Update: This chapter has been revised as of March 2nd, 2023. Please note that the following chapters may still have mistakes as I've yet to revise them.
First showdown
Lyria and Vyrn were leading Kirby on a tour of the Grandcypher. Or more accurately, they were following Kirby to keep him out of trouble (and away from the most problematic crew members), while the little puffball explored the ship with contagious energy and enthusiasm.
The hero of Dreamland went from cabin to cabin, greeting all the passengers and introducing himself, leaving everyone perplexed and confused, with Lyria and Vyrn having to explain who the pink puffball was and what he was doing there. However, it was remarkable how every person who interacted with Kirby perked up, no matter how terrible the dreams they had that night were.
Kirby came to a halt in front of a cabin. Vyrn and Lyria recognised it as the one Yuni and Zooey shared. Inside, the little girl was floating around, relaxed, unaware of her surroundings, and far too close to the ceiling.
Kirby was amazed at the sight. Adeleine couldn't float like that!
"Watch out, Yuni! Don't float too high, or you'll hit your head on the ceiling!" Lyria alerted the girl.
"Sorry, I got a little carried away," Yuni said as she came down. "Who is this little one?" she added when she noticed Kirby. She remained calm in the presence of the unknown creature because she felt no ill will or evil energy emanating from him.
Kirby introduced himself once more.
"I like that name," she complimented, smiling. "It reminds me of happy things."
"Yuni is a pretty name too, poyo," the puffball complimented back.
"Thanks. This name means a lot to me," Yuni replied. She really treasured the name that Cosmos had bestowed upon her.
"Would you like play? Let's be friends!"
"Sorry, I don't know any games..." she answered a bit embarrased: she was supposed to be a kid and yet she had no idea of how to play. It made sense because, she only had existed for a month in that new form, but this new "friend" had no way of knowing that.
"It's okay. I can teach you a lot of games!" Kirby offering grabbing her by the hand.
Yuni looked at Vyrn and Lyria, who motioned for her to go ahead. She could benefit from socialising with someone... her age? Well, they were both children in mind and spirit, despite the fact that Yuni was a primal beast with centuries of inherited knowledge and Kirby was an unknown creature from another planet and, most likely, dimension.
Kirby took Yuni to the deck, where they began to play together. The puffball quickly invited Lyria and Vyrn to join them, and they had no choice but to give in at the sight of the cutest pleading face ever. Gran and Djeeta, who were done talking to Wilnas, looked at the scene with tenderness.
"What a peculiar primal beast," Ladiva commented after joining them. She could finally take a break after taking care of the children who had clung to her after the night's nightmares. The children were now in the care of other crew members, either studying or training. Her smile was warm, despite the dark circles under her eyes.
"He's a being from another world," Gran informed her.
"Again?" the woman laughed.
"The universe doesn't give us a break," Djeeta sighed as she leaned over the railing, tired of the karmic energy that threw every problem in the world at them.
"Stop with that long face. You both know you don't have to bear the weight of your destiny alone," Ladiva reminded the twins. "I think I speak in the name of everyone on board when I say you can count on us."
"We do. Thanks, Ladiva," Gran said, grateful for the words of encouragement from the closest thing they had to a mother at that moment.
At that moment, the sky quickly clouded over in an unnatural way. A bad feeling invaded the minds of the twins.
"Ah hell, here we go again," Gran grumbled as he noticed the dark clouds.
A huge yellow eye appeared in the middle of the unnatural clouds. The twins didn't even have time to be alarmed before it descended as a column of smoke, directly to where Kirby and the others were playing. Gran and Djeeta immediately rushed forward to protect them, followed by Ladiva.
"Phalanx!" Djeeta shouted as she cast the protection spell, creating a barrier that pulled the smoke backward.
"Are you okay?" Gran asked the quartet.
"We are fine," Lyria answered, relieved. "But what is that thing? Something about it seems familiar somehow."
"I think I know!" Kirby exclaimed. "Meta once told me that Nightmare can create monsters from the power he gathers from nightmares and fear!"
"Oh, great. Just what we needed: another evil magician with the ability to summon monsters at will..." Vyrn complained.
The eye reappeared among the smoke, which was starting to condense again, and fixed its gaze on Gran and Djeeta. Then, a magical wall encircled those present, isolating them from several members of the crew who had come out to see what was going on. The cloud began to spin inward, creating a whirlwind.
"Get ready for battle!" Gran announced.
