Personal Sacrifice
Chapter. 3
Kirby's journey is a long one.
It isn't that he has a hard time finding Gooey. He knows where Gooey is actually, in the vaguest idea. He can sense him, no matter where he is or how far he might get. The trouble is that wherever Gooey has gone, it's far, /far/ away. And while Kirby can sense his presence, it's only a very faint little twinge in the back of his mind.
But still, he goes. Far, far into dreamland. Past Green Greens, his home, past Grape Gardens, the expanse of which is dotted all manner of blues and violets. Farther into Pop Star than he's ventured in a few years.
How long he goes, he isn't sure. But by the time Gooey's presence grows, finally, in his mind, the sun has begun setting and his wings are beginning to grow heavy from the constant strain. He isn't willing to sleep, of course, or rest. Always stubborn.
But it's worth it. Because he /finds/ him. Finally, after what seems like eternity.
In the distance, Gooey is terribly stark against the backdrop of Orange Ocean, the waters shining bright gold and stretching into the horizon. The hills that overlook it shimmer soft green, bathed in the colors of the slowly dimming light, and Gooey is a living shadow cast across the expanse, hovering quietly at the crest of them all.
And Kirby /yells/.
"Gooey! Stop! Don't run, please!"
Whatever Gooey had been doing before, he seems to freeze in place, and Kirby can't help but strain his wings to move faster, fly /harder/. He was so close now, so close to being able to reach him if he just tried...
"Gooey- Please-" And his breath comes hoarse, voice in breathless gasps. He'd pushed himself so hard in such a short amount of time and he hadn't done it in years- "I know you didn't mean to, okay? I know- I saw you crying! Please, you have to tell me what's wrong. I know you'd never hurt Tulok in a million years and-and..."
Finally, he lands. A distance away, to give Gooey some space, to rest his wings.
"Please, you have to tell me what's going on, Gooey. What's wrong? What's happening to you? I can help you, you know I can. Just-- don't /run/ from me, okay? Mom and dad, they'll understand. Please come home..."
There are so many things he wants to say that they tumble out of his mouth before he has time to really think about them, entreaties and beggar's cries sliding off of his tongue one over the other. So many things he wants to say and he's not sure how to put it all together, but he /begs/. It's not Gooey's fault. Not his other half. He didn't mean to...
For a long moment, he hears only the wind and the sound of the ocean far off in the distance, crashing against rocks. Gooey doesn't make a move, and Kirby thinks he may have actually listened, desperate, eager. Reaching out to gauge his friend's mood, his presence, to see what he has to say, and-
-there's.
Nothing.
Just...nothing.
Kirby tries to comprehend it. This absence, something he hasn't felt in- he can't remember when. Never? It isn't like when Gooey is far away and he can barely sense him, because even so he's still /there/. This is just like Gooey isn't there at all. And Kirby...can't fathom it.
"Gooey...?"
And Gooey /moves/. Before Kirby has any time to react, Gooey's moving, a blur of black in the expanse of color, and Kirby doesn't have time to think, let alone move, before he's so close and something pink is swinging like a whip-
And Kirby goes flying. Pain, burning up clear from his front where the tongue hit, everything around him spinning as he soars back and lands in the dirt, the air knocking out of him as his wings take the brunt of the impact.
For a moment, all he can do is just lay there. Wondering, absently, what just happened. Why everything hurts so much. Why Gooey had hit him.
This wasn't...how it was supposed to go.
Frantically, he gets up. Quickly. Sees the shadow starting to loom over him as Gooey's ink-black form blocks out the sun just in front of them both. His tongue lingers, long and curled, and Kirby can see the way his form ripples as claws, so rarely used, start to take shape.
"Gooey..."
Another strike, another whip-crack of his tongue, but Kirby knows to expect it this time and jumps out of the way, leaving it to slam into the ground where dirt flies and rock breaks. No, not Gooey, he thinks. Now that he's closer, he can see it clearly. His eyes, blank and hazy. Like the house is occupied and the lights are on but nobody is home.
Whatever thing has been messing with Gooey's head is moving him like a puppet on a string, he thinks with bile in his throat.
"I'm gonna get you back, Gooey. Just watch. I know you're in there...!"
But it's a lot easier said than done.
