Author's Note:
Shadows of the Past being the first major Kirby/Pokemon crossover (it will eventually span over fifty chapters), here's my advice for anyone not familiar with Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2/3 or the Japanese Kirby anime Hoshi no Kaabii.
POKEMON FANS: I strongly advise you to watch episodes 3, 4, 19, 26, and 60, and maybe 1 and 24 of Hoshi no Kaabii. NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH Kirby: Right Back At Ya!
KIRBY FANS: I recommend you play/watch a playthrough of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky, or if that's too much, watch the Explorers of the Sky special anime episode, before reading this fic.
Also, special thanks to the songs "Fight Inside" and "Nothing and Everything" for giving me an inspiration that really helped this chapter, and especially to Sapphire Kyogre for being the awesomest beta reader in the world. ^^
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon, Kirby, or any other related characters or plot. I do, however, own my characters and original events; Sapphire Kyogre owns her OC Kyrheen and several plot elements of her own, as well as the fanname "Sheroku" for Kirby and Meta Knight's species.
(Meta Knight would like to commend her for saving his dignity so Grovyle Knight no longer has to call him a "puffball.")
Shadows of the Past
Prologue
"Shadon. You have no other choice." My mentor's voice echoed meaninglessly around me. I was clinging to life with all of my strength. It would not be much longer before I passed into the void. Already I was slipping, slowly slipping…
"Shadon!" he exclaimed again, harsher this time, but I could detect concern in his voice. I summoned every bit of strength left in my broken Mudkip body and lifted my quaking head toward him – the great Star Warrior, Meta Knight.
Behind him was the embodiment of my nightmare: the world of the future in its paralyzed state. Dark boulders were frozen in midair. Withered grass appeared occasionally in miserable tufts. Charred black trees, as if in an eternal plea, reached their branches in vain to the stormy sky, penetrated by flashes of lightning. But although thunder rumbled its assent, the air remained unnaturally still.
And of course, everything was black. Not the black of anything you could see in the world of the past. This was a cold, menacing black, relentless in its pursuit of all that was pure, be it light such as that drawn from the borders of shadows or the true light that dwelled within the hearts of the just.
Worst of all were the very cries wrenched from these "traitors," attempting so valiantly to restore this world to its former beauty, but at the price of their lives. They were taken to the stockade and executed under Dark Dialga's orders. I knew this world all too well. But it was just an illusion created by Nightmare.
Nightmare? I recalled blearily. That's right… have to fight him…
I blinked and tore my gaze away from the paralyzed world to look at Meta Knight. I could tell he was grappling with his emotions, trying to make them neutral, but his eyes gave his feelings away; a small flame of green or blue was vanquished every now and then as he attempted to keep them at their usual shade of gold.
This worried me. Meta Knight was invincible. He never faltered. He never made mistakes. He always knew what to do and how to do it, always remained collected in any situation. I don't have many fears. And I never thought it possible for this to be one of them. But I realized then that in my eyes, when Meta Knight was in a state of unease, the world as I knew it was shattered.
I shoved my trepidation aside and locked it away. "Yes… I know…" I inhaled a bit of air painfully, coughed, then, "I know what I must do…"
"Quickly, before Nightmare recovers!" urged Meta Knight as I crawled toward the glowing Enigma Stone. The strain on my weary limbs was great, and I winced with the effort. Just as I was about to touch it, he called out, "Wait." I turned toward him slowly, painfully.
"Shadon. If something happens to me, or to any of us-" he motioned to the other illusionary worlds, in which my friends Kyrheen and Kirby battled other apparitions of Nightmare, with a sweep of his arm- "I want you find the last remaining Star Warriors."
I blinked. "Why are you saying such things, my lor-"
Beneath his mask, the midnight-blue warrior could have arched an eyebrow disapprovingly had Sheroku possessed them.
"Meta Knight," I sighed, and hastily continued, "You will survive! Together with Kirby and Kyrheen and me… we can do this!" I said firmly.
A cold knot of dread suddenly twisted inside me. Wait. Meta Knight. Kirby. Kyrheen. Myself. That's four of us…
He brought his cloak-like cape about him like he always did when he explained some concept to Kyrheen and me, and for a moment it was just another lesson in the castle, and our only concerns were whether the blue Sheroku would perceive our effort as we trained…
The illusion vanished and I couldn't help but feel a pang of longing for the past when Meta Knight said in the same patient tone, "There are only four Star Warriors here," – having some uncanny ability to read my thoughts as usual. He turned to scrutinize the dismal sky, waiting for me to process this statement.
How many were there supposed to be? Think back, I told myself. How many Star Warriors were needed to finish this fight? But deep inside, I already knew the answer. The knot tightened, choking out any hope left.
"Only five can defeat Nightmare."
