You Bring Out the Worst In Me

by frostiwars

After the emotionally draining debacle that occurred in the New World, everything's starting to settle down again. Life is moving on, returning to its normal pace. But something's lurking. Something closer to the king than anybody suspected. Something much Darker. And it is NOT very happy with the current events. It hasn't been for a very long time. Sequel to I Can't Help Myself

7. Get Trolled, Idiot

This frigid, weak, lifeless planet known as Shiver Star made for the perfect target of the Dark Core. Full of filthy, cruel emotions sown by those strange 'human' inhabitants. Hatred, greed, sorrow, disdain, utter disregard for other people's happiness. It all grew into the perfect feeding ground for Zero's children.

He deemed it perfect for the Blade's first mission.

He'd been training that young anomaly for years, preparing him to guide armies into consuming worlds with just the flick of his hand. And the twelve-year-old did so terribly well too… The humans trapped in that city didn't stand a chance. No magical artifacts strong enough to even graze them. Technology too physical to cause damage to their ethereal forms. All they could do was run as they were cut down. Cut down or taken as physical forms to feed off of the negative emotions produced by watching their fellow humans be contorted beyond belief.

Blade had felt something akin to pride surge through his chest at how even the elder Matters listened to his orders. Zero was right… The mask really did help.

Though his podmates knew him well enough to ignore his anomalous appearance, anyone older or younger than him would surely regard him with nothing but disgust. So Zero, in his infinite wisdom, altered his appearance as best he could. And every perfectly calculated move Blade called for was executed just as perfectly. All because they didn't know he was an anomaly.

The worst of the raid was over, and now the younger Matters were on cleanup duty, making sure no one else escaped the fray. Though he was technically the commander, Blade still wished to contribute to this as part of the experience all Matters had on their first mission. It was his place. He knew his place. So he found himself darting through the squared roads of the now-crumbling city, hunting for any humans he may find. The glacial wind ripped through his partially incorporeal body. It would run against the Core in his chest if it weren't for the armor Lord Zero had gifted him. He summoned his translucent, iridescent sword, feeling the false weight in his hands. Though he could easily fight anyone he came across with his own magic, swordplay was his speciality. [It made him unique.]

He'd never killed someone before, or even attacked someone with the intent to kill. He always practiced his swordplay with his siblings, never wishing to harm them. That would be a waste of resources. His only other practice had been with inanimate objects. It told him the best places to do damage but nothing more. Not that it mattered. If the enemy can't harm you, then it doesn't matter how fast or slow you kill them.

His ears pricked at the sound of distant shouting. The voice seemed rather young, whiny. Weak. He jerked around the corner, eyeing his target. There, a taller, dark-haired human boy was trying to quiet a shorter, dark-haired human girl.

"Shhh! They're gonna hear us if we aren't quiet!"

"But- I- I wanna find them- Can't we-"

"It's okay, it's okay, just- we'll find them soon, I promise, but we gotta-"

No thoughts entered his mind, only pure instinct ingrained in him from near birth. Blade acted on autopilot, shooting forward, swinging his sword and cutting through the boy's back in one fell swoop. Blood twirled down his sword's edge, dripping against his skin and splattering over his clothes. The boy collapsed forward to the ground, a scream choked silent by pain.

"NOIR!"

The girl shouted and crouched down, trying in vain to drag her companion to his feet. The horror in her voice snapped the Matterborn out of his automata and he realized what he'd just done. Blade stumbled back a bit, his grip on the sword already loosening.

'I… I didn't… I just…'

What… what was this? Why did his Core hurt? He hadn't been injured, had he? Did humans have some innate, self-protective magic after all? He ripped the mask from his face to get a better look. It slipped from his now-shaking hands, landing in the snow bank beneath him. The girl was sobbing now, screaming the boy—Noir's—name over and over.

"Gh- go- Ado… Go- get.. out… please…!"

"But I can't-"

"GO!" he managed to wheeze out. The girl—Ado?—flinched back, scrambling away as if Noir himself had attacked her. She shot a quick look at Blade, eyes widening in realization that her fate might match her companion's if she didn't listen. That fear overtook her sorrow and she spun on her heel, ducking under some rubble to stow away deeper into the city.

The young Dark Matter's head hung like it was about to fall off its hinge, and he stared blankly at the boy bleeding out at his feet.

He looked to be just a few years older than him… Why did that make him ache? Why did some sort of discomforting, almost SICK sensation weave its way through his chest? The boy's body twitched and convulsed uncontrollably in pain. That wound would certainly kill him, but it would take a while if Blade just left him alone… Static swam through the young Matter's head. All he could do was push out one undeniable thought.

'I… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I didn't… I didn't think it would hurt that much…' And he didn't know who he was referring to.

Noir's gaze turned to him as he rolled himself over, his breath shallow. A mixture of the boy's fear and anger stabbed into Blade's skull. He opened his mouth to speak, but the pain clamped down on him, choking it down. All he could let out was a scream. Blade kneeled at his side.

'I'm sorry. I wish I could take it back. I wasn't thinking.' Simple affirmations, matter-of-fact thoughts. But the sincerity in his thought-tone couldn't be ignored. Not that it did anything for the dying human now. Even so, Blade wished he could do something for him. This didn't… feel right. This wasn't supposed to feel bad. Or like anything at all… The most he was supposed to feel was satisfaction at successfully eliminating an enemy. That's what his older siblings said. That's what Zero told him.

Why was this teenager deemed an enemy? What had he ever done to Blade? To any of the Dark Matter?

Well, he was a source of food, and nothing else. All of the negative emotions released by his and his people's deaths would sustain them for decades. It was a long time coming, anyway. These humans had been on the verge of extinction for a while. The life or death of one wouldn't make a difference in the long run.

So why did he still feel awful?

"It.. it hurts…" was all Noir could choke out. He wanted to say more; Blade could FEEL he wanted to say more. But he couldn't. Blade bowed his head, clenching his fists.

'I know… I'm sorry.'

"K… kill me… please… Hurts…. e- end…. m…"

The Dark Matter's eye widened ever so slightly before he nodded in acknowledgement. This was the least he could do for the boy he 'had' to kill. It was the greatest kindness he could give him.

(Kindness?)

Blade raised his sword, hovering it above the human child's head. It wavered and shook as he tried to work up the nerve to plunge it through his skull. Come on… Come on..! He was gonna die anyway! This was a mercy! There's nothing to feel squeamish about!

'I… I don't wanna do this… I don't understand… I shouldn't have…'

"DO IT!" Noir gasped out. His fingers desperately clawed at the ground, animalistic instinct already driving its way through him. It felt odd, having his victim crying in support of his own murder. Again, again. He shouldn't hesitate!

'I- I can do this- I WILL do this!'

Blade reeled back and SLAMMED the sword through the boy's head, into the ground. Blood and brain matter oozed out the edges of the puncture, curling around his weapon and splattering across the child's blank, lifeless face. Blade's chest heaved as he breathed with a life he didn't need. He leaned forward, hanging off the grip of the sword. It was all he could give just to keep himself standing as his body trembled.

This shouldn't hurt- this shouldn't HURT! What was WRONG with him?! He was slipping up on his first mission?! Thank Nova Zero couldn't hear him from so far away or he'd be eliminated for sure.

No, that shouldn't matter either. He should not fear death, especially when it meant an inefficiency would be destroyed. If it was for the good of his siblings (and it always was), then he would not care about being erased from existence.

(It was for this reason Blade could not understand why he was gifted that child to watch over. Zero surely saw no use in it, right? Why hadn't he merely eliminated it?)

There was no use worrying over his sibling right now. He'd left him behind for the mission. It wouldn't do to have a four-year-old on the battlefield. Blade was cutting it close for the age minimum as it was.

A few minutes had passed now since the young Matter had run through the child. At some point, he'd sunk to the ground, kneeling next to the human. This human with a name, and a young companion. Every human here had a name. Was a person. Unlike him. He was but a mere piece, a single tiny sliver of a greater whole. To think that something so small could be so much more than him.

He… he would learn to enjoy the feeling of killing, surely. Or at least grow numb to it. He would teach himself to eliminate perfectly, without regrets, without fault. Just like all his other siblings. Just as he taught himself to excel to make up for his anomalous appearance, he would become the perfect warrior to make up for his anomalous thought process.

His gaze drifted to the blue, bloodstained scarf around the corpse's neck. It drifted in the wind, tethered loosely to the still-warm body. His hand tentatively reached for it, and pulled it from the body.

He… didn't want to forget this. For some reason. Though he knew he would soon grow used to this, soon grow numb to it, he didn't want to forget this feeling.

It was a prideful memento, he told himself. To celebrate his first kill as a warrior. A few of his elder siblings had similar objects, if they were old enough. If they were accomplished though. He was plenty accomplished as it was, so it was only fair he participated in the tradition.

It wasn't so he… wouldn't forget that child. It wasn't so he wouldn't forget that feeling of being stained and filthy and full of terror and grief for someone he didn't even know. It wasn't so he would remember everything that would be wrong with him over the years. So that every time he looked at the scarf, he'd see the blood that had been washed away by time.

A thought entered his mind that he quickly and desperately brushed away, but he couldn't ignore its impact.

'I… don't want to be all filthy… I don't want to be disgusting and stained…'

---

Blade wasn't certain how long he'd been asleep, but when he awoke to the sound of someone knocking on the door, the sun was starting to creep towards the horizon. It took him a moment to even process where he was or why he was lying on the floor.

Ah, right… I was caught… HE found out about me…

He couldn't think too much about it or he'd start crying. Again. Annoyingly. Maybe if he just stayed in this room forever, he'd never run into the king. That would be better for everyone involved. Unfortunately, that incessant knocking got in the way of that.

Yeah… that was what woke him up. A small hand rapping their knuckles against the door. Blade forced himself to his feet and wobbled over to the door, nerves quickly replacing his irritation. On the one hand, he didn't want to see anyone at the moment. Or at all. Ever. But he'd surely be in trouble if he didn't answer. He had to abide by the rules set out for him, as a prisoner.

Blade turned the doorknob a bit slower than he would have liked and opened the door. A guard Waddle Dee (if the spear was anything to go by) stood at the entrance with a tray in one hand.

"It's dinner time. The king doesn't wish for any of his… subjects to go hungry." Blade could feel the distaste radiating from the creature when he referred to him as a subject. As if he couldn't believe Dedede would ever consider him one. Blade had to agree with him in that. The Dee was clearly only providing him sustenance to follow orders.

An absolutely ingenious idea struck Blade all of a sudden. There was a way he could give them both what they wanted. If there was one thing he was good at, it was making things die.

'...I am a Dark Matter. I do not need to eat.'

The Waddle Dee's eyebrows shot up. "Huh? Really?"

Blade nodded. 'Yes. You should inform whoever's in charge that they do not need to waste further food on me.'

Though the mask covered his mouth, Blade could see a relieved smile in the way the guard's eyelid crinkled. "O- of course. If that's so, then you may return to… uh, whatever it was you were doing."

He wasn't really doing anything, and there wasn't anything to do in there. He supposed he could just continue doing that. Nothing. He could just lie down and stare at the ceiling until his body stopped functioning. But that would be terribly boring and long and not at all befitting to what he was. What he did.

He should expedite the process.

'I was planning on going on a walk, actually. If I am permitted, I would like to wander the halls.' Certainly, he wasn't terribly interested in seeing other people. But he supposed he could just ignore or hide from them. Going on a walk would waste energy.

"Uh…" The guard fiddled with his spear handle. "I guess you can… but you DO know I have to follow you, yeah?"

'...I am aware.'

