Chapter 46 – The Ripple Star Massacre

As the eight of us continued to ride on Dyna Blade's back, seemingly hanging on as hard as we could as she flew really fast in the middle of space, we passed by a couple other planets that resonate with this world. And Adeleine was explaining them all to us visitors.

There was one called Rock Star, a desert planet mostly made up of rocks and sand.

Aqua Star, a mostly wet planet with small tropical islands and sandy beaches.

Neo Star, a jungle planet largely untouched by civilization.

We eventually passed by Shiver Star again. Adeleine didn't want to talk about it. And for a good reason, too.

And then in the near distance was another planet. A heart-shaped one with a cute little face on it. It had three smaller hearts, two on top and one on the bottom, and its rings are two yellow bows. It was definitely the cutest planet I've ever seen.

"There it is, everyone. That's Ripple Star." Adeleine said.

"Woah! It's so cute-looking!" I said.

"Looks like something you would draw during class, Amitie." Raffina said.

"H-Hey!"

"Is this really Ribbon's home planet?" Ringo asked.

"It sure is." Adeleine said. "It's home to lots of fairies like Ribbon."

"I do hope everyone's okay. The Queen especially. If she's gone, then the planet is doomed." Ribbon looked extremely worried. As she should be. Some fallen angel is about to attack her home for the SECOND time. She must be reliving a nightmare right now.

"Ribbon, don't worry. All of us are here with you. We won't let Zero consume Ripple Star into darkness again. We beat it last time and we'll do it again."

"Poyo!" Kirby cheered. While Bandanna-Dee nodded with confidence.

"Adeleine…"

"Yeah!" I cheered. "And you've got us, too! We'll help in any way we can! Right, guys?!"

"Right!" Arle, Ringo, and Raffina cheered with me.

"E-Everyone…" Ribbon went silent for a bit. Then grew a smile on her face as she gained enough confidence to rid her worries away.

"*giggle* I'm counting on you guys!"

"Likewise, Ribbon!" Adeleine said while giving her best friend a hug.

"Poyo…poyo poyo!"

*screeching bird noise*

Dyna Blade flew even faster as we were about to land on Ribbon's home planet. In hopes of saving it from a future in eternal darkness.


World of Fairies – Ripple Star

We soon entered the planet's atmosphere. And I gotta say…

THIS IS THE CUTEST PLACE I'VE EVER BEEN TO!

Everything's all colorful and pretty! The ground! The flowers! The sky! There are so many rainbows! And the fountains here spew out bubble hearts and bubble musical notes! It's all so pretty! Cute! Adorable, even!

"Hahahaha…I never want to leave this place."

"Looks like Am's girling out over this place." Ringo said.

"It's to be expected. She's the girliest person I know." Raffina said.

"So…cutie…"

"Hey. Earth to Amitie…" Arle said as she waved her hand in my face.

Let's just say that it took me a while to get used to it all.

We each stepped off of Dyna Blade and followed Ribbon around the area. Despite the place being so cute, Ripple Star was completely deserted. And it was starting to scare Ribbon a bit.

"Ooh…where is everyone? Did they get my message in time?"

"Message?" Adeleine asked.

"I sent a message beforehand warning everyone of Zero's return. I didn't get a response back. And now seeing this place deserted like this…"

"Ribbon!"

We then saw what looked like a fairy flying towards us in a fit of panic. There were a few minor details (her hair being purple and wearing a blue dress of sorts). But besides those things, she looked a lot like Ribbon.

"Ah! Celeste!"

And there's also that.

"Wh-Where is everyone?" Ribbon asked.

"Not to worry. We received your message in time. Her Majesty is in a safe location."

"*sigh* That's good to hear." That news seemed to easy Ribbon's worries a bit.

"Which begs me to ask…has Zero really returned?"

"Unfortunately, yes. We came here to make sure the Crystal is protected as well. No doubt it'll try to destroy it again."

"I see. Well…I must thank you, Star Warrior. Coming all this way to save our home once more. I can honestly see how Ribbon has these special feelings for yo-"

"C-Celeste!" Ribbon yelled with a mild blush on her face.

