Fallen Stars: A New Age - Act 2 - Chapter Nine

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Dream Journal #2 - Entry 30

I think I’m losing it.

No wait, scratch that… I’m definitely losing it.

I’m seeing ghosts now I think. I was helping out at Magolor’s ship today and I think I blanked out, I dunno how long, but when I came to I was on the floor, and there was a bunch of strangers around me. A bunch of them were weird aliens, and they were all asking me if I was okay, and before I knew it, they were gone. This is making me too uncomfortable now… It’ll be hard to hide my fainting problem from the others for too long if it continues… And I still dreamt about the Crystal last night…

Ribbon, I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I’m sorry I was so useless…  

Gently, quietly, the waves swooshed up against the bank, bringing up sea foam and bubbling water before silently retreating back into the sea. The night was cool and fresh, and the slight breeze brought many a delicious smells, all coming from the sea.

Two weeks had passed since the disaster on Ripple Star.

Kirby walked along the beach, his steps heavy, his mind wandering off. His feet left long trails in the sand, as if he had no strength or motivation to even lift them, and his eyes were gazing, empty, at the horizon line, far into the ocean. The moon was full and high against the sky, shining down upon the land and lighting up the dark of the night with her cool light, hopeful in lighting up the Star Warrior’s empty gaze with stars.

Of course, Dragato - and the whole of the Agency - had found out about Kirby’s little escapade to Ripple Star. News of “Ripple Star’s biggest disaster” had spread out like wildfire, and of course it was grown out of proportion with the rumour that Nightmare’s Destroyer had been there when it happened. While Kirby, due to his mental distress, had only had a firm talk to by Sir Dragato, such wasn’t the case with Galacta Knight, who had taken all responsibility for what had transpired. He didn’t lose his job, but his honour was far from recovered…

Kirby stopped walking. He could hear… voices, down on the beach. From here, he could see a light, as well. Curious, the Kiridan walked in their direction…

Bun had had his vacation cut short and had been sent back to the Agency by order of Sword and Blade, as punishment for lying to an officer. In the few calls he had been allowed to make, however, he told Kirby he wasn’t doing too bad; 300 laps around the Agency was… a piece of cake? Kirby, needless to say, didn’t believe him. As for Hailan, out of all of them, had been the most firm in his explaining. His words still resounded in Kirby’s head… 

“Need I remind you that I am not employed by the Agency per say, and I am thus not bound by the same rules. With all due respect, I did what was the right thing to do.”

As for Az, well… the elder Kiridan was taken to the Agency. When he and Sir Dragato met, they hugged each other like old brothers meeting after so long, but with the situation at hand, Kirby had felt a horrible tension between them right after… and the guilt came crashing down.

Of course, all this was his fault. They wouldn’t say it, but he knew it was.

And there was nothing he could do to shake that feeling off.

As he came closer to the source of light, he realized it was Hailan; he was in a remote part of the beach, near the rocky wall that made up the Castle Hill, sitting on a flat rock as he talked to a hologram. The hologram itself came from a small communication device settled in the sand, and from where he stood, Kirby couldn’t quite see who he was talking to, but his voice… it sounded so happy.

Dreadfully curious, Kirby sneaked off onto the grass and into the bushes, trying to keep quiet as he approached the ninja. Hailan wasn’t pretending to be a man to this person, and spoke in her native tongue, whose words rolled beautifully and elegantly on her tongue. Now, Kirby had a better look at the hologram… and he stood surprised. The person she was talking to… was a child. A hybrid, from what he could see, covered in long dark fur just like her, with small growing antennas on their head. Just like her, they had little markings on their face, growing along the cheeks and the forehead like a third eye. They looked just like a miniature, darker version of her… Could this be…?

Kirby waited and watched as Hailan’s expression became apologetic as the child began to pout. Now he was sure of it… Soon enough, Kirby recognized a few words she had taught him, notably “I will see you soon” and “I love you”, and when the child repeated the same words, the call quickly ended. As the hologram faded off, Hailan remained where she sat, her saddened eyes gazing off into the distance. She sighed and turned her head.

“You may come out, My Lord,” she called out to him, making his Core panic suddenly. “I’m done.”

Wondering if he should have been more subtle in his approach, a cheeky Kirby walked out of his hiding spot and smiled merrily at Hailan, who smiled back. She patted the spot next to her on the rock, allowing him to climb up and sit next to her. Without a word, she took out a most familiar object - a beautifully decorated locket with leaf patterns and jewels scattered on it like flowers - and opened it, quickly taking a small picture out to show him. As he took it, he smiled. It was that same little boy from the hologram, but perhaps a bit younger than he looked just then. A smiling Hailan in a beautiful dress was holding him in her arms, and they both looked so… happy.

“This is my son,” Hailan presented in a small voice, as if it had been a secret from everyone. “His name is Yoruchou.”

“Yoruchou…,” Kirby repeated to remember it. “I didn’t think you were a mom, Hailan. But, now that I think back, I’m not that surprised… How old is he?”

He gave the picture back, but instead of putting it back into the locket, she stared at it for a moment longer, the smile making its residence on her kind face.

“He is seventy-two,” she replied. “Just about the same age as you. I think you would both be very good friends, he is very much like you, you know.”

