This chapter contains minor Spoilers for Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and major spoilers for " What makes the Sky Blue" + "Created by the stars, loved by the Skies" Granblue Fantasy events.

Update: This chapter has been revised as of February 18th, 2023. Please note that the following chapters may still have mistakes as I've yet to revise them.

Just your average day in Dreamland

"Are you sure you didn't perceive anything, Phoebe?"

Phoebe shook her head as she stared at Gran.

"If I had sensed anything dangerous entering your dreams, I would have been the first to come to your aid," she lamented. "I'm truly sorry."

After their nightmare, Gran and Djeeta had followed Lyria's advice and gone to visit Phoebe and Morphe. The primal beats of dreams and her sibling usually spent their nights helping Ladiva, who had become like an adoptive mother for them, in her small but comfy hub. The draph woman was looking over all of them, concerned about the strange dream that had shaken the captains so much.

"You don't have to apologise," Djeeta assured her. "You weren't even in the dream world at the time."

"The worst thing about this is that the nightmare has given me such an adrenaline rush that I don't even feel tired. It's like I have drank 20 cups of Sandalphon's coffee...," Gran commented as he laid back in the chair in which he was sitting.

"If that thing's plan was to destroy our sleep schedule so we can't get a proper rest, it has succeeded." Djeeta remarked. "I have the feeling that tomorrow is going to be a looong day, especially because we still have to finish the quest we accepted on this island."

"Ladiva, can you serve us something, please?" Gran requested. "Your food always manages to cheer us up."

"Your wish is my command, captain!" the woman claimed with a smile as big as her horns. "But, you two have to promise that once you are done here, you will try to go back to sleep," she added as she rubbed her blond beard to think about something appropriate to serve in that situation. "We should make some tea to calm their nerves down and accompany it with pastries, don't you think?" she asked Phoebe and Morphe, who nodded.

"And maybe Phoebe and I should spend the night in your dreams, if you allow us..." Morphe suggested as he prepared the tea. His sister glanced at him with a nervous expression that went mostly unnoticed. "That way, if whatever tried to trap you in that dream appears again, we could try to catch it," he added.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. If that being comes back, things could get dangerous," Gran declined.

"Don't be silly! My sis may have been unable to detect it in the real world, but she has no rival in the dream plane!" Morphe insisted.

"I promise that everything I do will be for the sake of protecting both of you," Phoebe declared after exhaling heavily.

While the captains drank the tea, Phoebe went away and pretended to be cleaning a part of the hub, but she was actually lost in thoughts. Her brother noticed this and inquired, concerned:

"Sister, are you okay? You seem distant tonight."

"There is nothing wrong, Morphe..." she replied, faking a smile. "I'm just a bit worried."

But that wasn't totally true. While she had managed to maintain a calm demeanour, Phoebe's emotions were a jumbled mix of dread and hope, anxiety and expectation, fear and awe. She hadn't lied when she said she'd protect the captains, but she had when she said she hadn't sensed anything.

Even in the real world, she had been able to recognise the oneiric presence that had tormented the twins that night. And while a part of her wished she was wrong, another part of her had been dreaming about that reunion for way too long.

º·º.º·

Kirby stepped out of his house and looked at the sky. It was the perfect weather for the picnic he had planned for later that day! He had invited all of the Star Allies and was going to introduce Elfilin to them He was also very excited because it was his most recent friend's first official visit to Dreamland. It was going to be a memorable day!

The little puffball had only one worry on his mind: he wanted to give Elfilin something to remember that special day. The problem was that he couldn't think of anything appropriate.

"Good morning, Kirby," Bandana Waddle Dee greeted him. The young soldier was returning to King Dedede's castle after finishing his morning training run.

"Hi, Bandee!" Kirby greeted back with a big smile.

"Are you excited for this afternoon?" Bandana Dee asked.

"Yay, poyo! We are going to see everybody again after a long time! And I can't wait for Elfilin to meet them! But..."