"*giggle* Alright, I'll stop."

"Poyo poyo poyo?"

"Eh…don't worry about it, Kirby." I said to him.

"Oh? And are these the "other-worlders" you mentioned about?"

"Yes. They are." Ribbon said.

"They've helped us greatly throughout their time here. They'll be a great help, trust us." Adeleine added.

"I see. Well, I thank you four in advance. Our majesty, and the entirety of Ripple Star, is in your debt."

"Not a problem. We'll all happy to help." I said. With the other three agreeing with me.

"So, is the Crystal safe as well, Celeste?" Ribbon asked.

"Yes. It should be. We kept it on heavy guard while we made sure her majesty was safe. It should be well protected by our-"

*BOOM*

"Wah! Wh-What was that?!" Ringo asked. Scared out of her mind.

"It came from that building over there." Bandanna-Dee wrote on his board.

"Th-That's the castle! It's where the Crystal is being held!" Celeste yelled in a panic.

"Oh no! Quick! We must get there at once!" Ribbon yelled as both fairies flew off ahead.

"H-Hey! Ribbon!" Adeleine yelled. "*sigh* Geez. She's in such a panic that she forgot about us. It's a good thing I know how to get there. Just follow me, everyone."

"Alright. Lead the way, Adeleine." Raffina said.

"Wowie-wow-wow. I get to see more of this cute and pretty world. Hahahaha…"

"Amitie…please come back to us." Arle said to me while the others were mildly disturbed by my current mood right now.


We followed Adeleine to the castle where we caught up to Ribbon and her friend. Inside, though…was a complete wreck. The castle was almost destroyed beyond repair. It was still standing, but the roof was completely non-existent.

There were also a bunch of other fairies that were either knocked out from the castle debris or suffered some real intense injuries.

Most were not breathing.

"W-Woah. Wh-What happened here?" I asked in shock as we looked around the damaged castle.

"R-Run…"

"Oh no! Maria!" Ribbon shouted as she flew up to one of her friends that was buried beneath the rubble. "Maria! What happened?! Are you okay?!"

"R-Ribbon…r-run. Save your…self."

"R-Run?! Wh-Why?! Maria, what happened?!"

"Th-The Crystal…Zero…"

"It sounds like we're too late." Ringo said.

"R-Ribbon…C-Celeste…pl-please run. S-Save yourselves…" That was the last thing the fairy named Maria said before closing her eyes and collapsing her head on the floor.

"Maria!"

Raffina walked up to the down fairy and checked for a pulse. It took her a while to give us an answer. And I had a bad feeling on what it was.

"R-Ribbon…sh-she's dead."

"Nooooooooooo!" Ribbon shouted. Her heart shattered after realizing that she had just watched her friend die right in front of her.

"Ribbon! I really do think we should get out of-"

"*creepy demented giggle*"

"Wh-What was that?" Ribbon's other friend Celeste asked in fear.

"Oh. More fairies. Guessed I missed some."

"Wh-Who-"

*SLAM*

"Celeste!" Ribbon shouted.

Out of nowhere, a giant stone slab came by and slammed Celeste so hard it flew her to the nearby wall. She fell to the floor where blood started pouring from her head.

"O…O-Ow…"

"Celeste! Hold on, I'm coming!"

As Ribbon flew over to her injured friend, the rest of us noticed something. The remaining rubble that wasn't crushing a fairy were starting to float up in the air. And they were floating above Ribbon and her friend.

"R-Ribbon…pl-please. You must flee."

"Celeste, no! I already lost Maria and I'm going to lose you too!"

"*creepy demented giggle* Fine by me. It's killing two fairies with one…oops. I mean multiple stones. *creepy demented giggle*"

"H-Huh?! Wh-Who said…"

"Poyo!"

"Ribbon, look out!"

Kirby and I rushed over grabbed Ribbon before the rubble came crashing down.

Unfortunately…we couldn't save her friend.

"Celeste!" Ribbon screamed in horror as she watched yet another friend die right in front of her.

"Aw, shucks. Looks like I missed. Oh, well."

