Adeleine stared at the Halberd. Its docking port was in Orange Ocean, where it originally crashed all those years ago, and Meta Knight managed to get a nice docking point near the famous sunset seas. Adeleine herself had never visited this spot Popstar, but it was so serene, that if she weren't going to be training, she wanted to pull out her canvas and go to town with a gorgeous landscape piece. "Painter." Meta Knight addressed her, slightly amused with how awestruck she seemed. "Leave the docking bay," she snapped back to reality and boarded the aircraft, slowly ascending from the ground.
She looked around the ship and it's metallic and cold interior. It was certainly a battleship, there was no mistaking it.
Meta Knight quickly headed towards the cockpit and started taking over Capitan Vul, who was manning the ship for the time. "It's good to see ya back in action, Lord Meta Knight." The knight simply nodded to his avian companion. "All systems are good to go, our defenses are also armed and ready in case of anything invading the skies."
"Thank you Capitan, you always make these voyages easier for all of us. You may head back to your quarters." Vul saluted and obeyed the masked warrior, avoiding the unfamiliar face that followed after Meta Knight.
As Adeleine stood next to a Waddle Dee, she looked at the ocean slowly fading away from sight as the Halberd took off at a steady speed. "I've always seen this ship in the sky, but I've never boarded it before," she absentmindedly said to herself.
"This is the Halberd!" The little Waddle Dee spoke up, noticing her presence. "It's home to all of Meta Knight and his uh...Meta Knights." She chuckled. "It's been a long time since we've flown, not since Kirby fused the ship with his robobot armor, so it's nice to see the old girl up in the air and with no issues!"
"Sailor Dee, please understand this is supposed to be taken seriously." Meta Knight started scolding her, "This is a dangerous mission. We're looking for a threat in the sky, so I expect you to keep watch of the deck and cockpit while we reach cruising altitude." She saluted sadly.
"Sorry, Sir. Won't happen again, Sir." Meta Knight paused, before giving her another command.
"At ease, soldier."
...
CLANG-CLANG-CLANK-SHINK!
Adeleine was getting pushed to her limit as she parried another of Meta Knight's flurry attacks. She was starting to get better with her dexterity, but it was still a pain to keep up with the knight anytime her string of blocks wasn't up to his already high standards. So high, they made Kracko blush. Meta Knight sheathed the Galaxia with a satisfied rattle in his throat.
"You're improving rapidly, but don't get too comfortable, I'm going easy on you." Adeleine was panting like a sweating dog, but she was enjoying the practice a lot more than she would've expected. Her old Parasol was slightly heavy to hold and not as strong as the current one that she's wielding now. She knows for sure, if she fought Meta Knight with her older Parasol, it would've sliced into seventeen different chunks. "Now, Blade Knight." He drew his blade and readed quickly, "You're to fight Adeleine and I want it to not be one-sided. Do not fail me." Blade Knight looked at Adeleine and bowed.
"Hello, maiden! We shall now engage in combat! Draw your Parasol, when ready." She flipped open her Parasol shield and without a second thought, the two of them started a rowdy, yet graceful fight, exchanging parries and blows at each other with their respective weapons. Blade Knight used a sweeping cut against Adeleine's Parasol, nearly knocking it out of her hands, but Adeleine was able to grab the fleeting handle in time. With this split-second opportunity, she kicked Blade Knight, causing him to stagger a few steps back, before preparing to Parasol Drill into him, starts starting to form as the weapon shined brightly and caused the sword-wielding adversary to no longer, be sword-wielding.
There were a few claps, including some from Blade Knight himself, slightly astonished by how swiftly he was defeated. "Aye! Well done Adeleine, you did an excellent job." He went over to pick up his sword before nodding at the young fighter. "Who would've thought that you'd be this strong with a Parasol of all things."
"I wanted to stop relying on my art so I could save my friends, but because of my hand getting bruised, now I can use both of my hands kinda well!" Meta Knight hummed at her comment, causing her to turn to him. She immediately had a feeling of what he was going to say.
"So you think your right hand has fully healed?" Heck.
"W-Well not fully healed, but it's starting to get its strength back," she attempted to backpedal quickly, to little success.
"I believe that the best course of action is for you to practice on both hands."
"But Meta Knight," she started to whine, but the Knight was having it.
"No buts, painter. If you want to excel as a warrior then you must—" Sailor Dee practically flew into the barracks, slamming one of the doors open.
