Fumu, Bun and Kirby walked into Pupu Village. The village had no streetlamps; the lit torch Meta Knight gave the party was the only thing allowing them to see. The three moved forward past rows of deceptively peaceful homes and closed storefronts, Kirby bravely walking forward into the darkness while Fumu and Bun timidly crept behind him. The three made their way through the town, wandering aimlessly; their only goal was to see if anything was amiss. However, Pupu Village appeared the same as it always did. Being a small and quiet town, most stores were closed with the sun's setting with a few exceptions such as Samo's bar. It was so late at night that one could call it technically call it early in the morning and be correct; even the bar had closed. It was quiet save for the slow, steady chirp of a stray cricket.
The group suddenly heard a strange crunching noise. They stopped at once, backs pressed against each other as Bun held the shaky torch up high in the air.
"Hey! We see you, and we're not afraid!" Bun lied, hand holding the torch shaking so much that the flame whipped back and forth above them.
A figure erratically made its way past them, black shadow barely visible at the edge of the torch's light. It was too far from the torch to see who it was. Bun nearly dropped the torch in fear as the figure startled them.
"H-hey! Wait up! Stop!" Fumu cried. The silhouette looked like a Cappy, and she feared for the safety of anyone wandering the streets of Pupu Village at night after the strange event they witnessed.
The figure paused. It then turned, moving towards the group. Fumu and Bun's eyes grew wide in terror as the figure approached the torchlight. The smell of death filled their noseholes just as it did in the graveyard, the creature clearly rotting. Barely visible in the flickering torch's light was a thin trail of blood and bile that had been leaking out of the bloated body as it shambled forward. The creature leaned in to look at them with empty eye sockets, top lip rotted away to give the Cappy a permanent grimace. It was a walking corpse.
"ZOMBIE!" Fumu screamed.
Bun threw the torch at the figure uselessly, the fire landing at its feet before winking out. The two children began to run away blindly, flailing their arms and screaming in panic. Kirby shivered but held his ground, holding his arms outward and facing the rotting corpse head on. The creature leaned forward, opening its blackened mouth. Kirby trembled but stayed still, ready to fight the horror before him in order to protect his friends.
The zombie continued to advance with its mouth open before stopping suddenly. The top half of its body slowly slid to the ground with the sound similar to a dropped garbage bag, rotting organs and blood spilling out of the body. Behind the sagging halves of the body stood Meta Knight, his golden sword wet with the monster's blood. Kirby stepped back a few paces, both hands on his mouth; the smell of the freshly-exhumed corpse's rotting organs being eviscerated in front of him was almost too much for even his strong stomach.
Meta Knight held up his own torch in his other hand, the light casting stark shadows on his mask and armor.
"Kirby, quickly! Inhale this. Stabbing the undead will do no good; they must be burned to ash!"
Kirby's green-tinged face paled further at the thought of having to open his mouth and inhale over a dead body, but he understood what Meta Knight was saying. He reluctantly opened his mouth, using force of will to inhale instead of vomit as Meta Knight threw the torch at him.
The torch disappeared into Kirby's mouth; within seconds, his skin turned dark red as a crown of flame leaped to life on his head. He had become Fire Kirby.
Fire Kirby watched in horror as the two body halves next to him began to squirm. A shaky rotting hand reached out as the upper torso lurched towards him, leaving a trail of organs behind in its wake as the undead Cappy's head turned to look at Kirby with the same lifeless, toothy grimace. Fire Kirby screamed and hopped back a pace before blowing a column of flame at the zombie, the reach of his flame so wide that Meta Knight had to leap out of the way to avoid being burned himself. The corpse quickly became engulfed in frames. A low, shuddering voiceless rattle erupted from it as its rotting flesh began to crackle and blacken. Kirby blew fire with all of his might, using his powerful lungs to their fullest; he never wanted something to stop moving so badly in his life. Finally, after seconds of prolonged exposure to flame, the charred corpse stopped moving. It grew still.
