"So, how are you feeling?"
Stelle blinked as she heard March sit down next to her.
"Sorry, did I surprise you?" She asked with a giggle. Stelle shook her head as she took a bite out of her pizza. Off to the side, Conductor Kirby was sitting on the floor, his mouth letting out waterfall as he ate entire pies in seconds.
"No, I was just zoning out for a moment," Stelle said, looking out the window.
"Are you nervous?" March asked, tilting her head. And Stelle shrugged. Her heart was beating quickly, yes, but she wasn't sure if that was because Kirby was scaring the Stellaron or anything else.
"Maybe a little," Stelle says with a shrug.
"That's okay. We were all a little nervous when we first got on the Express," March said. She got up and practically skipped towards the window. "But after a while, it starts to feel like home!" Stelle got up as well, following March as she looked down at the Herta Space Station. Outside the railway, they could see Asta, Arlan, and Herta. The former two waved politely as the Express started to chug forwards.
"Home…" Stelle whispered to herself as the Astral Express left the station. The endless abyss of space met the train as it left, accompanied only by the lonely Blue planet floating underneath them, and the Lor Starcutter slowly flying next to them. She couldn't see Magolor inside, strangely.
Kirby watched as the two girls stood at the window. He ate his 43rd slice of pizza, he heard squeaky footsteps walking towards him. Turning around, Kirby locked eyes with a small bunny thing, wearing the same outfit as him. The bunny thing narrowed his eyes as Kirby blinked innocently.
"...Master Aki–?"
"Pom-Pom!" March cheered as she skipped over the bunny thing and scooped him up into her arms. They yelped and flailed their limbs wildly as she held him in a tight hug before letting him down. "Where were you? You haven't met our newest members yet!"
"P-pom-Pom was busy protecting the engine room!" They said, getting a deadpan look from Kirby as they dusted themself off. "Pom-Pom was going to greet them once the crisis was averted. Speaking of which…"
The bunny, Pom-Pom, glanced at Kirby once more before looking up at Stelle. The girl blinked as Pom-Pom crossed their stubby arms and huffed.
"You two must Stelle and Kirby, correct? Do you two have your tickets?" They asked.
"Uh, yes," Stelle muttered. She tapped on the golden ticket Welt gave her last chapter, which was pinned to the left side of her jacket. Kirby nodded as well. With a flash of light, he dropped the Conductor ability, the ticket slowly floating to the ground in front of him.
"...What? How did you make the ticket appear?" Pom-Pom asked. Kirby casually grabbed the ticket and ate it again. Pom-Pom shrieked as he swallowed the ticket, transformed back into Conductor Kirby, and dropped the ability again.
"Oh, I see now…" They muttered, a drop of sweat falling from their brow. "Well, I ask that you please do not eat the tickets. Without them, I will have no choice but to remove you from the premises myself." Another deadpanned expression crossed Kirby's face. Despite that, he did pin his ticket to the right side of his jacket, mirroring its position on Stelle's.
"Thank you," Pom-Pom said with a bow. "Now then Himeko told Pom-Pom about your unique situation. Listen closely, because Pom-Pom will only say this once–"
By then, Kirby zoned out of the conversation and returned to chewing on his pizza. His eyes wandered the Parlor Car, locking onto anything he found interesting, like the whale, the AD-D detector shaped like a Clockwork Star, and the shattered mirror huddled in the corner of the room.
Wait, what?
Kirby tilted his head as Pom-Pom went on about… something. He stood up and walked towards the shattered mirror. As he got closer, a hooded and masked woman in sleeveless dress materialized next to the mirror, looking up.
"Wow, so this is the Astral Express…" The hooded figure said in amazement. A girl based on her voice.
"Poyo," Kirby said. The masked figure looked down. Although her mask hid her expression, Kirby knew that her heart warmed up when she saw him.
"Oh! Hello there, little boy!" The woman said, kneeling down slightly so that she could be eye level with him. "I'm a messenger from the Garden of Recollection," She began to explain, Kirby saying nothing as she spoke. "I will be staying on the Express from now on. It's very nice to meet you!"
Kirby smiled warmly at her. "Poyo!" He said, getting a chuckle from the masked lady. She tilted her head as he examined him.