"Everyone! Come quick! There's these...things! They're black and yellow and have these big ol' eyes and they're attack the Halberd. Several of them went through the ducts and—!" She got knocked back further into the barracks room by a powerful wave a dark energy, causing her to plant into the wall behind everyone revealing several dark orbs flying into the room and cornering everyone.
"Dark Matter!" Meta Knight said, on high alert, already preparing a Skyward Slash for one of the dark spheres rapidly approaching him. He performed it perfectly, a golden shimmer of light slicing through several of the threats and dispelling them immediately. Sailor Dee started coughing violently, as both Blade and Sword Knight were helping her up.
"T-They must've gone through the ship's cooling vents! They attacked me so suddenly, I-"
"Sword Knight, come with me. Blade Knight, Adeleine, I want you to protect Sailor Dee and make sure no other forms of Dark Matter make it to the barracks." The two of them nodded, but Captian Vul quickly ran into the barracks, spotting Meta Knight and several other members inside.
"Lord Meta Knight! There's—there's so many of them outside!"
"Lower turbulence and make an emergency landing! We've invaded their territory." So that's where you've been hiding.
"We're right over the water!"
Of course..."Where are we regionally?" The bird rubbed his head.
"I'm not sure, but I know we're somewhere below Bubbly Clouds, but hundreds of miles past Orange Ocean. If I were to assume...we might be in the Grape Garden domain."
"Grape Garden, you say?" Meta Knight thought to himself before shaking his head, "It may be risky, but I want you to land us in the water. If we can avoid them and prepare a large enough blast with our Combo Cannon, we can shoot them out of the sky, but first, we need to assemble everyone to our location."
Adeleine spoke up, "I know what to do!" As she took out her canvas, she painted a blocky pink cellphone, out it popped from the canvas and loudly clattered on the floor. "I'll call Kirby to assymble the others, while you guys go ahead and attack any other invaders in the ship." With their orders, everyone fled the barracks, Adeleine and Blade Knight still watching over Sailor Dee. She started calling Kirby and thankfully he picked up.
"Poyo?"
"Kirby! It's me! You gotta get everyone to Grape Garden as soon as possible!"
"Oh!"
"We've found where Dark Matter has been lurking and he's in the clouds of Grape Garden, that explains why Dedede got taken up through the clouds!" She deduced as she waited for Kirby's response on the other line. "Where are you right now?"
"Uhh...p-poyo?"
"What?"
"U-Up!" She shook her head.
"You're up? You're above us?"
"Yea!" Adeleine had relief wash over her body but had a jolt of shock when she heard another faint voice coming from the phone.
"Huh? Kirby, who are you talking to?" There was some brief ruffling, before another voice was on the line, "Hello? Who is this?"
"Ribbon?"
"Adeleine?"
The Halberd was able to make its landing completely submerged underwater and Ribbon and Kirby were able to locate Dedede, Bandana Dee, and Rick. Although four—Ribbon was so light that she barely affected the star—sharing a Warp Star was commonplace, Kirby had trouble piloting a Warp Star with this much weight. Dedede and Rick's heavy weight caused the ride to become shaky and bumpy. But eventually, they were all able to land on the Halberd's bay and could see the looming threat of Dark Matter in the Grape Garden skies. Kirby let out a massive gasp as he saw a cloud of almost pure black absorb the country he loved to take naps in.
Meta Knight and Captian Vul greeted everyone aboard and it was only minutes later that everyone was in a conference room discussing further plans.
"So," Meta Knight began, adjusting his slightly ajar mask, "The Meta Knights and I were able to defeat the treats on the ship themselves, but there's of course the threat in the sky we need to focus on."
"The Great King, Rick, and I were exploring Rasin Ruins until Kirby scouted us out on his Warp Star. We didn't get very far, but we doubt there's been any dark influence anywhere." I hope...
"And Kirby and I were in Cloudy Park." Kirby nodded pointing to both himself, now being a rich emerald, and donning the Spark Copy Ability hat. "We found a pack of Sparkies and that was one of the last abilities Kirby was missing." Meta Knight nodded.
"Ever since being submerged in the Secret Sea, the Halberd has had hundreds of alterations to help it survive underwater." Vul expressed, slightly full of himself and his craftsmanship, "We weren't knocked out of the sky, but we've almost had a close call. If they were able to destroy the Core Reactor, we would've been in deep trouble..."
