Kirby: Right Back at Ya! Odyssey of Dreams

by ChronoWeapon

Taking place one year after Nightmare's defeat, Cappy Town is visited by a jester named Marx who intends to rule with eight ancient mystical stones called Dream Stones. Meanwhile, a force far more terrible than Nightmare arrives, known as Dark Matter. Kirby sets out with friends to locate all the Dream Stones to hopefully defeat Marx, the Dark Matter and even a mechanical clone!

21. Ch 20: A Struggle Within

Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

Odyssey of Dreams

By: ChronoWeapon

Chapter 20: A Struggle Within

The situation aboard Halberd 2 was intense and as a cool damp zephyr crawled across the deck, Meta Knight, know reluctantly in the Dark Matters' possession unleashed a boisterous war cry. With that intense charge, Meta Knight and each member of his new 'crew' launched their assault on one of Kirby's team members of their choosing.

Meta Knight, although struggling to hold back a large portion of his power and skill, attacked Kirby with an all out offense. Meta Knight's tactics changed considerably, he was always on the offensive, slashing and parrying everything Kirby through making it hard for the little pink warrior to find an opening.

As Kirby and Meta Knight strained against each other, Kirby's friends also seemed to have their hands full. Waddle Dee and Sailor Dee traded melee attacks and found themselves to be dead even when it came to fisticuffs. Sailor Dee praised Waddle Dee, "You're not bad you've significantly improved, since you fought us last time!"

Waddle Dee snarled, knowing he was speaking to the Dark Matter, "Oh yeah, I've got a few new tricks up my sleeve!" he said as he equipped his wrench which transformed him into a Waddlekin Engineer.

"Engineer, what are they, just handing these tools to just any kid that asks these days?!" Sailor Dee barked with irritation.

"No, just anyone that's willing to fight you!" Waddle Dee retorted sharply.

"It doesn't matter what ability you've learned we have one that will crush you!" Sailor Dee said as he revealed a small white jewel no larger than an average marble. "Do you know what this is?"

"Uh, not exactly, but it looks like a broken piece of jewelry you stole from someone. You didn't steal that from an old woman did you?" Waddle Dee mocked.

"Very funny, this is a Philosophers' Stone!" Sailor Dee revealed.

The look on Waddle Dee's face turned to one of fear, "A P-philosophers' Stone, but those are forbidden by pretty much everyone, why do you even have it?!"

"Wrong, it's only illegal for you mortals to 'make' a Philosophers' Stone, although few, there are Alchemists abound, but not ones that make Philosophers' Stones," Sailor Dee explained. "You see, a Philosophers' Stone lets any sentient creature learn the basics of Alchemy. However, what annoys us is the people of this planet as well as many others give credit to the origins of Alchemy to Human Beings and Fairies. While it was indeed impressive that the humans found it out on their own the truth is that Alchemy originates with us, the Dark Matter. Those Fairies learned Alchemy after our multiple encounters. Alchemy's true power cannot be fulfilled by lower life forms such as you. Instead, you and the Fairies defaced it by using to create medicine and potions to heal your wounded when this ability can go as far as to manipulate matter at its very base! Now feel the true powers of Alchemy, Waddlekin Engineer!" Sailor Dee cried as the Philosophers' Stone transformed him into an Alchemist. When the transformation was complete, Sailor Dee donned a pair of goggles on his forehead and leather gloves.

Waddle Dee came out of his trance-like state, "Well…, here goes nothin'!"

Adeleine was playing a game of pseudo hop scotch to avoid Mace Knight's spiked mace and Trident Knight's electrified forks. "You guys must be awfully weak if have to team up on a girl!" taunted Adeleine as she leaped effortlessly into the air. "Wow, this new power makes me feel like a professional acrobat!"

Mace Knight spoke, "This girl, another power fluctuation…," he said with suspicion.

Trident Knight responded, "Yes, she was much weaker when we had Dyna Ra, where did this power come from? Why don't tell us little girl?"

"Yeah, let me just scribble that down for you!" said Adeleine sarcastically as she painted her face. Adeleine took the form of the living cyclone, Tyranado, and she resembled a large tornado with a large green floppy rimmed hat, two glowing green eyes and two large mitten shaped hands with silver bracelets.

