Kirby and the Rod of Darkness
Chapter 15: Mean Greens
After leaving the Popopo Islands, the Lor Starcutter was currently sailing over a grassy area. "Hey, look at the Dream Rod!" Kirby said excitedly, viewing the magical item through the capsule it was contained in, "It's starting to glow again!"
Taranza and Susie joined him a moment later and saw that he was right: while the rod was still unable to float, a faint light could now be seen exuding from its heart-shaped tip. "Looks like we're on the right track," Taranza noted, "But we've still got a ways to go."
"Aha! I've found it!" Magolor announced from where he stood in front of the computer, making the others look back at him. Then he turned to face them and said something totally unexpected. "The time has come for Planet Popstar-no, the entire universe-to bow down to me!"
Kirby, Taranza, and Susie stared at him in alarm. "Magolor, what are you doing?!" Kirby exclaimed.
Magolor laughed. "Ha ha ha, just messing with ya!"
Kirby and Taranza frowned at him. "That wasn't funny!" Susie said, unamused.
"Sorry," he replied, still chuckling, "You know how I am-can't resist a little mischief now and then!" At that moment, everyone felt the Lor stop abruptly. "Why did we stop?" Magolor wondered aloud.
Kirby went up to the deck to see what was wrong-and he couldn't believe what he saw! Huge vines sprouted out of the ground all around; two of them were wrapped around the Lor, preventing it from moving. This was not normal! "We have a problem!" the pink puffball cried out.
Magolor and Taranza floated up beside him while Susie used her Transporter to get to the deck. Now they too could see something strange was going on. A few more vines rapidly grew from the soil in front of them, one of which looked like a flytrap. It opened its massive jaws and lunged at Kirby and friends. Not wanting to become plant food, they quickly moved back, causing the flytrap to bite the Lor instead. Before it could strike again, it burned to a crisp out of nowhere. One by one, the towering plants were all destroyed by flames.
Kirby and the others looked down to see Flamberge, one of the Three Mage Sisters, tearing through the vines with her flaming sword. The Three Mage Sisters were more former enemies who were now friends with Kirby. Though they were not actually related, their closeness made it easy to think they were. Flamberge, the red-haired sister, had fire powers and a fiery temper to match. Once she'd incinerated all the vines, she raised her weapon in victory. "Oh yeah! There's something satisfying about burning up giant evil plants!"
"Flamberge! Are we glad to see you!" Kirby said as the Lor slowly landed and its riders returned to the ground, "Where are the other Mage Sisters?"
He lived to regret asking that question. "Oh, that's right…" Flamberge then took a deep breath before loudly yelling, "Something happened to Francisca!" Her voice echoed throughout the field, leaving the others practically stunned by the noise.
"No need to shout, Flamberge! I'm right here!" a muffled voice spoke up.
Flamberge turned around with a puzzled expression. She was sure she'd just heard her friend's voice behind her, but no one was there-just a purple crystalline block that had been hidden by the vines. "Huh? Are you in there, Francisca?"
"I am! Please get me out of here!"
Flamberge thought for a moment, then pulled out her most powerful weapon-a cannon-which shot a stream of fire at the block until it melted away. Now Francisca, the blue-haired sister with ice powers and a calm demeanor, was visible where the shiny block had been. "Who trapped you in that thing?" Flamberge asked her, looking a bit angry. There was nothing she disliked more than seeing anyone try to harm Francisca; the two of them were especially close despite the fact that they were polar opposites.
"Well, it wasn't a who, it was a what. I saw a large, dark Dream Rod right over my head and the next thing I knew, I was trapped!"
The Rod of Darkness had struck again! Francisca and Flamberge went off to find it. Kirby, Magolor, Taranza, and Susie tried to follow them, but they soon got sidetracked when they came across something they weren't expecting. At the edge of the field was three more of Kirby's animal friends: Nago the calico cat, Pitch the small green bird, and Chuchu the pink octopus wearing a red bow. Although this animal trio didn't get as much recognition as Rick, Kine, and Coo, they were still very helpful to Kirby. "It's Nago, Pitch, and Chuchu!" he said.
