The Voice from the Mirror

by Zhe' Kirbinator

Just read it!

The Voice from the Mirror

CHAPTER 1- A Strange Sighting

Author's Note- This is the first in a possible series of Fanfics, involving Kirby and somebody else about 23-ish years after the anime series ends. It always needed a sequel. '

My name is Kirby. You may know me, you may not. But that doesn't matter now.

It was a beautiful night in Rainbow Resort, the aurora borealis shimmering despite the pre-storm winds. I looked out the open window blankly, not even changing expression when lightning struck and thunder boomed across the land. Strange…I thought, Rainbow Resort doesn't usually get auroras-

"What are you looking at?"

I denied it later, but her voice shocked me. By "her" I mean Terakka, my friend. She is the good version of that demon, Rocky. Only she wears a blue-and-white headband. And, don't get any weird thoughts about us, were just roomies, and its sucks most of the time, because Terakka is so sarcastic it's scary. (We both bought the same house and arrived on the same day, so we compromised and both live here)

"ehh... nothing; Just the Aurora Bora-whatevers." , I said absentmindedly, forgetting the scientific name for auroras.

"Borealis. They're called Aurora Borealis."

I turned around to see her looking at me strangely. "Okay then."

Terakka shook her head, sighed, and walked off to her room. Every footstep she took shook the stool I was standing on slightly, though I never mentioned this for fear of her wrath. WRATH I SAY! (Quoted from Terakka)

I turned towards the window again, the sky so dark that I could see my reflection. I certainly had changed since the death of Nightmare, my skin going from the laughing pink to a smooth, orange-pink color. My feet and cheeks were now deep maroon instead of bright scarlet. Even my eyes, once a sapphire blue, had darkened to nearly black. From my angle, I saw Galaxia, resting in its scabbard.

Sir Meta Knight had literally given me Galaxia when I left the sleepy Isle of Dreamland. I did not want to own such a thing; Galaxia was so much safer with Sir Meta Knight… but he insisted that I do.

As I turned back to my reflection, I noticed that it looked... different.

That face was not my own.

No matter how hard I tried to sleep, the face in the mirror still haunted me. It was like I should've known who he was, but I didn't.

I massaged my temples, trying to push the horrid image away. The face's skin was a light violet, in contrast to amber eyes and wild, blond hair. But it was not this that frightened me. It was that the person in my reflection was bleeding from his heart, near death. I almost felt his pain.

The vessels in his eyes had exploded, leaving his eyes a violet-red color. And yet, he looked back at me patiently, as if waiting for my response. I

felt his gaze boring deep into my soul, but still only waiting.

Waiting for what? I wondered.

When I woke from my long and dreamless sleep, it was thunderstorming outside. The rainfall was so heavy, I couldn't see 5 inches away from my face. Lightning struck somewhere, and I almost immediately heard its thunder. Storm must be pretty close, I thought sleepily.

After a long time in bed, I finally got up. Prolly wouldn't've got up if I hadn't suddenly felt hunger pangs. Well, I always feel hunger pangs; just sometimes they're stronger than others.

Then occurred to me that I never really had breakfast at home. I had it at the local Diner. "Crap," I said, annoyed, "It's probably closed today." No breakfast! That's like, having no brunch, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, supper, dessert or midnight snacks! The horror!

I looked at the clock to see if Terakka was awake. She always woke up at 8:23 sharp, no matter what. The clock said, to my disappointment, 3:56. (God, why was I up so early?)Now I was alone and hungry. Excellence.

I sighed and went to go look out the front window. Popstar's moons shone brightly through the clouds, giving the rain a silvery appearance. Almost mystical, it seemed.

Then I saw him.

He stood in my reflection again, the same bloodshot, patient eyes. Only this time he seemed pleading. Like he wanted me to follow him. But to where? He held out his hand, beckoning to me. And then he was gone, and only my own frightened face shone in the window.

"What the heck was that?" I asked the air around me. It did not answer.

Later, the rain stopped and the sun rose, I decided to go see Fumu back on Dreamland. That girl knew everything, it seemed, so she would probably know what's going on here better than I do. And if she doesn't know, than I must be a raving lunatic who belongs in the looney bin.

The trouble with this idea was who was going to find tickets to Dreamland in summer? For most people, it's hot enough already. The fact that we are getting more rain in this last week than we've had in the past year doesn't help much, even though that has almost nothing to do with sailing…

And then I remembered something from so long ago, back were I obtained Galaxia. I ran to the top of the hill near my house and shouted-

"Warpstar!"

Either it must've turned 8:23 right then, or I woke Terakka up, as I saw her soon after I called my Warpstar. She came running out of the house, up the hill, and stopped right next to me.

"Whatcha doin' up here?"

Her question was answered by the sound of a Warpstar flying through the cloud layer.

Terakka

I couldn't believe it. Kirby had a Warpstar? In all of the 12 years I knew him, he never mentioned a Warpstar to me. In fact, that's exactly what I asked him-

"YOU HAVE A WARPSTAR!"

Okay, more like I yelled at him somewhat questioningly. Note the "somewhat".

"... ... well, shouldn't that be obvious now?" Kirby answered me calmly.

Well, it was. As the large, yellow-white star landed, I wondered where he was going. Kirby never really traveled unless he could walk there; where could he want to visit that was far away enough that he had to use his Warpstar? "Well, are you getting on?" Kirby asked me.

I didn't answer him, but instead got on. For a moment, the Warpstar dropped to the ground under my weight, and then righted itself. I was offended. I didn't weight that much… not really.

Kirby said something under his breath, and the Warpstar took off.He gripped the edge tightly, guiding the star to wherever we were going to.I saw the city of Rainbow Resort pass and fade into the Orange Ocean. It glittered below us; a whale breached near a school of exotically-colored fish, scattering them momentarily.

We were up so high and going so fast, I found it scary that my fear of heights wasn't killing me right now. But I didn't care, I just wanted to fly.

I was overwhelmed with awe, to the point where I forgot to ask Kirby where we were going. I just didn't care, as I have said before. You could never see things like the things I saw on land or at sea. You had to see it from the skys.

If I was actually looking ahead, I would have also noticed a small chain of islands. I also would have noticed that we heading straight for them.

"Welcome to the island of Dreamland."

I had only heard about Dreamland up until that day, never seen it. The beaches had sand that was almost white. A few sparse palm trees were scattered about the beach, one with a large nest in it. From our view on the hill, I could see a castle, tall and magnificent.

Kirby must've seen me looking around at the sights like a moron, as he told me eagerly, "The town's even better. Come on!" He ran toward what I was guessing was the town, his Warpstar heading off to somewhere.

I followed him, quickly catching up. I would've overlapped him, but I had no idea where we were going. Kirby was leading us through a trail of dead or dieing grass, showing that it was frequently used. We raced each other through the winding and curving trail until Kirby said, "Here we are. Pupu Village. Try not to draw attention to yourself; I want to do this quickly."

From what I could see underneath a bush, this place was so... cute. That was the best way to describe it. Everything looked friendly and welcoming, making me feel all fuzzy and warm inside. I was finding it hard to believe that this quaint little place was once being terrorized by Nightmare. Everybody seemed optimistic about everything, acting as if nothing interesting had happened here for awhile.

A young boy, no more than 4 years old, was walking by us when he stopped and looked our way. I closed my eyes and held my breath, hoping that I could pull off the, "I'm a rock so go away" ploy. It didn't work.

He stared right at me, but not with the interest of a normal kid. He seemed to stare right through me, his gaze was so intense. He wore, literally, a long, blue-black cloak, even in this place's burning weather.

The kid's mother came up behind him, saying not to just stare at things for no reason. He had no objection. And then the worst possible thing happened.

She looked at us.

"Kirby…?"

"uhh... Terakka? Meet Fumu." Kirby said shakily.

Later, in Fumu's dorm in the castle, Kirby explained how he knew Fumu, who exactly she was, and why we were here. Apparently, before Kirby came to Rainbow Resort, he lived here, protecting the villagers from a bombardment of monsters. By the by, Fumu has a very nice couch; it's all squishy and green.

"-and after Nightmare was defeated, I stayed here for awhile. 10 years of awhile. THEN I moved to Rainbow Resort." Kirby stopped talking for the first time in 3 hours. 3 HOURS I TELL YOU!

I just sat there, amazed and bewildered by Kirby's story. Oh, especially the part where he almost died… I had no idea up until now that Kirby's life was so dark and sinister, he always seemed so optimistic.

