Chapter 1 – Shattered
Only a few fluffy white clouds marked an otherwise clear sky that day, the air filled with laughter and music. Colorful streamers and banners were strung up across the village, and vendors sold all manner of snacks and toys. There was even a small carnival set up in the fields right outside, using the equipment King Dedede had once had in his castle.
There was no prank this time. The king still liked to make mischief, though he didn't order demon beasts anymore. Instead, this day marked the third anniversary of Kirby's arrival, and also fell close to the first anniversary of the defeat of Nightmare at his hands.
Since then, Dreamland had been pleasantly demon free. For the little Star Warrior this day honored, there was nothing left to fight. And for the first time in 10,000 years, the universe seemed at peace.
For the one standing high on a tree branch, watching the proceedings with a somewhat interested gaze, it was the first time in a very, very long time that he could actually relax. There was no need to keep a constant vigil over Kirby, as there was no longer anything to threaten him. He hoped so, anyhow.
Sir Meta Knight watched as a group of Cappy children ran by beneath him, clutching colorful balloons. In the back of his mind, he knew- peace rarely lasted long. You toppled one evil dictator only to have another, even worse, take its place. A 10,000-year reign such as Nightmare's didn't vanish as quickly as its leader had.
He wished he had been there to see Kirby's battle. Kirby, who had been rushed into fighting though he was just a small child. It was so much for one person's shoulders, but he carried himself better than many seasoned warriors Meta Knight had known. Thankfully it had been easy for him to adjust and go back to playing as a child should.
Things weren't perfect of course. King Dedede was still a slight nuisance from time to time. Meta Knight had yet to understand why the people of the village tolerated him. They were far too passive and gullible- and frankly, stupid- for their own good. If it hadn't been for Kirby, it wasn't likely they'd all still be around. Nor would anyone else, for that matter.
And suddenly, Meta Knight's view was filled with pink. He'd been so lost in his thoughts he hadn't noticed the balloon float up- No, not just a balloon. This one had a face.
"Poyo!"
"Kirby. What are you doing?" he asked, looking over as Kirby landed next to him, exhaling and deflating slightly. "Shouldn't you be out enjoying yourself?"
Kirby shook his head. "Meta look lonely," he said matter-of-factly. Kirby had made a huge amount of progress with his speaking in the past year. Sometimes he'd still digress back into 'poyos', though that was a language in itself that only few understood.
"I'm not, I assure you. Go on now…" He motioned toward the carnival.
"Poy…" Kirby sounded annoyed. He then opened his mouth, reached inside… and pulled out a candy apple on a stick, which he then offered to Meta Knight. He was smiling brightly.
Meta Knight stared for a moment. "I really don't…" Kirby's face fell. Meta Knight sighed and accepted it. "Thank you…"
"Come on rides!" Kirby exclaimed, tugging on his cape. "Rides! Now! Poyopoy!"
Meta Knight resisted easily as Kirby attempted to pull him off the branch. "Kirby, please, I don't want to go on the rides."
Kirby paused. "…Play games?"
"No thank you. Look, Bun's over there, he's probably looking for you." He pointed to where the shaggy haired boy was heading towards the ferris wheel.
Meta Knight, in truth, had mixed feeling about Kirby. There was the fact Kirby was a legendary Warrior destined to save the universe. On the other hand, Kirby was also a small child, with many of the rather annoying habits small children had. Truth be told, Meta Knight didn't really like kids. But, he was a patient soul if anything.
Kirby deflated a bit more, looking defeated. Meta Knight thought for a moment.
"Fine, if you'd really like to do something… Later I'll give you some sword fighting lessons. Would that be suitable?"
Kirby smiled, jumping on the branch. "Poyoyes!"
Another voice rang out from the bottom of the tree. "Kirby! Leave Sir Meta Knight alone!" Kirby promptly lost his balance and fell, landing on Fumu's head and bouncing off.
"Sowwy Fumu…"
"It's all right; you're soft." Fumu patted him on the head, laughing. "Bun and Hohhe are going on the ferris wheel, they wanted you to go too!"
"Yay poyo!" Kirby cheered, running off towards the rides without another thought. Fumu watched him leave and shook her head. She was carrying a stick of cotton candy and a plush sheep she'd won at a game.