"But we were able to vanquish those demons! Thankfully, no one seemed mortally wounded," Sword Knight added. "Lord Meta Knight and I were talking about releasing the Combo Cannon to shoot the Dark Matter clouds out of the sky!"
Everyone pondered for a second, before King Dedede spoke up, "The Combo Cannon's shells are too slow! And the laser cannon isn't wide enough to deal with those clouds!"
"King Dedede-" Meta Knight attempted to interject, but he only got interrupted.
"No no, listen to me!" He slammed his hand on the table causing everyone thinking to interject or provide their own insight to silence. "Here's an idea. What if we shoot Kirby out of the Combo Cannon's main turret...and then Pinky will use one of the Copy Abilities he got, maybe Tornado or Spark, to defeat the cloud of Dark Matter blocking our path to the skies and THEN we take the Halberd and take out the true culprit once and for all!" Everyone glanced at each other, then back at King Dedede, then at Meta Knight.
"..." He shook his head defatedly, "I can't refute King Dedede's plan." The King smiled slyly, proud to prove to everyone why he was Dreamland's monarch. "Kirby, gather your best Copy Ability and we'll set forth with this plan at once." The pink puff nodded and discarded the Spark Copy Ability, taking off the crown, it losing its electric properties and Kirby losing his bright green sheen. He stared at the crown longingly, trying to come up with an idea. He could see his own reflection in the sapphire that rested in the middle of the crown before knowing what he had to do, even if he was going to kick himself for it later.
Kirby pointed out towards the door and sprinted, hopping onto his Warp Star, Ribbon close behind him.
His ride with Ribbon was silent. Kirby kept the same straight face he had once being told it was a job he had to do. With a long sigh, he had finally 'spoken' within the past ten minutes of them riding. Ribbon decided to pry, slightly trying to understand her friend's feelings. "Kirby? What's the matter?" He shook his head and patted her head, attempting to reassure her. "...Do you know which ability you're going to take?" She paused, hoping for a reaction, but continued when she realized she wasn't going to get one, "There's Tornado that Dedede mentioned! You've also got Fighter! Oh! And Hammer too!" She trailed off.
Within almost a blink of an eye, Kirby landed the Warp Star and ran inside his dome-shaped home, the strawberry-haired fairy opting to stay on the Warp Star. It was a fast in-n-out job for Kirby. He went into his Copy Ability Wardrobe and sighed for the last time. The things I do for Popstar...he lamented to himself, before inhaling all of the hats, weapons, and headdresses, alike, and lastly shoving the Spark crown into his mouth. With a massive gulp, he spun into the air. All of the abilities he gathered, combined into one explosive ability.
Everyone was waiting anxiously in the conference room. Adeleine was especially anxious, as she was rarely at the forefront of operations. If Kirby was successful, she, Kirby, King Dedede, Bandana Dee, and Meta Knight would have to face Zero head-on. She had the other heroes to fall back on, but there was no way that she was nearly strong enough to even put a dent into Zero's defenses, let alone Dark Matter. But her anxieties were made worse when Kirby and Ribbon finally walked into the conference room, Kirby donning the same Ability Cap she had first seen a few days ago.
Meta Knight hummed to himself and wordlessly, dropped from his chair, leading Kirby and the others to the Core Reactor.
Kirby was inside of the Combo Cannon, Ribbon by his aid the whole time, saying words of encouragement. Something he graciously appreciated, even if his expression didn't show it. "A-And be safe...please." He nodded. "I really do like you, Kirby." She hesitated, slightly afraid this might be the last time she'd ever see him again. She flies further into the cannon to give Kirby a kiss on the cheek.
"Me too." He said as clearly as he could, finally joyful for the first time in days. Ribbon flew out of the chamber and Meta Knight looked at both Sword Knight and Sailor Dee. Sword Knight was finishing the last preparations of aiming the Combo Cannon—thanks to Vul's coordinates—while Sailor Dee was at the control deck, trying to warm up the cannon and increase the power level.
"Okay Kirby," She said cautiously, as she continued fiddling with the buttons, "The cannon is going to fire in about a minute. And it gets REALLY hot when it's about to fire. You might feel an intense heat on your body, so I'm just warning you now."
"YAH!" Kirby yelled in affirmation, the barrels echoing his voice.
