#i <3 sectonia’s mentally unwell swag

[giantchasm]

Sack’s Random Kirby AUs #1: Perennial Bloom AU

Desperate to bring Sectonia back, Taranza makes a gamble after learning of Morpho Knight’s existence. Taking a bold stand, he travels to the Divine Terminus and summons it in hopes that if he defeats it he can resurrect the person he loves.

And Taranza does prove himself in battle, but Morpho Knight still refuses to grant his wish. It tells him that the cycle of life and death cannot be disturbed and that there’s nothing it can do. He must accept Sectonia’s death.

Taranza won’t, though. In an impulsive, last ditch effort, he makes an proposal that neither he or Morpho knight expected to hear:

“What if I offer up my own life!? You… you said you couldn’t bring her back because that would disturb the cycle of life and death. Could I… take her place? That way, it wouldn’t upset the balance.”

Morpho Knight, intrigued by his offer and impressed by his bravery, ends up presenting an impulsive deal of its own:

“Half of your life. Split your spirit in two and rekindle her soul. Your lifespan will also be cut in twain, but the person you love will return, having stolen much of your future from you.”

Taranza accepts, albeit under one condition:

“Return her as she was,” he pleads.

“I will remove the rot,” it responds. “The corruption will cease, but I can make no promises she’ll still be the person you remember after having experienced what she has. Her heart will return to her, but her memories will remain.”

Taranza’s frightened, but says that’s just fine. That’s… all that matters. That Sectonia is alive again, and that the curse he put on her is lifted.

As such, he willingly sacrifices half of his life. Sectonia returns.

She looks like she once did— like Joronia, that is. As she stares at Taranza, she’s frightened and confused.

She says she doesn’t know what’s going on. What… what happened? The last thing she remembers, she was…- t- there was that pink thing. She was fighting it. It…

“Killed you,” Taranza confirms. But he reassures her it’s alright. She’s back now. He’s been trying to save her for a very long time.

Staring at him, though, she’s even more confused. She remembers attacking him. She remembers hating him. Why?

He explains her corruption— just what the mirror did to her. He describes her becoming a tyrant who not only went on to terrorize Floralia but who treated him with abject cruelty. She remembers everything.

She’s horrified. Horrified, and a little angry. Why… why would Taranza try to bring her back? After being abused— seeing her become a monster? Why would he bring her back, knowing she’d have to remember that? Knowing she’d look like this again?

Fingers stretch. The shape of her eyes shifts. Fuzzy brown skin and orange horns remain, but golden wings burst from her back.

In a voice that isn’t hers, she screams:

“Why would you do something like that!?”

A pause. She freezes up at the sound of her own voice. She stares down at elegant fingers, quivering.

“What- what’s going on!? What did you do to me!?”

The Mage Sisters and Hyness are surprised when Taranza returns with the person he was hoping to save— they had no hope he’d succeed… and that surprise only grows when they realize he’s carrying her. She’s unconscious, and he’s screaming and crying about something having gone wrong.

Hyness’s hypothesis is that it has something to do with her nature as a parasite. For years she existed as a Frankenstein’s monster— an uncanny yet beautiful monster made of other peoples’ sewn together parts. Now that she’s ‘herself,’ again, her body has no idea what it’s supposed to be.

He, Francisca, and Flamberge take her inside to try and wake her, then calm her down. Zan Partizanne is put in charge of supervising Taranza in the meantime.

The minute they’re alone, she asks him, point blank:

“What did you do?”

Taranza plays dumb, saying he has no idea what she’s talking about, but Zan isn’t going to fall for it. She says that she’s familiar with death, and that there’s clearly more to this story than Taranza is implying. There’s no way Morpho Knight just brought Sectonia back. Taranza made some sort of deal with it, didn’t he?

He says he did no such thing. She tells him if that’s the story he wants to tell, then it’s fine, but she just wants to warn him: miracles don’t come for free.

(Rich, coming from her.)

Eventually, Hyness and the others are able to wake Sectonia, and by the time Taranza’s arrived, she’s calmed slightly. She’s still clearly unnerved, but says they explained everything to her— both what’s likely going on with her and how much he suffered in her absence. She apologizes for ‘lashing out,’ saying the last thing she’d want to do is seem ungrateful.

Taranza, of course, tells her it’s fine. He’s just happy she’s back.

…But is she happy?

Morpho Knight was telling the truth— she’s no longer cruel and self-obsessed, however Sectonia has been changed nevertheless. Traumatized and trapped in a body that’s always seeming to shift between two forms she despises, she’s not only crushed by guilt, but left with no idea of who she is anymore.

She… doesn’t deserve to be ‘Joronia’ after everything she did, does she? Taranza insists she does— that it wasn’t her fault, but it does little to convince her. She can’t stand the idea of being ‘Sectonia,’ either, though.

When he asks her what she’d like to be called, she says he can refer to her as whatever he’d like. She doesn’t care.

For the time being, they settle on simply ‘Nia.’ If she can no longer envision herself as Joronia— ‘beautiful spider,’ but also doesn’t wish to be Sectonia— ‘beautiful wasp,’ then…

Well, that works.

Taranza and ‘Nia’ return to Floralia, but aren’t able to stay long. As soon as the denizens realize the totalitarian queen has returned, they riot. She and Taranza are forced to flee to Popstar— more specifically Castle Dedede, leaving behind the only home they’ve ever known.

From there, they settle into a routine of sorts, with Nia attempting to adjust to being alive again and Taranza trying his best to help. This is easier said than done, though. Not only does Nia have the aforementioned identity issues, atrocities committed, and body dysmorphia to deal with, but she’s volatile and prone to lashing out. One moment she’ll be in a panicked rage, and the next she’s started to weep. She tries to remain stable and come across as content in front of Taranza, not wanting to tarnish his happy ending, but even that’s difficult sometimes. She’s very, very confused, frustrated and afraid.

She begins donning a mask at all times— unable to bear looking at the sight of herself regardless of which face she wears.

…Still, it’s not all bad. She starts to get to know the friends Taranza has made in her absence, and while some of them make her feel envious, she’s grateful for their presence.

She’s grateful for his presence as well, trying her best to make amends as they awkwardly attempt to repair their relationship and figure out what exactly it should be now that the dust has settled. Are… are they allowed to love each other now? Should they?

While initially Taranza’s friends are happy for him, the more of them that find out about the sacrifice he made to make this dream come true, the more he’s criticized. He’s told he’s done something self-sacrificial that he can never take back.

He says he’d never want to take it back in response, but they warn him that if Nia learned what he did, she’d be crushed. And not only that, but with the way he sometimes hears her cry at night…

Even he has to wonder if he actually did this for her or for himself.

(^ Unfinalized designs for/doodles of some messed up bugs)