For the past several days, the Dark Matter had gotten used to Lord Miracle's presence. He usually followed Lord Miracle around whenever he patrolled the area. And given the amount of time that had passed, he was finally able to start training again.
Right now, the Dark Matter tried to keep up with Lord Miracle's movements. He dodged as Lord Miracle tried to tackle him. Right now, he looked like a green razor with two smaller razors that followed behind him. The Dark Matter tried to attack him by tackling his side, but he bounced off the shield Lord Miracle had set up for himself.
"Remember, we can only be hit with an attack similar to our current ability!" Lord Miracle said sternly. His body changed to that of an ice cube surrounded by smaller ice cubes. The Dark Matter kept this in mind as he tried to tackle the ice cubes. Although it took a few tries he was able to tackle one of them into Lord Miracle.
"All right, let's try something a little more difficult!" Lord Miracle said as his body changed shape yet again. This time, his body turned into a ball of electricity. He shot at the Dark Matter using lasers, and though he tried to dodge, the Dark Matter would inevitably get hit by one of them. He felt like he was on fire for a moment before he landed on the ground.
However, from the looks of it the lasers slowly morphed into smaller balls of electricity. Just like the ice cubes, the Dark Matter tried to tackle one of them...which shocked him in the process, all the Dark Matter could do was sit there with a dazed expression.
"Ah...perhaps we can stop for now," Lord Miracle said as he shifted back into his original self. He had at least 3 black eyes on his body, which didn't seem like a big deal to him given that the rest of his eyes were fine.
"We must say, your dodging has been getting better, Little One. You have some good ideas, but you'll need to work a little harder if you want to effectively bring down your enemy."
The Dark Matter nodded, his body shook from the electricity escaping his body. Afterwards, Lord Miracle let out a strong sigh. "Of course, we have plenty of abilities to use, but even we are limited to what we can teach you."
The Dark Matter nodded. As nice as it was to learn how to dodge and counterattack, he needed to learn how to do some actual attacks as well. He hoped that as soon as he got back to his old nest, he'd be able to learn something new from his brother. He really wanted to learn how to use a real sword.
"You're thinking about your brother again, aren't you?" Lord Miracle asked. The Dark Matter nodded in response.
"Wel,l we're sure that he looks forward to training with you again, too. And by that time, you might've even learned a new attack or two."
The Dark Matter hoped so, he really wanted to impress his brother by the time they reunited. Heck, if he could do even a fraction of what Lord Miracle could do, his brother would probably be proud of him.
...Then again, it was rare for a Dark Matter to possess the Copy Ability, so for now the Dark Matter should focus on perfecting other attacks that his siblings could do.
It was late at night...or was it early in the morning? It was hard to tell sometimes.
Lord Miracle was fast asleep in his nest. However, the Dark Matter was so full of energy that he was practically bouncing all over the place. He really wanted to let his energy out, and what better way to do that then with some more training?
At first, the Dark Matter attempted wake Lord Miracle. He tapped one of his eyes to see if it would open. If that didn't work, he'd try to tackle him. These things usually worked on Brother, but they didn't seem to be work here.
...Well, maybe he could get rid of that energy by flying around instead? After all, he should be fine as long as he avoided the nests. With that in mind, he hovered away from Lord Miracle. He wouldn't be gone long, anyway.
Everything was OK at first, he went along one of the routes Lord Miracle would go through...or at least he thought this was one of the routes, anyway. After a while he realized that he was lost. He was somewhere in the middle of nowhere, he couldn't tell which way Lord Miracle's nest was anymore.
And what if Lord Miracle couldn't find him? The Dark Matter wasn't connected to anyone, so they could never find him out on his own. He was just another blob of darkness, and dare he say it, a Mock Matter at best. He practically melted on the floor as his thoughts consumed him.
Soon, he could sense one of his siblings nearby. They could be hostile for all he knew. And just like last time, there was nobody around to protect him.
"What are you doing out here, Brother?"
The Dark Matter jumped as he the sound of his brother's voice. He turned around, and sure enough, his brother hovered closely in his True form. As much as the Dark Matter wanted to fly towards his brother and nuzzle him, he shouldn't even be near him right now.
"...You must've gotten lost," Brother said in acknowledgement. "I'll be more than happy to escort you back to Lord Miracle's nest. Lord Zero might not like it, but I doubt that anyone would be willing to help you."
The Dark Matter replied with a small nod, though he hoped that his brother wouldn't get punished further than he already had. He quietly followed his brother as they began to hover together.
Although it didn't look like it, The Dark Matter could tell that Brother missed him dearly. He was aware that he would get in more trouble should anyone catch him, but he didn't seem to care as long as the Dark Matter was safe.
"...So how is Lord Miracle's nest? Has he been treating you well?"
The Dark Matter replied with a nod. Although Lord Miracle was strange, he was kind. At the very least, he allowed the Dark Matter to accompany him during his patrols.
"I figured," Brother replied. "I don't know if he's done this with you, but he used to let me follow him when I was younger."
Again, the Dark Matter nodded. This time as a way to confirm what Brother had said.
"So he's done that with you too, huh? I suppose it'd only make sense. After all, it seems as if he's taken a liking to you. And perhaps if things had been different, we could've been HIS creations instead."
