Happy Labor Day! Here's a new chapter for you guys. It's a bit messy, but I think it came out good. Enjoy!
-Joost
Out There In The Dark
Chapter 10: Dethroned
"I knew he wasn't trustworthy!" Dedede complained, crossing his arms and slamming his hammer on the ground with rage.
"Calm down, Your Majesty," Meta Knight patted the king on the shoulder, hoping to hinder the penguin's anger. "I had my doubts about Magolor too, but I never anticipated something like this."
"GRAH!" Dedede smashed the ground so intensely that it quaked. The rock splintered slightly, but the king didn't care. He was tired of misplacing his trust again and again.
Meta Knight groaned and put his hand to his mask. He had a roaring headache, and with Dedede's incessant whining, it felt almost like a migraine. The swordsman turned away from the childish monarch and looked to Kirby. He examined the expression on the little puffball's face. Annoyance and resentment.
Kirby's mind swarmed with thoughts alluding to Dark Matter. While there wasn't any concrete proof that the darkness of the Master Crown was indeed the shadows he'd faced so many times before, a part of him knew. He felt a sort of sixth sense when it came to it, one that put him on high alert. It sent a chill down him spine like nothing else.
Then, just behind Kirby, the mighty dragon, Landia, reawakened. Each of the four heads, still separated, looked up at the sky where Magolor's portal once was. It casually walked up to the little hero, catching the attention of the others.
Without even a hint of a warning, it grabbed Kirby using its maw and hoisted him into the air. When he landed, he was right on the dragon's back. It gave a reassuring smile to the star warrior and grunted softly to its three counterparts. As if on command, each of the others went to Bandana Waddle Dee, Dedede, and Meta Knight, and knelt so they could ride.
Once all the dragons were ready, they leaped up and took flight, with the four heroes on their backs. Together, the aspects of Landia roared loudly, opening a new portal. On the other side, was Pop Star.
As the dragons crossed through the portal, they had to make the trip through Another Dimension. In the distance, was a familiar figure. The traitorous Magolor, making his way across the interdimensional precipice that made up the borders between realities.
"Wait a second, if these guys can just make portals all willy-nilly, why didn't they just come after Magolor while he was still in Dream Land?" Dedede was the most confused out of the trio.
"Maybe it just didn't know where he went!" Meta Knight yelled to Dedede, who was some ways away from him. "If there are as many universes as Magolor said, it would've been impossible to follow him!"
"I guess that makes sense…" Dedede said, scratching his head.
Bandana Dee jumped up and down while riding one of Landia's four bodies. He waved to the others urgently, and they all took the hint. Seeing where he pointed, they all squinted. Odd, little creatures with wings, flying out of portals leading to unknown dimensions.
"Poyo!" Kirby chirped, and Landia started spitting out bursts of fire to take out the little things known as Darpas. They were dealt with easily, but dozens more came in retaliation.
"Yeah! Get 'em!" King Dedede took joy in fighting back against the creatures from Another Dimension, finally feeling on top of things.
More thick substances made up surrounding layers of matter, all tunneling in one direction, towards Magolor. They were lined with more foes, ready to attack whatever came close. They were so unused to unnatural life hurdling through their home, and didn't take kindly to intruders, no matter their alliance.
"We're coming to clobber that there Magolor!" Dedede exclaimed. He raised his hammer triumphantly into the air, and Waddle Dee and Meta Knight did the same with their own weapons.
After minutes of riding atop the Landias and fighting more monsters that resembled those Sphere-Doomers that Kirby got so used to fighting, the group caught up with Magolor at last. He was still a little far from reaching Pop Star, but the team didn't want to let him get any closer.
"Hehehe… So, you think you can stop me?" Magolor said in the distance. He teleported away, and then reappeared right in front of Kirby and his friends.
Magolor waved his hands and suddenly, a new portal opened, and out came the Lor Starcutter. It brandished a new coat of paint, now matching the coloration of the dimension it entered. The emblem on the mast, formerly a bright blue symbol that resembled a portal, was now a dark cloud.
The Lor started to attack, firing stars from its bow and even sending pieces of itself out to try and slam into Kirby. The four heroes dodged while riding Landia and took turns throwing fire at the ship, slowly chipping away at its hull. The edges of the flag got singed, and the oars nearly turned to dust.
"No! You just fixed them!" Magolor flexed his fingers, causing the oars to detach from the Lor and fly straight at Waddle Dee. He avoided all but the last, the oar striking Landia's side and making a large bruise.
Then, a shield congealed around the Lor, and the ship soared past the four, hitting the Landia that Dedede rode on, almost taking him out of the sky. The craft rocketed back at shot at Kirby from behind, Magolor thinking he had the upper hand.
"Not on my watch," Meta Knight said calmly, falling back behind the Lor and hitting the vulnerable behind. Magolor hissed and brought the Lor around to the front of the battlefield.
