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estrellami-1 · 1 year ago

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If I Should Stay

Part 1 | . . . | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16

Steve gets home and enters into chaos.

The older teens are nowhere to be found—Steve hopes they’re still in the shed—but the boys are arguing, pointing first at sheets on the table, then each other.

“No, you dumbass-”

“Oh, I’m the dumbass? I’m the one who forgot oxygen?”

Steve sighs. “Always the damn babysitter,” he mumbles to himself, fighting a smile. “Alright, cut it out!” He says, loud enough to be heard over the arguing. Immediately, everyone turns to him. He crosses his arms and nods at them. “What’s going on?”

Immediately they’re all talking over each other, doing their best to give Steve a headache. He sighs and raises a hand, and slowly they all peter off. “One at a time. Lucas?”

Lucas sighs. “We’re still trying to figure out the best way to weaponize fire down there.”

“And you’re disagreeing on something?”

“Yeah, we all think it would be best to do it different ways.”

Steve nods. “Write down a list of all the pros and cons you can think of. Pass the lists around in case you’ve forgotten something. When they’ve all been passed around, compare them together. But please, if it’s at all possible for you, do it quietly. If for no other reason than El’s still resting.”

“Oh,” Mike says quietly, and they all get to work, scribbling out their lists.

Steve sighs and scans the rest of the room, smiling when he sees Eddie leaning on the doorway. “Hey. Wanna help me bring stuff in?”

“Sure,” Eddie shrugs, and follows him out. It’s silent for a few moments before he speaks. “Y’know, a part of me was hesitant to believe everything until just about three minutes ago.”

Steve chuckles. “It does sound crazy,” he agrees. “What changed your mind?”

“You,” Eddie says simply, like it doesn’t send Steve’s heart jackrabbiting in his chest. “The way you are with the kids.”

Steve chuckles. “Y’know that’s the very reason we started to get along, before?” He glances at Eddie as he shuts the trunk. “We saw how we were with them. We were both a little jealous of each other, mainly cause of Dustin. I swear, he was always going on about Eddie this, Eddie that, greatest Dungeon Master ever but don’t tell Will, and… I started to feel like I was being replaced.” He smirks. “Course, then you told me how he practically worshiped me, and I realized Dustin’s just being a shithead.”

Eddie snorts. “From what I’ve seen of them, that does seem pretty accurate.”

“I know this probably doesn’t mean much to you, but I’m glad you’re here.” He smiles at Eddie and walks inside, giving Eddie a second alone outside.

He almost runs into Robin as he turns the corner, steadying himself, the bag, and her. She looks up at his face, wide-eyed, then slowly morphs the look into a judgy one.

“What?”

“Quit breaking his brain, Dingus, let him actually like you as a person first.”

“How the hell could you tell that from my face?”

She gives him another supremely judgy look. “Have you forgotten I’ve known you for years? Steve,” she sighs, taking the bag from him. He lets her. “Don’t forget this is four years ago for them. At this point, does he even know who Chrissy is?”

“Okay,” Steve admits, “you may have a point. But we had a breakthrough just now! We were talking and he said he believes me because of how I am with the boys!”

Robin sighs again. “And did you respond with something that happens in the future?”

Steve splutters. “How do you do that?”

“I’ve known you for years, Stevie-boy, don’t forget.” She ruffles his hair as she passes. “Leave the future out of it,” she advises. “Live in the now.”

“Kinda hard to do, considering we’re here to change the future,” he says, just to be contrary. She gives him a look like she knows what he’s doing.

“Talk to him like you’re getting to know him for the first time, Steve. Because that’s where he is. Everything about the Upside Down, and even the kids… that’s all secondary. You got along because your personalities match. Give them a chance to.” She smirks at him. “And maybe show off a little bit of that Harrington charm I know is in there somewhere.”

He shakes his head, grinning. “You’ll see one day, Robs, I’ve got game.”

