dark humor | The Adventures of Starmonia ✝️🦋🇯🇪🇸🇺🇸🔥

The stars in the sky shimmered as the fireflies flickered and darted back and forth among the crowd of onlookers at the July 4th party being held in the Cappy Town square. But amidst the laughter and cheery chatter from the Cappies, there was a hint of discomfort and unease. Though they were now freed from Nightmare, thanks to the Halberd crowd, some felt a strange darkness still lay over their peaceful land.

Unfortunately. . .

. . .they were more right than they knew.

~ ~ ~

On the outskirts of the town, nestled on a little house, was a large castle. A young woman with bright blond hair pulled back in a bun stood on her balcony, her thoughtful emerald-colored eyes as bright as the fireworks exploding in the sky. It was Tiffany Ebrum, now a beautiful woman of eighteen with two children and a wonderful husband. She recalled how when she was younger, at one interval, on New Year’s Eve, fireworks had been popping just like they were now. She, as a twelve-year-old child who loved marine biology and reading, had been standing beside her friend, Meta Knight, as Kirby battled Sasuke, a monster sent by Dedede to wreck the Cappies’ New Year’s party. The dark conversation that had taken place between her and the soldier still remained in her mind and made her frown:

“Meta Knight, what are you doing here?”

“I came to wish Kirby a Happy New Year. . .if he makes it to the New Year.”

Dark humor, Tiff repeated silently, replaying those two words over and over in her mind. Actually, Meta Knight wasn’t the only one to make use of deadpan delivery. Starmonia often used it too, in her everyday speeches, usually in response to Dedede’s insults or Escargoon’s teasing.

And tonight might play out the same way as it did on New Year’s many years ago, Tiff thought dryly, just not quite in the same way.

~ ~ ~

The fireworks burst into showers in the sky should have given everyone a sense of independence and happiness, but it only made the atmosphere melancholy. Mayor Len’s eyes traveled to the castle, to King Dedede’s bedroom. It was impossible to believe the king was dead, gone from cancer; it would be a long time before anyone would recover from his untimely demise that occurred last Christmas. Escargoon, the king’s sidekick, was later revealed to have given the king a strange drug sent from Night Mare Enterprises that killed him, slowly but painfully. Mayor Len remembered the many visits Dr. Yabui had made to the castle; the sleepless nights Tiff and her family had spent watching over the king; the many seizures and breathless nights he had endured alone; Meta Knight and his subordinates standing silently together, talking in low voices; the fear of death that overshadowed everyone in Cappy Town.

Hana seemed to sense her husband’s thoughts and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Dear, I know you miss the king,” se said in her soft voice. “We all do. But we tried our best to save him. And even if it didn’t work, we can rest in the fact that we tried our hardest to help him.”

“It was all Escargoon’s fault, anyway,” Chief Bookem grumbled. “Man, was I glad to run that slimy creep out of town!”

“I can’t believe he actually murdered our king!” Kawasaki chimed in.

“Do not condemn Escargoon,” Hana spoke firmly but quietly. “What right have we to cast the first stone?”

The others silently respected Hana’s judgment.

~ ~ ~

Standing in the castle courtyard, unwilling to join the in the Fourth of July fun, Meta Knight and his subordinates talked by the fountain. It felt too much like the days when Dedede was ill and needed constant attention. It seemed to the knights they could still see Dedede lying in bed, his face pale; Escargoon’s leering expression and the mask of sorrow he placed on whenever he walked into Dedede’s room. The anger they felt when Chief Bookem declared Escargoon the murderer of the king still roiled in their minds.

“The world will never be the same without our king,” Sword Knight declared in a mournful tone.

“Then again,” came a familiar youthful voice from behind some blackberry bushes, “all of us have our death receipts. When our time expires, so does our life.” The speaker was little Ivene, who, though so small, spoke mountains of wisdom. She stepped out from behind the thorny leaves and spoke. “Hurry, the night is drawing to a close. July 4th only comes once a year. Sometimes the best thing to take your mind off a difficult situation is to have fun.”

“Child, you must understand that such a suggestion is not for everyone who has gone through something traumatic,” Sword explained. “We are still suffering from the king’s death.”

“As am I,” Ivene said, her brown eyes clear in the starlight. The rush of fountain water seemed to back her words as it peacefully bubbled into its marble basin. “But death is just the doorway to eternal life, God says. Dedede knows and he accepted the truth at the end. So let’s be grateful, my friends.” And with that, she was off, disappearing into the warm night.

“Aye, p’haps she’s right,” Blade said. Sword agreed, glancing at Meta Knight, who nodded a little.

