10 Chapter 10

A brief moment of silence passed as we stared at the portal. Cold fingertips scraped the rusted key in my hand before slipping it into my mailbag. The humanoid fox in the spacesuit piped up first, his gaze darting towards the machine to the right of the portal. "This is… not what I expected." Brows furrowed in confusion, I clocked my line of vision towards his narrowed eyes. "What did you expect?" He cast me a half-hearted shrug over his shoulder, nodding at the machine. "Not a complex timeline graph like this, that's for sure." I let out a hum of acknowledgement, stepping away from the portal and towards the machine. Star Fox began to mutter under his breath as he examined the machine from different angles. "Just who was experimenting with this sort of thing…?" My eyes lowered slightly, until another voice spoke. "Why don't you ask the owner of this place?" Shoulders stiffening, I turned around- sight catching hold of a familiar glint of silver eyes. Stars, not him again. The humanoid space fox growled from behind me. "Just who are you, and how did you get in here without a key?" The violet cloaked male chuckled, a brush of dark humour laced through his voice. "I've already introduced myself as the owner of this laboratory, have I not?" The mad scientist wasn't fazed at being surrounded by his twisted experiments- nor seeing others here. I spoke with a slight edge bordering my tone. "We just came here to see which timeline belongs to my universe so I can leave. Nothing else." Silver eyes twitched as he reached into his pocket, hood falling as he grinned sharply. My breath hitched, stepping back as a shot went off from behind me. The dark haired male grit his teeth at the bullet now lodged in his shoulder, casting a glare at the one behind me. With a scoff, he left the room after pulling out the bullet in his shoulder and crushing it. I blinked as Star Fox piped up. "I have a bad feeling about him." Nodding in agreement, my head turned back to the machine while he pocketed his gun. Almost forgot he mentioned something earlier about carrying those. With a shake of his head, the humanoid space fox locked his gaze onto my own. "I'm sorry to say this, but I honestly don't have a single clue on how to figure out what timeline belongs to your universe. I wouldn't mind staying to see if it's possible to work something out, but not with this lab's owner still around." I flicked my sight to the machine, gaze settling on the timers below the listed wavelengths. "That's understandable. You can leave now if you wish, I'll just go back to testing out different timelines. The owner of the lab shouldn't bother you if nothing in here is messed with." He sent me a brief nod, wishing me luck before taking his leave. The flashing of the next timer taunted me as the portal swirled. I took a leap of faith while holding my breath. Darkness enveloped my vision, the weight of gravity releasing me into another universe. I still wonder how my father is still alive. I heard him let out a scream of anguish right before I found that starship to escape. I saw him trapped underneath that collapsed pillar as his breathing fell still. How could he have survived? My body fell a short distance from the sky into a watermelon patch. Why would my alternate self be in the middle of a farm? Shaking my head to clear any thoughts, I stood up and dashed to the woods before anyone would notice me. A voice spoke from behind a tree as I halted in my tracks. "Hey, Kirby- I haven't seen you in a while! What's new?" I turned to meet windswept blue hair and a hearty grin, my lips curling into a smile. "Oh, just traveling to universes with different timelines. What about you, Gooey?" His black-coffee colored eyes looked lighter in the sunlight as he chuckled. "You're always on an adventure. Why don't we go get some lunch? You can tell me about these universes and I can tell you about my college classes." I nodded, relieved to be back in my own universe.

Gooey let out a hum of acknowledgement as he took a sip of his water. I did the same before noting one last thing. "Oh yeah, I was also thinking about flying back to that lab to see if my father's there." The blue haired male let out a cough, nearly choking on his drink as he cleared his throat. He stared at me with wide eyes. "You're going to do what?" I blinked at him, tilting my head before inquiring. "Would you care to join?" He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This is going to be a disaster just waiting to happen." I drummed my fingers on the table as the waitress came out with a check. "So is that a yes?" He raised a brow at me in return.

The rusted metal hinges of the door stood silently still among the stained walls of the old lab. Fingertips intertwined with my own as Gooey breathed out. "Since when did you become the one with all the crazy ideas…?" My grip tightened on the Star Rod being held in my other hand. "At least I've come prepared, this time." The absence of any wind prolonged the silence among us, the ashes below our feet becoming unbound. The lab's door swung open halfway, revealing a dark cloaked figure. I let my wings unfurl themselves, the black feathers appearing soft despite their defensive position. Letting out a huff, I took to the skies as my childhood friend sent a wave of blue fire. My father pulled out a couple of guns from his pockets, quick to dodge and shoot. Tinted blue eyes narrowed at him while Gooey barely evaded the bullets. That madman is still standing in the lab's doorway, so I can't attack from behind. Brows furrowed, I flew into the clouds to try and get some covering. I took my aim, clutching the Star Rod in a firm grasp as it casted small stars in his direction. He dodged them with ease. Wonder if there's a way to power up the  Star Rod to make the stars bigger. A shot went off from below, causing me to fly down again- a bullet grazing my shoulder in the process. Teeth clenched, I sent another wave of stars at him while Gooey casted a streak of dark lightning. Our efforts of attack were fruitless as he kept a firm grip on his gun and aimed it. I tucked the Star Rod into my mailbag and pulled out my sword. My friend slowed down the bullets with a wave of water, dark eyes narrowed in spite. I dashed to the side, blade in hand as Gooey kept my father distracted. He fired off a shot without looking, causing me to be able to dodge the bullet easily. Stepping behind him, I rested my sword on his shoulder, tilting it so the blade would rest against his neck. My voice was steady as I spoke. "What is the purpose of your portal experiment?" I felt a cool object apply a light pressure to the side of my head. If my friend's troubled expression was anything to go by, it was most likely a gun. My father began to speak, tongue curling around his words like a vile-ridden snake. "I was curious as to when you would question that project of mine. So it seems like this is how it ends." In front of us, Gooey's eyes widened for a moment before clenching his teeth. His finger's on the trigger now, isn't it? I held my breath as the blue-haired male struck a bolt of dark lightning at my father's gun. After doing so, I heard my childhood friend shout for the first time in my life. "Try to kill your own blood again and I'll send the next bolt to your face!" There wasn't even a flicker of hesitation in his eyes when he shouted the threat. Just pure truth and determination. I mouthed to Gooey as everything became silent. 'Get to the starship.' His sight went to the gun on the ground, lips pressed into a thin line before he started running. It wasn't until after his figure faded from view that my father spoke once more. "I created a portal to travel to other universes so I could obtain more specimens of dark matter. The different timelines that they held were just a bonus." His next words turned my blood cold, hollow blue eyes widening. "Use your blade now, or I will continue to gather dark matter until they all combine together to become-" The sound of a bomb exploding from inside the lab cut him off. My father went still before pushing me away and running into the shadowed chambers. The metal door closed behind him. My line of vision went towards Gooey calling out from the starship as he drew near. I nodded at the lab to answer his silent question to where my father went. Right before I could debate on whether to jump in the cockpit, a scream echoed from inside the lab. A single thud was heard as dead silence rang through the air. I fought back the shudder that tried to overcome my body, hauling myself into the starship next to Gooey. The ride back home was quiet as we flew towards a blurry yellow planet- the shape slowly taking the form of a large star. The clouded layers of the atmosphere were shrouded in a golden light as the sun sank down from its highest peak and below the horizon. Until eventually dawn overcame the dusk that befell the skies.

(Thank you to everyone who read this story from beginning to end!)