Kirby and the Rod of Darkness
Chapter 24: Star Allies Go!
It had been a few days since his last encounter with Shadread when Kirby took a look at the Dream Rod again. With everything going on it had been difficult to remember to check on the magical item...but today he was pleasantly surprised to see it floating within its capsule, even if it wasn't glowing quite as brightly as usual. "Wow! The Dream Rod is floating again!" he said excitedly while Taranza, Susie, and he stood beside the capsule and gazed at it.
"It looks like it's almost fully restored now!" Taranza added.
Susie glanced over at Magolor, who didn't seem to be paying attention. In fact, he'd been unusually quiet all day and more focused on his computer work than anything else, and she noticed. "Is everything okay, Magolor?" she asked him, walking up to him.
"Something strange is going on," the mage answered, his eyes still fixed on the screen, "I performed a scan of Popstar and the surrounding planets this morning, but I didn't find a single Rod of Darkness. We couldn't have destroyed them all!"
"What about that extra-large one we saw Shadread using a few days ago?" Taranza spoke up when Kirby and he joined Magolor and Susie, "We did see two rods combine into one before. Do you think maybe…"
This discussion was interrupted when a voice suddenly cried out from somewhere outside. Immediately after that, a familiar red-haired girl entered the Lor in such a rush that she nearly bumped into the four allies. "Parallel Susie! What's wrong?" Susie asked her. Clearly something was up.
Parallel Susie waited until she caught her breath to respond. "You need to come to Another Dimension," she said with a sense of urgency, "Shadread is wreaking havoc over there! He has the entire dimension enveloped in darkness!"
"That sounds bad," Magolor replied worriedly, "I think this time we're going to need all the help we can get!"
Kirby nodded, knowing what must be done. "It looks like a Star Allies meeting is in order!"
The Star Allies was a group of friends (for the most part) that was formed during the search for the Jamba Hearts. The group began with Kirby, Bandana Waddle Dee, King Dedede, and Meta Knight, but more allies joined throughout the adventure. These included Rick, Kine, Coo, Marx, Gooey, Adeleine, Ribbon, Dark Meta Knight, Daroach, Magolor, Taranza, and Susie. The Three Mage Sisters joined at the end of said adventure after their conflict with Kirby was resolved. These days the Star Allies would meet up whenever there was a major problem to deal with, like there was right now.
Once Kirby was able to get the rest of the Star Allies together all 19 members, along with Parallel Susie, gathered outside the Lor for a quick meeting. "Thanks for coming, everyone," he told the others, "I asked you to come today because we have a serious threat going on, and we need to work together to face it."
Some of the allies, however, were distracted by the fact that there were two certain individuals who looked very much alike. "Um...why do I see two Susies?" Adeleine wondered aloud.
"Isn't one Susie enough?" Dark Meta Knight added.
"Hey, I know that lady!" Marx said of Parallel Susie, "She was stuck working for that shadowy guy just like I was." After all these comments were made, suddenly there was a commotion about who this newcomer might be, as most of Kirby's pals had never met her before.
Susie soon had enough of this. "Quiet!" she yelled, causing everyone else to fall silent. Once she was sure she had their full attention she explained, "This is Parallel Susie and she's on our side! She wants to stop Shadread too, and she saved me and Taranza after he kidnapped us." With her arms crossed she added, "Kirby, you may continue."
Kirby went back to his speech as if nothing had happened. "Shadread is the one behind all the weird things we've seen happening recently. Right now he's causing trouble in Another Dimension, and I have a feeling I'll need your help...so, is everyone with me?" All the others were ready to help, so they all boarded the Lor.
Of course, the flight to Another Dimension was interesting (and crowded) with 20 passengers in the ship. Magolor had never taken so many people for a ride at one time. Kine was feeling like a sardine, and Kirby and Bandana Dee had to hold Gooey back to prevent him from trying to eat the Dream Rod. Fortunately it didn't take long to arrive at their destination, so they soon were glad to return outdoors and get some space.
As they expected, the sight they beheld upon exiting the Lor was less than welcoming. Another Dimension appeared more unsettling than ever; as far as the eye could see, the sky was blackened by a swirling darkness. "This reminds me of Ripple Star when Dark Matter was there," Ribbon said uneasily, hiding behind Adeleine. She did NOT like anything that looked like Dark Matter.
