The Blade of Dark Matter did not know why Zero had called him that day. Everything had just been as it was always supposed to be, unendingly. There was no evidence of change. So what purpose would he have for using his Blade?

These thoughts danced around in his head as he climbed up the stairs to the inscrutable dias, his feet tapping against the cold floor beneath him. Zero's brilliant gaze bore down upon the surroundings, bathing everything in a holy red light. The Blade knew that Zero could read his thoughts; that he would recognize his confusion. The Great Eye blinked slowly, forcing Blade to wait patiently for his master to collect and brandish his thoughts.

'I have a very important question for you, child.'

'What is it you wish to know, Lord Zero?'

The eye paused again. Blade would describe him as mulling over his thoughts, but he wouldn't dare impose such an idea on his lord.

'When I asked you to eliminate that anomaly a few months ago, how did you go about it?'

The Blade tried not to hesitate. If he spoke as if it were the truth, then surely it would become so. This was the reality that needed presenting to Zero.

'I ran my sword through its stomach and left it to die, bleeding out on the edge of the Dark Core. I can't imagine its body is still there after all this time. It has either been reclaimed by the Darkness or eviscerated in the vast expanse of space.'

'...'

Blade couldn't help but shift uncomfortably under Zero's unreadable stare. An eternity of silence dragged out between them, suffocating him. How long would this continue? He just… stared, without blinking, without moving. Without thinking. Blade's chest felt crushed under the weight of his gaze, and his skin was laid bare, as if his body was being completely exposed. It felt… predatory, hungry, the way his father looked at him.

Finally…

'Why are you lying to me?'

'I'm not lying to you… If, somehow, the anomaly still lives, please know that it wasn't through any intent of mine. I did indeed attempt to kill it. It should have died. If it didn't, then it must be through some miracle that-'

'Liar.'

Blade's head lowered ever so slightly. 'I'm not… lying…'

'Why do you do this to me? Why do you insist on tormenting me like this? You do understand what I must do to you now, yes?'

The Matterborn's body involuntarily shivered. If he said yes, that would be like admitting that he'd sinned. But Zero would rehabilitate him regardless of confession. Perhaps his father would be gentler in his punishment if he recognized that he was wrong? If he showed Zero that he was self-aware of his own failings. But… if he confessed, then he feared the punishment would worsen, for he truly had committed a great sin in disobeying Zero so flagrantly… What to do…?

'I… understand what is about to happen, Lord Zero.'

A sliver of irritation slipped into Blade's mind. Clearly, that wasn't the confession Zero was hoping for. But it didn't matter now. It was too late for atonement. Not without discipline.

'I haven't had to do this to you in so long… You cause me such great pain, every single time I am forced to give this performance. Do you understand? How immensely this hurts me? No, you do not. Otherwise you would not have done this to me.'

Yes. Blade had been so good for so long… He hadn't forced Zero to hurt him since he was eight years old, right after he was gifted that child to care for. Back then, he was always getting in trouble, being the anomalous failure he was. But he learned his lesson back then, and became perfect. So… to be taken back here… even after everything…

Annoyingly, shockingly, sweat beaded down the back of his neck and he felt his incorporeal heart starting to pound. No, he would not feel fear towards this necessary action. He would not…

All of a sudden, a great, blinding, colorless void spread out all around them. Though it was approximate pure blackness, it felt completely different than the Darkness of the Core. That Darkness was warm and sickly and protective, while this void isolated you, as if you were trapped all alone in a dream.

Zero no longer held the appearance of an enormous, godly entity, but a creature a foot or so taller than the Blade. Something that you would expect to be the size of one's father. He looked far younger, less decrepit, with the austerity of his youth, because he was no longer constrained by the laws of reality. Because the two were no longer in reality.

Zero had the ability to inflict someone with a dreamlike state, forcing them into a false reality. Here, he could do whatever he wished to them, without consequence. It was terribly convenient for punishing his children that had sinned gravely, but not so gravely as to warrant extermination. To break them physically and mentally and make them understand the terms of their existence without callously wasting what little life this world could support.

The Blade had been on this side of the punishment too many times to count when he was young.

He knew what to expect at this point. Therefore he would persist through his rightful punishment, without resistance. It wouldn't hurt in the end, when he woke up from the 'dream.'

Zero drifted closer to the Blade. Although this version of his father was far less horrifying to look at, the child could only ever associate it with truly hideous experiences. So just looking at his ethereal, almost holy form was enough to send chills up his spine. Despite everything in his body urging him not to react, Blade couldn't help but clench his fists and grind his teeth.

Especially when countless pale, disembodied arms sprang forth from the surrounding void and placed themself all over his body. They slid along his arms and legs, wrapped themselves around his torso, tugged on his armor to place themselves on his chest, and ran themselves through his hair. A small, childish part of him in the back of his mind whined and screamed stop touching me. But he was a… good child….. No matter how uncomfortable he felt…. He…. he didn't have permission to resist. He burned that reminder into his head. Right now, he was nothing more than a doll for Zero to play with, as was deserved.

His father drew ever closer, then placed a hand on Blade's mask. In one swift movement, he ripped the metal from his face, exposing his anomalous form. Reminding him of all he owed to Zero for even letting him live this long. He could see it so clearly, Zero's disappointed, agonized gaze. Yes… this wasn't torture for Blade, after all. This was torture for HIM. He said so himself. So… Zero was the one hurting right now… It was all Blade's fault for making him do this. The child averted his gaze, not wanting to torment his father any more than he already had.

(He couldn't move his limbs. He couldn't move his head.)

Zero grabbed Blade's jaw and slowly forced it open, cupping it in one hand. With the other, he reached into Blade's mouth… and grabbed one of his teeth…

'You do not need this.'

Blade's mouth ached as it opened farther than it reasonably should, stuffed to the brim and with him unable to move.

Zero… slowly and meticulously…. twisted the tooth, back and forth, back and forth, dragging it from its socket. He tugged and pulled and gently, horrifically painfully, slid it forth out of its spot. Blade instinctively squeezed his eye shut, trying to ignore the horrible feeling of his jaw being stretched beyond its limit, of his gums trying to hold the tooth in place with all their might and the flesh snapping bit by bit. Despite everything, he could feel tears welling up in his eye; burning, boiling hot liquid threatening to spill forth. But he couldn't! This was nothing..! This was nothing compared to Zero's pain!

After giving the tooth one final jerk, it popped free and Zero dropped it to the 'ground.' Then… he hummed in thought.

The voidborn rested his other hand on Blade's head, caressing it at first. Blade was foolish enough to try and relish in the comforting touch of his father, but realized his mistake a second too late. Zero bunched his hair up in a fist, then, without warning, tightened his grip around Blade's jaw and pulled the two in opposite directions.

Dull lightning ratcheted through his head. The child's jaw lolled open, separated from the skull on one side. Saliva and blood slipped from his mouth, but Zero didn't give him a moment to rest. The disembodied arms pulled Blade back into place, and his father began the next phase.

The voidborn's brow furrowed as his hand slid down Blade's face, towards his eye. Blade could feel the misery radiating off of him, palpable enough to warrant an apology.

'I'm sorry- I'm so sorry I'm doing this to you-'

'No. You will never be sorry enough. You are not good enough.'

Zero dug his fingers into Blade's eye socket, closing his fist around the eyeball. Those fingers crawled in forcibly, sliding against the slimy orb, digging into the back of the crevice until his nails could reach the tendons holding it in place. Though Blade could not speak with his mouth, a strange, choked, reflexive cry escaped his throat. He could no longer hold in his tears, letting them waterfall forth and staining Zero's fingers even more. Mixing with the blood that colored those clawing digits.

With one single, violent tug, the tendons snapped and Blade's eye flew forth from his socket. At the same time, those countless hands released him and he collapsed backwards against the ground, breathing heavily. His scarf flew from his neck, evaporating into the void. He rolled onto his stomach, sobbing and shivering, his body trying to 'hold in the pain.' But that was impossible. You cannot hold in EVERYTHING.

But it wasn't enough. It would never be enough! Zero could not possibly inflict enough pain on this child to make him understand the gravity of his own agony.

He still wished to try, though. This 'perfect' child of his had failed in such an incomprehensible manner. He wished to draw forth that suffering and toy with it to alleviate his ailment of apathy, if only for a small sliver of time. He took a few steps forward, slowly enough that the child could hear every single echo and know with full clarity that his father was approaching.

Blade couldn't help but cry, despite it all. He swore he would be good. He swore he would persevere! He swore that he would take what was given to him properly! A good child wouldn't cry! He was a GOOD CHILD!

[IT HURTS- IT HURTS SO MUCH- SOMEONE SAVE ME, PLEASE! FATHER- DAD, PLEASE SAVE ME, IT HURTS-]

Zero is hurting so much right now, isn't he? Come now, Blade of Dark Matter. You have to save him. Help him. Endure!

Zero kneeled down next to the limp body of his child. 'I cannot comprehend why you insist on making me do this to you. Is it because you wish to see me suffer? You know I cannot stand seeing you like this,' he lied. 'And yet, you continue to fail me in ways that give me no choice…. You hate me, don't you…?'

'I…. could… never hate you… Lord Zero…..'