“Really?” Kirby smirked. “I’d like to go to your home star one day, I’d get the chance to meet him! That is, if I ever get to leave Popstar again…”

Kirby pouted at the idea of being stuck here in punishment, but Hailan chuckled, and he felt her soft furry hand settle in his back, rubbing at that little spot that always made him purr.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be able to leave Popstar sooner than you think, My Lord,” Hailan told him. “Sir Dragato is working on convincing the others as we speak… Well, Mister Khano mostly is, should I say.”

Kirby smirked again.

“Uncle Az did say he’d bring me to his colony. He’s got a little kid too that I’d like to meet, and then there’s the rest of the clan…”

He looked up at her, his eyebrows expressing worry.

“But wait… It’s been five years that you’ve been here. Does that mean… you haven’t seen your son in five years?”

Sadly, she nodded her head, and as Kirby took on a guilt-filled expression, she smiled and comforted him by saying:

“It’s alright though, he understands. He’s not alone either, I left him in the care of my clan. I contact him often too. I told him a lot about you, he’s very excited to meet you.”

Feeling a bit relieved, Kirby nodded his head, and both of them stared off into the distance. He still felt guilty, however… Here he was complaining about Meta Knight abandoning him, and yet at the same time, he was keeping Hailan away from her son… it wasn’t fair, not in the slightest. He’d have to go to Arranza Star to apologize as soon as possible. There was also the chance that he was worrying for nothing, which was the most likely part of all this. Stars, was he tired… Being this emotional all the time was exhausting.

He felt Hailan’s hand leave his back, and he turned to look her way. She was staring ahead, her gaze… resolute. A strange determination took over her features, and he stood surprised at the seriousness of her gaze.

“Kirby,” she said. “I have… another call to make.”

Quickly, the young Star Warrior stood up and prepared to leave her alone, but she hastily held him back by saying:

“However… you should hide behind this rock for this one. I want you to hear all this. Make sure to not make any noise, like I showed you.”

Confused, Kirby stared at her for a short moment, wondering why he would need to spy on her conversations like this, before hopping off behind the rock, where he ducked and laid his belly against its sandy surface. Like Hailan had taught him, he used his weight to remain very still, and from where he was, he could only just slightly see Hailan as she prepared the communication device. Peeking above the rock, he watched her as she sat back up and waited… and then, the screen hologram appeared.

Kirby felt his Core tug and tear at the sight.

That person-

The Kiridan standing on the other side of this screen-

That dark blue skin-

That V-shaped visor-

Those glowing golden eyes-

Kirby wanted to bounce out of hiding, but he knew better, and flattened himself even more when they began to talk. He was shaking; his mind was going a mile a second, he almost felt dizzy.

“Ah, Hailan,” Meta Knight spoke up, tearing Kirby’s Core apart. “I was wondering when you would call.”

“My Lord,” Hailan politely bowed her head, “I apologize for my lack of communication as of late. A lot of things happened.”

Meta Knight nodded his head…

“I heard everything,” he said, stabbing Kirby in the chest with each of his words. “Rumours go fast in this part of Gamble. It has come to my attention that you and Kirby were on Ripple Star two weeks ago. Is that to be believed?”

“Yes,” was Hailan’s humble answer. “We were there when you came. Along with Galacta Knight and your father, Azure Khano. He and Kirby are both looking for you.”

“Of course they are,” he sighed in a disapproving tone. “This does not excuse the fact that you brought Kirby into danger. I told you to-”

“With all due respect, My Lord,” Hailan cut him off, visibly ticking him off, “I did just as you asked. If you had told me that you were going to raid Ripple Star in the manner you did, I wouldn’t have allowed Kirby to go.”

By the harsh tone she had taken when uttering that reply, Meta Knight was clearly taken aback, but he said nothing, and instead Kirby heard him take a deep breath.

“It is of little matter now,” he said. “I had no choice but to do what I did.”

“The Queen was open for discussion.”

Meta Knight chuckled, and from what he could see from his hiding spot, Kirby saw a dark glint in his eyes, a shaking sparkle he didn’t like one bit…

“Hailan,” the knight said. “Do you truly believe they would have let a monster like me get even close to the Crystal?”

“My Lord, you are not-”

“We’ve already had this discussion. I have explained myself, and I shall not hear any more about this. Now, you will do as I ask, and keep Kirby away from me. We are currently heading for Shiver Star to gather the parts of the Crystal that have fallen there. As long as he’s on Popstar, he should be fine.”

“Understood,” Hailan said firmly, before her voice became softer… “... I do have one request, My Lord.”

“What is it?”

Kirby looked up at Hailan, and what he could see of her face… she looked… terribly worried… almost sad.

“It’s about Kirby, My Lord. His condition is steadily worsening, and I am afraid it might have some irreparable damage to his mental stability.”

Meta Knight remained quiet for a moment, and Kirby felt himself shiver from the way she had said those words, as if he was already too far gone... Clearly she had wanted him to hear her saying that, she wouldn’t have asked him to stay if this was a secret to be kept. But there was clearly something more to all of this… Meta Knight’s tone suggested as much.

“...Has he remembered anything yet?”

“Only in bits and pieces,” she replied. “He’s ill, My Lord. Your half of the star isn’t helping him, it’s making him ill. I had to keep it away from him after a particularly strong episode. I… cannot stand to see him like this, My Lord. Please, Sir Meta Knight, allow me to tell him the truth.”

