A/N: This is a story about how it could go if Dark Matter were to invade the Kirby Anime universe. (This is take 2 of the idea, the first being the Galacta Knight story. I like combining elements of the game with the series for some reason...probably because the Anime characters are too fun to leave out. :D ) I also use the Anime names for characters exclusive to the Japanese version because I'm not a big fan of the dub - Fumu/Bun instead of Tiff/Tuff, Pupu Village instead of Cappy Town, etc. As always, constructive criticism is welcome.

DISCLAIMER – This fic has an OC in it and there will be (mild) shipping. I understand how that is not to everyone's tastes, and that's totally okay. You've been warned in advance! I do take every effort to keep the universe's characters as IC as possible, though.

Chapter 1

Small, dark blue eyes began to blink open, dull and bleary. Above them laid a small, domed roof, tinted a comforting dark blue from the dim morning light. A single yellow sunbeam drifted through the single-roomed house's window, tiny shadows of dust particles drifting in the morning light. The room dimmed, blurred and blackened; the eyes blinked a few times before shutting stubbornly, unwilling to open and fully focus.

The darkness began to lighten, even behind closed eyes; slowly, reluctantly, they began to open again and stare at the brightening ceiling as more light crept into the room. Kirby knew that morning meant breakfast, and that he therefore had a very good reason to get up...but his bed was so warm and comfortable, the blankets and pillow so perfectly conformed to his spherical shape. With an annoyed groan the small creature rolled over, pulling his blue star-patterned blanket over his head. Not yet. Just a few more minutes...

Something from within the depths of his body began to stir. A persistent urge, a yearning. Kirby felt a pinching sensation from within and, moments later, heard a low growl from the depths of his stomach. Blurry images flashed into his drowsy mind; tomatoes, melons, ripe and juicy. Since it was breakfast time, he knew that there was a place to go to have freshly-squeezed orange juice straight from the fruit. With a tiny sigh Kirby sat up and threw the cover aside, stubby arms brought up to his face to rub his eyes. Sleeping on an empty stomach was impossible; he may as well go get breakfast.

Kirby stepped outside of his little house, closing the door behind him. As the sun's rays hit his face, he began to feel more awake. He stretched his malleable body, arms high in the air, before inhaling the morning air deeply. It was going to be a good day. He could tell already.

As Kirby began to wander off into the countryside of Dreamland, he found himself inevitably heading towards the melon fields. He knew he shouldn't; he knew that at the castle he would find a perfectly good breakfast of eggs, bacon, and orange juice waiting for him...but why drink orange juice when a fresh melon could satisfy his hunger and thirst at the same time? Why settle for a single meager breakfast ration when out in the melon fields, he could eat as much as he pleased? As he headed there, the angry face of Fumu suddenly popped into his head.

'Aww, not again... don't do that!' Kirby heard Fumu's voice in his head, clear as day, from the last time she scolded him. 'We'll get you melons if you want, but if you eat an entire field's worth you're hurting the farmer who worked so hard to grow them. He needs those too, you know!'

The memory made him grimace. Putting his right arm to his stomach, the creature sighed sadly.

"Poyo..." Kirby murmured, before spinning on his heel and heading towards King Dedede's castle. Melons were good, amazing even, but he didn't want to make his friends angry. No treat was worth that.

Kirby walked through the warm, sunny fields of the day, kicking up the wet dewy grass with his red shoes playfully as he headed towards the castle. It was days like this that he felt so alive, so free. He felt like running through the fields, but exerted control. Running would make him really hungry. And when Kirby got really hungry, it wasn't pretty.

Suddenly, a flash of light caught the corner of Kirby's eye. He looked up to the sky, mouth open slightly in awe. A beautiful, thin trail of white cloud streaked across the uniform blue of the cloudless day, and at the end of it was a tiny light. Kirby's brow furrowed. A comet or meteor? Or could it be something else? It was still clear in his mind what happened the last time something crashed onto Dreamland. Whatever this thing was, it could pose a great danger to Popstar.

Kirby's stomach growled again, as if it wanted to cry loudly enough to shake him out of his thoughts. In response the pink creature patted his stomach roughly with his arm, as if telling it to shut up; he was just going to have to deal with being really hungry today. Without hesitation, Kirby dashed towards the direction of the falling light.

Meta Knight sat in his bed, curled up with a thick book. Cold yellow eyes, glowing brightly from within his mask, scanned the pages in front of him. A gloved hand lazily turned the page, careful not to crease or bend its thinned, browning edges. The Star Warrior was reading a fascinating account of knights of another species; knights who saved "damsels" in distress, who fought dragons and monsters. Knights who were heroes, praised by even the King and Queen of their kingdom. This knight slayed the villain, a dragon, and rescued the woman. That was it. He didn't have to watch multiple copies of the monster he just slain rise from nothingness and crawl forward mindlessly, bred by Nightmare. This knight didn't have to worry about he and his comrades being systematically hunted down and killed by the slain dragon's allies. He wouldn't be haunted by the memories of the villagers that he couldn't save...

Meta Knight's eyes drifted upwards from the book, staring fixedly at the wall ahead of him. He slowly closed the aged tome, placing it on the end table beside him. Enough of that story.

Meta Knight's white gloved hand, augmented with silver metal, reached out towards the candy bowl next to the book. The hand absentmindedly fished around in the candy bowl, closing into a fist around several rainbow-colored, chocolate candy spheres. With a speed only obtained by endless repetition he quickly lifted his mask, mouth revealed for hardly a second, and popped the orbs into his mouth. The mask slowly lowered back onto his face, and he savored the candy with a pleased sigh. He could eat candy whenever he wanted; it wasn't like his species had teeth to worry about maintaining.

The Star Warrior was startled out of his sugar-induced bliss by the sight of a strange, streaking cloud outside his window. Immediately sitting up, cape wrapped around him, Meta Knight walked over to his window and peered outside of it curiously. His eyes narrowed. What was that thing? He knew that Popstar, whether due to its orbit or due to the growing popularity of its young savior Kirby, had a habit of getting intergalactic guests. Sometimes friendly, but often not. The blue knight walked away from the window while still wrapped in his cape, leaving his room within the castle and walking down the corridor. Whatever that thing in the sky was, it merited attention.