She grins, ruffling his hair one last time before dancing out of reach as he squawks at her. “I’ll believe it when I see it, Dingus.” She leaves, bringing the bag into the other room, and he sighs and follows her, wondering—not for the first time—how he ended up with her as a best friend.

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imelht · 1 year ago

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Metadede Week. Day Two. First Meeting.

——————————————————————————

“… … …”

Silence. Save for the wind which blew. Save for the king’s thoughts, which weighed heavy on his mind.

“… … …”

It was an abnormally cloudy day in Dreamland. Shadows fell over and about buildings in unconventional fashions. No one seemed to be outside at the moment, despite it still being early in the day… no one at all, but one.

The penguin king stepped outside, on a rather generously sized balcony which stemmed from the side of his castle. He peered over the mountains which so surrounded the mighty establishment, alone with only his thoughts to nag him. The golden circlet which held his crown together lacked its usual shine, much to the doings of the thick, dark-colored clouds above.

He stood silently. Not a word to himself, not an utterance to the scene about him.

Nothing.

This was King Dedede, the courageous, the fierce-some. The mighty penguin king of Dreamland.

He stood tall, tugging at the band that bound his stomach lightly. Feathers a rich azure blue in hue, his eyes were of a corresponding color, while his feet and beak a dandelion yellow in contrast. By looks alone the man was of a royal caliber. (Or perhaps that was only due to his routine.) Though, in contrast to his royal, tip-top nature, one might come to recognize the undeniably prominent southern tint to his voice, and his rather… gluttonous and boisterous aptitude, though, despite this, he was still very much a king at heart. Coincidentally, the king came to be dressed in a sumptuous red robe with a lofty, cloud-like accentry, his very insignia he sported on both the back of his robe, and on his mallet, which he’d always on hand.

Over the years, he would come to be a kind, and empathetic king, and he would grow to love each and every single one of his loyal subjects, those being the Waddle Dees. He’d countless of the orange, horizontally asymmetrical, mouth-less creatures. Each one he’d grown to love, and for any one of them, he’d sacrifice his very well being…

Though at this moment, that was not of principle concern. The clouds were dull in color, sharply contradicting the multitudinous, and spirited colors of Dreamland. The King knew something was up, and it was not just those clouds in the sky…

He knew what he had to do, and he had to do it now, or never.

… … …

Late into the night, the King had snuck out with deft footsteps, and managed out of the grandiose castle. The city of Dreamland was now at utter rest, the lights of homes put out, not a soul in sight. All were asleep, all but one… that one being King Dedede, and he’d taken a visit to the legendary Fountain of Dreams.

The fountain ran with its usual waters, however, the fountain’s activity seemed off to the King. King Dedede had taken many a trip to the fountain, especially when his mind plagued him. He was no new face to possession, namely by the forces of Dark Matter. The King sat on the lip of the fountain, his sights on the Star Rod as it sat upright in the center of the monument.

He averted his sights and peered into the waters as he normally did, allowing his thoughts to rush his mind like a flood, though this time the waters, opposite of stagnant, rippled. They betrayed a scary sight, a wizard with sharp spectacles and a whirling body. He’d sharp fingers, and a sinister demeanor. The wizard smiled with his teeth, each sharp but perfectly locked together, and he pulled his cape about his body to conceal it. Dedede, who would rather have not set his sights on the wizard, attempted to pull away, but instead, was seized in the wizard’s powerful mental hold, and physically brought forcibly to the water’s surface.

When his hands did not feel the usually shallow bottom of the fountain… he freaked out.

He felt his heart as if a lump in his throat, and in his stunned state he couldn’t bring himself to speak. He flailed his arms, seeking out of the water as he was near pulled in entirely. The wizard himself did not verbalize anything, rather, he stared… he stared deep into what was the King’s soul, and the King could almost feel himself again being pulled into the rippling waters of the now dark fountain.

He shouted, or… he thought he did. He felt himself begin to sweat, or was that just the water that had splashed into his face during the ordeal…? His breathing hastened as he corrected his pose, managing his arms out of the water after he’d been pulled physically towards it. He struggled against the mental snare of the Wizard with shallow breaths, as the taunting grin of the wizard seemed to remind him of how weak he was... The wizard beckoned Dedede to him, and the King could feel himself losing again what control he’d over himself.

