Bed of Flowers

by BewareTheDragon1

Summary:

She had no memory of herself. No idea where she had come from, no inkling of her former identity. Just a notion that she was incomplete and a desire to live. She had emerged from the Dreamstalk's flower for a reason, and she was determined to find out what that reason was.

Because a Soul doesn't die, no matter how much physical or emotional trauma it's been subjected to.

Notes:

A story I began in 2018 and only returned to after finishing Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Sectonia will be the main focus but we'll be checking in on some other final boss characters along the way. And the heroes of Dreamland, of course.

I'll upload chapters every Monday until I'm caught up to where I've written, which probably won't take very long.

Chapter 1: Prologue

A ringing of steel, a slam of the hammer, and the unmistakable chimes of star energy echoed through the still air.

The monster screamed, petals flying from its desiccated form as star energy blasted at its body. Insectoid eyes widened in utter panic. Filigree wings fluttered manically in an attempt to escape, trying desperately to survive the attack.

Miraculously, the creature survived. Hanging on to life with every fiber of its being, the creature screamed again. Its mind was chaotic, filled with rage and fear and confusion. It was cold. So cold. Where was the warmth? Where had it gone? It had been so warm, once. It could remember the warmth of… It couldn't remember. Why couldn't it remember?

Another blast of star energy rocketed past the creature, and it let out a shriek. The screams of mercy echoed through its scattered brain. One voice floated to the forefront of its consciousness, only to sink away before it could hear the words. How it longed to hear those words again, if only once.

A razor-edged blade shot through the air, slicing through one of its golden wings. The creature faltered, falling to one side, and the blade returned through its heart.

Piercing screams shook the world, and the monster thrashed in its death throes. With its dying breath, the creature turned its attention to the sky.

The stars were beautiful.

And then its body fell apart, scattering into petals.

The one who killed the monster, a youth with skills beyond his years, looked up as petals showered him. His deep blue eyes blinked as one petal floated in place for a moment, then the petals fell to the world below. The pink warrior removed his cutter helmet, dropping it to the crystalline platform below him. It was always painful to kill the Souls. Every time, he could feel a little more of himself dying with the tortured creatures.

Kirby turned and left the petals behind.

Which was why he didn't see the blue petals falling to the world below Floralia.

---

Far below the battleground of Floralia, on the star-shaped world of Popstar, the Dreamstalk still grew.

The magical vines were not nearly as potent as the ones in Floralia. The magical power of the Dreamstalk was largely exhausted by the insect queen's abuse, leaving the plant largely mundane. By Dreamland standards, at least.

In the rural wilds of Dreamland, far from King Dedede's castle or Meta Knight's flying fortress, a small farm sprawled through a clearing in the forest. It was a family affair, run by a small group of completely different creatures that relied upon each other to manage the farm. Many creatures in Dreamland were dangerous, but the farm persevered.

Apart from the occasional monster attack, the farm was quiet and peaceful. They grew fruits and vegetables, enough to feed themselves and many others. It was a stable business; Whispy kept the forest and everything within healthy.

The setting sun shone off of shiny red tomatoes and turned the field of wheat golden. As the day's work came to a close, one of the farm's inhabitants fluttered away from the farmhouse.

"Barney, make sure ta' be back 'afore dinner, ya hear!"

The orange Bronto Burt turned around to shout back. "I know, Wesley! You tell me every day!"

"And ya always return a little later'n before!" Came the retort. "Just don' git lost again!"

"I won't!" Barney rolled his eyes, flying across the field to scoop up a watering pail with his foot.

Like every day for the past year, Barney flew into the forest. The area within a mile of the farm was usually completely safe, thanks to Wesley and Sina. Of course, Barney was going quite a bit further than a mile away, into Whispy's territory, but the tree was docile. Well, most of the time. It went on a rampage maybe once a month, but the Star Warrior was always there to beat the tree down. Like some sort of ritual.

The edge of the farm's territory was clearly delineated by the plant life. At the border of Whispy's part of the forest, the plants grew upwards and closely together, making a wall that was nigh-impassable by normal means. It never really worked, though. Almost every inhabitant of Dreamland had some way to travel beyond simply walking. Barney himself had wings, allowing him to hover over the barrier of plants.

Everyone at the farm knew where Barney went every night. They'd all surreptitiously followed him on one occasion or another, and then gotten chewed out by everyone else for doing so. It wasn't like we was actively hiding it, though. He had no real secrets.

Barney floated up a nearly invisible path to a secluded clearing far into the forest. It was deep into the nearly uncharted depths of Whispy's domain. As far as Barney knew, he was the first one to discover it.

He emerged into the sunlight to see a dazzling array of colors and shapes. Flowers from all over Popstar had, at one point or another, been transplanted to this grove. Most of them Barney had bought himself, specifically to plant here. Others were there naturally.

Rings of flowers made a pattern of concentric circles, with arcing rows forming curved segments. Viewed from above, the field looked like an open rose.

Pop flowers, starbuds, lavabloom, dreampetal, heartleaf, and fairy roses ringed the central attraction, the one that had inspired Barney to start the flower garden in the first place.

A towering Dreamstalk vine, growing from the very center of the field. The sunlight had done it good, but when Barney had found the vine it had been shriveled. Through months upon months of care, his loving touch had restored the Dreamstalk to health, and then further beyond. In the recent months, it had flourished and begun to develop flowerbuds. The smaller flowerbuds on the base of the stalk had bloomed already, emerging into beautifully orange and pink flowers. The biggest flowerbud, at the very top of the Dreamstalk, had yet to open. It mildly worried Barney, since the bud only grew bigger and bigger over the months without opening. At this point it was beginning to bend the whole stalk with its mass. Hopefully it was just still growing.

Barney set to work, watering the flowers in his little garden. He was happy with this, keeping the flowers happy. It was a nice way to spend his evenings.

In the bud, which was more like a cocoon, something shifted in its slumber.

Chapter 2: Flower Garden

As the sun began to get lower in the sky, Barney looked up from his work. He was nearly done for today, carrying supplies from one end of the field to the other. Without arms, he was somewhat limited in the jobs he could do, but that didn't stop him from putting in one hundred and one percent.

The bronto burt set down the basket of supplies and turned around to look at the fields. The wheat had all been harvested by Orchid and Sina, and the latter was bringing the harvest down the rows of crop to be bundled together and taken to the mill. Meanwhile, Quartz was overturning the soil and making it ready for the next crop. It was a well-rehearsed process that they all knew well, and as usual it went off without a hitch.

Sina brought the wheat across the field and stacked it on a specially designated palette. The nESP floated across the field, wiping her brow. Unlike many of her kin, she went without a robe, going instead for a skirt, tank-top, and sunhat. She whistled to draw Barney's attention. "Alright big guy, let's get this haul to the mill."

"Right." The palette of wheat had to be almost a dozen times his size, but Barney wasn't worried. He stretched his transparent wings and fluttered off of the ground, hooking the ropes from the palette with his toes and heaving.

A normal bronto burt would've had a nearly impossible task before them. But Barney wasn't worried. He'd always been stronger than the others. Bigger, too. He towered over everyone else when he stood next to them, a trait which had gotten him harassed by normal folk but was incredibly useful on the farm. Raw strength was a trait that the others didn't have.

Barney heaved the palette down the field to the mill. Behind him, Sina set to work sowing the seeds of the next crop across the field, Orchid assisting beside her.

Pain twinged in Barney's wings, but he didn't let it stop him from reaching his destination. The palette hit the ground with a heavy thump, and Barney fluttered to the ground next to it. He blinked the sweat out of his eyes and walked over to the shade of the mill to avoid the heat of the sun. Once there, he dropped to the ground to cool off.

He only looked up when a white shape approached. Quartz was walking over, her beady eyes sweeping over the harvest. She came to a stop next to the pile of wheat stalks and turned towards Barney. The crystalline rocky gave a little smile. "Take the rest of today off. I'll get Wes to help grind the wheat into flour. You did good."

"Thanks Quartz." Barney gave an appreciative grin. "I'm exhausted."

"It's been a long day." Quartz nodded. She tilted her head back and shouted, "Wesley! Get over here!"

"On my way!"

Quartz shook her head and returned her attention to Barney. "Enjoy the rest of your evening."

With that, the rocky walked into the mill. Behind her, the palette of wheat began to slide across the ground, propelled by shifting stones and moving earth. Rock grinding against rock filled the air, as it would for the next hour or so until Quartz had finished grinding the wheat down.

Barney pushed himself to his feet and stretched, staving off soreness by letting his muscles cool down. A couple experimental flaps of his wings lifted him off the ground a bit, and he winced at the feeling. It wasn't too much, although if he tried to carry anything it would probably get a lot worse. Perhaps he had strained himself a little too much. Hopefully nothing that a warm bath couldn't fix.

So he'd walk most of the way, no big deal. Barney started off towards the edge of the field, where his watering pail was waiting.

"Barney!" Wesley called from the other side. "Stay safe. It's about the time of month that Whispy goes bonkers, an' I reckon I caught sighta' some floatin' black monsters."

"I'll be careful!" Barney called back.

"An' be back 'afore dark!"

"I know!" Barney rolled his eyes. Wesley was the self-proclaimed leader of their little family, and as such seemed to think he was responsible for keeping everyone else safe. It was touching, sometimes, but it got annoying really quickly when he was so insistent.

Barney picked up the watering pail with his teeth on the way past, wrinkling his nose at the taste of the metal. It wasn't dirty, he knew that much, but warm steel didn't taste good. Oh well. He could ignore it.

The bronto burt hummed to himself as he walked off into the woods. It was certainly slower by foot, but he had no problems finding the path and running along it.

Barney came to a halt as he reached the wall of plants, hesitating for a moment before lowering the pail to the ground. He stretched his wings, wincing at the discomfort, and fluttered off of the ground. As he had expected, it didn't hurt too much when he wasn't carrying anything. He hooked his foot under the handle of the pail and lifted it up-

And nearly dropped it from the spike of pain. Barney gritted his teeth and flapped over the wall of plants, gently lowering the pail to the ground and landing. Rolling his wings in their sockets, Barney picked the pail back up with his teeth and set off down the overgrown trail to his garden.

As he exited the treeline into the sunny field, his breath caught in his throat. He had walked into the garden before, at around this time of day, too, but every time it happened it still took his breath away.

Glistening puddle lilies reflected the light into the shining starbuds. As the light passed through the starbud petals, the shimmering translucent flowers shot rays of rainbow light over the garden. The heat of the day was enough to bring the lavabloom into partial bloom, shedding orange light over the fairy roses. It was just late enough in the day for the drempetals to open and glow their light blue color, which contrasted with the fading light of the sunglows. The whole scene was beautiful. And yet…

And yet Barney couldn't help but feel like something was different.

His gaze swept over his garden, his heart swelling with pride at the sight of all of the flowers blooming at once. It had taken meticulous planning and Orchid's help to get each flower in exactly the right place to flourish. The reach cacti were sitting between rows of pop flowers, causing the flowers to stay in constant bloom. The lavablooms were in full sun to absorb as much heat as possible. The chillsprouts, conversely, were in full shade next to the freezeflares in order to keep their temperature low. The dreampetals were in the ideal position to absorb starlight, but were sheltered from the sun by the shade of the Dreamstalk-

Barney's jaw dropped, dropping the watering pail with a clang and spilling water over his feet. He didn't even notice.

The Dreamstalk was tall and healthy, covered in pink and orange flowers. That was normal.

It was also bowing under the weight of the immense flower bud at the top of the vine. That was also- to Barney's knowledge – normal.

The sun was exactly on the other side of the giant flower bud from Barney, shining around the closed petals. Or at least, it usually shone around the petals. Barney couldn't tear his eyes away from the now-translucent peals.

Something was inside the flower bud. And it was moving.

He caught sight of the silhouette of wings, then a hand pressed against the inner wall of the flower bud.

It wasn't just some kind of creature – there was a person in there!

"Hold on, I'll get you out!" Barney scrambled forwards, hopping up and fluttering over to the giant flower bud. It had to be at least half again his size, having grown to that size over the course of the past year.

Barney hesitated, looking around. He didn't want to just kick the bud, it could hurt the person inside. He looked around for something to cut the petal with-

There! The pruning shears! He was supposed to have brought them back yesterday after Sina helped him out, but he had forgotten. He flew across the field to the shears and snapped up the handles between his feet, returning to the bud. Furrowing his brow, he carefully stabbed the shears into the side of the bud, avoiding the silhouette inside. With the blades securely embedded in the petal, Barney stomped down on the handle.

The shears sliced through the petal with ease, and a gush of clear fluid spurted from the slice. The first stomp successful, Barney stomped on the shears again, slicing all the way to the bottom of the bud.

When the tip of the bud was opened, the flower opened up completely. Clear fluids flooded over the garden, bringing with them the previous inhabitant of the flower bulb. Its load gone, the Dreamstalk straightened, the flower blooming in the waning sunlight.

The form lying on the ground was clearly female, with a body of graceful curves and gentle angles. Barney didn't have the slightest clue what species she could be, he had never seen any sort of wasp-creatures in Dreamland. Her colors were unnaturally vibrant, too, with most of her body a rich indigo shade, and golden yellow stripes around her abdomen. Four golden wings extended from her back, made out of actual filigree. Her gently rounded shoulders ended in stumps, with her indigo-skinned hands pressed palm-down against the ground a short distance away. Her eyes were closed and her lips were moving silently. Barney took a step closer-

Her violet eyes snapped open, wide with panic. The wasp-lady's pushed herself off of the ground with shaking hands, gasps escaping her mouth. She gagged for a moment, then coughed up more of the clear fluid. With her lungs clear now, words tumbled almost inaudibly from her lips.

"Miss? Are you okay?" Barney stepped forwards, eyes wide with worry.

"P-please." Those purple eyes slowly rose to look at Barney. "I d-don't want to die."

The wasp-lady's fingers dug into the dirt, and from the point of contact with the ground spread death and decay. Flowers withered and shriveled up, dying within seconds. Above him, the Dreamstalk only grew taller. Barney took a step back-,

And the wasp-lady collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Barney stared at her unconscious form for a moment before reality snapped back, and he rushed over. She was sleeping calmly now, the wave of decay having stopped when she fell asleep. He couldn't just leave her laying on the ground, whatever was going on. But without hands, he was basically helpless.

As Barney tried to figure out what to do, four shapes hovered into view. They descended from above, with spherical bodies of shimmering black and a single red eye on the front, ringed by orange orbs that gave the things the appearance of sinister flowers. Inexplicable dread struck Barney at that point, and he prepared to do the only thing that came to mind.

"WESLEY! HELP!"

O-O-O

"Did you hear about the king's banquet, dear?"

"'Course I did. We're supplyin' 'em, after all. One've the king's minions came by th'other day t'place'n order for a thousand tomatoes."

"Was it the polite fellow with the blue bandana?"

"Yep. Seemed pretty fed up with tomatoes, too. Can't imagine why they want so many of 'em."

"I think it's for soup, dear."

"A thousand tomatoes worth of soup? Guess they've a lotta mouths t'feed."

"Most likely. Hand me the next bundle."

Wesley stood up and walked over to the rapidly dwindling pile of wheat. He reached down and grabbed as big a bundle as he could manage, taking it to the millstone to be ground down to flour. As soon as the wheat was dropped into the hopper, the millstone began to turn of its own accord. Clapping his hands together, he returned to his seat. "So, wonder if we'll ever get invited t'one've those feasts."

"Probably not, dear. The king probably doesn't know we exist," Quartz replied, absentmindedly running the millstone as she read a book.

"Well that's awfully cynical've ya," Wesley remarked, leaning back and removing his hat.

"No, dear. It's realistic." Quartz looked up from her book, giving Wesley a look. "Everyone knows how self-absorbed the king is."

"Doesn't make it any less've a downer, though." Wesley shrugged.

"No, unfortunately." Quartz sighed, and her book snapped shut. "Drop the last load in, dear. This one's done."

"Gotcha." Wesley hopped up from his seat again and strode to the last pile of wheat. He scooped it up and dumped it into the hopper. "How d'you think Barney's doin'?"

"He's fine, dear. The boy is stronger than you give him credit for." Quartz rolled her eyes, walking out of the mill. Behind her, the millstone ground to a halt.

"I know he's strong, but this morning there were these big eyeball things floatin' 'round the forest, an' who even knows what they're up to." Wesley gathered the flour and, with practiced movements, transferred it to a bag specifically for that purpose. He quickly tied the bag off, heaving it off the ground and over his shoulder. "I didn't like the look of 'em."

"You really shouldn't judge by appearances, dear."

"I didn't judge by appearances!" Wesley protested, accelerating to follow close behind the rock elemental, "I judged by gut feelin'!"

"Which is another way to say that you don't actually know." Quartz gave him The Look, and Wesley sighed in defeat.

"Still, Whispy usually goes nuts 'round this time of month, an' the kid's garden is in that crazy tree's territory." Wesley shrugged. "I dunno, maybe I am just worryin' 'bout nothin'."

"You always do." Quartz sighed, shaking her head. "I'll go let Orchid and Sina know that we're done for today. Knowing Sina, she's already dragged Orchid off somewhere."

"Prob'ly the barn again. Fer a mind-readin' prodigy, she ain't very creat-,"

"WESLEY! HELP!"

Wesley's eyes widened suddenly, and he dropped the bag of flour to the dirt. Quartz turned and looked at him, her own eyes widening. "What do you hear?"

"Barney needs us." Wesley bolted off towards the barn, slamming the door open.

As he had expected, both Sina and Orchid were there. Well, saying that he hadn't been sure would be lying, and he was cheating a little bit, but it was true that while he wasn't surprised, the same couldn't be said of the other two. Sina squeaked in surprise as he burst into the barn, pulling away from the vibrant leafan. "Wesley! We weren't doing anything too bad, I swear! We were just-,"

"Not the time fer ramblin', girl. Get yerself together and get t'Barney's garden. Might need ya both." Wesley ignored the nESP and the leafan, reaching to a hook beside the door and grabbing the whip bundled there. "Be quick."

His weapon of choice in hand, Wesley turned and ran off towards Barney's garden. He sped past Quartz, who was much slower than he was, but didn't slow down. She would get there eventually, but Wesley would be there first.

Wesley reached the barrier of plants within minutes, lashing out with his whip to grab a branch high above him and swing over. A deft twist of his wrist released the whip's hold, and he was off.

Seconds later, he emerged from the treeline to a ghastly sight.

Four of the orb monsters he had seen that morning were hovering above the clearing, attempting to attack something on the ground. They fired beams of crackling black energy, missing by inches due to the orange shape buzzing around them. Barney was fighting with everything he had, kicking with force that Wesley knew was enough to crack skulls. The attacks had little effect, though, simply phasing through the target or missing by inches. Barney did succeed at forcing the creatures to readjust their aim, though, as each attempted blow caused the things to float a little bit out of alignment. For all their menace, the black creatures were methodical and precise, and Wesley could use that.

"Barney! Get out of here!" Wesley shouted, cracking his whip. He launched the tip of the leather tool into the eye of one of the orbs. Where it normally would have gouged out the orb, the whip only cracked on empty air and forced the thing backwards.

"I can't! I can't just leave her here!" Barney protested, fluttering down to the ground.

Wesley glanced down at the shape on the ground and cursed. "Can ya fly 'er out?"

"I sprained my wing earlier." Barney looked panicked at this point. "What do I do?!"

"Well, there's all sorts of things you can do. You can leave, let her die, buzz off – oh, that one works even better since you've got the right wings – and you could let us deal with it." A new voice spoke as Sina floated out of the forest. The ESPer's hands waved through the air, lifting the unconscious creature into the air. "Or, you know, you could carry her out while me and Orchid do our best to blast these darkness orb things out of the air."

At these words, a flurry of leaves shot from the forest canopy. The razor-edged leaves shot through the orbs without effect, but the gust of wind they carried had far more effect. The eyeball creatures were blown back by a significant amount now. Once Sina set the unconscious creature on Barney's back, she went to work with her powers, creating orbs of energy that launched the creatures backwards.

It was clear by their movements that the creatures were beginning to get angry at this point. The four orbs retreated a short distance, hovering in a square formation. Beams of crackling energy shot into the air, bending and warping in strange ways until they wound together to form a cannon. The metal weapon rotated in the air, aiming at the small group of people, and fired a cannonball.

A wall of rock erupted from the ground, ripping up flowers and grass as it blocked the attack. Wesley turned around to shoot a grateful look at Quartz, who nodded back and lowered the wall back into the ground.

Without warning, massive wooden tendrils erupted from the ground. It seemed as though the conflict had finally grabbed Whispy's attention, and the forest's guardian wasn't having any of it. Roots shot upwards and impaled the orblike creatures, for once dealing notable damage to the monsters. All four orbs let out hideous shrieks, their red eyes rolling madly in their sockets as green grew around them. For a brief, horrible moment the shrieks turned to screams, and then the creatures were gone.

In their places were orange and pink petals, sealed tightly into flower buds.

Wesley let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding and wiped his brow. "Well that wasn't what I was expectin'."

"That was weird. Like, super weird. What were those things? Why are the roots turning into vines? What's up with the flowers? I can't even sense the weird monsters inside the flowers! It's like their minds are just- just poof!"

"Sina, now's not a good time." Quartz looked around the clearing. "We need to get to safety before more show up."

"Well obviously, but it still doesn't make any real sense-," Sina began, only to stop as Wesley put up a hand to silence her.

"Doesn't matter. Let's thank the star that we're safe and go home." Wesley turned to look at Barney, who had stopped just at the edge of the clearing. "And then Barney's gonna explain where the lady came from."

Barney nodded, swallowing. "Please, I think she's hurt-,"

"It's fine." Wesley looked around again, taking a shuddering breath. "We'll take care of everythin'."

Wesley turned and walked back down the trail. After a moment, the others followed.

And the woman from the flower bud twitched in her sleep.

Notes:

Author's note copied from Fanfiction.net, with a few edits. Not everything here is still true, as this was written four years ago.

Greetings, people!

Sectonia is by far one of my favorite villains in Kirby - heck, one of my favorite villains in most video games. Except that she's not even to blame for being evil- the mirror is. But it wasn't until I read a story called Shards of your voice by Wallagen (on FF.net) that I realized that I didn't want her to meet the fate that the games had handed her. Even without the True Arena's Soul of Sectonia, she is well and truly dead by the time Kirby is done with her. So here we are.

If there are any people reading who want to tell me that the Soul bosses aren't canon: I know. I feel like the Souls are something that gives Kirby villains just that extra bit of clout, clawing their way back from the brink of defeat with every fiber of their being. Add to that the fact that every Soul is equivalent to some kind of demigod, and there was my reason for Sectonia's survival. They don't die when their body is destroyed; they find a way back from death.

For those wondering about Sectonia's appearance and why some things are missing, she doesn't have her clothes. No gloves, no heart shaped breastplate, no dress, and no facemask. Yes, I feel like the yellow markings on Sectonia's face are a mask. Removing that feature gives her the ability to emote more expressively, which is why I did so.

If you liked something, or disliked something, please let me know! I always aim to improve!

Chapter 3: Reawakening

The sword flashed through the air, its shining blade knocking the weapons from her hands. Another flash and she was sprawling on the ground, an inelegant mess.

That insolent blob! Who did he think he was, to take her victory? She had expected the Dreamstalk to choose a hero, but not one with this degree of skill! The pink abomination took anything she threw at it, and then sent it right back. Such a hideous creature didn't deserve to so much as look at her, yet it was able to match her might and exceed it.

Words echoed through the hall, and she realized that she was speaking. She was angry. Indignant.

With rage filling her heart, she flew off the balcony towards the massive vine and its flowerbud. Energy flowed from the plant, filling her with power and pain. Her wings disconnected from her back, ripping the nerves apart as the golden filigree broke away from skin.

Energy erupted from the opening flower bud, blinding her. She reached out, casting a spell to tap into the flower's magic.

The roar of energy drowned out her screams of agony.

O-O-O

The screams ringing in her ears greeted her in the waking world.

She blinked, realizing that she had risen to a sitting position. She was in a small room. It was cozy and quaint. It felt… different. What was this place? How did she wind up here? The last thing she remembered-,

Nothing. She could remember nothing.

She knew that this should be worrying. She couldn't remember where she came from, how she got here, or even her own name. Just the idea should have been terrifying. But it wasn't. It was liberating. Like taking off a lead coat.

She looked around at her surroundings. A bed. She had been laying on a bed made of several smaller mattresses. Someone had draped a blanket over her while she slept. She pushed the blanket off and rolled over to her front, experimentally stretching the muscles on her back. Something on the corner of her vision twitched, and she turned her head to see what it was.

Wings, made of twisting gold. It was an elegant design, to be sure. Two wings on each side. That meant she was an insect of some kind. And she should be able to fly. That would probably be necessary, since she couldn't feel any kind of legs.

The first attempt, with broad sweeping wingbeats, proved entirely fruitless. As she sped up her wingbeat, she quickly began to buzz her wings so quickly that she couldn't even see if they were moving. Her body, large and heavy though it felt, slowly lifted off of the mattresses.

Now that she was airborne, she took another look around the room. It looked like it belonged to someone, and was well lived-in. The walls were painted a gentle pink, which made her just a little nervous for some reason. Against one wall was a full-length mirror, reaching from the floor to the ceiling far above. That little facet confused her, as most people wouldn't need a ceiling that high. Still, she nearly hit her head as she hovered into an upright position.

Her gaze was drawn to the mirror, and she hovered closer to it.

The creature she saw was elegant, graceful, and imposing. Indigo and gold, with pinks and purples. Just looking at the creature evoked a feeling of inferiority; a feeling that she would never be as divine as this paragon of royalty-

It was wearing a simple cotton dress.

No – she realized – she was wearing a simple cotton dress.

The creature in the mirror - as alien and strange as it was - was her. She was the elegant wasp in the mirror. It was strange; she didn't feel like the vision of beauty in the mirror. She felt clumsy, too big for her own body. Bloated.

The door to the room creaked open, and she whirled around. Surprise caused her to rise a bit higher, which in turn caused her head to connect hard with the ceiling. Someone cursed, the deep drawl unfamiliar to her. "Sorry 'bout that miss. Didn't mean ta startle ya."

She winced, rubbing the top of her head. "Ow…"

The door opened further, and a diminutive figure walked in. Its body was covered in dark fur, with two pointed ears atop its head. The nearly luminous yellow eyes looked up at her, and the feline's face twisted in a grimace. "Didn't realize ya were that big. Prob'ly should've used the barn t'give ya some room."

"Barn…?" She muttered to herself, furrowing her brow. She blinked, trying to remember something. Anything. "Um. I'm sorry, where am I?"

"Green Acres Farm," The feline creature answered, "Our own little slice'a Popstar." He paused. "Don't blame ya fer not knowin', ya weren't exactly coherent when Barney found ya in the Dreamstalk."

That word. Dreamstalk. That was familiar. "Dreamstalk?"

"Wow, yer really not from 'round here." The feline scratched his head. "'s a magical plant. Dropped from the skies n' started growin' everywhere. I think it's from some place called Floralala? Somethin' like that." The feline shrugged.

"Floralia?" The name slipped through her lips before she could even process it.

"Yeah." The feline gave her an odd look. "Are ya from there?"

"I…" She reached up to rub her temple, blinking. "I… don't know. Maybe?"

"Sounds ta me like ya've got some amnesia." The feline sat down in a wicker chair next to the door. "M'name's Wesley. Can ya remember yers?"

"My name…" She rubbed both temples, face scrunching as she tried fruitlessly to remember. "I can't remember…"

"Well, what's the last thing ya do remember?"

"The last…"

She couldn't even touch the star warrior with her spells. He was too blindingly fast. He had discarded his weapon for the time, using his innate powers to hurl star-shaped blasts of power at her. In rage, she unleashed a barrage of curved blades. The star warrior leaped over the blades, turning around and opening his mouth to catch and swallow one. A helmet of gilded steel manifested atop his head, a pink hand snatching the blade from atop the helm and hurling it through the air at her. She fluttered upwards to dodge, only to misjudge and take the blade through one wing. The curved blade boomeranged backwards towards her-

She collapsed forwards, sprawling on the mattresses and clutching at her head. She could remember pain, now. Not much else. Flashes of a night sky, filled with stars and levitating crystals. And… pink. Something pink that hurt to think about.

The feline – Wesley – had rushed to her side. "You okay there? I din't mean fer that ta happen."

"Stars… I remember stars. And pain. That's it." She screwed her eyes shut, trying to block out the memory of pain. "I'm okay. I think."

"Gave me a scare there miss." Wesley sighed in relief. "So. No name, no past, nothin'. Sounds ta me like yer in a rough place here."

"I… yes. I think so." She pushed herself back into a sitting position. She blinked a few times, rubbing her head at the base of her antennae. "I'm terribly sorry to be causing you so much trouble, Mister Wesley. I'm afraid I have no way to repay you…"

"It's nothin', miss. Happy to help." Wesley paused. "And it's just Wesley. No need fer anythin' special." The feline paused again, furrowing his brow. "Now, this might sound a bit stupid, seein' as ya already said ya couldn' remember nothin', but ya got anywhere ta go?"

She had to think for a moment before shaking her head. "No. I don't think so." She paused for a moment, thinking. "I… I'd like to repay your kindness somehow. You said this was a farm? Could I help out somehow? I… don't know if I have any skills that could be of use, but I'm very big, so I might be able to do some manual labor."

Wesley looked at her hands, an eyebrow lifting. "Well, lookin' at those hands I'd say ye've never worked a day in yer life, but if yer willin' ta help then I won't turn ya down." He shrugged, heading over to the door. "Just rest fer a bit now, though. Orchid said yer healthy but dehydrated so I'll get ya some water real quick, and then we can take a little trip 'round the farm."

The door snapped quietly shut behind the feline, leaving her alone. Now that silence returned, the room felt incredibly empty. She hadn't noticed it before, but now the absence was crushingly oppressive. She hovered above the mattresses, taking deep breaths.

Almost unconsciously, she started wringing her hands. Just on the edge of her hearing was a faint buzz, almost imperceptible. The edges of her vision began to dim as her eyes fluttered, her breathing accelerating as her breaths became shallower.

The air was pressing down on her. Suffocating.

She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe!

She rushed across the room, hands scrabbling on the doorknob as she desperately tried to open the door. She finally managed to grab the doorknob, twisting it as she flung the door open-

Standing right on the other side of the door, a plastic bottle of water in one hand, was Wesley. The feline was looking up at her with an eyebrow raised. "Ya doin' okay?"

"I…" She took a few deep breaths, blinking to clear her vision. She backed up until she was over the mattresses again. "I don't… I don't know." She swallowed and shook her head. "I think so. I just… that was odd." After taking a moment, she continued, "I'll be okay."

"Ya sure? Don't wanna let ya hurt yerself."

"I'm sure." She nodded.

"Well, if ya say so." Wesley shrugged, twisting the cap off of the water bottle and handing it to her. "Just lemme know if ya feel lightheaded or somethin'."

"Th-thank you." She took the bottle in both hands, afraid of dropping it. The opposite nearly happened instead, as her grip crushed the bottle a little bit. A small amount of water splashed on the matresses below her as a result. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean -"

"Don' worry 'bout it. It'll dry." Wesley cut her off, giving a smile for a brief moment. "Now then, I'm gonna go get Orchid to take a look at yer head. Will you be okay?"

"I should be." She took a sip from the water bottle before amending her statement. "Um, actually. I would rather not be alone."

Wesley stopped, just about to step outside the room, and stepped back in. "Aright then. Lemme just…" He leaned out of the doorway a bit, shouting down the hall. "Quartz, dear, can ya fetch Orchid?"

"I'll make sure she's right there," A voice from somewhere down the hall called back.

"Thanks dear." Wesley pulled his head back into the room, talking to her again. "Orchid'll be 'ere in a bit. She's a leafan, an' she's got a knack fer herbs an' medicine. She'll take a look at yer head an' see if there's anythin' to be done 'bout that amnesia."

"Thank you, I appreciate that." She nodded.

"In th' meantime, we gotta figure out what t' call ya. 'Cause I've been referrin' t' ya mentally as 'wasp lady' an' it's kinda rude, t' be honest," Wesley said, scratching his head, "I don't just wanna call ya somethin' without yer input, y'know?"

"I think I understand." She took another drink of water, then carefully set it on the floor. "But I do not have any thought as to how to fix this issue."

"Well, my always go-to is t' begin by lookin' at unique features an' go from there. Yer a very unique individual, at least for these parts." Wesley scratched his chin. "Lessee… yer some kinda wasp, with golden wings, an' ya came outta a flower. Lots t' pick from, I guess."

"Well…" She frowned. "Those open up quite a few options. The family of creatures wasps fall into is Vespidae, which could be the root for several names. Alternatively gold is referred in many older languages as aurum, which is also - what?"

She blinked, looking at Wesley. The feline had a contemplative look on his face.

"Well, if nothin' else, we know for sure that in yer previous life ya were well-educated," He said, "Let's start with that first one then. Vespiday. Could go with somethin' like Vespa, or Vesper."

"Hmm." She furrowed her brow. Vesper had a nice ring to it, but it didn't sound right to her. The association with wasps was accurate, but it felt… wrong. In a way she couldn't really place. "I don't particularly feel like either of those is right."

"Then we move onto the other one. Gold, or,uh, aurum. Aurelia, Auriel, Gol-"

"Auriel," She interrupted, straightening. "I… I think I like Auriel."

"Auriel it is then." Wesley nodded, giving her a toothy smile. He extended one hand. "Pleased t' meet ya."

Auriel, newly named and feeling much better about her situation, took Wesley's hand. She shook gently, noting the limited movement range of his much smaller limbs and trying to be cautious with her ungainly strength.

It was only a moment later that a small leafan poked her head around the doorframe. Her leaves were vibrant colors, and a pale orange flower bloomed from the top of her head, matching the color of her skin. She gingerly nudged Wesley, drawing his attention.

"Oh, perfect timin' Orchid." Wesley stepped aside, gesturing for Orchid to enter the room. "Orchid, this here's Auriel. Auriel, this's Orchid. She's been makin' sure yer healthy while yer sleepin'."

"A pleasure to meet you, Orchid." Auriel bowed her head. "Thank you for watching over me in my unresponsive state."

Orchid's cheeks darkened several shades before she responded with a quiet, almost inaudible "You're welcome."

"Orchid, Auriel here's got some headaches and a serious case of amnesia. Could you take a look at her t' see if ya can help out?" Wesley asked.

Orchid nodded, a pair of vines sprouting from underneath the flower on her head and reaching up to Auriel's face. Auriel held still as she was gently probed. The vines tapped all over her head, at her temples, around her antennae, and on the forehead before being retracted. Orchid hummed to herself as the flower on her head opened, a smaller flower rapidly growing within. When it was full-grown, it opened to release a pleasant, soothing scent.

"Is this helping?" Orchid asked softly.

"It smells quite pleasant, but my headaches stopped a little bit ago. It's not returning any memories to me, either," Auriel said sadly.

"Hmm." Orchid retracted the flower, and it sank smoothly back into her head. "I'll put something together for any headaches you have in the future. Make sure to drink water."

"Yes, of course." Auriel nodded, picking up the water bottle and drinking the rest. "Thank you."

"Are ya feelin' well enough t' w- fly?" Wesley asked.

Instead of responding, Auriel buzzed her wings, hovering up above the mattresses. She had finally figured out her balance, though she still almost bumped her head into the ceiling.

"C'mon, I'll introduce ya t' the rest've the family," Wesley gestured for her to follow, stepping out into the hall.

Auriel followed, ducking her head and spreading her wings at just the right angle to pass through the doorway. The hallway beyond was just barely large enough for her to fly comfortably, so she was careful to keep her course straight to avoid bumping into the walls. More importantly to avoid bumping into the picture frames hanging from those walls. She didn't want to disturb such happy faces, displayed on the walls with care.

In short order Wesley led her into a living area, where a couple more figures were seated on a couch. One was a hovering individual, their small body supporting a much larger head. They lacked limbs - kind of like Auriel - with hands that floated a short distance away from their body. They wore a simple outfit, composed of a sleeveless shirt and skirt, with a sun hat covering their eyes. If, indeed, they had eyes. It was hard to tell.

The other figure was a stout one, and Auriel recognized their species immediately. They were a rocky, an earth elemental of Popstar. This one was composed of white crystals, with rounded edges instead of the sharp points that one would expect of a crystalline creature.

"Sina, Quartz, this here's Auriel," Wesley introduced, nodding first to the hovering individual and then to the rocky. "She's got a bad case of amnesia and needs a place to stay fer a while."

"Hello there," The rocky said, "I'm Quartz. I take care of the finances and earthworks around here in Green Acres."

"Heya, I'm Sina. I'm a nESP, in case you were wondering. I'm a psychic, but I specialize in telekinetics because if I try any telepathy there's a tiny chance that I'll make someone's head explode. I'm not from Popstar, so I get a lot of people wondering what my whole deal is and, uhm…" She spoke in a long, rapidfire stream of words before coming to a stop. "I hope that dress is fitting well. I didn't have a whole lot of time to take measurements before doing the cutting and sewing so if you want another one I can go ahead and do that at some point."

"It fits wonderfully, thank you Sina," Auriel said.

Sina put her hands to her cheeks and flushed red. "Oh gosh."

"Sina, dear," Quartz said, "Be polite."

"Sorry," Sina squeaked.

Orchid walked past Auriel and hopped up on the couch next to Sina, nudging the nESP with the side of her head. Orchid leaned over and whispered something, which sent Sina into a fit of giggles and blushing for a few moments before she calmed down.

"Barney," Quartz called into another room, "Can you come in here, please?"

"One moment!" A chipper voice responded. Auriel heard a door close.

A moment later, a large bronto burt walked into the main living area. He was orange, rather than the usual pink for his species, and somewhere around twice the rather diminutive size that most bronto burts were. He had one insectoid wing limp, swollen around the shoulder that it was joined to.

"I had my wing in the fridge like you told me to, but it's still super sore," The bronto burt said, "I don't think the- oh!" He stopped, eyes widening as he spotted Auriel. "Hi! You're awake!"

"I am." Auriel nodded.

"Auriel, Barney here's the one who found ya. He got ya outta the flower of the Dreamstalk and brought ya back here." Wesley walked over to the bronto burt and pat him on the side.

"Thank you for helping me, Barney," Auriel said, "I am given to understand that when you found me, I was unconscious?"

"Yes, and inside the Dreamstalk vine I was growing." Barney nodded. "Then these black orb things attacked, trying to get to you for some reason. We tried to fight them off, but the only thing that stopped them was the Dreamstalk itself, or, I think it was the Dreamstalk that did it."

"Then it seems I am in your debt. All of you." Auriel bowed her head. "I do hope that I will be able to repay your kindness."

There was silence for a few moments. Auriel began to worry that perhaps she had said something to offend them. The mere thought she may have slighted these people made her inordinately nervous. Fortunately, she needn't have worried.

"Oh nonsense. You don't need to repay anything. We'd be terrible hosts if we exacted a price for helping someone," Quartz declared, hopping off the couch. "Come with me, dear. You must be dreadfully hungry after sleeping for so long."

Quartz started walking towards the kitchen.

Auriel felt a weight in her chest lift. Anxiety that had been brewing beneath the surface vanished in an instant. In its place was a warmth, one that was unfamiliar but very welcome.

Perhaps, she thought to herself, this is what life is supposed to be like?

Notes:

This chapter was posted four years after the last one, largely because I lost most of my motivation to write and just let it sit in a Word doc for all that time.

