At the end of the final dimension, the Friend Hearts Kirby and friends collected lead to a fresh start.
i actually finished this around the release of heroes in another dimension, but i decided to wait a little to post this. also, this is the last of the dream friend oneshots! i thought it'd be nice to finish off with the mage-sisters. it was fun to write each and every one of the oneshots, and i'm super glad that i did!
The energy of the Friend Hearts Kirby had collected throughout the four dimensions he and his friends had explored. The hearts came together to make a giant Friend Heart, which, despite Kirby’s joy to have such a big version of it, was quite heavy.
“Sooo… What are you gonna do with it, Kirby?” Taranza asked, cocking his head.
“I can’t think of anyone who he’d need to befriend… Especially not with a Friend Heart that big…” Rick muttered to himself, a paw to his chin in thought.
Adeleine and Ribbon exchanged nervous glances, then looked back at Kirby.
Kirby could think of someone deserving of the giant Friend Heart. Three people, in fact.
He turned around to face the fallen Mage-Sisters, and with all the might he had, he threw the giant Friend Heart at them. The Friend Heart lifted up their bodies, removed their altered appearances and restored their movement as an aura of hearts dazzled around them each for a second. They wearily opened their eyes before blinking with confusion. They looked around the arena, confused, as they mumbled to themselves. Francisca and Flamberge then looked to their older sister.
“How did we get here? What are we going to do?” Francisca asked, worry written all over her face.
“Yeah! And what about L- ...Hyness? And pink puffy over there?” Flamberge added.
“His name is Kirby, Berge,” Zan Partizanne told her, a stern frown on her face. “And-”
Zan’s face quickly changed, first with recollection, then fear.
“...Hyness…”
The three Mage-Sisters closed their eyes as they hovered in silence, mourning their former leader. Once they had let the moment pass, Zan looked directly at her former enemy.
“Kirby."
Kirby cocked his head and hummed his inquiry.
“You want to escape this other dimension, do you not?” Zan asked.
Kirby nodded.
“As I thought.”
Zan looked at her sisters and asked, “Are you ready? It’s time to finally perform the one ritual we’ve haven’t yet.
“You mean the…?” Francisca asked. She didn’t need an answer to understand, and nodded with readiness.
Flamberge nodded with readiness as well. Zan closed her eyes as she took a breath in, then exhaled as she too nodded. “Okay.”
The three sister moved closer to Kirby and his friends, turning their backs to them. They held their hands together and said something in a language that was now becoming vaguely familiar to Kirby. Particles of light came off the sisters’ bodies and rose up, and soon, a light grew in the middle of the arena and enveloped it. When the light faded, the arena’s light was a soft gold peeking through the light grey clouds. Kirby and his friends looked around in shock, then at the Mage-Sisters. Even though the arena had returned to normal, they were still muttering words none of them could comprehend. It soon became clear as to why they were still reciting the ritual, as a dark Warp Star came down from the sky. As it slowed to a halt, the Mage-Sisters finished their ritual, and Francisca and Flamberge turned to Kirby and his friends.
“Hop on,” Francisca told them.
“It’ll take ya back to your home! Promise!” Flamberge added.
Zan was silent for a moment before muttering to Kirby and his friends, “...Take the Warp Star to your home. We’ve bothered you enough.”
“Okie dokie!” Kirby exclaimed, doing a little pose.
He and his friends climbed onto the Warp Star, Kirby taking the top right corner. Taranza settled himself on the top left, while Rick, Kine and Coo somehow managed to all fit on the bottom left corner and Adeleine clung to the bottom right, Ribbon peeking out from under her beret.
“But, uh, Zan?” Kirby said to the eldest Mage-Sister, gaining her attention. “Feel free to come over to Dream Land sometime! We’d love to have you there, and who knows, you might make some more friends!”
Zan simply nodded, a much softer nod than the other ones she had displayed.
As the Warp Star began to move again, Kirby waved and called out, “Byeeee!”
Flamberge waved back, clearly smiling even if she had no mouth (it was hard to tell if she did or not). Francisca simply looked up at them as she placed a hand to her chest, and Zan looked down at the floor, a hand on her hip and a melancholic look on her face. The Warp Star took off for Dream Land, leaving a trail of hearts behind. From this trail dropped a Friend Heart. It drifted to the ground, unnoticed by the Mage-Sisters, and gently landed on Corrupt Hyness’ limp body. A small aura of hearts came from the Jambandran’s head for a moment before removing the corruption done to him. A beam of light shone down on him as he jolted awake with a confused snort. Flamberge looked over at him as he propped himself up.
“Hyness! You aren’t dead!” Flamberge exclaimed before rushing over to the Jambandran and noogieing him. Hyness let out a yelp.
“Flamberge! He only just awoke, be gentle with him!” Francisca told her as she and Zan Partizanne came over to them.
Zan knelt down beside Hyness and said to him, “We were looking all over for you! We don’t know how you ended up out here, but we’re glad you’re okay.”
It was unclear as to whether Hyness was listening, as he was looking around the arena, his nose flopping about and his eyes wide. Zan raised an eyebrow as she watched him do this, then asked, “Are you okay?”
Hyness turned his head to Zan with a twitch of his ears, then nodded. He continued looking around, but was interrupted by the Mage-Sisters giving him a hug. He sat still for a few moments, his face unchanging, before looking around the arena. There seemed to be no escape from this embrace. Or at least, he thought so. Maybe there was? He didn’t know. But either way, everyone, whether it was the former cult, or Kirby and his friends, knew that this was a fresh start. Now they could finally be free.