Disclaimer: Kirby belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.


The day seemed to go on quietly until late evening. Vesa settled in her room, pushing the puzzle still in progress to the side before climbing into bed. Tucking herself under the covers, she nestled her head into the pillow. As soon as she fell asleep, her mind entered her headspace of dreams.


She had just put on a casual sundress and a cardigan jacket. She checked the time. Xhiro was around the corner. She scanned her bedroom for her crutches. She made her way to the front door and met up with her parents and three siblings.

They began their stroll down the main pavement overlooking the coastal sea of Kryejak, Ioskaria. She remembered her father giving her encouraging pats on the shoulder. She remembered the city had fewer advertisement billboards than other countries. Yet, she spotted the face of the strange alien specimen on a nearby billboard. Instead of the normal text which announced some special event going on at one of the cafes, she noticed words such as "help" or "please, listen" all with the same font as the ad would normally have.

"Uhh, father?" Vesa paused.

Her dad gave Vesa a puzzled look.

"Something the matter?" he asked.

Vesa kept her eyes fixated on the billboard. Her parents soon made a brief glance at the same billboard seconds later.

"Ah, that," her mom clarified, "rumors have been going around that the Elfin Seraph has been spotted in the Dew Garden as of late."

Vesa blinked twice, taking a moment to remember where she heard such words.

"As in…the story?" Vesa paused, "as in the legend?"

When Vesa blinked again, the scenery changed around her without warning. Where did her parents go? Where did her brothers and sister go? Vesa turned her head and locked eyes onto the gate leading to Berovnik Park. Vesa glanced over herself again only to realize she was now clad in elegant robes and an ornate headscarf…just like the Garden Maiden. Wait a minute, how did she even end up in the bedtime story of her childhood?

"There is no time," a majestic voice echoed across the area, "you must flee from this place, or you will perish."

"Huh?!" Vesa blurted, frantically searching for the source of the voice, "who is this? Where are you?!"

That's not how the Elfin Seraph in the Dew Garden progressed, not as far as she knew.

"I-I am called…Fecto Elfilis," the voice boomed into her head, "known to the scientists as Specimen ID-F86. R-Run!"

Vesa froze. She could hope whoever spoke to her would show up, but to no avail. She let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Now what am I supposed to do?" she wondered to herself.

Without warning, an inhuman screeching and wailing rocked the very terrain she stood on, eliciting a startled yelp out of her. She had to get to safety now. Dare she even try to traverse through the forest path to get to the Dew Garden? Maybe if she improvised and played the role in the tale, maybe she could get…something. She darted through the gate and sprinted past the shaking tree. A branch fell and she closed her eyes, anticipating to make a dodge.


Except when she opened her eyes, she found herself in the guest bedroom of Lab Discovera. A split moment later, the screaming came to a stop and the building stopped shaking. Vesa checked the clock on the dresser. 2:30 am. She sighed as she plopped her head back into the pillow.

Meanwhile, Fecto Elfilis sprawled on the floor as the scientists examined them, their body continuing to lose stability.

"We need to do something or the subject will die," one scientist insisted, "should we at least give it one of the lab mice or something?"

"That's a big risk though, you know what could—"

"Of course I know, but there isn't much there. Hopefully, it won't be enough to do anything big, just keep it alive."

"Alright, I suppose we can. We can't let the government know though, we could get fired for this."

After a few more moments of hesitation, one of the scientists retrieved a lab mouse out of its cage and tossed it onto the alien's unstable form. Elfilis swiftly absorbed it into their body as the scientists quickly sealed the tank and filled it with the fluid. Relief flooded their body as it began to solidify.


When Vesa entered her dreamworld again, nothing seemed to make sense until she found herself in the forest path. She glanced at both sides to determine which way she would have to go. She turned right and continued along the path. Soon enough, she arrived at the lake in the middle of the Dew Garden. Her eyes wandered until she spotted the strange majestic alien at the edge of the lake. This time, they leaned onto some ornate spear they were holding. She noticed they were shivering and emaciated. She took a moment to think until she recalled the warning from much earlier.

"Elfilis," Vesa repeated to herself.

Elfilis shuddered and glanced over their shoulder.

"You need to leave this place," they warned her, "you will die here. I'm going to die here. You can leave, but I cannot.

Elfilis folded their large winglike ears downwards in sadness. Vesa gave them a puzzled look as she stepped towards them.

"But why?" Vesa objected, "I chose to come here. The doctors told me that research done on me would make a successful treatment for my illness in the long run."

Elfilis shuddered and locked eyes onto her.

"Illness?"

Vesa nodded.

"It's called Intermittent Physio-Forgo Sepsis," she explained, "it developed when I was born."

Vesa sat down next to Elfilis, giving relief to her legs.

"They just melted one of your kind here," Elfilis insisted, lowering their head, "he was injected with my DNA and died instantly. You cannot stay here or you will be killed eventually. You'll become like me, an experiment, a tool, less than human, you'll be a statistic among the others that are sure to perish alongside you. You must flee from this place."

"I understand you're worried," Vesa said, "but…I can't leave."

"Why not?"

Vesa took a deep breath.

"I don't think I can get far enough by myself," she admitted, "my own illness would kill me before even the researchers could do anything."

Elfilis's feelers perked up.

"I see," they muttered, "I…might be able to cure you myself, but my own situation is arguably worse than your own."

Vesa sighed softly and placed her hand on their shoulder.

"Well," Vesa asked, "is there…anything I can do to help you?"

