Credit for the image goes to Mikoto-Tsuki on Deviant Art. Make sure to check out their page.


Kirby flew, but he also fell.

Hours passed, but days had stopped advancing. He headed forwards, but he also fell backwards. Space around him rippled like dripping water, twisting, pulling, making and breaking in a blink of an eye. Time was flickering, reality waved in and out of all known logic. He held the Heart Rod high above his head, but it could scarcely shine its holy light upon the rippling nothingness around it.

Kirby was well aware of Gooey's presence beside him, even if he couldn't see his friend. It wasn't hard. In this endless void of emptiness, the small blob of Dark Matter seemed to exist in an entirely different way. His very presence stuck out like a sore thumb, one that could probably be noticed from far away. Gooey was a beacon in this sea of nothing.

And Nothing had come to meet them.

The entity was there. It didn't appear, It just was. Kirby was certain he hadn't noticed It before, but It hovered in the void with such grace, such casual confidence, that he knew It had been there all along.

An eye was Its one prominent feature. A single glowing scarlet orb alone midst the colossal white sphere of flesh that seemed so small at a glance, yet occupied every bit of space in front of them, like a mirage.

The Eye was fixated on the warm shimmering colors of the Heart Rod, Its pupil dilating as if in shock about the existence of such concepts dwelling in Its realm of madness. Feelings of joy. Hope. Relaxation, love, friendship. The entire rod seemed to pulse in accordance to the void around them, slowly but surely easing a nagging pressure Kirby hadn't even noticed.

The Heart Rod shook in his hand, and Kirby waved it gently. All colors of the rainbow emanated from the rod and diluded into space, and the Eye raptly followed each and every glittering trail until every bit had been swallowed by the void.

Why? Kirby asked It. He didn't say it out loud, he somehow didn't have to. He was certain the Eye could understand his doubts. Why invade Pop Star? Why infect the population of Dreamland, all those innocents?

The Eye finally turned to look at Kirby, Its lone black slit seeming to see straight through his soul. The puff felt a shiver up his spine, but didn't hear anything from the Eye. Regardless, he understood everything.

Rage. Envy. Greed. Sadness. Death. Change. Emotion fueled all there was bad. Emotion fueled the unending cycle of creating, only to have it destroyed. Free will was but a cruel joke, a smudge under the heel of unforgiving entropy.

Why remain fighting? Kirby mused. What good would that do to him? In the end, chaos would catch up and ruin his work for good. No matter how many people he saved, how many monsters he fought, every last one of them would fall and be forgotten until there was nothing left.

Maybe he should just... relent. Why keep fighting? If he just gave in, if he just joined Dark Matter and became one with the Eye... he could sleep. He could lend his incredible power to a greater cause, to allow the Eye to swallow every last atom within Its endless expanse until time itself succumbed to the will of the Void and all of creation became nothing but a sweet, blissful constant.

No more fighting. No more hatred. No more foolishness. No more feeling. Only the infinite wisdom of the Eye. The Eye was Zero. And Zero... would be the one Concept. It would be the Everything.

Yes... Kirby felt his eyes droop as the eternal slumber of Zero got to him. Peace... slumber... silence... just give in... it will be okay...

A movement caught his eye and made him look to his side. For the first time since entering this realm, he actually saw Gooey.

His friend, the defectuous spawn of Zero, seemed to ripple uncontrollably along with the Void surrounding them, his blue squishy body slowly seeming to adapt and resonate with Dark Matter. Gooey, the most cheerful of friends, the pure, unadultered innocence of something that had once been vile and uncontrollable, seemed to be faltering under the might of Zero, his playful grin flickering back and forth into a cycloptic eye.

Kirby snapped out of his trance, a determined frown taking over his features. No. No, he would not submit to Zero. Not all was lost to the negative parts of life. Gooey had changed into something unrecognizable from the mindless hive of Dark Matter, he had become good. He had become a friend, a hero of his own.

Something worth fighting for. He would not be corruoted again.

