Chapter 60: This Means War
Neo City contains the greatest populace of Dreamlanders anywhere. Dark Matter must have really been frustrated. Why? Because the word that all Dreamlanders were supposed to gather at Castle Dedede had somehow never reached this place. It was here in Neo City where Dreamlanders continued to live and thrive. It was the greatest feeding ground on Pop Star, just waiting to be taken.
You may be wondering why Gooey didn't choose one of these Dreamlanders to become Pop Star's hero. If you are, ask yourself this: What would have happened to Popopo if he wasn't chosen? He would have eventually searched Dreamland for other survivors, found the ones in Neo City and then started an uproar with his story. I think Gooey made the right decision.
Back on topic: For the past month, Dark Matter had been building up strength using the rest of the life in Dreamland. And now that Dark Matter was finally ready to take Neo City, something was waiting to block it.
"Excellent work, Captain. Now get back to the ship. You have your orders. Dark Matter is coming."
In the early morning, before sunrise, the Meta Army was grouped in the fields south of Neo City.
A strange darkness was moving toward the assembled troops. At first it was just a black line on the horizon, but now the darkness was seeping across the land like water into a towel that had been left with one corner dipped in a pool.
As the Meta Army waited, Meta Knight (who was positioned atop a large building) looked to the tallest skyscraper in Neo City. The sun was shining on its top. Meta Knight then turned back towards the black torrent that was Dark Matter's approaching forces.
As the blackness arrived at the Meta Army, it stopped. Meta Knight looked over the opposition. The Meta Army was probably outnumbered ten to one, but this did not shake his determination.
"Dark Matter," boomed Meta Knight's somehow dramatically magnified voice over the armies, "halt your forces! I must speak with you!"
The black ball that housed Dark Matter's eye rose above its forces.
"Who do you choose to speak for you?" asked Meta Knight loudly.
"King Dedede," replied King Dedede, speaking Dark Matter's words from a raised platform that had been erected moments before. "State your business."
"As you know, Neo City contains the largest concentration of life on Pop Star."
"Indeed."
"Dark Matter, my request is that you and I go to war over who gets control of this piece of land."
"And why would I go through all that when I can just enter Neo City at this moment and take those Dreamlanders with little trouble?"
"Because you have recently used one of your minions to coat the inside of Heat Top with ice. At this point in time, I have a mechanical minion, a Kaboomba, placed in the center of that volcano. All I have to do is say the word and he'll detonate, blowing off the ice. If that happens, a massive decompression of magma will cause Heat Top to erupt, destroying Neo City in seconds. A fire this great is not what you want, for if it occurs, you'll be robbed of the opportunity to control the greatest source of life on this planet."
"But don't you wish to control this planet yourself? What's the use of controlling a planet if you have to kill off its inhabitants to do so?"
"Some sacrifices must be made. Move your forces out of Rainbow Resort and go to war with me, unless you want to see this city reduced to ashes in a sea of lava."
King Dedede did not reply. Down in the Meta Army, the soldiers were getting restless. Most were sitting on the ground.
The standoff dragged on.
While we're waiting, I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you readers a bit about the Meta Army. The troops were comprised mostly of soldiers like the ones that were positioned at strategic points on the Halberd. These were mainly Sir Kibbles, yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Juniors (these were not the happy blue-suited ones that Kirby had met), Biosparks, Gims, Plasma Wisps, Rockies, Laser Balls, Kaboombas, Capsule Js, Sword Knights, Blade Knights, Trident Knights, Mace Knights, Ax Knights, the deadly Crazed Donut Hole Bombers, Kabus, Mikes, Scarfies, and Wheelies. Then there were the generals: Meta Sword (leader of the Sword Knights), Meta Blade (leader of the Blade Knights), Meta Lance (leader of the Trident Knights), Meta Chain (leader of the Mace Knights), Meta Axe (leader of the Ax Knights), Meta Drone (commander of heavy-duty weaponry), Silver Kibble (leader of the Sir Kibbles), yellow-suited Poppy Brothers Senior (leader of the yellow-suited Poppy Brothers juniors), Dekabu (leader and producer of the Kabus), the legendary Crazed Donut Hole General (it's obvious who he's the leader of), Big Wheelie (ditto), and Yamikage (leader of the Biosparks). Not all of the soldiers had leaders so the job of those without was to just go berserk on the opposition.
"Where would you have us fight?" asked King Dedede finally.
"Northwest of Vegetable Valley," answered Meta Knight, "in a place called Fantasy Meadows."
"So be it."
The dark mass receded and moved off to the southwest.
"Captain!" shouted Meta Knight.
A number of large transport cruisers landed in the Meta Army, which then boarded and was shipped off towards Fantasy Meadows and the battle for Dreamland.
King Dedede surveyed the scene. Fantasy Meadows was being trampled underfoot by the two armies gathered there. As he watched, the armies, once again, faced each other and waited for the signal to attack. Clouds were beginning to gather, blocking out the sun.
The red eye of Dark Matter loomed behind King Dedede.
What will happen if this battle is lost? thought Dark Matter. My armies consist of the majority of life in Dreamland. Is this Meta Knight really willing to kill so many? At least my life is safe. There's no way he can get to me in the midst of a war to stab me with that small sword, but if I lose, I will have to leave Pop Star in search of another bounty. By then, this planet will be in a state of ruin.
"Soldiers," boomed Meta Knight's voice, "I want a quick war. Force them to surrender and be done. It is preferable that this whole ordeal end before the Ripple Star Fairies arrive. You must remember that Dark Matter has trouble possessing people who are strong in spirit. Get hurt and it may take you over. Continue to fight and we shall push it back. I shall be above with the Wrath Cannon. You know what to do! Attack!"
