DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kirby or the Kirby's Dreamland 2 storyline—I'm just elaborating on it. Kirby and pals belong to Nintendo, Hal Laboratories, etc., and I am writing this for entertainment, not profit, OK? If it is illegal for me to do this, let me know because I'm not really sure. ^_^;
A/N: Wow, I got a lot more support than I really expected for this fic! I'd like to thank Silver Shot, cardcaptor syaoran, and especially DestinyLord7381 for the encouraging reviews!
Battle of a Lifetime
Chapter Two: Problems with Parasols
Last time, Kirby and his friends discovered the Rainbow Bridges stolen and the Rainbow Drops hidden by a new and powerful enemy: Dark Matter. Dark Matter also took control of the Dreamlanders' minds, and they kidnapped Rick, Coo, Kine, and even Waddle Dee! Now Kirby must find each of the seven Rainbow Drops while looking for his pilfered friends, and he begins his journey in Grassland…
"Well, at least Grassland isn't all that big, or else I'd REALLY be in trouble," Kirby reassured himself. "I'll start in Warp Door One—as long as no more of Dark Matter's minions try to stop me."
As if on cue, an army of Bronto Burts came diving at him—and they didn't look too happy.
"Kirby must be destroyed!" they chanted in a monotone manner.
"Great. Just great. *sigh* Sorry, guys, I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice," Kirby stated, just before he made lunch of the onslaught of enemies.
Next, Kirby was face-to-face with one of Waddle Dee's brothers, along with a bunch of Bouncy Tys—which were a little too bouncy for Kirby's sake.
"Ouch! Oh, one got me! You'll have to pay for that! C'mon, guys, I need to save Dreamland!"
Kirby sucked up a Star Block to hit Bouncy Ty with, but as he did so, he noticed a small star.
"Huh, I wonder what this does…" Kirby wondered as he went up to it. As he picked it up, it began to glow and disappeared.
"Whoa, WHAT was that?" But Kirby had no time to figure it out just then because a ticked-off Broom Hatter decided that Kirby needed to be swept away.
"Oh, no, you don't," Kirby declared before sucking it up and shooting it back at another Bronto Burt.
Kirby entered a door and met up with a few more enemies. He easily sucked them up and used them against others.
"Jeez, they're really out to get me this time," he said, just before he was hit by yet another Bouncy.
"Holy cow! If I get hit any more I won't be around much longer TO save Dreamland!" he cried, rubbing his aching head. Ahead of him was a small bridge, and underneath that bridge was a door.
Unable to defy his sense of curiosity, Kirby entered the door to find a load of star blocks, another star, a Floaty the Drifter and…
"A potion! Just what I needed!" Kirby cried. He inhaled Floaty and gained Parasol Power before grabbing the potion and the star piece. "Strange, I've never seen these stars before. I must've found about five of them already. I really wish I knew what these things were for…"
He left the room, waiting until the Poppy Bro. Jr. and the Waddle Dee above him had gone before jumping up and continuing, past a Star Block pyramid and another onslaught of enemies, to the final door that would lead him back to the core of the island.
*Sigh* I guess I'll try Door number Two… why do I feel like I'm on a game show?"
Now his first enemy was a Flamer, a possessor of Burning Power.
"Hey, a new power! I think I'll use this instead," he said, discarding the Parasol star and inhaling Flamer.
He was able to use this new ability to blast through several more of Dark Matter's minions and Star Blocks. He had to watch his timing, though, lest his burning charge end right in front of an attacking enemy. Eventually, he came upon another door.
In this room, however, he saw a bag tied to the ceiling, twisting and writhing. Underneath the bag he saw Efreeti, one of the guys who took away his friends. One of them must be in that sack!
"Yes, Kirby, one of your friends is in that bag," Efreeti said, reading Kirby's thoughts. "I believe it's your rodent friend, Rick. If you can defeat me, he's all yours… IF you can defeat me," he emphasized with a smug grin.
"Fine, if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get!" Kirby cried. He began his flaming assault, but Efreeti jumped up and out of the way.