"You seem…" She muttered lost in thought as she looked into his starry eyes. "Dreams… Oh… oh dear…" She muttered, standing up straight and walking back. "Apol- Sorry, I d-don't think I should…" The girl stammered until she hopped back into the mirror, which disappeared shortly afterwards.
Kirby titled his head at the space where the shattered mirror used to be. He stepped forwards, trying to get it to appear again. Nothing happened, so he instead walked to the back of the Parlor Car, hiding underneath a desk. A while later, the mirror appeared again, the masked woman hesitantly popping her head out of the mirror. Kirby placed his head on top of the desk letting out a quiet "poyo" to get the woman's attention. She yelped and hid back inside the mirror.
Strange… the Sub-Games don't usually hide from him. Kirby poyo'd sadly.
"Kirby… what are you doing here?" Himeko asked. Kirby looked up to see the navigator above him, sitting in the chair that he was kneeling in front of. Kirby stood up, his back hitting the bottom of the desk and launching backwards. He told Himeko about the lady in the disappearing mirror, but all he got was a confused "what?"
"I'm… terribly sorry, but could repeat that?" Himeko asked politely. Kirby nodded and repeated everything he said, albeit more slowly. However, the only thing she could hear was a series of incoherent babbles and poyo's. Sighing, Himeko wished she could've told Magolor to make some sort of translator.
"Wait…" She muttered, getting up from her seat and walking towards the materials Kirby knocked over when he stood up. "Do you think you can write it down instead?" She asked, handing Kirby a marker and some lined paper. He nodded and took the materials from her hand.
Wait, he doesn't know how to write. Or read.
Himeko watched as Kirby scribbled on the paper, drawing a crude depiction of his experience with the mirror and the mirror lady. She took the paper once he was done, her brows furrowing as she admired his… artwork.
Kirby wasn't a very good artist, either. The best he could do was draw a picture of some sort of berry (Kirby), in the general vicinity of a large oval (the mirror) which had a stick figure inside of it, and arrows leading from the back inside the mirror.
"Ah…" Himeko said. She quickly realized communication was going to be a chore.
"Thank you for telling me about this, Kirby," She said despite that, smiling sweetly at him. Himeko lowered his hands and ruffled his pink curls, getting a relaxed smile from the Dreamlander. "I'll go inform Mr. Yang about… this."
As she spoke Pom-Pom came through the speakers, talking about some sort of "warp jump." Himeko chuckled at his surprise. "Help me clean up this mess, please? Then you can go look for Stelle and March so that you can sit with them when we leave."
Kirby's eyes sparkled at the mention of candy. He walked behind himself and easily picked up the desk with one arm, while gathering up all the spilt materials. He placed them back, exactly as they were before he knocked them over. He waved goodbye and walked off, doing his best to ignore the mirror that was beginning to form once he left, even though he paid it no mind.
He walked past the Archive room, sensing Dan Heng's odd soul in the process. He stopped in front of it and thought to himself.
He walked forward and slammed his nose into the door. Kirby frowned as he fell down, realizing that the door didn't automatically slide open. However, it did get Dan Heng's attention, so the spear man opened the door slowly, looking down as Kirby picked himself up.
"Oh, it's you," Dan Heng said.
Kirby nodded and tugged on his sleeve. While he easily could've dragged Dan Heng into the Parlor Car, Kirby decided to not do so. His soul was similar to Meta Knight's when they first met; closed off and reluctant.
"Is something wrong?" Dan Heng asked. Kirby nodded and pointed to the Parlor Car. "Oh. It's fine. There are seat belts inside the Archive. I'll be fine," He said plainly. Kirby frowned at him. Dan Heng's expression didn't change as they stared at each other. "Here, I'll show you," he said, as he walked into the room, dragging Kirby into the room since he still held onto the spearman's sleeve.
"See?" Dan Heng said, pointing to the chair in the corner of the room. "There's a seat belt. Pom-Pom also countdown before he initiates a warp jump, so I won't be surprised by one." He explained. Kirby nodded and wandered around the room.
The beeps and trills of the machines filled the place with sound. He walked towards the seat to make sure Dan Heng was telling the truth, and as he did, he noticed the futon with green sheets on the opposite side. Kirby turned around and pointed at it.
"It's where I sleep," Dan Heng said flatly.
Kirby frowned.
"It's comfortable for me."
