Chapter 17: Oxytocin (Part 2)

It didn't take long for them to discover what they were searching for. A large dark behemoth of a creature wearing golden gauntlets, black feathers around its torso and the most unsettling aspect, it's large white mask. This was without a doubt the destroyer of worlds, Void Termina. The sheer size of the creature alone sent shivers up the spines of Dedede and Bandana, while Kirby and Meta Knight managed to keep calm. At least that's what they looked like on the outside, as Meta Knight could tell his student was terrified but refused to back down. Void soon noticed the four heroes and wasted no time in showing off its power, punching the celestial ground and causing massive shockwaves.

"Hold on, everyone!" Kirby cried out, using his years of experience with controlling a Warp Star to narrowly avoid the attacks. He then began to fire energy blasts at Void Termina, but they all bounced off it like they were nothing more than harmless pebbles. The being then jumped to directly attack the quartet, slamming on the ground with so much force that it sent them flying upwards. Void then used a sledgehammer punch to send them crashing into the ground. Then an eyeball appeared on its chest, appearing to be charging up for some kind of attack.

"The eye, that must be some kind of weak spot...!" Meta Knight thought to himself.

Apparently, Kirby came to the same conclusion, as he started to send a barrage of blasts at it, eventually causing the eye to explode and the titan to stumble backwards. This sight caused the morale of the group to go up a bit, as it meant that the titan could be harmed then there was still a chance of victory.

"Kirby, you focus on piloting! I'll keep an eye out for another opening!" Meta Knight told his student, who nodded in response.

"Me and Bandana will focus on sending energy to the marshmallow then!" Dedede said.

Even in this most dire of times, the king still referred to people by his nicknames for them. Honestly, Meta Knight took that as a sign of things getting better for them if even a huge coward like Dedede is cracking jokes. Void sent out more shockwaves, some managed to hit but most of them were easily avoided. That's when Meta Knight noticed something peculiar on its right arm.

"Kirby, the next eye is on its right arm!"

"Got it, Meta-sensei!"

Kirby started going to the right, but it seemed like Void wasn't going to make it easy for them as it summoned a large sword, larger than any blade Meta Knight had ever seen and swung it at them. Meta Knight stood up with his sword drawn.

"Oi, blueberry, what do you think you are doing!?"

"Stopping that sword."

Meta Knight jumped at the massive blade and slashed at it. He was only barely able to keep the massive blade in place, but he knew it wouldn't last for long. No, he would have to make it last for as long as possible. Images of his crew and mentor flashed through his mind and his eyes turned blue for a moment. With a mighty shout, Meta Knight managed to push the titan-sized blade back and at the same time Kirby destroyed the eye on Void's right arm. Meta Knight quickly returned back to his allies, much to the relief of everyone else. Soon, a third eye appeared and thankfully it was on its back, an area they were already close to. The third eye was quickly dealt with, with Void's screams of anguish getting worse. Then they noticed another eye form on the top of its mask. Kirby went in front of it to destroy it, but as he did, Void summoned two swords and used them to send waves of ice at the heroes. Meta Knight flew up to stop the swords once again but was stopped by Kirby.

"That won't be necessary, Meta-sensei, trust me!"

Kirby narrowly avoided each attack and shot one fully powered blast at the mask, destroying the eye, and causing the titan to fall forward, the mask coming off to reveal a black hole. The hole quickly absorbed the heroes, bringing them inside Void itself.

"Is everyone ok!?" Kirby shouted.

"We're fine over here!" Bandana spoke up, helping Dedede get up.

"I'm alright Kirby." Meta Knight said, while taking a look at their surroundings.

The inside of Void Termina's body was best described as a reddish mess of various sewn together parts. However, it didn't take long to see two things of interest: the bodies of Hyness and the three mage generals were hung on the wall and a large sphere that resembled a shell made of flesh.

"That must be its heart, or at the very least, its core. Everyone, get ready to attack it!"

Wasting no time, everyone attacked it with no mercy, causing it to break apart revealing some type of figure, but before Meta Knight could make it out, he and the others, including the bodies of Hyness and the three generals were spit out of its body.