Kirby is experienced with fighting. He's had his fair share of worldly threats. He knows how enemies work, what they do, how to rile them up. And he knows how Gooey fights too, enough to work in tandem with him after so many years.
It should have been easy, to match him blow for blow. But the first time he raises his fist to try and counter, Gooey /burns/ in his memories, smiling, laughing, them as children playing pranks, and he. Can't do it. He can't do it. Can't even think about it, when it registers what he's doing.
The arm that had raised to fight turns instead to block an incoming blow, and it's all he can think to do in the moment. And so he's resorted to dodging. Using his wings and athletics to keep out of range and blocking when Gooey is far too close to avoid, and the entire while he shouts and tries to dredge something of Gooey back to the front, to encourage him to fight, fend it off, let him /help/ in some way.
And Gooey will not let up.
Kirby knows how he fights. But this isn't it at all. It's not even /Gooey./ He's fast, and he hits hard, always wild and erratic, never taking his time, forcing Kirby to keep on his toes. But worst of all is that he's unpredictable. Kirby can't track his movements. Kirby can't assume what he'll do next because he's always doing something different, never giving Kirby any time to /think./
He's fighting like an animal. And the entire time, he doesn't react to a single thing Kirby shouts at him. Not once.
It's not working. This isn't working. Kirby can't get through to him. He's trying so hard, but Gooey is hitting him with everything he's got and everything is starting to ache, from wings to feet. He hits every time he moves, and he can't keep dodging like this. But he won't hurt him. But he can't run away and just /leave/ him there either--!
"Gooey, please--!"
Kirby, voice hoarse, shouts loud enough that he hears it crack, some part of him knowing that it won't do anything but desperate to /try/. Dodging from his latest attack, he heaves, lungs burning, and for a second the fatigue catches hold.
He stumbles. Gooey moves.
Something pink careens for his head.
And Kirby goes down.
In the few minutes that he has before his consciousness leaves him, he sees the outline of a shape hovering dark overhead, eyes staring blankly down at him. Staring, and then turning out of sight. Leaving.
He can't. He can't let him go. He promised.
"Gooey..."
An arm raises. Weakly.
He promised...
-----
It isn't that he has a hard time finding Gooey. He knows where Gooey is actually, in the vaguest idea. He can sense him, no matter where he is or how far he might get. The trouble is that wherever Gooey has gone, it's far, /far/ away. And while Kirby can sense his presence, it's only a very faint little twinge in the back of his mind.
But still, he goes. Far, far into dreamland. Past Green Greens, his home, past Grape Gardens, the expanse of which is dotted all manner of blues and violets. Farther into Pop Star than he's ventured in a few years.
How long he goes, he isn't sure. But by the time Gooey's presence grows, finally, in his mind, the sun has begun setting and his wings are beginning to grow heavy from the constant strain. He isn't willing to sleep, of course, or rest. Always stubborn.
But it's worth it. Because he /finds/ him. Finally, after what seems like eternity.
In the distance, Gooey is terribly stark against the backdrop of Orange Ocean, the waters shining bright gold and stretching into the horizon. The hills that overlook it shimmer soft green, bathed in the colors of the slowly dimming light, and Gooey is a living shadow cast across the expanse, hovering quietly at the crest of them all.
And Kirby /yells/.
"Gooey! Stop! Don't run, please!"
Whatever Gooey had been doing before, he seems to freeze in place, and Kirby can't help but strain his wings to move faster, fly /harder/. He was so close now, so close to being able to reach him if he just tried...
"Gooey- Please-" And his breath comes hoarse, voice in breathless gasps. He'd pushed himself so hard in such a short amount of time and he hadn't done it in years- "I know you didn't mean to, okay? I know- I saw you crying! Please, you have to tell me what's wrong. I know you'd never hurt Tulok in a million years and-and..."
Finally, he lands. A distance away, to give Gooey some space, to rest his wings.
"Please, you have to tell me what's going on, Gooey. What's wrong? What's happening to you? I can help you, you know I can. Just-- don't /run/ from me, okay? Mom and dad, they'll understand. Please come home..."
There are so many things he wants to say that they tumble out of his mouth before he has time to really think about them, entreaties and beggar's cries sliding off of his tongue one over the other. So many things he wants to say and he's not sure how to put it all together, but he /begs/. It's not Gooey's fault. Not his other half. He didn't mean to...
