Now we get to see what Kirby has been up to and begin to decipher what is going on. Have a fun time reading.
"Jigglypuff...stop." commanded the pink rider of the large furred beast
The large yeti-like stopped in its tracks while the pink balloon known as Jigglypuff looked out to a what appeared to be an abandoned village. The buildings were decrepit, years of abandonment showing their signs in the way of cracked walls, discarded debris, and overturned sleds. The pink Pokemon searched around the village, swearing she had seen Kirby and his doppelganger fly over in this direction. But strangely enough she heard no sounds of battle, which was odd considering who Kirby was. As she grew closer to the village she looked about, scooping the area from atop her tall two-legged ride and yet saw nothing. That was until one of the homes nearby exploded into a storm of splintering wood. As the wood flew through the air a pink blob joined the aged lumber. The Star Warrior known as Kirby careened through the flying debris, catching himself mid-flight, landing, and sliding to a stop on the icy ground.
"Kirby!" Jigglypuff squealed in delight, waving frantically to try and gain his attention
The Pokemon was elated that she had finally caught up with the wily Star Warrior after chasing so diligently after him. But before she raced off to be with the one she wanted she looked back and noticed a storm had formed, far off from where she was at. It was at that time that she realized just how far away from the train she had traveled and she wondered if the other Smashers were okay. She hadn't want to leave, but when the talking wolves told her they'd be okay, coupled with her worry over Kirby, she couldn't help herself. Now that she had actually found Kirby she felt guilty, hoping that the others wouldn't be mad when they got back.
"Kirby!" she called again, turning back toward her pink Romeo, waving even harder than before
"Huh?" wondered Kirby, having finally noticed Jigglypuff
"Gotcha!" yelled a voice and before Kirby knew it a black 'foot' collided with his face
The impact was incredibly strong, sending the pink Star Warrior spiraling away and into a crumbling building. The building, weakened by years of erosion and neglect, collapsed when Kirby smashed into it, burying the Smasher in wood and snow.
"Kirby!" she squealed in shock, hopping down from her mount and racing over to the Kirby and his attacker
"Huh?" mumbled the darker one, noticing Jigglypuff for the first time
As she bounded over the dark doppelganger could feel his body tense. His breathing increased and his stomach filled with butterflies. He even noticed one fly out of his gaping mouth, but he was quick to suck it back up. He began to sweat and his heart rate went up. He was so mesmerized by the pink Pokemon's approach he never bothered to move out of the way when she launched a powerful punch to his small body.
POW!
The dark copy was popped into the air, by the attacks surprising strength, though Jigglypuff didn't bother to finish up, as she was too worried over Kirby's safety to bother with the dark creature. Instead she continued on leaving the shadowy Kirby to fall to ground a few moments after her attack while she searched for Kirby amidst the rubble of the downed building.
"Jiggly...!" she squealed, grabbing debris and throwing it away as she tried to uncover her Kirby
Shadow Kirby recovered quickly, the palm of his...palm, rubbing against the spot where Jigglypuff hit him. He was perplexed, but not because he had actually been attacked by Jigglypuff, but for the effect that the blow had on him. While the attack hadn't hurt very much, the nervous feeling that he had when he first saw her only escalated. Her paw had been so soft and warm and even though the blow had done some damage he felt excited rather than pained.
"Ugh..." came a groan from beneath a wooden plank
"Jigglypuff...!" gasped Jigglypuff, grabbing hold of the plank and throwing it away to reveal Kirby underneath, "Kirby!" she squealed happily, lunging at Kirby and latching onto him in a grand hug
"Please...let go..." murmured Kirby, vainly trying to push Jigglypuff off of him, but failing, "I want food..." he muttered
"Kirby okay, Kirby okay!" she squealed ecstatically, "Jigglypuff was worried." she told him
Kirby managed to stand and in the process pull away from Jigglypuff as she released her grip from the Star Warrior.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, "Where's the others?"
"The train." replied Jigglypuff, "Jigglypuff leave to find Kirby."
"Oh..." murmured Kirby, "Everyone okay?" he asked
Jigglypuff shrugged, which was quite the feat for the small Pokemon since, like Kirby, she did not possess shoulders.