But then, Kirby was able to bring the Lor to a fiery end. Landia, finally breaching the ship's hull, sent it falling into the murky depths of Another Dimension, causing the others to cheer with victory. Magolor narrowed his shadowy eyes and teleported further away, putting his hands to his sides and forming two orbs of plasma in his palms.
Magolor, when the energy was finally at its peak, chucked the plasma at the four. Meta Knight, drawing Galaxia, swatted them away like they were nothing. He just smirked under his mask and gave the opposing magician a taunting gesture.
"Alright, let's see how you like this!" Magolor snarled, almost pushing his powers to the limit and making his next volley of electricity bigger by a factor of ten.
When Magolor attacked, the energy knocked Dedede right off of his Landia, sending him falling into who knows where. The next hit Bandana Dee, ensuring Dedede wouldn't be alone. All that remained was Kirby and Meta Knight. The swordsman was able to deflect only one of the plasma balls, with the other taking him down instantly. Now it was just Kirby.
Even then, Kirby wasn't invincible. His Landia was the last to be hit, and he went plummeting down into the bleak abyss. However, Magolor was far from satisfied. He elected to follow them, the dark trenches of his corrupted mind wishing to finish off the pink nuisance once and for all.
The ground was comprised of blue fire, yet it felt cold. Cold and unfeeling, much like Magolor's own soul. Kirby took confident strides through the flames, eyeing his opponent.
"I-" Magolor said, a bit of his normal voice returning. The sound make Kirby stop in his tracks, a sweet glimmer of hope in his eyes.
"I never wanted to do this, Kirby," Magolor looked at his enlarged hands, the flames, then the crown on his head. The voice within the cursed object still screamed his name, fighting to regain control. "I just… I can't help… Ugh, I don't know."
Kirby, knowing the darkness had won the battle for Magolor's body, went into a fighting stance. The magician twirled his hands and plasma once again formed. It circled his body, and it darted towards the pink hero. He quickly inhaled the projectiles and waited for Magolor to get close.
The enemy continued to teleport around the arena, ensuring Kirby wouldn't get a good shot. When he charged up another plasma ball, he instead got a face full of stars courtesy of the star warrior.
"GRAH!" Magolor screamed, flying back and pointing to the ground. As he did so, gravity wells formed at Kirby's feet, and he had only seconds to get away before giant spikes came forth from the underneath him.
"Stay still, wont you?!" Magolor fired swirling vortexes from his hands straight at Kirby, but they all conveniently missed.
"Poyo!" Kirby snapped back right as Magolor sent some more electricity his way, letting him spit a few more stars at the traitor.
Then, Magolor spun his arms around and held his hands next to each other. A portal formed by his palms, and out came a group of Doomers, soaring about in a winging formation. They didn't even directly attack Kirby, simply just flying off into the distance, squawking cries of freedom.
Magolor, still enraged at how much Kirby was able to survive, pulled away from the arena and summoned a massive wormhole at his fingertips. It began to pull everything in, like a vacuum, including the little pink pest. The black hole didn't succeed, however, and dissipated after a few seconds.
Meanwhile, around the two opponents, more rips in realities started to open. Things could be seen flying through one portal and into another, being sent to many, vast unknowns across the multiverse. Out of the corner of Kirby's eye, he swore he saw what looked like a person flying through a certain hole, dust and grime following them. They were swallowed up by another portal, which then closed up.
"Poy-poyo!" Kirby said, the state of his temper degrading. The things Magolor was doing, it was hurting others. Others that had nothing to do with this little obsession and didn't deserve to suffer because of it.
With a particularly hard hit, Magolor was stunned. He made an animalistic growl, then used his hexing magic to create a star-shaped shield around himself. Using more of his interdimensional powers, he tore through the fabric of one world and into others, bringing monsters to fight for him. One of the little beasts caught Kirby's eye.
"Oh, what does it matter, Kirby? They wont know!" Magolor sounded livid, trying to justify why it all had to happen. From his point of view, it didn't matter. "There are an infinite amount of people across every universe, so what if a few get in my way?"
Kirby ignored Magolor's weak attempt to explain himself, instead lunging towards the one enemy that interested him. It was one of the special ones that granted him the Super Abilities. He inhaled it, and was granted the true, unlimited power of fire.
The shield Magolor gave himself was no match for the Super Abilities, as it shattered right as the mighty fire hit it. Kirby smiled, now aware of one of Magolor's weaknesses. Every time the shield was in range, Kirby let loose, bringing each point of the star down.
"You know," Magolor said confidently, evading another fire attack. "I think we should fight FAIR!"
Magolor blasted Kirby with another hex, wiping the Super Ability away from him. The tyrant chuckled uproariously and zipped around the playing field, his laughter echoing far and wide. But, he made the unfortunate mistake of bringing more monsters in to fight Kirby, as the next granted the hero the empowered Beam Ability.
