🌸Lost in Memories🌸

Chapter 5: Withering flowers

Taranza was completely stunned by what he saw before his very eyes. In front of him stood a wasp like woman, not resembling Sectonia in the slightest. Her clothes were in the style of a typical dress, which made her absurdly thin waist stand out even more. The pink heart on her chest alongside the decorations around her neck and the crown sitting on her head made her changed shape even more obvious. With her four elegant golden wings behind her back, she was holding the dimension mirror with her now only two hands.

"Oh and I would prefer it if you'd call me Queen Sectonia. Otherwise it's just insulting, you know."

Taranza still could not find any words to say to her.

"Speechless? My, am I that breathtaking already?"

He finally managed to get some words out. "I-I was just surprised by how different you look, that's all."

"Naturally. You were right about
this mirror, you know.
I really am starting to see that wonderful person you always spoke of."

"But..you don't look like Sectonia anymore."

"Are you saying that old body of mine was more beautiful than this?
Or are you even implying that I'm
not beautiful at all...?"

"N-no of course not. I-"

"Good. Now then... remember when you said you'd do anything for yours truly?"

Taranza nodded. "Of course. How could I forget?"

"Well then, I have a.... 'favour' to ask of you. If you're willing to help your queen out that is."

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"Even then I didn't realize what was going on. All that mattered was making her happy." Taranza's vision started getting blurry shortly before tears began rolling down his face. "I was such a fool. Maybe at that point I could've still helped her recover. I should've been there for her. Instead I was just blindly following orders..." Susie put her hand on his shoulders without a word. Even she was unsure what she could say in order to cheer him up. Taranza continued "She asked me to find the hero of the lower world and to capture them. And I just obliged.... I didn't question it, I didn't think twice about it. In my hurry to find them quickly I just assumed it was King Dedede and took him. Kirby noticed and chased me all the way to Sectonia's Palace. I did everything I could to stop him from making progress, but nothing worked. In my last ditch effort I puppeteered Dedede to fight Kirby myself, but to no avail. He was the actual hero of the lower world, so of course he won.... when I realized that, I was already backed into a corner, so I called upon Sectonia to help me. I thought that she would help me out just like I supported her all this time.... instead she blasted me out of the palace for my failure." Susie stared at him in disbelief. "She did what?!" "Thinking about it now, it's obvious she'd do that... I mean, what good is a fool that can't follow orders, right? I didn't get it back then, still asking why as I stumbled through the air outside the throne room... and then she took on Kirby herself."

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As Taranza managed to get a hold of himself, he heard a scream of agony. "Sec...tonia....?" he quietly asked despite no one being around. He then overheard Sectonia speaking to Kirby.

"Bah....Aha... I see.
I expected as much from the hero chose by the dreamstalk...
But I wonder...how will you handle this?
You see, true beauty...is control.
The Dreamstalk has guided you this far...
but its bloom will be your doom!"

Queen Sectonia, now glowing pinkish flew towards the Dreamstalk, passing by Taranza and not even giving him as much as a passing glance. Once she got there, her body began vanishing as she fused with the Dreamstalk, creating long thorny vines that quickly started spreading and rapidly covered the entirety of Popstar.

"Floralia, Dreamland and this entire planet!
You should all feel honoured!
You will serve as my sustenance...
for eternity!"

The vines now completely surrounded the palace, trapping Kirby and Dedede inside. Still unsure what to do, Taranza noticed the fairy people of Floralia make their way in with a cannon. He needed to do something, but the only thing he could do was... talking to the monster he still believed to be Sectonia.

"What are you doing, Sectonia? Why? When did you turn into this power hungry tyrant?!"

"Ignorant fool, how often do I need to tell you not to call me by that name?! I have always been like this, for as long as I can remember!"

"LIAR! You are nothing like you used to be! Where is the caring, determined, generous Sectonia I cared so deeply about?! The Sectonia I know wouldn't want this! You wouldn't want this!"

"The Sectonia you're talking about doesn't exist anymore! This is who I am! This power and beauty is who I am! And I will use it to conquer all of Popstar!"

"You can't do that! You aren't conquering, you are destroying everything you once cared about! The Sectonia I know... my beloved Sectonia... she would never let anyone destroy her homeworld!"

"How could you possibly know what I would and wouldn't do?
You don't know anything about me!"

"I knew you better than anyone else! Don't you remember anything?! How I defended you from Bladeknights, how we shared the scarf, how we went to the market, our training together, all the times we spent on that wonderful field with all the flowers you loved?!"

Tears were now pouring down his cheeks.

". . ."

"Please....I just want everything to go back to the way it was... please, Sectonia-"

"You are pathetic. Daring to oppose me and all you have in store are some memories and tears? You really are as pitiful as I thought... Stop wasting my time and get out of my way. You don't mean anything to me now."

Another vine grabbed him and before he could react, flung him far away from her.

'I-I... I need to put an end to this... no matter the cost...I can't...let this happen...'