Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

     His Majesty had summoned a new demon beast, and it wouldn’t be for the last time either. It had become a simple routine, Dedede would fawn over his new ‘pet’ for a while until he grew bored of it and he and his servants Sword and Blade would quietly dispose of the creature before it could wreak any havoc on the villagers. However, this time it was content to secretly do so as its master slept.

     The villagers were currently arguing with the king in his throne room. He would have joined them if so inclined. But his ever-changing sleeping schedule and naturally nocturnal nature left him too exhausted. Returning to their quarters he saw the two sitting at their table with coffee and a few crackers to sustain themselves after not eating a proper meal in so long.

     Sword looked sleepy, a few crumbs covered the X-shaped scar in the centre of his face amongst tawny beige skin and a mess of short dark purple hair had been left behind by his helmet. His usually bright green eyes had been wrapped in red from recent sleepless nights attempting to get the new demon beast under control.

     Blade was in a similar state to him, she had let her red hair down and part of it had fallen to cover her missing eye and white skin. While her eyes were naturally red in colour, the whites around her eyes had taken on the same hue now. And so the couple lay at their table deep in their coffee cups, they needed rest.

     “Sword, Blade. You may turn in for the day, however, we must continue to wake again tomorrow night understood?” The two looked up at him blearily, taking a few moments to process his order as the coffee did not seem to be doing them any wonders.

     “Yes sir…” Blade groaned as she cracked her back and stood up, dragging her body across the room, Sword following after her

     Before the two retired to bed they needed to remove their armour and set it up in the main room for cleaning and repairs the next evening. Prior to him entering the room they had both removed their helmets and already left them in their proper place. Sword’s was a dark green oddly shaped helmet that was long with ridges and an open visor, the rest of his armour followed in that colour. Shoulder pads and a chest plate, alongside gauntlets and greaves that reached his thighs. The rest consisted of a leather tunic and chainmail with an X shaped strap and buckle at the centre of his stomach.

     Blade’s helmet was conal in shape, it was a lighter green with gold trimming and a pink visor with a hole at the back that she would pull her ponytail through. Her shoulder pads were larger than Sword’s with golden trim and a golden crest that adorned it that she had supposedly found and subsequently stole once. Alongside that were green gauntlets and a chest plate, however, it was much larger than her husband's and covered up most of her body with only leather straps at the side that one could see through her blue tunic. Across her chest was also a leather strap to carry her scabbard though to reduce weight from the larger piece of armour she her boots were made of leather.

     The two murmured amongst each other for a bit complaining about how grimy they felt, a sentiment he understood currently too. Both of them left the room to quickly wash, they’d likely be finished by the time he was done removing his own armour. Removing his steel shoulder pads first, he felt his navy cape dissipate and stretch into wings which was the best feeling of the day as the small bones in it cracked with age and disuse. His own shoulders also cracked as he moved them, weighed down by his armour.

     His gauntlets were next, a dark purple in colour while the palm of his hand was white leather where the armour continued over the top ridge of his hand before being stopped by his blue padding. His grieves were the same colour as the gauntlets, ones that reached his thighs much as his servants did. Removing them was growing more difficult compared to when he was a squire from the aches in his knee at the end of the day. An act made more difficult by the dark purple chest plate that was quickly released by way of a few leather straps at the back. He could finally tear that blue padding off his chest, a stifling oven in the tropical heat, made even worse by black leather pants beneath his grieves.

    There was very little he could do to let out a sigh of relief as he was freed. Undoing the bun he had made out of his navy braided hair from the top of his head and allowing them to trail across his back. He laid across the sofa there, beckoned to sleep despite his state of half dress.

     He was close to drifting off until Blade woke him up. “We’re retiring in for the day sir. You should too.” She patted his shoulder, jolting him awake.

     “I will, thank you both for your efforts these last two days.” The two nodded and retired to bed leaving him alone once again with his thoughts.

     Even as hot water dripped down his face inside the shower it did not soothe his head but it did allow his body to relax more and wash off the sweat from the heavy layers of armour and padding he wore. Leaving the shower he was greeted by their steamy mirror, even through the steam he could see what was left of him. Scars littered the length of his umber brown body, he couldn’t remember where most of them came from anymore. There was one, however, he recalled. A beastly gash across his arm from the day he had met Sword and Blade.

     As much as warm water soothed the body, it caused those scars to ache. And so he retired to bed finally, laying on his side cocooning his mask and a precious silver ring he wore around his neck. That was at least until he was woken up by a loud crashing sound, ripping himself out of bed he staggered to the window to catch a glimpse of the woodland near Kabu’s canyon almost reduced to nothing as something had ripped through the land itself.

     He returned to bed. As much as his curiosity yelled at him it had only been three hours since he retired to bed in the last two days. But duty called eventually as he was later awoken by a loud banging, likely the king. Through the door, he could hear the muffled sounds of Sword and Blade talking to him and a loud. “Where is Meta Knight!” As such he dragged himself up and scooped his mask back onto his face.

     “Is there something you needed Your Majesty,” he asked as he approached the gigantic man. The king was clearly in a bad mood, there was a deep scowl etched on his face that easily switched from jovial to enraged. Amongst his blue beard and shoulder-length thick curly hair was a pair of matching blue eyes framed by well-cared-for dark brown skin. Under his robes, he wore a long cream kimono with a red and yellow belly warmer across the waist and a pair of geta with socks. On his head was his self-proclaimed crown, the appearance of which confused Meta Knight greatly with the lack of any gemstones usually present in such jewellery. Which lead him to believe in a potential bald spot that the king was hiding from everyone in the country.

     Behind him, he could spot Escargon who was also scowling while scribbling away in a notepad. His light green hair which was usually well-slicked back was out of place as if he had been running his hands through it. His face was always quite taut as if scowling came naturally to him with a scratchy goatee, moustache and a pale sickly white complexion that didn't get enough sun. Round glasses magnified his eyes however they usually ended up cracked or broken out of Dedede’s often physically rough treatment of people around him. He also wore a purple waistcoat and trousers while the shirt underneath his waistcoat was a paler purple.

     “We’ve got a situation! I need you three to hunt down this alien called Kirby!” The name caught him by surprise from Dedede's order.

     “You’ve been sleeping in all day today, so do your jobs for once!” Escargon added with a sneer.

     Before he could respond the two scurried off kicking dust in their path to continue whatever chaos they had gotten themselves into. Blade huffed. “Do our jobs for once? We’ve been patrolling for the last two days.”

     He sighed and turned to the two. “Get prepared we leave within the hour. I wish to meet this Kirby if my instinct is right…” his voice tapered off quietly. The two knights nodded in a quiet understanding and began preparing their armour. It wasn’t long until dusk began to settle and the three began their trek towards the village and its surroundings.

     “Do you think that monster might attack tonight?” Sword spoke up.

     “Hm, going by what we’ve been hearing it’ll likely visit the sheep field again. Perhaps we should head over there?” Blade suggested.

     The two looked at their lord. “Hm…Alright, it sounds like a plan. We may find our other quarry there besides," he replied.

     But as they arrived at the field they realised they were too late, bones scattered the field and not a sheep was in sight. The familiar veil of night draped over the sky as they walked through the silent field. “Seems it caught them again...” Sword murmured with a sigh as Meta Knight trailed behind them.

     Blade scrunched her nose. “Ugh... It stinks here. Seems to be coming from that hut,” she complained. It was possibly some more sheep remains, but if they were lucky their quarry may still be eating in hiding.

     While Meta Knight observed from a distance, the two approached the hut and kicked down the door. Yet they did not find any sort of monster, only the children of the minister. “Miss Fumu and Sir Bun?” Blade spoke up as the two approached them. The brother and sister were huddled together with their tiny flying servants Lololo and Lalala. As expected of a girl of her status, the twelve-year-old wore an A-line dress with puffy sleeves and a pink ribbon around her waist. However, her usually clean orange pumps and cotton tights had been muddied as if she had run through a field. She had a long light blonde ponytail held up by a chunky purple bead as well as a lighter beige complexion.

     Her younger brother was a bit scruffier, his unkempt hair covered most of his face, his skin was a more tanned beige than his sister's. His short overalls were torn in places with thick stitches likely done by his mother. His holey green trainers and ankles were caked in mud like his sister's.

     Their little floating servants were free of this fate however, they were the size of their heads and one would not be mistaken if they thought they were fairies without wings. Lalala wore a simple orange dress with a white shirt underneath, while her brother wore a white shirt with blue shorts. Being twins they shared the same face and pale white skin with a short fluffy hairstyle, however, Lololo’s was blue and Lalala’s was pink with a yellow ribbon.

     “Wah! Why'd you gotta scare us like that,” Bun gasped out the breath he was holding.

     “Oh, um! Sword and Blade…What are you two doing here?” Fumu breathed out a suspicious laugh as she hid something behind her back.

     The two stepped forward. “We’re here on Sir Meta Knight's orders to search for a Kirby,” Sword explained observing Fumu’s behaviours.

     Her eye’s widened a bit and her grip behind her tightened. “Oh really? So are we!” she lied through her teeth.

     “Uh-huh! Doesn't look like he's here though! Better look somewhere else,” her brother added, shuffling closer to her as more of the sack became hidden behind him.

     “Is that so…” Meta Knight’s voice rang out as he approached the doorway, the light of the moon enhancing his silhouette. Fumu gasped, her words failing her as her brain scrambled for an excuse as he slowly began to walk over to them. Taking out his sword she dove out of the way as he plunged it at the top of the sack behind her, pulling it up to reveal...

     A boy resembling the age of five sitting there with bright blue eyes, pale white skin, long unkempt curly pink hair and a familiar white cape with a starry sky underneath that was his only protection against the cold. Meta Knight nearly dropped his sword, the colours in his glowing eyes changing at a rapid pace alongside his heartbeat. The boy only stared at him, mouth slightly agape at the sword. “Kirby…So this means…” he trailed off still deep in shock. He had suspected there was a small possibility it would be him, the baby from all those years ago. Yet he did not remain to reminisce, turning heel as his cape flowed with him leaving the children in confusion.

     Standing outside he did not have much time to gather his thoughts before they followed him. “Uhm, Sir Meta Knight?” Fumu approached him first.

     “What was that for?” Bun shouted before she could continue, his hand firmly on Kirby’s back where he could now see small white feathery wings from under the cape.

     “He is the Star Warrior Kirby, I suspect you both knew that. But a problem still remains, where and what is the demon beast?” But before they could discuss there was an explosion off in the distance on one of the castle balconies.

     Before they could begin to react, Kirby started to run towards it. “Kirby!” Fumu yelled as she began to chase after him, the others following behind.

     As they chased him a realisation hit Meta Knight. “Fumu, might I ask why he’s not wearing anything?”

     The question struck her out of nowhere almost throwing her running off-balance. “I dunno! He fell out of his ship only wearing that, we tried to make him wear something underneath but he just squirmed out of it!” While at the mayor's house they had attempted to put some pants on him, but he was so excited he had just run around until everyone was out of breath and gave up on it.

     “And might he be responsible for that smell earlier?” Blade’s face scrunched up.

     “Kinda, might have been that shed. He is really grimy though, who knows how long he was in that ship,” Bun commented nonchalantly.

-

     Over by the castle, Dedede and Escargon were being pelted by raining metal plates and bolts. “Ugh this thing is pretty delicate,” Escargon complained, as a stray metal plate pelted him on the head.

     “Be more careful with that thing! If we can keep this ship intact, Kirby is sure to come here.” Dedede roughly patted the burnt gold-coloured metal.

     As his eyes drifted down to the cockpit, however, he spotted something interesting that resembled a case. Picking up the blue box Escargon peeked over, it was rather small in Dedede’s hand but that was usually the case for most things. As he popped it open though there was no sort of ring or treasure waiting inside like he expected. Instead, nestled in purple velvet was a golden star.

     His eyebrow rose until it glittered and shone, so he decided it was a treasure after all and picked it up delicately between his finger and his thumb. “Ooo, look what I’ve got.” He held it in the air, cooing at it.

     “Ah! That’s not fair what about me?” Escargon whined only to be pushed away by the king's big hand.

     “Quiet! Keep on working, don’t forget I’m the king here.” Dedede turned and left with a hearty laugh, and Escargon stuck his tongue out behind the man's back.

     “Honestly, he’s so greedy! Making me do all this damn work…” he groaned and whined to himself as he picked his wrench back up and rolled up the sleeves of his lab coat he put on to work on the ship. As he turned to continue working on the ship though he was rudely greeted by Kirby suddenly standing on the balcony with him causing him to yelp.

     “Uhm! It’s just being repaired so you can go home!” He rubbed his hands together anxiously, hoping the strange child would just leave. But he picked up the box Dedede dropped. He saw it was empty and began to thrust it in Escargon’s direction as if asking ‘Where is it!?’ and Escargon found himself gnawing at his nails again and stuttering. “Erm, it’s uhm…”

     But suddenly Kirby lost interest in him, turning around he stared into the inside of the castle and began to run in, dropping the box. Escargon watched in a mix of shock and confusion before sighing. “I don’t get paid nearly enough for this…” he murmured before trying to continue his repairs only to be scared by Meta Knight leaping up to the balcony too.

-

     Meanwhile, deep inside the castle, Dedede watched his pet octopus float about in its tank as it hugged a bone leftover from dinner. “Hmph, as if a little thing like you could gobble up all those sheep,” he turned his head up angering the creature behind his back. “And I went through all this effort to buy this delivery system for such tiny pets.” He hopped on his throne in a huff and pressed one of the many buttons on the arm.

     The room went dark and the centre floor parted to reveal a round metal platform and machine above it with two large TV screens opening up at the sides of the walls. As one switched on he was greeted with a familiar spiel. “Welcome to Holy Nightmare’s Demon Beast Download site.” The man behind the screen held a devilishly smug grin and a voice to fit it too, his suit was probably worth more than the whole country and his skin was as dead as he was.

     “You made me pay tons for this, and all I get is a tiny octopus?” Dedede huffed, crossing his arms on his throne.

     “Pardon me, but I’m afraid you're yet to understand Octakon’s true strength.” The man explained calmly, but Dedede leaned his head back uninterested.

     “I don’t huh? Better of explained that earlier then!” he bit back and turned off the screen with a huff before the man could continue. But as he looked over at his pet he noticed something different. It had grown bigger in size and was beginning to climb out of its tank.

     Running over to try and push it back in it responded in turn by spitting the bone it held back at him. And stared deeply into his eyes, freezing Dedede in place and putting him under its spell

-

     Kirby entered the tall throne room and found the strange king staring at his fish tank. He slowly approached him with curious eyes before the man snapped around with an overstretched grin and his massive hammer held high.

     He stepped back, a twinge of fear on his face before the hammer was let down with a loud bang in front of him. The king began to swing wildly and the boy did all he could to try and avoid its swings, eventually getting caught and sent flying into a wall.

     “Kirby!” Fumu yelled as she ran into the room with her brother, watching Kirby run about madly in an effort to avoid the man. Soon he had kited him into a pillar where the star he picked up earlier flew out of his pocket and by Fumu’s foot.

     As she picked it up to look at it, however, a shadow grew over her as a pillar began to collapse on top of her and her brother. “Look out!” Meta Knight yelled, as he scooped the two up and pushed them out of the way.

     Fumu looked up at him with a grateful smile. “Sir Meta Knight!” However his focus was elsewhere.

     “Look,” he ordered as he pointed towards the tank.

     The octopus was beginning to grow bigger and bigger as its slimy skin turned to an aggressive red. Both of the children screamed in panic as it grew even bigger, beginning to shake the foundation of the castle itself.

     “That was gobbling up all the sheep?” Bun yelled.

     “It was controlling His Majesty as well!” Meta Knight added as he opened his cape to shield the children from the monster as its tentacles began to break through the walls, slithering up the spires.

     Dedede pulled himself up and shook off the bits of stone that had landed on him, only to look up and see the massive creature now inside of his throne room and screamed. “What in the world is that?” He squawked before jolting up and ran.

     “It’s the demon beast you downloaded id- Your Majesty!” Escargon shouted back from behind a pile of rubble before Dedede landed on him.

     Shaking his shoulders he continued in his panic. “I don’t remember ordering something that big!”

     Escargon scowled. “But weren’t you complaining it was too small?”

     Ignoring their bickering, Meta Knight stood between them and the beast. “Your Majesty, escape now!” he ordered as his blade shone in the light. Sword and Blade had also begun their assault, running at the creature with their swords out only to be knocked out of the way by one of its flailing tentacles breaking through the wall. Fumu and Bun had also begun their escape only for it to follow the two through the throne room as Dedede sped past them with Escargon on his back.

     The children's attempt was short-lived as it knocked the two down with one of its tentacles. At that moment despite being in a safe spot, Kirby ran out and stood between the monster and the children. “Kirby…” Fumu gasped at the boy’s bravery.

     From the suckers, hundreds of tiny octopi began to emerge with a pop and floated in the air, the brother and sister cowered together as Kirby ran at them. Only to be bashed by the creatures from every direction, it went on for so long that he began to feel dizzy and sick, his face almost turning to a sickly pale green. But before he could recover from that, two of them dropped a loose piece of rubble on him.

     Fumu could only watch in horror as the star in her hand began to dim and flash in what could be called a panic. It was almost as if it was responding to his pain, catching Meta Knight’s eye. “Fumu, how did you get that?”

     She looked at him, panic plain on her face. “Huh? Uhm Dedede he…”

     He did not give her a chance to finish. “That is the Warp Star! It's the source of Kirby's strength!” he explained.

     Afterwards, she noticed the link between the two, when colour returned to his face the star glowed back to a beautiful gold as he began to run away from the tiny octopi. And she chased after them much to her brother’s resistance. While he ran up another set of stairs, she continued up the opposite side to a balcony where she would be able to watch from afar.

     As Kirby reached his balcony, a tentacle crushed his way back out and burst through the main ceiling of the castle, staring straight at the boy. He walked back only to feel his heel slip down and pulled himself back forwards on the tiny platform he was trapped on. As his eyes searched for a way out, Fumu leapt on the edge of the balcony opposite to his and yelled. “Kirby!” Holding the glittering star above her.

     It began to glow in her hands the moment Kirby’s eyes locked onto it and a giant smile grew on his face as his small hands reached out into the air for it. In his delight, a wind began to pick up and he held his hands together as it whipped around and began to suck up anything it came into contact with towards his hands. The numerous octopi struggled against it but eventually fell, pulled towards his hands where they vanished into specs of bright red light. Fumu herself was nearly pulled into the vortex if it wasn’t for her brother’s swift reaction.

     “How does he even do that?” Bun gaped as he tried to pull his sister back down despite her insistence to pull herself closer to the edge.

     Meta Knight was also left agape. “He’s a boy of freedom, even the wind cannot ignore him. With a touch, he can reduce something to pure energy and absorb it.”

     With its tentacle raised high in the sky, Octakon released more of its children who were now ablaze with fire. Jumping towards them, Kirby deflected them with swift kicks and blocks with his wrists and feet leaving a small smouldering burn on his skin but creating a beautiful sight akin to sparks. Frustrated, it held up two of its tentacles together and unleashed twice as many, and so he repeated his absorption of the new pack much to everyone's shock as the flames enveloped his arms.

     Yet this did not bother him, leaping up he allowed the flames to envelop his body as the cape he wrapped himself around in was thrown to the winds where Meta Knight caught it. Squeezing the familiar material in hand he looked up to see a ball of fire where Kirby once was.

     Fumu screamed in panic. “He’s on fire! We’ve got to put it out!”

     But he blocked her from trying to get towards him. “No, look.”

     A hand broke through the flames and they dissipated, revealing the boy inside once again whose wings had turned into pure fire alongside the tips of his hair which had turned red. Atop his head was a golden banded crown with an emerald at the centre, and a loose red and golden yukata had formed that was parted at the centre where he was wearing shorts now underneath.

     It had been years since Meta Knight last saw something like this. “A copy ability!” The two children looked at him confused. “It’s a unique ability that allows someone to absorb the power of someone or something and copy it. Changing their appearance in the process, through that he has become Fire Kirby!” he explained.

     Octagon unleashed a fiery breath yet it breezed past Kirby as if he felt nothing, reaching out his hand the flames were pulled into his hands and he unleashed it back. It writhed in pain in the flames and approached the boy even more angered with burns and flames dotting all over its body.

     “Kirby!” in a panic, Fumu threw the Warp Star towards him unsure of what it would do. It flew and grew in size before spinning around behind him, as if it were natural to him he leapt into the air to land on it as it passed by. As he flew by its head the octopus continued to try and spit fire at him as he flew past and around the spire, one of its tentacles following in pursuit. It was very slow to react, however, before it noticed he had come back around the loop more fire was thrown at it directly to its face. As much as it tried to hold onto the spire the pure force of the fire was so strong it eventually was ripped off and thrown far far away into the ocean.

     With a satisfied smile, the flames on his body died out and he lept through the Warp Star as it returned to its original size with his yukata turning to ash. Normally after the ability would fade you would return to what you were wearing before with no damage done, however, he wasn’t exactly wearing anything before that much to Meta Knight’s panic. Before anyone could react, the moment he landed the man wrapped him back up in the cape with a sigh of relief.

     Fumu and Bun’s parents had also arrived in awe of what happened while the brother and sister cheered in joy. “Oh dear he looks awful,” Memu commented in concern at the bits of ash sticking to his face as she hid partly behind her pink fan. There was an indecisiveness on her face, obviously not wanting to get her lilac dress ruined, her blonde curls had almost fallen out of place during all the fighting and her makeup had smudged across her warm beige skin.

     Her husband only stared at her in confusion as she lightly pushed him towards the boy, wordlessly telling him ‘You do it’. But the man didn’t look too pleased with the idea of dirtying his suit very much either, his grey curled hair and well-groomed moustache had begun to stick out of places, and his light beige skin showed spots of dust left by the castle crumbling. With a sigh, Meta Knight approached them. “What’s wrong?”

     Memu fluttered her fan a bit. “Well, I was thinking he could do with a bath. And he can borrow Bun’s clothes.”

     “I see, good luck with that then,” he finished standing out the way much to their disappointment.

     “Kirby would like to follow us?” Parm asked.

     Bun just grabbed his hand, however. “C’mon we can go to our home!” he told the boy as he dragged him through the hallway past a disappointed Dedede.

     Watching the family walk alongside the boy, Meta Knight followed quietly behind with the smell of ash clinging to his nose. “Kirby… He would be so proud,” he murmured as there was a pang of pain in his heart.

     Sword and Blade approached him. “Sir, what will happen now?” Blade asked.

     “He’ll stay here, I questioned Escargon earlier. They’ve put explosives in his ship. I cut a few cords so the most it’ll do is simply crash him again.”

     The two looked at him in surprise. “Is that wise? What if he gets hurt?” she asked.

     “They’re impatient, they’ll likely try and blow it up before he can even get close to the sky,” he explained.

     “Is that boy then…” Sword murmured.

     Meta Knight nodded. “Yes, but it’s far too early. I worry about his growth it may become too much for him…” The three remained quiet until they heard a loud screaming down the hallway that sounded like Kirby, rushing down he saw Fumu, Bun and their father, looking rather tired.

     “What happened?” he asked approaching the three, Fumu only nervously laughed.

     “He wasn’t too happy about the water.” It was a bit of a contrast to a few minutes ago, a brave boy who did not fear fire only to throw a tantrum about soapy water. His cries died down shortly afterwards, however, Dedede had already caught ear of the loud noises.

     Stomping down the hallway he looked at the large group. “What’s going on here?” he demanded.

     Fumu stood in front of him. “We’re treating Kirby to a refresher. He does deserve it after saving us all,” she dragged out the last few words as she put her hands on her hips and glared at the king.

     He only scoffed at her. “Well don’t go getting too attached now, he’ll be gone before you know it,” he laughed as he walked away with Escargon following suit.

     Fumu frowned. “I guess he’s right…It’s a shame I would have liked to spend more time with Kirby,” she sighed as she sat down by the door again.

     Meanwhile inside Memu was surprisingly enjoying herself. “Your hair is so long! I’ve never seen a boy with such long hair before it may be longer than Fumu’s too.” She cooed and scrubbed through his long hair with shampoo and conditioner. “I used to play with Fumu’s hair all the time, but she’s gotten so picky now she’s getting older.”

     Kirby only hummed as he played around with the bubbles while she combed her hands through his hair. “Oh, dear…It may have to be cut though after all, it’s very damaged,” she frowned at the state it was in despite layers of shampoo and conditioner. She managed to wiggle him into some of Bun’s spare clothes, he wouldn’t miss as he called them ‘Too babyish’ as it was a short-sleeved white shirt, she also cut two holes into the back and found some red shorts.

     Collecting her comb and scissors she sat the boy down and pulled his hair back. “Oh my, you have cute little pointed ears just like Sir Meta Knight!” she squealed as she gave it a small tug and he yelped in response. “Oh dear, I’m sorry. You know, both of you look like elves or fairies. I wonder then if he has fluffy wings like you too, must be embarrassed about them,” she laughed.

     Eventually, as she began snipping away at the hair as her family walked back in, Parm made sure they removed their muddied shoes or else Memu would have his head for the carpet. “Your cutting all his hair?” Fumu asked disappointed.

     “Yes, it’s in really bad condition but thankfully he doesn’t need it all removed,” she explained as long strands were cut from his head.

     “I did notice something strange though.”

     “What is it, mama?”

     “...He has no belly button!” she exasperated, Kirby looked at her confused while the other's eyes grew.

     “How is that possible?” Bun asked.

     “Maybe he came from an egg,” his father murmured.

     “But he isn’t a bird!” Fumu argued.

     “That’s not all, there’s not a single freckle on him either,” she nearly continued on if it wasn’t for Kirby loudly huffing in the chair to tell her to stop.

     After his little outburst, they all quietly watched her work on his hair as it curled to the floor in a small pile. His hair was rather thick and fluffed up very easily once she dried it, despite her best efforts a lot of it stuck out and curled, refusing to be pressed down neatly. But she couldn’t help but coo at him. “He’s so cute,” she smiled as she patted his hair.

     The coddling was short-lived however as Dedede returned, banging at the door. His ship was ready and he wanted him out much to their dismay. In the early morning sun, he stood by his ship alongside many of the other villagers he had met that day who came to say their farewells.

     “This day went by so quickly and it’s already time to say goodbye…” Fumu frowned, Kirby looked at her with watery eyes and she turned around. “J-Just hurry up and go. Don't you have some sort of destiny to get to?” She crossed her arms and held up her head in an attempt to feel strong. Kirby’s frown only deepened and he climbed up into his cockpit, looking down at everyone as if he were a kicked puppy.

     As it slowly began to drift away the two couldn’t help themselves but chase him. “Goodbye!” Fumu waved as she ran.

     “Make sure to come and visit us again one day!” Bun added as Kirby gave the two a small wave.

     But unbeknownst to him, as he drifted by Dedede and Escargon in their tank they had a plan. “This’ll make him say goodbye forever,” Dedede cackled as Esacrgon pressed a button and a loud bang was heard from Kirby’s ship.

     Smoke began to fill his cockpit and outside of the ship too as it began to spiral down back to the earth, right into the king and his vehicle. Fumu and Bun chased after the explosion, catching Kirby as he rolled across the ground and helped him up. “Look at the mess you’ve made!” Dedede yelled at Escargon, looking at the remains of his and Kirby’s vehicles. The moment Escargon saw a glint of anger in his eyes he began to run from his hammer, a common occurrence to see by anyone at the castle.

     Fumu and Bun only laughed at them, as Escargon ran behind the rubble and begged for forgiveness. “Looks like you stuck with us. So, fancy living here?” Fumu asked with a big smile on her face, Fumu looked at her and back at her brother before his face lit up and he babbled excitedly.

     As they all excitedly ran back to the others, Meta Knight watched quietly in the distance, a gentle but sad smile on his face.

Chapter Text

     Kirby’s swaddle had not been returned to him, it gnawed at Meta Knight as he held it by a tub of soapy water to be washed. Although its appearance had not changed its scent had, one that he once had memorised of metal and medicine masked behind a soft peony was lost. Really it smelt quite disgusting now, and so he sighed and dunked it into the tub only to hear a knock on the door as he started scrubbing it.

     Captain Waddle Doo was waiting for him behind the door, the stout captain of the castle with a missing eye and ginger hair tied up in a knot. Waddle Dee’s were strange people that at best reached the height of the children, however, Waddle Doo appeared to be a slight exception being taller than any of his kin. Other parts of him differentiated him from the others too, while their uniforms always changed he was always in a larger steel chest plate and gauntlets with an orange leather tunic and boots. He also lacked the mask they wore over their mouths, being the speaker for all of them. In terms of similarity, however, they all shared the same ochre beige skin tone, love for the colour orange and ginger hair which did make him question their relations to one another.

     “Sir Meta Knight! His Majesty wishes to speak with you with a matter of the utmost importance! I’ve already notified Sword and Blade Knight and they are awaiting you in his throne room,” the captain explained. Having left the cloak to soak he began his ascent up through hidden passageways and stairs to reach the king. Yet he was not alone either, as much as the girl attempted to hide from his sight he knew Fumu was following him.

     Yet he did not speak, allowing her to follow him all the way to the throne room where she eavesdropped on Dedede’s harsh orders. “I want you to challenge Kirby to a duel,” the king had ordered him.

     “A duel?” the knight replied puzzled.

     “It will be a way for you to prove your loyalty to me again." The king had crossed his arms in a huff, ever suspicious of even those who served him.

     “We need to banish him before he settles down, and what better way to do that than disgrace him in a duel. The villagers won’t want anything to do with him after losing something like that,” Escargon explained their plan, a foolish one at that.

     “I will not attack Kirby for some petty gain,” he rejected them flatly before a smug grin threatened to grace his lips. “Might I suggest another Demon Beast of yours?”

     Dedede looked at him shocked. “H-How did you know about that?” Before covering his mouth as if it were a secret.

     “It’s widely known there is a delivery system in this very room. It was never much of a secret in the first place, at least for us in this castle,” he explained. There had been various times when small beasts had been found by Waddle Dee’s, as such they all knew of it quite quickly.

     The king slammed his fists on the arms of his throne. “Those things are expensive! Which is why I want you to defeat him instead, you're far cheaper.” His words reduced him to a mere sellsword than a knight.

     His eyes drifted over to the side of the room where Fumu was likely listening, perhaps reconsidering her views on who he was as Escargon spoke up again. “Are you related to him or something? Why else are you so reluctant to fight?”

     Although he did not show it, the man’s words cut deeper than it seemed. “No…I,” his words died on his tongue as Dedede now began to interject again using Escargon’s head as leverage.

     “Then chop to it!” he ordered once again.

     Meta Knight bit his tongue. “If that shall be your command…Then I will do it,” he bowed.

     Both of them seemed pleased by the agreement, and he left in a hurry as he felt Fumu’s eyes in the dark boring into him filled with disappointment. Once he and his servants left the room his mind was awash with what to do before Blade cut him out of his trance. “Sir you're doing it again.” He jolted out of it to realise he had taken the ring he wore around his neck out to hold it, hiding it again he cleared his throat.

     “I will write Kirby a missive, meanwhile I would ask you two to prepare a suitable blade for him for battle.” They both nodded after a moment of silence as they all headed back to their quarters to prepare. As his pen drifted to paper his thoughts drifted to whatever the boy must be doing now, what will be done to ruin his second day on this star.

-

     Said boy was oblivious to everything that was going on in the distant castle, as he had made many new friends that day to play with. The boy was on the outskirts of the village with Bun, Lololo and Lalala alongside three new friends of Bun’s. The oldest was a chubby boy called Hohhe who wore a straw hat on top of his short curly brown hair with warm beige skin. He also wore an old blue-white striped t-shirt and beige shorts. Iro was a lean girl who had her black hair tied up in a spikey bun and bronze beige skin who wore a striped white-green shirt and blue short dungarees. And then Honey the youngest was a stout girl with honey blonde hair tied up into two little pigtails by orange beads and white skin who wore a strappy orange dress with small flowers embroidered at the hem.

     All three of them were playing jump rope held by Lololo and Lalala for an extra challenge, while his friends were all skipping the rope Bun stood at the side watching them finish their jumps. “Don’t you think it’s a bit lame for a soldier to play skip rope?” he asked.

     Hohhe looked at him surprised. “My papa says some bodybuilders skip rope to exercise.”

     “Kirby you're next!” Iro called to the boy once Honey finished her jumps, only for him to get smacked in the face by the rope as he lept up and fell over backwards. While the others laughed, Bun had his arms crossed.

     “Man you were a lot cooler before…” he grumbled as Kirby pouted at the others laughing at him.

     “Mmph, bad!” he babbled and they continued to laugh till their stomachs ached.

     “Sorry! It’s just really funny,” Honey hiccuped between giggles. Their fun was cut short however by a sudden crawl of dark clouds that unleashed a torrent of rain, everyone but Kirby ran to seek shelter under the side of the Mayor’s house while Kirby tried to climb up a tree.

     Said ascent up the tree however was short-lived as he was quickly pushed down in a puff of feathers and smoke. “Hey! Whaddya think you're doing!?” a shrill voice yelled at him. A boy was now sitting in the tree, yet where his arms would be were scruffy yellow wings that somewhat hid under his more yellow-green torn poncho. His hair was the same colour as the wings that had a wild look to it with the back sticking up and his legs were feathery too transitioning from his light beige skin with bird-like feet.

     “Tokkori! Stop being such a selfish jerk!” Bun shouted at the bird boy who only scoffed at the kids.

     “My tree, my property and I’m not sharing!” he yelled at them before turning back into his small bird form and hiding deeper in the tree, leaving Kirby sitting at the bottom.

     A realisation hit the children, he had nowhere to live.

-

     “Moso are you yet to go on your rounds?” Meta Knight asked as he pushed the door open to the old post office. Moso the old Postmaster just happened to be leaving the back room with his bag full of mail. He wore an old well-worn dark green post uniform and hat that sat atop his bald pale white head. It was difficult to discern much from his face as his long white beard and fluffy eyebrows hid much of it away with the help of his wrinkles.

     “Hmm? Oh, Sir Meta Knight do you need something?” the man asked as he took a moment to recognise his voice.

     “Yes, might you be able to deliver this to Kirby? He has no home however so you may have to find him on your route,” he explained.

     The old man took the letter from his hands. “Hmm…I’ll see what I can do,” Meta Knight bowed to the man in thanks and left his delivery fee in a pot by the main desk. After leaving the office he quickly vanished into the shadows of the village, watching and waiting for Kirby to obtain his letter. Sword and Blade were on standby by the outskirts waiting for his orders, it was likely Fumu would take Kirby somewhere to hide, where they would then strike.

     As he looked around he noticed something odd. The police station had turned to rubble and his gut told him Kirby had been there recently. After a bit more searching he finally spotted him with some of the other children in deep thought, at least everyone but Kirby who was staring at the clouds.

     It wasn’t long until he spotted Fumu in the distance running towards them. “Kirby! This is important!” she yelled at the boy. Her yelling appeared to catch the attention of Moso who began to slowly walk over to them. “Has Meta Knight approached you yet today?” she asked the boy who only looked confused.

     “Oh, there you are Kirby,” the old postmaster finally reached them. “I have a letter for you it’s uh…Hmm who was it.” He murmured to himself as he pulled out Meta Knight’s letter only for Fumu to pull it out of his hands to read it herself.

     Her face turned pale. “It’s from Sir Meta Knight!” she popped open the letter.

     “Kirby, there is a matter of utmost importance we must attend to. As a Warrior, you should accept my challenge. In the name of the king, I challenge you to a duel!” Fumu read aloud.

     Kirby only smiled. “Duel!” he repeated the new word he learnt.

     “Kirby it’s not as fun as it sounds! They probably want to kick you out of the village,” Bun explained.

     Fumu tore up the letter in anger. “We need to get you somewhere safe!” she grabbed his hand.

     “Where are you going?” Honey asked with concern laced in her voice. Fumu stopped for a moment to think.

     “I’ll take him to Kabu’s valley!” and with that Meta Knight set off to meet with Sword and Blade.

     Kubu’s valley was a dark damp place many would find too uncomfortable to visit too often unless they sought the sage’s wisdom. However, it was a place of comfort for Meta Knight. Many times he had sought the statue as he was easy to speak to, he could talk for hours on end to him but that came with a price.

     “To impart knowledge onto me is to impart knowledge onto others. If any were to ask for the knowledge you gave me I shall tell them. Do you understand this?” His words always rang out in his mind whenever he entered the valley. Such would be the price for his own comfort of mind.

     “Sir, they’re almost here,” Sword snapped him out of his thoughts.

     Peering down the canyon he could spot Fumu, Bun and the twins with Kirby. “C’mon, you’ve gotta make a run for it!” Bun pulled at Kirby.

     “There’s no point in that now,” Meta Knight replied, his voice carrying itself throughout the valley. The children gasped and stared up at him. “Are you trying to avoid the duel? Then why would you come to the perfect fighting ground?” he questioned them.

     Fumu stood forwards. “Sir Meta Knight! I need to talk to you!” she pleaded with him. He lept down, feeling his cape gust in the air as he fell before landing in front of them, his knees tensing at the landing.

     Fumu’s eyes narrowed at him. “I thought you would support Kirby, why are you following Dedede’s orders?” Her eyes bored into him still, understandably so.

     “I am His Majesty’s loyal servant. You should know I cannot disobey his commands,” he replied flatly as her anger rose.

     “That's so stupid!” She ran at him only for Sword and Blade to stop her in her tracks without a word.

     Taking in a deep breath, he reached for the hilt of Galaxia feeling it pulse with energy and resonate with his own. Pulling it out, he transferred his own energy to the blade as static electricity began to form until the golden blade finally materialised. “Kirby! I believe you’re ready for this!” he raised his blade, his servants pulled the children away much to their dismay as he then launched himself at Kirby.

     The boy gasped as he leapt at him, slamming the flat side of his blade on his cheek leaving an aggressive red mark. Before the boy could pull himself back up from that the attacks returned at full force, precise slaps across both his cheeks using the flat side of his blade. With one strong swing, he sent the boy flying, his cheeks stinging all the while as he pulled himself up to be met with the tip of his sword.

     Flipping the sword horizontally he spoke. “If I had struck you at this angle, you would be dead,” Kirby felt a small chill run down his back.

     The children ran back over, Sword and Blade returning to their posts higher up in the valley. “That’s abuse!” Bun yelled at him.

     “Kirby! Prove him wrong! You can beat him I know it!” Fumu yelled motivation at the boy, and much to Meta Knight’s surprise it worked.

     Rolling backwards full of energy, he put his hands together and the wind began to gust around him. Pebbles and dirt were picked up and twisted around him like a makeshift tornado, yet he did not budge. The others watched in shock as the knight stayed there, unmovable while his cape flowed in the winds. Soon, Kirby could feel himself growing tired, and the winds began to die down.

     While he gasped for breath he could feel Meta Knight staring down at him. “No matter how hard you try, there are some things that cannot be moved by such a power. Examples being those that are too large and ones that are too heavy.”

     Fumu leaned over the rock she had hidden behind. “But! Aren’t you none of those, how were you able to resist it?”

     He only chuckled. “I have secrets.” Secretly he had attached spikes to the bottom of his boots to keep him held in place.

     Fumu pouted. “Why am I not surprised. You’re nothing but secrets! How do you know about Kirby? But right now, are you his enemy or not?” she questioned him.

     Relaxing his stance for a moment he replied “Even to my enemies, I am still fair.” With a snap of his fingers, Sword threw down a sword that plunged in front of Kirby.

     Even despite his wish to play fair, the boy’s short size made the blade look massive compared to him but the boy did not back down. He glared at the sword. “Take it, and I’ll promise you, you’ll regret ever having stepped foot in this star,” Meta Knight threatened him.

     “Kirby! Whatever you do, don’t take it!” Fumu yelled at him voice laced with fear.

     “Run now!” Bun added, but he ignored both of them. He stared down at the knight, and for a split moment Meta Knight saw something in his eyes.

     “I’ll not be held back! Never again!”

     A voice from the past rang out to him, and he steeled himself once again, waiting for the boy to make his move. Eventually, he finally ran at the sword, grabbing it by the hilt the length held him slightly up in the air as his toes barely reached the ground. As he attempted to hold onto the sword it began to tip over and he fell to the floor alongside it.

     Picking it up was a bit difficult, but the boy managed the hold the heavy blade above his head with a determined look on his face. “Fix your stance! Ground yourself and straighten your back!” he shouted at him as he ran at the child, clashing swords with him. The boy stumbled back as he attempted to block his attacks with his sword only to be slapped with the flat end again and sent flying into a wall.

     Meta Knight held himself steady as he waited for the boy to pick himself back up. He counted down the seconds before Kirby grasped the floor beneath him. "Prepare yourself!" Meta Knight roared his warning at the boy as he lunged at him once again. This battle would be moulded by his own hands, one that would be the perfect teaching opportunity. Despite the weight of the sword, Kirby flailed it around in a mindless attempt to fight back. Ordinarily, such a move would do little but exhaust the wielder. But the vibrations sent through the clash of Galaxia told a different story.

    Meta Knight grinned. "Good, you know how to swing it. Now show me you can defend yourself!" He would not hold back against him. Though he would avoid permanently harming the boy, cuts and bruises would be a lesson in quick improvement. He steadily swung the boy into a corner, forcing him to widely swing his sword in a messy attempt to parry.

    Such inexperience left him wide open, and he'd learn this lesson quickly enough. "Never let your guard down! No matter the opponent!" He smacked the flat edge back down on the boy, he was so soft it felt as if he were knocking around a ball. With a powerful swing, he slammed the boy back into the wall. Rocks crumbling and falling around him... Oh, perhaps he might have gone a bit far there. But the boy would have to learn, monsters would be much crueller than his own hands. Or the hands of drill sergeants he had once despised.

     "Do you see this as a game? Don't fool yourself, hold your sword and keep fighting. Or are you just a coward?" he taunted him. Kirby glared at him, before letting out a squeaky roar as he swung the oversized sword back at him. A more offensive approach this time. Very good.

     They continued to clash swords, Kirby countering Meta Knight once more to his delight. “That’s more like it! But you’re not treating it as an extension of yourself!” And he returned to the offensive once again, a glee in his voice as he laughed with every strike. It was exhilarating to duel once again, the clashing of swords is a feeling that kept him alive for many years.

    Kirby's strikes finally began to strengthen. He nearly caught the upper hand a few times in Meta Knight's excitement. But his arms were too short to truly battle properly. "You're too small. But!" He lept back, making sure the boy had his full attention. "Once you become one with your blade, you can perform feats of strength beyond the clash of a sword. Do not doubt what you see before you, and I shall teach you it's power." He held Galaxia across his face, steeling his body for what was to come. Very few had ever mastered this technique. He had practised it for hundreds of years, even as his palms bled and his arms trembled, he never stopped.

    "The steel of your blade... Can become one with the wind itself!" Sword beam. Enhanced by the power of Galaxia created a golden crescent that cut through the earth with ease. Traces of electricity crackled in the scarred earth it cut through. And next to that scar stood Kirby, looking up at the man in utter shock. "Take your sword in hand, hold it as if it were part of yourself. Then hold it skyward, and allow your strength to turn into energy," he proudly explained.

    "...Shw…Sword, beam?" Kirby struggled with his words. He looked at his own sword, big blue eyes racing with thought before he looked back up at him for answers.

   But he would share no more words, sending another beam his way as a demonstration. It crawled up the cliff wall before dissipating into light. Rocks came tumbling down from the strike, chasing the confused boy as Meta Knight calmly approached him. "If you clear your own mind the energy of your body will transfer to the blade. But such a feat can only be mastered by those experienced on the battlefield. So show me, how does a natural warrior like you do this?"

   Their eyes locked. And silence drifted through the canyon. Meta Knight grew frustrated. "Show me! And if you can't." Galaxia was enough to speak out his silent threat.

   And yet... Kirby yawned. Dropping his blade and plopping down on the floor. In a matter of seconds, he was curled up around his sword like a sleeping baby.

   The grip on Galaxia weakened as he watched the boy peacefully sleep. Covered in bruises and cuts. Sleep was one of many ways to ascend the mind. But it was the most dangerous. He had left himself out in the open to any multitude of strikes. But, there could be more than what met the eye. A heightened state of being would mean he could sense any of his movements. It was worth a shot at least.

   He ran at the boy, the flat side of Galaxia at the ready. They met eye to eye once again, as he was quickly awoken by the clatter of metal. But that was not all that woke him. Meta Knight heard a rumble from above, a boulder must have been dislodged earlier. "Get back!" he yelled as he pushed the boy out of the way.

   The boulder shattered behind him, creating a cloud of thick dust around the canyon. It slipped through his mask, twisting his throat and eyes as he coughed beneath the mask. "Kirby-!" The boy was nowhere to be found. As he felt around he couldn't feel or see the boy as panic and fear slowly enveloped his heart.

   Not again.

   "Kirby! Where are you?" he called. Only his echoes answered back.

   Never again.

-

    Fumu and Bun watched quietly from a dark corner of the valley as Meta Knight wandered about with his servants. “Kirby! Can you hear me!” the knight called out, a hint of distress in his voice. Their gloves were coated in dust from digging through the rubble only to find nothing.

     The two inched a bit closer to listen in as Blade spoke up. “He was so close to learning that technique. But I cannot blame Fumu for trying to protect him with that boulder.”

     Meta Knight grimaced. “Kirby will be in danger if His Majesty summons a demon beast now. Let’s go!” He pulled his cape and continued deeper into the valley with the other two.

     Bun only scoffed. “They’re acting like they’re gonna protect him, they beat him up in the first place!”

     But Fumu’s face mellowed. “Maybe they really are trying…” her words died on her lips as she realised something.

     The shadow of Kabu loomed over the valley, where he had been sitting watching the entire ordeal. “We’re sorry for making so much noise Kabu!” she apologised to the statue.

     “To Kabu, wisdom is gained through disturbance,” he responded flatly as he always did.

     Fumu then realised something, with his wisdom perhaps he may have answers. “This might be unlikely but…Do you know where Kirby came from?” she asked.

     “I have been told many things,” he replied much to their surprise. “The Emperor of Darkness, Nightmare. He rules over the universe and creates evil demon beasts nigh on endlessly to sell to customers such as Dedede. But, such success cannot last forever, what would have been a perfect being was snatched from him by those who rebelled against him. His fury was great, and he has never known peace ever since.”

     Fumu stared at the sage slack-jawed. “Those who rebelled…Those were the Star Warriors weren’t they?” she asked.

     “That would explain why Nightmare wanted to get rid of them so badly,” Bun added.

     “And, that perfect being…Would that have been Kirby?”

     “There is much more to this story, much that none of you are ready for yet.”

     Fumu sighed, at least she was closer to the truth now. “Thank you Kubu,” she finished but Bun wasn’t done yet.

     “Wait! How do you know all of this? he asked.

     “It was told long ago, from Sir Meta Knight. In exchange for peace of mind, that knowledge will be passed on to those who seek it. And those who are ready for it.”

     She had never thought about that before, there’s no one else but his servants he could possibly expose himself to. To talk to a statue for hours on end without worry must have been a great relief. “Sis, we gotta get Kirby out of here,” Bun pulled at her dress.

     “Right, thank you Kabu,” she bid him goodbye and ran off with her brother. They had managed to find a small opening in the wall where they had left Kirby with the twins.

     “How is he?” Bun asked as he knelt down in front of the stretcher they brought with them as caution.

     Lalala frowned. “He hasn’t woken up,” her voice quivered.

     “C’mon Kirby, hang in there!” Bun shook his shoulder to no avail. He was covered in dust and dirt with aggressive red marks staining his cheeks and hands.

     Peering back out again Fumu was pleased to see there was nothing around. “It’s all clear, come on!” The two of them picked up the stretcher and began to walk as fast as they could, only to be blinded by a flashing light.

     Dedede was there with his croony sitting in his tank with the floodlights on. “So this is where you’ve been!” the man laughed.

     “There’s no escaping!” Escargon grinned as he pressed on the gas.

     “Crap! Let’s get outta here!” Bun yelled as the two began to run. They chased the children through the valley, slowly gaining the upper hand until they tripped and Kirby was sent flying in front of the breaking vehicle.

     That was enough to finally wake him up, and as he peered up he was met face-to-face with a giant humanoid beetle wielding a scimitar and club. With a roar, it clashed its weapons together creating a screeching metallic noise that sent shivers down the boy’s spine making his wings tingle. Each step made the ground shake and Kirby crawled away from the bug, only for it to go in for a stab.

     Rolling away he forced himself to scramble up as the club came barreling down in front of him, from multiple sides, the blade and club were swung at him as his little body lept around to dodge them. Finally backflipping his way into a corner he felt his chest burn as he gasped for air.

     “Your Majesty? You…” Meta Knight was heard approaching.

     The king laughed at him. “It’s the demon beast Bugzzy.”

     Meta Knight glared. “Did you not order me to fight Kirby? I thought they were too expensive for you?”

     The two only grinned. “We don’t need you anymore, we watched the whole fight! Call this beetle an investment, as Kirby clearly can't win in a sword fight,” Escargon sneered.

     The knight stepped back. “You were using me to judge his strength then?” He turned to watch the boy who continued to dodge his way further into a corner. Yet the knight didn't step in. Not yet.

     “Kirby! Try and suck him in!” Fumu yelled at the boy and his eyes sparkled.

     “Mm, windy,” he mumbled. Holding his hands out the wind began to billow and pull at the giant beetle, and it made a noise that sounded much like a laugh. As it could not be budged either. Soon the boy quickly grew tired again, his back finally hitting the wall as the beetle edged closer to him with its strange laugh in the air.

     “Try it again!” Fumu begged him but Meta Knight stopped her.

     “Do you really think he could absorb such a large creature? Think, what could be a smaller object that he could take?” he challenged the girl. Her mind ran fast, looking all over the valley until her eyes rested on the scimitar.

     “The sword! Try and aim for the sword!” she yelled down at the boy again who was jumping out of the way from its swings again.

     He looked up at her confused, before finally nodding. This time, he held his hands in the direction of the sword to see if it would work. But its grip was too strong. And Meta Knight had enough of waiting for this to end, and so tossed his sword to strike its hand, knocking the blade from it. The scimitar spun through the wind towards the boy, Fumu’s heart caught in her throat from the sight realising it may have not been a good idea.

     But as it approached closer, it turned into a white light and was quickly absorbed into the boy’s hands where he clasped it. In a flash of bright light, he extended his wings into a white cape where he wrapped himself up. Once his cape reopened he stood there with it billowing in the wind in a new ability outfit, a long green cap with a yellow pompom at the end and trim. A tunic of the same green colour with leather boots and fingerless leather gauntlets. He resembled a legendary swordsman out of Bun’s comics.

     Holding his hand high in the air a golden sword formed out of light as everyone watched in amazement. “That would be Sword Kirby! If he can remember what I taught him, he can become the strongest swordsman in the galaxy!” There was a giddiness to Meta Knight’s voice.

     “Go, Kirby!” Fumu cheered as the boy stared down Bugzzy.

     It roared at the boy, crossing its arms two scimitars it had formed but they were different this time. They were massive like pincers. Raising his sword, Kirby’s glowed and it grew in size to match his opponents. It looked a little ridiculous but he began to run towards the monster, taking a long swing at it.

     The both of them exchanged blows, Kirby’s easily overpowering Bugzzy’s as it began to back away and swing in a panic. Each one of its panicked blows were either dodged or deflected by Kirby. Soon they stood at a standstill, both of them were tired and much to the distress of the other Kirby yawned and sat down. Dedede loudly cackled at the opportunity. “You fool! Finish him off!” he barked at Bugzzy.

     Yet before it could slash, deep in Kirby’s mind he could feel himself awake in his starship again. His first moment of waking cleared his mind and he awoke in the real world, leaping out of the way of the swings as his sword glowed. “Sword beam!” he yelled, the most fluid he had spoken as he created a wave of pure white light that cut through Bugzzy.

     In a flash of static and electricity, it exploded, leaving nothing behind but a plume of smoke. The children cheered as the sword ability vanished in a white glow turning his wings to normal, but they weren’t the only ones cheering. Looking up he could see the villagers had been watching them, and they were all cheering him. His eyes lit up and he laughed happily much to Tokkori’s dismay who had gathered everyone hoping the boy would be embarrassed in front of the crowd.

     Dedede growled. “I’ll just have to do it myself then!” Yet Escargon hit the brakes as they drove towards the boy much to his annoyance.

     Meta Knight stood in front of them, the eyes behind his mask glaring at the two of them. “Do you have a death wish your Majesty? You can’t beat Kirby now,” he explained calmly.

     “You filthy traitor!” Escargon bit.

     The knight grinned “Me? I’m just His Majesty’s loyal servant!” he mocked as he roundhouse kicked their tank, causing it to roll down the ledge and listened to their yelling slowly die out the further they fell.

     He chuckled to himself as the brother and sister approached him from behind. “Well then, thank you for teaching Kirby,” she pouted in a sarcastic manner.

     “Oh? But I was planning on defeating him,” he hid his grin behind his cape.

     “You're too soft~” Bun teased him.

     Fumu walked closer to him. “Kirby, was he made by Nightmare? Why do you know everything about him?” she asked.

     “Hmm…I haven’t a clue what you're talking about,” he lied and wandered away much to her annoyance.

     “Ugh I feel like he talks around circles!” she huffed.

     “Guess it can't be helped, so now what?” Bun asked.

     Fumu hummed in thought for a bit. “Well, might as well talk to the others. Maybe we can finally convince someone to let him stay at their home!” she clasped her hands in glee.

     Much to their luck, the villagers had been discussing the issue. “We’ve made a little house for him out the way,” Mayor Len explained, a very pale white man in a brown suit with a white moustache and slicked-back hair.

     “Yeah, that way he won’t bother anyone,” Chief Borun added as he combed his own scratchy long grey beard, a police officer in a dark teal uniform. There didn't appear to be much hair under his police cap amongst his warm beige skin.

     Fumu huffed at that last comment but was grateful nonetheless. “C’mon Kirby! Let’s see your new house,” she grabbed his hand and followed the rest of the villagers.

-

     “Sword, Blade. I have something to ask,” Meta Knight and his servants had quietly retired back to their chambers, but the day was far from over yet. Handing over a piece of paper he continued. “I would like you two to gather the items on that list for me, tell me if you spot anything suspicious while in town too.”

     Once they had left he dug through one of the drawers in his room, pulling out a set of knitting needles and some pink cotton. It was no secret to Sword and Blade he enjoyed sewing or knitting, but to all else, it was a strictly kept secret. Ever since he was a boy his mother had taught him all she knew, anything with damages he was usually happy to sit to himself and fix. Of course, he also knew how to create clothes too, the cloak Kirby was swaddled in was one of many gifts in the past.

     His quiet time however was quickly interrupted by Sword returning in a hurry. “Sir! Another demon beast has been bought!”

     Meta Knight almost threw his needles on the floor. “Already?” The Knight sighed and put his project to the side.

     “His Majesty is heading towards Kirby as we speak, they’re by a large tree on the village outskirts," Sword explained.

     Leaping from their balcony Meta Knight sprinted across the outskirts until the large destroyed tree came into view alongside a powerful gust of wind. Hiding behind the tree he could see Kirby attempting to repeat the same mistake he made earlier with the demon beast Blocky. The king however appeared to learn from his mistakes, a heavy foe with no weapons to take away, a much more difficult opponent to deal with.

     With a mighty step, Blocky slammed into the ground causing it to shake and crack as Kirby tried to run away, tripping over during his escape. Blocky saw this opening and jumped to crush him. “Kirby!” Fumu yelled, grabbing the boy and rolling them out of the way as she caught dirt in her dress.

     Both of them ran behind a tree that was quickly shot by Dedede as it collapsed. “Where’d they go!?” he shouted, looking around the remains. “Look for him!” he demanded as Meta Knight continued to hide in the shadows, he had seen the two run away to the coast alongside Bun where he also followed.

     The children were hiding under a ledge by the shore talking amongst themselves when he approached from above. “Think of the battle earlier. Not all enemies can be blown away, however, for such high-density enemies think. Utilize their weight.” He planted the idea in their heads and made his leave to watch for Dedede.

     It wasn’t long until the king found them above the cliff, the children looking up at him and Blocky to try and mock them over. “It’s pointless! Kirby lives in Pupupuland now!” she shouted at the king who huffed.

     “You really think you can beat Blocky!?” he deflected.

     “C’mon Kirby!” Fumu cheered on Kirby who began to try and pull the cubed monster down the cliff with his wind.

     The edges began to crumble as it started to slip down the cliff and Meta Knight watched with a smile. “When you work with gravity, no matter how heavy the enemy you can win. You're learning Kirby.” It stumbled down more aggressively before it split into four pieces, one of which fell into Kirby’s hands.

     Stones gathered around him and formed around his body like a cocoon before it cracked open revealing his new ability underneath. His hair had turned into a mossy green, but that was not the only noticeable thing about his hair. On top and the sides of his head were fluffy ears with various stones mixed in a hair ornament. He wore a grey and green traditional robe with fluffy green foxtails behind him.

     Everyone looked at him in shock, however, Dedede remained unphased. “He only got one piece of Blocky!” at that the other three pieces rose up and began to attack Kirby.

     They all kicked him about before slamming him into the ground, glaring at them he jumped into the air and shouted. “Stone Kirby!” Green energy surrounded his body and his body turned to stone. It was a basic blocky statue in the shape of him with a pink tint to it that slammed on top of the small Blocky’s.

     Its strength was enough to shake the whole area, knocking Escargon over much to Dedede’s shock. "That kid is too dangerous to have around!"

     Dedede gritted his teeth. “Blocky! There’s three of you, one of him. Don't let him beat you around!” he yelled. But all of their attacks simply bounced off of the stone body, with another jump he crushed them all to pieces as Fumu and Bun cheered, and surprisingly Tokorri as well.

     The pieces reformed however and so Kirby began to walk towards the ocean, in an attempt to catch the boy the blocks formed back together into a smaller version of their prior form and jumped on him. Kirby shrugged it off however and continued walking all the way over to the edge of the cliff above the ocean. Its constant barrage of attacks however proved to be its downfall, as the edge collapsed and the two fell into the ocean.

     As the two plunged into the depths together the stone in Kirby’s body fell away and he began to swim upwards. Bumping into a strange chubby merman on his way up with rough blue skin and yellow fins. He watched Kirby curiously as he continued to swim up towards the surface where the others were waiting for him. As he broke the water's surface they all let out a sigh of relief and he waved back at them with a smile.

     With how easily his wooden home had been destroyed the villagers had drafted a new plan. A small rounded house made of concrete at the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean, inside was a wooden floor, a fireplace and themed bedsheets and curtains that were blue with stars on them. Next to the fireplace was a short table with a few pillows and a rug and a ceiling light shaped like a star. By his bed was also a small side table and a dresser, however, for bathing, he would have to use a pond in the front of the house.

     When night had fallen, Meta Knight finally visited the small home. Peering through the window he spotted Kirby curled up asleep in his bed with Tokkorri perched on his pillow in his bird form. Meta Knight found himself gently smiling as he knocked on the door. He left the box by the door and waited on the roof.

     He could hear the bird grumble something to Kirby before the door opened and the boy picked up the parcel confused. As he opened it up his eyes lit up, inside was the cloak he woke up inside, washed with the familiar smell of peony added back onto it. He hugged it tightly, the first scent he had ever known, but that was not all. Underneath was a pair of yellow pyjamas that consisted of short sleeves and shorts with a little red ribbon. And lastly were some red sandals and a pink wool cardigan, content with the boy’s excitement over the gifts Meta Knight slipped away into the night.

Chapter Text

     Today was finally peaceful out of the two rather chaotic first days Kirby had gone through ever since he landed in Pupupu Land. Perhaps it was being able to get a good night's sleep finally, but the warm sun felt so cosy that morning. He would have probably spent all day napping in the sun if Fumu didn’t visit that morning. “Come with me to town, I think you need a proper introduction to everyone. The last two days haven’t given you much of a chance have they?”

     He didn’t understand, he had met three children so he did know some people, but she had also said there would be food so he came along. As the two entered the main square of the village his eyes were drawn to the various groups of people chatting amongst each other. He recognised three of the older men chatting amongst each other, one of them he was warier of though. He had a green suit and boots which were on the dirtier side, tufts of white hair that circled his blading head alongside bushy eyebrows and a small beard with a dark tan beige skin. He was not mean in any way, but Kirby had broken some of his old pots while looking for a place to stay and was likely still quite angry at him.

     In fact, many of them were not the most impressed with the mess he had made yesterday but Fumu pressed on. “Hello, Mayor Len, Chief Borun and Mr Curio!” She greeted them, and their eyes drew to Kirby with raised eyebrows. 

     “Hello there Miss Fumu and…Kirby,” Curio replied with a bit of fear laced in his voice.

     “What’s wrong? You all look upset?” she asked and the older men shook their heads nervously. 

     “Oh no nothing is wrong erm, just wasn’t expecting Kirby to be in the village today,” Borum stuttered.

     Fumu raised an eyebrow. “Is this about yesterday?” Borum nodded without hesitation.

     “I’m still getting my station rebuilt currently, and we had a few complaints filed against Kirby disturbing the peace,” he scratched his beard. “Of course being a minor I cannot arrest him outright. He did get rid of that monster eating our sheep, but still, he won’t be let off the hook so easily next time.”

     Fumu slinked back a bit from the scolding, they were right however he did cause a lot of chaos yesterday the others told her about. Leaning toward the boy she whispered. “Kirby, a lot of people are upset with you today. So how about you say sorry to them?” she suggested. 

    He looked confused. “Howrey?...” 

    She shook her head. “S-orr-y.”

    "S-orr-y!" he repeated back gleefully. 

    "Now repeat it together," she explained as she moved Kirby in front of her to face the three men. 

    "Sorry!" he cheered and the three sighed. 

    "Well, it's close I suppose. Just try not to get into any more trouble," Borum finished. Fumu nodded as a nervous twinge on her face formed for the day to come.

     Next, the two began to walk by a couple of shops. There was a large shop with a giant book on its roof, next door to it was a sweet-scented store with flowers peppering its walkway. “That there is Bibli’s bookshop, he’s quite strict though. Never try and read a book before buying it. And that there is the florists, Honey’s family runs it.” What appeared to be Honey’s mother was standing by the door sweeping, sending a wave and a sweet smile their way as they passed.

     Kirby’s eyes were quickly drawn to Kawasaki’s restaurant as they passed by, an odd aroma of his creative cooking drifting through an open window. Fumu repressed the urge to gag. “Uh, we’ll go to Kawasaki’s last. We’ll both eat there once we’re done okay?” Kirby’s eyes lit up at that much to her own confusion.

     The two walked past the convenience store, its large clean windows and smooth green-painted walls. All of it drew Kirby’s eyes, a stark contrast to the more wood and stone-built homes he had seen so far. 

     “That there is the convenience store. Papa says it was built when I was born so it’s pretty new. You can get all kinds of neat food and other stuff from outside the island,” Fumu explained.

     Though it seemed like the rest of it was lost at the mention of food as she had to tug the small boy away from its direction. Walking on the two spotted a few workmen with various crates and tools in the place of Gus’ station.

     Fumu whipped her head around to look at Kirby with suspicion and he smiled none the wiser. Said suspicions would be confirmed when Gus came out from behind a box and narrowed his eyes at the boy. His thick unibrow only accentuated the glare in his eyes, thick messy blond hair and his golden beige skin had been made sticky with oil and dust repeating onto his skin and blue overalls.

     “He looks pretty angry…Kirby, what did you do?” she put her hands on her hips.

     The boy looked up at her with innocent eyes as he put his hands together before bursting them over as he mimicked the sound of an explosion. She felt her spine chill at that and turned to look at Gus who shook his head disapprovingly.

     “Not a step closer, else the whole place goes up in flames again before it’s even rebuilt,” he scolded Kirby.

     Fumu gave him a light push on the shoulder. “You know what to do, right Kirby? Say I’m sor-” but she was cut off.

     “No no no, don’t give me any of that right now. I had to pull out a favour from the Mayor for all this sorry doesn’t really cut it,” he scolded the two of them, arms crossed.

     Fumu slinked back a bit before biting back. “Come on he’s trying. He’s only young!” though it would have helped if Kirby was paying any attention in the slightest as he was watching some ants on the road.

     “I’m just not really in the mood for that right now, both of you just need to leave alright?” he rubbed his temples to stave off an oncoming headache.

     Fumu huffed. “Fine then, let’s go Kirby.” As she took his hand and continued walking down the street she could feel the eyes of numerous villagers boring into them. While Kirby kept at an upbeat pace she felt herself growing more uncomfortable as the stares became hushed whispers. 

     “Ah! I know someone you haven’t been properly introduced to yet. C’mon,” she tugged at his hand and the two vanished between some houses on the outskirts of the village. There was a quiet dirt road which a few more houses continued down on though they were few and far between. However, most notable was a large house with rocks all over its roof and two large round windows at the front that resembled a pair of glasses. He had been here on his first day, didn't really want to go back in.

     But Fumu pulled him through the door into a quiet grey room with a few chairs in a line. “This is a waiting room, people wait here to get checked by the doctor,” she explained as she knocked on a door.

     An old man in a large clean white coat opened the door with a grumble. Old spectacles at the bridge of his nose allowed his eyes to focus on the two in front of him as his grey hair nearly covered them and his skin was a paler even sickly beige that had not seen the sun in quite some time.

     “Ah, Kirby wasn't it?” he adjusted his spectacles and observed the boy closer.

     Fumu nodded. “Yeah, I’m trying to introduce him to everyone in the village since he’s going to be living here. I was wondering if he could get another check-up?” she smiled.

     The doctor was almost immediately filled with energy. “Oh yes, of course, I’ve wanted to properly study the boy from the moment he landed. My name is Dr Yabui, now you won’t have any objections yes? Of course not, come along now.”

     Kirby was practically dragged into his office. “Hudy?” Kirby exclaimed in surprise as he was sat down on an examining table with little effort. 

     “What do you mean by studying him?” Fumu asked as she joined the two, standing next to the examining table as the doctor fetched a clipboard stuffed with papers.

     “Well, he’s an alien isn’t he, a chance like this is hard to come across. Even Sir Meta Knight turned down my various offers and requests to study him this may be the only chance I get!” he announced with vigour and Fumu began to regret bringing him there. Although part of her was just as curious to learn about Kirby.

     The Doctor prodded at his cheeks and tugged at his wings. “Hmm, his skin is very elastic but not much different than an average healthy child. These wings, however, they’re quite a bit different than ones like Tokkori’s or any other beast child. They’re much studier and larger for his age.”

    Fumu felt herself falling asleep as the man prattled on, poking and prodding at the confused child only to be jumped at the mention of a blood test.

-

    Kracko, a violent Demon Beast that nary a Star Warrior ever caught a glimpse of underneath its ocean of clouds it hid amongst. Hearing its name echo through the throne room as the king made another order to defeat Kirby made Meta Knight’s brow furrow. 

    He closed the door quietly as he heard footsteps echo behind him, they were Bun’s. Turning around his observations were confirmed as the boy cheerfully greeted the knight as he rushed past him “How’s it going Sir Meta Knight!” he waved.

    “Terrible,” Meta Knight replied bluntly leaving the boy confused.

    “Hey! Sir Meta Knight! What’s going on?” Bun shouted as he ran after the Knight.

    Meta Knight stopped for the boy, slightly turning his head over. “Where is Fumu? Is she with Kirby?” he asked. 

    The boy clearly seemed quite confused before he turned to look at where Meta Knight was earlier. “Oh, is it about Dedede? Yeah, she went out this morning, said she was gonna take him around the village.”   

    Meta Knight frowned at that, he did not trust those people in the slightest to give the boy much of a warm welcome. But it was not his place to judge nor did he wish to become involved with any of them.

    Especially Kirby himself.

    “Tell him to go into hiding as soon as possible, and that he must not leave until the storm subsides,” he explained much to Bun’s confusion.

    “What? But the sky is clear as can be,” the boy crossed his arms in suspicion and concern for the older man.

    “It will not last for long, Dedede has ordered a new monster that hides amongst a storm. No Warrior has lived to tell the tale of what it looks like, only its name Krako. Kirby may not survive,” it was clear his words frightened the boy.

    Bun began pacing a bit. “Ahh, how quick is it coming? My sister might be in danger then too!”

    “Likely in the next hour or so, we need to hurry. Dedede can only afford to keep it around for so long but its bolts can splinter even through the earth itself. Kirby will have to hide somewhere sturdy for a day till he gives up on the cost,” the Knight explained. The tiny concrete house would likely not survive the bolts, and he would not want to see the mess caused by it. If the villagers became caught in the crossfire it would only make matters worse for the boy too.

    He held back a sigh before he began his way out of the castle, Bun speeding past him in a hurry allowing him to slow his own pace somewhat. Ever since he left behind his gifts for the boy, his mind had been plagued with doubt and regret. It would not be wise to grow attached to the child, but he could not leave the child all on his own.

    He was too important for that, but too painful all the same.

    Before long he felt himself drawn to Kabu like a magnet, the wind was growing chill and he could feel it in his bones a storm was approaching. Krako was closing in but the clouds had not yet reached the island.

    “You do not hold the fear of lightning to yourself but for Kirby do you not?” the sage spoke, voice echoing through the valley. Meta Knight did not respond.

    “Is it the boy you fear?” his words cut through him easier than any blade could. “Kabu foretold your arrival. The young are curious and are growing ever more, how long do you intend to hide from them?”

    Meta Knight said nothing, biting down hard on his lip till blood drew, the metallic tang a familiar taste in his mouth. So once again he hid beneath the sage only to be met with a disruption.

    The Warp Star had been left here, presumably by Fumu. He know what the interior had once been built for, but that purpose had been lost long ago. But the placement of the star made it look nearly holy, it was hard to not resist reaching out to feel it. Brushing his fingers over the smooth star, a warm pulse echoed from inside nearly sending his body into a relaxed state. So his fingers retreated, a cold bitterness settling back into his bones as he stood there all alone.

-

    “Welcome to Kawasaki’s restaurant! Oh, it’s not often you visit Miss Fumu, what’s the occasion?” the large boisterous Kawasaki greeted Fumu and Kirby. The man neared in size to Dedede, if not a bit shorter than the king. He wore an orange short-sleeved what looked to be a jacket or robe similar to Dedede’s top with an apron and some worn-out trainers. His skin was russet brown and a bit sweaty which made bits of his short ginger hair stick to his forehead.

    Fumu didn’t look too happy, however, “Hey Kawasaki. Kirby and I are here for lunch if that’s alright? It’ll be his first time eating here.” Peering from behind the girl Kirby could see the two didn’t have the happiest look on their faces, though Kawasaki’s was closer to concern.

    “I don’t have much of a problem with Kirby pre-say, but I don’t want to get in trouble with the king. He caused a lot of trouble last time Kirby was here,” Kawasaki explained, the cogs in his head turning.

    “Dedede is just a big bully! Besides he rarely ever comes here,” Fumu crossed her arms in a huff.

    “Guess you do have a point there. Well, I’ve had no other customers today, so come with me!” he scooped up two menus and lead the two to the back of the restaurant with a few seats away from view.

    Fumu felt quite comfortable sitting there, if anyone were to walk in they wouldn’t stare at Kirby and in turn at her. Although she was dreading having to eat some of Kawasaki’s food again, Kirby looked none the wiser. His eyes and head were turning all over the place, looking at every little detail on the walls ceiling or other tables.

    “Here you go, just give me a shout when you’re ready to order,” he told the two as he laid down their menus and scurried off to clean his kitchen. 

    Fumu got right to reading, his menu was always massive and the text for each food was close to being squished together for space. He was always very quantity over quality, especially as two new menu items caught her eye. Last week there were just three added to the menu.

    Looking over to Kirby though, she noticed the boy wasn’t reading the menu and was poking it curiously. After a few minutes, he picked it up and attempted to bite it before Fumu stopped him.

    “I guess I should have figured you can’t read,” she sighed and the boy looked at her confused. Pulling herself up she sat closer to him and pulled the menu closer, a few items had pictures on them likely confusing him.

    “These here are dumplings, they’re soft and they can have meat or veggies in them. That’s a pizza, it’s like a big round piece of bread with cheese tomatoes and almost anything you want on top of it. And that there is ramen, it’s a broth with lots of noodles and some meat if you want.” She went down the list of the various foods available to him, though not much seemed to make sense to him.

    In the end, he liked the picture of the ramen the most so she decided to order it for the both of them. “Oh right, Kawasaki do you have those chopsticks for children still?” she asked the chef.

    “You mean the ones Dedede tried to use once? I have a few that aren’t broken still, do you want them for Kirby?” he asked and Fumu gave a quick nod. Not long after she could hear him busy about in the kitchen nearly dropping a pot in the process.

    As they waited Kirby stared at the menu more as if waiting for the words on the paper to suddenly make sense. “Kirby, that word there is cake. It’s spelt like C-A-K-E can you repeat that for me?”

    “Kayke…Good?” he looked up at her with big expectant eyes and Fumu nearly slammed her head into the table. He was the spitting image of Bun when he was younger, though back then she was a bit too young too to really understand how to look after him. Now her heart was fluttering a bit every time he attempted to say a new word or learn something new.

    “Yeah, you were really close well done. Now, let’s try this one…” she patted his head and moved on to another word. He was quite entertained with it for a while until the smell of their food arrived.

    “Here you go! Two fresh bowls of ramen. One vegetarian,” Kawasaki slid two trays towards the both of them. Kirby’s chopsticks were designed for young children, being held in place by a thin block so that they only needed to pinch the sticks. As expected the broth was far too sour for her liking, and the tofu was stiff and flavourless but she gulped it down as Kawasaki watched her with expectant eyes.

    Kirby on the other hand had quickly slurped down the noodles and everything else faster than anyone she had ever seen before. To top it all off he seemed pretty happy eating Kawasaki’s cooking much to the chef’s delight.

    Fumu left some Dededen on the table as Kawasaki tried questioning the boy to no avail. Perhaps she could visit the grocery store for something edible, at least she thought that until the two of them were struck by lightning out of nowhere.

    “Bad…” Kirby choked as a black cloud puffed out his mouth, his wings and hair had turned frazzled too. Kawasaki stared at the two dumbfounded at them and then at the hole now in his ceiling.

    “What in the world?” the chef murmured as he scratched his head. Fumu flew off her seat, hand tightly wrapped around Kirby’s wrist as she dragged him outside with her. Peering into the sky she could see a swirling mass of dark grey clouds hovering above the village.

    “A storm? But I would have felt it coming.” Normally it wasn’t too hard to sense a storm was coming, they were fairly common living in such a humid country. Various other villagers had also come outside and were staring at the sky in confusion, it felt completely unnatural.

    It wasn’t long until another bolt of lightning struck by their feet, then another and then even more as it began to chase Kirby around with Fumu caught along with it. At some point, she swore she saw Bun run into the village and yell something, but Kirby was running the villagers straight into the crossfire in a panic.

    “We’re sorry!” she yelled to the mayor and his wife as their car became sizzled by a stray lightning bolt. Grabbing Kirby’s hand she attempted to lead him somewhere safer, only for the lightning bolts to start chasing them like a missile.

    “This must be a Demon Beast!” Fumu shouted though Kirby was practically just being dragged along at that point as a walking lightning rod. She kept rushing through the village in hopes it might just leave them alone, thankfully it had stopped soon enough after that but something was missing.

    Bun finally caught up to her, just barely catching his breath. “Where’s Kirby?” Fumu froze as she looked around and back at the hand she had been holding him.

    “...I lost him!” Fumu clasped her face in panic, he must have tripped somewhere along the road. To make matters worse the familiar sound of Dedede’s tank came rushing past the two, nearly knocking them over as he chased after the dark swirling clouds.

    The king laughed. “Well, would you look at that, that Kirby is still bringing nothing but trouble. That Kracko was a really worthy investment eh?” he elbowed Escargon.

    But the lanky man looked concerned. “Yes, yes that’s good and all but…Isn’t it coming directly at us?” Dedede’s eyes widened and he looked ahead to see Kirby sprinting down the street in a panic as lightning bolts followed his every step.

    “Whoa whoa whoa! Get away! Shoo shoo!” Dedede yelled at the boy as all three of them panicked around the tank. Before the two could react Kirby swiftly hid in a small compartment at the back of their tank, he was just small enough to squeeze inside.

    With his new hiding place, the king and his servant quickly got a taste of their own medicine as a powerful lightning bolt struck the tank. Slamming on the pedals the two sped away as the bolts continued to chase them.

    “Argh this is friendly fire! I paid good money for you, stop!” Dedede yelled as Fumu watched them drive sporadically back towards the castle with the clouds following not far behind.

    She crossed her arms. “Of course, he was behind this! But where did Kirby go? I just saw him a moment ago…Bun! Find Lololo and Lalala and go look for Kirby.” Her brother looked at her in surprise, aggravation crinkling up on his nose.

    “Shouldn’t you go look for him? You’re the one who lost him in the first place,” he argued back.

    “I want to go fetch the warp star, it might help him,” she waved her hands up in the air gesturing to the dark clouds above them. Bun bit the inside of his cheek but didn’t say a word back and ran off to look for the twins.

    She could feel static energy still running in the air beginning to make her hair frizz up, it was a strange feeling as the weather was still quite warm but not damp in any way. Yet as she walked down Kabu’s valley she could feel the air grow damper and a bit dusty the lower she went.

    “Kabu I-”

    “Fumu, there is someone waiting for you down below,” the sage cut her off. Fumu stared at him in shock before her eyes drifted down to the opening below him, where the usual fires has been turned off.

    Crawling inside she could feel the ancient cold stone chill her hands and knees to the bone, a quiet breeze swirled past her face as she stared down the staircase. Below her standing in front of the Warp Star was a dark figure clad in deep blues.

    Wordlessly she walked down the small steps and approached the familiar man from behind “Sir Meta Knight?”

    The knight did not turn to face her. “I came to check on it, the Warp Star,” he stepped away from the pedestal slowly turning to face the girl with his cloak still wrapped around him. 

    “Why did you bring it here?” he asked.

    Fumu could feel his eyes digging into her, filled with an emotion she could not understand. Was it confusion or pride? He was never easy to read.

    “I hid it down here after the fight. It shrunk again and I didn’t know where else to keep it safe… Should I not hide it here?” she asked, concern raised in her voice.

    “No, it’s fine,” the knight replied bluntly seemingly satisfied with his investigation. But as he began to walk back up the staircase Fumu called back out to him.

    “Sir Meta Knight!... How much do you really know about Kirby? Please, be honest with me!” the girl demanded, ever thirstful for knowledge and discovery.

    Meta Knight paused for a moment, said knowledge is often a painful burden to bear. “I know everything, or perhaps only a part of it. Even I don’t know, such forbidden knowledge is only held now by the dead.”

    Yet even so Fumu persisted. “Please, tell me all you know,” but the knight remained silent, stewing away in his thoughts and memories. “Please!”

    Her final plea was enough to finally get him talking again. “It’s rather obvious, but those dark clouds are not natural. His Majesty has summoned another Demon Beast, Kracko a creature that living eyes have never seen.”

    Fumu gasped as he continued talking. “There is a special system hidden in his throne room that’s an open secret to the servants. He uses that to download Demon Beasts. Perhaps he only sees it as a toy, a dangerous one at that like many others before him.”

    “Ugh! I can’t believe that stupid excuse of a king! But, who is he buying them all from?” she asked.

    Meta Knight could barely hold back the poisonous bile building upon his lips. “The Holy Nightmare Corporation. It’s an empire that holds total control over the entire universe… I and thousands tried to stop such an event over thirty thousand years ago, all created by one man. Nightmare, the President of the Company… To conquer the universe he created an army of monsters and sent them all to the far reaches of space.”

    He held his head back, feeling a low rush of faded memories coming back to him like a cold tide. “Those that cherished freedom, all stood up against him, The Galaxy Solider Army and its Star Warriors. Though many fought against us we were strong in number, comrades in arms, but… Nightmare had an endless supply of monsters, slowly they began to exhaust the army before they all fell. One by one…”

    As he closed his eyes now he could still picture it clearly in his mind, the army's final battle where steel and blood littered the dry cracked ground. He could not remember the battle itself, only the silent aftermath as the wind quietly whipped at his cape.

    “I was the sole survivor. Yet I lived, for I always held onto hope. Someone once told me that, even the smallest seed can grow a magnificent garden. I prayed that the next generation of Star Warriors could be this seed and I had to live on to see it with my own eyes,” he continued as he reached out and held the Warp Star in his hand.

    “Soon afterwards, I arrived here and sought employment under His Majesty.” Fumu clicked her tongue at that.

    “That’s weird. Why would you want to work for someone that plays around with these monsters?” Fumu’s words were silenced by him returning the star to its pedestal.

    “A soldiers spaceship is designed to detect the signals of Demon Beasts, and with a particular mode allow it to automatically land on that planet. As such it gave me a higher chance of finding another Star Warrior, granted they were in their ship.” For countless nights he would sit atop the castle, telescope in hand to watch the night sky for any ships. Unfamiliar ones come and went, but none ever in the shape he had waited so long for.

    Fumu perked up. “And that did happen didn’t it? Kirby’s the one you’ve been waiting for all this time isn’t he?”

    The knight grimaced. “Indeed…But he’s too young. He was awoken two hundred years too early by detecting the Demon Beast. Ideally, the age closest to what you're familiar with he should have woken up at is sixteen, ready for battle. Though he shall still grow it’ll be a painful confusing experience as his body attempts to catch up. If anything he’s closest to a child at the age of five, but with the mentality of a baby. He couldn’t even pilot the cradle he flew here in.”

    Fumu also grimaced. “So it was an emergency landing then? How scary…”

    Meta Knight nodded. “He knows next to nothing, yet his battle instincts are the most developed of all. The more he grows the more powerful he will become, powerful enough to defeat Nightmare. And I’ll make sure of it, as long as I live.”

    “So you’ll watch over him? You almost sound like his father,” Fumu smiled, but he remained silent and his shoulders bunched together slightly.

    “You are forgetting yourself, as you’ll watch over him too,” the girl looked at him surprised.

    Turning back around to face her she still could not read any expression on his face, hidden as it always was, behind his cold metal mask. “Remember how you could control the Warp Star? It’s his source of energy. Even at the sight of it, he’s filled with hope and power. But on his own, he can't control it, only someone that truly loves and cares for him can.”

    He turned and pointed to her much to her surprise. “I suppose he’s been a bit like a little brother to me…But then does that mean we can keep it here?” she asked.

    The knight pondered for a moment. “How about a test? Kirby is in danger now, so we must find wherever he is and see if the star will answer your call,” he explained.

    “Alright! Let’s go, Bun went to look for him but he must be underneath wherever the clouds are,” she explained. Meta Knight nodded and followed after her, silencing any grunts of pain having to climb through the small hole underneath Kabu.

-

    “Kirby!” Bun yelled, frowning at the dark shadow the clouds had cast over the field of old ruins. There were lots of hiding places here, he knew so from years of playing hide and seek there yet somehow Kirby remained elusive. Even the twins were at a loss as they peered everywhere from a birdseye view.

    “Kirby if you can hear me yell! The lightning isn’t gonna strike you for that!” Bun yelled again and held out his ear.

    “Bun!” he heard a young voice call back somewhere below him. Sliding down the hill he fell below to a small brick hole. Curio said it might have been some sort of window in the past but he wasn’t really paying attention. Currently, Kirby was hiding inside of it, his knees and hands covered in dirt while his hair was still slightly singed by lightning.

    The twins shortly followed suit, joining Bun and Kirby down below. “Kirby, do you think you can suck that thing up? Or even blow it away?” Bun asked as he pointed at the swirling clouds.

    “Yeah! It’d be better than running away!” Lalala added. But Kirby didn’t look too convinced, concern creasing the edges of his round cheeks.

    Bun smiled at the boy. “It’ll be alright! You can do it,” he cheered him on. Kirby stayed in place for a moment, before looking up and narrowing his eyes at the cloud. Before they knew it, he was running towards it at full speed and threw his hands into the air. The wind began to pick up but it was directionless on to push it away or to bring it closer and Kirby was swiftly struck by another bolt of lighting.

    The three could only watch in shock as the boy panicked and scurried about with it nipping behind his heels. To make matters worse he soon became blocked off by Dedede and his tank which had also been seared a bit by lightning. The king cackled and began chasing the boy, giving him little to no escape from the bolts like it was some cruel game.

    “Think of this as revenge for damaging my ta-” The king’s words were cut short as he did not look forward as Kirby darted out of the way and sent the tank flying into a wall. Kirby did not give it a second look and continued to run, even attempting to flutter away a few times only for his wings to frizz up in the static air.

    Fumu and Meta Knight arrived to see his sandals nearly getting melted away, the knight frowning at the small burns that littered the mysterious cardigan the boy wore. With a deep breath, Fumu turned towards the direction of Kabu and yelled out. “Warp Star! Please come and help Kirby!”

    Afterwards was only silence as the two waited in anxiety while Kirby continued to run for his life, each bolt growing faster than the last. She could barely breathe waiting anxiously for the star to appear over the horizon, perhaps Meta Knight was wrong, maybe he should have called for it instead.

    But before she could word her worries to him there was a golden flash in the distance, the Warp Star spun around and flew towards them at high speed. It was hard to not control the massive grin that grew on her face. “Kirby!”

    The boy heard the girl yelling and turned to see the star, his face lighting up at the sight of it as well before it snatched him off the ground away from another bolt. Grasping onto the edges of the star he tilted it skyward and vanished into the dark clouds.

    Inside the clouds were uncomfortable, it was too dark to see anything and the static energy in the air made his feathers and hair go weird. What’s more, however, there was a strange sound coming from the centre. A low drumming sound.

    He persisted through the dark maze, the air only growing heavier and heavier as he went on and the drumming got louder and louder until he broke through. At the very centre of the clouds was a swirling electrical abyss of various colours and a strange cloud.

    And atop that cloud was what looked like an ogre, but its skin was a grey pale colour with a set of yellow horns atop its oddly fluffy white hair. Large teeth jutted out from the lower jaw and it wore nothing but a loincloth with a large drum at its side that struck lightning with every thump. 

    Its large singular eye focused in on Kirby, raising its large muscular arm into the air. Kirby glared at it, holding tight onto his star as it began to violently pound on the drum, creating long powerful bolts of lightning to launch at the child. 

    They were intense, zapping through the air like a knife as Kirby attempted to dodge them, blind to them crashing together behind him to create an even more powerful bolt. 

    Kirby wailed as he felt the powerful strike and lost balance on the Warp Star, he failed his arms in the air as the wind rushed past his ears. One of his shoulders suddenly bunched up, leaving him flailing with one arm as the shoulder tensed up. Turning his head back and forth he couldn’t see the Warp Star anywhere, which sent the boy into a panic when he broke through the clouds again.

    His wings flapped aggressively against gravity without much avail, down below he could even see the silhouettes of the others growing larger and larger. But before he could try and land on one of them a familiar warmth blossomed inside of him as he felt the Warp Star sweep him back up.

    But before he could regain his balance another bolt shot through the sky. A pinch of guilt washed over him as the star whizzed out of the way likely sending the bolt directly onto the others below. There wasn’t time to mull over it though as another bolt approached him, almost by instinct he pulled the star up turning it into a shield. 

    Watching the bolt become deflected filled the boy with strength, as he flipped back onto the Warp Star he stared up at the clouds with a glare across his face. Despite the protests in his arm he raised them up and began to pull at the centre with the wind once again. It felt as if he was pulling a thousand invisible ropes that steadily became hard and harder to keep a grip on. Each wisp of cloud gathered together in his hands in a way he could not describe, building up until he clasped them together.

    With a deep breath, he then shot the clouds back, parting the clouds apart by force revealing the once hidden Demon Beast Kracko. The sight of the beast sent Meta Knight into shock, he never thought he would see it with his own eyes but the gawping did not last long as the assault resumed.

    Perhaps in a fit of rage, Krako reached inside of its cloud and pulled out a long seven-branched sword and channelled it with lightning. Almost as if it were a pair of second arms two branches of lightning grasped the blade and began to swing at the boy. 

    Against all common sense, Kirby grabbed the blade before it could strike him leaving even Kracko surprised. With a battle cry, the boy tore the sword out of the lightnings grasp. “What is he doing!” he could barely hear Fumu scream from below.

    A powerful sensation swept through his body as he absorbed the sword through his hands. And with a flick of his wings, he hid underneath the cape created by it, emerging as Sword Kirby.

    Kracko glared at the transformation and sent more lightning at the boy only for them to be destroyed in a crescent swipe with his sword. The drumming became more aggressive as hundreds of bolts were sent flying across the air that Kirby deflected with his blade frustrating Kracko.

    In a fit of rage, it slammed the drum so hard that it shattered leaving it defenceless. Before it could look for a new weapon a sword beam sliced through it sending out sparks of lightning. Kirby flew around it sending beam after beam as lightning crackled all over its body before he finally sliced it in half. In a flash of blinding light, it exploded lifting the accursed clouds away as they parted to reveal the sun again.

    Everyone but Meta Knight ran towards Kirby as the Warp Star lowered itself onto the ground. “Kirby!” Fumu shouted as she ran towards the boy.

    He was covered in light burns and his hair and wings were very frizzled nearly making her laugh as she attempted to pat down his hair. “Kirby, you can leave the Warp Star to me okay?” she smiled at him.

    “Okay,” he repeated back and she patted him on the head. The knight, however, had silently left the children as they began their attempts to clean up the boy.

Chapter Text

    The throne room's heavy doors were thrown open by Dedede with very little force as Escargon struggles to keep them from slamming into him. “Your Majesty please, you haven’t even told me what this great plan of yours is! Don’t you trust my input?” Escargon stammered as the larger man dropped himself onto his throne.

    “Of course! But it’s not done just yet. Look,” Dedede replied without so much as a hint of sincerity as he pressed one of the buttons on his throne. The lights switched off and the centre of the floor parted open to reveal Nightmare’s transportation system. And so too did a large screen emerge from the side of the wall.

    “Welcome to the Holy Nightmare Inc download site. How might I help you?” A familiar snide voice echoed through the room. Dedede had never bothered asking for his name though he likely wouldn’t be truthful about it either way. Customer Service had gaunt pale skin bordering on grey, his chin was sharp and there was a permanent grin plastered on his lips. Tapping his orange-glazed shades he looked down at the king. “Welcome back Your Majesty, are you here to check on your orders?”

    “Of course I have! TV may be more powerful than any monster in the world, those villagers will believe anything on a fancy screen once we put it in front of them.” Escargon could only stare dumbfounded at the king as he explained his plan.

    “Indeed it is! The power of television allows you to broadcast anything you wish to the entire country or even the whole star itself. We provide various broadcast stations across the universe after all,” Customer Service added.

    But Escargon did not buy it “And why would we need that? How can we use that to defeat Kirby?” he asked exasperated. 

    Customer Service only laughed at him. “It can be easy to sway their minds. With enough television telling them how amazing His Majesty is and all the bad things Kirby does. Why he’ll have no allies in a matter of time.”

    “Wow, really? As expected of you, Your Majesty,” Escargon swiftly praised the king.

    Dedede looked pleased with himself. “Customer Service is everything ready yet?” he yelled up at the screen. 

    “Well let's see. Some programs you commissioned have been finished, however, as you said you’d create some of your own we’ve prepared a special kit for you to use. The TVs themselves are ready, though you still need to install the broadcasting towers yourself. Once that’s all ready we’ll be able to link them to our various satellites.” The two of them blanked briefly during Customer Service's explanation.

    “Well then send them over already, the Waddle Dee’s will make quick work of them.” Dedede snapped his fingers and a group of them came rushing in standing at the ready. Though looking at them again he realised something, much like Kirby they all had pointed ears too. Although still a child the boy could very easily be mistaken for one.

    As they watched the flashing lights and flickering electricity of the transportation system he leaned over to Escargon. “Make sure they up security. I don’t want that Kirby blending in with all of them.”

    “Well then, I’ll leave it all to you now,” Customer Service laughed before the screen switched off.

-

    It had been a week now and he was utterly exhausted. TV productions were draining, and they had begun to leave their mark beneath Dedede’s eyes and his already thin patience. He’d even discarded his robe and crown in recent days, thankfully the Cabinet brats had yet to notice, too busy playing outside with Kirby.

    But it wouldn’t be long until they raised the suspicions of Meta Knight who often went snooping around. They had decided to keep their little studio on the castle's lower floors, most of them went unused either way. He could barely remember why a majority of those rooms were even built. Let alone how deep the castle went below ground but it was too much of a hassle to explore.

    Until then they had saddled the knight with the captain's duties as he was busy assisting in their productions being the only one able to understand the silence and mumbling of his brethren.

    “In an hour we need to continue shooting Dededale. Once that’s over we need to fix the set for Are you smarter than a Kirby,” Escargon blathered on.

    “Wait wouldn’t that mean there’s more than one Kirby?” Dedede raised an eyebrow.

    Escargon went quiet for a second before scribbling on his clipboard. “Are you smarter than Kirby. Doesn’t roll off the tongue as much, ah well.” The list was endless, filled with various dramas, films and game shows. There was a mix of animated shows commissioned that Holy Nightmare provided, though they were quite expensive already.

    “Doesn’t Holy Nightmare already have a massive library of shows and movies we could use?” Escargon recalled flicking through a catalogue Dedede left behind when they had begun their productions, some even included news broadcasts from other stars.

    “They wanted me to pay extra for that. We’re already using the cheapest animation package there was,” Dedede whined as he rubbed his hand between his eyes. A Waddle Dee left a cup of tea next to him that was swiftly emptied.

    Escargon scoffed. “You know if you drink coffee like I do you’d be awake longer.”

    “It’s too bitter! Besides I’m wide awake right now,” he insisted with drooping eyelids.

    Waddle Doo sped towards the two briskly, his hair was in a state of chaos and his eye was red. “I’ve been looking for the two of you Your Majesty and Lord Escargon,” he saluted the two. “I bring grave news.”

    Their eyes widened and they looked down at the little captain. “What is it? Be quick about it,” Dedede crossed his arms.

    “Yes Sir. By our calculations of every show and film we have been producing of late. In order to fill out the program slots for a month…It will take a year if not more!” The two were taken aback by the news.

    “We can’t push productions even further, His Majesty will collapse before long! Waddle Doo you need to do something about this!” Escargon demanded.

    The small captain looked panicked. “But what can we do? The Waddle Dees are not actors unless you’re willing to try silent entertainment.”

    Both of them continued to bicker with each other as Dedede battled against sleep, that was until an idea struck him. “Cancel today’s plans. I know what to do,” he explained with a grin as he rose from his chair.

    “Your Majesty?” Escargon stammered as Dedede stormed off. He just barely managed to hitch a ride on his back before he threw himself onto one of his throne transportation systems.

    The advisor could barely keep a grip as the throne zipped through hidden halls towards the throne room. “You don’t think this is why you have unpaid debts do you?” Escargon nagged him.

    “Of course not! Besides I have an idea that will solve our pesky little problem right now.” The King cracked his knuckles as he pressed a button that opened the TV opposite Customer Services’. Currently, it was one of many used to run broadcasting tests though, most of the time it was just static. 

    “Did you get them to order those rod-omobobs?”

    “The towers? Yes we replaced the metal rods on the castle with them as per your request. But you do realise how difficult it’ll be to clean and repair them now right?”

    Dedede ignored the man, flipping over an open slot on the other side of his throne arm that revealed more buttons. Pressing one revealed a menu of sorts and Dedede narrowed his eyes.

    “Escargon, write down hmm…TV shows and movies download free, on the pad.” Escargon looked at him with disbelief before bending to his whim. Of course, being part of Nightmare’s site nothing free came up much to Dedede’s chagrin. 

    “Bah, penny pinchers…” Dedede grumbled to himself. 

    With a few bashes to the keys, the screen changed much to their surprise. The greyed-out download button was now coloured and Dedede swiftly clicked it without thought.

    “Your Majesty what will that do?” Escargon asked.

    Dedede leaned back in his chair. “It’ll fix everything of course, now get back to filming hurry up!” Escargon was practically dragged through the hallways again by Dedede’s moving throne as the two returned to another long day of filming.

-

    “No no no! You’re getting it all wrong!” A whiny small voice yelled out in the confines of Kirby’s small home. Tokkori buzzed about in his bird form watching the pink boy try and make his bed.

    The boy huffed as half his bedsheet got tangled up in his arms and Tokkori landed tapping his foot impatiently. “Mmm…Messy,” Kirby sighed before sitting on the floor, defeated.

    “Hey! Stop that, watch me. I’ll show you how a real pro makes a bed!” Tokkori stomped over in his human form now, snatching the bedsheet off Kirby. Tossing it into the air he pulled the corners over the bed in a sloppy fashion before punching up the pillow.

    “Like this see?” Tokkori crossed his arms proudly “I learnt it by watching the other kids make their beds.”

    “Tokko do it,” Kirby replied and the bird boy puffed up his feathers.

    “Hey I ain’t gonna be some maid for you. Besides because of you my nest is gone so consider it payback.” He flopped onto the bed, arms and legs spread. Though he wasn’t alone for long, Kirby was quick to lay over him.

    “Busy busy,” Kirby commented.

    The two laid there for a while, bored and lacking the will to move. Kirby was always sleepy and Tokkori was too bossy to play with. Perhaps they’d spend the whole day napping if it wasn’t for a brisk knock at the door.

    “Hmm?” Kirby poked his head up and lightly trod over to the door. Waddle Doo was standing there, a tired look on his face standing next to a large beige box with Dedede’s mark on it alongside two red letters that spelt out TV. 

    “...Teebee…” Kirby spelt out as Waddle Doo cleared his throat.

    “His Majesty has so generously gifted everyone a Television free of charge. As you are in the village registry your home is entitled to one alongside a weekly TV guide and various free programs.” Waddle Doo’s words mostly passed between their ears. A lot of those words were too fancy for Kirby to understand yet.

    He seemed to pick this up and sighed. “Allow me to set it up.” The short man easily passed through the small door and took out a large red box with a long cord attached to it and two metal rods he unfolded at the top. Yet inserting it into the house's power source didn’t do anything.

    “Is it broken or something? If Dedede gave us a shoddy whatever this thing is I’m blaming you, Kirby.” Tokkori shot the boy an icy glare as Waddle Doo watched them with a tired eye.

    “At noon the first broadcast will begin, and it will show you places beyond your imagination all from that screen. This is a gift most generous so do not waste it. Any issues simply mail them to the address on the guide.” The little captain finished. Each word was punctuated and practised for this day.

    The two looked at the screen before Kirby walked over to his bed to look for something underneath it. Taking this opportunity the captain excused himself and ran out of the house before Tokkori could say a word.

    “Guy’s got a stick up him I’ll tell you what. What are you doin?” Tokkori poked his head over to Kirby who began pulling out pillows from under his bed. A bunch of old ladies had just started handing them over to him like free candy, there was enough to make another bed out of them alone. Though Tokkori would continue insisting he slept on the bed.

    All the pillows were strewn across the floor by Tokkori as Kirby pulled them out which he deemed good enough. Though looking at it longer it’d explain why his nests often fell apart back when he lived in a tree.

    Ignoring that though he let himself flop onto a pile of cushions and lay there staring at the empty TV. “C’mon hurry up, you movin around like that is gonna make me fidgety.”

    “There!” Kirby announced to himself, pulling a box out and Tokkori rolled his eyes. Ignoring his grumpy roommate Kirby pulled out the odd-smelling cloak again and brought it with him to a pillow pile he claimed as his own. As much as it was an annoyance for Tokkori to constantly trip over the weird cloak the stars that lined the inside were quite pretty.

    Kirby even used it once to roof a house of pillows they made and they even shone in the dark like a real night sky. “Broadcast should be startin in ten minutes. Better not be boring,” he complained. Kirby only nodded in response.

-

    “One minute until broadcast!” Escargon’s voice called out from the speakers littering the stage room. Waddle Dee’s were stationed at every corner and angle with their equipment. Escargon alongside a few other Waddle Dees and their captain remained behind a glass screen prepared to press the button to broadcast Dedede to the whole country.

    Dedede let out a deep laugh from the shade of the curtains that lined the stage. “I'm ready and waiting.”

    “Historial broadcast in…Ten…Nine…” Escargon began to count down. Those all tuning in joining in with bated breath. Dedede cracked his knuckles and stood ready at the centre of the stage.

    “Start!” Escargon shouted as Waddle Doo pressed the button to begin the broadcast. “This is…Channel DDD!” he announced with practised precision. Such a day he had been training for during their various weeks of preparations.

    The curtains pulled back, revealing the shadow of the large stage Dedede stood atop before it was lit up by warm stage lights. His robe had been finely pressed for this day, the fur lining the edges brushed up and spotless alongside his own facial hair. Atop his head was a golden crown with jagged spikes that circled the scalp of it. Across the rest of his body were various medals that lined down the sides of his robe and a strap across his chest.

