Phazon: All right, everyone, we're nearing the end of the gang's journey on the planet Pop Star before they venture to Rock Star. The chapters thus far were just methods of introducing the gang, and the one following this will feature the battle with the world boss. When the story enters Rock Star, there will be detailed ventures of each level and journey in between. So enjoy as the story begins to unfold.

Disclaimer: The characters, storyline, setting and all of that in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards belong and are the sole property of Nintendo and HAL Laboratories only, and I don't have them locked away in chains anywhere. Best to get the legalities out of the way before someone tries to sue. I aim to give the readers something to enjoy, but not have my story deleted by an NOA executive.

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Dethroning the King

Adeleine was in such a hurry that she dropped her paintbrush and had to rush back to retrieve it. By the time she picked it up, she saw that the others were far ahead of her.

"Wait for me! I'm the new one in the gang!"

But Kirby and the others took no notice. Before their very eyes was a magnificent castle with many staircases, windows, and, hopefully, another Crystal Shard for the heroes to retrieve.

"Come along now," Ribbon said to Kirby and Waddle Dee as the drawbridge was lowered entirely, "we haven't time to waste."

However, Ribbon stopped when she saw a Ghost Knight standing at the entrance to the castle, armed with his lance.

"You're the rotten ones who are tryin' to gain entrance into the castle here?" He asked them, menacingly. "Well, by orders of Dedede, you can't enter."

Kirby stepped forward, then shot towards the Knight in a flash with the petite fireball attack. To his surprise, the attack suddenly stopped. The Ghost Knight had held its guard down with its shield, and when Kirby was withheld from attacking, he jabbed at the pink puffball furiously until he could take no more.

The Knight held his lance to his side and prepared for another attack, but Waddle Dee struck him from above, crushing him against the gravel and concrete. With the creature disposed of, the three continued into the opening of the waiting castle.

Kirby immediately saw another staircase ahead of him, yet there were other openings that led to elsewhere. Finely trimmed shrubbery aligned the ascending staircases and sides, whilst decorations and lovely paintings added a dash of color to the otherwise dismal castle.

Rather than try fighting another Ghost Knight, Kirby disposed of his flame elemental power and absorbed the Knight instead. Upon hearing the cries for help while being absorbed, numerous foes advanced on Kirby, surrounding him on all sides until he could no longer be seen.

"KIRBY!" Ribbon rushed to aid her friend, but Waddle Dee held her back.

"What are you doing? Kirby's in trouble!"

Waddle Dee shushed her. "Trust me, he's got everything under control."

And he did. As the horde of foes surrounded Kirby, they saw tiny pores and holes appear out of Kirby's body, and it began to take a different shape, almost similar to that of a…collection of needles of some sort.

"He's gonna do it!" Another rogue Ghost Knight yelled.

Before the enemies could retreat, they each felt the life drained from them instantly as needles and spikes penetrated their bodies, piercing them piece by piece. In the center of it all was Kirby, completely unharmed and acting as if nothing had happened.

Ribbon floated to her friend. She was relieved he wasn't harmed. Then she turned to Waddle Dee.

"Guess I should start trusting him more often."

He nodded and they followed Kirby into the next room at the end of the ascending staircase. This room was not as lit as the previous, and also of a different sort. Above them and in different locations, there were star lamps that illuminated this section of the castle. To their left were some painted windows, colored with yellows, purples, reds, greens, and blues. Floating before them were some Pteran birds that eyed Kirby menacingly. All of this was such a distraction that Kirby hadn't noticed that there was no path for them to cross.

"Looks as if that one platform there takes you from this side to that other side," Waddle Dee deduced as he pointed across the room to the other side where there was a waiting door.

Ribbon swiftly flew to the other side of the large room and signaled for Kirby and Waddle Dee to come. Kirby ran quickly towards the edge, bounced off of a Pteran bird, and plunged forward with the fireball attack. As soon as he landed, he disposed of the power and waited for Waddle.

