Chapter 3: The First of The Dream Friends
(The Crystal Monastery)
Kyrin was in his father's library when he suddenly dropped the book he was holding. Magolor picked up the book and dusted it off.
Magolor- You should be more careful with these books, Kyrin. These happen to be thousands of years old and the knowledge within them are priceless.
Then Susie and Gooey appeared behind Magolor.
Susie- I don't think Kyrin heard you.
Then Magolor looked up and saw Kyrin was staring off like he was in a daze. Then Gooey stretched out his tongue and licked Kyrin in the face. At least it managed to snap Kyrin out of it.
Kyrin- Uh…sorry about that!
Susie- What's gotten you shaken all of a sudden?
Kyrin- I just felt something. Something I don't like. It feels dark and powerful…yet at the same time…familiar…but why…?
Then Kyrin had a vision of a large titian with a heart shaped mast of his face.
Kyrin- No…oh this is bad…
Magolor- I'm not liking the sound of this…
Kyrin- I can't believe it…Void…she imprisoned him in the Jamba Heart after she impaled his heart with those Heart Spears…yes somehow his power has been revived…
Then Kyrin turned to look at Gooey, Magolor, and Susie.
Kyrin- You three! No time to explain! Go to Popstar and locate Kirby as soon as possible!
Magolor- What are you…
Kyrin- I said NOW!
Susie quickly grabbed hold of both Magolor and Gooey.
Susie- Yes sir! We'll be on our way now!
Then Susie ran out of the library while carrying Magolor and Gooey.
Kyrin- Oh shit…this is not good. Kirby, I hope you're ready for what's about to come…because Kimberly definitely wasn't when he came for her.
(Subspace)
Tabuu, Hades, and the Empress Siren were in Tabuu's throne room. Suddenly, Tabuu felt a chill down his spine.
Tabuu- That's strange…
Hades- What is?
Empress Siren- Something wrong?
Tabuu- It's just…I'm sensing something…very familiar…something I hadn't felt in a long time…
Tabuu focused on the energy and eventually realized why it was familiar.
Tabuu- So the God of the Void has returned…even after what Kimberly did to him…
Empress Siren- God of the Void?
Tabuu- He was a god that my father banished to Halcandra thousands of years ago and surprisingly did everything within his power to erase all traces that the God of the Void ever existed. He was an S Ranked god like me and my brother are, but even his power doesn't compare to mine. Although it would take at minimum two hits from my Off-Wave to make the God of the Void kneel to me in defeat. And to think, his own daughter was one of Marco's allies, even though I didn't know she was a Void Spawn when I fought her and Marco at Shooting Star Summit. And now his power is present on Popstar it would seem.
Hades- Will this be a problem?
Tabuu- Not for me. I already told you I'm far more powerful than him. Besides, his power is revived, but not him. I sense he is back, but not completely. Almost like he was divided into multiple little pieces and separated across different planets.
Hades- But…didn't you send Marx, Fawful, and Infinite to Popstar to spy on Mario?
Tabuu- You're right, I did. Fine, you go and call them for a report while I still continue speaking with the Empress Siren to joining us.
(Back on Popstar)
Infinite picks himself up after crashing to the ground. Fawful was seen nearby, only his head was stuck through a tree. While Fawful was trying to get his head unstuck, Infinite heard a beeping sound coming from Fawful's headgear.
Infinite- Must be Tabuu calling in for a report. Fawful, I'm gonna answer it since you're kind of…stuck at the moment.
Then Fawful stopped struggling for a moment to hold his hand out at Infinite with one particular finger sticking out.
Infinite- Can't take a joke, green bean?
Then Infinite pushed a button on Fawful's headgear and a video screen showed Hades on the screen.
Hades- Well, it looks like you've had some surprises today.
Infinite- You could say that. Where is Master Tabuu?
Hades- Still talking with our soon to be fellow follower of Tabuu. But he did ask me to get your report.
