As usual, review replies are in store:
Queen Mistaky ~ Thanks for sticking around through the hiatus (btw, "hiatus" is far too overused on this website). I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. Also, cool theory, bro (or ma'am, I guess?). in terms of Kirby's psychological issues...just you wait 'till you see what I have in store.
Anyways, thanks for the views feedback again. Here is chapter eight. This is quite the odd one, as you'll soon probably find out. How each chapter keeps getting weirder than the last is funny to me, but also kind of the point. Some interesting stuff is revealed here, too, so enjoy!
Blackness.
Ever-surrounding, omnipresent blackness.
A world with no light. An invisible maze with no prize. A shadow encompassing all, including those who touched it. What secrets did it hold? What truths was it hiding? Kirby didnll't know, and, determined as he was to find out, couldn't know.
He tried. He had so desperately tried. He wanted so desperately to be able to move, even just an inch, to be able to navigate the sea of blackness that surrounded him. He wanted so desperately to figure out what had gone wrong with him. What had trapped him in this nightmare — this twisted reality. What had made Marx be the death of him for so many countless times...
But he couldn't...
His stubs, his body; everything was numb. So numb. So devoid of life. It was maddening; he thought he knew what needed to be done and yet he was wrong... So...so wrong...
And so here he was, floating around in his endless abyss, unable to change direction or...much of anything. All he could do was sob. Sob quietly to himself as he had done so many times before, and yet this time felt different because he really did want to figure out his trauma. To unlock the secrets his mind refused to allow him to see. But...he couldn't...
He was too weak...
It was too late...
There was nothing left to do but die... Over and over with no escape...
He was so close... so close this one time, and yet he was still so far away...
D-don't leave me, Kirby...
"I...I'm sorry, poy..." the puffball muttered. "I...I didn't want to leave..."
We care about you, Kirby... Don't leave us...
It was crying. The voice was crying. "I'm still here..."
P-please, Kirby! Don't leave me behind!!
"Marx—" he gasped. He remembered that Marx had, only after he had first died in here yet no other times afterwards, fallen victim to some sort of nightmare. It was like he was begging Kirby to wake up. To wake up from this nightmare... he thought. Okay...so he was asleep. Or perhaps even...
No, that couldn't be it.
He spoke up again. "Marx?" Kirby said. He didn't know why, but he could feel Marx's prescience within this strange realm. And unlike the Marxes of his subconscious, this one felt...different, as though it was emitting some sort of aura. Strangely, he also could feel something hugging up against the right-hand side of his body, but he couldn't who it was that was doing that. Surely, it was Marx. Maybe this is what he meant by "don't leave me behind"... Kirby must've been asleep for so long that Marx couldn't let go...
"Marx, I'm here!" he called out again. "I know you're here. I...I need your help..."
Kirby waited...and waited. He didn't know why, but deep down he knew Marx would somehow respond. And he did.
Then why didn't you ask for us sooner...?
Kirby was stunned by the response, but wasn't surprised with what was said. He must have been locked away for so long... "I...I don't know, poyo...but I can't find out unless you help me... I-I missed you...and I need your help..."
...No. Y— I know what you are, Kirby... You're cold... You do what you call righteous without question, and you leave all your mistakes behind...
"Wha-? Marx, what're you taking about?"
What we had between us for so long... It...it meant nothing to you, did it? None of us did! Not when you attacked us!
"N-no! I never attacked you—"
Dont you remember it, Kirby? The burning remains of Cappy Town left in your wake? I thought I was a monster...but you...you're a demonbeast...j-just like they said you were...
"Marx..."
I didn't believe them at first! I thought it was another one of Dedede's tricks, but after seeing you there...seeing what you've caused and what everything had lead up to...I had no other choice...
Without warning, the darkness suddenly cleared, and despite Kirby's view being obscured by his tears, he could still be able to see what memories surrounded him. It all came back to him at once.
It had started happening shortly after the destruction of the dark lord Void Termina, destroyer of worlds and evil incarnate; a being lacking any form of happiness within itself. When he was destroyed by Kirby and his Star Allies, Marx included, Void Termina didn't simply disappear. That, of course, would have been too simple. Too easy. The universe was full of balance: happiness and sadness, light and dark, positive and negative. To fully destroy Void Termina would be like saying one could remove all darkness from the universe — it was infeasable, especially since some form of hatred would always exist in some lifeform somewhere within the universe. The reverse was true as well — Void Termina's desire to eradicate all life and return the universe to a state of entropy and nothingness, too, was infeasable. There was too much light.