"Cool. Cool." It seemed the guard's proper dialect slipped away with his irritation. "Well then, I guess… just move along? I'll be a few steps behind you. Um, I'm sure you know this, but don't try anything funny. And if you're about to enter somewhere off limits, I'll let you know."

'Thank you.' Blade wasn't sure why he said that, and the guard was clearly just as confused. He merely nodded awkwardly before stepping out of the Matter's way. He set the tray down on the ground and Blade could hear him making a mental note to himself to put it back later.

It really did start out as just a walk. Blade kept his pace strong and steady, not faltering one little bit. If he closed his eye, he could imagine he was wandering about the labyrinthian tunnels of certain parts of the Dark Core, or exploring the abandoned ruins of far-off planets. But he wasn't. The light pitter-patter of uncertain footsteps behind him made sure of that. The guard, far shorter than him, was clearly having a difficult time keeping up. Especially since he had to wave off everyone who took a passing interest in Blade as he walked by. It was dinnertime, so there weren't many in the halls. But it was still enough to make the Matter's skin crawl. Enough to remind him of why he was doing this in the first place.

The sooner his body gave out, the sooner everyone else would stop having to deal with his monstrous existence. His pace picked up just a little bit. The Dee clearly struggled to keep up with him. He could hear his wheezing breaths. Whatever training these creatures underwent, it clearly didn't give them enough stamina. Ha.

The Matterborn kept making extremely sharp and sudden turns, constantly putting the Guardee on edge whenever he left his sight. Before long, he was having to run just to catch up before he made a turn out of his view and he lost him for good. He skidded around the corner, only to be greeted with an empty hall.

"Ah- d- dammit!" Well, he couldn't see any evidence of opened doors, so he's probably just around the corner! He sprinted forward and wheeled around, nearly slamming into the Dark Matter's back in the process.

"Hey! What gives?!" The creature had suddenly halted right in front of a rather large, ornate door. The royal library. Huh? What would something like HIM want to do with a library? Could these things even read?

Blade tilted his head a bit. 'Am I allowed in here.'

"Um… I don't see why not. I guess you are."

Blade briefly nodded his head before shoving the heavy doors open and slipping in. Guardee started to ease his way through as well, but spotted someone sitting at one of the tables already.

"Oh! Uh, it looks like Mister Taranza is already here, so I guess I can, uh, just wait outside. Um. Have fun!" Taranza was fully capable of taking care of himself and fending off the Matter if needed, probably far more than the Dee was. So any excuse to avoid being around him any longer was a good one. He backed up, letting the library doors slam in front of him.

Blade flexed his fists as he stood motionless by the door, boring holes in Taranza with his gaze. The advisor had locked eyes with him as soon as he opened the door, though he held an unreadable expression. Blade was tempted to probe his mind just to get a feel as to how far he could push without getting instantly killed. From what he could tell, Taranza wasn't a terribly impulsive creature, often seeming to mull over any possibility before acting.

But he was also clearly capable of horrible things, Blade reminded himself. How could he possibly forget those painful feelings of terror and helplessness?

The Matterborn shook those thoughts away. He wasn't here for that. He just wanted to waste his life away. With that being said…

'Greetings, Taranza of Floralia. I am… the Blade of Dark Matter.' He gave a polite bow.

Taranza's grip tightened slightly on the book he held, crinkling the pages. Although, he didn't move from his relaxed position, leaned back in his chair and legs kicked back on the table. One of his extra pairs of arms folded themselves behind his head while the other tapped the table rhythmically.

"Yes, King Dedede's told me all about you."

Blade nodded shortly and quickly drifted over to the bookshelf. He let his fingers tease against the spines, barely paying attention to the titles. He considered grabbing a poorly written book so that he wouldn't be disappointed if he died in the middle of reading it.

He tried to ignore the distrust and disdain radiating off Taranza. All he thought in response was 'Is that so…'

"Yes, it is." Blade heard the sound of him setting down his book.

"You know, the king may pretend to trust you enough to let you stay here, for whatever reason, but I'm not so easily convinced. I've heard quite a lot about you. About what you've done. Whatever you're trying to pull, it won't work. On any of us!"

Blade's body stiffened. Right out the gate, he was confronting like this, huh? He really wanted him to be the bad guy right away, huh?

'That's real rich coming from you.' Blade swiveled around and marched up to the table, slamming his selected book down against the wood.

Taranza faltered but didn't drop his bravado. He tilted his head and gestured with his now-empty middle pair of hands. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

'Oh, I've heard plenty about you too. I've heard about your little… escapade with the king, prior to your employment. About controlling him. That makes it very interesting to me that you would be so accusatory. We aren't very different, are we?'

The young man's eyes widened and his composure stuttered for the first time. "How… do you know about- No, no that doesn't matter… Whatever you've heard, it doesn't matter. We're nothing alike."

'Aren't we? I mean, I can only imagine how he felt at the time. I know. I felt it too… when I was controlling him. That sensation of fear and loss… I'm sure he utterly despised it. I bet you never thought about how he felt when you did it, yes? You didn't even give a single thought to the consequences while you were performing your duties back then. Hm..?'

"That's not true!" Taranza shot to his feet, slamming his palm against the table. "I- I knew that it felt wrong, but I had to do it regardless! Why would you even care about how he felt? You're just trying to drag me down to your level… I KNOW it was wrong! That's what makes us different!"

'HA? Is THAT what separates us?!' Blade could no longer help the hatred leaking from his heart. He could see it in the way Taranza's body trembled. He could see how clearly he was expressing his soul. But in his excitement, he no longer cared. There had been a good many times he fantasized about confronting some of these people. And now…

Blade took a step forward, imposing himself upon the shorter creature. 'No. The big difference between us… YOU got to tell them your little SOB STORY before they got the chance to kill you! But I wasn't so lucky, HUH?! I didn't GET the chance to prove I felt guilt! No, no no no, that's not allowed for something like me!' He slammed his palm against Taranza's chest, shoving him backwards. 'When YOU kidnap and possess him, you get to become the royal advisor! When I kidnap and possess him, I GET RUN THROUGH THE STOMACH WITH A SWORD.'

Taranza grit his teeth and pushed back, holding his ground. Tears were starting to bloom in the corner of his eyes. "I don't know who told you about everything, but you've got a horrible misinterpretation of the facts. You know nothing about me… About what I've been through."

'I could say the same thing.' At this point, his emotions were leaking out all too strongly. His hair twisted and curled rapidly and energy wavered and crackled around him. 'You think you're BETTER than me, don't you?! A- ah…'

All of the anger suddenly drained out of his body and he took a few steps back. Blade picked his book back up and clutched it close to his chest, suddenly looking uncharacteristically shy or… embarrassed? Taranza felt chills run through his skin as the energy in the air dissipated.

'You're probably correct in thinking that…' Blade began drifting back towards the door. 'Even so, it would be appreciated if you didn't speak on things you know nothing about.'

With that, he retreated from the library, leaving behind a very confused and shaken Taranza.

…What the hell was that? That wasn't at all the reaction he'd been expecting, especially from a Dark Matter of all things. How did he even KNOW about Taranza's past?! 'Sob story?' If he really did know, what a callous thing to say… Not that he should expect anything else of something like him. It, rather.

Taranza hastily lifted his glasses and wiped his eyes, trying to focus on ignoring the creeping feeling of wasps crawling up his neck.

---

Dark Matter Blade didn't leave the guest room for the rest of the night after returning from the library. He could hear the guards occasionally rotating out, and they would peer in through the door at hourly intervals, but no one disturbed his reading. He'd been right. It wasn't a terribly interesting book. But at least it was long and difficult to get through. His stomach growled, stabbing into him with tiny spikes, but he pushed through the slowly growing hunger. It wasn't bad enough to bother him yet. Not really.

When he finally fell asleep, it was long past sunset, though not nearly as late as before. And he woke up just as the sun was rising. A decent amount of rest for any normal person.

Blade eased the door open, sticking his head into the hallway to see if he would disturb anyone. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Guardee was fast asleep, leaned against the wall with a blanket comfortably draped over his shoulders. He had to wonder if the night guards were required to have blankets on their person, or if someone happened along and gave it to them. Another soft aspect of this world that he couldn't understand.

Well, he wasn't supposed to be out and about by himself, but no one else was around. He wasn't planning on doing anything, and it wasn't his fault that the guards were too tired to do their job. Blade shut the door again, opting to shadow walk past the guard to avoid waking him. After he was far enough away, he pulled himself back into existence and began wandering about the halls once again.

Though he should theoretically know this place like the back of his hand, Blade still always wanted to explore the place for himself. Something to spend his dwindling time with, his clawing stomach reminded him.

He drifted along the walls, dragging his arm against the brick. It provided a unique sensory feeling against his fingertips. They were still a bit numb from chewing them off and regrowing them so much.

As engrossed in his thoughts as he was, he didn't notice the heavy footsteps rounding the corner until it was too late. Blade lifted his head just in time to crash headfirst into King Dedede. A loud shattering sound rang out—he must have dropped his cup or something—and Dedede dropped to the floor, muttering messy, sleep-addled apologies.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean t'-"

Of course, those words died in his throat when he realized who he'd run into.

He obviously wasn't fully awake, otherwise he'd remember the deal he made yesterday. Otherwise he wouldn't have frozen up like that, eyes wide and hands shaking just above the ceramic shards scattered on the floor. His breath quickly grew shallow and it took everything within Blade's power to not reach forward and try to help him, because that was the absolute LAST thing he would want.

He… had to wait for him to wake up. That was all he could do. Guilt stabbed into his spine, dragging itself down the length of his back. Was this really all he was willing to do? Just wait silently while this man suffered in front of him? BECAUSE of him? He gripped a hand around his own wrist and dug his fingers in. Hold back. Hold back. Don't do anything. You're just gonna make things worse.

After a few seconds, Dedede seemed to remember the previous day, and swallowed his fear. His breathing returned to normal and he stood back up, that unsettling emptiness returning to his eyes. Blade lowered his gaze, refusing to look him in the eye.

"Good morning…" he offered robotically. Blade merely nodded in response. But Dedede still didn't move from his spot. His eyes stared down at the carpet beneath them, lost in thought. Finally, Blade decided to speak, if only to wake him up some more.

'Greetings to you as well.' The invasive voice shook him out of it and clarity returned to his eyes.

"Yeah… um… wait a minute, where's your guard?"

Thank Nova he noticed. Blade would hate to lose a chance to inadvertently destroy himself.

'He was asleep when I exited the room. I decided to wander the halls regardless.'

Dedede frowned and pinched his nose. "What part of 'under watch' doesn't make sense to you?"

'Perhaps your staff should be better disciplined.' Blade bit back a mention of their previous failures to protect the king. That would be too far, even for his own purposes…

"Well, we ain't exactly used t'keeping a war criminal here. Sorry for not bein' prepared; y'kinda just barged in outta nowhere," he shot back, rolling his eyes. At least he was back to his senses enough for sarcasm.

'Right…'

Dedede's more 'regal' persona ebbed back in as he made his next demand. "Head back to your room. I'm gonna change the guards. Don't come back out until that happens."

'...And what if I don't?'

"I don't think I need to answer that," Dedede muttered darkly. The implicit threat was clear. Blade was only being allowed to live through the king's own graciousness. It was the least he could do to listen to him. Though Blade did wish to die in order to rid Dedede of his presence, he knew making the man kill him probably wouldn't serve well for his mental state. And it would make Gooey hate him for a very long time. He didn't want that.

'Understood. I'll return now.'

Dedede's eyebrows shot up in surprise at how easily he obeyed. "Oh. Um… thanks. I mean- Good. Good..."