Infinite- You wouldn't believe it. One moment we were planning our assault on the Mario's while they were throwing a birthday party for Kirby, the next it starts raining these strange purple heart crystals and all goes to shit. I was blown out of my shoes, Fawful has his head stuck in that tree, and Marx is…
Then Infinite looks around and saw no sign of Marx anywhere.
Infinite- Uh…Marx? Marx, where are you?
Hades- Is there a problem?
Infinite- Well…we seem to have lost Marx…hehe…
Hades slapped his palm over his face.
Hades- Tabuu is not going to like this…
(Somewhere else on Popstar)
Kirby was lying on the ground and his face was facing the sky. The light was slowly returning to him as he opened his eyes, but he also noticed someone was poking at him. When Kirby came to his senses, he noticed Bandana Dee was poking him with the stick end of his spear. Kirby quickly caught the spear before it could poke him again.
Banana Dee- Oh, Kirby! You're awake!
Kirby- And what are you doing if I may ask?
Bandana Dee- Just checking if you're still alive. At least I didn't use the sharp end of my spear.
Then Kirby got up and saw Adeleine and Ribbon rush up to him.
Adeleine- Kirby, thank goodness you're ok!
Kirby- Can you tell me what just happened? And what happened to Mario and the rest of the Super Mario Brothers' Team?
Ribbon- We don't know. These purple crystals that look like giant hearts rained down from the sky and suddenly everything started to go crazy here on Popstar.
Kirby- Crazy how?
Adeleine- See for yourself.
Then Kirby looked around and saw huge storm clouds surrounding the skies above Castle DeDeDe and several Waddle Dee's rushing to the castle with as much food as they could carry. Then Tiff and Tuff rushed up from behind the bushes and ran up to Kirby.
Tiff- Kirby!
Kirby- Tiff, Tuff! Glad you are still fine in this mess.
Tuff- Kirby, we might have a situation! We found someone on the road!
Kirby- Was it Mario or any of my other friends?
Tiff- Actually…
Then Kirby looked towards where Tiff was pointing and saw Marx laying on the road with several wounds on his body.
Kirby- MARX?! What's he doing here?!
Kirby walked up to Marx as Marx struggled to move, but his injuries were affecting him too much.
Kirby- So, I see Tabuu is up to his schemes again.
Marx coughed up some blood as Kirby grabbed him by the neck and pulled him up to his face.
Kirby- Speak, Marx! What have you done to my friends?!
Marx- What are you…talking about…I haven't done anything…
Kirby- Then why are you here?
Marx- Tabuu told me to spy on you…after noticing you were all gathering…on Popstar…but then these strange hearts fell from the sky…
Tiff- Kirby, enough! He's hurt! And he's clearly not the enemy this time! That giant heart you made to protect us earlier, maybe it can heal Marx's injuries.
Kirby- A heart I created?
Ribbon- I'm not sure how to explain it, but you did. Mario tried to stop that heart from hitting us with his ancestor's sword, but before the energy from that crystal could be unleashed, you somehow tapped into a strange power deep inside of you and made a giant heart that managed to shield us.
Kirby- That's strange. I don't remember that.
Marx- Wait…did you say…you created a heart…out of your own energy…?
Then Marx remembered what Jayx had been telling him through his dreams over the past few months. And then Marx felt that there was something more important than following Tabuu's orders.
Marx- Kirby…I think…I might know…what's going on…
Kirby- So you are responsible for this!
Marx- No…just…informed…let's just say…someone has been…telling me about…a similar event…please…help me…and I'll help you…
Kirby- Help?! Help you?! You tried to destroy Popstar! You've lied to me! You work for Tabuu! There's no way in hell I'll…
Kimberly's voice (in Kirby's head)- It's ok. You can trust him.
Kirby- Who said…
Kimberly's voice (in Kirby's head)- Tabuu had no hold one him anymore. He could help…like Jayx did…trust him…
Kirby acted like he as conflicting with his thought, but he eventually decided on what to do. Kirby gently laid Marx down, managed to create a small pink glowing heart from his body (event though he wasn't sure how he was doing it), and used it to heal Marx's injuries.
Marx- I'm…healed…?
