By the way, I'm satisfied with most of the chapter... altought I don't know if I "forced" the flow a bit in the middle... but well, you'll see, won't you?
Anyway! I hope you'll enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writting it!
I'll try to update as quickly as possible, as always.
NOTE: This chapter is a bit more violent than the others... but well, that's why there's a PG-13 rating, isn't it?
During the night... a strange dream came from the Fountain of Dreams... it was a small, disformed dream... a black dream that slipped throught the Star Rod's control protection and flowed to the small puffball, filling his mind with forbidden pictures...
He stood in the field next to Cappytown... but the town was... different. Gigantic strange buildings made of crystal stood everywhere and the sky was plunged into a perpetual darkness... and yet, it was so unreal... so beautiful.
Dedede's castle stood tall above the town, it's strange glowing purple walls shining into the darkness like a priceless gem. The moon glowed into the sky peacefully and thousands of beautiful dreams could be seen, flowing from the castle courtyard and flowing toward the world...
He had never seen such a city before...
But then, suddenly, the moon and the stars were covered with a veil of darkness. A great, dark power came to destroy the peace of this city from beyond reality.
A gigantic white shadow, following by a black, a blue, and a grey one, appeared. Thousands of monsters, their hearts pitch-black with evil, fell from the sky and begun to bring destruction and pain to all.
The white shadow chuckled in a voice that made Nightmare sound like an angel... this voice... it was filled with so much anger... so much hatred... if pure Evil had a voice, it was this one, without a doubt.
But then, a blinding pink light appeared and consumed the veil of darkness. The shadows, one by one, dived toward the unknow pink light, trying to destroy it... but the shadows were all driven away, one by one.
The people of the small city came out of their houses, no longer afraid. Even the king, who was strangely similar to King Dedede, came out to fight!
Together, with the pink light guiding them, the people of the crystal city chased the Forces of Darkness from their world... and even took the battle to the skies! People fell from the sky, joining the people in their fight and soon enough, the Forces of Darkness were overwhelmed.
However, the white shadow suddenly screamed and a white, blinding light consumed the people. Great cataclysms struck the city and the Forces of Darkness begun to gain back ground.
Then, the pink light and four friends rose. The four friends were awfully similar to beings Kirby had seen before... The first looked exactely like King Dedede and wielded Stardux, the legendary hammer. The second looked exactely like Metaknight and wielded Galaxia. The third was a human girl, wielding Magicka, the living paintbrush. The last one was a fairy, wielding the Ripple Rod, a weapon strangely similar to the Star Rod.
Each of the four friends' weapons glowed and then, the pink light pointed a huge crystal at the white shadow. The crystal transformed into a transluceant sword with two blades and then fired a gigantic beam at the white shadow, destroying it.
With the white shadow gone, the Forces of Darkness retreated...
Kirby stared at the scene... He wondered... he had the feeling he knew all those people... but why? All this scene... it felt so... familiar...
Then, the pink light appeared before him... and as the light subdued, Kirby saw the being beneath the veil of holy light...
Kirby stared, totally confused... at himself.
His reflection smiled...
"Someday, you will understand..." he said, in a somewhat high-pitched voice that was identical to him exept just a little bit deeper...
Then, everything faded and the pink puffball awakened, the dream finished.
Kirby looked toward the sky... and noticed that it was already daytime. He had slept for a very, very long time...
He didn't knew what to think of this dream... but one thing was sure. He hoped that what he had experienced yesterday was a part of the dream as well!
Kirby jumped and landed on his feet. He looked around, smiling. A new day begun and he would probably play all day long with his friends! This would be very fun!... or maybe he could train with Metaknight or something?... or maybe he would run into that Serty guy again? He was nice.
The wind blew... and Kirby heard a strange sound... kinda like armor? Must be Metaknight!
Kirby turned around to face Metaknight. He had been right! He was there!
"Puyo!" happily said Kirby.
Strange... no anwser.
Kirby noticed that Tuff, Fololo, and Falala were there as well. He happily called to them... but once again, no anwser.
"I don't know..." begun Fololo. "... but he doesn't look that much evil. Are you sure you just had a bad dream?"
"Kirby would never betray us! It's common knowledge! He's our friend!... well, DUH!" said Tuff.
Metaknight kept on staring... and Kirby frowned. Why was Metaknight upset like that?
"Puyo?" he asked, knowing very well that he wouldn't understand but well, it didn't stopped him form asking...
"Well... I'll admit it." said Metaknight, suddenly relaxing. "Maybe it was just a dr..."
Metaknight didn't finished his sentance. He had seen a detail about Kirby... a detail that wasn't there before...
"What the..." Metaknight's eyes widened. He had NOT seen that just now...
Metaknight approached Kirby... "Puyo?" he asked, not that it made any difference.
Metaknight grabbed Kirby and turned him upside down! Then, he proceeded to shake him!
"PUYOYOYO PUPUPU!" screamed Kirby, panicked as he was shaked like a bag of potatoes!
CLUNG!
A single, empty capsule fell down from somewhere.
Metaknight grabbed it and inspected it...
"So... it was not a dream..." he said, grasping the capsule.
Metaknight turned to the others and shown them the capsule. Tuff grabbed it and read what was written on it...
"So... what's written on it?" asked Falala.
"Well..." said Tuff. "Copy Ability item supply item. Manufactured by NME for use by Byrki."
"Byrki?" asked Falala. "Never heard of someone named Byrki! Maybe Kirby stole it from a monster?"
"Look inside." said Metaknight.
Tuff read what was written inside it... and his eyes widened.
"What's wrong? What's written inside?" asked Falala, not understanding why Tuff got all tense so suddenly.
"Re... read it yourself..." said Tuff, giving the capsule to the pink round being.
Falala read it... and her eyes too widened.
"Hey! I want to know what's so special about that capsule! What's written in it?" asked Fololo.
Falala gave the capsule to Fololo. He read what was written inside aloud...
"Special order of Agent Serty Number K-013 for use by Agent DS-211 Kirby." read Fololo.
He looked at Kirby, smiling. "Hey! That's weird! That Agent DS-211 happen to have the same name as you and to have the Copy ability!"
It took a few seconds for Fololo to realise it... "Wait a minute! An agent named Kirby who has the Copy ability? This can only mean that..."
