At the end of it all, Blade thought it was easy to close the book on that first, horrid chapter of his life. Though he still occasionally lingered on it, during the next coming days, he found it easier and easier to let his past dwindle in the back of his mind as nothing more than a bad memory. He'd made as best amends as he reasonably could to those he'd hurt, and he didn't wish to demand apologies from those who hurt him. He was content as he was, living life casually and untethered by worry or distress.

This is what being a person living on Pop Star is like, huh? You could have done this a very long time ago, you know. You saw it right then, didn't you? You saw it in how they treated him while you WERE him. You could have turned back, apologized, and decided to live your life as best you could.

But there's no sense in dwelling on the past now. What's happened has happened. Life has moved on, and it will continue to move on, with or without you. Besides, perhaps things are better this way. Who knows how horribly fate might have twisted if you chose a different path. You can't trust your perception of alternate worlds. We are not gods deemed worthy of understanding the myriad of different possibilities. We only have this one. So enjoy it to its fullest, please.

And he did. He did so thoroughly that you would have never doubted he was a native of this star from the very beginning. With every new outing, with every new meeting, with every aspect of this world that his friends and beloved sibling showed him, he found it far less harrowing to go out and about on his own. He didn't fear looking the citizens of Dreamland in the eye. He didn't worry about whether they recognized him for his previous actions. They were just people… just like him.

And there were so many things he never thought he'd get to experience for himself. He didn't think he'd get to go swimming to kill the summer heat. He didn't think he'd get to eat all different kinds of food. He didn't think he'd get to just… explore of his own free will! That was something that surprised him most of all! His whole life, he never had the autonomy allowed to just… decide he wanted to wander around and then GO somewhere! If he thought something looked interesting, he could SEE it! Up close! He could just browse about the towns for hours, or wander the wild countryside. He could dig around every nook and cranny of old abandoned structures. And no one would tell him he couldn't do it! He was in control of himself!

How ironic, he thought bitterly. All this time, he never really had any control at all. Dark Matter don't get to do what they want, despite inflicting their own will on others all the time.

But it's not really THEIR will, is it? It's the One Dark Matter's will, not any individual one's.

He shook the thought away. There's no use worrying. It's gone now, and it's never coming back.

Huh..?

Why did a slight pain run through his heart when he thought that? He didn't miss the Dark Core. He didn't miss his other siblings. He didn't miss Zero. There's nothing TO miss. There should be nothing but celebration in the fact that they're never coming back. He wasn't happy there. He wasn't anything at all…

Maybe… it was more regret than a longing. Regret that everyone who hurt him back then wouldn't ever be able to see their own wrongs. It's left unresolved forever, and you'll never have the satisfaction of letting them know everything that ever hurt you. Dedede was right. There's an immense gratification in getting that… closure, for lack of a better word.

And it's gone now. It's never going to 'end.' Blade could only end it on his side, but he could never complete the other half. He'd lost so much he never even knew he had, because of Lord Zero… And it's not like Zero would ever, in a million years, apologize to him. But at least forcing him to recognize the pain he caused would be enough, right? That would bring him nothing but pure catharsis, if nothing else. Letting out all his built up anger and hatred, right?

No, wait. He wasn't supposed to dwell on the past. He wasn't supposed to be angry at anything at all. This is alright. Besides, 02 is never, ever coming back to this galaxy. He hated being so thoroughly destroyed by Kirby. Everything's fine. It's better this way. We're safe here.

We're happy.

At the end of it all, Blade thought it was easy to close the book on that first, horrid chapter of his life.

About a week after the confession, Blade found himself hanging out with Dedede and Kirby at the castle. It was about as casual as one could ask for. They were just lounging about, Blade flopped over on a bean bag while he read. Kirby was curled up in a ball on another one, taking a cat nap, while Dedede did much the same, though in a much lighter sleep. His crown was leaned forward and tipped over his eyes while his hands were folded over his chest, his body half off the bean bag and on the floor.

Yeah… this was the life….

To pierce their perfect relaxation, a Waddle Dee burst into the room, shouting, "Great King! Her majesty Queen Ripple and her protege have arrived!"

Dedede snapped up straight, adjusting his crown as his heart burst out of his chest. "Wh- huh- what? Wait, Ripple's here?! Oh, FINALLY! Took her long enough!" Though he was complaining, he had the biggest smile on his face. He stood up and tapped Kirby's head as he passed them by. The kid blinked woozily and rubbed his face.