He loathed losing his mind to some outside entity… to Dark Matter. He hated the torment it brought. To lose the will but not the conscious… it was utterly petrifying for the King. He strived to fight against it, but the external forces always managed to trump his will…

He wanted to cry out again in the midst of it all, but he remained determined. He grit his teeth, though he felt his mind once again facing a slip. He tensed up with the rest of his remaining strength, until he was pulled away from the fountain by a pair of hands at his sides, his pupils were wild, his feathers, bristled, his crown lopsided from his earlier tumble. He turned promptly, wide-eyed to the one who’d managed him away from the wizard’s unrelenting hold on him…

His eyes widened a tad further when he laid his sights on the one who had practically saved him. He was met with a short, masked, orb-shaped puffball. His skin was dark in coloration. He’d amber eyes and a steel mask, which covered the entirety of his face, save for a visor which permitted his eyes to see through it. He had pauldrons and sported a flowing red cape which he held across his body in one hand.

He looked like a little knight. The King tilted his head, now calming down from the previous events that had transpired.

“W-Who… are you?” The King stammered, his voice shaking a slight bit, but his nerves soon faded.

The mysterious man spoke up, in a much deeper tone Dedede would’ve thought.

“My name…? Well, if I may, I insist on keeping it in the down low.“ He responded, hesitantly.

“Do you… have a name?”

The swordsman was silent.

“I’ll take that as a no, for now.” *He paused, eyeing the swordsman before him. “It’s no matter. I’m sure ya know who I am at least.” He assumed, the arrogance laced in his tone and radiating from his newly stricken pose.

After a moment of silence he was met with a quiet, “I am unaware…” from the bystander.

The King’s jaw nearly dropped at this. He turned back to him, a more honest face, this time.

“You seriously don’t know…?”

“Why would I?” The swordsman replied, not without a genuine lack of knowledge.

“Well… I jus’ assumed you would… is all…” The King mumbled, though he perked himself back up. “I’m the King of these lands, Dedede is my name.”

“A pleasure to meet you… King Dedede.” The swordsman accompanied this acknowledgment with a bow, his red cape catching in the breeze.

“It’s nice tah meet you as well, mister swordsman.”

“You may just refer to me as sir, for now.”

The King laughed lightly. “Right right.” Then he’d a thought. “Ah! You uh… you saved me back there…”

“I did, in fact.” The swordsman affirmed.

“Well… what brought you ‘ere?” Dedede questioned, tilting his head.

“I heard your scream.” The swordsman stated, as a matter-of-factly.

“Well, yeah… but…” He tried to think of something else to ask the mysterious swordsman for the sake of learning more about him, even if it wasn’t much, but found nothing, so he offered his thanks instead.

“Well, I thank ya… truly…” He replied, cutting of his prior train of thought.

“Don’t mention it.” Was all the small swordsman said in reply before simply walking away.

That was, until Dedede called him, with a slightly begging tone.

“Wait!” Dedede implored, as he honestly didn’t want to see the mysterious man go. He’d found himself oddly captivated by him. He was much different from the rest of Dreamland’s usually bubbly citizens. Something struck him as… different. Many a thing, actually.

The pleading tone of Dedede’s voice struck something within the swordsman. He halted, turning around to face Dedede.

“What is it?” He replied, his deep vocals monotonous.

“Maybe we could… talk some more?” Dedede took a slightly shaky breath. “Ya know… it wouldn’t hurt to have someone to speak with.” He pointed out, feeling a bit of his honor nag him at the admission, though he saw no harm in the idea. After all, he’d just been shaken by what he’d seen in the fountain, and… this man before him struck him as a rather serious fellow, so he’d wager his chances with him.

A moment of silence passed before the man replied, only saying one word.

“Sure.”

“Great!” Dedede’s face lit up a bit with the affirmative answer. He scooted over on the lip of the fountain (as if by habit) and offered the man to sit down with him.

