The icy cavern remained pitch black. After a minute, a dim light cast from a torch illuminated the area. Meta Knight held his torch high, thankful that he brought enough of them to last the group during their journey. He looked around slowly, still disoriented from both the strange attack and the head wound he suffered earlier. An armored green helmet poked out from behind one of the nearby stalagmites, followed by another that was topped with a red plume. Sword and Blade had survived the attack. Meta Knight noted as he swung his torch around that there was no other light source; not only was the Necromancer gone, but Fire Kirby was no longer giving off any light as well. He froze momentarily, wondering if Kirby was even still alive.
Fumu and Bun poked their heads out from their hiding place at the opposite side of the cave, causing the blue Star Warrior to sigh through his mask in relief. If the children died while he and the others survived, he would never forgive himself.
"The Necromancer's gone" Meta Knight called to them, cupping his hand to his mouth as his deep voice echoed throughout the domed room.
The two siblings hurried towards the knights, fumbling half-blind through the frigid darkness as they headed towards the small, glowing light source that was Meta Knight's torch. As they ran, Fumu noted that there was a strange scratching noise coming from the walls nearby to them. The noise caused her heart to leap to her throat, even though the cavern appeared to be empty. She wanted to tell herself the noise was all in her head, or that it came from the ground settling after the Necromantic Orb's blast, but after the last ambush she did not even trust her own logical explanations for strange occurrences. Bun ran even faster than his sister, the sounds playing with his imagination and causing him to imagine terrible things waiting for them in the dark.
As the two children made it to Meta Knight, Sword and Blade, their worries were temporarily cast aside by a more urgent matter. One member of their group was still missing.
"Kirby? Where's Kirby?!" Fumu asked, her voice rising to a frantic pitch as she looked to her left and right.
Fumu's green eyes widened as she caught the sight of something usually pink amongst the stark blue and black landscape, barely visible at the edge of the flame's light. The group rushed over to Kirby, who laid face down on the ice. Meta Knight turned the young boy around with one arm, eyes trained on his chest for signs of breathing. He held Kirby's wrist for a few seconds, the others peering over his shoulder nervously. Meta Knight then proceeded to slap the boy's face several times, gently but firm enough to rouse him to consciousness.
"Wake up" Meta Knight coaxed, his tone urgent. Kirby's eyes scrunched while still closed, frowning at the touch, before his blue eyes blinked open slowly.
"Kirby! You're okay!" Fumu cried, diving past Meta Knight onto the icy ground to give her friend a hug. Kirby weakly hugged her back after a few seconds, his brain still processing what was happening around him.
"Guess he just blacked out" Blade said, the relief clear in his voice.
"How the hell did we survive that?" Sword asked, as thankful as everyone else but equally baffled that they were still standing.
"That blow should have killed us all" Meta Knight muttered, wrapping himself up in his cape and stepping back as Fumu helped Kirby to his feet. "The stalagmites must have blocked the Necromantic Orb. We got lucky."
"Why didn't he keep attacking us, then?" Bun asked.
"I'm not sure…he did say something about the Necromantic Orb sealing our fates. I don't feel any different, though" Blade mused, rotating his right arm curiously before glancing at his limbs and body.
Meta Knight said nothing. He held up a gloved arm to silence the others before unsheathing Galaxia with his free hand. The sacred sword's metal blade caught the reflection of the torch he held in his other hand, glowing faintly in the darkness.
"Ssh…listen" Meta Knight said in a hushed voice.
Fumu and Bun both froze in place, shaking even through their thick clothes. Fumu's heart sank at the confirmation that the noises she heard earlier were not, in fact, a figment of her own imagination. Meta Knight's eyes glowed brighter.
"That sound…it sounds like from earlier, when we were ambushed." Meta Knight turned around, facing the group. "We'd better get out of here."
The noises grew louder as the group proceeded towards the doorway. Sword's hidden jaw fell open as Meta Knight's torch cast its dim, flickering light on the once empty way out of the room. The armor-clad swordsman leaned forward, gloved hands gently dragging against the icy rocks which blocked their way.
"Shit! A cave in!" Sword cursed, pounding the rock uselessly with his fist in frustration.
