Fire Kirby looked up, weary blue eyes squinting at the sight of a thin ray of light beyond the tunnel. The group, which formed a tight circle around the Star Warrior, lifted their eyes to the light one by one. Before them lied the thin crevasse that led outside, sunbeams shining through the crack and stretching a few feet into the cave. At last, after slogging through the cold for hours, the party had reached the exit. Immediately upon seeing the entrance Fire Kirby's crown winked out, flames shrinking to nothing as his cherry-red skin began to fade to its natural pink color. Kirby's mouth hung open as he panted from exhaustion, swiping a hand across his eyes as his tired face broke into a grin.

"Out!" Kirby cried, pointing to the sunlit entrance. He began to trot quickly, eager to leave the miserable cave behind.

Bun grinned broadly and picked up his pace to match Kirby's, the two boys leaving the others behind in their rush to escape.

"Woooo! Freedom!" Bun cried, pumping a fist into the air.

Meta Knight said nothing as he continued to press forward steadily, giving the slightest nod in response. Sword and Blade looked at each other, smiles hidden beneath their helmets; everyone was eager to leave the frigid hellhole behind. Kirby exited the cave first, eyes closing instinctively as the bright sun hit him. He blinked rapidly, tiny black spots dancing at the edge of his vision as his eyes adjusted to the change. Bun exited the cave next, lifting his wool hat and tilting his head upwards to gaze at the sun. Sword, Blade and Meta Knight slipped through the crevasse afterward, with Fumu leaving last. Her gaze followed Bun's, ignoring the pain the sunlight brought her eyes after hours of darkness. A lump formed in her throat, cold tears stinging the edge of her eyes; it was not until she looked at the sun that she realized how close she came to never seeing daylight again.

The joy the group felt upon seeing sunlight again was quickly dimmed as they realized that the Necromancer's ship was already gone. The twisted ex-Galaxy Soldier, after exiting the cave, had apparently taken off with his prize in tow. Meta Knight wrapped himself up in his cape after stretching briefly, cold unblinking gaze resting on the spot where the Necromancer's ship one sat. The Necromancer had the Orb. He had won.

The group reentered the Makhaira single-file, Meta Knight taking the lead with Sword and Blade behind him. The blue Star Warrior said nothing as he stepped back into the bronze spaceship. Already his mind was moving forward, wondering what the group's next step should be. Meta Knight was relieved when the Makhaira's door slid open to reveal an intact interior; the ship had not been looted, pillaged, or destroyed. The Necromancer appeared to simply take off. Perhaps he was in as much of a hurry to leave the accursed planet as they were.

As the children began to remove their bulky winter clothing, Meta Knight hovered over Sword and Blade. He peered over their armored shoulders as they sat at the ship's front console. The Necromancer's ship signature was still saved, but Meta Knight was concerned. If the ship had traveled too far away, they would never be able to track the Necromancer. A gloved hand gently pressed against a part of the ship's console, tapping out a rapid sequence of button presses. At once the screen showed a vast circular grid, shaped like a bulls-eye. Meta Knight's eyes lit up, flashing a vibrant green.

"There he is", Meta Knight stated, the excitement clear in his usually level voice.

Blade tilted his head as he leaned forward, eyeing the radar. "Is he really...?"

Sword tore his gaze away from what he was focusing on, frantically trying to get the ship ready for takeoff so that they could pursue the Necromancer's ship. He looked at the radar, nodding.

"Looks like he is", Sword replied.

"He is what?" Bun asked curiously, looking up as he slid out of his thick, ice-encrusted coat.

Meta Knight turned slightly, looking at the children out of the corner of his eye.

"It appears as if the Necromancer is heading back to Popstar."

"Why would he do that?" Fumu wondered aloud as Bun helped her out of her winter clothes. Ever since they had boarded the ship, Bun refused to let Fumu do anything even slightly strenuous.

"Why wouldn't he?" Meta Knight responded, turning his head back away from them to again glance at the radar.

Blade twisted his body to lean his arm over the top of his chair, looking behind him to face Fumu and Bun.

"I get it" Blade mused aloud. "The Necromancer thinks that without us, Dreamland is helpless. Popstar doesn't have much in the way of defenses – it's just a bunch of peaceful Cappies and Waddle Dees. If he wanted to take over entire planets, why not start with the one which he believes no longer has any defenses?"

"I can't imagine Popstar having anything he would want after he stole that weird museum doll" Sword added with a nod. "The only reason he could want to go there is to take it over. To use the Necromantic Orb as a plaything against defenseless people. Disgusting."

"Buckle in extra tight" Blade called as he swung back around in his chair, facing the console. "We're going after this monster at max speed."

