So you're probably wondering why you're seeing this here. Originally, I wrote this back in 2020 when an ex-friend got me into Kirby. And though that friendship ended on a sour note, I still find ways to enjoy the series. In fact, one reason I even started this fic was when I discovered that comic involving Gooey and Dark Matter.
Anyway, I figured it'd be nice to have something on this account other than my old DK fics (which I might do more of one day). I'll be posting at least two chapters at a time so I'm not hogging the spotlight from other writers, but I'll also be reworking bits and pieces of it as well (You might even notice them on Ao3)
And for those that HAVEN'T read this story, I hope you'll enjoy it.
TW: Trauma, implied abuse, gore (for obvious reasons, though that won't show up until the very end).
Dark Matter were beings made of pure darkness and negative energy. And as one would expect, the light was a natural enemy of these beings. Weaker variants resembled black, one-eyed blobs with orange fins protruding from their bodies, while their leaders were a pure white color. Of course, some Dark Matter may change their form and color over time in order to adapt to their environment. However...there was a rare chance that a Dark Matter will be born...different from the others. And when they're "different", they were often treated as lesser beings. And in some cases, they would even be banished or killed if their leader didn't like them.
Just now, this specific Dark Matter had been banished from his own home, he vaguely remembered his brother's words as he floated through space. "Find a new home, and don't look back."
The Dark Matter was still young, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to find a new home in this empty space. He wasn't even sure about what he had done to earn Lord Zero's disdain. He was just like every other Dark Matter...right? The only thing that truly set him apart from his siblings were his two eyes, but other than that he had the same black color and orange fins as the rest of them.
He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now, he shut his eyes tightly and wished that he was back home with his brother. Out here, he felt as if someone, or something, could kill him at any moment. The rays given off by the big light didn't help, either. If anything, it wanted to keep the Dark Matter from opening his eyes. Perhaps this was why Lord Zero wanted to extinguish the light so badly? Because not only was the light blinding, it also felt like it was burning the Dark Matter's skin.
Without realizing it, the Dark Matter was being pulled in by a large rock with rings that circled around it. Once he noticed, he rotated his fins as quickly as he could to get away from the rock. Unfortunately, its pull became stronger and stronger until the Dark Matter started to plummet into the atmosphere. If he had a mouth, he would be screaming right now. His eyes were looking all over the place, he inevitably passed out as he fell past one of the planet's rings.
He might not have found that "new home" his brother was talking about, but at least now he was going to a place where Lord Zero wouldn't have to worry about him ever again.
...He was alive? But how?
"..H...lo?"
The Dark Matter began to hear a voice from somewhere, but it sounded so distant. He could still feel the light burning his skin, the heat from it made him feel sick.
"Hey, are you all right?"
The voice was clearer this time, and the Dark Matter could feel someone nudge him. He didn't want to move, he wanted to stay like this until the sick feeling went away. However, his eyes opened wide as he felt someone tug his fins.
"Come on, wake up!"
Once the Dark Matter fully regained his senses, he quickly rotated his fins and tried to fly. He could hear the person yell in shock. Unfortunately, the Dark Matter couldn't fly any higher than an inch or two off the ground, he managed to collapse not long after he tried to take off. There was so much pain coursing through his body that he could barely breathe.
"I'm sorry!" the stranger said as he gently placed a hand on the Dark Matter's side. "You weren't waking up, so I thought that maybe..." He went silent, as if he couldn't bear the thought of finishing his sentence. "A-Anyway, how are you feeling? Do you need food? O-or water?"
The Dark Matter huffed bitterly as he tried to open his eyes. He didn't know what "food" was, nor did he know why this creature was being so nice to him. Though not only was the Dark Matter sick, he also noticed that cuts and scrapes had formed all over his body. It was as if he had gotten into a fight, and usually his brother would've taken care of him whenever he got hurt...But the Dark Matter had never been hurt THIS badly, before. Not for a while, at least...
"You can't talk, can you?" asked the stranger. "Wanna come to my house? You can stay with me until you're better, OK?"
It wasn't like the Dark Matter had a choice, though he got a better look at the stranger as he was thrown onto his back. The stranger had a pink body, two blue eyes, a hole near the bottom of his face, and a pair of red appendages below him. Using what little strength he still had, the Dark Matter tucked his fins into his body and let out a weak breath. He felt so weak that he looked as if he was going to cry. How the pink creature could live in such a bright world confused him to no end.
"I'm Kirby, by the way." the stranger said happily. "And what about you, do you have a name?" It seemed more like he was asking out of politeness more than anything.
It was Dark Matter, just like his siblings. That's what the stranger meant by "name", right? As far as Lord Zero was concerned, all lesser Dark Matter were the same. Only special ones ever got to receive names.
"You don't have one, do you?" Kirby asked curiously. "That's OK, I'm sure we can come up with one later."
The Dark Matter wanted to protest, but he didn't have the strength to fight back. Then again...maybe having a name might not be such a bad thing? It was a new world, after all.
The duo had made their way into a small dome, and thankfully, the inside of the dome was more bearable than the outside. The light still shown through, but Kirby blocked it out with a cloth before dropping his guest onto the nest below him. The nest was much softer and fluffier than the Dark Matter expected, he could feel himself sink into one of the soft rocks beside him.
