Kirby: On The Flipside! - ProminenceFlare (2024)

Chapter 1: It Begins

Chapter Text

The day was bright and clear. Most days were on Popstar, but that was especially important for today for a certain amusem*nt park-loving magician. Or rather, not so much him, but the businesswoman-slash-engineer that was nearby, and performing a last series of checks on the device she’d assisted in crafting. He glanced over at the individual, who seemed more than stuck on intently monitoring something through a tablet of some sort. “You’ve been rather nervous, I think. Are we ready over there or not?”

Considering the Star Allies and their potential need to get to other places in the galaxy rather quickly, Susie had hit upon an idea that he hadn’t found entirely objectionable- to use the Lor’s dimensional warping technology to form the basis of a slightly lesser device meant for point to point transport. They’d been through months of theory, research (as much as Magolor permitted, at least- he wasn’t keen on giving away all the secrets of the Lor, and he doubted he knew all of them anyway), and conceptual tests. Now was to be the first live test.

Susie had shown an…odd amount of zeal for this, even for her, but Magolor hadn’t pried. Now, though, she almost seemed…anxious. “We’re fine. All systems seem to be functioning.” She was speaking in clipped, terse tones, and that didn’t make Magolor feel too great about this. “We do this, and things will be made much easier for everyone. A small step towards...” He could almost hear her muttering something under her breath afterwards, but again, no sense to rock the ship so close to showtime.

The idea was that a system that was more compact, even if stationary, and required less start up and procedure than the Lor Starcutter would be far more preferable than having to call Magolor up and ask for a lift if ever needed for a group; if he was away or otherwise preoccupied, they’d have to rely on Warp Stars if available, and those weren’t around everywhere…that wasn’t around Kirby, anyway. Strange how that was, really.

Speaking of the pink puff, he’d agreed to volunteer for ‘safety duty’; in other words, he and Bandana Dee had agreed to watch over the results and make sure any accidents didn’t end up too catastrophic. That had expanded to Meta Knight and even King Dedede as well- while the king hadn’t been too fussed about the project initially, he couldn’t deny it was an interesting idea, especially when the hypothetical of one being installed at Dedede Resort was floated to him. So he’d given the okay, ‘So long as I get to use it first! After testin’, anyways.’ And thus he’d decided to keep an eye on things personally, just in case.

And so here they were. In the King’s courtyard, just in case. Two standing near one platform, complete with a star-shaped hollow construct on it, and two near another a few yards away. Really, it was a kindness, and as much as Magolor appreciated the young lady’s technological mind (were he feeling particularly generous one day, he might admit that her engineering knowledge outstripped his own), he certainly wasn’t ashamed to say he’d been involved a great deal- after all, he’d graciously granted a few Energy Spheres from the Lor to allow this to work at all! Naturally, if it did, they’d have to find another compatible power source for the long term, but the whole point was seeing if anything positive at all resulted from this. A proof-of-concept, as it were.

“Alright, then?” Magolor half-confirmed, half asked. If she was having second thoughts now, he’d really rather know BEFORE they flipped the big switch.

There was a moment, but she shook her head, and nodded with resolve in her eyes. “Yes. Preparing to engage!” she said loudly so that the two on the other end could hear. Meta Knight and Dedede both gave a wave of confirmation, and then she nodded to Magolor. Taking a deep breath, he finally hit the switch on the small control panel nearby. If all went well, two stable dimensional holes would form and they’d be able to walk between both seamlessly. And as the dimensional hole began to form, both he and Susie looked hopeful as it began to expand. “All readings nominal…now they just have to-”

And that was about when things went wrong.

It started out with a simple ‘beep’, causing Susie to tap a few things on her tablet. But then more beeps.

Bandana was the first to notice. “Uhhh, is something wrong?”

“No, no,” Susie quickly dismissed. “Just some mild power fluctuations, I-”

And then that was went even more beeps happened. Before Magolor or Susie could say anything, something happened at BOTH devices, as something snapped, and the dimensional holes grew to outsize their intended containment and a powerful vacuuming effect began to draw all nearby in. Susie had on her boost pack of course, and Magolor could hold himself with powerful magic. Still, the powerful suction effect, all too similar to their own hero’s, had them resisting with all their might.

The four nearest the event horizons weren’t so lucky, however. With a yell each, Kirby, Bandana Dee, Meta Knight, and King Dedede were all quickly sucked through, their receding forms the last thing either magician or mechanic saw before suddenly the dimensional holes destabilized, and shut with a snap.

An eerie quiet settled over the courtyard. Almost as if that just didn’t happen. “Oh…oh my.”

Really, it was all he could say. It’d been so sudden…

“No…” As Magolor settled himself, it wasn’t only him who realized what had just happened. Susie- as long as he’d known her (which admittedly wasn’t very long)- wasn’t one to despair over much. But this? This was understandable. Her expression of despair matched his own. “Not again…” Again? He was about to ask what she meant by that; however, the moment was fleeting.

She glanced down at her tablet, which she’d surprisingly managed to keep hold of. Then again, the entire incident had taken all of a few seconds, though it felt like ages. “According to this, they’ve been taken elsewhere!” She almost sounded relieved. “Readings state that it was a dimensional flux much like the Lor’s own, if far less stable, but…the exact coordinates will take some time to puzzle out because of that. But- theoretically, logically-”

“We WILL get them back!” Magolor said archly, and he brooked no argument. While once upon a time he might’ve celebrated their disappearance, true, he’d…well, he’d come to quite appreciate their company. All of the Star Allies, really. And Kirby’d done a lot for him, at least in regards to having faith. It was only right to pay it back. “Come on. We’ve got some repairs to make, improvements to engineer, and analysis to run!”

Susie froze, but only momentarily, before nodding dertermiendly. “Right. Let’s get started.” They had a lot of work to do.

As they gathered up the broken parts, Magolor couldn’t help but inwardly fret. Hopefully, wherever they’d been taken to, they’d survive for the time being. Then again, they were the founding members of the Star Allies! There was nothing they couldn’t handle. Right?

…

…regardless, Magolor hurried his pace. Just a bit.

Chapter 2: Simple Realizations

Chapter Text

When Kirby lifted himself off of the grass, he was…well, for one thing, he felt like he ought to have expected something like that. It tended to happen with him. But looking around, he couldn’t help but notice that he was in a forest now, as opposed to Dedede’s courtyard. And boy, was it dark.

Gathering his wits about him, he looked around himself- nothing stuck out at him as a landmark or anything. In fact, all the trees seemed incredibly alike. “Wow! That had some punch! …ugh, now I want punch.”

He’d kinda been hoping for a picnic or something afterwards, but it looked like that idea had to be put on the backburner. For now, he’d be better off figuring out just where he was. Actually, for that matter, didn’t Bandana Dee get sucked in, too? “Hellooooo! Is anyone there?” He could’ve sworn he’d saw Bandana for sure at least. Wonder if the same thing happened to the others…

Well, only one way to find out, and it wasn’t by standing still! With hope in his heart as usual, he picked a direction and sprinted off.

—----------------------

Bandana Dee had been in dire straits before, but this was a new one for him. “H-H-hello?! Kirby!? Great King?!” This wasn’t good. Not good at all. He’d been sucked through a dimensional portal, and while he was lucky enough to still have his spear, that was about it. This place seemed unlike any forest or jungle he’d been in before- the oversized Como (at least, he thought it was a Como) had been a bit tricky to put down. He hadn’t figured they GREW that large!

Well, no sense in fretting about it now- it was done for, and he had to focus on finding his friends! He just hoped that he wasn’t running around the middle of nowhere…

It was about an hour of travel or so later when he came across a sign- good or bad, he wasn’t sure. But it was clear that SOMEONE had run through this area. Several someones had, in fact. Judging by the footprints and cleared foliage, at least. “Too small to be the Great King…maybe Kirby came this way?”

It was his best hope, and he set off, a renewed vigor in his step and a tentative hope that his friends weren’t too far ahead.

—----------------------

The first thing King Dedede saw was the sky. Well, that made sense enough after the portals started going haywire. Now, just where WAS he-

“Oh.” That was the first word out of his mouth after he sat upright. “Since when was there a volcano near my castle?!” This wasn’t anywhere NEAR where his castle actually was! Though…

He looked out behind him. And saw something that both made him question everything and at the same time, realize it. “...Issat a town?” No matter how hard his eyes blinked, the image didn’t go away. A town it was- and just as oddly, behind it, overlooking the whole town from his guess, was a familiar castle…

“Wait, that castle oughta be on Prism Plains! What’s it doing here?” That had been a special castle of his- namely for his own private research at the time. He’d been letting the Squeaks use it as something of a base after what they’d all collectively termed ‘The Squeak Squad Incident’ (also as a way of keeping an eye on them juuuust in case) but he’d made certain that anything volatile had been removed from it. Had they found some sort of artifact or the sort that’d transported it here?

Dedede couldn’t help but frown at that thought. Friends of Kirby they might be, but that sounded right up their alley. He’d have to put that to rights if that was the case…

…but that wasn’t the priority. Finding that little pink troublemaker and his right-hand Dee was. (Though to be fair, it hadn’t been Kirby’s fault that time. He’d have to talk with Susie and Mags one of these days…) Meta Knight might’ve been sucked through, too, but he was less concerned about the knight. He could handle himself. Picking himself up fully, he began to make for the town. Might be a good place to get directions and some information if it was safe, at least.

—----------------------

The first thing Meta Knight did upon regaining consciousness was to check his faculties. Hands, working. Eyes, feet, wings- nothing hurt. Good. His trusty sword Galaxia was still with him. Excellent. The situation was markedly less dangerous from that fact alone. As for where he was? Sound. He heard the sea. Bird cries. Settling infrastructure. He was resting against something. Something metallic. His eyes opened, and confirmed his suspicions.

A lighthouse. He’d found himself near a lighthouse, somehow. Looking out at the sea, no less. Hm…

A quick check around him found no one; there was a door, likely for maintenance, but no keeper. This must be a fairly automatic one, then. No matter.

He quickly took flight and perched atop the lighthouse- better to get his bearings than go off randomly. And it seemed this had quite a view of inland.

The first thing he noticed was that he clearly wasn’t in Dream Land anymore. The civilization here seemed…markedly more thorough than what he was used to. Still, it almost didn’t quite seem up to what he was used to, either…strange.

But not as strange as one of Dedede’s castles overlooking the whole works. THAT was simply unexpected. Although…hm.

With an inkling of what might be going on, he spread his wings and took flight. He’d have to tread carefully here. Who knew where this really was?

—----------------------

“H-h-hellooo? Oh, geez…” Bandana Dee by now had worried himself half-sick, if he said so himself- and he did. He’d followed the trail to some sort of rather spooky looking cave, and by that point, it was all he could do to will himself through. It was rather dank, and the little natural light wasn’t enough to help him see before very long. “I-I should’ve thought to bring a torch or something…” he muttered to himself.

Frankly, he was just glad that there weren’t any monsters in here, it seemed. At least, not right this moment.

Before much longer, however, it was clear that he’d have to turn back. “Too dark…” he sighed to himself. At least that likely meant that-

-before he could finish his thought, however, to his surprise, a faint light began to emit in the distance. Maybe there WAS something or someone there! He picked up his pace, just in case. Had his friends found something? Maybe even the way home?

“WAAAAAAAAA!”

“AAAAAAHHHH!”

Bandana nearly yelled, himself- those were shouts of fear! Something was wrong- someone was being hurt! And what’s worse, they sounded young!

It was only a scant moment of preparation. Scared though he was, he wouldn’t hesitate to help! He quickly pushed himself faster, breaking out into a full run.

What he came upon as he got closer, he didn’t remotely expect.

Some massive, twisted flower-like creature was the source! It had great, twisting vines, and a number of vicious, flytrap like mouths- but what was more alarming was that whatever it was, it had someone in its clutches! Several someones, even! Though two of them looked vaguely familiar- “Gah, no time!” He said to himself before leaping into the fray.

There was no more worrying from the Dee as he charged into battle. A mighty (for a Dee) leap, and…

*Swish* *Swish* *Swing*! The bladed edge of his spear caught the vines perfectly, severing them with a single movement as he landed safely. He could’ve sworn he heard a shout from elsewhere, but that wasn’t his focus. The three kids (at this point he was fairly sure they were kids, at least) landed a bit roughly, the vines still covering them, but otherwise they looked alright, but…wait.

“Kirby?!” he gasped quietly in surprise, upon seeing who was on the kid’s back. And he was sleeping! Had the flower done something to him- or the kid?

The roar of the beast brought him back to the present. He’d have time for that, later. For now, he needed to protect his friend!

“What’s a Waddle Dee doing here?!” he heard someone say. It sounded like a girl…well, he couldn’t blame them. He was kind of wondering that, himself!

But that was another question to be answered AFTER this thing was beaten.

—----------------------

They’d expected a number of things when the plan to follow Tuff had been made. Many of them had more or less come true.

However, THIS was entirely unexpected. “What’s a Waddle Dee doing here?!” Tiff couldn’t help but ask. Looking at Meta Knight, she was surprised to see him looking as close to confused as she could ever guess.

“I…am not so sure,” he admitted hesitantly. “However, it appears that aid has come in unexpected ways. Your brother-”

“Right!” Tiff quickly said, realizing the opportunity she’d been given. The Waddle Dee had his back turned to them all, as he was busy dealing with the creature- but as she pulled her brother, Fololo, and Falala from the fray, she was surprised to see that the small Dee wasn’t just somehow holding his own- he was WINNING. He moved his spear like it was a part of him, and two striking attempts by the plant creature had resulted in two more heads being severed- but she had other things to focus on, as she and Meta Knight went to retrieve their family and friends.

Tuff was, expectedly, out of sorts in more ways than one. “Heeeey. What’re you and Meta Knight doing here?! Not ta mention a Waddle Dee of all things!”

“Well, I couldn’t let you just go out there alone…” Tiff replied. Judging by his expression, she had some explaining to do… “The Waddle Dee, though? That’s a mystery…”

—----------------------

For his part, Bandana Dee was wholly focused on the fight- the creature had smartened up a bit, and was starting to use multi-pronged attacks. 'Thank Nova it can’t regrow those things!' he thought to himself as he dodged another whip-like strike from a maw. His response was in the form of a downwards swing that was only barely dodged as he neatly made space. This thing was tricky to fight by itself…

Suddenly, a flash of golden steel- a familiar one, too! In moments, another pair of heads fell apart, and Bandana Dee breathed a sigh of relief. “Meta Knight! You made it!”

To his shock, however, that seemed to shock Meta Knight, the exclamation causing the stalwart warrior to look to him in surprise- before barely parrying a duo of mouths intent on chewing him up.

“R-right, sorry, in a fight!” Bandana quickly moved to help, though something about it all twigged wrong, for some reason…

Bandana could swear he heard someone talking behind him- multiple someones, in fact, as he worked with Meta Knight to demolish the deadly plant. Through every strike, swing, and dodge he observed, however, something kept feeling off. Good though Meta Knight was…he was largely sticking to the ground. That wasn’t common for him. He hadn’t even used any of his more wide ranging moves- a Mach Tornado would’ve ended this a lot quicker in his opinion. Maybe he was using it more as a chance to train? Well, since the hostages had been rescued, it made a certain amount of sense, he supposed.

No more words were shared as the two of them forced the plant to split its attention- and make the job much easier for the both of them. It wasn’t much longer before, between the two of them, the plant simply had no more mouths to bite at them, and the beast was largely disabled.

“Woo! That’s the end of that!” Bandana Dee cheered- only to quickly straighten out when Meta Knight again gave him that odd look. “Uhh…you okay, Meta?”

The look Meta gave him almost gave him chills. It felt…detached. And then, he spoke. “I am fine. You, however…are a mystery.”

That was NOT Meta Knight’s voice. Meta’s voice was deeper, a bit smoother. And it certainly didn’t have that accent and lilt to it. But then…

“Meta Knight!” He turned to see, indeed, that there was a girl of…some species he’d never seen before, as was the young boy. He thought he recognized the two floating creatures- they’d come around now and again and worked under Great King. However, it was Kirby, sitting there, sleeping and holding a candy bar, that really lit a bulb in his mind. The Kirby he knew was…bigger. “You two were great out there! But, this means we can get the flower petal to wake Kirby now!” And they seemed far too familiar with him. “And we’ve got a lotta questions to ask you, you weird Waddle Dee. I didn’t even know Dees could talk our language!”

“They cannot, by my estimate,” said not-Meta Knight. “Which makes the fact that this one can very interesting.” He wasn’t sure if that was meant to be an implied threat or not, but it didn’t help.

NOW he knew what was going on. And his entire small, chubby body sagged at the realization. He wasn’t anywhere CLOSE to home.

“Well…I’m pretty sure I can explain what’s happening, but it’s gonna take some doing…” he lamented.

After all, just saying he was from a different dimension without details might be rude.

Chapter 3: Misunderstandings Understood

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Cappies. That’s what lived here. A bunch of Cap-less Cappies. Dedede had never seen such a sight.

Honestly, that part of it all just kinda stuck in his craw, if he was being honest. He NEVER knew a Cappy to be okay without its cap. But they seemed decently technologically able. Crosswalks, signs of vehicle use (though he didn’t see a one) other such things. At first he’d been a bit worried about that- Haltmann Invasion aside, he didn’t have a problem with technology himself and rather enjoyed its conveniences. But as things stood, that wasn’t what he had to worry about.

No, what WAS was the clear odd looks everyone was giving him. Some seemed to shy away from him in worry, others seemed almost annoyed with him for whatever reason. Were they just not fans of outsiders? Had he broken some sort of social expectation or something?

(If he was being honest with himself, he was starting to suspect he knew what was going on, but he elected to not think about it just yet.)

Ultimately, he figured that the way everyone was eying him, he wouldn’t be getting much information without being a bit more direct. ‘Might as well give it the ol’ Kingly try,’ he said to himself as he ambled up closer to a nearby group of the Cappies. In particular, a shorter one, probably a kid, and he had a rather neat straw hat on. He was busy talking to a group of his friends, but Dedede was a bit desperate. Hopefully he knew at least a bit about the area and wouldn’t mind an interruption. “Pardon me. Mind if I ask you a question or two?”

Dedede wasn’t blind to the surprised stares the other kids gave him upon asking, but that still didn’t prepare him for the specific kid’s reaction as he turned around. “Oh, sure, mister, what’s- WHA?!” He nearly jumped a full foot in the area in surprise. “K-king Dedede?!” And the kid actually tried to look tough, for whatever reason, puffing out his chest. “Whaddya want?!”

Ohhhhhh, Nova, that wasn’t a good sign. Probably not a good idea to head towards that castle just yet, after all. “You wouldn’t have happened to see a little pink puffball with a big smile and appetite wander by, have ya?” Maybe mentioning Kirby was-

That seemed to rile them up even more. “Why should we tell you? You got something else in mind for him?! W-we ain’t helping with that!”

Nope, not good at all. Maybe he’d need to try another tack…

‘This dimensional stuff is starting to get old.’ Dedede thought grumbly as he simply walked away, leaving the kids alone- much to their surprise. He’d have to do something a bit more sneaky, then, if he wanted information. He wasn’t exactly built for stealth, of course, but he could probably come up with an idea or two.

As he mulled on what he might be able to do, he couldn’t help but wonder where that little pink demon ended up…

Kirby almost felt a little disappointed. He’d expected far more in the way of enemies and wildlife to mess with him, but apart from a few bug noises, nothing seemed to be interested in waylaying him at all.

Honestly, the fact that this place didn’t seem to have ANYTHING in the way of landmarks or identifying features at all was troublesome. Kirby’s sense of direction was never the greatest, though it usually got the job done…but this was something else entirely. “How do I even get out of here?” he muttered to himself as he wandered on.

It was starting to get annoying, really!

After a few more minutes of jotting on and trying to make his own landmarks by scuffing up a few trees, however, he saw something that made him break out into a small grin. “Apples!” A tree with actually unique features, for once! And he wouldn’t mind a few himself- though it made him think of Bandana Dee. If he wasn’t safe back home, the Dee would probably love a few himself. But, for now, all for Kirby!

Though as he approached, something about the tree sent off alarm bells in his head. Pushing it away, he quickly waddled up to the tree and began to set up to knock a few apples off.

But that was when the tree’s bark shifted, twisted, and- “Oh, great,” Kirby muttered to himself. He knew EXACTLY who this was.

As the eyeholes and mouth morphed into the all too familiar form of one of his perennial nemeses, Kirby braced himself. “Whispy Woods!”

And to his surprise, Whispy Woods…smiled? “Ahh. Kirby. You’re speaking? I hadn’t expected that.” He hadn’t? Well, true, Kirby usually wasn’t in a chatty mood when he met the tree, so fair. “Come back to check on me?”

All Kirby could do was tilt his head. Was he still calmed from the Jambastion Incident? That’d be good. “Nnnope, but it’s good to see you happy!” He meant that, for sure. He’d beaten Whispy up so much he was half worried the tree had an eternal grudge. It was good to know he seemed forgiven permanently. Though this forest was an odd one to reside in. “Actually…I’m kiiiinda lost. I need to find my friends, and kinda dunno the way out.”

The smile, fortunately, never left Whispy’s face. “Oh, is that all? Here. Let my roots and apples guide you.” And slowly, Whispy’s great roots began to point in the proper direction, a few apples helping to mark the trail.

Frankly, Kirby was ecstatic, and didn’t waste any more time bounding off- after sucking up a few fallen apples for himself, of course. “Awesome! Thanks, Whispy!” He KNEW it had been worth the effort to befriend the tree.

“Of course. That way should lead back to town.” With that, Whispy’s face disappeared…though his last words caused Kirby some confusion.

“Town? What town?” …Well, no matter. He had a direction! Onwards! That decided, he pumped his little feet and got to sprinting.

It was only a bit longer before he indeed found that he was on the way out, as the treeline got thinner. Finally! Now he could get some proper sunshine…

…aaaand notice that he was in a large, hilly field. There was a simple wooden bridge nearby running over a creek, but that was about it…save for what looked like a very familiar castle in the distance on top of a hill, and off to the side. Huh. Had he been transported to Prism Plains? It didn’t quite look or FEEL like it. And the last time he’d been here he didn’t see Whispy. Maybe it was a recent development? ‘Never DID figure out how he got around,’ Kirby wondered to himself. Dismissing it as just another quirk of Dream Land, he sprinted for his friend’s castle. Dedede was bound to at least have an IDEA of what had happened, right?

Well, that was if he was there at all. Someone had to be, right? Maybe the Squeaks! They’d be a big help in searching for Bandana Dee, at least!

As he sprinted off, he didn’t notice a familiar hamster watching him the whole time.

Rick couldn’t help but be confused. “Now, ain’t that just bafflin’? Why would Kirby of all blokes head Dedede’s way?” He looked like he hadn’t even SEEN the town. Was he just facing the wrong way?

Tiff, for her part, was baffled wholly. She’d heard of absurd things here and there, seen a few herself, but THIS took the cake. “Wait, so…just checking. You’ve got a whole…group? Organization?”

Bandana Dee nodded as they made their way out of the jungle, climbing over root and stone. “Yup! W-well, sorta. We’re kinda a loose association, but we’re all friends! Really, our Meta Knight would be better suited telling you all about it- he handles all the fancy logistics.”

Tuff, all concerns about inferiority and proving himself banished in place of learning all about this new outsider, simply gushed. “That’s so COOL! Do you have, like, uniforms and a slogan and stuff?”

That this Waddle Dee was, somehow, from a whole other dimension just didn’t quite register with her. That said, as far as things went, he’d at least given some claim to the idea with (aside from the fact that he talked at ALL) the apparent revelation that Meta Knight had a sweet tooth, of all things! Sir Meta Knight hadn’t exactly been thrilled to have that revealed so casually, but apparently it was fairly common knowledge in his dimension, ‘even though he thinks no one really knows’, according to the Dee.

Admittedly, it WAS a bit funny. Meta Knight seemed to view the Dee with a measure of suspicion, however, and was content to let him talk about his own supposed dimension while occasionally preventing her from talking too much about hers, via the occasional cough and interruption. Not that the Waddle Dee- sorry, Bandana Dee seemed too put off by it, at least as he responded to Tuff’s outburst. “N-no, not really. I don’t think Kirby would really enjoy a uniform, honestly…” After a moment, he let out a soft sigh that she suspected she wasn’t meant to hear.

“Hey, don’t worry. We’ll figure something out!” she reassured him. That was another thing. They had their OWN KIRBY. And by all rights, he was who this Dee was looking for. An apparently older one, too! Tiff had to admit she was more than a bit curious. Information on him, in particular, was someone who Bandana Dee was keeping close to the chest, so to speak. Although given the way he sighed and looked at their Kirby, who was happily munching away at his chocolate bar now that he was awake, made her think it was less ‘secret’ information and more he just couldn’t really talk without worrying for his friend. She couldn’t help but feel a bit sympathetic.

Meta Knight said nothing, but a quick glance at him told Tiff she shouldn’t be expecting him to speak too much.

The lot of them traveled in relative silence for most of the remainder of the trip, however- save for a brief period where the giant snake that had chased out Tuff the first time had managed to return; and angry, too!

At first, it caused a bit of panic, but she was quickly proven wrong when Bandana Dee dispatched the thing almost effortlessly! A few strikes, a dodge of a single technique, and it was down and out. Even Meta Knight had given a small hum of approval at that showing, though Tiff had thought it a touch rude Meta hadn’t jumped in first. “Tell me. How did you acquire such skill with the spear?” He asked. It was the first thing Meta Knight had said to him since leaving the cave. “That level of technique cannot be found among King Dedede’s guard.”

“O-oh!” He seemed awful bashful about that, rubbing the back of his head shyly. “Well, I mean, just a lot of practice, I guess! I’m self-trained!”

“I see…” Meta Knight mumbled, but said no more.

“Soooo cool!” Tuff cheered. Fololo and Falala only giggled. Tiff had noticed their ‘guest’ making an odd expression at both Meta Knight and them, but he hadn’t said anything, and she hadn’t called it out.

“So, what’s this town of yours like?” he asked. “You said you came from a ‘Cappy Town’, right? It, uh…sounds unique!”

She wasn’t quite sure how to take that. “It’s…alright, I guess. It’s kinda quiet and peaceful- well, when stupid Dedede’s not causing trouble,” she groused. She couldn’t help but notice his flinch at her opinion of Dedede, and that gave her some internal pause. WAS he aligned with King Dedede? Did Meta Knight have the right idea after all? He hadn’t mentioned King Dedede beyond a passing statement about ‘Our King was nearby when it happened.’ She had presumed that he’d either caused the accident that led them there, or otherwise was involved and hadn’t asked after it further. It sounded like something Dedede might get up to…

Not that Bandana Dee seemed to share the same sentiments. “I-is he really so bad?”

Tuff, ever oblivious, was the one to respond. “Oh yeah, he’s a big jerk! Him and Escargoon! They both hate Kirby for whatever!” Well, it wasn’t like he was wrong. “And he likes to push Cappy Town around, too!” At that, though, he gave a little scoff. “Or at least, he TRIES to!”

“Oh. That sounds bad.” Bandana Dee said no more, and neither did anyone else until they reached the plains; it was there that they could see the castle in the distance, the direction they were headed. Again, Tiff noticed Bandana Dee giving it a strange look, but she didn’t pry. Something told her she’d have plenty of time for questions later- for now, though, she needed to get home and let her mom and dad know everyone was okay.

No doubt Dedede would be miffed that his plan hadn’t worked, but it wouldn’t be in his best interests to mention it out loud…if he cared about that sorta thing, really. “Well, today’s been a really big day- for more than one reason,” she said, looking over to Bandana again. “C’mon! We stay in Castle Dedede; my dad’s the Cabinet Minister.”

“O-oh!” That seemed to perk him up a bit. “You must be very proud of him!”

That gave her a bit of pause, but she wasn’t sure why. “...yeah. I am. Thanks! C’mon, I’m sure he’ll get a kick out of you!” Honestly, as long as she didn’t run into King Dedede…

Little Kirby let out a cheerful ‘poyo’ at the idea, and Bandana Dee could only chuckle. “I’m still getting used to that…”

“Hey, it’s weird for us, too!” Tuff said easily as they walked along. “I betcha you’ve got plenty of awesome stories to tell, too! We can eat ice cream or something while we’re at it!”

“Well…that does sound good…” Bandana Dee admitted. “B-but I really should be looking for MY Kirby. I’m pretty sure he’s here, too…”

“Yeah, but it’s getting late,” Tiff pointed out. Indeed, the sun was starting to set for the day- it hadn’t quite hit the horizon, but it was threatening such. “There’s no sense in wandering around after dark.”

Bandana Dee couldn’t really argue that, and so he sighed and nodded. Tuff gave him a reassuring pat on the back as they headed for Castle Dedede.

Meta Knight, ever watchful, followed behind.

It was only a few more minutes before, to their surprise, they ran across a familiar face. “Rick? Hey!” He was looking almost pensive, actually…

Though he turned and smiled all the same. “Oy! Tiff, Tuff, how’s tricks? And- ‘old on a mo.” Face straightening out, he looked behind Tuff. “Issat Kirby? Oi, didn’t I just see ‘im take off towards the King’s earlier? What’s ‘e doin’ back there suddenly?”

Tiff froze. “Wait…you SAW him!?”

Rick nodded. “Yeah! Like I said, went chargin’ right to the castle like ‘e was late for somethin’! But now, bam, right back ‘ere! What gives?”

Tiff and Tuff both shared a look of alarm- before breaking out into a flat run, the rest of the party quickly following.

“Oi! Well, now, that was a mite rude…but somethin’ tells me it mighta been necessary.”

Dedede hadn’t wanted to admit it, but after hearing a few ‘whispers’ and eavesdropping on a few conversations, he had to face facts.

Not only was he in some sort of other dimension, apparently he had a counterpart here, too! Then again, he recalled hearing about Kirby’s adventures in the Mirror Dimension, and they had counterparts there, so he supposed it made some kinda sense. He was pretty sure he wasn’t THERE, though.

Regardless, it was clear he wasn’t looked upon very favorably here. It reminded him a great deal of his earliest, worst days- though he could at least say he hadn’t been THAT bad in a long time. Nonetheless, it was also clear that because of that, he wasn’t getting any help. However, he HAD heard someone talking about ‘Meta Knight’; and that he was apparently at the castle. He was pretty sure it wasn’t the Meta that he knew, but a Meta Knight was, hopefully, a Meta Knight and would be able to help him somehow. This place seemed decent enough, and they had spoken of Meta Knight in what he was fairly sure was a positive manner. It should work out, right? And, well, if it turned out that he met his counterpart and that they really WERE evil?

Hey, a bit of bashing around might help straighten things out. Worked for him and Kirby, at least.

He just hoped this king’s Waddle Dees were as kind as his…

Running up to the castle gates, Kirby was a bit surprised to see that the place seemed staffed…and that it had apparently undergone a bit of a renovation since last he was there. Then again, it HAD kinda gotten a hole blown through it last time he was there. Maybe they just got stuck with a boring job rotation. Well, whatever. “Hiiiiii!” he cheered to the Waddle Dees on guard duty. They seemed surprised, especially when he more or less blew past them. They seemed a bit different, but again- he hadn’t been around in a while. Things had to be a bit boring, even with the Squeaks around now and again. Although he didn’t see their airship anywhere…must be out. Tough luck. Well, it was getting late anyway. He walked through the courtyard, trying to recall the layout of the place as best he could.

It was obvious it wouldn’t be of much use, before long. ‘Wow, this place is seriously being rebuilt from the ground up, huh?’ he thought as he walked through one of the big hallways. It almost seemed intentionally gloomy, even. ’He hasn’t even bothered with the gold paint or anything yet.’ Well, whatever. He could crash in here and then continue looking in the morning.