It was Fumu who finally asked the dreaded question, "So Kirby, why are you here?" Kirby looked at her. Just looked, with no expression in his face whatsoever. After a long period of staring, Kirby said quietly, "I saw a face in my reflection that wasn't mine, am I inane or just hallucinating?"

From the back of the room, I heard a whispered "You're insane."

"Aerostar! Watch your mouth!" Fumu snapped.

"Is he in any way… related to you?" Kirby asked, the real question very audible in his.

"Yes! He's my son!" Fumu replied, "But he doesn't like me telling people that."

"… … Why?" I asked, not getting how somebody Aerostar's age could want his own privacy's already.

"Apparently he doesn't like being related to a teacher," Fumu said with a sigh "But the thing you saw in your reflection, Kirby, was probably just a hallucination. Try cutting down on your workload a bit, stress is bad for you."

"Workload? What workload? I do the work and stuff, he goes around asking if he can do favors or have leftovers!"

"Leftovers are good…" Kirby said dreamily, looking away for a bit.

"You did that when you first came here, too." Fumu added.

"I know. Kawasaki's leftovers were the best. And he had the most of 'em, too."

"We can go there; the restaurant is still up," Fumu said as she headed to the door "Aerostar! Come on!"

"Mom!" An accusing voice sounded from inside the room that was once Fumu's.

Kirby

"Warpstar!"

The beautiful saffron star came whizzing over in response to my call. It stopped in front of me, waiting for me to board.

"Please do visit again, Kirby! I'll miss you!" Fumu called.

"I will!" I said, quickly adding "Eventually!"

I, then Terakka, stepped onto the Warpstar and almost immediately it took flight. It seemed to be going faster this time, the waves cascading against the shore behind us. Popstar's moons were both visible again, but one was on the horizon. Each reflected the sunset light into a sterling glow, making the water below us seem as molten diamond. A large humpback whale breached magnificently, as if to say 'Goodbye'.

Water gave way to land, and all too soon, Rainbow Resort was shining below us. Yet still, I tipped the end of my Warpstar's front point to loose some altitude.

Our landing wasn't perfect, but we didn't crash, so that's a plus. First Terakka, then I dismounted the Warpstar, and it flew away to its home inside Kabu.

Before heading home, we stopped at the local diner for some (more) food.

Hey, I eat a lot, and being a Star-Warrior has advantages. Free food! OH YEAH!

As usual, Terakka didn't order anything but some soda (lame-o), while my order took up two sheets of paper. Mmm, curry and watermelon slices, (not together, of course.) My fave.

The diner, as always, had a bullitan board that I liked to visit when ever I was there. Even better, it was in my sight from the table, so I could eat and read it at the same time. Today, it had a few posts for lost Tookies, a demon sighting and a-

DEMON SIGHTING!

I had to choke down my food to finish reading the post (quite literally). Apparently, this demon was seen in Vegetable Valley, and it was black and serpentine. Odd, what would a demon be doing in Vegetable Valley? Anyway, the post said it did no harm to the village, or, for that matter, any damage at all. Sleeping? A possibility.

An old Waddle Doo sitting at the table next to us leaned over and said, "A girl came here yes'erday and posted that. Jus' in case ya wanted ta know." He must've seen me staring.

Eventually I got my sorry backside out of that diner, still thinking the post over and over. Vegetable Valley, young girl, no damage done. , I thought, Vegetable Valley... Hmm, what would a demon what from Vegetable Valley, or a little girl?

Once we were home, I went to the map I kept pinned to the wall of my room. Vegetable Valley was a long way from here, even on a Warpstar. But I had to go there! Something could be going on, and I wasn't going to let life get in my way. It would be a clear day tomorrow, and I might not even have to fly there if we made good time. I traced the path we should take repeatedly, just to make sure I knew it.

"Hey, Kirby, whatcha doin'?" Terakka, of course, "Planning to go somewhere, because last time, it didn't go so well."

"Uhh, yeah. And you need to not follow me."

"Don't even THINK about leaving me behind, Kirby. I know where you're going. You traced it on the map." I did? Oh, yeah. Damnit. (gotta stop swearing sometime here)

"I guess you're coming, then." I sighed out finally.

"You bet your sorry backside I am."

Terakka

In the morning, we set out to Vegetable Valley. I had asked Kirby why he wanted to go there, and he explained the whole shebang of it. Demons already, God, evil won't let people live a peaceful life!

So anyway, we were following a creek upstream, which met uphill. Life gets sucky when you're a rock; I am just not good at walking uphill. Downhill, I can just tumble. But this was like hell.

The good thing was we were on level ground soon. I could now see a huge mountain, a dip, and another mountain. Vegetable Valley was down there, and it would be a pain to get there. Mainly because we have to trek across the whole side of the mountain, then get down. I really didn't know how Kirby was planning to get there, but I didn't want to ask. I was afraid of the answer. Of course, my mouth didn't listen.

"How are we gonna get down there?"

"We find the least steep part, and then hike down."

He could not possibly expect me to hike. I'm afraid of heights, and I can't really climb downwards, upwards or sidewards. Sideways, whatever the word is. I still can't do that. Something struck my mind suddenly. Neither could Kirby.

I swear he is developing telepathy, because right after I thought this, he said-

"We'll use the waterfall."

OH FREAKIN' GOD NO. Not the waterfall that was like a thousand foot drop. That could kill us. Is Kirby finally losing it? Well, I guess Kirby was too light to suffer any major damage from a fall, and I was waaaaay to heavy. Hmm, maybe we would make it thought this. Note the maybe.

Once we got to the side of the mountain, I started to regret pushing Kirby to bring me along. There was a lot of uphill, and I kept slipping on loose rocks. Life gets tough when you're a rock with feet.

The mountain was not like those great triangular things you see in pictures, more like steep, rocky hill that rose up a few thousand feet.

We eventually got to a small cliff edge, and stopped for a bit. Kirby scanned the area surrounding us to find a not-so-steep part of it. He must've found it, because he quietly said to me, "Come on." And started down the side of the mountain.

Okay, I have this pathological fear of heights and falling, so this was eating me alive. While Kirby could easily just climb down, I had to jump and slide and run to avoid falling stones. This is one of those times that I wish I was Kirby.

Eventually we got to a small clearing inbetween the two mountains. My feet hurt like hell, and I was purely exhausted, therefore, I almost died when I heard a rumbling roar of a waterfall in the distance. "We're close." Kirby said excitedly. But he really said-'Hey, Terakka, you're about to die so it was nice meeting you. Hope you have a nice time being dead. Bye!' Just the words I needed to hear.

I desperately tried to move the waterfall away from us using telekinesis, but it's atoms proved highly resistant to my mind power. Even worse, Kirby was speeding up now, and I had to follow him.

"ohgodsomeonesavemenowplease." I said quietly as we approached the waterfall.

The drop was dizzying. I couldn't tell where the falls stopped, and the sheer and sudden drop was nauseating. I could see now why people call it Vegetable VALLEY, because it sure was in a valley! I looked away from it, hoping that, like in my dreams, it would go away. This, of course, failed.

"I'll go first." Kirby said eagerly, as if he wanted to jump into a waterfall the size of... something big. I sighed with relief. At least I could put it off for a few more minutes.

"Geronimo!" Kirby shouted as he jumped into the current and plummeted down the falls. His last word kept echoing about the cave wall, distorted and taunting.

I looked down the side of the valley again, and it seemed deeper than last time. I shivered, knowing that anytime now, a gust of wind could just blow me off the side. But I had to do this. Sort of.

As I jumped into the water, I wondered what had possessed me to do this. I was committing suicide, damnit! I was practically have a seizure when I hit the drop. Oh my god, I am going to die , I thought.

The drop was terrifying, white, foamy water spraying around me, the roar of water hitting somewhere far below, constantly getting louder. The whole time I was inhaling more than I was exhaling, because, despite my efforts, I was in an extreme state of PANIC. My brain was screaming, Flee! Flee!, but to where it did not know. My feet were trembling, and I swear my right eye was twitching involuntarily.

I noticed a town below me, getting closer every second. Vegetable Valley, I thought. Finally, I could stop thinking I was going to die, even though I had, mentally. The waterfall ended in a vast and sparkling lake, which I recognized as Vegetable Valley's water supply. I also noticed a small- OH MY GOD I WAS GOING TO BE PART OF VEGETABLE VALLEY'S WATER SUPPLY IN FEW SECONDS!

The lake was getting closer to me, and I was no longer able to hold back the panic. My mind was in a crazy, frenzied rush to think about everything besides that fact that I'm so dead I don't even want to think about it. I denied this later, but the moment before I hit the water's surface, I screamed.