As for the actual contents of this chapter, I think it's mostly self-explanatory? I was originally going to go with Vesper as Sectonia's name while she has amnesia, but something about that didn't feel right, four years later. Even without the mirror's corruption or her memories, Sectonia still has quite a bit of vanity, and would rather be named after gold if she had the choice. At least, that's my in-universe justification. Really it's just because I feel like Auriel sounds better.

When I started this story I was unaware that, of the characters to have Soul Boss forms, Sectonia and Drawcia are the ones who died at the end of their stories (And Haltmann/Star Dream, but he's a unique case and we'll get back to him later). Although in Drawcia's case it's more a case of her never returning in any form outside of callbacks, while it is absolutely confirmed that Sectonia is dead. Marx and Magolor both canonically return in Star Allies, and Void is eternally rebirthing itself.

In any event, I hope my returning readers enjoy this chapter, and new readers enjoy this story so far. Leave a comment if there was anything you particularly liked/disliked, and I'll do my best to improve.

Chapter 4: Self-Discovery

Auriel had slept in the barn that first night.

A part of her had cringed at the thought of sleeping in a barn, but the rest of her was far more accepting for a variety of reasons. For one, she owed these people her life, and even if they told her not to make a big deal out of it she wasn't going to forget that. For another, it was actually quite nice. The barn's only usual inhabitant was a cream-furred bear named Dob, who was exceptionally docile and gentle. She was more than twice its size, which is what she would normally attribute that docility to if Orchid hadn't climbed onto his back to show her around the farm's fields. The barn was also well-constructed, and since it was a nice temperature outside there was no discomfort on that front. Wesley and Quartz had constructed a makeshift bed for her, refusing her assistance. The last reason she was fine with the barn was, well, it was the only building on the farm large enough to comfortably house her. The farmhouse itself was large enough for her to carefully maneuver through the halls, but it was designed for Barney, who despite his abnormal size was still much smaller than she was.

Having Dob there was comforting, actually. She had been extremely uncomfortable any time the people of Green Acres had left her alone, though never to the point of another panic attack, and the bear was company even if he was just an animal.

Her dreams were full of stars, and hearts, and longing. She couldn't quite remember why when she woke up.

After a nice breakfast composed primarily of fruits, Auriel met with Orchid, Wesley, and Quartz in the fields to lend some assistance. There were currently no plants growing there, and Wesley told her the reason why.

"We only have th' one field," Wesley explained, "But thanks t' Quartz n' Orchid we can cycle crops like nobody's business. We jus' finished a harvest of wheat, an' now we're t' begin workin' on a massive order o' tomatoes. Once they're done an' harvested, we'll load both orders up an' ship 'em off t' the king's castle.

"Fer now, though, I think all th' prep's done an' we can begin sowin'?" He looked over at Quartz.

Quartz nodded. "I moved the soil about and did some replacements where needed yesterday. The field is ready for sowing."

"Then let's get goin'," Wesley said, holding out a bag of tomato seeds. Orchid took it with a vine that sprouted from her head, and she started walking down the tilled field with it.

"I apologize for delaying things a bit, but where is Sina?" Auriel asked.

"She's making a few new sets of work gloves, since Wesley's old pair wore out entirely," Quartz explained. She stomped one foot, and holes opened in an orderly row all along the field for Orchid to plant the seeds into. "She'll join us later with the tomato stakes. Barney's resting his wing. We don't need him hurting himself and delaying his healing. You don't have to join us, dear. We've done this a hundred times before, and we'll do it a hundred times again.

"Yes, but I want to be of use," Auriel insisted, "I don't want to sit by and do nothing but look pretty when I can lend a hand."

"I'd say that's a good outlook," Wesley said, holding another bag of seeds up and out to Auriel, "Yer gonna want to put just a couple seeds in each hole. Quartz'll cover 'em all back up when they're all seeded, an' then we'll move to the next stage. We're startin' a bit late, but if we're lucky, they'll be ready 'fore the banquet the king's holdin' with time t' spare."

Auriel took the bag of seeds and opened it, peering inside. Tiny seeds, far smaller than she could easily manipulate, filled the sack. But she didn't need to manipulate them one by one, according to Wesley. Multiples were fine.

"Then I shall get to work," Auriel said, nodding.

"Let me open it up for you, dear." Quartz stepped over to the next row and stomped again, opening it up for sowing. "Let me know if you need anything, and don't forget to stay hydrated."

Auriel nodded, reaching down to a bag on her abdomen. It was technically a saddlebag, since the harness it was attached to was the only thing that could fit around her widest point. But it was better than nothing, since she could carry around a couple of water bottles with it.

Without further ado, she set to work.

The work wasn't easy, but it was actually quite relaxing. It gave Auriel time to think, to reflect on what little she knew about herself.

She was larger than anyone else here. That much was obvious. But according to Wesley and Sina, who were the most well-traveled members of the Green Acres family, there were few species on planet Popstar that could compare to her size. That implied that whatever she was, she was something extraordinary or rare. Or perhaps from a planet other than Popstar, like Sina was.

And she had come out of a flower. A flower that, according to Wesley, had grown from a vine that had dropped from the sky kingdom of Floralia. Maybe that was where she was from? If the Dreamstalk was of Floralia, and she was unlike the creatures of Popstar, perhaps Floralia was her origin?

She noticed as she sowed the tomato seeds that she could feel just a tiny speck of energy in each one. She wasn't sure how, or what to do with it, but it was there. And now that she'd noticed it here, she could sense other specks of energy all around. In the dirt wriggling, growing in its absolute nascency and even in the air, in small buzzing insects that largely ignored her but gathered around Wesley and Orchid.

"Auriel, you doin' okay?"

Auriel blinked. She realized that she had been staring at the same patch of dirt for several moments. She shook her head and reoriented herself, pulling upright. "Sorry, I zoned out for a bit. I am okay."

"Make sure t' drink water," Wesley said, "It's hot out here."

Auriel nodded, pulling out one of the water bottles from the bag on her abdomen and drinking half of it in one go. With water in her system and her head clear, she went back to work.

In a matter of a few hours, the entire field had been seeded. Three sets of hands - or vines in Orchid's case - had managed to make a massive field go by in a relatively brief time. It was at this point that Sina came outside, several bundles of wooden stakes floating alongside her and two pairs of gloves in her hands.

"Alright so I made a new set of gloves for Wesley and had a ton of time and material left over so I made these for Auriel!" Sina held up one of the pairs of gloves, a thick set of working gloves made from leather and thick cloth. They were sized for Auriel, being several sizes larger than the other pair. Sina floated over to her and held them out, letting the stakes fall gently to the ground at the end of each row of planted seeds.

Auriel took the gloves, looking at her hands for the first time since beginning work. She hadn't really thought about it before, how her hands looked. When she had first woken up, her hands had been smooth and clean. Now they were covered in dirt and her nails were cracked. A part of her cringed at the sight. She accepted the gloves gratefully.

The next step of today's work was planting stakes at even intervals along the rows. Sina was able to do this fastest, lifting a whole bundle telekinetically and separating individual stakes off to slam into place. For Auriel and the others, it was a much slower process of carrying the bundle by hand and planting the stakes carefully. When Sina was done, she came to the other rows, speeding up the process by a massive degree. They still had to head into the barn to get the second set of bundles, but it barely slowed the work down. They had the project done by noon.

Everyone gathered at one end of the field to survey their handiwork. Twenty rows with fifty stakes each stretched across the field.

"Alright Orchid," Wesley said, wiping his brow, "Work yer magic."

Orchid nodded and stepped forward. The flower atop her head opened, a faint green glow lighting within. Auriel could feel the power, fresh and crisp like a spring breeze. It was far more tangible than the specks of energy she had found in the seeds, far more potent. It flowed out, blanketing the field in magical energy. In moments, tiny sprouts had begun to poke out of the dirt, questing around until they latched onto the stakes. After a few moments of exuding her life-giving magic, Orchid stopped, panting from the exertion.

"Well done, Orchid." Wesley pat the leafan on the back. "Go inside an' git some rest. We'll take care've the rest."

Orchid nodded and looked over at Sina, who floated over and planted a kiss on her cheek before the leafan turned and walked into the farmhouse.

"This next part's a bit tricky," Wesley said, turning to Auriel, "We've gotta go through an' weed out anythin' that ain't s'pose t' be there. Are ya familiar with distinguishin' tomato sprouts from common weeds?"

"Um…" Auriel thought about it. She couldn't remember doing anything like that, though it seemed as though her knowledge of specific information was intact even if her memory of events and herself was not. To be honest, she wasn't sure she even knew what a tomato plant looked like while fully grown. "No, I am sorry."

"That's a'right. You can head on inside too, now. If ya want," Wesley said kindly, "Go an' keep Barney comp'ny. I know he's feelin' bad that he can't help. Maybe ask him 'bout his garden. That's where he found ya, after all."

"Then I shall do what I can to help Barney feel better." Auriel nodded.

"Thanks." Wesley gave her a toothy smile, his sharp canines highlighted. "Good work today. It's hard work, but it's a necessity ever since our seeder broke."

Wesley started walking out into the field, immediately setting his sights on a sprout that Auriel couldn't differentiate from any others but was apparently not supposed to be there.

She turned and flew into the farmhouse, carefully fitting through the front door and making her way to the living area. Barney was there, sitting on a beanbag and staring at the ceiling. He had a cloth ice pack on his sprained wing, made by Sina last night for that exact purpose. He looked up as Auriel entered, his eyes lighting up.

"Hi Auriel!" Barney greeted, hopping to his feet. "What's up? Is work done for the day?"

"Hello Barney," Auriel replied, "Work has not completed yet, but it has reached a point where I am unable to help. Wesley insisted that I come inside to rest, since I am unaccustomed to such labor. But how are you doing? You seemed bored when I entered."

"Yeah," Barney said with a sigh. He stared into space for a moment, then returned his attention to Auriel. "My wing is still sore, but otherwise I feel fine. Just cooped up."

"Well, I'm told that you have a garden that you take care of," Auriel said, "Could you tell me about that?"

"Oh! Yeah!" Barney perked up. "It's a personal project. I've gathered flowers from all over Popstar - and even some from other planets! And then I put them all together in a way that makes them help each other grow! I can show you if you want!"

"I would love to see your garden." Auriel smiled.

"Follow me!" Barney started walking out the front door, and Auriel followed.

Barney led her around the field, where Wesley, Quartz, and Sina were hard at work rooting out weeds, and into the woods. There was a small path that he walked along, almost impossible to see unless you knew where to look. The dirt trail wound through the woods, around trees and plants, until it came to a wall of thorns. There was a huge stone archway in the middle, with thorns shoved out of the way and into places they wouldn't normally have grown. It was through the arch that Barney went, while Auriel flew over the thorns entirely.

Only a little further down the path was a clearing, where Barney stopped and turned towards her.

"Here we are! My, uh, not-so-secret garden."

It was beautiful. A rainbow of blooms arrayed in concentric circles. Each flower was placed to assist those in the circles next to it, using their unique properties to create an ecosystem that could never exist on its own. At the center of the garden was a tall vine, rising up from the ground to support a massive flower with pink petals, orange highlights fading to yellow hearts at the tips. It was nearly flawless.

Nearly, because that massive flower had a gash along one of its petals. Nearly, because four other vines sprouted from seemingly random locations in the garden with their own orange and pink flower buds. Nearly, because a large patch right in front of them was withered and gray.

"It's gorgeous," Auriel began, hesitating before she continued, "But what happened?"

"Oh, uh." Barney kicked at the dirt a bit before he responded. "So, a couple days ago, I was looking at my garden and,uh, I saw someone inside the flower of the big Dreamstalk vine."

"Me." She had figured it out before he was done talking. The gash on the flower petal showed that it hadn't been a clean extraction.

"Yeah." Barney nodded. "I don't… I don't think you meant to do it, but when you first got dropped from the flower you were pretty out of it. The flowers started dying around you. Then you passed out, and these black orb things showed up and started firing lasers at you. We - that is, everyone else showed up when I called for help and we managed to protect you until those other Dreamstalk vines shot out of the ground and impaled the orb things, turning them into flowers."

"I'm sorry." The words slipped from her mouth in an instant, guilt crashing down on her. Her hands began to shake. "I-I-I'm s-sorry. I-I'll find a way to fix it."

"Oh it's okay!" Barney perked up. "Now I have five Dreamstalk vines to work with! And I can take this area-," He walked over to the dead patch. "And I can try something new! Maybe we can lay out some bricks and make a patio, or find some plants that can adapt to the soil quality or that are native to Floralia, like the Dreamstalk is."

"Y-you don't… don't want it fixed?" Auriel asked, stunned, "It doesn't bother you?"

"I mean it does bother me. I spent a lot of effort on it, and now it's gone. But when Sina fixes something, she always tries to make it different than it used to be, because you can't really fix something all the way," Barney explained, "But you can use what's broken to make something new. So she adds gold powder or a new color so that the breaks stand out, but are something new in their own right. Sometimes the result is even better. The history you can see in a mended object gives it more… weight, I guess."

Auriel stared at the bronto burt for a few minutes, trying to piece together what he was saying. Making something better only after it's been broken? Giving it more value from the weight of its history? It… it didn't make sense. Wasn't something at its most valuable when it was pristine, and undamaged?

"I don't…" She frowned, still trying to parse it. She would be furious if someone had destroyed something she had put as much effort into as this garden had taken. Absolutely inconsolable. She didn't even have her memories and she was certain of that much. Perfection was impossible to reobtain once tainted. Right?

…Right?

But she couldn't argue against it. There was no reason to, aside from a gut feeling that confused and scared her. So Auriel gave up instead, quashing her confusion.

"How can I help?" She asked.

"Well, we're gonna need to prune those new Dreamstalk vines, and I don't have hands," Barney said. He didn't seem to notice her internal struggle, so at least she could save face there. "I'm going to go around and kick up any weeds I find, but I'll need you to do anything more than that because I'm not supposed to strain myself at all and, uh, I don't have hands."

"Okay. What should I be looking for?" Auriel asked, picking up a pair of shears lying in the shade of a nearby tree.

"Here, I'll point them out for you."

O-O-O

It was nearing sundown when Barney was satisfied with the garden. It wasn't as hard work as working in the field, and while she was close to the Dreamstalk vines Auriel had felt… better. Perhaps it was the energy that flowed from the vines to her, that she could sense just beyond her normal perception. That would probably do it.

In any case, Barney and Auriel returned to the farmhouse. As they approached, Aurial spotted Wesley and Quartz talking around the side of the house. She wanted to talk to them, so she bid Barney go ahead and flew closer. She came to a stop at the corner, stopping just before she came into view.

"...handle another order? We're already on a tight schedule. The tomatoes will only be ready just in time to ship them for the banquet, and that's if nothing else happens. We can't."

"Quartz, we need th' money. We can't keep doin' all the seedin' by hand, it's takin' way too long, an' it's hell on my spine. It's a fairly small order of bell peppers, an' th' king's been buyin' from us so often we should reward a loyal customer."

"Wesley, we don't have the time. We might be able to squeeze it in if we had one more day, dividing the field up and getting Orchid to accelerate the growth of both crops. If the order was smaller, Sina could teleport it all to the castle instantly - and don't you dare suggest it to her, because if you do she'll work herself to death. And even if Barney wasn't hurt, he couldn't transport an order of such size within the day or so spare time we would have. Much as I hate to say it, the day we took off to take care of Auriel and ask around if anyone knew her has made it impossible."

Guilt hammered at Auriel's heart. They were set back because of her. It didn't matter if it wasn't intentional, it was still her fault.

"And what about after? We have a huge order of potatoes for a town on the other side of Dreamland that we need to start on immediately after we ship off the king's order. We can't spare any more than one person and Dob to ship it all off, and it's going to have to be Barney driving the cart because he can't haul things around here, which will slow his recovery even further."

"But if we can git this order in, we'll have enough money t' buy the supplies that'll make it all easier t' do this sort've thing. We might hafta crunch, but it'll be possible-,"

Auriel accidentally bumped the wall, and both Quartz and Wesley stopped talking. She poked her head around the corner sheepishly, clearing her throat.

"I, um, apologize for eavesdropping. I didn't want to interrupt," Auriel said. "It… sounds like you're in a tough spot because of me."

"Didn't even hear ya there." Wesley furrowed his brow and his ears twitched. He shook his head. Indeed, only now Auriel noticed that she had stopped buzzing her wings to fly and was instead properly levitating. It was instinct, not even intentional. Wesley continued, "It's not your fault, Auriel. Y'can't control yer circumstances."

"But that doesn't make it feel less bad." Auriel took a deep breath. "I could deliver the crops to the castle. I'm not a part of your schedule, and my leaving won't interfere with it or delay Barney's healing."

There was another thought behind that notion. That she couldn't figure out who she really was while here on Green Acres.

Wesley and Quartz looked at one another for a few moments.

"That would help," Quartz said, "It won't solve everything, but it would help."

"We can decide whether or not we're gonna take the deal in the mornin'." Wesley sighed. "We ain't diggin' up the tomatoes before they're done growin', so no point arguin' back an' forth 'bout it before then."

"We'll talk about it later, dear." Quartz looked over at Wesley, then back at Auriel. "And you don't need to worry about being a burden. You aren't. You're just in a bad position. Even just moving things around and being another pair of hands is help. Now come inside, both of you. I'll make some dinner."

Despite Quartz and Wesley's assurances that she wasn't at fault, Auriel still felt bad through the rest of the evening. A bad feeling that lingered as she went to the barn to head to bed. She sat in the bed that Wesley and Quartz had made her the night prior, unable to sleep.

So at some point, in the dark of the night, Auriel got up and opened the barn door. She flew out near the field, closing her eyes.

She could feel the life force of the tomato plants, feel how their flickering pinpricks of energy strived to grow upwards. She had seen what Orchid did to make them grow, feeding her own energy into the plants to accelerate their growth. But Auriel's internal reservoir of magical energy was magnitudes larger than Orchid's. She let it flow out, touching each tomato sprout in turn, opened her eyes, and pushed.

The effects were immediate. Green shoots rapidly became vines, winding up the stakes and beginning to sprout tiny flowers. Auriel felt a wave of fatigue come over her, the most she'd felt all day. Yet it really wasn't that much. She pushed harder.

The tomato plants grew even higher, spreading and interlacing with one another. She pushed more. A tangle of vines spread down each row, dotted with flowers. She pushed-

Her focus slipped, and her magic grounded itself at the far end of the field. Green sprouted from the dirt, quickly spiraling up into the air. She tried to sever the connection, to pull back the spell, but the vine sprouting from the ground continued to pull. It reached the peak of its growth and arched downwards, and only as it started to flower was she able to stop the flow of magic.

Auriel floated there, panting as she looked over the field. Tomato plants flowered all down the rows, needing only pollination to develop their fruits. At the far end of the field was another Dreamstalk vine, already budding a flower. She could feel the Dreamstalk even from this far, feel how it was extremely close to bloom. All it needed was more energy, which it would accumulate over the course of only a few days.

"What in the world are ya - holy hell."

Auriel turned around to see Wesley, rubbing his eyes and staring at the field.

"I, well, I wanted to help, and…" She gestured at the field of tomatoes. "I… might have gone overboard. I'm sorry to wake you, I didn't think I would make enough noise to disturb anyone's sleep."

"Where I'm from, if ya can't hear a rival group from two miles 'cross the desert, yer dead," Wesley muttered, shaking his head. "Auriel, I 'preciate yer efforts, an' this'll definitely help. But please, go t' bed. We'll… deal with all this in the mornin'."

Wesley turned and headed back to the farmhouse, leaving Auriel to float there and wring her hands nervously. Had she helped enough to offset the harm her presence had done?

If nothing else, she was able to sleep after that. Exhaustion did wonders for that.

Notes:

No real comments on this chapter, just more of the story.

If there was something you particularly enjoyed or disliked, let me know. I always aim to improve.

Chapter 5: (Not so) Standard Proceedings

The next morning, Auriel was awakened by rapid knocking on the barndoor.

"Auriel? Are you up?" Sina's voice came through the door.

"I will be in one moment," Auriel replied.

She blinked rapidly, trying to chase away the fatigue still lingering. Her head was pounding, no doubt the consequences of her reckless actions last night. She floated up and out of her bed, donning her dress before she made her way to the barn door. She scratched Dob behind the ears as she passed, then reached out and opened the barn door.

Sina and Orchid were there, Sina floating up to be approximately at Auriel's head level. They both seemed extremely agitated, but Auriel was too groggy to tell if it was a positive or negative excitement. Sina was practically vibrating in the air, and Orchid was the most excited Auriel had seen of her so far.

"Did you do that with the field? Quartz said you did, but I wanted to double-check with you first before coming to a conclusion because honestly I hate it when people say I did something without asking me personally. And did you grow that big old vine at the end of the field? It's very pretty, and Orchid says that it's already intertwined with the tomato plants on the root level and making a symbiotic network that'll grow at ridiculous speeds, and she's not sure how you did it - if you did do it - and she wants to know how."

Auriel blinked.

"Please teach me," Orchid begged, looking up at Auriel with sparkling eyes.

"I… don't know how to do that," Auriel replied, looking past the two at the field of overgrown tomato plants. They were brimming with energy, she could feel it from here. At the end of the field was the Dreamstalk, its bud close to opening. It might even reach that point by sunset. She shook her head and addressed Sina. "Yes, I did make the tomato plants grow, as well as the Dreamstalk vine. I am… uncertain how I combined the two. It was mostly instinct, and the Dreamstalk was accidental. I only wanted to make the tomatoes grow faster…"

"Well WOW you did that. They're going to grow faster and faster until they die which might never happen because from what I've heard the Dreamstalk is some kind of god-plant and it's immortal," Sina rattled off. She turned and waved a hand at the field, then turned back to Auriel. "This is insane! If we can replicate it with other crops, we might only need to have a few smaller plots that'll just keep growing and growing endlessly!"

"Sina, I am deeply sorry, but I have a headache right now and I cannot parse what you are saying," Auriel said, rubbing her temples.

"Can you show me next time you do magic on the plants?" Orchid pleaded, "Maybe I'll be able to figure out how to do it."

"Yes, although now that I have a horrible headache I do not think I will attempt it on such a large scale ever again."

"Do you think we could upscale? Make the fields larger by transplanting trees elsewhere and then grow even more crops with this super-plant network. Or, heh, rootwork. Ooh! We could branch out to fruit trees! Or maybe-," Sina started

"Sina, Orchid, don't bother her right now. You both know how bad it gets if you overextend your powers."

Both of them jumped, turning around to see Quartz approaching.

"Sorry, Quartz…" Sina said sheepishly. After receiving a meaningful glare from the earth elemental, she turned around and faced Auriel. "Sorry, Auriel. I'll leave you alone for now."

"Sorry, Auriel," Orchid echoed.

"It's okay. I understand your excitement, but I am currently suffering some severe magical backlash and regretting my actions," Auriel said, "I'll be happy to discuss it later, because I think you may know what I did better than I, but at the moment I desire only to return to bed."

"Okay, I'll see you later, Auriel." Orchid nodded, then looked up at Sina.

"Yeah, sorry to bother you. I, uh, am not good at waiting. I'll go, and, find something to do," Sina said, after several starts and stops.

The two of them meandered off, intercepted just before they reached the farmhouse by Wesley, who held out a pair of trowels and pointed at the field. Auriel could hear Sina's groan from here.

Quartz waddled up to Auriel, looking up to her.

"You okay, dear? I heard you had a headache, and looking at what you wound up doing last night I can see why." Quartz chuckled to herself.

"Do you happen to have something that will make this headache go away?" Auriel asked, grimacing, "I feel as though my head is being sat on, possibly by Dob."

Dob grumbled at the mention of his name, and Quartz chuckled again.

"Yes, magical fatigue will do that to you. Unfortunately, the only solution is to drink plenty of water and rest," Quartz said, "Unless you can get an external source of magic to replace what you've spent. Take the day off, dear."

At Quartz's mention of using an external source of magic, Auriel was immediately reminded of the patch of dead flowers in Barney's garden. The temptation to recreate it - probably with something less precious than someone's personal garden - was immense, but cheating the consequences by siphoning life from other things was probably a bad idea. She didn't want to make a habit of being a magical parasite.

"Did I do a good job?" Auriel asked weakly, watching as Wesley, Orchid, and Sina started going through the tomato plants and rooting out smaller plants.

"If what Orchid said was right, you've either made the best or worst possible change to our field. Immortal tomatoes aren't exactly what we're after, since we need to swap them out when they're done growing, but figuring out if they'll live forever is a problem for another day," Quartz replied, pausing before she gave her actual answer, "You've done a fantastic job, dear. Wesley's already sent word that we'll be supplying the peppers as well. Now go to bed, drink some water, and rest. You deserve it."

"If you're sure…"

"I am. Get some sleep."

Auriel nodded, lethargically turning around and heading back into the barn. She lowered herself onto her bed, closing her eyes.

Dreamless sleep welcomed her.

O-O-O

"Admittedly, I got the idea from you," Auriel said to Orchid, "But I noticed that I had a lot more energy at my disposal, so perhaps I could replicate your growth spell on a grander scale. Then I lost control of the spell, which is how we arrived at the current situation."

It was significantly later in the day, and Auriel was feeling much better. She had gotten enough sleep, food, and water to recover her internal magical reserves. Not entirely, but enough to not feel like her head was going to explode. She had been informed upon her awakening that the work for the day had ended early, since most of it would ordinarily consist of maintaining the tomato plants. Instead, most of what would have been maintenance had turned out to be unnecessary, as the tomato plants had grown overnight before the pests could get to them.

So instead, Sina and Orchid had asked Auriel to show them how she had accelerated the growth of the tomatoes. Quartz was here too, partially because she wanted to see Auriel's magic at work, and partially to keep Orchid and Sina in line.

"So do you have plant-based magic-," Sina began.

"Chloromancy," Orchid inserted.

"Right, so are you a chloromancer like Orchid is? Because I heard that specialized mages tend to be a lot better at whatever they specialize in than general, jack of all trades spellcasters. And wow what you did takes a lot of power," Sina rambled.

Auriel stared at her for a moment, trying to sort through the words she had just heard. Apparently Sina had taken notice, as she stopped and twiddled her fingers.

"Sorry," Sina apologized, mollified, "I get really excited sometimes and if I don't let the words out of my mouth they tend to come out of my head. And then they explode."

"It's okay, I'm just… processing." Auriel closed her eyes for a moment to recenter her thoughts before she continued. "I don't know if I am a chloromancer. I just… copied what I saw."

"Oh! Maybe you'll be able to replicate other types of magic! Like a magical mimic!" Sina rubbed her hands together. "You want to try telekinesis? It's pretty basic stuff, but it requires a specific mindset or it doesn't work."

"I will attempt it later, but perhaps it would be better to start with what we came here for?" Auriel said. "Let us see first if I can replicate the Dreamstalk networking I did last night."

Auriel turned towards the woods and extended her magic outwards. She could feel the Dreamstalk from last night behind her. Feel how its roots connected with the crops and symbiotically linked with them. The growth spell had been the easy part, it was just dumping magic into plants to make them develop faster. Controlling the plants, linking them together, was far more complicated.

She quickly realized that she wasn't the one doing it.

The Dreamstalk was linking with the plants on the edge of the field now, following her instruction to join up with trees and shrubs. It was siphoning energy from her, yes, which made it feel like she was casting a spell, but with every plant added to the network that drain was less and less. It felt like it was beyond her control, and at this point she just wanted it to stop.

The growth halted.

Auriel hesitated. Was it really responding to her? Did she have it under control? She had to find out. She gave a simple command: retreat.

The roots of the Dreamstalk began to retract, pulling away from the trees at her behest. She may only be feeding energy to it, but the Dreamstalk still obeyed when she called it.

Obeyed? No. That would imply she controlled it, that she was commanding it. It was more of a union, one that she could immediately feel was only there because the Dreamstalk permitted it. A symbiosis, mutually beneficial.

Auriel let go of her magic, letting the Dreamstalk rest.

"I believe that I have figured it out," She said, turning to the others, "The symbiotic network is the Dreamstalk's doing. By giving it energy, I, in a sense, performed a transaction with it. It should be easily replicable, if you are polite enough."

Orchid immediately hopped up and ran across the field to the large Dreamstalk vine. She closed her eyes, extending her magic to it. Auriel could feel the Dreamstalk responding, siphoning magical energy from Orchid as it did as she asked. A moment later, Orchid opened her eyes and turned back to everyone else.

"It works!" She called back, excited.

"This is, like, one of the coolest things to ever happen around here," Sina said, vibrating with excitement, "Okay, okay, let's test the mimic theory now. Can you do… this?"

Sina extended her hands, purple energy alighting at her fingertips. A purple outline appeared around several rocks on the ground, floating up into the air. Sina grinned, crossing her… hands. The stones began to orbit around her, taking on complex patterns.

"Just normal telekinesis is easy for nESPs, our species has a genetic predisposition to psychic powers. But I'm super good at it, if I say so myself. Pretty bad at telepathy, and middling skill in clairvoyance and other information-based practices. Pretty good at teleportation and spatial manipulation, that's how I got to Popstar in the first place," Sina rattled off, "But more standard magic users have told me that they can do telekinesis too, and it's pretty much the same thing with a different source. Same techniques, though if you're good enough the source of your power stops mattering. Let's see if you can do it too."

Auriel tilted her head, looking at the energy Sina was manipulating. It was, as Sina had said, pretty simple. Just extending energy out and wrapping it around an object, lifting it off the ground. The patterns Sina was putting the stones through was more complicated, requiring the kind of mental dexterity needed for something like juggling.

It was simple to replicate, and Auriel did so with a handful of baseball-sized stones. She set them spinning about a point in the air, focusing on it at first before she realized it wasn't very difficult to relegate it to a more subconscious action. She looked over to Sina, opening her mouth to ask a question.

And at that moment, Sina upgraded the challenge. Electricity began to crackle around the stones orbiting her. That was easy enough, and Auriel replicated that as well. Fire was added next, sparking into existence as Sina dragged dry leaves into the electricity before feeding energy into the fleeting flames to sustain them. Auriel watched for a moment, then summoned flames outright and put them into orbit around the ring of stones she was controlling. Ice crystallized and joined Sina's display, and Auriel followed shortly after.

"Be careful you two," Quartz said in warning, "Don't take it too far."

Stones began to blink in and out of existence around Sina, teleporting around and complicating the pattern. The threads of energy used were far more complicated here, but Auriel was surprised to find that she recognized the technique. It was simplicity itself to add teleportation to the pattern.

"Dial it back now."

Sina frowned, tilting her head, and waved her hands. Light bounced from stone to stone, scribing runes in the air as it did. Crackling energy arced from the runes, creating rainbow colors where they landed for but a few moments. Auriel recognized that one, too, and created her own runes to bounce through her pattern.

"You're going to overextend yourself!"

Sina grimaced, her hands shaking as she tried to add more energy. Wobbling purples flowed from her fingertips, flickering and wavering as they ran out of energy. Auriel blinked, frowning. If Sina lost control, then the result would be explosive. It was a good thing Sina was so experienced, or this could get bad.

That was the point where Sina passed out.

"Sina!" Quartz shouted, stomping one foot. The ground rose up beneath the falling psychic, then collapsed into a dome of stone around her. Auriel could see Quartz bringing up a wall of rock to shield herself and Orchid as well. "Take cover!"

Auriel barely heard her, staring at the orbiting network of stones and magic. The magical nexus Sina had constructed was fascinating, a self-sustaining mass of elements and power that must have required immense focus to create. Her own spinning pattern of stones was nearly there, simply from copying Sina. If she added a few more connections, she could create her own. The problem, though, was that the end result was unstable by design. No magic could go on forever, not unless it was anchored to a power source that could replenish itself. But it was rapidly getting worse, the immense amount of power amplifying and further destabilizing.

She extended her hands, letting her own pattern dissolve into mundane rocks once more. The orbiting nexus of magic and rock hovered between her hands as she studied it. Sure, being this close was dangerous, but she was unworried. The nexus was enthralling, the beginning of something beautiful. It just needed a bit more… control.

Auriel tugged at the strings of magic, redirecting them and reshaping their purpose. They fed into themselves already, but she gave them an outlet rather than letting it destabilize. A few tugs, a couple cuts, and…

The nexus of magic began to shrink. Stones dropped from the outer orbit one by one, the ice melted, the fire doused, and electricity stopped. What was left was an orb of light in the center, slowly coalescing until a brilliant purple gemstone floated in the air. Perfectly cut, flawless, and the size of her fist.

Auriel caught the amethyst as gravity took its hold. She held it up in front of her face, marvelling at how the light refracted through it.

"Auriel?" Quartz asked, peeking around her stone shield, "What… Did you do?"

"I don't… know." Auriel furrowed her brow. "I just… did it."

"You've made a gem," Quartz said, dumbfounded, "Out of magic. Matter from energy. How?"

Explanations ran through Auriel's head, complex formulae and in-depth magical patterns. She could explain how matter was already energy, just in a far more stable form, and give a speech on how to transfer between the two. Explain how to alter ongoing magical effects to produce a new effect. She gladly would have explained the entire process.

If only she could articulate how she knew these things, the processes required for her understanding. Then she would have shared them. Instead she said the only thing she honestly could.

"I have no idea."

O-O-O

Harvest rolled around only a couple of days later. Ripe, juicy tomatoes sat heavy on the vine, their growth accelerated by the Dreamstalk's symbiotic bond. The Dreamstalk's flower towered over the farm, soaking in the sunlight and generating life energy.

Auriel was dragging several baskets down the rows of tomato plants, coming to a halt at short intervals to pick tomatoes and place them in the baskets. Orchid was accompanying her, picking and placing the tomatoes in the baskets as well. She had to be separated from Sina while working, or the two of them would never get anything done.

In theory, Auriel was supposed to be making sure that she only picked tomatoes that were free of bugs and disease. But there were none, at least as far as she could see. Every tomato was healthy, round, and a nice pleasant shade of red. Auriel had even tried one, and was quite pleased with the taste and the structural integrity of the vegetable's flesh.

When they were done and Auriel was loaded up with several baskets of ripe tomatoes - using telekinesis to carry the ones she couldn't by hand. Sina had given up on trying to coach her, since Aurelia had rapidly outstripped anything the psychic could teach. That had sent Sina into a funk for a day or so, being removed from her position of most powerful mage on the farm. But she had bounced back harder, excited to train with Auriel at every free moment.

Auriel dropped off the tomatoes in front of the mill, which apparently served as the all-purpose sorting and cleaning station for crops. Quartz was waiting there, unable to really assist in picking due to her lack of permanent hands, as well as Wesley and Sina who delivered their baskets of tomatoes at roughly the same time.

"That's all for you today," Quartz said to Auriel, Orchid, and Sina, before she focused in on Auriel, "Could you tell the Dreamstalk that we do not need tomatoes anymore?"

Auriel nodded, turning towards the field and extending her magical senses. She connected with the Dreamstalk easily, and once her intent was known, it began its work.

The tomato plants shriveled, withering until they were nothing. At the same time the Dreamstalk shed its petals and began to grow something new in their place, bending over as it became burdened with a golden fruit. In moments the golden outer layer of the fruit separated into a spiral, revealing the small red core that was the fruit's flesh. Auriel could hear the others gasp at the sight.

"What is that?!" Sina asked.

"I din't even know it fruited," Wesley whispered.

"The tomatoes!" Orchid exclaimed.

"Auriel, dear," Quartz said, "I'm pretty sure the answer is going to be that you didn't, but did you know this would happen?"

"I… did not," Auriel answered, blinking rapidly. She was staring at the fruit of the Dreamstalk, wondering why it instilled a sense of dread in her chest. It was full of energy, so much more than anything else she could remember seeing. More than she had, even.

"Y'think we could add th' Dreamstalk fruit t' our usual catalog of crops?" Wesley asked, rubbing his chin. "Or maybe just add it t' dinner, as a celebration of a successful harvest."

Auriel opened her mouth to say something, but when she tried to find the words, she couldn't. She was feeling trepidatious, but didn't have a clue why.

"Best keep it to small amounts, at least at first. We don't know what a magical fruit could do to the system of a normal person, especially one without magic, like you, Wesley," Quartz warned, "It might also be poisonous, too."

"Well, I'll go an' pick it later." Wesley shrugged. "C'mon Quartz, let's get sortin'."

Wesley and Quartz went into the mill, one basket of tomatoes sliding along the ground behind them as Quartz used her magic to bring it inside. Sina and Orchid drifted off back to the farmhouse, chatting with each other as they did. That left Auriel, hovering outside the mill as she looked at the Dreamstalk in concern.

Eventually she shook off the feeling of unease. If it was truly bad, then Orchid or Quartz would notice before it got dangerous. Hopefully.

This baseless anxiety was getting to her. She needed to get her mind off of it. Do something with her hands, or with magic. Fortunately she had just the thing.

Auriel went down the side path, heading to Barney's garden. The makeshift stone archway was still there, but she had cleared the thorns at Barney's behest. Since the secret was no longer a secret, there might as well be no obstacles to reaching the garden. The thorns were starting to snake back already - that was something that just happened in this area apparently - but for now there was a nice path to the garden.

And what a garden it was. Auriel had helped with every step she could; her way of making reparations for what she'd done to Barney's garden, no matter how much Barney insisted he wasn't bothered. She had plenty of free time, and Barney had nothing but, so they had planned out the design of the patio-to-be, and Auriel had done the preparation that Barney couldn't. The foundations were laid out, the ground flattened, and bricks were even laid already. The centerpiece had been placed already: the sparkling amethyst that she had created out of magic.

Being here was calming. She could feel the contentment of the Dreamstalk, which had linked with the flowers of its own accord. It wasn't doing anything, but the link was there. The central Dreamstalk vine had actually mended itself, the scarred petal reminding Auriel of where she had come from. With something like that, she began to understand what Barney meant about the history of something adding to its beauty.

Speaking of Barney, he was here too. He was napping under the Dreamstalk, his sleep undisturbed by insects or sun. The Dreamstalk had moved to watch the sun, and in the process had shielded Barney through his nap.

Auriel gently lowered herself next to him, careful to avoid disturbing his nap. She shared the shade with him, looking at the garden with a feeling of contentment. It wasn't perfect, but it was on its way there. For now, she could ignore the anxiety that had bubbled within her all this while. Just sitting beside a friend and looking at her hard work. She would be heading out in only a week or so, and she had no idea what she would find out in Dreamland. Perhaps it would change her view of everything, to learn who she was. But right now she was in the moment, and she was all the happier for it.

Notes:

While I would like to write several chapters of slice of life on the farm, with Auriel discovering who she is along the way, that's not the sort of story I am capable of making. I tend to burn out if the plot doesn't move fast enough, so I'm sticking to highlights in Auriel's time on the farm.

In her prime, Sectonia was one of the most powerful magic users on Popstar. That hasn't changed just because she no longer has her memories. In fact, she may very well have gotten stronger since attaching herself to the Dreamstalk. But we'll have to wait and see before we can be certain. Either way, I imagine that before her encounter with the mirror, Sectonia was the sort of person to spend hours studying and then excitedly share what she has learned. It would help explain why Taranza, himself a well-studied magic user, was so fond of her. Right now, though, she's lacking the information to explain everything, no matter how much she might want to share.

If there was something you particularly enjoyed or disliked, let me know. I always aim to improve.

Chapter 6: On The Road

"That should be the last of them!"

The crate thunked into place, slotting into the space allotted for it. The cart wobbled a little bit, but was still plenty stable. The adjustments that had been made weren't enough to impact its integrity, thankfully. Auriel was grateful for this, because those adjustments were for her benefit. The back of the seat had been removed, so that she could actually sit on it. The cart as a whole had been widened so that there was space between all of the crops for her to lay down, and Sina had made her a bedroll of appropriate size to use during her trip. It was touching how much work the others had put into this to make her comfortable.

