Chapter 20: Bio Spark

It was in the midnight of Dreamland, and most of its citizens were fast asleep, except for a certain ninja. This was Bio Spark, who was currently returning to his clan's village after completing a mission. Suddenly, he noticed a certain scent in the air.

"Is this... burning wood...? No... it couldn't be...!" He thought as he quickened his pace.

What he saw upon coming back shocked him to his core. Many of the facilities were on fire and many of his clansmen were unconscious on the ground. There was one thought that came to his mind first: "Sister! Mother! Father!".

He rushed to his home to make sure his sister and parents were safe.

Then the second thought came to his mind: "Who could have done this?". Immediately after those thoughts, he entered to see his mother and father on the floor, barely conscious.

"Mother! Father! What happened here?" He shouted as he ran over to them.

"Spark... thank goodness... you've returned." His father, Bio Volt, said, coughing between words as he struggled to remain conscious.

"Father, what happened here and where's my sister!?"

"We were ambushed... by an unknown group. They stole most of our scrolls and they..." Volt paused to cough before continuing. "They kidnapped her..."

Spark's eyes widened then sharpened. "Were all of the clansmen defeated?"

His father began to cough once more. "I'm afraid so. Spark, I... hate to ask this of you but-"

"Say no more father. I'll track down the fools who dared to attack the Bio clan."

"Thank you, my son... I'm sorry that you'll have to go alone for this mission..."

He then shook his head. "No, I already have a partner in mind..."

"Kirby, what have I told you about sleeping during my lectures?"

Kirby suddenly woke up once more to the irritated and stern voice of his mentor. Meta Knight had scheduled a session of late-night training today and the child was struggling to stay awake during it.

"I'm sorry, Meta-sensei, but..." A yawn. "It's hard to stay awake when I've been awake for the entire day..." Kirby said while pouting, struggling to hold in yet another yawn.

The knight then gave a slightly annoyed sigh. "Kirby, I told you to sleep in today specifically for this reason."

"I did! Then we sparred for six hours!"

"You should be used to long battles by this point. There is no excuse. Also, please cover your mouth when you yawn."

"META-SENSEIIIIIII!"

Before anything else could be said, a familiar figure dropped from the ceiling and now stood next to the knight.

"Sorry to interrupt, Lord Meta Knight, but we have a visitor." It was Bio Gale, the head nurse of the Meta-Knights.

"A visitor? Who is it?" The mentor asked in confusion.

Not only did he rarely receive visitors, but especially not at this hour.

"My cousin."

"Bio Spark's here?" Kirby said, suddenly full of energy.

"Show him here. If he came directly to us, then it's more than likely something bad happened."

The kunoichi nodded and vanished. A few seconds later, Bio Spark appeared in front of the two with Gale accompanying him.

"Cousin, Kirby, Meta Knight. I'll be brief. Someone attacked my clan, and my sister has been kidnapped. I beg you, please assist me in getting her back." Bio Spark pleaded.

"Of course I'll help you, Bio! All you need to do is tell me what to do and I'll do what I can!" The child immediately said upon hearing that.

"Thank you, my friend." He then turned to the head nurse. "Cousin, would you mind assisting the clansmen? Your expertise in medicine would be very much appreciated."

"Very well." She turned to her superior. "Lord Meta Knight, may I have permission to go?"

"Permission granted. I'll come with you in case the clan gets attacked again." The knight turned to his student. "Kirby, good luck."

"Thank you, Meta-sensei! Let's go, Bio!"

Kirby quickly ran out of the training room before anything else could be said. His mentor sighed and followed after him as the two ninjas left as well.

Before leaving the Orange Ocean base, the group stopped in the infirmary for the head nurse to pick up some supplies.

"Cousin, do you know where or who the one responsible is?" Gale asked while preparing a med kit.

"That's the problem... I'm not entirely sure." Spark replied, scratching his head.

"They didn't leave any clues behind? Clearly it must be someone who knows what they are doing." The moment she said that, Gale's eyes widened in realization. "Spark... a few years ago, wasn't one of our uncle's banished from the clan?"

Spark quickly sifted through his memories for such an event. "...yes, yes, I think I remember."

The ninja turned around to leave.

"If it was him, then I know where he should be. He was banished to Ice Island. We've even received rumors of some strange activity happening around there."

"Then you might want to tell your friend that."