Kirby froze at those words… The… truth…? What truth? Was… Hailan into this whole thing from the beginning... ? At that realization, a part of him felt betrayed… but another part understood, she was only following orders… 

Before Meta Knight’s silence, Hailan leaned a bit forward, her eyes looking more desperate.

“Please, My Lord,” she almost begged him. “This child is suffering needlessly, and as a mother I cannot let this go on any longer. Let me tell him who he is. Let me help him remember.”

Subtly, Kirby peeked over the rock again and stole a glance at Meta Knight. With his new mask covering his face, he couldn’t quite understand his expression; even his eyes didn’t express much… He looked… made of stone… 

But when he spoke… his voice was the same as it used to be.

The Meta Knight he knew.

The one who cared, even though he’d never say it.

“... Alright. You may tell him. If he really is hurting… I suppose it’s my own doing.”

Was that… the sound of regret? Kirby saw Hailan bow forward in gratitude, replying:

“Thank you, My Lord. Thank you…”

“I only wish I could tell him myself… but I was not able to. I’m sorry for putting this on you, my dear.”

She smiled, sweetly, and Kirby raised an eyebrow inquisitively… He continued; his tone… was softer now. Kinder.

“How is Yoruchou?” he asked in that tone Kirby had only heard a few times before. “I trust he is growing well?”

“Yes,” Hailan’s smile grew. “I just called him, in fact. Oh you should have seen him, he was so happy to see me… I love seeing him happy, it… relieves me. I most likely worry too much about him, heh…”

“A parent never worries too much for their child,” Meta Knight replied. “I understood as much with Kirby… At least, Fumu made me understand that.”

“Don’t worry about Kirby,” Hailan told him in a soft, motherly tone. “I’ll take care of him. Just… hurry up and find those Crystals. He… truly misses you.”

“I know… I know… I must go now. Call me again after you’ve told him. I… need to know what he thinks.”

“Of course. Good luck, My Lord.”

And with one last nod from the knight, the contact was cut, and the device was turned off. Now, there was only silence… and the sound of the waves.

Kirby laid against the rock, his Core palpitating like a wild beast in his being. Tears were welling up in his eyes, but he couldn’t shed them. They were stuck in, and no matter how much he blinked, they wouldn’t leave. He tried to take some deep breaths to calm himself, but seeing that it did nothing, he raised his head to Hailan instead, and found her holding out a hand to him. He took it, and allowed her to bring him back on top of the rock.

There they sat in silence for a long moment… until Kirby raised his head to her again; his eyes were sparkling with his unshed tears, and she found that she couldn’t look away.

“So… you were in contact with him… this whole time.”

She gave a small nod, and he took a moment to digest that. He felt a lump in his throat, and it wouldn’t leave no matter how many times he tried to gulp it down. His eyes were stinging…

“And, what you said just then, about me being sick… He knew about it?”

She nodded again, and he took a deep breath.

“Why… isn’t he coming back then…? What does he need the Crystal for…?”

Before she started to explain, Hailan took his hands in hers and prompted him to stand up, saying:

“Come, we should take this to your home. It is getting a bit cold out here.”

Quiet, Kirby followed her along the beach, and right toward his home…

Hailan now sat in front of the fireplace, staring off into the flickering flames. She had prepared some tea for the both of them, and now Kirby was sitting beside her in front of the warm fire, with Azure serving as a blanket around him, and he calmly waited for her explanation. She finally turned to him; her eyes shone brightly in the dimly lit room… 

“Sir Meta Knight is ill as well,” she finally said, “but from a completely different evil. Unfortunately, that is the limit of my knowledge, as he has not told me where he became sick. The specifics of what ails him… It is unlike anything I’ve ever heard of…”

“He was coughing a lot when he was here…,” Kirby said quietly, making her nod.

“He is weakened,” she started to explain, “and for some reason, his Core will not produce more Dust for him. His body has stopped making energy, and now, he is running out of options. Part of me understands why he raided Ripple Star in the manner he did, though how unprofessional it may be... ”

Kirby took a moment to think. Kiridans were strange creatures; he had learned long ago that their bodies did not function with organs, as was the case with other species, but rather created endless supplies of stardust, of which they were mostly made. That stardust would serve as energy and as the life source of their Core, their heart and their being. If Meta Knight’s body had stopped creating stardust… what… would the consequences be…? Stardust were their bloodstream, the source of their life! Even their Core would perish without it to hold it together!

“Does… he think the Crystal would heal him…?” Kirby asked, to which she nodded again.

“I believe so. I am not that familiar with the powers of this Crystal, but the energy that emanated from it was bright and pure… Perhaps he is looking to cleanse himself.”

“But,” Kirby started, taking a moment to think of his words, “earlier, he said that you had to keep me away from him. Why? Is… his sickness contagious?”

“No, that’s not the reason,” she said in a tone that became sadder by the second. “You must understand, he is not… the man we both once knew. It… truly is a shame, but ever since the incident with the Dark Matter attack, he believes himself to be a monster. A demon that could hurt you at any moment… He wants you to be safe, Kirby. More than anything.”

Instead of letting him answer that the prospect of Meta Knight hurting him willingly was ridiculous, Hailan continued.

