The Dreamland Story firstdraft

by GameTrekker

This is the original version of my Kirby epic, my own interpretation of the Kirby universe from years ago. The revised edition, written years later when I got much better at writing, will unfortunately never be completed, so I don't blame you if you want to look at this one.

72. Titans! Trouble!

NOTE TO THE READER: Thank you for all your faithfulness in reading this fic. I know the chapters aren't coming out as quickly these days, but that's because they're getting really long. This chapter is, by far, my longest so far. I'm serious; all the others are tiny compared to this. So get ready. This chapter displays what is pretty much the peak of Kirby's (or Popopo's) battling career. Because of this chapter's insane length, FanFiction.Net simply refuses to show breaks in it. So, I've put in "VICTORY #" and then the number in place of each break. You'll see what I mean. Enjoy!

Chapter 72: Titans! Trouble!

Kirby banged on the door.

No! he thought. It was a trap after all!

"Gooey," said Kirby into the phone, "um, let me explain."

That was when Kirby noticed that the phone was emitting static noise. Apparently, Titan Tower was blocking reception.

If Kirby had teeth, he would have gritted them.

It seemed that he had exited the Dark Cloud. Dark Matter was somehow unable to penetrate Titan Tower.

The room he was in was large and cubic. Across the room was a round glass case and inside the case was...

"No," said Kirby quietly. "It can't be."

...red-suited Poppy Brothers Senior, asleep.

But now the Poppy's eyes opened. The glass that confined him unhinged at the top and he pushed it open.

"A Dreamlander?" he said in a calm, happy voice. "I am delighted that you came. This will be easy."

Kirby gave him a quizzical look.

"Allow me to introduce myself," continued the Poppy. "I am the one-and-only red-suited Poppy Brothers Senior and the first combatant of Titan Tower."

"Combatant?" asked Kirby.

"Yes. Don't you know we have to fight each other? Well, here are the rules of this place: If the challenger (that's you) wins, then he or she advances to the next room up the Tower. If the Titan wins, that Titan is released from Titan Tower and the challenger will be trapped in here as a new Titan. I happen to know that there are seven Titans in this building. You will need to fight them all to get to the top, but I highly doubt you will make it past me."

The Poppy's voice never quavered from its delighted tone.

"Before we get started, let me tell you a little about myself," he continued. "I am one of the three Poppy Brothers Triplets. When I was very young, I figured out how to build explosives. I imagine my brothers will have done so themselves by now. With my incredible explosive prowess, I decided to try scaling Titan Tower, but, as you can see, I didn't get very far. I've never won a single battle. It's just not fair! That time before was just chance! Now I know exactly how to beat down the competition. Prepare yourself to get blown away by my fire!"

The room began to change. It began to expand. Its walls started to shine slightly. Its floor was bedecked with a checkerboard pattern. Hallways started appearing, leading off from the room. Now the two combatants were in the main hall of what seemed to be a huge palace.

"How..." began Kirby.

"This is where we fight," said the Poppy happily, pulling out a bomb. "Let's go, go, GO!"

The Poppy lobbed the bomb. Kirby dodged and ran away down a corridor. He still didn't quite know what was going on, but somehow felt an inner urge to get away from the Poppy.

"You can run, but you can't hide," said the Poppy happily.

KABLAM! An explosion blew a hole in the wall behind Kirby. The Poppy was looking through.

Kirby kept going, but there was another explosion in front of him, blasting the wall up ahead as well. Kirby ran past just as the Poppy threw four bombs down the corridor. They exploded behind.

Kirby took a left, now moving directly away from the main hall. He then summoned Stone and Parasol abilities to become Stone Parasol Kirby!

Kirby held his parasol behind him, using it as a shield against the bombs that the Poppy had thrown at him just now. The Poppy was chasing him down the corridor.

Kirby arrived at a huge dining hall filled with tables. He trashed his ability and summoned Fighter plus High-Jump to become Suplex Kirby!

Kirby grabbed a table and threw it back towards the Poppy, who threw a bomb to blow it up in mid-air. Kirby threw more tables and the Poppy threw more bombs. After causing enough confusion with blasts and smoke, Kirby started running again.

Why am I running from this guy? thought Kirby as he ran into the kitchen. I could probably beat him if I just face him. What am I so scared of?

A volley of explosions completely decimated the wall that separated the kitchen from the dining hall.

Where are all those bombs coming from? thought Kirby.

Kirby made it to the other side of the kitchen, but instead of going through the door, he turned to face the Poppy.

"Eat guided missiles, Dreamlander!" shouted red-suited Poppy Brothers Senior, pulling out a bazooka.

Kirby screamed and opened the door, running through and shutting it a split-second before the missiles reached it.

Boom! Blam! Kabam!

"Normally my opponents say 'Holy &%#' when I pull out that missile launcher!" shouted the Poppy, firing again.

Kirby turned sharply around a corner and the missiles hit a wall, unable to change direction fast enough.

Kirby kept running. Just running and running. Then there was another explosion in front of him along that corridor. Dang! That Poppy's everywhere!

The Poppy took aim with the bazooka again. Three missiles were sent streaking in Kirby's direction.

Kirby inhaled the missiles and shot them back towards Poppy, who ducked behind the wall as the missiles flew by.

Kirby waited for him to peek back around, but instead an explosion overhead blew a hole in the ceiling. The Poppy dropped two bombs down and Kirby inhaled them, but instead of shooting them back, he swallowed, combining their two Bomb abilities to become Homing Missile Kirby!

Kirby opened his mouth and three guided missiles shot upward at the Poppy.

"Wooooaah!" shrieked the Poppy as he dodged, but the missiles curved around to come at him again. There was an explosion.

Kirby flew upward through the hole and a bomb blew up in his face! Kirby landed hard on the ground below, but wasted no time in starting to run again. The Poppy had blown up the three missiles with one of his own bombs and then set up a trap for Kirby!

Kirby trashed his power, turned left, turned right, and ran in an open door.

But now he came to a dead-end in the form of a lavish bedroom. Getting an idea, he removed the pillow from the huge bed and stuffed himself inside the pillowcase. Maybe that would buy him some time to think and recuperate.

Kirby heard bouncing footsteps. The Poppy had entered the bedroom. Kirby shifted slightly so that he could see him. The Poppy didn't seem to notice.

"Kirby?" he said happily, pulling out a detonator box. "Are you sleeping?"