"Hmmm…? Wha's goin' on?"

"Ripple and Ribbon got here! C'mon, get up y'little brat! We gotta greet 'em!"

Enthusiastically, although much more slowly, Kirby dragged themself to their feet and started blearily cheering as they wobbled out the door. Dedede snickered before turning to Blade.

"Hey, y'wanna introduce yourself to 'em? I think they might like ya!"

Blade closed his book and curled in on himself slightly. 'I don't know about that… They have poor experiences with my kind after all.'

Dedede wilted. "Ah, yeah… Well, uh, I think they won't mind as long as you're polite 'n all. Ribbon can be a bit… uh, aggressive, but she won't hurt you if you don't provoke her!"

'I know.'

"Oh, yeah." Dedede placed his hands on his hips and closed his eyes in thought. "Well, y'don't gotta come out an' see 'em if you don't wanna, I guess. But you're always welcome to!"

Blade took a glance at Dedede's expression. He genuinely looked like he wanted Blade to meet them. And it made sense. He was very close with both of them after all, so…

'...I'll consider it.'

That was good enough for Dedede. His smile brightened and he spun around, heading out the door with a wave goodbye.

Blade fidgeted with his book, opening and closing it repeatedly in a rhythmic fashion. It probably couldn't hurt to just… watch, right? As long as he wasn't seen, it'd be nice to just take a look. He hadn't seen the Fairy Queen's face in person in a very long time. And though he'd seen Ribbon semi-recently in the New World, it was always interesting observing her antics. So he could just take a quick look and then head out without being noticed.

Yeah… That's all he had to do.

...

As soon as King Dedede and Kirby arrived in the entrance hall, Ribbon immediately flew forward and tackled Kirby with a hug. Kirby nearly fell over backwards, but managed to save it by spinning in a circle, twirling Ribbon around with them as they pulled her into a hug as well. They pulled back and looked her up and down, wonder leaking into their expression and pushing away the sleepiness.

"Uwawa! Ribbon! You're getting bigger! Your head's almost my size now!"

Ribbon nodded proudly. "Uh-huh! Ripple said I'm gonna be growing as tall as HER soon! So I'm gonna be even taller than YOU too! How's that make you feel?" She pulled down her eyelid and stuck out her tongue.

Kirby puffed up their cheeks and pretended to stomp in anger. "How dare! I bet you're gonna get stunned growth or whatever Metata always warns me about! Then I'll grow up and be even taller than you ever will!"

"In your dreams!"

They threw up their arms. "Yeah! In my dreams! Cuz this is DREAMLAN'DA!"

Meanwhile, Queen Ripple was rushing over to Dedede. He opened up his arms wide for her to leap into a hug, like she always did, but she surprised him. Instead, she ran straight up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing as tight as a vice, crushing his ribs, and practically lifting him up into the air, sobbing all the while.

"Ah- AAAAHHH! DEDEDEEEEE! I'm sorry I couldn't show up sooner- I'm so sorry! I- I know it's been a few weeks since you sent out that holo- and- and I was so worried about you! Please tell me you're okay now! Everything's okay now, right? RIGHT?! UWAAAAAAA!"

She buried her face in his chest as she continued to sob, and Dedede just smiled softly and pet her on the head. Of course. They'd both been quite busy as of late, unable to make the time to send out holos. So the last time they'd been able to talk was when… he told the Star Allies about… everything. He'd sent out a holo message to her soon after the meeting and… that was that. The last thing she would have heard from him would be about how he wanted to FUCKING DIE.

He wrapped his arms around her and let her cry it out for a bit before letting go. He rubbed her head again and smiled as reassuringly as he could.

"Yeah, I'm doin' a lot better, pixie. I'm fine now… I'm fine."

But even the way he said that, with such a softer tone than he ever had before, was enough to send Ripple into tears again. Dedede sighed, a hint of resigned amusement leaking into his face, before casually pushing her off.

"Alright alright, enough 'a the sobfest. We got some hangin' to do!"

Now THAT was more like him. Ripple tried to wipe her tears away with her oversized sleeves, and forced a watery, hiccuping smile. "R- right! I- I really missed you, Dedede!"

"Course ya did! Who wouldn't?"

