Chapter 6: The Ancient Treasure

Kirby sighed as he brought a meal to the top of the tower where its new head resided. He wasn't sure exactly how long he had been there, serving a "master" who merely ate and slept, the two activities Kirby enjoyed doing most when he wasn't busy fighting evil. While he loathed his menial chores around the castle, he continued to repeat to himself that the lives of those in the castle and those around Castle Town relied on his obedience to the nominal ruler of the castle and the higher power behind him. The time would come when he could spring to action. He only hoped that it would come soon.

When Kirby entered the tower's upper room, he noticed that the head of the castle was not at the table awaiting his meal. Instead, he was lying unconscious beside a wolf and a black Luma. They did not notice Kirby at first. "Huh," the black Luma began, "I was sure we would've found Princess Zelda up here. Isn't this the same room you got to the last time you were here, Link?" The wolf nodded in agreement. "Instead, there was this guy. Oh, well. Sorry to get your hopes up about getting out of here."

"Excuse me," Kirby announced. The two turned towards the pink puff. "Who are you?"

The Luma approached Kirby. "My name is Polari, and this is Link."

Link glared sternly at Kirby, but Kirby smiled. "Link, is it? I've heard of you during training for this post. Yes, Princess Zelda spoke highly of the hero who defeated Ganondorf. It's very nice to meet you. My name is Kirby."

"Kirby?" Polari remarked in mild surprise. "Aren't you from Pop Star?" Kirby nodded. "What are you doing here in Hyrule?"

Kirby hesitated, not knowing whether it was safe or not to continue talking. After determining it was safe, he continued. "All right, I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but I have a feeling I can trust you two. Yes, I am from Pop Star, a planet far, far away from here. I've come to Hyrule because of some dark energy that seem to be originating somewhere near here. Initially, I had thought that they were nothing. They had appeared months ago and disappeared spontaneously. I suppose that its disappearance was because of you, Link.

"Anyway, the energy returned, coinciding with problems on Pop Star. I came to investigate, hoping to find the cause of these problems. As you can see, I haven't been able to do that, and I'm not at all pleased with myself. You both are worried about people close to you, right? So am I. I can get you out of the castle, but there's something I think will be necessary later. It's an ancient treasure the Royal Family has kept ever since it was used to save this land from tyranny long ago. Can you help me find it?" Link nodded.

"Great! The path begins through that fireplace. Follow me." Kirby pressed a switch beneath a table, and the fireplace slid into the wall, revealing a passageway. Kirby entered first, followed by Link and Polari.

As they continued through the passageway, more of those monsters appeared. Kirby was concerned that the treasure might already be lost to the evil entity. What would happen then? At this time, Polari broke the silence. "Say, Kirby...how come you were still in the castle? I'd have thought a hero like you would have already defeated whatever took over this place."

Kirby looked at Polari for a moment. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I didn't. I disappointed myself, too, because I knew that I could have defeated him. However, the lives of everyone in the castle were in danger, including that of Princess Zelda. Sometimes, a hero has to know when to bide his time in order to save others until the right time comes."

"Other people...where are they? Link and I didn't encounter any other people around here."

Kirby sighed. "The guards did not react well to losing the light. Twilight was one thing. This is completely different. Link, you remember how people under twilight became spirits, losing their physical forms?" Link nodded. "This is much worse. I'm not sure what exactly it is; I can only call it...the Shadow. The guards...they were transformed into soldiers for his army...

What?! Link couldn't believe that it was possible. The two monsters I had fought were Hylian guards… What became of them once I had fought them? He brushed away those thoughts for the moment, not wanting to consider the possibility that he had just killed two people. He was used to destroying creatures that would leave behind no corpse and possessed no inkling of genuine feeling. Dwelling on that would not be ideal, considering what he needed to do now.

Polari was confused. "If the guards were ordinary people turned into monsters, how come neither of us has changed? I know Link's Triforce protects him from losing his senses."