The two knights shrugged, they knew Adeleine was not going to tell them anything. Adeleine stormed towards her two targets with the wrath of the wind element and she quickly gained the upper hand.

King Dedede was not as lucky as Adeleine however. Captain Vul was proving to be a rather nasty hand full what with his long triple clawed gauntlets. He was much quicker than the portly King Dedede. As Captain Vul played with Dedede, Dedede felt his anger rising to new heights. Dedede and Vul lunged at each other in pure rage, but Dedede's hammer proved too strong for Vul's claws and the pair on his right wing shattered. Vul turned to face a smug Dedede, "Nice try, but you won't keep that smile for very long!" Vul announced as he turned to Sailor Dee.

Strangely, in a comical manner, Sailor Dee and Waddle Dee were fighting over a Shotzo Cannon. It was uncertain who crafted the Shotzo, but it was evident that Sailor Dee's alchemy could morph it into a Blatzy Cannon, which was a heavier and more advanced version of the Shotzo. Even after becoming a Blatzy, Waddle Dee would simply forge it back into a Shotzo when he found a moment to do so. The Shotzo was so confused it was unsure who to obey. Vul shouted agitated, "Sailor Dee, quit fooling around and fix my claw!"

Sailor Dee expressed his frustration with the battle, "This is getting us nowhere!" he shouted as he picked up the Shotzo and tossed it at Captain Vul. Sailor Dee then used an Alchemical chant and the Shotzo and Vul's claw were enshrouded by electricity and the Shotzo morphed into a new set of claws. "Are you happy now?!"

This poor decision made a great opening for both Dedede and Waddle Dee. Waddle Dee slammed Sailor Dee with multiple hard, bone crushing swings with his wrench. Sailor Dee was thrown into a pile of star blocks and Waddle Dee used the laser visor on his forehead to charge a beam not unlike the massive blasts that a Waddle Doo would use and the resulting blast buried Sailor Dee under the star block rubble.

While Waddle Dee ruffed up Sailor Dee, King Dedede took the very same opportunity to deliver a head cracking swing with his hammer to the side of Vul's head. Vul's sense of balance was never proper after this attack, and Dedede was able to gain a foothold.

"Yah!" Tiff shouted with a powerful battle cry as her attack narrowly missed its target. Strangely, Ax Knight was quicker than she had anticipated despite his heavy armor. While Ax Knight recovered, Tiff transformed into Kunoichi Tiff with her gear and Kunai Knives. Now donning equipment not unlike Ninja Kirby, Tiff's speed and accuracy increased dramatically. After his brief recovery, Ax Knight lunged at Tiff. However, her speed was too much for the Ax wielding warrior and his Ax became stuck in the deck. Tiff vanished into thin air and reappeared behind her now panicking opponent. Tiff then made many strange hand signs and then slammed her fist into the deck which caused a wave of fire to engulf everything that surrounded her.

Ax Knight was damaged significantly as he was carried by Tiff's flames into a wall. Tiff's flames also engulfed Meta Knight and Kirby, but the two were so lost in their duel they did not even notice the fire that raged around them.

"Yahh, I need to do something before I get skewered!" Ribbon said to herself as she dodged Javelin Knight's onslaught. As Javelin Knight attempted to pierce the fleeing fairy, he finally managed to corner her. "I can't use my fairy magic on machines, my only spell is an illusion and machines don't have the senses to exploit!"

Waddle Dee about faced and turned to Ribbon, "Hang tight Ribbon!"

Before Waddle Dee could assist Ribbon however, the pile of rubble that Sailor Dee was under began to shift and rumble. The rubble gleamed with a bright light and like a pile of clay, it and a large portion of the Halberd 2's hull morphed into a large crude cannon. Sailor Dee sat at the control panel, "Where do you think you're going?!"

Waddle Dee looked around in a panic, "Who me?!"

"Yes you! Let's see how well you deal with the Proto Combo Cannon!" Sailor Dee said confidently.