Marx stood up and was amazed at how fast he had recovered.
Kirby- Ok Marx, tell me what you know. But if you're lying or trying to trick me into one of Tabuu's traps, I'll send you back to Subspace in pieces!
Marx- Still don't trust me it would seem. But I see that Friend Heart restored me heals others faster than I was told.
Tuff- Friend Heart.
Marx- Let's just say someone was sort of…informing me about this event from happening. At first, I thought the guy was talking nonsense, but now I'm starting to understand what he was trying to warn me about. You're familiar with the Star Warrior named Kimberly, who was part of Marco Mario's team 1,000 years ago?
Kirby- Of course I am. She even helped me and my friends fight Perfect Tabuu when she and the rest of the original team used that spell to return to this world for thirty minutes. Still sad she left.
Marx- Well apparently, she had an encounter with another S Ranked god about a year after they defeated Tabuu. The God of the Void. He had this ability to corrupt souls and twist them into horrific versions of their former selves. He managed to corrupt Marco Mario and his friends…expect for Kimberly.
Adeleine- She escaped?
Marx- You…could say that. What I also know is Kimberly managed to access this power deep inside of her that even she wasn't aware of to create a Friend Heart which could heal others and purify those who've been infected by the God of the Void's corruption. But this wasn't something she could do on her own. Kimberly managed to forge a new team called the Dream Friends and they were able to rescue the original Super Mario Brothers' Team and the others who were put under this dark corruption. And in the end, I believe Kimberly managed to impale this god with these enchanted spears and seal him away in a large heart crystal called the Jamba Heart. But these look like a smaller version of the Jamba Heart.
Bandana Dee- You seem awfully informed about this situation, Marx.
Marx- Like I said, someone was trying to tell me about this like a premonition, but I thought it was just nonsense at first.
Then Kirby remembered that dream he had about Kimberly striking a large titian with a heart shaped spear.
Kirby- Now that you mention it…I remember in a dream I had last night, I saw Kimberly fighting some kind of giant monster. I don't remember it's features, but something about it filled me with dread…but for some reason, familiar.
Ribbon- But what should we do, Kirby?
Kirby- I guess we should do what Kimberly did. If Mario and the others are corrupted by this Jamba Heart, I need a new team of my own. Like the Dream Friends Kimberly assembled.
Bandana Dee- Then I'm in!
Adeleine- Me too!
Ribbon- I'm willing to help out too after all you've done for me and Ripple Star in the past.
Kirby- Are you sure?
Tiff- Hey, you said you wanted to rebuild the Dream Friends. This seems like a good start.
Marx- Well…good luck with that, Kirby…
Then Marx began walking away. But before Marx could walk away, Kirby heard someone speaking to him in his head again.
Kimberly's voice (in Kirby's head)- Don't let him leave. You need him too.
(Flashback from 1,000 years ago)
Sword Kimberly was clashing swords with someone inside a strange fortress. But the opponent was actually Marco Mario, only his eyes were glowing red and there was a black aura around his body. Possessed Marco swung his sword at Sword Kimberly, but Sword Kimberly was barely able to block. Even worse, Sword Kimberly was losing ground as Marco's sword moved in closer.
Sword Kimberly- Don't do this, Marco! You were able to fight back before! You've got to do it again!
Then Possessed Marco shattered Sword Kimberly's sword and kicked her against the wall. This left a large crater in the stone wall and Sword Kimberly changed back to normal Kimberly. A female Waddle Dee with a flower on her head and wielding a large baton tried to rush as Possessed Marco from behind. But Possessed Marco held his sword behind his back and managed to block the baton without turning around. Before the female Waddle Dee could react, Possessed Marco grabbed the female Waddle Dee with his other hand and threw her over his shoulder and to the ground. Possessed Marco flipped his sword to have the blade face downward as he was about to attempt to finish off the female Waddle Dee.
Painter who looked like Adeleine- Flower Dee! Hold on!