"I guess this...Shadow only affects the people from this world," Kirby responded. "Still, I don't think we'd be safe forever. I'd expect that this Shadow will probably spread throughout the universe if left unchecked..."

"Well, then," Polari remarked, "we'd better hurry to whatever we're supposed to be looking for! What was it again?"

"You sure are curious about things, aren't you?" Kirby noted. "It's an ancient instrument infused with the power of time itself. I never learned its exact origins, but I can say that it was entrusted by a member of the Royal Family to a young boy a long time ago."

"Hm...I remember my Mama told me a story about it, but I don't remember it fully. What about you, Link?"

Link shook his head in denial. He had no idea what they were talking about, and he didn't care much at that moment. They had to get going fast, and he dashed ahead. The other two took his cue and sped up, ending the conversation for now.

Eventually, Kirby, Link, and Polari found themselves in front of a large door. "Alright, this is where it is," Kirby said. "I can only hope that the treasure is still there..." Kirby took out the key he had been given when he had completed training. He placed it in the lock and turned it. The lock fell, and the door opened. "Shall we?"

As they entered, the door sealed behind them. Link noticed a treasure chest. There has to be something in there. Link instinctively ran towards it, hoping that they could actually get what they were looking for without facing any sort of fight. Unfortunately, the chest was a trap; once Link reached it, it released a force field that surrounded him. Dammit! I can't believe I fell for that!

Kirby became alert to any changes in the environment, knowing that there was definitely something waiting in the darkness. He quickly jumped back as something with a sword struck the ground before him. Polari exerted more energy to allow Kirby to see the foe. It appeared to be Kirby's size, except with a sword and a familiar mask.

Kirby couldn't believe his eyes. "Meta Knight! What are you doing here?"

The figure responded. "Kirby! Stop this at once! You don't know what you're doing with these two! They are villainous beings who are coaxing you into rash actions! Do not forget about the lives you are entrusted to protect here and at home!"

"What?!" Polari exclaimed. "We're no evil beings! I'm a Luma and Link is..."

"SILENCE! I have no patience for cowardly liars. I will stop you before you try to hinder Kirby and me any further." Kirby watched in silence as the figure took his sword from the ground and struck at the Luma. Polari dodged and tried to get away.

"You'd strike at a living being without giving proper judgment to achieve your own ends?!" Polari let out as he tried to escape. "You're a monster!"

Kirby broke his silence. "You're right, Polari. I don't think this is Meta Knight. I know that he is a very chivalrous being who would never fight dirty. You didn't even offer Polari a chance to defend himself! I bet you're Meta Knight's evil copy, Dark Meta Knight!"

The figure laughed for a moment. "Very deductive...you have certainly become wiser since we last met, Kirby. As I recall, it took four of you to actually defeat me and my old master, Dark Mind. However, I've been given an even greater power, and you're all alone. I suggest that you surrender quietly, and no one gets hurt."

"Not happening! There's a time to surrender and a time to fight. Now is my time to fight! Bring it on!"

The figure laughed again. "Well said! It will be my pleasure to defeat you here and now." Dark Meta Knight began to swing at Kirby. Seeing that Kirby was easily evading him, Dark Meta Knight summoned four swords and sent them towards Kirby. Kirby dodged the first three and faced the fourth. Before it could cause any damage, he inhaled deeply, sucking the final sword into his mouth.

Kirby swallowed, filling him with power. A sword appeared in his right hand, and a green cap replaced his sash. Dark Meta Knight ran towards Kirby, and Kirby countered with his sword. Kirby easily overpowered his foe and landed a few blows before Dark Meta Knight disappeared. He reappeared above Kirby, hoping to land a strike from above. Kirby parried the sword and landed a few more blows.

Dark Meta Knight disappeared again. "It seems your strength has grown much since we last met. It is time to unleash the full might of my new power!" The force field around Link disappeared as Dark Meta Knight reappeared above the party. The shadows in the room flowed into him, and he transformed into a giant. "BEHOLD, THE POWER OF SHADOW META KNIGHT!" he bellowed.