"Ehehe- y- yes, who wouldn't?"

Kirby and Ribbon giggled at the bizarre reunion, but Ribbon suddenly froze, her ears twitching just the smallest bit. She swiveled her head around, confusion palpable on her face.

"Ne? What's up?"

"I… I'm sensing something really weird nearby… It's making me nervous; I don't like it."

"Huh? But there shouldn't be anything here?"

Ribbon narrowed her eyes and pinpointed the weird energy. She darted towards a nearby wall and jerked around the corner, only to let out an ear piercing scream when she nearly collided head first with Blade, who had been watching from the dark corner the whole time.

"D- D- DARK MATTER!" She raised her hands, charging up the magic she'd been learning and pointed her glowing palms forward. Blade ducked just in time to avoid the blast of crystalline energy and dove into the shadows, swimming around the corner and into the open.

'Wait- wait- I'm not-'

"Get back here, demon! I'm not letting you-"

"WAAAAAIIIIIIIT!" Kirby tackled Ribbon out of the air and rolled around on the floor, trying to hold her down as she wriggled around like a particularly troublesome cat.

"What do you think you're doing? I'm tryna-"

"He's not a bad boi! He's on our side! He's Gooey's sibling, he's like him! Remember Gooey? He's a good boi too! Oki? OKI?!"

It took Ribbon a second to process what they said before she stopped struggling. "Oh. Wh- well why didn't you say so earlier! Jeez! Why does no one ever tell me anything!"

"Gomen-ne… I forgor to message you about it… I was just… uh… busy?"

Ribbon squirmed out from under their grip. "Uh-huh, sure you were. Sheesh!"

Ripple, who had darted behind Dedede upon being startled by the commotion, peeked out from behind him once it had all quieted down. "Eh..? A… another positive Dark Matter? W- wow… You should attempt the lottery sometime, Dedede. Having two of such a thing on your planet is exceedingly rare."

"Tell me about it. Mind ya, it wasn't easy gettin' him to cooperate. He actually gave us a bit'a trouble five years ago. But he came back a few weeks ago a whole lot more… open to our lifestyle, let's say!" He winked at Blade, who just pouted indignantly.

"Five years ago..? Wait, you mean to say this one is the… first..?"

"Yeah, but… we got it all worked out. You ain't gotta worry about nothin' from him, that's for sure! Kiddo wouldn't hurt a fly now!"

Blade found that a bit excessive, and thoroughly untrue. But he wasn't going to refute it any time soon. The young man stood up, brushing off his skirt, and bowed politely to the queen.

'Greetings, Queen of Ripple Star. My name is Blade. It is an honor to meet you.'

Ripple blinked in surprise for a second before remembering herself. She stepped out from behind Dedede and curtseyed as well. "Ah- Greetings, young Dark Matter. It is wonderful to meet a being such as you under these circumstances."

This time, it was Dedede's turn to pout as he crossed his arms. "Sheesh. You guys are so dang uppity sometimes. Blade, you sure you ain't some kinda royalty or somethin'? Cuz you sure talk like one sometimes."

He shook his head. 'I was just raised to be very polite.'

Ribbon floated over, dragging Kirby along by the head. "You were taught that by… Zero?"

'Ah… I suppose so, yes. Well, he just… preferred if we spoke to him with reverence. And I spoke to him more often than anyone. So I suppose it just turned out like this…' Blade awkwardly played with his hair, trying to keep it from twisting up in discomfort. Ribbon narrowed her eyes, but then shrugged and let out a sigh.

"Well, whatever. You're not with him anymore, obviously. Or you wouldn't be here. Besides… it's not like you worked with 02 either. You don't act anything like those guys. So I guess… I can't be mad at you…" At that, Kirby grinned up at Ribbon, who smiled back, mouth pulled into a toothy smile.

Ripple also nodded in agreement. "Yes, you seem nothing like those strange creatures that hideous angel created. They were like animals, almost, the way they terrorized our galaxy with reckless abandon."

"Yeah, they ain't nothin' like how YOU guys acted back then." Dedede suddenly thought of something. "Actually, yeah, do you know what was up with that?"

Blade thought carefully so as to not trip any wires. 'Well… from what I've gathered about the situation from back then… it seems like 02's creations are much less… 'personified.' I don't know why. Maybe he's just weaker in that regard. It seems like a reasonable exchange for what he got in return.'