He could feel the man staring at him until he left the hallway. Whatever expression he wore, Blade was certain it wasn't pleasant.

...

Later that day, Blade found himself in the library once more, reading his selection. Thankfully, Taranza wasn't there this time, so he had no one to pester him about his past sins. He had enough of that from himself, thank you very much. It made reading rather difficult.

Nova above, this book was boring. His eyelid was slipping shut more often than not. The only thing keeping him awake was the ache beneath his ribcage. But it wasn't yet spiky enough to keep him fully conscious. After all, it had only been about 24 hours without sustenance. Yes, he was keeping track.

The sound of the library door opening startled him out of his thoughts and nearly sent him flying out his seat. He slammed the book shut, readying himself to leave. Instead, he froze in place as Dedede and Meta Knight walked in.

"I really don't think we need to-"

"Look, I promise it's not gonna be that bad. We're just gonna-" Dedede halted as soon as he saw Blade. Meta Knight's gaze fell from his king to the Matterborn and his eyes sharpened.

"It seems this room is already taken."

Dedede's expression turned into some unreadable amalgamation of relief and discomfort. Like he was getting the chance to put something off for even just a little bit longer, but knowing it would still arrive. "It's fine. We'll just talk somewhere else. C'mon." He gave a short nod to Blade before heading back out.

Meta Knight hesitated a few moments longer, looking at the Dark Matter with some sort of… exhausted look. He didn't seem to have the energy to hate him for very long. Already the distrusting atmosphere from a few seconds ago had evaporated. Blade's body instinctually tensed up at the odd behavior, but he didn't have time to ruminate on it before Meta left as well.

Hm…

He suddenly didn't feel like reading anymore.

Blade set his book back down and carefully crept over to the door. He then phased his body into the shadows and slipped under the crack, ebbing his existence into the hallway and past the guard. Rather than bringing himself back into reality though, he began drifting along the wall's edge, following the two closely. When they turned the corner, he took the chance to hop from the wall to Meta's shadow so he could trail them more closely.

After a bit more walking, Dedede seemed to find what he was looking for. He opened up an innocuously plain wooden door and ushered the knight in after him. They entered what looked to be some sort of laundry room, with a sink and a small window on one side and another, slightly smaller door on the other. Dedede and Meta Knight then entered through that second door, though they didn't shut it behind them. Blade took that opportunity to stay back, hovering in the shadow of the sink for a moment until he was sure they weren't going anywhere. With that verified, he slipped back into reality and crouched near the door to eavesdrop.

He wasn't sure what he was trying to accomplish with this, but the expressions he'd seen on their faces when they walked in left a pit in his stomach. It could only be described as the anxious feeling one gets when they see two of their close acquaintances about to get into a heated, serious discussion. Well, he was probably only invested in Dedede's wellbeing, so it's not like he cared about what Meta Knight did or anything… He was just curious, is all.

"Well…" Dedede scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "We were gonna hafta talk about this eventually…"

Meta Knight lowered his head slightly but didn't respond.

"I… I just… You said I could trust you… You promised."

"I know."

"But you still lied to me…"

"I… also promised that I would protect you, no matter what." He clenched his fists tightly, creating an unpleasant squeaking sound as the armor over his gloves ground against itself.

"But you didn' hafta lie to me! You- Y'could've at least TOLD me what was goin' on! I coulda helped you, right? I coulda at least KNOWN!"

"Do you really think that would have been what was best for you? NOW, of all times? Do you honestly believe that, if I told you that he had returned, you would have been able to help? That I would have even LET you help?"

"I- Of course I would've… I'm- I can still do that much, at least! I'm fine…"

"Don't even say that." Meta Knight crossed his arms, and though Blade could only glimpse the back of his head, he could imagine him rolling his eyes so clearly. "You are not fine . We both agreed on that. And that's alright that you're not fine right now, but please don't slip back into placating me. It's not going to work."

"...I know. I know. But I still wish you woulda told me. I… do you really not think I could've…?"

Meta Knight sighed and pressed a hand against the king's arm. He clenched his fist loosely around his robe.

"Do you believe that you would have taken it well if I told you? That it would be within your best interest to tell you? That it would have been best for you?"

Dedede slowly shook his head, but then… his eyes fell to a half-lidded expression. Blade's shoulders hunched, watching the man regress mentally in real time. It was so strange to see it from an outsider's perspective…

"It don't really matter what I want though. What matters is doin' what's right."

"N- no, that's…"

"I'm s'posed to be doin' what's right for everyone, Meta. Not just me. I'm… the king, after all. And you're my- our best knight. You gotta do what's right too…"

"No… no, I'm supposed to protect YOU."

"You're supposed to protect everyone."

"I'm supposed to keep you safe! I'm supposed to keep my family safe- I can't- I can't allow harm to come to you because of my own actions! I should've just killed that THING when I found it but I couldn't and I didn't and I failed YOU. So I- I couldn't have told you!"

"You're supposed to do what's right. Keeping him alive was the right thing to do, I think."

" I don't care about doing what's right if it gets you hurt! "

Dedede's eyes widened slightly and his feathers fluffed up in surprise. Meta Knight immediately clasped his hands over his mouth, or rather his mask, when he realized what he just said.

"I… I mean… That's not… Rather, I would… a- ano…. " Meta scrambled to justify or explain himself, but found himself coming up empty. Dedede's eyes gained the slightest hint of softness to fill the void from before. Like he'd just realized something.

"I think you need a break, Meta."

The knight stumbled out of his now frantic gesturing. "H- huh? What are you talking about?"

"I mean… you've been under a lotta stress lately, yeah? I think you should prolly just… head back to the Halberd for a few days. Sort out whatever's goin' on with you right now. I don't like seein' you gettin' all bent outta shape like this."

This wasn't just a gentle offer though. Meta Knight's heart rate spiked and Blade could feel the unease radiating off him, palpable enough for him to crawl back a few steps. No, this was… Dedede asking him to leave for a while.

We need some space in kinder words.

"No, I don't need a break, not now! Everything's- it's still a precarious position we're in! I need to be here in case something goes wrong!"

Dedede's voice refused to leave its monotony. "You're not gonna be thinkin' right the way you are right now. You're not gonna be doin' your best. You need… a break. You need to go home for a bit, mkay? Just take a break, you'll feel better. I promise."

"No, I- I NEED to be by your side right now! I can't let you-"

"I'm not goin' anywhere."

Just the fact that Meta Knight was protesting so incessantly, the fact that he was showing his emotions so openly… it proved more than anything that he needed to step away. He was clearly on the brink of a nervous breakdown at this rate. He wouldn't be in any spot to make a clearheaded decision, regardless of whether the situation was dangerous or not. Really, they really did need space. They needed to calm down, and come to terms with what was happening right now.

"I think… this is what's best for us right now… Mkay? I… I promise it won't be long. Probably just until the festival, yeah? But, please, Meta… I really need you to take a break."

I really need you to leave me alone for a while. That was all the knight heard. He couldn't in good conscience leave the man behind when that creature was still here…

(Couldn't he? Did he really still believe that Dark Matter would still try anything? Even he wasn't sure anymore. That uncertainty was enough to leave a hole in his chest.)

"I… don't want to leave you…"

"I know."

"I- I love you..!"

"I love you too."

"...You really wish for me to leave?"

This time, Dedede couldn't bring himself to speak. His voice caught in his throat and he could do nothing but nod in affirmation. Meta Knight, similarly, found his words dying. He raised a hand trying to reach for him. But he couldn't take the step forward to make contact. Silence fell over them, tension and gloom filling the air in its place.

Blade felt like his head was being stuffed with cotton. Not the soft, fluffy stuff that you put in pillows, but the spiky, barbed, unclean kind that you harvest fresh. Though he swore that he didn't care about the knight, he… it really did hurt to see the king acting like this towards him. Because- because he KNEW. He had felt how much he loved that knight. It burned him up inside, this love that did not belong to him. He should not be capable of feeling something like this, let alone for someone that he did not care for. But now… because of him… they were struggling like this.

His existence… was causing them pain. His existence created unnecessary hardship. If he weren't here, they wouldn't be in this position now. They wouldn't be feeling this heartache.

Meta Knight finally broke the silence.

"I understand…"

Blade eased himself to his feet, his vision growing as fuzzy as his mind. A combination of his swirling emotions and the lingering dizziness from overusing his powers… He swayed a bit, a dull panic in his chest doing little to shock him into lucidity. Only when he stumbled backwards, crashing into the sink behind him did he get some sense knocked into him. Unfortunately, the king and knight noticed the sound too.

"What was that?"

He heard Meta Knight draw his sword. In a split second decision, Blade forced himself back into the shadows and out into the hall. But he couldn't hold it for very long before the disorientation returned and he was spat back out into reality. The cotton in his head escalated to static that left him curled up on the floor, clutching his skull. He couldn't move, he could hardly even breathe- such as the consequence for neglecting his body like this. This was fine, this was FINE. He'd push through and even if he didn't, that was okay too! As long as the two didn't find him, it would be okay.

Please, please please don't leave the room.

He slammed his hand against the wall, trying to stabilize himself. As his survival instincts kicked in, he almost sent forth a thought begging anyone nearby to help him, but he had to bite down on that urge. This was what he WANTED. Just… just let it happen. Push through… Please…

But his vision faded… and he slumped over on the floor once more…

...

Most children get to have the pleasant memory of falling asleep far later than they were supposed to, in somewhere that wasn't their bed. Their parent would gently pick them up and carry them to their resting place, and tuck them in. And they'd only vaguely remember it in the morning. But the sensation of being helpless and limp and half-conscious, but still being cared for is something that cannot be replaced.

Which was why Blade was so surprised to find that feeling drifting in the back of his mind when he woke up, resting on top of the bed in the guest room. That feeling was utterly foreign to him, so why should he ever experience it now?

He sat up, head considerably clearer, and glanced out the window. It was now evening, with the sun drifting closer to the horizon once more. He still had time to do a bit of wandering. Ah… he left his book in the library too, so he better stop by there soon. Taranza might be there at this time, so maybe he should kill some time first though.

When he left the room, his guard shot him an odd look. Something between confusion and pity. Great. Someone had obviously found his unconscious body and carried him back to the room. That would surely do wonders for the idea that he was some emissary of evil. He just rolled his eye at the guard and proceeded with his normal wanderings.

This time around, he chose to explore some of the other floors. Walking up and down stairs, up through cramped spiraling staircases in towers, down through wide open stairways near the entryway, it all made for at least an interesting experience. The guard he was accompanied by this time seemed to be in a much more pleasant mood than the previous ones, and they would occasionally point out to him interesting aspects of the castle that they thought he wouldn't notice. It would be charming if Blade wasn't so horrified at how casual they were treating him.

And once again, when he wasn't paying attention, Blade nearly ran straight into Dedede. Although this time, the man grabbed him by the shoulders, making sure they didn't have another head on collision.

"Woah, woah! Jeez, do you ever watch where you're going?"

Blade jerked away upon hearing his voice. Meanwhile, the Guardee rushed up to him, smiling. "Oh, greetings Great King! How has your evening been?"

"Hm? Oh, it's been fine…" He trailed off. Blade guessed he still felt sour from his discussion with his partner. The Matterborn's gaze fell to the floor at the thought. But Dedede continued. "What're you two up to?"

"Oh, the Dark Matter was just deciding to have a look around the castle, sir! I've been showing him all the sights and all that."

"...That's good. I guess. Are you, uh, enjoying yourself?"

Blade tried (and failed) to stop his body from tensing up. Better go with the safe answer. 'Dark Matter are… incapable of enjoying things…'

Dedede just crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh? That ain't what Gooey told me about you. You callin' your little brother a liar?"

