Disclaimer: Kirby belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.
Vesa and Fecto Elfilis met up with Hyness in his study the next day. The human simply sat on a lounge chair as she kept studying spell circles in a book she brought with her. At the moment, Elfilis created a simulation which allowed them to explore the different versions of the Miracle Fruit, ranging from eating it, injecting it, drinking its juice and even consuming its pulp. Hyness waited patiently, eager to know if his child could come up with fruitful results. Elfilis sat down next to Vesa as they continued the simulations quietly.
Once several minutes passed, Elfilis opened their eyes and tilted their gaze towards their girlfriend. By then, they finished running simulations of potential apocalyptic results.
"Find anything interesting?" Vesa asked.
Elfilis let out a soft sigh.
"For the most part, the results are promising," Elfilis explained, "but the result of a potential failure could cause my soul to combust and the explosion…would likely be powerful enough to leave a crater that'll reach the center of Popstar."
Vesa noticed as her partner shuddered at the idea. She gave Hyness a worried glance.
"As you know, souls are kind of a big deal," Hyness reminded, "they are literally what makes you—you. If your soul is destroyed, then all that is left for you is darkness; no afterlife, no future. Not even a NOVA would be able to bring you back to life as anything other than a braindead living body. You wouldn't know anything after that, you would simply cease to exist."
Vesa immediately shuddered.
"It's a scary thing to think about for mages who are so in touch with the world around us, we take in more of life and sense more," Hyness continued, "we have a greater understanding of the universe on a fundamental level. As your studies progress, you too will likely start to feel the breath of life and feel the world around you more in depth. And one day if you're unlucky, you might feel a soul suddenly get extinguished; the core essence of a living creature suddenly snuffed out. There are no words to accurately describe the feeling, just that it isn't pleasant to experience on any level."
Vesa lowered her head and placed her hand on her chest.
"I already know that's a possibility," she acknowledged, "yet, getting back to Elfilis here, I'd like to confirm if there's some safe way to experiment with the Miracle Fruit."
"Probably not without resorting to putting others at risk for the same fate we wish to avoid ourselves," Hyness answered, "we could scry the possibility, but none of us really possess the talent of foresight or reading the future. Elfilis can do it to an extent with tarot cards, but not in the way that we need. We need something more conclusive or it's too big a risk. There is the potential to use evil creatures to test it with, but meddling with souls in any way is never fun."
Vesa closed the book in her hands and stood up.
"Elfilis," Vesa asked, "what do you suggest we do?"
"I don't know," Elfilis admitted sadly.
Vesa and Hyness shared glances.
"I'm sure there's something useful we can find in the library, right?" Vesa clamored.
"We don't have any books on soul magic," Elfilis replied hesitantly, "that kind of magic is…taboo, to say the least. It's worse than necromancy and it's looked down upon. There are exceptions made if your affinity limits you to that kind of magic, but it's not something anyone likes and only morally corrupt people ever really used it."
Hyness sighed and lowered his head.
"Soul magic is both complex and taboo for a reason," Hyness added, "it's terribly dangerous to the caster and anyone you're trying to affect with little exceptions. Only a master can use something like that and not fear any risks."
Vesa couldn't imagine what plan she would agree with, so she embraced Elfilis. Dread seeped into her mind at the thought of losing the being she loved.
"If nothing else," Elfilis tried to assure her, "we can always let my soul heal naturally over time. It might be worth using small amounts of the fruit over a period of a few months."
Vesa closed her eyes and nuzzled their face. Elfilis let out a soft purr, their tail swaying from side to side. They returned the embrace and ran their hand down her back. Hyness was about to pull his camera out of his pocket dimension, but soon spotted Kirby and Elfilin as they played in the hallway. The wizard floated outside, his gaze fixated on the pink star warrior.
The instant Hyness emerged from his study, Kirby paused and turned to wave his arm.
"Poyo!" Kirby chirped.
"Hello, Kirby," Hyness asked curiously, "what brings you here?"
Elfilin glanced over his shoulder and floated towards Hyness.
"Oh, right," Elfilin blurted, "Kirby came here to visit. We're playing tag right now."
