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void-ink-studios · 1 year

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Incarnations AU - On the Subject of Meta Knight and Kirby's Relationship

Posting some of the chapters from my one shot collection here as well. In this installment, how Meta Knight and Kirby met! It... could've gone better, but it also could've gone a lot worse.

Characters: Kirby and Meta Knight (primarily), the Meta-Knights and King Dedede (appear but not prominent), Nightmare (only alluded to)

TW for this chapter: Implied/Referenced abuse, attempted murder of an infant (No one gets hurt tho!)

Word Count: 3,200

Enjoy!

When the Incarnation first appeared on Popstar, Meta Knight knew immediately. The surge of energy made his wings tremble, even when concealed. It was a little unnerving, both to his crew and Dedede. He was always quiet, but still engaged in their conversations as Dedede proudly showed off his new apprentice.

It was such a normal day, if not one plagued by stormy weather. One moment, he was laughing at Lance Knight’s impression of the King, the next he was stiff as a board, hauntingly silent, his nicked ear twitching nervously. He moved almost mechanically around the castle and courtyard, ignoring his companion’s call for explanation.

The Chest had remained sealed and closed. The Star Rod stood firmly in its hilt atop the Dream Fountain. Nothing in the castle was out of place. So, at the very least, he wouldn’t have to deal with Dark Nebula or… the other one for the time being.

So, it was a different Incarnation then. Had Dark Matter finally tracked down its missing Scout and ally? Had Morpho Knight decided it was time for his Judgment? Or was this an all new hell Void had retched up?

He took off wordlessly, making note to apologize to the King and his crew later, after this was dealt with.

When the Incarnation was found, naked and resting on a rock outside of the city, Meta Knight was instantly suspicious. It didn’t matter that it looked eerily like him. Or that it looked like a pudgy infant of all things. Or that it was light years away from Void with no obvious method of getting here.

It didn’t matter, because an Incarnation is never to be trusted.

Good Incarnations could technically exist, that was true. Meta Knight at least liked to think of himself as a decent example. But that wasn’t something he was willing to gamble Popstar over.

Not when every other Incarnation he’s heard about or encountered has been destructive at best. Galactic, if not Universal, threats at worst.

He’d seen firsthand the decay Dark Matter brought with its presence. He felt firsthand the cruelty and sadism Nightmare revealed in. And he had heard of the unstoppable force of destruction Galacta Knight once shattered planets with.

Indeed, Incarnations were more often than not bad news, and it was for the best of everyone he got rid of this one while it was still weak and freshly formed.

Why would an Incarnation of Void take this form, that of an infant, he didn’t understand. Why it formed so far away from Void itself, he also didn’t understand. He knew it formed here, the energy was much too bright and strong to be any older than a few moments.

He had thought he and Dedede kept the people happy enough. Aside from himself, the only energy of Void around strong enough to react to emotions was securely locked away. Popstar was much too far away from Void itself for the deity to have anything to do with this directly. He was so sure that everything and everyone was safe.

So where did he go wrong?

And why an infant?

He examined it as closely as he dared. Why did so many Incarnations take this form? The shape of the ears, the distinctly colored cheeks, the shape of the eyes… Indeed, it just looked like a much younger, much pinker version of him. From the depictions he’s seen of Galacta and Morpho knight, this seems to be a popular shape, with some room for variations. Granted, those variations took the form of horns or different wing shapes, and not age, but… An infant wasn’t the… strangest for an Incarnation could’ve taken, he supposed.

The eldritch awe and elasticity of Dark Matter and Nightmare taught him the hard way that Incanations could look much… much worse.

Strange form or not, however, Incarnations were meant to be embodiments. Forces of sentient nature. Unstoppable forces in their respective domains. Despair, Destruction, Conquest, Triumph, things that were inevitable wherever there was sentient life.

And yet, here was an Incarnation, not able to even walk, much less talk, save for the little babbling sounds of “Poyo” it occasionally sputtered. Was it because they were too far away from Void? Or was this some kind of act, a shell hiding something else?