Though Blade could not see it, Zero's eyebrow twitched. He grimaced in annoyance. This creature was too perfect. Too 'easy.' It wasn't any 'fun' if he just took it without resistance. Zero was doing everything in his power to awaken some semblance of emotion by hurting this child, but he wasn't making things very easy…

Blade, sightlessly trapped in this void, dull pain radiating through his head, suddenly felt a weight on his back. For a moment, he thought his father had come to comfort him, like he had after these sessions when he was a small child. But no… The weight grew heavier. Someone—Zero—pressed down on him. Crushing his lungs, slowly. It… hurt. Of course it hurt. But this too didn't matter. Though he found it harder and harder to breathe, he found himself only able to apologize.

'I really… am sorry… for hurting you… Lord Zero… I'm so so so sorry…'

'Tch…' Zero crushed down harder. How much would it take for this pathetic creature to just give up the act? This was beyond annoying. He wasn't suffering. He wasn't learning his lesson. He wasn't even admitting any wrongdoing yet. 'Your apologies mean nothing to me. Do you understand WHY this hurts me?'

'I… wouldn't dare… attempt to understand you… Lord Zero…'

Stop saying that! Zero pushed harder, digging his hands into Blade's back. He could feel the ribs under his palms starting to slide around and crack. 'It is because you are very valuable to me. Every time you force me to hurt you, I am forced to harm that which I hold in such high esteem. I do not expect you to comprehend how painful that is to me… I can't… expect you to know… what these tears can possibly mean…'

'I….. can't…. I'm… sorry…..'

SHUT UP! STOP SAYING THAT! Zero rolled Blade over onto his back, looking directly down into his pathetic, simpering, worthless face. He couldn't even look back anymore, yet he insisted on pandering to him! HOW VILE!

…There was only one way to bring him back to life.

Blade, in this endless darkness, could still feel Zero's tears splattering his face. He could feel all the rage and hatred and irritation and sorrow flooding through his body, forcing out all foreign emotion. So full to the brim that he very well might overflow. He couldn't move his body, too wracked with pain as he was. He could hardly breathe as his cracked ribs dug into his lungs. But even so… he would endure th-

…H- huh? H- S- Stop-

Frigid, lifeless hands clamped around his neck, squeezing so tight he could feel his skin distending. His throat pressed flat- he didn't- Th- this was- no- No, this didn't matter either, right? It wasn't real anyway- it didn't matter how much it hurt- NO, it DIDN'T hurt- so he could- c- a- AAGH- KHH—

'I'm so sorry for hurting you!' his thoughts screamed. But with every apology, Zero's grip grew ever tighter. As the seconds drew on, Blade's body suddenly screamed with horror- A violent tremble passed from the top of his head to the tips of his toes- he was- he was really going to die! G- get out! YOU HAVE TO ESCAPE- His legs kicked wildly, uselessly impacting against Zero, while his hands clawed at his father's wrists.

'I- I'm sorry- I'M SORRY- L- LET GO! LET ME GO I DON'T WANT TO DIE LET ME GO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I'M SORRY- STOP! STOP IT STOP IT- I DON'T WANT TO DIE!'

Finally.

In an instant, Blade was returned to the realm of the waking. His body collapsed backwards, knocking his mask loose, and he heaved, gasping in as much air as he could as his body readjusted to no longer being on the brink of death. His hands still clawed at the floor, his whole body trembled violently. But he didn't have a second to spare.

Zero, back to his normal appearance, drew right up against Blade, pinning him with his piercing crimson gaze.

'I KNEW IT. YOU ARE FULLY CAPABLE OF TRAITOROUS THOUGHTS SUCH AS THAT.'

'I didn't- I didn't mean to-'

'YOU LET THE ANOMALY LIVE, DIDN'T YOU?!'

'It- I-'

'DO NOT LIE TO ME!'

Blade curled up on the floor, shielding his head. 'I let the anomaly live…'

Zero burned his gaze into him. He had nowhere to run. 'I ALREADY KNEW THIS. YOU HAVE FINALLY ADMITTED YOUR SIN. NOW. BEFORE YOU EVEN CONFESSED, I HAD ALREADY LOCATED WHERE THAT FOUL CREATURE CONTINUES TO LIVE. YOU ARE TO TRAVEL TO THAT DAMNABLE STAR AND WIPE IT OFF THE FACE OF THE UNIVERSE. DESTROY THAT WHICH MANAGED TO ESCAPE!'

Blade forced himself to his feet, still unable to make eye contact with his master. But… he would not argue. He was…. a good….. child.

'Yes… Lord Zero.'

The morning of the festival, Blade woke up with a clearer mind than he had in… well, his whole life, probably. He still held a certain anxiousness close to his chest. Something might still go horribly wrong in the near future because of him. But he found it just the slightest bit easier to be optimistic. Despite everything, in spite of even himself, this star was really starting to rub off on him.

As he got out of bed, he briefly considered the idea that people might dress nice for the festival and that he might change his appearance. But he brushed that aside. Even if he could come up with a new appearance for himself on the fly, he wasn't terribly interested in standing out (more than he already did.)

Even though he knew Dedede promised so last night, he was still surprised to see that no guard stood by his door when he left.

Blade wandered down the halls towards the entryway of the palace, passing by dozens of other creatures on his way. All of them seemed too excited for the event to care that he was out and about unsupervised. Or maybe they'd just expected this to happen at some point. Though most of the crowd spilling out the main gate were Waddle Dees, he saw small smatterings of other species as well. Some were dressed up, some just wore their regular clothes, and some looked like they just got out of bed, still wearing their pajamas. Very curious indeed.

When he managed to squeeze his way past the crowd and out the gate, he spotted a few familiar faces. Off to the side, probably still checking over some important whatevers, stood Taranza, Dedede, Bandee, and Adeleine. Blade's stomach churned slightly at the sight, but he had to remind himself that there was nothing to fear. Though that wasn't quite the right word. He still held a severe anxiousness towards making his presence known to the king and the human, and… it was incredibly awkward to have to face Taranza as well after their argument on his first night at the castle.

At least he could trust Bandee to be a stabilizing force of reasonable suspicion. He had no reason to feel tension around the boy when he would always act with a consistent and healthy amount of distrust, regardless of what he did.

Once the group started moving along with the crowd, Blade began working up his courage. Dedede was right. If he'd done something wrong, the first step is as simple as apologizing, and acknowledging that what you did was wrong. Moreover, letting the other person know that you understood the circumstances.

(He should have known this already. But whenever he tried to apologize to Lord Zero, it never seemed to work. So the small kernel of childish consciousness just assumed that it wouldn't work here either.)

He began reciting exactly what he wanted to say in his head, over and over again. He didn't want to stumble or make a fool of himself, and he wanted to very clearly and thoroughly express his atonement, without misunderstanding. Though he knew the manner in which he communicated would be effective in that regard anyway, he couldn't ever be too sure.

Blade walked up to Taranza and tapped him on the shoulder just as he was about to join the crowd. The spider boy startled slightly before turning around, his expression visibly wilting when he saw the Matterborn. Before he had the chance to speak though, Blade began his practiced speech.

'Taranza, I would like to formally apologize for my behavior upon our initial meeting.' He bowed deeply, folding his hands in front of himself. 'It was unfair of me to dredge up your past actions in an attempt to get back at you, and I cannot begin to express how sorry I am. I hope you can accept this.'

Taranza stared blankly at the other young man, eyes slowly widening. The tension in his body seeped away as he blinked a couple times, as if processing Blade's thoughts. He then narrowed his lower pair of eyes, scrutinizing the Dark Matter's expression and body language, while his upper pair pinned him in place like a butterfly in a web. The silence dragged on long enough for Blade to question if he'd somehow messed up or misthought.

'Of course… ah, you don't have to forgive me. I don't expect you to. I just thought you should know that I regret my actions and-'

"I know that, I know that," Taranza cut him off. "It's just… I didn't expect you to apologize at ALL. I'm just a little surprised, is all." He shook his head, driving away those doubts. Blade's nervous interpretations of his behavior suddenly seemed rather silly as the advisor awkwardly scratched the back of his head and gestured reassuringly with his other arms. "But I… uh, appreciate it. …Actually, I don't think you need to worry about it much at all. I've been thinking about the things you said, and how you acted that evening. I shouldn't have accused you of something you hadn't done yet. I'm not surprised you reacted so harshly. I don't think I would have done any better if I was in your position." He sucked in a breath. "I'm sorry."

Taranza bowed as well, and now Blade was the one shocked into silence.

'N- no! No, I don't need that sort of- It really wasn't anything you did wrong. I should have controlled myself better and not given into petty emotions. I'm far more in the wrong than you.'

"I accused you of being completely heartless! I didn't understand that you were capable of feeling emotions like that, and that wasn't at all how- After watching you, I… I should have said sorry earlier, if anything. I should have known better."

Blade's eyebrow twitched in irritation. 'You're being ridiculous! Can't you just admit that you have nothing to apologize for? I was wrong! I'm sorry!'

"No, that's wrong! I have every reason to be sorry too! You can't say that I didn't do anything when-"

'No, listen to me! I'M SORRY!'

"NO, I'M SORRY!"

"Alright, alright, break it up you two!"

Both Blade and Taranza suddenly felt a mittened hand shoving itself into their faces. The two were pushed apart as Dedede stepped between them, a casual look on his face.

"Y'all're both sorry, I'm assumin'." He COULD only hear Taranza's half of the dialogue, but he could pick up on context clues. "Now can ya quit your screamin' match? We gotta festival to get to!"