"Who that?" Jigglypuff inquired, referring to Shadow Kirby who at the moment was still in a daze
"Hmm...?" he murmured, bringing his palm to what would constitute as a chin in order to think
Kirby wasn't exactly sure how to answer that question. The dark persona known as Shadow Kirby was technically Kirby, and yet he was something else entirely. He wasn't particularly dark, except for his mysterious ways, the doppelganger helping Kirby out at the most random times when the Mirror World was threatened and even volunteering to protect it in Kirby's absence. Kirby couldn't understand that aspect of his personality for the life of him, which was odd since at one point it was a part of him.
"That's...uh..." Kirby began, trying to word his answer carefully, "Well you see...there is this mirror..." he began
Jigglypuff nodded in understanding.
"Then this bad Meta Knight came and cut it up, and me too." he replied
Jigglypuff nodded in understanding.
"When that happened the mirror split up and me too." he replied
Jigglypuff nodded in understanding.
"So basically, there's like five of me." he replied, "He's one of me."
Jigglypuff began to nod in understanding, but stopped, thought about what Kirby said, smiled, then fainted.
"Jigglypuff!" Kirby squealed in shock
"Hey, what did you do!?" barked Shadow Kirby, breaking from his trance when he notice Jigglypuff faint
"I didn't do anything!" Kirby barked back, "She just fell." he replied, "She does this from time-to-time, but I can never figure out why?" he replied, thinking back
"Move! I'll help her!" Shadow Kirby said, bounding over to the fallen Jigglypuff
"Wait a min..." Kirby began, but was quieted by a kick from Shadow Kirby
Kirby went soaring and smashed once again into an abandoned building a few yards away.
CRASH!
With Kirby dealt with Shadow Kirby had all the time in the world to tend to the fallen Pokemon. Or he would have had he not been interrupted by the loud roar of the of Jigglypuff's personal hairy steed.
Braaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuggghhhh!!
The heavy stomps of the hairy beast shook the ground as it barreled its way over to Shadow Kirby, believing that Kirby and his dark personality had done something to Jigglypuff. Shadow Kirby glowered at the advancing beast, moving forward a few feet so that Jigglypuff wouldn't be hurt by the charging animal. Pulling back its paw the beast brandished it claws and then swung its arm in a mighty arc directed toward Shadow Kirby. Shadow Kirby stood his ground though, his glare never wavering for a moment.
KER-POW!!
The impact of the blow caused the snow in the area to shoot outwards, clouding everything in the immediate area in a blanket of white. For a few moments everything was quiet, until a sharp cry permeated through the falling snow. The large beast reeled back, gripping its claw in agony, howling wildly. As the snow settled it could be seen that Shadow Kirby had crouched down, spikes jutting from every corner of his body, creating a very effective countermeasure to the hairy beast's claw swipe.
"You're loud and annoying." replied Shadow Kirby, the spikes retracting back into his body, "Time to teach you to heel."
With a growl the temperature around Shadow Kirby began to increase, the snow at his feet melting as he apparently heated up. The hairy beast backed away, still clutching its wounded paw, watching as Shadow Kirby erupted into a ball of flames.
"Goodbye." replied Shadow Kirby, before launching himself like a fiery rocket toward large beast
Disregarding its injured paw the hairy behemoth launched another punched to try and smash Shadow Kirby into pieces, but the nimble little fireball dodged the claw swipe and attacked the beast while it was open.
FAWHOOSH!
A torrent of flames enveloped the beast as Shadow Kirby smashed into its gullet, the force of the blow pulling the snow beast into the air. Consciousness quickly left the beast as the force of the blow rippled through its entire body. As the beast fell over Shadow Kirby extinguished the violent flames flowing about him, leaving him his normal grey self.
"That was easy." he commented, just as the beast hit the snowy ground
A column of snow rose up from the creature's heavy impact, snow flying ever which way, much of it covering the hairy behemoth, extinguishing its flames with the cold exterior. With his deed accomplished Shadow Kirby turned back to the fallen Jigglypuff, the Pokemon still lying about in a semi-conscious state. Waddling over he scooped her up into his grip, captivated at the sight before him. He didn't know why but he was drawn to the Pokemon, which was odd for him especially since he had never seen her before. Well technically that wasn't the truth. He knew of Jigglypuff from Kirby's memories before he had been split up, but for him himself, this was the first time he had ever met Jigglypuff in person.