It wasn’t much longer before he found a number of doors. Most seemed empty, though one seemed like it led to a rather fancy living arrangement. That couch looked nice. But it was likely one of the Squeaks, from the looks of things. Maybe Spinni? Or Daroach himself? He seemed to like the finer things in life…

Continuing on more out of curiosity now, he eventually came to a rather large pair of double doors- a bit bigger than his usual. Maybe that’s the new throne room? Maybe he could take a peek…

He made to open the doorway, but just then they were thrown open themselves, and Kirby nearly bounced off a big blue belly.

That was the first big sign something was off. Dedede had long started wearing a kimono under his coat, and he rather liked the look nowadays.

The second big sign was that Dedede was bigger than what he recalled- in all the wrong ways. It hadn’t been THAT long since he’d last seen the king.

The third big sign was the scowl on his face as he turned eyes to him. Dedede hadn’t given him a look like that in almost ever. “Whaaat?! Why you- so they went an’ ackally managed ta wake ya, huh?”

“Well, looks like that plan was nipped in the bud,” someone next to him snarked. Who was that? Some sort of snail…

Okay, sign number four. He had NO idea what that meant, tilting his head in confusion. Frankly, all of this was adding up REALLY quickly to paint a picture he wasn’t a fan of. “What do you mean? What plan?”

BOTH of their eyes bulged almost comically at the simple statement. “Whoa! Hey now, what was that?!” the snail asked incredulously. “Since when can YOU pipe up with anythin’ but ‘poyo’?!”
…Okay, he hadn’t spoken that in ages. Something was very wrong here. Nonetheless, Dedede recovered quickly. “Well, fine then! Just ‘cause you can speak propah-like now don’t mean I can’t try ta get rid o’ you all the same!”

Okay, that kinda sounded like a threat. Kirby couldn’t help a slightly exasperated expression forming on his face. “Dedede, are you possessed? Again?” Not that he expected a positive answer, but…

That sent him steaming. “Why you- your vocabulamary got a whole lotta cheek alla a sudden, ain’t it?!” Regardless, Kirby was starting to think this was the case. His accent was all off, too.

Holding back an (admittedly well-meaning) sigh, Kirby braced himself. Nothing copied at the moment, but maybe once he slapped Dedede around a bit as usual, then whatever it was would-

“W-whoa there now, what’s that look in yer eye?!” ‘Dedede’ yelled, backing up a bit and brandishing his hammer. “Don’tchu make me start with th’ self-defense!”

“You’re feeling awful full of pepper today after your nap, aren’tcha!?” the snail said- though he was clearly making just as fast a retreat. Maybe he was involved? Would have to see if that was the case.

Nonetheless, he’d have to keep an eye on both of them. “Alright, Dedede, let’s get whatever’s in you out!”

He charged- only to be stopped mid-run by a familiar blue blur. “Wha-!”

“Hold, Kirby! There is no reason to fight here! You are mistaken.” The form of Meta Knight said- though his accent and phrasing were…odd. Almost like it wasn’t quite Meta Kni- oh.

Oh.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Just as the metaphorical lightbulb went off, he heard footsteps. Turning, he could see two young children of a race he’d never seen before, and-

“Kirby!” Bandana Dee! “Oh, geez, we caught up just in time!”

“Bandee!” Kirby cheered- though that was quickly replaced with confusion. “What’s going on?!”

“You’re tellin’ me!” Not-Dedede asked. “First Kirbeh, now a Waddle Dee yappin’? Who else suddenly figured out how ta start gabbin’!”

“Iiiii wasn’t prepared for the end of this day, that’s for sure,” the snail agreed.

Bandana Dee sighed, walking up to his friend calmly. “Well, it’s a long story, but…”

“I suspect it will take some time to comprehend,” a familiarly deep voice said from somewhere up above. All parties involved looked up, opposite of where Meta Knight was…to see another Meta Knight? “However, I believe this is not wholly unfamiliar. After all-” he leaped, and glided down to the floor with his wings, landing just opposite his doppleganger. “-alternate dimensions are known to us.”

“Whoa…what’s with the wings?” Tuff asked quietly. The Meta Knight on the ground said nothing.

“I knew it!” a loud and bombastic voice crowed out as the figure of the Dedede Kirby was familiar with came through the doorway. “Thought everyone might be here!” It wasn’t hard to spot his own counterpart. “Ha. Boy, I haven’t worked out much here, have I?”

“Why you-! Alright, that tears it! Someone bettah explain ALL of this right now!” The other Dedede yelled, stomping his feet. “Why’s suddenly alla these impostahs showin’ up! Are they tryin’ ta steal my throne!?”

“Please, like anyone would want YOUR throne,” Tiff said hotly. She didn’t miss how the new King Dedede seemed to nod at Bandana Dee; who seemed to perk up at him. Hm. “But, there DOES need to be an explanation. Just so EVERYONE knows just what’s going on.” She said the last bit looking at Bandana Dee, who caught it.

“R-right. I-I think I might have to do that,” Bandana Dee piped up. “But like Meta Knight said, it…well, it involves other dimensions, if you can believe that."

Hopefully, this would be the last time he’d have to explain it.

Kirby, for his part…well, he’d noticed a certain other pink puffball looking on carefully from behind the kids.

’Yeah, Susie’s gonna wanna catalog this,’ Kirby thought to himself as Bandana began the explanation.

Chapter 4: Both Sides of the Coin

Chapter Text

After a great deal of explanation to all involved, and a lot of yelling on their Dedede’s part (he was convinced that they were some sort of ‘impostah’ group trying to oust him and thus refused them staying in his castle), they were finally let alone.

Kirby, for his part, was still focusing on the smaller version of him, who seemed…well, confused as all getout, for sure, but at the same time happy and curious. Like he didn’t realize there was only supposed to be one of him (well, barring certain exceptions that he didn’t want to recall right now) and was just fascinated at this bigger being that had his face.

Ah, youth.

“So, really REALLY sorry about that, but it probably wouldn’t be best to put up too much of a fight,” Tiff explained. “I’ll see if I can’t get my mom and dad to help me try again tomorrow, but I wouldn’t count on much.”

“Yeah, when OUR King Dedede gets mad, he doesn’t budge for nothin’,” Tuff agreed.

The two seemed nice, Kirby decided, and honestly probably deserved better than what they had. Tiff had yelled a blue streak at the guy, but indeed, he hadn’t given an inch, and while Kirby kinda still thought a good smacking was in order, she’d reluctantly relented, and he didn’t want to make the situation worse.

“Yikes an’ a half, but that wasn’t pleasant,” King Dedede said. He had a bit of an annoyed look on his face, but assured Tiff that it wasn’t a problem, he’d make due. “At least we know where we stand. Eh, not the first time I’ve been out campin’.”

“You have?” Tuff asked. “Cool! Our Dedede would hate it.”

Dedede offered a grin at the eager boy. “Ha! Remind me to tell you about the Crystal Shard incident one day. Now that was an adventure.”

“Oh yeah! Boy, those were the days,” Bandana Dee recounted. “I didn’t even have my bandana then. Or my spear.”

“You helped plenty anyway, though!” Kirby offered. Of course, now that the memory was in his head, he couldn’t help but have his thoughts trail to Adeleine and Ribbon. They’d struck up a strong friendship after that whole incident, as it happened, and apparently Adeleine was considered Ripple Star’s Official Court Painter nowadays. They’d slid right back into the swing of things when word had gotten out about their LATEST crisis and he’d been grateful for it. Somehow, her painted food always tasted delicious…

“And here we are,” Tiff suddenly announced, causing Kirby to stop short in surprise. He’d wandered off mentally, but when he actually noticed where they were… “Hey! This looks just like my house!”

“Oh? This is what your house looks like in your universe?” Tiff asked in surprise. “Huh. I dunno why I thought otherwise…”

“Pardon me?!” A shrill voice suddenly announced. “What in blazes are you- WHOA?!”

“Aw, dangit, we forgot about Tokkori!” Tuff mumbled. “Whoops…”

After a great deal of explaining (which Tokkori didn’t much care about aside from general whining) and dealing (which Tokkori had to accept because Kirby wasn’t keen on sleeping in a NEST), eventually it was decided that the lot of them would indeed rest nearby for the night, and Bigger Kirby (they weren’t sure on a way to differentiate them yet) would sleep inside regardless. It wasn’t the most comfortable, but all affected parties assured them one night wouldn’t hurt.

On the way home, Tiff, Tuff, and their Meta Knight couldn’t help but converse about the strange occurrence today. “So…what do you think?” Tiff asked.

“They seem pretty cool!” Tuff cheered. Tiff sighed- that much was obvious. “Their Dedede seems way more chill than OUR Dedede. And that Waddle Dee seemed cool, too!”

“Yeah, that’s still strange to me,” Tiff admitted. “But it does make communication a whole lot easier! Otherwise, they seem nice- especially their Kirby.”

“Hmm. I still wonder.” Meta Knight said. He’d been largely silent and observational the whole time. “There are many mysteries about them they have yet to reveal.”

“Really?” Tuff asked. “I thought they’d told us a lot.”

“Let us go over that, then, hm?” Meta said, eyes shining. “From what the Waddle Dee called Bandana told us, they hail from an alternate universe. They have told us little of what it is like; merely that they have fought many villains to keep it safe. They have told us that they are a part of an organization called the ‘Star Allies’, but no information on its purpose beyond the protection of their planet Pop Star. Most importantly, they have given no information on how they arrived here, merely that it was ‘an accident’, and they they ‘are sure they will make their way home in time.’ That they claim they have explored alternate dimensiones before makes me…suspect,” he finished.

“Whaaat?” Tuff responded. “But what about all the stuff about his home the Dee said?”

“The Waddle Dee was very content to speak of his homeland, yes. But small things; such as the nature of some lands he’d supposedly journeyed to. We have those here, as well. Aspects of his personal life, which cannot be verified. Much of what was stated was, ultimately, unimportant, and could easily be fabricated.” And here his eyes shifted slightly. “And then there is the topic of my so-called ‘counterpart’.”

“What, the other Meta Knight?” Tiff asked. “Yeah, I guess I can understand that. After all, YOU don’t have wings…” she paused, thinking. “Right?”

“Indeed, I do not. Otherwise, I would not shy from using them,” Meta Knight confirmed. “And yet, this Meta Knight seems all too willing to show his strange difference from myself.”

“Isn’t that a sign that they’re honest?” Tiff pointed out. “If he’s so brazen about showing what’s otherwise an obvious difference between you two, then that can only be because he doesn’t know you don’t have them. If he was trying to copy you or something, there’s no way he wouldn’t know!”

“I am aware of that,” Meta Knight pointed out. “Which is why I will propose a simple, yet elegant solution come tomorrow. This way, we can determine how honorable they are.”

“And that is?” Tiff asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We ask them for details directly,” he said simply.

He ignored the other two stopping outright. Then… “Hey! How’s THAT any clever?”

—-----------------

“More about the Star Allies…” their Meta Knight (whom Tiff had mentally started calling Wing Meta) mulled over. “I feel as though too much information would be…risky. But I suppose we can inform you of some other facets about it.”

The lot of them: Tiff, Tuff, Little Kirby, Big Kirby, Bandana Dee, both Metas, and Nice Dedede (again, as she’d started mentally calling him) were all currently in Kawasaki’s. Tiff and Tuff had offered them a tour of the town, which they’d eagerly accepted, and now stopped in here for lunch.

Honestly, the first surprising thing she’d learned about them was that apparently THEIR Kawasaki was actually a quite competent chef, and they’d been eager to taste the differences.

Not so eager now, though both Kirbys, as expected, had little problem with the fare on offer. As they were essentially alone at the moment, however, Meta Knight had clearly decided to go ahead with his ‘plan’.

Not that it seemed to be too much concern to the others- Bandana Dee seemed more concerned with his apple juice than anything else. “The Star Allies are a somewhat loose organization, formed from recent strife. We are dedicated to the protection of Pop Star and the surrounding system. Currently, we-”

“Wait, surrounding system?” Tiff interrupted. “What do you mean?”

“Exactly that,” Winged Meta continued. “We include the surrounding planets in Pop Star’s system as well in that defense. So that none can gain a major foothold if they have ill designs towards Pop Star.”

“You have such a force at your disposal?” her Meta inquired, leaning forwards.

There was a pause as the four of them looked at each other briefly. “...not so much,” Winged Meta clarified. “Though if needs must, we can likely muster such. It is not a standing force. More of a union of…exceptional individuals that can assist greatly in any defensive maneuvers necessary. Myself, the King, Bandana Dee, and of course Kirby are the founders and leaders of the Star Allies.”

“Yup!” Big Kirby continued on. “Then there’s the official Star Allies core members, and there’s, uh…nineteen?” He turned to Winged Meta, who nodded. “Nineteen of them, then there’s the Helpers, and there’s a BUNCH of them. They’re kinda like everyone who’s willing to help, but isn’t watching stuff at any given time. We basically grab ‘em as we need ‘em.”

“Your version of footsoldiers. Fascinating…” Meta Knight considered.

“Well, that’s a bit underselling them, I’d think.” King Dedede noted. “All my Dees are Helpers, but my castle wouldn’t function without ‘em. I’d say they’re more than just grunts, ya know?”

“I meant no offense,” Meta Knight said smoothly. “All members of such a force are vital to keeping it working. I was part of a similar force myself, in the past.”

That got everyone’s attention. “Wait, really?” Tiff asked in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“I’ll explain later,” Meta Knight dismissed. “For now, let us continue with our friends.”

Winged Meta seemed…distinctly less than impressed, and Tiff noticed the others give each other looks, but it was the king who continued on. “Right. So we got different specialties that the core members are good with- like engineering, and all. Beyond that, we've got threat levels that we’ve planned out, just in case.”

Big Kirby chuckled. “Yeah. We got a code system that tells us how big problems are. From local stuff, like, Iunno, someone trying to steal all the food in Dreamland-” Here he notably gave Dedede an eye, who sighed, and rolled his, but didn’t deny it. “-up to serious stuff, like…galaxy threatening stuff or worse.” That got him a bit more sober. “Had to deal with that one recently, actually.”
“Is that truly so? You have the ability to repel such threats, then?” Meta Knight asked. Tiff couldn’t help but notice how intrigued he seemed to be. So much for suspicion, she supposed.

“Well, it wasn’t easy!” Bandana Dee said quickly. “We had to go through a LOT to stop that problem. It’s…still a little raw for us, honestly.”

“I see. Then I will not poke at such a wound,” Meta agreed. “However, it speaks well to you that you were able to push back such a massive incursion.”

“Yeah, like we said, that wasn’t the first…but it was probably the worst so far,” Big Kirby admitted. For a moment, his jolly expression fell, but almost immediately it returned. “Honestly, it kinda ended better than I’d started to expect!”

“That is good to hear,” Meta Knight said with a nod. “Oftentimes, regrets in battle are what lead to sad dreams of what they could have done. Or worse…”

Kirby nodded in return. “Yup. Thank goodness for the Fountain, huh?”

Blank stares, and Kirby didn’t comprehend it. “What Fountain?” Tiff asked. Almost at once, all of the dimensional travelers jumped in shock, and that made Tiff nervous. “W-what’d I say? What are you talking about?”

“Y-your Fountain of Dreams?” Bandana asked. “Y’know, the thing that prevents nightmares and lets everyone have a pleasant sleep?”

Tiff and Tuff both looked at Meta Knight, who could only shrug and shake his head. “I have never heard of such a Fountain.”

“You- wait, you don’t have a Fountain of Dreams?!” Bandana asked in clear surprise. The others seemed almost too shocked to answer. “How do you sleep at night?!”

“...usually alright, I guess?” Tiff answered incredulously. “I mean, sometimes I have a bad night, but it’s usually fine?”

“That such a structure would exist…it boggles the mind,” Meta Knight admitted.

“Moreso that one DOESN’T, for you,” Winged Meta responded.

There was little else they could say on that topic, both sides staring at each other in shock and confusion.

That was about the time Little Kirby had finished with his 20th or so plate and they quickly had to pay and leave. That was about the time they learned that apparently, the other dimension had NO regular currency. "We just trade mostly, or get our own food, but there’s some places that use some things we call Star Pieces. They’re about as close to a regular currency as we got, considering we have different ones with different worth,” Kirby explained. "I think some areas are trying to make them actual coins..."

“But you know the concept,” Meta Knight noted.

Kirby flinched a bit, which Tiff wasn’t expecting. “Yeeeah. We’re REALLY aware of the concept.”

“Eh, I can take it or leave it,” Bandana said, to nods from the other two.

Tiff took some of the time walking to ponder the idea of a D Bill-less Cappy Town. Oddly enough, she just couldn’t imagine it.

“So, since it might be a little bit before we get home, s’probably best we make ourselves home here,” King Dedede declared. “Which means we’re gonna have to build a place.”

Bandana Dee slumped. “If the rest of the King’s Dees were here, we’d be able to build a castle lickety-split…”

“Whoa. You’re THAT fast?” Tuff asked.

“We’ve had to be- our castle’s gotten reduced to rubble more than once!” he noted. “We’ve gotten awfully good at repairing the castle quickly!”

“Well, don’t worry,” Tiff reassured. “If all goes well, we’ll have a place made for you in no time!”

“Well, just lemme know if you want any help with that!” King Dedede offered. “Some things need a Kingly personal touch, after all!” He let out a big, belly laugh that…

…well, she wasn’t repulsed by it. It felt more like a joke she was being let in on. It was almost nice, if it weren’t so at odds with the Dedede she knew.

But, she could get used to it, she figured. Maybe. Eventually.

—-----------------

After a few days, they had essentially managed to solve the lodging problem, after a fashion. Kirby elected to stick with Little Kirby, much to the latter’s delight. Tokkori had pitched a fit, but to everyone’s surprise, the mouthy bird had acquiesced after a brief talk with Big Kirby, to which no one but the two were privy to.

When asked, the only thing Tokkori would say is ‘THAT Kirby’s got a way with words, gotta give ‘im that.’ Kirby would just smile.

Meta Knight claimed he’d found a place to stay, but he refused to say where. Kirby personally theorized that he’d just found a cliffside cavern to bunk in. That would have to be changed sooner than later.

As for ‘Great’ King Dedede, they, with the help of some of the Cappies (after a great deal of cajoling on Tiff and Tuff’s part, which weirded them out) had agreed to help build the King a house. Although far from his usual splendor, again, King Dedede made no fuss about it. “It’s gonna be cramped, but it won’t be forever,” he’d reasoned. “It’s mostly until the others get here.”

“The others?” she’d asked as they watched some of the builders work at it. They were quick when motivated. “You mean-”

“The other Star Allies? Yup. I’m pretty sure they’ll be coming after us sooner than later,” he said easily. “I’m not worried. Until then, it’s kinda like a vacation!” He chuckled again, and turned to her properly. “By the by, thanks for this, kiddo! Really appreciate you putting in the legwork to help me out.”

“Uhh…it’s…no…problem? Ugh, I’m still not used to King Dedede thanking me for anything,” she admitted.

“Ha! Yeah, I guess I can see why. I wasn’t too great myself some time back. But, well. Kirby helped me out on that front.” After seeing one of them struggle, he without warning patted her on the head briefly- she gave a surprised yelp, but wasn’t sure how to respond as he sauntered off towards the workers. “Remind me to tell you sometime! I’m gonna go help these folk out, maybe see if I can’t speed things up!”

Tiff had to take a minute to fix her hair back up, but once she saw King Dedede lifting sets of massive wooden planks effortlessly, she forgot to do the same to her jaw for a moment.

Eventually, she had to shake herself out of it. “So this is gonna be the new normal for a while, huh?” She had some time to think about it as she headed home. Because of all of them, she had a guest to entertain.

Bandana Dee had the easiest time of it, probably. Her parents were all but smitten with the little Dee upon meeting him, and while he wasn’t too keen on accidentally revealing himself to ‘not-Great King’ as he’d called their Dedede (she had to agree with that description), he couldn’t help but say yes when her parents offered to house him. If she was being honest with herself, it was a bit of unintentional parental pressure, buuuut…

…well, she WAS fascinated with hearing more about where they came from. So was Tuff! So they’d agreed he’d just not wear his Bandana ‘indoors’ as it were. The spear could be excused easily enough. Bandana had seemed to…well, he wasn’t happy about it, but he valued a place to stay more than his fashion.

Privately, she understood. It WAS a pretty snazzy bandana.

—-----------------

Meta Knight was deep in thought. His winged counterpart from another dimension had answered his questions readily, and his friends had proved some level of detail to boot.

But they’d still avoided some of the meat of the issue. That said, he supposed he could understand that much- if they indeed had a fighting force they could call upon, it’d be the height of strategic folly to tell strangers the inner workings. Strangers that looked like you, especially. “Sword, Blade,” he announced. The two quickly stood to attention. “Anything in particular?” He’d naturally informed them of the situation as soon as he was able to, and they’d been tasked with watching over the strange quartet. Quietly, of course, and without any malice intended.

“Seems loike they’re good enough folk,” Sword noted. “ ‘Aven’t caused any trouble so far. Been awful helpful-like, even.”

“Yap, s’a real oddity, ‘tis!” Blade concurred.

“I see…if they speak true, then…” This proved an incredible curiosity. It sounded like this Kirby had much more in the way of battle experience and power than their own, childish Kirby. In fact, all of them seemed rather battle-honed, even the King. “This may be an unexpected boon. For us, and for the galaxy.”

He couldn’t help but be intensely curious…what would their experiences bring to a Dream Land they did not know? Could they, in fact, be able to rally their forces against Nightmare? Would they be willing to? It sounded as though they’d recently gotten out of a war of their own. They might not be so eager to join another fight. But if they were…

Well, he would have to do his best to find out. Carefully, of course.

Chapter 5: Knuckle Down

Chapter Text

“Oh, my my!” For her part, Lady Like was impressed. She hadn’t expected the strange little Waddle Dee to be quite so helpful. Much less offer to clean up after breakfast. But, he’d said he was happy to do so for taking him in; at first she’d declined, but according to him ‘I might be here for longer than a guest oughta, so I figure I should pick up some of the slack!’ It was a strange thing to hear a Dee talk, but she was rapidly getting used to it- especially when it was so polite! “You’re quite ze housekeeper. Are all Dees like you where you live?”

“Ahehe, well, not really. Everyone’s different, y’know?” Tiff and Tuff had heard this before- it was beginning to feel like it’d be a slow day, and they’d wandered off after Tuff had boasted about his card castle building skills. “We’ve all got our likes and dislikes and skills and all. Some other Dees I know are really about filming- started a neat TV news show.”

“Oh? Waddle Dees hosting a television show?” Lady Like had a hard time imagining it.

“Well, I suppose if Dees there can talk, they can host, now, can’t they?” Sir Ebrum said with a laugh. “I daresay I’d be interested in seeing what the fellows have to show!”

“Ha, yeah, they’re all about getting the latest news from all around Pop Star!” Bandee agreed. “They’ve really kinda stepped their game up after Su-”

Before he could finish, however, something in the distance rumbled. The sounds of crashing took over- the sudden jarring causing Bandee to drop the plate he was washing, and everyone ELSE to yell in panic. Then, more explosions, and, well, that was enough to get everyone running.

Of course, Bandee was the first out, closely followed by Tiff and Tuff. He hadn’t forgotten his spear, either.

Something bad was going on, that much was obvious.

—--------------------------

The lot of them rushed to see what was happening- only to pause in confusion. King Dedede and Escargoon were there, obviously, along with what looked like a scattered number of Waddle Dees. And in the middle of them, something that looked vaguely familiar…

“Knuckle Joe?” Bandee whispered as he readied himself. There was something markedly different about this one…

Suddenly, like a flash, he blew past everyone, and the only one who wasn’t knocked clear was Bandee himself, who lept out of the way in the nic of time- he hadn’t expected that kind of speed!

The Knuckle Joe-ish figure only looked back briefly, connecting eyes with him for a brief moment before continuing to fly down the hallway.

‘What’s going on here?’ Bandana thought briefly, but shook it off. King Dedede only spared a moment before calling for the guards, and though he wasn’t one of them, he knew trouble when he saw it by now.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t as fast as the Joe seemed to be in flight, and as he ran to catch up, he could hear the sounds of carnage ahead of him. His worry only heightened as he pushed himself to catch up, outrunning both kids in the process. Better him than them, he supposed!

He arrived just in time to see him throw out something from his fists- ‘Was that a Vulcan Jab?!’ and had to brace himself as the impact sent rubble flying everywhere and shook the ground. He had to admit, that wasn’t too bad of an attack…

Still wreathed in glowing white, the creature looked back at him again. A silent challenge. Bandana Dee could only grip his spear tightly in response. ‘I’m not running away- not if you’re a danger!’

As though hearing his thoughts, without a word, he charged, and Bandana Dee braced himself.

The first pass was quick- he’d intended to charge Bandee down physically- but he hadn’t expected the Dee to be able to match him in close quarters. A lightning-quick flash of wood and steel resulted in a clash of blows, sending the Joe spinning off due to the deflected attack, though he was quick to recover and land properly.

The quick turn of the head and squinting (he thought) of the eyes told him that the Joe hadn’t expected that. Good.

Suddenly, a burst of energy flew from the Joe’s hand; Bandana Dee reacted on near-instinct as his spear made contact with the projectile; it careened off towards the wall, and another explosion rocked the palace, as dust and debris flew.

For a moment, it was quiet besides that, and he couldn’t quite see; however, he soon heard footsteps. For a few moments, it was a mystery- and the a flash of a blade, and a quiet, but distinctive voice. “Surrender, now!”

Ah, that was their Meta Knight, then. Not the Meta Knight he knew. The sounds of the Blade and Sword Knights that he commanded told him he’d brought backup. As the dust cleared, the situation proved him to be right; the Joe was surrounded on all sides. To his surprise, even Not Great King Dedede had shown up, driving what looked to be some sort of jeep with a cannon attachment. “There ya are, ya menance! Now stand down an’ take your punishment or else I’mma have to knock ya down!”

The fighter looked around, noticing this for himself- and as he did, he began to…fade? No, the glow was fading, but he clearly had color…though the colors weren’t what he expected. ‘...why is he purple? I don’t think that’s the most flattering color scheme.’ Of course, Bandee would be keeping THAT to himself, but he still couldn’t help but think it!

“I don’t care how many o’ you there are,” the offcolor Joe growled out. He, too, had an unexpected accent, Bandee noted. “Nothin’s gonna stop me from finding that Star Warrior!”

Everyone else gasped, but Bandee was only confused a bit. ‘Star Warrior?’ he thought.

“Now, hold on there!” King Dedede announced, suddenly looking smug. “You wouldn’t happen to mean Kirby, now, wouldja?”

“No!” Tiff cried, but it was too late.

“ ‘Kirby’, huh?” A nasty grin split his face. “Thanks for the info, tubby!” And before anyone could react, he leapt out of the second hole he had created; landing easily in the gardens and rushing out before anyone could stop him.

Behind really-not-Great King’s Dedede’s laughter, Bandee could only fret. Oh, he wasn’t worried about HIS Kirby at all.

The baby Kirby? A whole different matter. He had to warn them- and quick!

Fortunately, Tiff and Tuff had a similar opinion.

—--------------------------

Kirby, for his part, was rather enjoying the feast his little counterpart had managed to wrangle up. He wasn’t going to say no to free food at all, but he also wasn’t really expecting the sheer MASS of it that the kid had managed. Not he couldn’t match him, but by now Kirby had long since learned how to restrain himself. “You have to take me along next time, lil’ me.”

Little Kirby just gave a ‘poyo’ of agreement, before he went to suck up a melon about as big as Big Kirby was. Yeah, that looked about right.

Before they could really tuck in, however- something flashed through the open window and had swooped up Little Kirby before either could react. “Sorry, Kirby,” Tuff’s voice came from outside, “but we don’t have time to explain!” That got him confused, quickly following the Warp Star (which looked a tad small to him, to be honest) out of the window.

He saw the trio out there (plus Tokkori), and all of them looked worried. “We’ll get you something to eat later!” Tiff said hurriedly.

“Uhhh…something going on?” Kirby asked. This seemed awful sudden.

It was Bandana Dee who answered first. “O-oh! Kirby! There’s some sort of weird Knuckle Joe running around, and he’s looking to fight you! Uh, well, probably him!” he said, pointing towards Little Kirby, “But he might mistake you for him and that’s not good, either!”

Kirby blinked. That seemed…out of nowhere. “Knuckle Joe? How weird of a Knuckle Joe? I’d have thought you or Dedede or Meta could’ve handled that…”

“W-well, I didn’t get much of a chance!” Bandee says with a bit of a blush. “He just showed up in Not-Great King’s castle all of a sudden, beat up a bunch of Dees, blew out the wall, then ran!”

“But not before stupid Dedede said Kirby’s name!” Tiff said hotly. “So now he’s off searching for our Kirby in town to fight him, and we can’t let that happen!”

“Meta Knight went off to do…something,” Tuff added. “But he said he’d be back to help soon!”

“Hmmm…” Well, it didn’t take him much time to decide. “Alright, hold on!” With that, he hopped out of the window himself. “I’ll try and find him myself and make sure Little Me isn’t in the crosshairs. You two go hide him. Hopefully we can solve this problem quick!”

—--------------------------

Kirby was admittedly kinda curious about this ‘strange Knuckle Joe’ as he and Bandana raced off to confront him. “So, what was different about him?” Kirby asked as they ran along.

“Well, he’s purple, for one!” Bandee responded.

That kind of set the tone, Kirby thought, as they continued.

When they arrived at the town’s outskirts, however, they were privy to a number of wrecked and torn up buildings- no doubt signs of Knuckle Joe’s rampaging. “Not good…” Bandana Dee muttered. What worried them both more than this, however, was that there were no sounds of any further destruction. “You think he left?”

Kirby frowned a bit. “You think he might’ve moved on already?” Kirby wasn’t sure, but he was no detective, honestly.

However, that was answered before much longer by a sudden loud *slam* and the sound of a pair of explosions going off. “Oh! Center of town! Come on!” The two took off. Kirby, in particular, was a bit more hopeful than he was before.

He recognized the sound of that slam.

Knuckle Joe rubbed under his nose in confusion and annoyance. “I don’t get what your deal is, tubby! Ain’t you the one what told me what his name is?”

“Nope!” King Dedede frowned. “And if you’re tryin’ to get at Kirby, that’s something I can’t let abide.”

“What, you got a twin here, then?” Joe cracked.

King Dedede could only laugh a bit. “You might say that. Him and I don’t see much eye to eye, though.”

“Tch. Well, don’t matter, because if you don’t get outta my way, yer gonna be seeing eye to fist!” Joe got into another fighting pose- he’d come across Dedede in the town, and to his surprise, the (not quite as portly, now that he paid attention) fellow had stepped in his way, demanding to know why he was after Kirby. Not that he felt any obligation to TELL him. “Last chance, bucko!”

King Dedede simply lowered his hammer to his side- not in surrender, but in prime swinging position. He’d already gotten the kid backing off after a good Super Dedede Jump; he was pretty sure he’d be able to knock some sense into the kid one way or another. “You’re gonna have to try me. I’m not letting you wreck up this town anymore!”

Not words the Cappies had expected from any Dedede.

“Fine, tubbo. You wanted it, you got it!” And with that, Knuckle Joe charged, fists flying- quite literally. “Vulcan Jab! Vulcan Jab!”

Two shots were dodged by inches by Dedede- “Vulcan Jab!” and a third was met with his hammer, sending a detonation that threw up a massive cloud of smoke. For a moment, Joe’s vision was obscured. Then a ‘hup!’ and Joe had to scramble to avoid being on the underside of another Dedede jump, rolling out of the way. A second one had him repeating it, the second try expected to a point.

What he hadn’t expected, however, was the shockwave of energy that left him, small in nature, but it was enough to catch him off guard and throw him off balance. “Whoa!” He was quick to reposition- but he was quickly met with a charging Dedede and quickly flipped to avoid the massive swing. “You’re not half bad at fighting- hey!” Knuckle Joe commented- or tried to. A swing had him dodging again, leaping clear. “But I ain’t gonna stick around to play with you! I gotta find Kirby!”

