"I love you, Sectonia."
The self-proclaimed new Queen of Popstar couldn't hear her servant's words anymore. All she could hear was her thoughts, and those were starting to be blocked out too.
Taranza watched her as she tightened her grip on the planet with her vines. He could see the suffering in her eyes as Kirby, the boy with pink hair, charged at one of Sectonia's little minion flowers, driving the beetle horn on his dark blue helmet through its single eye. She was fading, Taranza could tell. But she wouldn't give up.
It's the only way… the Queen's loyal servant thought, reaching out with one of his magical floating hands and grabbing a Miracle Fruit from one of Sectonia's vines. "Kirby!" he called out, throwing the magical fruit to him. Kirby, who had just been freed from the grasp of Sectonia's vines by the rightful King of Dream Land, Dedede, reached out and caught the Miracle Fruit.
He took a large bite, bracing himself for the power it gave him. His red backpack, which he usually lost access to while he was using a Copy Ability, appeared on his back, shining in all the colors of the rainbow. It seemed to want to suck the whole world inside it.
Kirby swung the pack around, unbuttoning it and letting it draw in all the air around him and his enemy. Queen Sectonia's petals resisted the pull, but in the end they were dragged into the void.
No matter. She was a flower, after all. She hadn't merged with the Dreamstalk for nothing. She would bloom again. Her great beauty would not be damaged by some little kid's feeble attempts at defeating her!
Kirby, satisfied with his work, let out a deep breath, the shimmery lights surrounding his backpack dissipating, his samurai-esque armor fading into sparkles and disappearing too.
He looked up at Taranza, who was standing on a nearby platform. "Why did you help me?" he asked.
"I could see that Sectonia couldn't go on anymore. She needed to be put to rest. I only want the best for my Queen…" A tear slid down Taranza's cheek. "Thank you for your help, Kirby. I mean it."
Kirby smiled, his eyes glittering. "I just want to keep my planet safe."
And he, Taranza, and King Dedede left the Eternal Dreamland, the sun rising beautifully behind them.
Sectonia blinked. She still had some Miracle Fruits left, right…? She couldn't let this be her end!
Yes! Here! There were four left, but she was sure that would be enough. She hungrily consumed them, watching as color came back to her petals. They were somewhat torn, and a cold blue color in stark contrast to the bright pink and yellow they once were… but they were still incredibly beautiful.
"Wait," Taranza said suddenly. Kirby and Dedede looked at him in confusion. "I heard something. Sectonia - she's still alive."
"H-how?! Hypernova is one of my most powerful abilities-"
"I don't know how! I thought it was impossible that she'd survive, but she did!" Taranza began running back where they'd come from.
"Miracle Fruits," said Kirby. "She can grow Miracle Fruits, right? She must have eaten them to get her power back."
"I don't care how she's back, just kill her again!" Dedede yelled. "Come on, Kirby!"
"I-I need an ability!" Kirby said between deep breaths. "Okay. Okay. Magic vines. I can work with that." His heart pounding in his chest, he grabbed a nearby leaf and slipped it into his backpack. "Whew! That works." He breathed a short sigh of relief as his hoodie, overalls, and pack disappeared in favor of a headdress, a short top, and a skirt, all made of leaves, complete with green gems and a cape.
"Leaf Kirby," Dedede explained briefly to Taranza as Kirby ran forward, his cape fluttering in the wind.
"She's not alive," Taranza realized, as the giant flower rose from the ground, Kirby preparing to battle her. "She's only got a scrap of herself left… she's undead." He dropped to the ground, tears falling from his eyes, past the floating platform, past the Floralian island of Eternal Dreamland, finally landing on a grassy plain too far to see from where he was.
"SECTONIA!" he cried. "Listen to me! THIS ISN'T RIGHT!"
Dedede awkwardly patted Taranza's back. "Kirby can beat her," he said. "I would know."
Sectonia flexed her vines, admiring the new spikes along them. She was so powerful. She couldn't possibly lose again. She twisted a vine around Kirby, who struggled against her grasp. She laughed - it sounded nothing like her old voice, but that didn't matter.
Somehow, though, Kirby managed to slip out of her grip, his leafy headdress falling off in the process. Heh, she thought, automatically blocking out the sound of Kirby shouting in frustration at the loss of his Copy Ability. Such mockery of my great beauty does not deserve to exist.
Kirby stood up, placing the headdress back on his head. Crap. Sectonia folded her petals around herself as she prepared to launch a massive light beam attack, but Kirby dodged it.
NOOOOOOO! She was losing! How could she be losing? sHE wAs sO PoWERfUL! THIS WASN'T RIGHT!
Before she could fight back to counter Kirby's final attack, she fell. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed. But she couldn't go on anymore. This was the end…
No. No, no, no. She wouldn't allow it. These vines! They held her back, didn't they?! They tied her to the flower, the flower that still couldn't defeat Kirby. She pulled hard. She could do this on her own. A horrible tearing sound echoed through the air.
Kirby shuddered, pulling his leafy cape around himself. This just wasn't right. She should be dead.
Queen Sectonia flashed before Kirby's eyes. Her mind was a jumble of everything and nothing and she didn't know what it was. She had to win. She had to.
She fought with the very essence of her being. It was all she had left. She ripped herself apart to access the energy inside of her. Deadly cutters. Fire. Paint? Who cared?!
The end.
Kirby sat on the platform. Tears streamed down his face. How could anyone choose this fate? He looked up as a slight shimmer caught his eye. A blue petal drifted down from where Queen Sectonia had once been. It fell softly to the ground and bloomed into a beautiful flower along the Dreamstalk.
Taranza and Dedede joined him at the battlefield. "She'll be okay," Kirby said.
"I know," Taranza sniffled.
HERE LIES QUEEN SECTONIA
ONCE UPON A TIME, SHE WAS THE BEST QUEEN FLORALIA EVER HAD.
REST IN PEACE.
"It looks nice," Kirby said, smiling at the small but very beautiful grave.
Taranza said nothing, but Kirby could see the smile on his face.