And then I was surrounded by water.

Awhile later, I had met up with Kirby and we were sitting on the edge of the lake, me in a towel, still shaking. Kirby seemed a little hysterical from the impact, but he had mostly recovered. Note the word, "mostly".

"That was awesome." Kirby said while laughing.

See what I mean?

CHAPTER 3- Oripeons

We slept besides somebody's house that night. Well, at least are backs were warm. The stars seemed even more far away than usual, just barely noticeable specks in the sky. I couldn't even see the moons from here, just night sky and its nighty skyishness. I sighed, knowing that this was the best sleep I was going to have in awhile.

And, I'll tell you, it sure was. I dreamed that none of this was happening, and me and Terakka were at some beach, having a good time just because we could. Boy, would that be fun! Instead of being at the bottom of some pit with a town in it, we could be at a beach resort.

Anyway, the moment I woke up, I noticed a young Waddle Dee staring at me. She had a bright blue bow on, and her skin was, instead of brown-red, bright scarlet. It was so intense of a color, it hurt my eyes. And that's saying something considering that I myself am a fairly bright color.

"Hi, you must be Kirby. I've heard about you. Why are you sleeping next to our house?"

She sure got to the point pretty fast.

"'cause I am; anything wrong with that?"

"Nope! I just wanted to know."

Terakka stirred in her sleep next to me. She rolled over in her sleep, and, literally, wiggled her foot in the air. I laughed. That was just plain funny, and I would make sure Terakka knew she did that. Even the young Waddle Dee laughed quietly.

"So, seeing that you know my name, what is yours?" I asked her while still giggling.

"Sarah."

Suddenly it dawned on me that I had no idea what time it was. I looked up, and saw a sky painted in reds, oranges and yellows of every shade; the moons faintly visible. From this I could tell that it was daybreak, and the sun was probably hanging low on the horizon right now, but I could not see the horizon now.

I heard a voice call to Sarah from inside the house. When I asked Sarah who it was, she told me it was her mother calling her to breakfast. Then, surprisingly, she asked me if I was hungry. Well, I was always hungry, but I didn't tell her that. Instead, I figured out that Terakka was awake.

"Yes food now mrrf." Terakka said sleepily. She got and shook her head, then looked at Sarah. Obviously, she was too sleepy to care about who was offering us breakfast, just that we were having breakfast. To tell the truth, so was I.

"One moment." Sarah said as she ran into her house. For a minute nothing happened, and then Sarah ran back out of her house saying, "She said yes! She said yes! Come on, we've got pancakes!"

"With maple syrup?" I asked her. I hope so.

"And chocolate chips, too!" Sarah said excitedly.

"Mmnnnnnnehhh..." Terakka groaned.

"Then let's go!" Sarah exclaimed as she led us through the door.

Either my hunger was getting to me, or the inside of the house seemed smaller than the outside. That might be, the ceiling was pretty low. Hmm, there was probably a second floor.

The moment I stepped into the kitchen, I felt slightly unwelcome. Mainly because it was all 'Dees. The one who I'm guessing is Sarah's mother was at a stove, cooking pancakes. I forgot everything else the moment I saw them. The pancakes were not only pretty big, but thick and had chocolate in them. Terakka seemed to be drooling mentally, whatever that means.

"'ello there. You must be Kirby. Please, do si' down and join us for breakfas'." Said the Waddle Dee I was now sure was Sarah's mother. She sure has a slight accent, I thought, how can something without a mouth have an accent? I guess it was kinda rude to even wonder that, but come on!

By the way, you know what the greatest thing is about pancakes? There always seem to be more.

Quite a bit later, me, Terakka, and Sarah were sitting down by the waterfall, my stomach almost satisfied. The lingering taste of syrup and chocolate was still on my tongue, and I savored it! Sarah's mother sure knows how to make pancakes, and fast. She kinda needed to be since I was there, and even though a Waddle Dee sorta "absorbs" food, I was still eating faster.

"Those were so not awesome, eh Kirby?" Terakka asked me sarcastically.

"Yep. Truly horrible." I said, playing along to Terakka's slipping sarcasm.

"mmm." Was Sarah's two cents in this.

For awhile that was our entire brain activity, the discussion of pancakes made by a 'Dee. I bet we could've spent the whole day like this, if I hadn't decided to look at myself in the water.

The man was back in my reflection, looking the same as always, bloodshot, dieing, etcetera. But this time he looked disappointed with me his arms crossed and face straight. He mouthed out the word; 'Go.' then vanished, leaving only myself in my reflection. Why would he be disappointed in me, I thought, there's no actual reason-

Then I remembered why we were here.

"Come on, Terakka, we still need to find that demon."

"You read my post?" Sarah asked me, "I didn't know you ate at the diner in-"

"You posted it there! But how... isn't Rainbow Resort a little... wha?"

".. ... ... ... follow me." She said quietly after along period of silence.

Sarah led us right behind the waterfall, revealing a network of caves that nobody would know was there unless they looked. The rock was unlike all others I've seen, a translucent onyx color that sparkled in the entering light. Clear white stalagmites and stalactites decorated the cave floor and ceiling, in heavy contrast to the fluorescent purple moss growing on the walls.

There was a fork in the path ahead, and Sarah chose the left. This cave was different from the main cave, more stalagmites and stalactites, less moss, and everything seemed transparent. We seemed to be going upwards, even though the path was going down.

Sarah seemed to know where we were headed, never slowing pace or halting altogether. She must've been very familiar with this trail, probably she had gone along it before. This place had a ghastly feeling to it, and I was surprised that Sarah wasn't scared. Heh, I was.

I was almost sure I was wrong about Sarah knowing the way when we hit a dead end, but she jumped up and over the crystal lying in our path. I followed this motion, landing softly. Terakka landed behind me with a soft thump, and we were off walking again.

I found it odd how I barely knew Sarah, and yet I was trusting her like an old friend. I sighed, knowing that I tended to do this a lot. When I first came to Popstar, I almost immediately trusted in the Pupu villagers. Of course, this turned out to be a good choice, but luck does nasty things to you sometimes.

Terakka

I was getting tired of walking. We had been walking for what seemed to be hours, and I was hungry again. Grrr, why did Kirby have to remember what we came here for, I was having a good time for once. Oh, even I know that I don't mean that. GOD, I'm pathetic.

Even worse, Sarah led us into this really dark and musty tunnel, barely high enough for me to walk. It kept winding and turning sharply, so I crashed into the cave all more than once.

The cave then took a sharp dip, and the light from the walls was gone. I was scared, we were walking in a cave under a river in a valley with no light. That's not a very comforting thought.

Well, eventually we got to this place that was like, enormous! It looked like an underground forest, or something. There were these weird, spindly little trees with white and blue-spotted fruit, and the grass was blue. Literally, it was this deep, translucent aqua blue! There was even this cute little stream that ran around the outer edge of the cave. The cave itself was vast, and somewhat circular, with light coming from thick patches of moss.

"I think I've been here before." I said sarcastically.

"shhh! You might frighten the Oripeons." Sarah spat at me.

Oripeons! What the hell is an Oripeon?, I thought, God, this is getting weird.

Sarah began to run down the slope we were on, and then she turned around and said, "Come on. I brought you here for a reason." and ran off. We, of course, followed her into the weird little forest.

I noticed for the first time as I was running that the trees had no leaves. Instead, they had these odd vine-like things growing out in long double helixes. The vines were cold and wet to the touch, and I knew this because they kept slapping into my face. The grass, too, was cold and wet, but it was also soft and somewhat velvety against my exhausted feet. Or maybe I was just freaking tired. Both are equally likely.

But that was nothing compared to what we saw next. Right in the middle of the forest, there was a huge group of snakes gathered around another snake. They all were black with blue stripes and eyes, the stripes going back and forth along their possibly 12-foot bodies. The snake in the middle of them all was huge, twice the size of the other largest snake. Its eyes were red and it had these wicked horns coming out of its head, flaring back.

"The demon..." Kirby said quietly. (Or so he thought)

Well, it made sense. For one, the demon snake had red eyes. I have never seen a demon without red eyes. Let's see, it also has horns, complicated body colors, and fangs as big around as Kirby's foot. That's enough for me; it's a demon.

Kirby began to draw his sword, when one of the bigger normal snakes turned around and hissed at us, then slithered towards us. I swear it was trying to torture us, as it was moving veeeerry slowly, taking its time. Eventually, it was directly in front of us, and then it spoke.

Not in words, or even some form of telepathy, I just knew what it was saying- What business do you have here?

