Chapter Text
The next morning, everyone gathered around the breakfast table and talked about the latest village news. They sat in their usual positions with the addition of one new family member. Zephyr sat next to Count Bleck and said little, not knowing much about news or politics. Still, he felt an invisible pair of eyes on him the entire time.
“So, how was the guest room?” Nastasia asked. “I hope it was comfortable last night. It’s only temporary until we can offer you a permanent room.”
Zephyr finished chewing the bite he was on before swallowing. “It was nice! I like how soft the bed is in there. My mattress at the orphanage was ok, just a little hard.”
“Nastasia and I can always take ya shoppin’ fer more personal bedsheets and blankets if you’d like,” O’Chunks added.
The boy grinned before remembering his latest interest. Turning to Count Bleck, he asked, “Oh, that reminds me. When are we going to start those magic lessons? That’s one thing Diana said we’d do, but we never did. She thought boring subjects like math were more important.”
Count Bleck thought for a moment. “Well, I’d say we could start--”
“It’s going to be a while,” Tippi interrupted.
Zephyr looked at the butterfly, caught off guard. That was the first time she had spoken since he sat down. “How much longer is a while?”
“I’m not sure…Blumiere and I will discuss it later, alright?”
Zephyr frowned, but didn’t see the point in pushing further. “Oh. Okay…”
The other minions looked at each other, confused. However, before any of them could say a word, Tippi continued. “I’m going out to the garden. I’ll be back in a little bit.”
Count Bleck furrowed his brows. “Are you alright, my dear?”
“I’m fine. I just need some fresh air.”
For some reason, Count Bleck’s eyes landed on Zephyr at that moment. He stared for a few seconds before he glanced back to his wife and replied, “Okay, love.”
With that, Tippi left the room. Zephyr slumped in his chair and chewed on his bottom lip. “Count…Is Tippi mad at me?”
“Why would you think that?”
“Well, I didn’t wanna say anything while she was here…but I noticed her kinda staring at me a bit.”
O’Chunks stroked his chin. “She was a wee bit…off.”
“Yeah, she didn’t really say much,” Mimi added.
“Don’t worry, everyone,” Count Bleck reassured them. “I’ll talk to her as soon as I’m done here.”
Nastasia nodded. “‘Kay, Count. We trust you.”
Zephyr sat up straighter and leaned forward slightly. “Can you mention the magic lessons again? I really wanna start those soon.”
“Yes, I’ll be sure to mention those too.”
Tippi felt at home in the Castle Bleck garden. On days when she had better control of her human form, she would tend to the plants. Most of the time, though, she was content to fly among the flowers and bushes. It wasn’t long until she saw her husband come out. He wore a soft smile as usual. “Hello, Timpani. Do you mind if I join you?”
“Not at all, Blumiere.”
The man grabbed a nearby chair and sat down. Tippi floated near him for a little while before landing on his hat. He chuckled, stroking her wings. “It is such a lovely day out.”
Tippi felt the sunshine and the gentle breeze. She also admired the trees since autumn was approaching and the leaves were beginning to change color. “I agree.”
Count Bleck’s smile faltered. “Timpani, why don’t you want Zephyr to start learning magic?”
Tippi sighed. It wasn’t unusual for Count Bleck to want to sit in the garden with his wife, but the fact that he came out so quickly after breakfast should have signaled what the conversation would be about. “You know why.”
“Because he was Dimentio?”
“Yes,” Tippi replied before flying off of her husband’s head so she could look at him directly. “If we really have a chance to raise him all over again, then is it really a smart idea to teach him magic?”
“Love, this child isn’t just Dimentio again. He’s Zephyr.”
For a moment, Tippi wasn’t sure what her husband was talking about. Quietly, she admitted so. “I don’t know what you mean by that.”
“It means we need to give him a chance to do good. How is he supposed to do that if we hold him back?”
Tippi looked away, her antenna drooping slightly. “I just don’t want him to hurt anyone again…”
“Don’t worry. Like I said last night, he most likely doesn’t remember being Dimentio at all. I’ll show him how to use magic the right way. I promise you everything will turn out fine.”
The Pixl thought long and hard before making her next decision. “Alright, you can teach him magic. But on one condition.”
“Which is?”
“I teach him his first spell.”
Count Bleck grinned. He offered a hand and Tippi landed on the front of it. “Thank you, Timpani,” He said softly.
“I’m doing this for you. Not for him.”
The man nodded solemnly. “Right. Of course…”
That afternoon, Tippi told Zephyr to follow her outside for his first magic lesson. As soon as he heard that, the boy came to life, eyes wide with awe and wonder. The two went to the training grounds and Zephyr was practically bouncing with excitement. For just a moment, Tippi almost forgot who he was. Almost.
“Do you know the four basic elements?” She asked.
Zephyr thought about it. “Water, earth, fire and air…Right?”
“Correct. These elements are the foundation for what comes next. Mastering them is essential. We’ll start with air and work our way up.”
The boy nodded with a bright smile on his face. “Sounds good, Tippi!”
The Pixl thought back to when she studied magic all those years ago. Her mentor, Coda, was a kind and open-minded man who encouraged Tippi to always keep trying, no matter how hard things seemed at first. She remembered those years well because that was around the time that she met a certain member of the Tribe of Darkness.
“The first spell I ever learned was how to float,” She explained. “I could only levitate a few inches off the ground, nothing spectacular yet, but just those few inches gave me the confidence to learn even further. We start by taking deep breaths. Breathe in for four seconds, pause for two, then breathe out for six.”
Zephyr nodded and took three deep breaths. “Okay. What next?”
“Close your eyes.” He did so. “Now, listen to the sound of my voice. Gravity keeps us on the ground physically, but other things can weigh us down. They make us feel ashamed and afraid. What is weighing you down, Zephyr?”