"Why do I feel so weird?" he wondered, "Maybe she can tell me." he thought, trying to rouse her
Light began to enter her eyes as the balloon Pokemon began to regain consciousness. With the world coming into view around her she tried to remember just why she had fainted in the first place. She remembered finding Kirby, her happiness going up a few notches at that point. Then she remembered seeing that doppelganger, which was suppose to be Kirby, or a part of Kirby...and there were others. Upon coming to this realization she chuckled in her head, finally remembering why she had fainted. As consciousness came to her she could feel someone carrying her and saw a large circular object in front of her. At first she thought it was Kirby, finally realizing his love for her and preparing to declare said love. However, as the round object in front of her came into view she realized that it was not Kirby, but his other side.
"Hey, you...err...Jigglypuff, right?" he asked as she came too
"Jiggly..." replied Jiggly, "Yeah." she murmured, sliding from Shadow Kirby's grasp and standing upon her own two feet
"Oh...who are you?" he asked, "I know you, but I don't know you." he replied
Jigglypuff looked at him as if he had grown three heads.
"Huh?" she wondered
"Uh...I mean, I remember you from Kirby...but...I don't know you." he replied
"Jiggly...?" she wondered, trying to piece together what he was saying, "Wait, you other half of Kirby." she replied
"Yeah...though I don't want to." he replied
"Huh?"
"Well..." he began, but before he could reply he was interrupted by a fearsome sounding battle cry
"Hyah!" they heard, turning to see Kirby jumping into the air and toward the two, his Final Cutter Blade in hand, glistening in the moonlight, "Move Jigglypuff!" he yelled, bringing his blade down upon Shadow Kirby
Jigglypuff hopped away, allow free range for the pink Star Warrior. Kirby slammed his blade down hard upon Shadow Kirby, but the powerful grey puffball quickly blocked, taking the blow with his arms. After making some distance Jigglypuff noticed that the large beast she had been riding was out like a light and from the looks of things he was rather burnt. She wondered if Shadow Kirby had anything to do with it. She turned back tot he battle, watching as the dark copy jumped back after pushing Kirby off of him. Kirby growled when realized how Shadow Kirby had pushed away from his blade, seeing that Shadow Kirby's arms had curved and become as hard as steel, giving him effective blade arms.
"Hey, I was talking before you barged in!" barked Shadow Kirby, "You shouldn't attack when people...err...a Pokemon and a dark version of a Star Warrior are trying to talk!" he yelled
"I was eating before you attack me on the train!" Kirby barked back, "So meh!" he said, sticking his tongue out at Shadow Kirby
"Grrr!" growled Shadow Kirby
With a short hop he began to spin and raced toward Kirby. As he did so, snow began to accumulate around his body until he had become a very large snowball on a crash course toward Kirby. Kirby jumped away to avoid, diving to the side, but the snowball proved to be adept at turning and twirled to the side, rolling even faster toward the retreating puffball. Kirby bounced to and fro to try and get out of the raging snowball's path, but Shadow Kirby was on him as if he knew what Kirby was going to do before Kirby did it. Kirby ended up bouncing back too quickly and tripped, sliding along the snowy ground, out of control. Kirby only barely got to his feet, as he dug into the snow, but by then it was too late. The giant snowball smashed into him and knocking him skyward. Kirby spiraled upward before gravity started to take effect and drag him down, the giant snowball ready to finish the job. But before Shadow Kirby could smash into Kirby again he was stopped by another spinning puffball.
BAM!!
With the force of a cannonball Jigglypuff slammed into the rolling snowball, knocking Shadow Kirby from its cold confines. Shadow Kirby bounced off a nearby crate before hitting the ground hard, skidding back along the snowy earth. As she pulled out of the Rollout Jigglypuff watched as Kirby fell, quickly flying over to her falling beloved.
"Jiggly got Kirby, Jiggly got Kirby!" she proclaimed, trying to catch Kirby, but...
WHAM!!