The swordsman clutched his red cape after only a moment of hesitation, and approached the lip of the fountain. Climbing (not without very slight struggle) to sit on it, he sat a fair distance away, but still in reasonable speaking distance. He folded the cape neatly in his lap, and turned towards the much larger man.

“Ready.” He announced. Though Dedede thought there was no need. The man had intriguing habits, but he didn’t implore further regarding them.

“Well…” Dedede started, “Are ya new here, by chance? To Dreamland?”

“No. I have been living around here for a bit of time already. We just have not happened to meet, until now.”

“Oh? So… you just so happened to decide to come here? To the Fountain of Dreams?”

“Well, yes…” The swordsman admitted.

“So… you came ‘ere, not because of me, I know that… so… that means it musta’ been by your own whim, huh?” Dedede rose a brow, though this gesture was not in accusation.

“Well, yes… I actually visit this Fountain on a reoccurring basis.”

“Then… why ‘aven’t I seen ya?”

“It must have simply been chance.” The swordsman stated, his tone still bland of any change whatsoever.

“Hm… I guess so.” Dedede conceded, agreeing with the very slight chance that which the swordsman said was right. It seemed most probable.

“…and you? Why are you here?” The swordsman questioned, his tone alone did not betray his curiosity, rather… the slight tilt of his head did.

Dedede sat back a bit, hands still holding tightly the rim of the fountain.

“I… I came here to act somethin’ out. A plan.”

“Hm?” The swordsman hummed in slight confusion, clearly not getting what very vague “plan” Dedede could have possibly been alluding to.

“Well… you see…” Dedede hesitated.

“I was going to take the Star Rod, and break it.”

“And… why would you do that?” The deep voice rang out again, monotone, yet… subtly questioning.

“Ya see… earlier I noticed somethin’ was up with the clouds in the sky. They were awfully dark. It was highly unconventional of Dreamland’s usual.”

The swordsman stayed quiet, not betraying whether or not he too noticed this phenomenon.

Though in the midst of this silence Dedede pressed on with his plan.

“So I came ‘ere to check up on the Fountain, and… it turns out it’s been corrupted.”

“Corrupted, you say?” This captivates the swordsman, despite his utterly dead tone.

“Yes. Or so I believe… I did see an entity I don’t usually lurkin’ in the waters…” The King drew a deep breath, recalling the figure.

“That was before you saved me.” He added, looking at the swordsman, who was clutching his cape, staring right back at him with his dull yellow eyes from beneath the mask. Dedede could almost… feel his interest in the whole thing. This prompted him to ask what was on his mind.

“So… have ya any sort of knowledge on what’s goin’ on?”

“Maybe I do.” The swordsman paused, before speaking again.

“Tell me about the “figure” you saw in the waters tonight. It seemed to have quite the effect on you, King Dedede.” He spoke as if he was speculating something.

“Well, it was some wizard with… sharp glasses and a starry cloak. He’d a taunting smile and wicked fingers…” He answered, turning to the swordsman.

“Have any idea?”

The swordsman was silent, before speaking.

“That which you saw in the fountain… it was undeniably Nightmare. He is a powerful wizard with dark magic at his disposal, not to mention mind manipulation and corruptive tendencies.”

This was what Dedede was looking for.

“Oh really? So ya know about that guy?”

“Well… yes…” The swordsman fessed, fidgeting with his cape a bit.

Dedede, utterly oblivious to the swordsman’s slight restlessness regarding the topic, dwelt on the matter at hand. “Hm… that’s better than nothin’ I guess! I appreciate the information.” Dedede replied, jumping up slightly, pressing on with his idea.

“So, as I was sayin’, I was going to take the Star Rod and divide it amongst some trusted members so that we might be granted a chance against this… “Nightmare” guy.” He continued, looking back at the swordsman every so often, to keep his interest.

“Mhm.” The swordsman nodded, humming in acknowledgement of his plan.

