Disclaimer: Kirby belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.


There wasn't much scheduled for Vesa the next day. In the middle of the morning, Vesa remembered she hadn't visited the outdoor garden adjacent to the oblong room ever since she first arrived in Lab Discovera. She checked the medicine cabinet and pulled out an empty jar. She set foot out into the garden and took in her surroundings.

The outdoor garden was fairly big, with a variety of flowers and other plants like carrots, tomatoes, and small berry bushes. She idly wondered if seeds counted as living things? She might want to collect a little of everything since she remembered Elfilis had mentioned once that new creatures grant them more energy. So probably best to collect one of whatever she could. She meandered through the garden, checking the plants for seeds she could easily get her hands on. Opening the jar, she retrieved a blackberry. She then collected a blueberry and a strawberry. Crouching down, Vesa peered through the bush leaves. Her eyes wandered until she found a snail crawling on the soil. She reached in, picked up the snail and slipped it into the jar. Searching the soil, she found a worm. Checking the contents of the jar, she quickly closed it.

Vesa returned to the oblong room and checked on the handful of guests still going about their day. She frowned as the few remaining guests still held out hope, oblivious to the horrors she'd seen. Vesa stepped out into the hall and checked her surroundings to see if the coast was clear. She went back to her guest bedroom and stashed the jar into a messenger bag containing the box of jigsaw puzzles. Slinging it over her shoulder, she ventured back into the hall, making her way to the elevator. When the doors closed, Vesa pressed on the button at the bottom-left corner of the panel. She fidgeted nervously as the elevator slowly made its descent.

Once the elevator stopped at its destination and opened its doors, Vesa slipped out of the elevator and strolled her way down the hall. She arrived in the underground lab, keeping as calm as possible. She watched as the scientists drained the fluid from the capsule. Elfilis dropped to their knees. Vesa remained calm as she stepped closer to the large capsule in the center. Locking eyes onto her, the ultimate life-form barely managed to stand to their full height and limped towards her. Blinking twice, she scanned her surroundings. Only a few scientists actually paid attention, having gotten used to the routine.

"We should get going to the break room now," Elfilis reminded her.

Vesa nodded and led Elfilis into the break room. The ultimate life-form pulled up a chair and sat down. She checked the door before she reached into her bag. With the security guard currently distracted, Vesa pulled out the jar and held it out to Elfilis.

"Will this help?" she whispered.

Elfilis took the jar from her hands and hid it somewhere the scientists wouldn't dare to search.

"It would certainly help," Elfilis replied, "I'm not sure if it will be enough to escape, but I should be a little stronger at least. You should use telepathy when you ask me that next time, though, just in case."

Vesa blinked twice. She had only been used to speaking her whole life. She only heard of some humans using telepathy in movies, video games or even in books, but as far as she knew, that never happened in real life.

"I…have no idea how to do it," she admitted.

"Just think 'at' me and I will hear you," Elfilis advised, "due to my use of the universal language, they won't hear me should I speak aloud. Only those who I intend to hear, will hear."

As far as Elfilis knew, many of the sapient species they encountered in the universe had telepathy, though humans didn't develop it, unfortunately. Vesa grabbed a chair and sat across from Elfilis.

"I-I'll give it a try," she said.

"You just focus on that while I assimilate these creatures," Elfilis told her, "we should start a puzzle soon before they suspect anything happened."

Vesa nodded and pulled out the box before she began to concentrate. Elfilis opened the box as they both started putting together the puzzle pieces. This time, the jigsaw puzzle box had the image of the landscape of the entrance to Wondaria Park. As they tried figuring out which edge pieces latched together, Vesa began thinking of the phrase her father would usually say to her when wishing her good luck.

"Qofsh i buzëqeshur," she thought.

"Good job, that works," Elfilis responded through their telepathy.

"Thank you," she thought.

"You're welcome."

They continued to work on the puzzle. Vesa managed to find the corner pieces while Elfilis set aside puzzle pieces that contained a portion of the structure in the middle. She tried arranging the puzzle pieces of the roller coaster. The ultimate life-form focused on the building. Several minutes later, they finished attaching all the edge pieces together. From there, they slowly moved the other pieces inward. Vesa found the last puzzle piece for the rocket in the structure. In less than an hour, they finished the jigsaw puzzle. Elfilis felt a sense of satisfaction, letting their tail sway softly behind them.

"I…I suppose I've been to Wondaria Park before," she admitted through her own developing telepathy, "though, I never went on any of the roller coasters."

"I see. I do not know why you would go to such a place for reasons other than to congregate. I haven't seen such a thing before and don't know its purpose or function."

Blushing, Vesa chuckled and placed her hand behind her head.

"The rides are pretty fun," Vesa continued to explain through her mind, "and they have this amazing parade at night. Every float has these vibrant colors that glow. I even remember seeing my brother have fun at the Circuit Speedway."

"I see," Elfilis commented, "well, I'm glad you enjoy it, at least."

For a brief moment, Vesa glanced over her shoulder. With the security guard still distracted, she placed her hand on top of Elfilis's head. They purred softly and their tail swayed happily. Vesa smiled as Elfilis leaned into the touch. The ultimate life-form sent forth their thoughts into her head, telling her how much they loved these gestures of affection. When Vesa removed her hand from their head a minute later, she placed her hand on Elfilis's large palm.

"I'm so glad," Vesa told them through her telepathy, "I could be your friend."

Elfilis blushed.

"I wouldn't make it sound final, though," Elfilis wished they had the mouth to frown, "that seems to be asking for bad luck. I…don't know what I would do without you."