"Is there something wrong?" Bandana inquired, concerned, because that "but" sounded sad coming from someone as joyful as Kirby.

"I want to give Elfilin a present so he can remember this day. It has to be something special that makes him think of Dreamland, but I don't know what. Do you have any ideas?"

Bandana Dee thought for a few moments, but his mind was as blank as his friend's.

"Sorry Kirby: I can't think of a good idea" he apologized. "But I someone know who can help!"

"Who?"

"Our Great King, of course!"

"That is a great idea, poyo!" Kirby agreed with joy." Let's go see Dedede," he added as he began running towards the castle.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Bandana Dee shouted, following his close friend and adventure buddy.

º·º.º·

King Dedede was busy doing paperwork. Contrary to popular belief, he did that kind of job... sometimes.

Even if the people of Dreamland couldn't care less about the self-proclaimed/self-made king's status when he asked for respect and began bossing around, they remembered it vividly when they needed something. And because he had been forced by his close circle to take a temporary break from his duties as a result of what had happened to him in the Forgotten Land, a torrent of letters with complaints and petitions had arrived at the castle. He loathed paperwork, but the letters were taking up too much space, so he began reviewing them that morning. And by reviewing them, he meant reading the first two lines and stamping the seal of "rejected" on them. After all, most of the letters were just silly stuff like "we should install a gigant chocolate fountain in the market", "I want Meta Knight's autograph" or "we should build a jail to put Marx in it!" (like if a jail could contain that gremlin).

"Hiii, Dedede!"

The king of Dreamland leapt in his seat, startled by the sudden appearance of a loud voice. The papers he was holding flew away. Bandana Dee jumped into the air and grabbed them.

"Kirby! Don't scare me like that, you little menace!" exclaimed the penguin when he saw his rival. "I wasn't expecting you this early. Has something bad happened?"

"Everything's fine. I wanted to ask for your help because I need a gift for Elfilin" Kirby replied. Dedede looked at him and then at Bandana, a bit confused.

"Your highness knows everything about Dreamland!" As he handed the papers over to the king, Bandana Dee asserted. "I'm sure you can come up with some great gift ideas."

"I'm sorry kiddos, but not today. As you see, I have a lot of work," Dedede declined, pointing at the papers. "And I want it done before today's picnic."

"Or else I will have to hear Taranza ranting about how to keep a castle clean and I would rather talk about more casual stuff with him," he added internally.

"Kirby, stay alert! That King Dedede must be an imposter! The real Dedede would never turn down an opportunity to slack off from his job," a voice mocked.

The three of them turned to see who had spoken. It turned out to be Meta Knight, who had just flown in through the window.

"Hey, what was that for?" the king asked, just pretending to be offended, as he knew that Meta Knight wasn't being serious. "And what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be training your Meta-Knights or whatever you guys do when we are not having the apocalyptic event of the month?"

"I was forced to take a day off by my crew, so I decided to keep an eye on you all so you don't get in trouble," the knight claimed.

"What an idea for a day off," Bandana Dee commented as he rolled his eyes.

"Sure, sure. You just wanted to hang out with us because you were bored, am I right?" the king asked with a mischievous smile as he picked the knight up like he was a ball. Then, he placed him in front of the pink puffball and added: "well, since our roles of "work-a-holic" and "lazy guy" seem to have been reversed for a day, entertain the kids until I'm done."

"Meta, would you like to train with us? Not wait! Since it is your day off, it would be better if we just play outside!" Kirby suggested with a big smile.

"Weren't we going to look for a gift for Elfilin?" Bandana Dee reminded the puffball.

"Oh, right. We have to go to the market and get something for Efilin!" Kirby stated. "You need to come with us! After all, you know a lot of things about Dreamland too."

Meta Knight glared at Dedede, annoyed. The last thing he wanted to do that day was go shopping, but there was that look on Kirby's face: those big, pleading blue eyes were so full of joy and hope that it was difficult to say no.