'Sibling. And… no. He is not… a liar. He's just…'

"YOU'RE just a liar."

'...'

The Waddle Dee's head swivelled back and forth between the two, trying to parse the conversation. Dedede shook his head and sighed. "I don't get you, kid. You just… you don't make any damn sense!"

'I apologize for that.'

"See, that's another example! I ain't ever hear a Dark Matter like you apologize! Sheesh…" He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked away, trying to drive the conversation somewhere else before he pushed Blade's buttons by accident. Even though this thing was clearly a bit different (a bit weirder, a bit nicer) than the other Matters he'd met, he didn't wanna risk too much.

"How you feelin' by the way? Any better?"

'...Excuse me?'

"You know, y'kinda… passed out in the hall 'n all? You feelin' better now?"

Aw dammit. Better feign ignorance. 'I don't know what you're referring to.'

The Guardee 'helpfully' piped up. "Oh, our Great King Dedede said he found you asleep in the hall! He carried you back to your room; oh, what an honor!" They clasped their hands around their cheeks in admiration.

"N- no! I ain't do anythin' like that at all! I got- I got one a' the Dees to take you back, that's what happened!"

Blade stared blankly at the air in front of him, trying to ignore the strange warmth building in his chest. He couldn't tell if Dedede was genuinely embarrassed about offering him kindness, or if he was still afraid that exposing the Matter's vulnerability like that would set him off. Either way, he would continue to play it cool. For his sake.

'I still don't know what either of you are talking about. Whatever it is, it's boring me. I am going to continue my walk.' With that, he headed off, forcing the Dee to scramble and catch up.

"If y'say so. See ya later, uh…." Dedede furrowed his brow. "What IS your name anyways?"

Another halt. Blade refused to turn around or look the man in the eyes.

He did not have a name. All this time, while names had been forced upon him by outside sources, he had never once referred to himself with anything other than his title. Names are for people with individuality. And he was not a person. He was… a tool, if nothing else. Just a single tiny shard of a person that performed a very specific purpose. You don't give a name to the 30,528,783rd cell that makes up your hand, right?

'I do not have a name,' he replied coldly. 'Just a title. That is all.'

"Okay, so…?"

Blade sighed, sending chills down Dedede's spine at the reminder that he did in fact have a real voice. 'My role was to be a great warrior, and function as a weapon for the one whole Dark Matter child we all made up. I am the blade forged for Dark Matter. He uses me to destroy things with. I am the Blade of Dark Matter.'

"Okay, well, that's a mouthful, so I'm just gonna call you Blade."

Blade spun around. 'What?'

"Your name's Blade now, I guess."

'Wh- but- that is not a NAME. That is my title! I am not- I don't have a name!'

"Well if someone calls you something, that's kinda the name they gave ya, y'know?" Dedede scratched the back of his head. "It's just so I got something to call you. Feels weird not havin' that. So if you come up with somethin' better, let me know and I'll use that instead."

'I…. I suppose if you insist on calling me that, then so be it.'

"Right. So, see ya later, Blade."

'See… you… later…'

---

The next day continued on like the one before. Blade continued wasting his waning energy by practicing levitation in the library, then walking and walking and walking and walking until his legs nearly gave out. Then heading back to the library and practicing some more with even more difficult targets. It had now been… over 60 hours since his last meal, yes? He was having trouble reading the clocks lately. Whenever he tried to focus on something far away, his head grew all fuzzy. So things were progressing rather smoothly.

At some point, he'd sat down, a book opened in his lap, though he wasn't reading it.

It's a rather painful way to die, isn't it? That's probably fitting, hm? He hadn't even drank any water either. He'd be dead before the festival for certain at this rate. And then everyone would be happy.

Yeah…. everyone… would be really happy…

Blade's eye started to flutter shut.

…..Gooey would…. find new happiness…. somewhere else…. Kirby has….. so many friends….. already… Dedede…. wouldn't….. need… to be afraid…. anymore….. Meta Knight….. wouldn't need…. to suffer….

This is….. Really good….. You were wrong to want anything else, weren't you? You were wrong for wanting to be loved, or to even exist. You were wrong to wish for happiness.

You were wrong to wish for happiness. Don't you remember what I told you? Don't you ever listen to me? You never do… You're always breaking my heart, my child. You're always contributing to my suffering. You don't understand, do you? You can't. You can't possibly understand my pain. That's why you do this to me. That's why you insist on hurting me, all the time. By choosing to be this disgusting thing, instead of what I ask of you.

I'm sorry, Lord Zero. I don't mean to hurt you. I really… really… loved you… I'm sorry I hurt you all the time. I should have tried harder. I should have been better…

It's your fault I had to do all this to you. It's your fault this all happened.

It's my fault this all happened.

You did this to yourself.

I did this to myself.

Apologize.

I'm sorry…

Apologize.

I'm sorry.

Apologize.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm-

"H- hey, he's not supposed to be like that, right?"

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

"No, no I don't think so… Um, do you think I should get the Great King?"

"Yeah, go grab Dad, I'm gonna try and wake him up."

It's never good enough. Your apologies are worthless. How can you expect me to believe you?

"Hey, c'mon, get up! I- okay, okay, this is weird, right? Um… maybe I should call Gooey… You're not trying to mess with me, right? Because if this is some sorta joke or weird plan you have, it's not working, and it's NOT funny."

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I-

"Hey, get up!"

Blade felt a blunt-pointed object slamming against the center of his spine and he jolted back to consciousness. Wh- when did he even fall asleep?! He scrambled to sit up and swung his head around, making sure he was still in the library. Ah- Bandee stood behind him, holding his spear backwards. That must have been what woke him up.

"Oh. So you actually WERE asleep…" Realizing his adversary was awake, the boy's body tensed up again. "Don't- don't do that again!"

'What, fall asleep?!'

Bandee cringed at his hostility. "No, I mean, don't scare us like that!"

That implied they were worried. Now that wouldn't do. Blade glared at the Waddle Dee and forced himself to his feet. 'I didn't do anything wrong. It's your fault for overreacting. Now, why don't you leave before I lose my patie-'

Before he could finish, a strange prickling sensation sprouted in his throat. His hand instinctively shot to his neck and he started violently coughing. His lungs spasmed and he doubled over, still clutching at his neck. Bandee actually jumped back a bit, unsettled from hearing the Matter's voice for the first time.

No matter how hard he tried to calm himself, he couldn't stop coughing. His throat burned, and- ah, of course! No wonder, this was just a natural consequence. But it hurt so MUCH. It was so obvious too! Nova above, make it stop, it hurts, it HURTS- Bandee just stood there, paralyzed by confusion. STOP STARING AT ME!

"Woah- uh- okay-" Bandee tentatively reached forward. But for every step he took, Blade retreated back. "Do you- do you need water or something? Are you sick? What's- what's UP with you?"

'I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP-' Blade sucked in a breath and held his mouth shut, trying to stifle the coughs. 'Stop looking at me like that!'

"Like what?"

'That stupid pity in your eyes! Get out! GET OUT!'

Bandee held his ground, despite the obvious anxiety in his eyes. He raised his spear, though only defensively. "You can't tell me to leave, this is MY house! So if I think you're sick, I'm gonna tell someone!"

'N- no, don't- don't tell-'

Blade collapsed into coughs once again, unable to focus on 'speaking'. Bandee realized his opportunity and rushed past him, out the door. Probably to get help of some kind. What a little BRAT! No- no he wouldn't let anyone stop him! He COULDN'T be stopped! His plan was almost done now; he wouldn't let them ruin it with their stupid misplaced kindness!

Despite knowing it would probably knock him out until evening, Blade forced himself to phase into the shadows, then shot for the guest room as fast as he could.

...

Gooey was startled out of his daydreaming (or maybe catastrophizing was a better word) when Kirby tapped him on the shoulder.

"Dad wants t'talk to you," they mumbled, then handed over their communicator. Kirby'd been avoiding talking to the king as much as possible lately because they still felt guilty about him finding out. Gooey knew they were worried that he was mad at them and didn't want to see them, so they must have been excited when he called. But… he wanted to talk to Gooey instead? The little boy pressed the receiver close to his head.

"Hello..?"

"Hey kiddo, I, uh, wanted to ask y'somethin' about your brother."

"Sibling. What wrong?"

"Do Dark Matter… get sick? Like, I know you get sick sometimes 'n he's apparently s'posed to be more physical like you now? But was he sick when he was last with you?"

"Mmmm…" Gooey gurgled in thought. "Kinda, not really. Just head sick. Not body sick."

"Alright… Bandee said he was coughin' real bad earlier and he's passed out in the middle of the day like two times now. Know anythin' like that?"

"Hmmst… Been sleeping good?"

"As far as the Guardee's said."

"Eating and drinking good?"

"Huh? The Dees said he told them he didn't need to eat?"

Gooey froze, a sickening dread seeping into his skin, aggravating the wounds where the lightning erupted from his body a few days ago. "That's… lie…! Lying! Sibling needs eat! When last eat?!"

His desperation clearly reached Dedede as his voice started stumbling too. "I- I dunno! I don't think he's eaten at ALL since he got here? Uh- oh shit-" Gooey's shoulders tightened at his cursing. He seemed to remember he was still on call with a child. "I MEAN SHOOT. I SAID SHOOT- I- I'm gonna go get him somethin' real quick- uh- thanks for callin' kiddo okay bye!"

After that, all Gooey could hear was the dead dial tone.

...

Blade had hidden away in the guest room for the rest of the day up until that point. Sure, it meant he would take longer to die if he stayed in one place, but it also meant he was less likely to be caught. That's all that mattered. If he did this without eliciting regrets from them, everything would be perfect. This was it, this was all he was good at. Killing things.

But then he heard the heavy footsteps of someone rushing through the hallway. Instinctively, he drew up the blankets to hide himself before he realized how childish that made him look. That someone then knocked on the door before thinking better of it and just throwing it open.

Dedede—the worst possible person for him to see right now—barged in. In one hand was a shiny-looking snack bag while the other held a clear glass bottle of water. The man dashed across the room and practically shoved the items in Blade's face.

"YOU LYING LITTLE SHIT! What the hell were you THINKING?"

'I- what're you-' Blade scooted away weakly. Even moving that quickly was starting to make his head spin. 'I didn't do anything wrong!'

"Don't even try sayin' that! I don't get what you were tryin' to accomplish with this- this starving crap, but I'm putting a stop to it. Now," he pushed the bag closer to Blade's face, "eat!"

'How… how did you find out?' Blade asked, too dizzy to put effort into lying.

"Well you keep passin' out, so I called Gooey. And unlike you, I can actually trust him to tell the truth."

'...Of course he did…' Blade clenched his fists around the sheets, glaring up at the king. 'Well, I don't need it… My sibling is lying to you, just like he lied about me being able to feel love. I don't want- I don't NEED it!' He forced himself to sit up and shoved Dedede away from the bed, focusing some of his telekinesis into it. Dedede skidded away, dragging his geta sandals against the ground.

"What's your PROBLEM? I'm tryna help you here!"

'NO! No, you aren't!' Blade dragged himself off the bed, his legs wavering. He tried to stomp over to the king, though he stumbled a bit too much to seem threatening. 'You're trying to ruin me! You're trying to-'

Like someone had flipped a lightswitch, what little remained of his energy left Blade's body and he fell forward. In the same instant, Dedede reflexively reached forward to catch him, only freezing halfway when he remembered the situation he was in. Blade's arms flailed and he caught himself on the front of Dedede's robe, clenching his fists around the fluffy trim. The two of them stood paralyzed in the strange situation, Dedede frozen with one hand still in the air, carrying the bag of snacks, while Blade hung off of him, his chest heaving.