"... that Kirby is a NME agent." finished Metaknight.
Fololo dropped the capsule as everyone exept for Metaknight stared at the pink puffball in disbelief.
"This... this is a joke, right? Tell me it's a joke, Metaknight! Kirby cannot be... one of them, can he?" asked Tuff, refusing to believe this...
They all stared at each others... Kirby, him, didn't knew what to do...
"Kirby... why? We tought that you were our friend!" said Falala, crying.
Kirby looked down, not daring to look at his friends. This capsule was a special gift from Serty. Serty had taken one of the capsules he had been given and wrotte that inside before putting a small star inside the caspule, resealing it, and giving it to him. Kirby had used the capsule to use the Ball ability and it had been one of the most fun abilities he had ever tried. Using this, he had been able to roll around at such speeds and bounce so high!... and he had tought of keeping the capsule as a souvenir of his days with Serty... but he had never tought that the capsule would be used as a proof that he went to the NME base.
Kirby begun to cry, not knowing what to do. Maybe they were right? Maybe he should have never accepted to follow Serty. He had gone to the NME base and accepted the enemies of the Star Warriors as his friends... he had turned his back on them all. He was a traitor!
Metaknight unsheated Galaxia... but hesitated. Altought Kirby was a traitor, he felt that the pink living ball was special to him. He had watched over him for so long... could he truly do this?
Metaknight pointed the holy blade at Kirby. "I never espected you to turn away from us... but what must be done... must be done."
Metaknight raised the sword, winding up for an attack... but... his arm got stuck in that position. He couldn't bring the sword down and strike... he just couldn't. His left eye turned blue... and then, slowly, so did his right one... and after a few seconds, a water drop fell from his mask... a tear.
"I... must... do... this!" he said to himself.
But... his arm refused to move. He cannot strike Kirby... even if he betrayed him, he just can't...
Kirby looked up to Metaknight...
Kirby tried to say something... but suddenly...
There was a strange, grey blur and Galaxia was knocked away from Metaknight!
The responsible for this turned to face the group... and everyone's eyes widened... but Kirby's more than anyone else!
706 was standing there...
BASH!
A purple Dream Matter had seemingly came out of nowhere and punched Metaknight right in the face using the Fighter ability!
It was Wilde!
"I knew it! It was a good idea to follow you!" said another Dream Matter, this one larger than the others...
It was Mash!
706 jumped, placing himself between Metaknight and Kirby!
"Byrki is our friend. We will not allow you, a worthless Star Warrior, to touch our friend!" said the small NZ Dark Trooper. Altought he was small... it had been surprising how quickly and with how much strenght the small thing had knocked Galaxia away!
"Leave Kirby alone!" ordered the knight!
"Kirby? Heh! If he was the Pink Demon, we would know it!" replied Wilde with a harsh tone. "Do he looks like that evil monster, Kirby, to you? NO! He is Byrki, our good friend!"
"OK... now THAT is confusing..." said Tuff. "But I think I finally understood! Maybe that Kirby is some kind of... well... double agent or something?"
Fololo turned to Tuff. "Double agent? You mean, those people that work on both sides at once... but really are the friend of only one side?"
"Yeah! Exactely!" said Tuff. "When he's here, Kirby acts normally and he must also disguise himself as Byrki to take on the NME from the inside!"
"You're so smart, Tuff!" said Falala.
"Really? Err... hey! I said something smart! Like my sister! So cool..." said Tuff, proud of himself.
Mash, 706, and Wilde stared at each others... and then turned to Kirby.
"Really? Well... you're all wrong! Kirby cannot speak and our friend can! How's that to you? Come on Byrki, say something!" said 706.
Kirby frowned. He was in DEEP trouble now. Without the serum, he was stuck with being able to only say "puyo"... and they didn't knew that he was, in truth, Kirby. They would probably think he has hurt that Byrki guy or something if they learnt he was Kirby... he didn't wanted to break the hearts of his friends and that, on both sides... what to do?
Kirby turned to Metaknight, who was staring at him... and then, he turned to 706, who was staring at him too...
So much stress... so much pressure...
Kirby couldn't take it and began to cry!... which caused both sides to be upset!
"Great! See what you done, 706! You made Byrki cry, big meanie!" scolded Wilde, slapping 706 with all of her strenght!
"OW! Not my fault!" said quickly 706.
Metaknight, Tuff, and the others just kept staring...
"Leave Kirby alone!" ordered Metaknight.
"Leave Byrki alone!" ordered Mash.
Metaknight jumped toward his sword and took it in his hands. Then, he jumped toward Mash! Mash prepared to punch...
"PUUUUYOOOO!" screamed Kirby as he jumped between the two!
SLAAAAASH!
BAAAAAAAM!
Both of their attacks struck Kirby unstead! Everyone froze in their tracks as Kirby was almost cut in two from one side, and almost totally crushed from the other.
Kirby fell down, serious hurt... a torrent of crimson liquid flowed from both injuries...
"OH NO! I'M TOO LATE!"
It was Serty, who had just arrived on the scene...
"YOU MORONS!" he screamed to his friends as he dashed toward Kirby...
Metaknight pointed his sword at Serty. "I will not allow you to..."
"SHUT UP!" screamed the Dream Matter. "I don't care where you loyalty belongs! Kirby is gonna die if he doesn't get treatments!"
Both sides stared at the pink puffball in disbelief... Serty took out a capsule and opened it. Out of it came tomato slices... Maxim Tomato slices... Serty forced Kirby to open his mouth and forced the slices into his throat, hoping that the injuries weren't fatal...
For a second, nothing happened... and then, Kirby's wounds closed... Serty made a few steps backward... he was so embarassed... all of this begun becease of him...
"OK... could someone explain to me what just happened, here?" asked both Tuff and 706, at the same time.
"I'm so sorry everyone... it's all my fault... I... I lied in the report. I lied... I did not fail in my plans... I... succeeded. Kirby... was at my mercy but then... something happened that changed my view on the situation."
The green Dream Matter turned to Metaknight.
"A few days ago... you were on the roof of the castle... don't you?" asked Serty.
"I have nothing to say to a NME agent!" replied harshly Metaknight.
