Kirby and the Rod of Darkness
Chapter 19: Christmas in the World of Miracles (Christmas Special!)
It was Christmas Eve afternoon, and Kirby was wearing a red Santa hat while decorating a Christmas tree in the Lor Starcutter's main room. He stuck a Warp Star ornament on one branch and admired his work so far. "The Christmas tree looks amazing so far, Magolor!" he said happily.
"Heh heh, I thought you'd like it!" Magolor replied from nearby. He was wearing his shopkeeper outfit because it was partially green. He placed a Gem Apple ornament on the tree before looking up at Taranza, who was stringing lights on the upper walls. "How's it going with the lights, Taranza?"
"Easy as pie," he answered, "Having six hands makes everything easier." His Christmas outfit was simple: since he was already dressed in red and green, he had gold jingle bells strung around his horns. Once he finished decorating one wall, he hung a Dreamstalk flower ornament on the tree.
"Did someone say pie?!" Kirby's eyes lit up at the mention of food.
Magolor chuckled. "Sorry buddy, just a figure of speech. I'm sure you'll get some pie with Christmas dinner tomorrow."
The three of them looked over when they heard the door to the next room open. There was Susie, entering the main room. She had on a red top and skirt with white fluff around the collar and sleeves, green gloves, and a sprig of holly in her hair. "Well, how do I look?" she asked her three friends.
Kirby, Magolor, and Taranza were surprised at first; they'd never seen Susie wear a different outfit besides her typical one. "You look stunning!" Taranza told her as she approached, "Where did you get that outfit?"
"Oh, I like to go clothes shopping every so often," she responded with a cheery expression. She then added her own ornament to the tree: a round pink one with the HWC logo on it.
Once all the ornaments were up, Kirby peeked outside to find a sight that delighted him. The ground was blanketed in white and snow was gently falling from the sky. "Look, everyone! It's snowing!" he called out excitedly.
Magolor and Susie came outdoors next. Taranza tried to follow them, but he couldn't get past the Lor's entrance because one end of the string of lights he'd been hanging was caught on his cape. He'd apparently gotten too distracted to notice he wasn't finished putting them up. He tugged on the lights a few times in an attempt to free himself, but instead the entire string came down and tangled him up. "You're supposed to decorate the Lor, Taranza, not yourself!" Magolor told him. The silver-haired spider did not look amused.
After Taranza finally got untangled, everyone spent some time enjoying the snowy weather. Kirby climbed to the top of a hill, took out a Warp Star, and rode it down the slope like a sled. When he reached the bottom, all he had to do was fly the Warp Star back to the top to repeat the process.
Meanwhile near the base of the hill, Susie was building a snow sculpture resembling Kirby holding an ice cream cone. Next to her, Taranza made his own sculpture by forming a snowball with each of his six hands and dropping them in a pile on the ground. "What do you call that?" Susie asked him upon noticing his unusual creation.
"A double-decker snowman!" he replied, giving his tall, thin snowman sticks for arms and pebbles for a mouth, nose, and eyes.
On Susie's other side, Magolor finished building a snow sculpture of himself. "Ta-da! A snow Magolor!" he announced, "He's quite a handsome fellow, if you ask me."
"Look out below!" Kirby called out all of a sudden. He sledded down the slope nearby, swiftly passing his three friends and blowing snow all over Magolor.
"Now we have two snow Magolors!" Taranza remarked as Kirby rejoined the three of them. While Magolor shook the snow off of him, the others had to laugh.
Everyone quieted when they heard a commotion nearby. They looked over to see a crowd of Waddle Dees running about carrying wrapped presents. "They must be gift shopping," Susie observed, "Which reminds me...don't we still need to get gifts for each other?"
"That's right!" Magolor said, "Come on, let's get to work!" Kirby, Taranza, and Susie followed him back to the Lor.
And so the four friends spent the remainder of the afternoon doing their own gift shopping. The one who was to receive the present stayed behind while the other three went off to get it. They took the Lor to wherever they needed to go, except when it was time to get Magolor's gift; then Susie, Kirby, and Taranza took the Business Suit instead. Even if it took a decent amount of time and work, all of them enjoyed the shopping because they knew how happy the presents would make their recipients.
By the time all of this was complete, it was getting late and the sky was dark. Kirby and his allies were hungry after all their work, so they ate supper before they placed the presents under the tree. After that they decided to stargaze for a little while before going to bed. Even though it was chilly outside, the scenery was quite beautiful. The stars seemed to shine more brightly than usual and the snow glittered slightly in the moonlight. All was quiet and peaceful.
After a few minutes the stillness was broken when Taranza spoke. "I've heard Christmas is a time of miracles. I've also heard Popstar is sometimes called the World of Miracles."
