Chapter 31: The Last Shard

Night.

Darkness eclipsed the sun. Dark clouds drifted overhead as Dark Matter wormed its way back into every crack, hole, and anything it could corrupt as evil spread across Ripple Star. The feeling of absolute joy had been clawed away as darkness ripped through the fabric of the planet.

The Queen grasped the Crystal Shard with one hand and tightened her grip around Ribbon's neck with the other. "You will watch your planet die, young one."

As Ribbon struggled for air, she watched the Crystal Shard leave the Queens hand and float before her. The second Ribbon extended her hand, she blinked and opened her eyes again as she realized her world had gone black.

Darkness extended as far as her eyes could see. Ribbon looked around and banged on the Dark Matter orb surrounding her, but the Queen turned back to the Shard.

"As you know, when the Crystal Shard is complete, it has the power to perform any miracle of the user." She looked to Ribbon, then the Shard again and extended her hands. "Now, mystical Crystal Shard, as the new overlord of this galaxy, grant me the strength to conquer these people, conquer this planet, crush the life out of those who wish to stand against me."

The Shard shined, piercing the ever growing darkness with its light, yet with an almighty crash, a familiar yellow pod smashed through the ground and continued further into the depths of the planet.

"That star warrior is a true nuisance." The Queen turned around, her purple eyes penetrating the Dark Matter orb and peering into Ribbons soul. Her lip twitched before turning into a sick grin. "Wouldn't you agree, young fairy?"

Ribbons hand slid across the dark orb. She closed her eyes and let her head hang as darkness continued to spread over the planet. "Kirby, help us..."

Light spread from the Crystal Shard.

Kirby, Waddle, Adeleine and Dedede tumbled in rapid spin cycle mode as the pod crashed deeper into Ripple Star. They had saved the planet and the galaxy, right? All of the darkness had disappeared, or at least gone away, so why the bad luck all of a sudden?

Adeleine slammed into Kirby's plush body, bouncing her into a lever sent pain ringing through her right knee. Her wail lasted for two whole minutes before she realized the pod had stopped moving.

"You can let go, artist," Dedede told Adeleine, her arms still wrapped around his foot.

Kirby pushed the pod open and adjusted to the darkness. A thick blanket of darkness covered the ceiling window. Remains of a Plugg sparked in one corner of the room, a Bouncy's spring had been embedded in the center of the red and orange painted sun. The cold silence of the room punctuated the feeling of despair emanating from across Ripple Star as Adeleine plopped on the ground.

The colors that once lit the room had been extinguished as black tendrils crept in from all corners. Adeleine took out one of her markers and, like an athlete that already knew they would not win a medal, flung the item across the room with the least bit of strength. Her arm flailed back and forth like a loose noodle as she kicked the ground and snorted. She ignored the tentacle snapping back and slicing her paintbrush in half.

Outside, a small colony of bloodshot eyes began to materialize. Soon, red and black bled into one another as the darkness banged on the windows. Dedede clutched his hammer despite his shaking flippers.

"Come on."

Black tendrils slithered at a slugs pace down the wall as Kirby, Dedede and Waddle Dee backed against each other.

"Why even bother?"

Kirby looked at Adeleine.

"We got the shards, risked our butts out there, and now you're telling me the planet's still doomed?"

Sick as cancer, bitter as death, the tendrils chewed through the walls. Rubble crashed on the ground as Adeleine stood to her feet. She took out a red soaked paintbrush and pointed at Kirby.

"This was never our fight, Kirby! Now we're gonna die because you joined up with Ribbon on this stupid quest and dragged us into it!"

Eyebrows narrowed, teeth clenched, Kirby snorted as he refused to become a scapegoat. A blob of darkness splashed near his feet as he turned around.

"Hey! Well, what about Waddle Dee? He was the first one to join me and Ribbon. If you ask me, this whole thing is his fault."

"Excuse me?"

The glass groaned under pressure as cracks raced across the glass. Dark Matter crashed harder against the glass.

Dedede set down his hammer. "Everyone, please. Let's not blame each other. We all know this is the artist's fault."

"What?"

Waddle Dee rushed over to the startling artist. "He's right! You and those stupid paintings and your whining almost got us killed!"

A tentacle snaked around Adeleine's feet and with a whip, flung her across the room. Her body rang as it slammed against the wall. She rolled to the one side, gasping for air. "Where's the darkness coming from?"

Dedede whirled around and faced Kirby, pointing his hammer. "Didn't you get rid of it?"

"Yeah! I mean, it looked like it all went away." Kirby didn't hide the doubt in his voice as it trailed off.

Waddle leapt back to avoid the tentacles rushing at his feet. "Well, that's just great, Kirby. You can stop a volcano and some talking tree, but not a bit of Dark Matter after all this time!"