The other four glanced between each other in confusion and a twinge of nervousness. Dedede stepped forward. "Wait, what does that mean?"

The Dark Matter wrapped his arms close to himself, closing off a bit. He felt as if he was surrounded, all of a sudden. 'Ah… shouldn't we talk about this somewhere other than the entry hall?'

Though Ribbon and Ripple still looked a smidge suspicious about Blade's obvious nervousness discussing the topic, Dedede obliged. He clapped his hands together and said, "Sounds good to me! How 'bout we head up to the balcony? We can chat there over tea or somethin', yeah?"

"Oh! That does sound quite lovely."

"Tea time! I wanna smell all the boxes!"

"Wait, Kirby, have you just been smelling the tea this whole time?"

"Mhm! Gooey 'n I started doin' it with Blade when he first showed up! It's really good, you should try it sometime!"

'I take no blame for your misinterpretation of tea…'

...

'So… about 02…'

"Yes, please tell! I'm actually rather interested in what exactly he is… I've never seen anything like it before. And I couldn't find anything about it in any of the books, not even by the Ancients."

"Alright, it's learnin' time."

The five of them sat at a round table on the balcony, letting the summer breeze refresh them along with their iced tea, which Kirby was very disappointed to discover wasn't all that aromatic.

'I don't think they would. I don't think L- Zero would have wanted anyone knowing about it. I think… the only reason he told me was because he was getting worried about perishing close to the end of his life. He… wanted me to find him again after revived.' Blade sneered at the very thought. That damnable voidborn really did think he'd be the perfect obedient servant his entire life, and even after death. What a joke…

'Anyway, he didn't tell me everything about it. But I can extrapolate a few things just from what other things he divulged to me. He is a very ancient creature. Not the oldest voidborn in existence, but he was incarnated when the Ancients were still relatively young. He sustained himself so long through pure force of will alone. You two-' Blade gestured to Kirby and Dedede- 'saw what he looked like when he died, yes? He was hideous. A shambling, barely sustained pile of rotting flesh. But he stayed that way through a lot of hard work and strength…'

"Can… anybody do that? Or is it just something voidborns like me can do?" Kirby nervously tapped against their glass.

'I don't know. As far as I know, it's just voidborns, or there would probably be a lot more things like Zero out and about. But I don't know… I feel like I would have run into one in my time, ah, doing his bidding…'

"Mkay…"

'But you and my sibling ended up beating him regardless, and he couldn't sustain himself that way any longer. But… I think he knew the end was coming soon. That's why he told me. Apparently, he'd been birthing more and more anomalies in each pod every year up to the point where he died. I guess he was growing weaker after all this time… So he had a plan.'

"To become 02…" Ripple stirred her tea, watching the ice clink and mix. Just thinking about that damnable angel made her blood scream. But this was important information in case of the worst possible scenario.

'Yes… Evidently, he could sacrifice some of his raw power in order to become… immortal, in a sense.'

"Whaddya mean 'in a sense?'"

'He's functionally immortal, I should say. I mean, you saw it for yourself, right? You killed him with the Great Crystal. But no matter how many times he is killed, as long as he has the will to live, he will come back. He is stuck being alive forever and ever until he gives up or the Reaper Butterfly claims him.'

Kirby shivered at the reminder of Morpho Knight's existence. They really liked that butterfly most of the time. It loved to play with them. But whenever it got all creepy and death-y and turned into a 'person,' that's when they started getting chills down their spine. To think something that powerful willingly chose to spend time with them… it was a weird feeling to say the least.

'But, like I said, it seems that he's not as powerful in this form, in exchange for his longevity. His creations are much less personable and have less abilities… from what I've heard that is. And his own abilities are diminished as well. That doesn't mean he's not a threat but… I don't think he wants to come back to this galaxy any time soon. I mean, he was so thoroughly trounced by Kirby TWICE.'

Dedede leaned back in his seat. "Pff, sounds kinda pathetic t'me. I mean, kid, you beat me up LOADS a'times, and y'don't see me runnin' and hidin' away outta embarrassment!" He gestured to Kirby, who grinned deviously in satisfaction. Blade also had to let out a small laugh.