In analytic thought, he nodded, seeming content with the King’s plan.

“What you have devised proves not unsound.” The swordsman admitted, a hint of respect in the way he worded his admission.

“Why, thank you.” Dedede seemed proud himself, and he stood up, hand on hip, his robe trailing gently behind his massive frame.

“Now… just to getting to the Star Rod…” He took a pensive look at the clouded waters, and bit his beak a bit in slight nervousness.

“Is everything… alright?” The deep voice inquired suddenly. It caught Dedede off guard.

“Oh! Uhm… yes… sorry…”

“No need to apologize.”

“Ah! Right…” Dedede chuckled nervously.

The swordsman watched as Dedede turned to step through the waters, his foot managed to touch the shallow flooring of the fountain… and he found it odd how his hands couldn’t locate it earlier during his struggle. Nonetheless, he managed to the Star Rod, and claimed it off the center of the Fountain, though, as soon as he did the waters gained a more violent tendency, and they rippled, crashing about him, drenching his torso’s feathers and his robe. He yelped at the feeling of his movements increasing in difficultly as the waters tried to keep him, and he trudged through with strain. The King felt as if the water was gripping at his feet, attempting to pull him into the dark abyss that seemed to overtake the fountain. Slipping, his nerves overtook him, but a gloved hand caught his, and yanked him from the waters.

Again, Dedede gathered his nerves on hands and knees, turning his head to see that the swordsman had saved him once again.

“Thanks…”

“No need to mention it.” The swordsman dismissed. “I am simply doing what is fitting of a knight.”

Dedede’s eyes seemed to betray his loss of concentration on outwardly matters… he entered a bout of thought, pondering the knight before him…

“Knight”. He’d not any of those yet… he wondered what it would be like to have a knight in his kingdom. He’d loyal subjects and soldiers sure, but a knight? A real knight? No… not yet, at least… not yet…

“Hello?” The deep voice yet again caught the King off guard, causing him to snap out of his bout of thought.

“Ah. Er… sorry again.”

“No need.” The swordsman dismissed the apology again, with a light tone.

“You are alright though, yes?” He wanted to make sure.

“Yes.” Dedede confirmed. “…Thanks to you.” He added.

The swordsman’s cape caught the wind slightly, and danced in it.

“No need to mention it.” He replied, again, not letting emotion seep into his vocals.

“Yeah yeah…” Dedede droned lightly, smiling. Then he had an idea.

“Hey… uh… you know what…? Maybe…” Dedede paused, holding the now fragmented Star Rod in one hand, then looking up at the swordsman.

“Do you want to be a keeper of a piece?”

“Me?” The swordsman’s tone betrayed very slight… surprise.

“Yes you. Do you want to hold one of the pieces for me?”

The swordsman dwelt on his decision for a second. Instead of further questioning him, he took up the role.

“It would be an honor.” The swordsman clearly meant every word, this task, to him, was now regarded with utmost seriousness.

“Then the piece is yours, swordsman. Keep it safe from Nightmare, and let it never be reconnected with the shards of its kin.”

Dedede paused, ensuring the weight of the moment.

“Do you promise to keep it safe for me?” Dedede asked, his eyes a bit wide with seriousness.

“I promise.” The swordsman said in reply, clutching the glowing shard in his hand.

“Good. Then… farewell to you, swordsman.”

“… … …”

“May we meet again.” King Dedede dismissed, and the two went their separate ways.

END.

#decided to write for this prompt #i put the ‘keep reading’ to shorten the length of the post #this evidently takes place in kirby’s adventure. im not too too familiar with the game. but i hope ive done right by it’s plot #the unnamed ‘swordsman’ here is evidently meta knight #i just played on the fact he’d no name at the time. though in this case he simply refuses to say for the sake of both himself and dedede #dedede has a small ‘panic attack’. just to give a warning. its nothing too much though #methinks i should write more often. i enjoy writing a good piece here and there. i am just too nervous to ever share what ive written #anyways. enjoy #mtddweek2023 #metadede #IMELHT’s fanfictions

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