PART 22: Betrayal

In less than a second, Marx turned off the invisibility and laid out a plan.

"Everyone but Kirby, find as many survivors as you possibly can. And someone needs to get Infinity out of here…I think he's unconscious. Once you're sure there is nobody left in the building, meet at Whispy's clearing in the forest."

"Wait…survivors? And Whispy Woods is still alive?" Kirby asked, confused.

"Waddle Dees." Marx replied.

"Waddle Dees? But what about what En-" Kirby began, stopping when he noticed Verra glaring at him.

"They volunteered. And we don't have any time for your questions. We need to get moving immediately." Marx replied, his eyes showing flashes of rage. Kirby had never seen him so serious before…even though he had just met him.

"What do I do?" Kirby asked.

"Head straight to the Fountain of Dreams and get the Star Rod. I'm sure you know how to get to it from here." Marx replied. Kirby nodded and ran past the flames and through the ruined door.

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Once Ace had left the room, following Marx's orders, he threw all the flammable objects he had been carrying…his jet pack and a few explosives, as far as he could throw them. They landed in the fire and exploded, knocking down one of the walls. As it crashed into the ground, it broke, sending bricks and other such objects flying at him. He covered his face with his arms, and the bricks and other objects pounded against them, giving him jolts of pain.

Even though his left arm was broken and his right arm was severely damaged, he was still grateful to be alive, but ungrateful for his stupidity. And he didn't want to risk that happening again…

"Wait a second…" he whispered, thinking out loud. "I don't have to! I could escape! I could leave the building and head to Whispy's forest…no, wait…there were way too many monsters. There isn't any way I could survive a second against that army! But what about the Star Warriors…no. My own life is much more important than theirs is! I've got to get out of here and get away from the Star Warriors! I won't let them pull me into a suicide mission!"

With that, he used his (somewhat) good arm to grab one of the grenades that hadn't landed in the flames, take off the top, and chuck it at one of the walls. He quickly ducked to avoid the debris that rained down upon him as the wall exploded. When the debris stopped falling, he ran out of the building. Into the dark desolate wasteland that was once Pop Star. Into the unknown. And away from everything he had thought he believed in.

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Verra was extremely angry. Marx still had him under the spell, and was dragging him wherever he went to make sure he didn't run off. Marx was making him feel like a wild animal. And since Verra was yelling at Marx telepathically, Marx was getting a headache.

"Why'd you let them get away? Why'd you let them take Enna? Why'd you let Enna run away?" he yelled into Marx's mind.

"If I had revealed us, we'd all be dead right now. If I had tried to stop Enna, she would have been found anyways. There was nothing I could do." Marx replied calmly.

"And what about Meta Knight? What's he going to do to her? You know all this stuff, and you better tell me." Verra ordered.

"I don't know why Meta Knight is working for the Black Fog either…"

"Ha! How'd you know that betraying bastard was working for the Fog? Are you a double agent? Are you a traitor too?"

Marx glared, and two gloves appeared out of nowhere next to him. The gloves were surrounded in a white aura, and had no arms attached to them. The gloves turned towards Verra and attacked him, grabbing his neck and lifting him high off the ground.

"Shut up, you damn fool! Your stubbornness and lack of control will get us all killed one day!" Marx yelled out loud. Behind him, the flames seemed to be burning brighter. The gloves vanished, and Verra plummeted to the ground.

Verra was suddenly very afraid of Marx. And he suddenly didn't trust him as much as he had before.

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Terra was doing more rescuing than anyone. Since he was a Fire Rocky, he had natural resistance to flames, and he could run right through them without a problem. And his size made it easy to carry as many people as was needed. But there was something that he couldn't stop thinking about…

""Meta Knight... a traitor? No…that can't be right. He... he would never... do something like this. I... I... I just can't believe it. Why Meta Knight? We all trusted you. Why...?"

Those thoughts continued to plague his mind, no matter how much he attempted to shake them off. After a while of searching, he found what looked like another unconscious Waddle Dee nearby the rubble from a fallen wall. The Dee looked alright, but he needed to get it out of here.

As soon as he got nearby, the Dee woke up and began to spout out nonsensical babble in what Terra guessed what a completely different language. Another one of the Dees he had rescued began to immediately translate.

"Ace has ran away…he threw some green can things at a wall and the wall fell down all around me, and then he ran away. The Fog is getting into the building."

With those words, the Dee who had been unconscious moments before closed its eyes and was dead. And a black mist floated out of its body and sailed at Terra, who was soon engulfed in darkness.

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Shard lifted Infinity off the ground and ran through the flames, through the hallways, through the rubble, and outside, out of the ruined door.