Wielding the magic wand, Kirby guided the beam attack and bashed it right in Magolor's face. Twice! His shield grew weaker and weaker, and in desperation, he opened more holes and more enemies dropped in. Before Magolor could even get rid of the beam, Kirby discarded it himself and swallowed up the baddie that gave him the Ultra Sword.
The Ultra Sword swung with grace and beauty, the light of Another Dimension reflecting off its shining blade. When his enemy's shield was totally gone, Kirby, using all his might, cut straight down.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Kirby yelled as Magolor tried to stop the Ultra Sword. The power of the Master Crown wasn't strong enough to overcome the Super Ability, and his hands gave way.
The Ultra Sword cleaved Magolor's body in half, and he split apart. Darkness burst from his arms, head, and all over. His form evaporated and became a deep, dark cloud. At first, Kirby thought he had won, but when the silhouette of a crown reappeared, he just groaned.
The Master Crown, now having full, unparalleled control over Magolor's frail body, deemed his form to be too weak. It instead ripped its host apart and restructured him, making a more pleasing appearance. Two, blood-red eyes materialized, and a pale, white mouth opened just under them.
A deafening scream came from what looked like a mouth, as the dark monster immediately started tearing open portals to other realms. Out of them came spires, dark magic, whatever the beast needed to kill Kirby. It aimed to grant the hero an amusing death, having waited far too long for this moment.
Kirby watched as what used to be Magolor fly through other portals and try to ram into him. It giggled as it soared through the edge of reality, hardly breaking a sweat. Whenever drop stars appeared for Kirby to suck up, he did so, giving them back to the monster as soon as he could.
That devilish crown forged from the darkness thought it could finally avenge the rets of its kind. It had hoped and dreamed for this day, and now that it was here, it was going to enjoy it. It wanted to relish Kirby's defeat, the prospect seeming so amazing.
More little enemies were summoned, the darkness being careful to not bring any that could grant a Super Ability. Magolor's hubris had made that fatal error, and the shadows would not follow that theme. Kirby was still able to inhale them and spit them back at the beast, but it'd take a lot longer to do any real damage.
"Poy… yo!" Kirby said, hitting an especially painful blow in the darkness. It reeled back and roared, its mouth now looking like it had some kind of red substance inside it.
The living shadow stretched out its hands, and two swords grew from nothing. It swung, narrowly missing its target. Each time it tried to hit Kirby, its mouth got wider and wider, slowly revealing the real eye inside of it.
Now Kirby could see the resemblance to Dark Matter. The eye within the false mouth, the spherical body, everything. He was confident this terror was a part of that hideous clan of evil. The eye reminded him of 02, how it briefly tried to look friendly to him and Ribbon as they entered its lair on Dark Star.
Finally, Dark Matter gave up the meaningless charade and opened its 'mouth' fully. The deep red eye glared at Kirby with malice, and the hero returned the gaze. Both were beyond tired of this song and dance being repeated over and over again after so many years.
Dark Matter used magic wrapped with lightning, juggled enemies to throw at Kirby, all it wanted to. It could basically do whatever it wanted, being a master of Another Dimension. It thanked the ancient people who sealed it away, as being locked within its own mind allowed it to practice magic for eons. Now it had a chance to show off, and to none other than Kirby.
Kirby scowled as Dark Matter messed around, casting spells in a very playful manner. It seemed like it was almost dancing, taking pleasure in fighting the star warrior. In a way, it did.
Although, whenever overconfidence arrived, defeat was sure to follow. Kirby, having inhaled a number of plasma and little enemies, spat the star back at Dark Matter with force. It slammed into the eye, finally breaking it. A harsh scream came from everywhere and nowhere.
A murky, black goo splashed up from the wound and Dark Matter froze. Its body warped and contracted, fighting to stay together. Pieces of it broke off and flew away, and at the center, was Magolor.
The Master Crown slowly cracked and then shattered, Dark Matter being dispelled. Magolor just floated in midair, until a portal suddenly opened behind him, sucking him up and away to somewhere unknown. Kirby just huffed and puffed, sitting down. His entire body ached, and he didn't even register the familiar voices coming from behind him, too tired to really hear anything.
"Kirby! Come on!" Dedede said, scooping Kirby into his arms and throwing him onto his Landia.
"Poyo?" Kirby asked, confused.
"We're getting out of here, hurry!" Meta Knight explained, pointing to the portal to Pop Star, which was now closing. Kirby perked up and held onto Landia, bracing for a burst of speed.
Together, the four Landia's raced to the portal. Right behind them was the Lor Starcutter, back with its original paint job. The four were shocked, as they knew it had no pilot, yet it still flew. A beam came from the tip of the ship, and it held the portal to Dream Land open, and the Landia's wasted no time in getting their passengers through.