But before the knight could respond to the hero's plea, his body tensed and all of his senses became extremely aware. His instincts warned him that Dreamland was in danger.

"Meta? "Are you all right?" Dedede inquired, concerned by the warrior's abrupt change in behaviour.

Meta Knight ignored the king's question and ran at the window with urgency. As soon as he looked out, he saw a spiral made of clouds of pure darkness flotating above the Fountain of Dreams' location.

"What in tarnation?!" the king exclaimed when he caught up to Meta Knight.

"Poyo? What is going on? I want to see!" Kirby demanded to know, alarmed by his friends' behaviour. The pink puffball floated above them and landed on top of Dedede's head. The king looked at him, slightly annoyed, but said nothing because there were more pressing matters." What is that?" the hero asked the knight when he saw the clouds.

"It can't be anything good, especially if it's coming from the Fountain," Meta Knight grumbled.

"Yeah, just what we needed: Nightmare is making a comeback," Dedede lamented, exasperated. Was a couple of months between the end of one crisis and the start of another too much to ask?

"Nightmare?! But how?!" Bandana Dee shouted in alarm. "Didn't Kirby beat him years ago?!"

"The rotten never die," Meta Knight retorted grimly.

"Hey! I was just kidding!" Dedede complained. "How could Nightmare be back? Kirby destroyed that villain so hard that he made a hole in the moon! This must be the doing of another bad guy..."

Suddenly, Kirby jumped out of the window. He came back shortly after, riding a Warp Star big enough for the four of them.

"We need to go, poyo!" he said to his friends. "We have to stop this before the picnic!"

Bandana Dee, Dedede and Meta Knight nodded and jumped aboard the Warp Star. Kirby started driving it towards the Fountain.

"I had been thinking that if we befriend the one who is attacking the fountain, we will have to invite them to the picnic. We may need a bit more of food if that is the case," Kirby commented while they were flying. "Maybe we can talk this out instead of fighting if we invite them directly to the picnic!"

His three friends looked at him incredulously. Kirby was too nice for his own good.

"Are you being serious, Kirby?" Bandana Dee asked.

"Everybody enjoys food, naps, and having a group of good friends," the puffball claimed.

"Kirby, what you listed are just your favourite things," Meta Knight pointed out.

"He, he. That's right," Kirby replied awkwardly.

After a while, they finally arrived at the Fountain of Dreams. The four heroes looked around in order to find the cause of the dark clouds. They were welcomed by the familiar shape of a blue cape and a hood with cat-like ears.

"Magolor?" Kirby called to the magician, who had his back turned against them. "What are you doing here?"

But Magolor didn't answer. Beneath him, the water that flowed from the fountain of dreams turned dark and began to spin on itself, forming a larger and larger whirlpool.

"He is corrupting the fountain!" Meta Knight claimed as he lunged at the magician. However, the knight had to stop short when he noticed a barrier protecting Magolor, just in time to avoid colliding with it (which would have been quite embarrassing). "Dedede! Bandana! Use your weapons to help me destroy this barrier!"

"Hey, I'm the one who gives the orders around here!" Dedede shouted, but he did what Meta Knight asked anyway.

"Magolor? Can you hear us?" Kirby kept calling his friend, with sadness in his voice. The magician didn't even turn to greet them. Why was he ignoring them? Was he even aware they were there? Magolor was so focused on his task that he seemed to be in a trance... or maybe he just couldn't hear them because of the barrier? Kirby had so many questions in his mind about his friend's behaviour, but the one that resounded above the rest was also the most painful:

"Did Magolor betray us again?"

Frustrated, Kirby began to attack the barrier with his own body because he had no copy ability. Dedede quickly noticed this and gave one of his hammers to the young hero, allowing him to transform. Kirby looked at his friend-rival with a grateful smile, and together they continued to bring the barrier down.

Finally, there was a sound similar to glass breaking. The four heroes of Dreamland looked at the barrier, but it was not the source of the sound. Meta Knight rose into the air to discover what was causing it. In the centre of the vortex, a fissure was opening. It looked like reality itself was cracking.