'Knowing him, he wouldn't be able to stand the humiliation. He's always so… flippant towards his fellow voidborns. I think he thinks he's the purest form of existence his creator ever made. And considering I was able to sense him from half a galaxy away when I first got here, I think we'll get a fair bit of warning if he ever somehow DOES come back within our lifetime.'

"That's a relief to hear…" Ripple sighed and pressed her hand against her chest. "To be honest… I've been worrying about the possibility of that monster returning ever since it was killed."

Blade nodded, then furrowed his brow. He clasped his hands together and addressed the queen.

'I know I wasn't responsible for the attack on your planet, nor was I of the same kind of Matterborns 02 made, but I would just like to formally apologize for everything you've suffered through because of Dark Matter. What you went through was horrible, and wrong, and I would like to offer my condolences.'

For the second time that day, Blade had stunned Ripple into silence. A smile creeped its way across her face and tears threatened to spill forth once again.

Ribbon had also fallen into surprised silence, though for a rather different reason. She found Blade's cordiality and willingness to divulge information a bit suspect. It felt almost… too easy. And it's not that she didn't trust Kirby or the king's word! It's not like she'd been here to see him change! But something about it all left a weird pit in her stomach.

She was probably just being paranoid though. It wasn't fair of her to get all judgey about it. She barely even knew the guy! So pay attention to what he's saying and just act nice, like a proper heir should! (Even if she didn't like how close he was sitting to her queen.)

Ripple finally managed to clear her throat of tears and responded to Blade's apology. "Goodness, you're so polite, Blade! You don't need to apologize for something you haven't done. But I really appreciate it regardless… Ehehe… I've never had someone say sorry to me so… formally!"

'Well, I do want to make a good impression. I've, ah, heard a lot of things about you from King Dedede and… you know… you seem very nice so…'

"Oh, he did, did he?" She shot a smirk at Dedede, who in turn shot it at Blade.

"That's one way to put it," he joked. Blade couldn't help but pout. It had been less than a week and the man was already making digs about what was supposed to be a thoroughly traumatizing event for both of them. Well, that's just who he was…

From there, the conversation delved into much more casual territory. Kirby had been impatiently waiting for the creepy talk to get over and done with so they could tell Ribbon all about the Yume Festival and how awesome it was and how much it sucked that she couldn't make it and how she totally had to come for it next year. In turn, Ribbon punched back, saying Kirby missed out on Ripple Star's Starstrike Festival earlier this year, so they had to make up for that as well. After a good five minutes of bickering, they ended up launching themselves at each other, trying to get the other to admit their own festival was better. It was less of a wrestle and more of a tickle fight, with neither of them actually interested in winning. The ball of wriggling limbs rolled around, bumping all over the balcony while Dedede and Ripple just casually ignored the mess. At this point, Blade couldn't even be surprised by the kids' shenanigans. He just continued quietly sipping his tea and listening in on the adults' conversation.

They mostly talked about simple things. They didn't discuss difficult to understand socio economic issues or plans for the future of their nations. After all, there was a proper meeting day every other month specifically for that sort of thing. They were here to spend time together as friends, so they just talked about the strange or fun things they saw in the past few weeks, how busy they'd been, whether they'd tried any new foods, just that sort of thing.

And then…

"And you're really feeling better…? Really, truly?"

"Yeah. I ain't gonna lie and say I'm all perfect now, but I definitely ain't as bad as I was… I'm real sorry for droppin' that on ya and then not bein' able to tell ya much more. It just… it happened real fast, and then a bunch a' other crap went down 'n… y'know…"

Ripple nodded. "Of course. Really, I'm glad you told me… and I'm sorry I didn't know until then."

He shook his head. "Nah, it ain't your job to try'n figure out somethin' I wasn't even tellin' ya."

"...Of course."

"Besides, I got plenty of people t'help me out." He sent a quick glance at Blade, who smiled back knowingly. Ripple looked between the two, a bit surprised. Did Dedede really trust this creature who, as far as she knew, only showed up a few weeks ago? She found that hard to believe. Hm…

Well, if she got the order of events right, he must have showed up quite soon after Dedede's… episode. Maybe with all the stress, it was easy for the king to latch on to a new arrival. Besides, she wouldn't be surprised if Dark Matter could subtly influence people's emotions, what with the way they so obviously communicated by forcing their own thoughts on others.