"Don't panic. We can find our way out of this. I'm sure of it" Blade said, his voice thin and quavering from nerves.
"We will have to worry about that later..." Meta Knight said quickly, throwing his cape aside.
Sword and Blade tensed, withdrawing their own weapons; the odd sounds they had heard earlier were becoming too loud to ignore. Bun clutched Fumu and buried his head into her, choking back a sob as he gripped her coat hard enough that his hands hurt. The boy felt overwhelmed, frozen in fear. Fumu held him in return, the two pressing up against the icy wall of caved-in debris like trapped animals.
A sudden crash came from the far wall of the cave. The three knights turned their head towards the sound at once. Kirby began to look around frantically for something to inhale; the last bit of his fire power was spent and he had reverted back to normal, but if he ate Meta Knight's torch to become Fire Kirby again the entire group would be engulfed in total darkness if they strayed too far from him. The crash was followed by more odd sounds, clumps of ice falling to the ground from all around the cave's walls.
From within the darkness, shadowy figures began to advance towards the group. A reanimated Ax knight, half-frozen yet lurching steadily forward, came into view. A horrible screeching sound could be heard as the Ax Knight dragged his battleaxe behind him, the sharp edge of the weapon scraping against the ice with each step. Not far behind it were two Bukisets, their single cyclopean eyes glowing from within their elongated, silver helmets as they each clutched glowing elemental swords. The awful sickly smell of death, slightly dulled by the rotting flesh being half-frozen, hit the group's nostrils again.
Meta Knight drew back in fear as he realized now what the Necromancer's plan was; The Necromantic Orb did more than just attack them. The blast of unnatural energy awoke the body of every member of the Galaxy Soldier Army, every foolhardy adventurer, every one of Nightmare's Demon Beasts who died in the room in their attempt to retrieve the Orb in the past. More and more figures began to emerge from the dark, a variety of risen bodies covered in various types of armor. Monstrous Demon Beasts and armor-clad ex soldiers alike came from all directions, clawing the way out of the icy walls and rising from the ground. To Meta Knight's growing horror, he watched as dimly-glowing wisps of energy flew towards them from behind and around the pedestal where the Orb once sat. A single eye appeared in the center of each pale blue wisp as they began to take a vague shape similar to his own spherical body, a wide blood-red grin plastered on their translucent faces. They lifted spectral lances high in the air, a mass of them floating towards the group. The Necromantic Orb's twisted power went beyond the mere animation of corpses; the chained souls of dead warriors, now turned into Ghost Knights, were under its command as well.
Fumu's pale face went white as a sheet as she and Bun held each other. The sight of the Ghost Knights, floating along in the dark room alongside an army of undead warriors, was almost too much for her. Ever since she was a small child she had always dismissed the idea of ghosts as mere fairy-tales; yet here they were, materializing before her eyes.
"Form a circle around the children!" Meta Knight ordered. He handed his torch to Fumu and crouched low, squaring his feet as he held his arm back. Galaxia began to radiate with energy as Meta Knight prepared to unleash a Sword Beam. Sword and Blade did the same, standing a foot away from Meta Knight on each side as they prepared to charge. Kirby stood in front of them all, blue eyes trained on the glowing green elemental sword held by one of the Bukiset.
Meta Knight 's eyes flashed white, the Star Warrior emitting a battle cry as he thrust his arm forward. A crescent of faintly glowing energy flew forward, hitting the Ax Knight dead on. The creature was slowed for a few moments, the Bukiset warriors stepping over their comrade and charging forward. One held up an elemental sword glowing blue with ice; the others' sword glowed green, cackling with faint electricity. Kirby ran in front of Meta Knight, opening his large mouth wide and inhaling. The Bukiset nearest to him held still, planting its feet in the ground as it tried to resist the incredible suction generated by Kirby. Soon, its green crackling sword flew out of his hand and landed into the young Star Warrior's mouth. Kirby's skin instantaneously turned a pale green, a crown of pure electricity leaping forward from his head. A green glow radiated from his body, shining like a flashlight in the darkness.
Meta Knight took his eyes off the battle for a moment, seeing the transformed Star Warrior standing in front of him. "Spark Kirby" he murmured, awestruck.