    “Good day to you all!” Dedede boomed as the camera zoomed in on him. “And greetings to all my poor but loyal subjects. Beginning today, our Pupupu Land will be blessed by the power of technology!”

    Dedede began his descent down the stage towards the cameras, his arms held neatly behind his back which cut a powerful figure. “All thanks to the power of Television…” He took a deep breath before leaning toward a camera “...You can enjoy mindless entertainment. Fake, but speedy news reports. Some very important expensive commercials! And all of that can be enjoyed by anyone! Free of charge!” 

    A Waddle Dee pressed a button as Dedede finished to play the sound of a crowd cheering. Dedede waved at the invisible crowd with a large grin on his face as if he was on top of the world. And for him, he was.

    “Now for an introductory five-minute comedy show, followed by the weather.” Escargon’s voice cut through the stage and the cameras were switched off. A Waddle Dee rushed over with a reel as Dedede slumped down on the stage, sweat already starting to drip from the hot stage lights.

    “Is the comedy short playing?” Dedede grumbled as he gulped down a bottle of water passed to him by a Waddle Dee. He dragged his feet along as he walked into the broadcasting booth to check on their progress.

    On a large screen was the comedy skit they had recorded a week or so prior. It had been delayed due to the possible issues that could arise making a puppet on a real child. As such, they altered his appearance and name, Kiki the stupid angel. The puppet itself was rather cheap, the eye fell out after filming and they hadn’t fixed it yet, but it still resembled Kirby enough for audiences to get the idea.

    “Kiki can’t even count! How many fingers have you got?” Dedede’s recorded voice came from the screen.

    “Ten,” a shrill voice replied, a voice put on for Dedede.

    “Stupid angel you’ve only got four!” Dedede raised the puppet's hands which was a mittened hand. No one had any say in the jokes and all the Waddle Dee’s sat there with dry faces as the show continued.

    Escargon took off his headset and stood up from his chair. “We’ll need to go to the greenscreen room next Your Majesty. After the live weather report, we can finally rest for the day!” Dedede nodded enthusiastically along.

    “Perfect timing, I do need it. But I just had a new idea!”

    Escargon felt as if he was going to melt into the floor. “And what would that be perchance?”

    Dedede looked chuffed with himself. “People will be so glued to their TVs they won’t notice a big demon beast attacking. We’ll broadcast one chasing after Kirby and causing so much mayhem we have to save the day!”

    “Wait! But think about the costs of having to get a demon beast for it! And what if Kirby did win?” Escargon pointed out and Dedede’s eyes widened.

    “Hmm…You do have a point. Come up with a solution then by tonight.” 

    Escargon wasn’t getting a lick of rest, the man could feel it in his bones as Dedede stretched and walked off to the greenscreen room. He could only drag his feet behind preparing himself for a long day ahead.

-

    Fumu did not like this one bit. Everyone had practically been swept away by all these new TVs, even on such a nice day to play like this. As she ran down the empty streets in town she could spot a TV through every window.

    “Ugh! Seriously?” she huffed as she peered through the window of the Police Station. Borum was watching the TV with a wine glass in hand loud enough that she could hear it through the wood.

    “For today’s forecast, there will be damp wind from the South and dry wind from the North. So we may have some clear skies after the rain, with a bit of cloudiness. Now! To introduce our primetime lineup.” She could hear Escargon’s voice making her irate enough to stomp away.

    Returning home in a huff her mood only worsened once she heard the garble of the TV from her family’s living room. “Not all of you too!” she whined seeing her family gathered around the TV on the couch.

    “Yeah! Get him!” Bun cheered at a show, a giant robot that was poorly painted to look like Dedede was punching another robot. Her parents as well as Lololo and Lalala watching quite intently alongside him.

    “What’s everyone so excited about?” Fumu raised her voice above the volume of the TV. Her face soured with the realisation they weren’t going to be turning it off any time soon, sleeping tonight would prove to be a trial.

    “It’s a cartoon! Such a revolutionary piece of media, even adults can enjoy it,” Parm explained as the Dedede robot began punching the other robot in the face.

    Fumu scowled. “It all looks like a bunch of stupid violence.”

    “Well if you don’t like it, don’t watch it,” Bun bit back. She held back an urge to stick her tongue out at him.

    “It’s some sort of scheme from Dedede! And you’re all falling for it,” she continued to argue fruitlessly. 

    Her mother was quick to shush her with an annoyed look. “You’re being too loud, I can't hear the TV.” Fumu was quick to show pleading eyes to her father, but he was far too invested to notice.

    In a huff, she stormed out of the room, if there was someone who was going to listen to her she knew who to go to. Yet as she walked down the hallway to Meta Knight’s quarters she heard something horrible.

    Pre-recorded laughter.

    “Are you kidding me!” she yelled as she busted open the door. Even Meta Knight nearly jumped out of his seat from the sudden intrusion. Peering past the knight she could see Sword and Blade sitting on cushions as well in front of the TV.

    “I can’t believe everyone’s falling for this!” Fumu ran in front of the knight, though she was too short to really block anything.

    He only chuckled at her. “You shouldn’t worry too much. It’ll only be a passing trend. Besides, I don’t think it’s all that bad. Look,” he pointed at the screen. Fumu raised her brow, on the screen was a comedy show in a strange language and people with four fingers and frog-like skin.

    “That's…Not Dedede,” Fumu murmured in confusion.

    “Indeed, I’m not sure how but. He appears to have connected to broadcasts across the galaxy.” Wordlessly Meta Knight passed Fumu a small remote as the two other knights looked at her quite expectantly.

    “Have a look, don’t you want to see what else is out there?” Blade smiled at the girl.

    Fumu frowned and looked at the remote, she really didn’t want to fall for any of Dedede’s plots yet. The chance to see things from across the galaxy was too tempting for her to refuse. “W-Well if it’s only other people making content I don’t mind,” she turned her head up and switched a channel.

   Alien's tastes in programs were a bit, peculiar to say the least. The screen flashed in colours she couldn't even begin to comprehend, and they also left quite a nasty headache too. One calmer program consisted of lilac-skinned people performing in some sort of romance film, she quickly hopped to a cooking program out of embarrassment. Whatever ingredients were being used in that program though should have been censored, even Meta Knight quickly stepped in to change the program with a grimace. But the next one was quite pleasant compared to the others, it was calm and quiet, though in a language she couldn't understand it talked over shots of otherwordly landscapes and sights. She was quite taken by it all that was until it was suddenly cut off. "Dammit!" she huffed as Dedede's signature showed up on the screen.

    “Urgent news broadcast! An enormous Demon Beast has appeared around the mountains!” Dedede announced in the sudden news cut in. Everyone in the room gasped as it cut to footage of it rampaging through the mountains, it was slug-like in appearance, however, it had added on small feet that crushed trees as it walked.

    In a strangely human voice though it began to call out for Kirby. “Look! It’s come here after Kirby! Not even the Mayor’s house will be safe,” it swiftly cut to the beast looming over their home.

    “A Demon Beast appearing the same day as these broadcasts. That cannot be a coincidence,” Sword murmured and he walked over to a window to take a peek outside. It had gotten dark out and rather difficult to see. But any monster that size should still be visible.

    “Fumu, go get Kirby. I’ll go investigate the mountains,” Meta Knight ordered her as he rose from his seat and swiftly left the room without another word.

-

    “Cut! It’s time for the three-minute commercials,” Dedede yelled.

    The Waddle Dees in the recording room sighed as they switched it over, sipping cups of coffee as Escargon peeled off the Demon Beast suit on the set of the Village they had built. It was much more cost-efficient to scare them with a fake monster than a real one after all.

    “I’m beat… Could this not have waited to air until tomorrow, Your Majesty?” Escargon complained.

    Dedede tossed him a bottle of water. “Of course not. Strike while the iron is hot right?” Escargon only rolled his eyes as he downed the bottle of water.

    “Now then, prepare for the next scene!” Dedede announced as he strolled over to their next set piece. It was a miniature remote-controlled tank designed after their own with a little puppet of him. With a small wire, it mimicked his own mouth movements but only to a certain degree.

    All the villagers will have realised that Kirby is a danger to them all by now, and in his place as hero? Dedede. “Yeah, looks good! Begin the roll!” he yelled as he walked to a small mic.

    A Waddle Dee grabbed a small remote and began to drive the little tank towards Escargon who zipped back up. “Evil monster! Today’s the day the Great King Dedede will defeat you!” he roared into the small mic. With the press of a button, miniature blanks were fired out and hit Escargon.

    The blanks did not hurt thankfully, but they did sting a bit which went right to his rickety back. It was getting quite difficult for him to not accidentally yelp.

    But there was something none of them had accounted for.

    A child on set.

    “Wao!” Kirby giggled as he climbed onto the set, directly in front of the camera. Dedede rushed out of his chair in a panic as the other brats ran into the room.

    “C-Cut the cameras!”

    “That’s enough Dedede! Enough with the hoax!” Fumu shouted as she also pushed her face in front of the camera. A Waddle Dee was quick to turn it off in a panic, slinking back in their seat as they watched the chaos unfold.

    The small girl looked up at Dedede with a big scowl on her face, Bun and Kirby joining her side too. “Dedede! We’re here to expose your scheme,” she announced with a haughty tone.

    Dedede only laughed at her. “We’ve got defences for intruders like you,” with a clap of his hands a giant cage fell from up high. Trapping the children.

    “Now that’s more like it. Kids shouldn’t be walking around on set after all,” he mocked them, Escargon giggling at the three of them behind him.

    With a smile, Dedede put his hands to his back and strolled back to the mic. “Now, let’s resume!” He was happily humming to himself as they prepared to begin shooting again that he forgot one very important detail.

    Said detail was brought to his attention as a harsh wind began to flow through the studio where no wind at all should ever reach. “What? Kirby stop that!” Dedede’s orders were fruitless though as equipment and the set were sucked towards the cage into a messy pile.

    He was left tangled in the mess as he heard Fumu’s voice from behind. “Bun, get that camera set up.” A cold sweat began to rush down his arms as he zipped up, dragging Escargon up alongside him by the shirt.

    “Thank you for waiting everyone! As you can see this was all a trick made by Dedede!” they could see Bun panning the camera over the mess and all the Waddle Dees on the floor still clinging to their equipment.

    “He was trying to drive out Kirby!” Fumu explained as the five year old tried to push his face into the camera. The two men sighed in frustration.

    Escargon looked like death “Shouldn't we arrest them?” he complained to Dedede. But as he spoke up Bun was quick to also shove the camera in his face with a cheeky grin.

    “And so what are your thoughts on something so pitiful being exposed to the public hm?” Fumu questioned him as she shoved a mic in his face.

    He began to wiggle around like a tortoise on its back. “Ahh, please don’t put the camera in my face!” 

    But Dedede only laughed. “So you all figured it out! But this has all just been an act for your entertainment!” His brain was in fixer mode, his already thin reputation could break again. But thankfully the villagers would be stupid enough to believe him.

    “Now get out! This is trespassing and destruction of private property!” Waddle Dees rushed to the kids and swiftly tossed them out of the studio. And now Dedede could finally breathe.

    At least he could until he remembered in the morning they had forgotten to resume programs and viewership that day was at a rock bottom one percent.

Chapter Text

    “Here! Stay,” the pink boy said. In a little cave by the lapping waves of the ocean, he had taken them.

    The Dynababy only cried out though, stomach empty and freshly born they did not know what to do. And the pink boy could only worry and panic watching it cry out, fruitlessly trying to pat them on the head to soothe them.

    “Hungy? Sad?” the boy asked again, but the baby did not understand him.

    Without a word though, he quickly left the cave leaving the baby all alone. They cried and cried without anyone there for comfort in the dark. The floor was hard and the stones were spikey with water dripping from the ceiling every now and again.

    So much time seemed to pass until the boy returned, a big smile plastered across his face with something long and yellow in his hands. “Ba…Bahna…Mm…Food!” he smiled as he held one over their beak.

    In one big gulp the baby ate the food, it tasted sweet and mellow and helped fill its belly up a little bit more. So it wasn’t long until it was practically begging for more and the boy relented.

    Soon they had all been eaten and the baby felt a little less hungry now. But still quite hungry. “Good good?” he asked with enthusiasm.

    The Dynababy chirped happily and the boy smiled.

    “Kirby!” he pointed at himself. The Dynababy chirped happily at hearing the name and flapped their little wings at their own chest.

    Kirby looked at the baby in thought. “Hmm…Dina…Dinnerbaye?...Diner…Baby?” He was struggling with his words a lot, his face twisting into an annoyed expression.

    “Good?” he asked again. The baby whined, kicking around the sharp pebbles.

    “No good?...No comfy. Be back!” he announced again before leaving the cave. 

    The Dynababy cried out for him again, but he was already gone. Picking itself up it began to pace around the cave. Outside the blue sky was beginning to turn grey and fluffy but not at all comforting. Standing at the edge of the cave they looked into the ocean waters that had also turned grey like the sky and was lapping against the stone beach.

    Yet as it continued to stare at the waters something began bubbling at the surface. A chubby boy covered in rough light blue skin popped up and made eye contact with the baby.

    “Oh? Are you that missing baby everyone's talking about?” he asked the baby. Though they could not reply, instead chirping again at the merman. They weren’t sure if they were missing, but they were a baby.

    “Ah…Guess I don’t really know how to speak bird huh? You look well though! Your mama will find you soon enough,” he responded to himself before sliding back under the water. The Dynababy peered over the water trying to spot the boy to no avail and made a sad chirp.

    They wobbled around again for a little while until there was a harsh gust of wind that splashed a bit of cold water on them. The sudden sting of the cold caused them to cry out and waddle back into the cave where they began to shiver. There were no downy feathers yet to protect them from the cold, all they could really do was sit and cry until heard again.

    As they whimpered in the dark a set of footsteps could be heard in the distance, they were uneven and light and coming towards the cave at a fast pace. Within seconds Kirby had come back, two large round things in hand.

    “H-Here,” he smiled as he put them around them. They were quite soft and warm allowing them to snuggle up happily. Yet as they looked back at Kirby his eyes were red and there was a sad frown on his face.

    The baby couldn’t understand what it meant, however, simply staring back at the boy until he did something.

    Soon he sat himself down on the floor as well, the bottom of his feet muddied and scratched from stone. “People angry…S-Saying Kirby ate baby. No listening…” he sniffled this time around.

    The baby chirped at him confused, looking closely at his soured face that had also turned red at the cheeks. As the baby thought to itself the best it could, that being quite a limited amount it soon came up with an idea. Letting out a happy chirp it picked up one of the pillows with its beak, holding it out to Kirby.

    He looked up at the baby, giving them a big smile. “Thanks!” he hugged it back in response. The baby wiggled in place happily as it chirped seeing him smile again, but that wouldn’t last for very long.

    Soon its stomach was beginning to rumble again and it cried out once more, alerting the boy. “Aa hunger? Be back!” he announced to the baby before heading out again. The baby was much less worried this time and he came back even quicker because of that with food.

    But they still weren’t very filling although very tasty. So it cried out again for more food much to his surprise. “Something else?” Kirby looked at them curiously. The baby calmed and happily chirped in response.

    “Mm…Hish! Be back!” he announced again before leaving the cave. So the baby waited patiently for him to come back, staring at the pretty soft stones all the while. They weren’t quite sure what they were but they were close to a stone, at least to them.

    One was all white and extra soft. Covering it were plants that they had seen while being taken to the cave which were so colourful and pretty. They could be edible but biting it only gave them a mouthful of feathers.

    The next one was the same yellow as the sweet food Kirby had brought to them. With a happy chirp, they also took a large bite out of this one. Only to also have their mouth stuffed with feathers again.

    As they sat there sadly, Kirby returned, but now with a bigger bunch of yellow food much to their surprise. “Hish take long. Here! Snack!” Kirby smiled as he left it on the floor to the baby’s delight.

    With a little wave, he headed back outside as the baby leaned forward to pluck one off the bunch though it was a little bit hard to pull it off with just their beak. It turned to mush the more they pinched at it until all the skin ripped off with one big tug.

    They looked at what was left with surprise before eating it. It was so much sweeter than before than the crunch of the skin.

    Waddling up to the rest of the bunch they tried to wrap one of their little wings around one and pulled it off. Next with their beak, they peeled down the skin to reveal the sweet underneath and happily munched it down.

    After that, they could hardly help themselves as the minutes ticked away peeling and eating. Even the strong gusts of wind outside couldn’t even bother them as they nibbled on their food.

    It wasn’t long until the bunch was emptied and they were still feeling quite hungry. There was a loud splash outside, it must have been Kirby or the strange boy from earlier which gave the baby the confidence to step outside again with a peel in their wing.

    And as they rounded the opening of the cave they could see him again covered in water. Chirping as they approached him his face lit up again from the distressed look on his face a moment prior.

    They dropped the peel and rubbed their stomach, they wanted more food right now and Kirby was quick to pick up on it. He ran over to a nearby tree to shake for more food and gobbled them whole one by one by the baby.

    After three though they tilted their head back far enough to spot something. Something that felt so familiar to them. Flying above the ocean with metallic rainbow-coloured wings that bladed at the edges and a shiny blue gem-like crest. Their mother.

    It was strange, they had never seen her before yet, there was something in their chest longing for her. She was staring at him right back, large eyes welling up with tears and relief. And so was theirs.

    They waddled over to the edge of the ocean, crying out to her. She was quick to swoop down and stand at the edge, lowering her head to nuzzle them which created a warm fuzzy feeling in their chest. 

    In the distance, various voices could be heard watching them but the baby didn’t care.

    Though they did begin to worry when their mother made eye contact with Kirby and raised her wings in a threatening manner. He panicked and began to run, huddling by a wall.

    She did not strike him. The baby watched their mother slowly approach and extend her sharp feathers to try and caress his back with a blunt edge. Although her body was not built for comfort, her heart was large nonetheless.

    Though within ears reach they could hear other voices talking. “If the egg didn’t hatch he would have tried eating it. But since it did he had no choice but to raise it. Right, Kirby?”

    It was another little bird, which meant their mother understood perfectly. And she stared at the boy, alongside the baby as he began to take little steps away from the two.

    “Hmph! Maybe someone else should try eating him for a change,” a girl spoke up. Kirby looked utterly terrified.

    “Waaa…Sorrrryyyy!” he cried out as he ran off in a panic. Their mother remained calm, however. All the others were giggling at his reaction and so the baby chirped in joy too.

Chapter Text

    Fumu hummed to herself, cheerful despite the usual headache this day always brought. It was the celebration of Dedede’s enthronement to Pupupu Land. So she didn’t really care, opting to stay in the library until the festivities began. Her mother had insisted on dressing her up today in a mint green dress similar in shape to her favourite. Along the edges were white lace with a white silk ribbon around the waist. Her shoes matched the colour and she wore white tights with them, but there were no pockets. Her mother had also insisted she keep her hair down alongside a hairband which was also mint green decorated with white lace to keep in theme.

    “Let’s see…This should be good. Kirby?” Fumu looked around the castle library as she held a book in hand. Next to her own home, the castle library was the most comfortable place for her to be. The various Waddle Dee’s that often shirked their duties for a rest in there would agree to her statement as well.

    Kirby was looking at a colourful picture book she had grabbed for him beforehand sitting on the floor. He was barefoot again much to her annoyance, he didn’t like keeping shoes on a lot. It was a mystery to her where some of his extra clothes had come from, it would be easy to just assume a local grandmother did it but that felt too easy. Either way, she needed to ask her mother about getting more clothes for him soon as his wardrobe only consisted of one outfit. Though their home was open for him to stay clean.

    He peered up at her from his book as she sat next to him. “This is about history! A long time ago there was an ancient Pupupu civilisation that Mr Curio is researching. This is one of his first books!” She flicked through a few pages that highlighted various old ruins that scattered the island.

    “It sold so poorly though, this is the only copy outside his museum…Alongside all the others that followed it up. No one believes Dedede to be the real king though, there’s nothing saying his family has been here for generations like he claims after all.” Fumu explained as she continued to show him various pictures of statues and vases that had been unearthed.

    Kirby pointed at a word in the book. “Long word,” he happily commented. ‘Heritage’ was the word he had focused on, he enjoyed listening to a lot of long words even if he couldn’t pronounce any of them.

    “That’s heritage. Hmm heritage, there are lots of things heritage can mean. But here it’s talking about pieces of culture inherited by us in the now and will continue to preserve for a long time. The tree in the centre of our village is a piece of heritage left behind by the first mayor long ago and is cared for by all of us.” She explained to him.

    He hummed in interest as he continued to look at all the pictures and words in the book. “And culture…Well, it’s sort of like the way people live and express themselves from where they live. Let me think…For example, some cultures will have certain types of food they prepare and who they eat it with. There’s a lot of people in the village from various cultures around the world in fact.” She tried her best to explain it in a way he could understand.

    “Mine?” he asked pointing to himself.

    “What’s yours? We don’t really know sorry,” she apologised to him as he frowned. “We could always ask Meta Knight about it one day. He seems to know a lot about you.” She tried to comfort him but the library door was opened.

    “Hey sis mama and papa are nagging for you,” Bun called to her. He was in a white shirt with a small bow at the collar. On top of it was a pair of black suspenders with dark green pressed shorts and formal brown leather shoes and thick white socks. His hair though was still an untamed mess, likey refusing to let his mother touch it.

    She huffed as she snapped the book shut and returned it to the shelf. “Jeez, this day is always such a pain,” she complained as she approached her brother leaning against the door.

    He just shrugged “I guess, nice food at least. Hey Kirby you should go to the courtyard, we can play later.” Kirby lit up the sound of food and quickly lept up to run towards the courtyard. Meanwhile, the siblings walked to the room before the grand balcony of the castle that overlooked most of the courtyard and was used for any public events.

    Their parents were there. Memu was in a state of panic, redoing her powders in front of a mirror with her hair freshly curled and wearing a golden necklace with an emerald at the centre around her neck instead of her usual scarf. She wore an iris-coloured dress that was off the shoulder with various ruffles across the bodice of a darker shade of purple. The pattern was repeated across the rest of the dress like streamers across a cake.

    All the while their father was fruitlessly trying to calm her down despite her insistence she needed to look spotless for any public event. He himself wore a swallowtail coat in a dark shade of purple similar to one he often wore day to day. Though this one had a complex pattern in the light that only reminded Fumu of an old wallpaper they had when she was younger.

    Escargon was also in a similar suit, a lighter purple in colour with a dark green waistcoat underneath. He had his hair tied up by a light yellow ribbon and his glasses were well polished today with silver edges compared to his rather plain everyday ones. He was busy attending to Dedede with final touches.

    Dedede was dressed the same as he was on the television's first broadcast two weeks ago. Though his crown and medals showed significantly more polish today that lined his royal robe. He treasured his medals a lot, a few coming from her own family, Escargon and various other instances she didn’t care to listen about. All she could really focus on was how he was able to wear a thick robe without much trouble in the tropical heat.

    Sword and Blade stood nearby, quietly observing the scene. They had polished their armour a bit more today but they were required to stay in uniform. The same went for Meta Knight who was standing next to them, mask permanently welded to his face. As usual, he was wrapped up in his own cape but on events such as this on the occasion, he lowered it Fumu could spot one other addition. He wore a silver chain around his neck with a silver ring around it. She never asked him why he had it on, or why he would instinctively move to touch it when too many people were speaking at once.

    Fumu slumped on a chair and watched the adults bicker about as the clock ticked closer to Dedede’s speech. Likely sensing her boredom Meta Knight walked over to sit next to her as her brother was busy trying to help his dad.

    “How is Kirby?” he asked.

    “Hm, he’s fine. Refuses to wear shoes constantly but I suppose Bun did that a lot too at that age. I was thinking of finding him more clothes though, he needs more.” She explained while playing with the hem of her dress.

    He only hummed in response. “It’s kind of weird though. That clothes for him showed up in the middle of the night but no one has said who did it yet. Must be a grandmother don’t you think?” she continued.

    “Indeed…” he replied, watching as Blade now was dragged into helping Memu much to her dismay.

    “After the situation with Dynablade though I wonder if people won’t service him,” she wondered aloud.

    Meta Knight crossed his arms. “There has only been one incident so far he has solved that wasn’t a direct cause from him. If Dedede continues to only send demon beasts after Kirby they will see him more as a liability than anything else.”

    Fumu frowned. “I guess so…I’m trying my best to keep him out of trouble but there’s not a lot of kids around his age either.” The two remained in silence after their small chat as preparations drew to a close.

    “Everyone get lined up on the balcony! We start in one minute,” Escargon called out to the room in a shrill voice. Though as he walked out to observe the benches down below his face turned more concerned. “Erm, that’s not good.”

    Although there were a few people down below, they were all busying themselves at the various refreshment tables. Sneaking a few things from there into their bags before slinking away. While others were more interested in looking around the gardens than paying any attention to what was about to begin at the balcony.

    Before long the appointed cannons went off and Waddle Dee’s blew into their trumpets to announce King Dedede’s entrance. An entrance watched by nobody even as Escargon announced it over a microphone. “Today, we celebrate the three-hundred-year enthronement of King Dedede. Pupupulands thirty-third ruler in line, the Great King Dedede!” Escargon finished as he fumbled with notes on his card.

    Dedede soon walked out from the shadows, arms folded behind his back and with a proud look on his face. Oblivious to his reception. He cleared his throat and took Escargon’s microphone as he began a practised speech with his eyes shut. “My poor loyal commoners, how gracious of you all to gather here on the day of my commemoration…” his speech tapered off as he peeled open one of his eyes.

    The only person sitting on the many wooden benches below was Kirby eating some snacks. He happily waved at Dedede as those stealing from the refreshment tables began to slowly make their exit. “Why is no one here!” Dedede swiftly turned his head to Escargon.

    “A-ah we advertised much better this time. We even gave them a refreshment table!” he explained without much avail.

    Memu looked disappointed. “Ah, I hoped my friend could have seen how I dressed today. Perhaps I’ll still visit them later,” she smiled to herself. 

    Fumu on the other hand looked quite pleased. “Well it’s no surprise people didn’t show up. There’s no evidence of your so-called royal line anywhere. Only the Pupupuland Tribe who originally owned the land,” Fumu explained in a haughty tone.

    “Even so! I am still Pupupuland’s most distinguished king!” he yelled, once again met by nobody. Though Kirby did look rather entertained.

-

    About a week had passed after Dedede’s celebration and he had been oddly quiet since then. That was a blessing and a curse for Fumu, as it meant two things. He was quiet but he was probably planning something. Either way, she had used that time free of his gaze to sneak Kirby into the library some more. Though it was easy to see he was growing quite restless being cooped up in there days at a time.

    But today was different, Curio was going out to a dig site today and offered to let Fumu and any others come. Usually, she was the only one to show up alongside her brother on occasion but he cared more about playing with a shovel than actually helping. 

    Today she was ready to get a bit dirty, wearing some khaki green shorts with large pockets and a jacket of a similar design. Underneath was a pink top and some hard leather boots she always wore when hiking. Kirby left his cardigan at home, alongside his sandals again. Though they had managed to get him a top that would fit with his wings, an open-back tank top that crossed at an x in the back which seemed to please him.

    As soon as they arrived Kirby and Bun became distracted with the tools Curio had left for them to use, next to playing around in the soft dirt of course. Meanwhile, she and Curio were busy digging through a wall. “Mr Curio, are you sure there’s anything left here still?” she asked as she rubbed off some dirt on her face.

    The man barely looked up as he looked at a small stone with a magnifying glass. “Indeed. Although the Pupupuland Tribe left a mark throughout the island they are found in higher quantity here. Look, this stone is a primitive stone left behind by them.” He held up the small stone, looking closer she could see it was jagged and pointed like a carved knife or spearhead.

    “Oh wow, wait! Let me grab my camera!” Fumu grabbed her bag and dug through it and pulled out her camera with a smile. “Stay right there and give me a pose!” She walked back with her camera as he held out the stone with a small smile.

    But as she walked back the dirt beneath her crumbled and she fell through a hole. Kirby and Bun looked over the hole giggling. “Bun! Kirby! Get back here!” she yelled at them and began to chase the two.

    “C’mon you two have been collecting trash all morning! I’m bored,” he laughed much to Fumu and Curio’s dismay.

    “But Bun…Though this may look like trash to you. It’s very important for youth to learn about history and examine it,” Curio tried to explain patiently. But the two were already climbing up rocks away from the dig site.

    Bun shrugged. “Not interested. Right, Kirby?” he replied looking over to the smaller boy.

    “Dirt’s fun!” Kirby replied, not understanding the conversation. 

    Fumu riled herself up, grabbing a short shovel nearby to chase them down with. “You’re missing the whole point of coming here!” she yelled at them. Only to then quickly fall through another trap in the dirt the two had dug earlier. Covered in dirt her face turned red with anger. “Ugh!” she huffed loudly and stabbed her shovel into the dirt. Only for a strange ringing sound to echo out.

    The noise caught everyone's attention and they were quick to gather around Fumu. “What was that?” Bun asked as he peered into the hole.

    Fumu was quick to turn to Curio, eyes filled with curiosity. “Mr Curio, do you know what this is?” 

    But as soon as he made eye contact with her he looked, nervous. “I-I don’t hear anything,” he replied, looking away. Ordinarily, Fumu would push, but the prospect of a new discovery was too poignant for her. And she simply chalked it up to his old age getting to his hearing.

    She began to dig like a demon, dirt flying up high nearly crushing the two boys standing a bit too close. “Whoa! What’s gotten into you?” Bun asked.

    “Help me dig! The both of you!” she shouted at them. The two of them began to pull away at the dirt with their hand. It wasn’t long until Kirby’s hands began to blister and he ran off to grab a pickaxe, though it was a bit heavy and he wasn’t able to dig very well with it.

    After about ten minutes of digging, they finally unearthed the mysterious source of the sound. It was a coffin cracked and built from stone. Bun looked a bit disturbed but Fumu was absolutely elated. Kirby did not know what it was.

    “We found it! There will be nothing to dispute this, evidence of an ancient civilisation!” Fumu cheered as she began to snap pictures of it. “I’ve got to tell everyone,” she announced as she ran off towards the village. The boys followed in pursuit, leaving Curio behind to stew in worry.

    Fumu’s announcement gathered quite an impressive crowd, various villagers had gathered around the coffin to look at it. Many of them even dropped their storefronts to see such a modern discovery.

    “So this is something left behind by our ancestors?... Wow,” Borum mumbled as he scratched his beard. “I wasn’t too convinced by all those pots and rocks Curio was showing around. But perhaps there really was an ancient tribe here.”

    Fumu smiled to herself seeing him finally show some interest in history. Everyone else seemed quite taken with the coffin too, though a few seemed a bit pensive at the morbid sight of a coffin. “Mr Curio’s hypothesis turned out to be true all along!” She smiled down at the older man, but his mood had not improved.

    “Then Dedede’s claims really were all phoney… Anyone up for a rebellion?” Kawasaki joked. Only to jolt once he heard the wheels of Dedede’s tank rolling over from the distance. Everyone was quick to part the crowd for him, giving him a full view of the coffin.

    “Well well, what have we got here? This fancy your interest more than a ceremony eh?” Dedede remarked snidely. 

    “Hmph, of course, we would. It was left behind by our ancestors after all,” Fumu explained with a pout. “Now we know it’s clear Pupupuland has always been owned by the Pupupuland Tribe.”

    Dedede smirked. “Have you even opened it? Bet you’re too scared to face the truth my family has been here for generations.” The king put his hands to his hips as he held his head high.

    “Well if you’re sooo insistent then open it yourself,” Fumu replied with a smug grin on her face.

    “Gladly!” Dedede replied as he lept from the tank, his hammer slung over his shoulder. His march towards the coffin was full of confidence as the hammer weighed more than any villager could ever hope to lift.

    With one mighty swing, he sent the heavy stone lid flying as if it was just cardboard to who knew where. And sitting inside the ancient coffin, delighted him to no end. Everyone was quick to gather in awe and Fumu’s smile quickly faded.

    There was a skeleton inside, as expected. But the size of it was comparable to Dedede’s than anything possible by someone on the island other than those who came from other countries. What’s more, there was an old torn hammer inside alongside the body similar to the design of Dedede’s own.

    “Oh my! It’s practically the spitting image of you! Your Majesty,” Escargon added as he strolled over, arms folded behind his back with a grin. The villagers amongst them chattered over this revelation as Fumu could only stare slack-jawed.

    “So… Does that mean King Dedede’s family created the ancient civilisation and not the tribe?” Kawasaki asked. Turning away so as to not stare at the skeleton for too long.

    Dedede let out a hearty laugh. “Of course! I did say so didn’t I?”

    “No that’s not possible!” Fumu attempted to argue back still, though her voice had wavered against the odds.

    “You’ve got your proof right here. No need to cry over spilt milk eh?” Dedede twirled the hammer around on his shoulder with a pleased smile plastered on his face.

    Escargon clapped his hands towards Curio, who had just been standing there in a state of shock for the last few minutes. “Well this is quite the discovery isn’t it Curio? Well done. Though perhaps you should call yourself a scholar of Dedede now.” 

    “Now, since I am such a benevolent King. I will allow you all to dig up whatever my ancestors have left behind. Anything you find shall be yours.” Dedede held his arms open as villagers began scrambling on their hands and knees or snatching up any equipment they could find.

    Fumu watched them all in horror, turning to Curio with a pleading look on her face. “Mr Curio, what does this all mean? Everything you researched…” her voice tapered off at the end.

    “It seems…I may have been wrong then this entire time,” he sighed with a tired look in his eyes. He watched quietly as the villagers made off with various artefacts with various symbols and carvings of Dedede.

-

    The news of Dedede’s ancestry was suspicious to Meta Knight. There had not been any sign of his family in the castle ever since he had arrived. From words of passing to even a portrait which was to be expected of any royal family. Ever since word had reached him he had poured a few hours into the library searching for any possible notes he may have missed long ago.

    Curio’s old books had mysteriously vanished, a shame seeing as they were donated by Fumu out of her wish for everyone to learn more about history. But that was not at the forefront of his attention currently.

    He had ventured into a deep corner of the library where dust had begun to pile up alongside waves of spiderwebs that draped over the bookshelves. He simply brushed them all away to dig through any old tattered book he could find.

    As he was flicking through one, however, something fell out from between the pages. An old tattered journal of sorts strung together by a thread. It was a very archaic design he hadn’t seen for a long time. The papers themselves felt as if they could crumble at any moment so he moved it to the small desk in the library.

    But as soon as he opened it he was met with text that was illegible. Some sort of old language most likely, though a quick flick through any books on that subject came up with nothing similar. Meta Knight frowned as he attempted searching through the higher shelves for any more books, cursing at the terrible organisation the library had.

    Suddenly, he heard the sounds of footsteps running through the hallway and he swiftly leapt from the bookshelf to hide the old journal in one of the desk drawers and cracked open the door slightly. Fumu was running down the halls with a determined look on her face.

    As she passed the library he slipped through the doors and quietly followed her in the shadows. Watching her as she ran through the village towards Curio’s museum, entirely expected from her from the events earlier in the day. Approaching in the dark he watched alongside her as the elderly man pulled out something wrapped in cloth and rope on a wagon into the night.

    Into the old dig site, he continued deep into the mountain that had been dug away at, even before the knight’s arrival. And deeper inside still, Curio had set up lights to begin digging into the wall. Crawling closer and closer to get a better look he saw a statue in a style similar to Dedede’s own appearance pulled out from under the cloth.

    He watched Fumu take out a camera with a distressed look on her face as she snapped various pictures of him moving the statue into the pit in the wall. Then, she fled. Likely with tears in her eyes at the revelation, Meta Knight only hoped that this wouldn’t put a damper on her will to learn. But there wasn’t much he could do now, and quietly slipped back to the castle.

    It was no surprise next morning he was greeted by a bang on the door and tales about how Dedede needed an escort for a celebration held for a new statue that had been found. Sword and Blade would handle any responsibilities of his while away as he sat in the back on Dedede’s tank cramped.

    The two of them dithered away about having another enthronement celebration due to all of Curio’s recent discoveries. Dedede’s approval rating had apparently spiked overnight due to everything that had been happening, it was likely to drop again if held his trust in Fumu to do what was right.

    She had always pressed him as to why he would work for someone like Dedede, of course, he had explained it to her now but it only seemed to bother her more. Truthfully his feelings on the king were mixed, there had been far crueller and evil people in power he had met on his journey and Dedede was nowhere close to them.

    Before Kirby arrived Dedede had been getting strange pets in the form of Demon Beasts that didn’t hold his attention long before needing a swift execution from him. They were dangerous to keep around the village unattended, but now due to Kirby, he started to order ones more designed for battle.

    His attitude had also changed somewhat ever since the boy arrived. He had always played his pranks on people and been a bit childish on occasion but usually, he would keep to himself. There had even been a few occasions where the both of them had shared some drinks and Meta Knight had found himself sorely outmatched by Dedede’s own abilities. Though Escargon only needed a sip to pass out on the floor cold.

    Though he never had cared much for the opinions of the villagers, on occasion he would look into what they thought of their own king. Many were neutral towards him, and a few disliked him for taxation but Curio’s arrival and discussion of history had apparently planted a seed of doubt in their minds.

    The claims of ruling for three hundred years were not too farfetched, Meta Knight himself outlived any civilisation on the star. But the truth of if his family had been doing the self-same thing was long to be known.

    Before long they arrived at the dig site and various Waddle Dees that had been sent earlier were preparing a stage inside of the mountain where it had been discovered. Meta Knight leapt out of the tank, thankful for the freedom granted after being cramped back there for a while. “I shall scout the perimeter, Your Majesty.”

    Escargon just shrugged at him. “Show off as always. Come now, Your Majesty.” Meta Knight ignored the two as he stepped inside before them. Retracing his steps from last night he arrived at the false statue and the crowd that surrounded it. Keeping to the shade he watched as Fumu dragged Curio away from it and into a nearby hole in the wall to talk.

    Right around then he watched Dedede and Escargon enter and approach the crowd who parted for him with big smiles on their faces. “Your Majesty! Look! We should call this the Dedede Statue.” One of the villagers commented to Dedede.

    The King laughed. “Of course, it’s perfect. Though where is Curio? We must congratulate him for such a discovery now.”

    “Hm, I think Fumu took him over there,” one of them replied as they pointed towards the direction they went. Dedede and Escargon exchanged brief smug looks before heading in the direction the villager pointed in. 

    Meta Knight followed not far behind and watched the both of them split up to pincer their location. He crouched by the shadows to listen in on their conversations.

    “All these fakes you’ve been making…If you can’t tell everyone the truth I will myself. But please take the photos and tell them yourself,” she begged Curio, voice teetering on the edge of tears.

    But as he heard their footsteps leaving Escargon spoke up. “Looks like we’ve got a rat here. You know a bit too much now.”

    Dedede cackled on the other side. “Can’t have you all screaming up the celebration now. Why don’t you stay quiet for a while?”

    There was the sound of a scuffle through the wall and the children’s voices were quickly muffled. “Well now, Professor Curio! It’s time to present to the crowd, they are waiting for you quite eagerly,” Escargon piped up, likely rubbing his hands together. The older men left as Meta Knight pressed close to the shadows, watching them leave. Curio’s posture was filled with guilt as crumpled photographs could be seen in his dirt-stained hands.

    As soon as they were out of sight he was quick to slip into the cave and saw the children’s eyes light up in hope as he approached. They had all been tied up and gagged with cloth to a rock. “Keep still,” he murmured as he took out his sword. With a few small cuts, he was able to free them and allow them to remove the cloth themselves.

    “Argh! That Dede-” Fumu began but she was quickly silenced by Meta Knight’s hand.

    “Shh, they might hear you,” he whispered.

    Fumu pushed his hand away with an annoyed look in her eyes. “Mr Curio was burying fakes this whole time. I felt something was wrong but…Why? Why would he do this?” She frowned, staring down at the floor.

    “...I do not have the answers for that. But his speech should begin soon. If he truly feels remorse he will confess. Come, I know a spot we can watch from above.” With a dramatic turn he began to walk away with his cape swaying with every motion.

    Kirby ran up to him, grabbing a handful of his cape making him freeze up. “Kirby! Don’t pull Meta Knight’s cape like that. It’s not very nice,” Fumu scolded him.

    He pouted and released it, allowing Meta Knight to continue walking with them to oversee Curio’s announcement. He had just begun his speech and the four of them watched carefully.

    “Erm…As you all may know. I have been working here for years researching and excavating the hidden histories of this land…” his voice tapered off. Guilt and worry were evident on his face. Fumu watched him with bated breath.

    “...A-All the things connected to Dedede’s family…” Sweat dripped down his forehead. “All those artefacts you all dug up, everything that shows the value of Dedede’s ancient civilisation…A-are a valuable…”

    His hands began to shake as Dedede and Escargon eyed him like prey. He began to squeeze the photographs in his hand. “They are not a valuable discovery! It’s all fake! I buried those in advance!”

    Escargon panicked. “Hey! Stop that!” But he was quickly pushed away by Curio.

    “I’ve spent my whole life researching and studying. It’s what makes me feel alive…But, it was getting harder to live with such a job and I was getting poor. Then, Dedede promised me I could take out emergency funds if I fabricated history for him. Even as I despised myself for it, I couldn’t afford to pass it by. If you do not believe this. Here! True hard evidence!” he spoke with his full heart as everyone’s mouths gaped in shock. Even as Escargon scrambled up to stop him, he was too late as Curio tossed the photographs into the crowd.

    Everyone was quick to divert their glares towards Dedede. “T-Those photos are the fake ones!”

    “You’re the fake one Dedede!” Fumu shouted from above. Standing up, rage boiling in her eyes as everyone's attention was drawn to them. 

    As if by a slip of the tongue Dedede only dug a worse hole for himself. “You all escaped!” Which earned him a quick turn of the head from Fumu and Bun’s parents.

    Meta Knight rose from the shadows, ropes of truth in his hands. “Quite immature of you Your Majesty. To imprison children who know your lies.” There was a quiet rage to his voice, one that echoed more than any other. 

    “Imprisoning children?” Buron turned to Dedede, his eyebrows knitted together.

    “To take advantage of Curio like that. You’ll never be a true king!” Fumu finished. The rest of the villagers joined in on her voice, yelling at the king as he boiled over with rage. 

    “If everyone is against me like this…I’ll show them true power! Come! Dedede Stone!” he threw his arm towards the stone dramatically. His robe swaying from the force of his body.

    The stone began to rumble. Wiggling about before its eyes turned white and began to grow larger and larger. Soon it was towering above the crowd before its head hit the ceiling and various debris began to fall, causing them to all scatter. Everyone started to run outside, as it was quickly causing the mountain to cave into itself.

    In the panic Kirby struggled to keep up, there was a bit of regret on his face for not wearing shoes as various rocks and stones dug into his feet. Turning around to check for any stragglers, Meta Knight saw him and ran towards him, scooping him up under his arm right as a large rock fell near them.

    As they ran out the stone had grown above the size of the mountain itself and began to glow, taking on more of a humanoid bipedal shape. It had a robe and hat much like Dedede though and its eyes glowed green instead. On the top were Escargon and Dedede, but they were far too high up to hear, not to mention the loud roars from the Dedede Stone.

    Meta Knight ran to Fumu and Bun who were hiding behind a rock as the stone began to walk. Dropping off Kirby the two looked up at him. “Have you seen Curio?” Fumu asked with worry.

    “No, I’ll go have a look.” Meta Knight left them and ran across the dig site, looking for any sign of the elderly man as the Demon Beast walked closer and closer. When he finally found him he was clutching a pickaxe, determination on his face.

    But as he ran to try and hit it he was knocked over by the force of its foot. Before Meta Knight could react though he could hear footsteps. “Mr Curio!” Fumu yelled as she and the other two ran towards them. But another footstep was quick to scatter them all.

    Fumu struggled to get up, the fall had scratched her arm against a rock but her body froze as she saw a shadow loom over her. “SIS!” Bun yelled as he watched in horror as the Dedede Stone’s foot hovered over her.

    Fast as lightning Meta Knight drew his blade and dove under the foot, catching it. His arms shuddered as he pressed against tonnes of weight as Fumu watched him shocked. “Run!” he yelled at her as she scrambled away.

    There wasn’t much else he could do, focusing purely on keeping his power into keeping the stone from taking another step. He couldn’t let anyone be hurt again. A stream of wind began to pull at his cape from behind, Kirby’s wind attempting to move the stone but it wouldn’t do anything.

    But he was losing strength, though his blade could not crack. His bones could. 

    “This is my responsibility!” Curio’s voice cut him out of his focus as the elderly man struck one of the feet with his pickaxe. It did little but nick a few stones from it. But perhaps that’s all they needed. Such stone from a demon beast contained enough power for Stone Kirby.

    With his power, Kirby knocked it over, freeing Meta Knight’s arms from the immense weight. It collapsed into the rocks behind it and Meta Knight ran after it, the safety of Dedede was still important after all.

    Kirby quickly cheered over the fallen Stone Dedede, his tails swishing with joy until a large stone hand climbed over him. As he jumped out of the way the other one caught him, trapping him between both hands.

    Meta Knight’s heart dropped as he watched the boy push against the hands attempting to crush him. But he had a job to do. “Your Majesty!” Meta Knight approached the rubble as Dedede pulled himself up from it.

    “Oi! Who’s side are you on?” Dedede growled with annoyance. Though he did not refuse Meta Knight’s assistance in unearthing them from the rubble and pulling them to safety much to Fumu’s dismay. As the three arrived to safety he saw the Warp Star twinkle towards them in the distance.

    Seeing it gave Kirby the strength to leap out from the stone hands, but forgot the weight that had been added to his body in stone form and began plummeting down to the ground. Thankfully the Warp Star caught him though. Allowing him to zip around the Dedede Stone as it attempted to swat at him. Once it started to slow down he flew up above it and turned his body into stone. Unable to handle all the weight, the Warp Star dropped him.

    Right through its entire body. Cracks began to form all over its body as Kirby landed below, leaving cracks in the ground. Thousands of bricks began to rain from the sky as Kirby poofed back to normal and began to run away from the rain. “Everyone, we need to evacuate!” Meta Knight ordered them all. Ushering them all away, though Dedede was too caught up in his loss to get away. 

    Once the final brick fell they were able to let out a sigh of relief. With a smile, Fumu looked over to Curio. “Look’s like they’re buried, maybe you should excavate them,” she joked.

    He let out a dry laugh. “No, I’m finished with fakes.”

    Meta Knight approached them as Bun attempted to call Kirby over with the promise of dinner. “Fumu, Curio. I would make a request.” The two looked at him with curiosity.

    “I discovered an old journal in the castle written in an ancient language. Would the both of you perhaps be interested in translating it for me? I would offer payment for your time.” Curio’s eyes practically brimmed over with tears at his request.

    “Yes of course! We can get to work as soon as we get our hands on it,” Fumu agreed.

    Meta Knight nodded in agreement. “It’s in one of the drawers in the castle library's desk. I’ll leave it to you both.” And with that he walked away, ignoring Kirby’s stares as he wondered to himself.

    'Could you recognise my cape, as impossible as it may be?'

Chapter Text

     Dawn had settled over the cosy country. The bright early morning sun bounced off the various red tiles and creamy yellow bricks of Dedede’s larger than life castle. Though it usually would be quite humid and warm, the slow foray into early winter did bring a slight morning chill to the tropics. Though not by much.

    And being that it was early morning, various servant’s bustled through the castle tending to the whims of their king. Which included the twins as they flew through the castle hallways together. Nearly crashing into a couple of Waddle Dee’s on their way to the throne room.

    “Sorry!” they both shouted in near unison as they nearly knocked the little servants off their feet.

    With a sharp turn, they burst through the throne room doors, nearly causing Dedede to spit out his morning tea Escargon was holding. “We apologise for being late, Your Majesty!” Lalala bowed. Lololo only held back a stifled yawn.

    “You two are late again by two minutes! It’s only six what on earth are you both doing?” Escargon scowled. 

    Dedede looked unbothered though, still sipping at his tea. “I need you to run an errand. Visit the fortune teller what’s her name…Marble, and fetch my daily fortune.” He crammed a jam-filled biscuit into his mouth afterwards, looking a bit more pleased with the sweet taste.

    There was a small pouch for the fortune’s fee which Lololo snatched up “Right away, come on sis.” Lalala nodded and the two began to speed off again.

    “Ah! Just a minute!” Escargon yelled, stopping them in their tracks. They turned and looked at the two curiously.

    “Lololo will stay here. His Majesty’s old shoulders have been aching as of late. As such he requires a shoulder massage,” Escargon explained. Dedede nodded wordlessly, ignoring the horrible cramp in his shoulders after the incident with Stone Dedede. 

    “B-But what about the errand?” Lalala asked, worry in her voice.

    “Well, you’ll do it yourself. You are old enough to do it just fine after all.”

    The twins exchanged a brief look before they held hands. 

    “We’re always together!” Lalala said.

    “We won’t do something separately,” Lololo finished.

    Dedede lowered his teacup. “So you’re only two acting as one then? What a waste of time.” He shrugged at the two. “It’s an order, and the two of you must obey it.”

    The two shook their heads in unison. “We’re not your servants. We belong to the Cabinet Minister,” Lololo argued.

    Dedede rose from his seat, setting the teacup on Escargon’s tray. “And you’re forgetting that everyone under this roof serves me. If you don’t like it, I’ll exile the two of you forever!”

    The twins clamped hands together, tension high in their shoulders. “N-No! We refuse!” Lalala yelled at them and the two whizzed through the large doors. Lalala was teary-eyed while Lololo was ready to make Dedede’s shoulders hurt forever. 

    “What should we do?” she asked timidly.

    “I’d say we get Dedede his fortune. The worst luck in the world! Come on we can chat to Mable about it,” Lololo explained as he grabbed her arm and the two flew down into the village.

    Mable was one of the most reliable people in the village, though many doubt the power of fortune-telling at first. Allowing themselves to speak with her brought a strange sense of calm to them.

    She was a short curved woman, with healthy light brown skin that stuck to a very important skincare routine. She wore a silken rich purple dress with short sleeves that wrapped around her body, across her arms and fingers were various golden bangles that chimed like bells. Her nails were freshly painted, a deep lilac that matched her lipstick and her eyes in the right light. Though she insisted they were simply just blue. Her hair was black and silky, running down the length of her back alongside an orange and purple veil that connected a purple crystal at the centre of her forehead. 

    “Mable!” the twins cried out as they flew through the curtains of her shop. The woman nearly fell off her chair as she was polishing her crystal ball in the early morning.

    “Careful! I just got this replaced. What’s gotten you two in a hurry like that?” she asked, voice laced with concern.

    Lololo wordlessly dropped the bag of money on her table. “The worst fortune ever for Dedede! Worse than all the ones when he refused to give you money!” he shouted. Mable rubbed her hands together with glee. From under her table, she snatched a deck of cards and spread them in front of her with deft precision.

    The twins watched in awe, the cards moved and appeared almost like magic. Snatching three in her hands she showed them to the twins. “This is Dedede’s true fortune today. It is moderately lucky, however!” She snatched the cards back together before shuffling them and removing three more evil-looking cards. 

    “Today even the gods themselves have cursed Dedede. The Great King’s fortune today. You must show restraint, do not allow yourself to be swayed by tongues that speak sweetly.”

    The twins stared at her. “Uhm…How is that a curse?” Lalala asked as Mable began to write up Dedede’s fortune.

    “He’s weak to being told what to not do. So he’s bound to embarrass himself. I’m not sure what happened today but make sure it hurts. Gotta pay him back for all the times he broke my crystal ball.” Mable punched her hand into her palm with a cheeky smile.

    “...Oh! We will do! Thank you Mable!” the two replied in unison. But as the two returned to the castle the weight of Dedede’s words from earlier weighed on them and they passed off Mable’s fortune to a nearby soldier.

    There wasn’t much for them to do now but float sorrowfully back home to explain everything that happened to Parm and Memu. The Fumu was sitting by the balcony when they arrived and sat to listen to them.

    “I can’t believe him…You two never separate, you’re really good twins you know that?” Fumu murmured as she leaned on the balcony.

    Behind the three they could hear the murmuring of the rest of the family. Bun causing trouble as usual. “I don’t want to study! I wanna go play with sis!” he argued against his mother.

    Memu put her hands to her hips with a scowl. “Don’t you act so spoilt to me young boy.” She was quite terrifying when angry which wasn’t as rare as one would expect. Parm was a pacifist and never liked getting angry, which often lead to him getting bossed around by her.

    “A-Ah come now Memu, there’s no need to be so harsh on him…” Parm commented as Bun looked at him with pleading eyes.

    “Absolutely not. You always go too easy on him. We’re parents we have to discipline them,” she explained as she crossed her arms. Bun kicked the floor in a huff as his father got scolded.

    “Ah…That reminds me. Do we have a mama? Or a papa?” Lalala wondered aloud as the three of them left the balcony and entered the living room. They were both a bit nervous about telling Parm and Memu about what happened, but curiosity always got the better of them.

    Yet Parm and Memu suddenly froze at hearing their words before letting out a dry chuckle. “Ah you were dropped off by a stork who lost their way,” Parm attempted to explain, his voice sounding a bit strained.

    “Whaaaat. That’s not what Fumu says happens,” Bun snidely remarked.

    Memu glared at him but her attention was quickly diverted by Fumu tugging at her dress. “Didn’t you two say you picked them up when I was a baby?” 

    “Ah well…We found them inside a piece of bamboo!” Parm replied much to Fumu’s annoyance.

    She crossed her arms and huffed. “Hmph. That’s not what Meta Knight says. He says babies are made in tubes. Besides, that’s a fairytale.” Parm and Memu glanced at each other in worry. What felt like a minute passed in silence before she began to move erratically.

    “Anyway! You all don’t need to worry about it. Hey, how about you all go out to play? Don’t worry about studying,” she explained as she pushed the children out of the door. Bun didn’t seem too worried about this, though Fumu and the twins were a lot more concerned.

    “Adults are so weird…” Lololo murmured as they watched her shut the door.

    “Oh…I was really hoping for an answer,” Lalala continued. She laced her fingers together with a sad look on her face.

    Fumu frowned at the two, but her face quickly lit up after thinking for a while. “Don’t worry about it, let’s go out and play for now. But we can always try and talk to Meta Knight later about it okay?” Her words seemed to cheer the two up a bit more and the group left.

-

    Behind them Parm and Memu had their ears pressed by the door, listening to their footsteps grow further and further away. “They’re gone…” Parm murmured as Memu let out a sigh of relief and slid down the door.

    Parm helped her up and the two walked outside to the balcony. A few toys still scattered the floor from earlier play but they paid no mind to it as they sat on a garden bench. Having a garden bench on a balcony derived of plants was always a strange irony to her, but any plants she tried to grow would just wither and die. 

    “I suppose we can’t hide it for much longer. But I wouldn’t know where to even start explaining it all.” Memu sighed as she leaned against the garden bench. Her mind began to drift to the past before Bun was even thought of.

    On a warm summer night, the two of them were sitting with Fumu when she was still a small baby in her pushchair. She was always uncomfortable when it came to sleep at that age, crying out constantly in the confines of her bedroom. But by the rushing waters of the castle fountains and the gentle chimes of her pushchair, putting her to sleep was near instant. It was a relief for their rather busy days.

    But on that very night as Fumu had fallen asleep they heard two cries from above as the twin fairies fell from a balcony above them. Dedede had dropped them from above, a reckless thing to do and one that would have terrified her. Yet they did not seem injured, as if they were not human.

    Two feeble little demon beasts. Though they had a child already they would take up the role of servants but it grew closer than that. Memu dressed and care for them as if they were her own children and the two played with the young Fumu as she grew.

    “I remember hearing from Dedede that they were from the demon beast Lola. Was it cruel of me to name them after that?” Parm reminisced.

    Memu only sighed. “I’m not sure. But I’m sure they would be heartbroken to find out. You’ve heard how everyone in the village speaks about demon beasts. I’m scared to think about what could happen to them if it were discovered.”

    “...We’ll just have to keep it a secret then. Forever,” Parm rose from the bench. A rare determined look in his eyes.

    “Lola…” The both of them froze as they heard a young familiar voice from behind them. Fools they were for not remembering that Kirby had slept over the night and was now gleefully running around that name on his tongue.

    “Lola! Lola!” he giggled happily as their skin turned cold. Wordlessly turning to her husband he ran inside as she approached the boy.

    “Kirby, can you come over here for me?” she asked. He eyed her curiously, like a bunny being led into a pit of carrots. “I have a snack for you,” she smiled as she took out a small wrapper from her pocket.

    His eyes gleamed as he ran towards it, only to get hoisted into the air by her as Parm dashed around a corner with a cloth. Thankfully it was clean and even smelt a bit nice though it left a bitter taste in Kirby’s mouth as they wrapped it around his mouth. 

    “My perfume rag honestly?” Memu sighed. As they dropped him down he looked around at the two, muffling something. They watched him until realising he wasn’t smart enough to take the cloth off himself.

    It was a wonder he got dressed in the morning.

    Though as they wondered to themselves in worry they heard the screams of Dedede and Escargon echoing from the throne room. Memu sighed “Ah, they’ve done something foolish again haven’t they?”

    Parm just shrugged “We’ll pretend the telly was on and we didn’t hear them. Now, Kirby. Can you do me a favour and forget the word ‘Lola’?” Parm asked with a smile.

    “...Lhola!” Kirby muffled back happily.

    Memu sighed again. “Oh, you’re impossible…Let’s send you back home. How about that.” Though she didn’t give him much of an option as she took him by the hand and began to drag him away.

    “Have a safe trip back!” she sang as she shut the door on the boy.

-

    Today felt like a joke. Perhaps they hadn’t woken up today yet still. Yes, it was all just one awful dream. Though as Lololo and Lalala pinched each other at the same time they only felt a sting on their cheeks.

    Tokkori came to the castle with another friend of his, Rick a hamster boy who was much like the bird. He had warm beige skin, there were also patches of white that surrounded his lips and eyes, as well as up his arm and over his knuckles and knees. He was also short and round like a hamster, with a small tail and little chestnut ears that blended in with his short scruffy hair. Much like others who lived in the forest like him, he wore a rustic long shirt and pants that were scratchy and handwoven.

    Just the two of them even bothering to show up at Dedede’s castle was odd in itself. Seeing their heads switched around was another layer of confusion they didn’t need today.

    “Uhm…So what’s going on?” Lalala asked, worried if she should even be asking that question in the first place.

    Bun grinned. “Ohhh I bet Dedede did something real sweet.”

    “Does any of this look sweet to you!” Tokkori snapped at the boy, putting his arms to his hips and pouting. Rick side-eyed both of the boys and rolled his eyes.

    Fumu walked closer to the two, eyeing them both closely. “A demon beast?” she asked. The two nodded firmly and she sighed. “Of course it was,” she shrugged with a frown tugging at her lips. 

    “Where’s Kirby? We need him to sort this out!” Rick demanded.

    “Right! He’s our local demon beast exterminator. Everyone in the village got affected too! All the sheep were running around with human bodies and vice versa.” Tokkori stamped his now shorter feet around in frustration. The others weren’t quite sure what to do, they must have forgotten Kirby back at home.

    But before she could ask one of the twins to go and look for him she spotted a familiar pink boy running towards them. Though she was less impressed seeing him so happily run around gagged by some cloth.

    “Honestly…I worry about him. Kirby! Over here!” Fumu waved over to the boy. He waved back and began to run towards him as Rick and Tokkori exchanged concerned glances.

    But before they could unite with the boy. “That’s him! Get him!” they all heard Dedede over the distance with his tank. And behind him was a strange four-legged demon beast with big red eyes and two staves. One was shaped like a sun and the other a crescent moon.

    Kirby stared at the demon beast running directly at him as all the others panicked. Yet as its moon staff swang down he rolled out the way before leaping over its body in a strange act of athleticism. Ordinarily, all the others would have cheered him for it, if not for him immediately crashing into Dedede’s tank.

    Taking advantage of this, it swung down at him once again. There was a brief flash, and instead of any injuries, there were four small toddlers on the floor. All of them looked exactly like Kirby. One still had pink hair, but the other three were red, yellow and green.

    Everyone, even the demon beast stared at the little pile in shock. “That…Wasn’t meant to happen,” it spoke up. 

    “It spoke!” Bun stumbled back. 

    “Demon beasts can speak?” Lololo rasped in shock. “Does that mean then…” His mind began to spin. Could they dream? Could they love or cry? But he did not have much more time to muse on that before Dedede started to run his mouth again.

    “Is that what happens when you split someone in half? I swear there should only be two of him then,” Dedede rambled.

    There was a strained look across Escargon’s face as he stared at the pile of Kirby’s. Likely imagining whatever horror that would occur if they were all to be split in half. The idea likely sent a few grey hairs through his head.

    “Again! Let’s see how small he can get!” At Dedede’s order, the demon beast raised its moon staff again and the twins panicked. With a short glance between the two, they flew over and grabbed two Kirby’s each. 

    Lololo turned around a stuck his tongue out at them. “We won’t let you! C’mon, Lalala!” he shouted as the two flew off towards the castle. 

    They knew the place like the back of their hands, since the very day they were given their names they explored every inch of the place they could. It wasn’t long until they began to rival Dedede in pranks across the castle. Such pranks long left behind in dusty corridors would be their protection today.

    Dedede often spent much of his time in the castle on the higher levels, only going down for filming. As such he rarely explored parts of the castle that had been built deep into the hill it resided on. Despite their questions, he didn’t appear to remember why it was even built like that. Or if they had even explored all of it.

    But such knowledge allowed the two to traverse its depths to throw the king and his servants off their trail. The six of them hid by some bannisters that overlooked crossing hallways as Dedede and Escargon wandered about shouting after them.

    As Lololo peered over he could see the demon beast following closely behind the two, also searching. For whatever reason, the sight of it sent a strange chill down his back, hardly unexpected though after seeing it divide Kirby into four.

    “Shhh, we’ve got to be quiet,” Lalala hushed the four babbling toddlers. They all looked at her confused as she smiled with worry in her eyes. “Thank you. Some mean people looking for us, so we’ve gotta be quiet, okay?” She patted each of them on the head.

    Lololo looked at all of them closely. “For now, why don’t we name them after their colour?” Lalala nodded in agreement as she joined him staring at Dedede from up high.

    “That demon beast feels really scary…A lot more than all the other ones before…” she murmured. As they watched its body spin around looking for them it suddenly stopped. And then peered up towards them freezing their blood solid. Both of them dropped back down, hoping that it didn’t spot them.

    “Yeah…It freaks me out too…And I’ve been thinking too. How it can talk and everything,” Lololo began to murmur. “Like, what if all demon beasts aren’t actually evil? Maybe we could even talk to them?”

    Lalala shook her head. “I was thinking about that too but…They don’t have hearts, they’re monsters. They’re only born to destroy aren’t they?”

    Lololo frowned and looked down the hallway, in the light, he could see the shadow of the demon beast climbing up the stairs. “Lalala…We need to split up.”

    “Huh!” she gasped aloud as he quickly covered her mouth. Moving her head to face down the hallway at the shadow.

    “If we’re caught together, who knows what will happen to Kirby? We don’t even know how to bring him back to normal yet. But if we can confuse the three of them I’m sure we can find a way to bring him back.” Lololo pumped his fists in determination at the idea of his plan.

    She nodded in agreement as she watched him pick up Green and Yellow. In turn, she picked up Pink and Red, tucking them under her arms as they wiggled a bit. “Sometimes we’ve got to be strong on our own too…” she whispered to herself for comfort.

    “I’ll go that way, Lalala,” he whispered as he floated towards the direction of the shadow that was growing in size now.

    But as he began to float away Lalala called out to him again. “Lololo!...Be careful, please…” she begged as the Kirby’s under her arm happily wiggled about.

    “Yeah…See you later,” he replied as he drifted through the hallway with a determined look on his face. Though he felt a weight on his back as Green started to chew on his arm. “Gotta be strong Lololo…” he mumbled to himself.

    “Ah! There they are, get them!” Dedede shouted as he ran up the staircase.

    “Over there too!” Escargon chimed in as he clambered up the stairs “Let’s split up after them!” he shouted as he began to chase after Lalala.

    Dedede and the demon beast chased after Lololo up the castle staircases. It was terrifying how they could even keep up that energy to chase him. Even he was feeling a bit tired from flying. 

    They passed by various Waddle Dees on their way up that watched in surprise at the strange chase but were quick to return to their chores from a quick glare from Dedede. It wasn’t long until he spotted the light of a balcony and made a quick turn towards it.

    He felt the wind rush in his face as he immediately retreated up to the roof above the balcony where he sat the two Kirby’s to allow him to breathe for a moment. Below them, Dedede and the demon beast walked onto the balcony and were looking around as Dedede barked more orders.

    Lololo sighed “We should be fine up here for a while.” At least that’s what he would have hoped for as Yellow was playing with his feet, and began to slowly roll down the roof with a silly grin on his face.

    He felt the blood rush out of his face as he dropped down to grab him with Green hanging off his arm. They stopped right behind Dedede’s back, the man seemingly sensed something though and began to look around erratically. All the while Lololo attempted to stay hidden behind him.

    As Dedede stopped though, Lololo looked up to make eye contact with the demon beast staring down at him. “Uh oh,” Lololo murmured as he swayed out the way when it began to swing down at the three of them. Only to strike Dedede instead. 

    Lololo sped away, only to turn and look at what happened to the king for a moment. He had been split in two instead, now much smaller but the two of him were now a girl and a boy. The girl had light ginger hair with a pink bow, while the boy was a dark teal. 

    He slipped behind a pillar as he watched the two Dedede’s panic. “Hey! Turn us back!” the both of them shouted in unison. The demon beast stared down at them and raised its sun staff as Lololo watched closely. Slapping the twin kings their bodies almost twirled together before becoming Dedede again.

    “It’s that how it works?...” he whispered.

    “Gotcha!” Escargon’s voice yelled out behind him as he attempted to grab the boy who easily manoeuvred out the way. Letting the man bash his head into the pillar behind him.

    As he sped through the hallway he quickly passed by Lalala who was quick to attract the attention of Dedede and the demon beast now instead. The chase quickly devolved into pure chaos as both groups began chasing each other.

    From hallway to hallway their aggressors constantly switched with each turn. It was almost like it came from one of the cartoons they watched on the television. It even chased them on the very edges of the balconies. 

    Eventually, they managed to hide behind one of Dedede’s various statues as he was walking around searching for them. At the perfect opportunity, they pushed the statue onto the man, knocking him out. They barely let out a sigh of relief before they were pincered by Escargon and the demon beast.

    “There’s nowhere to run,” it murmured as it bashed its staves together.

    “Get them KittariHatarri!” Escargon ordered it on as he stayed put by his side of the entryway.

    The twins stood between them and the Kirby’s, arms spread wide open to protect them. “Stay away from Kirby!” Lalala shouted as she felt Red start biting her ankle. Taking a small glimpse towards her twin she could see Green mimicking Red’s actions. If they were all some part of Kirby she worried about any teething that occurred after this.

    “Hmm? Ohh, I recognise you two. Lola wasn’t it?” KittariHatarri spoke up as it got a closer look at the two. The twins froze, staring up at those red eyes.

    The Kirby’s behind them lit up though, happily chanting. “Hlola!” The best they could with their developing voices. KittariHatarri nodded at this almost as if it approved of the Kirby’s words.

    “L-Lola? Who’s that?” Lololo asked, the feigned confidence in his voice waning. 

    KittariHatarri nearly laughed. “Both of you of course. I split you both in half a few years ago. Whenever a useless demon beast is born, they are split to increase profits by my crescent moon staff.”

    “Just like what happened with Dedede…B-But then that means…” Lololo’s voice trailed off.

    “We’re demon beasts,” Lalala spoke, there was little emotion in her voice as she stared down at her hands blankly. Lololo opened his mouth for any words to comfort his twin, but nothing came out. His throat was stuck shut.

    “...Lalala, we could become one again, I saw that sun staff can put people back together. We’re not twins or cousins. We’re one in the same. It doesn’t matter if we’re demon beasts! We could be together forever,” he attempted to comfort her. 

    Lalala looked into his eyes and replied. “I don’t want to…I want to be Lalala. I don’t want to be a monster.”

    A silence fell through the room as everyone stared at the two in silence. Pink tugged Lalala’s dress. “No Hlola?” he asked. In the distance, they could hear the echoing footsteps of the cabinet siblings with Rick and Tokkori finally catching up with them all.

    In the twin’s moment of shock, Escargon and Dedede crawled to grab one of the Kirby’s. Yellow squeaked as he was grabbed by Escargon and Red growled as he was taken by Dedede.

    Fumu ran over and kicked Escargon in the back of his legs to knock him over while the other three attempted to pile onto Dedede. “Oh no…We need to protect Kirby!” Lalala shouted as she rolled over to grab Green and Pink out the way of KittariHatari swinging his moon staff.

    “Dammit. Could have stayed like that for a few more seconds,” it grumbled. The twins stood on the pedestal the statue had been on originally both holding a Kirby each.

    “Then come and get us,” Lololo baited it on as they floated away when it jumped to grab them on the pedestal. But its legs were too large to stand there and swing its weapons around at the same time. 

    As it crashed to the floor, Lololo grabbed the sun staff with Yellow under his arm. “Lalala! This put Dedede back together, we can use it on Kirby!” he explained.

    “C’mon guy!” Fumu yelled at them as they ran through a narrow corridor that lead up to a battlement wall. Running up the spiral staircase was a tight squeeze for all of them with Tokkori and Rick dragging behind.

    “Aaah! The demon beast is back up!” Tokkori squeaked as the loud metallic footsteps of it could be heard echoing up the staircase. 

    Lololo dropped Yellow down before turning to all the others. “Put the Kirby’s together! Lalala help me with the staff!” She was quick to respond, sharing the weight of it with him creating a shadow over the four small Kirby’s.

    They felt a bit bad about smacking them over the head with it, but quickly they morphed back together and Kirby was back to normal. He even patted himself down curiously to see if his legs and arms were still in one piece.

    But this relief was short-lived as the two forest boys yelped as HittariKatari forced itself through the entryway. “Kirby! Suck it in!” Fumu shouted at the confused boy as they all ran away from it.

    He looked up to see the moon staff and narrowed his eyes in anger. In a sort of revenge, he targeted the pull of the wind to pull it out of HittariKatari’s hand specifically. “I can’t let you win…Take this!” It leapt up carried by the pull of the wind. Only for Kirby to stop it and let it crash to the floor in front of him with an evil smile on his face.

    Gripping the moon staff that fell from its hands he absorbed it, the staff turning into a white light before going into his hands. By flicking his wrists the light turned into yellow leather cuffs with long blades attached to the sides of each cuff. By touching his toes a pair of similarly yellow leather boots materialised with little wings decorating the sides. By patting his shoulders a short white denim jacket appeared alongside a yellow shirt and white shorts. Lastly, with a pat on the head, a yellow cap appeared with little eyes on the front with little wings on the back.

    “It’s a new ability!” Bun cheered before looking around. “Hmm…Meta Knight isn’t here either…” he grumbled.

    Fumu thought to herself for a bit before she snapped her fingers. “We’ll just name it ourselves then! Cutter Kirby!” she announced with excitement and vigour. 

    Kirby himself even seemed happy with the name, getting into a stance to fight as KittariHatari stood up again. The blades on his cuffs were detachable, by putting his arms together both hands could grab a blade each.

    He threw one which sliced through KittariHattari’s arm like butter, distracting the demon beast from a final blow to the main body which sliced it in half. The battle was over in a matter of seconds, a single blink and someone what have missed it. KittariHattari’s body fell to the floor in half, static electricity buzzing around it.

    “Huh…I expected more of a fight,” Bun grumbled.

    “But it means he’s learning, doesn’t it? He’s getting better at fighting now,” Fumu assured her brother.

    From behind him, Kirby heard a whistle grabbing his attention. Tokkori and Rick were still standing there with their bodies swapped. “Hey, Kirby! Before you go back to normal think you can fix this?” Tokkori asked, the two holding their hands together as if begging.

    Fumu picked up the sun staff that was left to lay nearby as Kirby caught one of his blades and held it in the light for the two. Their faces soured staring at the blade and unconsciously grabbed each other’s hands.

    “Alright now Kirby. Now!” Fumu shouted so him as she raised the sun staff over the two. Everyone squeezed their eyes shut as Kirby threw his blade and Fumu swung the staff down.

    Thankfully there were no injuries visible and Tokkori and Rick were back to normal. “Thank goodness!” Rick cheered as he squeezed Tokkori half to death in relief. Tokkori squawked loudly as he felt a bone in his back pop before going limp for a bit.

    “Lololo, Lalala? Do you both want to go back to normal?” Fumu asked the twins. Lalala looked unsure about it, and Lololo’s want for it appeared to have died down for the comfort of his other half.

    “We’re not sure right now…Maybe we can wait-” Lololo started before he heard a horrible screeching sound from HittariKatari’s body. Everyone watched in horror as it began to explode.

    “Everyone! Get down!” Fumu yelled as she grabbed Kirby and pulled him to the floor with the rest of them. The floor shook and a blast of heat rushed past them as it exploded behind them.

    And with that, the sun staff turned to dust. They all stared at the remains of it in silence as Kirby played around with the dust. Fumu sighed in relief. “Sorry, we couldn’t wait for your answers. Today has been so busy…Got to wonder what pushed Dedede to order a demon beast today.

    The twins looked a bit guilty. “Well…When he got angry with us earlier. We went to Mable and asked her for a bad fortune. She said he hates to be told what not to do,” Lololo awkwardly chuckled.

    Lalala laughed. “I wish we could have seen his reaction! I bet he easy so angry!” The two of them began to laugh together happily, content to be together again.

Chapter Text

    Winter had settled in the village, though being so tropical they hardly felt it. The air was still warm and flowers were growing in abundance as various birds fled from colder regions to nestle. Fumu and Curio were on a walk together, discussing the various changes in the environment of late.

    “This year has been especially green, Wispy must be in high spirits,” he commented as he analysed a small flower growing in the cracks of a bridge. 

    Fumu looked at him curiously. “Whispy? Isn’t that the name of the forest we can’t enter? Why would it be happy to make all the flowers grow?” she asked.

    “Ah, well it was just an old story I read about. While looking for ways to translate that journal Meta Knight gave me I have found many more old stories lost to time. One of which tells of Whispy Woods, the ruler of the woods. It’s said when he’s in good spirits, nature blossoms in Pupupu Land.” He of course had no real way of proving it, more than likely it was a tale spun to keep children from bothering the balance of nature.

    She listened quite contently to Curio’s story. “I wonder then what is in the forest…I’d love to go in there someday and observe the fauna.” When she was very young she had ventured close to the edge of the woods before being whisked away by an adult. But in those brief moments, she was able to stare deep into the wood’s abyss. Intertwining roots covered the floor with various plants nestled amongst them. Curio had speculated the woods were so wild and abundant in trees that they blocked out the sun.

    “Is it like that with Babagahara? I know some of the adults investigated it before I was born,” she asked inquisitively.

    Curio hummed in thought. “I remember that actually, I had just arrived around the time they were exploring it. Two people never returned from that trip in fact…Thankfully there are no monsters in Whispy Woods that could leave.”

    “What! I knew it was dangerous but I didn’t hear about that!” Fumu gasped.

    “It’s best to not worry so many people. There is a river stopping them from crossing over but if everyone was to hear of it there would be panic. As long as you steer clear of it you’ll be fine and it’s highly unlikely you’ll accidentally wander into it either.” Curio pulled out some equipment from his bag as he talked to measure the acidity of the nearby river.

    Fumu watched him carefully before asking a question. “Mr Curio? Has there been anyone who’s gone missing in Whispy-”

    “Hey sis!” Bun’s voice could be heard calling out to her from the distance, cutting off her question. He was running towards them alongside Kirby who was walking at a more leisurely pace to look at some flowers.

    “What is it? I’m not getting you out of trouble this time,” she crossed her arms.

    Bun pouted. “Peh, I’m not in trouble this time. But there is trouble in the village! Dedede just closed off a huge chunk of space with a bunch of construction equipment.”

    “With or without a permit?” Curio chimed in.

    “Dunno what that is. But everyone’s gathering around it!” he explained. Curio and Fumu approached him with a dusting of concern across their faces. The next few days were sure to be long and tedious.

    When they arrived at the site Bun told them about, a large sign at the front read ‘Keep out. DDD factory’. Behind it, various Waddle Dees in vests, helmets, and goggles were cutting down nearby trees or carrying construction equipment. It was quite rare for the village to see Waddle Dees in person, so a lot of them were watching them closely like an ant hill.

    “A factory…I think I read about this before,” Fumu murmured. Her murmuring attracted the attention of Tago, the local shopkeeper. He was a rather tall slim man with beige skin and dark blonde hair who was in his early thirties. In the rush to investigate he had arrived in his uniform, wearing a white shirt and jeans under a light green apron and cap that had suns on it.

    “What were they again? I think I’ve heard of them before,” he commented to her.

    Fumu hummed in thought for a moment. “Well from what I read. It’s a place that creates things. It’s very big and can make more stuff than one person could make alone.”

    Len looked delighted by that news. “Oh really? Then I’m sure it could revitalize the village economy. Our traders will be quite busy once it’s built.”

    As they were chatting, Dedede and Escargon drove over in their tank, looking pleased as ever with a megaphone. Dedede quickly cleared his throat with the megaphone on before speaking. “All my commoners, I have an announcement. We are on the edge of an industrial revolution in our poor country!”

    Everyone chatted amongst each other in confusion at his words, quieting down as Escargon was passed the megaphone. “As of tomorrow, you’ll never have to pick up a fishing net or farming hoe ever again! Better yet, washing laundry, sweeping the floor or keeping cool with a fan!-”

    Dedede snatched it back out of his hand. “When you wake up to the call of the siren tomorrow. You will all be whisked to a new world!” The two of them cackled together as everyone else murmured amongst themselves. Quite a lot of them were taken by it though a small few were less than impressed.

    “Over there are your uniforms. You’ll only be allowed inside if you wear these! Think of them as a magic ticket,” Escargon explained as he stole the megaphone back. Off to the side was a pile of boxes with baggy tops and bottoms coloured puke green and a bruised purple with Dedede’s logo plastered on the front. They were hideous, at least to Fumu.

    They all came in all sorts of sizes and people were quite taken with them. Though to her, they looked like the black and white stripes of criminals on the police station’s pamphlets. “These look like prison uniforms…” Fumu scowled.

    “Aw, it doesn’t seem that bad now sis. If we wear these they must let us into the factory. I bet it’s gonna be fun, right Kirby?” Bun peered over to the boy as he grabbed another pair to get for Lololo and Lalala.

    Kirby was attempting to fit a shirt too large for him over his head. “Prisons fun?” he asked muffled under the shirt. Bourn gave him a quick glance and raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say a word to the boy.

    “Your Majesty! If you don’t mind, what exactly do we get out of this factory?” Mayor Len asked.

    “More materials for something like that car of yours. Washing machines and vacuum machines will make laundry and sweeping a thing of the past!” Dedede brashly announced to everyone’s amazement.

    They were all quite taken aback by the king’s generosity once again. Though Fumu could see right through the trick. They were always like this, perhaps it was no wonder there had been no rebellion yet.

    “The factory shall open its doors tomorrow! You’d all best be there,” Escargon cackled before driving away with Dedede who joined in with a hearty laugh. While everyone was quite content to try on the shirts Dedede gave them, Fumu watched them drive away with a scowl on her face.

    “C’mon sis it’s not too bad after all,” Bun commented as he pulled his head through the work shirt. His hair on the other end came out messier than Tokkori’s old bird’s nest.

    Kirby was busy attempting to pull the shirt over his wings, puffing his cheeks at how uncomfortable it felt trapping them. “Snippy snip?” he asked Fumu as he pulled at the hem of her dress.

    “No, we’re not making holes in the back. You shouldn’t fall for Dedede’s tricks in the first place! Come on take it off,” she told him as she held out her hand. Kirby pulled away from her with a whine refusing to take it off.

    “Dedede is just being as weird as usual. It’ll pass over,” Bun laughed as he snuck behind Kirby. Grabbing the flimsy material he made a large hole in the back for Kirby to stick his wings through.

    Kirby twirled around excitedly much to Fumu’s dismay. “Dedede is exactly why I’m worried,” she sighed and watched as everyone grabbed as many uniforms as they could grab.

    Her worry made it difficult to sleep that night, and neither did the screams of the factory’s siren help as it woke her up that morning. She practically scrambled out of bed onto the balcony next to her mother and father to look down at the newly constructed factory.

    It was a heap of metal pipes and various boilers with a thick brick fence decorated by massive cogs. From the pipes rose a disgusting dark smog that was slowly consuming the sky above the village with a smell that made Fumu’s nose contort. 

    “Hmm…I wonder what they sell there,” Memu murmured as she covered her nose with her fan. Bun and the twins joined them on the balcony alongside their father as well.

    Bun and the twins looked down at the factory with amazement. “Ohh it looks so cool! Let’s go sis!” he turned to his sister excitedly.

    Fumu didn’t return that joy. “Bun, don’t forget it’s probably some trap made by Dedede. Just look at all that smoke!” She raised her hands dramatically to point at it all but Bun didn’t seem too bothered.

    “We’ll probably get used to the smell just like with Kawasaki’s restaurant. C’mon, I bet everyone’s already inside!” He dashed off to grab his uniform with the twins much to her dismay.

    “Mama, papa. Should we really let them run off like that?” she asked.

    “Hmm…Well if they let children inside it shouldn’t be dangerous…” her father stammered much to her annoyance. Fumu could only groan in frustration as she ran off after her brother, leaving her parents rather confused.

    In front of the factory, gates were practically half of the village all wearing the uniforms provided to them by Dedede. Fumu noted those missing were largely elderly folk and many mothers. But mostly she noticed that the only children that showed up were Kirby, herself, her brother and the twins. 

    “I’m surprised the others didn’t show up. Not that I would want them to,” she commented to Bun as she found him in the crowd.

    “Oh, Hohhe has a cold. Honey and Iro didn’t come because apparently, Honey found the place ‘Too scary’,” he snorted. She shot him a glare for mocking the girl but her attention was quickly taken by the adults yelling at Escargon who had walked out.

    “Open up already!” Tago yelled. “I closed my store today for this!”

    “So did I! I’ve got the uniform on right and everything! Don’t break your promises,” Kawasaki added as he happily spun around to show it off.

    Escargon tutted and sauntered over to the gates with a large key in hand. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll open up the gates now,” he mumbled as he fumbled with the keys. At the click of the lock, the gate was practically swarmed by everyone as they pushed their way towards the factory.

    The snide man slipped to the side with an evil cackle. “Leave it to them to mistake this for a sale. Dedede, they’re making their way in,” he spoke into a small device.

    Inside the factory was a vast wide room made of smooth metal, if waxed one could very easily slip across the whole room. Various ladders and railings marked various other floors in the room and a staircase that lead to a floor below at the centre of the room.

    To each side were long conveyor belts with a large TV that overlooked both sides. On the walls there were no belts there were exposed gears and machinery none of the villagers could even begin to comprehend, let alone the power of the massive flaming boiler at the very back of the room.

    “Wooow…I’m quite taken aback by this all. Dedede really knows how to impress,” Len commented as he examined himself in the reflection of the metal floor. Adjusting his top hat and moustache.

    The TV screens flickered on to display a video of Dedede in monochrome. He was sitting in some sort of office with his arms crossed and a large grin on his face. “Welcome to the Dedede Factory! The place where your wildest dreams come true.”

    Borum raised his hand. “Exactly how do we start?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

    “First off. We start the steam engine!” With the press of a button, Dedede started up the engine. Various pipes began to steam and pumps started to move which in turn turned the cogs which then started the conveyer belts.

    Everyone was watching in awe at such technology as Escargon slipped past them all to stand at the centre of the room. “Now, everyone line up in front of the conveyer belts. Don’t push there’s enough space for everyone.”

    Despite his words, they all pushed their way towards the belts, nearly trampling Kirby in the process causing Fumu to panic and hold the boy close. “They’re more riled up than usual this time…” she murmured.

    Everyone lined up and rummaged through the boxes that were underneath the conveyor belts. Inside were some tools, wrenches and a hammer with a stake to hammer with.

    “Now, it’ll be a very simple process. Just tighten the screws, and then strike them in. Isn’t it just like a game?” Escargon explained as they all picked up their tools. “There’s a rhythm to it you see, try and get into that.”

    With his words they all repeated the process he explained quite messily. Bolts were left unscrewed and thumbs were accidentally pounded by hammers. But with each mistake, they were motivated even more to do it better on the next piece.

    Despite the various blisters that had begun to form on their fingers, the kids were not deterred. “C’mon let us join! It’s not fair if all the adults are allowed the fun.” Bun ran over to a conveyor belt with the others.

    “Hey! Don’t interrupt them! If you’re so insistent then there’s a free spot over there,” Escargon scolded them before promptly setting them in front of a belt of their own. They mimicked the adults rather quickly much to Fumu’s dismay.

    “Everyone you need to go home! This ‘game’ looks dangerous,” she argued with them.

    Bun only laughed at her. “No, it isn’t! Heck you should even try it out sis.”

    She boiled over and ran over to Escargon who had an evil smirk on his face. “Children shouldn’t be allowed in here. You should have kicked them out!”

    “Working? They’re only playing. You wouldn’t deprive them of playtime now would you?” he sneered back at her.

    She glared at the man, but couldn’t bring herself to say anything else or risk being kicked out herself. The cogs turned and the workforce powered on through the day even as their arms began to ache. Toxic miasma continued to spew out from its various pipes outside, blocking out the sun itself. As the clock turned to lunchtime everyone’s eyes had glazed over and the small amount of chatter that had fluttered about had died as they worked in the silence of the machines.

    “Bun, everyone. Come home it’s time for lunch,” Fumu spoke up in the silence. But her words were largely ignored as he continued to work like a zombie. “Hey! What’s with that blank face? You look like you’re possessed by something.

    He only hummed in reply. “Oh, really? Cool. Whatever, this is fun.” She scowled at him and returned to watching the clock tick. It was a lot nicer than slowly watching everyone’s faces grow blanker as the minutes ticked. 

All of them but Kirby.

Oddly enough his eyes had not glazed over at all, they remained bright and joyous as ever. While everyone did their tasks with the enthusiasm of a robot he was still moving actively with a big smile on his face. He was probably the only one in the room who found the task truly fun.

It wouldn’t take long though for everyone to find their voices again as lunch passed. “Ahh…I’m hungry…” Tago complained barely looking up from his task.

    “Mr Escargon, can we go and get lunch?” Mable asked with a sigh.

    “Absolutely not! Efficiency will- Ah I mean why should you leave when you’re having so much fun? Especially when we can feed you ourselves!” With a smile, he introduced multiple robots into the room.

    Fumu turned her head in shock. “They can’t even stop for a break? This is illegal! Borum!” But the police officer was deaf to her comments.

    “Relax. They’re getting a free meal after all. Today’s menu is corn on the cob, some pea soup and a cup of coffee.” All the robots came with three arms shaped like tables that reminded Fumu of a lazy Susan table. Two arms would feed you while the fourth wiped your mouth for you.

    Each one stopped in front of a person and rose up above the conveyer belt to allow them to keep on working. “Hmm, it’s better than Kawasaki’s,” Len murmured as he chewed on a bit of corn.

    “That’s mean of you…” Kawasaki whined like a kicked dog. Though they were all in silent agreement that it was quite useful to eat and work at the same time.

    Kirby wasn’t too happy, however. All the tables were flying past him. “Noo…” he whined and stomped his foot. As if sensing his impatience or perhaps programming set to target the boy multiple tables swarmed him.

    Piles of corn were dropped onto his head which would be rather annoying if it wasn’t for the quick fear of the cups of coffee and soup bowls that started to drip above him. The hot liquid barely grazed the boy before he lept away and onto the conveyor belt much to the annoyance of others.

    And straight into the mouth end of the conveyer belt.

    Fumu could barely look. “Escargon! You have to stop the machine! He’ll get crushed!” she pleaded to no avail.

    “Sorry about that. We can’t afford to stop now. He should have known better,” Escargon huffed. He gave the girl a nonchalant shrug and she grit her teeth at him.

    Dedede’s screen turned back on as he observed the scene to give his final declaration. “Kirby will be a necessary sacrifice for the growth of our Industrial Revolution. That everyone should follow health and safety procedures,” he cackled.

    “No!” she yelled and ran for a large red lever. Escargon’s panic was enough to convince her to push it.

    “She’s going to turn off the engine! Stop her!” Dedede’s voice rang out, only pushing her to do it further. Everyone’s heads shot up at the yelling and turned to look at her as the machines slowed down and stopped.

    “Kirby are you safe?” she asked as she pulled the boy out before he could get sucked into the machinery. His knuckles did get caught on something though, they were a sore red with a thin line of cut skin that lay across them.

    “Stings…” he quietly whined as she checked them. Thankfully he didn’t lose any fingers. Though if left for much longer there was a chance.

    Escargon stomped over to the two. “Stopping the engine like that is dangerous! Think of the economy! Do something like that again and you’ll both be exiled!” His words rang out and echoed through the metal walls.

    “We’re leaving anyway! Let’s go, everyone! There’ll be no benefit working like this!” she pleaded with them. Only to gain cloudy glares in response.

    “Ugh, we’re trying to enjoy ourselves here!” Tago yelled at her.

    “That’s right, just leave us be,” Mable added.

    Borum and Len nodded their heads. “Get out if you’re going to keep complaining,” Borum scolded the two. Each of their words was slurred and messy as if their brains were struggling to connect to their mouths.

    Escargon only clapped his hands proudly at them. “That’s right. Now, start the engine back up!” he ordered. Fumu watched in disbelief as someone pulled the lever back on and everyone got back to work.

    With Kirby in hand, she took him outside, taking the baggy uniform off him before they left. The gates closed harshly behind them as they stared up at the sky, a volcano of poison had turned it a dark ugly purple. Kirby tugged at her dress. “Where sun?” he asked with round eyes.

    “Uhm…The smoke from the factory has blocked it out. Sorry I don’t think we’ll get to see the sun for a long time,” she explained and he frowned. The two of them sat out there for a while, Fumu briefly left to grab some bandages for his cuts but other than that not much happened.

    She was considering making it back home as the smell of the smog was starting to get to her the siren went off again and the gates opened back open. Everyone streamed through the gates with various new gadgets in hand. From rice cookers and blenders to hoovers and washing machines. Though they would indeed be nicer to have, the labour to make them had left their arms drooping and their eyes saggy.

    “You all worked for twelve hours! How are you all still so happy?” she asked. But her words were ignored by their joy as Bun passed by her with a fan and a hoover.

    He looked over at her with a big smile “Don’t you think mama and papa will be happy?” Lololo and Lalala also joined him, carrying a toaster and a lamp each.

    There was no way she would be able to get through to them from gifts like that. And as soon as the siren had stopped, it started again and a new wave of people was walking through the gates.

    “What’s going on? It’s the evening!” she exclaimed.

    “Oh, Escargon said we’ll switch between day and night shifts. So things are always being made!” he explained and her heart dropped.

    She ran to the gates and began to shout. “We don’t know what this factory is truly creating! Do you want your blood and sweat used for evil?” But her calls were replied with a chunk of mud thrown at her face and the downpour of rain.

    The water dripped down her face as Kirby tried to call out to her. From above, an umbrella was held over the two and she turned to see Curio standing there with one.

    “Mr Curio…You’re on our side?” she asked.

    He nodded. “Yes but…You won’t get far yelling like that I’m afraid. It’s useless.”

    “Why?”

    “The many outweigh the few. Your voice is a small one that they’re fast to doubt without proof. Right now though, I’m worried about this rain. Look.” He pointed at the floor, the puddles were dark and oily like a warped rainbow.

    He knelt down with some water testing supplies, sucking up the black rain into a tube. “Come with me back to my home, I want to test something.”

    Their walk back to Curio’s home was silent. People passed them by like zombies heeding the call of the factory as the rain stained Kirby’s pure white wings with dirty blotches of black, like ink spilt on a paper.

    In the warmth of his home, Fumu rubbed her face and the boy’s wings with a towel. An odd stench was left in the towel once she finished with Kirby, stains still remaining on the tips of the feathers. She’d have to replace this towel for Curio later.

    “How is it looking Mr Curio?” Fumu asked as she walked over to him. His desk was covered in various pieces of chemistry equipment. The man held fragile glasses in his hands as he glanced over at Fumu.

    “Shouldn’t be much longer. While you wait, over there are some of the notes I’ve been making while translating Whispy’s story. Maybe Kirby will like them.” She nodded in agreement and left the man to his work.

    At the front of the book was a sketch of Curio’s interpretation of Whispy Woods, a grand tree draped in vines whose roots melted into the ground. “Kirby, would you like to learn about Whispy Woods?”

    The boy nodded, looking at the book curiously.

Once upon a time. Hundreds of years ago.

The land was growing and the people were flourishing.

But, they needed more houses. So they chopped a few trees.

They got hungry, so they took some fruit.

It was too sweet, so they took some fish.

They were full, but they kept on taking.

They chopped more trees.

Ate trees bare of their fruit.

And fished the rivers dry of any fish.

After that, they were too hungry to keep moving.

A great warrior agreed to enter a monster infested forest.

Once free of monsters they could continue to harvest.

But as he entered, there was not a monster in sight.

The warrior confused, turned to a large tree.

‘Why are there no monsters here? Is it not dangerous?’

The tree looked down at him.

‘You are mistaken. The monsters are outside, not here’

‘My name is Whispy Woods. I protect the forest, and you’ll have to get past me.’

The tree prepared to fight the warrior.

But the warrior backed down.

‘You say there are monsters? Who?’

Whispy Woods looked at the warrior angrily.

‘The people have dried the land and killed it. And they will kill me.’

‘But I can repair the land. Only if they make me a promise.’

‘To find a balance in nature. To not take more than they need.’

The warrior agreed to the tree’s words and returned.

It was sworn that they would never step inside of the woods.

And that they would never take more than they needed.

Now friends with the warrior, Whispy Woods cast a spell.

Restoring nature and balance to the land once again.

    “Whispy good?” he asked Fumu once she finished.

    “Yeah, I’d say so. He did restore everything back to normal. But it’s only a fairytale. The real woods are so thick and deep that you easily lose your way.” He frowned at her words as she left the book next to him to check on Curio’s progress.

    If Whispy Woods could get everything back to normal again once. Surely he could do it twice? He looked through the window at the dark sky as the rain rotted away all the grass by Curio’s house. He had an idea.

    “How is it looking?” Fumu asked Curio.

    The man’s brow furrowed as the water in the beaker turned a bright red. “There’s a large amount of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide in this rainwater. It is highly acidic! I dread to think of what damage this must be doing to the environment.”

    “What! That’s awful, we need to check. Kirby stay he-” She turned to see the door had just shut with a small feather left on the floor. Fumu’s heart dropped.

    Without listening to a word that Curio had to say she chased after Kirby, weaving in and out of the zombified villagers in the rain. But her legs soon grounded her to a stop as she took in the open fields before her. Everything was dead. The grass was a dark sickly brown and the waters were clouded and empty of any fish.

    Kirby was nowhere to be seen now, vanishing into the shadows of Whispy Woods. “Kirby!” she called for him only to be met with the silence of the rain.

    “Fumu…” The girl turned around. Meta Knight was standing there with an umbrella of his own and looked up at the sky. “Rain that kills plant life…Acid rain,” he murmured as he held a hand out to it, the droplets staining his gloves.

    “Acid rain? Is that what it’s called? Where does it come from?” she asked. Walking over to the man who held his umbrella out to shield her from the rain.

    He turned to face the factory in the distance. “All the smoke contains toxic substances in the air. It’s commonplace in cities where industries are prevalent with factories. Though it’s not often it happens this fast,” he explained.

    “You knew? But then why didn’t you try and stop it?” she shouted at him.

    Meta Knight remained calm. “They would never learn a lesson unless something precious was taken from them. People are foolish Fumu, they rarely listen to reason.” His words were chilling and sharp, but they rang true.

    “You’re so cold…But you’re also right…They won’t even look for a minute at how bad things are getting.” Fumu covered her arms with a frown as the air grew chill.

    “Fumu…I don’t believe that factory was only made for goods. I plan on investigating it tonight, but I will not bring a stop to anything until you can cut the fools out of it. Until then, I would suggest you rest,” he explained, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword.

    Her eyes dropped. “I guess so…But Kirby! He ran into the woods!” Fumu panicked, remembering what happened earlier.

    Meta Knight held her shoulder to stop her from running. “If you enter you’ll become lost yourself. Trust him, he’s innocent the woods can’t hurt him.”

    “How do you know!”

    “Those woods aren’t normal. Trust me.”

    Fumu sighed as Meta Knight handed his umbrella over to her in silence. She turned to look back at the woods once more before beginning her slow walk home.

-

    The dark rain dripped down between the trees slowly rotting them away. Each one groaned as if in pain, echoing through the darkness which spooked Kirby. He hid in the shelter of the leaves from the rain, the droplets that fell onto the earth turned black amongst the healthy earth that surrounded it.

    “So dark…” the boy murmured as he stared up between the leaves. A chill blew towards him from the centre of the forest, perhaps that’s where Whispy was. He continued walking, twigs and rocks digging into his feet forcing him to sit down for a break.

    There was a clearing with a large apple tree at the centre that gave enough shelter from the rain for him to rest for a while. His arms still ached from the factory earlier, though his knuckles still stung mostly from earlier. Kirby curled his legs up and sat under the tree, quietly humming to himself to pass the time.

    An apple dropped down next to him, surprising the boy. It looked perfectly red and ripe, too good to pass up. He snatched it up, happily chewing at the sweetness after barely eating anything all day. Halfway through the apple, another one fell. And then another.

    With a blink, he was flooded by apples. A few of them even whacked him on the head which wasn’t nice. He rather effortlessly wiggled around surrounded by endless snacks in a weak effort to get out.

    “Wanna nap,” he huffed as he climbed on top of the pile. “No no…Whispy first,” he assured himself. Pumping his fists much like how Bun would before doing something reckless.

    As he tried to climb down the sea of apples, however, his body was snatched from the ground and held high. He squeaked in surprise as he felt a hard vine around his waist. It was rough like bark but flexible like a root.

    “You dare to trespass in my forest boy? As we wither and die do you have no shame?” An angry voice echoed out in the darkness, scolding Kirby.

    Kirby wiggled in the vine’s grip as it held him upside down, giving him a view of an angry face on the apple tree with a snapped branch acting as the nose. “Ohh..Do you, you know Whispy?” His words struggled, usually, he let people do the talking for him. Sentences were still quite difficult for him.

    “I am Whispy Woods. Guardian of the forest,” he replied, a scowl creasing in his hollowed eyes. “Why has a child entered my domain? Especially one from the stars?”

    “Stars? How?”

    “You do not carry the same scent as those born in this land.”

    That made him wonder if he smelt weird. But that wasn’t important right now as rain dripped down his face, leaving inky marks down his peachy cheeks. “Bad rain! Shory said Whispy save everything,” Kirby attempted to explain only to anger the tree even more.

    “You’d dare ask for my help after destroying everything?” he roared. Only for his face to fall and his vines to weaken, allowing Kirby to fall to the floor with a loud crash. “I feel myself slipping away…Even if I were to restore balance you’d only rot it again again.”

    Kirby climbed to his feet. “Big fac…Fachctory making bad rain! When gone can you fix?” Kirby pleaded with the tree again. Perhaps it would have been better if he brought Fumu along.

    “A child destroying a factory? You overestimate yourself boy. Return home and think of what your village has done.”

    Kirby shook his head. “No no! Wanna help! See flowers like warrior in story!” he exclaimed, stomping his foot in a huff. His words appeared to strike something in Whispy as the tree finally went quiet, choosing to only peer up at the sky.

    “Then be quick about it,” he replied before his face vanished back into the wood. Leaving the clearing in silence as the rain finally began to die down and the moon waxed from behind a thick layer of toxic cloud.

    It took a while for him to retrace his steps, but miraculously he managed to make his way out of the woods all on his own. Tokkori had complained about how much of a maze it was previously but he hadn’t paid much mind back then. He was too busy watching TV.

    Dedede was spending all his time at the factory now though, which meant he could run around the castle to his heart's content. Even if he knew his way to Fumu’s home it was still fun to wander around. Even the Waddle Dees looked higher in spirits being free for a day.

    It was the middle of the night now, but usually, Parm would be awake still with a bunch of papers. The man looked a bit exasperated by Kirby’s frequent invasions, especially in the messy state he was in right now and directed him to use the bath.

    Baths were much nicer than the small pond he’d wash in outside his house, especially on days it rained. Fumu said he needed to be more careful when it rains or he could catch a cold. But he was already cold when bathing like that.