"Was he bothering you again?" Fumu asked, grinning up at Meta Knight.
"You could say that…" Meta Knight looked at the candy apple in his hand, not quite sure what to do with it. Shrugging, he lifted his mask slightly, sticking the apple under. This was followed by audible sounds of crunching. He tossed the bare stick aside, right into a nearby trashcan. He noticed Fumu was looking at him rather strangely. "…What," he said flatly.
"Er, nothing… So are you going to be up there watching all day? Even Sword and Blade are having fun!" She pointed over to a target game of some sort where the two of them seemed to be trying to win the highest prize- a Meta Knight plushie.
"…I don't remember giving them permission to use my likeness." Meta Knight muttered. He shook his head. "Perhaps later."
She sighed. "Well, it's not like you have anything else to do, right?"
He actually laughed at that. "Oh, it's really better that way you know. If I had anything to do, that would mean there was something dangerous I needed to protect you from, correct?"
"I guess so…" She sighed again. "All right then… See you around," she waved, walking off to meet up with a friend.
Meta Knight sat down against the tree trunk, closing his eyes. He was a little tired, maybe a short nap. It was too noisy here to really concentrate, but that was what he wanted.
When the screaming started a few moments later, he wasn't sure if he was dreaming it or not.
He jumped up, hand automatically reaching for the hilt of his sword. The people were milling about in panic, many of them pointing towards the castle. It was easy to see what was causing the commotion. A huge, disk shaped ship hovered above it, casting a huge shadow over the land.
Sword and Blade both ran beneath the tree, calling up to him. "Sir Meta Knight, it's another Destrayar! Is it here to attack?" Blade asked. Meta Knight jumped down, landing lightly in front of them.
Meta Knight shook his head. "I don't think there's any need to worry… I believe this one carries friends." The two of them nodded, trusting his judgment. "Let's get to the castle, quickly!" he shouted, and the three of them headed off.
A smaller ship had come down from the imposing Destrayar, landing closer to the village and keeping the knights' trip short. Meta Knight was quick to inform everyone that there wasn't any danger, but they kept their distance regardless.
"Sir Meta Knight, what's going on?" It was Fumu again, along with her brother now. "Are you sure it's safe?"
"Of course," he said, watching as the door opened and a small figure stepped out into the light.
"Knuckle Joe! Poyoyo Joe!" Kirby exclaimed as soon as he saw his friend, jumping up from the crowd and running over to him.
"Whoa hey wait a second!" Joe protested as Kirby tried to tackle hug him. "Geez I'm happy to see you too but I'm not an affectionate type and you know that! Get off!"
"Knuckle Joe, what are you doing here?" Fumu asked, walking up to him.
Bun pushed in front of her excitedly. "Have you killed a lot of demons lately?"
Joe seemed a bit upset at that, looking away. "Yeah. Too many."
"Huh?"
A feminine voice came from inside the ship. "There are more left than there should be." Silica stepped out a moment later, her multi-use weapon in hand and bandages around her arm. She gestured to the massive ship overhead. "This is our only ship left. The other two were destroyed."
This sent a flurry of worried discussion through the gathered crowd. Meta Knight stepped forward. "Destroyed? By what? Whom?"
Silica stepped aside to allow four other figures to exit. They were similar to Meta Knight's in their body shape, only they had much more elaborate armor. They were the four of the last remaining Star Warriors that had come to assist them during the attack on Nightmare's fortress. They all appeared to be the same race as Meta Knight or Kirby, only in different colors and armor.
"Sir Arthur, Dragato, Nonsurat, Falspar." Meta Knight said, addressing each of them. "It's good to see you again, but which of you can tell me what's going on?"
The leader of the Galaxy Fighter Team and the Star Warriors, clad in scratched and dented gold armor- Sir Arthur- approached him. "This is a serious matter. We should speak in private, as to not give these people undue distress."
"Excuse me…" Mayor Len walked out of the crowd. "My house is nearby, you could use it if you'd like. Just let me know what's going on if this could be a threat to my village!"
"Very well."