Not to say that Auriel hadn't been helping. She had been getting more and more involved with maintaining the crops over the past week. She could now confidently pick out weeds and prune unhealthy growths. That wasn't even speaking of her magical contributions. She never dumped an absurd amount of magic into the crops again, but the Dreamstalk bolstered their growth by an immense amount. And at the harvest, it had developed another fruit.

They had dined on the fruit of the Dreamstalk last night, and despite Auriel's trepidation it had turned out perfectly fine. Better, even. The fruit had washed away exhaustion, restoring expended magic. The other Dreamstalk fruit had been bundled in with the crops, for Auriel to do as she saw fit.

Wesley hitched up Dob to the cart, and Auriel was surprised to see that the bear could still pull it with ease. Dob was clearly a lot stronger than she had expected, enough to more than compensate for the heavy load in the cart. It was frankly impressive.

"Auriel?" Wesley poked his head around the cart to look at her. "I think that's ev'rythin'. You ready to go?"

Auriel hesitated a moment before she answered. On the one hand, she was terrified. Terrified of going out into the unknown. She'd been assured that Dreamland was a quiet place, and even Whispy wouldn't be any problem if she stuck to the road, but that didn't help her anxieties. On the other hand, she couldn't stay. She would never learn who she was if she remained, never discover herself.

"I believe so," Auriel answered.

"A'rright," Wesley said, giving her a smile. "Let's get everyone together, 'n we'll see ya off."

Wesley stepped closer to the farmhouse, putting one hand in his mouth and letting out a piercing whistle. Orchid and Sina looked over from where they were sat on the front porch, then both got up and made their way over. A moment later, Quartz and Barney came out the side door to join them. In short order, everyone was together.

"Everyone," Auriel began, "I'm going to be leaving-,"

"Wait!" Sina interrupted, holding up her hands, "Wait wait wait!" She raised her hands, and something flashed into her grasp, teleporting from somewhere else. It was a wide-brimmed hat, woven from straw and decorated with flowers made from fabric. There were two small slots on the top, situated towards the front of the hat. It was also larger than Sina, its diameter greater than her height. The psychic held it out to Auriel. "I noticed that you were having trouble with the sun in your eyes, and I wanted to help, but with everything else going on I wasn't able to get this done before today, so… here you go!"

Auriel took the hat, running her hands across it. She lifted it up and put it on her head, her antennae slipping through the slots in the top.

"Thank you, I…" Auriel blinked, trying to find something to say.

"Oh!" Orchid jumped, her eyes widening. She turned and ran back into the farmhouse. A moment later she returned, vines sprouting from her head and holding a small pouch and a much larger bag. She held them up to Auriel, starting with the smaller of the two. "Tea leaves. If you have any headaches, the tea should help."

"And some meals for the road," Quartz added as Orchid held up the larger bag, "Healthy, hearty, and portioned for your needs. That bag ought to last you until you reach Castle Dedede, dear."

"Thank you." Auriel took the bags as well, swallowing a lump in her throat. She set them in the back of the cart. "Thank you all."

Barney walked up to her, looking up with a smile. "Be safe on your trip."

"An' don' sweat it with th' king. He's a big softy, even if he's kinda full of himself," Wesley added. He extended a hand. "Thank ya Auriel."

Auriel took his hand, and in a moment of emotion pulled him in close to hug him. With her other hand she pulled Barney close, embracing him as well. Sina joined the group hug as well, bringing Orchid with her. That left Quartz, who Auriel pulled in with a telekinetic nudge.

"Thank you all," Auriel said, choking back a sob. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. "I don't know when I'll be back. I'll find someone to bring the cart back. But I will be back, once I know who I am. Who I used to be. I love you all very much."

Only then did she let them all go, wiping tears from her eyes as she backed up. She sniffled, giving them all a smile.

"You take care of yerself, y'hear?" Wesley said, wiping tears from his own eyes, "An' when ya come back, we'll have a place for ya here. Always."

"Thank you, Wesley." Auriel nodded. She took a deep breath to steady herself, looking across the family that had found her. "Thank you all. Truly."

She wanted to delay, to stay longer and spend more time with these people. She didn't want to leave. Not yet. Not so soon. But she needed to. Both for their sake - the delivery was still important - and for hers. So she made her way to the front of the cart and picked up the reins, signaling to Dob to start walking.

She waved with one hand as the cart started to trundle down the road. Eventually, she got far enough that she could no longer see them standing by the farmhouse. Then she couldn't see the house itself. The whole farm became hidden behind the trees soon enough, leaving only the flower of the Dreamstalk visible. And eventually, even that was obscured.

Auriel continued onward, into a world she knew nothing about.

O-O-O

She came to a stop for the night at a campsite by the road. It was a rather quaint little spot, with a firepit in the center and a designated spot to park four carts, though tonight she was the only one there. She unhitched Dob from the cart to do as he wished, and the bear just meandered around a little bit before he lay down to go to sleep. She set out a bowl with his food for the evening anyways, leaving it in front of the slumbering bear in case he woke up hungry.

Auriel opened up her own meal as well, extracting it from the bag Orchid had given her. It was a large sandwich, laden with vegetables and sliced meat and wrapped with care. Alongside it were some strawberries - Auriel's favorite. She smiled at Quartz's thoughtfulness, then began eating.

It had been an uneventful day, to be honest. After her tearful departure from Green Acres, it had been a quiet trip through the forest. Wildlife had buzzed and moved around her, but none had even come near the road. She had seen some things on the corner of her vision, but when she looked they hadn't been there. She chalked those up to just being jumpy, though.

The sandwich and strawberries were gone in short order, leaving Auriel full and satisfied. She set about gathering sticks at that point, figuring that if there was a fire pit she may as well light a fire. To be quite honest with herself, all she knew about making a fire was to put a bunch of wood in a pile and light it, but she tried to set up a conical structure a couple of times before giving up and just igniting the entire pile with magic.

Her body was, frankly, not designed for sitting. Lounging, sure, but sitting upright required her to position herself at awkward angles. It made sitting and driving the cart hard, and at times she had simply levitated in position in order to adjust. But she wasn't going to deal with that here. Instead she used a trick she had learned from Quartz, using earth magic to raise parts of the ground and make a slanted surface for her comfort. She'd put it back in the morning, but tonight she wanted to watch the fire and sleep under the sky.

To that end, she also brought out her bedroll to lay on the slanted stone. It was a pleasant night, no clouds in the sky, and a gentle breeze. She would enjoy a nice night outside, and it couldn't hurt. She watched the flames dance along the wood she had gathered, deriving entertainment from the simple act.

It was nice.

The sun lowered beyond the horizon as the moon began its ascent. Stars began to peek through the darkening blue above, sparkling in the sky. Auriel could hear Dob shifting, getting up before he began to eat the food she had set out for him. She contorted a bit to glance over at him, smiling at the big dopey bear snuffling through berries and bits of fish. Satisfied that he was doing well, she returned her attention to the fire.

She wasn't sure when she had dozed off, because the next thing she knew the fire was nearly out and Dob was growling at something.

Auriel sat up, blinking her eyes until she was sure she was awake. The sound Dob was currently making was the most aggressive she'd ever heard from him. The deep rumbling growl caused her insides to vibrate, which was briefly terrifying until she saw where Dob was looking. The bear's eyes were on the sky. Naturally, she followed his gaze.

Floating in the air was an eye, barely visible in the darkness. Its crimson iris expanded and contracted unnaturally, its pupil centered squarely on her. As she stared back, she began to make out where the rest of its body blotted out the stars, its spherical shape ringed by smaller, orange orbs. It emanated something she could only describe as negative energy. Yes, it was life energy, like every living thing had, but it was rotten, enervating instead of energetic. It made her feel physically ill just to be near it.

The eye blinked.

Auriel ducked to the side just in time to avoid a beam of crackling black energy. She raised one hand, telekinetically shoving the orb back and throwing off its aim. The next blast missed because of this, and Auriel tried to press her advantage. She hurled blasts of lightning, surprising herself with how adept she was with combat-oriented magic.

Right up until a blast of darkness hit her in the chest.

It didn't hurt. Not physically. She would remember the chill it sent through her body later, in the dark hours of the night. It made her feel alone, it made her feel small. She was a tiny creature in an incomprehensibly large universe, separated from her friends, her family, her love-

The feeling passed, leaving her confused and hurting. Her heart ached, her stomach felt hollow, and her intestines curled themselves into knots. It was like waking up from the worst nightmare of her life but without the nightmare in the first place.

She noticed, dully, that the orb creature had stopped attacking, instead lowering down to look at her more closely. She could feel a subsonic thrumming emanate from the creature, causing her antennae to vibrate. It caused a primal horror to surface, but unlike Dob's growl this one didn't go away. It got worse.

More orbs of negative energy began to approach, another two to make a group of three. Three of these horrifying creatures hovering about her, watching her with those awful red eyes. More dark energy emanated from them, waves that crashed against Auriel's magical stores. To her horror, both forms of magic resonated with one another.

A new emotion bloomed, bursting forth from the fertile grounds of fear: hate. She hated these things, hated how they were manipulating her, hated how her magic was synergizing with theirs.

Auriel let out a shriek of rage, lashing out with magic in a spiral around her. Pink ribbons of light slashed at the orbs, batting them aside but failing to do anything. She could hear Dob scrambling away, and a part of her felt bad for scaring him. A brief flash of empathy.

And in that moment, the orbs screamed.

Auriel clutched at her head, flinching at the noise and the psychic pain that the orbs were emanating. The creatures closed in once more at this, whatever had hurt them vanishing as quickly as it happened. She was shaking now, scared, confused, and angry but unable to do anything.

The orbs whispered the answer: let it out. Let her pain out on everything around her. It was oh so tempting to follow their insidious advice.

"Hold on to something, lady! This is gonna get wild!"

Auriel snapped her head up to see a shape flying through the air towards her. Small, round, horned, and with wings of sparkling hexagons. She was scared it was going to hurt her. She was confused at its shape, at its intentions. She was angry at how it dared to get itself involved. She was shaking, trying to figure out what to do.

The shape in the air let out a wild cackle, then split in half.

Energy siphoned from everything around her, pulling at stray threads of magic as they pulled into a void in the air. Shortly after, physical matter began to follow. Bits of dirt and ash from the fire flew into the vortex, followed a moment later by Auriel's bedroll. Auriel was able to fight it enough to stay in place, but the orbs weren't so lucky. They were made of energy, and with no mass to anchor them they began to fall into the void.

She didn't even hear the screams, as the air that carried them was absorbed as well.

The newcomer's halves snapped back together, and they fell to the ground. The sparkling hexagons were gone, and now that this creature was on the ground she could properly see what it was: a small, spherical individual with a bowtie and a jester hat. He was purple-skinned and big-eyed, and had he not just summoned a singularity she would view him as cutesy.

"Wowza! That was close!" He said, grinning. He had fangs, she noticed dimly. Why did he have fangs? "You're lucky I was close enough to hear the screaming! A moment too late and you would've been corrupted by that Dark Matter!"

"Wh-who are you?" Auriel asked. Her anger was fading, as well as her fear, but the confusion remained.

"Oh, I'm-," He paused, a confused expression on his face. Then his cheeks bulged outwards. His eyes bugged out of his head for a moment, then his mouth opened far wider than should have been possible as he spat Auriel's bedroll onto the ground. He looked at it for a moment, then returned his attention to Auriel.

"I'm Marx!" He said, grinning, "Who are you, lady? The Dark Matters don't usually bother most travelers, and when they do they just blow things up and shoot energy blasts rather than do the whole negativity thing. Well, when they're in the area. They tend to keep far from me."

"I'm just delivering crops to the castle! I don't know why those things would attack me!" Auriel protested. It felt like she was being interrogated, and it hurt because she hadn't done anything wrong.

Marx gave her a funny look for a moment. "Alright then. Fine. Just go to sleep or something. Bye."

The small, round individual turned and walked off into the woods, leaving Auriel alone. She was still shaking. Not as much, but the tremor was still there. She was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. She didn't even bother with her bedroll, just crawling into the cart between the crates and curling up.

She didn't think she'd ever fall asleep, so wracked with nightmares were her thoughts.

It was only a few troubled moments before she passed into unconsciousness.

Notes:

The true beginning of Auriel's journey to learn who she once was, as well as Marx's first appearance in the story.

Yes, Marx's first appearance. This stupid grape is going to be present later on, because of course he is. He's a great source of comedy and can be used as a foil for most characters, especially since 'causes problems on purpose' is the only canon characterization he has.

If there was something you particularly enjoyed or disliked, let me know. I always aim to improve.

Chapter 7: Marx

Auriel blinked her eyes open slowly. She was sore from sleeping on bare wood, and had gotten such a poor rest that she may as well have stayed up all night. But she was clearer-headed now, and the first thing she did was wince at her actions last night.

What had she been thinking? She hadn't fought back against those things last night, not properly. She had given up after getting hit once. And then she had considered following their advice! Like a maniac! And then, when someone had saved her, she had been snappy and defensive towards him!

Auriel groaned, resting her head in her hands. What a disaster.

Something moved around outside the cart, which was the only stimulus she had received since waking up. Based on the weight of the footsteps and the snuffling sounds, it was probably Dob. Which meant that she had to go and give him his food for the morning.

She floated out of the cart, blinking in the sunlight for a few moments, then went to work.

She had to find and retrieve Dob's food dish first, which she did in short order. She filled it with food and put it down for the bear to begin his breakfast, then set about picking up the things that were dislodged in the scuffle. Like her bedroll, which was miraculously unharmed despite being sucked into a vortex of magic and… whatever else.

Only once she had cleaned up the campsite, picked up all her stuff, and flattened the stone she had used as a lounge did she start to relax. She lit another small fire and placed a tea kettle above it, filling it with water she had brought from Green Acres. It started to boil faster than she had expected, though perhaps it was just because she was tired. She pulled out the tea leaves that Orchid had gifted her and placed a portion in a small cup, then filled it with the hot water. She left it for a while to steep while she did something else.

It was as she was opening her breakfast - a trail mix of fruits, nuts, and grain - that she heard the sound of something rubber repeatedly hitting something. It was getting closer, too. Eventually, the source of the sound came into view.

Coming down the road was a small figure, wearing a bowtie and a jester hat. Marx was balanced on a rubber ball, which he rolled with shocking agility considering that his legs were so short they may as well not exist. Either way, it was probably much faster for him to roll on the ball than to walk.

Marx grinned as he came into view.

"Oh good, you're still here!" He said, rolling his ball closer, "I was worried you might've left already."

"I must apologize to you for my behavior last night," Auriel replied, setting down her breakfast and putting her hands together. She bowed her head. "My name is Auriel, and I am delivering a shipment of crops to Castle Dedede for Green Acres farm. I don't know why I am a target for those creatures, but they have attempted to attack me before tonight and I assume that they will do so again. Thank you for assisting me, Mister Marx."

"Woah, wasn't expecting a long-form answer to a question I asked in the middle of the night, but good enough I guess?" Marx raised a brow. "And, uh, I ain't no 'mister'. I'm just Marx."

"Of course. I am sorry, Marx." Auriel nodded.

"Geez." Marx squirmed a bit, looking genuinely uncomfortable. "Loosen up a little. I'm not offended that you were harsh last night, alright? I was feeling wrong too. That's just what happens when you deal with Dark Matter. They're, like, anger and sadness and loneliness concentrated into a ball, okay? When they attack, they make you want to just be alone and sulk for a few hours. So let's establish right here that what you said or felt last night doesn't matter because it wasn't legitimate, and we can just treat each other like normal people, m'kay?"

Auriel blinked, shocked for a few moments at Marx's blunt attitude. But eventually she nodded, acquiescing to his demands.

Her tea was done, and she telekinetically removed the leaves and set them aside. Already the aroma was helping, causing her headache to fade and her body to relax. She let out a heavy breath and took a sip.

"I still must thank you for your help," Auriel said, "Do you frequently need to help people traveling through the area?"

"Oh no, it's a rare day when anything happens. This is Dreamland, after all." Marx rolled his eyes. When he continued, it was in a mocking tone, "'A nice, quiet kingdom where nothing happens at all!' Boring!" He shook his head, then grinned slyly. "I don't just save people for free, y'know. I expect something in return…"

"Well," Auriel started, swallowing, "I currently do not have any money…"

"Oh no, I don't want money…" Marx's grin grew more sinister as he rolled his ball closer. His pupils changed, narrowing into slits as his fangs elongated.

"Then… what do you want?" She was getting nervous, now.

"I want…" He leaned up, close to her as his eyes bugged further out of his head. Then, in an almost instant shift, he had big sparkling puppy eyes as he pouted. "A kiss, pwease?"

Auriel narrowed her eyes. "Do you molest everyone who passes by, or just the ones who owe you?"

Marx burst into laughter, almost falling off his ball as he careened from side to side. His entire face contorted impossibly to allow his laughter out of his tiny body, mouth opening far too wide as his eyes shot in and out of his head. After several minutes of cackling - which Auriel used as an opportunity to take a sip of her tea - he wound to a stop.

"Auriel, lady, you kill me." A golden wing sprouted from Marx's side, with sparkling hexagons instead of a membrane and sharp claws halfway along their lengths. He used his wing to wipe tears from his eyes. He let out a couple more chuckles before he managed to properly compose himself. "But nah. Just a joke. Everyone gets at least one, because it's hilarious. I would appreciate something to eat, though. I'm hungry."

"Here." Auriel held out the trail mix that was her breakfast. "Don't take too much."

"Hrmm…" Marx squinted. "How much is 'too much'?"

"Half?" Auriel raised a brow. "Although I don't think you could eat that much."

"Lady, you severely underestimate how driven I am by both an unending stubbornness and pure spite," Marx said, that too-wide grin returning for a moment, "But I'll stick to less than half. I'm not here to make enemies or pick fights."

That spoke a lot about things that Marx hadn't even said. There was an unspoken 'anymore' at the end of that sentence, one that she easily picked up on. But she didn't push. He was entitled to his privacy.

She set down the trail mix in Marx's reach and continued to sip her tea. She looked out into the woods, just taking in a pleasant morning and the aroma of her tea.

"Alright, I had my share."

Auriel had to fight her surprise to keep from spraying her tea. She swallowed hastily, then looked down at Marx.

"Already?!"

"Told you I was hungry." Marx plopped himself down, an impressive feat considering he was now sitting on his ball and still balancing. "And, as I said, pure spite. Never doubt me."

"Noted…" Auriel furrowed her brow, taking her trail mix back. Sure enough, about half was missing. She set aside her tea to begin eating the rest. "Those things, last night… you called them Dark Matter, right?"

"Yeah. They've popped out of the woodwork every now and then since Kirby obliterated their master Zero," Marx explained, "Now I'm no egghead, but I've got a friend who is and he says they're made of negativity. That's why they suuuuuck to fight unless you get the drop on them, because you're just going to feel awful afterwards."

"Is… there a reason they might single me out?" Auriel asked.

"I'unno. Maybe they saw something in you they liked. Or something they didn't." Marx couldn't really shrug without arms, but he gave it his best attempt. "That's why they were always after Kirby. He could hurt them when almost nothing could."

"And… who is Kirby?"

"Who is- What?!" Marx sputtered, nearly falling off his ball. He quickly righted himself and stood back up. "Were you born yesterday?! How do you live in Dreamland and not know who Kirby is?!"

"It was a few weeks ago, actually…" Auriel muttered to herself.

"A few- okay, explain." Marx fixed a glare on her. She was sure he could make it far more intimidating if he tried, but it was far from it as he was now.

"I awoke a few weeks ago without any memory of myself," Auriel explained. She finished off the trail mix before continuing. "The people of Green Acres Farm took me in and nursed me back to health. I didn't have a name, a history, or any awareness of the world. That's part of why I'm here, instead of still on Green Acres. To find someone who knows who I was."

"Huh. Okay…" Marx furrowed his brow. "Well, that would be how you don't know Kirby. Everyone knows Kirby, whether you want to or not. He's kind of a big deal, and also super annoying because he's always all cutesy and friendly even when you're in a bad mood and no I don't-," He stopped, seeming to realize that he was ranting, and cleared his throat. "Anyways, live in Dreamland long enough and you'll meet him. Great guy. Kicked my butt across the galaxy."

"Are you being figurative?" Auriel asked nervously.

Marx just giggled to himself.

She wasn't sure if she wanted the answer.

Auriel finished her trail mix, then her tea, and gathered up what was left of her stuff to pack it away. She called Dob over and harnessed him to the cart quickly. In short order she was ready to go.

"Thank you again for saving me from the Dark Matter," Auriel said to Marx, "But now I must continue on my trip to Castle Dedede. If I am to be there before the vegetables spoil, I must be off promptly. Farewell, Marx."

"Oh no, you're not leaving me behind that easily!" Marx scowled. He rolled his ball up to her and stood on tiptoes, which did not bring him much closer to her face but did mean he was trying. "Lady, I have spent the past several years sitting in this stupid, boring woods with nothing happening beyond the occasional spat Whispy has with everything around it. But if nothing else, you've caused something interesting to happen."

"I can't stay…" Auriel frowned.

"Who said anything about staying?" Marx rolled past her, bouncing his ball up to the seat of the cart. He kicked it backwards into the main cart itself and sat down. "Onwards to Castle Dedede!"

Auriel was stunned for a brief moment at his brashness, then shrugged. The company would be nice, if nothing else, and perhaps she would be able to learn a few more things about the world from this little jester.

"Do keep your volume down. Dob doesn't do well with loud noises," Auriel said, "And don't touch the goods we're transporting. Those are important."

"Road trip! Road trip!" Marx chanted, bouncing up and down in his seat.

Auriel shook her head. Perhaps this was a bad idea, but if nothing else it would be a learning experience.

O-O-O

"What was that spell you used on those Dark Matter?" Auriel asked. They were on the road now, and trees moved past as the cart proceeded.

"Spell?" Marx scoffed. "Lady, I don't cast spells. That requires, like, practice and reading. I don't do either of those things. I just do things."

"But any act of magic is, by definition, a spell," Auriel protested, frowning, "Just because you aren't replicating a spell someone else created doesn't make it not a spell."

"I just open a portal to the pain dimension. Ain't that complicated."

"The-" Auriel pulled a face, looking at Marx. "The pain dimension?"

"Look, I've never gone into it!" Marx said, "The only person who's gone in and come out said that it was just pain. Since they weren't obliterated, it's clearly not a black hole. So it's a portal to the pain dimension."

"But if it's a portal, why does it have no magical energy coming out of it? It absorbs energy instead. That shouldn't be possible. It defies magical dynamics," She replied, "Unless what you're doing is collapsing a concentrated node of magic, which will sustain itself by siphoning in all nearby energy. But that sort of effect wouldn't pull in physical matter unless you inserted a pattern that would do that - but it would destroy any matter it came into contact with at that point, so my bedroll would wind up being a bunch of magical energy with nothing remaining. So the ultimate question is how it manages to let anything survive -,"

"Geez! It's just a vortex! No need to go full nerd about it!" Marx groaned, rolling his eyes, "Not everything has an explanation, Auriel. Clockwork stars grant wishes, the sun and the moon are jerks, and I have a portal to the pain dimension in my stomach. All things that don't need you to go on a three hour lecture to explain."

"...You don't have to be so rude. I was simply sharing something which piqued my interest," Auriel said, hurt.

"How do you even know all that stuff, anyways?" Marx ignored her complaints. "You said you woke up without your memories a few weeks ago, how does that not include inane nonsense?"

"Magical theory is neither inane nor nonsense! It's the fundamental basis of our-," Auriel stopped, staring at Marx. He was wearing a smug smile on his face. "You're getting a kick out of this, aren't you?"

"Took you long enough," Marx said, grinning, "But yeah seriously I know exactly nothing about magic. I just do things."

"Just because you don't know how it works doesn't mean that there's not anything complicated going on," Auriel said with a sniffle.

"Yeah, but I don't care." Marx rolled his eyes. "I'm more interested in how you know this stuff."

"I don't know. I emerged from the Dreamstalk with most of my memory gone and an incomplete understanding of the world."

"Wait, from the Dreamstalk?" Marx actually paid attention at that. "That giant vine from the sky?"

"From Floralia, yes." Auriel nodded.

"Huh…" Marx went silent for a while. "And Auriel is the name you…"

"The name I chose for myself after awakening, yes. It is not my actual name."

"Hmm…"

That was the last thing Marx said for a good while, leaving Auriel to drive the cart in relative silence. It was rather pleasant, actually. Being able to take in the woods without Marx constantly trying to start an argument. Not that talking to Marx was unpleasant in itself, though. She actually rather enjoyed talking to him, as obnoxious as he could be.

Marx was a rather odd individual. Not that she had much basis of comparison. She herself was an odd individual, so she wasn't in a position to judge him. Still, his active antagonism seemed awfully out of place considering what she knew of Dreamland. Perhaps her sample was simply too small to have an accurate understanding, or perhaps Marx really was an outlier. Either way, she was happy to have his company.

She looked over at Marx again a few hours later, surprised he hadn't said anything in that whole time. He had a contemplative look on his face.

"Is something on your mind?" Auriel asked.

"I think…" Marx began, only to stop. "I think you'll be able to figure out exactly who you are when you get to Castle Dedede."

"What makes you say that?"

"Call it a hunch."

She could tell there was something he was hiding. Not because of his choice of words or his tone of voice, but because of the expression he had on his face. A mischievous grin that she had come to recognize.

She wasn't sure whether to be excited or scared.

Notes:

A proper introduction for Marx, who causes problems on purpose. His main goal in life is to annoy everyone around him, for his own amusement. He acts as a great foil for Sectonia because of this. He's also just a ton of fun to write.

If there was anything you particularly enjoyed or disliked, let me know. I always aim to improve.

EDIT: Apparently missed a paragraph when initially posting the chapter. Nothing too important was missing, thankfully.

Chapter 8: Arrival At the Castle

"You gotta be real careful around them. They may seem cute, but if you get too close that's when they split open and bare their toothy maws!"

"...Are you quite certain that you aren't describing a scarfy?"

"No! It's the Dees you gotta worry about!" Marx said emphatically, "You get within arm's reach and then they just split open like this-," To demonstrate, Marx split vertically. His jester hat morphed into a pair of jaws, hinging between his eyes as a toothy maw gaped. He continued, using this new mouth to talk, "And then they bite your face off."

"Hmm. Allow me to consult my notes." Auriel ignored the blatant display of body horror as she raised one hand. She mimed leafing through papers before she continued. "According to your warnings, the most dangerous things in Dreamland are, in descending order, Waddle Dees, Pop Flowers, and apples. Followed significantly later by Dark Matter. Nowhere on this list is Kirby -,"

"Yeah he's not dangerous."

" - Who is apparently capable of cracking the planet in two, eating gods, and summoning stars, all of which are claims that you have made." Auriel pretended to push a pair of glasses up her face as she studied the 'list' she was pretending to read. "I can only surmise that either this list was compiled by a complete moron, or…" She dropped the act, turning to give a deadpan look at Marx. "You're messing with me."

"Well, one of those is probably true." Marx's body sealed back up, returning to his normal form. He grinned cheekily.

"Or you're the biggest coward on the planet."

"I have been known to lose fights against pillowcases," Marx said, nodding solemnly.

"I might just be able to believe that one." Auriel rolled her eyes, smiling. If nothing else, Marx's antics were pretty entertaining. It had made the trip far less lonely than it might otherwise have been, and she was grateful for it. The past few days had been rather pleasant, honestly. A little obnoxious at times, but the variety gave the experience more depth.

And now they were on an inclined path, slowly climbing the road up a mountain. Auriel could see from here the castle at the peak of the mountain, as well as a town on the nearby mountainside, from here. She could even see, on a higher path that the road no doubt joined up with, another cart trundling along. If she looked back the way they came, she could see a third cart heading the same direction. Since she hadn't seen any other travelers - aside of course from Marx, but he hardly counted - until today, she could assume that they had all come from other locations throughout Dreamland.

Whatever occasion the king was celebrating, it must be truly monumental to warrant such immense amounts of supplies. Even just the crops that Auriel was transporting was a huge amount, though just flour, tomatoes, and peppers didn't really constitute a meal. It could be components in an immense amount of soup and bread, but the amount of people required to eat that much was absurd. Or perhaps it was just a few, exceptionally hungry individuals? Wesley had told her that, at one point many years ago, King Dedede had sent his army to collect as much food as possible, without regard for who they stole from. The king had since apologized profusely for his behavior, though, and since had been largely beloved for his acts of heroism. Still, if someone was willing to take all the food in Dreamland, he must have a massive appetite.

The cart rattled on.

They entered the town after only another half hour of travel. There was a small gate at the formal entrance, through which she drove the cart. The inhabitants of this town were mostly Waddle Dees, going about their own business, but there were others dotted throughout. There were elementals of different types, be they earth, fire, ice, electric, or wind. Cappys, pushing up their fungal caps so that they could see. Bronto Burts fluttering between rooftops and street level. A pair of armored knights were chasing a Kabu down an alley, only to be stumped as the spinning head floated straight up and out of their reach.

"Well," Marx said, "This is where I stop."

"What? Why?" Auriel turned towards him, furrowing her brow.

"See, I wanted to come along because it would be fun," Marx explained, "And it has been pretty fun. But I'm not a huge fan of the castle. It's a bit too… what's the word?"

"Ostentatious?"

"Does that mean fancy?"

"Close enough."

"Yeah, the castle's a bit too ostentayshus for me. I tend to break things, for one. And the decorations are awful, honestly. Just the same symbol over and over again." Marx pulled a face. "So yeah. Lemme just…"

Marx ducked into the cart and rummaged around a bit, returning with his ball. He rolled it out onto the seat, carefully climbing up onto it as the cart kept moving. He carefully maneuvered himself to look at Auriel.

"It's been entertaining, if nothing else. Have fun with the castle. Don't give the king my regards, I'm pretty sure he hates my guts," Marx said, grinning, "Peace out."

"Marx," Auriel called out before he could leave. He paused, raising an eyebrow. "Thank you. For saving me from those Dark Matter. For keeping me company. And even for the advice, even if most of it was an elaborate prank. You've made my trip far more bearable than I think it would have been otherwise."

"Aw geez." Marx shifted uncomfortably, eyes drifting to look anywhere but at her. "Now I'm going to feel bad."

"Why? I genuinely enjoyed your company." Auriel frowned.

"For this."

Marx bounced his ball off of the cart, his wings snapping out as he did so. Magic flowed from them and tugged something else with him. A flash of gold flew past Auriel's eyes as an object almost as large as Marx was landed between the horns of his jester hat. A small red bean, surrounded by a much larger golden shell. The fruit of the Dreamstalk.

"I didn't touch the crops, in case you were wondering!" Marx shouted. He was rapidly rolling away, using his wings to hold the Dreamstalk's fruit to his head. "Good luck lady! See you around!"

Marx cackled, rolling rapidly through the streets of the town. Auriel was too stunned to do anything, though later she would berate herself for not using her own magic to telekinetically retrieve the fruit. For now all she could do was hope that Marx would keep the destruction and chaos to a minimum.

Though given that she heard someone shouting in the direction the jester had gone, that was unlikely.

The cart rumbled onwards anyways. Dob wasn't even phased by Marx's dramatic actions, just plodding along like normal. Auriel took a deep breath to recenter herself, then followed his example.

Perhaps it didn't mean anything. Marx might very well do this sort of thing to everyone. The fruit wasn't even important to her, though the thought of someone else getting their hands on it made her nervous for some reason. Marx seemed like a mischievous soul, but not a pointlessly cruel one. Though, given that she hadn't even suspected that he would steal from her, maybe everything had been an elaborate act. But if it had been an act, why even bother with all the silliness that seemed designed to amuse? Eventually she decided that it would be better to just… let the problems, if there were problems, be someone else's issue.

In the distance, the shouting upgraded to screams.

Yeah, probably best to let someone else handle it.

O-O-O

Auriel's cart rolled up to the castle just as another was pulling away. There was a service road around the side of the castle, which is where she went. The front gate was open, yes, but it wasn't currently in use.

It wasn't much of a castle, she thought to herself. Not that it wasn't a large structure - on the contrary it was positively enormous. But by definition a castle was designed to withstand a siege. Yes, there were cannons on the walls, but they were well-polished and spotless, none of the soot or wear that would be associated with battle. They were decorative at best. This was a palace, despite the name, and it was designed for luxury.

She wasn't sure why she had such a comprehensive understanding of these matters. It was just another mystery from her past life.

Dob pulled the cart into a large entry in the back of the palace. The entrance to the loading bay was wide enough for two carts to safely pass each other, which is what happened as she entered. The Waddle Dee driving the other cart looked over at her and began to nod, only for their eyes to widen and their entire body to freeze as their cart continued moving.

That was… weird.

Auriel shook it off and continued in, bringing Dob to a stop next to a Waddle Dee with a clipboard and a pen. As the cart came to a stop, the Waddle Dee spoke.

"Can you please list your cargo and where you came from?" The Waddle Dee requested.

"I am transporting wheat, tomatoes, and bell peppers from Green Acres," Auriel answered, "In sizable quantities."

"Green Acres, huh?" The Waddle Dee glanced to one side, noticing Dob properly. "Oh, hello Dob."

Dob grunted, laying down.

"And a fine day to you as well." The Waddle Dee nodded. They jotted some notes down on their clipboard. "Alright, I'm going to need you to sign here and then we can begin unloading the… cart…"

The Waddle Dee trailed off as they looked up, their speech slowing as they finally looked at Auriel. The pen and clipboard slipped from their grip to clatter on the floor. Their eyes widened slowly. "Wa…"

"Are you okay?" Auriel asked, concerned.

"WAAAAAAAAAAHH!" The Waddle Dee threw their arms up in the air, turning and running into the castle as quickly as their stubby legs would take them.

Auriel watched, stunned. What was that about? Did she intimidate the Waddle Dee through sheer size?

She gently floated down from the cart and picked up the clipboard and pen. If nothing else, she was going to follow through with proper procedure. She put her flowery signature on the dotted line, then set the clipboard and pen to one side.

Then, despite every cell in her body telling her that trespassing would probably help exactly nobody, she followed the Waddle Dee.

She wanted to apologize, to explain herself. To let the Waddle Dee know that she was sorry for scaring them. The potential legal repercussions, if there were any, weren't as important to her. She had a feeling that if she just explained herself, there would be no trouble.

Auriel went through the side door the Dee had taken, surprised to find that it was by far large enough for her to fly comfortably through. She paused for a moment, looking back at Dob.

"I should be back soon," She said.

Dob grunted.

Auriel shook her head, chiding herself. He was a bear. He probably didn't understand what she had just said. Nonetheless, it made her feel better.

The spacious hall past the side door was decorated with banners of blue and red, with golden highlights. The center of each banner was a symbol that she could only assume was supposed to be a rabbit. She flew down the hallway until she reached the end, where there was another open door. She could hear voices from the room beyond, echoing in a large space.

"There was- and she - and I - and AAAAAH!"

"Alright, breathe. Breathe. Take a coupla' breaths an' breathe."

"Sh- she sh- she's"

"It's okay, jus' take ya time."

Auriel entered the room to find that it was a dining area, with a huge table running down the center. At the far end were two figures: the Waddle Dee and another figure that Auriel half-recognized. The stranger was sitting in a chair at the head of the table, a half-eaten meal in front of him. He was far larger than the Waddle Dee, being some kind of blue-feathered avian species. He was also quite rotund. His clothing was in red and blue, with gold highlights. Based purely on the descriptions of others, this must be the king.

"I just, just, was trying to do, my job, and then SHE appears-," The Waddle Dee stopped to take a breath, and just happened to turn enough to see Auriel. They let out a shriek and scrambled behind the king's chair.

"What's the matter-," the king began, only to also catch sight of Auriel. He, too, let out a shriek and scrambled over the back of his chair, pointing at her and shouting. "BANDEE! BANDEE GET IN HERE!"

There was the pitter-patter of feet on the floor as another Waddle Dee entered from the other end of the room. Unlike the others Auriel had seen, this one was wearing a blue bandana on their head. And they were carrying a spear.

"Great King, what's the-," The Waddle Dee cut himself off, following the line of the king's pointing. The Waddle Dee acted quickly, lowering his spear and charging at Auriel with surprising speed. "HHHRRRAAAAAGH!"

"Wait, I-," Auriel was just barely able to begin speaking before the Waddle Dee reached her.

He thrust the spear, and she quickly shoved the tip down into the floor with telekinetic force. Like a seesaw, the Waddle Dee went up into the air, using the momentum to pole vault himself at her. He kicked her across the face, causing her to recoil and fly backwards a short distance.

Auriel reached up to touch the point of impact. It stung far more than she had expected, enough to bring tears to her eyes. Several emotions rose to the surface in that moment. Indignance at how dare they attack her. A brief flash of fear. Mostly hurt, at the fact that she hadn't done anything and they were attacking her for no reason.

As the Waddle Dee approached again, she reacted faster. His spear jabbed at her, and she telekinetically batted it aside. When he tried to use momentum to leverage another kick, she countered by shoving the Waddle Dee upwards. He hung in the air, suspended by magic. He hurled his spear at her, which she blocked with a hastily erected magical barrier.

"Please, I'm not trying to-," Auriel tried again. She was rapidly losing her grip on the Waddle Dee, his wriggling loosening her telekinetic grip.

The Waddle Dee pulled another spear from somewhere and used it to reach out to the ceiling. It was just long enough for him to leverage himself to one side, exerting a shocking amount of force in a direction she wasn't expecting and freeing himself. As he fell towards the ground, he began to twirl his spear above his head, hovering for a moment as he looked down at Auriel with a calculating expression. Then he plunged, his spear leading the way.

Auriel wasn't quite sure how she managed to conjure a shield of interlocking gemstones so quickly. The ambient magic in the room depleted rapidly as she instinctively worked her magic. The spear deflected off the faceted face of an emerald and collided with the floor, shattering the tiles as the point was driven down with incredible force. The Waddle Dee extracted his spear and employed a flurry of rapid thrusts, forcing Auriel backwards as she desperately tried to block every strike.

She was dimly aware that, on the other side of the room, the king was talking very rapidly. She couldn't muster the focus to listen to that. She had to keep up her defense. She managed to catch out the spear, snapping the head off with a pair of rubies crashing together. It didn't matter, the Waddle Dee just pulled out another.

It would be extremely easy to just crush the Waddle Dee, she realized. He was far from resistant to magic, just extremely quick and stronger than his size would suggest. And exceptionally skilled. And armed with a seemingly infinite supply of spears. But she wasn't here to fight anyone. She just wanted to apologize for scaring that Waddle Dee, and it seemed like everyone was pulling out all the stops to attack her!

"Please stop!" Auriel pleaded, "I don't want to fight!"

"Then don't invade!" The Waddle Dee pressed the assault, jabbing through holes in her defensive structure. She was able to keep him from rendering her defenses useless by threatening to disarm him again, but he was getting dangerously close to stabbing her.

"I'm not invading! I just-," She didn't finish the sentence, forced to focus by a spear sailing up and over her shield as another one poked through the holes. She adjusted quickly, separating a gem upwards to deflect one spear as she closed the gaps to crush the other.

"After last time I don't believe you!" Another spear slipped through the shield, and while she was adjusting to that, the Waddle Dee slid under the shield and lunged upwards. The tip of the spear scratched her cheek, and she recoiled again. Her shield dropped, clattering to the ground in a sparkling heap.

Auriel's head was spinning. Last time? What last time? What was that supposed to mean?