"Hahaha, you'll have to do better than that," he said, beginning his own fiery charge.
But Kirby knew what to do. When Efreeti was just yards away, he charged at Efreeti with all the firepower he had. Efreeti was hit.
"You half-witted pink marshmallow! I'll teach you to mess with me!" Kirby knew that someone with such fiery power also had a fiery temper, and now Efreeti's rage was clouding his judgment. Kirby easily attacked him several more times, and Efreeti was knocked out cold.
The bag that was hung on the ceiling came crashing down, and Rick laboriously (and amusingly) wiggled out of the sack.
"Whew, it's about time, Kirby! It was getting stuffy in there," he said, letting Kirby jump onto his shoulders.
"Gee, Rick, I get attacked at all sides, almost get burned to death, and I don't get as much as a thank you," Kirby teased.
"Sorry, Kirby. They stuffed me in that poor excuse for a potato bag, and I STILL didn't get enough to eat! That apple just wasn't enough."
"Well, Rick, now you have the chance to eat everything in sight… before they try to destroy us, preferably."
"Hehehe, sounds like fun," Rick said with a gleam in his eye.
They went through the door that mysteriously appeared after the battle and were greeted by another Floaty.
"Kirby, I'm getting rid of this power. I don't want to barbecue my lunch," Rick said, making Floaty the Drifter hesitate, just a little.
Rick discarded the Burning star and swallowed the dumbfounded Floaty, copying its Parasol Power.
"Nope, this won't do—I can't inhale with an ability."
"Well, it might come in handy, Rick. Can't you forget your hunger for a LITTLE bit?"
Rick thought a moment (quite a long moment, actually) before answering, "Mmm, nah," and got rid of his Parasol.
Kirby laughed. "Sometimes I think your appetite is bigger than mine, Rick."
"Well, you were out swallowing everything in sight while I was in that hot, stuffy sack—of COURSE you aren't hungry now!" Kirby just laughed again.
They came across more of the automaton Waddles and Floaties, and another (much needed after the battle) potion, but Rick had to jump high to suck up the Star Block that held it.
"See? I TOLD you to keep the Parasol."
"Hey, I got the potion, didn't I?" Rick growled.
"Still need food, I see. Hey, look, the last door! And another of those stars…" Kirby grabbed it.
Suddenly, the other six stars appeared with this one and they all began to glow. This time, however, the glow set itself on the buddies and they felt a strange rejuvenation, although not the same kind he felt when they drank the potion.
"So THESE are the stars Master Green was talking about…"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well, after they took us from you they immediately put us in those bags, but I still heard him and Jumpershoot talking about some little stars they said they found shortly after the Drops were hidden. Master Green was saying how he tried to see what they did, but every time he went up to one he got shocked. Jumpershoot said that they were probably created by the Drops somehow and that they can't do any harm anymore since Darkness has taken over. I guess that was what it was."
"Oh, if they are from the Drops, then they MUST be helpful! You felt that strange energy, right?" Rick nodded. Kirby went on, "Lemme think… I think that was the seventh one I found. I guess that weird glowing thing happens after every seven stars."
"Well, the only way we'll find out is to keep collecting them!"
They went through the final door back to Grassland's center to enter the third and last door.
"You know, if the Drop isn't here, then I would have NO idea where else to look," Kirby fretted.
"We'll find it, don't worry," Rick said brightly.
"Jeez, just five minutes ago you were ready to bite my head off… well, if I HAD a head you could bite off…"
O_o "You know what? After that star thing I don't feel grouchy anymore!"
"That's a relief," Kirby whispered to himself.
"I heard that!"
"Yeah, well, don't think I didn't hear what you said earlier when I got down from your shoulders after getting the apple!"
O_O;;; Needless to say, Rick decided to drop the subject about that one.
They inhaled and leaped their way through to the next door. They came upon a hill crawling with enemies, and once again regretted not keeping the stupid umbrella since they didn't want to jump INTO any bad guys. They did OK, but unfortunately, they didn't expect a Crack-Tweet to come tumbling down from the very top, next to the door.