Huh? What was she getting all suspicious about? Blade had been perfectly nice to her, more than a lot of people she knew. She had no right to be so paranoid for no good reason. There was probably something important that happened between them. She could trust Dedede, and thus she could trust Blade. Right?

Ripple shook the thought away and leaned back a bit in her seat, looking up at the brilliant blue sky. She wasn't sure if this was actually the case or not, but it always felt like Pop Star had a wider variety of hues in their atmosphere. During the day, Ripple Star usually was a pure, untainted blue, but Pop Star tended to have mixtures of purples, greens, teals, and occasionally even pinks. She wondered if it had anything to do with having a kingdom that lived in the sky. Perhaps their magic affected the very composition of the air itself. It was an interesting thing to think about; maybe she should inquire with Dedede's Floralian advisor sometime.

Out of the corner of her vision, she spotted a particularly… out-of-place color. It was far darker than the rest of the sky, as if the night was seeping into the day. As if someone had spilled ink onto an artwork. She frowned and tilted her head around a bit more, peering backwards across the horizon. With her upside down view, it almost looked like a… waterfall of ink. Seeping out of the ground.

Huh..?

Before she could sit up straight to get a better view, a Waddle Dee burst into the balcony, panicking. He flailed his arms and nearly tripped over Kirby and Ribbon as he rushed up to the table.

"AAAAGREATKINGWEGOTTAPROBLEMATMERRYMAGOLANDANDIREALLYTHINKYOUSHOULDCOMESEEBECAUSENOBODYHASANYIDEAWHAT'SGOINGONANDIT'SREALLYSCARYANDIDUNNOWHATTODO!"

"Woah woah woah! Calm down, I can't understand what you're sayin'!" Dedede picked up the Waddle Dee, lifting him up under his arms, and waited for him to calm down. The small creature took a few seconds to tamper his hyperventilating into just heavy breathing before clearing his throat.

"I- I- I was informed by- I mean, I SAW it too, but one of the Guardees came in and told me to tell you that there's something really creepy happening at Merry Magoland!"

"Uh, can you be a bit more specific?"

"I- I dunno! I don't know how to describe it! It's- it's just- L-LOOK! THERE! SEE?!"

The Waddle Dee pointed behind Dedede, and all of them spun around to look at what Ripple had already spotted.

Indeed, a thin, but undeniably visible streak of black was shooting forth from beyond the horizon and into the sky. It dissipated the higher up it got, dripping to pieces once it reached beyond the height of the nearby mountains. Every five seconds or so, the pillar of darkness seemed to let out a pulsation that sent invisible riptides across the plains. What… the hell?

Blade shot to his feet and his heart rate spiked painfully fast. No, this couldn't be happening..! There was NO way that something like this could happen so soon after he became a person! This wasn't fair!

No, calm down. Maybe this isn't what you're thinking it is. Besides, even if it is, they trust you. They believe in who you are. Even if this is somehow related to Dark Matter, that doesn't mean they'll suspect you. After all, you have nothing to do with this.

Kirby and Ribbon rushed up to the edge of the balcony, Kirby standing on their tiptoes and peering over the edge to get a better look. "What the sheol is that?"

"It kinda looks like…" Ribbon trailed off and turned her gaze to Blade, narrowing her eyes and gritting his teeth. Kirby followed her gaze, but instead perked up upon looking at the Matterborn.

"Oh, Blade! Do you know what that is? Do you know what's going on?"

Blade tightened his grip on the balcony railing and tried to stop himself from destroying it. He sucked in a deep breath and formed his thoughts carefully. 'I'm not sure. I don't know if it is what I think it is… I really hope not.'

"Well, what're we waitin' for?" Dedede shouted. "Let's go take a look!"

"""Right!"""

The four Star Allies immediately leaped from the balcony, flying and floating down to the ground. Blade stood there, frozen with anxiety as his grip grew ever tighter on the railing. If he wasn't careful, he was gonna end up disintegrating it with his own Darkness.

Come on… come on..! This isn't… what you think it is..! It's just a coincidence… It's not… Just calm down. Calm down. It only makes you look more suspicious…!

"Hey Blade! You comin'?"

The Matter nearly stumbled backwards into the table, startled by Dedede's call. He leaned over the railing to find the king still waiting for him.

'Do you- should I? I'm not… a Star Ally after all…'

"Nah, of course ya are! You're like an honorary one, yeah? Like Fluff 'n Lin! Now c'mon! Get down here! We're gonna need your help!"