Waddle Dee stared into the barrel of the Proto Combo Cannon as if he were a fawn staring into the headlights of a vehicle. Quickly, he was able to regain his senses, "Proto Combo Cannon, its part of the Combo Cannon model family, used on warships. The Proto-type had one minor weakness; once it began to charge up to fire its direction couldn't be changed! I gotta time this just right!" Waddle Dee thought as he discretely looked behind him. Waddle Dee leaped into the air at just the right microsecond to allow the cannon to begin charging its deadly beam. However, Sailor Dee barked at his targets foolishness, "Ha, I know what you are trying to do! You think I'll aim for you and let the beam lock in place while you fall out of range and the cannon will hit Javelin Knight instead! Well, that won't work, if you think this cannon suffers from the original design flaws you're mistaken!"

Sailor Dee was right, no matter where he jumped or stood, the cannon's laser followed even while it charged. However, Waddle Dee grinned with delight, "I anticipated that you would eliminate that flaw, I have something else in mind!"

Before Sailor Dee could respond the combo cannon fired its laser and instead of the Dark Matter predicted him to do, Waddle Dee put up a reflector shield that was just one of the engineering gadgets he possessed. The laser deflect, although not without dealing a large chunk of damage to Waddle Dee, and headed towards Javelin Knight, who was only a stones throw from finishing Ribbon. Ribbon flew straight upwards in a barrel roll just as the laser hit Javelin Knight in the back. The laser knocked Javelin Knight out cold as it fell to the deck, malfunctioning. Sailor Dee was cast aside in astonishment, "Impossible, he nearly sacrificed himself to save that stupid fairy!"

Waddle Dee, now with blurry vision, faced Sailor Dee, "And that… is something… the Dark Matter… can never do!" he shouted as Ribbon came down and scooped Waddle Dee up like an owl catching its prey.

"Oh no you don't, you will not get away!" Sailor Dee stated as he charged up the cannon for another shot. Ribbon flew Waddle Dee straight for the cannon and in one swift powerful strike he smacked the barrel with his wrench causing it to point downward. Ribbon then released Waddle Dee and he ran up the barrel of the cannon to meet face to face with Sailor Dee. Upon reaching him, Sailor Dee screeched, "No, that's impossible!" he shouted. Waddle Dee finished Sailor Dee with repeated strikes from his wrench. The possessed Waddlekin fell from his controls unconscious as the combo cannon fired its laser once more.

The cannon fired the laser deep into the Halberd 2's bow causing a nasty chain reaction that not only caused the cannon to dislodge, malfunction and fall, but caused great internal damage that continued to manifest through explosions in the hull.

Tiff easily overtook Ax Knight and Adeleine also basically played with the other two knights. Once the opportunity made itself clear, Tiff flipped Ax Knight, and he tumbled towards King Dedede. Adeleine immediately followed by blowing her adversaries to Dedede as well. Dedede seemed delighted as he placed his Iron Mask upon his face, "Batta up, Captain Vul!"

However, Captain Vul was more than ready to catch what Dedede was hitting. Dedede smashed Ax Knight towards Vul, but Vul simply clawed the knight out of his way and continued to rush Dedede who batted the last two knights only to have Vul deflect them just like before. Thanks to the distraction, Vul was unable to recover quickly enough to avoid the triple rockets that came forth from Dedede's mechanical hammer. The rockets connected with enough concussive force that it shattered Vul's claws. While Vul was stunned, Dedede switched masks and used his Gordo Flail to finish off the once proud captain.

Meta Knight realized he was the only one left fighting on the Dark Matters' side and this caused him to break from his duel from Kirby. Meta Knight and Kirby had sustained substantial damage from their high speed duel. However, to the untrained eye they appeared as equals. The Dark Matter felt the need to rectify this and the Dark Matter Hunters left both Captain Vul and Sailor Dee along with the Dark Matter Scouts that fell in tow from the knights' downed bodies.

The six dark clouds entered Meta Knight's body and Meta Knight began to convulse as whatever of his consciousness remained was completely snuffed out. Meta Knight's nature was now completely that of the Dark Matter. Meta Knight's sword Galaxia gleamed with a defiant flame that engulfed Meta Knight's arm in protest.