Taranza stepped away, messing with his hair to get the loose strands back in place. He then laughed, "Ah- of course, sir! Ehehe…" With that, he gave a slight wave to Blade, gesturing for him to follow, and then followed after the king.

But the Dark Matter stood there a few more moments, holding his head. He still wasn't sure how to respond to someone… apologizing TO him. He'd been the one in the wrong, yes? He shouldn't have done what he did, yes? It was more than he could have asked for Taranza to not only accept the apology, but seemingly forgive him. But then for him to turn around and admit his own 'mistakes,' as if Blade was someone worthy of apology….

He shook his head. Dedede was right. No matter how baffling these acts may seem to him, he had to accept it. He couldn't control how other people perceived or treated him, not anymore. It wouldn't be right. Just behave as you wish, and allow other people to behave as they wish.

He began walking in time with the rest of the crowd, a short distance behind the four Star Allies. At some point, Adeleine turned around to catch a glance of him. When they locked gazes, her face twisted up slightly in a nervous smile and she shot a finger gun at him. He then awkwardly mimicked her, causing the teenager to let out a short, surprised laugh.

This… wouldn't be too bad.

Besides, every step he took brought him a bit closer to reuniting with Gooey.

...

When they grew within eyeshot of the town, Blade spotted three people standing just over the hill, waiting for them. Ah..!

Meta Knight had gone to pick up Gooey and Kirby before meeting up with the rest of them! Without thinking, Blade rushed past everyone else and ran towards Gooey, with his young sibling doing much the same.

"SIBLING!" Gooey screamed as he leaped into Blade's outstretched arms. The elder Matter stumbled a bit, shifting to balance his young sibling. At first, he hesitated, still unsure of how far he was willing to reciprocate. But it didn't take much consideration at all. He closed his slender arms around the small boy, crushing his chest tight in a hug like one would snuff the life out of a stuffed animal, while Gooey clawed his small fingers against Blade's back in desperation. As if he was worried the Matterborn would disappear if he let go again. Blade swayed back and forth slightly, crushing Gooey ever tighter.

The others stared at this unusual, if heartwarming, sight. Logically, they knew the two siblings cared about each other, as they'd repeated over and over. But seeing this sort of blatant affection between two beings that, by all known laws of the universe, should not be able to express it so thoroughly… It was….

Blade finally released Gooey, who hopped out of his arms. 'It's good to see you again. I know it hasn't been long, but I did miss you.'

"Missed too! Glad sibling good..!"

'Oh, that does remind me,' Blade smiled very slightly, 'Dedede gave me a placeholder name. It's merely Blade. So if you wish to call me with a name, that is what you may use.'

"Ah..! Um… want other name sometime?"

'Maybe. For now, this will do…'

Gooey had referred to Blade as such a very small handful of times, though only as a result of not using articles when calling him The Blade. So while it didn't feel fully foreign to him, he didn't know how he felt about his sibling using his title as a weapon to identify himself… Well, if that's what he wanted, he would follow suit. It seemed to make him happy after all. Having a name…

Kirby was the only one of the Star Allies not at all fazed by Blade and Gooey's reunion, instead running straight over to Bandee and practically knocking him sideways with their own hug. The Dee struggled a bit under his adoptive sibling's overwhelming strength before giving up and patting them on the head. After being released, Kirby turned around much more tentatively to face Dedede.

They lowered their head, bangs shadowing their eyes, and clenched their fists nervously.

"Ne… Dehdehdeh..?"

Dedede gave him a tired, if reassuring look. "Yeah, kid?"

"Um… are you mad at me for hiding the Dark Matter Swordguy..?"

"Y'mean Blade? Uh, honestly…" He fussed with the collar of his robe, not sure what to say. On one hand, yes. It was a little infuriating to know that your child was hiding someone who had functionally kidnapped you five years ago. If not for the emotional baggage, then at least for the danger they put themself in. But on the other hand, it worked out, didn't it?

Dedede shook his head. "I ain't too mad at you kiddo, but don't do somethin' like that again, got it?" He pointed accusingly at Kirby, but their only reaction was to grin so wide their jaw was sliced in half and leap at the king with elation.

"OH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I'M SUPER DUPER UBER ULTIMATELY SORRY AND I LOVE YOU AND EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE AWESOME AGAIN!"

Dedede tried to pry the (now crying) voidborn off him. "Eh- hey! Get off! I take it back, I ain't forgive ya if this is how you're gonna act!"

After a little more shenaniganizing, Kirby let Bandee pull them off. Meta Knight finally walked up to join the group, and he bowed deeply, but silently to his partner. Dedede's gaze softened by a fraction.

"Hey, Meta… Y'feelin' any better?"

The knight's first instinct was to retort that he should be the one asking his king that, but he resisted the urge. While the younger Star Allies weren't paying the two all that much attention, opting to catch up with each other instead, Meta Knight still didn't wish to show too much negative emotion out in the open like this.

"I feel like myself again."

"...Good! That's great, Meta! Looks like my brilliant, amazin' ideas worked out, like always!" the king joked. If nothing else, it felt reassuring to see his partner put on airs of arrogance and overconfidence once more. Meta smiled softly and drew a few steps closer.

"It seems… things really did work out for you." He shot a quick glance at Blade, who was quietly listening as Gooey caught him up with the past few days' events. He was smiling.

"For both of you…"

Dedede let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah… he's kinda just a bratty kid, t'be honest. Couple bumps here 'n there, but a good ol' chat seemed t' straighten him out for now. T'think I had trouble handlin' him before… jeez. Makes me wanna roll my eyes!"

"...Really? So there… was no need for me to worry so much?"

The king realized where he was going with this. "Well, I wouldn't say that. But it ain't somethin' we gotta worry 'bout anymore, so…" he shrugged, "if it's done, it's done. We can just forget about it and move on, y'know?"

"Is that really alright?"

"S'alright with me. What about you?"

Meta clutched his cape a little closer to his body. "It somehow feels wrong to just accept that it was that easy. It's not in my nature to feel at ease when it comes to matters like this, if you pardon the expression." He shot a side-eyed glance at his king. "But if you can accept it, I will as well. I can at least say my head feels much clearer after my little… mandated break."

Dedede snorted a laugh and roughly rubbed Meta's head. "Yeah, like I said, I'm always right! But knowin' you, ya prolly spent the whole time worryin' about somethin' anyway!"

"Hmmm~" Meta droned out a hum. "And what if I did? It makes no difference either way, yes?" He leaned against the taller man, causing Dedede's feathers to fluff up a bit. That only encouraged Meta to draw even closer, turning into a positive feedback loop designed to fluster the king.

"A- alright, alright, I get it already! Jeez! Can't you ever ask for somethin' like a normal person?!"

"That's a tad hypocritical of you, isn't it?"

"Says the man who'd rather stage a coup than say 'I like ya'..." he muttered under his breath as he gently lifted Meta's mask. He very carefully laid a small kiss on his lips before dropping it.

Unfortunately, their children HAD observed that bit. Kirby started groaning "EW, GROSS, BLECH!" and other silly noises until Bandee kneed them in the stomach, sending them to the ground. Adeleine snorted out an undignified laugh and kneeled next to them, accusing them of hating love and being prejudiced, to which Kirby could only protest muffled words of how gross kisses were and that hugs were the true path of righteousness, or other such bizarre statements.

Blade observed this happy reunion and casual playfulness with a mixture of warmth and longing in his chest. He hoped he could hold on to this feeling for a long time, or at least for the rest of the day. He wanted to crystallize this 'happiness' he was brushing against and place it in a pocket forever so that it could never abandon him.

...

As the group drew nearer and nearer to Castle Town Name Pending, more and more members of the Star Allies started meeting up with them. Notably, all of the animal friends showed up together. Pitch was quite literally perched on Nago's shoulders while Chuchu trailed behind him. Meanwhile, Rick had taken the honor of carrying Kine around for this leg of the journey, leaving Coo to fly a bit ahead of them. It wasn't that Kine was fully incapable of land mobility, but it was far easier for him this way.

Blade had awkwardly nodded in acknowledgement when Nago walked up and apologized for holding Gooey back when Meta Knight stabbed him. He couldn't exactly fault the animalesque for doing what was requested of him, and he told Nago to tell Rick that as well.

What DID surprise him (well, not necessarily surprised him, but reminded him of a fact that he already knew but had forgotten at some point) was Coo's reunion with Dedede.

The older man strode over to the king and practically dragged him down to his level, pulling on his feathers and ruffling them up rather aggressively. "Hey there kid, it's been a bit, huh? How's it going?"

"Hey!" Dedede shoved Coo away, though without any real force. "Who do you think you're calling kid?! I'm over 30! I'm TALLER than you!"

"Nope, you'll always be that snotty little kid to me, no matter how 'tall' you get," he replied, using finger quotes around tall as if Dedede wasn't literally the tallest man on Pop Star.

Ah, that's right… Blade remembered… Apparently, Dedede had met Coo when they were both much younger. Blade didn't know all the details since, even when he was stuck in his mind, the man didn't tend to reminisce all that much so he didn't get to peek into his distant memories very often. With Coo being over a decade older, it was no wonder he couldn't help but think of the king as a tiny little creature, no matter how high he stood.

But Coo's voice suddenly dropped the joking tone he had before and he whispered something that Blade could only barely hear.

