Prologue: The Darkness Matters- Act 3

Author's Note Intro:

Hiiii! I'm back! I was writing chapter 9 for Shard of the Triforce, so that's why I took so long. Also, I already got a lot of views just like that, so thanks for showing your support, I really appreciate it! So that day, I went and bought a flash drive so I can save the documents of my stories since my word doc keeps restarting, and that'll come in handy. Anyway, last time, we heard about the life of a pink puffball- Kirby. When the princess came, he wishes to be like all the other people- a human. You know the old saying, "Be careful what you wish for." So, after a good night's sleep, he mentioned something about a strange glow around him while he was dozing off. So let's see what happens to him and everyone else now.

I do not own Kirby; all properties go to Hal Laboratory and Nintendo-disclaimer. I had fun writing this chapter, so I think I'll take a break from Shards Of The Triforce for a while and make more chapters to even the odds. Anyway, enjoy chapter 3! (Note, there will be true facts and references, so I'll explain at the end. There are surprises, so be wary, and some addition of 4th wall breaking with those references of Dark Matter and Zero. Plus, some of the things that you know aren't true in the Kirby series are made up by me and is not relevant to the storyline, also that the characters won't act in character sometimes, so just know that and don't come complaining to me if you notice this or anything else if I specifically told you all that in the author's note, ok?) My work isn't all that dang perfect, I know that but it's the best I could write for you, and I will improve in the future and make some changes, so I'll take some time to edit some of the content in here to make it more suitable for you all, ok? Now, let's get on with the story and enjoy!

Yeah, ignore the notes above, at least until I change something out of it.

Opening Theme 0.2: (To The Light- Star Ocean EX)

Kirby's POV: The Nightmare That Foreshadowed Today

I had the weirdest dream yet. It was just another normal day in Dreamland, only this time the princess was here with us. It appeared to be weeks that have gone by then. Everyone was having the time of their lives; every friend I have here came to join us, even those who were once our enemies. We did all sorts of fun things together, any activity that pops in your head. It felt like nothing could ever go wrong...

And that's how the nightmare started...

Only when I least expected that something grabbed Kaila with its dark and long hands out of nowhere. She screamed my name as she was being pulled to the sky and from the sky of my viewpoint, I saw a swarm of darkness being gathered at one spot. I'd recognize it as an enemy, but the enemy that appeared the most was in a dark negative energy mass of a ball. No, it can't be! We defeated them a long time ago! That negative mass of energy is-

Dark Matter. No way, how?

Looking cockily from its eyeball, it then struck me and everyone else with dark bolts without hesitation, and it froze all of us at its will. I was feeling petrified in place as dark energy surged through my body; I thought it was going to be a massacre. In that chaos, I saw the leader of Dark Matter descend with the princess in his hands from the giant ball of Dark Matter. But something was different about him, his form looked... different. I slapped myself mentally, taking another closer look at him, and now I know why:

He was- human.

Zero, with two eyeballs but one in the middle of his stomach. His azure red wings were shown on his back, and his halo was over his head, but it was black. But I'm not sure if that even is Zero. He then stared at all of us, smiling wickedly with his bloody teeth gushing while Kaila screamed for our help, and then he pointed his human finger as he was starting to charge up an energy laser from his finger. A weird thing in the sky caught my eye as my eyes showed a clear view of a floating eyeball, a giant one in the sky, but it didn't look right. Unfortunately, Zero spewed out something, a message from himself, and he said:

"You. You are such a pitiful person. Opposer of all sadness, your time will come to an end; feel my wrath and gaze into INFINITE SUFFERING! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Kaila was yelling my name, and out of desperation, I tried to break free, but to no avail was it successful. My ears explode to the sound of screams, for I ended up embracing the sheer impact of his death laser, as Zero pointed his finger, laughing at me as the attack has been fired at its target- me. It was mind breaking as I was forced to stare at that incoming barrel laser coming straight at my face. That was all I can remember before I blacked out of an illusion and into reality, seeing the cosmic eye destroy reality.

And then, it all went bloody to black.

"GAH!" I woke up abruptly, fearful of the nightmare that I had.

I was rather relieved that it was just a dream, because who knows what could've happened if it were to be reality? Taking deep breaths, I seemed to have calmed down now, sweating non-stop all over almost to make others think I actually wet the bed in which I never did. Feverish as I assumed I was, I exhaled loudly, feeling a wave of both hot and cold at the same time. And this wasn't a normal thing for me to do either.

"Just a dream- about Dark Matter. I was Zero was alive in my dream, but he looks so much like a human. And what was that eyeball about, what was it doing there?" I thought. "Well, it's a good thing to know it's fake, but I just have to remember not to let my guard down. I've been getting nightmares all of a sudden the past few weeks of last month about every enemy being reborn. Maybe I should talk to Karly about it. She might help me out with this... probably. Still, why do I get the feeling something might happen soon?"

I wiped the sweat off my forehead, feeling heavily different than before. Pulling off the bedsheets that were hugging me to sleep, I slowly turned to the window in the middle that divides our bedroom, peeking outside of the house. Sometimes, the light actually hurts for once. Must be because I preferred the darkness so I can sleep better.

I was still tired, but it was almost nine at the moment, which said on the alarm clock sitting on my drawer. Coincidentally, we just started a new month, so it means that it was still the month of the princess. Today was Sunday, I think, the last day of this month, so tomorrow will be a new month. Speaking of which, I was hoping to ask Kailaine about yesterday before when we were at the Dining Room. Hopefully, she won't radiate that same taste of despair as opposed to before this time. I may be a bit brainless, but even I can desire to understand one's feelings, no matter what I have to do for that. I won't mention that nightmare I had to her, but there's a lot I want to ask her about, especially her other reason for coming here. I want to understand how she feels about it. You think I didn't notice that?

...

Man, I don't know what to do, it's a cruel world out there, you know. I looked outside, and it was a peaceful ordinary day, mostly unpredictable. So, reluctantly, I jumped out of bed, feeling so weird and freakish. I shrugged it off and went to the bathroom. Although it seems Karly is already in the bathroom before me, but I hear something from her in there. She said, "Why do I look so different? Eh, whatever, I look so cute! Kirby will freak out when he sees this and himself!" My brain trembles at this.

I was still tired, and I really didn't care what she's saying, so I went back to bed, sleepy-eyed. Somehow, I feel… naked, so weird, so humanoid. I went back to sleep for at least some good twenty minutes or so when I heard someone enter and was sewing something, like clothes. I ignored the annoying pain of disturbance and tried to block the sound. But after a few seconds, it stopped and then that person went outside the room, singing. I moaned for a while. I assumed it was Karly.

Perhaps about three minutes later, that same person entered the room. I was still sleeping and you're probably wondering how I know all of this is happening in my sleep. Well, I was dreaming about someone walking around and doing all of that, so that's why. It's like I wasn't even sleeping that time. Then, I hear a distorted voice poking at me annoyingly. I shrug it off and just turned aside. It poked at me again. And again. Again... and again. God, it's so annoying!

"Kirby… wake up…" I'd recognized that tone. "Wake up, bro. I don't wanna have to use force on you." Yeah, it was Karly.

"Not… now, Karly. I'm trying to sleep," It was Karly's voice, but something feels different about her. I can feel it. Literally. I could feel something small and flat lumping on me, and it made me cringe.

"Give me… about five more minutes, ok?" I said, tiredly and yawned before turning to the other side. "We still have time before the events planned by Dedede. Can't you let me sleep already? Unless something urgent comes about, you handle it this time."

"Now's not the time to be going off into your dreamland!" I don't know why she said that, but my answer is still no.

"No thanks, Karly. Now let me sleep, for the love of Nova!" I said, annoyed. "Be a good sister and leave me alone, Jesus!"

"Sweet Nova, Kirby! Why can you-! Alright, you asked for it!" She growled like a lion. The sound of stomping echoed as she left the room. Finally, some peace. Now I can-

"SPLOOSH!"

"WHAT THE-?!" That when I felt the splash of cold water slap my skin so cold, wetting me in the process and causing me to jump up with a sudden jolt. Apparently, my dream world vanished and now I was fully awake for some reason with my skin being covered in ice cold water. Pissed off, I was radiating anger in my brain, and boy, was I ready to snap back at her! I'm fully awake now, obliterating my lust for sleep.

I flipped the other way, only to see… a girl. It would be pretty obvious if it wasn't for the fact that it was a human girl! Many of you would assume that it's Adeline, but that wasn't the case here. The girl in front of me had cherry blossom pink hair that was short and smooth as well as the style seemingly coming from an anime. Her eyes were red, just like Karly's, and she held a bucket that was emptied but filled with the icy water used to nearly give me a cold and a brainfreeze! But only Karly does that to me!

I jumped back in reaction, blushing from seeing her nude right there. I mean, it's one thing to be adorable, but it doesn't mean I can be a pervert, jeez! And besides, remember when I said she'd kick my pink hide for doing perverted things? That's my reason for saying that! It took me a second to realize that was Karly! That explains the ice water thing because she dumped all of that on me!

"Hey, Kirby!" She laughed. "Finally, you're awake! You should've seen the look on your face the second you were drenched!"

"OH MY FREAKING NOVA! WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO YOU, KARLY?! JUST WHY ARE YOU NAKED HERE IN FRONT OF ME?!" I yelled, pointing. "PUT SOME CLOTHES ON, NOVA! AND WHY THE HECK DID YOU DRENCHED ME IN ICE WATER?! THAT THING HAS SHARP ICE IN IT! ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPALE ME, YA LUNATIC?!"

Karly chuckled for a bit with a smug smile on her face. I look at her with my pissed off expression, and frankly, it wasn't going anywhere to help me. But what I was most concerned about is what I said about Karly earlier last chapter. I readied myself, for the impact that was about to sock me.

"Don't hurt me, Karly," I flinched. "I only looked because you wanted me to see you, literally! But I never saw this coming at all!" For some reason, I didn't feel any heavy blow coming straight at me. I really don't know. Karly shakes her head no.

"I knew you'd be surprised and awake. And for the record, we hardly wear any clothes because we're puffballs, so it makes sense that we'd appear without any. We only wear hats, bro. Also, I'm wearing a bathrobe," Karly responded. "No need to feel embarrassed." Turns out there was a bathrobe on her, but I must've missed a couple of details there. She also has pink hair that reached the start of her back, two blush marks, and eyes that are red this time with white irises. Oh wait, I already mentioned that before, so I think you already get it.

She looks like a fourteen-year-old girl, maybe like Adeline yet I never dare to ask her age or make any reckless assumptions. The one thing I can't stand is that she's standing there with nothing. Except for a red bathrobe. I've got no idea at this point; what is even going on anymore? You're already thinking that at this point, aren't you?

I took another look to confirm that it wasn't a hallucination. "True, but how did you even… I mean, look at yourself! You're a human, and you already have… never mind that, you probably know what I'm saying, but it's the fact that you're a literal human is my point! Are we in some alternative universe or what?"

"Look at me? You should look at yourself now!" Karly pointed at me. She reached for the mirror on her dresser and showed me. "See for yourself. You're human too, not just me! And you're NAKED as well, kinda with that bed sheet covering you!"

Looking into the mirror, it was the moment when I saw myself. Ignoring the naked part, it was obvious I had hands and legs, actually, but my face changed completely. I had hair which was pink because I am pink, and it was spiky. I had sideburns on the side, my hair was long enough to cover the neck that I never had, the blush marks on my face were still there from my old form, my nose didn't show but I knew it was there, I had teeth now (Not saying I never did have any, I do, it just doesn't show. Hmm, I wonder if my stomach's still infinite or if I can still inhale), I had ears which were shown because I never had any, and my eyes were how they used to be, blue and void like ocean of stars with my white irises and pupils but a bit wider. I touched my skin with my hands and my face then looked at the rest of my body, realizing that I'm naked as Karly claimed. I was now everything that makes up a human.

And then I screamed.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?! I'VE TURNED INTO A HUMAN TOO?! WHAT KIND OF DREAMLAND REALITY ARE WE IN?! THIS IS THE WORST TRANSFORMATION CONCEPT EVER!" I screamed, blushing.

I look like a kid on the outside, but I'm 200 years early on the inside. To be honest, I prefer to think I am somehow at least a teenager since I was a baby when I arrived here. Maybe sixteen would be good. Now's not the time for this!

