Reunited at last
"Mags, I'm back! And before you kick me out again, I brought lunch!"
After his morning walk, Marx returned to the Lor to visit his roommate. Inside his hat, he carried a bag of food prepared by Kawasaki.
While the Lor wasn't the place where they resided, they both spent so much time there that it was practically their second home, much to the dismay of the ship's semi-sentient operating system. Although Magolor had regained the respect of said software after many apologies and good actions, the same couldn't be said about Marx. The jester had the feeling that the Lor didn't like him at all, though he didn't know why. Could it be because he had installed on it all those video games of dubious origin just before it got infected with viruses? Nah, that had just been a coincidence. Marx was sure that the machine had a grudge against him for no reason.
Still, it was odd that the ship's lights hadn't automatically turned on upon Marx's arrival. In fact, its inside was almost completely dark, the only source of light being the emergency lights. While Magolor usually turned the lights off when he wanted to take a quick nap after hours of researching or working on projects for his amusement park, the illumination system was configured to turn on automatically when the Lor's OS detected any form of life entering the ship.
Marx, however, was not afraid. Early that morning, the jester had mixed extra-spicy curry with Mag's coffee, so he suspected that Magolor was planning to take revenge on him by giving him a 'good old' scare.
"Heh. Nice try, Mags, but I won't fall for such a shabby trick," the jester thought.
Marx summoned a small energy ball to use as a source of light and began to explore the ship, watching his surroundings in hopes of detecting anything moving in the shadows. Now that he was aware of Magolor's plans, he could counterattack any attempt of Magolor jumping at him with one of his "scary faces." He had been practicing a new one.
But as Marx advanced, there was no sign of the wizard. "Hmm, maybe he is asleep after all," he said to himself, more disappointed than worried, as he approached the control room. "Well, in that case, I will be the one who attacks first," he grinned mischievously.
However, all his plans for mischief were quickly discarded once he arrived at the control room. The place was in shambles, and Magolor was lying face down on the floor.
"Mags!" the jester exclaimed in alarm, flying towards his unconscious friend in a hurry. Or at least he hoped he was just unconscious. Magolor had survived Another Dimension without powers or anything, so he couldn't be dead!
And he was right. After lifting Magolor up using his wings, Marx noticed that his friend was still breathing, which released a weight on his heart (because yes, contrary to popular belief, in addition to chaos, the jester had a heart inside him). However, he kept his guard up. It was clear that Magolor had been the target of an attack, and the perpetrator could still be hiding, waiting for his next victim.
"Whoever is behind this is about to find out why nobody messes with my friends except me," Marx thought with anger.
"Ouch..."
Magolor's moan of pain caught Marx's attention. The wizard slowly opened his eyes.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Marx mocked Magolor, hiding any hint that he had been worried about the wizard.
"Marx?" Magolor asked, confused. "Why are the lights off?"
"That's something I'd like to know," he replied, making a shrugging gesture with his wings.
"Did... Did I hit my head somehow? It hurts..." the wizard whimpered, still quite stunned, as he brought a hand to the back of his head.
Marx shook his body to drop both his hat and the bag of food. Next, he took out a piece of freshly baked bread from inside using his free wing while holding Magolor with the other.
"Eat this, quick. You could have a brain contusion or something like that," Marx instructed Magolor as he placed the bread within the magician's reach. Magolor grabbed it with one of his hands and put it under his hood to eat it. The healing effect of the food immediately made his pain and dizziness disappear.
However, the beneficial effects of the food did nothing to prevent his horror at seeing the state of the control room.
"No! No! No!" The wizard screamed, jumping frantically towards the Lor's broken control console before trying to desperately activate it with no success. "What in Shiver Star did happen here?!"
"I don't know. It was already like this when I arrived," Marx replied. "My guess is that someone knocked you out in order to destroy the Lor's controls."
"This is a disaster!" the wizard exclaimed in despair.
"Hey, hey, keep your head cold. I'm sure you can fix it," Marx tried to calm his friend down. The jester didn't understand Magolor's reaction. The Lor had been in worse condition, according to what the magician had claimed in the past.