“Now… it brings us to the matter I wanted to discuss with you.”

Kirby stopped himself from saying anything, and he listened. She took a moment to gather her thoughts, or perhaps even to think of where to begin, and after a few moments of silence where she stared off into the fire, she asked her first question.

“Tell me, My Lord. What is your farthest memory? As far as you can remember, what is the first thing you can see?”

For a moment, Kirby found himself at a loss for what to say. Combing through the years he had spent on Popstar, he could only go to one memory, the day he came here… or perhaps… two… 

“Well,” he said, voice a bit raucous, “I was about to say that it was when I first arrived in Popstar’s atmosphere and saw it before descending, but… there is another one before that. It’s a bit vague though… kinda like a dream.”

“Can you describe it to me?”

“Yeah,” Kirby mumbled, scratching his scarred cheek as he wondered why she wanted to know such things, but still not feeling too uncomfortable to keep it to himself. It was odd, though; nobody ever asked him about his first memories… “I only started remembering this one recently, when Sir Dragato was making me train in my pocket universe. It’s… I can’t tell when it happened, but… I see a big wall of white… and, in the memory, I feel someone holding me… It’s very vague, but… it’s comforting, in a weird way. Stars, I must sound so weird right now…”

She smiled at him, sweetly.

“Not at all,” she replied. “I am glad you remember this early… I thought the hibernation process would wipe all of your memories, but it seems to not be the case.”

“I… thought at first that it was my parents holding me,” he said sheepishly. “I’ll… probably never know who they were. I was told that I was brought back to the GSA by Meta Knight as a baby, from Nightmare’s Fortress. I’m guessing I lost my parents there, huh…”

… Silence.

Before her quietness, Kirby raised his eyes back to her. Hailan was biting her lip… staring off to the side… Her eyes quickly traveled back to his own.

“You didn’t lose your parents, Kirby,” she spoke, making him blink in surprise and straighten up. “You never lost them… you just don’t remember them.”

Kirby crossed his eyebrows, feeling confused by her choice of words.

“What… do you mean by that?”

Hailan took another moment to think, looking off to the side only briefly… Whatever she had to say, it was weighing on her like bricks on her shoulders.

“The memories of your old life are still inside you, Kirby,” was her reply. “You’ve never lost them, they are simply… hidden. Out of sight. That’s why you have those visions, Kirby. Your memories are coming back, but… it’s taking too long, and you’re hurting because of it. That’s why I have to tell you.”

Now he was more than confused; he didn’t realize his hands were shaking as he gripped Azure’s fur.

“My memories?” he repeated. “But… I spent hours thinking about these visions, and I deducted that… they came from Meta Knight. It-it’s the only thing that makes sense! How can they be mine? I’m seeing his life, Hailan! Not mine.”

Slowly, to his horror… she shook her head. She smiled in an apologetic manner… the same way she had smiled to her son earlier.

“No, Kirby. This is your life as well. Both of yours.”

No… 

“You share the same memories…”

This couldn’t be… 

“The same feelings…”

It was impossible… 

“The same Core… and the same life.”

He blinked many times, desperately trying to make sense of her senseless words. He… and Meta Knight…? The same…? What did it-

Suddenly, a major migraine tore its way through his head, like a hot spear through tender flesh, and he keeled over, yelling out in pain. Immediately, Hailan was in front of him, holding him, cradling him.

“Kirby! You must remember, Kirby… Focus… Listen to me…”

Through the hot pain that forced him to close his eyes shut, Kirby felt her hands hold his head at his temples, over his hands. In the darkness of his eyelids, he began to see sparkles of spiralling dust, glowing against the pain as it drove the darkness back. Her voice became more distant… as if it echoed from within…

“Focus… Follow me… I will show you what you must remember…”

And the dust filled his head, seeping in through her hands, and he was brought inside his own Core… He could not see anything, he wasn’t aware of anything, he was nothing… 

There was nothing… except this great… wall… of white…

The spinning world settled… and the fog was blown away, if only enough to show a path, a glimpse at what was hidden behind the curtain. Here he was… in a pair of warm arms. He was held so gently, his shell was new and fragile. The hands that held him were warm and so gentle, like a soft blanket out of the dryer. There was no fear in this world. There was no pain. Only the warm cheek upon which he laid and the breath of the person holding him with care.

“Ssh, it’s okay, don’t cry… Sssh…”

“No more tears, now… It’s alright…”

“I am so glad you’re safe…”

“I thought I had lost you…”

“I’m so sorry… it’s my fault… I grew reckless, and you paid the price.”

“Now we must live separately… but have no fear.”

“I will protect you, with all the might I have left in me.”

“I promise you this much… Kirby…”

He raised his young eyes, and they met with silver ones. A kind face smiled down at him, beaten and bloody and oh so exhausted, but shining with a happiness that made it all vanish. He laughed at the silliness of it all and waved his tiny arms, grabbing onto his hand to hug it.

“Your light is weak,” came a most familiar voice, “but the small flicker of a firefly in the dark can still guide your way. What will you do now, Meta? Your story is only starting, and so is Kirby’s. Will you give yourself in, or will you fight?”

“I’m getting everyone out of here. You gave me a new purpose, Vei. And I will never thank you enough for this chance.”

“Be strong, Kirby. I promise you will grow in a world free of darkness… You have a chance to start over.”