Just as those words left the head nurse's mouth, Meta Knight walked back in, carrying Kirby.

"Meta-sensei, let go already! I need to help Spark!" "How do you plan on helping him if you leave him behind?"

After sighing that answer, his student panicked in realization. "AHHH THAT'S RIGHT!"

Kirby escaped from Meta Knight's grasp and grabbed Bio Spark.

"Come on! We gotta go!" He yelled while dragging Spark out the door with him.

After seeing the duo leave, the knight gave a slight sigh.

"Well, I guess we should make our way toward your home village, Gale."

"Understood. Allow me to lead the way." The two nodded and headed out.

"So, Spark, do you know where we're going?" Kirby asked as he looked around the moonlit sea.

"I don't have an exact location, but I'm positive the culprit is on Ice Island."

Ice Island. Kirby had gone there before during the incident with the Squeaks.

After mentioning that, Bio Spark pulled out a kunai.

"Here, Kirby."

Nodding in understanding, the puff inhaled the kunai, gaining the Ninja Ability.

"Alright, so we're heading to Ice Island then?" The puff asked.

"That's right. Let's go."

His friend started to run as fast as he could, until the child called out to him.

"Wait, let me summon my Warp Star. It'll help us get there much faster!"

"Can it get us there without being detected? I don't want to risk us being detected." Bio Spark replied in a serious tone.

"Um... well... I'm not sure. But if they defeated your family, wouldn't they be able to detect us no matter what we do?" Kirby asked innocently as he scratched his head.

"...I understand your point, my friend, but as a ninja, I must act stealthily. All my actions must be discreet."

"Even the Blossom Storm?" Bio Spark just stared at the child until he conceded.

"Please summon the star." He grumbled in a noticeably embarrassed tone.

The child gave a nod and did as he was told.

As the two rode off towards the location of where they think the target is, Kirby decided to ask Bio Spark a few questions to pass the time.

"Hey, Bio Spark, what's your sister like? You don't really bring up your family all that often."

"That's because we're a very secretive clan and if I tell you too much, I'd have to kill you." His friend responded in his usual serious way.

"No, you wouldn't." Kirby deadpanned with a pout.

Bio Spark seemed to grumble something incomprehensible under his breath.

"Plus, if we're going to rescue her, then shouldn't I know what to expect?"

After the puff said that, his friend seemed to concede.

"...you have a point..." He sighed again before talking once more.

"My younger sister is named Bio Lightning, but she prefers to be called "Light". She's a ninja in training and could potentially surpass me once she becomes more experienced."

"Ok, but what about her as a person, not a ninja?" Kirby looked at him with another slightly annoyed pout.

"Kirby, we're Ninja first, individuals second."

"If you really believed that, then why are you so desperate to rescue her?"

His friend became silent before clearing his throat and speaking up again.

"Fine, you're right. Most of the members of our clan members are very stoic, as a ninja should be. My sister however, she has the skills of a ninja but the personality of a fire. She's energetic, noisy, and a ball of infinite enthusiasm. She helps prevent me from becoming too stoic, I suppose. Without her, my parents and I would most likely be like the rest of the clan."

Something about that made the child feel a bit... worried.

"Um... the way you say that... do you think that's a good thing or a bad thing?" Kirby asked, recalling the not-very-good relationship of Saber Blade and Blade Knight.

His friend's response was almost instant. "I love my sister. That should give you the answer you seek."

The child gave a slight nod. "Is that why you want to rescue her then?"

"Of course. Even if I wasn't tasked to rescue her, I'd still try to."

"You're a good brother, Bio." Kirby commented with a smile.

"I try to be. Oh, I believe we're getting close to the island my friend."

The puff turned in the direction of it. "Ah! You're right! I can see Ice Island right now!"

Suddenly, Bio Spark threw multiple kunai down towards the island which collided with several arrows.

"We've been spotted. Kirby, can you take us down quickly?"

"Yeah! Just hold on tight!"

The warp star flew towards the ground as fast as it could possibly go, breaking to a halt before it could crash into the ground. Getting off the Star, Kirby and his friend looked around the surrounding area.

"Oh yeah, Spark, you never mentioned how you knew this was the place we needed to go to."

The ninja looked confused until he remembered that Kirby left while he talked to Gale about their uncle.

"...it's a long story."

"Can you explain it to me?" The child looked at him in curiosity.

