I
was scared. Trapped within my own mind, I was fighting a remnant of Nightmare
that had survived inside of my mind. The dog-demon lay on its side near an
odd-looking force field, dead. The fight with it was short but powerful, as the
demon would not give up until it was too late to back off. Terakka was backed
away, near the weird vermilion river that flowed through the mindscape. It was
the only thing left of the place, except for a half-orb of whiteness in the
distance, and a pile pf ashes even farther away.
This
all was not the reason that I was scared. No, I was scared because I had
defeated the demon, and now I had to fight Nightmare. I don’t know why I said
what I did, but maybe that part of me that just wanted to fight and win made me
say it.
Really,
forget the dark. Forget wild animal attacks. You have absolutely no idea of what
fear is until you are standing in front of the most evil thing you’ll see in
your lifetime, knowing that you would have to fight it.
Nightmare
suddenly shot a ray of stars at me, which I deflected with a star of my own. He
wouldn’t get me with speed here. No. Not in my mind.
He
moved to the side a bit and then shot a long stream of black stars across
horizontally. Being unprepared for this kind of attack, I was hit a few times
before I started to counter at them. I heard Terakka scream behind me, and from
the corner of my eye I saw her running out of range Nightmare’s range.
Once
the stars had cleared, I shot a few quick stars at him, hitting Nightmare on his
sides but doing no major damage. This would be hard, and there was no way around
it.
I
felt a new presence in my mind, and not Galaxia’s. I briefly looked at the
Star Rod I held in my paw, and I noticed that it was shining brighter than
usual. Nightmare was shirking back before it’s saffron light, seemingly afraid
of it.
Why?
It is a legendary weapon, but why be more afraid of it now-
Suddenly I knew what to do.
I
held the Star Rod in front of me and concentrated my very soul on it. The
saffron glow became white, and then a huge, blue-white beam exploded out of the
Star Rod, heading straight for Nightmare. He, in return, shot out a stream of
deep persimmon, colliding with my own.
When
the two met, a massive fountain of energy spewed out of each, a combination of
spectral and life energies. The Star Rod was overtaking Nightmare easily, and as
a result the fountain was slowly turning white.
NOOOOOO!!!
I heard right before his beam vanished, and the Star Rod’s power engulfed
him. His very being was stripped apart, torn away my power and the Star Rod’s
energy.
The
beam stopped the moment I lost concentration, but Nightmare was already gone. I
hope, at least.
The
strange shield to my side disappeared, revealing Onyx and some other guy with
sterling silver eyes and violet coloration. KIRBY
KIRBY KIRBY!!! Oh my God, I MISS-ED YOOOUUU!!!! I heard Onyx scream into my
mind as he tackle-hugged me. By hugging I mean he wrapped his midsection around
me, which hurts when you’ve been cut and you have a black eye. I was too happy
to care about my injuries, it was just good to see your friends again.
“YAY!
You did it! Nightmare eez history!!!” Terakka said as I was put down by Onyx,
“You... also need to see a doctor...” She added as she noticed my wounds.
“Its
nothing.” I said.
“Either
way, you need to return to the outside world.”
I
turned around, trying to see who had said that. There I saw among the shriveled
and dead watermelons, was the guy with sterling eyes.
“What
did you say?”
“I
said that you need to return to the outside world.” He answered solemnly.
“How
can I? There’s not really a door anywhere.” I said, confused. I heard
Terakka mutter, ‘Of course there is a door. It’s just that there isn’t
one.’
“I have my ways.”
“What do you mean?”
For a bit he just looked at me, then without a sound he teleported a few
feet from where he was first standing. “That is what I mean.” I cannot trust
a guy at all if I don’t even know his name. “What is you name?”
“Kinobator.
And yours?”
“Kirby.”
I said. Kinobator gasped, then bowed down in front of me.
“You...
You are the one I’ve been waiting for, sir.”
*** Kinobator ***
I
couldn’t believe it. Kirby, finally, after all of this time was here. I had
not imagined him to be so young, and even though I have been stuck in his very
mind, I did not know until now that this was the mind of Kirby. Why, you ask, am
I so eager to serve him? So eager to follow him? The answer is simple.
He
may not know it, but when he could not talk he saved me from Zero-Two. I was on
Ripple Star then, and the once peaceful planet was under rampage by 0’2. I was
one of the many whose life was saved by him, and I made a promise that I would
pay my debt back someday.
Why
am I in his mind, you ask? Because 0’2 and Nightmare put me here. They did not
want me to help Kirby, and they knew that the only way without killing me was to
place me within his mind. While in his thoughts, my own mind became in-tune with
his emotions, age, and attitude. I had all of these attributes, but when Kirby
entered his own mind, the connection was broken, and so I have become an
emotionless age-copy of Kirby.
I
know for a fact that my mind will probably never rewire my visible emotions, and
I accept it. As long as I can repay Kirby for what he has done for me, then I
will be satisfied with life.
*** Kirby again ***
“...
All right. Let’s... just...” I said even as my consciousness began to waver
and I fell back into a sitting position.
“Kirby!
Oh God, just hang on!” Terakka said in a startled voice, ”Kinobator, hurry
this thing up! Kirby needs a doctor, NOW!”
Kinobator
nodded, and then closed his shining silver eyes. He lowered his paws in
concentration, and I noticed for the first time that each of them had two small
claws. Suddenly I was in front of the wretched mirror that had led me to my
mind.
With
my last ounces of strength, I was able to utter one quiet word, “Poyo...”
before I fainted.
I
came to in a small, ivory hospital room, and the only sounds I could hear were a
male sparrow calling to its mate and my own heartbeat. Beep...
beep... beep... The machine said. I was aware of a cool sensation around my
left eye, the blackened one. I could feel some of my wounds healing underneath
some bandages, but most were not even scabs yet. I hadn’t been out long.
Pain
hit me like a hammer, and in involuntary response I whined quietly. That small,
barely audible sound caused a new barrage of sounds that my half-conscious mind
recognized as voices.
“He’s
awake! He’s okay!” I heard Terakka exclaim happily. If I had the strength
to, I would’ve told her that ‘okay’ was not really the right word. But I
didn’t even have the strength to open my eyes all of the way, so do you think
I would be able to speak?
My
mind was fully awakened by the sound of Kinobator’s solemn voice, stating that
I would not be able to see through my left eye for a few weeks, as the power of
Nightmare’s attacks was too much for my eye to handle.
The
Star Rod! Galaxia!, I thought, panicking at the idea that the Star Rod may
still be in my mind or that Galaxia was still at Sarah’s house. I managed to
look to the table beside me, and there lay Galaxia in its scabbard. The moment I
looked at it, I felt a presence in my mind besides my own. Kinobator apparently
noticed that I had looked and said, “Don’t worry. The Star Rod is back to
its home at the Dream Fountain, milord. All’s well.”
His
oddly calming words soothed my now-restless mind, calming it until I fell into a
deep and dreamless sleep.