“And I want to be here to see it.”

The eyes closed… and the wall of white took over again… but this time, it opened completely. And a vast new world opened to him, like an old friend calling him over. Kirby stepped into it, he stepped under the tree atop the hill, guided by paths of dust, he sat there, and felt the breeze against his face, the smell of the flowers that grew around his home, the refreshing coolness of the shade of this great tree, and he remembered.

He remembered.

He…

Remembered…

Slowly, gently, he left his personal universe, and stepped back into his shell. He was… once again in someone’s arms. Warm and nice, he didn’t move for a long time, simply staring ahead. Hailan held him in the most gentle manner, her back set against Azure’s belly as she waited, ever so silent. Kirby snuggled closer to her, closing his eyes as he appreciated the silky feeling of her fur, and in response, she held him a bit tighter.

“... I remember now…,” he said, in a low mumble.

He remembered her. She was a very old friend; he remembered meeting her for the first time, not five years ago in the basement of the knights, but thousands of years ago, on Arranza Star, as he made his way in the throne room of the Imperial palace. She had been standing there, partially hidden behind crimson veils, a black flower with a burning fire in her eyes.

Those memories mixed with the ones he had accumulated over the past five years, and now Kirby was confused about what he thought of her. Part of him saw her as this dear friend who had been there since the beginning, and another viewed her as this mother figure who was there to catch him should he fall… He looked up at her, and saw her eyes looking down warmly at him. She still held him in that warm manner, and he didn’t feel like moving out of it… 

“I remember everything…, or, at least, what I can,” he corrected himself. “I… Meta and I lived in the same Core for a long, long time… He and I… we were Metanyo Khano. But something happened, I can’t… quite remember what… and we got separated. Do you… know what happened?”

Slowly, she nodded.

“Nightmare happened.”

He closed his eyes. Of course… They had been at his fortress then, he remembered as much… it was in fact the last thing he remembered from this past life. They were taken captive, caught in a trap, he, Hailan and Lai, another of Hailan’s team of ninjas who were meant to protect him. Many months happened… and then… there was the Arena… and then nothing.

“I’m not quite sure what exactly he did,” Hailan continued. “I was with the other prisoners then, watching the Arena on screen. We saw Meta being swiped from the ground by this giant bony hand filled with darkness, and just like Galacta Knight described three weeks ago, he was brought out of sight, for a very long time. Meta later told me that… all they had done was talk. Clearly they did not only talk, but when the portal opened again, it was first you who was thrown out. You were only a… bundle of dissipating dust… You were dying, in other words. But Meta came back, and he saved you by preserving you. It was only much later after the Arena was over that he gave you this shell, so you had a chance of living.”

Kirby didn’t say a single word. Cores, dust, shells… A lot of this didn’t make a single drop of sense to him… but a lot did. It explained everything he had had doubts or questions about. How Meta Knight seemed to know everything about him, about his abilities, about his thoughts, about everything. So all this… was what Meta Knight had wanted to tell him. Five years ago, when he would have been given his gift. But the Dark Matter happened, and he never got to say it... 

In a way… he felt more relieved than anything.

Relief.

Ah, was this how lifting a weight off your shoulders felt like? Because he felt like if Hailan were to let go of him, he’d float up to the ceiling, he was so light.

Not that he was complaining. That thought made him smile, and he looked up at Hailan again, feeling… at peace. While the truth wasn’t what he would have prefered to hear, he was still happy to have remembered it. The visions would leave, hopefully, and now he understood things better.

“How are you feeling, Kirby?” Hailan asked, extending a hand to his cheek to rub it gently. “Are you…”

“I’m… okay,” was his careful reply. “Not… perfect, but okay. It’s weird. All this makes no sense, and yet it makes all the sense to me. If anyone had come to me telling me that Meta and I were the same person but split in two, I would have burst out laughing, and yet here I am… believing it. Heh… It’s funny.”

She smirked in an amused fashion, and relaxed her back a bit more into Azure’s warm belly, holding the boy more comfortably against her fuzzy cheek. She was oh so relieved at the way he took the news… 

“Believe me, Kirby, I had a hard time believing what I was seeing… but my eyes never lie to me. Both of your energies, your Cores, your auras… they’re the exact same. Two sides of the same coin, split in two… If only you could see what I see…”

“I wish I did,” he replied with a pout, “it sounds so cool when you describe it like that!”

They both laughed for a short moment, and they softly faded back to a nice silence, each holding the other. Hailan found herself stroking the child’s head, and Kirby felt happy that it was Hailan who assisted him in remembering. He wouldn’t want to think of the mess that would have happened if he had remembered this much in public. Not to mention all the fainting… Of course, she would have a lot of questions to answer tomorrow, and he was already preparing that bomb, starting with… 

What now?

What would happen now that he knew?

What would happen indeed… 

Kirby knocked at the door three times. It was the middle of the night, but there was no way he would be able to sleep, not when he had so many questions and new feelings weighting on his heart. The door opened, and a drowsy Galacta appeared, first looking very confused as to why the child was there at this hour, then looking more concerned as worry spread through his Core.

“Boy…? What’re ye doing here at this time?” he asked, his accent made heavier by the lack of sleep. “Is something the matter, lad?”