"How is this even possible?!" I asked in shock. "Just how?! This is so cliché! I'm pretty sure us being humans would be the last thing anybody would want right now! Seriously, it's only been a single day and suddenly we're humans?! I want my old body back!"

"It was your wish, Kirby. Remember?" Karly replied. "Or whatever ritual you were doing that time... I heard you silently mumble to yourself last night."

Suddenly, those words put me in a flashback of last night. I remember saying that I wanted to see things from a whole different perspective so I could understand humans better. Then, I felt some strange glow around me while I was sleeping. Was my wished already granted, or is it an illusion of a fake reality? I slapped myself again, and guess what? It's real.

"Y-yeah, I remember that, Karly. I never expected it to come true that fast," I stammered, gazing into my pair of human hands that were once pink stubs.

"It came true, but I don't think you meant other people for your wish for some reason. Anyway, I woke up like this naked and went to the bathroom for a better look. So weird, but I look cute at least," Karly giggled.

"Oh, that explains why you were in there for a while; well, you're accepting this rather too easily," I sighed. "Honestly, I was expecting something to happen the moment she arrived and then this takes place. I don't think I could ever get used to this, that is, if we were stuck in these forms for some time. You don't seem like you even care, like it's not your problem, Karly!"

"Don't worry," Karly continued. "It can't be that bad. I mean, we can just always go to the others about this. Surely we're the only ones affected by this and we have to be at the castle anyway. That means we better get going and get everyone else." She seem pretty radiant about our new born situation without losing it and it looked like she was about to do just as she said.

Unfortunately, I had to stop her. "Not so fast, sis. You're going out while you're exposed to the general public? No can do- We can't go out in Cappy Town in this state naked. And that's the problem- because we never had any clothes but the hats for the abilities we copy, that makes things even worse going out like this! Apparently, being naked in public is a serious violation of the law and doing that will get the nude one in jail, and I'm not getting jailed because you exposed yourself to the public! Where can we find clothes when the only way to find some is to go outside?" I thought aloud.

I sweatdropped as well. Karly pats me on the head, rendering me to blush, and she whipped out a nice folded stack of pink clothes out of nowhere. To my surprise, I stammered, "W-w-what? H-how-? Where did you get these?"

"These clothes were handed to me last night by yours truly, Princess Kailaine! Although I'm not sure why she would give us these, but I suppose she didn't really need them. Still, she gave us something at least for the both of us!" She said. "I'm way ahead of you, Pinky!"

"Wow, that was really nice of her to do that for us. But what was with all that sewing noise?" I asked out of curiosity. "I mean, it was that heck of an annoying noise then."

"I decided to make a few changes in them and mostly mine, so… yeah," Karly whistled. "But anyway, I think it's best not to question these things, especially when it's something good in life, don't you think, Onii-chan?"

"Uh-huh," I sweatdropped. "And since when did you start calling me that, Karly? Have you been watching harem animes, Karly?" She shook her head. Liar. "Besides that, we should definitely try to repay her somehow during the month. Hopefully, it'll be great- whoa!" I nearly slipped over the bedsheets and landed on my butt, something that I never had before- canon-wise.

Karly grabbed my hand and pulled me up. I could barely keep balance of my human legs as if I had no experience of being one as I was something else. "Man, how does everyone that has them in Smash use these legs? They're like bendy straws," I asked. "The arms I'm fine with anyway. It feels weird to actually have hands or fingers."

"So now that our clothes problem has been solved, here's a bathrobe to cover yourself up now that you're human," She handed me a pink bathrobe from her bed. I took the bathrobe, standing up and tried to cover the whole area of my new body, but I did it wrong. So Karly had to do it for me, which was embarrassing. Then she told me to take a bath and hurry up.

"Thanks a lot, sis," I sighed without regards, but still blushing. I'd like to flush all that down the drain.

"Now, hurry up and take a bath," Karly ordered me. "Now as humans, we've gotta deal with something called "hygiene," and I know that you went a month without taking a single shower!"

"But I like baths," I defended myself. Karly waved her hand as to say that it's over. I had to give up.

I went to the bathroom, where it had all the usual bathroom facilities, and our version was our wall was pink and red, our sink is a white, clear marble that looked like a cabinet kind which was long by 2 cabinet sinks; it was two sinks, one for me and only for Karly. It had soap, toothbrushes (Don't ask why), a perfect square inch mirror and makeup container. The handle for the water was silver and the sink always how it is, round in depth and length. The floor has white mini square tiles and the bottom front of the sink was a pink rug to mop and absorb the water spilled and there's one for the toilet, which is white as always. You may wonder why we even need a toilet, but it's true and it's something that will be discussed later, or not at all.

Last but not least, there's the shower tub. It is white, but ours is like a master bathroom with 2 bathtubs, a shower-like sauna and a circular bathtubs that you see in master bed and bathrooms, if you know what I'm talking about or if you have one at your house and it was like a sauna that fills the water up and you can watch TV while taking a shower. Sounds too fancy, but that's another long story short; I kinda borrowed some materials from the other Smashers to make this along with the dome house's expansion pack. With Mario and Luigi's help, we managed to get this done. That's why it's so big on the inside.

But anyway, I went to the shower sauna as my choice, opened the sliding door, and went inside and sat down. Then I twisted the nozzle to the right for the water to run. I got a blast of warm water pouring on my skin and went on with it. It feels weird being human at first, but it's not so bad once you get used to it. Okay, somehow I am accepting this too fast like Karly is.

I understand if you would ask why we have that in the first place, but eventually, I was gonna use it at some point for when other Smashers comes here someday for reasons. Either way, it sure came in handy. For now, I had to get myself acquainted and dressed up for the unknown.

9:45 A.M. Put your clothes on and head to Cappy Town. Something weird is going on here, and you need to find out what it is!

After 10-20 minutes later, I got out of the shower and went to our bedroom after drying myself off. Karly was getting dressed on the side covers on her side of the room, and I went to mine. I didn't know what I'd be wearing or where it is, so I went to ask Karly.

"Hey Karly, what am I supposed to wear?" I asked. "You didn't plan on leaving me out exposed, did you?"

"It's on your bed!" She replied. "If I wasn't there for you, you'd been lost in this cruel world, and besides the time I saved you, you were brainless!"

"Geez, you didn't have to be that blunt about it," I groaned. "I thought we made that clear."

Sweatdropping, I looked at my bed, seeing a fresh and clean pair of clothes lying there folded. I grabbed them to take a closer look before I did anything.

"This might take a while, I guess," I thought to myself. "After all, this is my first time putting on human clothes, well, none other than Dedede in that regard. Oh well, might as well try them on and see what happens."

...

A couple of minutes later, I finished putting on clothes, which felt weird at first. Stepping out of the curtains, I looked at the long-scaled mirror, seeing myself in a pink hoodie with middle short sleeves and a large star zipper, a black t-shirt with a gold star in the middle aligned with the zipper, red and white short pants that reached and covered my knees, and red cherry sneakers with laces that made a perfect bow, plus short red apple finger gloves. I don't know why, but it's just like they always say: If you have something good in life, you don't dare to even question it, not even one bit. Of course, that will raise some questions in the situation you're in. Also, I had red-and-gold goggles with stars on the cover and over my head, but I lowered them around my neck. It seemed like a weird choice of design style yet I didn't mind it anyway; I suppose it does feel nice to wear more than just hats. I feel… covered, I guess.

When I looked in the mirror, I also saw my original form, the puffball version. My other self must be thinking, "You look good, bro. Not bad, man." I don't know how long I'm going to be stuck in this form, but I'd better be off not questioning that until the situation calls for. Confirmed it was no AU we're in yet I had the feeling there was more to this than just a simple royal vacation.

As I was staring at myself, I heard boots stomping from Karly's dressing blind. At first, I thought she was too overweight to fit into whatever she's wearing, y'know, as a joke.

"Hey Karly, did you hear that stomping noise?" I asked. "Is it the impact of Dedede's weight again? Ugh, it makes me shudder."

"No, it's me, Kirby," She then stepped out of the blind, showing her clothes off to me as if she was... flashing.

My mouth literally dropped to the ground as I saw Karly. She had a somewhat of what could be a swimsuit but it's not; there are some characters if you by some chance know of that wore that kind of outfit, so it's not a surprise if you know what I'm talking about. Her side of her legs didn't have that much length, but it covered the beginning of her thighs and her butt, luckily. Almost. Her shoulders have no sleeves and her arm was wrapped in long-length pink finger gloves. Her legs were covered with red long, high heeled boots that had an opening for the top of her foot, and she had a star-shaped collar residing on her neck. She also had her favorite bow on her head. She kinda looks cute.

"So, what do you think, Kirby?" She giggled. I tried to control myself from blushing.

"Do you have to wear such a skimpy outfit?" I frowned slightly. Unfortunately, I didn't feel that comfortable with that, because the next thing you know, it won't be long before someone will cringe at the design of her choice.

"What? I think it's cute!" She kinda looked sad and down. "I like it and it's so comfortable, so why are you against it? What's wrong with this outfit?"

"EVERYTHING!" I madly shouted. "The only people you'd attract with that are perverts! I may not have been human before, but at least I have better dress-up senses than you! Someone's eventually gonna complain about this, Karly!"

"So? That's your opinion, Kirby," she innocently giggles. "And besides, we still have yet to hear the other's opinions on this situation."

"Alright sis, if you say so," I sighed. "Besides, we don't know what's going on here anyway, so let's move."

"All right, then," She smiles. "We're off!"

"But seriously though, at least find something to cover up your thighs, you're showing too much skin!" I ordered. "Or, even better yet, change into something that isn't too revealing! Who knows how mad will you go when something or more accurately someone tries to grab the secret treasures you now have as a female human?! Do I make myself clear?"

"Not my problem, Kirby. You're just embarrassed. Let's go," Karly gently grabs my hand and takes me outside our room. She innocently smiles on the way as well. "You have until we reach Cappy Town to get used to your human body. Who knows if we're not the only ones like this?"

"Good point. Why not?"

Giving up, I just had to roll with it and we head outside, not before grabbing a breakfast snack as I like it call it. Closing the door behind us, Karly walks a little faster than usual and still holding my hand, she takes me to walk outside and head to Cappy Town. Today, with the spark of a usual spring breeze, everything was how it was for a whole year, peaceful and calm, and with the usual amount of Sunny D. (No pun intended). It was neither hot nor cold, but warm and succulently happy. But this month, it was special.

Why does that sound completely ironic?

Talking to Characters in your Party

Karly joins your party! Speak to her through skits by pressing the (-) Button for some advice or on where to go! The road to Cappy Town is just little ways from where you are, so take the time to get to know the terrain on this field a bit!

Cappy Town (Hyrule Town- The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap)

"So, what do you think everyone's going to say when they see us, Karly?" I asked.

Karly took a moment to think about it, then shrugged without much care in the world. "Well, they should be able to recognize us, since we're pink, am I right?"

"Obviously that would be the first thing that would come to mind," I replied. "Maybe a little bit more on that?"

As we did, we strolled down the yellow pathway and entered inside Cappy Town. To our surprise, you're not gonna believe this, but everyone was human as well! They look all so different, and they're talking to each other about what happened to them. Most of them were pretty recognizable, like a chef wearing orange and a cook's hat would obviously be Kawasaki, and the guy wearing a police uniform would be Chief Bookum, for example. It was an entire town full of morphic cappies into humans!

"This... this can't be real, right?" I stuttered. "It was strange enough for us to be this way, but everyone else? Like heck it's a coincidence; something fishy's going on around here."

"Shouldn't be that way. But everyone seems to enjoy it," Karly shrugged. "The only person who wouldn't be like this is Adeline, who's basically the only human ever to walk on this planet. Possibly, you could say a fairy from Ripple Star's a human, but if you take a closer glimpse on how they look like, they're basically like us. Well, almost-legless." I didn't see the point of that honestly, but I think it is pretty understandable.

Besides, it reminds me of a lot of people that are like us, like the crew of Smash; almost everyone is human or demi-human at least. Some aren't even considered to be human if they have extraordinary powers. We've had definitely the strangest roster of fighters, some which made me think what the hell was Master Hand thinking. Crazy Hand was against some of the newcomers and got into a fight with MH, but he lost. Like, pretty freaking horribly.

I would tell you, but he made us swear by gunpoint not to tell anyone, so I can't tell you.

