Kirby and the Rod of Darkness
Chapter 4: All Aboard the Lor Starcutter!
The Lor Starcutter was a giant light blue ship that looked like the kind used to travel the seas, although Magolor mostly used it for midair and space travel. The Lor had actually been built by an ancient civilization from the planet Halcandra, which was located in Another Dimension. Many years later, on one of his travels, Magolor found the ancient vessel and repaired and upgraded it. (Technically he had stolen it, but since its builders were long gone, perhaps it didn't actually belong to anyone else.) These days, Magolor kept the Lor in Dream Land when he wasn't traveling, since he had decided to take up residence there.
"Here we are-the Lor Starcutter!" the mage announced as soon as he arrived with Kirby, Taranza, and Susie. The group entered the Lor's main room, which contained a huge computer screen on one wall and the control panels directly below it. To the right of the computer was a larger room, and to its left was a smaller room containing four doors, each of which led to another small room. Lastly, there was one more room below the main one and the entire interior was metallic.
"First things first," Magolor said after leading the others to the lower level, where two tall cabinets could be seen, "This is where I keep food, just in case I should get hungry while traveling." He opened one cabinet to reveal its shelves filled with sandwiches, cakes, and assorted fruit. "Well, you know, food tends to appear in random places here in Dream Land, so it's not hard to stock up," he explained, "Oh, and I've got some Gem Apples in here too!" The other cabinet was opened, showing that it was full of the shiny fruits-so full, in fact, that they barely fit.
While it wasn't surprising that Magolor had a stash of Gem Apples (they were his favorite food, after all), his friends were still amazed by how many he had stockpiled. He was bombarded with questions as a result. "Are you sure they're not bombs?" Taranza asked.
"You eat gems? Aren't they kind of...indigestible?" Susie inquired.
"Indigestible" was a word Kirby didn't know the meaning of, not that it mattered to him. His simple question was: "How did you get so many?"
The mage held up his hands. "One question at a time! First, I always make sure to store my Gem Apples and Gem Apple bombs separately," he explained, "Second, they're perfectly edible-quite nutritious, even! And third, well...they are pretty easy to collect. I've heard they're even used as currency in another world!"
After this discussion was over, the four of them were finally able to enjoy a meal together. Kirby was mesmerized by the abundance of food stored in the ship. As much as he wanted to eat it all, he knew he should save some for his allies, so he made himself stop after about five servings of food. The others still had to wonder how someone so small could eat so much in one sitting. Magolor also shared some Gem Apples with everyone, because he always believed the joy should be shared. Taranza and Susie were skeptical at first, but they soon agreed that the unique fruits were indeed delicious.
After eating, Magolor spent the next few hours using the Lor's computer to search for the Dream Rod. However, this was no easy task because he had to search the entire planet as well as all the surrounding ones. Susie helped him since she was good with machinery, while Taranza accompanied them because he was interested in all the different places being studied. Kirby, on the other hand, found this somewhat boring and instead spent some time touring the ship's interior. He remembered all the rooms from his past visits, but it looked like Magolor had done some remodeling to make a more livable space.
All of this went on for a while until it was nighttime and Magolor was about to fall asleep at the computer. "I think we'd better call it a night before we all fall asleep right here," he said, noticing Kirby yawning and Taranza rubbing his eyes sleepily.
"Where will we sleep?" Kirby wondered, "My house is much too small for all of us."
"We can sleep here in the Lor Starcutter! There's plenty of space here!" Magolor replied, and he led the others to the smaller room containing four doors. "Oh, but there's one problem...I have my own bed in this room, and a spare bed in this room that I keep just in case," he gestured toward the room on the left and then the one on the right, "but that's only enough for two of us."
"Don't worry about me," Taranza said, "I can hang from the ceiling while I sleep."
Magolor just looked at him. "You're a spider, not a bat!"
Taranza had to chuckle at that. "I know! I wrap myself in a spiderweb that I attach to the ceiling. It's quite comfortable, actually."
"And I can sleep pretty much anywhere," Kirby spoke up.
"I guess that settles it, then," Magolor decided, "I'll take my bed; Susie, you can have the spare bed in the other room. Taranza, um...just sleep in your spiderweb or whatever. And Kirby…" He led Kirby and Taranza into the room where his bed was, pulled out a cushion, and dropped it on the floor. "Here, this should be more comfortable than the floor."