Fumu smiled as Bun fussed over her, the boy guiding her to her seat and strapping her in carefully. She was surprised to see such a rare side of her brother – the same boy that teased her and ran away with her stuff just to make her mad, the last member of the household to concede to chores, was now doting on her like a mother over her newborn.

"Thanks, Bun. I'm fine, really" Fumu said sheepishly.

Bun waved his hand at her in response. "Don't worry Sis, I got this." he said, securing her buckle before standing back. "When it's safe to be unbuckled, I'll bring you some food. Okay?"

Fumu felt her cheeks redden slightly with embarrassment, feeling like a young child. She was the big sister; she was the one who was usually taking care of things. Despite herself, she smiled. She knew it was because Bun was worried about her.

"Okay" Fumu said with a smile, nodding at him.

Bun looked at Kirby, who had already beelined to the ship's food stores and was having a field day, and grimaced. With Fumu already strapped in, it was up to Bun to corral him.

"H-hey, Kirby! Don't go nuts, that food has to last us the whole trip back!" Bun cried, running after the Star Warrior.

Fumu chuckled lightly in her seat. Now Bun knew how she felt.

After no small amount of effort, Bun pulled poor starving Kirby away from the ship's provisions and secured him into a seat. Meta Knight returned to the seat he kept previously as Bun strapped himself in, reaching above his head to stretch as he grabbed the top of his thickly padded harness.

Sword and Blade wasted no time getting the Makhaira into the air. The ship flew through the chilled air of Star's Fall, ascending into the atmosphere in record time. The two armored warriors pushed the ship to its maximum speed, hurtling towards Popstar in an attempt to keep the Necromancer's ship in their sights.

"Popstar isn't entirely defenseless..." Fumu piped up as she ate her food, breaking the silence which fell upon the ship.

The ship's four passengers had all received their meal after the ship reached its desired height. The choices, all of which consisted of bland rehydratable ship rations, were still received enthusiastically by the starving group. The two pilots, Sword and Blade, both refused to eat. The swordsmen staved off their hunger purposely in order to keep navigating the ship without pause.

"Unless Captain Waddle Doo and his band of soldiers are stronger than we think, it kind of is" Bun replied between forkfuls of his rehydrated beef. The sorry cube of meat looked and tasted like a frozen meal from hell, but the boy was so hungry that he didn't care.

"What about King Dedede himself?" Fumu asked. "He's really good with that hammer of his."

"We're dealing with a Necromancer, Sis. And his army of undead monsters" Bun shot back. "Do you really think the same King who was scared of me in a sheet is going to stand up to real ghosts?"

Fumu dragged her fork along her plate, pushing her food into two piles as her gaze was cast downward. "Good point. After what happened in Pupu Village, King Dedede probably already booked a one-way ticket to the Float Islands."

"Maybe Escargon could talk them to death" Bun remarked.

A brief "Heh" could be heard from behind the three youths. Sitting in the final row and facing away from the group, Meta Knight chuckled at Bun's joke. His mask was lifted just enough to reveal his mouth, back turned from the group in the chair as he ate.

Kirby sat across from Fumu, looking sorrowfully at his empty plate. His portion did absolutely nothing to satiate the enormous hunger he worked up in the cave, even after managing to shove three unprepared freeze-dried bags of food into his mouth before Bun stopped him. Kirby's deep blue eyes glanced upward at the ship's front window hopefully, eager to see Popstar again. He had had it with this trip; he was pushed to the brink of exhaustion, frozen, nearly killed, and to top it all off the food was awful even by his standards.

Fumu noticed Kirby's unusually glum expression and passed the remaining bit of food on her plate to him, hand reaching across the aisle. Kirby's gaze immediately lit up, inhaling Fumu's entire plate of food in an instant. Fumu smiled slightly. Kirby saved her life; it was the least she could do.

The group rested after finishing their meals, dozing off in their chairs as the Makhaira flew through space. It was not long before the shimmering yellow planet known as Popstar filled their field of vision. Meta Knight stood and walked forward, taking the last opportunity to look at the radar before he would have to be secured in his seat again for landing. His eyes narrowed.

"Odd..." the blue Star Warrior murmured through his mask, eyes narrowing. "He may be on Popstar, but he is not in Dreamland."

Fumu rose to her feet, walking over to the ship's front console and peering over Meta Knight's armored shoulder. The radar was zoomed in, now displaying a rough map of Popstar instead of space. Fumu's green eyes widened.

"I know where he's going!" Fumu exclaimed. Meta Knight looked at her questioningly.

"That region is the site of one of the planet's biggest ruins. There was once a great city there that got mysteriously wiped out, leaving nothing but bones and pottery" Fumu stated, recognizing the area from her history books.