Something clearly was not right, for Nago was chasing Pitch and Chuchu with a sponge, leaving a trail of water and bubbles behind him. "What are they doing, washing the grass?" Taranza wondered.
"Kirby! Help! Nago seems to think we need a bath!" Pitch called out to Kirby, flying as fast as he could with Chuchu hopping after him.
Since Nago's eyes were usually closed it was impossible to tell if they were red, but Kirby was still certain he was being controlled. He inhaled a small rock he found on the ground and became Stone Kirby. "Chuchu!" he called out to his octopus pal, "I'll turn into a stone, then you toss me at Nago! It's the only way to stop him!" Chuchu did just that, grabbing Kirby in stone form with her long arms and swinging him around a few times before throwing him forward. Nago was struck right in the face, knocking him down.
Kirby returned to his normal form and Pitch, Chuchu, and he came to the dazed feline's side. "Are you okay, Nago?" Chuchu asked him.
"Ouch," Nago muttered, slowly sitting up and rubbing his head, "What happened?"
"You were chasing Pitch and Chuchu and trying to attack them!" Kirby answered him, "I'm pretty sure you were being controlled…"
Meanwhile, the other Mage Sister, who had yellow hair and electric powers, was standing on the other side of the plain where a few towering vines were still present. Her name was Zan Partizanne, and she was the eldest sister and the leader of the three (not to mention the one with the longest name). Hmm...I have never seen such exceptionally large greenery, she thought to herself, currently pondering the unusual sight.
"Hey, Zan Partizanne!" a voice called out from behind her. It was Kirby, with Magolor, Taranza, and Susie following him. The four of them had finished explaining things to Nago, Pitch, and Chuchu and were now on the lookout for Francisca, Flamberge, and the Rod of Darkness.
Zan turned around as the four allies stopped in front of her. "Bonjam, everyone," she greeted them, "Would you happen to know anything about this...odd vegetation?" ("Bonjam" was the Mage Sisters' typical way of greeting people, although Flamberge had never been known to say it.)
"Not exactly," Kirby replied, "Those vines just started showing up out of nowhere. Are they the reason you and the other Mage Sisters came here?"
"Actually, we spotted a multitude of peculiar rods headed for Popstar, so we followed them in order to find out more about them."
"No doubt those were Rods of Darkness!" Taranza spoke up, "Do you think they could have something to do with these vicious vines?"
"I didn't think they could affect plant life, but I suppose it's possible," Susie stated.
At that moment, the cluster of vines nearby lashed out at the five of them in an attempt to grab them. They all moved out of the way just in time and then Zan sliced all the plants in half with her electric spear. Now a group of plant-like creatures could be seen hovering behind where the colossal vines had been. Their eyes bright red, they released seeds which rapidly grew into vines of unnatural proportions upon landing. "Those Leafans are behind this whole thing!" Magolor remarked.
Everyone looked over when they heard a familiar voice shout, "Hi-yah!" It was Flamberge, with Francisca by her side. The two sisters dove straight for the remaining tall vines, chopping them into pieces with an icy axe and fiery sword.
Zan knew the Leafans had to be defeated before they could plant more seeds. "Francisca! Flamberge! Let's show them...the power of the Three Mage Sisters!" she declared. The three of them then attacked the Leafans with their sharp weapons of ice, fire, and lightning, taking them all down. Kirby and his allies cheered; the Mage Sisters saved the day!
Now that it was finally safe Kirby, Magolor, Taranza, and Susie headed back toward the Lor while the Mage Sisters went off in search of the Rods of Darkness. "Those Leafans were definitely possessed by a Rod of Darkness," Susie told Kirby, Magolor, and Taranza as they walked, "It isn't normal for their seeds to grow so quickly."
Taranza caught sight of something up ahead. "Speaking of Rods of Darkness, look over there!" he pointed at what he saw. There was the same large rod they'd encountered in Dedede Resort, moving toward a portal in the distance!
"It's about to go into that portal!" Kirby cried out, "We have to catch it!" And so his team dashed after the rod...