Season Ultimate is coming soon, and it's inevitable, but I just hope that at least we have some reasonable fighters joining next season. Next thing you know, a Piranha Plant will join Smash and wreck everyone or he may show his biasness by adding another Fire Emblem character. I'm hoping for at least Bandana Dee to get in; maybe the extra fighters could be from worlds I haven't heard of yet.

Anyway, I decided to lighten the mood with a simple jab.

"Man, at least we have clothes on," I teasingly joked. Karly gave me another blow to the head. "Ow! What the heck!"

"Shut up Kirby," She grumped angrily. "Don't you dare be saying stuff like that! People are going to think the wrong way!"

"Take a joke, will ya? Come on, Karly. Let's try to investigate this predicament while we're here," I sighed. "Something is definitely weird here- if we assume everyone else on this planet is affected and not just Dreamland, no doubt there's something behind this as if someone spread a curse to us while we slept, and from what I know about humans so far is that they share fleshy weaknesses that we don't usually have, so we'll have to be careful. No telling what's the cause of this."

Karly nods in agreement. "Besides, a wish from a shooting star isn't really going to automatically grant it, you know. That's some dumb superstition there. Well, the castle can wait. Why don't we talk to everyone else while we're at it?"

"Okay, let's do that," I smiled.

While we were in town, we went to speak to every cappy turned into humans as well. A swarm of panic and confusion eventually settled down as we spoke to them and helped them adjust to it temporarily. Nothing like being turned into a ball, yarn or split into mini versions of yourself that are only 1/10 each of your real power, split into four variants of myself, or turned into a trophy after defeat every time in Smash. But it all worked out, right? Anyway, everyone has calmed down afterward after we managed to settle the tension between them, helping them with various problems and little side-quests as well. We sat ourselves near the tree in the center of the town once we were done.

"Looks like everyone has settled down now. That's a relief," I exhaled. "Yet, we haven't discovered anything new that might help us. That's about everyone in the town."

"No good," sighed Karly. "Who else might have an idea on how this happened?"

Suddenly, we heard a massive outcry that sounded and was sourced from the castle, drawing our minds in alert.

"What was that?" My ears perked up. "Is it another Demon Beast that survived somehow? I'm pretty sure they should be gone a long time ago."

Karly cupped one of her hands against her ear and listened again as the sound got louder. "It sounds like... DEDEDE?!"

"I think something happened there. Karly, let's go!" I instructed. She nods as we take off for the castle in hopes of figuring out what the problem was.

The castle drawbridge was already open for us and we dashed ahead as fast as we could in our human bodies. I don't know what it is, but I knew we had to be ready for this.

Castle Dedede-? A.M. Something happened at Castle Dedede! Go check it out and hopefully get to the bottom of this... mystery! Move the Right Analog Stick to rotate camera view.

Rotate Camera View- Right Stick

Castle Dedede

Running, we ran to his throne room and shocked to see the new and improved Dedede. We screamed when we saw him. He has the outfit of his old self but more regal and fit for a king, but he was rather skinny instead and had blue hair, with his crown sitting atop his head. He didn't look like his fat self, he looked like an anime character! And his hammer was its usual size, but he didn't have a problem waving his hammer around like a sack of dead weights. He must've had his old strength locked inside him or something like that; heck if I know! I'm just as confused as you are! Just when his buff self wasn't weird enough and now this? This has to be a dream!

Escargoon had- wait, I said I'm not gonna describe him- oh, screw it. He had a business man's clothes, which was green and gray. His mustache was on his lips and his hair is green and spiky. What the freak's going on here?! He's an anime character as well!

Then, Meta Knight appeared, walking like he usually does. He had his silver mask, but only his mouth is showing and his eyes are golden yellow. He had an outfit that looks similar to Marth's but has a brown sapphire belt, a collar, an engraved Galaxia symbol on the middle of his shirt armor, he had blue hair, a dark blue cape, light purple metal boots, and metal gloves plus his shoulder armor. His sword is the same, but I think it grew a few inches to fit Meta Knight, I guess, but altogether he's an anime character!

To sum it up, everyone was in complete chaos as if they had lost their sanity.

"What happened to my fabulous form? I look like an anime character!" Dedede complained while groping his body to find the rest of him. "Where's the rest of me?! I want the rest of me! I want the rest of me and I want it NOW!"

"Yeah, we all look like humans- no wait- we are humans!" Escargoon yelled. "I liked my old form better!"

"I have no idea, but this new form is not my type, but I like it. Makes me look good," Meta Knight chuckled without looking like he's bothered by it.

"Wait, really?" asked Dedede. "For a second, I thought-"

"I was being sarcastic!" Meta Knight shouted, pointing Galaxia at Dedede. "This is bullshit! Some prank gone too far, Dedede!"

"Chill, Meta! We don't have to be medieval here! Look on the bright side, at least we can't expect more people like Kirby and Karly to show up the way we are right now; I mean, it's not like people like them would become humans at all," Dedede remarked. "After all, it- hey, wait a minute! Are you saying this is my fault?! Like hell it is! I oughta knock ya into next week for that! Just tell me things couldn't get any worse!"

"Hey guys!" Karly yelled.

They turned around to see both of us standing there, and their reaction was the same for the situation: their mouths dropped to the ground literally and screamed. Except for Meta Knight, who sweatdropped instead.

"It's even worse! Not you guys too! You also look like anime characters, and this is not what I thought you'd look like. Not Kirby, but you Karly! You're showing too much skin!" Dedede groaned. "And tomorrow's the monthly challenge of that time of the year that I can't afford to lose in battle!"

"Aw, come on. Kirby was the first one to say that!" Karly moaned. "Are you all trying to insult me or something?! I'm starting to think that is your fault, tubby! You better do something about ourselves now!"

"Hey! Don't pin this on me, Karly!" Dedede growled. "I'm just as shocked and confused as hell as you all are! Listen, this is not the time to be going against each other. Nothing good ever comes out of it! Even if you think I did it, there's no way of proving that in this part of the crisis! If we're going to get to the bottom of this, we need to calm down and think this through, not blindly accuse someone for the sake of it!"

"T-true, but still!" Escargoon replied. "How are we going to find out the cause when we're not even born human? You don't expect that someone happens to know what in god's name is going on?"

"What about Princess Kaila? Maybe she knows what's going on," I answered, sharply reminding them. "Remember? She's a human besides Adeline, who I haven't seen in a while, actually. She went travelling around Popstar for a bit to expand her artistic capabilities for I don't know how long, but she should be back by today or something from her letter. Pff, artists."

"Hey, she might kill you if she heard that," Meta Knight said.

"Point is, why don't we ask her about it? I'm sure she's the only one that may have the answer to all of this; we might as well take that chance if we know what's good for us."

The group gave me blank stares, processing the idea that I gave them. "Are you sure about that, marshmallow?"

"Oh, come on! Do you have a better idea then?"

"You make a compelling argument there- no, that's a great idea!" Dedede grinned, and everyone agreed with me. "Nice call, Kirby! Why didn't I think of that before?! I just hope you're right that she might know about this and may be able to reverse it if possible because we don't have any other choice, do we?"

"Apparently not," I shrugged. "Kailaine might be in the guest room still with Blazel, so I'll-" Dedede stopped me there.

"Hey, I already thought of that just in case as a last resort, and I know just the guy for the job," He whistled. "Bandana Waddle Dee! Get your mouthless ass over here!"

"You called, Your Fatness?" A familiar voice echoed.

"In the living flesh, lackey!"

Then, we saw Bandana Dee run over to us. He had scarlet wearing with his shirt a hoodie armor and the strings. His pants are long red with side pockets and his shoes are light yellow. His sleeves are doubled sleeved blue. He has a mouth at least and his eyes are black and blue with white irises. His hair is red, but his blue bandana covers half of his spiky hair. His spear is still the same, and still an anime character!

Well, after this incident is over, I think I'm gonna lay off anime for a while. Yeah, maybe I'll do just that, because everything's starting to get bizarre at this point.

He ran up to Dedede, shocked at our new appearances at first sight. I guess he didn't bother to even ask why or question himself either.

"And her I thought things couldn't get any worse. Or rather horrifying... no, bizarre. Yeah, that's it," He sweatdropped. Dedede walks over to him and pats him on the head.

"Bandana Dee, go get Princess Kaila and bring her here! She probably knows what's going on," Dedede ordered. "She's the only one who can sort out this anime mess we're in! Get the commander as well while you're at it and hop to it! And don't dilly-dally, because I've still got plans to make with that second attempt to score, if ya know what I mean, okay?"

"Yes, Dedede. Also, that last line's not happening. Wow, you all are like anime characters, and I finally have a mouth! Oh yeah! I think it's not a bad thing after all," He cheered, and then he ran off to the royal guest room. Must be happy to have a mouth and it's a good thing because I've seen him eat cookies by absorbing them, or before I saw that, that was what Dedede claimed. Creepy, right? We all sweatdropped.

"What's he happy about?" I asked. "I'd never seen him having something to cheer about, mainly minor things."

"Beats me, but I think it's better we don't see him suck cookies without a mouth," Karly replied. "Case and point. Well, we might as well get comfortable, because I think we all know where this is going."

"Of course it would. At least something like this doesn't happen on Tuesdays, am I right?" Dedede claimed. "Thank God it's Sunday!"

"But sire, you always hate Sundays."

"Not the point, Escargoon!"

"...this isn't gonna end well, will it?"

"Who knows?" I sighed.

Ugh, my brain trembles...

Later...

A few minutes later, Bandana Dee came back with Princess Kaila and Commander Blazel following him behind. The second she entered the throne room, she gasped when she saw all of us. Kaila sweatdropped at Dedede saying and groping himself, "Where's the rest of me?", at Meta Knight who keeps saying, "This is bullshit!", and Escargoon, who was cursing at anime. She was shocked to see me and Karly the most as human. Karly did the peace sign, which was two fingers up, and I just stood there with my pockets stuffed with my hands, looking at her with a face saying, "Really? Shut up!" She looked at Kaila and said, "Hi, Princess. It's us, Kirby and Karly, now as humans! And thanks for the clothes you gave me last night, it was pretty useful!" I find her saying too corny, and it kinda made me cringe.

"Your Highness, this was the problem Dedede mentioned earlier. Obviously, you can see for yourself which saves us the trouble of explaining," Bandana Dee sighed. "In fact, everyone in Dreamland is now entirely human, as reports officially confirmed that issue. Maybe it's more accurate to say the entire planet if possible."

"Please tell me this isn't happening right now," groaned Blazel, flabbergasted by the scene.

"Oh my god, you all are just like us! You're humans?! Impossible!" Kaila reacted, her eyes hinted a sight of realization. "I can't believe this... wait a minute, could it be... no, it couldn't be because of that, right?" Dedede walked right up to her to demand some answers out of her.

"How is this happening, and who's responsible for it or should I say, who's gonna PAY for it?" Dedede demanded. He had put on his angry face and he looked like he was ready to devour someone or murder in that sense. "Where's my fabulous old form, why does Meta Knight keeps saying "this is bullshit!", why is my lackey cursing on anime, and why does Karly's saying sound too corny and why does Kirby look like he had just committed a sin, and why does Bandana Dee have a freaking mouth and cheering about it?!"

"Your Majesty, calm down!" Blazel attempted to calm down Dedede. "Surely there has to be some sort of misunderstanding; how should we help you, King Dedede?"

"I WANT THE REST OF ME, I WANT SOME ANSWERS AND I WANT IT NOW, AND IF KIRBY'S INVOLVED, I'M GONNA ORDER A MONSTER TO CLOBBER DAT THERE KIRBY!" Kaila sweatdropped and so the did the commander.

"That's what they do best at NME," Karly filled in the blank, although she simply shook her head to that.

Escargoon added in his nonsense by saying, "WE BETTER GET IT WITH A MONEY BACK GUARANTEE!"

"Are you freaking kidding me?" I thought, sweatdropping. "God, we're doomed."

At that moment, I then realized that part of this scene reminded me of why I even wanted this. Since it came without any warning, it's reasonable to think that Kailaine and Blazel might know the answer to that. Plus, maybe we'll learn more about the backstory of Crystal Star. Then again, I did also realized that I somehow indirectly wished for that; not like this did I ever expect things to go south like it is now. So I acted casually and waited to see what Kaila will say. But Dedede looked at me straight in the eye, and immediately, he pulled out his hammer within a moment's sight, ready to pound someone like a roach being stomped. And that's me.