    Memu had taught him about shampoo and soaps. They got in his eyes quite easily. But they made his hair fluffy at least if he could remember which one was which. He had always been quite curious about how they must taste though. Apple was one of the few words he could read and it was plastered over the shampoo bottle, it even smelt like it too.

    As he dipped the bottle over his mouth there was a knock at the door, forcing him to put it down. “Kirby? Are you in there?” Fumu’s voice called out from the other side of the door. He dragged a towel around his body over to the door.

    She was standing there in a yellow nightgown with various pink flowers adorning it. There was a tiredness in her eyes as she looked down at him though she still smiled. “Oh you managed to get out of the forest. Thank goodness,” she sighed.

    “Saw Whispy. He said if factory is gone, he will help,” Kirby excitedly announced to her.

    Fumu looked at him surprised. “He’s real?”

    He nodded. “Destroy factory and everything will be back to normal,” he replied attempting to keep his voice down.

    “I…Alright. Well, that factory was bad news either way. Bun can barely sleep, he’s been writhing in his bed all night…Meta Knight said he was going to investigate but I can’t wait much longer. We need a plan.” She balled her hands into fists with a determined look on her face.

    Both of them would enter the factory under the pretence of being convinced of how good it is if Escargon can buy it. Thankfully Fumu still had a spare uniform that she had grabbed back when Dedede announced the factory in the first place. Kirby would sleep on the foot of her bed that night.

    By the time they woke, Bun had already left at the call of the siren pushing the two into action as they tried to catch up with the rest of the workers. Escargon stood at the front of the gates alongside Waddle Doo with his arms crossed.

    As soon as the two made eye contact with him he glared. “What are you two plotting?” Waddle Doo also returned a similar look at the two, likely aware of all that went down yesterday.

    Fumu gulped and put on her best fake smile. “We’ve changed our minds. We really want free stuff too!”

    “Toaster…” Kirby mumbled, more to himself than any other.

    Waddle Doo looked at Escargon confused. “What should we do?”

    His superior frowned, unconvinced of the two but sighed. “Whatever. We’ve increased security so don’t think of trying anything,” he huffed with his arms crossed. The gates opened for the two and Fumu walked past with shame.

    A few Waddle Dee guards lazily patrolled the factory hallway, one was even leant against the wall half asleep. There probably wasn’t much to watch if everyone worked like they were possessed. It was strange Dedede hadn’t set the Waddle Dees to work instead, but there was more to this factory neither of them had seen yet.

    The sound of machinery could be heard getting closer and closer as they walked on when all of a sudden a slip of paper landed on Kirby’s nose. Fumu noticed it too and snatched it from his nose.

    “Room 003…Signed M…Ah, that must be Meta Knight. But how do we get to the other rooms?” Fumu murmured under her breath, cautiously eyeing the Waddle Dee guards.

    Kirby thought to himself for a bit. “End of belt had a door.”

    “You saw something when you fell through the mouth at the end?”

    He nodded. “Mhm, more belt ‘n machines. But floor and big metal door too.” It was likely something they’d use to check on any repairs needed. With how lax the security was there was probably no lock either.

    “Let’s go then…We’ll try and bring Bun with us but how will we get in without anyone noticing?” she murmured to Kirby as they walked into the work floor. There was no chatter, even amongst the chattiest of villagers. All their eyes were clouded and glazed, it was a wonder they hadn’t injured themselves yet.

    At the back of the room was Bun with the twins near the end of their conveyer belt, the perfect position. “Hey…Can we work here too?” Fumu asked quietly.

    “Oh? Yeah sure, didn’t expect to see you here sis,” Bun mumbled as he barely looked in her direction. Peering at the twins they were too far gone at this point, their mouths were slightly agape and they were even standing on the floor.

    Kirby got to work as he tried to keep an eye on their surroundings, but it was hard to do that and keep up with the work at the same time. But Fumu had this cunning look in her eyes as she leaned over to her brother.

    “Hey? Do you ever think about what they use this for? These pieces are too big for something like a blender,” she murmured to him.

    Bun’s movements slowed for a moment, a sign that he was listening to what she had to say.

    “Want to go see what they’re doing with them?” she asked, there was a mischievous tone to her voice rarely heard. And it was not missed by her bother who returned that energy.

    He stopped working. “That sounds like fun…Yeah, let’s go!” he very nearly shouted. It seemed the idea of causing mischief was enough to snap him out of it. Though they had no way of checking his eyes under that bush of hair.

    “Right…Follow me then,” Fumu finished as she laid herself flat on the conveyer belt and went straight in. Kirby and Bun followed quickly afterwards, rolling off the belt to avoid the machinery line ahead of them.

    “Wow…This was down here the whole time?” Bun gasped as he stared at all the sharp metal and machinery that worked tirelessly adding small adjustments to each of the parts the villagers worked on.

    Fumu tore off the uniform, it was uncomfortable having to wear it under another layer of clothes that being some shorts and a shirt. Kirby also pulled his off, wearing his tank top and shorts underneath as well. Bun pulled a face, he was only wearing his uniform today.

    “Ah, there’s a door there!” Fumu announced as she ran over to a large heavy looking metal door. Bun followed her speed while Kirby walked at a more leisurely pace as the two started pulling the door.

    “Ugh…It’s stuck, help us out Kirby,” Bun whined.

    Kirby reached for the handle as well, only for it to nearly swing open on the three of them. Their hearts nearly jumped out of their mouths at the possibility of getting caught already until Meta Knight’s head rounded over the corner. “Oh…There you are.”

    “Sir Meta Knight!” Fumu exclaimed with excitement.

    He observed the three before quickly holding the door closed for any passing Waddle Dees. “You’re all here, good. I’ve been searching through this factory. And I’ve found something important, you read my note yes?”

    Fumu nodded. “Yes, you said room 003, didn’t you? What’s in there?”

    Meta Knight pressed his long ear against the door, listening in for any echoing footsteps. Kirby copied him with a happy smile, though he didn’t really know what he was listening for.

    “...Yes, they’re working on some sort of machine in there. If you go down this corridor and go left you should be able to find it,” Meta Knight explained. 

    “Why can’t you destroy it?” Bun asked, crossing his arms in a huff.

    Meta Knight opened the door and held it open for them. “I won’t be here to fix your problems. You need to learn how to fix them yourselves.” His words were sharp, they were not mean-spirited in any way. But they still stung.

    “Alright…Let’s go guys.” Fumu grabbed Kirby’s hand and with one last glance at Meta Knight the three ran down the corridor towards the door. Meta Knight followed behind in secrecy, keeping a watchful eye on their progress.

    They reached the unguarded door, loud banging and machinery could be heard not far from behind it. Fumu cracked the door open a bit to peek inside, Kirby being impatient also pushed his face below hers to have a look too. There was a big room behind the door, the floor was wide and the walls were high up.

    And at the very centre was a giant robot a group of Waddle Dees were working on under the watchful eye of Dedede and Escargon. It was round almost like an egg that had a painted-on band akin to Dedede’s own, as well as his red coat. It had thick red arms at the wrist with one holding a drill and the other a spiked ball. Though the head was a bit odd, it resembled some sort of bird more than anything with Dedede’s hat, likely his favourite animal.

    “What is that?...” Fumu gasped as Bun also pushed his way through to have a look. All three of them topped over from the weight, slamming the door open which quickly caught the attention of everyone in the room.

    “Argh! And what are you doing here!” Dedede yelled at them in surprise. Escargon only eyed them with a tired but annoyed look.

    Fumu ran in front of the robot, leaving Kirby and Bun by the door as they scrambled to get up. “So you were using this factory as a cover-up! Well, you can't hide it anymore!”

    All the Waddle Dees started to scramble, abandoning various cranes they had been using to assist with final touches. One of them was holding a stack of steel bars, it caught Bun’s attention. As Kirby ran to Fumu’s side, Bun pulled the door open to the crane and hopped inside.

    “Your Majesty! Quickly now!” Escargon called to Dedede as he opened a hatch on the robot. The both of them rushed inside like rabbits hiding in their burrow. Loud whirling could be heard inside before the eyes on the robot lit up and the two could be heard laughing inside with a speaker.

    Its drill began to start up and the torso spun with a roar. “Say hello to HR-D3!” Dedede’s voice could be heard, full of glee. It towered over Fumu and Kirby who were now beginning to think twice about where they were standing.

    “Hey! Over here!” Bun yelled as he blindly pushed and yanked the levers in the crane, causing it to swing wildly. One of his swings hit the head, causing HR-D3 to wobble and nearly topple over much to the panic of the men inside.

    They scrambled back up much to the delight of the boy but it wouldn’t last for long. As he went in for another swing it was deflected by the spiked ball and the weight sent the crane toppling over. After swatting him away like a fly they set their eyes on Fumu and Kirby, the bottom HR-D3 started spinning like a top to start moving.

    Bun tried forcing the door above him open but it was jammed and he began to panic. “I’m stuck inside! Sis!” he shouted. 

    “Bun, cover your head.” A familiar deep voice ordered him from above. Bun followed it without question as the glass above him shattered and a hand grabbed him. Meta Knight helped pull him out of the crane while Dedede was distracted as bits of glass slid down Bun’s head.

    “Thought you said you weren’t helping, not that I’m complaining of course,” Bun commented.

    “Only unless one of you were in real danger. If the ceiling were to collapse with you trapped inside your family would grieve.” Bun frowned at his words and glanced over at the others.

    Kirby would be the hero again today. And it wasn’t settling well in his stomach.

    “Hey, hey. Stop moving around so much!” Dedede yelled as Fumu and Kirby dashed around the room. Before long, Bun had joined them once again as HR-D3 crashed into the wall and various other pieces of equipment.

    They all instinctively followed Fumu who led them towards a hole in the wall that looked like it lead into one of the conveyer belt back rooms. “I have an idea! C’mon,” she gestured to the other two as she ducked behind a pipe as soon as they entered the room.

    HR-D3 crashed through, unable to see them and continued pushing through the room, snapping various important pieces of machinery in half on its mission. Eventually breaking through the wall on the other side, in the view of everyone working in the factory.

    Fumu clambered from their hiding spot and ran through the hole it had just made. “Everyone run!” she screamed. Everyone's eyes cleared as they stared up at HR-D3, a mix of anger and horror spread across their faces as they ran out of the factory yelling and screaming.

    HR-D3 held its drill up charging it for an attack that ripped through the hard metal plates that made the floor sending pieces of it flying. Kirby rolled out the way of them, agile for a child his size. Even when they used the spiked ball to crush and throw what was left of the conveyer belts he always managed to jump out of the way in time.

    “Guess we have no choice. Activating the laser,” Escargon dramatically announced as he could be heard as the mouth opened, revealing a long canon. But Kirby stood his ground, holding his hands out for it a bit too overconfident in his abilities.

    Like a straw, the entire laser was sucked through his hands much to the dismay of Dedede and Escargon. “We didn’t have the time to charge it to full capacity!” Escargon blundered much to Dedede’s frustration.

    A golden belt appeared around Kirby’s waist crackling with energy with a green core at the front. With a big smile, he patted the orb and there was a bright flash that blinded everyone in the room for a second. When the light faded they were greeted by a new copy ability, Kirby was now wearing a bright green helmet with gold lining the edge on the front where it was open and bits of his hair which was now a light green could be seen poking through. Over the rest of his body, he was wearing bright green armour that resembled a hero's costume with golden wrists and gloves and large boots with various electrical patterns that decorated it. His wings also appeared to have turned into a small silky green cape.

    It resembled a character out of a TV show he and Bun would watch.

    “That’s Spark Kirby!” Meta Knight explained as he arrived just in time. “He can use the power of electricity to defeat his foes.”

    As if on command, Kirby sent sparks of crackling electricity at HR-D3 only to hear a cackle back from them. “This robot is resistant to electricity! You won’t be able to get us from that!” Escargon snidely explained.

    Fumu scowled and looked around the room for anything else they could use when her eyes drifted onto the large boiler in the centre. “Kirby! Aim for the boiler instead!” she yelled. 

    “Fumu, you’ll need to be prepared for evacuation if he does that,” Meta Knight calmly explained. There were still many Waddle Dees left in the factory, it would be heartless to let it explode while they were left inside.

    She panicked as Kirby began to run towards the boiler. “What can we do?” she asked, turning to Meta Knight. The man looked around for a moment, before noticing what looked to be an emergency alarm. With one well-aimed throw, he threw a piece of metal at it which sounded its loud shrieks, alerting anyone else still inside of the factory.

    “Hey, hey, hey! Kirby stop!” Dedede started to plead to the boy as he approached the boiler with glee. “Shoo! Shoo!” Dedede continued to yell as Kirby jumped in front of the boiler and looked back at Dedede. Electricity was gathering in the palm of his hands and it was not good news for the two.

    “Your Majesty?...” Escargon sighed. “I think it’s time to jump ship.” The two of them sounded like they were about to start sobbing before they sobered up and practically sped past the others to the exit, abandoning HR-D3 as the metal around the boiler began to buckle and crack.

    “We need to run! Hurry!” Meta Knight shouted as Kirby’s eyes widened noticing the boiler was about to blow up. He waved his arms about like a panicked bird as he ran after the others, his copy ability fading away as he ran after them and the intense heat of the boiler exploding followed. The flames flickered around HR-D3, increasing its pressure until it finally exploded, leaving the factory as a pile of trash.

    Outside people were gathering due to the large explosion as well as finally taking notice of all the plant life that had died. Dedede and Escargon were being interrogated by the villagers as Kirby fell to the floor exhausted.

    Meta Knight left to brief a head count on the Waddle Dees. Leaving Kirby with Fumu and Bun to catch their breath. All Kirby wanted to do was curl up and sleep, but there was something important he still had to do.

    “Gotta see Whispy…Coming?” he asked as he pulled himself up, looking back at his exhausted friends. 

    “Whispy? What is that?” Bun asked.

    Fumu’s eyes practically lit up. “Really? We can come to see him? Bun, he’s the guardian of the forest and has the power to bring life back to the village,” Fumu explained with her hands clasped together. 

    “Uh…A magic tree? I guess that’d be pretty cool. Let’s go then,” he agreed as he dusted himself off.

    The three of them slipped away without a word, running through meadows that were one blossoming with life. Bun’s pace slowed quite a bit the closer they were getting to the forest, dead trees with rotted sharp branches stood above him like graves. And the odour from the once clear stream penetrated through his nostrils making him gag a bit much to his sister’s worry.

    “Are you sure you’re alright? You can head home if you’d like,” Fumu asked with worry in her voice as they stood at the entrance of the forest. Kirby was already standing inside of the entrance, looking around curiously and likely to wander off before long if they kept talking.

    Bun shook his head and tried to wet his dried mouth. “I’ll be fine…Let’s go, I’ll feel much better once everything gets back to normal.”

    The forest was eerie, eerier than before when a few green leaves still dusted the top layer. Now they had all died and were beginning to pile up on the floor where very little grass remained. The only sound around was the dry wind as the trees repeated around them over and over again. 

    “Do you even know where we’re going?” Bun asked annoyed.

    “Yeah! That tree!” Kirby announced excitedly at a tree in the centre of a clearing. Compared to all the others it did look the most healthy, though the apples on its branches were looking a bit rotten.

    “Whispy! Factory’s gone!” Kirby shouted as he ran over to the tree. “Friends here too, Fumu likes plants a lot!” He even started to climb the tree, trying to shake it awake in a sense as Fumu and Bun carefully approached.

    Tired hollow eyes formed on the tree alongside a frown that looked down on the children. “I am exhausted…What is it?” Whispy asked, there was sadness in his voice compared to what Kirby had heard earlier.

    “Factory gone! Everything will be fine?” Kirby asked, looking at the tree with worry.

    “How can I take your word on that alone?” he retorted.

    Fumu stepped forwards, taking in the full sight of Whispy before she spoke. “Look up. Can’t you see the sky is clearing?” They all peered up at the sky, though dark clouds still surrounded them, they were beginning to thin already and the dark spew of the factory was gone.

    “I…I cannot believe it…Did you truly destroy it?” Whispy asked. Kirby nodded with a big smile on his face.

    The tree shut his eyes in contemplation. “An agreement is an agreement…However, you must keep to your end and make sure that they all learn from their mistakes and that nature is something that is easily lost. I may have to sleep for a while soon, but once I return you and your friends are free to enter my forest.”

    With those words, all the dead apples fell off the tree and his face vanished back into the bark. Where the apples once hung, white blossoms sprung in their place before Whispy began to shake them off into the sky.

    Below their feet, grass was shooting out of the ground and rushing out of the forest and up the trees restoring them back to life. The three of them chased after the rushing grass as it lead them out of the forest and into a beautiful sight.

    Apple blossoms fell delicately from the sky over the village, carrying the scent of apples with them. From the sky to the river before them, colour was restored pure and beautiful. Kirby rushed out with excitement, running around a meadow of now-blooming flowers of pinks whites and yellows. 

    “Wow…Even the breeze feels so nice…” Fumu took a deep breath, allowing herself to fall back onto the soft grass as Kirby and Bun ran around together in the distance. It was hard to describe but, she felt content and at peace for now as a daisy tickled her cheek.

Chapter Text

    “Alright then, I’ll start first! The pig beat the pig, therefore the beaten pig beat the beater pig. The pig beat the pig, therefore the beaten pig beat the beater pig The pig beat the beater pi- Aww dammit!” Fumu looked up from her book after hearing her brother recite a tongue twister. He was also wearing an orange sweater today with longer dungarees with the wind growing chilly.

    Iro laughed at him, she was wearing a green cardigan over her stripey top alongside some well-worn brown boots. “That’s terrible! Listen to this one my mother taught me! She said it was from her home. Cūn qián yǒu gè yán yuán yǎn. cūn hòu yǒu gè yán yǎn yuán. Bù zhī yán yuán yǎn dē yǎn yuán hái shì yán yǎn yuán dē yǎn yuán?” she repeated with a confident look on her face. Though none of them would be sure if she pronounced it right or not, it was still impressive.

    Honey clapped for her, she was wearing an oversized orange sweater her mother had made for her that was stuffed inside of a white pinafore dress with long baggy socks. “Wow! That’s really cool,” Honey cheered for Iroo who turned bashful.

    “So then I guess that means Iroo is in the lead right now. Who's next?” Hohhe asked. He was wearing a long-sleeved knit shirt that was a bit itchy around the neck, though he had kept on his recognisable straw hat.

    “What about you Kirby?” Bun asked as he walked up to the smaller boy who was playing with his knitted cardigan.

    He looked at them with large confused eyes as Fumu narrowed her own from the distance. “Twisters?” he asked.

    “Yeah like uhh…Guess you wouldn’t know any. How fast can you say red lorry yellow lorry then? Whoever can say theirs the fastest or the most complicated wins!” Bun explained.

    “Red lohry…” Kirby started only to hear the other kids start laughing at him already.

    “He can't even start one right. Guess that means you lose then Kirby,” Hohhe shrugged at him. 

    Fumu snapped her book shut and stomped over to the group, Honey froze up as she spotted her walking over. “Uh oh…Fumu’s here,” she whispered to the others. They all just groaned as they watched her walk up behind Kirby.

    “Hey, are you all bullying Kirby again?” She scolded the group. Once they would have listened to her words a long time ago. Now they only rolled their eyes at her scoldings and treated her as a nag as they rolled their eyes and glared at Kirby.

    Iroo crossed her arms in a huff. “It’s just teasing!” she argued.

    “Yeah, you always get so defensive over him whenever we do it. He’s a ‘Warrior’ isn’t he? Whatever, this isn’t fun anymore let's go.” Bun wrapped his hands behind the back of his head, turning his nose up at the two as they all walked away from Kirby and Fumu.

    Events like this were becoming clockwork now, due to Kirby’s own slow development and age it was difficult to find anyone for him to play with. The youngest children in the village found him scary, and the eldest bullied him. Fumu sighed as she hugged him. “Sorry, it’s not your fault. Take all the time you need to learn and make friends.” Though her comforting words didn’t seem to do much for him.

    “Tokko says bad things too. Bad?” he asked as he pointed to himself.

    “No! Not at all…I just think they find it easy to tease and bully you. You’re younger than them all and you're a bit slow to catch up. Really we need to find a proper playmate for you…” she murmured. As much as she would like to keep him company all the time, she enjoyed moments of solitude to herself or engaging conversations, something Kirby couldn’t really return.

    Usually, after this would happen Kirby would just wander off and spend the rest of the day napping or playing with dirt. But today it left a much more bitter twist in Fumu’s stomach as she returned to her book.

    Even the next morning it was tugging at her brain so much she approached her father. “Hey, Papa? Can I ask you something?” It was a holiday today, so It was a rather lazy morning.

    “Hm? Oh, of course, Fumu. What is it?” he asked as he patted the spot next to him on the sofa.

    “Well. It’s been really difficult to find any playmates for Kirby. All the kids older than him bully him, and all the kids as young as him are scared of him. Is there anything we can do about it?” she asked as she sat next to him.

    Parm hummed as he fiddled with his moustache in thought. “Well, perhaps a pet or a toy would help him a lot. He could speak to it and learn how to take care of it,” he suggested. “Though I would think about possibly speaking to Meta Knight about it too, he does seem interested in how the boy will grow.”

    Fumu pouted at that comment. “Not that he does much else with him outside of fighting though. But a pet or a toy could really help Kirby a lot! Ah, but Gango’s is closed today, so we’ll have to wait a bit longer.”

    “Oh! I know!” Parm announced as he shot up. With a grin, he reached for their home phone, for the first time ever since Dedede gave them one. Shortly after the factory incident, a lot of people were quite angry with him so as a plaster he introduced phones to them all. There was a small boom of people using them a lot but it died down quite fast as many of them preferred speaking face to face. But her mother was always on it, never giving her father much of a chance to use it.

    “Ah, hello there Gango. Sorry to call you up on a holiday but do you think we might be able to swing by your store for a minute or so? Mmh. Yes of course. Thank you so much!” He put the phone down and spun around to Fumu with a pleased look on his face. “Gango said he can open up briefly, let’s get ready to go. Don’t want to take up too much of his day now.”

    As Fumu jumped off the couch, her mother and brother approached the two. “Oh my. Whatever do you need to go to Gango’s for? It’s not like you to want for toys Fumu,” she commented as Bun laughed at her.

    “It’s not for me. I take it you two want to come too though?” Fumu asked.

    “Oh yes! I’d quite like to stretch my legs today. Bun you’ll come too won’t you?” she asked. Practically dragging him by the neck to get ready.

    Thankfully they got to the store without much trouble, with a simple ring of the bell Gango opened the store’s doors for them. “Yes! Opening up now!” the man announced as he greeted them. Gango was a short stout man with light beige skin and curly blonde hair with chestnut eyes. He had his uniform on despite the holiday day, likely just slapping it on quickly to look presentable for such an important customer. It was an orange set of overalls with a cartoony explosion plastered on the front to fit in with the store theme as well as a red cap that had an exclamation mark on it. Usually, he just wore a simple white shirt under his uniform.

    “Oh, thank you for letting us in on a holiday,” Parm thanked the man.

    “Hello, Mr Gango,” Fumu greeted him with a smile.

    The man looked at the four of them as Bun ran past him excitedly. “Oh? Is your whole family here today? What might the occasion be? Ah, feel free to look around too.” Gango stepped to the side to allow them to enter.

    “Thank you. I actually have a favour to ask,” Fumu started to explain to the shopkeeper until Bun started to play around with a figure on a shelf much to her annoyance.

    Much to Gango’s horror the springs holding it together detached. “Now that’s what you get for teasing Kirby.”

    “It’s not teasing!” Bun argued.

    “Now, now. Bun put that away. Fumu, what is this favour you need to ask?” Memu scolded Bun before turning her attention to Fumu with curious eyes.

    Fumu quickly stuck her tongue out at her little brother before turning back to the adults. “Well, Kirby doesn’t have a lot of playmates and he’s having a lot of trouble socialising. So I was wondering if there was some sort of toy that could help him?”

    The shop owner pondered to himself as Bun crammed the toy back on the shelf. “It’s not cool if a warrior plays with toys. What would you think if Meta Knight started walking around with a teddy bear?” Bun argued. The image distracted Fumu for a second before she shook it away.

    “Well…This is a very different situation. Kirby is still very young,” Parm explained which didn’t seem to please Bun still.

    “Uhm?” Gango interrupted the two. “So what I’m getting then is that you need a toy for Kirby to help him socialise and keep him company? We have a few toys for child development but a brand-new one arrived today. I can show it if you’d all like, though it’ll be a bit expensive.”

    The family looked at each other before nodding in agreement. “Right! I’ll go grab it then!” He was gone and back within seconds with diligent speed as he set the box on the floor.

    He opened the lid to reveal tissue paper and a set of instructions that were brushed out of the way to reveal a small red and beige plastic dog. “According to the instructions…Say hello to Robo-Pup! Your forever best friend that will play with you and protect you. Batteries not included. So it’s sort of like a toy robot dog,” he explained. 

    “Wow…Technology is amazing…Well we can consider this a present for him for helping us get rid of that factory!” Parm cheered, Memu clapping in agreement as he talked to Gengu about the price away from their ears.

    On the sides of the box and even on the batteries that Gengu gave them as a bundle with the dog was a threatening purple silhouette. Fumu recalled seeing them somewhere before but struggled to remember where. They were all over quite a lot of imports and television. Bun said it reminded him of a spiky wizard which was a hard image to get out of her mind. 

    “Right then, I’ll go get Kirby. I’ll see you all back home alright?” Fumu explained before giving her family much of a chance to reply. If Kirby was asleep when she arrived he would be shaken wide awake by her practically kicking down the door.

    The telltale squawks of Tokkori could be heard as Kirby slumped onto the floor, blanket wrapped around his ankle. “An attack? Uhh go gettem Kirby,” Tokkori yawned before fully kicking Kirby onto the floor.

    He peered up at Fumu with bleary half asleep eyes as Tokkori snatched the attached blanket off him. “Kirby, did you fall asleep in your clothes again? You're meant to wear pyjamas whenever you go to sleep,” Fumu commented as she helped pull him up and flatten his creases.

    “Mm…Eepy…” he mumbled as Fumu ignored the messy curls in his hair. Cleaning them didn’t make much of a difference after all.

    “We’ve got something for you back at the castle, come on.” She grabbed his hand and practically dragged him out of the door. He’d only fully woken up once inside their home, the rest of the family staring at him almost expectantly. All except for Bun who looked quite upset to see him.

    Fumu just smiled at him though as she pulled him towards a cardboard box in the centre of their living room. “You’ll be excited to see what’s inside this. It’s a present from all of us,” she explained as she pulled out the small dog toy and placed it in front of him.

    As he looked at it curiously she mulled over the instructions again. “Lessee…It runs on batteries, like these ones here. Wherever it stops moving come back to us for more of them,” she explained as she opened up a panel on its tail to put them in.

    “Now…After that…Pull the tail once to start up its functions. So like this?” She pulled the tail, it was also made of plastic though it felt quite sturdy. Everyone huddled around it with bated breath, waiting for it to finally turn on when it suddenly barked. Quite a realistic bark at that too.

    “Wow…” Memu murmured as they all knelt closely to it, watching as its eyes flickered on and looked around at them all. Before it finally met eyes with Kirby and practically lit up. Though the boy looked less than pleased, stepping away as it began to bark and crawl towards him.

    “How sweet, it seems to love Kirby too!” Memu cheered as he poured herself a drink.

    The rest of the family followed suit, Bun wearing his frown all the while as he watched the dog pounce after the boy. “Well…It’s a very well-made toy I guess,” he grumbled. 

    “Well then, cheers to Kirby’s new little brother!” Fumu laughed as she raised her glass.

-

    This dog was evil. He was sure of it. It followed him everywhere he went, no matter how much he ran. “Noo…Leave,” Kirby whined at the dog who was still following him. They only tilted their head at him confused and whined at him. 

    Kirby started to run from it again, a fruitless endeavour that would only make his feet ache again as the dog was far faster than he was. Hence why it had already grabbed his ankle and toppled him over to rub itself all over his cheeks. 

    Nearby farmers peered over at the two before rolling their eyes at whatever weird mischief was happening today. “Get off,” Kirby whined as he tried to roll away, covering himself in dust. 

    Fumu must hate him, why else would she do this? His thoughts spiralled as the dog ran around him with a cheerful mocking bark. A dog must be some sort of monster though, why else would it chase only him.

    In the distance, there was a tree. Surely it wouldn’t be able to chase him up there too? With a quick glance at the dog, he ran towards it, climbing up onto a thick branch as the dog circled him from below and barked up at him. Just when he thought he had a moment to rest a familiar laugh came from above. “I’ve been watching this whole time! Your hilariously pathetic you know that Kirb?” Tokkori mocked him, flapping about in his bird form.

    “It’s scary…” Kirby murmured.

    Tokkori just laughed at him again. “Is that so? Well then, how about I scare it for ya huh? Maybe you’ll learn to respect Tokkori around here.” He flew down and began to peck it aggressively. But instead of feeling relief, Kirby felt worried as the dog whimpered and cried as they tried to run away. 

    “...S-stop please,” Kirby meekly called out to the bird but he appeared to be enjoying himself as he tormented the dog. He sent it tumbling down into a shallow puddle below them and continued to peck it.

    “That’s enough!” Kirby yelled as he splashed Tokkori with water.

    In a few seconds, he felt his blood run cold as Tokkori puffed up with anger. “What the hell is wrong with you? I went through all this effort to help you too! Hmph!” Tokkori huffed and glared at the now also soaked boy before flying away. 

    He gave the dog one last glare before he started to run away again. So maybe it wasn’t that evil, but it was still scary. The further out he went the more dangerous the terrain grew in hopes of dissuading the dog to follow him any further. Though just his luck it continued to follow at his heels until they reached a rushing river.

    Kirby quickly hopped onto a log to cross over as the dog whimpered behind him. It turned out a bit too slippery for his liking though, as soon he was beginning to trip and slide across the log. It didn’t take long for him to take a misstep and plunge directly into the chilly river beneath him.

    “Wah-!” he squeaked as he felt his light body get swept away. Thankfully, it wouldn’t lead anywhere dangerous, just through the village where someone would pluck him out. The true danger came from hearing the dog cry after him and jump in after him, paddling as fast as they could towards him.

    They started to tug at his clothes, trying to pull him up only to start struggling in the water themselves. They were trying to save him. “H-Help?” he asked, and the dog yelped in response.

    In a panic, he felt a powerful gush of wind develop to throw them out of the river. His control over such a power was still quite messy outside of a fight, but it got them onto dry land at least as much as his body groaned from the impact.

    But the dog was elated, running around and assumedly attempting to lick him without any sort of tongue to do so. Kirby could only whine as the dog assaulted him with affection from all sides.

    Not too far from them, Bun and his friends were watching, having been drawn over by the sounds of a yelping dog. “It’s so filthy…What is that? I thought it was a dog but…” Honey murmured as she watched the two.

    “Ugh, that was the toy we got for him. Fumu insisted on getting it for him. It’s really advanced looking too,” Bun complained. They all continued staring at the dog as Kirby squeezed the water out of his feathers.

    “...It looks kinda fun though…Let’s follow him!” Iro grinned as she held a stick in her hand. In unanimous silence, they all agreed to quietly stalk him for a bit. Thankfully for them, he wasn’t the most aware of his surroundings as fifteen minutes later he still hadn’t noticed them.

    Pineapples grew near their village in the wild, very often the adults would come and collect a few that had ripened to prepare them for special dishes and today was a day that some of them were ripe for picking. “Pineys, Fumu says eat them too much will hurt your tongue,” Kirby explained to the dog as he picked one. “For you,” he explained as he set it down in front of them.

    The dog's eyes lit up, full of joy and emotions one would think to be impossible on a small machine. Standing on its hind legs, knifes slipped out from its paw and cut at the top of the pineapple. Instead of chopping it further though a drill came out of its mouth and turned the pineapple into a drink held in its own skin.

    Kirby watched intently as it was passed over to him as a gift, the golden liquid inside tempting him to take a drink. Which he did so quite happily. Content with this the dog left to make another one as the other children watched from the bushes, boiling with jealousy.

    “That’s not fair…I want a drink too,” Hohhe complained as he watched the two.

    Bun leapt out of the bushes. “Let’s go get it then.” He ran towards the boy, oddly ferocious in his approach. “Kirby! Hand that over to us. You're not going to leave your friends high and dry are you?” he pressured the boy.

    Kirby frowned but handed it over to Hohhe who was holding his hands out expectantly. “Yes! I can't wait,” he cheered as he held the pineapple. Only for it to be blasted out of his hand by a spray of pineapple juice.

    Before they could look at their attacker the rest of the children were sprayed with the sticky sweet juice. It’d be awful to clean off, not to mention all the bugs that would get attracted to it. Their perpetrator stood in front of them, angry eyes behind the red plastic as the drill pointed out of their mouth. 

    They yipped happily at the distress of the children. “Ugh! We’ll remember this!” Bun yelled as they all ran off in a hurry to get washed before it truly became too sticky. 

    The dog turned to Kirby, awaiting praise for scaring away their attackers. “No! B-Bad, don’t hurt people,” he scolded them with a pout pinching his cheeks. The dog’s head dropped and it began to whine like a scolded baby.

    Kirby found it hard to not relent and pat them on the head. “Can say sorry later! Sorry is magic,” he explained with a smile. The dog yipped happily and ran a circle around him.

    Both of them began to walk towards the village afterwards, Kirby attempting to teach his new dog all he knew on the way. “Flower, smell nice and looks pretty,” Kirby explained as they walked past a small flower patch.

    The dog sniffed one and yipped happily, nearly diving into the patch before Kirby stopped them. “No no, don’t crush them,” he lightly scolded them as he placed them amongst the flowers gently. In turn, the dog sniffed around, careful to not tread on any of the flowers.

    “Oh my, is this your pet Kirby?” a woman's voice called out from behind them. He turned to see Honey’s mother giving them a sweet smile. She was a kind curved woman Kirby had not spoken to much, with light beige skin. She wore a white frilled cap which did little to contain her curly chestnut hair, with that she also wore a pale green dress and shawl with a white apron that was dotted with embroidered flowers.

    “Mhm! Dog, Fumu gave me it as a present,” Kirby explained as he slapped his knees. Honey’s mother was very kind, she was one of the few people that didn’t enter Dedede’s factory and chose to protect the flowers in her shop instead. Afterwards, she helped a lot in returning some natural beauty to the village.

    She looked at the dog with a smile and back at him. “That’s very sweet of her. I hope you have a wonderful time together. Have you seen Honey by the way?” she asked.

    “Ah, uhm. She’s playing with the others. By the river,” he slowly replied. He didn’t really want to get in trouble for what the dog did earlier to them, but it’s not like he did it. And he scolded the dog for it too.

    “I see. Well, I hope you two are getting along, I know it must be hard to make friends for you. But she’s a very sweet girl, at least when the other children aren’t up to mischief,” she sighed. 

    Kirby waved as she left, letting out a big sigh of relief afterwards. “I’m hungry…Let’s get a snack!” He snatched the dog out of the flower bed, excitedly pulling them towards the village. It was quite busy today if Borum was patrolling instead of napping outside of his police station.

    “Good afternoon Kirby,”  he greeted the small boy.

    “Hallo Borum!” Kirby waved excitedly, his dog barking in response.

    Borum scratched his beard as he looked at the new resident. “Hmm…Never seen a dog like that before. Is it yours?” he asked.

    Kirby nodded. “Yeah, teaching them…Stuff!” he replied, waving his hands around the air for emphasis.

    The policeman chuckled at him and took out a small whistle. “Perhaps you could teach them some road safety. I’ve been trying to teach the other children it lately, but they don’t seem to be listening. But if they see you doing it they might copy you,” he explained. Lately, a few flags had been left around the village for it but they had been left largely untouched.

    “Yeah! Follow me!” Kirby took the whistle excitedly and ran to pick up one of the little flags. It took a few seconds to get the whistle to properly work as he tried blowing into it, the sharp shrill of it nearly frightening the dog.

    With a flag in hand, he guided the dog down to the nearest crossing as the other adults watched from the side. Although a few of them were quite wary of him they would be hard-pressed not to deny the sight itself was rather cute.

    “Look, look! A crossing. Look right, then left. If it’s safe, you cross,” Kirby explained as he pointed left and right. The two stood there for a bit, looking out for any non-existent traffic. Dedede and the Mayor were the only ones with cars in the village, so it was a bit silly but better to be safe than sorry.

    “Remember what to do?” he asked the dog. They nodded with a yip and pointed left and right much to Kirby’s delight. Both of them finally crossed the road with not a car in sight and made a quick stop at Kawasaki’s. He had a few steamed buns that weren’t selling today and quite happily gave them to him. Kirby wasn’t sure what was inside of them, Kawasaki called them a surprise and the dog didn’t seem too keen on eating it. So he ate the whole lot himself.

    Down the road he saw Gango in front of his store, polishing and cleaning the windows. From what Fumu had said, he was the one that had sold the dog to him. “Hallo, Gango,” Kirby greeted him. 

    “Oh, hello there Kirby. You enjoying that toy the Minister family got you?” Gango asked as he turned from cleaning the windows.

    Kirby nodded. “Yeah, bit scary first…But friendly!” The dog yipped happily in response and ran around his legs. 

    “Well now, that’s good to hear. Make sure you take care of it alright? If it ever starts to break come to me,” Gango explained as he gave the dog a little polish on their head. 

    Kirby nodded again. But before he could continue on his way Gango had one more question. “By the way, have you got a name for it yet?” That was something he hadn’t thought of much, he wasn’t really sure what a name really was still.

    After a bit of thought though Kirby could only think of one name. “Puppy!”

    “Just Puppy?” Gango asked with his eyebrow raised.

    “Yeah!” Kirby replied full of confidence.

    “Well, alright then. Have a nice day Kirby and Puppy,” Gango waved goodbye to the both of them.

    Kirby waved farewell back and made his way outside of the village with the newly named Puppy. Both of them spent the next four hours together rolling around in the grass, looking at flowers and napping in the sun. It was the best fun he’d had in days. Little did he know trouble was around the corner as the two of them ran past a forest of bushes.

    -

    “I don’t like this…It feels wrong,” Honey whispered under her breath. She stood behind Hohhe and Iro who were watching Kirby run down the dirt path from a distance. Even after cleaning up their whole bodies still felt quite sticky from that shower of pineapple juice.

    “If you don’t like it you can go home,” a voice huffed at her from behind. Bun was standing behind them all, arms crossed. He had been fuming all day ever since the accident with the dog. “If sis isn’t going to do anything about it, I will.”

    “Shh! They’re coming!” Hohhe hushed them and they all laid low as Kirby ran past. They all stood still like a fox waiting to pounce on a rabbit before Hohhe snatched the dog, quickly covering the mouth before Kirby heard yelping.

    It only took him a few seconds to notice still before the children could hear a confused. “Puppy? Puppy, where are you?” Calling from behind them.

    “Let’s see it!” Iro nagged Hohhe as he put the dog on the ground. She was already prodding at it with a stick before the other even had a chance to look closer.

    Bun started tugging at the tail, seeing if maybe it’ll turn it off just like how it turned it on earlier. The dog began to whimper and cry as Honey started to fret. “We should stop. It’s crying,” she begged them.

    “It can’t cry, it’s a toy. There’s probably a reset button somewhere, then we can play with it!” Bun ignored her, pulling and prodding the dog.

    Then it went still. For a moment they wondered if they broke it, but there was no way they were getting the blame for that with how Kirby was treating it. Bun gave it one last shove when he felt something sting up his arm. It was an electric shock. He felt his teeth jittering together as the electricity passed through all four of them leaving them well-cooked.

    And as if nothing had happened the dog leapt out the bushes towards a worried Kirby, leaving the four of them behind.

-

    “I’m not sleeping with that thing here,” Tokkori hissed as Kirby stood inside his house with Puppy. Why he was letting Tokkori decide this he wasn’t sure seeing as the house was made for him after all. But Tokkori did lose his still.

    “They’re my friend now. Sorry I splashed you…” Kirby whined, tugging at the bedsheets Tokkori was clinging to.

    Puppy whimpered watching the two as Tokkori began to angrily stomp his foot. “Kids gotta be punished yeah? So your punishment for tonight is to sleep outside! Plus there’s no way I’m ever letting that dog near me again.” For emphasis, the boy threw one of their numerous pillows at Kirby.

    Kirby pouted, eyes watering a bit before he threw it back. “Mmph, fine…Taking pillows though,” he muttered as he gathered as many pillows as possible in his little arms. He heard something yelled from Tokkori as he left, something about him hogging too many but he didn’t care anymore.

    The door and curtains were slammed behind them. By the tree next to his house he dropped the pillows into a small pile before flopping into it. Shortly followed by Puppy also burying themself in the pillows with him. 

    But sleep didn’t come to him that easily, he was feeling quite peckish still even after Kawasaki’s bun donation. “Puppy…I’m hungry, I wanna eat fish…” Kirby whined to wake them up. Puppy also whined in response but stood up to follow him.

    Tokkori would whine a lot about certain things being left around the house, most notably a small fishing rod that Kirby had made himself. Fumu had taught him how to by using a book. It wasn’t as cool as the adults, but sometimes he could still get little fish from it.

    “C’mon!” Kirby cheered as he ran towards the beach. The night was still rather chilly though, sending small shivers down his body as he sat on the sand with Puppy. If he focused all his attention on the fish then maybe he’d forget the cold. Though no fish were really biting right now which was cold in itself.

    He huffed, kicking his feet in the sand a bit in frustration. The thought that maybe he should have brought a pillow along occurred to him until something warm and cosy started behind him. Puppy had gathered wood and started a small fire to keep warm and roast fish.

    “Puppy! Thank!” Kirby cheered as a fish began to pull on his line. With a hard pull, the fish was flung out of the water and onto their lap. Kawasaki said fish have to be gutted, but he wasn’t sure how to do that. But fire could cook fish which Kawasaki also showed him before.

    He felt a bit bad putting it on a sharp stick but he was very hungry. Puppy watched it cook as he fished for a few more, about two more were caught until he’d gotten bored of it. The two of them watched the fish slowly cook in the flames, mouths drooling.

    Sadly their dinner would be cut short by two grumpy old men. “Driving down the beach…Quite romantic isn’t it?” Escargon attempted to speak over the obnoxiously loud engine of their tank. Dedede only laughed at him in response as Kirby and Puppy watched the tank speed closer and closer to them.

    “Uh oh,” Kirby yelped as he grabbed Puppy and rolled out of the way as the tank quickly smothered their fire and fish. He glared up at the small cliff face that Dedede stopped on top of as the man looked down at the two angrily gesturing at him.

    “What is that?” Dedede boomed, staring down at Puppy.

    Escargon could be seen rolling his eyes tiredly as he tried to pull Dedede back onto his seat. “A toy dog obviously. Don’t tell me you want one as well.”

    “Well it’s a cool pet,” Dedede argued.

    “And surely his Majesty can get a pet cooler than that little thing? At least compared to your previous ones…” Escargon murmured.

    “Like a giant mech?”

    “That’s not a pet.”

    Dedede just huffed at him. “Still doesn’t change the fact that it’s cooler than a little dog.”

    “Doesn’t change Holy Nightmare have frozen your services until you pay your debt,” Escargon bit back. Dedede looked as if he just chewed into the sourest of lemons as he slumped back into his seat defeated as Escargon drove them away.

    Kirby looked down at Puppy. Equal confusion in their eyes at the bickering that just took place.

    -

    Fumu was worried. Well, one could argue that she was always worried about one thing or another, about Dedede’s schemes or Kirby’s safety. But the shock of seeing her little brother returning home with light burns and the stench of pineapple on his clothes did set off a few alarms for her.

    Yet the moment their parents began to fuss over him everything seemed to change. He looked content being surrounded by their attention and affection, usually, he’d refuse a lot of their offers claiming that he was not a baby anymore. Yet watching him now, Fumu couldn’t help but feel a bit worried.

    As night fell and their parents wished them goodnight Fumu crawled out of her bed covers and quietly twisted the doorknob of Bun’s room. Surprisingly there wasn’t anything blocking his door as she pushed it open.

    His room was a bit smaller than hers, the perk of being an older sister. The walls of his room were blue, while a small rug and the sheets of his large bed were green which was decided by their mother for colour coordination. All over the beech wood floor was an army of toys, from sports equipment, action figures and even low-level instruments; it was as decked out as Gango’s shop. 

    His towering wardrobe was left half open as various clothes poured out of it like a waterfall, all of them just shoved in much to the dismay of their mother. Next to it was a special shelf made just for holding comics, probably one of the few things he kept in a good condition after he once destroyed his favourite comic. Other than that were the other basics of a bedroom, his bedside table and lamp, large curtains and the ceiling light that had little metal birds that quietly spun around it like a mobile.

    By his bed was a large window, the moon's light being the only source of light in the room right now which illuminated her brother looking outside in nothing but his grey pyjama shorts.

    “Bun,” she called out to him, practically scaring the skin off him.

    “Ack! Don’t scare me like that sis,” he huffed, swinging around on his bed to look at her. Stepping close she could see even more on his bed, from more action figures to the wrappers of various sweets.

    Though she glared at those briefly she kept herself on track. “What happened earlier today? It’s not like your usual trouble to come home like that, you wouldn’t even tell mama and papa what happened either.”

    Bun had a look on his face of a child stuck in a lie, he was easy to read whether he liked it or not. It was one of the few reasons in fact why he chose to try and hide his eyes under his hair, as to stop his sister teasing his readable face. It didn’t stop the fact she could read his lips before he could even talk.

    But that look of a liar quickly turned to anger “It’s that dog you guys got Kirby! It attacked me and my friends!” he explained. Fumu felt her heart drop at this, everything seemed to be going a bit too well lately.

    “And why did it shock you exactly? Would you care to explain why you did something to bother Kirby?” she bit back.

    Bun’s cheeks puffed up in anger. “Why do you always assume I did something bad! It was his dog that attacked us! We just wanted to have a look at it and he used it to attack us!” 

    “And why were you bothering him?” Fumu argued back.

    “We weren’t! We just wanted to have a look is that so bad? Don’t you think the dog is suspicious too? The batteries and the box looked really weird with that spooky symbol on it,” Bun replied. 

    That stopped Fumu in her tracks. He had a point there, but she wasn’t sure what to do with it. For once Fumu was left at a standstill unsure of what to say or do as Bun looked chuffed with himself.

    If there was anyone who’d know it’d be Meta Knight. “We still have the instructions…I’ll be right back!” Fumu didn’t give Bun much of a chance to reply as she sped out of his room to look for the instructions. After finding them she began to run down the castle hallways, passing by various sleepy guards who didn’t give her more than a brief look.

    In the corner of her eye as she passed by one of the large balconies she spotted her target. Meta Knight was standing there, head cocked up staring at the round moon above them instead of patrolling. She approached carefully, but he likely already sensed her presence behind him as he lowered his head.

    His shadow loomed over her as he finally spoke. “What’s wrong?” he asked in a quiet voice.

    Fumu walked next to him with the instructions in her hand. “We got Kirby a gift recently. He seems to be doing really well with it but.. Bun mentioned something. Do you recognise the symbol on this?” She held the instructions up high for him to pick up.

    His eyes glowed red as he saw what was on there. “...Nightmare.”

    Silence loomed around them after he spoke, Fumu unable to do anything but stand there and quietly mouth that name. They just gave Kirby a demon beast as a present. “Kirby’s in danger,” she rasped.

    “Not yet. But soon. Get some sleep, then fix your mistakes tomorrow. This is a delicate situation if he’d grown attached to the dog. But Nightmare watches, believe me on this. One wrong move and I’m sure he has something planned for that dog.” Meta Knight’s words weighed heavy as dark clouds began to slowly cover the sky. Using his cape he pushed Fumu out of her thoughts and back under the cover of the castle hallway before any rain began to fall.

    As much as she hated it he was right. There was a long day to prepare for ahead as the rain began to pelt down from the heavens.

    -

    The boy was fast asleep. It was perfect.

    “Customer Service,” a ghastly voice called out to the man peering down a powerful telescope.

    “Why yes Sir?” the man replied, nearly joyous for what was to come.

    “Activate the system.”

    -

    The rain had persisted throughout the whole night much to Kirby’s dismay as he curled up around Puppy under the shelter of the tree. Even as he woke up that morning the sky was still pouring down with water. And what was worse was Puppy was missing. He swore they were snuggled up in his arms that night.

    “Puppy?” Kirby called out, hoping that they were just playing. It would be really bad if they got too wet. Without thinking, he ran out into the rain, looking behind every rock and dip in the road for them. 

    “Kirby!” Fumu’s familiar voice called out behind him. His heart jumped for joy seeing her, but then dropped seeing Bun with her. He hoped she had found Puppy, that they were safe but her face told a different story.

    Her cold wet hands grabbed his. “Kirby! That toy is dangerous, you need to stay away from it!”

    “No! Puppy’s my friend!” He pushed her away and ran. Calling out their name as loud as he could. He didn’t care if the adults got angry at him. He didn’t care if Fumu would scold him for pushing her. He just wanted his friend back, his friend that listened to him.

    He just kept running and running. Until he saw them, Puppy was standing there in the rain staring out into nothing. Kirby felt his heart light up as he ran towards them. “Puppy!” he called out to them again.

    But something felt wrong, the way they turned around to look at him. It was their whole head twisting around like an owl. He knew they were a toy, but the sight still frightened him as they had never done it before. And the visor over their eyes was different, it was glowing red.

    Despite everything telling him he should run he kept walking forwards. “P-Puppy? It’s me. Kirby,” he whispered. Puppy quietly barked back at him, devoid of any emotion. Yet they did nothing to attack him, only continuing to stare him down as the harsh rain slowly dripped away, leaving nothing but the morning sun glaring down at them.

    “Puppy…” Kirby whispered once again and the lights faded from their visor. Their eyes were sad, as if on the verge of tears as well.

    “Kirby! Please get away from it!” Fumu shouted again from behind and Puppy started to run again.

    Kirby chased after them, running from Fumu as well. He wasn’t sure how long they ran for, only that they were soon faced with the wide ocean on top of a cliff. They had run themselves into a corner now. “Puppy, we need to go the other way!” Kirby begged them as he watched them dig their little paws roughly into the dirt.

    Then, it howled. It felt as if his head was vibrating as it continued to loudly screech. Any longer and his head would have exploded, yet it stopped. Puppy began to choke as if they were crying.

    “What’s wrong! Can I help!” he cried out to them again. They only shook their head. And threw themself into the deep blue below. He could hear Fumu’s cries echoing behind him, his ears ringing from the earlier howling. Without a second thought, he jumped in after them.

    He wasn’t the best at swimming yet, but his body moved as if it knew what it needed to do. Puppy was being swept away by the waves as numbers flashed in their visor. “Puppy…Puppy come back. Water’s bad…” Kirby gently rocked them in the water, trying to get them to move or do anything.

    Yet, a single tear only fell down their cheek as he felt himself get kicked away. 

    And they exploded.

    Just like that Puppy was gone.

    Something landed on his head, their ear. He just stared at it, feeling the waters of the sea lap around him as if nothing had happened.

    Fumu dragged him out shortly afterwards, paddling a small boat made of wood over to him. She said something to him but he couldn’t hear it. All he could do was cling to the small ear as tight as he could.

    Everything passed by in a blur, Fumu was pulling him to shore. Meta Knight was there. Then Yabui was there, they were in his office. They were all talking about something, he wasn’t sure if they were trying to talk to him. Someone tried to pry his hands open and he resisted, curling up into a ball to protect himself.

    Nothing happened for a while after that, he must have fallen asleep but when he finally awoke he was in his bed again. As he opened his hands he saw the ear was still there, the tightness he had held left marks in his soft palms as well. 

    Tokkori wasn’t home it seemed. But someone was outside, he could hear them moving around. Carefully prying the curtain open he saw them, it was Meta Knight. The man seemed alerted by his presence once Kirby opened the door and peered over at him. The sun was setting now, and Kirby’s body ached now. 

    “You're awake. How do you feel?” Meta Knight asked.

    “...Sleepy,” Kirby murmured as he walked over to him.

    He was standing by the tree where he had slept the night before. There were some thin pieces of wood and rope in his hands. It seemed he noticed Kirby staring at them as well. “Come with me behind the house.”

    There was a hole there, it was small in size and an empty wooden box next to it. Kirby looked up at the knight in confusion at the sight. “It’s a grave,” he explained bluntly. “A grave is a place where you put the fallen to rest. It gave my mind much respite and time to think over the years, perhaps it may do the same for you.”

    Kirby frowned and looked down at his hands. “Put Puppy to bed?” he quietly asked.

    Meta Knight was quiet, likely choosing his next words carefully. “...Yes. We can put them to sleep in there. But you can visit them every day to say hello,” he explained. He held up the small box to Kirby, waiting for him to put the ear inside.

    Though his hands shook he eventually dropped the ear inside the box. Meta Knight pressed a lid onto it and put it inside the hole. For a minute Kirby watched as it slowly became buried under soft dirt until there was only a patch of it left.

    “I’ll leave you be then,” Meta Knight spoke his farewell. After that, he was alone again, Meta Knight never spent much time near him. He still wasn’t sure why Puppy had to be put to sleep in a hole. They could come back still in some way, he still had their ear.

    He ran inside to grab a cup of water. Fumu told him that watering flowers could make them grow. So then the same could work with Puppy he thought as he excitedly watered the soft dirt.

    -

    Bun felt awful. It was a strange feeling, even as he was sitting with all his friends making plans for pranks he didn’t feel happy at all. Ever since the incident with Kirby this morning the whole village felt quite heavy. Especially after seeing the state, Kirby was in.

    He was not the most popular in the village, that was true, especially after the Dynablade incident. But it was hard for anyone to not be worried seeing a child as young and happy as him in complete shock. Yabui explained to him that seeing something really shocking or upsetting could make people freeze up for a while like that.

    Knowing that could happen to you at any time was a bit scary for him.

    “Hey, Bun, are you awake in there?” Hohhe knocked him out of his thoughts.

    “Yeah…” Bun murmured, even if he wasn’t feeling fine. He completely missed anything Iro was saying for the last ten minutes. She was looking pretty annoyed about it but Honey just looked worried. She was easily upset so Kirby’s condition was probably the cause of it.

    From the corner of his eye, he could see Fumu, she was talking to someone. The conversation he had with her last night rang out in his mind, and before he knew it he was running towards her. “Sorry, gotta borrow her!” he shouted as he grabbed her hand and dragged her away despite her protests.

    “What was that for?” Fumu scolded him as they stopped behind a house.

    “It’s about what I said last night! That was all a lie! We took Kirby’s dog and stressed it out. We were the ones that were bothering him all day,” he confessed. 

    She looked angry at him quite obviously. “Why would you lie about that? For attention?” Her words dug into him and he gritted his teeth.

    “Well, it turned out to be dangerous in the end anyway! But why do I still feel horrible inside?” he huffed. Though he was quick to regret those words as it looked like Fumu was a few seconds away from pummeling him.

    She rubbed her face aggressively, messing up her fringe in the process as she tried to keep her words calm. “It’s guilt. I know you and Kirby can and will get along well. But why does that have to change with your other friends? Why does he always become the butt of all your jokes?”

    “Why do you care about him more than your brother?”

    “Why do you have to make this all about yourself?”

    He felt his jaw snap shut after that. If anything he just wanted to sink into a hole and vanish right now rather than face his sister's wrath. But she wasn’t done yet either. “Remember that Kirby is still young. We should be acting as examples for him outside of his battles.”

    “I just…What if you all like him more than me?” Bun asked deflated.

    Fumu’s face softened and she stepped closer to him. “This isn’t about whose anyone's favourite. We all love and care about you, but Kirby just needed some extra help right now.”

    Both of them stood in silence after that for a while. Bun still felt like his stomach was twisting though, confessing didn’t help at all. The others had also gathered towards the two, surprised by Bun’s sudden disappearance.

    “There you are, what was that for?” Iro asked with a raised eyebrow.

    “Ack! J-Just had something I needed to talk to sis about you know. Family stuff,” Bun chuckled dryly. 

    Fumu just lightly rolled her eyes. “Right then. I’m going to visit Kirby if any of you want to come along. Dr Yabui says we need to keep an eye on his condition for a while he might catch a cold.”

    “Can we come with you?” Bun asked before the others could respond, getting him some interesting glances from his friends. Even Fumu looked surprised for a moment before giving him an understanding nod.

    Night had finally fallen over the village by the time they reached Kirby’s house. But he wasn’t inside. After a brief chat with Tokkori though they were able to find him sitting on the beach next to his home. If he could move around like that then he should be feeling better now.

    None of them were sure on what to say or do as they watched Kirby stare out into the ocean. But as they pondered in silence someone approached them. “Pst, Fumu,” Gango’s voice whispered over as they all turned around.

    In his hands was what looked to be a plush that resembled Puppy. It made Bun’s heart drop. “I know it’s not the same, but I heard what happened. Although their time was short, I can see that dog had quite an impact on Kirby. I just hope that this doesn’t upset him.”

    Fumu shook her head. “No, I’m sure he’d understand and appreciate the sentiment.” They all turned to continue looking at him to work up the courage to break the silence.

    But then he stood up, reaching his hands out towards the night sky. “Puppy? Puppy come back,” he begged to no avail. And then the beach was quiet once again as he continued staring up at the sky.

    Gango approached him, the others following behind him. “Hey there Kirby. It’s not much but I have something for you,” he explained in a softer voice than usual. Years of owning a toyshop had required him to be good with children after all so it wasn’t much of a surprise.

    Kirby looked at the plush confused as Gango held his hands out for him to take it. Compared to the size of Kirby’s hands it was massive, reminding Bun of Fumu’s earlier words about how young he was still. He looked back at Gango, confused. “Puppy is in the ground. Why here?”

    “A-Ah well uhm. That’s not Puppy. It’s a toy I made of them, so you can always have them with you,” Gango stuttered. Kirby’s words clearly lodged something in his throat making it hard to speak for a moment.

    He looked at the plush again, staring at it. Then his eyes began to water and Gango panicked. “Oh gosh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” But before he could move to dislodge the plush from Kirby’s hands he hugged it tightly.

    Fat tears began streaming down his cheeks as his face was a mix of confusion and overwhelming sorrow. Fumu was quick to hug him. “It’s okay Kirby. It’s okay to cry.” And with that he began to fully cry, sobbing as he clung tightly to the plush while Fumu held him tightly back.

    It was the first time Bun had ever seen him cry. Perhaps the first time he had cried ever in his life. Bun and the others quickly gathered around him as well in a panic as Gango stood back to give them space.

    “Hey, hey Kirby. Tomorrow, do you want to hang out with us? We’ve got some fun pranks we’re going to pull on Dedede you can join in on,” Bun burst out of nowhere. This caught the others off guard as they quickly looked at him and back at Kirby whose cries had begun to calm down into hiccups.

    “Really?” he hiccuped.

    “Yeah! Really!” Bun felt himself nearly get tackled by the small boy in return. He wasn’t looking forward to babysitting but, if it made him happy then he’d just grit his teeth.

    -

    “Sir, the Robotic Dog has been destroyed.”

    “I see. How so?”

    “Self-destruction.”

    A dark laugh. “Hah, foolish of it. Creatures like that are not bound by emotion, what it felt was a false joy.”

    “But sir. It did leave one final message. I shall forward it to you now.”

    A light buzz rang out as a message displayed itself on one of many screens. ‘Friend. Sorry. Don’t want to hurt. Thank you.’

    He deleted the data.

    “Hmm. I must say, observing the boy has become very interesting. Very interesting indeed.” Nightmare’s cackles could be heard echoing through every hallway that night.

    -

    Kirby felt exhausted tonight. Even Tokkori had decided to sleep on a pillow tonight as a bird, leaving the bed all for Kirby. ‘It’ll just be for a day, don't get too comfortable.’ He had claimed.

    He wasn’t sure as to why but he wasn’t complaining. With all the other pillows they had piled in the bed, the comfortable robe and Puppy he curled up to sleep with a small smile on his face. 

Chapter Text

    “Right then. Kirby, are you ready?” Bun called out to the small boy.

    “It’s just my family’s shed though?” Hohhe raised a brow at Bun’s oddly excitable behaviour.

    Kirby had only just caught up to the rest of the group, Iro and Honey were probably already inside. One of them suggested it should be a race but all of their legs were much longer than his.

    “Yeah I know, but it’s also like our secret hideout. C’mon Kirby,” he continued to call out as Hohhe shrugged and went in without them. “You’re so slow…” Bun commented with a pout but there was little anger in his words as the two of them entered the shed.

    It was a simple old shack, the wooden plank walls that had been painted aquamarine were peeling and rickety. There was no floor, instead, it was dirt that had been pressed down over years of use much like a well-worn road. All over the walls and floor were numerous pieces of equipment for a farmer with various chips and scratches in their metal.

    They all sat around in a circle as Hohhe shut the shed door behind them, locking them all in the dark as he attempted to turn an oil lamp on. Strangely enough, Kirby found himself able to see quite well in the darkness. Or perhaps the shed wasn’t that dark to begin with, he wasn’t very sure. But he swore he could see Honey quickly grasp Iro’s hand once the darkness set it only to remove it once light filled the room.

    “Alright then. Here’s the plan,” Hohhe began as he took out a basket filled with a strange-looking bright red root. It was twisted and looked almost like it was covered in hairy pimples. But as he moved to get a closer look at it, Kirby was hit by something in his nose. A horrible pungent smell that reminded him of a spikey exotic fruit Kawasaki had gotten his hands on called a durian, mixed with dead fish. 

    The others giggled at his reaction as he slunk back with a scrunched-up face. “Yeah, I pulled the same face when I got it too,” Hohhe laughed.

    “What is it exactly?” Iro asked, moving her head away as Hohhe attempted to shove the basket in her face.

    He set it on the floor in the centre of the circle and sat down with the others. “My dad found it while clearing out some weeds the other day. It’s not dangerous, but it’s really smelly and tastes awful. So if we mash it up we could try and make someone eat it,” Hohhe explained with an evil grin.

    “Who would eat something with a smell that bad!” Bun gagged as he caught a whiff of the root. 

    “It smells like Kawasaki’s cooking…” Honey’s meek voice added, muffled as she hid her nose and mouth behind her cardigan.

    Hohhe snapped his fingers. “Exactly! A little birdy…Tokkori, told me that Kawasaki was ordered by Dedede to make some special steamed buns today. So if we fill them up with this his reaction would be priceless!”

    Kirby felt that a prank like that would make Kawasaki sad. But at the same time, he really wanted to see Dedede pull the same face everyone else did. So as Hohhe looked around for approval, Kirby gave his with a quick nod much to the delight of the older boy.

    With a blunt knife and a hammer they cut up and mashed up the root before putting it into a piping bag Bun stole from his mother. Once it was filled up they all began their run into the village, creating a shield around Hohhe who was holding the piping bag to hide it, though it was hard to hide the smell. 

    “Ah! It’s Borum!” Iro warned the group as they came across the police officer standing on top of a yellow and black striped box. He was moving around a blue and red flag with a whistle in his mouth in the middle of the road. The others ran behind him, giggling as he was occupied while Kirby looked at the office confused at what he was doing.

    “Hm? Is Chief Borun flag signalling again today? Wasn’t he doing that yesterday?” Gus spoke up behind him, the first time he had stood near him ever since he accidentally blew up his gas station.

    Excited by this prospect Kirby’s wings fluffed up. “Yeah. Look right, look left,” Kirby repeated the officer's lesson from yesterday as he pointed to each direction on the road.

    “Hm? No, he’s signalling traffic. Though I suppose it does look a bit like practice with how few cars we have around,” Gango added as he walked by, all three of them watching the police officer.

    Gus crossed his arms with a pout. “Don’t remind me. I’d hoped that factory business would get me more business but Mayor Len is the only one to actually pay for his repairs and gas.” It was clear his snide comments were directed at Dedede, never one to cough up a penny for his well-polished tank.

    Gango patted the taller man on the shoulder. “It’ll catch on someday, trust me. But what a way to use his free time…”

    “Why not nap?” Kirby asked.

    “He has a job to do. The highly unlikely chance that Dedede and the Mayor could intersect without him signalling them could happen,” Gus explained.

    “What would happen?” Kirby asked, tilting his head confused. Completely forgetting about the prank he came here for.

    Gus rubbed his hands awkwardly as Gango looked at him with a raised brow. “Well uh. They’d crash. Which is good and bad.”

    He seemed to squirm a bit under Kirby’s large curious eyes. “Hey, Kirby! What’s the hold up we gotta go!” Bun called out to him as the rest of the group rejoined. Wordlessly Kirby pointed at Borun who was slowly falling asleep.

    In the distance, they could see Len’s car approaching but not much else to worry about. They were driving very slowly after all. “Ugh…I was watching a show last night where the characters got into a really bad car crash… I’ll never get in a car again,” Honey murmured.

    “Well that’s one future customer gone,” Gango laughed at Gus.

    Gus huffed before his eyes widened. “Hey, isn’t that?-” Dedede’s tank suddenly came across the intersection, right into the side of Len’s car.

    This was the first time any of them had ever seen a traffic incident, attracting the attention of various other villagers who ran over to check if everyone was alright. Dedede had hurt his neck but was otherwise unharmed, though Escargon’s face had smacked right into the steering wheel, cracking his glasses and cutting his nose.

    Len had been in the car with his wife Hana. A short elderly woman with smooth white skin she worked hard to maintain. Her hair was light grey and curly, much like a sheep with a small purple cap that held it into the style of a bun. She wore a hand-knitted white cardigan with a long purple skirt and a green bead necklace which matched the colour of her eyes.

    Both of them appeared to be alright as well, though likely quite shocked and sore. Len got out of the car quite angrily as he approached Dedede who was rubbing his sore neck. “Your Majesty! You’re going much too fast for our roads!” the Mayor scolded the King.

    Escargon sat up quickly. “How dare you! We were well within the speed limit! You should have been more cautious!”

    “Traffic rule one! Dedede gets a pass,” Dedede added as he laid back in the tank for his neck.

    Len’s face fell against the King's words. “Chief Borun! Please, you must be able to do something?” he begged the office.

    “The blame is on the Mayor! He’s the one that damaged my tank, this is part of our military!” Dedede argued back. Military was another big word Dedede liked to throw around that Kirby didn’t understand. It was another fun word to ask Fumu about later once all the adults stopped arguing.

    It took them a while to realise that the police officer was fast asleep standing up. It wasn’t until Len poked him in the arm that he jolted awake and blew his whistle hard before noticing the massive crowd around him.

    “Uhm…Did something happen?”

    And everyone was furious. It was hard not to sense the thick familiar tension in the air as Bun grabbed Kirby’s hand and all of them ran from the scene before any particularly harsh words could be heard.

    Kirby felt bad for the man, it reminded him of the time everyone had been angry at him before during the incidents with the factory and Dynablade. It wasn’t a very nice feeling. They all spent the rest of the morning playing in a field as Fumu read under a tree as most days went.

    Bun went to get some snacks shortly when he came running back in a panic. “Guys! Big news!” he yelled. Kirby who had been looking at Fumu’s book quickly scrambled up towards the boy alongside the others who had been kicking around a ball.

    “There’s been something called an ‘administrative reform’ now. That means we won’t have any more police! I bet Dedede must have been really sore about that car crash,” Bun explained.

    They all looked around at each other confused at the news. “No police? What will happen to the Chief then?” Iro asked.

    “Guess he’ll just be another old man without a job. Besides, didn’t he sleep on the job today?” Hohhe replied very aloof.

    Bun waggled his finger with a grin. “Don’t you know his big secret? The Chief was part of the Ranger Corps in the old days!” he exclaimed. Not exactly explaining how he knew, so it was a surprise to Kirby though see all the other kids get so excited. Didn’t Meta Knight also say he was a soldier?

    “Ranger?” Kirby asked curiously.

    Fumu could be heard sighing from the back. “I thought you said you were going to stop lying. Borum is too young to have been in the last war we had. Ah, Kirby a long time ago there was a group called the Ranger Corps put together by Dedede to protect Pupupu Land,” she explained.

    “Prove it!” Bun argued.

    She pulled up a book without a word and he frowned. “W-Well maybe that book is false! Dedede could’ve changed it!”

    “Why would he? Go ask him yourself if you’re so worried then,” Fumu huffed and went back to reading.

    “Suit yourself! But I won’t let the Chief get fired! Who's with me!” he cheered as all the others cheered alongside him. “Right then! Gather around. I have an idea.”

    -

    The clock in his station ticked without remorse. Counting down the seconds until Dedede would kick down the doors of his station to remove him from his job. It left a tight knot in his throat as he found himself pacing in and out of the station and his attached home, quietly scaring off those who had their faces pressed against the windows.

    Borun stepped over a sack of lost property as he walked through his home as his wife sat at their coffee table with a large book. He couldn’t help but stare at her, she looked so peaceful and happy. They had been together for a very long time now, wrinkles and age had kissed her pale beige skin now, her age was much more evident than many of the other women her age around the village. Her hair had always been a touch dark gray that had paled over the years that she always kept to a short curly bob. She was wearing her favourite dress today too, one she had owned the day they had their first date. A long floral yellow tea dress with short ruffled sleeves that continued across the top of the dress. Over her shoulders, she always wore a pink foulard with a blue brooch that held it together which matched the colour of her eyes.

    He always joked with the Mayor that they had a tendency to find jewellery that matched their wives' eyes.

    “Hey, Sato? Have you heard anything strange of late?” he asked, his voice nearly shaking.

    She only looked up at him with a warm smile. “What about? Are you still worried about earlier? Come here, let me show you something.”

    The book she was holding was one of their albums, filled with photos of him in his youth when he had just started out as a police officer. It was always a slow job, helping the elderly cross the street, and stopping squabbles between business owners. But that was a good thing, a village where people didn’t need to worry whenever they went to sleep at night.

    At least when demon beasts weren’t around. Those were out of his control.

    Sato’s hands faltered as she reached a certain section of the album and closed it before she smiled back at him. “I think you should be proud of what you’ve done so far. You’ve helped everyone so much.”

    He felt his heart skip a beat. “Y-You’re right. Alright! I’ll be proud of myself!” he announced to himself as he patted his chest. Then their phone rang, catching him by surprise.

    “Yes, this is the Pupupu Village Police Station, what’s your emergency?...” he spoke down the phone.

    “Ah! Chief, please help. The sheep are escaping!” The familiar voice of Mayor Len’s shepherd.

    He was on the site straight away, bringing some nets along with him. The young shepherd was trying his best to no avail. A rather scrawny young man with tanned beige skin and unbrushed brown hair. His old olive robes and hat were covered in trample marks and hay.

    “You can't leave like that! The Mayor will be so angry!” he fruitlessly argued with them

    Borun ran to his side. “What’s gotten into them?”

    “Someone broke the fence! What should I do?” The shepherd asked with a worried expression. 

    “Leave it to me!” Borun pumped his chest as he threw the weighted net over the sheep, trapping them under it. But they were still moving, making it difficult for him to fully stop them as they pressed against the net.

    The shepherd ran behind him to help pull and they were able to fully stop all of the sheep from escaping. Once the sheep had calmed down they’d get to work repairing the broken fence, tying twine tightly around each wooden pole.

    “Sorry for bothering you Chief. These sheep can be quite the handful,” he dryly laughed.

    Borun smiled at him. “No, it was no bother at all. If you ever need help with something like this again feel free to tell me.”

    Helping the Shepherd felt quite nice after today, but now he had a fence breaker on the loose to look for. But before he could question people around the village a young woman came to him with another problem from Kawasaki.

    His oven was creating geysers of water and his taps were emitting fires. The poor chef looked quite dishevelled as parts of his hair were burnt at the edges and his clothes wet and damp.

    “The gas and water pipes have been switched…” Borun murmured as he investigated the pipes. 

    “I was nearly burnt to a crisp and drowned! I know for sure I didn’t change those, find whoever did it!” Kawasaki whined.

    Another criminal to find today. Or perhaps the same person. He wasn’t sure yet but as he left the restaurant there was another emergency, barely giving him time to wipe his brow.

    Curio’s museum had been vandalised, paint covered every surface of each ancient jar and fossil. Even Curio himself had been painted “Just look at this! How could anyone do this? The years these will take to repair, whoever did this, I’ll, I’ll…” The older man was flushed red with rage.

    Without a word, Borun rubbed his thumb across the marks left on Curio’s face and it rubbed right off. “Ho…This is children’s paint, it’ll rub off no problem thankfully.”

    This did appear to alleviate the man a bit but he was still rather angry. “Still, this is utterly disrespectful of the elderly and archaeology! This cannot be excused, find whoever did this!” he demanded.

    “Yes! Of course, it can't. I’ll find the culprit just you wait!” But before he could leave, Curio’s phone rang. The man picked it up and handed it over to the officer, already Borun felt this day become even busier.

    Tago’s shop had been robbed after someone plastered posters all over the glass saying everything inside was free. Next Mabel’s crystal ball had gone missing, discovered to be buried right behind her home. Then Gango’s paint had been swapped.

    Borun was feeling quite exhausted already, but the gratitude and trust he felt coming from each person he helped gave him the energy he needed to keep on going. That was until Dedede finally made his arrival.

    Everyone had gathered in the village square, aware of what was about to take place next as the king stood up in his tank. Escargon had a piece of paper in hand alongside a megaphone with an evil look in his eyes.

    “We have an announcement to make! Borun! Effective today you are dismissed and the Pupupu Land Village police station eliminated,” the scrawny man loudly read. Borun felt his heart drop until all the other villagers began to shout and argue against the King much to their surprise.

    It filled Borun’s heart with pride.

    “What’s up with you all!” Dedede spat.

    “Your Majesty! There is justice to be made! The police cannot be eliminated! A criminal is on the loose!” Borun argued. He stared Dedede in the eyes, both of them equally determined. It was akin to staring down a tsunami but he wouldn’t falter.

    At least that was until the unexpected happened. By some strange piece of fate, a hornet's nest landed on Escargon’s head as Kirby fell from the plaza tree.

    “Huh? What in the…Aaaaaaah!” Escargon shrieked and slammed on the pedals much to everyone’s fright. He crashed into the tree, causing someone else to fall out of there much to Borun’s surprise. It looked like it was Bun, but he didn’t have time to help as the hornets emerged from their nest and the tank shot off before they could blink.

    Fumu ran over in a panic, having watched everything from a distance as three other children climbed down from the tree. “Oh no! Bun! Kirby!” she yelled after them as the tank disappeared from sight.

    “They’re in trouble! Sorry, but I’ll need to borrow this!” Borun ran over to Len who had been polishing his recently repaired car. The Mayor stumbled over his words, unhappy with this sudden change but quickly gave up as Borun strapped in.

    Much to his surprise Fumu and the other three children joined, Fumu sitting next to him at the front. “What are you doing? This is an emergency!” he spluttered.

    “Let us come with you!” Fumu argued with him.

    “I can't! It’s too dangerous,” Borun argued back.

    He peered behind him, Honey looked frozen as she sat in the car as the other two looked determined. “All of this is happening because of us! Take us with you, please!” Hohhe begged him.

    Borun sighed. “I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about but there’s no point arguing…Hold on tight!” He hadn’t driven a car in quite a few years now, but it wasn’t something you forget thankfully. Although they would be slower than Dedede’s tank, it was still a lot faster than travelling on foot.

    Looking into the car’s mirror he could see Honey grasping onto her seat as if pushed against an enormous force as Iro side-eyed her with a sarcastic look. Which was quite strange as he could barely feel the wind brushing past them that could be felt when going faster.

    “So…What did you mean exactly by how this was your fault?” Borun asked, trying to fill in the silence around them. The three at the back looked a bit guilty while Fumu looked quite angry.

    “Well…We didn’t want you to get fired…” Hohhe murmured as he rubbed his hands together.

    Iroo nodded. “Yeah, so we made a bunch of trouble for you. W-We didn’t want to hurt anyone, just cause trouble to make you look good,” Iro added as her eyes darted around as she confessed.

    “So you did this all so I didn’t have to retire? I did find it strange there was a string of crimes today of all days…” Borun muttered to himself.

    “We just wanted to help! Didn’t you use to be part of the Ranger Corps?” Hohhe added. His comment caught him by surprise, his hands tensed as his mouth spluttered. He could feel Fumu’s eyes bore into him with the same suspicion she always gave to adults.

    But then she nearly jumped out of her seat. “Ah! Kirby!” she shouted. The boy himself was waving excitedly at them, jumping up and down as they approached. Assumedly he was also involved in all of the pranks held today as well.

    With an excited laugh, he jumped onto the front of the car, nearly pressing his face against the glass which would have horrified the Mayor. “Kirby, where’s Bun?” Fumu asked as he settled down.

    “Mmm…That way!” He pointed.

    Pointed towards the largest volcano in the country, Kilauea. His throat went dry and his heart dropped as the children panicked. “We need to hurry. Kirby, get in.” It wasn’t a request but an order as the boy climbed over and fell onto Fumu who grasped him tightly.

    While he had been trying to stay within a reasonable speed limit the situation had gotten even worse than he could imagine. He pushed the Mayor’s car to the fastest speed it could reach, although not as fast as he would have liked, the change in speed was noticeable.

    Up the edge of the volcano was bumpy ground, shaking the car with each rough rock as the children held onto each other. The growing warmth was unmistakable as they moved closer towards the crater. Smoke billowed from the centre like a pillar as they finally arrived.

    Fumu ripped herself from her seat and ran towards Dedede’s tank which had stopped centimetres away from the crater. “Bun! Bun! Where are you!” she yelled as she ran around the tank before taking a tentative step to peer over the crater and screamed.

    Borun hurried over, fearing the worst. Thankfully a ledge had stopped the boy from falling into the bubbling lava below, but like the sea, it rose and fell. He wouldn’t be safe for long, especially in all of this heat and smoke. “Hey, Bun! Can you hear me? Are you injured?” Borun yelled down the crater.

    The boy appeared to move, roused by his yelling as he pulled himself up “Huh?...Yeah, I’m-” He was cut off as his foot nearly slipped over the thin surface he had left. In a panic, he grasped at the wall and screamed “Help!”

    “Don’t move! Stay right there!” Borun shouted over to calm the boy. Any sudden movements and he could be liable to crack the small surface he had. The Mayor always kept some rope in his car for any situation that involved his adored flock, which should still be in there.

    He was so focused he hardly heard the approach of a newcomer or Fumu talking to Kirby. “Fumu, why don’t we wait a bit and leave it to the Chief? This is his and Bun’s problem, they should be the ones to solve it.” The uncommonly heard voice of Sir Meta Knight nearly made him bash his head on the boot of the Mayor’s car. The man was seldom ever seen in the village, only appearing to guard the king or do tasks the other knights were unavailable to do.

    “Everyone, I’m going to climb down there and bring him back up with me. Keep an eye on the rope in case anything happens alright?” Borun explained to the group as he tied the rope onto the front of the Mayor’s car.

    Before he could begin his descent though, Sir Meta Knight approached him. “Borun. The other villagers are on their way as we speak, alongside Bun’s parents. Let him know they’re on their way.”

    Borun nodded, hoping that fact would give the boy some comfort as he slowly descended into the boiling pit below him. Almost immediately he could feel his body screaming against this action, his hands burned against the rope as his legs and back ached from the already busy day today.

    It was difficult to keep a grip on the surface of the volcano, it was practically crumbling under his fingers. He was practically counting down the seconds when he inevitably slipped and began to fall.

    “Shit! Everyone with me!” Meta Knight’s voice could be heard yelling as the rope tightened as he dangled an inch over the bubbling lava. “Keep your feet forward and hold it to your chest. Kirby, stop trying to fly with it, stay grounded! Move in tandem with me!” the man could be heard echoing above still as Borun clung to a wall to begin climbing back up.

    Bun looked down at him with adoration as he finally reached the trapped boy. “That was amazing! You really were in the Ranger Force just as I thought! Wait till Fumu hears this.”

    “Ahaha…R-Right I’m going to tie this rope around you now. Your parents are on their way, you’ll be safe soon alright? Just stay close,” Borun explained as he climbed onto the tiny platform next to the boy.

    Numerous voices could be heard from above as he tied the last knot around Bun’s waist. Peering up he could see the various heads of people from the village that had followed them all the way here. “Everyone is here Bun! Alright, can you all help pull the rope!” Borun shouted up.

    Of course, that would have been far too easy. One of Kilauea’s minor eruptions began, spitting out smoke and drops of lava like bubbling oil. Borun used his body to shield Bun, praying above that the rope could survive this. Only for half of it to be cut off, trapping the two down there.

    “W-What can we do, Chief?” Bun whimpered as he held onto him, watching the lava beneath them bubble. They didn’t have much time left, they had to start moving now.

    There was only one thing he could do. “Bun, hold onto me alright? I’ll climb the cliff.” Bun looked at him like he was insane which would be correct, but did not argue against him. There wasn’t much else they could do right now.

    Once Bun was tied onto his back he would begin his climb again, now with the added weight of a ten-year-old. It was even more difficult than before, especially with him clinging onto him so tightly but it could be understood in this situation. After this perhaps he’d pick up the yoga Sato had been suggesting after all.

    “Hey, Chief?... I have to apologize for something. All the trouble today…” Bun murmured.

    “You did it for my sake, didn’t you?” Borun cut him off.

    “Huh? How do you know?”

    “Heh, your friends told me,” Borun dryly laughed.

    He wished he could see the look on the boy's face right now, but he couldn’t risk looking back. Most of it was obscured by his face either way. “Besides, we’re even. There’s something I want to apologise about as well…I-”

    Then it hit. He couldn’t move.

    “I-I strained my back…I-I can't move,” he groaned painfully as Bun panicked on his back. Another eruption began as he felt the heat burn behind him. Then his fingers began to slip and a piercing scream was heard above. He couldn’t even hear Fumu’s call for the Warp Star.

    “This may be the last chance I have to ever say this. My brother was the one in the Ranger Corps…Aha, I was just a small boy when he joined,” he dryly laughed. Bun laughed awkwardly alongside him. At least they might go laughing together.

    “Oh…You remind me of- Aghh!” he was cut off as the wall crumbled beneath his fingers and they began to fall. But by some miracle, were stopped as he felt his body collide with something, hard but oddly warm.

    As he opened his eyes again he saw the glittering sheen of the Warp Star and Kirby sitting atop it with a big smile. Their little flight was short-lived before they slowly lowered onto the ground, surrounded by people.

    Bun was quick to run into Fumu’s arms as soon as the rope was cut. Yabui was fast on his feet, asking him numerous questions as he opened his coat to check for any damages. Everything was moving around so fast, it was becoming more difficult to stay awake.

    “Dear?” he heard a familiar voice bring him back to reality as he felt her wrinkly hand take his.

    “Sato?” Moving his neck was difficult, but the view of his wife was worth the discomfort.

    “I knew you’d come back safely. You did an amazing job, be proud of yourself,” she gently spoke. He felt like he was about to cry, perhaps he even was right now it was hard to tell.

    Finally, he could rest today. At least until he heard Dedede’s familiar laughter from the distance. “Chief Borun! You cannot escape it, your days as a Policeman are numbered by today!” Dedede loudly announced.

    “You’ve got to be kidding! If he retires I’ll close my restaurant!” Kawasaki argued.

    “That’s right! You can't fire him!” added Curio.

    “Me and Tago will pack up shop and leave if he’s forced to retire!” Gango argued too. Everyone there had something to say to Dedede as Borun tried to sit up.

    Escargon looked at the King awkwardly. “The tension here is a bit heated don’t you think?”

    Dedede only huffed. “There’s nothing you can do! I have it all on paper right here!” he argued as he waved around a decree. Said decree was swiftly blown into the volcano as Kirby gave the King a cheeky smile.

    “Argh! Dammit Kirby!” In a rage, the King lowered his canon. Aiming it at the boy who was still grinning. Instead of a cannon ball, a hornet's nest fell out. Almost as if Kirby knew about it he just started giggling. 

    Dedede and Escargon looked at each other in fear. “No…Not again. The swelling only just went down!” Escargon shivered. An army of hornets clouded above them as they both screamed in joined horror. 

    “Aaaaaaah! They’re angrier than last time!” Dedede could be heard yelling as they drove off.

    “Please get His Majesty this time- OW!”

    And with that, there was peace finally. “Was that a prank you pulled on Dedede Kirby? That was sick! Though I still wanted to pull a bigger one on him…Maybe we can talk to Lololo and Lalala…” Bun could be heard chatting to the boy.

    “Bun! You just got out of trouble!” Fumu could be heard scolding the boy as he whined.

    “Hey! Chief. I had some buns for Dedede. But seeing as he’s not here would you like them instead for everything you’ve done today?” Kawasaki approached him with a basket of odd-smelling buns.

    “He needs to recover, you’ll just put him over the edge,” Yabui scolded him.

    “Oh…” Kawasaki frowned.

    “Ahh chin up. Maybe those kids would like it they did help me out today. They deserve a treat,” Borun suggested. Perhaps his buns wouldn’t be too bad this time around.

    He could hear them talking in the distance. “For us really? Thanks!” Honey could be heard.

    “Thanks for the food!” They cheered in unison. Before they all proceeded to faint after the first bite. All except for Kirby.

Chapter Text

    The night was peaceful, Sword and Blade were resting tonight which left him alone to feel the chilling breeze on the castle's various balconies. There had been no demon beasts of late, though he couldn’t lax on his patrols. Dedede did not need to order a demon beast in order for one to be sent, he had seen it himself with the toy dog.

    Meta Knight sighed, despite all of this he couldn’t help but feel rather bored of late. New Years was rounding the corner soon, but the prospect of defeating Nightmare was still far out of reach. Even with Kirby around, those hurdles would grow larger and larger now once Nightmare realised what was going on.

    His ear twitched, he could hear footsteps and voices coming towards him, quite quickly at that. Before he could recognise the voices he grasped the hilt of Galaxia until Dedede came running onto the balcony and he released his grip.

    “C’mon Escargon, hurry up!” Dedede shouted, his voice echoing through the castle grounds. The smaller man caught up to the king, with what looked to be a camera in his hands. 

    Meta Knight turned towards Dedede who had now roughly put his arm over his shoulder. “Your Majesty? What’s going on?” he asked. Dedede’s strength rocked his whole body back and forth as the man tried to get into a comfortable pose.

    “We’re taking a picture of course! Lucky you, you’ll be one of the first people to be exposed to this instant camera with me!” Dedede hollered as Meta Knight resigned himself to his fate. He wrapped himself up in his cape as Escargon prepared the camera with Dedede grinning next to him.

    “Peace!” Dedede grinned as he held up a peace sign. The camera flashed and Dedede gave him a very rough but friendly knock on the back which nearly knocked him over. The camera whirred and a photo scrolled out that Dedede quickly snatched up excitedly.

    Meta Knight peered over his shoulder as the photo slowly developed as Escargon also joined them. He could see the edge of his cape developing as well as Dedede’s robe. It came out quite well, at least until they notice something strange. A ghost between both of their shoulders.

    “...Huh, a ghost,” he murmured as he stepped back from the two who had paled at seeing the apparition.

    “WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘HUH, A GHOST’? DOES THIS MEAN I’M HAUNTED? CURSED? POSESSED?” Dedede grabbed his shoulders and shook him in a panic as Escargon trembled in front of the now-dropped photograph. Ghosts were not much of a threat, to him personally at least. With all he’s seen, there could be worse.

    It surprised him that Escargon appeared panicked by this though seeing as how the man had previously always insisted to Dedede that ghosts don’t exist. Even going as far as setting up ghost traps for the King to prove his point. “I-It’s said a ghost appears in photographs when there’s someone they hold a grudge against. One so strong it manifests like that,” Escargon stuttered. Perhaps the shock of being proven wrong had gotten to him.

    Yet despite all of this, Dedede just laughed. “A grudge? That’s great! It’s a fun idea to have a ghost that resents me. Or maybe it even resents you Meta Knight! Imagine all the programs we can make with this,” the King cackled as he let the photograph slip out of his hand and off the balcony.

    Afterwards, the King excused himself, walking away at an oddly quick pace, making Meta Knight raise an eyebrow. Escargon was staring over the balcony. “I thought you didn’t believe in ghosts?” he spoke up, jolting the man.

    “W-Well scientifically they have no basis. But exactly how do you explain that?” Escargon stammered. 

    “A trick of the light perhaps? A drifting cloth?” Meta Knight teased.

    Escargon huffed at him. “Also scientifically impossible! Hmph, well if you're so keen to tease me I’ll just take my leave!” With a spin, the spindly man made his leave. Meta Knight allowed himself to rest on the balcony for a while as it began to rain, taking in the calm evening once again.

    He couldn’t hold off his duties for much longer though, but something caught his eye before he could leave. Dedede’s tank was leaving the castle in the middle of the night as fog began to seep in after the cooling rain. So he kept his patrol around the castle walls to stay in full view of whenever Dedede would make a return.

    Not a soul was in sight, the fog made it even more difficult to see anyone approach or leave. Even with how sharp his eyesight was in the dark he still found himself squinting as if the sun was in his eyes. Yet despite this, he continued on his patrol until he felt his legs suddenly freeze in place.

    The chill evening air had grown stronger, piercing through his layers and creating goosebumps across his skin. And that’s when he saw it, the ghost in the picture floating through his chest leaving a frigid sensation there. 

    And as quick as it came it left, likely looking for another victim. Meta Knight placed a hand over his chest, unconsciously checking to see if it had left a gaping hole there. This wasn’t his first run-in with ghosts of course, though they still freaked him out a bit as with any amount of dead life. It was only natural.

    It may be wise to check in on everyone else in the castle, such hauntings were bound to cause a panic. Even so, there was a bit of youthful glee he thought was once lost at the possibility of seeing their reactions to getting haunted. Fumu was sure to try and use every book at her disposal much like Escargon despite her insistence they were nothing alike. Sword was sure to sleep through the whole ordeal if it approached them, while Blade was likely to scream bloody murder.

    As he began to walk inside again though, there was a loud crash from down the courtyard. The drawbridge had risen as Dedede was crossing over it back from his short trip into the village. While he seemed otherwise unharmed his movements betrayed his earlier confidence. Afraid and practically cuddling Escargon like a safety blanket while he yelled at Waddle Doo.

    He had to stifle a chuckle as he finally went back inside. As he hid in the shadows of a corridor into one of the entrance hallways he listened in on the Cabinet family who had gathered there waiting for Dedede to return. Bun and the twins were not with them and Memu was pacing about in a panic.

    “A ghost! I’m certain I saw a ghost!” she cried as she continued to pace about much to the worry of her daughter and husband.

    Parm looked quite stressed out, clearly, any words of comfort he used were akin to calming a brick wall. It wasn’t until Dedede and Escargon finally arrived that he seemed relieved. “Your Majesty!” he called over to the man as they ran towards him.

    “Hm? What is it?” Dedede asked with his usual haughty tone.

    “Your Majesty please excuse me but what-”

    “What is happening in this castle? Please don't tell me you're toying with those monsters again!” Memu cut him off, practically pushing herself in front of the king.

    Dedede looked at them surprised. “Huh? What are you talkin' about?

    “Well uhm…We may have erm…Saw something…” Parm eeked out.

    “It’s a ghost! I swear so!” Memu insisted.

    Dedede and Escargon looked at each other in shock before Dedede cackled again. “Ahaha! Oh Parm, I thought you had some better sense in you,” Dedede worriedly smiled at the man.

    “No! I saw it as well!” Fumu interrupted them. “Just this evening I was walking down the corridor. It was dark and quiet, no one was around. But then I heard footsteps echoing behind me, getting closer and closer. I-I thought it was just a guard but as I turned around I saw a ghost floating towards me! I screamed and ran home,” she recounted, shivering as she spoke.

    “Mine is even scarier!” Memu spoke up afterwards. “I was just watching some shows this evening in the living room. The doors to our balcony began to rattle before opening. I just thought the wind may have been extra strong this evening so I closed them without thinking. That’s when I saw it! The ghost through the window! I quickly closed the curtains and thought I was safe…But then when I turned around it was behind me the entire time! I’ve never been so scared before in my life…” she sighed.

    Dedede was starting to look even worse. No one could read the room though as Parm looked ready to burst about his own story. “You've not been properly scared yet! I was in the wine cellar, I was taking a stock of all our wines and deciding on what to use for a special dinner soon. Then, all the bottles began to rattle and float into the air! Then all dropped to the floor! Thousands of Dededen worth of wine! It must be a ghost from that skeleton you keep down there!”

    The King swallowed nervously. “T-That’s not even a real skeleton! It’s a fake one to create an atmosphere. As fake as all your stories! Great jokes, amazing jokes. Perhaps you’ll even show up on TV hahaha!” Dedede nervously cackled.

    No one was looking. Meta Knight took this chance to silently leap atop one of Dedede’s statues using techniques once taught to him by an old ally. From this perspective, he was able to look down on Dedede instead of craning his neck up.

    “Your Majesty,” he spoke up as he caught their attention. Fumu seemed to roll her eyes at his position but didn’t speak up. “It has become clear to me that something paranormal has been occurring in this castle tonight. You saw that with your own eyes did you not? After you left I had an experience of my own.”

    “Yeah okay, I get that! Don’t recount your story either!” Dedede waved his arms around in an anxious panic. “There are no such things as ghosts! You’re all making it up for attention!” Dedede yelled as he ran away from the room.

    The Cabinet family looked around worried as Escargon just sighed. “Alright, then you lot. Get back to your living space. If you’re all so worried about a ghost why don’t you have Sir Meta Knight guard your door for the night, he’s not scared in the slightest.” He could see a sneaky gleam in the man's eyes as he walked away, leaving him with the quivering family.

    “Sir Meta Knight! Is there really a ghost in the castle?” Memu shouted as she practically ran over to him. He felt exhaustion crash over him already at the prospect of spending a night with Parm and Memu.

    “Well…We don’t know if it could be a trick by Dedede. You’re aware of his nature to prank. I’ll watch him, and catch him in the act.” That was only a half-truth. He wanted to follow Dedede for another reason.

    To scare him.

    It was no secret that those working at the castle were burdened by the everyday annoyance of Dedede’s enjoyment of pranks. Escargon often taking the brunt of such mischief. On some rare cases himself, Meta Knight had also taken a few of them in his early days working for the king. One he remembered quite vividly was a late night he went down to the kitchen to check a disturbance when a pail of water and some flour dropped on his head from above the door.

    Dedede later feared ever pulling something like that again.

    During his early days in the army, he and many other young and inexperienced soldiers alike were prone to causing mischief, small or big. Those days, though long gone rung out in his head even now as he approached the king's bedroom. His mind was racing with ideas. Ignoring the lights that were beginning to flicker on and off and the distant screaming of the very distressed king.

    He wasn’t in his room yet which gave him time to prepare. First, he adjusted the alarm clock. Then he loosened the curtains, praying that they wouldn’t fall as he adjusted them as needed. As he started to look around for a pen and some paper though he heard a creak from behind him. He whipped around and dashed behind the bed only for there to be no other sound from the door. Perhaps his imagination was catching up to him. Briefly peering through the keyhole for the door he couldn’t see anyone down the hallway either. Once he was assured he was safe he continued his work.

    Once finished he took one of Dedede’s many spare bed sheets and draw a face on it close to the one he had seen himself and wrapped it around a spare pillow. It was terribly made, but fear was powerful so such details would be lost in a panic. He climbed out the window and held himself upside down by a bar in the brick that was used to hold streamers and flags during celebrations.

    And with that, he was free to quietly watch and wait for the king to enter his room and hopefully not take notice of his eyes that glowed in the dark. His cape nearly dropped in front of the window a few times but he eventually had it pinned between his legs. 

    Dedede eventually returned to his room, shutting the doors as soon as he arrived in a panic. He briskly walked over to his bedside table and poured a glass of water which was promptly emptied. Like a balloon, the king deflated with exhaustion as he dragged himself behind his changing screen. 

    His robe and various pieces of clothing were tossed over with little care as he left with a green nightgown on and a red sleeping cap. Yet even after he climbed into bed he could not stay for long, his tossing and turning was visible from the window before he finally threw himself out with a yell. “Argh! I can’t sleep like this!”

    The lights were quickly flicked on as obnoxious music loudly played from his boombox. “If I can't sleep I’ll just party all night!” he could be heard yelling to himself. It was growing more difficult to stay in place now as the king continued to fool around, droplets of rain began to pelt his back as he stood his ground like a snake ready to pounce.

    A bolt of lightning stuck one of the castle's many lightning rods, shutting down much of the power to Dedede’s dismay and Meta Knight’s enjoyment. Each flash and crash of lightning was worse than the other for the man who could be heard yelling in fear.

    He roughly grabbed the curtains and the entire thing came toppling over him trapping him underneath them as he kicked about in a panic. “AHHH GET OFF OF ME!” he screamed at the red curtains before he threw them off, heavily breathing as he freed himself. 

    Then his entire body froze, the clock had finally gone off. Spiralling into madness as it banged again and again. Dededed swallowed, fear etched onto his face as he slowly approached it.

    Reaching out a hand to open it.

    When the window was burst open by the wind, the rattling noises made by the windows echoed throughout the room. “Wh-What the?” Dedede gawped as he stood by the window.

    Meta Knight finally let go of a small note he had written.

    It blew into Dedede’s face. A picture of a grave.

    He threw it to the floor, his arms quivering as he reached a hand out to try and close the windows. That’s when Meta Knight dropped his sheet down putting Dedede face to face with his fake ghost.

    “IT’S HERE!!!” he screamed the castle down, before turning heel and running out of his room faster than Meta Knight had ever seen him move before. Finally once the coast was clear Meta Knight dropped back down, closing the windows as he entered the bedroom. 

    That was pleasantly enjoyable. Though perhaps now he should reconvene with the Cabinet family before they panicked even further. Dedede’s yelling could be heard echoing down the hallway, alongside Escargon’s own now too. He must have roped the man into giving him company.

    He could hear Memu’s scream again as he turned a corner, forcing him to change his pace to a run. And that’s when he saw it…Or perhaps three of them. Floating above the cowering family were now three ghosts, swooping above them. But something about them felt off.

    As a quick experiment, he drew Galaxia and ran towards the ghosts. It would likely just phase through them but at the sight of this, the ghosts quickly ran away, flying as fast as they could back down the hallway and out of sight. “That’s strange…” he murmured to himself as he sheathed his sword.

    “Sir Meta Knight! Why are there so many of them!” Memu begged Meta Knight for answers.

    “I’m not sure. But is the rest of your family safe?” he asked.

    Parm shook his head. “Kirby was staying over tonight with Bun. But when I went to check on them earlier I found both them and the twins were missing! Do you think they may have gotten spooked?” The father’s teeth chattered nervously.

    “We should search for them if so,” Meta Knight assured him. “I believe His Majesty may be running around in a panic too. So please try and stay calm.” He wouldn’t admit to them he was the cause of the king’s current panic.

    As they all rushed down the hallway the ghosts fled down Dedede’s screams could be heard off in the distance, not too far from where they were. “This way!” he directed to them as they ran in the direction of one of Dedede’s many dungeons.

    His screams stopped for a while after that, their journey down to the dungeon was rather uneventful apart from Memu’s occasional freak-outs over any shadow that grazed her skin. He was beginning to grow unsure if Dedede was even in the dungeon anymore until he heard him call for help.

    “Somebody help me! Somebody! Anyone!” he cried out. Shortly followed by more screams, each one sounding goofier than the last as he clearly began to lose breath. It only grew worse as the sound of something crashing could be heard as they finally approached the dungeon.

    “GWAAAAAAAAAAAAH! GET AWAY! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I’ve had it…” the king murmured before likely passing out from shock. They all paused, sitting in waiting for any other signs of danger until they heard a very familiar voice.

    “Man…I didn’t know adults could scream like that,” Bun could be heard pouting.

    Escargon’s laugh filled the room as he clapped. “Well done all of you. As much as I hate to admit it you were the best pranksters for the job.” After hearing his voice they quietly approached the cell that Dedede appeared to be inside and was met with a peculiar sight.

    Dedede was chained to a table of sorts with plastic skeletons laying across his chest and a broken fake wall on the floor. Escargon was standing there with a small bag of lollipops handing them out to the four missing children. Bun was there, alongside Lololo, Lalala and Kirby who were holding white sheets around their shoulders. Their three little ghosts.

    “Sweets! Sweets!” Kirby cheered as he held his.

    Lololo and Lalala nodded alongside him with their own. “Never thought we’d ever be able to do a prank like this with Escargon. I’d say I played a pretty good ghost,” Lololo grinned.

    “No way! Did you see the swoops I did? I bet that’s how we scared Sir Meta Knight!” Lalala argued with her twin.

    Meta Knight flicked the light back on, frightening all of them but Kirby. “Bun! Lololo and Lalala! What on earth are you all doing?” Memu scolded her three children.

    “Mr Escargon? What are you doing with all of this?” Parm frowned.