Meta Knight seemed to stabilize and then, vanished into thin air. The Dark Matter began taking their revenge on Kirby's allies. With one swift attack, Meta Knight downed Waddle Dee, King Dedede and Adeleine respectively. Strangely, when Meta Knight confronted Tiff he was extremely hesitant. This meant that the Dark Matter was still having trouble covering up Meta Knight's chivalrous nature. Unfortunately, the hesitance was short lived as Meta Knight attacked. Thankfully, Kirby was able to intercept Meta Knight's blade. Meta Knight once again showed his powerful nature by forgetting about Tiff and continued his duel with Kirby.

Unfortunately, the Dark Matter was in complete control as it sent Meta Knight on an endless offense as he parried Kirby's attacks in between his own attacks. Tiff brought herself to her feet and looked around a bit until her eye caught a nearby supply crate. Tiff broke into the crate and was joined by Ribbon. Ribbon spoke in a panic, "We have to hurry Kirby may not last much longer!"

"Don't worry I think I got something!" Tiff said with a grunt as she successfully broke down the crate. Multiple types of weapons fell from the insides of the crate. Tiff took one of the swords and turned to Kirby, "Kirby, use this extra sword!"

Kirby found an opening and stunned Meta Knight long enough to take the second sword and form a new compound ability. Kirby's original green floppy hat turned to a deep green with a gold trim and a white puffball at the tip. Kirby now wielded a Sword Staff with two serrated blades at the end of each end of the hilt. "Sword Staff Kirby!" he shouted with vigor.

Kirby and Meta Knight went at each other's throats once more as Kirby's new power enabled him to catch up to Meta Knight. Kirby was graceful with his double bladed sword while Meta Knight was almost barbaric and completely lost in bloodlust. After constant several slashes it seemed as though Kirby was once again loosing his grip in the fight. Meta Knight, although as damaged as he was, did not seem to be letting up. On the other hand, Kirby had a trick up his sleeve. Kirby took a stance, "Double Sword Beam!" he shouted strongly as two wide beams of pure energy were sent from Kirby's blades. Meta Knight parried the first blast with his own sword beam, but his body collided with the second unavoidable blast. After the energy subsided, Meta Knight rose to his feet and began to wobble a little bit and it was now apparent that Meta Knight began to weaken. Unfortunately, it still was not enough to quell the possession within him. Meta Knight performed his signature special attack, the Mach Tornado. As Meta Knight cast his spell it formed into a massive whirlwind that was much larger and darker than Meta Knight's normal Mach Tornado. It was so wide Kirby could not avoid the attack. Kirby was sucked into the violent storm and was hurled around and around until being slammed fiercely into the deck. Kirby shuttered a bit and rose to his feet without his special ability.

Meta Knight spoke to Kirby in a deep heavy tone, "Kirby… pick up your sword… and let us continue… or we will finish your friends…!"

Ribbon and Tiff sifted through the weapon pile one last time and each found a weapon. Ribbon held a boomerang while Tiff found another sword. "Kirby, catch this!" shouted Tiff as she threw Kirby the sword.

"Mine too, Kirby!" Ribbon followed as she tossed the boomerang.

Kirby sucked up both at the same time and made a new compound ability, "Cleaving Crescent Kirby!" he shouted as he combined both Cutter and Sword. Kirby now wore a darker yellow hat that was not unlike the hat Cutter originally came with, it resembled a duck with broader wings on the sides, but it had two curved gilded swords on the top with a white puffball at the back. Kirby removed the two curved blades and began his assault, both he and Meta Knight, a.k.a. the Dark Matter knew this was going to be the last round. Kirby and Meta Knight commenced their duel, but this time, Kirby had much more flexibility with his new ability. Meta Knight, despite his incredible agility, could not avoid the dual crescent shaped sword slashes with only the Galaxia and Meta Knight could feel the blades make contact with the lightest armored parts of his body. The duel literally became offense is the best defense for both participants. Finally, the two broke their attacks and although Kirby was heavily damaged and had one eye closed due to a punch in the face, Meta Knight was in worse shape and it began to show. Some how, Meta Knight broke the Dark Matters' hold and was able to speak to Kirby, "Kirby…, destroy the… core of the ship…, bring the Halberd 2 down… hurry, the Dark Matter is… regaining control… use the… large hole… made by… the Proto Combo Cannon… you'll… know the core… when you… see… it…!"