"You stay here," Kirby said sternly as he climbed out of the nest. Afterwards, he ran outside. "I'm gonna go look for something to help you with, OK?"
The Dark Matter sighed as he nuzzled against one of the soft rocks. For a moment, he liked to imagine that he was back home with his brother in the comfort of the darkness. He liked to imagine that the two of them were in a soft nest far away from Lord Zero. Of course, his brother probably wouldn't have liked such a bright place to begin with, but he probably would've had a better time putting up with the light here. Especially with that cloak of his.
The Dark Matter's thoughts quickly returned to him as he felt a stinging sensation on his wounds, he saw that Kirby was by his side again. He sprayed a burning liquid onto him, standing beside the bed was more liquid with a cloth inside.
"I know it hurts, but hang in there," Kirby said sympathetically as he placed something over the wound. "I'll give you some food after this, OK?"
The Dark Matter laid there with his eyes half-closed, wouldn't it have been better to let the wounds heal on their own? That way there wouldn't be as much pain involved? Still, Kirby was trying to be as gentle with him as possible. And whenever the Dark Matter winced, Kirby would stroke his back in an attempt to keep him calm. Once Kirby was done dressing the Dark Matter's wounds, he placed a wet cloth over his eyes and a round, red object onto the bed.
"It's an apple," Kirby explained. "You're supposed to eat it."
Eat it? What was that supposed to mean? He sprouted a nubby arm and nudged it, which caused it to fall to the floor. Kirby picked it up from the ground and dusted it off.
"Are you too sick to eat? That's OK," Kirby said as he inhaled the apple. "I'll give you something later, then."
Oh...was he supposed to absorb the apple? It's not like he needed to do such a thing to begin with, but now he was curious.
The Dark Matter jumped as he heard a knocking sound, Kirby jumped off the nest and headed towards the entrance of the dome. He opened the entrance and greeted the creatures on the other side. "Hey, guys!"
"Hey, Kirby!" said one of the creatures as they walked through the entrance. Two of them were white with orange spots, though the taller of the two had brown spots as well. Sitting on top of the taller creature was another pink creature. Unlike Kirby, this creature had more appendages. Perhaps this one was a Kirby as well? Or maybe even a mutated Kirby?
The Dark Matter started to tense up as the group of creatures got closer to him. They didn't look malicious, but their curious gazes didn't bring him any comfort either.
"So...it seems like you've actually found a new friend, huh?" asked the smaller creature. "How did you find him?"
"He fell from the sky like a comet," Kirby explained. "He's sick, that's why he's on my bed right now."
"You're so kind, Kirby!" said the Kirby-like creature. "I'm glad that this thing has someone like you to look after him~!"
"Aw, are we actually being nice today, Chuchu?" the smaller creature teased. So that wasn't a Kirby? Regardless, Chuchu glared at him in response. "Zip it!"
"Hey, I was just messin' with ya!"
"Well I don't think it's a good idea to get everyone riled up," said the taller creature as he put Chuchu on the floor. "Besides, we don't want to scare Kirby's guest...do we?"
"Right...sorry," said the smaller creature. He slowly made his way closer to the bed along with the rest of the creatures.
"I'm Rick," said the smaller creature.
"My name is Chuchu!"
"And I'm Nago," said the larger creature. "What's your name?"
"I don't think he has one," Kirby explained. The group's eyes widened as they looked back at the Dark Matter.
"Well that won't do at all," said Nago as he gently put his paw on the Dark Matter's back, though he frowned when he noticed how warm and sticky he was. "Perhaps we can come up with something right now?"
"Oh!" Kirby looked up at the ceiling as he tried to think. "How about 'Berry'?"
"I dunno," said Rick, "I don't remember seeing a berry with eyes before."
"I'd like to see you come up with something, then!" Chuchu said in a snarky tone, Rick huffed as he put his paws onto his waist. "All right, how about 'Squishy'?"
"Does he look like a squid to you?" Chuchu argued. "I think 'Comet' sounds better."
"But he's not a comet."
"YOU'RE not a comet!"
"Uh...W-which one do you like better?" Kirby asked in an attempt to get back on the subject. If the Dark Matter was being honest, he didn't like either name...Or at least the way Rick and Chuchu were saying them. He turned his attention to Nago and nuzzled his paw.
"Oh, you want ME to come up with something?" Nago asked as he pet the Dark Matter again. He hummed softly as he tried to think, his ears perked upwards as an idea popped into his head. "How about 'Gooey'?"
The Dark Matter glanced at Nago before nuzzling his paw again, the creature smiled victoriously. "All right, Gooey it is then!"
"What kind of name is that?" Chuchu asked in disappointment, only for Nago to shrug in response. "He looks kind of gooey to me."
"Oh, whatever!" Chuchu said while rolling her eyes. Kirby gave her a smile. "Cheer up, Chuchu. At least he's got a name, now."
Of course, the Dark Matter wasn't sure what a "Gooey" was, but he was willing to adopt the name nonetheless. It made him feel as if he stood out even more from his siblings, but he was fine with it as long as the others had something to call him.
Things started out pretty rough for the young Dark Matter, but perhaps staying here won't be such a bad thing? He had fulfilled his brother's wish in finding a new "home", but he couldn't help but wonder how long this would last?