“Hey, uh…why’re you looking for Kirby so much?” a voice behind him sounded.

“Tch,” he started without looking behind him. “It’s because I got some business with ‘im. What he did to my father…I’ll never forget it!”

“Huh? What’d I do?” came the voice, and THAT caused Knuckle Joe to turn around.

‘So…THAT’S Kirby?’

—--------------------------

Kirby wasn’t really sure what he was expecting as he and Bandana Dee made it to the scene, but it wasn’t that. Dedede, as he’d expected, had seemed to have the fight mostly in hand, but hearing the Joe talk had gotten him curious. No doubt the Joe was referring to tiny him, but he wasn’t exactly planning on revealing that any time soon.

Really, though, he hadn’t even thought Knuckle Joe would HAVE a father. But right now the fighter was staring at him in surprise, though Kirby tried to keep his cool as Dedede carefully kept an eye on his back. “Uhh…would an apology work?” He wasn’t sure what was going on, really, but he’d do his best to help the guy feel better, that was for sure! “Maybe we can talk about it over-”

“You don’t remember.” It was a statement, not a question. “The worst thing you coulda done, and you don’t even got the good grace ta remember it?!”

Whoops. “Uh, I think we might’ve gotten off on the wrong foot, here-”

“THAT’S IT!” Yeah, not good. “WE’RE SETTLIN’ THIS HERE AN’ NOW!”

Kirby looked to Dedede behind Joe, who seemed just as confused as anyone else. Bandee let out a slight ‘um’ of concern, but otherwise readied his spear.

It took only a few more moments for Knuckle Joe to realize the position he was in. “Tch…three on one. Figures you ain’t got the guts to take me solo!”

Not that Kirby was particularly fussed by that. “Well, sorry, but you’re kinda making a big mess! That’s not something I can overlook!” Besides, he COULD, Kirby figured…but it’d be a whole lot more trouble. “Seriously, just calm down and explain, maybe, and we can figure out what happened!”

“YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!” Knuckle Joe roared.

“No. I suspect he does not!” an accented voice came from above.

The group as a whole looked up to see none other than Meta Knight…being carried by the winged Meta Knight, flying into view. Meta Knight quickly dropped from his counterpart’s grasp, to land swiftly in front of Knuckle Joe. Winged Meta was quick to follow. “It is fortunate that we met,” he said, his voice echoing across the makeshift battlefield. “Because we can now put this case of mistaken identity to rest all the quicker.”

“Mistaken?” Joe growled. “What’re you talkin’ about? Who’re you two?!”

“Kirby is not the Star Warrior you seek,” Meta Knight exclaimed. “No…I am the Star Warrior you seek. And I am the one who defeated your father.”

“What?!” Joe exclaimed, as the rest looked on in surprise.

“He has something important to tell you,” Winged Meta Knight said solemnly. “It would be best for you to listen.”

“Your father and I were elite Star Warriors in the Galaxy Soldier Army,” Meta Knight began. “He was strong, brave… a good man. Many soldiers looked up to him, and wished to be like him. We shared many hard times and many happy times. I was proud to have him as my best friend.”

Kirby listened carefully. There was something about this that he had a bad feeling about. “But one night… we let our guards down, and a band of Nightmare’s monsters ambushed us.”

“What!?” Kirby let slip. Fortunately, it was a strained yell. Nightmare?! Here?! As he quickly looked around, he could see that King Dedede had a similarly shocked look on his face.

If the grounded Meta Knight noticed, he indicated nothing as he continued his tale. Kirby, on the other hand, was too wrapped up in thought to pay full attention.

It made some level of sense, he supposed. If there was a Nightmare in his world, it made sense there was one here, too. But it sounded like he might’ve been far more of a threat here than he ever was at home.

Well, they had stumbled into a situation that was more serious than they’d initially thought. ‘Great. This might be a Code Dark Matter. Maybe worse. REALLY gonna have to talk with Dedede about this.’

However, he was pulled from his musings by Knuckle Joe…laughing? Rather sinisterly, too…

He wasn’t my father!” he shouted, throwing…something? Some sort of locket? On the ground. “He was—he was just a weakling! I’ll never forgive him for that!” Oh. Well, that wasn’t good.

“In that case,” Winged Meta said coldly, “I am glad he is gone. That way, he doesn’t have to see the monster that you have become.”

Kirby flinched at that one. That was a pretty harsh burn.
Knuckle Joe reared back himself, as though hit. “What!? What are you talking about!? I ain’t no monster!”

“Anyone who abandons reason and lives purely on hatred,” Meta Knight replied, “is a monster!”

“You’ve been running around terrorizing the whole town,” Kirby pointed out.

“Not really a, uh, heroic thing to do,” Bandee added.

“Kid, I get it,” Dedede started, his face serious. “You got dealt a raw deal. Anyone would feel as bad! But that doesn’t mean you gotta take it out on innocent folks! The only one here in the wrong is Nightmare! If you don’t, then you’re just as bad as any monster!”

Kirby, privately, figured that Dedede, of all people, WOULD know, nodding in agreement. “Yeah. You just gotta help us figure out a way to kick his butt!” ‘Again,’ he silently added.

Knuckle Joe growled, looking between Bandana Dee, who he’d clashed with, King Dedede, who he’d clashed with, and his ‘foe’ Kirby, who he’d probably clash with…

His fist tightened. “I’m no monster! And I’ll prove it! I’ll take them all down myself if I gotta!”

He then- to everyone’s shock, threw down a massive Vulcan Jab- sending another plume of smoke up and blinding everyone for a few moments.

Suddenly, a grunt of effort, the sound of a sword swing, and a thin, but powerful tornado rose up from the center of the dust cloud, swirling it in and sending it away, just in time to see Knuckle Joe leaping away from the group…

…and from the town. Back towards Castle Dedede.

“What th-!? Now where’s he going?” King Dedede yelled out in annoyance. “He just comes and goes? Just like that? Ugh. That kid seems like he’s a bit of a brat.”

Winged Meta Knight dislodged his sword from the ground, as his grounded counterpart looked at him, his eyes shimmering green. “An impressive technique. And very useful.”

“It took a great deal of training,” Winged Meta responded cooly. “But we must pursue the Joe. We don’t know what he might be doing. And he may come back for vengeance.”

Grounded Meta Knight glanced at the ground where Knuckle Joe was. His eyes glowed a soft blue as he noticed something in particular. Or rather, the lack of something.

Something was missing off the ground, but he was glad for it. “I am not so sure of that. I believe we will see him again, however.”

“Well…we should head back to the castle anyway,” Kirby determined. “Bandee, can you get Tiff and Tuff from wherever they’re hiding? I think I agree with the other Meta Knight, for now.”

“Sure thing!” This had more to it than expected, though.

King Dedede stepped up by both him and Meta Knight. The King shared a long look with his rival and friend. “...so. Nightmare, huh?”

“Yeah.” Those words were all that were needed.

“So you have heard of him,” Grounded Meta responded from behind them. “Then you know of his terror, no doubt.”

Kirby nodded. “Yeah. Kinda surprised he’s here in this dimension, too. We killed him in ours.”

THAT caused Meta Knight to blanch. “What?! You’ve not only met Nightmare, but defeated him in your dimension?!”

“Sure did!” Kirby crowed. “Ended up blowing up about half the moon after it was all said and done, but it happened!”

Meta Knight grew very, very still. “...you will have to explain this series of events to me.”

Kirby nodded. They both really needed to sit down and talk about this. “Sure! Let’s get to the castle and maybe we can get each other up to speed. I got the feeling that your Nightmare and our Nightmare are really different…”

Both Metas led the way, with Kirby and Dedede walking alongside each other. “So…what do you think?” Kirby said quietly.

“Well, we’re gonna have to step things up, I figure,” Dedede said, already thinking. “We’re not letting ANY Dream Land fall to Nightmare.”

Chapter 6: Structure and Stories

Chapter Text

It was morning the next day by the time they’d reconvened, and Great King Dedede was more than relieved that the townsfolk seemed to be able to rebuild quickly- though some repairs were still underway. Tiff and Tuff and Little Kirby had been more than relieved to hear that the problem had been dealt with- according to the Meta Knights and the other Dedede, Knuckle Joe had simply taken ‘the transporter’ back, which frankly, King Dedede was both surprised and not to learn that he had. He’d actually gotten a solid look at the device, and he was surprised to learn that it resembled his own teleporter he’d had in the Prism Plains castle; of course, his wasn’t for summoning monsters, but rather local animals or wayward Dees, and he’d at least had the good sense to build a restraining force cage in the darn thing.

Not to mention, he couldn’t help but wonder why everyone seemed to just let it happen! Then again, his subjects had kinda let a lot of HIS antics go in the past, so maybe he didn’t have much right to judge…

Well, that was something else entirely. Right now, he was helping oversee what rebuilding remained, alongside Tiff, who’d agreed to help with such. It was becoming clear she was very much the brains of the outfit, and often had to correct other Cappies on misconceptions about the Dedede that she was following around. “Folks still aren’t used to you,” she’d explained, and, well, that made sense enough. “So it’s probably best I’m around to make sure no one gets carried away.”

“Gotta say, kid,” he noted as they walked through the town, “Your town seems awful laid-back, considerin’ what just happened here.”

Tiff just sighed. “Yeah, Cappy Town tends to…well, we’re quick to bounce back from trouble, I guess.”

“You guess?” Dedede looked at her a bit surprised. “That isn’t the best endorsem*nt I’ve ever heard…”

She stifled a laugh, at what, Dedede wasn’t sure. “Well, sometimes I wish everyone’s heads were screwed on a bit better…sometimes things can get real bad and no one but me seems to notice!”

“Huh! Yeah, I bet that can get frustrating!” he said with a grin- though he clearly took it for the bemusem*nt it was. “But, just means that you’re the one that gets to help save the day, eh?”

Her expression flattened out at that. “Not really…lately, OUR King Dedede’s been trying one trick after another to get rid of Kirby, and we keep having to fight him off. I don’t like putting Kirby into danger like that. And that’s not even mentioning the whole thing with Nightmare…”

Well, if their Kirby was only a baby, it made sense that she’d be far less enthusiastic about seeing him fight evil and go on adventures. “Hmmm…yeah, that’s a pickle.” But soon, he brightened up. “But, hey! You don’t haveta worry anymore. The Star Allies are here to help save the day! We’ll send Nightmare packin’, don’t you worry!”

She glanced up at him, and allowed herself a grin. “Still never thought I’d hear King Dedede say that. I don’t think ours has EVER done anything selfless.”

“Yeah, you kinda mentioned that before,” Dedede noted. “An’ like I said, I wasn’t all that fond of Kirby myself; at least, not at first. Though it wasn’t but the one time that I really tried to wallop him just for the sake of it. Honestly, after he saved us from more than one bad guy, and one last cage match, we more or less buried the hatchet.”

“Wait, cage match?” Tiff asked in surprise.

“Yup. No audience, no big grand scheme- mostly- just me, him, and Bandana Dee as a witness.” He looked off, reminiscing. “Heckuva fight, that. But he won, fair and square, so I dropped my grudge. Mostly, anywho.”

“Wow…” Tiff’s face was thoughtful, and she could only imagine what kind of fight that would’ve been- before she caught the end of that. “Wait, what do you mean ‘mostly’?”

He allowed himself a grin. “Well, I wasn’t really all that friendly with him after that for a while anyway. Naw, the Crystal Shard Incident was about the time I stopped actin’ like a brat and started to actually work with the puffball.”

“Oh yeah! You DID mention that before!” she pointed out. “You said you’d tell me!”

Hm…well…maybe he could just trim some parts. “Yeah, I did, huh? Alrighty, then. I’m not tellin’ the whole story, though; mostly because it’s not all my story to tell. Kirby did a lot of the heavy lifting that time- but I can tell you the parts I was there for! Not to mention, it’s where we met a couple more of the Star Allies!”

“Hey, did I hear something about Star Allies?!” Tuff’s voice sounded from ahead of them. Him and his friends had been kicking a ball around, from the looks of things. “Don’t start the story without me!”

“Tuff? Wasn’t Kirby- our Kirby, I mean- supposed to be with you?” she asked.

“Yeah, big Kirby and the talkin’ Waddle Dee wanted him for somethin’. I dunno what, though,” Tuff admitted with a shrug. “He said they’d be back later.”

“Huh. I wonder what they’re doing…” she said.

“Eh, somethin’ about ‘stockin’ up on supplies,’ was what Big Kirby said. I ain’t worried. You were sayin’ something about your Star Ally friends?!” Boy, Tuff was a focused on, wasn’t he?

Still, Dedede just laughed. “Haw! Alright, alright. Like I said, this was how we met a couple of them. One’s Adeleine- she’s a painter, and she’s REAL good at it, too.”

“A painter? Boring.” Tuff dismissed.

“Hey! I think painting is very nice. Art allows us to express ourselves in ways beyond just speech.” Tiff countered.

“Well, yeah, there’s that, but that’s not what’s special about her,” Dedede explained, grinning. “See, anything that Adeleine paints, if she wants, comes to life.”

BOTH their eyes bulged at that. “Whoaaaaaa! That’s AWESOME!” Seemed like Tuff quickly adjusted his opinion.

“That’s incredible! How does she do it?” Tiff asked in awe.

“Dunno,” Dedede admitted. “But she can turn it on and off whenever she wants. Lemme tell you, that skill of hers saved our behinds more than once! Being able to paint up food at will is REALLY handy!”

“Ha! I bet!” Tuff laughed.

“And her friend and the other Star Ally is Ribbon; she’s a fairy, you see-” he started, but didn’t get to finish.

“A FAIRY?!” “No way!” Well, THAT was an interesting response…

“Alright, alright, calm down and lemme tell the story!” he said with a grin. “See, there used to be a real malevolent force in our dimension. S’why we kinda understand what your problem is with Nightmare. He didn’t get as far across the galaxy as he did here…but Dark Matter did.” Dedede had to let out a sigh. He…well, he had a LOT of history with that force.

“Dark Matter…?” Tiff wondered out loud. “That sounds worrisome…”

“Oh yeah…” Dedede agreed, solemn. “A force of pure negative emotion. Something that can spread and corrupt and take a planet from a place of positivity and happiness to a shadowy, dangerous wasteland in a snap. Somethin’ that can change and warp the very ground and wildlife in moments- and you, too, if you’re unlucky enough.”

“W-what?!” the siblings said almost in unison.

“Yup. It’s quick. Frightenin’. You kinda just…lose focus. The world around you gets dark and fuzzy. Nothing matters anymore. The one thing in your head is whatever Dark Matter’s will is.”

What was once two intrigued children was starting to become two very frightened ones. “Y-you sound like…like you’re speaking from experience…” Tiff noted, though Dedede felt like she had to strain a bit to get it out.

“Sure am. Not pleasant, lemme tell you. But don’t you worry about me- it wasn’t the first time. Doin’ my best to make sure the last time IS the last time, though!” He tried to get another smile going. It was a tough one. “Kirby’s usually there to help smack some sense into me! It’s why I came to understand he’d be a better friend than an enemy. But! I’m getting off track- and don’t worry, this story has a happy ending! So,” he said, getting back into the groove, “Now, there’s this planet called Ripple Star…”

—----------------------

As he told the story, more and more people continued to gather around; he’d eventually needed to sit down on one of the benches nearby, but he had a captive audience. “No way! The volcano was about to blow?!” Tuff asked in shock.

“No ‘was about to’ about it! The dang thing was going off! We all just barely managed to get the Crystal to port us outta there before we all fried!” Dedede said with a chuckle. “We were having to outrun flamin’ boulders for a bit there!”

“Amazing…” Tiff, for her part, couldn’t believe it. “I’m still having a hard time believing all this. A dark force that corrupts all it touches…a crystal with the power to transport you between planets? Magic- real magic- of that kind that allows you to…I feel like it shouldn’t exist?” Tiff wasn’t sure how to explain it. “Not to mention, Kirby can combine abilities?! Our Kirby can’t do anything like that!” She paused… “Can he?”

“Who knows?” Dedede admitted. “But, I wouldn’t worry too much about it if I were you. According to Kirby, he was just experimenting during that whole adventure. I remember asking him about it later, actually. He said ‘Power combination is too complicated to really rely on, and doesn’t actually do anything my usual Copy Abilities doesn’t without a lotta setup.’ He hasn’t used it in ages.”

“Awww.” Tuff said. “The giant mouth thing seemed cool.”

“You mean freaky!” Tiff sniped back. “I don’t think I WANT our Kirby to be able to do that…”

“But could you imagine?!” Tuff insisted.

That back and forth went on for a few moments talking about the frightfulness of the possibility, before she finally turned back to King Dedede. “Nevermind, just…you were going on about the magic crystal?”

“Right, right,” he admitted. Anyway, turned out that led to where we call ‘Shiver Star’. No points for guessin’ why.”

“Guessing it’s not really a place to hit the beach, huh?” Tuff snarked. His friends just laughed at that, and a few of the adults, too. “I was thinking me and the gang might head down there later ‘cause it’s been so hot lately. But hearing about this almost has me shiverin’!”

Right, Tuff’s other friends. ‘Geez, I should probably learn a few names, honestly.’ he thought. He’d only managed Mayor Blustergas’s and Kawasaki’s, for obvious reasons. “Well, not much there nowadays, but it’s got some weird factories that still sorta work out there.”

“‘Factories?’ Wassat? Does that have something to do with facts?” Kawasaki asked, clueless.

Both Dedede and Tiff looked at him- one in surprise, the other in exasperation. “No!” the latter said sharply. “A factory is a big building where you build things.” She turned back to King Dedede. “Though I didn’t know they could run by themselves…”

Dedede, for his part, was more than a bit surprised they didn’t know what a factory was…but he kept quiet about that. No reason to insult their intelligence to their faces, after all. “W-well, it wasn’t exactly in the best shape as it was. And we kinda had to tear through it to get to all the Crystal Shards that’d landed in and plunked around. Nowadays, Susie’s trying to do something with it all, but last I checked she wasn’t having the best luck…”

“Susie?” Tiff asked. “Who’s that, again?” She’d been bombarded with new information so much, she couldn’t quite remember…

Dedede gave a huff. “She’d probably be insulted if I introduced her without her being here, but right now, basically she’s the technology expert of the Star Allies. We had…a few issues when she first arrived on Pop Star,” he smoothly lied, “But she’s since realized she was in the wrong, and now she’s trying to go about things better than she was.”

“Oh…well, I guess that’s good,” Tiff said, uncertainly. It had sounded like they were at odds at first…but, well, she didn’t know this ‘Susie’. No sense in speculating right now.

“Last I saw her, she was working with our friend Magolor on a way to transport two people from one place to another instantly.” Not that Dedede had to explain the details perse, but it was close enough.

“You mean like our Dedede’s teleporter?” Tiff said in surprise. A part of her worried, but she stamped it down as best she could. It was just paranoia.

“Well, kinda, but smaller,” he agreed. “And I think it’d be able to point to more than one place at a time.”

“Oh, my! That sounds rather handy,” the Mayor effused. “It’d certainly save time getting to and from the store.”

“Haha!” Dedede couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, it would. Or from getting to and from one of my resorts, or to Magolor’s amusem*nt parks.” The good cheer with which Dedede took the suggestions alleviated some of the concern to Tiff. Maybe it was just a dimensional thing?

Not that Tuff seemed to care. “Wait, wait, wait- your Magolor friend has an AMUsem*nT PARK?” Tuff asked quickly, eyes shining.

Dedede nodded with a grin. “Yup. For a magician, he’s got some weird hobbies, lemme tell ya. But! They’re pretty fun, at least. Shootin’ galleries, obstacle courses, rides, the works!”

“Whoooaaa. What kinda magician is he?” Tuff continued. “Can he do like, disappearing tricks and stuff? I’ve heard that’s pretty cool!” Magic was somewhat known to the Cappies, but hardly in a major way, and certainly none of THEM used it.

“If you mean like actually teleporting from one place to another and summoning fireballs, yeah!” Magolor wasn’t his favorite person, true, but…well, making an entire musical obstacle course just for him went a long way.

“Oooooh!” The citizens seemed to be surprised and enamored with that. Tuff in particular seemed like he had to restrain himself from bouncing on the spot or trying to throw fireballs himself. “He sounds like someone rather incredible!” One of the ladies with a strange headdress remarked. She was a fortune-teller, right?

“Well, don’t you say that to his face. He’s got an ego on him,” Dedede admitted with a grimace. “Decent sort, but he likes being the center of attention.”

“Is that so?” Tiff couldn’t help but wonder if he was just another Dedede like, or…

“Well, you’ll probably see for yourselves eventually,” King Dedede said. “He’s the most experienced with traveling dimensions, so I suspect he’ll be the one to find us.” He paused, considering. “Wouldn’t be surprised if Susie showed up, too.”

“How long do you think it’ll take them to figure out where you are?” the police chief asked. (King Dedede hadn’t figured his name yet) “Even though you’re safe with us, a missing person is a very serious thing here!”

Dedede put a hand to his chin, considering. “Wellll…considering those two are some of the smartest people I’ve ever met…”

Above them, Meta Knight watched, and listened. He would have to hasten his preparations, perhaps. His Winged counterpart might have a way to assist with that matter as well, come to think of it.

—----------------------

Meanwhile…

“Any progress?” Magolor asked from his central computer. He and Susie had been at this for what felt like ages. Day in and day out of testing, experimenting, and honestly, tracking.

Mostly tracking. The portals had been so brief that though Susie was able to confirm that they were sent somewhere, the ‘where’ part was the problem. They’d had to pour over every scrap of data her tablet had fed her, and even with the Lor’s AI and processing power, they’d only gotten so far. Susie’s own technological resources, though still available, were vastly limited and reduced since the destruction of the Access Ark. Looking over her reports, she grunted, which Magolor took to mean a negative. “If I’d managed to get the Shiver Star factory repurposed like I’d wanted, we’d have a bit more to work with, but…”

“No time for regretting,” Magolor said simply. “The Meta Knights are already bugging me about this daily, now.”

Susie sighed. He hadn’t been the only one that’d been harped on for their part in the disappearance of their friends. Unfortunately, while she’d have loved to have given a cover story, it seemed that Kirby and his friends kept each other updated on where everyone was. “Yes, yes…maybe if I-”

Beep. Beep. Beep. The sound caused both Magolor and Susie to stop cold, and Susie quickly returned her attention to her tablet. That alarm had only been set to go off if- “Wait! I think we have something! I’m sending you the data now!”

“Oh!? Finally!” He was quick to accept the incoming transmission, and the ship quickly got to work spitting out the data in a visual format.

“This is…these are most probable dimensional coordinates, then?!” Magolor said with some cheer.

“It seems so!” Susie said with a smile. “My algorithmic analysis was taking so long, I was getting concerned. But we’ve finally gotten a shortlist of just where they might be!” That smile fell slightly as the readout got a bit longer…and longer… “But it still seems like there’s over a dozen- two dozen- more! Drat!”

“No, no, I think I can work with this,” Magolor said, already inputting commands. “You used my Energy Spheres to power the portals. We can use the readouts you have of that, and compare with some simulated runs to each of these coordinates, and gauge their estimated energy usage. All we have to do is match up the usage rates, and estimated output, and…”

“And we’ll know EXACTLY where to find Kirby!” Susie concluded. “Excellent. How long will these simulations take?”

Magolor let out a huff, though it was aimed at no one in particular. “Uncertain. Simulations always take longer than actual transportation, because the AI runs them in varying conditions to make sure the data is as accurate as possible.”

“Shoot…alright, then. So it’s a waiting game, now,” Susie concluded. “Fine. We can do that.”

“Should we tell the others?” he asked.

After a bit of consideration, she shook her head. “Mmm…it might be the best idea to get them off our backs,” she decided, “but we’ll tell them after we’ve closed the gap more, so to speak.”

“Fair enough, fair enough,” Magolor decided. “In that case, we can leave this to run, and finally get some sleep.”

Ah. Sleep. Yes, that might be nice, Susie decided, as she realized her eyelids were drooping. Well, it wasn’t the first sleepless night she’d had. She strongly doubted it’d be the last. “You wouldn’t happen to have any ice cream nearby, would you?” Besides, she deserved a bit of a treat.

They were coming for everyone- and soon.

Chapter 7: Brief Adjustments

Chapter Text

Bandana Dee was a pretty good swimmer, if he had to say. The days recently had been scorchers, and the lot of them had eventually decided it would be good to hit the beach; Tuff was chuckling about something, but he never got a straight answer when he tried to ask.

When the temperature seemed to drop in minutes, however, warning bells started going off in the back of his head.

The snow locked it. That was waaay too abnormal. Tiff was a bit of the ways down the beach, and it seemed like she was calling in her friends and family, including Little Kirby, who was with Big Kirby at the time, the latter helping the former learn how to swim better.

Winged Meta Knight had gotten a bad vibe as the clouds had come in, himself. The day had been far too hot for a cold front to come through so quickly and without warning. He and Great King Dedede, who’d been skipping rocks, shared a look, and the knight quickly took to the skies. Tiff spared him a glance, but quickly looked to the others in her group and urged them homewards as well as Kirby broke off to join his friends.

As the pink puff walked up besides him, also looking at the sky, Bandana voiced all of their concerns. “That’s not normal.”

“Nope,” Dedede agreed.

As did Kirby. “Not even a little. Meta’s on the case?”

“Should have something for us by tomorrow if nothing bad happens,” Dedede concurred. “Maybe sooner.”

The day after, the town had been blanketed in snow. Bandana Dee was one of the first out of the castle, but he was soon joined by Tiff and Tuff’s family. “My word…”

“Wow,” Bandana Dee noted. “Sure wasn’t expecting this yesterday. Brings back memories, though.”

“C’mon, let’s go get Kirby!” Tuff cheered. “This stuff seems cool!” He laughed at his own joke, and immediately went racing off.

Tiff, however, had other thoughts. “I dunno. This seems off…”

Bandana Dee patted her on the back. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure out what’s going on. Sooner than later, probably.”

“Well, then, shall we head out ourselves? This seems fascinating!” Sir Ebrum confessed.

“Oh, you can go along. I am not so keen on the cold!” Lady Like admitted as she shivered.

As they crossed the drawbridge on the way out, Bandana Dee turned to Tiff. “Probably would be a good idea to go check on your Kirby- and mine, most likely. I’m gonna find Great King,” he said, as he donned his namesake bandana.

—-----------------

It wasn’t long getting into Cappy Town before he found his King. “Sir!”

“Hey, Bandee! You holding up alright?” the Great King greeted. “Seems like this is new to most of Cappy Town. Everyone’s headed out towards the hills to have fun with it.”

“Yeah, that’s the feeling I got,” he admitted. “Kirby’s probably with small Kirby. Anything from Meta Knight yet?”

He shook his head. “Nothing yet, but if he’s alright, he’ll be back before long. He always was an early riser. And he knows we’ll be around.”

It was only a few minutes of them reminiscing before the familiar flaps met their ears. “I’ve located the source of this phenomenon,” Meta Knight said as he landed. While those who didn’t know him well wouldn’t be able to tell, Dedede sensed a mild amusem*nt coming from his tone. “Come. We should find Kirby. He’ll want to hear this.”

“Huh,” Dedede noted as they began the trek out. “You don’t sound very worried.”

“It is…not a major concern, by my estimate,” Meta Knight admitted. You see, it’s-”

“-an Ice Dragon?” Kirby repeated, just to be sure. He checked around before he continued speaking; though it was only them, the grounded Meta Knight, and Tiff nearby, with most of the others either snowboarding or taking the ski lift. Boy, those Cappies really COULD build fast. “You mean an Ice Dragon, of all things, is causing this weather warping?”

“A rather oversized Ice Dragon, yes, but it is very much one,” Winged Meta confirmed. “It seems the local King saw fit to obtain one from this ‘Nightmare Enterprises’ we’ve been learning about, in order to cool down the heat wave that’d been going through it. It only uses its abilities at night, however- right now, it is resting.”

“I KNEW there was something strange about all this!” Tiff proclaimed.

“Huh,” Kirby said simply. “So that’s all this was? A quick way to beat the heat?”

“Not entirely,” Meta Knight continued. “It appears King Dedede has sent an agent as well to attempt to do away with little Kirby. A Chilly, by my understanding.”

Tiff gasped. “Oh no! What’s a Chilly, though?” She turned to Kirby-

-who seemed thoroughly unimpressed. “Eh. Chillies are just snowmen creatures. They…well, show up a lot in our dimension. Not really too big of a threat. Ice Dragon either, for that matter.”

“Honestly, kinda glad,” Bandana Dee admitted. “It sounds like once we take care of this Chilly, we can just beat down this Ice Dragon and get the weather back to normal. Shouldn’t be much of a tall order.”

"It's no Francisca," Meta Knight agreed.

“You sound quite confident in such,” Grounded Meta Knight noted. “Are you truly so assured in your victory?”

“If it’s ANYTHING like the ones we’re used to fighting, we’ll be fine,” Kirby insisted. “It’s really just a matter of when we want the snow to stop. Honestly, the Ice Dragon isn’t even the important bit. It’s finding this Chilly,” he admitted. “I’d be surprised if Lil’ Me couldn’t fight off a Chilly of all things, but better safe than sorry.”

“R-right! Come on, I last saw Tuff going this way!” Tiff said quickly, and the group went off to find him.

They found him, all right- and with a Chilly, to their surprise. Though…well, it didn’t seem too aggressive, and more importantly, Little Kirby had clearly gotten attached. It didn’t take long before it was clear that just killing it wouldn’t go over well with the little puffball, and he refused to be parted from it for any length of time.

“I’ll keep an eye on ‘em, don’t worry!” Bandee said gamely. “You all enjoy the snow.”

“Heh. Alright. I kinda wanna get in on that snowball fight!” Kirby cheered, as did Dedede. The Meta Knights, on the one hand, stayed behind.

“...you’re SURE you’ve got this handled?” Tiff asked warily as she saw Chilly follow Kirby as he ran from a childish onslaught. It gave an eye to Bandana Dee, ‘casually’ practicing some spear movements…and tossed two snowballs in the direction of the children.

“I think all will be well, yes,” Winged Meta assured. “Should the winter weather prove too debilitating, we will strike down the Ice Dragon come morning.”

“As you say,” Grounded Meta acquiesced.

“Mmm…alright. I still might keep an eye on them myself, though,” Tiff huffed, before pushing off on her board.

“The creature is that weak for you?” Grounded Meta Knight asked once they were out of earshot.

“It is no great matter,” Winged Meta Knight assured. “It would take a bit of time, but all of us could dispatch it in short order. Bandana Dee would be the only one that might require a bit more effort on his part.”

“Hmm. I would like to know more about your history, and ability” Grounded Meta said. “But now is not the time. Soon, perhaps?”

“Soon,” Meta Knight agreed. “And in turn, I would hear more of yours.”

—-----------------

Tiff was both calmed and unnerved by everyone’s casual reaction to this problem, and it vexed her. They knew what the issue was but didn’t try to solve it immediately? She was baffled.

But…well, the Bandana Dee was keeping an eye on that mysterious Chilly. Even if he was going about it by ‘casually’ following Kirby wherever he and Chilly went. It was kinda impressive how nonchalant and unthreatening he looked- right before executing spins, rapid-fire jabs, and other moves that she had to admit had HER intimidated, despite seeing several of them before. And, if she was being honest, she was still more than a bit impressed. He was clearly getting some admirers, too, from time to time.

Either way, it seemed like they DID have things in hand, if perhaps a bit lazily.

She saw Chilly and Kirby head towards the pond, and Bandana Dee sort of just ‘amble’ his way on with them. Maybe she’d find herself over there, too…

—-----------------

Over time, as the day continued, the adults and other kids, their enjoyment had, began to retire for the day. Tiff and Tuff were forced to as well, Sir Ebrum having finally decided to rejoin his wife indoors.