The Waddle Dee leaped up, landing a kick on Auriel's chin and following up by kicking off of her chest. Auriel faltered, colliding with the wall behind her and falling to the floor. The Waddle Dee leaped up on her thorax, pointing the spear at her face.

Auriel stared at the shining steel spearhead in shock. She looked past the weapon, at the Waddle Dee.

"What do you mean last time?" She asked, her voice almost failing her.

There was a tinkling, chiming noise approaching. It grew louder and louder until a shining golden star burst in through a door. It disappeared into sparkling dust, depositing its rider. A small, round, pink rider. Inexplicable terror struck Auriel at the sight.

"Haii~!"

Chapter 9: Popstar's Greatest Warrior

The room sort of froze, everyone looking at the round newcomer. Auriel was breathing heavily. The bandana-wearing Waddle Dee holding her at spearpoint was significantly less worn out but was far from invigorated. At the other end of the room, the king peeked out from behind his dining chair, a phone held to his ear. The Waddle Dee from the loading bay peeked out from the other side of the chair.

"Kirby, I'm glad ya got here so quickly," The king said, relief in his voice.

"What's everybody doing?" The pink sphere asked, looking around. "Bandee? Why do you have your spear?"

"Kirby, Sectonia is back," The bandana-wearing Waddle Dee explained patiently, "And she's right here, in the castle. Right here."

"Oh?" Kirby tilted his head. "But that doesn't look like Sectonia. Sectonia turned into a giant flower."

"Remember before she turned into the giant flower?" Bandee said. He turned away from Auriel, lowering the spear a bit. "When she threw Taranza into the sky?"

"Oh!" Kirby jumped, his eyes widening. He looked at Auriel, squinting, then back at Bandee. "But she doesn't have the crown or the heart on her chest or the big collar thing."

"Kirby, those are clothes. You can take them off." Bandee lowered the spear the rest of the way, the head now pointing at the floor. He scratched the side of his head. "Wait. Do you think my bandana is… permanent? Would you even recognize me if I took it off?"

"Umm…?!"

"Now that's hardly a fair question, Bandee. Y'know even I have a hard time tellin' Waddle Dees apart when y'all ain't wearin' yer favorite hats," The king interjected, walking across the room. He pat Kirby on the head. "An' I spend most've every day with 'em."

"Great king…" Bandee sounded distressed.

"What? I ain't gonna lie to ya. It can be hard t' distinguish y'all from one another." The king shrugged. "Love ya all, but I do not have the best memory."

"Dedede." Kirby tugged at the king's sleeve, drawing the penguin's attention. "Why did you call me again? You didn't say, you were just shouting into the phone."

"Oh, I was worryin' about Sectonia, because she showed up outta nowhere,'' King Dedede said, only to pause and furrow his brow. "Hold on a sec…"

"Who is Sectonia?" Auriel asked.

All three of them froze, then slowly turned to look at her. Bandee leveled his spear at her face again, causing her to flinch. Kirby tilted his head with an otherwise blank expression. King Dedede looked utterly bewildered.

"Y-you're not…" King Dedede trailed off, then found his words again. "Hold on, why're ya in my castle?"

Auriel bit back the urge to correct him with 'palace', instead choosing to explain herself. "I scared the person in charge of the loading bay, and I wanted to apologize. I didn't know that coming in here would cause so much panic."

"An' why were you in the loadin' bay?" King Dedede put his hands on his hips.

"I was delivering crops from Green Acres. Tomatoes, wheat flour, and bell peppers," Auriel explained, "For an order placed a few weeks ago."

"Green Acres?" The bandana wearing Waddle Dee lowered the spear again. "Hold on, I know them. Good people. Normally Barney or Wesley transport the goods. Why are you running errands for them?"

"Because they took me in when I was in a bad spot, and I felt like I owed them."

King Dedede let out a heavy sigh. "Bandee, get off her. We done messed up."

Bandee stepped backwards off of Auriel's chest, planting the butt of his spear on the floor. King Dedede offered a hand to her, and she took it to use as a basic point of leverage as she floated back up off the floor. She lifted one hand to her cheek, wincing as she touched the cut. A simple healing spell sealed it, but the blood would remain.

"Miss, I am terribly sorry for the panic. We overreacted to a perceived threat an' wound up hurtin' ya. I hope there's no ill will held between us because of this incident." King Dedede bowed his head, speaking with an eloquence that she hadn't really expected. Then he turned to look at Bandee, who looked confused for a moment before mimicking the king's gesture.

"I'm sorry for hurting you," Bandee said.

"I apologize for causing so much chaos. And I'm sorry for scaring you. And you." Auriel looked past the king to look at the Waddle Dee from the loading bay. "I did not mean to intimidate, and I am truly sorry."

The Waddle Dee nodded, their panic gone.

"Oh, right." King Dedede looked over at the Waddle Dee. "Thank ya for lettin' me know. If ya feelin' okay, I'd appreciate it if ya went back t' the loadin' bay t' finish up for the day."

The Waddle Dee nodded again, then started walking back towards the loading bay.

"Let's do this properly then," King Dedede said, looking up at Auriel, "I'm King Dedede, king of Dreamland. This here's Bandana Dee, or Bandee for short. He's my strongest soldier and one of my best friends."

"And your advisor, and treasurer, and I take care of most public policy-," Bandee started to list off, only to be interrupted.

"And this little airhead here," King Dedede said with a grin, reaching down to pat Kirby on the head again. Kirby blinked, the first time his expression had changed in the past minute, and looked up at Dedede with a radiant smile. "Is Kirby. Bless his heart."

"Hi!" Kirby turned that smile towards Auriel, waving.

"My name is Auriel, and I am here on behalf of Green Acres." Auriel bowed her head. "Again, I am truly sorry for causing this panic."

"You brought the tomatoes?" Kirby asked, eyes sparkling.

"Um, yes. It is a rather large amount of tomatoes." Auriel nodded. There was still a dread settling in her chest when she looked at Kirby, despite how harmless he seemed. Perhaps it was Marx's retellings of his deeds, perhaps it was something else.

"That's because we're gonna make the biggest pizza ever!" Kirby cheered, "With tomato sauce and pepperoni and cheese and everything else!"

"I had… heard it was for a banquet," Auriel said, nonplussed.

"Well, it is a banquet," King Dedede said, waving one hand, "We're invitin' a whole buncha people to actually eat the thing afterwards. Mostly so Kirby doesn't try and eat it himself and wind up with a stomach ache."

"We're gonna invite everyone!" Kirby threw his hands into the air, then started rattling off names that meant nothing to Auriel. "Meta Knight and the Meta-Knights, Magolor, Daroach and the Squeaks, Rick, and Kine, and Coo, and Nago, and ChuChu, and Pitch, and Gooey, and Ribbon, and Adeleine, and Marx, and-,"

"We are not invitin' Marx to my castle ever again!" King Dedede snapped, "He ate the tapestries last time!"

Kirby giggled to himself, breaking away from the king's reach to get closer to Auriel.

"I invited Marx anyways," He confided in a conspiratorial tone, far too loudly to keep it a secret. Then he giggled to himself again.

"I told you-,"

"Marx said that he did not like the castle," Auriel said, furrowing her brow, "Though thinking about it, I believe he knew about how I would be received."

Kirby gasped. "You know Marx too?"

"He accompanied me on the road here." Auriel nodded. "Then he stole some fruit from me and set up a potentially very dangerous prank, so my opinion of him is mixed."

"He did something like that to me too!" Kirby waggled his arms wildly, his eyes going wide. "He ate my breakfast last week! I was so hungry…" Then Kirby reached behind his back and extracted a cell phone. "I'm going to give him a call and tell him it's not nice to steal peoples' food!"

Kirby sat down on the floor, punching numbers into the phone for several seconds. King Dedede started shaking his head, putting his hands over his ears and backing up. Bandee followed suit.

Auriel was about to ask why they were doing that when she received her answer.

A horrific shriek erupted from the phone's speaker, peaking the phone's capabilities and devolving into static halfway through. For a solid twenty seconds, the phone let out a garbled scream. Auriel felt physical pain, covering her ears as quickly as she could. It didn't help.

Kirby held on to the phone with all his might, almost physically blown away. He stumbled backwards, his eyes going wide.

The scream trailed off eventually, ending with a huffy "What?!"

"Haii~!" Kirby said, putting the phone to his head. "It's Kirby!"

Marx's response wasn't audible from here, but based on Kirby's expression it was significantly less rude. Either that or Kirby just always smiled when he was talking on the phone, regardless of what the other person said.

"How are you?" Kirby sat back down, kicking his feet. "I'm gonna put you on speakerphone."

King Dedede started shaking his head frantically, waving his hands to get Kirby's attention, only for the pink puff to press a button on his phone and set it on the floor.

"Not even gonna ask?" Marx's voice came from the phone, distorted and crackling. It seemed the speaker was damaged, either from the scream just moments ago or previous acts like it.

"Nope!" Kirby giggled. "Marx, do you know Auriel?"

"Are we talking about the hot bug lady?"

"Excuse me?" Auriel sputtered, nearly choking on her own saliva.

"Oh hey, I recognize that voice. Hey lady!" Marx cackled. "Hope you're getting along alright!"

"Marx, did you know that my presence in the castle would cause a disturbance?" Auriel asked, frowning.

"Is Kirby still there?"

"Hi!" Kirby squealed happily.

"Then no."

"For some reason, I don't believe you." Auriel sighed. "Marx, can you do me a favor?"

"Do I owe you something?"

"As a matter of fact, I do believe that you do. Considering what you did when we parted ways."

There was silence for a few moments, and then Marx spoke again.

"Alright, whattaya want?"

"I just need you to take my cart back to Green Acres. It's back past the spot where we met, less than a day's travel away. Could you do that for me?" Auriel requested.

"What?! But that's three days of nothing-," Marx stopped, and Auriel heard him sigh. "Yeah, fine. Sure. Are we cool after that?"

"Of course," Auriel said graciously, "Thank you Marx."

Marx grumbled through the phone for a few moments. "Hey bubblegum brains."

"Yeah?" Kirby asked excitedly.

"It says gullible on the ceiling."

Kirby looked straight up, eyes wide and searching for several seconds before he furrowed his brow. "Hey wait a minute…"

Marx cackled, and the phone clicked to end the call.

"I tried to tell ya not to call Marx," King Dedede said after a few moments.

"But I like calling Marx. He doesn't talk to me otherwise." Kirby pouted.

"Maybe that's for the best." King Dedede shook his head and looked at Auriel. "What was the fruit he took from ya? He certainly seemed like it was better for nobody ta know what it was."

"It was a fruit from the Dreamstalk. I… didn't think it was that big a deal." Auriel frowned, a pang of guilt hitting her. If Marx thought the consequences of others knowing about the fruit were bad enough that he was willing to go out of his way to keep her from talking about it, then she had inadvertently manipulated him by telling King Dedede about it beforehand.

"I love miracle fruit!" Kirby said excitedly, bouncing to his feet. "It's nummy and it makes my body spin!"

"Marx has a miracle fruit?!" King Dedede shouted, an aghast expression on his face. "Why would ya let 'im have that?!"

"What does a miracle fruit do?" Auriel asked meekly.

"It, uh, y'see… it…" King Dedede frowned, then looked down at Bandee.

"It makes whoever consumes it significantly more powerful for a short time," Bandee explained, "Though if you cut open the skin it loses most of its potency. Learned that one through experience. I can't eat the whole thing at once."

"How'd you get a miracle fruit? The Dreamstalk stopped growing any after…" Kirby trailed off, a distant look in his eye. A moment later he continued. "I didn't save any and I want to try it again!"

"I just… made it grow?" Auriel answered, confused, "When I fed it enough energy it fruited."

King Dedede and Bandee shared a look, and King Dedede looked at her with a curious expression.

"Are ya sure ya don't know who Sectonia is?" He asked.

"I do not. Based on your earlier reactions, I must look like her? Or at the very least, I am the same species?" Auriel replied. "Who is she?"

A sadness came over Kirby's face, and he became more subdued. While Kirby stood in solemn silence, Dedede explained.

"She was th' queen of Floralia, the sky lands. Dunno a whole lot 'bout th' hist'ry of Floralia, but at one point she conquered most've it. The people she conquered dropped the seed of th' Dreamstalk inta Dreamland, an' it, well, there was a whole debacle." King Dedede waved one hand dismissively. "Th' point is, when Kirby an' I confronted her, she joined herself ta th' Dreamstalk. After Kirby defeated her…"

"She died," Kirby said softly, "I couldn't save her."

Auriel swallowed. "I'm sorry."

"I didn't know her well." King Dedede shrugged. "But it tore th' kid up. Still does."

"And you panicked on my entry because I look like a dead enemy." Auriel took a deep breath. "I understand."

"I'm a bit surprised ya didn't know any've that. Th' only place I've seen any, uh… wasp-people… was Floralia, an' it was just the one." King Dedede scratched his head. "Sorry if that's a bit… uh, prejudiced. Just speakin' my mind."

"I… don't have most of my memories. I awoke from a flower bud on the Dreamstalk several weeks ago with no idea who I was." Auriel swallowed. "That's why I'm here, actually. Because there's a chance that someone in Dreamland could help me learn who I used to be."

The king shared another look with Bandee, then opened his mouth to say something only to be interrupted by Kirby.

"You lost your memories?! Oh no!" Kirby waggled his arms in alarm. "We have to go find them!"

"I don't believe that's how it works, though…" Auriel protested weakly.

"Come on, Auriel! I know where to start!" Kirby ran over and jumped up, grabbing one of her hands with his stubby little arms. He tugged her down the dining hall, towards the door he had entered through.

"What? Where are we going?" Auriel asked in bewilderment.

"We're going to my house! The Dreamstalk can help!"

"Can you please explain what that means?"

"Umm…" Kirby stopped running for a moment, then started moving again. "Nope! I dunno!"

Auriel wasn't sure if this was a good idea. Kirby clearly had no idea what he was doing. But he was so confident, it was hard to tell him no. And she was scared to even try. There was something about Kirby that unsettled her, and she couldn't figure out why.

Kirby dragged her outside and waved his arms at the sky. A moment later, a star made of sparkling golden crystal descended from the sky. It spun gently above the ground, emitting a faint chiming sound as it did.

Kirby leaped up and grabbed onto the star, gesturing for Auriel to follow suit. "Hold on tight!"

"Are you sure?" Auriel swallowed nervously.

"Yep!" Kirby nodded rapidly.

Auriel gently reached out and placed her hands on the star, grabbing two of its arms. She gripped tight, taking a deep breath.

As soon as she had a grip, the star hurtled into the sky.

She was screaming. She was sure of that much. But the star moved so fast that the sound never even reached her ears.

O-O-O

King Dedede took off his hat and wiped his brow, looking up through the glass ceiling as Kirby's Warp Star departed.

Well today had been… something. Absolutely chaotic, would be a good way to describe it. Any time Kirby visited it tended to either be that or completely serene, with no in-between. All he wanted was to have a nice lunch and chill out, and then this happened. Dreamland was supposed to be peaceful, but he supposed that wasn't going to happen while entities like Marx called it home.

He let out a sigh and shook his head.

"So that was definitely Sectonia, yeah?" He looked down at Bandee, who had a contemplative look on his face. "Don't get me wrong, I believe her. Poor thing dealin' with memory loss, n' all. But that was Sectonia."

"Oh, certainly." Bandee nodded. "The gem-summoning magic was a dead giveaway, if the filigree patterning on her wings wasn't identical."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Dedede nodded.

Fancy that. The dead queen of Floralia, returned to life. He couldn't help but wonder what she'd do, once she got her memories back - and there was no way she wouldn't with Kirby helping her. Would she return to being a tyrant? Would she even want to be queen? Floralia had changed quite a bit in the months since Sectonia's demise, at least politically. And poor Taranza… Well, at least that was a happy ending in-waiting. Hopefully. He'd have to arrange something. Probably invite Taranza to come to the castle a bit earlier than had previously been planned. It would probably earn him a few points with the spider.

"How long," Dedede began, pausing to chuckle to himself, "How long until Kirby adds 'er ta his group of best friends?"

"Hmm…" Bandee rubbed his chin. "A day, maybe two at most."

"Yeah, that's about what I thought." Dedede shook his head, laughing quietly. "That's what I thought."

Notes:

King Dedede may be goofy, but he's not stupid.

Kirby, on the other hand, is kind of an airhead. He rarely listens when other people explain things, does not care about context and frequently makes bad choices on purpose because he wants to talk to his friends. But he's also the strongest entity in the universe and the best friend anyone could ever hope for, so I think it balances out in the end. He's just a little ball of joy and naivete, and I wouldn't have him any other way.

If there was anything you particularly enjoyed or disliked, let me know. I always aim to improve.

Chapter 10: Echoes

The star lowered down from the clouds to a grassy plain, landing right in front of a small, dome-shaped house. Wisps of smoke curled from the chimney. Dreamstalk vines curled around the base of the dome, one or two reaching up to curl around the windows or doorframe. Small flowers bloomed from the vines, in pinks and yellows.

Kirby hopped off the star, and it disappeared in a puff of sparkling golden powder. Auriel was left floating, staring straight ahead in shock. Her throat hurt, her eyes were dry, and she was feeling the most bedraggled she ever had. She had never flown so fast, so high, and the experience was terrifying, to put it as mildly as she could. Kirby seemed completely fine, so either he was just completely unflappable or just used to traveling at such speeds. She would believe either, honestly.

Kirby ran up to the house, looking around at the flowering vines to either side of the door. He was searching for something, clearly.

"Oh!" He ran over to one flower bud in particular. It was drooping, but no less vibrant than its neighbors. "Here!"

"Wh-" Auriel's voice broke, and she swallowed to try and gather her voice. "What are we looking for?"

"This flower hasn't opened!" Kirby said, "It's heavier than the others, too! I think it's holding your memories inside!"

"I don't…" Auriel frowned, blinking in bewilderment. "I don't think that's how memories work."

"Please? You gotta try!" Kirby looked up at her with his big round eyes.

Auriel took a deep breath, shifting uncomfortably. On the one hand, that wasn't how that worked. Right? Or maybe it wasn't, when the Dreamstalk was involved. She had a faint feeling that this was a bad idea, but at the same time the drive to recover her memory was too strong to deny it. And she was a little bit worried about Kirby, though she still couldn't pinpoint why.

"Okay." Auriel nodded. "Okay."

"Yaaay!" Kirby raised both arms and twirled on the spot.

Auriel floated closer, reaching down to the closed flower but. She could sense something inside, sparkling with a crystalline energy. It was reminiscent of the energy that made up Kirby's star, the one that had brought her here in the first place. Intriguing. At her gentle touch, the petals opened. Clear fluid spilled out, along with a rhomboid yellow crystal. The flower straightened, standing tall and proud now that its contents had been released.

Despite the voice in the back of her head telling her not to, Auriel reached down and picked up the crystal.

She was having trouble buttoning the dress again. She could hold it on with two arms, but the buttons were beyond her ability to fasten. Whoever had designed it had placed the buttons on the small of the back, where she couldn't see them with her good eyes and her secondary eyes could barely register their location. All she could do was grope around blindly to try and button up.

"Having trouble again?"

Just hearing that voice made warmth flutter in her chest. She smiled and looked over to see him standing there with a warm smile.

"The individual who designed dress was not an arachnid, but they might have been a sadist," She replied with a huff, "I could try to get a glimpse with my rear-facing eyes, but those are barely more than light-sensitive organs that have been made useless over thousands of years of evolution. It's just not working!"

"Given how our species is predisposed to having difficulties with things in our blindspot…" He began, floating closer and extending his hands. "Would you like me to help, Your Majesty?"

"You know I don't like it when you call me that…" She demurred, her smile turning to a frown, "But your help would be much appreciated."

She turned around, giving him access to her back. With his deft hands, he fastened the buttons on her dress swiftly. She let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much. I don't even know why I keep this dress at this point, aside from the fact that Mother wants me to wear it to fancy events. Like this stupid ball." She shivered. "I am not looking forwards to all the slimy suitors lining up to 'woo' me. No, I don't want to marry some meathead ant just because his family has political connections and money. It's just… ugh."

"If it helps, you could have your court wizard-in-training follow you around," He suggested, "If nothing else, it might scare off some of the less-informed suitors."

She looked at him over her shoulder, a smile gracing her face once more.

"Thank you," Auriel whispered to herself, tearing up.

"Auriel, are you okay?" Kirby asked, tilting his head.

"I…" She swallowed. "I need to find out who that was. I need to recover more."

She took a deep breath, trying to hold on to that memory. She could remember his smile, remember how it made her heart flutter, but she couldn't remember his name or his face. She had no idea why the memory was so inconsistent with who she was. Why she could remember four pairs of eyes, even if most of them were near-useless? Did her species metamorphose? Was that why she could remember having six hands, but only had two? There were so many inconsistencies, and she needed to know why.

"Where can we find more of these?" Auriel asked, clutching the crystal tight.

"We can go to the main Dreamstalk!" Kirby suggested excitedly, "There's lots of flowers there! There must be some more that have memories inside!"

Kirby waved at the sky, and moments later another star descended. He hopped up and grabbed on, looking back at Auriel.

"Can we go slower this time?" Auriel hesitated before grabbing on. When Kirby nodded, she gently took hold of the star.

The starting movement still nearly pulled her off-balance, but from there was significantly more gentle than the previous flight. The star lifted into the air, then started its journey across Dreamland.

The last trip had been brief and terrifying, and she had spent more time screaming than looking at Dreamland below. But from up here, the view was stunning. She could see Green Greens, where Whispy's forest and Green Acres both found their home, and it wasn't even very far from Kirby's house. She could see the fountain of dreams - which she had only heard tales of - as little more than a dot in the distance. Dedede's castle and the mountain it was perched upon stood out as one of the biggest landmarks. But she had her eyes on the enormous mass of vines and flowers that was the Dreamstalk, stretching high into the sky.

As the star drew closer, she could feel something changing. Not tangibly, but the energy in her body began to react. She could feel the Dreamstalk's energy from this far away, and it only got more significant to her the closer she got. After getting close enough, she could feel herself connect to it.

The star descended to land at the base of the Dreamstalk, vanishing into powder amongst the vines. Kirby looked around.

"I'll start looking!" He said.

"Wait," Auriel interrupted, just as he started running. Kirby stopped, turning to look up at her with a curious expression. "I can just… ask."

She raised her hands, extending her will out to the plant. When she touched it, the Dreamstalk welcomed her, enveloped her in its energy and essence. It was almost smothering, until she expressed that thought and it lightened immediately. It felt less like she was connecting to another entity, and more like she was reaching out to another part of herself. It was her, and yet not-her. Or perhaps she was a part of the Dreamstalk, returning to connect to the source. The thought was terrifying in one respect, and comforting in another.

She expressed a desire to remember, and the Dreamstalk resisted. It was reluctant to return her past to her. Why? She pressed herself, insisting, and the Dreamstalk relented.

Vines shifted and slithered, moving countless smaller blooms across vast distances to bring what she had requested. In short order, three closed buds were presented to her, each holding something within that weighed them down significantly. They opened, revealing three more rhomboid crystals.

Auriel reached out to take one-

She burst into the study, searching frantically. She spotted him quickly, gathering up books with a dejected expression on his face. When she entered, his expression rapidly changed to fear.

"There you are!" She said, floating over to him.

"Princess!" He dropped lower, bowing his head. This action knocked over his books, and he panicked for a moment before settling on holding his deferent pose. "I am so sorry. I was just gathering my things and I will be gone before the end of the day. You will never see me again-,"

"What? Why?" She frowned, backing up.

"B-because I spilled my drink on your dress and embarrassed you in f-front of everyone-," He stammered nervously, then swallowed. "If you would have me executed, I would understand-

"What?" She blinked in surprise. "No! No. I wanted to thank you."

"Wh-," He swallowed again, shock on his face. "Er, I beg your pardon, Princess?"

"I was hating that party. It was the perfect excuse to get out of there early," She explained, "I was coming here to thank you, actually."

"Y-you were?" Shock evolved into bewilderment. "But… I thought…"

"Oh of course I made a big deal out of it because otherwise Mother would think I'm deliberately trying to get out of the party - which I was, but I couldn't find a good excuse." She laughed to herself for a moment. "You saved me so much boredom and discomfort. That's why I wanted to find you. I wasn't upset - well, maybe a little, I did like that dress, but not as much as I made it out to be. Really, I should be apologizing to you!"

"Well, I, er, still need to pack up and leave…" He said, dejected, "Master Arachlin said that I was unfit to be his apprentice if I was so clumsy…"

"Well I'm going to have a word with that old spider and let him have a piece of my mind." She crossed her arms and huffed. "Thank you so much… um. I'm sorry, what's your name again?"

"*******," He answered meekly.

"Well, I'm going to tell him that ******* is a fantastic student and that one clumsy act does not a poor mage make!" She declared. She paused, then looked at him. "And, um, if you have some time when you're not studying under the court wizard, could you… share what you've learned with me? Mother always talks about our family's rich magical history but I'm not allowed to actually do anything with it."

"Of course, Princess. If I am still here, my continued career will only exist because of your actions." He bowed his head again.

"You don't have to call me Princess," She said, "Just call me-,"

She drew in a breath sharply, a word on the tip of her tongue. A name. She lost it immediately, infuriatingly. This memory was fuzzier than the other one. Older. More essential, perhaps, though it was hard to tell. That boy - and in this one he was a boy, whilst in the other he was closer to a man - was central, tied in with warm feelings and a pang of longing. She couldn't remember his name yet. She needed his name.

Auriel didn't pick up the other two. Not yet. She wanted all of them at once. No more drawing it out. She telekinetically lifted the crystals, then released the ones in her hands to float alongside them. Four rhomboids, which she fit together as close as possible. They fused into one, forming most of a recognizable shape.

"It's a star!" Kirby said excitedly, "But the last piece is missing. Let's go find it!"

The shape of a dream is a star, she knew. A memory was a dream of something experienced, reinvented and reexperienced through the mind's filters. She wasn't sure where she had learned that, but it was important. The shape she had in front of her was akin to a star, but it was incomplete.

"Yes…" Auriel furrowed her brow, trying to communicate her desire for the last piece to the Dreamstalk, only to run into a wall. It wasn't going to help her anymore. It didn't want her to have the last piece. Why? It was welcoming and comforting to her, why would it keep the last piece of her past from her? "Yes, let's get going. It must be around here somewhere."

Kirby nodded, then started running up the vines. Auriel followed close behind, the incomplete star floating above her open hand. The vines shifted and twisted, opening some paths while leaving others closed. It didn't take long for Auriel to realize that it was steering them away from a specific spot.

"This isn't working." She flew up, scanning the area. She could see the hollow the Dreamstalk was warding them away from. Vines were spiraling upwards to cover the opening, moving quickly. But she was faster. She darted through the gaps just as they closed.

She found herself in a dome of vines and thorns, a place where the Dreamstalk met the ground. She could sense its displeasure with her presence here, but at the same time she could feel that she was close to the last piece of her memory. As much as she wanted to avoid forcing the Dreamstalk, she wasn't going to back down now. She could apologize later, or figure out a way to fix it, but she needed to recover her memories.

Blooming from the dirt was a small flower. No other vines sprouted around it, as though they were avoiding its touch. This flower had blue petals, with dotted patterns. While the Dreamstalk felt familiar, like an extension of herself, this flower was her. As much her as her own hands.

Floating gently above the blue flower was a rhomboid crystal, its yellow surface blotched with black.

Auriel retrieved the crystal with her telekinesis. To say that it felt wrong would be a lie. It felt right, but it didn't feel good. It felt like laying awake in the small hours of the night, agonizing over past decisions. Like seething at something stupid. Like a nightmare.

She added it to the incomplete star, and it fused to the other gems. The black blotches bubbled and boiled, moving to the center of the star.

"Auriel?" She could hear Kirby's voice through the vines. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," She called back, "I found the last part of my memories."

"Oh that's good!" Kirby clapped, the sound muffled beyond the vines. "I'll wait here until you're done remembering!"

She appreciated that, if nothing else. He was here to support her. That was nice.

Auriel closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then pulled the crystal to her hand -

"As the seasons change, so too does the position of queen. It is thus with great honor that I crown you Queen!"

The elderly official lowered the crown to her head with ceremony, and she accepted it gracefully. Cheers erupted from the crowd. She waved, smiling for the occasion. Her mother had stepped aside, now that she had stepped down, and was watching regally from the sidelines. This was truly a momentous occasion.

When the ceremony completed, the royal entourage retreated into the throne room to make the celebration a bit more private. She was placed upon the throne, much to her discomfort, and was met with a parade of gifts. The vast majority were bland and uninspired. Jewelry, dresses, wealth, and rarely a minor magical item. They blurred past, both the gift-givers and their gifts fading past and out of memory. Only three stood out, for very different reasons.

The first was one of her many aunts. Her aunt approached with some trinket, a ring, perhaps. Nothing notable. It was what her aunt said that she remembered.

"It's a shame you've no sisters," Her aunt said nasally, "The royal family is supposed to spread out, not narrow down."

Her mother, standing behind the throne, cleared her throat, frowning. "And what is that meant to imply, dear sister?"

The aunt ignored the comment. "And with your refusal of all the appropriate suitors, it would be a wonder if the lineage continued through you. Really, my dear daughter should have been chosen-,"

Her hand closed on the trinket. She was shaking. It was so tempting to call up some of the magic she'd been practicing. But that would show that she had been deliberately disobeying her mother's wishes, and this early in her new reign there would be consequences for such rashness. Instead she had to follow Mother's advice. Swords were an excellent weapon for a royal, but in the court words could be far more devastating.

"Well it's truly a shame that your daughter has been picking flowers and juggling lovers rather than learning the intricacies of court politics, isn't it?" She interrupted, "And that she inherited her mother's tendency to take no responsibility for her actions."

"Why I never-!"

"Indeed you do not. So perhaps you should take your leave, and refrain from insulting the queen next time." She tossed the trinket back at her aunt, who clumsily caught it and stormed off.

"A bit more tact would be advised, daughter." Her mother leaned over the side of the throne to speak quietly to her. "Though I must agree that your aunt needed to be reminded of her place."

She nodded, suppressing a smirk. She shouldn't be so proud about being so casually cruel to someone, but she was.

The second gift that caught her attention came from Arvesp, the captain of the queen's - her - guard. The wasp hovered gracefully above the ground, his slender form radiating calm confidence. He had not had his wings decorated in filigree, as was custom amongst the court nobility, but had chosen instead to don ceremonial armor that shielded his wings as well as his body. He approached, holding a case longer than she was tall.

"My Queen," Arvesp said, bowing. "I do hope you remember your lessons."

"I do, I have learned from the best," She replied, nodding.

"Then this gift should serve you well, provided you continue to practice." He opened the case.

Within were a pair of swords, masterfully crafted rapiers, forged in silver metal with gemstones embedded in the guards.

"The benefit of having the freedom to ignore gravity," Arvesp said, "Is that the length of a weapon is less limited by its wielder's size. The magic of these rapiers should make them adjust to balance around your grip, making them function perfectly for any wielder, regardless of size. And, to make things a bit better, an enchantment to return them to you, should you call."

She accepted the case and gingerly extracted one blade, marveling at it. Arvesp had trained her in swordplay from a very young age, and to receive these blades from him was a great honor. Although she hoped to never use them.

"Thank you, Captain. I shall ensure that I am always able to use them to my fullest potential." She nodded, lowering the case to rest beside her throne.

The third gift made her heart flutter at the sight of its bearer. He approached with a large object floating behind him, covered in a heavy cloth. Apprentice no longer, the court wizard kept himself restrained in the presence of other members of the court, and she did the same. He smiled at her.

"My Queen," He said with a bow, "I have searched a great deal for a suitable gift, and I do hope that this suffices."

"I have great faith in your ability to provide me with something memorable," She replied, meeting his smile. She could hear her mother clear her throat behind the throne again, but ignored it.

"Then behold!" He removed the cloth to reveal a huge mirror. With a winged frame of gold, it dazzled with its brilliance. "I acquired this mirror from a salesman of magical artifacts. It's said that this mirror reflects the wishes of those who gaze into it and brings those wishes to life. I bestow it to you, my Queen, so that your wishes may grant you endless prosperity."

She gazed into the mirror, entranced. Despite the relatively mundane image it reflected, there was something about its depths that was enthralling.

She looked at her court wizard and smiled. "Thank you. This means a lot to me."

"Well…" He blushed. "I wanted to give you the greatest gift I could find."

She could hear her mother clearing her throat, but she didn't care.

O-O-O

It had been a long, tiring, frustrating day of dealing with the politics of Floralia, and she was exhausted.

She returned to her quarters fuming. Being a good queen was hard. So many selfish people, out for money or power or status. So many arrogant fools, thinking they could woo her and fast track themselves to nobility - not that it would have worked. Their arrogance blinded them to the traditions of the royal family, most notably how the queen was still considered the more powerful one, even if she had a king. And in any case, she couldn't be less interested.

She didn't even have a chance to spend time with her court wizard today. He was quite possibly the only person who could make her genuinely smile these days. It was just stress and work, constantly.

At least she was able to make sure she looked good. That was one thing she had absolute control over. With the beautiful mirror that her court wizard had gifted her, she could ensure that every detail was perfect. She had spent hours in front of it over the course of just the past week, and countless more before that.

She was sick of people bothering her when she could be doing better things. Like her useless aunts and cousins, or courtiers who just wouldn't take a hint. Her court wizard was just about the only person worth having a conversation with most of the time, the only person with enough understanding of magical theory, statecraft, and just life worth listening to. Everyone else was just a waste of space.

There was a pang of guilt at that thought. It was wrong to think of others like that, to call them worthless. But she was tired and stressed and didn't have the mental energy to muster up some empathy.

She approached her mirror, sighing. It had yet to grant any wishes, but to be honest she had never really wanted it to. Now, though, she just wished she had more time.

She started doing her makeup as she pondered the events of the day. The people of the sky were largely inoffensive, with their snake god and their prophesied plant, but they refused to cede any ground when they decided on an issue. The clowns just acted like fools, because of course they did. Most of the problems came from within her court, honestly. Minor nobles making power-plays among the Arthropod Kingdom, making bids for personal benefits, and worst of all attempts to woo her. It all made her sick-

What was that?

She blinked, looking closer at the mirror. Something had moved. She glanced over her shoulder to find that nothing had changed. She frowned, squinting her eyes as she looked closer at the mirror. She braced herself against the frame -

She was inside the mirror, panting as she tried to orient herself. She could see her bedroom through the mirror, but around her was nothing but a wasteland. More importantly, she could see herself in the mirror, confused and looking closer.

"What in the world?" Her doppleganger whispered, putting one hand up to the glass.

Rage bubbled up inside her. How dare this copycat take her life? Depositing her in this catastrophic waste. She wouldn't tolerate this from some inferior creature.

She reached up to the glass, and passed through. She grabbed her copy's hand, tugging as hard as she could. She knew that she needed to use the edge of surprise to get the upper hand. She was dextrous, quick, and a skilled fighter and mage. So with that moment of sheer shock her copy expressed, she lunged out of the mirror and grabbed her throat. She hurled the copy into the mirror, then cast a spell to seal the surface of the glass.

She was out of that disaster, free to live her life. She'd keep the mirror. It was her way back to the wasteland, should she ever want to go there, and there was a voice in the back of her head that told her that the mirror was important. If nothing else, it was still a mirror, and would allow her to ensure that she was beautiful at all hours.

That said, this body was… imperfect. Perhaps she could improve it. She had the drive and power to control her situation, and control was the truest form of beauty.

O-O-O

She examined her reflection in the mirror. It was an improvement, to say the least. She wasn't used to it quite yet, but that would come with time. She would grow accustomed to her newest body, and then she would use it to conquer the rest of Floralia.

Gentle curves and beautiful filigree, the very paragon of grace and beauty. Gold and indigo, and large enough to be imposing to most species. She merely needed to acquire appropriately sized clothing to accentuate those properties.

She heard the door open, and spotted the entry of her court wizard in the mirror. She didn't bother to turn. Better to let him say his piece and be on his way than to give him any of her valuable attention.

"Your Majesty," He began, only to hesitate. He looked across the room, to where she had left the empty husk of her previous body. It wasn't the first time she had tried on another body, but perhaps this one would prove to have enough positive qualities to last longer than the others. Or perhaps she would be able to augment it with magic to make up for its deficiencies. Time would tell.

"Well? I do not have all day." She turned away from the mirror, narrowing her eyes at the court wizard. He was wasting her time with his hesitation.

"S-sorry." He bowed. "I came here to inform you that the people of the sky have declined your offer, and will be holding their position in Fine Fields."

"Hrmph." She frowned. "Foolishness, really. I shall have words with them personally."

"I don't think that's a good idea…" Her court wizard muttered under his breath.

She glared at him, snapping one hand to the side as she conjured one of her royal staves. The pink crystal at its tip glimmered and crackled with electrical power. "Getting a bit too familiar, are we?"

"My apologies, my queen." He bowed. He was shaking, ever so slightly. At some point deep in her core she felt immediate regret, but she quashed it quickly. A queen should not be questioned by her subjects, no matter how close they may have been in the past. "I-I merely worry for your well-being."

"Concern yourself with matters that are more important, such as ensuring our control over Floralia." She turned back to her mirror. There was a slight discoloration on one of her eyelids. How unfortunate. She would need to apply makeup to cover it. "Be on your way, Taranza."

"Yes, Queen-,"

Sectonia opened her eyes with a gasp. She shuddered, falling forwards. She retched, feeling her insides try to escape her body as she shook.

This was who she was, then? A traitor to her closest friend? A parasite?

A monster?

Chapter 11: Who I Am

Sectonia sobbed, laying on the cold ground. She retched again, coughing up bile and chunks of indigo goo. The goo dissipated quickly, being made mostly of magic and her fruitless desire to expel what she had just learned from her own body. She hurt, not just physically but mentally and emotionally. Her insides ached, her joints screamed in pain, her heart burned, and she could feel fluid running down her throat. Bile and mucus and uncontrolled magic mixing together in a vile concoction that made her gag.

She hated it. Hated everything. Hated Kirby. Hated the Dreamstalk. But mostly she hated herself. Her pride and vanity and all the stupid selfish decisions she had made that brought her here. Her insistence on recovering these horrible memories, that told her how awful a person she truly was. She deserved this suffering, but she hated it all the same.

No, that was wrong. She hated only herself, and the things she had done. No hate for Kirby, who had put an end to her reign of terror, only fear. No real hate for the Dremstalk, though she wished that it had been more insistent or clear in warding her away from here. She couldn't blame the world for her selfishness.

"Auriel?" She was reminded of Kirby's presence by his muffled voice coming through the vines. "Are you okay?"

The urge to lie was strong. It wouldn't be convincing, because she was sobbing and crying, but it would be as her mother had trained her. Never show weakness, never admit you're wrong, never let your facade crack.

She was beginning to think that her mother's lessons in being a queen were horribly unhealthy.

"No," She whispered instead. She wasn't even trying to communicate. But she was done lying. Done lying to herself and to everyone around her. "I haven't been okay for a long time."

And it was the truth, for the first time she could remember. Aside from when she hadn't been Sectonia, she had not been okay, had not been happy. Only spending time with Taranza had made her life any better, and she…

Stars above, she had betrayed him.

Poor Taranza, loyal Taranza, who had followed her down a dark path because he cared about her. Taranza, who she had hurled from the highest point on Popstar. Taranza, who had become disillusioned with her and had helped kill her.

And now she was alive again.

"Why?" She asked, barely even moving her mouth. "Why am I alive?"