Blade charged forward to engage the second Bukiset, his silver sword clashing with the Bukiset's icy weapon. The two held their ground with their swords in a parrying position, both shaking with effort as they tried to muscle through each other's guard. Blade managed to break free, his silver weapon nicked and gouged where the Bukiset's icy blade met his, and spun around rapidly to chop the Bukiset in half. The Bukiset's body fell over stiffly into two neat pieces, its mummified innards too frozen to fall apart. Spark Kirby clenched his fists as the first Bukiset, now weaponless, charged towards him with its bare hands. A round field of electricity sprang up in a neat circle around Kirby. The Bukiset blindly charged into it, jerking spastically from electrocution before falling over in a sizzling heap.
Meta Knight noted that although Spark Kirby could not bathe enemies in fire, the sheer power of his electric voltage was charring the flesh of his enemies in a similar way. The young Star Warrior made a surprisingly wise choice in choosing the electric sword over the other Bukiset's ice weapon.
Various corpses began to swarm over their three fallen comrades. A variety of species, wielding axes, swords, daggers, spears, and shields, all plodded towards the warriors in an aggressive frenzy. Meta Knight's heart sank as he noticed, on the armor of some of the corpses, the star-shaped badge signifying that these were the disturbed bodies of Galaxy Soldier Army warriors. The knights battled them, flailing about in the dim torchlight as they knocked them over one by one. Although chopping away at the undead was nearly useless, they utilized what they learned earlier to strategically open up holes in the advancing horde's armor to expose their withered flesh to Kirby's attacks. Spark Kirby shot forth crackling lightning bolts from his hands, each attack faster than the blink of an eye and cracking the air with the loudness of a gunshot. The corpses were fried in place, the lightning rapidly coursing through their icy bodies.
Sword swung his weapon repeatedly as he chopped down one enemy after another, a metal dervish. He felt something hit his arm; he didn't care, swinging wildly in the direction of the attack and stabbing a zombie through its skull. The zombie yanked its head back with Sword's blade still wedged into it, lifting its own rusted broadsword in retaliation. The creature suddenly fell over, smoking as its charred black flesh emitted a foul-smelling smoke. Spark Kirby stood nearby, panting. Sword gave Kirby a nod before planting his foot on the zombie's skull, using both arms to wrench his sword out of the corpse's head.
Meta Knight spun quickly in his cape, winking out of view. He then appeared behind a knight,who was armored from head to toe, and instantly stabbed it in the tiny sliver of exposed flesh at the back of its neck. The creature slumped, sliding off of his weapon before collapsing on the ground.
"Don't stop!" Meta Knight cried over the battle as he withdrew his sword from the body with a sickening squelch, whirling around to lop off the arm of another zombie which had tried to attack him from behind.
The four warriors relentlessly carved their way through the horde of undead, so distracted by the battle in front of them that they did not notice the Ghost Knights hovering past them. Kirby's eyes widened as he broke off his engagement with one ice mummy, using his Spark power to form a shield around his round body as he plowed past the masses of undead surrounding him. The Ghost Knights were heading towards the children.
Spark Kirby planted his feet and shot off bolt after bolt of lightning at the Ghost Knights. Two were immediately vaporized, disappearing in a puff of smoke. One Ghost Knight flew directly in front of the other, holding up an ethereal blue shield to deflect Kirby's electricity. The young boy ducked as his lightning bolt reflected off the shield and went haywire, richocheting off in a random direction and smashing into a nearby wall. Kirby frowned and drew closer, provoking the ghost to attack with its translucent lance. Spark Kirby dodged several blows, weaving his way into close range before discharging a violent burst of electricity in the Ghost Knight's face. The Ghost Knight vanished with a crackling sound.
An ear-splitting shriek suddenly cut through the room. The torch that Fumu held abruptly fell to the floor, tumbling along the icy ground. Kirby ran forward before stopping in his tracks, mouth open. A Ghost Knight floated inches above the ground. Above it, Fumu was suspended in midair. The lance had pierced through her body, impaling her through the chest. She hung suspended on the lance, limp, her green eyes open and glazed over.