No sooner had she walked outside than she was greeted by something out of her nightmares.

The sky crackled with energy and lightning, and black shadows slithered through the ground and sky. Smoke rose high into it, and nearby, the forest was ablaze. When she turned around, she could see their sanctuary, falling apart slowly and so deeply engulfed in flames that you could barely see any of the actual building.

And her teammates were in there…no; her friends were in there. Dying. And there wasn't anything she could do.

She looked at the forest again, and she noticed something she had not noticed before. A figure. Walking towards her. Holding something.

"Who are you?" she called.

The figure did not answer. She called again.

"Who are you?"

The figure still didn't answer. Soon though, it was close enough for her to figure out exactly what it was holding. It was holding a dead Waddle Doo, it's face a pale white color, and it's eyes were wide open and glazed. The Waddle Doo was wearing a pair of green pilot goggles…

"Oh my..." she said, cupping a hand over her mouth and backing away. The sparks inside of her began to glow a deep shade of blue.

"Now don't cry, dear. It's not like you'll never see him again," said the strange figure in a falsely soothing voice. The voice sounded as cold as the iciest of blizzards.

Suddenly, two ropes made of solid mist bound Shard's hands together. She didn't struggle, and the figure walked close enough for her to see it.

It looked like her, only made of solid black mist. It had sockets where eyes should be, like a skeleton. In the center of its stomach was an enormous red eye. Shard gasped, and the Fog figure brushed the side of her cheek with its misty hand.

"It's too bad that such beauty must go to waste…but alas, even the greatest of roses are sometimes plucked." he cooed. She moved her head away from it, but it grabbed it and turned it back.

"Now, now…are you afraid of me, dearest?" it said in a falsely soothing matter.

"No, I'm not afraid of you…not at all." she lied, her voice quaking.

"It's useless to lie, dearest. And you have good reason to be afraid. I know so much about you now, thanks to him…"

"What? What did he…"

"He betrayed you, my dear. He ran away and ran right into me. Immediately, I took advantage of the moment and stole his soul, and with it, his skills, his knowledge, and his life."

"And you're going to do the same to me, aren't you?" she asked. Her voice wasn't quaking this time. She was ready.

"No, no, my sweet…rather, I have decided I have no use for your knowledge. I have a better use for you. You shall be my queen."

Shard was stunned. Shocked. And very, very afraid.

"My dearest…are you not happy that I am sparing your life? Or would you rather die before becoming my queen?" it asked her.

"I would rather die before having anything to do with you," she stated confidently.

"That can be arranged, dearest." it said, as it grabbed her head and forced her into a deep kiss…and slowly, she could feel herself losing consciousness, and she could feel something misty traveling down her throat.

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Marx had rescued everyone he could…he couldn't sense anyone else in the building besides his friends…until suddenly, he couldn't sense them anymore either. Verra noticed his expression.

"What's going on? Where is everyone?" he asked via telepathy. Before Marx could answer, he was on the ground, writhing in pain. Regardless of how little he trusted Marx, Verra was suddenly worried. Even more so when he made out a few words between whatever Marx was mumbling.

"Get…out…building…now…fog…save…woods…shard…ship…"

With that, Marx vanished completely, likely having teleported. Before Verra could blink, he found himself standing outside of a forest. He could see something strange far away…a man? A girl?

He realized whom the girl was by the sparks coursing through her veins…he wanted to yell for her, but instinct seemed to be holding him back. He watched as the man grabbed her and…kissed her? He was confused, until he noticed the electricity that was coursing through her veins was beginning to flicker and fade…

"SHARD!" he yelled, as he ran at the strange man.

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His sack of inventions and potions slung over his shoulder, Jackie raced through the building, rescuing whatever and whomever he could find. He knew more than anything that saving another was much more important than saving himself. One of the inventions he was using was an extremely powerful, easy-to-carry-fire-extinguisher-turned-hose. He planned to patent it as soon as the entire ordeal was over.

It wasn't too long after Marx had laid out the plan before he heard an explosion. Looking for the source of the sound lead him to a room with two of the walls knocked down. Unused grenades were scattered on the parts of the floors untouched by the flames, and he was quick to pick them up and spray the flames with the extinguisher hose. It was after he did this that he noticed a bunch of bodies sprawled on the ground. On instinct, he threw his bag in front of him and began to dig through it.

"First aid…first aid…first aid…" he thought. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a beeping sound in his right ear.

The radar.