Tiff, for her part, was still a bit unnerved…before the next day came, and without any fanfare, the sun was bright and shining, and the snow was beginning to melt away already.

It wasn’t long before she found Meta Knight on one of the parapets; the Meta Knight SHE knew, at least. “Hey, what happened?” It was obvious what she was referring to.

“It appears that my counterpart’s words were no idle boasts,” he said simply. “From what I witnessed, King Dedede grew weary of Chilly’s lack of attempts towards Kirby, and intended to have the Ice Dragon accomplish the deed himself. He was unaware of Kirby’s guard,” Meta Knight explained. “My counterpart and his allies followed Chilly back when he reported to his master. And I followed them in turn.” With that, he turned to look at Tiff fully. “My counterpart is fierce in battle, and seems to have many skills in his repertoire. Three swings of his blade formed a fierce energy I have never seen before, and both Kirby and King Dedede are possessed of surprisingly fierce natural strength. The beast was slain in moments.”

Tiff blinked. That seemed…underwhelming. “So…that’s it?”

“So it appears,” Meta Knight confirmed. “They then proceeded to awaken our Kirby. So that he could say his farewells to his friend. It seems that the creature truly DID care for young Kirby somewhat.”

Tiff wasn’t sure how to take that. “...oh…that’s…I see.” On the one hand, she was glad the threats were gone. On the other, it seemed. Unfortunate.

Meta Knight merely nodded. “Be at peace. Chilly was sent away on top of some of the ice that had formed near the coast. While I am not so sure he will survive the trip…there is a chance. And it was likely done to sooth young Kirby’s sorrow.”

“Right,” Tiff said softly. “So…no more snow?”

“No more snow,” Meta Knight confirmed.

“Tuff’ll be disappointed,” she laughed. It wasn’t the most happy laugh, but she could work with it.

—-----------------

Some days later, they would forget all about the impromptu snow day.

“A princess? Here?!” Bandana asked in shock. Sir Ebrum and Lady Like had just gotten the news, and had barged in on Tiff’s storytime to tell it. He hadn’t much cared for it, personally, but he didn’t tell them that. “Really?”

“Oh yes! The Princess Rona! She’s making a tour of Dreamland; and she’s scheduled a short visit with us!” The two were incredibly excited, and Bandana couldn’t blame them. He could only watch as Lady Like pushed her husband away to immediately start getting to work on the preparations, but one thing bugged him. “Er, pardon? One question, uh, just a small one.” Everyone paused to look at him. “Ummm…I mean no offense to your King Dedede, but are you sure he’ll behave?”

Everyone paused at that. Sir Ebrum was the first to risk speaking. “Well, ah, I’m sure that he’ll-”

“No,” Tiff sharply said, sighing afterwards. “No, he won’t. But there’s not much we can do about that. King Dedede’s gonna be King Dedede-” and then she paused.

An idea so duplicitous, so underhanded, and possibly completely wrong passed through her head, that for a moment, she felt utterly ashamed that she’d thought of it.

But it wouldn’t leave her head. And it WAS interesting. And for the moment- for one brief, critical moment…she was weak, and the thoughts passed through to her lips and out her mouth. “...unless he’s another King Dedede.”

The silence was utterly deafening.

—-----------------

“So wait. You want me to replace your King Dedede for a day?” Great King Dedede asked as he looked incredulously at the collective. “How come?”

“We’ve got a real life princess coming, and we’re worried that King Dedede’s gonna foul it up or somethin’!” Tuff explained as Little Kirby cheered. “We’ve never had a princess before!”

“She’ll be here for a whole day, according to dad,” Tiff continued. “The entire town’s setting up a big festival for her. If we want to make it an experience to remember, we DON’T need a King Dedede that’s trying to make it all about him.”

“And how do you figure you’ll get him and his sidekick out of the way?” Dedede asked. He was still trying to digest all this, honestly.

Tiff had the good grace to blush. “W-well…we kinda made a stop at Kirby’s place before we found you…”

—-----------------

Near the Outskirts of Cappy Town...

“Why, you lil’ pink rabble-rousah!” King Dedede was NOT in a good mood. He’d already had to deal with some imposter Dee and a fake him, but worse, a whole other Kirby who was, to his horror, almost more annoying than the one he’d already had to deal with. “You get back heah now an’ tell me just what you meant about dat invincible candeh!”

“Yeah, you teasing tattle!” Escargoon added. “Don’t brag about it if you aren’t willing to share with the class!”

Kirby dodged another shot from Dedede’s cannon-jeep thing; if he was actually -fighting- King Dedede, he’d have long since been given Dedede a taste of his own medicine and left his machine in pieces, but… ‘The things I do for friends sometimes. And I’ve got to distract him for the whole day?! Those kids owe me two cakes for this.’ Kirby thought with a slight grumble as he taunted them further. “Sure, I’ll tell you allll about it…but you gotta catch me first!” He re-transformed into Wheel, and sped off down the country road.

“That pest…STEP ON IT, ESCARGOON!” King Dedede shouted.

“I ain’t got feet like that, but the pedal’s to the metal, sir!” responded his lackey as they took off.

—-----------------

“Oh,” Dedede said simply. He paused…then laughed. “Hahahaha! Alright, I guess if Kirby’s willing to help you out, so am I.”

“Wooo! Three cheers for Cool King Dedede!” Tuff said brightly.

Tiff just sighed in relief. “It’ll all probably go a lot smoother with you playing the part,” she said, posture relaxing a bit. “C’mon. I’ll show you around so you’re not lost, and we can go back to helping prepare for her arrival.”

“Well, I won’t lie and say I didn’t miss being King of something,” Dedede admitted as they headed off. “So let’s all make sure we do this right!”

Chapter 8: Royal Relations

Chapter Text

It was only a couple of hours, but Great King Dedede had quickly come to a conclusion about his counterpart’s castle.

“M’not really a fan of these Waddle Dees,” he muttered as he headed to the castle’s rooftop. “Don’t talk any, an’ it feels like I’m workin’ with robots.” But, he pushed it aside for now. They were to meet the Princess of Planet Pipi, apparently- say that five times fast. Tiff had ran him through a crash course of where all the important rooms in the castle were- throne room, kitchen, dining room, library, a few others. The precision and thoroughness she managed… ’Kid’s really a bright spark for her age,’ he said to himself as he popped open the door to the roof.

Huh. Seems like everything worked out well enough. Literally had the red carpet rolled out, the Dees were ready to deliver a fanfare, all the glitz and glamour. Tiff and her family plus Kirby had already made it up there, it seemed. Really, that Sir Ebrum fellow was fairly on the ball, too. For all his attitude might’ve seemed scatterbrained, he was good at this, at least. “Everything all set, then?” he asked.

Sir Ebrum was the one to approach, and he nodded. “Absolutely, ah, ‘Sire’.” He could almost hear the quotations. “And may I say it’s most excellent that you, ahem, came to see to things personally.”

Had to admire the cheek on the fellow. Tiff had to get it from one of them, he supposed. “Well, if I AM King, I oughta make a good first impression, shouldn’t I?” Sure, he could play along.

But the byplay would have to take a backseat. “I see them!” Tiff quickly noted, pointing at the sky. Everyone quickly got into place as the fanfare played, and soon enough, the teardrop- shaped ship had landed.

’Alright, let’s see what I have to work with,’ King Dedede thought grimly. He wasn’t ever any great shakes at diplomacy, but he at least had an idea of how it was supposed to work after enough time spent with Ribbon and Adeline. If HE screwed things up, it’d at least be an accident he could apologize for, and not intentional.

The trumpets sounded loud and clear as the greeting party awaited with baited breath. The hatch opened smoothly, and they saw just in the shadow…

Well, she was a bit smaller than he was expecting. Though the helmet and sword (for her height, for him it was more a dagger) had him momentarily curious. 'Fightin' sort? Guess it's good that that sparring ring got built.' However, his theory quickly got dashed as she stepped to the side, revealing someone pinker, and in much more flowing attire. "Presenting, Princess Rona!"

Ahhhh. THAT was more like it. Relatively simple dress, but the veil was a nice touch. Nothing like he’d seen before, really. But, he put on a polite smile as they made their way out and Tiff’s family went up to greet them. “It is a pleasure to welcome you to Cappy Town,” he spoke formally.

The guard greeted him with similar pleasantry. “It’s good to meet you and your lovely wife, Sir Ebrum. I am Commander Vee of the Royal Guard. And this is her highness.”

The lady in question dipped her head at the formal introduction. “Hello. I am Princess Rona. Thank you so much for allowing me to visit your beautiful kingdom…”

At this, Dedede couldn’t help but give a faint squint. He wasn’t very knowledgeable in formal diplomacy, but to his ears that sounded…well, too flat. Rehearsed, even. Which, granted, might make sense, considering the pomp and circ*mstance. Still, something about it twigged wrong in his mind. ‘Well, might just be me overthinking. Let’s go talk to the lady of the hour.’ He stored it in the back of his thoughts, and put on a smile.

Getting up and walking over to the group, he briefly met eyes with Sir Ebrum, who cleared his throat before stepping aside. “Yes, jolly good! Well, then, I’d like to introduce you to, ah, our wonderful King Dedede.” It was probably a trick of the morning light, but Dedede swore he saw Sir Ebrum and Lady Like’s mouths tick up in amusem*nt.

He’d have to ignore it. Instead, Dedede held his expression steady, though he could just see Tiff, Tuff, and Kirby out of the corner of his eye, likely watching with bated breath. “It’s a pleasure to have ya here, Princess Rona, Commander Vee. Welcome to our lil’ slice of Dream Land!” As he thought about it, it was probably better to keep a bit of the local King’s inflection- if only to ward off any nosy nellies that might have questions.

Not that she would notice, of course. “Thank you. We’re quite pleased to meet you, King Dedede.” Again, that stone-cold inflection even when it’s clear she should be saying it warmly…well, maybe he’ll bring it up later. In private.

On the side, both children let out sighs of relief, Tiff in particular looking gratified. So far, so good, then.

Letting a bit of his more natural behavior through, he allowed himself a small grin. “Really, th’ pleasure’s all ours, fer all hours!” He heard a huff of bemusem*nt from Tiff’s direction, a snort from Tuff, and very light polite-yet-clearly-pitying laughter from the minister and his wife. Vee just blinked, and the Princess allowed a brief giggle.

‘Geez, tough crowd,’ he could only silently lament. Frankly, he thought his humor was pretty great! But, the way even the Waddle Dees glanced at him told the story there.

Well, hopefully his better attitude would make them consider NOT outing him as an imposter in front of foriegn royalty regardless. “Er, anyway! We’ve got all sorts of entertainment an’ refreshments prepped for you, and the locals are sure itching to show you some o’ the Cappy Town culture. But, I’m sure you’ve come a long way, so if you’re interested, we’ve got ourselves a little repast in the dining room prepared for you, and you can take yourself a bit of a breather before we worry any about the festivities.”

“That sounds wonderful,” the Princess said calmly. “Please, lead the way.”

As the procession filed inside, Tuff turned to Tiff. “I can’t believe it’s working!” he whispered to her. “Cool Dedede’s pretty good at this!”

“Haha, yeah, so long as he doesn’t try any more jokes.” Tiff’s grin was telling.

The lot of them made their way down to the dining room- Dedede was thankful that Tiff had given him that crash course, as he sat at the other end. “And here we are,” he proclaimed as everyone was seated; Commander Vee was quick to take a seat next to the Princess.

Sir Ebrum was quick to take the lead.“It’s a modest repast, but we hope you enjoy it nonetheless! We prepared it especially in honor of your visit.”

“You are all most kind,” she said, and by now Dedede was almost certain something was up, but as far as he could tell, nothing malicious had so much as been implied yet. He’d have to wait and see.

As the brief meal went on, he noticed Commander Vee introducing themselves to Tiff, Tuff, and Little Kirby. The little guy seemed particularly sweet on her, which he supposed he could understand, though Tiff seemed unusually shy…hm.

“I believe we were penciled in for an appearance to the townsfolk, were we not?” Commander Vee asked; the Princess simply nodded. “Then if you don’t mind, perhaps we’ll take that offer of rest for now,” she suggested, standing up. Again, the Princess silently got up and bowed, going with her suggestion.

‘Alright, that tears it,’ Dedede thought, ‘I dunno about too much in the way of royalty that isn’t me, but that Princess isn’t acting very princess-like, in any respect.’ Thinking quickly, he turned to Tiff. “Pardon me, Tiff, but could you lead them to their quarters?” He allowed a (for him) megawatt grin at the guests. “Tiff’s a real good egg from real good stock; practically helps run the town even at her age. She’ll get you wherever you’d like to go, no problem.”

“Oh! Sire, you flatter us,” Sir Ebrum said in surprise, as Lady Like tittered.

Tiff merely blushed in surprise. “Um! Y-yeah, I can do that. Follow me.” With a bit more timidity than he was used to seeing from her already, she ushered everyone along; Tuff and Kirby followed along more for lack of better things to do (and judging from Tuff’s grin, a desire to needle his sister mercilessly).

As the planets and silverware were cleaned up, Ebrum turned to Dedede. “I appreciate the compliment, truly.”

“Was true,” Dedede responded. “Your kids are pretty good kids. Tiff seems like she’s a clever girl, and your boy isn’t afraid to push out and try new stuff. From what I’ve seen of ‘em around town, they’re some of the best Cappy Town has to offer.”

“Well, now, how sweet of you!” Lady Like said happily. “You ‘ave been quite ze kind king as well.”

“Aw, this whole thing’s just started,” Dedede waved off. “Save all the good job talk for after she’s left. Still got plenty of ways to screw this up.” ‘Especially if the other King comes back early,’ he thought worriedly.

Meanwhile, around the jungle…

“Where da heck are we?!” King Dedede yelled in annoyance.

“Seems like that pesky Star Warrior wannabe gave us the slip!” Escargoon said hotly. “Maybe we should-”

Suddenly, there was a rustling, and Kirby himself popped out of the underbrush, practically sprinting as hard as his stubby legs could as he blew past them. “I’d run if I were youuuu!” he said, not even looking behind him as he kept going.

“What the- wait.” Escargoon’s blood ran cold. “Run from what?” And that’s when they heard the thumping.

They got their answer in the form of a massive blue lizard, jaws wide and hungry slithering out towards them at high speed.

Their screams practically covered the forest, and Kirby could only smile as he continued to lead the lot of them around. ‘Glad I found this thing snacking on fruits, otherwise this would’ve been REALLY dangerous. Probably gonna have to give it its stash back eventually, though. Yay for palette storage!’

Back to Castle Dedede…

“They settled down, then?” Dedede asked Tiff as she and Little Kirby returned to the throne room. She noticed he hadn’t sat down in it, however, instead just looking at it strangely.

“Yeah,” she responded. “They’re going to rest for a couple of hours, then they say the Princess’ll make an appearance to the public and then they’re going to go out to take part in the festival.”

“Fantastic,” Dedede said. “I went and asked your mom and dad to head out and make sure everything’s set for that and the combat exhibition thing.” And then he turned to you. “Which means it’s gonna be up to you, me, and probably your brother to make sure the princess and her guard have a blast out there.”

“Don’t forget Kirby!” she said lightly, looking to the puff in question. He gave a cheerful ‘poyo!’ and bounced around a bit in agreement. “Commander Vee really seems to like him.”

“Kirby’s a likeable fellow in any dimension,” Dedede grinned. “Just don’t get too surprised if they try to take him away!”

Tiff barked out a laugh, seeing the jest for what it is. “Ha! If that happens, then it won’t be you ruining their visit!”

They shared a brief laugh at that, before Little Kirby tugged at her hem. “Hm? What is it? You’re not still hungry, are you?”

Dedede waved them off. “Go find him something to eat from the castle kitchen. I’ll pretend I never saw you, alright?”

She smiled, and nodded. “Thanks!” she said, waving at him as she and Kirby left. “See you later!”

For the moment, he was alone. Again, and with that strange throne.

‘So. This is where the deals get done…’

—-----------------

After some time had passed, Tiff again met up with Commander Vee- the Princess was giving a brief appearance on the castle balcony for some PR, and Tiff had been tasked by Dedede to help make sure everything would be just right. They were walking to collect her now- soon, they would all head out for a day on the town. “I have to admit, the stay here so far has been pleasant,” Vee confessed.

Tiff nodded in appreciation. “Yeah, we put a lot of work into it!”

“I can tell,” Vee remarked as Kirby stuck close. This wasn’t unnoticed by either of them.

“Kirby really seems to like you,” Tiff said with a half grin. She doubted that Dedede was speaking the truth, but…

“Maybe because you and I seem a lot alike,” Vee noted. “Just as Princess Rona relies on her handmaiden- and myself, so does your King rely on you.” She forwarded Tiff a smile. “He seems to think very highly of your organizational ability from what he said earlier.”

“W-what?! You think so?” Well, she had to admit she was more than a bit surprised at the observation, but she wasn’t entirely certain how to take it.

“Clearly! Though he also seems to think of himself somewhat highly…” she noted as she passed a bust of Dedede’s face.

“W-well, sure he’s got a bit of an ego,” she started, and she wasn’t entirely certain why. “But he means well, and- wait until you see the village!” she interrupted herself, not entirely sure where that statement was even headed. She knew little about the other Dedede, but he seemed…pleasant. She’d been running around for some time and, well.

Not once did she feel the usual annoyance towards Dedede that she normally did.

“I’m sure it’ll be wonderful,” Vee said with a smile towards her, and Tiff had to keep from swooning.

It wasn’t much longer before they met up with Dedede and Tuff, having flanked the Princess for her quick hello. Dedede gave Tiff a grateful smile as they came up. “Hey, you got her! Excellent! We’ll be able to head out whenever you feel ready!”

“Poyo! Poyo!” Kirby cheered. It was clear what his opinion was.

Vee and the Princess shared a brief look, before the former turned to Dedede. “I think we’re just about ready!”

“Right! Now, let’s-” And then he blanked. ‘Wait, how am I supposed to transport prim and prissy royalty?!’ Mentally panicking, but outwardly calm, he cleared his throat to catch their attention. “You, ah, don’t mind walkin’, do you?”

Tiff blanched from behind Vee’s back, and she quickly shook her head, mouthing ‘car. CAR!’ as best she could. Inwardly, she was panicking. ‘I can’t believe I forgot to tell him about Dedede’s car!’

Fortunately, neither of them refused. “It’s fine!” Vee assured. “My lady and I are quite used to walking. Please, by all means, let us go!” As Vee began to march, with her lady following behind her, they missed the twin looks of relief on both of their faces- and Tiff thumping Tuff for daring to snicker at her, before running to catch up.

—-----------------

As they approached the town proper, which had clearly decided to put its festival into full swing now, Dedede couldn’t help but notice the glances the Princess sent Vee’s way between entertaining Tuff’s commentary on Cappy Town. Following the gaze, it didn’t take much to realize that, though Tiff was doing a game job of keeping Commander Vee’s interest, something about her posture was off…

…ah, there. Her hand. She was tense, for some reason. Not horribly so, but she was clearly…not as eager as her outside expression might suggest. ‘Wonder what’s up?’

The answer came to him when they arrived at the town entrance, and Vee’s eyes, for a moment, sparkled.

It was then that Dedede made a conclusion, and came to a decision. “Tiff!” The person in question turned to him, confusion in her face. “It just hit me that it might be more fun for the both of ‘em if they got to take in as much of the place as possible- separately. I’m sure you can do up a personal tour for Commander Vee, and I’ll be sure to entertain the Princess.”

All parties involved looked at him in surprise. “Are you sure about that, King Dedede?” Tiff asked. This clearly had caught her off guard.

He just laughed at the confusion. “Sure, I’m sure! What about you two, Tuff? Kirby?” The duo thought for a moment- before Tuff sidled over closer to Princess Rona. Kirby, for his part, jumped over towards Tiff and Commander Vee. “Guess that decides it!”

Tiff risked a glance at Commander Vee- and was a touch surprised to see an expression of eager agreement on her face. “That sounds most interesting!”

“Yes,” the Princess concurred. “I feel like that would be an excellent way to allow everyone to engage in this special day.”

“Well, there you have it!” Dedede cheered. “Now, go on, have yourselves some fun!”

“Well…if you’re sure,” Tiff agreed, before turning to the pink puff. “C’mon Kirby, Commander Vee. Let’s go!”

“Poyo!” Kirby cheered, and off they went.

Looking to his side, he also leaned towards Tuff. “I’m sure we’re a bit hungry from the walk. I imagine some festival fare might top us off?”

“Thank you,” the Princess said demurely, but no more.

“Tuff? Could you be a gentleman an’ pick something up for the lady?” he asked. “I think she’d appreciate that, wouldn’t you?”

The nod from her was all Tuff needed. “Be right back!”

Dedede allowed himself a chuckle. “Some kids. Always gotta love it when they dream big, eh? Almost worse when they get into trouble.”

And with a grin on his face, he leaned in towards the Princess. “Like trading places for the day, eh?” Princess Rona’s eyes widened, frozen, for all of two seconds. That was all the confirmation he needed. “Oh, don’t fret any. Only one reason to pull a stunt like that,” he said, trying to remain as calm and comforting as possible. “If she’s gonna take a break from being a princess, I’d say you get to take a break from it, too. Don’t worry so much about trying to be so polite an’ formal, alright? I was never much for it, anywho.”

Her eyes flickered to him. Slowly, carefully, the concern melted away, and she let out a whisper-quiet sigh. “Really. Thank you. But we ARE in public,” she responded, just as quietly. “Maybe…maybe later.”

Dedede frowned a bit, but nodded. “Alright. If you say so. But you just say the word, and we can liven things up-”

“I’m back!” Tuff announced as he ran back up. “Here! This is cotton candy! It’s REALLY sweet and tasty!”

The Princess blinked once, then gently took it in her hands, and took a single bite. “Whaddya think?” Tuff asked eagerly.

She paused, as she let the cloud-like strands go down.

And she allowed herself a smile that was a little fuller, a little brighter. “I think it’s rather lovely.”

Chapter 9: Royal Rumble

Chapter Text

While Dedede and Tuff were doing their best to coax the ‘Princess’ out of her shell, Tiff and Kirby were busy enjoying the festival in other ways.

“You look like you’ve been having a lot of fun,” Tiff noted. They’d gotten out of Kawasaki’s not long ago, and had been enjoying a walk around town. They’d stopped to take a bit of a rest at the moment, however, under the shade of a tree nearby.

“I have,” Vee said with a smile. “I’m grateful that you were willing to guide me around, and that the King saw fit to allow us to experience it on our own. He’s quite magnanimous.”

“Yeah, it’s nice…” ‘For a change,’ she added in her head. “But I’m sure your Princess is just as kind.”

Vee looked away at that. “...Perhaps.”

That wasn’t the expected response, and Tiff could only tilt her head in surprise, as did Kirby. “Commander Vee? Is something wrong?”

A pause. “No, nothing. But in my experience- that is, what I’ve seen- being a Princess can be…boring. So dreadfully boring,” she lamented. “You’re informed on how to speak, how to walk, how to bow…when to go where-!”

Tiff had to admit, that didn’t sound fun. “Oh…I guess that does sound kinda boring…”

“T-the Princess really sometimes feels like she’s stuck in a cage,” she continued. “I mean, it’s for the good of the kingdom, and she’d never REALLY leave it, but some days it’s like- like she has no life at all!” She said hotly. “I’d rather have a life like yours over a Princess’s any day!” And, all at once, the fire drained, was doused. “So…maybe sometimes she gets a little selfish. But can you blame her, really?”

There was a moment of shocked silence between the three of them. Kirby was the one to make the first move, gently patting her on the back. It seemed to do the trick- Tiff could visibly see the tension that had boiled up slough off of her, even if only slightly, and a measure of calm returned to the Commander. “I…I apologize for such an outburst,” she said. “It was-”

“No, no, it’s fine!” Tiff assured her. “You must really care about her.”

“Y-yeah. I guess-” Suddenly, a bleating interrupted them- “What?”

No one was expecting a charging ram, but that’s what they got, and why they ran.

They weren’t expecting Kirby to be so slow.

Tiff wasn’t expecting Commander Vee to turn on a dime and CHARGE the thing.

And she certainly wasn’t expecting Vee to grab Kirby, and perform a panicked somersault over said ram to clear Kirby from its charge.

Fortunately, the thing wasn’t after them for any particular reason- it blew past Tiff entirely, much to the chagrin of the tender who had to chase after it. “Vee! Kirby! Are you okay!?” She began to help them up- only for Vee’s helmet to slip off.

‘Well, drat,’ Vee- or rather, Princess Rona- thought as she registered the surprise and realization in Tiff’s eyes. ‘I suppose I have some explaining to do, now.’

—-----------------

“...and that’s the history of this piece; it’s quite the valuable urn, really!” Professor Curio finished. He was rather chuffed about the fact that the Princess had deigned to visit his stall, expressing some curiosity about Cappy Town’s history. Though, he had to admit to himself he might’ve gotten off-track a bit, judging from the stares he was getting.

“Thank you for that interesting lesson,” the Princess said kindly- he wasn’t enough a fool to not realize that his concern may have been warranted. “I think perhaps we should allow some others to partake. May we move on?”

“Oh yeah- yeah, sure,” Dedede quickly agreed as they headed off. BOY, was this boring. If Bandana hadn’t been put in charge of the combat arena, he might’ve been able to bring some actual levity to this whole thing just by being himself.

But no, it was just him and Tuff. Who was trying, he could say that much. He’d bought toys to her attention, Kawasaki, who’d granted her a similar dish he stated he’d given Commander Vee ‘but for a more refined palate’ (good, but not great to his taste buds), and recently this. He could tell the kid was starting to get discouraged. How to fix that, though…?

Well, there was ONE obvious answer. “Princess,” he asked, getting their attention. “Is there anything you might be interested in? Like, say, a hobby or something like it? Don’t be shy now, lemme know your personal opinion,” he said, stressing the word to indicate what he meant.

Fortunately, she caught on, though she appeared to be less enthused, her eyes flitting away. “Well…hm.” A frown of concentration came about as she considered to think about it. “I suppose…sewing? Perhaps embroidery?”

“Oh, well…” Dedede froze. Nova dang it, was anyone here doing that?

“Ohhh, you probably wanna see Mrs. Bookem for that!” Tuff cut in, saving the day. “She’s all about that home crafty stuff. I think I saw her over thisaway! She’s doing some stuff like…bracelet threads or something, I kinda forget.”

Dedede let out a sigh of relief as he began to lead them towards the booth in question. Maybe now she’d be able to have a little fun. Even if he couldn’t stand knitting and all that junk.

After some time with Mrs. Bookem explaining a number of knitting techniques with the Princess, though, it was clear that the Princess was the only one interested. Tuff in particular was near bored to tears. Which he supposed was better than the alternative of her being bored, really. Tuff could take some dullness- especially considering what was being prepared for a bit later. He patted the boy on the back softly, and he allowed himself a sympathetic grin when Tuff looked at him in questioning.

Tuff could only chuckle hollowly, looking back towards the two ladies in deep conversation. They’d be a while yet, no doubt.

Looking out elsewhere and letting his mind wander, Dedede couldn’t help but wonder where Meta Knight was. Either of them, really. He hadn’t seen this world’s, or his all day. Which admittedly was kind annoying. The Meta Knight he knew, at least, would’ve definitely been interested in the combat. Though knowing him, he’d show up right when it started or something. Meta Knight tended to pull that.

As for the other one…that guy was a big mystery. Dedede had no clue what he was up to. He rarely saw him around town.

Meanwhile, around Dynablade’s Nest…

Kirby looked out over the cliffside. This was getting a pretty long ways up. They’d have a trek down, for sure. ‘Okay, Kirby. The question here is: is this going too far?’ He’d been told about Dynablade by Little Kirby (somewhat), but he wasn’t entirely sure if it was as ‘sweet’ as the tyke had said. This one was a bit of a gamble…

But it would also be incredibly hilarious if he pulled it off. ‘Naaaah.’

He heard the sounds of panting, and realized they were finally catching up. ‘Whoop. Okay, let’s see if this still works. Wish there was a Noddy around…’

Feinting…fainting, he plopped down and waited for the reactions.

And they weren’t long in coming. “Look, dere he is!”

“Seems like the little troublemaker finally tuckered himself out!” Escargoon cheered. “Now we’ll see just what he was talking about regarding that candy that makes you invincible!”

“This better be worth all the trouble!” Dedede groused. “We been chasin’ this fool across half o’ Dream Land! I oughta give him a good solid wakeup call!” Oh, what?

“Now, now, sire, if you do that, he won’t be in any shape to tell us!” Unlikely.

“Hmm…you’re right. Okay, let’s give him a spook, an’ then he’ll spill his guts!” Dedede crowed. Kirby had to stop himself from laughing.

‘Wonder if I’m going to have to explain to them what ‘larvae’ is.’ He was just glad their jeep thing had ran out of gas.

Back to Cappy Town…

As she walked with her friends back to town, Tiff realized she wasn’t too surprised, if she was being honest. Thinking about it, Dedede had said ‘You found her’ when they’d gathered together to leave. She hadn’t thought much of it (besides a bit of embarrassment at her little mistake) and the way she and the ‘Princess’, who she now knew as her lady-in-waiting, were acting together, it was clear the latter was more used to taking commands from the former, disguise or not.

Idly, she wondered what Tuff would think upon learning this. At the moment, however, she’d agreed to keep things a secret; she wanted to have as much fun as possible before she had to resume her royal duties, and Tiff could and would respect that.

“Heeeey, Tiff! Kirby! Commander Vee!” Oh. Well, speak of. Tuff had come to find them, it looked like. “Finally. Dedede’s wondering where you guys are. Said you should probably be on your way back.”

“We were just on our way,” Tiff said mildly, as she noticed Tuff’s awkward look. “Something wrong?”

“Ah, no,” he admitted, looking away. “Just…maybe the Princess isn’t my type, I guess. She’s interested in stuff like knitting and junk.”

‘Vee’ let out a small chuckle at that. “You might be surprised.”

“Well, who knows,” Tuff dismissed, “but either way, he says he wants you back so we can back to the castle. He said somethin’ about ‘having some sport for the Princess’s sake’ before the end of the day’.”

“Oh! I think I know what he means,” Tiff noted. “Come on, Vee, this oughta be interesting!” ‘For more than one reason,’ she kept to herself.

She STILL hadn’t seen any of these doubles but Bandana Dee fight- she only had the word of her Meta Knight to go on. Just how strong were they?

—-----------------

“Attention, all citizens!” Dedede announced, looking over the restructured courtyard. “I want to say first of all, thanks to all of ya for making this day for the Princess and her Commander a real treat!” He was treated to a round of applause; even if the majority of them knew the score, thanks to Tokkori getting the word out, they appreciated what’d he’d done, apparently. That or were just convinced that ‘this time’ he was sincere.

Dedede wasn’t sure, and none too interested in finding out. “Now, to ‘cap’ it off-” he paused for laughter that never came- “...well, we’re going to have ourselves a little exhibition competition! Some of Dreamland’s finest will be competing in pitched battle! And afterwards, we’ll allow for anyone who wants to take a swing or two at the competitors, to test their mettle!”

“Oh, wow! That’s cool!” Tuff cheered from nearby. Tiff looked on in curiosity, but said nothing, as the ‘Princess remained demure as always. Vee, for her part, looked particularly intrigued, and she wondered just what was going through the true princess’s head as the crowd of Cappies cheered.

“First up! Presenting one of the finest warriors I’ve yet to know! Give a round o’ applause for the one and only Bandana Waddle Dee!”

Vee let out an ‘oh’ of surprise, as Tiff looked on. She’d seen him before, but it made sense that he’d be the first one to show. The Dee had on his snazzy bandana, of course, and he held his spear calmly as he walked out of the preparation tent. However, she noticed that this one was entirely wooden, and had a blunted tip. Briefly, she wondered why, but it was soon obvious.

Captain Doo, backed by a quintet of his Waddle Dee spearmen also with wooden spears, took the field opposite of Bandana Dee. She was a bit surprised at this, though. Did Captain Doo not know, or was he in on things? She knew her father had spoken with him earlier…

“Uhh, sire?” Captain Doo spoke. “Are you sure about this?”

“Absolutely! Go an’ get him!” Dedede said with a grin. Tiff felt…conflicted. She could guess the intent, but…

…well, she couldn’t help but have a bit of pity for the poor Doo.

A trumpet sounded from nowhere, and immediately the sixsome rushed Bandana Dee.

Two of the charging Dees were immediately tapped to either side with a few spins from Bandee, before the third and fourth met him- and then Bandee seemed to get a quick spark in his eye, his spear moved-

And for a moment, all she could see was a brown blur as, far as she could tell, a rapid-fire series of jabs that she could only barely recognize as such met the full trio of Dees, who toppled over, tumbling over the edge of the arena and now pockmarked with light bruises.

“Whoa!” Tuff cheered. Tiff blinked in astonishment. She hadn’t seen him do THAT before. It’d taken all of maybe a second to execute the move, but from the looks of the Dees, they’d been hit dozens of times already! “That was SICK!” Tiff wasn’t sure if she agreed with him or not, but it was at least impressive.

Captain Doo was the last one remaining, though Tiff couldn’t help but feel like that was intentional. “Ah geez…” he grumbled. “A-alright, then! Have at ya!” He charged-

-but Bandana Dee charged faster. And by all rights he shouldn’t have.

It was one push off, as far as she could tell- he held his spear low and to the ground, and as far as she could tell it was dragging.

That didn’t stop him from meeting Captain Doo’s run in mere moments, moving FAR faster than she’d ever seen a Waddle Dee move, before Bandee flicked his spear up, tripping the poor Captain and sending him tumbling over, barely avoiding falling out of the ring like his soldiers.

For a moment, silence.

And then, an explosion of cheers.

“Whoooaaa!”

“Outstanding!”

“I’ve never seen a Waddle Dee move like that before!”

“It was so fast, I couldn’t see it coming!”

“That’s incredible!”

Bandana Dee could only blush at the praise, before he bowed briefly, and went to help the captain up.

“Geez, kid,” Captain Doo muttered as he accepted the hand. “You’re somethin’ else, that’s for sure.”

Not wanting to reveal the ‘talking Dee’ bit to their guests, Bandee simply shrugged.

“That was a VERY impressive display!” Vee said, clearly enjoying the brief bout. “It looked rather fun, too!”

“That was AWESOME!” Tuff cheered.

“I just hope Captain Doo doesn’t take it personally…” Tiff murmured, even though privately, she was just as shocked. The Waddle Dees weren’t exactly the most capable soldiers, but he cleared through them in literal seconds!

Little Kirby, for his part, seemed just as intrigued. “Poyo! Poyo!” he pointed down at Bandana Dee, tugging on Tiff’s hand.

“Huh?” she turned to look at him. “What’s up, Kirby?” It only took her a moment to understand. “Wait, you want to try to fight him?” Kirby nodded. “I dunno…he seems REALLY good.”

“He is,” a deep voice came from nearby; the lot of them turning to see the Winged Meta Knight land nearby, to their surprise. “However, that ability came from countless hours of training. And he still has a way to go. If Kirby wishes to grow stronger, then it would be foolish to deny him that.”

“Oh! And who might you be?” Vee asked. That’s right, he hadn’t been around all day.

“I am Meta Knight, an associate of the King,” he introduced himself. “I would have been here earlier, but I was taking care of security issues. So that nothing would dare interrupt your visit.”

“Oh. That’s rather devoted of you. I am Commander Vee of the Royal Guard,” she introduced herself.

Though, Meta Knight merely nodded. “...hm.”

There was a somewhat awkward silence between them, before Little Kirby gave another ‘poyo!’ and, mind seemingly made up, began to waddle out to the arena to face Waddle Dee.

“Huh?” Waddle Dee let slip as he saw the pink puff approach to a round of cheers. However, no one seemed to have heard him, at least…but what was he.

“Hup!” Kirby said, readying himself with a competitive look on his face. It wasn’t hard to understand from there.

‘Oh. He wants to spar with me? Well…I guess that can’t hurt, right?’ Alright, but…how was he going to call for a spear, or- oh!

Walking quickly over to one of the fallen Dees, he quickly ‘requisitioned’ one of theirs, and with one heave, tossed it over to Kirby.

It was almost automatic as he swallowed it; a quick flip in the air, and something shimmering formed on his head; a brilliant red headband with a large, ornate gold frontal crest- that slipped down the front of his head a bit before Kirby managed to adjust it- and of course, a full, steel-tipped spear.

Right, then. Time to break out ol’ reliable, in that case. He’d be careful to not try to injure Kirby…but he was fairly confident the little puffball could take it.

He’d still be careful, just in case, though. Especially once he looked to Dedede, who nodded once, still grinning before he leaned over to whisper something in the Princess’s ear.

“My word, Kirby’s going out there?” Sir Ebrum said, a bit worried. He’d been sitting near the royalty as his position mandated. Lady Like was there as well, and she was no less concerned.

“Will he be alright?” she asked.

Dedede waved their concerns away. “Don’t worry any; Bandee knows what he’s doing. Besides, Kirby’s made of some tough stuff, I’m sure.”

“Mmm…if you say so,” Lady Like said.

“You’ve not given us reason to doubt you yet,” Sir Ebrum admitted. With that, the bugle sounded, and the fight was on!

Bandee wasn’t sure about this one- he knew Kirby had a natural knack for figuring out new powers, but as for this Kirby…he wasn’t sure. Better to play it safe.

He gave a couple of slow, experimental stabs at Kirby as the crowd ooohed and aaaahed (and in one case, fretted). Little Kirby was savvy enough to realize they were coming, and only just barely dipped out of the way of two of them before batting back with his own spear, thrusting it forwards similarly.

Bandee was quick to pivot out of the way, though he didn’t follow up; were it a real fight, he’d have knocked the spear away and went in much more aggressively, but it was a feeling out process. The exchanges went on for a bit more, two spears dancing in and out of each other’s range and poking when they could.

It wasn’t long before Bandee finally made his conclusion. ‘He’s going purely on instinct. I bet this is his first time even copying a spear.’ He hated to compare him to the Kirby he knew, but this one wasn’t as fast, as strong, as sure footed. He left plenty of gaps in his defense, and his offensive wasn’t pressed much. He didn’t blame the little guy for it, though; he knew well that this Kirby was younger than even when he first met his own. Instead, he slowly picked up the pace of his jabs, pressing them faster, and faster, and forcing Kirby to remain on the defense. As far as Waddle Dee was concerned, that was the spear’s weakness.

It wasn’t much longer before Kirby’s defense finally broke- a pinpoint spear thrust caught Kirby’s own just so, and his arms were thrown wide as he windmilled to keep from overbalancing.

“Kirby!” he heard Tiff’s voice, but, well. He had to end it.

But that didn’t mean he had to be a poor sport about it. Flipping his spear over, he quickly made a short, easy thrust with the shaft.

It was essentially a light poke, but it was enough to send Kirby onto his rump, and for the crowd to erupt in astonished cheers.

Tiff was quick to rush out to check on him, and for a split second she took her eyes off Little Kirby to glare at him- but it quickly softened once he came over to help the puffball up. Instead, she turned back to her friend. “You did great, Kirby,” she soothed. Kirby, for his part, didn’t seem too stressed about it, letting out an embarrassed laugh.

“For a beginner, you were picking it up really fast,” Bandee said softly so that only they could hear. “You’ll be fine with some practice.” With that, the trio stepped up, and stepped off the field.

“What a match!” Dedede crowed. “Wasn’t that something?!” He was met with a number of unanimous cheers. “Now, the question here is: who’s next?”

“I am!” a voice shouted out. They all turned to see Commander Vee step forwards. Her eyes were shining, and it was clear she'd been too moved by the fights to resist any longer. “I’ve been impressed by Cappy Town so far, and I wish to see a bit more! However, I would like to invite whomever wishes to face me, to a duel!”

A number of surprised and shocked looks were sent her way- in particular, the ‘Princess’, who, to Dedede’s surprise, broke character for a moment as she stared in what he could only describe as shocked horror. Still, she said nothing- though she looked as though she gravely wanted to.

And then, a sound of flapping wings, and the knight leapt in front of her, brandishing his sword. “I respect your bravery,” Meta Knight’s voice came. “And it is from that respect that I will accept your challenge.”

Chapter 10: Royal Realizations

Chapter Text

The crowd went wild at the declaration.

Tiff was curious. But more than that, she was worried. ‘I wanted to be able to see what this Meta Knight’s capable of, but against the Princess?!’ “Are you sure about this?” Tiff asked out loud. “Meta Knight’s REALLY strong, and I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.” She wasn’t even sure HOW strong he was, but if her Meta’s statements were any accurate, then…

“Even if I lose, it’s like he said earlier,” Vee acknowledged. “I’ll never learn without practice. And I intend to do that no matter my position.” Tiff was a bit surprised to hear that, but she didn’t argue the point.

Little Kirby, for his part, simply cheered for her in support.

Dedede himself looked a bit unsure. He knew about Meta Knight’s…predilections towards fighting. ‘Going easy’ on someone was not in his vocabulary. “You sure about this?” He asked quickly towards the ‘Princess’. “Look, Meta’s as respectable and honorable as they come, you got my word on that. But he’s not gonna stop until she calls it quits or she’s out on the ground!”

“I…I…” the lady started. But her eyes were locked on her princess, and her expression fought to stay calm.

It was then that ‘Vee’ looked directly at her. They locked eyes for a brief moment…and Vee, with a smile, bowed, before taking her place on the arena floor. Meta Knight quickly flew over to his side, and the two positioned themselves ready. Vee’s small sword looked…fairly tiny compared to Meta Knight’s Galaxia, if one were being honest, but no one commented on it.

Bandee, for his part, was just internally sweating. ‘This’ll either be quick and painless or…well, I don’t want to think of what might be worse!’

After a moment, Meta Knight raised his sword, pointing it towards her. “This I swear: by my friends and the setting sun, will this duel be decided!”

Tiff blinked. “What?”

But she noticed Dedede quickly wave the Waddle Dees for the signal to start. The trumpet sounded, and the two charged.

Meta Knight was faster, but it was Vee who swung first- only for Meta Knight to quickly backstep with a flap of his wings, before charging back in. She went to check his blade with her own- only for Meta Knight to quickly shift to a defensive position. For a moment, she paused, thinking to back off; but the second she’d thought of doing so, Meta Knight swung- and this time, he connected. For a moment, several shouts erupted in the arena as it appeared to be a fatal strike…

…but a twist of the blade had him hit her with essentially the flat of it; it collided with the side of her head, and she was forced to totter a bit- which left her open for the return strike.

The side of her body suffered the same impact and she was sent sprawling; it was pure happenstance her body managed to roll out of range for the third stroke; a spinning chop continuation that used Meta Knight’s momentum for power. It struck the ground, sending up sparks where it landed as Vee sought to right herself.

She managed to get to her feet just as he charged her again- she took a quick breath, holding her blade steady as she smiled- her cross strike was delivered with grace and efficiency, but only to meet Galaxia instead as he quickly moved into another blocking stance, the clang of the weapons ringing throughout the area.

For a moment, she saw him not moving, and took a step inwards, hoping to get inside his guard. He quickly backstepped, flapping upwards- and with a quick flash of his blade, two waves of energy erupted from it; Vee only just barely managed to avoid either of them, diving in between the space they’d made as they both crashed into the ground, leaving scuff marks.

She made for another stab just as he landed, but- ‘Darn it! He’s seriously a good warrior to block everything-’

She couldn’t even finish her thought before there was a flash of movement, a flap of wings; a sheen of gold-

Then the next thing she knew, she only saw white.

…the very next instant, her ears were ringing, her chin was throbbing, and she could hear a pair of familiar voices either yelling in what she was pretty sure was concerned panic. ‘Huh? What happened?’ The white faded away to a clear blue sky, and images that were once blurry resolved into the forms of Tiff, Tuff, Kirby, her lady-in-waiting-in-disguise, and the King. “...she’s up! Hello? Princess?” Tiff held up her hand. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“...three,” she answered confidently. At least, confident in that respect when it was obvious what had happened.

Tiff sighed. She was indeed holding up three fingers. That resolved, she turned her ire on Meta Knight. “I can’t believe you! I didn’t think you’d actually knock her out!”

“I made certain only to strike her with the base of my blade. I would not turn its edges on an ally,” Winged Meta spoke simply.

“But she’s a-” Tiff started.

“Princess. Yes. And with that knowledge she made an open challenge to anyone to face her. It would be disrespectful if I didn’t fight her with sincerity,” Meta calmly debated.

Seeing how this would go otherwise, Princess Rona stood up. “No, no- he’s right,” she said as she shakily got to her feet- Tiff was quick to help her stand. “I made that challenge with the full knowledge I might suffer such a loss, and it happened.” She turned to Meta Knight, smiling. After a moment, she bowed. “I thank you for the bout. It was enlightening to fight such an astounding warrior.”

The worried Cappies soon turned to cheering again; the Waddle Dee medics that had been summoned stayed nearby, but didn’t approach any further.

Meta Knight nodded in response. “You have some level of potential. I would suggest a superior weapon, however. Royalty or no, your heart is that of a warrior, and deserves a worthy blade.”

“Perhaps that might be in order, yes!” she admitted cherrily.

“Well…if you’re all okay with it…” Tiff said, though she wasn’t happy, clearly. Tuff, who’d been told the truth while she was out, had simply stared at the Lady-in-Waiting in shock, who gave him an apologetic smile. Kirby had simply ran up to her and pat-pat-patted her to make sure she felt better, which she responded to with a small laugh and rubbing his own head.

Dedede sighed in relief, before he turned a frown on Meta Knight, himself. “Geez, Meta, you never do know when to tone it down,” Dedede said grumpily.

“I assure you, King Dedede, I’m alright,” Rona insisted. “Although I’m certain that-” a whirring noise cut her off, and they and the crowd both looked up to see a larger, saucer-like ship with many lights floating above them. “Ah! It appears my ship has arrived.” She smiled wanly. “I suppose this means that my time here is coming to a close.”

Along the outskirts of Cappy Town

“You gotta be kiddin’ me!” King Dedede yelled. Escargoon wasn’t in a much better mood. “We went an’ did everythin’ you said! We got the grubs, found the goop from that stinkin’ flower, even managed summa dat weird dusty stuff! You bettah not have been lyin’ to me, or I’mma throw you in the hoosegow for foolin’ the crown!”

“Hey, you asked me, I told you,” Kirby said, trying desperately to hide his grin. “It’s all about how you cook it up, y’know, caramelize it! Maybe you need a better chef instead of roasting it over an open fire? Like that Kawasaki guy?”

“Well, we ain’t chefs!” Dedede yelled. “An’ Kawasaki ain’t worth bein’ called a chef!” He tacked on, before growing. “Grrr…we spent this whole dang day out here and ain’t got nothin’ to show for it!”

“You’re almost worse than the pink problem we already have!” Escargoon said hotly. “King, forget about this wild puff chase. Let’s go home already!”

Dedede looked fed up, but he didn’t argue the point. “Gaaah! I’mma get you back for this, Kirbeh, just you wait! Waste o’ my time an’ valuable energy!”

Kirby glanced up at the sky. It was clearly evening…they should be done or close to it by now, right? Well, might as well pop the last reveal. “Alright, alright…tell you all what, I’ll help you both get home, then, how about that?”

“And how are ya gonna swing that stunt, ya pest?” Escargoon asked.

He turned to the forest, scanning the treeline. “Let’s see…that’ll do,” he said once he spotted a big enough bird. That should get him Wing. ‘Hope they aren’t afraid of heights.’

And once again, back to Cappy Town…

There’d been more than a little confusion and surprise with the initial revelation of who the true Princess Rona was, but the farewells were heartfelt regardless. “It was a lovely time here- all of it,” Princess Rona agreed, as did her lady-in-waiting, now largely dressed down into much more humble fare. “You have a great kingdom, King Dedede, and you are a great king.”

“Heh.” Dedede grinned. It was always nice to receive praise! “Darn tootin’ it’s a great kingdom! And as long as I’m kickin’ around, I’ll be a great king!”

She let out a laugh. “I have no doubt of that!” And she turned to the kids. “Tiff, Tuff, Kirby? Thank you all for treating me and my lady-in-waiting so well.” She turned to Tuff in particular, suddenly sporting an impish grin she’d never worn yet. “She was particularly grateful for your efforts in making her happy.”

Behind her, the lady in question’s eyes went wide, and she affected a small blush as she pretended to not hear what her liege was saying.

“Oh! Uh, well…yeah.” Tuff had a matching one as he looked away. “No prob.” Tiff let out a snicker at his attitude- she’d be having HER revenge later.

‘Poyo!’ was all Kirby had to say on the matter as he gave her one last hug.

The goodbyes were said, the landing pod was boarded, and before long, their royal visitors were no more; a fond memory.

Dedede sighed. “Welp. That’s that. Alright, everyone, as my last order? Clean all this up quick as possible. I gotta skedaddle before your ACTUAL king gets back here. If I know Kirby, he’s probably about done all he can do for now.”

“We’ve already got the Waddle Dees on it, ‘sire’,” Sir Ebrum said. “It was a wonderful day, dare I say.”

“Oh, yes, it was razzer fun,” Lady Like agreed. “A bit worrisome at ze end, though…”

Fortunately, around the castle, there wasn’t a ton that needed cleaning up. By the time night had fallen, Tiff and Tuff were back in their rooms. She couldn’t help but let out a sigh, looking out of the window. Tuff looked at her askance. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just…” she trailed off for a moment, thinking about how to phrase it. Tuff waited quietly, for once. “That was fun.”

“I mean…yeah? Even with the not-Princess being into some boring stuff, it was still pretty fun!” Tuff agreed. “So why do you sound so down?”

“Well, because…imagine if it’d been OUR Dedede,” she lamented. “I doubt we would’ve managed half as good of a time. He probably would’ve made it all about HIM somehow.”

“Well, duh. That’s how our Dedede is,” Tuff agreed. “So it’s a good thing we had Cool Dedede around. I still don’t get why that’s making you feel down, though.”

She sighed again. “Sorry, I just…” she fumbled for the words as she leaned against the wall. “I guess I’m just thinking about what could’ve been. If our Dedede was like the Dedede from another dimension, I mean. We wouldn’t have near as many monsters to worry about. And he’d probably get a bunch of crown support for training as a Star Warrior, or something. No nasty plots, just…more days like this. Where we can just be friends with Kirby without worrying about something happening to the town because of Dedede.”

“...Whoa.” Tuff wasn’t sure what to say to that. Partially because…well, she wasn’t wrong. But occasionally his brotherly instincts DID kick in, and this was a moment he felt might not really need any response.

Eventually, she tore her eyes away from the outside- and from whatever she was imagining. Her expression a bit downcast now, she trundled away from the window. “Nevermind. Let’s get to bed, Tuff. Tomorrow’s another day.”

She almost sounded regretful as she said it.

Elsewhere…

Susie looked at the readouts.

Five. They were down to FIVE possible coordinate sets. “We’re so close…”

“That we are!” Magolor said with cheer as he bought in two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. “And none too soon! We should honestly prepare to set forth for them, really.”

“Have we finalized who’s coming with us?” she asked.

Magolor sighed. “Well,” he explained. “Taranza expressed an interest, but he’s working with Rick, Kine, and Coo on some sort of forestry project and is loath to leave it at the moment. Adeline and Ribbon got clearance to come, and they’re making for Pop Star as fast as possible, but since they don’t have a Warp Star, they might not get here before the final coordinates are determined- and we want to ship out as quickly as possible, I’m sure! And I’m also sure we wanted to keep Marx and DMK OUT of the loop on this one.”

“What about the Squeaks?” Susie asked. “If Pinky and his friends are lost, it might be worth having some specialists in unorthodox acquisitions on hand.”

Magolor shook his head. “Still trying to reach them. You know how they are. Vanish for days at a time without warning, show back up with some treasure or another. I’d have thought they’d be intrigued about a whole new planet to plunder!”

“Well, keep trying,” Susie insisted. “We still have a bit of time, but I’d rather it not just be us.”

“I never said that.” Magolor pointed out. “There is…one individual who was readily available.”

Susie blinked. “Hm? Who? I can’t recall anyone else at the moment.” She glared at him. “And we’re NOT calling in the Mages for this.”

“No, no, not the mages,” he said with a grimace. And with almost something that could be called hesitance, he pointed behind himself as something bounced into view.

“Hallo! Are we going fishing?”

Susie blinked. And then immediately turned back to Magolor. “NO. No, never. Of ALL things that I might call ‘an individual’, we are NOT bringing Gooey.”

“But I like fishing!” Gooey complained.

“It’s NOT fishing!” Susie complained. “It’s a very important trip.”

Gooey’s eyes widened. “Ooooh. Important is good…I think?”

“It means NO distractions!” Susie pressed.

“Ohhh. Okay then! I’ll see you later!” And just like that, he bounced out, to Magolor’s shock.

The magician looked back at her in incredulousness. She merely glared at him. “No Gooey.”

Magolor simply threw his hands up, and floated out of the door. He had some checks to run, anyway.

Back to Cappy Town…

Whatever Big Kirby had done to distract King Dedede and Escargoon all day, it had worn them out. For the next day or two, it seemed like the king was more content to rest and recuperate than anything else.

That, or he was planning some sort of payback. Either way, there wasn’t much heard of him for the day after, which everyone was grateful for.

Tiff and Tuff, for their part, were more interested in hearing what Kirby had to say about their day once they had some time to talk about it, and managed to actually catch his attention. He’d disappeared for a bit, but upon asking him, he'd said he was just 'around town'. Tiff didn't question it, but…well, she felt a touch suspicious about that. Still, she'd let it go for now, instead asking about Meta Knight. “Meta Knight? Yeah, he does that," Kirby responded easily. "Don’t take it too personally.” He looked off into the distance, thinking. “Honestly, I think he’s not used to sparring with people that far below his level these days.”

“Whaddya mean?” Tuff asked in confusion.

Big Kirby just shrugged. “Pretty much exactly that. I can usually beat him whenever we go at it, and just about all of the other Star Allies can at least make him sweat for it. Even Adeleine and Ribbon can cause him fits on a good day, and they consider themselves mostly support fighters.”

“Wow…they’re ALL that strong?” Tuff asked in amazement.

“Well, I told you before, didn’t I?” Kirby hopped off the branch he was resting on, overlooking the town. “We kinda had to. Dream Land’s amazing, but sometimes things happen. Everyone in the Star Allies, I’ve fought with or against, so I know they’re able to protect the galaxy.” He paused. “...even if one or two might take some convincing…” he muttered below his breath.

“Huh?” Tiff asked.

Kirby just shook his head. “Nevermind. Anyway! Sounds like Dedede did a good job.”

“He was pretty cool!” Tuff said eagerly.

“Yeah, I’m glad to hear it. He wasn’t great starting out. Real greedy. But, he kept on trying to be better, bit by bit.” Kirby couldn’t help but smile at the memories. “Had to smack him around once or twice, but he’s one of my best friends nowadays. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Maybe we should give him a cake or something…” Tiff wondered.

At that, Kirby brightened up. “Actually, that sounds like a great idea! Especially since you owe me two for that day-long distraction!”

Tiff’s eyes widened. “Whaaat?! Since when?”

“Since I decided it,” Kirby said playfully. “I’m a fan of strawberry, just so you know!”

The trio bantered about the issue as they walked through town, enjoying the day.

Chapter 11: Troubled Learning

Chapter Text

As far as Kirby was concerned, the last few days had been pretty great! He’d finally managed to learn a bit more about the local Dynablade, though it involved him being up at about the crack of dawn, and it turned out that she…well, wasn’t too dissimilar from the one he knew, for once. The only difference was that she only had the one chick instead of three. Everything else about her seemed as expected, size and everything.

After that little trek, he’d decided to engage in one of his favorite pastimes: napping. Nothing too deep, just a little light snooze. He wasn’t unfamiliar with napping the day away, but there was a bit too much going on to do THAT right now. Ah, right, actually, he should probably talk with Meta Knight (his, that is). He knew that the two Metas had been talking in secret lately, but he was starting to get curious on just what they were up to. Buuut…that could wait. For a bit longer, at least. And he wasn’t quite up to wandering over all the way to Little Kirby’s place right now. On the other hand, the tree in the town square was looking like a prime nap spot…

A loud rumbling woke him, (he’d tried to be better about that since the Haltmann Incident) and he was quick to realize it was bright day at that point. What’s more, the square seemed…empty.

Well, empty barring that jeep and the local royalty. King Dedede scowled at him, before looking around. “Hey, you! Where are all da Cappies?”

Kirby co*cked an eyebrow. ‘Huh?’ He looked around. Yup. Empty. Though something in the back of his head was tingling…still, he just shrugged.

“Don’t worry about him, your highness,” Escargoon urged. “The Cappies are here, all right…but they’re hidin’ from us!”

‘Sensible,’ Kirby thought, before suddenly a flurry of wooden…things? Struck the King out of nowhere.

To Kirby’s surprised, a group of Cappy kids- all wearing what he could only describe as amateur ninja gear- ran past him, giggling and throwing more of what he could only assume were homemade ‘ninja stars’, both at him and at each other.

He held in a laugh, but couldn’t avoid smiling as he saw the kids toss down actual (if tiny) caltrops to stop the King and his lackey from chasing them, after he’d started yelling. ‘Well, isn’t that adorable! And I know adorable!’

It seemed there was a bit of a ninja boom going around town. From the looks of things, even the adults were getting into it! He could dig that.

“Hey, Big Kirby!” He turned to see Tuff waving him over. Besides him was Little Kirby, the both of them with their friends, and all of them in ninja garb- though Tuff seemed to eschew the head covering. “We’re playin’ ninjas! Wanna come with?”

Kirby turned to see the King and his crony taking off in his vehicle to another part of town. Well, with that entertainment out of the way, he shrugged, and made his way over. “Sure, why not? What brought on the ninjamania, though?”

As they made their way around town, Tuff explained what had happened while he slept. “...so it turns out, someone tried to steal an ancient ninja scroll last night!” Tuff explained. “And Professor Curio made ‘em sound AWESOME, so now, everyone wants to try and be a ninja!”

Kirby couldn’t disagree with that. “Yeah, they ARE pretty cool.”

“You’ve met some?” he asked as they walked, now feeling the potential for a story.

“Here and there,” Kirby admitted. “They’re not common, don’t get me wrong, but there’s two major clans I know about. The ‘Bio Spark’ clan, and the ‘Moonja’ clan.” He thought back to recent events. “Both of them are pretty cool- during our last adventure, I even traveled with one of the Bio Sparks for a while.”

“Woooow! You fought with a real life ninja!” Tuff exclaimed. The rest of his friends clamored around, too.

“Well, he’s not the only one!” Kirby continued as they listened raptly. “One of the Star Allies, Daroach, has a crew of his own; the Squeak Squad. They’re…” how best to put it to these kids… “Treasure hunters. One of his crew, Spinni, is kinda a self-taught ninja, too. He’s fast, and pretty agile, but not too worried about hiding.”

“That’s so awesome!” Tuff said brightly. “I hope I get to meet them one day!”

“I guess if you’re treasure hunting, you just need to worry about stuff like traps and junk, right?” one of the older Cappy kids said.

“That’s basically the idea, I think,” Kirby admitted as they continued on. “But hey, if you all wanna be ninjas, then-”

“Heads up!” came a yell, and everyone quickly had to back up to avoid being ran over by King Dedede’s nonchalant driving- literally leaving everyone in the dust.

“Ack!” Kirby coughed. “W-what,” -hack, cough- “the heck was that?” He looked on as the car rounded the corner.

Tuff was the one to answer. “I-” cough, cough, “-I think he’s headed towards Professor Curio’s! C’mon, let’s see what he’s up to!”

Kirby didn’t disagree with that. He at LEAST deserved a ticket.

By the time they’d arrived, they noticed the doors open- and King Dedede and Escargoon were already inside. “...here it is,” they heard Curio say, placing something on top of the desk.

‘Huh. That DOES look like a scroll for ninjas, alright,’ Kirby noted to himself. ‘Wonder if there’s anything neat in it…’

To his honest shock, however, he wasn’t expecting Escargoon and Dedede to actually switch them. For a moment, he thought about calling them out as the kids began to yell about it. That was obviously unfair- especially as he threatened Curio with getting locked up as he waltzed out near them.

But thinking about it, maybe something could come of this- for Little Kirby, at least.

As King Dedede passed him, he purposely locked eyes with the monarch. “You know what you did,” he said calmly. Not blinking, not angry.

The King startled only briefly at the display, however. “Feh! Let’s get goin, Escargoon!”

“Sayonara, suckers!” the snail bid farewell as they both hopped in their vehicle and drove off.

“That’s totally unfair!” Tuff complained. “Grrrrr…come on, guys! We’re gonna go train to be REAL ninjas!” Little Kirby ‘poyo’d in agreement.

Kirby chuckled to himself. Sure, ‘real ninjas.’ ‘I could probably try to get him the Ninja ability,’ Kirby thought, ‘But I’m pretty sure I’d need an actual ninja weapon or something to do it first, not these wooden ‘stars’, so…old-fashioned way for now it is.’

Little Kirby seemed like he was having a ball running around in the suit, anyway. He didn’t want to deny Little Kirby his fun for now. Overnight, he’d do a little raid on the castle and snag the scroll back, he supposed. As a present.

Later on, he found himself watching over a field of kids in ninja costumes attempting to learn how to toss throwing stars.

Frankly, he thought it was entertaining as all get out. Namely because none of them were all that great at it. The Cappy kids could at least hit the target, mind, but Little Kirby, on the other hand? “Try putting less of your whole body into it,” he offered. Kid was jumping and everything.

Tuff, clearly, was less patient. “We’ll never become ninjas this way!” he lamented.

“But what can we even do, Tuff?” one of the boys lamented.

“That scroll could teach us the right way to do ninja stuff!” Tuff proclaimed. ‘Arguable,’ Kirby thought.

“But King Dedede took the scroll!” one of the other kids lamented. Okay, sure, for now, but-

“Then WE’LL take it back!” Tuff proclaimed. “Won’t we, Kirby!” He paused, and looked over from Little Kirby to Big Kirby. “Kirbies…?” he amended questioningly.

He nodded with a grin. Not like he was going to do anything different himself, anyway. What was a little company?

—-----------------

The sneaking in part was easy enough- Tuff was a resident of the castle, and knew when the guards changed over for the night shift. He and Little Kirby might not’ve had to worry about that much were they alone, but their ‘guest’ in Big Kirby, who was notably NOT allowed in the castle, meant things were a bit harder. “Over here!” Tuff whispered as they darted from pillar to pillar. Little Kirby carried a flashlight for safety’s sake, and Big Kirby had decided he was on lookout. Honestly, it was less ‘lookout’ and more ‘bouncer’, just in case. Frankly, this was all STILL incredibly funny to him. “Alright, here we go…” Tuff whispered as they headed inside.

And almost immediately, Big Kirby heard…something…nearby. He wasn’t sure what, but…wait.

What was that red blob? “Hey. Hey!” He didn’t want to spook whoever it was too bad…

…but it seemed to be to no avail. The stranger (who Kirby was fairly sure WAS a ninja), suddenly scampered out of view. ‘Well, now. You’re new,’ Kirby thought. That didn’t look anything like a Moonja or a Bio Spark, that was for sure.

Unfortunately as Little Kirby and Tuff were walking out, he couldn’t really pursue; not at the moment anyway. “What’s up?” the boy asked, having the scroll in hand.

“Saw something,” Big Kirby said quietly. “Looked like there WAS a ninja around here.”

“A real ninja?!” Tuff shouted in surprise.

“Shhh!” Big Kirby reminded him. “You’re gonna wake everyone up!” And that’d be horrible.

“Oop, sorry!” Tuff said in a much lower voice. “Okay, where’d it go?”

“It went off into the shadows somewhere,” Big Kirby noted. “No flashlight, so I couldn’t see very far…”

Tuff did his best to peer around- though those bangs in his eyes probably prevented much. “Did he look like anything you’ve seen before? Any ninjas, I means.”

“Nope,” Kirby confirmed, “but he can’t have gotten too far.”

“Who can’t have gotten far?” a voice came from down the hall. To their surprise, it was Tiff, flanked by Lololo and Lalala. “Tuff? And both Kirbies? Just what are you three doing?” Tiff asked hotly.

“Hey, we’re just trying to get back the scroll King Dedede stole!” Tuff defended himself. “And then Big Kirby saw a ninja, and-”

“Just what’re you squirts doin’ up!?” Escargoon’s voice came. ‘Dang,’ Kirby thought. They’d been woken up. “And what’s this big gumball’s reason fer being here?” Well, far from the worst thing he’d been called.

Before Kirby could formulate an excuse, however, he heard a grunt, and the sound of loose gravel. His eyes immediately shot up- sure enough, the ninja had been trying to hide on the ceiling- but had apparently lost his grip and was already falling.

He didn’t even have enough time to push Tuff out of the way as the two clonked together, forcing Tuff to the ground, and losing possession of the scroll.

The strange, red cloaked ninja wasted no time, having landed much better- both Kirby’s made to pursue, but he’d already snagged the scroll, fished out a smoke bomb, and just as Big Kirby made to reach him; he hurled it to the ground.

Everyone was sent into coughing fits, save for Big Kirby, who knew enough to hold his breath. That didn’t do much for his vision, however, and though he stood steady in a guard position, by the time the smoke cleared, the thief was gone. “Why that little- guards! GUARDS! WE’VE BEEN NINJA’D!” Escargoon yelled, before breaking off in the other direction. “I have to inform His Majesty about this!”

Well, that was an opportunity to leave if ever Kirby heard one. “Let’s go!” he quickly yelled, racing off. He could hear a few sounds of surprise and ‘wait up!’ behind him as the others proceeded to follow.

By the time they were well out of the area and on the way back to town, the alarms started to blare, and floodlights lit up in what was likely a futile search attempt. The town- still ninja crazy- was getting up to see what all the hubbub was, but it was already late; the ninja seemed to vanish. Bookem seemed to be the only one who had gotten a glimpse of him, blinking in wonderment at some distant point.

“Chief Bookem! Can you set up a search party?” Tuff asked as they approached, shaking him out of it.

Before long, a number of Cappies were searching for the holder of the scroll hither and thither. Both Kirbies, Tiff, and Tuff stuck together, seeing the rest of them off to make sure they knew the most likely spots.

…well, all except one, Big Kirby realized. Kinda obvious, now that he thought about it. “He’s gotta be around here somewhere…” Tuff muttered.

“Closer than you think,” Kirby said; right as he heard a *snap*. He whipped around to see the so-called ninja suddenly tumble from his perch, the branch not holding under his weight, sending the scroll to unfurl along the tree’s other branches. The unfortunate ninja landed with a thud, to the point Kirby flinched from it. “...not that I expected him to get THAT much closer.”

“And there’s the scroll!” Tiff noted. Before anyone could do anything about it, though, the ninja hopped up. “N-no you don’t! Stay away from the scroll- or prepare to face the wrath of a REAL ninja!”

‘Debatable,’ Kirby mentally figured. Still, when he brought out two pairs of throwing stars, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. He would be fine, he was sure. The kids were another matter, though.

When he threw the first one, Kirby was prepared to suck it up and show him just all the techniques he’d learned over the years…

…but to his mild surprise, the shot was off; the shuriken traveling at a somewhat lazy pace and arcing upwards, before landing well behind them. The second star went wide right. Kirby blinked. “Eh?”

To be fair, he kept trying.

He kept missing, too. By about the fifth, he’d already broken down in tears. “I think we need to approach this from a different angle…” he muttered.

“No kiddin’,” Tuff agreed.

—-----------------

Well, they hadn’t expected to learn that the ‘ninja’ was more accurately a ‘failed ninja’. (Though Kirby had begun to suspect something along those lines.) The scroll that everyone had fought for? A report card from his school. Failing grades! The whole affair was due to a town misreading a bad report card and thinking it profound knowledge.

By now, Kirby HAD to laugh. “Hey, it’s not funny!” The kid, who’d introduced himself as Benikage, had clearly had enough embarrassment already.

“I-it’s not you I’m laughing at, I swear!” Big Kirby said through chortles. “I j-j-just…bahahahaha- ow!”

He got a pop on the head from Tiff for that one. “Don’t even! Save it for later.” He got one last snort in, at least.

Tuff seemed to be far more magnanimous. “Hey, don’t worry. I bet we can teach you how to be a ninja ourselves! I bet I could make a great ninja outta you and Lil’ Kirby, and Big Kirby’s got a history with ninjas!” Tiff looked surprised at that, but didn’t speak up about it yet. “I bet we can get you to be a ninja pro!”

“Seriously? I could at least probably teach you a few things,” Kirby said, after gaining control of himself. “But how about we do that in the daytime?”

THAT was unanimously agreed upon, with the lot of them deciding to stay over at Kirby’s for the night. Both Kirbies elected to sleep outside.

Tokkori was…displeased, to put it lightly. But a single look from Big Kirby had him relenting, though with a scowl on his beak.

Come morning, Kirby and friends all made their way to the fields. “Alright, kids. Now ninja training REALLY starts,” said Big Kirby. Then he paused. “Actually, no. Benikage, right?” The ninja in question nodded. “Toss one of those stars of yours at me, if you don’t mind.”

“Uhh…if you say so,” he said. “Though it’ll probably miss…” he muttered to himself as he slung it.

‘Nope, that’s fine,’ Kirby thought as he then proceeded to inhale the throwing star. He swallowed- and in a flash of light, a purple cloth skullcap with yellow and orange triangle-pattern laces formed around his head, wrapped up with a forehead protector imprinted with a star outline. “Ta-da!” he said with a smile.

“Whoaaa!” both kids gasped. “So that’s Ninja Kirby?” Tiff asked. Benikage seemed astonished.

“Sure is! I’ve used this one for a while,” he said happily, adjusting his cap. “So I can show you a few tricks. Anyway, Lil’ Me! Your turn! Catch!” The youngster nodded, bracing himself.

He flicked a kunai Little Kirby’s way, who was already preparing to inhale it. ‘I’m only just now noticing it, but it looks like lil me has to kinda ‘rev up’ before he can inhale properly. Has he not learned how to control it that well, yet?’ he wondered.

It was something for another day, however, as Little Kirby sucked it up- and flipped up, forming a red helmet with a star and purple plume.

All in attendance blinked. “Huh…how come our Kirby looks different from Big Kirby?” Tuff asked.

“Maybe it’s because they’re not from the same dimension?” Tiff theorized. However, Big Kirby shook his head.

“Iiii don’t think that’s it,” Big Kirby said, tilting his head at Little Kirby, who looked back on with surprise. “Because that hat there is exactly like what I USED to wear until I really got more experience with the Ability.”

“More experience, huh?” Tiff said, fascinated. “So…maybe if our Kirby trains and uses an ability more often, then the hats change to symbolize his expertise?” she theorized.

“Maybe?” Big Kirby shrugged. “I know a few of my hats have changed over time. Something to experiment with, maybe?”

“Uhh…aren’t we supposed to be training right now?” Benikage asked, still more than a little surprised by this.

“Oh! Right!” Big Kirby quickly turned back around. “Alright, first thing’s first! You both are big on trying to toss stuff, so let’s practice kunai! Tuff, you help Benikage. I’ll work with little me.”

Meanwhile, at Dedede Castle…

“I can’t believe we went and got our ill-gotten gains pilfered by those petty punks!” King Dedede growled as he sat in his chair. He’d gotten word just where the scroll- and the kids- had gone. “The whole lot of ‘em are either gonna gimme dat scroll- or I’m gonna take it! An’ I know just how ta do it!”

“The same way you do everything else, sire?” Escargoon asked rhetorically. Dedede, in answer, was already calling up their usual.

The face of the Nightmare Sales Guy lit up, smarmy smile on as per usual. “Well, well, if it isn’t our top monarch! What can I do for your today, devilish D?”

“I need me a ninja sort!” Dedede growled. Some brats stole themselves a ninja scroll from me, and I aim ta steal it back!”

“Ninja, hmm?” The Sales Guy pretended to consider the issue. “Well, we DO have one individual available for some work; was an old ally of the Star Warriors, but he saw reason and joined up with the winning side! He does excellent work, but he’s rather pricey…for you, I mean.”

“Don’tchu worry about that!” Dedede dismissed. “So long as he can get what’s wrongfully mine from those pesky Kirbies!”

“Well, D-Man, if you say you need a ninja, then-” And there, the Sales Guy stopped cold. His face straightened out from a smile into a thin line.

Even Dedede recognized this as odd. “Whut? What’s da matter?”

Slowly, the smile returned to his face, though it didn’t quite hit the usual level of smarm. “Iiiii beg your pardon, Dedede,” the slimy salesman said, his voice for all purposes seeming the same, but with an undercurrent of something…else, there, that neither King nor snail could identify. “But could you repeat that last line you just said to me? Clearly, now.”

The two troublemakers looked to each other briefly, before King Dedede turned back to him. “Is you deaf? I SAID ‘So long as he can get what’s wrongfully mine from those pesky Kirbies!’” A longer pause. “Hey! You still there?!”

And then NME Sales Guy’s head seemed to jerk, if only slightly. As though he’d been shaken out of something. “Oh, of COURSE, Triple D! I heard you loud and clear. And…tell you what. For being such a good customer? We’ll loan you our friend’s services…on the house.”

“WHAT?!” the both of them yelled in shock. Escargoon rallied first. “Wait, what’s the catch?”

“For once, no catch!” he said gamely. “No tricks, no traps, no hidden fees. Just…do us a favor, hm? Let us know how he performed, okay? Give us a nice review and all.”

Dedede, concern ignored, barreled on. “He’ll get a good review if he goes and does a good job! Now send ‘im over!”

“At once.” And with that, the connection was terminated as the transporter started up, flared to life…and in a flash of light and electricity, the ancient ninja warrior known as Yamikage stood in front of them.

“Welcome to my kingdom!” Dedede boomed. “So, you’re the ninja that left the Star Warriors and hitched up with Nightmare Enterprises! I got a job for you!”

Yamikage studied his new clients carefully. “...what kind of job?”

Dedede puffed out his chest. “Gettin’ back what’s mine- a bonafide ninja scroll!”

Chapter 12: Eager Learning

Chapter Text

It’d been a couple of hours later, and by Big Kirby’s estimate, Little Kirby had actually made some solid progress with Kunai throwing. He at least could throw them on target, though the kid’s speed wasn’t remotely close to what HE could sling. No sense in bringing Lil’ Kirby down due to that, though- frankly, everyone was ecstatic that he could hit the target reliably now.

Well, everyone except Benikage, at least, who seemed to be nursing some jealousy issues. Kirby could, he supposed, understand that a bit, but it was still kinda silly in his opinion. It wasn’t that Tuff’s suggestions were even that bad- they were basic, not really ‘ninja’ advice, more just general athletic suggestions- but not BAD. No, it just seemed like it had yet to really click for the kid.

“I think they’ve gotten better since they started,” noted Tiff quietly, which Kirby would’ve agreed with- had her expression not clearly one of dubious belief, yet patient enjoyment. At the moment, they were still free practicing- after this, he’d at least take Lil’ Kirby to the side and see what he knew instinctively and go from there. Tuff was still watching Benikage, but let out a huff.

“Oh yeah,” Big Kirby quickly backed her up. It was true on his end, at least. “There’s definitely progress.”

“Yeah, for you,” Tuff groused. He’d thrown a few wooden shuriken earlier as examples, and to Big Kirby’s surprise he actually wasn’t half bad at it. He hit the target more often than not, and came close to a bullseye a few times. Maybe he had a knack for throwing. “Beni hasn’t even hit the target yet.” Also true.

“Alright, then. We might wanna try something else,” Big Kirby suggested. “Just because he can’t aim doesn’t mean he can’t do other techniques.” ‘Though I’m starting to worry those bad marks weren’t because of bad teachers,’ he silently fretted.

Before he could proceed with any suggestions, however, he felt a chill run through him- the one that warned him of danger nearby. He opened his mouth to warn the kids-

-but stopped short as a low *thunk* sounded from their direction. Over in one of the targets, sitting dead center, was a vicious looking and sharp shuriken, clearly recently thrown.

Not that the kids could see the type from here. “Alright!” Tuff cheered as he and Tiff ran up to the kids, clearly mistaken. “See, I knew you were getting the hang of it!”

“Yeah!” agreed Tiff. “Now, which one of you guys threw it?”

“...neither of us,” Benikage said, not that Kirby noticed. He was already looking back at the real perpetrator- and his laughing benefactor.

“Heheheh! This here’s the ninja that threw that throwing star!” Dedede chortled.

The newcomer vaguely resembled Benikage, but much bigger, dressed in black ninja garb with a gold forehead protector, and dark red eyes. ‘Youuuu are a new one,’ Big Kirby said in his head as he sized this foe up.

“Now you gimme that there scroll or I’mma sic him on you!” King Dedede demanded. “This here’s a pro, so ain’t none of your pesky practicin’ gonna measure up!”

‘Doubtful,’ Big Kirby remarked.

“You want this thing?” Tiff asked mockingly, even tittered. Right, he didn’t know!

“This isn’t a training guide or nothin’, it’s just a report card!” Tuff admitted cheekily, over Benikage’s protests. “He’s just embarrassed ‘cause his grades are bad!”

“Yeah, sorry,” Big Kirby added on. “So, if you could just-”

“I care not for excuses!” the ninja said roughly. “I will not ask a second time- hand over the scroll!”

“No way!” Tuff said heatedly.

The ninja growled. “...Fine. Then I will take it!” He rushed forwards to assault the young boy-

-only to stop short and bare his blade in a defensive position. Almost in the same second, a flurry of half a dozen kunai embedded themselves in the ground in front of him. “Whoa now!” Big Kirby said quickly, arm still extended from the last one to make it obvious. “I wouldn’t be so hasty if I were you.”

“Hm!? What is this?!” the ninja contested. “Who are you to stand in my way!?”

“Don’t you worry about that. Tuff, if you don’t mind?” Big Kirby motioned for the scroll with his other hand.

“Huh? Uhhh…sure. Here ya go,” the boy said, tossing it over to him. Kirby caught it with ease. “What for?”

“...how about a deal?” Big Kirby said, sizing the interloper up. This was a gamble, for sure, but… “I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, but I’m not exactly new to the ninja game myself. But this isn’t about me,” he explained. “It’s about the kid here,” he mentioned, motioning to Little Kirby and Benikage. “So how about this? You beat my student, you get your scroll.”

The ninja paused. “Hmmm…”

And during that, Benikage strode forth, yanking the scroll from Kirby, to the latter’s surprise. “No- you can’t! I’ll fight for it! It’s MY scroll!” he contested.

“But Beni-” Big Kirby started, but it was too late.

“Very well!” the ninja said. “I accept. He and I shall duel for ownership!”

“Then come!” Benikage said, drawing his sword. “I’m a real ninja too!”

“Benikage!” Tiff yelled hotly, but he wasn’t listening. He just readied himself.

“You will have the chance to prove it.” The warrior responded simply.

“Wait, shouldn’t you stop this?!” Tiff asked, turning to Big Kirby as they watched nervously.

“What, and make things worse?” Kirby responded with a raised eyebrow. “If it starts looking real bad, I’ll interfere, but…” He took in Benikage’s expression. He didn’t really like what he saw. “I think Beni’s gotta get this out of his system.”

“But…” Tiff fretted- but the duel had started already. The two charged, and a sharp ringing met throughout the plains as their blades clashed.

It was plain to see that Benikage was quickly on the back foot. The ninja’s swings were too fast, too precise. In but a few exchanges he was forced to leap back erratically to make distance; this resulted in him tumbling on the ground, and having to pick himself back up to charge a confident opponent.

He failed to recognize he was right in front of a fencepost, however. The ninja jumped straigh up, and Beni’s blade sank deep into the wood, the trainee ninja forced to look up at his assailant as the latter looked down in disdain. “Surrender! While you still can.” Not waiting for an answer, he jumped, and landed on TOP of Benikage’s blade, forcing it down to the ground and getting him stuck even worse. By now it was clear that he had no need to take it seriously. “Fool,” he said disdainfully as he let poor Benikage rip his sword out of the ground in desperation.

An errant, desperate attack by the young ninja was batted away contemptuously, but the force behind it was such that he nearly had to tip over, the sign clear. “W-why you…!”

“And now, young ‘ninja’,” Kirby could hear the sarcasm in his words. “It appears our battle has come to an end.” He hurled a shuriken, and for a moment Kirby primed himself to intercept him- only for him to notice the shuriken’s target- and their relative positions.

It impacted the scroll’s cover handily, ripping it out of Benikage’s hands and getting it near Escargoon, who was able to easily pick it up. “And here you are, sire! We got the scroll back!”

“Hehehe! Now I can train my guards to be a ninja army!” Dedede boasted.

‘Extremely unlikely,’ Kirby mentally sighed. For all the good the kid meant, he’d screwed up. But now he had to- “Hey!”

“Farewell!” the ninja said, as he tossed a kunai straight for Benikage’s head this time!

And just as quickly, it was knocked out of the air by another. Little Kirby stood by, limb extended much like Big Kirby’s, and having clearly seen enough. “Hey, nice shot!” Big Kirby complimented happily. He had intended to dash in personally, but that worked, too. Little Kirby just waved with his other hand.

“And so you interfere! I won the duel!” the ninja said angrily.

“Yeah, you did,” Big Kirby admitted. “But two things. One: that LAST attack was over the line. Deal’s done. And two: That wasn’t who I was going to have challenge you in the first place.” With pride, he pointed to Little Kirby. “THAT is.” And he turned proudly to his smaller counterpart. “Go get him!”

With a battle cry, Little Kirby charged forwards, and the fight was on.

The ninja wasted no time with words here, swinging twice in rapid succession, only for Lil’ Kirby to dodge both, if barely. He swung back with his own strikes, forcing the ninja to meet him, clash, and deflect. ‘Like I thought. Kid’s got an instinctual understanding,’ Big Kirby noted as Tiff and Tuff cheered.

As the fight continued, Big Kirby noted as much as he could- especially when, after dodging one strike, Little Kirby hopped to the left, and swung out a wave of energy that impacted flush against the opponent. Big Kirby’s eyebrows raised in surprise, but no one seemed to notice. ‘Huh. Can’t do that as Ninja. Looks like a Sword beam, almost. That’s interesting.’ They were slow, however, and it was clear he’d gotten hit mostly by the element of surprise. Two more waves, combined, were deflected, and the ninja made to toss a number of shuriken at him.

This, however, Little Kirby had trained for, even if for a bit. The first was shot out of the sky by his own kunai, the second forced the ninja on the defensive, and allowed Kirby to close in for offense of his own. It wasn’t long lasting, however, as the ninja met him blow for blow, and a wide swing by Little Kirby allowed him to gain distance.

And that was when the ninja began to move his hands in a chakra pattern. “Wait, what is he trying to-” Tiff started, but it was too late.

“Let’s see how you handle- THIS!” he said as the formation was complete, and a slash of his sword brought forth an immense blast of wind.

It was too much for Little Kirby- he was pushed back for a moment, and then slipped entirely, tumbling through the air.

And the ninja was already on top of him, to the horror of Tiff and Tuff. “SUBSTITUTE!” Big Kirby yelled out in near-panic as he rushed forwards.

Fortunately, Little Kirby had heard, and understood instinctively- in a flash of light just as the warrior’s sword came down, Little Kirby disappeared.

“Incredible,” Big Kirby heard Benikage say in wonder as he slowed down. “That’s an advanced ninja technique!” Well, true, he hadn’t learned that for a while.

But, it worked as intended, and quick as a wink, Little Kirby appeared behind his opponent, who’d stopped, and intended to glare at Big Kirby, by the turn of his head. But that had unfocused him enough for Little Kirby to get his hands around him, and with a powerful leap, head skyward.

That returned the relief to Big Kirby’s face. ‘Oh, thank goodness. Fight’s over.’

And indeed it was, as Little Kirby pivoted 180, proceeding to drop him on his head. Though… ’Excellent substitution into Air Drop- needs to learn to follow through on the Air Drop, though. Can’t just let them go in mid-air like that.’ Something to work on, but for now? Looking at the sprawled form of their attacker, it was clear he was done. “You…”

“Woo-hoo! Go Kirby!” Tuff cheered. Tiff just looked relieved. He couldn’t blame her.

“Kirby…” the ninja continued. “...one day I will have my revenge.” And before Big Kirby could question him about that, a burst of smoke erupted from him- a smoke pellet! But even as both he and Little Kirby searched around, there was no sign of him. He was gone. Mostly. Though Big Kirby had noticed something troubling. ‘His power dissipates over time?! Or maybe any big shot from him drains it like how I can only use Mic or Festival or Crash once. Yikes, gonna have to keep that in mind.’

He turned at the sound of tires squealing, to see Escargoon and King Dedede driving away- with the scroll. “Well, at least nothing really bad came of it…” he muttered. “Although…” He looked off into the forest, then turned back to. “Hey, you guys? Finish up here. I wanna make sure it’s safe.”

Like he’d let anyone even TRY to get back at his cute-but-clearly underdeveloped counterpart!

—-----------------

The next couple of days proceeded about as expected. Dedede seemed to either be taking his time deciphering the scroll, or he’d figured out it was useless. Either way, he refused to show his face, and the ninja craze died out quickly after word of the incident spread.

Tiff, for her part, was surprised Meta Knight had missed the whole affair, coming back some time that evening. “Where were you, anyway? Weren’t you the one that told me about the ninjas in the first place?” He’d indicated that they’d existed, and that one had been the likely culprit. He was wrong in who it was, clearly, according to Fololo and Falala, but otherwise…

“My apologies. My winged counterpart and I were…comparing interesting parts of our respective dimensions. He had a deal of insight to share, now that we have proven our trustworthiness to each other,” Meta Knight explained.

“Wait, you were spending all that time…talking?” Tiff asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Meta Knight said simply. “I apologize for my absence. However, my counterpart assured me that his dimension’s Kirby had things well in hand regarding his care. Was this not so?”

Well, she had a complaint or two, but… “...I guess he did alright, yeah,” she admitted.

“That is good,” Meta Knight said, relieved. But his eyes grew green. “However, I confess some concern for young Kirby. If he is to face Nightmare properly, he will need to be much stronger. This may not be such a priority, so long as the elder Kirby is with us. But if for whatever reason he and his should be separated, or return to their dimension…we must be ready.” He sighed, looking off into the distance. “Sadly, I may not be available to do that in the near future. We will have to see.” Nodding to himself, he turned back to Tiff. “Perhaps see if you can speak with any of our ‘guests’ regarding their willingness to stay and help. Signs have been good so far, but one can never be too certain.”

Tiff nodded. “Got it. It’s not like I didn’t want to talk with them, anyway.” Bandana Dee was pleasant enough- he’d been spending the last day or two helping her dad behind the scenes, apparently. According to him, he was used to it, being Great King Dedede’s right hand-Dee. As for the King himself…well, she wanted to meet with him for another reason.

The next day saw the group of her, Tuff, Fololo and Falala, along with Bandana Dee, head out to the town. “I was gonna ask Escargoon about something, but this sounds way cooler!” Tuff noted excitedly. “I betcha he’s got a bunch more stories to tell!”

It wasn’t too long before they found his house- situated on the edge of Cappy Town, built noticeably round and large to fit his frame, and having a Dedede peace symbol on it. Seemed like he was still improving on it. “Great King’s managed a few extensions here and there,” Bandana Dee explained as he knocked. “Sometimes I come over to help- and to give Great King an opponent in chess.”

“Your King Dedede plays chess?” Tiff asked in surprise as the door opened.

“Sure do!” Came the voice of the King, looking at them all with curiosity. “Why? You up for a game? Could definitely use more than Bandee to checkmate.”

“Aw, but I wanna hear cool stories!” Tuff complained. “Like, how’d you all get so good at fighting? Like Bandana Dee?”

The Dee in question startled. “O-Oh? Me? I mean, I don’t think you wanna hear about me…”

“Course I do!” Tuff insisted. “You’re really cool; you can do all these awesome spear stunts, and you’re pretty brave and clever!”

“Oh? W-well…I guess I could. I mean, I need to practice a bit anyway…” he mumbled.

“Ooh! That sounds neat!” Lololo said.

“Can we watch?” Lalala asked. Little Kirby cheered in agreement. Apparently, he wanted a bit more Spear practice.

Bandee just shrugged. “Sure, don’t see why not! C’mon, follow me. The yard outside should work…and- you still have spare spears, right Great King?”

“Out back!” he said easily. The lot of them headed outside, which left just Great King Dedede and Tiff. “Ain’t gonna follow ‘em?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Actually…well, I was going to agree to that chess match.”

Dedede chuckled, and showed her to the living room to set up the board.

Outside, the ring was set. It was a simple dirt ring with rope barriers, but it was good enough. “I-I’m not really planning on fighting anyone right this minute, but practicing forms is always good.”

Tuff, Lololo and Lalala all watched, oohing and aahing as he began practicing simple movements and jabs. “Man, you must really like fightin’, huh?” Tuff asked.

The remark didn’t stop Bandee at all from completely a few swipes. “Oh, well…no, not really,” he said calmly.

“Wait, huh?” That wasn’t the reaction Tuff expected. “But you’re so good at it! And you said yourself you practice a lot. But, ya still don’t like it?”

“Nope,” he responded. “‘Cause usually, if I’m fighting, that means something’s wrong in Dreamland.” He completed a few more swings, going into several jab angles. “But I gotta help protect my home, so I do it anyway!”

“...Do ya? I mean, doesn’t Big Kirby usually handle it?” Tuff questioned further. This didn’t make any sense to him.

“I mean, used to, sure,” Bandee admitted. “But, sometimes stuff happens. Kirby’s not invincible…I think.” He paused for a moment, but then continued on. “I know I’ve seen him hurt before. And sometimes there’s not a Maxim Tomato to help heal him, so he kinda just has to heal up the old fashioned way.”

This was just getting more and more confusion. “What’s a Maxim Tomato?”

“Nevermind,” dismissed Bandee as he practiced some footwork and dodges. “I guess my point is that, I might not like it, but I know if I don’t help, then it could be really bad for Dream Land and the galaxy one day. So I’m always practicing to make sure I CAN help when people need it!”

“But aren’t you scared?” Tuff pressed. “I mean, if you don’t like it, but you gotta, then that can’t be easy.”

Bandee quickly fired off three rapid thrusts before tossing his spear like a javelin, impacting a nearby ‘target’ near center. “Nope! I’m really scared a lot of the time. But, I can’t let the people who threaten Dream Land see that. And really, it doesn’t matter. Great King said once that ‘having courage is being scared of failing at something and then doing it anyway because you don’t want the person behind you to fail.’ It seems kinda obvious now that I think about it…but it helped me when I first heard about it. I don’t want to leave all my friends in the lurch when I could do something about it…so I do.”

Tuff…wasn’t sure what to say about that. Instead, he sat down on the ground with his friends, and continued to watch the courageous Dee train. When Little Kirby made to join him, he wasn’t sure who to cheer for.

Inside, Tiff was…well, there were multiple emotions running through her head right then.

A part of her was surprised that not only King Dedede was a chess player, he was darn good at it!

Another part of her was just absolutely thrilled that she had someone to test her mettle against. Almost no one in town played chess, save for Professor Curio and Mayor Blustergas on rare occasions, and she rarely got time to play with either of them, if at all these days. She’d almost abandoned the burgeoning hobby outright, which was a shame, because she rather liked the battle of wits and planning. “You’re full of mysteries, King Dedede,” she remarked as she moved a piece.

He just chuckled. “One o’ the parts of being a king I had to learn- never show your whole hand. Otherwise people will just trash it.”

“Yeah?” She looked up at him, but no, he was focused on the board. “So you’ve got secrets, huh?”

“Sure? Doesn’t everyone?” Dedede replied nonchalantly. “Doesn’t have to mean anything bad, but sometimes you have to know when to keep your lips zipped until the right time. Doesn’t always mean it’ll work out, either. Not unless you know for sure what would happen if you didn’t.” He moved another piece.

“But wouldn’t it be better if you managed to get support for whatever it is, instead of keeping it to yourself?” she countered. Another piece moved.

“Sure! But sometimes you’re not sure if that’ll happen. Or even that it’s likely to happen. And in those cases, you gotta choose- are you going to take the risk, or are you going to trust yourself?” He started to move a piece, then paused and moved another one. “It’s not an easy choice to make.”

“...I suppose not,” she said as she puzzled out her next move. “But even if it’s for a good reason, people might get mad for keeping the truth from them.” She finally settled on moving a knight near the edge.

“Oh, don’t I know it!” he laughed. “And like I said, sometimes you futz the choice up. One time I flubbed that choice by not saying something when I probably should’ve, and Dream Land nearly paid for it,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t make that decision now, of course- but at the time I thought it made sense. Just gotta keep the past in mind for the future, and you’ll get better at it.” Another piece moved on his end- his rook. “I like to think I have, considering the friends I have now.”

Tiff studied the board carefully. But after a few more moments, she sighed with a smile, and tipped her own King over. “I guess you have a point. Good game!”

He extended his hand, and she shook it gratefully. “Hey, you gave me a better match than Bandee’s been able to in a bit! Want me to tell you where I saw an opening? Maybe give some advice?”

Her face lit up. “Sure!”

--------------------

Elsewhere…(you know where by now)

--------------------

Susie carefully regulated her breathing. In…out. In…out.

Calm breaths. Calm breaths.

She looked again at the Lor’s last output.

Coordinates determined. Estimated likelihood of match to previous reading: 99.8%

She looked to her side, where Magolor was also sitting, looking at the large letters plastered on the screen. “Well. There they are.”

“There they are,” Magolor repeated. “Now, we just have to go and get them!”

“I’m guessing the Squeaks aren’t making it?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I just managed to get in touch with Daroach. He said to go on without him, as he won’t be back for a few days, but he wishes us luck, and he’ll be available to help in any way necessary if we need to retreat and come back.”

“Adeleine and Ribbon?” Susie pressed.

He sighed. “Not unless we want to wait one more day. Otherwise, she says they’ll be waiting to help if they need to recover energy in any way.”

She frowned. “Then it will be just us, as I’d feared. Drat.”

“Oh, don’t be so down!” Magolor insisted. “I’m quite the accomplished mage, and you’re a scientist without peer, mostly! I’m sure that ‘business suit’ of yours can handle anything we come across with my magic to support you!”

“ ‘Mostly’, was it?” she responded frostily at him.

Magolor quickly turned to the controls. “Right then! Let’s be off and rescue our comrades from whatever troubles they’ve found themselves in this time!”

Another deep breath, but Susie nodded. Magolor wasn’t wrong. “Right. Onwards!”

The ship levitated, its power full. It adjusted its angle.

“Power output, OK…dimensional coordinates…locked in,” Magolor recited. “Thrusters, engaging. Opening dimension rift in 3…2…1…GO!”

—-----------------

As the star-shaped portal opened, deep below decks, a certain blob was waiting patiently. Maybe he’d get to go fishing when they were done with the important thing! That’d be nice.

Chapter 13: New Arrivals

Chapter Text

The evening having come, and more than a few games with King Dedede in the books (none of which she won, but she didn’t actually feel too bad about that), Tiff met up with Meta Knight once again; or rather, she sought him out in his quarters. “Hey, excuse me! Anyone in?”

“Indeed,” Meta Knight said, though she noticed he held a rolled up piece of parchment in his hand. “What brings you here? I unfortunately have little time to spare at the moment.”

“Oh, it won’t take long,” she insisted. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”

“My counterpart requested my presence nearby,” he explained. “I believe he is interested in discussing further the ongoing threat of Nightmare Enterprises, and I hope for a productive conversation.”

Ah, that made sense. “Same here,” she said, “but for now, I guess I should tell you that it’s likely they’re gonna be sticking around…at least, that’s how it sounded to me and Tuff. He talked to Bandana Dee, while I talked to the other King Dedede.”

“Excellent,” Meta Knight said, glancing back at the table where some sort of sketch lay. Of what, she couldn’t tell. “I will have much to discuss with my flying counterpart. What of the elder Kirby?”

She shook her head. “Couldn’t find him. I think he’s out in Whispy’s Woods for some reason. At least, that’s what Tokkori said. I’ll ask him tomorrow.”

—-----------------

That night, Castle Dedede was…tense. The Waddle Dees stepped lightly- but not out of any newfound ninja training. No, the King and his lackey had ultimately determined that the scroll had been worthless after all. That’d put them in a foul mood normally, sure- but what made it even worse was how their recent monster had fled. That had caused King Dedede and Escargoon to complain mightily against Customer Service.

To their surprise, he’d apologized. “Good to know the score, Triple D, and we thank you for the honest review, really!” That itself had surprised the monarch, but then the salesman went one further: "To make up for it, though, and correct a few wrongs, we’re sending over a real treat for you!”

“Hold on just a minute!” Escargoon interjected. “What’s with all the sudden quality service? Normally you’re trying to charge us an arm and a leg! And the other arm, too.”

“Oh, nothin’ you need to worry your slimy head about,” the Sales Guy dismissed. “We’re simply trying out a new service model, in order to get some better feedback and results! Besiiides, you know what they said about gift horses and mouths!”

“Well, I ain’t fool enough to turn down a gift, since that means it’s free, ain’t it?!” Dedede asked roughly.

“Bingo!” Sales Guy confirmed. “We’ll see if any backcharges are applicable after this one’s done its job- but I can assure you, it’s so good it’ll make you howl.”

“Alrighty, then! You send ‘em over!” King Dedede demanded.

The monster transporter began to buzz and crackle to life…

And the fierce, spiked beast that emerged from it sent a chill down Escargoon’s spine. “What’s that thing?!”

“Allow me to introduce: Wolfwrath!” the salesman said proudly. “And trust me, Big D- Woflwrath is one of our hottest monsters!”

“I don’t care about his temperature- I just want him to get rid of those pesky Kirbies!” Dedede complained.

“Oh, don’t you worry,” Sales Guy assured. “You just stay out of his way, let him run wild, and anyone in his way gets burned!”

“Run wild?!” Dedede began to complain…

…but he was forced to duck as a massive fireball was hurled his way- blowing a hole in the back wall.

Escargoon could only watch in concern as it sprinted away. ‘Well, that can’t be good.’ he thought.

Bandanna Dee was outside when the sirens began blaring. He looked up from his playing with Tuff and Kirby; they’d been playing kickball two on one. The kid was athletic, for sure, but… “Attention! Be on the lookout for an escaped monstah! Don’t let it get away!”

…yeah, that’d ruin things. “Maybe we should get inside…” Bandee wondered.

Tuff groaned. “Awww…c’mon, one more kick!” he insisted.

Bandee quickly shook his head. “Really, we oughta-”

Before he could get any further, however, a streak of red came out of nowhere, bounding and roaring.

For a moment, everyone was shocked. “T-tthat’s the monster!” Tuff yelled in surprise.

The beast had no interest in playing around, however- its eyes very clearly locked directly onto Kirby, who was still registering his surprise.

Bandana Dee, on the other hand? ‘Where did THIS thing come from?!’ he wondered as he readied his spear.

It was just in time, too, as the beast reared back- and out of its maw a vicious fireball careened forth.

It took less than a second to determine it to probably be a bad idea to take the blow with Little Kirby right next to him- and in a blink of an eye he’d grabbed the little puffball hurriedly and yanked him out of the way of the fireball, tossing him clear.

It was Bandana Dee that got hit instead, the explosion rocking the area in a torrent of smoke and flame. “No! Bandana!” Tuff cried in shock as Bandana Dee was thrown back, crashing into the fountain hard enough to crack it.

Little Kirby got to his feet in a hurry, his confusion quickly overridden by his concern for a friend. That attack had been quick, powerful…

…and yet as the smoke cleared, Bandana Dee was already up; while clearly scuffed up and not in the best shape, he was still standing. “...ow. T-that hurt. That really did kinda hurt…” he muttered. He didn’t have any time to rest, however; the beast had seen that he’d missed his target. Seemingly ignoring Bandana Dee entirely, he turned his attention to Little Kirby, charging-

-and for a second time, was intercepted. This time by the lunging figure of Meta Knight, who forced the creature away- if only momentarily- with a quick swing of his blade.

By now, Bandana Dee was quick to see the pattern. “This thing wants Kirby!” he said to Tuff, who’d run over to assist.

“Sir Meta Knight!” “Kirby!” he heard the sounds of both Sword and Blade Knight, and Tiff as they came running.

“Ah, you all shouldn’t be here!” Bandee admonished. “Look, you need to-”

“Go.” Meta Knight said assuredly as he faced down the wolf beast. “Protect Kirby with your lives. I know you can do it. I will deal with Wolfwrath.”

‘So that’s what that thing’s called?' Bandana Dee noted as the lot of them fled the scene. ‘He must’ve fought it before, then. I hope he can take it out…’

“C’mon, follow us!” Blade Knight said as they raced through the castle. “We knows a place you kin keep safe!”

Meanwhile, in the throne room, witnesses to the clash were making their opinions known.

“Look, it’s battling Meta Knight, not Kirby!” Escargoon complained. They’d been watching the whole affair on CCTV, making sure that it was as good as advertised. True, it was looking like an even fight, but…

This was NOT what King Dedede wanted. “He oughta mind his fleas-wax, and let Wolfwrath turn Kirby into toast!”

“Don’t sweat it, Triple D!” the Sales Guy soothed. “That monster can wipe out a whole army of Star Warriors!”

—-----------------

Tiff wasn’t sure what was going on- but she knew it was dangerous. Bandana Dee had been there, thank goodness- otherwise things might’ve been worse than they were. Even so, with Meta Knight facing off against that thing- that ‘Wolfwrath’ alone, it was still bad. Eventually, they were led to a non-descript door. “You all stay safe in ‘ere!” Sword Knight said quickly, as the castle rumbled with the sounds of battle. “Band’na Dee, you keep a guard on ‘em!”

“Of course!” he agreed.

“We’ll keep guard out here!” Blade Knight reaffirmed. “Now-” His words, however, were interrupted with another rumbling- and to her shock, she could see the fight had moved inside the castle already! And Wolfwrath was pressing Meta Knight back… “Go! Get outta here!” he shouted, and Tiff found no reason to disobey.

As the door shut behind them, she looked back at Tuff, at Kirby, who was still nervous, and at Bandana Dee, who was anxiously stepping in place, looking like he wanted to charge back out to help. “Do you think he can handle it?” Bandee asked worriedly. The sounds of battle continued to sound around them, and she wasn’t sure what to say.

“I think so-” she started, but it was then that she heard a might clanging noise, and a loud *thunk*. Then the sound of fleeing paws…and then silence. “...oh no.”

It was only a few more moments before the door opened again, and Blade and Sword Knight appeared in the doorway- with the former carrying Meta Knight’s body over his shoulder. “C’mon! There’s a problem! Hurry! Let’s move to your room.”

Tiff’s heart jumped up her throat, but she did as asked. And when they arrived, she promptly began to sweat upon seeing Meta Knight’s state- especially what looked like a tooth embedded in his forehead. “What…what happened?”

“They fought,” Blade Knight said simply. He didn’t elaborate any further than that, instead trying to pull it free. He strained, and pulled, and put as much muscle as he could into it, but soon, he had to step back. “It’s no use. The tooth won’t budge.”

“I-is he alive?” Tuff asked fearfully. Tiff didn’t even want to think of it. If he was…was…

“Yea, but it looks likes th’ tooth’s got ‘im paralyzed!” Blade Knight said. “S’not good, no.”

“There’s gotta be something we can do to help him!” Tuff worried-

*knock knock* “Whoa!” The sound coming from the window made them all jump, and Tiff looked over to the window doors; on the balcony, she could see a familiar circular shape in the gloom of night- but this one with bat-shaped wings jutting from the sides. W-wait…that’s?”

“Meta Knight! Uh, our Meta Knight!” Bandana Dee quickly observed, running over to the window doors and opening them for him.

“Forgive my intrusion,” Winged Meta said simply. “I came to see why my counterpart had yet to return from the alarm. We had important matters to discuss, and when I noticed the trouble had not yet passed, I thought to investigate.” He walked in, pointing towards the lantern that had been lit on the table. “Your light was the only one active in the castle, so I deemed this a good place to start.”

Tiff grimaced. Their Meta Knight HAD mentioned something along those lines. “Oh…well, you might not be able to tell, but…there’s some trouble.” She pointed to the laying form of Grounded Meta. “A really nasty monster called Wolfwrath tried to attack Kirby! Our Meta Knight tried to fight back, but…”

“...I see.” Winged Meta said after a moment of silence. “...has he perished, then?”

“No, no!” Tiff said, glad she could relay it. “Apparently he’s paralyzed…so we’re not sure how to fix it.”

“Well, actually…” Sword Knight spoke up. “Was gonna mention that.”

“See, our Meta Knight n’ ‘is Wolfwrath ‘ave clashed afore!” Blade Knight admitted. That led to gasps amongst those in the know, though Bandee and Winged Meta simply waited for the rest of the story. “Like as not that tooth is sympho…well, can’t think offa word, but as long as that sorry sally Wolfwrath lives, ‘e can’t wake up!”

Sword Knight nodded, his resolve clear. “He’s likely still in the castle.”

Almost immediately, Winged Meta brandished his sword. “Very well. I will seek to slay this monster.”

“W-what? You?” Blade Knight said.

“You claimed that this was your Meta Knight’s old foe,” Winged Meta noted. “Which means it would be all too self-centered to not offer my own aid in its destruction.” Without waiting for approval, he made for the door.

“Uh, right! Best get after him!” Sword said, the duo chasing after him. “Take care of Meta Knight!” Blade yelled back as they took off.

Little Kirby made to follow- only to get stopped by Tiff. “Oh, no you don’t! You’re staying right here even if I have to hold onto you the whole night!”

Bandana Dee, for his part…well, his eyes flitted between the door and the prone Meta Knight.

He had a decision to make.
—-----------------

Meta Knight didn’t know of the creature. In truth, it was likely foolish to attempt to strike at an unknown creature with no description or understanding of its power.

But it had struck down…well, him, in a sense. He couldn’t abide by that. And with a name like ‘Wolfwrath’, he doubted he would mistake it for anything else but the culprit. And so he raced through the halls, flying as well he could throughout. Several minutes passed, though with no sign of the creature-

-until he heard something collapse in the distance. It sounded metal. “Hmm…” He wasn’t sure of it, but it was worth checking out.

As he raced closer to the source of the sound, he passed what looked like a gaggle of Waddle Dees lead by a Doo. Curious.

But well past that…heat. Lots of it.

Fire. ‘Found you,’ he thought coldly. Even though there was no positive sign, something deep within told him he had found his target.

It was only solidified when he heard a loud roar, and several explosions went off nearby in rapid succession. Realizing what was happening, he pushed himself to fly even faster.

It was only moments later before he ran into what was clearly a fire inside what looked to be a kitchen- and the fallen bodies of Sword and Blade Knight struggling to get up. The creature roared, leaped.

And Meta Knight made certain to intercept it- flying across its path to give it a swift cut across its face for its troubles. A loud yowl erupted from the beast and, in its pain, it landed awkwardly, turning to face its assailant.

“So. This is ‘Wolfwrath’,” Meta Knight said, observing his foe as it shook off its pain. It was clear it was attuned to fire, that was obvious. Those claws were likely no joke either. Interesting. He’d been hoping for a good fight for a while. The Princess, while honorable, just didn’t quite cut it. “I will strike this thing down here and now, then.”

Sword and Blade, who’d managed to get up, looked on in surprise. “Wait! That’s just what our Meta Knight tried, and he-”

Wolfwrath, not caring for talk, roared in anger; this was creature so similar to the one he’d struck down, but was it the same? It wasn’t sure.

But it would simply strike it down again, if so. The beast opened its maw, and three wicked fireballs burst out of its mouth-

-And with a yell, and timing and aim born from many battles, Galaxia severed each one of them as he met them with his own rapid-fire crescent beams, dissipating them in mid air.

The entire exchange took perhaps three seconds, leaving only embers where there would otherwise be fire, rubble, and smoke.

The beast, for all its rage, had a moment of utter confusion, tilting its head in surprise. THAT hadn’t happened before. The weird orb creature had simply dodged them last time. He didn’t have that kind of power, did he?

It had no time to ponder the situation, as Meta Knight rushed towards him. Soon, its world was not the brilliant orange of fire, but the pure yellow of a blade.

—-------

Tiff…well, saying she ‘wasn’t sure what to think’ would be a lie at this point. She’d eventually relented to Bandana Dee’s worrying, and with him, Tuff, and Kirby, they’d raced out to help provide support to Winged Meta, Sword, and Blade Knight. It hadn’t been hard to follow the sounds of battle. But Tiff was expecting…well, THAT, she wasn’t sure of. But for once, she DID know what to think. “Incredible…” she murmured out loud as she watched the fight unfold.

It became plainly obvious that despite their claims, Meta Knight had indeed been holding back against the Princess. Whereas her Meta Knight had seemed to struggle against this Wolfwrath beast, Winged Meta…almost seemed to be making sport of it.

The beast simply couldn’t get away. And Winged Meta Knight’s slashes were beyond fast. At least, that’s what she assumed they were- because at one point, the blade was at his side. Then he’d dart in, and suddenly around him would be a brief, golden blur of movement resulting in dozens of small, but clearly painful cuts in the space of a second or two before he darted out of the Wolfwrath’s slashing range. The second time he did this, the creature tried to pursue- only to be met with Winged Meta Knight firing those beams from his sword, impacting the beast and slamming it against the wall, sending loose chunks of rubble.

The creature pushed off fiercely, attempting to fire off a massive stream of fire; Meta Knight darted forwards, underneath the stream’s initial cone much to her shock- and he lept upwards in a nearly unseeable flash, in what she recognized as the move that had knocked the princess out cold, and sending the beast against the wall again, loosing more slabs of rock and stone. ‘No way! He’s THAT strong?!’

This beast had a hardier constitution, however; though it didn’t faint, it did collapse, and as it lifted its head, she could see that it was left with a wicked mark on the underside of its jaw, the orifice having been forcibly snapped shut by Winged Meta’s sheer momentum.

“Enough,” Winged Meta Knight said darkly as the creature tried vainly to get up, shaking its head to clear the cobwebs. “This battle ends here.”

The beast clearly didn’t want to think so- it let out another roar and charged him- only for Winged Meta Knight to make a motion with his hand- and to her blindsided bafflement, the rocks themselves seemed to answer to his will, the largest slab behind him seemingly careening forwards on his command to smash square into the creature’s face, sending it sprawling on its back.

Tuff, similarly, had his jaw dropped. “Did…he just…?”

Tiff could only shake her head as she watched the beating with shrunken, astonished eyes. “I…don’t know?” She'd SEEN it, true. Comprehending it was another story, and as smart as Tiff was, she started to feel her brain overheat, without anything to do with fire.

Little Kirby, on the other hand, watched with stars in his eyes as Winged Meta Knight rushed the creature…and began to spin.

She wasn’t entirely positive, but Tiff swore, even at the distance they were at, the wind began to kick up a bit as Winged Meta Knight’s body blurred into a yellow tornado that circled the beast, lathering on jagged and vicious cuts all over the prone beast’s body. For a moment, she almost felt SORRY for the thing.

Almost. And even that smolder of pity was snuffed out as Winged Meta Knight, seemingly by the force of his own rotation, began to rise in to the air. The beast struggled to crane its head up- perhaps to deliver one last blast of fire-

-only for Winged Meta Knight, Scourge of Darkness, to stop suddenly, flapping once, and driving himself straight down, blade-first, into the creature’s gemmed skull. The crystalline object flashed, brightened for a moment…before fading into black and shattering. Letting out what could only be a whine of pain, the Wolfwrath’s entire body seemed to fade into black as well…before suddenly almost ‘popping’, a rush of air being expelled from the place the Wolfwrath once was. “And so it ends,” Winged Meta Knight said simply.

The area was once again silent- save for the crackling of a fire that had to be put out. Fortunately, Tiff decided that being an impromptu firefighter took priority over trying to comprehend whatever that was.

—-----------------

“...I see,” Grounded Meta Knight said. He’d recovered, the tooth in his forehead having vanished. Everyone had been quick to meet him- save for Winged Meta Knight, who’d merely informed Tiff, Tuff and company to inform him later of Grounded Meta’s status, and had flown off- though she noticed that he was flying towards town. Probably to tell their Dedede. “I am glad the situation was resolved so quickly.” That was met with a rather happy ‘Poyo!’ from Little Kirby, who almost seemed to want to hug him. “Yes…I am glad you were not harmed, Kirby.” That, at least, was a positive in her book.

Their King Dedede had been rip roaring mad, though seemingly unaware of just how his monster had perished, or at whose hands. Luckily for everyone involved, he’d mostly blamed it on, apparently, NME for once- though there were plenty of disparaging remarks towards Kirby to boot. He’d ordered his Waddle Dees to fix up the destruction, while everyone else got some much needed rest.

Tiff, however, had a troubled sleep. Why? She wasn’t sure…though images of bats and blades and Kirby, and cracking the planet ran through her head.

“Wa!” She awoke in a sweat, huffing and puffing a bit. Not the worst night she’d ever had, but certainly not a good one. “Uggghh…”

Her brother at least, was in better spirits, and she quickly decreed today would be, ideally, doing nothing but relaxing around town while King Dedede recovered from his latest monster fiasco.

They, consisting of brother, sister, and Bandana Dee, had just gotten to the town outskirts, about to visit the Kirbies, when something out of the corner of her eye caused her and Tuff to look up. A brilliant light was shining in the sky…like out of nowhere. And it seemed as though it was the source of a loud, warbling noise to boot.

She was forced to shield her eyes briefly from the brightness, but it soon faded- and what she could only describe as a star-shaped hole seemed to swirl into existence. She saw a backdrop of stars like she’d never seen before- but only for a moment, as something then made its way through the portal. “What in Dream Land…?” she whispered to herself.

It was…a flying ship. Not like a spaceship like the Princess had- almost literally as though it should be on the sea, instead of the air. A blue-ish silver color, with one big sail, and six large oars. It was a large thing, though not immense. It seemed to part the clouds and air as smoothly as any water, and the portal closed behind it just as smoothly. For a moment, she was mesmerized at the appearance of it- not blocking and unfitting like most technology she’d seen- and that HAD to be technology, right? But that quickly went away when it seemed to hover in the air silently.

“Aw, man! What’s going on now?” Tuff complained. However, he was soon answered by a giddy laughing Big Kirby, running right for them. She turned to realize, however, that Bandana Dee was just as giddy, racing towards his friend. “What’s happening?!” Tuff half-yelled.

“It’s the Lor!” Kirby cheered. “They found us! THEY FOUND US!”

—-----------------

Big Kirby, Bandana Dee, Great King Dedede, and Winged Meta Knight, who all met upon following the ship on its descent, all confirmed it was the ‘Lor Starcutter’ belonging to one of their friends, Magolor (‘the one with the amusem*nt parks!’ according to Tuff). The ship itself had started moving eventually, and now it had landed in the grass fields just south of town, between the coast and the lighthouse. Judging by the audience gathering, it was clear it’d attracted the attention of more than a few Cappies.

“Okay, everyone, back it up, back it up!” Great King Dedede waved the crowd back, who had clustered around heavily. “This ship’s with us, give it some space!”

A rumbling sounded through the crowd at that, but they did as asked. And just in time, too- what Tiff had presumed to be a window opened up, and from out of it, a long, metallic ramp extended, the opening shining to a point she couldn’t quite see the interior.

For a moment, no one spoke. Everyone waited, some nervously, some eagerly. Tiff was in the former, if she was being honest.

Then, something silhouetted against the light began to make its way down. Two of them, in fact. The first thing she noticed was that they were both floating. In more ways than one. The second was that they looked nothing alike. The smaller one had almost cat-ears. Brown fur- at least she thought it was fur- covered what little of them were exposed, their yellow eyes standing out. It was clad in blue, yellow, and white garments, too, a small cape covering their back, and its ears covered by a similar headpiece.

The other one was, by Tiff’s reckoning, female. She was taller, and had a pale face, and big blue eyes. ‘Is that makeup?’ she wondered, but she wasn’t sure. The alien lady carried herself primly, and what Tiff could make of her outfit told her that this alien considered themselves important, at least. She wasn’t sure what the headwear was for, but really, that wasn’t the strangest thing.

Tuff was the one to voice her thoughts, as he leaned over to whisper to her. “Why don’t either of them have feet? Or like, arms?”

She gave him a pop on HIS arm. “They’re aliens, they don’t have to look like us.”

The blue robed one seemed to close his eyes in a smile. “Well, well! Quite a welcome! Much better than we’d feared, really!” His voice was higher pitched than she’d expected, but still estimable as masculine, if she had to guess. The alien looked squarely at Big Kirby and his friends, who were all front and center. “And I have to say, here I thought we’d have to brave some sort of unknown horrors to get you back! Instead I see you’ve been having yourself a nice little vacation in a seaside village! The nerve!” She wasn’t sure if he was joking or not…

…though Kirby’s smile told her it was likely the former. “Hiiii, Magolor! Thanks for coming to get us! We knew you would!”

He crossed his…hands…in what she guessed was a huff, but it was quickly dismissed. “...really, I suppose I’m just grateful you’re not hurt.”

“Yeah, he had US with him!” Great King Dedede crowed. “So like that was gonna happen.”

“There are a lot of people concerned about your disappearance back home,” the female said. Her voice was a bit high pitched as well, though clearly feminine. “You didn’t even so much as put in time off!” She paused at that. “Although I suppose I must first…apologize… for the incident occurring at all.” Apologize? So SHE was the cause of it?! Tiff resolved to find out more about that ASAP. Although it seemed like it took a bit to get that word out of her…

Kirby just shrugged. “Eh, it was an accident. And honestly? I think it turned out for the better.”

That got Magolor’s attention. “Oh? Howso?”

“Well…” he looked around- and more importantly at Tiff, who blinked back in curiosity. “How about we show you around town- Cappy Town, that is- and we’ll catch you two up to speed?”

“Well! I can’t say I’m not interested!” Magolor seemed quite happy about it. “Susie?”

Susie was…eyeing everyone over, it seemed to Tiff. Carefully looking over the crowd for…some reason, but what, she wasn’t sure. When Susie’s eyes met hers, however? She tilted her head ever so slightly as Tiff met her stare for a few moments.

Then, suddenly, she turned back to Magolor. “I suppose there’s enough time to afford a debriefing on-site. As long as it’s secure.”

“Secure enough,” Great King Dedede said to her. “Don’t worry, Susie, this’ll be worth it.”

She paused, considering that. “...very well, then. I suppose proper introductions are in order, then?”

“Ah!” Magolor jumped. “You’re right. Ahem!” He cleared his throat- and then when he spoke, it was almost like his voice was being said right NEXT to her, causing her- and many others in the crowd- to jump in surprise. “Hello, humble village citizens! I am Magolor! Traveler, Explorer, and Fantastic Magician! A pleasure to meet you, and thank you for keeping my Very Best Friend entertained!” She wasn’t sure how she heard the capital letters, but she did.

The lady next to him sighed, shaking her head slightly, before turning back to the rapt crowd. “Ahem. And I am Susanna Patrya Haltmann." No magic there, just skill at projecting her voice. "Current President and CEO of Haltmann Works Company.” She tilted her head in a smile as well- though hers, Tiff thought, looked more…calculated. “I look forward to learning much about your civilization.”

Tiff…wasn’t sure if she liked that or not. A company? Was it anything like Nightmare Enterprises? But, as she glanced at Big Kirby and his friends, none of them seemed particularly concerned, so…maybe it was just her paranoia?

Either way, it was clear things were changing, and fast. She wasn’t sure if she could adjust quick enough to keep up- but she’d do her best to try!

Chapter 14: Interesting Introductions

Chapter Text

Tiff had made sure to introduce them to the locals, at least in passing, as they made a quick tour of the town. They’d ended said tour at Kirby’s house- largely because Big Kirby wanted to talk to them about the ‘situation’ without any nervous nellies looking in, not to mention catch up in general. Before she was able to join them, however, she’d had to run interference with a number of the curious Cappies that had tailed them- mostly the children. Tuff was doing similar by trying to do a bunch of stunts with Little Kirby. They were…almost working, she figured.

“Relax! It’s not some weird copycat problem,” she reassured a pair of kids. “It’s strange, yes, but I promise you they have our best intentions at heart…I’m pretty sure.” That last bit was mumbled under her breath. It wasn’t Kirby or Dedede she was suspicious of. Or even Meta Knight. No, it was-

“Understood,” came the voice of Susie as they exited the house, much to the relief of Tokkori, who began shouting everyone off. Susie once again glanced at Tiff, but said nothing as she floated past. Tiff couldn’t help a confused look on her face before Magolor’s voice broke through the mental haze.

“We’ll take in the town at our leisure, then!” Magolor said happily. “The little tour from before was nice, but to peruse things myself? It’ll be quite the experience, I think!”

“Awesome,” Big Kirby said, hopping out. “I’ll leave you both to it, then!” With that, he turned to the crowd as Meta Knight burst out, flying off…somewhere. “Okay, everyone, show’s over! You can talk to Susie and Magolor all you want, but PLEASE don’t do it here!” At those words, everyone began to disperse, and soon Tiff and Tuff were left with Big Kirby. “Thanks for keeping them at bay,” he offered.

“It’s no prob!” Tuff said gamely. Little Kirby seemed proud of himself, too.

“I doubt you would’ve been able to talk much with everyone trying to ask you questions,” Tiff said a bit sourly. Not that she could really blame them. “But I guess everything’s alright now?”

“Kinda,” Big Kirby admitted. “We all agree this is worth the attention of the Star Allies. So chances are you’ll be getting some visitors from time to time while we work out something to do about it.”

“Aw, sweet!” Tuff cheered. “So all these other Star Ally folks are gonna show up?”

“Well, not all at once…” Kirby said, looking off into the distance where the Lor was parked. “I mean, our Dream Land is peaceful right now, but you never know. So we don’t want EVERYONE over here at the same time. Chances are they’ll come and go.” He turned his attention to the town itself, where the two newest visitors headed off to. “Mags and Susie will probably stick around for a while- they’re here, so they might as well help get the lay of the land, y’know?”

“Yup,” Great King Dedede said, looking in the same direction. “For anyone who shows up in the future, those two are probably best to tell everyone what to expect coming here. And they’re not gonna be able to really do that without going around town themselves.”

Tiff couldn’t disagree with that…but part of her still couldn’t help but be concerned just a bit. “Alllright. I just hope they don’t cause any trouble by accident.”

Kirby and Dedede looked at each other. Then back to Tiff. “Naaaaah,” they said in unison.

Tiff was about to let out a sigh of relief- before Kirby continued. “If they’re gonna cause trouble, it’s gonna be on purpose.”

“Oh, my? Is that so?” Mayor Blustergas seemed impressed. Magolor had just finished telling him about something rather near and dear to his heart… “What exquisite pieces!”

Magolor nodded as the mayor cooed over his ‘wares’. “Why, yes! My apple gems are quite lovely, aren’t they? Quite valuable, too! Each with little motes of power, if you know what to do with them! But they can be used for a number of things! Energy, construction material…”

“I wonder how they taste!” Kawasaki said, gazing at them. “Can ya eat ‘em?”

“Oh, of course! They're delicious, but very expensive- cultivating these isn't easy, you know!” Magolor immediately informed him, much to Kawasaki’s dismay. “Now, if you want to hear about-”

“I wanna hear about these amusem*nt parks!” A voice came from nowhere. He turned to see one of the little boys- this one he recalled having been closer to Kirby and the others and seemed to be on a first name basis with. He forgot his name, but the kid seemed excited. “Big Kirby said you made amusem*nt parks! Dream Land doesn’t have any of those, but I’ve heard they’re supposed to be cool!”

“Oho? Have you, now?” He laughed a bit- hadn’t expected that. “I suppose I’ll have to thank Kirby for promoting my little hobby while he was away- but yes, I have an amusem*nt part or two. Really, though, they were at first for Kirby- but that mess isn’t interesting. I suppose you’re more interested in what’s available in them?”

“Yeah! Just what can ya DO at an amusem*nt park?” Tuff asked excitedly.

“Why, quite a few things!” Magolor announced grandly. “I’ve not only challenges to test someone’s mettle in combat, I have obstacle courses, games to test your sense of rhythm, your sense aim, cooperative work…quite a few things, indeed! Oh, and food, of course! Can’t have you having fun in an amusem*nt park without a bit of a meal break, naturally.”

He was sure if he could see the kid’s eyes, they’d be shining. “Whooooaaa! How’d you make it all? With your magic? He said you were a cool magician, too!”

“Oh, why yes!” This kid was hanging on his every word! Well, far be it from him to disappoint. “Well, I DO have more than a few magic tricks, and many of them were quite useful in creating my parks.”

“I know magic kinda exists, but I’ve never heard of anyone just DOING it like that,” Tuff noted.

“Oh, for certain!” Magolor agreed. “Magic is a powerful and tricky thing to really learn and utilize. Why, you have to start off with the most basic of spells if you want to be safe, and it’s a slow process. Rewarding, though!” He paused, momentarily, before glancing away for a moment. “Though, er, I would note that power of that sort tends to go to one’s head…if they’re not careful, at least. So be certain you’ve got someone along to pull you back down to earth, hm?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tuff waved away. “Tiff’s always probably gonna be around to talk sense into people, don’t worry.” He paused, that statement running through him again. It was then he realized something. “Say…where’d she go, anyway?”

The answer to that? Behind a building.

Or, more specifically, around the side of the general store. Why?

Susie. She’d been following the newcomer for a while out of a bit of suspicion. She wasn’t sure of what- just one of her gut feelings. ‘I feel bad for spying on one of Big Kirby’s friends, but there’s something about her…’ she thought as she continued to watch the alien woman.

She’d been going around Cappy Town, looking at various buildings, and then pressing at what looked to be some sort of…flat slate thing. Not a remote- though she seemed to press it like a remote, it had a screen on it, like those TVs King Dedede had given out. She knew a few things about technology, but THAT was brand new to her. Nonetheless, she seemed very focused on it, constantly tapping at it, looking at the building, and then tapping at it again. She’d done this with Kawasaki’s, a number of random houses, the police station, and a few others. It wasn’t too hard to guess that she was doing SOME kind of research. ‘Just what is she going to do with it, though?’ Tiff wondered.

Before she could ruminate on it too long, however, Susie began to move. Grimacing, Tiff waited until she was nearly out of sight, before continuing to follow her. She was essentially making a circle through town, it seemed. The question was, what next?

To her surprise, however, she stopped shy of the town square. Tiff was forced to hide behind one of the nearby fence walls suddenly, only peeking out when she heard no more noise. Susie still hadn’t turned around, instead looking left and right for…something. Before Tiff could spend any time on the thought, however, she spoke. “Pardon me, but could you perhaps inform me of a regional expert in the local culture, if there is one?”

Tiff was confused for a moment, before she spoke again. “I’m speaking to you, little girl. The one that’s been following me for the past-” she paused to tap once at something on her slate, “-thirty five minutes. The one with the sharp eyes.”