Kirby raised an eyebrow, and looked at the beeping machines all over the room.
"The sound fades away when I start to fall asleep," Dan Heng said flatly.
Kirby frowned again. As the door to the room hissed open, he pointed behind Dan Heng and pointed at the doorway, where March and Stelle were standing.
"Somebody has to maintain the Archives. It's meaningful to record our travels as current members of the Express," Dan Heng said. "March wouldn't have the patience to organize and record our travels."
"Hey!"
"Am I wrong?"
"Okay, fair enough," March shrugged. "But wow! You managed to understand Kirby perfectly! How did you do that?" She asked.
"Context clues. His actions are expressive." Dan Heng answered. Kirby blinked at his answer. Ironically, the last one was misinterpreted incorrectly. Granted, he didn't give him much to work with, so he gets a pass.
"Right. Anyways, we're heading out to the Parlor Car! Kirby, wanna come with us?" The puffball nodded and walked past Dan Heng. Before he closed the door, Kirby looked at Dan Heng, his starry eyes boring into Dan Heng's for a moment. His blank expression soon turned into a smile as he waved goodbye.
Once in the Parlor Car, Stelle started talking to Pom-Pom, leaving Kirby to sit on March's lap as she sat on one of the plush couches. She hummed a quiet little tune, her eyes shut as she kept her arms wrapped around Kirby's waist.
"Hey, why are your eyes like that?" She suddenly asked. Kirby looked up and tilted his head in confusion. "Magolor's eyes are ovals and they glow weirdly… Meta Knight's eyes change color depending on his mood… And looking into your eyes is like watching space stare back!"
Kirby blinked his pupilless eyes as March continued talking, listening as she chattered on excitedly.
"Do you think I'm from Dreamland? It sounds like a very nice place! Magolor said that wherever your Ancient's go, you follow. Maybe I'm ancient?" Kirby curled his eyebrow up in confusion. "Maybe I was from an exiled race of magicians, who were scattered across dimensions because their fellow men feared us!?"
…How did she Hyness' lore?
"Or maybe my ancestor was once a great warrior so powerful that he was locked away in fear of his power!"
Okay, so now she knows about Galacta Knight…
Oooooh, that's the cosmic gag, isn't it?
"Poyo?" Kirby asked. March stopped in the middle of her ramble to lock down at him.
"Oh, sorry! For talking your ear off! I didn't mean to bore you with my crazy conspiracy theories." What? No, he wanted her to continue!
"You see, I was stuck in a huge block of ice when the Express Crew first found me. When I thawed out, I was a blank slate with no memories; so I like to come up with these stories based on who I was before." March said. Kirby blinked once.
"Poyo?" He asked.
"I dunno," March answered. "Right now, I like being March 7th." Kirby smiled at her.
Good answer.
"What are you talking to Kirby about?" Stelle as she sat down next to March, Pom-Pom waddling behind her.
"Nothing much," March answered with a shrug before turning to Pom-Pom. "What's up?"
"The express has reached a safe distance from the Space Station, and the Lor Starcutter will be returning there as well. We'll be jumping soon. If you could all please stay in your seats when we do so, that will be greatly appreciated. Things will get bumpy!" The bunny thing said, getting Kirby to tilt his head.
"Uh… thanks, Pom-Pom, but did you really have to remind me? I'm not a newbie, after all?" March said with a giggle.
"Well, it wouldn't be necessary… HOWever, Miss March likes to challenge herself and fail constantly," Pom-Pom said with a deadpan expression, getting an indignant huff from the first amnesiac. "Please stay in your seats. Pom-Pom does not want to buff out another March-shaped dent in the wall."
Kirby and Stelle looked at each other, and then in March when Pom-Pom waddled away. The moment they closed the door she picked up Kirby and placed him on the couch next to Stelle. With a huff, she got to her feet and walked to the middle of the car. Kirby and Stelle tilted their heads as March muttered under her breath as readied herself.
As Pom-Pom started his countdown, the Lor Starcutter turned away from the Astral Express, creating a portal as it disappeared from view. At that moment, the train lurched forwards, encasing the Express in a blue glow as it picked up speed. Stelle yelped as she was thrown to the side and hurriedly searched for her seatbelt. Kirby, meanwhile, stood up and walked towards March as the countdown ended.