Soon the group was seated around the long table in the Mayor's dining room. The mayor, Meta Knight, Sword and Blade, Knuckle Joe, Silica, Sir Arthur, Kirby, and Fumu and Bun had managed to get in as well.
"Can I get anyone something to drink?" Hana asked from the doorway.
Len stood up quickly. "That's all right dear, but this is rather important…"
"She can stay if she wishes," Arthur said. He was seated at the end of the table, his blue eyes serious. "Meta Knight, I can say now that though Nightmare appears to have been defeated, his influence remains. He has many that are still loyal to him, and many demons still roam the universe, seeking to do his bidding."
"But isn't that why you all left? To go kill the rest of them?" Bun interrupted, getting an angry glare from his sister.
"That's right," Joe answered, leaning back in his chair, his focus far away. "But we expected them to be disorganized, scattered… We didn't expect them to attack us in groups. They have a leader, a good one. Someone's bringing them all together into one huge army…"
"An army?" Meta Knight said, incredulous. No, he should have expected something like this. It couldn't have been so easy.
"Big enough to have their own ships and artillery. We found their base and barely made it out alive," Silica pounded the table, teeth clenched. "It was a damned ambush! They knew exactly where we were."
They were silent for a moment. Kirby was the one to speak up.
"Nightmare not gone? Still demons? Poy…" He looked distressed for a moment, but immediately perked up. "I get them! Poyo! I eat 'em!"
"It's not so simple, young one," Arthur said. "Sad to say, you cannot truly vanquish a being like Nightmare. He always exists, but now his power is diminished."
"Nightmare isn't dead!" Fumu exclaimed, jumping from her seat. "All that was for nothing!" That wasn't possible. All they had gone through, and he wasn't gone?
"Fumu, please…" Meta Knight said, motioning for her to sit. "I know what Arthur is talking about, but I didn't believe it would become a problem so soon." He paused, looking for the right words. "Basically he's… weakened. This has happened before." They were looking at him, expecting an explanation. "This isn't the first time Nightmare has appeared, according to the legends. He has before, possibly many times in the universe's existence."
"He's a being that thrives on fear, hate, suffering…" Arthur added. "As long as those things exist, so will he. And in turn he will do his worst to intensify those feelings. War, genocide, slavery. His power grows."
Meta Knight nodded. "And the legends say that Star Warriors exist to fight him, or any other darkness that should appear. Each time he appears, he is defeated and there is peace, but not forever. There could never be a universe without fear or suffering, so there is always something for him to feed on." Meta Knight looked down at the table. It sounded so terrible when said like that. It was.
"So… It doesn't matter? Even after all that, he'll come back?" Bun asked, distraught. "That's not fair!"
"It's not. But you should have been able to live a happy life before his return, as would your children and their children." Arthur said, his cold blue eyes kind for a moment. "That is what the legends say. But this time, it seems they are trying to bring him back more quickly by starting another war."
"Nothing gives him more power than war."
"But we think we know a weakness…" Silica spoke up from cleaning her weapon. "It's just a theory though, based on those old stories." She laughed bitterly. "No one even knows if they're true. But we think if we can find Nightmare in his weakened state, we can finish the bastard off."
"Of course, we have no idea where he would be, or even if we could finish him off, but it's a nice idea right?" Joe asked, still leaning back in his chair. "Of course without an army of our own, it's pretty difficult… Which is why we came here."
Arthur turned to the other two Star Warriors. "Meta Knight, Kirby, we must need to the power of the Galaxia sword, and the Star Rod." He nodded to each of them in turn. "Will you assist us?"
"Poyo!" Kirby jumped up with a determined look.
"Of course." Meta Knight didn't feel like he had a choice anyway. He felt a familiar and utterly ancient presence in his mind as Galaxia 'woke up.' He- the sword- seemed interested in the discussion. "Do we have any kind of plan yet? If there truly isn't a way to defeat him…"
"Then it would have been for nothing…" Arthur said quietly. "But if there is, we will spare everyone born after us from ever having to experience Nightmare's wrath. It's worth the risk, don't you agree?"
Meta knight was silent a moment. "It isn't something we can rush into…"
"I know. We have some time still for repairs and to gather supplies. We've taken out many of the stations for the Internet that the HNM Corporation used to transfer demons, so this new army won't be able to travel as quickly. We have time."
