A/N: Words in bold represents telepathic speech.


Chapter 11: One's Mission at Hand

My Adventure Log, Entry #5: Crackly Kracko

Every passing day I don't like this King Dedede—or as Bandana calls him, not-Great King or Fake King (I like the latter more, while Dee prefers the former)—more and more. He really is a terrible person. He really is. :(

And guess what? Even though I thought I had it all figured out, this world continues to bring out more and more surprises. First of all, me and Bandana manage to find out that Dedede is getting his so-called demon beasts from a Nightmare-esque company. Seriously, just what is up with that? The coincidences are creeping me out!

But secondly, they just offered Kracko. I repeat — this is not a drill… they'd literally straight up just offered Kracko to Dedede. Um, please excuse me while I gasp in abject horror yet again.

This isn't good. This is so not good. As Drebly, that Driblee Helper Friend, would say: "Nope, nope, nope!"

Preparing Ultra-Heavy Electric Insulation,
Kirby

Closing his adventure log, Kirby proceeded to share a tense glance with Bandana Dee, one which instantly showed both of their apprehensiveness at the current swerving turn of events. The silence persisted for a short moment before they concurrently hissed a single panicked word at the other in unison.

"Kracko!?"

They both had the exact same reaction as their eardrums perceived the name of a very familiar cloud-based foe… which to be fair, wasn't really that much of a surprise now that they actually put some thought into it. Asking for something that spat out electricity and expecting only a mere Plugg like Watt was pretty much tempting fate. And in such occasions, fate always liked to play the evil mistress, laughing in a clichéd manner as she strutted down the catwalk.

"These guys have Kracko on their side? Okay, this is fast approaching the likes of a disastrous train wreck which I'd rather much prefer to avert. But as a consolation, it looks like we've managed to nail down our supplier for these so-called demon beasts… not that I'm surprised." Kirby shook his head as he saw King Dedede lean forward to the partially obscured screen, an interested look on the ruler's face. "Also, Kracko's much worse than Bugzzy, I gotta say," he eventually added.

"Kracko?" Dedede repeated, unaware that two intruders outside his room had already uttered the same name in disdain earlier. Amusingly, he had to roll his tongue and mouth the word a few times to get used to the unusual pronunciation of the demon beast. "That name sure dang sound crackly to me!"

"Crackly? More like electrifying, your highness!" Customer Service leaned closer, resulting in his smarmy face filling up the large screen. "Kracko is a special electric demon beast, so unique that we at Holy Nightmare Corporation guarantee that he's one-of-a-kind! He's so powerful that he can only be shipped by air, lest an accidental discharge of electricity completely destroys the entire demon beast delivery system. We don't provide a warranty for that piece of equipment!"

Those encouraging words were all the reassurance that Dedede needed to make his choice. With him more confident than ever before about the demon beast Kracko, his greed and anger naturally won over rational skepticism, hence tipping the scales in the Holy Nightmare salesman's favor.

"Yer got yourself a deal! I'll take 'im! Send this Kracko to me right away!"

"You got it, king!" His smile then went unnaturally wide as he flashed his teeth. "But before I proceed on, that'll first be eight million deden that you need to fork out!"

"Wh-What in tarnation? Eight… eight million!?" Dedede yelled, getting to his feet the very instant his ears caught wind of the price tag that was attached to Kracko. It was only now, upon witnessing the crafty smirk on the salesman's face, that he realized that he might have been a little too hasty in committing to his purchase without knowing about the actual investment that would end up flowing out of his own pockets.

Customer Service leaned back against the company backdrop behind him and chuckled with a sinister laugh when he saw King Dedede's reaction to his quotation price. It was blatantly clear to everyone in the throne room from that triumphant laugh alone that he had conducted the sale pitch like a true businessman — effortlessly bragging and singing praises about the demon beast's features to such an incredible extent that neither Dedede nor his more observant right-hand Escargon had even thought about the costs that would be involved until the very end, allowing him to charge a hefty sum once Dedede had committed to the purchase.

And Dedede was aware that the crafty salesman knew just that. Flashing a snarl at the salesman's smug face, the king relented just this once and admitted defeat. "F-Fine! You've got yourself a deal, Customer Service. But this time, I want them all eliminated, ya got that!?" Realizing far too late that he'd been suckered into yet another purchase, Dedede recklessly shook those thoughts from his brain, the king telling himself that this time it would be worth the return on investment.

"Sure thing, King Dedede! I assure you that you won't be disappointed. Ohohohoho!"

Dedede slammed a clenched fist down onto his chair's armrest, growling at the constant reassurance of the salesman. "Shut your trap and just send this Kracko to me already! I want to see that mere paltry obstacle that is Dyna Blade completely annihilated!"

"Mere paltry obstacle?" Kirby almost snorted. "Hah! As if! Sending someone like Kracko is overkill for something like this! He's usually one of the tougher foes that I have to face off with on a regular basis!" he said as Bandana nodded along, "And this Dedede is using him for a cleanup mission? Of all things? Man, his priorities are skewed. Oh, so very skewed."

"You got it, king." Customer Service smirked. "One extra-special Kracko meal, coming right up!"

"And once Dyna Blade's gone, that good-for-nothing Whispy Woods will be next." Dedede's face then darkened before he let out a cruel laugh. "And after they're both charred toast, that annoying Star Warrior… that pesky little Kirby, will be saved for last — the final icing on the zapified cake! Heh heh heh!"

This sentence from Dedede was surprisingly met with slightly more approval from Kirby, although not for the reason Bandana had expected. "Hm, so Dedede's trying to go for an elemental advantage against Dyna Blade? Can't really say I blame 'im there… I mean, I did use Plasma Ability to cheese my brawl with her back in the day. Go, electricity!"

Bandana took this opportunity to raise an arm. "Um, Kirby. Are you actually taking not-Great King's side here?" he muttered with a frown, one laced with disappointment and betrayal.

Kirby shook his head with a flicker of a smile at Bandana's reaction. "Nah. Of course not. I never could, Bandana… he's still a royal jerk," he reassured with a small chuckle. "It's just that, for the briefest of moments, the two of us happened to think completely alike. Fake Dedede and I had a little connection there." He let out a small laugh at his own observation. "It's humorous, because I should reiterate something that you've probably already pieced together about this world's King Dedede. He's quite the insufferable brat as compared to our own friendly Dedede. For me to even find some semblance of similarity between him and I is honestly a miracle."

"I agree with you! By golly, the two of them are as different as night and day!" said Bandana, as he slammed the bottom of his spear on the ground to concur with Kirby.

"Wait just one moment!" A skeptical Escargon remained steadfast, viciously challenging the confident salesman. "Do ya think we're both idiots!?"

"Actually… yes, I do." Kirby had a boyish smirk on his face as he muttered that inaudible reply.

Unable to hear the giggles from Bandana at Kirby's blunt answer, Escargon continued his sarcastic spiel. "And just how are ya gonna deliver this so-called upsized Kracko to us, huh? You say you're gonna give it to us via air?" he shot at the smarmy salesman without mercy.

"That we do." Customer Service's lips tugged upwards as he acceded to Escargon's sarcastic request, the tiniest smirk crawling on his face before he calmly made a vow to Dedede's irate assistant. "We guarantee Kracko's arrival before dusk falls on Cappy Town."

Dedede skeptically raised an eyebrow. "Before dusk falls?"

"Hah! Do ya guys think you're some sort of a pizza delivery service?" Escargon's facial expressions proceeded to turn cartoony and exaggerated as the snail put on a convincing middle-aged male accent. "Good afternoon, sir. I would like one Kracko Supreme. With added cheese and pepperonis! Give it to me in an hour or you better give me half my money back… phuew!" he spat on the ground, disgusted by his own words and subsequent performance act.

"Well, I certainly hope that your Great King has more faith in us compared to a mere pizza delivery service!"

Dedede folded his arms, glaring daggers at Customer Service. "Only barely," he spat, "Don't try to push your luck, buster."

A glint from the orange glasses of the salesman, however, unnerved Escargon when he realized that Customer Service had a coherent response to shoot back. "Associations with pizza deliveries aside… we hope you understand that we provide reliable services. Trust me, we have our methods," the salesman muttered in a cryptic manner, "We can travel to almost every part of the entire universe. Kracko will be in Dream Land, at this Dyna Blade's nest, in a couple of minutes at most."

When he saw that his bragging was met with no fanfare, he decided to cut things short. "And with that, I believe that my job here is done. Toodles, sire!" The screen then went black, cut off from the other end.

"Don't you 'toodles' me!" Escargon folded his arms as he turned away with a huff, the snail so angry that he didn't realize that the farewell was intended for Dedede. "Your majesty! Surely you don't buy his sweet nothings!? He didn't even deliver this Kracko via the Demon Beast Delivery system! I'm telling ya, it's one big phony scam!" he grumbled.

"Relax, Escargon!" Dedede had a brutal smirk on his face as he stood up. "I don't think that they're lying. They've got a vested interest in keeping me a loyal customer…"

"Sire! You don't really believe that he'd actually deliver this ultra-powerful Kracko, do ya?"

Kirby ignored the snail's minor concerns as Dedede and his assistant began to argue over the legitimacy of the deal. He had more to worry about on his mind than whether Dedede had been scammed or not. "Let's move, Bandana!" he hissed in a hushed whisper.

"Where to, Kirby?" Bandana asked as he dragged his feet along the corridor.

There was no surprise as to Kirby's response. "Dyna Blade's nest. I want to see this for myself." Kirby finished his declaration just as a Waddle Dee carrying a spear rounded the corner, causing the Waddle Dee and Kirby to stare at each other curiously.

At least, that was before a brutal grin crept up onto Kirby's face. The hapless Waddle Dee didn't stand the slightest ghost of a chance, screaming for only a brief instant before he disappeared into Kirby's mouth.

Kirby then forced it down his throat, feeling small yellow stars swirl around his body as he absorbed the Waddle Dee's weapon, quickly gaining the power of the weapon to copy its ability and become…

"Spear Kirby, alrighty!" Kirby cheered as he held out the spear with a threatening stance. "Now that I have the Spear Ability, sneaking around the villagers in the town should be a cakewalk!" he proclaimed to Bandana, using his hands to spin the spear around and around until it rotated at such a speed that it became a blur.

"Helicopter Spear!" Spear Kirby announced as he propelled himself off the ground. "C'mon, Bandana!" he beckoned with a nod of his head.