"Ah, crap," I exhaled.

"Well, I never told you-" Kaila was about to say... until she got interrupted by Dedede, trying to hammer me down to the floor with his hammer. Everyone sweatdropped.

"I knew you had something to do with this, Kirby! Now die! Nothing's ever good with you around trying to ruin me and my social status all the time! I can't afford to be cancelled on social media, Kirby!"

"AAAUUUGGHHHHH!" I yelled as I dashed around the Throne Room to avoid being a squished omelet. "I didn't do anything wrong, you psycho! All those potato chips you ate must've gotten you high or something; they must've rotten your brain! Weren't you the one who said we shouldn't jump to conclusions and kill someone?! This was just like the day you tried to kill me when I first came here!"

"Shouldn't you help your dear brother, Karly?" Meta Knight asked.

Karly, who was supposed to be stopping Dedede from pounding me into a grave, just stood there!

Nonchalantly, smugly, and worse, menacingly, I add to that!

"Eh, they're having one of their "moments" together, Meta. Let's not interrupt that."

"You sound like you're having fun, Karly."

"Ohoho, more than you could ever imagine," laughed Karly.

Meta sweatdropped. "You're horrible."

"I know," Karly chuckles, sounding much like a Curtiss.

I felt the blow of his hammer about to squash me like a cookie, that is, until a magic bolt zoomed to us and struck Dedede in place, frozen until I ran over to Kaila and when it wore off, he fell over a few feet away; I limply stagger my way over to Kaila and sadly, tripped.

"Agh, why does this always happens to me?" I sighed, almost leaking wimpy tears.

I almost couldn't catch my breath there, for I was about to be a squashed cookie by Dedede. I then realized that the blast voice echoed from the very person I'm near. She lifts me up from the ground and hugs me close to her semi-flat chest, stroking my hair for a while, then lets me go.

"DEDEDE! STOP THIS MADNESS AT ONCE!" Kaila yelled, her voice boomed over the room, making the room silent, and made everyone shut up.

I notice her hand was enveloped in prism aura, then it faded away after a while. She did say at dinner she learned crystal magic, so I guess I owe her one from Dedede. Her outburst was so intimidating that I was paralyzed with a scent of fear.

"Eh? W-what...? Just what are you getting at?" Dedede coughed, recovering from her burst spell.

"Kirby's right. He didn't do anything wrong, so it's no one's fault... but mine," That line was what really set us aback. We all looked at each other in confusion.

"What?" I asked. "Run that by me again?"

"None of you deserves this, so I'm clearly at fault here," She stated once again. What does she mean it's her fault? She hasn't done anything wrong ever since she got here, so how?

"Kailaine..." Blazel muttered, unsure of what to say.

"Sorry, either I must be tripping or it's exactly what I heard you say," Dedede said in disbelief, hoping that he misheard her. Probably all of us wanted to mishear it too.

"Your fault?" Bandana Dee asked, confused. "How is every one of us becoming humans is entirely your fault if you haven't done anything but arrive here? That doesn't make any sense at all! There's no explanation as to how that's even possible! I wouldn't try to accept that fact unless it proves so otherwise."

I came to a sudden thought due to yesterday's events, then I gazed at her. "Princess, did you knew something that we weren't aware of?" I sternly asked. "Whatever it is, did you mean to have it kept secret from us?"

Karly was about to stop me. "Kirby, why are you egging her like she's a traitor or a villain? She doesn't have to-"

"No," Kailaine stopped her. "Kirby's right. I should've told you before when I had the chance, but I didn't want to alarm everyone or make any enemies on the spot. Still, you want the truth about this, then I will tell you. What has turned you into humans is exactly as you may thought it was, and I am the vessel of this anomaly- a dreaded curse."

"What the-? What do you mean?" We all asked in unison.

None of us couldn't believe what we're hearing: a princess responsible for a human curse on us? That's something I find hard to believe in. I know curses do have this effect like always, but for the moment when she said that a curse inside her spread all over to us, I began to think that was impossible, but I digress from that, considering what we've went through.

Then again, I don't think you've probably heard of an implanted curse that can infect the entire planet in one fell swoop, probably. Everyone, however, looked at each other with lots of worried looks and doubtful thinking, trying to comprehend the meaning of her words. It wasn't long before one of us broke the silence.

"..." Nothing from Escargoon.

"..." Nothing from Bandana Dee.

"..." Nothing from Meta Knight.

"..." Nothing from Dedede.

"..." Nothing from Karly.

"..." Nothing from me.

Well, even though the gap between time was very short, it did feel like it was for a while that no one ever dared to say a word. It... it didn't feel like it was the right time, though. After an awkward vibe and moment of silence, it was Karly who finally decided to break the ice.

"You're kidding us, right?" Karly hesitantly questioned slowly. "Just what do you mean by a curse? Implanted in you? Please, just tell us what's going on. We won't be able to do anything about it if you don't." Karly's expression looks as if she was trying to listen to the problems of a close friend.

"Ah, I see," Kaila sadly sighs. "So, I was hoping to avoid telling this, but you've all left a great impression on me, so there's no way I can deny this. Listen up closely. You see, when Dark Matter invaded Crystal Star, he cursed the citizens with his power and turned everybody but me and a few others into humans, and his power was feeding off directly from the souls of those people. Luckily, I, with the help of my friends and spirits managed to stop him with the power of the Star-Ring before he could devour anymore. And pretty much, you've all had your share of encounters with Zero. Unfortunately for me and everyone else, I had let my guard down and before he was expelled, he unleashed one final attack on me and my seven friends, and that completely mutated us. And when I came to, I had completely changed, exposed and naked. I've transformed into... a human. My other friends were half-human beasts of any creature."

"No way," I hesitated to speak. "It can't be true, isn't it?"

"It's complicated, but it's all true. That incident happened eight years ago and that is the truth. Everyone in the Cosmic Galaxy knew it because they were victims of Zero's soul snatching. We've lost many close friends in that battle, some that were... precious to me... and it was also the last time I'd ever see my parent's faces again physically...; with this new body, I had learned that it had some almost permanent side effects, and you've just experienced one of them. Whereas around non-humans, the curse will go into effect at night. For the remainder of these years up until now, this body has certain effects that even devastate me. In other words, you'll have your share of fleshy weaknesses a human would regularly have for the rest of their lives."

No one said a single word. Not even one. Well, at least Bandana Dee said something. I know he's shocked, but I'm guessing he was making sure he was hearing this correctly.

"Wait," Bandana Dee tried to regather what he has heard. "So if I'm hearing this correctly, when Dark Matter invaded Crystal Star for the second time, involving certain deaths and casualties and all other misfortunes, Dark Matter had turned everyone into humans but you and a few other people, and basically his power was fed off those poor souls. Then, once you, with said Star Ring and the other spirits helping you taking down Zero and drove him off for good, but unleashed a last-minute surprise attack that turned you human permanently and all your other friends into half-human beasts? Am I following you right?"

Kailaine nods. The look on Bandana Dee's face made him feel guilty for even asking, but he had to continue.

"After that, you won the war, but at the cost of losing something, added that to a great number of precious lives? Don't tell me... your parents... Zero didn't... cross that line, did he?" She hesitates, but she nods. Bandana Dee made that specific segue because he realized the truth she was speaking by saying that.

"No... no... no..." I stuttered, suddenly filled with a terrifying blood of dread as a spine-tingling chill just imagining that kind of bloody scenario. "I don't think I can believe he'd go that far with you... pulling off a bloodthirsty stunt like that and made you watch it... that's so freaking low of him... I didn't think he's that kind of person during our first encounter...; he's... heartless."

"No... no... is that really the truth? That curse you were struck with by Zero's final attack and that side effect into humans?" Karly gasped with a sight of pure horror. "Then, after a day later, which is now, the curse went into effect like a mad disease and spread all over to us, thus turning us humans? Is that why you...?" Kaila ended up with a face of sorrow and painful regret; tears started to leak from her sapphire eyes. She threw herself on the floor in a way of begging for mercy.

"Yes, it's the hard, painful truth. If anything happened to any of you, it'd be entirely my fault. I didn't mean any of this. If I could just go back in time, I could fix all of this. I'm so sorry, everyone!" She apologized. She broke down in blue sea tears, each drop containing a sign of regret.

I really didn't think she break down like this in front of us, and now I know what she really goes through every day. So much for trying to be human. I thought about helping her out with her problem. Maybe there was something I could do... She's been through a lot and she's lost so much... she almost must be alone by then.

The room was filled with her cries, probably wanting to release her sorrow where she felt at ease temporarily. And now I felt like a jerk at this point for even asking. No one knew what to do as they couldn't bear to look at Kaila in shame.

Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut after all. It didn't feel like she wanted to betray us but this whole scenario gave me the vibe of a traitor in our midst; after being betrayed twice, that instinct kicked in once again, this time, before it happened, only to realize that she never intended to do such a thing. Looks like I made a huge mistake here, making a girl cry like that unintentionally. I didn't intend for this to happen at all.

Yet, it's my fault she's crying, so I have to clean up my own mess.

"What do you have to apologize for? I mean, it's not your fault it happened. Well, I should apologize for even asking you that like you were a traitor. Point is, we're very grateful to have your here, no matter what. And if this curse is starting to become bothersome, we can help you in the best way we can," I said, walking up to her; I patted her on the head as if she was just a child, and I'm the father.

"Wipe the tears off your eyes, because a princess shouldn't cry, no matter what. I'm here, the Legendary Star Warrior, Kirby, and everyone else too. Case and point, we're really honored for you to even be here; don't tear yourself and put a smile on your face. Come on, smile." With this, her sorrowful cry became put to a halt and the sea tears have dried up. "It's okay, princess. Everything's going to be alright. We'll protect you."

"What, you mean it?" She said, still sniffing. Kaila then pulled herself off from the floor and stood up about to my height, blushing pink. "You're not mad at us? I'd thought you'd be. I mean, I possess a curse that turns them into something they're not, literally. I didn't think so..."

"Of course not! It's rare to even have princesses visit Popstar in the first place. We'll enjoy every minute there is for you to stay!" Karly said, joining me. "I mean, it's been a while since I've even met a princess before besides Rona (who Dedede tried to propose to). Been a long time, I can guarantee that. Case and Point, I think it's best for you to hang out a little while longer without tearing yourself to pieces."

"I can't believe it, they actually want us to stay here even though we're different," Commander Blazel said.

"I mean, who wouldn't want a legendary princess at their presence, especially one who defended her own planet," I added. "Even though we just met yesterday, we'd be glad to have you stay here for as long as you can. Just don't be around Dedede too much this month for the challenge he's about to take; it's the 5th time he's lost in a row-"

"Hey hey hey! Don't be mentioning that around her! And it's a lie too!" Dedede defended, looking flustered and embarrassed.

"Wow, thank you all!" She said, sniffing back some tears. Then, out of her gratitude, she walked over to me and planted a kiss on my cheek, smiling.

My whole world just changed from a kiss on the cheek, rendering me blushing with the two mini blush marks forming one large blush scale. "Wow, what was that for, Kaila?"

"My gratitude, Star Warrior, from the bottom of my heart," She answered. "And... thank you, Kirby." She hugs me and smiles innocently, but she seemed relieved now.

"Besides, this isn't the first time something like this happened," Meta Knight reassured her. "Yeah, worse times, worse times. I feel sick thinking about that particular time." Oh, must be the Robobot incident.

"Yeah, we've gone through worse before back then," Bandana Dee added. "We were just surprised, that's all. But we eventually get through it."

She smiled as well as the Blazel, who pats me on the shoulder and gave me thumbs up. I smiled. I guess the whole love thing can wait a little bit longer, can it? I think making her feel comfortable was more important right now as if anything could ruin this moment. I do feel bad for her, no, I feel so guilty now. If only I was there to prevent that, but of course, I was never fully aware of that happening. All we can do is comfort her and hopefully get her through her loss. I just hope nothing literally ruins this moment together. And I really shouldn't say stuff like that; good thing it's just a narrative and not my dialogue, am I right lads?

"Well, this isn't too bad, at least," Dedede laughed, waving his hammer around. "I think I shed a lot of pounds now and I look awesome! No one will call me the king of fat-ass again! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

"Yeah, I mean, I look like an office worker or a businessman, and it's pretty suitable," Escargoon said. "Besides, sir, weren't you complaining about finding the rest of you?"