As he grabbed her wrist, March was suddenly flung backwards. Kirby tightened his grip and dug his heels into the ground, holding on tightly as she flew backwards. To be completely honest, he thinks Pom-Pom is just messing with March since the Express jumped before the conductor even finished the countdown.
Once the warp ended, Kirby placed March gently on the floor and patted her head, humming to himself as he looked out the window.
"Wow…" Stelle softly said in wonder as she saw a lonely planet covered in ice. Kirby jumped up next to her, placing his elbows on the window sill as her eyes glittered with curiosity. "Did your dimension have planets like this?" She asked.
Kirby nodded. Though, Shiver Star was notably more frozen than this one. And a bit more dead.
It also probably wasn't corrupted as much as this planet.
"Oh no…" They could hear Himeko say as she stood next to them. "After all those millenia, is this what Jarilo-VI has become?"
"You mean… that snowy planet is our next destination?" March asked as she stood next to the group.
"I'm not even sure it's supposed to be snowy," Stelle muttered, getting both women's attention as she looked down at Kirby. "You can feel it too, right? This… feeling of sickness, of wrongness." Regrettably Kirby nodded.
"Sickness…? Do you think it could be the Stellaron, or Another Dimension?" March asked. Kirby shrugged. He's too far away from the planet to tell right now.
"Attention, passengers, a Spatial Anomaly has been detected. Star Rail stability is down to twelve percent. The Seven-Day stopover period has been extended indefinitely," Pom-Pom's voice ran through the intercom, causing Himeko to furrow her brow.
"So, I guess it's safe to say that the planet shouldn't be a giant ice ball?" March asked.
"That's right… Normally, we would assume this would be the work of a Stellaron, but now that we have to consider Another Dimension…" Himeko muttered under her breath.
"This time, it's both," Welt announced as he walked into the room with Dan Heng.
"We finished a preliminary analysis. The results indicated a Stellaron, and something more," The reserved spearman said. He turned around and pointed to the AD-D. Its squinted eyes were now opened, displaying a small-scale hologram of the planet over a table. On the hologram itself were multiple pins. The grand majority were located around each other in a circle, though were on the other side of the planet, far, far away from the rest.
"Okay… we know how to deal with Another Dimension portals, but what about the Stellaron?" Stelle asked, placing a hand on her hips.
"We can contain the Stellaron with a few instruments we have on board, and neutralize its effect. Hopefully, that will get the planet back to normal," March said hopefully. Stelle smiled as well, but it faltered when she looked at Kirby staring up at her.
He wasn't smiling.
"Stelle?" The girl jumped slightly as Himeko spoke to her. "I think I'd like you and Kirby to go on this Trailblazing expedition with March and Dan Heng. The objective is clear: recover the Stellaron, and close the portals to Another Dimension."
"Okay… but even with all four of us, don't you think we'll need some help?" Stelle asked. "I mean, one of the portals is on the other side of the planet, not to mention it's dangerous for me to go inside the portals in the first place." Stelle shivered as she remembered the wave of Another Dimension monsters barrelling towards her and Arlan.
"You're right… It's not like we can split up when there's only four of us… especially when you have a massive target on your back already," Dan Heng added.
"That's right… and Himeko and I will have to stand guard here in case the Doomers detect the Astral Express…" Welt added as well.
"So… it looks like you don't have enough members in your party!" Stelle flinched as she heard a voice coming from AD-D. The hologram disappeared as its eyes moved towards the Astral Express crew. "Have no fear! Your Dream Friends are here!" It said in an automated voice. The clock's mouth opened wide as a star-shaped portal appeared in the middle of the room.
"Magolor did say their allies would be meeting us here. This must be what he meant," Himeko said as the portal solidified.
"Wow! I didn't think that clock also doubled as a teleporter!" March said as the portal solidified, her eyes sparkling with wonder as she heard footsteps and a… disgruntled voice.
"Man… this early, really? Ah, couldn't I have spent more time at home?" An annoyed, feminine voice muttered.
A thin and lithe woman with sun-burnt, copper skin stopped through the portal. She wore a pair of denim short shorts and a black tank top. There was some writing on the chest area, but it was written in an unknown language. Over that, she had a green jacket with gray fur lining the hood and sleeves.