Ribbon hastily made an observation, "Hey, I have an idea!" she said with glee. With her mind, Ribbon spoke to Escargoon, "Escargoon, can you hear me?"

Escargoon freaked when he heard the disembodied voice, "Whoa, what the…, it's that little fairy girl, what's going on?!"

"I'm talking to you telepathically, now listen we don't have time, go to the dock and drop an air ride machine for Kirby to use!" Ribbon instructed calmly.

"Alright, whatever!" came Escargoon's panicked reply. With that, Escargoon flew Kabula over the dock of the Halberd 2 and then after placing it on auto pilot, he rushed to the docking bay. After arriving, Escargoon flipped a switch and the large door rose up. Escargoon then proceeded to search for a viable air ride machine for Kirby to use. "Ah, this one looks okay to use…," he said as he was cut off by bumping into another. The air ride machine Escargoon bumped into was a Wheelie Bike which was a mechanical wheel-like creature with an eye at the center and had hot-rod features with a sparkling red finish, and it continued on its path until it fell out of Kabula's bay. "Oh no, not that one!" shouted Escargoon as the Wheelie Bike fell towards Kirby.

Kirby looked to the sky and witnessed the Wheelie Bike fall only a few feet from him. Kirby's face brightened as he boarded the machine and switched his hat to a brown leather cap with goggles. Just as Kirby had his act together, Meta Knight was once again overtaken. Kirby hurriedly took off on the Wheelie and made his way to the large hole that was made previously by Sailor Dee's actions. The Wheelie Bike whirred with a mechanical tone, "Hang on it's going to be a bumpy ride! Next stop, Halberd 2 power core!"

As Kirby entered the hole, Meta Knight's cape morphed into torn up bat wings and despite there tattered demeanor they still worked fine. Meta Knight performed a shuttle loop and pursued Kirby down into the hole.

Wheelie Bike was not lying about it being a 'bumpy ride', the cargo hold was a blaze and small explosions were still being ignited. Luckily, there was a large gaping hole in the wall that led to the inner bowels of the ship. Kirby entered hastily to find himself in the mechanical portions of the ship. It was a disaster area, parts of broken machines flying through the air as Kirby used the Wheelie Bike to use many falling objects as ramps and spring boards. Finally, a large machine with a large crystal came into view, "Halberd 2 power core, arrival in 5.6 seconds!" came the Wheelie Bike's information. Meta Knight roared as he barreled through the debris and finally catching up to Kirby. "You will not defeat us!" said the dark and brooding voice behind Meta Knight's cracking mask. Kirby managed to avoid Meta Knight's aerial attacks and finally, what seemed like time slowed to a crawl, Kirby came face to face with the Halberd 2's generator. Meta Knight pulled out one last attack, "Galaxia Darkness!" he bellowed as he was about to cut Kirby down with his finishing move. Seconds before Meta Knight's attack came to fruition, Kirby made Wheelie Bike use the crystal core as a makeshift ramp and speed off to the side while Meta Knight's attack hit the crystal instead of him. The Galaxia Darkness was powerful enough to destroy the crystal and catch Meta Knight in an unavoidable explosion. Meta Knight was sent flying into a nearby wall and fall onto a cat walk where, finally, the Dark Matter relinquished his body. Meta Knight lay passed out as the Dark Matter Scouts and Hunters retreated and the Warrior remained long enough to show itself to Kirby.

The two stared each other down as they looked each other over. The Dark Matter Warrior had a spiky head with a silver frame around its eye. It held a magical sword in front of its grey cape that had a red and yellow zigzag pattern on the edges that draped from a purple and gold line breast plate and shoulder guards. "Not bad," it said as it chuckled at Kirby. "Until next time…," it finished as it vanished into thin air.

Kirby drove up to Meta Knight and carefully loaded his unconscious body onto Wheelie. Kirby began looking around for an exit, "Next stop Halberd 2 main deck!"