So what if Void Termina, rather than combat the happiness that opposed him, simply sucked it out of one of the universe's shining rays of light? Rid the greatest warrior of his cause to fight and his destruction would be assured. But Void Termina was crafty...always crafty. What if it not only rid the Star Warrior of his light, but replace it with...for lack of a better term, itself? It was a brilliant plan; infect Kirby, destroy his happiness but by bit, then infect him. When all that was left to oppose the darkness was the darkness, it was clear who would win.
And so, lacking explanation, the shifts in behavior began. Even in death, Void Termina still could commandeer all that was sick, twisted, or empty. And when Marx had shown up so suddenly on the puffball's little adventure, he served as the key into the emotions Kirby had tried to keep buried for so long. Suddenly, and without warning, Kirby had started to grow consious of his childishness...the thing that had provided him with much of his happiness for so long., all thanks to Marx's reappearance. Neither realized this, of course. It was instrumental they believed nothing was out of the ordinary.
Once Kirby left his friends standing there on a hill, ready to play another game with him, it knew it had succeeded. With this golden opportunity, Void Termina slipped into Kirby's unsuspecting mind. The two were similar in many respects, but Termina disguised itself as a small little voice in the back of the puffball's mind, telling him and feeding him things. Lies. Distrust. Anger. Hatred. Anything that would make him dive deeper into his own rut...
And when he had nowhere else to go, when he had been led far away from them all... When he was the most desparate...
Listen to me, Kirby... I will help you when they turn away. I will free you from your suffering...
That's all you'll ever need to do... Just...listen to our voice, Kirby...
And he said yes. What happened next is obvious. And it would've been foolproof, too, if it weren't for that wildcard Marx and the puffball's mentor, Meta Knight, who stopped him before it was too late. Vanquished a second time, Termina retreated into the depths of Kirby's subconscious to fight another day, leaving Kirby, empty and alone, to rot there on the burning fields of Dreamland and die.
Kirby only knew this because Void Termina had intertwined itself within Kirby's mind so much that it's memories were now his... He could feel it's eternal numbness. He could feel it's pain when Kirby had finally defeated it. He was left utterly speechless... There was no forgiving what he had done.
When he finally collapsed in front of them all, he knew they would never forgive him. It was better that he stay asleep...and never wake up... It was better for all of them...
And yet...he was wrong. Meta Knight had known from the start that something was amok, and he did finally manage to convince the crowd of angry Cappies to not hurt the fallen Star Warrior. He had been through enough as it was, and being the respectable mentor that he was, the Cappies did ultimately calm down once all had been explained.
But not Marx. Marx, despite everything that had happened, knew Kirby was still in there. The Kirby he knew and loved. The sweet, caring Kirby everyone knew and loved. So once it was all over, Marx expected Kirby to wake up in a confused state, as though he had come out of mind control. But he didn't wake up. Kirby was aware of everything he did, and was ashamed. He didn't want to wake up. He didn't want to hurt them again.
Then Tiffany tried to take his pulse. There was nothing. His heart had been replaced with nothing.
Marx was left broken. He was a mess of tears by the time Kirby had been brought home, laying in his bed. Everyone was upset, saddened by the whole experience. Even King Dedede couldn't help but pity his rival for what he had been made to do. But he would be punished. Not now, but later. When he woke up, he would properly be punished for his actions. But Marx didn't care. Not one bit.
Most everyone had left the house, and Kirby layed there, motionless, lifeless. He might as well have been dead. He felt dead. He wanted to die. But Marx refused. He refused to let the pink puffball die. Refused to accept it. He cried his heart out, hanging on to what hope was left and sobbed into Kirby's right cheek. It felt almost stone hard.
"D-don't leave me, Kirby..." he sobbed, choking between his words. "We care about you, Kirby... Don't leave us... We need you to come back for us...to have our sunshine come back to us..."
I can't... Kirby thought. I don't have anything left within me anymore...
Just let me die alone, Marx...