"Are you… doing better than you were when you….. told us?"

Dedede simply nodded, and that seemed to be good enough for Coo, though his rather grown-up face held a maturity that told Blade he wasn't quite buying it entirely. Truly, observing all these creatures and their spiraling webs of connections and interactions was fascinating to a creature like Blade.

...

After just a bit more walking, the Star Allies (plus Blade, he wouldn't dare consider him part of that group) arrived in the town center. The residents had really gone all out with the decorations. Streamers and strings holding all sorts of flags and signs and colored fabric ran all along the buildings and across the streets. Dozens of booths and stands and stages had been constructed and lined the main path all the way up and down. Creatures of all walks of life were browsing the attractions and mingling with their friends. It was a sight that made you happy just to be alive.

A few more Allies seemed to spot the group and rushed up to join them. Susie and Magolor, with Marx practically latched on to the former like a barnacle, quickly made their arrival known. No doubt, their presence would make things all the more exciting! At least, that was the charitable interpretation.

Taranza dashed up to his partners, wrapping Susie in a hug with two pairs of arms while dragging Magolor closer with the other set. Susie, in her typical seemingly cold fashion, merely pet the Floralian on the head, although anyone who knew her would understand that it was quite a generous show of affection. Magolor was far easier though, crushing Taranza in a hug from behind, turning him into ingredients for a sandwich. With Marx still latched on his back, it made for quite the odd visual of a four-layered hug.

"And here come the clowns," Dedede joked.

"I take offense to that!" Marx shouted, finally releasing his grip from Magolor. "I am no mere clown, you know! I am a professional jester, Daddledingo!"

"Please don't call me that."

"You know, jesters have to work for someone," Adeleine shot back. "You're just an unemployed harlequin at this point."

Magolor stepped up and placed his hands on Marx's shoulders. "Oh, come now, go easy on him. He's at least a harlot~"

"HEY!"

Susie followed Taranza over to the king's side and she shot a quick, slightly-smugger-than-normal smile at Meta Knight. He let out a low sigh.

"Good morning, Susanna."

"Good morning Me-" She suddenly realized she had no way to extend the name 'Meta' and she buffered in place for a few microseconds. "Metaphorical Knight."

Regardless of the effectiveness of her comeback, Meta clicked his tongue in annoyance regardless because her very existence bothered him. Not on as severe of a level as a few years ago. But in the way that you are annoyed by someone who is just as good at you in something you work very hard at, rather than the way you are annoyed at someone who literally tortured you.

After everyone gave their usual expected greetings and banter, Taranza directed his partners' attention to Blade.

"And this is the Dark Matter I told you two about. The very first one who… uh… you know… Ahm… his name is- well, he's currently being referred to as-"

'At the moment, my name is Blade. Greetings Susie P. Haltmann and Magolor of Halcandra.' He bowed politely as always following his stiff, formal introduction. The two of them looked quite surprised at both his manners and how… extensive his knowledge of them seemed.

Magolor placed a fist to his face and chuckled. "So, I guess 'Blot' wasn't too far off from your real name, was it?"

'No, I suppose not. Though even I didn't know that at the time.'

"Wait, you met him before?" Taranza asked.

"Ohhhhh, did I forget to mention that little fact? I'm terribly sorry, I just wasn't sure if I was allowed to yet~" He waved his hand flippantly, then winced as Taranza punched him gently in the arm. "Aw, I didn't do something that bad now, did I?"

"You could have at least told me! Maybe I wouldn't have accused him of being evil if I'd known you already met him without issue!"

"Pff- Did you ACTUALLY do that, Taranza? My, you're so naive sometimes, you know? Yelling at someone right off the bat is a horrible way to greet customers."

'You weren't much better when you first saw me,' Blade bluntly countered.

Magolor's horns lowered in defeat and a soft blush of embarrassment brightened his face. "Ah… right…"

With Taranza and Magolor ribbing each other, Susie took her chance to get a closer look at Blade. He tried not to cower under her VERY scrutinizing gaze. She may not be a true robot in any sense of the word, but she had such excellent control over her facial expressions that he'd have no hope of detecting her true intentions or emotions if he wasn't a Dark Matter who could sense that sort of thing. After a few moments, she set her right hand on his shoulder, eyes widening slightly at the unique sensation he emitted.

"You know, I may have access to Gooey, but it will be interesting observing the behaviors and vitals of a more… developed Dark Matter. We had access to your clone, but I have a feeling the real version will provide more accurate results."

…..Clone…?

Well now… something I don't already know. I can actually react honestly.

'You have a clone of me? Um. How..?'

"Hmm? Oh, right. You aren't aware of the Invasion, I presume." Yeah, sure he wasn't. "Well, let's just say, there was an incident that allowed me to extract some DNA from the king and perform some cloning procedures from it. Presumably as a result of his previous interactions with Dark Matter, we were able to construct a clone resembling you! Believe me, I was just as surprised as I'm sure you are now."

Ah. Well, what's more likely is that a piece of him was also extracted during that process, but no one needed to know that quite yet. 'Does Gooey know about the clone?'

Susie gave a rather sudden, blunt response. "Of course not. I'm not heartless."

Blade realized she was annoyed at the implication that she would expose a child to a resurrected clone of their at-the-time-evil dead sibling. Well, maybe she would have when she first arrived for the sake of gathering more information, but she wouldn't nowadays. Blade nodded, understanding, and her relaxed demeanor returned.

"Regardless, I look forward to Getting Along with you, Dark Matter Blade!" She clapped her hands lightly and placed them next to her head.

'Just Blade is fine…'

"Of course. Then you can just refer to me as Susie, rather than my full name as well."

'Yes, that had always been my-'

"ALRIGHT, enough chit-chat!" Marx suddenly shouted, ramming his head into the small of Blade's back. "Sheesh! You're getting more and more boring by the second! I thought you were supposed to be evil or whatever! What gives?"

"Hey Marx," Magolor cackled, "you can't just ask someone why they're not evil!"

Before the banter could get too egregious, Dedede called for everyone's attention.

"Okay everyone! Looks like everyone's almost here! We're missin' a few Allies though! Does anyone know where Daroach or the Mage Sisters are?"

"I can answer both of those~!" a new voice suddenly rang out. Everyone looked for the origin, somewhere up above them. Kirby spotted a mysterious caped figure standing atop one of the nearby buildings.

"OHEYA DAROCHE! How ya doing?"

The leader of the Squeaks looked down on everyone with his classic smarmy smile before gracefully hopping down to join them all. "I've been doing quite excellently, my young friend." He produced his cane and began twirling it around in an intricate manner before resting on it.

"Pssh. Showoff," Marx muttered before getting whacked over the head with said cane.

"In any case, it seems the Mage sisters will be arriving soon as well. I saw them approaching the town from my little perch, so you needn't worry."

"Then that's everyone!" Bandee shouted.

"Well, not quite…" Adeleine frowned. "Ribbon said she and Ripple couldn't make it this week…"

"Awwww… that's so dumdum…"

"Well, we'll probably see them soon anyways. They'll just have to miss out on the festival…"

"But we'll tell them all about it when we see them again, ne? I'll make sure! It'll be so full of deets that it's like they were really here! So I gotta have so much extra fun in their place too!"

Everyone smiled at Kirby's typical determined optimism. It was that point that Daroach noticed the presence of an extra person in the group. If you weren't paying attention, you wouldn't have noticed the tiniest wince he showed when he recognized that same aura of Darkness that Dark Nebula shared with him. But he brushed it off quickly and turned to face Blade. He lifted his cane and tapped underneath the Matter's chin with it.

"And who's this handsome young person?"

This time, Kirby piped up with a response. "OH! That's Swordg- I mean, uh…. BLADE! Yaya, Blade! He's a-"

"Dark Matter?!"

That shout, cracking with age and slight delirium, wasn't one of horror, but excitement..? No, surprise..! The Allies turned around, greeted by their missing party members.

Francisca and Flamberge hurried up to the group, eagerness apparent on their faces. Hyness also hobbled over excitedly, with Zan Partizanne making sure he stayed standing. Despite it being a little over a year since the incidents involving Void Termina, the man still had yet to fully recover. Perhaps that's not too much of a shock though, all things considered.

"Speak a' the devil!" "Heya guys's! It's been a while!" "Oh, look who finally decided to show up, slowpokes!" "Well, it can't be helped. They DO live on the other side of the planet…" "Yes, maybe it's a miracle that they showed up today at all."

Flamberge was the first to make it, winding up with a punch directly to Kirby's arm, sending them flying halfway across the street. Of course, she did this knowing they were the only one who could survive her. Francisca did little to offer her condolences beyond giving Kirby a somewhat condescending, pitying smile. Then she turned back to greet the others. Zan, meanwhile, had to help Hyness along slowly and carefully. Blade took a step forward.

'You are the Mage Sisters, yes? If I remember correctly, you are Zan? Greetings, I am-'

Before Blade could introduce himself, Hyness lunged towards him, grabbing him by the shoulders and looking him up and down frantically. He muttered something in a language Blade couldn't understand, something between horror and elation on his face. In his confusion, Blade forgot to speak until Zan pulled the elderly man away from him.

"Ah, please, forgive him. He's been having a few difficulties controlling himself lately. It's not his fault…"

Blade narrowed his eye. Yes, he was well aware of that, but he couldn't very well let them know that. 'Does he… know what I am?'