"Of course I can, but it might take days, especially if I have to ask Susie for spare parts," Magolor replied. "That is not the main issue, though."
"Then what is it?" Marx asked.
"My research is gone!" Magolor answered. "I can't even access the backups with the controls broken, and the analysis in progress is surely ruined. I was so close..." he explained, frustrated.
Marx paused to think about something Magolor had just said: his research was gone. Maybe the attacker wasn't after the wizard, but after his work.
"Well, if that person thinks that they will be spared only because Magolor wasn't their actual target, they are mistaken," Marx said to himself.
Still, the fact that Magolor had been assaulted and his research destroyed should mean that he had found something about the portals. But what did he find? And who was behind the attack? How was that person able to not only infiltrate the Lor but also take Magolor by surprise?
Unable to find an answer to those questions, Marx redirected his thoughts to his encounter with Taranza. Because Magolor had told the jester about his meeting with Kirby and the others the previous evening, Marx had been both surprised and suspicious to see Kirby walking alongside Taranza that morning. Therefore, he had decided to pester the spider in hopes of figuring out what was going on (and also because doing so was always amusing). However, given Taranza's reaction to Marx's accusation, it was very likely that neither he, his 'totally not suspicious cousin,' nor the "babyfied" Kirby were the ones who attacked Magolor.
"I'm sure that the baby was actually an alternate version of Kirby. But who was Taranza's supposed cousin? Ugh, thinking this much makes me hungry."
"So close to what?" Marx finally asked Magolor, intrigued, as he took a second bread out of the bag and devoured it in a single bite.
"Finding a way to open a portal to 'nowhere,'" the magician revealed.
Marx tilted his body in confusion.
"Okay, I think that hit broke something inside you. What you just said doesn't make sense."
"But it's literally 'nowhere'!" Magolor insisted. "Though at the same time, it could be said that it's also 'everywhere.' Don't you get it? This could be the greatest discovery since the time of the Ancients!" the magician exclaimed.
Marx rolled his eyes, took a pizza from the bag, and swallowed it whole before saying:
"Once I'm done eating, I'm taking you to a doctor. It's clear that the food hasn't cured you completely."
Magolor seemed to have finally realised that, due to stress, he wasn't explaining himself correctly, so he cleared his throat and, in a calmer tone, clarified:
"Marx, the entry point of those portals is not the universe from where the girl and the other Dedede came from. It's an 'in-between' dimension."
— — —
Dedede and Meta Knight didn't know how to react to that revelation.
The knight was tempted to mutter to Dedede an "I told you so," but he didn't think it was appropriate to do so given the circumstances. A Sectonia from an alternate dimension appearing out of nowhere to say that all universes needed them was not something to be taken lightly. In fact, it was quite serious and shocking at the same time.
Even Taranza had been stunned by Toni's words. He had already guessed, due to a couple of sentences that had slipped from the other spider's mouth, that something quite serious lay behind the arrival of the other dimension's inhabitants, but he would never have imagined that the reason was something of such a large scale.
"What do you mean by all universes needing our help?" Meta Knight wanted to know, giving voice to what he, Dedede, and Taranza were wondering.
"It's complicated to explain," the alternate Sectonia answered. "I suppose I should start from the beginning..."
Dedede, sensing that the visitor from the other dimension was about to start narrating a flashback, quickly interrupted her.
"Wait. How long is this story going to be?" the king asked, earning reproachful glances from Meta Knight and Taranza.
"A bit long. Why?" the alternate Sectonia asked, visibly annoyed. "I hope he doesn't intend to tell me that he is going to ignore me because long stories bore him," the spider said to herself, with increasing anger. From her point of view, exposing the reasons behind her arrival to that universe was of vital importance in order to continue her mission. She needed not only to convince the four heroes that her dimension's Meta Knight had spoken of to help her, but also to showcase what was at stake and the risks they would take if they decided to join her or not.
"Because, in that case, you're going to have to wait," Dedede replied with impatience.
"Wait?!" she exclaimed indignantly. "Haven't you heard what I said before? All universes are in danger! Don't you understand the gravity of the situation?"