A nice Kirby shaped hole was left in the snow about five inches away from Jigglypuff.
"Oops?" she murmured, before looking down at Kirby, "Kirby okay?"
Deep within the hole Kirby gave her a look and that look was all the answer Jigglypuff needed. With a sigh Kirby floated out of the hole and landed nearby, brushing snow from his body.
"Jigglypuff follow Kirby for a long time." she replied, "Not gonna let other Kirby hurt Kirby." she replied
"Uh...thanks..." he replied
"But why other Kirby want to hurt Kirby in first place?" she asked
"Don't know but..."
"Hey!" barked the voice of Shadow Kirby, "We're not done here!" he yelled at Kirby
Jigglypuff and Kirby turned to Kirby's dark counterpart, confusion painted on their faces.
"And as for you..." murmured Shadow Kirby, referring to Jigglypuff, glaring at the balloon Pokemon, "You're beautifully awesome!" he replied, giving her wide smile and a thumbs up, which was rather weird since he didn't possess opposable thumbs
Jigglypuff did a double take after that exclamation and her jaw dropping slightly as she stared as Shadow Kirby with more bewilderment than before.
"Crazy Kirby." she thought
"Why are you here?" Kirby asked, "Why do you want to fight me?"
"I told you." replied Shadow Kirby, "To be free, of you." he replied
"Huh?"
"To be free. I don't want to be you...I want to be me."
"Huh?"
"All I need to do is...take it." he replied, "That's what it told me to do."
"Huh?"
"Once I take it, then I'll be free." Shadow Kirby replied, "When I'm free, I can do anything I want...anything." he replied, winking at Jigglypuff
Jigglypuff felt an unusual cold feeling run through her body as Shadow Kirby winked at her.
"I'm gonna beat you." Shadow Kirby said, his body changing "There's no way I can lose." he replied, his soft exterior morphing into a much harder material, "I'm stronger than you..." he said, his body beginning to grow in size, "I am you dark side..." he replied, "I know every bad thought you have."
"Liar!"
"Huh?" murmured Shadow Kirby
"Kirby is not bad, Kirby good. Kirby not you, Kirby not dark." she replied, her words confident and unwavering
"Heh..." chuckled Shadow Kirby, "Don't tell me you've never seen him...evil?" he asked, "You have to remember. Shadow Star." he said
Jigglypuff froze up upon hearing that name.
"Remember?" he asked
Jigglypuff bit her lip as thoughts of the last time she saw the Shadow Star entered her mind. In a desperate bid to stop the giant robot sent after the Smashers Kirby resorted to using the Shadow Star, a more powerful Air Ride than his Warp Star. But by using such an Air Ride Kirby was affected by its influence and turned into something that Jigglypuff feared above all else. Kirby wasn't himself when he rode that Air Ride and Jigglypuff never wanted to see that version of Kirby ever again.
"Kirby...Shadow Star controlled Kirby. Not Kirby fault." she defended
"No..." replied Shadow Kirby, his transformation coming to its end, "The Shadow Star doesn't control, it just let's out the wickedness in whoever rides it." he replied, "It let out me."
Jigglypuff gasped! It had to be a lie, there was no way her Kirby, the puffball who had always been the nicest thing she could have ever met, could contain evil. It was just not possible.
"Yes, I'm gonna beat you and be free for good." replied Shadow Kirby, his transformation finally complete
Standing before the two puffballs was Shadow Kirby's rock form. The dark copy resembled a boulder with arms, legs, and a face plastered on it. A wicked smile appeared on the face that adorned his new form as he smashed his arms together to pump himself up.
"If you don't want to get hurt you better move." he told Jigglypuff, "'Cause here I COME!" he roared charging them
Shadow Kirby was surprisingly fast as he stomped his way over to Kirby and Jigglypuff, his heavy steps kicking up snow each time they hit the ground.
"This won't be fun." replied Kirby, brandishing his hammer
A trio of men could be seen walking down one of the many halls of the bandit fortress. Their destination was what was deemed as the Vehicle room, which, as the name suggest, housed the many vehicles employed by the bandits. However, even though their destination was the Vehicle room, their thoughts were not focused on what was within the room, but of something else.