While he would normally signal by using his hands, doing so now, while performing the Helicopter Spear maneuver, would be incredibly stupid — since the spear he was currently spinning as a rotor blade using both hands would spiral out of control if he reduced the number of hands turning the handle by one. At best he would quickly recover and get off with a minor scare. At worst he would careen face-first into the ground and kissed the earth with his teeth, something that Kirby decided he would not like to experience.

Hearing the trademark sound of spinning rotors that signified that Bandana was hovering behind him, the flying Spear Kirby promptly made his way to his destination—Dyna Blade's nest—in the same way that the demon beast Kracko was slated to arrive.

Stealthily through the air.


Swoooshhh!

As Dyna Blade swept across the skies, the very air itself felt as though it was being torn asunder.

"Poyo!"

Flurried feathers scattered about as Kirby nimbly dodged to the side, lowering one wing to yaw leftwards as Dyna Blade zoomed past him, missing him by about five meters. Undoubtedly, if he hadn't managed to successfully maneuver out of the way, things would have gotten terribly painful.

Kirby winced as he witnessed Dyna Blade's claws unintentionally clip the edge of the mountain cliff, causing small pieces of rock to shear off the side.

Yep, it would definitely have been very painful indeed. Kirby had to forced himself to stay determined and motivated, the puffball teetering on the edge of simply choosing to flee. This battle was clearly one-sided, after all — Dyna Blade dwarfed him, the legendary phoenix-like bird being at least twenty times his size.

Despite contemplating about a strategy for a while, he could see no way to offensively deal damage to her. All he could do for now was defend against Dyna Blade, stalling for time while he waited for an opportunity to strike.

"So you were able to dodge that attack?" Dyna Blade mused with a contemplative expression on her metal-plated face as she made a large circular turn around to face back in Kirby's direction. "Not bad, I must say. It would appear that I've been misled. I had assumed that you were a novice when it came to the skies. Evidently that is not the case at all."

Kirby chuckled at her remark. To be fair, his enemies—and even he himself—tended to forget that he could puff up and float on occasion, so it wasn't so outlandish that Dyna Blade would make the same incorrect assumption as well, even more so considering that she hadn't even seen him using his floating maneuver before.

"But I won't make that same mistake twice!"

Dyna Blade then fell slightly and committed herself to another swoop, screeching as she aimed her talons at Wing Kirby's face. Needless to say, Kirby hurriedly dodged, rather much preferring not to have his eyes gouged out by those sharp claws at the ends of the bird's wickedly sharp talons.

"Kirby!" Wing Kirby's eyes fluttered down when he heard the shrill, distinctive voice of Fumu crying out from down on the mountain cliffs below. "Please watch out! Dyna Blade's coming back! Don't let her get you!"

He definitely didn't need to be told that twice. Maintaining his flight altitude, he slowly gazed at Dyna Blade as she slowly turned around, keeping a sharp eye out for any sudden movement that signified another imminent attack from Dyna Blade.

"You better keep moving, Kirby. The moment you drop your guard, I'll make sure to tear you to little shreds!"

Or perhaps another angry shriek from Dyna Blade, with the translated words echoing in his mind would do the trick as well.

To say that Dyna Blade was unhappy was an understatement. Despite being quite a distance away, Wing Kirby could see that she was positively livid. Her erratic movements in the air were testament enough to her anger, but the rare moments where he managed to get a glimpse of Dyna Blade's face and her rage-imbued eyes were much more telling of her true rage.

All things considered, Dyna Blade was still considered relatively calm considering that she thought that he'd made off with her chick… if the definition of 'calm' meant that the giant bird was flying around the whole length of the entire mountain range in a murderous rage. Certainly, it varied wildly from the dictionary definition of the word.

His eyes managed to catch Dyna Blade extending her wings to their full extent, using a warm updraft to soar up using the extra lift generated on the additional surface area. It quickly became apparent from her rapid ascent that she was going to swoop in from above this time.

Wing Kirby couldn't help but feel very concerned by this development. Dyna Blade had adapted very quickly to the situation. The moment she saw that she couldn't strike him on level altitude, she immediately made the choice to go higher without any hesitation. Kirby glanced up to see the gray clouds from above starting to obscure Dyna Blade partially, making it exponentially harder to maintain visibility with his target.

He calmly breathed in, taking in a deep breath of the cool mountain air around him. No point in panicking now, Kirby told himself as his eyes hovered up to the dense cloud cover above where he was currently flying. Dyna Blade's made her move, so now I've got to come up with a counter-strategy if I don't want to have my face clawed out!

Wait! A brainwave struck Wing Kirby as his eyes gazed upwards. If I can't see her… maybe I can hear her!

"Kirby! Dyna Blade's out of sight! You need to keep a sharp lookout for her! She'll be coming at you from above! Don't let her catch you off guard!" Fumu yelled from below. Her voice would have been almost inaudible if Wing Kirby hadn't been focusing on auditory cues from Dyna Blade.

You think I can't see that!? Kirby grumbled inwardly as his eyes glazed downwards. Calm down, Fumu! I've got this, girl! All I've gotta do is to simply listen intently to Dyna Blade so that I can tell where she is behind those clouds! She always screeches before an oncoming attack! That cue is her weak point, and you can bet that I'm going to abuse it so that I don't say hello to Mrs. Claws!

For a few agonizingly slow seconds, Kirby waited and waited for the slightest hint that Dyna Blade was preparing to strike at him. After a few more silent seconds, his opponent did indeed let out a menacing screech.

"My colorful wings, going through the full spectrum of the rainbow, rather much like the paint on an artist's palette, will be the last thing that you'll be able to witness before it all goes black for you!"


"Achooooo!" Adeleine sniffed, rubbing her sore nose after yet another huge sneeze. "D'oh…" she grumbled at her unsavory handiwork, "Not again…"

"Ah, face it!" Ribbon flew around the artist's head in a spiral-like manner. "You're catching a cold, Adeleine!"

Adeleine folded her arms. "Not true!" she denied. "It's just the climate. I'm just under the weather at the moment. I swear, Ribbon!"

"We'll see, Addie…" Ribbon's vindictive singsong-like voice simply caused Adeleine to let out a groan. "We'll see…"

Adeleine simply cupped her hands over her ears as an automatic response. "Lalalalala~" she sang while squeezing her eyes tightly shut, "I'm not listening!"

Ribbon simply giggled at Adeleine's stubborn antics. She knew that the artist would eventually concede sooner or later.

After all, that was what friends were for.


Her elusive position given away by the direction of her cry, Wing Kirby made ample preparations for an evasive maneuver from an aerial Dyna Blade swoop based on a rough estimate of where she'd appeared to be.

A brief glint of sunlight reflecting off a flash of metallic rainbow was the visual cue that Kirby solely needed. He quickly flapped his wings to gain height as cold steel fell from the sky.

And not a second too soon. The giant beast whooshed past him, her flight path flying past where he had literally been three seconds ago. That was all the confirmation Kirby needed for his hypothesis.

She was able to see him.

While he couldn't see Dyna Blade in the clouds, she on the other hand was able to get good visibility from above, and could thus register the puffball's whereabouts despite maintaining her own cover, giving the large bird a solid advantage.

Now well aware that she had an edge at higher altitudes, Dyna Blade rapidly gained height and disappeared above the gray clouds once again.

"Geez!" Bun complained as Dyna Blade vanished from sight. "Dyna Blade's a coward!"

"That's the point, Bun!" Fumu replied as she gave her brother a good thwap on the head. "She doesn't want to be spotted!"

"Yow!" He rubbed his head at his sister's hit. "I mean, I know that, but she keeps on hiding! I get that this whole thing is bad for us, but still, where's the action? I at least want to see Kirby pull more evasive maneuvers, but that isn't going to happen if Dyna Blade's practically invisible."

Fumu's green eyes pierced right through her brother as she hollered back at his insensitive comments. "It'll still happen because Kirby has to dodge her, you dinkus!"

Wing Kirby starchily ignored the intense squabbling between the two Cappy siblings, instead focusing all his mental energy into scrutinously listening out for Dyna Blade with his ears.

This was unlike any battle that Kirby had previously fought before. Aerial battles weren't something new to Kirby. He had previously been on the Warp Star and used it as a decisive key in his fight with the octopus monster, and now he had the Wing Ability to command the air. However, he had never faced against an opponent who could do the same as well. Kirby was cautious and liked being able to retreat, but Dyna Blade being able to transverse across all three dimensions always kept him on his toes, never quite giving him a chance to rest and catch his bearings.

In short, Dyna Blade was going to slowly wear him down using attrition. The mental strength required to constantly listen out for an incoming Dyna Blade was immense. And then, when he eventually tired out and his reflexes weren't as sharp, the predatory bird would simply finish the job.

Whhoooosshhhhh!

Kirby widened his eyes when Dyna Blade silently dived down at him. As he saw her triumphant smirk, the Star Warrior realized that the bird had caught on to the method he'd previously used to get her position, and quickly adapted by no longer making her calls in advance.

"Oh no!" Fumu gasped in horror as Dyna Blade rapidly dove down at Kirby.

Bun nervously gazed up as well when he saw the tides beginning to turn in Dyna Blade's favor. "Watch out, Kirby! Above you!"

With much lesser time to react due to him losing precious seconds thanks to his panic, Kirby tried to dive to the side just like the last time. Only far too late did Wing Kirby realize that Dyna Blade wasn't actually aiming for his face or body this time.

"Poyyyooooo!"

A cry of pain was forced out of Kirby's lips as Dyna Blade managed to slice through a good portion of his left wing. With many torn white feathers shedding from his shredded wing, Wing Kirby began to veer left and right with every rhymetic flap, quickly realizing that he had lost effective aerial control and would henceforth be unable to maintain a stable flight path.

Dyna Blade knew that too.

No longer having the need to maintain cover using the clouds now that she'd managed to cripple her opponent, the metallic bird extended her wings to generate additional drag so as to aid her in making a hard U-turn maneuver, one which put her on a direct collision course with the Star Warrior as she exited her turn.

"Krragghhhhhhh!" "Hmph! Good fight, but this is the end for you now, Kirby!" Her upper beak slowly rose in impudence as her eyes sternly glanced towards a flailing Kirby who looked to be in a heap of trouble. "Since you're a newcomer to the world of avians, I hope you allow me to share a personal tip, from one dweller of the skies to another…"

Wing Kirby shuddered at her words, getting a sinking feeling from her condescending tone. Whatever Dyna Blade wanted to say to him, he had a feeling that it wasn't really going to be an advantageous tip at all.