Blade hesitated for a moment… before nodding firmly and vaulting himself over the railing, unfurling his fins and following Dedede. They shot across the plains and caught up with others as they all darted through the air.

When the five of them arrived at the entrance of Merry Magoland, they were immediately struck by an overwhelming scent of decay and sickness looming in the area. They could spot what could only be described as a 'dark pillar' shooting out from the center of the theme park, with exponentially thicker black fog the closer it got to the pillar. Everyone except Blade instinctively covered their nose and mouth, trying to keep out the impure scent. But Blade couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia wash over him. The warm sickness felt just like being wrapped in one's childhood blanket. It reminded him of being a young Matterborn, still developing into a sapient. The closest thing a normal person would equate to it is the scent of warm milk.

Still, he understood it was thoroughly unpleasant for everyone else. He stepped forward and lifted his hand, focusing on controlling the Darkness in his immediate vicinity, and started pushing the fog away. He formed a sort of 'circle of influence' around the group, keeping them safe from the Darkness as long as they stayed close to him. With that, they began to move forward.

"Oh jeez… I hope everyone got out okay…" Ribbon muttered as she swung her head around. As far as she could tell, there wasn't anyone else in the park… Or maybe their corpses had already been claimed by the Darkness. She knew it could work fast when it was hungry…

"What I don't get is why Magolor ain't doin' anythin' about this. This stupid park's s'posed t'be his pride'n'joy."

Kirby stopped, their eyes widening in horror. "You don't think something happened to him, do you Dehdehdeh?"

The king shook his head. "I dunno. I hope not. The guy's pretty strong, so he's… prolly fine. Maybe he just wasn't here today."

"I certainly hope that's the case," Queen Ripple muttered under her breath.

After trailing down a few more paths, Blade suddenly stopped, causing Kirby to slam into his back. The fog had grown so thick that he couldn't see an inch beyond the bubble of protection.

'It's not obeying me… I think whatever's in charge of this Darkness is getting close. Its will is superceding my own. I can't push any farther than this.'

Ripple nodded in determination and stepped up next to Blade. "In that case, we'll have to destroy it."

'...How?'

Ripple beckoned Ribbon to her side and raised her arms forward, palms facing outward. The young fairy followed suit. After a few seconds, their palms started to glow, much like when Ribbon tried to attack Blade. A beautiful, reflective, blue light shone forth from the two, burning away the Darkness with pure, likely holy energy. Blade couldn't help but feel awe at their display of power. It was very rare for creatures to display such raw, undistilled antithesis to Darkness. The only thing he could think that even came close to that was Kirby, and only when they were directing it through some sort of artifact.

Ribbon seemed to notice his amazement, as she plastered on a cocky smirk. "Pretty impressive, huh? Ripple's been teaching me how to learn this sorta thing without having to rely on the Great Crystal!"

'Amazing…'

After a bit, the Darkness managed to sizzle away enough that they could begin moving forward again. It was as if they were drilling a tunnel through the earth as they dug deeper and deeper into the park.

Kirby murmured to themself. "I wonder if I can get an ability soon… I've gotta really dead feeling about this…"

They still hadn't passed anyone yet. As easy as it would be to believe that everyone had managed to evacuate safely, that wasn't very realistic. So the fact that no one could be spotted in the fog or on the path, unconscious or not… was worrying to say the least. That warm sickness had long stopped being a blanket for Blade, and had quickly transformed into a chain around his throat.

Then, suddenly, as if entering the eye of a storm, the group stumbled out of the fog and back into the brightness of daylight… Except for the Dark Pillar right in the center of the clearing.

Yes, in the middle lay what was now more obviously akin to a Dark Fountain, spewing filth out into the sky like a volcano, and flooding the plaza with a thin haze that flowed a few feet before dissipating into the mist. Kirby, somewhat entranced, almost instinctively took a step forward to touch it before being pulled back by Dedede.

"Watch it kid! We ain't know what that thing is!"

"Yeaaaa, but Dark Matter's never been able to touch me before-ya!"

"Well… this might be different!"

Kirby turned around. "Blade, is it different?"

'I- I don't know- this doesn't FEEL familiar at all- but that doesn't mean-' The man waved his hands frantically, put on the spot as he was.