My eyes squeezed shut and I couldn't help but express a soft moan. The sound dissolved into emptiness.
Silence reigned for a few precious minutes before I said despairingly, "Are you saying we had no hope from the start? We joined a battle there was no hope of winning?"
"No. For one, Star Warriors do not merely volunteer to battle omnipotent forces. We are bidden by fate. And only a fool quarrels with Destiny. It is not our choice to fight, but our duty." The Sheroku's eyes turned green, while a flicker of dark blue wavered in each. "And…a friend of mine once told me… 'If you know there is no chance at all, perhaps it is better to change your actions; but if there is the slightest glimmer of hope, you must always try.'"
Something clicked within me. I knew that phrase… How? Where? When? The questions whirled and harried me as I contended with them, trying to hear Meta Knight's words.
"There is a glimmer of hope, as bleak as this situation may seem. I know of two other Star Warriors, and although I thought they had perished, I now know they must be alive." His eyes danced a light sky blue, then faded.
"Now, the time is right. Our hour of consent has sounded across generations of space and time." But as he said this, he looked down. "I am sorry to have kept this to myself. In this battle… one of us will die."
"No… it can't be…" I whispered, my eyes wide.
I couldn't let this happen! I couldn't! I had to do something! There had to be some way to save everyone! I pictured Kirby being obliterated by Nightmare's forces, Meta Knight falling, Kyrheen fighting for her life with Aheta. It wouldn't happen! Not when we we'd come so far! The thought gave me some kind of desperate strength and I struggled to my feet with a surge of determination before the will failed me.
Meta Knight blinked but said nothing. "It is true," he murmured. "But when it happens… I beg of you, and of Kirby as well. Kyrheen has already agreed. I need you to promise me something."
He said it as if he was entrusting me with his last wish. But I refused to accept it, for to do so was accepting his doom. "I…I can't…"
Meta Knight's eyes glowed red as he flung his cape behind him. "Promise me!" he thundered.
'Promise me!' the words echoed. I gasped. Apprehension tingled through my veins like frost. Those were the same words my partner had cried to Kylos… and 'I can't!' had been his response as well. This isn't happening. Please… please not Meta Knight too! It was unfair. I'd already lost one, and I didn't think I could bear it again. And Kyrheen-
A thought occurred to me. Kyrheen could, and did, endure tragedy twice. A tentative seed of hope sprouted and gingerly began to unfurl its leaves.
Musing on this concept, I was reminded of Kylos. He knew he was resigning himself to my partner's death, and at first he had denied it, yes. But then… He had the courage to exceed the restraints of his pain. In the same situation, he had the courage to accept where I do not.
If they could survive, then so will I.
Meta Knight's words: 'Only a fool quarrels with Destiny.' If this was truly what he wanted…
I stood as erect as I could muster, and looked the blue warrior in the eye. "I promise!"
His armor clinked softly as he nodded. "Good. And this is what I ask of you: if I fall here, find the last two Star Warriors. It's the only way to defeat Nightmare. One is a Pokemon. The other is a human. Their names are Grovyle and Shadon."
My heart stopped. I could not even think, and my body froze like the flow of time around it.
"Shadon shares the same name as you, but Grovyle is the Pokemon. This Shadon is a human." Despite this statement, he seemed too nonchalant considering my reaction – almost as if he were ignoring it.
"I would also like to request one more favor of you…" Then her mentor pulled something else from Galaxia's hilt, where it quickly materialized. "I would like you to give this to your namesake if- no, when you find her. She lost it during… a… a…"
Meta Knight - the indomitable, undaunted Meta Knight – quavered.
Nothing was right in the world. Nothing was real. I was so confused, I wanted to break down and cry. I needed something to hold onto, someone to explain. But I wouldn't know what was real. What is real? What is an illusion? How was this happening? Later, I would recall this moment and reflect on how the wild Pokemon must have been driven insane. I understood.
"…during a difficult battle." His noble voice had slipped into a near-inaudible murmur. "Its name is Trilfluarii, the Grass Flute."
Grass…Flute? Trilfluarii? I thought, still in a daze.
The flute was a light, verdant green, like the grass of a meadow, and as clear as crystal. Two small, fern-green vines twined around it, but they did not impede the delicately carved holes, which appeared to be immortalized by some strange magic if they had lasted all this time. Two deep green leaves dangled delicately off of a special loop of string near the end of the instrument. And a strange engraving, in the shape of a cat-like creature with a long, bent tail, appeared to be flying in a small corner of the flute. In short, it was beautiful.
I had possessed something like this in the past? And that means, I realized, Meta Knight had known me as a human. The idea was so overwhelming my mind reeled and I was forced to curb the deluge of thoughts.
I was about to tell him that Shadon the human and Shadon the Mudkip were one and the same when something very odd happened. I couldn't just tell him. I felt I had to prove it to him.