Sure enough, he was proven right when he saw Dyna Blade let out a vicious cackle, her laugh from the air echoing throughout the valley below. "Our wings are indispensable to us birds, these feathery limbs being our bread and butter! That is why a downed flyer…" she stopped her quote for a second, concluding her statement with a tone that meant brutal finality before surging forward, "…is a doomed flyer!"

Wing Kirby let out a wince, trying his best to avoid Dyna Blade by flapping his right arm as hard as he physically could. They both knew from her forward lunge and her words as to what her target was — his one remaining good wing.

But flapping as hard as you could without any chance to take any rest quickly took its toll. Wing Kirby began to visibly pant by the time Dyna Blade drew near. Fighting against every instinct telling him to rest his torn left wing and spiral down to the mountain below, he decided to play it risky, calmly taking in a deep breath and closing his eyes.

"Are you nuts!? Shutting your eyes with only one good wing and risk going into a death spiral and slamming painfully onto the ground below?" Kirby heard Dyna Blade utter in surprise. "Well, perhaps you've accepted your fate. Lamenting and regretting your folly? I won't fault your suicidal choice." She clucked her tongue, imperceptibly shaking her head. "In which case, I promise I'll make this as quick and painless as I can… for my child's sake!"

Excellent! Dyna Blade took the bait to charge at me! Now all I've got to do is wait…

In the icky blackness of his imagination, Wing Kirby was no longer in mid-air with a crazed avian headed right at him. Rather, in his mind he visualized an irate King Dedede charging at him with his jeep, an incident which had happened close to an entire week ago.

Well, that incident and its glorious aftermath was soon about to get an encore.

"My precious hatchling empowers me! Get ready for the end, Kirby!"

Without the use of his visual senses, his other senses were amplified. Wait for it, Kirby. Wait for it… now!

Like with Dedede's attempted run-over with the jeep, Kirby waited until the last microsecond before impact before making his move. He jerked open his eyes, seeing Dyna Blade so close to him that the bird filled up his whole vision. The steel of her wings was at such a close proximity that he could basically smell the metallic odor.

As Dyna Blade's blue eyes widened, Wing Kirby shot her a confident smirk, the puffball giving one good hard flap of his wings, using the last remaining reserves of his energy to propel himself up into the air.

Timing was everything.

Thanks to his injury, he could only pull this stunt at the exact right time since he couldn't attempt the stunt twice. Too early and he'd waft back down and get himself cleanly cut in two. Too late… and the exact same thing would happen.

The burst of second wind ended as quickly as it started, causing Kirby to freefall and let gravity decide things. As he'd predicted, Dyna Blade swooped past where he had been before he'd swooped up at the last second, leading him to end up landing on the top of Dyna Blade's orange beak.

"Get off of me!" Dyna Blade howled in anger as she stopped her swoop, vigorously shaking about. It was unsafe for her to continue to fly in any direction as Kirby's close proximity to the bird's eyes led to him obscuring a good portion of Dyna Blade's field of vision. "Let go of my beak, you little pest!"

Kirby ignored her protests, steadfastly holding onto Dyna Blade. He clutched both of his hands tightly on her beak as he rode on Dream Land's wildest amusement park ride — without the park and the ensuing amusement, of course.

The puffball knew that if he let go now, he would end up being flung far away due to the way the laws of physics, namely inertia, worked. He also knew that thanks to that, he did not want to experience the feeling of being flung far away firsthand. It would hurt. That much was obvious.

Unfortunately, Dyna Blade's beak was small and smooth, two factors which didn't allow for a firm grip. He felt his paws slipping, something Dyna Blade took notice of. With a firm jerk of her head, Kirby was sent flying upwards.

Unperturbed however, Wing Kirby immediately went straight into a Dive Bomb, slamming down on Dyna Blade's head with a downwards attack.

"Keeehhhhhhh!"

On the ground, Bun winced as he heard the metallic clang. "Man, that's gotta hurt!" Even Fumu had to nod at his observation.

The impact from the shock wave emitted as Wing Kirby landed on the top of Dyna Blade's head was brutal, causing her to repeatedly blink painful tears from her eyes. As Dyna Blade found herself disorientated, Kirby took the opportunity to firmly hold onto her orange mohawk, gripping onto her neat head feathers like his life depended on it.

Well, it sort of did.

Finally shaking the last remnants of her dizzy spell away, Dyna Blade glanced upwards to see that Kirby had made her head his new home. "Why, I oughta…" she snarled viciously.

Kirby stuck a tongue out at her in response. "Poyo!" he called out teasingly. Try and get me, Dyna Blade! If you can even reach me, that is! Tee hee!

He had virtually nothing to fear from her now. Although it initially seemed that no physical location on the whole of Dream Land would be safe from Dyna Blade's sharp wings and supersonic speeds, the safest location by far was ironically up close — the head of the beast itself. Dyna Blade's wings were so large that she couldn't reach the back of her head with them. He was practically impervious here.

If I can't beat Dyna Blade in terms of size, then I'll just have to use her own large size against her! That was what Wing Kirby declared inwardly to himself as he cheekily grinned, casually resting his feet on the metal surface beneath him as Dyna Blade let out an angered howl.

He'd basically found Dyna Blade's weak spot, much to the avian's displeasure.


"Sis…" Bun held Fumu's palm with one hand while pointing at the flailing Dyna Blade with the other. "Feel free to correct me because I'm not sure if my vision's playing tricks on me, but is Kirby actually… riding on Dyna Blade's head?"

Fumu pursed her lips, looking intently at the tiny Star Warrior clinging onto Dyna Blade's wild mohawk. "Yes… he is," she finally said, shaking her head in sheer disbelief at what her eyes were telling her.

Bun's face lit up like a Christmas Tree at her confirmation. "Yo, that's so unbelievably cool! Driving around a legendary bird like a personal plane? Vroom-vroom!" he imitated the sound of a racecar, not noticing his sister's growing displeasure. "Man, I'll give up my action figures to trade places with Kirby!"

"BUN!" A scowl appeared on Fumu's face as she unfurled her hands. Honestly, she couldn't believe her brother's insensitive remarks at times.

"Sorry, sis! But quit being so stressed out! Kirby'd gotten out of worse before. He'll be just fine!"

His reassuring words had little effect on her. "He'll be just fine!" was the obvious conclusion and best-case scenario. But there was always that self-doubt. That little incessant nagging voice of worry in her mind telling Fumu otherwise.

Never before had she felt so helpless. Fumu was a hardy individual, always willing to step in whenever she felt something wasn't right, a trait which had gotten her in hot water multiple times, especially with Dedede. But on this occasion, she could only be a mere bystander, completely powerless to change the outcome of the battle.

Oh, Kirby… I'm so very sorry that I can't help you with your battles… I'm so useless!

While she had felt this way before during the Meta Knight sword duel and the Webby showdown back in Whispy's Forest, the impotence of her ability to contribute struck her the most here. It wasn't as if she could sprout wings and fly, so she could do virtually nothing, which infuriated her.

"So it appears that Dyna Blade and Kirby are at it. Just like I had expected."

"Huh?" Fumu and Bun cocked their head at the new voice coming from behind them.

"This should be an interesting test for Kirby. Certainly quite the challenge to face for the Star Warrior. It certainly appears that Kirby is a shrewd one, using the back of Dyna Blade's head as—"

The masked newcomer didn't come anywhere close to finishing his analytical remark before Fumu spun on her heel, the Cappy girl whirling around at the familiar deep voice — one she recognized instantaneously. "Sir Meta Knight!" she exclaimed, interrupting him mid-speech.

"Ah, Fumu, Bun." He nodded to the two in acknowledgement. "How very coincidental that we would meet like this." As Meta Knight gave his reply, his yellow eyes remained solely focused on the mid-air battle that was going down above.

Which was the reason Fumu wasn't buying his bluff in the slightest. "Coincidental?" she retorted, her hands firmly by her hips. "I don't think that you being here at Dyna Blade's nest is just a coincidence, Meta Knight."

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. You'll just have to decide that for yourself, Fumu."

She shook off the cryptic, non-committed response. "Well, I happen to decide that you do have a deliberate reason for being here. You almost always find some way to make time for Kirby's battles."

"Of course." He shrugged at her astute observation. "I do indeed make time for Kirby's battles. Although I'd given Sword and Blade time off to watch Channel DDD, I myself simply had to see this in person. As a matter of fact, I'd only just arrived when I heard the faint echoes of Dyna Blade's shrieks from Castle Dedede. That was when I knew that their feud had started. A brutal clash of passion, one fought gracefully in the blue skies high up above…" he muttered poetically.

"But if you knew all this, then why didn't you stop my sis?" Bun shouted. "She was the one who'd dragged Kirby here in the first place! If she didn't do that, then all of this wouldn't have happened in the first place! So much for your plans of spectating then, huh?"

"Wrong."

The firm rebuttal of Bun's statement caused the two Cappies to look at the knight. "It would have happened regardless of whether you sought her out or not. I know Dyna Blade quite well, actually." Meta Knight admitted as he continued to look at the giant bird. "If she had managed to narrow the perpetrator down to Kirby, then she would literally turn the entirety of Cappy Town upside-down to find him. That is how determined Dyna Blade is when it comes to this."

"But Kirby's not the one who took Dyna Blade's child!" Fumu exclaimed, her eyes shifting to the empty nest. "Dedede set Kirby up!"

"Yeah, that's right! King Dedede faked everything!" Bun added, before his voice turned soft. "Even the epic mecha monster battles…" he sniffed.

"Everyone in Cappy Town saw the news on Channel DDD," Fumu explained to Meta Knight. "But what they don't know is that it's faked. We found a stage-set in the recording studio that proves that Dedede wanted to film a fake disaster."

"Careful with that accusation there, Fumu. That is not decisive evidence, it is only circumstantial. You have no definite proof that his majesty wanted to use it for nefarious purposes," Meta Knight advised, ever protecting his king when the time aroused. "Besides, what you'd said just now raises a contradictory point. If this video tape really is faked, then Dyna Blade has no reason to be antagonistic at all."

Bun's face fell. "Wait… Meta Knight's right! If Dedede faked the video tape, then how come Dyna Blade's attacking Kirby!?"

Meta Knight's voice turned grim. "The reason is simpler than you think. It doesn't matter if the tape was faked or not, because it would appear that her child really is gone."

Bun snapped his fingers. "So that's why she's after Kirby!"

Fumu nodded alongside her brother's words. "Even if the tape was faked, with her real child missing… she would go after who she had assumed the perpetrator is. In this case, Kirby!"