When Kirby raised his gaze upon the knight, a swarm of memories overtook him; he remembered Galacta Knight as the cousin who was always there for them, as the brother who took care of them when the clan vanished, not as the knight who fled like a thief in the night, and he fought hard to keep the tears from leaving his eyes. Galacta must have seen his struggle, for he appeared more focussed and knelt down on one foot, bowing to his level as he extended a hand to his face.

“Hey, what’s wrong, boy?” he asked again, in a gentler tone. “Did something happen?”

Kirby quickly dried his tears with a rub of his hand, and he smiled up at him. He nodded his head.

“Yeah… huh… can I come in?”

“Sure,” the winged knight stood back up and backed up inside the apartment, letting the boy in.

Kirby wasn’t surprised to find the room shrouded in darkness, with only the moonlight coming in through the balcony doors, and immediately went to sit at the moonlit table, observing Galacta in silence as he gathered water glasses for both of them from the kitchen area. It felt so strange to be here like this, with all these new memories… and it dawned on him. The first time they had met, five years ago, Galacta had said that his eyes were familiar.

“So,” Galacta said as he put a glass of fresh water in front of him and sat down as well, “what’s eatin’ ya, lad?”

Kirby fiddled with the glass, looking at the reflections of his blue eyes against the water inside, unsure of where to start. He raised his eyes back to him. The boy smiled.

“I… have something to tell you. It’s about Meta Knight… and I…”

Galacta was all ears, and he listened without any interruptions as the star boy began the crazy tale of who he was…

Three days passed since that night.

That morning, after a nice breakfast in company of Fumu, Hailan and Azure, Kirby made his way over to the Lor Starcutter, ready to go back to helping his Halcandran friend in rebuilding this ship. Since he had first crashed here, a lot of work had gone to the rebuilding, and so far so good; it was looking much better than it once did, and the most important aspects of the ship had been repaired and replaced first, mainly the engines and the power supply, courtesy of the Agency. At this point, it was mostly a clean up job to make sure everything was working - and also that there wasn’t any remaining molten rocks inside the halls - and that the ship wouldn’t implode if the engines were turned on. All technical stuff, Magolor had said.

Kirby was, truth be told, in a happier mood than he had previously been. The last three days had been… rough, to say the least, but he woke up that morning feeling more refreshed, in a way. Perhaps more… determined. He didn’t know where it came from, but the memories that came back to him on a daily basis now made him understand some things about himself and the world around him he didn’t think he’d ever get to see clearly. Now that he knew who he was… he needed to find Meta Knight.

He just had to.

He felt pulled to him… like a magnet seeking it’s other half.

There was no going around it.

When he made it to the Lor, he found it exactly where it had been since the Agency helped moving it; in the basement where the Halberd had once been built. Sword and Blade had gladly allowed the Halcandran to use this hangar, as well as use all of the tools that had once been used to work on the Halberd to repair this ship, and Magolor could not be happier. He had immediately set to work, and it was still here that Kirby found him again today. The lights were on in the hangar, and as he descended from the elevator, he gazed up at the ship in wonder. It was much bigger when it wasn’t lodged in the hill - and was actually in one piece - that was to be certain.

“Hey, Mags!” he called as he walked closer to the ship, his voice reverberating across the vast underwater hangar. “You in here? I brought you lunch!”

There were no response…

Thinking that he hadn’t heard him, Kirby climbed up the metal stairs that lead to one of the many platforms suspended around the ship, thinking that his friend was inside. As soon as he was high enough, however, he heard a noise… Sniffling noises, as if someone was… crying? Following the hiccups, he continued to climb the platforms, until he was on the ship’s bridge. He gasped when he finally saw him; Magolor was there, as he had thought, sitting near the recently repaired ether orb that sat near the back of the bridge, rocking back and forth with his hands holding him. Kirby hurried off the platform and onto the bridge, quickly running over to him; he kneeled down, setting the lunchbox he had been carrying on the metal floor, and drew closer to his friend, asking in a worried tone:

“Mags, are you okay…? What’s wrong?”

Magolor gave no answer, and instead uttered a deep and shaky sigh, as if he was ready to cry even more. Kirby drew closer to his friend and held him by the shoulders, stopping him from rocking back and forth, and forced him to meet eyes with him. The dead glimmer of lost hope in those eyes… that shakiness in his frail body… it all felt too familiar to him. He knew what this was; he had gone through it, in this life and in his previous one. Dark Matter Sickness… He had had his doubts that Magolor was going through something dark from the moment he had first talked to him, but now, this just confirmed it… This realization made him release his grip a little on his coat, but he didn’t cut the eye contact.

“Mags, can you hear me…? Hey… it’ll be alright, Mags. I’m here.”

The Halcandran slowly blinked his eyes… The glimmer hadn’t left, but consciousness seemed to have crept back into him, for his head slightly raised towards him.

“I know what you’re going through,” Kirby continued, his voice taking a soothing tone he didn’t think he had. “More than anyone else… It’ll be alright. You’re not alone, alright? You’re not alone.”

Without thinking, Kirby drew a bit closer, and wrapped his arms around the Halcandran, pulling him in a warm, cuddly hug. For a moment, Magolor didn’t react… but as consciousness overtook him and he slowly came back from his silent meltdown, the Halcandran realized what situation he was in, and a part of him panicked. He was about to push the Kiridan away… but he stopped himself.

