Phazon: Kirby 64's one of the best N64 games I've played, so I'm going to do my own retelling of the game, seeing as there aren't a lot of them, though there are a few notable exceptions, such as the one done by author Stoney, so I'm not ripping you off or anything.

Disclaimer: The characters, storyline, setting and all of that in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards belong and are the sole property of Nintendo and HAL Laboratories only, and I don't have them locked away in chains anywhere. Best to get the legalities out of the way before someone tries to sue. I aim to give the readers something to enjoy, but not have my story deleted by an NOA executive.

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Darkness Lives

Ripple Star was a peaceful, tranquil planet (quiet obvious since it was in the shape of a heart) that was inhabited by many fairies. It was a thriving civilization; everyone worked together to help make the planet the beautiful spectacle that it was, always keeping an eye on their most precious treasure: the coveted Crystal Shard. This mystical jewel had the power to expel all darkness when it surfaced.

Birds sang harmonious tunes, water trickled from the fountains, the flowers blossomed under the lovely sun. It was a lovely day and the inhabitants of Ripple Star were enjoying every second of it.

"Hurry now, Ribbon! We haven't much time!"

Ribbon was one of the most heralded fairies of Ripple Star. Not the most intelligent, but she had a heart of gold and was kind to all other beings. She had helped the queen make Ripple Star what it was by becoming one of her right-hand fairies. All fairies younger than her saw Ribbon as a role model they could identify with.

A blue haired fairy flew out to the main gate of the castle to get her friend, a young pink-haired fairy that was cradling a rod in her arms. The clumsy Queen Gretchen of Ripple Star had called them for an important meeting of the three of them. The two flew into the great hall of the magnificent castle structure, lined with beautiful portraits and sculptures in the long hallway.

"You're struggling, move faster!" Dixie pulled Ribbon's hand harder as she flew through the halls of the castle up the ascending staircase. She wasn't paying attention and bumped into another fairy that was looking through a telescope.

"What are you in such a hurry for?" Emily asked as she rubbed her bruised forehead.

"Queen has summoned us. What are you looking at?"

"Well," she started as she went back to observing, "it's been getting darker each day, and they haven't called for rain or anything. Something just doesn't feel right."

"You just need to clean that lens or get some glasses!" Dixie called as she and Ribbon continued on.

They reached the queen's door and rushed in, seeing the queen staring at the crystal shard, which was glowing.

"It only does this when there's trouble afoot," the Queen said, her eyesight not darting from the shard. "Dixie and Ribbon, alert the citizens to keep their eyes sharp!"

"You could just give them all a pair of specs like you, your majesty," Ribbon chuckled to herself.

The queen adjusted her specs as she eyed the rod Ribbon clutched. "What is this for? Is it your nightlight?"

"It fell from the sky one night, but I don't know from where. All I know is that the words "Super Star" are embedded onto it, but Emily has come upon something."

"What's that?"

Ribbon pointed to the sky outside the sole window in the shard's chamber. The queen looked out and saw that it was indeed a bit darker than it should have been.

"Well, it shouldn't be that dark, but we should let the others know."

And so the two did. They whisked down the candy cane-like staircase and flew through the main corridor and outside the castle, approaching the center of the town.

"Fellow fairies of Ripple Star," Emily yelled loud enough for all to hear, "there is a possible chance of darkness, possibly a sign of something, heading for our planet."

No one raised a voice of dissent, as a mother fairy stood, her mouth gaped wide open and her bag of groceries now on the ground. She stared with horror as she saw the blanket of darkness head their way. More people turned their attention towards the sky, their looks mirrored that of the mother fairy.

The blanket of darkness sent a shiver down Ribbon's spine. There was something about it that made it feel so…evil…devoid of all life, but from her outward appearance, you'd think she was about to brave the darkness herself.

It didn't take long before the dark cloud was above the citizens. Normally calm and peaceful, the fairies were in an uproar and began to run around in a crazed frenzy. Some yelled for their young ones to come home, others were simply trying to get to their homes and lock the door. Even the fairy guards took notice at the abnormality before rushing into the palace.