Both armies raced at each other, colliding in the center. The war had now officially begun.
Above the noise in Fantasy Meadows, a weaponry ship flew. Meta Knight was standing at the front of the ship beside a large laser cannon that was about three times his height. This was the Wrath Cannon and behind it sat Meta Drone. Captain Birdbrain, once again, played the role of pilot.
A little slot opened atop the laser cannon. Meta Knight jumped up there and drew his sword.
If you had looked up to the weaponry ship at that moment from down in the battlefield, you would have seen a lightning flash. Galaxia had come again.
"Alright, Galaxia. Do your job," said Meta Knight softly as he slid Galaxia into the slot and jumped back to the deck.
"Charge the Wrath Cannon," commanded Meta Knight.
"Okay, dude," replied Meta Drone.
The Wrath Cannon whirred to life.
At this point, Dark Matter oozed out a shield of darkness above his forces to protect them from the cannon. The eye was hidden in the shadows.
"Ready?" said Meta Knight. "Aim!"
The Wrath Cannon turned to point down towards the darkness.
"Fire!" roared Meta Knight and a bright white beam shot from the Wrath Cannon.
The beam went right through the dark cover. There was a splattering noise as the hit "Dark Matter ooze" was blasted apart. The beam continued to the ground, causing a deafening explosion. About an acre's worth of Dark Matter's forces were caught in the shot. Bodies flew in every direction and a crater was left where the laser had hit. The crater was then quickly filled up again with battling warriors.
The red eye surfaced above the darkness. It stared at the Wrath Cannon with a mix of pain, fear and anger. Meta Knight stared back with satisfaction. This was only the beginning.
"Charge the Wrath Cannon," he repeated.
"Why did Meta Knight put me out here? I said I don't do fieldwork. I knew I should have taught someone else to work this thing."
In the midst of the battle, a small tank rolled along. Atop this was perched the gigantic Death Ray and inside it sat a quivering and moaning Escargoon.
A bang rocked the tank.
"O-o-oh!" groaned Escargoon. He then shouted, "Eat electric death, Dark Matter!" and pulled some levers and switches above his head.
The Death Ray opened and charged up. Remember, the gun is almost an exact replica of the Halberd's laser cannon, just bigger.
Escargoon pulled a lever slowly back, stabilizing the charging up. When popping noises began to issue from the Death Ray, he thrust the lever all the way forward to the ground.
There was a loud boom, followed by a nasty sizzling noise. The Death Ray had fired and the electricity it had emitted left a curved-out track in the ground, which was littered with dead bodies.
Escargoon flipped more switches to let the Death Ray cool off. He then drove the tank to a more strategical place in the midst of Dark Matter's forces and prepared to fire again.
Another bang rocked the tank. Minions of Dark Matter were climbing over it.
"Hey! Get off!" yelled Escargoon from inside the tank.
They were all over, pounding on the tank, shooting it, blasting it with bombs.
Escargoon began to shiver in fright. "I sure hope this tank is as indestructible as I thought it was when I built it," he mumbled to himself.
Then all of the tank-attacking enemies moved to one side and started pushing. The tank began to tip.
"No! No, no, no, no, no!" yelled Escargoon, pushing back at them against the wall.
One side of the tank was lifting. It may have been really heavy, but it was no match for thousands of being under the possession of Dark Matter. They think as one.
"Gotta... fire..." panted Escargoon, flipping the switches and pulling the lever slowly back. "Must... do... my... job..."
The tank was teetering on falling.
Escargoon thrust the lever back down and the Death Ray fired again, causing devastation equal to that of its first shot.
The tank fell on its side.
The blue-black, starred sphere that was Nightmare flew over to Meta Knight's weaponry ship.
"Meta Knight!" shouted Nightmare. "Stop!"
"Why should I?" asked Meta Knight. The Wrath Cannon had already fired four times and every time had produced the same effect. The eye of Dark Matter was, once again, hidden in darkness and had not yet been hit.
"If you don't, I will destroy your ship!" answered Nightmare.
Meta Knight scoffed. Nightmare wasn't even twice Meta Knight's size.
"How do you plan to do that?" asked Meta Knight, chuckling. "You don't have enough power to shoot those star-shaped bullets of yours at us."
"Maybe not, but I can still ram into your ship!"
Nightmare did so, denting the ship.
Meta Knight continued to laugh. "Charge the Wrath Cannon," he said as best he could.
Nightmare flew back and then started bashing against the ship as many times as possible. Meta Knight stopped laughing as dents started appearing all over. Nightmare hit Captain Birdbrain's cockpit windshield and cracked it.
"Meta Drone!" ordered Meta Knight quickly. "Aim and fire at Nightmare!"
The Nightmare sphere rose above the deck.
"With your pilot blinded by a broken windshield," said Nightmare, "how do you expect to land?"
The Wrath Cannon fired and Nightmare shattered like glass.
Silence. Well, as much silence as you can get above a battle.
"Did you happen to catch the last thing he said?" asked Meta Knight.
"Yeah, dude," replied Meta Drone. "The trippy ball said that our Captain... was, like, not able to see... yeah, it was all messed up..."
"Hey, Sir Meta Knight," yelled Captain Birdbrain from below, "remember how we put that insulation stuff on the windshield to prevent it from shattering? Well, I don't think that was such a good idea! I @!$#ing can't see!"
"Uh-oh," said Meta Knight.