Dedede, Meta, and Addie are playing cards.

Addie: Got any nines?

Meta: That's not what were playing...

Dedede: HA HA! I WON! ALL THE GOLD IS MINE!

Meta: REALLY?!

Dedede: I've been cheating the last eight turns. -hi-fives Addie-

A sudden rumble fills the room. The door rapidly swing open and a familiar figure is silhouetted in the background.

StarRod: KIRBY FANS, I HATH RETURNETH!

Chapter 9: Marrionettes of Dark Matter

King Dedede sat up and looked out the window of his castle, looking at the sky. Why was he so angry all of a sudden? Why? He was known to snap sometimes, but not this violently. He hurt all over, and felt exhausted. What was wrong?

He suddenly shuddered, though no cold wind was in the castle. But Dedede felt cold all over, like someone had dumped a bucket of water on him. Chill spread through his body like a freezing wildfire, and he suddenly collapsed. He screamed in excruciating pain, his eyes rapidly changed from red to blue and back again, as the evil dark matter fought for Dedede's conscince. He fell over, and the darknesss prevailed.

Dedede was turned into a mindless puppet, and was dragged to the coldest part of Dreamland. Limp and motionless, the soulless King did not even notice that he was headed towards a huge, castle-shaped mountain, in the country where his people once thrived.

There, at the top of the frigid peak, the Dark Matter inside King Dedede waited patiently for the pink hero to arrive.

Meanwhile, in Cloudy Park, Ado was feeling similarly. She was never one to get angry; she always kept her head and was usually calm. But suddenly, she hated the picture she was working on. Everything and anything in her painting looked off and stupid, and with a frustrated noise, Ado ripped the paper off her easel and tore the canvas to pieces.

Ado blinked. What had she done? That picture had looked all right 2 minutes ago, but then she had suddenly hated it... Why?

A sudden head rush sent Ado to her knees, and she groaned as she clutched the jet-black hair on her forehead.

Ow ow ow ow ow ow... She thought. Her chest hurt, the space behind her eyes began to feel sore, and Ado felt as if she had a migraine. She started to cry, and began to wail loudly as the pain became too much, and she passed out.

And so the Dark Matter claimed another innocent soul to do its horrible bidding.

-pagebreak-

Coo the owl's wings were sore. He had spent all of that morning carrying Ado to Strawberry Fluff, and now he had to carry that incompetent gumball Kirby to the entrance of Cloudy Park. Coo's conscience chided him; he was just mad because he hadn't slept in a while.

The weather had changed drastically since Coo had been there earlier; the sky was now filled with ominous dark-grey clouds and heavy drops of rain came down faster than bullets. Coo winced as a raindrop hit him right on the beak, and was suprised when the drop didn't glide off. It didn't smell like rain, either. It kind of smelled like paint...

Coo's eyes widened. "Ado." He said in shock.

He sped up, not caring for his sore wings.

-pagebreak-

Kirby, for his part, was suprised when Coo sped through all of Cloudy Park and headed straight for the huge strawberry-shaped cloud. Weren't they going to search for Heart Stars before heading towards the boss?

"We'll come back for the Heart Stars later." Coo said quickly, as if he had read Kirby's thoughts. Maybe he read Kirbys expression... Coo was very wise and could read expressions very well.

When Coo dropped him off at the bottom of the red cloud, Kirby turned and saw Coo perched on a tree-shaped cloud, fast asleep. Kirby smiled; he could tell Coo had been tired and decided to let him sleep. He ran into the cloud.

Weirdly, there were walls, a floor, and a ceiling in the cloud. Kirby gasped audibly at the sight; the building was wonderfully built. It reminded him of Butter Building. There were also paintings on the wall, usually of animals. Waddle Dees were common, and there were a few birds, a Rick clone, and even a portrait of Kirby himself. All of them were beautifully painted and Kirby felt honored.

There were a lot of stairs in Strawberry Fluff. Step after step after step made Kirby beign to feel exhausted, but he pressed on nonetheless. Finally, he reached a door painted like the sky. This must be it, Kirby thought. The boss of cloudy Park.

The door opened silently, and Kirby cautiously peeped out.

A hunched, turquoise, and tall figure was standing next to a wooden easel, and trying its best to paint. The figures movements were unnatural and jerky, as if a marionette puppet was trying to paint instead of a person. The figure never turned, but it spoke to the young warrior in a distorted, creepy voice. It was a blend of a young girl's voice and something...inhuman. Something nasty. The very tone of the figure's voice sent shivers down Kirby's nonexistent spine.

"wElCoMe, KiRbY oF tHe StArS. i'Ve BeEn WaItInG fOr YoU..."

Ugh, possessed Addie is kinda creepy. Gives me goosebumps...brr..

Anyway, sorry for the hiatus. I really got into the Gravity Falls fandom (and trust me, I'm still deeply rooted in it. THE STANLEY TWIN THEORY, YO.) And then finals (which were really stressful) then Christmas break, then vacation... I just was too busy to sit down and write.

It's good to be back :)

-StarRod