Zan looked him up and down before smirking. "Well, of course he does. Anyone could tell just by looking that you're a Dark Matter. It's far more obvious than that one at least," she gestured to Gooey, who was currently stuck in Chuchu's protective grasp while Flamberge and Marx tried to mess with him.

'I suppose so. But… he certainly had a unique reaction…'

"Yes, I suppose you could say we have certain experience in these Matters. But you needn't worry about that. If you haven't heard of us, then you don't need to."

'You are not even fazed by the fact that I exist here at all? I understand the others. They've been informed of me. But you seem a bit more distant. Yet you have no reaction at all.'

Zan smiled, shooting a quick glance at the gathering of Star Allies before looking down at Hyness. A relaxed expression arrived back on his face, as if he didn't remember the past five minutes at all.

"I wouldn't put it past the residents of this Star to be able to convert something like you. Not in the slightest. So forgive me for not expressing the appropriate shock."

'Yes… that is true… I suppose I should introduce myself then. I am-'

"The Blade of Dark Matter, yes?"

'...Indeed, that is my… title. But my name is merely Blade. How… how did you know that though?'

"We're quite well researched, I'll have you know. You were quite prolific in your day. Very impressive for someone as young as you. Though I imagine you aren't terribly interested in dredging that up now, am I correct?"

'Correct. If you know that much, then maybe you shouldn't have spoken of it at all.'

"Don't worry, I'm not trying to judge you. Rather, I hope you understand that me and my Sisters are more well-informed than anyone else here, most likely. So if there is anything that troubles you in that regard that you think softhearted creatures like these shouldn't hear about, at least you have solace that there are others who are more…." She looked back down at Hyness. The man's head swung around slightly, looking for something that wasn't there. That never would be there again.

"Tolerant, shall we say?"

It took Blade a moment to realize what she was offering. 'Despite your insistence that the inhabitants of this star are softhearted, you are being rather generous offering your condolences to someone you've just met.'

"Let's just say this world has rubbed off on me. I'm sure we can both agree on that."

Blade nodded. He understood, to a certain degree, what this woman was trying to do. She recognized that a Dark Matter like him would struggle to express certain worries, regardless of how kind everyone was. No, BECAUSE of that. Because she knew all too well how that felt. He couldn't help but smile slightly at her hospitality.

'Well, your acceptance is appreciated. Thank you, Zan Partizanne.'

She grinned brightly at his use of her full name, then pulled the still-disoriented Hyness along with her to join the rest of the group. Blade followed suit, unsure of what to do next now that he'd introduced himself to everyone. What does one even do at a festival? Well, he knew what DEDEDE did at times like this, but he wasn't Dedede anymore. Ah, he still couldn't do anything without being told. He'd never be a person at this rate…

Kirby's loud call for attention pulled him away from his thoughts before he could spiral too quickly.

"OKI EVERYNYAN! IT'S FESTIVAL TIME! LET'S PARTY TIL THE TOWN EXPLODES!"

Bandee added, "Explosions not actually required or legally covered by anyone's insurance."

With that, the Star Allies dispersed, seemingly knowing exactly where they all wanted to go and what they wanted to do. That left Blade standing awkwardly in the middle of the street, unsure of where to even start. There were so many things to do, so many things to see, and he didn't even understand half of them, not really. Luckily, Gooey was there to guide him down the right path. His young sibling, with Kirby, Chuchu, Pitch, and Bandee at his side, walked up to him and grabbed his wrist without even asking if he wanted to come along. Not that he had any objections.

"Ooh, ooh, I wanna go to the takoyaki stand first!" Kirby exclaimed, rushing ahead of the group. The others tried to catch up before they could eat all the good stuff.

"W- wait up!" Chuchu shrieked. "I won't let you eat all the octopus! That's MY job!"

Blade's face screwed up in confusion. Wasn't that technically cannibalism? Well, he'd seen quite a few other animalesques eat meat of similar kind to what they were… And it's not like Dark Matter had any right to judge when they were constantly subsuming the Darkness made of their own sibling's corpses. This probably tasted a lot better too.

When they made it to the stand, Kirby produced a large handful of Star Coins (seemingly out of nowhere) and grabbed two sticks for each person. The children began scarfing down the takoyaki, burning the roofs of their mouths. But that was part of the experience, so no one complained. Blade alone waited for his to cool, staring at the snack in his hand. Well, there was no question about what he was supposed to do in this situation, and at least this didn't require any utensils. Still, something felt a bit off. Like he was forgetting something.

Bandee squinted his eyes at Blade, lifting his mask back up to hide his mouth after he finished eating. "Does this guy even know what a festival is?"

Gooey and Kirby froze, their mouths still stuffed full with food, making them look like chipmunks. Kirby swallowed the rest of the food whole, tearing up as the burning sensation squished through their throat.

"Geh- eugh- uh, I dunno! Um, Blade, d'you need us to explain how this-"

'I understand what a festival is. Its purpose is… festivities. Obviously.'

"Well, yeah, but each different festival has different stuff we do depending on what we're celebrating! This one's the festival of fate!"

"What? No it's not!" Pitch shouted. "It's the Dream Festival!"

"Huh? But it's the Unmei Festival!"

Bandee facepalmed. "Yume. Not Unmei. It's the Yume Festival. Have you not been paying attention? The Festival of Fate isn't even until a few months from now." Gooey and Chuchu giggled at Kirby's expense, still leaving Blade in the dark.

"A- anyway… the Yume Festival's pretty important cuz… uh, it's Dreamland, y'know…"

"Maybe someone who actually knows what's going on and what the history of this festival is should explain it," Bandee muttered sarcastically.

"I don' need to know that to tell him what we do!" Kirby shoved everyone out of the way to make sure no one would interrupt them anymore before continuing. "We're s'posed to have so so so much possible fun on the first day of the festival that when we all go to sleep together in the fields tonight, we'll have the perfectest dreams ever and refuel the Dream Fountain!"

"It's more like reinvigorating it, but yeah…"

"CAN I PLEASE SPEAK!? So yeah! We gotta have max fun! And then tomorrow morning we'll have a little bit more fun and then we all go home. It's like the world's best sleepover!"

"Mhm..!" Gooey nodded. "Favorite, favorite. Like sleeping with friends."

"You'll likely enjoy it, if you're capable of having dreams," Bandee reluctantly added. Chuchu and Pitch nodded along.

'So… as long as I have fun and sleep well, I'm doing it correctly? I won't ruin it?'

"As long as your idea of having fun doesn't include destroying everything…" Gooey then whacked Bandee over the head before he could keep insulting his sibling.

'That doesn't sound too terribly difficult. Very well then. I accept this challenge!' With that, he stuffed the entire stick of takoyaki in his mouth, nearly choking on it as he swallowed it whole. While the other kids laughed at his weird bravado, Chuchu cried dramatically that he didn't even get to savor the flavors.

Yes, as long as he understood the parameters of his mission, he would be able to accomplish it with ease..!

The rest of the day went… surprisingly well!

Blade spent most of his time next to Gooey, unwilling to leave his younger sibling's side for long. Though at least the feeling was mutual. No one felt like tearing the two apart, considering how much they'd had to get through just to be able to experience a simple happiness such as this.

They wandered about the booths and stalls, with Kirby making sure they hit every single one, marking them off on their mental checklist. At least Blade wouldn't ever be bored with them around. When he first came to this star, he could have never imagined he'd be stuffing his face with countless different foods and playing childish games to win useless prizes.

"Useless" in that they didn't have any particular purpose. They were still unfathomably cute. At some point, Blade had decided that he would like to win something for Gooey's sake, and that ended up turning into a contest where everyone gathered around, trying to see who could win the most plushies, because Blade was a far more competitive creature than any of the Star Allies had expected. Most Dark Matter didn't have any purpose for being 'better' than everyone else, only doing their own individual bests. But Blade, with his unique upbringing, was well adapted to trying to prove himself, and that made him perfect for situations such as this.

In the end, Blade had managed to thoroughly trounce everyone who went against him in the games, with only Magolor managing to get anywhere near a close second. And Gooey was absolutely buried in a mountain of plushies from which the kids had to dig him out of.

When Magolor handed some of his own prizes over to Marx, the jester made a snarky comment about Meta Knight not managing to win a single prize for his OWN partner. Now, Meta had hardly tried at all because he didn't consider it prudent to put in his maximum effort against CHILDREN (unlike certain other people.) But that didn't stop him from casually throwing Galaxia at Marx's head, deliberately missing by an inch to hit the balloon stand behind him from about 30 feet away and winning Dedede a massive stuffed bear.

Now Blade didn't spend his ENTIRE time with the children. He wandered a bit between the other groups as well, getting to know the others as best he could within the limited time span. There was no purpose for this, it wouldn't likely benefit him in any way in the near future. But he also wanted to solidify himself as a non-foreign entity in their minds. Rather than something that arrives and is swiftly discarded, he wanted to latch his presence into their minds.

Not literally, of course… he was long past that.

Rick, Nago, Coo, Kine, Dedede, and Meta Knight, were all wandering about in one big group. They were mostly there to make sure everything was running smoothly and nothing exploded or broke on their watch. Though Dedede, the most childish, and Nago, the youngest of those adults, still took the time to enjoy the attractions the best they could. At one point, Blade could have sworn he spotted Nago sneaking a bite out of some of the goldfish in the scooping attraction. Whenever he passed that group by, he didn't stay too long beyond making polite conversation. They were older than him, if not by too much, and he felt the need to ingratiate himself by being polite, as weird as that sounded.