"Finally, I've got a mask that won't break in battle!" Meta Knight chuckled, amused. "Try breaking this, Kirby!" I sweatdropped. Meta Knight does seem confident alright if he wasn't saying this is bullshit earlier.

"I can actually eat stuff with a mouth and not absorbing them, yeah!" Bandana Dee cheered. "Trust me, you do not want to see me eat with no mouth."

"I look adorable and cute as a human as well as when we were puffballs, I love it!" Karly giggled. "And no one better not comment on the "showing skin" remark! No one else is complaining, right?" Trust me, someone will complain about that later on. I know you definitely will in later chapters.

"Wait till everyone in Smash sees me now! I'll send it and rub it in their faces for fun!" I cackled. "I'll take a picture and send it to Mario first, then Link, and everyone else! Yeah, baby! Best curse ever! We're invincible!"

Then everyone stared at me with blank faces. I was laughing and then realized that I was stared at. I stopped laughing after being watched.

"What? I'm not saying I like to be cursed, it's a figure of speech. I'm saying I'll be able to show the whole Smash Bros crew that we can become human and that we are better looking than they are! I wonder if I'm able to use my Copy Ability in this form?"

"…"

"I like that idea," Meta Knight chuckled. "But that's your idea, not mine. I prefer to fight in my old form."

"Says the guy who got banned from tourneys in Season Brawl," Dedede chuckled. "And then got the Nerf in Season 4!"

"I'll turn you into swiss cheese in the next Smash Season," Meta Knight shot back.

"Oh, so you're approaching me?" Dedede taunted. "Instead of taking it, you're coming to me?"

"Yeah, I can't go Mach Tornado on you without getting closer," Meta Knight referenced.

"Oh, then come as close as you like!" Dedede grinned devilishly.

And now, it becomes a stare down between those two like a Stand battle. Let's just leave them be, for now, okay? And yes, this is a Jojo reference.

"Only one question, princess. How is it that you know so much about Dark Matter?" Bandana Dee asked. "Where did they come from, and are we gonna stuck like this forever, or... what for how long?"

"Oh crap, I didn't think about that possibility," I gasped.

"That, I don't know. Only thing I know about them is that they were from 200 years ago after the Great Galaxy War. For some reason, they seem to despise anything with hearts, rainbows, and crystals. So we used that to our advantage and made the Star Ring, made with the power of crystals, rainbows, and love. So that's how we drove them off." She said. "Sorry, I have NO idea how long this curse will last."

"Come to think of it, you're actually right about that fact," I said. "Like that time in Kirby's Dreamland 3 when Dark Matter corrupted Popstar, we went to stop them, and along the way, we helped people with their problems, and when we did, Heart Stars came from them, and it was used to create the Love-Love Stick, which took them down. Unfortunately, I had to fight the leader's bloody eyeball."

"Then there was that time in Kirby's Dreamland 2 when we found seven Rainbow Drops to make the Rainbow Sword when they first attacked and destroyed the Rainbow Bridge which connected the floating islands that time and the first time we saw Dark Matter, first Dark Matter Blade, then Dark Matter himself."

"And who could forget Kirby's Dreamland 64: The Crystal Shards? That time they invaded Ripple Star and they shattered the Crystal Shard, so we had to find all 74 shards to make the Crystal Gun and take down Zero-Two. That time was the last time we ever heard from them. Well, there were times where it seems they've come back through some forces like Dark Mind and Dark Nebula (Dark Zero in Japan, and look-alikes of Zero), Dark Crafter and that Dark Matter Blade clone in Planet Robobot; I don't know where Haltmann Works Company even got the sample DNA from, but its full power has not been replicated truly."

"Wow, you all have been through a lot by Dark Matter," Commander Blazel said. "We never expected your planet to be their victim. How is it that you had a weapon to defend against every enemy attack there is?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Dark Matter seems to be the most appeared major enemy than anyone else. But there's something about Dark Matter that ticks me off. And we really don't know the facts behind every villain we've faced or their connection with each other- no one does! We don't know their real origins other than they lived a lonely existence, but they must come from something or someone. Otherwise, on Dark Matter, it's that bloody eye of his and their leader, Zero that rubs me off the wrong way, or does it seems that almost every villain has at least an eyeball or eyeballs in their forms?" I said. "Our story is a long one and a pain. Might as well tell you."

"That may have been long, but he's right," Karly said. "It looks like they have a thing with eyeballs, we don't know their origins, and they must be related to each other. What else can we expect now- their return if they're even alive? I mean, we have not heard from them after a few years ago or when we were last assaulted."

"What do mean, last assault?" Kaila questioned.

"That, well, our latest assault was from Haltmann Works Company, where they literally turned Popstar into Tomorrowland of the future with mechanization. They captured us and made us into slaves and robots to dominate the world! They took samples from the creatures and rebuild them. We met this half human-like robot girl, Susie- also known as Susana Patrya Haltmann, secretary of HWC. Then, we went into the command ship, the Access Ark, reaching the heart of the company. We then encountered the leader of this invasion- President Haltmann, known as Max Profitt Haltmann, or as we like to call him: "The Next Eggman."

"Since when did you start calling Haltmann "Eggman" Kirby?" Karly questioned.

"Quiet, Karly. I'm busy recreating everyone's favorite moments here," I demanded.

"Whatever."

"Anyway, Haltmann fires Susie for failing to stop us, and then he revealed something to us. He showed us Star Dream, the most powerful machine in existence. Apparently, he found the blueprints for the machine in an unknown location. He studied ancient technology and gained the knowledge needed to reactivate Star Dream. But when he tested it out, an accident occurred involving his daughter who was sucked into some other dimension- Another Dimension. So he was working and became mad and crazy trying to get his daughter back; later on, I think he lost his memory of his daughter when using Star Dream too much. But I think Susie was his daughter, but I don't think she remembers him, so we're not exactly sure why she even worked with him. Anyway, Star Dream gained a mind of its own and was studying all forms of life through the company. Distaste for organic life, it said, "So you are invited to witness the end of history. A new age shall begin- an age of infinite prosperity. Enjoy your destruction."- Star Dream. So it took off, and we had to stop it in space. When it fused with the mothership and when we broke the armor off, its true form is a Galactic Nova. I figured that out myself. Otherwise, that explains how they got the data for Sphere-Doomers, since they are found in Another Dimension, and all of the other clones gained from real monsters."

"Wait- Galactic Nova, the ancient Clockwork Wishing Comet Race?" Kaila asked, sounding a bit envious. "How did you meet up with one?"

"Yeah. I had a history with one a couple of years ago." I said, remembering the time when I first met one. "It was Milky Way Wishes when the sun and moon were fighting in the year- "?" Then, a strange guy named Marx asked us to restore peace to the sun and moon. Since this was a galactic crisis, he said we need to ask the great wishing comet, Nova, to end this. So after gathering energy from different planets, I summoned Nova, who said I can have one wish but was backstabbed by Marx, who wished to control Popstar, and the wish was granted. So gaining a starship, I took down Galactic Nova and took on Marx. Long story short, I defeated the dirty traitor, he goes bye-bye into Nova and explodes. The end."

Snapping back into reality, I continue on. The one thing I can't stand is backstabbers! I've forgiven him, but it still haunts me.

"So we destroy Star Dream and the rebuilt Nova and his heart and save the world. The end." I concluded. "Same with Milky Way Wishes. And now he's our friend. Strange, isn't it?"

"What's with the short conclusion?" Dedede asked.

"I got tired, so… I ended it shortly, plus, I can't stand backstabbers and manipulators. My point is, we've never heard from Dark Matter again, like physically and the clone of Dark Matter Blade doesn't only count- the whole force does," I said. "If they're dead for good, that's good for us, but if they are permanently dead, the curse should've been lifted by then, don't you think? The other thing is, why would they curse you as just humans?"

"I have no idea, but at least we won't be expecting them anytime sooner," she said. "That kinda makes sense, I mean, I'd never seen a Galactic NOVA before in person or one when we entered this solar system."

"That's good," Bandana Dee said. "I wish I can go one day without anything happening and we have to clean that mess up!"

"I mean, it's not like they can just attack us right now-" Dedede was cut off by Escargoon, with his hand over his mouth.

"Sire, don't say stuff like that; it may sound like stupid superstition, but we really can't afford another catastrophe this year," Escargoon warned. But Dedede, with the IQ of an idiot, kept on going. Sometimes there's a reason you shouldn't say stuff like that, and it resulted in what happened next. You'll never know if that ironically happens, literally.

"Oh yeah? And why is that? Kirby will get the boot from bad luck; I consider that good luck. For ME."

"Dang you, Dedede," I said. Then, I hear a faint eruption. "Did you guys hear something?" Then, the eruption grew louder and louder.

"I'm pretty sure it's some kind of minor boom or something," Karly suggested. "It might be an earthquake or something."

"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask, Escargoon," Dedede chuckled as if he was inviting danger in. "Why shouldn't I say, 'Nothing can go wrong now-'"

Dedede blew it. Just as we knew it, a massive explosion smashed on the land, resulting in a violent rumbling right on cue.

"THAT'S WHY, YOU BONEHEAD!" Escargoon yelled. "Something bad always happens! That's the curse of that corny superstition!"

"OH SHOOT!" He yelled and cursed in annoyance. "Why does saying these things always mean something bad happens?! You've gotta be freaking kidding me!"

"W-what's h-happening?!" Karly shakily said. "Another assault?! Great. Just the last thing I wanted to happen! Alright, what we're dealing with here?!"

Then Waddle Doo, who had a leader of the guard's outfit, and had an eyepatch over the eye, since came and said to report, "Your Highness, we have bad news!"

"What is it?! Is it another invasion by that robot company?!" Meta Knight asked. "Did NME come back again?"

"Even worse!" He shouted, his voice shaken by the eruption. "You're not going to believe this, but..."

"Don't just stand there- tell us!" I demanded. "Don't leave us in suspense, literally! I mean, we're under the umbrella in darkness, for Nova's sake!"

"We're under attack! Our soldiers reported an assaulted invasion of darkness!"

"By who, exactly?!" Bandana Dee asked. "Just spill it already! We don't care about the vague segues now!"

"It's a black ball of dark force with an eyeball and a white thing with a bloody eyeball!" He hinted. "Well, mostly, the Dark Eyeball!"

I was confused, but that description-it sounds so familiar, where did I recognize it? Suddenly, my mind warps back to my dream last night. I remember being attacked by some dark force and a bloody- wait a minute, OH HELL NO!

"No. NO WAY! Are you saying…?" I started to say. The answer to that is:

"DARK MATTER HAS RETURNED AND NOW THEY'RE GONNA KILL US! PLUS THEY'VE JUST GOT FATTER! AND LARGER!" Waddle Doo confirmed. That moment is when we had our mouths dropped hard to the ground and our eyes cracked opened wide.

"OH HELL NAH!" Dedede yelled. "I hope they ain't thinking of possessing me again because I AIN'T HAVING THAT CRAP!"

"THEY'RE BACK!" I finished. "But, pff, them getting fatter is definitely not an emergency- what the hell do you mean by that?!"

Then, the rumbling intensified, hard enough for all of us to stumble onto the ground. "AHHH!" We all yelled as we fell. Next, there were intensified screams from the Cappys and dark explosions heard from the castle. We also hear the crackling of dark thunderbolts scattered everywhere. Finally, the last thing that happened was the realistic sound of a shattered ceiling, destroying the roof of the castle. The debris of the ceiling plundered down at us and causing destruction everywhere. The sky became dark and eerie, covering the blue sky color and replacing it with black darkness. It stopped and we heard evil laughter right above us. Evil laughter? I don't remember that! Please, this be a dream, I'm begging you!

"Oh my god! What the heck is that thing?!" One human Waddle Dee pointed out, surprised in fear. "WHAT THE HECK, OKAY?!"

"Oh... so that's what you meant," I cowardly shied back with a groan.

"So it's true, then- we're under attack!" Blazel shouted. "And they've literally become bigger in size and numbers!" I think they've always been like that, but who cares right now?!

"Sweet Merciful Crap!" Karly yelled. Dedede then ran to his throne and with his microphone, he said, "Soldiers! Prepare for defense! Code RED! CODE RED! AAAAHHHHHHHHH! Code DARK MATTER! THEM BASTARD'S ARE BACK! X3" Dedede yelled hysterically.