"N-no! P-please, Kirby! Don't leave me behind!!" Marx pleaded, but to no avail. It was already too late. Far too late...
Where had all the light gone? Where had the pink spot of joy disappeared?? Wasn't the nightmare supposed to have ended?? It couldn't still be ongoing, could it?? Oh, Kirby...
Marx sniffed, and muttered, "I want to help you, Kirby... I don't want to let go... Just let me help you... J...just let me help you..."
He slowly drifted off to sleep, repeating the last set of words until they were slurred beyond recognition. Marx had trapped himself inside of Kirby's purgatory...
So why, then, did Marx say all these things to him? Why did he call Kirby a demonbeast?
Maybe there was still some darkness left within his soul...
And within it, he heard Void Termina laughing.
You can't fight us, Kirby. Not anymore. You haven't been able to fight against us for so long...
"Unh..." Kirby struggled. He tried to stand but lacked the strength to do so. In spite of this, he metaphorically stood firm. "You...made me hurt them...f-for so long..."
Give up, Star Warrior. You've been mine for long enough. If you wake up, we will just wreak havoc once more!
"Get out of my head, poyo!" Kirby yelled.
Do you not know how intertwined we have become, Kirby? We are just as much a part of you as any other voice inside your mind.
"E-enough!"
We have funneled so many negative thoughts into your mind, Kirby. And now you have been tainted beyond recognition. You aren't even Kirby, anymore...
"N...no..." His eyes started to feel heavy and everything began to muffle around him. It was happening again...
Maybe you need another reminder of what you really are... Don't fret, though. It won't hurt.
This was it, then... It was over...
Here he would rot. Here he would stay, a slave to the will of the darkness...
His muscles loosened, and his body went limp. All hope within him dissolved away like nothing...
Because he was nothing...
He was nothing... Nothing...
But he refused.
"...no..."
He refused to accept his fate. He felt a small spark of light within the darkness, and grabbed it with what energy he had left.
"No!! I won't let you!"
Suddenly, the darkness that had threatened to return was washed away by a blinding light. The voice screeched in pain.
What?? No! It can't be!! I have wiped you clean of your love! Wiped you clean of your hope!! This is impossible!
The puffball felt his strength return to him. He remembered his friends. He remembered everything they had done together. Everything they had gone through, everything they had grown through.
Kirby!! The light!! It's too much!!
Termina was right. The light...oh...the light... It was so brilliant... So warm...
He passed out.
Kirby awoke surrounded by the blackness again. He gasped when he realized it, as he had expected to awake as he always did when he died in this nightmare; next to Marx, as if nothing had happened.
He might as well have wished not bin had happened. But he knew what was going on.
He knew what he had to do.
In front of him was a crystalline heart-shaped object, about the size of Kirby himself. The Jamba Heart...or at the very least, one last fragment of it. Perhaps the only thing keeping Void Termina sentient within his mind.
It was almost colorless, but within its blackness there were small but noticeable swirls of pink, with lines of red streaking downwards, coming from cracks in its surface. It was clearly wounded, but how...?
It didn't matter, anyways. All of this hardship had led here, to this moment. To the dark lord's demise. And Kirby would finally finish what he started...
Kirby stepped up to face the Jamba Heart head on. He put his stubs upon it, but upon doing so started to feel a bit queasy...
The stuff leaking out. It was blood. His blood.
Kirby gagged in his mouth. This wasn't Termina's heart. It was his heart. But this wasn't right!
So here we are...
Kirby had half-expected Termina's cold, terrifying voice to emerge from the shadows. He had also half-expected Marx to appear and explain what was going on. The voice did belong to Void Termina, but it sounded...different. It sounded less dreary and more...alive... Less desperate and more...sympathetic?
"What have you done, poy...?" Kirby murmured, his voice shaky. "Wha-what have you done to my soul?"
...You already know. We wanted you as our puppet. We wanted you as our envoy to destroy those who stood in our way.
"But why?" Kirby squealed. "Why me...?"
There was silence for a good while, as if Termina was struggling to word its response to the puffball. "Why did I have to suffer, poyo...?"
...You were a beacon of light... Of hope... Of love. We were destined to fight against one another... And we almost won, Kirby...
Kirby looked wearily again at the Jamba Heart in front of him.