Of course, it didn't help that 5 out of 6 of them had attempted to kill/were responsible for his death. So that was a leading factor too.

Unsurprisingly, The Crazy Ones stayed in their own group as well, occasionally joined by the Daroach, although no one was able to keep an eye on THAT man for long. Blade could only assume he was scoping out for potential precious items or having the Squeaks go out on a spree while everyone else was busy. It was a bit of a shame, honestly. He'd hardly had the chance to introduce himself. And with how elusive he could be, he doubted he'd get that chance anytime soon.

Magolor, Marx, Taranza, and Susie, were far more gracious with him than he was expecting. Though it made sense. They weren't holding anything against him for evil deeds committed in the past, and if they did, he'd probably [kill them on the spot] punch them in the face. Magolor was a bit more touchy-feely than he'd expected, although maybe he was just trying to make him feel comfortable in his own weird way. Susie, on the other hand, kept her distance, though every time he did some random innocuous thing, she'd pause for a moment, as if mentally notating it.

And, of course, Marx came up with a garbage nickname for HIM as well. "Dims."

'How does that at all make sense as a nickname.'

"Cuz you're the Dark Matter Swordsman, yeah? DMS? Dims." He shrugged as if it was the most obvious conclusion in the world, even though Blade had never once referred to himself with that title. He wasn't exactly a swordsMAN after all.

The Mage Sisters and Hyness were, of course, in their own group as well. Francisca and Flamberge seemed to be having enough fun for all four of them, since Zan insisted on hanging back a lot of the time. Blade wondered if keeping an eye on Hyness was a burden on her… But if it was, she didn't complain. And the man in question seemed to be having as much fun as he could be, when he actually managed to remember where he was.

Franny and Flam didn't have the EXACT same reaction to Blade as the elder members, but they still were obviously interested in him. Flamberge had a lot less tact when it came to talking about his previous exploits, but she was clearly doing it out of excitement and awe for his alleged combat abilities rather than any malicious reasons. Even so, Francisca did have to knock her on the head a few times to shut her up when she went too far. And he felt guilty when he admitted that, ever since his revival, his body and powers had weakened significantly. He wasn't quite the perfect warrior he'd been in his youth (heh), though it wasn't like he'd had the chance to practice either. There'd yet to be an instance where he could express his violent tendencies without remorse. At this, Flamberge nodded sympathetically.

"Trust me, I get it. If I don't get to burn something down at least once a week, I start getting all antsy!"

"Which is why I have to keep you out of the kitchen." Francisca winked at Blade. "She's burned cereal before. She can't be trusted."

Adeleine, much like Blade, was wandering between the groups as well, though she also stuck to the children's group most often. However, a teenager of her age was much more likely to be embarrassed at hanging around with "little kids," so she was content with doing her own thing. She and Blade didn't speak much, and the awkwardness still lingered between them. No surprises there, and they were both content to keep their distance until whenever/if they ever got over their shared past. Which probably wouldn't happen anytime soon.

Adeleine did set up a quick-sketch commission stand at some point though. Out of some weird sense of obligation, or maybe just curiosity, Blade decided to participate. Gooey had lent him a small handful of coins before he started wandering, and he spent them all on Adeleine's stand.

He thought she made him look a bit too good.

What Blade found most valuable about this experience though… was the fact that almost no one was running in fear just because he existed. Certainly, if he was currently doing something malicious, he'd be annoyed by that fact. But he wasn't, so he didn't. He knew himself well enough to understand that this feeling of satisfaction wouldn't last long. He foresaw himself rejecting it soon, and he knew he had to treasure it well. For today, and today alone, he could pretend he was happy with these circumstances.

No… he really WAS happy. It was just that, very soon, he would go back to pretending that he couldn't be.

...

Time passed them by like water rushing through a river, and the sun was setting before they knew it. Dedede climbed on top of one of the stages and started giving a speech, but when Blade realized it was the same speech he gave every year, he tuned it out. His body and mind was starting to distort from exhaustion, though the enjoyment was worth the price of admission.

Ah… with exhaustion arose that mind-numbing, joy-killing, spiraling mindset. He didn't want to lose just yet… he wanted to hold on to this feeling. He wanted to keep it close to his chest forever and ever as long as that tiny infinity allowed. If he went to sleep, he'd wake up in the morning the same miserable, depressing, pathetic creature that needed someone to constantly remind him that he deserved to exist. Eh- even thinking about it was a little death! Just ignore it- be happy for just a little longer-

I want to be happy! I promise, I really do! Please, stay this way…

Everyone in town had gathered in the Green Fields just outside of the premises and were all starting to hole up for the night. Most people had brought out futons or blankets or sleeping bags to spend the night in, and even a few tents. But a handful of others were content with just sleeping on the grass, under the stars. Blade and Gooey were two of those people.

Maybe it's because they were used to sleeping without any aid. But they were the only Star Allies without blankets of any kind. A few offered to let at least Gooey snuggle up under the covers with them, but he declined.

"Wanna fall asleep with sibling."

Blade lay flat on his back, staring directly up at the starry night sky, while Gooey curled up in a ball next to him. He could sense his sibling's heart rate starting to slow as the seconds passed by. A very dark, nervous part of him wondered what it would be like if he woke up in the morning and that life was just… gone. But he quickly brushed it off as fast as he could.

He was happy right now. This was what happiness was supposed to be. He was succeeding. He was being a person. This was more than he ever could have possibly hoped for when he arrived at Pop Star. So… even if it disappeared when he woke up tomorrow, would he be satisfied? Would he be able to accept what his life had been for a small fraction of its existence? Would that be alright?

He traced the outlines of constellations with his eyes. He couldn't for the life of him remember if they were 'official' ones or not. He had to have learned them from somewhere, right? Dedede's opinion on what constellations counted as existing or not wouldn't lead him astray, right?

The fake constellations he came up with in his head only existed for him, yes? They weren't real unless he made someone else acknowledge them.

A lot of people acknowledged Blade's existence and Blade's happiness today. So that meant he was finally, truly, ultimately, a person. If he stopped meeting those parameters though, as he was likely to do, would that mean his personhood would be rescinded? Could he only rely on other people's acknowledgement of him?

Just like his inability to do anything unless he was ordered, would he forever have to rely on others just to exist and be a person?

Well, most people do that, yeah? He couldn't remember who said this, but most people—no, NO ONE—can live alone. Not truly. People are not born alone. Everyone is an aspect of each other, in some way. If someone exists fully and completely isolated, then they might as well not exist at all to anyone but themselves. So… he wasn't unique in that regard. He needn't worry at all about burdening others with his existence, because that was true of everyone else.

He shouldn't worry about it right now. He'd agonize over it in the morning, he decided.

With that, Blade closed his eye, and let sleep wash over him.

Much to his chagrin, when Blade woke up and let Gooey drag him back to the festival grounds, he felt an immense apathy dragging his body down. Like a ball-and-chain around his neck. He couldn't even say he had pleasant dreams. He didn't have dreams at all… Maybe that was his own fault. Maybe he should have seen this coming. Thinking all those negative thoughts before sleep, it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. This was just his punishment for preemptively ruining things by expecting it to happen in the first place.

He did recognize this feeling, at least, so he wouldn't have to struggle to comprehend it. He knew this hadn't been triggered by anything. He'd done nothing out of the ordinary to make himself feel horrid, like his previous depressive episodes. But he didn't need to spend time fretting over it.

After all, Dedede had felt like this before too. After having too much fun, it's as if his mind literally rebounded, pushing him into a dull, exhausted misery with no real rhyme or reason. There was no trigger or catalyst for feeling this way. It was just a fact of life.

The king had infected him. He chuckled to himself. Serves him right.

This was the price to pay for having emotions. You have to take the good with the bad.

The very very good with the very very bad. Is this what having a mental disease was like? Who knows. He didn't know enough about those things to speculate.

His mind fogged over, even as he participated in the festivities. Though with significantly less enthusiasm than yesterday. If anyone could tell though, they didn't mention it. He didn't know if he appreciated or loathed that fact. Having someone tell him to 'cheer up' might activate his sleeping bloodlust. But at least that would feel better than nothing.

But it also made the kind words the Dreamland citizens offered sting a lot more. Without him acting all happy-go-lucky and excitable, it just made the words feel retroactively hollow. If they were gonna treat him like this without him even trying, then what did it matter what he did.

Come on… At least TRY and push those thoughts away. You can't just spend the rest of your life feeling sorry for yourself every time you lose your happiness. This is nothing. This is NOTHING compared to everything we've been through. So at least try to ignore the thoughts, rather than indulging in them.

'Okay… I'll try.'

"Did you think something, Blade?" asked Kirby.

'I'm just mulling some things over. Don't mind me.' He didn't even realize he expressed that thought freely. How careless of him.

...

He wasn't sure when it happened, but someone finally took notice of his bizarre change in mood. Blade felt someone's hand slam on his shoulder, and he looked up to be greeted with King Dedede's somewhat concerned face. Of course it had to be him… Well, the poor man probably thought Blade was gonna off himself at the slightest provocation. Couldn't blame him for that.