"They'll be expecting us to go to them."
"We know. We'll come up with something. We have to."
Mayor Len stood up again, nodding to Arthur. "Well until then, you're our guests here. If there's anything the citizens can do to help, feel free to ask!"
"You have my gratitude." Arthur turned to the others. "I will be up on the Destrayar working on repairs if anyone needs us. I wish you all well."
Joe grumbled. "Hey, can we get those drinks now by any chance? I'm pretty thirsty."
Fumu turned to Meta Knight. "This is horrible… Now what are we supposed to do?"
He didn't answer. He didn't know what to say.
Meta Knight still kept his promise to Kirby. The next day they were out near the woods for training. Now it was even more important to polish their fighting skills. After some time fighting Kirby himself, he had Sword and Blade fight him together. It was good training for all three of them.
"Wow…" Fumu stood nearby, watching. "Kirby's really good even when he's not using the actual sword ability!"
"Yes, it's very impressive. He's a fast learner, and fighting comes naturally to Star Warriors." He watched as Kirby managed to disarm Blade, only to be attacked from behind by Sword. It was rather entertaining to watch, he had to admit. Sword and Blade had relatively little skill or experience with fighting, though they worked extremely well as a team to take down a stronger opponent.
"Yeah… It's weird though," Fumu said as she sat down next to him.
"What is?"
She idly twirled the stem of a flower in her hand. "Well, even when Kirby first got here, he still knew how to fight. Not quite at first, but usually when he copies an attack. Haven't you noticed?"
Meta Knight mused over that for a moment, shifting slightly as a dragonfly decided to alight on his mask. "Yes, I've noticed… But I honestly never put much thought into it."
Fumu raised an eyebrow. "So you don't know?"
He shook his head. "Nothing but old legends. Nothing anyone could prove…"
"Legends? You've never mentioned anything like said."
"Stories about the origins of Star Warriors… It's rather-"
They both looked up, as there was suddenly a small explosion in the field that sent the three fighters flying. Meta Knight reached for Galaxia, only to stop and grumble a bit as he saw Knuckle Joe, running quickly past the three fighters.
He laughed, skidding to a halt nearby. "Who needs swords? Use your body as a weapon and you'll never be disarmed!" He ran right for them.
"Gah!" Blade jumped out of the way as Joe tried kicking at him. "I don't want to fight you!"
"Hey, watch it!" Sword ducked under a round of Vulcan Jabs. "Sir Meta Knight told us to help Kirby train, what are you doing!"
Joe came to a stop behind them. "Bah, you two are no fun, why do you listen to that old weirdo anyway?" he mumbled, rubbing his nose. "What about you Kirby? Up for a bit of training?"
Kirby looked a bit confused. "Poy…"
"Come on, I'm bored, let's fight!" Joe kicked, expecting Kirby to dodge or block… No such luck. Kirby took the hit and went flying, bouncing along the grass. Joe slapped his forehead, rolling his eyes. "…Ah jeez…"
"Joe! It's rude to interrupt like that," Fumu shouted, running over to see if Kirby was okay. Of course he was, just confused. "Aren't you supposed to be helping Sir Arthur and the others?"
"I don't work for them," Joe said with his arms crossed behind his head. "Thought I'd help Kirby toughen up that squishy pink blob he calls a body." He rubbed his nose.
Kirby stood up, also imitating him. "Poyo. Maybe later. Meda Knight said we sword training."
"Aw, fine…" Joe walked over to a tree and plopped down beneath it, legs crossed. "Train with your damn swords then."
"Done wreaking havoc?" It was Meta Knight, walking over from the other side of the tree.
Joe gave him a bored look. "For now. So, what have you been up to?"
"Not much, to be honest. Just trying to enjoy my vacation. And you?" Meta Knight was rather surprised Joe had chosen to speak to him at all. Though he'd visited before, he seemed to always avoid him.
"Ah… Oh, you know, traveling, killing demons, the usual…" Joe looked down, hands on his knees. He suddenly appeared to be very interested in a caterpillar's path along the grass in front of him. "I was…I was wondering…"
"Yes…?"