As the fissure grew more and more wide, black smoke began to rise from it, slowly forming a sphere decorated with stars that Kirby, Dedede and Meta Knight recognised.

"It was a joke, it was a joke, it was a joke, it was a joke, it was a joke..." King Dedede repeated himself nervously, regretting the words he had said earlier. However, instead of continuing to panic as he had during his first encounter with the sinister being, he firmly grasped his hammer and swallowed all of his fear. Yes, Nightmare had returned, but this time he wasn't going to face him alone.

Once the sphere was complete, it began to transform into Nightmare's other form. Soon, his unique black cloak and helmet became recognisable in his silhouette. Magolor then fainted, causing the barrier to disappear. The defenders of Dreamlands got ready for the incoming battle.

Once his body was fully formed, the villain declared with a sinister smile:

"Yes, finally, I'm back! And it's all thanks to this stupid magician." He then turned to Kirby and his friends. "And here we have the brave heroes of Dreamland, ready to protect their beloved Fountain," he added mockingly.

Nightmare let out a sinister laughter before turning towards the Star Rod.

"Don't you even dare to touch that," Meta Knight threatened the sinister being, predicting his intentions, while he flew to pick up the Star Rod at full speed. The knight grabbed the artefact and threw it at Kirby, before being hit by a magical attack from Nightmare, knocking him to the ground. The little pink puffball jumped into the air and gracefully grabbed the Star Rod, his hammer skill being replaced by the power the rod had granted him. Meta Knight was quick to recover and flew back to his companions, who adopted an offensive formation.

"Cursed insects... why do you have to get in my way once more?" Nightmare bellowed, looking at them with resentment. However, the four Defenders were not intimidated and raised their weapons against the villain. " But it doesn't matter. I have no intention of fighting you here."

"And what are you going to do? Fly to the moon again? It's going to look like Gruyère cheese if Kirby keeps kicking your ass there!" Dedede taunted as he lunged at Nightmare with his hammer, being the first to attack the villain directly.

Nightmare grabbed the monarch's hammer just before it hit his face.

"Well, well, well," the villain evilly smirked as he shoved the hammer away from his face, making Dedede step back. "It looks like the pathetic monarch of Dreamland has finally grown a gut after all these years. Or is this just a facade and you're going to crawl behind your subjects like the coward you are?"

"Sorry, Nightmare, but the coward you're looking for is in another castle. The third possession of Dark Matter got rid of him!" Dedede taunted as he dodged one of the villain's attacks. "You may be called the Lord of Fear, but I've seen scarier things!"

Dedede attempted to strike Nightmare once more with his hammer, which was now engulfed in flames. However, the powerful attack only trespassed on the villain.

"Your fight is futile, worm. You seem to have forgotten that the only thing that can hurt me is..."

A star-shaped projectile hit the villain before he could finish his words. Nightmare turned around to find Kirby standing behind him. The little puffball seemed to be angry at the villain for insulting Dedede, as his cheeks were swollen and his brow furrowed.

"...that cursed wand," Nightmare finished saying. "However, I had anticipated this mishap."

Nightmare teleported back through the dimensional gap he had emerged from and cast a foreign magic over it that neither Kirby nor his friends recognised. The gap widened and began to absorb everything around it, as if it were a black hole. Bandana instinctively thrust his trusted spear into the ground, clinging to it with one hand while grabbing Magolor's unconscious body with the other to keep it from being carried away by the current.

The delicate Star Rod slipped from Kirby's grasp as a result of the gap's sucking power. The sinister villain did not hesitate and fired a beam of energy at the artefact, which broke into seven pieces, much to the surprise and alarm of the heroes. Nightmare jumped into the gap after reaching out to grab one of the shards that had come flying at him. Kirby and Dedede quickly absorbed two more shards with their inhale powers, and Meta Knight grabbed a fourth just before it fell through the dimensional gap, but the knight couldn't do anything with the other two except watch them fall through it. That, however, did allow him to see what was on the other side: islands floating in a sea of clouds beneath a sky full of stars he didn't recognise.