"Sword, is the cannon aimed at the right coordinates?"
"Yes ma'am!"
"Sir Meta Knight, open the chambers!" He and Vul obeyed the Waddle Dee, opening the deck, and raising the platform from inside the Halberd to on top of the waters. The Dark Cloud was ominously hovering above them, invading more of Grape Garden as the seconds ticked by. Many of the sky-high mountains and carelessly floating blimps were crashed or destroyed during the takeover. Kirby grimaced as he could start to feel the burning sensation, the corporal Waddle Dee was alluding to.
"Ready for fire!" Meta Knight exclaimed, causing Kirby to brace for impact and curl into himself. Five...four...three...two...one...
KA-KABOOM BLAST!
Kirby was launched thousands of feet into the air, spinning and twirling against the frigid winds beating him in the face and arms. As he continued his ascent, he could spot the looming Dark Matter Clouds and braced for impact. With a poof he was in the very center, seeing hundreds of bloodshot eyes glaring into him, attempting to take hold of him. But the young warrior's heart was too pure to get corrupted. 'I really do like you Kirby' kept repeating in his head and subconsciously touched his kissed cheek. But now wasn't the time for sentiments. He had something he had to do. Instead of plummeting back, Kirby rose into the air and let his hands rest at his sides before glowing an eerie white, many of the dark eyes and starry clouds gathering around him and swirling into a star-shaped pattern. He clenched his fists, opened his eyes, and exhaled. Everything turned white around him, and he could feel himself become light. But the burning sensation he felt in the cannon couldn't hold a candle to what he was feeling now.
Silence...
And then.
BOOM!
BANG!
CRASH!
The Dark Matter Cloud was totally obliterated. Kirby could hear all of the eyes groaning in pain, before getting wiped out. He gave a small satisfied smile before groaning and falling backward and landing into the water.
"KIRBY!" Ribbon yelled at the top of her lungs, witnessing Kirby plummet into the water, a loud splash following. Meta Knight saw her slowly fly towards Kirby as he was stirring in the water. He looked up and could see the massive cloud of Dark Matter no more. The only thing to do now was to finally put an end to Zero. After dealing with all of his grunts, now they can venture into the greater galaxy outside of Popstar and put an end to this.
After Ribbon carefully hauled Kirby onto the Combo Cannon's raised platform, both Sword Knight and Sailor Dee celebrated. "Kirby did it! His supernova explosion expelled the darkness!" She yelled, slightly naive to the fact that there was still the threat of Zero to deal with. Meta Knight was going to correct her, but the little victories would keep our morale up. He glanced at Ribbon giving Kirby a warm embrace, he cuddled her close, but Meta Knight could tell that the young warrior was weak.
"Sword Knight, could you prepare a room in the barracks for Kirby? I think he's deserved a rest." Sword Knight saluted and did just that, hitting the button to lower the Combo Cannon's deck back into the partially submerged ship. Meta Knight walked over to the pink couple on the other side of the small deck. "Kirby," his voice the warmest Kirby's ever heard. "You are unable to fight in this condition." He rested a hand on the injured puffball's shoulder. "But thank you." He sounded as if he were smiling. Kirby smiled back and closed his eyes, causing Ribbon to get slightly more concerned.
"Meta Knight! What's wrong with him?!"
"He performed a supernova in the sky, using all of the Copy Abilities he's gathered. He's burnt out, quite figuratively and literally. I suggest you take care of him, Fairy." The dock had finally made it to the Core Reactor, where everyone else stood in the heart of the Halberd.
"So..." King Dedede said, his attention shifted towards Kirby who looked obviously hurt. "Did it go well?" Meta Knight walked past him.
"Everyone, Sword Knight will assign you to a room in the barracks. Kirby did his job well and the Dark Clouds have been defeated. Tomorrow we're going into the Gamble Galaxy." King Dedede nodded and grabbed Bandana Dee with him, Adeleine and Rick closely trailing.
"We need all the rest we can get for something like this..." Bandana Dee said to no one in particular.
"If anyone needs food, I'm more than willing to paint anyone anything."
"No need for that, maiden. We have our own kitchen staff, plus you should probably rest your hands for tomorrow." Blade Knight reassured her with an added pat on her back. Even though the gesture was innocent enough, she had been reminded of the major battle taking place.
...
