#starofvirtue

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This did not look good.

This didn’t look good at all.

What was this large man doing in a tree?

Midnight watched from the bushes, her blue ocean orbs gazing up in...confusion? Worry? Maybe...Maybe both? She didn’t know. All that she should gather is that he was human, in a tree, and probably needs help. 

The Satyrian emerges from the bushes, her brown hair obscuring her face slightly as she looks up to the branch the man was...perched on? Yeah, perched. Clawed hands clam together for a moment before she calls out. It had been a minute since she spoke English, her native tongue making the words thick.

- Kirby met Shuu in the desert wasteland at some point, and Shuu decided to adopt him.

- Kirby met Ezekiel, another one of Shuu's adopted children, through a very vivid dream. The latter was repeatedly killed and revived and then sent into recovery after being rescued, so he was stuck in hospital care at the time.

- Kirby mysteriously woke up in Doom Hell, then met a Primeval named Kahann. They fought demons together while trying to find a way back home (and also pulled a prank on a Baroness of Hell, which Kirby regretted afterward).

- Meanwhile, Meta Knight received two birthday gifts: a special Crucible Sword from the Doom Slayer, and an Argent Energy crystal from Davoth (aka the one who tormented Ezekiel). The borb worked on a plan with his crew to safety dispose of the crystal, not knowing what else to do with it, but gradually got consumed by the energy until he became a blue ball of rage.

- Kirby and Kahann managed to return to Dream Land just in time for Meta Knight to shift into deepfried mode and start fucking shit up. Both of them fought hard with support from the crew, but the Slayer had to be summoned to knock the borb out. The crystal was then destroyed.

- Kirby met Ezekiel for realsies when the borb was brought to the same recovery room to keep him out of harm's way (bonding between the reverend and borb is bound to ensue as soon as the latter wakes up).

- Meta Knight and the Slayer had their own dream encounter, where both of them vented about their traumas as soldiers and reconciled for the harm they did to each other. The borb also took his mask off for once.

- Bandanna Dee was sent to warn Dedede of Davoth, but then an ambush happened at the Popopo Islands vacation castle, resulting in the king getting kidnapped and Bandanna getting knocked out. The crew decided to fire up the Halberd and start searching for another way into Hell.

- Bandanna Dee and other victims of the ambush were retrieved by VEGA. They were then allowed to go join the search for Dedede after VEGA inadvertantly insulted Bandanna.

- Dedede got chained up and had an exchange of words with Davoth before being electrocuted into submission (you can probably see where this is going).

~~~~~

Ezekiel had been given some forewarning as to Shu’s current state, though it all sounded a little unbelievable. To be frank, it sounded like his beloved father had lost his mind a little - the thought of which broke his heart. Yet it didn’t stunt the uprising of joy he ultimately felt. Shu was alive. He was breathing. He was still present, even if not in the way that Ezekiel was used to. It didn’t matter, they could work on that. Shu was here and that was what mattered.

The thought of Shu loosing his mind hurt him because...well, Ezekiel knew how that felt. It had happened to him. After his own Parish had stood by and watched him be subjected to public humiliation, he too had lost touch a bit. All that pent up conflict, the childhood memories, the merciless crushing of dreams, all amounting to that indescribable feeling of betrayal had...well, sent him a little crazy, for want of a better phrase. He had suffered a breakdown of his own; he knew what it felt like, how frightening it was, how losing grip on reality could make you feel so isolated and alone. 

It wasn’t going to be like that for Shu, not now that Ezekiel was with him. He’d have someone to take good care of him, someone who loved him unconditionally, someone who’d never give up.

Tears stung his eyes a little when he finally came to the end of the garden where Shu was said to be waiting. He didn’t look like himself; crouched on the ground and hunched over, a far cry from the upright, dignified father he remembered. It didn’t matter, though. It was still Shu. He’d know that face anywhere, that kind, gentle expression. It was Shu - it was his papa!

Good God, it took all his strength not to fling his arms around him, to hold him close and sob loudly about how much he was missed, how empty the world had been without him! Instead, though, for fear of scaring him, he clasped his hands together, white knuckled and practically trembling as he held himself back. He swallowed hard and then, in that soft, tender voice of his...

“Oh so we’re complimenting that blind guy? Aight I’ll take a swing at it.”

“.....”