"To help Rifsakkia, why do you ask, Rontotold?" Sarah answered it. No, him. Rontotold sounded like a guy's name. Sort of.

Kirby was holding Galaxia now, in what I recognized as a defensive position. You learn these things when you're a roomie to a guy with a sword. Anyway, I don't think he planned on fighting anytime soon. Note the "I think".

Yes, yes of course. Welcome, strangers. Rontotold said, bowing his head slightly. It's odd to see a snake bow, you know. (but prolly don't)

Rontotold led us to the group, hissing something unintelligible at anybody who looked at us strangely. When we got to Rifsakkia, I gasped. She was scarred in various places, and couldn't get up from the ground. She disappeared four days ago, and then returned like this. Rontotold explained. So, it was Evil's doing after all. God, if these evil guys were obviously SO strong, why must they enslave the already living and not just create something?

Suddenly Rifsakkia growled, and managed to pull herself up. She shook her massive head, then turned and looked our way. Kirby was in offensive position now, and I'm pretty sure that means we're gonna have a fight here. Nice, this is just how I wanted to spend summer, watching my best friend fight demons with me now being able to do anything about it.

Rifsakkia moved towards us, and all of the other snakes backed away, giving her room. That was a good idea for me as she sure needed a lot of room!I scooted myself over to a copse of trees to my left, as all of them had very long vines that I trusted would hide me. At least until I could figure out how to leave here, that is.

Eventually, the whole clearing was clear again except for Rifsakkia and Kirby. Rifsakkia hissed and the lunged at Kirby, her mouth open wide. Kirby dodged, and she got a mouthful of black dirt and velvety grass. She spat this out angrily, and then turned to see Kirby leap into the air and bring Galaxia down on her. Kirby only managed to cut of some of Rifsakkia's horns and some scales, but now she was ticked off.

From my spot in the trees, I noticed that Rifsakkia's eyes were glowing bright red. God, what is with demons and the color red?

Rifsakkia spread the hood (that I had no idea was there) on her neck and hissed again. If she was trying to scare away Kirby, I don't think she succeeded, as Kirby just saw this as a new target. He jumped into the air and slashed at demon Rifsakkia's spread hood, drawing blood the color of thundercloud. Rifsakkia screamed as arterial blood sprayed from her wound. God that must hurt.

Despite being weakened from blood loss, Rifsakkia still found the strength to launch one final attack. She, literally, jumped into the air and pounced on Kirby. Horrified, I saw that she had properly aimed and was now laying half-dead right on top of Kirby. Of course, unless a spike had gotten under there, Kirby would be unharmed, as his body may as well be elastic.

Lucky.

Rifsakkia looked up triumphantly, and then a bolt of lightning shot through her entire body. Kirby, obviously, had stabbed her with Galaxia. Rifsakkia screamed so loud that some rock fell from the ceiling and to the ground. Even me with all my weight was sent a few inches into the air from the force of her fall.

Kirby crawled out from under her, gasping and shaking. For awhile Kirby just stared at Rifsakkia, her blood still pooling around her despite the fact that she was nearing death. I realized suddenly that Kirby wasn't gasping, he was crying. He turned away, looking down with his eyes closed. Kirby... Kirby, I'm sorry..., I heard in my mind. Rifsakkia was freed from the demon possessing her now, but nothing could change that fact that she was dieing.

CHAPTER 4- Onyx, and not the Stone

I couldn't believe what I had done. Rifsakkia had been possessed by a demon, but I hadn't meant to kill her along with it, damnit! (Geez, I gotta stop swearing) This is one of those times that I wish I was blind or deaf or both, as Rifsakkia's whines of pain and bloody self were becoming embedded in my mind.

I found it amazing how she has survived this long with arterial bleeding, and normal bleeding from various places. I know for a wretched fact that I cut some of the muscle in her tail, too. God, that had to hurt.

I looked to where I thought Sarah had been standing, expecting her to be shaking with rage. She wasn't there. Instead, she was approaching Rifsakkia from the opposite side. Either I'm a raving lunatic, or Sarah was holding two plump Maximum Tomatoes in her paws. (Where the hell did she get those?) I fully understood her intent, but was two enough? Rifsakkia was kinda... big... and in really bad condition here.

As Sarah approached her, Rifsakkia started looking somewhat eager, eager to be healed. I, too, was eager, because the sooner Rifsakkia was in better condition, the sooner I could stop feeling like a total jerk towards her species.

Rifsakkia weakly reached her head out, going closer to Sarah until she snapped her massive jaws around both tomatoes at the same time, narrowly missing Sarah's paws. Sarah jumped back in surprise, and then just looked at her.

I had never seen a Maximum Tomato in the process of healing someone, I just knew that it felt really weird, but as I watched Rifsakkia being healed, I learned that it looked kinda weird too. It started at her eyes, and the vessels within them were restored to normal blood vessels. Her scales re-aligned themselves and the eighty-fifth degree burns I gave her disappeared. The demonic spikes that covered her body literally fell off, and the wound where I had stabbed her closed and healed cleanly.

Throughout this, Rifsakkia had her eyes closed, but as the process started to end, she opened her eyes. Instead of bright red, they were now deep sapphire, her pupils thin and catlike.

Thank you, Sarah. Thank you, Kirby. I heard in my mind. My God, even though Maximum Tomatoes were all-healing, Rifsakkia still had scars and what remained of the cuts I gave her. I shuddered, knowing that since Galaxia made those scars, they weren't going to heal. They would always be there, no matter what.

I looked up, and noticed that the rest of the Oripeons were either going up to Rifsakkia or to me. Most of them either asked me how I could fight like that and not kill her, or wanted my autograph. It's funny, a snake wanting your autograph.

I didn't feel like I deserved this attention, I nearly killed her, ya know! And yet, the Oripeons didn't seem to care about the then, just the nowNormally I would find this to be wise, but known I couldn't find it more wrong. But because of constant request, I did do some autographs, I did tell the story from my view twice, and I did not make it out of the crowd very quickly. Sarah had her own crowd to deal with, and basically the same thing was happening there.

About five hours and two hundred autographs later, we were all back outside of the cave, and Terakka was having one of her speeches about a rock's rights again.

"-I was just sitting under a tree the whole time, while YOU got to fight a demon, sign autographs, and have a good time with your new fanatics. God, why do you Star Warriors get to have all of the fun? DOSE ANYBODY CARE ABOUT THE ROCK IN THE BACKGROUND ANYMORE? I don't think so, because-"

Well, she went on longer, but I stopped listening about right there. Ugh, she gives the same speech every time something exiting happens to me, and every time it gets more and more angry and powerful. Terakka is kinda sensitive when it comes to her physical being, and if anybody ever mentioned it, she would KEEL YOU. No, not kill you, keel you. There's a difference, and I have bruises to prove it.

It was nearing nighttime now, our home star sending out its final rays of light, creating a magnificent array of reds and oranges in the twilight sky. A few shimmering stars decorated the already darkening sky, along with the faint silhouettes of birds of various species. A peaceful setting, you would agree, but I was in no such mood to enjoy it.

As we approached the village, I heard something snap, like a twig or something. I turned around and saw an albino Oripeon following us. She (or He) was fairly small for her (or his) species, only about five or so feet long. But I could tell that she (or he) was not a child.

I'm not here. You don't see me.

"Uh, yeah we do." Terakka said as-a-matter-of-factly, "Why the hell are you following us?"

I've got nowhere else to go. Please, if I can just follow you guys? I'll be no burden, and I'll be really quiet, you'll see.

"I'm not so sure about the 'really quiet' part."

"Terakka! Hmf, what do you mean you've got nowhere else to go? We were just in a cave full of Oripeons, I'm sure-"

I don't want to be there. There's no freedom, you see. I cannot possibly stay in there my whole life. It would kill my soul. And besides, who wants to spend there whole life in a cave? He put his head down as he said this.

"Good point, but why us? Can't you just follow somebody else around?"

I saw the way you fought back there, and even though that was an Oripeon, I thought that was awesome. If I go with you guys, I don't really have to worry about anything weird happening to me, so it's safest. He seemed at little eager.

He had a point. I don't really take pride in my fighting abilities, but he would be pretty safe if he was with me. He didn't seem like he would be any weight on my back, he had manners, (unlike someone else I know) and a will for freedom. Meh, I guess he could come.

"Alright-"

WHOOHOO! Yeah, this'll be awesome dude and dudetts! I promise, you won't regret letting me come! Ooh, we can stay up late, tell scary stories, and do insane things YEAH! And I can tell you about the time that I saw a-

Well, he seemed enthusiastic about this. Ah well, he wouldn't be too bad, I mean, who can be evil and want to stay up late at the same time?