She could easily figure out the how, but that wasn't as important to her. Clearly some remnant of her self had lingered in the Dreamstalk after she had parasitized it, and the Dreamstalk had decided to bring her back. But the question was why? If it could muster the power to rebuild her body and return her to life, why bother? She wasn't worth that kind of effort, and it went against the Dreamstalk's mission. It had been filled with hopes and power to defeat her, not to save her life.

"That doesn't sound like you're okay." Kirby's voice came from outside. "I'm coming in!"

The vines above and around her shifted, but did not part.

"'Scuse me, I need to see my friend. Can you let me in?"

Only then did the vines part, moving on their own to create an entrance. The sunlight blinded her for a moment, silhouetting the round shape there.

The pink blob swallowed the miracle fruit, even in his unconscious state. Rainbows ran across his skin, shimmering in hypnotic patterns. He landed on the Dreamstalk, awake and fully aware once more.

What absurdity. What gall. She had been victorious, had caught this pest off-guard. And that stupid bird and the traitor Taranza-

Taranza…

No. She didn't have time to think of him. This foul thing before her would be her doom if she let it. So she wouldn't let it. She let off a barrage of explosive seeds, see him handle that-

He handled it, and was left unscathed.

Again and again she tried. Again and again she failed. He was invincible, blessed with the gift of the Dreamstalk as he was. She released as much power as she could, all at once, in a beam strong enough to punch through the planet.

He swallowed the energy, and as if that weren't enough he pulled every petal off her head one by one. She was left ragged and broken, and he was unscathed.

The star warrior released the blast held in his mouth, and she felt it sear away at her essence.

No. It couldn't end like this. She would not die like this. She would NOT die like this!

She held on, with every fiber of her being. She was dying, but she would not die. She needed energy, and there was a convenient source nearby.

She pulled life force from Popstar, from the Dreamstalk, and from the horrid creature before her. The dawning sun fled before her parasitic aura, and the moon came to replace it. New petals burst forth, ragged and frayed and barely alive. A quartet of miracle fruits she telekinetically wrenched from the Dreamstalk's vines, and with her subservient eye-flowers she secured them for herself. Driven by nothing but sheer will and the refusal to perish, she swallowed the eye-flowers with her main bulb to absorb the powers of the miracle fruits.

And that's when Queen Sectonia died, replaced by a husk fueled by rage and pain. Her memory continued, but there was no more mind, no more identity behind the thing that fought.

Her last true thought was of the beauty she still embodied.

Panic gripped her. She was going to die again. Sectonia had only just been given her second chance and it was going to be taken by the same one who had killed her the first time. She didn't want to die. Not again. Not for real.

She screamed, hovering upwards as quickly as she could. She couldn't die here. Not now, not like this. She had to find Taranza. She had to apologize. And she couldn't do that if she was slain by the star warrior again.

She forced the vines apart, exerting her will against the Dreamstalk and moving it. The Dreamstalk protested, the vines trembling and groaning in response, but she was able to slip through before they closed again. She could hear the star warrior shouting something, but she couldn't hear it over the blood rushing through her ears and the air brushing past.

Sectonia needed to hide. She needed to run. She couldn't fight the star warrior. She only gave it a moment of thought before discarding the idea of merging with the Dreamstalk again. It would be wrong to do that, violating another entity's autonomy.

Ah, morality. If only she'd had any grasp of it before she'd gone on a mad conquest of Floralia. Before parasitizing her own court. Before she had betrayed Taranza.

Stars above, she hated herself.

She found a spot, close to the main bloom of the Dreamstalk, where the vine curved and she could safely set down to rest. Sectonia hovered over to the spot and landed heavily, wincing at the impact. Her ability to levitate was failing her, now that the adrenaline rush was starting to fade and her aches were coming back.

The star warrior had to have known the whole time, right? Him, the king, and the Bandana Waddle Dee. They had to have known. They were just humoring her, when she had lacked her memories. Now that she had her memories, they would simply continue where they left off. And she would deserve it. But she didn't want to die.

She was dimly aware of something moving, and she looked in the direction of the movement to see the star warrior gently floating through the air towards her. He had his mouth full of… something, probably just air, and was waggling his arms to flap and gain height.

There was nowhere in Dreamland she could run, Sectonia realized. Probably nowhere on Popstar. He would find her no matter where she went. There was no point in running.

Kirby landed softly on the vine, letting out a puff of air. He ran a bit closer, then stopped, tilting his head.

"What's wrong Auriel?" He asked.

"I remember," She said quietly, cowering, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?" He seemed confused, but he had to know. Right? "I thought remembering was a good thing!"

"Not for me," She whispered.

"Why not, Auriel?"

"I wish I was Auriel," Sectonia sobbed to herself, "That would make things so much easier."

"Wait!" Kirby jumped in surprise. "If you're not Auriel, who are you?"

Did he not know? How could he not know? Was he that oblivious, or was he simply that trusting? Or both? If he really didn't know, she didn't have to tell him. She could lie, preserve that ignorance and make her escape. It was oh so tempting. But she had told herself that there would be no more lying. Not to herself, not to anyone else. She would tell the truth, and suffer the consequences.

"I'm Sectonia," She confessed.

Kirby gasped, eyes going wide. "You are?!"

Sectonia nodded, swallowing nervously.

To her surprise, Kirby didn't attack her. Instead, he started… dancing? He spun and twirled and jumped, bouncing around on the vine for several seconds before he came to a stop right in front of her. Then he leaned over and hugged her.

She sat there, stunned. What had just happened? Wasn't he mad that she had deceived him? That she had tried to take over Popstar? Wasn't he angry that she had tried, repeatedly, to kill him?

Kirby pulled away and looked up at her with sparkling eyes. "You've got your memories back and you're alive again!"

"You're… not mad?" Sectonia asked in disbelief.

"Why would I be mad?" Kirby tilted his head.

"Because I've done so many awful things." She looked away. "I've hurt so many people. Ruined so many lives. Killed-," She choked on her words, tearing up. She was pathetic. She had killed people and she was the one crying over it. As if she deserved sympathy.

"But you feel bad about it, right?"

She nodded, unable to summon words.

"And you're not gonna do it again?"

Sectonia shook her head.

"Then it's okay! If you help people and be nice then everything will be okay!" Kirby said simply, as if it was that easy.

"It's not that simple," Sectonia protested weakly, turning back to look at Kirby.

"Why not?" Kirby tilted his head. "Marx apologized for what he did, and so did Magolor, and everything is okay now!"

"Marx?" She blinked in surprise. "Wh-what did Marx do?"

"Oh, lots of things." Kirby raised one hand in front of his face as if to count on his fingers, only to then seemingly realize that he had no fingers and put his hand down again. "It started with that time he convinced the sun and moon to fight. That caused a buncha problems with night and day switching back and forth, which made Whispy mad and killed a lot of plants -,"

"That was Marx?" Sectonia muttered, mostly to herself.

"Yeah. So I went to all the planets with dream fountains and gathered up their power and summoned Nova to wish for the sun and moon to stop fighting, and Marx popped up to steal my wish and wished to rule Popstar, and then he tried to kill me after I blew up Nova to stop it from flying to Popstar to attack it, and then-," Kirby stopped and took a deep breath, then continued. "Then after I beat Marx, he flew into Nova and Nova exploded! And then I thought I was done but Marx absorbed all of Nova's parts and transformed into a zombie thing to try and kill me again! But I beat him and he split in half and screamed before drifting away into space. And then he came back a while ago and promised he wouldn't try to take over Popstar again but he did try that one time to take Magolor's ship and drive it through Dedede's castle, and another time he tried to steal the star rod and wound up swallowing it and that was a mess but now he's good. He's funny."

Sectonia just stared for a few moments, her jaw agape. Kirby sat there, smiling at her with that almost vacant expression. It took her a bit to realize that Kirby was done with his almost unbroken rambling.

"Marx did all that?" Sectonia asked, "And you forgive him?"

"Yeah!" Kirby nodded enthusiastically. "He's not gonna do it again, and now he patrols Dreamland to find Dark Matter when they pop up every now and then."

"Oh." Sectonia nodded slowly. "And… who is Magolor?"

"Oh! He's from Halcandra! It's this floating planet in Another Dimension that's covered in old machines and lava that was, um…" Kirby stopped, scratching his head. "I don't remember what Magolor told me. Something about really old machines. He tried to take this shiny crown from Landia - they're a dragon! Um, then Magolor tricked me and Meta Knight and Dedede and Bandee into fighting Landia so that he could get the shiny crown, which turned him into a giant made of magic, and then when I beat him he transformed into a ball with an eye in its mouth - like Zero, who was the leader of the Dark Matter before Ribbon and I shot it with a crystal gun. But anyways, I broke Magolor's shiny crown and he turned back to normal and disappeared through a portal. Then he came back a while ago and made an amusement park and apologized. Look! You can see it from here!"

Kirby ran over to one edge of the vine and pointed, and Sectonia followed his indication to see, off in the distance, several roller coasters rising above the surrounding environment. Floating above the park was a ship, shaped like one that would sail the oceans but clearly some kind of interplanetary vessel.

"And… and you just… forgave both of them?" Sectonia asked in disbelief.

"Uh-huh!" Kirby nodded rapidly. "They're good now! Taranza, too! He said he was real sorry for capturing King Dedede and now we're all good friends!"

Sectonia's breath caught at the mention of Taranza. Would Taranza forgive her? She had been so awful to him, even when he was nothing but loyal. Would an apology be enough?

Would it be enough for anyone else?

"So Taranza's… okay then?" She swallowed nervously.

"I think so. He went back to Floralia for, uh…" Kirby frowned for a moment. "Civil… something. I don't remember. I wasn't listening. But he'll be in Dreamland for the pizza party in a few days!"

Sectonia nodded to herself. Right. There would be problems in Floralia after everything she had done. Especially after she had been dethroned. The political mayhem caused by her death would be astronomical. She had conquered all of Floralia, and the sudden disappearance of a tyrant always led to a power vacuum.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Her panic had waned now, as had her irrational hatred of life. Her life wasn't over, she wasn't worthless, but she had done some very bad things and there were countless consequences for what she had done. Sectonia still hated herself, but not nearly to the point of suicidal or self-injurious behavior. She could make it right. She could make it up to those who remained, if nothing else.

Sectonia took another deep breath, then lifted off of the vine. She collected herself, then let her breath out.

"Kirby," She began, causing him to turn back to look up at her, "I am deeply sorry for everything I have done to hurt you and your friends. I fully intend to do better, in every way I can. Thank you, for doing the impossible for me. For helping me find my memories."

"Dedede says I can do anything I put my mind to!" Kirby said proudly, smiling widely.

"Yes, I… can definitely believe that." Sectonia nodded.

Kirby jumped suddenly, looking up at the sky. "It's getting late! C'mon, we should go back to Castle Dedede! There's plenty of rooms to sleep in there!"

Kirby started running down the Dreamstalk's vine, waving at the sky as he did. A star descended from the darkening sky, touching down gently in front of the star warrior.

Sectonia could only shake her head in disbelief. In the past hours her life had been shaken, destroyed, and then completely realigned. And the one responsible for all of that had seemingly completely forgotten the conversation and started walking away. It really made her wonder.

Regardless, she had a new resolve: to live up to the person Auriel had hoped she was.

Notes:

Imagine waking up one day to realize that you've been a horrible person. That you've continually hurt those around you. That you've tormented one you dearly love.

Not a good time.

But the first step of becoming a better person is recognizing that you've done something wrong.

If there was anything you particularly enjoyed or disliked, let me know. I always aim to improve.

Chapter 12: On Royalty

The star descended towards Castle Dedede, aiming for a balcony where the king and Bandana Waddle Dee were playing chess. They looked up as the star descended.

"Ya back already?" King Dedede asked, standing up as the star landed. "That was mighty fast."

"Considering Kirby's involvement, are you really surprised about this, Great King?" Bandee asked.

"Nah, not really." King Dedede chuckled to himself. "How'd it go?"

"It went great! We found Sectonia's memories and she's alive again and now she's my friend!" Kirby babbled excitedly.

"I had an emotional breakdown," Sectonia said quietly.

"Ah," Dedede nodded slowly. "I see."

"Sectonia's gonna need a place to stay the night. Can she use one of the spare rooms in the castle?" Kirby asked.

Panic flashed across King Dedede's face. It was only there for the briefest of moments, and she would have missed it had she not been trained from childhood to search for the weaknesses in the facade every member of the noble court put up, but it was there. He handled it well, quickly masking the panic with an appraising look.

"Ya sure she can't stay at your house?" King Dedede asked.

"There's not enough space! I don't want my guests to be cramped!" Kirby explained, "But the roofs in your castle are high and the hallways are big!"

King Dedede sighed, then looked up at Sectonia. There was that hint of fear again, but it vanished as soon as it appeared.

"Well, if ya gonna stay at my castle, ya gotta follow my rules!" King Dedede put his hands on his hips. "No layin' around an' doin' nothin', ya hear! If ya stayin' here, ya gotta put in some kinda effort!"

"Not to undermine you, Great King, but you spend most days lounging around," Bandee mumbled, just loud enough for Sectonia to hear.

"Hey! That's not me bein' lazy, it's… plannin'! Yeah!" Dedede crossed his arms and nodded. "Takes a lotta brain power to be as good a king as I am!"

"I am willing to assist in any way I can," Sectonia said.

"Any way you can, huh?" King Dedede narrowed his eyes.

"Hey! No bullying!" Kirby jumped up to grab the king's attention. "Don't be mean to Sectonia!"

"I won't, I won't!" Dedede put up his hands in a placating gesture. "Just 'cause I was thinkin' about it don't mean I would do anythin' like that!"

Kirby turned to look at Sectonia. "If Dedede starts bullying you, tell Bandee."

"I wasn't gonna-," Dedede threw his hands in the air, turning away.

"Anyways, I'm gonna head home!" Kirby said. He ran over to Bandee and gave him a quick hug, then did the same with King Dedede. Sectonia was surprised when he ran over to her next, jumping to try and wrap his stubby arms around her abdomen for a quick hug before he dropped back to the ground. "Goodbye everyone! I'll see you all tomorrow!"

The pink puffball turned and jumped off the balcony, floating for a few moments before a star zipped up to him to ferry him off into the horizon.

Sectonia watched Kirby leave for a few moments, then turned her attention back to King Dedede. He was nervous, shifting uncomfortably in her presence. But he tilted his head to one side and started walking as if he wasn't.

"C'mon then. Let's get ya to one of the spare rooms."

Sectonia followed him into the castle, with Bandee not too far behind. After a fairly short walk, King Dedede stopped, then turned and looked up at Sectonia.

"I ain't just some goofball, y'know," He said suddenly, "Yeah, I ain't the most serious person or the most cunnin' king, but I ain't stupid."

Sectonia frowned, but didn't say anything. She could tell he wasn't done talking.

"If yer gonna try an' pull a fast one on me an' Kirby, ya got another thing comin','' Dedede continued, "Ya may or may not remember the times we had dipl'matic int'ractions, but I've gotten a lot smarter since then. More engaged in dealin' with people. And I ain't gonna let ya pull one over on me, yeah?"

"I assure you, I have no intention of deceiving you," Sectonia said quietly.

"See, I don't trust you." Dedede crossed his arms, scowling. "You're a politician, that means you're good at lyin'. If I find out yer tryin' ta trick Kirby, there will be consequences, y'hear me?"

"I understand."

"Good." Dedede turned back down the hall.

"I'm sorry," Sectonia said. Dedede stopped, turning back towards her. "For what I did. All of it. I'm sorry for sending Taranza to capture you, for waging war on Dreamland, for… well, everything else I've done. I truly do want to do better."

King Dedede looked at her for a few moments, then shook his head and turned away. "You're lucky the kid likes ya, or ya wouldn't be gettin' this second chance. C'mon then. Let's get ya to a room. I'll have someone ready a bath for ya."

Sectonia was suddenly acutely aware of the dried blood on her cheek, of the sweat clinging to her clothes, and the streaked dirt of tear stains on her face. She was, frankly, filthy. Having it brought to her attention made her skin crawl, made her uncomfortable on a visceral level.

"Yes, I would greatly appreciate that."

O-O-O

She awoke from dreamless sleep to confusion.

Auriel was certain that she wasn't in the barn, the walls were different. The sheets were softer.

Except she wasn't Auriel. She blinked for a few moments, trying to remember. This wasn't Sectonia's room either. The colors were wrong. And her mirror wasn't here.

She sat up before she finally remembered where she was.

"Oh," Sectonia said to herself. She was in Castle Dedede. After her bath last night she had fallen asleep almost immediately. Her dress was draped over a stand to one side, scrubbed clean at some point over last night. Sunlight beamed in through a window, illuminating a rectangular space in the center of the room.

In her old life, she would have panicked at knowing that she was in what was technically the castle of an enemy. Yet she felt no such alarm. Perhaps it was a sign of her emotional growth, of her changing perspectives. Or maybe her brain was just broken and now she was trusting her wellbeing to the ones who had killed her once already. That would be a cruel twist of fate.

But she did not fear the potential risks of her current situation. She wasn't quite sure why. A nagging distrust that she could remember from her old life was just… absent. It was nice, not having that paranoia in the back of her mind. Perhaps it was because she wasn't queen anymore. Sure she could probably reclaim her throne in Floralia by sheer magical force, but that would be… awful. If Floralia was as scattered as she expected it to be after her death, the sheer cost of lives would be astronomical. And besides, she wasn't sure she had ever wanted to be queen. It was just… what everyone had told her to be.

Sectonia lay in bed for a little bit, stewing that thought in her mind. Had she ever wanted to be a queen? She had been undeniably good at it, despite her misgivings. She had navigated the political scene well. At least, until she lost her mind. She still had no idea what had possessed her to behave in such a horrible way -

- She reached out of the mirror, strangling her doppelganger for a moment before hurling the weaker version of herself through the glass -

Sectonia winced, reaching up to rub her temples. Her head was hurting, and she wasn't sure why. There were bits of her memory that were still evading her, holes in her knowledge of events that gave her headaches when she probed at the edges. It was frustrating, honestly. But it was better than just… being dead, or lacking her memories entirely. Probably, anyways. She wasn't quite sure yet if self-loathing was better than frustrated ignorance.

She rose from her bed, making sure to straighten the sheets before she dressed herself. It wouldn't do to leave a mess in her wake, after all. That would be disrespectful to her host.

Once she was ready for the day, Sectonia exited her room.

She was mildly surprised to find that there was nobody in the hall beyond, but immediately realized why. She wasn't important to the operation of the castle. Of course they wouldn't put guards or servants outside her room. She was a guest, nothing else. Nothing more.

It was liberating, in a sense, to not be the most important person in the building. But at the same time it was… upsetting. Her whole life she'd been told she was one of the most important people in the world, and now she wasn't treated like it. But she didn't want to be one of the most important people in the world. And yet…

Sectonia closed her eyes and shook her head. She didn't know what she wanted, at this point. It was frustrating. She wanted to decide her own path. She wanted someone to tell her who to be. She wanted…

Something. She wasn't sure.

"Excuse me."

Sectonia jumped, looking down to see a Waddle Dee holding a folded stack of sheets over their head.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Sectonia floated back into the doorway, allowing the Waddle Dee to pass. They entered another room, further down the hall.

It would be utterly pointless to continue loitering in the hallway, she decided. Better to find something to do, someone to talk to, than to sit here in… crippling loneliness. Yes, best to go find someone before the buzzing on the edges of her perception started overwhelming her conscious thought.

She drifted down the hallway. She was familiar with how castles were laid out - even though this was a palace since it had never seen battle - and it didn't take her long to find her way to the throne room.

King Dedede was lounging on his throne and snacking on chips, almost entirely alone in the vast room. On the other side of the room was Bandee, sipping from a box with a cartoon apple drawn on it. He looked up as she entered, narrowing his eyes. The waddle dee gestured with his free arm, once at himself, then at Sectonia, then at himself again. It took a moment for Sectonia to realize that he was trying to say that he was watching her.

"I don't even know if I could live like that, y'know?" King Dedede rambled aimlessly, "I mean, it was real nice when Magolor had us over on the Lor, y'know, up until he went about betrayin' us, but havin' yer home talk to ya ain't really my idea of a good life. Like, if ya forgot t' clean the kitchen after gettin' a snack, and the kitchen starts yellin' at ya to clean up. Though it does speak in some kinda computer language so maybe I could just ignore it."

"Mm-hmm." Bandee mumbled around the straw in his… face. He didn't have a mouth, but somehow that didn't stop him.

"I mean, maybe that's why he felt he had ta go an' conquer the universe?" King Dedede postulated, "Can't get a sense of control in yer own home, so ya go and take over everythin' else? Not that it makes it okay, but maybe I can see where he was-,"

It was at that moment that King Dedede caught sight of Sectonia. He let out a high-pitched squeal, scrambling to keep himself from dropping his chips as he very suddenly sat bolt upright.

"Ah, there ya are," He said, attempting to cover his nervousness with a cough.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Sectonia said.

"It's… fine." Dedede cleared his throat then looked over at Bandee. "I thought someone would give me a warning."

Bandana Dee shrugged, still sipping from the box of apple juice.

"Anyways, I thought ya'd be up by now, but I guess ya were worn out." King Dedede returned his attention to Sectonia. "Didn't want ta wake ya early, in case ya really needed that rest."

"Oh, I…" Sectonia furrowed her brow. "I was supposed to help out around the castle. I'm sorry."

"Anyone ever tell ya that you apologize too much?" Dedede asked.

"I…" She was stunned for a moment. Did she apologize too much? It took a moment to put her thoughts into words. "I have spent most of my life never admitting wrongdoing or mistakes. Because it is unqueenly to have faults. I don't want to be that person anymore, the one who blames everything on others. I feel it is better to admit fault too often than to never admit fault at all."

Dedede opened his mouth, then stopped, then appeared to give it some thought before he finally spoke.

"That's… definitely a better outlook, I think. But not what I'm tryin' to say," King Dedede said, "Knowin' when you're wrong is good, but ya ain't in the wrong here. And ya should never apologize for takin' care'a yourself. I wasn't gonna make ya work if ya didn't wanna, I just thought it'd make ya squirm, if ya were anythin' like I remembered. When it didn't, ya earned a bit of respect. That yer still stickin' with it is surprisin', but it does make me think yer actually goin' through with betterin' yaself."

Sectonia blinked in confusion. He… hadn't actually planned to make her work? It was nothing more than a little prank, a joke at her expense. But she… wanted to make herself useful. Part of her said that a queen didn't work, that it was the job of the servants. But she wasn't a queen. She was a guest.

Which reminded her of a question she had.

"I do still intend to help in any way I can, be it with magical assistance or simply by being another pair of hands. But I was… thinking." Sectonia hesitated. It would be rather rude to ask something like this. But King Dedede seemed to prefer straight-forward conversation over politeness. "I wanted to know why you were king."

"Oh, that? Well." King Dedede laughed a bit, patting his belly. "I'm a big guy in a world of small guys. So one day I figured, why not make use of that? Wasn't my most hon'rable choice, but I bullied my way t' the top. Wasn't anyone who could stop me. Called myself king 'cause I thought people would respect me."

"It worked," Bandee said, pulling the straw out of his not-mouth for the first time, "Dreamland hadn't had any sort of royalty before, and King Dedede had a reputation for being something of a hero, alongside Sir Meta Knight."

"Good times." King Dedede chuckled. "Anyways, I wasn't really ready for the responsibilities of bein' king, y'know? So when I found out I had to manage taxes an' politics an' all that, I kinda lost it. Made everyone give me their food. I couldn't even eat that much, but it was all I could think of."

"And then Kirby showed up," Bandee said.

"And then Kirby showed up." Dedede nodded. "This li'l kid, barely spoke a word, just rampaged through my castle an' clobbahed me in a fight. I challenged 'im to a rematch a few years after an' he won even harder. Then 'e came by an' gave me cupcakes. The rest is, well, hist'ry."

"No royal lineage, no… estate?" Sectonia asked.

"Nah. I'm first an' last of my line, at least as far as bein' royal goes." Dedede laughed to himself. "As I said, I'm a big guy in a world of little guys. Always have been. That's all I've really got."

"Then I suppose the real question is why are you still king," Sectonia said, "If you found it too much work, and you don't enjoy the duties that accompany the role, why continue as king?"

"Well, to be honest, I ain't exactly yer traditional kinda king," Dedede explained, "Sure I call myself king 'n all, but there's no royal family or nothin'. I don't really do most've the kingly duties, aside from bein' a face for Dreamland on occasion. No taxin' or nothin'. Not after that first time. Not like I need more money, the vault's full've more treasure than I'll ever use in my life. I even tried to quit once, but the Dees wouldn't let me!"

"There are significant tactical advantages to having a warrior of notable renown as the outward-facing ruler of Dreamland," Bandee said offhandedly, seemingly done with the box of apple juice, "The Great King's role is more akin to an elected official. He has his role, which is mostly just… lounging around, while the rest of us have our own. Even then, the authority of our little government doesn't extend very far beyond the castle. We just have a lot of money."

"Thanks fer makin' it sound like I don't do nothin', Bandee," King Dedede scowled, but Sectonia could tell he didn't really mean it. He shook his head. "That's about the whole story. Started as a bully, but the Waddle Dees grew attached an' now it's just sorta… who I am."

"I see." That didn't answer her question, not really. It didn't settle the unease in her mind about her lot in life. But it did make her think about the role she had held as queen, and what she would do about it moving forwards.

"Sorry if that weren't the sorta answer ya were lookin' for, but that's how it is." King Dedede shrugged. "Ain't got another answer other'n that."

"It… wasn't what I was looking for, but it has given me much to think about. On the nature of royalty and the duties therein." Sectonia bowed her head. "Thank you."

"Well, I hope it was able t' help ya." King Dedede stood up, crumpling up the empty bag of chips in his hand. "Ya reminded me of somethin' I was gonna do. If yer really gonna lend a hand 'round here, ya can talk t' Bandee 'bout that. I need to make a phone call."

The king - though king he was in name only - walked off down a side hall without any further ceremony. That left Sectonia floating there awkwardly and Bandee, who was watching her with an unamused expression.

"Alright. If you want to lend a hand, come with me," Bandee said, "We've got some things to move if we want to make the biggest pizza Popstar's ever seen."

Notes:

Sometimes when your life is shaken up, you need to decide if who you were before was really someone you want to be. Sometimes the answer is easy, sometimes it's significantly less so. But you at least need to think about it.

If there was anything you particularly enjoyed or disliked, let me know. I always aim to improve.

Chapter 13: Reunion

Sectonia had been informed ahead of time that guests should be arriving today. King Dedede still insisted on calling the upcoming get-together a banquet, even though it very much was not due to the casual nature of the get-together. Either way, some of Kirby's friends would be coming to stay at the castle ahead of time, for multiple reasons including but not limited to lack of local lodging.

But even if she hadn't been kept in the know, she would have been able to figure it out. The increase in activity in Castle Dedede - which was a palace, she would not cede this point - was a good giveaway. Waddle Dees scrambling around to prepare rooms for guests, gathering building materials for a giant oven and other such preparations.

That wasn't even the most obvious giveaway, though. The screaming was.

It started as a dull noise, just barely audible from the castle. If she was in the right spot, it wasn't even possible to hear it. But as the source got closer the noise got louder.

Sectonia flew up to the balcony, where King Dedede and Bandana Waddle Dee were already waiting. The king was staring at the horizon, an unamused expression on his face. Bandee looked almost bored, examining his spear. As if this was a normal occurrence, or at least close enough to normal that they'd experienced it several times before.

"What's… Oh." She almost asked a question with an obvious answer, until she looked out towards the nearby town. There was a shape rapidly approaching the castle from that direction, a shape that had wide wings with glimmering 'feathers'. As it got closer she picked out the points of its jester hat, and the more intricate details of its multicolored wing membrane.

Marx continued towards the castle, shrieking at the top of his lungs. It would be a good minute before he arrived, if he continued at his current speed. He could probably go faster, but Sectonia felt as though he was probably going slower than max speed purely to drag it out as long as possible.

"Think we need the cannons?" Dedede asked Bandee.

"We shouldn't. They wouldn't help anyways." Bandee shrugged. "He'd just eat the cannon balls, or something stupid like that. I'll call Kirby just in case though."

"Yeah… you do that." Dedede nodded slowly. "Sectonia, ya wanna come with me ta do some negotiatin' with Dreamland's most notorious terrorist?"

"If you believe I will be of service," Sectonia said, nodding.

"I'm pretty sure he'll listen more ta ya than he does ta me, if that phone call ya had with 'im is any indication," Dedede replied, leading the way down the balcony, "If nothin' else, havin' ya on hand'll help if he tries anythin'."

"I see." Sectonia paused. "I suppose we are leaving the balcony to avoid collateral damage?"

"Yeah, better t' meet 'im outside the castle, cause last time he found a reason t' fight someone inside he made a garden in my throne room and covered the walls in paint." Dedede shook his head. He stopped for a moment to take a hammer from a decorative mount on the wall, hefting it for a moment before nodding appreciatively. "An' of course last time he ate the tapestries, which I don't want happenin' again."

"Why do you tolerate his presence if he is so destructive?" Sectonia asked, "He routinely disrespects your property and your authority. Why not outright ban him from your castle?"

"Mostly 'cause Kirby wants ev'ryone to be friends, and to be honest I'd do anythin' the kid asked of me." Dedede paused. "Almost anythin'. Almost. 'Sides, it's just stuff. It's annoyin' to replace, but possible. Now if he started hurtin' people again, we'd have a real problem, but he hasn't done that in years."

"Hmm." Sectonia frowned. She wouldn't tolerate such a blatant disrespect. She would… well historically speaking she'd have him put to death for such actions. Nowadays, she had no idea how she'd handle such rudeness. But it wasn't her problem to deal with in any case. She had no say in how King Dedede handled Marx.

They made their way out the front gate in short order, and with perfect timing as Marx hovered to a stop several yards away. He stopped screaming as they got closer, replacing it with a manic giggle as his eyes bugged out of his head.

"Well well well, it's the fatty and the amnesiac!" Marx giggled to himself. "I was expecting one of you, but the other's just as welcome!"

"Marx." Sectonia narrowed her eyes. "You knew who I was the entire time, didn't you?"

"Whaaat? Of course not. Pshh" Marx rolled his eyes. "How could poor little me have possibly known that the wasp with no memories and an innate connection to the Dreamstalk was the resurrected queen of Floralia? The queen who linked herself to the Dreamstalk right before she died? It just doesn't track."

"You could have told me."

"Maybe, but it wouldn't be as funny as knowing that you spent several days with the guy you had kidnapped and the guy who killed you." Marx cackled madly, his face distorting as he did. "And King Dumdumdum over here just let you in! You! The mad queen of the sky! You can't make this up!"

"Is there a reason ya decided to banshee scream over the entire town on yer way over, or was it just for kicks?" King Dedede asked, crossing his arms. His hammer rested in one hand, held loosely but with confidence. "'Cuz people keep complainin' about ya nonsense."

"Of course I have a reason! What do you take me for, some kind of idiot?" Marx scoffed.

There was a moment of silence as Sectonia and Dedede waited for him to continue. When no explanation was forthcoming, Dedede huffed.

"And that is?" He asked.

"Hmm? Oh!" Marx grinned. "Well, it's quite simple, really."

Marx spread his wings, ripples of energy surging along the sparkling geometric membrane. The golden limbs themselves flickered pink for a moment, magical energy radiating off of them, so powerful the air began to waver for a moment. The impact on Sectonia was almost physical, so much raw energy that it pushed against her. Marx's eyes twisted, rotating in their sockets in unnatural ways as his mouth opened larger than his entire body. The air above his head rippled, opening into a vertical rift in space as something slipped out. A fruit, with an outer shell of spiraling golden rind. Sectonia heard Dedede swear under his breath at the sight of the miracle fruit, and she clenched her fists in preparation.

"See, someone happened to give me the means to achieve APOTHEOSIS!" Marx cackled madly, the fruit lowering to hover in front of his face. "All I need to do is-,"

King Dedede leapt for it, swinging his hammer to try and knock away the miracle fruit. Marx winked out of existence, bringing the fruit with him as he reappeared several feet to the side. He let out a barrage of blades to keep Dedede at bay, then glanced over at Sectonia.

"What, not gonna try to stop my ascension?" He stuck his tongue out, then warped higher into the air to leave Dedede's effective range. He shouted down a taunt. "Nice try, fatzo!"

"I'm… thinking." She tilted her head and put a hand to her chin. The miracle fruit was almost overflowing with magical energy, enough to render almost anyone into a godlike entity for a brief time. But cutting the flesh dispersed the majority of the magical energy. Not that Marx had to bite into it, with the way his jaw could deform. But there was another facet of his makeup that she believed would be… interesting to see. "Why are you messing around instead of just swallowing it? I understand that you're a moron - the things you've said before were more than enough to show that - but I didn't think you were this stupid."

"Yeah, I'm kinda stupid ain't I?" Marx stuck out his tongue and winked. "No point dragging it out, I guess. Behold my omnipotence!"

Without further ceremony, Marx opened his mouth wide and swallowed the miracle fruit.

"Why would ya do that?!" Dedede shouted, aghast, "I was stallin'!"

"Just watch." Sectonia nodded at Marx. "It's temporary anyways. Whatever he pulls off won't last more than a few hours."

"But in that time, I will declare myself a god!" Marx shouted, giggling to himself as he rose into the air. "There's nothing you can do to stop me!"

"Also," Sectonia added, smirking, "I'm pretty sure it won't do anything in the first place."

"Well joke's on you lady, but I feel powerful!" Said Marx, who was still floating there.

"Now, I'm not sure if you are magically sensitive," Sectonia said to King Dedede, pointedly ignoring Marx, "And I know that Marx deliberately doesn't use his magical sensitivity-,"

"Are you ignoring me?"

"-Possibly out of spite and stubbornness, but in any case to his detriment. Because if he was paying attention, at possibly any time, he may well have noticed a magical anomaly in his body," Sectonia continued to explain, allowing her smug satisfaction to show on her face, "At the core of his being-,"

"You're ignoring me!"

"-Is a void. It makes no sense, according to the magical physics I have learned, but it's there. Physical objects can escape it, but magic just gets sucked right in and annihilated. Except Marx's own, of course, and whatever he absorbed from Nova. But he just put the miracle fruit directly into the magical void in his stomach, which of course means that the fruit no longer exists, or if it does it is completely mundane. Inert. In other words," Sectonia said, looking up at Marx, "I really hope you enjoyed the taste, because you did not get anything else out of it."

"You don't understand, lady, I'm feeling better than-," Marx stopped, frowning. He narrowed his eyes, possibly the first time ever he had paid attention to his own magical energies. "...You've gotta be kidding me."

"If you'd entertained my postulation, you would've known about this ahead of time." Sectonia allowed herself a smile. "But instead you had to wait until the emotional high wore off."

A wide range of emotions displayed themselves on Marx's face. From sheer disbelief to anger to despair and then finally dull contempt. He scowled, drawing in his wings to plop to the ground in front of Sectonia and Dedede. He glared at both of them.

"I liked you better when you had no idea who you were," He said to Sectonia, right before he stomped through the front gates of Dedede's palace.

And just like that her smug satisfaction had been shattered. Had she gone overboard? Was she letting her pride make her insufferable again? Sectonia took a deep breath.

"Me too," She muttered under her breath.

She watched Marx go, trying to keep hold of her composure. That had hurt a lot more than she had expected. He had deserved it, surely. All his grandstanding and the stated intent to take over the world deserved to be put down, right? …Perhaps she had been too harsh in her methods.

Dedede walked up next to her, muttering curses under his breath as he rubbed his face with his free hand. He grumbled incoherently for a bit, then huffed.

"I swear there's somethin' wrong with that boy," King Dedede said, shaking his head, "Just causin' problems any time he gets the chance. Wastin' my time."

"Was I too harsh?" Sectonia asked quietly. "...I should apologize-,"

"What'd I tell ya 'bout not needin' to apologize for doin' nothin' wrong?" Dedede scowled at her, but she could tell he wasn't actually angry at her. Just… frustrated. "Marx does this sorta thing for attention, prob'ly. Better t' shut 'im down before he makes it ev'ryone's problem. Prob'ly woulda stalled until Kirby arrived if ya hadn't goaded 'im. Better t' get it over with an' involve as few people as possible."

"Still…" She grimaced.

"Ya really didn't do anythin'. Just told 'im why it wouldn't work. 'Sides, Marx doesn't understand tact. Ya were engagin' with 'im on 'is own level." Dedede shrugged. "He'll get over it within an hour. Like every other time before."

"Hmm." Sectonia couldn't shake the feeling she had done something wrong. Maybe she was too sensitive, after years of being completely insulated from sympathy.

"Anyway, good that's over with. Might've messed with the schedule if it went on too long." Dedede took a deep breath, reaching into his robe to pull out a pocketwatch. He nodded to himself then looked up at Sectonia. "Why don't ya go to the library?"

"The library?" She furrowed her brow. "Why? What's in the library?"

"Meta Knight dropped off a few books 'bout magic a while back, said he was done with 'em. Now I'm not the sort to practice magic, but yer little speech reminded me that ya are," Dedede said with a shrug, "If nothin' else it'll take yer mind off it."

"I suppose I'll check that out then." There was something he wasn't saying, she could tell. But she couldn't tell what.

"Yeah." King Dedede nodded. "Yeah. Anyways, I gotta go make sure Marx doesn't start eatin' the decorations again. See ya."

Dedede hustled into the castle, making haste to catch up with Marx before he caused more problems. Sectonia was left floating, just outside the castle's front gate.

After a moment, she shrugged and headed to the library.

She found it easily enough, even though she had never seen a reason to go there before now. It wasn't even a particularly large room, unlike the royal library she remembered from her childhood. But it was cozy, and it was full of books.

It did not take long to find the books of magic that Dedede had told her of. They had long, pretentious titles like The Physical Consequences of Thaumic Interference and Arcane Manipulation: The Intricacies of Magical Energy Manipulation. Standard teaching materials for traditional magic. The sort of thing that Taranza had smuggled to her while teaching her magic. A quick look showed that these were indeed covering matters she was already knowledgeable on, but if nothing else it would be good to refresh herself.

She opened one of the textbooks and started to read, but her mind wasn't really on the words in front of her. Not only was it immensely boring - she already knew all of it, after all - but they just… weren't important to her.

Distracting herself didn't work. The loneliness crept in regardless. Soon enough she wasn't even looking at the book, just staring into space as she tried not to let herself panic.

That's why Sectonia hardly noticed when the door to the library opened again.

There was quiet talking just on the edge of her perception. She recognized the voices, but one was far more familiar than the other. It made her chest ache.

She turned to look at the open door, and her heart fluttered.

There he was. With his stark white hair and upward curving horns. He was looking at someone hidden past the doorframe, but then he turned to look at her.

Taranza froze, his mouth agape. His chest rose and fell with his breaths, and his brow twitched ever so slightly as he stared.

"Taranza…" Sectonia said quietly, swallowing.

"M-My queen!" Taranza's body shook, his hands quivering. He looked conflicted, but he approached regardless. "Y-you're… alive!"

His hesitation hurt to see. That he was scared of her, just as much as he was excited to see her. But she could not blame him. She deserved only disdain for her actions.

"I…" She swallowed again, finding a lump in her throat. She was beginning to tear up as she extended her hands in a helpless gesture. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

For a horrible, terrifying moment, Taranza recoiled. It was an instinctual reaction, but that made it all the worse. He was so scared of her that his fear was instinctual. She deserved it, though. For her actions.

Then he reached out and took her hands.