Then another strange thing happened. I was drawn to the flute somehow. And when the Sheroku placed the flute before my feet, a pulsing violet aura began to emanate from the flute, creating a pure, shimmering sound as smooth as velvet. I lifted a paw into my field of vision. Sure enough, the same glow radiated from me.
The pitch climbed higher and higher and the aura surged faster and faster until finally it halted. The flute was no longer green, but a mellow hue of lilac.
And then it began to play.
The first note was clear and true, then it climbed, one by one, four notes higher, and the highest note was a piercing sound that cut through the ominous silence of the future world. The melody was an elegant bird, soaring up scales and descending with grace. But the low notes soon transformed into high, shrill, ones, as if someone was crying out to the world.
Finally the intensity was released into a free, heart-wrenching sound, clearly the pinnacle of the song. Shifting into melancholy tones, it was at last concluded when the final note repeated twice in succession. The sound held, then collapsed, exhausted, and melted away into the darkness – and with it, the flute's color.
Trilfluarii was fading to a pallid shade of white. With a thrill of abrupt horror, I understood what was happening. Somehow, the black world of the future was leeching the purity from the instrument until it became colorless, like some twisted parasite. Afraid to move, I could only stare as it turned darker and darker, finally reaching an ashen gray.
The Grass Flute shattered.
Without warning, my legs buckled beneath me. "Ah!" I gasped and fell to the cold ground. My eyes were stinging. I didn't understand why, but didn't care. Coward, I berated myself. You could have done something!
Then I noticed Meta Knight. His eyes were the deepest, saddest shade of blue I had ever seen. 'Sad' didn't even come near to describing it.
The color spoke of profound, unmatched sorrow - of hopes long ago abandoned, dismal nights alone in the dark and the rain, driving down in rippling sheets; everything lost.
It spoke of morose visions, of enduring the harshest parts of life to climb higher, only to realize there was only a cliff to fall from and no way back, desolate evermore.
Above all, it spoke of the grief of the deaths of everyone you knew, and the guilt at knowing it was your own doing.
And his eyes were not just a color; they were alive, wavering somberly. They were dimming until they flickered feebly, like a candle going out.
But as if that wasn't enough, something happened that never had happened before. Something was glittering on his mask. It was clear, and shone like fluid silver. It could only be one thing, yet its identity would not register in my mind: a sparkling tear.
"So innocence dies."
Meta Knight was right. Whatever he went through… All I know is he was right. I have no idea what it means to fight in a real war. Not a- not an inkling…
"How," the dark Sheroku spoke again, "did you play that song?" I thought I glimpsed a flash of white in his eyes – another color I had never seen before – or heard the slightest oscillation in his voice, but it was so swift that I may have imagined it, and even had I not, with Meta Knight it could mean anything.
"I… I don't really know! It just - I mean, the flute started to– but I didn't create the aura, it just… I just… I don't know! I don't know!" I wailed.
His eyes shifted to a dark green, and there was no quake in his words this time, only a calm apprehension. "Who…are you?"
But my reply was interrupted by a chilling sound.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
A jolt of fear gripped me and I looked behind Meta Knight. A towering cloaked figure rose up before my eyes. It had no legs; instead, it could levitate and teleport as it pleased. Even simply adorned with spiked shoulder plates and a golden necklace, as well as spindly yellow horns, it cut an intimidating figure.
But set into its long, narrow head was its most frightening features: teeth like rows of bone-white knives, three glowering, carmine eyes, and enigmatic sunglasses beneath them that swirled like the depths of space. Its contour was shrouded in dark energy. Nightmare had risen once again.
"Mwahahahaha!" he laughed, projecting his thoughts through both his voice and telepathy. "So, Meta Knight. You haven't figured it out yet? I'm quite disappointed in you!"
Meta Knight's eyes were a blank white.
Nightmare cackled. "So maybe you do know! But you were afraid to confirm your suspicions? How very foolish of you."
Silence. Meta Knight fixed me in an emerald gaze for what seemed an eternity, then slowly pronounced, "No. You're not the Shadon I knew."
"Oh, but she is. She simply has no recollection of who you are."
A nearly unperceivable tremor wracked the Sheroku. But his voice did not waver when he glared at Nightmare and snarled, "That's not true. You cannot fool me with your twisted words, Nightmare."
The demon lord laughed. "A wise decision indeed. Very well then: ask the Mudkip. She will speak the truth." And a hideous smile contorted his face.
Meta Knight turned to face me. "It isn't true. It can't be…" he whispered, and his distress was so evident I wanted desperately to lie.
Nightmare chose that instant to assault my mind. The abruptness of it left no chance for me to resist his influence. I succumbed instantly.