The woman had short, spiky hair that curved upwards somewhat. It looked like it had been flattened by a hat, the more Stelle looked at her. Her eyes were a shade of dark blue and she also had solid red eyeshadow. Most interesting of all, however, were the many faded burn scars that covered her body. They trailed her arms until they reached the bottom of her chin. They seemed to have been mostly healed, but the memory still remained.
"So, this is the Astral Express, huh? It's a lot more classy than I thought it'd be…" The woman said as she walked forward. "Sorta reminds me of my old place…" She whispered as eyes roamed all over the room, a hint of nostalgia glittering in her eye. As she did, her eyes eventually locked onto March's face, where she paused.
Stelle blinked, and the next thing she knew, both the women had seemingly teleported to the wall of Parlor Car. March yelped as her back hit the wall, blushing bright red as the red-haired girl slammed her hand on the wall next to her. A confident smirk graced her lips as she looked into March's iridescent eyes.
"Hey," She said in a suave, confident tone, making March squeak.
"...What?" Dan Heng muttered.
Kirby sighed and shook his head and shook his head at her while the rest of the Express Crew looked with various looks of confusion and bewilderment.
"Uh… I, um…" March stuttered. Her eyes swiveled everywhere to look at everything but woman's eyes and slightly parted lips. "Hey, look! Something else! Why don't we look at that instead!"
"Is she talking about us?"
"Probably. Hey Kirby!"
The pink-haired demon spun around instantly, recognizing the two voices in an instant. He jumped in joy and rushed forwards.
Everybody watched as he crashed into a giant, portly looking man wearing long red robes over a yellow kimono tied in place with zigzagging, red and yellow obi. He had blue hair and a neatly trimmed beard, and a red hat with a golden trim and a white cotton ball on top.
"Ha ha ha, what are you getting all emotional for?" The royal looking man laughed, ruffling Kirby's hair with thick yellow mittens.
"Yeah! We've only been gone, for, like, a week!" A much younger, chipper voice rang through. Standing next to them was a small boy, about the same size as Kirby. He wore a light brown tunic tied with a striped belt similar in design to the man's obi. He also had orange shorts and knee-high socks and dark brown crocs. Weirdly, he had an orange scar covering more than half of his face, even his knee, and a blue bandana covering his orange.
Kirby babble incoherently; at least, that's what the Express Crew heard.
"I told you, that Gilgamesh guy? He couldn't hold a candle to me! Everything he pulled into those gates, I spat right back at him!" The man boasted, giving a hearty laugh before turning to the side and looking somewhat embarrassed. "...Plus Gooey and Elfilin might've helped me a bit back there."
"Kirby. these must be you friends," Himeko asked, getting the Dreamlanders' attention. She smiled at them, even though it was somewhat strained when she regarded Flamberge. "It's nice to meet you all. My name is Himeko. I'm the navigator of the Astral Express. And you are…?"
"King Dedede, the ruler of Dreamland, at your service!" The royal man said, summoning a large mallet from nowhere and hoisting it over his head.
"My name's Bandana Waddle Dee, but my friends just call me Bandee. It's nice to meet you!" The young boy said, bowing at the waist slightly.
"Flamberge. 'Sup," The fiery woman said, walking away from March (whose cheeks were still red) and standing next to the group of Dreamlanders.
"Wow, Dedede sure gets possessed a lot, do you?" March asked.
Introductions went by rather quickly, and once they were done, Himeko decided to have a quick lunch before the group had to go to the surface. As they ate, the Dreamlanders regaled the Crew with tales from their own intergalactic adventures. The first thing they learned was that somehow, Dedede had an appetite that rivaled Kirby. Both of them separately had already eaten Cosmic Fried Rice more than triple what everybody else had eaten combined.
Also, the King had a habit of getting possessed every once in a while.
"Great King doesn't get possessed that much…" Bandee muttered, his bowl still mostly completely full. Occasionally, Kirby would sneak over and snag some rice with his inhale.
"But didn't you say he got taken over every time Dark Matter showed up?" Stelle asked, making Bandee chuckle nervously.
"Wasn't he also possessed when landed in the Forgotten World, and puppeted around by Taranza?" March added.
"There's also the fact that he was corrupted by the Jamba Heart as well," Dan Heng said.