"Actually, there is a rather major problem with the statement that you've just made." Meta Knight pointed out as he let out an amused snort, quite a rarity for the perpetually serious swordsman. "First of all, the biggest problem with this hypothesis is obvious." He jerked his head up towards Dyna Blade. "The contradiction is blatantly in plain sight. I highly doubt that Dyna Blade has the ability to sit down in front of a television set and watch Dedede's claims live."

His blunt comment caused both Cappies to slap their foreheads at the huge misconception that they hadn't even realized they'd made up until this point.

"That's right, sis!" Bun groaned at his own stupidity. "I completely didn't realize that! We'd assumed that Dyna Blade knew about Kirby because she'd seen Channel DDD…"

"Yeah, like that'll ever happen." Fumu rolled her eyes as her mind brought forth a mental image that she'd rather forget. "So not only is all of Cappy Town hooked onto Channel DDD, an ancient legendary bird is also in on this television craze too. Sure…" she sarcastically muttered.

"But if that's the case, then I don't get it!" Bun pointed up at the rainbow-winged avian, shooting Meta Knight a question. "Why is Dyna Blade still attacking Kirby even though she never had the chance to watch the faked tape on the news?"

"The reason is clear as day. It means that Dyna Blade has sufficient merit to believe that Kirby was the one who took her child," Meta Knight responded to Bun. "Sure, she has come to an incorrect conclusion, but it is a valid assumption, and one which has led to the battle that you are witnessing now."

Observing both Kirby and Dyna Blade furiously shrieking at the other as the bird flapped her wings in one spot, he amended his statement since it appeared that the duo had temporarily put their fight on hold. "Or rather, the battle which you had been witnessing…"


A hateful glare decorated Dyna Blade's face.

"Get off me, you lowly worm!"

If only the person she was directing the scornful look to was actually able to see the bird's expression from his vantage point on the back of said bird's head.

"Poyo!" Hey! Don't compare me to a worm! Worms aren't all that tasty when it comes to food!

"Just what are you talking about? They totally are tasty! Delicious grubs, yum!" Dyna Blade purred as she thought about dinner, making a slurping noise with her tongue. "And on the subject of annoying worms, how about you cease your incessant tugging on my head feathers!?"

A determined shake of his head. "Poy-oooo!" Not happening! I for one happen to like feathers! They're soft and fluffy!

As Wing Kirby and Dyna Blade bantered back and forth, shooting stealth insults at the other, the Star Warrior slowly began to realize that he'd reached an impasse. Although he now had Dyna Blade exactly where he wanted her, he couldn't do a thing to her.

His basic attack, Feather Gun, was all but useless against Dyna Blade's tough exterior. Dive Bomb and Condor Dive, his two effective attacks, could be dodged by her now that she was privy to his tactics, which would cause him to lose his current advantage, a risk that Kirby was unwilling to take with a broken wing.

Similarly, as long as he remained on Dyna Blade's mohawk, she couldn't get him either. With Kirby unwilling to make the first move, they were basically stuck in a stalemate.

But all stalemates could either be played perpetually in the hopes that their opponent accidentally makes a mistake down the line, or in the case of one where neither party were willing to concede to a draw, an outside force would have to disrupt the match. And in this case, the latter scenario happened a lot faster than either one of them had expected.

As Kirby was preparing himself to shoot another taunt back at Dyna Blade, he suddenly winced in pain when he re-grabbed onto her mohawk, feeling static discharge from his body into the hair. Static electricity? But why would there be…?

He never had the chance to finish that thought.

A bright teal lightning bolt suddenly shot out of the sky, the searing beam of electricity only narrowly missing both Dyna Blade and Kirby.

"What in the—" Dyna Blade cursed at the near miss, before cutting her curse short as another bolt of lightning flashed downwards. "Wait a minute! These storm clouds can't possibly be natural…" Tilting her head up towards the swirling dark gray clouds, she let out a horrified gasp as her lower beak fell open in horror.

"No! It can't be…"

Kirby gaped in shock upon hearing a worried tone creep into Dyna Blade's voice. That was the first time throughout the entire battle that he'd managed to detect fear in the discombobulated voice that was floating about in his head.

"…it's them! Holy Nightmare Corporation!"

Holy… Nightmare?

Kirby felt his head being to throb as he heard those words from within his mind. Something about the name that Dyna Blade had just said sounded… eerily familiar to him.

But what? Why was it so familiar? Just what was going on? As Kirby began to wallow deep in his thoughts, Dyna Blade continued to shriek as she made a hard swerve to dodge another blast of lightning.

"It has to be them! Nooooo! You've got to be kidding me! Why now? Why at such an inopportune time? Why choose to send a demon beast here to Dream Land right now, of all times!? Why must they show up in the midst of me avenging my hatchling? Why!?" she screeched furiously, the translation of her angered words pounding in Kirby's mind and ruining his concentration. The sheer desperation in Dyna Blade's repeated questions made it impossible of Kirby to focus on his own insecurities.

Down below, Bun covered his ears at Dyna Blade's vicious ear-piercing howl, aggravated by the constant loud bursts of thunder from the nearby lightning strikes. "What do you think is going on, sis? Dyna Blade seems absolutely livid!"

"I don't know, Bun." Fumu thoughtfully placed a finger to her lip. "But whatever it is, I don't like it, not one bit. This lightning storm screams trouble. We better get to shelter!"

"Shelter from lightning?" Bun skeptically kicked a pebble as he gestured at the view of the mountain range from the summit. "On the top of a mountain? You're kidding right, sis? We'll never find shelter here!"

Next to them, Meta Knight rested one hand on the hilt of his sword, gently shifting the handle as he stared up into the sky with a grave expression.

Meanwhile, high above, Wing Kirby cocked his head as Dyna Blade continually ranted to the point where she even forgot that she had an unwelcome guest clinging onto her head.

What had Dyna Blade seen? That was the "free-for-all buffet" question to Wing Kirby. Obscured by the thick mohawk he was holding on to, Kirby was unable to see what had terrified the great Dyna Blade herself. Eventually, curiosity won the battle over safety, leading Kirby to pull on Dyna Blade's mohawk to hoist himself above her topmost head feathers.

Immediately after he did that, he wished he didn't. The sight which greeted Kirby's eyes was not pleasant.

Situated in the middle of the storm clouds above them was a flash of white, sticking out like a sore thumb amidst all the gray. The… thing—Kirby could only call it a 'thing'—consisted of a singular eye filled with a plethora of white fluffy clouds that surrounded it. Multiple pointy spikes layered its outer cloud-like surface as it hovered in the air.

As the eye in the middle of the cloudy mess eyeballed its avian target, it narrowed its eyelid and began to rub its outer spikes together, the electric field being generated from the sizzling sparks as a chain reaction of static electricity jumping from one metallic spike to the next being so powerful that the air molecules around it began to ionize.

The feathers on Dyna Blade's wings began to bristle from the static buildup. Without any warning, the single eye widened viciously. Right on schedule, the formerly tiny sparks quickly escalated into a full-blown beam of electrons, using the ionized molecules in the air to blast a singular bolt of high-voltage lightning down.

Dyna Blade pitched right, narrowly dodging the lightning bolt, which struck a slab of rocky ground at the base of the mountain range instead.

Okay, Kirby winced as he covered his ears from the resulting bang of thunder. So that thing is what's causing this freak lightning storm. Got it. Do not mess with Mr. I… duly noted.

The eye wordlessly stared down at the duo before shooting another beam of lightning at them.

As Dyna Blade became the world's craziest rollercoaster, a Kirby who was starting to get motion sickness from the massive g-forces caused by the hard swerves and rolls began to regret his position atop Dyna Blade's head for the first time since he'd gotten on.


Schluck!

Fumu and Bun gasped as Meta Knight drew his sword from his scabbard, a bright orange flash momentarily lighting up the summit as the blade materialized.

"Sir Meta Knight!" Fumu exclaimed.

Meta Knight shot a discreet glance over to her. He couldn't blame her for her apprehensiveness, considering that the last time that she had seen that blade unsheathed, he had been shooting energy beams from it directly at Kirby. Nevertheless, he felt compelled to ease her fears. "Fumu, the reason I'm drawing my sword is simple. It is for the sake of precaution." His eyes locked on to the large gray swaths of low-lying clouds above the mountain. "The thing that is up there is a demon beast."

"What!?" Bun yelled, evidently shocked by this turn of events. "Now even lightning's a demon beast?"

Meta Knight shifted his stance, a small smile creeping up behind his mask at the boy's naïveté. "Not exactly. But it appears that this demon beast is able to discharge lightning at will."

"I knew it!" Fumu stomped her feet as she glared upwards. "I knew that this freak lightning was unusual!"

"And the demon beast itself is not a normal one, too. Judging from its sheer size and scope of power, it looks to be a very powerful one. I think it's safe to assume that Holy Nightmare Corporation is pulling out all the stops for this offensive move."

As Meta Knight concluded his remark, a fleeting thought occurred to Fumu. She suddenly felt that there had been something weird with what he had just said. Going through the statement again, the Cappy girl quickly caught the offending phrase out as a deep voice spontaneously howled out from the deep recesses of her mind.

"You were asking who Nightmare was, correct? Well, allow me to tell you. He is the creator of the demon beasts, creatures who are imbued by hatred, born only to cause chaos and destroy everything around them."

"That is of no surprise to me… after all, Sir Meta Knight was the one who told me the tale in the first place… it must have been decades ago."

"Now I remember!" she cried, gasping as her hands flew to her mouth. "There was something that I've been meaning to ask you, Meta Knight! How do you know about Nightmare? Kabu said that you were the one who had told him about it!"

"Oh yeah!" Bun seconded. "He did say that!"

"Did he?" Meta Knight placed a finger to his mask, breaking eye contact with Wing Kirby and Dyna Blade for the first time since his arrival.

"Answer me, Meta Knight!" Fumu demanded with a stomp of her foot. Rather unladylike of the Cappy, but the tomboyish girl couldn't care less of what others thought of her. Her reputation had been sullied enough by Dedede, and sometimes even by her brother and his myriad of young mischievous Cappy friends — Iroo, Hohhe, and Honey.

Seeing Dedede's masked assistant still remain silent, she practically began to plead with him. "Please, Sir Meta Knight… just what aren't you telling us about Kirby…? You know something… I know you do!"

Meta Knight imperceptibly shook his head, letting out a sigh at her insistence. "It would not be a good idea to reveal everything I know. Always keep a firm trump card up your sleeve. That was the first thing that the Galaxy Soldier Army taught us."