"I'm sorry." The words spilled from my lips, but it was not I who spoke them. And I could do nothing as Nightmare said with my own tongue, "The Relic revealed my identity to me – though I can't remember anything of that life.
"I later discovered that while I was time-traveling, an attack by a Pokemon called Darkrai caused me to lose my memory… never to regain it." I fleetingly wondered if the exaggeration was necessary as Nightmare continued, "I can no longer recall anything from my past. Nothing. It's all gone. Gone forever."
That was when I understood.
Every time Nightmare embellished a word, Meta Knight staggered as if a knife had sunk into his flesh. Over and over again, until he stood trembling with agony, suddenly looking very small.
Nightmare relished his enemy's pain with terrible glee. "I no longer know who you are. I no longer recognize you."
A strangled cry escaped Meta Knight. It was quickly cut short, but the tormented eyes remained trained on me, pleading for what his honor would not permit him to say: Stop it. Please, no more. My heart swelled with revulsion. It felt wrong to see my mentor brought so low like this.
Of course, I apprehended with rising alarm. Nightmare feasts on the pain and fear of others. And this much at once… He'll be invincible!
"She's lost to a fate worse than death. Lost forever, all of them…and it's all your fault." This time, Nightmare did not bother to take the guise of Shadon the Mudkip.
Then his eyes closed. A pause, then, "You're not Shadon." It was so faint, I was unsure I had heard it at all until the Sheroku gathered himself together and said it again, strongly this time. "You are not Shadon."
The world exploded as Meta Knight roared, "YOU'RE LYING!"
I was suddenly aware of a wave of blood rushing over me, followed shortly by excruciating, mind-numbing pain.
Meta Knight had slashed me from shoulder to flank.
Nightmare's presence retreated from my mind – having no desire to share in my suffering - and left me to scream and writhe in agonized throes. At the moment, I couldn't care less.
Through my pain, I saw Meta Knight looking on in horror. Galaxia, glistening with red, clattered to the ground.
Why…? I thought dolefully, as if through a gray haze.
He breathed in scarcely a whisper, "The same as before… Not again. No. …NO!"
"She is dying, Meta Knight."
As if on cue, a throbbing darkness overwhelmed me for an instant and was gone…
"She is dying, and it is because of you."
…only to return, leaving me dizzy. I was vaguely aware of Meta Knight gasping with anguish at Nightmare's accusation. Is this the end?
Just then, a bright flash of light occurred and suddenly I found myself inside a fiery crimson orb. Maroon lightning coursed throughout the prison, and outside of it was nothing but blackness. A Dimensional Scream! I realized with mixed relief and surprise. I'm not dead yet, then? But what-
I felt a prod against my mind, and instinctively recoiled, but this one was friendly. Kyrheen? I thought, Is that you?
But she had no time to respond. All of a sudden, I felt searing pain. Shadows burned my skin. And then a horrible, screeching sound, like a cross between red-hot metal scraping metal and Dialga's hissing roar, came from somewhere in the darkness. I shuddered. Twin orbs glowed red in the pitch-blackness surrounding the prison.
"Tell me…where the Grass Flute is!" it rasped angrily. "I will give you information on your friends in exchange! Or would you rather suffer here for the rest of eternity?" I remained silent, glaring at it.
Without warning, a voice intruded in my vision: Shadon? …I-it can't be…! If you can hear me - stay away! Stay back! Don't try to save me, I beg of y- Aaarrghh!
I was almost glad when the Dimensional Scream ended, but I was thrust back into my wounds and the resulting convulsion nearly extinguished my fading life.
From far away, Meta Knight cried, "Shadon!" Then everything slowed.
I felt an impact crashing into me.
I felt the touch on my mind press harder, but not harshly.
I felt something, somewhere attaining the power of mushin and reaching my thoughts.
And I felt something from within the Dimensional Scream connect with my mind.
I realized what was happening: Meta Knight had slammed into me, carrying me toward the Enigma Stone.
Time moved quicker. The rock drew closer and closer, glowing intensely blue, red, and green, faster and faster. Everything was a blur except the flashing of colors – whether from the Enigma Stone or my flickering vision, I was not certain. "Touch the stone!" Meta Knight's voice called out, frantic in desperation.
With the last of my strength, I reached out…
What happened next was unclear, but all I knew was five minds joined into one, sharing the tale that unwound before our eyes, played in our ears, and regained what was lost. My memories of times long past, both joyful and bitter, returned to me, and merged with the memories of the others.
This was their story.
A/N: I found out the hard way: it's really hard to describe music. Anyway, the song is supposed to be "Through the Sea of Time" (or "Sacrifice", as it is more commonly known) from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2 and 3.
Sorry if this chapter is really confusing. Don't worry, you'll understand it later on.
I'd really appreciate reviews on this one as I'm seeking to improve my writing style (if abusing lengthy sentences counts as 'style'... -_-;).