Neither of them said a word. Dedede's mind oscillated, screaming for him to do something, ANYTHING. But the indecision powered by fear held him locked in place. What was he supposed to do? Should he help him? Throw him off? What would cause the least harm..? Before he could choose, Blade began to move once more.

The creature slowly lifted his fist into the air, as if getting ready to slam it against Dedede's chest. It looked so weak and pathetic that even if he had the intent to harm, it wouldn't frighten anyone. Even so, the king stayed frozen. That fist wavered in the air for a few infinitely long seconds…

Then Blade snatched the snack bag from Dedede's hand and scrambled back to the bed, giving into his hunger and tearing it open like a wild animal. He couldn't help himself anymore. Despite everything in his mind screaming for him to stop and push back, the pain in his body screamed louder. The bag held nothing more than some sort of chewy mochi candy, but it was the most filling meal in the world to him right now.

"Ah… haha, I figured y'might like it…" Dedede attempted to laugh away his nerves. Watching the Dark Matter act so… natural, for lack of a better term, was a bizarre experience. But he didn't seem as angry as before, so that was a plus.

"A- Anyway, I want you t'finish that, and drink this too." He set the glass bottle on the nightstand. "And then I want ya to join us for dinner tonight. One a' the Dee's'll escort you."

Blade shot a frightened look at Dedede when he mentioned dinner, but he quickly masked it. Though not quick enough for the king to not pick up on it. Again, he had to wonder what this kid's problem was.

'Are you certain that's a good idea.'

"I'm the king, so what I say goes. Don't matter if you think it's a 'good idea' or not."

'...Right. I suppose that's how it works.' Blade glanced away, as if remembering something. 'It does make sense that you want to assure I'm following your orders.'

"Right, and that's the… only reason."

'Yes. It's the only reason that makes sense ,' Blade said in an accusatory tone.

The two of them stared each other down for a moment, silently daring the other to just come through with it and admit whatever weird ulterior motives they must have. For what possible purpose would Dedede be treating him with such niceties? For what possible purpose would Blade be attempting to harm himself? There had to be something other than the obvious face-level motives. Otherwise…

That would just be too cruel… That would just be too cruel…

Eventually, Blade dropped his gaze and began fiddling with the now empty bag. Dedede heaved a sigh and rubbed his eyes. "Well, I guess I'll see you in an hour or so, kid."

Just as the king was about to turn and leave, Blade shot back, 'I'm not a kid.'

"Well, how old are ya then?" Dedede placed his hands on his hips. "Maybe that'll make a difference."

Blade closed his eye in thought. He had to phrase this… properly. 'I was created twenty years ago.'

"Well, you've been gone for five years, so you're twenty-five now?"

'I am aware of how long I've been gone. That is why I specified that I was CREATED twenty years ago.'

"Okay, well that don't make sense cuz then you'd have been fifteen when ya…"

Dedede trailed off when he realized Blade's expression wasn't changing. No… come on, push back on that! That doesn't make sense, does it? Why would you…?

"Um…."

'Is something wrong.'

"No, no. Nothin's wrong… just…"

Dedede steadied himself before turning around to head out, properly this time. All he said as a goodbye was "You're a kid to me." A simple statement made into fact from the force of his tone.

Blade stared at the closed door for several moments after the man had already left. Once again, he messed up. He shouldn't have answered Dedede's question. He knew this would happen. He knew telling his age would distort the man's perception of him. This world was not terribly interested in using child soldiers, despite how often it ended up happening. It was considered a necessary, yet thoroughly horrible evil. He knew it from how Dedede's heart had ached every time he had to drag his kids into these dangerous incidents.

So why did he answer him? Why did he admit that he was unreasonably young for the things he'd done?

Did he want help, subconsciously?

Blade reached over and picked up the water bottle, turning it around in his hand. The water inside stayed magically frigid and he could see gorgeous crystalline reflections dancing around the edges.

An unnatural scream built up in his throat, and he yelled like a wild animal as he threw the bottle across the room, smashing it against the floor. He clamped his hands over his ears as his throat recovered from being used. No, he didn't want help. Rather, even if he did, he SHOULDN'T. Why don't you just give up and die already?!

...

Dinner was an awkward affair, with Blade deliberately sitting as far away from the others as possible. Dedede's excuse to the others was that everyone in the castle normally got to eat together, but since one or more of the Guardees was always on duty watching Blade, that didn't get to happen anymore. So if Blade was forced to eat with them, they could resolve that little issue. Everyone seemed to, if not buy it, at least accept it without argument.

Their 'guest of honor' spoke little, only replying when asked a question. Most of the Dees were the ones interested in him, even if he behaved cagey and blunt. Even Bandee found himself tempted to ask a few questions, though they were more in the form of accusations and jabs than anything. Things like "so what's your next evil scheme?" or "are all Dark Matter this angsty or is it just you?" It shouldn't be surprising. Bandee had always been deeply protective of his adoptive father, even more fervently than most of the other Waddle Dees. He'd been hard pressed to even forgive Meta Knight after finding out about his attempted takeover of Dreamland, and that took a good two years to melt down. Blade didn't take much offense at all, in that case, considering how justified he was.

He only held issue with being accused by hypocrites. Notably, Taranza hadn't spoken a word to him OR about him all dinner. It didn't appear as if he told Dedede anything about their confrontation from the first day. Maybe… he thought Blade had a point? The very idea made the Matterborn uncomfortable. As much as he despised being accused by someone who'd done much the same thing, he still had to admit that he was a worse person overall. As far as he knew, Taranza hadn't killed anyone… So he'd gone too far, probably. The Floralian shouldn't be considering his words…

(Hey, hey now… Hasn't Kirby killed quite a lot of people too? Dedede, Meta Knight, Bandee, they've all killed people. Plenty of the other Star Allies are murderers. Even Gooey helped kill Zero and your other siblings. They're all murderers, aren't they? That's what it means to be a hero. Being a hero means killing the people everyone else decides are enemies and don't deserve to live. That means you were a hero to the Dark Core, you know.)

That's different. They weren't attacking innocent people who hadn't done anything wrong. They were fighting back to save their planet from destruction. It couldn't be helped. It couldn't be helped.

At some point, Blade had finished off his plate. Though it was tradition, he didn't grab any seconds, and he just spent his time fiddling with his silverware, pushing the crumbs and scraps around on his plate. He thought he'd been getting pretty good at using them, though he still struggled with the chopsticks. They kept saying he was supposed to hold one of them like a pencil, but he didn't know how to hold a pencil… He couldn't leave though, because Dedede said the whole point was that none of the Guardees were supposed to miss out. So if he left…

Blade moved his plate to the side and set his head down on the table, resting it in his arms. Maybe he could just wait in silence until someone finished. He did feel better, unfortunately. The hunger pains still lingered, but it had returned to its normal dull status as opposed to a constant sharp stabbing. He did drink some liquids as well, so there goes that plan too.

Maybe this was wrong of him… No, he KNEW it was wrong. But… he missed Gooey. He wanted to see his little sibling again. It had only been a few days, yes? He'd been away from him for far longer than that.

But they loved each other now. Being away from loved ones is supposed to be a painful experience. No, rather, Blade learned how he had always loved his sibling. Such a thing wasn't allowed in his vocabulary before, so he had no words to define this horrid feeling. Anyhow, missing Gooey was supposed to be the point. It was his punishment for his previous crimes. In the grand scheme of that, it was a very light sentence. And he'd see him again very soon. Especially since he wasn't likely to die soon, now that his halfhearted plan was foiled.

There were other people in this world that he loved as well. Blade knew this all too well. Hell, one of them was sitting directly across from him, talking to everyone else. Lively and animated, like he should be.

But he could not express that love, nor would he dare ask it be reciprocated. That would be far too cruel.

Just a little longer… Please be strong. If they won't let you be weak, then do this for him, at least.

How could I have even thought about leaving my sibling behind like that..? If I died so suddenly, without even getting to say goodbye to him…

I'm a horrible person…

Somehow, he managed to stop himself from crying. He could only imagine the disaster that would occur if he cried in front of everyone.

---

Dark Matter Blade did not know that there could be anyone worse for him to be in the same room as than Dedede. Until today.

Though he no longer had a purpose for wandering, he still found it interesting. The palace was so large that he theorized he could spend a week walking through its halls and he'd still find new places to discover. The Guardee that was supposed to be tracking him didn't seem worried whenever he left their sight. They'd been getting more and more lenient these past days anyway, and now that his little stunt was over with and they were forced to spend time with him at the dinner table, they hardly feared him at all.

Again and again, he forced himself to ignore the warmth in his chest at that notion. They were wrong for acting like that and he was wrong for craving it. He was always wrong, he'd always BEEN wrong, his existence was wrong. That's just how the world is.

This morning, Blade found himself drifting about a sort of enclosed courtyard area. It was outdoors, but still surrounded by castle walls. In the center lay a beautiful, if understated, fountain surrounded by overgrown plant life. It seemed more like a place left to live on its own rather than a carefully tended garden. He sat down on the edge of the fountain and let the spring breeze twist through his hair. Maybe he could just fall backwards into the water and drift about for a while, although he might accidentally contaminate it with his filth.

Before he could fall any further down that rabbit hole, he heard someone opening one of the entrances behind him.

"Yeah, he's been pretty quiet actually- oh hey! There he is now!" Dedede's voice floated across the small courtyard. "Hey, Blade, you wanna meet Adeleine? I've been tellin' her about you!"

Adeleine..? Wasn't she that… human? One of the few who escaped Shiver Star? He was surprised she hadn't run for the hills the moment she found out he was staying here. But she was starting to grow up now, wasn't she? Maybe she just wasn't afraid anymore.

Wait, didn't she get possessed twice as well? Surely she didn't take this well..?

Blade finally stood up and turned around, reluctantly walking over to the two. It was strange. Humans could get so tall. She was almost the exact same height as Blade.

'Greetings, Adeleine…' He remembered at the last moment to not add 'of Shiver Star' to her name, then curtseyed politely. 'I'm… ah, surprised you're not fleeing in terror right now…' he couldn't help but say. Thankfully, the two of them seemed to take it as a joke. Adeleine just giggled slightly.

"Nah, I'm not THAT much of a scaredy-cat," she bragged while elbowing Dedede. "Anyway, I figured if Gooey can be a Dark Matter and still be, well, like THAT, then you're prolly gonna be fine. Maybe. Hopefully." She placed her hands behind her head. "You're s'posed to be siblings, yeah?"

'Well… all Dark Matter are siblings. But… I did raise him, so I suppose we were a bit closer than average.'

Dedede raised his pointer finger. "Oh yeah, he told me a bit about that once!" The king started rambling off about some other anecdote about Gooey, probably in an attempt to brighten Blade's mood. Again, again. That forbidden warmth again.

Adeleine was nodding along, shooting Blade a sympathetic look. She must have misinterpreted his nonplussed expression as exasperation at Dedede's long-winded tendencies. But then… her expression hardened, eyes widening and brows furrowing as she got a closer look at Blade's face. No, not just his face. He followed her gaze, and she was looking at… his misaligned eye.

She… recognized him from somewhere… Likely from the raids…

This could only go well.

Adeleine tapped Dedede's shoulder roughly, shutting him up. "Hey, big bro, could you leave us alone for a bit actually? I wanna… ask this guy something."

Dedede's upbeat demeanor immediately dropped, exposing just how forced it really was. His face twisted up in concern. "A- are you sure about that?" The way his voice shook pleased Blade as much as it hurt him. Because he still hadn't ACTUALLY stopped fearing him. He was just pretending to be nice.