    None of them called out Kirby’s name oddly enough, but from the corner of his eye, he could see the couple eyeing him down likely waiting for him to say something. While he did worry for Kirby’s safety and training to become stronger, matters such as scolding a child were…Well he wasn’t Kirby’s guardian or father so it was no position of his, was it?

    Finally, he cracked. “Kirby. This behaviour isn’t acceptable as a Star Warrior. Explain yourself,” he scolded the boy who didn’t appear too bothered by this. He was far too busy eating his lollypop to care. Escargon on the other hand looked ready to burst.

    His eyes welled up with tears. “T-This…It’s my revenge! His Majesty always loves pulling tricks and pranks on me,” he whined. “I can't count anymore how many times he must have scared the life out of me. It’s not good for my heart! Sometimes it’s as small as him jumping out from a corner with a scary mask. Once he locked me in the toilet for an hour! WITH THE LIGHTS OUT! One day after watching a show he chased me around with a chainsaw…But the worst…The worst one! I was returning to my room from an all-nighter only for him to turn a torch on to light up his face with fake blood all over it!”

    Meta Knight sighed as he continued on. “I conducted a plan of revenge. I hid a ghost in the picture I took with him. Bribed Mable for a scary fortune. The drawbridge and the children act as ghosts. They wanted to pull a prank on him too! So they were happy to help me…” Escargon finished confessing.

    “So…There was no ghost all a long then? I feel a bit better now at least,” Fumu sighed. 

    “Still though! Bun I cant believe you would try and scare your own mother too! What if I get a grey hair,” Memu scolded him.

    But Parm looked confused. “I could hear His Majesty screaming a lot earlier as well before we found you all. Were you even doing it inside of his own bedroom, that’s where the screams seemed to be coming from?”

    Meta Knight froze.

    “Eh, he was probably just on edge. We did get a bit sidetracked scaring you all…” Bun apologized.

    Kirby though, finally finished his lollypo.p “Meta Knight was in his room.”

    The room froze. “Kirby, a Star Warrior does not lie,” Meta Knight forced out. Kirby must have seen him then through the door.

    He looked at him, eye to eye which was an uncomfortable sight. “Are you calling me a liar? I saw you,” Kirby replied with near-perfect clarity. And Meta Knight felt his body freeze and eyes on him from all directions as he struggled to find the words to defend himself.

    “So that’s what happened,” Dedede murmured. Scaring everyone nearly half to death.

    “Your Majesty!” Escargon sputtered as they all turned to face the king. He continued to lay there, still as can be with his eyes shut as if he were meditating.

    “You…Kirby, Bun, Lololo and Lalala…Last of all Sir Meta Knight…” he whispered. “I’LL SHOW YOU TRUE FEAR!” he then roared at the top of his lungs. The chains he was held down by were shredded like paper as he leapt up from the table.

    Unanimously they all agreed to run. Everyone but Kirby was terrified of the rampaging king as they skirted out of the door and down the hallway. “If you like ghosts so much I’ll make you one!” he yelled at them again.

    All of a sudden as they made another turn Escargon froze in his tracks, causing him to nearly crash into the lanky man. But with one look up he very quickly discovered the problem. The real ghost passed above them and down the hallway towards Dedede.

    “Gahahaha! Another trick eh?” Dedede could be heard shouting at the ghost. Peering over the corner Meta Knight could see him extending his arms out in order to catch them. Only for the ghost to simply phase through his whole body. 

    “That’s the one I saw!” he spoke up as he ran towards the king. He was standing there motionless, barely able to lift his head out of shock.

    “W-Was that?...” Dedede stuttered as he finally twisted his head around to be met face-to-face with the true ghost that had been haunting them this entire night. So of course Dedede sped off down the hallway again with a scream.

    “Pay your bill…” the ghost droned. It caught him, and everyone else off guard as they chased after the two.

    “Leave me alone! Away! Away!” Dedede shouted at the ghost as he ran into the castle vault. Bags upon bags of Dededen were piled inside a tight safe that only Dedede had access to. More money than anyone in the country could hope to see in a lifetime being tossed about by Dedede in a panic as the ghost simply lazily drifted above him.

    One bag flew high enough for it to catch much to its delight “You’ve paid your bill…Thank youuuu…” it groaned as it flew away.

    “Are you serious?... A ghost that steals money?” Fumu groaned with disappointment as she watched it float away. But the direction it flew in gave him some suspicion as to where the ghost had come from as they continued to chase it.

    Inside the throne room, the king's transportation system had been open this entire time as an escape for the ghost. Alongside Dedede’s money. Exactly what kind of demon beasts was Nightmare creating now was a thought that crossed Meta Knight’s mind until a new voice spoke up.

    “The receipt shall be sent later. Now, I do apologise for doing something so extreme but you left me no choice with such a large bill! Have a nice day!” The sarcastic cheery voice of the man behind the TV explained as the lights switched on and all evidence of the king's technology vanished into the castle walls and floors.

    “...I think I need a new prescription after tonight,” Escargon shook as he removed his glasses. The others around them weren’t sure on if to sigh in relief or defeat from the entire night.

    But before any of them could rest the doors to the throne room were slammed shut and Meta Knight felt a cold chill up his spine as he heard Dedede let out an evil chuckle. He was standing there with a threatening smile and hammer at his side.

    “Did any of you really think…You’d be leaving here alive?” he shouted as he ran towards them all with his hammer high in the air as they all scattered like rats into the early morning. None of them got any sleep that day.

Chapter Text

    “Happy New Year Your Majesty! An even happier year for me now you’ve paid your bill,” Customer Service laughed at the king. Dedede’s frown was astronomically large, he had been in quite a foul mood ever since the incident with the ghost.

    He slammed his arms on his throne before standing up. “I can't enter the new year without beating Kirby! What kind of king would I be if I couldn't even win against a damn kid!... So send me someone strong enough to do it” he demanded.

    Customer Service quietly rolled his eyes behind his shades before clearing his throat. “Well, you’d be delighted to hear we’re having a New Years' sale. Think of it as our company’s little New Year tradition, next to tax write-offs of course, my favourite part.” He began to clack away at his digital abacus. “We can lend you one of our best for a paltry sum. Though please keep in mind if it gets destroyed you’ll have to pay the full price.”

    “Send it!” Dedede quickly replied.

    “Right away of course. Though it may take a while, our servers are quite busy today. In the meantime, why don’t you tell me what everyone does for the New Year in your tiny country,” he sarcastically cooed as the machinery in the throne room bleeped.

    Dedede appeared to be caught off guard by this question. “Well…I might make a speech or two. But I’ll have a big meal before I sing at the first sunrise! I don’t care much about what the commoners do,” he spat.

    “Hmm, my studies show consistent similarities in New Year traditions from customers all over the continent with their own takes on it. Such a shame you show little interest,” Customer Service let out a fake sigh as the delivery service began to crackle and load the demon beast.

    And as the light dissipated, what was left on the tiny stage was a small round burgundy creature with a large straw hat. Dedede ran over to it before keeling back in disappointment. “What? This thing is meant to defeat Kirby?” he asked confused.

    “This is Sasuke, a fireworks craftsman demon beast. Fireworks are a very important part of the New Year across the galaxy after all,” Customer Service explained.

    As if sensing Dedede’s displeasure, Sasuke jumped down from the delivery system and threw out bunches of pinwheel fireworks that spun all over the floor before exploding in Dedede’s face. Yet as the smoke settled, the king did not appear angry. Instead, he crossed his arms grinning. “I like your spark.”

    -

    Kirby yawned, adults were so boring. They talked on and on for hours without moving yet all his friends insisted they listen in. A few of them were gathered around in a circle all discussing one strange topic today. Fumu had explained New Year's Eve was a day when people would celebrate the last day of the year.

    Lots of people had their own ways of doing it, perhaps a bit too many in the village. “My hometown? Well, we spent the entire night eating soba noodles and listening to the bells countdown. I hoped the soba would catch on here but no one has ever seemed interested in it,” Kawasaki sighed.

    “My country is quite far north. So we spent the night often praying at home and the devoted would make pilgrimages to shrines on the mountaintops,” Curio added.

    “Mine’s quite cheerful!” Gus loudly interrupted them. “In my country, we danced all night! I’m probably the best dancer in the village if I say so myself!” he explained as he showed off some of his most impressive dances to the other villagers earning a clap for Mable.

    “Back home we have multiple dates from religion to religion. My mother celebrated differently from us as she came from somewhere else but we’d still create decorations with colourful powders made with rice,” Mable explained.

    Len sighed as he listened to all their stories. “I must say it’s quite difficult to decide on a New Year's celebration with how multicultural our village is. I’d love for something everyone can get involved in but there’s almost too much to pick.”

    “The only native celebration I’ve still unearthed is praying at Kabu which we all have agreed on. But it feels a bit lonely to only celebrate the New Year on your own…” Curio agreed with the man.

    “I think it’s wonderful!” Fumu’s voice called out, grabbing their attention. “We don’t have to keep doing things held to one way, we can come up with a new tradition and celebration every year!” The adults looked at her quite surprised.

    “Yeah! A new celebration like a festival would be fun. Right, Kirby?” Bun nudged him in the arm.

    “Oh…Yeah! Fun with everyone!” Kirby replied with a smile until he heard the familiar sound of Dedede’s tank approaching. As per usual it just barely stopped in front of them, many of them were beginning to worry about Escargon’s hand-eye coordination as the main driver for the tank.

    Said same man stood up in the van with a megaphone. “Only a little bit of the year remains- Ouch!” the man winced alongside everyone else as the megaphone made a strange sound. It didn’t seem to make his ears hurt though which was strange, he thought about that briefly as he poked the pointed ends of his ears.

    “Ahem! Take precautions against fires and make sure that all your doors are-”

    “Just give that to me!” Dedede shouted as he snatched the megaphone out of his hands, seemingly freeing everyone else from the noise. “I have an announcement! This year I will be having a beautiful fireworks show!” he announced, having little trouble with the megaphone.

    This announcement seemed to catch everyone off guard, even Fumu looked to be doing a double take on what he just said. “Fireworks? I’ve never seen those before,” Bun commented as he lightly pulled one of Kirby’s ears after seeing him touch them earlier.

    “Oh my! I haven’t seen fireworks in years!” Hana excitedly commented.

    “That’s right! A firework parade will be held in my honour to bring in the new year. Now, of course, I shall graciously allow you all to watch it. On one condition! None of you are allowed to make your own fireworks. I see that glint in your eyes!” he evilly laughed. Looking behind him, Kirby could see a mix of confusion and anger on the adult's faces as Dedede finally drove away.

    “Darn it! I bet you were all thinking what I was thinking,” Kawasaki huffed with his arms on his hips.

    Len nodded with a sigh. “Yes indeed. Our own fireworks would have been a wonderful idea to have for a festival… Fumu? Can’t you speak to your father about this? He could change His Majesty’s mind.”

    “Hmm, do you need to though? What’s Dedede going to do? We can make our own fireworks! He can’t stop them when they’re in the air,” she smirked.

    This seemed to be enough to get all the adults invigorated again. “Yeah! We can do it!” They all repeated to themselves while Fumu looked quite pleased with her handiwork. 

    But Kirby was confused, he walked over to her and pulled at the hem of her dress. “What’s a firework?” he asked as all the adults vanished into the police station in a hurry to discuss their plans. 

    “Hmm…Fireworks are sort of like patterns you can shoot into the sky I believe. I’ve seen them in books before. I guess we’ve never really thought about using them much,” Fumu explained.

    “Aren’t sparklers fireworks?” Bun asked.

    Fumu looked a bit worried for a moment, caught off guard for an answer. “They’re a type of hand-held firework if that helps. They don’t explode but they do crackle,” a familiar feminine voice replied from behind them.

    Sword and Blade were standing there out of uniform, a rather uncommon sight. Both of them wore tank tops, Sword’s being black while Blade’s was red with grey shorts and some old sandals. With their arms and legs so exposed, it made many scars across their bodies more visible, such as what looked to be a large bite mark over Blade’s left arm and a large gash in Sword’s left leg.

    “Oh! Sword and Blade. What are you two doing here?” Fumu asked as she took note of their shopping bags.

    “Sir Meta Knight sent us to grab some supplies for New Year's Eve. We got a few sparklers too, they’re on sale actually. Want em?” Blade explained as she dug through one of the bags only for Sword to pull a box out of his.

    Bun strolled over to Fumu as she was handed the box. “Are you sure it’s alright for adults to be handing kids these? Wouldn’t you get into trouble?” he asked.

    Blade just waved it off. “Don’t sweat it. I know Fumu will keep you kids in line, just make sure you have a bucket of water out to diffuse them alright?” Sword looked a bit exhausted by her but didn’t say anything else, he was probably quite used to this by now.

    But Kirby was more interested in something else. “What did you get?” he asked sweetly.

    “Just the usual food supplies for us…But for tonight we got lentils and cinnamon for Sir Meta Knight. Not for cooking mind you, but for a New Year’s tradition,” Sword calmly explained. “Using cinnamon water he’ll clean our quarters and use the lentils for good fortune. It’s a few of the traditions back from his home he’s able to do still.”

    “That’s amazing… All the adults were also talking about traditions back home earlier today to decide what we would do today. A bit late to plan I think but it’s still nice to listen to,” Fumu explained as Bun ran off to grab the other children.

    Blade nodded. “Yeah, me and Sword didn’t grow up with any sort of celebration. We didn’t even know the new year was a thing until Sir Meta Knight taught us about it. Which reminds me, he said he needed to see you today Kirby… Though I’ve forgotten why and he’s already asleep.” She looked over at Sword for any hope of his memory being better but the man just shook his head.

    “Hmm, I suppose we’ll just have to wait. Thank you for the sparklers though! I’ll keep an eye on everyone,” Fumu assured the two.

    “That’s great, well enjoy yourselves then. See ya,” Blade lazily waved as the two left.

    Bun arrived shortly afterwards with the others. The twins excitedly talked to each other about what colour sparklers they were going to pick while Iro pulled out a box of matches. “Won’t that get you into trouble?” Honey asked her.

    “Not if I return them. Plus Hohhe found some extra stuff in his parent's shed too. Like uh, fountains weren’t they?” she looked over at the boy who put the strange-looking firework on the floor. It looked a bit old and worn.

    “Yeah, I found these too. Bang snaps! They make a loud crack as you throw em!” he excitedly announced as he threw one on the floor with excessive force which created a loud bang sound that scared Honey.

    Fumu looked at all of them worried. “Hohhe, that’s mean. And remember matches aren’t a toy, be extra careful when you use them Iroo. I’m getting a bucket of water alright? Don’t light any yet while I’m gone.”

    They all pouted as she walked away “She can't tell us what to do. Hey Iro, wanna see if this fountain still works?” Hohhe spoke up as soon as she was out of hearing distance.

    “But Fumu said wait,” Kirby frowned as Iro took out a match and lit it.

    “And Fumu isn’t here. It’ll be fineee, just watch,” Iro shrugged him off as she lit the fountain. Only for it to combust into flames.

    They all looked at it in surprise as Honey stepped towards it. “I-Is it meant to do that?”

    “Stand back!” Fumu shouted as a rush of water splashed over the burning fountain. “What did I say? It could have blown up if you weren't careful and you would have gotten really hurt!” she scolded them.

    She took the matches away from Iroo for now and opened the box of sparklers. “Alright, one each. If the spark gets too close to your hand you need to drop it into the bucket of water and I’ll give you another one okay?” she explained in a much chipper tone.

    Everyone got their sparklers one by one, but when it came time for Kirby’s to be lit, the match had extinguished itself. “Oh, let me light it,” Bun insisted before Fumu could light another one. 

    Golden sparks jumped out of Kirby’s as soon as Bun touched it with his green one. The warmth and colour felt so familiar as if he was holding the warp star again. “Pretty!” he cheered as he ran around with it, watching as it drew golden lines out of the air with every swish.

    But as he ran around he stumbled past the police station where all the adults were talking. The door was slightly ajar so he looked in to see Borum speaking. “So, without good gunpowder, you cannot create good fireworks. And gunpowder is-”

    “It’s what’s inside your pistol, yeah? Bang bang!” Gus playfully snatched up Borum’s pistol as he pretended to shoot it.

    “AH! Gunpowder for fireworks is much different! For one they make pretty colours appear!” Borum stuttered as he snatched the gun back and slid it into his holster and rose from his seat. From behind his desk, he dragged out a barrel with big red letters. Ones Kirby could read!

    It read ‘Danger!’ on the barrel. Fumu said to never touch something that said that.

    Borum patted the top of the barrel. “The materials we need are inside here. Alright then, help me measure it all out,” he announced to the group of adults as they organised various tubs of different widths and depths.

    “Kirby! Where are you?” Fumu could be heard calling out for him as he watched the gunpowder be poured out. It looked quite painful on their backs though, so of course, he wanted to help.

    “I can help!” he loudly announced as he pushed the doors open.

    But they all only stared at him in utter horror. “A spark-!” Borum stuttered before everything went white.

    Everything snapped back as cold water was poured over him, causing him to shake as much of it off before a fluffy towel was draped on his shoulders. Fumu was standing in front of him with an apologetic look on her face as she turned off the water fountain.

    “I’m sorry we didn’t explain it to you. But stuff like gunpowder is very dangerous next to something that creates heat, like your sparkler,” she explained as Bun roughly smothered his hair with the towel.

    Hohhe pouted though. “Yeah, but now because of Kirby, we can’t make fireworks.”

    “That’s right! And I really wanted to make some too,” Iro whined as she crossed her arms.

    Fumu giggled at them. “Don’t sweat it. The adults are always at a loss for ideas, they’ll ask us for help again soon!” she assured them.

    “Uhm, sorry but I need to go. My mother wants help on making charms for later tonight,” Honey meekly explained. “I-If any of you’d like one I can keep one reserved!” she smiled.

    Iro’s back straightened. “I-I’ll come with you. You need a lot of help don’t you?” she stuttered.

    “Iro are you just looking for an excuse to-” Hohhe’s mouth was slapped over by Lalala.

    Fumu put the bucket she was carrying back next to the water fountain, it was a communal bucket of sorts. “Alright then, I’ll see you both later tonight and for charms… Hmm, a studies charm would be quite nice.”

    “The safety of our family,” the twins asked in unison.

    “Ahh, that’s a hard choice. But fortune might mean mama will give me more money this year…” Bun mumbled to himself.

    “I always just go for good luck. That means anything I want could go well,” Hohhe proudly announced to himself.

    Iroo raised an eyebrow. “Last time you got one though it fell through the drain the next day,” she bluntly replied.

    Charms sounded very powerful, though he wasn’t quite sure what they were by listening in to his friends. His wings were wet which made him grumpy, he didn’t like it when they were wet as it made him feel heavy. Fumu told him that he was like a cat that way.

    He reached over and tugged at the hem of Fumu’s dress. “What’s a charm?” he asked.

    “Ah, that’s right. Well, their proper name is Omamori. They’re made for New Year when we go visit Kabu, it’s a very old tradition that’s been passed down here. It’s a small pouch with an old prayer inside that’s supposed to give you the blessing of whatever was written on it. Say for good luck it’d give you a blessing of luck, but you have to take care of it. But that’s only one type of charm, outside of the New Year there are lots of different charms to give you luck or make you feel happier,” she explained.

    “Ohh, sounds fun,” Kirby smiled.

    “If we go early you can have some time to look at them before choosing if you’d like. Sound good?” Fumu asked. He nodded and she looked content. With a wave, Honey and Iro left. Hohhe wasn’t far behind, remembering a request made by his mother before dashing away.

    As if it were fate, the adults finally approached them for advice right as their most eager had left. Perhaps they could make fireworks another day, but for now, they were all gathering in Kawasaki’s restaurant.

    Fumu sat at a table, the eyes of various adults all circling around her as she poured over ideas with them. Kirby sat at the back with Bun, listening in on their conversations.

    “Mr Curio, why don’t you try making something inspired by Pupupuland?” she suggested to the elderly man who nodded in agreement.

    With a smile, she turned to Kawasaki next, enjoying a bowl of soba noodles as he listened to everyone. “Hmm, why don’t you design a special dish out of fireworks?” she suggested.

    “To eat?” he looked at her confused.

    “No like a firework display inspired by food!”

    His eyes widened. “Ohh! I see. Yes, that’d be some great promotion!”

    “What about me? Any ideas?” Borum spoke up from behind her.

    “Perhaps you could also do something related to your work! Same to you Mayor! What if you made something cute like your sheep?” Both of the old men seemed to nod in agreement at her suggestion.

    Sat next to him, Kirby looked towards Memu and Parm who also seemed to be murmuring their own ideas to join in as well. One whisper, in particular, raised his ears. “Perhaps we should be cautious though. His Majesty has ordered another demon beast,” Memu whispered.

    “Demon beast? Where?” Kirby asked them.

    “Hmm… I’m not quite sure in particular. But there’s been a lot more guards in the lower part of the castle today. Perhaps they’re doing something down there for the New Year,” she pondered.

    Kirby looked towards Bun, who in turn looked to the twins. “Hey, sis! We’re going to make sure Dedede isn’t up to anything bad!” he called out to her from across the restaurant.

    “Really? Alright, I’ll be here to help everyone with their plans then. Make sure to be back by sunset!” she called back to them as they started their run out of the restaurant. More and more decorations were beginning to pop up as they ran through the mid-afternoon crowd, nearly distracting them a few times.

    Closer to the castle they could see various strange-looking canons being attended to by various Waddle Dees. They were so preoccupied with their task that they didn’t notice the small group running back into the castle.

    The usual guards felt slim throughout the hallways and the gardens. Yet as they walked deeper below the castle, they found it more difficult to dodge the gaze of patrolling guards. If they were any more competent or less lazy on a day like this they would have been thrown out earlier.

    Eventually, they passed by a massive room which elicited a loud gasp from the four of them. In the centre was a tall rocket that nearly touched the ceiling, striped in red and blue.

    “What do you think it is?” Bun asked as they all stared up at it.

    “Giant firework?” Kirby asked curiously as the twins flew around it, eyeing it from every side.

    They could only stand there and scratch their heads. Perhaps Dedede was in another room then, but before they could start their search again a familiar boisterous voice echoed down the hallway. “So, where is this invention of yours?”

    “It’s right here,” Escargon’s shrill voice replied to the king as their footsteps grew closer. Kirby turned around to try and look for them before Bun grabbed his wrist and dragged him behind the rocket.

    He held a finger to his lips, a gesture Kirby repeated. As they listened in on the two. “It contains the power of hundreds of fireworks. Just one is enough to fill the sky for five minutes. But that’s not all, with that much power you could blow a ‘certain’ someone to the other side of the galaxy! Or at least blow them up,” Escargon bluntly explained as they began to circle around the rocket.

    Bun kept his hand held tight around his wrist as they continued to circle in the opposite direction. “Is that so? Well colour me surprised,” Dedede could be heard playfully slapping Escargon’s back.

    “Ack! But honestly! You should consider giving me a pay raise over some cheap demon beast. Think of it as a long-time investment!”

    “You’re already a long enough investment as it is!” 

    Kirby wanted to giggle at their bickering, but it was becoming rather difficult to keep up with Bun’s walking and he proceeded to flop onto the floor with a loud smack.

    “Oh? Is there a little rat down here?” Dedede loudly called out as Bun and the twins panicked, pulling Kirby up as they were finally caught. Dedede and Escargon stood in front of them, ready to grab them.

    “C’mon!” Bun yelled as he pulled Kirby again, this time running much to the dismay of Kirby’s legs. And his sore face for that matter. 

    Dedede only cackled at them “Think you can get away?” With the pull of a lever, part of the wall opened up and a long slim machine shot out, grabbing Kirby’s waist like a toy in a crane game. Bun lost his grip and Kirby was held in the air. Which didn’t bother him too much, it was quite relaxing in fact.

    “Dedede! Let Kirby go!” Bun demanded all the while Kirby cheerfully swayed his legs in the air. The grip of the crane was pinching a bit though which wasn’t as nice.

    The king just laughed at Bun. “I’m not doing anything wrong! Just giving the little astronaut a blast from the past.” At those words, Kirby felt the crane drop him and he yelped in surprise. It pinched him back in the leg before he could fall, leaving him dangling upside down.

    “Feels dizzy…” he whined before it began to spin. Now he felt very dizzy being spun around like a wheel. It was hard not to scream as he was spun around faster and faster, at some point he was so dizzy he couldn’t even continue screaming.

    He could still hear Dedede cackling underneath him. “Tonight Kirby will depart on the journey of a lifetime! It’ll be his entire life in fact!” he loudly proclaimed. As he finished the crane released him, sending him flying through the air forcing a scream back out before crashing into a wall. 

    When he next opened his eyes he was laying on a booth in Kawasaki’s restaurant. He still felt a little bit dizzy but quite comfortable lying there, perhaps he should go back to sleep. “Hey! Kirby! Get up!” Tokkori yelled at him from on top of a table.

    “Tokkori?” Kirby mumbled as he sat up. Through the window, he could see warm light streaming through into the empty restaurant.

    Tokkori grumpily stomped his small foot. “It’s nearly the evening! You’ve been napping for way too long and I’m not about to sit here and watch for much longer. Get up,” the boy whined as he jumped off the table and into his human form.

    Kirby followed behind, closing Kawasaki’s door as they went. There were quite a few people outside decorating the trees and roofs of the village all linking to the large tree at the main square. Fumu was there with some of the adults who were fussing over something hidden under some white cloth.

    “Fumu!” Kirby called over to the girl.

    She seemed to light up as she spotted him. “Kirby! Are you alright? I was pretty worried when Bun carried you back unconscious,” she explained.

    “Yup! Dedede spun me around,” he smiled.

    “Right…” She awkwardly looked around at the other adults, worry in her eyes. “I’m not looking forward to what Dedede’s planning… But none of them want to quit their preparations despite the danger,” she sighed as she palmed her hands into her face.

    All of the adults looked even more motivated if anything, though a few of them were beginning to walk out of the village now much to his confusion. “Leaving, why?” he asked as he pointed at the crowd.

    “Oh! They’re all going to visit Kabu. Wanna come?” she offered, the idea of it seemed to alleviate her worry a bit. So Kirby nodded and she took his hand. “Are you coming too, Tokkori?”

    He turned his head away with a huff. “Nah, not my thing. Gonna go bother Coo or something, see ya later.” Before Kirby could say anything he had flown away in his bird form, leaving the two of them alone.

    “He’s always like this, don't worry. Everyone living in the forest probably hasn’t seen fireworks before, or at least only seen them a long time ago… Hope they’ll be alright, I’d hate for it to spook them,” she murmured as Kirby stared up at her. She quickly snapped back to him. “Ah sorry I got lost in thought, let’s go.”

    Together they walked alongside the crowd of villagers as the sky slowly began to turn dark and the sun went into hiding as the moon was coming out. It was a surprise seeing so many people in Kabu’s valley, all the times he had been there before it was always quite empty. Kabu’s shadow draped over them, blocking out the moon.

    There were a few small stalls there next to a large line up to Kabu, Honey was standing behind one with small colourful pouches lined up in front of her. “Hello, Fumu and Kirby!” she called over to them.

    “What’s these?” Kirby asked as he peered at the stall.

    “These are the Omamori I told you about Kirby. Have a look and see what one you’d like. Do you think I could get my studies charm then, Honey?” Fumu explained as Honey passed over a red and gold pouch with some symbols stitched at the front he couldn’t read.

    All the pouches were very colourful, he wasn’t quite sure what to pick. He stood on his toes, trying to get the best look he could until one finally caught his eye. It was a blue pouch with silver symbols stitched on its front. It was a bit far back so he had to reach out for it but it nestled well in his hand.

    “Oh! That one is a uhm… Yakuyoke! It wards off evil, would you like that one Kirby?” Honey asked. He nodded happily as she turned back to Fumu. “That’ll be a thousand Dededen then.”

    As the two girls talked and exchanged money he looked down at the pouch, it looked like something was inside of it. Honey seemed to notice this as he began to tug at its edges. “Oh no don’t open it! You won’t get any of its blessings if you open it,” she explained in a panic.

    Kirby stopped in his tracks. “No opening, got it. Thank you!” he cheered.

    “That’s good. Oh! Bun was waiting for you two as well, he’s by the end of the line,” Honey explained as she pointed them in the right direction where the back of Bun’s head could be spotted in the crowd.

    “Right, thank you. Kirby, remember to put your charm in your pocket okay? Don’t want to lose it,” Fumu explained as she stuffed it into one of his pockets and took his hand.

    The both of them approached Bun, the boy looking quite annoyed when he spotted the two. “Ugh the line has gotten so big now. You guys took forever.”

    Fumu huffed. “Not my fault Kirby got knocked out. We’re here now though at least… I’m still quite worried about what Dedede has planned,” Fumu sighed as they joined the back of the queue.

    Kirby peered down the line, lots of people were lining up to stand in front of Kabu but he couldn’t see what for. “Whats we doing?” he asked as the line moved on.

    Realization appeared to hit Fumu. “Oh! I forgot to explain. Every new year we set up a donation box in front of Kabu and pray for something we want in the next year. Like luck, then all that money goes towards his upkeep and the upkeep of the village. We have to hide it before Dedede finds it of course too. Normally we’d also do a fortune for luck but we won’t have time this year,” she explained.

    “I did one earlier actually,” Bun piped up.

    “Oh, what was it?”

    “Ultra luck of course!”

    Fumu raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh really? Did you hear though all your good luck turns into bad luck if you lie about a fortune?”

    “Pah, that’s a big fat lie and you know it,” he replied nervously. With a cough, he moved the topic on. “Besides that, shouldn’t we be quiet around here?”

    That caught Fumu by surprise. “Ah true. Kirby be sure not to make too much noise, it’s very important people are quiet during this,” she explained.

    “Okay!” he loudly replied, earning a few annoyed glances.

    As they reached the front a box could be seen with slits over the top and a large rope that dangled from a wooden structure above it. Fumu had explained shortly before in a low hushed voice that they’d put Dededen in the box, shake the rope and put their hands together. After that, they had to think hard about what they wanted.

    The noise made by the rope caught him by surprise, the loud ringing he had heard for a while earlier came from it. But it was so much fun to make, at least until Fumu gave him an annoyed look and pulled his hands off of it.

    But what did he want? As he watched the two put their hands together and close their eyes he mimicked them, thinking long and hard about what he wanted. A yummy meal, a nice nap in the sun and all his friends smiling. Those all sounded quite nice, so he wished for that.

    Fumu stretched as they walked away from Kabu. “Phew, we don’t have much time left this year. I hope the Mayor and the others are finished, I can't wait to see everything together,” she smiled.

    “What’s made?” Kirby asked.

    “Well, it’s a secret right now. You’ll just have to wait and see,” she explained as they approached the village. Even from a distance, he could see all the hanging lights had been turned on creating a glow around the village. Even Lololo and Lalala came to join them alongside all their other friends as they ran excitedly.

    The Mayor was standing beneath the tree of the main square, various lights and lantern strings were all linked to it creating a pretty pattern to look up at. Everyone was bustling about, chatting with their friends and getting their last-minute preparations ready as they waited for people to catch up from Kabu.

    “Ohh I can't wait for dinner tonight!” Lalala exclaimed.

    “Right? Memu always goes all out! She makes a giant charcuterie board, roast chicken and a big cake!” Lololo replied in equal excitement.

    Kirby’s eyes lit up at the mention of food. “Chalky board? Is it tasty?”

    Lalala nodded. “Yeah! It’s a great snack, cheeses and hams.”

    “Those are the only parts you eat,” Lololo commented.

    “So do you,” she commented back.

    The twins lightly bickered for a while about dinner as Kirby took in the air around him. He could hear so many happy people all around chatting about all their plans for next year and well wishes for their friends and family.

    Even Samo was out, chatting away with Mable. It was hard to not notice him with the way his well cared for hair was brushed up into a small peak Fumu said was called a pompadour. He was rather muscular compared to many of the other adults, cool brown arms appeared to nearly be too big for his rolled-up white sleeves. Bun often joked that his arms were so big because he was always shaking up drinks. Kirby pouted at how small his were in comparison.

    He was also wearing a dark red waistcoat and trousers with a small blue bowtie at the neck. With a moustache too many parts of him reminded Kirby about the mayor, Samo was a lot calmer than the mayor though. Even after he made a mess trying to work in his bar Samo still cleaned it up with only a light scolding about how to handle drinks compared to all the other adults when he was looking for a home. 

    In their hands was some sort of glass cup, like the ones in his bar. They must be having adult drinks, at least that was the most Fumu ever explained.

    He was quite content to play with the twins for a while, weaving in-between all the crowds as Fumu sat with the others. But then his ears picked up on some noise around the mayor. “Now then everyone! There isn’t much time left before the new year. So I wish everyone the best of luck in the new year and we will start our first New Year Fireworks Festival!” he announced using a megaphone.

    Everyone around them cheered as they threw their hats or various pieces of confetti into the air, a scarf even landed on Kirby’s head that was quickly gathered by an apologetic woman as Borum ushered everyone behind taped lines. All around them the lights were slowly turning off, one by one as the village fell into darkness.

    “Now then! My float will be first!” the Mayor announced through the darkness, his figure could be seen joyfully dancing down the line “Presenting my one and only… Sheep parade float!”

    Behind him, the figure of sleeping sheep appeared made of light alongside a red and green disk that twinkled. A fountain of yellow sparks then shot out of the tips of the sheep’s horns as a cartoony figure of the mayor lit up above them waving his arms. Everyone clapped and cheered at the sight as Kirby found himself awe-struck by the bright colours and lights, missing the mayor as he ran down alongside his float soaking in the praise.

    “Ah! I've really outdone myself here,” he clapped to himself as it began to spin around.

    Kawasaki bumped into him next much to the mayor's annoyance “Mine is way tastier! Look!” From around the corner, Kawaki’s float appeared, showing a cartoony version of himself as well holding a large plate of bright food. Kirby could recognise them all too, chicken, burgers and even an apple and a pear. Where his arms would be were was a giant spoon and fork with a fountain of green sparks that came out of his hat.

    “Tomorrow everything is half price!” Kawasaki loudly advertised with some large flyers in hand.

    Said flyers were quickly knocked out of his hand as Curio pushed past. “Up next is Pupupuland from millions of years ago! Make sure to come and visit the museum sometime,” he loudly announced, losing his breath midway through. Curio’s float confused Kirby the most. A cartoon version of Curio wearing a scruffy yellow shawl was riding on top of a large green monster with sharp teeth. Around its feet were small volcanos with red sparks that came out like eruptions.

    Borum remained where he stood as he combed his whiskers. “Hm, I suppose I’m next then." His float was, even more strange. Borum himself didn’t appear but instead, a small shocked man tied up with a large ball attached with blue sparks that came out of the tufts of hair on the man’s head.

    “What’s that?” Kirby asked.

    “Bad guys like that one on the float will end up like that in jail. So none of you better cause any trouble this year!” Borum’s words felt quite directed at a few of them but the other villagers found the float quite funny.

    “Oh dear, ours is up next!” Memu squealed to Parm’s delight. Both of them were on the float with a cartoon look like all the others back to back dressed in a black suit and white dress with a large pink heart that arched over them. Pink flowers surrounded their feet and red hearts with golden outlines down the base with pink sparks flying from the top of the arch. It spun around more than the others much to the couple's delight as everyone slowly followed the moving floats.

    Kirby looked around confused at everyone beginning to move out of the village. “Kirby! We’re going to see our other fireworks now, they’re by the lake nearby,” Fumu called out to him and took his hand amongst the crowd.

    It was hard to not lose sight of the floats, they were like moving lights but it was very difficult to not notice another set of bright lights coming from Dedede’s castle as they approached the lake. 

    That’s when it began, Dedede’s firework show. On the other side of the lake around the hillside and even from the ocean itself. Explosions of colour burst into the sky in all different shapes and sizes. One of them even shot across the sky like a shooting star, leaving trails of gold behind as it flew. Kirby couldn’t help but stand there in awe, his head craned up as the colourful lights filled his eyes.

    “What’s that!” Kawasaki’s voice snapped him out of his stupor as he noticed something was coming out of the lake. Harsh white lights caused him to cover his eyes with a flinch as a strange noise came from the lake. He opened them again once it abruptly stopped to see a giant castle now sitting at the centre of the lake. Its spires were blue-tipped with giant sparklers with a pink body and a green door fringed with gold. At its sides were a smiling sun and a moon.

    Everyone watched in awe as the door swung open an even bigger float came out. It was a giant cartoon of Dedede surrounded by patterns of arches in numerous colours and lights. At the centre, Dedede stood there with his giant hammer and grin as the man himself drove beside it alongside Escargon as a purple path rose from the ground lit up by golden sparks. 

    Escargon’s followed shortly afterwards, it was a much smaller and simpler float than Dedede. Yet was still more detailed than any of the village's floats. It was a cartoon of Escargon in his white coat with a large book and ruler alongside his smug expression.

    “Those are so much more impressive than ours,” Len murmured behind him with concern in his voice.

    Bun stomped his foot “Well duh! He must have cheated and hired a fireworks expert!”

    Len crossed his arms, confidence returning to his face. “Well then, we’ll show them our burning passion! Let’s not be beaten by Dedede!” he cheered to the rest of the village.

    The air was burning with passion, yet as he looked up at Fumu there was something dreary and damp about her. “They’re turning this into a competition,” she murmured sadly. Kirby frowned as he watched the village move with their floats.

    As he looked back at Dedede’s though his heart jumped. “Fumu!” he called out to her pointing at the float. A canon had slid out of the hammer and it was aiming right at the villagers.

    Fumu gasped. “Everyone run!”

    A flurry of fireworks shot from the cannon right into the villager’s paths. He could hear them scream in fright as dust clouded around them. Fumu grabbed his hand as they ran towards them, the dust slowly settling around them. All of their floats had been tipped over, with tears and burns on their paper covers.

    “Sis! He’s really attacking!” Bun yelled as Hohhee and Iro ran towards him. They all had sparklers in their hands.

    Fumu looked at them confused until Iro pulled out her father's matchbox. “Floats are pretty flammable, yeah? Let’s give them a taste of revenge!” She flicked a match with those words, creating a small fire.

    “It’s dangerous though!” Fumu argued as they quickly lit up their sparklers.

    “Well, you said we’d be safe in water. So we’ll just jump in the lake then. You better get some towels ready,” Hohhe laughed as the three of them ran off with their sparklers. 

    Kirby tried to run with them, but Fumu’s hands kept him with her as they went to check on the villagers. No one was badly injured thankfully, but many of the elders were in quite a bit of shock. Kirby looked around to try and spot Dedede and Escargon who had vanished into the shrubbery somewhere.

    “Fumu. Look, look,” he called to her as he pulled at her shirt. Escargon’s float had gone up in flames thanks to the sparklers and the splash of water could be heard in the distance. It was a bit unnerving to see Escargon up in flames but less so than Dedede’s float moving its arm.

    Something terrible was probably about to happen, again.

    A giant red bomb appeared in its hand, and on its surface looked to be a cartoon of his own face. “Kirby! He’s made those bombs just to get at you,” Fumu called out to him in a panic before one was thrown directly in front of him.

    The explosion knocked him off his feet quite easily, forcing him to get up quickly before a rain of bombs was dropped on him. It was quite difficult to hear anything with the sounds of explosions following behind him, but somewhere he heard someone calling for him, a familiar voice but deeper than Fumu’s.

    “Kirby! Use the wind!” 

    With a determined huff, he held onto a rock to steady himself before holding his arms out. The familiar sensation of the wind blew past his cheeks as he stood his ground, waiting for whatever Dedede threw at him next. Instead of a bomb, it was a flurry of fireworks. He could feel them all landing around him, making it difficult to keep himself steady.

    But with the twist of his hands, all the dust and stray fireworks began to funnel into his hands as they were sucked in. His hands felt like they were on fire, yet it did not hurt at all. In fact, he felt even stronger as flames enveloped his arms as they had before the first day he arrived in the village.

    They enveloped his entire body, filling him with strength. As he broke through the flames he noticed something strange too, the yukata that would appear whenever he transformed into Fire Kirby had changed. The patterns of various colourful fireworks had appeared all over it alongside a rather tight golden rope around his waist with a bell attached to it.

    He looked over to the others confused by the changes to see Meta Knight atop a rock, silhouetted by the fireworks behind him. They were talking far away but he could just about pick up on something before Dedede’s float tried to run him over. “The power of those fireworks must have changed his ability. He may be stronger now but it will not last for long.”

    But he did not have much time to dwell on those words before Dedede sent another flurry of fireworks at him. In a panic, Kirby released his own back at them, creating an explosive display of colour and light as they clashed. One particularly strong firework dipped and struck the ground underneath him knocking him over.

    Scrambling to his feet, more fireworks honed in on him as he ducked beneath various rocks that were quickly turned to rubble by the explosions. He let out a frustrated yell as the rope around his waist made it difficult to run or move at all. He very nearly threw himself onto the floor in a huff before a firework reminded him of the danger he was in.

    “Kirby! It’s the Warp Star!” Fumu could be heard shouting at him. He jumped up in joy, nearly getting hit in the process as the familiar star scooped him up and into the air. He finally felt safe, until more fireworks came chasing after him in the air much to his growing annoyance. The Warp Star carried him up, higher into the sky. Until his hands slipped.

    His freefall began as he tried flapping his wings to stay up in the air, made more difficult by them currently being made of fire. The float was beneath him now continuing its fire as he fell towards it. In a last-ditch effort, he funnelled all of Fire’s power into one last blast of fireworks, finally destroying the float.

    The explosion sent him back flying into the air as his yukata turned to embers and faded away back to how he was before. Perhaps now he could finally catch his breath as he fell through the air. Though whatever landing he would make did worry him.

    He would not hit the ground, however, as the corner of his cardigan was quickly caught on something else flying into the sky. In his relief, he thought it was the Warp Star, until he turned his head around and to his dismay saw the rocket that Escargon had built. 

    The air around him was fierce, his whole body was too heavy to move as he made his attempts to crawl down the rocket. Below him was probably that fireworks specialist Dedede bought, a small red demon beast with a large straw hat. It was also crawling towards him as well as hundreds of fireworks streaming towards them into the sky.

    “You bully!” he screamed out in frustration at the demon beast, throwing his hand out towards it to try and drag it towards him. It tried to fight back against the wind rushing into it as it was slowly dragged towards him. Kirby strained his hand, hoping to try and pull it faster as its legs were torn from the rocket, causing it to fly right into his hands.

    A new power surged through him, giving him to strength to push himself off the rocket as it began to buckle and expand. He began to fall again through the fountain of colours around him when a strange object appeared in his hands. A red and white parasol tipped by a star. He spun it around with joy before holding it up in the air to finally slow his descent.

    He left the fireworks above him, feeling relief as he drifted back down. As he looked down at himself he noticed another change, he was now wearing a pink raincoat with big pockets that had yellow stars on them with a pair of large red rain boots. It must be a brand new ability he found all on his own, filling him with excitement. 

    Yet as much as that excited him there was something else that filled him with even more joy. Next to seeing the remains of the giant firework fall onto Dedede and Escargon of course. Fumu and her family were below him alongside Meta Knight, waiting for him. He could see Fumu running below him, her hands open to him.

    He let go of the parasol, letting himself land on her much to her surprise as she just barely caught him. But she smiled all the same as she hugged him. “Happy New Year Kirby!” she congratulated him.

    “Happy Year!” he cheered back.

    His ability faded away as his feet finally touched the ground again, his knees nearly let up beneath him but Fumu held him up. He was quick to turn to Meta Knight though, eyes beaming with excitement over his new ability as he waited for the man to explain it.

    “Ah, that was Parasol Kirby. You did well to find a strong ability, well done. And a Happy New Year,” he calmly explained.

    “Yay!” Kirby cheered as he began to run around with excitement, tripping over once or twice though due to his still shaky legs. All around them the villagers were congratulating each other and settling down to watch the rest of Dedede’s fireworks display.

    It would go on for another half hour into the night, Fumu pulling Kirby to sit down with her as the other kids played together underneath the colourful sky. Her refusal to let him play confused him until he sat down and felt painful aches everywhere in his body, so he didn’t mind sitting down for a while afterwards.

    Meta Knight vanished again shortly after he sat down much to his disappointment. He was going to miss out on all the fireworks if he left but hopefully, he was still watching them in a quiet spot of his own.

    But he couldn’t stay up for much longer, his eyes were beginning to droop as the fireworks also began to slow down in number. Many of the villagers were now also beginning to pack up and leave to attend their own special dinners and celebrations into the night.

    “Kirby, we’re going home now. Where do you want to go?” Fumu’s voice nudged him out of his sleepiness.

    “Mm… Home, Tokko will be back,” he mumbled. He didn’t want his friend to be all alone. He knew the boy got lonely very easily but hated to ever admit or show it.

    Fumu only nodded in understanding. “Alright then. I’ll see you tomorrow! There’s, even more, we still need to do for the New Year,” she excitedly explained as she waved goodbye.

    Everything felt far too quiet now the fireworks had ended, the moon was the only light left in the sky now as the island returned to its usual peaceful silence. He walked back home on his own, knees still hurting as the evening chill made him shiver.

    It was so peaceful though.

    So much so, he nearly looked over a figure standing above the small pond by his home, staring up at the moon. It was taller than him, enveloped by layers of white robes that slowly turned transparent at the bottom with dots of white floating around it.

    He tried to slowly tip-toe his way past it only for it to turn around at him. Draped down its centre the layers were more visible, parting open to reveal a galaxy hidden inside. Large white sleeves dangled into the water blow as long white human arms lay limp below them. And inside its hood, there was nothing.

    Kirby found himself frozen in place, full of worry and fear he had stumbled into some sort of evil alien until it spoke. “Ohh, so tiny. You even have a present too,” it spoke wistfully above him as it reached for his pocket, plucking his charm out.

    “Ah! No! It’s mine!” Kirby argued against it.

    “It is mine too. Look.” The chime of a bell could be heard as it dangled a thin golden rope in front of him, a bell was attached to the end of it tied to a charm that looked a lot like his. Except it was torn and dirtied in various places with parts of its thread loose.

    Kirby shook his head. “No, yours is all broken!”

    “Oh? Well then maybe we could trade ?”

    “No!”

    “Ahh so sad, so sad.” It dropped his back on his head much to his annoyance.

    He quickly stuffed it back into his pocket and glared at the figure above him. “Ohh, so annoyed, so annoyed. I have a present, won’t you smile? A gift from my friend, a very old friend,” it explained as it took out another small rope with the same bell at the end.

    Kirby held it, shaking it a bit to hear the small bell chime. “A friend?” he asked.

    “Yes, I live up there on the moon. And my friend down here. We never see each other, but I remember them very well,” it explained wistfully.

    “Can I help find them?” Kirby asked.

    It only shook its head “Not anymore. But it’s okay. Today was a very beautiful day indeed, very beautiful. So I’m very happy.”

    He looked back down at the bell, and while the figures looked old and battered his looked brand new much to his surprise. Though maybe it was cursed too, Fumu had told him about curses before and how they were bad.

    But as he looked back up, it was gone leaving the moon's reflection behind in the water.

Chapter Text

     “Ahem, welcome to our annual meeting. A happy New Year and the coffee is free. So let us get to the point and the main reason we’re all here today, finances,” Escargon droned on at the end of the table.

     On the first day of the year, Dedede would gather the Mayor, the Cabinet Minister, Waddle Doo and Meta Knight into a usually very short meeting to discuss finances for the year and any issues that needed addressing. These meetings held little interest to Meta Knight, apart from figuring out the budget he could fit in for the Halberd there was little else for him to add. Due to his past experiences in the army, Dedede decided he would be in charge of military equipment around the caste. Though such equipment would usually be created and destroyed by Escargon.

     Waddle Doo was in charge of the upkeep of Waddle Dee’s and in turn, trusted him for their armour and weaponry. The Halberd was no secret to the captain, though he had never seen it in person of course he knew well to assist in keeping anyone far away from its underground bunker.

     “Well… With the recent destruction of property and livestock in the last few months would it be impolite of me to ah… Ask for a larger budget this year,” Len awkwardly made eye contact with the king as his words tapered off.

     Dedede glared at him from across the table, back slouched in his movable throne with a grumble on his lips. He was wearing a neck brace from the chaos last night and wasn’t the most pleased about how this year was starting already, let alone the prospect of shelling out a single Deden.

     “And exactly what do you plan on using that budget for?” Escargon questioned him.

     “W-Well you see with the recent attacks from demon beasts a lot of trade has ground to a halt. I worry for the economy you see, there’s only so much we can sustain on our own from what we can grow here,” he stammered.

     Dedede raised an eyebrow at him. “And that's all?”

     “Well… We’ve asked this for a few years now, but we’re still waiting for permission to build that playground for the children. You said you didn’t want to build it so…” Len trailed off.

     The room went quiet as Dedede began laughing at him, spluttering as he strained his neck. “And where did most of your budget go before? You must have some leftover,” Dedede dismissed him.

     The Mayor opened his mouth to rebuttal only for it to close in resignation. All eyes moved to Parm next who was on his second coffee that morning, his eyes were dropped as he stared longingly at the engravings on the table. 

     Escargon let out a loud cough, jolting the man up as he grasped his thin papers. “AH! Y-Yes?” he stumbled.

     “Good to know you like my table,” Dedede laughed at the man.

     “A-Ah yes it’s a very lovely table, Your Majesty. Is it cypress by any chance?”

     “Why yes, good eye as always Parm. Though I am partial to hickory of course,” the king rambled on. Eager to waste Parm’s time, it wouldn’t be the first time either he distracted the man from discussing various laws.

     Escargon rolled his eyes at the two men and coughed again, a bit too hard perhaps as he quickly spluttered and choked. “Oh, Escargon are you feeling sick? That’s rather unfortunate for the beginning of the new year,” Parm cheerfully replied to the rather uncheerful man.

     “Yes… Quite sick of a lot of things,” Escargon grumbled. “What silly demands do we have this time,” he sighed as Parm sorted through his papers.

     “Well, requests to increase the exports of wool, and wool products.”

     “Sounds good,” Dedede mumbled.

     “Imports of poultry products to be increased.”

     “Well, I am sick of mutton.”

     “And uhm… Insurance for any demon beast and Kirby related accidents…”

     “... Pass.”

     “You’ll also gain any benefits from such an insurance Your Majesty!”

     The king bit his lip and let out a small whine before sighing. “Yeah fine let’s do it. Anything else?”

     Parm stuffed all the other papers away. “N-Not at all.”

     “Well, then we’re done-”

     “Your Majesty!” Waddle Doo interrupted much to the ire of the king. “We still haven’t spoken about the Waddle Dee’s living costs or the cost of weaponry. Many are in need of replacements, not to mention the recent stress and increased workload of late for the Waddle Dee’s for your TV programs and projects.”

     “Escargon can figure that out later,” Dedede rolled his eyes. “I have something else I need to do.”

     “But-” Waddle Doo rose from his chair only to fall back onto it with a repressed sigh. “Very well…”

     Len and Parm awkwardly laughed. “Ah well, I suppose we are finished now. Happy New Year,” Parm cheerfully bid farewell to the heavy room. Waddle Doo left without a word as Len hummed on his way out. Meta Knight followed shortly afterwards, it wasn’t the first time he left one of these meetings without ever uttering a word, and it would not be the last.

     But he did not leave immediately, he held onto the handle of the door as he walked through it, leaving it slightly open. He peered inside at the now distracted king who was pressing buttons on the arm of his throne. “Ugh, now that’s finally over!”

     “Your Majesty?” Escargon looked at the man confused only to panic as the throne slightly elevated and spun around to the back of the wall which had now opened up. “Not without me!” the man yelped as the clung to the back as it shot through the open wall.

     He was planning something for sure, what exactly he did not know. There was no time to catch up to him either, the most he could do for now was remain alert. With that he began his walk back to his quarters, trailing behind Parm and Len on his way.

     There were chattering like birds, Len was trying to convince Parm to buy a car. Insisting it’ll be the most fun he’s had in years all the while Parm was attempting to peddle his favourite wine to the man.

     Opportunistic to a fault. He briefly wondered how much of the village's funds often went to Len’s toy car. Or to Parm’s expensive lifestyle. Perhaps he was just as bad as, after all, he put his towards the Halberd. But it was easy to excuse such a method, it was for the sake of the future after all. Was it not?

-

     “The New Year has only just started and you’re already grumpy as ever,” Escargon whined as he clung to the back of Dedede’s throne. They shot through the secret tunnels with lightning speed, frighting Escargon enough he might fall off.

     “Escargon, did Holy Nightmare send us a New Year’s card?” Dedede asked with a huff.

     The man behind him adjusted his arms on the throne. “Cards? Only bills and disappointment from them.”

     Dedede slammed his hands on the throne arms. “What! I’m a customer! What kind of company do they think they are!”

     “One that hasn’t been paid…” Escargon mumbled only to get winded by a sharp turn.

     The throne began to move upwards past stairs never touched. “And I didn’t even get any money! Each year only gets worse and worse!” Dedede loudly whined, wincing at the brief pain in his neck.

     “You're not a child anymore! In fact, you forget to give kids money every year!” Escargon argued as the throne began a sharp ascension. He could be felt clinging extra hard as they went up.

     “I didn’t get a calendar either!”

     “You’d have more luck getting one from Samo!”

     “Or a grab bag!”

     “Just go shopping somewhere else! Honestly, what do you think they are? You’re utterly hopeless you know that…” Escargon murmured towards the end. Dedede felt an evil grin creep up his lips as pressed a speed-up button. The scream did not disappoint.

     They arrived at the throneroom with breakneck speed, flinging Escargon off in the process. “Well if they don’t have a New Year service I’ll make them give me one!” he triumphantly announced as he activated the website. Yet to his surprise, he was not met with the same dull purples and dead face in a suit.

     Instead, there was a beautifully painted background of a snow-dusted mountain in the back with two kadomatsu’s to each side as Customer Service sat kneeled on a pillow in a red robe with a yellow outer layer. He bowed and set down a closed fan in hand before sitting up. “Thank you so much for tuning in today. A very happy New Year to you! We hope you’ll continue to be our loyal customer this year and the next so we can provide the best demon beasts the universe has to offer!”

     It was less a greeting and more an advertisement.

     Escargon clapped his hands pleased with the display. “Oh we’ve been waiting for this! I certainly feel like a king now!” His mouth was quickly covered by Dedede’s own much larger hand.

     “Not now! You call that a greeting? That was just another commercial I expect a proper New Year service, not some mouthpiece.” Dedede crossed his arms in a huff, freeing Escargon’s mouth to reveal a grumpy frown.

     “Well, this is the special service,” Customer Service bluntly replied.

     Dedede rose from his throne. “Well it’s not enough! Ack…” He winched as his yelling hurt his neck. “But, if you don’t give me a New Year present… I’ll destroy this machine right now!”

     “That means no more shopping,” Escargon cheerfully chimed in.

     “And you're both as aggravating this year too. Well then, we’ll be quite charitable this year! Please activate the download option,” Customer Service explained with his eternally empty smile.

     Dedede scrambled back to his throne to activate the button, watching the familiar scene of the floor parting away and the room turning dark as electricity sparked and machines beeped. And in a flash of light he was left with… A pile of pillows. 

     “...What?” Dedede could only say.

     “Surprised? Those are pillows, perhaps your country doesn’t have them oh I’m ever so sorry. They’re quite life-changing you see,” Customer Service cheerfully mocked the two.

     “I know what I damned pillow is! There’s nothing special about them!” Dedede angrily retorted.

     Customer Service let out a low chuckle. “Oh these ones are quite special. Whoever sleeps on them will have a dream,” his face twisted into a smirk. “Very… Unpleasant dreams I might say.”

     “Nightmares then…” Dedede murmured as he looked back at the pillows. They were cute, in comparison to what they could do. Light green pillows with a pink wrap around them with creamy yellow dots and frills around the edges.

     “In due time no one will have pleasant sleep. Their minds will erode away, all with one particular child being the cause of their misery. It may even come to a point where he’s hated more than you are,” Customer service explained as he crawled closer to the screen as if passing on a most evil secret.

     Dedede smiled. And then started to laugh, Escargon picking up alongside him. “Well then. That’s the best gift I could ask for!”

-

     “Kirby! Wake up there’s money to be made!” Tokkori could be heard screeching. Kirby whined, rolling around in bed as he clung to his pillow for dear life as the boy tried to rip it from his hands. “You said Fumu wanted to show us something yeah? Then get up!”

     He whined as he lifted his head up from under the bedsheets, his hair curled and static as Tokkori huffed at him. “C’mon! I’m not gonna help you get dressed,” Tokkori grumbled as he pushed the door open, leaving Kirby to scramble to get ready.

     As he pulled his shorts on though, something fell out of his pocket. The bell and his charm from last night. He grabbed them and ran outside to catch up with Tokkori, the bell chimed as he ran which alerted the other boy.

     “Where’d you get that?” Tokkori asked as he decided walking was a bore already and perched on Kirby’s shoulder as a bird.

     “Oh, a ghost gave it to me,” Kirby bluntly replied.

     “A-A ghost? Ahahaha kids am I right?” Tokkori stammered.

     “You're a kid too.”

     “Shush. Anyways uh… Well, it shouldn’t be haunted right? Fumu knows how to tie ropes and all so she can probably do something with it,” Tokkori murmured as they walked through the village. It was very quiet and sleepy today, many people had slept in today due to the late festivities. Those who had managed early rising were preparing for the business later today, especially Kawasaki who already had a few morning stragglers for half-priced meals.

     Even the guards at the castle seemed quite sleepy today, though they very rarely stopped him from entering. They had learnt to save their energy whenever he decided to fly past the walls instead. Tokkori would complain about the drab interior whenever they entered, he called it ugly and suffocating like most human homes.

     His only complaint about the Cabinet Family’s home was the opposite, it was too gaudy and pink for him. “Kirby and Tokkori too. Welcome and Happy New Year,” Memu cheerfully greeted them.

     “Hallo.”

     “Yo!”

     She smiled at the two. “Bun is in Fumu’s room. You can find the both of them there,” she explained as she let the both of them go.

     Fumu’s room was much more organised than Bun’s unsurprisingly, the walls were pink much like the rest of the house with each corner filled with some sort of hobby of hers. In a corner right of the door was a canvas, it was a half-finished landscape of the village it seemed. But there were a few damp spots at the top where it must have rained. There was also some sort of large rock on the wall filled with big bugs. Fumu said that was a fossil but he couldn’t remember what fossil it was.

     To the left was her wardrobe and a set of drawers covered in seashells, there were frames of them above it as well as one as big as him. Past those was her bed, then a large window. Fumu and Bun were sitting by her desk which was on the back right side of the room surrounded by more shells and other study equipment on a shelf that sunk into the wall. Next to them was a large bookcase as well, Fumu would sometimes take a lot of those books out to show to Kirby or bring some back from the castle’s library to read herself.

     “What’s up you two? Way to greet some guests,” Tokkori grumbled as he flew over to her desk.

     “Hello. Happy Year,” Kirby yawned as he sat on the floor.

     The siblings looked at both of them. “Oh, happy New Year. And have you considered you might be the one with a problem Tokkori? Maybe your resolution for this year could be less sour,” Fumu grumbled.

     Tokkori stuck his tongue out at her.

     “Rhesolution?” Kirby asked.

     “Yeah! Every New Year you write down a list of goals to accomplish this year. Like learning a new skill or changing your lifestyle a bit. I’d like to learn more about medicine this year,” she explained.

     Bun whined behind her. “Yeah but it’s so boring to do. Plus most people never stick with them.” Tokkori nodded in his agreement.

     “There’s only one good thing on New Year’s day… Money!” the bird announced.

     Fumu rolled her eyes at them as she turned back to her list. “Whatever. Kirby, you’d like to make a list with me too right?” It nearly sounded like a plea, but with money, he could buy snacks. 

     “Money. I want snacks,” he spoke aloud much to her dismay.

     “Yes! Alright, listen up Kirby. Every year the adults give us a pouch full of pocket money for doing good. Now usually we have to do a bit of begging but trust me I’m a master at it,” Bun bragged as he grabbed Kirby’s shoulder to drag him out.

     “Wait!” Kirby scrambled up towards Fumu with the rope and charm in hand. “Can you tie?” he asked. He wasn’t really sure what to do with it, but Fumu always had the answer to something.

     But as she looked at the rope she looked shocked. “Where did you get that… Ah, did you want me to tie it to your charm?” He nodded as she slid off her seat, kneeling down to tie it to a loop on his shorts. She gave it a quick flick once she was finished and sat back on her chair, the charm was now attached to his shorts tied in a way the bell was underneath the knot on the charm.

     “There you go. Looks good on you. Now you two, remember to not get him into any trouble alright? Don’t give Dedede another reason to get a demon beast two days in a row,” she lightly scolded them

     Bun only rolled his eyes “Yeah, yeah I got it. C’mon I’m sure mama has some money for us!”

     “Thanks! A ghost gave me it!” Kirby managed to ramble out as Bun began to pull him away. Fumu’s eyes blew out in concern but before she could say anything the door shut.

     He was finally dragged out of Fumu’s room and back into the living room where Memu was watching TV. “Oh! The New Year programs I nearly forgot!” Tokkori squawked as he rushed over next to Memu.

     Dedede was on screen as usual with that odd-looking puppet again. It creeped Kirby out a bit, with the close resemblance and the now broken eye from his rough treatment of it. “Oh little Kirby. Did you have a good dream this year?” Dedede asked the puppet.

     “Noo dreams,” Dedede spoke with his teeth clenched and a high-pitched voice as the puppet’s mouth clacked up and down. 

     “Oh dear! May as well have had a nightmare. But you know, they say that whatever dream you have on New Year’s comes true.”

     “Really? How can dream come true now?” 

     “Hah, I’ll show you!” Kirby briefly covered his eyes as the king threw the puppet into a wall, smashing it to pieces. Everyone else just laughed at him but he didn’t find it very funny. It was quite scary too.

     Dedede turned back to the screen. “Now if you don’t want to be as unlucky as Kirby here we have the solution for you. Available now are my patented Dream Pillows so you can sleep well for the rest of the year and the next!” he announced as he pulled up one of the mentioned pillows.

     From the side of the screen, Escargon could be seen awkwardly shuffling over into the shot. “Wow! But how much do they cost?” he asked as he held a mic to the king.

     “Well, ordinarily it would be a million Deden. But only for today, there will be no charge,” Dedede explained with a smug look on his face.

     “No charge? That means they’re free then!” Escargon gasped.

     Dedede nodded. “Of course. And what’s more, we’ll add some pads for free! Remember, there’s nothing cheaper than free!”

     The sound of clapping could be heard on the TV as the camera panned out. “Now. If you would like one of these pleasant pillows, please write down your address, name, age and occupation. Then address that to ‘Healthy Dreaming.’ If you live nearby however you may pick yours up at the nearest Pillow Fort. There shall be one in the local village. But act now before they’re all taken up!” Escargon explained.

     Kirby had zoned out at this point before everyone began to chatter around him. “Bun! Be a dear and pick up a pillow for all of us,” Memu requested the boy.

     “Yeah sure. Wait! Mama what about my New Year money?”

     “You’ll get it as a reward for my pillows.”

     Bun frowned. “Aw come on… Can I just have it now, please? I’ll still get the pillows!”

     “I said no.” She stubbornly crossed her arms as Bun whined. “Oh. But I do have one for you Kirby. With all those demon beasts you’ve been fighting think of it as a little reward,” she cheered as she put a small pink paper pouch in his hands.

     It was quite light but he could feel something hard inside of it. “Ah, thank you.”

     “Hey what about me?” Tokkori pushed his way past with a squawk.

     “You?” she nearly scoffed. “Perhaps if you behave better this year Tokkori I’ll have some money for you. Now chop chop, I’d like those pillows for tonight.” She made her demands clear as the three boys were practically pushed through the door much to Bun’s dismay.

     He stomped his foot in frustration once they were out the door. “No fair. Well, we’ll just have to try the other adults next. C’mon lets see if Meta Knight is around,” Bun huffed as he began walking.

     Tokkori seemed oddly down though, sitting on Kirby’s shoulder quietly as if he was upset. “Tokko, want snacks later?” Kirby quietly asked him.

     “Huh? Yeah, whatever. Your taste in snacks is terrible though.” Even if it was an insult the bird seemed a lot happier afterwards.

     Kirby followed after Bun with a skip in his step. More money meant more snacks which meant he and Tokkori could be even happier. He wasn’t really interested in the pillows but maybe they would also make Tokkori happy.

     “Ugh, Meta Knight is always a pain to find. Hey! Meta Knight are you there?” Bun called out after peering into the knight's empty quarters. “Not a word… The entire place smells of cinnamon, now I want one of mama’s rolls,” Bun murmured to himself as he shut the door.

     “May I help you?” Meta Knight’s familiar voice jolted them away from the door and spun around to look up at the man. He was wrapped up in his cape again, like how Kirby would wrap himself in a blanket if he felt sleepy. It made him wonder if his cape was actually a blanket itself.

     The knight stepped past them to stand by his door, eager to keep mischievous eyes out. “We’re doing our rounds for our New Year’s money!” Bun eagerly announced. His words appeared to make Meta Knight stiffen, pausing as he slowly pushed the door open.

     “Ah, a moment please.” The door quickly shut, leaving the three of them waiting.

     Bun crossed his arms. “Jeeze, anyone should be prepared for a day like this. I make it clear every year too,” he grumbled. From the other side of the door, Kirby could hear the sound of Meta Knight’s armour as he walked around his room before a rather loud bang of what sounded like a pot falling.

     He eyed Bun with concern as he heard the crash of a table and cutlery before everything went quiet. 

     The door opened up again shortly afterwards, Meta Knight quickly shut the door behind him, making Kirby even more suspicious. “Ahem, I apologise for the wait. I assume you’ll be searching for Dedede next yes?” he asked as he held three crumpled paper bags out for them.

     Bun excitedly snatched them up. “Yeah! Know where he is?” he asked.

     Meta Knight nodded. “With that announcement finished up he’s likely preparing for the other programs tonight. It’d be best to check the recording studio,” he explained.

     “Wait we’re not allowed down there, yeah?” Tokkori pointed out as he perched on Bun’s shoulder instead to try and pry a bag out of his hand with his beak.

     “That has never stopped any of you before now has it?” Meta Knight dryly replied as he retreated back into his quarters.

     Kirby was given very little time to respond to anything before Bun started to drag him along to their next stop. The small bags were stuffed into Bun’s pockets for later as they crept deeper down the castle’s corridors before standing in front of the blazing red sign meant to ward away any curious children.

     So of course Bun forcefully pushed the door open. “Hey, Dedede! Your there right?” he yelled. The sound of Dedede yelling in frustration could be heard the moment afterwards before the king began to stomp over to the children.

     “How many more times do I have to say this? When the sign is on, don’t come in!” he shouted at them, a vein about ready to burst on his head. Kirby swore he could feel a gust of wind blow past them with Dedede’s shouting, maybe if he was loud enough he could break glass like in a show he watched.

     As he imagined that scene, Bun bit back at the king. “We’re here for our New Year’s money. You always forget to do it too!”

     “Why would I give my money to a bunch of brats like you!”

     “Because it's tradition!”

     Dedede and Bun argued with each other as Tokkori laughed at them. “How’s it feel to be rejected as well Bun?” he teased.

     “Ugh shut up! I haven’t done anything wrong to you this year, just Kirby,” Bun argued which jolted him back out of his imagination.

     He could feel Dedede’s glaring eyes down on him as Bun’s words seemed to have made the situation worse. “Your best buddies with him! That makes you more than just an annoying brat.”

     “C’mon! I just want my money or I’m getting papa!” Bun loudly whined. Tokkori covered up his ears with his wings, attempting to tune out the tantrum. Even Dedede was clasping his ears as Kirby tried to pull at Bun’s shoulder.

     “Go now? Lots of other people still,” he struggled to put words together not wanting to upset his friend and see him cry.

     An annoyed groan could be heard across the room as Escargon dragged his feet across the floor. “Honesty, the lot of you are worse than the other. Here, we made one in advance.” The pouch was tossed on top of Kirby’s head and swiftly swiped away by Bun.

     “Yay! Thank you,” he cheered.

     “Wow… Full one eighty…” Tokkori mumbled. Kirby nodded along, not exactly sure what he meant by that. He looked back at the king and Escargon, they didn’t exactly look the best today either. Dedede had a brace around his neck and the tips of Escargon’s hair still looked a bit singed in places.

     He tried hard not to giggle at it all after what they did yesterday.

     “And what are you smirking for pinky? We’re busy adults here see, now get lost!” Dedede loudly scolded them as he pushed them through the door. Equipment could be heard behind the door as it slammed in front of them as the king barricaded any other potential disturbances.

     Bun just shrugged. “Well, rarely ever get anything from Dedede. I bet you they only gave us one Deden or something,” he grumbled as he opened the pouch. Silence filled the room as he stared into it before letting out a loud whine. “It’s just filled with watermelon seeds!”

     “Ooh watermelon,” Kirby drooled.

     “That’s hilarious! I wish you had the hair outta your stupid face, would have made it sooo much funnier,” Tokkori laughed at him only for Bun to throw the pouch at him. “Ow! What was that for?” he shrieked.

     Bun stuck his tongue out. “Only people who like seeds are farmers and birds. C’mon Meta Knight don’t let me down…” he grumbled.

     Kirby put the seeds in his pockets. Watermelons were delicious it’d be such a waste to throw them away. He hoped Meta Knight’s pouch would cheer up Bun a bit more, only for the boy to slump to the floor in a huff.

     “They’re filled with lentils,” he cried.

     Tokkori let out a burst of obnoxious laughter, falling to the floor as his small body fluffed up with laughter. “Ahahaha! This is rich! Oh, I feel faint haha!” he wheezed as Bun tossed the pouches onto his small body. 

     They sat there outside of the studio room as Bun and Tokkori lay on the floor. There was a small murmur in his stomach, causing Kirby to pat it and remember that Tokkori had made him miss out on breakfast this morning. “Ah. I’m hungry can we go now?” he asked.

     “No, I’m heartbroken,” Bun huffed.

     “Oh. I’ll carry you then!” Kirby cheerfully replied as he grabbed the strap of Bun’s overalls and began to drag him across the floor.

     He was quick to wriggle out of his grasp and stand up. “Fine fine fine I can stand okay! I forget how strong you are…” Bun grumbled at him as Tokkori could be heard coughing up a cackle beneath the lentils.

     Bun steadily cheered back up again as they approached the village, exchanging places with Kirby on the way as the one dragging him along. “I bet the mayor will have something awesome! We’re gonna be real busy today Kirby,” he announced, largely to himself.

     “It’s crazy how much money motivates a kid eh?” Tokkori shrugged on his shoulder. “Though you're not so different with food and all.” Kirby looked at him confused.

     They stopped by Yabui’s office first, he would be quick to lock up once enough children bothered him from his work. Bun told him that children would also get free sweets if they behaved well at the doctors, he was quite angry about this as he never got one when the doctor prodded at his sides.

     “Hey! Doctor Yabui are you there?” Bun loudly knocked at his door. The rumbling of the wheels on his chair could be heard from behind the door, but they did not stop curiously. Kirby was confused until the elderly doctor opened the door, still sitting on the wheeled chair with one of Dedede’s pillows on his back.

     He adjusted his spectacles as he observed the three of them. “Hm, later than usual this year Bun,” he commented as he kicked the wall to push himself back towards his desk.

     “Yeah, I was waiting for Kirby. It’s his first time doing this and what a dud it’s been so far,” Bun complained as the doctor picked up some small envelopes on his desk. Spinning around in that chair looked quite fun, he really wanted to try it. None of the other adults seemed to have them though, Escargon might have one though he could steal for a ride. He wouldn’t feel so bad about getting scolded if it was his chair.

     “Let’s see… Hmm, I shouldn’t have mixed these up. Ah well, here you go, don’t spend it all in one place now,” Yabui explained as he dropped two envelopes into Bun’s eager hands and shut the door before he could face Tokkori’s fury.

     The envelopes were very small, just about as big as the palm of his hand. “He puts teeth in these,” Bun explained, and very little else after that. That worried Kirby.

     Next up was Kawasaki’s which had gotten very busy now more people were up. Not all the customers looked the happiest but they seemed to be enjoying themselves at least. He’d seen them like this before when Tago was putting some stickers on food. Fumu told him that it meant they cost less money and adults love to save money.

     “Welcome to Kawasaki’s restaurant! I’m afraid we’re at full capacity today, would you like to wait in line?” the chef asked with a pile of menus under his arm. There was a long queue outside all with their own menus as well, browsing their options while waiting for an open seat.

     “We’re just here for our New Year’s money,” Bun bluntly explained as Kawasaki spotted a table being opened and rushed to gather up its plates and bowls. New customers were eagerly seated by the man as he rushed in and out of the kitchen to check on his boiling pots.

     “Ahh, I’m a bit busy at the moment. Here, have these coupons! Oh, ready to order?” The paper coupons were quickly dropped into Bun’s hands as he ran over to a table and pulled out a pen and notepad. Bun let out an annoyed groan as they left the sweaty heat of the busy restaurant.

     Tokkori scraped his feet against Kirby’s shoulder in an aggravated motion. “Ugh, these have all been duds. The adults are against us today, I swear,” he complained. The coupons weren’t that bad! Well, Kirby still got free food from the man so it didn’t really matter that much but it meant more food still.

     The village was looking much busier than earlier that morning now too, people were awake with Dedede’s pillows in hand. Children were excitedly running around with their brand-new toys bought with their pocket money. He could feel a jealous aura around Bun as two girls ran past with pinwheels.

     “Oh! Samo’s over there, he’s nice,” Kirby excitedly pointed the man out. He was standing outside of the steps down to his bar with a small stick between his fingers. A cloy smokey smell came from him as he relaxed in the sun. Around him were a few cardboard boxes, a few of them with the words fragile plastered all over them.

     He cheerfully tapped towards the man. “Hello Samo!” Tokkori fluffed up on his shoulder as a puff of smoke blew past them. But Kirby didn’t mind the smell too much, it reminded him of Kawasaki and Meta Knight.

     The bartender looked down at them with calm eyes before squishing the stick onto a metal tray. “Oh, good day you three. I’m afraid the bar is for adults so you can’t come inside. We’re also closed until I finish packing these deliveries.”

     “Ah, we’re not here to drink. We’re getting some New Year’s money right now. Uh, did you run out already?” Bun squeaked.

     Samo paused in thought before his mouth gaped open in shock. “Ah… I completely forgot about that. I was quite busy last night, and I don’t often talk with children. Sorry about that, I might have something for you though.” He crouched down to one of the boxes and pulled out a small knife to cut it open. There were some small colourful packets inside of it he rummaged through for a bit before pulling three out.

     “Usually I give these to my customers as they eat, they’re salted nuts. You might enjoy them as a snack on their own though,” he calmly explained as he passed them to Kirby.

     The three of them were quiet as he quickly retreated down into the bar. “Well… At least he didn’t forget me!” Tokkori cheered.

     “Yeah, I guess. The mayor would be a good next bet but I really need to get those pillows for mama too,” Bun whined. But Kirby was feeling hungry, they were taking forever to get some snacks and he was ready to eat all the nuts.

     Yabui probably gave him enough money for extra snacks with Memu’s as well. At least that’s what he thought to himself as he finally opened the small envelope. “Ah… Not money.” There were teeth inside.

     “What the hell! That quack of a doctor musta mixed up someone's teeth using the same envelopes,” Tokkori angrily squawked as Bun jumped away from the teeth.

     Kirby closed it back up as a shiver went through the boy. “Ugh, that’s freaky. Wait what do we even do with this? It’s gonna be way too weird to hand it back over!” Bun exasperated.

     “We can bury the evidence then!” Tokkori cheerfully suggested as he snatched it up with his beak and stuffed it into one of the flowerpots in front of Samo’s bar. “There, not a soul will find it now,” he praised himself as he patted the soft soil with his wing.

       So five hundred Dededen for a snack then. “Okay! Gonna go get a snack,” he explained to the surprise of the other two.

     “What? We’re not even halfway done yet!” Bun explained.

     “Just leave him be. No way you can get him out of a food hunt now. Plus, I think he might be a rod for back luck,” Tokkori whispered that last part but he could hear it just fine. He didn’t really mind it though, it’d be amazing to have a big snack and then catch up on the sleep Tokkori took from him that morning.

     And if he remembered right, watermelons were quite cheap too! It was a perfect plan. It would be a lovely night tonight, he could feel it.

-

     Night had peacefully settled over the tiny country, the moon was waning over them tonight as he basked in its glow. No matter where he would go, the night sky and its stars would always be there for him. And yet despite this, Meta Knight did not feel at peace as he normally would in these brief moments. 

     Those pillows Dedede gave out today created an unsettling knot in his stomach. Blade had gone out to get some earlier that day, none of them expected the pillows to actually work as intended. It was a trap for sure, but something they needed to investigate nonetheless.

     Yet as he sat there that night as the three of them prodded at their bland microwaved meals with chopsticks, he could not banish the dread that climbed through his chest and veins. Squeezing and burning up through his throat. He didn’t finish dinner that night, as he did many nights.

     Sword and Blade insisted that they could investigate the pillow's effects without him, seeing past his quiet attempts to subdue his worries. But it was something he must see for himself, he knew Nightmare's tricks well and he’d be the only one that could identify the power of those pillows.

     He retired to his room soon, the crisp air not helping him any further. Yet there was a relief to be felt in his skin as he peeled away those hot and heavy layers of armor and padding and into a pair of loose sweatpants. For a moment he briefly considered switching the pillow with his current pillowcase made of silk before deciding to just leave it on top of the dream pillow. He didn’t want to risk damaging it.

     Now all that was left to do, was await the embrace of sleep. One that clawed him into that deep abyss.

     He was awake again in a hallway of Dedede’s castle, the fuzzy sensation in his head and the ever so slight tilt of the brick tiles reminded him still though that this was a dream. There was something at the end of the hallway, he could feel it rumbling through the floor as the familiar figure of Kirby appeared in the distance. Behind him followed a flurry of tiny octopi which clicked into place for him.

     As the phantom of the boy ran through his body he realised that he was standing in his own memories. The boy looked just as he did the day he arrived in the village, these pillows were likely replaying negative memories associated with the child. With that he needed to-

     His body froze, as a lock of pink hair brushed past his cheek and down the hallway out of sight. As he whipped around he could only catch a slight glimpse of white wings turning round the corner. There was a siren out in the sea, and he was the sailor.

     Only danger lurked down that corner. Yet he followed after it, the trail of white feathers that littered the stone bricks like a trail of breadcrumbs. He fell for it all, walking further down the hallways that grew darker and darker with each turn.

     The walls changed, each brick pulsating like a beating heart. Feathers began to snow from the ceiling, softly brushing over his body.

     His heart twisted in the next turn, each white feather had now been stained a dark red. Dried old blood, forever ruining their pristine nature. All softness had been lost to a dry and hard sensation as he slowly crushed it in the palm of his hand. Opening it, he only found ash.

     He continued still until the walls and floors were smeared in red. The familiar signs of a battle gone wrong yet without the harsh cold of a soldier rasping for their last breath with a hole in what was left of their chest. As he did before, he trudged on.

     The figure slipped away once again behind a set of tall heavy wooden doors. Shadows obscured his sharp vision, the top of the door seemed endless, rising high beyond any feasible reality. He pushed those doors, the weight burning into his arms. His eyes squeezed shut as he powered through the strain.

     Until it simply vanished.

     He could smell it before he opened his eyes. Fire and dust, the familiar scent of a collapsing building. When he opened his eyes he felt his body turn light, his arms and legs felt like sticks as a feeble sword weighed heavily in the palm of his hand. Before him were crumbling walls of grey, metal pipes twisted through each wall like veins as broken wires crackled and popped in his ears.

     He had to keep going.

     Even as parts of the ceiling crumbled before him he ran, his body stumbling against itself. As his lungs burned, he arrived before the memory. A thin crack through the wall, barely held up by metal pillars in its foundation. Someone stood behind that wall, staring off into nothingness. He wore pieces of golden armor on his shoulders, halfway up his arms, legs and part of his chest, they were shiny still, the paint yet to crack from lack of use. Yet the white padded cloth was not free of such a fate, as was the nature of the colour. Dirt and ash stained it, as well as the white wings that laid weakly on his back.

     He turned to look at him, long pink hair framing his sharp features. On his left cheek, below the eye was a beauty mark. His eyes were dark blue, calculating and sharp. But there was only a fond sadness in them now.

     Meta Knight looked down, he was cradling something in white. “Sorry I took so long. I was… Preoccupied I suppose. Never been out on the field this long before,” the man before him began to murmur as he gently swayed his arms.

     “I found something down there. Here… Take a look.”

     He stepped closer to the wall. In his arms swaddled in his cloak was the round face of a baby. On his chest laid the man’s badge, the signal of a Star Warrior. The baby did not move, hells be damned to the explosions that rang in his ears.

     “I couldn’t just leave him down there… I would dread to think what… Nightmare would have planned for him, it must have set off a sequence though,” the man let out a shaky laugh. “He’s cold… He hasn’t cried I-,” a shallow sob was swallowed up as tears begged to leak out from the corner of his eyes.

     “He put part of me inside of him. Just as my father did for me… I-I’d hate to ask this of you. But I know you can do it,” his voice gasped with each word as he reached his hand through the wall. Meta Knight took it without hesitation as the cold baby was passed through the wall.

     The embrace of their hands was short-lived as it slunk away. Leaving him alone on the other side “I’m terrible with names… You’ll probably think of something better either way. His name is Kirby… Can you take care of him for me, please?” It was not a request on his lips but a plead.

     A world where he’d feel the warmth finally seep into that tiny hand, where he’d see his eyes open to mirror his own. It’d never come to exist. As metal tore itself into the ceiling-

     And pierced his heart, staining his wings and clothes further with fresh blood. A world where he would have seen the light of day once again would have passed if he allowed that child to die in its mechanical womb.

     Perhaps he should have expected this. That dread in his chest. The worst memory Kirby ever left him, the one responsible for the death of the person most important to him.

     “ VEGA !”

     His throat ran sore with his cry as he was ripped back into reality. The silver ring dangling from his neck mocked him as he grabbed it, feeling the metal burn into his skin. Yet he could not throw it away, Vega’s engagement ring with no finger to slide it onto. 

     There was a knock at his door shortly afterwards as he dried his eyes. Sword wordlessly cracked the door open. “Sir… Are you alright?” he whispered.

     “...Yes. How has your investigation fared?” He cringed at the strain in his voice. It was hoarse and dry.

     “The dreams recounted events around Kirby. Negative ones specifically of structures damaged by or due to him. Blade suggests we check on others around the castle with weaker psyches…” Sword could be heard mumbling in front of him.

     His brain clawed to focus on the man's words. Yet the phantom touch of cold fingertips ran up his chest. If he turned around now, would there be a ghost, resting on his shoulder?

     “Sir? Are you sure you’re alright?” Sword roused him once again.

     Meta Knight shook clarity back into his head. “Yes. And I’m certain I know what’s in these pillows. Get ready with Blade, we’ll check on the Cabinet family first and then head to Kirby’s home.”

     Sword wordlessly nodded before vanishing through the door, leaving him alone in the darkness of his room. Putting his armor back on felt like a chore, his limbs heavy and coated by sweat. That lingering dread did not leave him, even as they began their walk down the castle’s familiar hallways. He was thankful he had the place memorised, or else he would have walked through a window with the state he was in.

     They arrived shortly at the Cabinet’s residents, the voices of Fumu and Bun could be heard from inside her room. “I’m sure of it, these pillows are giving us bad dreams about Kirby to put us against him!” she confidently explained as he turned the doorknob.

     Earlier in the day she had approached him worrying about Dedede’s plans. She was not wrong of course, but he had insisted they investigated them still. “You were right on the mark,” he spoke up by the door.

     The siblings looked at him in surprise. “The psyche is a powerful tool, but one that can be manipulated far too easily. The villagers are likely to try and attack Kirby right now, their relationship with him is far more negative than yours,” he explained.

     Without a word, they followed the knights, barely giving themselves a moment to get their shoes on. He powered towards the tiny house without much thought, the weight in his knees made it feel as if he was trudging through a swamp, slowly tiring him.

     A ring of villagers circled Kirby’s house, their pillows in hand as their eyes glowed a haunting green. “No more Kirby… No more Kirby…” they all chanted together. Fumu ran past him in a panic, spotting her parents amongst those in the crowd.

     “Everyone please wake up!” she called out to them as they all turned to face them. 

     An idea struck him as they stared. “Fumu, Bun. Throw up your pillows,” he ordered as he threw his own in the air and unsheathed his sword. They gladly complied as he leapt into the air, carefully slicing the soft fabric open. Small orange orb-shaped creatures jumped out from the split pillows, with big black eyes and large reddish sleeping caps. Noddy’s, demon beasts of dreams.

     The villagers blinked as the green lights vanished from their eyes “Oh my, what are those? They’re quite cute,” Memu yawned.

     “Noddy’s, they’re demon beasts that can send you to sleep and give you bad dreams. Weak on their own, they can be quite powerful when hidden away as you’ve experienced,” he calmly explained. 

     They were quick to get to work, slicing open the pillows the villagers happily handed over, wanting to rid themselves of this mess and go back to bed. All that was left was Kirby’s condition.

     Tokkori opened the door in his human form with a grouchy expression. “You guys are so loud ya know that? If you’re worried bout pinky though, look.” He pointed inside with an annoyed expression. Kirby was curled up fast asleep on his regular pillow, wrapped up in Vega’s cloak as Tokkori had stolen the rest of his blanket, alongside the dream pillow.

     Dedede grumbled behind him. “All that effort, and the kid didn’t have to suffer like the rest of us?” He pushed his way past them and reached for Tokkori’s pillow.

     His grip tightened on Galaxia and yet he did not move as Dedede replaced his pillow.

-

     Now, Kirby wasn’t fussy by any means. He ate all the vegetables Kawasaki put on his plate. He didn’t complain whenever Tokkori stole his blanket or changed the channel without telling him. But he couldn’t help but complain and thrash on the floor as his dream of sleeping on a giant pudding suddenly changed.

     He sat up with teary eyes and looked around. He was in a very tall room, with big black and white pillars with wires that dangled from the ceiling. There were four staircases, but the ends of three of them were locked up by metal cages except for the one in front of him.

     The floor was cold and hard, it was dark black, so dark he nearly tripped over staring into it before focusing on the stairs. The next room was even taller, his neck hurt to even look up. He couldn’t see the ceiling in this room, only the light from above him.

     All the walls were checkered black and white just like a chess board Fumu had. The staircase was white too, yet as he continued to look up at the long climb he’d have something that felt strange. They were crooked and bumpy like wet paper that had just been dried, staring at the spiral for too long even made him feel a bit dizzy. So he looked away and began to climb.

     It was tiring, even in this dream, he could feel his ankles ache after a while. He looked up, and to his dismay, the ceiling looked even higher than before. Yet after rubbing his eyes it looked a bit closer again. He dropped his head down and looked back up. The door sat in front of him now.

     He pressed on. The checker pattern had begun to melt in the next hallway, turning into long messy lines of whites and blacks across the walls and floors as he walked past a line of windows. Whatever was going on outside was too bright to look though, he swore they may have even been lights but he didn’t want to get too close.

     As he went on the black began to persist, slowly swallowing up the walls and floors around him. It was hard to walk through, stumbling down the hallway as he nearly bumped into walls.

     There was nothing but darkness around him, everywhere he looked black as the lights slowly dimmed. He couldn’t see a thing, this dream was really beginning to frustrate him now. Luckily he heard a quiet ping behind him, he turned around to see a wooden door with a small light dangling above it. 

     He let out a sigh of relief for finally finding something normal and walked through the door.

     Fear was the first thing to shoot through his body as soon as he entered, in front of him stood a city, a scale beyond anything he had ever seen before. Buildings pierced the cloudy sky as the wind whipped past his face in the room that had been torn in half. Bits of floorboard and foundation could be seen at the edges, torn and jagged.

     But at the centre of it all, was a massive shadow looming over the city with wings bigger than the buildings it stared down at. And there was a black armchair, sat facing the countdown to destruction.

     There was someone sitting in that chair too, someone he didn’t recognise even after they stood up. They were wearing a long white coat, just like Yabui’s but it was stained with something red. On their back were wings, grey but feathered just like Kirby’s. Their hair was a dark purple that was greying at the edges and held in an aggressively tight short ponytail.

     With the help of a cane, they slowly turned to look at Kirby, back crooked as they moved. It was an old man, very old in fact. His skin was grey and withered and his eyes were dull and white with a pair of black glass spectacles that stood at the tip of his nose.

     “Mister, are you a doctor? Why do you have wings are you just like me?” he asked as the man staggered towards him. He felt himself take a step back as the man blankly stared at him.

     A guttural groan came from the man as he soaked in a breath of air into his shrivelled lungs. “I’ve been waiting for you… Kirby isn’t it?” Each word that came from the man was weak, just barely above a whisper.

     Kirby only nodded. And the man grinned. “Behold, my greatest accomplishment,” he announced, strength returning to his voice as he gestured to the destruction before them.

     “She was the first… My first demon beast.”

     Those words sent a wave of panic through Kirby. He was told that, all demon beasts came from an evil man named Nightmare. Was the man before him? “Nightmare himself?” the man finished.

     “Somewhat, you see. The body is a feeble thing, it’ll tear itself apart before your own eyes. But I had grander plans you see, even if my body could not persist. I would.” He couldn’t move, his body was shaking as the man crouched down in front of him. Bones popped as he moved.

     “You know who I am. Don’t you? I made you, sculpted you.” His cold hands clung to Kirby’s cheeks. They were sharp, painfully squeezing his face. “They tried to take you away from me. But you cannot escape your dreams, my domain.”

     The hands on his cheeks turned to metal, like knives scraping across his skin. Kirby squeezed his eyes shut, hot tears beginning to pour from the corner of his eyes, he had to wake up. He wanted to wake up! It was just a very bad dream, maybe he should have gotten one of Dedede’s pillows too.

     “Release your body onto me!” Kirby’s eyes widened as he came face to face with the booming voice of Nightmare. His metallic arms were long and boney, stretching out from underneath a large purple starry robe. Golden horns shadowed over him as curved black sunglasses hid his eyes on his metallic grey face.

     Kirby let out a strangled gasp, he couldn’t breathe. The world around him began to swirl in his head, making everything spin and blur.

     “H-Help…” he cried out to nothing.

     He squeezed his eyes shut as he held himself tightly.

     And waited.

     “Get your filthy hands off of him!” an unfamiliar voice called out from above.

     His eyes shot open as a bright light came between him and Nightmare, knocking the titan back. As his eyes settled he noticed someone was standing between them, and that someone was wearing his cloak.

     “Agh! Ever the cockroach I see, even inside of dreams. But hear this, you cannot protect him forever. You know this,” Nightmare hissed.

     “I do. And you won’t be alive to see it.”

     Nightmare turned to dust, blowing away as his laugh echoed in their ears. Kirby sat there in confusion, he wanted to take a giant nap right now… Even if he was still asleep right now he felt more tired than rested.

     The figure turned around to face him, they looked to be around the same height as Meta Knight. They had the hood of the cloak up with the front clasped together by a star, obscuring their face was a mask like how the knights wore them. It was a lot smaller than theirs, only covering the top of their nose and part of their forehead. The mask was gold and white split into two halves by a curl of gold with the colours around each eye being the opposite to its side.

     Kirby stared back up at them, confused. “Are you a knight?” he asked. They seemed surprised and knelt down before him, allowing the cloak to pool around the both of them. As he blinked he saw it unclasp as the figure wrapped it around him, creating a warm cocoon.

     He looked up to see the mask had vanished. They had very long hair, that was pink like his that parted down the middle. Their eyes were blue and his skin was white like his. But their eyes were smaller, sharper with a small black dot beneath one of the eyes. 

     The dot caught his attention in particular as he loudly exclaimed. “There’s a big dot underneath your eye.”

     The figure looked surprised, before lightly snorting. “Is that what caught your attention? But yes, I suppose I am- Was, a knight. A Star Warrior, though I was mostly just a medic. Look.” He gestured to his arm where there was a white band with a blur cross on the outside. The white blended-in white fabric he wore, it was a bit silly, Fumu complained it stains easily. The armour he wore was gold and looked fun to touch, there were bumps in it in the shape of swirls and stems. Meta Knight’s armour was bumpy too, but it was sharper and like a beetle.

     “Why are you here then? Are you a ghost? Do I have two ghost friends now?” Kirby asked as he rocked around in the cloak.

     The knight seemed a bit taken aback by his comments before regaining themselves. “I’m a wish. A wish left behind by someone who cared about you very much,” they quietly explained as they reached their gloved hand out to his cheek. It was warm and soft. “They wanted to protect you. And they left that wish behind in that cloak. With that cloak, I can protect you from Nightmare in your dreams. He can't take you. I won’t let him take you…” They moved to hug him, the armour pressing into him was a bit uncomfortable, but he let them stay, just for a while.

     “I’m sorry…” they murmured to themself as they removed themself from him. Their hands moved up to cup his cheeks as they sat back and they let out a quiet chuckle. “Now that they’re open I can see something. I can see the universe in your eyes, Kirby.”

     There was something strangely sad to their words, but Kirby didn’t say anything. He didn’t even know what he could say as they sat there in silence for a few minutes before he realized something. “Ah! I need to go to the bathroom…”

     “Yes, you need to wake up. Nightmare’s gone now, so it should be easy now alright?... Take care of yourself now,” they whispered as he felt everything around him fade.

     With a grin, he gave them one last reply. “I’ll be fine! I have lots of friends!”

     Though he didn’t expect to wake up with Dedede in his face, causing him to yelp. And let out another when he noticed all the people in his room, well house. “Damn, even your nightmares seem pleasant,” Tokkori complained

     Kirby pouted. “No! An evil wizard yelled at me and another ghost showed up!” he loudly complained to the confusion of everyone around him. He glanced up at the crowd and spotted Meta Knight, staring at him blankly before turning his head away.

     “Alright now! Get out, I’ve had enough people today alright? And take the pillow on your way out!” Tokkor grumbled as he tossed the dream pillow out the door.

     It wasn’t a very peaceful night after all. Yet as he held the cloak around his body, he felt safe once again.

Chapter Text

    “Alright then, time for our most important mission. Getting the snacks!” Bun eagerly announced in front of Tago’s convenience store. Honey, Iro and Hohhe all cheered alongside him as Kirby yawned, clinging to his plush of Puppy. He still didn’t get much sleep last night after the strange dream. Apparently, everyone who used Dedede’s pillows had bad dreams about him, but they still looked better rested.

    But Bun had insisted that they all have a sleepover after it had all happened. Making dreams fun again, he had described it as despite Tokkori insisting none of them would get any sleep at all. Which was why the bird boy refused to join them, insisting he’d enjoy some peace and quiet now without Kirby around.

    “But are you sure Dedede is really okay letting us stay over?” Honey asked the boy again. She was also wearing a new large woolly yellow cardigan with little bees and white flowers knitted into it. Her mother had apparently made it for her as her New Year’s gift which reminded him of the one he was given. And he had a sneaking suspicion of who it was from.

    Bun scoffed. “Yeah of course. He agreed to it with no problem.”

    “Wouldn’t that be kinda bad? I feel like he’s up to something,” Hohhe grumbled.

    Bun just shrugged. “Ehh can’t be that bad. He’ll get into big trouble too if he sent a bunch of demon beasts at us. Well everyone but Kirby of course.” Kirby pouted at him. “Sis is gonna be joining us too, so I’ll bring all these back home and we’ll meet at the castle gates after dinner alright!”

    They all nodded in agreement and headed inside. “Welcome! We have some New Year’s sales still up!” Tago cheerfully greeted the kids as they picked up some baskets and walked through the aisles. Kirby had learnt a very hard way that all the food there had to be paid for before eating. Unless Tago said he could eat it he’d get a very rough bump on the head for eating anything there.

    “Do we want soda or hot chocolate?” Iro asked the group.

    They all hummed in thought. “I’m not allowed to use the kettle…” Bun admitted. “But sis can.”

    “Same here. I never get to have hot chocolate, so let’s get that!” Hohhe agreed with them.

    “Great! Hot chocolate it is, can you go look for some Hohhe? We should get a big one, I know Mama and Papa will try and steal some,” Bun explained as the other boy walked off to try and find the powder. Kirby never had that drink before, but he had eaten chocolate a few times. So it was probably just as tasty, so he wriggled his wings in excitement as they looked at the colourful packets on the shelves.

    He still couldn’t read very well, so he had to look at all the pictures on them. There was a red packet with a picture of a happy penguin eating a ball of chocolate he picked up. And another with potatoes and tomatoes on it. He had no idea what they were but he’d try them either way.

    “Oh, I should get something for sis too. She won’t eat some of this stuff because she’s vegetarian,” Bun spoke up as he turned around to the other shelf. “Gotta look for stuff with a green dot on it. She likes eating dried fruit as a snack though, so I could just get her that… Ah damn, we should get some fruit too, or Mama will scold us for eating too many snacks.”

    “Oh! I could get a few, any requests?” Honey asked.

    “Watermelon!” Kirby excitedly shouted, nearly scaring the girl.

    “O-Okay, anything else?” she asked as she picked up her basket.

    Bun covered Kirby’s mouth before he could ask for more watermelons. “Eh just get the usual stuff. Watermelons can be pretty heavy though… Iro think you can go with her?”

    She gave him a thumbs up. “Of course! Gotta be the strong one around here,” she confidently proclaimed as she tried to wedge the basket out of Honey’s hand to show off.

    After that Bun released his hand from Kirby’s mouth as the two continued to browse. “What’s vegetarian?” Kirby asked out of curiosity.

    “Wow, you said that without much trouble. Well, it’s like someone who won’t eat meat. Like she won’t eat a burger or some fried chicken. But she’ll have fried tofu or mushrooms,” he explained. 

    “Ohh… Like this one?” He pulled a packet off the shelf and Bun nodded.

    “Yeah, just like that one. But she doesn’t like that flavour so we can put it back.”

    “Kay.”

    They browsed in silence again for a while afterwards. Hohhe soon came back with the biggest tub of hot chocolate powder he could find. A packet of small marshmallows was also picked up to go along with them, Bun insisted that they’d go well with it.

    “Right! Remember we’re all going to meet up in front of the castle gates after dinner. Kirby will come back with me though as he’s going to have dinner at mine,” Bun explained outside of the store once they got everything they needed. 

    The bags were a bit heavier than he had anticipated, so he trusted Kirby to carry a few of them as well. “Ugh, I should have asked the twins to come with me. But they were busy,” he grumbled as the two walked to Kirby’s house after saying goodbye to the others. “Grab your stuff quickly, I don’t know much long my shoulders are going to survive,” he complained again as Kirby quickly stepped inside.

    Usually, when staying over he’d sleep at the other end of Bun’s bed, but they’d all be sleeping in the living room together tonight. So he wanted lots of pillows. He picked up three small but fluffy ones, light pink, purple, and yellow in the shape of a heart star and a moon given to him by Hana. He was just about to pick up a soft white blanket when he remembered the previous night.

    “...”

    He stared at the cloak which had been clumsily tossed across the floor. Tokkori snored on their bed, wrapped up in their blue blanket as he reached for the cloak. After that bad dream yesterday, it was probably a good idea to sleep with it on.

    Bun gave him an odd look when he stepped out with the cloak bundled up in his arms but did little to question it. “Mama’s making some spaghetti tonight, have you heard of it before? It tastes amazing,” Bun explained to him as they walked through the village.

    “Have not. Can Fumu have it?”

    “Depends on what you want it with. It’s made outta flour, I think… And that’s from a plant.”

    “Ohh…”

    “Yeah, so you can have it with a lot of stuff.”

    “Like bread?”

    “Yeah.”

    New excitement grew again once they reached the cabinet home. Lololo and Lalala nearly snatched him up into the air in excitement at the sight of him as Fumu sat on the sofa with a book.

    “Kirby! We’ve been looking forward to this all day!” Lololo excitedly commented as he twirled around in the air.

    “Yeah! We finally have a chance to show you our room too! Come on!” Lalala pulled at his arm, causing him to drop everything he was carrying much to Bun’s dismay. 

    The two of them led him to a door nestled in the corner of the hallway, it looked the same as any of the others but there were two signs that dangled from the handle. ‘Lolo & Lala’ were written out by the twin's own hands.

    Their room was quite small, much smaller than Bun and Fumu’s. At the back of the wall against the window was a bunk bed that matched the width of the room leaving very little space as the door would open halfway into the room. The top bunk had a blue bedsheet and lots of pillows, while the bottom was peach-coloured with fewer pillows but with some books.

    “Look look! This is my side!” Lololo proudly announced as he stood by the left side of the room once they closed the door. There were a few boxes of what looked to be puzzle games, alongside a plastic box with some dirt inside.

