Kirbyprologue

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kirby or the Kirby's Dreamland 2 storyline—I'm just elaborating on it. Kirby and pals belong to Nintendo, Hal Laboratories, etc., and I am writing this for entertainment, not profit, OK? If it is illegal for me to do this, let me know because I'm not really sure. ^_^;

A/N: Hey, everyone! This is my first attempt at a Kirby fic, so bear with me, OK? Reviews are welcome, and flames are welcome, too—I always enjoy a good laugh since I know my stories are bad. But they're fun to write, and as I see it, that's what's important. ^_^ Enjoy!

Battle of a Lifetime

Chapter One: Mystery of the Missing Bridges

"A little higher, just a little… bit…"

It was a sizzling hot day in Dream Land—Grassland to be precise—and Kirby was trying to grab an apple from a particularly high tree branch by standing on Rick the hamster's shoulders.

"C'mon, Rick, can't you tippy-toe just a LITTLE more?" Kirby asked.

"Hey, I'm doing the best I can—I don't exactly have Parasol Power, ya know."

"Well, maybe that's what we need…" Kirby looked around for an unsuspecting Floaty the Drifter.

"Or I could just help you," called a new voice.

Coo the owl flew from seemingly nowhere to pluck the apple from the tree and drop it into Kirby's hands.

"Oh, thanks, Coo. I wasn't sure I'd EVER be able to reach it," Kirby said, getting down from Rick's shoulders.

"Ooh, my back…" Rick moaned.

Kirby gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, Rick, I guess riding on your shoulders is a bit different from standing on them," Kirby said.

"Not by much…"

"What?"

O_o; "Oh, oh, n-nothing. It's OK, Kirby—at least we got the apple!" Rick said, a little too quickly.

*Sigh* "I really hope this drought in Grassland ends soon. I know it's summer and all, but jeez, this is ridiculous!" cried Kirby in exasperation.

Coo landed on the ground next to Rick and Kirby. "Anyway, I came to tell you guys—"he began as a sly grin came across his face, "and it seems that I came at a good time—that there are lots more apples just waiting to be eaten in Big Forest," he finished.

"Well, it would sure beat scrounging around here for fruit—it's like some balance has been thrown off course with this crazy famine!" Kirby replied.

"Man, that's so weird how Big Forest has plenty of food while you guys are stretching yourselves thin for one measly apple," Coo mused.

"Thanks, Coo."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Rick impatiently cried. "Let's go! I'm still hungry." He clutched his tummy to emphasize his hunger.

"OK, Rick, we're going. Let's see, now, which way's the Rainbow Bridge?"

"Oh, Mr. Hero of Popstar can't remember where the Rainbow Bridge is," Rick taunted.

"Rick, what is WITH you today?"

"I TOLD you about a million times: I'M HUNGRY!" Rick yelled as he stamped his foot.

-_-; "Well, if you'd quit your snide remarks we'd get there faster. Anyway, I'm pretty sure it's this way," Kirby decided, glaring at Rick and pointing to a rather large hill now covered with brown grass from the drought.

The trio set off for the Rainbow Bridge to Big Forest, Coo's home area, to delight in sinking their teeth into the sweet, juicy apples. Coo carried Kirby in his talons to give Rick a break (and to avoid his cranky remarks). Greenland was a mess; all the grass had turned brown and the fruitbearing trees had very little to give. When the neared the Rainbow Bridge, they were greeted by their other friend, Kine the fish. He seemed very upset about something.

"Guys! GUYS!" he shouted, bounding toward Kirby and the gang as fast as he could. Being a fish he couldn't travel very well on land.

"Oh, it's terrible! It's awful! It's horrible! It's—"

"Kine! Calm down! What's the matter?" Kirby asked.

"They're gone!"

"What are gone?"

"The Bridges!"

-_^ "…The bridges?"

"YES!" Kine answered, a little annoyed with Kirby's puerile interrogation. "The Rainbow Bridges have disappeared!"