"Don't yell at him! He did more than either of you put together!"

Both Dedede and Waddle turned on Adeleine. They exchanged a look, then gazed back at Adeleine.

"And just what did you contribute to this whole game? Paint stuff that comes to life. That's a nice power you've got there, artist," Dedede said.

"Not to mention making Ribbon even more annoying than before with your pouting and yelling and always having to make more paint!"

Adeleine took out a paintbrush and charged towards the two, but the second Dedede raised his hammer, she pulled back as Dedede smashed a hole in the space between them- shattering the center of the painted sun.

A beat.

Two beats. After a third beat, the Dark Matter smashed through the glass. Darkness crawled up each wall as Kirby found himself getting colder.

"Watch it, Dedede! You could've killed me!"

Dedede took a moment to catch his breath. He'd brought down his full weight with the hammer and his eyes widened when he noticed the huge crater he'd left impacted into the ground.

"Yeah!" Adeleine jumped in. "You could've killed him, me, or even crushed this shard piece here."

Kirby whirled around and saw, no, it couldn't have been. Ribbon had everything, right?

Yet there in Adeleine's hand was a piece of the Crystal Shard. Kirby rushed towards Adeleine, whose own eyes widened when she realized what she had been holding.

"Adeleine, where did you find that?"

"It was right-" She paused and peered into the center of the sun painting. "Right in there."

Light flashed against all corners of the room, forcing the Dark Matter to retreat through the windows.

Adeleine's hands shook while the others around her remained transfixed.

"We must've missed it when we came through here the first-"

Before Adeleine could finish, Dedede clamped his flipper over Adeleine's mouth.

"Hold on, if we have this-"

Kirby, Waddle Dee and Dedede exchanged glances before they each came to the same sudden realization. After Dedede took Adeleine on his back, the four rushed through the door.

The Queen clenched the Shard hard enough to shatter it with each passing second. The bright light that once radiated from the Shard flickered on and off until it lost its glow. The Queen narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she looked to Emily.

"You fairies continue to withhold your precious secrets from me," she started, her voice becoming distorted. "Tell me why I do not feel incredible power or this planet, starting with the nuisance fairy, turns to dust!"

When Emily didn't respond, the Queen grabbed a hold of her neck with one hand and tightened her grip.

Ribbon watched from within the sphere and crashed against it as much as she could before the pain rang in her head more than she wanted it to. She pounded against it with one hand, clawed with another, but just saw bruises and peeled skin on her hands as a reward. As she locked eyes with Emily, she saw her friends eyes begin to lose color.

Another fairy latched onto the Queens back, making her lose her grip on Emily. In return, she sliced across the fairy's face with one of the Shards ends. A red streak decorated Emily, now clutching her face and scrambling to get away before the Queen dragged her back. Instead of killing the fairy, the Queen brought her to the orb that held Ribbon.

"Fairy of Ripple Star, this is the price you pay for trying to stop me!" The Queen's eyes, now flickering between purple and red, focused on Emily. She set the Shard down and thrust her hand upon Emily' head.

Ribbon banged against the orb as darkness spread from the Queen's hand and onto Emily. The body flung and kicked for life like being dragged for a surprise shot until it went limp. Lifeless. Silent.

Emily floated to the ground. Blackness spread from her fingertips, down her hair and to her shoes. Red bled into her eyes and her uniqueness faded as she inched towards the orb. Without hesitation, she banged on the orb with a zombie's determination. She bit on it, kicked at it, clawed with all her strength to kill the rogue fairy within.

From the other side, the Queen chuckled. "You fairies are so simple to corrupt." With one motion, the Queen slammed the Crystal Shard into the orb, shattering it. Before Ribbon could fly away, the Queen seized one hand while Emily grabbed the other. The Queen stopped Ribbon's struggling by holding the Shard to her neck. "You have caused me enough problems, fairy."

"That would explain why all the darkness hasn't disappeared!"

"I know, now lets go! The exits right through the next room!"

The Queen backhanded Ribbon across the face. Ribbon gritted her teeth as the stinging rang in her cheek. She dropped her head just before the Queen lifted it so they faced each other.

"I shall spare you a speech. I just want to see the face of the pest who tried to stop me before I kill them."

"Puffball, you ready?"

"Do it!"

"Ripple Star is mine!"

The weight of a hammer slammed into the Queen. The full force of the pink sphere sent her flying into the fountain and the Shard out of her hand.

"With her master attacked, Emily let out a horrible wail before falling under the weight of Waddle Dee's foot."

Ribbon's hands flew across her body as she searched for any Dark Matter that may have infected her. Heart rate normal. No loss of blood. No loss of thought.

