Kirby and the Rod of Darkness
Chapter 10: In the Mirror World, Part 1
After departing from Ripple Star, the Lor Starcutter returned to Popstar. As it entered the star-shaped planet's atmosphere, its passengers spotted a large round mirror high up in the skies of Dream Land. "That's the Dimension Mirror, where the Mirror World exists," Kirby said, "Do you think there could be any Rods of Darkness there?" He was familiar with the mirror because he'd ventured through its labyrinth-like world once before.
"Possibly," Magolor replied, "We might want to check it out." Susie looked back at Taranza, noticing he was unusually quiet and facing away from the others sadly. She knew the reason why: this mirror had been the cause of all his troubles…
In the past, Taranza once was very good friends with Sectonia, the queen of Floralia. They were so close, in fact, that he began to fall in love with her. However, everything changed one day when Taranza stole the Dimension Mirror and gave it to Sectonia, unaware of the ill effects it would have on her. It only took a short amount of time for the mirror's power to transform the once fair queen into an evil wasp. In the end, Kirby (with help from King Dedede, Taranza, and the people of Floralia) had no choice but to destroy her in order to save Floralia and Popstar. Of course, Taranza knew it was partially his own fault for taking the mirror in the first place. It was a terrible mistake he never should have made.
Susie came next to Taranza, gently placing a hand on his shoulder (well, where his shoulder would be if he had any, that is). "Taranza, are you going to be okay in there? You can always stay behind if it's too difficult for you."
He took a deep breath before answering. "No, I-I'll be fine. I was literally thrown into this adventure like you and Magolor, so I feel it's my job to help you." He knew his friends would be by his side supporting him the whole time.
When the Lor entered the mirror, it arrived at a place that looked about the same as the fields of Dream Land. This was Rainbow Route, one of the few areas of this world not named after food. "Apparently there's at least one Rod of Darkness in here," Magolor observed as he viewed his computer screen's map, "Shall we take a look around?"
Almost as soon as the four travelers came outside they heard a voice shout "Incoming!" from somewhere above. They jumped back when a missile descended in front of them and exploded upon making contact with the ground. Then, in its place stood someone who looked just like Kirby, except he was dark gray instead of pink. "Hee hee hee! Surprised you, didn't I?" he snickered.
Magolor, Taranza, and Susie were puzzled by this familiar stranger. "Who are you, Parallel Kirby?" Magolor inquired.
"Wrong! I'm Shadow Kirby!"
"I could never forget you and your mischief, Shadow Kirby," Kirby spoke up, "You and Marx would probably get along well." He remembered fighting his lookalike multiple times last time he was in the Mirror World. As it turned out, Shadow Kirby only attacked him because he was trying to protect his homeland. Unlike Dark Meta Knight and Shadow Dedede, who also resided here, he wasn't evil (although he was mischievous).
Before Shadow Kirby could ask who Marx was a voice called out, "Hey, hey, hey!" There was the cosmic jester himself, standing on a ball nearby!
Kirby immediately panicked at the sight. "AAH! I wasn't calling you, Marx!"
"Too bad! I invited myself to the party!" Marx kicked the ball at the others, which they avoided by moving back. Then he sprouted wings and swooped at them several times, forcing them to run about in order to dodge the attacks.
Shadow Kirby soon had enough of this. "Hmph! Two can play at that game!" he declared. He used his Missile ability to launch off the ground, sneak around Marx, and finally strike him from behind. The missile exploded on contact, sending the jester flying far, far away. Shadow Kirby landed and continued watching the sky where he had gone. "What a weirdo," he commented before turning back to Kirby, "Is he always like that?"
"Well, um...sort of, but not really?" Kirby tried to give a good answer, "I mean, Marx is a prankster and maybe a little bit crazy, but he's been acting wackier than usual lately!"
"Hm...so is he the reason you're here now? I thought maybe you just couldn't get enough of the Mirror World."
"Not exactly, but I have a feeling he might have something to do with it. We're looking for these 'Rods of Darkness' causing trouble around the galaxy, and we believe there's at least one of them here."
Wanting to protect the Mirror World, Shadow Kirby agreed it would be a good idea to find and destroy the rods. However, since night was now falling everyone decided to wait until morning. Kirby, Magolor, Taranza, and Susie were very tired from adventuring all day, and they all slept like logs that night.
The next morning after breakfast, Taranza was sitting on a row of blocks near the Lor. Despite the bright sunlight shining on him, he was feeling blue. Although he'd been doing better in recent times, being inside the Dimension Mirror still caused some difficult emotions to resurface within him.
"Taranza," a familiar voice said gently from behind him. It was Susie, who had seen Taranza exit the ship. She took a seat beside him and asked him, "Are you feeling down?" The two of them had told each other more about their pasts than anyone else. Because both of them had lost a loved one, each of them understood what the other was going through.
