Kirby and the Rod of Darkness
Chapter 25: Showdown With Shadread
Parallel Susie and the Star Allies couldn't believe it. Just when they thought they could overpower Shadread, he suddenly gained new power. Now here they were watching in disbelief as dark energy radiated from his body, despite both his Rod of Darkness and his hideout being destroyed.
The villain's piercing golden eyes were fixed on his enemies, seeming strangely confident for someone who'd just lost most of his resources. "Since you went to all the trouble of coming here to lose, I suppose I owe you an explanation," he said to them, "You see, I created the Rods of Darkness and scattered them throughout your galaxy, ordering them to 'consume the darkness inside' anyone affected by them in hopes of increasing my own power."
"When I learned you were trying to thwart my plans, I sent the rods to Planet Popstar and began combining them to make them stronger in an attempt to stop you. Yet somehow you were able to eliminate them easily. Hmph! Even if your meddlesome efforts prevented me from collecting as much negative energy as I wanted...even if you destroyed the final Rod of Darkness...it has lent me its great power! Soon this dimension-no, the entire universe-will be mine!"
After these words were spoken, Shadread raised his arms and a dark lightning bolt struck the ground right where Kirby and the others were standing, but they jumped out of the way just in time. Meta Knight flew into the air with his blade pointed to the sky. "I have no fear! I am Meta Knight, Scourge of Darkness!" he declared, and he charged at Shadread with his sharp sword. However, the villain's power was greater than his. The masked knight ended up colliding with a barrier as a result, sending him crashing to the ground; but he quickly got back up, still ready for more.
The Mage Sisters were the next ones to attack. Francisca used a water gun to send a stream of water directly at Shadread and Zan Partizanne launched electric spheres, which electrified the water. When this move landed a direct hit, Shadread appeared to be injured for the first time. But before Flamberge could join in the offense, the enemy released a burst of energy that knocked all his opponents down (except for Susie and Parallel Susie, who were still in their mechs) and soared past with Mirrobo. Flamberge tossed several flaming swords at the evil duo as they zipped away but missed by a long shot. "Coward!" she yelled, "We weren't finished with you yet!"
Everyone stood up, watching where Shadread and Mirrobo had gone. "We have to follow him!" Kirby said to the rest of his team, and they all ran in the direction their enemies went.
When they found Shadread again, he was standing atop a tall platform. Dark rays came from his outstretched hands to two faint star-shaped portals above him. Parallel Susie gasped at the sight. "He's trying to open portals to other worlds!" she exclaimed, "If he succeeds, the darkness will spread to your world as well. We have to stop him!"
All of them swiftly climbed to the top of the platform. Kirby fired a large laser at Shadread before he could react, forcing him to cease what he was doing. Of course, he was not happy to see the opposing team again. "My, you certainly are persistent," he scowled at them, "Perhaps this will stop you in your tracks!" He released another blast of energy, this time creating a powerful gust. Susie held on tightly to her Business Suit while the other Star Allies held on to the platform to keep from being swept away.
Parallel Susie felt her heart thumping the way her Business Suit did when it hopped along the ground. Despite the harsh wind blowing against her, she was determined to save her homeland and knew something had to be done fast. "Susie!" she called out to her lookalike, "If we work together we may be able to overpower him!"
Susie nodded and joined her parallel counterpart, both of them firing missiles at Shadread; this caught the shadowy man off guard and calmed the intense gale. The two girls' machines charged at him with their arms spinning but he leapt above them, causing them to bump into each other instead. Thinking quickly, Parallel Susie sent more missiles raining down on him.
All the Star Allies worked together to continue the fight, although Kine had to be careful not to get too close to Flamberge so he wouldn't become fried fish. Even though they did the best they could and were able to harm Shadread now, he still didn't seem to be taking much damage. After a blow from a series of dark rays nearly knocked some of the allies off the platform and made Kirby drop his Laser ability, it looked as though the adversary had the upper hand. "He's so strong!" Kirby worried, "How are we going to beat him?"
At that moment, a loud roar was heard and Shadread was pummeled by four fireballs; then a familiar four-headed dragon came into view. Kirby's party was glad to see him, but the same could not be said for Shadread. "Aah! Landia!" he growled.