Kirby jumped off the bed as fast as he could. The Poppy pushed down the handle on the box and the entire bed exploded.

Kirby was out the door and running again. He summoned Cutter plus Stone and used Sculpture ability to once again turn into a stone wheel.

Kirby sped off... through a corridor... down some stairs... and back into the main hall.

Kirby trashed his ability and looked around quickly. Then he noticed something. There were double-doors on one side of the main hall. Kirby had seen pictures of palaces before and they always seemed to have double-doors at their entrance.

Kirby raced over, flung open the doors, and stepped out into the sunshine.

Where am I? thought Kirby.

This was definitely not Dreamland. Grassy hills and plains stretched as far as the eye could see. Kirby looked back at the palace. It was silvery white and gigantic against the light-blue sky. This world was like nothing Kirby had ever seen.

The Poppy looked out a window high above.

"Oh, there you are, Dreamlander," he said happily. "I don't suggest you run away. This place is in the middle of nowhere! Why not stay and sample my new batch of explosives?"

The Poppy dumped a crate of TNT out the window. Kirby, not heeding the Poppy's "advice" started to run away.

"Kirby..." called the Poppy, "come back..."

Kirby kept running. He ran over a hill and stopped on the other side, with the palace out of sight.

What am I going to do? he thought as he looked out over the endless grass. How am I supposed to beat this guy if I'm irrationally afraid of him?! Oh, I know! I'll use a Plasma combo-ability! But... Which one?

Kirby decided to give red-suited Poppy Brothers Senior a taste of his own medicine. He summoned Plasma and Bomb abilities to become Hyper-Bomb Kirby!

Kirby pulled out a bomb. It was unlit. Kirby focused on it and the fuse ignited (one charge). As he continued to focus, he started running back towards the palace.

The second charge transformed the bomb into a bazooka, which also had a fuse. Kirby carried it towards the palace, still concentrating.

"Do you want to know why you're so scared of me?" asked the Poppy happily from the window.

Kirby stopped.

"Yeah!" he said. He just knew there had to be some sort of explanation in that regard.

"Well, I'll tell you!" continued the Poppy happily. "I can instill fear in anyone using my great mental ph34r powers!"

"What?" said Kirby. "What's ph34r?"

"Ph34r teh me!" shouted the Poppy happily.

Kirby screamed. He just couldn't help it. Suddenly, he had to get away from the Poppy!

Kirby spun around and started running away.

That was when the fuse on his bazooka ran out.

The shot exploded with a huge bang on the hill in front of Kirby, but left no damage (weird world, eh?). The bazooka then disappeared and Kirby ran behind the hill again. There was a thumping sensation inside his body. Most non-Dreamlanders think that's a heartbeat, but Dreamlanders don't have hearts. What's the use of a heart if you don't have blood? They might not have a heart, but they feel as though they do.

Kirby steadied his breath. He started charging up again, telling himself that he had to just face his ph34r5.

Charge one: lit fuse. Charge two: bazooka.

Kirby started running back towards the palace.

Charge three: detonator box. (If he had activated his ability right then, he would have been able to make any inanimate object he selected to spontaneously combust, no matter what its size.)

Kirby was nearly there.

Charge four! Kirby now carried the legendary Orb of Ubertornami!

Kirby activated his power, opening the Orb and allowing a flood of nitroglycerin to spew forth.

A great wave loomed over the castle.

Kirby could just barely hear red-suited Poppy Brothers Senior say "I am no longer delighted." Before the wave came crashing down, causing huge explosions everywhere and reducing the palace to a ruin.

VICTORY #1!

Suddenly, Kirby was standing back in that cubic room again and the Poppy was back in the glass case, sleeping.

Kirby felt as though the fight had never taken place. There were no burn marks on his face and he was without an ability.

A door opened on the left side of the room. Kirby went through. He then climbed a long spiral staircase to another door. This he entered as well and it shut, locking behind him.

Across this new cubic room was another glass case. It contained a large, sleeping, yellow, lizard-like creature. It had a huge head and bulging eyes. It had hooks instead of feet and stubby arms with claws attached. Around its neck were small pieces of feathery jewelry.

It awoke and the glass case opened.

"Hello!" it said, opening its mouth wide with every syllable. "My name is Chameleo Arm and I am the second Titan of Titan Tower. I was once a member of the Combo-Elementals. I was the light-chemical hybrid. All of us worked so well as a team. Dynablade was metal-sky. Master Green was water-electricity. Wham Bam Rock was rock-darkness. And Magman was fire-earth."

So Magman was one of the protectors! thought Kirby.

"But then," continued Chameleo Arm, "the Meta Clan found a way to upset the balance of nature by making the sun and the moon fight over control of the skies. Our job was to protect Dreamland from destruction, so we had to stop them. Meta Knight gathered his Meta Army and sent them to take over Castle Dedede in the confusion. The devastation was terrible. Master Green was slaughtered by the Meta Army. Wham Bam Rock was crushed by the moon and thrown into the sun. Magman was cut in half at the waist, depriving him of the ability to move, and dumped in Heat Top to rot. Only Dynablade and I survived. But no one knows I did! Because after it was all over, I tried coming in here to acquire the treasure at the top and so allow what was left of the Combo-Elementals to regain power! Dynablade advised against it, but I was foolish. As you can see, I only won a single battle before suffering defeat and becoming trapped in here. So far, I have not yet won another battle, but a Dreamlander like you should be easy prey. I can't imagine why we Combo-Elementals were assigned to protect you people. All you do is play and eat! Well, you shall be the first of your kind to serve some purpose. It should be your honor to take my place in this Tower... so that I can finally get out of here and reclaim the glory I deserve!"

The room expanded and its surfaces turned brown. Soon the two were in a gigantic stone room. Columns of stone appeared in a grid pattern all over. Then the walls and columns were all carved with strange designs. Kirby didn't understand what they were, but if you were there, you might. They were hieroglyphics.

Chameleo Arm leaped into action, extending one of his super-stretchy legs and slicing Kirby with the hook on the end.

Kirby shrieked and summoned Beam plus Spark to become Laser Kirby! Kirby took aim and fired.

"Oh, my!" shouted Chameleo Arm, dodging the shot.

Kirby fired a couple more times, but Chameleo Arm jumped up onto a pillar. He scrambled up it and then stretched his leg to try slicing Kirby again.

Kirby dodged and shouted, "Two can play at that game!"