~ ~ ~

“You look very distant,” came a voice from behind Meta Knight.

Meta Knight turned in surprise to face Tiff, holding her one-year-old daughter, Pamela, fondly nicknamed Pamu. “I am all right,” he assured her, but his trembling voice betrayed his words.

Tiff stared at him with those same green eyes that had always pierced at his soul. He recalled all too well, when she was a child, when he had been in pain or was going through a hard time. . .if he had lied to her about how he was feeling, she would stare at him wit the look that spoke plainer than any words, “You’re lying. I know what you are saying is not true.”

Though she was not a little girl any longer, those eyes still nagged at him, tugged at his conscience. He looked up to the sky as another firework whistled, its pitch getting higher and higher, until it finally exploded. It seemed to him that was how he felt. One moment he would be soaring higher and higher into the sky of delight and peace, and then his dreams would expire, explode, leaving nothing behind by smoke and particles of what he had once dreamed of.

Tiff walked up to him, shifting her child to her other arm, and she reached out and grasped his hand in a quiet, “I’m here” motion. The touch wasn’t much, but it sparked something in him he hadn’t felt in a while. . .the feeling of knowing someone was always there, always caring, even if he didn’t know it. He turned and hugged her tightly, burying his face in her shoulder as she knelt down and embraced him gently. A light gust of wind swirled past, ruffling Tiff’s dress and rustling the soldier’s cape.

“You’re not alone,” she told him at last. “We all miss Dedede, but we all rejoice knowing he’s okay.”

Meta Knight looked full into her face and smiled at her, though she could not see it. She smiled back, almost as if she knew how he felt. Even little Pamu seemed to sense the joy of the moment and gurgled, “Happy!”

Both laughed and then stood up to go down and watch the rest of the fireworks show.

~ ~ ~

By the time the threesome reached the square, most of the fireworks had already been shot off. But the biggest display was yet to come, as Tiff knew from previous Independence Days. As she and Meta Knight stepped toward the middle of the square, hanging back from the huge firework which Buttercup, Chief Bookem’s wife, was to set off, little Ivene grinned widely, leaped onto the statue of Dedede which had been erected in his memory, and paraded along the base of the throne’s armrest, singing:

“Sometimes it’s hard to see what is in front of me
I need a hand to pull me from the shadows
No shackles on my feet, they’re just a memory
I need Your strength to rise above the shallows.”

The Cappies lifted their voices and began to sing with her.

“I’ve walked through fire and weathered pain
Felt emotion like a hurricane
There’s gotta be a better way
Hear me when I say. . .”

Tiff and her husband, Lemu, joined in with their friends. Meta Knight remained silent, watching the happy crowd.

“I was a wreck
Oh, I was shattered and bruised
Then You tore down the dark
And Your love broke through
Down on my knees
‘Cause I couldn’t be found
Now I’m filled with Your peace
As Your love comes down
Down, down, down, down, down
Down, down, down, down, down.”

Then Lemu sang solo.

“I was a broken man living in a broken land
Then You arrived, a love worthy to follow
I could’ve stayed in pain forever and a day
Then just in time, You filled up what was hollow.”

Meta Knight furrowed his brow. That sounded too much like what he had been like before God had come along and rescued him. The thought brought a smile to his lips.

“I’ve walked through fire and weathered pain
Oh, like a hurricane!

I was a wreck
Oh, I was shattered and bruised
Then You tore down the dark
And Your love broke through
Down on my knees
‘Cause I couldn’t be found
Now I’m filled with Your peace
As Your love comes down
Down, down, down, down, down
As Your love comes down
Down, down, down, down, down.”

“Let’s all sing together!” Ivene cried happily.

“I was a wreck
Oh, I was shattered and bruised
Then You tore down the dark
And Your love broke through
Down on my knees
‘Cause I couldn’t be found
Now I’m filled with Your peace
As Your love comes down!”

Meta Knight couldn’t contain himself anymore. As Buttercup struck the match and lit the fuse, he knew he had to sing and celebrate. A wave of overwhelming happiness struck him head over heels and he lifted up his voice to sing with his friends and family.

As the huge firework exploded in a blend of red, blue, and white, everyone strongly finished out the song together:

“Down, down, down, down, down!”

“Happy Independence Day!” Ivene howled, leaping and jumping about with enthusiasm. And then Meta Knight, Tiff, and her family shared a beautiful embrace as the fireworks continued to pop around them, illuminating the warm night.

_ _ _

The song “Down” was written by Colton Dixon, Ben Glover, and Kyle Lee. All credit goes to them.