DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kirby or the Kirby's Dream Land 2 story line—I'm just elaborating on it. Kirby and pals belong to Nintendo, Hal Laboratories, etc., and I am writing this for entertainment, not profit. Is that all I have to say? Good.
A/N: *nervous laughter* Uh… I haven't updated since, what? February? ^^;; Accursed college! Praise heaven for Christmas break. ^_^ Wow, that twist really got me stuck… but now I have inspiration!!! I'm sorry it took so long… things have been happening… but I did manage to keep Cloudy Park to two chapters. ^-^ I tried cutting down on Author's Notes during the story. I reread my entire story and found them rather disrupting. And I'm tired of apologizing for my corny humor—I like it, it's how I am, and it's gonna be in the story. Heeee. Again, please alert me to any discrepancies, and enjoy the show! ^-^
Battle of a LifetimeChapter Ten: Cut to the Chase—Part Two
Last time, Kirby and friends traveled part of the poofy land of Cloudy Park in search of the next Rainbow Drop. Rick, however, becoming ill, had to rest by the volcano while the others continued the search. After executing a very complicated plan, Kirby and friends indeed discovered it, but not without a new obstacle…
"Oh my…" whispered Coo as he and Kirby looked upon their new enemy.
"Hahahahahahahahahaha!!! You are quite surprised, I can see," he responded with a sly smile.
"Who… who are you?" Kirby finally managed to say. The enemy put on an expression of mock disappointment.
"Aw, don't tell me you don't recognize your old friend from Grassland. The one who was 'protected' by the Rainbow Drop dust under the bush," he said in fake innocence. Both Kirby's and Coo's eyes widened.
"Oh my… it's Waddle Dee!" Coo shouted. The strange new enemy laughed gutturally.
"Yes, that used to be my name… but Lord Matter has given me a new name, now—Waddle Daa!" He laughed more openly now as Kirby and Coo took in this news.
"But… Waddle Dee… how? What happened? I thought Dark Matter got you!!" Kirby cried, confused.
"Yes, yes he did… but, unlike my kin, he decided he would use me in a different way… and that is no longer my name," Waddle Daa replied, glaring at the duo.
"Well, that's kind of obvious, since you're no longer anything like him," Coo retorted angrily, for Waddle Dee had apparently undergone a transformation. He was twice as big, and his usually round, mouthless face was now skull shaped with catlike eyes and a sharp, toothy evil grin. He had twisted, ram-like horns, and it looked like he now had fingers… which were just three claws on each arm.
"That was quite a brave remark, my feathered friend," Waddle Daa said dangerously. "But you know, there is a fine line between bravery… and stupidity. Your quest ends here, Kirby," he said as he raised a clawed hand.
Kirby was so dismayed by his friend's horrible transformation, he didn't even think to defend himself. But suddenly, the razors that Kirby was so sure were going to seal his doom… were no longer coming at him.
Next thing Kirby knew, there were shrieks of pain as sharp-edged feathers fell in front of him. He refocused and saw Waddle Daa holding his right arm as the severed claws seemed to be bleeding profusely. Kirby could see that the claws were, indeed, fingers, and he knew that Coo was behind this sudden turn of events.
"No one calls ME stupid," Coo said softly but solidly. Waddle Daa was far from impressed.
"You infernal winged vermin! You shall regret that!" Waddle Daa cried furiously, and this time he charged at Coo, his left arm outstretched, as though to impale him. Coo tried to implement his attack again, but Waddle Daa anticipated it and just knocked the cutter feathers away. By this time, Kirby had overcome his shock, and just as Waddle Daa had come within a few inches of Coo, Kirby picked up one of the cutter feathers that had fallen in front of him and…
Coo gaped in shock as his attacker suddenly stopped in mid-strike, eyes and mouth wide open, and dropped to the ground. Coo blinked and looked at Kirby as he threw aside the cutter feather.
"Wow, that was weird," Coo said to Kirby. Kirby looked up sadly.
"I wish I didn't have to do it, though." Coo's face also fell.
"Stupid Dark Matter. He probably couldn't care less that we had to destroy a friend because of what HE did to him…"
"Oh, I am FAR from destroyed," a raspy voice called in front of them. The duo looked up in surprise.
"But… you're… you…" They couldn't even find the words as the mauled body of Waddle Daa picked himself up before their eyes.
"Oh, Dark Matter cares very much about his loyal servants," he said triumphantly. "He's even given me a new task. I am now too weak to destroy you… but I can force you to fight someone who can!"