Serty ignored the harsh comment. "That night, I couldn't sleep and flied to the roof. There, I ran into you... and you confused me for Kirby and explained to me your dilemna, thinking you were discussing with Kirby."
Metaknight's eyes widened. He couldn't believe it! He had revealed all of his worries to the enemy!
"Following that night, I realised... that the Star Warriors weren't quite like Father Nightmare had told us. I wanted... to show Kirby that we weren't like everyone said... to show him how we truly were. I injected a serum to give him speech abilities and used his similarities to Agent Byrki to help him infiltrate the base. Then... he lived with us for a while."
The NME agents' jaws dropped... they couldn't believe it...
"You mean that... He wasn't..." Wilde didn't finished her sentance.
"Byrki died shortly after his arrival. I found his body in an abandonned Teleportation Room. The one you all tought was Byrki... is in truth, Kirby, the Pink Demon reborn."
Mash, 706, and Wilde stood there... and finally realised that for all this time, they had befriended and played with the enemy as if he was one of them...
Metaknight turned to Kirby... "So he really did betray us..." begun the knight... but Serty interrupted him!
"No! No! Kirby did not. I told Kirby that I wanted him to choose his side from his own free will and this is why I brought him to the base. Kirby had not chosen a side by the way he got back here... he couldn't bring himself to betray the ones he respected the most. Kirby... has great respect for you, Metaknight."
Metaknight turned to Serty... "So... he did not betray us in truth... but still, I don't have any reasons to trust you. You are agents of the evil emperor, Nightmare."
Wilde stepped foward, offended. "EVIL EMPEROR? Who was murdering thousands of innocents and bringing terror to the galaxy for all those centuries? It was the Star Warriors! You are all spawns of the Pink Demon! No-good monsters that care for..."
Serty interrupted Wilde. "STOP! Do you think blaming Metaknight will do any good? He was, just like Kirby, protecting his friends... just like we were."
Mash closed his eyes... "I still believe that the Star Warriors are evil, however. If their movement is allowed to be revived... they could consume the entire world!"
"Consuming the world? Actually, I think that the NME has a strange way of protecting people... with all of their whole world enslaving and destroying business." said Metaknight.
Kirby slowly got up and noticed that he was still alive. Not only that but he noticed his friends, arguing...
"The NME never did anything! It was the Star Wa..." yelled 706!
"The NME's crimes cannot be forgiven! EVER!" yelled back Metaknight!
"PUUUUYOOOO!" screamed Kirby, causing both sides to stop.
Kirby advanced toward Metaknight... and kicked him! The NME agents cheered!
Then, Kirby approached Mash... and kicked him too! Metaknight, Tuff, Fololo, and Falala cheered!
Kirby stood in the middle, upset at both groups.
"Kirby..." begun Metaknight.
Kirby did not listen. He had enough, ENOUGH! He had no intention of allowing them to hurt each others any longer...
Suddenly, there was a strange sound... and all the NME agents exept for Serty ran away!
"Sorry! Gotta go!" yelled Mash.
"What the..." Serty couldn't say anything as they sped off, away from them...
Serty turned to Kirby. "Anyway... I'm just happy to see that you're in a good shape."
"Kirby..." begun Metaknight. "You cannot keep the NME and those who walk on the path of the Star Warriors from fighting each others forever. You must choose a side..."
"Oh! You and your..." begun Serty... but the two couldn't argue as there was a deafening sound.
BOOOM!
The sound of an explosion to be more exact... and the screams of terror of cappies!
Large columns of smoke rose from Cappytown...
"Cappytown... is on fire!" said Tuff.
Metaknight grabbed Serty by where his neck was supposed to be and raised him above the ground!
"What kind of trick is that, monster?" asked Metaknight in a threatening way.
"I... I don't know! I didn't knew those three would show up! I wasn't there during the briefing!" he quickly replied.
Judging from the surprise in his eyes... he was saying the truth. Metaknight let the green puffball go. He turned to Kirby and then, Kirby understood. Kirby nodded and everyone ran toward the town...
When Kirby, Metaknight, Tuff, Serty, Falala, and Fololo arrived on the scene, the entire town was on fire! Various bodies were on the floor... obviously, this wasn't a fake attack, like when Duales attacked.
The NME forces had attacked... and already, there were many casulties... and on both sides judging from the various broken NME items laying around and pieces of broken armor.
"What... happened here?" asked Serty, looking around...
...and then, there was a deafening sound... the sound of someone punching with a LOT of strenght!
Only one person could strike with so much physical strenght... well, Kirby only knew of one person like that. Knuckle Joe!
BAAAAAM!
"TAKE THAT!" yelled Knuckle Joe, punching a monster right in the face and making a gigantic hole in his face, killing it instantly.
Knuckle Joe was not alone however. Sirica was there as well, fighting the best she could.
"There's too many of them!" yelled the female warrior.
"Way too many!" yelled back Knuckle Joe.
Metaknight couldn't believe it... the two were there, fighting a real moving wall of monsters... he had never tought that the NME would someday launch a full scale assault on Popstar, never, ever...
Leading the charge were Mash, 706, and Wilde...
The three landed in front of Knuckle Joe and Sirica...
"Huh? What are those?" asked the fighter.
"No idea! They look a bit like Kirby... exept the small black one!"
Wilde grinned. "So... Knuckle Joe and Sirica, I presume? Knuckle Joe... I am very, very skilled with the Fighter ability and I always dreamed of fighting Jecra's son in an one-on-one fight using the Fighter ability..."
Knuckle Joe stared at the purple puffball. "What? You..."
"Time is a terrible thing to waste, Knuckle Joe!... too bad yours is up!"
Wilde jumped toward the warrior and the two begun to fight...
During this time, Sirica stared at 706.
"Heh! You look a bit small to be a high-ranked NME monster! I'll slice you into pieces in seconds!" she said, confident.
"I am a NZ, an elite soldier of the NME. I am mightier than any monster you ever fought in the past. Defeating you will be as easy as stealing candy from a baby." stated 706.
"Confident, I see! Well, I guess it's time to send you back to your master... in little slices!" she said as she dashed toward the black enemy.
Then, the two began to fight too...
Serty dashed toward Mash, confused. "What... what is happening here?"
