Chapter 42: Rage and Wisdom
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!" Kirby roared. Well, actually, since no Dreamlander had ever roared before, it sounded more like a scream.
Kracko's eye widened as Comet Kirby suddenly shot at it in a blaze of fire. Kirby bounced off Kracko, but had damaged it nonetheless. Kracko shrieked and started shooting electricity in every direction. Kirby, still on fire, flew around and around Kracko, who only just managed to keep him at bay with all the lightning. Kirby knew nothing. He was driven on by the rage that had consumed him. He wanted to destroy. Destroy.
Looking at them, you would have seen a white blur with green and red blurs shooting around it above the burning forest.
The battle continued for... too long a time to narrate. Basically, Kirby flew around and around for a long time, looking for an opening where he could smash into Kracko without being fried by its lightning bolts. No such opening came.
Eventually, a huge torrent of wind blew Kirby away from Kracko. Enraged at his sudden separation between himself and the being he wished to destroy, Kirby looked for the creator of the gust. He didn't have to look far. Soaring towards the forest, fanning its gigantic wings, was a monstrous bird. It seemed to be made completely of metal.
The wind from the bird's wings was beginning to put out the fire! Regardless, Kirby flew toward it. He was angry at it for creating the wind. He was ready to fight. As he flew drew near the bird, it spotted him and whacked him hard with one of its wings.
The warpstar Kirby was riding on was instantly destroyed. Though the metal wing he had hit splintered, Kirby was sent flying into the distance. He was knocked senseless by the blow.
"Ha! Ha!" shouted Kracko. "Now you know how it feels, Kirby! May you have just as safe a landing as I did! You sure are going to! Going," Kracko's voice got fainter as Kirby rocketed into the distance, "going, going, going, gone."
Kirby felt his Comet ability drain away as he flew. He was soon past the fires, past Big Forest, past Red Canyon, past the remains of Butter Building...
He was over Orange Ocean now and losing altitude. Up ahead, there was the colder part of Orange Ocean. There were icebergs. Kirby watched with horror as a particularly big one loomed in front of him. He watched it get closer. He was going to collide with it, he was sure. He was going to die on it. He was going to be shredded into a million pieces by all those spikes and jagged surfaces.
SNATCH! Kirby was no longer sailing towards the iceberg! He had somehow stopped in mid-air! He looked around and saw that a large owl was carrying him.
"Hello," it said, not looking at Kirby.
Kirby was too stunned to respond.
"So, where to?" said the owl as though it carried passengers all the time.
Kirby opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"In that case," said the owl, "I will fly in the direction you came from and when you want to stop, say so."
The owl continued to look ahead. It did not even glance at the Dreamlander clutched in its talons.
When they made it back to Big Forest, Kirby made an effort to signal the end of the trip. He meant to say "down", but it didn't come out quite right.
"Bleh," he burbled.
"Are you sick?" questioned the owl. "Or is this your destination?"
"Down," Kirby managed to say.
"Maybe both," said the owl and descended.
Kirby could see Kracko and the metal bird fighting in the distance. Both were very effective against each other. The bird, being metal, was highly susceptible to Kracko's lightning, but the bird's wings and talons were so powerful that Kracko would get smashed around like a Babut in the way of King Dedede's mallet.
Kirby and the owl were soon below the canopy and they did not see the outcome of the battle.
"In a few minutes, I will leave you," said the owl, checking its feathers. "I have studied this place well and what you are seeking is probably underground."
The owl looked away from Kirby and motioned ahead with its wing.
"In this direction," it explained, "you will find an entrance to Cavios, the underground network of tunnels."
"Thanks," mumbled Kirby, "for saving my life."
"Do not mention it," said the owl without the slightest hint of emotion.
Then, the owl turned, and for the smallest fraction of a second, its eyes met Kirby's.
"Please excuse me," it said. "I must aid my colleagues in fighting Ice Dragon. He must not be allowed to unleash a blizzard on Dreamland. Good day."
The owl flew upward and was gone.