Kirby trashed Laser and summoned Bomb plus Cutter to become Ninja Kirby!

Kirby leapt up. High off the ground, his feet stuck fast to a column. From there, he threw a barrage of exploding ninja-stars!

Chameleo Arm proved to be very bendy. His dodging skills seemed unbeatable, even when Kirby flipped off the column and threw nine stars at once!

Chameleo Arm reached out with his leg again and Kirby gave it a quick slice with his dagger.

"YOW!" yelped Chameleo Arm, quickly withdrawing the leg. The color of his skin changed to blue.

When Chameleo Arm gets hurt, reasoned Kirby, his body must spasm and change its color.

"Well, if it's a projectile match you want," shouted Chameleo Arm, " then I'll have you know that two can play at that game as well!"

Chameleo Arm opened his mouth and out shot three strange balls, which were colored in swirling, moving designs of color.

Kirby leaped out of the way. Each ball splattered the surface it struck with noxious (but still colorful) acid.

Kirby threw more ninja-stars and Chameleo Arm threw more color balls. Both jumped from column to column. Eventually, one of Kirby's ninja stars nicked Chameleo Arm in the cheek, causing him to yelp again, turn green, and fall to the ground.

"To Hell with this!" shouted Chameleo Arm.

Kirby watched as Chameleo Arm disappeared.

"What?" shouted Kirby. "Where did you go?"

"I am using camouflage to become invisible," said Chameleo Arm's voice. "You'll never win now!"

"Oh, but I think so!" shouted Kirby. He then trashed his ability and summoned Bomb plus Fire to become Firework Kirby!

Kirby shot around the room, exploding everywhere in colorful blasts of flame. When he was certain he had fried the whole big room, he landed.

Did I get him? he thought.

Slice! Slice!

Kirby suddenly sustained a gash on each cheek. Where they had come from, he couldn't see.

Kirby screamed and blasted his surroundings with fireworks.

"I don't know how you got all those powers, Dreamlander," shouted Chameleo Arm's voice from somewhere far off, "but you're never going to hit me with any of them while I'm invisible! Heads up!"

From Kirby's right came a cascade of color balls. He ran and dodged as fast as he could, but couldn't quite get away.

So he turned and inhaled. The last ball went in his mouth.

He had no idea where Chameleo Arm was, so he didn't know where to shoot. Instead, he swallowed the ball, transforming into Paint Kirby!

Kirby activated his one-time-use-only ability, spewing paint into his surroundings.

"No!" shouted Chameleo Arm. "My body!"

Kirby saw Chameleo Arm among the now multicolored pillars. The paint had splattered his front completely red.

Before Kirby could summon an ability, Chameleo Arm curled into a ball and drove over him.

Then... Slice! Slice! Slice! Slice! Slice! Slice! Slice!

Kirby rolled over on the ground with cuts all over his body. The Paint blast had been in vain.

"There..." said Chameleo Arm triumphantly. "It's over Dreamlander. Sorry I have to leave you in here, but it's the only way I'm getting out!"

Kirby turned his mutilated face towards Chameleo Arm.

"I'm... not... beaten... yet..." he muttered.

"Then your death shall be of painful digestion in my stomach!" shouted Chameleo Arm, sticking out his long sticky tongue, snapping it on Kirby and drawing him into his mouth.

A few seconds passed.

Then a small, glowing, red stick poked out of Chameleo Arm's skull and another out of his torso. Kirby had summoned Spark and Sword abilities to become Darth Kirby! His double light-saber had then punctured and fried most of Chameleo Arm's internal organs.

Chameleo Arm shuddered... and fell over in a pool of blood.

VICTORY #2!

Kirby was back and unhurt in the cubic room; Chameleo Arm was back in his glass case.

The door opened, Kirby went through and climbed more stairs to the next cubic room.

Across it was a third glass case. Inside this one sat a small green blob about a third of Kirby's size.

Little eyes appeared on the blob and they opened along with the glass case.

Kirby gave it a quizzical look.

"I'm Popon!" said the blobby ball cutely. It didn't have a visible mouth, but continued to talk just the same. "I like to grow! Can you stop me?"

"How did you ever win against two Titans?" asked Kirby.

"He-he-he," giggled Popon cutely. "I was just about to ask you that same question."

The walls of the room disappeared. Kirby and Popon were now standing on a stone pillar... high, high above a sea of lava. The rest of this new world was pitch black (that included the sky).

"I'll make this quick," said Kirby, looking back at Popon. But then he gasped.

Popon had mutated. It was now a stalk of three green balls with their ends connected. The top one still had eyes.

Then it happened again. Now Popon was five segments high. Kirby tried inhaling it, but nothing happened.

Two more balls appeared every second.

Kirby summoned the first combination he thought of: Sword plus High-Jump. Kirby became Berserk Kirby!

Kirby flew at Popon and sliced it into many, many pieces. Then he transformed back into regular Kirby.

But something was wrong. Each piece was forming a new Popon. Each piece was growing new pieces!

Kirby didn't know what to do and then didn't act quickly enough. The Popon clones all twirled around him, covering the top of the pillar in a gigantic, swarming mass of green.

Kirby, panicking, summoned Bomb ability and launched some into his surroundings. They only destroyed a small number of Popon. Now Kirby was lifted up by the Popon. He struggled against them and lost his ability. He started to suffocate.

"This is fun!" said all the Popon clones together in cute voices.

Kirby tried one last ditch-attempt to save himself, summoning two Stone abilities to become Monolith Kirby!

KABOOM!

Crack! Crack-CRACK!

All the Popon clones screamed together as the pillar broke, sending both Kirby and Popon down into the lava.

"Noooooooooo!" shrieked the last of the Popon clones as they clung to the slowly-submerging Monolith Kirby. "This is how I lost last time!"

Monolith Kirby, still unhurt, fell beneath the surface of the lava.

VICTORY #3!

Returned once more to a cubic room, Kirby left and advanced.

Titan number four awoke and came out of his glass case.

This one was a humanoid just a little taller than Kirby. He had purple skin and white hair, which was held by a green headband-type thing (that had a gold stone in the middle) in two parting waves on either side of his head. He wore a white glove on each hand. His shirt and pants were combined into one red outfit. His shoes were red as well.

He stared at Kirby, seemingly sizing him up. Then he put a finger to his nose and rubbed it slightly.