"Yes I do, and that's why I can't just sit still and listen to 'a bit long' story when those four, well, five kids aren't back yet," the king replied. "If the situation is so serious, we need them. We must go find them now!"
Those words calmed down the alternative Sectonia, her expression becoming thoughtful. That was a good point, and, due to their change of posture towards the king, both the alternate Meta Knight and Tar seemed to agree.
"I understand," Sectonia conceded. "The Guardian, her brother, and the Kirby of this universe are of vital importance." The spider then remembered something and asked. "Tell me, is one of those 'kids' a Waddle Dee with a bandana, by any chance?" she asked.
"Yes," Dedede answered. "How did she know that? Taranza seems as surprised as I am that she got it right, so I can rule out that he told her about Bandee... Who is this Sectonia exactly?" he wondered as he studied the alternate Sectonia closely.
"So the four heroes have been located," the spider said to herself, somewhat satisfied. She then turned to Dedede and added, "You're right, Your Highness. Finding out what happened to those children is a top priority."
"Tiff Tuff dange?" asked baby Kirby, sitting next to the unconscious Dedede.
"We don't know yet, little one," Sectonia replied, trying to reassure him.
Meta Knight let out a long sigh of exasperation before turning towards the king.
"This wouldn't be a problem if neither you nor Kirby had refused to be part of Susie's communication system, like I told you," he reproached Dedede.
"What surprises me is that YOU of all people agreed to participate in her project," Dedede replied.
"It's useful for specific things. Obviously, I'm not going to talk about my strategies and defence plans using her creations," the knight stated.
"I still don't see the point of a high-tech communication system," Dedede said, shrugging.
"Well, it's useful for exactly this type of situation. One call and we would know if the children are in danger, distracted by some nonsense, or if they are already on their way back and we are worrying for nothing," the knight explained.
"Knowing Kirby, my bet is on the second option," Taranza whispered to himself.
Sectonia watched the exchange, rather baffled. Meta Knight had already warned her that the version of him she would find in that dimension would be quite different, and that the king of the lower lands wasn't going to be much like the one in hers either. But, after observing the disdain with which Meta Knight and the king treated each other in her dimension (although the former tried harder to hide that disdain in front of his "boss"), she would never have imagined that dynamic between their alternate selves. The Meta Knight and Dedede of that strange dimension could be arguing, but it was more similar to a discussion between two close friends or even family members than a real dispute.
"Ahem. Could you please return your focus to what concerns us?" Sectonia requested once she got over her stupefaction. "As the king said, we need to find those children as soon as possible, and, honestly, I don't even know where to start."
Suddenly, baby Kirby stood up, as if he had sensed something the others hadn't. The pink puffball ran to look out from one of the room's glassless windows. The four conscious adults followed him, curious at the change in his behaviour.
"Wap star, poyo!" baby Kirby exclaimed, jumping with joy as he pointed out a bright small light in the sky that was approaching the castle.
"That is them. Thank goodness..." Dedede sighed in relief.
"And then you'll say you don't care about Kirby," Meta Knight teased him.
"Shush," Dedede grumbled, looking away as his face turned red.
"By the way, what shall we do with the other Dedede?" Taranza asked.
"I guess I'll take him to the infirmary," said a tired, petulant voice behind them.
Everyone turned to look at the newcomer, who turned out to be Escargoon.
"Goonie, poyo!" baby Kirby said happily.
"Hello, Kirby," Escargoon greeted back, without much enthusiasm. "Wait a second, this is my world's Kirby!" the snail exclaimed after noticing both his behaviour and his appearance. Baby Kirby clapped his hands, glad that Escargoon had recognised him. "Where did he come from?!" he asked his captors.
"Where did you come from would be a more appropriate question," Dedede countered. "I'm sure you were hiding in the hole while we were fighting Dark Matter, like a coward," he reproached him.