Kirby reached out his arm and tapped the small chinchilla's side. Elfilin let out a startled giggle.
"Poyo."
"Aww," Elfilin joked, playfully sticking his tongue out, "now I have to chase you around!"
Elfilin blinked before he floated to the door to the wizard's study for a brief moment.
"We're not interrupting anything romantic these lovebirds are doing, are we?" Elfilin pondered.
"Just a little," Hyness shrugged, "it should be fine, though. Right now, we were just having a bit of a heavy conversation. Luckily, it seems to have passed for now."
Elfilin floated back towards Kirby as they exchanged confused glances.
"Currently," Hyness continued, "we have a potential method of healing both you and Elfilis. However, we just don't have enough information to make it work yet. Currently, the potential results, while optimistic, are too unknown and could potentially result in their soul exploding and putting a hole through the center of the planet that you could fly another smaller planet through."
Elfilin couldn't help but shudder.
"That sounds worse than trying to collide Popstar with Vesa's world," Elfilin bleated.
"P-Poyo," Kirby uttered nervously.
"Probably," Hyness nodded in agreement.
Elfilin drooped his ears and perched on top of Kirby's head.
"Poyo," Kirby asked, "poyo poyo? Poyo?"
"We were investigating the unique properties of a unique kind of fruit found on the Dreamstalk," Hyness answered, "apparently, it can affect the soul in interesting ways and we're trying to figure out if it could potentially assist in repairing their soul. However, the potential for its power being more than their soul can contain in its current state is higher than we would like."
Kirby's eyes brightened and he eagerly jumped up and down.
"Poyo!" Kirby chirped, "poyo!"
Elfilin gave Kirby a puzzled look.
"M-Miracle Fruit?" Elfilin paused.
"Poyo!" Kirby nodded.
"Why yes," Hyness agreed, "that's the name we were given for it."
By then, Vesa and Elfilis tilted their gaze towards the door and stood from the lounge chair. When Kirby spotted them approaching the doorway to Hyness's study, the pink star warrior sprinted towards them.
"Poyo," Kirby waved his arms, "poyo poyo? Poyo! Poyo poyo!"
Elfilis fluttered their feelers as they locked eyes upon the pink star warrior.
"I suppose we could do that," Elfilis agreed, "I would ask how you know about it, but you apparently get into all kinds of trouble, so I can't say I'm surprised."
"Poyo!" Kirby smiled.
The following day, Kirby led Elfilin, Vesa, Elfilis and Hyness down the dirt path until they reached the base of the Dreamstalk. The pink star warrior didn't hesitate as he hopped on and started scurrying up the giant beanstalk.
"Hey," Elfilin protested, "Kirby, wait up!"
Elfilin started floating after Kirby. Elfilis lifted Vesa into their arms and lifted off into the air. Hyness followed close behind, though rather slowly. The pink puffball slowed down a little, allowing the small chinchilla to catch up. From there, they all continued their climb up the Dreamstalk, moving past the floating islands until they arrived at Royal Road. They strolled down the street until they arrived at the gate to the palace. Kirby happily waved his arms at the two Lanzers.
"Poyo!" Kirby chirped.
The Lanzers exchanged confused glances before they approached the pink star warrior.
"Hey," one Lanzer pointed out, "is that Kirby?"
"Poyo!" Kirby stood on the tips of his feet.
"Well then," the other Lanzer offered, "wait here while I inform Taranza, all right?"
Kirby nodded before the Lanzer made its way into the palace. The others simply waited until the familiar spider magician emerged from the palace several minutes later.
"Why hello, Kirby!" Taranza greeted, spreading his arms wide, "long time, no see!"
"Poyo!" Kirby gestured to Elfilin, Vesa, Elfilis and Hyness, "poyo poyo, poyo!"
Taranza made a brief glance at Elfilis.
"Oh," Taranza blurted, "welcome back, Elfilis! I assume you repaired the mirror?"
"It was a bit of a hassle," Elfilis nodded, "but it has regained its original function. Whoever wrecked it didn't know much about magic, but they knew enough to figure out how to change its function from its original purpose and cover their tracks a little."
"I see," Taranza replied, "right this way, please."