"I'm not surprised," Magolor answered, "Considering how many people have threatened Popstar-myself included-it's a miracle it's still around!"
By now it was about bedtime and the four of them were tired from their busy day...but the youngest party member wasn't exactly sleepy. "I think I'm too excited to sleep," Kirby spoke up, "I can't stop thinking about how much fun we'll have at the Christmas party tomorrow!" He and many of his pals would be going to the party held at King Dedede's castle.
Susie knew just what to do. "Would you like to hear a Christmas song? It might help you relax." Her round pink friend agreed that was a good idea, so she began to sing:
Tonight is a special night, Christmas is near
We gather together with our friends so dear
Christmas is a season of peace, joy, and love
We see the bright light shine from the stars above
Far off in the distance we hear the bells ring
Miracles and happiness this day will bring
It's time for familiar carols to play
Let us celebrate, for today's Christmas Day!
During the song Kirby, Magolor, and Taranza continued to gaze at the twinkling stars. Susie's singing was pleasant to listen to and her song soothing...perhaps a bit too soothing. When the pink-haired girl finished she found Kirby asleep-as well as Magolor and Taranza! "It wasn't supposed to work that well!" she said, "Come on, you three." She had to push the snoozing trio back into the Lor like a large, warm snowball.
The next morning it was Christmas Day. Kirby was excited, but not too excited to eat breakfast. After that the group of four took their gifts from under the tree (resisting the urge to open them) and headed to Dedede's castle. When they arrived they were delighted to find that not only was the castle no longer glowing ominously, many familiar faces had also come to the party. All of the Star Allies were there along with Shadow Kirby, the entire Birdee family, Nago, Pitch, Chuchu, Elfilin, some of the People of the Sky, and Dyna Blade and her three chicks.
The party began with everyone mingling and decorating a big Christmas tree outside the castle. Magolor, Marx, and Shadow Kirby laughed as they discussed their latest acts of mischief. Susie was chatting with Adeleine, Ribbon, Zan Partizanne, and Chuchu. Francisca was greatly enjoying the winter weather, but Flamberge was hiding in the castle because it was way too cold for her outside. Dyna Blade and Big Birdee got along well, and the Dyna Chicks quickly made friends with the Wee Birdees. And Kirby was very happy to see so many of his pals having so much fun.
Inside the castle the Waddle Dees were busy preparing for Christmas dinner. Chef Kawasaki helped with the cooking; after all, tons of food had to be made to accommodate for Kirby, Marx, and Shadow Kirby's huge appetites. Once everything was ready everyone enjoyed a delicious dinner, with pumpkin pie for dessert (which made Kirby very content).
After dinner everyone gathered in the hall to exchange gifts. Elfilin gave each of them a special Gotcha figure made by Weapons Shop Waddle Dee, each one displaying a miniature version of its recipient. Although Kirby already owned a Gotcha figure of himself, this particular one showcased him holding the Dream Rod. Then Kirby, Magolor, Taranza, and Susie gave each other the presents they'd gotten.
Kirby got a yellow star-shaped cushion much more comfortable than the one he'd been sleeping on in the Lor, so much so that he was tempted to take a nap right there. Magolor received a Shopkeeper Magolor mask, which was one he didn't already own. Taranza was given a beautiful painting of Floralia and the Dreamstalk created by Adeleine, which he couldn't wait to hang in the palace on Royal Road. And Susie got a sparkling, colorful hair clip Ribbon had made from one of her crystals.
Her pals' kind gesture made Susie feel a bit emotional. Kirby and Ribbon, who were close by, noticed her wiping a few tears from her eyes. "Susie? Are you okay?" Ribbon asked her.
"I'm sorry, it's just...I haven't received Christmas gifts since I was a little girl," she explained, "I spent most of my Christmases in Another Dimension, my only company being monsters who wanted me dead. Then when I was working with my dad, he didn't love me anymore because he forgot who I was. But all of you...you don't care what I've done. You care about me for who I am. I'm surrounded by so much love!" With that, Susie placed her new clip in her hair for all to see and Kirby, Ribbon, and she hugged.
Taranza smiled at the heartwarming scene (Magolor would have too, if he had a mouth). "Christmas is such a wonderful season, isn't it?" he said to Magolor.
"It sure is," the mage agreed, "and this has got to be our best one yet!"
Looking at all his friends gathered together, Kirby felt so joyful he could hardly contain himself. Everyone's hearts swelled with joy and love. "There are lots of great gifts out there, but friendship is one of the best gifts you can give," the pink hero declared, "Merry Christmas, everyone!"
Have a very merry Christmas!