"Ribbon?"

And there stood Kirby. She smiled and took his hand before enveloping him in a full hug.

"I thought you all had left! I was so-"

"No time for that, Ribbon. We've gotta finish this!"

Ribbon turned around and saw Dedede and Adeleine running towards them. Her eyes focused on the glowing piece in Adeleine's hand. Then her eyes widened in amazement as she turned to Kirby, then the Crystal Shard.

"That's why the Queens ritual didn't work. Ribbon looked to Kirby. No one can take full use of an incomplete Crystal Shard."

Adeleine gave the shard to Ribbon, who then lifted the Crystal Shard.

Again, a brilliant flash radiated from the Shard as the new fragment joined the larger Shard. The light pierced the darkness. The black void rejected the light and rushed into the sky. It soared towards one edge of the planet before exploding into nothing.

No just flying away. No just scurrying away for a brief moment. The remaining darkness that had hid under every rock and inhabited every soul vanished. Emily lost her ire. From her eyes she could see light instead of darkness.

Before the five could celebrate, the Shard began to shine.

The Queen crawled from the fountain and pointed to Ribbon before noticing the Shard.

"No-"

Without warning, a white beam shot from the Shard and surged through the Queen's heart. A burning pain in her throat robbed her of speech. Darkness clashed with light as the Queen's vision blurred between day and night. One fatigued arm reached out to point at Ribbon, yet a thick, black substance began to evaporate from all over her body.

The darkness ripped through her arms, creating open sores. The Queen's head thrashed against the ground, her voice straining for release. "I will not lose this vessel."

Her body lifted into the air as she gave up the darkness. The evil surrounding her grew in size. It loomed overhead before shooting into the sky. Without exploding.

Ribbon looked up and saw the darkness expand until it took the shape of its own planet. She blinked. "Zero?"

"Ribbon, how do you know about-"

"Watch my Queen! Everyone, please wait here!"

She took off towards the castle.

Dedede set his hammer down. "Now how are we supposed to get up there?"

Ribbons wings fluttered with a determination she hadn't seen in them before. She rushed through the castles halls in search of it. I hoped that we would never have to use this.

"We cant fly up there. I don't think I trust this planets transportation system anymore."

Before Dedede could respond to Adeleine's assertion, Ribbon rushed back towards the four of them with empty hands.

"Ribbon, we don't have a way of getting up there."

Kirby kicked the ground. "If I just had my Warp Star phone."

"What?"

"I use this star rod thing to contact a Warp Star that can get me around to any planet, but I haven't been able to find it. I think I lost it on a star ride I went on. Its small, yellow and pink and written in big bold letters is-"

"Super star?"

Kirby turned to Ribbon, who removed said rod from her pocket. "I found it days before Dark Matter attacked our planet. Here you are."

"Oh, thank the stars, Ribbon! I was wondering where this was! Now..."

Kirby dialed a few numbers as a star shaped antenna came out of one end of the rod. It rang and rang, but no response. Kirby pressed his ear to the phone and listened so much he did not hear the incoming noise.

"Kirby?"

"Not now, Waddle. I've almost got it!"

"Fine."

Waddle Dee, Adeleine and Dedede all took two steps back as a giant yellow star slammed into the ground and sent Kirby flying into a tree.

The Warp Star hummed in a low murmur. After grabbing the Crystal Shard, Ribbon observed the structure while Waddle, Dedede and Adeleine hopped aboard. Several fairies approached the Queen as Ribbon turned around.

"Go, Ribbon. They'll need you up there."

At this point, Kirby had sprinted from the tree and hopped onto the shard.

"Star warrior?" One of the fairies called out. "It's almost over. We here are forever in your debt. We beg of you: come back in one piece."

Kirby said nothing for a few seconds before giving them an assuring grin. "Don't worry, everyone. We're on it."

After Ribbon boarded the Shard, the Star lifted into the air until the fairies of Ripple Star looked like nothing more than colored dots on a map.

As the Star left Ripple Star air space, Kirby looked to the dark mass in the center of the galaxy. Should he say something? Some kind of reassuring speech to get everyone motivated? Or had they done enough of that between Shiver Star and Ripple Star?

But as Kirby looked around, he saw the same burning determination in everyone else's eyes. Dedede clenched his hammers, Adeleine had a brush at the ready, Waddle Dee remained as fierce as always, and Ribbon held the Shard like a weapon instead of a child. Upon seeing this, Kirby nodded without a word and looked to the darkness.

"Let's go."

The Warp Star rushed towards the dark planet.

A bloodshot eye was all the color that stood against the expansive dark void, for the moment.

"Welcome back, star warrior."