"I don't like this leader, not one bit." replied the club wielding bandit known as Malamute, "You can't possibly trust that girl!?" he exclaimed
"For once, I agree with Malamute." replied Sakhalin, "The feeling I received from her was truly worrisome."
"Doesn't matter. Don't think we can do much about her anyways." replied Chinook
"What is her deal anyway and what about that eye?" Malamute inquired, "I've never see nothing like that before."
"Recently I have been hearing reports from out scout albatrosses that many small villages have been destroyed. Completely and utterly wiped out by a mysterious force."
"So you think she's the one doing it?" Malamute asked
"I'm not sure, but coupled with the defeat of Popo Aisu KuraimÄ, and the fact that she easily invaded our fortress, I can guess that she may have some connection with these events."
"All da more reason we follow what she wants, fa now." replied Chinook, "We don't need ta pick a fight wid her if she's dat strong. And beside, we got our own plans. Don't need 'em getting messed up cause of some freaky little girl." he told them, "But just in case we do need to fight, I want the SCT Quamutik ready for battle." he replied
"You sure you want to go all out like that leader?"
"If dat little girl can destroy entire villages, we gonna need the power of the SCT Quamutik." he said, opening the doors to the Vehicle room
Within the room that housed all the bandits mediums of transportation, ranging from simple trucks that carried supplies, to more assault type vehicle, stood the bandits' most prized vehicle. The SCT Quamutik, a heavily armed and armored snowbound attack vehicle. Sporting a 150mm cannon designed to fire cannonballs out of a spiral cannon head, to allow better accuracy and stability along with to side harpoon guns and a track system designed to easily roll over snow. But what truly helps this machine stand out is its ability to 'climb' over more rugged terrain, a.k.a. rocks. The SCT Quamutik had only just been finished, both in creation and in testing, but it was ready for active deployment, which was something Chinook was counting on.
"By mid-day tomorrow I wants everything ready fa a full attack on Aurora Canyon." Chinook replied
"You're really going through with that little girl's plan?" Malamute asked
"Like I said, don't have much of a choice, do we?" Chinook replied, "Besides..." he said, a grin forming on his face, "...if we take Aurora Canyon we'll be strong enough to take on even Hiehie Village if we want." he said, "So what if we gotta listen ta a little girl fa the time being...I don't care, long as I get what's coming ta me...and get my revenge." he chuckled, his laugh echoing the halls of the Vehicle room
POW!!
Jigglypuff and Kirby narrowly escaped being crushed as snow rose up after the monstrous impact from a punch thrown by Shadow Kirby in his rock mode. Both Smashers took refuge in the sky, hoping to buy themselves some time as they tried to figure out away to defeat such a strong opponent.
"Jumping in the air...won't work." replied Shadow Kirby, "I may be a rock but..." he said, bending down slightly, before lifting into the air with surprising jumping ability, "I'm not slow!" he yelled, reaching Kirby and Jigglypuff's height in moments
"So high!" Kirby thought, barely dodging Shadow Kirby's tackle
Kirby watched as gravity quickly took hold of Shadow Kirby, bringing him down to the snowy earth. But instead of simply landing he quickly curled into a ball, his arms and legs sinking into his rocky exterior. Much like his giant snowball form Shadow Kirby began spinning, although with more traction on the snow his spinning was not quite as great, though his size seemed to make up for that disadvantage as he plowed through an old nearby building effortlessly. But he was not the only one who decided to curl up into a ball and roll madly across the snow. With blinding speed Jigglypuff spun toward Shadow Kirby in a head-on-collision.
KER-BLAM!!
The impact was monstrous, but unlike before, Shadow Kirby was the victory of this collision.
"Puff!" grunted Jigglypuff, the impact forcing her out of her Rollout
Following up with the head-on-collision Shadow Kirby uncurled form his rolling boulder form and smashed his body weight into Jigglypuff, knocking her way with a powerful shoulder tackle. He watched as Jigglypuff tumbled away, eventually smashing into a large pole sticking out of the ground. She slowly slumped to the ground, the wood splintered on the point of impact.