"The Galaxy Soldier Army!?" Fumu repeated after Meta Knight. Whether he had intended to reveal that he knew of the group as well, or had unintentionally done so as a means of deflecting her question, it didn't matter. With that admission, she now had concrete proof that there was more to Sir Meta Knight than met the eye.

"That is right, Fumu." A glint from his sword as Meta Knight shifted it ever so slightly emphasized his confirmation. "The one and the same."

Fumu shook her head, letting out a confused sigh. "But Kabu said that the Galaxy Soldier Army is long gone…"

"Indeed it is," Meta Knight nodded. "The Galaxy Soldier Army is but a relic of the ancient past. The ranks that made up the entire organization was almost entirely wiped clean millennia ago, virtually disbanding the whole force after one final failed onslaught."

"That's what I don't get!" She flung her arms out as another rumble of lightning rocked the air. "How can you possibly know of this? There's nothing in the Cappy History books that records this great war Kabu speaks of! And he said that you were the one who had told him in the first place!" she accused Meta Knight, who had a plaintiff look on his face at the accusation. "So how do you know of it!?"

"Tell me, Fumu." He took a single step forward, a bitter laugh escaping his mask. "How old do you think I am?"

"Isn't that a bit of a sensitive question?" Bun chuckled. "I mean, you wouldn't want Dedede's tabloids to get a hold of this information."

Fumu triumphantly held her gaze, lifting her head up slightly at her brother. "So you do admit that Channel DDD is basically one big useless tabloid, Bun!" she declared.

"I didn't mean it that way…" Bun tried to verbally backspace. "It's entertaining at times, but—"

"Ahem!" Meta Knight coughed into his free hand to prevent his topic from being sidelined before an agitated Bun could derail the conversation further. "Please answer my question. How old do you think I am?"

At first thought, she wanted to say that Meta Knight was around her parents' age. After all, he'd been Dedede's loyal servant for longer than she could remember. But as she thought more and more about it and wondered what Meta Knight had to gain from asking such a question, her earlier thought was abruptly proven highly incorrect upon closer introspection.

"Sir Meta Knight was the one who told me the tale in the first place… it must have been decades ago."

From decades ago…

That was the exact words she'd heard from Kabu.

"But it can't be…" she mumbled, staring at Meta Knight as though it was the first time they'd truly met.

"I see you have figured it out." Meta Knight gently shook his head with twinkling eyes. "I am not as young as many assume."

Bun leaned forward and scrutinized the masked knight. "Well, your mask does kinda gives you this mature aura."

"There's a story behind the mask…" Meta Knight casually mentioned, before biting his tongue and changing the topic. "Anyway, yes. To elaborate, I have been here since the great war."

"But that's thousands of years ago!" Fumu cried. "How can you still be alive!?"

"The long answer is complicated, so I'll give you the short answer instead." He ignored the pouts that Fumu and Bun shot him and gazed upwards, reminiscing his memories from a time long past. "I'm a member of a race who typically live very long lives due to our natural lifespans. The Galaxy Soldier Army called us their trump card. I was one of the few ace in the holes that the Galaxy Soldier Army possessed as an invaluable asset — one of the legendary group of elite fighters known as the Star Warriors."

Fumu and Bun's yells of shock were simultaneous. "What! You're a Star Warrior?!"

"Hm? Do I not look the part?" Meta Knight murmured with an amused tone in his voice. "A single glance at me back in the day and everyone knew that I was a Star Warrior."

"So you're just like Kirby?" Fumu exclaimed, eyes darting back and forth between the tiny speck in the sky and Meta Knight. "Wow! That explains how you know so much about him!"

"I knew that he was a Star Warrior from the very moment I laid eyes on him in that dilapidated shack. I'd heard rumors that a Star Warrior by the name of Kirby had arrived in Cappy Town, but I only received full confirmation in that old, dusty hut."

"That's why you hunted out Kirby!" Bun jumped up and down as pieces of the mystery began to fit together for the first time. "You wanted to see if the rumors were true!"

"…and that also explains why you didn't turn Kirby in to Dedede when you found him!" Fumu joyfully clapped her hands together. "'All I wished to do tonight was to confirm a little hypothesis of mine'… that was what you said!" She folded her arms in victory. "That hypothesis was to check on whether Kirby really was a Star Warrior, like what the rumors had all claimed! It all makes perfect sense now!" Finally, a question that she'd asked an entire week earlier was answered.

"Yes, that is indeed why." Meta Knight said, before whirling around to look at Fumu directly. "But that wasn't the only question that your inquisitive self has asked me over this past week, yes? You've asked me quite a few questions, and now I shall do my best to answer those questions."

He shook his head as he reflexively stepped forward, his cape blowing in the air from the howling winds. "Holy Nightmare Corporation, the intergalactic company owned by Nightmare himself. I never thought that I would have to bring up this name so quickly." Meta Knight's gaze turned predatory beneath his mask as those words left his mouth. "So, what do you know of it?"

"We know everything that Kabu told us," Fumu started.

"And he said that you were the one who'd told him to begin with!" Bun accused. "So tell us something we don't know!"

"What do you know about demon beasts?" Meta Knight asked out of the blue. "Did you know that they were considered to be above-average foes?"

"Really?"

A blast of lightning hitting the ground half a kilometer away answered Fumu's question before Meta Knight could dispel her skepticism.

"Anyway, it is this recent proliferation of demon beasts which gravely concerns me. In a timespan of approximately one week, Cappy Town has had to deal with three, and now four, demon beasts. This constant onslaught is something that is completely unprecedented in recent times. It likens more to the days long past… the days of war."

"War?" For the first time in quite a while, Fumu observed that Bun didn't seem excited by the prospect of something violent… something very unusual for the violence-entertained boy.

"Yes… war." His dark announcement was emphasized with another loud bang caused by the nearby thunder. "I am almost certain that Nightmare is now making his final push on Planet Popstar. He has patiently bidded his time, but now he must want to eradicate the remnants of the Star Warriors, once and for all. Why else would he send a monster like this to Cappy Town… unless he was aware of Kirby's existence. That would explain why he's sending more demon beasts to King Dedede."

"That rotten creep!" Bun growled. "Why can't he find some other dumb planet to pick on?"

"Because he is now aware that another Star Warrior is on this one. If Kabu hasn't already told you, Nightmare vehemently despises the Star Warriors. He has a very good reason to want to hunt down any that live to this day."

Fumu gasped in realization as she recalled Kabu's words. She knew the exact reason that Nightmare hated Kirby. After all, she'd been told why. "The prophecy!" she exclaimed, answering the unspoken question that hung in the air.

"But the reason I know how he will be finished is due to a prophecy that he himself fears, one regarding him and his demon beasts. It is said that one day, one of Nightmare's monsters that have been summoned by his very own hand will turn against him and become one of the Star Warriors, subsequently unraveling his entire life's work."

"Do you remember, Bun?" she asked as she turned to her brother, "The prophecy said that a Star Warrior would be the one to bring Nightmare down!"

"Yes, totally!" Bun pumped his fist in the air. "That means this Kirby will be the one to defeat this evil Nightmare!"

"Unfortunately for us all, I'm afraid that he still has a long way to go."

As he made his observation, Meta Knight swiped his sword as he continued to look up into the sky. "The Galaxy Soldier Army had heaped all their dreams and hopes on this prophecy." There was quite a bit of resentment in his voice as he said the sentence. "Unfortunately for everyone, that reassuring prophecy appeared to be worth next to nothing in the final showdown." He turned back to the two siblings, his next words dripping with anger as he closed his eyes.

"The so-called miracle that the top brass of the Galaxy Soldier Army was hoping for… never happened. Mark my words, children. No one is infallible…" he spat those four words with a vicious glint in his eyes. "Most made the mistake of waltzing into that battle thinking that they'd won. We were all solely mistaken. I was one of the lucky few…" he looked away before finishing, "…most weren't as fortunate."

"That's… terrible." Fumu finally said, her green eyes lowered in understanding. Kabu had never mentioned the exact specifics of what had happened to the Galaxy Soldier Army besides a casual comment about them being defeated, and just one look at Meta Knight's pained expression made it clear why.

"I agree!" Bun sympathetically showed his support. "At least you're still alive, Sir Meta Knight! You are the last hope of this… whatever-Soldier Army!"

"It's Galaxy Soldier Army, Bun!" Fumu glared at Bun's flippant disregard for Meta Knight's feelings as he botched the name of the organization up.

"Regardless, that is why I'm so hard on Kirby." Meta Knight admitted as he raised his hand, lifting the tip of the golden blade he was holding up into the air. "While I've managed to remain under Nightmare's radar, I'm afraid Kirby isn't so fortunate. I'm almost certain that he now knows that Kirby is here. Believe me, we are talking about a megalomaniac who will lay waste to Dream Land with legions of his demon beasts in a bid to snuff Kirby out. If Kirby isn't ready…" he trailed off. He didn't need to finish the sentence.

Eyes widened in understanding. "The sword duel…"

"That is right, Fumu. I think I made it clear from our last encounter that I'd crossed blades with Kirby solely to test his skills. You must understand the forces that we're playing around with are no joke. Sword Beam might have been insanely epic for an outsider to witness," he chuckled as he couldn't resist bragging about his special move, "but to some of Nightmare's elite forces, that move is ineffective chump change."

"No way…" Bun muttered. Fumu couldn't blame him for his reaction. Sword Beam was so destructive and now Meta Knight was downplaying it like it was nothing? Just how powerful was Nightmare and his allies?

"This is a battle of wits between Nightmare and Kirby. It's very much like evolution — either Kirby adapts and grows stronger… or he dies."

No subtlety there on Sir Meta Knight's part, Fumu winced slightly as Meta Knight calmly stated Kirby's fate should the young puffball end up faltering.

"And like Kabu must have told you… should Kirby and I fall, Planet Popstar will follow."

"Aw, not a chance! That's like, the worst-case scenario!" Bun gasped, a fleeting glance towards his beloved Cappy Town. He clenched his teeth. "I won't ever accept that creep taking over Dream Land! King Dedede's already bad enough!"

In stark contrast to the look of denial on Bun's face, Fumu had a determined look firmly on her own. "That is why we'll make sure that Kirby never loses! I swear that I'll make sure that no harm comes to him!" she declared as she firmly made a promise not just to Meta Knight and Bun, but also to herself. "Those demon beasts won't stand a chance if we work as a team! We'll support Kirby and let him keep learning to get stronger until he becomes—"

BANNNGGGG!

