NOTE TO THE READER: This story is rapidly nearing completion. It is possible that the chapter after this one will be the last.

Chapter 86: eye

"This is bad," muttered Gooey. "Everyone else has attacked us, but here Kirby stands still."

"Well, hit him with the star rod and cure him already!" interrupted Chuchu.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

"WHY NOT?!"

"What if we were too late? What if Kirby's mind has been damaged so that he can't fight anymore? Remember, using the star rod on any of Dark Matter's possessions will call the eye."

Chuchu screamed in frustration. In one quick motion she grabbed the star rod from Gooey and smacked Kirby across the head with it.

POOFsssssssssssssssh!

Black smoke poured from Kirby's body, filling the room.

"Chuchu!" cried Gooey. "What have you done?!"

Then the smoke slowly disappeared.

Chuchu rushed over to Kirby, who had fallen over.

Kirby's eyes were closed.

"Kirby?" she said, suddenly fearful. "Wake up!" She shook him violently. "Wake up, Kirby! Wakeupwakeupwakeup!"

"Oh, now you've done it!" interjected Gooey. "Dark Matter must have had him in a nightmare-enhanced state. That way, it could get more nutrients from Kirby, but would be unable to control him. Kirby's now in a deep sleep, plagued with nightmares. Once he wakes, the effects of the nightmares will still be with him even though he will not remember them."

"Soooooooo, what... should... we... do?" Chuchu tugged at her ribbon, nearly ripping it.

"The only thing we can do. Dark Matter's eye is coming. Our only option is to run."

"Nightmare! Someone has recovered the star rod and used it to steal the anomaly! It was probably some Protector of Dreamland that was not consumed by my Dark Cloud. Find it and destroy it!"

"Gooey!" yelled Chuchu, running as fast as she could while carrying the still-sleeping Kirby. "Where are we going?!"

"Hopefully, out of this place!" replied Gooey, his body carrying him through the corridors faster than Chuchu would have believed possible. How could he move so fast without legs? How could he move at all without legs?

Gooey was clobbering every enemy that came their way with the star rod. Dark Matter would know where they were regardless, so they needed to get out as quickly as possible.

"Oh, come on Kirby..." panted Chuchu. "Wake up..."

"Chuchu! Quick! This way!"

Chuchu saw Gooey disappear off to the left. She followed suit and ran right into him. Yet why he had stopped was immediately clear.

Dark Matter's eye, now as big as Masher, loomed in front of them. Gooey had led them out onto an observation deck.

Both Chuchu and Gooey stood there, transfixed. They had been caught. If they retreated, Dark Matter would lash out and possess them within seconds.

Dark Matter held a gigantic black tentacle out in front of its eye. The pair could just make out King Dedede standing on it.

"Gooey and Chuchu, I presume," said King Dedede, speaking Dark Matter's words. "I half-expected I would see you again, Chuchu; you are annoyingly persistent. As for you, Gooey, you should have kept your nonexistent nose out of this. Don't you remember the warning I gave you using Rick's body? I thought you would be half way to the Lylat System by now, you cowardly lump."

Silence. Gooey didn't want to give Dark Matter the satisfaction of hearing a reaction to its taunt.

"And now you have followed me here to another planet," resumed King Dedede, "hoping to defeat me by reviving the one being that actually once stood a chance. Well, you have arrived too late. The anomaly has been neutralized by nightmares, and now you will be too."

"Oh, yeah?!" retorted Chuchu, putting Kirby down.

"Chuchu!" hissed Gooey. "What are you doing?"

"Well, you'll still not possess this whole galaxy, Dark Matter!" continued Chuchu. "You've passed through many other solar systems before and you've failed in possessing them every time. Even if you possess us, other powers will remain that will destroy you!"

"Just the kind of retort I had expected from a privileged Pop Star resident," laughed King Dedede. "You have no idea why I failed those other times. The truth was that the power of the minds that I have before tried to possess were too great and I was forced to move on."

"Then it will happen again!" Chuchu's voice shook slightly. "No matter where you go, there will still be those that can resist your influence!"

"My 'influence' has become much stronger since my possession of the weak, dream-filled minds of Pop Star. Once my eye is big enough, I will be able to possess the populations of entire planets with the sweep of a tentacle. But for now, it will suffice simply to posses you and your ill-fated cohort. Welcome to my worl- HOOARYOW!"

Kirby was awake. He had grabbed the star rod from Gooey and fired a star shot into Dark Matter's eye.

To Gooey and Chuchu's amazement, Kirby leapt from the balcony, soaring into the air without the help of a warpstar.

Kirby flew straight into Dark Matter's eye and whacked it with the star rod.

Gooey and Chuchu both winced in pain. The sound created by that hit was a percussive blast louder than that of any explosion.

Black smog spurted in all directions from the ball around Dark Matter's eye, instantly turning the bright, sunny day into a dark, moonless night.

Dark Matter, taken completely by surprise, only now regained focus. Dropping Dedede like a hot potato, the eye shot all eight of its tan-colored explosive balls at Kirby at once.

But, Kirby, fast as lightning, sped forward in a corkscrew attack at the eye, not only bashing into it and causing another sound blast, but letting loose a starburst of star shots in the process, which blew up all of the orbs.

Kirby brought the star rod over his head and smacked Dark Matter's eye downward with it, managing to blast the black ball down close to the ocean, which was amazing considering Kirby's small size compared to it. This produced another ear-splitting noise.

Before Dark Matter could retaliate, Kirby swung the star rod violently, firing a cascade of star shots into Dark Matter's eye.

The dark smoke was everywhere now. Gooey and Chuchu could only see Kirby and the eye through its blackness.

The white veins in the red eye were getting bigger, throbbing like mad and expelling white puss into the air. When the eye was nearly covered with blisters and steaming slime, Kirby threw the star rod into it.

The Great Star Rod of Light flew right into the pupil Dark Matter's eye. Then, all went black.

"no... eye lost... my dreams... they're gone..."