Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Let me tell you a story.

There was a time, long, long ago. Long before you and I were...born, long before the king and his subjects, before there was a land of dreams, stars as warriors or as planets. Before there was matter dark and light, before the knights and their days, before the ancients and their ancestors, and their ancestors’ ancestors. Before anything else existed, there was only, the Void.

Back then, the Void was not a being, not as we would conceive it. The Void was, quite simply, the nothingness that was all. In the beginning, there were no thoughts, no actions, no anything. It simply was not, and that is how it was for a long, long time.

...there are those, in this universe, who speak of instincts, and inherent wants. They speak as though these are universal, applying to every individual, of every species, but this is not true. There is only one instinct, that every creature and object in this universe experiences. The need to live. The need to exist and continue existing. Even in the darkest moments, when all hope seems lost, something inside everything and everyone will wish to live. Never forget that no matter what, okay?

And this instinct was the first thing the Void ever felt.

As the Void became a thing instead of nothing, a part of it slowly began to wonder if more could exist. Could there be more than the Void, could there be existence outside of nonexistence? This idea fascinated the Void, and very soon, it began to create. And so was born the first world.

When I say world, I should make clear, I do not mean a planet, or solar system. I mean a universe, a dimension of space and time, brought into existence in a mere moment, some say, by the Void simply pulling itself away. This was the first world, though it would not be the last.

No, that universe is not ours, nor any you have seen or visited. That world no longer exists.

As the Void could create worlds, it also learned it could destroy them. It could take a universe, however big or old, and destroy it in a matter of moments, some believe taking it back into itself, and using its matter and energy to create anew. Many once thought this contradictory, a paradox, and some described the Void as having two aspects; creation and destruction, beginnings and endings, as the old texts once called them, Initia and Termina. However, at the core, these were not separate parts, different beings. The Void did not destroy out of malice, just as it did not create out of love. It was simple curiosity, no more, and no less.

But, as I said, the one truly universal instinct, is the need to live. So, it should be no surprise that those who were destroyed held animosity to the Void.

There were four worlds that were born of a thousand worlds’ ashes. Small fragments of the past remained in these worlds, planets of strange design, creatures beyond understanding, and a memory, of destruction and death. The worlds, bidden together by their fear, discovered their only hope for survival: the destruction of the Void.

I understand if you are confused. Much of our understanding of the Void is warped and distorted by time, confounded by parables and legends attempting to explain what we could not comprehend. However, this much I do know; the Void that created our world no longer exists.

Four warriors, born of past and future, were called for to defeat the creator and destroyer. These were beings born of the Void itself, more powerful than any could imagine, led by the most powerful of all – a Knight, bold and strong, who some say was the first child of the Void itself. He led his fellows into the fight against the Void, and together, they did what none thought possible.

That is why our world exists today, strange, and wonderful as it is. That is why there are other worlds as well; lands reflecting ours, or alien to our own, lands long forgotten, and lands always remembered.

However, where the Void once stood, there were, remnants. Remnants terrible, and horrible, which you will understand, but also, remnants strange, almost alien. Remnants that take the form of space and time in a way we could never predict.

For when nothing is destroyed, another dimension must take its place.

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Where do we go when we die?

Not us, specifically – indeed most of our compatriots need not fear death from all but the most powerful entities, and I should doubt either of us should find ourselves facing our end anytime soon. I should hope you understand, I use the proverbial “we”, as in living beings.

That question, though, is important. What happens after death? When the soul is taken from the body, and the light of life has faded, where does that soul go? Does it continue to exist, and what happens to it?

There are many worlds, as I’m sure you know. Most are worlds of life, of survival, of matter and energy. However, there is another world, one not created by intention, or through will, but by destruction and death. This world has been known by many names, Morsmundi, Jamimag Jungbu, Hell. But its most common name, the name we know it by today, is the most mysterious: simply Another Dimension.

I must warn you. There are ways to go to this world from ours. You must never do so, at least not yet. If you do, there may never be a way to return.

Since it was born, the Dimension has been guarded by beings of odd and intense power, beings who are said to bring Doom to any who enter their domain. Where they come from, is a mystery. Some say they were born of the Void’s malice, much like the Matter, while others say they are the tortured souls of the worlds that came before. Whatever the case, they roam the Dimension, and attack those who would intrude on it.

There is, in the Dimension, only one planet that has ever been tamed, at least according to legend. It is a land of fire and brimstone, and of machinery and magic. This land was made centuries after the Void’s death, by a group you may hear of in other legends. They were known by many different names, of course, in their time, but now, they are known by the most common title, of the Ancients. Their homeland was sent into the Dimension after a war of chaos and destruction, brought about by their own folly. The planet was sent through a rift to bring the fighting to an end, and since that day not a word has been heard from the land’s inhabitants.