Ladiva took off her coat, revealing her wrestling gear and muscles, and equipped her duelist mask. She, Djeeta, Gran and Kirby took the front line, while Yuni and Lyria stayed in the rear,the former preparing her healing magic and the latter getting ready to summon. Vyrn flew over the deck to provide information about the movements of the being that threatened them, which continued to spin in a whirlwind. When he was several metres up, his head collided with something solid but invisible.
"It looks like he's got us locked up in some sort of dome!" Vyrn announced, rubbing his sore head. "We're not getting help from the air."
Finally, the whirlwind stopped, and those present could see how the cloud had acquired a new shape.
It was the hydra again.
Djeeta's wrath exploded.
"Oh, come on. Seriously? This is the third or fourth time that someone sends us a powered-up version of the hydra that killed us because "uh, look how scary the monster that took your lives is." I'm so sick of this!"
Everyone present looked at her, perplexed. Even the hydra seemed startled by her sudden outburst.
"And you. That Nightmare guy has sent you, right?" she added, angrily pointing at the hydra as she approached it, ready to throw hands with the monster. "Well, tell him that he can shove your freaking heads up on his a...!"
"Calm down, sis!" Gran cut her off, grabbing her below the shoulders and immobilising her. "As much as I agree with you, you're making a scene." After releasing her, he added: "put less force in your words and more in your sword."
"Fine," Djeeta said, calming down. "Let's take that thing down," she stated, raising her sword.
"Go, go, poyo!" Kirby exclaimed.
Gran and Djeeta lunged with their swords at the monster, ready to slash its body, but their blows ricocheted off its scales. It was like attempting to strike an iron plate. Gran backed away from it, grunting in frustration. Djeeta insisted on hitting the hydra until it struck her with its tail, knocking her back a few metres. Yuni rushed over to her and quickly healed her wounds.
"Gran, Djeeta! This monster has a very weird eye on its back!" Vyrn informed the twins as he flew around the hydra. "That must be its weak point."
The hydra roared, as if enraged by the discovery of its weak point, before unleashing a fireball too similar to the one that had killed Lyria and Vyrn in the twins' nightmare. The captains froze for a moment as the horrific scene replayed in their minds.
"Mine!" Kirby exclaimed before absorbing the fireball, allowing him to transform into Fire Kirby. "Well, the classics always come back," the puffball commented, a little disappointed because he hadn't gotten a new copy ability like before.
"He he, you are full of surprises, Kirby!" Lyria gave him a friendly smile.
The hydra roared again, this time furious because its devastating attack had been absorbed by Kirby, claiming the combatants' attention. Kirby turned into a fireball himself and struck the hydra in the stomach, knocking it off balance. As a result, one of the monster's heads became entangled with another.
"Are you thinking what I am thinking?" Djeeta asked her brother as an idea popped into her mind.
Gran nodded and asked Kirby:
"Can you entangle the hydra further?"
"Leave it to me!" the puffball answered. He then jumped onto one of the hydra's heads and grabbed its jaw. "Hey Hydra, do you want to play tag?" he asked, staring the monster down before leaping onto another head. The hydra hissed angrily at him.
"Lyria, summon Tiamat and ask her to fly Ladiva as high as the dome will allow!" Gran told his companion.
Lyria extended her arms and used her power to summon the primal beast of winds, the familiar female figure of wild silver-blue hair and purple eyes appearing in front of them. Lyria kindly asked the manifestation of the beast to do as the captains had instructed.
"At our signal, drop Ladiva," Djeeta said. "After that, you do your thing, Ladiva," she added, looking at the duelist. The woman nodded as Tiamat made her float with the power of the wind.
Kirby continued to jump from head to head, further entangling the hydra, as Yuni focused her healing magic on him. When the knot was big enough, Gran called out:
"Kirby, come back!"
The pink puffball jumped backwards to get away from the hydra.
"Lyria, now!" Djeeta called.
"Throw Ladiva, Tiamat," Lyria asked the beast gently.
With the force of a tornado, the primal beast flung Ladiva at the hydra. Ladiva used her arms in a wrestling key to grapple the Hydra's necks, knocking it to the ground, taking advantage of the momentum, and leaving the beast's weak point open.
Gran and Djeeta ran towards the hydra. The monster tried to attack them with a fireball, but it got stuck between Kirby's knot and Ladiva's anchor. The twins leapt into the air and thrust their swords into the monster's sinister looking eye. The being transformed into small clouds of smoke that began to rise back to the sky.
Kirby wasn't going to let the monster escape. He released his fireball ability and began to absorb the smoke, swallowing it whole.