"Grr…WHO THE HELL KEEPS TALKING LIKE THAT?!" Raffina shouted with rage.

"Ooh. I made poor Raffi mad. I always liked the feisty ones. *creepy demented giggle*"

"W-Wait…guys. Th-That voice…" I said.

"Now that I hear it more clearly, it sounds an awful lot like Arle's." Bandanna-Dee wrote on his board.

"A-A creepy voice that's similar to mine? D-Does that mean…"

Before Arle could finish her question, a black shadow started appearing right in front of us. The shadow started forming into a humanoid body of a girl. And a creepy smile appeared as it was all happening.

The shadowy girl had finished forming. And it appeared to be wearing a black & grey tie-dye t-shirt, worn-out light-grey jean shorts, and black & white boots similar to Arle's white & blue ones.

And speaking of which, the shadow looked a lot like her. Some minor differences were the fact her hair was let down and…somewhat of a brownish color. And the color black…it was all over her. Her clothes, the marks on her body, her eyes. There was even a small black feather in her hair. It wa so hard to believe that I was looking at another Arle.

B-But I was.

And I didn't like it.

"A-Arle. Th-This girl…"

"I-It's…the clone from Shiver Star." Ringo and I were so afraid right now. As this clone…felt WAY different from the rest. In a bad way.

"Oh? So these are the two? The Legendary Star Warrior and The Light Soul. *giggle* I've heard so much about you two. It's an honor to meet you…"

Arle's clone then disappeared from in front of us without any warning.

"H-Huh?!" Ringo began to panic. "Wh-Where'd she-"

"*creepy demented giggle*"

She then reappeared in between us. Scaring us completely. Then wrapped herself around Arle and got close to her face.

"…But my interest is only with this little kitten right here. *giggle*"

"Th-This little…k-kitten? Wh-What do you mean with that?" Arle started blushing as she was really close with her clone.

"Come, on." The clone said as she started face caressing the original's cheeks. "Don't tell me you're still denying it, my little kitten. You can't hide it for long."

"H-Hide what?"

"*giggle* Oh…you know." The clone then did something that was really unthinkable in my eyes. She wrapped her arms around Arle's neck and…k-k-kissed her! O-O-On the lips! W-With no hesitation at all!

Wh-What the hell is going on?!

The clone then teleported away and reappeared back in front of all of us. Snickering and giggling at what she just did.

"Delicious."

"Wh-Whoa…" Adeleine said.

"Wh-What the hell?" Raffina asked.

"What…was…that?" Ringo asked. She was more shocked than any of us combined.

Arle, on the other hand, was dead silent. Her face was so red that you couldn't even tell that it was her. And she wouldn't look at any of us. Not even her clone.

"*giggle* Someone's shy." The clone said.

"J-Just what are you?! Why did you do such a thing?!" I yelled.

"Oh, dear. I completely forgot. I must complete my mission."

"Your mission?"

"H-Hold on…are you saying…YOU did all this damage?!" Adeleine asked.

"Fufufufufu...guilty as charged."

"Wh…wh…wh…WHY?!" Ribbon screamed. Her eyes wear filled with tears of a mix of sadness, fear, and anger. "WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING?! YOU KILLED ALL OF MY FRIENDS!"

"*giggle* I know, right? A special request given to me. By the future ruler of dimensions. The Fallen Angel of Darkness. My master."

"The Fallen Angel of Darkness…you mean Zero told you to do this?!" I asked.

"Right you are, Light Soul. I am now a proud servant of the all-mighty Zero. My master commanded me to come to this planet. And rid it of its residents. As they were a nuisance to its plans all those years ago."

"A-And the Crystal?" Adeleine asked.

"Destroyed that, too. As it was my master's only weakness."

" A-And her majesty? Wh-Where is she?" Ribbon asked.

"That old hag? She was the first to go. None stood a chance against the mixed powers of a soul and a fallen angel. They realized such. And surrendered their lives to my master. Fufufufufu."

"N-No. I-It can't be…" Ribbon then started to fly up from the ground. Still weak from the truth she heard and the double-murder she had just witnessed.

