Kirby and the Rod of Darkness
Chapter 21: An Unlikely Ally
When Kirby and company returned to the Lor, they moved his star-shaped cushion to the main room and set the unconscious Parallel Susie on it so they could keep an eye on her. While they waited for her to wake up, Magolor used his computer and Susie repaired her Business Suit (Taranza, meanwhile, was most likely trying to prevent Kirby from eating an entire cabinet of food).
It wasn't until about six hours later that Parallel Susie began to stir. Magolor, who was also in the main room, noticed her big blue eyes opening and approached her. "You're awake!" he said to her.
She lifted her head slightly to look at him, still seeming weak. "Aren't you Magolor, the shopkeeper from the Castle Village?" she asked him.
"That's me! How are you feeling?"
"I've never felt so fatigued in all my life."
Magolor had a feeling he knew what Parallel Susie needed. "Well, it's almost suppertime," he said, "You're welcome to join us if you're hungry."
He was right. As it turned out, Parallel Susie's weariness from being controlled for so long was worsened by the fact that she was suffering from hunger and dehydration at the same time. She perked up once she'd had some nourishment. "I really can't thank you enough for saving me from Shadread's possession," she said while everyone sat in the lower room finishing their meal, "It was horrible, working for him! We were always under his watch, following his orders closely. We had to sleep in cells like prisoners. He wouldn't even give us food or water-we had to search for it ourselves whenever we were out!"
"That's awful!" Kirby commented before devouring a delicious slice of strawberry shortcake. He couldn't imagine anything worse than going hungry. How cruel Shadread was!
Once everything was cleaned up, everyone returned to the main room to discuss some things. "I first encountered Shadread one day when I was patrolling Another Dimension in my Business Suit," Parallel Susie began, "I came across his hideout and had to check it out because I'd never seen anything like it before." She proceeded to explain how she'd succumbed to his possession:
When the red-haired lady approached the dark red block that was Shadread's lair, she got out of her Business Suit so she could get a closer look; but she was pulled right into its wall as soon as she got close. Once inside, she barely had time to look around before she was startled by the sudden sound of evil laughter. "What have we here?" the shadowy villain remarked, emerging from the doorway, "Looks like an uninvited guest!"
Parallel Susie froze, firmly gripping a black and red Blaster pointed directly at Shadread. "Who are you? What do you want?" she demanded.
Instead of answering he took out a Rod of Darkness. Parallel Susie began to fire at him, but all the shots bounced right off his cape. He pointed his rod at her, striking her with a dark beam. "Foolish girl. You cannot escape my power."
"And so I unwillingly became Shadread's first minion, aside from Mirrobo," Parallel Susie concluded, "As much as I hate to admit it, I was no match for him."
"There's one thing I still don't understand, Parallel Susie," Taranza spoke up, "Most of the people we saved from Shadread's control had no memories of the incident, but you and Marx remembered everything."
"That's correct," she answered, "I did overhear Mirrobo explaining this very thing to Shadread one time. It said that because I was a parallel being-and because Marx was simply crazy-he wasn't able to fully control us. Unlike the others, we were conscious and still able to speak. It was such an odd experience, being aware of everything going on but unable to control my speech and movements."
Susie looked thoughtful. "Hm...sounds like some kind of neurological manipulation."
"Huh?" Kirby only stared, having no idea what she'd just said.
"In other words, the Rods of Darkness allow Shadread to control certain parts of the brain; but in Marx and Parallel Susie's cases, the areas responsible for awareness and memory were not affected." (Kirby pretty much understood now, but he still couldn't help but think that Susie suddenly sounded like a doctor.)
"That's exactly what I would have said," her lookalike added, "Anyway, Shadread and Mirrobo were always careful what they said around me since they knew my memory was working, but I still managed to overhear a few things. The Rods of Darkness apparently collect negative energy from all living creatures. Anyone who touches one will either become possessed or trapped in a block made of dark crystals. However, an individual can only be affected by the rods once, so I will not be possessed again."
Magolor, Taranza, and Susie pondered everything they'd just heard; Kirby, on the other hand, was beginning to get a headache from all the complicated information. "Well, I'm glad no one can be affected by those rods a second time," Magolor remarked, "but I've got a bad feeling about the whole negative energy thing. And if being teleported isn't one of the possible effects, then...how did the three of us end up in the Dream Palace when we did?" Taranza, Susie, and he glanced at one another; there was something no one could answer.
"You're trying to stop Shadread and Mirrobo, right?" Parallel Susie spoke again, "I'd like to help you-I want to teach those two creeps a lesson! Oh, by the way, Kirby and Taranza...you two seem familiar. Haven't you been to the Dream King-" Before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted when a loud crash came from somewhere outside and rocked the Lor. "What was that?" she wondered.
The crashing continued as everyone went outside, where they found a particular robot ramming into the ship's side repeatedly. "Mirrobo!" Taranza said, "What's it doing here treating the Lor like a punching bag?" He tossed a large ball of magic power at Mirrobo, causing it to stop in its tracks and turn to face the group. Susie and Parallel Susie shot at it with their Blasters, but it dodged by quickly moving about.
At that moment the robot did something it had never done before. Its eyes turned yellow and suddenly its opponents heard a strange, melodic sound. "Why do I feel so sleepy all of a sudden?" Susie said. She wasn't alone-Kirby, Magolor, Taranza, and Parallel Susie were also beginning to feel drowsy. It wasn't long before they were unable to resist sleep; one by one, all five of them fell to the ground as they lost consciousness.
Mirrobo, seeing its tactics were successful, ceased its eerie tune. Then with one swift move it swooped down, grabbed Taranza and Susie, and took off with them!