A sky which Nightmare had invaded. A world that was therefore in danger.

The knight did not doubt a second more: he jumped after the enemy and entered the unknown dimension. Upon seeing Meta Knight's actions, Kirby followed him after calling the Wrap Star. Dedede was not going to be less than his rival-friend and his sworn partner, so he went after them. At that moment, a butterfly was also sucked into the gap.

Bandana Dee doubted for a moment whether to follow them or not because he did not know what to do with Magolor's inert body... and that second of doubt was one that he would regret.

Because then the dimensional gap closed, as if it had never been there in the first place.

"Great King! Kirby! Meta Knight!" Bandana Dee shouted, calling out the names of his companions. He dropped the spear and Magolor's body and ran to the spot where the gap had been just moments before. In a desperate attempt to reopen it, he stomped the ground, only to splash the fountain's water, which had stopped flowing due to the removal of the Star Rod. The only positive aspect of the situation was that the water in the Fountain was returning to its original colour.

The worst thing about it? He'd been left behind while his friends had gone somewhere unknown.

"You treacherous magician... Everything is your fault!" Bandana Dee accused Magolor."What were you thinking?!" he yelled angrily as he shook the magician. The only reaction he got from him was a snore.

Bandana Dee sighed and calmed down. It hurt him a lot that he couldn't accompany Kirby and the king on a new adventure, but he knew they would be fine. They were strong and resourceful, and Meta Knight was with them this time. As long as they were together, they could retrieve the Star Rod shards and defeat Nightmare in no time. If all went well, they might even be able to return in time for the picnic!

But then he noticed something that crushed his hopes: one of the shards had gotten stuck in the fountain. And without it, his friends would be unable to repair the Star Rod and defeat Nightmare.

"Oh shi...ver star. What can I do? What can I do?" Bandana Dee asked himself this as he was having a panic attack. But then he remembered something: he had a friend that could open portals to other dimensions. "I know... Elfilin! He can help me deliver the shard!"

With newfound determination, the Waddle Dee retrieved his spear and put it on his back. Then, grasping the Star Rod shard with one hand and Magolor's body with the other, he started walking back to Kirby's house, where the picnic would take place.

Before he left, he glanced one last time at the place where his friends had vanished.

"I'm on my way. In the meantime, I can only wish you good luck," he prayed.

º·º.º·

Two beings stood on the Grandcypher's deck, watching the stars twinkle in the night sky.

Zooey, the primal beast formerly known as "the Grand Order," guardian of arbitrary balance, never expected to have a little sister, but then Yuni appeared. As she idly played with two of Zooey's blonde locks, the silver-haired girl's silhouette shimmered in the moonlight, her eyes reflecting the stars.

Until recently, they were both part of the same primal beast, called Cosmos, and her death had released them from their obligation, allowing them to exist as independent beings.

"I brought you coffee," someone said behind them.

Zooey turned to greet the newcomer, another primal beast. Their red eyes met in the middle of the night, and she gave him a big smile.

After discovering that their predecesors had been friends, the two beasts began to cultivate their own friendship. The other beast's case was the exact opposite of hers. Whereas all primal beasts had been created with a specific purpose, he, on the other hand, had been crafted with a purpose thought impossible to fulfill, as his creator, a primal beast called Lucifer, had hoped that doing so would give him more freedom. However, after the death of this being, Sandalphon now had to carry his legacy.

Both had seen their roles and lives altered with the loss of someone important to them. And both had found a new home within the walls of the Grandcypher and his family in the crew of Gran and Djeeta, both teenagers choosing to ignore the fact that the two primals had attacked them in the past.

"Thank you, Sandalphon," Zooey said as she took the cup. In adition to protecting the world, Sandalphon made delicious coffees. "Nice night, right?"