Just as Vesa removed her hand minutes later, the security guard turned around.

"Ma'am?" the security guard called over, "they're going to be testing a new prototype soon."

"Prototype, sir?" Vesa paused.

Their tail bristled a little, knowing the scientists wanted to meddle with the magical energy in their body. Vesa sighed and stood from the table. She turned her gaze to Elfilis with softness in her eyes.

"Hang in there," Vesa whispered to them in her developing telepathy.

"Thank you," Elfilis replied telepathically, "I hope I'll be alright."

Elfilis worried they might not be ok, fearing the next painful test might leave whatever energy they had to be uncertain. Vesa stepped out of the break room. Having been to the underground lab so many times meant she knew the general direction. For that reason, she didn't need someone to escort her down the hall to the elevator. She stopped at the door for a moment and watched as the scientists escorted Elfilis back into the tank, locking them inside the reinforced glass. She sighed sadly as she made her way back to the elevator alone. She could only hope the energy she managed to offer them would help them regain strength after the tests were over.


That night, Vesa took her prescribed medication after dinner. Her fever still persisted and her muscles throbbed in pain. She silently cursed at herself for not bringing the crutches with her.

Still, she had been haunted by the screams from Elfilis through their psychic link earlier. Knowing the purpose of this lab's existence, she suspected they were trying to open a portal and they almost succeeded. Resting her head on the pillow, she shivered, hugging her arms to her chest. Tucking herself under the covers provided the bare minimum amount of relief from the chill in her body. She also doubted the scientists' attempts to assure her she would make it. She had a sneaky suspicion the treatment they were preparing might worsen her condition at best or kill her at worst.

When her thoughts drifted off to if Elfilis would recover any energy over time, the ultimate life-form gave her a mental image of them finally smashing the glass jar and assimilating the contents inside. Vesa had visions flash in her mind of Elfilis's creator linking their body to a pocket dimension they could use to store several planets worth of biomass for later. The scientists taking biomass from Elfilis, however, had shrunken their built-in pocket dimension, making it difficult for them to metabolize the biomass for energy.

At least she felt glad she could help Elfilis in secret this way.


Falling asleep, she entered her own headspace of dreams. She allowed Elfilis to enter her dream. Wandering through the streets of her hometown, she found Elfilis sitting at the entrance to her favorite cafe. She frowned when she noticed liquid dripping from their ears.

"Vesa," Elfilis stammered, a hint of pain in their voice, "I…I'm still trying to repair my body. I'm not sure how many of those tests I can take. They're trying to open a portal using my power. If they try again, I fear I might die."

Vesa noticed something glistening in their eyes.

"Elfilis," she paused, "are you…crying?"

Elfilis froze. They took a moment to process the question before they noticed tears were trickling down their face.

"O-Oh, it seems I am," Elfilis said, more concerned about their own morality than they thought, "m-my apologies."

Elfilis wiped their eyes with one of their paws and their ears folded back. Vesa rushed over to the ultimate life-form's side and cupped their face with one hand.

"It's ok," Vesa assured them, "don't hold them in. Please don't."

To emphasize her point, she wrapped her arms around Elfilis.

"Go ahead and let it out," Vesa insisted, "I'm here."

Elfilis sniffled a little more and fidgeted, not really used to this emotional response. Soon enough, they let out squeaky little sobs and long little whines into her shoulder, crying upset and pent up tears they've been holding onto for 28 years. Their fur bristled as they let out all the pain and sadness. Their claws came out as they held her, not wanting to let go. If they were supposed to rip her clothes or tear at her skin, she felt no sign—perhaps her dream prevented this. Vesa nuzzled their cheek, not minding as their tears blotted her clothes.

Elfilis continued to sob into her side for a long time, babbling incoherently at times about various things they disliked, like only being able to have 1 train of thought at a time, or how they should be out protecting the universe from Dark Matter, or how they missed her family, how they wished they could go home but everything was gone, how they wanted it all to just be over and wished the researchers would just kill them already, how they wished they could be free of this place, how much they wanted her to be okay and worrying about their ability to do so. They simply spewed out all of their worries and wants and dreams. Neither of them noticed Elfilis was glowing just faintly.

Once Elfilis calmed down a little, they stared into Vesa's eyes.

"If only fate had been so much kinder to both of us," Vesa said softly.

Vesa lowered her head, remembering the dilemma she had of her own.

"Elfilis," Vesa told them, "I don't think I can wait any longer. As soon as I can get close enough to you again, I'll let you…assimilate me."

"V-Very well," Elfilis sighed.

Elfilis gripped her shoulders.

"S-so is there anything you would like to do while we're here? I have a lot more control over my power here due to our bond," Elfilis asked, "it is a dream, after all. We can just do anything."

Vesa took a moment to think.

"To start off, why don't I show you my treasured memories?" she suggested with a smile.

"I wouldn't mind that," Elfilis nodded, "although I'm not sure how much control you have here. Normally, dreaming is a much more subconscious thing. I have much more control here since I'm experienced with mental magic and manipulation."

Elfilis took a deep breath.

"I think you could potentially do it, but I'm not sure how accurate such a thing would be. It would likely be inconsistent and likely ridiculous. Dreams are fickle. Luckily, you weren't around for my first attempts at doing such a thing, my own mind is much more advanced…normally," they continued, "b-but normally, my mind is an unsafe place for other people to be, mostly since my thought processes are entirely alien in comparison to humans, and I'm able to understand concepts you aren't able to understand like 4th dimensional objects."

Vesa turned to face the cafe up ahead.

"Ok then," Vesa beckoned, "right this way!"


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