Mash smiled. "Good news! We finally tricked Dedede into buying an entire army, thus allowing a full scale assault!"
Serty smiled at the news... but his smile quickly disappeared. "That's good!... but... why are there so many civilian casualties? The cappies are peaceful! They shouldn't offer much resistance!"
Mash's smile widened. "Actually... we're not capturing this planet. Our orders were clear... We must leave no building standing, no survivor. Men, women, children... even the plants and the animals! We're nuking the entire planet!"
Serty widened his eyes in horror... why? Why was the NME destroying such a peaceful world? It was not as if Popstar was like that Hydra planet they destroyed a century ago...
"Serty, Father Nightmare has decided that Popstar's very existance is a threat to the NME. It must be destroyed at all cost for our safety."
Serty became enraged at such a decision. "NO! I refuse to believe this! Father Nightmare would never murder innocents!"
Mash stared at Serty... he was looking at him with such arrogance... "Serty Serty Serty... Yamikage was right. You were not ready psychologically. Serty... if we let the inhabitants of Popstar survive, they will revive the Star Warriors! Everyone know that it was on this very world that they were first created..."
"Non-sense!" yelled Serty! "NON-SENSE! Do they look ANYTHING like what the legends said they were? Is Cappytown anything like the legendary crystal city, Rainbow Resort? Is King Dedede anything like his ancestors? NO! Popstar changed! It's no longer the capital of Evil as it once was! Why didn't Father realised this?"
"I had enough, Serty! We told Yamikage all about this throught the transmission channel... and he is disappointed with you! Are you with the NME or not?" asked Mash.
Serty turned to Metaknight... "Yes... I am with the NME... and I shall serve Nightmare's cause..."
Serty took a capsule labelled Beam ability!
"... by turning against those that twisted the ideals of the NME to pursue their selfish desires!"
He thrown the capsule, releasing it's content and then inhaled it, gaining a strange clown-like hat and a small blue rod!
Serty took a battle stance.
"So... you turned against your Father, Nightmare? You turn away from us?" said Mash, not really surprised.
"My loyalty to Nightmare and the NME is undying... and as such, I shall cleanse it's ranks from corrupted monsters like YOU!" said Serty.
Mash winded up for a punch and struck only air as Serty jumped next to Metaknight. He whispered to the knight...
"You can use Galaxia against him. He's no good with inhaling and copying."
Metaknight whispered back, a bit confused... "Why are you helping us?"
Serty smiled. "The Nightmare I know would never kill innocents. May they be in the ranks of the NME or the Star Warriors... monsters are monsters and must be terminated!"
The knight and the green puffball pointed their respective weapons toward the black puffball and then dashed foward.
"TAKE THAT!" yelled Metaknight.
"BEAM ATTACK!" yelled Serty.
"DIE!" yelled Mash.
SLAAAASH!
ZAAAAAAP!
Mash missed his attack... but Metaknight and Serty did not! Using Galaxia, Metaknight made a deep cut in Mash's face... but this was not enough to kill the hardly puffball. However, Mash did not survive the beam attack that followed. His entire body was shocked from the inside, causing the internal organs to turn to the same color than his skin...
Wilde heard the sounds of the attacks and jumped away from Knuckle Joe.
"MAAAAASH!" she screamed!
With tears in her eyes, she dashed toward Mash's dying body with no regards to her own safety. Once she made it in close, she could only see that she was too late... she turned to Serty...
"Why? Why did you turned against us?" she asked.
"Wilde... Don't you understand? This is not the reason we were born... we were not born to kill innocents. We were born to protect. I will protect, just as Nightmare instructed me to." he replied.
Wilde smiled. "You truly follow the NME ideals to the end... but you are doing a mistake. You will come to understand why Popstar is a threat..."
Suddenly, there was a deafening explosion! A Destrayar!
The huge spaceship fired at the NME troops, using it's powerful cannons to obliterate the monsters.
"RETREAT! RETREAT!" screamed 706!... but it was too late.
While the battle raged on, Dedede's army of Waddle Dees had arrived and while they were relatively weak compared to the invading monsters, they were still winning thanks to the chaos the arrival of the Destrayar caused.
"CHARGE!" yelled Waddle Doo, the commander of the army of Waddle Dees.
The Waddle Dees charged into the flock of monsters, wielding various weapons ranging from actual weapons like spears and swords to other... things... like frying pans and brooms.
Not only that but since Knuckle Joe's foe had stopped fighting, he joined the fray!
The monsters were stuck! To the north, a huge army of Waddle Dees armed to the teeth and to the south, a crazy Demon Hunter.
Quickly enough, the monsters were all defeated and only Wilde and 706 remained.
"Errr... ouch?" said 706.
He ran for his life, getting away.
"You BASTARDS! We WILL be back!" screamed Wilde as she ran for her life too!
Kirby and everyone else stood in the middle of the ruins that was once Cappytown... Waddle Doo approached Metaknight.
"Sir!" he begun. "It looks like we driven the enemy out thanks to that Destroyar and to Kirby's friends!"
"You played a huge part in this victory." replied Metaknight. "Without your intervention, not even that Destroyar could have saved this town. Even if King Dedede punish you... know that you have my respect."
The Waddle Doo smiled... or would have, if he had a mouth. "Do not worry, sir! The king cannot ignore the fact that we just saved the town! He cannot punish us for doing our job as soldiers, right?"
"You're right." said Metaknight. "I want to speak to King Dedede. I want to know why he allowed the NME to launch a full scale assault..."
Tuff turned to Metaknight. "Metaknight? I just wonder... what happened to my sister? I mean... they got her to safety, right?"
The Waddle Doo laughed. "Don't worry kid! Altought I'm saddened by the fact that not everyone could make it to the castle... know that your sister is among the survivors!"
Tuff sighed, relieved...
Metaknight turned toward the castle... it had been spared from the assault... which meant that King Dedede must be cooperating with the NME... that, or he doesn't know yet that the NME just destroyed his kingdom...
Escargoon frowned. He hated to admit it... but he was ashamed of serving King Dedede. It seemed as if he was caring more about his obsession against Kirby than about his duties as the ruler of the land...
He just couldn't understand how Dedede came to accept the offer...