Taranza led Kirby, Elfilin, Hyness, Vesa and Elfilis into the palace, making their way into the spider magician's study. Once inside, Elfilis set down Vesa.
"So," Taranza asked, "what brings you here this time?"
Elfilin perched on Taranza's desk.
"We're about to experiment with the Miracle Fruit," Elfilin explained, "and perhaps you'd be willing to help us."
Taranza blinked twice, reminiscing on that moment he tossed a Miracle Fruit to Kirby when the pink star warrior confronted Sectonia just as she was about to take over Dreamland.
"For what reason?" Taranza paused.
Elfilis sighed and lowered their head.
"My soul is currently closer to a stained glass window held together with duct tape than a regular window, fragmented into thousands of little pieces and sloppily stitched back together," Elfilis explained, "I have little experience with soul magic and a normal recovery will take decades. I suspect that the Miracle Fruit has the potential to work as a cure or maybe a slow fix. But, I also have a reason to believe a failure would result in the destruction of myself and this planet on a fundamental level."
Taranza couldn't help but stiffen at the thought. Still, he reached for a bookshelf and pulled out a book on the Miracle Fruit.
"Well," Taranza sighed, "extra precautions will have to be made if we're to conduct this study. I know Kirby is able to consume the Miracle Fruit and handle its power with no trouble, but still."
Vesa made a brief glance at Kirby.
"So what power did the Miracle Fruit give you?" she asked him.
"Poyo," Kirby answered, "poyo poyo. Poyo."
"No idea what that means," Elfilin shrugged, "but it sounds pretty neat."
Taranza handed Elfilis the book on Miracle Fruit. They flipped through the pages, mentally cataloging the knowledge inside at speeds other living creatures wouldn't be able to. Elfilis handed the book to Vesa, allowing her to study its contents while Taranza stared at Hyness.
"I don't think I got your name," Taranza said.
"The name's Hyness," the magician replied, "one of the last of the Ancients. My daughters and my child are also the last remnants of our society. You know…other than him."
Hyness thought of the certain planet busting knight.
"And I'm Elfilin," Elfilin waved his paw, "Kirby's best friend!"
Elfilin floated off the desk when Hyness looked him over for a brief moment.
"Hmm," Hyness pondered, "we should probably start training you in magic as well, and maybe some of our customs if you want."
Elfilin placed his paw behind his head.
"I mean," Elfilin mused, making a brief glance at Elfilis, "it sure wouldn't hurt to know what customs you got."
Elfilin floated over to Kirby.
"Right, Kirby?" Elfilin clamored.
"Poyo!" Kirby nodded.
"Most of them are magic related," Elfilis pointed out, "so we'll need to work on your magical education first. Sometimes, it can be hard to distinguish between what we find customary as opposed to just normal magical practice if you aren't paying attention."
Elfilin took a moment to think before tilting his gaze towards Vesa.
"Did I…ever awaken my magic?" Elfilin asked Vesa.
Vesa gave the small chinchilla a puzzled look.
"I can't feel for other people's mana reserves," Vesa objected.
Taranza cleared his throat, causing everyone else to focus their gaze towards him.
"Anyways," Taranza reminded, "we'll need a safe controlled environment for our experiments on the Miracle Fruit."
"There are isolated planets where there is no animal life and only plants exist," Elfilis placed a finger on their lower jaw, turning their gaze to Elfilin, "as for you, you don't need to awaken your magic. Your body was a part of me once, so your magic already exists. You likely tapped into it quite a bit when you and Kirby both hit me with a truck."
Elfilis gave Kirby an annoyed look as they looked back on that memory.
"Poyo," Kirby sighed softly, still feeling bad for Elfilis.
"Well, here's the plan," Taranza offered, "I can check the available planets you're looking for on my telescope and I can let you pinpoint which one to conduct our studies on. Does that sound like a deal?"
Vesa and Elfilis exchanged glances as they took a moment to think over the offer.
"We can travel there directly," Elfilis suggested, "I've been to all the planets I have in mind in the past, so it wouldn't be a problem."
"Wonderful!" Taranza clasped his hands together, "then we shall schedule a trip to a planet of your choosing. I might need to pack up."
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