Stardust in the Spectrum: A Story About Kirby

Chapter 7

“Come on, we’ll only be exploring for a little bit! Have some courage, Kirby- I heard that your father has been working on a secret project in his lab that’s underground! How cool does that sound?” A frown was present on my face, weary blue eyes risking a glance at the locked door of his lab. My father’s key was tucked between my fingertips, the rusted metal feeling unnaturally cold. I let out a breathless whisper. “I’m still not sure about this… he keeps it private and locked for a reason, right?” My friend’s eyes shimmered with unkempt confidence as he smiled. “Don’t worry, whatever experiments your father’s working on can’t be that bad. I have dark matter in my blood, and so does he. If I’m not that dangerous, then surely he can’t be either!” I kept my lips tugged into a firm line, a hesitant nod following suit. “I suppose you’re right. Shall we go then, Gooey?” My best friend nodded enthusiastically, gaze trailing towards the locked door. “Yeah, quickly before anyone notices us. But we’re twelve now, so hopefully nobody will be too worried if we’re gone for a little while… whether you’re the heir to the throne or not.” I drew in one last shaky breath, stepping forward to turn the lock with my father’s jagged key. The metal hinges creaked as the door abruptly swung open, stopping halfway. My heart hammered in my chest like a broken record player as our quiet footsteps broke the silence. Once we stood inside the lab, a single beep sounded above us- causing the door to slam shut. I heard Gooey gasp in the darkness as my shoulders immediately grew tense from the sudden sound. A small whisper came from my side as I felt my friend take a hold of my hand. “You can still unlock the door again from the inside, right?” I breathed out a ‘yes’ in reply, my voice as small as his own. He hummed in acknowledgement before releasing his grasp on my hand. We stepped through countless corridors, each hallway akin to that of a dreadful maze. Even then, all of those vacant spaces could never compare to the daunting sight that was in the basement’s final room. A hand gripped my own while I stood still in front of my father’s secret project, Gooey’s voice being the anchor of the dreaded truth sinking in. “Kirby, I think we should leave- now.” I slowly nodded, gaze settling on the black hole in the corner of the room. The wires hooked into machines holding glass capsules with strange glowing substances contained inside them, each one having a single eye in the center. But the thing that made my breath hitch was the large swirling portal in the center of the room. There was a machine to the right of it, reading graphs of different timelines that the portal was somehow connected to. I snapped my attention towards Gooey’s nerve-ridden eyes once we ran out of the lab. “What did we just see?” Shaking my head at his inquiry, I looked back at the closed door of my father’s secret lab. “I have no idea. Whatever that was, is my father’s doing.” My throat went dry, cold hands starting to tremble as he spoke. “We have no reason to fear your father… right, Kirby?” Shadowed blue eyes settled on the withered grass beneath my feet. My voice was as frail as the blue rose peeking out of the bush next to us. “I don’t know anymore. Perhaps this is the reason why my mother and him are always arguing…” I cleared my throat before flicking my line of vision towards Gooey. “Let’s head back to the village. I have a feeling that I won’t be able to enter the castle again for a while.” He nodded silently, turning away from the lab’s locked door, footsteps more quiet this time. Dull eyes blinked from underneath the ground.