"Escargoon... I want a report now..." the king was shaking... he guessed... no, he KNEW what had appeared outside of the safety of the castle... but the guilt kept him from standing up and looking at what he had done himself...
Escargoon frowned. What to say? How could he announce such a disaster to the king?
"A REPORT! NOW!" yelled the fat king! It was so weird... had there been anger in the king's order?... or terror?
"My king..." slowly begun Escargoon, looking down. "As you ordered them... the monsters stepped into the town and went to search for Kirby using any mean necessary... and as such, they begun to systmatically destroy everything they ran into, so that Kirby wouldn't be able to hide anywhere. Sadly, many inhabitants perished during the operation..."
King Dedede stopped gazing at his feet and decided to look throught the window... the sky... it was covered in a veil of darkness... the smoke from the burning kingdom... from his ruined kingdom...
"How many perished?" asked the king.
"Err..." Escargoon hesitated...
"I shall not repeat myself! How many perished?" asked again Dedede.
"At least a hundred inhabitants." said quietly the elderly servant.
Dedede stood up and walked to the window... and as he stared at the ruins of Cappytown, everything seemed to grow dark around him...
"My Excellency? Are you feeling alright?" asked the servant.
"You are nothing but a shame to our family! You are unworthy of your name!" his mother had told him when he had begun ruling over the land, years ago...
"You call yourself a king? Lazy, no-good show-off!" this was from his father...
Dedede could see the bodies and the wrecked bodies... He had not dared to punish the Waddle Dees when they came back to the castle... for unlike him, they had done their duty. Unlike him, they were worthy of being servants of the house of the Dedede... they were all worthy...
He turned to face Escargoon. He, too, was a worthy servant. He was so smart and cunning... and when he tought about it, Escargoon had more experience than him as a ruler. After all, it had always been Escargoon that took care of the daily royal duties and signed most contracts. He did much in his name... and many of those deeds he should have done them himself unstead of giving the responsabilities to his servant.
It was true. He had the name, the appearance, and shared his ancestor's skill with the hammer... but he was the opposite of his ancestor. The legendary King Dedede, first of the name...
All he had ever wanted was to be recognised as worthy of his name... and all he ever brought was weakness and disappointment. He was a disappointing ruler... and the ruins of his kingdom was the greatest proof of it.
In the end, Dreamland was destroyed not by it's enemies... but by the incompetance of their final ruler, King Dedede the fool. Would that be how people would remember him? As the fool who was ready to destroy the entire kingdom for a SINGLE creature... and an innocent one at that?
No! Not innocent! It was all Kirby's fault! All his fault! Ever since he came, three years ago, everything went wrong!... but then, he realised that things started going wrong way before Kirby's arrival... which meant that Kirby was not the cause of the problem...
He turned toward the NME monitor. It was their fault for selling him bad monsters!... but then again, the problems begun before he started making transactions with that corporation...
He turned to Escargoon. It was most probably Escargoon's fault! Yes! That back-stabbing bastard!... but then, he was his best servant... why would he be the source of his problems?
The Waddle Dees? Metaknight? The mayor? Waddle Doo? No... none of them were responsible for his problems...
It was no use hiding it anymore... he was the most grossly incompetant, heartless, moronic, retarded, naive, deaf, blind, and oblivious ruler Dreamland had ever had. It didn't mattered if Kirby would have been here or not! He would have ruined the kingdom anyway! He was unworthy of his name! Unworthy of the legendary blood flowing in his veins!
"My King?... you seem troubled!" Escargoon didn't understood why his kind was so upset.
"Escargoon... am I... a good ruler?" asked the king, the words coming out slowly... as if he had difficulty speaking.
Escargoon hesitated... the anwser was obvious! King Dedede was the king and he must not insult him!... but then, after all he did... no! He must not think in such a way! King Dedede did so much for the kingdom...
He tought, really hard... King Dedede did much for the kingdom... but what? All he could think was of the king's mistakes and nothing else. He tried to think of how kind of a ruler he was, how caring he was, how he respected his people and listened to their needs... but it all felt fake to him. King Dedede was not a good ruler and he knew it... altought he struggled to try and hide the truth from himself. He had too much respect for the king to betray him... especially now.
Escargoon tried to speak... but the words didn't came out as espected. "You are... a... a..." he tried to say that King Dedede was a good ruler... but couldn't.
King Dedede turned his back to Escargoon, staring back at the ruins...
"Don't waste your breath..." said the fat king.
The king knew he would have to give explanations to his people about what happened and why... but he couldn't think of anything. It was his fault... all his fault. No Kirby's... not the NME's... it was HIS fault to him and him alone.
They would probably kick him out of his own kingdom... or worse, he would taste the same medecine he tried to give to Kirby... in short, an unnofficial execution...
As the sun was setting, the fire had disappeared as the surviving cappies had put out the fire. Thankfully, the number of victims hadn't been quite as high as espected... altought it was still much worse than anything Cappytown ever went throught in the past.
King Dedede decided to cancel the banishment on Kirby and to let him and his friends inside the castle. It was the first thing to do. Holding a grudge against the pink puffball wasn't going to make him a better ruler after all. He needed to put his act together now...
"My Queen! This dish is a soup of tortured children' tears with a fine mix of blood taken from dying soldiers on a battlefield where a meaningless battle took place! The aroma of despair and lack of meaning is very good! Since this soup is a bit bland by itself, we also included crackers made out of the scales of Lunar Dragons whose eggs were crushed flat by Star Warriors! Also, we have a wine of pure jealousy to offer to you as well! The jealousy has matured for more than twenty years, becoming a fine mix of sour hatred and envy!" said the servant.
02 stared at the crimson soup, the green wine, and the blue crackers. To a normal Dark Matter, this would seem like a feast... and it probably would be a feast even to her.
She took one of the crackers in a delicate way and slowly dropped it into the soup. Then, she used her spoon to take it out of the soup. She ate the cracker and then tasted the wine.
"Hmmm..." said the Queen as she tasted the dish. "Good... the despair, lack of meaning, and jealousy all mix together well... but there's a definitive lack of hatred to the mix. Well, the chef cannot get it right everytime I guess..." said the Queen in her usual, bored tone.
BLAM!