    Kirby looked at the box confused as the boy jolted. “Huh? Lalala do you know where Mr Ribbit went?” he asked as she also peered in.

    “I don’t know… Maybe he went on an adventure? Oh, and Kirby this is my side,” Lalala eagerly announced to him. There were a few colouring books on a short bookshelf on hers, as well as some puzzle books and wooden blocks.

    “Well, we say it’s our sides but…” Lololo started.

    “Really we share both of them,” Lalala finished.

    “And none of them like to clean it,” Bun commented as he joined the three of them. A grumpy pout lay on his lips as he looked around. “C’mon, we’ve got a bunch of snacks to put away first. Then you two can play with him until dinner.”

    The twins nodded in excitement as Kirby got dragged along once again through their home. It was fun though to sit down with the two for a few hours as Bun and Fumu scuffled over their plans for the sleepover while Kirby found himself losing game after game against Lalala.

    They hadn’t realised how much time had passed until there was a knock on the door. “It’s time for dinner, you three. Come and wash your hands before you eat!” Memu called out on the other side of the door.

    “We’re coming!” the twins replied as they quickly packed up the board they had set up. He was quite amazed by how quickly they put it all back together with all the tiny pieces they had out, he had just about put some pieces back into a small bag to help when they were nearly done.

    He had to pull up a stool to reach the sink as they washed their hands, his legs were too short and it was too tiring to fly up and reach it as the twins did. But the soap smelt like apples, so he didn’t mind doing it.

    The plates at their house were always very pretty, but delicate too. At home, he and Tokkori shared colourful plastic plates and cups together with little animals on them. Here they were white and quite hard with small pink flowers decorating the edges.

    For dinner, the pasta was long and noodly like the ramen he had at Kawasaki’s before. Memu called it spaghetti. There was a light amount of tomato sauce coating the noodles, with small tomatoes chopped and wrinkled from being cooked. Besides that, there were some peppered and sliced white mushrooms and leafy spinach. In the centre of the table was a plate with slices of bread topped with melted garlic butter that oozed through the soft bread.

    “Y’know,” Bun started, with a mouth full of bread. “I never really asked. But what do you have for dinner normally, Kirby?”

    “Bun, don’t eat with your mouth full,” Fumu scolded her brother.

    He stuck his tongue out at her in response. Kirby finished chewing his mouthful of pasta before speaking, not wanting to also get scolded. “If I go on walks in the evening sometimes I get dinner. Kawasaki always gives food!” he explained. 

    “Why?” Bun asked.

    “Dunno.”

    He didn’t seem to have any more questions after that as they finished up dinner. Bun was quick to leave, saying he was going to wait for the others while Kirby watched TV with Fumu.

    Well, she wasn’t really watching it. She was more invested in the wordy book on her lap as he watched Dedede and Escargon play around with puppets. He wanted to play with one too, maybe Fumu would know how to make some. But before he could ask the door was very roughly pushed open by four excited kids.

    “Everyones here!” Bun cheered as their friends gathered by the sofa.

    “Good evening Fumu,” Honey greeted the girl with a smile as she laid her bag and some pillows in a pile onto the floor.

    Hohhe and Iro were quick to toss theirs to the floor and tackle Bun. Parm looked up at the three from the TV with a raised eyebrow. “Ah, careful. Try not to roughhouse in here, please. I wouldn’t want any of you to get hurt while staying here,” he asked in a soft but firm voice.

    “Aww… Fine. Heya guys,” Iroo climbed off the two as she slumped herself to sit next to Honey.

    Memu peered over from the kitchen corner to the group with a smile. “Hello there all of you. Me and Parm will be going to bed soon so try not to make too much noise. Ah, and try not to go out into the castle at night.”

    It seemed that Dedede was a bit nervous walking around at night again still after their big prank. He had heard many stories before about the entire family being awoken in the middle of the night from some sort of explosion or crash caused by the king's night-time boredom.

    Hopefully, that meant they could have their sleepover without a hitch as long as the king stayed asleep. But he was already feeling quite sleepy himself.

    -

    “Escargon. Are you ready?” Dedede murmured in the darkness of the castle laboratory.

    “Yes sir… Though we should put the light on first…”

    “Why? It gives atmosphere.”

    “I can't see my own fingers.”

    Dedede sighed. “Fine.” He patted around the wall for a few moments, nearly knocking over some glass tubes until he found the large switch. The whirl and hum of electricity followed before light flooded the room.

    The other man let out a sigh of relief as he polished his glasses. “Ah, much better. Now then, let's begin,” Escargon sneered as he rubbed his hands together.

    Dedede let out a low chuckle. “My little revenge project… Take out the chart!”

    With a dramatic tug, Escargon pulled a rope which rolled down a large sheet of paper covered in pie charts and scribbles of data. Dedede could not understand a lick of it, which is what Escargon was here for of course.

    “All of this data was gathered with the help of Hopper two point O,” Escargon began as he took out the tiny robotic grasshopper.

    “What happened to the first one?”

    “You sat on it,” Escargon scowled. “But it’s okay! Using the data from the previous model I have improved this one drastically. Now then, onto the data.” He whipped out a foldable ruler from his pocket and pointed at a corner which had a photo of Honey.

    “The easiest of the brats. Anything, and I mean anything will have her running and crying. I almost feel bad. As timid as she is though, there is one method that will not work on her.” He slapped another image in the collage of various tricks they had planned “Bugs! She’s not afraid of them at all!”

    Dedede looked at him in surprise. “What? But aren’t all little girls scared of ‘em?”

    “Her mother is a florist! There are bugs everywhere at home! But that brings us to our hardest to scare, the pink menace himself. Kirby.” Escargon pulled out the controller for the robot with a screen at the center “Here, have a look at this.”

    On the small screen, a blurry video began to play. Kirby sat underneath a tree with a pile of apples laid between his legs he lazily bit into. The boy was enjoying his fruitful supper, that was until one bite he stopped and peered at the apple. Out popped a furry caterpillar with round beady eyes that had made its home inside of the apple.

    The weak speakers on the controller vibrated from the scream he let out at the discovery before the footage ended. “Ugh, gross. Don’t tell me we’re going to be touching bugs,” Dedede complained.

    “All for the sake of revenge,” Escargon explained as he took out a clear case with one of the caterpillars inside. It squirmed around inside of its little cage as it chewed on some scraps of apple likely used to lead it inside.

    “Hmm, perhaps I should start calling you E-scare-gon,” Dedede cackled.

    The man rolled his eyes before continuing. “Those twins are scared of being separated. But more importantly, they’re both afraid of spiders. Even a few rubber ones will do the trick if dropped in their hair.”

    “Hmm… I see, I see. What about the other brats?” Dedede asked as he pretended to look at all the notes Escargon had written.

    “Bun is scared of the dark. So is Hohhe, as tough as they pretend to be they both need to cuddle a toy at night,” Escargon cackled. “Fumu and Iro are both scared of ghosts, along with you as well of course Your Majesty.”

    The king ignored his comment for now as he thought long and hard on what to do with this information. Escargon was still chattering away beside him about his own ideas that wouldn’t work of course. He needed those brats to pull off any scares last time while Dedede was an independent scarer.

    “Ah! I got it!” An idea flashed into Dedede’s mind. “Ghost spiders.”

    “No! That won’t work at all! Ghost spiders don’t even exist!”

    “How would you know?”

    “It’s just common sense, ugh. You really do like making this more complicated than it needs to be! Just follow my lead alright?” Escargon huffed in annoyance as he took out a map of the castle and began to go over his plans.

    -

    “Seriously? Wow, I never knew about that,” Iro loudly gasped, shocking Kirby back awake as he felt himself slowly dozing off wrapped up in his cloak. The sweet smell of hot chocolate continued to drift by his face alongside the steam which was slowly lulling him to sleep. Hot chocolate was very nice, he was on his third cup already in fact. The marshmallows they bought would slowly melt in the hot drink, becoming frothy and rather nice to suck up.

    “Yeah, you’d never expect the Mayor to do that,” Bun added as he lazily relaxed against the sofa in his pyjamas. They were a pair of green shorts with a yellow top.

    “Bun, stop trying to lie,” Fumu’s pointed voice came from the other side of the sofa. Her hair was down and she was wearing a light pink nightgown with small flowers stitched into the shoulders. Sitting below her was Honey who was also wearing a light yellow nightgown that frayed at the edges. Fumu was currently tying her hair up in various styles.

    On the other side of that Hohhe was also sitting on the floor near Bun, he was wearing a white tank top and blue shorts with white stripes. Iroo was also sitting next to him on the floor in a black tank top and green shorts, various snacks were walled between the two with Bun dipping in every now and then.

    He wasn’t really paying much attention to their stories and rumours about the mayor but there was something he liked about him. “Oh… I like watching the sheeps. Can we talk about the sheeps?”

    “Hmm… There’s not much to really talk about them though,” Fumu commented. “They’ve been losing a few since the demon beast attacks, but whenever I look at the field I feel like there’s even more than before.”

    All the others nodded in agreement as Kirby plated his head into the pillow below him. “Mm… This pillow is fluffy, just like a sheeps…” he murmured to himself.

    He could close his eyes for a few minutes, no one would notice.

    Sounds became more muffled until he felt himself drifting away into a sea of stars. His toes gently touched down on the invisible floor beneath him which rippled with each touch. This was a strange place, a place he always seemed to visit in his dreams before moving on to more fun things.

    But being here, he was curious about something. “Ghosty? Are you here?” he called out.

    There was no reply, and he considered yelling again until he saw a ripple go past his feet. He turned around to see the strange knight from before standing behind him, their cloak hood and mask still removed.

    “Is that my name now?” they asked with some amusement.

    Kirby nodded. “Dunno your name.”

    “Ah, I suppose I never introduced myself properly did I? If I could at least, I don’t remember my name,” they explained with a sigh.

    This confused Kirby. “You lose it? But how can you lose a name?”

    “Well… I suppose I was left here for so long I forgot a lot of things. All I remember was my wish for you to be protected which is how I’m here,” they explained as they paced around the starry void.

    Kirby sat on the floor with a flop. “Dunno what you mean,” he admitted with confusion. “I had a new year wish, is it the same?”

    The Knight turned around quickly to look at him in surprise. “No not at all. I’d have thought someone would have spoken about the concept sooner or later. I did write a thesis on this…” they grumbled.

    “Teethis,” Kirby’s tongue got caught between his teeth as he attempted this new word.

    “So, hmm… I suppose I would need to cut this down due to your age and your… Comprehension. A wish is a powerful desire or a dream someone may have, and these emotions and feelings are quite powerful. So powerful they might latch onto objects depending on the length of exposure or the material of the object. The person who made that wish passed it onto that cloak, and ever since then, it’s protected your dreams from Nightmare in the form and memory of that person who made the wish,” they explained.

    “...Okay.”

    “You didn’t understand a word I said, did you?”

    Kirby nodded.

    They stared at him in surprise before also lowering themself to the floor in front of him. “I suppose you are quite young still, don’t worry about it too much though. Just know I’m here to protect you okay?”

    “But is it scary?”

    “What is?”

    “Uhm, losing things.”

    The Knight seemed to ponder his question for a moment. “I don’t know. I suppose so, as if I were to forget everything I’d fade away. Of course, my existence is only temporary here and wishes won’t last forever… I would like to try and remember what my name would be and what it was before that happens.”

    “Ohh, maybe Meta Knight might know,” Kirby chirped.

    “Meta Knight? I don’t remember any knight by that name… Though I suppose I don’t remember any others either.”

    “Do you remember anything?”

    “I suppose I do a bit. Might I experiment with something for a moment?” The Knight asked.

    Kirby nodded and the knight smiled as they climbed to their feet. They bent back down, finger extended to dip into the stars below them. The stars drifted away, like seashells being brushed through water. He looked up to see them gather together above them before bursting around them, melting away the dark wisps of space around them.

    A light wooden floor formed beneath them, as he peered up from the floor, Kirby saw he was now sitting in the center of a rather large but sparse room. The walls were a light grey, with a large window at the end of the room opposite the white wooden door with another door on the right. It was a very old-looking window, laced with metal creating a crossed shadow on the floor. There was a light wooden wardrobe, a desk with a bookshelf of thick adult-looking books and a bed with a grey bed sheet.

    “Looks kinda boring,” Kirby commented aloud.

    The Knight walked up from behind him, also looking around. “I suppose so. This is one of the earliest rooms in my memory. A bit too spacious I think.”

    Kirby nodded in agreement. “Fumu has lots of fun things in her room. Lots of things she likes and does. Only see books here.”

    “You don’t always need lots of fun things. But they can certainly help. What of your room though? This being your dream you should be able to do the same I did,” they explained.

    He perked up. “Really? I have a house with my friend!” Kirby explained as he slapped the floor to try and make it change as The Knight had. Nothing seemed to happen though strangely enough.

    “Try and open the door and think hard as you can about your home,” The Knight quietly suggested behind him. 

    Kirby rushed to the door with their suggestion and swung the door open with his mind filled with thoughts about his home. It was just like opening the front door and walking in, just like how he left it that morning. Channel DDD was playing on the TV, the same program he had watched that morning before going out to meet his friends.

    “Quite cozy,” The Knight commented as they ducked down to walk through the door and sat on his little bed with their knees pressed together and bent to the side with their hands resting on their lap. Kirby climbed next to them with his legs spread and relaxed.

    “They all made this for me! Then Tokko started living with me too. All the old ladies gave us pillows and blankets. Everyone gives me food too, if I go on walks they’ll invite me for food. I can say thanks for the meal too,” Kirby excitedly explained as The Knight listened to him talk.

    “We’re all having a sleepover right now, I was really sleepy though.”

    “With all your friends?”

    “Yeah, we went out and got lots of snacks too. Hot chocolate is really nice, do you remember having any?” Kirby asked.

    They gave it some thought. “Perhaps not the same as you would have. But I would enjoy making tea out of flowers in the garden I grew up with.”

    “You can make tea outta flowers?”

    “Yes, though it's always good to check a book or other adults if it’s safe. Some may make you sick if you're not careful,” they explained.

    “Ohh.”

    Kirby kicked his feet on the bed and wondered who’d know about that. Fumu would probably know about some flowers suitable for drinking. Maybe Kawasaki too. He wasn’t sure how you could make a drink out of them.

    He also hadn’t had any tea before either, whenever Memu had it for lunch she’d always give him a glass of juice instead of tea.

    “Do you like flowers? Do you remember your favourite?”

    “Well, I liked peonies a lot. I used to even scent my clothes with them I believe,” they explained.

    “Ohh… Well, I like lots of flowers. I don’t remember their names though,” he explained as he dropped to the floor to gather up a few pillows. Once piled up he let himself flop onto them.

    Whenever Tokkori was home he’d complain Kirby was making a mess doing this. So he’d always do it whenever Tokkori wasn’t home. “Do I always have to sleep with that cloak on?” Kirby muffled from the pile.

    “It’s better to be safe than anything. But I suppose you won’t always need it on you. As long as someone is there to wake you up if Nightmare attempts to invade your dreams again you should be alright,” The Knight explained.

    Kirby rolled around happily. “Yaaay!” That meant he could nap in fields again. But as he lay there, something strange began to happen. Everything around him began to wobble and The Knight noticed this too.

    “It seems someone is trying to wake you up, come on now,” they shook his shoulder. It felt more real than it should be.

    “C’mon Kirby get up, this is trouble!” A particularly sharp shove came as he heard Bun shouting and Kirby jolted awake.

    It was quite hard to see around him, even as he rubbed his eyes. Everything was dark now while a few lamps had been on earlier. Just barely he could see Fumu shuffling about in the distance looking through drawers and cupboards as the others sat on the sofa together.

    “What happen?” he asked.

    Bun let out a huff. “A blackout, Dedede must be up to something right now,” he grumbled.

    From the kitchen, Fumu let out an excited gasp. “Found a light! Alright, does anyone want to come with me?” she called out as she rounded the corner with a flashlight.

    “What for?” Kirby asked.

    Fumu walked over to get a blanket to wrap around her shoulders. “To turn the generator back on. Dedede and Escargon are probably too busy bickering to do it,” she sighed.

    Next to her Hohhe pumped his arms. “I-I’ll come too. I’m not scared of the dark at all!”

    “Why’d you bring it up then? You scared?” Iro teased him with a drawl.

    “N-No! Not at all, you’ll see,” he stammered.

    Between them, Honey slowly raised her arm. “Uhm, I’m scared too but I’ll come if you’re all going… What about you Bun? You screamed when the lights turned off.”

    Bun froze up. “O-Of course I gotta come. Sis has a light after all we’ll be fine. It’s the castle I’m used to it.” He didn’t sound too convincing.

    All eyes were on him next though after Bun agreed to come. Kirby wanted to go back to sleep, he was very tired. But even he could tell they were silently begging him to come with them. “Okay…” he yawned and got up with Puppy in his arms.

    Everyone crowded behind Fumu as she pushed the door open into the cold dark hallway. She was quick on her feet walking through the darkness with her light as the others tried to keep close behind her. Kirby was dragging his feet though, he was very tired and the dark didn’t scare him at all.

    “Ugh… Dedede really made this place as scary as he could,” Hohhe complained.

    “So you are scared then!” Iro laughed back at him.

    The boy shrank. “N-No, just pointing it out. Honey’s the one who's scared.”

    “He designed it to look old on purpose… I dunno why, maybe he’s a weirdo that likes it that way but it's super advanced underneath,” Bun added. 

    Kirby had stopped listening to them shortly afterwards though, the dark was making him feel really sleepy now. He was basically sleepwalking at this point as his friend’s voices drifted away. 

    He stopped for a moment. Everything was too quiet. As he peeled his eyes open he couldn’t see any figures in the distance any more. “Uh oh…” he murmured to himself quietly as he looked around. He might have dozed off a bit too much.

    “Fumuuuu,” he called out as he wandered around in a circle waiting to hear her call for him as well. There was no response as he continued to wander down the halls, it was quite a trek, and he saw a few Waddle Dees on his walk but no sign of his friends.

    Perhaps he walked a bit too far. As he thought about returning to the Cabinet home though, something landed on his back. He passed it off as a drop of water at first, shivering from the cold it sent down his back. Until he felt it moving.

    With a shaky hand, he reached for his back and felt something soft wriggling there. It was squishy like a bad fruit with fur like a really bad fruit. The thought already made him feel a bit sick, but he’d feel worse if he just left it there. Bravely, he grabbed it and pulled it in front of his face.

    It was a fluffy caterpillar.

    “Nooooooo!” he screamed as he threw it away from him and ran away from it as fast as he could. He swore he could hear someone loudly laughing at him as he ran but he didn’t care, he was getting away from that caterpillar right now before it could eat him like an apple.

    He felt himself get tired after running for so long, what was worse was he was probably further away from his friends again now. As he gave Puppy a tight squeeze he looked around. There was an unfamiliar wooden door down the hall he quickly ran to, he gave it a push and it opened with little trouble.

    It was a light blue room, with a hard stone floor and walls and a fireplace at the end. On top of that fireplace, he could see an old wooden shield with a star emblem on it that had been worn and cracked with age. Some weapons lined the rest of the wall and there was a tatami sitting space on the right with a low wooden desk and some books on a shelf.

    And sitting by that table, he saw Meta Knight. He had no chair to sit on, instead, he was sitting on his knees with his metal boots set to the side. Kirby closed the door and the knight’s back straightened as he reached for something on his desk. “Yes? What are you doing here?” he quietly called to Kirby as he looked over.

    “Dedede turned off the lights. Fumu said we’d go turn it back on but I was sleepy and got lost. Then a bug landed on my back…” Kirby pouted as he walked over to Meta Knight. There were papers on his desk alongside a small candle that had slowly melted into the wood.

    All the papers were wordy and Meta Knight’s ungloved hands were splotched with black ink. He looked back up at the knight, who quietly stared at him. “What’s you doing?” Kirby asked.

    “Adult things,” Meta Knight bluntly replied.

    “Boring things?”

    “Yes.”

    Kirby hummed as he sat next to the knight. “I can't read very well. But Fumu says I’m getting better, that says money.”

    “It does. Well done.”

    They sat there quietly for a bit as he could see Meta Knight’s glowing eyes look him up and down. “Your wings, have you been cleaning them?” he asked.

    “Do I need to?”

    “Yes, it’s very important. By pruning you keep them healthy, especially for someone as young as you,” Meta Knight explained.

    He recognised that word, Tokkori would use it whenever he would grab and pull at his wings. Sometimes he’d even use his beak in bird form when doing it. “Tokko does that to me,” Kirby explained.

    “I see…”

    “Do you have wings too?” His question made him freeze up and look away. Kirby frowned. “Are you upset? Is it a bad question?”

    “No… Do not worry about it. Do you need assistance returning to the Cabinet family home?” he asked, changing the subject.

    Kirby shook his head. “Noo. But I’m sleepy, can I sleep here?”

    “On the floor?”

    “Yeah! You’re sitting on it too. Why are you sitting like that?” he asked as he laid down.

    Meta Knight looked at him, before turning back to his papers. “This was an old traditional room Dedede had forgotten about before we arrived. There was quite a bit of space here so we were allowed to move into it and I kept this part for convenience. You are supposed to sit like this when using it,” he explained.

    “Oh, looks achey…”

    “It can be.”

    There wasn’t much else he could think to say after that, and he was too tired to keep on chatting. As Meta Knight resumed his writing Kirby found himself listening to the scratch of his pen against the paper. He closed his eyes to it, the crackling flame of the candle joining the pen that began to lull him to sleep.

    But before he could completely fall asleep, he heard the pen stop for a moment. And a warm familiar blanket washed over him. So he let himself fall asleep clinging to the smell of smoke and metal as the paper scratching continued.

    -

    “We’ve lost Kirby,” Hohhe loudly commented as Fumu felt like bashing her head into the nearest brick wall. 

    Of course, they lost Kirby. “Didn’t any of you notice he wasn’t behind us?” she asked. They all shook their heads. They were probably too busy keeping their cool about the dark to notice him likely sleepily walking past the turn they made.

    She sighed. “Guess it can't be helped. I’m sure he’s happily napping away in some corner. We’ll find him once we switch the lights back on,” she explained as she continued to trudge through the dark hallway. Most nights the hallway lights would never be on either, some days she swore they never worked in the first place. But everything went along to the whims of the king after all. With all the monsters he had been ordering it was no wonder he’d try and cut on his electricity bill.

    “Hey sis? Are you sure we’re even going the right way?” Bun whispered into her ear.

    “Yeah of course I’m… I think so? It’s pretty dark.”

    “So we’re lost?” Bun exasperated.

    Fumu glared at him. “No, I’ll know when we get there trust me- Aaaah!” she screamed as something cold touched the back of her neck. Whipping her head around she saw Hohhe, staring at her in surprise with his hand frozen.

    “Ugh! Why would you do that?” she yelled at him, stomping her foot in frustration. But he did not flinch as he raised his hand with a shiver to point at the ceiling. She looked around at the others, the twins clung to each other as well as Honey and Iroo.

    A pit dug through her stomach as she slowly turned to see an outline on the ceiling. As her flashlight grazed the tip of its finger it scurried away into the depths of the castle as Fumu’s soul left her body.

    “W-W-What was that!” Iro screeched as she stumbled backwards, crashing into Honey who let out a yelp.

    Fumu felt her legs turn to jelly as she returned to earth. “Wh… What was that…” Fumu rasped. And from the darkness a low voice cackled down the hallway, echoing past their ears.

    “Waaaah!” Hohhe screamed as he ran off back through the hallway behind them only to skid across the floor and fell on his back. He whined for a moment, pulling himself up before whimpering and Fumu could see why.

    Floating lights flickered in the dark, slowly creeping towards them. Before Fumu could say anything she felt her brother grab her wrist and screamed at the top of his lungs. “GHOSTS!” Before scrambling away with the rest of their group.

    “Wait! Be careful-!” her words were cut short as Bun stepped on one of Dedede’s many traps. They were unlucky enough to be caught in the dark to remember where they were as stupid as it was. And now the siblings found themselves tumbling down a slide into the depths of the castle where Dedede was likely laughing all the while.

    Then it hit Fumu, next to Bun’s leg of course as they crashed into an abandoned room. “Dedede! I bet he’s doing all of this!” she angrily hissed.

    “How are they crawling on the ceiling!” Bun argued back.

    “I don’t know. But they must be trying to get revenge for those pranks you and the others played on him. We’ve gotta find the others before those two can cause any more trouble!” She scrambled to find her light as Bun trembled behind her.

    She struggled to recognise where they were, the depths of Dedede’s castle were honestly a mystery to her. Old halls and empty stone rooms crawled below them, and dust floated in the air around them, possibly years old. Dedede was always quite fickle with his hobbies, so she had always believed he made those expansions to get the space for them.

    Escargon usually would hide a few of his inventions down there, old heaps of scrap metal left abandoned in large rooms the two walked past. It always gave her the creeps, she tightened her grip on Bun as they powered down the old halls.

    “Sis, are you scared?” Bun asked quietly.

    “Huh?”

    “You're shaking.”

    Oh, she was. “I-It’s nothing. Just that these halls give me the creeps…”

    “Yeah, I guess so… Why does Dedede need all this space anyways? I guess he does use some of it for filming now though,” Bun rambled on. “Whenever he’s causing trouble we seem to always end up down here too huh? But usually, the lights are on,” he pouted.

    “Down here? Wasn’t he cutting that off?” she remarked.

    Bun just shrugged. “I guess? Maybe because there’s no windows. I bet the Waddle Dee’s get really annoyed. It's so dark all the time too haha-aaah!” he loudly yelped again as a figure crashed into them.

    With the flash of her light, Fumu was quick to recognise the figure now clung to her panicking brother. “Lololo? Are you alright, where’s Lalala?” She shook his shoulder slightly, trying to pry the two off each other.

    “W-We got separated,” he sobbed. “I-I thought it wouldn’t scare me anymore but she got gobbled up by a ghost!” he wailed as Bun’s shirt was used like a handkerchief.

    “That Dedede… Don’t worry Lololo! It’s just Dedede up to his tricks again, we’ll get her back okay?” she comforted him. He nodded with teary eyes as Bun pushed him off and rubbed the wet marks left on his shirt.

    With the three of them gathered they took another look around at their surroundings with the help of Fumu’s light. “I feel like these rooms change whenever we end up here,” Lololo complained as he tapped around at a wall looking for any more of Dedede’s traps.

    “Well we don’t go down here a lot, so you wouldn’t be familiar with it. Besides, it’s pretty dark too,” Fumu explained as she looked around with her light. It was rather cold down here too, not that she minded the break from the usual heat in the day.

    Behind her Bun kept close as he looked around without much luck either. “Jeez… I could have been in bed still if he didn’t play around…” he whined.

    “I doubt it. You were quite taken by that movie we left on. You never fight sleep for those,” she teased him and he crossed his arms in a huff.

    “Do you think we should just go to bed when we find the others? I don’t really feel like staying up much longer…” Lololo murmured.

    That would be the best choice really, but part of Fumu wanted to persist and show Dedede up as much as her tired eyes disagreed. “Maybe… But we need to find Kirby first, I don’t want him catching a cold if he sleeps out in a hallway!”

    “Maybe the Waddle Dee’s will adopt him. They’re the same size and all,” Bun joked.

    She pouted at him but decided to keep her mouth shut for now to save her energy. Their footsteps echoed around them as they continued on, Lololo floated on ahead of them able to conserve his energy by floating. It gave Fumu even more time to think, she grew curious as to why no other Waddle Dee’s were around if Dedede did enjoy hiding his secrets down here. 

    “Fumu!” Lololo whizzed back towards them, a determined look on his face. “I hear crying further down the hall! We should check it out!”

    They quickly ran down the hall, the echoing tears growing louder until they rounded a corner to three other figures. Hohhe was standing to the side awkwardly as he watched a confused Blade attempt to calm down a very distressed Lalala.

    “Sis!” Lololo barreled himself into his twin's arms, plugging the flow of tears as she quickly embraced him back.

    Blade let out a satisfied sigh. “Well, that’s one problem sorted. Would one of you mind explaining why you’re all down here?” And by that, she meant Fumu as the woman quickly looked towards her first.

    “Dedede’s trying to get revenge on some of us for old pranks. But he’s going too far with it, not to mention I was never involved with any pranks to begin with!” she explained in a frustrated huff.

    “I suppose that’s our king for you. We thought something was up when all the lights switched off and that’s when we found these two. Honestly his traps that lead down here just make more work for us,” Blade sighed as she crossed her arms.

    Bun looked at her confused. “Work for you?”

    “Yep. Me and Sword usually patrol this area at night, on the off chance someone gets down here due to sensitive information. But come during the day and you’ll find a few Waddle Dee’s here instead,” Blade explained as she pulled herself up from kneeling, the plating on her knee must have made it rather uncomfortable.

    Behind them, Hohhe rubbed his hands together nervously as he peered down the dark hallways around him. “So can we leave now? I don’t wanna be down here anymore!” he loudly whined much to Blade’s panic.

    “Once we find your other friends we will. I’m sure Sword will be back soon, we can’t leave them behind now, can we?” she explained with an exasperated voice, 

    “But what kinda secrets are down here? Ohh are Dedede and Escargon up to something? Shouldn’t you guys destroy it?” Bun raised his voice. He tapped his foot on the ground with a suspicious scowl.

    She wriggled her fingers as she clearly thought up of a lie. “Just a secret, nothing we lowly knights are privy to,” she awkwardly laughed while scratching the back of her neck.

    Before any further comment could be made though, a light flickered at the corner of Fumu’s eye. “Here we are,” Sword's familiar voice called out as Honey and Iroo stood beside him, the two girls clutching hands. 

    “Honey, Iro! Are you two alright?” Fumu called out to the two as she rushed over to them. She was mostly worried for Honey honestly, the girl was easily spooked. But it appeared Iroo was the one quaking in her stead.

    “W-We’re okay. It’s much less scary if you're with someone,” Honey smiled. Iro nodded back, albeit nervously.

    Kirby was still missing, but they all needed to get out of the castle’s depths either way now. “Can we go now?” Hohhe whined again as Sword and Blade exchanged a few whispered words with each other.

    “Yeah, we’ll escort you all back to the Cabinet home. Though… There’s no saying if Dedede might strike again, so be wary of that,” Blade explained with a soft pout on her lips.

    “What? Even with you two around?” Iro spluttered as Blade just shrugged.

    “We’re on the same level as the Waddle Dee’s really, he and Escargon will only hold back if they believe they might earn Sir Meta Knight’s ire. There’s very little that can scare us of course though,” she explained with a confident beat to her chest. And Sword only a curt nod in reply.

    Fumu frowned. “There’s gotta be some way to stop them…”

    She pondered various solutions to herself, many of them running short of time or energy. They couldn’t exactly prank them back easily right now, and giving up now would be letting Dedede win.

    “Uhm… Fumu? I-I have an idea if that’s okay?” Honey meekly spoke up. Once her attention was grabbed she continued. “He’d probably get really annoyed if we stopped being scared of him. So maybe he’d give up?”

    “Ah. That could work!” Fumu burst out, feeling a resurgence of energy. They’d show them up for sure. “Let’s go! We’ll all laugh in their faces at their tricks!” The others nodded along with her plan, albeit nervously.

    With the help of Sword and Blade they found their way out of the castle’s depths with little difficulty thanks to the knight’s familiarity with the area. It was a wonder if they’d even be able to get out that night without their help as even the halls leading up to the staircase were identical to all the previous ones.

    A sense of relief swept through the group as they walked up into one of the ground floors of the castle, the moon glowing through the castle's windows was a welcome sight. But it didn’t take long until they heard a strange creaking sound echo behind them.

    Fumu squeezed her fist as she stared down the dark hallway, waiting and watching.

    “Grwaaaaah!” Screeching to a halt in front of them was a massive grizzly beast with crooked claws and the face of an ogre. Or more certainly, Dedede in a costume.

    She felt a scream rise up her chest, before beating it down and taking one long breath. “Bwahahaha!” she burst out laughing, accidentally scaring the others around her for a moment before they joined her.

    “H-Huh?” murmurs of bewilderment muffled from behind the costume, one they recognised all too well. He stomped his foot in anger. “Oi! Don’t laugh! Scream! I’m the great demon of the castle, and I’ll eat any children that get in my way!”

    “Yeah right! We’ve seen monsters already, you're not scary at all!” Bun teased the man. 

    Behind the mask, a vein popped. “This is my time to shine! Hehehe… But I know something truly horrifying if you’re not scared of me.”

    Fumu felt a pit drop in her stomach as he ran off, yelling something at Escargon as realisation hit her. “He’s going to order a demon beast!” she yelled as she pulled out her hair.

    “Let’s grab him!” Hohhe yelled as they all ran after the king. Behind him a rather panicked Escargon hopped after him, wrapped in bandages he tried to untangle himself from.

    But they were too late. Light flashed through the throne room as they finally arrived, and at the centre of the room was a large grey ghost. Its body looked as if it were made of ripped cloth with one large eye and an evil grin across its face. Though a silly pointed purple hat did ruin its fear factor by a bit.

    “The ghost demon beast, Tedhaun. Well then, I must be off and oh. No refunds.” Fumu recognised that voice as the strange man who had stolen Dedede’s money. Despite only hearing the man once before, hearing him again was enough to get a rise out of her.

    But now their eyes centred on the ghost that was quite content to bob around in front of the king as he clambered up his throne. “H-He didn’t say it’d be a ghost! Hey! Stay away! Look, get those kids right there!” he yelled at it, only to be ignored as it crept towards him. 

    “Your Majesty!” Blade called out to him as she and Sword drew their weapons and leapt at Tedhaun. Only for their weapons to phase right through it as it continued its merry way towards the petrified king.

    “Stay away!” Dedede screeched as it stroked his cheek and his eyes rolled white. Tedhaun vanished into the king, and his slumped body stayed still over the throne as Escargon caught up behind them finally.

    “I’m not cut out for all this running around,” the man complained as he cracked his back. He had a look of panic and exasperation as he looked up at the unconscious king and ran up to him “Your Majesty! Are you alright? Answer me!” He shook the man’s shoulders as Sword and Blade carefully approached the two.

    Fumu felt someone tug at her and she turned around to Honey’s sleepy eyes. “Can we go back now? Can’t the adults sort everything out?” 

    But before Fumu could say anything back a chilling laugh echoed through the throne room. Dedede rose from his throne, arms limply held up like a puppet on strings as a strange purple aura burned around him.

    “Well, this doesn’t look too good,” Blade commented as she positioned herself in front of the group. Dedede rushed towards her, body dragging itself across the floor as he grabbed her sword. “We’ve gotta get that ghost out! Sword!”

    An inhuman screech filled the room as the sword bent under his strength. The screaming metal was cut short though by a quick bash on the head with the hilt of Sword’s weapon. Dedede slumped to the floor again as Escargon clambered over to him. “Be careful! I don’t know how many more bashes to the head he can take,” he scolded Sword who didn’t look too concerned.

    “Then what do you suppose we should do? We can’t leave him wandering around like this,” Sword bit back at the man.

    Fumu stared at them in disbelief, the others too shocked to move or say something as the last three adults in the room circled Dedede at a loss on what to do. It just made her feel even more tired really. “Sir Meta Knight should know what to do!” Fumu interrupted them, catching Blade’s attention.

    “Oh, that’s right! I’ll go fetch him, keep an eye on the king for me!” she sounded a bit too happy about excusing herself, manoeuvring past the shocked children as she made a beeline down the castle halls.

    “And I! May have some equipment specially made for phantoms. His Majesty requested it of course. Lololo, Lalala! Come with me.” Escargon snapped his fingers at the twins as they scowled.

    “Why should we? You and Dedede made this mess, we wanna go to sleep!” Lalala argued back at him as Lololo nodded along with her.

    Like a switch being flipped, Escargon scrambled to the floor with a sob. “Please! You know how His Majesty is! He bullied me into it!” he sobbed at the twins while their friends from the village watched uncomfortably from the back.

    “Ugh fine! Just stop crying okay,” Lololo huffed as they followed him out of the throne room.

    Sword looked back in disbelief. “You’re all leaving me with the children?” He frowned as he looked at the group and back at the unconscious king. With a sigh, he grabbed the man’s shoulders and rolled him over to his back. Another look back at the group and he looked almost distraught. “Uhm… Perhaps it’d be best for you all to return to bed,” he awkwardly commented.

    “As much as I’d like to, I can’t go to sleep like this! Is there anything we can do to help?” Fumu insisted much to his confusion.

    “I’m not really-” A strange groan came from the king as he attempted to rise back up only to be punched back down by Sword. “... Perhaps hold down his arms and legs.”

    Fumu looked back at the group who didn’t look too pleased with her but went along nonetheless. Fumu took Dedede’s left arm, Bun the right. Hohhe took his right leg and Iro and Honey the left while Sword kept his shoulders held down.

    Blade arrived before Escargon, a scowl on her face and no Meta Knight in tow. She slunk beside the group with a book in her hand. “He wasn’t in the best mood, to say the least. Something about me being too loud before he told me to just use this book,” she complained.

    “That’s unusual… Was he doing something before?” Sword asked, a hint of surprise on his face.

    She shrugged as she flipped through the old leather-bound book. “Just the usual paperwork, normally he’s fine dropping that in an emergency.”

    “Maybe he’s getting grumpy in his old age,” Bun cackled, only to slink back as Fumu scowled at him.

    “All the words in here are so strange… I’ve never seen a language like this before. But it seems to have another, and I can read that one,” Blade murmured as she flicked through the book more.

    Iro let out a whine. “Then just start reading it already!”

    “Wait Iro! We don’t even know what it’ll do!” Fumu argued with her.

    “I’d rather find out what it does!” she argued back.

    “For the king's sake, Blade just read it,” Sword let out a frustrated sigh as Dedede began to struggle again as consciousness returned to him again.

    Blade looked around in a panic. “Just put extra pressure on him then. Ahem… For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit-”

    The king began to thrash and yell, swinging the children on his arms like a cat caught on a coat. His eyes then burst wide open, pure white and strained which Fumu wasn’t ashamed to confess, screamed at. “Let’s be happy! Let’s be lucky!” he droned.

    “Agh! He’s singing now!” Hohhe shouted.

    The book was thrown into Dedede’s face, knocking him out once more. Blade’s fingers twitched. “Creepy! He sounded too cheerful,” she squeaked.

    “I thought you said you weren’t scared of anything!” Bun huffed at her.

    “There are some exceptions. I’ll just help hold him down until Escargon arrives.”

    She awkwardly settled herself beside Sword, holding down the king’s shoulders together as they tried to ignore the growing red mark on his forehead. Soon, Escargon finally arrived with the twins in tow alongside sacks of equipment spilt over the floor by Lololo.

    Escargon’s whole body tensed and twitched at the sight. “Hey! Those are delicate,” he scolded him as he collected the fallen instruments.

    “Oh! I also grabbed this! It might work,” Lalala cheerfully spoke up as she pulled out a bundle of paper. After unfolding it she tossed whatever was inside, that being handfuls of salt.

    The king’s body steadily became covered in a thin white layer before Escargon let out a strangled cry. “He’s seasoned well enough! That won’t work! Behold, the camera obscure! It’ll take photos of ghosts, for real this time.” He held up an old-looking clunky camera, likely once owned by the mayor and his love of photography.

    “How will that work? We already know the ghost is inside of him!” Lololo argued with the man, knocking the camera out of his hands. It collided with the king’s head as the two argued, she exchanged a few wordless concerned looks with the others 

    “Why don’t we try garlic next?” Lalala suggested.

    “Wrong monster! Or are you just thinking of food? Well if this doesn’t suck up that ghost, it’ll clean up all that salt,” Escargon huffed as he pulled out another invention. It was a large vacuum cleaner with a red backpack attached to it. “This was a patent from a friend of mine. It should suck up ghosts with some help using a special flashlight… Huh?”

    He spun around with the heavy thing on for a moment. “It’s gone…”

    “Then grab something else!” Iro yelled as she climbed towards one of the sacks. She pulled out a strange black cube, a backpack of sorts similar to the vacuum cleaner but with exposed wires and a large cannon-looking addition attached with a small wire.

    Escargon panicked as she put it on and waved the canon around. “Ooh, what does this do?” She laughed as it shot out a wave of electricity, just barely missing the king and burning into the wall behind them.

    “That!” Escargon scolded her, as he snatched it off her. “Is a proton pack! You can only use that on ghosts, not when someone’s inside the ghost!”

    With a grumble, he grabbed one more thing out of the sack, it was a glass bottle with a topper. “Holy water, I don’t exactly know what that is. But a generous salesman gave it to me once I told him about His Majesty’s fears.”

    Escargon crouched by his head. “Just one little drop…” he murmured. He popped it open and tilted it with a steady hand. One drop clung to the edge, standing there against gravity until…

    Clunk! Escargon dropped the entire bottle onto Dedede’s face.

    “Crap!” the man spluttered as he attempted to catch the glass but it was too late. The king’s body rose once again as they all stepped away from him. A lazy grin stretched over his lips, inhuman in length.

    Fumu stared at him, at a loss for what to do when something peaked in the corner of her eye. The sunrise. “Get him outside! The sun is rising!” she ordered the group and they followed with little issue.

    “Ohoho, a chase of chases? A chase I shall go,” Dedede muttered as he raised his hammer limply and dragged his feet towards them. Every swing behind their backs sent a rush of wind past them as they scurried down the halls like mice being chased by a cat.

    Perhaps in a burst of relief as they rounded the corner towards the gardens Fumu threw herself onto the grass, rolling out the way of another one of Dedede’s swings. There she lay as he ran out into the sunlight and froze.

    He looked up at the sky, a nearly sorrowful look on his face as the dark aura around him fizzled and faded away. “The house… Is clean,” were the last words Tedhaunt whispered before the king collapsed onto the floor.

    “D-Did we do it?” Honey squeaked as she climbed to her feet.

    The silent relief was soon broken through by the distressed cries of her parents. “Everyone are you alright? I saw everyone had vanished from their rooms when I heard some screaming!” Memu exclaimed as she rushed about.

    Blade was quick to get up. “They’re alright now. There were just a few… Unwanted pranksters in the night so to speak,” she explained to the flustered woman.

    Her eyes were quickly drawn to Dedede, and then Escargon and then back to the king again. “Oh my…” she murmured “Did you do this Escargon?”

    “Huh?”

    “Now we understand that His Majesty’s pranks hurt you before. But don’t you think this is taking it a bit too far,” Parm sighed at him as he crouched by Dedede’s head, checking the aggressive marks on his head.

    Escargon violently shook his head “I-It was His Majesty’s idea to prank them! Not mine!”

    “How do we know that though? He’s out cold,” Memu scolded him.

    They felt Escargon’s pitiful eyes on them again, only being returned by a cold shoulder as they collectively huddled together to increase his guilty face. Fumu covered her ears as her mother’s face flushed red and she stormed over to the man.

    As Escargon received the lashing of a lifetime Fumu noticed something hiding by her father’s legs. “Kirby?” she called out. The boy cheerfully popped his head out and waved at her as she lowered her hands.

    “Oh! We found him asleep outside the door once we went out. I’m not sure why, he could have let himself in.” He ruffled Kirby’s hair who only stuck his tongue out cheerfully as Fumu felt a sting of jealousy and a pout filled her cheeks.

    He was the only person to get a good night’s sleep again, that’s for sure.

Chapter Text

     A fresh salty breeze blew through Fumu’s hair as she took a deep refreshing breath by the seaside. It was a warm day, but not so warm that her clothes would begin to stick. She considered swimming for a moment in the morning but decided against it knowing others would likely be down by the beach today.

     It wasn’t that she hated talking to people of course. But there were days, especially with the chaos of them recently when she wanted time alone to herself. So she retreated to a corner of the beach, surrounded by rock pools with black sand beneath her feet. There, she’d comb for seashells all day. Perhaps bring a few back to Curio for study.

     She raked through the soft sand, catching the splinters of shells worn down by the ocean. Or if she was lucky shells that were still intact such as a curved turban shell she found hiding in a small dune. There were so many beautiful shells today, a rainbow of shapes and colours that steadily crawled towards the sea edge.

     That was when something caught in the corner of her eye. Sparkling in the shallow waters illuminated by the sun was a golden clam shell. She dropped her rake and dove her hands in to grab it. “It’s so pretty… I’ve never seen anything like this…” she murmured to herself as she felt the smooth edges.

     Curio had told her stories before of pearls found inside certain shells, it likely wouldn’t budge but she’d give it a try. But instead of dumping sand back into the ocean or finding a precious pearl, something else came out of the clam. Carved inside of it was a message.

     “Ah! This is ancient writing I’ve seen in Curio’s books before!” she exclaimed to herself. She rushed back to her feet, gathering her rake and hiding her clam into her shell bag before running around the beach's edge and back towards the village.

     She pushed Curio’s door open. “Mr Curio are you there? I need to borrow a book!”. The man was caught by surprise, nearly dropping a pottery shard on his current restoration project.

     “A-Ah hello Fumu,” he took a deep breath. “You’re free to use them of course. What’s the occasion?”

     “I found something written inside of a shell. But I can’t read it myself,” she explained as she ran her finger down the row of book spines. A particularly thick one was caught and pulled off the shelf. Pages and pages of Curio’s process breaking down and translating Pupupu land’s ancient writing into a modern script. They had changed over the last few hundred years, so it’d take a little while to find what era the words had been written.

     They sat there in silence for a few hours, busy working on their own small projects until she heard the crack of Curio’s back meaning he was done. He pulled his chair next to hers and took a look at her messy scribbles. “Hmm, not much further I’d say. If it’s any motivation I’ll share a bit of news with you.”

     He took out a few of his own papers out of the desk drawer. “I’ve been going through that journal Sir Meta Knight left with me. The handwriting is horrid… But I’m beginning to narrow down a possible language!” he explained.

     “Wow, that’s great! How did you figure that out?”

     “Well… All the other translations were a bit… Peculiar. I don’t think you can sail across the ocean on a boat made of mushrooms. It may take a while though to get the right book to translate it.”

     “I see…” Fumu murmured as she continued to translate the shell. Some of the words just didn’t flow together correctly into a sentence. 

     Perhaps he could see her slowly pulling out all her hair as he glanced at the shell. “Not everything will be written as a message. Remember that people in the past were still artists and storytellers,” he suggested.

     His words struck a cord in her brain somewhere, as her eyes glazed back over her scribbles. There was a rhythm to it. She got back to work, Curio watching her every move likely having translated the shell from his own memory already when the words on the paper finally clicked.

     “It's… My name?” she held the shell up to read it aloud.

“For Fumu who found this shell

Who on every day, hair shines like the sand

I give my heart to you

As I wait by the shore for you

- Kine.”

     Her face flushed red as Curio laughed at her. “Seems you’ve got a little admirer!” She felt a little annoyed at him but kept her mouth shut. She’s never heard of a Kine before in the village, but what would her parents say? Let alone Bun, the teasing from her family would be relentless.

     She quickly thanked Curio for letting her use his book before scuttling out of his museum with the clam in her hand. Perhaps it was some sort of prank, but who’d bother learning such an old language, as a poem at that just for that?

     The sun had begun to set already, she’s need to head to the beach soon and without anyone seeing her-

     “Yo! Hey sis, what’cha doing?”

     “Hiyo!”

     Bun and Kirby cheerfully intercepted her, nearly jumping her out of her skin. “Ack! Uh, hey. J-Just off to get some seashells.”

     Her brother's lips curled mischievously. “At this time of day? C’mon you found something juicy, didn’t you?” 

     “Since when do you call any of Curio’s research ‘juicy’? It’s none of your concern,” she huffed at him as she spun her heel and began to walk back towards the seaside as she clutched her shell bag. He was sure to follow her, the piece of trouble he often was, so she would need to move quickly and perhaps hide near the beach until he got bored.

     Of course, something like that would never be that easy in her life. As she neared the edge of the beach cliffside something felt off to her. And as she turned her head to the side she made eye contact with a very grumpy Escargon accompanied by Dedede with a pair of obnoxious binoculars.

     “Oh, one of the brats is here,” Escargon scowled.

     “Shh! I’m tryin' to spot this coral reef,” Dedede hissed at the man.

     “You’d have better luck actually looking under the water.”

     Fumu crossed her arms. “What are you two up to now?” she raised her brow at them as Escargon hid a large browned paper from her, likely a map or drawing of sorts.

     “Hmp, being Parm's child, you’re privy to this sort of information. After a few recent ‘events’,” he added an extra scowl her way. “His Majesty has decided he would quite like a vacation.”

     “Yeah! My head’s been poundin' all week,” Dedede huffed as he squeezed his binoculars. “This’ll get me the peace n' quiet I need.”

     She scoffed at them. “Yeah? And how are you going to relax underwater? There are sharks down there you know?”

     “Ha! We have our secrets, now buzz off I think I see somethin'…” Dedede mumbled as he returned to his binoculars. Fumu rolled her eyes at them as she returned to her walk back down to the beach.

     The sun dipped between the waves, like a giant glowing beach ball that turned the waters golden. She released a pent-up sigh as she strolled past the shoreline, the shell in her hands as she looked around for any signs of this Kine. Her stroll eventually took her back to the rocky coast where no one was to be found.

     Perhaps it really was a prank, she swore she heard her brother squabbling in the wind but that was probably just her nerves. “Maybe it really all was some sort of prank…” she sighed.

     “Miss Fumu!” an unfamiliar voice called out to her, causing her to jump. Her head whipped around to locate the voice before the water splashed before her. “Ohh! Good evening!” a very unfamiliar face greeted her.

     From the waist up was a rather stout boy. Hiding in the ocean was odd enough, but that wasn’t exactly at the front of Fumu’s mind right now. As she was a bit more focused on the rough-looking blue skin that ran down his body and paled around the stomach as well as the yellow fins that lined his elbows and down the centre of his head. He had small four-fingered hands that were webbed with blunt claws and a rather large pair of lips.

     She gawked, unable to say anything as he happily swayed in the waters. “So glad am I you read my poem. That my heart er… Hmm… Poetry is hard,” he mumbled to herself as she felt the shell drop out of her hands. A fish person, a fish was in love with her.

     “I’ve been waiting to talk to you for such a long time! It’s been more than ten chapters…” he grimaced. “But! I’m so very very happy!”

     “I don’t know what you're talking about…” Fumu rasped as her voice returned to her. “B-But are you Kine?”

     He nodded. “Yup! That’s right! D-Did you like my poem? I worked really hard on it, I-I know people don’t write like that anymore so you translating it means a lot to me!” He shyly wrung his hands together.

     “I-I guess. What did you mean by it all?”

     He wrung his hands togetherly shyly. “Well, you’re always collecting seashells, aren’t you? I even say you scold those other humans who also tossed bottles into the ocean. That means you really care about nature don’t you?”

     “Yeah! Marine biology is a big hobby of mine! I believe nature is very precious and we need to do everything we can to protect it. But why are you asking about that?” She was quite happy to continue talking about it with Kine. As little as she knew him he was interested in what she had to say, and those people were few and far between. Curio was always willing to discuss her interests, but he was also a fairly busy man. And while Meta Knight could listen to her he wasn’t particularly the most chatty person around, and Kirby wasn’t exactly one for that either.

     Kine nervously splashed, dipping beneath the water, revealing a stubby fishtail with large yellow fins at the end. His shadow circled around for a bit before he popped back out, flustered. “Because I’ve fallen in love with you!” he loudly confessed.

     “YOU WHAT?” Fumu yelled back.

     From behind the rocks, she could hear her brother’s familiar laugh. “Oh this is golden!”

     “Bun! Come out, how long have you been sneaking around there?” she scolded him as he slipped out alongside a confused Kirby.

     He wheezed as he approached the two, likely holding back tears. “You better give it up before you start! My sister doesn’t understand a thing about romance.”

     “Ohh that’s okay. As long as she loves the ocean, she’s all I’d ever need. So let us live in the sea together!” he rather dramatically proposed with his arms wide open and eyes glittering with hope.

     She backed away with a surprised yelp much to his dismay. “What’s wrong?” he cocked his head confused.

     “W-Well. For one aren’t you a merman?”

     “Oh? Yes, there’s nothing wrong with that though. There are lots of stories about us falling in love with humans!”

     Fumu breathed in to calm herself, but it did little to control her outburst. “I can’t breathe underwater! Not to mention those stories always end horribly for the mermaid!” she adjusted her hair to calm herself. “We live in separate worlds, it just won’t work.”

     “Don’t fear! There’s always a hurdle for forbidden love!”

     She felt like digging her hands into her face as Bun giggled at her. “C’mon, he seems really set on it. Nothing wrong with having a fishy boyfriend.”

     “What’s boyfriend?” Kirby asked before she waved her hands in front of them to shut them up.

     With a cleared throat she looked back down at Kine one last time. “Alright then, I’ll make you a deal. If you find some way to get onto land, without hurting yourself. I’ll consider it… So goodbye!” she scrambled off, accidentally leaving the shell behind.

     It was a stupid bet to make. As she caught her breath down the road of the sleepy village it occurred to her how childish she acted. But he would have to learn either way! He wouldn’t get far hopefully.

     Yet as she returned home and lay in her bed she couldn’t stop thinking about the merman. Perhaps if he was a bit less stubborn the two of them could have become close friends instead.

-

“Fumu, your charms my chest on fire,  

  And waste my soul with care;  

But ah! how silly of me to admire you,  

  When I’m fated to despair!”

     Kine wailed to himself by the shoreline as he absently poked at the shell he gave Fumu, left abandoned like his heart. All the others were sure to laugh at his failure now, especially Mine who threw sand in his face as he announced his plans.

     If he could just get up onto land he’d have a chance! But all he wanted to do now was mope, dramatic sighs abound and no shells to carve his poetry onto he was far too focused on his own misery to notice two new strangers approaching.

     “What a poor unfortunate soul. In pain, in need, it breaks this little king’s heart…” an unfamiliar voice cooed from the shoreline. Kine perked up, he was always told since he was a little fry to never approach humans, of course, he had completely broken that advice today.

     “My name is Dedede, I am the king of this land… And that's Escargon,” the man introduced himself and the scraggly man that stood beside him. They were colourful humans, like nothing he had seen before compared to all the others that dragged up fish from the waters.

     Dedede clasped his hands together with a kind smile. “I couldn’t help but overhear your struggles. You’re in love with Fumu aren’t you?”

     Kine felt his heart soar. “Yes! Yes, I do!” He excitedly splashed around in front of them. This was the luck he needed, surely these two would know how to get him onto land in no time. Well, as long as he didn’t need to give up on anything of course.

     Escargon sneered. “Well then, you're in luck. We can help you, but! We’d like a little something in return.” Kine slunk back down into the waters. Of course, it was too good to be true.

     The king seemed to sense his hesitation, however, and leaned in with an oddly empty smile. “Oh, it’s nothing too bad. We just want a few special directions.”

     “Directions?”

     “Yes, I’ve always loved to see the Rainbow Forest. That coral reef in the waters around here. But sadly I can’t seem to find it!” he waxed dramatics as Kine felt the waters around him grow cold.

     He palmed his hands together nervously. “That place?...” It was his home, and home to many of his friends and family. As friendly as this man was it felt a bit invasive to let him in there. Mine would probably yell at him for weeks if he did that! His ears were already ringing enough.

     “Not interested then? Well then, we’re done here.” Escargon crossed his arms behind his back and turned to leave with the king.

     Kine panicked. If they just wanted a peek, it was all fine. Just a peek “I can show you!” he shouted after them quickly gaining back their attention with glittering eyes. He frowned. “I-I’ll show you, but you’ve gotta hold your end as well…”

     “Of course! We’re not con-men,” the king cackled and Kine felt a strange nervous yet excited feeling in his chest.

-

     Fumu was always controlled by her own curiosity. She wanted to know where the clouds in the sky came from. Why did birds look different from each other? Why does medicine taste so bad? Her parents were quickly exhausted by any questions she had, so from a young age she had turned the castle library into her second home. It wasn’t like anyone even used it much in the first place except for Escargon to dump the books he didn’t need anymore.

     When books couldn’t suffice she would just look for her own answers. By experience or someone else. But not very many people could ever answer her questions, often she would visit Curio as the man was often glad to have someone assist in the same curiosities as him. She couldn’t understand why no one else in the village wasn’t as curious as her, why they had not read why the sky was blue.

     Meta Knight had once scolded her for confessing that. Other than Curio he was the next she trusted for questions and yet despite that there was always a lump of doubt in her stomach. His answers cut cold and sharp, namely those on the nature of people around them. Even if she knew them to be true, it was not pleasant to listen to.

     She huffed to herself as she sat in that library on her own, surrounded by dusty shelves. Ever since last evening, she had been restless all night and morning which led her here as she always did. It was far too embarrassing to ask questions this time around, retreating her to the piles of books on marine biology and ocean tales on the desk.

     Currently, her eyes were fixated on the photo of a sunfish. Kine’s skin and the shape of his various fins resembled the fish to a certain extent. It was strange to see, wave after wave of drawings detailing mermaids with sparkling scales and a more human upper body.

     She sighed in frustration, still lacking any answers to her problem. “Oh, there she is! See I said she was here,” the familiar shrill voice of her brother called out from across the library as she scrambled to shut her book. He strolled over, Kirby at his side. “Man yesterday was crazy wasn’t it? Who thought mermaids were real and one of them has a big crush on you! He’s gotta be one big weirdo, right Kirby?”

     “Weirdo?”

     “Bun don’t say things like that to him. Besides I’m not bothered by him being part fish. He’s also a vertebrate, we both share a spine and likely came from the same ancestor,” she explained as she began to clean up the books on her desk.

     Bun winced. “Are you seriously putting science into fancy tales?”

     “Is it really some fancy tale if you’ve met one in person?”
     
     “I guess not… Then what about Kirby?”

     She hummed as she looked at the boy. “Well of course he is, he’s got boned wings like a bird. Said bones are actually hollow, maybe his are hollow too! -Ah that doesn’t mean we want to check though Kirby,” she assured the boy who had started to try and hide his wings. She blamed Yabui for scaring him over a similar prospect before.

     “Well, that’s cool and all. But would you really be his girlfriend if he came onto land?” Bun asked.

     “Perhaps. There’s not a lot of difference between our biology at a base level. If he really did come onto land I’d give him a date at least.” She curled her hair without much thought. But before her brother could reply to her they were all caught off guard by the familiar cackling that belonged to Dedede.

     The king walked through the door alongside Escargon, evil grins on their faces. It confused her until she spotted what was being dragged behind them by a group of Waddle Dee’s and paled. It was a giant tank on wheels with a large horn poking out of the top. And inside that tank was Kine. “I’m here! Sorry to keep you waiting!” he cheered.

     “K-Kine?” Fumu stammered, he heard her. He heard everything. She wanted to crawl under the desk and scream.

     Dedede cackled at her shock “Being the kind king I am, I granted his sad little wish. And lucky for you, I didn’t take his voice as payment. But I couldn’t help but overhear what you said Fumu! Why don’t you take him on a little date? If I can keep a promise you can.” She wanted to punch the smug grin all over his face.

     “A union of sea and land! Quite a romantic story if you ask me,” Escargon teased her further.

     The two of them cackled as Kine wriggled around in his tank excitedly. “Thank you so much!” his voice echoed through the horn as the two men left leaving the four of them together.

     “So…” Bun started

     “Don’t you dare! I-I wasn’t being serious.”

     Kine frowned but Bun grinned. “Aw c’mon. A vertebrate date, you said there wasn’t much difference between the both of you was there? Hey, hey Kine? What do you wanna do?”

     “Well… I’ve always wanted to see what land looks like! I saw bits of it on my way here but they put something over my tank,” Kine explained.

     “Perfect! Me and Kirby can be your escorts on your date with my sis! The tank does look kinda heavy though… The twins should come too then!”

     Fumu wanted the floor beneath her open up and swallow her whole. Everyone would know, not to mention seeing a merman in person would be the talk of the village for months, maybe years to come! And all with her name on it as a date! She rubbed her hands on her face in the stress of the day to come.

     The tank weighed a ton, glass and water could really add up together and even with the five of them they struggled to keep it from plummeting down the long road down to the village. Unluckily for her though, there just so happened to be a gathering on the side of the road assisting a man with his broken carriage. And all eyes centered on them and the merman in the tank behind them.

     “Isn’t that the Cabinet Ministers' children and… A monster?” one of the villagers loudly pointed out, causing her to shrink. They were quickly surrounded as people peered and prodded at the tank much to Kine’s confusion.

     “Oh, I’m not a monster I’m a merman!” Kine too cheerfully explained to the befuddled group.

     “Mermaids are real?”

     “They’re not as pretty as I expected…”

     “Are they edible?”

     There was so much chattering going on around her she wasn’t sure who to reply to yet. It was a similar situation to back when Kirby first arrived though, so they were sure to lose interest quickly. A farmer looked at her confused as he stepped away from the tank briefly. “Miss Fumu? Is this some sort of study? I didn’t expect you to put science into fairy tales?”

     She huffed, did everyone think that way of her? But before she could say anything else her brother stepped in. “Nuh-uh, she’s on a date with him.” 

     “BUN!”

     “He fell in love with her, and she said she’d take him on a date if he came onto land! Maybe even become his girlfriend,” he continued to push.

     The farmer looked at her before looking back at the other surprised villagers. “Hm, leave it to the Cabniet Minister’s daughter to date a fish man I suppose.”

     “Hehe, they’re perfect for each other that way!” a housewife giggled.

     “Per…fect? HOW?” Fumu’s voice trembled with a boiling rage.

     “Wuh-oh, uh we better move along now haha. Good seeing you all,” Bun nervously chuckled as he gestured to Kirby and the twins to start pulling at the front.

     As he moved to the back to push she moved in close to his ear. “You better start sleeping with one eye open after today.” She heard him gulp after that, he deserved it.

     Thankfully it was rather quiet after that small accident, the road they decided to go down was flat and passed small groves of trees which gave Kine a lot to look at. “Wow… The land is pretty big and bumpy. It must be annoying having to walk a lot huh?” Kine murmured to himself as they began to pass by some of the farmer's fields.

     These fields were currently growing a wide array of flowers that covered squares of the land like patchwork on a quilt. “So pretty… Fumu, what are these?” he asked through the loud horn.

     “Flowers,” Fumu sharply replied.

     “Oh, we have those too! We have coral!” he cheerfully explained.

     “I know.”

     Either Kine was really that obvious or he didn’t care, he took no notice of her rather cold responses and continued on. “There’s a place I want to show you. It’s called the Rainbow Forest, it’s where my pod lives too!” his expression drifted away into his imagination as Fumu sighed.

     “Yeah, maybe some other time.”

     “Land aplenty in colour/To the sea a mirror sight/Truely the same all along.”

     “That was terrible and they are very different,” Fumu argued with him. Her patience was beginning to waver as he huffed at her too.

     Kine lept up to the edge of the tank with a scowl. “They’re the same!”

     “No! There’s a massive difference why do you think you’re in a tank?” she snapped at him. Her heart dropped immediately after, hopefully, today wouldn’t get any worse than this.

-

     “What’s with that snorkel?” Escargon pouted at Dedede in the confines of their submarine. The king looked all too pleased with himself with the tube between his teeth. “I went through all this effort to build you a submarine, the most you could do is trust it.”

     The two glided through the ocean with the directions given to them by that whiny merman. By now he should have realized how dashed his dreams were of ever dating the other brat, and he’ll be too distracted by that to ever realise their plan for his home.

     “That’s right! Remember that hot air balloon you made before?” the king countered and Escargon spluttered.

     It was a bit difficult to focus on their task at hand, seeing as Dedede was far too excited by the prospect of a vacation he was already in his red swimming trunks. Though it wasn’t difficult to imagine how muscular the man was with his rough hand when it came to technology or the spine-shattering slaps on the back he’d give others while laughing.

     What always caught Escargon off guard was the forest of blue hair on his chest he tried his best to ignore. And focus on the other very blue world around them.

     Through rocky cliffs layered with glowing corals, they finally found it “There it is!” Dedede cheered as he threw up his snorkel. Tall branches of coral decorated a busy sea floor, their size and length resembling trees truly gave the place its name. Tropical fish of various colours and shapes lazily swam through the bushes of seaweed that curled around the trees, giving them a place to hide.

     “Wow, it truly is a wonderful sight,” he half-heartedly commented.

     “And now it’s all mine. Though this patch here is in the way,” Dedede complained as he stared at a particular bundle of pink coral.

     Escargon grinned. “Then we shall begin construction at once!” His fingers dextrously flicked various switches activating special arms to begin construction. From underneath the submarine, various signs were planted into the ground, marking their territory.

     One arm ‘accidentally’ knocked into the tallest piece of pink coral, tearing it in half and scattering dust across the coral bed. “Oops,” Escargon cackled as he used the arms to grasp at the coral’s roots.

     “Hey!” an unfamiliar voice shouted from below, before he could scramble his cameras to find them the submarine was bashed into by an unseen force.

     Dedede grabbed his dropped snorkel. “What was that? Find it!” his hands grasped at the controls to keep it steady as Escargon flicked through various controls. But they wouldn’t have to keep searching as their attacker showed themselves in front of their window.

     A mermaid and she was quite angry. She resembled Kine, though her skin was a dull pink and she was much larger than the merman. “That’s my home! What do you think you're doing?” she yelled at the two as she punched at the glass.

     “This is private property! Escargon!” Dedede barked as Escargon grabbed control of the arms again.

     “Not to worry, I prepared these arms with a built-in net function for any pesky bugs,” Escargon proudly explained as he targeted the arms towards the mermaid, too focused on them to notice the net coming up behind her. She was quickly tangled before the weights dragged her down to the seafloor.

     Though it seemed they had made quite the commotion, as others began to gather around. Not to fear though, he had plenty of nets, for each and every one of them.

-

     Fumu was exhausted, not just emotionally but physically. Using a few rocks they kept Kine’s tank held in place as it overlooked the village while her brother and the twins sat together for a rest. Somehow Kirby still had the energy the stay up, jumping around on his toes. Her mother was watching some dancers on TV that morning, ballerinas on another star apparently all while Kirby sat next to her.

     Kine had been interested in watching how they all walked, but for now, his sighs were on the village as a whole. “Wow! I’ve never seen anything like it! I think I’d be quite happy living here forever,” he happily spoke to himself.

     “Wait aren’t you being a bit hasty? Look, everyone’s practically exhausted,” Fumu explained to him as they looked back at Bun and the twins. She was sure Lololo had even passed out. 

     “You see, it’s exhausting to move around on land, especially like this. Unless you suddenly sprouted legs you're not getting around much on your own,” she continued. Perhaps now he’d finally understand, it’s quite hard to ignore the exhaustion on everyone…Everyone but Kirby of course.

     And yet… “Don’t worry! Love can conquer anything!”

     Fumu took a deep breath. “Listen to me, please. That’s not how it works! You need to take your head out of the romance and think-” her voice trailed off noticing he was not paying attention.

     His eyes were fixed on a young couple strolling past, hands held and not a worry in the world. And it filled her with worry as his eyes glimmered with hope. “Fumu! Let’s hold hands!” his hands bashed against the glass of the tank.

     And then the tank swerved and rolled. Before she knew it the rocks had been knocked out and he was plummeting down the hill screaming her name. “Kine gone?” Kirby asked her as he also watched Kine plummet without as much worry as Fumu.

     “This is bad! Everyone!” she called out behind her.

     Bun scrambled to his feet. “Ah, shit!”

     “Oh no!” Lalala gasped as she shook her twin awake.

     It would be twisted of Fumu to admit as they chased the stray tank down the hill that the sight was rather funny. But she had no time to dwell on it as Kine was in very real danger if he crashed into anything. 

     His screaming could be heard speeding away from them and through the parting wave of confused villagers who watched the tank barrel down the main road. Thankfully no one got hurt, except for Kine of course as Fumu’s worst fears came alive and he crashed into the tree at the centre of the village, startling Borum awake from a nap outside his station.

     Kine was thrown off towards a set of houses as they chased after him, they’d be lost if it wasn’t for the sounds of him yelling inside Kawasaki’s restaurant of all places. “No! No! No! Help! Someone!” Kine squealed as the sounds of a rampage went on inside the kitchen.

     They managed to run in just in time as the chef held his knife above Kine on the chopping block. “Bad!” Kirby yelled at him as he jumped in front of him, freezing the chef.

     “Stop that’s my sister’s boyfriend!”

     “Bun shut up! Kawasaki, what were you thinking?” Fumu shouted at the man as Kine breathlessly flopped on the board.

     The man frowned. “That it was a unique fish?” he asked puzzled.

     “One that talks?”

     “I thought it would have a unique taste.”

     “Of a sentient merman? Ugh,” Fumu sighed and rubbed her hands in her face.

     Kawasaki whined about for a moment. “Ahh… If you want him back you can borrow my pot. I think he’ll fit…”

     Kine did not seem all to pleased to be shoved in a pot of water, his face had even paled slightly as he slunk into it. “Ahh Queen's fins… This is bad for my heart, I’m part sunfish you know…”

     “You see what I said? It’s really hard for you to live on land,” she sighed.

     It’d be a bit harder to carry now, but at least they could get him back to the sea, or a river at least. “Wait… Sis isn’t this the time of day Dyna Blade goes hunting?”

     “Ugh really? We better move quick-” A powerful gush of wind blew past her, knocking her off her feet as the distant echo of Kine’s screams carried above her. She slammed her fists into the floor. “Again? C’mon!”

     With tired legs they ran after him, Kine was smart enough to wriggle his way out of the pot but it left him airborne and hurtling back towards land. But Fumu was quick, he was falling towards the direction of the Mayor’s House so she made the choice to make their beeline there.

     The flying merman flung through the thatched roof with a loud crash echoing from the house. Fumu banged on the door and was greeted by a very confused Mayor. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and water dripping down his face. “Oh, Fumu. I’ve got a bit of a… Situation, you wouldn’t know about it would you?”

     “Would it be a merman in your bath.”

     “Quite specific but yes.” The man led them to his very steamed-up bathroom. Kine laid at the edge of the tub, lightheaded from the heat of the tub. Fumu let out a sigh of relief as the twins picked him up by an arm each and pulled him up onto Kirby’s back.

     As they steadily carried him out Fumu turned back to the Mayor. “I’m so sorry about this. We should be returning him back to the ocean now,” she apologized to him.

     “Oh, right.” The man still seemed a bit too shocked to properly process what happened, she used that to her advantage to scurry out of there and drag them all to the nearest river. Kine was crudely shoved into the cooler waters of the river where he seemed to come back to life.

     “We’re so tired…” Lololo gasped as his twin dragged herself across the floor.

     “I’m sorry you both got all caught up in this… Go take a break or a nap, okay?” Fumu ordered them and they followed with little argument.

     That just left four of them now to drag Kine back to the ocean. “Thank you! I thought I was a goner.”

     “Yes. You nearly were…” she didn’t bother to hide the annoyance in her voice anymore.

     Kine was none the wiser. “I wonder why it keeps happening… Maybe someone has it against us?”

     “You're a merman! You literally don’t have any legs, and you can breathe underwater,” Bun explained to him this time around and his words seemed to finally get through to the merman.

     “So we really are destined to stay apart… Then why would Dedede ask me so many questions about the ocean?...” Kine rambled to himself.

     “Dedede? What did he ask?” Fumu asked with a gulp.

     He turned to her in a spot of worry. “Well, in exchange for the tank he asked where the Rainbow Forest was. Something about wanting to see it, but how can he do that if he lives on land?”

     “This could be bad… Kine! Listen to me. Dedede is a tricky person, he must have tricked you! We might have a way to help, but you’ll have to guide us there too. Wait by the shore for us okay?” Fumu grabbed him by his damp shoulders.

     He seemed taken aback but nodded. “O-Okay… Oh you’re touching me!-” He was promptly shoved back into the waters as Fumu made a run for it towards the castle.

     To her surprise, she spotted her parents in the castle gardens exchanging a few words with Meta Knight likely over the rare silence of Dedede’s absence. She ran over to them, just barely catching her breath alongside Kirby and Bun as the adults noticed them.

     “Oh hello, there you three. Is there something the matter?” her father asked cheerfully.

     “Y-Yeah, do you know what Dedede’s doing?” she asked him.

     “Yes! We were told earlier today in fact! He’s planning on making an undersea villa to relax in. He even said we’re free to stay in there once it’s completed on occasion,” her mother explained for him.

     Meta Knight only sighed and shook his head. “But as I said once more. Such a project is a waste of time and resources. Not to mention an obvious display of egotism…”

     “As you can see there are a few detractors on the project,” her father nervously laughed before clearing his throat. Eyes shying away from Meta Knight’s piercingly judgeful gaze.

     “That’s terrible! It’s the home of my friend. Sir Meta Knight, do you think you could help us?” she begged him.

     The man released his cape from his hands. “Yes. We can use that wooden submersible we created a few months back.”

     “A submersible? Please tell me you’ll all be careful now won’t you?” her mother sighed in worry.

     “Don’t worry mama! Sir Meta Knight is an excellent instructor. He’ll keep us safe,” Fumu assured her, and he silently nodded his head along which gave the woman some sense of comfort.

     They had used the submersible once before in a lake, so surely it’d work in the ocean. That was something she hoped for as they all went to collect it.

-

     Kirby grumbled to himself, he was looking forward to seeing the inside of the ocean once Fumu started talking about how they’d get down there. But Meta Knight had to keep an eye on Fumu and Bun who knew how to control it. Meaning he was put in a small cannon hole for when they finally ran into Dedede.

     He slapped the wood above him in a huff hoping to grab their attention but nothing happened. All he could do was listen to the loud banging outside of Dedede tearing the coral reef up.

     There was some muffled shouting, probably Kine that was quickly silenced.

     Above him, he heard Meta Knight talking. “So, His Majesty aims to destroy the environment. Troubling indeed, it seems he’s already caught a few of the merfolk that live here too.”

     “That bully… Kirby! You’re needed- Ah will he be fine underwater?” Fumu could be heard.

     “He’ll be fine. You’ve seen how naturally he adjusts to water,” Meta Knight responded.

     It was strange but he was right, a lot of things seemed to always click in his head even if he didn’t understand how. Especially whenever he used a copy ability, it was strange but powering…

     “Right then! Launching Kirby! Get ready down there!” Bun gleefully shouted as water flooded into the hole. He had expected something to push him out, but it did not happen so he held his breath and swam over to Dedede’s lunky metal submarine. The panicked fish seemed to gather around him, perhaps they thought he was a friend?

     Kirby puffed his cheeks out in anger and kicked off a swim at Dedede but he was quickly hit aside by a giant metal arm. He stumbled through the water before coming to a stop, it was strange moving around here. Like he was floating through thick air, but he had little time to think about that as a missile came rushing towards him.

     He ducked without thought and was quickly met with the sound of an explosion and splintering wood behind him. Fumu’s legs thrashed in the water as she struggled to swim up. He moved to try and help but stopped as he saw Kine swim towards him.

     “Oh no! Hang on.” The merman took in a deep breath before a large bubble was blown through his lips, growing big enough to hold Fumu inside where she finally caught her breath.

     She looked around in shock for a moment before smiling. “Thank you!” Both of them were seemingly oblivious to her brother struggling behind them.

     “Let me help!” an unfamiliar voice called from below them and a pink mermaid appeared behind Bun with a bubble on her own lips.

     “Mine! Are you alright?” Kine gasped.

     “Of course not! Those metal jerks destroyed my home!” she hissed as Bun was held safely inside his bubble. Kirby felt a wave of relief seeing the two safe before being grabbed by the metal arms. He had gotten a bit distracted from the submarine at hand that now held a giant punching glove above his head.

     He tried not to gulp the bits of air he had before getting a few rough smacks in the head by the glove. Thankfully, Kine and Mine were quick to help as the two smacked into the metal arms with a surprising amount of speed.

     Now, he had an opening. Dedede made him really mad today, he tricked one of his friends after all so some revenge was in order. He clasped his hands together, creating a whirlpool which slowly pulled the submarine towards him and whatever loose sand and pebbles were on the sea floor.

     Kine and Mine swam away in a panic against the whirlpool, hiding Fumu and Bun behind some rocks once they escaped. Kirby focused all his energy into his palms again without fear as the submarine tried to wriggle its way out but was too slow to escape. The propellor soon broke loose and came hurtling towards him and was absorbed into his hands.

     There was a familiar click in his brain and he rushed towards the water's surface where he lept out with a splash and gently landed on the tip of his toes. With each leap and spin across the water he felt the wind rush past his body, forming white ribbons that wrapped around his wrists and ankles. With one final pirouette, white feathers like his own formed a tutu around his body and a golden crown with a green diamond formed on his head.

     Everyone else had escaped to the surface with him, hiding away on a few rocks. Meta Knight was wringing out his cape as he watched Kirby in awe. “That must be Tornado Kirby! He must have been particularly inspired by something.”

     “For a dramatic entrance like that yeah!” Bun gawped.

     “Isn’t he always dramatic though?” Fumu laughed.

     Kirby smiled to himself as he heard their voices on the wind around them. But there was still trouble in the deep and he was here to solve it. He held his leg up once again and spun. Pirouette after pirouette until the ribbons around him had formed a tornado, long enough to reach into the waters below and create a tall vortex that pulled up anything.

     Which included a rather pesky submarine. He felt it enter the vortex, slowly being pulled apart by pure force before he released it with an elegant finish and dumped the broken machine back into the water as it shattered. Dedede and Escargon plummeted into the water alongside a torrent of rain formed by the vortex.

     He felt the wind's power slip away from him as the ribbons slipped off and vanished leaving him to plummet into the ocean alongside the two. “Your Majesty I can't swim!” Escargon flailed about as he grabbed onto the king.

     “What! I can’t either stop grabbing me!” Dedede spluttered as Kirby paddled himself away from them when something odd floated in front of him. It was a pair of goggles with a tube attached to them. 

     He grabbed them before swimming over to his friends where Kine looked sorrowful “I’m so sorry for getting you all caught up in this… But I can't thank you all enough! Now my home is saved.”

     “I’m sorry too… I’ve been quite rude to you today as well. If I could live in the ocean I would have liked to get to know you and your people so much more,” Fumu frowned.

     But Mine huffed on the rock beside them. “Is that what happened then Kine? A human caught your eye?” she sounded quite bitter.

     “W-Well you know how love is! It’s such a powerful feeling! You all should know that right? You too Mister, you look experienced-”

     “No,” Meta Knight cut the merman off quite coldly. “Nor am I particularly interested. But your answer may not be as far as you think. Now, I must collect His Majesty before he sinks to the bottom of the ocean,” the knight excused himself as he entered the waters again.

     Kine only let out another sigh as he turned back to Fumu. “W-Well me and Mine can help get you all back to shore. But it’s a shame I can’t take you back down there without a bubble…”

     “M’back!” Kirby cheerfully spluttered through the strange tube after deciding to wear the goggles. He was expecting Fumu or Bun to laugh at him, yet Kine’s eyes seemed to sparkle with joy.

     “What if you wore that! Maybe you could breathe underwater with it-”
     
     “Jeez! Just knock it off, will you? You're so dense you stupid blubbering idiot!” Mine yelled at him as she grabbed his shoulders.

     Kirby paddled back for a moment as he watched her shake him in frustration. “Waaah! Mine why are you so mad!” Kine wept.

     “Why do you think!”

     Bun gestured a hand towards Kirby, holding it out for him to grab as he pulled him out of the water. His wings were soaked but it was nice to finally sit down after all that action as they watched the two fight. “He’s really got himself into a bit of a love triangle hasn’t he?” Bun murmured to him.

     He wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that. But it’d be a while before any of them got home now at this rate. Oh well, it wouldn’t help to sunbathe for a few hours.

Chapter Text

     Today was the day, Sword had woken up in the early morning as part of their usual schedule. But this day was different, instead of donning his familiar green armour and preparing the usual rounds he instead wore a dark green jacket and a pair of loose threaded jeans. Sir Meta Knight was already awake before either of them, sitting in their main room alone in uniform with a book as he peered up at the man with a silent nod.

     With that Sword slipped out and into the early morning rush through the castle hallways. He had something to collect in the village for today, and it was something he all too rarely ever graced himself with.

     “Up and early yeah?” the rather loud voice of the near-deaf village blacksmith greeted him. Ejò, a tall woman with muscular arms from years of hammering at an anvil that had whittled away at her hearing. Her skin was a warm brown, often further warmed by the blazing hot furnace that puffed up smoke through the tall dramatic metal chimney on top of their house. Even this early in the morning she had already put on her blue-green apron stained by soot and age, alongside it was a headband of the same colour tied up to hold her black afro puff-styled hair as she worked. If that was not fitting enough for her, even her eyes were green in colour, though often hidden behind goggles that settled over her rounded cheeks.

     Sword nodded. “Yeah… I’m here for the ring.”

     “Hey Tin! You got those rings!” she yelled behind her with little response. Ejò sighed. “He’s deafer than me. Hey! Tin! We got customers ey!” With her hammer, she swung at a bell in the back of their shop sending shockwaves through Sword. 

     After a few minutes, the lean goldsmith popped his head through the door, his ears decorated by silver rings that continued down his wrists and fingers. Similar silver beads also decorated the ends of his black box braids that circled his sharp pale brown face. He wore a simple button-up white shirt with rolled-up sleeves and grey slacks.

     “He’s here for that ring,” she explained to him as he vanished back through the door again briefly as she began to prepare her furnace for the day.

     Sword stood there on their shop floor, the front of it being wide open to the rising sun which warmed up his back. Tin returned shortly with a red box. “Heresyoring…” he mumbled. He could not hear a lick of what the man had said but remained quiet. As with his wife, the man too had damaged his hearing through his work with various pieces of loud equipment. And so the two struggled to control the volume of their voices, or even hear what they could say most days.

     But this is what he had come here for, a special gift… Which was not inside the box much to his confusion, when he snapped the box open and found a rather gaudy silver ring with a large green gemstone sticking out its top.

     “Oh! Sword, fancy meeting you here,” Parm’s voice called out from behind him. He very nearly dropped the ring as he turned around to look at the man, sleeping cap still over his head to hide his uncurled hair. But he looked pleased with himself nonetheless, waving a hand towards Tin. “Hello there! I’m here to collect my order.”

     The man nodded and returned to the backroom once again before Sword could show him their incorrect order. That left him with Parm making small talk with Ejò, talking about their children. “Idẹ’s been insisting she wears the same colours I do. She got done with pink for a month! Besides, I think greens make her look a bit old.”

     “Oh, but they can feel quite fresh too. A lot of Fumu’s clothes are pink and green in fact, opposite colours you see,” Parm chatted with her.

     In situations like these, he always felt out of his element. Usually, Blade would speak for him, or Sir Meta Knight. Words did not come to him as easily for him. Which made it increasingly irritating when prodded by those more chatty that were not her.

     Parm was one such person, one with a good heart but terrible at reading the room. Even now he was glancing his way, waiting for him to say something or add to their conversation. But Sword stood and waited for Tin hoping the man would stay too distracted to talk to him.

     “That reminds me. You still gonna buy rings from us even if this one is successful right?” Ejò joked. It caught Sword by surprise but he held his ground of silence.

     Parm nervously laughed. “Hopefully today will be the day! But of course, that necklace I got her last birthday she adores. Speaking of which, your family is free to join us as usual for supper.”

     “Oh, what theme is it this time?”

     “Kawasaki’s!”

     Her face cringed at the mention of the restaurant as Tin arrived with a blue box. “Here, trynottoloseit,” he mumbled again before yawning. 

     “T-Thank you,” Parm’s hands nervously fumbled as he held the box much to the smithy couple’s amusement. He sighed to himself as Tin left, likely to sleep in the morning a bit longer as he cracked open the ring box. And inside was a simple golden ring with engravings that matched Blade’s armour.

     He must have given them the wrong boxes by accident, but Parm yelped before Sword could try and say anything. “Oh no! I’ve lost it already and the day has only begun.”

     “I have it…” Sword awkwardly interjected during the man’s panic.

     Parm looked at him in shock and then back at the ring. “M-Mine? So then this is yours?”

     “I guess… I wouldn’t be able to get a gaudy-… Big ring like this,” Sword murmured as he held the box out to the man.

     Parm sighed in relief. “Oh, perhaps lady luck will be on my side this time. It’s me and Memu’s wedding anniversary today a-and I was never able to give her my ring. Might I ask why you’re getting one as well?”

     Sword hid part of his face behind his jacket as he took his ring box from Parm. “It’s for Blade…”

     He didn’t like how the man’s eyes lit up after that, he didn’t need more excuses to gab on. “Is that so? How sweet! Were you not able to give her one before then? Wait where are you going?” the man stammered as his voice grew distant.

     Sword’s legs carried him away from the man quickly. And more hopefully, back to Blade.

-

     “Blade, you have a message from Lady Memu,” Sir Meta Knight’s voice called down from one of the Halberd’s corridors. Blade removed her welding mask with a sigh, just as she had started good progress today too. But at any rate, she turned her tools off and carried them outside with her where Sir Meta Knight waited by the exposed plating.

     “What’s this about?” she asked him as they returned the tools to their designated area.

     He crossed his arms inside his cape. “I’m unsure… But I believe there is some sort of anniversary today in their family. She likely wants your assistance in preparing for it.”

     It was a strange arrangement the woman had seemingly created between the two of them. While Blade didn’t necessarily agree to do it, she didn’t exactly ever say no to it. Shortly after their arrival and subsequent hiring the woman had taken a particular interest towards her. Insisting that the castle was lacking feminine touch.

     She didn’t understand what she meant by that.

     But today she had more pressing thing’s to worry about such as Sword’s absence this morning. Their lord said nothing of the matter, only that he had left in the early morning. If it was anywhere outside the castle, the poor man was probably lost. His sense of direction out there was oddly startling despite the castle hanging high in the distance.

     She would have to search for him later though as for now she stood outside the Cabinet Minister’s home listening to the chattering inside so as to not interrupt them with her knock. “Kawasaki’s? Are you serious Mama?” the voice of Bun could be heard whining inside.

     “If you have your complaints tell your father,” Memu laughed at the boy as Blade finally decided to knock. “Oh! Come in!” the lady sang as Blade turned the handle and peered into the family living room. There Memu stood in a white silk dressing gown, her hair was tied up and her makeup was not yet done.

     The children were all gathered on the family sofa, Fumu was in a mint dress with short ruffled sleeves. Her hair had also been let down with a white hairband across the top and a pair of white pumps. Bun wore a pair of dark purple strapped shorts, though he had seemed to have shrugged off the straps and creased the white short-sleeved shirt he wore. Above them floated the twins in matching light purple vests and shorts with long-sleeved shirts underneath. And the happiest of the bunch was Kirby, who seemed to have been dressed by Memu earlier that morning. His shirt was pink with rounded puffed short sleeves and a red ribbon tied at the front, similar to Bun he also had strapped shorts on that were red though as usual his shoes were missing. Interestingly though it looked like there was a flap on the back of his shirt, which allowed his wings to poke out the back.

     “Dear!” Memu called out to her husband as Blade closed the door behind her. “Ah thank you for coming on such short notice.”

     “It’s nothing,” Blade waved her off as Parm stumbled into the room. She swore Kirby vanished somewhere between his legs but the boy was often quite hard to follow.

     The minister was prepared for his day already. Compared to his usual purples though, he wore a deep wood green velvet suit that had been well groomed of any dust and thread. Underneath the suit was a lilac waistcoat and tie. He’d look quite spiffy if it was not for the anxiety-riddled across his face.

     “Darling I’m about to start getting ready now. It may be a while though so you're free to check on Kawasaki until then okay?” She kissed his cheek, nearly causing the man to go faint.

     “R-Right. I still have some preparations to ma-make! But I’ll be right there!” the man stuttered as his limbs stiffly moved back into the study he had been holed up in.

     Blade had little time to process what had happened before Memu promptly pulled her into her bedroom. The woman let out a relaxed stretch as Blade shut the door behind them. “Oh, today shall be so exciting. I can barely decide what dress to pick yet.”

     “Ha, and that’s where I’ll come in I suppose,” Blade smiled as Memu opened up her large wardrobe. They were sorted and organized into colours and styles, dresses to one side. Skirts and shirts were to another side as shoes lined the bottom.

     Memu pulled out an armful of dresses and laid them on the bed. “Now let’s see… What about these two?” she murmured as she held up a poofy orange dress and a rather slim black evening dress.

     “Maybe something that matches your family? Like a green or purple?”

     “Oh! That’s an excellent idea! Hmm, let’s see…” Memu began to dig through the pile of dresses on the bed again. Despite her insistence, this was still out of Blade’s element. There was never a need to worry about fashion growing up, even now she preferred to only wear what was right for the job or what was comfortable.

     Memu often wore a lilac dress in her day-to-day life, she probably wouldn’t want to wear the same dress on a special occasion knowing how selective the woman could be sometimes. But left unnoticed by her was a royal purple dress with short sleeves, the left shoulder was covered in fabric flowers with large petals with beads in the centre. The same flower pattern was repeated near the bottom of the dress to the right.

     “What about this one?” Blade suggested and the woman pursued her lips in thought.

     “But what would go well with it?”

     “Green perhaps?”

     “We seem to be having a bit of a theme going on today after all then!” Memu laughed as she began to inspect the dress, a process that would take quite a while.

-

     He was in big trouble. Well if he didn’t speak up he wouldn’t, but he’d feel bad about it! Watching Parm panic about like this was terrible, the man was clambering around his study with an empty ring box in hand. “Oh! I was sure today would be the day!” he wailed.

     “What was papa?” Fumu asked as the man hid under his desk.

     “The ring! I only took my eyes off it for a second, but it happened again!” he bashed his face into the desk chair with another wail.

     Fumu pulled the chair away from him. “A ring? You’re always really restless on your wedding anniversary papa… Is that ring important?”

     “Yeah, and mama isn’t too happy about it either,” Bun added.

     Parm winced. “You see… The truth is I’ve never been able to give your mama her ring, not once! I must have been cursed! Back when we married it was a beautiful ruby ring, but I was so nervous I couldn’t even give her it! She tried to help but then we crashed into each other and it fell into the river… I searched for it but it was gone. And so anniversary after anniversary I’ve tried to gift her one, but it never goes right! The year after our wedding it was a beautiful pearl ring! But I tripped and it landed in his majesty’s golf practice… And even last year! I went to the loo and the topaz ring in my pockets was gone! Ohhh, why does this always happen to me,” he loudly wailed.

     A pit of dread in Kirby’s stomach grew with each story of a ring. Earlier while everyone was bickering he had wandered into Parm’s study. It was an odd room, he’d never been in it before so he was curious. That was when he saw the big box on his desk, it looked almost like the same one the warp star had been in. So he was curious of course! In truth, he thought the ring was a piece of candy… Gango had shown him something like that before, it was a big candy ring and they looked about the same really…

     Of course, he tried to eat it, which was really hard on his teeth so he spat it out. It quickly flew through the window and onto one of the castle walls where a Waddle Dee was walking past. But after that he didn’t really care anymore, so he left and now he was in big trouble.

     He glanced out the window as Fumu and Bun tried to calm Parm down before he continued his ring tales. It was hard to see if it was down there still, though a few Waddle Dee’s had remained down there. Perhaps they knew something.

     “Kirby?” He hear Fumu call out to him as he stood on the windowsill.

     “Down there, be back,” he explained before he lept out the window, flapping his little wings as he descended. But when he landed the ring was nowhere in sight, not under the canons, or even between the brick cracks.

     Fumu and the others were quick to catch up to him as he searched. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot in front of him. “Kirby, you didn’t happen to lose it now did you?”

     “Ah… Maybe? Though was candy ring. Really hard though,” he sheepishly admitted.

     Parm loudly wailed. “Oh I’m done for! What if it fell off the side and into the moat, what if a Waddle Dee took it? Kirby! You must be more careful with these things!” the man scolded him as he slunk to the floor in despair.

     “Oh. Hello,” the familiar voice of Sword greeted them. The man stood there in his armour with a pouch now tied to his belt.

     He looked around at them, likely quite confused before Parm scrambled over to him. “Have you seen my ring!” he spluttered.

     “No.”

     “I’m ruined…”

     “Escargon was acting strange though…”

     That seemed to activate Parm again much to Sword’s discomfort. “Escargon must have found it. We’ve gotta go after him! Who knows what he’ll do with it,” Fumu hurried them.

     “I see… Good luck then-” Sword began to walk away before Parm gripped his arm.

     “Wait, please! Can you help us look? You know what it looks like too!” Parm begged him.

     How would Sword know what it looked like? It seemed that question was also in the minds of Fumu and Bun but they decided not to ask. And it seemed Sword would be forced to help them search, whether he liked it not not.

     “I’ll go tell the twins what happened! They’ll be able to look around flying,” Bun explained as he scurried back into the castle.

     “R-Right! Now Sword can you show us where Escargon went?” Parm stuttered, refusing to let go of the man.

     “...Fine,” Sword sighed as he pushed the man off him. “He’s probably headed towards the village.”

     And with that, they began their long search for the missing ring, and Kirby could only hope they got it before going to Kawasaki’s.

-

     He just wanted to see Blade, there wasn’t too much he wanted to ask. And yet the Cabinet Minister he ran into earlier that morning was content to continue interrupting his plans. The minister and his children had run down into the village alongside Kirby, getting a head start from the two as Parm had nearly stumbled down the hill. Fumu insisted for his own safety and peace of mind he takes it a bit slower and that they’d catch up with him much to his dismay. 

     That left him with the duty of babysitting the frantic man. “Ahh… I couldn’t bare the thought of her being disappointed again. What about you Sword? How do you keep Blade happy?” he sheepishly asked him.

     Blade’s happiness? Quite frankly he wasn’t always sure, she had always been quite content from the moment they decided to stay together. Perhaps the knowledge she wouldn’t be alone was all she needed. 

     He’d rarely ever left her side ever since then, and she never left his in turn. But it was strange, today was the first time in a long while they hadn’t seen each other for more than a few hours. It was peculiar but, perhaps he was already missing her.

     “Sword?” Parm spoke above his thoughts, still waiting for his response.

     “Oh. Sorry. I don’t know, she’s just happy,” he mumbled.

     “Well then, as long as both of you are happy that’s well and good. But for me, nothing can match up to seeing her excitement whenever she gets a gift! Finally getting her wedding ring means a lot to both of us. I really need to hurry-” Parm yelped as he stumbled over a rock. Sword caught him by the back of his shirt, just barely holding him above ground.

     The man stuttered as Sword pulled him back to his feet. “Careful,” Sword murmured.

     “T-Thank you,” he stuttered. Both of them returned to silence shortly afterwards. Sword had nothing to really say of course, even as Parm looked at him desperately for conversation.

     But at the end of the day… “I miss my wife…” the two sighed.

     “Oh? Haha, we have a lot more in common than I thought?” Parm laughed at him.

     “We don’t.”

     Parm frowned.

     One of the twins shortly met up with the two later down the hill, the blue one whose name escaped him. “We have a lead! Borum caught a thief who might have the ring! Kirby says so, but we need you to check it too,” they explained.

     “R-Really? Let’s hurry!” Parm gasped before he made a dash for it to the surprise of Sword. He was surprisingly fast too at that.

     Inside the police station, they found the children gathered around a cell alongside Borum who looked quite frustrated. He turned to greet Parm with a wave of his cap. “Oh hello there Parm. Heard about the thief from your children, but I’d like to be sure the ring is yours. That is I’d like to show you it if this fellow would turn around.”

     There was a very haggard pale white man in the cell, with a very loose-fitting grey prison uniform on. Little grey hairs popped from his balding head with an unshaven face that glared at them all. It seemed that whatever Escargon had done in the village, his ownership of the ring didn’t last long at all.

     Fumu sighed. “It’s been chaos down here. First Mable had it, then she tried to pawn it off to Curio. And then this guy snatched it from him!”

     “He’s a bit of a regular here. And he’s in quite the mood today it seems, hey now if you can show us the ring I’ll shorten your sentence a bit,” Borum insisted but the man only shook his head.

     “He says he doesn’t have the ring but I don’t believe him,” Fumu crossed her arms in a huff.

     Parm shuffled in place, anxiety riding across his face. “Please! I need that by dinnertime!” he begged the thief.

     “What if he dropped it in all the chaos earlier? A lot of people did chase after him,” Bun suggested. That appeared to make Borum’s light up as the man thought to himself a bit. Though the thief seemed a bit too happy with that revelation.

     “Gonna go looksie!” Kirby announced aloud to himself as he ran out of the station. Sword felt Parm’s eyes dig back into him. He resigned himself to a few more hours searching for the gaudy ring like headless chickens.

-

     Of all his luck today, of course, that ring had to be fake. The giant gem was so tempting though. Emeralds that size were worth more than what any of those peasants would see in a lifetime.

     But this reveal left a pit of concern inside of him, for his own great collection. Being the great Doctor Escargon, he was smart and capable. Which made it a breeze for him to snatch a few of His Majesty’s rings every so often when the man wasn’t looking. They were his little darlings, next to his precious inventions. He polished them weekly and changed their hiding space every month or so.

     This month his box was hidden behind a loose brick inside the throne room. This brought him to his current worry if that ring he found was fake, what about all the others he had collected? His Majesty would be so cheap as to keep fake jewellery around, but he couldn’t see him keeping something of no worth. He really needed to check them all…

     But as he wondered how to check so many in a short amount of time he heard a loud call. “Escargon? Where are ya!” Dedede’s familiar voice yelled down the hall. He popped the lid back on in a panic before securing its complex lock just to push the brick in time for the king to enter the throne room.

     He looked at him in confusion as he pushed himself against the brick. “Hey! What are you doing over there?”

     “A-Ah just some stretches. The body’s getting older now,” Escargon lied to the man.

     “What does that have to do with finding out about that ‘special day’?” 

     Ah, he forgot about investigating that. Dedede was never one to feel left out, so of course when he heard the brats talking about something special happening that day he had to know what it was. Escargon wasn’t too bothered by it, if it was important he would have known what it was.

     But finding the ring had completely knocked him off track, and so his mind raced for lies. “That’s ah erm. Well everyone’s been going bonkers about some special ring today apparently, they must have been talking about that.

     “A special ring?”

     “Yes.”

     “Is it expensive?”

     “Most likely.”

     The king angrily shook his fists. “And none of them told me about it? That’s treason! But I’ll teach em a lesson,” with a haughty laugh he strolled onto his throne turning on the delivery system.

     Customer Service adjusted his glasses as he looked down at them again. “Well, well. Hello there Your Majesty. What can I do for you today?”

     “I need a demon beast, one that can steal jewels for me!”

     Escargon sighed. “Isn’t that going a bit far? It’d be cheaper to send the Waddle Dees.”

     “They’re not smart enough for that!” Dedede argued with him.

     “Well, we certainly have one available today. Though, please let us know if you end up with treasures to spare, hohoho,” the man laughed at the system crackled to life. “May I present. Tac! An expert in thievery.”

     On the stage of the system stood a short cat-like creature. Its fur was yellow, with bamboo sandals, black cloth tied around its body and a large green bag with white swirls decorating it.

     It scurried around the throne room as if it was sniffing around for treasure while the two watched it. Then it froze, in front of the brick he had hidden his rings behind. His body went cold as Tac kicked it off, plunging a lockpick into the lock with lightning speed before snatching out year's worth of rings.

     “Hey! Stop that!” Escargon cried out

     “You rat! You’ve been hiding treasure from me the entire time?” Dedede accused him as Tac scurried back to his side to present the jewels.

     Dedede snatched them up with a grin. “But I’ll accept these as a gift now. Hehe, I quite like this demon beast. Tac! Go down to that village and bring back everything you can find!” he yelled to the beast, for everyone to hear.

-

     “Bring back everything you can find!” Dedede’s voice echoed through the castle. Blade perked up confused, brush dangling in her hand.

     “His Majesty is up to something again today,” Blade groaned as she put Memu’s makeup brushes down to the side.

     The lady sighed and crossed her arms. “I just hope he doesn’t cause too much trouble today. But besides that your steady hands have done a wonderful job,” Memu squealed as she admired the dark green shades across her eyes.

     That was good to hear at least, though she wouldn’t bring it up to the woman she admittedly struggled with not jamming a pen or brush in her eye by accident. Even if she had been without an eye for years, her sense of depth was a bit of a struggle sometimes.

     At least she didn’t have to worry about her eyesight during the day as Sir Meta Knight did. Although not blind, he was quite nearsighted if everything was too bright. His mask did provide some shade for his eyes, however, which seemed to help immensely.

     “Now let’s see… Think you can help button my dress up at the back?” Memu asked as she removed her silk dressing gown. Blade took note though of something she’d never noticed before.

     Around her stomach was taut skin, akin to the damaged skin at the edge of a scar. “Might I ask, where did you get those scars?” Blade asked her as she held out the dress.

     “Hmm? Oh, those are my stretch marks. They’re left over from having Fumu and Bun,” Memu explained as she wriggled her way into the dress. Arms pulled through and adjusted Blade began to clasp the back as the woman continued to talk. “I’m sure you might even have them yourself. They don’t just come from children you know.”