Morpho Knight traveled in the form of an equally harmless butterfly, if his research was to be believed. Dark Matter could possess and hide as anything or anyone. Nightmare was charming and charismatic before Meta Knight learned his true nature.

Now that he was thinking about it, he and Galacta were the only Incarnations he knew of that were honest in their appearance. So, a trick it must be, then.

He wondered if The Master Sword would be enough to take care of this one, or if he’d have to trap it in yet another Ancient artifact. Maybe he could finally put the Love Love Stick to good use.

Meta Knight carried the chi- Incarnation away, away from where it could do any damage in whatever battle it would start the second it dropped the cute act. It laughed as he carried it into the air, reaching for the ground far below them.

Why was it continuing the act? This wasn’t really what an Incarnation of Void looked like, was it? This… this “child” had baby fat clinging to pudgy cheeks, uncoordinated fingers, not even the smallest hint of wings. Anyone not familiar with Incarnations would’ve been taken in by the cute face and fluffy pink hair.

But Meta Knight knew better. He could feel the power akin to a god with every pulse. He would not be fooled by another Incarnation, not when he could still hear Nightmare’s sickly sweet words ringing in his ears. Not when his wings still ached at night, and his laugh plagued his dreams.

He landed in the woods, far enough away to not disturb poor old Wispy. No one knew an Incarnation had appeared yet, and no one needed to know. He didn’t need to bother Dedede with this, he would explain the rude behavior and disappearance after it was disposed of.

He set the Incarnation down, on a stump, taking a few steps back. The little creature still insisted on babbling at him, reaching for him. Did it not realize its own defeat yet and still think it could pull its trick if it acted cute enough? “You don’t need to pretend anymore. Reveal your true self, and face your fate with dignity.”

Meta Knight was many things, but dishonorable wasn’t one of them. He would give the Incarnation at least one chance to stand and fight back. Even evil deserved to die with dignity. Not… whatever this facade was.

But the Incarnation didn’t move. It didn’t change or speak or even sit up. It just stared at Meta Knight with bright blue eyes and kept giggling.

“Are you mocking me, Incarnation? I am giving you a chance at some self respect. Rise and fight.”

“Poyo?”

Meta Knight groaned. Okay, he supposed it didn’t want or care about dignity. Or, maybe it needed a catalyst to transform. He wasn’t going to be the one to find out. If it insisted on him striking it down in this form, so be it.

He took a few practice swings of the Master Sword, not taking his eyes off of the little pink creature. “Last chance, Incarnation. Show your true self, and face me.”

“Poyo!” It clapped its little hands together.

“Suit yourself.”

Distantly, Meta Knight felt rain drip onto his mask. The Incarnation had finally taken its eyes off of him, opting to look up at the sky, giggling brightly when a fat droplet fell square onto its nose.

He raised the blade up over his head. The rain tapped his mask, ringing in his ears. He could feel the power radiating off of the creature before him, a strange warmth pressing into his chest as it laughed. The water gleamed off The Master Sword, still standing mighty above him.

He waited a second. And then another. And then five more. More warmth seeped into his bones, compelling him to relax.

He let out a frustrated groan, lowering the blade. He stomped over to the Incarnation, leering down at it.

“Why won’t you fight? Why are you just letting this happen? You’re not fooling me, I know this helpless act is just that. Why are you so determined to keep up the charade past its use? What are you an Incarnation of? Cowardice?”

The Incarnation barely seemed to hear him, instead trying to catch the falling rain drops in its fat, useless hands.

“Answer me!”

As he yelled, a flash of lightning jumped between clouds, rattling the sky with thunder.

It was that moment that the Incarnation did anything but smile and laugh. Its face froze, its babbling abruptly halting.

For a second, Meta Knight thought this might be it, that the true form would reveal itself.

Instead, he was met with the most heartbreaking sobs he’s ever heard in his life.

The Incarnation, the infant, burst into tears, covering its face with its tiny hands. Forgotten, it seemed, was the wonder of the rain drops. The warmth Meta Knight felt was sucked out of his bones, replaced by a trembling, awful cold, as the Incarnation’s power retreated as far back as it could into its vessel.