"Gotta time this just right," he said to himself as he backed up. Taking a deep breath, he ran as fast as he could towards the end of the platform and lunged into the air and across the huge gap. Waddle felt himself losing altitude and closed his eyes, but he didn't continue falling to nowhere, he landed on solid ground alongside Kirby. He then felt something tapping his shoulders.

"Well," Kirby began, "looks like there's a way out of here. The three walked into the next room and looked up. Above them were some platforms that led to an exit shaft to the outside of the castle. However, in between these platforms were some Gordos creatures. These creatures were floating black balls with spikes protruding out of the balls. The space they were in was very cramped, so they had to trek carefully.

As Ribbon ascended, she kept her eyes focused on the exit above and didn't until it was too late that a Gordo spike tore a little on her skirt. It wasn't a big tear, but Ribbon wished she had paid attention. Waddle Dee and Kirby saw Ribbon make it to the exit and reach fresh air again. The two puffballs doubled up and jumped with great height to the top. They landed safely next to Ribbon.

The little fairy wiped some smut from her skirt. "Nice to be out of that place," she said. But as soon as she did, the Crystal Shard began to react again. She turned around to Waddle Dee, but she didn't see Kirby. "Let's ask that Sirkibble knight I just saw if he knows where the shard is."

Waddle Dee looked around. "What Kibble knight?"

Ribbon whipped around to where she saw the knight, but it wasn't there anymore. It was only Kirby, looking a bit more expanded than before. Ribbon eyed him suspiciously.

"Kirby?"

The pink puffball didn't respond. He didn't want the Kibble knight to burst out of his mouth. Even though that wasn't possible, no matter how hard it tried. Ribbon lost patience.

"Spit it out, Kirby! Whoa, not at me!"

She turned him around and he spat the Kibble knight out, sending it forward across the castle structure and right into the back of yet another Sirkibble knight at his post. The next thing the three of them knew, a larger green crystalline structure sat atop one of the platforms. Kirby rushed over and consumed it, yet this power was unknown as of now.

Waddle Dee and Ribbon treaded the top of the drawbridge lightly in the event that the person who lowered it before would do it again.

At last, Kirby found another gap near the end of the walkway. It led right back into the castle, which didn't sit well with Ribbon.

"I cannot believe we have to go back into that disgusting--" Her words were cut short when Waddle Dee simply kicked the fairy into the shaft. She screamed for her life, until she realized that she did have wings, so she stopped herself just before she landed on the dark green platform beneath her.

Waddle Dee followed suit, but Kirby was still thinking about this new ability he had. As he jumped down the shaft, he gave it a shot, throwing out a brand spanking, enormous boomerang. It immediately burst through the platform, uncovering a Crystal Shard that the three would have missed. Ribbon jumped for joy as she added the shard to the growing one. As they continued to the next room, they saw Adeleine busily painting away as if nothing had happened.

"How did you get in here?" Waddle Dee asked the painter.

"I've got my ways," she replied confidently, "but guess it took you all longer to reach me, eh?"

The others were dumbfounded that Adeleine, who they thought they had left behind, could suddenly get this far into the castle.

"Well, did you get the Crystal Shard?" Ribbon asked Adeleine, whose confident smirk soon faded from her face and was replaced with one of nervousness.

Adeleine sweat-dropped nervously and just giggled. "Um…I haven't exactly…found it yet. Come on, I don't have time to look for some shiny jewel."

Kirby and Waddle Dee backed away from Ribbon, who was very cross. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as she floated over to Adeleine, grabbed her by the ear, and began to speak harshly to her as if she were Adeleine's mother.

"We are here to find the Crystal Shard, not play around with paints!" She dragged her from the room and into the next corridor, a larger and dimmer room with some ascending staircases. "You wanna deal with your paints, then we're gonna paint!"

Kirby and Waddle Dee quickly ran after them, jumping up to each platform and step. As Adeleine kept turning around to ask Kirby for help, she saw something glittering on a large framework where they had come out of.