He hadn’t had a hug like this… in years…

It was when Magolor was taking deep breaths that Kirby realized he was back, and he drew back a bit to look up at him, smiling when he saw that his eyes appeared clearer. Magolor rubbed his face with his hand, silently rubbing his eyes and his tears as he asked, his voice broken and quiet:

“Uhm… How… How long was I here…?”

“I don’t know,” Kirby replied. “I just found you here a minute ago. I brought you lunch cause I heard you skipped breakfast this morning, and there is no skipping food when I’m around. I didn’t think I’d find you like this… Are you okay?”

Magolor nodded his head after a moment of hesitation, taking a moment of silence to recompose himself. He was looking off to the side, as if looking ashamed…

“I’m sorry you had to see me like this,” he said, his tone suggesting that very same shame. “It doesn’t happen often, truth be told. I guess this whole crashing experience just gave me a lot of stress… I’ll be fine.”

Kirby smiled, and as Magolor attempted to stand back up, the Kiridan did as well, giving him a helping hand. He decided not to push the subject, and instead took the lunchbox he had set on the ground and raised it up, smiling brightly.

“Hungry?”

Magolor blinked his eyes, and for a moment, he appeared unreadable… until his gaze smiled back, and he nodded.

“Starving!”

The two walked off of the bridge and back inside the ship, and on the way to the kitchen area, Magolor kept an eye on his Kiridan friend. A Kiridan… friend. Of anyone, he didn’t think… 

An actual friend who showed care. Was this true?

...Or was that another lie?

Best… to keep the wall up. Just in case.

A week had passed since that moment, and things had gone back to normal. Magolor was acting as if nothing had happened and kept making good progress on his ship, and Kirby could not blame him. He did, after all, act the same way when he had been more deeply affected by his Dark Matter Sickness; it was easier to hide, after all.

The more the days passed, the more Kirby could remember. Seventy-five thousand years of a life he had thought wasn’t his, slowly coming back to him in huge chunks. It was exhausting, he wouldn’t lie; but at the same time, he hadn’t felt so… alive, in so long! The life of a man he thought would remain a secret until the end of times was opening up to him like vivid daydreams, and even that felt like he was just dreaming. He had to pinch himself on numerous occasions to make sure he wasn’t just dreaming all of this. The relief he felt whenever he didn’t wake up was unlike anything else.

That afternoon, Kirby was training with Hailan. Both of them were in the meadow where he and Meta Knight used to train, sparring in a friendly fight where Hailan was showing him some new moves to add to his repertoire, moves that differed greatly from the style he had learnt from Meta Knight and Dragato before. Hailan was quicker and sneakier than both of them, and he showed Kirby how to attack his foe in one hit; that was how ninjas worked, after all. If you couldn’t get the kill in one shot or very quickly at best, you fled, simple as that. Kirby was doing his best to replicate Hailan’s movements, but with how his arms were still too short, he had to compensate with wide body arcs that threw his movements off, making him miss his target every time he lunged at Hailan. Still, the ninja was patient in his teachings, and as the day progressed, Kirby was slowly making more progress as well.

It was only later that afternoon, when they were wrapping up Hailan’s last lesson about light steps - mainly the art of not making a sound when walking - the ninja looked off into the distance, making Kirby turn to where his gaze was. It was Galacta, flying in their direction at high speed; the knight soon landed in the meadow with a few hasty flaps of his wings, and as he ran up to them, Kirby realized his breath was short, as if he had hurried over here.

“Is something the matter, Sir Galacta?” Hailan asked, worry in his tone.

Galacta, still catching his breath, shook his head and pointed his thumb behind him beyond the hill that surrounded the meadow, in the direction of the landing pad of the Agency.

“Kirby,” he said, “Uncle Az is here, with Sir Dragato. They’re on their way here to see you.”

Kirby’s eyes widened. Already?! But he wasn’t ready! Physically he was fine, it was mentally that he wasn’t; how would he be able to face them when he remembered them as completely different people?!

“What?!” he exclaimed, taking a step back and bringing his hands to his mouth as if ready to eat them up. “B-but I can’t! How am I supposed to greet them?! Did you tell them?! W-what are they here for?!”

“Calm down, lad,” Galacta waved his hands in front of the boy, catching his eyes and latching on to them. “I haven’t told them anything, yet. They are here to tell you the new plan of action, all you need to do is greet them as you normally do. You don’t have to tell them now, lad. Alright?”

The young Star Warrior tried to retrieve his cool, but still the thought of what he would say to Az or Dragato scared the life out of him. He did not remember them as who they had presented themselves as; Dragato as simply a teacher, and Az as the father of someone he knew. Dragato was one of his dearest and oldest friends, his godfather and protector, to whom he owed a great many things. As for Az… he was his father. No use spinning around the jar. He was both very terrified and excited to see them in this new yet old light, and he didn’t know how to react.

