Sakura's POV:

I wake up with a start. Nightmares are terrible, but I suppose it's a small price to pay for how much time dark magic saves. Stupid Fountain of Dreams, being all picky over who it helps and who it doesn't. If it wasn't just a fountain, I would've taught it a lesson a long time ago.

With a sigh, I pull my curtain-blanket over my head to block out the sun, hoping to get a few more minutes of sleep. When that still doesn't darken things enough, I stick my hand out and whisper a quick spell, to get a few windows around me to close their curtains. There, that's much better.

Yes, I know I promised not to use dark magic ever again. But, once I started, I couldn't really stop. Don't worry, I haven't done anything really bad, or anything. Magic just makes everything so much simpler. You can use it to pick up books, light candles, start fires (only in the fireplace, of course,) fix broken tools and things, annoy DeDeDe by making his food disappear into some other dimension, all sorts of stuff. See? I'm not being evil, I'm just being efficient. And, all right, occasionally mischievous. There's nothing quite as satisfying as driving the king nuts. Serves him right for bossing me around all those years, in my not-so-humble opinion.

Minutes later, I hear two sets of footsteps bounding up the stairs, up here to the second floor of the library. "Sakura! Get up! C'mon! You promised you'd practice the Copy Abilities with me today!" Kirby pulls on the blanket, trying to get me to move. Ever since last summer, when we figured out we were siblings, he's acted even more like a little brother toward me.

"We're sorry, Sakura is not available at the moment. Please leave your name and message after the beep. Beep!" I reply in a teasing tone, pushing him away with my foot, earning myself a laugh.

"Dwee!" Someone suddenly jumps on my head, attacking the blanket from there. "Dee dwee!"

"You too, Bandana?" I say in faux-hurt. "You're all ganging up on me, aren't you?"

They finally get me to come out of hiding and sit up. "Okay, okay. Let's go practice," I nod at them with a grin. "I'll be there in a bit." I don't get cranky with these two nearly as often as I do with Meta Knight. They don't ask questions or snoop around, or tell me that I 'must be more careful,' before I 'destroy' myself. I really wish he would just mind his own business, to tell you the truth.

Laughing, they run outside. Kirby's already got the Sword Ability, and it sounds like he and Bandana are dueling all the way through the passages, sword against spear. It's amazing how much they change over time, and yet still stay the same.

The two of them aren't as inseparable as they used to be. Kirby likes to spend time down in Cappy Town, helping people out at the various shops and things for the price of a snack. He's a regular little social butterfly, just like he always has been. Bandana, on the other hand, likes to keep to himself more. He seems to like mechanical stuff, he's been helping Meta Knight a lot with the new incarnation of the Halberd. Don't ask me why he's making another one when he knows it's just gonna get blown up again, because I have no idea. I really don't get him, sometimes.

And what have I been up to? Training, and lots of it. Swordplay, (against anyone except Mr. Grumpy Mask,) Copy Abilities, magic. Yes, I've been training with the dark magic. I read lots of books on it, making myself learn as many spells as I can. You never know, someday I might need them.

If I ever mess up even a little bit, I make myself start over. I want to be perfect. I have to be perfect.

As I sit up and stretch, letting my wings out so I can stretch them too, I murmur a spell to get the curtains to open back up. As the sunlight comes streaming through, feeling so nice on my face and wings, I notice a book on the seat next to me. Strange, I don't remember leaving it there.

Picking it up, I see there's a note taped to the cover. I read it, then frown. I don't know, something just seems off. For one thing, Meta Knight never leaves notes. He does everything in person. For another, he would never sign anything with 'Meta,' I don't care who he's writing to. It would always be 'Meta Knight.'

Pulling the note off and crumpling it up, I toss it onto the floor. If it's not actually from him, it's not worth keeping, and if it is actually from him, I still don't really care at the moment.

Then, I take a closer look at the book. It's a deep black, made of leather. No title or anything, just a snaky scarlet design down the spine. It looks like a spell book. Now I know it's definitely not from Meta Knight; he would never give me anything like that. Who cares? I don't. It's a spell book, I'm gonna just read a bit real quick before I go join the boys. Maybe I can learn a new spell or two.

Don't do it, Sakura, you say. It's dangerous, Sakura. Oh, please. I know what I'm doing, I can handle myself.

With a grin, I settle back into the window seat and open the book, flipping past the few blank pages at the front to where the fun begins.

Perfection was all she wanted. Was that so wrong? It wasn't fair of him to always be in her way, always holding her back. He just wanted her to never get to be stronger than he was. It didn't matter. She didn't need him, she didn't need anybody.

Well, maybe it's not a spell book. Something tells me it's dangerous, that I should put it in the fire and forget I ever saw it. But I can't, somehow. Something won't let me. I pore over the pages, reading farther into the story. The main character becomes stronger and stronger, until no one can stand in her way.

I have nearly lost all consciousness of the real world. There's no way to tell how much time has passed, but I don't really care. I can feel myself getting lost in the story, but I want to be lost. I want to become this character, to not have to waste time on the real world any longer.

Suddenly, she's faced with a seemingly insurmountable task: she's trapped in a room, and the only way for her to get out is to say a spell that will reverse the mirror blocking the entrance, opening a door. The spell is even conveniently written down in the book. Problem is, she's not strong enough. It says that whoever's reading must speak the spell.

Well, this dark magic book is actually pretty cool. This is the first interactive book I've ever read. With a dark smile, I pull myself out of the story just enough to whisper the spell, letting the dark cloud swirl around me. Rather than dive into the book, it flies out a window into the sky. That doesn't concern me right now. The story can progress, so nothing else matters. I bend back over the book, not caring that I am being swept away.