"Y-You've ruined my home.

You've killed my friends…and my queen.

And you've destroyed the only chance we had to defeat Zero.

Y-You…

Y-You're…

YOU'RE A MONSTER! I HATE YOU SO MUCH, YOU EVIL PSYCHO!"

R-Ribbon…

"*giggle* Ah, ah, ah, Ribbon. Using such hurtful words is a no-no. I'll have to punish you for that. Hmm…your life should do the trick. And I'll do your friends as a bonus. *creepy demented giggle*"

"Wh-What?"

The Arle clone raised her hand. And a dark shadowy sphere started forming from her palm. It grew bigger and bigger. Until it was as big as a giant puyo.

"*giggle* Ready for this? Diamond Cutie!" The clone then fired the shadow ball at us.

No…I can't…let this happen. After coming this far, too.

"Reflect For-"

"Puyo Mirror!"

*PING*

*BOOM*

"H-Huh?! Wh-What?!"

"Amitie! Look!" Adeleine said.

I looked to where she was pointing…and saw what…

What looked like…

"K-Kirby?!"

He wasn't his normal pink color anymore. Kirby was now a mix of all the colors of a rainbow. And his galaxy-like eyes were replaced with ones of pure whiteness. He was also more jiggly, too.

Almost like…a puyo.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh…What happened to you, Kirby?!" I begin panicking.

Kirby didn't answer my question. In fact no, one did. We just sat there and watched as Kirby stood there. Face-to-face with Arle's fallen angel clone.

"Ooh. This is interesting." She said. Then went silent as she placed her left hand over her left ear.

"Hmm? Master…are you sure?"

"Okay. As you wish, my future universal overlord. *giggle*" She then lowered her hand and went back to us.

"So sorry to cut this short, Star Warrior. But my master doesn't want me to fight you. It wants you all to itself. Along with the Light Soul."

"I-It wants…to fight me?" I asked.

But I was ignored once again. As the clone teleported again. And was back to cuddling the embarrassed Arle while being near inches to her face.

"And I'll be back for you later. My sweet and precious little kitten. *giggle* *creepy demented giggle*"

"I-I…"

"Hey! Back the hell off!" We all looked shocked as we turned to who just yelled that.

As that person…was Ringo.

"Ooh. Looks like I've struck a nerve. Just so you know, Ringie. I also like smart girls. Fufufufufu."

Ringo didn't say anything. But I can tell she was getting more angry with this shadowy fallen angel of a clone.

"Arrivederci, everyone. See you soon. *loud creepy demented giggle*" This was the last thing Arle's messed-up clone said to us before disappearing out of the destroyed castle. Her laughs slowly getting quieter as time went by.

"Oh. My. God." Raffina said.

"It looks like Zero has recruited Arle's clone to do its bidding." Bandanna-Dee wrote on his board.

"We gotta tell the others! And fast!" I yelled.

"Poyo!"

"Uh…guys." Adeleine said.

We then looked at the only two people who've barely said a word most of that encounter. One was filled with embarrassment, while the other was overloaded with sadness and depression.

"A-Arle? R-Ribbon?" I said.

Neither said a word. And the two walked/flew out the ruined castle in total silence.

Zero hasn't even being freed for that long. And it's already caused so much destruction. Embarrassing the hell out of one friend and ruining the life of another.

This is a huge problem.

And we're nowhere close to stopping it.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Zero's reign of destruction and revenge had begun. And to start, it has created Shadow Arle. Previously Arle's clone made by Amitwo, now a demented mix of a soul and a fallen angel. She's destroyed everything that represents Ripple Star. Shattering the Crystal and murdering all of its residents aside from Ribbon.

All part of Zero's plan for universal annihilation.

Sorry if this chapter seems darker than the others. It's just that…well, if you're a Kirby fan, you know that around this part of the game (any game, really), it gets really, really dark. To the point where you don't want to think about it too deeply…but you do it anyway. Because Kirby lore is surprisingly addicting.

Not sure when the next chapter will go up. Currently working on other stories. But do feel free to review/favorite/follow/kudos the story. Thanks for reading. Later.