Adeleine was in her own room and she was wistfully gazing at her window—not like there was anything spectacular since the ship was still partially submerged, she saw nothing but the sea and dark sky—it was comforting to her, but that was the only thing she was doing for the past hour or so. She had been advised not to paint, so she hadn't, but she was looking at the cherry parasol that was sitting on her nightstand harmlessly.
It had to have been ten or eleven and she couldn't get a wink of sleep. It wasn't until she heard a faint knock on her door that she had finally stopped looking out of the window. She felt the blood rushing through her legs as she hopped from her slightly uncomfortable bed and opened the door to be greeted by her companion. "What are you doing?" She asked, not realizing how aggressive it initially sounded.
"The Great King sleeps so...loudly..." He said shaking his head, "It's fine when I'm just as tired as he is, but I can't-"
"Go to sleep?" She finished his sentence, causing him to nod exasperatedly, "Come in, we can share the bed. It's big enough for the two of us."
He shuffled inside her room, slightly sleep-deprived, hopping into the bed. Adeleine joined him quickly and they both got underneath the shabby covers. It was silent, but Adeleine could still sense the Bandana Dee felt more than restless. Something about his composure, the way he moved over to the covers without so much hesitation. "Something's wrong." Her mouth filled in the rest of her thoughts, causing Bandana Dee to shift in the covers to face her. Even though it was dark, he could still make out her figure and ebon hair.
"Huh?" He said stupidly as if he didn't hear her.
"What's on your mind?" She corrected, having a softer tone of voice. "Well, besides the whole thing that's going to happen tomorrow."
"I hurt you..." He said softly, still ashamed of his actions.
"Waddle Dee, it's okay, it's practically healed by now." She chuckled, "Thanks to you, I can use both my hands to paint." He whined causing her to stifle another laugh. "But I appreciate you for caring."
"Of course, I care! I couldn't see you for days! I almost killed you when I was possessed! I just-" He flopped on the bed in frustration, causing the mattress to bounce slightly. "I just don't know anymore..."
"It's okay," she hushed him, holding him close to her. "I appreciate your company and your friendship. I appreciate you for caring. And thank you for being a great friend." She finished, continuing to hold his fluffy body like a pillow. Bandana Dee started to blush and only accepted the hug with a warm smile.
"I appreciate you too. Thanks for saving me."
"Thanks for saving me too."
They stayed like that for a while, till eventually, they both drifted into peaceful slumber. Tomorrow was a do-or-die situation, so they needed all of the rest they could get.
Enemy Index:
Capitan Vul: Although not an enemy and more of an ally in this story, he was the head captain and pilot of the Battleship Halberd and debuted in Kirby Super Star and in extension, Kirby Super Star Ultra. There are several lines in Super Star Ultra that allude to him being the one that created the Halberd if only he were in more games...
Sailor Dee: Similar to Vul, she was made into an ally in this story. She's loyal to Meta Knight and the Halberd but seems to be airheaded portrayed by her dialogue in Super Star/Super Star Ultra. In fact, if it weren't for her Kirby wouldn't've known how to defeat the Core Reactor, which is essentially the Halberd's main power source.
Sword/Blade Knight: Blade Knight is the more well-known of the two, having green armor and granting Kirby the Sword Copy Ability, while Sword Knight (more associated with the anime and older Kirby games) is a knight with purple armor, also giving Kirby...I'll give you two guesses. Both Sword and Blade Knight are members of the 'Meta-Knights' in the anime, while in most common Kirby games it's Axe Knight, Mace Knight, Trident Knight, and Javelin Knight that aid Meta Knight during his adventures. I simply chose to portray Sword and Blade as part of the Meta Knight as the two most commonly associated with Meta Knight. (I've said 'knight' in this section 11 times.)
Sparky: One of the most famous ability-wielding enemies in the Kirby series next to Waddle Doo, Sword Knight, and Sir Kibble. They give Kirby the Spark Copy Ability and often jump around creating electrical sparks and currents with the bulbs on their head.
Combo Cannon: The Combo Cannon is one of the parts in the Halberd that is...well, a cannon. It fires slow-moving bullets, similar to a Shotzo and it has a laser that comes from its bottom compartments, blasting anything at will. It debuted in Kirby Super Star and infamously, inhaling the cannon balls doesn't give you the Bomb Ability, but the Yo-Yo Ability instead. In Kirby Super Star Ultra, this was fixed.