Kirby only slept a short time before he woke up again. Why did he wake up so soon? He wasn't sure. The room was dark, Taranza was in his web on the ceiling, and Magolor was muttering something about Gem Apples. Nothing seemed off...until Kirby heard what sounded like someone singing. He listened carefully, but he couldn't tell what was being said. He could only tell that it was a female voice coming from somewhere outside. He knew who it must be.
Kirby got up and headed to the Lor's main entrance, the singing growing clearer as he neared it; when he came outside, there she was. Susie was sitting on a log near the ship, facing away from it, her eyes fixed on the countless stars in the sky. The song she was singing could now be heard clearly:
Stars in the sky are shining so bright
So way up high, watching over you tonight
Make a wish and your dreams may come true
All you have to do is believe in you!
Kirby had heard Susie sing before, during the time when the two of them were enemies. Back then she was singing her company's theme song about its president, who also happened to be her father. Now that he was gone, Kirby didn't expect her to sing that song again. She would probably get emotional if she tried, and it wasn't like there was any reason to anyway.
"Susie?" Kirby said. The pink-haired girl had heard the Lor Starcutter's door open and turned her head.
"Hi, Pinky," she said cheerfully while her round friend came over and sat beside her. ("Pinky" was the nickname Susie had had for Kirby ever since they first started getting along better. She would still call him by his real name every now and then, but the nickname had stuck. Kirby didn't mind, since he knew she meant no harm.) "I couldn't sleep. When that happens, I like to stargaze," she turned back to the sky, "Sometimes I'll even sing to myself at the same time! I find it soothing."
Kirby found himself gazing at the stars too. "I can see why-the stars really are beautiful," he looked back at Susie, "By the way, what was that song you were singing? It was lovely."
"Thank you. I heard that song somewhere when I was a little girl. I can't remember the rest of the lyrics or where I heard it in the first place, but I thought it would be fitting for a night like tonight." Susie then yawned, beginning to feel sleepy. She stood and turned toward the Lor. "Anyway, I think I'm ready to get some sleep. Goodnight, Pinky."
"Goodnight, Susie," Kirby replied, and they both went back to their respective places in the ship.
The next morning, Magolor and Taranza were the first ones awake. This was because the former fell out of bed and landed on his head with a thud, and the latter was awakened by the sound. (Kirby was too tired to wake up and merely turned over in his sleep.) While they waited for Kirby and Susie to wake up, Taranza helped Magolor bring some items onto the ship. Once everyone was awake, they all had breakfast and then Magolor continued his search for the Dream Rod. Kirby watched him, mostly because he had nothing else to do.
This went on for a little while until beeping sounds came from the computer. "Hey, I'm picking up something!" Magolor said. He then looked up, hearing a voice coming from somewhere above. "Am I hearing things, or is the Lor singing?"
Before Kirby could say something, Taranza entered the doorway. "Does anyone know why Susie is up on the deck singing her heart out?" he asked.
"Uh...she thinks she's a bird?" Kirby guessed, but he honestly wasn't sure.
"Well, she needs to come back inside," Magolor said, "I have some things to tell everyone."
Once Susie came back to the main room she said, "Sorry about that-I was trying to come up with a new theme song for my company. Sometimes when I get started, I just can't stop!"
"Oh, it's fine," Magolor replied, "You know, I've heard this ship has a mind of its own, so I bet it enjoys being sung to! Anyway…" he turned back to the computer, "I think I've finally located the Dream Rod! It appears to be in Jam Jungle." Jam Jungle? Kirby remembered venturing through that place in one of his past adventures, when he was fighting the Squeak Squad; but his thoughts were interrupted when Magolor spoke again. "Oh, before we set off...I have a few more things I want to show you guys."
Magolor proceeded to show the others the objects Taranza and he had added to the ship that morning, explaining that they would be useful on their adventure. There was a telescope on the deck, the largest room had been set up so Susie could repair and recharge her machinery if necessary, and the lowest room was stocked up with more food. Kirby noticed a large cooler on one side of the room with ice cream inside, which made him happy because well, all food made him happy. Susie's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at the sight of her favorite food. "You even brought some ice cream!"
Magolor chuckled. "I knew how much you liked it, so I thought I'd better bring some!"
The girl was ecstatic as she gave the mage a hug. "Oh, thank you, Magolor! You're the best!"
Soon after, the Lor Starcutter lifted off. "Jam Jungle, here we come!" Kirby declared.