We did manage to corrupt you. To destroy your happiness. But we did not account for what would happen to us during your transformation.
This heart you see here. It is true that it is our soul, but it, too, is yours, Kirby. We had intertwined so deeply within your mind, meddled so deeply within your thoughts, that we ceased to exist as a single entity of evil and darkness incarnate. We had become a part of you, Kirby. and when that happened...we felt things we had never felt before. Things we were never supposed to feel...
We have felt love in our past... There does exist love used as means to an evil end. We have felt happiness in our past... The sadistic satisfaction of blood in one's own hands, of witnessing pure destruction unfold before you... But this...this was something entirely different...
Kirby's eyes widened. He could feel Termina's darkness within him. He could feel it mixing with his other feelings, his essence. Then, out of nowhere, he saw a face emerge from the Jamba Heart.
We didn't understand! All of this positive emotion and light...wouldn't it have just neutralized with our own negative aura? Why was it still there? And why were we starting to...brighten up?
We soon realized what was going on. Your light and our darkness...it was coexisting, as if it were in a perpetual state of equilibrium. The universe exists in a perpetual balance, after all, Kirby...and as your emotions got darker and we convinced you to destroy Dreamland...our emotions got warmer...lighter... We were no longer a being of pure hatred and destruction, but something more...something far greater, Kirby...than either of us separately...
It was himself. The face in the Jamba Heart was his own. Kirby was looking at his own reflection...
And whilst you learned to hate, we learned to love... Whilst you learned of pain and suffering, we learned of hope and...happiness... We couldn't take any more destruction once we saw their eyes, Kirby. Your friends — our friends, as we fought against them and they tried so desperately to bring you back... To bring us back... The pain, it was too much... We couldn't bear their suffering any longer...
"And so you left me there to die..." Kirby said.
There was no other way... We couldn't forgive ourselves for what we have done...
"And so we hid. We hid until we could...figure things out, poyo?"
The reflection chuckled, then smiled. And we think we finally did... It was Kirby who was talking, his voice no longer distorting itself. A stray tear rolled down his cheek.
"Th...this all is...Termina, it's a lot to take in, poyo..."
Kirby... Termina does not exist anymore. And neither do you...at least how you are used to knowing yourself... The two of us are now one in the same... We are the embodiments of light and darkness, love and hatred, combined into a single entity in what should've been a perfect harmony, but was left clouded by our own selfish desires...
A few more tears rolled down Kirby's face.
We love you, Kirby...
He blushed, breathing quietly as his tears continued to leak from his eyes.
We love...us, K-Kirby...
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hide his own embarrassment from himself. He could feel the room around him grow warmer, as if the darkness itself, too, was blushing along with him.
We want to know something...
"Y-yes?" Kirby asked himself.
How did it feel in there...in our trap...to be passionate with Marx?
Kirby's cheeks were now steaming red, and the temperature started to feel more and more unbearable...
Did it feel good? Satisfying?
"Y-you're me, right? Shouldn't you know?"
We are two sides of the same coin, Kirby. We may be one in the same but the two of us, even though we share the same mind, can still experience separate thoughts. What you felt when you were with Marx...for us it was as if we were more or less reading it off the pages of a book.
"So...you want to experience it first-hand, right, poyo...?"
We l-love you so much, Kirby... His voice grew desperate, as if begging for Kirby to say yes.
Kirby felt the darkness approach him, wrapping itself around him, but not in a threatening manner like he had previously experienced, but...carefully. As if someone were wrapping their arms around him, or if he was being wrapped in a cool blanket. It felt so inviting after all that heat...
Was this what it felt like? How it felt to have the light and dark mix within himself? If so...he didn't want it to end. The embarrassed warmth of his body being counteracted by the breezy cold that surrounded him; it made his skin tingle with excitement, a thirst for more.
We're...taking that as a yes? he asked himself.
His face appeared in the darkness, taking the expression of what Kirby knew Termina's emotions were suggesting. He looked so cute...
He looked down one final time at the Jamba Heart. The darkness that coated its surface. The pink that swirled within its core. The blood seeping out from its cracks. Both Kirby and Termina were very much broken, both experiencing things they never were supposed to. But that didn't matter. They were two, but one.
Kirby nodded, and he closed the gap between himself.
TBC