"WHAT?" Rick, Coo, and Kirby cried simultaneously.

They all ran the rest of the way to the Rainbow Bridge… but it wasn't there.

"Wha... where did it go?" Coo said despairingly.

"Well, you flew over here. You didn't notice that it was missing?" Rick questioned.

"Hey, I was too busy coming to let you and your hungry stomach know that you weren't going to starve. I wasn't exactly taking a joyride," Coo retorted.

Kirby stepped between them. "Guys, this is NOT the time to fight. We need to figure out what the heck is going on," he said.

"Now, let's see… the Bridges are sustained by the power of the Rainbow Drops… maybe if we collect all of them we can bring them back." Kirby concluded.

"OK, but that doesn't tell us what happened to them in the first place," Rick countered, forgetting his hunger.

"Maybe I could help," a timid voice said. Out of the bushes came Waddle Dee.

"Waddle Dee? What happened? Why are you hiding in the bushes?" Rick inquired.

Waddle Dee warily looked around him before replying, "Well, I was playing here with Sparky and Bouncy Ty, when it suddenly got really dark. We looked up, and the scariest looking black blob came down and took the Bridge away. But not before he sent out some mist that… I don't know… hypnotized my brothers and told them, 'Go my slaves, destroy the light, and remember the name, Dark Matter.' It scared me, so I ran and hid in a bush. The mist couldn't reach me there, but I was too scared to figure out why. When the darkness passed, the others had empty looks on their faces and kept saying, 'Destroy the light, destroy the light!' I also saw him with a Rainbow Drop hide it somewhere else on the island, saying, 'Now even Kirby won't be able to stop me!' Oh, now I don't know what to do!" Waddle Dee began to cry.

While Kine tried to comfort him, Kirby looked for the bush Waddle Dee had hidden behind. It was a wild Maxim Tomato plant, thick and dense from lack of care. But what really piqued Kirby's interest was the fact that the only thing underneath it was some colorful, sparkling dust.

"Oh no… the Rainbow Drops! This is where I had the Grassland Rainbow Drop! He really did hide it somewhere so that we couldn't find it!"

"Rainbow Drop? Oh, THAT must be why the mist didn't hurt me!" Waddle Dee concluded happily.

Kine inquired, "But if we can't find the Rainbow Drops, then how will we get the Bridges back?"

"Actually, Kine, the Drops have another purpose that I believe Dark Matter was trying to avoid," Kirby told him.

O.o "What? The Rainbow Drops do something else!?"

"Oh yeah! I remember!" Coo cried. "Legend says that when the Drops are all brought together, they create the Rainbow Sword, the ultimate weapon against darkness!"

"That's right, and I think that's what we need to do," Kirby finished.

"But what about the Bridges?" Rick asked.

"The Dreamlanders will have to be patient until we can defeat Dark Matter," said Kirby.

"Although I don't think we'd want them to follow us anyway," Waddle Dee said shakily.

"Why's that?"

"Because they're all after us, Kirby!"

The group turned around and saw Efreeti, Jumpershoot, and Master Green suddenly charging at them with evil looks in their eyes.

O.o "Holy crud! We need to get out of here quick!" Kirby whistled and a Warpstar suddenly flew from nowhere.

"Get on everyone, there's no time!" Kirby yelled. But it was too late.

"Aack, get away!"

"No, I don't want to go!"

"Leave me alone, I'm still hungry!"

"Kirby!" Coo called. "Go ahead without us! As long as you defeat any enemies guarding us, we will join you later!" With that, Kine, Coo, Rick, and even Waddle Dee disappeared.

As Kirby soared over Grassland and looked for the first Rainbow Drop, he sadly said to himself, "Great, without all my friends here, this may not be as easy as I thought…"

Next chapter: Kirby travels all over Grassland in search of the Rainbow Drop. Will he find a friend to help him? Will he discover the reason behind the drought and famine? And what has happened to Waddle Dee and the others? You have to read and review to find out! And remember, Venus loves you! ~Saur, Venusaur!~