~Chapter 25~
"So...Andormeda. You said it was hidden in the Ether Space?"
"Yes."
"But what exactly is the Ether Space? How do we get to it?"
Stella sighed, and shook her head, "It is a place that no one could ever hope to get to. You see, Andromeda was hidden away many many centuries ago. No one today knows how to access the Ether Space, a place hidden in the very threads of the universe."
Kirby tilted his head, "But surely someone wrote it down, or something? They wouldn't just seal off a sacred sword and forget how to recover it, right?"
Stella blinked, "Yes, but suppose those who know are lost as well. They must have thought it would be best if Andromeda remain hidden away, to avoid being stolen."
Kirby sighed, "But...if Adromeda and Galaxia can dispel darkness and stuff, why keep it hidden? It could have finished Nightmare off a long time ago!"
Stella shrugged, "Remember Adromeda chooses its wielder. No one can handle that sword except its chosen one."
"Oh, right."
"Yes, and perhaps you are destined to be that wielder."
Kirby seemed to fade a bit, "That sounds like a little much. And besides, knowing I'm its chosen one doesn't make it come out of its hiding space."
"Maybe..." Stella said. Kirby leaned toward her,
"What?"
"Hm...nothing. Nothing at all."
"But..."
...
The conversation that had taken place earlier that night ran faintly through Kirby's dream. He was once again in a void, and Kirby hoped he'd find Adromeda in his dreams again. Maybe it would hint as to how he could claim the sword.
So the young warrior waited in the nothingness, boredom wracking his mind as still no red light appeared in the blackness.
"God...this is boring." he muttered. The dream rippled in response, but he ignored it. Great, at the time I needed a dream about that freaking sword, and it doesn't come! He glowered at nothing, and wondered this boring exursion of blank dreamscape would end.
And finally, his voice was answered.
A faint trickle of light resonated from the corner of Kirby's eye, and as he turned in that direction, he saw it.
Clear as day, more vivid than his previous encounters, glowing with the light of a hundred dawns and as red as the spring rose...
Andromeda.
It hovered a few feet from the awe-struck puffball, its radiance seeming to sing. Cautiously, Kirby approached, raising a paw slowly as if any sudden movements would shatter the dreamscape. For all he knew, it could.
Damn, don't let this dream end, don't let it blank out on meee...he thought desperately as his small pink paw neared the hilt.
He could even feel the light, like a hot yet cool touch through the air onto his skin, comfortingly smooth as a sun-warmed petal of a rose. He felt his paw just barely graze the hilt.
No rippling, no flickering, the dream remained as Kirby's paw firmly gripped onto the hilt.
He held the red sword in hand for a moment, and a blinding light shot off the blade into the space above. A red light traveled up his arm and tinged his body in ruby, outlining his person in its approving radiance.
Then the light receded, as quickly and soundly as it came, and Kirby suddenly fell forward.
Andromeda, still in paw, unbalanced his body now that it had assumed weight. Kirby sighed loudly, and struggled to lift the sword back up again. Man, it was heavy!
Kirby gritted his teeth, and managed to lift the blade for a moment before it dropped again. Kirby felt a frustrated anguish in his head. How the hell was he supposed to use this thing if he couldn't even hold it upright? Growling, he let go of the hilt and sat down in the void of his dream, staring poisonously at nothing.
"Well, at least I touched it without it fading or smacking me upside the head this time." he mused in a sort of sour, positive way. He looked at Andromeda, which was still laying beside him, and attempted to pick it back up again. Surprisingly, this time it was a bit lighter. He could actually hold the whole thing up a few inches without dropping it.
Exitement and exhileration poured into his viens suddenly, and Kirby swung the weapon in a wide, red arc in front of him. The movement made him feel energized.
Through the void, he swung the sword, parried invisible shots, and found with growing satisfaction the sword was becoming easier to manage. This is more like it. he thought.
Taking a breath, Kirby decided to attempt a Sword Beam. The pink warrior leapt upward, swinging the sword over his head, and then downward in a brilliantly shining arc. It traveled down, leaving swirling flames in its wake. Kirby landed on his feet, still supporting Andromeda, and felt his amazement turn to sour fear as the Sword Beam shredded through the fabric of his dream.