"Well, I don't think it matters whether it's different or not," Ribbon pouted. "What matters is that we get rid of it!"

"Indeed, it is… thoroughly unsettling to look at…" Ripple idly scratched the side of her neck as her pulse intensified.

Dedede clicked his tongue in confusion. "Kinda looks like how the Dream Fountain did when Nightmare got all up in it, now that I think about it…"

'Well… Dark Matters tend to create what are called 'fountains' whenever they invade a planet in order to assist with the process of corrupting it… But it's very strange to do it here, so openly. If we actually were dealing with a proper invasion, they would have put it somewhere much harder to get to… I don't understand what the game plan is for… whatever is responsible for this.'

"It doesn't MATTER!" Ribbon shouted again. Her frustration was palpable enough to make Blade cringe a bit. "We just need to get it gone, right?! What are we standing around for?"

With that, she darted over to Queen Ripple, and the two of them started charging up a much larger amount of crystalline energy. The Fountain seemed to react, though only faintly, as if it was noticing a bug that it couldn't be bothered to squish. But like certain bugs, this attack would be very deadly if not noticed in time and pointed just right.

Kirby and Blade both instinctively stepped in front of Dedede. If the Darkness were to lash out, they would protect him from any harm. Blade couldn't be possessed by a potential fellow Dark Matter, and Kirby was born of such intense positivity that it would just bounce right off.

With the seal finally fully charged up, Ripple and Ribbon shot an enormous beam of light straight into the air. It soared up and around, practically swimming throughout the surroundings and encircling the Fountain. It stretched thinner and thinner and covered more and more space until the Darkness was hardly visible at all. And then, right as the Darkness realized what was about to happen, it snapped taut.

The seal crushed down on the Fountain's pillar, squeezing it tight and crushing it into a million tiny pieces. The Darkness solidified and rained down upon the ground of the amusement park, evaporating as soon as it hit the ground. The fog started to fade as well, being ripped away as if being decimated by high speed winds.

When Dedede, Kirby, and Blade turned around to check, they saw countless…

Unconscious…. Hollow… lifeless looking bodies… scattered about the park… All shapes and sizes… all sorts of creatures… completely motionless…

Instantly, dread shot through all of their skulls. Kirby wanted to rush forward and make sure the victims were at least still alive! But before they even had a chance, Ripple's shriek of horror forced them to look back at what was left of the Fountain.

"Wh- What the-"

"M- MAGOLOR?!"

Laying there, unmoving, splayed out as if he'd fallen from a great height, with his hood and cape clasp pulled back so his face was fully visible… Magolor… was at the center of the Dark Fountain.

Dark blood seeped out of the corners of his mouth, out his nose… a mass of raw scar tissue running around the edges of his mouth… It looked as if his wound from his distortion by the Master Crown had been reopened. His eyes were shut, though his face was scrunched up in pain… and none of them could tell if he was alive or dead.

"Lor… lor….!" Tears edged their way out of the corners of Kirby's eyes, and no one could move fast enough to stop them from rushing towards their unconscious friend. They were too stunned to move anyway…

"N- ne- Magolor… this isn't funny- what did you- you didn't do this, did you? Hey! Wake up! Please wake up! I wanna- we needta- f- figure out-"

They carefully lifted the man's head, and leaned their own against his chest, checking for any sign of life.

His breathing, though painfully faint and strained, was still there… He was alive… And if he was alive, then those who hadn't even been in the center… they had to be alive too! When Dedede noticed Kirby's shoulders drooping slightly in relief, he instantly spun on his heel and rushed to check on the others.

Magolor's body was a complete and utter dead weight. Even with Kirby supporting his head, he still lolled loosely, not even a single part of him twitching. Kirby couldn't stop the tears from flowing. Even if he was alive… this was a truly horrible state to find him in… and they wouldn't even be able to find out what happened… if he never woke up…

"P- please- don't let this- be- I don't wanna- I don't wanna do it again- please-"

They already thought he was dead once before… This wasn't fair… Their grip grew tighter as they hugged his lifeless body.

What… in the world happened here…?

This seemed so close to the work of a Dark Matter… but nothing about that made any sense… Not the tactics, not the timing, not the aura surrounding it all… More importantly, why was this happening?!

Blade thought it was gonna be easy to close the book on this chapter of his life… But life always had a way of proving him wrong.