Bio Spark sighed before looking at Kirby. It probably would be a good idea to fill him in on everything.

"We'll talk as we run, so try to keep up with me."

Kirby nodded as he ran after his friend.

"Alright, let me explain. Many years ago, one of my uncles, Bio Tage, tried to take control of the clan...by force. He managed to get a few of our clan to join him in is cause. This resulted in a battle between my father, the leader of our clan and Tage. I was still young at the time, so I wasn't allowed to participate. The battle ended with my father victorious. Not being able to execute his own brother, father banished Tage from the clan and to this very island to be specific."

"And so he attacked you guys and kidnapped your sister for revenge?"

"Revenge definitely, but I have no idea why he'd kidnap her. She wasn't even born at the time, so the fact he did that greatly confuses me. He also stole some of our sacred scrolls as well, but to be quite honest...saving her is much more important to me."

"Don't worry, Spark, we're gonna save her! That's something I can promise you!" Kirby said with a determined smile.

While the puff couldn't see it, he could tell that his friend was smiling.

As the two kept running, Spark saw a vaguely familiar looking building.

"How dare he..." He muttered bitterly.

"What's wrong?" Kirby questioned in slight concern.

"That building is an exact replica of the temple in our village. As I thought, he's attempting to make his own clan."

The puff nodded in understanding, then a thought crossed his mind. "I might not be the most knowledgeable about ninja clans but... what if that's why he kidnapped your sister? If your father is the current leader, then you'll be the next leader, right? And after you will be her, right?"

"That's exactly correct, unless I decide to marry and have children before then."

"Well, if your uncle is making his own clan, he would need a successor of some kind, right? Meta Knight taught me about something like that... what was the word...? Oh yeah, an heir! He needs an heir to the clan!"

His friend put a hand to his chin and took a moment to think about it.

"That would make quite a lot of sense, then... especially if he planted just the right lies into her mind...or even if he uses the right amount of persuasion..."

Bio Spark sped up his running, with Kirby close behind.

Once they arrived at the temple, the ninja began to think.

"What would be the best course of action?" He uttered, examining the perimeter.

"Why don't we just rush in?"

"Kirby, we're dealing with highly skilled ninjas."

"And highly skilled ninjas would be expecting a grand plan, not two guys barging in. Besides, we could totally beat them up if we wanted!"

As much Bio Spark didn't like to admit it, he knew his friend had a point.

"Fine, but we're doing things my way."

Before he could elaborate, the ninja picked up Kirby and threw him through the nearby wall. When Kirby landed, he immediately noticed he was surrounded by enemies and Bio Spark was currently sneaking around them. Using sign language, he told Kirby "I'll look for my sister. Good luck." The puff was thankful that Meta Knight taught him a bit of sign language a few years ago but also had the urge to suplex something. Mostly likely because something about it caused him to remember his frustration from earlier and everything his friend told him about this opponent here. The enemy ninjas lunged at Kirby, who quickly teleported out of the way. When Kirby reappeared, he had his sword drawn, which he then sheathed. The enemy ninjas looked confused by this action until one by one they fell down, unconscious.

"Wow. That was surprisingly easy. I just hope that Bio Spark can find his sister quickly..." He uttered as he turned to see several more ninjas coming straight for him.

As Spark ran through the temple, he noticed that even its inside was the exact same as the one back home.

"If everything is the same then the centermost room should be..."

He kicked a door down, revealing his sister, a red-cloaked ninja, who was chained to a chair.

"Here! Hold on, sister, I'm coming!"

"Brother! No! It's a trap!" Light shouted, but it was too late.

Suddenly spikes were summoned from the floor, stabbing through Bio Spark... or they would have, if he didn't substitute his body with a log.

"That was close." He dusted himself off and walked towards his sister, quickly freeing her from her chains with a single cut from his sword.

She immediately hugged him, causing him to jump a bit from how sudden it was.

"Brother, I was so scared! Uncle kept going on and on about how I would be the figurehead of his new clan and-"

Spark placed a hand on her head to comfort her. "Did he hurt you?"

"Outside of being tossed around and chained to a chair, thankfully no."

"Thank goodness..." He uttered with a sigh of relief.

However, he also knew that they weren't out of the metaphorical woods yet. More than likely, they would have to fight their uncle before they could escape.

"Sister, do you know where Tage put the scrolls he stole?"