Once outside they safely landed on the Star Allies Sparkler, ready to face off with the titan once more. Suddenly, Void's body started to change. Its arms transformed into gigantic wings and its lower body became something akin to a tail. Void took flight and charged at the group with immense speed, catching everyone off guard. Kirby narrowly dodged it, but Meta Knight got hit by Void's tail, sending him flying off the Sparkler. The pain he felt was intense, more than anything Galacta Knight ever did to him.

"As expected of a destroyer of worlds..."

Before he could hit the ground, Dedede reached out and grabbed him, bringing him back to safety.

"You alright, blueberry?"

"I will be after we kill this thing. But thank you."

Void was now coming back for another attack. This time, however, Kirby dodged it perfectly and it gave him a perfect opening for Void's eye that was now on its chest. Time seemed to slow down for everyone as Kirby pelted Void with attacks until the eye was destroyed. Screaming in pain, Void went high up into the air and summoned what appeared to be two large bows, one with fire arrows and the other with ice arrows. While the arrows were quite destructive, it was clear to everyone that Void wasn't really aiming at them and more so firing at random, making it easy to avoid them. A few got close to hitting, but Dedede and Meta Knight easily swatted them away like tennis balls.

"Kirby, the left wing!" The knight yelled, noticing that the eye was now there.

Without wasting time, the puff destroyed that eye too. In retaliation, Void summoned hundreds of giant spears, each attaching themselves to the ground, but not a single one trying to hit them. This confused Meta Knight, until he noticed that the spears were actually lightning rods. Void planned on electrocuting the entire battleground. Suddenly, Kirby stood up and looked at Bandana.

"Bandana, can you take control for a bit? I still have my Plasma Ability, so I should be able to absorb all of that electricity." Bandana nodded, clearly worried about his friend, but knew there was no other option.

Meta Knight, however, wasn't going to let him go alone. "I can absorb lighting with Galaxia, Kirby, so I'll be joining you."

"Thank you, Meta-sensei!"

The two jumped off and as soon as lighting began to fill the area, they began to absorb it. While Kirby was having an easier time with it thanks to his currently equipped ability, the electricity was clearly taking its toll on Meta Knight's body. But he knew he had to hold out for just a little longer. Thankfully, Bandana took to the controls quickly and began firing at the exposed eye that was on Void's right wing. Thankfully, after the eye was destroyed, all the spears disappeared with it and not a moment too soon. Kirby and Meta Knight quickly got back, the puff resuming control but only after high fiving his friend. But Void wasn't going to let them celebrate for long, as its tail now transformed into a giant axe and swung it at them. Before it could connect Dedede stopped it with his hands, taking massive damage in the process.

"Get going!" He cried.

Kirby wasted no time in locating and destroying the next eye, which was now on its back. The last eye they needed to destroy was now back on its mask and Void was clearly not happy. With a mighty roar multiple laser beams flew out of it, one of the beams hitting the group directly. But that wasn't going to stop them as they powered through blast and shot at the eye, destroying it, and removing the mask yet again. They bravely jumped into Void's body, intent on destroying its core for good.

What group now saw inside the god of destruction's body shocked them, Kirby and Meta Knight both especially. Where the core used to be was now a large, pinkish sphere with a face that looked exactly like Kirby's. The puff froze, not quite sure of what exactly he was witnessing. Meta Knight was just as confused. Why did such a horrible monster look just like his student? Was Void one of them? Out of the corner of his eye, Meta Knight could see tears of fear and confusion forming in Kirby's eyes. What Void was didn't matter at the moment, all that mattered right now was destroying it.

"Kirby we-"

"I know Meta-sensei. This is our final battle." Kirby said, trying to sound like his usual cheerful self but the knight knew he was forcing it.

Void's face changed from an innocent look into a twisted smile, sending out a strange wave of energy that hit everyone. While it didn't seem to have an effect on Kirby, it was affecting everyone else. Meta Knight in particular felt like how he did when he was under the effect of the Jamba Heart. His vision started to warp, his memories of Kirby being replaced with Void. Before he could be fully taken over by Void's influence, Kirby threw out a Friend Heart at him and the others, freeing them from the being. For a moment, Void itself seemed taken aback by that action, as if the idea of someone completely breaking its influence was unbelievable. Then that damn smile came back, and Void sent spikes from his body out, impaling Dedede who used his body as a shield to protect Kirby.