Of course Brother would get an idea like that. After all, he liked to imagine those kinds of scenarios where he didn't have to serve Lord Zero. Of course, the Dark Matter would be lying if he didn't think about the same thing from time to time. Perhaps if things were different, then maybe he would've been accepted by his own kind. And perhaps in another life, he was?
The duo stopped in their tracks as a sharp boomerang pierced through the air. Brother knocked the Dark Matter out of the way, the boomerang stunned him in the process.
"Didn't Lord Zero tell you guys to STAY AWAY from each other?"
The Dark Matter would've growled if he could, the sibling with the boomerang floated over to the duo with a look of disgust on their face. They raised a part of their cloak to catch the boomerang.
"Urk," Brother struggled to sit up, he was still shaken from the attack. "I'm...I'm aware of what Lord Zero said, but Brother was lost...I was helping him get back to Lord Miracle's ne-"
Once again, Brother was struck with the boomerang. The Dark Matter was frozen in fear, he wanted to do something...but he wasn't sure what to do.
"I don't care about your pathetic excuses," the sibling said as he raised his boomerang. "What matters is that you went against Lord Zero's wishes."
"B-but wouldn't you be doing the same thing by killing me?"
"Oh, don't worry," said the sibling. "I don't plan on killing you, it would make punishing you a lot less fun!"
Before the sibling could strike Brother again, the Dark Matter attempted to tackle him. He barely moved. Instead, he looked down at the Dark Matter with a cold gaze.
"You're a stubborn one, I'll admit. But Mock Matter like you are better off dead!"
The Dark Matter was as still as a statue, his muscles were tense. He looked back at his brother before looking up at the sibling. Right before the sibling could strike him, the Dark Matter quickly moved out of the way. It was as if his body moved on its own.
The sibling tried to strike him again. This time, they applied some dark energy into the boomerang. And once again, the Dark Matter moved out of the way.
The Dark Matter wanted to scream. His heart was racing and his body continued to shake. He knew he was in danger, and although he was against it at first, he hoped that Lord Zero would notice what was going on. And until someone intervenes, all the Dark Matter could do was survive.
"Please, stop!" Brother begged. "You're not supposed to kill him, either!"
"That doesn't matter either way," the sibling responded as he tried to strike the Dark Matter again. "Lord Zero will kill this one off eventually anyway!"
The Dark Matter tried to dodge, but this time the boomerang struck him in the face. Before the sibling could strike the Dark matter a second him, a large fireball flew into their direction.
"We apologize for cutting this fight short," said a familiar voice as the fireball changed back to Lord Miracle's original form. The pupils in each of his eyes resembled slits. "But when Brother tells you NOT to kill your siblings, he means it. And if you attempt to do such a thing again, you will be BANISHED from Dark Star."
"With all due respect, Lord Miracle. You do not have that kind of authority."
"Perhaps not, but Brother would be more than happy to lend us that kind of power. Now leave these two alone before we banish you ourself!"
If looks could kill, then Lord Miracle would've destroyed the sibling. Regardless, the sibling left without saying anything. Lord Miracle's pupils returned to normal when his attention turned to the Dark Matter and his brother. "Are you two OK? Can you float?"
"...Yeah, I can," Brother said as he hovered. "But you must believe me, I really was trying to bring Brother back to your nest."
The Dark Matter sat up and nodded, as if to confirm what Brother was saying.
"While we do believe you, Brother has something he would like to say on the matter." Lord Miracle informed them. "He'll be waiting at our nest, now come along!"
Both brothers gave each other a concerned look, they hoped that Lord Zero would be a little understanding of the situation. The Dark Matter was willing to take most of the responsibility for what happened. After all, he was the one that got lost in the first place.
Soon, both Dark Matter were taken back to Lord Miracle's nest. As expected, Lord Zero was waiting for everyone's return.
"Brother, we're back!" Lord Miracle announced. Zero replied with a small nod. "Thank you for taking care of that situation. Now as for you two..."
"Lord Zero, I promise I was just trying to bring my brother back to Lord Miracle!" Brother explained. "You can punish me all you want, but Brother did nothing wrong!"
The Dark Matter shook his head, he leapt in from of Brother as if to guard him from whatever punishments Lord Zero had planned. It was foolish to defy Lord Zero's wishes, but the Dark Matter didn't want to see his brother get hurt again. Yet despite his defiance, Lord Zero's expression didn't change.
"I see you two have endured quite a punishment already. Since I'm feeling merciful, I will only add one more day to the idiot's previous punishment. As for the smaller one, I ask that you do not leave Lord Miracle's sight until your brother's punishment is complete. Do you understand?"
"Yes, My Lord...thank you!" Brother said as he let out a seemingly long breath. He looked down at the Dark Matter with a hopeful look in his eye. "I will see you in a few more days, Brother. Just hang in there until then."
The Dark Matter nodded as his brother flew away. Despite all that had happened, he was glad that Brother made it out OK.
"I will admit, I admire your defiance." Lord Zero told the Dark Matter. "But you will be reduced to a puddle on the ground if you ever defy me again. do you understand?"
The Dark Matter nodded without hesitation. Still, despite all that happened, he was happy that everything turned out fine in the end. As much as he enjoyed Lord Miracle's company, he couldn't wait to go back to his brother's nest.