Kirby seemed unfazed. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall! You know what that means, Link? Let's take him down!" Link nodded and began to run towards the left foot while Kirby headed towards the right. Their giant foe attempted to crush them, but they were too quick for him. Link dug deep into the foot while Kirby hacked away at the other. The giant fell, and the two continued to give him hell. After repeating this a few more times, the giant gave a final shriek of pain before breaking apart and fading away and leaving behind a Heart Container.

Looking up from where the foe had just been, Link noticed a star exiting from Kirby's body. The sword was gone, and the sash had replaced the green cap that had strangely appeared on his heard. Link made a mental note to ask Kirby later about how the sword and cap had appeared in the first place. Even stranger to him was Kirby's reaction to the boss's defeat. Kirby jumped up and down several times, spun around, jumped around some more, and finally put his small arm up in victory. He wondered why the pink stranger reacted so.

Kirby saw a new treasure chest appear and excitedly hopped over to it. He opened it, revealing the treasure inside. As he held it up, he jumped with joy again. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "It's still here!"It was a small, blue item that seemed to exude a strangely calming aura.

Polari became excited too. "Oh! It's the Ocarina of Time! So that's what was hiding in here!

Kirby nodded. "Yes. Are you familiar with this story, Link?"

Link did not reply; he did not know much about the stories of ancient Hyrule. Few knew about them even in those days, fewer still who were living. Rusl occasionally told stories based on the knowledge he collected from his periodic trips around Hyrule, but it never formed a full story.

"Well, I might as well tell you about it. I learned it in the history lessons that were required by the princess for me to take. In truth, I am uncertain about its validity, but I have seen impossible things happen. Its significance could be great." With that, Kirby began the tale.

A long time ago during a war for control over Hyrule, a Hylian mother entrusted her only son to a forest entity known as the Great Deku Tree. After the mother's death and the resolution to the war, the boy was raised along with the children of the forest, known as the Kokiri. One day, the boy had a particularly strong premonition about a man who threatened the balance of the world. The boy then set off on a journey to warn the Royal Family, meeting new faces all over the land. He snuck into the castle and, once he found the princess, relayed the instructions the Great Deku Tree had given him. The princess believed him because she had had similar premonitions. She sent him on a quest for the sacred jewels of the Kokiri, Gorons, and Zora in order to stop the man from achieving his goals. She entrusted him with the Ocarina of Time in order to gain entry into the inner chamber of the Temple of Time so he could draw the Master Sword, open the Sacred Realm, and get to the Triforce before the man could stop him.

But, the boy played right into the villain's trap. The Master Sword sealed the boy's soul inside because he was not old enough to be called the Hero of Time. By the time the boy had awoken, the man had succeeded in conquering Hyrule, slowly turning it into a land of chaos. However, the boy adapted to these circumstances, defeating the man's forces throughout the land. He was able to defeat the man, and then he returned to his own time with no record left of his journey except his memories and his desire to change the future.

"The boy returned to the princess, confirming to her father the validity of her premonitions. With this information, the King condemned the villain to death, and the boy became known as the Hero of Time."

Link wondered to himself as he heard the story. Most of him thought that this was some strange, twisted fairy tale. However, there was something about it that seemed awfully familiar to him, but he couldn't put his paw on it. He took the Heart Container, indicating that story time was over. He felt the familiar burst of energy course his entire body, increasing his stamina.

"Oh, right," Kirby said. "Yes, there will be a time for stories later. Now, we need to get going." Kirby took out a cell phone and pressed a button. A star came from out of the ceiling and approached the party. "Our ride's here, so we should head for your home, Link. I have a feeling that you'd like to get there as soon as possible. Hop on!" The three jumped on to the Warp Star, and it flew out towards Ordon Province, leaving the castle behind.