Quickly, he pulled something out of his coat pocket and spun around. He realized too late that he had pulled out the wrong item. He had pulled out a cross instead of the star gun, and now he was facing the Black Fog's enormous eye and holding a cross out to it as if it was a vampire. The Fog swayed back and forth in the air in front of him, while always keeping it's enormous eye focused on him. Jackie gulped, and tried to put the cross back. As he started to, the fog stopped swaying. As he put it all the way back in his pocket, it sailed at him.

Quickly, he pulled it back out, and the fog stopped again and started swaying. Jackie was confused, and he took a closer look at the cross.

There was an inscription on it. It read:

Newh ssenkrad sesir, dna seoreh llaf, newh eht tsegnorts tnod rewsna eht llac…

Tsuj kool ot eht srats, dna kool ot eht nus, kool ta erehw lla emit negub.

Eht tserup rorrim sdloh eht rewsna, eht tsirup rorrim si eht yek,

Ot gnikam eht gof ton lla taht uoy ees.

He couldn't understand it, and he had a feeling it wasn't even in English. While he was staring at it, he failed to notice the fact that the Fog had stopped swaying.

"The mirror…" whispered an extremely icy voice. "And that must be…"

Jackie stared at the Fog, confused. The fog began to fly around him, still speaking.

"Tell you what, Jackie…if you give me that rune, than I'll leave here and won't ever return." it said, it's voice almost genuinely reassuring.

Jackie thought carefully. He didn't think the cross was very useful…and the Fog's voice sounded like it was being completely truthful. Although it seemed hard to trust the fog, he knew he couldn't take any chances…and there wasn't much anything could do with an ancient hunk of wood.

"Deal." he responded, throwing the cross at the fog. It disappeared into the blackness and could no longer be seen. The fog seemed to smile, even though it didn't have a mouth. Jackie let out a sigh of relief.

No sooner had he opened his mouth than the Fog attacked him, sailing right through him as if he wasn't there. For a few seconds, Jackie felt strange…as if he was floating on air, in a dream world…and then, he began to fall…fall into darkness…he couldn't see, smell, see, breathe…only feel pain, and barely any emotion. And the pain felt like something had ripped an enormous hole inside his chest.

"You…lied…" he gasped, as he curled up on the ground.

"Actually, no I did not. I told you I would leave here and never return…I never said I would not kill you, and I never said WHEN I'd leave. I planned to never return anyways." it replied. Jackie tried to respond, but all that came out was a loud cough.

And then, all was black.

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The Fog knew Verra was running at it before Verra had even begun running. And yet it stood there, holding the now lifeless Shard in its icy grip. It stood there as Verra pulled out his wand and sent out a large volley of rainbow-colored beams. And it stood there as Verra was hit by his own attack as it reflected off the Fog's misty body. It didn't move. It didn't flinch. It just stood there as if nothing had happened.

The Fog did not turn and comment on how pathetic the attack was. It did not challenge Verra. It did not turn towards him and banter with him, and it did not simply kill him on the spot.

This was what surprised Verra. This…thing showed no remorse to its victims, or any emotion when attacked or when attacking. Not anger. Not sadness. It had no reasons to kill anything. It had nothing to prove. It had nothing to gain but some form of supernatural strength. And it had no use for this strength. It killed because it could. It destroyed because it could, and it brought entire worlds to their knees for the hell of it. Yet it was not happy when it killed things. Nor was it sad. It had and was nothing but a cold lack of emotions. An icy, bleak cold, like the furthest reaches of the Artic.

Alone, it had killed millions of innocent creatures, and made thousands of races extinct in a period of time so short nothing could prepare for it. And yet, barely a drop of blood was spilled, as it left things nothing but empty, breathing shells, and then left their soulless bodies to murder one-another.

It was the embodiment of every drop of fear, every drop of hatred and betrayal, every drop of anger and rage, every drop of negative emotions…and yet, it was emotionless. How could something made of so much emotion have none to call its own?

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"Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock." Meta Knight mocked, holding a small round clock on a chain in front of him and swinging it back and forth. It was hard to see him, as he was hidden in the darkness of the ruins of the castle underground.

He held the clock still, and it wiggled by itself, as if alive. He held it close and whispered something.

"I bet you don't like being controlled. You get used to it after a while."

"Damn it…let me…let me go…" the clock whispered.

"Now, now, Enna…you're my bait. I can't exactly let you escape, or I won't catch anything. And I've got one particular fish I've got my eye on. A little round pink one headed to the Fountain of Dreams as we speak. Unfortunately for the little fish, he's got quite a welcoming party waiting for him."

Meta Knight swung the clock again and again, over and over, and his eyes, now blood red, shined in the darkness.