We all screamed seeing the enemy above us. It was a dark ball of energy filled with red bleeping streams, on and off. Its arms stretched out through all of Popstar, striking the land with its dark mass resulting in dark explosions, just like in Planet Robobot, as if it was trying to attach itself to the planet... From the corner, the middle part of that devil black sphere opened horizontally, making us see the eyeball, the most known part of Dark Matter. As a white eyeball with a red outline, yellow irises, and a black pupil. It looked down upon us and stared at us, but mostly me. This was all recorded somehow, appeared on the Jumbo-Screens in town, but it doesn't matter at this point. This black ball thing is Dark Matter, the last person I'd ever want to see again. I was totally twitching like crazy from my head to my toes, covered in scars and plaster from the used-to-be ceiling with that old eyeball making deadly eye contact with its giant eyeball on me.

"Kirby." It moaned, angrily on my name. Wait a minute, did it just speak?

Then, it looked at Karly, Meta Knight, Dedede, Escargoon, and Bandana Dee.

"Karly. Meta Knight. Bandana Dee. Escargoon. DEDEDE." It moaned again angrily on their names. I must be hallucinating.

It raised its voice at Dedede's name, because it possessed him not once, not twice, but thrice. Plus, I think Dedede pissed himself this time. I don't blame him, though. And lastly, it looked at the commander, but its eye was fixed on Princess Kaila. I could see in her eyes that old feeling of seeing your worst enemy is back alive again. Surely it must be a dream, right?

"Commander Blazel." It said. Then it did something when it stared at Kaila. "Heh-heh-heh-heh. We meet again, Princess Kailaine Cosmica Starlina of Crystal Star after those 8 pitiful years." It said with the laugh of a dark lord. Nope, it's 100% real. Oh god, we're screwed.

"It can talk?!" Karly said, shakily pointing. "But they didn't speak much when we faced them! How?! They don't have feelings or voices!"

This was something you all never heard about before- it talks and has a dark personality. I don't know why it didn't talk, but now it does. It's true they don't have feelings, but this is ridiculous! Dark Matter is heartless- but how can they gain emotions, like dark emotions?! Now I'm really creeped out. Just how?!

"Your forces were dead! How the hell are you still alive?!" Kaila said. "I saw you die! WE ALL DID! Kirby killed you all and saw you die! Just how?! This is freaking ridiculous!"

"Surely you know the answer to that, but you refuse to see it. How vexing. No matter, our time for revenge has come at our disposal!" It laughed with the dark lighting striking the ground elsewhere, as if on cue.

"Are you serious right now?"

"That's true likewise, but revenge- on them!" It pointed at all of us with its dark formed hand of swarms. "To always destroy the Star Warriors that defeated and stopped us from achieving our goal!"

"US?!" The four of the gang members all said. "What do you mean?!" I slapped myself in the face.

"I think that's obvious about that guys," I sighed, looking at them with a worried blank face, but disguising the anger behind the facial mask. "But there was more behind your revenge and take over the galaxy plot, isn't there?" It's only been two days and this crap happens? Of course, I'm mad! Why shouldn't I be?!

"Allow me to explain this from our point of view, shall we?"

Then, like the whole room rippled side-to-side, showing a vision flashback of their origins and us. How are they doing that? The eye projected a beam-like ball, striking the ground with its presence, causing bendy illusions to come to life at their will. We were amazed by how they're able to bend their memories and make it appear on reality. Then, we could see nothing but the illusion around us and each other; Dark Matter was hovering above us, getting ready to elaborate. It rippled and showed each scene of our fights together.

"Pink Warrior, I can assume you've remembered the first time you and the rest of us have encountered before, am I right?" I growled, not saying a word. "I'll take that as a yes, then. Anyway, all those times you've defeated us, you thought you were victorious and would never have to see us again for the rest of your natural born life. Wrong. Those weapons, The Rainbow Sword, The Love-Love Stick, The Crystal Gun, and all other shitty weapons that were most effective on us, are now useless against us, Kirby, because petty stuff like rainbows, love, and gems and other corny shit that you pathetic beings cherish so much are nothing but trash! Who needs those things in life?! Power and Domination are all that is necessary to rule a universe because nobody gives a crap that these positive emotions and all other precious things are most needed in life to be happy! They are all nothing but scum, just like you, Kirby! Friendship, happiness, love, our asses! Just imagine a world where none of those things are needed in the utopia Master is going to create now, and you all will be the ones to witness that before we send you to your graves, along with your pathetic parents, Kailaine!" After the illusion ripples away back to its original reality, it pointed at us with a finger made of itself that threatening.

"W-what?" I trembled, but it was something else. I feel very much insulted. Instead of taking that, I rebelled back. "That's not true! Everyone needs those things in life because that's what makes life more enjoyable, where everyone can be happy and enjoy life! How can you just say that? Of course, the answer is because you don't even know what it's like to feel happiness, and I think you being able to even feel emotions are nothing but counterfeit! Still, you may have gotten that, and I don't know how, but if you say your master's going to make a utopia, then how do we know it's nothing more than just bark and no bite, Dark Matter? You and your master are nothing but heartless murderers, just like your master murdered Kaila's parents, the only thing she cherished the most and all other life as well! Don't you dare say it'll be a utopia when all it's going to be but just a desolate, murderous wasteland, or some Dark Kingdom of Death!"

"Kirby..." Kaila faintly says. Her eyes were leaking once again, and she did her best to abstain from bursting in tears again. "T... thank you.."

"Oh, I'm certain that Master didn't mean for such a thing. To him, well... they were more like obstacles in his way, so he simply put them in a better place. Isn't that so? We just couldn't have them annoy us, or so Master said."

"Oh yeah, "Put them in a better place" is more like you killed them!" Kaila yelled out, almost crying. "Why would you say such things when you know what that really means?! Just why would you do this to us, you bastards?! Just WHY?!"

"Do I have to explain myself again?" It growled. "Then again, like I said before, it doesn't matter that your parents are gone, because the same's going to happen to you, for you shall bear witness to your own fate, the very fate that will force you to be bound to it, one that you cannot escape the dark grasp from!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Commander Blazel asked. "You're up to something, aren't you?" He drew his Crimson Blade, emitting the flames of ruby, and so everyone got into a battle form.

"Ah, so that's how it's going to be, eh?" It growled and then somehow struck out its dark swarmed hand from the ground, forming into a fist. "If death's your wish, then so shall we'll give it to you!" It flung its fist forward, aiming at us.

"Oh god, everybody MOVE!" I yelled. Kaila didn't, however. She was still frozen in sadness, or probably fear. "C'mon, Kaila. You gotta get out of the way!" The fist was closely in contact with us. For some reason, no one else didn't try to move.

"But, Kirby..." She started to say, but I picked her up with a princess carry before she could say anything else. "Less crying, more avoiding our deaths!" I jump out of the way, miraculously as the fist struck the ground, causing an off wave that flung us backward. I skidded on my feet, almost falling to the ground. "Princess, pull yourself together! I know you're heartbroken and going through emotions, but now's not the time to be this way!"

The giant fist aimed right at us, and to avoid any fatal casualties on her, I tossed her over to the others and took the impact instead. I suddenly felt myself being pulled into the air, only to realize that I was on top of its hand.

"Oh, what a surprise!" It laughed. "Never thought you'd want to hang around here, and I mean it literally! TAKE THIS!" Arching its hand, getting ready to punch, it launched its fist towards the wall of the castle. Quick on my feet, and since I was hanging on its knuckles, I climbed and rolled forward, avoiding the crush.

"Ha! Almost got my hair that time!" I taunted. It growled and then submerged another fist and tried to pound me. I back-flipped out of the way, somehow. But not quick enough to avoid the finger flick. "GAH!" I yelled, falling to the ground, and ended up being caught by Kaila, in a weird position. I ended up blushing.

"Kirby, are you okay?" Kaila asks, putting me down but never let her hands off me. Her face leaked tears, but she must've dried them off. "I got you." She weakly smiles. Meanwhile, everyone else was trying to fend off the tentacles made of matter somehow. It just flung them across near us. We ran over to them and helped them up.

"Damn," coughed Dedede, struggling to get up. "They've gotten tougher than the last time we've faced them, that no joke for sure. But I think the only reason they're still around other than taking over Popstar is that we have something that they want. But what could it be though?"

"Hmm, I don't really know," Karly said. "Considering their methods are really straightforward but unexpected at sometimes. That could be a possibility, but if they say we have something they want, then what could it be? If they wanted something, instead of talking, they should've taken it by now!" We turned our heads to Karly. "I mean, not that I wanted that to actually happen, you know. It's just why they haven't done that as usual, I mean."

"Oh, so you wanna know what we're really here for?" It chuckled. It raised its fist and merged it into a pointing finger at one of us. "You see, it's a mix of both, to take over the world as usual, but you all have a key, a key that is the core of our plans."

"What key?!" I yelled. "We don't have whatever you desire from us! Just what is this key that you want so badly? Get on with it!"

"Warrior, you have the key, yet you do not realize that it's the one that saved you from a hard and one hell of a fall." It hinted. It wasn't long for anyone to figure out what the key to their master plan was. We all turned around and looked at her.

"You couldn't be implying that the key is her, aren't you?" I gasped in realization.

"Took you long enough, to figure out the princess is the key," It pointed and rested its finger at her. "What a bunch of idiots. Now, Princess, how's about you ditch those pathetic warriors and join us for a change?"

"N... no... ME?!" Kaila trembled at first, but growled instead, her teeth become one of a vampire's. "No, there's no way I'm ever coming with you or even join you to take down Kirby! You never make me do so!"

"Just why are you doing this? If you think you're going to get away with this, then sad to say, you've fucked with the wrong people today, and luckily for you, I'm not in the mood for this shit, and I'm pissed off. You're not laying a single hand on her, and there's no doubt about it, you won't get away with this!" I growled.

"Oh, we don't have to, we already did. Now, we'll be taking the princess and we'll be off to dominate the world and you'll witness the age of Dark Matter, the most powerful dark force in the entire universe!" It yelled as its eye was charging up. "NOW YOU BETTER GET READY TO DIE! COWER BEFORE US GODS, FOOLISH STAR WARRIORS AND MEET YOUR END!"

"DIE?!" I gasped. "They're actually planning to commit a galactic genocide now when that was never their initial motive?! I was not expecting this!"

"Actually, you can expect that from every villain-" Dedede started to say, but Karly smacked him upside the head in less than a second.

"Does it matter at this point, Dedede?! LOOK OUT!" She yelled. "They're gonna attack!"

"WHAT THE-" Dedede almost cursed. Unfortunately, he was cut off before a second went by.

Then, just as we least expected it, dark bolts smashed everywhere as it roared with madness, striking us and sent us slammed against the walls before falling to the ground. Just then, a dark-formed hand or fist aimed right towards me, but just when it was going to, Kaila pushes me out of the way, giving herself up as the fist changed into a grabbing hand and snatched Kaila and took her to the top of the castle-like Donkey Kong. We heard the scream of a princess that loud, it can be heard from another planet or two. We looked up to see her being pulled to the top, in the grasp of Dark Matter, in the form of a mothership.

"EEEYYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" She yelled. "LET ME GO!" The hand tighten its grip on her and every time it did, it made Kaila yelled out in pain. I'm almost positive that I heard some bone cracking or maybe it was something; no matter though. Kaila was suffering, and she gave herself up to save me from the fist. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

"KAILA!" We all yelled. She was held in place by Dark Matter's dark hand, struggling to break free, as we dug out of plaster debris that crumbled from the ceiling. That's when Dedede pulled out a shitload of a heavy arsenal of weapons out of nowhere, pointed them all at the eye, and said, "Okay, Dark Matter assholes! If you try to take off with the princess or make any sudden moves, I'm gonna fry your dark asses!"

Dark Matter started to play with him. Dedede started the countdown. "One... Two..." For every second, Dark Matter slowly shifted his dark formed hand.

Eventually, Dedede skipped to ten already. "TEN! DIE, ASSHOLES!"

On cue, he ordered the human Waddle Dees to fire at will with all types of weapon. They unleashed an explosive barrage of shots and aimed straight for the eye. Each hit exploded with massive fire range.

"LEEEEEEEERRRROOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYY!" He shouted in a war cry.

"Wow, Dedede's going all out on Dark Matter!" I commented, having my mouth drop to the ground as well as everyone else had theirs in the same position. "But, most importantly, where did he get all of those weapons; How did he even afford them all?!"