"FUMU!" Kirby cried, tears stinging his eyes. Fueled by desperation, he attacked the Ghost Knight repeatedly. The Ghost Knight quickly evaporated, having been too focused on Fumu to dodge Kirby's blows. Fumu fell to the ground limply, landing face-up. Kirby ran to her side, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Sis?! SIS!" Bun cried, hovering over his sister next to Kirby. Kirby pawed at Fumu's body desperately. To his surprise, the lance disappeared with the Ghost Knight and her body appeared to be whole and unharmed, with no wounds. However, she was not moving. Bun grabbed Fumu's limp hand and held it in his, fingers gently pressed against her wrist.
"Her heart...there's no heartbeat!" Bun screamed.
Kirby hopped from one foot to another, trying to figure out what to do. This could not be happening; he could not lose Fumu. With the battle still raging around them, Kirby quickly leaned down and began to remove Fumu's coat.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Bun demanded.
Kirby ignored Bun, unbuttoning layer after layer of clothing until Fumu's bare chest was exposed. He closed his eyes, grimacing as he tried to remember what he saw on Channel DDD's medical show D.R. He placed his hands over her bare chest carefully, left hand under her collarbone and right hand near the ribcage. He then squeezed his eyes shut, said a quick and silent prayer to the stars, and delivered a mild shock.
Fumu's body twitched slightly, muscles spasming. Kirby then stood on his tiptoes and proceeded to press down on the center of Fumu's chest in quick, rhythmic pumps for a few tense seconds. He put an ear to her chest, ice-cold tears running down his round face as he listened to her body hopefully.
Kirby emitted a sudden cry, hopping to his feet and pumping his fist into the air. Bun's angry expression melted into one of relief as Kirby looked back at him, patting his own chest several times in emphasis.
"No way...no way!" Bun cried, smiling through his tears. Bun quickly ran over to Fumu while Kirby buttoned her already chilled body back up. Bun slipped off his glove before laying two fingers on the side of Fumu's neck.
"Her heart...it's beating again...Kirby..." Bun managed to say before devolving into unintelligible sobbing.
Bun now understood what Kirby was doing; he held his hands to her and delivered a shock, using his Spark ability as a defibrillator. Kirby smiled at Bun, rushing back into the fray as soon as Fumu was properly buttoned up in her coat again. Bun cradled his unconscious sister, shivering and crying as Kirby waded back into the mass of animated bodies surrounding them.
Sword, Blade and Meta Knight gained the upper hand against the remaining undead, Kirby delivering a deadly shock to each body to make sure they could not rise again. The second the last reanimated body fell Kirby ran back over to Fumu, both hands over his mouth in concern. Bun held the fallen torch in one hand, holding his sister protectively with the other. Bun looked up at the green-skinned Star Warrior. He opened and closed his mouth twice, finding it difficult to put into words what he wanted to say.
"Kirby" Bun choked out, "She's...alive. You saved her life."
"Saved her life?! What happened?" Sword asked, leaning in. Blade watched on from father away, his posture slumped and one hand held over his wounded and bloody arm.
Bun relayed what happened with the Ghost Knight; the attack, Fumu falling over, and Kirby using his Spark ability to jump-start her heart back to life.
"Incredible...how did you learn to do all of that?" Blade asked Kirby.
Kirby waved his arms in the air happily in response. "DDD!"
Sword raised a hidden eyebrow. "No way. King Dedede taught you how a defibrillator works?"
Bun shook his head. "I think he means Channel DDD. There's this one show Kirby watches all the time, and it's about doctors in an emergency room. They do that all the time on that show with the little metal thing with pads. I think he picked it up from there."
"Never thought I'd say this, but thank the Stars for TV!" Sword commented.
Meta Knight's eyes widened in surprise, turning to glance at Kirby. With the battle over, Kirby's skin began to fade back to its neutral pink tone as the electric crown on his head slowly dissipated. Meta Knight seemed to find a new reason to be surprised by Kirby's abilities every day; he not only chose the best weapon possible to attack the undead, but he also learned to use his electric shock ability to save another's life. The stoic veteran's eyes glowed blue as he stared at the boy.
"Kirby" Meta Knight began. Kirby flinched in surprise at the sudden touch of Meta Knight's gloved hand on his shoulder. Meta Knight patted it twice before his hand slipped away, wrapping himself back up in his cape.
"Good work."