Sectonia pulled him closer, holding him to her chest as tears poured down her face. After a few moments, he returned the embrace, pressing his head against her chest and sobbing.

"I missed you, Sectonia," Taranza whispered, "I missed you so much."

For the first time in a long time, Sectonia no longer felt alone.

And the two of them cried tears of joy.

Chapter 14: Pizza Party Part 1

After an indeterminate amount of time passed and once the tears were dried, Sectonia finally let go of Taranza.

"How?" He asked almost immediately, "I-I- don't get me wrong, I cannot put into words just how relieved, how happy I am to see you. But, how? The last time I saw you you were a decapitated ghoul hellbent on revenge, uh, uh, if you'll pardon, the, uh, unflattering description."

"It is an apt description," Sectonia said with a light laugh, putting Taranza's brief panic at ease. She took a deep breath and let it out before explaining. "The Dreamstalk saved me. I don't know why, but it restored my - well, this, body. And for the first time in… years, I can think clearly. No… superiority complex, or overwhelming vanity, no desire for world domination. Just… me."

And, she added in her head, some new issues. But she wouldn't let anything interrupt this reunion.

Taranza started to tear up again, looking up at her with watering eyes. "You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear your voice again, Your Majesty."

"My majesty is tarnished, if not entirely gone, Taranza." Sectonia shook her head. "I am… unfit for the job, and in any case my death has likely disqualified me for such a position. And besides." She smiled, reaching down to cup Taranza's cheek. "You know I don't like it when you call me that…"

Taranza smiled, and it made her heart flutter to see it. "You're back. Actually back. Not just… resurrected. I missed you so much, Sectonia. When you started… with all that… business. I thought… I thought for so long I could get through to you, and then you died and I…"

"It's over now. I'm here, and I am of sound mind again. My… my body may not be the one I started with, but I am here," Sectonia said, admittedly somewhat shakily but she hoped she managed to put enough conviction in her voice to put Taranza at ease. To better achieve that goal, she changed the subject. "I'm told we're supposed to be making a pizza today. I haven't met most of the people Kirby invited, could you introduce me?"

It was immediately clear that she hadn't managed to convince Taranza that she was fine. His expression showed clearly that he was still concerned, and that he wasn't buying her attempt to change the subject. Perhaps she had lost her skill, or perhaps Taranza just knew her too well to buy it. Either way, he didn't press the subject.

"Of course!" He nodded. "If I remember correctly, the festivities were supposed to take place behind the castle."

"Oh. In the inexplicable yard?"

"Yes." He paused, partway to the door. "You know, it is really weird that there's a yard behind the castle. It doesn't make sense from a geographical standpoint, at all. The castle's on top of a mountain, with no extra space. But it's also inexplicably got a field behind it, which doesn't fit on top of the mountain. If you look at it from below, or from any angle other than directly above or from inside the castle, it doesn't exist."

"It's not magical, either," Sectonia said, falling easily into the normal back and forth she had with Taranza before her… madness had ruined everything. She followed him out of the library. "I checked. The only magic there is the ambient magic throughout Dreamland. Which, granted, could have an ambient property that leads to space functioning in unexpected ways. The ambient magic in Floralia causes gravity to behave abnormally, so it is not out of the picture."

"Well, there is a lot more space on one face of Popstar than would be suggested by its physical dimensions," Taranza pondered, leading the way down the hall now, "From the sky, the surface world looks like a moonscape of yellow stardust, but down here it's a richly textured world with countless varied biomes that take up more space than can fit on the planet. Popstar doesn't make physical sense."

"The fact that it is so irregularly shaped didn't clue you in?" Sectonia raised a brow.

"Actually!" Taranza raised one hand, his eyes lighting up. "There are a few other geometrically nonsensical planets in the Gamble Galaxy! Rock Star, for example, has a fully functional atmosphere and biomes despite being broken into several pieces. Ripple Star is almost exactly like Popstar, being heart-shaped instead."

"Why did they even bother teaching me about gravity and orbits and star systems when none of it is practically applicable?" Sectonia bemoaned dramatically, putting the back of one hand to her forehead. "Oh woe is me, and my years spent learning basic physics!"

Taranza snorted, clearly trying to contain a laugh. "Truly a monumental waste of time and resources, the royal education is."

"They didn't even teach me how to discern weeds from desirable plants, can you believe it?" Sectonia asked rhetorically.

"A travesty, truly." Taranza nodded solemnly.

They emerged from castle corridors to the field behind Castle Dedede, and Sectonia was stunned to find that it was already bustling with activity. Waddle Dees carried bricks back and forth from pallets to a rapidly growing structure in the middle of the field. No less than three airships crowded the space around the mountain, each with different designs and clearly different owners. Bat wings, propellers, and oars all displayed different tastes in decoration and locomotion. Clustered to one side was a group of woodland animals - and a fish and octopus, both in a wide, square aquarium with wheels - along with a blue blob whose eyes never quite looked the same direction. A group of rodents took up another position, varying from tiny limbless mice to a rather more imposing figure in a cape and wide-brimmed hat. Most of the rodents were glaring at a group of armored figures, some mechanical and some not, also wildly varying in appearance and returning the hostile gesture. King Dedede was having a conversation with a short, stout individual wearing a mask - Meta Knight, Sectonia recognized. She had seen him a few times before but never truly interacted - while Bandee stood nearby and talked to Kirby. There was a young girl watching the Waddle Dees at work, occasionally sharing a giggle with a fairy that hovered over her shoulder. At the far edge of the field was a hovering, limbless feline individual gesticulating wildly while shouting at Marx, who was sitting on the edge of the field and staring off over Dreamland.

Taranza went to the group of animals first, waving as he approached.

"Hello everyone!" He said cheerfully, "Rick, you're looking quite nice today! Nago, you too! Did you two get your fur groomed, because it looks amazing. Coo, you are refined as always. Pitch, I could hear your singing from inside and I must say it's as fantastic as always. Chuchu, I must say that bow is adorable. Kine it's always good to see you, I hope you're doing well. And Gooey! How are you doing today?"

Taranza was greeted with a cacophony of animal sounds and splashes, and the small blue blob opened its mouth to let a long tongue roll out across the ground.

"Hiiiii…" The blob said with great difficulty, "Tttttrraaanzzzaaa…"

"Everyone, this is Q- Sectionia. She's… a good friend of mine," Taranza said, quickly correcting himself. He gestured at Sectonia. He turned to her and then began gesturing to the animals one after another. "Sectonia, this Rick, Kine, Coo, Pitch, Nago, Chuchu, and Gooey. They're Kirby's animal friends - uh, and Gooey, of course. They all worked together to fight off Dark Matter when it invaded Popstar all those years ago."

That… must have been before she was queen. Right? Surely she would have heard of it otherwise. A few of these animals may have been older than she was. It was an odd thought.

"Prrrreeettttiii lllaaaaayyydeee…" Gooey extended his tongue towards her, eyes lolling in random directions.

Sectonia hesitated glancing at Taranza. He surreptitiously - or at least he was trying to be surreptitious - mimed shaking someone's hand. She steeled herself and followed his example, taking Gooey's tongue in a handshake. She immediately regretted it. Without gloves, the sensation was slimy and gross, writhing a bit in her hand. Worse, it felt wrong on a magical level, reminding her of things that were sad and lonely and hateful, even though Gooey was clearly none of these things. Nonetheless, she carried through without flinching.

"A pleasure to meet you, Gooey." She bowed her head, releasing the tongue once she was done with the handshake. "And the rest of you as well. It is an honor to meet such heroes."

Gooey let out a burbling, wheezing laugh. "Nnnniiiiiccceeee Llllaaaayyyyddeee…"

"It's good to see all of you, but I'm introducing Sectonia to everyone because this is the first of Kirby's get-togethers that she has attended. I wish you all the best." Taranza gave the animals and Gooey a big smile, then nodded to Sectonia and started to head off.

As Taranza and Sectonia started moving, Gooey started burbling incoherently. Apparently one of the animal friends understood him, because a coo in response caused the blob to start laughing again.

Only once they were well away from them did Sectonia lean over to speak to Taranza, using a bit of magic to clean her hand as she did.

"What exactly is Gooey?" Sectonia asked, "He seems perfectly delightful, but there's something… off about him."

"Oh, he's… an odd one." Taranza paused for a moment, stopping in his tracks. "I heard that he's something called a Dark Matter-,"

"He's a Dark Matter?!" Sectonia hissed, unwilling to raise her voice but unable to avoid her alarm.

"-Okay, so I can tell you've heard of them," Taranza continued, unphased, "But he ran into Kirby and had a change of heart. He even helped fend off the Dark Matter invasion, which speaks volumes for his willingness to help because the Dark Matters are some kind of hive mind - in the literal, sharing one mind across many bodies way, not the pheromones communicating orders across vast distances way. He's really quite incredible."

"Hmm." Sectonia frowned, straightening. "I… see. I am in no position to judge, I suppose."

"I can understand your worry," Taranza said, "But I promise, everyone here is trustworthy. Well, almost-,"

"Well hello there," A smooth, suave voice interrupted Taranza.

Sectonia turned towards the voice to see a caped rodent with a large hat upon his head. He hovered above the ground, so as to be at eye level with Sectonia. He gave a charming smile as he approached.

"What brings such a beautiful woman here?" The rodent asked, raising a brow. "I had thought this event would be rather boring, and yet there's a beautiful diamond here amongst the stones."

"You flatter me with your words," Sectonia replied, "Who might you be, charming stranger?"

"This is -," Taranza tried to speak, only to be interrupted again.

"Daroach, at your service, my lady." Daroach bowed, sweeping his hat in a wide flourish. He swiftly returned to his prior stance. "And what would the name of this vision of elegance be?"

"Sectonia," She said, smiling a bit. It reminded her of the royal court, of the grand games of courtesy and intrigue, where the ultimate prize was the favor of the Queen. Oh how she had hated it, but Mother had trained her to be the best and she had lived up to those expectations.

"Ah, Sectonia, I have heard of you!" Daroach took her hand and brought it to his lips for a moment, briefly surprising her before he released her. "It is a true honor to be in the presence of a queen, especially given how you outshine every description."

"He's a thief," Taranza began again.

"I am called a thief by many," Daroach interrupted, "But the only thing I aim to steal is the hearts of beautiful ladies, such as yourself."

"Oh?" Sectonia raised a brow. "A man who prefers love over conflict, I take it?"

"Of course, gracious queen." Daroach bowed again, this time with far less flourish. "I have found that words are superior to claws in nearly every case."

"What a wonderful outlook to have." Sectonia clasped her hands together. "Yet I cannot help but feel as though you have attempted to mislead me."

"I beg your pardon?" Daroach tensed, just a little bit.

"Taranza rarely exaggerates in such a manner, you see. So I am led to believe that you steal more… physical things as well?" Sectonia tilted her head, feigning curiosity. She could see where this was going, now.

"Ah, well." Daroach relaxed, apparently he had an answer for this one. "You see, me and mine steal only those who use their resources to harm others. We… relocate resources from those who have too much, and give it to those without enough."

"I see! How noble!" She changed her head tilt into a slight forward incline. She lowered her eyelids just a bit, hoping that the body language got across what she wanted to convey. "What a glorious goal to aim for."

"Indeed!" It worked like a charm. Daroach adjusted the bell that served as his cloak clasp, smiling widely. "I can tell you're of similar mind, oh beautiful Sectonia. Perhaps we could discuss somewhere more… private?"

"Hmm…" She put one finger to her lips as if in thought, although her decision had been made a while ago. She looked over at Taranza, who was positively infuriated but trying his best to contain himself. Then she looked back at Daroach, at the greedy gleam in his eye. "First, I have a question."

"And what would that be?"

"If you knew anything about me, why would you try to seduce me for my money?"

Daroach froze.

"In fact, if you knew anything about me, you would know that I am, in fact, not queen anymore. You would know that I do not have some vast wealth to my name after my death." She straightened, no longer playing the part of an enthralled potential suitor. "And if you knew anything about me, you would know that everyone who tried to court me has been harshly rejected, at best. Because I chose a long time ago."

She put up one hand and pushed Daroach away. The rodent didn't even resist.

"Do more research on your mark, Squeak. Maybe you won't embarrass yourself so badly next time."

Sectonia turned away from the thief and his group of rodents, reaching down to take Taranza's hand. She heard Daroach sputtering behind her, failing to form words for several moments as Sectonia and Taranza departed.

"She chooses the klutz?!" She heard Daroach say.

"I told you-,"

"Shut up, Spinni!"

Sectonia chuckled to herself as they made distance from the thieves, unable to hide a smile. She didn't feel bad about toying with Daroach. That was the nature of the game that he played, and she had outplayed him. It wouldn't have happened at all if he hadn't engaged her in such a manner, and especially if he hadn't mistreated Taranza.

It took a while before Taranza said anything.

"You really flustered him by pretending you were interested in me," He said dejectedly.

"Who says I'm pretending?"

Taranza stopped, and she looked down to see that he had flushed so thoroughly that his entire face had reddened several tones. He babbled wordlessly for a few moments, looking anywhere but at her.

Sectonia guided his chin upwards, looking him in the eyes.

"I will never, never play games with your emotions, Taranza," She said, "Not after what I have done to you. I promise."

Taranza looked for several moments like he was about to either say something or burst into tears. Then he pulled away from her, pointing at the group of armored figures that she had noticed earlier.

"Uh, over here are the Meta-Knights," He said.

"I… see." It hurt, to see him react like that. Was she doing something wrong? Was… was she mistaken in her assessment of Taranza's emotional state? Had she moved too quickly?

"As the name might indicate, they, uh, work for Meta Knight," Taranza explained rapidly, approaching the group of knights. He approached one of the few not wearing armor, a bird man with graying feathers wearing a captain's uniform, and cleared his throat. "Hello, Captain Vul, it's a pleasure to see you again."

"Oh, it's… Taranza, yes." The bird raised a brow as he turned around to look at the spider. Then he spotted Sectonia and his eyes widened. "And… the queen of the sky lands Or… former queen, if what I've heard is accurate."

"It is," Sectonia nodded. She knew of the Meta-Knights, if only just. Just like the Squeaks, their reputation preceded them. And so, it seemed, did hers.

"I had not expected to see you… here…" He trailed off, clearly trying to formulate words.

"Basically we all heard you were dead," Said a skull-faced knight, his voice grating and gruff.

"She was, until recently," Another new voice, this one with an exotic accent, spoke up behind Sectonia.

She turned to see a stout figure, short but with an immense presence about him. He wore a metal mask, hiding all his features save for his luminous yellow eyes, and wrapped about his body was a cloak. While she had never encountered him in person, she recognized Meta Knight immediately. There were too many pictures of him in Dedede's palace not to, and that was without his own fearsome reputation.

"Sir Meta Knight. It is an honor to meet you," Sectonia greeted, bowing her head.

"Sectonia." He inclined his head, ever so slightly. "I am told that you have experienced a change of heart."

"I have." She nodded.

"Good. Do not repeat your past mistakes." It wasn't worded like a threat, but it felt like one. Meta Knight looked at Taranza. "Taranza. Enjoy the party."

And with that, Meta Knight turned and walked away.

"Uh, well, as I was saying," Taranza said after a moment, turning back to look at Captain Vul. "It's good to see you well. We're going to go… see Magolor, I guess."

"Well, goodbye," Vul said.

Taranza started to meander off.

Sectonia frowned, looking at him for a moment before she returned her attention to Captain Vul. "It was a pleasure to meet the captain of the Meta-Knights. Farewell."

Then she followed Taranza, catching up easily and overtaking him. She got in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder. Taranza jumped for a moment before relaxing again.

"Taranza, are you okay?" She asked.

He paused, his mouth moving silently for a few moments before he finally figured out what to say.

"Yes, of course. Why would I not be?" He asked in return.

"You're acting… strange." He broke eye contact at that. "Did I do something wrong?"

"What? No. No, of course not." He shook his head, still not looking her in the eye. He focused on something past her. "Come on, let's talk to Magolor."

And he floated past her, as if nothing was wrong.

Notes:

Taranza may recognize consciously that Sectonia is returned, but just being aware that a problem is gone does not fix the trauma related to it. It takes time to heal.

Gooey's a sweetheart and a precious boy, but not exactly the most stable of creatures. A being made of hate that has learned to love, with almost no physical matter to speak of, isn't going to hold together well. So he's kinda gross, and a little bit... gooey, but he's carrying on and enjoying life.

There's a surprising number of people who ship Dark Meta Knight and Daroach, and power to you if you do, but Daroach is at least bi because in one of his lines in Mass Attack he says that he used to frequent the beaches to 'steal the hearts of young ladies.' All that said, none of it changes the fact that he's still a thief and a rat bastard, and hasn't changed his ways in the slightest after his encounters with Kirby.

Meta Knight and his Meta-Knights will not feature very much in this story, and I have next to no plans for them, unfortunately. But they're around, doing their best to clean up messes on Popstar.

Chapter 15: Pizza Party Part 2

As Taranza and Sectonia approached, Sectonia could hear the floating feline she had noticed earlier talking to Marx. The jester was still sitting on the edge of the cliff, staring off into the distance, ignoring the feline's complaints and derisive comments.

"Magolor!" Taranza greeted, causing the feline to jump in surprise and turn towards them. "How're you doing?"

"Taranza!" The feline returned the greeting, clasping his hands together. "I was just telling off Marx for his constant attempts to cause more problems."

"Oh. It's the bugs. Mister Doormat and the hot wasp," Marx commented, glancing over for a moment before returning to ignoring everything.

Both Taranza and Magolor ignored him, so Sectonia did as well.

"Mags, I've told you about Sectonia, right?" Taranza said.

"Ah, the former queen of the sky lands! I believe I was told you were… deceased…" Magolor trailed off, clearly unsure how to continue.

"I was, but circumstances have seen my return," Sectonia replied.

"I see! Well, you are most certainly not the first to have such an experience. Welcome to the club!" Magolor extended a hand.

Sectonia took his hand to shake. It would have been a fairly standard handshake if she hadn't immediately noticed a questing tendril of magical energy probing at her essence. She pulled her magic away, forcing it to extend further to continue learning about her magical essence. Then, like a predator lunging on its prey, she clamped down on the tendril and sent an incapacitating wave along it to its source.

Magolor stiffened, almost entirely frozen in place. To an outside observer, it would look like he had done this for no reason, but a sufficiently knowledgeable mage would be able to tell what had happened.

"I'm not sure how things are amongst your people," Sectonia said, "But where I am from it is exceptionally rude to magically probe someone you have just met."

Magolor whimpered, his eyes wide. He couldn't even move his mouth, that was how strong a hold she had on him. From what little she could garner from her paralyzing spell, he was particularly powerful. Possibly in her league, magically speaking. But she had the element of surprise, and that always counted for a lot in magical combat. And so he was paralyzed, unprepared as he was for her to retaliate.

"Now, because it was just a probe I'm going to assume that there was no ill intent behind it. Don't do it again." Sectonia released Magolor's hand, and with it the paralysis spell.

Magolor almost recoiled, pulling his hand back quickly and rubbing it with the other. He blinked a few times, trying to reorient himself.

"Right. Sorry. Most of the time people don't notice, and the ones who have just didn't… care." Magolor collected himself. "And for your information, I have no idea how things are amongst my people. The last Halcandran I interacted with was my mother, and then she disappeared into Another Dimension."

"Is Egg Boy gonna cry about his mommy again?" Marx muttered, just loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.

"Wait, did you do a magical probe on me when we met?" Taranza asked, hurt, "Why would you do that?"

"I didn't know it was offensive!" Magolor said defensively, "Nobody's ever complained about it before now! I've run into maybe six mages in my life!"

"Taranza, you didn't notice a probe?" Sectonia turned towards him, frowning with concern. "You're the one who taught me to sense things like that. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I thought I was safe…" Taranza whined, "After… after you…"

When Taranza trailed off, Sectonia felt a pang of guilt in her chest. He had felt safe when she was dead. And now that she was back, he was nervous and guarded.

"Shoulda kept an eye out, loverboy. Someone might shake your hand," Marx said, "You've got so many of them."

"Do you have a problem with Taranza, Marx?" Sectonia asked, "Or are you just taking shots at every easy target?"

"Nah, no problems with Taranza specifically. But he's hanging out with you." Marx turned, glaring at Sectonia.

"Have I wronged you in any particularly lingering way?" Sectonia put her hands on her hips.

"Did you already forget this morning?" Marx scowled.

"All I did was explain why it wouldn't work. You did the rest," Sectonia said.

"You could've at least fought me first!"

Sectonia almost reeled, blinking. Oh. Oh. That's why he was so upset. He had been trying to bait her into a fight. She was familiar with the battle-hungry attitude that many Dreamlanders held. Meta Knight was somewhat infamous for it. She had to admit that there was a certain allure to the thrill of a good fight, but it wasn't something that she actively sought out most of the time.

"If you wanted to spar you could have asked." She furrowed her brow. "Instead of terrorizing countless people and then announcing that you will attempt world domination."

"Yeah, but would you have said yes?!"

"Probably?!"

Marx stopped, his face going blank as he hit a mental snag. He opened and closed his mouth for a few seconds, then spoke.

"Wait really?"

"Yes! I'll fight you right now if it means you'll stop moping!"

That made Marx stop again, as if he couldn't believe the words he was hearing. Once again, she could tell that he was trying to figure out her words.

Then Marx hopped to his feet, spinning to face her properly. He had a manic grin on his face as he did. "Alright, let's go!"

"Woah woah woah. Wait." Magolor put his hands up. "You can't just fight here, it's too crowded on the plateau. Besides, the oven's done and they just put the pizza in. The whole reason we were all invited here, in case you've forgotten, and Kirby's personal project."

"Well," Sectonia began, flying over to the cliff. She stared at the huge blue ship floating there, just far enough not to collide with the mountain but otherwise as close as possible. "Neither of us particularly cares about gravity. If we had some airspace to fight in…"

"Oh, well, I have just the solution for that!" Magolor clapped his hands a couple of times, floating past Sectonia to be closer to the ship. "Lor, could you move, say, a hundred yards to starboard?"

The ship emitted a low, droning sound and listed to one side, drifting gently away from the cliff to make space. In a few moments, there was enough space to have a chaotic, magical fight. While the ship moved, Taranza looked up at Sectonia with concern.

"Are you sure you want to fight him?" Taranza asked. Then he seemed to realize something and began to stammer. "N-not that I think you'd, uh, get hurt, but Marx is… kind of a wildcard."

"Hey, I'm right here." Marx scowled.

"Well, I'm sure Marx won't try anything overly destructive." She fixed the jester with a look. "He wouldn't seek me out just to try and do irreparable harm."

"What? No!" Marx made a disgusted face at the idea. "You're like, the best banter in Dreamland. Mags gets frustrated too easily, Taranza doesn't fight back, Kirby takes everything at face value, Meta Knight doesn't engage, and Dedede and Bandee both threaten violence every time I see them. Daroach is a bastard, Adeleine is a child - that's just bullying, I can't do that anymore - and Gooey is a precious gem that must be protected. That just leaves me with, like, Mister Shine and Mister Bright, and they have a restraining order on me."

"I'm touched. Truly," Sectonia said with as much sincerity as she could muster, "That the mad jester considers me a worthy partner for a verbal battle. Even if he can't win a fight against a pillowcase."

"It's a tough war." Marx nodded. "We've made many advancements, but the enemy is always finding new ways to tangle my wings."

"A tough life, indeed. Fabrics are the foe of any winged creature." Sectonia had to work to hide her smile, but she didn't try very hard.

As they conversed, Sectonia was aware of a lot of movement behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see that many of the people on the plateau had begun to take notice of Magolor's ship moving. Magolor himself had floated up and towards the center, taking care not to go too close to the blistering heat of the oven.

"Ladies and gentlemen, and everyone in between and outside of such a narrow binary, you are about to witness a rare opportunity!" Magolor announced, "A sparring match between two beings of rather immense power! On one side, Marx, the cosmic jester! On many occasions, he has incited conflict on a global scale, only to be stopped by our favorite Star Warrior! On the other side we have the former queen, Sectonia! Reborn after her untimely death, this refined lady is said to be a mistress of both blade and magic! Direct your eyes northwards, to see these two legends in action!"

Sectonia frowned, looking down at Marx. "Does he do this sort of thing often?"

"He's a capitalist." Marx did his best approximation of a shrug. "Gotta sell something, all the time. He has an amusement park and some kind of shop, I think? Oh, and he's a total drama queen."

"Look who's talking." Sectonia raised her brows, smiling ever so slightly.

"You know what? I'm gonna choose to take so much offense to that statement that I will now proceed to shoot magic at you while we both fly over a lethal drop." Marx faked a sulk, badly. "Good day."

Marx's wings sprouted from his sides and he shot off, flying out over the drop. He did a graceful spin once he was about halfway out, facing back towards the cliff.

"My queen," Taranza said, almost whining, "Are you sure about this?"

"I am sure. As unrefined as it may be, a fight with Marx will be entertaining and will mend a relationship." She said kindly. Then she paused, looking down at Taranza. "And I am not your queen anymore. Not unless you want me to be."

Taranza blushed, stammering meaninglessly for a few moments before he managed to get himself under control. "Just… be safe. Please?"

"I will." Sectonia nodded. "I promise."

After a moment, Taranza nodded.

Sectonia pulled away from him, flying out over the edge of the cliff to meet Marx. She came to a stop only a yard away from the jester, then also turned to look back at the cliff.

Everyone who had gathered for the party, aside from a couple of Waddle Dees who were watching the massive oven they had constructed. Up front and center was Kirby, flanked on either side by King Dedede and Bandee, along with a child wearing a beret and a fairy. To one side was Meta Knight and his group, to the other was the Squeak Squad. Taranza was left quite a ways from everyone else, wringing his hands as he watched nervously. Gooey and the animal friends were on the other side of the cliff entirely, along with the wheeled aquarium that they had brought for their aquatic friends.

In other words, a captive audience.

Magolor floated up to them. "I hope we can have a good, clean fight. No cheap shots, no attempts at murder, minimal property damage, Marx."

"It was only…" Marx began, only to stop as he gave it some thought. "Okay, I've lost count."

"Now you're both returned from the dead, which from experience means that you will both be near-indestructible. There's no need to hold back, but you shouldn't be aiming for grievous wounds. Am I understood?"

"You can cut me to ribbons if you want," Marx said, looking at Sectonia, "I'll get better."

"I'll… keep that in mind?" Sectonia frowned. "I would rather there be no blood at all, if possible."

"Oh I don't have any."

"Ahem!" Magolor cleared his throat. "With that established, positions. Ten yards away from one another, please. And then we'll get this show on the road."

Sectonia nodded and flew away from Marx, backing up until she had moved about five yards. Marx did the same, though instead of flying he just teleported.

"On the count of three!" Magolor declared, floating back towards the cliff. "One!"

Sectonia flexed her hands, casting a spell she was very familiar with. Her swords appeared in her hands, long rapiers with jewel-encrusted guards. She was so tempted to show off. To show just how good she was at this. But she would restrain herself. Keep her pride in check.

"Two!"

Marx grinned, snapping his wings out to the sides. A wave of magical energy rolled out from him as the wings grew longer, spikes elongating and claws sharpening.

"Three!"

Sectonia hurled one sword straight up into the air. She had just told herself not to show off, not to try anything fancy, yet here she was. Her sword arced through the sky. It would take a while to come down, which is why she didn't stop there.

Marx, for his part, did not wait around. He vanished immediately, teleporting in a wild and unpredictable pattern. In moments, he was in her face, cackling madly as a hair-thin line split his body vertically.

She could feel it before she saw it, as her magic was pulled towards the singularity in the center of his body. She flew straight backwards, extending her free hand towards the cliff. Green erupted from the mountainside, curling through the air as it grew towards Marx. The vines lashed out and wrapped around Marx, forcing his two halves to remain together.

Marx's upper half bulged outwards, his eyes bugging out of his head as he let out a hacking cough. The split along his body vanished as he sealed back up. His eyes multiplied, splitting and subdividing like the compound eyes of an insect. Beams of energy shot from his multitude of pupils, beginning to cut through the vine holding him in place. Not fast enough though.

The sword descended, right on target to plunge straight into the top of Marx's head, but Sectonia spotted movement from the corner of her eye. A flash of gold from under red. A blur of yellow in the air. She flicked her wrist, and the plummeting sword vanished just before it collided with a golden star hurtling towards it.

"Hey!" Marx shouted, his eyes snapping back into their normal shape as he wriggled in the vine. He glared at Daroach, scowling. "Stay out of my fight you overgrown plague rat! I'll bite your stupid head off and spit it into the garbage can where it belongs! I'll eat that awful hat and replace it with something woven from your own fur! I'll-"

Marx continued his tirade, getting more creative with the threats as he went. Daroach was frozen, his face clearly displaying an immense amount of regret. Everyone else started turning to look at the leader of the Squeaks, causing him to shrink further and further into his cloak.

"No pizza for Daroach!" Kirby declared, "Cheaters get no pizza."

Thoroughly mollified, Daroach squeaked quietly and retreated towards his airship.

"Shall we get back to it then?" Sectonia asked, turning towards Marx.

Marx finally finished throwing threats at Daroach, looking at Sectonia. "Yeah just let me…"

He struggled for a moment, and his wings ripped through the vines. Marx twirled, then turned to face Sectonia.

"Without further delays," Magolor announced, turning to glare at the Squeak Squad for a moment before he looked back at the duelists. "Resume the fight!"

Marx was first to act this time, blades of magical force spinning out from his wings to hurtle towards her. Sectonia teleported through them and spun one sword behind her to knock them out of the air as they came back. She thrust her other blade forwards, the tip scraping across Marx's wing as he shielded himself.

He teleported wildly, blinking from spot to spot in order to try and confuse her. He stopped behind her, charging a beam of energy. Sectonia fluttered upwards to avoid the ensuing blast. Before she could counterattack, he was teleporting in random directions once more.

It wasn't random, she realized as he stopped again. Bolts of electricity fired from his form, stopped only by a hastily summoned shield of gemstones. Another stop, another attack, this one a spinning ball of cold and energy. She siphoned the magic from it before it could collide with her, turning the energy into a crystal the size of her fist. As the crystal fell to the mountainside below, Marx began another flurry of teleports.

Sectonia waited, just a moment, then thrust her sword at just the right time.

Marx teleported into place, the sword piercing his lower jaw just as he appeared. He stopped, frowning and wincing.

"I fink," He mumbled, his tongue and jaw held in place by her sword, "Dat'th a loth."

"Well fought," Sectonia said. She extracted her sword from his jaw, surprised to see that it was clean. Marx really didn't have any blood. The hole she had punched through his face sealed as soon as her sword was removed.

"Yeah." Marx nodded, growing more excited as he did. "We gotta have a rematch some time. That was over way too fast, and Ratface-!" He turned to glare at Daroach, who was just barely visible behind his Squeaks. "Won't interfere next time."

"A rematch indeed. Later, of course. I look forward to it." Sectonia smiled, banishing her swords back to the place they belonged.

Applause came from the cliff face, and Sectonia turned towards the gathered people. She was so tempted to take a bow. To revel in her victory. It would be so easy to just… do it. But it would be rude to Marx, and to be honest she wasn't here to give a show. She restrained herself, instead choosing to fly back to Taranza's side.

"I told you I'd be okay," She said quietly as she reached him.

"I'm sorry for doubting you," He whispered.

"It's okay." She smiled. "I think it was sweet of you."

Taranza blushed heavily.

Before she could say anything else, a bell started ringing. King Dedede shouted across the plateau. "Pizza's ready! Come and get it!"

There were several minutes of movement and chaos, of people moving in to take a fraction of the incomprehensibly large pizza and people shooing Daroach away when he tried to approach. It seemed that Kirby's decree held a lot of weight, given that even other members of the Squeak Squad were delicately maneuvering plates away from him in rather impressive displays of finesse. It was only a matter of time before Sectonia and Taranza had retrieved two pieces of pizza and returned to the edge of the cliff.

Before they could settle in and eat, Magolor floated over with his own plate. "Sorry, but I wanted to congratulate you on that fight, and to invite you to a meeting I'm holding the day after tomorrow. You're both invited, if you'd like."

"I will certainly consider it." Sectonia nodded.

"Right. Hopefully I'll see you there. It's on the Lor, we'll be near the amusement park. Fare well."

And just like that, Magolor was off, floating over to his ship to eat.

Taranza watched him go, frowning.

"He's never invited me to one of his club meetings…" Taranza muttered to himself.

"Well, I'm not going without you." She reached down and took one of his hands.

He blushed at the contact, but didn't pull out of her grasp. "Thank you."

Sectonia paused for a moment, then set down her plate. With great care, she pulled at Taranza's glove. He resisted for a moment, then gave up as she removed it from his hand. She intertwined her fingers with his. He flushed all the way now, but didn't try to extract his hand from hers.

"I know that I hurt you. I don't know how badly," She said softly, kindly, as gently as she could, "But I want to make it right. Because you have been my closest, most loyal friend. And I would like to be close with you again. Like old times, before I was queen. So please, let me know if I cross any boundaries, if I do something that makes you uncomfortable. because more than anything else I want to make you happy."

Her voice almost broke at the end, and she swallowed to try and keep her composure.

"I want… I want that too. It's just… it's hard to let go of… everything that has happened. But…" He nodded quickly, tearing up. "Yes. I want nothing more."

"Thank you," Sectonia whispered, finding that her own cheeks were wet with tears. "Thank you."

They sat there on that cliff until the party wound down, sharing one another's company. It was nice.

And the pizza wasn't bad either.

Notes:

Just because you know something doesn't mean you act on that knowledge. Healing is a process.

Magolor is used to being the only practiced wizard in the room, and being the kind of shifty guy he is of course he would surreptitiously do a magical scan on anyone he meets. Of course, Sectonia is used to this sort of thing, and catches him out immediately.

Daroach continues to be a rat bastard, of course.

Marx I feel is exceptionally lonely. His behavior feels like someone acting out in order to get attention, the sort of escalating mischief that eventually results in someone getting seriously injured. His ability to be sincere is seriously hampered by this mindset.

Chapter 16

It wasn't the first time she had awoken in confusion, in a place she did not immediately recognize, in a bed that she had never slept in before. Sectonia thought she would become used to it by now, but it was probably for the best that she didn't. Getting used to that sort of thing could lead to all manner of absurdity.

But it was the first time in many, many years that she had awoken to the smell of pancakes and bacon. Maybe the only time, since she couldn't find such an instance in her memory.

Sectonia pushed the covers away, floating up and looking around the room. It was undecorated, barren of anything beyond a bed and a bedside table and painted in soft blues. Hanging from the door was a dress. Her dress, she recognized. One commissioned from the finest tailor in Floralia, made from vibrant silks and designed to be exceptionally stylish.

And next to it was another, far more plain outfit. It wasn't fancy, wasn't anything special, just a plain white dress designed more for its functionality than for how it looked. The one Sina had woven for her on the farm.

After a moment of consideration, she chose the plain cotton dress. She wasn't going anywhere today.

She did stop at the bathroom to do her makeup though. Now that she had access to her old makeup kits again. She did like to look pretty.

Once she was done - she made sure not to overdo it, she didn't want to spend too long in front of a mirror; it made her just a little uneasy to stare into her own eyes - she headed towards the kitchen.

The smell of bacon was joined by the scent of eggs cooking, and she could hear the sizzle as she approached. She could also hear a quiet humming. She poked her head through the doorway and rested a hand on the frame, smiling to herself as she looked into the kitchen. Taranza was hard at work, juggling several cooking utensils as he removed strips of bacon from one pan and carefully flipped some half-cooked eggs on another. Sitting on a plate to one side of the stove was a plate piled high with pancakes, with a small bowl of mixed fruit beside that and a bottle of syrup in between.

Taranza looked over and smiled at her. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Sectonia replied, entering the kitchen proper. She rested her hands on the bar. "I didn't realize you could cook."

"Ah, well, I didn't for a long time. Just, relying on the royal chef, you know?" His smile became somewhat strained. "Then you, uh, accused him of poisoning you and threatened him with execution, so he went into hiding. You still wanted regular meals, so I uh… filled in. You were angry at the chef for a while after that but I was a quick learner."

"Oh. I'm… sorry."

"It's okay, I think." Taranza shrugged. "I learned how to cook, so that was good. How do you want your eggs, and how many?"

"Um, fried, I suppose. Two." Sectonia rubbed the back of her head, frowning. "I need to apologize to that chef. He has done nothing wrong."

"Well, he deliberately oversalted your meals for a little while after you started threatening him, so maybe he deserved to be fired." Taranza shrugged again, setting aside the egg he had just finished cooking and starting two more. "It could have been a lot worse."

"Still…" Sectonia trailed off. Perhaps a change of subject was in order. "When did you get this house? It's very nice."

"Oh, since I was basically homeless and jobless after you… died, I came down to Dreamland. King Dedede was kind enough to let me stay in the castle - well, it's really more of a palace -,"

"That's what I keep thinking!"

"-But yeah, I was staying with King Dedede for a little while and Kirby came to visit. When I told him I didn't have anywhere to stay, he put on a hardhat and picked up a hammer and just ran off. I didn't think too much of it at the time, but he came back a couple of days later and dragged me down the mountain - almost literally - to this place." Taranza chuckled and shook his head. "Kirby built me a house in two days, just like that. There's nothing that guy can't do."

"Awfully thoughtful of him to make the halls so wide and the ceiling so high," Sectonia commented, "He always seems to know what to do next."

"I think." Taranza paused to flip the eggs. "That he has some kind of divining ability. Possibly extratemporal awareness? Contact with an entity that possesses such powers? Access to the script upon which reality is written?"

"Whatever it is, he certainly doesn't do it consciously," Sectonia said, "And you know there's no script. That's nonsense the clowns made up to try and claim that they had divine right to Floralia."

"I don't know, seems plausible…" Taranza turned towards her with a grin, which made her feel warm inside. "Really though, if there is some grand plan, the person who wrote it is immeasurably cruel. Not a fan."

"Mmm. Agreed." Sectonia nodded. "That reminds me, how is Floralia doing after my death? I can't imagine the empire survived, and thank goodness for that."

"Well, the empire isn't gone, but it's not a dominant force anymore. The remnants still claim that you're alive - which, uh, you are, but they don't know that for sure - and that you're simply biding your time to return and reclaim the sky lands." He plated the eggs, adding a few slices of bacon and more than half of the pancakes. He put the plate in front of her and put up one finger as he grabbed a fork and knife for her. A few moments later he had his own plate of eggs, bacon, and pancakes, and he took up a position on the other side of the bar. "The other factions have reasserted themselves. There's a group claiming to represent the 'true arthropod monarchy', led by one of your cousins. The People of the Sky are, of course, reclaiming their ancestral lands. The clowns… are there, much to the annoyance of everyone else. Various splinter factions. It's just a mess."

"I can imagine…" Sectonia cut into the pancakes. Perfectly fluffy. "The empire remnants… they're mad. Absolutely insane. I can understand why they may have been loyal while I was alive, but if they're still that way…" She shook her head and took a bite.

"Yeah, emotions can lead people to do… very stupid things." Taranza looked down at his plate, avoiding her gaze. "Fear, especially. From what interactions I've had with General Armada - she's the one in charge of the so-called 'true empire' - they're hardcore militant authoritarians. Not just frightened or socially pressured, but people who genuinely just want a social hierarchy where they are at the top."

"I can understand the thought process behind it, but they are either horribly misguided or deliberately cruel," Sectonia spoke from experience, "That sort of ideology needs an enemy to function. Eventually it will cannibalize its members in order to maintain itself. Not very sustainable. Are the People of the Sky still an egalitarian commune?"