"Bones..." Meta Knight mused.

"I bet he chose that site on purpose, to raise a bunch of undead monsters to take over Popstar with" Sword growled, briefly looking up from the ship's controls. "But why bother? Between the power he already had and the Necromantic Orb, he could probably waltz into every settlement on Popstar and wipe them out in one hit."

Meta Knight's eyes began to glint green. After a long pause, he spoke. "I think I know what the Necromancer wants now."

A gloved hand appeared from within the folds of Meta Knight's cape. He turned and pointed at the younger Star Warrior, who busied himself by desperately licking the last bit of sauce from his spoon.

"You." Meta Knight addressed Kirby.

Kirby looked up upon hearing his name, slowly setting the spoon down. "Me?" he asked in a small voice.

"Sir, I don't think Kirby understands...and neither do I" Fumu chimed in, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. She hated it when Meta Knight spoke cryptically.

Meta Knight turned his back to the three, looking out of the ship's front window as he stood still between Sword and Blade. The bright planet reflected a dim yellow light on the stoic veteran's mask.

"Suppose we lived..." Meta Knight began. "Suppose we survived that ordeal in the ice cave and followed the Necromancer. Instead of catching him off-guard, he could amass an army of undead to prepare for us. Instead of having just touched the Necromantic Orb, he could have time to master it better by the time we struck again. Now, what could such a powerful being want?"

Meta Knight again looked at Kirby from the side of his mask. "More soldiers. The most powerful he could get. After all, not all planets are as peaceful as Popstar. It is obvious that undead soldiers carry their skill with them beyond the grave, proving far more dangerous than civilians...who would make a more dangerous puppet than Kirby?"

Fumu's face paled. "Oh no... you're saying that he predicted our escape and is heading back to Popstar to set up a trap for us? That's impossible! He'd have to be psychic!"

"Not necessarily" Blade said. "If we can see the Necromancer's ship on our radar, he can see us on his own. It was impossible to hide our position, since we had to pursue him so quickly in order to catch up to him. Before, we were able to stay out of his range because we knew where he was headed. Instead of obviously following him, we just headed to where he was also going."

"He must have seen us on the radar and changed his course to Popstar in order to lure us in. Bastard" Sword spat.

"If that's the case, we're walking into a trap" Fumu muttered, biting onto her knuckle from nerves. "We can't just follow him in without a plan. That would be suicide. We need to be able to combat the Necromantic Orb's power somehow."

The entire group fell silent. Kirby stuck the spoon into his mouth and sucked on it thoughtfully. After a few seconds, he took it out and hopped out of his chair excitedly.

"Love love!" Kirby cried.

Fumu put a hand behind her neck, smiling at Kirby despite the tense situation. "We love you too Kirby, but now's not the time..."

Kirby shook his head defiantly, huffing. "No...Love love!"

"What on earth is he try-" Fumu's green eyes widened. "Love-Love...the Love-Love stick! The ancient artifact also known as the Heart Rod! Kirby, that's a great idea!" she said with a broad grin.

Kirby hopped from one foot to another, clapping his small hands above his head cheerfully upon his friend understanding what he was trying to say. Fumu began to pace excitedly, much to Bun's consternation.

"The Necromantic Orb harnesses the essence of death...the Heart Rod harnesses the essence of life! It may be enough to defeat him. But there's one problem..." Fumu continued, slowing her pace to a stop and looking upwards thoughtfully.

"The Heart Rod is not a mere weapon to be swung like a sword. Legend says it is only activated by cumulative power, by the love and compassion of many channeled into the rod... we don't have time to preform acts of compassion throughout the land to wake it up."

Meta Knight turned to face Fumu, yellow eyes boring into her without blinking. "Perhaps a single, grand act of compassion would do?"

Fumu scratched her head. "I don't know...the legends didn't mention it. But maybe it would work."

Meta Knight continued to eye her, causing the girl to shift uncomfortably. "And where is this Heart Rod?"

"I believe Curio has it" Fumu responded. "It was meant to be the centerpiece of the Pupu Village Museum...oh no." A hand flew to Fumu's mouth as she paused, eyes widening.

"You don't think it got burned up in the fire, Sis...do you?" Bun inquired timidly.

"Well...we saw the entire museum that one day way back, during our field trip. The Heart Rod wasn't there then. Maybe Curio kept it to himself" Fumu uttered nervously. "We need to talk to him."

"Sword. Blade" Meta Knight stated tersely, turning his intense gaze away from Fumu. "Stop following the Necromancer and head towards the village instead."

"Yes, Sir" Sword and Blade replied in unison as their ship drew nearer to Popstar's atmosphere, adjusting their course to land further north on the planet's surface.