With that, he stretched out his hand, and the Rainbow Drop glided over to him before Kirby and Coo even had time to turn around.
"You have to travel through Cloudy Park and the volcano before you can even see your precious Drop again!" And just as Coo flew at top speed at the thief, Waddle Daa laughed and simply disappeared… which caused Coo to fly directly into the opposite wall.
"Coo!! Quick! Get up! This is no time for a nap!" Kirby cried as he helped his friend up.
"I can fly faster than you any day, you stupid Noctowl," Coo muttered drowsily. Kirby swatted his beak.
"Snap out of it! We gotta get that Drop!" he reminded Coo as he shook himself out of his stupor. He looked around frantically.
"Well, what are we sitting around here for, then? Let's go!" he replied as he took Kirby into his talons and continued through Cloudy Park. Kirby sighed.
-(o)-
"Well?" a sinister voice uttered threateningly. Two familiar, yet translucent forms cowered before a shadowed figure.
"We… we tried our best, my lord," the ponytailed one started.
"But Kirby… he… he kept… defeating us… he and his miserable companions!" the spiked one finished for him. They both were very tense for their master's response. When the shadowed figure stood up, they flinched noticeably.
"I should just annihilate you both for your incompetence," he began slowly, smiling wickedly at his minions' obvious fear. "But, my Bronto spy's reports have forced me to realize that perhaps I have underestimated Kirby.
"I shall return your spirits to bodies once again. Better ones. Ones I have created to be twice as strong and twice as fast. The others as well later, most likely, since they are only as strong as your former bodies. But don't expect such mercy next time you're swallowed by that impossible cream puff!" he warned, and he raised his hand, bringing forth what looked like limp dolls of Waiu and Efreeti, only a bit larger. The ghosts that had been hunched in relief entered the bodies, bringing them to life. Waiu's cutters and hands glowed yellow, and Efreeti's spikes glowed red with firepower. They turned toward their master.
"Oh, you are ever generous, my lord!"
"And ever merciful!"
"Spare me your flattery and get rid of that poor excuse for a dodge ball!" Dark Matter cried, his patience growing thin. He sat back down as they left the dark hallway, pondering to himself.
"These new bodies I've created should do the trick. However, it is possible that with his friends' help, Kirby could still get past them. I might have to make my secret weapon stronger than I had originally planned…"
~(-)~
Coo and Kirby continued through the island, which was pretty mild at the beginning. Coo's sharp eyes even spotted a Star Piece hidden in a small cave in one of the gorges. But it got slightly more difficult as they entered the next area, for they seemed to be trapped in a box. With an invisible force pushing them around it. Toward enemies that weren't the least bit affected.
"Hey! Coo, you almost knocked me into a Spikey!!"
"Well, give me a break! I don't even know what the heck I'm flying against!"
After a few minutes, however, Coo figured out how to fly against the force, and spotted Star Blocks in the walls. He managed to position himself in front of the blocks, and shot three cutter feathers at them. The use of his wings other than for flying caused him to lose control for a second, but he was able to fly back up and through the new gap he created. While the force was going the other way this time, he was able to gain control quickly and saw three more Star Blocks. He broke them again, noticed more, and repeated the process till he and Kirby found the door and went in. The rest of the area was relatively safe, except for the Mumbies that kept appearing from nowhere. But they were destroyed easily enough with cutters, and soon they were in the next section of Cloudy Park.
And on they went, avoiding kamikaze Kabus ("Ha! Look, they just slide back and forth, back and forth, back—OW! That thing just flew at me!!") and narrowly escaping a Propeller Bomb before arriving at another miniboss room to be greeted by Captain Stitch.
"Arr, back again, I see! Yeh'll not be getting' away so easy this time, ya scurvy rodents!"
"No, no, that's Rick. I'm a scurvy bird of prey," Coo replied nonchalantly. However, Kirby had no time to respond to the quick sarcasm as Captain Stitch charged right up to them.
"Peek-a-boo," he said before hurling his spiked armor at them again. But he was quite surprised when it hit the wall instead of the duo. He was even more surprised when Coo and Kirby flew down from the ceiling, perched right in front of Stitch's face, and said, "Peek-a-boo to you," before chucking three cutter feathers at him at once.
Captain Stitch jerked back, dazed, and Coo got rid of the shed armor with a cutter before it could do damage later. He tried to hit Stitch with cutters again, but by this time he had regained his armor, and was nothing short of peeved.
