EPISODE 8-1

It was another morning in Castle Bleck. Even though he himself was not a morning person, he liked for everybody to start to wake up and be up at a reasonably early hour. So even though nobody really wanted to, everyone started dragging thesmelves out of bed at six or seven. The first meeting was usually at eight or nine if they were expecting to recieve news or a new mission, which they were. Nastasia made breakfast first, and the rest of them came in at staggering times to eat and make light conversation, but the morning was dead otherwise. By eight they were all in their places in the meeting room- O'Chunks, Mimi, Dimentio, and Mr. L all standing on their pedistals, and Nastasia and Tippi above them all, just below and above the Count's pedistal respectively.

Except there was no Count.

Nastasia checked her watch. The Count usually kept strictly to his scheduel, which was yet another thing she loved about him. It was not like him to be running late, even less so for him to not tell her so she could adjust accordingly.

"Ah, so, when'r we gonna get it started then?" O'Chunks bellowed. He wasn't really yelling- his voice was always an enormous presence, and in the quiet and still morning it seemed even more so.

"Golly, O'Chunks," said Mimi, sticking her finger in her ear and trying to restore her hearing. "Why don't you save the sonic booms for when I'm not around, huh?"

"Ah, sorry, lass," O'Chunks replied. "I keep fergettin' how puny yer wee little ears be."

"Puny? Mimimimimi! I'll show you puny!"

"Please, Mimi," Dimentio said. "O'Chunks only mean that your ears are inferior and pathetic in comparison to his enormous, beastly girth. It certainly isn't your fault you're both so differently hideous."

"Ah, why'd yeh have teh drag me girth inta it," O'Chunks said threateningly. "Now yeh'r gonna have teh feel the full force o' it."

"Yeah!" Mimi snapped. "What he said... only for me!"

"Just a second," Mr. L cut in. "Usually by now the Count has said something to get the fighting to stop."

They all looked up at the pedistal and, sure enough, the Count wasn't there.

"Yeah," said Nastasia. "It's just me."

"Well, that certainly is odd," said Dimentio, more to himself than anyone else. "It's not like the Count to leave us hanging like this, is it?"

"So, where is the Count?" The question seemd to come from everyone.

"I haven't seen him," said Nastasia. "Yeah, so I have no idea where he could be. Tippi, have you seen him this morning?"

"No," said Tippi. "When I woke up, he was already gone. I assuemed he'd gone to get breakfast and get started on his work, so I waited to see him at the meeting."

An odd silence hung in the room.

"Search the castle," said Nastasia. "It's probably nothing but we really should figure out what's going on, anyway. Dimentio, first floor, west wing. Mimi, first floor, east wing. Mr. L, second floor east wing. O'Chunks, second floor west wing. I'll take the entryway and the atrium, and all the central areas. Tippi, check the grounds. Call the others when you find him. It's probably nothing but we should probably be on top of this. We'll have the meeting back here in a half-hour unless the Count gives us other orders, K? K. Break."

They didn't find Count Bleck anywhere. At first they were simply opening doors and calling his name, figuring he'd lost track of time and was dawdling somewhere in the castle. But when they'd called all the rooms in thier area and hadn't heard from anyone else either, it got a bit more intense. Checking in and around the room to see if he'd fallen asleep in some forgotten corner, or if he was simply hiding out in a closet somewhere, or rolled under a bed and couldn't get out. Then it was simply looking for the sake of looking- he had to be somewhere, so check everywhere.

And they didn't find him. The regular four came back to the meeting room empty-handed, hoping Nastasia had the answer. They didn't even get onto their regular stands. As soon as they walked in, the saw Nastasia standing by herself holding the Beige Prognosticus and looking worried. As soon as she saw them, she cleared her throat and straightened up, suddenly looking more professional and business-like. Tippi fluttered in through a window.

"I didn't find Blumiere anywhere," she said. "Nastasia, I'm really worried. What if something happened to him?"

"He's fine," said Nastasia. "This is all probably nothing, just a breakdown in communication. Yeah, he probably went out today and I forgot to deliver the memo to everyone."

"You, forgetting to deliver a memo?" Dimentio said with obvious disbelief. "That's quite possibly even more troubling."

"When did we see him last?" asked Mimi.

"Last night after dinner," said O'Chunks, "just like we always do. No, wait a minnit there... I didn't see 'im at dinner. 'E was still out on one o' 'is fact-findin' trips when I et me grub."