Depending on the answer, they might just be able to find the scrolls before escaping. Light took a minute to think.

"Well, every time he would try to convince me to join him, he would have the scrolls on him."

"So, a fight is unavoidable..."

"If you want to get them back, yes."

They would have to get them back if they could. It was their clan's treasure after all.

Bio Spark then began to think.

"Now where would he be hiding?"

Then he got an idea.

"Kirby you're a bad influence..." He grumbled before turning to Light. "Let's go, sister, we're going attract as much attention as possible."

His sister nodded as they ran off.

Kirby was fighting more ninjas that kept coming out of nowhere and to be quite honest, he was getting bored. None of them proved to be an actual threat to him.

"Come on, Bio, hurry up already." He whined while suplexing another unfortunate victim.

Out of the corner of his eye, the puff saw Spark and his sister running towards him.

"Awesome, you rescued her!" He exclaimed.

"Brother, who is he?" Lighting asked, tilting her head.

"My name is Kirby! It's nice to meet you!" The puff waved after kicking another attacking ninja.

"Oh, you're the friend my brother keeps talking about! Did you help him come here?"

"Yup!"

"Thank you so much! I'm sorry that you had to get involved though..."

"No problem! This is honestly a lot more fun than listening to my mentor's lectures late at night!"

"While I'm glad you two are getting along, we're not done here yet." Spark then tossed a Bomber at Kirby, who caught it.

"Um, what's this for?"

"We're blowing this place up. It'll draw Tage out of hiding."

The puff blinked in surprised before giving an understanding nod. He then dropped the Ninja Ability and swallowed the Bomber, gaining the Crash Ability.

"Ok, once my sister and I get outside, that's your cue to let loose."

"Understood! Just give me a signal or something!" Bio Spark thought about what would make for a good signal. Something that Kirby could see no problem.

"Sister, you mastered the Blossom Storm, correct?"

"Y-yeah, you want me to use it when we get out?"

"We'll do it together. Kirby when you see even a single blossom, that will be the signal."

"Got it!"

The siblings nodded at Kirby and ran, getting outside in a manner of seconds. Once they reached a safe enough distance, it was time to begin the plan.

"Sister, are you ready?"

"Yes, brother."

"Then on the count of three. One. Two. Three!"

Upon saying "three", the siblings summoned a cherry blossoms around them with fans. Kirby noticed the beautiful storm of flower petals right away and used his Crash Ability to destroy the temple from the inside out. The building started to collapse, though Kirby thankfully had enough energy to escape himself before he could get crushed. Watching from afar, Bio Spark noticed a certain figure jump out from the top of the collapsing building.

"That's him. Sister, stay here, I'll be back as soon as I can. Kirby should meet up with you in a bit."

There was a moment of silence.

"I'll come back alive, you can trust me."

As much as she seemed to want to help him, Light agreed and remained where she was. Seeing this, he headed in the figure's direction.

Bio Spark quickly caught up to his fleeing uncle and immediately drew his katana. The fleeing shinobi noticed this at once.

"Ah, little Sparky, I wonder who it was that was disrupting my plans. How's my favorite nephew been?"

"Hand over the scrolls, Tage. I'll let you walk away if you do."

"What, you don't want to talk to dear old uncle? Typical, you are your father's son after all." Tage spat out venomously, drawing his own sword as well.

"It's not too late, just hand over the scrolls and you won't get hurt." The ninja uttered in an even more serious tone.

"You know I won't do that, Sparky. The future of my new clan is at stake!"

"I see. May the better ninja win."

The leaped at each other at each other with incredible speed, clashing blades with equally overwhelming power and speed. Tage kicked Spark away, who then threw a barrage of kunai. Tage countered with his own kunai, but that just left him open for Spark to perform his quad shock technique. However, the attack merely landed on a clone of Tage and the ninja was stabbed from behind by the real one. The shinobi's triumphant smirk changed into shock when "Spark" turned into a Blossom Storm, temporarily blinding him. The real Spark quickly grabbed the scrolls from his uncle and replaced them with fake, almost identical scrolls. Tage, now unblinded, looked at Spark with a murderous glare.

"Prepare yourself, Sparky, I'll show you the power of these scrolls!" He said with a laugh. When the shinobi opened it, however, it was completely blank.

"Looking for this?" The ninja uttered, opening the real scroll. "Bio Clan Secret Technique: Cosmic Flash!"