"Yeh think that was pretty clever, dontcha? Well, you'll be laughin' in little pieces by the time I'm done with yeh!" This time he charged full-speed into them—which Coo easily avoided. Captain Stitch had again dazed himself, and Coo finished him off with a massive assault of sharp feathers.
"Hey, guys!" a chipper voice called out.
"Hi, Kine! Good to see you again," said Coo.
"Yeah, and I did just like you did, Coo," Kine said proudly.
"… and what would that be?" Coo asked curiously.
"I sneaked into this bag—no Propellers for me." He turned to Kirby. "It was kinda easy—I was swimming quietly when I saw Captain Stitch headed for this place. I jumped out of the water and followed him, and I just… ran into the bag."
"… you ran into it?"
"Yeah! It was hanging from his one spike, so it was wide open. He didn't open it to look or anything, so I kinda figured he wasn't suspicious."
"Oooohhhhhh, I see… and nothing saw you?"
"Nah, it was pretty quiet."
Coo and Kirby exchanged nervous glances, but Kine didn't seem to notice as he continued, "You know, Kirby, you probably just wanna keep Coo with you."
"Why's that?"
"Well… up here, there's lotsa wind. And being in the sky would be perfect for Coo. It just seems… right, ya know?" He looked a bit nervous.
"Kine…"
^^; "Uh, yeah, Kirby?"
"You didn't run into the bag, did you?" Kine blushed.
"Well… how was I supposed to know the winds were so strong up here? I'm a fish! I stay in the water…"
"And it blew you right towards Stitch, who just scooped you up, right?"
"I was planning on getting into the bag anyway! Just… not like that… and no one else saw me—I already told you it was pretty empty. But you need to hurry, anyway. That weird feeling keeps getting stronger—I think we're running short on time," Kine informed them. Kirby and Coo nodded in agreement.
"Well, OK—but be careful next time you're out playing spy. Are you sure there weren't any other enemies around?" Coo asked.
"Nope, none—why?"
"Nothing, don't worry. But for your sake, I hope it stays that way."
"Ha, ha, ha."
^^; "Ooooookay, time to go, Coo—thanks again, Kine!"
Kine waved a fin as Coo and Kirby set on their way again. First, Coo had to fly up a narrow passage filled with Gordos, and then another similar one with water. But then once again, they found themselves at the mercy of the Cloudy Park winds, but Coo managed to gain control quite quickly, and they were able to obtain many useful items, including a much needed potion.
They continued on, facing an entire area made of nothing but enemies and disintegrating cloud blocks, which wasn't too hard for Coo since he could fly above them. Not even the wind blowing against them was any trouble for Coo, though they did have an unfortunate run-in with an out-of-control Bronto, which almost caused them to lose Cutter power. However, they soon found themselves enclosed in a cloudy room with five doors for them to choose to get out.
"There's no other way to leave—I checked," said Coo.
"So which door do we try first?" inquired Kirby.
"Well… how about if we start on the outside and work our way in?"
"OK, sounds good."
They started with the door farthest to their left. Nothing but five annoying Mumbies which Coo easily disposed of. A new door appeared that led them back to the first room.
"I guess that wasn't the right one. Now the on farthest on the right," Coo said, flying to his right… which ended up being a very traumatic experience.
"AAAAHH!! NOOO!"
Before Kirby or even Coo could react, five angry Propeller Bombs had descended upon our poor feathered friend… and Coo was gone. Kirby stood up dazed where he had fallen from Coo's talons, instinctively re-inhaled the Cutter star, and looked around. Five adorable, cheerful Propeller faces smiled at him.
"Wow, if you guys didn't make me so TICKED OFF, you'd be cute," he muttered before brutally slicing them all with cutters. A door appeared again.
"Man, I hope I don't meet up with any tough winds before I can find Coo again… jeez, we didn't even have a chance against five of those things!" Kirby vented to himself before going through it. He found himself in the first room again. Sticking with Coo's plan, he tried the door next to the first one they entered.
"Aw, why couldn't we have gone through this one instead?" Kirby asked as he grabbed five star pieces. Again, he went through the newly appeared door to find himself in the first room. Kirby sighed exasperatedly as he then entered the door next to the deadly Propeller one. This one had five potions waiting for our hero, and the door that appeared had three stars (three beautiful stars to our exhausted hero), and he was able to continue up the volcano to get the drop.