For a long moment, he hears only the wind and the sound of the ocean far off in the distance, crashing against rocks. Gooey doesn't make a move, and Kirby thinks he may have actually listened, desperate, eager. Reaching out to gauge his friend's mood, his presence, to see what he has to say, and-
-there's.
Nothing.
Just...nothing.
Kirby tries to comprehend it. This absence, something he hasn't felt in- he can't remember when. Never? It isn't like when Gooey is far away and he can barely sense him, because even so he's still /there/. This is just like Gooey isn't there at all. And Kirby...can't fathom it.
"Gooey...?"
And Gooey /moves/. Before Kirby has any time to react, Gooey's moving, a blur of black in the expanse of color, and Kirby doesn't have time to think, let alone move, before he's so close and something pink is swinging like a whip-
And Kirby goes flying. Pain, burning up clear from his front where the tongue hit, everything around him spinning as he soars back and lands in the dirt, the air knocking out of him as his wings take the brunt of the impact.
For a moment, all he can do is just lay there. Wondering, absently, what just happened. Why everything hurts so much. Why Gooey had hit him.
This wasn't...how it was supposed to go.
Frantically, he gets up. Quickly. Sees the shadow starting to loom over him as Gooey's ink-black form blocks out the sun just in front of them both. His tongue lingers, long and curled, and Kirby can see the way his form ripples as claws, so rarely used, start to take shape.
"Gooey..."
Another strike, another whip-crack of his tongue, but Kirby knows to expect it this time and jumps out of the way, leaving it to slam into the ground where dirt flies and rock breaks. No, not Gooey, he thinks. Now that he's closer, he can see it clearly. His eyes, blank and hazy. Like the house is occupied and the lights are on but nobody is home.
Whatever thing has been messing with Gooey's head is moving him like a puppet on a string, he thinks with bile in his throat.
"I'm gonna get you back, Gooey. Just watch. I know you're in there...!"
But it's a lot easier said than done.
Kirby is experienced with fighting. He's had his fair share of worldly threats. He knows how enemies work, what they do, how to rile them up. And he knows how Gooey fights too, enough to work in tandem with him after so many years.
It should have been easy, to match him blow for blow. But the first time he raises his fist to try and counter, Gooey /burns/ in his memories, smiling, laughing, them as children playing pranks, and he. Can't do it. He can't do it. Can't even think about it, when it registers what he's doing.
The arm that had raised to fight turns instead to block an incoming blow, and it's all he can think to do in the moment. And so he's resorted to dodging. Using his wings and athletics to keep out of range and blocking when Gooey is far too close to avoid, and the entire while he shouts and tries to dredge something of Gooey back to the front, to encourage him to fight, fend it off, let him /help/ in some way.
And Gooey will not let up.
Kirby knows how he fights. But this isn't it at all. It's not even /Gooey./ He's fast, and he hits hard, always wild and erratic, never taking his time, forcing Kirby to keep on his toes. But worst of all is that he's unpredictable. Kirby can't track his movements. Kirby can't assume what he'll do next because he's always doing something different, never giving Kirby any time to /think./
He's fighting like an animal. And the entire time, he doesn't react to a single thing Kirby shouts at him. Not once.
It's not working. This isn't working. Kirby can't get through to him. He's trying so hard, but Gooey is hitting him with everything he's got and everything is starting to ache, from wings to feet. He hits every time he moves, and he can't keep dodging like this. But he won't hurt him. But he can't run away and just /leave/ him there either--!
"Gooey, please--!"
Kirby, voice hoarse, shouts loud enough that he hears it crack, some part of him knowing that it won't do anything but desperate to /try/. Dodging from his latest attack, he heaves, lungs burning, and for a second the fatigue catches hold.
He stumbles. Gooey moves.
Something pink careens for his head.
And Kirby goes down.
In the few minutes that he has before his consciousness leaves him, he sees the outline of a shape hovering dark overhead, eyes staring blankly down at him. Staring, and then turning out of sight. Leaving.
He can't. He can't let him go. He promised.
"Gooey..."
An arm raises. Weakly.
He promised...
-----
-End Chapter 3-
<< Chapter 2 .5 (Gooey's POV) | Chapter 4 >>
Artist Comment:
Date: N/A
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Date: N/A
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Species © Nintendo/ HAL Laboratory
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem