Chapter 25: HR-H

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Target acquired. Destroy the warriors. Retrieve the shard. Kill the fairy.

The robot kept its eye trained on the fairy, dubbed "The Exile" by the dark one. Its arms swung backwards, crashing through buildings in the process, and leaned forward for one simple smash.

"MOVE!!" Kirby and Waddle leapt as far right as possible as a violent rush of wind whooshed over their heads. One robotic arm almost took off Waddle's head, but just missed him. Dedede held up his hammer to try and block the right arm, but it slammed into him- causing his body to vibrate- and sending him soaring into Kirby.

Ribbon clung to Dedede's robe, but Adeleine…

"You guys, heeeelllllpppp meeeeeeeee!"

Waddle looked up and saw a speck of red and green sticking out near the edge of the robot's arm. "Ad, how'd you get up there?"

Of course Adeleine was too far away to hear anything other than the roar of the robot's jet engines. Some of her markers fell from her bag as she clung to the robot's arm for dear life. When the shuddering stopped, Adeleine let out a sigh of relief that soon stopped when the robot's arms flew forward again. The blood rushed to Adeleine's head as wind zipped through her hair and the right arm came into view.

As Adeleine shut her eyes, she heard the thunderous boom of the arms slamming together, causing her body to vibrate nonstop. The robot prepared for another smash when a yellow beam of light penetrated the left arm, causing it sizzle and hiss. Steam ran out of the arm's open sockets as Kirby withdrew the saber and motioned Adeleine to jump. When she did, her body continued to quiver in fear. Then a light scraping grew louder and louder until Adeleine turned around and saw the right arm rushed towards her.

"Don't just stand there, artist!" Dedede seized Adeleine's hand and dragged her further down the path while the arm continued blasting through the walkway. The piercing sound of metal scraping over the path mixed with violent electricity spurting from the left arm had Ribbon covering her ears as she flew to Kirby's side.

"It looks like you got it, Kirby, but how can it still move?"

"Please!" Waddle Dee pointed to the entire robot, not just the arm. "As big as this thing is, I mean look at it! It's as tall as Dedede's castle! You think that one little stab is gonna do it?!"

"Never mind that! Here it comes again!" Kirby pulled out the saber and leapt high as the left arm flew underneath. "Dedede, now!"

Dedede charged forward, pulled back his hammer, and jumped into the air. Rearing back, Dedede slammed the hammer into Kirby and catapulted him like a pinball. As Kirby ducked into a ball, he held the saber out with his right hand. He rolled along the air and towards the arm just as it came in for a reverse smack. At the last second, Kirby clung onto the arm, held the saber above his head and plunged it into the arm. Again, the robot's arm shook and clanged as more spurts of electricity ran through. Kirby prepared to leap off in triumph until the right hand swerved around and slammed into him. His body flew a rag doll as he soared across the runway until he regained his footing. He reared around and skidded to a halt on the path, the saber still in his hands.

"Hey, Dedede, launch me!" Waddle jumped high and prepared to be fired like a missile-

"Wait!"

-until a scream threw off his focus and he instead landed right in front of Dedede's hammer. Waddle Dee looked to Adeleine. "You ruined it! What do you want?!"

Adeleine just pointed to the robot.

Two side compartments opened and steam billowed. Seconds passed as the robot appeared to be gathering strength or preparing for liftoff, but four rockets emerged and shot into the air, their whistling growing louder and louder as they came closer into view.

"And here they come!" Dedede wound up his hammer and slammed it into one rocket. It spiraled in the distance, the whistling sputtering on and off while blending with the hum of the remaining missiles. Adeleine edged to her left at the last second as one rocket blasted through a section of the pathway. Her heart pounded as another missile flew towards her, but she hit the ground as Waddle Dee bounced off of her head and kicked the rocket into the last one.

Before Adeleine could thank Waddle, Kirby shoved her to the ground. The right arm swung past her head, almost taking Adeleine's hat with her.

As the robot's arms retreated to its sides, it scanned the pathway as the five stared back. With a growing rumble, the robot leaned backwards- its arms extending outward- and leaned forward. The arms raced towards each other and slammed together with a deafening boom that rang throughout.

Kirby leapt onto the right arm, but as he prepared to withdraw the saber, the robot's arms ascended and slammed the ground several times, scattering miniscule crystals that dropped from the end of the arms. "What is this thing?!" Kirby tried to keep his footing, but kept nearing the arm's edge. He pulled out the saber and plunged it into the arms while still together. More short-circuiting followed as a yellow hue appeared on and off until the arms returned to their normal color.

Again, the robot's arms crashed and clanged on the path, threatening to break it.

Ribbon whisked to her right, her wings fluttering as fast as they could as she tried to avoid the growing shadow chasing her. She could almost feel the hard metal smash into her before everything stopped. She paused, turned around, and saw the light beam sticking through the center of the left arm.

Seconds later, the robot's apex exploded. The eye remained, yet the covering around it shattered.

"Yipee!" Adeleine threw her hands in the air as excitement rang in her voice. "You did it!"

The robot's eye wandered over the five for ten long seconds. Blue flames shot from below as the towering machine soared into the air. The eye scanned for a landing zone and zeroed in on the exile. The jets powered down as the ground came closer and closer into range. The pathway shook as the jet engines swerved behind the robot. Like a rubix cube, the robot turned, swerved, and reconfigured until it situated itself on the pathway. As the arms returned to the front, the robot's eye wandered to the girl with the red cap as she scoffed at the transformation.

"It went from a cheap robot to a broken one! What's it gonna do now?"

As the robot inched closer, its arms turned on their sides and both ends sharpened to a fine point. Both arms split down the middle and cut right down the middle, inches away from Adeleine's hat.

"Well, I think that's reason enough to be afraid." Adeleine turned around, calm as a clam as her face went white. "We're gonna get chopped in half!"

A quiet murmuring grew into a rumble as the robot began to inch forward. The path behind it crumbled beneath its weight as it kept moving.

Waddle Dee charged forward again. "Well, we can't turn back now! It's not firing a laser or anything, so we should be fine." He ran as fast as his little legs let him.

The robot rose a few feet above the platform and gave birth to another missile.

Still charging, Waddle Dee leapt onto the missile and sprung forward to nail the robot at its center, but instead bounced right back upon impact. He soared around and around until he spun back to Kirby's side.

Kirby took Waddle Dee's hint and charged forward. The saber hummed in his hands as he leapt for another slash when the robot's arms all of a sudden moved back to the robot's side and the machine flew back into the air. "Make up your mind!" Kirby yelled to the air. He soon regretted his words when the robot's jets stopped and the machine sped towards the ground at a faster pace. As the robot came in for a landing, Kirby decided against going back since the end continued to collapse. He caught up to the others just as the robot crashed down and slid backwards. The arms sharpened again.

When Kirby rushed again, he leapt over the blade a second before it could sever him. Two slashes at the robot's center caused the machine to warble and glow, but Kirby bore the brunt of the impact when a missile emerged from below. He tumbled down, down, down, pain racking his body as he bumped into Ribbon.

"My turn!" Adeleine didn't give anyone a chance to protest or stop her as she painted a missile similar to the one the robot fired. The missile slipped into her hands, but she turned her attention to Waddle Dee. "What are ya waiting for?! Get ready for the kick!"

As if he had forgotten, Waddle snapped back to reality and ran after the artist. As Adeleine threw the missile above her head, Waddle Dee charged, jumped over her, and kicked the projectile straight into the robot's center. Smoke drifted from one of the blades and both arms began losing speed as Waddle heard the sound of electricity crackling. "Kirby, hurry up and finish this thing before it blows!"

"I'm on it!" Kirby didn't waste another second. He retrieved the saber one last time and charged with a yell. The light beam sliced through another missile as Kirby leapt into the air. Five seconds and the robot came closer into view. Four and the beam extended. Three, two, a bit of light pierced the exterior of the robot. One…

The robot stopped. It collapsed to the ground with a slam. Brilliant explosions rang from all sides of the robot as it caught ablaze. The arms scratched across the pathway until one disconnected and fell into the darkness below.

Something glistening slipped from one of the robot's hatches. Ribbon eyed the shard for a second before her eyes lit up in excitement as she went for the jewel. That's another one. Just a few more left…and she knew where they were. The warm glow of the shard gave her hope, but filled her with dread when she realized where she was headed next. Before she could make her announcement, Ribbon saw the others running towards the end of the path.

"Come on, Ribbon!" Kirby called to her. "We're going back down to the hills!"

"Oh, right…of course."

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Adeleine kicked a clump of snow before Dedede could sit down. "So a giant robot can live all the way in the sky? Why didn't it just come down here and face us like a true robot?"

"You don't know what a true robot is, artist."

"Know what, duck? I'm tired of you making fun of me and calling me an artist!"

"I'm a penguin!"

"Guys," Kirby cut the two off before they could start fighting, "we should focus on where we go from here. I mean, that robot handed over that big shard, so there can't be any left here that we wouldn't have found."

"But where else are we supposed to look?"

The Crystal Shard shined again. The light aura surrounding the crystal began to expand until it took the shape of a star. The planet displayed…

Ribbon felt short of breath and fought back her tears.

Ripple Star…beloved Ripple Star was before her. Darkness engulfed the heart; evil had spread to every end of the once peaceful, joyous planet. The planet that gave off feelings of delight and unspeakable gladness had died. A new planet, a vile and repulsive planet, took its place as the once thriving civilization, day by day, second by second, was being devoured by Dark Matter.

And it was her planet…her responsibility, her mission.

Not their mission.

Ribbon looked out the corner of her eye- so no one would see her puffy eyes- and saw the others looking either confused or waiting for her to say something.

She had been given the responsibility of getting the Crystal Shard away from Dark Matter and she failed. Even so, she had come this far and now she had to head back. Her, not them.

"Listen…everyone," she spoke slow to mask the emotion in her voice, "if it's fine with you all, I would like the Crystal Shard to take you back to Pop Star. I can handle everything else on my one."

She waited with still breathing, her breath coming out in larger visible puffs. Her heart beat quickened and grew louder as the sight of her planet in disarray tore her apart.

"What?" Adeleine threatened to march forward, but Waddle Dee held her back. "What do you mean take us back to Pop Star? Aren't we going with you?"

Kirby and Dedede just stared.

"We did come this far, Ribbon," Waddle Dee added, "and I'd hate to cut off an adventure just when it was about to get good."

"No." Ribbon was more forceful, but the choking back of tears became too much. "Ri-Ripple Star is…my planet. I won't put you in danger. The people suffering there are my people, not yours! It's my duty to save them from death!

Ribbon took one last look over her shoulder and clutched the Crystal Shard. The Dark Matter continued their attack on her planet, devouring her friends, the Queen, everyone! Her wings fluttered through the edges of space as she avoided Dark Matter.

Then pain burned in her body as she saw the Shard scatter into tiny fragments and scatter throughout the universe. One came within her grasp, but the closer she got, the further away it became. Her fingers came closer and closer, but she never reached it.

Then the breathing stopped.

"They trusted me with this Shard and I couldn't even get away without being attacked! You think I'll let you put your life in danger?! It's my duty! Even though I couldn't save my queen…or stop Dark Matter from coming after me, I must protect them!"