"I'm not just normal rock." replied Shadow Kirby, "The stuff I'm made of is pretty tough." he told her, "You're strong, but you don't have the hardness to break me. So just sit back and wait. I don't want to hurt you."
"Jiggly..." murmured Jigglypuff, straining to rise
With a big grunt the balloon Pokemon managed to rise to her pillow-like feet. She felt sore, but nothing she couldn't ignore. Luckily the balloon Pokemon was tougher than she looked.
"Hmm...?" murmured Shadow Kirby, smiling at Jigglypuff's fortitude
The dark double was so preoccupied by Jigglypuff he almost didn't notice Kirby trying to come at him from his blind spot, hammer ready. Shadow Kirby hopped away, managing to avoid Kirby's initial strike, but could not move fast enough to dodge the second, that came in a round-about fashion. Unfortunately the second hit was more of a passing glance than an actually full on attack so the most it did was throw Shadow Kirby off balance. Shadow Kirby stumbled back for a bit, but quickly regained his footing, but not before Kirby launched himself at Shadow Kirby with a hard side shoulder tackle. The moment Shadow Kirby managed to set his feet firmly on the ground Kirby smashed into him and while the attack itself did little to hurt Shadow Kirby it was enough to disorientate the rocky enemy. A flurry of rapid fire punches came soon after, the rocky hide of Shadow Kirby pelted by the vicious barrage. But to Shadow Kirby the attack was nothing more than a mosquito bite against his hardy exterior.
"That won't work." replied Shadow Kirby, launching a punch at Kirby
Kirby dodged mid-attack, ducking under the blow before returning to unleashing another volley of rapid-fire punches.
"Again?" Shadow Kirby wondered, trying to punch Kirby again
Once again Kirby dodged, sliding to the side, and let loose with another pummeling rapid fire attack.
"This won't work." Shadow Kirby replied, until he noticed something odd
While the attacks themselves hadn't changed up much, the speed at which they came had gradually increased. And with that increase came the true meaning behind Kirby's blows. As Kirby pummeled Shadow Kirby, Shadow Kirby soon felt his balance wavering and soon enough he was pushed back slightly. Shadow Kirby's eyes widened at this and he was quick to react to this strange occurrence, his left arm retracting into his body. Once again Shadow Kirby could feel himself being pushed back, but before Kirby could gain any ground with his barrage Shadow Kirby's fist came flying from an odd angle, one at which Kirby couldn't dodge and Shadow Kirby grabbed hold of his pink counterpart.
"Take this!" Shadow Kirby yelled, bringing his arm back before slamming Kirby full force into the ground.
BLAM!!
"Jiggly..." Shadow Kirby heard, looking up to the source of the noise, "Puff!" yelled the pink Pokemon, smashing her foot into Shadow Kirby
Shadow Kirby was forced to step back to keep his balance and in turn forced to let go of Kirby.
"She's strong." he thought, "But she still can't break me."
"Huwah!" yelled Kirby, swinging his hammer up at Shadow Kirby
"How'd he get up so fast!?" Shadow Kirby wondered, too off balanced from Jigglypuff's earlier attack to counter
The hammer traveled upward, smashing into Shadow Kirby's face and throwing him back, though he stood his ground, digging his feet into the ground to keep stable.
"Jiggly!" yelled Jigglypuff, hitting Shadow Kirby from behind with another powerful kick
"Errrr..." he growled, sliding his left foot forward and to the right to stay standing
But just as he turned his foot Kirby came with a kick to his right side that forced Shadow Kirby to overshoot his movement. Shadow Kirby's right leg slipped from under him and he fell, having little choice but to abandon countering Kirby and catch himself by thrusting his arms to the ground and using them to hold up his body weight. But Shadow Kirby quickly pushed himself to his feet moments later, but as he looked up he was met with two small plush feet to the face.
WHAM!!
The impact sent the dark double back, but with a solid step he was able to retain his balance.
"I've had it." he growled, clenching what would constitute as fists for Shadow Kirby
"Jiggly!" growled Jigglypuff, curling into a ball and spinning
In response Shadow Kirby curled up as well and began to spin, becoming a rolling rocky wrecking ball. Both rolling balls barreled toward one another, kicking up white fluff as they drove over the ground. Their rolling showdown mirrored their last confrontation, except that Jigglypuff veered off course before they collided.