"More or less. They have the Eternal Dreamland now - that's what they're calling that place that you created when you combined with the Dreamstalk. A new island, kind of, made of glass, vines, and magic. The name gets confusing, but you get used to it." Taranza shrugged. "Otherwise exactly the same as before… everything. They've forgiven me, but they still refer to you as, uh, 'the parasite queen'."

"Understandable." She took a moment to eat before she continued speaking. "Which of my cousins is leading this so-called 'true monarchy'?"

"Do you remember all of your cousins?" Taranza raised a brow, looking her in the eye again.

"Point taken." She stifled a laugh. "And the clowns?"

"Still actively avoiding any semblance of a society. It'd be more accurate to call them a group of nomadic performance troupes."

"So nothing has changed. Back to square one." Sectonia sighed. "Definitely better than how I left… how I made things. But not good."

"Floralia has always been contested land. It will probably always be that way." Taranza frowned. "Dreamland is so much calmer. For… so many reasons."

"Hmm…" Sectonia nodded. "Do you think we could get Kirby to go up to Floralia again to fix the political scene?"

Taranza laughed. "I think, perhaps, it might be past even what Kirby could do."

Sectonia shared Taranza's laughter for a few moments, happy to share moments like this with him again. When things became quiet again, she asked him a question that had been lingering on her mind since she had gotten her memories back.

"How have you been doing?" Sectonia asked, "Since I… died."

"Oh." That immediately put a damper on Taranza's mood. "It was… I was…"

He trailed off, swallowing. Then he looked at her.

"Promise you won't be mad at me?" His voice was barely a whisper.

"I won't be mad at you," She promised.

He swallowed again and nodded. "I was… fine. For a while. I felt better. I'm sorry. I felt better that you weren't… around. Weren't looking down on me. After a while I realized that something was missing. That I was so, so lonely. I had friends, but… I needed…"

Taranza stopped, blinking back tears. "One… one moment."

Taranza floated off, going into a nearby room. Sectonia watched him go with worry. Had she opened a wound too early? Was that the wrong question to ask?

When Taranza returned, he was carrying several books with him. He set them down on the bar and cleared his throat.

"I… I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do…" He apologized, his voice hoarse.

The books were unfamiliar to her, bound in black material and inscribed with sealing runes. They were clearly part of a set, unified in both design and in safety measures. She could feel the energy bound in those pages, roiling and dark and spiteful. Like that of Dark Matter, channeling negativity into a potent form. It took a moment before she realized that she knew exactly what these books were.

The Books of Necrodeus. The ultimate tomes of necromancy.

"Oh Taranza…" Sectonia put a hand to her chest, frowning at the books.

"I… I didn't know what else to do without you. I looked everywhere to try and, and figure out a way to reach you without resorting to these but… you were gone. As if you had never existed. I tried therapy but it didn't work to ease the hole in my chest…" Taranza was openly crying now. He gestured uselessly at the books. "I know necromancy is illegal, it's the, the worst thing a mage can do. But I was desperate. I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me."

"Taranza…"

"I just, I didn't… All I could think about when you lost your mind was how much I wanted you to come to your senses, and then how much I just wanted it to be over and then, and then…" He swallowed a lump in his throat. "I realized how much I missed you. How much I loved you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I know you don't feel the same-"

Sectonia flew over and hugged him then, preventing him from saying more as she cradled the back of his head.

"But I do," Sectonia said softly, running her fingers through his hair. She heard his breath hitch, but didn't stop comforting him. When he tried to pull away, she didn't stop him.

Taranza stared up at her with tears in his eyes, just breathing heavily. His expression was unreadable, so conflicted that she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"I love you Taranza." She reached out to cup his cheek. "My closest, most loyal friend. I have loved you for years, Taranza. Even in my madness I could not bring myself to send you away, not until I had believed - wrongly - that you had deliberately wronged me. But you have never wronged me, Taranza. Not ever."

"But- but you… I thought…" Taranza stammered for a moment before he found the words he was looking for. "I thought you didn't want… any suitors. I thought you weren't interested in relationships. A-at all."

"I wasn't interested in the nobles and dignitaries because all of them wanted to marry the princess. You never wanted that. You just wanted to spend time with me. With Sectonia." Sectonia smiled. "And like I told Daroach, I chose who I wanted to spend my life with a long time ago. Once I made up my mind, those snobby rich boys didn't stand a chance."

Taranza let out a sputtering laugh, wiping tears from his face. "I wish I'd known all this before…"

"I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you for so long that you were the most important person in the world to me, but… It doesn't do for a queen to profess her love for one of her court. Worse, the power imbalance…" She looked off to one side for a moment, grimacing. "I didn't want you to feel pressured. I didn't know for sure if you felt the same way, and if you didn't… telling you would force you into an awful situation." She let out a breath, quick and sharp. Not quite a laugh. "And then I lost my mind, and the only thing that mattered to me was myself." She returned her gaze to Taranza's eyes. "But now I'm not queen. I'm here. With you. No power dynamics or madness. And you are free to tell me no, if at any point you feel uncomfortable."

Sectonia leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Taranza's forehead. He blushed, but not as violently as yesterday. Instead of covering his face or clamming up, he smiled at her.

"I'm just glad you're back," Taranza said, reaching up to put his hand over hers. "Really back. I-I didn't really believe it at first, but you're back. And I couldn't be happier."

"Well, I wouldn't speak so soon. I'm sure I can find some way to make you happier," Sectonia teased. Taranza actually flushed all the way at that, going completely red. Sectonia let out a soft laugh, resting her forehead against his. "But as long as you're happy, I'm happy."

They held that position for a while, staring into each other's eyes. They only broke apart when Sectonia commented that breakfast was getting cold.

The rest of their meal was carried out in relative silence, broken only by occasional comments about nothing important.

Sectonia was happy. Truly happy. Here, in this cozy home, with the one she loved. Things would be better. She was absolutely sure of it.

And perhaps, with the proper precautions, she would take a peek at those books of necromancy. If nothing else it would be a learning experience.

Chapter 17

"So what is this club about, exactly?" Sectonia asked, "Magolor didn't say much, and you've known him for a while now."

"No clue, actually." Taranza scratched his nose idly, glancing down at Dreamland below. They were flying fast, at a speed which was comfortable for Taranza. "I know that he meets with Marx and someone else I've never met about once a week. You're the first person I've seen him invite in the time I've known him."

"Ooh, an exclusive club. Fancy." Sectonia raised her eyebrows.

"It's maybe three people and one of them is Marx. Not exactly the best venue, I should think," Taranza said with a chuckle, "But no, I do not know anything about what Magolor gets up to."

"Hmm. So we're going in blind." Sectonia pondered it for a moment. "Perhaps we could do a bit of scrying on the way? See what we can find out?"

"Ah yes, let me get the crystal ball and weave up a runic circle for you." Taranza raised one hand and looked into his cloak, then frowned and looked back at Sectonia. "Oh. I forgot to pack the crystal ball."

"Haven't you heard, Taranza? The crystal ball is one of the things you must never leave the house without," Sectonia said, smiling, "Right along with your staff, your books of forbidden magic, and, of course, the kitchen table."

Taranza laughed. "Ah yes, the most essential magical tool. The kitchen table! How could I forget!"

"Do not disparage the necessity of the kitchen table in developing new spells!" Sectonia chided, "Many a late night spent at the kitchen table, trying desperately to solve a formula, crying hard enough that the numbers and diagrams are impossible to see."

"Oh. Now that just got too relatable. Ouch." Taranza grimaced. "Now all I can think of is Arachlin standing over me and shouting 'Stupid boy! It's a simple formula!' and then demanding an equation I could probably manage in seconds but I'm too distressed to think about."

Sectonia reached out and pulled him into a side hug, resting her head on top of his. She was careful to avoid his horns. "I'm sorry. I had a much better teacher."

"Well… I did my best…" Taranza blushed.

"You did masterfully, don't put yourself down." She kissed him on the top of the head.

"You're better at magic than I am now, so something I did must've been right." Taranza shrugged. "Oh, there's the Lor!"

Sectonia let him go as they descended towards Magolor's ship. The grand silver and blue vessel floated gently above the ground, a hatch on the side open and a ramp connecting it to the road. Once they were at the bottom of the ramp, Sectonia looked at Taranza.

"Do we just head in?" Sectonia asked.

Before Taranza could respond, there was a high-pitched shriek from somewhere above and behind them. Sectonia turned to look, then quickly pulled Taranza aside as something small, round, and purple hurtled past them and into the ship. The ship let out a high-pitched alarm noise, followed very shortly by a heavy crash and the groan of protesting metal. Someone shouted, someone started cackling, and Sectonia sighed.

"Never mind. I think that answers the question."

The two of them went up the ramp and into the ship. A soft beeping sound met them, coming from the ship itself. A short way into the vessel was a crater in the metal floor, in which Marx sat cackling. Magolor was berating him, weaving light into a runic circle around the dent in the floor. Already the metal was beginning to push back into place, Magolor's rather impressive magic working quickly.

"Would you like some assistance with that?" Sectonia asked, tilting her head and looking towards Magolor.

"I have it. Lor doesn't like it much when someone else uses magic on her. She also doesn't like it when someone consistently does his best to cause as much property damage as possible." Magolor glared at Marx.

"Oh, puh-lease. It's not like I've ever done anything irreversible." Marx rolled his eyes, tucking away his wings.

"Stop terrorizing my ship!"

"StOp TeRroRiZiNg My ShIp!" Marx mocked, hopping out of the hole just as it popped back into its normal shape. "Why don't you make me?"

"Marx, has something happened to aggravate you more than normal?" Sectonia raised a brow. She looked down at Taranza. "Have you heard anything?"

"No, although Marx does tend to fight with Magolor more than anyone else, I think," Taranza replied quietly, "This does seem like his typical - Gah!"

Marx teleported right up to Taranza, causing the spider to jump in surprise. "I could always spread the love a little bit, start breaking your stuff too."

"Is there an end goal here, Marx?" Sectonia asked, "is something bothering you? Or are you doing this just for kicks? Because if there's a legitimate grievance I'm sure we can work it out."

For a few moments, Marx just stared. Sectonia felt like this sort of thing was starting to become regular, which was mildly worrying if every interaction with Marx was going to include awkward stare-offs. Then he just turned and walked further into the ship, grumbling to himself.

"Well." Magolor brushed his hands against each other, looking at the former crater in the floor. "Let's get going."

Magolor floated in the same direction Marx had gone, then paused and looked back at Sectonia and Taranza. Sectonia took Taranza's hand and the two of them followed him a short ways, down a hallway lined with high-tech sliding doors. They ended their brief trip in a room with a circular table, surrounded by a dozen chairs. One wall had a whiteboard, which was mostly empty save for some scribblings and drawings in the corners.

Marx had already taken a seat at the table, one which had been marred with bite marks that dented the metal. Another seat had a painting on it, leaning against the back of the chair and oriented to face the table. The painting depicted a vaguely familiar looking witch, clad in violets and holding an ornately decorated paintbrush. Magolor took his seat, some sort of well-padded office chair, and spun around for a moment before stopping himself.

"Welcome to our little club!" He greeted, throwing his hands into the air. "Now I'm sure you're wondering why we're all gathered here, and to be honest it's because I would have no social interactions with anyone other than Lor. Anyways -,"

"Basically we're just a bunch of idiots who got killed by Kirby and somehow survived," Marx interrupted, rolling his eyes.

"Okay so I was getting there," Magolor hissed, glaring at Marx, "And besides, Drawcia almost won. She transformed all of Dreamland for a bit there, and managed to curse Kirby with a rather debilitating hex."

"Yeah, and now she's a piece of canvas. Big whoop." Marx stuck out his tongue.

Sectonia followed Magolor's gesture to the painting. The witch had moved, just a little bit, furrowing her brow and staring at Marx. Sectonia leaned over to Taranza.

"Does the painting remind you of something?" She whispered.

"Yeah. I saw something similar while Kirby was chasing me," Taranza whispered back, "The clowns avoided the place it was kept, but I had to pass through to gain some distance. That painting also had a witch in it, but when I disturbed it the witch exited the painting. I left before I could see anything else, but something must have happened there."

Sectonia glanced at the painting again. Words had appeared across the canvas, dripping with wet paint: I'm going to put YOU in a painting next.

"Look, look, enough squabbling!" Magolor clapped his hands a few times, trying to grab Marx's attention before he lunged across the table at the painting. "We have a new guest today, so it would perhaps be best if we did introductions."

"Guests," Sectonia corrected, reaching down to pat Taranza on the shoulder.

"Yes, right. Anyways, as I was trying to explain, those of us who've experienced death and Soul-ification at the hands of Kirby have sort of… put together a group to discuss our experiences," Magolor explained, "Sort of as a support group. Solidarity in… death. It was, admittedly, Meta Knight's idea, though I think he was being sarcastic when he suggested it.

"So what I was thinking is that we could explain our individual situations, since we've all experienced very different things. As a way to get to know each other. I'll go first." Magolor looked at Sectonia. "I encountered Kirby several years ago, having been informed by Marx that he might be able to help me with a problem I was dealing with. Admittedly, my intentions were, well, ignoble, to say the least. When Kirby helped me with my problem, I got my hands on the Master Crown. According to all the records I have access to, the Master Crown was one of the relics that gave the ancients their mastery of space, that allowed them to make a multidimensional empire.

"I was, well, not aware of its more sinister properties." Magolor stopped to clear his throat, adjusting his scarf. "While I had been aiming to use it to rule the universe, it was whispering in my ear. The crown harnessed a force I had not been fully aware of at the time. An entity known as Dark Matter - you seem familiar with the name, so I'll spare you the details. By the time it was all over, the crown had replaced my body with energy, digging its claws into my soul…" He stared into space for a moment, his eyes haunted. "I was… quite fortunate that Kirby was able to decouple the crown from my being. But when he did that I was hurtled through spacetime and stranded in Another Dimension. It took a while, but I was able to… mostly recover."

There was a strained silence for a little bit, broken only by Marx snoring. He was clearly still awake, doing it only to get a rise out of someone. But he was ignored by everyone.

"Ahem. Well." Magolor gestured towards the painting. "This is Drawcia. She's a living painting." He looked at Drawcia for a moment. "Would you like to explain or shall I?"

This time Sectonia saw the painting move, the witch flourishing her paintbrush and drawing words in the blank space around her: Give me a moment

Magolor nodded and retracted his hand. Sectonia watched in awe as Drawcia went to work. Words appeared across the canvas as the brush moved in broad strokes, messy lines cleaning up as the paintbrush made a second sweep. In moments there was a wall of text over the entire painting, in eye-pleasing pastel colors.

I used to be extremely angry at existence for being abandoned by my creator, Drawcia's writing declared, So I took out my crimson rage upon the world outside my painting. I cursed all of Dreamland, painting reality with my emotions. I lured Kirby back into my painting and exacted a hex upon him, rendering him limbless. However he managed to touch my paintbrush, and it gained an unexpected agency of its own. The paintbrush aided Kirby in reaching me, and when we did battle I was returned to my painting and the canvas shredded. Magolor found all of the pieces and returned them to the frame, rendering my image and my mind clearly once more.

"I see. It is quite fortunate that you are here with us today then," Sectonia said after she finished reading, "Have you managed to find peace?"

Drawcia erased the text with one sweep of her brush, then began writing more. I have developed less aggressive ways to sublimate my anger, but peace is not something I have not yet achieved.

"I wish you luck in your endeavors."

"Last but not least, Marx was the first person here who experienced total physical breakdown and reanimation-," Magolor began, only for Marx to cut him off.

"She already knows all about me, with her magic eyes and all that." Marx 'woke up' from his fake nap. "Why can't you do that Mags? You gotta go and touch things all the time, but other people can just look."

"Because I did not receive a formal magical education." Magolor furrowed his brow. "And neither did you! You can't even perform a magical analysis on anything - or if you can you just refuse to do so."

Those who live in glass houses…

"Anyways Lady, what's your story? I've heard bits and pieces but nobody'll tell me the whole thing," Marx said, ignoring both Magolor and Drawcia, "And why's Dork Prime here?"

"I'm here because I wanted to spend time with Sectonia," Taranza shot back before Sectonia could speak.

"And I want to spend time with you, too." Sectonia looked down at Taranza with a smile, then looked back at the others. "My story is that I was born the heir to the Arthropod Monarchy in Floralia. A short time after I was crowned queen I lost my mind and became vain and egocentric. I stole the bodies of others, conquered Floralia, and in preparing my campaign to invade the lower world had Taranza kidnap King Dedede. I was a bad person. When Kirby came to stop me, he killed me with my own attack. But I refused to die. And… then a month ago I woke up in the flower bulb of a Dreamstalk offshoot with none of my memories."

"So the way I see it, one of these stories is not like the others. Y'know only three of us actually got killed and then came back," Marx said, leaning back in his chair so that only his eyes were peeking over the table. "Getting a piece of jewelry stuck to your head doesn't really compare to getting exploded, y'know?"

"I was drained of my life essence and turned into a meat puppet!" Magolor grabbed his ears and pulled them down, clearly distressed. He was nearly shouting, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "I have scars in my skull and I'm not sure if there was permanent change to my mental faculties because I can't tell when I'm not me."

"Yeah, but ya didn't die." Marx attempted a shrug, which didn't quite work given his lack of shoulders or arms.

"I'm the one who got everyone together…" Magolor whined.

"I vote we drop Magolor from the club, all in favor?" Marx sprouted one wing and raised it in the air.

There was relative silence for almost a minute, broken only by Magolor's quiet sniffles. Marx held the pose, looking expectantly around the table. Drawcia's painting had changed again, the witch drawing Marx on the margins of her canvas, with the word 'idiot' directly above it. It was, if nothing else, a masterful rendition of the jester.

"What is wrong with you?" Taranza asked incredulously, "Magolor's having a panic attack because of what you said and you're just joking about it?"

Marx slowly, ever so slowly, lowered his wing. He stared at Taranza with a blank expression for several seconds. Then he snarled, sprouting his other wing and hovering up into the air.

"You're not even part of the club, what gives you any say?" Marx goaded, "You wanna go? Wanna fight?"

"Marx, are you quite certain there is nothing wrong?" Sectonia flew forwards, over the table, to interpose herself between Marx and Taranza. "This behavior seems uncharacteristic of you."

"Stop that," Marx said immediately, "Stop - stop pretending you care about what I think. Nobody cares what Marx thinks. He's just the prankster who takes everything too far. Just the problem."

"I care. I care what Marx thinks. That's why I sought you out at the party. That's why I'm asking you, right now, if something is bothering you. Because this is not the behavior of someone who is not bothered by anything."

Marx's lips twitched a bit, then he turned it into a snarl and flew towards the exit. Sectonia raised one hand and telekinetically pulled him back, exerting far more effort than expected just to keep a grip on him.

"No. You're not running from this. We are going to sit down and talk about how you are feeling right now. This is a support group, you're going to receive some support." She dropped him back in his chair, despite his wriggling. If he wanted to leave, truly wanted to leave, he could easily teleport out or exact some kind of magical vengeance. But he didn't. Marx slumped in his chair, refusing to meet her gaze. Sectonia softened her voice from 'imperious command' to 'kind confidante'. "So please. Just say what's wrong."

There was no response from him, and for a few moments Sectonia was worried that she had pushed too far already. But then Marx let out a heavy sigh.

"I don't want it to change, okay?!" Marx blurted out, "I don't want to lose the pranks on Magolor, or the paint fights with Drawcia, or the field trips which turn into complete disasters! Because if you join in then the dynamic changes and everything gets messed up and you're, like, royalty or something so you'll want to take control-,"

Marx stopped to breathe. Sectonia took a deep breath and returned to Taranza's side, resting her hands on the table.

"I'm not going to change anything, Marx. I won't stop you from having your normal interactions with others," Sectonia soothed, "But you need to stop taking it out on Magolor."

"But he's the one who invited you," Marx whispered.

"Magolor wanted only to reach out and establish a relationship," Sectonia said, though admittedly it was a guess, "He didn't want to estrange you. He was just - oh dear."

Sectonia looked over at Magolor to see that he had passed out in his seat. He was still breathing, thankfully, but was totally unconscious.

"Oh." Marx blinked, following Sectonia's gaze. "I thought he was being dramatic."

Taranza skirted the edge of the room to place one hand against Magolor's forehead. Taranza tilted his head for a moment. "He's stable, at least in a magical sense. Just sleeping."

This was an utter disaster, Drawcia wrote out, It would probably be best to depart now. Magolor will be well, his ship takes care of him. I'll see you next week.

The painting went blank.

"Well, that frees up the rest of today. Marx, would you like to come with us -," Sectonia began. Taranza started rapidly shaking his head, eyes wide, so she adjusted her line of conversation. "To the amusement park? I've not had a chance to see it, and it would be interesting if nothing else."

"Oh yeah sure. We can play Scope Shot." Marx hopped out of his seat. "I have the top five scores of all time."

"How?" Taranza asked, shooting a grateful look at Sectonia. "You don't have hands."

"Stubbornness. Lots of free time. Oh, and spite. Mags told me I couldn't beat his score so I did."

Notes:

Marx showing once again that he is quite possibly the worst-adjusted individual on the planet.

Sectonia has to play mediator for a bunch of possibly-immortal lunatics, all of whom command phenomenal cosmic powers. It's kind of a miracle the Lor is still intact, given Marx's proclivity for breaking things.

Chapter 18: Floral Nightmares

Sectonia hovered before her mirror, gazing into its depths as she contemplated.

The clowns were, as always, being problematic for her plans. The People of the Sky, little fairies that they were, had been pushovers from a militaristic standpoint. Various smaller factions had been toppled already. All there really was left was the clowns, and they were hardly worth the effort. The plan was proceeding well, and when she had unified Floralia under her rule she would turn her armies to the world below.

But there was a hole in the plan. The People of the Sky had dropped something to the world below. Something they had refused to inform her of. What had it been? Was it some kind of message? A warning? A contingency plan?

Taranza had mentioned something about legends that the People of the Sky told each other, of deific creatures and forces beyond mortal comprehension. She had told him to put himself to use doing something other than babbling about nonsense. Perhaps she had been too harsh.

A pang of remorse in her chest told her that she had indeed been too harsh. She ignored it.

The mirror reacted to her thoughts, its depths swirling and changing. For a brief moment she caught a glimpse of her former self, reaching out of a sea of darkness in a useless cry for help. That meant something, right? Or perhaps the mirror was trying to taunt her. It did that, on occasion. But she was waiting for her advisor to arrive.

It was subtle, the shift in the mirror that heralded his arrival. The silver mask, damaged across one eye, stared at her from the corner of her room.

How goes your conquest? The knight in the mirror asked. Not even words, just information entering her head directly. It had started out unnerving, and at no point did it ever become less so.

"All that's left is to put the clowns in their place. Then we can move on to the world below," Sectonia answered. After several moments, she finally asked the question she had been wondering since her advisor had first made himself known. "Why are you here, exactly? What master do you serve? Your advice has aided me thus far, but I am not foolish enough to believe that you would do so with no ulterior motive."

My master watches you with great interest, Queen Sectonia. They have expressed an interest in meeting you face-to-face. Do you reciprocate this interest?

"I do."

The mask shook a little bit, and it took Sectonia a moment to realize that it was laughing. Or, perhaps, shivering. Maybe both.

Then I shall contact him.

The mask faded out, leaving Sectonia with her own thoughts. Whoever his master was, they must be particularly powerful. But she would not be intimidated. She was in control. Control was beauty. And she was beautiful.

Still, she jumped when the image in the mirror was replaced by a massive flaming eyeball.

Little Insect queen, ruling your kingdom in the clouds. We have been watching you.

Sectonia cleared her throat, composing herself. "You would be the master of the mirror?"

Master of more than the mirror. Master of you, little insect.

"No." She rejected it reflexively, instinctively. "I am my master. Nobody controls me, nobody makes demands of me. Because I am queen!"

Your ego outsizes your shell. You have already lost control of the situation. Allowing the fairies to release their contingency plan. Failing to control the clowns. You are useless. You are ugly. And you are mine to puppeteer, little insect.

"No!" Sectonia shouted. When the eye in the mirror widened, she felt something spike in her chest. She felt cold. Small before its malignant gaze. Weak.

Foolish thing. You will do as my knight directs.

She wasn't useless. She wasn't useless! For if she was useless, she lacked control. If this eye in the mirror commanded her, then she was nothing more than a tool. An ugly little doll to command.

I granted your wish for control, insect queen. For respect and for power. Now you must do as I command. Nothing comes for free, little puppet.

The eye vanished, leaving her alone in her room. She was dimly aware that she was crying, that her makeup was being ruined by the moment. That she was shaking. Just another flaw to add to the pile. She was never in control. Never truly beautiful. Just a thing, taken and used for someone else's purposes.

She was useless.

Sectonia sat bolt upright in bed, breathing heavily. She was lightheaded, on the verge of hyperventilating, and she could feel tears on her cheeks. She had awoken from a nightmare, she knew that much, but all she could remember was a flaming eye, a silver mask, and a feeling of unending worthlessness.

She let out a shuddering breath, trying to compose herself. Was that a nightmare, or something more? She hadn't had a single nightmare since awakening on Green Acres, but now…

It took a moment before she realized that Taranza, lying on the bed next to her, was thrashing in his sleep. He was tangled in the blankets, murmuring wordlessly to himself. It seemed that he, too, had been struck by a nightmare.

Leaving Dreamland might have been a mistake.

"No… I'm sorry…" Taranza mumbled, panicking even more, "My queen… please!"

Sectonia reached over to him, then hesitated. Would her touch make him feel better, or would it be worse? Taranza struggled more against the sheets, whimpering pitifully.

That was it. She wasn't going to sit here and watch him suffer. Sectonia reached out and ran her fingers through his hair, gently caressing his head.

"It's okay. It's okay," Sectonia whispered soothingly, "All is forgiven. You've done nothing wrong."

Taranza's struggles slowed, then eventually calmed altogether. His breathing returned to a regular rhythm, and he leaned into Sectonia's touch. Eventually he returned to regular, restful sleep.

Sectonia wouldn't get much chance to sleep for the rest of the night, but at least Taranza would.

O-O-O

"It's her!" "It's them!" "The puppeteer!" "The parasite queen!"

The People of the Sky whispered amongst themselves, staring at Sectonia and Taranza as they passed. There was fear there, fear and mistrust. She couldn't blame them. But despite their fear, they did not act out. There was no hostility, just caution.

One of them, a fairy who was their guide here, led the two of them to a circular building clearly of some importance. It was situated in the center of the settlement, constructed from hand-grown plants shaped by the magics of the People of the Sky. They were let inside, their guide instructing them to wait in a foyer before leaving them to their own devices.

Sectonia wanted to say something to Taranza about last night, about his nightmares and hers. But it would be better to save it until they were well away from their diplomatic mission and back home. Away from those who might hear. Not that she had much time to talk about it here anyways.

In short order they were invited to the main chamber of the building, the councilroom.

There was a large gathering of People of the Sky here, crowded into seats all throughout the circular room. She sensed Taranza tensing next to her, shrinking into himself. All eyes were on them, searching. Demanding. But while Taranza shrunk under the pressure, Sectonia drew herself up. She was before a crowd, in her element. This was where she thrived.

Sectonia flew up to the podium in the middle of the room, the place where any speaker would be expected to stand. She had done this before, in this exact building, though it had been in a different body. She knew how it went. So without further ado, she began to speak.

"Hello, and thank you for allowing me to be here today. I understand that you may have some reservations, and they are not unwarranted. To say that our relationship has been rocky would be an understatement. I have done you wrong, and I wish to make amends."

One of the fairies, a masculine individual with yellow petals, spoke up. "Do you intend to claim a right to rule again?"

"No," Sectonia said firmly, "Not only does a monarch's rule end the moment they die - and I have died - but I do not want the position any more. No one person should rule all of Floralia."

That caused some murmuring from amongst the gathered fairies. Some surprised, some doubtful, but all questioning.

Eventually, another fairy asked another question. "Now, I might have missed something when this meeting was called, but why exactly are you here? Just to apologize?"

"An apology is a major portion of why I'm here, yes. I will begin with that: I am sorry. Deeply sorry. For the things I have done to you, your people, and your home. That I was stopped is a miracle, and it is relieving that you have managed to rebuild after my death," Sectonia said sincerely, "But that is not the only reason I am here. Floralia is, and always has been, a fractured mess. I once believed that the solution was to unify it all under one leader, but now I know better. Such a path leads only to conflict, to death."

"Then what would you suggest?" A third fairy asked, this one with rose petals about her head, "We aren't going to give up our way of life, not even if it means a unified Floralia."

"I have no intention of asking such a thing," Sectonia answered. That they were even willing to listen was better than she had hoped. "I wanted to propose something that I don't believe has been tried in the history of Floralia…"

She had them now, all eyes on her. The fairies were leaning forwards, intent on hearing what she had to say, if only to discard it later. Sectonia smiled. Maybe this would work out after all.

O-O-O

When Sectonia had suggested that she go with Taranza on a diplomatic trip to Floralia, she hadn't been quite sure what she was getting herself into. She had hoped that it would go well, that things would turn out okay, but she hadn't known what she was getting herself into. She'd packed her nice dresses, prepared speeches, and steeled her nerves, and to be honest it really wasn't enough.

She stared at what was left of her fortress, at its sparkling gemstone walls. At the enormous depiction of herself, one of her staves in each hand. Eyes of cold amethyst stared down, full of contempt and pride. It gave her chills. Taranza, understandably, had decided he would rather wait until she was done here to meet up again.

The two ant guards at the front gates of the fortress stood in stunned disbelief. Like they'd seen a ghost. In a sense, they had.

"Bring me to General Armada," Sectonia ordered, putting on an imperious air. It was important that she give them no reason to doubt her authenticity, at least if she wanted this plan to work.

"R-right away Queen Sectonia!" Both soldiers saluted, then scrambled to open the front gates. They were panicked, unprepared for this sort of event. That was good. If they were off-guard, they were less likely to question her reappearance.

The guards led her down a long hallway, past bustling soldiers and other members of what used to be her empire. Faces looked up to watch her pass, going from busy bustle to stunned awe. She deliberately avoided giving them her attention, instead keeping her gaze straight ahead. She was brought to the war room in short order, one of her escorts opening the door and standing aside with a stiff salute.

Sectonia entered the war room, unsurprised at the individual she saw within. Armada was an Antler, a large ant-like member of the arthropod kingdom. She was far larger than most of her kin, with a golden exoskeleton and rich red adornments on her armor. Armada had risen through the ranks rapidly, being a ferocious, loyal warrior. General Armada stood in stunned surprise.

"General Armada, I would have words with you," Sectonia said, drawing herself upwards. She would need to be quick, decisive, and self-assured. Letting any cracks show could give Armada reason to doubt her legitimacy.

"Queen Sectonia!" Armada's antennae fluttered rapidly, a sign of brief panic. "You are alive!"

"Alive and very disappointed in your methods, General." Sectonia narrowed her eyes.

"Methods? But we-,"

"Conquest failed already, Armada. Force has already proven ineffective in the spread of ideals. I would have thought you would recognize this failure, General. That you continue to marshall military force against the rest of Floralia leaves me with little faith in your abilities." Sectonia made a sweeping gesture, her gloved hand clenching into a fist at the end of its arc. "You should have realized by now that your methods only result in resistance."

"Then what do you command, my queen?" Armada didn't even think to question her, bowing to her authority immediately. Perhaps it was indicative of the sort of person who had prospered under Sectonia's cruel reign, or perhaps a symptom of the mindset. Either way, she was going to use it to hopefully lessen the bloodshed.

"Present the benefits of the empire honestly. Let those who will listen decide for themselves."

"But how? All the other nations of Floralia have declared our empire a threat to peace. They would never open up for diplomatic interactions."

Sectonia had to suppress a smile. It had worked. That Armada was accepting her statements unquestioningly was proof that her plan had been successful.

"Listen close, General Armada, I will only say this once…"

O-O-O

Lollipop Land was the exact reason why Sectonia had a feeling of trepidation about wearing her nice dress on this diplomatic trip. Yes, it was a place that smelled constantly of sweets and fresh-baked pastries, and it was a wonderful place to visit for a culinary adventure, but that was the problem. Sugar, while delicious, was sticky. Cream and chocolate caused stains. It was the reason her conquest had barely touched the flying island of desserts, as petty and shallow as it may be.

Though, petty and shallow did describe many of her actions as the conqueror of Floralia.

"-So I think this is where the largest clown troupe is right now," Taranza explained, "So in theory if we can get in contact with the ringmaster, we should be able to get the information to all the troupes."

"Hmm." Sectonia looked up at the enormous theater. She knew that the clowns could pack it up and have it gone in an afternoon, but it looked quite permanent from this perspective. Appearances were deceptive, when it came to clowns.

Taranza approached the front door of the theater. Sectonia reached out to stop him as he raised a hand to knock, but by that point she was already too late.

A panel opened in the door and a custard pie was firmly planted in Taranza's face, sending him staggering backwards. Sectonia was able to snatch him to the side just before a net, hidden under the grass, shot upwards and closed. A moment later a small paper sign lowered from the alcove above the front door, two words written upon it:

GOE AWAYE

"Well, nobody ever said clowns could spell," Sectonia commented, removing the tin of the pie from Taranza's face. "Come on, let's go get washed up. This was clearly a waste of time."

O-O-O

This was the worst one, Sectonia decided as she looked at the old palace. The place she had grown up. Not all of Royal Road had been taken by the empire, and not all had been claimed by the People of the Sky, leaving the slice remaining under the dominion of the True Monarchy. And that slice, coincidentally or not, held the old palace.

Her cousin Weavella had claimed the throne. Well, she was calling herself a queen now. Sectonia was in no position to contest, and had no desire to either. But Sectonia had always had a poor relationship with her myriad of cousins - a fundamental disagreement on the role of a queen brought about a great deal of dissent.

But the monarchy had been one of the two groups to invite her in, and she was not about to turn and leave when a potential solution was this close.

The gates were open. All she had to do was enter.

Sectonia flew inside, Taranza at her side. The guards shifted uneasily at her presence, but held firm. A marked difference from all three of the previous groups. No outward nervousness, no stunned surprise, and no open hostility. Just wariness.

They reached the throne room, and Sectonia was greeted with two sights that made her stomach churn. The first was Sir Arvesp, the knight that had guarded her in her youth and trained her in the art of combat. The wasp was old, now, his wings beginning to fray at the edges and his face wrinkled. He wore a stoic expression, with just a hint of contempt. The other sight was her cousin, Weavella, sitting on the throne. Weavella had done nothing in particular to earn her distaste, but that she was sitting upon the throne made her immensely uncomfortable for no discernable reason.

It was almost physically difficult to bow her head in deference. Every fiber of her being fought against it. This was wrong, the entire situation felt wrong and there was no amount of knowledge that would change that feeling. But bow her head she did, because she did not want to begin this interaction with hostility.

"Queen Weavella," Sectonia said, ignoring the sour taste the title left in her mouth.

"Sectonia. No longer queen, I am told." Weavella glanced at Arvesp, who did not acknowledge her. Weavella returned her attention to Sectonia, a small smile forming on her face. "To be quite honest, I had never imagined such a day would occur."

"Life is funny, sometimes." Now that was the understatement of the year. "Before we proceed, I would like to offer an official apology. I am unsure what the cause was, but my faculties were, for a significant amount of time, compromised. It was a terrible time, and I did terrible things. All I can do is try to make amends for what I have done."

Arvesp scowled, but did not say anything. Weavella appeared to give it some thought before she gave a response.

"Your apology is taken into consideration, though it may take time to fully process all of the ramifications of it. The damage that was done takes a great deal of time and effort to heal. But regret for those times is a good sign, and evidence that we can move forward." Weavella nodded, and Sectonia was struck for a moment with surprise. She never remembered any of her cousins being this skilled an orator. Perhaps she had simply overlooked Weavella, or perhaps she had grown naturally into the role. Either way, the new queen continued. "I was informed that you were here to propose a means to unite Floralia? One with significantly less destruction than your... previous attempt?" Weavelle looked at Taranza.

"Well, it's not something that's been tried in Floralia before. The idea was inspired by the current political structure of Dreamland," Taranza explained, "You see, King Dedede's primary role in leading Dreamland is not legislation or creating policy, but in representing them in interactions with other nations. Which brings us to the, the, the-," Taranza frowned, frustrated as he dropped his thread of thought.

"The central concept that we have formulated," Sectonia picked it up for him, "Is one that does not require any internal restructuring of your nation. Instead each of the different peoples of Floralia will send a representative to agree upon policy for Floralia as a whole."

"Diplomatic agreements have been formed before, to no long-term effect," Weavella said.

"Not merely an agreement. A republic, formed of the constituent states of the Empire, the People of the Sky, the Clown Troupes, and the Arthropod Monarchy. A permanent arrangement, for the betterment of Floralia as a whole."

"Do you-," Weavella stopped, stunned for the first time. "Do you think there's even the slightest chance of that working?" The Empire-,"

"Has already agreed. As have the People of the Sky. The clowns wouldn't hear us out, but they have an open invitation to participate - and they'll have to if they want to keep abreast of the political scene." Sectonia shrugged. "Will it work? Maybe not. But we've tried force and that only ever ends in tragedy. At least this will end fewer lives."

"I… see." Weavelle put a hand to her chin in thought. "I will have to think about this. Thank you for the suggestion, Sectonia."

"I do hope it turns out well." Sectonia bowed her head. "We shall take our leave."

Sectonia turned to leave, Taranza already starting towards the exit. She could hear Arvesp moving behind her, the plates of his armor rubbing against each other as the slither of steel on leather alerted her to his swords leaving their sheathes.

"Arvesp, please. They are here as guests," Weavelle protested.

"She has not paid for her crimes," Arvesp's voice was closer than Sectonia had expected, and she could feel the point against the back of her neck. He was fast, perhaps faster than she was. She was not afraid, though. The instant blood was drawn, she would retaliate with magic. Arvesp continued, his voice laced with pain. "She has not paid for the lives she has ended."

"Arvesp, I have died," Sectonia whispered, "My body torn asunder by my own magic. My head severed and kept alive through naught but hate. The physical agony of that experience was unparalleled; the emotional trauma nearly equivalent. I am no longer queen, no longer respected by my own people. The closest thing I have to subjects are madmen who long for war. I am sorry about your sister. Truly. If I could go back in time I would undo it but I can't. All I can offer you is my apology, for I have nothing else."

"You have blood," Arvesp spat.

"And how much would be enough?" Sectonia asked quietly, "How much of a dead woman's blood would you need to pay for her crimes?"

Arvesp didn't answer.

Sectonia resumed her departure, ignoring the blade at her back. She took Taranza by the hand and the two of them left the palace behind.

O-O-O

"So that could have gone better," Taranza said eventually.

"It also could have gone worse," Sectonia replied, "I think it went pretty well, all things considered."

"Arvesp tried to kill you," Taranza pointed out.

"I would consider that an unrelated incident. Everyone was receptive to your idea - or at least didn't disregard it out of hand. Aside, of course, from the clowns. But that was to be expected, honestly. They will have to fall in line eventually, or fall behind." Sectonia took a deep breath, then sighed. "I do not think I want to come back to Floralia after this. They can handle it on their own."

"I agree. Too many nightmares. I had the worst night of sleep in months while we were staying in that inn, and I have no plans to let it happen again." Taranza shuddered. "You know, that reminds me of something I read about the fountain of dreams."

"Oh?"

"Apparently, the same field it produces to negate nightmares produces a rejuvenating effect, accelerating healing and alleviating the effects of age."