"You alright, kid? You look a little… uh… how do I say this in a nice way…"

Blade waited patiently for him to finish.

"Ya look like ya just watched your whole family die in front'a ya."

That was enough to provoke a snort out of him. 'I've already seen that, don't worry.'

"Huh? When?"

'Ah- um- nothing, nevermind. I'm getting my mind mixed up. Anyway, I'm fine, I think. You needn't worry.'

"Yeah, sure. You prolly say that every time someone asks though."

'Perhaps I do. Perhaps I don't. It doesn't really matter, does it?'

"It does to me. You're one'a us now. Which means I gotta keep an eye on ya just as much as everyone else! So if you're lookin' like you're botta jump off a bridge, I kinda gotta do somethin'."

'...I can take care of myself.'

"That's a real good joke. Seriously, what's goin' on?"

'It's nothing you can fix, so I don't wish to tell you if it won't help.'

"You don't know that!" Dedede placed his hands on his hips. "Besides, even if I can't, talkin' helps regardless of if we fix it!"

When did he get so smart..? No, he was probably always like this. Blade could only see how he refused to use the advice on himself most of the time. But that issue was starting to fade, and he finally had an outsider's perspective.

'...I'm…. having difficulty… accepting the kindness given to me…. It feels fake and hollow and worthless… I'm not as happy as I was yesterday… I'm not acting like everyone else anymore… but they're treating me the same. It doesn't feel like I've earned it anymore, so… what worth does it have?'

Dedede stood there a few seconds, surprised by the Matter's thoughts. Maybe he didn't expect him to actually confide in him. Or maybe he was surprised at the creature's bizarre view on kindness and happiness. Either way, it took him a little while to collect his thoughts and respond.

"Well… for one thing, you ain't gotta 'earn' people bein' nice to ya. I mean, you do if you did somethin' bad, but you haven't recently, so… y'know…" He rubbed his arm awkwardly, already feeling as if he was botching this. "If they wanna be nice to ya, y'can't stop that, remember? They're doin' it cuz they like ya and it's the right thing to do. You kinda already earned it, yeah? You don't gotta KEEP workin' for it as long as you don't screw up royally?"

'...I guess I understand that logically. But it's difficult for me to accept.'

"Yeah, I figured. You prolly ain't used to it after all."

'No… I'm not…' Blade lowered his head, his shoulders starting to shake. 'Will I ever get used to it? I want to… but what if I can't…? How am I supposed to just… accept kindness given to me freely? I don't even know HOW to accept it…'

Dedede closed his eyes and hummed in thought before continuing. "Well, it's like a kid who ain't ever had someone be nice to him before, yeah? 'Course he ain't gonna understand what people bein' nice is s'posed to be like. 'Course he ain't gonna be able t'handle it. But… after a while… he just sorta… got used to it, and accepted it. It mighta taken him a couple months, but before long, he forget what people hatin' him even felt like." Dedede opened his eyes again. "That's prolly cuz he tried really hard to forget about it, and you might not be like that. But you'll prolly at least accept it pretty quickly. If I could do it, you can too."

Blade looked up at Dedede, his brow furrowed. The Matterborn was surprised by how… soft Dedede's expression was. But… he understood what he meant.

Even if Dedede's difficulties remembering his past prevented me from seeing everything, I can still recognize the truth in his statement.

Blade nodded in gratitude and tried to plaster on a smile. It quickly fell away though, leaving him feeling disappointed.

Still, Dedede was right. Even if he didn't feel happy in this moment, that wasn't a good reason to reject the unconditional kindness given to him right now. Relish in it, and maybe one day he'll be able to accept it without regret.

...

Things did slowly improve throughout the day. By the time the afternoon arrived, Blade at least felt more alive. Though he wasn't happy, he at least didn't feel like an empty shell piloted by automata.

The Star Allies were starting to gather up for one last big event, but Bandee murmured something that caught Blade's ear.

"I'm surprised nothing's happened yet… Maybe we'll actually get through a festival without any incidents…"

'What's that supposed to mean?'

Bandee jolted, not realizing anyone was listening. "Oh! Um… well, usually, when the Star Allies are gathered, there tends to be some crazy thing we have to fix… Not by causation or anything, it just… tends to happen a lot." A nervous expression, befitting the anxiety-riddled preteen, sat on his face. Adeleine leaned in to agree.

"Yeah, it's kinda more a surprise if something DOESN'T happen when we're all hanging out. So, if something does happen, we aren't exactly caught off guard. Probably shoulda told you that before you started chilling with us, haha~"

"Mhm!" Kirby shouted, hopping in as well. "If you're friends with us, you gotta get used to crazy, danherous things happening! You better be ready at any moment!"

'Well, I AM a warrior, so I can't say I'm vehemently opposed to that sort of life. …Thanks for the heads up though,' he added sarcastically. Frankly, he hadn't even thought about that. Danger was a very common aspect of his life back in the Dark Core, but he didn't care back then. And he couldn't exactly care when stuck with Dedede ever. So these past few weeks were his first instance of having to actually think think about danger.

Speaking of which…

Just as the Star Allies started discussing what big thing they should do to finish the festival off on a high note, a small handful of townspeople started rushing towards them. The sound of distant screams and heavier footsteps tipped them off that something horrible was about to occur, and they readied themselves on instinct.

"HELP! HELP, a bunch GIANT monsters started running in! WAAAAYYY bigger than normal! They're crushing everything!"

"Yep, there it is," Dedede huffed.

"Well, you heard him everyone!" Kirby shouted. "STAR ALLIES, GO!"

In an instant, as if they all had perfect, telepathic understanding of what to do, the group split off into a bunch of smaller ones, each heading off to do their own thing. Only Gooey stayed behind just long enough to grab Blade's hand and drag him along with him. And just in time too. A small herd of Nruff's followed by two Grizzo's dashed into the town square, slamming head first into the nearest building.

But they were far larger than average. Unsettlingly, they seemed as if something disgusting was pulsating through their veins, forcing their body to grow beyond their maximum natural size. If it was a herd this small, they wouldn't have any issue defeating them, but in this state, even the smallest Nruff was taller than the stalls, and one of the Grizzos was about as large as a nearby building!

Gooey unfurled his fins and Blade quickly followed suit, the two of them blasting down the street.

'Where are we going?'

Gooey soared a bit higher in the air, then gave as wide a telepathic shout as he could, drawing the attention of the few still-uninformed townsfolk.

'EVERYBODY! There's a Star Allies emergency! Please evacuate ASAP!' Once he was certain everyone had heard and was starting to move, he flew back towards the ground and turned to face Blade. 'I'm pretty good at fighting small things, but I'm no good when it comes to big guys. Especially when there's a bunch of them. So I help by making sure people can get out instead.' He shot into the air again, seeing if he missed anyone, before coming back down. 'But I guess I did that pretty well. I think I'm gonna go see if I can help the animalesques now.'

Almost without thinking, Blade grabbed Gooey's arm before he could run off.

'You… really think you can fight those things?'

Gooey hung his head, as if he was being scolded for something. "...no… need try though…"

'Hm…'

Blade and Gooey both flinched back as another Nruff passed them by, just barely missing them as they slid into an alleyway. Gooey shivered, though Blade could tell he was trying to be brave. Because it was his job. The others were probably struggling just as much, right? But if Gooey didn't think he could help in this situation, then what use was there in getting himself hurt? He'd already done his part, yeah?

'Hey, Gooey?'

"Uu… uh-huh?"

'I'm going to try and be a good sibling, for once.'

"What? Already good si-"

Blade casually lifted Gooey into the air with his telekinesis and reeled back, ready to launch him all the way out of town, and out of the way of danger.

"W- wait! DON'T! STILL HELP! STILL HELP!"

'Sorry, sibling.' He smiled up at him, almost smugly. 'I'd rather keep you safe.'

With that, Gooey was launched away like the ammo of a trebuchet, letting out an adorable little screech. The telekinesis would make it difficult for him to fly out of it, and by the time he got back, things would hopefully already be over. Blade floated himself up to the roof of the nearby building and got ready to follow him, but was stopped when he heard screams he didn't recognize.

Oh for the love of- Even though they'd gotten the order to evacuate and even though they were literally RIGHT NEXT TO AN OPEN DOOR, three smaller townspeople were seemingly frozen with fear. A Plugg, Waddle Dee, and Broom Hatter were in the direct line of a Grizzo that would have passed them over IF THEY HADN'T SCREAMED! Blade groaned and clenched his fists.

What a bunch of idiots! They had no one to blame but themselves for getting stuck in this situation. Even if Gooey HAD stuck around, he wouldn't have been able to save them! He would have already left to help the others by now, therefore they were destined to be injured.

….Therefore, since Blade was miraculously in this situation, he was the only method of escape they held. If he didn't exist, they would probably die today. But he was here now… which meant…

'Oh for Nova's sake- ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!'

In an instant, Blade rushed to their aid, his fins shooting him forward with the speed of a bullet.

Before he even realized what he'd done, he was already slashing at the Grizzo's face with his sword. It roared in pain and tried to pivot away, causing it to roll over and crash to the ground. …Huh? He hadn't summoned his sword since he first revived! And yet he was able to attack on pure instinct like that? He surprised even himself sometimes!

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" "You just saved us!" "Who are you? Are you a new Star Ally?"