Terakka

I'll say it now. I don't really like Onyx, that Oripeon that joined me and Kirby on this mission that was over. He talks too much, and nothing bothers him AT ALL. I mean, Kirby is like that a little, but Onyx was just insane. I swear, he cannot turn his motor-mouth off.

-and then there was this huge wave that gushed into the cave and flooded it. God, it took awhile for that to go away. Right about then was when me and some of my old friends went out to see-

Ugh.

We had been able to get Sarah's mother's permission to stay at her house for tonight, and but Onyx had to stay outside. If you're wondering how he is still talking to us, then I'll give you a hint. His head fits right through the window.

Sarah's mother had seemed surprisingly calm about having an Oripeon as a half-houseguest. Her only insist was that he go to sleep when we do, as not to keep us up all night. If only she knew her mistake then.

It happened a few hours before midnight, when I saw Kirby draw Galaxia and set it on the guest room bedside table. Kirby had sighed, and then looked into the mirror. Even I saw that Kirby's reflection was not his own. Instead, there was only a man about three times Kirby's height. The man's skin was a deep purple color, in heavy contrast to his amber eyes and wild, blond hair.

This must've been why Kirby had wanted to go to Fumu's place, to understand this phenomenon. I felt so sorry for Kirby right now; he was standing in front of the reflection of a dead guy, trembling. Then I heard Kirby do something he has never done before. He whined. A high pitched, almost cute sound, but it was created from fear.

The man in the mirror bent down a little, and reached his hand out to Kirby's paw. It wouldn't have been nearly as scary if his hand didn't go right through the mirror. Literally, his hand was on our side of the mirror! That's just creepy. Wake up wake up wake up!, I thought, shaking my head in hopes that this was just some damnable nightmare.

Kirby backed away from the man's hand, whining involuntarily again. The man's face fell, and then tuned angry. He reached out to Kirby again and grabbed his paw and mouthed out, 'Come on. Let's go.' Kirby just shook his head rapidly. 'No? Then I'LL TAKE YOU!' he mouthed out angrily. The moment he finished his eyes flashed red and he took Kirby firmly by the paw and dragged him into the mirror! I almost screamed, but this was too horrifying for words. I... I had to do something! But what?

KIRBY!, I heard Onyx's voice echo in my mind, and for once I was glad to hear him.

Despite Sarah's mother's insist, Onyx slithered in through the window and lunged right at the mirror. Surprisingly, it did not break. Instead he too went into that side of the mirror. If it would hold for Onyx, that damned mirror would hold for me.

I ran out from behind the door and jumped at the mirror. I passed through the very being of the mirror, and then everything went black.

When I woke up, I noticed immediately that I was sitting on something hard. Hard and round. I looked down and saw that it was a... watermelon? I looked around me and, you guessed it, I was sitting in a huge field of watermelons. There didn't seem to be anything else but the watermelons.

"Okay, this is weird." I said to myself.

I took a second look around this place. Apparently, there was no grass, only watermelons. The sky was an odd shade of periwinkle, and there was a butterscotch-colored mountain in the distance. A river cut through the watermelons, but the water was red. Not orange like in the Orange Ocean, it was pale red.

To tell the truth, I didn't think that I was on Popstar anymore. Or Hotbeat, Mecheye, Ripple Star, Halfmoon, Flora, or Aqualiss; I thought I had to be in some other dimension. This place didn't make any sense! Then again, my life stopped making sense when I met Sarah... no, correction. When I met Kirby.

I got up and looked around for somebody who could explain all of this to me. I saw nobody. Great, not only was this some wacked-out place, it was deserted. Just as I was about to totally give up, I saw somebody walking in and out of the watermelons, like it was a maze.

"Hello! Uh, hello there! Can you tell me where I am?" I asked the figure.

For awhile, he-she-it said nothing, and then I heard a faint, "Here."

Oh God. "I know I'm here, but where is here!"

The figure looked towards me, saying, "Here's here." From the look on the figure's face, he-she-it obviously had no idea what I was talking about. God, person, I know that I'm here, but where exactly is here?

The figure approached me, and he (I'm guessing on the gender) looked a lot like Kirby. The body shape was the same, but he was a deep purple color, with pure sterling eyes that flashed at me like the feathers of a starling. He had an odd pattern of spirals and helixes painted across his face in black, giving him an almost mystical appearance. He himself had an odd feeling about him, but I couldn't quite place why.

"Hmm... you're new here, right? Look you have to leave-"He was interrupted by a massive but short-lived fissure that echoed across this dreamscape of a world like thunder in a storm. The simple being of it caused several watermelons to explode, sending red fruit in all directions.

"-here now before he finds out."

"He?"

"Nightmare. His name is Nightmare, and he is taking over this mind."

CHAPTER 5- The Smallest Fraction

"WHAT? No, that's impossible, Nightmare was killed about 23 years ago... and what do you mean by this mind?"

"I'll explain later. Come on, we have to leave here, Terakka, NOW!" He said as he motioned to me and then took off running. I followed him, easily catching up but oddly enough couldn't keep up for very long. God, what's with this place? It occurred to me suddenly that he knew my name, but I didn't know his.

"What's your name?"

"Kinobator."

Those were the last words that I heard from Kinobator for awhile. He led me down a worn, used path of rotting watermelons that was winding and twisted, like the Oripeon's cave. Speaking of which, where the hell was Onyx? I should've seen him by now, and to see somebody I know would really be comforting right now.

Kinobator had led me to an underground sanctuary that seemed to be guarded by rocks and a pale red creek. Inside, it was almost as strange and odd as Kinobator. Jars of things like bluish snake scales and what I hope wasn't blood lined the walls, and the same symbols on Kinobator's face decorated everything. I mean that, too; every jar and inch of stone floor had that pattern painted onto it.

There was another weird thing, the ashes that lay in front of the doorway. It was a thick line of ash that left a bitter taste in my mouth, and the ashes themselves where not black. They were bright, glowing red, like a demon's eyes.

Kinobator had started a fire in the center of the room, which was red-orange with a blue center. Once again, something was weird about the fire. It emitted no light. All of its light stayed as the fire itself, and therefore casted no shadows on the wall.

"So, what did you mean by 'this mind' earlier?" I asked him timidly.

"You haven't caught on yet? This very land is not at all a land, Terakka; it is the imagination of somebody. We're within the deepest, most secretive area of it, the area where no amount of thinking can change the mindscape. And it's being invaded by demons created by one named-"

"-Nightmare. I know. But how can he still be alive? Kirby killed him, like, 23 years ago."

"If even the smallest fraction of an evil still exists, then it can regenerate until it can create and enslave on the smallest measures."

Rifsakkia..., I thought.

"How can this evil still exist in an imagination? Wouldn't it have to be a part of the spirit of the body itself?"

"Exactly. Whoever the spirit of this mind was last, it was enslaved by Nightmare before its physical death. Therefore, that tiny fraction still survives inside of the soul." Kinobator fell silent, then his eyes widened.

"Stay quiet." He said seriously.

A huge, circular shadow passed by the doorway, seemingly not noticing us in our little sanctuary. Once it passed, Kinobator grabbed a brown bag from a hook on the wall and stuffed a few random items into it including the snake scales, an empty jar with no cork, and a strange necklace with a blue orb held on by a metallic claw.

"Come on." He said sternly, "We need to find the memory base at the center of this world; it might hold some clues to this."

I nodded rapidly and followed him out of the sanctuary and back outside towards a vast, open white space in the middle of this mindscape.

It was amazing. The memory base was just this empty space in the very fabric of this "world", and a thick, white haze seemed to conceal the contents. I suddenly realized that, through these memories, I could figure out whose mind we were in! I shivered at the thought, as what if the person who owned this mind noticed that we were here? Could... could s/he erase us forever from his/her mind and from time itself forever?

"Come on, Terakka, and whatever you do, don't fall."

Fall! That can't be good. And if it is, than Kinobator must be hiding something.

He motioned to me, and he walked to the edge of the space. I looked down, seeing nothing beyond the whiteness. What if I did fall? Would I ever land on anything, or would I just keep falling forever? I backed away slightly, not anymore eager to continue.

I looked into the whiteness again. There seemed to be a chunk of rock just floating not too far from where I stood. In fact, when I looked harder, I saw hundreds of thousands of similar rocks, floating slowly and randomly around the space. None of them ever seemed to come even close to the edge of the space.