"I dunno how a Dreamlander got this high in Titan Tower," he said in a rough, harsh, yet kiddy voice, "but I can assure you you'll get no higher. My name's Knuckle Joe. I used to be the best fighter in all of Dreamland, but I dreamed of more. I wanted to scale Titan Tower and claim the treasure at its top! My pals told me not to. They told me it was suicide. Of course, I didn't listen. And now, here I am! Trapped in this hellhole until I can defeat another in combat! I'd hate to be you right now. You've woken me up in a particularly grumpy mood!!!"

As if because of Knuckle Joe's anger, the walls of the cubic room were blasted away.

The two fighters now stood on a boulder in the midst of a gigantic world of rock. Strange coiling stone mountains were everywhere. All the landscape was contorted into bizarre, twisted formations of tan-colored stone. The sky was a light grey.

"Hyaaaaaah!" shouted Knuckle Joe, flying at Kirby in a meteor punch.

Kirby quickly summoned Fighter ability to become Fighter Kirby! Kirby then blocked the punch with a roundhouse kick.

"Well, whaddya know?" said Knuckle Joe. "A fighter, eh? That's great, Dreamlander, but you've got no idea what you're dealing with."

What followed was a hand-to-hand fight much like Kirby's duel with Meta Knight. It was that fast.

Kick, punch, block, punch, block, block, kick, punch.

See?

Since the fight was going nowhere at that point, Knuckle Joe leapt backwards and performed a smash punch in the air.

But at the punch, a small white orb of energy flew from Knuckle Joe's fist and struck Kirby in the face, blasting him off the boulder. It was as if Knuckle Joe had just punched Kirby directly.

Kirby landed on a stone slant below and Knuckle Joe looked down at him from atop the boulder.

"How did you do that?" asked Kirby.

Knuckle Joe jumped and sped downwards at Kirby in a comet kick. Kirby rolled over to dodge it and Knuckle Joe left a miniature crater in the ground where he struck.

"Wanna know, Dreamlander?" he asked. "The Fighter Energy Beam isn't easy to master."

"Hold on a minute," said Kirby, getting up. He then summoned Beam ability to combine it with Fighter and become Fighter Energy Kirby!

"What's that for?" asked Knuckle Joe, motioning towards Kirby's headband. It had turned white.

"My headband?" said Kirby. "Well, I imagine it changed color. That means that I now can do this!"

Kirby threw a punch. Knuckle Joe dodged and an orb of Fighter Energy hit the stone behind him.

"You're impressive, Dreamlander," acknowledged Knuckle Joe, rubbing his nose again. "But simple abilities can't defeat me. You've gotta know how to use them!"

Both Knuckle Joe and Kirby leapt away from each other, firing a barrage of punches. Each punch orb met its counterpart from the other fighter in the air and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Kirby did another roundhouse kick and Knuckle Joe did another smash punch.

The punch broke the kick (which was in the shape of a crescent) in half and each piece flew by Knuckle Joe, blasting the rocks behind him. Kirby dodged what was left of the punch.

In a flash, Knuckle Joe flew at Kirby and smashed him with a rising break. Then he jumped into the air and hit Kirby downward with the progressive vulcan jab down into the ground! One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten! Eleven! Twelve! Thirteen! Fourteen! Fifteen! Sixteen progressive hits!!!

Kirby retaliated by nailing Knuckle Joe in the side of the head with a spinning pinpoint kick! Knuckle Joe flew and hit the side of the boulder they had started on.

Both combatants got to their feet.

"Stupid boulder!" shouted Knuckle Joe, running around to the side of it.

Knuckle Joe brought up a fist.

"Hoooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" he screamed as his white glove began to shine. When it was glowing white-hot, Knuckle Joe let fly with a punch that made the entire boulder crumble to pieces.

Kirby's eyes widened and one side of his mouth drooped.

"Alright," said Knuckle Joe, panting slightly. "Now I'm ready.

"No more Fighter Energy, Kirby!" said Knuckle Joe. "Now's when we go all out, hand-to-hand."

Kirby trashed his ability and summoned Bomb plus Fighter (he was curious) to become Power Punch Kirby! (This ability featured a black headband.)

Knuckle Joe raced at him, jumped, and performed comet kick again. Kirby dodged, blocked Knuckle Joe's subsequent punches, and hit him in the face.

Knuckle Joe went flying (like a cannonball out of a cannon) into a bent, upside-down, cone-shaped rock formation. There his body smashed through the rock itself, creating a hole through to the center where his body lay.

Did I win? thought Kirby.

But no. The entire cone exploded. Knuckle Joe was bloody and unhappy. He was also somehow hovering in the air.

"That's it!" he shouted, rubbing his nose. "Here it comes! You asked for it!"

Knuckle Joe locked his muscles, drawing all his limbs into a ball with his body.

With a shriek, he then uncurled rapidly and a strange change came over him.

All of the following happened the instant he uncurled. His outfit changed from red to royal purple. His shoes changed from red to blue. His headband turned from green to white. The stone in the middle of it turned from gold to red. His skin turned from purple to that peachy color characteristic of some humanoids. The pupils of his eyes turned from black to bright green. Lastly, his hair turned yellow and stood up even straighter than before. Only his gloves kept their original color: white.

Then, as he hovered, Kirby noticed a golden glowing aura around him.

"You shouldn't have messed with me, Dreamlander!" he shouted. "Now you're in for a world of pain!"

He punched the nearest rock formation, reducing it to rubble as easily as if it was a card tower.

Uh-oh, thought Kirby.

Fast as a bullet, Knuckle Joe shot at Kirby in a meteor punch.

Knowing he couldn't possibly get away in time, Kirby made the split-second decision to punch back.

The two fists met in the air. Kirby's, helped by Power Punch ability, was strong enough to stop Knuckle Joe, but that was it.

Kirby threw another punch, but Knuckle Joe disappeared, reappearing right behind Kirby and punching him instead.

Kirby soared over the stone landscape, losing his Power Punch ability. Through his pain, Kirby reasoned to himself how Knuckle Joe could have gotten so powerful. It was like he had multiplied his fighting power. Wait! That's it!

Kirby summoned two Fighter abilities to become Saiyan Kirby! Kirby turned back around, hovering as well. His headband was now gold.

Knuckle Joe rose into the sky. Now both combatants were at the same altitude.

"You copycat!" he yelled. "Whatever I do, you do it too! This isn't fair!"

"How the heck did someone defeat you?" asked Kirby, curious as to how Knuckle Joe got trapped in Titan Tower.

