Kirby and the Rod of Darkness
Chapter 20: Rematch With Parallel Susie
Thanks to Mirrobo's careful analyses, Shadread now had all the information he needed on Kirby, Magolor, Taranza, and Susie. "So we are up against the hero of Planet Popstar," he noted, "That explains why we've faced such opposition. Who knew something small and pink could be so powerful? However, I find the ones known as Taranza and Susie most interesting…"
"If we cannot overpower them, then perhaps we can outrun them," Mirrobo spoke up.
"Yes, of course. We must combine the remaining Rods of Darkness as quickly as possible. But how to keep those pesky interlopers from noticing?"
"You could send me to keep them busy while Mirrobo keeps an eye on the rods," a familiar voice suggested. Entering the room was Parallel Susie...but something was different. Her hair was now silver, her eyes hot pink, and her outfit rose and hot pink; even her skin was a ghastly gray. "My training is complete," she continued, "I'm stronger than ever and ready for battle!"
"Very well," Shadread replied, "Go and do as you said, but you must stay focused on your mission." With that Mirrobo hovered over to Parallel Susie, who grabbed onto it, and the robot teleported both of them away.
Mirrobo took Parallel Susie to where the Lor was currently located, by a serene lake with a prairie on one side and a forest on the other. It darted off into the sky once it let her down, leaving her alone to find her targets. "So this is Planet Popstar," she observed, viewing the surrounding areas-and spotting just who she was looking for.
Kirby and Magolor were currently sitting on opposite sides of the lake fishing. Nearby Taranza was also fishing, but he was using his magic web rather than a rod. And Susie, who didn't see what was so interesting about staring at the water waiting for fish to bite, was admiring the view from the Lor's deck.
The fishing trio had not caught anything so far. Kirby yawned, beginning to grow bored, when he felt a tug on his line. "Hey, I think I've got something!" he said excitedly. He pulled as hard as he could until the other end of the line emerged from the water and went over his head. This caused the Blipper he'd just caught to go flying behind him; Parallel Susie, who was trying to sneak up on her opponents, was hit right in the face by the wriggling fish. "Where did it go?" Kirby wondered, noticing there was nothing on his fishing rod.
"Uh, Kirby? I think you'd better look behind you," Magolor spoke up.
The round hero did so, finding a not too happy Parallel Susie standing there, holding a small round fish by its tail. "P-Parallel Susie!" he exclaimed in alarm.
The all-too-familiar woman tossed the Blipper aside. "That's President Parallel Susie to you!" she declared, "I've come for a rematch!"
Having seen what was going on, Susie quickly came over before another word could be spoken. "Bring it on!" she replied, mounting her Business Suit. Parallel Susie brought out her own Business Suit, which was now rose with gold patterns, and her visor was now rose as well.
Kirby remembered what had happened the last time Susie fought her parallel counterpart: she'd barely won by sheer luck. He had a feeling this time would be even more difficult, and he didn't want to see her get hurt. "We want to help you this time, Susie!" he called out to her, "She's probably tougher than before!"
"All right," Susie answered, "but you'll have to be careful not to get too close to the Business Suit."
"Four against one, huh? I'm used to that," Parallel Susie was not at all fazed. Her Business Suit's arms began to spin as it charged rapidly at Susie's. She tried to move out of the way, but her opponent moved so swiftly it was impossible to avoid the attack. "Ha!" Parallel Susie scoffed, "I'm warning you, Susanna-I'm stronger and faster than I was last time! You don't stand a chance!"
Susie growled, nervously watching her rival's quick movements. I hate to admit it, but she's right, she thought, I have to pick up the pace if I want to beat her. Increasing her mech's speed she charged back into battle.
Meanwhile Kirby, Magolor, and Taranza were planning how exactly to join the fight. They knew they would have to keep their distance from the two Business Suits to avoid being hit by them. That wasn't a problem since Magolor and Taranza had a variety of long-range attacks, but they'd also have to be careful not to accidentally harm Susie or her machine. So they began attacking Parallel Susie's craft while both sides rammed into each other over and over. Magolor fired groups of electric orbs and Taranza tossed magic webs; Kirby joined in by inhaling one of Magolor's orbs to become Spark Kirby and then shooting electric lasers.
Parallel Susie, of course, was not going to ignore this offense. Her Business Suit leapt off the ground and raised one arm, launching missiles that rained down all around. Susie moved back to evade them and Magolor put up a star-shaped magic barrier to protect Kirby, Taranza, and himself.
Once all the missiles were gone, Parallel Susie immediately tried to smash into the three of them from above. They moved aside just in time but were still knocked back by the force. A line of flames emerged when the mech crashed into the ground, but Magolor knew how to dodge it. Grabbing Kirby and Taranza, he created a dimensional rift and hid inside, making all of them invisible from outside. He moved the rift behind Parallel Susie before reappearing, allowing Kirby to zap her with a burst of electricity.
The silver-haired girl speedily turned and fired a pair of missiles which sent Kirby, Magolor, and Taranza flying right into the lake. When they surfaced they found a Blipper bouncing on Magolor's head. "Now I'm starting to feel like a cannonball," Taranza said.
Susie repeatedly shot missiles at her target, who was able to avoid every one of them by hopping from side to side. After a few moments of this, Parallel Susie suddenly charged at her with her Business Suit's arms whirling violently. Susie barely had time to react, but she managed to do the same just before the two Business Suits collided. Kirby, Magolor, and Taranza watched anxiously as the two girls gave it their all, glaring at one another from beneath their visors, their mechs' arms twirling continuously. Then all of a sudden Susie was overpowered by her lookalike, who smashed into her craft with enough force to knock it down, causing her to fall out. "Susie!" her friends cried out.
"We have to do something before she gets hurt!" Kirby panicked. Fortunately Taranza knew exactly what to do. He promptly positioned himself behind Parallel Susie before she could get too close to Susie, using the Queen's Phantom to zap both her and her Business Suit with electric beams. She stopped in her tracks as a result, unable to move, and her machine reached its limit. The powerful blast caused it to spark and its arms to fall off; finally it exploded, sending its controller shooting straight up into the air.
When Parallel Susie landed in the grass a few seconds later, the darkness finally left her and she reverted to her original color scheme...but unlike everyone else who had been freed from Shadread's control, she did not get up. Kirby rushed to the fallen girl's side and tapped on her head, but she did not move. "Oh no…" he said with a twinge of dread, "We...we didn't do too good a job, did we?"
Magolor, Taranza, and Susie came over to get a closer look. Parallel Susie wasn't responding, but she was visibly breathing. "She's fine," Magolor determined, "I think she's just exhausted. Let's get her to the Lor so she can recover." Lifting her up he headed back to his ship with Kirby, Taranza, and Susie following.
Little did any of them know that Mirrobo was not far away, combining numerous small Rods of Darkness into a single gigantic one. Once this was complete it reported back to Shadread with the dark item. "Mission completed. Parallel Susie's diversion allowed me to merge all of the remaining Rods of Darkness."
With an evil plot in his mind, Shadread grasped the large rod and fixed his piercing golden eyes on it. "Excellent! Even if I've lost control over Parallel Susie, even if all my minions have failed, it matters not. The appointed time is near, and the final Rod of Darkness is within my grasp. There is only one thing left to do before I become unstoppable!" He laughed wickedly with his new weapon in hand.