Before Fumu could comment further, a deafening bang echoed throughout the entire mountain range, causing all three standing at the summit to sharply look upwards. The acrid smell of smoke soon followed the explosive sound.

"What the heck!" Bun yelped, covering his ears at the sound. "Look! Dyna Blade's been hit!"

"I am not blind, Bun," Meta Knight chided. "I can see that very clearly," he said as his eyes focused on the falling metal bird.

"Oh no!" A shrill cry from Fumu caused the two besides her to glance briefly at the distraught Cappy girl. They soon realized why when she pointed up at the sky.

"If Dyna Blade's been hit… then that means Kirby's been hit as well!" Her palms covered her mouth before letting out a horror-filled cry that reverberated around the mountain range.

"Kiirrrbbyyyyy!"


"Kiirrrbbyyyyy!"

Bandana snorted at the irony as he saw the Cappy girl fall to her knees, crying out for Kirby. After all, he himself had been looking for his own Kirby just a few minutes prior.

A few minutes ago…

"Kirby!" Bandana Dee cried when Spear Kirby silently made preparations to touch down on the mountaintop with Helicopter Spear. "Where were you all this time? I've been waiting for at least ten minutes!" He pointed his spear up in the sky. "Look! Dyna Blade and the other Kirby's already in the midst of fighting!"

"Sorry for the delay, Bandana! I was just getting a little friend…" Kirby smiled as a small head poked over the cliff, letting out a chirp as it did so.

"Th-that's… Dyna Blade's hatchling!" Bandana yelped at the sight, inching away from the small bird which quickly ran straight for him, the hatchling roughly about the same height and size as him and Kirby.

"You're right. It's Dyna Blade's child, right in the flesh," Kirby confirmed, chuckling as Bandana found himself being nuzzled by yellow feathers. "I did say that I took her from the nest to feed her, right? Well, all I did now was recover her. I simply took a little detour to collect her back from Whispy's Forest."

"Whispy's Forest?" Bandana crowed as the hatchling beside him let out a soft coo. "Why Whispy's Forest?"

"I'd chosen to hid her in Whispy's Forest when I fled from Dyna Blade's nest." Kirby then had a mischievous chuckle plastered on his face as he continued, "It was the perfect place to keep this naughty little rascal occupied, too. I simply had to steal a bunch of apples and then stockpile them at a single location to keep her in one safe place. Heh!" he chuckled as he tapped his foot, "Ah, Whispy wasn't too happy about my decision, let me tell ya!"

"Now I remember! There was something that I've been meaning to ask you, Meta Knight! How do you know about Holy Nightmare Corporation? Kabu said that you were the one who had told him about it!"

All three turned their heads at the question posed by the Cappy girl with a furious voice. Poking their heads from the outcropping which hid their bodies from view, they then listened on as Meta Knight gave his response.

"That's Meta Knight!" Bandana gasped.

"Not ours, so hush!" Kirby signaled for him to be quiet. "I wanna listen to this!"

"Chirp!"

Back in the present…

Well, that was certainly some exposition.

Bandana had to clutch his head so that he didn't get a headache. All this talk about some army and a war against Nightmare seemed… so fantasy-like. It was on a far bigger scale than anything that he'd ever had to face.

"So this Nightmare outlives our own one… interesting…" Spear Kirby commented as he held a firm grip on the flailing hatchling.

"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!" The yellow hatchling tried to squirm out of Spear Kirby's grip, tears threatening to fall from her eyes as the giant metal avian hit the ground many meters below them with a resounding thud.

"Oh no! The poor thing has to watch its mommy fall!" Bandana held back a sob when he realized why she was behaving in this way. "Can't you let it go, Kirby? I think she wants to nuzzle her mom—"

"Not now."

As Bandana gaped at Kirby in horror at his callous response, Spear Kirby took a long hard gaze at his identical twin, who was still miraculously flying even after a direct lightning strike had hit him and Dyna Blade. "We can save the touching reunion for a little while later," he began to explain his choice, "If I bring Dyna Blade's young hatchling out into the open, Kracko will almost certainly turn her into roast chicken, just like her mother."

"Oh." Bandana hadn't even considered that possibility. Nah, the way Kirby had put it, it would pretty much be an inevitability.

"Chirp!" The yellow hatchling was kicking her feet, pecking Kirby's arm in an attempt to break free. "Chirp! Chirp!"

It didn't work on the puffball. Although the child was stubborn, Spear Kirby was even more stubborn than her, continuing to maintain his grip on the crying hatchling. "Let's wait until Carby settles this before we hand Dyna Blade her beloved hatchling back," he said.

"Alrighty, Kirby!" Bandana thrusted his spear up in the air in concurrence as Spear Kirby proceeded to glare up at the swirling maelstrom above the area, trying to catch a glimpse of the white cloud-based foe who he'd had to face off with multiple times before.

"So we meet again, Kracko…" he whispered softly, with a slight nostalgic edge to his voice.


He had gotten incredibly lucky.

As the teal lightning bolt was fired down from the one-eyed demon beast above, it had missed Kirby by an inch and ended up hitting Dyna Blade directly in the midst of an aerial maneuver, the electricity bursting into her chest at the spot where a large blue orb was emblazoned on the bird's outer armor.

As a result, only Kirby's feet had gotten mildly singed from contact with Dyna Blade's metal body. Due to the potential difference in his body not being much at all thanks to the fact that he wasn't touching the ground but rather Dyna Blade instead, Kirby had been fortuitous enough to come out of the devastating strike surprisingly unscathed, with the exception of a few mild burns and frazzled wing feathers.

"Keeehhhhhhh!"

Dyna Blade was far less fortunate.

The metallic beast was an excellent conductor for the electricity, leading to millions of volts blasting through most of her organs before it exited Dyna Blade through her talons. The blackened Dyna Blade let out a painful scream before losing all control of her wings, spiraling down at an impressive speed and slamming into the ground near the base of the mountain.

The resulting impact was huge, pretty much the equivalent of a plane crash. Rocks in the ground unfortunate enough to be directly underneath the impact zone were completely smashed to pieces. A staggering number of cracks splintered off from where the giant bird now lay.

As Wing Kirby free-fell from the sky, he dropped his ability, letting the ability star fall down below as the Star Warrior regained his ability to float in the air without the Copy Ability. It didn't give him as much freedom or maneuverability that he had with the Wing Ability, but it certainly beat having a useless limb.

Come to think of it, he could have done that earlier while he was resting atop of Dyna Blade's mohawk. The Ability Star could have been a projectile that he could have been able to spit at her. Oh well, there was no point in crying over split milk and regrets now. Not at this juncture.

"Kkkkeehhhhhhh…"

Hearing a weakened rasp as he cautiously landed on the uneven ground, Kirby turned his head towards the stricken Dyna Blade lying on the ground. All thought of their prior battle was forgotten as he ran up to the fallen legendary bird. "Poyo!" he cried, shaking her.

Zap!

"Poyo!" The puffball ignored the sting he received from the excess electricity discharged from their physical contact and continued to stroke her, trying to stimulate Dyna Blade to no avail.

"I'm afraid… there isn't much time left for me…" Dyna Blade finally murmured, with drooping eyelids covering her once-bright blue eyes. "The electricity from that demon beast went through my entire body."

"Poyo?" He tilted his head. Demon beast?

"You don't know?" Dyna Blade's beak fell open in surprise, before the bird quickly recovered. "A demon beast is a monster who exists only to kill, a monster created and sent by the great Nightmare himself… a tyrant from a time long past…"

She struggled to lift her head up, gazing directly at the puffball. "It wants you, Kirby. That is Holy Nightmare Corporation's goal. Nightmare wants all the Star Warriors finished off-gack!" the weakened bird explained to Kirby before weakly coughing as she tried to lift her heavy body off the ground. Kirby could only attempt to assist her, although the phrase "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" ran rampant in his mind.

When she realized that she wouldn't be getting up again, her eyes softened as she began to plead with her former opponent. "My aging heart can't handle the stress for…" Dyna Blade shuddered, her eyelids drooping further, "…much longer," she finally managed to force the words from her beak. "Please, I beg of you, Kirby. Let me see my hatchling… please…"

How the tables had turned. Normally, Kirby would be inclined to spit an insult at the opponents he'd finished off. Especially so as Dyna Blade was his toughest one yet, technically tied with the much tinier Webby in the sense that he had never beaten both of them in a fair one-on-one fight.

But how can he refuse a dying opponent who had simply misunderstood him? All Kirby could do was not burden her with lies by telling her the truth. "Po-Poyo…" he stuttered, stroking a rainbow-colored feather attached to a metal large wing, spreadeagled out on the rocky ground.

Kirby knew Dyna Blade would need comfort from his words. Right now, he was all the company that Dyna Blade had on this wretched, secluded mountain. But, alas. In the end, he couldn't give Dyna Blade the solace that she required in her time of need.

"I'm sorry… but I never took your child." He looked away sheepishly, unable to look her in the eye. "Honest! I don't even know… where he is…"

"You… never… took her? But… I saw… you…" Dyna Blade trailed off as she fell into another coughing fit.

"I swear, I never took him-I mean, her!" The final 'poyo' was met with a wistful sigh from Dyna Blade.

"Then I'll amend my last request, Star Warrior." Her words grew heavy as she used a superhuman effort to spit them out. "Please… find… me… my… young child…"

By now, Dyna Blade's ragged breathing had grown very faint. Her eyes began to turn glassy and vacant, a repugnant feeling bubbling up in Kirby as he witnessed the horrible sight that lay right in front of him.

"Poyo!" Hey, Dyna Blade! Don't you dare d-… stay awake, dammit! No, no, no!

His pleas were futile. Dyna Blade then went silent, her head rolling back. She closed her eyelids as if to take a snooze.

At the sight, Kirby stopped prodding the massive beast, realizing that it was all but pointless. With hardened eyes, he now glowered up at the storm clouds that were above him.

You… monster…! Kirby blinked tears from his eyes as he tried to focus on the lightning monster who he now knew lay within.

The lightning storm had momentarily ceased. Whether it was because the demon beast didn't realize that one of his targets was still breathing, or because he wanted to give his foe a temporary reprieve out of a sadistic nature to watch Dyna Blade gasping her last breaths, Kirby didn't care.

He clenched his fists as he solemnly shot a fleeting glance at the still Dyna Blade. "Poyo!" he furiously cried up to the skies, announcing his presence to the cloud demon high above.

