The Arrow of Time

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Kirby woke up at home in his bed. He looked to the foot of the bed, where Elfilin was curled up and sleeping. Sun was streaming in through the window. In the back of his mind, he felt as if something was off. Like he shouldn't be where he was. That feeling faded to negligibility once he saw Elfilin blink himself awake. "G'morning, Elfie!"

"Morning!" He waved cheerily, then lifted himself off the bed. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "Man, it feels like I just woke up from a really long nightmare-what's that?" He pointed at something above the headboard.

"Huh? What's what?" Kirby turned himself around, but saw nothing. "Did you see something?"

"I guess I didn't, hehe." He looked around. "Where's Gooey?"

A tongue flopped out from under the bed. "Here..."

--. --- .. -. --. / . .-.. ... . .-- .... . .-. .

It took only a few seconds after waking up for Taranza to realize that his head was somewhere it shouldn't have been. His head felt cloudy, and the moments leading up to now were indistinct. He remembered somewhere dark, and sweltering heat, and something really really bad happening, but what that was lay beyond his mental reach. Well, his head was in the wrong place in that sense, but also physically. He was face down in dirt and grass. Picking his head up, he spat the dirt out of his mouth and examined his surroundings. There weren't any. He appeared to have woken up in an old computer screensaver. Out of sight of any people, civilization, or really anything other than grass.

He called out. "Magoloooor! ...Dedede?! ...Anybody?!" He wasn't quite sure what he was expecting. Of course, no one responded. He started moving in a direction. A few trees came into view as he moved. The slow, quiet breeze helped him gather his thoughts properly.

He had watched Sailor Dee die. He witnessed the moment his life ended, likely never to begin again. After all, most people don't live twice after dying once. He knew him. They'd spoken. It wasn't the first time he had lost an acquaintance, and he didn't plan on dying soon enough to make it the last. At least, not yet. Maybe the next time it happened, it'd hurt less.

Times like this were when he tried to think of what the people close to him would tell him to do. Before, he pictured Sectonia. Her advice column in the newspaper of his mind had steadily gotten smaller and smaller, until he seemed to realize that he didn't really need her. Now, he tended to think of what Magolor would say, or occasionally Bandee or Dedede. It made sense that he only thought of Sectonia before, considering there was no one else he knew personally and held in high regard then. It also made sense that she'd fade over time as he met more people who he liked and trusted.

What didn't make sense was the fact that he never pictured her giving him advice at all anymore. What did that indicate? That he was forgetting her? That he thought others gave better advice? That he was maturing and growing and more attached to those who were still alive? Or was it that fourth option? The one he refused to acknowledge? The one that would likely lead him to a realization that would flip his whole world upside down? The one that had been simmering in the back of his mind for years, gradually taking effect on his decision-making process, guiding him away from the past?

The one that told him the truth? That fourth option? No, it couldn't be.

He reached a tree. It was at the edge of a cliff. Looking down the cliff, he saw Dream Land in the far distance. Good. Maybe he'd be able to find the others. He floated down the cliff, quickening his pace to hopefully get there faster. Through woods, over rocks, and down hills he went. The first building he found was Kirby's house. He figured he might as well take a look inside. After all, it wasn't as if there would be anything scary in Kirby's house. It's Kirby, for crying out loud! He twisted the knob on the door and opened it with a homely creak.