     “Is that so?... I’ve never fancied the idea of children, neither does Sword.”

     “Really? Well, that’s fair. I wished my own mother warned me how painful having children would be at least! I nearly broke Parm’s hand,” she exclaimed.

     Blade paused for a moment. “Nearly? How?”

     “He let me squeeze it, before fainting and finding it had been fractured. He was a bit hesitant when it was Bun’s time,” she laughed.

     That caught her off guard, exactly how strong was she? With the right training and time set aside, she could become quite a capable fighter… But she forced those thoughts aside, as the lady had her own duties to take care of.

     With the last clasp attached, Memu twirled around in front of the mirror a bit admiring herself. “Ohh it does go well! Let’s see what else I can add,” she murmured to herself as she went through a drawer full of jewellery boxes.

     Usually, she wore a pair of round green earrings in her day-to-day life, but today she seemed to have her eyes on a particular set. A matching set of dangling emerald earrings with a silver casing, and with that a matching necklace with more emeralds than Blade had ever seen in a lifetime.

     Memu hummed as she put them on, adjusting them in the mirror as she went along when there was a knock at the door. “Be a dear and get that for me, would you? I’ll be there shortly,” the lady asked.

     At the front door, Blade was met by two of Memu’s friends, Hana and Sato. The two elderly women greeted her with a smile. “Hello there dear, is Memu ready?” Hana asked her.

     “In a bit.”

     “I see. Oh, and just so you know…” her voice trailed into a whisper as Blade edged a bit closer. “Sir Parm has lost her engagement ring again this year, we’re all on the lookout for it. Would you mind helping keep this a secret?”

     She vaguely recalled Memu mentioning this story a few times to her, it seemed to have become a ritual of sorts almost on their anniversary much to the man’s dismay. “I’ll be on the lookout then,” Blade assured the woman.

     They looked relieved as Memu finally left her room. “Hello there you two! How are you?” she cheerfully greeted her close friends.

     “Oh Memu you look wonderful today,” Sato cooed at her.

     “Yes! We thought we’d walk you to the village today too! We have a lot to catch up on after all,” Hana smiled at her.

     “Indeed, though… Where did the others go? Have they gone down for preparations already?” Memu asked as she looked around the room.

     Blade just patted her on the back. “I’m sure they have. Why don’t you and your friend’s go on and have a chat for a while? Couldn’t hurt to stretch your legs for a while,” Blade suggested, seeing the two women hesitate for a moment.

     “Hmm… I suppose so! Well, I’ll be off. Thank you again for your help, dear!” The lady waved her off as she vanished down the hallway with her friends. Now, what else should she do today, perhaps a search for Sword was in order.

-

     His Majesty was causing a ruckus again today it seems, causing Meta Knight to let out an exasperated sigh as he organized a few blueprints. Even without the man’s dramatic yelling, there was always a feeling in his bones when trouble arose.

     It’d be best to investigate it now before any more trouble rose later today, there was an anniversary today after all and as much as he frustrated him, Parm was his co-worker.

     With his quarters locked he began his patrol of the castle searching for whatever new demon beast Dedede had ordered. And it did not take long for him to find it, a Tac. They weren’t dangerous per say, but a nuisance for any treasurer. He remembered days when all hell would break loose inside their headquarters if one managed to wriggle its way in.

     He stared down at it, the creature seemingly trying to read him before pouncing over his shoulder and scurrying down the hallway behind him. It caught him off guard, perhaps it didn’t seem him as carrying anything particularly valuable.

     …

     He slid his hands down his neck, searching for the ring he hid beneath his armour. It was gone.

     “Piece of shit… Hey!” he yelled at the demon beast as he unsheathed Galaxia and began his chase.

-

     The village was in utter chaos as if the day had not dragged on long enough. His Majesty obviously seemed generous enough to gift them a demon beast on top of an already strenuous day. While they continued to search for any sign of the ring in the village a string of robberies began in broad daylight.

     Borum was strapped for paper to write down each report given to him entailing the same cat-like monster. Tin was particularly tense, seeing as how the beast had snatched away his materials and work. And Mable wasn’t much better being stripped of her various accessories.

     He was currently standing in the village centre, Parm stumbling and panicking beside him that their search had become interrupted. His panic is part of the reason why that had stopped now, or else he was liable to hurt himself. But it brought a variety of people now asking him to deal with the demon beast himself.

     To each of them, he simply gestured them to ask Kirby instead. The boy was well-equipped enough to deal with one, and he had his hands full already. That was until a wave of people rushed past him at the sight of a familiar figure.

     “Sir Meta Knight! Please help us! There’s a demon beast loose in the village,” someone cried out to his lord.

     Sir Meta Knight remained composed, holding out his hand to calm the crowd. “Please remain calm. We are currently tracking the creature, once it’s defeated you may go to the station to reclaim your belongings. Till then please continue your day as usual.” There was an air of respect for his words, allowing for the crowd to finally part and shakily return to their schedules.

     They met eyes in the crowd and Sir Meta Knight began to pace towards him, avoiding any further talk with the other villagers. Once close enough he could see his posture was irate and his eyes glowed red. “Bastard cat stole my ring,” he grumbled much to the shock of Parm remained unnoticed.

     “I see. We’ll get it back sir, I promise.”

     “I’m thankful for that. But Sword, what of your own ring?”

     “Mine? I’ve yet to give it to Blade but it's right-” Here? His hand pressed against his belt. The pouch was gone. “That slimy bastard,” Sword spat as he looked around for any sign of the beast.

     Parm panicked amongst them. “A-Ah no need to use such language now. Let’s see if the children have seen anything,” he stammered. They agreed with the man and fled from the scene. Kirby was rushing around the bushes, sticking his head into each one.

     “Kirby!” Parm called over to the boy. “Have you found anything?” 

     The boy perked up, running over to the man with a worried look. “No… Where now?” he asked with a frown.

     “Parm, perhaps we could use this demon beast to our advantage. If it is stealing jewels then it would no doubt find your ring and others too,” Sir Meta Knight suggested a far cry from his earlier rage. Though there was no doubt that he would slice the beast in two once the time arose.

     “Oh! You’re right! But how can we find it? It sounds quite elusive…” Parm hummed in thought.

     “Borum may know where it was last located, let’s ask him,” Sword added. They quickly returned to the town centre, now with Kirby in hand. The crowd had thinned a bit now thankfully as Borum stood by his station exhausted.

     He quickly adjusted his posture seeing the four of them with a salute. “Rest assured I will find that thief! Just give me a moment to look over these reports,” the man sighed in exhaustion.

     “We were wondering if you may know where it was last spotted chief. As we’re also currently hunting them,” Sir Meta Knight explained to the man. Yet as the two men talked, Sword noticed something strange.

     Kirby was restless and kept peering into the Police station. He was too short to look through the window though and so seemed to try and look through its keyhole. He looked through the window for the boy and came face to face with an unexpected sight.

     The beast tore open the prison door, kidnapping the thief from earlier into its sack. And in that thief’s hands, was the ring. Without a second thought Sword kicked down the door. “I found you!”

     It scrambled in a panic before throwing a desk at him that was quickly sliced in half much to Borum’s distress. Seeing no way out it threw itself over them, attempting to escape.

     But as Sword reached out to catch it, so did everyone else. Leg’s caught each other, as the weight of the men behind them pushed over a small set of stairs. All four of them promptly toppled over each other, with Kirby lightly landing atop the pile of disgruntled men.

     “Ack! The thief is escaping!” Borum yelled as he struggled in the pile. Sir Meta Knight’s cape had tangled itself around his and Sword’s own legs while Parm was crushed by the weight of the chief and his failures.

     Kirby pushed at their backs in frustration. “It’s running, can we get it?”

     Sword held back a grumble as he felt the boy sitting on his back. The distant sound of giggling could be heard as people hid around corners, laughing over the sight in secret. It was quite embarrassing.

     “Oh no! It’s her…” Parm smushed his face into the floor as his hand pushed the back of his head to try and get up. In the distance, Memu could be seen accompanied by Samo and Hana. “What should I do I’ve not found the ring yet!” he panicked.

     “For one… I think we should all get up,” Borum sighed.

     They scrambled to organize themselves, Kirby clinging to their backs all the while before the women spotted them. “Oh hello, there dear!” Memu cheerfully greeted her husband.

     “A-Ah Memu! You look wonderful, yes indeed, very much so! Splendid!” The man rambled on as his hands shivered with nerves. She only squeezed his hand back in reassurance.

     Borum tidied himself up, standing firmly. “Not to worry Lady Memu! We’ll have your stolen goods back in no time!” he rasped, also from anxiety.

     “Stolen goods?” she looked at him confused.

     “OH! There’s a-a thief in the village. But nothing to worry about he’s just a bit stressed, isn’t that right Chief?” Parm lightly elbowed the man.

     “Hm?... Oh, that’s right! My apologies for the confusion,” he nervously laughed. 

     Parm nodded enthusiastically. “Now how about we go on a stroll? Yes? Let’s go then!” He practically whisked Memu away without giving her the chance to say anything. Part of Sword worried for the man’s heart, the other part reminded him that this was all largely the man’s own fault.

     “Oh dear, did Parm lose his ring?” Sato asked.

     “Yes, dear… And what’s worse is a thief is on the loose!” Borum explained.

     The women looked concerned as Sir Meta Knight dusted his cape before clearing his throat. “I believe the beast is making its way towards the castle. We will intercept it, for now, prepare for when their belongings return.

     “Y-Yes sir”, Borum stammered at Sir Meta Knight’s orders as he began to head towards the castle. Sword and Kirby followed in tandem prepared for the fight to come.

-

     Kirby was feeling very tired, and hungry too. As he ran alongside Meta Knight and Sword his mind swirled and reminded him of what was truly at stake here. Supper at Kawasaki’s, of course, Kawasaki always gave him leftovers but there would be more than leftovers today!

     So he needed to get that ring back, or Fumu might not let him join them. Of course, he did feel bad for ruining Parm’s day, but the food was just a bit more important. It was very surprising that Sword and Meta Knight had rings too, he didn’t think they liked shiny things but their armour was quite shiny too…

     None of that mattered right now though as they made their way through Dedede’s castle and to his throne room. Meta Knight stopped them before the door and slowly pushed it open to peer inside. Kirby also took a peek at the bottom of the door.

     On his throne, Dedede sat arms crossed and with a scowl across his face while their thief sat on top of a pile of jewels and jewellery. “You idiot! How am I gonna find that ring through all this?” The thief only turned away, uninterested. “Hmph! Escargon look for it!” he ordered the man.

     “What? Why me?”

     “You’re the only one that’s seen it. Was it this or this or even this one?” Dedede grabbed handfuls of bracelets and rings shoving them into the man’s face.

     Escargon took a few in hand himself with a hum. “Erm… Nope none of these, too cheap. This one is red, and that one is gold,” he murmured through the pile. “Silver! Oh, no gemstone,” he threw a silver ring back into the pile as Dedede grumbled.

     “Your Majesty!” Meta Knight called out to the king as he swung the doors open. “Are you not going too far? You’ve stolen from your own subjects and servants over one ring,” Meta Knight scolded the man.

     Dedede nearly dropped his gathered jewels. “Any treasure in this country is mine! If you’re thinking of crossing me then Tac will take your armour!” he directed the demon beast.

     “It’ll not be me who raises a hand but Kirby!” Meta Knight announced to Kirby’s surprise.

     “Huh?” he turned to look at the man in confusion.

     “This mess was your making was it not? Then you should be the one that fixes it.”

     Kirby stared at the man in disbelief. Even if he was right he could have at least told him his plan earlier, though part of it was his own fault for confessing to the man. So with a pout Kirby held his hands together and began to pull the pile of treasure towards him.

     Tac clung to the pile all the while Dedede and Escargon hid behind the throne. Layer by layer of treasure was pulled away, a surprising amount in fact until a hand could be seen sticking out clinging to one emerald ring. He pulled harder as Tac clung to the other side of the man pulling him back.

     So Kirby pulled harder, perhaps a bit too hard as Tac lost grip, slingshotting them and the thief right into him. They flew through the air and out of the castle where Kirby flailed and panicked in the air. But then, the shine of the ring caught his eye still held in the thief’s hand.

     He reached out to grab it only for the thief to clutch it to his chest. Kirby glared at him. “Not yours! Give it back!” he pulled back his hand to strike at the man only for Tac to be caught between them as it attempted to steal the ring again. It was sent flying towards the ocean, likely to never be seen again.

     This scared the thief of course though, who now shoved the ring back in Kirby’s face in fear. Finally, he could give it back to Parm! At least so he thought before plummeting head-first into the river below them. He yelped as he resurfaced, looking around for the sparkling ring that flew above his head.

     And directly into the mouth of a giant red carp.

     He didn’t have much time to stare at it in shock before it began its swim down the river. “No, no, no! Come back!” he yelled after the fish but it was long gone down the river. He wasn’t able to chase it for long, the exhaustion of today catching him by the river bank as he barely managed to pull himself out.

     A few minutes passed by the bank as he sat there soaked and muddy holding back the tears of his soon to be lost supper. Fumu and Bun came around shortly afterwards. “Kirby! We saw you flying out of the castle- What did you do!” Fumu gasped as soon as she saw all the mud on him.

     “A big fish ate the ring!” Kirby cried out as he tried to hold her though she stepped out of the way of his muddy hands.

     “Really?” Fumu let out a sigh. “Well, anyways we need to get you cleaned up. Yuck… That’s a lot of mud in your feathers,” she murmured.

     “Sis, what are we gonna do about mama’s ring? Won’t papa be upset?” Bun asked her.

     She frowned. “There’s not really anything we can do… We’ll tell him what happened and we can help him next year!” she tried to cheer them up but Kirby struggled to smile.

     None of them really talked as they walked down the river towards the Mayor’s house. His butler opened the door and let them borrow the bathroom while he quickly cleaned and dried Kirby’s clothes.

     “Guess it’s a good thing the Mayor isn’t home,” Bun commented as Fumu prepared a showerhead. Kirby sat on a small bucket in the Mayor’s spacious bathroom, even Bun’s voice echoed inside which he would find funny if it wasn’t for his damp mood.

     Warm water ran down his back as the siblings continued to talk. “He doesn’t have anything against Kirby. But I guess I can see what you mean by that…” Fumu murmured as she ran her fingers through his feathers.

     “Sorry… Mess up bad,” he mumbled with his head held low.

     “You’ll need to say sorry to papa… It’ll be okay though, you’ve learnt your lesson now, right? Be careful and don’t touch people’s stuff,” she lightly scolded him as she held the showerhead over his head.

     He winced and spat out the water that fell into his mouth. “Yes…” he squeaked.

     After the mud had slipped down the drain she ruffled his head and wings in a fluffy towel before taking him out into the hallway to blowdry him. The blowdryer was nice and warm, fluffing up all his feathers and hair but as soon as the warm air stopped he felt freezing.

     Thankfully the butler had quickly washed and dried his clothes, which were also very warm and cozy now. Once Fumu tidied up his hair and feathers they thanked the Mayor’s butler before heading back towards the village.

     The sky was beginning to turn a toasty orange as they arrived at Kawaski’s restaurant where Parm was anxiously waiting outside. “Oh! You’re all here. Do you have my ring? It wasn’t with all the other goods Sir Meta Knight returned,” he desperately asked them.

     “I’m sorry… Big fishy ate it…” he meekly explained as Parm looked like he was about to faint in front of him.

     “Ohh… My luck… Guess it can’t be helped, I’ll have to try again next year,” he sighed.

     “Don’t be so sad papa! We’ll help you next year now that we know about it!” Bun assured the man which did seem to perk his spirits a bit.

     He straightened out his clothes and took a deep breath. “Thank you. Now, let’s all enjoy some supper!” he cheerfully announced to them as they headed inside. Kirby hesitated for a moment before Fumu pulled him along and he let his worries melt away.

     The restaurant with packed with familiar faces, along the back was Memu, enjoying a glass of champagne with the twins sitting beside her. On the wall behind her was a giant heart made of pink roses and an even bigger fan in the centre. Kirby wondered who could even cool off using such a big fan. The rest of the restaurant was also covered in colourful banners, flowers and photographs of the couple.

     Memu smiled at them as they walked over to take their seats. “Oh, you're all back just in time. Have you calmed down at all now dear?” she asked her husband.

     “Y-Yes in fact-”

     “Ahem!” Kawasaki accidentally interrupted the man. “Thank you all for visiting my restaurant on this special day. Now while we’re all here let’s celebrate Cabinet Minister Parm and his wife on their very special anniversary!” the chef cheerfully announced with a gift of wine with a pink bow tied at the neck he left by their table.

     Memu excitedly clapped. “Thank you so much! You’ve really gone all out this year.”

     “Memu I have a confession!” Parm shouted, catching the woman off guard as she stared at him. A few awkward side eyes were exchanged as the man plucked the courage to continue speaking. “Y-Your wedding ring. I failed again I’m so sorry… I was so sure it’d be this year but, things got a bit crazy,” he explained to her with a frown.

     She chuckled. “Oh, you worry yourself too much dear. It was only a ring, I’m just happy to know you love me enough to keep trying. It’s very cute of you dear,” she lightly laughed with a smile. “Now it is our wedding anniversary today, so relax dear and enjoy yourself too! You’ve worked hard today after all.”

     The restaurant stood still, while the couple held each other in peaceful silence until the odd sound of a flopping fish reached Kirby’s ears. “Ah, sorry am I interrupting something? We got quite the catch today for your anniversary! Now, what do you feel like having?” Kawasaki stood by the kitchen entryway with a very familiar fish in hand.

     A giant red carp with tiny hearts that lined its sides. Kirby gasped as his eyes widened. “Ring fish!” he loudly exclaimed as he tackled the fish and Kawasaki. Though a bit slimy now, the elusive ring finally popped out of its mouth and across the restaurant, right onto Parm’s table.

     The man looked ready to explode as he quickly wiped away any of the slime with a nearby napkin. Memu held out her hand for him and without any hesitation, he finally slid the ring onto her ring finger. The emerald even matched the rest of her jewellery, bringing everything together.

     Both lovers were lost in each other's eyes as the restaurant clapped for them, even Kawasaki who was still on the floor alongside Kirby and the fish. “Make sure to warn me about that next time. But wow, what a story! How about a bit of extra dessert for you tonight then?” Kawasaki cheerfully asked him as he picked the fish back up.

     A full meal, the leftovers and extra dessert? Kirby could hardly contain his excitement.

-

     “Well then, all’s well that ends well,” Blade chuckled as she stepped away from the restaurant window. With a stretch she felt her bones crack, today had been quite a long day today.

     She turned around to greet the other two who had returned from the Police station. “They found that ring in the end it seems. Was this what you two were busy with all day then?” she teased them.

     “It’s been rather exhausting, but yes,” Sir Meta Knight rolled his shoulders with a crack.

     “I didn’t expect to see you scold His Majesty that much!”

     “Well, he had to learn a lesson one way or another.”

     “Ha! What are you, his mother?”

     He let out a low chuckle as his eyes pinkened. Sword did not involve himself with any of their jokes, he never did though so she did not expect him to. But he looked unusually antsy, stringing his hands together much like Parm did for his anxieties.

     She stared at him for a moment, giving him the time to decide on speaking. His hand brushed past a small pouch on his belt where he quickly clung to it. “Ah… Uhm, Blade? Might I give you something?” he mumbled.

     Her eye narrowed in confusion “Yes? I suppose so. I won’t say no to a present.”

     “Good. Here…” He held out his pouch to her. But with a quick glance from Sir Meta Knight, he quickly retracted it, instead taking out whatever was inside of it first.

     It was a blue box. And once he popped it open she saw a golden ring inside of it, with a pattern that resembled the one on her own armour. “I just thought… I know we don’t really, use stuff like it but…” he trailed off.

     She patted him on the shoulder with a smile before taking the box off his hands “I know. But it’s very cute of you to think of something for me like this,” she teased him.

     Even through the small amount of his face seen through his helmet, a red blush crawled through it with very little space to hide it. Perhaps one day she’d return the favour, as stubborn as he would be when it came to accepting gifts. Though hopefully this time no one else would be chasing their own stray ring too.

     “Perhaps I’ll also wear it around my neck for safety. Though I’m quite hungry now, how about we head back?” she suggested as she took Sword’s hand. He squeezed it back gently.

     “Yeah… I haven’t eaten all day,” Sword added. Though they never dreamt of living an idle life, one away from battle and their lord’s side. Even if it’s one night though, it was nice to bask in the peaceful night sky with the three side by side as they vanished into the shadows where they belonged.

Chapter Text

     Even in his dreams, Kirby could smell the salt of the ocean, it was so strange. Would he be able to also smell the soups Kawasaki boiled too? Or the sweet perfumes that Memu liked to spray. The question bubbled up in his head and so he turned to The Knight sitting next to him on the seashore. “Why can I smell?”

     “Hm? Do you mean in your dreams or?...” their voice trailed off in confusion.

     “Yeah!”

     They hummed to themself in thought. “Well... I don’t really know! I must have never read about it.”

     “Ohh. Fumu says people with bad memory aren’t smart.”

     “How rude! I remember some things… Sometimes… Speaking with you jogs my memories on some occasions. Though most days they remain clouded…” Their lips curled in annoyance.

     Kirby only laughed at them, Fumu also did that when she was really annoyed. Usually at him or Bun, though it was always at Dedede. Which reminded him. “Oh, funny joke yesterday!”

     “Oh?”

     “It was ah… What was it again?”

     “Ha! Look whose memory fails them now. Hmm… Are there any jokes I once knew though?” Their head tilted up in thought as Kirby continued to scratch his brain.

     Dedede was very funny, even if he was a bit mean sometimes all his jokes gave him stomach aches much to Tokkori’s annoyance. Though they’d also make Tokkori’s stomach ache from laughing so much. “Oh!” There was one he saw on TV yesterday “I played piano by ear, now I use hands!”
The Knight only stared at him silently as Kirby felt his grin melt away. “Funny yes?” he asked them confused.

     “No. Not really.”

     “Oh…”

     They frowned. “Sorry about that. I just don’t get it though… Why would you attempt to use your ear on piano keys? Though I am reminded of an amazing joke now if you’d give me a moment.”

     Kirby watched them turn to the side, creating some sort of paper pad from the sand to draw on. They scribbled something on there, creating long lines with a ruler something Fumu showed him once. But as they laid their pen down, they began to snort.

     “O-Okay so this one- This one is,” they could barely contain their laughter as they struggled to hold their drawing, face turning red as they tried to contain themselves. It took him by surprise, he’d only seen people’s faces turn red when they were angry never when they were happy!

     Whatever this joke was it must be amazing. But all that was on the paper was a square, leaving Kirby lost and confused. The Knight looked at him as if they were about to faint before continuing. “It’s a thirty-by-thirty apartment with a kitchen, living room and bedroom. No bath, no, toilets and no windows.”

     “... I don’t get it.”

     “How? It’s amazing! Perhaps you’re just a bit too young for this sort of joke then, I’m sure you’ll appreciate it one day.”

     He really doubted it. What was an apartment anyways? It seemed like a very long word, he likes long words, Fumu always congratulates him for learning them. Though it’d be a bit too much if she and The Knight ever met somehow… Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

     “Is something the matter?” they asked him, sensing his sudden discomfort.

     “Thinking too hard.”

     “Hm, careful not to overexert yourself. I can see very little of what happens outside here but do promise me you won’t put yourself in harm’s way,” they comforted him.

     It left a strange feeling in his chest, he felt it sometimes when he saw his friend getting hugs from their mamas or papas. Though he didn’t know what it was, he wanted to ask Fumu about it. He really did, but he didn’t know how.

     The Knight rubbed his back gently. “Perhaps it’s best to wake up now. The comforts of a dream are small against those in the real world.”
“I dunno…” Kirby murmured. “But okay… Bye-bye.” He awkwardly waved them away as his eyes opened back to his ceiling light. Tokkori snored away on his pillow as he looked for the energy to get up. Maybe a tasty snack would make him feel better.

     With a squeaky stretch, he finally got up and dressed, rushing out into the late morning day. All the farmers were still busy in their fields, he could see Hohhe and Iroo’s papa’s talking to each other in the patches of mud and crops. Though they weren’t really talking about anything interesting, just adult stuff so he kept on walking.

     He wondered what kind of snack he could get today. Kawasaki would have something as he usually did each morning. But something else caught his nose today. There was a small cottage with a large brick chimney not too far from his restaurant that he had visited a few times before. A bakery owned by Honey’s grandmother Marigold, it wasn’t open on most days due to her back aches but it was hard to not notice the smell of fresh bread on the days it was.

     Usually Honey would help her grandmother on those days, so she couldn’t play. But her grandmother would always keep bread or treats to spare for them all if they came to visit. She even asked him to carry sacks of flour for her sometimes which were quite heavy, but Bun was overreacting when he said it was impossible.

     At the front of the bakery was a hanging wooden sign that looked recently painted with the name ‘Fleur de miel’ Honey said it was another language her grandmother grew up using. Around the front of the pale yellow bricked walls were pots and trails of flowers that her mother had put there for decoration, though Marigold still tried to use them in baking apparently.

     “Good morning!” Kirby waved at them inside the bakery. Honey was inside with a small broom and an apron on with her hair held back with a bit of cloth tied around the back. By the wooden counter was Marigold, a rather small stocky old woman with light grey curly hair that peaked out from underneath her white mob cap. She was a very pale white nearing grey with wrinkles all around her eyes and cheeks that seemed to droop. She wore a loose red and orange striped dress with cuffs that stopped at the elbows and a white apron around her waist.

     Honey waved back at him. “Hello! You just missed the morning rush,” she commented as he entered the bakery. The shelves behind Marigold that normally were bursting with bread and treats were almost empty already.

     “Busy?” he asked. Although people did flock to her bakery on the days it opened, there’d normally be quite a lot left over still. If not that people would use a communal oven by the side of her bakery. He watched Bun use it once before but the bread came out burnt.

     The girl nodded. “Y-Yeah. It’s a special day today, so everyone’s buying treats! I’m helping mamie out so I can give some to mama,” she explained.

     Kirby looked at her confused. “Special?”

     “Mhm, it’s Parent’s Day! It’s a day when you show your appreciation for them-ah.” She suddenly stopped and looked at him in distress. “Oh sorry… You probably don’t want to talk about that do you?”

     He continued to look at her confused. “Why?”

     “You don’t have a mama or papa do you?”

     Those words got thrown around by his friends a lot as well as a few others around the adults that lived with them. Dedede got called king, so he just thought it was something like that. Though he probably should have asked Fumu about it first.

     “Mama and papa titles like king yes?” he asked her.

     She looked hesitant. “Uhm… I guess so? They’re like people that look after you and raise you. M-Most of the time they’re related to you, like uhm my mama had me and then she married my papa now when I was five. I have another papa but I don’t see him anymore. Mamie is mama’s mama as well!”

     “Ohh. Then, how do mamas and papas get a kid?”

     “H-Huh? Well uhm that’s… I don’t really know…”

     Marigold laughed at the two. “Maybe when you're older. Not everyone needs to have a child to parent them, a child alone may find truer love with someone who isn’t related to them. You know this well ma choupette, just know many love you quite dearly even if they may not show it yet.”

     “So… Is Fumu mama?” he asked confused

     “No! She’s too young! Uhm, I guess Fumu would be more like a sister to you than a mama... D-Do I need to explain that too?” she looked at him nervously.

     He shook his head, that was something Fumu had told him about already when it came to her and Bun as well as the twins. But it still left him with questions more than answers. “Whose my mama or papa?” he asked the both of them.

     They went quiet, Honey avoiding any eye contact with him as Marigold hummed in thought. Would Memu and Parm be his mama and papa? They were both really nice to him and looked at him. Dyna Blade was also a mama, he understood what that meant now, no wonder she was so angry at him before…

     “Perhaps that’s something you should search for today. I’m sure the other children may lead an ear to your questions. Before that though, I think you're forgetting something.” She reached for a basket behind her and took out a round bun with little seeds on the top. “Here you go, saved it for you.”

     He took the bun excitedly, squishing the soft ball of dough. “Yaay! Thank you, thank you!” he cheered as he held it high. That’s when an idea struck him, as much as his belly disagreed to it. He’d find his mama or papa and give them his bun as a present. It was Parent’s Day after all.

     With that, he set off on his search. He wasn’t sure where to start though, Kawasaki was nice so maybe he’d know. A peek inside of his restaurant and he saw the man sitting alone by one of the tables as he wiped at the same spot with a bored look on his face. 

     “Kawasaki!” he called over to the man.

     The chef perked up. “Oh good morning Kirby. Here for some leftovers?”

     Kirby shook his head even though that was very tempting, he was busy today. Though how to ask him? “Are you my papa?”

     “... Uhh. Where did you get that idea?”

     “Looking for mine. Do you know where?”

     Kawasaki sighed in relief. “Oh good, I thought you were getting a bit too attached there. Hmm, I dunno! I guess Meta Knight might know, he knows lots about you and all. Maybe I should send a letter to mine… I guess teacher would count too but…” the man mumbled and trailed off as he thought to himself.

     “Oh, okay. Asking more!” Kirby waved goodbye to the man as he left the store.

     Who should he ask next? He walked around a bit with his bun still in hand. Around the main plaza, there were quite a lot of children about, walking around with their assumed parents and giving them presents. At the edge of this, all was Moso resting on a bench with a bag of letters next to him.

     Kirby approached the old man who hadn’t noticed him yet. “Hello can I ask a question?” he asked the man.

     “Oh? What would you like to hear from a little old man like me?” he laughed.

     “Yeah are you my- Do you know my papa?”

     “Hmm… Sorry, can't say I do. If I get any letters from him I’ll let you know. Though while you’re here…” The man stretched his back the best he could. “Mind pulling off my shoe? There’s something in there and I can't reach.”

     Kirby placed his bun on the bench before grabbing his shoe, it was a bit tricky to pull off with a little tug. He pulled a little harder, puffing up his cheeks as he finally popped it off. Alongside his leg.

     He stared down at the wood attached to his shoe before dropping it with a screech as Moso cackled at him. “Oh, my own father had that same reaction when I came home like that! Hit me hard for it but the face he made is something I’ll never forget.”

     The man’s words were muffled though as Kirby could only stare at the detached leg in shock. “Hmm? Are you crying?” Were a few words he could hear from the man though after a while.

     “Hm? What’s going on here?” Gus was heard speaking behind him.

     Kirby looked at the man with teary eyes. “I-I-” he sniffled as he held Moso’s leg up. “I’m sorry! Pulled his leg off!” he babbled.

     Gus looked up at the elderly man who was still lightly cackling away at him and sighed. He crouched down with an oily washcloth and attempted to wipe away his tears. “Don’t stress it. You didn’t hurt him.” The smell of the washcloth made his eyes water even more before the man realized he was making it worse. Kirby just rubbed his eyes with the sleeves of his cardigan in the end, leaving them with wet patches around the cuff.

     “H-How?” Kirby asked the old man.

     “Ohh it’s a long story. They had to remove the leg from below my knee, and after that I got a friend to clamp this on and I was off again. Those were the days, I could beat you youngster in a race if it wasn’t for my back,” the man complained as he gave it a quick crack.

     Gus rolled up the man’s trouser leg to reattach the leg. “Yeah, you’ve said so before. But try to be a bit careful with the kid, alright?”

     “Yes, yes. I hope you’re not too upset still Kirby.” Maso patted the top of his head with his wrinkled fingers.

     “Feelin better… Tell me long story one day?”

     “Oh of course. Careful not to snooze through it though! Gus has twice,” he cackled as Gus huffed at the man.

     Kirby sat on the bench next to Moso, his bun now resting on his lap instead as he told Gus about his mission that day. The man looked concerned as he finished, scratching the back of his neck with a crease in his unibrow. “Sounds a bit tough… I mean my parents were a bit hands-off, probably too much so I wouldn’t know the first thing to help you.”

     Moso crouched over and leaned on his cane. “Perhaps Sir Meta Knight would know a thing or two. He does seem quite familiar with you,” he suggested.

     “Kawasaki said that too,” Kirby added.

     “Then why don’t you just go ask him instead of us?” Gus shrugged at him.

     That was an odd question to answer, he was going to ask him of course. But finding him was very hard, he hid around corners and was rarely in his room. If he yelled for him Dedede or Escargon would come and scold him before kicking him out of the castle too.

     But even after that, there was still something else that seemed to stop him. But right now he just shrugged. “Hard to find.”

     Moso stroked his beard. “That’s quite true, usually I have to leave his letters to a Waddle Dee or one of his knights. I only see him on occasion if he delivers a letter in person.”

     “I see him quite often actually,” Gus commented. “Usually it’s pretty late but he gets quite a lot of machinery parts delivered and they get shipped to my place. I dunno what he uses them for though.”

     “Mm… I talk to him, and friends too. Bye-bye!” He hopped off the bench, holding his bun high again. With renewed vigor he ran back down the streets again towards the castle. There he’d hopefully find his answer and someone to give his bun to.

     The drawbridge was down, but that wasn’t a problem. He could fly! So he could easily get over the walls of Dedede’s castle. The king complained about it a lot, he even tried to install a few traps to get him but he was too small of a target apparently.

     Once he reached the top of the wall though he could hear laughing in the distance. In the tower Fumu and her family lived in he could hear them together, it was a bit hard to see from here but he could hear their voices. They were having tea together, Fumu and Bun made it together with the twins with cakes and biscuits for their parents.

     He wasn’t sure how long he listened to them talk.

     When he finally decided to continue looking for Meta Knight, his legs felt heavier than usual so he could run anymore. Escargon’s room was down the hallway, he could hear the man mumbling to himself as he scribbled on a piece of paper. “Ohh mother, I hope these treats won’t spoil before they reach you,” he heard him mutter to himself as Kirby passed his room.

     It was getting more difficult to focus on where he was walking now. His eyes drifted down to the bun in his hand. A few seeds had fallen off, and it was no longer warm to the touch. And he was also feeling really hungry now.

     He let out a small whine as he continued down the hall until he felt something poke him on the shoulder nearly making him jump. “I heard your bell from down the hall. What are you doing here?” Meta Knight’s familiar voice asked him from behind.

     “Oh!” Kirby turned around in surprise. “Looking for you!”

     The knight tensed. “Is that so?... What for?”

     “Looking for my papa. Are you my papa? Do you know my papa?” he asked him with an excited wriggle.

     But, Meta Knight was anything but excited. His question was only answered by silence as he awkwardly shuffled before the man. Was he angry at him? Upset? He was unable to read his face past the mask or the swirl of colours in his eyes. He held out his hand to hold his cape only for him to step away out of reach.

     “That’s… No, I am not your father. Nor will I ever be your father.” His words were cold and distant. “Just… Never ask me this again. Though I may help you, know I’ll never father you.”

     Kirby could only stare at him dumbfounded before Meta Knight turned away and vanished into the shadows, leaving him cold and alone. He must have really messed up… But Meta Knight looked so sad too, he wasn’t sure why which made him sad too. He didn’t want him to be sad.

     On the balcony further down was Dedede, he was acting odd. Eyes shut and arms held wide open in the sunlight like a flower. Though it looked like his arms were a bit shaky.

     “Dede,” Kirby called out to him.

     The man nearly fell over, his arms scrambling about as he tried to hold his footing to little success. “Ack! Ugh, it’s you. What are you doing here how did you get past my guards!”

     “I flew.”

     “Of course you did! Maybe I should just put a net over the entire castle…” Dedede grumbled.

     “Dede I have question,” Kirby continued as he looked down at the fallen man.

     Dedede scowled at him. “Buzz off.”

     “No. Meta Knight is sad, how can… How help?” he struggled with his words. His hands moved around as he tried to put them together. Though he was getting better at it now.

     “Pshh, that guy’s always sulking. Let him mope it’s not gonna kill ‘im.” Dedede shrugged.

     Kirby frowned, that didn’t make him feel better at all. But an idea struck him if Dedede was answering that question for him. “Another! Do you know my papa?”

     The king pulled an odd face, a mix of confusion and surprise. “Huh? How’d I know? I thought that was Meta Knight or somethin’.”

     Kirby nodded. “Yeah… He said no.”

     “Then how’d I know? Do you think I ask every other weirdo alien if they’re missing an annoying pink kid? I don’t think they’d miss one either.” Although his words were harsh, there was not a lot of bite behind them.

     “Do you have a papa?”

     “What? No.”

     “Mama?”

     “Uh… Two of em… Wait why am I telling you this?”

     This was exciting, he didn’t know a lot about Dedede. And the man also never really liked talking to him either. “Parent day! Everyone’s talking about it,” he explained.

     A look of dread shadowed his face. “Arghh, that’s a whole thing isn’t it? When was the last time I actually contacted ‘em though… Best not to.”

     “Why?”

     “The teasin’! You wouldn’t know a thing, you weren’t the little brother with ten sisters! What would you do if there were ten Fumu’s eh?” Dedede threw his own question right back at him.

     Kirby thought to himself, and then his face creased like a lemon. “Yeah, now you get it. Now let me sunbathe in peace!” Dedede grabbed him by the back of his cardigan as he wriggled in the king’s grip. And with a powerful toss, was sent flying away from the castle.

     It was odd this had happened twice so recently, but he didn’t have time to think about that as he had to still protect his bun. So he flailed around in the air, hoping to at least slow down his fall a bit. He did manage to fall into the pond in front of his house at least! Even if the bun got a bit wet.

     Tokkori kicked the door open with an aggravated look on his face and hair out of place. “Ugh! I had a feeling it was too peaceful today!” he complained as he walked over to the pond Kirby sat in.

     “Hello! Dede threw me.”

     “I guessed that or one of those beasts. What were you up to anyways?” Tokkori asked him as he pulled him out of the pond.

     Kirby looked at his bun sadly. “Parent’s day. Wanted to find one but no one knew where. Do you know?”

     “Pft, I’m in the same camp as you bud. Don’t know the first thing about ‘em.” Tokkori crossed his arms in a scowl.

     “... We can ask Fumu and Bun’s mama and papa! Maybe they’ll-”

     “They’re happy without us!” Tokkori interrupted him. “Don’t you get it? Everyone’s a happy little family, and they’d be happier without you! They’ll never see you as family… No one does…” his voice trailed off.

     Kirby stared at him in shock, he didn’t know what to say as he stared at the teary-eyed boy. With a small tug, he finally tore his bun in half and handed one over to him silently.

     He glared at the split half for a bit before snatching it away. “Hmph, didn’t ya know bread’s bad for birds?” he grumbled despite taking a bite of it.

     “Whaa, really?” Kirby asked as he took his own bite of the soggy bread.

     “Apparently, never stopped me though.”

     “Hmm…” He wondered if it was bad for him too. Though he didn’t think he was a bird.

     Tokkori shoved the rest of the bun into his mouth. “Well I’m watchin telly. Try not to soak the carpet.” He shrugged as he walked back over to their house. Kirby scrambled after him. Perhaps today didn’t end so badly after all, he did get to wrap himself up in fluffy towels after all and made his friend smile.

     But part of his heart still continued to ache.

Chapter Text

     “Ha… Guess this is it for me. Ey, kid?” Jerica rasped. What was left of his twisted body lay before him. His once healthy light beige skin had been turned to a sickening purple, thinned and stretched over his skeleton that burst at the seams. His once well-cared armour was torn to shreds, dyed black by his own dark blood. Perhaps what little humanity had left was hidden beneath his metallic mask.

     He could only watch over the man in memory, behind a mask of his own. Yet he knew the man was smiling, despite it all, he would just smile and jest. He hated it, he wanted to scream as he felt his grip tighten on his sword till he feared breaking it.

     “Why? Why did it have to be you?” he bit back his sob.

     The dying man let out a muffled laugh before coughing. “Yes… A shame isn’t it? But I’m glad it’s you here, I wouldn’t want them to see me like this… Wonder if they’ll even send my body back, ha I don’t envy the one who has to bury me.”

     He slammed his fist on the stone beneath them, and Jerica barely batted an eye. “Stop talking like that, y-you’ve held on for this long. We can find a way, I’m sure of it,” desperate words escaped his lips. A promise he knew would be too easily broken. Nightmare was eating away at his very soul, there was nothing else they could do for him.

     “Then make it something to remember. Not a lot of us can hold on this far y’know… Guess I’ve got him to thank, little bugger… I wonder how he’s doing, did he finally start school? Has he made friends?... Will he even remember his own father?” the man somberly spoke to himself as he raised his pendant above him. Tears welled in his eyes as he gazed inside.

     “I’ll miss him…” Jerica’s grief was cut short as he howled in pain, his body contorting and thriving. He could only watch him in horror as the pain subsided and the man was left exhausted again.

     He held out his pendant once more. “Listen to me… We can’t let that bastard win, we cant … If not for me do it for him! Do it for all of them! Give him strength, I believe in him. He’s my boy after all…” His arm lost its strength, tumbling before him as his eyes grew dull.

     “I will. I’ll make him pay, no matter what I swear it!” he cried out to the fading man.

     “I’m glad… You’ve grown a lot… Shame I won’t see the end of it,” Jerica sighed. “One last favour?”

     “Yeah?...”

     “Kill me. I don’t want Nightmare to get the last laugh. Taking what’s left of me… I’d rather you be the one to do it, my friend…”

     A tear cascaded down his face, wetting the dry unforgiving ground. “Jerica…”

     “No more formalities then hm? I’m glad…”

     With that, he finally held up his blade. And repressed his wail.

     …

     Meta Knight awoke in his bed, the silence of night cocooned around him as he lay motionless in his bed. How long would his mind continue to mock him? How long had it been? Was he truly that broken?...

     Ruminating such thoughts were dangerous, he needed to move. He sat at the edge of his bed, hands clamped together to will himself to continue. Looking over at the clock on his bedside he saw it was past three in the morning currently. Not that it made much difference to him.

     He reached for the second drawer, brushing his fingertips across its handle before flinching. Perhaps one day… But not today. He moved to the first drawer instead. He had organised it well, a small leather journal with a pen, a lighter and a pouch of tobacco and other assorted items alongside it. It was not the healthiest habit, to say the least. 

     He willed himself to shut this drawer as well and drag himself into their main room. A hint of humour crawled up his scarred chest as he recalled the day Blade brought back the ridiculously large jar. He wasn’t even sure where she even got it, but the discussion of how to use it came to follow shortly afterwards.

     There was a book that once mentioned a method of weaning one off tobacco, through suckling hard candies. He didn’t pay it much thought, only bringing it up on a night the two joined him by the balcony.

     Before he knew it the entire jar was filled to the brim with them, albeit the cheap ones but candy nonetheless. Even when he didn’t crave a smoke he’d still secretly sneak a few out. But tonight he’d try to at least put an effort into it again, pulling out a yellow one and disposing of the sheer paper wrapping.

     Lemon. His nose scrunched as the flavour overlapped his dry tongue. There was a small balcony attached to the main room of their quarters. It wasn’t as grand as the many others that scattered the castle walls. But it served them well enough for lookout.

     But as he leaned on it now his eyes could not focus on the wandering Waddle Dees down below, sleepily working off the rest of their night shift. He could only stare off into the distance and wait for the punishing sun to rise once again.

     -

     He was in, finally after all those years of searching. Electrical currents ran through his body as he dove deeper into cyberspace. Walls of light twisted and pulsed around him, hypnotic in their colour. And dangerous.

     A single touch and everything he did would be for nothing in this colourful spiderweb. He remained cautious, falling ever further beyond any return. And that’s when he saw it, gold shining at the end of the tunnel.

     There was a small golden door encased in webbing that read. ‘HNM CO. NETWORK.’ Just reading it made his blood boil as he kicked it open, breaking inside the dark green room. It was filled with tiny blank screens, the heart of Nightmare’s memory network.

     One of these screens had the answer he was searching for, he just needed to find it. Sparks flew from his fingertips, searching through every piece of data. Each one was more garbage than the last, he opened more and more, desperation crawling through his arms.

     Finally, a screen caught his eye. And so did the security measures as every other screen switched to a ghastly man in a suit, smirking down at him. “Now, now. Who are you? Trespassing on Holy Nightmare’s servers?”

     “Tch…” he spat at the man overtaking the screens around him and rubbed his nose. “Hey, says here the strongest Star Warrior is in Pop Star’s solar system right?”

     “Oh? If you have business on Pop Star, we can help you. Free of charge. What do you say, hm?”

     A dangerous proposal. But would it matter, he vowed to do anything at any cost after all. So he opened his heart to the man before him and the room turned white. He could feel it through his veins, something greater than himself as his eyes were lost in a tunnel of white rushing past him.

     Galaxies and solar systems were just specks of light in this twisting tunnel as he felt his heart beat fiercely until it all came to a stop. A glittering golden star, untouched and pure. Yet he knew inside that glow was something corrupted and wretched.

     “We shall link you to the nearest Delivery System. Oh, and do be careful not to damage the merchandise,” the man’s voice echoed down to him. And with that, he was off.

     -

     It seemed his body was still quite tense from that unpleasant memory. But he did not let it show around Sword and Blade, as it would calm with time. It was a rather late morning today, much of it had been spent finishing off paperwork before they’d begin their rounds. 

     Meta Knight sat at their low table, cape draped over his back as he warmed his hands with a cup of green tea. Though rather bitter, he had grown accustomed to this local tea and the various benefits that came along with it. But he did miss many of the sweeter teas of his lost home.

     Dedede and Parm would sometimes have tea together, though he never joined the two. It was more akin to sugary milk than tea… Thinking like this made him feel rather old.

     He once tried drinking coffee too, a drink Sword and Blade would often indulge in but he never had any need for it. His body was able to handle longer hours awake days ahead naturally, though he did prefer to rest during the day if possible. Though the same could not be said for his lost partner, whose kind did not handle long hours awake too well which lead to the creation of some rather noxious drinks.

     He sipped his tea, exhaling a sigh through his nose. Something still felt off. He shut his eyes in focus, allowing his sensitive hearing to open further than normal. Dedede was golfing outside… But the marching footsteps of the Waddle Dees made it rather difficult to hear anything else, and the thick brick walls did well to block out a lot of noise. But there was something else, the sound of something moving through the air.

     That same sound he’d hear when the delivery system would operate, something for a very powerful creature. He put down his cup. “Sword, Blade. There’s something amiss, be ready-”

     The entire castle shook. But this was not an earthquake. Without a word, they grabbed their weaponry and ran into the castle hallways where many Waddle Dees scurried around in a panic. Those who had been cleaning vanished behind small doors before emerging with armour and spears, prepared for any situation at hand.

     It seemed everyone had gathered to investigate the throne room, but with little success. Dedede lay in front of the doors surrounded by injured soldiers with a grumble on his lips. 

     And the perpetrator stared down at the king, basking in an unnatural glow. It was difficult to make out many features, yet there was something suspiciously familiar about them… But he hadn’t time to stare as they quickly flew down the hallway, knocking over Fumu who had come to investigate as Dedede scrambled to get up. “We’re under attack! Everyone, to arms!” he commanded, his voice carrying through the entire castle.

     He followed after their attacker, Waddle Dees poured out of every crevice to join them like ants protecting their nest. But their bravery was short-lived, they were knocked away with little effort before the walls behind them crumbled.

     Next, their eyes were set on the Cabinet children who were dangerously close. He couldn’t allow them to come to any harm, leaving behind Sword and Blade he closed the gap between him and their attacker. A punch meant for the two was deflected away with Galaxia, giving the two time to escape as he stood face-to-face with their attacker.

     He could make out a few more details now, though much continued to stay obscured behind the glow. A boy, one in his teen years at that with familiar spikes of hair… He gripped Galaxia as Sword and Blade came in to block him from the other side. “Who are you?” Meta Knight demanded.

     The boy only rubbed his nose with a smirk before sweeping a kick behind him, knocking Sword and Blade over. Meta Knight lunged at him with his back exposed. The boy sent a ball of light flying back at him which was swiftly cut in two as his sword tore through the floor. But the boy was far too swift for him to catch, leaping around him before landing on the tip of the blade.

     Meta Knight glared down at him as the boy smirked back.

     They stood at a standstill there, his arm remaining steady as he took stock of the situation. But a familiar roar from behind would grant him a chance to step away as Dedede’s tank came rolling down the hall. The two jumped away as Dedede stared down the boy with his tank.

     “We’ve got this under control here!” Escargon snidely remarked.

     Meta Knight retreated as the hallway was blown to bits by the king. “Come with me, hurry.” He ordered the others beside him as they escaped down a hidden corridor to the side. Down there they’d be able to escape into the castle courtyard where the king would likely join them, whether he liked it or not. 

     There was a tell-tale crash outside as the tank was flung out of the castle while the group climbed down the short staircase and into a hidden door. From there they snuck behind the courtyard's trees and bushes to witness what was left of Dedede’s tank and their mysterious attacker.

     The king and Escargon sat in front of their crumpled tank, dazed and confused with probably a few backaches to spare. Before them, the boy’s glow dissipated revealing his true colours. That spiked hair was blonde, something he had suspected with a white and red bandana wrapped around his forehead and over the top of his head. His skin was a light beige with healthy round pink cheeks and long pointed ears. Though rather babyfaced in appearance, the rest of his clothing told another story. He wore a red leather jacket, torn and studded at the sleeves with bandages wrapped around his knuckles. Underneath that was a white tank top was a pair of puffed red pants, held up by a white rope knotted at the side and ended by his ankles where he wore a pair of red slippers.

     He rubbed his nose “Ha, thanks for the warm-up,” he sneered at the two.

     “What! Not another kid!” Dedede despaired.

     “What? Y’think I look old gramps? My name is Knuckle Joe.” Joe confidently pumped his chest with his fist.

     Meta Knight let out a hushed gasp. Oh, Jerica, what would you think of your boy if you saw him now?... He gripped the tree as he continued to listen in. “So, where’s the Star Warrior?” Joe crossed his arms at the two.

     But they only stared at him slack-jawed in shock as he stomped his foot impatiently. “I know he’s here. Answer me dammit!”

     Dedede laughed at him. “Well. I know lots bout those Star Warriors!”

     “Then answer the question gramps.”

     “You brat! Don’t you know who you’re talking to!” Escargon hissed at Joe. “The Greedy Great Prickly King himself! Dedede!-”

     “That’s enough!” Dedede yelped as he pushed the man away. “Ahem… It’ll be Kirby you’re looking for then.”

     Joe smirked. “Kirby then hm?”

     This was bad. If his suspicions on why Joe was here were correct, Kirby would be in great danger if caught off guard. “Fumu, Bun. I want you two to warn Kirby about the incoming danger.”

     “Huh? Why can’t he just fight him?” Bun argued with him.

     “It won’t be as simple as that… Hide him for now, there should be a spot by the cliffs. I’ll join you tonight,” he explained. The entire castle was in disarray, he was needed still even if it was for a short while.

     And there was something else he had to do. Something important he had to get.

     -

     This place was really pissing him off. It was too humid for a start, he could already feel the sweat running down his skin for a start. Not to mention the people here crawled around like little worms cooking in the sun. That damn sun, once Kirby was gone he’d get rid of that too.

     But the house he was directed to was empty, bar the mountains of sicky fruits that were left inside. Joe kicked one of the watermelons that rolled over to him, splitting it in half before he spat on the floor. If he wasn’t here he’d find him elsewhere.

     There was a lanky man in the nearby field surrounded by sheep. He batted the odd fluffy creatures out of the way and snatched the man by his collar. “Where is he? Where’s Kirby!” 

     “I-I dunno!” he stammered. Joe pushed him back into the dirt. Maybe one of them in that village would know. 

     There was a building there with large glass windows and a large glass door. He didn’t have the time to wait around, so of course he punched through the glass, sending bits flying inside. A man hid behind a counter as a woman scurried away but they couldn’t escape his notice. He dragged the man out from behind the counter who trembled. “Where’s Kirby!” he demanded again.

     “I-I don’t know! He rarely shops here!”

     He dropped the man and turned to look at the stumbling woman behind him. “Me neither! I don’t know where he is!” she wailed.

     Joe kicked a basket on the counter in annoyance. Of course, they didn’t know, so he’d just have to ask someone else. He broke back through the door and continued his search. There was a man out in the open polishing a car who was an easy next target. “Hey! Have you seen a Kirby around?” he yelled at the man.

     “Hm? Nope, not today. He can’t drive,” the man casually commented as he continued with his job.

     He clicked his tongue. What a pain. There was another building nearby with a staircase leading down to its door. He opened this one a tad bit more carefully this time, perhaps they’d be more receptive to that.

     “Welcome. Ah, might I have an ID sir?” The calm voice of a bartender welcomed him.

     “I don’t need one, I just need Kirby,” Joe hissed.

     The man frowned. “I’m afraid I can’t serve you without an ID,” he sighed.

     His hands dug into the counter, the wood cracking beneath his fingertips. “I don’t give a shit!” he lashed out at the man, punching him into the shelf behind him. Bottles of alcohol rained down and shattered around them coating the man in it.

     “You’re all hiding ‘im from me, aren’t you? But I’ll find ‘im just you wait!” Joe stomped down on the counter, cracking it further. With that, he stormed out of the bar, destroying the door for good measure.

     Next was a purple tent across the road. The woman inside peered down at him with a scowl as he marched over to her, a crystal orb sitting on the table in front of him. “Where’s Kirby?” he asked again.

     “Hmm. Allow me to look,” the woman hummed as she sprinkled her hands over the orb. “Tuoba gniklat I ma tahw… Tuoba gniklat I ma tahw… Aha! I see something… He’s not here sorry about that,” the woman laughed.

     Joe smashed her crystal ball into pieces and her laughs turned to screams. He left out a huff, everyone in this town was more useless than the last. And he was really at the end of his tether now. There was what looked to be a policeman of sorts in the village plaza, he’d try once more.

     “Hey you, are you a cop?”

     “Hm? Why yes, do you need any help?”

     Joe crossed his arms in annoyance. “Everyone in this village is hidin’ something from me! And I want you to give it to me straight!”

     The man took out a notebook. “Hmm let’s see… So you think everyone is hiding what from you?”

     Joe felt a nerve burst. “You’re all hiding Kirby from me, aren’t you!” he accused the man.

     But he didn’t look too phased. “Hm… I see… And why do you want to meet Kirby?”

     “Ugh, I’m not meeting ‘im! I’m fighting ‘im!”

     “And why’s that?”

     “To avenge my father!” Joe snapped. “My father was a great man! But he was killed by a Star Warrior! A powerful one too! So tell me, where is he!”

     The policeman stared at him in shock and sorrow, before he began to laugh. “Kirby? Kirby killed your father? I’m sorry but that’s just ridiculous-” The man was cut off as Joe punched him through a wall in anger.

     “Dammit!” he yelled. “What a coward, how could he hide from me!” Anyone else nearby huddled behind any corner they could get. But it wasn’t enough, he wasn’t done with them yet.

     He hadn’t even realised night had fallen by the time the place had turned into a ghost town. “Come out! You can’t hide forever!” he screamed out again. But there was no response.

     Was that king lying before? What an idiot he got himself tricked again! But that man would regret it, he turned to see the lights of that damn tank again. He must have spent the day repairing it. “Oi you!” he shouted at them.

     “What? Haven’t you found Kirby yet?” Dedede laughed at him.

     “Shut up! You tricked me didn’t you!”

     “Huh? Why would I? I want Kirby gone as much as you do. Tell ya what, we’ll help ya find him and you’ll help us whack him. What do you say?” 

     Joe glared at the man, but he had very few options left.

     -

     “I can’t believe one kid can eat so much,” Kawasaki laughed as he finished cooking the fifth burger that evening. Fumu quickly packaged it, sticking it inside the large sack of food they had prepared already.

     “Yeah! Guess he’s growing,” Bun commented as he tossed in a few more carrots. She was surprised by how calm they all managed to be still with that boy running around outside. He had very nearly caught the chef more than once but the man was let off with only a bit of a bump as did many others.

     She was thankful for them all. Despite the danger, they agreed to remain ignorant of where Kirby could be. Although a few were likely regretting that choice, the boy was safer now thanks to them. She just hoped Sir Meta Knight had some sort of plan still.

     “Is that all then?” Kawasaki asked.

     Fumu nodded. “Should be. Kirby should be hiding near Kabu’s canyon. I just hope he hasn’t gotten bored and left,” she sighed.

     “He’s probably been napping all day. Though… How are we carrying this all?” Bun shrugged at the two, before very obviously looking in Kawasaki’s direction.

     He looked back nervously before sighing. “I-I’ll help then. Gotta make sure none of you spills my delivery,” he confidently explained to them. Though as he crouched to pick up the giant sack he nearly toppled backwards forcing Bun to help.

     It looked a little ridiculous, but they’d work with what they had. She peered out of the restaurant, the streets were quiet. It was their perfect moment. “Come on, quickly!” she whispered to them as she lead them through the dark streets. 

     But it felt a bit too quiet to be safe, a lurking suspicion crawled up her back as they edged outside the village. It made her worry for Kirby, what if the boy had found him already? She picked up the pace, Kawasaki and Bun following behind the best they could.

     A pulse of relief swept through her body as they reached the clearing and she could spot the glow from inside the small cave they hid him in. It seemed the fire hadn’t gone out yet thankfully, but Bun had taught him how to keep them up but not how to start them yet. Hopefully, he’d never get that far.

     Kirby perked up as soon as they showed up by the mouth of the cave. He was surrounded by pebbles piled together and organised into weird patterns, with the little bit of dirt on the cave floor there were also a few more drawn into the floor. Kawasaki and Bun finally dropped the sack, spilling an entire banquet in front of the boy.

     He very quickly dug in, chomping on carrots like a rabbit and eating burgers with only a few bites. She was almost jealous, but there was something more important at hand. “Kirby listen to me! That person who's after you is super strong! Whatever you do, don’t fight him. Just run, alright?”

     “Mmyummy,” Kirby only mumbled in response as he crunched into an apple.

     “It’s not a ‘myummy’ situation. How can you be this relaxed?” Bun whined as Kirby remained oblivious.

     Well, at least he had food now. Perhaps now she could finally rest for a while until Sir Meta Knight arrived. “So sorry to intrude. But Kirby has a visitor!” The familiar snide voice of Dedede called out from behind her. Of course, it wasn’t going to be that easy.

     Dedede and Escargon stood together with malicious grins as they parted to reveal the delinquent. He marched forwards, frustration evident on his face. “Hey, I’m Knuckle Joe. Come out, Kirby! I’ve been lookin for you all day,” he angrily yelled at them.

     Kirby popped his head up in surprise. And Joe’s anger dissipated in confusion and shock. “Huh?... You’re not Kirby are ya?”

     “Kirby?... Oh! Yeah! Kirby! I’m Kirby!” Kirby excitedly explained to the bewildered boy. Well, this wasn’t exactly how she’d envisioned their meeting, not one bit.

     -

     This was ridiculous. He was sure that the king must be playing some sort of trick on him after all. Right? Joe rubbed his nose to compose himself. “Okay… Are you actually Kirby?”

     “Yup!” Kirby cheerfully replied, rubbing his nose as he did.

     Joe felt the blood rush out of his head for a moment, faintness overcoming him. He slapped himself in the face but it did no good. This was just, a little kid. ‘Crap! How am I supposed to hit a kid?’ he angrily thought to himself

     But the boy just smiled at him, pure and full of joy.

     “Hey! We didn’t bring you here to gawk. C’mon, don’t you have a fight to get going?” Dedede angrily commented behind him, waving his arm around like a spectator.

     “You're not feeling scared now are you?” Escargon sneered.

     Joe glared at them and the two backed down. “I-I’m just gatherin’ my thoughts. Shut it!” he snapped at them. Perhaps it was some sort of trick, he could be disguising himself as an innocent child. How disgusting. “Kirby! Face me!”

     “Why?” the boy seemed to gasp.

     But the girl nearby was having none of it “Quickly, run!” she shouted as he pounced at them. 

     The pile of food was sent tumbling away as Kirby scrambled to his feet and lept over his head. Damn this kid was fast, but he had a trick up his sleeve. Old techniques passed down through years of rigorous training. “Vulcan jab!” he yelled as each punch created a ball of energy that scattered across the ground like bombs.

     “Smash punch!” An even bigger one shot through the air, leaving a trail of dust in its wake as it blew past Kirby and shattered the cliffside before them. Damn it, he was too small a target to hit.

     They were running circles at this point, Kirby weaving in and out of his punches. If he could just get a little closer… He looked up, searching for any way to trap the boy when he spotted what looked like a boulder sitting by the edge of a cliff. The perfect target. “Smash punch!”

     The cliff crumbled and the boulder began to tumble after Kirby who cried out as it chased him. What the boy didn’t realise though was he was running right back to him as his chaser crumbled, knocking him over. Joe glared down at the pathetic sight and grabbed his arm. “One arm throw!” He tossed the boy back into the rock beneath them, creating a dent in it.

     His suspicions were correct, this kid wasn’t ordinary. But just how long would it take for him to reveal his true colours? “Overhead throw!” he hissed as he grabbed him by the shoulders and launched him into the wall behind him.

     Kirby let out a pathetic cry in pain as he slid down the shattered wall and into the rubble beneath him. It wasn’t enough. “Spin kick!” With a leap, he swept his leg creating a crescent of light that shot into the boy. Far more powerful than his punches, enough to coat the area in a thick layer of dust.

     But. It still wasn’t enough! The boy was still there, twitching in the rubble. Why won’t he fight? Was he just biding his time to strike? He couldn’t let that happen. Not again. And so he raised his fist to land the finishing blow.

     Only to be met with the harsh clang of metal.

     -

     He made it just in time. He couldn’t allow another tragedy to happen again today, not for the boy he swore to his friend would live for days no longer drenched in that monster’s cloak. Meta Knight stood before Kirby, Galaxia held out in all its glory against that exact same boy.

     “Hey! What’s the big deal, Meta Knight? We were nearly finished!” Dedede yelled in his face.

     He did not have any words for a man that continued to trap children and civilians like prisoners. Though thankfully Sword and Blade were on hand to help free the three that had gotten tangled in his schemes.

     “There was something I needed to see for myself,” he quietly explained as he took a few steps towards the boy. In his other hand, he tightly grasped Jerica’s locket as he peered into Joe’s angry eyes.

     …

     “Ah they’re really kicking our arses this time round, aren’t they?” Jerica complained as he stretched himself against the monochromatic seats of their ship. A few bandages were haphazardly wrapped around his arms and chest, something Meta Knight had done himself.

     He tried to ignore the terrible job as he continued steering. “Weren’t you the one insisting you could handle that pack of Demon Beasts yourself? Sir Arthur doesn’t take those claims lightly,” he lightly scolded the man.

     “Prickly arsehole… Welp, another one dead means we’re a bit closer to our goals eh? Phew… You thought about what you’ll do when this is all over?” Jerica leaned back in his seat.

     His lip twisted. “I… I’m not sure anymore. There’s no home for us to return to anymore. Perhaps I’ll simply wind up at one of those ship stations, seems pretty quiet there,” he murmured.

     “Bah, that’d be a waste of your talents kid. You’re young! Well… Older than me but young for your kind I guess,” Jerica rambled.

     “Sir?”

     The man sat up and took off the pendant he wore around his neck. “Y’see here, this is what I’m fighting to return to. And if you can’t think of anything more shit than working your life away at a station then I’m draggin' you home with me.”

     Inside that pendant was a picture of a baby boy with spiked blonde hair like his father and a blue onesie amongst a pile of pillows. “That’s my boy Joe. He’s a tiny bit older right now than in the picture, but you get the gist. Bugger is full of energy, and I’m sure he’d be excited to meet ya.”

     …

     Meta Knight closed his eyes, how ironic that the same child would be here today for blood. But he could not run forever, for the sake of his lost friend there was something he must do. “Joe, the Star Warrior you’ve been searching for isn’t Kirby. It’s me, Meta Knight!”

     Joe stared at him in shock. “What are you talkin’ about?”

     “The one who killed your father… It was me!”

     Rage filled Joe, and he moved in to strike. Yet Meta Knight did not flinch, keeping his eyes directly on the boy as his fist stopped between his eyes. There was a slight tremble and he pulled away, disgust in his eyes. “You better start talkin’...”

     He sheathed Galaxia and tightened his grip on Jerica’s pendant. “Your father and I were Star Warriors. We battled together for years, he was a fierce and powerful soldier who many looked up to. His bravery strengthened us all… But he was also my dear friend.” Meta Knight felt himself pause, the blurry memory of that day slowly clearing away. That tragedy.

     “One day, as we rested we were caught unaware. Many of our soldiers were slain that night. And then, they took him. His fate was sealed as one of those beasts stole him away into the night. Yet somehow he returned to us, but we were so overjoyed we failed to notice something wasn’t right. Nightmare’s corruption had set into his body…” An even further tragedy, as they would soon learn as the man’s beast-like hunger set in and soldiers were sent to the chop.

     “You liar! That’s a load of bullshit and you know it! He was too strong to be taken by something like that! He’s not a monster!” Joe screamed at him.

     He held Galaxia out to him, its golden blade once murky with the blood of past foes and friends. “By this sword, I swear it. With this blade, I killed your father- my friend. And what’s more.” He lowered his sword and extended out his other hand, the pendant dangling out for Joe. “I swear by his love.”

     The boy took the pendant, popping it open. His eyes shrunk and his hand trembled. “Until the bitter end, he never let it go. His form twisted and his mind at the brink, his love for you persisted hanging onto the last humanity he had left. The love for his son gave him strength.” He felt his heart twist with each word, ones he had contemplated for a long time.

     Joe continued to stare at the pendant in shock until he finally closed it. And then smirked. A broken and angry laugh echoed through the valley as he angrily threw it to the ground. “FUCK!” Even through that anger, the early signs of tears bleared the edges of his eyes. “He was just some idiot!” he screamed.

     That anger inside of him, he could sense something more sinister stirring within. Nightmare’s hold on his very soul. “He’d be sad to see you like this. Knowing his son would succumb to the same fate as him.”

     “What are you talkin’ about! I’m not some damn monster!”

     “Then what difference is there? Beasts living without reason only to hold onto hatred and anger. Tell me, Joe, what difference is there between the two?” He could sense the boy aching to burst at his words.

     “Knuckle Joe… What he’s saying might be true,” Fumu spoke up from behind him. There was a small quiver in her voice, but she held firm as she continued. “Look what you’ve done to Kirby! Only a demon beast would do something like that!”

     Behind them, Kirby remained in place, amongst the rubble as Bun seemed to be looking for any injuries. Even Dedede looked rather concerned now, an aching worry the boy may have suffered a concussion surfaced in his mind. But he swept that away for now, as Joe continued his outburst.

     “No! I’m not a monster!” Joe argued again.

     Meta Knight turned away from him. “You’ve been living with hatred in your heart for a long time now. A condition perfect to birth a demon beast…” A sorry sight he had witnessed many times before.

     “Look at me! How am I a monster? You have no proof!”

     “Then let Kirby prove it.”

     -

     Kirby had a headache. His whole body ached and weird red stuff started to fall down his face. Escargon had nearly screamed seeing it, which made his head hurt even more. But the man did put a bandage there that seemed to stop it. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.

     Now all he had to do was focus on Joe. Though he couldn’t really remember why, everything was sort of a blur for a while. Even the sun was beginning to rise now. Everyone else was watching them, from here he could feel Meta Knight’s eyes on him still.

     “Kirby is a natural warrior. He has the skills to defeat any demon beast, all he requires is a certain push. If you fight him, your true self will come to light,” Meta Knight announced over their battlefield.

     He watched Joe rub his nose again in annoyance. And he returned the same action. Though he wasn’t sure why he did it, it was fun to do.

     “Let’s go!” Joe yelled, catching him off guard. “Vulcan jab!” his boy was thrown around by orbs of light, making him dizzier than before. 

     It was hard to focus on him, let alone know what to do. But he knew who always had an answer. “Kirby! Grab one of those orbs! Absorb it!” he could hear Fumu shouting over to him. 

     “Smash punch!” He steadied himself, holding his hands wide open as the powerful ball of light phased through his fingertips. It was then a rush of energy rushed through his body, brushing away any dizziness or aches left. Something clicked inside of him once again and his strength returned.

     Bandages wrapped around his feet and hands, before wrapping around his chest and legs. They pulled the sleeves of his cardigan with him, sending a small chill down his now-exposed arms. He grabbed the bandages, pulling at them and ripping them away to reveal a sleeveless pink shirt tucked inside a pair of red shorts, a thin white rope also tied itself around his waist. The bandage wrapped around his head loosened and fell into his hands, turning into a red headband. With deft hands, he tied it around his head and rubbed his nose at Joe. He was finally ready.

     “So that’s your trick huh? Copycat… Vulcan jab!” Joe spat at him, sending punches his way.

     But Kirby had seen these before now. “Vulcan jab!” he repeated. Each of his punches meeting Joe’s. The balls of light collided with each other, exploding into a flurry of pinks and blues like the fireworks on New Year's Eve.

     “Smash punch!”

     “Smash punch!” Kirby repeated.

     The ground trembled slightly as they collided, exploding into a pink fire. Joe grew ever angrier, his hands twitching and his shoulders bulking.

     “Spin kick!”

     “Spin kick!”

     Like clockwork, they continued to deflect each other from afar. Ignoring the sizzle in their knuckles as they overexerted their energy until Joe crumbled with a scream. His nails had curled and grown sharp. A twisted monstrous snarl crept through his lips, teeth sharp like needles and his eyes violent and red with anger.

     Kirby hesitated, stepping back a bit as he watched the boy writhing on the floor. “Just die damn you! Die!” he screamed as he lunged at him. Kirby held up his arms in panic, protecting his face from the sharp pain that followed.

     The claws cut through his arms, leaving a trail of red liquid that dripped onto the floor below them. It really hurt. But what hurt more was seeing Joe’s face as his anger twisted into shock and despair.

     “Overhead throw!” In a last effort to perhaps calm him down, Kirby grabbed him by the shoulders as Joe had once done before. With the last of his power, he threw him into the ground behind him.

     “I… I-I’m not a demon beast… I don’t wanna be a monster…” Joe sputtered out in a cry. Kirby slumped to the floor as his ability faded away and the aches and pain quickly returned to him.

     He could hear the sound of armour closing but it was getting harder to stay awake anymore. Someone caught his back as he fell, allowing him to finally relax as he heard Meta Knight’s voice. “Joe, you’re not a monster,” he comforted the boy as they both fell unconscious.

     “Foolish boy was he not?” a voice echoed out to him as he drifted through sleep.

     He didn’t like this voice, he had tried avoiding it ever since that night he met The Knight. Somedays as he napped outside with his friends he could avoid those whispers as he thought of fields full of food.

     But now, he was trapped. “Do not blame me for his sorrows, power he wished for and power he was granted. A beast needn’t think, they merely act. To be free of thoughts and to be controlled by your own instincts, would that not be a haven to many?”

     Kirby wanted to shake his head, but he couldn’t it was too heavy. He squeezed his eyes shut, but the noise only drew closer. “A soul is a burden. Please, let me free you.”

     He didn’t want this.

     He called out for someone, into the dark depths beneath him. And his voice was heard. Though he wished they had done so more softly, he felt a strong slap across his face and his eyes shot open into a bright room.

     “Ah… S-Sorry,” Joe’s voice could be heard stammering from behind as he held his stinging cheek with a whine. “You were rollin’ around and yellin’...”

     Wait, Joe? Kirby shot up, scaring the boy beside him. He was patched up in various places, his jacket hanging at the edge of the bed next to him and his fingers looked sore and red. But besides that, he looked normal again.

     It seemed they were in some sort of medical room in the castle, one he’d been in briefly before. Usually, Waddle Dee’s would use it to take a nap in secret but today they had patients. “You better?” Kirby asked the boy.

     He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “Guess so… Ugh, everything aches. Though I guess you’ve got it worse huh?...”

     Kirby looked at him confused before looking down at his arms. They were very tightly wrapped up in bandages and stung like a bee. “Ah… Yeah, head hurts too.”

     Joe winced. “That’d be the concussion… I’m, sorry about what happened back there… Everything was a blur, I was so angry and frustrated. I went in for a punch, but then all I saw was a giant gash on your arm and that’s when I realized he was right.”

     “Joe… B-But you’re okay now? You feel sad and happy, so you’re not a monster. I’m sure your papa would be happy too!”

     He looked at Kirby in surprise, before smirking. “Guess so, he was always a bit clingy from what I remember. He’d never shut up about me in front of everyone else, even back then it was pretty embarrassing,” he laughed.

     “What now then?” Kirby asked him.

     Joe rubbed his nose. “Who knows? I’ll probably head off somewhere to train. Gotta beat you someday without Nightmare boosting me. And… Guess I gotta make my dad proud.” He smiled down at the pendant Meta Knight had shown him.

     And Kirby smiled back at him. “Yeah! Maybe we can play too!”

     “H-Huh? No way, I’m not a little kid!”

     “So no play?” Kirby frowned.

     “Ah… M-Maybe we can a little bit…” Joe mumbled.

     “Yaay!” Kirby cheered excitedly as Joe crossed his arms in a huff.

     -

     Beyond the forest range overlooking the tiny country, there stood a silent cliffside. Far beyond the reach of those who lived there, a visitor would claim it as a realm for the fallen and forgotten. Meta Knight walked through that realm, in the light of the new morning sun.

     Yet this was no sanctuary for him, for it was a graveyard, a sanctuary for the dead. There were no bodies to be buried, merely memories. Wind-battered crosses littered his feet, carved from wood that rotted and splintered in the harsh tropical weather.

     Very few graves were named, and fewer still of faces he could recall. The phantoms of his mind stalked these lands, backs forever turned to him as he reached his destination. Although he wished to be fair, this one was bigger than most others with wildflowers sprouting out from the bottom. Jerica’s grave.

     “Hello, my friend,” he greeted no one. “I finally met him today. Your son. I feared losing him as I did you, but that didn’t happen. I’m… Thankful and yet, it was my hesitance that led us here, wasn’t it? I left him all alone, cowardly isn’t it?”

     “Indeed,” a familiar twisted voice echoed from behind him.

     He turned, and the shadow of a frog sat above him only the only stone structure he had erected in the graveyard. A grave for the army as a whole, how twisted he was to sit atop those he killed.

     “Using a frog now are you? How the mighty have fallen,” Meta Knight bit at him. Even without a voice, he could feel him inside. Nightmare.

     “A simple organism that is true, but for that, it lacks any power to fight back. And so I have been watching you for some time now.”

     “Simple you say. But are people not the same too? You said so many times before.”

     Nightmare seemed to sigh at him. “As true as that may be, the soul is a fearsome barrier no matter the person. Though of course, controlling a mindless creature is less suspecting is it not?”

     Meta Knight merely glared at him, gripping Galaxia as he watched his movements. But he did not move, continuing to stare down at him from his perch and drinking in the despair of his surroundings.

     “Sentimental as always. You cannot close off your heart forever now, would that not make you those same beasts you so despise? Your words ring harsh, but your heart remains soft, quite pathetic isn’t it?”

     “Silence. You do not know me.”

     “Is that so? But what of the boy? You hate him, don’t you?” Nightmare’s voice grew dark.

     His heart stilled.

     “He took something precious away from you. But perhaps his own father wasn’t aware of how much of a fool he’d be. To die, protecting my vessel.”

     The stone was sliced in two, and his heart pounded in his chest. Was everything he knew about Kirby?...

     “You know nothing about him, do you?” Nightmare continued, sitting atop another grave. “None of you did. And so you tucked him away, with prayers and well wishes of a miracle that’d turn the tides of fate. What would they all think? To know they each died in vain of a day he’d rise, not knowing such power is meant for me and mine alone.”

     Rancid filth splashed across Galaxia’s sheen blade as he plunged it into the frog’s frail body. It wouldn't kill Nightmare of course. But it brought a reprise to the disturbed graveyard once again. His existence there was a mockery of them all.

     Exhaustion set in, as he gazed across the ruined memorial. He’d have to return another day to repair it all. “I’m sorry…” A silent apology escaped his lips as he turned away. 

     What would he do now? He couldn’t give up here, he’d fight until his last breath. But uncertainty slowly wormed its way through his heart, for how could he look at Kirby ever again?

     With a heavy heart, he left. Walking through the swaying trees as a shadow in this silent land. Today was another day, but he held hope for the boy his friend cherished would be safe for now. And so, he’d continue to fight his burdens, alone.

Chapter Text

     Yabui’s office was quite crowded today and for good reason. The waiting room was filled with adults with bumps and bruises from Knuckle Joe’s visit yesterday. They leaned on ice bags with bandages wrapped around their bumpy heads, waiting for a check-up.

     But the current check-up was taking a while, and Kirby knew why. It was hard to ignore his friends rampaging through the clinic as Yabui struggled to control them and continue his check-up at the same time. He felt a bit bad for the doctor; his friends had insisted on following him around ever since Bun told them what happened.

     And it seemed to excite them. A lot. “Vulcan jab!” Iro yelled out gleefully as she punched Hohhe in the stomach.

     “Owww! Spin kick!” Hohhe whined in pain before kicking her in the leg. She yelped and fell over a chair as Bun laughed at her. Much to their surprise, Honey quickly came out behind Hohhe and tackled him to the floor.

     Yabui’s shoulders tensed over as he bubbled in frustration. “Hey! I’ll have no roughhousing in my clinic! I already have enough injuries to deal with, I don’t need four more!” he snapped at them. 

     They all froze and stared at the doctor in surprise. His glare grew colder and soon they all slunk to the side, fidgeting in their seats as he returned to Kirby. “Now then, let’s finally begin,” the man sighed.

     Yabui peeled off the bandage that had been wrapped around his head, revealing a spot of dried blood that emerged from the back. Fumu said they’d need to wash his again soon because of it, but not until they knew it wouldn’t hurt. But his head hadn’t stopped hurting ever since he woke up earlier.

     Even the light in the clinic was making his head swim. It was a bit of a blur after he took off the bandage though, his head was moved around and inspected for a few minutes until a new bandage was wrapped around his head. In a small fridge at the corner of the clinic, he grabbed a blue bag and wrapped another bandage around to keep it at the back of his head.

     “That should help reduce the pain. I’ll prescribe you some medication to keep the pain down until it heals. But this also means no watching TV for a while, and make sure to get plenty of rest though I’m sure you’ll have no trouble with that,” Yabui remarked.

     It did make his head feel a bit better, but he was sure it’d feel even better soon. Next on the list were his arms, though the man seemed to wince as he peeled the bandages off. Kirby wasn’t sure if they looked very bad or just bad. The scratches weren’t too deep but they were wide. Though he didn’t feel like looking at them too long or risk making himself feel a bit sick again.

     “W-Well ahm… It seems whoever at the castle handled these did a fine job at disinfecting them early. Though you’ll need to have your s-shots soon…” The doctor’s voice seemed to trail off as he looked faint.

     Kirby looked over at his friends in worry as the man looked ready to topple over him. “Mr Yabui hang in there!” Honey cheered the doctor on.

     “I don’t get how a doc can be so scared of needles… Even just thinking about them seems to make him shiver…” Bun snidely commented.

     “Ahem… Perhaps another day. I’ve yet to do any blood tests on you after all. For now, keep those arms still, I’ll stitch the cuts together and apply a jelly that’ll keep the wound from getting dry. But after this, you can’t play too roughly until they heal, did all of you get that?” He glared down at his friends who pouted.

     “No playing?” Kirby frowned as the man took out a small box. He looked away from it, wincing as he felt something pinch and pull at his skin. It didn’t sound very fun, sitting around as his friends ran around and played. He couldn’t even watch TV too, which sounded very boring.

     There was another tug on his arm and he squeezed his eyes shut as he winced. “That’s right. Though I’m sure Fumu could find something for you to do.”

     “What about monsters?”

     Yabui paused. “Hmm… That does pose a problem. Well, I’m sure someone will step up to it.” He shrugged as he rubbed the cold jelly into his arms.

     “We could be your bodyguards! You got rid of that violent kid didn’t you?” Iro piped up.

     “Yeah! And Hohhe can give you a piggyback,” Bun added.

     The bigger boy frowned at them “Huh? Why me!”

     “You’re stronger. Don’t you help your papa on the farm a lot?” Honey asked him as she poked the firm muscle around his arm.

     He pouted “Well yeah of course.”

     “But so am I!” Iro butted in with jealousy; pushing herself between the two.

     “And you’re shorter!” he argued back.

     The two began to bicker much to Bun’s delight and the fright of Honey. All the while Yabui just tutted as he wrapped fresh bandages around Kirby’s arms. It felt a bit weird, but it didn’t hurt as much anymore! “Thank you,” he happily chirped as the doctor relaxed.

     “Now just keep out of any trouble. Take these once every four hours with water,” Yabui explained as he handed him a small paper bag. “If you feel any sharp pains or discomfort return to me as soon as possible. Other than that come back in a week or so.”

     “Can we go now then?” Bun asked.

     The doctor sighed. “Yes. You were free to leave before and you’re free to leave now.”

     “Yess! Let’s go!” Bun roared as he ran towards the door with their friends.

     Kirby slid off the table, following after them. “Wait! What about uppies?”

     “Ugh, fine. Climb up,” Hohhe whined as he crouched down. Kirby excitedly reached up to climb his back only to feel a spike of pain down his arms. But Bun and Iro helped push him up and Hohhe held him up from behind. 

     It was fun to be held up so high, he couldn’t wait to get taller one day. Hohhe dashed past all the adults in the waiting room, barely giving him any time to wave at them as they went by. “So! What are we thinking?” Bun loudly asked.

     “Let’s go to the square! I’m sure we can find something fun to do there,” Iro suggested as she pulled Honey alongside her.

     The square was as busy as ever. Though a lot more people greeted him than usual. It felt nice, especially seeing everyone was doing well after yesterday. Kawasaki looked rather tired, but he sat beside Curio talking about some sort of old recipe the man found.

     “Gah, look who it is,” Bun grumbled as Kirby looked ahead. The Mayor’s grandkids, triplets he hadn’t spoken to much before and for good reason. According to Iro and Bun, underneath their fluffy happy exteriors was a group of brats. He found their words funny though, as Dedede always called them that too.

     Though he didn’t really understand what any of them said most of the time at that…

     The three of them were identical. The same light blonde combed-back hair and white skin with peachy rounded cheeks. All of them were stout with matching white shirts and clean blue suspenders. Freddie wore a red bow tie and usually had a stray strand of hair over his forehead. Eddie wore a blue bow tie and usually had two combed strands over his forehead, like a moustache. And Teddie wore a green bow tie and usually had a few messy spikes of hair on his forehead.

     If they all switched bow ties and changed hair styles, Kirby would be none the wiser.

     The triplets eyed the group, sneering at them as Freddie laughed. “It’s the babysitters!” he snidely commented.

     “Coming from the guy who wet himself yesterday? Kirby handled that punk on his own. What were you three doing?” Bun smirked as he taunted them. 

     “And what about you? I bet you were hiding too!” Eddie argued back at him.

     They all went back and forth for a bit. Hurling insults at each other from a distance. It was very boring really, Kirby was nearly ready to fall asleep on Hohhe’s back before he heard Freddie yelp. Bun had stormed over to him, pushing the boy to the floor.

     “Ah! No fighting,” Kirby tried to scold them. But Iro was already running over to join in the fun as Honey tried to follow after her. 

     “Haha! I’ve been waiting for this!” Hohhe excitedly yelled as he rushed with them. Forgetting about his little passenger.

     Thankfully it seemed some of the adults had taken notice of the scuffle. Instead of falling back onto the floor as Hohhe ran off, Kawasaki caught him before the tips of his wings could even touch it. The chef carried him with his arm as the other kids erupted into chaos.

     “H-Hey now, all of you cut it out!” Kawasaki stuttered as he tried to reach a hand out to stop them. But he quickly pulled back as Teddie punched Hohhe in the face. The chef winced, Kirby mimicked his expression.

     Curio quickly joined him, arms flailing as he panicked. “No fighting in the plaza! Break it up!” But as he tried to pull two of them apart he was knocked over by their flailing. The man hissed as he landed on his back, Kawasaki kneeling down to try and help him up.

     The sound of Borum’s whistle went off shortly afterwards as Kirby watched the group tumble to the ground in shock. He frowned, they were in big trouble now. It was worrying to watch others try and help Curio up as Borum dragged the others back to his station. He quietly hung onto Kawasaki’s apron as the plaza returned to peace.

-

     Dedede let out a heavy yawn as the nighttime wind battered his cheeks. “Escargon…” he whined. “What’s the big deal?” he asked the thin man who kept his eyes on the road.

     “The villagers were kicking up a fuss today about a fight in the plaza. Seems the children are taking after that brat,” he sighed in annoyance. Dedede joined him in that sigh as they shot down the hill towards the village.

     They were all gathered up in the police station like little sheep; bickering amongst themselves without end. As soon as they noticed him though they all went silent, watching him enter the station with Escargon trailing behind.

     “So uh. What’s all this about?” Dedede asked as the room erupted into a cacophony of complaints. “Shut up! One at a time!” he boomed. Really he could be doing something more worthy of his time right now, like sleeping. But Escargon insisted that they could be on the verge of a revolution if he didn’t listen to them.

     Chief Borum stepped up first, scratching his beard as he cleared his throat. “Your Majesty we’re in a time of crisis right now! Ever since that punk showed up yesterday all the children have taken after him!”

     “That’s right! They were even fighting in the plaza today too. It’s a bit scary actually…” Kawasaki warbled.

     “I can’t believe my girl would join in too…” Honey’s mother sobbed. With how petrified the girl could normally be that itself surprised Dedede the most.

     “Kidstryintoplaywiththeoventoo…” Tin mumbled. Somehow Dedede managed to pick up part of what he said. A part at least, something about ovens and kids. A horrible combination.

     Mayor Len looked concerned as well, anxiously pulling at his moustache as he waited for a chance to speak. “I can’t believe my angelic grandkids would get into a fight either! Your Majesty! For the sake of future generations, something must be done about this!”

     “And what do you want me to do? Fight ‘em?” Dedede asked confused.

     “Goodness no!” Len gasped.

     “Then what else?”

     The villagers chattered amongst themselves for a bit as he tapped his foot in annoyance. “W-Well Your Majesty… We were wondering perhaps if you could build something like a school?” Len finally suggested.

     “A school? Those are pretty expensive though,” Dedede huffed.

     “Please consider it! For the sake of the children at least!” Hana cried out to him.

     He wasn’t sure where she got the idea he cared about those kids. But all those eyes were staring into him now with expectation. Escargon pulled at his coat, dragging him over for his attention.

     “Your Majesty this could be a golden opportunity,” Escargon whispered.

     “How? Sounds like a big ol’ money sink.”

     “Well, think of it like this. Children are impressionable, we can control them and teach them to adore you. And of course, you’ll have free time from those brats.”

     Now that caught his attention. “Really? Ahem! You poor commoners I’ve heard your pleas. By tomorrow morning I’ll build you a school!” he announced to their excitement. He could feel his approval ratings increase by the second.

     “That fast? But who will teach?” Gango asked him.

     “We’ll figure that out once it’s done. If any of you have free time maybe you could all teach, hm? Wouldn’t the older generation adore to teach the youth?” It was difficult not to hold back a mocking tone in his voice as he spoke. Suckers, the lot of them.

     And he knew just the people he could ask to get it built. 

-

     “Lookie!” Kirby called over to The Knight who seemed to be busy looking around at the village inside his dreams. They turned to face him as he pulled up his bandaged arms. They didn’t hurt in his dreams so he could wave them around as much as he wanted.

     The Knight looked concerned though. “What happened?” They asked as they kneeled down to hold his arm.

     “Friend nearly turned into monster… Scratched me but he got better!”

     They had a strange nearly unreadable expression as he spoke, eyes lost in thought as if they were trying to remember something only for it to slip away. “May I see it?” they asked.

     Kirby peeled off the bandages on one of his arms, finally getting a glimpse of what Yabui did to them. It reminded him of how the old ladies in the village would sew clothes back together, though this one looked a bit sore.

     “They did a good job stitching your wound back together again. Do you know why they do it like this? If it’s too deep or too wide it’ll be harder for it to heal, so they need to pull it back together and give it time,” they explained.

     “Does it stay like that forever?”

     “No, once it’s healed deep enough they can be removed… Though you’ll have scars left behind.”

     Kirby tilted his head, “What’s that?”

     “Well… When something is hurt, it’ll try to heal itself. But it’ll never be the same again, in the case of your skin there will be a mark left behind. I once had a way of soothing and healing wounds faster than a traditional method, but no matter what a scar would always remain.” They ran a thumb down his arm, a trail of water following behind.

     “Is that bad?”

     “I-I’m not sure…”

     “No, the water.”

     They jumped. “Oh. No that’s fine, it’s what I used to use. Though it won’t really do anything here I suppose.” They sounded oddly disappointed by that.

     “Water… Like my wind?” Kirby wasn’t very sure if Meta Knight had ever told him why it happened. He just kind of, did it. If he told him before though he probably wasn’t paying attention.

     “Wind… Yes, should be. Think of it as a reflection of your soul. Some people have the power to materialise it and control it. I’m sure there was more to it, but it’s not returning to me right now,” they quietly explained.

     Kirby hummed. “Oh, okay!”

     He wasn’t sure what a soul was, but it sounded pretty strong. Maybe with enough practice, he could make a tornado without his ability. Though people would probably get mad at him if he made a mess. A little tornado then. 

     “Have you been caring for your wings?” They asked him as they moved from his arms to his fluffed-up wings.

     Tokkori had helped him a lot with them, especially when they got wet and heavy. He wasn’t the best at flying like he was, apparently, his feathers were still fluffy like a baby's. 

     “Lil. Tokko helps!”

     “That’s good. But there’s something else you can do to help them, and I think you’d enjoy it. Hmm, there’s a spot over there that should do well.” They pointed over to a patch of ground by one of the houses filled with loose dirt.

     Kirby approached it confused. “How?”

     “Every once in a while a bit of dust can help clean them as strange as it sounds. If your wings get too oily they could become matted. So getting rid of the excess every once in a while will keep them healthy,” they explained as they gathered some dust into their hands.

     Tokkori had done it a few times before, but he always thought he was just playing around. Usually, the adults would scold him if he got too dirty. “What about being dirty? Won’t I get in trouble?”

     “You’ll be fine. It’s not hard to clean out though it can take a while with white wings.” That sounded like a hidden complaint. “But you can rub it into your feathers by hand. Or the more enjoyable option for you, roll around in it. Better to enjoy it now before you get older,” they sighed.

     “Do adults not do it?” That made him wonder if Meta Knight also had wings too. Did that mean he also rolled around in dust?

     It was very funny to imagine.

     “Well we could but… It’s a bit embarrassing. As you get older though you’ll begin to lose the fluff in your wings, but they’ll become easier to care for. And they can make for a comfortable blanket if you’re desperate.

     Tokkori did look comfortable when his feathers were fluffed up in his sleep. Having a comfy blanket wherever he went sounded amazing, hopefully, he’d grow up fast. “Oh! And flying will be easier too?” He asked them excitedly.

     “... Yes I suppose so.” They seemed to almost hesitate as they spoke. “I’m sure your friend Tokko can help too. Though speaking of your friend, I think he’s trying to wake you up.”

     Oh. That would explain the dull pain he was beginning to feel in his back as Tokkori pecked him. He liked to do that a lot. Tokkori liked it, but Kirby didn’t. “Hey, Kirby get up! We got somethin’ weird today!” he squawked.

     “Again?” Kirby yawned.

     “Yes again. Can’t you hear that loud bell? Dedede’s up to somethin’ and I’m not gonna sit around,” Tokkori blathered on as he frantically flapped around the room. It was hard to watch him fly around as he got dressed. It was a bit difficult to get his top on with his arms, especially when he had to pull his wings through them. He pouted as his feathers came out messy but decided to leave them.

     The two of them ran together towards the noise. It was somewhere near the village a little way away from most of the houses there but only a few minutes away. Along the way, they encountered many others investigating the strange bell from adults to children.

     And what they found was a big surprise. There was a building with light green walls and an orange-red tiled roof. On the top of that roof was also a large bell with its own little roof to go with it. To the side was a strange tall watchtower and to the front of them were Escargon and Dedede with grins that reached their ears.

     “Commoners! The great king heard your pleas! Behold the Dedede Elementary School! High School on off days…” the man mumbled at the end.

     “A school? Why do we need that?” Bun spoke aloud.

     “Oh? Does the homeschooled kid think he’s too good for it?” Dedede taunted him, turning Bun pale with embarrassment.

     The adults approached the king in awe. The Mayor especially nearly tripped over himself to get a glimpse of the school. “Just amazing Your Majesty! May we have a look inside?” 

     “Of course! Explore to your heart's content, try not to touch anything though…” Dedede replied as waves of people crowded into the school.

     It was hard to walk alongside them, he was so small they barely noticed him. A familiar hand managed to catch his shoulder though, keeping him steady. “What is he up to?...” Fumu murmured as she held his shoulder.

     “What’s School?” Kirby asked her.

     “It’s a building people go to learn. But we’ve never really had one here. Sometimes the adults will do a small class with us, but most of the time it’s really up to us,” she explained.

     “Yeah… And our parents insist on teaching us at home too,” Bun grumbled.

     She scowled at him. “You complain like you actually ever do any work. But I don’t trust this place… Something’s gotta be up!”

     “Yeah, there’s gotta be some demon beast teacher in that school,” Bun agreed with her as they followed behind the others.

     The school seemed to be split into four large rooms with a hallway running through the middle and the sides. Inside the first room was a classroom, it was very wide and green like the outside and filled with desks and chairs. A few people were already exploring the room, sitting on the chairs and playing with a blackboard at the front.

     “No sign of demon beasts yet… Let’s check another one!” Fumu pulled them away before giving them a chance to explore. 

     The room opposite it had grey walls instead with white plastic benches filling the room instead. At one end was a small kitchen where Kawasaki was excitedly exploring. “Pretty nifty place here! I could serve so many customers at once,” he gleefully spoke to himself.

     Fumu dragged him away before he could even try and get a snack from Kawasaki. He pouted as they now walked down the other hallway into another identical classroom on the other side. This one had light blue walls though and a plush floor. Sato spotted them with a content smile. “Oh look at this! There’s even a classroom for younger children like Kirby. Isn’t it sweet?” she cooed as she looked around.

     “I guess… Something still feels off, we’ve got one more room to go let’s go.” Fumu was looking worried as they stood before the last door. If there was a monster already wouldn’t it attack them now? But maybe it was all strapped up in secret like in a strange movie he saw late at night once. He had to hide in his bed after seeing it.

     Fumu opened the door to find another hallway strangely enough with three doors. Inside the closest one just seemed to be a cleaning closet which was a bit boring. The furthest to the right though had some beige walls and a few desks and plush chairs. Dedede and Escargon were in here with the Mayor talking about something with a few other adults looking around too.

     On one of the desks, there was a strange tall hat with a green spiked bottom. Kirby reached out to touch it only to be tutted by Escargon. “Remember! Don’t touch! This is the staff room, no children are allowed.”

     “The school isn’t even open yet though,” Bun argued with him.

     “Well, the adults are talking! Go bother Doctor Yabui in the other room or something,” Escargon grumbled as he pushed them out of the door before slamming it in their faces.

     Mr Yabui was here? Kirby opened the next door now instead into a small medical office where the man was looking around. “Oh, hello you three. I’m just inspecting the medical equipment here. I must say he’s done a fine job preparing it, there’s even a bed,” he commented as he combed his moustache.

     “I don’t care how good it is. There’s something fishy about this place,” Fumu persisted with a scowl.

     “Well, we should give him a chance at least. We asked him for the school in the end.”

     Bun gasped. “Wait! You all asked for this? Why?”

     “Well, it’ll keep the children in line of course. You all cause quite a headache,” he very bluntly replied. Bun seemed to stiffen up at that comment though Fumu remained unaffected as her scowl grew deeper.

     “Everyone goes to learn?” Kirby asked him.

     “That’s right.”

     His eyes sparkled in excitement. “Oh! I wanna go!”

     “Hmm, not right now you aren’t. You still need rest, doctor's orders.”

     Kirby frowned. “But…”

     “In fact, you should be in bed right now still,” Yabui scolded him. Kirby shuffled behind Fumu and Bun. He was so distracted this morning he nearly forgot about his concussion.

     “Well. It doesn’t matter what anyone tries to tell me I don’t trust this place,” Fumu continued. “I won’t attend, I’m fine on my own.”

-

     Fumu couldn’t hide the frown on her lips as she sat through the dragged-out introduction ceremony. Of course, as soon as her parents caught wind of Dedede’s little plan they agreed to send them all to school too. ‘It’s democratic.’ Her mother said. ‘All the teachers will be from the village.’ She said, but Fumu didn’t believe a single bit of it.

     And then her father went on to say it wouldn’t look good if they didn’t go to school. So now she was here with her brother and the twins, stuck listening to Dedede and Escargon ramble on for the last half hour.

     She nearly fell asleep on her feet before Escargon pipped up again. “Now, let’s all sing the school anthem. Check your pamphlets or follow along with us.”

     A bored-looking Waddle Dee started to play a tune on some sort of small organ as she braced her ears.

"Let’s sing a cheer for Dedede

Whose reign will never end

Mighty, proud and beautiful

Study well and serve him too

At Dedede Dedede Dedede Elementary School!"

     That was horribly out of tune. Not to mention the entire song only sang praises to Dedede? She was thankful they didn’t have a national anthem of sorts, though she wasn’t sure if they had one at all. Even all the students, parents and teachers stared at the two in shock at whatever noise they just made.

     Escargon looked around at the crowd awkwardly before clearing his throat. “Ahem… Now let’s plant a ceremonial tree to commemorate this opening!” Alongside the mayor, the two of them buried a sapling by the edge of the school grounds, circled by bricks. 

     A similar tree was planted years ago in the village square when the village was created. Back then Dedede also planted it with the first mayor before Len. Though they didn’t have cameras then, now the three of them were quite happy to spend a few hours taking as many photos as they wanted by the sapling.

     She could feel Bun fidgeting beside her as they all waited in awkward silence. Once Escargon got one glance at the clock though he suddenly yelped and waved for attention. “Ah! Classes shall now begin shortly! All students and teachers enter the building,” he barked.

     They all quietly shuffled along towards the large double doors, Bun grasping her hand as they went. Neither of them wanted to go, yet everyone else looked so oddly excited. She looked behind her one last time before the doors would surely be locked. Between the crowds of parents waving them off, she was sure Kirby was watching them with Tokkori. At least the two had each other for now while they were all herded inside like sheep.

     She twiddled her thumbs as they all sat at their desks. Her eyes darted around the room for any strange creatures or objects. But all that entered was Dedede and Escargon, though the two of them would always be worrying enough in any situation.

     Both of them stood in front of the blackboard as the class went quiet. “Now, Mr Escargon,” Dedede began with a sickly sweet voice. Who's the most important person in Pupupu Land?”

     “Well! That’d be His Majesty of course!”

     “That’s correct! Remember kids, if you’re good like Escargon you’ll go places,” Dedede cackled.

     “If you don’t I’ll punish you,” Escargon gleefully added.

     All the students murmured to each other in worry. Bun looked over at her with his teeth clenched. “Sis this place is crazy…” he whispered over to her.

     “No chatting! Ahem… Now, let’s begin our first class, mathematics. Now, Mrs Sato will be our teacher for this class,” Escargon explained as the elderly woman walked to the front of the class.

     She cheerfully laughed. “Oh, I hope I do well. I didn’t think I was that good at maths.”

     “Oh!” Escargon took out the hat she saw in the faculty office yesterday. “Whoever is teaching needs to wear this hat,” he explained.

     Well, at least Dedede wouldn’t be a teacher. Fumu allowed herself to relax a bit as Sato put on the hat. That’s when something strange happened. Her eyes flickered green as she scowled. “Let us begin!” she roared, scaring the class awake.

     “M-Mrs Sato are you feeling alright? You sound really angry,” Honey squeaked from her seat. 

     “No chattering!” she scolded her. Sato turned to the board, scribbling down a basic problem that was one plus one. With something so simple how would they learn anything?

     The woman scanned the room for a victim before noticing Hohhe looking away from the board. “Hohhe!”

     He stammered and fidgeted in his seat as he thought of an answer. Fumu watched on in concern as Sato marched over to the boy and slammed her fists on the table. “Answer it!”

     “A-Ah… One and one? E-Eleven?”

     “You idiot!” she yelled at him. He was grabbed by the collar and thrown across the room, crashing into Dedede and Escargon with a cry.

     Fumu stood up. “That’s going too far! He was struggling why didn’t you help him?”

     “Think of it as an extra lesson in judo!” she snapped at Fumu.

     “Math judo? Wait will we all get beaten up if we get something wrong?” Bun yelped.

     That gave Fumu a devilish idea. “Well then, can Principle Dedede solve it on his own?”