Parallel Susie stepped in front of the others and mounted her Business Suit. "Everyone follow me," she told them, "Shadread's base is straight ahead." The rest of the team remained quiet as they marched after her; they had a feeling they were headed for a tough battle.
Upon arriving at the villain's lair, it was immediately obvious that something was going on. The once deep red structure was now as dark as the sky above it, yet it was surrounded by a familiar ominous purple light. Before entering, Kirby and company devised a battle plan: they would split up into two groups. Those who had already been affected by a Rod of Darkness would fight Shadread from a closer range, since they could not be affected again. Meanwhile, everyone else would either attack from a distance or fight Mirrobo.
Inside, Shadread was standing in the center of the lab with his Rod of Darkness raised toward the ceiling. A swirling darkness billowed from its tip and enveloped the entire dimension. "Ahaha!" he laughed to himself, "Everything is going according to plan."
At that moment Mirrobo darted into the room, beeping repeatedly. "We have a large amount of company!" it announced.
CRASH! Parallel Susie's Business Suit broke right through the wall just as it did a few days before. "Argh! Parallel Susie again!" Shadread stopped what he was doing, obviously annoyed, "Why can't you use the door like everyone else?" He then discovered Mirrobo was right-Susie's parallel counterpart wasn't alone. She was soon joined by King Dedede, Meta Knight, Coo, Marx, Gooey, Dark Meta Knight, Daroach, and Francisca.
Marx was the first to spring into action. He glared at Shadread as he sprouted wings and lifted off the ground. "I've got a bone to pick with you, mister! It's all your fault I had to suffer prank withdrawal and an empty stomach!" He flew over Shadread's head and tried to drop several beach balls on him, but the shadowy man simply knocked them away with his rod. Marx ended up being hit by them instead, knocking him out of the sky. "Hey! Those were beach balls, not baseballs!" he said, landing on his feet.
Shadread pointed his weapon at his nine opponents and fired a powerful dark beam at them, which they barely avoided by moving aside. Parallel Susie launched a pair of missiles at him, but he teleported out of their path. Then, another crash was heard when Susie's Business Suit broke through another section of the wall, followed by the rest of the Star Allies. "He's invincible as long as he has that rod!" Kirby called out to the other team, "Attack it first!"
Mirrobo shot a beam from its eyes at Kirby's group, which he inhaled to become Laser Kirby. He fired a laser at the robot, but it reflected the attack off its mirror. However, the laser did not harm Kirby because he ducked to avoid it. Instead it bounced off one wall, then the ceiling, and then the opposite wall before finally striking Mirrobo from behind.
The battle continued for a little while with one set of allies trying hard to destroy the Rod of Darkness...but they weren't making much progress. Shadread's agility, combined with having to dodge his powerful dark beams, made it difficult to land a hit. Even when they did, their abilities were unable to do much damage. That is, until Adeleine thought of something all of a sudden. "Ribbon, your crystals are strong against dark things, right? Maybe you could use them to destroy the rod!"
Ribbon nodded and fluttered above her friends. Then, while Shadread was preparing to attack again, she sent a flurry of sparkling crystals directly at his weapon. In response, the Rod of Darkness began to shake violently; suddenly it exploded in a huge burst of darkness that shot in all directions. "Nooo!" Shadread yelled, the blast knocking him down. Some of the Star Allies screamed in fright, all of them desperately trying not to be hit by the explosion.
Parallel Susie did not panic. "This way!" she shouted over all the noise, motioning for her comrades to follow her. She hastily led them outside through the hole her machine made in the wall. Everyone ran as fast as they could, but Kine couldn't move very well on land so he was falling behind. Fortunately Coo flew back to him, grabbed him, and carried him after the others.
Once all 20 characters were a safe distance away from the danger, they stopped and turned around to see Shadread's hideout completely engulfed in the dark blast. When it finally faded the building was no more-but Shadread and Mirrobo emerged from where it had been, somehow unhurt. And to everyone's surprise, the villain was flying alongside his robot! He had a malicious grin on his face as he rose into the air. Then a purple aura surrounded his body and dark lasers shot from him, flashing like lightning while he laughed wickedly...