"When I say to, jump."

I suddenly knew what he meant. He really said, "When I say so, jump onto the rock that I did."

"...JUMP!" he said suddenly as he leaped onto the closest rock, which happened to be several meters away. I followed the action, though not as willingly as he.

It was... odd. The moment I landed on the rock, a flash of light encircled us. I could not see for a moment, and when my vision cleared, I could not believe what I was seeing.

I was (or seemed to be) in a rocky crag, but everything was slightly blurred at the edges. In the distance, I saw a small pinkish figure, not much bigger than the rock he was resting against. Kirby... wait. I'm in Kirby's mind! That would explain all of the watermelons, I guess...

Suddenly, past-Kirby shrieked in pain, his cry eventually fading into a whine I knew so well. Me and Kinobator seemed to zoom in on Kirby, and I saw that he was bruised in various places, and a long, shallow, jagged cut ripped down his backside. He also appeared to have been crying, but now the pain was apparently too intense to cry anymore. I know that I said, 'Oh...' aloud, but I didn't hear anything.

I saw an indigo, cloaked figure in the distance, rapidly getting closer to Kirby. He was running, and as he approached us, I recognized him as Sir Meta Knight, the man who had died to save the universe.

Kirby and Sir Meta Knight's eyes met, and the bright flash of light once more engulfed me and Kinobator. Only this time, when it faded, we were back on the rock, somewhat off balance.

"That was a memory. Every one of these stones holds a different memory from a different time. It'll take awhile, but we should find something useful here." Kinobator said firmly, as if he was determined to find out what was going on. Hell, I sure was! If Kirby had something weird going on in his head, I should know. 'Cause then I can tease him about it after the problem was solved.

We jumped almost simultaneously to the next rock, which a memory that I did not understand. It took place on a battlefield, but I couldn't see Kirby anywhere. Instead, I saw hundreds of other Star-Warriors fighting a huge, never-ending army of demons. That memory is now part of mine own, as I still cannot forget the final cries of the many Star-Warriors that fell fighting. This has to be from Kirby's point of view, I thought blankly.

Once it ended, Kinobator said to himself, "That was strange. I thought all of these memories were from a different point of view than the owner's..."

A very long period of time passed like this, and no other memories that I saw were like the second. Something has to be special about that memory. I thought, but what?

Kirby

I don't want to be here. Let me go., I thought aloud.

Oh, I would Kirby, but I'm not quite finished with you yet. You've done me too much damage for me to let you go unharmed, and, I promise. You will be with your precious Sir Meta Knight soon enough.

I knew that voice. I knew it. But I couldn't believe whose it was.

Nightmare?

Author's Note- Oooohhh, spooky stuff! And, yep, Nightmare's back and ready for revenge on Kirby. WARNING: The next chapter is very short and is a very bad place to stop reading. You can finish it in about fifteen minutes, keep reading, damnit!

CHAPTER 6- The Darkness Within

I had no idea why, but I don't think that any of the memories were as strange or unexplainable as that second one. Except that one where there was only a weird jumble of color and sound, and then it showed the first memory we saw from Kirby's view. Other than that, nothing.

Another odd thing I noticed was that not all of the rocks held memories. In fact, there were les that did than did not. Kinobator told me that those rocks were space for new memories that Kirby might get.

I looked ahead of us, just to see if I could guess where we were going next. Instead, I saw... Onyx! Yeah, Onyx; he was wrapped desperately around a fairly large rock, his eyes covered by his tail. I wonder if he's afraid of heights... I suddenly realized once more how high we were up.

"ONYX! Onyx, can you hear me?" I asked him, my voice echoing against the nothingness.

Yeah, yeah I can hear you. Man, am I glad to see you! I've been stuck wrapped around this rock for awhile now.

"Terakka? Who is that?" Kinobator asked me.

"A friend." I answered quickly.

Without anymore words between us, I jumped almost reluctantly across a series of rocks, not stopping on any of them to see any memories. I was just so exited to see somebody I knew again.

"Hey, be careful. You don't want to fall off."

I ignored him just like the perfect little angel I am. (Imagine that I said this with a note of sarcasm.)

When I landed on the rock that Onyx was on, I didn't really land on the rock. Instead I landed on-

OW MY TAIL! GOD, how much do you weigh, Terakka, Onyx said in a mental tone higher than usual. He was looking at me like he was up all night on caffeine soda and sugar, his eyes widened in pain.

"Sorry..." I said quietly.

Apology accepte- OH FREAKIN' OWW MY TAIL!

I looked behind me to see Kinobator looking at me. Not crossly, as I would expect, but with that annoyingly blank poker face on. I swear that he cannot make any facial expressions.

"Don't run off like that, you might fall." He said blankly.

"Yeah yeah I know." I said quickly.

... so, how do we get back to land?

Kirby

Nightmare! How could he still exist? I killed him about 23 years ago, how can this be? I thought.

I don't truly still exist, Kirby. A fraction of me has survived in your soul, not nearly strong enough to take you under my control. I weakly possessed Rifsakkia just to try to kill, you, but you Star Warriors are difficult to kill, so I failed.

"But, but you never before possessed me, how can you still survive inside of me?"

I'll give you a hint. His name was Jecra.

Knuckle Joe's father? How could that have anything to do with... oh, no, he can't mean... this all can't possibly... I'm... Oh my... this can't be...

Meep!

Terakka

After a long time of using process of elimination we finally made it back to land. Kinobator filled Onyx in on the details, and even in parts that needed to be said in emotion, Kinobator still spoke in a blank voice. I was starting to believe the thought that he might not be able to show emotion, not matter how odd it seemed.

I swear that the mindscape had changed since we left, as everything seemed to have a darker shade to it now. Even the river was now a deep crimson, and nothing seemed to shine anymore. I wondered suddenly if this place had day and night cycles.

We were heading to Kinobator's little sanctuary, with Kinobator slightly frustrated that we found almost nothing there. I remembered the path of rotting watermelons well enough to go ahead of the guys a little, anxious to be safe once more. When I looked back, Onyx had suddenly stopped, flicked his tongue out a few times, and then stopped moving. He looked like a statue or something, just standing there with most of his front rose up. He slowly spread his hood; it decorated with a familiar pattern.

Wait a minute. Those spirals... I looked over to Kinobator, who had also stopped walking and was now staring at Onyx. His face, it had the same pattern of helixes and spirals as Onyx's hood! God, now I really wanted to know what that pattern meant. Whatever it did mean, both Kinobator and Onyx had it for the same purpose. Curiosity killed the cat...

... But satisfaction brought it back.

Onyx suddenly hissed, and a split second after that, a huge tremor rumbled across the mindscape. The sky turned from a calm periwinkle to a deep, angry red. Onyx was going crazier now, hissing so loud it sounded like he was growling. I noticed that all of the watermelons had shriveled to half of their original size, turning black in the process. My teeth were chattering loudly, as now I have a phobia of being trapped in people's minds.

Another tremor shook the land, causing the ground to slit in certain places.

"Come here." Kinobator said, his eyes now glowing bright sterling, "I can protect us." I really had no idea what he meant by that, but, hell if he could save me from these tremors, then I was in.

"I promise, this might hurt." Kinobator said as he took out the empty jar he had brought along. He also picked out from the bag a small, flint knife. He stepped towards me and in one deft movement, made a small, shallow cut in my skin. I almost immediately began to bleed, and my blood Kinobator collected in the jar. I have no idea what kept me from crying out or anything, this was scary. Scary. SCARY!

When the jar was about a sixth of the way full, he pulled it away and repeated the procedure on Onyx and himself. I noticed that Kinobator did not wince even though he cut himself the deepest. The jar was almost half-full when Kinobator began to draw in the dirt around us all an interlocking pattern of circles until there was what looked like a thirty-foot chain wrapped around us.

Then, he took the jar of our blood, and every other circle he poured a few drops of blood into. The jar, oddly enough, was perfectly empty when he was done, and I got the feeling that he had done this before.

Scary...

Kinobator then took out the jar of snake scales and then all of the circles with blood on them he pressed a scale into. He did this quickly and almost franticly, as if he wanted to be done soon. The moment another tremor shook the mindscape, Kinobator was done with the scales.

He stepped into the ring of circles with me and Onyx, shaking a bit noticeably.

A ribbon of the elements shot up from every circle with our blood and a scale in it, eventually bending down and forming a semicircular shield around us. This was so odd; I did not know Kinobator could cast spells like this. Then again, what DID I know about him?

"Why... why did you need our blood for this?" I asked quietly.