     Dedede flinched as Sato turned to face him. Even he was scared of her now. “A-Ah well uhm…” the man stuttered before Escargon whispered something to him. “Oh! Of course, it’s two. Such an easy problem to solve,” he tutted at Hohhe who was rubbing a bump on his head. 

     The next question was six-hundred and seventy-eight times a hundred. Also quite simple, well for her at least. “Now, who can answer this one?” Sato called out.

     Fumu raised her hand. “I can-”

     “I know the answer!” Dedede interrupted her as he not so subtly hid a calculator behind his back. “Sixty-seven hundred and uhh, eight hundred!” He tried to steal another glance at it near the end but Sato seemed pleased enough with his answer.

     Fumu huffed as she crossed her arms on the desk. It was so obvious they were cheating, not to mention he rudely interrupted her. She turned to look away through the window as Sato continued to yell about multiplications and divisions. This was really a massive waste of time.

     She counted around six birds, two different breeds at that by the time she decided to finally look back at the class again. Only to be met with a monster on the blackboard. Even the chalk in her hands seemed to have turned to dust with the lengthy algebra she had written on the board.

     “Bun! Answer this!” she demanded. It was impossible, no human could figure that all out in a matter of seconds!

     “Wait! This is impossible to solve in seconds!” she argued with Sato.

     “Is your name Bun? Stay quiet,” Sato snarled at her as she sunk back in her seat. This wasn’t like her at all, not one bit.

     Bun was sweating bullets at this point as his fingers trembled over his book. “U-Uh… Eighty-six?” he guessed.

     Silence followed his answer as he slowly sunk into his seat to try and escape his fate. Dedede and Escargon had learned to dodge this time, so at least someone was learning something.

     A bell signalled the end of class as Escargon quickly snatched the hat off Sato. Her face softened once again as she looked around confused. “Oh? So fast? Pardon me then, I’ll be off,” she laughed to herself as she left the classroom.

     Suspicious.

     “Next up is Mayor Len. He will be teaching you science,” Escargon announced as the Mayor approached the front.

     Bun and Hohhe groaned as they climbed up. “Wait, can't we get a short break?” Bun begged Escargon.

     “Hmph! Of course not! But, there will be one after science,” he explained.

     Len took his own top hat off and left it in Escargon’s care. “Oh, this will be exciting. I was always a bit of a whizz at science,” Len chuckled to himself as he put on the cap.

     And then it happened again. “Cowards leave at your own risk! Today we’ll be doing chemistry!” he roared. “Now, bring out the equipment!”

     At his command a group of Waddle Dee’s came through the door with trays of ingredients Fumu recognised. Each one was laid in front of a desk as well as the lectern Len stood behind.

     “This is sulfur, nitric acid and charcoal! Now mix them together into this glass! Don’t worry about measurements!” His hands scrambled as he threw it together and Fumu paled.

     If memory served her correctly. “Stop! That’s how you make gunpowder!” she shouted, pleading to the rest of the class. 

     “Ignite the powder with a match!” Len demanded as Fumu screamed. Beakers exploded around her filling the classroom with smoke. All the while he chuckled at their surprise. “Explosive isn’t it? Now for an even better display, we’ll be experimenting with plutonium!” he announced.

     “You’re insane!” she yelled as she snapped up from her chair.

     Escargon rolled in some sort of nuclear machine with a grin on his lips. Was this all some sort of twisted joke? She had to do something, or else let them and everyone else in this forsaken country get turned into atoms.

     There was some sort of hammer in the mix with their equipment. Without a second thought, she leapt out of her seat and slammed it into the machine. “Agh! What are you doing? This is defiance! Punish her immediately!” Escargon screeched.

     “Fumu! Stand out in the hallway, you’ll hold buckets of water until the class finishes!” Len snapped at her. 

     She kept her pride to her chest, even as she stood outside that classroom with buckets of water for an hour. That bell was euphoric to hear as she finally dropped the buckets.

     The other students began to pour out of the classroom, Bun and the twins quickly coming to her side. “That class was crazy sis, we made even more explosives while you were out here,” Bun explained to her as they walked into the cafeteria.

     “Yeah! Lololo nearly got his face blown off!” Lalala added.

     “I did not! You got soot in your hair!” he argued back.

     As they entered there was a set of trays to the side for them to pick up and take to Kawasaki who was proudly standing in the kitchen he had been eying up. “I’m sure you’re all starving after that learning! “ He cheerfully ignored the annoyed groans of all the students at the sight of him cooking.

     It was a simple meal at least. Some salad with small tomatoes that wouldn’t be dangerous in Kawasaki’s hands. The soup had chicken in it so she passed, but she took two bread rolls and a cup of milk on her tray before sitting on a bench alongside her friends and family.

     “Don’t you think it’s kinda weird? The teachers have gotten really crazy about their jobs,” Iro commented as she pushed around a tomato.

     “It’s scary. I thought Memu could be angry when there was a mess but this is even angrier,” Lalala added as she eyed the viscous soup.

     “There’s something up here… They’re not acting normal,” Fumu sighed into her bread.

     They all sat together in anxious silence as if waiting for someone to snap again like the teachers before them. It felt awful, she didn’t want to spend every day of the foreseeable future in dread. As she sat there in contemplation though, something soft hit her on the back of the head.

     “Oops, missed the Bun with my bun,” Freddie tutted as a piece of bread fell down Fumu’s back.

     “Ah! What was that for?” she scolded the boy.

     “Hey, I just missed my shot. Not my fault your head is that big-” His words were cut off by a tomato thrown directly into his mouth.

     Bun stood on the bench, tomatoes weaponised between his fingers. “Yeah? And you’d better leave my sis alone!” he snarled at the triplets.

     She could sense what was going to happen in her gut. “Bun you don’t have to-”

     A pot of milk was chucked onto Teddie's head by Iro before she could finish. Breaking the dam as the entire cafeteria erupted into a food fight. She ducked under the bench with Honey before a bowl of soup nearly splashed them.

     It was less of a food fight and more of a fist fight though for Bun and Freddie as Kawasaki was forced to watch the chaos. Their voices were drowned out by the shouting and crashing of various cutlery.

     All but one voice. “Hey!” Dedede’s voice echoed through the room, and perhaps the entire country. “The hell are you all doin? Clean this all up right now!” The students scrambled as an exasperated Escargon walked in with a few cleaning supplies.

     “And on your first day at that. Whatever will your parents think,” he sighed at them all. “As punishment. Once you’re all done cleaning we’re going straight back to class, no more breaks!”

     A wave of whines erupted from the room that was quickly silenced by an angry scowl from the king. It was humiliating, sweeping up bits of bread and broken bowls with a broom with her already tired arms.

     Bun had remained quiet after the fight, sitting close to her as he scrubbed soup off the floor. She worried for him. He was her little brother, so, of course, she’d care for him no matter how annoying he’d sometimes get. But, recently he felt like a different person some days.

     Perhaps she was just overthinking it, their mother would constantly remind them how much they were growing up now. Maybe he really was just growing up, but starting fights with other children?...

     She kept to herself as they finished cleaning. Next was gym class which seemed to excite everyone else except for her. Her arms still ached, so running around and doing sports didn’t sound too appealing. But the others were probably aching to do something after that food fight.

     They all ran out in excitement the moment the doors were opened. Only to be met with mile-high spiked electrical fences surrounding the school. “What is this… It’s like a prison!” Fumu gasped.

     “Hmm? You’re overreacting, this fence is here to protect you all from dangerous people,” he explained with a smirk as if he wasn’t one of the most dangerous men here.

     “Isn’t it the duty of adults to protect children?” Dedede added. The man who endangered them the most. 

     She huffed at the hypocrisy as they waited for the reveal of their next teacher. It was Moso. She braced herself for any changes in the usually content old man which came as fast as the whip he cracked. “Quiet all of you! Pesky little brats think you’re funny huh? Hundred laps around the yard! No squealin’!”

     The sun glared down at them all as they dragged themselves across the thirtieth lap, or was it fifty-four? She’d lost count at this point, and her legs had lost all feeling too. 

     How did the Waddle Dee’s even do this? She had watched them all train before as they all ran laps around the castle and somehow continue their duties immediately after. Waddle Doo took no prisoners when it came to training his troops, but if word was to be believed supposedly Meta Knight was even more punishing. With that little rumour, she had avoided any possible training he might have offered her outside of training of the mind or mechanics.

     But maybe if she had agreed this would be less gruelling…

     Next, they were all forced to climb up the watch tower where Moso eyed them like hawks. “This is a bungee jump! You! Iro, come over here.”

     The girl dragged her feet over to the elderly man, shaking with anxiety as he took picked up a large rope that was attached to the edge of the tower. It was tied around her waist before he began making her walk down its plank.

     “W-What do I do?” she asked him with a quiver in her voice.

     “Are you stupid? Jump of course!” He pushed her off the edge without a moment of hesitation. Sending the girl down with a scream as the rope flung her up and down in the air.

     This was horrible. It was completely inhuman to push children like this, teaching a lesson be damned. “I can’t take any more of this! Let’s all leave, they can’t just do this to us!” she pleaded with the class. Only to be met with fearful eyes.

     Moso pointed his whip at her. “Demerit!”

     She stood her ground. “This is training for war!”

     “It’s survival training, would you dare argue none of your fellow classmates should learn how to survive in the wilderness? Do you want them to die?” he angrily rambled.

     “That’s stupid… Everyone? Don’t you think this is horrible? Are any of you actually having any fun here?” she pleaded again.

     Moso twisted his whip. “Is that true?” his voice dripped with an angry venom as he scanned them with his murderous eyes.

     “T-That’s not true, haha! W-We’re havin’ tons of fun!” Hohhe stuttered. “R-Right?” he looked at the other students around them. They all nodded in agreement as they shivered in fear.

     “But!-”

     “Fumu, Fumu, Fumu,” Moso tutted. “Don’t you hear your classmates? As punishment, you’ll all get extra homework tonight!” He cracked his whip again for emphasis.

     “What! If you’re going to punish someone it should be me alone! Throw me off the bungee, or make me do everyone’s homework!” she argued with him.

     “Let it be a lesson! If someone misbehaves, everyone is punished. You wouldn’t want your classmates to hate you now, would you?”

     So that was their goal. She squeezed her fists in anger as the school bell loudly rang out beside them. Their aim was to break them all, no matter what. But she wasn’t going to sit around and let that happen. She needed a plan.

-

     Everyone must be having a good time at school… It was hard for Kirby to not feel a tad lonely right now, wandering and waiting for them to finish and play. Tokkori wanted to watch TV, but Yabui said it’d be bad for him right now.

     So he decided he’d go on a small walk. The sun gave him a bit of a headache though, quickly tiring him. He decided to take a quick rest on one of the village benches which allowed him to watch people come and go.

     It was strangely quiet for such a sunny day. Usually, everyone would be out in the square chatting or playing but today there were only a few adults that seemed to be out today. But he knew why, he saw a lot of them offered to be teachers at the school today, so they’d be in and out of the school on most days.

     He wasn’t sure how long it had been since it started, he sat at the edge of his seat just waiting to hear his friends run back into the village. But every time that bell rang, no one showed up.

     Another bell and his legs began to swing on the bench.

     Another bell and he nearly had fallen asleep then.

     He rubbed his bleary eyes with a small yawn only to see the village had barely changed. His cheeks puffed up in annoyance as the adults laughed and chatted with no sign of his friends anytime soon.

     “Why are you out and about like this? You should be in bed still,” Yabui scolded him out of sight. The doctor sat on the bench next to him with a small paper fan in hand to cool himself off from the sun's rays.

     “Tokkori wanted TV. So I went to wait for my friends,” he cheerfully explained.

     Yabui raised his brow. “And do you know how long you’ll be waiting for?”

     “Nope!”

     “Give it a few more hours then, at least until dinner. Those school hours are long, not to mention quite painful. I’ve already been called about for a few bumps and bruises,” the doctor huffed as he continued to fan himself.

     They were getting hurt? “Is there a monster?” Kirby gasped as he quickly stood up, wincing as his head throbbed in pain.

     “Nope. Unless you consider teachers to be a kind of monster, why I’ve never seen them get so invested in something like that. Perhaps you should consider yourself lucky to be unable to attend.”

     “I’ll fight the teachers! They kidnapped my friends!” Kirby announced, mostly to himself.

     “And your friends are hurting other people,” Yabui calmly told him.

     Kirby looked at him in shock. But then he remembered what happened yesterday. He didn’t like it but the man was right, they were even fighting each other too.

     Yabui continued. “Dedede is certainly being strict on them, but I’m sure they’ll learn a lesson soon enough. If they think that’s hard, they’ve not seen how strict my professors could be.” He almost seemed to laugh about that.

     But Kirby remained unconvinced. “What if they keep getting hurt? I don’t want them to get hurt…”

     “I’ll be of their own fault. However, I will have to agree with you as well. A lesson is only good if someone can learn from it, but learning fear won’t do them any well. As much as I want a well-behaved generation, it would not bode well with me to see their dreams crushed so early,” the man sighed as his fan slowed down.

     They remained quiet for a while, Kirby wasn’t sure what to say. Maybe things would get better at the school? How would he know? He wasn’t even there. All this thinking made his head hurt more though and he looked to Yabui for any answer on what to do.

     “Do you still want to go to school?”

     “Yeah…”

     “Well then, why don’t you study on your own for a bit? Fumu taught you how to read didn’t she?” Yabui relaxed in his seat as he let himself sunbathe for a bit.

     Kirby nodded. “A bit. But study books are hard.

     “There are books for all ages, I wouldn’t know much about them of course. But there are plenty of colourful children's books about erm… Dogs and cats and the like.” He shrugged. “You’ll catch up with your friends eventually. I’m sure if any trouble arises they’ll call for you. As much as some hate to admit you’re our best defence and draw for those demon beasts.”

     Kirby awkwardly laughed. A lot of adults said that to him, though less that he was good at protecting them and more that he caused trouble. But recently with Joe, it seemed a lot more of them were praising him! And if a monster did attack the school… “Yeah! I defence!” he excitedly agreed with him. He didn’t really know what defence meant but it sounded good.

     “Just try not to cause any damage,” Yabui sighed as Kirby drifted off into his imagination. If he studied, he could get stronger. And that meant he could beat more demon beasts. Fumu sometimes read him books in the castle library, so maybe he could sneak in there himself.

-

     Fumu was sure she was going sir-crazy. Every day was the same. Wake up, go to school, get shouted at, go home do homework. They barely had time for breakfast in the morning, let alone time to play in the evening.

     Stacks of homework were piled on her desk, it was an impossible amount to do every day. And if anyone couldn’t finish it on time there would be hell to pay. She groaned and smacked her head into the desk. It’d been so long since she read a book that didn’t ramble on about Dedede, she didn’t have the time to squeeze in some nighttime reading.

     “Bah… We’ll just get more either way,” she mumbled to herself as she pushed the stacks of paper away. It’d been a while since she visited the castle library, and that’d surely bring back her spirits. Everyone but her parents were in their rooms doing homework, the two of them were sitting on the balcony together enjoying a peaceful glass of wine as the TV droned away in the back.

     She snuck behind them using the noise of the TV to hide her footsteps. All the adults had been gleeful now, with extra time to spend to themselves it was probably easy for them to ignore what was going on at the school. Ignorance was bliss once again.

     With a yawn, she dragged her feet through the castle hallways towards the library where she found an unusual guest. “Kirby?” The boy was laying on his stomach in the center of the library with a colourful book in front of him.

     “Oh! Hi!” Kirby excitedly perked up as he saw her. It’d been a few days since she last saw him, they were living and breathing in that school.

     “I’m sorry we haven’t had time to chat. School’s been busy and we’re all tired…” she sighed to him. It looked like he was reading a picture book with very few words. It was probably one she or Bun had when they were younger though she didn’t recognise it much.

     She sat beside him as he continued reading. “You’re doing so well now. Do you think you can read menu’s now too?”

     “Mhm! I know all the words. Curry, ramen, rice-”

     “You don’t need to list them all right now. Ah, what are you reading about then?

     He flicked a page. Ah, of course. “Food book!” he excitedly explained as it showed illustrations of a man making soup and a list of all the ingredients he used.

     “I see… Maybe you can try and cook sometime!” She wouldn’t be surprised if she found him reading a cookbook for fun eventually. As much as the man was kind, she didn’t trust Kawasaki to teach him how to cook. Perhaps one of the older ladies in the village would enjoy teaching him though.

     He flicked through a few more pages as she looked around for any new spines on the shelf. A few were misplaced, likely by Kirby’s hand. But one caught her eye. It was large with a ringed spine.

     “What’s this?” she murmured to herself as she pulled it off the shelf. It was heavy in her hands. The cover was purple with the outline of what looked like a school and the word ‘Manuel’ scrawled across it. This looked interesting.

     She plopped it beside Kirby and cracked it open, words crowded the pages and she felt her eyes blur for a moment. “This is wordy… Wonder what it is,” she hummed to herself as Kirby took an interest too, snuggling next to her and peering his head over her shoulder.

‘Welcome, and thank you for purchasing our Holy Nightmare Academy Kit. Be it children, teenagers or adults, anyone who attends will be wrapped right around your finger. This manual will lay out the ins and outs of how to run your school and use the equipment that came with your kit. (For instructions on construction please direct your attention towards that manual instead with the red cover.).’

Index:

Introduction 1

Setting up your school 13

Teachers 22

Classes and classrooms 35

Catering 48

Finances 49

Supplies 68

Health and Safety 74

Legal clauses 75

     “Lots of pages,” Kirby commented as Fumu scanned through the index.

     So the school was built by Nightmare? That explained a lot and gave her a massive opportunity. Whatever was causing the trouble in the school must be in this book, she was sure of it.

     She flicked to the next page. Sleep be damned, she was going to read this entire book tonight and find an end to that awful school.

     The clock ticked on into the night. Kirby snored away at her side as she continued to read, rubbing away at her eyes as she tried to read aloud to herself. “To discipline students… The skilled teacher should always…” she loudly yawned as her eyes blurred with exhaustion.

     Her battle against sleep was one she was losing. No matter how many times she rubbed her eyes, she felt herself slowly slump against the sleeping boy next to her. And before she knew it the two of them were laying together in the middle of the library.

     She was a bit of a light sleeper, so it was hard to instantly fall asleep no matter how tired she was. It left her with the silent creaks of the library for a few more minutes, as the old wooden rafters creaked from those walking the floor above them. And there was one more, a familiar set of armour heard entering that quiet library before she fell fast asleep.

     In these last few days, the angry screams of her teachers and classmates would always worm their way into her dreams. Yet tonight the soft squeeze of a small hand chased those away, letting her drift off into more peaceful dreams tonight. If only the yell of her alarm clock didn’t tear her awake so early in the morning.

     Fumu groaned as she peeled herself off her bed. That was strange, she swore she fell asleep in the library. But there wasn’t time to think about it. “Kirby, wake up…” she yawned as she shook the boy awake next to her.

     She swore he made some sort of chirp as he curled up in his sleep while she continued to shake him.

     “Kids! Make sure to get ready for school!” her mother called to her. 

     “Kirby, c’mon. Don’t you have medicine at home you need to take?” she reminded him again. He peaked up from under his arms, eyes bleary with sleep before flopping back down.

     She pouted at him. “Fine, fine. But you’ll have to drag yourself back on your own then.” Her stack of untouched homework and that heavy book she was unable to finish last night stood on her desk. Taunting her. With a sigh, she shoved them into her book bag before throwing on a new set of clothes for the day while Kirby slowly peeled himself away.

     “I’ll have to catch up with you later. There’s something I want to check at school today, alright?” He sleepily nodded at her as she slipped through the door.

     Her ears rang as the cheerful droning voice of her classmates sang the school tune once again as they did every morning. If she had to hear that song again she was going to throw a chair at the king.

     The usual fair happened in the morning. Homework was collected, they’d get scolded for not finishing it all, and more was given. Rinse and repeat. But that wasn’t what scared her. What scared her the most was nearly everyone had actually finished it except a select few who had to help their parents on the farm next to her.

     Anyone who couldn’t finish it was shamed, and hearing her name instead of Bun’s made her flush with embarrassment. It was a stupid thing to be embarrassed over, but even with such dull work she still had her pride.

     And those two were gleeful to crush it. She was a bit thankful when it came time to begin the first class, knowing they’d step out of the way a bit. “Now, for our first class of the day Mable will be doing arts and crafts again,” Escargon explained.

     At least this one was a bit more relaxed. They were allowed to pick from a selection of clay, paper and crayons or blocks to make something. Last time she drew the landscape of Whispy Woods, perhaps playing with a bit of clay would soothe her nerves.

     As she kneaded away at the clay though, something odd caught her eye. “B-Bun what are you making?”

     “The coolest thing in the world of course,” he droned as he clumsily mushed together a replica of Dedede’s face.

     All around her, classmates were making his face or even Escargon’s. It was like they were possessed. “Bun snap out of it!” she shouted at him as she smashed the clay sculpture.

     “Hey! What’s the big deal?” he snapped at her.

     Mable fumed as she stomped towards Fumu. “You dare interfere with my class! Do you have any appreciation for the finer arts you brat? Children like you deserve to be punished! Shamed!” she screamed at her as she grabbed her shoulders

     Fumu struggled against her when a realization hit her. Inside that book in the section about teachers, there was an image just like that hat. And putting two and two together… She gasped. “That hat turns anyone into a demon beast!”

     “Wait, you’re right! Kawasaki was fine and he didn’t have the hat on either!” Bun seemed to finally snap out of his dissolution as he stood up from his chair.

     She just needed to take that hat off. It was just barely out of reach, as she grasped to pull or push it off in any way possible while Mable gripped her. The woman was so focused on punishing her, she failed to notice Fumu finally reach out and knock the hat away.

     Only for it to come tumbling down towards her and everything to go black.

-

     It had been a long morning, especially when you have to drag yourself to bed from a castle. But sleeping in his own bed always felt more cozy, or maybe it was Yabui’s medication, Kirby wasn’t sure.

     He returned to his dreams again and was left with a choice. Sometimes he let his dreams flow around, a bath of ramen or maybe even a giant watermelon would occasionally appear. But if he was feeling a bit chatty. “Hey! Ghost friend, are you there?” His voice echoed through his dream.

     “Have you considered a better nickname yet?” The Knight sighed.

     “Nu-uh.”

     They gave him a look of annoyance as Kirby grinned at them. He’d figure something out eventually, but calling them that was just fun to see their reaction.

     “How are things in the waking world? Have your injuries healed?” they asked him.

     “A lil. Head still hurts, but Mr Yabui took out the stitches!” he excitedly explained as he showed his arms. There were pale lines that crossed both arms, but it was only noticeable if he held them in the sun. “He said they healed up really quick.”

     “That’s good. Will you be able to go to that school of yours soon too?” they asked as they examined his arms. They were a bit strange when it came to injuries, but he supposed they did remember being a doctor before. Yabui would also do the same with his arms, but it seemed to make him a bit squeamish as well.

     Kirby shook his head at their question. “No, head still hurts… Fumu says something bad is happening there though. She’s gonna fix it but I don’t want my friends getting hurt.”

     They ran their hand through his hair, giving his head a soothing rub. “I’m sure they’ll be alright. Believe in them, and if they need you they’ll come.”

     “Okay… Fighting’s kinda tough, I’d rather sleep,” Kirby complained.

     “I understand. I wasn’t much of a fighter myself, perhaps here is the strongest I’ll ever be,” they seemed to murmur to themself.

     Kirby deflated onto the floor with a huff. “Naps keep getting interrupted… Did you know, bears sleep a lot when they’re cold? I don’t know what either of those are but I wanna be like that.”

     The Knight quietly laughed at him. “Been learning a lot without school I see.”

     “Reading! Words are hard though.”

     “Perhaps you could teach me something? I’m sure I’m missing a lot.”

     He jumped up at this. “Yeah! Can make the classroom too!” He could remember what it looked like still from when they visited it. There’d be a few corners where the room warped but The Knight said it’d just happen if you couldn’t remember something very well.

     “Hmm, what a quaint little classroom. What is that?” they asked as they pointed at the blackboard.

     Kirby ran over to it, excitedly taking a piece of chalk. He saw people play with it in the classroom, so it was exciting to finally do it. “Blackboard! You draw on it!” he explained as he scribbled all over it.

     “I-I see. What a horrible noise…” They cringed at the scraping. “It’s uhm… A bit rudimentary I suppose.”

     “It’s really fun too!”

     “I can see.”

     What could they do next? Apart from how angry they were, he knew teachers also taught lessons behind the big wooden block at the front of the classroom. A lectern he believed. “Sit down! I can teach.”

     “Oh! Alright.” The Knight looked around for a chair to use. All of them were a bit, tiny for adults. It was made clear as they squeezed into a seat, knees squeezed together as they awkwardly smiled at him.

     “Okay… Hmm what do people learn at schools?”

     “Anything I suppose.”

     “So my favourite thing in the whole world is watermelon! They have lots of seeds which can grow even more. They’re also very sweet and juicy.” He was drooling just thinking about them.

     Watermelons were one of the first things he found when he arrived in Pupupu Land. He was so hungry and they smelt so good. Which also reminded him. “I live in my house in a place called Pupupu Land! Dedede’s the king and Mr Len is the mayor.”

     “They sound important. What are they like?”

     “Dedede can be a lil rude… But I think he’s really funny! Len uhm… Don’t know him much, but he gets a bit angry at me if I destroy stuff,” he explained sheepishly. Sometimes Len could be nice, but he got angry at him a lot too.

     He didn’t like seeing people get angry.

     “A lot of the adults get angry at me… But some of them are really nice! Kawasaki gives me lots of snacks, and Sato gives me blankets and pillows. And-” He was cut off as the room wobbled and shook.

     Someone was trying to wake him up. And quite desperately too. He peeled his eyes awake with a whine as he rolled away from the shaking. “C’mon Kirby! Get up something bad happened!” Bun’s voice pleaded with him as he pulled him up.

     “Huahh?... Wha happened?” Kirby mumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

     “Sis was right about that school! There’s a hat there that turns people into demon beasts and it got onto her!”

     “Ah! Bad! Let’s go!” Kirby threw himself off his bed and ran outside, Bun following alongside him.

     He could hear shouting even outside of the school coming from the classroom that had erupted into chaos. “You’re all a stain on order, and must be put into your places!” Fumu’s voice could be heard next to a wail from her classmates.

     They ran into the classroom to a sight. Adults crowded at the back in fear as Dedede and Escargon watched on with grins as Fumu berated Hohhe for a hole in his shirt. “Sis snap out of it!”

     Her neck nearly twisted to look at the two, eyes filled with anger. “You! You are not a student! You’re ruining our order!” she yelled at him as she tore Hohhe’s desk away from him and ran towards them.

     Kirby scrambled away as she slammed the desk behind him, swinging at him with any chance she got. He ran between desks and even the adults to try and tire her out. But she rudely grabbed the tips of his wings, forcing him to stop.

     He cried out as he pulled away from her, Bun rushing to help while she was distracted. He swiped at the hat, sending it flying as Kirby finally pulled free of her grasp, and free of a few feathers too.

     “Huh? What happened?...” Fumu gasped as if she has just woken up. 

     “You pulled my feathers!” Kirby scolded her with a huff. That really hurt! 

     But she didn’t have time to apologise as a suspicious light shone from the fallen hat. It twirled on the floor, gathering electricity before a puff of smoke filled the room. He couldn’t see a thing, but Fumu grabbed his arm. “Everyone! Evacuate!” she called out to the room as they all scrambled in a panic.

     The demon beast followed quickly behind, throwing itself through the classroom window to intercept them in the schoolyard. It was a giant version of that hat now upside down with arms hidden behind large sleeves. Funny enough, it wore its own hat which had a red cloth with unfamiliar symbols draped across its front.

     What worried him the most though was the whip in its hand. “Kirby try and suck that in!” Fumu ordered him as the others escaped to the side of the building. Leaving him in front of the main doors against the demon beast.

     Kirby clasped his hands together to try and pull the whip towards him. But the monster’s grip on it was too strong and his arms tired out faster than usual. It wasn’t long before they sagged to his sides and it was the demon beast’s turn to act.

     Pieces of chalk snapped out from between its knuckles like blades. That didn’t look good. He began to run around the monster, chalk flying behind as he stumbled through gym equipment, becoming caught in a net. Pieces of chalk and blackboard cleaners pelted his face, turning it into a white dusty mess.

     It even made him sneeze.

     But if chalk could hurt him. Maybe he could hurt them back? He held out his hand for the next pile of chalk, absorbing it into power. That familiar click came back to him, and he tore himself free of the net in a cloud of chalk. He was Fighter Kirby again, now with chalky hands which was strange.

     “You cheeky brat! Do you really think you can just come in here and ruin our classes?” Escargon’s voice called out to him from the building. A remote in his hand and a grin on his and Dedede’s lips.

     Giant fences rose around the school, crackling with electricity trapping them in with the monster. Or, the monster was trapped with him. He had been studying, so he must be stronger now. If the fence looked like it would hurt him, it would hurt the monster too.

     “Overhead throw!” he yelled as he picked up the heavy monster, tossing it into the fence behind him. And for the finishing blow. “Smash punch!” The fence exploded, sending pieces of metal flying all over the place and the monster far towards the ocean where it’d probably explode.

     Dedede and Escargon stood there jaw dropped as the rest of the fences collapsed around them. But Kirby could barely contain his excitement now, his friends were safe again! “Yaay! I did it! I did it!” he cheered to himself as he jumped around the yard.

     Parent’s got pretty mad at Dedede once they learnt what had been going on inside the school. They all had a big adult argument in the police station while he and his friends finally had a chance to relax again in the fields.

     Hohhe had come up with a fun game too that they needed him for. The ‘How high can we throw Kirby?’ Game. Apparently, it was because they didn’t have to worry about dropping him.

     “C’mon Bun! You can beat Hohhe!” Honey cheered her friend on as Bun held him by the waist.

     “Kirby, can you try and fly up a little bit for me?” Bun whispered in his ear.

     Wouldn’t that be cheating? But before he could ask, Bun tossed him into the air as he flailed around to gain more height. 

     “And this is why everyone was so obsessed with schooling us…” Fumu’s voice sighed from behind them. Kirby landed on top of Bun as they all gathered around her.

     They clambered apart to join them, waiting to hear what she had to say. Fumu had joined the adults earlier to talk about what happened. And it seemed she had good news for them. “Dedede’s letting the village run the school instead. He’s still in charge of certain bits, but the teaching, food and work done will all be up to volunteers,” she explained.

     “The preschool section will finally be opened too and we have days off school too. Five days for High School. Four days for Elementary and preschool, which will be split into different times of day and different days.”

     Iro clapped. “That sounds way more fun now! But will we still have homework to do?”

     Fumu smiled. “Not as much now. It depends on whose teaching and if they think it’s needed. But it won’t be as horrible as before. Remember though, if you misbehave you’ll still be punished, okay?”

     The kids shuffled in place as she crossed her arms. “We’ll behave…” they all murmured as Fumu relaxed.

     “Can I go to school now?” Kirby asked her excitedly.

     But, she didn’t smile. “I’m sorry, but a parent’s signature is needed to attend. But I’m trying to get that changed don’t worry! You’ll be joining us before you know it, alright?” She tried to smile at him and get him excited.

     It just felt, disappointing. He didn’t want to smile, but. “Okay!” He smiled back at her, even though he didn’t really feel like it was a smile.

     “Alright then, we should probably all get our new textbooks then. C’mon!” she beckoned the others. Leaving him behind.

     The wind rustled past him, pulling away any loose feathers along with it. He watched them go as they grew smaller and smaller down towards the village. But he was not alone, he could hear him behind him.

     “You’ve improved. Well done,” Meta Knight calmly praised him. “You’re beginning to act and plan on your own.”

     His words didn’t make him feel any better though, maybe a little but not a lot. “Fumu said I need a parent to go to school.” 

     Meta Knight remained silent.

     “What should I do?” he asked the knight.

     It was impossible to read his face, but he already knew the answer in his gut. There wasn’t anything he could do. Or was there? “No school means I study on my own. But I dunno a lot and not a lotta books I can read.” He straightened his back with his best serious face. “Can you teach me?”

     This seemed to break through the man for once, his eyes glowed green in thought as he stared down at him. “Teach you how to fight?” he asked.

     “A bit. But how do copy abilities work? What’s that weird click I feel? Why is the sky blue?” Kirby rambled on a bit. That last part wasn’t as important but he still wanted to know, plus it would change colours too.

     “I suppose that can be arranged. It wouldn’t be wise to leave you clueless about your powers. A less in-depth explanation for now though, think of it as you mimicking the base power of whatever you’re copying and converting it into your own. Not everything is strong enough to give you one, most pebbles would not give you Stone. But one with age or strength may be enough,” he explained. That made a bit of sense, not a lot but a bit.

     “But you promise right?” Kirby spoke up again.

     “...I promise.”

     It felt like a ball of excitement had just exploded inside of him. “Yaay!” he cheered again that day, running a few laps around the confused knight. And if he got Meta Knight to like him enough, he’d be at school with his friends in no time.

Chapter Text

     Kirby had made sure to wake up extra early today, he was excited after all. Today Meta Knight would be teaching him, he wasn’t sure what he’d be teaching him but he would get to learn today like all his friends. He just had to sneak inside the castle again first.

     “Hallo!” he cheerfully greeted the knight as he stepped inside the castle library. Meta Knight was sitting there absorbed in a thick book before he noticed Kirby and calmly shut it.

     “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

     “Uh-huh”

     “That’s good. Come sit beside me.”

     Kirby climbed up on the rickety old chair next to him. The table was scattered with a few books, they looked a bit too wordy for him though. Besides that were some papers and pencils. He never got to touch those outside of drawing sometimes if Fumu let him use them. Usually, it was crayons.

     He hummed as he held one up. “We drawing?” he asked.

     “No. I thought it’d be appropriate to teach you how to write sooner than later. Think of it as something to go alongside a lesson on copy abilities,” he explained as he absently twirled his own pencil between his fingers. Kirby tried to copy him, but his fingers were too small.

     “Ohh, okay! So, why do I feel a weird click in my head with a copy ability?” he asked.

     Meta Knight hummed in thought for a moment. “I can't say I’m familiar with that. But I may have an idea of what it is. As I said before, your copy ability is you mimicking the power of whatever you absorb. It archives this through your genetics.”

     Kirby shot his hand up. “What’s a generic?... Geynetic.”

     “Think of it as something that your body is made up of. Such as how your hair is curly or your eyes are blue, things usually passed on by family. When you absorb a sword of fire, your genetics are taking that power and converting it into a copy ability. The click you feel is likely your natural instincts passed on from that power.”

     He stared at the knight dumbfounded for a moment before looking at his hands again. Meta Knight sounded so familiar with it. “Can you absorb stuff too?” he asked.

     This question seemed to take him by surprise as he shuffled awkwardly in his seat. “Ah, yes I suppose so… Not nearly to your extreme though, think of it as soaking power through my hand instead of taking it completely.”

     “Can I see?”

     “No.”

     “Awh…” Kirby pouted and flopped on his seat.

     Meta Knight remained unphased.

     He picked up a sheet of paper and moved it in front of him. “If that has quelled a few questions for you we can begin.” On the paper were a bunch of letters, he knew that at least. But they were pale and nearly blended in with the paper.

     “Hold the pencil with your finger and your thumb and draw along the outlines. After each letter tell me what you think it sounds like.” It sounded easy enough, just like drawing but with some more chatting.

     If he got a letter wrong, Meta Knight would help correct him. Though his drawing was very wonky. With the letters done they moved on to putting them together which was a bit more fun.

     But the fun of it slowly began to dull as the papers began to mush together in his head. There were too many words here and it made his brain feel hot. As Meta Knight read out a sentence from a book he couldn’t help but make small doodles on the paper much to the knight’s annoyance.

     How much longer until this was over? It felt like they’d be going at this forever. He grumbled in his seat as he waited for some sort of miracle.

     “Kirby? Are you here?” Lalala called out from the hallway.

     “Yeah!” he called back.

     The twins floated into the library, eying the mess on the desk. “What are you up to?” Lololo asked as he looked at Kirby’s paper. “Reading?”

     “Yup! Meta Knight’s helping.”

     “Ohh… Are we interrupting then?” Lololo squeaked.

     Meta Knight shook his head. “No, I believe he’s finally burnt himself out. Perhaps some rest is in order,” he calmly suggested. Kirby stretched his arms in relief, his feathers fluffing out as he did.

     “Perfect timing then! We were looking to see if you wanted to join our picnic,” Lalala explained. This was even better, he had been on picnics a few times before and they were amazing. They’d all sit together with snacks and lay in the sun or play games.

     He couldn’t get out of his seat fast enough. “Picnic! Let’s go!” He scurried out of the library with the twins trailing behind.

     School had finished already today, much earlier than when Dedede was in charge. Apparently, they were only having a few morning lessons today for the kids, which was great news for him. And with the warm sun and soft breeze, it was hard not to be a better day already.

     “Bun!” the three of them called out to the boy loitering in front of Tago’s store.

     He clicked his tongue. “Jeeze, you guys took forever. Huh? Why’s Kirby here?” he asked confused.

     “We’re taking him on our picnic! You’ll come, right? I feel a bit bad about leaving him alone when we were all at school,” Lalala explained to him. But Bun didn’t seem that happy, just shrugging along with them like he didn’t really care.

     “Meh. Whatever, let’s just get some snacks,” Bun huffed as they walked into the busy store.

     “C’mon, let’s get some sweets!” Lololo added, trying to cheer up the group.

     Kirby scanned the shelves, so many packages made more sense to him now. “Apple. Gum. Uhm… Cookies!” he cheerfully read the packages out. He could pick sweets on his own now, and not eat an extra sour gummy again when Iro picked one for him before.

     “Oh! How about some chocolate?” Lalala asked him as she picked up a bar.

     “C-H-O-C! Choc!” Kirby spelt out before snatching it out of her hands. The last time he had chocolate it was at their sleepover.

     Lololo panicked as he saw Kirby nearly open the wrapper. “Ah! Not yet! This is for our picnic, and we gotta pay for it first,” he scolded him.

     Kirby grumbled, he wasn’t that bad. Maybe a little but he could just hold it until they got there. At least that’s what he told himself as he tried to tug it away from Lololo who was quick to give it up with an eye roll.

     But Bun hadn’t cheered up at all still, crossing his arms as he watched them. “It’s not really cool for a warrior to have a picnic, isn’t it? Shouldn’t you be doing something cooler or whatever?” he scoffed.

     The twins shook their heads. “It’s not about being cool it’s about having fun! Right, Kirby?” Lalala argued with him.

     “Yeah, yeah…” Bun mumbled before walking off.

     “Is he sad?” Kirby asked the two.

     They rubbed their chins in sync as they thought to themselves. “Well, I guess-” Lalala started.

     “He’s been pretty upset since school started,” Lololo finished.

     “Why?” Kirby tilted his head in confusion.

     Lololo pulled a bag of crisps and a few cookies off the shelf. “Well, he’s been getting into more fights recently. But we don’t really know why either…” he sighed.

     “Well, he’s always hated studying. Maybe he just feels cooped up!” Lalala suggested.

     “That doesn’t feel like it though… Ah never mind, let’s get some drinks!” Lololo piped up, distracting them from their thoughts. After a brief encounter with one of Tago’s grumpy teenage part-timers at the check-out, they were off to get some sandwiches from Marigold.

     It seemed Bun was still in a bad mood though as they left the store, his cheeks were curled up in a frown. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but they were quickly interrupted by Dedede whose tank skidded past them.

     The king lept up in his tank with a ferocious grin. “Kirby! This is the end for you!” he announced, again. He liked to say that a lot, so it didn’t really scare him anymore. But it seemed to annoy the twins instead who began to scowl at him.

     Dedede cackled. “Behold! Noddy!” At his command, a Noddy jumped out of the truck.

     “Huh?” He didn’t expect to see one of those again.

     “Kirby!” The twins stepped in front of him, with determined looks in their eyes.

     “C’mon, aren’t you guys overreacting? Kirby can take care of it just fine,” he hushed the two as he dragged them out of the way. “He’ll just absorb ‘em or toss ‘em into the ocean or something.”

     Lalala crossed her arms at him. “But, it feels unfair to always leave the fighting up to him…”

     “Kinda his thing though,” Bun pouted.

     The Noddy waddled over to him, seeming to take an interest in his bar of chocolate. Kirby held it away. “No, no. It’s mine,” he told the demon beast, but it just kept pushing to reach it with its mouth? He wasn’t really sure what else it could use.

     “No! Mine!” Kirby whined at it as he tried to run away from it. He was sure they had circled the storefront a few times by the time he remembered something. “Oh yeah.” He could absorb tiny monsters.

     With a grin he held out a hand and grabbed its head, allowing it to vanish into his hand. Another monster down for the count. But why was Dedede laughing at him?

     He stared at the king confused as his eyelids began to droop. Why was he feeling so sleepy all of a sudden? Maybe Meta Knight’s lessons had caught up to him. But he felt really heavy, barely able to keep himself up before he fell to the floor.

     Everything around him was going dark.

-

     Fumu let out a stifled yawn as she dragged herself through the castle hallway. It was nice to have the school so relaxed now, but it didn’t remove all those late nights doing homework. She was lucky she hadn’t slept in this morning. But a bit of reading would help to relax her a bit, not to mention the calmness of the castle library.

     As she slowly pushed the door open she was greeted with an interesting sight. “Oh, Sir Meta Knight I haven’t seen you here for a while,” she greeted the knight who was seated at the library’s main desk. He had a book held open and propped up against another stack of them with a pen in hand.

     “Good day. I see that the school has calmed down now?”

     She sat next to him, eyeing some rather messy papers that had been pushed to the side. “Yeah, it’s a lot better now. Hopefully, all the others can learn something now too. What are you doing though?” She eyed the paper he was writing on, it looked like a collection of simple words and sentences.

     “I was assisting Kirby on reading and writing.”

     “So you caved in.”

     “... No.”

     Fumu snorted. “Sure. Thank you though, I’m sure he’s been excited about it. Just… Try to control your words.”

     “What do you mean by that?”

     “You know… The words Bun likes to copy.”

     She could feel him smirking behind that mask as his eyes tinted pink. “Hmm, I don’t know what you mean by that. Could have been anyone.”

     Fumu scrunched her nose at him. “I can't decide if you’re a bad or good influence. How was he though? Did he learn anything?”

     “I believe so. I’m sure it was a lot smoother now he’s been learning words verbally for a while now. But he was starting to struggle with it after a while,” he explained.

     Honestly, there weren’t a lot of people in the village with long attention spans. Even at school today she could see they were still a bit fidgety and bored after a while. It couldn’t be helped she supposed, they weren’t used to it.

     “Well, at least Dedede hasn’t done anything stupid yet today-”

     “Fumu! Dedede made Kirby absorb a weird demon beast!” Lalala exclaimed as she burst through the library doors.

     She wanted to hit herself for even thinking that.

     “What happened? Is he alright?”

     The girl shook her head. “W-We don’t know. But he just fell asleep and we can't wake him up. Y-Yabui said you might be able to but we’re not sure…” she whimpered.

     Fumu threw herself off her seat. “Let’s go!” They ran out of the library together, not giving Meta Knight the chance to comment as they left. Leave it to Dedede to quickly uproot any peaceful day. 

     Every minute they spent running to Yabui’s office her anxiety increased. What if it was worse than they thought? But they could just be overreacting, of course, he always liked to sleep at inconvenient times. Dwelling on it wasn’t going to make her feel any better.

     “Doctor Yabui!” she called out to the man as she pushed past his office door.

     The doctor straightened his back as he peered over at her. “Oh, there you are Fumu.” On the examination table in front of him was Kirby, deep asleep. There was a bar of chocolate cradled in his arms as he remained blissful of the panic around him.

     She hurried over to him, looking for any injuries. “S-So he’s really just asleep? Can’t we wake him up?”

     “No, we’ve tried everything. From drills to poppers. But he just won’t react,” Lololo exclaimed. “We wanted to see if maybe he’d wake up with your voice. Doctor Yabui said people in comas hear those.”

     A coma? That only filled her with more dread. “Kirby! Kirby wake up!” she begged him as she carefully shook his shoulders. But he only seemed to babble in his sleep, smiling at her voice.

     “I-Is he really in a coma then?” She looked up at Yabui with desperate eyes.

     “No thankfully. It seems whatever demon beast he absorbed gave him a sleeping sickness. Though if that’s better or worse depends…” he mumbled at the end.

     She looked at him confused. “A sleeping sickness?”

     “That’s right. It’s a bit like a deep hibernation much like some animals in the north. His body has shut down and he’ll be able to sleep for a thousand years, if not longer. It’s probably what he was doing before he arrived,” Yabui speculated to them. He seemed lost in thought, both intrigued by his ailment yet concerned.

     “Dammit!” Lalala hissed. “We should have helped him. It’s Bun’s fault for stopping us,” she sharply accused her brother. 

     She could feel him glaring at them through his thick hair. “No it isn’t,” he bit back. But his voice was shaky, almost scared.

     Fumu sucked in a breath. “Bun. Is it true?”

     He turned his head away from them. “Yeah, 'cause Kirby can defeat every demon beast, no problem. It’s all he’s good for, isn’t it?”

     But that didn’t sit right with her. Kirby was their friend, not just some weapon to be thrown around. He got hurt and scared, just like both of them. “How could you? How can you call yourself his friend if you can't even stand up for him once!”

     “Why are you getting angry at me? Dedede’s the one that started all of this!”

     Yabui stood between the both of them, trying to hush them with his hands. “Hey now. All this arguing isn’t going to wake Kirby up.” Bun only turned away in a huff as Fumu backed away.

     “Do you know a cure? We can’t just leave him like this,” she begged him.

     The man hummed in thought as he strolled over to his desk. “I was pouring over a new book donated to me of late. And a flower caught my eye. It’s called the Pyukii flower, a legendary flower that blooms deep inside a Babagahara cave. The smell of it can wake anyone up, even from a comatose state.”

     It sounded like some fancy fairy tale, one part of an old story to save a sleeping princess. But she had learnt to not doubt these stories of late. If Whispy was any story to go by, it could be real. “So… We’d just need him to smell it then,” she murmured to herself.

     “But isn’t Babagahara dangerous? I heard it’s even scarier than Whispy Woods! With monsters and swamps to trap you in,” Lololo exclaimed. The twins probably didn’t have much to worry about with their ability to fly. But it was true, Whispy’s biggest danger was only its maze, the only beasts were small animals.

     “I heard a few adults went into that jungle once and never came back,” Bun added, only adding to the stress in the air.

     “So you're just going to give up on him? Kirby’s always been there to help us, why don’t you help him for once?” Fumu felt her voice raising as she argued with her brother. It left a strange feeling in her chest, they had their disagreements here and there of course but this just felt… Awful.

     Bun seemed to pull away from her, shock hidden behind his hair. “Are you trying to make me go? Do you want me to end up dead?” he gawked at her.

     “You need to take responsibility. And so do you two.” She directed her gaze towards the twins who had suddenly gone silent.

     They were all avoiding eye contact with her.

     Silence filled the room with their hesitation, but it was spelt out loud and clear to her. You do it, you’re the responsible one after all. Again and again, she’d be expected to keep helping him whenever he was in trouble.

     She felt anger rise up her chest. The adults wouldn’t help; or her friends and family; she had to help them instead. “Fine! I get it. Just make me do it like I always do!” she snapped at them, turning heel to run out of the clinic.

     Back through the village and through the castle halls. By the time she reached her bedroom, she noticed the state she had quickly fallen into. It seems somewhere along the way she had started to cry, her eyes red and swollen from tears.

     “Ugh…” she groaned as she rubbed her eyes. It was stupid of her to get so worked up. But there were no lies to her words no matter how much they all might try to deny it. She just needed to prove herself to them again.

     There was no time to waste as she got to work. Changing into a suitable outfit for the jungle. It was a present from Curio a while ago as a thank-you gift for all her help. A pair of dark green shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, both with large pockets attached. Along with that were some mountain boots she already owned for hikes her father would take her on.

     She grabbed her biggest backpack, stuffing it with as many things she could think of needing. They had a camping survival kit that would come in handy, it was rarely used with how wary their parents would be about letting them out late. Besides that was some food, nothing too perishable like nuts and dried fruit.

     Now for the most important cargo of them all. She dreaded the idea of having to return to the clinic after her outburst. Before she returned there she’d check one last thing.

     “Hey, Tokkori are you there?” Fumu called for the boy as she knocked on Kirby’s door.

     The familiar grumble of the boy could be heard as he stomped over to the door. “Ugh, here to pick ‘im up?” he groaned.

     “Huh?”

     “Yabui dumped Kirby back here earlier. He’s just snorin’ away without a care in the world!” he loudly complained. As if it was any different to Kirby’s usual schedule.

     Yet it filled her with relief she could collect him now. “I need to take him for a while. He’s sick,” she explained as she let herself in. 

     “Better not pass it onto me then. If you’re draggin’ him along though maybe take that weird robe blanket thing with you,” he commented as he perched on a bed-post in bird form.

     Fumu smirked. “Worried about him?” she teased the boy.

     Tokkori loudly squawked. “Hell no! But he won’t shut up in his sleep if he doesn’t have it. Says it takes away the nightmares or whatever. If you don’t wanna hear screams in your sleep, be my guest.”

     That comment worried her. “He’s been having nightmares? Since when?”

     “Uhh… I dunno man. But he gets all restless if he naps without it.”

     Either way, it was better to be safe than sorry. If anything, perhaps it’d give the unconscious boy some comfort. “I suppose this must have been his swaddle,” she quietly commented as she wrapped it around him carefully. He really did look like a baby wrapped up in it.

     “No wonder it stinks. You're doing me a favor getting rid of it,” Tokkori scoffed as Fumu strapped him to her back.

     She just rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah, sure. Well, I’ll be back soon hopefully.”

     “Take your time!” Tokkori cackled as he threw himself onto the empty bed with glee.

     With Kirby and her supplies on hand, things were getting pretty heavy. She huffed, taking in careful breaths as she worked her way towards a nearby dock filled with small boats. This was where they all kept their river boats, hers was a log boat with two seats. She just needed to strap her supplies to the middle with a rope.

     As she prepared it though some unexpected visitors arrived. “Oh Fumu dear, we were wondering what you were up to,” her mother called out to her.

     “Mama and Papa? O-Oh uhm. I’m taking Kirby on a picnic, he’s just taking a nap right now,” she quickly lied. It wouldn’t do them well to start worrying.

     Her father eyed her supplies with a raised eyebrow. “It’s a bit much for a picnic don’t you think?”

     “It’s Kirby. He eats a lot,” Fumu flatly replied 

     “Hmm. weren’t the twins and Bun going to have a picnic today too? Where are they?” her mother asked, hiding concern beneath her fan.

     Fumu grimaced. “You’ll just have to ask them yourself.” She picked up her large paddle and slowly climbed into her seat. “I’ll be back before dinner!” she promised. Though she wasn’t sure how likely that was, it cheered her parents up at least as she pushed her boat away from the dock.

     “Have a safe trip!” They waved her goodbye as she began to paddle down the river. She had gone near the border of the jungle once before back when she was learning how to steer. It caused quite a panic back then and Sir Meta Knight had to pull her boat back before she went any further.

     On the nearby road, she heard the familiar sound of Dedede’s tank, dragging an annoyed sigh out of her. “Off to Babagahara on your own then?” Escargon snidely remarked.

     “I heard the spiders there are massive. Better watch your step, ghaha!” Dedede cackled.

     She glared at them as they trailed dust behind. They wouldn’t last a minute in that jungle either, she would show them. But the thought of being there with no one to really talk to… It did make her feel scared.

     “Let’s just hope that cave isn’t too far off,” she sighed as she peered at the sleeping boy behind her. If the jungle was as big as she thought, and the overgrowth and weight of supplies slowed her. By the time she’d get back, it’d be about…

     Her mental maths was cut short as something jumped out of the tree above her, leaping onto the boat and knocking her off. She yelped as she was thrown into the cold waters, only to discover the perpetrator now at the helm of her boat.

     “What the- Bun!” she yelled at her brother. He was wearing a beige jacket now but had little else in terms of preparation.

     “I’m going,” he coldly replied to her.

     Fumu began to swim towards him as he started to try and paddle away. “No wait! Let me come!” she begged him as she reached out to try and grab the boat. 

     He didn’t look back at her, paddling faster. “You said I had to take responsibility. Well, look what I’m doing now.”

     As if to make matters more complicated for her the twins arrived shortly afterwards. Lololo wearing a green backpack with pink spots on the side and Lalala’s a light pink one with blue spots on the side.

     The two of them floated to the front of the boat, grabbing some rope. “Don’t forget us!” Lalala exclaimed.

     “Yeah! We’re responsible too,” her twin added.

     They began to pull the rope, speeding up the boat. “Thanks!- B-But don’t drag us down alright?” Bun tried to play his joy off cooly.

     But Fumu was having none of it. They were practically leaving her to drown! Deciding to finally help Kirby was good and all, but there were better ways to go about it! “H-Hold on! Ah!” Fumu gasped as her leg caught on an underwater tree root.

     If she was going to drown here she was going to haunt her brother for it. But it seems today had plans for her. A rope dropped down before her and she instinctively grabbed onto it. In the tree above her, Sir Meta Knight perched on a branch with the rope bundled in his arm.

     “S-Sir Meta Knight!”

     “Hold on, I’ll pull you up,” he calmly explained as he pulled her out of the water. Now her clothes were wet and clammy, though if the jungle was anything like she expected it would have been inevitable.

     Once she was perched on the branch she could finally let out a sigh of relief and turn to the man. “What are you doing here?”

     “I overheard His Majesty making some plans. It’s dangerous here, but I see there have been some complications,” he commented as he turned to watch the boat slowly vanish into the distance.

     “Yeah. Bun refused to help Kirby with a demon beast, and now he’s got a sleeping sickness. I told him to take responsibility, but he could have at least left me on dry land,” she huffed.

     Sir Meta Knight seemingly chuckled at her frustration. “Headstrong as always. But that jungle is a death trap for even the most experienced of explorers. We can't leave them be. I’ll follow them closely behind if you wish to return home of course you may.”

     She shook her head. “I wouldn’t be able to sleep without knowing if they were okay. Besides it seems I’m always the one getting caught up in Kirby’s troubles. May as well see it to the end,” she sighed.

     “Ha, the curse of elder siblings across the cosmos. Very well, let’s move we can’t let them get far.”

-

     Kirby felt his eyes tremble as he peeled them open. This was his dream world again, they must have taken him home. He tried to get up but even here his body felt sluggish and heavy so he just gave up. Choosing to stare up at the sky instead, brimming with stars.

     “Lotsa stars…” Kirby yawned.

     He could see the shadow of The Knight sitting behind him. “Do you like it?” they asked.

     “Mhm… Pretty.”

     “I’m glad…”

     They stayed there in silence, watching the sky. Its dark blanket was washed in a nebula, like a splash of blue and red against a watercolour painting. Stars trailed together in their silver glow as they circled each other in a whirlpool of light. There was something that felt so familiar about it.

     “You're in a deep sleep,” they began. “You created this sky. It’s a painting of the galaxy.”

     Ah, that made sense. A bit. Meta Knight said he had been asleep in the galaxy for a long time before he arrived, he couldn’t remember it very well though. But there was one sight he could.

     As he closed his eyes and opened them again, they were met with a warm orange glow. It was the first thing he could remember seeing, it filled his heart with joy as he watched it gently glow in front of him.

     “Is that your home?”

     “Yeah… Is pretty.” Kirby smiled to himself. It reminded him of the sun, he could even feel himself falling asleep again looking at it.

     But The Knight stopped him as they shook his shoulders. “Kirby, listen to me. I’m not sure what happened, but it seems you’re trapped here.”

     “Absorbed a Noddy… Made me really sleepy.”

     “... And for how long?”

     “Dunno.”

     They went quiet. The floor beneath them rippled as they pulled him up and close to their chest. He could feel their robe wrap around him almost like a blanket. He looked up at them confused while they remained in thought, unchanging.

     “I have an idea… Just to be safe. Until whatever is inside of you is removed, I’ll put your mind to sleep. It’ll be as if no time passed at all. But, hundreds if not thousands more years could pass until you wake up again. Better that than to be trapped in your dream forever…” they quietly murmured.

     Kirby yawned again. “I don’t wanna sleep forever though,” he whined.

     “I know, I know…” they sighed. “But I’m sure your friends will find a way to help them. You’ll be awake before you know it.”

     It still sounded a bit scary. He liked sleeping, dreams were always really fun to have. But he liked being with his friends just as much, Fumu said too much of a good thing could be bad. Maybe it was a bit like that. He wasn’t sure.

     “Okay…” Kirby whispered. “I wanna be up soon. We were gonna have a picnic.”

     “You will. Just believe in them. Until then, rest.”

     He felt his eyelids begin to droop again. At least The Knight would stop the creepy wizard. And his friends will wake him up too! Hopefully without pinching him this time. With that hope, he let himself finally drift to sleep again.

-

     Was it too late to back out of this little adventure now? Bun already had to tie his jacket around his waist as they paddled deeper into the jungle. The air here was so thick and humid that he was already soaked in sweat.

     The trees here were different than before. Vines lazily hung from their curved branches and dipped into the nearby river. All the trees in Whispy’s were compacted together tightly, while the ones here just dwarfed him in size. Even the sun was struggling to shine through the canopy as the river began to shrink. They had to get off now they couldn’t go any further on the boat.

     Fumu had packed well at least, the twins were quick to gather up her supplies and put them in their own backpacks. He only had his pockets to rely on, as he had decided there would be one job for him. “I’m carrying Kirby,” he announced to the two.

     They looked at him surprised. “Okay? We can switch if you get tired though,” Lalala smiled at him.

     Like he’d agree to that. With some straps, he quickly fastened Kirby to his back with that weird blanket still wrapped around him. At least he didn’t have to worry about accidentally giving him scrapes as they walked around.

     The twins flew ahead of him as he dragged his way behind them. Life would be so much easier if he could fly, he wouldn’t have to worry about running all the way through the castle to get home each day. 

     He let out a frustrated sigh as he felt the mud squish beneath him. Kirby would have run through this entire jungle already, tripping be damned. With how quiet he was now it was haunting. Sure he napped here and there but never this lifeless.

     A pang of guilt ran through his arms again. This was stupid, he should have just let sis do it. What could he do?... Bah, that’s also stupid! He wasn’t a coward, at least he hoped not. He could find a lousy flower.

     It must have been an hour of walking before he really started to slow down. Walking through this jungle was exhausting, not to mention he was fully on edge the entire time. Who knows what weird monsters were lurking in the dark, and he didn’t want to find out.

     “Bun, do you need us to slow down?” Lalala called out to him.

     He spluttered on a stray cobweb left between the trees. “Ugh, just gimme a minute I’m tired,” he whined.

     Lololo looked at a small pocket watch. “But it’s only been ten minutes.”

     “What? Damn…” Felt like more than that for sure! “Ugh! Don’t complain about that to me, I have to carry this lug around!” he complained as he adjusted Kirby on his back.

     “Well, we can swap then! You carry my backpack for a while and I carry Kirby,” Lololo cheerfully suggested.

     “No, ’m fine…” Bun mumbled. They didn’t trust him to do this either, of course, they wouldn’t. His parents would always talk about how well-behaved the twins were, and if only he was a bit more responsible like them.

     It was a dumb word that always got on his nerves. He continued to power though, passing by the twins as he felt his breath begin to shorten. Why was this happening? He was always so good at sports and easily outpaced all his other friends. That counted for something right? Not some stupid jungle making him tired and sweaty.

     The twins passed by him again. It felt like a nerve was struck somewhere in his brain as he stopped, gritting his teeth in frustration. They noticed him and flew over again with a sigh. “C’mon stop being so stubborn. You can carry him again later,” Lalala insisted.

     “I said I’m FINE.”

     “Let me take him,” she insisted as she pulled at the straps on his shoulder.

     “Ugh! Let go!” he shouted at her as a strap was pulled loose. Though the weight of his back felt great, the panic watching the boy just tumble away into the overgrowth was not.

     He let out a frustrated sigh. “Jeeze, now look what you’ve done.” Now he had to crawl through all that undergrowth. It was all wet and rubbing against his ankles too, like leeches. He hoped there were none hiding down here, Escargon told him all about them once and how they’d suck your blood.

     It just sounded like a bigger more annoying mosquito though.

     “Kirby!- Scratch that, not like you could call back anyways,” Bun huffed as he pushed through a large set of leaves. And his heart dropped. Over a small pit was a massive spider web, with strands thicker than his arm. And trapped in that web was Kirby, sound asleep.

     This was punishment for all those spiders he squashed. “Oh no… W-What do I…” he stammered to himself. A massive spider scurried out of the shadows, thick orange fur covered its body like a tiger as it eyed the sleeping boy.

     It approached him, observing its prey as it slowly wrapped him in webbing. Surely Kirby would wake up now, Sir Meta Knight said something about soldier instincts that would kick in. But he wouldn’t budge.

     “C’mon wake up!” he begged him. He had to do something. In his panic he grabbed a thick branch, tossing it at the spider as he squeezed his eyes shut. It whined in pain, scurrying away as he just caught sight of it rubbing its head with a painful bruise.

     He did it. He saved Kirby. “I-I did it! I did it! Lololo, Lalala! I saved Kirby from a spider!” he excitedly announced as the twins flew over. They were quick to pull him from the web, untangling the silks as Bun helped.

     Kirby babbled incoherently in his sleep as Bun rolled the silk up into a ball. “Relaxed enough to even chat huh? Ugh, you’re gonna be the end of me,” he loudly complained.

     “Glad he’s safe though,” Lololo sighed. “We’ve gotta be more careful.”

     “Don’t worry about it! With me around those monsters don’t stand a chance!” Bun proudly boasted.

     Lalala narrowed her eyes at him. “How so?”

     “A big spider was crawling down that net he was caught in. Bigger than Dedede! And I threw a stick at it, right in the eye!”

     “Fake.”

     “Huh?”

     Lalala wriggled her finger. “You can't even kick a football in the right direction! Maybe you’d aim better if you got that hair out of your eyes.” She reached over to move it out of the way.

     Bun spluttered as he stumbled away from her hands. “I can see just fine! Ugh, you’re sounding like mama. Just watch! Bet you I can hit that weird piece of fruit from here!” 

     He pointed at what looked to be a round greying fruit hanging from a branch in the distance. It didn’t look the nicest, but no one would cry over it if it splatted on the floor.

     “Huh? But wait isn’t that-” Lololo trailed off as the ball of silk flew right into its target. “... A hornet’s nest?”

     Oops.

     “It didn’t look like that from a distance!” Bun spluttered as an army of hornets slowly rose from the bushes.

     “We can fight over it later! Run!” Lalala screamed as Bun slung Kirby over his arm and followed the twins through the trees. Those hornets sure were stubborn, granted he may have just destroyed their house but this was too much!

     The twins led the way for him, weaving between the trees and over bushes in hopes the hornets would eventually just give up. Though he could have done more to pay attention to where they were going. The two often forgot that not everyone could fly.

     “Waargh!” Bun yelped as he found himself stumbling down a steep hill. Kirby tumbled alongside him like a sack of potatoes With a splash, they landed in a grey murky swamp. The stench of it made Bun’s nose cringe.

     But this gave him an idea. He covered Kirby’s nose and mouth with his hand and dragged him underwater with him. Hornets couldn’t go underwater, at least he hoped so they should be safe. He had to keep Kirby safe.

     “Bun! They’re gone now you can come up!” Lololo’s voice echoed through the grimy waters.

     He pulled Kirby up with him, taking a gasp of air as the water turned his socks soggy. “Ugh… I’m beat,” he whined. Not to mention he stunk, why did these swamps have to stink so badly in the first place? Though it seemed that wasn’t enough to wake Kirby up still.

     “Remember to think before you aim next time,” Lalala scolded him with a sigh.

     “Yeah yeah…” he huffed as he pressed his feet down to walk to the bank. At least he tried to, the dirt seemed to be slipping away, he couldn’t get a grip on the floor beneath him.

     Panic set in as he kicked his legs to stay afloat. “Oh, SHIT! It’s a bottomless swamp!” he cried out.

     What could he do? Kirby was in danger too, they both can't swim like this. He could get the twins to take him away, but he’d be in danger of sinking into the mud too. When the twins floated over to grab his hand, he winced as he pushed Kirby towards them.

     Be it pure luck or just fate though, a nearby tree suddenly toppled over into the swamp. He barely gave it a chance to dip into the waters before he grabbed onto it, taking a breath of relief as he climbed up its trunk.

     The twins helped pull Kirby onto the bank before they all slumped over in exhaustion. “Let’s just set up camp already. I can’t take another step,” Bun sighed as he relaxed against the tree behind him.

     “Yeah, sounds good,” the twins agreed with him.

     “We sure were lucky today… Hope that continues tomorrow,” Lololo murmured as he checked his pocket watch.

     Bun snorted. “Luck? That was all skill. I’ll get us to the Pyukii flower in no time!” he boasted.

     Lalala rolled her eyes. “Yeah, as long as you don’t practise anymore pitching. Will the great Sir Bun be skilled enough to help make a fire then?”

     “O-Of course I am! Just watch me!” Thankfully all the supplies Fumu had packed made it a breeze. Though the rations could have tasted better… How could crackers be this hard?

     The fire helped dry his clothes at least. He didn’t want to think about how uncomfortable it’d be to sleep in soggy shorts. A branch would be his pillow tonight, he already left Kirby to rest against it.

     He looked so peaceful wrapped up in his blanket. There were some dirt marks here and there from their hike, yet he felt as if it was almost glowing despite it. Must be some weird alien stuff, at least it looked comfortable.

     Exhaustion was slowly catching up to him as the lay there, wondering how Kirby didn’t tire out doing stuff like this almost every day. He probably would have enjoyed this out of all of them. That weird tug of guilt crept up his throat again the longer he thought about it.

     Kirby was always there to protect him, but it didn’t feel right. Fumu was always helping him too, and so were the twins and even Meta Knight from time to time. What did he do? Sure they hung out and all, but was that enough?

     He rolled over to look at him better. They made it this far at least. Maybe he’d finally be able to help Kirby instead this time. Bun smiled to himself, that’d feel good. Kirby could rely on him a bit, he just needed to improve his aim first.

-

     Night had fallen in Babagahara and Fumu was exhausted. Although travelling with Sir Meta Knight had helped greatly, watching her brother endanger himself and others was going to grey her hair early. She let out a sigh as she let herself rest against the back of a tree.

     Bun and the others had set up a small camp for themselves which now left her with the odd question of their own camp. Surely the twins would notice it? Sir Meta Knight said he had gone off to gather some firewood so the most she could do was wait and see.

     After a while, the man finally returned with a few branches and twigs in hand. “With the humidity, it was fairly difficult to find properly dried wood. But this will suffice for now,” he explained as he laid them out on the ground.

     “Won’t they notice it?” she asked.

     He pulled out a pocket knife with his emblem on it to whittle away at a few of the branches. “It’ll be small I highly doubt it. Ordinarily, I would have dug a hole for it, but there’s little danger here with those two chatting the night away.”

     “Fair enough.” She was too tired to really argue right now. Choosing to watch the man carefully organise the cut wood and bundle their shavings together. With a few strikes of flint, the fire was made and she felt the warmth bury its way through her skin.

     “I thought you used to carry a lighter with you,” she commented. There had been a few rare occasions she had seen him use it for one of the castle lights as opposed to a cigarette.

     He sat across from her on the other side of the fire, using his knife to cut open a packet of rations. “I’m trying to not carry it with me. Thought it might stop me from smoking for a while.”

     “I see…”

     Something interesting crossed her mind though as he passed over her portion. Whenever he had eaten or done anything similar near her his back had always been turned. The mask he wore always covered his mouth. Did he lift it perhaps?

     She watched carefully if he turned to eat only for him just remove the lower half of his mask. “Oh,” she murmured aloud to herself. It was a bit more anti-climatic than she thought.

     They sat there in silence as they ate their dry rations of hardtack and nuts. Thankfully she had water to wash it all down with but it brought her another question. “What was the food like in the army? Must have been really weird out there.”

     Sir Meta Knight let out a low hum as he seemingly lost himself in nostalgia. “It depended on where you were. Our main base had a canteen, but much of it came from dehydrated foods. Every once and a while they would deliver fresher food but those became few and far between as time went on. Out on the field, we’d have rations like this, though if you ran out it’d be up to you to find your own.”

     His stories no matter how uneventful some of them may have been always intrigued her. While Bun would be quickly bored by anything outside of a battle she enjoyed hearing how they lived day to day in such an unforgiving environment.

     “What’s the most disgusting thing you had to eat?” she smirked.

     “Many things. Our drill instructor, the man who helped teach us survival skills though once showed up to our drills inebriated. He rambled on about food wastage and how disgraceful to the army you’d be if you did so. It seems he thought our stomachs needed to be strengthened and we were tasked with consuming the undesirable parts of fish.” Despite the story, he seemed rather amused as he spoke.

     But she couldn’t think of anything more awful. “You mean the eyes and the organs?” she gasped.

     He nodded. “Yes. Suffice it to say a few of us remained in medical bays for a day or so afterwards.”

     “Ugh. Sounds awful.”

     “Ha… It wasn’t too bad in the end. But we couldn’t afford to be picky in the army, I believe Kirby may be less of a picky eater than I am now.”

     Ah, that’s right. She turned to look at the boy, still fast asleep next to her brother. “Do you really think he’ll be alright? If you weren’t around who knows what would have happened to Kirby by now.”

     “Have faith in your brother. His confidence has grown and given him the strength to power through this jungle. From mistakes, he’ll learn to protect those that matter to him, it only takes a matter of time.” His words were calm, brimming with wisdom as if he were speaking from experience.

     She wasn’t completely convinced though. “Still looks like recklessness to me.” She shrugged. “But… He seems happier right now. Jeeze here I was worrying about him and he seems to be doing better than us!”

     Sir Meta Knight gave her a rare smile. It was going to be a long night for sure.

-

     Morning finally arrived and Bun felt invigorated! With a cool stick in hand and Kirby strapped to his back, nothing could stop them now. Though the twins had been yawning all morning. He wasn’t sure why, it was their fault if they stayed up all night.

     “Try not to get left behind!” he teased them. A bit of revenge for yesterday. 

     “Right…” the two droned with a yawn.

     He continued in stride until something caught his eye. He froze in place as the twins grumbled in annoyance as they crashed into him. “W-What’s that?” Bun stammered as he pointed into the distance with his stick.

     It looked like a face, carved into a cliff wall. The sight was surreal, nature mimicking the face of humans as they took a closer look. It was a cave, with a weird cave like that, it must be where the Pyukii flower was hiding. 

     None of them actually knew what the Pyukii cave actually looked like, but any cave was worth a look. “C’mon let’s go,” he called out to the two as they closely followed him behind. His heart began to beat inside his ears as he slowly stepped towards the dark mouth.

     “H-Hello? Any beasties in here?” he squeaked, hoping to get the worst out of the way.

     Only his voice echoed back to him as the twins sucked in their words with bated breath. Okay, they were in the clear? At least he hoped so as he stepped in deeper. It was dark, they’d need to make some sort of torch first.

     He could hear something, slithering. And it was coming at them fast. “Run!” Bun yelled without a thought as they bolted it out of the cave. He peaked behind him as they ran back into the sunlight, it was a giant yellow snake snapping and lunging at them.

     They ran through the trees, his legs were skittering as he jumped out of the way of its bites until he inevitably tangled himself into a stray rock. Dumb rocks, always there at the worst of times. He scrambled up, waving his stick around at the air.

     “Huh?” The snake was gone. He sat there confused as the twins hurried back to his side.

     “Are you alright?” Lololo asked in a panic.

     Bun was quick to pump his own chest. “Of course! Bet that snake got one good look at me and got scared. I pity it almost.”

     “Did you see anything like that?” Lalala asked her twin. He just shrugged in response.

     “C’mon trust me! Stick with me and I’ll even give Kirby a run for his money.” He felt a bit bad about that boast seeing how the boy couldn’t really respond to it, but he’d probably be fine with it.

     They needed a light source now to get through that cave, which meant sacrificing his trusty stick to become a torch much to his dismay. But it did give them a pretty toasty light in the dank cave. 

     It hit him though that he probably should have snuck a look into Dr Yabui’s book. He didn’t have a clue what the flower looked like, it could be part of a man-eating plant for all he knew! Or some small moss tucked away out of sight. He’d hope some big powerful flower would be impressive at least.

     There was a split in the path soon enough. Both just led to more darkness so they’d just decide by vote.

     “Hmm… I’d say we go left!” Lalala suggested.

     With no comment from the other twin, Bun approached the left opening. “No, no. I think it’s right,” Lololo interjected.

     “Huh. It’s weird to see you two disagree-”

     “This way for sure!” both of them suddenly agreed in unison.

     He nearly dropped his torch in surprise as he grumbled at them. “What’s with you two today? Here goes nothing I guess.”

     More cave. What else did he expect? “Are you sure we’re going the right way?” he murmured, mostly to himself.

     Lololo giggled behind him. “Haven’t you noticed it yet?”

     He stopped to look at the boy confused. “Smell the air,” Lalala excitedly announced to him as she kicked her feet in the air.

     Oh, she was right. Something in the air smelt good. It was just like his mother’s perfume or even the smell of a fresh flower. “Oh wow… Y-Yeah it smells pretty good!”

     Even Kirby seemed to murmur in agreement.

     “Look! He can smell it! The Pyukii flower must be down here!” Lalala exclaimed. It made him feel a bit stupid for not noticing it earlier, but he could blame the damp cave smell for making it harder for him.

     With confidence filling them, they pushed on towards a strange room in the cave. There was a hole in its ceiling, allowing light from the outside to illuminate the room and reveal the treasure they had been searching for.

     On piles of thick leaves sat what looked like a bud, protected by sharp spines that curled almost like claws. A strange calming sensation blew through the room as they carefully approached the flower.

     Bun was quick to plant his torch between some stones as he stepped closer to it. “So we’re finally here…” he gasped.

     Lololo frowned though. “But, how do we wake him up with it? It looks like it hasn’t bloomed yet.”

     If it didn’t bloom soon, he’d pull it open himself. He had to. But perhaps the flower felt this thought, as it began to pulse and glow. They watched it in a trance, waiting to see what would happen. A monster could just pop out for all he knew, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away.

     The light grew blinding as the thick leaves curled away, revealing a tall delicate flower. Its soft pink petals opened, revealing its tall stamens like some sort of ornate vase his father would insist on buying. 

     He’d never thought of flowers much before, but he couldn’t deny that this was beautiful. “P-Pretty…” he mumbled to himself. Kirby mumbled back.

     “We can finally wake Kirby up now! Let’s go!” Lalala cheered as they all rushed towards the flower.

     He should have learnt to be more careful by now. Tendrils with gaping maws quickly shot from the flower, wrapping the group up and leaving them suspended in the air. There wasn’t a monster inside of the flower, the flower was a monster itself!

     Bun panicked, struggling to pull himself away as one of the green jaws hissed at him as it prepared to bite him with jaws unhinged like a snake. Courage be damned he couldn’t help but scream as it pulled him closer.

     Yet by another stroke of fate, the jaw was stopped. Freezing as it was sliced in half and they fell to the floor with a yelp. He was going to feel that drop for a few days…

     “Bun! Are you alright!” The sudden voice of his sister broke him out of his sulking.

     “H-Huh? Sis, how did you get here? What happened?” Bun stammered as he pulled himself up.

     Fumu was still in her hiking gear, mud caking up to her ankles making her travels through the jungle clear. “I was worried about you! So we followed you,” she explained with concern in her voice.

     We? The sudden freedom from the plant clicked in Bun’s head as he hear the click of armour. Sir Meta Knight was standing there, his sword barely marked by the clear blood of the plant. “Pyukki. A carnivorous plant,” he calmly explained.

     “C-Carniverous?” Bun recalled a few times Fumu told him about something like that. Something that eats meat, he wasn’t sure how a plant could eat meat. But this entire time he’d just been waltzing into a trap?

     The knight did not look back at him as he continued. “It creates the Noddy’s as fruits. Not only can they be used to cause nightmares, but they also can put someone into a deep sleep once consumed. It’s rare for humanoids, but more often the bones of beasts litter its home have fallen victim to its fruits and scent.”

     “Dedede was planning this all along then, huh?” Bun felt a wave of energy come back to him. He could prove himself to Sir Meta Knight and his sister once and for all! But as he pulled himself to stand up, an intense pain stung his ankle.

     It must have landed weirdly when he fell to the floor. He could feel their eyes digging into him, judging him before Sir Meta Knight flicked his blade. “Leave the rest to me.” And without another word he charged at the Pyukii flower.

     “N-No I can fight too,” Bun argued as he felt his sister push him down.

     “Let him do it, Bun. You’re hurt,” she calmly argued back to him.

     He shoved her hands off his shoulders. “I’m stronger than I look! The twins have seen it too, I’ve been protecting Kirby all this time!”

     There was a hesitation in her face. And that’s when everything slid into place. “You said you and Sir Meta Knight followed us?”

     “Yeah.”

     “S-So then the spider, the swamp and everything else? That was all him?”

     She quietly nodded.

     A cold disappointment washed over him. The sound of Sir Meta Knight’s battle blurred into the background as his family cheered him on. He must look so stupid next to them, he was never strong to begin with.

     Kirby’s weight on his back grew heavier as he turned to watch the fight. The Pyukii flower looked like a joke compared to Sir Meta Knight, leaping away from its bites before they could even snap. 

     He released the straps on his shoulders, letting Kirby lie on the floor instead. The weight off his back felt freeing, but it left a cold ache in his chest. He didn’t want to stay here any longer, he just wanted to go home. Pretend like this never happened until Kirby would remind him of how useless he really was.

     The twins noticed him limping away and they quickly flew over to him. “W-What are you doing? You’re hurt,” Lalala exclaimed.

     “You guys don’t need me here anymore. Well, you never did I guess…” he mumbled.

     “What are you talking about? Haven’t we all stuck through this together?” Lololo argued.

     “Together? Shouldn’t you be saying that to the real hero over there?” he snapped at them, leaving the twins frozen in surprise.

     This seemed to agitate Fumu as she stormed over to him. “And are you just going to keep sulking about it?”

     “I’m not sulking!”

     “Would you really go all this way to play a hero? You’re too prideful to admit it, you wanted to save Kirby, don’t you?” Her words sliced right through him. He struggled to put any back together, only gritting his teeth at her to stop himself from yelling the cave down.

     “Mm… Picnicy… Bun…” Kirby’s sleepy mumbles broke the two out of their argument.

     It was annoying but, she was right. Being a hero and all would still be cool but. It’d be lonely without Kirby. He kind of missed him already even if he was sleeping on his back the entire time.

     A loud crack then suddenly reverberated through the cave. “Ah- Dammit!…” Sir Meta Knight hissed as his sword plunged into the ground behind him. His body was tense as he grasped at the edges of a maw trying to bite through the metal platings.

     “Sir Meta Knight!” Fumu called out to the man.

     “Stay calm, it’s merely my back… Keep an eye on the others,” his voice was breathless with pain and yet he still acted as if he were in control.

     His ankle pulsed in pain again as he let out a sigh. “Man, we should’ve planned something cooler than a picnic. But, guess if you like it that much we better hold the best one in the village huh?” Bun grinned to himself as he looked over at the sleeping Kirby.

     With a war cry, he ignored the pain in his ankle and sprinted towards Sir Meta Knight’s sword. The man turned to see him and his eyes flashed red. “Don’t!-” But the sword was snatched away by one of the Pyukki’s jaws, tossing it into the wall.

     But that didn’t stop him. He kept running. Even as it wrapped him up and held him in the air he kept on wriggling. The flower was so close, just a little more… Sir Meta Knight let out a strangled groan of pain as more jaws clamped onto him. Red trickled down their fangs as they dug between the plates of armour.

     It made his heart jump up his throat, but he kept pushing. Closer and closer until one of the petals was just tickling the tips of his finger. He ripped it out, the monster screeching in pain. It felt quite satisfying after everything they’d gone through.

     Sir Meta Knight was finally able to free himself and he could accomplish what they set out to do. “Sis!” he called out to Fumu as he threw the petal over to her. She looked up at him in shock. “Wake Kirby up for me! Please!”

     He tried his best to watch Kirby finally wake up again. But it was rather difficult with one of the plant mouths roaring at him. His imagination ran wild as he stared down its throat, imagining what weird abominations that must be left down there.

     A sneeze echoed through the cave, and a Noddy was flung into its throat. It panicked, seemingly choking on its own fruit as he turned to look down at Kirby. “Kirby!” he called out to the boy. He was sitting there with his blanket over his shoulders, chocolate still in hand with a very confused and drowsy look on his face.

     He looked ready to fall right back to sleep until he noticed him. “Bun?... Bun!” The sight of him seemed to finally wake him up as he scrambled to his feet. A familiar gust of wind began to pull at him as the Pyukii began to panic and raise its protective leaves again.

     It only seemed to spur Kirby on to pull harder as the claw-like spines were torn away and absorbed into his hands. His clothes flashed white as he excitedly clicked his heels and turned into Cutter Kirby. 

     “That’s-”

     “It’s Cutter Kirby!” the twins excitedly cut Sir Meta Knight off.

     The man turned to look at them. “You knew already?”

     “Yeah! He helped us with Hittori- Wait are you sulking?” Lalala cackled.

     With chocolate in one hand and a blade in the other, Kirby tossed it at the flower. The blade spun and circled through the air with the tilt of his finger. It cut through the tendrils, freeing Bun though his landing was a bit rough again it didn’t sprain anything else. And as a final blow, Kirby sliced the large leaves off, leaving the flower out in the open with nothing to protect it.

     Bun sighed in relief as he pulled himself up to join his friend only to be surprised by one of the heads that continued to move. “Ack! You forgot one!” he yelped.

     Sir Meta Knight was quick on his feet, however. Throwing the torch at the flower, setting it ablaze. But there was something more important to him right now. “Sis!” Bun threw himself into his sister’s arms, and she embraced him back.

     “I’m so glad you're safe,” she sighed in relief.

     He couldn’t stay for long though, he had someone else he had to see. “Kirby!” he called out to the sleepy boy who was watching the fire. Kirby seemed to almost squeak as he was caught in Bun’s running hug. “You’re really okay! I’m so glad.” A wave of relief washed through his chest as he released the sluggish boy from his iron grip.

     “So shleepy…” Kirby yawned.

     “Hey! Don’t fall back to sleep! Do you wanna know how hard I worked to wake you up!”

     “Hmm? Make sure to also thank Sir Meta Knight then too. He did help you after all,” Fumu smugly teased him.

     Bun waved his arms around. “N-Not in front of Kirby! Let me have my moment!”

     Even Sir Meta Knight seemed to let out a short chuckle. “Not all warriors need to start out perfect. A bit of foolish courage is still courage. Your love and loyalty to your friend prevailed. You’ve done well.”

     Praise from Sir Meta Knight? Oh, he could hold this over Fumu’s head for a while now. He found himself skittering in excitement as Kirby finally unwrapped the chocolate he had been clinging to for a day. It was warped and melted in weird places, but the boy didn’t seem to care as he began to munch on it.

     “Say what you want, but I think he could stand to be a bit more careful,” Fumu huffed. “Try not to get it to your head.”

     “Mhmm, yeah sure.” A large grin was stretched across his face as Fumu and the twins let out annoyed groans.

     “Bun,” Sir Meta Knight’s voice quickly straightened his back.

     “Y-Yes sir?”

     “Come here.”

     Bun staggered towards the man who was slightly curled up in pain as he held a few of his injuries. There was a flip knife in his hand, it looked slightly old with his signature emblazoned onto the hilt. “If you take this knife, will you swear to me you’ll grow as a warrior and protect those around you?”

     This took him off guard a bit. Everything felt so formal all of a sudden, but he was on cloud nine still so nothing could get him down. “Huh? You don’t even have to ask! Yeah, I’ll do it! Ha, better watch out Kirby, I’ll shoot right past you soon enough.”

     “Ah… Perhaps you still have a lot more to learn than I thought,” Sir Meta Knight seemed to murmur to himself but he did not move to take the knife from him.

     A cough broke through their moment though as Lololo looked at his pocket watch. “Uhm, sorry to interrupt but. It’s been a day and a half since we left, we should really head back home now.”

     Fumu let out a scream. “Oh no! I told mama and papa I’d be back by dinner!”

     “What! This is bad, they’ve probably overturned the village looking for us all,” Bun groaned.

     “Nighty night,” Kirby yawned as he curled up on the cave floor.

     “Oi stop relaxing! Ow!” Bun jumped at Kirby only to hiss in pain as he remembered his ankle.

     Fumu paced around in worry. “Kirby still seems sleepy and Bun’s hurt. Sir Meta Knight, do you think you could carry them?”

     He seemed to let out a bit of an incredulous grunt. “What of my own injuries? You were not deaf to that noise my back created were you?” It was a bit strange to hear Sir Meta Knight so openly complain about something. 

     “Huh, I didn’t think you were that old,” Bun absently commented.

     “We are not going down that direction unless you wish to lose your knife already.” He was quickly scolded.

     Ha, a weak point. He’d have to remember that for later.

     “Oh. Parm and Memu are sure to be quite angry at you too Sir Meta Knight,” Lalala brashly reminded him. “They seem to do that a lot of late,” she murmured.

     “Perhaps for my own sanity I’d best stay in Babagahara,” he sighed.

     “No. We’re not doing this again. At least help carry Kirby instead,” Fumu scolded the man. It seemed like the journey back was going to be harder than the one they took to get here.

Chapter Text

     It had been a day since they returned from the trenches of Babagahara, and to say Meta Knight was worse for wear would be an understatement. While the children had joyously reunited with their parents, they were quick to run off and finally have their picnic. That left him alone with the sharks.

     Memu’s rage would be enough to shake the strongest soldier, leaving him more exhausted than he had been for a long while. But the painful cramps in his back persisted, making it impossible for him to relax his body in any reasonable way to rest. There was one person who he could turn to, but he was hesitant to do it.

     Escargon also suffered from numerous back problems, perhaps even more than he did due to the man’s terrible posture and lack of exercise. He was sure the man would quickly turn into a shut-in if it wasn't for his job. Though currently, the man was likely hiding from the weather more than people.

     Waddle Dees across the hallways were slumped with a fan in hand as they sweltered through the rising heat. It was simply that time of year again, and most of the year if anything. One of the many mysteries of the castle he overheard gossip over was how he could even survive the heat with his gear. The simple answer is he avoided going out in the day if possible.

     Even so, the nights were muggy and he cursed his luck that everything he needed was in the tropics.

     “Escargon, are you available?” he called out to the doctor behind his door.

     There was a grumble from behind the door. “Yeah I guess,” Escargon huffed as Meta Knight allowed himself into the man’s room.

     It was relatively small, almost quaint for the man who’d brag about his own prowess until your ears bled. The walls and floor were made of clay brick with a small back door hidden in the corner. At the centre was a queen-sized bed with a light green bed sheet and dramatically ornate curly wooden frames. Besides that was plenty of clutter. One wall was a bookshelf with a giant globe and a work desk linked up to his various inventions.

     That was where the man was crouched over, legs crossed with a fan in hand. “Don’t bother complaining about anything, if I hear one more complaint about the heat I’ll combust,” the man loudly whined.

     “Don’t you have an electric fan?”

     “Dedede stole it.”

     “I see. Well, my complaints are reserved for a different issue. Do you happen to still have any of those heat strips for back pains?”

     What he’d do to remove that smirk from the man’s face once he revealed his weakness. Despite it being shared between them, Escargon always insisted on holding it over his head until the possibility of bodily harm was raised.

     He crossed his arms, making his displeasure known to the man if he insisted on pushing. “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you…” the man grumbled at him as he rummaged through a drawer. “I take it you had a rather… Eventful day yesterday,” he sneered.

     “Indeed. It would not be wise for a knight to leave children in danger after all. I’d hope some others would share that sentiment,” he bit back at the man as he snatched the patch from his fingers.

     “Thank you. I shall be excusing myself then…” He swiftly exited the man’s room, giving him no time to make another boorish remark. It wasn’t until the safety of his own room that he could let out a sigh of relief as the pent-up pain washed through his back.

     It’d be wise to draw a bath now before applying the strip. A thick layer of sweat had developed beneath his armour that needed to be washed away. Though the thought of laying in hot water on an already hot day wasn’t the most appealing. He carefully kept the temperature down to a decent level so as to not boil him.

     Alongside it, an ailment for the mind. Some wine he had quietly borrowed from Dedede’s cellar. Parm was particular about his wine and so was Escargon but perhaps none more so than Dedede seeing as how he had made the cellar in the first place. In his general observations, he had learnt which bottles the men preferred and which ones they did not. The rejected bottles were ripe for the picking, more often scooped up by various Waddle Dees creating an almost underground market for them inside the castle.

     He was not bothered by the taste, he’d grown used to the bitter and ashy liquid of the cheap wine. It was not wise to get completely drunk, however. He could allow himself to get a bit tipsy for the evening, just enough to relax but not too much to be unable to respond to emergencies.

     Yet as he lay there in the warm waters, bottle on his lips there was a tension in his shoulders. Something felt wrong in the air. His worries were soon answered by the creak of the door opening.

     “Sir? There’s a bit of an emergency,” Blade explained pensively.

     “How urgent?”

     “Well…” She peeked out the door for a second to look at something. “Well, I don’t think anything will blow up in the next ten minutes.”

     “Give me ten then.”

     “Alright, me and Sword will keep an eye on it then,” she explained before leaving him be.

     Of course, any evening in this castle couldn’t be simple. He sighed as he pulled himself out of the bathtub. Before the warmth could leave his muscles he quickly applied the heat strip before dressing himself again.

     Sword and Blade were standing by the balcony, seemingly confused. And as he approached their confusion became evident. “Snow?...” he murmured as he stared up at the cloudy sky.

     It shouldn’t be possible in a place such as this. Perhaps on very rare occasions if blown over further north. But he hadn’t heard of any snow in their neighbouring countries of late.

     “What do you think of it?” Sword asked him as he held his hand out for a snowflake to land on. Together they had gone through snowy terrain a few stars prior, and though it had been more aggressive than this the two were familiar with it, unlike the various residents in the village.

     “It certainly does not seem natural… But we cannot be sure yet. Something like this should melt overnight, or at least only last a day. Any longer than that and I believe His Majesty has made another purchase…”

     They all quietly stared out into the snowy sky in contemplation. Despite the likely unnatural occurrence of it all. The snow was peaceful, bringing a cooling sensation to the air as opposed to the cloying humidity they were often forced to slog through.

     It was pleasant. But a sneeze from Blade was a quick reminder of some of its dangers. “Ugh, I’m gonna freeze out here if we stand around like this for any longer. Getting that fireplace on…” she murmured to herself as she escaped back inside.

     “What should we do then sir?” Sword asked him.

     Meta Knight crossed his arms. There wasn’t any immediate danger yet, perhaps even a blessing for many of the villagers who had only known warm weather. “We’ll wait until the next day. If it begins to snow again at any point we should begin an investigation into it. Until then, prepare for the cold weather.”

     “Understood.”

     One small worry emerged from his mind though as Sword left the balcony. Kirby didn’t exactly have the clothes for this kind of weather. And if it was a demon beast, he’d need to be kept warm. He was going to be rather busy tonight it seemed.

-

     The air was so warm, almost like a blanket. Kirby wasn’t sure how many times he had rubbed the drowsiness out of his eyes today. He was still feeling really sleepy after that Noddy made him sick. It felt so strange, he had woken up again in the blink of an eye but the exhaustion in his body told another story.

     But as soon as they had gotten back the adults started arguing with each other. And Fumu suggested that they all finally had that picnic together with their friends some energy had come back to him. But now a few sandwiches in, the summer heat was lulling him back to sleep again.

     A few of the others were also looking a bit drowsy too. The twins were laying together on the picnic blanket, they seemed to have fallen asleep a while ago already. Bun on the other hand was filled with energy, regalling the tale of his adventure as he played kickball with Iroo and Hohhe.

     “That jungle sounds really scary… We were all pretty scared when we heard you had all vanished near it,” Honey murmured near Fumu.

     “Yeah… I wouldn’t really suggest going there on your own. I was feeling pretty emotional at the time, so acted rashly,” Fumu sighed.

     It was hard to stay focused and listen to the two. He must have drifted off for a moment when a dragonfly landed on his nose. Kirby let out a small giggle as it tickled his nose.

     But Fumu was less amused. “What the… A red dragonfly?”

     “Oh wow. I’ve never seen one that colour before. Is it rare?” Honey asked her.

     “Here at least. They only show up during autumn- What the?” Fumu’s explanation tapered off as she stared up at the sky and a cold breeze swept past them. The sky was dark and cloudy, as a really heavy storm was about to hit. Yet the clouds felt different, they were a darker grey instead of the near black the local storms would have.

     Kirby shivered, it was really cold. He had only shivered like this before when they all jumped into a river once to cool down. “Why so cold?” he whined to Fumu as he grabbed his cardigan.

     “It must be a storm,” she explained she grabbed their plates and cups full or not and stuffed them inside the basket. “C’mon let’s get home before we’re caught in it,” she exclaimed as the others also gathered to pack up.

     But Kirby didn’t move. “What’s that?” he asked as he pointed towards the sky. The rain was white, softly falling to the sky instead where it drifted onto his hand. It was cold, melting like the shaved ice he had at Kawasaki’s.

     “Raining shaved ice?” he asked Fumu as her face twisted into utter confusion.

     “What?... How? Nevermind that! We’ll all catch colds if we stay out for long. I’m gonna figure this out, try to keep warm tonight,” she explained to everyone as they nodded in agreement. As the air grew more chilled they finally scattered.

     While everyone else ran home, Kirby walked back. Feeling the shaved ice land in his hair and feathers. It felt quite nice. But by the time he got home he was shivering, patches of his cardigan were wet where the ice had melted.

     Tokkori was watching TV by the fireplace which had just been lit. “Huh? Oh finally back then snoozer?”

     “Mmm… It’s cold outside.”

     “Yeah, I could feel it in here! Guess I should be glad they made a fireplace. Never thought I’d use it,” he remarked as he crossed his legs against a pile of pillows. 

     Standing by the door he could agree with the bird boy’s words. He could feel the cold trying to sneak through the door, so he quickly escaped to the centre of the house where it was warmer.

     On top of his bed left folded for him were the clothes and robe that had been used in the jungle Bun carried him through. His friend wasn’t the most gentle, and a lot of it had been soaked in swamp water. But Hana had offered to take them once he got washed and changed with their arrival.

     They smelt funny now, all of Hana’s washing did. It was like ten flowers in one, it was a bit strong if he was honest. But they were all soft which he was happy with. Tokkori let out a squawk as he flopped onto the pillows. “Ugh! Warn me! Nearly tossed me into the fireplace!” he loudly complained as Kirby let himself sink into the soft pile with the cape wrapped around him.

     “Hehe…”

     “Don’t hehe me!”

     The rambling of the TV slowly drifted into the background as he let his eyes close to the warmth of the fireplace. It was just like he was napping on the picnic blanket all over again.

     Yet when he opened his eyes, it didn’t feel warm at all.

     He was in a white bed with a plastic sheet on the mattress like one of the chairs in Yabui’s office. Even the pillow and the blanket felt a bit like plastic. He quickly threw it off, pouting at how clammy it made his legs.

     The room surrounding him was completely white. Desk, chair and door, almost as if it was painted completely over. A small breeze caught his attention as the wave of a long white curtain beckoned him next to the bed. The window behind it was the only source of light in the room. It was almost blinding.

     He reached out to push the curtains away, curious to see what was out there.

     “You’re finally awake again I see. Or perhaps I should say back to sleep now.”

     He snapped around. There was now a stool in the centre of the room. The Knight was sitting there. But they weren’t wearing their armour anymore. Their hair was tied back into a high ponytail with a thin black ribbon. Beneath that was a long white coat, a lot like the one Yabui also had with a black turtleneck and pants underneath. Their legs were crossed, while Yabui wore comfortable slippers they were wearing black slip-ons that looked a bit uncomfortable and formal.

     Beyond, their eyes looked, strange. While they said his were filled with starlight, there was little light to be found in theirs. It was as if he were staring into deep water, far beyond light's reach.

     They must have caught on to him staring as they poked him on the nose to break his focus. Kirby squeaked at that, before laughing at them. “You look funny without your armour on.”

     “Is that so?”

     “Yeah!” He could see their wings a bit more clearly now too, just slightly hidden in the white of the coat. They dipped down low, tips of the feathers nearly touching the floor. 

     Before he could say anything else they began to talk again. “I see you're doing better now.”

     “Yeah! My friends helped me! It got all weird and cold outside though so I went to bed early. Where are we anyways?” Kirby rambled on a bit as he stood up on the bed. “It’s a bit boring.”

     They let out a disgruntled huff. “Rude. I created it.”

     “Why’s it so white? It’s really bright,” Kirby complained as he rubbed his eyes.

     “It has its uses. Stains are more visible against it.”

     “Mm not sure what kinda stains are in a dream. Kawasaki told me beetroots are really annoying to cook because they also stain everything,” he cheerfully explained as he paced around on the bed.

     It was then that he remembered something else. “Oh, then what’s out here?” he asked as he pushed his hands against the curtain.

     “There’s nothing out there,” they calmly replied as he turned to look at them in confusion

     “But-”

     “There’s nothing out there.”

     He looked back. The window was sealed shut by metal bars, only allowing the smallest amount of light through.

     “Are you, okay?” he squeaked. The Knight was acting strangely, it scared him a bit almost.

     “Of course. You’re safe after all.”

     “Uhm. Did something happen while I was asleep?” It was the only thing he could think of. He had simply thought they’d also sleep alongside him, but that empty gaze only unsettled his stomach.

     They uncrossed their legs, sitting straight on the stool. “Why would you ask that?”

     “You're acting weird.”

     This seemed to soften their face again for a moment as if a brief flash of realisation crossed through them again. “I see…”

     “W-Was it the evil wizard? Did he try to poke inside my brain again?”

     “A few times yes. Tell me. How long were you asleep for?” They leaned towards him, waiting expectantly.

     He froze up. Briefly avoiding those eyes. “A day I think…”

     “Just a day then… How interesting.” They slunk back with a sigh. “It certainly hasn’t felt like a day for me. I found fragments of a mirror, bits and pieces of memory. Yet they never fit together right, there was always something missing. Without that, there is no real reflection to be found.”

     Kirby frowned. “Oh… I’m sorry. I’ll find your name one day, I promise. Please don’t be sad,” he blubbered as he stumbled off the bed to try and hold their hand. He didn’t like seeing people sad, and they looked ready to give up.

     They carefully clasped his hand back, gently rubbing their thumb against his smaller fingers. “Your hands are warm you know, it’s a pleasant change.”

     Kirby beamed up at them. “Yeah! I warmed them up at the fireplace! And also!” Kirby continued on as he marched back onto the bed. “Your bed feels like Doctor Yabui’s uncomfortable chair! I hear he pulls out teeth in that one,” he whispered that last bit.

     “A shame isn’t it? Though I’m sure that pile of pillows you have is a far more suitable bed. But you may be excited to know, out of all my discoveries I found an old game.”

     He lit up at those words. “Oh! A game? What kind?” he excitedly asked as he bounced on the bed. It wasn’t the most springy which was disappointing.

     “It’s called chess, allow me to show you,” they explained. The Knight reached for something below the bed. Before Kirby could take a peek, a tall white cube had been pulled from nowhere and stretched out to be used like a table. On top of the cube was a board carved out of glass. It was covered in squares, some more clouded than the others. But what caught Kirby’s eyes were little differently shaped pieces on both sides all made of glass.

     But unlike some of the squares that were clouded, the pieces on the board looked exactly the same as they did on the other side. It made him tilt his head in confusion as they softly chuckled at him. “Confused already?”

     “Yeah! How can you tell the difference for each piece?”

     “Well, they’re different shapes of course.”

     “No not that! The sides!” Kirby pouted. He was sure they were doing that on purpose.

     They leaned on the table, resting their chin on the back of their hand as they tilted one of the taller pieces with the tip of their finger. “That’s simply how I prefer chess. In the rules of chess, you must attain a checkmate against the opponent's king piece. If the king is captured or has no way of escape, it’s over. But, without the distinction of who's on what side. Would it not go on forever?”

     “I guess so. But won’t it get boring?”

     “That is until someone makes a choice.”

     “A choice?”

     They picked up the taller piece, rotating it in their fingers as they lazily stared at it. “A battle is meaningless if there’s nothing to fight for. It doesn’t matter what piece it is, or what side it started from. Once someone finds something to fight for, victory and defeat will be possible.”

     Kirby frowned. “It’s really confusing…”

     “Hmm. Not yet then perhaps. You’ll come to understand things like this more as you get older. It’s good to think about things, even at your age. Until then, surely your friends told you tales of what happened while you were asleep?” They moved to rest their head on the back of their hands with a flicker of excitement in their eyes.