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Shadow Kirby's POV:

It's such a nice summer day, here in the Mirror World. I'm just wandering, looking for snacks. That's my favorite thing to do. It's nice and easy, nothing too hard. I can't do much, being the copy of a weak dark side, but I don't mind. I get to be happy about life. The other Dark copy I know? He's just angry and upset, all the time. I don't get his constant negativity, to tell you the truth. I mean, sure, he's a Dark copy. Doesn't mean he has to let that dictate his existence.

Ooh, look, a patch of fresh strawberries. Sitting down, I begin to eagerly shovel them into my mouth, when I notice that something seems... off, somehow. It's like I can sense something bad in the air.

With a frown, I go to where the Mirror is that leads into the next-door dimension, Dreamland. It doesn't look right, at all. There's a swirling darkness in it, instead of its normal, smooth and glassy appearance.

With a sinking feeling, I realize that someone's trying to reverse the Mirror again, and it's trying to fight it off. Why would anyone do that? There's only one person I can think of that would want to, and he's gone. He's been gone for years.

It doesn't matter. There's gotta be something I can do to stop it. I rack my brain, then decide my best bet is to go find my original. He's actually become a pretty good friend of mine, once we stopped attacking each other on sight and took the time to get to know each other. If anyone knows how to fix things, Kirby will.

Puffing up, I begin to fly through the mirror, but out of nowhere, a silver sword appears and blocks me. "You will not interfere," a chilling voice I recognize all-too-well murmurs.

Nervously, I raise my eyes from the sword to its bearer and squeak, "H-how are you alive? Where have you been all these years?"

Giving a quiet laugh, he just looks at me, coolly amused. "I have my secrets."

"What are you planning?" I demand, trying to sound brave. But I'm not really, and we both know it.

"As if I would tell you," he snorts derisively. "I do not want you running off and warning your impersonator, thereby warning mine."

"But why do you want to reverse the Great Mirror again?" I say, practically begging, not caring enough to argue the 'impersonator' point at the moment.

"I am sure you will soon see," he tells me quietly, finally pulling the sword away from my face. Exhaling in relief, I turn to run away, planning to hide until I can make it to Dreamland. Whatever he's got planned, it's bad, very bad.

But just then, the Great Mirror quits fighting. It's like the cloud simply absorbs into it, disappearing. "Not much longer, now," my evil companion murmurs. I can't see it under that creepy mask of his, but I can sense that he's smiling darkly. "Not much longer at all, and perfection will be mine."

Gulping, I turn tail and speed away, as fast as I can. This can't be good, and there's not really much of anything that I can do about it, not until I can get to Kirby and the good Meta Knight and warn them.

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???'s POV:

For a long time, I wasn't. I wasn't, and then suddenly, I was.

I blink my eyes slowly open, feeling a dark smile spread over my face. Stretching, cat-like, I sigh happily. Finally, I am free. I'm not sure how I was trapped, yet, but I know that I was. Someone or something was trying to hold me back- but no longer.

Lithely, I stand up and step over to a stream, taking in my appearance. I look like one of the Star Warriors' race, but different. Black, with a round, gray face, and reddish-brown eyes. I have cat's ears on top of my head, and a tail, which I didn't notice until now. On my left ear, there is a dark gray ribbon, shaped like a tattered and torn cherry blossom. A dark sakura, just like me. I like it. It makes me purr quietly at my reflection.

Also, my gloves are shaped like cat's paws, instead of hands. That might make holding a sword a tad inconvenient, but no matter.

I grin at my reflection, knowing exactly what I need to do first. I need to somehow obtain a sword, and then I need to train. Both with a sword, and with my magic.

Letting a swirling sphere of Darkness appear in one of my paw-gloves, I look at it in satisfaction. Darkness, so much easier and less exhausting to use than Light. Much more fun, too. I'm not sure how I know this, but I do.

"All I want is perfection, nya. Is that so wrong?" I murmur as I sit down in the grass, feeling like I'm quoting something.

"You have arrived," a cold voice says, coming from somewhere not too far behind me. I can't help it, it makes me a bit nervous, causing my ears to half-flatten against my head.

"Who are you?" I ask, not letting any emotion into my voice, instead continuing to watch the sphere resting in my glove.

"I am Dark Meta Knight. Much as I regret to admit it, I need your assistance," the other tells me.

Still, I don't deign to look at him. "I don't give assistance," I inform him coolly. "I'm not a charity, nya. I work for myself. For my own perfection and power."

"I thought as much," he mutters, sounding mildly annoyed, but like it's nothing he wasn't expecting. "I would suggest you go through the Mirror to the castle in that dimension. There is something there you may wish to know about."

"And what is that, nya?" I inquire distantly, making it clear that I couldn't care less.

The other just laughs, chillingly and quietly. "Trust me, it is something you wish to know about, Dark Sakura."

"How do you know my name, nya?" I demand, but he has vanished, apparently. Hmph.

Letting the sphere fizzle out, I stand back up, turning around and seeing that the Mirror he mentioned is right behind me. Might as well, something to do. If it's a castle, I might be able to find a sword, at least.

I step out through the Mirror into midair. Yeesh, sure would've been nice for him to at least mention that in passing. I fall most of the way, then puff up and float down to the ground. I can see the castle, it's not that far from here. Beginning to run towards it, I have to admit, I am curious as to what that 'Dark Meta Knight' wants me to know about.

As soon as I have a sword, I will begin to train. Soon after that, I will have achieved perfection. And then, I will begin to take over the Mirror World, and shortly after, this world. Why? Because it's fun, and I want power. I smirk as I run, completely enjoying this sensation of being free.

Soon, and very soon, all will know and fear the name of Dark Sakura.