"You could free me," Elfilis offered, "however, I wouldn't ask you to risk yourself for my sake. My story is an unfortunate one. I originally came here by mistake as I was searching for another planet. I am not exactly a natural life-form that evolved from other life-forms like you did. I am an artificial existence. My purpose is to be a large encyclopedia of species throughout this galaxy and beyond. The reason for this is a universal threat known as Dark Matter. They move from world to world, stripping them of life. Since I was here, anyway, I went to greet the local population and inform them of my purpose. After learning of my nature and how I wished to record their DNA so I could preserve their species if it was ever wiped out, they proceeded to exploit my kindness, threatening to destroy everything around me if I did not comply with their demands. I underestimated them and did as instructed, only for them to subdue me and take me deep underground, where I reside to this day. If my knowledge of your calendar system is correct, I have been here for over 28 years."

"28 years?" Vesa repeated.

"Possibly? I am uncertain, it is hard to keep track of time in my current location. It's dark. I haven't seen the stars in so long."

Vesa's expression softened in her eyes, scooting closer to Elfilis.

"Until then," Vesa offered, "would you at least…like a friend?"

Elfilis paused.

"I have not had a friend before," they admitted, "although the concept is familiar to me. The closest thing I've ever had to such a thing was my creator before he left to parts unknown with his daughters."

"Oh," Vesa added, "so it seems you've been lonely for a long time."

"I am able to deal with isolation more easily when I can fulfill my purpose. However, since I've been trapped here, it has become unbearable. Who knows how many species have been lost forever now because I was not able to preserve them?"

Vesa softly closed her eyes for a brief moment.

"Ok then," Vesa nodded, "I'll be your friend."

"I-I see. I must admit, I am…cautious around you, more than I would like to be. I've not had any pleasant experiences with your species yet so I'm slightly…jaded. Yes, that's the proper word, I believe. I'm not against the idea, just hesitant and nervous."

Vesa placed her hand on the alien's head. She heard a cute squeak coming out of Elfilis. Seconds later, they leaned into the touch. Smiling, Vesa ran her fingers through their fur. Their bushy tail happily swayed side to side as their large ears perked up a little. She remembered the conversation she had with Dr. Michal prior to the first time she met Elfilis, stirring up more thoughts.

"I don't know if the researchers will let me see you again," Vesa pondered, "but maybe, I can hope one day we can all help you earn your freedom… somehow."

"Hopefully," Elfilis agreed, "I am not sure how often I will be able to visit you here. I am only able to do this now since they've started 'feeding' me for the first time, so that I do not expire before they are done with their tests."

"And…maybe I could tell you even more about myself," Vesa added.

"I'd like that, and I can do the same in turn."

"That would be great," Vesa agreed.

Fecto Elfilis ran their fingers through her hair, and Vesa closed her eyes.


When she opened her eyes again, she found herself back in her guest bedroom. Sighing, she sat up from her bed. Ambling into the bathroom, she filled a glass of water before she took her medication.

After breakfast, Vesa took a moment to grab her cardigan jacket before she was escorted to the medical department where she was ushered into the x-ray room, where Dr. Michal was waiting.

"This is fairly standard," he told her, "we don't expect to find anything, but this is mostly just to check if you have any breaks or fractures we don't know about."

"Ok," Vesa nodded.

Vesa took a moment to examine the x-ray machine before climbing onto the table. She watched as the scanner component lit up and scanned her body. Dr. Michal, sitting at the desk, looked over the image scan on his laptop.

"Well," he said, "you seem to be fine. I can't see any obvious fractures or breaks."

The scanner shut off. Vesa sat upright. She followed Dr. Michal out of the hall and into the exam room. Vesa set aside her crutches and climbed onto the exam table.

"Now for your physical," Dr. Michal offered, "we could have a female doctor come in and do that, if that would be preferable to you."

"I'd greatly appreciate it," Vesa answered.

"Understood," Dr. Michal agreed, "I'll find one of my colleagues to carry out the exam instead."

Dr. Michal stepped out of the room. For now, Vesa perched her hands on her lap as she waited. Taking a couple deep breaths, she carefully adjusted her cardigan. Minutes later, a woman in a lab coat stepped into the room.

"Hello," she greeted, "I'm Dr. Reed. I'll be performing your physical today."

Dr. Reed took a seat and reviewed Vesa's medical records.

"Now how are you feeling today?" Dr. Reed asked.

Vesa took a moment to glance herself over.

"I'm…feeling a bit cold right now," she answered, "and my legs are slightly sore."

"All right, then."

Dr. Reed pulled out a clean thermometer from the cabinet.

"Open," Dr. Reed instructed.

Vesa complied, and the doctor placed the tip of the thermometer underneath her tongue. When the thermometer beeped, Dr. Reed removed it and raised her eyebrows upon confirming it to be a manageable temperature.

"97.8," she said, "would you like any warmer clothes?"

"I-I think I'll be fine," Vesa assured her.

"If you insist," Dr. Reed shrugged.

Time passed as Dr. Reed took Vesa's blood pressure, checked the inside of her mouth and listened to her heartbeat with a stethoscope. Just as Dr. Reed was wrapping up, they heard a knock on the door. The doctor didn't hesitate to open to reveal a pair of scientists out in the hall.

"We would like to speak with Miss Krasniki," one scientist requested, "do you have a moment?"

"Oh yes," Dr. Reed nodded, "we were just finishing up in here, come in."

Dr. Reed stepped back, allowing the two scientists to set foot inside the room. Vesa stiffened, unsure of what they wanted from her. After all, Fecto Elfilis was clear—the scientists were doing research, but was it to her benefit?


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