Landia frowned at the shadowy troublemaker. "Disgraceful. You should be ashamed of yourself, Shadread-endangering countless innocent lives for your own selfish desire!" The dragon swung his tail at Shadread but he dodged by leaping back. The villain launched a beam at Landia which was also dodged. The two of them charged at one another, but when they collided it seemed their strength was equal, and each of them struggled to hold the other back. The others could only watch anxiously, having no idea what was going to happen, until they clearly heard Landia's voice in their minds: "Everyone, combine your power! Use the power of friendship!"
The Star Allies knew what he meant. This was the power they'd used throughout their previous adventure, the power that earned them victory. They all gathered together and focused their thoughts on their bond, and then suddenly became aware of a bright light close by. There was the Dream Rod in all its glory, glowing brightly and beautifully as it descended right in front of Kirby. "The Dream Rod!" he said.
"No! It can't be!" Shadread exclaimed in alarm. Landia and he, who by now had paused their attacks, watched Kirby grasp the Dream Rod and hold it up above his head. A brilliant white light shot from it at lightning speed and struck Shadread, who was unable to escape the blast. He howled in pain while his entire body began to flash like an illusion. The Star Allies held their breath and looked on, their hearts pounding like Dedede's hammer, until finally...Mirrobo flew over to Shadread and both of them vanished. The darkness all around faded, making Another Dimension's sky visible again, and a peaceful quiet fell over the area. Never had the mysterious dimension looked so beautiful.
Kirby and friends were overjoyed at the victory. Some of them jumped for joy and some others high-fived (though since Marx didn't have hands, Magolor had to high-five his hat instead). Landia looked pleased. "Shadread thought he could win by depriving the Dream Rod of its positive energy," he told the others, "But he did not fully understand the nature of its power or yours. Light conquers darkness, love is stronger than hate, enmity is no match for friendship. Thanks to your heroic efforts, the universe is safe."
After parting ways with Landia, everyone else went back to where the Lor was so the Star Allies could prepare to return to Dream Land. Parallel Susie approached Susie, both of them having stowed away their Business Suits. "Hey Susie," she said, "Look, I, uh...I'm sorry about the way I treated you before, even if I was being controlled at the time."
"Don't worry about it," her lookalike answered, "I'm just glad you helped us defeat Shadread." She held out her hand and Parallel Susie took it, as a sign the two of them were no longer rivals.
"Well, I'd better be getting back to my company," Parallel Susie told the others, "I surely have a lot of work to catch up on by now." Before leaving she turned back to them. "I still feel like I know some of you. Are you sure we never met until recently?" When all of them (except Magolor, who did indeed meet her in the past) shook their heads, she looked thoughtful for a moment before she got back in her Business Suit and took off.
"I think being possessed by Shadread must have messed with her head," Marx remarked once Parallel Susie was gone.
"You were under his control too, you know," Magolor reminded him.
He chuckled. "Nobody can mess with my head. It's already messed up!"
That evening after returning to Dream Land, Kirby, Magolor, Taranza, and Susie visited the Dream Palace once the rest of the Star Allies went home. They were pleased to discover the white marble palace was no longer glowing and the hole in its roof was repaired. They entered the place where their adventure began and Kirby placed the Dream Rod back where it belonged. "It sure is good to see the Dream Palace back to normal," Magolor commented while all four of them admired the now bright Dream Rod.
"It sure is," Kirby responded before turning back to his three pals, "Magolor, Taranza, Susie...I want to thank you for helping me throughout this adventure. I couldn't have done it without you! You didn't have to stick with me through the whole thing, yet you did anyway."
"Why wouldn't we?" Susie replied cheerily, "Adventuring with you is a lot more fun than living our daily lives, and it gave us the chance to spend more time with our friends."
"Susie's right," Taranza added, "We wouldn't have missed it for the world-even if it did involve being tossed into the Dream Palace like a salad!" Everyone laughed. They knew the power of their friendship would help them overcome any danger that came their way, which was fortunate for them since their journey wasn't over yet.