"The internet," answered Bandana Dee. "No, seriously, he did get them off there."

Everyone just shrugged, sweatdropping. Then at one point, Dedede unleashed his secret weapon: a Dark Missile Cannon Blaster. He fired at will, unleashing a Dark Blast that can easily eradicate anything in its blast radius.

"SUCK ON THIS, DARK MATTER!" He was laughing wickedly. Once the fire had ceased, all we could see was pure black smoke.

"Heh-heh-heh!" Dedede victory laughed. "There's no way they could survive a heavy barrage! They are dead! No big surprise! Keep the change, you filthy animals."

Unfortunately for us, the smoke cleared, only to see Dark Matter still standing with Kaila in his hand. "Dedede, what was the point of doing that?!" She yelled, sweatdropping although she cried. "Did you really think firing all of that would really lay a scratch on it?!"

"Well, EXCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSE ME, PRINCESS-" Karly smacked him upside the head. "You BAKA!" She yelled.

"Dedede," I said sternly. "She's right. Only something like the Love-Love Stick or anything like that can really affect them. Unfortunately, I doubt they'll even work on them the second time as I'll have to assume they did something beforehand."

"Have you finished shooting yet?" He said, bored. With his other hand, he dropped all of the recoiled ammunition that they've fired at him as they fell and just dropped like hollow dolls or toys. Dedede's mouth dropped hard to the ground after seeing this. "Thanks for nothing, fatso!"

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Dedede yelled. "What is this guy, the next Terminator?! He survived every single blow there was!" Then, Dark Matter struck Dedede and all of us with dark lightning, slamming us to the ground. After that, Dedede got really pissed.

"Alright, that's the last straw, you heartless bastard! I didn't wanna have to come to this, but you've left us no choice! KIRBY! KARLY! SUCK IT UP! META KNIGHT! BANDANA DEE! ATTACK!"

We both nodded and got ready to do so. We both lunged forward and once we did, we unleashed inhale, causing... nothing to come out?! We tried again and again, but nothing came out. I think we looked like idiots now. What I can't believe what's happened to us really did happen.

"... (Sweatdrops)"

"What happened?!" I exclaimed. "I can't inhale him!"

"It's not that, Kirby," Karly said. "I think we've lost our ability to inhale!"

"What?!" Meta Knight gasped. "There's no way I'd see this outcome! Just how?!"

"Meta Knight!" Dedede shouted. "Fly up to him and make 'em rest in pieces!"

"I can't," Meta Knight confessed. "Whatever they're planning wasn't also for just those two. I can't use any of Galaxia's power anymore. She's nothing but an ordinary blade."

"WHAT?!" Dedede and Escargoon gasped. "Impossible!"

"Even what happened to Meta goes for me as well," Bandana Dee confessed as well. "I hardly doubt a spear could even lay a single scratch on them."

"HA-HA!" Dark Matter laughed. "Fools! Do you really think we didn't consider your power?! Our master is very aware of how you defeat your foes. So, we took the initiative of taking care of your annoying Inhale move. By Princess Kaila's curse that we implanted in her so that when you become human and try to inhale, you won't! How long do you think we've been watching you? You may think that you can beat us again, but this time's different! You've lost the one thing that makes you powerful, and now you'll be stuck as powerless humans FOREVER! We made sure that no one stands in our way again!"

"So that's what's going on!" Bandana Dee restated. "By using the curse implanted in Kaila, you've really been setting a trap for not only Kirby and Karly but for anyone else that could in your way so that you can strip them of their inhaling powers, rendering them powerless and useless! That's the only real reason you've kept the curse inside her after those 8 years, and I bet you did the same last time! And now you've done that, you mean to say that this was all nothing but a trap that fell in your favor?!"

"HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" It laughed so loud, it's like the laugh of evil victory- I'm afraid it is. "Damn skippy it is; always has been! And princess, I think you'll be glad to hear that your planet's under our rule now! Crystal Star's stupid Star Ring or any of the 14 spirits can't help you out of this mess, for we have taken care of them while we're planning our rule! That goes for you too, Planet Popstar!"

"NO! IT CAN'T BE TRUE!" Kaila shouted. "Your stupid curse caused Kirby and Karly to lose their powers?!" She started to leak tears again. "YOU BASTARD! You took over my home planet, corrupted the Cosmic Heart Shard, shattered the Star Ring, and scattered all of the 14 spirits! And now this chaos you bring upon Popstar?! WE WON'T LET YOU!"

"Wow, Kailaine," He taunted. "I'm surprised you've figured it all out and I didn't have to tell you all a damn thing, but it won't help you in this predicament! Now, let's go, princess. We shouldn't keep master waiting for your arrival." It turned to us and stared. "Looks like we've won, KIRBY. You may have beaten us before, but we've got the upper hand this time- just admit it, you've lost all your powers as well as the rest of your allies. If you think you can stop us, go ahead and try- we'll destroy you and your pathetic friends just like that. Next stop- Dark Crystal Star! Men! Mission complete! Return to the base!" It said. At that second, all members of the forces stopped what they were doing immediately and flew up to where the motherbrain was.

"Give back Princess Kaila, assholes," Dedede ordered. "I swear you won't get away with this!" It finger flicked Dedede to the wall from a distance without much use of a close range.

"Why me?!"

"This isn't going well," Meta grunted.

"So much for a peaceful vacation," Karly groaned.

"We're all dead, aren't we?" Bandana Dee gulped.

"Alright, that concludes our meeting together. So, we've got better things to do than to mess around with you, Kirby. We'll be taking your precious princess to go, without paying. She'll be very useful to us, now that she cursed you all; looks like she'll suffer what her parents had to go through, but she'll serve to be our dark supplier of unlimited crystal energy and with all of the seven elemental princesses, we'll be unstoppable! Farewell, Kirby and friends. It was nice knowing you, SUCKERS! HA-HA!" And it raised both hands and gave us twice the bird.

"THE SOURCE OF DARK POWER?! THE SEVEN ELEMENTALS?! AND NOW THIS?!" I screamed in anger. "YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! I JUST WANTED A BREAK, AND THIS IS THE KIND OF VACATION I GET?! OH, YOU'VE GONE F*KED UP NOW!"

All of the dark mass corrupting the land has stopped and lifted from the planet and into the dark ball of energy. Kaila, struggling, was screaming. Then, she was slowly, like medium slowly for some reason, being taken inside the dark ship of energy. Everyone gasped at seeing the disaster unfold. Turns out the whole ship is just the Dark Matter blabbing his mouth off.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She yelled in desperation. "HELP ME, KIRBY!"

She managed to get her right arm out, raising her right hand in the air, summoning what she called a Crystal Bomb, then shouted and shot a handful at the eye, with no effect at all. Then, the eye somehow shed red tears which dropped to where we were. Kaila kept trying this at hand, trying to buy us some time. It didn't last that long and she nearly fainted.

"KAILA!" I yelled. "Don't worry, we're on our way! Damn! This has got to be one of the most ridiculous and obnoxious encountering initiations we've ever been through!"

"THIS IS RIDICULOUS! TO THINK THEY'D PLANNED THIS ASSAULT ALL THOSE YEARS WITH OUR GUARD DOWN THOSE TIMES!" Meta Knight growled.

"IF THEY HAND PRINCESS KAILA OVER TO THE LEADER AND TURNS HER INTO THE SOURCE OF DARK ENERGY, THE GALAXY COULD MEET ITS END!" Escargoon shouted cowardly. "WE'RE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE, AND TO THINK WE LET OUR GUARD DOWN!"

"WHAT THE HELL DO WE DO?! WE'RE POWERLESS NOW THAT WE'RE ALL HUMANS!" Bandana Dee panicked. "KIRBY NOR KARLY CAN INHALE ANYTHING ANYMORE, META KNIGHT'S GALAXIA IS USELESS, ALL THOSE WEAPONS YOU'VE FIRED AT THEM WAS ALL FOR NOTHING, AND WE CAN'T INFLICT UPON ANY DAMAGE ON THEM LIKE THEY'RE INVINCIBLE OR IMMUNE TO IT! THEY THOUGHT OF EVERYTHING AND NOW WE'RE ALL SCREWED!"

"They're making off with Kaila! We have to reach the roof!" Dedede yelled. "Not today! WE HAVE TO FOLLOW THEM AND STOP THEIR PLANS BECAUSE THIS WON'T BE THE REPEAT OF DARK MATTER TAKING OVER THOSE TIMES!"

"WHAT ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE?!" Karly asked. "THEY WERE ATTACKED TOO, YOU KNOW!"

"KIRBY!" That was Tiff's voice who said that. "TIFF?!"

"WE'LL BE FINE! JUST GO RESCUE THE PRINCESS!" Tiff shouted. "YOU HAVE TO STOP THEM!"

Everyone's voice was cheering us on to save the world again. They were chanting and yelling for us to go after them. Then, I realized that there's still a chance. Standing up, even though I was injured, cut with scars, dirty from plaster, and leaking with blood, I said:

"LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE NO CHOICE, HUH?"

"KIRBY?" Everyone gasped.

"COME ON, GUYS-WE'VE GOT A PRINCESS TO SAVE AND OUR WORST ENEMY TO DESTROY," I declared. "If we don't do something right here right now, Kaila's life won't matter at that point because we're all going to die by them; no one's gonna be saved! Powerless or not, I can still live up to the title, "Legendary Star Warrior!" and I suggest you all do the same!"

"NOW THAT'S THE WARRIOR THAT I KNOW!" Escargoon shouted. "I'll stay and help everyone else- you all go save Kaila!"

"Commander Blazel, what about you?" Bandana Dee asked. "Are you coming along?"

"Ngh, I'm not in a good condition to help you all. I'll catch up with you later with our ship- NOW GO! SHE NEEDS YOU!" He winced heavily as if it looks like his arm was broken during the second attack. It looked really bloody and ragdoll like a part of a stuffed doll.

"Alright, then. Take care of yourself and watch over the town for us. We'll take it from here. KARLY, DEDEDE, META KNIGHT, AND BANDANA WADDLE DEE! EVERYONE, TO THE ROOF! LET'S GET THOSE MOTHERSUCKERS!" I ordered.

Standing, we all went into a battle cry and immediately dashed to the top of the castle, hoping to reach the dark mothership. We ran through the collapsing walls, jumped over some gaps and dashed up the stairs while avoiding some of Dark Matter's clones, leading to the roof of Dedede's castle in one piece. We manage to make it to the top, just in time, because Kaila is still being taken.

I think something's wrong with their dark ship, which means we have enough time to try to grab Kaila, but she's nearly at the black hole of darkness. We don't have much time. We ended up at the front of the dark ship, seeing the dark bridges retracting back to the center. The sky had formed a hurricane vortex the size of a giant ball as thunder swam around in circles, causing a strong wind to bestow upon the land an ongoing terrible disaster like a devilish storm.

For some reason, it does seem weird that they haven't actually sucked in Kailaine, almost as if something is resisting them.

"Look! She's still being carried away! We have enough time to stop them!" Karly shouted. "But shouldn't they have left already? No matter, we've gotta get to her in time!"

"But will it be enough to save Kaila?" Meta Knight doubted. "We must follow them and destroy them there! Can't risk anything else in jeopardy!"

"But how?!" Dedede asked. "We don't have anything to chase after them! Remember? We lost all our previous abilities due to that stupid curse!"

"Think of something NOW, because she's almost at the entrance!" Bandana Dee pointed. "We're not going to make it to her! If they escape now, it's over!"

"Kirby! We've got you covered!" Tiff yelled. Then, she yelled:

"KABU, SEND THE WARPSTAR!"

"Everyone, we're gonna have to buy some time until our ride comes! We gotta try!" I growled.

Shrine of the Great Guardian Kabu- The Warpstar's Resolve!

Somewhere deep in the woods, in the depths of it all like a hidden temple lies the great Kabu, the great guardian of Dreamland. Hearing the call of the girl, he knew immense danger fell upon Dreamland at this very moment, even before it took place.

There were many times where Kirby and the citizens of Dreamland owed Kabu for various situations, but where he shines the most is with being the holder of one of Kirby's most valuable possessions- the Warp Star. A vehicle rumored with unlimited potential, granted with the ability to soar across planets and galaxies in the blink of an eye faster than the speed of light, and perhaps the ability to warp out of the current plane of existence depending on the situation, say if the universe was being obliterated.

