The Perfect World

Chapter 11

You walk up to the door, taking another look at the eyes in the wall. You give then the dirtiest of glares, then pull the chain around your neck off, sliding the monocle into your pocket and holding the key in your left hand. With a steady hand, you open the door. The tunnel is pitch black.

You look inside. The cobwebs are all gone. It's just dark. It also seems significantly longer than before. But that doesn't stop you. You need to save the Alternate L. You need to save the ghosts.

You can't let your fear stop you.

"Be brave," You whisper. "Be brave."

You are fully aware that you are walking into a trap. The Manguer had full control over that world. Almost anything he didn't want to happen wouldn't happen. A part of you thinks he probably knew you'd come back once you read the note L gave you. He knew you'd come back for him. That must be why he let L give it to you. Why he let L have feelings. To use him against you against his will.

Clever. Horrible, but clever.

"Dimentio?" Mr. L's voice asks ahead of you, and you perk up. You see the other end of the door open, and you see his silhouette. "L?!" You ask, a glint of hope in your voice. "You can talk?!"

"Dimentio! You came back for me!!" 

You quickly breathe a happy sigh of relief and crawl quickly to him, getting there and hugging him tightly around his waist. "I-I thought I lost you!" You cry.

"My king... why would you run away from me," He says, his voice becoming colder. You feel a cold, thin hand grasp your shoulder. You look at it and gasp, before shoving him away.

His form changes from the smiling alternate L to that stretched-out, demented Bleck form. Only now his neck is longer and his waste is thinner.

You clench your fists. "Where's L?!"

"Oh? Mr. L? In the real world, probably hopelessly looking for his missing friend." He replies.

You wince slightly at the implications that he's been spying on the real Mr. L too, but push that aside. "Not that one," You say. "Where is he?! Tell me!"

"Ohh, the lovely little trader. He's hanging around."

You glare and point an accusing finger at him. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!"

"Now, Dimentio, no need to be difficult. Have a seat, won't you?" He asks when suddenly two hands grab your waist and lift you up. You gasp and look behind you to see a deformed version of Nastasia. Her face looks almost melted and her body is almost pumpkin-like now. She mutters some unintelligible words, her voice incredibly slow and slurred.

She sits you down in a chair that looks like a large beetle, and you shiver. Then, the Manguer walks up to you and snatches the key from your hand. He smiles, locks the door, then holds the key over his mouth, dropping it and swallowing it.

You glare. "Why don't you have your own key?" You spit.

"Only one key," Nastasia drunkenly says, holding up a finger when the Manguer grabs her.

"The garden squash need tending, Nastasia. Why don't you go work on that, pumpkin." He says as he drags her out by the shoulders. She doesn't protest. She just lets him, mumbling things to herself.

You wait a few moments, looking around the room. "Where are you L?" You whisper, when you notice a small circle on a bug shelf a few feet from the door. You eye it a moment when you hear the Manguer call, "Breakfast time!"

You wince, then go to the dining room, where the Manguer is humming and cracking eggs into a bowl.

Be strong, Dimentio, you tell yourself, sitting down at the table.