"Auch, my tummy," Kirby cried when he was done.
"Are you okay?" Yuni asked worriedly.
"Yeah, but Nightmare's creations taste reaaaally bad, poyo," he replied with a disgusted expression on his face.
The only thing that remained of the monster was its spherical eye, which had shrunk in size. The eye seemed frantic as it rolled around the deck. Gran picked it up as if it were a ball.
"Gran, can I examine it?" Lyria requested. Gran held the monster tightly in his grip he put it closer to Lyria. She extended her arms to read its aura and said: "this is too weird: it almost feels like a primal beast, but something is wrong with its core. I don't know how to explain it..." she informed.
"Well, Cagliostro is going to have a great time investigating you," Gran said mischievously to the eye.
The strange creature had been officially defeated, the barrier it had created vanishing. Kirby began to dance joyfully, and those present couldn't resist the urge to join it. Once they finished dancing, confused by the strange act, they were soon surrounded by concerned crew members, who bombarded them with questions such as "What happened?", "Are you okay?", "What was that thing?". Gran and Djeeta assured them that everything was fine and that they should go see Cagliostro. They parted ways with Ladiva, who retired to her cabin to rest.
"So, I've heard the words "primal beast" several times already, but what is a primal beast?" Kirby inquired, full of curiosity, as he accompanied the others to the library.
"A long time ago, beings known as the Astrals invaded our world from a parallel land," Gran began to tell, giving the most typical definition. "To aid them in their mission, they created the primal beasts, artificial lifeforms of almost godly power, and assigned each one a purpose to fulfill in order to seize control of the Sky Realm."
"However," his sister continued, "many primals ended up betraying the Astrals as the war progressed, joining forces with our people. Some did it because they wanted to be free; others because they had formed deep bonds with the islands and their inhabitants. Together, they defeated the Astrals and sent their arrogant asses back to their home."
"So those Astral guys are like the Haltmann Works Company," Kirby commented. "They invaded my planet with their super-advanced robots and mechanised it. They even cloned Dedede and turned Meta into a mindless cyborg," he remembered, feeling a little sad. Meta had needed some time to recover from that event. "But I defeated them and their evil computer and my home returned to normal."
"Wait, you defeated an entire alien invasion by yourself?!" Vyrn asked, amazed.
"Of course. Nobody messes with my friends, my home or my food! And, as long as I am here, I won't let anyone mess with yours!" the puffball promised, determined to protect the Sky Realm from Nightmare.
Gran and Djeeta looked at Kirby, somewhat incredulous. Having defeated an "evil wizard" and seeing how he had performed against the hydra, it was clear that he was quite the warrior despite his appearance. Wilnas had said that there was great power within him. But was he truly so powerful that he could fight an invasion on his own?
Finally, they reached the library, where Gran handed Cagliostro the eye and explained the situation. The alchemist locked the being in a glass capsule and gave it an unsettling look, causing it to retreat as far as the capsule would allow (which was only a few inches). She then went to her cabin to experiment with the monster. Cagliostro was also very curious about Kirby, but the puffball was too hyperactive to test or interrogate him, and not even she was heartless enough to use more drastic methods with such an adorable creature.
They stayed at the library for a while, Kirby looking at everything with curiosity even though he didn't understand the language in which the books were written. Lyria offered to read him a book of children's stories, which more kids who were around and Yuni joined. Gran and Djeeta, meanwhile, took the opportunity to research a spell, artifact, or primal beast that could help them locate the rest of the Star Rod fragments.
"Gran! Djeeta!" Rackam, Grandcypher's helmsman, suddenly called the captains, snapping them out of their investigations. "An urgent letter from Nehan has arrived from Stardust Town!" he added, holding out an envelope.
A letter from Nehan? Did something happen between him and Six? Quickly, they grabbed the envelope and thanked Rackam.
When they had accepted the assignment to catch the treasure thieves on that island, they had practically forced Six to deliver some medicinal plants that they had collected during their trips to Nehan, as the island where Stardust Town was located was close to their current location. That had actually just been an excuse to force a meeting between the two so that they could solve their "personal legal problems".
Distraught because they thought that the meeting had gone wrong, Gran and Djeeta read the letter.
"Dear Captains of the Grandcypher,
First of all, thank you very much for sending those medicinal plants. They will certainly be of great use to me in developing medicines that will help all of Stardust Town's children.