"Same here," said Mr. L. "Tippi, did you see him before you went to bed?"

"No," said Tippi slowly. "I remember now. I went to bed early... I wasn't feeling well."

"And you didn't see him this morning," Mimi finished. "O'Chunks... Nastasia... and... do you think maybe he didn't actually come home?"

"I'm going to check his notes," said Nastasia. "Find out exactly where he went yesterday. I'll be right back, K?"

Nastasia left quickly and headed down the corridors to Count Bleck's private study. It wasn't that nobody was allowed in the study; he had never explicitely forbade anyone from entering. But he did a lot of serious work in there and couldn't be bothered, and much of his work was closed up and filed away when he wasn't there, making it all seem very private. What went on in Count Bleck's study was his own business, and even Tippi didn't go in there.

Nastasia went in now. Inside, it looked as if he was still working. He always cleaned up after himself, putting books back on the shelf and putting papers back in drawers or boxes. Now there were open books strewn on the desk and surrounding floor, and papers all over the place. It didn't look like a struggle- the Count was a messy worker- but it looked like he had been pulled away in the middle of something.

Nastais set the Beige Prognosticus on the pedistal and opened it to the last page that had writing on it. The Count wrote everything he wanted to go in there on a seperate sheet of paper, and had Nastasia transcribe it into the book. His handwriting was chicken scratch at best, but her penmanship was smooth and perfect. Like everything else she did, he told her. He'd given her that compliment once, and she treasured it close to her heart. He didn't love her, but he thought she was perfect.

No time to dwell on a lost love, she reminded herself. Quickly she brushed aside her fantasies and checked his desk. The last thing he was working on would be on the desk. After he finished with that thing, he'd put it ont he floor next to him, and through constant circulation and movement it would drift farther and farther away. The first thing he did would be on the outer edge of the mess perimiter.

There were a few letters on the desk. Nastasia picked up the one on top and read silently

Castle Bleck:

Your reputation has spread far and wide since your successes at Rogueport, Fahr Outpost, and most recently Twilight Town. We, too, have a problem we don't know how to solve. Could you please visit us and help us drive these Monty Moles away once and for all?

--From the residents of Flower Fields

There were several more letters like it, asking for assistance in solving problems.

Dear Castle Bleck:

Word of your helpfulness and courage has spread to my part of the world. I wonder of you could do me, too, a favor. If you see my good-for-nothing husband on one of your missions, could you point him in my direction? He went on an archaeological mission again without telling me.

--Love, Kolorado's Wife

Nastasia began to skim the other letters in the pile.

We need you hook us up, brah. Cragnons having bad trouble with Floro Sapians. It bad time. Hook us up, brah

--From Cragnons

The hunger! Oh, for some food!

--Belome

Would you help us chase away these darn Fuzzies? They keep coming back and it's driving us crazy!

--Yoshi Village

We need more Shine Sprites!

--Piantas

So, um... look, I need help with my sewing. I can't get the pleats to come out right! And if I ask anybody else here for help, I'll turn into a laughingstock. But I really need to get these pleats right! Come on, help me out, yeah?

--Wario

I can't find my good gloves. You know, the ones that go with my purple and red dress? The one I wore to the fancy dress party? Have you seen them? Oh, never mind- here they are. Oopsie!

--Mimi

Yeah, so... look, I need to win a race again, okay? I'm loosing my cred around this place. Anything you can do for me, it'd be sweet. I don't need to be the boss again. Just need someone to make me look good.

--Boshi

Nastasia frowned. The Count would never accept such a selfish mission as that. And some of them were just plain strange. But some of the letters were from people who would truly need his help. Truly, his reputation was growing as a doer of good and someone you could call on to help. His dream of making the world a better place was already coming true.

There was one other letter, on the side of the desk, with a piece of paper next to it. She'd missed it in her first go-over, but now she picked up that one and read it too.

Dear Count Bleck.

We, too, have a seemingly unsolvable problem. We live deep in the underground of Toad Town and Forever Forest. We are trapped here by fighting with those that live above, and since it's broken out I cannot be with my love. Please come and help the fighting stop.

K. Man Koopa Troop

There was something wrong with this letter. Nastasia could tell, but she couldn't know how, or what. She picked up the piece of paper under it and saw it was a note he'd left himself. It read, "Visit KM Koopa 4 details to decide." To decide whether or not to take on the mission, and who to send. Of course he'd take it on, she realized with a grin. Someone seperated from his true love? He would be all over that mission.