Fire Kirby held a hand to his hammering heart, catching his breath. He then began to look around frantically; Fumu and Bun had run out of his sight as they panicked. He felt his own fear grow at the thought of the two children running through the dangerous streets, alone and helpless. It was not long before their screams rang through the roadway, alerting Fire Kirby to their location. Fire Kirby sprinted off so fast that flames licked his heels, dark thoughts of the zombies dragging the helpless children away haunting him.
Fire Kirby soon found Fumu and Bun. Sword, Blade and Meta Knight stood in front of them, hacking away at a growing crowd of zombies. Their swords uselessly cut through the flesh of the creatures as the animated corpses pressed forward without a pause, unhindered by mortal wounds. Kirby balled his fingerless hands into fists as he charged forward, body engulfed in flames as he dove right into the crowd of undead bodies. The creatures hissed as the burning contacted them, shambling back. Kirby whipped his head around and rapid-fired balls of fire into the undead horde, torching them all one at a time. They quickly became engulfed in flames, one catching fire on another as they were all pressed together. They moaned and writhed in place as Meta Knight grabbed the two children by the hands and led them away, Sword and Blade quickly running after them before the growing fire engulfed them all.
Fire Kirby dove through his own flames a few moments later, having made sure that every undead monstrosity was charred beyond recognition. He ran to catch up with his friends, who were standing some distance away. Fumu looked at the small red-skinned creature as he approached, throwing her arms around him in a big hug.
"Thank you, Kirby." Fumu said in a shaky voice. "You're a lifesaver."
Fire Kirby hugged her back, eyes squeezed shut and grimacing. "Scary" he squeaked.
Bun ran his fingers through his own hair, doing his best to mask his own fear now that the immediate danger was over. "That's a massive understatement" he quipped.
Meta Knight's glowing eyes shifted to one side. He leaned forward, cupping one gloved hand to an earhole.
"We aren't done", the masked veteran stated grimly. "Hear that? They're gathering over there."
The others strained their ears. Sure enough, the sounds of faint shuffling and moaning could be heard a short distance away.
"That sounds like...no way. The museum?!" Fumu asked incredulously.
"At least they're not breaking into random homes to attack villagers" Sword noted.
"Small comfort" Bun retorted. "They almost got us back there!"
Meta Knight shook his head. "I do not believe they are acting on free will. They appear to be drawn there for some reason. We need to investigate. Kirby...get ready."
Fire Kirby nodded, the crown of fire on his head growing higher in response. He didn't care if he had to stay up all night burning zombies; this was wrong. It was a violation of life and nature. They needed to be destroyed, every single one of them.
The five crept towards the zombies, pausing at a distance safe enough for the children to escape but close enough for the warriors to push forward. All six gaped at the sight; before them stood bodies in various stages of decay, their normally brown-skin tinged green and black with rot, many with bones and organs clearly visible. Every single body was trying to shove its way into the museum, pushing into other zombies in its rush to enter first. The smell of death, which was more subtle before, was unbelievably strong from nearly all of the graveyard's corpses being gathered in one place. There was a sudden crash that caused everyone present to jump; one by one, the zombies disappeared into the museum after having apparently broken down its door.
Fire Kirby had enough. He launched himself forward, burning a fiery path into the museum. One by one the animated corpses melted into a pile of charred limbs and flesh, their unarmored civilian bodies having no defense against Kirby's flame. The others quickly followed behind him, Fumu and Bun shutting their eyes in terror as they ran through the wounded horde.
Inside the museum, nothing was on but a security light and several exit signs. The group continued to pass by undead monsters that appeared to be milling about, seemingly randomly scattered throughout the museum. Fire Kirby dispatched the individual zombies easily, finding it curious that they were not aggressive like the ones outside were. It was almost as if they were distracted. At one point, the group stopped at the sight of a uniformed body which was found lying face down.
"Kirby, did you get this one?" Sword asked.
Fire Kirby shook his head no in response.
Meta Knight leaned forward, examining the body. "This body is not undead", he stated after standing closer to the body than anyone else dared to. "It is a victim."