"Yes," Taranza sighed, "I dearly miss Sectonia. I wish things hadn't happened the way they did...but I suppose it could have been worse." He felt the need to add that last line upon looking at Susie. He had to admit he sometimes felt guilty for feeling this way, because Susie's past was much worse than his and he didn't see her moping. He too had experienced someone dear to him turn evil and die, but at least he hadn't spent years fighting for his life in Another Dimension.
Susie was understanding. "It's perfectly normal to grieve from time to time. It just shows you cared a lot about the person you lost. Everyone deals with grief differently."
"You seem to handle it so well," Taranza then looked down and added, "Better than I do."
Susie took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for what she had to say. "Perhaps it seems that way on the outside, but on the inside…" she closed her eyes while facing downward, "I do miss my dad terribly. I wish I could have brought him to his senses before it was too late. I can't deny that growing up in Another Dimension was an absolutely horrific experience. And I do mourn sometimes."
She opened her eyes and faced her spider-like friend again. "But I also tell myself that if I focus too much on the past, where will it get me? So whenever I'm feeling down, I try to count my blessings. After everything I've been through, I know I'm lucky to be alive, and I'm thankful I am. I'm glad I can continue my dad's original mission to some extent, and I'm grateful for all the friendships I've made. Think about what you're thankful for."
Taranza pondered these words. He did have a lot to be thankful for, didn't he? The time he had with Sectonia, his beautiful and peaceful homeland, his friends...even if he'd been through a difficult time, there were still so many good things in his life.
"And remember, Taranza, no matter what happens...all your other friends and I will always be there for you," his pink-haired friend finished.
Gazing into her big blue eyes, he smiled. "Thanks, Susie. That means a lot."
Suddenly Magolor came onto the scene from behind and said, "We're all set to move on, as soon as you two lovebirds are ready!"
Taranza and Susie both turned red. "L-lovebirds?!" Susie stammered.
Magolor snickered. "I couldn't resist!"
The other two glanced at each other, a plan forming in their minds. Then they leapt from where they were sitting and charged at the blue-garbed mage. "Get him!" Taranza shouted. Pretending to be afraid, Magolor ran back into the Lor. Kirby, who was inside, jumped back when his three allies entered in a rush; but they made the mistake of going into the room where the Business Suit was currently being kept, and the pink hero heard a CRASH! He peeked into the room to find Magolor on one of the Business Suit's arms, Taranza on the other, and Susie in the machine...upside-down? He couldn't help himself; he laughed and laughed at the sight.
When the four of them finally met up with Shadow Kirby again, they found him traversing through Rainbow Route with a Needle ability. "I've got good news and bad news," he told them, "The good news is I think I saw the rod you're looking for. The bad news is I also saw Dark Meta Knight following it. They were headed for Cabbage Cavern, but I lost track of them…"
"It could be a disaster if Dark Meta Knight gets a hold of the rod!" Kirby replied anxiously, "We have to find it before he does!"
Shadow Kirby led the others to Cabbage Cavern, which looked like a typical cavernous area for the most part. The vegetation was pink and purple and there were bodies of water in spots (but there was no cabbage to be found). Shadow Kirby soon spotted the Rod of Darkness, followed by what looked like a dark version of Meta Knight. "There they are!" he exclaimed, and everyone chased the rod and knight into a tunnel.
Unfortunately all they found in the tunnel was darkness, so they had to move through it slowly and carefully. "It's so dark in here, I can't see a thing!" Taranza said.
"I can see your eyes," Magolor commented. Indeed, the silver-haired magician's glowing white eyes stood out in the darkness.
"I don't think Taranza's eyes will help us get out of this tunnel," Susie stated.
"Ouch!" Kirby cried out when he bumped into Shadow Kirby, "Watch it with those needles!"
Fortunately the tunnel was relatively short, so it didn't take long to reach the other side. However, the five travelers had to stop once they made it out because there was a large hole in the ground in front of them. "Where did this hole come from?" Shadow Kirby wondered.
As if answering his question, the ground began to shake and a big mole-like creature emerged from the hole. "It's Moley!" Kirby exclaimed in surprise.
Moley tossed screws, bombs, rocks, and various other objects, but Kirby inhaled them all and spit out a giant star at him. (How he transformed things he inhaled into stars, no one knew.) The mole was stunned by the impact, so his opponents used the opportunity to get past him by jumping off his head. "Too bad, Moley!" Shadow Kirby said, "Maybe we'll play with you some other time."
Just a short distance behind Moley stood Dark Meta Knight! He was eyeing the Rod of Darkness, which floated in front of him, and he looked like he was about to grab it. "There's Dark Meta Knight! We can't let him get that rod!" Kirby told his friends, and so they all rushed toward the knight...
I know the Needle ability isn't in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, but I'm sure Shadow Kirby could still use it.