"My last opponent was a gigantic living alarm clock!" answered Knuckle Joe. "His ringing was too much. He was even more insanely aggravating than you! Prepare to die, you annoying Dreamlander!!!"

Knuckle Joe brought his hands back into a round shape and charged up.

Kirby waited.

Knuckle Joe unleashed a huge blast of energy from his palms, but Kirby had already predicted the shot and how to dodge it.

Now Kirby pelted Knuckle Joe from above with the progressive xirtam kick, scoring way too many hits to type up!!!

Kirby drilled a gigantic crater in the ground with his kicks, pummeling Knuckle Joe underneath in an insane fury of Saiyan power. Rocks were dislodging themselves from the ground below, flying upwards as the crater got bigger and bigger.

But was it overkill? Not hardly.

Knuckle Joe's fist shot up from the crater, punching Kirby away. Knuckle Joe then rose back into the air. He had dirt and dust all over him, not to mention bloody gashes everywhere.

"I'M MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU'LL EVER HOPE TO BE IN YOUR WILDEST DREAMS!" he roared. "THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN DEFEAT ME!!!"

Knuckle Joe flew as fast as he could toward Kirby.

Kirby did the same towards Knuckle Joe.

Just as they met, Kirby opened his mouth. Knuckle Joe flew straight in and Kirby swallowed.

VICTORY #4!

Kirby reappeared in the cubic room and Knuckle Joe back in the glass case.

Wow, thought Kirby. To think all that power was stored in something so small. And he even accomplished that all himself. My star rod shards may be powerful, but that guy could destroy a whole planet if he wanted to! I'm sure glad I made it past this round.

Another climb up the spiral staircase put Kirby in the fifth cubic room. There, he met the next combatant: a giant blue beetle at least ten times Kirby's size. Not only that, but the beetle also carried a cutlass in one hand and a spiky club in the other (it stood on its hind legs). It looked sort of like a Hercules beetle, but the pincers at its mouth were turned horizontal instead of vertical.

"Bleah!" snarled the beetle. Its voice was low and gruff. "So, another challenger come! I Bugzzy! I going destroy you with sword and club! You not tough as fire lion! I beat you easy!!!"

The world transformed into a dense, dark forest.

Bugzzy walked slowly towards Kirby.

Kirby immediately got an idea as to how to beat this one: fire. Create a forest fire to incinerate the bug and then fly above the canopy.

Kirby summoned Fire ability to become Fire Kirby! Kirby turned to the side and breathed fire on a tree, but the tree didn't catch on fire. It didn't even get burnt. Darn it! These alternate worlds sure were strange!

Kirby turned and blew fire at Bugzzy, who held up his sword and spun it very fast in his hand, creating a fan that pushed back the flames.

Kirby's eyes widened. He summoned Bomb ability to combine it with Fire and become Firework Kirby!

Bugzzy might not have looked very fast, but he sure was quick with his weapons. His fan-type defense didn't allow even a single blast to get near him.

Kirby trashed his ability and jumped over Bugzzy's sword slice. Bugzzy kept coming with slices and blows with his sword and club, but Kirby kept jumping away. Many of Bugzzy's slices and blows hit trees, felling them.

I'll never beat this guy unless I can deprive him of his weapons! thought Kirby. Maybe a double light-saber will be able to destroy them.

Kirby summoned Sword and Spark abilities to become Darth Kirby! He raced at Bugzzy.

What Bugzzy saw was a small red-and-black ball that was holding two glowing red sticks. With no thoughts except for destruction in his mind, he simply flattened the ball with his club.

Kirby instantly lost his ability when he was crushed. Then he ran away in pain.

Ow... he thought. Well, that didn't work! I need to be protected from blows like that if I need to go near him again. And I also need some sort of explosion to get rid of those weapons. Maybe this'll do it.

Kirby summoned Stone and Bomb abilities to become Dynamite Kirby! A construction worker's hardhat appeared on Kirby's head.

Not exactly what I had in mind, thought Kirby. I wonder what this ability does.

Kirby activated the ability. Reaching into his mouth, he pulled out three sticks of dynaminte, which were bound together and sharing a lit fuse. The problem was that Kirby didn't know what dynamite was.

What's this thing? he thought, holding the dynamite as Bugzzy got slowly closer. It doesn't look very powerful. Oh, well. Here ya go, Bugzzy.

Kirby tossed the dynamite in Bugzzy's direction.

Immediately, Kirby flattened his body, withdrawing inside his hardhat. He hadn't done it intentionally. It must have been a part of activating the ability.

Bugzzy stopped. He didn't know what dynamite was either. Since he didn't understand what it was, his obvious reaction was to try to destroy it.

Bugzzy raised his club and brought it down on the dynamite.

CRACKABOOM!!!

Kirby's hardhat disappeared. Now he could see Bugzzy, standing perfectly still a couple yards away. The great beetle had black soot all up and down his front and his eyes were wide and staring. Both his weapons were gone.

"You make lose weapons!" he roared. "Now I really angry!!!"

Bugzzy opened his wing case and beat his wings really fast. Suddenly, he shot at Kirby like a bullet.

Snap!

Before Kirby could react, Bugzzy had gripped him in the pincers on his mouth. Then Bugzzy lifted Kirby up and slammed him into the ground.

BAM!

Bugzzy did it again and again.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

In the midst of his pain, Kirby remembered how to escape from something like this. He flattened his body and wriggled out of Bugzzy's pincers.

Kirby started to run away, but Bugzzy opened his wing case again, beat his wings, and once more shot at Kirby!

Kirby dodged and Bugzzy hit a tree. Bugzzy then ripped the tree out of the ground with his pincers and threw it at Kirby. But he missed and Kirby continued to run.

When Kirby was a good distance away, he looked back at Bugzzy. Bugzzy was opening his wing case for the third time.

Kirby got ready to dodge, but Bugzzy didn't beat his wings. Instead, a gigantic swarm of little flying beetles flew out from inside his wing case.

Just when they got to Kirby, he inhaled all of them and shot them back at Bugzzy.

Bugzzy tried to dodge, but the condensed swarm projectile hit him in the side, knocking him over.

Kirby ran over, summoning Fire ability to become Fire Kirby!

Bugzzy got up just in time to see Kirby blow fire in his face.

"Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!" roared Bugzzy as he was engulfed by the flames.

VICTORY #5!

