The strange, semi-robotic being stared up at the sky. The stars reflected in his eyes, gleaming, and for the first time in a long time, the machine felt good about himself.

He should. Such moments are rare.

Stretching his hydraulic neck, he decided to go for a walk. He had to be careful- the ground he stood on was ice, and besides, he was a tad bit accident prone. He took two steps... and fell flat on his face.

Grumbling as he got back up, the strange cybernetic being regained his footing, and carefully stepped across the land. He got cockier as he went, beginning to skate around on his bare feet. From there, he skidded down an ice hill towards the Rainbow resort. He thought it might be a nice place to kick back, get to know people. Soon, the stars were overlapped by the dazzling city lights. He paid no attention as he crashed into the toll booth.

He was unharmed, however, and handed the booth operator a dollar. The operator checked the bill to see if it was legit, and raised the barrier to allow the machine in. The robotic being chuckled with delight as he entered the woundrous city of dreams.

The clumsy mechanoid looked around in awe. Creatures from all across Pop Star, from Acchis to Zebans, lined the gleaming halls. There were folks hailing from the peaks of Candy Mountain, beasts from the belly of the Vocal Volcano, marine life from the depths of Orange Ocean; He could even spot some beings from other planets. It was like a galactic melting pot.

As the robot traveled further down the complex's corridors, he reached the central room. In front of him was a series of gigantic statues portraying the Resort's administrators, human and Dream Lander alike. The protectors, who stayed behind the scenes, keeping the Resort save from invasion. The gurus, who provided the resorters with near-infinite wisdom. The artisans, who crafted brilliant works of art. He gawked at these statues; these were the big wigs. Maybe he'd run into these folks now that he was at the Resort?

The robot continued down another corridor, off to see more of the complex. It was a nice place, maybe he’d stay for a bit.

Outside the city, a Bronto Burt buzzed over to the toll booth. The toll operator, a disinterested Chilly, looked up from his newspaper. The Burt seemed a little out of it, his head hung low and his eyes half-shut. The Chilly reached out his hand, expecting a dollar. This elicited no response.

"C'mon, buddy. Gotta pay the toll."

The Bronto Burt did not immediately reply. It seemed as if he was contemplating what to say next.

"If you will allow me entry," said the bug, in a voice that was a little deeper than expected, "I will give you the requisite fee at a later date."

The operator sighed. He knew from experience that people rarely bothered to repay him. Still, this guy seemed new. Best to give him the benefit of the doubt. He punched in a few buttons, opening the city's barrier.

"Just don't forget to pay me back," stated the Chilly.

The half-alert gnat nodded, "Thank you for your cooperation."

The Bronto Burt floated up and flew through the barrier. His flight path seemed a little shaky, like he wasn't used to flying. Once he was in, the barrier closed behind him.

The Chilly returned to his newspaper, unaware that he had just let in one of the greatest threats Pop Star had ever faced. A pity he wouldn’t be able to reflect on his actions, as in a few days, he would be another one of Dark Matter’s mindless followers.

The klutz of a robot continued on through the hallway. He could hardly wait to meet the big dogs.

As he bounded along, he tryed to hum a merry tune. He was going quite well at first, but soon his vocal systems sparked wildly and he let out a wheeze. He had damaged them months ago and didn't have the sufficent amount of money to get them repaired.

"Problem, fella?"

The machine traced the source of the voice to a penguin. He was quite large, with a string-like moustache and oriental-looking eyes. By his clothes, he could tell that he liked the eastern culture. "Name's Dedede-Dyaimo," he told the clearly confused robot. "What was up with your chest there?" The machine made a set of gestures, which Dyaimo seemed to understand. "I think that I can help. Bogg is pretty tecchy himself," he told him. "Just follow me." The robot nodded and they walked down the corridor.

Along the way, the machine noticed a Bronto Burt flying by. He was moving around erratically, as though the flying was hard, and his eyes were half open. The robot figured that it was just drunk and continued moving. The bug also paid him no mind. He had a mission of his own.

The creature found its way to the generators and barely flew over the fence. "HEY!" A Giant Rocky approached him. "You ain't supposed to be here! So I suggest that you-"

He didn't have time to finish his words. A glob of dark matter ejected from the bug. His eyes lost their glow of personality, replaced by a dull, lifeless glaze. Globs then shot out from him, possessing the other workers. As a large, well-oiled machine, the stored in and ripped out the massive cables.

And for the first time in years, Rainbow resort had a mass blackout.

The mass black out aroused the suspicion of a strange creature. It was half blue, half white, and covered in spikes. It went to see the problem. It was followed by a green pudge, who procured a torch as a light source. They looked around, and got to work. The spiked creature got the emergency lights running, but then saw what they were up against. A glob came at them, but the pudge brought out a spiked chain and batted it away. Then, a possessed worker smashed the mace's head. The green being improvised, tying it's companion to the end of his chain.