"It's not bad, I guess," he replied. He preferred the blue colour of the sky in the morning."This is for you, Yuni: hot chocolate," he said as he handed another cup to the little girl.

"Thank you, Sandy," the girl said with a smile, but she couldn't help but notice the gloomy expression on his face when he heard the nickname. "Have I done something wrong?"

"No, it's just that..." Sandalphon began. He despised the person who used to call him by that nickname, but Yuni had nothing to do with that serpent. "It's Nothing. Forget about it. Coming from you, I suppose that nickname is not so bad."

"By the way, do you know anything about Gran and Djeeta?" Zooey asked his crewmate to get him away from those bad thoughts.

"I heard that they had a terrible dream," Yuni continued. "Are they all right?"

"Vyrn and Lyria have told me that they are fine now," he reassured them. "A while ago they returned from Raduga and went to bed again. There is no nightmare that can bring our captains down."

Suddenly something inside Zooey activated. A battle instinct, designed to protect the world had been awakened. That could only mean the world was in grave danger.

"Do you feel that, Sandalphon?" Zooey asked his companion.

"Something's coming," he responded. On his back, six multicoloured wings appeared.

Suddenly, a ball of light crossed the planet's atmosphere. A normal person would have mistaken it for a comet, but the two beasts recognised it as a threat. Three other lights appeared, but only the first one felt truly dangerous.

Seeing this, Zooey and Sandalphon ascended to the sky.

"Wait! Take me with you!" Yuni asked Zooey.

" 're still getting used to your body," she refused. "You could get hurt."

"Besides, we need someone to warn Gran and Djeeta. Take care of them until we are back, okay?" Sandalphon asked.

Both beasts took flight into the night sky, chasing after the being that had dared to invade the Sky Realm.

"Please, come back safe and sound," Yuni prayed.

Yuni stared at the horizon, watching as Zooey and Sandalphon's silhouettes melted into the sky as they flew away from the ship. The young little primal beast sighed, concerned for Zooey and Sandalphon, and looked down. Zooey and Sandy had asked her to take care of the Singularity, and so she would.

Before she made her way back into the Grandcypher, something stopped her. From her position, she could see how two crew members had gotten off the ship and were walking away from it at an accelerated pace.

Yuni had never seen them. The ship was large and filled with people, and she had barely been living there for a month. There were still people she hadn't met (and it didn't help that her current form couldn't handle over-stimuli well, forcing her to avoid the hubbub during the day).

The people who had abandoned the ship were a boy and a girl, not much older in appearance than she was. For some reason, they were dressed in pajamas, even though Yuni had been told that the Sky Realm races only wore those clothes to sleep. The girl advanced with determination, while the boy walked behind her, confused and trembling.

But their appearance wasn't the only thing that had caught her attention. Yuni could sense that the girl was a primal beast. One that had suffered a lot, but whose emotional wounds seemed to have healed. Another of the many that had found solace in the Singularity. Cosmos surely could have recognised the beast, but because she was only a small fragment of that being, that knowledge eluded her.

The boy (probably a manifestation created by the beast) grabbed his companion from behind and said something to her. The beast turned, a bit mad at her companion. Yuni could see uncertainty in her eyes, but she seemed determined to leave the ship behind.

"Why are you leaving your shelter? What are you afraid of?" Yuni asked despite the fact that she was aware that the beast, which had continued walking towards the city, could not hear her. "Did you do something wrong and are you afraid of repercussions? No, you know that they would never hurt you. Could you be leaving in order to protect them? That makes more sense, but what are you trying to protect them from? Could it be you?"

Yuni wanted to follow the beast and ask those questions directly, but Zooey and Sandy had asked her to stay. Besides, by the time she got off the ship, the beast and her companion would both be too far away to reach. Yuni looked up at the sky and prayed for their safety too, before heading off to find Gran and Djeeta.

As she looked again at the stars, she shivered. The night that had started out beautiful, had turned cold and dark.