The door was slammed open as a NZ Dark Trooper entered the room! Judging from his bandages, he was the poor Dark Trooper the Queen had slammed into the wall yesterday...
"MY QUEEN! MY QUEEN!" screamed the small black ball with feet.
02 frowned. She suspected what that stupid black ball may have to say...
"IT'S KIRBY! IT'S KIRBY!" he screamed.
"Just slow down, idiot... and I already told you not to interrupt me during my dinner." she said.
"My Queen... it's really important! The assault on Popstar... it failed!"
02 became all tense as the anger rose within her. A tear of blood fell into her soup and she alsmost crushed the spoon in her hand.
"How?" she asked. "How?... HOW? HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? Explain yourself!"
The NZ Dark Trooper made a step backward, afraid that the queen would slam into the wall again...
"Errr... it seems that we met into more resistance than planned. King Dedede's army attacked, which we had not espected but most importantly... a Destrayar class battleship attacked." explained the small Dark Trooper.
Another bloody tear fell into the soup. "Explain yourself... GO ON! FINISH WHAT YOU BEGUN!"
The NZ Dark Trooper yelped in terror and proceeded to continue. "S... s... sorry my Queen! It seems like the warriors who defeated Nightmare gathered and formed a small group! They attacked our troops and whipped them good! Also... the Dream Matter Mash is reported deceased and Serty... well... err... how can I say it? Well... he kinda... betrayed... us..."
02 stood up.
"You're going to slam me into the wall... I guess..." said sadly the Dark Trooper.
"Yes... if you do not get out of my line of sight this instant!" said quietly the queen.
The NZ Dark Trooper ran away as quickly as it could and then, 02 sat down back on her throne and tasted the soup. She smiled...
"Oh! Look at that! My tears of hatred actually made this dish taste better! Well, tell the chef to include some bloody tears of hatred next time he makes that dish, understood?" asked the queen.
The servant bowed down. "I exist for the sole purpose of serving you, glorious Queen!"
The servant left. 02 stared at her dish and then continued eating. Between two bites, she tought aloud...
"Well! It looks like those Dream Matters guys weren't quite as psychologically stable as planned! Nevertheless... it's not like a couple of Star Warriors and their wannabes can defeat the Forces of Darkness. After all, as long as Ripple Star is under our control, I have nothing to fear from that Kirby reincarnation... and anyway, it's not like I gave such an important task to that fool, Nightmare. Dark Metaknight is sooo much more dependable. I'm sure that if Kirby and his flea-bitten friends show up on Ripple Star, he will be able to crush them quickly and efficiently..."
02 finished the dish and smiled.
"Well... I'm full! I wonder if Nightmare completed the new HR-H MK-III! It's not like I'm paranoid... but I prefer to have an overkill than give Kirby chances. I gave the original too many chances and it almost lead our the Forces of Darkness to ruin... I must definitely not repeat those mistakes! I will give Kirby and his friends a good reason to fear the NME!"
02 laughed like the evil maniacal mastermind she is!
"Well! That felt nice. It was a while that I didn't used my evil laugh! Heh! Maybe I should pratice it a bit for when I'll announce my new politics to those fools on that Jelly Star that Dark Reaper just conquered in my name? Hehehehe!"
02 stood there. It felt good, being the ruler of the Forces of Darkness when your reign was threatened only by a loosy Kirby reincarnation, a single Dream Matter traitor, and a small gang of worthless Demon Hunters who were following on the Star Warriors' footsteps... and even then, about those Demon Hunters...
02 got up and walked to the window. Two large spheres of black liquid were at a local spaceport, floating between the crimson surface and the black sky. Between the two Dark Comet battlecruisers were a dozen of Destrayars or so.
02 counted the Destrayars... and then returned to to her throne and sat on it. She pressed a few buttons and a monitor came down from the ceiling.
Nightmare's picture appeared on screen...
"Ha! My Queen..." said Nightmare as he bowed before his master. "As you can see, we sent the captured Demon Hunter ships back to Dark Star, as ordered."
02 smiled. "Well... you said that there was supposed to be 17 ships, don't you?"
"Yes, my Queen!" anwsered the caped villain.
02 suddenly exploded in a fit of rage! "YOU NO-GOOD MORON! YOU LET THE LAST SHIP ESCAPE, INCOMPETANT RETARD!" she screamed!
Nightmare's grin was replaced with an expression of sheer terror. "I'm... I'm sorry! A sli... sli... slight miscalculation! I... I... I'll fix that on the double!"
"I HOPE FOR YOU!" she screamed before slamming her right hand on the control panel on the throne, almost breaking it and deactivating the monitor, thus ending the transmission.
02 frowned. That idiot! Didn't he knew that all that was needed for her plans to fail was a single rogue ship filled with more moronic Star Warrior wannabes? Didn't that fool learn his lesson already, after repeated poundings throught the millenias?
02 turned to face Dark Metaknight, who was standing in the shadows, awaiting orders.
"I had enough!" stated the evil queen. "That stupid moron... he cannot do anything right! Starting from now, I want you to go to his base and to make ABSOLUTELY sure that NOTHING goes wrong! I mean it! I do NOT want to see anymore mistakes! We are too close to victory for a gang of stupid retards to foil our plans!"
Dark Metaknight bowed before his queen... "Yes, my Excellency..."
Then, he vanished into the shadows.
The dark queen stood up and returned to the window, gazing at the Destrayars.
"I hope that fool Nightmare will complete the HR-H MK-III on schedule! I can't stand having that dumb star-shaped planet on the map of the solar system anymore!"
In one of the many meeting rooms within Dedede's castle, Kirby, Metaknight, Knuckle Joe, and Sirica had gathered to discuss of the situation and of what course they should take next...
"So..." begun Metaknight. "You and the others came when you detected a high concentration of monsters on Popstar and came only to find the NME launching an all-out offensive?"
"Indeed!" replied Sirica. "In fact. The reason why we were the only two fighting on ths surface was that most of the monsters had decided to attack the ship unstead. The others had to take care of them... yes... unfortunately."
She seemed kind of sad as she finished her sentance... Metaknight suspected why she was acting like that...
Knuckle Joe, him, looked down, strangely silent...