"Dedede!"

"Don'tcha worry about me, kid! Just kill that thing quick!"

That thing in question was still laughing and then transformed into a new shape, resembling Dark Matter of all things. Void started to fire large beams of energy that Meta Knight went to block, preventing the beams from getting closer to Kirby.

"Kirby, while its eye is open. Go!"

With tears in his eyes, Kirby nodded and channeled all of his electricity into his fist. He ran at Void and as soon as the laser beam ended, Kirby slammed his fist into Void, electrocuting it from the inside out. With a violent scream, Void sent everyone outside of its body.

Back on the Star Sparkler, Kirby was preparing himself for what was about to happen. There was clearly something else coming. He was correct, as Void's true body came out of the titan and glared at them. It fired one final blast of energy, with Kirby doing the same. The two beams clashed, but slowly Kirby's beam began to inch closer to Void. As the moments went by, Meta Knight could swear that he saw the images of all of Kirby's friends and allies, even those like Dark Meta Knight who weren't exactly that. Upon seeing this, Meta Knight felt compelled to say one thing.

"GO KIRBY!"

He, Dedede, Bandana and the spirits of every Star Ally shouted at once, giving Kirby the energy he needed to end this fight once and for all. With one last push, Void was consumed by Kirby's beam and was completely vaporized. The destroyer of worlds was now no more. However, the impact also triggered an explosion, sending asteroids towards the group. While this wasn't a major problem, the explosion was quickly gaining on them until it finally consumed them.

When Meta Knight regained consciousness again, he noticed that he was still in space.

"...it wasn't a dream, but that dream I saw was..." he quickly slipped a lemon drop under his mask.

He hadn't had time to think about it until now. Of course, that thought reared its ugly head once he was no longer fighting for his life. It was simple, a brief dream...no, a nightmare. It was a simple one regardless, where he had received a call with news that his mentor had died in combat. The shock of that was enough to wake him up. But where was he now? He looked to his side to see that Kirby was still unconscious then across from him, he saw Dedede and Bandana also moving towards him. Upon reaching his location, the king pointed towards a bright and shining planet. It was Popstar. With a quiet nod from his companions, the knight gave a quick pinch to one of the child's cheeks.

"Ouch!"

Kirby then pouted and looked like he was about to complain to them when he suddenly seemed to realize what had happened. Then he noticed where they were and saw their home planet. As if knowing their location, the Warp Star suddenly arrived, and Kirby motioned them to hop on. Finally, they would be returning home.

The moment the group returned to Popstar, everyone returned home for the night due to exhaustion. Well, almost everyone. Concerned about his student after the previous battle, Meta Knight followed Kirby back to his home to talk to him about it. However, he had one more thing to take care of first. He took out his cell phone and noted that there were several messages for him. However, it was clearly nothing but emergency notifications detailing the rising threat level of the Jambastion religion situation from galaxy-level threat to universe-level threat. The threat levels should be lowering soon now that the Jambastion religion and Void had been defeated. His hand began to tremble as he quickly entered his mentor's number and waited, quietly eating two lemon drops as he heard the phone ringing on the other end. Once, again, the vision he had while unconscious flashed through his head again, causing him to quickly eat one more lemon drop. Suddenly, someone picked up.

"Sensei?"

"...Meta, you have no idea how glad I am to hear that voice of yours." Though she sounded exhausted, it was clearly Kurabe.

"Sensei, are you alright?"

"I know what you're actually asking, Meta. Don't worry, I'm not called "the unkillable" for nothing." She said, proud as ever.

It felt like a crushing weight on Meta Knight's heart had finally lifted upon hearing that.

"The Jambastion forces are retreating, and the atmosphere seems to have gotten lighter. I swear, it was suffocating at some points. I assume you had something to do with it?"

"Well... yes, but my student, Dedede, and his servant Bandana were a great help with it."

"Is that so? Well, I'll just have to thank them in person at some point. I trust that you'll be writing a report soon as usual?"

"O-of course! I normally do that, don't I?"