"But, Ribbon-"

"SHUT UP!" Ribbon whirled around, tears now streaming down her face without pause. "I don't want your pity or your sympathy! I'm the one that was entrusted with the Shard, I'm the one who failed, and I'm the one who has to make things better again! Spare me your sympathy and just go home!" Ribbon lowered to the ground, the image of Ripple Star covered in darkness became too much to ignore. Before she could collapse in a pool of her tears, snow hit her in the face and stopped her fit.

At last, Dedede spoke. "You idiot!"

"Come on, Dedede-"

"No, artist, I'm sick of her complaining! Guess what, Ribbon? You. Can't. Do. This. A-lone. You're just one person. You're going to need help and we're gonna do that! I don't care what excuse you have. We've been through this since the beginning and if you think we're just gonna back out because you think you can do this by yourself, you're crazy!" Dedede took a minute to regain his composure; his chest shooting back and forth like it would explode. "We're not doing this because we feel sorry for you! We're doing it because we think you're brave! Not everyone would keep going like you did. You could've given up whenever you wanted, but you kept going anyway! That's why we're going with you to Ripple Star and kicking that Dark Matter right in its behind!"

Adeleine and Waddle Dee nodded, but everyone looked to Kirby, who had remained silent the entire time. He cleared his throat and gave Ribbon a fierce smile. "Ribbon, I told you from the beginning that I'd help you save your planet and that's what I'm gonna do!" He paused and looked to the others. "I sympathize with you, but I will not risk my life on that alone!"

Ribbon gulped, words stuck in her throat for dear life. She looked to the others, who appeared ready for battle, then back to her infested planet. She did need them. She couldn't do this alone. She needed her friends, she needed help, and she needed to have faith.

"Have faith that you will succeed, Ribbon. There is always hope is you believe you'll succeed." Ribbon felt Queen Gretchen's hand clasp her still shaking hand. "Don't worry, we'll be safe and I know you'll be back. For the sake of Ripple Star, Ribbon, you've got to do it."

The Queen's words resonated through Ribbon's heart and mind again. Eyes still puffy, still choking back tears, Ribbon lifted into the air and looked to her friends, her friends eager to fight. They had been her through the shifting sands of Rock Star to the volcanoes of Neo Star to the waters of Aqua Star. She watched Waddle, Adeleine, and Dedede fall prey to Dark Matter, but- thanks to help from Kirby- turn away from the darkness and join her in the quest for Crystal Shards. She had endured arguments with Adeleine, avoided being burned alive, drowned, punctured, swallowed, and through it all, they had managed to gather many fragments of the Crystal Shard and keep their lives.

"I see." She looked to Ripple Star one more time, then to them. "Understand this: once we leave Shiver and head for Ripple, there's no turning back. What we may face on my planet will be unlike anything we've encountered thus far."

Waddle Dee, Adeleine, Dedede, and Kirby all nodded. Kirby charged forward. "Well, let's get GO-" He took a step too far and tripped face forward into the snow. Before he could remove himself, Kirby became a cushion to propel Adeleine, Waddle, and Dedede into the crystal.

"Oh, Kirby." Ribbon lifted Kirby by one of his feet and dragged him into the shard.

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The Shard hovered between Shiver Star and Ripple Star's atmosphere. Ribbon gripped her hands, still shaking a bit, and tried to calm herself when Kirby placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked over and saw him nod. She nodded in return and looked to her planet. It would soon be a peaceful place once again. Upon Ribbon's signal, everyone braced themselves.

"Hold on! We're entering Ripple Star air space!"

The light shot towards the darkness.

The final battle was upon them.

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It had many eyes. Eyes that saw all, yet eyes that saw none. One eye opened.

"She's on her way."

"Is she? When?"

A second eye opened. "Oh, very, very soon!"

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Note: Sorry for the wait, but I hope you enjoyed the read. I always wanted to expand on the scene where Ribbon sees Ripple Star covered in darkness. Yes, in the game she might not have told the others to go home, but I think it adds to her character and shows her frustration. Anyway, we're rounding the final bend, so stay tuned!

Next Time: Touchdown on Ripple Star!