"This shield will only protect those whose blood I used. Therefore, I needed some of all of our blood to do this. The scales are those of a lone demon I once saw, and I cast another spell on them so that no demon could cross a line of those scales." Kinobator explained calmly, even as a massive quake boomed across the mindscape, and through the shield, I could see that it caused the very mountain in the distance to crack down the middle.

I shivered. This could not end well.

Hahahahahaha! Kirby, I will destroy you now!

Author's Note- KEEP REEDEENG!

CHAPTER 7- Return of Nightmare

I turned around, reflexively trying to figure out where the voice came from. I failed, as all I could see was the wall of the shield that surrounded us. Only the Air parts I could see through, and even then, there was little left to see. There was nothing remaining of the watermelons anymore, and it was so dark out there that I thought it was night. Even the river now glowed a bright vermillion.

I looked back to Onyx, who had not yet lowered his hood and still was reared up so that his head touched the top of the shield. He still hissed quietly from time to time, and I don't think he planned on stopping until he knew what was causing all of this.

"Get down." Kinobator said suddenly. The moment he was finished, I heard something crash into the shield, roaring in pain. Wait a second, roared?

I looked through the shield again, and a demon stood outside of it. The demon itself was similar to Wolfwrath in shape and size, only its fur was black, and the horns were blue. As with all demons, its eyes glowed almost the same color of the river.

Wait, how do I know it looks like Wolfwrath?

It was about to lunge again, but a glowing saffron ... thing knocked it away. The demon roared again, and instead pounced on whatever had shot the... thing. I use the word, 'whatever', as I could not see what it was. I could only hear its voice-

"GET OFF ME!" another star fired "GET FREAKING OFF OF ME!"

I knew that voice.

"Kirby?" I said aloud.

Kirby, Onyx's voice echoed in my mind.

"TERAKKA! ONYX!" I heard in response.

KIRBY! Oh, man it is good to see, –uh- hear you again!

"Oh, Kirby..." Was my only reply to Onyx's comment.

The moment I uttered those words, a small gap appeared in the shield. I took immediate advantage of it and jumped through, the hole closing once I was outside.

I just stood there, frozen in fear. There was nothing left in the mindscape, only darkness and the vermillion river. The mountain in the distance was only a small hill of what seemed to be ash, but the memory base still glowed white and cast shadows upon the fading mindscape.

I turned to look at Kirby, who was holding... THE STAR ROD! How the hell could he be wielding the Star Rod? That thing wouldn't let anyone touch it if anyone bothered to try, but to wield it in battle? Almost unthinkable.

I was about to say something to Kirby, when an enormous tremor shook across the land and caused even the memory base to tremble. I was lifted a few inches above the ground from the sheer force of the thing, and that's really saying something.

I was suddenly aware of a presence behind me. Turning around, I saw then what Nightmare's true being looked like. He was a small sphere, not much larger than Kirby. Purple and blue stars rippled across his surface in a repeating, orderly pattern. And yet I could tell that if He was to die here, he would bring Kirby along with him into his eternal damnation.

Kirby looked towards Nightmare, who floated down from his spot in the air and said, I'm weak, but not done for yet, Kirby. Show me what you've learned in 23 long years, and show it to me at your best.

"You're on." Kirby answered with a smirk.

Suddenly the wolf demon launched its last bits of strength at Kirby, who deflected the assault with a star shot directly at the thing's paw. The demon shrieked in pain, but didn't fall back. It circled Kirby patiently, waiting for a chance to tackle Kirby again.

It's simple, really. If you are able to defeat my final creation, then you are worthy to fight me. He laughed, contented.

I can't be sure if Kirby heard this or not, just that he twitched slightly, and then the demon took the chance. It leapt at Kirby, snarling and aiming for Kirby's heart despite its injured paw. Kirby jumped out of the way, and the demon landed head-first in the dirt. Now it knew that Kirby could fight, and it wasn't about to make the same mistake again.

Kirby shot out a bombardment of stars at the demon, as it was still in shock from the fall. Every star hit, and one tore off the beast's already wounded paw. The thing growled for a second, then fell to the ground like an old rag doll, unwanted, unloved, and battered from use. It chest fell and rose heavily for a few seconds, and then it was still.

Kirby turned his attention towards Nightmare.

"It's on."

"Kirby, you're horrible."

CHAPTER 8- The Final Showdown

I was scared. Trapped within my own mind, I was fighting a remnant of Nightmare that had survived inside of my mind. The dog-demon lay on its side near an odd-looking force-field, dead. I felt ready to vomit at the sight of its blood pooling around it.

Terakka was backed away, near the weird vermillion river that flowed through the mindscape. It was the only thing left of the place, except for a half-orb of whiteness in the distance, and a pile pf ashes even farther away.

This all was not the reason that I was scared. No, I was scared because I had defeated the demon, and now I had to fight Nightmare. I don't know why I said what I did, but maybe that part of me that just wanted to fight and win made me say it.

Really, forget the dark. Forget wild animal attacks. You have absolutely no idea of what fear is until you are standing in front of the most evil thing you'll see in your lifetime, knowing that you would have to fight it. Alone. In the dark. With mutant vampire ninjas surrounding you.

Kidding.

Nightmare suddenly shot a ray of stars at me, which I deflected with a star of my own. He wouldn't get me with speed here. No. Not in my mind.

He moved to the side a bit and then shot a long stream of black stars across horizontally. Being unprepared for this kind of attack, I was hit a few times before I started to counter at them. I heard Terakka scream behind me, and from the corner of my eye I saw her running out of range Nightmare's range.

Once the stars had cleared, I shot a single, weak ray at Nightmare's sides but doing no major damage. This would be hard, and there was no way around it.

I felt a new presence in my mind, and not Galaxia's. I briefly looked at the Star Rod I held in my paw, and I noticed that it was shining brighter than usual. Nightmare was shrinking back before its saffron light, seemingly afraid of it.

Why? It is a legendary weapon, but why be more afraid of it now-

Suddenly I knew what to do.

I held the Star Rod in front of me, concentrating my very soul on its light. The saffron glow became white, and then a huge, blue-white ray exploded out of the Star Rod, heading straight for Nightmare. He, in return, shot out a stream of deep persimmon, colliding with my own.

When the two met, a massive fountain of energy spewed out of each, a combination of spectral and life energies. The Star Rod was overtaking Nightmare easily, and as a result the fountain was slowly turning white.

NOOOOOO! I heard right before his beam vanished, and the Star Rod's power engulfed him. His very being was stripped apart, torn away my power and the Star Rod's energy.

The beam stopped the moment I lost concentration, but Nightmare was already gone. I hope, at least.

The strange shield to my side disappeared, revealing Onyx and some other guy with sterling silver eyes and violet coloration. KIRBY KIRBY KIRBY! Oh my God, I MISS-ED YOOOUUU! I heard Onyx scream into my mind as he tackle-hugged me. By hugging I mean he wrapped his midsection around me, which hurts when you've been cut and you have a black eye. I was too happy to care about my injuries; it was just good to see your friends again.

"YAY! You deed eet! Nightmare eez history!" Terakka said as I was put down by Onyx, "You... also need to see a doctor..." She added as she noticed my wounds.

"It's nothing." I said.

"Either way, you need to return to the outside world."

I turned around, trying to see who had said that. There I saw among the shriveled and dead watermelons, was the guy with sterling eyes.

"What did you say?"

"I said that you need to return to the outside world." He answered solemnly.

"How can I? There's not really a door anywhere." I said, confused. I heard Terakka mutter, "Of course there is a door. It's just that there... isn't... one."

"I have my ways."

"What do you mean?"

For a bit he just looked at me, then without a sound he teleported a few feet from where he was first standing. "That is what I mean." I cannot trust a guy at all if I don't even know his name. "What is you name?"

"Kinobator. And yours?"

"Kirby." I said. Kinobator gasped, and then bowed down in front of me.

"You... You are the one I've been waiting for, sir."

Kinobator

I couldn't believe it. Kirby, finally, after all of this time was here. I had not imagined him to be so young, and even though I have been stuck in his very mind, I did not know until now that this was the mind of Kirby. Why, you ask, am I so eager to serve him? So eager to follow him? The answer is simple.

He may not know it, but when he could not talk he saved me from Zero-Two. I was on Ripple Star then, and the once peaceful planet was under rampage by 0'2. I was one of the many whose life was saved by him, and I made a promise that I would pay my debt back someday.