Captain Vul limped over to Tiff and Ribbon who just finished reviving everyone. "Everyone to the bridge, I need to initiate the Emergency Landing sequence, so we can land safely."

As Kirby sped through the fire and electrical flames a large set of stairs could be seen that the setting sunlight punched through. Kirby gunned Wheelie's power and with a massive boost, Kirby emerged from the decks below and arrived back to where he and his friends began their battle.

Tiff looked out the window from the bridge, "Hey look, Kirby and Meta Knight are okay!"

"Grand, now we can land this thing!" Captain Vul said with a grunt. "Everybody, hold onto something!" As Vul steered the ship as best he could it began to shake violently as it descended into the lush jungle below. A large quake shook the ship as it was apparent that the jungle floor had been reached. Even though it seemed like forever, the Halberd 2 finally came to a creaking halt. As everyone opened their eyes, they noticed the jungle tree canopy just reached the main deck and at that point, everyone noticed that Meta Knight and Kirby were missing.

"What happened to Kirby and Meta Knight, they're gone?!" Tiff shouted with concern.

Dedede responded as he flailed about, "I saw'em jump off as we landed! They shouldn't be too far off, let's go look for'em!"

Tiff and King Dedede rushed out to the deck and thanks to Dedede being able to inflate his body, he took Tiff on his shoulders and with Ribbon closely following, gently floated down to a clear opening in the jungle that was just below the ships hull. Tiff noticed a pathway and decided to follow it.

Kirby awoke in a small patch of open jungle with his Wheelie Bike patiently waiting by itself. He looked around hastily and found Meta Knight tangled up in a bunch of vines. Kirby used his swords to cut Meta Knight free. "Poyo, poyo, Meta Knight is okay?" Kirby asked as he shook Meta Knight. Meta Knight began to stir and then slowly brought him self to his feet.

Ribbon heard what sounded like a conversation, "Hey guys, this way I think I found them. Tiff, Dedede and Ribbon walked out of the brush and found Meta Knight and Kirby.

Kirby noticed his friends and as Meta Knight and he turned around, Meta Knight's mask began to crack. As Meta Knight's mask broke into three pieces and fell to the ground, Kirby and his friends gazed upon Meta Knight's face. Even though it was a split second, Meta Knight covered his face with his cape and comically gathered up his mask and put it back together with crazy glue and metal clips with screws. When he turned around, he had his mask on again, even though it was crudely repaired.

Kirby did not seem to really be fazed by seeing what Meta Knight looked like, but Tiff, Dedede and Ribbon's jaws were practically on the ground. Dedede spoke in anger, "Y-you, look just like Kirby! Now I know why you always seemed to play both sides of the field back in Cappy Town!"

"Meta Knight, are you, y'know, the same species as Kirby?" Tiff asked sincerely.

"I sorta suspected this, but I wasn't really sure," Ribbon said casually.

Meta Knight shrugged and then responded, "How absurd, I look nothing like Kirby…" he denied flatly. This caused everyone to fall to the ground comically except Kirby, who did not really seem to understand. "Now, let us return to the ship and gather what's left of our supplies…" suggested Meta Knight as he used his wings to fly off.

"What just happened?" Tiff asked dumbfounded.

"Maybe Meta Knight is just really shy," Ribbon said with a smile.

Dedede seemed quite agitated, "I don't believe this he's just like Kirby, I know what I saw! He can't hide behind that mask forever!"

As night fell, Kirby and his friends, as well as Meta Knight's old crew sat around a camp fire that was based at the hull of the Halberd 2 where Sailor Dee's Proto Combo Cannon had fallen, leaving the large gaping hole in the side.

Tiff turned her attention to Meta Knight, "So Meta Knight, you mind filling us in?"

Meta Knight let out a deep breath as everyone inched closer, "Well, as you know Tiff, my journey began as soon as Alpha Mecha Kirby ran wild. The strange machine attacked Cappy Town and separated me from the King and Escargoon. Once Blade, Sword and I helped the villagers evacuate, the Dark Matter arrived. Before they finished what Mecha Kirby started I fled to search for the King. I searched Dream Land over until I first ran into Marx. I managed to steal the Amethyst Aggregate from him, and then I found you just in time to prevent Kryl from destroying you," Meta Knight began.