"Tweet!"
"OW! Good grief, that shell's as hard as rock!"
With bumps on their heads, Rick and Kirby entered the door to find none other than the Grassland Rainbow Drop enclosed by indestructible blocks and two different looking blocks just beneath the Rainbow Drop's platform.
"Wow, how lucky is this!" Kirby cried.
"Wait, what are those strange blocks underneath it?" Rick jumped down and examined them.
"They're Power Blocks," he concluded. "They can only be broken by a specific ability."
"But which one?"
"Well, so far we've only come across two, so it's either Burning or—"
"Rick, if it's Parasol Power, I'm afraid I'm going to have to hit you."
"Haha, very funny. Well, I guess we'll have to go on ahead and see what we find."
They went past the Drop and through the door, and wouldn't you know it? They were face-to-face with yet ANOTHER Floaty the Drifter.
"Jeez, they must have a heck of a time at family reunions," Kirby mused.
Rick gained its power and went back to the Drop. They stood right beneath the Power Blocks and Rick pushed Kirby right through on his red-and-white parasol.
They jumped up and grabbed the Rainbow Drop. "All right! One down, six to go! OW! Hey, what was that for?"
Kirby had a sly smile on his face. "I already told you. I said if it was Parasol Power I'd have to hit you." Rick just gave him a death glare before continuing to the final door.
"Well, now all we have to do if jump on the Warp Star and go to Big Forest to get the next one!" Kirby exclaimed.
"Oops."
¬_^" 'Oops' what, Rick?"
"I forgot to tell you what else they said."
"They said something else and you didn't TELL me?"
"Hey, take it easy! I was stuffed into a ten-pound bag, remember?" Kirby sighed.
"Anyway," Rick continued, "Dark Matter apparently possessed six bosses to guard the Warp Stars so that you couldn't chase after him… so, you've got to beat someone else Kirby."
Kirby gave him an amused look. "I think you mean 'we', my friend."
O_o "Oh… yeah…"
They entered the boss door, and they found themselves confronting none other than Whispy Woods.
¬_^ "…We have to defeat a tree?"
A low, guttural chuckle emerged from Whispy. "I'm no ordinary tree, my friends. I am the tree who will cause your doom!" His chuckle developed into a maniacal laugh.
"Boy, Matter really got to Whispy," Kirby whispered (no pun intended) to Rick.
"Well, possessed or not, we have to defeat him to save him," Rick pointed out.
Just then, Whispy used his spiky roots to attack our heroes!
"Ouch! Whoa, didn't see that coming," Rick said.
"Forget it, Rick! Look, he's throwing apples. Suck 'em up and give him a taste of his own medicine!"
Rick did just that, and Whispy was obviously hurt. "You'll pay for that!" he cried, and he attacked with heavy duty air pellets and his roots once again.
By now, however, Rick and Kirby had grown used to this strategy. They easily dodged the roots while inhaling apples and attacking Whispy with them. Rick hit him once more, and Whispy Woods was out of commission.
He came to a minute later, asking, "Wha… what happened?"
"Don't worry, Whispy, you're going to be OK, now," Kirby said as he and Rick jumped on the now released Warp Star and continued their journey to Dark Castle. Their next stop was Big Forest for the next Rainbow Drop, and hopefully to find their friend Coo.
"All right! Big Forest! Inhaling Whispy's apples made me hungry again. Now I can have a FEAST of sweet, juicy APPLES!" I'm sure you can guess who that was… -_-;
A/N: OK, that was WAY longer than it should have been, and probably not as exciting as it should have been, but as the levels get tougher, the story gets better—I hope… ~ If you have any suggestions, feel free to e-mail me or tell me in a review. Flames are also welcome—I'll use them to train Venus's daughter to be resistant against fire. ^___^
Next chapter: Now Kirby has a buddy to help him along in Big Forest. WILL they find Coo? WILL they ever discover the mystery of the famine? Has Rick forgotten to tell Kirby anything else? Will his hunger ever be satisfied? You have to read and review to find out! And remember, Venus loves you! ~VEnusAUR!~