"Yeah. I'm sure."

"Okay… Uh, if you need anythin' just holler. And I'll be back in ten minutes or so?"

"That should be enough time."

"Great. Great…" The man turned and headed back out, still shooting glances over his back the whole way to the door. Leaving the two to stare at each other in tense silence. But it didn't last painfully long like the other staring contests of these past few days. Adeleine gracefully shattered it with a hammer.

"You… killed my brother, didn't you?"

Oh… Oh, Nova above… Blade's hand reflexively shot to the scarf around his neck, clenching it tight, and his eye widened in recognition.

How had he not realized it before now? Had he not known her for years? She'd grown up so much though! But she didn't look THAT different? Well, he'd only seen her for a few seconds at most, but that moment was burned into his mind with a firebrand. He should have made the connection before now..!

'I… I did… I'm… I'm so… so sorry…' Tears pooled just beneath the threshold of existence. He couldn't be more grateful that he didn't have a voice with which to choke on.

No… Now isn't the time for tears. This is an invaluable chance! This is but a pathetic gesture, but it's better than nothing. Blade pulled the scarf from his neck and pushed it towards the human, hands shaking.

'I- I took this from him..! This belongs to you- I- I know I can't bring him back, but this is the least I can do for you- I'm so so sorry, I can't… I cannot describe how much I wish I hadn't killed him back then. Please, I can't keep this from you, please-'

Adeleine grabbed Blade's wrist and pushed it down.

"I don't want it!" Her scream pierced the Matterborn's skull; her fingers dug into his skin. "I- I can't BELIEVE this!"

'I'm sorry- I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry-'

"I DON'T WANT APOLOGIES! Just- Just shut up! I don't want the stupid scarf! I don't want you to- Just- UGH! ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!? Why did YOU have to come back NOW?! NOW! WHEN I'M FINALLY FINE WITH IT!"

Blade's body shivered, confusion and a bit of fear sinking into his stomach. 'Eh..? I- I don't understand. What do you mean-'

"I just- I JUST FIGURED IT OUT! And now you have to waltz back in here and mess everything up! I'm not- I'm not supposed to be angry with you! I don't care- I DON'T CARE! ADELEINE ISN'T SUPPOSED TO CARE! She's happy, she's happy and she wouldn't hate you any more than her big bro does! He went through worse! Adeleine only got hurt twice! Adeleine isn't human! But YOU'RE HERE now!"

'But I- I did hurt you! I killed your brother! I helped destroy your planet! I- It's MY fault you're the last hu-'

"I'M NOT THE LAST HUMAN! I'M NOT HUMAN! I DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM! I DON'T CARE! I HATE THEM, I HATE THEM! THEY LEFT ME BEHIND AND IT'S ALL THEIR FAULT THEY GOT ATTACKED!" Adeleine stamped her feet against the ground like a petulant child, screaming at the top of her lungs. Blade didn't know if anyone could hear them, but he couldn't imagine it mattered with how little sense she was making. "You CAN'T give me that scarf! Adeleine lives on Pop Star now, and she doesn't have a human brother! She's not human! She didn't watch them all die, and she doesn't CARE. So you can't give that to me!"

'...Are you certain? I… I don't deserve this. I never did… I only…'

Adeleine's voice lowered and darkened, her fists now clenched tightly around her sweater. "You can keep it. I don't want it. It's probably covered in a bunch of old blood anyways. It would take forever to wash out."

At that, Blade couldn't help but choke out a laugh. She was right, wasn't she? Why would anyone want a ratty, torn-up, bloodstained, shabby thing like this, huh? It fit him, now. If he gave it back, it wouldn't at all make her think of her brother, who wore this in its prime. It wouldn't be right. It would stain his memory even more than she seemed to be forcing on herself.

'Yeah… yeah, you're right, aren't you… I guess I should keep it. But I can't believe this. Even you… even someone like you isn't treating me right.'

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" she heaved.

'Everyone here is being so nice. They're accepting my existence, as if I'm just… allowed to be here. But that's not true, isn't it? Even you… I harmed you so much, and I- I know you keep saying- you don't want to admit it. But shouldn't you hate me at least a little bit? Don't you deserve to do that more than anyone? I'm not getting what I deserve. Are you TRYING to drive me insane?'

Adeleine's shoulders hunched a bit as she slouched over. Perhaps he'd said too much, because the anger already seemed to be fading from her face.

"Like I said… If I'm supposed to just be Adeleine, and not Adeleine the last human… then there's no reason for me to hate you any more than Big Bro does. He's being nice to you, so I should too. It only makes sense like that…"

'I don't understand how there can be two different 'you's.'

The girl sucked in a breath, calming herself and readying her explanation. "Look, I know you probably don't know, like, ANYTHING about this, but I just came back from this alternate dimension place where humans are supposed to have come from. And I decided I didn't care. I think I really decided that a long time ago. I saw what sorta stuff was going on in Shiver Star before it got destroyed, when I went on an adventure with my friends a few years back… And it wasn't pretty. So… I don't think I care if humans are gone or not… I don't care. I don't. It's…"

'Easier that way?'

"Mhm…"

'And me coming back is getting in the way?'

"I guess… It's kinda scary. Cuz it's starting to work."

'What do you mean?' Blade wasn't certain why he was pushing forward so much with this girl. But perhaps it was the least he could do to try and understand her… considering everything. It wouldn't fix anything. And it would probably end up with her not treating him how he deserved. But… this was perhaps the one person he felt even more obligated towards than Dedede and Gooey.

"I mean that…" She shot a side-eye glance at him, then shook her head. "Nevermind. I dunno why I'm even telling you this crap."

'...I'm sorry.'

"I don't care."

'Right.'

"...Why do you even HAVE his scarf?"

Blade resisted the urge to roll his eyes. So much for 'not caring.' Still, he shouldn't be surprised. It's not like HE was any better when it came to oscillating emotions.

'I hated how it felt, killing. I didn't want to forget that feeling. But I knew I'd eventually learn to like it, like everyone else. So… I needed to remind myself that I was wrong.'

"If it bothered you so much, then why didn't you just, y'know, not kill him?" she snarked.

'There is no series of events that would allow me to be on Shiver Star without being ingrained to kill someone on sight. If that happened, I would have already been killed by Lord Zero. Do you understand? I do not think there is a scenario where both me and your brother can coexist. For him to have lived that day, I would have to have already been dead.'

"Oh…"

'I'm sorry. It must not seem a very fair trade at all. That's how I see it.'

"...I…. don't care…."

'Of course.'

The tension had long since evaporated from the air, to the disappointment of Blade. It seemed, despite all his efforts both past and present, no one was going to end up hating him properly. It's just not fair.

'Are you certain you don't hate me? Even just a little bit?'

Adeleine quirked an eyebrow, unsure if that was supposed to be a joke or not. "I mean, if you REALLY want me to hate you, I guess I can just throw away all my closure I got for your sake."

'No, that's not what I-!'

"Yeah, I know, I know. I was kidding." She pressed a hand to her head. "Look. I dunno. Okay? I dunno about you yet. You're weird. You're really weird. You killed, uh, a lot of people. But I… I can't really find it in myself to be mad about THAT specifically. Um… Obviously I'm pretty pissed that my brother freaking died, but it's hard to take that and put it on YOU, y'know?"

'No, I don't know.'

"I dunno, you've just always been some kinda weird faceless mass of evil coming to ruin my life! And now you're here and you're apologizing? And you're acting like a person and a person wouldn't DO what you did, y'know? I don't- I dunno… Maybe I'M the bad guy for only caring that my brother died and not- not everyone else… But that's why I'm trying to not think about it, okay? I don't WANT to think about it. Not anymore. I wasted YEARS of my childhood thinking about it! I don't want to anymore! So that's- that's why I-" She gestured wildly with her hands.

"Can you please just… not bring it up anymore? That's all I care about. If you don't do that, I won't hate you, okay? I'll probably even like you."

'I wasn't asking you to not hate me or for you to like me.'

"Well maybe you should start asking! You're weird, dude! Obviously everyone wants me to like them," she joked in a self-deprecating fashion.

'Okay…'

She pouted when he didn't take the bait. "Whatever. Just… shut up and act like we didn't talk about anything important, okay? Please?"

'Of course. I'll banish it from my mind.'

Adeleine smiled in quiet relief. "Thanks… I'm gonna get back to hanging with Dedede, okay?"

'Okay.'

"See you- see you around, I guess? Nova, this is so awkward…"

'I will see you around.'

Adeleine halfheartedly waved goodbye and headed back to where Dedede had left. Leaving Blade to stew in his confusion.

...

Dedede leaned back in his seat. "So, what'dya think of our houseguest?"

Adeleine fiddled with her pencil, flicking it back and forth so it frantically tapped against the tabletop. "I dunno. He's weird."

"Weird how?"

"He's way… 'nicer' than I thought he'd be."

"Yeah, I kinda feel that way too… I dunno. Maybe he's just hidin' somethin', but he don't seem like a GREAT liar. I mean, he's lied a couple times but he keeps gettin' caught and all'at."

"Pff. Loser."

"Mhm…"

"…I dunno if I like him being like that or not."

"How come?"

"…I dunno," she deflected.

The two trailed off into comfortable silence. Adeleine stopped fidgeting and went back to sketching. Her mouth opened and shut a few times as if rolling around what she wanted to say on the tip of her tongue.

"I think… I might wanna see what he's like some more. I dunno what to make of him yet, I want to watch him a bit…"

"That good, huh?" Dedede teased. "I didn't think you'd go for the tall, dark, 'n handsome kind."

"Oh shut up! I just… I dunno. Something's off about him. I wanna study him. Like a reference."

"You've been hangin' out with Susie too much."

"Not my fault she keeps trying to run labs on me."

Dedede just shrugged, chuckling. "Well, if you're really thinkin' that, I guess I'll have come along when we do the floral import thingie with Ranza later today."

"That'd be cool. I've been looking forward to that. I prolly won't talk to him a bunch. But I wanna see how he reacts to stuff, you know?"

"Yeah, me too honestly. Thanks for givin' me that brilliant idea to invite him. I will now steal it and take credit for it- OW!" Dedede rubbed his arm as Adeleine slugged him. "Okay, okay, sheesh! You want me to tell him it was a personal request from you or somethin'?"

"Hm, actually, nah, how about you say that you were just so worried that he isn't getting his fresh air or whatever. I'm sure he'll love that."

"Kid, you don't even know him that well, how come you're already guessin' what sorta stuff'll embarrass him?"

"Intuition."

---

Bandee dashed through the castle halls, trying to locate Blade. His father told him he wanted to invite him for something and that it would be a great help if he could let him know. The boy thought it would be easy, that he'd just find him wandering around or sitting in his room. But as the minutes passed without locating him, he grew increasingly anxious and started walking faster and faster, until he was running.

The others might be fine with him just running around all willy-nilly, but I'm not! I'm not stupid!

Even so, his lungs were starting to burn a bit. How long had he been searching now? The longer he took, the more worried he grew that he was keeping his dad waiting.

Eventually, he came to the conclusion that there was one spot he hadn't checked yet. The roofs of the castle. He pivoted on his heel and ducked into a nearby stairwell. It didn't matter which one he took since he could parkour between different sections of the roof easily. He'd grown much more agile than the other Dees too.

And lo and behold, as soon as he threw open the door to the roof, there stood Blade.

On the edge of the parapets, looking all the way down to the ground below.

A stake of anxiety immediately shot through Bandee's heart and his body tensed up. He wasn't sure what he just walked into, but if it was what he thought it was, he'd have to move (and speak) carefully.

"H- hey- I mean, hello. Um… what are you doing up here?"