Secondly, the main reason for this letter is a series of strange events that occurred over the past night. If my source is correct, the Sky Realm has fallen victim to terrible nightmares. These nightmares are not natural; they have been caused by a sinister being who has come to our world. The same source states that in the coming nights, the intensity and severity of these dreams could increase.
As for the source of this information, it is another of those strange events. The archangels Halluel and Malluel found a strange wounded creature falling from the sky and brought it to Stardust Town, where I treated him. The creature has introduced himself as Meta Knight, and he claims to be a warrior from another dimension. I strongly recommend that you come talk to this creature, as you are more experienced in encounters with beings from outside this world.
Patiently waiting for your visit or response, Nehan.
PS: I don't know what kind of plan you two had in mind when you sent Six to deliver the herbs, but he has avoided me since handing them to me.
PS2: Greetings from Mugen."
Gran and Djeeta had mixed feelings about the letter. Firstly, they were relieved because the urgent matter wasn't something too bad. Secondly, they were disappointed because their plan hadn't work. Lastly, they rejoiced at the mention of Meta Knight, as he was most likely the same Meta that Kirby had talked so much about.
"Hey Kirby, is your friend Meta a knight?" Djeeta asked the puffball, just to be sure.
"Well, he always introduces himself as Meta Knight, and he serves Dedede, who is a king, so...I guess he is? I don't know how the knight thing works," Kirby answered, shrugging.
"Then we have good news: we know where he is!" Gran informed the puffball.
"Really, poyo?!" he replied, with excited joy. "Where, where? Is he alright?"
Gran and Djeeta briefly shared the details of the letter with the puffball.
"Meta is hurt? How did it happen? We need to see him right now!" Kirby requested, concerned about his friend's condition.
"Calm down, little buddy," Gran told him. "We will set sail tomorrow at dawn. It takes about two hours to get from this island to where your friend is located, but Rackman needs to rest in order to pilot. Aren't you tired as well?"
"I am. But what if Nightmare takes advantage of his injury to send a monster after him?"
"He is in good hands," Djeeta assured him. "Stardust Town is protected by some of our most powerful friends."
"Okay. But can you promise that we'll really leave at dawn for that place?"
"We promise," the captains answered simultaneously.
"Don't jinx me, Djeeta," Gran quickly said to his sister, who scowled in defeat.
"Nice. Now let's go to sleep!" Kirby stated. "Wait, where can I sleep?"
"We have a few cabins available. Or if you don't want to sleep alone, perhaps someone else would be willing to share their room with you," Djeeta suggested.
"I can take him in until Zooey comes back." Yuni offered.
"Yay! Sleepover with Yuni!" Kirby exclaimed as he joyfully jumped around the girl.
–––
On an island not too far from the Grancypher, two beings stared at each other intently, their faces hidden behind metal masks. One of the beings could have been mistaken for a human if it weren't for the two furry ears at the top of his head. This inidividual's mask resembled a monster with vaguely canine features. The other one was a dark blue puffball with a mask similar to a knight's helmet. A pair of powerful-looking bat wings protruded from its back, though the left one was covered in bandages.
Tension and anticipation filled the air. A duel between two warriors of mighty strength was about to begin beneath the setting sun.
"Are you sure you want to do this before you've fully recovered?" the canine-like mask wearer asked his soon-to-be opponent: Meta Knight, the warrior from another dimension who had arrived in the Sky Realm as a bearer of bad news.
Meta Knight thought about the answer to that question for a few moments while he gripped his sword tightly.
"I know it's reckless, but my body urges me to fight," he finally responded. "I can't sit idly by while this world is in danger. The least I can do is training. Furthermore, this duel will also allow me to ensure that my perceptions of you are correct."
His adversary seemed intrigued by that answer.
"In that case, let's make a deal: the duel ends once one of us is disarmed," he proposed.
The suggestion was reasonable. Fighting for total dominance over his opponent with his ability diminished by the wound could be detrimental to his performance and recovery, even more so as his rival was supposedly one of "the most powerful warriors" in that world. A less dangerous but no more simple challenge than a fierce fight could be an interesting way to test his strength without risking his physical integrity.
"I accept," the knight finally agreed. "But don't disrespect me by going easy on me just because I'm injured," he added, raising his sword.
"I wasn't going to," his adversary replied in a stern, fierce tone as he adopted a combat stance. He then deployed a trio of sharp blades from his gauntlets, giving them the appearance of animal claws.
"En garde, Six of the Eternals," Meta Knight announced before making his first move.
But a part of him couldn't help but wonder:
"How did I end up like this?"