"Look, look," Adeleine exclaimed, "another crystal shard!" Ribbon immediately let her go and turned around to see Kirby already going for the gold. He grabbed it and threw it straight to Ribbon. However, the Crystal Shard was still growing violently, possibly from what was at the very top of the castle. Ribbon picked up the pace, but Kirby took the opportunity to consume two more Bobo creatures for the double fireball attack. Continuing along the spiral staircase, they found a dangling chain that led to a higher level.

Adeleine ventured first, waving for the others to follow her. Ribbon was at first distracted by the spring water pool in the center of the room, but she followed suit. Waddle Dee and Kirby easily climbed to the next level and surveyed their surroundings. Around them were numerous chains strewn about the level they were presently on, but there was one in particular that led to a hole in the ceiling with light emanating from it. Ribbon whisked up to it.

"The last shard must be up here," she deduced as she flew into the open shaft.

Kirby, Waddle Dee, and Adeleine hurried over to the same shaft and climbed the chain to the exit. However, their mouths were quickly gaped open, just as Ribbon's was. In front of them was a stature of authority, the supposed ruler of Pop Star who looked more like Santa Claus in a penguin suit. He wore a bright red coat and hat and was getting a bit flabby around the middle. Many times in the past he's caused Kirby trouble, but at heart, he's not a real villain, just another guy with his head in the clouds. His name was King Dedede, and his attention was soon diverted by the glowing shard fragment right behind him.

He immediately grabbed it before the little pink puffball could do so, and the two eyes met, glaring at each other with daggers.

The king spoke with a deep, threatening voice. "Kirby."

"Dedede," Kirby responded.

The two…had their differences in the past, but this time it was over a shard. Kirby continually tried to grab it, but he wasn't tall enough to take it. He could easily blow Dedede away with the larger fireball attack, but he feared what harm he could do. Before he could try an attack, something thick and black crash landed between the two of them. It was the same shape as that figure that possessed Waddle Dee, Adeleine, and that had pursued Ribbon during her escape. As the group watched with daunting eyes, the figure's red eye appeared, scanning the arena.

As she continues, the fairy one keeps finding more Crystal Shard pieces. Clearly she is not going to let her planet suffer without a fight.

The eye then turned its attention to King Dedede.

New test subject has been located with Crystal Shard, similar to the two former subjects. Preparing for infiltration of body.

"You can't just burst on top of my castle like you own the place!" Dedede growled.

He soon came to regret those words as the Dark Matter consumed his entire body, suspending him in the air while the others watched. After ten seconds, he fell back to the ground with a thump. Kirby tried to see if the King was alright, but when Dedede got in Kirby's face with those same lifeless, empty eyes, it became apparent that the King was indeed alive, but not himself.

Dedede revealed from his right hand a large mallet that he sent towards the concrete near Kirby. The puffball shuffled to the right, then back to the left as Dedede went on the attack. He began to take evasive action.

Adeleine couldn't just sit there while the person who saved her life was being attacked. She picked up a paintbrush and tapped her hat. "I've got to do something!"

Waddle Dee rolled his eyes. "Sure, we're all going to play our part." He didn't realize how serious she took this, for Adeleine soon went running off, brandishing her paintbrush as she rushed towards Dedede.

The king had Kirby trapped in the corner, and he didn't even have to turn around to notice the high pitched wail coming from behind him. The second he believed Adeleine was in striking range, he simply raised his hammer, and the painter, with her eyes closed in rage, ran straight into it and stumbled to the ground.

Kirby took this opportunity to give a hard tackle to the king's stomach. Kirby then took to the air and aligned his body with the sun, so only his shadow was visible to the others. He took a nosedive towards Dedede and his body suddenly became a raging fireball, plunging straight into Dedede and knocking them both into the castle below. Kirby pushed and pushed, the fireball attack never waning as he gained more power and dug deeper through the concrete, taking the king with him into the darkness.

Ribbon jumped for joy, as she was sure that Kirby had done it. They couldn't see what was happening, it was far too dark to see anything. All they could her was the fading sound of Kirby's fireball attack.