At first, there was no response. But then Blade spoke in a manner completely disconnected from Bandee's question.

'Do you like falling.'

"I- What? Falling?"

'…I enjoy the feeling of falling. That stomach-dropping sensation is exhilarating when you know you can't get hurt. Because I can fly. I know falling won't hurt me. I just have to unfurl my fins and then it won't matter anymore. Do you understand?'

Bandee took a few cautious steps forward as he spoke. "I don't know… I never thought about it like that. I didn't used to be able to fly, so I think I'm still scared of it sometimes. I don't know."

'That makes sense. Creatures not naturally born to fly must instinctually fear falling. No matter how much they try.'

A few more steps. Bandee swallowed his fear. As much as he distrusted this creature, he really didn't like the idea of his body splattering against the ground. He'd… never been good with that sort of thing. Not like his sibling.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Blade spoke again.

'Do you think if I fell off of here, my body would reflexively unfurl its wings to save me before I cracked my skull open on the stone below.'

He was so close now. Bandee tentatively reached for Blade's wrist, but hesitated. Was this all just a ruse? If he touched him, would he take that as his chance and possess him? What if he ended up startling him and pushing him over the edge?

"I don't know about that…" he finally murmured. Then, ever so carefully, he looped his hand around the Matter's wrist and pulled him backwards, off the stone parapet.

"Um… a- anyways, my dad- I mean, the Great King requested your presence."

'You don't have to say it so formally.'

"Well, SOMEONE has to," he pouted, forgetting the precarious situation he was in. "Anyway! He wants you to join us on the Garden Observation. It's a preparation for the festival, thing."

'…Why would he want me there for that?'

Bandee shrugged. "I don't know. If it were me, I wouldn't bring you along. You don't seem like the kind of person that would find it very interesting."

'An understandable assessment.'

"Yeah. But he said something about wanting you to 'get fresh air' or something. I don't think that's true but it's what he told me."

Blade's eyelid twitched. This man was going to be the death of him, he swore it. Was he TRYING to make him rip his heart out? His hand clawed lightly at his chest.

'I suppose I can't decline. I shall attend.'

"Great. I guess you can just follow me then." Bandee reached forward, gesturing for him to follow. Blade almost tried to grab his hand, but pulled back at the last second when he realized it wasn't being offered. That would have been embarrassing.

It was a nice day out. The garden would look nicer dancing under the sunlight over being splattered with blood.

...

King Dedede, Bandee, Taranza, and Adeleine strolled through the castle gardens, observing the flora and making sure everything was just right to bring to the festival tomorrow, with Dark Matter Blade quite literally shadowing them. He drifted a few feet behind them, often getting distracted and having to rush to catch up. Whether that be from the plant life or… something else that caused him to stare off into space. The other four were near-constantly keeping tabs on his behavior and observing his reactions to things, though they pretended as if they weren't. All of them watched for any sign of suspicious activity… or even for a hint of personhood.

There had been plenty of hints before. Some obvious and some not. But they could easily be thrown away as farces, and there was plenty of evidence to the contrary. Despite spending multiple days at the castle now, he was still such an enigma to them.

He… 'seemed' to enjoy looking at the flowers, although he staunchly refused to touch them. Whether that be out of worry that he might kill them or disdain for them or just plain sensory displeasure, no one could say. And none were sure which one they wanted it to be either.

It would be so much easier for everyone involved if they could just decide what they WANTED to feel. But even that was impossible at this point.

Regardless, the inspection was proceeding without issue. All of the flowers looked absolutely lovely, with Adeleine even whipping out her sketchbook to take note of a few that she didn't recognize. Taranza managed to import a few from Floralia as well, with a small note from the People of the Sky offering their best wishes for the Dreamlandians.

"Oh yes, that reminds me sir," Taranza spoke up. "Unfortunately, Elfilin and his guardians sent notice that they wouldn't be able to attend."

"Aw, really? That's a darn shame."

"Indeed. However, he did send over some of the more interesting flowers from the New World! They're being stored a little further into the garden, just up ahead!"

Dedede put on a smile, but as they grew closer, the strong, alien scent grew all the more clear. Adeleine and Bandee had already rushed ahead to take a look, with Taranza only holding back for the king's sake.

"...Are you not going to take a look?"

Dedede nodded. "Yeah, I will, I will. You go on ahead, I'll be there in just a sec."

"Alright!"

As the young man's steps receded, all noise and sights seemed to fade from Dedede's perception. The only thing he could focus on was the smell of those flowers.

It was too familiar. Painfully familiar. The scent invading his lungs. The scent of being all alone in an alien forest. The scent of trudging through dangerous lands, without being in control of himself. The scent of bugs dancing through those plants and buzzing in his skull and… in his skin.

Before he knew it, he'd already taken his gloves off. Without even asking. Because it wouldn't go away, even now. Even though he'd been trying so hard… Even though… he swore he'd be better. He…

He was trying to stop himself, he REALLY was. Even though it was so hard to not itch away at his skin because he knew it… it wouldn't help..! But no matter how hard he tried NOT to think about it—about EVERYTHING—he couldn't ignore it! Eh- no, he wasn't filthy- he WASN'T! They SAID he wasn't!

Something suddenly clamped around his wrist, nearly digging into his skin tight enough to bleed- H- hey! Don't-! DON'T-

'You don't need to do that again. We're not there anymore…'

Blade's gaze was dull and distant, and he muttered as if he wasn't even there. As if he was speaking to someone who couldn't hear him. Dedede tore his hand away, like he'd been burned.

"Wh- what?!"

Blade's eye widened. His face distorted in fear, then he shook his head desperately. Without another word, he hitched up his skirt and rushed to catch up with the other three.

...?...

…..What… the hell was that?

Did he just… imply what Dedede thought..? Rather, did he just imply THAT HE KNEW what Dedede thought?

How did he..? Did he know? No, he knew, he had to, like he'd been there- No, surely there was another way for him to know? But HOW?! Who would have possibly told him?! He didn't- he didn't tell anybody about such a tiny detail! He knew he'd done it before- the way he said 'again'- the tone of someone who knew it had happened before- 'WE?!' Who's WE? Who could have possibly known to tell him? No one had seen- he'd MADE SURE no one had seen back then! And even if he messed up, why would anyone EVER tell Blade about that specific detail?!

How did he know?

Was he overthinking things? Yes- NO. He wasn't. He was. He was- he was- he was-

It was just two sentences.

He knew something.

He was hiding something.

All of his willingness to see the best in Blade, all of his tentative hope, all of his pity at seeing a kid act with such unnatural cruelty… it all evaporated under the heat of his paranoia. In its place, his original fear solidified with conviction.

Now, there was no proof that whatever Blade was hiding was dangerous. But all things considered, he couldn't take any chances. Dedede's mind clouded with suspicion. His eyes followed the Matterborn closely, trying to take in every little detail about his actions. He hunted for any possible evidence of what he was up to. He watched his tense motions. He watched the way he couldn't stop glancing back at him. He watched his bizarre, stilted, polite (FAKE?!) behavior towards the other three.

All it took was two sentences to throw all of Dedede's confidence out the window.

Blade was dangerous. He'd just… forgotten that. Because he was weak.

He wasn't a weak man. He wasn't. Just like he wasn't filthy.

As the king, it was his duty to make sure nothing bad happened to his subjects. If, somehow, Dark Matter Blade was some sort of 4D chess master of deception trying to hide something dangerous, then it was his job to put a stop to it. No matter how frightening that might be.

It was his responsibility. He did this to himself by allowing Blade to reside here. This was his fault. He did this to himself. So HE had to stop it.

...

All throughout the rest of the day, over the next few hours, Dedede barely took his eyes off Blade, though he refused to act like anything had changed. If he kept moving as normal, if he kept acting cordially, then maybe he'd slip up again. He didn't want Blade to know that he knew that he knew.

But every time Blade looked him in the eye for the rest of the day, he'd shoot him a seething glare with a contempt that he hadn't shown until now. Every time someone spoke to him, he didn't reply and merely folded his arms against himself, as if trying to keep something inside his chest. By the time dinner came and went, the Matter was absolutely writhing with some sort of hatred that he could no longer contain. What was this? Was his plan starting to come into place? Or was he starting to tip over the edge? What could he do to de-escalate, to bring him back to at least the empty APATHY of before? That was safer at least! He didn't seem as likely to lash out and hurt someone, even if it meant he could execute things more coldly and methodically.

Of course, Dedede was just coming to his own logical conclusions in his head, not sharing these worries with anyone or even hinting that he picked up on any of Blade's sudden mood change. That was the safest option at the moment.

The sun was nearing its bedtime, and Dedede found himself wandering the halls, stalking Blade for lack of a better term. Far enough away that no one would notice he was even keeping an eye on him. But close enough that he'd never lose where the boy was.

Suddenly, though, Blade stopped.

One of the Waddle Dees had waved hello to him, rather pleasantly. It was a mere greeting, nothing more. A soft smile. Almost dismissive in how casual it was.

And… for some reason, Blade's response was to grit his teeth, dig his fingers into his arms, and curl in on himself. His body vibrated in rage and Dark Lightning crackled up his spine. Dedede eased closer to the corner, readying himself to jump out and defend his subject if he needed to.

But instead of attacking, instead of releasing his pent up anger, Blade ran.

Dedede followed.

Whatever he would do, intentionally or not, planned or not, cruel or not, the king would stop him! He should have tried harder! He could only hope that he wasn't too late..!

The sound of a door slamming knocked Dedede out of his racing thoughts and back into reality. Blade had retreated back to the guest room. The sun had sunk far enough below the horizon that the room lay pitch black if you didn't turn the lights on. Dedede couldn't see any glow from beneath the crack in the door, so he had to be careful. In pure darkness, he could only wonder what sort of things the kid could do.

He's capable of committing violence still, despite everything so far. You saw it when he came here. You saw it in how he damaged himself so strangely. You saw it in what he did when you first met. It may have been five years for you, but it was a sudden break in reality for him. You can't get soft. People don't just suddenly change like that.

Be strong, for your people. Be brave. And stop him.

Dedede threw the door open, letting light pour into the room from the hall. It formed a harsh column that separated the darkness. Blade sat there, crouched on the ground, shivering uncontrollably.

He couldn't hold it in anymore, Dedede bet. He wasn't able to hold back whatever he was planning. This was it. The tipping point. The king took a few steps forward, his geta clicking against the floor. Blade flinched harshly at every step. But he wasn't turning around.

"You can't keep hiding, Blade."

He staunchly refused to face Dedede. Strange, choked sounds escaped him, like something foreign was trying to claw its way out of his throat. The king drew ever closer, his heart beat ever faster. Dedede was sure Blade could hear his heart with how loud it was. How loud the blood rushing through his skull was.

"I know you're up to something."

'I'm- I'm not- not hiding anything-' Though the projected words held conviction, hints of terror and deception leaked through the edges.

"You're lyin'! Tell me what you've got planned and- and maybe we can stop this before it gets outta hand! I don't wanna hurt you, but I'll stop you if I HAVE to."

'No- no…' Blade forced himself to his feet. 'You should want that- you should- I hate this-'

He was close enough now! Dedede reached out and grabbed Blade's shoulder, spinning him around to face him. But instead of being greeted with a wicked, spiteful expression…

Tears ran down Blade's face, drawing clean lines in the filth staining his skin. His breath hitched- He wasn't trying to hold back a scream or hatred or anything like that, Dedede realized in an instant. He was trying to hide his sobs. The king drew back his hand, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Woah… Hey, what's goin' on here?"