When the first person appeared atop the hill; his Core dropped in anxiety, until he realized it was just Azure; the Wolfwrath ran down the hill, seemingly very excited, and seeing his face and feeling his fur in his hands comforted Kirby - though only slightly. It was only a moment later that they appeared; Az and Dragato, accompanied by Fumu. Kirby took a deep breath, and along with Galacta, Hailan and Azure, he walked up the grassy hill to meet them, repeating to himself to act as normal as possible and not drop a single hint as to what ailed him…

Except…

As he was walking up that hill… looking up at these two men…

Memories swarmed him like a tidal wave, taking everything that he was and scrambling it all up. Those memories became one with his own, they swatted away every thought he previously had of these two men, and when he looked up at them, he saw them as who they were in those memories. He looked at Az, and a sudden pull upon his Core told him - screamed at him - to get to him. He hadn’t seen him in over sixty thousand years! He had thought him to be dead! And here he was! Alive!

A strong surge of emotions overtook him, and he made the mistake of letting them guide him. Without thinking, without listening to his own words, he ran up the hill, ignoring those calling him, and made a beeline for Az.

“Oy, Kirby!” Az greeted with a large smile and a wave of his hand as they came closer, not immediately realising why the boy was running up to him. “Good to see ye agai-!”

Suddenly, Kirby ran up to him and wrapped his arms around him as best he could, and hugged him so tightly and so desperately, Az immediately thought that something was wrong, that he may be hurt… but as he looked down at him, he saw no injury, he saw nothing physically wrong… But the child was crying. Kirby was crying, weeping even, as he held on tightly to him, whimpering unheard words that only he could understand, and Az felt like he was diving back into older times. Touched, but mostly confused, he shared a look with Dragato, who appeared just as shocked by Kirby’s behaviour - even Miss Fumu didn’t seem to know what was wrong! - and the elder Kiridan looked back down at the crying child. Taking a deep breath, he kneeled down on one knee, getting closer to Kirby’s height, and put his hands on his shoulders first, trying to get him to react. What Kirby said, hidden through hiccups and sobs… confused him greatly.

“I-I thought I’d n-never see you again! -hiccup!- I thought you were all gone! I-I looked everywhere for you! For all of you! I w-was… so alone… You all abandoned me…”

For a moment, Az thought Kirby was talking about him leaving for the Agency for the last few weeks, and so he answered, in a calm tone he hoped would go through Kirby:

“I wasn’t gone for that long, Kirby…”

“No, no, you were gone, you vanished, along with everyone else… You abandoned me, papa…”

Az froze up. Did… he hear right? At this point he completely forgot that there were people around them, and the older man just looked down at the child, hoping he would explain himself. But the way Kirby was talking… it reminded him…

Without a word, Az lowered his arms around the child to hold him tight in his arms, as he would his daughter when she was upset, and gently lifted him off the ground so he could hold him comfortably. Kirby gladly accepted the hug, but still he was weeping, as if he had been holding it in for years-

“What… did you just call me?”

He didn’t expect to have a response, but he did; Kirby raised a teary-eyed face to him, cheeks flushed and wet, and Az had to blink, for another image came to his eyes instead; the image of a similar child, blue in colour, with tall, sad silver eyes… a child he hadn’t seen in so long…

Now he understood, or at least, he thought he did.

Why Kirby felt so familiar, why Az felt at home with the child.

Why he wanted Kirby’s happiness more than his own.

“Papa,” Kirby sniffled in a hiccup.

He attempted to say more words, but they fell into mumbles, and he lowered his face to hide it against his body, unable to speak anymore. His small body was shaken with tremors, and so Az held him gently until he was calm. He raised his eyes to look at everyone else, and while Dragato and Fumu both looked terribly confused, Galacta, not so much… In his native tongue, Az told his nephew:

“Come talk to me later, son. You have some explaining to do.”

Galacta did not appear surprised, and instead gave him a little side smirk, as if he knew that this moment would come, and he nodded his head in acceptance.

“Aye, alright,” he said back in their tongue. “There’s a lot to explain though, so you might wanna save it for dinner.”

Az, still holding Kirby, raised himself up, and the giant that he was stood tall before all the others; without a word, he walked toward the meadow with Kirby in his arms, intent on comforting this poor, broken child to the best of his fatherly abilities. He had had two children already, both had been pretty emotional balls of raw feelings; another one definitely would not hurt.

And as he cradled the child in a bed of scented flowers, Az wondered to himself… who was Kirby, exactly? Who was he to him, and most importantly, who was he to his son? No one but his own children ever called him “papa”... Could he be…?

Nah. It couldn’t be.

...Could it?

At the very same moment, far into the Gamble Galaxy, an immense and impressive battleship sailed through the waters of a nebula, leaving behind trails of stardust in its wake. Inside the quiet command station, stood a man before the windows, calmly observing this galaxy that he had learned to love and view as his home as it shifted ever so slightly. He was a statue; he was marble.

His Core ached suddenly, and he shifted along with the galaxy.

Blinking his tall amber eyes out of that sudden daze, he raised his gaze back to the window, and directed it toward the distant light of Popstar.

The pain turned to a very warm feeling that overtook him like a balm of serenity, and everything that had been weighing on his shoulders dissipated in an instant.

“Father… Is that you? Have you found us? Guide our way back home, father, for we are blindly walking in this darkness that surrounds us. Be my eyes… and love him for me.”

The man returned to the task at hand.

Shiver Star was so close; his freedom was so close.

Love could come later.

And as that thought traversed his mind, more of his remaining stardust vanished, never to return… 

Time was a nasty thing when it wanted to be, that was to be sure.