Some believe the land was destroyed in the rift. Others believe it was scoured by the beings of Doom. Still others say the Ancients remain within the Dimension, and they will return one day to exact their revenge on our world. No one knows for sure.

...what do I think? I don’t know one way or the other. However, from what little I do know, I don’t think, should they return, they would come seeking revenge. Maybe it is foolish or wishful to think this, but I believe that, if they do return, they would return to help defend our world.

And I’m sure you know how it has needed defending.

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I don’t know if Dark Matter is destroyed. I believe you when you say you have destroyed them, when you say the Zeroth is slain, but I’m sure you understand, well, it is difficult to kill something born of a god.

...Dark Matter has existed for millennia upon millennia. It has existed for longer than the seal of Nightmare, for longer than the mirrors between worlds, as old as the Dimension and older than the Ancients. When it was born, it was birthed from the ashes of the Void, and all it can desire is to return our world, and all worlds, to that Void.

The Matter does not simply attack, or assault. It invades. It invades bodies, minds, souls, and twists and corrupts them into its own vision. Within a matter of minutes, it gains full control of the body, forcing its host to carry out the will of the collective. Within a day, it can change the body, reshape it to suit its own twisted whims. If left alone, it will completely overtake and rewrite the host within a week. By that point, the host is no more, effectively just a shell for the Matter to inhabit, and even if the Matter is excised, there is no chance for the host’s survival.

Yes, I know, I know your friend was once one of them. How he became as he is, was transformed into an ally, I will admit, I do not know. All I can say is, there is hope, for all of us, in the fact that not all born from Darkness are condemned to shun the light.

The forces of Dark Matter have been fought against for as long as they have existed, Kirby. They are the one thing that the rest of existence is united against. Soldiers, Knights, Kings, Companies, and more have dedicated themselves to fighting off the darkness.

In a very real sense, it may in fact be the reason we were born.

So, perhaps they are defeated. Perhaps their leader is no more, and what remains of their armada has picked clean by your actions. If that is the case, none will celebrate more than I will.

But you understand, I hope, my concern.

...I cannot fight them, I fear. I hope you will understand. I do not have your, immunity, to their encroach. And I fear what would become, both of the world, and of me, if they should gain control of me.

...I don’t know, I’m afraid. I don’t know why you have this immunity that no one else has. Perhaps you were blessed by whatever deity still exists. Perhaps you are simply stronger than I am.

Or, perhaps, it is rooted in your origins.

...a story for another time, perhaps.

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I’ve told you of the Knight before.

The Knight, firstborn of the Void, leader of his fellows, slayer of Termina. His name, once thought lost to time, survives as his image...the Galacta Knight.

He is, was, a fearsome opponent. Stronger than most creatures, for sure, stronger, perhaps even, than you. At full power, he could slay a god, and even weakened, he could decimate planets.

Yes, I fought him. Only once, long before even your first journey through the land. I made a wish upon a star, powerful and dangerous, to fight a great warrior – the greatest in the galaxy. Had I known that the Galacta Knight qualified, I would have made another wish. I survived the fight, though it was no easy feat. You may recall, it was not until recently I reclaimed my true blade, Galaxia, instead simply wielding the Master blade forged by my knights. The sword was, I believed, lost forever after the battle. It took a long time to recover it, but I am lucky. He was weakened from isolation, and I had the power of Nova protecting me. Even then, I lost my blade, and I limped back to Popstar on Death’s door. Please, you must promise me, to never take the risk I did. You are worth too much.

...there are many myths of the Galacta Knight. The stories, the legends, which speak of Another Dimension, say he guards it as the sword of judgement, deciding the fate of souls. Others say he still seeks the Void to this day, attempting to destroy it once and for all. Still others believe he simply lies in wait, searching for a challenger to battle him again.

I do not know which, if any, of these stories is true. But I know why he is no longer here.

I will admit, there is much I have told you, much myth and legend, which may well be false, I simply do not know. But the four warriors, the defeat of the Void, that much is true, I can promise you. The four warriors were celebrated among the worlds, and each offered one knight a home. Our world was granted the privilege of hosting the leader, the most powerful of them all, within its bounds. He acted as protector, as guardian...and as judge and executioner.

It was not uncommon, in those times, for war to break out, and for the just and righteous to call on the Knight to destroy their foes. Of course, the Knight was not mindless, not a mere beast of destruction; he would judge those who called him forth, and those they wished him to halt. Should he judge his summoners worthy, he would fulfill their task, and their enemies would be laid to waste. Should he find his targets to be persecuted, he would annihilate those who wished them dead.