Much to Kirby's chagrin, he found himself being blown by a wind into a small gorge where he met up with Master Green. Again.
"Good grief, I've defeated you countless times! Where do you come from??"
"That is none of your business!" the jellyfish snapped. "All that counts is that Lord Matter is generous enough to give his loyal servants additional chances to annihilate you!" He chucked two harpoons at Kirby, who jumped up to avoid them… right into the wind… that blew him right into Master Green.
"Ha! Foolish Dreamlander," he laughed as he grabbed Kirby with his tentacles. "I knew the wind would get the better of you sooner or later… but not this soon." Master Green swung Kirby around his head before slamming him against the opposite wall of the gorge. He then shot harpoons at Kirby again, but missed since Kirby saw the attack just in time and lay down, the harpoons missing him by millimeters.
During this time, Kirby had regained his senses and managed to ignore the pain of being slammed against a wall at 20 miles an hour, and jumped up to face his enemy again.
"What? How did you recover so quickly? Oh, those infernal stars must have something to do with it!"
"Aw, you mean it has nothing to do with my own skills?" Kirby asked sarcastically. Master Green narrowed his beady eyes.
"Of course not—a pudgy vacuum like you has no skills," he quickly retorted.
"Well, SOMETHING helped me to defeat you back in Ripple Field before I'd collected so many of them."
"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Green suddenly yelled, apparently frustrated his usually intimidating speeches were being used against him. "That was in the past, and you're NOT getting past me this time!" He hurled more harpoons again, obviously avoiding the stars that Kirby previously used to destroy him. But he didn't know that Kirby had other means of destroying him, this time.
Kirby quickly tossed cutters to knock down the sharp weapons in midair, and then began a ceaseless assault against Master Green. Master Green managed to hit Kirby with another harpoon to stop him, but he was very weak.
"Ah… you think one little cut's going to stop me?" Kirby asked him, obviously getting tired of these battles wasting his time. "You're done, Green," he said before knocking him out with another cutter. Kirby decided to drop the Cutter power and obtain Spark. He hadn't realized till now what the high altitude was doing to his stamina, and he figured he should use defensive attacks until he could find another friend again.
He entered the Warpdoor that magically appeared after Master Green's defeat, and found a familiar writhing bag beneath a Spark Power Block.
Good thing I decided to take Spark power, Kirby thought to himself. He broke the block while a familiar purple form popped out of the bag.
"Coo!"
"In the feathers."
"Oh, man, I didn't think I'd find you again so soon!"
"Me neither," Coo replied somberly. Kirby looked at him with a puzzled look, then understood what Coo meant.
"Yes… where has Rick been?"
"I don't know… with how sick he was, it would be easy for him to be captured and put somewhere worse than these sacks," Coo said solemnly.
"I think we better get going—time may be running out faster than we thought if Rick's in trouble now!"
So they quickly began to explore the next area. They met up with more wind, which was no problem, and some Poppys and Rockys, and they soon found themselves… in the water.
"Maybe Kine should have stayed with you after all!" Coo cried, panicked.
"Coo! It's OK. It's not that bad. At least there aren't any pipes." Coo was a bit encouraged by this information, and proceeded to grab a potion and get rid of a couple Sir Slippys in the way.
Soon they found themselves in what looked like an underwater maze. In one direction they could see a Blipper; in the other, they saw a Sir Slippy. While debating which way to go, suddenly the two minions swum up to the duo and recited a little poem:
Here's a watery maze, as you can see,
Only one way out, only one there can be.
The best way to do it is follow him or me,
But time's running out for you, so choose wisely.
"… I guess that means we either follow Sir Slippy or Blipper."
"Brilliant deduction, Kirby."
"… Is that supposed to be sarcasm?" Coo only smiled.
"Well, anyway… how are we supposed to choose?"
"Blipper."
"Why?"
"Sir Slippy sounds too much like Sir Kibble."
"… Coo, that is the oddest logic I've ever heard from you."
"It's better than nothing, isn't it?" Kirby sighed and nodded before Coo began to flap and follow the Blipper. There were other Blippers that tried to attack, but Kirby easily shocked them out of commission. Soon they found a few Star Pieces… and a dead end.
"Um, Coo?"
"Don't even say it."
The Blipper turned around and said, "Oh, I'm sorry—isn't this where you wanted to go? Well, sorry, you chose the wrong one, and now time's up!"