Meta moved faster than he remembered being able to, scooping the sobbing infant up in one wing, shielding the both of them with the other.

“D-Don’t cry, I’m sorry I yelled, it’s okay, I’m sorry…”

A distant part of him wondered if this was its plan all along, in an effort to gain his sympathy. But the part of him that ached with Triumph, the part of him that was a positive Incarnation screamed at him to cradle it… cradle them.

The infant hiccuped as they nuzzled close to Meta’s chest. How that could be comfortable, with his hard, cold breastplate in the way, was questionable at best, but he didn’t exactly have the time or space to doff his armor right then.

Another bolt of lightning sent the infant into another stream of tears.

“I-It’s okay, you’re okay… it’s just thunder, nothing that can hurt you… Please stop crying…”

Meta sighed, looking around the two of them. There was nothing around that could really keep a child warm, except maybe his cape. But that cape is heavy and itchy for anyone not used to it. Not to mention he’d lose his wings if he took it off.

“Okay, okay, okay… Okay, I-I’ll take you back to the palace. It’ll be warmer and dryer there, and the King can decide what to do with you. Please, stop crying now, please…”

He wiped away some of the tears with his thumb. He adjusted to let the child rest in his arms, letting his wings carry the both of them.

At least they finally stopped crying… Although, they weren’t smiling again yet. Why that distressed Meta so much he wasn’t entirely sure. He was prepared to kill this thing just a few minutes ago… Why did seeing them cry trigger such a response in him?

He suspected it had something to do with the warmth. An extension of the Incarnation’s power he guessed. What a strange thing, how soothing it felt seeping into his chest, and how wretched it felt being sucked out of him.

Regardless, he hoped he wasn’t making a massive mistake.

*************

Meta decided he had made a massive mistake.

King Dedede didn’t really know what to make of the Incarnation. “A lot nicer than the ones we’ve been getting, that’s for sure,” he said. The child playfully batted at the King’s gloved hands and giggled, now wrapped in a soft towel. “Cuter too.”

“Yes, I suppose that’s true… But, sire, we don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to entities like this.”

“I dunno, Meta. They remind me of you, when you first showed up here.”

“Sire, I was not this… pathetic.”

“You were, just in your own weird way. You acted like if anyone touched you, you’d go rabid. It was just… well, as you put it, pathetic to watch.”

Meta huffed at the memory. That was so long ago… before he had his mask, or the Master Sword, or his crew or ship or anything. When he felt his own smallness in this strange Universe they lived in.

That small feeling felt so far away now.

It was decided that Meta would watch them. Observe was the word that was used. Observe how this Incarnation behaves and strike it down if it turns out their true colors were ugly ones.

It didn’t particularly matter how firmly and loudly Meta protested. It didn’t matter that he brought up excellent points in that he had no idea how to care for an infant, the Halberd was possibly the least safe place for said infant, and that his crew could be vulnerable if the child turned out to be evil incarnate.

No, all that was overshadowed when Dedede presented two facts: Meta Knight was the closest thing on the planet that could potentially understand the growth and changes the infant would go through, and Meta had not let go of the child since he brought them to the castle.

He got particularly huffy when the King decided to be childish and added “Finders keepers” to the end of his argument.

Meta had no crib. Or food appropriate for an infant. Or clothes or a blanket or anything that one would need to be at all qualified for this. He had no idea how or where he would get these things on such short notice.

He fretted over it every moment he was waiting for the Halberd to dock. He was woefully ill equipped for this. What would his crew think? He’s putting their lives at risk bringing something this potentially dangerous on board. He wouldn’t blame them for abandoning ship, this wasn’t anything they signed up for.

He was lucky his crew were the loyal, if snarky, bastards they were.