"That you do. Is there something bothering you, Meta? You sound like you have something on your mind."

There was a moment of silence as if he needed to process his thoughts on what to do or say. No, it was pretty straightforward what was wrong. He had several thoughts floating around in his head, but there were two that were honestly the strongest of them all. The first was to ask about Void, but there was one more feeling that was much more overpowering.

"...I was so worried about you, sensei..."

"...I was worried about you as well, Meta. I plan on visiting you at some point in the near future. It seems like we could both use a little time together."

"I agree, and I'll be looking forward to it."

"Is there anything else you need?"

He exhaled deeply before speaking once again. "...do you happen to know anything about a being called Void? And if it has any connection to our species?"

Unsurprisingly, Kurabe immediately became silent upon hearing that.

"...you fought that monster, didn't you?" She uttered, her voice sounding horrified at the thought.

"...yes, but I wasn't alone. I had Kirby, King Dedede, Bandana, and all of their friends and allies with us." he replied, accepting that he was going to be scolded for doing something so reckless.

She let out a sigh. "I assume no one died."

"No, but there were some close calls, if I'm being honest."

"It's a miracle that there were no casualties. Now on to your question... where do I even begin?" She mumbled as she attempted to process her knowledge on the subject.

"Let's start with this: not much is actually known about Void. What we know for sure is that Void is considered a god. There are many conflicting stories about it. Some legends claim it to be the progenitor, the creator of all. Some state it to be a destroyer god from a realm of chaos whose sole purpose is to destroy. Perhaps there's truth to both legends. What we also know is that the Jambastion religion worshiped it as their god. But... I thought all of the Jambanians were wiped out..."

Next it was the big question.

"...do you know why its true form looked like us? More accurately, why did it look like my student?"

She was silent for a moment.

"I have no answers to that. I'm truly sorry, Meta."

"No, it's fine. Thank you, sensei."

"Though I think I may have a theory."

Hearing that instantly caught his interest. "What is it?"

"Based on what you have told me about your student, he's known for his kindness and has many friends. Void Termina is said to be the form Void takes if incarnated with nothing but negative energy... or rather, pure hate, anger, and sadness. It lacked a heart and incarnated into a body without knowing things such as love or happiness. Because of that, it has no love for anyone. Not even itself. But perhaps, if it could have desired such a thing..."

"Could that be why it took the form of my student? Because it desired to be as loved like he was?"

"Again, this is only a theory, Meta."

Even if it was only a theory, hearing that honestly put his mind to rest.

"...thank you, sensei. I need to go now. Kirby... Kirby's not taking this whole situation well."

"I understand. Go, Meta. Go be with him."

With a final goodbye, Meta Knight hung up.

Now that he thought about it, he knew that his student would inevitably ask questions about what had happened today. His only concern was if he'd be able to properly explain everything about Void, his connection, and where he might have come from. Admittedly, the knight barely remembered anything about his biological parents himself and Kurabe was the closest he had to any kind of parental figure.

He jumped down from the tree to see that Kirby was standing there, waiting for him.

"Meta-sensei... can we talk in my house? If it's fine..." The puff asked nervously.

The knight only gave a silent nod as he followed him inside. He had a vague feeling that he knew what this would be about, but he decided to ask anyway.

"Kirby, what's wrong?"

The child trembled a bit. "Is... is Meta-sensei's sensei ok?"

Admittedly, the question threw the knight a bit off-guard, but he was grateful regardless.

"Yes. Thankfully, outside of a few scrapes, she's ok."

Kirby quietly nodded before remaining silent.

"There's something else bothering you. Would you like to tell me what it is?"

Silence.

"Would you like for me to guess?"

"...why?" It was a faint whisper as the puff trembled.

"Why?"

"Why... why did that thing have my face!?"

As much as the knight had expected this question, it still made him shudder a bit due to Kirby's dull-eyed teary look and tone.

"Meta-sensei, why did Void have my face?! Why did it look like me!? Why did it look like... us? Why?!"

It was then that he began to cry.

"Is... is that why you wear a mask, sensei? Because you knew you were connected to that thing somehow? You thought the same thing, too, didn't you?"

Honestly, the knight was in too much shock to say anything.

"Am I gonna be like that when I'm older?! Am I gonna destroy everyone like Void wanted to? Am I gonna be lonely? And unloved? And unwanted? Just like Void was?"

As Kirby continued to speak, the knight saw something he never expected to see from the child: it was an expression of pure despair and fear.

"Am I really just like the things I've been fighting all this time? Am... I just like Dark Matter? Is that what I really am?"

The child struggled to speak as he let out a sob.

"I'm too powerful... I'm... I'm... I'm a monster..."

A sudden clatter of metal sounded as the puff felt two arms wrapping around him.

"Kirby... you are not a monster."

The child trembled in his mentor's arms.

"But...!"

"Kirby, listen to me. You and Void are nothing alike. While it's true that I don't know much about Void, I know everything about you. Because of that, I can say with confidence that you aren't a monster, but a hero."

"But... but what if I end up like Void? What if we really are the same? What if..."

"Kirby, please look at me."

The child looked up with tearful eyes at his mentor's unmasked face, which had a serious, yet warm expression as he placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Even if you... or rather, we were the same species as Void, we are worlds apart from that god of destruction. I already spoke with my mentor about Void, and she came to the same conclusion I did. Void Termina was a being born of pure negativity that held no love for anyone. Not even itself. Compare that to yourself. How many friends do you have? How many of them were once your most bitter enemies? I'm sure you felt it during our last stand against Void, but you are a child that was raised by and surrounded by love. Do you really believe that someone as loved as you could become a monster with no love for even itself?"

Kirby only remained silent, with tears still in his eyes. Meta Knight hoped that meant he was only processing what he was being told. But just in case, he decided to say one more thing.

"Let's think of another example. We know that Gooey is related to Dark Matter, which is also a being of pure negative energy. By that logic, would that make Gooey evil?"

The child paused for a moment before shaking his head slowly.

"That's what I thought."

Suddenly, Kirby spoke up again.

"Meta-sensei, I'm sorry if this upsets you, but what if I fall under the control of someone else like you have?"

Meta Knight had to admit that he had often thought about those what-if scenarios more than once. He always feared that one of them would happen, but the battle with Void changed a few things.

"Kirby, when we were fighting Void, were you hit by that strange wave of energy?"

"The one that was corrupting you, Dedede and Bandana? Yes, I was."

"And did you feel any different afterwards?"

"...no, it didn't affect me at all."

"Exactly. Kirby your heart is strong. Stronger than mine."

"But wasn't that only because the Heart Spear's power was with me?"

"Perhaps, but what if the Heart Spear was drawn to you because you had a strong heart?"

Kirby became quiet yet again.

"You know I'm right, don't you? There's also a very good reason why your heart is so strong. Tell me, other than food, what do you think about the most?"

His student gave a slight pout at that response before looking away to give an answer.

"...my...friends..."

"Exactly. When you're not thinking about food, you're thinking about your friends and how you can help them if they're in trouble. Compare that to me, Dedede, and Bandana, who have had our own doubts and selfish desires, which have made us fall under brainwashing in the past."

"But Meta-sensei, you aren't selfish!"

"Oh, how I wish I could say that you were right..."

"I am though! You're so helpful and-!" The child paused, as if he realized what he had been saying.

"You understand now, don't you?"

There was another moment of silence before Kirby silently threw himself on to his mentor in a hug. The knight didn't react to this, only placed a hand on his student's hand.

"...just this once, Kirby." He thought.

There was yet another moment of silence.

"Meta-sensei... if it's ok, can you stay here tonight?" the child quietly whispered.

While Meta Knight wanted to return to the Halberd and tell his crew what happened, he could always do that over the phone. Right now, his student needed him.

"Very well. But just for tonight, ok?"

His student gave a quiet nod.

Eventually, Kirby fell asleep with Meta Knight sitting at his bedside. Seeing his student's peaceful expression as he held his hand warmed the knight's heart.

"You have the strongest heart, Kirby... and as the strongest warrior, I will protect that." He whispered.

A somewhat shorter chapter than the last one, but with the amount of emotional baggage here, it more than makes up for it.

I might be doing something a bit different for the next chapter.