This time, it was personal. Kirby swore to himself that he would take this guy down… no matter what.

Far above, a single eye narrowed as it heard and then caught sight of its target, the presumed Star Warrior that his master had told him in not-so-kind words to thoroughly eliminate. The demon beast slowly descended upon the tiny pink speck down below, the gray storm clouds all around him following the eye of the storm.

Although both Kirby and Kracko didn't know it, their opponents were thinking the exact same thing in their minds.

Failure is not an option. I will defeat you!


"So… how do we fight back against the Jambastions?"

It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

There was a deathly silence as Dedede dropped the question on a multitude of unsuspecting helpers, many of whom were unprepared for the sudden shift in tone. Just barely a minute ago, they were discussing about slots for an upcoming play. And now, the topic took an abrupt change to… preparations for waging an all-out war.

"Oh, Dedede… why so serious?"

Dedede growled as Marx ended up being the first to break the silence. "I'm serious because this is a legitimate problem! So how about you shut your mouth and let others join in the debate, ya senseless prat!" he yelled at the jester, who frowned at the unkind words in Dedede's retort, mumbling unfriendly words under his breath as he looked away.

Now that the mood had lightened up, a few others were more compelled to speak.

"Duh!" Lil' Pop slammed a small hand down on the table with explosive force. "The answer's obvious! We have to strike at them first! Blow them out of deep space before they can even get anywhere close to Dream Land!"

Dedede exhaled a breath that communicated to all in the vicinity just how stupid he thought the Poppy Bro Jr's proposal was. "Can you even hear yourself? Your words make no sense! They already struck before we did! A strong frontal assault as a show of power is futile now that they've got the advantage of a first strike!"

"Yep. King Dedede's right. Don't even try. It's doomed to fail."

Everyone in the room stared at Jackson as the purple-robed Jammerjab began his lament, gripping onto his own clothes as he started to hyperventilate. "Are you forgetting that I was once a foot soldier in their army?" he asked as his eyes glowed with a tinge of fear. "The Jambastion Mages are masters of planning and strategy. Listen to me! You can't possibly outwit troop commanders like them with a simple plan like this! It's tantamount to suicide!"

Dedede narrowed his eyes at the Jammerjab. "We better that statement with a pinch of salt, considering that you are only privy to this knowledge because of your former alliance with them." His gaze never wavered from Jackson, even as a few of the others stood up in his defense.

"Hey, Mr. Dedede!" The NESP helper, Esther, levitated up from her seat. "I demand that you take that remark back! Jackson's no longer with that cult after Kirby befriended him! Don't associate him with the Jambastions just because he has a point to make!" she said with a stern voice that brokered no argument.

Bennett also rose to his feet. "I agree with that statement. Don't accuse him of something like that without any hard evidence," the Beetley scolded.

Dedede held his hands to his ears, his temper flaring up again. "Alright! I know, I know!" he whined as he was utterly trounced by the combined might of the Helpers. It was amazing just how easily agitated Dedede could get without having Bandana by his side to keep him under control.

"But at the same time, we can't just do nothing!" Snowy stood up, the Chilly gazing at everyone all around the room with her ocean-blue eyes. "Especially if we're all going to settle down here on Planet Popstar! This affects us too, you know?"

"Yep, yep, yep!" Drebly stood up in agreement. "We have to put a stop to them in order to stand a chance in our new homes! We do, we do!"

"I wholeheartedly agree." Edmund the Sword Knight drew his sword as he declared in an archaic voice, "We shall defend our precious homeland from all intruders!"

Pitch fluttered to Brenda's shoulder, the small bird chirping an agreement as the Broom Hatter swept the floor. "That's a-right! I might be small, but Dream Land I shall protect!"

Coo perked his head up at Pitch's voice. "Ah, Pitch… I never did thank you for sending the others to the healthcare center, did I? It must have been taxing for you…"

"It was nothing, Coo!" The green canary assured. "Besides, a friend in need is a friend indeed! I would have let that mage have it had I been there! How dare she kidnap Gooey!?"

"Wait a second!" Dedede turned to Pitch as his ears caught the last statement. "Gooey was actually kidnapped? I thought you said it was a bluff, Coo!"

"That's what I would have thought too, if it wasn't for the fact that I've actually seen Gooey with her when she confronted me and Kirby in Cookie Country."

"Wait one second!" Dedede yelled, his body going tense as he stood up and stared at Coo. "That actually happened!?"

Coo fluttered his injured wings with some effort. "Well, of course it did. Why do you think that Kirby asked me to look for you and Meta Knight to begin with? It wasn't just for fun, you pompous fool."

"Dammit!" Dedede snarled as he shook his fist at Coo. "Mention important stuff like that first next time!" His facial expression suddenly changed as his jaw dropped. "Wait a second… but that means she really has Gooey!"

"Indeed she does. I thought you knew that Gooey was with that electric mage. Oh, the perils of miscommunications…" Coo shook his head before his beak fell into a trite scowl. "Funnily enough, now that you mentioned about the Jambastions, I just recalled something…" the owl tentatively spoke.

"Huh?" Dedede tilted his head towards the perched owl. "Recall what?"

"I'd just remembered something about the statement that electric mage had said to me to distract and cause me this annoying injury."

"What did you just say!?" Dedede slammed his hands on the table in front of him. He suddenly remembered that Coo had told him the same exact thing yesterday, but now that Dedede knew that Zan actually had Gooey and that it wasn't simply just a spur-of-the-moment ploy to distract Coo, the words held new meaning to them. "Say that again, Coo!"

"Well, my headache has subsided from yesterday, so now I'm able to recall exactly what Zan said to me before she hit me with her weapon. 'If you really must know, I'd left him locked inside a train locker for safekeeping.' That was what she'd disparagingly told me when I questioned her about Gooey." Coo gave a brazen shrug to the crowd as he shifted his shoulders. "Now, I'll be frank. Even in the spur of the moment, I'd honestly thought that it was a bluff to get me to lose my guard. However, now that I think about it…"

It hit Dedede as quickly as it hit the others. There was a chance that Zan was lying… but there was also the possibility, however slight, that she could have unconsciously blurted out the truth.

The alternative spread throughout the seated Helpers in the vicinity like wildfire. "…what if it's not!?" the cry echoed from throughout the meeting room.

What if it was the truth?


Jambandra Base.

The nondescript name didn't tell much about what the place actually was. While many might think that such a place would encompass a large area, one would never expect the actual size of it without actually seeing the base for themselves. Jambandra Base wasn't just large on a city-wide scale. It was considered large on an interplanetary scale.

The Jambasion Cult's base of operations was a humongous fortress made of carbon steel and reinforced by titanium, situated on the far edge of Gamble Galaxy. Despite its sheer size, it was a cold and isolated place, floating alone in the far represses of space with nothing surrounding it but the Jambastion space stations. The closest actual planet to the base was a heart-shaped planet by the name of Ripple Star, and even that was quite a distance away.

Thanks to its reclusiveness, Jambastion Base was considered by many of the Jammerjabs and Jambastion Cult members to be their home… at least, to many of the younger ones. The older members, as well as the top brass, held the opposite opinion.

Was it home sweet home for her, for instance? Well, Zan Partizanne knew full well how she'd respond to that question if asked.

In a sense, Jambastion Base sort of was her home, considering that she'd have to live in the base for a good number of years. And yet, that wasn't what the yellow-coated mage thought about the megastructure that was the Jambastion Cult's headquarters that doubled as their de facto base of operations.

No, Jambandra Base was just another temporary fortress in Zan's mind. The whole place just never gave her that warm, comfortable feeling that a home would normally give its owner. In fact, if the situation called for it, she would self-destruct the entire place without a second thought, much like the Jambastion space station that had formerly been stationed in Popstar. She hadn't cared much about that asset either, and had hence used her partizan to blow the entire place to pieces in an attempt to get rid of that annoying Kirby.

It didn't work, but it was the perfect example for her to quote to exemplify just how little she cared for the marvels of engineering that were the Jambastion space stations. And if that little space station could be written off as a loss, then so could their main base.

As she silently slid down the dark hallways, she approached the double-doors that led into the main ritual room. Knocking on the door to announce her arrival, she then waltzed into the room.

"Bonjam, Lord Hyness." Zan bowed her head deeply at the white-hooded figure who was still staring vacantly into space. "I, Zan Partizanne, have returned."

"Ah, bonjam… I trust that… you bring me… good news?" Hyness didn't even turn back or acknowledge her presence, although the two other mages by his side certainly did.

"Bonjam!" Francisca greeted with a small bow of her head. "Welcome back, Zan!"

The fiery Flamberge reacted in a rather different manner. "Jamblasted! The nerve of you, Zan! You disappeared without a trace for two whole days! To think that the first that I'd managed to hear about this was from one of the Jammerjabs."

"Ah, Berge…" Zan muttered with distaste at the curt greeting. "Japologa, but I hope you understand."

"Okay, I accept that apology, but you better don't do it again!" Flamberge laid a hand on Zan's shoulder, her voice softening very slightly… for Berge standards, that was. "Don't you remember the first rule of war? Never charge into battle unprepared and without a proper strategy. You must never forget our roots, Zan. We three make up the Jambastion Mages… the greatest generals to ever roam the galaxies. This isn't a one-woman show, y'know? So swallow your dumb loyal pride and accept some help, ya got that?"

"Yes, I understand," Zan tried to wave Flamberge off, but unfortunately for her, the hot-blooded general wasn't even anywhere close to completing her rant.

"And why the blazes would you even bother returning to Planet Popstar anyway? Not only does that place absolutely suck, it also has nothing we want! So why even bother—"

"Planet Popstar holds the key to our Dark Lord, Berge," Zan rasped back to her. "That was the mission that was assigned to me from Lord Hyness himself," she bluntly replied to cut off their conversation.

Her answer didn't satisfy Flamberge. "So what!?" the Blazing General spat, "I don't care if it's a personal order from Lord Hyness himself! Francisca and I could have come along with you as support!"

A nod from Francisca by the side. "Berge is absolutely right! We could have been your backup, Zan!"

"I didn't need help," she muttered, arrogantly folding her arms with a huff. "I handled the situation just fine by myself!"

"Excuse… me…" The three stopped talking as Hyness slowly peered towards them. "Cease this… senseless squabbling…" As the room quietened down, his glowing eyes slowly locked onto Zan.

"What did you… just say?" His voice grew raspy as he slowly began to hyperventilate, his shaking able to be seen thanks to the vibration of the white hood which surrounded him. "Did you say that… you found the key… which I seek?"