Joe shook his head quickly. "No, nothing, never mind. See ya'." He took off without another word, leaving Meta Knight rather baffled.
"What was that all about?" Fumu asked from nearby.
"I have no idea…" Meta Knight shrugged it off and looked to see Kirby fighting Sword and Blade once more, though this time he seemed distracted and was disarmed quickly.
Sword laughed. "Hm, if we can disarm him, that's not a good sign," he commented. "Hungry or something?"
Kirby thought for a moment before nodding. "Lunchtime! Poyo!" He pointed to the forest, motioning for them to follow. "Apples!" The forest was always a great place to get a snack, as long as you asked the trees first.
Blade looked across the field, waving to get Meta Knight's attention. "Sir, we're going to get something to eat, is that all right?"
"It's fine. Don't get lost."
"We won't!"
Meta Knight stood up, watching them go. "I'm going back to see how Arthur and the others are doing."
The room was in complete darkness, the meager light from the door swallowed up in the gloom. He knew he was in there, however. His lord seemed to enjoy the dark, the shadows. The minion cleared his throat. "Sir, the enemy ship arrived on Popstar not long ago. Your orders?"
Oppressive silence, and then he spoke in a low, twisted tone. Red eyes glinted. "Send out the group from the ship… A few for now and have the rest hide themselves. It should be enough to shake them up a bit."
"Sir, shouldn't we launch a full attack while they're still weakened? After all, what happened last ti-" The minion's sentence was cut short, becoming a pathetic gurgle as he clawed at the dagger in his throat.
"You do not question me… I won't make those mistakes again," The voice snarled. Seconds later, another figure entered the room, stepping over the body. "You. Send out a small group of demons to Dreamland. Sabotage their ship; I don't want them going anywhere…" He laughed, a cruel sound. "We can take our time for now. Go."
"Kirby… Enjoy your happy existence while you can…"
Whispy Woods looked a bit less inviting than normal. Maybe it was the time of day, but the shadows did look more menacing and there was a disturbing lack of birdsong. Kirby didn't really notice, intent on getting a snack and getting distracted by the occasional strange bug.
"So… are we getting apples from Whispy?" Blade asked. Kirby didn't answer, inspecting some colorful flowers. Blade shrugged and elbowed Sword. "So what do you think about all this? With this new army?"
"I want to stop them before they hurt anyone…" Sword said. "I'm worried."
Blade sighed. "It's a shame we don't have the Halberd. If we still had that I'd feel much better."
"We have that Destrayar at least…"
Kirby was walking backwards, looking back at the two of them. He didn't see them very much; they were always… well he didn't really know where they always were. They were always together when he saw them though. They were nice, and he wished he saw them more.
Blade noticed Kirby staring at them. "Er, yes?"
"Poy…Poyo poy…" Kirby wasn't sure how to say what he wanted to ask. So many words to remember. "Sword, Bwade, family?" That was the one.
"Family…? Oh, we're not related, if that's what you mean," Blade said. Kirby could understand their language, even if he couldn't speak it well. Kirby stopped walking, a quizzical expression on his face.
"Friends?"
Sword nodded. "Yeah, we're good friends; we have been since we were kids."
Kirby smiled and nodded, apparently satisfied. "Poy!" He turned and continued on through the woods.
"I hope it's not too much farther…" Blade said a few minutes later. He glanced up. Either it was getting dark early, or the trees were getting thicker.
"Hey!" Sword stopped as he almost ran into Kirby. "Is something wrong?"
Kirby was quiet, staring intently at the branches above them. Sword and Blade followed his example. There was nothing but leaves and a bit of blue sky beyond.
Blade waved his hand dismissively. "It's probably a monkey. Come on Kirby, let's get something to eat." Blade said, pushing him forward. Then he heard the growling, a low menacing sound from above them.
"Blade MOVE!" Sword shouted, pushing both him and Kirby to one side as a snarling mass of fur and teeth fell from above, nearly slashing him as well. It looked somewhat like a spiked, mutated cat, the remains of some forest creature dangling from its jagged teeth.
"It's a demon beast!" Blade exclaimed, sword in hand. The two of them immediately moved in front of Kirby. True, Kirby could probably protect them better than they him, but it seemed like the right thing to do.