"Me, a coward? How insolent. Caring about my self-preservation is not cowardice but wiseness," Escargoon replied with a haughty air. Then he noticed Sectonia. "Wait a second, your face seems familiar," he began to say. Suddenly, as if something had clicked inside his head, the snail exclaimed, "I remember now! You are the disrespectful ruler of Floralia who threatened to declare war on us if we didn't agree to collaborate with you in… something I do not remember!"
Sectonia let out a groan of disappointment upon hearing that last part.
"So you are also having trouble remembering what happened before we arrived here. How inopportune. I was hoping to have someone else's testimony to fill in the gaps in my own memory," said the spider.
"Did you really want to declare war on your dimension's Dream Land? Is the situation so serious that you would make such a threat?" Taranza asked her, a little afraid, as she had not denied the snail's statement.
"It was actually a tactical bluff," the alternate Sectonia confessed in order to prevent the inhabitants of that dimension from considering her a despot. Besides, her home had suffered too much from the consequences of the war against eNeMeE to throw its inhabitants headlong into another one.
"You tricked us!?" The snail shouted angrily. "This is an outrage! We should be the ones to declare war on Floralia for having such an ill-mannered and lying ruler!" he threatened her.
"I won't give an ounce of respect to anybody who collaborated with eNeMeE in the past, so you better get off your high horse, or I'll make that bluff a reality," Sectonia threatened back, deciding not to reveal that she wasn't Floralia's ruler to Escargoon. Unfortunately, both he and his king would only collaborate with her under duress.
"Nobody here is going to declare war on anyone!" the Dedede of that universe shouted angrily as he stood between them. "Besides, how do you dare talk about such a subject in front of a baby?" he reproached them while pointing at baby Kirby, who had a sad expression on his face and seemed stressed. If Dedede remembered what Tiff had told him correctly, in his universe most of the Star Warriors, the faction to which this Kirby belonged, died in the war against Nightmare. It was logical that the puffball was not only aware of that word's connotations but also that he didn't react well to it.
Sectonia seemed to have noticed the same thing, so he quickly apologised.
"You're right, I'm sorry," the spider said to Dedede and the baby Kirby. "War shouldn't be taken lightly."
"True, true," Escargoon agreed, showing a bit of regret for having let himself be carried away by his anger. His Dream Land lacked resources to wage war against any nation. "Well, I think I am not welcome here, so I'll be taking my lord to the infirmary," he finally decided.
"Don't try to escape. Both the castle guards and my men have the perimeter guarded," Meta Knight warned him.
"I wasn't planning to. Besides, it's not like I can get very far with this baggage," the snail groaned, glancing sideways at his Dedede.
Escargoon proceeded to drag the unconscious Dedede, but when he was about to leave the room, something ran over him.
"Let Dedede go, Dark Matter!" Kirby shouted, striking a battle pose while standing on top of Escargoon.
It was not hard to imagine why Kirby had entered the room in such a rush. While the adults were busy arguing, Kirby and the others had arrived at the castle. Then, someone had told them that Dark Matter was attacking. "Oopsies. I should have told the Dees that the problem was already solved," Dedede said to himself.
"Heh, you're late, Kirby. Meta Knight and I have already dealt with Dark Matter's copy," Dedede gloated. Instead of looking surprised, Kirby sighed in relief. "He looks tired. Did he skip his morning nap, or did he and the otherrs run into trouble?" the king wondered.
"Oh... it was just a copy," Gooey, who had entered right behind Kirby, said. He spoke in a strange tone that could be read either as relief or as disappointment. Sometimes, reading the blob's emotions was very difficult.
Behind them came Tiff, closely followed by Bandee. As expected, as soon as she entered the room, the girl's eyes fell on only one person.
"Kirby!" she exclaimed happily upon seeing her dimension's puffball.
"Tiff!" he shouted back. Happiness was reflected in his sparky eyes as he threw himself into the girl's arms, melting into a hug so tender that it touched everyone present, except for Escargoon.
"Tuff, it's him!" Tiff called to her brother, who had just entered the room. "It's our Kirby!"
Obviously, the boy also joined the hug.
"Thank goodness you're okay, buddy," the boy said to the puffball.