"They didn't make it..." guessed Metaknight... and obviously, he had guessed right.
"Dozens upon dozens of monsters boarded the ship... Those who remained on the ship stood no chance against such a humongous number of NME agents. In the end, they had to activate the Crew Purifier Shockwave to make sure the monsters wouldn't take the ship while still making sure it would be usable for us when we would have won the battle on the surface." stated the fighter.
Then, Tiff and Serty entered the room... and Tiff was no longer in a wheelchair!
"See?" said the green puffball. "I told you that Maxim Tomatoes are effective!"
"Tiff..." tried to say Metaknight... but he could barely say anything that Tiff interrupted him.
"I heard everything. I know what happened. I'm sorry I couldn't have helped when my friends were in need..." said Tiff.
"Bah! It's not like you would have been able to do anything while stuck in a wheelchair!... and you're not much of a fighter to begin with!" stated Sirica.
It was true. Tiff couldn't have helped in the state she was in... and even then, what she would have been able to do? She had nearly no experience fighting. Her only outstanding skill was to summon Kirby's warpstar.
"Our priority should be to think of something. The NME is back on it's feet... I don't know how they could do it so fast but they did... even Nightmare is completely revived as Serty confirmed. They have fully functionnal bases, a working armada, tons of agents..." stated Metaknight... but he couldn't finish.
"In short, the odds are stacked pretty badly against us." said Tiff.
"Heh! Whatever their advantage? If they come to us, we'll beat them up, one by one! We'll wear them down and strike them down, like we did last time!" said Knuckle Joe, full of confidence.
"Actually" said Serty. "This won't work. Last time, they didn't espected anything. They had no defenses. Now, they're organised. They have a full war fleet, powerful guards... and everyone, face it! We can beat up one or two Dream Matters... but I doubt we could take on 30 at once!"
"Well... what choice do we have? It's not like we have much options..." said Tiff.
Metaknight wondered... how could the NME recover like that? Normally, it took several generations for Nightmare to return... and now, it had only taken a few months. What had happened now that hadn't happened the last times Nightmare had been defeated?
... and what of the others? He remembered that many more Demon Hunters, not just a single Destrayar, had survived the battle against Nightmare. Knuckle Joe and Sirica cannot be the last survivors!
"Knuckle Joe, Sirica..." begun the knight. "Are you SURE that you are the only ones remaining? This is far from the only ship your group had..."
Sirica frowned. "Well..."
Knuckle Joe punched the table around which the group was discussing with a lot of strenght, almost breaking it! Obviously, he was frustrated!
Sirica turned to the fighter, wondering why he had such a reaction. "Hey! What's your problem?"
"You know very well what is my problem!" stated the fighter. "The others... all the other ships disappeared one by one, without leaving a trace! ALL of them vanished!"
Metaknight closed his eyes and tought... how could all those ships disappear so quickly?... and what had happened to the warriors that were in each of the ships?
He opened his eyes. They had only one ship left and there was barely enough of them left to take on even a single enemy ship, let alone a full fleet... he hated to admit but... the NME had the advantage by far. They had recovered almost instantly and now, only a handful remained to fight them. The battle seemed already lost before it even begun...
"Our chances of victory... are slim." stated coldly Metaknight.
"Actually..." begun Serty.
Everyone turned to the green puffball...
"I believe that our enemies has a SERIOUS weakness which we could exploit... a weakness that is so big that if it fell in our hands, even a small group like ours could take them on!" he said.
Serty smiled as everyone kept on staring at him, in disbelief... but well, since this was such a desesperate situation, was there any more choices? If Serty was right and that such a weakness existed, it would probably be their only hope for survival.
"You know, Metaknight... I believe you're the one who should give out explanations. You know... those legends you know of?" said the green living ball.
Metaknight shrugged. "Bah! Only legends... They won't help us. What about of that weakness the NME has?"
Serty smiled. "You know what I am talking about... you know... THE Legend. The one about the legendary weapons... the weapons that repel the Darkness."
Metaknight shrugged again. "That legend? It won't help us, I'm sure of it."
"How can you be so sure?" asked Tiff. "You say that you know many legends about the origins of the Star Warriors and all... but you keep them to yourself all the time! Maybe there's some important details in them... details that you could have overlooked!"
"Really, it's nothing really... Just old stories..." said the knight, not wanting to speak of them about the legend.
"You know, I'm fed up with that anwser! You know stuff, tell us!" said Knuckle Joe, stating everyone's opinion.
"Just old stories... nothing really." repeated Metaknight, shrugging again.
"PUYO!" yelled Kirby, angrily! He had remained quiet for the entire conversation so far.
Metaknight shrugged. Those were all unimportant and false stories and he knew. A white shadow, spreading a veil of darkness? Please! A sword made of the tears of people? You wish! A planet with a black sky and a red, liquid surface? Come on! That cannot be!
"We're waiting!" said Tiff, just as annoyed as everyone else at Metaknight's unwillingness to speak.
"Alright! You win..." said Metaknight. "They say that the ruler of Darkness is something they call the "white shadow"... which is totally false since everyone knows it's Nightmare which means that the story is not worth..."
"Metaknight!" interrupted Tiff. "It's not becease ONE detail is false that the stories are worthless! Continue on."
Metaknight shrugged again... he hated those stories... he didn't knew why, he just did. They remainded him of a part of his past he had willingly put aside and which he would rather not be remainded of...
"Well... so they say that the ruler of Darkness is a white shadow and... that story is so stupid..."
Everyone rolled their eyes. "Puyoooo..." slowly said Kirby.
"Alright! Alright! I'm on it! They say that the ruler of Darkness is the white shadow and that it was helped by a blue, grey, and black shadows... not that any of these exist in the NME!"
Sirica sighed. "This is going to take forever... forever I tell you!"
Metaknight begun to grow annoyed. "You know what? Those stories are DUMB! It won't lead us anywhere!"
Serty jumped and landed right in front of Metaknight. "Yeah right. Just like you're sooo scared of losing that mask of yours, right? You can't handle the truth. You can't handle anything. You act all tough on the outside but in fact, you're just an unnassuming wimp!"
"Who do you think you are to tell me that?" asked the knight, angered by that remark. "You're a NME agent!"
