A Smash of Kings

Chapter 16: The Dark Angel and The Silent Knight

After getting to the roof of Princess Peach's, Kirby walked out and towards the ledge. When he got there, he saw chaos in the streets; whole city blocks were aflame, and scattered screaming filled his ears. No longer was there music to blot it out. Just outside of the Castle's gates he saw the Dreamlanders pillaging everything in front of them, lighting the dark night in an orange flame; the city guards and police of Mushroom City stood no chance against them. The fighting on the streets turned into a massacre. As Kirby watched the city fall to the Dreamland army, there was an explosion in a nearby factory, the WarioWare Factory that they had toured a few days earlier. The High King of Smash was no more, and his army would be gone by sunrise. Lord Kirby had completed what he set out to do, in service of Dreamland and in the name of the Rightful King of the Realm. A mixture of emotions overwhelmed the Little Lord as he watched the Sack of Mushroom City.

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As soon as the hall was clear, Luigi crawled out from underneath the table. And, when he was standing up after an hour of hiding with Peach, he reached around and pulled the arrow from his back. Most of his clothing was wet and dirty, and so was his face. As Luigi panted and doubled over, Peach followed him slowly. Seeing that she was still shaken from the wedding, he walked over to her and hugged her silently. "I can't believe it, Luigi... It's over..." Peach said quietly and sadly.

"We have to go," Luigi sighed, making sure that he stood between her and the fallen King. However, Peach saw what he was trying to do and pushed him out of her way. Luigi was too tired to fight back and gave up trying to shield Peach's eyes. He shook his head and looked down as Peach looked at the High King lying on the ground. Then, Peach looked over to the left and saw the Princess of Hyrule in a red dress.

"They will pay," Princess Peach whispered sternly, "Dedede, Sonic, Kirby... They will all pay for this."

Luigi looked around and said, "Princess, we have to go now."

Before leaving, Peach walked towards Zelda and picked up her jagged dagger. When she joined Luigi outside of the hall, they walked to the left, towards a staircase. The hallway was dark, only being lit by the large orange lights coming from outside the windows. Luigi opened the door to the staircase and stepped to the side, allowing Peach to enter first. After he closed the door, Luigi drew his sword and followed Peach down the stairs. They reached the bottom and stopped when they heard the footsteps of several soldiers. Luigi and Peach hid in the darkness of the staircase and waited.

"My Lord," they heard a Waddle Dee pant, "We still haven't found the bodies of Luigi or Princess Peach."

"Keep searching," they heard Sonic say, "Where is the Lady of Dreamland?"

"She escaped," the Waddle Dee sighed, "The Dreamlanders taking her back from her chamber were found dead. Her sword was gone from the armory too, as was The False King's."

"Din have Mercy," Sonic cursed, "Well, find her. Whether she's returned to us alive or dead, get her back."

"My Lord, that's not what Lord Kirby said—"

"I don't care. Find Samus Aran."

After Sonic left, the Waddle Dee entered the staircase, only armed with a bloody spear. The moment that he entered the staircase, he was met by Luigi's blade. He quickly discarded the Waddle Dee and went out into the hallway. Peach followed him and looked to the left, in the direction where Sonic headed. She took a step in that direction but was stopped when Luigi tugged her arm.

"We need to go the other way; Samus is alive somewhere, and the armory is the other way," Luigi advised.

Peach shook Luigi's arm off her and snapped, "The Lord who killed our King—your brother— went this way—!"