"Yeah, that was neat and all, but you didn't finish Kryl off and he came back like a bad cold," Waddle Dee stated.

"I was not aware Kryl was under that level of control," Meta Knight continued. "After I seemingly disposed of Kryl, I continued my search for the King and Escargoon. Before I left Dream Land however, I learned that Blade, Sword and Lololo and Lalala had gone searching for them on their own," sighed Meta Knight. "It was at that point I now had six people to look for. However, along the way I learned of a technique that I thought might give me a way to harm the highest levels of Dark Matter. So I began the training for that whilst I searched for everyone."

"What sort of technique?" Tiff asked with strong curiosity.

"It was something about summoning the flames of Galaxia, the flames that were used to forge the blade," Meta Knight explained. "I learned from Silica that this was a secret of the blade and if I could summon the flames I could create an extremely powerful attack. One so powerful, it may harm even Zero."

"Wow, no foolin'?" Dedede asked with surprise.

Escargoon butted in, "Yeah, but you goofed somewhere along the line didn't cha?"

"Yes, after I learned all of this Kirby was already in Sand Canyon and it was there he had found the King," Meta Knight continued. "After that, I decided to look for the others, however, before I left Sand Canyon, Marx attacked you and I fell behind in the process. When I finally caught up, Kirby's curse had been lifted and it was then on Crescent Moon Island that I help Kirby defeat Kryl once again, this is where I first tried using my new technique. After that, I learned that the others were under Dark Matters' control but were freed by Kirby after he destroyed Kabula. With all my allies safe I decided to find a safe place to train. I needed to perfect that technique I used to ward off Kryl. I nearly had the technique down when I met up with Knuckle Joe's party. They told me that a battle ship with my visage on the front was flying around. Curious, I searched for the ship and when I found it, to my surprise, it was owned by the crew I fought with in the war against Nightmare Enterprises. I let my guard down, the Dark Matter tricked me by hiding within my old allies and the Dark Matters' forces managed to ensnare me. They stripped the color from my armor and clawed at my mind, but I learned something about the very nature of Dark Matter thanks to this experience," Meta Knight explained in full.

Ribbon's attention was drawn, "What did you learn Meta Knight? Please tell me."

"It's about how the Dark Matter operates," Meta Knight stated. "I learned that the Dark Matter don't actually have the ability to make you do something that you truly do not want to do."

Everyone expressed confusion at Meta Knight's statement, "Um, how is that possible, the Dark Matter had complete control over pretty much all of us except for Kirby and Ribbon at some point," Captain Vul asked with bewilderment.

Meta Knight cleared his throat, "Captain, in your heart you wanted me to rejoin with you and your crew did you not?"

"Well, yes of course, I mean, for good old times sake but…" Vul said as he was cut off.

"You see, when the Dark Matter found you they manipulated that goal until you were no longer able to see the difference between dark and light," Meta Knight continued.

"Um, I'm not sure I…," Vul stuttered.

"Let me explain further," Meta Knight said as he thought for a clearer explanation. "When the Dark Matter entered my body it began to speak to me in whispering, raspy voices. Voices that I could not block out like most, if not all people try to do when they fall under the Dark Matters' grip. Instead, I listened to what they had to say to me and amongst them I was able to hear their words as long as I remained calm. The Dark Matter can only control someone without a pure heart; in this case Kirby and Ribbon are the only pure hearted ones among us. The Dark Matter can only hold on to you through your desires even if some of those desires are somewhat noble. I wanted to duel with Kirby once he came of age, but when the Dark Matter confronted my mind they attempted to haunt me with things I did in the past and cloud any desires that I had. You see, most sentient beings that come across the Dark Matter will naturally try to resist them but only by force. Resisting Dark Matter by force will never work; they torture your body and attempt to destroy your psyche if you try that route. When your psyche goes, that is when the Dark Matter has complete control over your physical state. To the Dark Matter, this is like giving in to them and they can now do whatever they want with you regardless of your hearts desire. By knowing your desires completely and having a strong sense of 'self' you can fight the Dark Matters' hold. They knew this, that's why they stripped my armor of its color, battered my body and when the Dark Matter posses you they try to manipulate your physical state so your mind no longer recognizes your own 'self'. It's hard to block out what they say when they 'poke you with what feels like a red hot metal stick'. However, I did not expect help from the ones you guys defeated. After telling Kirby to bring down the ship I gave in at that point and put all my cards in Kirby's deck. I knew with my battered body I would not win that fight."