"Tiff, Tuff, poyo, poyo," baby Karby repeated, crying tears of joy as he held onto his adopted siblings
The lovely scene didn't last much longer, as someone was lying face down on the ground and couldn't stand their position any longer.
"Um... I lament interrupting this disgustingly tender moment, but can the Kirby who's mentally over a year old get off of me?!" an angry Escargoon asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" the hero apologised, getting off the snail's shell before helping him to get up. "I came in so quickly that I didn't notice anything or... anyone."
It was at that moment when Kirby recognised a face among the group that was familiar to him but he had never seen in person, his mind short-circuiting due to the shock. For a second, he thought that Sectonia had somehow returned to life free of the corruption caused by the Dimension Mirror.
"No. I have been told many times that something like that can only happen in a dream. This person must be the Sectonia that Tiff told us about," Kirby told himself.
"Greetings, hero of this dimension," the alternate Sectonia approached him.
Kirby stepped back a little, feeling anxious. It was the first time he didn't know how to talk with someone. What kind of person was the Sectonia standing in front of him? Could he trust her? Would she hate him if she found out that he had caused her death in that dimension? Kirby glanced at Taranza. How was his friend dealing with the situation?
For her part, Sectonia hadn't missed the way that dimension's hero looked at her. "Did something happen between the me from this dimension and him?" the former princess wondered. Still, she decided not to delve into it. They had more important things to focus on.
"I don't know what your relationship with this dimension's me was like, nor am I interested," she continued saying. "If it's more convenient and easier for you, you can call me Toni, just like Tar... I mean, Taranza does."
"So, Taranza is calling the alternate Sectonia by another name?" Kirby repeated in his mind. "I guess this could help me to see this person as a new friend without being reminded of her..." he decided to try.
"Okay! I'll call you Toni!" Kirby finally agreed, trying to regain his usual joy.
"So, you're not the tyrannical queen corrupted by a magic mirror that Kirby had no choice but to kill?" Gooey asked, genuinely curious.
That question felt like someone had dropped a bomb in the middle of the room. Dedede and Kirby, who had already felt quite uncomfortable, couldn't help but be startled and alarmed since they didn't know how Toni was going to take the revelation. Taranza's face had taken on a sad expression, and he looked like he wanted to vanish. Tiff and Tuff arrived way too late to cover Gooey's mouth. Meta Knight put a hand to his temple. Finally, Bandee snorted in exasperation.
"Gooey...How many times do I have to tell you that you need to be more tactful when asking about that subject?" the Waddle Dee scolded the blob.
"I'm sorry..." he apologised.
"You really need to learn to read the room," Tuff remarked.
As for Sectonia, the strange creature's words had felt like a cold shower on a winter morning.
"So I was a tyrannical queen in this dimension. I guess that explains both Tar's behaviour when I attacked him out of reflex this morning and everyone's reaction to my presence. Still, I can't let this affect me. Too much is at stake."
Sectonia buried any sign of distress the revelation could have caused her deep in his heart. Then, she once again adopted a formal posture.
"As I said, I'm not interested in what kind of person this dimension's 'me' was," Sectonia declared in a professional tone. "My purpose is to save our worlds, so I beg you all to put aside any prejudice caused by what she did to you in the past and focus on addressing the current problem," she requested of the rest.
"Then, do you know how we ended up here?" Tuff wanted to know.
"Yes, though there are a few things I haven't been able to remember yet," Sectonia admitted. "I hope that as I tell my story, the gaps in my memory will be filled in."
"And maybe mine too," Tiff added, eager to hear what Toni had to tell.
At that moment, Dedede stepped forward, drawing the attention of those present.
"Well, now that we are all here, I suggest we go somewhere more comfy," the king said. "Luckily, I asked the Dees to repair the meeting room first, as I got the feeling that we were going to need it. Or would you rather just stand here?"
No one was thrilled by the second option, so they all decided to follow Dedede to the meeting room. On the way, Tuff formally introduced himself to that dimension's Meta Knight and Dedede, motivated by his sister.
"Is it true that you hit my dimension's Dedede so hard with your hammer that he flew out of a robot?" the boy asked, remembering what his sister had told him.