He barely got a few words of an explanation to them before they all scrambled into action mode. For a second, Meta dreaded that this would be it, and they were abandoning ship. But instead, he suddenly found himself getting handed items and ushered into the ship’s lounge/

Captain Vul had quickly found some spare supplies to put together a warm meal for the little thing. Javelin Knight had found the softest blankets one could reasonably find on a battleship. Mace Knight was already at work stitching something together with spare cloth they could find. Trident Knight had informed, not requested, that he was going into town the next day and spending his salary on toys and supplies. And Axe Knight was set to empty out an old storeroom close to Meta’s quarters as a potential nursery.

They all moved so fast, as methodical and orderly as Meta had trained them. He would be proud, if he had any more energy left in him.

He wrapped the little thing up in the blankets, trying his best to make sure they ate, and pointedly ignoring the hushed whispers of the crew around him as they climbed over each other to take a look.

“What a stomach that thing has,” Vul observed.

“Almost opposite of you, Meta sir,” Sailor Dee added.

“Can we name it Fluffy?” Axe Knight pleaded.

“What? Don’t be ridiculous. Its name is obviously Pinky,” Mace Knight countered.

“You two are both idiots,” Trident Knight sighed. Lance Knight hummed in agreement.

Meta sighed at all of them, finally acknowledging their presence crowding around his back and shoulders. His wings made quick work of them.

“All of you are dismissed for the evening. I thank you for your help in this… sudden change in routine.”

“Of course, anything for you sir!” They all saluted him. Meta hoped they could feel the proud smile he gave them through the mask.

“While I agree with Trident and Lance that these two are idiots,” Vul patted Axe’s and Mace’s helmets, over the indignant protest of the two knights in question, “They do bring up a good point. We can just keep calling it The Incarnation, can we?”

“No, I suppose we can't,” Meta hummed. He really hoped this one would turn out okay… he really didn’t look forward to fighting something he named.

“I think I’ll call you… Meta.”

Meta Knight shivered at the familiar voice, shaking his head.

“I’ll have to ponder that… can’t rush in and name him something silly now, can we?”

“Quite right, sir,” Sailor Dee nodded.

“Now, I’m very tired, and you all are annoying. I’m going to retire to my quarters, and I’ll be keeping this one with me, at least for tonight. Enjoy the rest of your evening, gentlemen.”

As Meta stood to make his exit, Vul decidedly blocked his path. “Hold it. Don’t think I didn’t notice you neglected to eat today. I will be sending Lance to your quarters with dinner. I expect to find it eaten by tomorrow morning. Understood?”

Meta rolled his eyes at Vul, glaring non seriously.

“Since when do you give me orders, Captain?”

“Since I found you passed out at the helm with no food or water in your stomach for gods knows how long.”

Meta sighed, but nodded in affirmation. “I appreciate your concern and care, Captain. But, I will be retiring now. Goodnight everyone.”

The child had fast fallen asleep in his arms by the time he made his way to his private quarters. He had to admit, they were cute. Soft pink skin, bright cheeks, and a fluffy mess of dusty rosewood hair. He set them down on his bed as softly as possible to doff his armor. It felt good to stretch his wings without forcing them to carry heavy metal. He set the Master Sword in its proper place on the wall, slipping into something far more casual than most of Popstar would ever see.

He cradled the child in his wing, examining their soft features. There was a wretched anxiety clinging to his being as he watched their little chest rise and fall.

“...Void… if you’re listening… please let this one be good… Don’t make me have to put this one down…”

If this Incarnation was well and truly an infant… At least that meant their mind was open. Malleable. If Meta had any say in the matter, he’d try his best to instill in the child the values they’d need to be a hero.

Loyalty. Determination. Passion. All would be needed, if not to be a hero, then at least the best person they can be.

And as he thought, thinking of the potential triumph of good the child could bring, Meta recalled a name. A name he’d encountered on his travels around the cosmos before arriving on Popstar. A hero of old, long since gone from this world, but one of great renown nonetheless. Saved an entire planet from some unknown threat. The child needed a name. What better one than one of a hero?

“Kirby… I name you Kirby.”

#kirby #meta knight #kirby gijinka #incarnations au #fanfic #metadad

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