But suddenly, the area began to rumble loudly and the three of them heard Dedede's evil growl. Waddle Dee backed up immediately as the King burst through another hole in the roof, a shield of darkness surrounding him with Kirby on top. The puffball jumped off just in the time before the shield expelled itself. Dedede was now floating in the air and his body began giving off negative energy shockwaves that Kirby ducked and dodged. Kirby launched another fireball attack towards Dedede once, then twice to get the message straight, but a shockwave stunned Kirby temporarily. The king began to channel his energy into a massive energy ball. When Kirby opened his eyes, he saw the monstrosity aimed right at him, but he had an idea. He removed from his mouth the double fire elemental crystal.

"I wonder…" he pondered as Dedede finished powering up. Kirby figured, if he could make an electric rock, what harm could fire do to negative energy? He soon found out as he threw the element towards the ball of energy. It was quickly absorbed in a flash.

Ribbon knew that the Crystal Shard had the power to repel darkness, but she wasn't sure if the shard was powerful enough yet.

Dedede sent the massive ball forward and Kirby shut his eyes. He did, however, hear a sharp blasting sound that sounded like the ball was being deflected. There before him was Ribbon, with fiery eyes of determination as she deflected the energy ball with the petite Crystal Shard she possessed. It took a lot of effort, but Ribbon's gaze never left the Crystal Shard. The energy ball groaned and gave off electricity.

"Ribbon…" Kirby said softly.

"Attack him while his attention is diverted!" Ribbon yelled as she knew it would only be a few seconds more before she blasted the ball back into the air.

Kirby went on the offensive as he jumped into the air to Dedede's level, floating just as the penguin had been doing. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and felt his body surge forward yet again in a powerful flame, hurdling towards Dedede.

At the same time, Ribbon launched the energy ball high above them and into the stratosphere. Next thing everyone knew, there was a huge explosion of darkness that caused the vision of all to go black. The explosion was heard throughout Pop Star.

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Ribbon awoke minutes later, groggily and tired, as was everyone who viewed the explosion. At her left side was the gathered Crystal Shard thus far, so she was happy. However, she saw another tiny Crystal Shard fragment floating to her right. She inched her way over to it and added it to the other shard.

Kirby watched the Dark Matter retreat to the sky until it was out of his vision. He saw that his friends were safe, but he focused on helping Dedede back on his feet.

"What happened?" The king asked as he rubbed his forehead.

"Dark Matter…possessed…crystal shard…" Waddle Dee grew tired of telling this tale. Adeleine motioned for the others to head down the castle by jumping off. Adeleine painted herself a parachute to land with, while Ribbon and Kirby simply floated down.

As they went, King Dedede went back to his business when Waddle Dee approached him. "You know," he began, "we need someone with a lot of strength to help us on our journey."

Dedede didn't have to think twice before he turned his back to Waddle.

Waddle Dee walked over to the edge of the castle and took one last look towards King Dedede, but the king made it clear he wasn't coming.

"Have it your way," Waddle Dee concluded as he jumped off of the edge of the castle.

"You were better off without them," the king said to himself. More and more he quarreled with himself before he made up his mind and rushed towards the edge of the castle after Waddle Dee.

Adeleine was still floating down because her parachute slowed her descent. Waddle Dee sped right past her and landed aside Kirby and Ribbon. He looked up and saw something large that was falling towards Adeleine.

"You may want to pick up the pace, Adeleine," Waddle Dee called to her.

Adeleine was puzzled. "What for?"

She soon found out as King Dedede landed on top of her and the two fell towards the earth. Waddle Dee quickly jumped up and caught the two before they hit the ground. Ribbon pointed towards the forested area where the shard was reacting to.

The newly formed group entered the forest area, walking past millions of trees until the Crystal Shard reacted violently to a tree in the center of the forest with a dirt path circling it. Ribbon floated next to the tree.

"Maybe the shard's buried inside the tree."

Then, the earth trembled as four tiny saplings emerged from the dirt path. The tree did a 360 and faced Ribbon and Kirby with menacing eyes. Kirby gasped as he recognized those familiar eyes belonging to the Whispy Woods.

"Star warrior, we meet again."