Blipper grew to three times its size and attacked Coo and Kirby! Kirby's Spark attack stunned it, so they took the opportunity to swim for their lives. Unfortunately, Coo's swimming skills were… lacking, so the Blipper quickly recovered and gained on them. It collided with them causing them to lose the Spark star and only have a bubble beam as a weapon.
"Great, NOW what do we do?" Kirby asked. Coo just kept swimming along, trying to find the Sir Slippys to follow.
"There isn't much more than what I'm doing now—you could at least help me a bit by paddling yourself!" Coo cried irritably.
^^;; "Oh… of course."
Kirby's paddling did give them a bit more speed, and while the Blipper was on their tail, they spotted the Sir Slippys. Using the bubble beam to destroy them, they twisted through the maze, always closely followed by the mutant fish, and soon they could spot the exit.
"OK, Kirby, swim as fast as you can!"
Even though they sped up, Blipper did as well. They were yards, feet, inches away…
"Made it!"
But they still had issues with water—a pipe was pushing them up toward the surface. Coo wasn't upset, since he'd rather be pushed toward the surface than a wall of spikes. They left the water, and Coo was able to gain control of the air current that was still pushing them up. But Coo suddenly began to hover, right where he was.
"What's wrong, Coo? Oh…"
Enemies were ALL around them. A Bronto had missed them by inches before Coo stopped. And hovering peacefully above them was…
"A Propeller Bomb!"
Coo used one wing to clamp Kirby's mouth shut before he said, "Shh… I have a plan. Just don't say anything." Eyes wide, Kirby nodded. Coo took a deep breath… and flew straight up as fast as he could go.
Everything was a blur! Brontos and floating Waddle Dees missed them by inches, and Kirby could see a swarm of angry Propellers coming at them. But Coo seemed intent at getting to the top as fast as he could possibly go. Soon the air current weakened, and they were able to grab some nourishment that awaited them at the top. Of course, with the Propeller Bombs speeding for them, they couldn't enjoy the food until they had returned to the volcano… ^^;
They rested on a cloud as they caught their breath. Looking behind them, they noticed that they had reached the top of the volcano, where their next boss awaited them.
"This is where we get the Drop back," Coo stated.
"Yep."
"I wonder if we'll be able to get it."
"Of course! Dream Land's in trouble, and we gotta save it." Coo nodded, and they entered the final Warpdoor.
"Oh, man, I'm glad this volcano's inactive," Kirby said timidly as he looked down from the cloud they were upon. He could see the volcano's peaceful, yet ominous opening.
But soon, someone joined them… a fairly familiar figure…
"Waddle Daa! Give us back that Drop, NOW!"
The mutant Waddle Dee chuckled. "I already told you, I do not have the power to destroy you—but if you want your precious prize, then you'll have to battle someone else!" He laughed maniacally before diving into the cloud. It began to quack, and Coo flew up to gain some control. A lone eyeball popped out of the cloud and looked around. Spotting the duo, it crept across the cloud, releasing random bolts of electricity. Coo was hit and fell to the cloud.
"Coo! Get up! He's coming back!"
Coo looked up, dazed, to see the poofy eye after him again. A sudden burst of adrenaline brought him back to his senses and he flew quickly up before the eye disappeared again.
"We still have Spark Power, Coo—next time he comes up, we can get him!"
"Yes, as long as I avoid those lightning bolts…"
Soon the enemy appeared again, and Coo and Kirby zapped it until it started rolling across the cloud. Kirby and Coo thought they had won… until…
"Ugh… I guess I'll have to come out and attack you directly!" a booming voice cried. Kirby and Coo looked at the eye in amazement.
"Kr… Kracko!" Coo gasped. The eyeball was no longer just an eyeball—it was set in a spiked cloud, and seemed to mean business.
"Ah, my feathered friend—seems you listened to the legends told by you elder avian kin," he boomed again. "Yes, I am the infamous Kracko, Titan of the Thunderstorm. Birds fear and respect me, and I respect them. However, I have been advised to destroy both of you."
"But… why?" Coo asked, bewildered. Kracko chuckled.
"Because no one gets in Master Matter's way, that's why!" he cried before charging at them. Fortunately, Coo was much more agile in air than water, and Kracko's attack missed.
"Coo! He's under Matter's spell! We'll have to defeat him to break it," Kirby informed his confused friend. Coo nodded.
Kracko then proceeded to shoot lightning bolts at them again, and Coo dodged them just barely before hovering above Kracko and attacking with Spark power. Kracko chuckled again.