The creature hissed, back arched as it circled the three of them.
"Poyo…" Kirby wasn't sure what to do. He was afraid of the demon, but he didn't want Sword and Blade to get hurt! "Sawd, Bwade!" He couldn't let them fight this thing! He was a Star Warrior; it was his purpose to protect people. He reached over, grabbing one of their swords and jumping to the side to distract the beast.
"Kirby, what are you doing!" Sword exclaimed.
The creature leapt then, straight for Kirby. The little warrior didn't have time to inhale the sword to gain the copy ability. He wasn't very good with a sword like this but he had to act NOW.
And suddenly he knew what to do.
When the beast landed, it hit nothing but dirt, leaving furrows in the ground with its claws. It whirled, snarling in confusion and not realizing Kirby was above it until it was too late.
He came down fast, sword pointed down and neatly severing the beast's spine as he jumped to one side. It twitched once, and fell. Kirby landed in front of Sword and Blade, breathing hard.
The two of them were silent for a moment. "…I guess the training's paying off…" Blade said in awe as Sword went to pull his weapon from the body.
Kirby tilted his body to one side. "Poyo?"
"We never taught you any moves like that, did Meta Knight?"
Kirby shook his head.
"Well, I guess you were lucky then," Sword walked over, wiping the blade off on the grass. "Great job, but now we need to tell everyone what happened. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more around here. Let's go!"
Blade nodded and the two of them started out of the forest.
"Poyo food!" Kirby protested.
"Later, Kirby! This is more important!"
Kirby sighed. All that work and no food? That just wasn't fair. He hurried to catch up. "Wait poyo!"
Much to their dismay, everyone else all ready knew.
Sword and Blade stood right outside the village, Kirby running to catch up. They could see from there that other beasts were all ready attacking. Not small pests like they had seen before- these ones could do some real damage.
"Help me someone HELP!" a Cappy woman shrieked, trying ineffectually to fend off one with a walking stick. It shattered the stick in its jaws and got ready to pounce.
"I'll get that one!" Sword shouted. Both of them rushed forward to aid the people. Sword swiped at the one attacking the woman, severing its head. "At least there aren't that ma- GAH!" He rolled to one side as an even bigger, bird like monster swooped down from above.
Kirby looked around frantically for something he could inhale. Rocks? No, Stone was too slow of a power. Parasol- no…
"Kirby, look out!"
He felt himself knocked hard to one side, he and his rescuer rolling along the ground as the bird-demon landed hard where he'd stood. He opened his eyes to see Meta Knight. "Meda Knight!"
"Sir Meta Knight!" Blade ran over, holding his arm. There was blood on his glove. "What happened? Where did all these things come from?"
"Stowaways on the ship!" he replied, slashing a beast that leapt from nearby bushes. "We don't know how they got on undetected!" He pushed Kirby aside. Kirby could fight on his own now.
Kirby was still unsure, however, moving so he at least wasn't in Meta Knight's way. The demons were too big and fast to inhale, he was sure if he tried one would attack him first. There had to be something…
"Hey Kirby!"
The pink warrior looked up to see Knuckle Joe standing on the roof above him.
"Need a hand?"
"Poyo!"
"All right then! Vulcan Jab!" As he had before, Kirby inhaled the attack to gain Joe's fighting abilities. It didn't make that much sense, but it wasn't something Kirby thought about.
Knuckle Joe jumped down, landing next to him. "Same as always! C'mon!"
Meta Knight saw the two of them and grinned. These demons wouldn't last long now. Kirby and Joe worked well together, and they'd make short work of them.
"Look out!" Blade shouted, and Meta Knight barely dodged to the side as a piece of stone from a nearby building crashed where he had stood. He mentally derided himself for getting distracted.
"I don't think there are many left, maybe a half dozen!" Sword shouted. There was a loud explosion and a howl and Joe and Kirby got one. "Make that five."
The battle didn't last much longer with their combined efforts. Finally Joe and Kirby had the last demon, another spiked cat-beast cornered.
"Any last words?" Joe smirked, pulling his fist back. "Smash-"
"POYO!" Kirby shouted, causing Joe to lose his concentration.