Literally shredded.
The red crescent of power and light tore open a gash in the void, revealing a dark route beyond it that crackled with electricity. Kirby blinked, stole a glance at his sword, and suddenly felt his fear turn to terror as a sudden gale picked up, sucking at his body and pulling him toward the void's wound.
"Awaaah!" He screamed, and felt his feet fly out from under him. He flipped midair, and flailed his paws, trying to get a grip on something, but the void would not offer him any handholds.
Kirby shut his eyes as the tear swallowed him.
...
...
...
He opened his eyes, expecting to be in some sort of alternate dimension, and instead found himself staring at the leafy roof of his mother's shelter. Sitting up, he took a few breaths to steady himself.
Okay, okay...he thought, recalling the dream with surprising accuracy, ...First, there was Andromeda, then I broke the dream world, and nearly got sucked into the Twilight Zone. Right? He still felt a bit traumatized from his dream, and was a little relieved to find it was over. Although, he remembered with some disappointment that he had finally made contact with Andromeda, and how vividly realistic it had been.
Sighing, he let himself fall back down into the bedding, and shut his eyes despite his unwillingness to sleep again.
"Kirby?"
Immeadiately his eyes shot open. He turned his head, and his eyes met with Fumu's, shockingly enough.
His blonde friend was still lying down, a few feet from him. Kirby blinked, and pushed himself back up, "You're awake?" he asked.
Fumu nodded and sat up as well, looking surprisingly normal, "Yeah. I don't know what happened though...Kirby?"
"We're in my mum's house. Mine and Meta Knight's to be specific." he said, and felt Fumu's confused and surprised gaze rake him over,
"Your mom's...?"
"Anyway," Kirby interrupted, "What are you doing awake? You had the Pestilence, but..."
"But..." Fumu said, "I don't know how but...I feel great." she said, standing up as if to prove it. She winced as she gained her feet, "I mean, I'm sore and all but...I don't feel sick...are you sure?"
Kirby blinked, and felt his gaze wander. Stella was curled up in her own bedding, barely visible in the predawn light. His mentor-or brother- was also asleep. Kirby sighed increaduously, "Either my mom has some epic medicine, or something paranormal is going on." he said.
Fumu paced up to him, "Kirby..." she said seriously, and Kirby saw her gaze fix onto something behind him, "What is that?"
"What is wha..." he broke off, turning around and what he saw made his heart skip a beat.
There it was, leaning against the wall behind his bed.
Andromeda.
...
The scientists had finally taken Wolfwrath from the Lab, and stuck him down someplace worse.
The freaking midget ship. Good god, Wolfwrath would be rampaging this little ship's interior if they hadn't tussed him up, muzzled him, and if he wasn't still sedated. These bozos seemed to have gone out of their way to incapacitate the "new Prodigy" as well as they could. Wolfwrath felt like a Wolfapillar all tied up like this.
But soon it would all be worth it. Wolfwrath vowed this in his smarter, advanced mind. His masters, though he loathed them, he felt himself admiring them for bringing him back and setting him with a job he knew he would lust in. It had been too long since he bloodied his claws.
Hours passed, each one making his fur spike more with discomfort as the sedation began to fade. Once it was gone, Wolfwrath felt increasingly jumpy, and that if he'd to lay here bound-up much longer, he'd rampage. But before his nerves could completely give way to a deranged panic attack, the whirring of the midget ship's engines slowed, and the wolf demon felt it descending altitudes.
"Alright." said the driver, "This is the planet where the signal was lost. I assume they are here somewhere. Wolfwrath," he turned a bit, looking the giant magenta demon in his blank red eyes, "Time for you to shine. Find the traitor and his allies, and do what you please. Judging by your newly enhanced statistics, by this time in two days, we'll have a new favorite." he said, paused and hardened his gaze, "Granted you don't screw up, of course."
Wolfwrath snarled. Failure was not possible for him. Had these damned people forgotten that?