Dixie looked on in fixed horror as the darkness began to cover the rich life that was Ripple Star. Everything in its path was engulfed in the thick black void. All that was pure was now gone in a cloud of evil.

Ribbon flew faster, faster than she ever could as she approached the castle. She whisked in as the doors locked, barring the darkness…for now.

"This staircase is longer than I thought," Ribbon muttered to herself as she finally arrived at the top of the ascending stairs. She saw the Queen in a frenzy running 'round and round the coveted Crystal Shard.

"What are we to do, queen! What are we going to do about the darkness!"

The Queen grabbed the shard, so worried she didn't even notice Ribbon until she placed the precious gem in her hands.

"You're the only hope left, Ribbon," the Queen told her confidently, though fear still lurked on her face, "and it's up to you to get help!"

Ribbon tried to protest. "But my queen--"

Queen Gretchen easily shook Ribbon, the fear now more evident. "You must be strong. We can't let that darkness get this shard. If they do, then it's over and our cause will be for nothing! This shard is our only hope of defeating the darkness, and I'm trusting that you can take it somewhere safe."

"But…I'm afraid to go out there alone." Tears were now streaming down Ribbon's cheeks, as well as the Queen's.

"Have faith that you will succeed, Ribbon. There is always hope is you believe you'll succeed." The queen then gripped Ribbon's hand tightly and spoke softly. "Don't worry, we'll be safe and I know you'll be back. For the sake of Ripple Star, Ribbon, you've got to do it."

The look of fear faded away from Ribbon's face and was replaced with a strong look of determination. She heard crashes, bangs, and screams of horror from the castle corridors. It would soon be coming for her.

"Quickly now, Ribbon, you must hasten!"

Ribbon put the want back in her pockets and gripped the Crystal Shard tightly. It began to glow profoundly as Ribbon was blasted out of the castle. She took one last look back at the queen, as she dried her tears and flew towards the stratosphere. She closed her eyes as the crystal shard penetrated the darkness' shield and Ribbon found she was free. Ripple Star was in major distress, Ribbon thought, and it was up to her to get help. All was nearly consumed in darkness save for the area she was able to escape from.

"Best I go on," Ribbon said as she wiped the dry tears from her face, as she pressed on. However, three negative energy balls emanated from the expanding Dark Matter and pursued Ribbon.

The fairy looked back over her shoulders, never letting go of the Crystal Shard. The three orbs began to open in the center, revealing villainous red eyes. Ribbon lost her focus and nearly collided with the asteroids that narrowly missed her. She saw it go on to the dark matter, but it mattered not. The asteroids didn't even faze the dark orb balls, and Ribbon was becoming desperate.

"For the sake of Ripple Star…" Ribbon remembered the Queen's words, as she pressed on. She flew faster, racing through space, but the dark orbs went on the offensive. One tried attacking from the right, but Ribbon dodged it. The second orb went for another strike, but it was a few inches shy of Ribbon's right foot.

Ribbon began to sweat bullets, but she couldn't tell at the speed she was flying at. She wanted to protect the shard, but her attention was diverted, so she pressed on what was most important. Unfortunately, this left her wide open. The second dark matter ball looked to the other two, then to the Crystal Shard, then to Ribbon. They came to an agreement and gave a great lunge at Ribbon, knocking her senseless and shattering the shard into millions of pieces and fragments that were scattered throughout the solar system. The orbs watched, satisfied that their deed was done.

Ribbon was falling fast, almost certain that she would meet her immediate destruction, when she saw a piece of the shard parallel to her. She flew with the last amount of strength she had left and grabbed the shard, never letting go of it. Her gaze turned towards the yellow star shaped planet she was heading towards as she fell faster and faster. There was no escaping the gravitational field, as Ribbon's vision began to blur…on and off her vision became distorted until she could hold on no longer.

The fairy took one last attempt to regain altitude, consciousness, and her life, but the efforts remained futile.

"Have faith that you will succeed, Ribbon. There is always hope is you believe you'll succeed."

Ribbon remembered the words the queen gave her before she fled Ripple Star. "Ripple Star's fate…is in my hands. I cannot fail them."

Those were Ribbon's last words before she lost consciousness completely and continued down to the yellow star shaped planet.