A Shooting Star ~Kirby and Sonic crossover~

Chapter 44: Sorrows Lasting Millions of Years

Hi all!

Merry Christmas! (For future readers, when I posted this it was December 25th, 2021).

Even if you do not celebrate Christmas, you can still join in on the fun. If you did not receive any presents, let this be my present for you.

This is a day of happiness, joy, and merriment. I wish you all to live today to the absolute fullest! Don't waste a single moment!

-Much love, Yokai

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He was numb at first. Kirby's limbs would not move, and he was stuck, Dark Sonic's draining tendrils wrapping around him, sliding roughly against his skin. His chest heaved for air, and soreness leeched at his muscles, making his paws and feet feel heavy. His eyes threatened to close, and Kirby silently noted just how tired his reincarnation's body was. He had not slept properly in a month, and Kirby reminded himself to have a talk with him later. It was unhealthy for him to receive so little sleep.

Nightmare must be haunting him, Kirby thought, recalling to the time he had found the evil wizard concocting a nightmare for Kirby—one that involved the Demon Frog. He lowered his gaze guiltily. It's my fault. I didn't protect his mind well enough. There were so many things he had done wrong—so many things he had to correct. I promise I will do my best to fix everything that's been broken, he vowed.

Dark Sonic had his back turned on him. The possessed hedgehog was striding confidently towards his reincarnation's father and the black hedgehog Shadow. They struggled to remain conscious as they watched Dark Sonic through narrowed eyes, their bleeding wounds halting their movements. Meta Knight's reincarnation seethed with fury, trembling not from fear or exhaustion, but from anger.

Kirby's eyes widened at the sight of the knight, his throat bubbling with a cry. He shoved it down with a steady breath. Nightmare had said something about Meta Knight and King Dedede coming back from the dead...

They're like me. The Meta and King I know are trapped in their reincarnations.

So that meant... Kirby's heart soared with hope. Meta must be inside the Meta Knight look-alike! He was, in some ways, still alive.

Dark Sonic grinned. He lifted up a hand and unsheathed his claws. He purred. "Now, where was I?" Dark Sonic paced around Meta Knight and Shadow, eyes dancing with cruel glee. Zero's presence in Dark Sonic grew larger, drowning the air and plunging the area around them in darkness. The atmosphere became thick, and the air smelled of blood and death. The grass withered from where Dark Sonic stood, his flickering pupils the only light in his dome of shadows. "Oh, that was right. I was going to kill you." Dark Sonic stopped pacing and stood in front of Meta Knight. He dropped his hand, lips curving into a savage sneer, his fangs gleaming. Kirby stared at him in horror. He was intending to decapitate Meta Knight!

There was only one way out of this.

Meta Knight closed his eyes, looking away, preparing for the final blow. Shadow opened his mouth to shout at the knight, ordering him to run, to do something. But the knight remained motionless, knowing he could not move even if he tried his hardest to.

"Goodnight, knight."

Kirby's vision sharpened, and time slowed down for him until it stopped. The wind halted its tussling, and Sonic's expression of insane delight remained frozen on his face. His sharp, bent claws were inches away from Meta Knight's face.

The odds were stacked against him, Kirby knew. It would be hard to fight in an injured body that belonged to his sleep-deprived reincarnation. But determination coursed through him, and he felt his heart flare, his paws clenching. He would not allow Zero to control Sonic, nor kill his reincarnation's friends. Not while his spirit still remained in the living realm.