The next glass case contained a dark-brown lion even bigger than Bugzzy. As it awoke, flames erupted into a mane around its head and a tuft on the end of its tail. His eyes opened. They were white-hot and without pupils.

So the fire lion Bugzzy spoke of wasn't the one who imprisoned him in here, thought Kirby. This guy must have come later and beaten Bugzzy to advance! Well, he didn't make it to the top either.

The glass case opened and the lion stepped out.

"So, a challenger has finally reached these lofty heights," it said. It had a rich, deep voice, but it wasn't quite as low as Bugzzy's. "My name is Flame Mane. I am pleased to meet your acquaintance. I do hope that you will be a tad more civilized than that outrageous monkey with a hammer who imprisoned me in here."

Does he mean Bonkers?! thought Kirby. The crazy ape I inhaled in Butter Building? If Flame Mane was beaten by Bonkers, this shouldn't be a very difficult fight.

"I know the tradition here in Titan Tower," continued Flame Mane. "I know I am supposed to tell you my life story. How I got trapped in here and all that tedious rubbish. Well, I say we should just get on with the fighting. Besides, once you've been trapped in here for this long, you just," his voice switched suddenly to a vicious growl, "can't wait to get out!"

They were now standing on an iceberg in the middle of a vast ocean. This world featured a perpetual sunset, which painted the sky a vast range of colors.

Oh, so that's how Bonkers beat him, thought Kirby. This is one cat that I'm sure doesn't like water. But there's something I still don't get.

"How do you know how long you've been in here?" asked Kirby. "You've been in hypersleep the whole time."

"Ah, well, to be honest, it is not much of a sleep," answered Flame Mane. "A day will pass in about a minute in here, but since some of us will obviously be trapped for years at a time, that can take quite a while. We can't move or open our eyes, so it is just blackness for an immensely long period of time."

Kirby started to feel sorry about leaving these guys in here, but it was either them or him and he had a world to save.

"Now let us fight so that I may at last be set free," finished Flame Mane. But he didn't move.

Silence.

"Aren't you going to attack?" asked Kirby.

"You make the first move," answered Flame Mane.

If Bonkers pushed this guy off with a hammer, maybe that's what I need to get the job done, thought Kirby. He then summoned two Hammer abilities to become Huge Hammer Kirby!

Kirby looked back at Flame Mane to see just a flaming head in a gigantic ball of fire that was flying towards him.

Kirby leapt to the side, but not quickly enough. The fire around Flame Mane passed over him. Burning pain filled his body.

The Flame Mane fireball made a u-turn, heading back toward Kirby.

Kirby wound back with his Huge Hammer and let fly at Flame Mane's face. Flame Mane, however, veered sharply away, spinning around and planting his feet in the ground. The excess fire around him was extinguished. He was now back to just a flaming mane and tail tuft.

Kirby swung his hammer back around. Flame Mane dodged and then pounced, grabbing Kirby in his teeth and biting down.

The Huge Hammer had flown upward in the air and now it landed with a crack down on Flame Mane's mane, making him spit out Kirby, who grabbed the Huge Hammer again.

Before Kirby could do anything, Flame Mane sliced him with his claws.

Slash! BOOM!

Kirby smashed Flame Mane right in the face with the Huge Hammer.

Flame Mane skidded to a halt as best he could on the ice. That hit had blown him backwards. He then jumped high into the air.

Kirby dodged just in time. Flame Mane came crashing down onto to ice right where Kirby had been standing.

A few cracks appeared in the ice around Flame Mane.

This gave Kirby an idea.

Kirby slammed the Huge Hammer into the ground with as much force as he could muster.

BOOM!!!

Flame Mane had already gotten up, but that blow nearly made him fall over again.

Noises of shattering ice started coming from the iceberg. It was breaking apart.

Wait. No. It was simply splitting down the middle! The two pieces ripped apart and started floating away from each other. The two combatants were being separated.

"Well, this is a fine mess you have gotten us into!" shouted Flame Mane. "How do you expect us to finish the match now?"

"Like this!" yelled Kirby, throwing the Huge Hammer at Flame Mane's half of the iceberg.

The Huge Hammer smashed into the ice under Flame Mane's feet, sending a huge chunk of the iceberg crashing down into the sea. Flame Mane went with it.

"No! Nooooo!" he roared as he fell into the water. He then bobbed back up again, flailing around. "I can't sputter swim! This gasp is how I was gag beaten wheeze last time!!! WHAT A CRUEL choke WORLD..."

Flame Mane sunk beneath the surface.

VICTORY #6!

As Kirby climbed the spiral staircase, he told himself over and over: Last one. Last one. You can do it. Don't sweat. You've gotten this far. Just one Titan left. Last one. Last one.

The final Titan was a strange creature indeed. He had no limbs! Yet his head hovered above his torso and his hands beside it. His torso itself hovered above his feet.

His head had a huge bulbous nose and orange hair similar to Knuckle Joe's. His skin was peachy like that of Joe's second form. His hands were hidden in large white gloves and his shoes were yellow with white soles. Lastly, his torso was purple, but it had a white circle in its center and a red bandana at its top. If you included the hair, this final combatant was three times Kirby's height.

The thing opened its eyes and pushed its way out of the glass case.

"So, somebody's finally made it all the way up here," he said. "You're the first challenger I've had since I got stuck in this place."

Kirby just stood there and stared. How could his body parts move like that: without any support?

"Well, you should know," continued the thing, "that I'm a big hero back where I come from. I came all the way here to the Starred System from a quarter of the way around the Milky Way galaxy: the Luminshot System. I came to climb this here Titan Tower. I knew I could do it. I had defeated the most terrible scum in my solar system, guys like Razorbeard and Mr. Dark, and figured the competition here in Dreamland would be a piece of cake to lick! I got close. So close! But now here I am, the savior of the Luminshot System, the great and powerful Rayman, trapped in this godforsaken room, waiting for some battle-worthy challenger to come my way! So, now that you're finally here, I shall destroy you in combat, get released from this Tower, and fly the ship I came in back to my home planet."

"Sorry, Rayman," said Kirby, snapping out of his entranced state, "but I'm the hero of this solar system and if Dark Matter, the entity I'm fighting, gets out of hand, it'll probably take over the entire galaxy! There's no way I'm going to let you win. The fate of the universe depends on me getting out of here!"

"I don't know who this 'Dark Matter' guy is," retorted Rayman, "but when I get out of Titan Tower, these fists of mine will show him a thing or two!"