Zan immediately knelt down, her eyes glistening with tears of joy. "Indeed. We have found our salvation, my liege. Soon… we Jambastions will finally be free!"

"Excellent." Hyness slowly closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath of oxygen as he slowly took solace in relishing the news. "How… very excellent! SO VERY EXCELLENT!" he suddenly screeched without warning, causing Zan and her sisters to flinch back. "THE TIME OF GREAT GIVING HAS COME FOR US ALL!" he declared, raising an arm up to the visible depths of outer space above him. "JAMANKE! LET US CELEBRATE AND REJOICE! WE SHALL SOON HAVE A PARTY WHICH WE HAVE PLANNED FOR MANY MANY YEARS! AND EVERYONE'S INVITED! CAKE FOR EVERYONE!"

Zan let out a tired sigh as Hyness began rambling incoherently yet again, with Francisca and Flamberge joining in the symphony of sighs a couple of seconds later.

"Anyway… we have found our Dark Lord in a most ironic location." Zan took a tentative pause to ensure that Hyness was sane once more lest she wasted her breath. Once she had no overreaction from her chief and felt all eyes on her, she continued on, "That traitorous blob of Dark Matter that Berge thought she'd seen during her battle with that pink runt at Sizzlai Moon… has been hunted down and captured by yours truly."

"Wait… for real? You seriously got him? I honestly thought my eyes were playing tricks on me because of heat mirages that were caused by the blazing temperatures on Star Lavadom and Sizzlai Moon," Flamberge scowled, holding her hand to her hat.

"So that means Berge had been telling the truth all along? I don't believe it!" Francisca uttered in surprise. "I mean, I know that she insisted that the pink Dream Land hero, Kirby, came at her with a water-elemental based team. But I never assumed that a piece of Dark Matter would have an affinity with water… much less even be alive!"

Zan chuckled with glee as she tightened her right hand. If her partizan had been there, she would have had a firm grip on it and would also be twirling it around with mirth. "But he does exist, and now he's in my grasp. That blob of darkness is living proof that our Dark Lord still wanders this universe!"

"Indeed…" Hyness murmured with a subtle nod of his head. "As long as the little ones live… our Dark Lord does as well. This is our reassurance… our proof that Void Termina dwells in this mortal realm once more!"

"But I'm afraid that we have no more use for him for now," Zan callously dismissed, "He has already narrowed down our Dark Lord's location." Her voice lowered an octave as she closed her eyes. "It would appear that Void Termina himself is located in that place."

"Noooo! You're kidding me, Zan!" Francisca gasped.

"For the love of…" Flamberge spat. "Why!?"

Even without Francisca and Flamberge's comments, the emphasis on the word 'that' was not missed by the now cool-tempered Hyness. "Oh…" the hooded figure murmured. "How… fitting." The comment from him was apt and spat in a cold manner. "So it ends… where it all began. Truly… ironic. The irony of ironies…" He then hovered slightly forward, hissing a question to Zan. "So then, how do you propose we get to our Dark Lord?"

"How do we cross that unreachable chasm, Lord Hyness? We pay the toll that the troll demands from us in order to cross the bridge, of course."

Flamberge snarled at Zan's cryptic words. "Jamblasted! Stop speaking in riddles!" she howled, flinging her arms to the sides. "Answer the damn question already!"

"Why, we use the mirror, of course…" Zan couldn't stop a smirk from crossing her face as she haughtily answered Hyness' query. "The Dimension Mirror!"

"Wh-what!?" Francisca winced at Zan's proclamation. "It can't be!"

Flamberge, however, gasped in shock at the bombshell that the leader of the three had just casually dropped. "The Dimension Mirror? But that's impossible!" When she looked at Zan to see a completely serious look don the yellow mage's face, she lashed out in fury. "It's impossible, right? Right, Francisca?" she asked Francisca in a tone that increasingly grew more and more agitated. "How can it possibly still be in one piece!? How, Zan… how!?"

Their supreme leader had a much calmer reaction to the news, simply ignoring Flamberge's loud cries and turning to Zan himself. He wordlessly scanned his eyes on his subordinate, focusing on any trace of possible deceit as the yellow mage calmly stood her ground.

Once he had assessed that she was telling the truth, Hyness' eyes gleamed at her surprise announcement. "The Dimension Mirror?" he repeated after Zan, before letting loose a cruel laugh. "What… incredible… luck. So it has somehow survived… for all these years? Truly, fate has thrown us a bone…"

"Indeed," Francisca nodded. "I had thought it lost, myself." Before she could speak more of her thoughts, a violent outburst from the hot-headed Flamberge caused her to remain silent.

"What the blazes, Zan!?" She was about to get even angrier when she suddenly calmed down, lowering her voice. "No, wait. It doesn't matter anyway," she sighed. "The failsafe on the mirror—"

"…already taken care of." A triumphant smirk was plastered on Zan's face as she predicted what Berge was about to say before she'd even finished her disparaging remark. "Do you remember what you said to me earlier, Berge? That we Jambastion Mages are the masters of strategy? Well, I've already planned three steps ahead of my competition! The portal won't work unless one who is pure of heart dispels it? Not a problem. Not a problem for us at all…" she said as her grin turned savage.

"So you're telling me that a non-failsafe mirror actually managed to survive? Are you trying to mess with me? How did you even break the curse? And where did you even find it anyway?" Flamberge hastily demanded, even managing to beat Hyness out to the Phan-Phan in the room.

Zan chuckled with glee. "Good one, Berge. Well, I simply used my brain." She tapped her finger on the black cap atop her head as she spoke. "And with my nifty thoughts, I broke the curse with a bit of manipulation. You remember Kirby, don't you?"

"Duh!" Flamberge shot back. "Of course I do! You think I won't remember that brat blowing my fire cannon apart with his oh-so-special Water Ability?" she hissed as she wrung her fingers.

"Well, I picked a fight with Kirby on purpose, and then discreetly name-dropped the location of the Dimension Mirror before I fled. Curiosity festers itself once the seed is planted, you see. All I simply had to do is return a few hours later, and voilà! That fool Kirby had fallen for the bait, activating the Dimension Mirror on my behalf when I'd next checked it."

"Wow!" Francisca clapped her hands together. "I get it! That's brilliant! You tricked him into dispelling the safeguard for you!"

"Exactly." Zan strummed her fingers together. "And now, that mirror is ours for the taking!" she declared with a snap of her fingers. "As for your other question, I'd last seen the mirror inside of a palace in Royal Road, located in the Kingdom of Floralia."

The mage's announcement was made without any special fanfare. She was completely serious, her words accompanied only by a firm determined voice, one that had the slightest tinge of hope in it as she proceeded to quote the same words that the caped arachnid with the horned helmet had greeted her with when she first stepped foot in the moonlit palace.

"The Kingdom of… Floralia?" Hyness mused, temporarily closing his eyes as he committed the name to memory. When his yellow obscured eyes shone again, there was only cold fury in them. "Activate all Jammerjab platoons! Make sure to place every last troop on high alert. I want the entire battalion on standby immediately!" His piercing gaze fell on Zan, Francisca and Flamberge. "And as for you three, promptly make your preparations. We must make haste and head for that place at once!"

Hyness' order was curt and direct. All three of the Jambastion Mages immediately saluted and sped out of the main room to carry out his wishes, leading him to once again be left alone in the area, with only the flickering of candles to keep him company. As the flames continued to burn, wreathing his white hood in orange light, Hyness simply floated to the lotus-shaped structure that once housed the Jamba Heart. His eyes then narrowed into slits as he gazed out of the base to see the faintest speck of a yellow planet.

Planet Popstar.

He grinned savagely.

It was time. After so many years, it was finally time. Their salvation had arrived. It was knocking on the Jambastion Cult's doorstep, and he would certainly be remiss not to respond to this golden opportunity.

"Hear my voice, O Dark Lord!" he cried out in a tone that screamed 'desperation'. There was a raw, primal quality to his words as he fell into his usual ramblings. "I am one step closer to victory… our victory! With that mirror in my hands, no amount of outer space will be able to physically separate us ever again! Soon, we shall be reunited, Void Termina! It will be a day that this ignorant Jamblasted universe will remember for all eternity!"

Hyness clenched his fists before pumping them up into the air, the hooded cult leader letting loose an insane, depraved cackle to the many stars above him. "And once that moment arrives… revenge will be mine!" he vowed.


Author's Note:

Extremely casual ~17K word count for this chapter is extremely casual. Looks like Chapter 7's previous record got blown out of the water really darn quickly. This chapter wasn't even meant to be this long when I'd drafted it out, but well… a lot of stuff happened. A whole slew of questions that had been set up in the previous chapters get answered here. I wonder what you all think about this new developments?

Anyway, all I happen to do is make one joke about Prince Fluff in the last chapter, and then they proceed to announce Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn in the Direct. Yeah, that was completely unintentional. For the record, I can't see into the future. Jotting that fact down for future reference.

Dyna Blade's mid-air brawl with Kirby was a really unique fight to write. It was certainly fun to pen my take on a battle that took place using three-dimensional axis planes. I hoped you all enjoyed it too, considering that I'm a little disappointed that there has never been a Wing Kirby mirror fight with Dyna Blade in the anime. Regardless, I've been writing angst and sad stuff a lot in my other stories recently, so I guess some of it spilled over in this chapter with the Dyna Blade scene.

Anyway, fun fact: I actually had to rewrite a good portion of the Dyna Blade and Kracko lightning strike scene when it struck me that Kirby actually would not suffer as heavy a hit from the lightning strike as I originally thought. Why? Because Dyna Blade's a metallic bird. Since Dyna Blade's body counts as a metal surface, the electrons will take the path of least resistance, thus resulting in it passing harmlessly by Kirby since his body offers more resistance than the metal surface so long as his feet isn't touching the ground — basically the same reason that birds on high-voltage wires aren't shocked. At least, I hope that I got the physics of it right.

There's more lore with the now-defunct Galaxy Soldier Army in this chapter, and a much needed talking-to with the animeverse's Meta Knight. Though much of the Nightmare lore has already been covered in Chapter 7, there is new information… and this is the first time their gameverse counterparts hear of it, so there is that. Plus, this conversation is canon to the anime anyway, even if the circumstances of it do differ.

With the arrival of Kracko on the scene, some cutbacks to Dedede and the gang, as well as another much-needed update on the Jambastion Cult, things are finally coming to a head. The next chapter will be the finale of the Dyna Blade arc, so look forward to its conclusion!