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Kirby had found the fountain without much difficulty. Getting to it alive might be an entirely different story. For he was standing less than a mile away from the same army who had attacked the mansion. He was hiding behind a chunk of a boulder.

Without a doubt, he was literally in-between a rock and a hard place.

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Verra launched volley after volley of rainbow-colored blasts at the Fog, and the Fog did not react any of the times he fired.

He was wondering why it hadn't simply killed him by now. And he noticed it standing there, staring at Shard's lifeless body…was it a spark of emotion? Did it feel remorse for its victim?

"Unbelievable…" it whispered. Its voice was barely audible at such a distance. "Until now, I have never felt the slightest amount of remorse for the things I have killed. And suddenly, here I am, with so many hopes and memories flowing from this girl into my body…or lack thereof, really. So many dreams. So much hope. And now, I have taken it all away, just like the people I hate so much…"

It stopped, cocked its head toward Verra, and threw Shard's lifeless body onto the ground.

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Kirby leaped out from behind the rock so quickly, that it caught every demon in the army off guard. Quickly, he swallowed a sword-wielding knight and started to transform into Sword Kirby.

Immediately after transforming, he unleashed an assault for the history books. He sliced a robot in half and knocked one half into another enemy, and he followed that by firing a beam from the tip of his sword at a Waddle Doo in the distance. A Blade Knight surprised him from the back, and he countered the attack with his own dashing slash. At that same instant, missiles sailed through the sky and homed in on Kirby, who barely managed to dodge them. The missiles instead hit some of the demons attacking him, killing them.

Soon, the entire sky was filled with fireballs, rockets, and blasts of energy. Smoke filled the air, along with the smell of flames and blood. It was becoming so difficult to see, Kirby was beginning to wonder if he was going blind.

The demons were having difficulty seeing him as well. A Sword Knight leaped through the smoke and sailed right past him, crashing into the ground. A rocket zoomed directly over his head. Kirby tried to take advantage of this and get to the Fountain, but he couldn't see that either. The sounds of the battle were making his ears ring.

But the sounds had stopped, and an even louder sound shattered the air. It was the shriek of an enormous bird, bigger than any kind in the entire universe. And with an enormous gust of powerful wind, the smoke cleared, and Kirby watched an enormous multi-colored bird land in front of him. The bird was so large that Kirby could barely see anything but its powerful talons. The bird bowed low and spread its enormous rainbow wings.

"Dynablade…" Kirby whispered. He didn't notice the figure standing on the bird's head. The figure jumped down in front of him, and Kirby recognized him instantly.

"Verra!" he yelled in surprise, as the Star Warrior limped over to him. "Where is everyone?"

"Dead. All of them." Verra said, pushing Kirby aside. Kirby watched him limp over to the Fountain, which was only a few feet away. Kirby was silent.

He watched as Verra grabbed hold of the side of the gigantic fountain and begin to climb up. He watched his utter determination as he began to climb it with one arm.

That was when Kirby noticed it. One of Verra's arms was gone as if it had never been there. There was just a sleeve hanging limply by his side.

Kirby was still silent. He was worried, but he felt it would be best not to ask any questions. With one arm, Verra grabbed onto the top of the Fountain and climbed onto it. The Fountain glowed as his feet touched its crystal waters.

Verra walked to the center of the fountain, and climbed onto the pedestal that the Star Rod resided and the waters flowed from. With his remaining arm, he touched the Star Rod.

There was a whooshing sound, a bright light, and a loud scream, followed by silence. Kirby covered his eyes and waited for the light to fade. As soon as it had, he looked toward the top of the Fountain.

Verra was high in the air, an orange sword going through his stomach and keeping him suspended. Holding the sword was Meta Knight, a dark glint in his eyes.

"Well, would you look at that? I caught the wrong fish. Ah well, might as well toss it back." Meta Knight mocked as he stabbed his sword into the fountain and pulled it out of Verra. Kirby noticed the sound of his voice. Icy like the coldest winter.

Kirby was stunned into silence. Meta noticed him.

"Ah, there you are."

"Meta Knight?" Kirby said, finding his voice. "What are you doing?"

"Meta Knight? Silly Kirby, Meta Knight is no more. There's just fog. All around you. It is everyone. Everything."

"What are you talking about? I know what you are. You're just a manifestation of Meta. The real Meta would have resisted the fog."

"In the same way he resisted Nightmare? You fool, he's always had me lurking inside him, waiting for the right moment. That moment has come, and all I needed to do was wait for the right moment. That moment has come."

"Meta Knight is stronger than that."

"Wrong. And now it is time for Dreamland's lazy lifestyle to end. I. Will. RULE."