The five-year-old cringed. “Kids at the orphanage didn’t like me. They thought I was weird…”
Tippi recalled how he said that the other kids didn’t play with him often during their first meeting and felt a twinge of pity. “I can see how that would feel isolating…”
“There’s more. I’m scared that I don’t really belong here.”
The Pixl hesitated. This next question might be pushing the boy a little far, but she had to know. “Is there anything else on your mind? Anything at all?”
Zephyr winced. “There is one thing…”
“Yes?”
The boy was quiet for a moment. Soon, his face relaxed and a small smile even appeared. The next thing Tippi knew, he was hovering a few inches off of the ground. She gasped. “Zephyr!”
He opened his eyes and looked down. His eyes widened. “I’m doing it! I’m really doing it!”
At first, Tippi wasn’t sure what to say. “I…I don’t believe it! You caught on instantly!” Zephyr grinned. He floated even higher, his smile growing all the while. For just a short moment, Tippi felt pride for the boy.
Then, she remembered Dimentio and that pride turned into fear. She thought of how he hurt Mario and his friends during his encounters with them. He even hurt two people who were supposedly on his own side: O’Chunks when he took control of him with the floro sprout and Nastasia when the end of all worlds was fast approaching.
“Okay, Zephyr. You can stop now.” The boy didn’t seem to hear her. Instead, he chuckled to himself. “Zephyr?” Suddenly, he burst out laughing. All Tippi could think about was how gleeful Dimentio had been in his final moments. Even when Super Dimentio was falling apart, he just laughed and laughed. Raising her voice slightly, Tippi said, “Zephyr! Enough!”
Those words finally registered. Zephyr frowned before floating back down. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he whispered, “I-I’m sorry, Tippi.”
The Pixl faltered. “No, it’s alright. You did well.”
Zephyr stared at the ground. Quietly, he asked, “Then why did you sound so scared?”
Tippi was at a loss for words. She sighed. “How about we end the lesson here for today? That was good practice.”
The boy bit his lip, but nodded. As they went back inside, Tippi was at war with herself. It took her weeks to learn that spell but Zephyr had mastered it in a single day. She wondered what other types of magic would come easily to him.
They entered the family room. There were two couches, a coffee table, and a roaring fireplace. Count Bleck sat on one of the couches on his own while Nastasia and O’Chunks shared the other couch. As the three talked, Mimi slouched in a nearby chair, idly flipping through a magazine. “We’re back,” Tippi announced.
Count Bleck glanced at them. “Well, how did it go?”
Zephyr smiled, though there was just a pinch of caution in it. “I can float now.”
That got everyone’s attention. They all looked up from what they were doing. Nastasia said, “Your first spell already? Wow…That’s amazing.”
After setting her magazine down on the coffee table, Mimi stood. “Show us!”
Zephyr blushed. “Well…Okay.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. This time, when he tried to float, his feet stayed firmly on the ground. He opened his eyes and frowned when he saw that he wasn’t hovering. “Huh. Maybe I’m not doing it right…”
“Don’t worry, Zephyr. You’ll get it,” Nastasia said.
O’Chunks nodded. “Aye. Magic is a skill like any other, and it takes practice to summon it at will like that.”
The boy shrugged. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”
Count Bleck picked up one of the objects sitting on the coffee table. “Well, while you were outside, we found another gift for you.”
“What is it?”
The blue-skinned man handed the item to Zephyr. “It occurred to me the other day that we didn’t include a picture of all of us together in the photo album. This is a photo that we all took a month or so ago. We thought you could keep it in your bedroom.”
The five-year-old took the framed picture and studied it closely. He squinted. “Hmm…”
“Something wrong?” Mimi asked, tilting her head.
Zephyr shook his head. “No, it’s just that…” He looked at Count Bleck and Tippi. “There’s you two.” He turned to Nastasia and O’Chunks, pointing at them. “And you and you.” Finally, he looked at Mimi. “And you…”
The spider nodded. “Yeah?”
Zephyr turned his attention back to the photo, brushing against each member’s face. “Was there ever…another member of the group?”
O’Chunks rubbed the back of his head. “Well, there was Mr. L…”
Mimi nodded. “Right! He was with us for a little while, but he’s moved on since. He’s Luigi now.”
“Sometimes he’ll come over for visits with his daughter, but he’s doing his own thing these days,” Nastasia added. “He used to be a hero along with his brother, but now he’s the ruler of Sarasaland.”
Zephyr shook his head. “No. Not L. Someone else.”
The room grew quiet again. Count Bleck and Tippi exchanged nervous glances. Mimi’s expression grew dark. “There was one other person. But he’s not important.”
The boy blinked. “Well, who was he?”
Nastasia sighed. “We don’t talk about him…”
“Why not?”
O’Chunks approached the boy and gently put a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll tell you about him later. Fer now, did you want to play a game?”
Zephyr grinned. “Sure. That sounds fun.”
The boy followed the warrior. Mimi and Nastasia seemed grateful for the distraction and quickly joined them. The four chatted about childish activities like hide-and-seek and tag before they left the room. Soon, it was just Count Bleck and Tippi again.
Tippi broke the silence. “He’s remembering…”
Count Bleck nodded. “It would seem so.”
“Then, we need to tell everyone the truth. They deserve to know.”
The man shook his head. “No. Not yet. If we tell them now, then they’ll just see the man he was and not the boy he has become.”
“Well, we have to let them know eventually.”
“I’ll tell them when the time is right. For now, I want them to give Zephyr a chance.”
Meanwhile, Zephyr and the others had decided on playing a game of hide-and-seek. As O’Chunks set the ground rules, the boy thought about that last person and how something deep inside of him already knew who it was.