"Hmm?" Shadow Kirby thought, turning to chase after the rolling puff
Truthfully the shadowy doppelganger did not want to hurt Jigglypuff. She wasn't his enemy, but Jigglypuff wasn't going to back down. Hopefully he'd be able to take her out without really hurting her. The stone behemoth picked up speed as he chased after Jigglypuff, disregarding anything in his path, obliterating it on impact with this rocky hide.
As Jigglypuff passed a large cart she performed a near 90 degree turn near an oncoming pole and it was at this point that Kirby jumped over her, hammer at the ready, and swung as Shadow Kirby advanced. The large rock creature smashed through the pole as Kirby came into range, Kirby's hammer making its way toward Shadow Kirby. Swinging with all his might Kirby smashed his hammer into Shadow Kirby's hard exterior, but at the speed Shadow Kirby was rolling Kirby's attack barely slowed down the living boulder. Instead the mighty mallet of Kirby was ripped from the gumball's hand and sent spiraling away.
The shock from the blow caused Kirby to tumble away while Shadow Kirby continued to roll on. But before he realized it, he was at his top speed and still could not catch up to Jigglypuff. More so, Jigglypuff was actually pulling away from Shadow Kirby, putting some distance between herself and the grey copycat in the process. Jigglypuff blasted past her downed steed, rolled out of the town, moving so quickly that Shadow Kirby couldn't even keep up with the snow left in her wake. She quickly turned around and without skipping a beat planted herself in one spot and began to spin even faster than before, kicking up a wave of snow until she tunneled down to the barren earth.
As the dark boulder rumbled over to Jigglypuff, the pink puffball shot from the hole it had made in the ground, becoming a screaming missile on a one way course toward Shadow Kirby. Shadow Kirby showed no signs of slowing down, his confidence high over his ability to overpower Jigglypuff. But it was that very confidence that struck such a deep blow when he and Jigglypuff collided for the third time in the fight.
KER-PLOW!!
The impact was thunderous, creating a deafening shock-wave. The power of the blow caused the air pressure around the two to increase before the compression of force was released in a furious display, blowing snow from the surrounding area until all that was left was a five foot radius of barren earth. Jigglypuff skidded away, the snow proving to be ill-suited for traction as the powerful blow pushed her back. She grunted as she slid back, the blow having quite the effect on her light form. Shadow Kirby fared far better than the female Pokemon, his heavy frame digging into the snow and stopping him only after he skidded a few inches from the impact zone. But even so he had not come out of the attack unscathed.
"No...way..." he murmured, watching as Jigglypuff finally came to a stop over fifteen feet away, "She actually..." he murmured, a piece of his rock armor chipping away, "...broke through..."
Cracks spread out from the point of impact until enough had formed to cause more pieces of rock to chip away from Shadow Kirby. Soon chunks of rock began to fall apart as his structural integrity failed. His arms and legs broke apart from the main body, falling in a heap beside him. Soon enough the once mighty stone fighter had been reduced to a pile of rocks by the pink puffball known as Jigglypuff.
"Oh..." Shadow Kirby groaned, climbing out from the rock debris, "How'd she do that?" Shadow Kirby wondered, as he climbed out
It shouldn't have been possible for Jigglypuff to break through his rock armor. Her body was far lighter than his and nowhere near as hard. And yet she had busted through, and from the looks of it was still ready to do battle. Shadow Kirby glanced to his side and noticed that Kirby had retrieved his hammer and was ready to go on the offensive again.
"She's strong." he thought, his gaze moving back toward Jigglypuff, "And he's not bad either." he thought, referring to Kirby "I can't handle them at the same time...I'll have to leave for now." he thought, "Shadow Star!" he yelled
The two pink puffballs only hesitated for a second as Shadow Kirby yelled to the heavens, but they were quick to go on the advance, charging Shadow Kirby. But the little grey gumball was quite crafty, slamming an electrically charged fist into the snow.
Not only did the blow send snow skyward, but the electricity kept Jigglypuff and Kirby at bay as it danced about wildly, mixing with the snow to create a brilliant, if not dangerous, light display. By the time it had settled down Shadow Kirby was already on the Shadow Star, heading skyward.