"Really, I thought you'd pay more attention to the stories," Kracko said snidely. "I am the master of lightning—do you really think that attack would hurt me?"
Kirby stopped the attack in time for Coo to dodge a smaller version of Kracko that popped out of Kracko's cloud and flew at him.
"Well, if we can't stop him with Spark, then what else can we use?" Kirby cried as Coo avoided another Co-Kracko. Coo watched it float away and had an idea.
"Kirby, drop the star and inhale it—we'll use that first," Coo said quietly as he could to prevent Kracko's overhearing. But Kracko charged them again, and Coo was too preoccupied with his pending plan to avoid it this time.
"Hahaha! You are felled, owl. Expect no mercy!" Kracko began an electric attack similar to Coo's Spark attack, and was closing in on the duo fast. But by now, Coo was used to getting knocked into things, and he recovered quickly and flew up and over Kracko before getting electrocuted.
"So, you avoided that attack… but see if you can avoid this!" He sent two Co-Krackos at them at a time. Kirby still had the star in his mouth, and tried to hit Kracko with it… but it hit one of the Co-Krackos instead.
"It's OK, Kirby! Suck up the other one!" Before it even knew what was happening, the Co-Kracko found itself in Kirby's mouth. Kracko charged at them again, but Kirby hit the cloud with it and Coo flew up to avoid the attack.
"So you want to defeat me with my own minions, is that it?" Kracko thundered. "Well, see if you can handle this, then!" He sent two out again, but one went strangely fast, and looked like it was about to…
BOOM!
Just as Kirby was about to inhale it, the Co-Kracko exploded, harming Coo and Kirby severely.
"One more attack like that, and I don't know if I'll be able to go on, Kirby," Coo muttered.
"Yeah, I know what you mean… but we can do it!"
Kracko continued his assault of lightning, charges, and Co-Krackos. For their sake, the duo avoided the fast moving ones, but succeeded in avoiding Kracko's attacks and hitting him with the little clouds. Soon both Kracko and Coo and Kirby were on their last strengths.
"You have fought well, avian," Kracko rumbled. "But I'm afraid it is the end for you, and your cargo." He sent out another exploding Co-Kracko, thinking they'd be too weak to avoid it this time.
But Coo's ever-sharp eyes had been watching the little bombs; he noticed that they only went off after three seconds. He had expected Kracko to attempt finishing them off with it, and knew what to do. He used his last bit of strength to fly toward it, and yelled, "Get it, Kirby!"
Kirby didn't have to think twice—he was able to inhale it without it going off just fine, and Kracko's eye went wide before Kirby knocked out the mighty cloud. Kracko lay there, and both Coo and Kirby noticed that the dark aura around him had disappeared. The Warpstar also popped from the clouds beneath them and waited patiently for them to climb aboard.
"Well, Coo, looks like you'll go into bird history books for that one." Coo blushed.
"Yeah… wow, saving the wondrous Kracko from Dark Matter…" Kirby laughed.
"Dream Land will definitely hear about this." Coo blushed again, but soon a strange form came forth from Kracko. It was Waddle Daa!
"So, you were hiding inside Kracko, you coward!" Kirby yelled. But Waddle Daa only stared at them before seeming to split in half!
Kirby and Coo shielded themselves from the light that emitted from the crack, and when it died down, they looked again. And who should be sitting there but… Waddle Dee.
"He's unconscious," Coo said as he examined poor Dee. "He must be exhausted having that evil inside him for so long."
"So what should we do? We can't just… leave him here."
"Well… how about if we take him with us? Just till he wakes up."
"Can you handle the extra weight?"
"Sure—unlike Rick, I can handle a few extra pounds."
Kirby laughed as he picked up Waddle Dee and joined Coo on the Warpstar to the last island of Dream Land, and most likely Matter's headquarters: Dark Castle.
What new dangers await Kirby and friends now? Will Waddle Dee be OK? Just where has Rick gotten to? Has his illness put him into more danger than usual? And will Dark Matter show himself on the now evil island? You have to read and review to find out!
A/N: Hm. Well, I dunno… I think I'm losing my touch. :'( But the only way to regain it is to keep writing, right? Of course. ^-^ I'll work on the next chapter, and hopefully it won't take so long… but I make no promises. ^^; And remember, Venus loves you! Although I've recently discovered that she becomes quite angry with flamers… {VEnusAUR! (^o__~^)}