"Well… He's working on his mental fortitude!" Bandee said. Kirby spoke up this time, a smug grin on his face as he ate another bowl of cosmic rice.
While Bandee and Kirby told and reminisced about their adventures in Dreamland and beyond, the adults spoke at the other end of the room, the Express crew members giving a basic rundown of the situation to the Dreamlanders.
"So, the evil ancient relic is making the planet do all sorts of funky stuff," Dedede said, chewing quietly as he ate. "Sho' doesn't sound like anything we ain't used to."
"Still, it would be safe to exercise some level of caution. From what you've told us, these Jamba Hearts didn't have the time to affect the environment in any major way. The Stellaron has been on Jarilo-VI for centuries, possibly millenia at this point," Welt reminded them.
"Speaking of caution… aren't you worried about what might become of your kingdom if something were to happen to you?" Himeko asked.
"The Waddle Dees are resilient little guys," Dedede said. "If anything happened to me, I'm sure they'll be able to carry on fine without me. Besides, I need myself a break after all the poli-tricking I've been doing lately."
"Ever since Elfilis… Well, ruined everything, to put it bluntly, we've been teaming up with multiple other realities to help anybody who's affected," Flamberge explained, giving Dedede a pitiable look as he ate. "For a long time, 'King' was only a title. Unfortunately, a lot dimensions reeeaally like their red tape, and since Dedede is, by technicality, the only political figure in Dreamland…"
"Ah. I can only imagine how stressful that must have been," Welt said, putting the pieces together in his head giving Dedede a look of sympathy.
"Tell me about it… I had learned every trick in the book just to keep with that one guy," Dedede groused.
"Which guy?" Flamberge asked, tilting her head slightly
"I think his name was… Demon Taggy-somethin'-like-that… He was a real headache to deal with." Dedede muttered. "Anyways, I didn't show up here to get into politics or ta get poli-tricked! I just wanna let off some steam and crack some heads!"
Himeko giggled behind her hand at the comment. "Your idea of a break is going on an adventure in another dimension?"
"I've gotta do something to keep mah hammer-swingin' arm from gettin' rusty," Dedede muttered. "I ain't fit for a desk job! I need t' smack something!"
"Well, I think you'll be given that opportunity to let out all that stress very soon. Once everyone is fully prepared, that is," She said, looking past Dedede's shoulder and seeing the younger adventurers talk about their journeys.
"Speaking of which…" Flamberge turned around, her head lazily lying on the back of her chair to face the younger members. "Oi! Are you nerds ready to go yet? I'm getting really bored!"
To Stelle's surprise, March was the first to react. Her cheeks turned soft red as the fire mage glanced at them. Flamberge noticed this, and decided to tease her with a wink. March squeaked, getting a frown from March, how then got a frown from Dan Heng.
"...What's going on?" Bandee asked. Kirby only nodded sagely and patted him on the shoulder. He had no idea what was going on as well.
After a bit of cleanup, final preparation and some emergency packing, the final group consisting of King Dedede, Flamberge, March, Stelle, Kirby, Dan Heng, and Bandana Dee were ready to move out.
"Alright! Here comes the Jarilo-VI Trailblaze Team!" March exclaimed.
"Poyo! Poyo!" Kirby jumped up and cheered, eliciting a resounding cheer coming from the group as they made their way to back of the train.
As the screen fades in, Kirby's Warp Star could be heard in the distance, closing in on the vast snowy plains.
As the Warp Star crashed into the ground, Kirby, Bandee, Dedede, and Flamberge, each one in their true form, jump off as the star explodes into starry bits. Following them are chibified versions of Stelle, March, and Stelle, landing on their feet as they examined the land.
In front of them, the pieces of the Warp Star fly into the first door lying in the middle of a snowy plain, the giant padlock falling to the ground as the level opens.
The second door lies inside the wall of an white, frigid city.
The third door sits in the center of an active volcano.
The fourth door is underneath the city of the second door, lying in a cavernous region.
The fifth door is to the right of the fourth door, sitting in front of a lavish mansion.
The sixth door is next to the volcano of the second door, located at the very top of a space shuttle.
The seventh door beyond the frozen city, at the edge of a deep cliff.
The eighth door is even further below the fourth and fifth door.
The large, red door, the BOSS Door, lies on the surface of the moon. The padlock that prevents it from being open is in the shape of a serpentine eye with horns.