Fumu lowered her head. "Must have been the museum guard...poor guy."
"May he rest well" Blade stated, looking away.
Meta Knight's gaze hardened. "Let's finish this before they claim anyone else."
The others nodded in unison, traveling deeper into the museum. After a while, Fumu noticed that one museum light was on.
"Hey guys, look. The light's on in that room." Fumu stated, motioning the others over with a wave of her hand.
Bun's jaw dropped slowly. "Hey, Sis...isn't this where that ancient Cappy exhibit was?"
"Wow...good catch, Bun. I think you're right" Fumu responded, raising an eyebrow.
The group cautiously approached the lit room. Meta Knight and Kirby stood at either side of the door way. Their eyes met; they gave a single nod to each other. The two charged into the room at the same time, squinting as the bright light hit their eyes. In the room was a horde of undead, all swarming around one particular display and pounding on the glass. They did not seem to even notice or care about the presence of the two Star Warriors.
Meta Knight tore his gaze away from the disturbing sight to see another figure. Standing on top of another glass display case, his bone staff glowing, was the skull-masked figure responsible for raising the dead.
Meta Knight's eyes turned scarlet as he whipped out Galaxia, the tip of his blade pointing at the figure.
"YOU." he snarled.
The rounded figure, looking much like Kirby and Meta Knight himself, turned to look at the two. He began to laugh, eerie deep voice echoing through the large, domed room.
"Sir Meta Knight!" The winged creature addressed him in a disturbingly friendly tone. "Fancy seeing you here! I thought you died long ago."
Meta Knight's fists quivered with rage. "I had hoped the same fate befell you, Necromancer."
The round creature's green eyes dimmed behind his mask. "Charming as always, you old bastard. I wasn't expecting this village to contain anything but pantywaist Cappies, but you won't be able to stop me anyway. Push harder!" He cried to the undead horde, the tip of his bone staff glowing a bright blue.
"What is he-" Meta Knight wondered aloud, his thoughts interrupted by a loud crash as the display case toppled forward from the force of dozens of bodies pushing it. The glass shattered, the relics contained within scattering across the room in all directions.
The Capiwa figure, which remarkably remained intact despite its fall, was quickly scooped up by the Necromancer. His eyes shone blue with happiness as he held the coveted relic, cradling it to his body in the crook of his other arm.
"The Capiwa? All of this was over that thing?!" Bun exclaimed.
The Necromancer looked up, staring at Bun with his cold eyes until the boy flinched. "Fools." he sneered. "You have no idea the power this artifact contains."
The Necromancer turned to face Meta Knight. "I should eliminate you, Meta Knight, and your two worthless goons while feeding the children to my friends here" he said, gesturing to the undead who had frozen in place like automatons upon their 'mission' being completed. "However, I have work to do. With this in my hands, I can now get what I truly want."
The Necromancer spread his broad, black wings and flew through the large room towards the doorway. Meta Knight charged after him with his sword out, but the zombies quickly reacted at the threat to their master and attacked him all at once.
"One way or another, you will all die soon", the Necromancer stated smugly, landing in the doorway beyond the wall of bodies and looking over his winged shoulder. "When the Orb is in my hands, there will not be a single living soul left on Popstar."
"Farewell" the Necromancer stated with a flit of his wings.
"Get back here! Monster!" Meta Knight cried, slashing his sword frantically to try and clear a path through the horde of risen Cappies that clawed at his cloak and armor.
"Sir!" Fire Kirby cried. He then blew fire into the crowd, searing the rotting flesh off the zombie's bones in the same way he had done outside earlier. The enclosed room began to fill with smoke and flame, the fire quickly catching on fragile paper artifacts and paintings. Sword, Blade, Fumu and Bun ran out of the room the second they had space to, choking from the smoke. Kirby and Meta Knight stood back, Meta Knight's slashing slowing the undead mob slightly by lopping off limbs while Fire Kirby finished them all off by bathing the corpses in flame. The two Star Warriors were soon forced to retreat as well, the smoke's fumes choking them.