"Hey, what's the big id-" he started, but Kirby grabbed his arm and pointed frantically upwards.
"Look Joe look poyo!"
He did, to see the Destrayar flying overhead, very quickly. His eyes went wide. "What are they--! Agh, damnit! Smash Punch!" He quickly dealt with the demon and leapt to the nearest rooftop, watching the ship. Kirby followed his example.
The ship's flight was uneven, tilting to the left or right. It was rapidly losing altitude.
"What happen?" Kirby asked, his Fighter bandana gone.
"I don't know…"
Nearby, Meta Knight, Sword and Blade were watching with similar confusion.
"Did they lose control of the ship?"
Meta Knight was silent, watching it head for the nearby ocean. He knew perfectly well what was happening and that there was no way for any of them to stop it. He only hoped that everyone else was safe.
Knuckle Joe and Kirby watched in silence as the ship went farther out over the ocean, falling lower until it finally hit the water hard, flipping forward as it's front end went under. There was a horrendous sound of breaking metal as it fell, its momentum causing it to break nearly in half. For a second then it was calm, followed by a blinding flash of light and deafening roar as it exploded.
"Damn it… DAMN IT!" Knuckle Joe screamed, running and jumping from the roof. "Arthur! Silica! Where the hell are you!" Kirby tried following, only to meet up with Meta Knight on the ground.
"Poyo, they okay? Meda Knight, they okay?" he asked, tugging on his cape. He'd had friends die before and he didn't want to it to happen again.
"The demons must have taken control of the ship…" Meta Knight said quietly. He looked down at Kirby. "We have to try and find them."
Blade gasped. "Sir, look! Their ship!" They looked to see the smaller ship zip by above them, heading for a nearby field, smoke billowing from the engine. "Oh no…"
"Hurry!"
Thankfully the ship landed safely, leaving a long furrow in the ground before coming to a stop at the bottom of a hill. Joe arrived first, running over to open the door.
"Are you guys all right!" he asked as the door hissed open. Arthur stepped out first, obviously injured. The others were in similar shape, but alive. Meta Knight, Kirby, Sword and Blade arrived a few moments later, followed by Fumu and Bun who had seen it all happen.
"We should have known there could have been enemies on board…" Arthur said, voice harsh. "We were foolish."
"Now we don't have any ships left. This is exactly what they want!" Silica exclaimed, blood trailing from her forehead. "They want us to be here like sitting ducks. They aren't stupid."
"Then it seems we've still been underestimating them," Meta Knight said. "If they're expecting us to go to them, obviously we must think of another plan."
Arthur shook his head. "We cannot simply wait for them to gain power and come to us; we would never be able to stand up to them."
"Our best bet is still to get to them first," Joe said. "Especially now, while they think we're stuck here."
"But, we still need a ship. What are we going to do, build one?"
"Wait, I have an idea!" It was Fumu, walking up next to Meta Knight. "We need another ship, right? And weapons and supplies… I know who we can get those from."
Yes, after nearly a year of writing... it is finished! (I shall be posting one chapter at a time, over the course of several days.)
Much thanks to many people - Pyrasaur for giving me the most help with ideas and plot and the like. BabyCharmander for beta reading and catching those pesky typoes, Jboy for beta reading too and also helping by listening to me babble about story ideas. And others. XD
And finally, dear reader, if you would take a moment of your time and do me a favor...
Yes, we all know the Kirby anime is dubbed- and with that dub comes different voices. This story was written with the original voices in mind, and it helps to be able to imagine those.
So to help you, I have put together several small, easy to download clips of the original voices of characters important to the story. Enjoy.
(You'll need to remove the space after 'spyder' after you copy and paste the URLs.)
Meta Knight - www.ivynajspyder .com/metaknight2.mp3
Sword Knight - www.ivynajspyder .com/swordknight.mp3
Blade Knight - www.ivynajspyder .com/bladeknight.mp3
Knuckle Joe - www.ivynajspyder .com/knucklejoe.mp3
Silica - www.ivynajspyder .com/silica.mp3
Fumu/Tiff - www.ivynajspyder .com/fumu.mp3
Bun/Tuff - www.ivynajspyder .com/bun.mp3