Kirby runs to the first door, his allies following behind him, kicking up snow as they head to their destination.
Without hesitation, he opens the door and walks inside the black abyss behind it. Everybody else joins him, none of them looking back as the door slams shut.
"Good grief…" Magolor muttered to himself as he and the Lor Starcutter hovered over corrupted space. He floated on the deck of the starship, his disembodied hands scratching his chin as the Lor flew past a distorted branch. It once glowed brightly, blinding, but now its light can only flicker on and off as it is consumed by dark energy.
"Well? What does it look like?" Susie asked, the constant typing of her keyboard coming through the speakers alongside her echoey voice.
"Well… we have faced impossible odds before, but…" Magolor started, clicking his tongue as he turned on the phone camera. "I think it needs a loooot of duck tape."
In front of him was a gargantuan glowing tree, which grew infinitely from an endless ocean of dark miasma. Instead of leaves, the glowing tree had small, brightly colored bubbles that shimmered alongside the branches they grew from. Pieces of floating debris floated across the empty space, remnants of a long forgotten universe that had been destroyed in the eternal war of the Dark Sea and the Dreaming Tree.
At least, that's what it should've looked like.
Due to Fecto Elifilis'... temper tantrum, a large section of the Imaginary Tree has been completely decimated. The canopy was riddled with cracks, broken time and shattered space falling down and slicing off branches. In the middle of the trunk was a massive, star-shaped hole which indicated where Planet Popstar had barrelled through on its way to the Forgotten World.
Most worryingly of all was the Sea of Quanta. As branches fell into the dark miasma, the sea rippled and shifted, dark waves splashing against the trunk of the Imaginary Tree. With each branch, more of the Sea's volume was displaced, causing the miasma to rise.
"How lovely… somebody should make a painting of it," Susie dryly commented as she watched a large position of ruined space crash into another bundle of branches, slicing them off the tree.
"I'd buy it," Magolor chuckled darkly. He switched the camera off and sighed. "So, any luck with coming up with a way to clean up the spill?"
"I'm doing the best I can…" Susie growled, letting a tired sigh as she continued to type on her keyboard. "I've yet to hear back from Yen Sid and Riordan. Chaldea was busy managing its own crisis before all this happened. And every other dimension has been radio silent for the past few days."
"How cheery…" Magolor muttered as he floated in circles on the deck. He watched as a shard of space tapped a bubble world, causing the sphere to crack and break open. Small glittering particles like stardust flew out of the, joining the mess of galactic soup hovering all over the imaginary tree.
The screen of the Lor Starcutter flashes bright red, causing Magolor to flinch slightly as the sudden noise. "What the heck…?" The wizard muttered as the Lor Starcutter shook, and a large shadow covered his egg-shaped form.
"Oh," Magolor said nonchalantly as a giant woman (well, giant compared to him, he's only eight inches tall) loomed over him. Her skin was pale white, and the dress was a combination of white, gold and black, eyes a deadly shade of orange as she glared hatefully at Magolor.
"Hi there," Magolor said, waving his floating hand. Cubic tendrils of black material floated behind her, aimed right at his floating ship.
"Magolor!? Magolor!?" His triangular ear twitched as he heard static coming from the Lor's speakers. Strange, considering he was able to call her easily not only a few moments ago.
"This is all your fault. I should've never permitted your creators to leave their homeworld…" The white-haired woman growled, launching her tendrils–
And Magolor blasted the goddess with his full-powered Magolor Canon, the magical blast completely enveloping her. Her tentacles were decimated completely, fading into black dust as the magic tore him to pieces.
Eventually, his energy ran out, and with a flick of his wrist the laser died down. To his disappointment, the goddess had not been eradicated completely. Her dress was now covered in burns and torn in some places.
"I'm going to enjoy this," The Unknown God spat, another volley of tendrils forming behind her.
Magolor smirked underneath his hood as he floated higher into the other. Pieces of clay, magical energy, and light began to swirl around him. With a combination of his and Adeleine's magic, as well as Susie's holograms, the wizard's original body became the core of his new one, powering a thick suit of clay.
Now fully formed into his new, human-like body, Magolor's hands crackle with energy. The Lor Starcutter floats behind him; its oars shifting rapidly, the mast swirling with windy magic.
