leave it in ruin...all because his love had been lost. The dark power had fed him lies and goaded him into everything. The thing that saved him in the end hadn't been Mario and the rest of them. They had no part in it. The thing that had freed him had been his love for Timpani. Love had allowed him to break free from the chains of the Dark Prognosticus and its prophecy.
      'Love...' he whispered.
      Mimi looked at him. 'What was that?'
      Fawful frowned and crossed his arms, his eyes distant. 'Why are we on this quest of heroicness?' he asked her.
      Mimi actually laughed. 'Are you joking? It's to get enough power to create a Purity Heart, silly. We need it to beat Dimentio.'
      'Yesing, but...' The thoughts couldn't make it to his mouth.
      'But what?' The girl pressed. 'What're you thinking about?'
      'It is...he...Dimentio...' Fawful sighed. 'Nothing, never of the minding.'
      Mimi frowned. 'Are you okay?' Fawful just nodded. '...alright then, if you say so.' Her hand closed around his. 'Come on, we don't have time to wait.' They started walking off towards Shooting Star Summit.
      Fawful couldn't wrap his mind around something. Their quest was to create a Purity Heart, a power object with abilities to rival and even cancel out that of the Chaos Heart, the thing that allowed Dimentio to open the Void and the thing that was slowly twisting both Dimentio's and Fawful's minds. But...something didn't seem right. When Fawful had succumbed to the Chaos Heart's will and become Dark Fawful, his mind had been altered. He had become darker and eviler, more sadistic. He had become like Dimentio. Why had that been? It was because the Chaos Heart had influenced him. If he had become like that from the Chaos Heart's power, then what of Dimentio? Was his sadistic nature a result of the Chaos Heart and Dark Prognosticus? If so, then a Purity Heart would completely erase all his evil and make him become...good.
      No, that wasn't right. Fawful knew how being a vessel for darkness felt. As Dark Fawful, as the Chaos Heart's vessel, he had become barbaric. He had felt so truly evil, as if destruction was the only thing he could do. He had wanted to kill everyone in his sight, even Mimi. He hadn't cared about their lives at all. They had been but toys to him. Ever sense the day he had found it in the castle library, those dark powers had been influencing Dimentio, corrupting him. For thousands of years the darkness had dwelled in him, feeding his desire for destruction and a perfect world. Even still, Dimentio's reason for evil couldn't be erased simply by removing the Chaos Heart. The darkness would still be there. He could still succeed without the Heart. How did Fawful snap out of his dark trance? It had been Mimi's huge gesture of affection that allowed the love to bloom inside his heart. Love, the fuel of the Purity Heart, had turned him back to normal. A Purity Heart alone would not stop Dimentio. The jester's pain and suffering had been bottled up inside of him for too long, hidden behind a mask of comical laughter. He had denied himself love, fearing the pain it brought. He was too far into despair to turn back. He needed love. True love. The love of a person, someone who would be there forever...and now he could no longer love at all.
      If a mere object could not stop his rage and his grief, then what were they fighting for?
Well, here it is, chapter 23 of A Broken Heart! This one got even ME emotional, and I WROTE IT. So if this doesn't tug at your heartstrings, I'm going to announce my surrender. XD

Hope you like it. :D
© 2010 - 2024 DarkMarxSoul
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bakester64's avatar
I HAVE THE TEARS OF EMOTIONAL-NESS AT THE CHAPTER WHICH IS THIS!!!!

Seriously, I teared up a little bit at Fawfuls breakdown there. This was fantastic to read. And Fawful finally getting the girl I suppose only added to it. Tears of Joy, Tears of happiness, Tears of... well, EVERYTHING were shed here. Easily up there in the best chapters so far, and I can't wait to read the next chapter!