The Heart Rod seemed to react to his resolve, its dim rainbow glow brightening into a field of light that scared off the oppressive darkness of the Void. Kirby wielded the rod with dexterity, each swing of its golden tip sending expanding waves of light clearing the space it touched.

Gooey was fully visible now, orange orbs waving in a circle around his oval blue shape as he gave Kirby a goofy smile that could have melted any heart. The pink puff felt a warm joy emanating from the faux Dark Matter, a reminder of everything he fought for. Under the imfluence of the rod, the faux Dark Matter seemed to stabilize again.

Both friends turned to face Zero, whose humungous size didn't seem nearly as terrifying under the light. The Eye looked surprised, maybe even scared, but, most importantly, angry. Angry that Its eternal bitterness had been rejected. Angry that Its dark influence could have been resisted by such superfluous, mortal sensations.

Angry that It could never comprehend the nature of the power wielded by this mysterious pink intruder to Its realm.

No sounds came from Zero, but Kirby felt his ears pop as the Eye attacked with unseen violence. Spikes, orbs, beams of pure negative essence, Dark Matter minions bleeding out of the ethereal white shell as the Eye unleashed Its fury upon the insolents attempting to thwart Its goal. Zero embraced the entropy, wanting nothing but to destroy this foreigner and the eldritch, paimful powers it wielded.

Kirby swung the Heart Rod with grace and determination, awed by the colorful mosaic of joy repelling each and every attack with ease. Each swing, each strike, each movement decorated with beautiful memories that would forever be imprinted in the history of the cosmos, no matter if he were no longer there to ensure their existence.

Gooey aided him by spitting barrages of stars as he danced around the gigantic shell in a clumsy but ecstatic ballet, relishing in his freedom to love, to laugh, to be who he chose to be and to fight for those he cared about. Making a sound for the first time since entering this Hyperzone, the faux Dark Matter burst into giggles, filling the Void with his joy to live.

Zero unleashed a silent roar as It succumbed to these alien sensations, every memory and ounce of joy burning Its flesh like acid. Never had It felt such unexplicable pain. Never had It been defiled in such crude, mocking manner.

Zero broke out of Its shell, the last of Its spawn scattering in the Void as the Eye ripped out of the white vessel in a mad frenzy. Rage, envy, arrogance, self loathing, everything It had ever known bleeding out into the colorful field of light in a desperate attempt to suffocate this outrageous display of irrationality and go back to the peace of chaos.

Kirby and Gooey twirled in an airbone ballad, dancing to a tune only they could hear while deftly avoiding every ounce of negativity coming from the Eye. The duo laughed and played without care or fear, filling the Hyperzone with the sounds of their happiness as they spun to face the writhing, pitiful mess of hatred that was left of Zero.

Awakening to the gentle caresses of the spring breeze, the warm embrace of the sun greeting his arrival.

Questioning his role in this vast land, overwhelmed by the colors, by the freedom.

The entirety of Dream Land celebrating their new hero, the foreigner that had saved them from starvation.

Meeting the strange pink ball, who was trying so hard to make him feel safe.

Training alongside the masked swordsman, practising his mysterious abilities in the name of helping his friends.

Taking on a new form, one he wanted to resemble his hero, and picking a name to call his own.

Playing with all their Animal Friends, sitting together in a picnic under the moonlight and sharing stories of joy, sadness and inspiration.

Kirby swung the Heart Rod one last time as all these memories flared to life, a blinding blast of rainbow light erupting from the heart shaped tip and striking the miserable echo of Zero unimpeded by Its desperate retaliation. The Eye writhed and spun madly as the last of Its strength bled into nothingness, stretched too thin for a thought as It closed one last time and let entropy claim Its essence.


The dark breach pulsed and flickered until it disappeared in a silent implosion, leaving the two small heroes alone in the skies. As they hovered high above the world, every ounce of Dark Matter gradually withered away without sustenance from its Source, undoing the gruesome mutations it had imposed upon the peaceful dwellers of Popstar. The anomalous reign of Zero was over.

As Kirby looked upon the land and smiled as the watercolor shine returned to the once devastated landscape.

No matter the price, no matter the time it would last, this was a home worth fighting for.