Was it necessary for him to transform? Not really, if anything, this made him a bigger target. But he thinks that he would probably make for a pretty cool action shot.
"C'mon then!" Magolor said to the Unknown God, the oars of the Lor Starcutter flying away and pointing themselves at her like a bundle of flying blades. "I'll give you a show you'll never forget!"
DATA BANK
Dreams / Kirby
[VA: Emily Sun]
INTERACTIVE VOICES
Memory: Dreamland
-I wonder why Dedede stole all the food that day… Was he really, really hungry?
Memory: Milky Way Wishes
-The first time I got the Copy Essences, I felt a strange power inside me. I'll use that power to protect my galaxy!
Memory: Adventure
-Man, Meta Knight sure was scary back then. He didn't hold back. I was barely able to keep with him!
Memory: Revenge of Meta Knight
-The Halberd looks really cool when it's flying! It's not so cool when it's scaring people though… I think the original is still in the bottom of the ocean.
Memory: Dreamland 2
-I heard of a story about forest animals that had similar powers to my new ones. I was training with them when Dark Matter shattered the Rainbow Bridge and possessed Dedede!
Memory: Dreamland 3
-I don't know where Gooey came from, and in that sense, he's sort of like me. I'm just glad they came with me to stop 0.
Memory: Crystal Shards
-Man, 0 just doesn't know when to give up, do they! I hope I stopped them for good this time.
Memory: Revenge of the King
-I wonder why Dedede put on that funny mask and fought me again. I thought we were already friends!
Memory: Amazing Mirror
-I wonder how the other mes are doing right now. I hope they're going off on some fun Clashes!
Memory: Squeak Squad
-I never got to eat that cake…
Memory: Return to Dreamland
-Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. I'm probably gonna get fooled a third time, ha ha…
Memory: Triple Deluxe
-Sometimes, whenever I go to Taranza's place to play, I sometimes see him looking up at the moon. I think he still misses her…
Memory: Planet Robobot
-Susie's always on work work work mode. I don't think she sleeps at all!
Memory: Star Allies
-When enough positive or negative energy accumulates… Void will be reborn into another existence… I wonder what that means?
Memory: Forgotten Land
-Uhm… I think I should've driven that truck a bit faster. Oops…
Eidolon Activation
-Oooh, what's this shiny thing? It tastes funny.
Character Ascension
-My body feels funny… Is it because I've been in this world for a long time?
Max Level Reached
-If those Aeons think they can mess with my friends, I'll give 'em what for!
Trace Activation
-The stars in the sky look pretty tonight… I'll protect them, no matter what.
Added to team with Meta Knight
-You have an extra sword I can use, Meta Knight?
Added to team with King Dedede
-Let's have a big lunch after we're done here, Dedede!
Added to team with Bandana Dee
-I'll keep you covered! You get them with your spear, Bandee!
Added to team with Rick & Kine & Coo
-Let's combine our powers again, just like old times!
Added to team with Adeleine & Ribbon
-Adeleine, why is Ribbon blushing?
Added to team with Stelle
-Are you ready, partner?
Added to team with March
-You really think we can stop them with our… cuteness? That doesn't make sense. I think I'll just bash 'em.
Added to team with Dan Heng
-When we're done, do you think you can show Bandee some tricks?
Added to team with Dan Heng - Imbibitor Lunae
-Why did you hide your kind soul from everyone?
COMBAT VOICES:
[VA: Makiko Ohmoto]
[Kirby will be unintelligible during battle, regardless of language settings.]
Battle Won
-I'm bored.
Treasure Opening
-Wow, shiny! Can we keep it!
-This looks like something I might've found in the Great Cave.
-I think you should have this one, Stelle [Precious Treasure].
Successful Puzzle Solving
-My brain hurts…
-I did it…? I-I mean, I totally knew what I was doing!
Enemy Target Found
-There's the bad guy! Let's get 'em!
Returning to Town
-Bye-bye, Warp Star! Thank you!
[A/N: so, here's a funny thought. What do you guys think of crossover pairings (at least for the characters that are (or in the kirby series' case, can be argued to be) in their mid-late teens, minimum)? I don't want to spoil too much, but there's a depressed spider boy and a depressed fox lady whose previous partners are both suuuper dead right now.]