     He jumped up on the bed again. “Yeah! They told me all about it!” From Bun saving him from a few beasts too big not to be called monsters. Fumu’s choice to save him despite the dangers. Lololo and Lalala figuring out the right way to reach the flower. And Meta Knight carefully watching over them the entire time. He told them everything his friends had told him. He was so caught up in his story he hadn’t noticed that familiar drowsiness in his dreams when it was time to wake up.

     “Kirby!” A familiar voice called out to him. Kirby found himself plucking his face from the depths of his pillow as something banged on the window. The fire had gone out overnight, but thankfully the pillows had kept him warm.

     Tokkori let out an annoyed groan as he also plucked himself out of the pile, fluttering about in bird form. “Ugh, can't he shut his trap for a minute…” he whined as the two approached the window.

     What exactly was Bun throwing at the window? He knew all the times before that whenever the boy threw something for fun it usually broke windows and he didn’t really want that. Though before he got the chance to ask the boy, something cold and wet smacked him in the face as they opened the window.

     “Ah- Sorry,” Bun quickly apologised as he toppled over and crashed onto his bed.

     “The hell is all this!” Tokkori loudly squawked as he fluttered about by the window.

     Curiosity got the better of him and Kirby took another peak out the window. “Wow…” he gasped as he looked over the transformed countryside. White powder covered everything as far as the eye could see, glittering in the sunlight.

     “C’mon look at this!” Bun gleefully called out to him. He was wearing a lot more layers than usual. On him was a pair of green boots with some blue trousers tucked in. Next to that was a thick woolly blue coat with a light green scarf with little white bobbles at the end.

     Kirby found himself tumbling out of the window just to get a touch of it all. Only to land face-first in it. Bun just laughed at him as he strolled over to pull him up. The floor was freezing cold, though he mostly ignored the chill it was slowly sending up his legs.

     “It’s crazy to think. But apparently, this is called snow! It might even be the first time it’s snowed here too!” Bun explained.

     “Snow… Snow! It’s soft and cold!” He gathered as much as he could up in his arms before tossing it into the air. Tokkori yelped as some of it landed in his face.

     The fun was cut short though by a violent shiver that coursed through his body. “Snow is cold…” he quietly complained as he rubbed his hands together. It was like being trapped inside a fridge. A strange experience he had experienced once by accident when he was a bit too adventurous around the castle kitchen.

     It wasn’t very fun.

     “Kirby! Get inside you cant stay out dressed like that!” Fumu’s voice yelled over at them. She quickly pushed him inside where Tokkori had already started the fireplace again.

     He sat on the pile of cushions as they all seemed to gather inside his little house much to the bird’s dismay. Fumu was wearing a coat-like dress, it was light pink with fluffy white trimmings and round buttons down the front. Her boots were black and only ankle length with thick white tights to protect her legs. Above that was a pink scarf and fluffy earmuffs.

     “Kirby, the snow isn’t something you can just walk around in normally. I can't believe you even went out barefooted in it,” she sighed. “Let’s just hope you don’t catch a cold.”

     “He can’t! He’s too stupid for that!” Bun laughed, Tokkori joining in with him.

     She shot him a glare and the two quickly went quiet. “Well. A ‘mysterious donor’.” She rolled her eyes at those words. “Asked me to take this with me for you,” she explained as he held out a bag for him.

     Inside was a thick pink knitted sweater with gaps at the back for his wings. There was a pair of jeans and red boots that were lined inside by fluffy wool. And lastly a light blue knitted scarf and cream gloves.

     “Ever wonder where he gets all that?” Bun murmured to her.

     “Who knows,” she calmly replied before coming over to help him get dressed.

     The sweater was a bit big for him, it nearly covered up his hands. But it was cosy, albeit a bit sweaty with the fireplace crackling behind them. “Alright, now that Kirby’s ready let’s go!” Bun announced with vigour.

     “You’re all insane for goin’ out in that weather. I’m goin’ back to bed,” Tokkori mumbled as he piled the pillowed back onto the bed.

     “Okay. Bye-bye, Tokko!” Kirby cheerfully waved to him as they shut the door behind them.

     The snow was much more bearable now that he was properly wrapped up. “Why’s it snowing?” Kirby asked Fumu as the three of them began their walk towards the village.

     “I-I can't really answer that,” she admitted. “Dedede has to be involved though, anything weird he’s got his hands in.”

     “Yeah but is it really that bad? It’ll only be for a little while. And besides weren’t you complaining about the heat earlier?” Bun teased her, relaxing his arms behind his head.

     She puffed up her cheeks. “Maybe now it will. But the plants and animals here are adapted to tropical climates. I’m worried it might affect them…”

     “I-I’m sure they won’t! You saw how quickly they all bounced back with Whispy’s help.”

     “We can’t always rely on miracles like that. Maybe I can talk to Curio about it later…” she muttered to herself a bit.

     “Well, at least everyone else can have some fun until then! Maybe Kawasaki’s made something for the weather. Right, Kirby?”  Bun cheerfully suggested, bringing the mood back up.

     The village was bustling today, everyone was left aghast at the strange weather. A large line cut through the main square, all lining up for the store the Mayor owned that sold wool. It looked like everyone was preparing the best they could for the cold weather, he had never seen so many knitted sweaters in his life.

     Borum and a few others were walking around with shovels, pushing the snow away from paths and out of the way of the busy village. “So busy…” Kirby murmured to himself in amazement. The way they were all lined up reminded him of the factory, though it wasn’t a very pleasant comparison.

     “Look! Kawasaki’s doing some specials for the weather!” Bun exclaimed as he dragged the two towards the familiar restaurant. It was warm and toasty inside, a stark contrast to the chilly winds outside.

     Tables were lined with customers jittery from the cold, warming their hands and stomachs with soups and drinks. “Welcome! Are you here to dine in or looking for hot cocoa on the go?” Kawasaki greeted them.

     “Hot cocoa!” Kirby immediately replied.

     “Hot cocoa coming up! Anything for you two?” the chef asked the siblings.

     Fumu gave it some thought. “Yes please, but what do you mean to go?”

     “Well uh. I was testing out some new marketing, and I bought a bunch of these cups you can carry a drink around and get rid of once you're done. They’re perfect for drinking stuff like coffee and tea on the go, so why not hot cocoa too?”

     “Won’t that make a lot of waste?”

     The man flinched at her pointed look. “It’s ah… A work in progress. But I’m sure you know a good way properly dispose of them, r-right?”

     “I guess-”

     “Perfect! Let me heat it up for you then!”

     Fumu pouted at his interruption but her annoyance was short-lived by the sweet warm drink in her hands. Once back outside he could feel the warmth of the drink travel through his chest, perfect for the weather.

     With their drinks in hand, they set off to meet with their friends who were waiting by the edge of the forest, tumbling around in the snow. Hohhe was bundled up in an extra thick blue sweater and a woolly hat to replace his straw one with farming boots that had the dried mud washed away by the snow. Iroo was the least wrapped up out of them all, choosing only to wear shorts with her boots and cover her arms with what looked to be her father's brown jacket. Honey was wearing a button-up knitted yellow and white jumper with gloves and a pair of rarely used trousers.

     “Yahoo!” Bun called over to his friends. “Whatcha doing?”

     “Heya!” Iroo greeted him. “Nothing much, we’re just playing around in this stuff. Uh… Snow right?”

     “Yup. It’s almost like sand…” she hummed to herself.

     This seemed to give Honey an idea. “Oh! What if we made things out of it like how we make sandcastles?” she suggested.

     “In my research, I learnt some places will roll up big balls of snow, stack them and decorate them like little people. They’re called snowmen,” Fumu explained as she sipped more of her hot cocoa.

     “Sounds pretty fun but uh. What would we decorate them with?” Hohhe asked with a raised eyebrow. “Guess we could make them a pin cushion with sticks.”

     “A bit brutish don’t you think?... Ah! Iroo, wasn’t there a box full of stuff you normally use for sandcastles? Maybe you could all use that to decorate them?” Fumu suggested.

     They all seemed to nod in agreement. “Right, I’ll go grab it then. Maybe you could all make the bodies while I’m gone?” And with that, Fumu ran off back towards the village fields.

     None of them were very sure about how to start making their snowmen. Honey made hers first, rolling up too smalls together that fit in the palm of her hands. Once stacked together it easily blended in with piles of snow beneath them.

     “Looks a bit like a baby…” Hohhe commented.

     “I-It’s cute!” she argued back.

     “Yeah! It’s cute!” Iroo also jumped to her defence.

     Bun just sighed at them. “This happens with the sandcastles too. How big are you making yours then Kirby?”

     “Me sized!”

     “Pretty small too then huh?”

     He puffed his cheeks up at him for that. In the end, all their snowmen were a bit, wonky. Iroo and Hohhe fought over making the biggest ones and struggled to get their heads on. And it was hard to not see Bun’s temptation to ram himself into the snowman he just made.

     By the time Fumu got back another squabble had broke out between Iroo and Hohhe over the heights of their snowmen. Fumu only rolled her eyes at them as she set the plastic box down. “I learnt that people also used coal for their snowmen. So I also grabbed some in this pouch if any of you want to use it,” she added, holding out a small sack.

     Kirby wasn’t sure what he wanted to give his snowman. He thought hard about it as his friends picked up bits and pieces from the box. Honey made hers look like a little bunny with some leaves and gave it some arms out of flag sticks. Iroo’s looked like a dinosaur, she used a stick to hold a bucket on its face and stuck small shovels onto its sides for arms. Hohhe’s looked like himself, using a frisbee to try and recreate the hat he was missing. Bun’s looked like a knight, with a massive bucket covering its entire head and a shovel at its side like a sword.

     Inside the box, Kirby found something odd. “Oh? I think that used to belong to our cat. Sometimes I’ll shove the bell into my castles,” Iroo explained as he pulled out a red collar with a bell on it.

     But it was cute! He quickly put it on his snowman much to his friend’s confusion. “Are you making some sort of cat?” Honey asked him.

     “Nope! Has a bell, like me!” he explained as he fished the New Year charm from where it had seemingly become caught inside his sweater.

     Next, he gave it a hat with a green bucket. It reminded him a bit of the top hat the mayor wore. Then he gave it some eyes with the coal Fumu got them, but it looked a bit weird without eyebrows. A few pieces were in a close shape to it, but it made the snowman look a bit angry. Lastly, he gave it some arms with a few twigs, but it looked a bit cold so he gave them his gloves.

     His friends stared at his snowman in confusion. “So if it’s not a cat… What is it?” Iroo asked.

     “Chilly!”

     “You named it?” Bun gawked.

     “Yup! His name is Chilly!”

     “Well I think he looks nice,” Fumu jabbed at her brother as she ran her hand through Kirby’s hair. “Though after last time I’m surprised you didn’t call him Snowman...”

     He just laughed with her, even though he wasn’t really sure what she meant by that. But their fun was short-lived as he heard the heavy footsteps of an adult approaching from the distance. The others seemed to notice him picking up the sound and peered in the direction he was looking in confusion.

     “Hana’s calling for class,” Kirby explained as her voice reached his ears before anyone else.

     The group gawked in surprise. “Wait! We still have school today?” Hohhe panicked, his panic shortly followed by Iroo and Bun’s own explosive selves.

     “C-Calm down. I’m sure they’d understand why we’re late,” Honey stuttered.

     “They probably just want to make sure we learn about the snow more before we play in it,” Fumu calmly suggested. Her words seemed to relax the group's shoulders as they quickly packed away any other decorations they didn’t use.

     Kirby frowned. “Everyone’s going?”

     “Yeah… But we’ll play with you after school alright? Uhm, do you think you could take the box back to Iroo’s house though?” Fumu crouched down to talk to him as the others began to run in the direction of Hana who was coming into view now.

     “...Sure.”

     “Thank you. We’ll see you in a bit then!” She cheerfully waved him goodbye as she caught up with the rest of the group.

     He was alone with the snowmen now.

     It was hard to not frown whenever they had to go to school. He had to wait around for hours for them to come back after all. None of the other kids were interested in playing with him, and usually, the adults were too busy for it.

     “At least I have you Chilly!” he spoke aloud to the snowman. “I can't move you very far, so we can just play here instead.”

     What games could you ever play with a snowman? He ran around him a few times, creating a small circle around him before running out of breath. He flopped onto the snow below him and looked up at his friend. “Did you see how fast I went? I can run faster if I get chased!”

     Getting chased wasn’t as fun though.

     He could hide behind the other snowmen and see if Chilly could spot him. Or tell him trivia that scared the adults. There were lots of weird facts he could hear all around him, but most adults didn’t seem happy about it.

     Kirby let out a sigh. The snow was melting into his sweater, allowing the cold air to bite at him. “I’m cold…” he whined. “I’ll see you later Chilly!” He waved at the snowman as he heaved up Iroo’s box. Maybe he could warm up at Kawasaki’s on the way back.

-

     “Achoo! Your Majesty, I think we’ve been out here an hour too long…” Escargon whined as he dragged his boots through the snow. The scrawny man had been quick to retreat from the cold, only to be dragged out in various layers of coats and sweaters. Neither of them would admit it aloud, but they were somewhat thankful for the number of sheep in the village. All the warm and woollen clothing was a godsend for this bitter weather.

     Though it looked like Dedede wasn’t affected in the slightest. He only wore a large blue weather beneath his robe and a green scarf out of Escargon’s insistence. The king was already dressed quite well for the weather with his robe and was seemingly taking it all in stride.

     Dedede laughed at Escargon. “Can't handle the heat, can't handle the cold. Gotta get used to one or the other!”

     Escargon just grumbled at him. “Well does it have to be at two in the morning? It’s even starting to snow again now.”

     “Yup! That ice dragon should be making sure it snows every night. We just have to uh… Check on it sometimes. And there’s that cool thing you mentioned it could do that was in the manual?” He didn’t really check it, he just listened to whatever Customer Service said about it.

     “You mean bringing snow to life?”
    “Yeah, that thing! Could really spice up our little resort,” Dedede explained as he dragged Escargon over a section of a frozen river. That dragon had scurried off towards one of their forests, not one of Whispy’s thankfully but still a pain to look through.

     “Hey! Dragon! You out there!” Dedede yelled out towards the edge of the forest.

     Escargon clasped his ears. “I’m sure no one else heard that… Hmm, what’s that?”

     They looked towards the forest edge and spotted a collection of snowmen. “Test subjects I’d say. Those brats must have made them earlier. Hey! Ice dragon! Got somethin’ for you to do!” The King loudly yelled out into the forest again.

     Something could be heard scurrying towards them through the forest, giving little mind to the weak bushes and twigs as it ran. It hissed at them like some deranged lizard, though it wasn’t too far from the truth.

     The Ice Dragon was a stubby little thing, and it was even smaller when they bought it. But in just a night the thing had grown a few inches to reach Dedede’s chin. The king quickly backed away, memories of the little creature freezing half his face off still in the air.

     “Alright then… Uh, you can bring snow to life yeah? Do it to those snowmen,” he ordered the dragon.

     It sniffed the snowmen, slinking around each one. If it was dissatisfied with one, it’d simply crush it causing the two men to step back a bit. Escargon elbowed him lightly to grab his attention. “Your Majesty, is it only a tourist attraction you want them for?”

     “I mean yeah? Wouldn’t it be cool?”

     “It could do more than that,” he insisted.

     Dedede looked at him confused. “Like what- Ohhhh…” A devilish grin quickly grew across his face as the realization kicked in. “Ice Dragon! Whatever you bring to life, make sure they’ll all attack Kirby!” he ordered it.

     The dragon barely acknowledged his new order, continuing to sift through the snowmen at its leisure. All but one were left destroyed, the last one was a mess of decorations. Probably Kirby’s, Dedede bet.

     But the dragon seemed to take a particular interest in it. Observing it. Sniffing it. And then finally letting out the whisper of a breath across its body.

     They watched the snowman in anticipation, expecting some sort of transformation or for it to burst into life. Only to be pushed over by the aggressive dragon in their moment of distraction. “Oi! Get off me!” Dedede shrieked as it froze his beard.

     It sounded like it almost laughed at him, before scurrying back into the forest. Dedede lept up from the snow with a stomp. “Argh! Damn thing! Does it get some sick kick out of tormenting me!”

     “Pot calling the kettle black…” Escargon commented snidely. “Ah- Wait a minute. The snowman vanished!”

     Dedede let out a frustrated whine. “Ugh, this was all a waste of time. Now I have snow down my shirt too…”

     “Maybe we should call it a night,” Escargon sighed.

-

     A new day meant even more snow! And Kirby woke up bright and early today for it. There was going to be no school today, Bun had excitedly told him all about it. That meant they could all play until the sun went down or at least until they got tired.

     He left Tokkori to sleep the day away as he ran off to meet up with his friends. They all agreed to meet up by one of the large hills near the village as it seemed like Dedede was busy with something there. By the time he arrived though he was met with a surprising sight.

     “So many people…” he gasped. Dedede had set up something, he wasn’t quite sure what it was though. But there was a small hut with Waddle Dee’s handing out various colourful boards and planks to people before they got on chairs that were carried up by a wire to the top of the hill.

     “Kirby!” Bun’s voice called out to him. The boy grabbed his hand as he ran by, dragging him towards the queue as their friends trailed behind. “Dedede’s handing out these snowboards! Apparently, they’re really fun, and you can slide down hills in them and everything!” he excitedly explained.

     That explained the crowds. “So we can slide down the hills?”

     “Yup! And Dedede’s giving them out for free too. I think there’s uh, a big one that’s a snowboard, and then skis which are two small ones you use sticks to push around with,” Bun explained as the queue slowly moved along.

     They all talked about what they were going to pick. Kirby liked the idea of laying on a big board, so he was going to get one of those. Bun and Hohhe were also getting a snowboard while Iroo and Honey were choosing skis. Mostly because Honey wanted one.

     Once it was finally his turn, Kirby got a large green snowboard and was pointed towards the moving seats. It was big enough for him and Bun to fit together. The older boy helped pull him up as it cycled past them, nearly dropping their snowboard in the process.

     “We’re so high up! Is this what it feels like when you use your warp star?” Bun asked.

     “A lil bit! More space here,” Kirby giggled as he kicked his feet around. “What do we do up there?”

     Bun peered down at the others passing beneath them. “Well, we stand or I guess lay on the board and let it slide down! And we can do it as much as we want.”

     “Ooo…”

     “I’ll race ya! Let’s see whose faster!”

     It was a bit nerve-wracking at first once they stood at the top of the hill. Some adults were having fun and one of them was pushed down early, their scream carrying up the hill as their friends laughed. “T-They’re fast…” Kirby murmured as he took a small step back.

     “You scared of the hill?” Bun snorted.

     Kirby’s cheeks puffed up. “No! Let’s race! Right now!”

     “Haha! That’s better. Maybe we’ll even see the others on our way down.”

     He prepared himself on the snowboard, standing as if he were using the warp star. “Why isn’t it mov- Waaah!” Bun pushed him down the hill, causing him to topple over and cling to the board with his hands.

     Bun kept on his feet beside him, laughing as the wind rushed past their faces. Giddiness rushed past the initial fear in his heart, joining his friend in laughter as they rushed down the slope.

     Maybe Kabu would let him borrow the warp star sometime outside of a fight, it’d be fun to take his friends on flights like this. “Woo! Oh? Hey sis!” Bun called out beside him as they slowed down midway down the slope.

     “Bun? Kirby? What are you two doing?” she asked in surprise.

     “Playin’ with the snowboards Dedede gave us! You should try it too, not every day Dedede gives something out for free.”

     “And whenever he does it’s cause for concern…”

     “I’m sure it’ll be fine! Don’t wait too long though! It’s somewhere at the bottom of the hill, eh just follow the flying benches and you’ll be fine,” Bun shrugged.

     She looked at him in confusion. “The what?”

     “You’ll know what I mean! C’mon, Kirby! The last one’s a rotten egg,” he cackled at him. Before Fumu could react, Bun kicked off back down the hill.

     Kirby panicked, pushing back on his own board with his hands. He pouted a bit on his way down, Bun had a head start! How could he catch up to him now? Maybe he could use his arms to push the board to move faster.

     Controlling it was a bit more difficult than using the warp star though. It was hard to explain, but it was like moving it with his heart. This was a bit more than his heart, and he was struggling to keep straight.

     Before he knew it the board took a swerve, and he couldn’t do much to stop it. “Bun!” he called out to his friend in a panic as the trees shot past him. The snowboard wasn’t fun anymore, he really wanted to get off now.

     His legs trembled with any attempt to get off, it wasn’t long until the board collided with a jutted stone. The shock rushed through his arms as he was flung through the air and planted right into the snow.

     He let himself lay there for a while. He was sure if any birds were around they would be laughing at him.

     “Kirby!” Bun’s voice called out to him as the sound of his snowboard got closer. The boy helped pluck him out of the snow, brushing it off his sweater and face. The coldness of it all had left his cheeks and nose even more ruddy than before, maybe he’d catch a cold like all the adults had warned them.

     “Glad you’re alright. But uh. What is that?” Bun narrowed his eyes as he looked behind Kirby.

     Kirby followed his gaze. “Huh? Chilly?” His snowman was standing there, in the middle of the small forest.

-

     Snow. It’s something so fragile, yet so dangerous. The cold destroys the warm, and the warm destroys the cold.

     I’m made of snow, so I am cold. My name is Chilly, because the warm child said so.

     His smile is like sunlight, the warmest thing of all. It scares me.

     I see his hands, they’re red and cold without wool to hold them. He did this to warm my own. It’s a gentle warmth, one that’d make me smile if I had been given a mouth.

     “What’s your snowman doing all the way out here? Did someone move it as a joke?” The bushy boy asked the sun.

     His lips curled in thought as he peered closer. “Dunno…”

     I peered closer, scaring the two boys as they lept back in surprise.

     “W-What the? It moved!” The bushy boy gawked. “Wait, do you understand anything I’m saying too?”

     I nodded, the bell around my neck ringing out as I did.

     The bushy boy’s lips sunk into a concerned frown only for the sun’s eyes to brighten. “Chilly! You can move! You can move!” he cheered as he lept around joyfully.

     “Kirby, I don’t think it’s a good idea to get attached. Somethings off about this.”

     Kirby. The sun was called Kirby.

     It felt as if my own warmth bloomed inside of me. He was so happy, I couldn’t help but join him. Leaping across the snow in joy together, why was there any worry at all?

     “Kirby!” A new voice called out to them. A girl with golden hair slid towards them, curiosity and suspicion glowing in her eyes. “What’s this? Did you make another snowman?”

     I huffed, jumping in frustration which surprised the girl. “Sis, this is Chilly. It’s the snowman Kirby made. Looks like he came to life,” the bushy boy explained.

     I nodded along. She looked pensive. “How did that happen? Did the other ones come to life too?”

     I shook my head.

     “Then how?”

     I…

     A snowball cascaded into her hair, knocking her off her train of questions. “What the?-” Even more were smacked into the faces of the children around me. As well as one that slid down the side of my face.

     “C’mon! Let’s have a snowball fight!” A spikey girl called out to them. Kirby and his friend were excited by this idea, but the golden-haired girl continued to scowl. I followed them to their game, keeping that flash of pink hair in my sight.

     He’s gentle with creating snowballs, rolling them up into the most perfect ball he can muster with his ruddy fingers. But it’s clear he has no awareness of his surroundings, gleefully running out onto the field like an open target.

     I would have laughed as he was pelted by snowballs. But I cannot breathe, let alone laugh.

     He ran off behind me, sheltering himself beneath a tree as he tried to make more snowballs away from their range. I would have gone over there to help him, in whatever way I could.

     But.

     Kill him.

     My heart is awash with desires black and white.

     I can feel it, like a trapped animal twisting in its cage. My body moves on its own, long sharp icicles had slopped down from the tree tops. If one fell, it’d likely slice through his small body in an instant. If not that, a slow painful death surrounded by the gleeful laughs of his friends playing in this distance.

     My hand struggles against that desire. I don’t want to hurt him. The smile that moulded me.

     The ice-cold bitter breath of that creature whispered its one order as I came to life.

      Kill him.

     One of my snowballs hits the largest icicle, the relief I should have felt when it landed in his pile of snowballs. But it did not come, only my bloodlust festered. More icicles, a barrage of them to rain from above.

     I saw him look up confused as they were beginning to tremble. Would that I could squeeze my eyes shut from the red-stained snow that was to come. But my eyes are made of charcoal, it was a miracle I could see at all.

     “Get outta the way!” a shrill cry called out from the side of my eyes. The king was stumbling down a slope, across unfamiliar skis right towards Kirby. He flew past the boy, knocking him out of the way.

     Kirby was safe once more.

     “Kirby! Are you alright?” The golden-haired girl ran over to him with her brother, brushing the snow off his sweater. I noticed her shoot a glare my way as she did, suspicion heavy in the air. Though I could not blame her, perhaps she saw my failures.

     “Mhm. Dedede crashed into me. Ohh, he’s crashed again,” Kirby murmured. I noticed one of his ears seemingly perked up on one side. But I could hear no crash on my end.

     “It wasn’t just that though, was it? Those icicles, did you do that Chilly?” I did. But I couldn’t confess.

     Yet Kirby didn’t seem to be bothered by her accusations. “Why would he do that? Chilly is my friend, he just needs a bit more time to learn how to play. I can teach him!” His words and smile were shimmering, causing more worry to form on his friend's face.

     With a gentle hand, he led me away from them, deeper into the forest. Alone.

     “Hehe! I never thought a snowman could come to life. I’m glad it's you, I had so much fun playing with you before,” he began chattering. “Fumu and Bun are my friends! They care about me a lot. Sometimes a bit too much maybe. But they’re still my friends, and you’re my friend too.”

     The forest around us was gently draped in frost sparkling in the sunlight. What would happen if the snow stayed, would I get to be with him forever? Or until I completed my duty?...

     “I have a secret for you. So make sure not to tell anyone!” Doable, I can't speak after all. “Sometimes I get a little bit sad. I can't go to school like everyone else, so sometimes I have no one to play with. No one else wants to play with me. I don’t know why, so I’m glad you want to play with me!” He smiled at me earnestly and trustfully, how dearly I wanted to keep it safe.

     But I know the shackles in my heart would lead me otherwise.

     We came across a frozen lake, catching his attention as he poked the hard surface. “Wow… So cold. It’s like ice!” It flashed through me again, pushing him onto the frozen pond.

     Perhaps he would have tripped and injured his ankle or fractured his skull. But he simply slid across the lake much to our surprise. He attempted to get up, only to slip and slide across the lake on his bum. “It’s so slippery! But it’s fun!” he called out to me as he slowly seemed to get a balance. Practically skating across the lake, though a bit wobbly.

     “C’mon! Join me!” He held his hand out to me.

     I stood by the lake, only to feel that urge reach out to me again. Only the surface of the lake was frozen, beneath it was dangerously cold. A child his age and size wouldn’t last long, the cold would seize his muscles and he’d shortly drown.

     My body slammed itself onto the ice, creating a small crack. He clapped for me, impressed by my jump before I jumped once more. It shattered beneath him, his eyes shrinking in fear as he was quickly plunged into those frozen waters.

     I couldn’t move, fear seized me as I watched him struggle. So preoccupied with my own failure, I didn’t notice the ice continuing to buckle beneath me before I joined him. Perhaps it’d have been a better outcome, rather than seeing him get hurt because of my own weaknesses.

     The water was slowly washing me away. Snow was so fragile, wasn’t it?

     Yet, my consciousness didn’t fade. Something was dragging me away to more solid ground. But I couldn’t move or see, only feel as piles of snow were smothered over my body. It seemed to slowly repair me, another strange power from that beast perhaps.

     But my strength finally returned, and I was greeted by the smiling sun and an angry friend. She stepped between us quickly, despite his smile I could see Kirby was trembling from the cold of the lake. “What were you thinking? Kirby nearly drowned because of you!”

     I deserved every word honestly. And yet.

     “Please don’t be mad at him!”

     “Huh?”

     “He’s a little bit rough but he’s learning! Right, Chilly?” He smiled up at me again.

     His skin was a bit pale, and his eyes were hiding an obvious exhaustion from the cold. I felt wretched.

     Fumu sighed. “You’re too trusting you know that? Anyways, we need to get you warmed up okay? Cold water like that is dangerous!” She grabbed his wrist, barely giving me a moment to follow before she began to pull him away.

     I followed them the best I could, it wasn’t the easiest with my lack of legs of any kind. We eventually arrived at a round dome, Kirby’s house it seems. I took a peak through the window, a fireplace had been lit and Fumu had seemingly wrapped Kirby up in a tornado of blankets trapping him in front of the fire.

     Seems he’d be gone for the rest of the day to recover. It relieved me somewhat. With a locked door between us, I could stop to think freely once again.

     Perhaps if I had been built by any other child, I wouldn’t be plagued by such worries. But that boy had built me, I don’t want to hurt him.

     I don’t want to kill him.

-

     “I just don’t get it. Surely he’d notice that snowman was trying to hurt him?” Fumu complained aloud as they trudged through the snow again. She swore it was getting thicker each day it stayed here.

     The twins were busy yesterday and didn’t have the time to visit Dedede’s little resort. Loathe as she was to admit it, it was actually quite harmless. No secret fees, or monsters to speak of. Though she was half expecting to see moving snowmen starting to man the facility if her suspicions were correct. 

     As expected, the twins were matched in everything but colour. They wore coats of their favourite colours with fluffy white collars and earmuffs. Lalala tied her own ribbon on top of her earmuffs too.

     “Didn’t something like this happen before too?” Lololo asked her.

     That was right, though it wasn’t a pleasant memory. “Yeah… I don’t know if he understands deception. It’s going to be hard to break it to him.”

     “Well, he’s got to learn about it eventually! Won’t it hurt more when it happens to him?” Lalala commented.

     Fumu sighed. It was a difficult choice to make. How would she even explain it to him? Especially in a way he’d understand her. “Maybe I’ll talk to him later. He’ll probably bring that snowman to the festival today.”

     The snow had gone on long enough for the adults to finally make a festival out of it. They made festivals out of everything. So the slopes would be rather quiet today while preparations were made. But she couldn’t help but feel a tightness in her chest today, dread perhaps.

     “Do you think the other snowmen will come to life too?” Lololo asked.

     “Hmm. Maybe. We could make one,” Lalala replied.

     “I think a demon beast did. It’s the only explanation for the snow,” she quietly interrupted them.

     Silence followed her words. It left her unsure whether to carry on with them or not. “If a demon beast made him, wouldn’t that also make him one too? It’ll be dangerous if he stays around Kirby for too long.”

     Lalala frowned, clenching her fist to her chest. “I-Is it?”

     “Ah- I’m sorry I didn’t mean-”

     “Do you think we’ll hurt Kirby someday too?”

     Her brother was quick to come to her comfort, squishing his cheeks with his hands. “We won’t! We’re his friends after all. We’re Lololo and Lalala,” he smiled at her.

     Though she smiled back, it did not feel as if they reached her eyes. “Aha, thanks. Sorry about that, maybe the cold is making me easily upset.”

     “No, I should be sorry. I didn’t think about my words,” Fumu sighed.

     “Pay me back with hot cocoa?”

     “Yeah, for both of you.” This put some pep back into the twins. Yet Fumu felt her heart wasn’t at rest just yet.

-

     “Good mornings!” Kirby excitedly announced to a grumpy Tokkori. The bird boy had barely stepped out ever since it started snowing, staying wrapped up in bed instead all day.

     Today wasn’t any different, only getting a groan of annoyance from beneath the sheets. “Pipe down. It’s too cold out,” Tokkori whined as he buried himself deeper.

     “You’re sleeping more than me. Are you sick?”

     “Who cares, you’re yappings gonna give me a headache anyways!” He could hear him kicking his legs in a tantrum on the mattress.

     Kirby just hummed. “Okay. But there’s a festival today! So see if you can get out later!” He was ignored, but he didn’t really mind. Maybe later he could ask Yabui what was wrong, would he even know how birds could get sick though?

     He could talk about it later, for now, he had to get dressed and head to the village. “Hello, Chilly!” he eagerly greeted the sleepy snowman outside of his house. Chilly seemed to jump in surprise at seeing him, before wobbling in happiness.

     “Yaay! Maybe Fumu will finally warm up to you too. We could play some games or have some of Kawasaki’s food. I don’t know what snowmen eat but snows a bit like shaved ice so maybe you could eat syrup?” he rambled on to Chilly as they trudged through the snow, attracting odd glances from those who hadn’t seen him yesterday.

     “I’ve got lots of friends we can see today too. They’re a bit older. Mr Curio is really smart and he doesn’t have a lot of other friends. Kawasaki’s really nice too! People don’t really like his cooking though.”

     The village came into view soon enough, with white and blue streamers decorated with snowflakes and enterlaced with white lights across the houses. All the main roads had been cleared away of any snow, pushed into the corners of houses or turned into tiny snowmen that decorated the streets.

     “Wow, it’s so pretty. Let’s see what’s at the centre, that’s where all the fun games should be,” Kirby explained to Chilly as they passed through the streets. Compared to the New Year, there weren’t as many stalls. They must of not had a lot of time to prepare.

     Around the tree looked like strings of photos. “Hmm?” He took a closer look, it was all various villagers against the backdrop of the snowy tree. From there he was able to spot the mayor at the center of the road with his large camera.

     “Alright now, say cheese,” he explained to a small family standing in front of his camera.

     “Cheese!”

     A flash of light. “Perfect, we’ll get that processed then and we’ll hang it up on the tree once it’s done,” he explained as he pulled himself from the camera’s black sheet.

     “Oh! Chilly, let’s get a photo!” He grabbed his hand, pulling him over to the mayor who was handing the printed photograph off to a servant. “Mr Len, are you taking pictures?”

     “Hm? Yes, that’s right. I don’t think it’ll ever snow again here so we’ve been busy making those memories. I assume you also want a picture then?”

     “Yup! With my friend Chilly.”

     “Chilly?- Waugh! That snowman just moved!” The man scrambled back behind his camera in shock.

     Kirby just nodded along. “Yup! He’s my friend, I made him and then he just started moving.”

     Len seemed to eye up all the other snowmen that decorating the village corners. “Trust yours to do that,” he sighed. “Well, I suppose it’s not every day you get to meet a moving snowman. Give me a minute and I set this up.” He quickly busied himself with refilling and adjusting various parts of his camera. All too complicated for Kirby to really understand, or care for that matter.

     “Kirby, there you are!” Fumu’s voice called out to him as she ran over to him with Bun and the twins. She was quick to direct a glare at Chilly before moving onto him. “You brought Chilly with you?”

     “Yeah!”

     “Why?”

     “Because it’s fun.”

     He could hear the others laughing at Fumu’s annoyance from behind her. “Kirby… I need to talk to you later okay?” Kirby just nodded, he didn’t mind. It’d give him a chance to tell her Chilly’s not a bad friend.

     “Hmm? Oh, do all of you also want to join in too?” Len asked the other four.

     “Sure! C’mon sis it’ll be fun. Maybe we can get one with mama and papa later too,” Bun egged his sister on. She dragged herself along with a sigh, taking a stand next to Kirby instead of Chilly.

     They all lined up together, Fumu pushing a smile onto herself as the mayor readied his camera. “Alright, everyone? Say Chilly!”

     “Chilly!” A flash and their photo was taken.

     “Yaay! Thank you, Mr Len!”

     “Anytime! Make sure you all come back later and find your photo on the tree now,” the man explained as he waved them goodbye.

     They left the man to look at the various stalls surrounding the centre. Gango was by the front of his shop with a stall out displaying various snowglobes and toys for snowman making. But at the same time, he looked off. “Are you okay?” Kirby asked the man.

     He looked a bit pale and flushed, shivering out in the open despite the layers he wore. “Y-Yeah! Just a bit chilly,” the man sniffled.

     “It looks a bit worse than that… Why don’t you go see Yabui?” Fumu asked him, worry in her voice.

     “Mr Yabui’s been really busy lately though hasn’t he?” Lololo spoke up. “I was getting something for Dedede the other day and I saw a queue outside of his office.”

     Chilly seemed to slump a bit hearing their words.

     “Why?” Kirby asked.

     “Well… We’re not used to the cold I suppose. So people are spending too much time out in it and getting sick as a result. You should see Yabui too Kirby, didn’t you fall in that lake yesterday?”

     This seemed to frighten Gango. “What? That happened to one of the farmers yesterday! It’s dangerous, I’ve never seen someone get so pale!”

     “Maybe you should look in a mirror…” Bun murmured.

     “Guess he’s more hearty than the rest of us,” Lalala shrugged.

     “Or it’s because he’s an idiot,” Bun added.

     Fumu twisted his arm. “Bun… Anyways, please go see Yabui when you can… Or I’ll tell Tago on you,” she threatened the toymaker.

     “Ack! Alright, alright fine. Everyones been feeling a bit off lately though, it was fun at first but I don’t know how much longer I can take all this snow…” the man sighed.

     Satisfied with his agreement they walked over to another stall with an energetic salesman. “Any of you here masters at snowball fights?”

     “Chilly is!” Kirby excitedly explained as Fumu crooked her eyebrow in concern.

     “Is he then? Well, if any of you can knock down a prize you can go home with it,” he explained as he showed them white foam balls. “So, who wants to go first?”

     “Me!” Bun raised his hand. The man tossed a ball his way as Bun eyed the prizes lined up at the back. “What should I get… Ooh that toy sword looks pretty cool.”

     “Don’t you have one already?” Lalala questioned him.

     He began lining up his shot as he clicked his tongue. “Maybe, but the more the better! Hyah!” The ball knocked against the toy sword, but it did little to make it drop.

     The twins laughed at him as he pouted. “Why don’t you both try then!” he huffed as he pushed another ball into their hands.

     “I’ll try!” Lololo replied. “Is there anything I should aim for Lalala?”

     “Hmm… What about that cute sheep toy?”

     “A good choice! It’s made with real sheep wool!”

     If the fabric was made of wool though, wouldn’t it already be made of sheep wool? Kirby kept his thoughts to himself though. Lololo took aim and missed.

     “Bun don’t laugh!” Lololo cried as the other boy cackled at him.

     “Awh what a shame. So, whose up for the last throw? Any thoughts little hero?” The man looked at Kirby with a sneaky grin on his face.

     “Chilly why don’t you try?” Kirby asked the snowman as he popped the ball into his hand. “Uhm… What about that? What is it?” Kirby asked as he pointed at what looked like a blue girl on a keychain.

     The stall owner peered over to check with a hum. “Oh! That is an ice fairy keychain. Gango gave it to me as a prize, some sort of popular children's book in another country.”

     “Oh… I wonder if she can make shaved ice. Chilly see if you can get that one!”

     The snowman nodded, almost shivering like he was nervous as he focused on the keychain. All eyes were on the prize as the ball hurtled towards it. Snapping the body right off its feet upon impact.

     Kirby jumped in surprise. “Y-You hit it too hard!” Chilly looked away sheepishly.

     “Wait! Are the feet glued to the shelf?” Fumu glared at the stall owner.

     The man stuttered and stepped back, scooping up the body of the key chain and dumping it into Kirby’s hand. “We’re closing for the night.” That was all he said before the front of the stall was slammed shut.

     “So it was just a scam?” Bun asked.

     “Seems so… Why don’t we just get something to eat instead?” Fumu sighed.

     Kawasaki’s restaurant was toasty hot, causing Chilly to hesitate. But Fumu pulled Kirby along, forcing him to leave the snowman waiting outside as they greeted the owner.

     “Ah! Hello everyone. Looking to try a hotpot?” Kawasaki greeted them with his usual enthusiasm. But despite the recent bustle, there didn’t appear to be many people inside the restaurant today.

     “A hotpot? What’s that?” Lalala asked.

     “It’s like a bit pot of broth you put stuff in as you chat! Heard it’s really popular up north. But…” he trailed off as he looked around the restaurant with a sheepish look. “I haven’t been able to sell it much, as my ingredient stock has been small.”

     This caught the group by surprise as they all looked to the man for an answer. “Y’know. With all this snow we can't really grow anything. We don’t know how long it’s gonna last for too. So the farmers have started to ration. Curio said something about how these can last for weeks, guess that scared everyone.”

     “Oh… I’m sorry to hear that…” Fumu murmured.

     “Ah, don’t worry about it. We’ve got enough adult’s freaking out over it already.”

     That didn’t seem to help Fumu’s anxiety.

     “Would you still like anything?” Kawasaki asked them again.

     “Hot cocoa if you still have some!” Bun spoke up.

     “Can do!”

     “Shaved ice,” Kirby added.

     The chef looked at him in confusion. “S-Shaved ice? In this weather?”

     “... Can it be shaped like a snowman?”

     “... Yes.”

     “Yaay!”

     It had been far too tempting not to take a bite out of the snow on the ground. He even snuck a bite in on their way here but it had a weird consistency and bad taste. But maybe if he had shaved ice that looked like snow he could be satisfied.

     His little snowman-shaped shaved ice was poured over with strawberry and watermelon-flavoured syrups, lightly denting the head but still keeping its shape. He was quick to take it outside after thanking Kawasaki. “Chilly look. It’s shaped like you!”

     Chilly looked at the shaved ice in surprise, before being taken aback as Kirby scooped some up. “Hmm, can you eat? Your mouth would be here…” Kirby mumbled to himself as he pressed the spoon against Chilly.

     It just left smushed ice on the face of a very unimpressed snowman. “S-Sorry I’ll clean it up.”

     Luckily it was simple enough to just wipe it off and Chilly was clean once again. “What if I told you how it tastes? And you can use your imagination!” He took one big bite out of the shaved ice. And felt his brain freeze over.

     “Cold!” he squeaked as his face twisted in pain. “It’s sweet but it’s double cold!” Chilly was looking at him with concern as the cup rattled in his hand. He took the cup away before he could accidentally drop it.

     Once his brain freeze settled, his attention was quickly turned to someone behind him. Fumu was standing there with a cup of cocoa in her hand and a concerned expression on her face. “Can I borrow you for a bit?”

     Kirby nodded as she pulled him along to the alleyway by Kawasaki’s restaurant. He could hear the voices of everyone else inside muffled from behind the glass and felt the warmth emanating from the golden glow from inside. “There’s something really important I want to talk to you about okay? I feel like it’s something you need to learn about sooner than later or you might get hurt.”

     He looked at her in confusion as she placed her hands on his shoulders. “Sometimes… People pretend to be nice to you, to try and trick you. It’s not nice, but you need to be careful and look out for it,” she explained.

     Oh. This was about Chilly, wasn’t it? She had told him Puppy was made by Nightmare too, but Puppy never hurt him in the end. So, why would Chilly hurt him? He was his friend after all.

     “Chilly’s my friend though, he doesn’t want to hurt me-”

     “That’s what you think! But I’ve seen what he’s been doing. He was throwing snowballs at icicles to fall on you, he broke the ice of that lake you two were on. Please, I want to help you as your friend.” Her eyes were earnest but…

     Kirby could only play with his fingers nervously as her eyes burned into him. “But, he looks so sad… I want to help him… I thought you were my friend,” he whispered as Fumu’s face dropped.

     “No, no, no- Kirby,” she sighed. “Okay. If you trust him, I’ll trust him for a bit alright? But if he breaks that trust, promise me you’ll think about it okay?”

     He just nodded along, though he still wasn’t sure about her words. But she seemed satisfied with it, taking his hand and leading him back towards the front of the restaurant. Chilly looked distracted though, staring up at the sky.

     “We’re back! Whatcha looking at?” Kirby asked the snowman.

     Chilly only raised their hand as if to try and point at the sky. They both looked up. “It’s starting to snow?” Fumu murmured.

     It was a peaceful sight normally. But something felt wrong. The winds were stronger, and the snow was beginning to fall faster and faster. A chill passed through his bones and he found himself rubbing his hands together for warmth.

     “It’s getting so strong now… Wait, it can’t be…” Fumu gasped as something dawned on her. “Everyone! A blizzard is forming! Please get home quickly!” she called out to the crowds quickly. Borum was quick to pick up on her warnings and blew his whistle to get everyone's attention.

     “What’s a blizzard?” Kirby spluttered as some snow splattered against his mouth.

     “It’s like a storm of sorts but with snow. I’ve read about it. Oh no, there are people in danger at the resort too! I need to go warn them, get home safely okay?” That was her last warning before she ran back into the restaurant to warn the others inside.

     Kirby and Chilly quickly exchanged glances before running off together. The snow began to whip around them faster and stronger the longer they travelled. It was becoming harder to keep his feet on the ground.

     But Chilly held a hand to his back, helping him push through the snow and back home.

     The door slammed behind them as Kirby felt his body warm up by the fireplace inside. He let out a sigh of relief before feeling water touch his feet. “Ah! Your melting!” Kirby panicked as he patted the fire out with a special blanket.

     Tokkori let out a weak squawk at the loss of warmth. “Sorry! But I cant leave him out there. I’ll help warm you up,” he promised the bird boy as he changed into pyjamas. Though he decided to keep the sweater on with it.

     Chilly sat by the door, carefully watching him as he climbed into bed. “Let’s play some more tomorrow,” Kirby yawned as he curled up against Tokkori. The winds outside were scary. But the gentle chime of Chilly’s bell helped put him at ease.

-

     It felt as if the snow was only growing stronger as the days progressed. Meta Knight stood by the balcony of his chambers, wind whipping at his cape as the snow rained down from above.

     He escaped back indoors, feeling the chill carry on through his bones. They had begun investigating the strange weather with little success as of late. But with Dedede’s recent absence, Sword and Blade decided to look into the delivery system for any receipts.

     The recent pains in his back had only been heightened by the cold, unfortunately, making his own investigations difficult. It was insisted he rested for a while now, but the inherent danger of such a drastic weather change made it difficult to simply lay down and wait.

     Perhaps something warming would help.

     Though as he stood in front of their aged stovetop it left him at a bit of a loss. Really he had been rather spoilt when it came to cooking for a long time, others that were once around him knew how to cook rather well, so he hadn’t bothered to learn how to do it.

     When learning survival he could char the most basic of foods if needed, but the complex chemistry of cooking a dish was a bit out of his hands…

     Their cupboards were often a bit sparse, often they were all too busy to sit down and cook a proper meal. It was a bit embarrassing to think about, perhaps he was lacking nutrition in his diet.

     He let out a quiet huff. Vega was often quite insistent on the nutritional aspect of meals, a balance was key to keeping yourself healthy and still enjoying whatever delights were on offer.

     Despite that, the man still drank unhealthy amounts of coffee while studying medicine. He’d remark his health didn’t matter as long as his studies could be done. It was a concerning comment to hear from a future doctor.

     But on cold days such as this, he would sometimes make soup. Meta Knight had always hated the cold, so he clung to the liquid like it was his lifeline. There was a specific one he recalled enjoying, however. He hummed in annoyance as he dragged his brain for the name while looking for ingredients.

     There wasn’t much to make up for what he remembered Vega using. Sword liked squeezing lemons onto his food so they were stocked on those thankfully. A tiny bit of oil and some lentils were really all he could use to get close to it. Lentils were similar to chickpeas right?...

     He could go down to the kitchen and ask for supplies. But he didn’t particularly feel like doing it right now, besides the Waddle Dees seemed to be busy gathering down there to keep warm when not on duty.

     Normally Vega would prepare a day before by soaking them in water, most he could do was just wash the lentils and hope they’d soak up a bit of water. Then he just needed to put it into a pot? Soup was made in pots, right?

     Everything was going to get mixed together in the end anyways, so he put the oil and a sliced lemon in right afterwards. It all bubbled together for a while, but it didn’t seem to mix still. He turned up the heat, that always did the trick.

     Though now the bubbling became more violent and the lemons had turned an odd colour. “That’s strange…” he murmured to himself as he stirred the pot.

     A sour odour began to slowly emanate, alongside smoke. Perhaps it wasn’t going along as well as he had hoped.

     “Sir? Sir get back!” Blade rushed towards him, tearing the pot off the stovetop and dumping it into the sink. She twisted the tap, diluting the soup and turned the stovetop off. “What was that?”

     “Ah… That was revithia… My apologies, I suppose I was longing for the taste of home. Though looking at it now, I believe I’ve angered the dead.”

     “No idea what that is. A soup?”

     “Yes.”

     He could tell she was looking at him with concern over that. “Oh well. Luckily for you, the Waddle Dees were doing some canning. They gave me a few extra cans of soup because of the weather. Still hungry?”

     “Yes…”

     Once the pot was cleaned Blade dumped the contents of the can inside. Letting it quietly bubble and heat up as they caught up on their progress. “Me and Sword found an order made by the king made on the day you came back from the jungle. We had overheard him complaining about the heat before then, but thought not much of it.”

     “So if it was indeed a demon beast I have a suspicion on what it is,” Meta Knight murmured. The data they would sometimes check on the delivery machine were encrypted, though it would signify an order placed they could not easily find out what it was. But with how flippant the king was with them they very rarely needed much time to figure it out.

     “The Ice Dragon is a creature that grows in size the colder its surrounding area is. Due to this, it’ll change the weather of the local environments to suit its own growth. If we leave it for too long this country will be choked out by an eternal blizzard…” It was a dangerous monster to leave unchecked, if his speculation was correct they had to act fast.

     Blade hummed in thought. “Sounds like it won’t be easy… Think Kirby can handle it?”

     “I’m sure.” The soup was finished. It was some sort of vegetable soup, warm and hearty. It was a pleasant change from the usual. “Where is Sword by the way? Weren’t you two together?”

     “He got mixed together with some Waddle Dee’s on duty. Apparently, the snow build-up has been getting pretty serious. And a few of them are even falling through it all. I just hope the snow clears quickly once this is all handled,” she sighed.

     He nodded in contemplation as he finished his bowl of soup. “Thank you for your rescue. It’s late, I’ll continue our investigations tonight. It seems Kirby has a peculiar new friend…”

-

     The night raged on. Wind battered against the door and window, a howling cry begging to be let in. I stood on guard by the door, I couldn’t let anything inside.

     Or let anyone out.

     I was in the clouds today, I felt as if I had finally overcome those dark desires finally. And perhaps then, could finally spend what fraction of time the ice had left with the sun.

     But I was wrong. It was waiting for me in a moment of weakness. That deafening pulse that drummed through my body.

     An icicle grew through my hand, a knife of ice. Its silent order told me what I needed to do once again.

      Kill him.

     He turned around in his bed, ignoring the sleepy grunt of the bird he clung to in his sleep. His smile was gentle and warm as he whispered in his sleep. “Chilly… Less get ice cream…”

     Even in his dreams…

     I can't. I can't do it. The winter be damned, I would rather his life continued rather than mine. Such was the temporary nature of ice, wasn’t it?

     I dropped the icicle, letting it clatter to the floor as its sharp tip shattered. He deserved better than me. Better than to waste his time on a snowman with no will of his own.

     There was nothing I could do now than return to the dragon that brought me life and would soon bring me death. Was it a punishment of my own, or perhaps cowardness? I’m not sure.

     Outside I watched as his friends braced through the snow towards his home despite the storm. He’d be in better hands soon enough. So I dragged myself through the snow and thicket towards the very heart of the snow.

     The dragon stood hidden inside the forest. But it wouldn’t be long until the island inhabitants noticed it at this rate. It was growing in size the colder it got, outgrowing the trees that surrounded it now. It was only thanks to the blanket of night you might struggle to see it from a distance.

     The king and his right-hand man were watching the dragon with glee before they noticed me. “Hm? Ah, that snowman is finally back. Gave that Kirby a painful thwacking yet?”

     I shook my head.

     “Eh? Then get back to work!”

     I shook my head again.

     The other man sneezed. “Your Majesty, why don’t we just dispose of this snowman and head to bed? How much longer are you going to draw this out for now? It’s getting too cold for comfort.”

     “It ends when that Kirby is gone for good. But it seems like our little friend is too much of a coward to do anything,” the king crossed his arms in a huff.

     My head drifted down in shame as he led me over to the dragon. What would Kirby think of me now? The mistrust his friends held in me was true.

     “Destroy this snowman,” were the words ordered by the king.

     The dragon stared down at me with blank cold eyes. I found my body shivering for the first time as it raised a claw to slowly crush me. “Chilly!” A familiar voice called out to me as I was pushed out of the dragon’s shadow.

     It was Kirby. With his boots hastily pulled on over his pyjamas he stood between me and the dragon as he shivered in the cold. His defiance angered the dragon, its icy breath chased them as trees and stones caught in the fire were turned to pure ice.

     Kirby dug his feet into the snow as he held his hands out towards the dragon. To my surprise, the wind began to kick up as it funnelled towards his hands. As interesting as a sight it was though it didn’t exactly do much to the dragon. In fact, it almost looked like it was laughing at him before sending its ice breath down into his arms.

     “C-Cold!” he squeaked as he flailed them around.

     “Kirby! Don’t give up!” I turned my head around to spot the voice of Kirby’s friend. She and her brother must have come to check on Kirby in the night despite the blizzard. But my admiration for their loyalty was cut short when the dragon now focused on them.

     A large snowflake was shot out of its mouth like a boomerang and the two cried out in panic as it flew towards them. I threw as many snowballs as I could to slow it down, but it sliced them into powder.

     I flinced preparing for the worst only for the sound of a blade to cut through the air.

     The moon had sliced it in two. He stood between the dragon and the two children with his cape billowing in the wind. “Kirby, use the ice crystals instead!” he ordered the boy who was quick to act.

     I panicked as he pulled the crystals over with his wind. What was he going to do? Catch them? They were more than likely to just split him in half!

     But then the crystals turned to light before vanishing inside his hands. Almost as if he had absorbed them.

     Ice shot up from the ground beneath him, encasing him like a cocoon as the dragon watched in twisted fascination. I also couldn’t help but watch as it slowly began to crack, light leaking through the thick ice. All before it shattered, revealing a change of power and appearance.

     His bright pink hair had changed, turning a rather light shade of blue with ice crystals bundled between each curl. A golden circlet with diamonds of ice dangled off the side with a larger snowflake-shaped crystal at the centre. Below that he was wearing what looked like a sparkling dress that reached the knees, changing gradient from blue to white with a large blue ribbon at the top. It reminded me of that fairy he had won at the festival.

     What surprised me the most, however. Was how his wings had turned completely into ice. Instead, becoming shards of ice that floated behind his back that formed the shape of wings. Next to that his arms and legs had turned too. The smooth see-through texture of pure ice wrapped around his hands and feet slowly frosted over as it reached to meet skin.

     “That is Ice Kirby!” the moon announced.

     I watched them battle as I shrunk behind a tree. Kirby was so skilful like this, dodging the crystals thrown at him. But there was only one issue. As he blasted the dragon with ice of his own it seemed to enjoy being in it. “It won’t freeze!” Kirby yelled in a panic as he rolled across the snow to narrowly dodge another crystal.

     “It’s still a living creature! Its insides are where it's most vulnerable!” the moon yelled to him as he deflected any crystals that approached the siblings.

     “O-Okay. But how?” Kirby squeaked as a crystal brushed past his cheek.

     …

     I had to do something. I couldn’t just hide and run forever.

     Was this what freedom felt like? To move without fear of being overtaken, and my own desire burning bright. I’d help the sun shine once again. No matter the cost.

     The two men were cheering the dragon on, oblivious as I snuck behind them. They had been travelling on a vehicle, a snowmobile if I was correct. Not that it mattered to them now, as I quickly stole it away to Kirby’s side.

     There was a sparkle in his starry eyes as he saw me approaching. Quickly jumping to hold onto my back as I circled the dragon. “Chilly!” he called out to me excitedly as we braced ourselves to finish this.

     I flew us across a bump in the snow, acting as a ramp as Kirby was thrown into the air and I slammed into the dragon’s chest. It recoiled in pain, opening its jaw to roar. And that’s where the opportunity struck, as Kirby dove towards its mouth shooting out a barrage of frost deep into its body.

     It was a pitiful and painful end for the beast as it’s body turned to ice inside and out. But a suitable one, for the destruction it had brought.

     A wave of calm finally pulsed through the forest. The dark clouds above slowly parted as the sun shone down on all of us brighter than I had ever seen before. When ice meets warmth, it can extinguish life. But when warmth meets ice, it brings life back.

     This was, how it was meant to be here.

     I had never felt so warm before.

     It didn’t scare me anymore.

     But…

     He was scared. Of course, I can’t live in such a warm place. I began to melt alongside the rest of the ice and snow too, trapping me inside my own hat. He was quick to find me though, face ready to burst with tears.

     I’d comfort him if I could. But I was too small to wipe the tears away now. He scooped my small body up, putting me in my hat alongside my gloves and bell. With a determined sniffle, he ran.

     I could hear the ocean off in the distance as puddles formed beneath me. It would have been nice to spend one more day with him. Rolling around in the snow without a care in the world.

     The roar of ice breaking away from the cliffs reached me as he continued to run. He was leaving me on the last piece of ice. Perhaps in hopes it’d reach colder lands where I could thrive.

     It was sweet of him. Though I doubt the ice will hold for that long, I’ll keep his hope in my own heart that it could work.

     “Chilly…” Kirby’s voice quivered as he pulled me out of my hat. Laying me on the hard frigid ice. “Come back again when it snows. Okay?”

     I nodded and he smiled. “Goodbye.”

     Goodbye. I waved to him as he sheltered me from the sun with my hat.

     I am cold, so I cannot live in the warmth.

     But even so. I’m grateful to have been a brief part of this life of yours.

Chapter Text

     “So… E-evveryone con… Congrale…”

     “Congratulated.”

     “Everyone congratulated… The princess and her… Her marrag…”

     “Marriage, nearly there!”

     “And they lived… Uh. Happy ever after?”

     Fumu smiled. “Happily ever after, but you did it!” She cheered Kirby as he grinned up from the large book. Ever since she heard Meta Knight was teaching him how to read she had insisted on helping him.

     They were all hanging out together in the family’s living room. She had taken the large book out of storage, claiming it was one of her first books. It was very wordy for a first book. No wonder she read a lot.

     Bun had been sitting around watching them, crunching away at the candies and crisps they had slowly piled up as they slowly went through the book. Now that it was over he just let out a disappointed sigh. “Y’know these books always end the same. Pretty boring isn’t it?”

     “I like happy endings! Besides, a fairy tale should be fun,” Fumu hummed.

     Kirby quietly agreed with her. He wouldn’t want to read a sad story. All the ladies in the village would talk about their books with tragic love. But when he asked why they would read something upsetting they just said he was too young to understand.

     “What about those really scary fairy tales? Like where the witch eats all the kids!” Bun grinned.

     “I’ll pass.”

     He just snorted at her.

     But as she began to pack away the book, they were interrupted by Parm and Memu rushing in. The man nearly collided with the wall he was in so much of a panic. “AH. Big news you all!” he stammered. A paper was tightly wrapped in his hand.

     “The queen of Planet Pipi and her daughter are visiting!” Memu added, close to fainting.

     While Kirby snorted at the name of the planet, Fumu and Bun jumped up in shock. “Wait! A queen and a princess?” Bun asked.

     His father opened up the roll of paper, revealing a pretty letter inside. Kirby could tell it was pretty because all the words were curvy and hard to read. That meant it was fancy according to Bun and the others.

     “Queen Astrid, and her daughter Princess Rona are staying for the night on their holiday. They’ll be arriving this afternoon in fact!” The man took a quick peek at his pocketwatch and his face fell in fright. “It’s only half past eleven!” He shrieked.

     “Dear! Don’t faint now! Do it later, we have to get everything ready, quick!” Memu grasped the light-headed man by his tie, dragging him away like he weighed nothing.

     Kirby watched them skitter away in confusion before turning back to the siblings. “Why are they so excited?”

     “Well, it’s royalty visiting! Duh,” Bun teased him.

     “But we see Dedede every day.”

     “He doesn’t count.”

     Fumu nodded in agreement with her brother. “He doesn’t have the elegance of a queen or princess. This is our chance to meet real royalty!” She explained excitedly.

     “That feels a bit mean…” Kirby pouted.

     There was a light knock on the window behind them. “Hey! What’s gotten the whole castle in a twist?” Tokkori’s shrill voice called out from behind the glass.

     Bun was quick to pull it open with a grin. “You won’t believe this! The queen and princess of Planet Pipi are visiting. Like, real royalty!”

     “In this dump?” Tokkori sneered.

     “Yeah, Dedede must be squirming in his seat!” Bun grinned.

     “Oh, just wait until that thick bunch get a load of this. No, even better. Free samples!” Tokkori loudly announced before flittering off through the window to stir up trouble in the village.

     Kirby watched him fly away quietly. “Are they allowed to know about that?” He asked.

     “Dunno.” Bun shrugged.

     “Fumu! Lend me a hand would you?” Memu called out from the other room.

     She sighed and pulled herself up before turning to the two boys. “I’ll be there in a moment! Okay, I want both of you to clean up here and go out somewhere. Just anywhere that isn’t here.”

     “Why?” Kirby tilted his head in confusion.

     “Mama can get… Stressful when cleaning. Escape now and maybe she won’t get you to dust everything inside and out,” she explained with a huff and a hand on her hip.

     “Right, then we’ll just go bother Dedede!” Bun gleefully suggested.

     “Please don’t…” Fumu rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration before skittering off to help her mother.

     They brushed the crumbs off the carpet and scarfed down any last snacks they left out before rushing out the door. Weaving past the busy Waddle Dee’s they made their way to Dedede’s bedroom. Where, sure enough, he was going through an oddly vast wardrobe for a king who liked wearing the same clothes every day. Then again, so did everyone else.

     Both of them peeked at the scene before them from behind the door.

     Escargon and Meta Knight were with him in the room alongside a few Waddle Dee helpers. “Y-Your Majesty, I commend your enthusiasm but perhaps… Tone it down a bit? We don’t even know what she looks like.” Escargon cautiously explained to the king.

     The king laughed. “Why would I do that?”

     “Well… What if she says… No?” Escargon slouched back, ready for an outburst.

     But Dedede just laughed even more. “Haha! Why would she?”

     Escargon only awkwardly laughed back. “Y-Yes of course.” Though his shoulders were still rather tense.

     “Pardon my interruption. But what exactly did you call me here for?” Meta Knight’s stern voice cut through the two. His arms were crossed, likely with a muted scowl behind his mask. Whatever his scowling would look like at least.

     “You’ll do your job for once that’s what! As we have very important guests arriving today you’ll be their personal guard during their stay. And you’ll keep Kirby out of the castle,” Dedede explained as his voice began to rise.

     “Why?” Kirby asked.

     “He’s sure to mess it up somehow! Or get under my feet. Either way, he has to leave-” Dedede stopped. And turned around to look at the door. All the while Bun was pulling at his cardigan.

     Kirby smiled and waved at the king as he squirmed. It was always fun to tease Dedede a bit, though they had to be careful in case he ordered another Demon Beast out of frustration.

     “I’m afraid there isn’t much I can do about him, Your Majesty. He’s out of my control one might say. Perhaps you can pass him off as some sort of mascot instead.” Meta Knight dryly suggested though Kirby was sure he was smirking beneath the mask.

     Escargon let out an indignant huff. “What! Surely you can control at least one child. Are you that incompetent.”

     “I could. But why should I?”

     There was a snort from Bun. “Look at them go. Imagine the look on that queen's face when she realises what he’s like.”

     “Bun, are you there too?” Dedede screeched.

     “Whoops. And off we go!” Bun cheerfully cackled as he pulled Kirby away from the door and down the hallway. The echoes of Dedede following them but the man himself staying put.

     The two of them laughed together as they escaped outside onto the soft grass. “Race ya!” Bun stuck his tongue out at Kirby as he began to run down the castle hill. Kirby was quick to follow, though he tumbled more than ran.

     Still made it first, even if it was by smashing his face into a rock.

     It made Bun panic briefly, before smacking a spare band-aid he had in his pocket across the bump and calling it a day.

     Together they would lay on the grass staring up at the sky. “Will they show up in a ship?” Kirby asked.

     “Mmm maybe. Could crash like you too,” Bun teased.

     “That wouldn’t be nice. It was really scary.”

     “What was it like up there anyways?”

     “Weird. I was only awake a bit before crashing. But I saw so many stars out there.”

     “...Would you like to see it again one day?”

     Kirby bumped his feet together in thought. “Yeah, maybe we can bring everyone else to see it too!”

     “Maybe… That’d be nice.”

     A calm washed over the both of them. While the castle and village were in disarray with their preparations they were lounging away the hours. He did feel a bit bad for them, but he didn’t feel like doing much.

     But that calmness would be cut short as Memu’s voice screeched through the air from the family’s balcony. “Bun! Kirby! They’re arriving in an hour, stat! Get here and get ready!”

     “Yikes! Looks like our time is up. Let’s go, Kirby!” Bun helped pull him up, lightly dusting off a bit of dirt before pulling him back towards the castle.

     Memu wasn’t the most pleased at seeing them dirtied, and Kirby being a bit bloodied. Nearly losing herself to a stressful scream before Parm ushered them to clean up in the bathroom. Bun wasn’t too happy about it. Kirby was though, bubbles made it even better.

     “Just half an hour left! Oh, dear hold me!” Memu wailed as she held a hair dryer over the two of them.

     Parm awkwardly stepped beside her to calm her nerves. “W-We’re nearly done, everything is going just fine dear. I’m sure the queen and her princess will be fine-”

     “Fine? They have to be better than fine! Fetch me my powder, I’m hiding that bruise!”

     He quickly slunk away to her whims as she buttoned up freshly pressed shirts onto them. “Now. You two better be on your best behaviour. You especially Bun. We won’t embarrass our guests now, will we? That’s Dedede’s job, not ours. Now tell me what you do when you meet royalty?”

     “Uhm… Were we meant to do something?” Bun awkwardly asked.

     “You bow of course!”

     “Like this?” Bun awkwardly asked as he titled his body forward. Kirby mimicked him. 

     “Straighter back! Arms to the side! It’s only the polite thing to do when meeting royalty.”

     Kirby tipped over and flopped to the floor. “It feels weird. Is Dedede gonna have food for this?”

     Parm quickly ushered Memu to sit down as her face grew pallid. “Now, I’m sure he will. All you have to do is sit there politely, and eat as much as you’d like as long as you’re quiet.”

     “Okay!”

     The man let out a sigh of relief. “That goes for you too Bun,” Fumu added.

     “Hey! I’m a lot better than Kirby for that! At least let me talk to them a bit!” He pleaded.

     “Just a bit,” Fumu huffed.

     Before long Sword and Blade were at their door, sent to retrieve and escort them to the rooftop where the royals would arrive. It seemed Dedede really had gone all out to prepare. He could eat on these floors. Well, he had before but he wouldn’t be yelled at over it.

     On the roof, a long red carpet had been rolled out with a throne for Dedede to sit on at the end. Beside him stood Escargon and Meta Knight with a line of Waddle Dees in orange suits down the sides of the carpet with trumpets in hand. He stayed next to Fumu as they waited, blankly staring out into the sky for them to arrive.

     What if they actually crashed like he did? Iroo told him about a word that would fix that, jinxing it. Though he hoped he hadn’t.

     “Ah! They’re here!” He was broken out of his daydreaming as Dedede yelled in glee. An egg-shaped ship with light green and purple plates descended from the sky. It was well polished, glistening in the sun as an emblem of sorts came into view. The emblem was purple and egg-shaped with a tulip in the center and two golden hands at the side and a crown at the top.

     Everyone waited with bated breath as it finally landed. Leaning in closer as the front opened only to reveal someone very un-regal yet alien all the same. A young man stood by the door with lavender skin that glistened with yellow veins that ran down his arms. He was wearing some sort of guard uniform, a blue tunic and pants with a simple breastplate and shoulder pads. What caught Kirby’s eye though was through a pair of holes on a tall helmet stood a pair of purple tentacles.

     It reminded him of a creature Fumu taught him about. Sea slugs and there were hundreds of them all over the star. Maybe the people from Pipi were also another type of sea slug?

     Wouldn’t that make them a space slug though?

     The guard took a calm glance around the roof with striking red eyes. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword while Dedede tapped his fingers in annoyance. “You may go ahead, Your Majesty.” He turned to the side with a perfect bow as two figures emerged.

     The first looked much older, most likely Queen Astrid. Like the guard, she had what looked like slimy skin that was white with small black flecks across her exposed arms and face. She wore a white dress with sleeves that fell off her elbows and a black furry shawl. Their hair, however, seemed to be an extension of their skin. Almost like tentacles, they had been plaited together across her large forehead and down the rest of her back. Just like the guard she had a pair of large black tentacles on her head, but at the centre was a red gemstone and weary green eyes.

     Besides her was Princess Rona. She resembled the guard, almost strikingly so. If it wasn’t for their different clothes he would have struggled to tell them apart. Her hair curled around the sides of her head, each tipped with a pearl and a pink gradient in the skin. The tips of her fingers were also pink, with pearls lining her wrists with a sheer white fabric that ran from the bracelets to her shoulder-cut white dress that turned green at the bottom. She wore a veil over most of her face with what looked like green eyeshadow on her red eyes and a green gemstone at the centre like her mother with pink-tipped tentacles.

     Dedede nearly stumbled out of his seat before Escargon pulled him back to control himself. Parm and Memu were quick on their feet though as the guard guided the two royals down the carpet. The two quickly bowed and curtsied.

     “W-Welcome, we are-” Parm began to stutter before the guard held his hand to give it a firm shake. The man's eyes seemed to widen at the sticky touch.

     “You must be the Cabinet Minister Parm and his lovely wife. My name is Vee, a Royal Guard,” he introduced himself with a smile. “Your Majesty. Your Highness…” Vee calmly gestured to the two royals.

     “Greetings and salutations. I am Princess Rona. And my mother, Queen Astrid of Planet Pipi graciously accepts your kind invitation.” The princess gently dipped her head down before the two, the queen following in action.

     Memu looked ready to faint again.

     “Wow… The princess talks so softly,” Bun whispered excitedly.

     Kirby hadn’t really noticed, but he nodded along anyway. “Ha, got a crush now Bun?” Fumu teased him as he stuttered.

     A bellowing laugh erupted from the king as he approached the queen. Behind the laugh was a face wrinkled with anxiety as he stood a few heads above her. “Welcome! I am King Dedede! The lord of this castle- No wait. The lord of this star!” His arms were held out for dramatics only to shrink back down to nervously hold his hands out to hers.

     She quietly stared at him for a moment, before realization set in and her hands were placed on top of his. “Greetings dear king. I am Queen Astrid of Planet Pipi. We thank you for your hospitality for these next two days.”

     Dedede also looked ready to faint. “Escargon! Did you hear that? Hey, are you single?-”

     “Wow, we’ve got more introductions to get through look at the time!” Escargon interrupted the king much to his annoyance. “Ahem! My name is Doctor Escargon, the king's right-hand man… And the one who organized most of your visit…” He muttered that last bit.

     “I thank you for your graciousness,” Rona politely bowed. Vee did not look too impressed by the king though. As Escargon introduced Meta Knight to them as security for their visit, Vee made eye contact with Kirby.

     He was staring at him for an awful long time, Kirby was ready to try and hide behind Fumu before it was announced they would head to tea now. Kirby immediately perked up as he was pulled along by Bun.

     It was the first time Kirby had actually sat in Dedede’s dining hall. Sometimes he and Bun would sneak in there to play before being kicked out but he was never invited to sit there. Probably because only Dedede and Escargon ever used it. The pink-coloured room had been decorated up to the nines today with flower arrangements and a large spread across the table.

     At one end sat Dedede with Escargon to his right where Parm, Memu and Rona also sat. And on the other side was Meta Knight, himself, Fumu, Bun and Vee with Astrid on the other end. They had to put a few extra pillows on Kirby’s chair for him to reach the table. “Kirby, your slouching. You need to sit straight,” Meta Knight quietly ordered him as Waddle Dees laid cups of tea in front of them all.

     Next to that, the table had been laid out with various treats for them to enjoy. Plates were lined up with biscuits from shortbread, jammy biscuits, vanilla and chocolate butter cookies and macaroons. There was even a fluffy cheesecake, a soft strawberry shortcake and a matcha-flavoured roll cake. A bowl had been stacked full of perfectly shaped fruits, from grapes, bananas, apples and even a pineapple. No watermelon though much to his disappointment.

     All the adults were busy chatting as he stared at his tea. He had it a few times because of Memu, but he hated the taste without anything in it. It was quickly clouded by the small jug of milk they had given him. Usually, he’d just keep adding sugar cubes until he was scolded. But no one seemed to be paying attention. He took a quick glance at Meta Knight to see if the man had noticed but he was busy stirring his own tea. It was just as clouded as Kirby’s and his sugar pot was mysteriously rather empty as well.

     “Wow, this princess is like your opposite sis.” He overheard Bun murmur to his sister.

     “Is that meant to be an insult? Well if it is, I’d have to say Vee is the opposite of you. 

     The two bickered between each other until Fumu realized Vee had noticed. Kirby watched the guard hop off his chair and stand beside the now-embarrassed Fumu with a smile. “Oh, you must be the Cabinet Minister’s daughter. Lady Fumu yes? It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

     Fumu stammered as he offered her a hand to shake. She seemed to wipe her hand on the tablecloth afterwards.

     “And you must be their youngest son, Master Bun,” Vee continued.

     “That’s going a bit far I think…” Bun muttered as he also shook Vee’s hand.

     Kirby slurped his tea as he eyed the guard now approaching him with odd fascination. They stared at each other for a few moments before Vee realised he had been staring. “Ah, I must apologise. I never expected to meet a Celestial here. What might your name be?”

     He continued to stare at the guard but now in utter confusion at whatever Vee just called him. “Kirby… What’sa Celestial?” He tried to whisper to Meta Knight as Vee shook his hand. It really was slimy. But the guard seemed almost to be nervous.

     “We can discuss that later…” Meta Knight replied in a hushed tone.

     That just made him nervous.

     “Kirby’s a Star Warrior! You two have a bit in common,” Fumu added to lighten his nerves.

     “Is that so? Well, I’m glad to find a kindred spirit here.”

     Kirby brightened up at the guard's joy. “Yup! It’s really fun here!” He grasped the guard's hands back and shook them more excitedly.

     “Haha! You’re cheerful for a warrior. You must be his mentor perhaps? Sir Meta Knight is it?” Vee now approached Meta Knight, hand over their chest in some sort of salute.

     Meta Knight nodded. “Yes. I hope you don’t mind my bodyguard assignment.”

     “Oh no, if anything I’m glad for it. I’ll be able to scout out viable locations for Her Majesty to visit during her stay,” Vee explained.

     But this seemed to set Dedede off, spluttering as he heard the guard’s words. “You mean she isn’t staying in the castle? But she just got here,” he argued.

     Vee scowled. “Don’t act so hastey. Her Majesty is surely tired from our long trip here. Besides, who are you to decide what your guests can and cannot do.”

     Tensions were running high between the two as Parm scrambled to play middle man all the while Escargon seemingly enjoyed the show. “Now, now you two. I’m sure our people would be very excited to meet the queen today as well. Perhaps they could come to us and give her a lovely experience before heading off to rest.”

     Vee turned to look at the queen who was taking a careful sip of her tea. “Indeed. A fine suggestion, I would love to look upon your people Your Majesty.” Her calm voice soothed any tensions between them.

     It was amazing to watch. And made Kirby all the more excited to see everyone gathering by the castle to catch a glimpse of the alien queen.

-

     Fumu repressed a yawn as she stood by the balcony entryway. Bun was already asleep while the queen and princess waved and greeted various visitors from the village below them. A few had left already after realizing the two weren’t coming down today but many still stuck around excited to finally see them.

     But she had to admit, it was rather boring. Kirby was teetering on the edge now too until Vee poked her shoulder. “Pst, Fumu, Kirby. I’ll be heading down to explore the village. Would you two like to join me?” He asked with a grin.

     “S-Sure! Kirby, let’s go,” she called the boy over as they slipped away into the hallway. Kirby dragged himself behind her as she pulled him along to keep up with the guard.

     There was something magical about Vee. He reminded her of the heroes in the same fairy tales they had been reading to Kirby earlier. Brave and kind, all he needed was a white horse to seal the deal.

     If she admitted that to Bun she’d never hear the end of it. It was just a light crush, maybe.

     “The stonework here is quite gaudy…” Vee mumbled as he poked some obnoxious-looking stonework on the wall.

     Dedede didn’t have a good eye for interior design. Her mother had complained about it often, pleading to Escargon or her father to do something about it. But Dedede was stubborn about it, sneaking little traps into some too just to get back at anyone if they tried to change it.

     Ah. That’s right. Traps.

     “Be careful!” Her warnings were too late though as the floor shifted beneath them and they were sent tumbling through an old passageway and out by the moat. It had been a while since this last happened to her. “I’m so sorry! Dedede has some pretty twisted hobbies are you alright?” She spluttered as she tried to untangle herself from the pile they had rolled into.

     Vee calmly lent a hand, helping to detangle her and a still sleepy Kirby so they could sit up. “There’s nothing to worry about. I should be asking you if you’re okay. But where are we now?”

     “We’re outside now. Uhm there should be a small path by the moat here for a little boat. It’s a bit difficult to get around here,” she explained. The moat was always a pain when it came to sneaking out. But it did its job in that way she supposed.

     “That’s perfect. Come on now, I’m quite excited to see your home village,” Vee explained with a smile. Fumu felt her heart skip as they boarded the small boat.

     On their way down the hill Vee seemed taken aback by their surroundings. Often not paying attention to where they were walking as his eyes were drawn to each tree bush and bird. “What’s your home like?” Kirby asked.

     “Not quite like this. Much of the land is submerged in water, in fact, quite a bit of our population even prefers to live underwater. It’s hard to differentiate land from the sea if you’re not familiar with our land. Many visitors have had trouble adjusting to it.” Vee’s home sounded beautiful. She hoped she could see it one day.

     The village was heaving with activity by the time they got down and she was sure more would be coming once they gave up on getting the royals down. A large colourful sign adorned the entrance ‘Welcome! Queen Astrid & Princess Rona!’

     “Everyone!” Fumu announced to grab their attention. “This is the personal guard of Queen Astrid and Princess Rona! Let’s all give him a warm welcome!”

     Their welcome was rather lukewarm though. People who had set up stalls to take advantage of the excitement weren’t too happy to hear the royals wouldn’t be visiting. “Ahh… Some guard isn’t gonna boost my sales,” Tago complained aloud as he leaned on his table.

     “Huh? He’s still an important guest!” She argued only for Vee to calmly place a hand on her shoulder.

     “Please don’t worry yourself over me. In fact, it’s quite a blessing that people aren’t interested in me.” Vee gave her a sincere smile. “That way I can see everything your home has to offer.”

     Though she was sure his alien appearance was sure to draw a few extra eyes, word was sure to spread quickly about the disappointment of only the guard showing up. Ugh, they were all selfish either way, Vee coming down to visit them was still a big deal!

     “Candy! Cotton candy!” Kirby was excitedly jumping up at Len’s stall. The man looked a bit distressed, quickly looking over at her for a quiet plea for help.

     Vee laughed at the sight. “Kirby is quite carefree, isn’t he? You all must be quite lucky to have him around.”

     “He’s anything but…” Len sighed.

     “Might I try a bit?” Vee asked as Kirby stuffed a piece in his mouth.

     Len nervously nodded as Vee picked up his own. His eyes widened in surprise as he tore a piece off. “Amazing! It has such a delectable taste and soft texture.”

     Fumu snorted. “That’s a fancy way of putting it. Tasty works just fine,” she giggled.

     He flushed red for a moment. “R-Right! It’s very tasty sir.” Vee rummaged through his pocket for a moment before pulling out the largest pearl she had ever seen. “Please take this as payment.”

     “T-That’s far too much! Where did you get one so large!” Len gasped.

     Vee looked rather confused. “Pearls this size are quite common in our home. In fact, the smaller it is the more expensive it is as it can be used in jewellery.” That reminded her that she had spotted a few pearl accessories on the royals, they were lucky if they could even find a small one.

     But a new problem had arisen. Len’s small panic had attracted the attention of people nearby, and the large pearl. She could read their minds already, they could make bank if they could impress the guard now.

     “Oh! Fumu! Kirby!” But thankfully a distraction flew in by the way of the twins. She was glad to finally see them today, they had been busy all day at Dedede’s commands. Lalala took a look at Vee with curiosity. “Whose this?”

     “This is Vee! He’s the personal guard of the royals visiting today. Vee, this is Lololo and Lalala. They’re also part of my family,” she explained.

     “It’s wonderful to meet you both. Shame that king has sent you two away, I’m sure Her Majesty and Her Highness would be delighted to meet you,” Vee courteously explained while shaking the twin's hands.

     “Yeah… He’s been a real pain today. Go here, go there, give my back a rub. He sent us to go get a romance fortune earlier,” Lololo complained as he shook the lettered fortune in hand.

     Fumu crooked an eyebrow at that. “A romance fortune? That doesn’t sound good.”

     “Mable has already prepared something good at least! Can't wait to see his face when he opens it,” Lalala snickered. It was a wonder that Dedede hadn’t suspected anything when it came to Mable’s fortunes. The woman loved to torment him through them, it was almost a hobby at this point for her.

     Vee just laughed. “She sounds quite cheeky. By the way, I was hoping to sample some local delicacies. Might you two have a suggestion?”

     “Sushi!” The twins replied.

     He seemed taken aback by their synchronised agreement. “Sushi? Never heard of it. Where might we get it?”

     “Well, you need really fresh fish. It’s kind of like raw fish but not in a weird way! Kawasaki’s really good at preparing, surprised he doesn’t just open up a sushi restaurant instead,” Lalala rambled.

     The talk of sushi seemed to perk Kirby up, his ears flicking up for a brief moment. “Ah! Let’s get sushi! I can fish, watch me!” He grabbed Vee’s hand, excitedly kidnapping the guard as they chased after him.

     Fumu was gasping for breath by the time they reached a river. “I’m so sorry about that! He’s still pretty young so he doesn’t hold back his excitement,” she apologetically chattered to Vee.

     “It’s no worry, truly. Really, it heartens me to see a child in high spirits.” He smiled and turned to watch Kirby.

     He was running up to a fisherman, face locked in boredom. “Hm? Wanna fish little buddy?” Kirby gave him an enthusiastic nod and the man dropped the fishing rod into his hands. “Knock yourself out. The fish are avoiding me today.” He left Kirby a brief pat on the head before leaving.

     Kirby excitedly brought the rod over to the others. “Watch me!” He announced before throwing the line into the water. Now they waited. And waited for quite a while. But there was something comforting about the quiet splashing of the river as they all sat together and decompressed.

     She let out a sigh of relief as she soaked in the sun. Only to jump up in a panic as she heard Kirby cry out in surprise as he tugged on the fishing rod. “Let us help!” She called out to him as they all grabbed on for dear life.

     Whatever was on the line it was huge, it must have scared off all the other fish nearby. They pulled and pulled until their arms began to ache and she feared the rod was about to snap in half.

     She was left in shock once it finally surfaced. It practically blocked out the sun. And had quickly crushed Kirby’s body under its weight. The boy pushed it off him like some sort of proud beetle before trying to waddle away with his prize catch.

     “That was truly amazing Kirby! Let me help you carry it!” Vee insisted as he chased after the boy.

     It was still wriggling by the time they reached Kawasaki’s. The man was sitting by the front with a bored expression. A dying cigarette in hand and posters of a failed advertisement attempting to escape the wall from behind him. He seemed to perk up at their arrival, eyeing the fish with interest. “Oh? Is this a present or are you all hungry?”

     “Sushi!” Kirby excitedly announced.

     “Just leave it to me! Oh, and this big guy is still wriggling. Perfect!” The chef giddily took the fish in hand as they all headed inside. He slapped the fish against an old chopping board as everyone watched carefully.

     She was the only one to not watch. Admittedly she was a bit squeamish with that sort of stuff. “The way you handle a knife… Have you ever considered sword fighting before?” Vee complimented him.

     “You think I’d be good at it? My teacher would chop my hand off if I could cut a fish right!” He boisterously joked.

     “...Kawasaki had a teacher?” Lololo whispered.

     “I think he’s gone a bit mad,” Lalala replied.

     After a short wait, Kawasaki came out with a mountain of sushi, all stacked together. She swore there must have been over a hundred pieces. While they were all staring at it in amazement she noticed a small plate being placed next to her with cucumber rolls. They shared a quick smile before she had to pull Kirby back from demolishing the tower himself.

     “Hold on! Let Vee try it first!” She squeezed the boy, holding him back as he wriggled to break free.

     The guard looked at them in surprise for a bit before picking up a piece. His eyes widened in surprise as he chewed. “A-Amazing! Such a simple but equis- I mean tasty dish!”

     Kawasaki let out a delighted laugh. “Always a good day when someone compliments my cooking!”

     Everyone started to dig in, Kirby popping piece after piece in his mouth. Vee was savouring each taste. Lalala was putting too much wasabi on one of her pieces while Lololo had drowned his in soy sauce.

     “Any other plans today you guys?” Lalala asked.

     Vee hummed in thought. “There’s so much to explore and yet such little time. I would, however, enjoy learning more about the history of your home.”

     “Oh! We could go see Mr Curio! He’s our local archaeologist who owns a museum full of our history!” Fumu enthusiastically explained. Vee looked intrigued by her suggestion, a simmering excitement to learn just like her was behind those eyes.

     “A wonderful suggestion. I’m rather eager to meet him. What about you two, might you join us?” He pointed his attention towards the twins who froze.

     Lalala dropped a piece of sushi. “We forgot to deliver that fortune.”

     “You’re already super late though,” Kirby added, though not very helpful.

     The two began scoffing down as much of their own portions as possible. “We’re really sorry! But we’ve gotta hurry or we’ll get lectured by him and Escargon!” Lololo apologised before they zipped out of the restaurant in a hurry.

     “He asked for a romance fortune, didn’t he? That does not bode well… I would suggest we return to the castle once we’ve visited Mr Curio,” Vee explained.

     “Whatever he’s up to you can trust Sir Meta Knight will step in to stop him making your Queen uncomfortable. But we do have supper in a few hours too… Hope Bun’s alright,” Fumu murmured to herself.

     Once Vee had his fill Kirby quickly finished off the rest. Vee was amazed by how much the boy was able to eat for such a small body. A question that had plagued all of them for months so far.

     They lightly knocked on Curio’s door, hoping he was in at least. He wasn’t the most sociable, any events he went to he wouldn’t mingle for long and would soon retreat to the comfort of his books.

     Curio opened the door with a brief bit of weariness in his eyes before spotting her. “Oh! Miss Fumu what can I do for you?” His eyes drifted over to Vee. “And your new friend?”

     “This is Vee the personal guard of Queen Astrid and Princess Rona! I was thinking you two could do a bit of a cultural exchange!” Fumu enthusiastically suggested.

     “That does sound interesting indeed. I was just researching an old story at that too, would you all like to hear it?” The group nodded along as he led them inside. All of them sat together on rickety chairs as Curio went to get some papers. 

     Vee was enamoured by the displays around him as they waited, taking note of all the small cracks in each vase and the fossils displayed on the walls. Curio came back in an excited hurry, a bundle of notes in hand all spared quick glances to get his brain running.

     “Let’s see… You’ll be interested to hear Fumu, but I believe this old legend is connected to that notebook.” Her interest peaked even more.

     “Have you ever heard of the stories behind earthquakes? Of course, the simple explanation behind them is the collision of tectonic plates. But in the past stories were created to explain these events, and many continue to be superstitious about them to this day,” Curio explained. Earthquakes were quite rare down where they lived compared to the rest of the continent. Of course, they got them every now and again but the most they worried about were the tropical storms and flooding.

     Curio pulled out what looked like an old drawing. It looked a lot like some sort of bug, but it was difficult to figure out what kind of bug it was from the stylisation. “The Hidden Lord of Mountains. Long ago there was a great mountain that separated Pupupu Land from the rest of the world, but this creature was said to have fallen from the sky and sunk it whole, sending tremors all over the land. This sent waves of fear through the locals, but a warrior from a distant land stood up to fight it. The warrior enlisted the help of four allies they had befriended. An Azure Dragon, a Vermillion Bird, a White Tiger and a Black Tortoise. With the power of the midsummer moon, they were able to seal the lord beneath the ground where as it slumbers each time it begins to wake up the ground will tremble. As such, it’s a superstition that whenever an earthquake occurs it's due to the sleeping lord.”

     A gentle clapping filled the room as they applauded the man for his storytelling. Curio rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. “Haha, thank you very much. I believe that old journal belongs to that era, possibly even by that warrior if the story can be believed.”

     “History in the making I see. I’m sure many people will remember your name for the years to come,” Vee added to the all too rare compliments the man seemed to get flustering him more. “With Kirby here perhaps a bit of history with our kind meeting should be appropriate. The story originates all the way from one of the earliest points of our history,” Vee explained.

     “A dark force encroached on our waters, offering up temptations of knowledge and power. It corrupted all who touched it and many fled in fear. But before all was lost, a winged man in golden armour stood before us. He banished the darkness and reminded us to reject the darkness and stand as our own people. That man was a Celestial, seldom ever seen yet their ages eclipse our own empires. It’s lucky for us to ever see one, and we owe a great debt to that knight and his soldiers.”

     The room was silent after Vee’s story, Curio and Kirby began to clap shortly afterwards but a question now plagued Fumu’s mind. “Vee, do you know the name of the darkness in that story? W-Was it called Nightmare?”

     Vee’s eyes widened. “You know of him? It would not surprise me if he was that selfsame darkness that had attacked us all those years ago. After all, he attacked us again recently.”

     “He did?”

     “Yes… And took the life of our king along with it.”

     An uneasy quiet settled over the room. “Ah, I did not mean to bring the mood down! Our visit is a great respite from what happened recently and it heartens me to see people living so freely here.”

     “T-That’s right. And it’s always a treat to hear stories from other stars. Of course, if you have more to share you’re always welcome to come back here,” Curio added to help lighten the mood.

     Vee nodded enthusiastically. “Indeed. However, I believe we must get going now.”

     “Oh, that’s right! Have to keep an eye on Dedede after all. Thanks for having us Mr Curio!” Fumu jumped up from her seat, Kirby following her.

     “Goodbye!” The three of them waved off to the man before heading back to the castle. Some with heavier hearts than others.

-

     This was finally his chance. Marriage was right around the corner he could feel it. He even sent those twins off to get a romance prediction package from Mable just to be sure. Never touched it before but he had to be certain.

     “Your Majesty, don’t you think you’re going a bit far?” Escargon asked with a heavy white wig dangling off his head. They had locked the throne room up for him to rehearse ways to impress the queen, he couldn’t risk his plans getting spoilt after all.

     Escargon was the stand-in for the queen, speaking to a piece of cardboard didn’t feel right. He even pulled out his best suit for the occasion, it was blue with a bit of a shimmer to it.

     He tutted at the man. “I’m not going far enough! We need a live band for this too.”

     “You barely know her! Besides, what about the princess? Thought kings were meant to be interested in them.” The doctor commented.

     That was true, he hadn’t thought about Rona much so far. “Ehh… I like my partners like I like my wine!”

     “Aged?”

     “Exactly. But gotta think about that princess too. Bit shy and quiet, but she’d be my daughter, won’t she? Hmm… Think Parm will have an idea?” Dedede muttered to himself as he paced about the room.

     “I think you might be wasting your time… You don’t even know if she’s married or not! You couldn’t even figure out if Meta Knight was married either last time.”

     Dedede huffed. “You’re not helping. You turned down every proposal idea I’ve come up with so far.” He did also have tomorrow before she left, but he didn’t want to leave it too late. “What do you suggest then?”

     Escargon jumped at his question. “Huh, me? Well… Guess I’d personally like a dinner to learn more about someone.”

     “Got it! Servants, prepare a grand personal dinner for the two of us! Get the best wines, anything!” The Waddle Dees assisting with his practice scattered in a panic, a few remaining in place as they had fallen asleep on their feet.

     “Your Majesty what about supper?”

     “Leave that for Princess Rona and the others! I’ve got a date to plan,” he gleefully announced as Escargon wriggled to try and grab him. But the man was too late, he slipped through the doors with an excited jump and barreled his way towards the dining room.

     He found himself nervously pulling at his suit in front of the doors, listening in on the chattering behind the door. That guard wasn’t back yet, he had his chance. “Ahem!” He loudly announced his presence as he pushed the doors open, all their eyes turning to him.

     Stage fright was something he had never faced before. Yet now, he could admit to himself he felt a bit nervous. “Would you like to have dinner with me later?” Was all he could shout from across the room.

     Astrid looked at him confused while a slow panic set in between Memu and Parm. Though it seemed Meta Knight and Rona hardly reacted.

     “A-A private dinner Your Majesty? Oh! Will you two talk about future agreements?” Parm asked with an edge of excitement.”

     “What kind?...” Dedede awkwardly avoided eye contact with the queen.

     “He means to ask if you might have any political and economic discussions with Her Majesty. The man has been too nervous to breech the subject all day,” Meta Knight bluntly explained as Parm nervously shuffled in his seat.

     Sure. Yeah. Whatever the knight said. “I guess so!”

     The queen took a brief sip of her tea before locking eyes with him again. “I would be delighted to speak with you King Dedede. You’ve been busy all day today, we’ve not be afforded a moment to speak.”

     “Oh! P-Perfect! Well then… I’ll send someone to fetch you when you’re ready!” He rushed out of the room before anyone could respond. He actually did it. He was one more step towards marriage. One of his sisters owed him quite a lot now then.

-

     Night had finally fallen over the castle and the Cabinet family household was quick to go to sleep. But Kirby found himself restless. Laying on the other side of Bun’s bed with a spare pillow and the boy’s occasional kicks as he fitted about in his sleep.

     He couldn’t sleep, not a wink. He didn’t have the cloak for a start, it was almost scary falling asleep without it now. And Vee’s comments continued to hang in the air.

     That he knew what he was.

     It was strange. Everyone had simply grown used to his stranger features, though there was still a comment or two from time to time. But no one knew what he was, save for the tight-lipped knight. Really he should feel relieved to have a name to it, but all that remained were more questions.

     Meta Knight said he’d explain more later. How much later would he wait though? He rolled over in a fit of discomfort. Anxiety gnawed at him, he didn’t want to worry about it but the more secrets Meta Knight tried to keep the more it made him nervous.

     After staring at the ceiling for a few more minutes he had enough and rolled out of the bed. With a huff, he sat on the floor. He wasn’t sure what to do at all. It was too dark to read and too loud to play or watch TV.

     Maybe he could look at the stars instead? Fumu sometimes had a telescope left on the balcony. There was something oddly comforting about looking up at them. It reminded him of when he first woke up.

     Perching on the tips of his toes he unlocked the balcony door, letting the fresh night-time air into the living room. The entire balcony had been cleanly swept and organized. Flowers were pruned and watered, and chairs lined up ready for potential visitors.

     Kirby flopped against the cool stone floor, ignoring the slight pang in his back from landing on his wings. Did the stars look the same on Vee’s home? Maybe someday they’d come and visit him. Sometimes he wondered what else was beyond the village. So many people there had come from corners of the star.

     But where had he come from? Whatever Nightmare babbled on about made it sound like he came from him. It wasn’t something he wanted to think about though.

     “Meta Knightttttttt,” he whined aloud to see if the man would show up.

     Nothing.

     “Meta Knighttttttttttttttt,” he tried again.

     Still nothing.

     “I’m gonna tell Bun about your candy jar.”

     He squeaked in surprise as Meta Knight landed behind him. “I heard your first call. You did not need to continue, or spreading any rumours about me.”

     “Sorry…” Kirby sulked, looking down at the floor.

     The man above him sighed. “Did you need something?”

     “Oh! Yep. You said you were gonna talk later at tea. Can we do it now?”

     There was a tinge of hesitation around the knight, but he nodded and moved to one of the balcony seats. Kirby followed after him, climbing onto the seat next to him as the knight stared up at the stars.

     “Have you ever thought about where a star comes from? Each moon, sun and planet? They exist through our eventual death. When a Celestial dies, they ascend and begin the birth of one of these objects. You are Lumen, a child that may one day be born into a sun. The other are Umbra, who may be born into moons. As to create the cycle of day and night where life will be born.”

     That… Sounded kind of scary. He wasn’t sure how to respond to it all. Most of it just didn’t make sense and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to question it. But, one thing came to mind, one that had been there for a while now.

     “Does that mean you’re one too?”

     Silence followed before he took a sharp breath. “Yes.”

     “Oh.”

     He kind of guessed it. But it felt comforting to hear it himself.

     “Someone once told me it was our purpose to guide and help others as ancient as we are. Yet many of them have forgotten this duty. What you’ll do with that now is for you to decide.”

     “Why didn’t you say something before?” Kirby blurted out his question without a thought. He felt his shoulders tense up once he realised it, knowing how defensive the man was over his secrets.

     But the man leaned back, head tilted up at the sky as he seemed to struggle to find his words. “I suppose… There are some things a child would be happier without knowing.”

     “But I wanna know…”

     “Perhaps someday. But for your own sake, it’s best to not pry into something you’re not ready for…”

     It seemed he wasn’t going to budge. It felt oddly disappointing to hear. What was so scary about it? He would ask The Knight, but their memories were still a mess and it seemed to be weighing on them slowly.

     The mood was sour as the two awkwardly sat there in silence. Kirby’s mind raced for a topic when Vee’s story from earlier came back to him. “Um. Vee told me why they think Celestials are lucky. A really long time ago one in gold armour saved their country and it’s sorta like an old legend there.”

     Meta Knight seemingly perked up. “I may have been there in the aftermath of that. Sir Arthur was our leader for some time. A brave and noble man with a strong sense of justice. I’m glad to hear others than myself still hold his memory in high regard. Though I’m sure he’d be far more embarrassed about it.”

     It was nice to hear him talk about a bit of his past in a good mood. He must have had a lot of friends during the war. And most of them were just… Gone.

     It sounded lonely.

     They sat outside for a bit longer together, staring at the sky. But he was slowly starting to get tired. Exhaustion finally battled against his eyelids as they began to slowly blink. Before he knew it they had closed, but he hadn’t drifted off yet.

     “Kirby? Perhaps you should head to bed,” Meta Knight lightly tapped him on the shoulder. But he kept his eyes shut, pretending to be deeper asleep than he actually was.

     Meta Knight let out a sigh. “Out like a light.” A hand gently pried him out of the chair and into a comfortable carry. He seemed to stumble a bit, trying to figure out where the family had decided to let him sleep before eventually entering Bun’s room.

     He was tucked back into the other side of Bun’s bed before being silently left alone to the other boy's snores. Though he couldn’t help but kick his legs a bit in excitement. It seems Meta Knight was softer than he let on.

-

     Maybe he over over-prepared… No that wasn’t possible. No one could overprepare a dinner between a king and a queen. No matter how many raised eyebrows your servants gave you. Not to mention that nonsense fortune he got earlier. How could this end in disaster? He should never have trusted that scam artist.

     Every inch of his throne room had been polished and decorated to the nines, Escargon called it gaudy. Maybe it was, just a bit. But how else was he going to impress her? He had half the mind to order a special chef from Nightmare, but he didn’t exactly want to risk it. Meta Knight had a word for it, a Monkey’s Paw?

     As useful as they were, sometimes their hidden surprises had bitten him back far more than he would have liked. Or would care to admit. So everything was up to the Waddle Dee’s today. They had prepared a multi-course meal tonight, Escargon had flipped through some old books about old kings and their dinners. Much of it was cut down for the suddenness of his choice, but a dinner with a hundred dishes did sound tempting.

     He eyed the table layout, they had taken out the fancy silverware tonight. Most of it hadn’t even been touched before, it was an impulsive purchase from a few years back. Even the wine glasses were supposedly the finest money could buy, though they looked exactly like Samos. And there were enough red roses everywhere you looked to feel phantom pricks in your fingers.

     “Your Majesty! Queen Astrid is at the door, should I let her in?” Escargon called over to him.

     He practically pushed the man out of the way as he sped towards the door, swinging it open. “G-Good morning!- Evening!” He’d throw himself into the moat later. It did not help that Meta Knight stood not far behind her, continuing his guard duty this time into the evening.

     “Good evening Your Majesty. May I?” She politely responded. He ushered her inside, pulling out a seat just like Escargon told him to. The man had practically lectured him beforehand on the do’s and don’ts of a romantic dinner. Though he wondered why he knew so much, he didn’t strike him as someone who ever got a date. Meta Knight quietly slid into a shadow of the room to watch over them, though he was sure he’d end up vanishing at some point.

     “Wine for Her Majesty?” Escargon asked the queen as he hovered over with a wine bottle. He had cracked out the best in storage for tonight, he couldn’t even remember where he got it from but the old label said enough.

     She quietly nodded. “If you may.” The dark red liquid trickled into her glass, swirling around as it filled up. He sat at the opposite end of the table, similar enough to the one in their actual dining hall where the others were eating supper.