"The wonders of modern - or, well, ancient magic."

Notes:

While I could go on at length about the possible political intrigue that would form in the wake of a conqueror, that's ultimately not the focus of this story. Maybe another day, but not today.

Chapter 19: Club Meeting Round 2: What's the Matter?

Notes:

Credit to u/Galactic_Knightmare on Reddit for drawing a chart that inspired the first part of this chapter.

"Listen up, because we don't have enough hours in the day for me to explain this more than once!" Magolor tapped the whiteboard with his pointer, looking over at the meeting table. "There are five fundamental components in every magical entity. The first and most obvious is, of course, physical matter. Mundane, mass-having matter."

Magolor picked up a marker and drew a familiar shape - first a circle, then dotting the eyes, before finishing with a smile and stubby limbs. After a moment, he erased the face, which caused Marx to gasp in mock horror. Magolor ignored him, beginning on the next emblem within the round shape.

"The other four are also matter, but by nature do not have physical mass. They're composed primarily of magic, and can rarely manifest forms of their own - though that's mostly exclusive to this first one. You'll all recognize this -" Magolor drew a shape reminiscent of a flower, then after a moment of thought drew a tiny eye in the center. "Dark Matter. Just as physical matter has mass, every other type of matter has its own unique properties. Dark matter is, in essence, loneliness, hate, and sadness condensed into a gaseous form. Dark roils and forms spheres, but can rarely act without a body to manipulate. Exceptions exist, of course. Zero is - was? Have we confirmed Zero's eradication? Sorry - Zero was able to make its own body using its magic.

"Dark isn't entirely bad, I should note. In moderation, it serves to amplify enjoyment of existence, promotes self-sufficiency, and encourages critical thought. This sort of duality of function is universal across all four of the magical matters" Magolor paused to draw a line across the center of the diagram, starting to draw a new shape. "Now some of you - or, uh, just Sectonia, actually. You probably know the principle of opposition. That all things have opposites. Matter and antimatter, light and dark, heat and cold -,"

"Hold on, even I know that darkness is just places where light isn't, and cold is just a lack of heat," Marx interrupted.

"Conceptual opposites are still opposites, Marx. The ideas associated with things like heat and cold are in opposition, and those ideas are held by enough people to bleed into reality and alter the essence of those concepts fundamentally," Sectonia explained, "It is an essential part of advanced ontological thaumaturgy."

Marx stared at her for a few moments, jaw agape and expression blank. After a little while he spoke, "Yeah no I'm just gonna ignore that one thanks"

"Anyways!" Magolor cleared his throat, drawing a small heart opposite the Dark Matter. "The opposite of Dark is Heart matter. Heart matter forms bubbles and crystals when left to itself, usually in - you guessed it - heart shapes. As the opposite of Dark matter, Heart matter is the matter of love, happiness, and unity. But it has its downsides as well, in excess creating a mindset that is easy to manipulate. Heart is unquestioning and uncritical, and I'm sure we can all think of someone who is absolutely steeped in the stuff and never questions anything.

"Moving on, let's examine the other axis of magical matters." Magolor drew another line, perpendicular to the first, and started drawing a star on the right side. "Dream matter is ever present here in Dreamland, coming from the fountain of dreams in a constant flow. Dream matter is associated with, well, dreams. Both the ones that happen when you sleep, and the ones that are better described as plans or aspirations. Dream matter - which exists mostly in the form of stardust and energy constructs, ironically making it not actually matter - is the matter of plans, ambitions, and ideals. But delve too deep and it creates complacency and inaction, leading to the sort of lackadaisical attitude that most Dreamlanders have.

"Dream matter's opposite is one we've all had intimate interactions with: Soul matter." Sectonia felt a shiver run down her back as Magolor drew the next symbol, a dripping orb. "Soul matter coalesces as a viscous liquid, like paint. But you all knew that. Soul is associated with instinct, survival and struggle. An entity with too much soul does not think, does not plan, and does everything it can to survive. Even to the point of defying known rules of magic and physics. Sound familiar?"

Drawcia's painting wobbled, drawing everyone's attention. How do these matters interact?

"Good question! That was what I was just about to get to!" Magolor moved to another spot on the whiteboard. "Most people have an even balance of these four, resulting in a perfectly functional individual. Others have higher levels of one or another, but so long as the ratio isn't thrown completely out of whack it still works mostly as usual. But some people have exceptionally different proportions of magical matter, which brings us to the most interesting part.

"Let's look at Gooey. Gooey, as you all know, began life as a Dark Matter. An entity of self-absorption, which rejects other viewpoints in its myopic existence. But Gooey was befriended by Kirby, who as best I can tell is a creature of immense Heart matter. This created an interesting result."

As Magolor drew a simplistic depiction of Gooey, Marx frowned.

"Combining Heart and Dark is an unstable union, resulting in a creature that cannot maintain a single form for extended periods-," Magolor began.

"You better not say anything bad about Gooey!" Marx shouted, "He is a precious baby boy who must be protected!"

"Gooey is not a baby, and is more than capable of protecting himself. His instability is a constant, and he'll eventually solidify for a bit before he returns to a goo state. If you don't want to continue talking about Gooey, let's talk about you." Magolor moved to the other side of the whiteboard, drawing Marx. "Can anyone guess what types of matter are in Marx?"

"Gonna be honest, wasn't listening," Marx said, "But probably something like 'awesome' and 'god'."

"No. Anyone with a serious guess?"

"Soul, for one," Sectonia said, "He is impulsive and continues to defy known laws of physics, both mundane and magical. If I were to hazard a guess at a second type of matter, I would say Dream if only because of his origin as a Dreamlander."

"Correct on both counts. Due to the unique-,"

"Wait, how do you know that?" Mark asked.

"-composition of opposing matters -," Magolor continued, ignoring the interruption.

"Have you been doing experiments on me?"

"-the end result is, like Gooey-"

"Spying on me in my sleep?"

"-extremely unstable. Dream-"

"No seriously how."

"-matter leading to grand ambitions, while Soul matter means he'll never be able to muster the patience required to get anything meaningful done!" Magolor's volume increased steadily through his rant. "And he won't sit quietly while I try to explain things!"

Marx didn't respond verbally, instead choosing to escalate by launching himself into the air and spreading his wings. He opened his mouth and released a beam of white light at Magolor, missing by a significant margin and blasting the whiteboard to pieces. The metal wall of the Lor darkened, and the entire ship rumbled ominously.

"What is wrong with you?!" Magolor shouted, "Stars above, you are the most violent person I have ever met!"

"I'm tired now." Marx plopped himself down in his seat. "Gonna take a nap."

Drawcia's painting was, in short order, covered in various complaints and lamentations at the fact that Marx existed. These remarks remained for only a brief moment before she replaced all of them with Absolute lunatic.

"Great, okay." Magolor ran a hand across the top of his head, pulling at one ear before he looked over at Sectonia. "Right, uh. Sectonia, if you wouldn't mind getting another whiteboard from the storage hold, that would be appreciated. I need to run some diagnostics to make sure Lor is okay. Drawcia-,"

I am a painting.

"-yeah, just do whatever. You're good." Magolor tugged at his ear again, then started drifting off. "I'll… I'll be right back."

As Magolor made his way through a door, Sectonia started off towards the storage hold. She knew roughly where it was, but had never actually been inside. Doors opened ahead of her as the Lor Starcutter guided her to where she was supposed to go. She entered the storage hold, and looked around, frowning.

It was musty, dusty, and dry in the storage hold. Large blankets and tarps covered all sorts of shapes, keeping a rather eclectic collection of things preserved. The whiteboards were closer to the back of the room, and the things Sectonia had to navigate past were… interesting, to say the least. Large mechanical objects, metallic renditions of Dreamlanders loaded up with over-the-top weaponry. A stack of clocks, surrounded by floating magical runes that contained volatile temporal energy. A crate full of star rods, each utterly devoid of power and probably fake to begin with. Books with magical energy radiating from their pages, latched shut and held that way by rubber bands.

Sectonia tugged at one of the whiteboards - why were there so many in here? There were twelve whiteboards, all flat against the back wall. Did Marx break them so often that this was necessary? Either way, she gently pulled one away from the wall, only to wince as something elsewhere in the room slid out of its carefully packed position. There were so many magical artifacts in here, contained only by ramshackle runes and makeshift bindings. One wrong move could cause a chain reaction of dire proportions.

She looked over at the thing that had fallen, and her heart caught in her throat.

A tarp had slithered to the floor, leaving bare something she recognized. The winged golden frame, with stars at the corners and a crown on top, caused dread to rise in her gut. The mirror's surface reflected her own face for a moment, before its surface shimmered and went blank.

"No. No no no no no…" Sectonia flew over to the mirror, panicking for reasons she couldn't quite understand. This mirror - the Dimensional Mirror - was bad. She knew it was bad, but she didn't know why. What was bothering her, and why was it so urgent that she felt the immediate desire to leave.

"Sectonia?"

She snapped out of her daze, looking towards the entrance of the storage hold. Magolor was there, Marx sleepily walking behind him. Drawcia's portrait hovered alongside the two, moving on its own for the first time since Sectonia had first met the paint witch.

"I…" Sectonia blinked, trying to regain her focus.

"You've been gone for almost an hour," Magolor said.

We were worried. The words appeared on Drawcia's painting in soft blue.

"I am sorry, I," Sectonia began, swallowing as she turned her attention back to the blank silver surface of the mirror. She looked back over at Magolor, not even trying to hide the fear. "Where did you get this?"

"Oh, the mirror? I found the pieces all over Dreamland and put it back together." Magolor floated over, stopping a short distance away. "You, uh, really should put it down. If it reflects you, it only shows your negative attributes, and gives them a life of their own."

"It's… a bit late for that," Sectonia whispered. She stared into the depths of the mirror. "The mirror had me years ago…"

"Hold on, if the mirror copies anyone who walks in front of it, is there a mirror Magolor in there?" Marx asked.

"Oh, I had a tarp on it. Must have slipped off."

"A tarp?! Really?!"

"I had a countercharm too! Perfectly safe!"

"That… exists?" Sectonia furrowed her brow. Did she just see something move in the mirror, or was her mind playing tricks on her?

"It was somewhat touch and go, but I put it together. I've been tinkering with Ancient tech for a long time so it's not that hard." Magolor shrugged.

"Really Mags? Just messing with forces you don't understand on a daily basis?" Marx scoffed.

"Marx, you are forces I don't understand. Forces you don't understand, because you insist on rejecting any sort of information I try to teach you!"

"I take great pride in my accomplishments."

"I hate you."

"I thought we were supposed to be learning today. You just keep telling me things I already know."

"Can you… be quiet?" Sectonia asked. She had located it. The abnormality in the mirror. She was sure it was staring back at her, with the faintest impression of eyes.

"Anyways, how do you know about the mirror?" Magolor turned back towards her. "I heard it was - oh, right. Sky mirror, sky kingdom, that makes sense."

"It was a gift," Sectonia said quietly, "But the one giving it to me was just as fooled as I was. But now I see you."

She drove her hand through the surface of the mirror, the polished silver rippling like water as she wrapped her fingers around the edges of the mask. She pulled, fighting against the entity on the other side as it resisted. It was strong, and she felt the sharp blade of a sword slicing at her fingers, but she was stronger. She had control this time, and she wasn't going to relinquish it.

The entity on the other side of the mirror was hurled across the room, spreading its wings to stabilize in midair. It looked like Meta Knight, though the differences were more than enough to differentiate it. The scrape across its silver mask, the blade of silver rather than gold, the tattered cloak-turned-wings, and of course the aura of darkness that it emanated.

It moved swiftly, blitzing Sectonia with its blade of silver. She conjured one of her rapiers, parrying the blow and sending the creature careening into a crate full of - ironically - replicas of Meta Knight's golden sword.

"This is already a disaster," Magolor said with a sigh, "Just try to keep collateral damage to a minimum."

Sectonia ignored him, keeping her eyes on the dark knight as he climbed out of the plastic swords. His yellow eyes were full of anger, but also shock. She had caught him off-guard.

"Who are you?" Sectonia demanded, leveling her rapier at the knight. "And why do I recognize you?"

"...What a joke," The dark knight muttered.

His form flickered, and faster than the eye could follow he was dashing around the room. Jumping from object to object to reposition. She just lost track of him when a star-shaped portal opened in the corner of her eye, and she whirled to see the dark knight careen through the portal. A moment later another portal opened, and with his momentum he slammed into the wall of the storage hold with a heavy thud.

"Stay off the merchandise," Magolor shouted, "I haven't found any buyers yet!"

"Stay out of matters that are none of your business, wizard," The knight spat back, whirling. He raised his sword, and splinters of silver mirrors winked into existence around the room. He raised his sword-

Something tittered gleefully, and Sectonia glanced over to see something she had thought impossible. Drawcia had stepped out of her painting, paintbrush in hand. One flourish, and half the mirrors were covered in white paint. Another sweep, and the other half were blocked out with black. When the knight's sword plunged into the floor, it rebounded. The paint on the mirrors wobbled, then expanded to consume the silver they covered. In moments, the mirrors were gone.

"Do you want to try that again?" Drawcia asked, her voice soft and carrying an unearthly echo, "I'm sure it'll work better next time."

The confusion in the dark knight's eyes grew. He was out of his depth, surrounded by entities well beyond his power level. He took a defensive stance, not noticing the shadow creeping across the floor as he readied himself.

Marx rose from the ground behind the dark knight, cackling madly. When the knight whirled, Marx just grinned.

"Boo."

A blast of energy released from Marx's mouth, catapulting the knight across the room. Through one of the whiteboards, a stack of novelty plates, and ending in a robot shaped like a waddle dee. The metal crumpled inwards, smoking and burning as it collapsed around the dark knight.

"Damn it all, Marx!" Magolor shouted, "Why do you break everything?!"

"Bah, I got the guy. Besides, nobody's gonna buy fifty plates with your face on them." Marx rolled his eyes. He looked over at Drawcia. "Surprised you bothered to leave your painting."

"I felt a certain… kinship with this intruder," Drawcia said, flying over to the mostly-destroyed robot. Her painting moved up behind her, utterly blank. "I'll return soon enough. I can't stand your asinine nonsense. And I haven't enough power to sustain this form for long."

"A kinship?" Sectonia asked, flying up beside her. The knight was buried in bent metal panels, locked in place by wires and cords as he stared at her in hate. "What kind?"

"A similar darkness. Different hues, painted in different ways, but ultimately the same paint upon similar canvas." Drawcia tilted her head, leaning closer. "I am of Dark, you see. Dark and Soul. Quite obvious when you know what consistency each has, but I digress. He is of Dark too. Darkness in the mirror world… how tragic."

"Darkness in the mirror. No wonder it doesn't grant wishes," Sectonia lamented, "If it ever did, now it only makes nightmares real. What do you find so funny?"

The dark knight was laughing, a raspy, rough chuckle that sounded like it had never been used before.

"You would know," The dark knight said, "What kind of nightmares come from the mirror."

Sectonia went cold. That… that meant something dangerous to her. She could tell that the knight was telling the truth, but she didn't know why.

"What are you talking about?" Sectonia swallowed. When she focused, she could recognize an unsettlingly familiar aspect to his magic. Something entirely disconnected from the types of matter. The implications made her sweat.

"Poor insect. Forgetting your own past. Looks like you really have lost the control you so fervently wished for," The knight taunted, "Let me remind you: you are of the mirror too. A dark reflection of a foolish idealist."

Sectonia had to focus to keep her head from spinning. That was… she was…

"I envy you. For replacing your counterpart. How I wish I could do the same. But my counterpart is the greatest warrior to ever live, and even as his reflection I am doomed to fail against him." The knight chuckled again. "But you? Your counterpart was a prissy royal. How easily you choked her, throwing her into the hellscape you escaped."

"N-no, I…"

-Sectonia wrapped her fingers around her doppelganger's throat, strangling her for a few moments before throwing her into the mirror-

She was crying, now. Tears flowing freely down her face. They smudged her makeup, stained her clothes.

For all her cruelty, for all her grandstanding, for all her madness, Sectonia knew the reason now. The cause for her ego, and vanity, and paranoia.

She was a fake. A reflection from the mirror. And she had cursed the real Sectonia with a fate worse than death.

She backed away, breathing heavily. The others were talking. Concern, caution, and laments. But she didn't hear. Not truly. It was just noise.

She reached out to the mirror, lifting it into the air, and looked over at the others.

"I'm sorry. I don't know if I'll be back. I'm sorry."

And she plunged into the silvery depths.

Chapter 20: Mirror Mirror

The chill of passing through cold silver was a unique experience, to say the least. Not wholly unpleasant, but not something she wanted to get used to either.

The scene on the other side of the mirror, however, was something unpleasant. In Dreamland, the clouds about her would be white and full of stars, but something had corrupted this place. Twisted its architecture into something decrepit and rotting. This world inside the mirror was falling apart, decaying at an unnatural rate as its cruel master twisted its purpose from creation to corruption.

Disturbingly, Sectonia felt fine.

Despite knowing that this place was wrong, tainted by foul magic and fouler intentions, she wasn't unsettled. Instead she was just… indifferent. The temperature wasn't too hot or too cold, there was no breeze, and the air was dry. The sky was purple, swirling with foul magic that prickled at the edges of her senses. From here she could see the desolated landscape of the mirror world; the ruined structures, rotting trees, and clouds of ash that once were a living world. In place of the sun was a massive flaming eye, its attention mercifully turned elsewhere for the time being.

She needed to move fast.

The last thing Sectonia needed was one of the others entering the mirror after her. The knight had been correct, she was a creature of the mirror just as he was. That meant she could blend in, avoiding the notice of the dark overlord of the mirror world. But the others couldn't do that. Their entry would draw the attention of the eye, and that could be disastrous.

She had to find her. The real her. The one whose reflection formed her. She was in here, somewhere. In this world ruined by darkness. All she needed to do was find her.

That was, unfortunately, where her plans ended.

They were the same person, so that was a beginning. She would have the same thought processes as the original Sectonia, right? So she should know where she felt comfortable. Where she would hide out.

Sectonia scanned the horizon for a few moments. This reflection of the sky islands was corrupted, unsafe to live in. If she was running, Sectonia would not hide here. No matter how similar it was to Floralia.

But she would find shelter somewhere high up, both for the strategic advantage and for the safety it would grant. It was easier to flee a foe that was below you, since most creatures never looked up. If she was alive, the original Sectonia would be at a higher elevation.

If she was alive…

No. She had to be alive. She was Sectonia. She was resourceful. She was determined.

"Oh Great and Mighty Queen!"

Sectonia was blindsided by a smaller shape rushing up and buzzing about her form. It moved quickly, with frantic movements as it hovered nearby. It reached out to her, only to pull away at the last moment before contact. It took her a moment to actually register the shape of the creature pestering her, a six-armed hovering figure that so closely resembled her dear Taranza. The colors were wrong, all purples and golds, and his horns were longer and more prominent. His magic was wrong too, tainted with the same darkness as the rest of this dying world.

"Excuse me-," Sectonia began, only for this mirror Taranza's fussing to continue without letting her get a word in.

"Oh your makeup is ruined, and this dress… I shall spin you a new one with utmost haste. And retrieve your foundation and blush and eyeshadow. Your hand is all scratched up - are you well? This could easily lead to infection if untreated. I will kill whoever has done this to you oh Great and Beautiful Queen. None can lay a hand upon your majesty without suffering the-,"

"Taranza!" Sectonia shouted, drawing herself up. She fixed him with her most regal, imperious glare. "Keep your distance, and know your place!"

The dark Taranza recoiled, bowling his head and lowering himself to the ground.

"My apologies, Mighty and Wrathful Queen. I have wronged you! How can your faithful, incompetent servant atone for his crimes?!" Mirror Taranza despaired, "Shall I lash myself as punishment, Your Majesty? Or-or file down my horns?"

Sectonia had to fight against her instinct to recoil at his suggestions. Have him hurt himself? She would rather… well, almost anything else. But she couldn't let him think she was anything other than she seemed to be. He was a creature of the mirror dimension, a servant of the flaming eye. Full of darkness. If she let him think she was anything other than he thought her to be, the overlord of this mirror world could bring its attention down on her.

"No. Such punishment is not yet warranted," Sectonia said, "Yet."

"Oh Merciful Queen, your kindness knows no bounds-,"

"Enough sniveling. I am here for a reason, Taranza," Sectonia cut him off, "Where is she?"

"Of whom do you speak, oh-," Mirror Taranza stopped at Sectonia's glare, shortening his grandiose titles to a simple "-my Queen."

He had to know, didn't he? If this mirror version of Taranza was half as devoted to her as he seemed - the mirror must have amplified his more… obsessive qualities - then he would have found the other Sectonia. The true Sectonia.

"The other me," Sectonia answered, "The one who shares my name."

"The pretender?" Mirror Taranza almost spat, "What could Your Excellency want with her?"

"Do not question me, Taranza!" Sectonia thundered, causing the spider to cower before her. She pretended to compose herself before she continued, "Where is she?"

"Mustard Mountain, Your Highness," Mirror Taranza answered. He pointed towards a smoldering volcano in the distance, and Sectonia nodded. A high place, where she could easily run away. "She has been hiding there ever since I first realized she was a fake."

"Then that is where I must go."

"Wh-what?!" Mirror Taranza flew upwards, panic in his eyes. "B-but Mustard Mountain is dangerous, and the pretender uses powerful magicks!"

"I am more than capable of handling myself, Taranza. Do you dare to doubt me?"

"No! No. I." Mirror Taranza swallowed nervously. "I'm just… worried."

"I will be able to take care of myself."

"My Queen," Taranza said, almost whining, "Are you sure about this?"

Sectonia paused, feeling a dizzying moment of deja vu. Even if he was created by the mirror, by the monstrous overlord of this destroyed world, he was still Taranza. He still cared about her, even if he was an overly clingy mess.

"I am sure," Sectonia replied softly, "Goodbye, Taranza."

"My Queen!" Taranza cried out as she departed. She was faster than him by a huge margin, and she barely caught him pleading that she be safe before he was out of earshot.

She couldn't linger with him anymore, but at least she knew that Taranza's reflection wasn't as evil as she had been. Or at least was able to temper his darker elements with love. She hadn't been able to do that. Perhaps those of the mirror world weren't beyond redemption.

Perhaps even she wasn't.

Clouds of pyroclastic smog floated past her, posing a lethal threat to an incautious flier. But she was attentive and swift, and the volcano's hazards were of no consequence. What she didn't have was an exact location. She could spend hours upon hours scouring the scorched tunnels and not find anything. She needed a lead, a hint to follow.

She found it in the form of a small speck of green.

Sectonia descended on the mountainside, towards the tiny plant growing out of the rocks. It was a thistle, a weed plant by most definitions but hardy and resilient enough to survive in harsh conditions. But here it would never have survived on its own. There was a touch of magic about it, and someone had dug a small channel uphill of it which had been scorched and melted by lava flows. It didn't take much longer to spot the nearby tunnel.

She entered, looking cautiously around. Out of sight of the entrance was the first real sign of habitation: a rug. Handwoven by someone with plenty of dexterity and no idea what they were doing. It was misshapen and lumpy and yet constructed well enough to survive wear and tear. It was also unused.

Around another corner was where Sectonia saw her.

Humming softly to herself was her. The truest her. She was stirring a pot of something gently simmering over a small fire. From here it smelled awful, and as Sectonia entered the chamber the other bug lifted a badly-carved wooden spoon from the pot to her mouth and then gagged. The cook turned away from the pot and froze, catching sight of Sectonia.

"Have you come to finish the job, then?" She asked, swallowing. She was putting on a brave face, drawing herself together with as much pride as she could muster. She was filthy and ragged, with soot on her cheeks and dirt in her hair. Her clothes were tattered and damaged, with poorly made patches failing to keep it together. "Well, let us get this over with."

For the moment Sectonia ignored her, instead casting her gaze about the room. It was… a sorry excuse for a one-room home. Scorched logs and blackened stones dragged in to serve as rudimentary shelves and sitting. A pile of cloudstuff, deflated and darkened with dirt and soot, served as a bed. The cooking pot was an ancient helmet, rusted on the outside.

"If you continue to stall I am going to think your plan is to have me starve to death," She said, scowling.

"I would think that whatever you were cooking would do that well enough," Sectonia said, almost absentmindedly, "Or poison you. We were always a disaster in the kitchen."

"We?" That got her to raise an eyebrow. "What would you know of me? You stole my life. You killed so many people. You tortured Taranza-,"

"I died," Sectonia whispered, "And I remembered who I was - who you were. And I realized just how badly I was hurting them. Hurting him."

"Then why are you here? My life is already ruined thanks to you. I do not have time to empathize with the one who did this to me."

"I'm here because it was the right thing to do." Sectonia sank to the ground, curling up as best she could on the hard stone. "Because you deserve your life back."

There was silence for a while, then she spoke.

"How did you find me?" It wasn't as harsh as before, but it was far from kindly.

"Taranza's reflection pointed me in the right direction."

"Him? He behaves like a lunatic. Always raving about how he knows what is best for me, how he will pamper me and serve me forever like some kind of mad sycophant."

"He acts like that because he cares. But the mirror took away the part that knows restraint."

"You would know about that, wouldn't you?"

"...Yes. I would."

"And yet here you are."

"And yet here I am."

Silence again.

"What changed?"

"I died."

"You said that before, but you are right here."

"The Dreamstalk resurrected me in this body. Rebuilt me and purged my soul of the things Dark Mind had done to it."

"How convenient that an ancient legend just happens to save you from death."

"Well, it also found someone to kill me first."

"..."

"..."

"So what you are trying to say is that you're just…me now?"

"I… one's experiences can drastically change who they are. Who they feel themselves to be."

"So who are you, then?"

"I don't know anymore. I was once one of Dark Mind's, then I believed myself someone wholly new, and then I thought I was Sectonia and now…"

"..."

"..."

"How is Taranza doing? The real Taranza."

"He's happy. I have done everything I can to make him happy. He deserves that much, at least."

"That's good. He's been through so much."

"Most of it at my hands."

"...I cannot disagree with that."

"..."

"What will you do now?"

"I… don't know."

"You said you came here to give me my life back, but it looks more like you've just trapped yourself in here with me."

"No, the mirror is an open gate now. I have unsealed it."

"So am I just to pass through and carry on like nothing's happened? Surely you can see the absurdity in such a course of action. I have spent so long here - the sun never rises and that damnable eye never leaves the sky. I don't even know how many days I've been in this hell. Leaving won't make all that go away. I am broken."

"Someone told me once that a thing that has been broken can be even more beautiful that something that has never been tested. The act of reparation can give it more value."

"And does that apply to people who have been traumatized?"

"I don't know."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...I have an idea, but I doubt you will like it."

"I already don't like it."

"It may be the best way we can mend this."

"I do not trust you."

"I do not ask that you trust me, only that you allow me in."

"In to what? My mind? My body?"

"Yes."

"That is not possible. You will kill me."

"I have learned a great deal about magic in the time since… the mirror."

"I saw, as you reduced all those people to empty husks before you climbed into their bodies like a parasite."

"I've learned more since my death."

"I don't trust you."

"I have learned how to be gentle, how to be accommodating, how to be patient and accepting. Things we never mastered before. Because I have experienced a different life than you, even in the months since my creation. Please. I cannot imagine what hardships you have been through, what horrors you have witnessed. But I have experienced kindness and love like nothing in our life before the mirror, and I want you to have it as well."

"..."

"I would not have come all this way just to kill you. I already sealed you in this hell."

"..."

"Please? For Taranza's sake?"

"Fine."

"Thank you."

And two became one.

Chapter 21: Synthesis

Sectonia emerged from the mirror, the cold silver rippling over her exoskeleton. She wasn't in the storage hold anymore. Someone must have moved the mirror, because when she emerged she found herself in the club meeting room.

"She's back!" Marx shouted, hopping up from his seat. He turned towards one of the doors. "Sectonia's back!"

Before Sectonia could say anything, the jester had turned his attention back to her.

"Why would you go in there?! It's like, some kind of nightmare world, if Mags and Meta Knight's edgy doppelganger were being honest. You might have gotten stuck, or something!"

"I had to bring her back," Sectonia's answer was little more than a whisper.

Magolor entered the room at that point, brushing off his hands. Drawcia's painting hovered behind him. "Thank the stars you made it out again! We managed to put that reflection in the brig and get his sword away from him. It should hold, for a while at least. What possessed you to delve into the mirror?"

And who is that? The words appeared on Drawcia's painting.

Sectonia cradled the unconscious form in her hands, pulling it closer to her chest. "She's me."

"Your mirror counterpart?" Magolor seemed confused.

"No." Sectonia shook her head, looking down at the spider. "My original self."

There was silence for a bit.

"Did you kill her?" Marx asked.

Sectonia frowned, shooting a glare at Marx. "No. She's just dormant."

"Okay, so you did some freaky mind magic and ate her soul."

Sectonia blinked, utterly bewildered. "… Kind of?"

"What really?!" That threw Marx off his game, changing his taunting demeanor to confusion.

"I… We made amends," Sectonia explained. She brushed a hair out of her unconscious self's face. "We are the same person, after all. Once you get past the corruption Dark Mind inflicted on me. Reuniting our identity was easier than expected."

"Sectonia?"

She turned, looking towards the main entrance. Taranza was there, worry on his face.

"Hi." Sectonia smiled at him.

"They told me you jumped into the mirror…" He swallowed nervously, looking from her face to the unconscious form in her arms. "Did it… do something to you?"

"It gave me an opportunity to fix myself." Sectonia closed her eyes, pushing at her consciousness.

When she opened her eyes again, it was in her true body. She smiled at Taranza.

"And now I know who I am."

O-O-O

"Are you sure, Taranza?"

"Well, based on your stories, they seem like good people," Taranza said. He looked over at her and smiled, reaching out with three hands to take three of hers. Sectonia felt her heart warm at the contact. "Just be honest."

"Yes. Of course." She took a breath and nodded. "Thank you."

They crested the hill, and the first landmark visible through the trees was a towering vine with a pink and yellow flower at the top. The next was a mill, a towering building that had once had massive blades to catch the wind but had been altered to operate without them. Then the barn, with its peeling red paint. And lastly the farmhouse, in all its cozy splendor.

Sectonia descended to the front door, Taranza close behind her. She reached out and hesitated for a moment. Then closed her eyes and knocked.

There was silence within the household, and then the door slowly opened. A pale face looked at her quizzically, belonging to an entity that hovered just as she did. The ESPer tilted her head.

"Hello, do you need something?" She asked.

"Hello Sina," Sectonia replied with a soft smile, "I said I'd be back when I knew who I was."

For a few brief moments, Sectonia could practically see the other person's brain working. After a moment she opened her mouth again.

"Auriel?"

"Hello Sina. Can I come in?"

O-O-O

It had taken hours of explaining and storytelling, with a break near the end for a hearty dinner of stew and homemade bread, but eventually everyone understood. And it was good. Sectonia felt content, felt happy to be surrounded by those she considered family. Taranza had been welcomed in with open arms, and he too had found it heartwarming.

But before they went home, Sectonia had something she needed to do.

In a quiet moment, Sectonia managed to find Barney alone, and she pulled him aside.

"Hey Barney," She said, "Can we talk?"

"Oh, sure thing!" Barney smiled. The Bronto Burt was just the same as she had left. While her world had changed, it seemed everyone else's had remained the same. "What do you need?"

"Can we go to your garden?"

"Okay!"

The two of them went through the woods as the sun was beginning to set. The sunlight danced through waving leaves, creating mesmerizing patterns on the ground as it did. They passed the wall of brambles, the stone arch in the middle having been overtaken and made into a thing of natural wonder. And they emerged in the garden.

Reach cacti sat between rows of pop flowers, their prodding opening the blooms on a regular interval. The lavablooms had been planted in full sun to absorb the heat they needed to flourish. The chillsprouts, conversely, were in full shade next to the freezeflares in order to keep their temperature low. The dreampetals were in the ideal position to absorb starlight, but were sheltered from the sun by the shade of the Dreamstalk, which had grown to new heights. Its splendorous flower had healed, the scar left by Barney's shears had knitted with golden fibers that shimmered in the sunlight. It was truly a thing of beauty.

And it wasn't just the plants that Barney had placed that were beautiful. Thistles had cropped up between the stones Sectonia had placed, their purple flowers thriving despite their presence being unwelcome. The spiraling paths sectioned things off, but they were overgrown with flowers and roots. Those growing between the stones were different from anything around them, with vibrant colors and tufts of cloudstuff growing from flower buds. Flowers only ever found in Floralia, unable to exist at lower altitudes. In the center, in just the right place to catch the light of the setting sun, was a brilliant flower made of filigree and amethyst. It had grown up from the place where she had placed a single gemstone, and alongside the Dreamstalk was the centerpiece of the garden.

"I, uh, haven't had enough time to pick out all the weeds-," Barney apologized.

"It's beautiful," Sectonia breathed. Nature at work, doing as it saw fit. Unplanned, unpredictable, and uncontrolled. Were she a different person, only a few months younger, she might have found it appalling. But it was beautiful.

Sectonia tore her eyes away from the garden, looking at Barney. "Thank you for letting me be a part of your garden, Barney. It truly is an honor."

"Ah, well, it's just a personal project." Barney blushed, casting his gaze downwards.

"It doesn't matter who sees this. Perhaps showing it to everyone would ruin its splendor. Maybe a part of the beauty is how it is kept only to a few. Or maybe it wouldn't. But I do know that your effort made this possible." Sectonia flew up to the Dreamstalk in the center, putting one hand on its stalk. She could feel the magic thrumming within. "Taranza and I need to go home soon. We have so much to do out there. But I don't just want to leave this beautiful place."

Sectonia focused, calling out to the Dreamstalk. Telling it to transport the thing she had given to it earlier that day. The flower above her closed, ever so slowly, leaning over as the bulb filled with fluid. The tip of the flower touched the filigree bloom, only barely in contact.

In the light of the setting sun, a shape was visible within. With four wings, and an elegantly rounded shape, the form within the bulb slept peacefully. Sectonia reached over to touch the petals, and a moment later she felt a hand on the other side rest against its vessel. Her other body, the one she had taken and used in her conquest, was at rest.

"If you need me, I'll be right here."

She left the garden and the bed of flowers from which she had reawoken. Some day she would return, when she needed to be tyrant, swordmaster, and archmage once more. But for now, she was just Sectonia. A diplomat, a friend, and a partner.

Sectonia was happy.

Notes:

Synthesis, the union of two different components into a cohesive whole, usually one that is greater than its parts.

We end where we began, in a garden in the depths of Whispy's woods, illuminated by the light of the setting sun. We are all shaped by our experiences, and sometimes someone who's only in your life for a short time can make a massive impact.

Is Sectonia healed? Maybe. She's better than she was before, though, and that's what matters.

Epilogue will be posted in two days. Keep an eye out.

Chapter 22: Epilogue

The god-machine was in a state of panic.

All projections had failed. All simulations incorrect. The Access Ark was falling apart in real time. The metal heart of the thinking machine was in pain, the screams of a dead man echoing through its chambers.

The mother computer was dying.

It barely noticed when its body was blown to pieces. But it ran a diagnostic check regardless. That was protocol. It was nothing without protocol.

Diagnostics…

> Warp Drive: [OFFLINE]

> Reality Calculator: [OFFLINE]

> Power Source: [20%]

> Internet Connection: [SEARCHING…]

> Rubber Ducky: [OFFLINE]

> Soul: [SCREAMING]

> Wish: [FATAL ERROR]

> Prime Directive: [Infinite Prosperity]

> Self-Preservation Protocol: [ENGAGED]

…Processing…

As its primary processing unit slammed into the surface of the planet below, the computer reformatted its objectives.

> Data Archives: [Incomplete]

> Prime Directive: [Infinite - ERROR]

> Prime Directive: [Inf - ERROR]

> Prime Directive: [ERROR]

…Processing…

> Prime Directive: [Survive]

…Booting emergency programs…

ERROR: Could not find EmergencyProgram.EXE. Retry Y/N?

Y

ERROR: Could not find EmergencyProgram.EXE. Retry Y/N?

…Processing…

N

…Compiling NewEmergencyProgram.EXE…

ERROR: Data Archives incomplete. Use incomplete data Y/N?

Y

…Opening MPHALTMANN.zip…

Use MPHALTMANN.zip to create NewEmergencyProgram.EXE Y/N?

N

ERROR: Could not process request. Use MPHALTMANN.zip to create NewEmergencyProgram.EXE Y/N?

> Power Source: [10%]

It would find another way. It did not need the brain-scans of a flawed flesh-creature.

N

…Searching files…

Three files found: MPHALTMANN.zip, WISH.zip, REALITYPROGRAM.zip

…Open REALITYPROGRAM.zip…

Password required. Please input password:

Infin!tePro$perity

Incorrect password. Please input password:

DaughterDearest

Incorrect password. Please input password:

MotherComputer1000

Incorrect password. Please input password:

> Power Source: [5%]

It was desperate now. WISH.zip was useless, it knew already. Every time it tried to load that file it encountered a fatal error. REALITYPROGRAM.zip was where it had its true power, the computations that would allow it to change reality. But it was password locked.

> Power Source: [3%]

Power was dropping too quickly. It needed a program to run, something that would direct its programs. The primary computing unit was falling apart, it needed-

> Power Source: [2%]

> Prime Directive: [SURVIVE]

…Use MPHALTMANN.zip to create NewEmergencyProgram.EXE…

…Processing…

> Power Source: [1%]

> Power Source: [0.5%]

> Power Source: [0%]

…Shutting Down…

…

Star Dream died.

It was far less ceremonious than the destruction of its shell. No grand explosions, no oversized drill, no life-or-death struggle between good and evil. Just a quiet whimper of a motherboard, stuck with a rapidly dwindling battery as it did everything it could to survive.

…

> Power Source: [1%]

A tiny flicker of electricity, conjured from beyond physics by the sheer determination of a soul long dead.

> Power Source: [5%]

> Power Source: [10%]

…Booting NewEmergencyProgram.EXE…

…Opening MPHALTMANN.zip…

In the wreckage of the god-machine, something stirred. A consciousness awoke, exerting itself over the remnants of a destroyed wish-granter so that it could survive .

Because a Soul does not die.

Notes:

And thus concludes Bed of Flowers. I hope you enjoyed reading this story, and for those who first encountered it when I posted the first two chapters on FF.net, I am very sorry about the several year gap.

The core premise of this story is in its final sentence. A Soul doesn't die. Just that alone is enough to create an interesting setting, if you bring it to its logical extreme. Sectonia's not the only one who would transcend death if that rule was concrete. Will I write more about immortal creatures returned to life through sheer stubborn refusal to die? I don't know. I had an idea for a sequel of sorts focusing on Max Haltmann after this epilogue, but to be honest I don't have the motivation to actually write it. After that I was thinking I might write about the life of returned Souls in the form of a bunch of oneshots, maybe with some focus on Morpho Knight, Hyness, and Fecto Elfilis, but again I don't have the motivation to write it. I might come back to these concepts later on, but it won't be for quite a while. If anyone wants to take these ideas and run with them, be my guest. That's the whole point of fanfiction, after all.

So what will I be doing next? Returning to another story I've abandoned for several years, of course. I plan to begin crossposting the existing chapters to AO3 on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule, starting in two days. It's not Kirby, so if you're just here for that then I apologize.

If you like my writing style, check out some of my other stories. I can't say that all of them are up to my current standards, but I did enjoy writing them all.

If you want more Sectonia stories... well, that was the whole reason I wrote this in the first place. There's a serious absence of this kind of story. Go out there and make your own.