Serty frowned. "Yes... YES! Discredit those who point out the truth by blaming them for who they followed in the past! You know, say what you want, I'm on your side now. Just carry on with those stories before everyone in this room dies of old age, OK?"
Metaknight shrugged. Hated those stories. HATED them I told you!
"OK... the ruler of Darkness is the white shadow and has three lesser shadows following her. As it appeared, so did a veil of darkness which is really du..." he stopped.
Everyone stared at him, angry...
"COUGH! I mean... as it appeared, so did a veil of darkness. That darkness covered the entire world and stole the minds of all things and..."
Then, as Metaknight continued, Kirby's eyes widened as he remembered his dream.
It was exactely the same as his dream!
The moon and the stars were covered with a veil of darkness. A great, dark power came to destroy the peace of this city from beyond reality.
A gigantic white shadow, following by a black, a blue, and a grey one, appeared. Thousands of monsters, their hearts pitch-black with evil, fell from the sky and begun to bring destruction and pain to all.
The white shadow chuckled... this voice... it was filled with so much anger... so much hatred... if pure Evil had a voice, it was this one, without a doubt.
But then, a blinding pink light appeared and consumed the veil of darkness. The shadows, one by one, dived toward the unknow pink light, trying to destroy it... but the shadows were all driven away, one by one.
The people of the small city came out, no longer afraid of the Darkness. Even the king came out to fight!
Together, with the pink light guiding them, the people of the city chased the Forces of Darkness from their world... and even took the battle to the skies! People came from space, joining the people in their fight and soon enough, the Forces of Darkness were overwhelmed.
However, the white shadow suddenly screamed and a white, blinding light consumed the people. Great cataclysms struck the city and the Forces of Darkness begun to gain back ground.
Then, the pink light and four friends rose. The first wielded Stardux, the legendary hammer. The second wielded Galaxia. The third wielded Magicka, the living paintbrush. The last onewielded the Ripple Rod, a weapon strangely similar to the Star Rod.
Each of the four friends' weapons glowed and then, the pink light pointed a huge crystal at the white shadow. The crystal transformed into a transluceant sword with two blades and then fired a gigantic beam at the white shadow, destroying it.
With the white shadow gone, the Forces of Darkness vanished...
Yes... it was exactely his dream!
"... and as such, you now understand how crazy the story is. A pink light? Four legendary weapons? A sword with two blades? A white shadow? This cannot be." finished Metaknight.
But then, Kirby began to jump up and down, trying to say something! "PUYO! PUYO! PUPUYO! PUYO!"
Everyone stared at Kirby, not understanding what he was saying... everyone save for Serty.
"See? He thinks too that it's crazy." said Metaknight.
"No!" said quickly Serty. "I can understand him... and he's saying that he SEEN the story before his very eyes, during a dream! It looked so real to him and now that you, Metaknight, told the story, he's sure that it's real."
Metaknight turned to Kirby... "What? You're sure that this is a real legend?"
Kirby nodded. He begun to speak again and once again, Serty translated.
"He says that it took place in Cappytown... but Cappytown was different. It was permanently nighttime and everything was made of crystal. Everything seemed to glow in the colors of the rainbow." translated the green puffball.
Metaknight closed his eyes... this description... it was the description of the long lost city, Rainbow Resort, the place where all Star Warriors came from... but this cannot be! Cappytown, being Rainbow Resort? How could such a legendary city revert into a small, peaceful town like this?
"Even if the legends are real..." begun Metaknight. "It still doesn't matter. How is this legend going to help us?"
"Well... the Forces of Darkness were defeated by a double-bladed crystal sword, right?" asked Tiff.
Metaknight nodded.
"Well... if we can find that crystal and those legendary weapons, we will maybe be able to use them to drive the NME away!" said Tiff.
"In case anyone noticed." said Sirica. "We're not even sure those weapons actually exist, you know!"
"Well..." begun Knuckle Joe. "I did heard rumors of strange living weapons during my travels. Of course, since I'm not interested in weapons, I didn't paid much attention... but one of those rumors were weird. It spoke of a huge white paintbrush which spoke to it's owner and moved by itself on top of making physical everything it drawn."
"Furthermore, one of those weapons is definitely real!" said Tiff, pointing at Galaxia. "You cannot deny Galaxia's existance!"
"Maybe... but the Star Warriors did search for such weapons... and even tought we found some of them, they were sealed!" Metaknight's eyes widened. He had said too much already! If he continued, his memory could resurface and he doesn't want that! The past is the past!
"So... you do say that they exist!" said Tiff, smiling. She got him!
"Hmm... Did I said anything? No... I did not..." said nervously the knight.
The green puffball slapped Metaknight with all of his strenght!
SLAP!
"What's your problem? You're scared of the past? Get ahold of yourself!" he said angrily!
"There are some parts of my past... I'd rather forget." stated slowly Metaknight. "Hmm... actually, I didn't said anything. Sorry."
SLAP!
"Stop that!" ordered the knight.
"Actually, I believe that Serty is right. Why do you act like that? You're normally so wise and calm... and now, out of a sudden, you act in such a childish way becease of some stupid story? May you like that story or not... know that your childish reactions is getting in the way! You want the NME to win?" asked Tiff.
Metaknight jumped foward as he was suddenly kicked out of his depressed state.
"Of course not! What kind of question is that?" he said.
Kirby laughed. It was the first time he had saw Metaknight act like this... He didn't knew Metaknight would react like this to just a simple legend...
"Well... now that this is done, can we focus on our task now and leave Metaknight alone for now?" asked Sirica.
"Well... I guess that you're right. Since those so-called weapons exist, I guess we should go look for them!" stated Knuckle Joe. "It's not like our little group is a threat to the NME in our current state after all!"
It was decided. They would leave on the Destrayar and go look for those famous legendary weapons. But first... all those who have families or friends on Popstar must say goodbye to them. Furthermore, they will have to get supplies and repair the Destrayar...
Thus, the group begun the preparations for their journey...
Unknow to them, a single black ball with spikes and a single, yellow eye had seen and heard everything.
It flied toward the sky, unnoticed...
"Drats!" it whispered to itself. "I must inform Dark Reaper on the double! Looks like the Memory Freeze is wearing off!"
TO BE CONTINUED