"Yes. Although, in my defence, I will say that he asked for it," Dedede replied. "See my castle?" he added, pointing to the buttressed walls. "It wouldn't be in this sorry state if it weren't for him."
"I would have paid my allowance of a whole year to see you beat his ass," Tuff stated.
"Language, Tuff!" Tiff scolded her brother.
"Hey, does Toni having something important to tell us mean that I can't take a nap?" Kirby asked suddenly. His baby counterpart walked beside him, curiously watching everything he did and even trying to imitate him. Kirby couldn't help but find it odd but endearing. Besides, while he was already used to meeting other versions of himself (either splits or alternate "selves"), this was the first time, as far as he knew, that baby Kirby had seen someone identical, or almost identical, to him. He hoped that once things calmed down a bit, they both would become good friends.
"We have no time for naps. If you wanted to sleep so badly, you should have arrived earlier," Dedede reproached him as he invited everyone to enter the meeting room.
"Hey, it wasn't my fault. We were attacked by a copy of Dark Nebula!" Kirby excused himself, staying behind with Dedede as the others took their seats.
"So the kids had indeed been in danger after all, though, as always, they had come out victorious. In that case, I guess I shouldn't be too hard on Kirby," Dedede thought.
"Well, if you see that you're so tired that you can't keep your eyes open, you can get a few minutes of sleep," the king conceded. "But try to stay awake!" he demanded.
Kirby nodded happily before taking a seat next to the window, where the warmth of the sun was more pleasant. Dedede rolled his eyes and took the large centre seat, which was reserved for him.
"So we were attacked by a copy of Dark Matter, and you were attacked by a copy of Dark Nebula... Is any of you injured?" Meta Knight asked.
"No, sir. We all came out of the fight unscathed," Bandee confirmed.
"What about the Squeaks?"
"Daroach almost died," Gooey answered.
"Of course he did..." the knight said before sighing with displeasure. "That thief is always recklessly risking his life."
"It wasn't his fault. That copy was very determined to finish off both him and Kirby," Gooey excused the mouse.
"I see...In that case, I suppose I should send him something to compensate him for the trouble," Meta Knight commented thoughtfully.
"Have you been facing copies of other beings?" Toni asked. The rest, except Taranza and baby Kirby, nodded. "Did they have a digital-like appearance?"
"Yes. It seems that you know what they are," Meta Knight guessed.
"That's right," the spider nodded. "They're called..."
"... Echoes, and their existence is a direct consequence of what is putting all universes in danger," said Tiff at the same time as Toni. Everyone present stared at her, surprised. "I'm sorry!" she apologised quickly. "I didn't want to be rude, but those words suddenly came to my mind, and I don't know why."
"It's because I have already explained this to you on our first meeting," Toni said.
"Our first meeting..." Tiff repeated, trying to recall it. "I'm sorry, I don't remember it well. I know that you were with us before we ended up in this dimension, but I still don't know why or how," the girl said, somewhat distressed. Baby Kirby, who was sitting between her and his older counterpart, patted her to try to comfort her.
"Hey, at least that's an indication that you're recovering your memory," Bandee tried to cheer her up.
"I suppose so, but I don't feel like it's enough," she replied.
"Don't worry. My story will be," Toni assured her. Then, she addressed the inhabitants of that dimension: "He trusted that you would lend us your aid if we couldn't complete this mission on our own."
"He?" Meta Knight asked, intrigued.
"My dimension's Meta Knight," Toni answered. "He is, or was, the leader of our mission, but since he is not with us right now, that role belongs to me. I hope that what I am going to tell you is enough to convince you to join our cause."
The spider gave a long sigh before beginning her story.
"It all started a little over a week ago..."
Happy late new year. Sorry for taking too long to update. I've been busy studying for a very important exam (above university level), but also revising older chapters of both versions of this fic and working on the remake of Skybound Dreams. I can't promise that the wait for the next chapter will be shorter, as I have another big exam in the near future.
I had to rush the update of the translation as my computer has been acting weird lately. I will revise the chapter as soon as I'm able.