"We'll fight again!" yelled Shadow Kirby, "But next time it'll just be me and you!" he yelled, taking off high into the sky
Kirby would have chased after the rogue emotion, but instead he simply looked on as Shadow Kirby took to the skies.
"Kirby going after Kirby?" Jigglypuff inquired, wondering as to why Kirby was simply standing there and letting Shadow Kirby get away
"I'm hungry." Kirby replied, his only answer to her question
Jigglypuff stumbled back in bewilderment. But after a moment she smiled. She would have hit him for being so single-minded, but that's what she loved about the Star Warrior. Kirby was just being his overly hungry self and while his hunger could hit him at the most inopportune times, Jigglypuff wouldn't have him change that about him for the world.
"Jiggly..." she murmured, giggling slightly, "Let's find others."
"Hmm?" Kirby murmured, "Oh...okay!" he cheered, "They'll probably have something to eat!" he happily proclaimed
Jigglypuff giggled again. That was Kirby for you.
The early morning sun shone over the vast white landscape of Nesh, illuminating the snowy expanse in a bright light. As the bright light of the morning sun washed over the landscape the sound of engines could be heard as three snow-based vehicles raced across the frozen tundra. Divided amongst the three snow-vehicles were the Smashers, along with Tealeaf, Robert, Bridget, and three drivers. The vehicles moved in a sort of delta formation, with the lead vehicle containing Tealeaf, Zelda, Marth, Popo, and Nana.
"Tealeaf, if it would not be rude of me to ask, what is the purpose behind this Aurorae Polaris?" he asked, "Whatever it is it seems quite important to your village."
"Well, I don't mind telling you, but this is Popo's responsibility so you should really be asking him." she replied
Marth turned his head slightly to Popo who was sitting in front of him and somewhat to the right.
"It's okay Grandmamma." he replied, his voice low yet even, "It's not like they shouldn't know." he replied, "But its sorta hard to explain, could you tell them?" he asked with a nervous chuckle, "I mean, I barely understand it and I'm the one that's gotta do it." he replied with a lopsided grin
"Popo..." she groaned, shaking her head in disdain, "If you're going to be the head of the village one day then you need to take things more seriously." she replied
"Yeah...the head." he replied, a hint of uncertainty hidden within his words
"Very well." she sighed, "But I guess even the head of the village can be a little absentminded as well. I mean, even I'm not entirely sure what the Aurorae Polaris actually does." she replied, a smile gracing her features
"Thanks Grandmamma." Popo replied, returning her smile with one of his own
"Anything for my grandson." she replied, "Besides, I can't just rely on Nana's children to love me unconditionally, you are part of the package too." she replied
"Grandmamma!" both climbers yelled exasperatedly
"Sorry, sorry!" she giggled, having fun at her grand-children's expense, "Though I cannot wait to see who you decide to marry." she replied, before leaning in close so that only Popo could hear, "I cannot say much for Nana, but I predict that you will have a wife of the utmost prestige. As well as having the skill to defeat you in combat." she replied
"Grandmamma!"
"Okay, okay!" she chuckled
Zelda did her best to keep from laughing, but with the powers of the mind that she possessed she had gotten the gist of what Tealeaf had said to the young climber, and for her she thought it was quite amusing.
"Well then, since I see its okay, I will tell you the purpose of the Aurorae Polaris." Tealeaf replied, "I suppose I should start off with what is basically does." she replied, "In a nutshell it is a way to determine the strength of a Weather Caster." she replied, "But that's not all it represents." she replied, "The true meaning behind the Aurorae Polaris is not in what is does for any single person, but what it does for the entire Nesh region."
There are seven different copy abilities in Kirby 64, and any two can be merged to create a new copy ability. They are Burn, Stone, Ice, Needle, Bomb, Spark, and Cutter. They will be a basis for Shadow Kirby's powers. A quamutik is an Inuit dog sled and SCT stands for Super Cool Tank.
Next chapter will be an in-depth analysis of the Aurorae Polaris and what is actually does. This is where the true plot of the story comes to light, along with a few more battles and some surprising revelations. Stay tuned.