THINGS MOVED OFF MY FFN

PENANCE AND REPENT (PART 1/1)

Absolutely nothing could compare to the feeling of having his game end.

He'd done it to so many people, so many times- was this really what it was like?

It was bone-chilling. Terrifying.

Especially since he knew what was coming.

The last thing he saw before it happened was the Chaos Heart... And then it was all over. A fade to black, a flash of white, and he was there. The Underwhere was just like he remembered it- had the Chaos Heart been stopped? It had to have been... Even if the land of the dead was immune to the destruction, it would be a lot more crowded, would it not? ...regardless. There was no time to linger on such things. Dimentio took a moment to look around properly- he'd only been there once before, and it was so briefly... The place gave him such a bad feeling, he had to escape to a different dimension before he was overwhelmed. Perhaps the heroes were better off unmonitored here, he had thought. And now he was back, and able to properly take in the awful scenery. The purples and greens, dying plants and a cave as the sky...

Dimentio was dead. Game over.

Why was he so calm?

He walked through the barren plains- for some reason, he didn't feel like flying (didn't feel like he could fly, anymore)- keeping his arms close to his chest and looking around at the Shades who surrounded him. Some of them recognized them. He tried not to make eye contact. He could feel their glares. When he came to the orange-water fountain, he knelt and drank as was customary- even he knew that- and he began to feel something returning to him (how much HP did he have before?) as well as the Shades dispersing behind him- finally. The short walk felt like an eternity, in his powerless state, but at least he was beginning to blend in... this was good, if he were to spend the rest of his days here.

He moved on, past the fountain and past the crowd of Shades who lingered by it and its revitalizing waters. He walked past all the traps set for shades who dare to approach the palace- it was like they moved out of his way. Dimentio didn't mind. Less work for him.

The ferryman was silent. The river twigs lay, imposing and wide, in front of them, and when he tried to hand the ferryman a coin, he just shook his head and hopped in the boat anyways, motioning for the jester to follow. The boat ride was short. Too short.

Even the D-Men (that was what they were called, wasn't it) seemed to be avoiding him as he climbed the steps to the palace where the Queen resided. There would be no beating around the bush for him. He was not a Shade yet, and he wanted his judgement to come before he no longer had the will to move- but there was something there that he wasn't expecting. Queen Jaydes, staring him down with the coldest look he'd ever received, surrounded by a veritable army of D-Men, Nimbis, and accompanied by Grambi, the King of the Overthere. (If his memory served him correctly, of course. He wasn't exactly trusting of his senses right now.) He took a step back, letting the first wave of fear wash over him, sending a chill down his spine.

"Dimentio, I presume." Jaydes spoke, tone laced with utter loathing. "The one who tried to destroy all worlds..."

"News travels fast down here, I see." He responded. "I was under the assumption everyone still thought it was Bleck, if they knew what the void meant at all."

"You weren't aware, then... I was wondering why it had taken so long for you to come to us." Jaydes sighed.

"...I am confused." He stated, after a pause. "I came as soon as I could, so as not to be reduced to a shambling Shade..."

"Um, if I may..." Grambi interjected. "Thou hast been somewhere other than here, I presume, for the time between thy game ending now hast been... long."