Once those words left his mouth, Spark's body began to shine brightly, consuming the entire area in a blinding light. Tage screamed in pain, the light burning his eyes. Soon, he couldn't see that light anymore. In fact, he couldn't see anything. Tage was permanently blinded. Spark just looked at his defeated uncle. The ninja part of him told him to finish off Tage right then and there. But instead, he decided to listen to what his heart said.

"Goodbye, uncle. Never approach our clan ever again."

With that, Spark left to rejoin his sister and friend.

Spark returned to see his sister and Kirby talking to each other, a happy smile on both of their faces. It made him extremely happy to see the two getting along.

"Ah, Bio Spark, you're back!" Kirby exclaimed in his normal happy tone upon seeing the ninja.

Both of them ran towards him in excitement.

"Brother, you got the scrolls as well!" His sister said.

"Yes, I did."

Then the puff tilted his head in wondering.

"So... um... what happened to your uncle then? Did you...?"

"He's alive. He won't be able to do harm to us again. He won't be seeing anything for a while."

Kirby then gave a smile. "Well, that's a relief!"

"Perhaps, but the true relief is that Light is safe. Kirby, I believe I speak for both of us when I say, thank you."

Light nodded enthusiastically. "Yup! And I'm also happy that we got to finally meet, even if the circumstances aren't that good."

"No need to thank me, I'm just happy to help..." Kirby said bashfully. He then summoned the Warp Star. "I guess I should take you two home. Oh, and we can hi to Meta Knight and Ms. Gale."

"Oh, Gale's at home now? That's interesting..." Light seemed to utter under her breath.

"Yes, she's there treating everyone that was hurt in the attack." Spark said.

"Hmm? Is there something wrong with Ms. Gale?"

"Oh, that's right, I guess you wouldn't know..." Light uttered.

Then Bio Spark added. "I'll explain it when we get going, ok?"

The puff nodded as the trio boarded the Warp Star.

During the trip back, Bio Spark began his short explanation.

"Long story short, a couple of years ago, Gale was greatly scorned upon by the rest of the clan because she wanted heal people instead of kill them."

"Oh. That's stupid." Kirby said bluntly.

"Well, the clan elders before father were stupid." Light replied in an equally blunt fashion.

"Indeed. While the two of us, mother, and father don't hold any ill will towards her, the rest of the clan is another matter."

"So is that why she works for Meta Knight? And why was she so quick to agree to help?"

"Yes, that is one of the reasons she's with the Meta-Knights. As for why she was so quick to help the clan, Gale takes her duties as a healer very seriously. She'll treat any patient, regardless of who they are. Even if it's someone who has scorned her very existence."

"Well... that makes sense. I would probably help them, too, if I was her. Wait, you said that there's other reasons why she's with the Meta-Knights...?"

"Yes, but it would be better if you ask her yourself. She'd explain things far better than me. Worry not my friend, Gale is very fond of you. I'm sure she'll answer any question you have."

"Ok then! And yeah, I know. She's really nice to me, where some of the other Meta-Knights could be bullies to me at times..." The child said with a slight pout.

"Oh really? Maybe I should pay these bullies a visit..." Light uttered with a mischievous smile as she giggled sinisterly.

"Sister, please don't start a war with Gale's co-workers." Spark gave a slight sigh.

"Um... based on what Meta Knight told me, I don't think she'd need your help with hurting them either...they're kind of afraid of her treatments..."

"You heard what he said, Light."

"Finneee..." Light pouted upon hearing that.

Spark couldn't help but make parallels between his friend and his sister whenever they pouted childishly. He let out a slight chuckle.

"Hm? What are you laughing about?" Kirby asked.

"Nothing, my friend. I'm just glad my sister has someone outside of our clan she can connect with."

The puff then gave a smile. "That's great! Maybe when your village is rebuilt, we can spend a day together!"

"Really!? Can he come brother?"

"Of course. And if anyone has any issues with that, they'll have to speak with me personally."

"Will mother and father be fine with it, too!?"

"After they learn that Kirby helped rescue you? Definitely."

His sister's eyes seemed to shine in excitement. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

With that, the trio sped towards the home of Spark and Light, all while the sun began to rise.

Honestly this might be my new favorite chapter. Not just because Bio Spark is one of my favorite Helpers, but also because it's very well-written imo.

Hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did writing it!