Admittedly, it was easy for the Dark Matter to get lost without his brother around. He couldn't recall where the lake was supposed to be, Was it North of Lord Zero's nest? Or was it West?

He could sense that his siblings were all staring at him, they watch him in amusement like they'd watch an N-Z trip and fall on its face. There was no kindness here, so the Dark Matter kept his guard up just in case someone decided to hurt him.

The Dark Matter eventually found the lake, there were a few N-Zs that sat by the water's edge. For the most part they seemed to be minding their own business. Surely, they wouldn't mind getting possessed for a little bit, right?

...Except the N-Zs actually noticed the Dark Matter's presence, they moved away quickly, which made the Dark Matter to fall into the warm water.

The Dark Matter huffed in annoyance as he released his fins and hovered. He would attempt to do this again and again, but he would always get the same outcome. He was so frustrated that he would've screamed if he could.

It took him a while, but he managed to tackle one of the smaller N-Zs. Unfortunately, he STILL couldn't possess it, so he fell back into the water with it.

The Dark Matter fumed in frustration, but he jumped as the N-Z let out a loud cry for help. Soon, the other N-Zs tackled the Dark Matter back. One-by-one, they would repeatedly hit the Dark Matter's forehead. It got to a point where they nearly knocked him out.

Slowly, the Dark Matter made his way out of the water. As he looked back at the group of N-Zs, he saw that they were all comforting the smallest one in the group.

On one hand, he felt bad about hurting the N-Z. Brother did say that they didn't mind getting possessed, but that didn't mean that they couldn't feel any pain. But on the other hand, the Dark Matter felt bitter. Seeing the N-Zs swarm around the smaller one made him wish that his siblings would do the same thing for him, but he knew that acting this way would get him punished.

And why SHOULD he get punished for this? Why couldn't he hurt his siblings back? After all, it would only be fair...right?

"Ah, so that's where you've run off to!"

The Dark Matter jumped as he heard Lord Miracle's voice. It didn't take long for Lord Miracle to land in the water, the Dark Matter had to wonder what he was here for.

"Brother has asked us to come find you, has your training been going well?"

The Dark Matter let out a sigh of annoyance, which caused Miracle to chuckle in amusement. "Perhaps you should forget about possession for now? After all, I'm sure there's still something you're good at."

If that were the case, the Dark Matter would've perfected it by now...right?

"...You look doubtful," Lord Miracle said in acknowledgement. "Perhaps if it will make you feel better, we've known others who couldn't possess either."

Wait, really? Surely something like that couldn't be that common, right?

Again, it looks as if you are doubting us," Lord Miracle said in acknowledgement. "But we all have minor defects in some way or another. There's your brother's inability to connect with us, there's Mystery Matter's blindness, and there's even us."

That was obvious, given the amount of eyes Lord Miracle had.

"Now, we're aware that a defective Zero isn't something to think about, but aside from our eyes we're unable to create life like Brother can. We cannot weaponize our own blood, either. However, in addition to gaining the Copy Ability, we're also much sturdier in our neutral state. Would you like to see?"

The Dark matter gave him a curious look before he nodded.

"All right, then...Hit us!" Lord Miracle said in a demanding tone. "Do not worry about hurting us, just hit us as hard as you can!"

Although surprised at first, the Dark Matter went along with Lord Miracle's wishes. He tackled Lord Miracle as hard as he could, but something kept him from even making contact. Lord Miracle didn't even flinch.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Lord Miracle asked with a hint of amusement. "We can protect ourselves by summoning an invisible shield in a similar fashion to how your siblings summon their weapons. But this has a drawback, our shield is less effective when we're using our other abilities."

How so? The Dark Matter tilted his head, hoping that Miracle would pick up on his body language.

"You want to know what we mean? Well...Let's say, for example, that we've decided to use our Spark Ability. We will still have our shield, but if someone uses a similar ability, then they'll get past our shield and hurt us. Fortunately for us, however, it has been quite some time since someone has attempted to attack Dark Star."

And it was easy to see why. Nobody could ever be as strong as Lord Zero or Lord Miracle, but maybe the Dark Matter could learn a few things from the latter as well? After all, Lord Miracle must know some other good fighting techniques if he's capable of guarding their home.

"...Ah, Brother has requested that we bring you back to him." Lord Miracle said as if someone had reminded him. "Come along, little one."

The Dark Matter nodded as he began to follow Lord Miracle. Whatever it was, he hoped that Lord Zero would try to go a little easier on him despite his failure.

As Lord Miracle brought the Dark Matter back to the nest, they could see that Lord Zero had somewhat recovered from the dizziness he felt earlier.

"We've brought the Little One like you've asked, Brother!" Lord Miracle said. Lord Zero gave him a small nod before he turned his attention to the Dark Matter. "You seem a bit...happier than you did before. I ask that you tone it down, should you make a fool of yourself!"

The Dark Matter nodded, thankful that Lord Zero hadn't attacked him for this. Still, he had to wonder what it was that he wanted.

"On another note, it's clear to me that possession is not your strong suit. However, there must be something else that you're capable of. Perhaps you're better with summoning your own weapons for example?"

The Dark Matter looked down in shame, he couldn't quite think of anything.

"...Perhaps you're right, maybe you're good at nothing." Lord Zero said bluntly. "I still don't understand how that idiot could have pity for such a weak thing like you, but I won't get rid of you yet!"

"If we may ask, Brother...perhaps we should train the Little One, as well?" Lord Miracle suggested. "That way, you don't lose all of your blood when you're training him."

"I didn't lose that much blood!" Lord Zero said stubbornly. "But if you think it'll help the defect, then I don't see any reason to refuse your help."

"I promise I won't disappoint you, Brother!"

"I'm not worried about YOU disappointing me," Lord Zero said before looking down at the Dark Matter. "But at the very least, I expect you to keep up with your brother. After all, he can barely keep up with the rest of us."

The Dark Matter nodded without hesitation. He was going to become stronger, even if it killed him.