He knew the Dark Matter was capable of crying. He'd seen it before. But that was out of fear. This… felt different. Blade desperately swiped at his face, staining his gloves and smearing both tears and dark liquid across his cheeks.

'Stop! Stop looking at me like that! You're already faltering! I HATE YOU!'

Dedede reeled back, offended. "Wh- well, SORRY for being worried about you, you little brat!"

'NO! No, no no, you're not supposed to- stop it- stop it right now- don't look at me with pity in your eyes- I hate it- I hate having to look at you- at all of you!'

"What, we ain't 'evil' enough for your tastes?! You know, you can just fuck right off with that cuz we ain't gonna-"

'EVERY TIME I LOOK AT YOU I'M REMINDED OF WHAT I DID TO YOU! I HATE IT! I HATE THINKING ABOUT HOW MUCH I HURT YOU AND HOW WRONG YOU ALL ARE FOR IGNORING IT! YOU ! You're TRYING to tear me to pieces! You ARE! You can't possibly expect me to believe you're just- just treating me NORMALLY! You're HORRIBLE!'

Blade began pounding his fists against his head, much like Gooey would when he got upset. But Dedede couldn't focus on that at the moment. He was too busy processing what he'd just heard.

This thing- rather, this PERSON was capable of feeling guilt. Not just capable. He did. Absolutely. And for whatever reason, he'd been hiding that fact from them. Or at least from Dedede. Why? He needed to figure this out, for both their sakes.

Blade took the king's silence as his chance to escape and tried to shove his way past him. But Dedede reacted quickly. Sticking his arm out, he scooped it around Blade's waist as he tried to run past and picked him up, walking further into the room.

'HEY! LET ME GO! LET GO LET GO! I'LL KILL YOU!'

Maybe a few days, a few hours ago, Dedede would have been frightened. But right now, as Blade weakly pounded his fists against the king but did little to actually escape, Dedede found him more akin to an unruly child. He simply tossed Blade onto the bed, where he bounced awkwardly as the wind was knocked out of him. Dedede took HIS chance while the Matterborn lay limply on the mattress. He turned on the lamp light and shut the door behind him. Then he walked back up to the young man and placed his hands on his hips.

"Alright, I'm gonna ask again. What's goin' on here?"

'Nothing..! Nothing is 'going on!'

"That's not true," he responded flatly. Not yelling, but not quite soft yet.

'I don't know what you want from me!'

What happened to this kid's composure from before? "I just want you to tell me how you're feelin' right now."

'What good would that do?!'

"It would help me understand you. So I can figure out how t'help you."

'That's exactly the problem! You shouldn't want to help me after everything I did!'

"Because you feel bad about it, right?"

Blade fell silent. He clearly didn't want to admit his guilt outright despite implying it every other sentence. Dedede sighed.

"You feel bad about what you did to me, don't you?"

'It doesn't matter whether I do or not,' he replied vaguely.

"It really does."

'HOW? Even IF I do feel bad, that doesn't change what happened! And it doesn't change the fact that you all are insane for treating me as if I didn't do anything! Sometimes you get it right! Sometimes you look at me with appropriate fear in your eyes and I KNOW- I know that's right! But then you brush it off as if YOU'RE the wrong one!'

"It IS wrong! We're- I'm trying to give you another chance! Holding what you did over your head isn't gonna make you want to be better!"

'I DON'T DESERVE TO BE BETTER! I CAN'T BE BETTER! I RUIN EVERYTHING- EVEN WHEN I TRY TO BE GOOD, I CAN'T! EVEN WHEN I WANT TO BE HAPPY OR WANT TO BE LOVED OR TO LOVE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT-' He roughly slammed his fist against the wall- 'I CAN'T! I… I ruin everything just by existing! I can't fix what I did- I can't take it back- Even trying to do good now… hurts people… Just by me being around, people get hurt. Even when I try to be good, I end up giving in and causing pain. I- But I can't die now…'

"...Do you want to die? Is that why you tried to starve yourself?"

'NO! I- I don't WANT to die… but I SHOULD.'

Dedede's stomach dropped. He ran his hand through his hair, trying to figure out the right thing to say. This was a far more precarious situation than he thought, in a completely different way than he imagined. And… it's not like he was the best at convincing himself that he should live. But Blade spoke before he could.

'I can't even die now. I can't… leave my little sibling behind. I don't want to hurt him. And… I really do want to be alive. I like being alive. But… but I… shouldn't. Because me being alive hurts other people. And I can't be selfish like that. So- so I don't have a choice. Me dying hurts him. Me living hurts them. Th- the only way I could have ever solved this was- Maybe if I made Gooey hate me, made EVERYONE hate me, then they'd kill me, or I'd kill me, and no one else would have any regrets…'

"But I thought you wanted to live!"

'IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT I WANT! Not after what I did!'

Ah… They weren't very different after all.

It doesn't matter what I want.

'The only way anyone could have ever been happy is if I'd never been born. I'm sorry for being born.'

"Don't apologize for that…"

'NO! Stop saying things like that! STOP! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HATE ME!' Blade stood up on the bed and started gesturing with his arms wildly. Lightning crackled all about him, ratcheting against the wall and the bed posts. He 'yelled' incoherently for a little longer about how Dedede shouldn't be treating him nicely, and how he was the greatest evil in the world, and the king just tried to tune it out.

He'd wear himself out soon enough, and when he did, Dedede would help him back up.

He really was much more like a troubled, angsty teenager than he'd expected.

After a few more minutes, Blade completely exhausted himself and flopped back down on the bed, not even bothering to sit back up. His chest heaved, despite the fact that he hadn't even been physically screaming. Dedede sat down on the bed, next to him.

"...I wish you told me earlier that you felt bad about all that."

Blade rested his forearm over his eye. He replied with a flat 'Why.'

"Woulda made me feel better."

'...What..?'

"If someone hurts you, don't you kinda wish that they felt bad about it at least? It don't really feel good if you think they did it without hurtin' at all."

'I wouldn't know…'

"Ah, right…"

A few more seconds of silence.

"Why didn't you tell me you felt guilty about it all?"

Blade shot a quick, nervous glance at Dedede before replying. '...This may sound arrogant of me for… assuming you even would do this but… I know how you people are. What you're like. I didn't want to… risk you… forgiving me.'

A pang shot through Dedede's heart. This kid…

"You feel bad about controlling me back then, right? Takin' my choices away from me?"

'...Mhm.'

"Then don't you think you should let ME decide if I wanna forgive you?"

Blade's eye widened and he shot back up in a sitting position. He looked as if he hadn't even considered that train of thought. Dedede didn't know whether that made him want to laugh or cry. But he barked out a quick laugh regardless, to lighten the mood.

"What even was your plan when you got here? In the castle I mean."

'I… I didn't have one at first. I thought I'd just hold out until I could see my sibling again. But then… I got the idea to not eat. Because I knew if I let you kill me, Gooey would hate you, and I didn't want that to happen. But if I just… 'happened' to die, then it wouldn't be anyone's fault. And everyone would be happy again. Of course, I changed my mind after you caught me. I shouldn't leave my sibling behind like that. Not again. I have to remind myself how upset he was when I… left him, the first time. He said so himself.'

"You really do love Gooey, don't you?"

'Yes. I love him very much. Kirby too. They have been… painfully kind to me.'

"Jeez. You really are a liar, ain't ya? Here I thought Gooey was just tryin' to save your skin."

'He was. I don't know if you would have believed me back then if I DID tell the truth when we met a few days ago. And even if you did, I didn't want you to.'

"That's… fair. I guess. But we're here now. You're… I think if you just try your best, instead a' holdin' yourself back all the time cuz you think we'll be nicer to you then you 'deserve' (which is bullshit by the way), things'll get a lot better."

Blade tilted his head, refusing to look Dedede in the eye. 'I don't know…'

"You don't gotta make yourself 'evil,' you know. If you really don't wanna be that, you don't hafta."

'It sounds too good to be true… I've already hurt too many people, even after returning.'

"Then apologize to them!" Dedede smiled brightly. "It's as easy as that! Most people here'll be happy if you just admit you're wrong and say sorry! That's what I did!"

Blade scoffed out a short laugh. 'I forgot you didn't used to be a hero of Dreamland.'

Dedede awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Yeah… It's been a while, huh? But you get the idea. If you say sorry, and act like it, and just… be nice to people, then you won't HAVE to feel guilty about what you did! Ain't that good enough?"

'...It still feels wrong. I've still done horrible things… How can I accept that people will just forgive me for them?'

"Well, you just gotta. Like I said, it's up to US to decide if we wanna forgive you or not. And if we do, we do. That's all there is too it. You can't stop us!" he joked.

'If I act kindly, that will cloud your judgment and trick you into thinking that I'm more deserving than I am.'

"You WANT to be nice though."

'...Yes, that is true.'

"So, uh, don't it give us a MORE accurate assessment if you act nice than if you pretend to act mean? You're kinda contradictin' yourself here."

Blade stared blankly at the air in front of him. 'Oh.'

"Jeez kid, you're insane."

'I know.'

At this point, nearly all of the suspicion and paranoia in Dedede's mind had completely faded. A small part of him still feared that this entire conversation had somehow been a ploy by the Dark Matter to trick him into sympathy, but that would be a level of deception that was nigh impossible to comprehend. He would choose to believe in him, for Gooey's sake at least.

No… he would believe in Blade, for Blade's sake.

Dedede clapped a hand on Blade's shoulder. "Y'feel a bit better now that you got all that outta your system?"

Blade lowered his head, shadowing his face in his bangs. He gathered up his strength, and put out one last ditch effort to change Dedede's mind. If this didn't work, he would give up, and if it did, then he would accept the consequences.

'...I've… killed people… Do you still think I'm worthy of forgiveness?'

Dedede didn't even hesitate. "Kid, we've all killed people. Sometimes, there's no avoiding it."

Blade verbally spluttered before refocusing his thoughts. 'Wh- but- but they were innocent people! People I was ordered to kill just because I- because we-'

"You woulda died if you didn't kill them, right?"

'That doesn't matter! Even if that WAS the case, I-'

"We woulda died if WE didn't kill who we did. Sometimes, that's just how it is… Trust me, I don't get any sleep thinkin' about that sorta thing either… But it's a choice we all had t'make."

'But I-'

"I don't like it either. But I ain't gonna hold it against ya. You're… pretty young. You can'ta started hurtin' people too much earlier than Kirby is now, right?"

'...Right.'

"So… I ain't gonna judge ya for somethin' you didn't even have a chance t'stop. Maybe that's just me, maybe some people won't be happy about that. But that's just how it is."

Blade didn't reply this time. Instead, he simply nodded and curled in on himself, resting his forehead on his knees. It seemed nothing he tried would work.

Well…

There was the one other thing. But even HE wasn't ready to talk about that. He wasn't ready to admit what he'd done, even to Dedede.

Especially to Dedede.

So, for now, this would have to do. Maybe he would carry that sin in silence forever, but at least this… seemed like a happy ending. Too happy to believe, but that's just how it was in Dreamland.

Dedede ruffled his hair. Like he did to everyone else.

He really was becoming part of them. It wasn't fair.

It didn't matter if it wasn't fair.

"Listen, the festival's tomorrow. You're gonna see Gooey again soon! Ain't that make you feel better?"

'You shouldn't want to make me feel better.'

"I'm gonna start bonkin' ya on the head every time you say that."

'Oh. Okay.'

Dedede stood up and headed towards the door. Before he left though, he turned back once more.

"I'm gonna quit havin' guards at your door too. I think it's safe to assume you ain't gonna go sneakin' around hurtin' people? I can trust ya on that?"

'Yes.'

"Great. See ya tomorrow, Blade!"

'See 'ya' tomorrow.'