Why am I in his mind, you ask? Because 0'2 and Nightmare put me here. They did not want me to help Kirby, and they knew that the only way without killing me was to place me within his mind. While in his thoughts, my own mind became in-tune with his emotions, age, and attitude. I had all of these attributes, but when Kirby entered his own mind, the connection was broken, and so I have become an emotionless age-copy of Kirby.

I know for a fact that my mind will probably never rewire my visible emotions, and I accept it. As long as I can repay Kirby for what he has done for me, then I will be satisfied with life.

Kirby again

"... Alright. Let's... just..." I said even as my consciousness began to waver and I fell back into a sitting position. Tired...

"Kirby! Oh God, just hang on!" Terakka said in a startled voice,"Kinobator, hurry this thing up! Kirby needs a doctor, NOW!"

Kinobator nodded, and then closed his eyes. He lowered his paws in concentration, and I noticed for the first time that each of them had two small claws. Suddenly I was in front of the wretched mirror that had led me to my mind.

With my last ounces of strength, I was able to utter one quiet word, "Poyo..." before I fainted.

I came to in a small, ivory hospital room, and the only sounds I could hear was a male sparrow calling and my own heartbeat. Beep... beep... beep... The machine said. I was aware of a cool sensation around my left eye, the blackened one. I could feel some of my wounds healing underneath some bandages, but most were not even scabs yet. I hadn't been out long.

Pain hit me like a hammer, and in involuntary response I whined quietly. That small, barely audible sound caused a new barrage of sounds that my half-conscious, half-dead mind recognized as voices.

"He's awake! He's okay!" I heard Terakka exclaim happily. If I had the strength to, I would've told her that 'okay' was not really the right word. But I didn't even have the strength to open my eyes all of the way, so do you really think I would be able to speak?

My mind was fully awakened by the sound of Kinobator's solemn voice, stating that I would not be able to see through my left eye for a few weeks, as the power of Nightmare's attacks was too much for my eye to handle.

The Star Rod! Galaxia!, I thought, panicking at the idea that the Star Rod may still be in my mind or that Galaxia was still at Sarah's house. I managed to look to the table beside me, and there lay Galaxia in its scabbard. The moment I looked at it, I felt a presence in my mind besides my own. Kinobator apparently noticed that I had looked and said, "Don't worry. The Star Rod is back to its home at the Dream Fountain, milord. All's well."

His oddly calming words soothed my now-restless mind, calming it until I fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

CHAPTER 9- Home once More

Well, after Kirby's recovery at the Vegetable Valley hospital, we were all able to back home for the first freaking time in two weeks and some. Onyx and Kinobator got to come with us, Onyx staying outside of course. Kinobator made himself at home quickly, choosing the smallest room n the house to be his own, which I'm pretty sure was supposed to be a closet.

Really, Kirby tried to convince Kinobator the room next to him was bigger and actually had a light in it, but Kinobator said something, like it would be 'to great an honor' for him. Meh. That guy was too loyal to even allow himself to have a decent room, which is really weird. Weirdo.

Eventually, I asked Kinobator why he was so damn loyal to Kirby, or as he called him, 'sir'.

"Because, Kirby has saved my life more than he knows, and I'm willing to repay him." He answered in that oddly calm voice.

"How?"

"... Do you know who 0'2 was?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I was on Ripple Star for a small vacation when he attacked. Kirby defeated him, and even directly save me from being hit by a stream of fire."

"Vacation?"

"Yeah, I needed to get away from all of the fighting on Popstar, so I went to Ripple Star. I swear that the evil follows me."

I was in Kinobator's room then, which he had decorated beautifully with the little he had brought. The jars of various things lined the north wall, and the room was lit by several candles placed randomly. With the money he earned from magical item trade, he was able to really decorate that closet-slash-room thing. Really, do you have any idea how much people will pay for an amulet that actually can point to where you want to go? I'll give you a hint: exactly 120.6 Stars, and that's kind of a lot. Just KIND OF.

I thought that with that kind of money, Kinobator could be rich in no time. But it turns out that he cannot create such magical things like that often, as it zaps his strength to make even one. So, I still do my odd jobs on weekends, which include helping out at the diner on occasion, but Kinobator earns most of the money around here.

I'm so jealous.

I burst through the front door of our house, tired and a bit hungry from work. That diner gets REALLY busy on Friday nights, and the tips you get add up after, oh, a few hours of being waitress. Holding the bag with my tips in it, I walked over to my room, collapsing on my bed once I was in. By the way, I don't have a door; I have an ebony curtain, because doorknobs are a big problem for me. Don't ask or I'll sic my pet flesh-eating vampire mouse ninjas on you.

Ha ha. Just kidding.

Eventually I got my sorry backside out of bed and counted my tip money. It turns out that I earned a full 7.92 Stars from five hours of work. Meh, that's good enough for me, more than a dollar an hour is good enough pay for being a waitress at a millennia-old

I noticed Kinobator standing at the entrance of my room. I did not know how long he had been there, or why.

"Umm, Terakka? Do you want me to teach you... telekinesis? I don't want to hurt your feelings but you seem to be a bit... disabled." He said solemnly.

I almost said- "AH AM NOT DISABLED! I AM JUST FREAKIN' FINE BY MYSELF WITH MYSELF, SO BEAT IT!" But I didn't say that. (I'm so pathetic) Instead, I said-

"...mmmmnnnnuuhhhhhmmmmnnnyyeeeaah. Yeah."

Kinobator nodded. "Tomorrow. 9:30 AM."

Onyx

My name is Onyx, and you've probably seen or heard of me by now. Yes, I am that five-foot albino snake. Yes, I am that guy who lives in a self-made burrow next to Kirby's house. And finally, yes, I am the guy who drank ten cans of soda in twenty seconds and then burped so loud that it broke the sound barrier. It also broke the diner windows, which I still haven't repaired.

I'll tell you something, it's all true. By the way, I am very proud of my burrow, since Oripeons don't really do that normally. There's not really anything in it, since I only sleep in there.

I can prove this as I am in a forest miles away from Rainbow Resort. It's really nice there, the stream flows calmly and the fruit is good, and most of all, the locals are friendly. By 'locals' I mean the small rodents, the birds of prey, and the fish in the stream.

Hey, Onyx! Good to see ya again, laddie! A passing squirrel said to me, hanging onto the tree branch deftly.

And hello to you, too. I replied. Nothing is more peaceful than to gossip with the rodents, who always have something funny to say.

I heard about a huge green bird of prey that won't eat meat. He said.

Really? I said, quite surprised.

Yep, rumor goes that one day he just seemed to come out of nowhere, and then caught a passing mouse faster than the blink of an eye. He holds it under his talons for a bit, and then lets her go. Strange, isn't it? He asked me with a weird glint in his eye. His tail twitched slightly.

Yeah. I've never heard of a raptor who wouldn't hunt anything. I'll tell Kirby about this, he's sure to laugh!

You do that. Spread the word, laddie! He said merrily as he bounded away and up a tree.

Meanwhile, I started back towards Kirby's place, eager to tell him about this. I didn't just find it weird, but oddly suspicious. I mean, what raptor in the right mind will give up hunting? It wasn't right. When things aren't right, it means something's wrong, which makes absolutely no sense at all.

About an hour later I told Kirby about this phenomenon...

-who wouldn't hunt? I mean, that's just weirdly suspicious, if you ask me. I said quickly. I heard a small, quiet gasp from behind me. I turned around to see Kinobator dashing towards his room, mumbling, "This might have something to do with..." Then his voice became inaudible as he shut the door. Like any good "friend", I followed him.

Kinobator's room was one scary place, even for a Goth. But still I dared enter to find Kinobator staring into what looked like a clear ruby ball. I saw nothing, but Kinobator moved his two claws across the surface, tracing a straight line inbetween two darker areas of the ruby.

Kirby and Terakka joined me, (the room was crowded by now) and then I saw the two points suddenly flare up and light the room, then fell dark again.

"What are you doing?" Terakka asked him with mock curiosity; she didn't really care.

"Locating two lost and injured Star Warriors. The two... are friends... recently created... but still are now free. One... is in a large rainforest... the other... near an active volcano..." Kinobator said as he once more ran his claws across the ruby, pausing in-between every few words.

"What are their names, if you can tell?" Kirby asked.

Kinobator paused, then stated- "Their names are Gryphon and Quetzal."

Author's Note- Yep, that's the end! I am already writing the next in the series, don't worry. I am proud of my work on this, almost 2 months of work, which is a long time for me. Please, if you have any questions, comments, or hate mail to send me, feel free to e-mail me at zoe. Please tell me if you have ideas for the next one, I need some randomness.

ENJOY YOUR BEANS!