Once upon a time, two races ruled over the Earth: Humans and Monsters. One day, war broke out between the two races.

But that's not the story we're telling today.

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In a far away galaxy, lies the peaceful planet Popstar. On Popstar lies Dreamland, a fairly peaceful land, ruled by the self-proclaimed King Dedede, and protected by a small, pink creature named Kirby. Kirby has a very special ability: he can inhale with an incredibly powerful force, and swallow creatures whole, then copy any special skills they have.

On this particular day, Kirby was taking a nap under the shade of Whispy Woods, when King Dedede ran past, at a speed Kirby had never seen before.

"No time to talk, Puffball, it's an emergency!" Dedede said, speeding past the Star Warrior.

"Whispy, Whaddya think Triple D is talking about?" Kirby asked The Guardian of the Forest.

"I do not know, small one." he responded, in a low voice, "But… if history has taught me anything, it is that there could always be trouble around the corner."

Kirby nodded, then said, "You wouldn't happen to have anything to help me, would ya, Whispy?"

"All I have to offer is Apples. And I do not think they will be of help to you, small one." he responded.

"Well, thanks anyway!" Kirby said, then ran off.

Meta Knight could feel a dark presence in Dreamland. He couldn't tell where it was, but he was sure that someone would be happy to help with it. And that someone would be-

"Hellllooo? Anyone in there, Meta Knight?"

King Dedede?!

"Wh-what are you doing here, Sire?" Meta Knight asked the king.

"Mah Waddle Dee scouts said they found a part of mah land that was covered in black ooze." The king explained, "After that business with that Hyness guy, I figured I'd make sure that nothin' is gonna attack mah kingdom."

"That… is unusually proactive of you, sire." Meta Knight said, "If you want, I shall accompany you."

"And me too!" Kirby said, running up, nearly out of breath. "I wanna help!"

"Well, I guess so." Dedede sighed. "I could use you to help keep mah land safe."

"Well, all we need is Banana Dee, and it'll be just like when we were helping Magolor!" Kirby said happily.

As they were walking, Kirby thought about what could be happening. Over time, he had faced many foes. Some, like Meta Knight, Whispy, and Dedede, he had ended up as allies, whereas others, such as Marx, Dark Matter, and Void Termina, stayed evil. So…

"Kirby, you are thinking about your many foes, are you not?" Meta Knight asked.

"Yeah. I'm hoping that it's not an issue, or that we'll get them before they strike, but..."

Meta Knight put a hand on Kirby's 'shoulder' reassuringly.

"Kirby, you have every reason to worry." The swordsman said, "But, as you learned in your last… adventure… is that you always have allies."

Kirby nodded, "Yeah! I know that I always have friends!"

"Meta Knight, if you're done giving the puff a motivational speech, we're here." said Dedede, turning to face the others.

The land behind them was black and twisted. Nearby was a cave, with black, thorny tendrils coming out, choking the life and light out of the land.

"We will have to go inside of the cave to get to the bottom of this." Meta Knight said, drawing Galaxia. Dedede readied his hammer, and Kirby… prepared.

They carefully walked into the cave, and deep underground.

"This cave… I believe that it may lead to the core of Popstar." Meta Knight said.

Suddenly, a wall of black stone dropped down behind them, and the tunnel that they were walking along became too steep to walk on. The trio slid down, deeper and deeper.