"I see, I recall some of it now, but it happened so fast I gave in to their hold even after a couple of moments," Vul said. "Forgive me Meta Knight, I am so useless!"

Ribbon lowered her head with a slight sense of guilt, "Yes, the Dark Matter confront everyone they meet with their own heart. No one likes to be confronted with their own dark desires and flaws so they just want to run away. When that happens, the Dark Matter can control you. Meta Knight, you're the first person I've heard of that has actually analyzed his own possession as it was happening. That is remarkable if I hadn't seen it I would be very tempted to call your bluff. You didn't happen to learn anything else did you?"

Meta Knight moved about to make himself more comfortable, "Yes, I learned a few valuable weaknesses to exploit."

"What weaknesses, do ya mean like anotha' way to harm Zero?" Dedede asked with anticipation.

"No, Tiff found that little secret, but I'm talking secrets like ones that prove that the Dark Matter are not gods," Meta Knight explained. Everyone inched closer to listen, "When the Dark Matter posses someone they seem to loose some connection to their hive minded brethren and become slightly more independent."

"That's it," Waddle Dee realized. "That's why Sailor Dee and Captain Vul made those poor decisions in battle!"

"Indeed, but that is not the only flaw," Meta Knight claimed. "I also noticed the Dark Matter seem to suffer from, what I call, 'Possession Sickness'."

"Possession Sickness?!" Everyone said astonished.

"Yes, this is a subtle flaw, but it seems that no matter how much knowledge they have, they still need to get 'used' to the body they have stolen," Meta Knight claimed. "Waddle Dee, your fight with Sailor Dee; it should have ended with Sailor Dee as victor, he was trained by the Galaxy Soldier Army directly, so his fisticuff skills should have beaten yours, but the Dark Matter did not have time to adjust to Sailor Dee's style and strength. This flaw was the same for everyone. With these flaws, we can safely remove Dark Matter from the status of 'god-like'. This tells me, that although they are incredibly powerful, they can be defeated."

"That's incredible, Meta Knight," Ribbon cheered with a new sense of joy. "Even I didn't know that!"

Adeleine brought up another point, "So what's that about those with 'pure hearts'?"

"Children and the Faeries are deeply hated by the Dark Matter because they can't hold onto something that does not realize the powers of good and evil and are too young to comprehend these forces. By instinct, the Dark Matter is threatened by them, because of their purity." Meta Knight claimed.

"Um, faeries can fall under Dark Matter control too, although rare…" Ribbon stated.

"Ah yes, the ever rare Dark Fairy," Meta Knight said.

Suddenly, everyone's attention was drawn to the sound of snoring. The origin of the latter was none other than Kirby, who fell fast asleep next to a broken stump. "Hmm, I believe Kirby has the right idea, we can continue our endeavor in the morning," Meta Knight said with a yawn.

Sailor Dee stretched, "Yeah, I need to get to work on repairs come the dawn, come on you lazy bums, its lights out!" he said addressing the former crew. The Knights collected themselves and began finding suitable places to rest for the night.

As Kirby's party pulled out small blankets and pillows from their backpacks, each took a respective place. Ribbon and Tiff cuddled next to Kirby, while Waddle Dee and Adeleine found solace using the jungle vines as hammocks.

Dedede and Escargoon had another plan however, "Hey Escargoon, I got somethin' ta show ya, but we gotta wait 'till Meta Knight falls asleep!"

"I hear ya loud and clear sire!" Escargoon whispered back. With that, the supposedly crafty duo hid behind a large boulder not far from Meta Knight's position under the tree and waited for him to fall asleep.

*End of Chapter*