Blade spun around, staring at the smaller creatures. Instantly, the Broom Hatter, who looked to be the youngest of the three, leaped on him in some sort of hug.

'I… are you not afraid of me? Because, you know, I'm-'

"What, a Dark Matter?" the Plugg asked.

The Waddle Dee shook their head. "No, of course not! You just saved us, so you can't be bad!"

Blade didn't have time to stand around shocked. He could hear the Grizzo starting to stand back up. The Matterborn dissipated his sword and gestured to the three. By now, the building they could have escaped to was locked tight, so he'd have to transport them out himself.

'Grab on to me, I'll help you escape. But know this. If any of you let go, I'm not going back for you, understand?'

All three of them nodded, not at all fazed by his cold words. The Broom Hatter wrapped their arms around his chest from the front, the Waddle Dee around his neck from the back, and Blade wrapped his arm around the Plugg since they didn't have arms. Just as the Grizzo was about to ram straight into the group, Blade soared into the air.

He'd been planning to just fly straight out of town, but (unsurprisingly) carrying three people made flight just the smallest bit more difficult. So he released his wings and instead began running along the roofs of the buildings, hopping across the alleyways and gaps and heading towards the edge of town. His feet tapped against the smooth stone roofing, barely having enough time to make contact before lifting off again. He was practically flying along his floor, even without his fins. The shingles caused him to slip slightly, forcing him to float just a little more to avoid falling.

In the distance, he could see the bright flashes of magic produced by some of the Star Allies fighting the main hoard. Risking a glance behind him, he saw the animal friends escaping with most of the other evacuating townspeople. It looked as if they spotted Gooey and decided to meet up with him.

Distracted with keeping an eye on the Allies, Blade almost missed his footing and stumbled as he landed awkwardly on another roof. He nearly doubled over, but used his magic to rebalance and reorient himself. He felt the grips of his rescues tighten slightly, and he tried to ignore the terror radiating off of them.

"Oh no- LOOK OUT!" The Plugg tilted their head to point out something.

'I CAN'T look out, what is it?'

But he didn't have to look. Within the next second, an enormous, continuous crashing sound reared up behind them. He could feel debris flying all about, and he realized what was happening. One of the monsters, larger than any of the others, larger than even the BUILDINGS, was tearing along the edges, uprooting or destroying parts of those houses and stores just to chase after the group! Shingles and woodchips and chunks of rock flew every which way as the monster hunted them down. Blade spun on his heel to redirect to the other side of the line of buildings, but he wouldn't be able to escape it for long. The distance across the street was too great, and if that demon was THAT determined to chase its prey, then it wouldn't have any qualms KNOCKING DOWN a building just to get to them.

Blade's lungs and muscles were starting to burn. He could see the edge of the town, but the monster would probably keep chasing them even AFTER they escaped. He could drop the townsfolk off and try to lure it away, but that might not work. And he didn't know if he was confident enough to take down something THIS BIG on his own without his incorporeal invincibility to fall back on.

Taking another quick glance at the cacophony of magic exploding out from town center, Blade made a split second decision.

He spun on his heel and headed back the way he came, towards the line of houses that pivoted west and would lead him back to the Allies. If he lured the monster towards them, he had no doubts they'd be able to destroy it. As he grew closer, he could hear the creature fast on his heels and the screams of his rescues urging him to hurry. Closer- just a bit closer! He could practically smell the concentrated blood of the invaders the Allies had already killed!

Focusing in on his Core to shout as loud as he could, Blade forced his thoughts outward, just like Gooey earlier.

'I THINK THE LARGEST ONE FOUND ME! EVERYONE, PREPARE FOR IMPACT!'

Just as he reached the edge of the town center, where the street cut off, Blade pivoted once more and FLUNG himself as far as he could, flying across the largest gap he could cross. His body crashed against the roof, rolling over to defend the other three from any potential debris.

But nothing came. Blade cautiously peeled his eye open to look at the state of the battle.

Magolor had summoned an enormous sword and was cutting through the monster—it was a gargantuan Grizzo, he could now see—while the others kept it held in place with various forms of magic. Taranza in particular helped web it up, Marx crushed it down with pure gravitational magic, and the Mage Sisters and Meta Knight had pinned each of its limbs down with their respective weapons. It was completely bound in place and could do nothing but watch as it was killed. They reacted so fast..!

Looking around, he could see all the other unaccounted Star Allies cleaning up what few remained. Seemed as if they'd cut through the hoard with relative ease. Adeleine was painting up healing items on a nearby roof, and occasionally throwing out some assistant minions she could control before doing away with them.

Blade's chest heaved as he sat back up. The three townsfolk didn't move from their spot hiding beneath him though, still curled up in balls and shivering. It was probably for the best. He doubted they wanted to watch something get gored right before their eyes. But his part was done…

He… played a part… he just realized.

Hm.

He probably shouldn't have thrown Gooey away like that. But then again, he felt like he did the right thing. Or at least that he hadn't done the WRONG thing. These three probably would have died, and Gooey probably would have gotten pretty hurt if he hadn't taken the actions he did.

Maybe he was just trying to justify his impulsive actions. But it didn't matter now. What's done is done.

The monster was dead.

Blade finally stood up, indicating to his rescues that they were good to go now. He picked them back up and slid off the building, floating them all down before letting them go.

The Broom Hatter gasped out a grateful "Th- thank you so much, sir..!"

'You do not need to thank me.'

"Well why not?" the Waddle Dee questioned, a baffled expression on their face. "You saved our lives! I- I'm never gonna forget this as long as I live! Is there anything we can do to repay you?"

A warmth flooded Blade's chest, so brilliant and painful that he wanted to vomit. Vomit or cry. His head spun with overwhelming joy. He'd… yeah, he DID just do something really good! Something praiseworthy, even! And…

To be praised by someone other than Zero… felt so so so much more beautiful than his appreciation ever could be. Because… killing came easily to him, but they would never praise him for something like that. But saving was difficult… and thus…

He'd earned this. He tried. And he… succeeded.

Without being helped…

He wasn't a lost cause after all.

Tears slipped from his eye, and he wiped them away, shaking his head.

'Your thanks is good enough… Please, go tell those who have evacuated that the situation is over… and…'

He sucked in a breath, attempting to compose himself. 'Please, enjoy your life.'

Maybe it was a strange thing to say after rescuing someone. It probably sounded to them like he wanted them to appreciate what he'd given them. They certainly took it like that, smiling without thought as they bowed and left to tell the others.

But… he meant… to appreciate that they can live in a world… where praise like this was the norm… Where being a savior and cherishing and protecting life was something worthy of gratitude.

Blade turned around, wiping away the last of the tears when he heard footsteps approaching. Dedede, Meta Knight, Bandee, and Kirby walked up to him, various expressions on their faces.

"Did you lead that thing to us?" Bandee asked, confusion and mixed emotions palpable in his voice.

'I did. I… didn't think I'd be able to defeat it or escape it on my own. I'm sorry for dropping it on you so suddenly.'

"Well, you certainly made an understandable tactical decision," Meta Knight conceded. "I'm just curious how you even got to be in that position in the first place."

'Um…' Blade didn't want to admit what he'd done, for some reason. It felt like cheating…

(Huh? What are you ON about? It's not as if they'd be annoyed with you for doing the right thing…)

Luckily, Kirby noticed without him having to explain. "OH! Did you save those guys's just now? The ones you got down from the roof?"

Blade fidgeted with his fingers, unable to look the four in the eye. 'Ahm… yes… I did. I was going to just leave, but… there wasn't anyone else around so… I couldn't… help myself. I- I didn't- I don't know why I did that, but I just-'

Blade's rambling was interrupted by a simple pat on the head from a familiar, mittened hand. Heat flooded his face and clenched his teeth.

"Y'did a good job, kid."

And just like that, Blade's heart exploded.

This is what being a person is like. This is what being a hero is like. This is the joy you can experience if you try, if you never give up! You can keep living like this, every day. Every day, you can be surrounded by friends who care about you, and appreciate you, and understand you. Every day, you can be told that your existence means something. Every day, you can live happily with your sibling, without worry or consequence or either of you being told you have to die to prevent others' misery.

But I… am the Blade of Dark Matter… Horrible weapons like me don't deserve this…

No. If you give up that mentality… if you throw it away… you will be able to live like this, forever. In happiness, in laziness, in contentment, for as long as you allow yourself. The only thing holding you back is yourself…

I…

You are not the Blade of Dark Matter.

I am just… Blade.

Blade sent a soft 'thank you' to Dedede, and that seemed to satisfy them. The Star Allies were already starting to clean up the mess. But Blade stood there just a little longer, pressing his fingers gingerly against the place where Dedede had pet him.

...

A little while later, a few blocks away, while Zan Partizanne was assisting with cleanup, she noticed something strange about the liquid dripping off her spear. Initially, she thought it was just blood and that it would evaporate just like any other monster remains after a battle.

While it did follow that pattern… it left some sort of dark splotch behind. She must have hit a Core of some sort when she attacked one of them. Perhaps this would explain how the monsters grew to be such an unnatural size. She kneeled down and balanced her spear across her knees, taking a closer look at the edge.

It felt… familiar somehow. That pitch black Darkness… ebbing and pulsating like a heartbeat…

Familiar… similar to Void's essence…..

No….. Not Void as a whole… a particular incarnation of Void….

This was… Dark Matter…..?