The group ran out of the museum, scrambling over charred corpses as they desperately tried to escape the burning building. They stood outside the museum's smoking entrance, gasping for air. Fumu felt her heart sink as she watched the museum go up in flames; many priceless artifacts and pieces of history, almost exclusively donated by Curio, were being destroyed before her very eyes. Fire Kirby stood forward, facing the museum with his deep blue eyes trained onto the its ruined front doorway. If anything undead tried to escape, he would douse it in fire.
In time, a single silhouette lurched forward from the flames. Its shape was noticeably rounder than that of a Cappy, though it still had a taller and slimmer build than Kirby's species. Fire Kirby took a deep breath when Fumu's piercing cry startled him out of attacking.
"Bun...grandpa! It's grandpa!"
"No! No, no, no, not like this" Bun whimpered, tears rolling past his bangs and down his cheeks.
The figure lurching towards the group was none other than the resurrected corpse of grandpa Lumu. His eyes rotted out of his skull, his hair and beard wild and matted, his lips partially rotted away, the decayed body lurched forwards while still attired in the same formal garb he had worn to his own funeral. The sight was too much for Fumu. She fell to her knees, overcome by fear and horror. Bun stood transfixed, silent as tears poured down his cheeks, too overwhelmed to move.
Meta Knight's eyes flickered as he watched the vision of the children's loved one, corrupted, lurching towards Fumu and Bun with deadly intent as if it had stepped out of their nightmares. The sight of the children being tortured by a twisted perversion of their beloved family member bothered him more than all of the gory sights he had witnessed earlier.
"Stars Above" Meta Knight hissed at the sight, flinging his cape around himself with one arm while the other held out Galaxia.
The masked Star Warrior turned to Kirby, eyes taking on a gray tinge as he spoke sorrowfully. "Kirby. End their pain."
Kirby did not understand why the children reacted so differently to this zombie, who looked just the same to him as the others, but he knew from everyone's strong reaction that it needed to be put to rest. He blew a torrent of flame at the corpse, who still continued to push forward mindlessly even as Kirby roasted it. The shambling corpse's movements slowed, fire catching onto his beard and clothes as his rotting flesh began to slough off from the heat. Fumu looked up, eyes widened in horror; the image of her relative's animated corpse shambling towards her, burning to pieces, was seared into her mind forever. Grandpa Lumu finally fell over, unable to continue moving under the assault of Kirby's fire. Neither Fumu or Bun moved after he fell; they stayed in place, transfixed, too traumatized to move. Sword and Blade ran over to comfort them, Sword giving Fumu a hug while Blade put his arm around Bun's shoulder.
"It's okay, guys." Sword said soothingly. "It's over."
"No...no, it's not" Fumu responded, her voice barely a whisper.
Meta Knight said nothing. He regarded the two with cold, yellow eyes, his masked face expressionless. He then took to the air, spreading his wings before hovering at his desired altitude while rotating in place slowly. There was no sign of the Necromancer. He was gone.
Meta Knight cursed loudly, swinging Galaxia in the air in a fit of rage. Being a war veteran the sight of anonymous corpses, even those that had come back to life, did not phase him as much as they might other people. However, seeing the pain on the children's faces really brought home how horrible the Necromancer's deeds were. Meta Knight wanted him to pay for what he had done. His thoughts darkened. Death would not be enough for the twisted creature; it would be too kind. Meta Knight wished there was a way to parade the corpses of the Necromancer's lost relatives in front of his face like lifeless meat puppets, just as he did with Lumu's body to Fumu and Bun. Meta Knight's eyes glowed red, scarlet pinpoints glinting like stars in the night sky.
"Nothing, huh?" Blade asked as Meta Knight landed, his wings crumpling and folding into a cape that limply draped around him. Meta Knight shook his head silently in response.
"If those lights were really a ship, and the lights are gone, that means the ship has been cloaked out" Sword said, sighing. "Who knows where he is now?"
Meta Knight looked up, eyes lightening to their neutral yellow tone as he regained his composure.
"I might."