Then this young girl who looked like Adeleine quickly painted several Koopa shells on her canvas and launched them at Possess Marco. Possessed Marco jumped over the Koopa shells and jumped towards the painter girl. The painter who looked like Adeleine tried to paint something quickly, but Possessed Marco moved to quickly and swung his sword. She dodged, but her canvas was sliced in half.
Painter who looked like Adeleine- This is not good! I can't paint if I don't have anything to draw on!
The painter who looked like Adeleine backed up to the wall as Possessed Marco moved in closer with his sword ready to strike. Kimberly got herself back up only to see Possessed Marco about to swing his sword at the painter girl.
Kimberly- Caroline! Marco, please don't do it!
Before Possessed Marco could swing his sword, a spiked ball hit Possessed Marco from behind and froze Possessed Marco in ice. But before Kimberly would wonder what just happened, something quickly grabbed her. The female Waddle Dee and the painter who looked like Adeleine were also grabbed as something with rainbow-colored wings attempted to fly out of this fortress with the three. However, Possessed Marco managed to break free of the ice and rush at the figure before it could fly away. Possessed Marco managed to slash it in the back, but it still flew away with Kimberly, the female Waddle Dee, and the painter who looked like Adeleine.
(In another part of the flashback)
The thing that was flying with Kimberly and her friends eventually crashed somewhere in Green Greens on Popstar and it wasn't a smooth landing.
Female Waddle Dee- (Cough)…Well…that wasn't the most graceful of escapes…
Painter who looked like Adeleine- But we got Kimberly out of her prison in the Dream Palace.
Kimberly- But at what price? Marco, Loewy, Ihsoy, King Kong, Wolf, Calmly and his Poke'mon, Chaos, Simba, Icarus, Azra…all corrupted by my father…
Then Kimberly noticed there was blood on her hand and saw a trail on the ground. When she followed the blood trail, she saw a familiar looking jester laying on the ground with an open wound on his back.
Kimberly- Wait…Jayx?!
Kimberly rushed over to Jayx who was in pain from when Possessed Marco struck him.
Kimberly- Jayx, is that really you?!
Jayx- Surprised you care about me, Kimberly. Especially after all I've done.
Jayx cringes in pain.
Painter who looked like Adeleine- He's hurt! We need to address that wound on his back!
Female Waddle Dee- With what? We don't have any medicine.
Then Kimberly created a large pink heart out of her own energy and threw it at Jayx. Just like that, Jayx's wound was healed.
Kimberly- Guess my father's teachings could be put to good use after all.
Jayx- Uh…thanks Kimberly…
Kimberly- Why did you help us escape my father?
Jayx- Truth is…I don't know myself. I've just been trying to forget I ever existed after Tabuu made me do those terrible things.
Kimberly- Either way, I owe you my thanks, Jayx.
Female Waddle Dee- But what are we going to do? Your father still has control of Popstar, is about to move his forces to invade Earth next, the Super Mario Brothers' Team have all been possessed and corrupted by your father, and we have no idea where he is!
Kimberly- You're right, it does seem hopeless. If Marco were here, he'd know what to say to motivate everyone into action. But…I can't stop him on my own…
Painter who looked like Adeleine- Who said you had to do it alone? After all, Marco didn't stop Tabuu on his own. He had you and the rest of your friends.
Female Waddle Dee- What you need is a team of your own. A dream team sort of speak.
Kimberly- Nah…I think I like Dream Friends a lot better. But where can I find a team?
Painter who looked like Adeleine- You can start with me and Flower Dee.
Female Waddle Dee- I know we're not in the same league as you, Marco, or the rest of the Super Mario Brothers' Team, but we're your friends too, Kimberly. And we're willing to fight by your side.
Kimberly- This will be hard to do, but I can't just my father continue to do this to Popstar, or to Earth, or…to Marco and my friends. I have to save them. Marco sacrificed himself to give me this chance to escape. I have to rescue Marco and the others, because I know they'd do the same for me.
Female Waddle Dee- I'm a little scared, but with you leading the Dream Friends, we might be able to pull this off.
Painter who looked like Adeleine- Yeah! It's our turn to save the Mario Brothers and our friends!
Jayx- Well…Good luck with that, Kim…
Jayx started to walk away, but he was stopped after feeling a hand gently grab hold of his right wing. When Jayx turned around, he saw it was Kimberly who grabbed hold of his wing and she had an emotional look on her face.
Kimberly- Please…don't go…
Jayx- What…
Kimberly- I said…don't go…I need you, Jayx.
Jayx- Me…? But…why me? I tricked you to summon Nova, tried to kill you after you stopped Nova, did the work of a devil…and did so many unforgivable sins…(cries)…why would you want someone as horrible as me on the Dream Friends…
Then Kimberly pulled Jayx in and gave him a big hug.
Kimberly- Because you're my friend, Jayx. Yes, you made some mistakes in the past, but you're not the same jester who tricked me about wanting to use Nova to make piece between the Sun and Moon. After Marco, Loewy, Ihsoy, King Kong, Wolf, Calmly, Chaos, Simba, Icarus, and Azra were taken by my father and turned into his mindless servants for breaking me out of that prison…you helped me, Caroline and Flower Dee escape and get away from my father's troops so that I could form the Dream Friends. And I need you for this. And I wouldn't have it any other way than to have a friend like you by my side for this.
Jayx began hugging Kimberly back.
Jayx- Kim…I…I…(sobs like crazy)…thank you! Thank you!
(End of flashback and back on Popstar in present time)
Kirby snapped out of whatever daze he was in.
Kirby (mutters)- What was…you're trying to tell me something, aren't you, Kimberly?
Kirby looks at Marx as he was walking away.
Kirby- I better not regret this, but I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures. And besides…Kimberly believed Jayx reformed, so just maybe…
Kirby run up to Marx, got around him, and stood in Marx's path.
Marx- What do you want now? I told you what I know about Kimberly and the God of the Void. What more could you want from me?
Kirby- I was thinking…I need to rebuild the Dream Friends that Kimberly assembled. So Marx…I know we had our drama in the past…not to mention you sold your soul to Tabuu…but I could use all the help I can get. Marx…would you be interested in joining the Dream Friends?
Tuff- Kirby, did you hit your head?! Marx is the enemy and he's one of Tabuu's followers! For all we know, Tabuu could be scheming to attack when we least expect it!
Marx- Actually, Tabuu probably would rip my wings off with his bare hands and force me to wax the floors of every room in his palace if he found out I was I was helping you.
Then Ribbon took a look at Marx's left wing.
Ribbon- Are you sure he's Tabuu's follower?
Bandana Dee- He has worked for Tabuu in previous stories.
Ribbon- Then why do I see no mark on his left wing? From what I know, all of Tabuu's followers have their left appendage branded with that mark.
Marx- That's because Tabuu is left-handed why he always placed that mark there. But I actually…lost my mark. When you found Marco's sword, Mario stabbed me right where the mark was and…it just…I really don't want to remember that! The pain I endured was a thousand times worse than the condition I was in after you healed me!
Tiff- And he hasn't put the mark back on you?
Marx- He was going to, but things sort of kept popping up. Tabuu's still in bad shape after your last battle with him and is constantly needing that bandage around his left arm replaced every hour. And he's currently trying to convince some Siren to join up with him. But I'm sure once he gets the chance, he will.
Ribbon- Than you should leave Tabuu while you still have this chance. That mark is what Tabuu uses to control all of his followers and you currently don't have one. Maybe you can change.
Marx- I guess I don't have much of a choice. Consider me a Dream Friend then.
(Tabuu's palace in Subspace)
Sir Grodus was standing next to the soundproof case that Zero2 was placed in as Zero2 was awake again and screaming again. This time, Zero2's screams could not be heard.
Sir Grodus- Just give it a rest why don't you, Zero? I don't care what it is that got you so scared. Sooner you stop this screaming, the sooner Tabuu will let you out of there and I can get back to my life. Little did Grodus realize that the fifth and final string on that little puppet was starting to break. Before long, the last string snapped and the puppet was falling to the floor. As soon as the puppet hit the floor, it smashed into pieces.