Perhaps, it was too much. Perhaps, this judgement was not ever justified or fair. But, for many centuries, this was how our world worked.

And then, something happened.

The story told, is that he was called for by both sides of a conflict. Neither was truly wrong, not by our view in the present. But, for the Knight, this merely meant neither side was in the right.

The reason it is told as a story, and not a fact, is that two days after the Knight arrived, he left the planet, removing the last lifeform who survived on it.

The ancients were called forth, and discussions began on what should be done with the Knight. Too powerful by far, and not as prudent in its use. When word reached the Knight of the council, it’s said the planets between all heard his flight towards their home. Worlds were shattered in a single impact, and it took the greatest magic ever wielded to defeat him.

The clan who sealed him away have been lost for longer than the ancients themselves, discarded, it’s said, for the same reason as he himself.

I trust I need not ask you again, but you understand my fear. I need you, the world needs you, to stay safe.

I’m sorry, Kirby, I just...I’m sorry.”

Chapter Text

Long, long ago, when there was little more than empty void, a world was created, with certain rules governing its existence. Many of these rules are similar to those that you know of: gravity, temperature, inertia and forces. However, there were rules that many of you will find strange or alien: magic, wishes, immortals and afterlife. However, there is one rule that might seem strangest of all.

No creature or object can be dreamed of, except that which exists, has existed, or will exist.

From this principle, came the Fountain of Dreams. And from it, the people of Dreamland.

Kirby touched down on the Halberd late in the afternoon, with the knights on the deck nodding in recognition of his arrival. He smiled and waved at them, before dashing off to the main control center.

Meta Knight watched him from the controls, his face obscured as always by his mask, before stepping away. “Sailor, man the controls.”

Sailor Dee saluted the knight and took over the console for him. This was fairly standard by this point; Meta had been speaking with Kirby a lot more ever since their failed takeover of Dreamland, and especially since the second appearance of Dark Matter on Popstar.

Vul scoffed a little as Meta Knight headed towards the door. “Still telling him those old stories, then?”

He looked at the Captain curiously, before nodding. “I suppose I am. Do you have a problem with this?”

“No, no, of course not. I mean, if you like baby-sitting the kid who almost wrecked our ship forever, be my guest.”

Meta’s eyes narrowed; “If I remember correctly, during that incident you abandoned ship long before any other member of the crew. If I am taking actions to prevent another crash, I expect you to be the last person to criticize it, understood?”

The captain simply rolled his eyes. “Oh please. You and I both know the ship was beyond righting at that point, and I somehow doubt an old bird like me could somehow fend off the child who kicked your blue butt.”

Sailor giggled a little to himself. He wasn’t exactly fond of the Captain and Meta Knight fighting, but he knew the two were too stubborn to properly sort things out. Besides, Captain Vul was one of the only people who could get away with insulting Meta Knight since he was still technically the Halberd’s Captain.

“Besides,” he continued, “I hardly see how telling the kid some old fairy tales from a dead species is going to prevent another crash.”

The knight simply scoffed and turned back to the door. He didn’t expect the vulture to understand his motives, why he felt the need to prepare Kirby for the threats he might face. Vul was a skilled Captain, he couldn’t deny that, but he was also a self-centered man, with little concern for the protection of others.

Meta Knight couldn’t be so blind. He had a responsibility, one he was determined to see through, no matter what it took. If taking over Dreamland to force its residents to stand up and fight couldn’t work, then perhaps preparing its greatest defender for future threats might.

He found the boy in the room they’d last dueled in, seemingly practicing with one of the blades laying around. Kirby spotted Meta shortly after and waved at the knight.

“Ah, hello, Kirby. I trust everything has been going well since last we met?”

The pink puff nodded. “Yeah, it’s great! Well, I mean, Dynablade was causing a little trouble last week, but I think she was just nervous about her babies, so I tried to help her out!”

“That’s good to hear. I hope she’s doing okay.” He looked at the boy and wondered if he was placing too much pressure on him. After all, one child could hardly be expected to handle the burdens of the whole universe.

Then Kirby smiled and sat down at attention. And beneath the mask, Meta Knight smiled himself.

“So, what do you wish to hear about today?”

“Well, I mean, I was kind of curious about, well, why does everything exist? Why is there, stuff here? What made us?”

Meta Knight paused. There were many stories to be told, that could answer that question. He could discuss the Fountain of Dreams, bringing life to the strangest creatures that anyone and anything could dream of. He could speak on the idea of fate, how destiny had brought worlds together in such a way as to make life sustainable. He could even tell him about their own origins, what made not people in general, but the two of them specifically.

But then, perhaps it made more sense to start at the beginning.

“Let me tell you a story."