Nonetheless, it was a very powerful creation of the gods themselves or wherever it was born from. Either way, as if it was sentient like the Lor Starcutter, it was ready to aid Kirby and friends for any situation. This time, however, was a red alert emergency.

It laid dormant inside Kabu, bathing in a golden glow, resonating to the thoughts of the Dreamland Guardian.

"So, Dark Matter has come seeking revenge again, this time with the aim of abducting the young princess and rendering everyone as helpless humans. However, that won't stop your master from saving her from a terrible fate."

The Warpstar hummed, as we can assume that's how it agrees.

"Regardless, Kirby and the others in their new state poses no threat against Dark Matter at the moment as they've been stripped of their abilities. And the Cosmic Galaxy has become more dangerous under their control. It's at times like these that your help is needed more than ever. That's why the glow you've been enveloped in are new arsenals at your disposal, new abilities prepped in case of an emergency to combat the trials that lay ahead for you and Kirby. However, their powers have only been sealed, but it can be triggered another way, and I saw to it that an alternative was provided. You might know of the alternative to trigger Kirby's power without the use of inhale. And I've granted you another ability to give to your master and his sister as well; just come into contact with them and the rest will transfer and follow. Understood?"

The Warpstar hummed again, seemingly thanking Kabu for the upgrade. At that moment, the alarm for the Warpstar was rung, only this time it was a planetary emergency from Tiff. Warp hesitated at first, perhaps doubting itself.

"Are you worried? There's no need, for I know that this won't be an in and out mission. It may be that you won't be able to save Kailaine on the spot the first attempt. However, I do know without a doubt that the power implanted in you will be the key to ensuring that their plans can at least be delayed so that you and the warriors can find time to get back up again and stop them for good. I know your young master depends on you, he believes in you. Everyone on Popstar and Kirby's success to defeating these forces of darkness rides up on you. I know you can do it."

The Warpstar, at first in doubt, now was bathed in its confidence, determined more than ever to do its part. It hummed, with firm conviction and a positive attitude as it hovered and ascended to the mouth of Kabu, filled with some final advice from him.

"That's the spirit," Kabu grinned, although facially it wouldn't appear that way, but the tone tells you that. "I've alerted the spirits trapped in the Cosmic Galaxy of the impending danger that awaits them. The mission will not be easy; however, you must see to it that Kirby and the Star Warriors receive their help if they ever hope to defeat Dark Matter. Don't act on your own unless an opportunity arises for your advantage. And if and once they fail to save Kailaine, the key to delay Dark Matter for a while will be unleashed, so everything will work out. The rest is up to you. Are you ready?"

The noble star steed was revved up for the challenge. That's when the trigger word for the emergency to launch was pushed like a button:

"WARPSTAR, FLY!"

The Warpstar appeared from maw of the mouth and without further hesitation, it launched faster than it normally did, soaring faster than the speed of sound itself, powerful enough to shake the trees and the ground harder than the assault from Dark Matter and can be felt all over Popstar. The creatures of the forest gazed upon the shooting star soaring in the hour of all darkness and prayed for it to be the miracle to this crisis.

"Good luck, Warpstar. Protect the children of the stars and guide them to victory!"

The Warpstar, etching those words in its mind, flew faster than before to save its master and his friends, even if it costed it its life.

Fly Like A Star!- Desperation to Save A Soul

(Magia- Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Meanwhile, we were stumbling from the eruption of the dark ship. They started to flail tentacle attacks on us, whipping everything and exploding on intense contact. One tentacle missed me by a few inches and I landed on top of it, running all the way to the eye. Dark Matter struck thunder bolts at me, and I gracefully dodged them all, and even slid under one barrel of thunder. Once I approached the retracting hand, I immediately jumped for it, miraculously avoiding the bolts that aimed for me. Then, I pounced on the hand where Kaila was bound to be prisoner and tried to free her from the dark hand with my fist.

The impact was enough to rebound me up into the air... right in the blast range the eyeball. Before I knew it, the eye fired a barrel thunder blast, once enough to smash me right to the jumping point.

"GWAH!" I yelled, feeling the hail of debris rain on me. I was covered in even more of blood, scars and even plaster from debris. Staggering, I got up... only to see that Kaila was at the breaking point of the ship.

"KAILA!" We all screamed. "WE'RE TOO LATE!"

"KIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRBBBBBBBYYYYYYYYYYYY!" She screamed my name.

Then, the moment of shock unfolded the second she was sucked into the Dark ship. We all gasped and we saw the dark bridges from everywhere on Popstar retract to the ship and prepared to liftoff. The ground quaked, thunder rumbled, and disasters were occurring like dark energy balls striking the ground. The ship with the eyeball started to depart from Popstar. As it was taking off, we could see Kaila trapped in some kind of crystal ball of darkness! The bottom of the Dark Mothership ignited in dark, purple flames, blasting off like a rocket ship, now ascending to the sky and leaving the planet, in a couple of seconds.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Kaila yelled, shedding tears that rolled down her face.

She kept her face of determination even though she's crying still, she formed a fist and tried to punch through the ball. Then, unexpectedly, the prison ball was crackling with energy and electrified her, enveloping her in dark energy. She screamed even louder than before.

"KKKYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" She was shocked so much that she fainted! Again!

"DAMN! WE'RE COMING KAILA! I MAY BE POWERLESS, BUT I WON'T KNOW UNLESS I TRY!" I yelled.

Without even thinking, I ran at the igniting ship, with all I can emit from my human body, I jumped off the edge of the roof, launching me up to the sky, and I saw everyone else do the same too, decided that on their own. But just when we were about to reach her, the eyeball fired a dark beam at us, throwing us back into the air higher and sending us to the moving ground, causing a deadly explosion like a nuke. We were scarred and nearly at the point of obliteration, and I question how we're still alive at this point.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHH!" We all screamed as we fell to what could be our own grave. Everyone was yelling our names and I was about to fade into unconsciousness at the very moment I thought it was over.

Then, my thoughts were interrupted when I felt something snatched me so fast and everyone else too. I then realized it was the Warpstar that saved us and just in time, and I saw that other warp stars caught the others too. They stopped screaming the moment they realize they weren't falling. The Warpstar split into 5 clone Warpstars somehow! I guess Kabu must've done this now.

"Hey Warpstar, you came just in time!" I smiled, dressed in scars and blood with an exhausting sigh of temporary relief. "Come on, we have an old foe to catch!"

"Thank the stars you had that Warpstar, Kirby," Karly laughed. "Now we can chase after them!"

"Well, nothing I can get used to," Dedede grinned. "Now, how's about we clobber that there Dark Matter, everyone? And I'm getting that money-back guarantee as well!"

"I don't know how, but who cares?!" Bandana Dee declared. "I'm ready to kick some ass!"

"Let's go, everyone! Before they escape!" Meta Knight shouted.

The Warpstars resumed their course and went right on Dark Matter's trail. We could hear the joy from the Cappies and excitement as soon as they saw us saved by the Warpstar. Dark Matter got ready to leave the planet with Kaila, who was crying for us. Then, it launched into orbit and blasted off. Since the Warpstar is faster than the speed of light, we were able to give chase to the dark force and went after them into space. Looking back on Popstar, I knew we had to save that planet and all the others. So we sped up to their point.

"Good luck, Kirby!" Tiff said. "We all believe in you!"

"WE DON'T KNOW HOW LONG WE'LL BE BACK BUT TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES! WE MAY NOT COME BACK ALIVE, BUT WE'LL LIVE! WE'LL BE BACK SOON, SO WATCH OVER EACH OTHER, OK?!" I shouted back.

I thanked everyone on Popstar and followed the rest to chase after Dark Matter. We were able to catch up to the flying ship of dark mass, holding Princess Kaila hostage. Soaring through the cosmos of space, we flew into the contra void of endless space waters that lie ahead of us during the great chase. Better end this quickly.

Where It All Went Wrong

(Run!- Final Fantasy IX)

As we chase after the dark enemy, it felt like days or years to fly through the galaxy, since time is not counted in space. The five of us pursued Dark Matter continuously for the sake for Princess Kailaine in terms of avoiding their attacks, the space hazards, and avoid the strong, gravitational pull of every planet we pass by to avoid crashing. Dark Matter was still surprised when we were still in pursuit. The ball where Kaila was held was at the point of shattering, since we all took a massive smash out of it.

"What?! They're still able to chase us, after all, we've tried to lose them?! Man, for a warrior that pink and monstrous, he's really that damn annoying. If that's the case here, I think we oughta end this madness quickly and stop them from chasing us any further!"

"Now you're gonna get it, Dark Matter! This ends now!" I growled seething.

We were riding like we were surfing and now we're in space, chasing after Dark Matter. We pass over a green planet while chasing them, and then that's when he lays it on us. He's planning something, but what?

"Persistent little warriors, you're just like little roaches, waiting and begging to be stomped. Since you won't stop pursuing us, I'm putting an end to this stupid chase! Men! Fire the Death Missile Cannon! We'll blast them off our trail! Say goodbye to this little princess of yours and goodbye to your pathetic lives, suckers!"

Then, the ship's eyeball charged up a death attack, glowing with black and purple energy, and when it launched the assault, we all jump to avoid it, and we were about to shatter the cage holding Kaila prisoner, until a portal appeared in front of us, and out came the same beam, striking us with its dark mass.

"OH, WHAT THE-" I nearly cursed, but was cut off when the missile cannon engulfed us in the range shot, eradicating us like millions of bullets all at once. The Warpstars were splattered and retreated as one star altogether. This felt just like when we chased Magolor into space and smashed us down off Landia and into another planet of some kind. Then, we were electrified by the attack and sad to say, it caused a galactic explosion in space.

They say space carries no sound, but whoever said that clearly has never heard a group of agonizing screams echoing louder than the actual explosion- ours.

"AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!"

The mass of the beam was so powerful that it threw us aside, knocked out. We fell to the body of space, badly injured and unconscious. I tried to reach for her out of desperation, but whatever energy I had left was depleted from me as I fell down to the endless ocean below us to some green planet we passed earlier. I think I shot something at them, but I couldn't tell what it was.

"Bye-bye, Star Warrior." It taunted. It laughed once more and took off with Kaila across the green planet & over. "Say goodbye to that little Star Warrior of your dreams, Kailaine! It's about damn bloody time when you all know that Darkness Matters! GAME OVER! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

"NO! WE WERE SO CLOSE!" Karly yelled.

"CURSE YOU, DARK MATTER!" Dedede yelled.

"WE ARE… ALL… DOOMED!" Bandana Dee yelled.

"WE HAVE FAILED! IS THIS THE END?!" Meta Knight yelled.

"KAILA! WE'LL SAVE YOU! WE PROMISE!" I yelled.

"NO! KKIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRBBBBBBBBBBBBBYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Kaila yelled in tears and pain.

"KAILA!" We all yelled. And that's all of what I can remember before falling to another planet and passed out. For the first time in my life, I felt that I have... failed.

"DAMN IT ALL!" I screamed... until I gave out to darkness along with everyone else.

And they were never heard from again... Game Over?

Now Saving... Save Complete!

To be continued…

End of Prologue Act 3! Prologue End!

Ending Theme 0: (Hearts- Star Ocean EX)

Author's Note Summary:

Chapter 3 is done! So earlier, I mentioned you might see some references that are related to Kirby and Dark Matter. They're all true, except that fact that Crystal Star existed and that Dark Matter caused the villain chain. Also, this took long to finish about 20,000 words, but I had fun writing this. Sorry about the long references from Kirby's game, it all had to connect with this story, and I'm not exactly sure if that's illegal, but it had to fit in here, and I do not own Kirby or any of its properties, just references that are true, excluding some. Also, about Kirby's and Karly's character design, it's specifically the cover picture above with a few things added that was online, so I don't own that picture, although it does fit Kirby well. So next time, after the great chase after Dark Matter to save Princess Kaila, they were knocked into oblivion and crashed on a nearby planet.

What will happen to the gang next? Can they find a way to beat Dark Matter before they turn Princess Kaila into a dark energy source and reach Dark Crystal Star in time? This concludes Prologue Part 3 of Kirby RPG: Legendary Crystal Princess and more are now coming right back at ya! If you like or dislike this story, don't be shy to let me know your thoughts, opinions, and questions below. That's all and thank for reading! BYYYEEEE!