I finished eating the maxim tomato, letting the marrow in my bones mend back together. A sigh slipped through my next breath, widowed blue eyes casting towards the bronze starship a few feet across from me. I wonder if I went back to that place… perhaps that portal is the same one that I fell into. Standing and dusting myself off, I reeled my shoulders back. After stretching, I decided to hide the starship in a small cave I passed by earlier. Well, there’s only one way to find out. Although it would be best not to travel again until nightfall. I pushed the starship towards the cave, silently wishing for the suplex ability to suddenly fall from the sky and grace me with its strength. Despite knowing well that wishing won’t get you anywhere unless you work towards it. Letting out a huff, I managed to get the ship into the cave with only a few scrapes being done to the already burnt edges. It’s fine, I’ll just spruce it up before returning it to the automobile shop. The shopkeeper lent it to me for a whole week, anyways. There’s still time, only a couple of days have passed. I stepped into the town to be immediately greeted by a loud voice. The only one with that type of demanding tone and barely held-together southern accent around here is- “Hey, parallel Kirby! You ran off into the woods for the rest of the day yesterday- not to mention the crown’s gone, too! So where exactly have ya been?” I blinked at the king’s raised brow, alongside his right-hand whose arms were crossed. Biting back an annoyed sigh, I replied with a near emotionless voice. “There’s nothing to be suspicious of, King Dee. I just so happened to find the crown’s owner and took upon returning it.” He sent me a nod after narrowing his eyes as if to check whether or not I was being truthful. Which in all honesty, he should know by now that I’m a terrible liar- alternate universe or not. Before they could both turn and walk away, I piped up. “Actually, do you have a moment to spare?” The king glanced at me, confusion riddled in his gaze as his right-hand prompted me with a nod to continue. “I had a question regarding a certain subject that I believe may be involved with the whole portal situation.” His shoulders stiffened at that, gesturing with a flick of his wrist for me to follow him into the castle. He sent his right-hand to get the others, dark teal eyes amist as Escargoon rushed off. Neither of us spoke until the group was settled in the dining hall. I chose my words carefully as to not alarm the group, especially the children. “It’s nothing to fuss over, it’s just something I thought of- or rather remembered. I’ve actually seen a portal very similar to this one in my childhood. There was dark matter around the portal, not to mention I’ve seen dark matter in this universe recently. I know for a fact that dark matter exists among every plane of existence, and can possess living beings- turn them into shadows of their former selves.” Well, I got the truth across. Although now the children seem worried. Tiff spoke up, her voice heightened from nerves. “Everywhere…? What if the Kirby from our universe gets possessed by dark matter?” Meta nodded, amber eyes flashing as he clocked his gaze towards me. “I must admit, that is rather worrisome. After all, you are both quite powerful. If one of you were to be turned dark…” I raised a hand to silence any further remarks as the masked knight trailed off. My voice was kept in a firm tone, knowing eyes revealing nothing but the truth. “There’s no need to worry about anything like that happening. If my alternate self shares the same blood as me, then neither of us can be possessed by any sort of mind-controlling being or object.” The king narrowed his eyes as he inquired. “Because of your blood…?” I nodded as the children tilted their heads in curiosity. Before anyone else could question that subject, I disclosed that part of the conversation and changed focus. “The point is, I can’t be possessed by dark matter, and I doubt my alternate self can either. What’s important is the fact that we may be getting close to the cause of this space rift.” I didn’t bother mentioning my father’s old lab, nor the fact that I recently discovered him still being alive. I’ll keep my father’s existence a secret for as long as possible. Dealing with him is a personal issue of my own to figure out. Tuff spoke with a questioning look. “So does that mean we just have to find this dark matter and hope it leads us to where another portal is?” His sister nodded in agreement at the proposal, as well as the rest of the group. After wishing everyone the best of luck, everyone scattered to do their own search. I dashed off to the woods, a knowing glint in my clouded gaze as the sun sank down. Adrenaline flooded through my veins as nimble hands dragged the starship out of hiding. Moonlight reflected on the surface, giving the bronze surface an almost golden haze. I jumped into the cockpit after pouring a generous amount of fuel into the tank. Settling myself on the worn leather seat, I peered through the cracked windshield as the control panel lit up. I took off into the night, bursting through the layers of Pop Star’s atmosphere with ease. My shadowed blue eyes narrowed in concentration as I yielded the oncoming stream of asteroids. Those darn giant space rocks are always a hassle to fly past. I drew near the center of the galaxy, weary gaze pinpointing where the abandoned planet was. Soon enough, I gave the wheel a sharp turn before landing among the ash smothered rubble. I grimaced as I saw the dusted bone marrow of the horror-stricken villagers that were caught in the raging mass of widespread fire. Some of them were old family members. The corpse in the watchtower nearest to the castle was my mother. According to my father, I was supposed to still be trapped in that death-ridden basement inside those light deprived, windowless chambers. I was nothing but an experiment to him- no, a weapon to be used. I refused to join his side… so he tossed me aside like a worthless object. Before finally deciding to light the fire he had been debating on setting. That despicable man. Heaving a forlorn sigh, I trailed across the wilted planet towards a should-be forgotten deathtrap. The lab’s metal door stood still among the silent planet, forever lost in time.