The setting of the final battle was a huge circular arena. The ground was dirt and the structure was stone. You might have called it a gladiator's arena and that's exactly what it was, but not a single seat was filled.

Looking up into the night sky, Kirby could see three moons among the stars.

One of Rayman's hands started to move in small, fast, vertical circles. Then the fist suddenly to flew at Kirby like a bullet.

Kirby had anticipated an attack, so he managed to dodge. The fist stopped in mid-air a ways past him and then flew back to Rayman. It subsequently reverted back to its hovering state beside him.

"Another, punching-oriented battle?" said Kirby. "I don't know how you got all the way up here. But I'll tell you how I did it."

"How?" asked Rayman. "I was wondering."

"I can summon abilities to aid me," answered Kirby, summoning Fighter and Beam abilities to become Fighter Energy Kirby!

"Really?" said Rayman. "Well, you call that a transformation?" He was eying Kirby's white headband. "I can do much better. You see, I can summon abilities too."

"Huh?" said Kirby.

"SUMMON POWERUP!" shouted Rayman at the stars. "GREEN!"

A green ball appeared on each side of Rayman. Rayman slid each of his hands through the balls. The balls then became metal and wrapped around his hand. His fingers now stuck out of green metal plates. Also, his hair color and torso each turned green. His shoes became green with red soles. His bandana stayed red and the ring on his torso turned yellow. Only his skin and gloves remained the same color.

Kirby (astonished but not showing it) threw a punch. The Fighter Energy orb shot off his fist towards Rayman, who threw a punch himself, sending a miniature tornado flying at Kirby. The Fighter Energy orb and the tornado met. The tornado was destroyed, but the orb reversed direction, hitting Kirby in the face.

Kirby fell on his back, but immediately got up again. Rayman punched to release another tornado. Kirby dodged it. Rayman fired two more, one from each hand. Kirby managed to dodge one of them, but was enveloped by the other.

Instead of being flung out at a high speed (as Kirby had anticipated), the tornado simply caused Kirby to spin on the spot and lose his ability. But when the tornado had disappeared and Kirby looked back at Rayman, he saw that the limbless monster had grown in size to about ten times his original height! Wait, no... It wasn't that Rayman had gotten bigger... It was that Kirby had gotten smaller!!! Those tornados were more powerful than Kirby thought!

"You would have liked to win this match, wouldn't you?" said Rayman as he towered over Kirby. "Well, I'm afraid that here I'm going to have to put my foot down... literally!"

Before Rayman could squish Kirby, however, Kirby summoned two stone abilities to become Monolith Kirby! Now once again in the form of a stone tower, Kirby equaled Rayman's height (he was, after all, still shrunk).

For some unknown reason, Rayman's powerup disappeared, causing him to transform back into his original colors.

Rayman wound up (moving his fist in that vertical circle). His fist got faster and faster. Then it started to shine a golden color while spinning at an incredible pace.

Rayman released the punch, smashing his fist into Monolith Kirby.

It had no effect. Rayman clutched his hand in pain, hopping slightly. Then he looked at Monolith Kirby again and his eyes widened.

Rayman started to run away.

This was a smart move, as that was when the shrinking effect of the tornado wore off.

Monolith Kirby now towered over Rayman, but as he was unable to move in this form, Kirby trashed his ability.

Now that Kirby and Rayman were far apart, Kirby summoned Beam and Spark abilities to become Laser Kirby!

Kirby took aim and fired madly at Rayman, but not one shot managed to connect with any of Rayman's six body parts. They would always fly through the space where his neck should have been or through his nonexistent limbs, missing his torso by inches, sometimes centimeters.

Rayman jumped into the air and twirled his two waves of hair like the blades of a helicopter. While floating slowly downwards, he wound up his fists and hit Kirby twice in the face.

In the few moments while Kirby was stunned, Rayman raced at him and pounded into him with his fists. The blows were coming as fast as bullets from a machine gun.

Kirby frantically reasoned that he wanted to block Rayman's blows and then stab him with something. This reasoning caused him to summon Fighter and Needle abilities to become Spike-Knuckle Kirby! Metal spikes poked their way out of Kirby's headband and fists.

Kirby blocked one of Rayman's fists with a punch. Rayman painfully retraced his hand when the metal thorns on Kirby's fist sunk into it.

Kirby rushed at Rayman and threw a series of punches, but each one met nothing more than air as Rayman used his incredible limblessness to dodge repeatedly.

Rayman jumped into the air again, flipped over Kirby, and ran over to a wall at the edge of the circular stadium.

"SUMMON POWERUP!" he shouted. "RED!"

Two gigantic mechanical hands floated down to Rayman. Each was slightly bigger than Kirby and featuring nasty spikes on each joint. They were red with unpainted metal fingers. A latch opened in the palm of each and Rayman inserted his hands inside. Rayman then made a fist with each mechahand. His hair color and bandana each turned blue. His shoes became red with blue soles. His torso turned red and the ring on his torso turned yellow.

Uh-oh, thought Kirby, trashing his ability.

Rayman moved slowly toward Kirby, winding up. Kirby backed slowly away, getting ready to dodge.

Rayman let fly with both fists. Kirby miraculously managed to dodge each one. They soared past him and crashed into the circular wall around the floor of the stadium. This wall turned out to be solid rock, but each fist still made a crater-like punch in it. It would have certainly hurt Kirby a lot had he been in their way.

The mechahands returned to Rayman and he wound them up again.

Kirby inflated and flew upward, retreating to the seats above the floor of the stadium. He then summoned Stone and High-Jump abilities to become Meteor Kirby!

Kirby transformed into a large rock that threw itself at Rayman, who dodged. But, in dodging, Rayman stopped winding up and therefore had to start over again.

And he did. Rayman spun his mechahands until they shined reddish-gold. But just as he punched into Meteor Kirby (a blow that would have shattered it) his powerup expired. He transformed back into his original colors and the mechahands disappeared, causing his punch into Meteor Kirby to be as painful as punching a brick wall with his bare fist.

Once more Rayman clutched his hand while hopping.

Kirby trashed his ability, coming to an understanding of what had just happened. Rayman's abilities have a time limit!

Kirby summoned Needle and Cutter abilities to become Snare Kirby!

"This time, I won't miss," he said quietly to Rayman.

Kirby swung hard with one of his huge spiky arms.

Rayman quickly grabbed his own torso with both hands and held it over his head. Kirby's arm then swung through the now empty space between Rayman's head and feet.

Rayman threw his torso at Kirby, who took it in the face. The torso then returned to Rayman's middle. Kirby had lost his ability.

Kirby, his face still throbbing, inflated. He then retreated once more to the seats. Now that Kirby had seen Rayman jump a number of times, he knew that Rayman could not jump high enough to reach the seats. As for Rayman's helicopter hair, it was only good for slowing his pace as he fell.

"SUMMON POWERUP!" shouted Rayman. "ORANGE!"

One of Rayman's hands turned into an orange-and-blue rocket. Then his hair color and bandana each turned blue. His shoes became orange with blue soles. His torso turned orange and the ring on his torso stayed white.

Rayman fired the rocket at Kirby, who dodged. The rocket, however, turned back around. Rayman was controlling it somehow.

Kirby summoned Cutter ability to become Cutter Kirby! Kirby threw a cutter boomerang, slicing the rocket and causing it to explode. The boomerang was destroyed and Cutter Kirby turned back into regular Kirby.

The hand that had been inside the rocket returned to Rayman. His powerup had been destroyed along with the rocket.

"Ha-ha, Rayman!" shouted Kirby as triumphantly as he could with his face still pounding. "You'll never get me up here!"

"Oh, yeah?" retorted Rayman. He then shouted, "SUMMON POWERUP! YELLOW!"

A yellow helmet with black "shades" appeared on Rayman's head. Then two real helicopter blades unfolded out of its top. His hair was now hidden, but his torso turned yellow. His shoes became yellow with purple soles. His bandana turned purple and the ring on his torso turned orange.

Rayman jumped into the air and the blades automatically started to spin, propelling him higher. Then he suddenly tilted horizontal, with his head towards Kirby, and made the blades increase their speed.

Kirby leapt out of the way as Rayman sped at him. Rayman subsequently crashed into the seats and lost his powerup.

"I've never fought anyone as annoyingly good at dodging as you before," said Rayman, getting up.

"Nor I you," replied Kirby.

Rayman shouted to summon the red powerup again.

Kirby was about to jump over him and turn into Monolith Kirby, but now that Rayman had the mechahands again, he didn't think that was such a good idea.

Rayman started to wind up and Kirby jumped back down to the ground.

Rayman jumped into the air over Kirby and twirled his hair to come slowly down while still winding up.

"Dodge this!" he shouted, shooting his fully wound up mechahand (in a fist) down at Kirby, who simply jumped to the side.

That, however, was a big mistake. The fist kept going and hit the ground, creating a huge earthquake.

The structure of the stadium held steady, but rocks all over blasted themselves upward, out of the ground.

Kirby was hit by about seven or eight of those rocks. It stung. Not only that, but the earthquake had also, well, shaken him up.

Kirby, disoriented, weaved his way over to the wall. Luckily, that earth-shattering blow had tired Rayman out. He was now standing (without a powerup) in the center of a large crater in the middle of the stadium.

Kirby snapped back into his senses. He inflated and flew upward. But he didn't stop at the seats. He flew all the way up above the huge pillars on the rim of the back seats. Above these pillars, he stood on the circular ring of a platform that they held up around the stadium.

Rayman used another round of the yellow powerup to reach the seats. Then, after it expired, he shouted, "SUMMON POWERUP! BLUE!"

Rayman inserted the fingers on each of his hands through the two oval-shaped rings that appeared, one on either side of him. Also, his hair color and torso each turned blue. His shoes became blue with green soles. His bandana turned green and the ring on his torso turned yellow.

Rayman threw a punch at Kirby, but this time a jaw-like metal thing shot out of the ring on his hand. It remained connected to the ring by a long chain.

Kirby dodged and the jaw clamped down on the platform he was standing on. It had sharp "teeth" at its front.

Rayman retracted the chain, pulling himself up by the jaw. He swung up and landed on the platform with Kirby. The jaw then released the platform and folded back inside the ring on Rayman's right hand.

"You can't run from me, Kirby," said Rayman as if the whole concept of running away was preposterous. "My powerups can take me anywhere."

Rayman shot a jaw-on-chain at Kirby.

Kirby dodged, but the jaw turned toward him like a homing missile.

Kirby dodged as best he could, but a misstep caused him to fall off the high platform.

The jaw snapped onto Kirby's foot as he fell, pulling Rayman down as well.

The pair landed in the seats below. The jaw was still painfully clamped on Kirby's foot. But, as if that wasn't enough, Rayman got up and pressed a button on the ring that the chain led into.

A bright blue stream of voltage sped down the chain and into the jaw, electrocuting Kirby. Then Rayman did it again.

And again.

Kirby's body began to smolder and smoke; but just when Kirby thought he couldn't take any more shocks, Rayman's powerup expired.

Kirby lay panting between the seats, unsure how badly the electricity had scorched him.

Rayman punched him, sending him flying into an aisle between the seats.

Kirby turned to face Rayman, who wound up his other fist.

As Rayman fired, Kirby executed his one last plan. He inhaled.

Rayman's fist entered Kirby's mouth and Kirby swallowed without gaining an ability.

"My hand!" gasped Rayman in astonishment. He looked at the spot where his fist would have normally come back to. Then he looked at Kirby. The he looked back at his nonexistent hand. He looked back and forth.

Silence.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY HAND?!" shouted Rayman, winding up his other.

Kirby inhaled that one as well when it flew at him.

Rayman's eyes were wide. He wound up a foot now, kicking Kirby.

Kirby fell on his back. The kick had come as a surprise. But, getting up, he now took a deep, deep breath and Rayman began to slowly slide towards Kirby's open mouth.

"No! NOOOO!" shouted Rayman. Then he shrieked in desperation, "SUMMON POWERU"

Kirby swallowed and Rayman was gone.

VICTORY #7! TITAN TOWER COMPLETE!

d00d

NOTE ABOUT RAYMAN (not part of actual chapter): You may be wondering why I chose to make the only game crossover in this fic be one with UbiSoft's Rayman series. Well, I'll tell you. I've always really liked Rayman games. Did you know that Rayman 2 featured the best graphics available for the N64? Anyway, while the games are good, they lack a progressive storyline that builds throughout the series. Not only that, but Rayman didn't appear in Super Smash Brothers Melee (which I'm writing about next). Those two facts combined say that I'll never be able to make a fan fic about him. So, this was the only way to write about him. I think it turned out pretty well.