“Sharp eyes?” Tiff found herself saying without realizing it. But, the jig was clearly up, so she simply stepped out from behind her cover, looking at her outright.

“Yes. When I first arrived here, you were the only one who treated the situation with anything beyond wonder and innocent curiosity.” And now she turned around, and those bright blue, pupil-less eyes were on her. “You had questions. Concerns. You bothered to investigate. I can respect that.”

“I see…” Tiff muttered. “Well, what were you doing all this time?” she asked directly.

“Obtaining examples of common building materials here,” Susie explained casually as she waved her slate in the air. “This tablet can do a number of great things. Most if not all of which I doubt you’ve ever seen or heard of before in your life.” Tiff scowled at that, but Susie kept going, regardless. “It’s no Master Computer, to be sure. Not even close…but it’s what I have to work with.”

Tiff wasn’t sure what the ‘Master Computer’ was, but she wasn’t sure she cared to know. “Why would you want building material examples?”

“For understanding,” Susie explained. “What a civilization uses as its primary building material can tell you a great deal about their history; for example, what technologies they might’ve had at the time, where they might’ve come from upon migration here, or perhaps what was the climate like further back in history. Even things like diet and social organization can be determined by such,” she elaborated.

Huh…Tiff hadn’t thought of that. “Is that so?”

“Just so,” Susie confirmed. “Now, I’ve answered your questions. Would you answer mine?”

“Question?” Tiff asked.

“Could you perhaps inform me of a regional expert in the local culture if one is here?” Susie re-iterated.

Tiff thought about it…but sighed. “Alright. You’re probably going to want to talk to Professor Curio, then. I’ll led you to him, but you better not try anything funny,” she warned as she began to walk.

Susie followed her placidly. “Not to worry, Miss. The only goal of the Haltmann Works Company is to bring happiness to people using the power of science.” She looked rather proud of that mission statement, but…

‘I still don’t think I can trust you,’ Tiff thought as she led her to Professor Curio’s. At the very least, though, she likely wouldn’t do anything overt like King Dedede. That, she felt certain of. ‘So I’ll just have to be extra careful keeping an eye on you.’

Meanwhile, as that was going on, Big Kirby and Little Kirby were having what the former considered a serious discussion. “We need to wean you off that little run up you’re always doing,” Big Kirby said to his counterpart as they stood outside of his home. “I mean, it’s not the worst thing in the world, but learning how to inhale on the spot is gonna be waaay better for you, trust me.”

Little Kirby tilted his head momentarily in confusion, but the idea seemed to sink in, as he soon cheered. “Poyo!”

“That’s the spirit!” Big Kirby agreed. “It’ll especially help you with being able to take off a bit more readily. Don’t wanna jump off a cliff or something and wind up having to run in mid-air before you can actually fly.”

THAT got a more confused reaction than anything else. Kirby, however, thought about it a moment, and came to a bit of a misunderstanding. “Well, I guess it’s barely really ‘flying’, but you know what I mean.” Nope. Little Kirby still didn’t seem to comprehend it.

“The heck are you talkin’ about, BK?” Tokkori asked. That was his name for Big Kirby, and, well, he’d decided he was fine with it. Tokkori was one of those types, and it wasn’t the first nickname he’d gotten. “Our Kirby ain’t a bird- he can’t fly!”

Big Kirby blinked. “You’re kidding me…” Big Kirby said in astonishment. “But…I’ve ALWAYS known how to do that! I mean, heck, I can remember a time when I didn’t know how to copy, but I’ve ALWAYS known how to fly.” To demonstrate, he quickly puffed himself up, flapping to the roof of the house nearer to where Tokkori was watching- now with a gaping beak. Big Kirby let go of the puff of air he was holding- which forced Tokkori to brace himself as he was nearly slammed into the tree back by the sudden, sharp force of the air puff. “Sorry!” Big Kirby quickly apologized. “I don’t often let go without it having to be in an enemy’s face…”

“Well, ain’t that something else?!” Tokkori said in astonishment. “Whodathunk Kirby could just take to the air whenever he pleased? Guess I’m glad he didn’t know about it- he might’ve tried to hog my airspace!”

“Not likely,” Big Kirby said as he looked down at Little Kirby, who was already trying to inhale- and wiggled his arms futilely. It seemed like it was true- the kid DIDN’T know how to fly. Or inhale from a standing start, but the former problem was easily the worse one at the moment. “I think this means that we’re going to have to start from the basics…”

That evening, as everyone either headed back home or settled in (Susie and Magolor using the Lor as their residence for now), Tiff and Tuff came across both Kirby’s seemingly sucking up nothing and hopping around, cheeks full of air.

The looks of confusion on their faces were priceless for Tokkori. “Don’t worry, it’s just a sorta…Kirby game!” he said with a tricky grin on his face as they stared in confusion. “Something you kids don’t gotta worry about- or disturb ‘em. I’ll keep an eye on ‘em, don’t you worry! Kahahahaha!”

They didn’t believe him for a second, but the look of intense concentration on both Kirbies’ faces told them that maybe it WOULD be better to ask about it tomorrow. They’d have plenty of time- they wanted to go check on Whispy soon, anyway.

Unbeknownst to anyone however, that day a plant had bloomed- right under the venerable tree. It looked rather lovely.

Come the morning, while the news of yesterday was still the hot topic, it’d quickly died down. Bandana Dee couldn’t help but notice how things had seemed to get back to normal awful quickly. “Seems like this place acclimates pretty fast. I guess that’s something both Pop Stars have in common,” he mused.

“No kidding,” Great King Dedede said. Bandee had come over after Tiff and Tuff had collected Little Kirby and wandered off to the forest. “I’m wondering how Mags and Susie are gonna find the place. They were all over yesterday.”

“Well, I can’t imagine they won’t be around today, right?” Bandee noted. “Kirby should be available, too, since the kids took Little Kirby to go see their Whispy. Apparently he’d already met them and didn’t want to confuse the tree,” he explained. “Hopefully, they’ll get him up to speed.”

“Well, we’ll leave that to them,” Dedede dismissed. “Right now, we’ve got other things to do. Don’t think any of us has much room to worry about a confused Whispy right now.”

It was around then, that Gooey woke up. Gooey looked around, briefly. For a moment, he’d forgotten where he was. But it was nice…almost as nice as- oh!

He remembered! Fishing! Important thing, fishing. But this wasn’t where fish was. Maybe they were somewhere else.

Maybe…oh. He was inside. He needed to be OUTSIDE to fish. Maybe. Did he?

…he’d go outside, just to be sure. But how did he…? Hmmm…did he come in this way? Over there were a lot of glowing buttons…oh! And that door was glowing, too! Maybe that was the way out…? Yes! It was! Yay!

“Fishing!” And so, out he went.

“...oh. Where’s the water?” Needed water for fish. Maybe… “Oh! Forest. Forest has rivers. Rivers have fish.” And thus with that thorough logic, he decided that was the direction he should go.

A bit later, Tiff was jogging back to town. They’d made the decision to stay with ‘Lovely’, as they’d named the flower that had sprouted beneath Whispy, and to do that, they needed campout supplies. She didn’t have a tent on hand, and that necessitated a trip back to the castle, where she could pull hers out of storage. She had to be quick, though; it was threatening rain.

Which meant she was a bit disgruntled when she nearly ran into and over Susie. “Hey! What are you doing out here?” she asked hotly.

“Observing weather patterns,” Susie said simply. “I’m studying your local ecology to determine the most prolific of your natural resources. Climate strongly relates, you see.” She paused to look around. “You have excellent air and water quality, incidentally.”

“...thanks,” Tiff grudgingly allowed, even if she didn’t like how Susie had phrased that. “But I’ve got to get back to the castle. Speaking of Ecology, I’m trying to keep something safe right now, and-”

“Ah! You’re planning an extended observation, then?” Susie quickly interrupted.

“...you could call it that,” Tiff hazarded. “So, if you don’t mind-”

“I can get you there quicker,” Susie interrupted, holding up something that looked like a remote. She pressed a single button, holding it above her head- and out of it came what looked like a propellor and engine. “My Personal Transporter is more than capable of getting both of us to the castle within moments,” she said.

Tiff squinted her eyes at the offer. That sounded too good to be true, almost. “What’s the catch?” she asked.

“None at all. Consider it me trying to be better,” Susie admitted.

Tiff blinked at that. ‘Right, their Dedede did mention something like that. Hmm…I don’t like it, but maybe…’ “Alright,” she said, holding her hand out. “But-”

Susie grabbed it without delay, and squeezed- something- on the Transporter, and they were off.

Despite Tiff’s near-panicked look at flying so high without any other safety measures, Susie proved good to her word- they were both landed right outside her balcony. It was simple for her to get in, acquire the tent, and leave. Susie even flew her back without much fuss, them landing in nearly the exact same spot they took off at.

As they landed, Susie looked her in the eye. “What did you think of the Transporter?” she asked.

That wasn’t what she was expecting. “Uh…it was fast? Thanks.”

Susie nodded. “Yes, the Haltmann Works Personal Transporter is made to be fast and efficient.” She paused. “Would you buy one if they were on offer?”

Tiff blinked- then groaned. Of COURSE she’d just be trying to sell stuff! “Forget it!” Tiff shouted. “I have to help take care of Lovely!” And with that, she ran back into the woods to meet her brother and Kirby- hopefully those guiding roots were still there…

She glanced back only once- to see Susie looking not at her, but back towards Castle Dedede. ‘There’s WAY too much happening these days- but one thing at a time, Tiff!’

As the rain began to pour down, Tokkori was quick to shut the window to Kirby’s house. It was just him and Big Kirby today- the elder puff deciding a break day from training Little Kirby was in order. He’d been napping all day, and frankly, Tokkori was about to follow his lead. Though he did notice a weird pink and white shape headed for Castle Dedede…

‘Meh. I’ll tell them about it tomorrow. If I remember,' Tokkori thought as he snugged in.

Naturally, come morning, he’d officially forgotten.

Susie, on the other hand, had very much remembered what she’d been told. It was why she was currently watching from a distance, and well in the hallway, away from a certain screen’s viewing range. ‘So that’s the Monster Transporter. And that voice is the sales representative for Nightmare Enterprises.’She had to admit, he had a very impressive sales cadence. Very strong, very self assured. He'd do well in a boardroom, if he wasn't already.

She carefully watched as the plant was placed on the transporter, and…something, she wasn’t sure what…happened to it. It looked roughly the same, to her. Maybe a bit taller, more vibrant, but she wasn’t sure at this range. Nonetheless, King Dedede seemed happy enough. And when the whole works had disappeared…that’s when he turned in her direction, grinning nastily. “Ya see dere? That’s what Nightmare Enterprises is workin’ with! You can’t tell me your lil’ Haltmann Corporation can match that up!”

She decided to not correct him on the name- though it rankled at her. “I DO see. And I can still assure you that Haltmann Works Company is quite capable of providing assistance to you in ways that Nightmare Enterprises will be hard pressed to match.”

“Oh? Issat so?” King Dedede challenged. “You think you can pull off anythin’ close?”

“Especially with your own pink problem watching over your shoulder?” Escargoon challenged. He’d heard the word on the street, and was no fool. “Heck, how do we know you’re not setting us up?”

“You don't," she challenged. "But I'm here because I sensed a business opportunity, and lying to you wouldn't be good business,” Susie offered. “If you don’t believe me yet, that’s fine. But first thing’s first. If we’re going to talk long-term business and financial improvement of the region- and your coffers, then regardless of a partnership or not, it will only benefit you to grant me land to open a Haltmann Works factory here.”

King Dedede grunted. “Yeah, yeah, we’ll talk latah! Right now, I gots to set me up a little trap for those pesky punks. So get outta here!” he dismissed.

It was only her incredible self control that prevented her from scowling. ‘Incredibly rude. Not remotely like the agreeable Dedede I know,’ she complained mentally. ‘But…well, that’s business. Not to mention,’ she considered as she left the throne room, ‘I got some quite valuable information out of this.’

She was already well back into the fields when she noticed the children, racing towards the castle with determined looks on their faces. 'All that for a flower. I just can’t understand it. It’ll die far too quickly, the amounts of water and nutrients are guesses at best…it’s just entirely disorganized, when you get right down to it. It makes no sense to fret about them so much.’ She huffed at the thought that followed it. ‘And yet flowers... nature itself, really, is clearly important to people as more than just resources. Enough to fight for it. So what am I missing?’

Looking down near her extremities, she noticed a pure white flower near her. The petals were uneven, it was half bent over, and she doubted it would last another storm.

But it swayed and lived all the same, the other flowers near it rustling softly in the breeze as well. “...maybe there’s at least a little charm to it,” she mumbled to herself. “In the right amounts.” Shaking her head, she decided to forget the issue right now. Perhaps heading into town would do her well enough. She did mean to try some of this Chef Kawasaki’s food…

By late in the day, Gooey hadn’t found any fish. This had made him sad. “Helloooo? Fish?” he called out. He’d just been stuck in this forest all day. That wasn’t too bad, actually. He liked forests. But still. “I want to eat fish…”

“Who is this?” came a voice, causing him to look around in surprise. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it felt…old. “I do not recognize such a creature as you in my woods.”

“Whispy, you don’t know this thing?” came a much lighter voice. “How interesting!” Soon, faces! And it was then Gooey understood that they were another talking tree! Also a talking flower. That meant they could be friends! “Hallo!” he greeted. “I am…” he paused. Oh, what was it again? Ah! “Gooey! I think. Do you have fish?”

The tree with eyeholes looked at him in surprise. “...I am Whispy Woods, and this is my friend, Lovely. We do not have fish, but if you are hungry, you can have one or two of my apples, if you like.”

Gooey smiled widely at that. “Yay! I like apples!” And with a hop he went up into Whispy’s branches to begin munching on them.

“You remind me much of my friend. He just left,” Whispy exclaimed, “but he likes apples almost as much as you.”

A friend to eat things with? Oh boy! “Ooh! Fish, too?” Gooey asked.

“I’m afraid I’m not sure!” Whispy said with a laugh. “But I believe there is a stream nearby, which has some fish in it. If you wish, you can catch some there.”

“Oh! Okay!” There were fish nearby! Yay! He hopped down and went to wander off (forgetting that Whispy hadn’t given exact directions yet), passing by Lovely…

Only to stop short briefly as…something…made him shake a bit. Something that was a bad feeling.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” Whispy asked, concerned.

“Oh, I think he’s just hungry,” Lovely said, for the first time. Gooey just thought she was quiet. “I can understand.”

Well, he WAS, but that wasn’t it. He turned to the flower. “Are you okay?” he asked simply. The bad feeling was a little familiar. It felt like…

“Hm?” That drew Lovely’s face into confusion. “Why, I’m perfectly fine. Don’t worry about me.”

Gooey…wasn’t sure she was. “Are you sure?” That bad feeling. It almost felt like…when he was bad. But not as bad. That was more bad!

Lovely’s face was starting to frown. “Yes. I’m quite sure with my wonderful Whispy here to help me,” she said, glancing over to the tree, who made as bashful an expression as he could muster.

“Hmmm…” Well, if she said so. “Okay!”

At that, Lovely smiled. “Thank you so much for the care. You can run along-”

And that was when Gooey decided to help her anyway. By sticking a teensy, tiny little bit of himself into the soil where she was planted. “What are you doing?!” Plants needed food, too, right? And maybe the nice little of him would stop the bad little he sensed in his new friend. That’d be nice! Then maybe they could eat together! “Why am I-I…what did you do to meeee?!”

“Little help!” To both of their surprise, he then bounced off, slipping through the roots Whispy called. Maybe he wanted to hold his friend closer and missed? He felt like eating fish. Maybe he’d bring one back?

He liked eating, but he didn’t want a friend to not-eat.

When Tiff, Tuff, and Little Kirby came back that night, all with spades, they weren’t expecting what they saw in front of them. “Oh no!” Tiff said aloud at the sight.

A clearly-monster sized Lovely- who was looking markedly different; she had a number of sprawling green tentacles, and her petals had grown significantly. Her face was different as well- less rounded and more…slanted. Dare Tiff say, even ‘alluring’. The color of it had shifted as well, from a sunny yellow to a light purple. As she turned around, her eyes reflected off the moonlight, and… “Oh. It’s you three.” Her voice was deeper as well, more adult, as opposed to the childish timbre from earlier.

“What did you do to Whispy!” Tiff quickly challenged. They had no weapons, but if Kirby could-

“She has done nothing,” came Whispy’s voice from behind her. “Don’t be mad.”

The kids looked at each other in surprise, before Lovely let out a small ‘hmph’, and seemed to pull away, leaning over to show…

Whispy. Perfectly fine, and looking on in confusion. “What brings you back here?”

“I would like to know that, too…though I can guess,” Lovely admitted. To their surprise, she didn’t sound all that put out about it. “I DID tell you what I was supposed to be doing, Whispy.”

“Hmmm…yes,” Whispy agreed. “If they suspected such, then…”

That froze Tiff for a moment. “Wait…what do you mean ‘supposed’ to be doing?”

“I mean…” Lovely paused, looked almost abashed. “I was supposed to drain Whispy of his energy. Until he shriveled away into nothing. It was a plot by King Dedede and Nightmare Enterprises.”

“I knew it!” Tiff said angrily. “I knew he did something rotten! But…” she paused, looking back up at Lovely. “You aren’t?”

Lovely shook her head. “No. I…well, I’m not sure what happened, but something came by and…did something to me. I don’t know what, but the next thing I knew, I was growing. Big, strong, and…and I didn’t really feel like hurting Whispy anymore. I think…I realized that doing that to a friend would be horrible.”

“Wha…?” Both siblings looked at each other in shock. Kirby was just as baffled.

“It sounds strange, I know,” she admitted. “But I promise you this- I really don’t want to hurt Whispy anymore. Or you three. I remember how Whispy AND you all tried to protect me before King Dedede got his hands on me,” she said with a soft smile. “Thank you for that, really.”

“...huh.” Tiff had to admit, she was a bit flatfooted from this. “Er…alright? I guess?” And then something caught her attention. “Wait, what ‘something’ did this thing to you?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged with her tentacles. “It said its name was…’Gooey’.”

“DOGGONE IT!” King Dedede raged as he watched the tale from his throne, thanks to his spy grasshopper. “You mean ta tell me alla that and suddenly she went an’ grew a conscience?! What the heck coulda done anythin’ against Nightmare Enterprises work?!” He didn’t have video of what it was- the grasshopper hadn’t been sent back there until it’d seen the kids coming back, and obviously by then it was too late.

“I have no clue, sire,” Escargoon started. “But I think it might be a good idea to at least look into that weird lady’s offer. Even if we don’t STOP using Nightmare Enterprises’ services, it might be a good idea to start hedging our bets…” For the snail’s worth, their monsters really hadn’t been cutting the mustard lately. Something had to change.

King Dedede slammed his fist into his armrest. “No kiddin’! You write me up onna those invitational letters soon as ya can an’ send it out to that Sally-girl! I ain’t gonna lose no more chances ta chance! I dunno what the heck a ‘Gooey’ is, but I’mma make sure any I see is getting smashed!”

—-------------------

“Ahhhh…” Susie sighed as she floated back into the Lor. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us,” she said to Magolor, who was floating in behind her.

“Absolutely,” he agreed. “But! It’ll all be for the better. I think this world- this dimension, really- has some positives to it. We might as well seek to utilize them.”

“I’m already hoping to do just that,” Susie agreed. “But for now, rest is the order. It was a fulfilling day.”

“Did you fish, too?”

The voice sent both of them skyward- Susie had one hand on her Transporter, and the other on her Blaster. Magolor had a trio of fireballs ready. But when they saw who it was…

“You!” Susie yelled in frustration.

“Ah.” Magolor simply said as he dematerialized his projectiles. “And unexpectedly, Gooey.”

“When did you-!?” Susie exclaimed. “How did you get here!?”

Gooey paused. “...this is a boat, right?”

Magolor had to put up a force field that night to prevent Susie from attempting to find and strangle Gooey. Gooey simply went to sleep back in the cargo hold.

Chapter 15: Factory Founding

Chapter Text

Today, King Dedede was in a grand mood. That didn’t bode well for anyone, naturally. It’d taken him a day or so to get that formal letter not only written, but delivered and responded to. And by ‘him’, he meant ‘Escargoon’. But, Escargoon worked for him, so same thing. The point being, he’d be able to start his own little plan once she showed up.

It wasn’t long before she did, looking as weird and formal as ever. “King Dedede of Dream Land,” Susie said with a small bow. “It’s an honor to be back here before you.”

“Darn right it is!” he shouted. And ‘cause of my honorable self, I decided that we’s here are gonna talk business like you wanted!”

Susie’s eyes lit up just a bit. “Ah. Then you’ve considered my proposal for a factory here?”

“Sure did!” he said, getting up. “I decided I was gonna make me my own factory! And if’n you’re willin’ to help, you just might get a lil’ piece of it! Aheheheheheh!”

Susie said nothing. In fact, Susie wasn’t sure that thinking would be very safe right now. No, Susie just stayed very, very still as the response settled in her.

Escargoon took over the explanations; he’d clearly mistaken her silence for curiosity. “Y’see, your fancy Haltmann doodads are gonna be our factory’s focus. You’ll get a cut of everything we make, see? Even jotted it all down for ya!” Escargoon smugly handed over a sheet of paper; Susie presumed it was a preliminary contract, but…ugh. It was incredibly basic, and these terms were absolutely disgusting. She was somewhat loath to even read through it.

However…as she continued to do so, a bulb went off in her head as she read one particular clause. If she was able to tweak this right, then…! ‘I might well come out VERY ahead.’ With that in mind, she turned to the monarch and his henchman, waiting smugly on her response. “Perhaps I might be amenable to this- if you don’t mind a few small, inconsequential alterations…”

“What? We’re givin’ you a solid point-ten percent!” Escargoon said arrogantly. “You’ll be rolling in it before long!”

‘Rolling in a grave, perhaps,' Susie mentally rejoindered. No self-respecting businessperson would subject themselves to such idiocy and minor payment. “Just a few small clarifications to some aspects, really.”

“Tch, fine. People always haveta read the fine print.” Escargoon groused as he forked over a pen.

“Excellent. I have every confidence this will turn out fantastically,” Susie reassured them. With that, she began marking a few things. ‘I hope they’re as naive about contract language as they seem to be.’

Only a few minutes later, Susie walked out of the throne room quite happily, with King Dedede and Escargoon giving her a bit of a stinkeye on her way out. “Can’t believe that stuffy stuffed shirt,” Dedede groused. “I give her the deal of a lifetime and she wants to quibble about words!”

“Oh, it’s no big deal,” Escargood dismissed. “Not like she changed anything major, as far as I can tell, so we can still go about our business of setting up a business! Now, what’s next on the agenda?”

THAT was answered by the Monster Transporter beginning to act up…and one by one, it seemed like a bunch of parts and junk seemed to form, forcing him and Escargoon to back up as the pile began to dwarf them in size. “What’s this jumbo sized junk heap doin’ here!?” Dedede asked the smiling Sales Guy.

The Sales Guy simply smiled, and began to remind the King of his recent purchase- and intentions. He had to make good on this one, after all…

As she left, Susie allowed herself a small hum of contentment, which shortly turned into a tuneless ditty. That had actually gone better than she’d hoped! ‘He’s really not that intelligent,’ she said to herself. ‘And the snail isn’t much better, though he at least has SOME brains.’ Still, nothing that experience couldn’t defeat, and they’d signed on the line, and she’d photographed a copy. Now, she pretty much just had to wait. Hopefully results would show sooner than later, but ultimately, she had time.

Unlike the other day, however, she was so pleased with her dealings that she failed to notice a certain set of sharp eyes watching her leave from higher up on the castle balcony. Tiff had merely walked out before breakfast for a bit of fresh air, but it seemed like she was lucky to do so. ‘Hmm…what’s she doing coming from here? She never told us she was visiting…’ “Hey, Bandee?” she called in.

“Yuh-huh?” He asked from the kitchen.

Tiff paused for a moment to figure out how to phrase it. “Was Susie or anyone else planning on coming to the castle that you know about?”

“Nope!” he called back. “Why?”

She paused, looking back out. For a moment, she considered telling Bandee- it’d probably be the better option, and he could confront her about it. Then again…she had their trust. She might just fib about it, and there was honestly no proof it was anything nefarious. Maybe better to not raise the alarm just yet. “...just wondering, since they haven’t yet,” she responded, now with a frown on her face. Even she didn’t buy her own thoughts. So, she’d been meeting King Dedede in secret, and that was all? Unlikely. ‘Alright, you’re up to something…but what?’

She later found out, when she noticed the massive clearing that King Dedede had ordered his Waddle Dees to make. And she wasn’t the only one- a good number of Cappies had gathered to investigate as well. There were a number of building materials, crates, and more. Bandee had remained behind as well, but had promised to show up once he’d finished helping her Dad. Goodness knows he needed it.

“Dedede’s building something pretty big…” one of the Cappies remarked.

“From the sign and the looks of all that heavy equipment, it’s gotta be some kinda factory,” Tiff surmised.

That seemed to be the case, though not everyone realized it. “So…what IS a factory, Tiff?” one of the elder Cappies asked.

“That word sounds familiar…” Kawasaki said, thinking about it. “Wasn’t it about buildin’ stuff?”

“Yup,” Tiff confirmed. “He’s going to be building things here, looks like.”

“You don’t say?” Mayor Blustergas cheered. “That sounds like good news to me!”

“Maybe,” Chief Bookem said with a huff. “But I’d like to know just WHAT they’re building.”

“I believe I can answer that,” came a smooth, feminine voice from behind them. The crowd parted to reveal Susie, standing behind the lot of them, hands behind her back in a formal position as she walked- or rather floated- through the crowd. Soon, she was in front of all of them, bowing gracefully. “Greetings, to all you s- locals here. I’m sure you’re ALL rather curious as to the reason for this construction. Ultimately, this factory is intended to be but the first step on a great road. A road to happiness and better living!” she announced.

“Susie? So you’re involved in this?!” Tiff half-yelled. Susie turned to her briefly, but said nothing. It was just then that they all heard the roar of wheels as King Dedede drove up in his jeep.

While Tiff was trying to puzzle out the reason for this, Dedede grabbed a megaphone. “You heard the lady! Thanks to me, Cappy Town’s finally gonna join up with the Industrial Revolution!” Tiff swore she saw Susie flinch at the brazen statement, but she said nothing otherwise.

Escargoon wasn’t going to let an opportunity to talk go, either. “That’s right! Get ready to ditch your darning needles, get your heads out of your butter churns, and say ‘howdy-do’ to a bright new era!”

No, yeah, mouth or not, that was definitely a look of annoyance on Susie’s face- but it passed quickly as she cleared her throat. “Ahem. You see, the King here and Haltmann Works Company have entered into a business agreement. With your support, we can change this planet for the better, for the more efficient and prosperous! And doing such starts here.”

King Dedede was quick to take over. “So when tomorrow morning comes and you hear that siren sound? You mosey on down here and get ready to get in on the ground floor of a shiny new future!” To Tiff’s concern, the pitch actually seemed to interest more than a few Cappies, even hearing Chief Bookem say that it sounded ‘interesting’. This…what was this?

Escargoon pointed over to a nearby table full of folded clothes. “Those are your new uniforms. Take ‘em- and remember to put on undergarments!”

Tiff was not happy about this. “Just…why?”

“For th’ sake of progress, of course!” Dedede crowed.

“And what do we do if we put ‘em on?” Tuff asked.

“You’ll be recognized as factory employees- and as such will be eligible for daily perks, provided your output at the factory is sufficient,” Susie claimed.

“Like free household appliances!” Dedede advertised. A few confused looks met him, not that he cared.

“Indeed,” Susie said, closing her eyes briefly. “The goods here will be officially of Haltmann Works Company branding. You’ll have access to rewards such as washing machines, automatic cooling units, self-cleaning microwaves, and other simple, but valuable labor-saving devices. All, of course, with guaranteed Haltmann Quality- assured by yourselves.” THAT seemed to get the masses murmuring. Several of those, either none of the Cappies had, or very few.

“When will the factory be finished?” one of the Cappies asked. Tiff wanted to glare at him, but it wouldn’t do anything at this point.

Dedede and Escargoon both had matching fake grins. “Why, first thing tomorrow morning! See ya there, folks!” With that, the terrible twosome drove off, laughing all the while.

Susie, the last remaining, simply turned back to the audience and bowed. “I thank you all for your time today. Farewell.” And with a button, she summoned her Personal Transporter, and had taken off. Not in the same direction, but further afield…

Tiff watched her go, scowling. “I don’t trust them, Kirby.” Little Kirby, who had stood silent the whole while, simply looked on in surprise.

“Aw, don’t be such a spoilsport, Tiff,” Tuff dismissed. “This factory thing kinda sounds like fun! Besides, one of the Star Allies is backing it. It’s gotta be a good thing!”

Tiff just again looked in the direction of the long-retreated Susie briefly, before yanking a shirt from Kirby. “We’ll see about that.” She would have to do some investigation, it seemed…

Susie landed in a patch of green; the area where the factory would be was just a speck in the distance, and the town not much more visible. It was far enough out to be suitable for her purposes. “Let’s see…” she squared out an area with her hands, then brought her tablet up to bear, lining up the camera function. “With these dimensions…that area…hm.” She tapped a few things on her tablet, bringing up a few things she’d been planning out. “Ah. I see. Hm.” Her eyes briefly unfocused as she imagined just what would be there in due time… ‘I really DO hope this is all worthwhile in the end. That oaf is quite the unsuitable business partner. But, he’s the only one that can facilitate this right now…so I’ll have to make use of him well.’

She honestly doubted she’d get more than one shot at this- in more ways than one.

The rest of Tiff’s day was trying to find the rest of the Star Allies, in the hopes that they might be able to answer a few questions about Susie- but to her surprise, none of them were present. And for that matter? Neither was the Lor Starcutter. For a moment, she was panicking, before she made it back to Kirby’s house. Big Kirby had left a note, apparently, and Tokkori had never bothered to deliver it, which earned him a good scolding.

‘Tiff, Tuff, Bandee-

We decided to let everyone know I was okay, so I’m headed back to my dimension for a little bit. We’re just touching base with a few people and getting some official Star Allies stuff set up to help everyone, so be back in just a bit! Bandee, keep an eye on things (and Susie) while we’re gone!

-Love, Kirby’

“Ohhh, darn it!” Tiff swore. Of all the times…well, she’d have to deal with this herself.

“Hey now…” Bandee tried to calm her down. “Don’t get me wrong, Susie’s…well, she’s got goals, sure, but I’m pretty sure she’s not AS bad about it these days. If she’s doing something, here, she’s got a reason.”

“Are you sure about that?” Tiff asked, eyeing him carefully.

“Uh…um…” Bandee shifted his eyes anywhere but her as he strove to answer. “Mostly? Kinda?”

“Not good enough,” she refused. That settled it. She’d be visiting this factory tomorrow as well.

When she woke up, however… ‘That’s a LOT bigger than I was expecting!’

The place was massive- large spires and numerous side buildings, all with a large fence. It stretched back aways, too; it didn’t encroach on anyone’s yards, but it looked a bit of a near thing. But that wasn’t the thing that worried her the most. No, that was the massive, wicked plumes of smoke that were rising from the smokestacks towering above it. It all looked…menacing. At least, to her.

“Is it a smoke factory?” Lady Like asked, having joined her daughter on the balcony with the rest of the family.

“I don’t think so, my dear,” Sir Ebrum responded dryly.

“That’s bigger than I expected,” Bandee admitted, squinting his eyes. “How’d King Dedede manage to build that in one night?”

“It’s totally awesome!” Tuff cheered. “Isn’t it?”

“Considering Dedede’s involved, I bet it’s totally awful,” she retorted. Star Ally involved or no, nothing like that could mean anything good. Before she could explain any further, the lot of them jumped at a loud, wailing siren that emanated from the area. ‘That must be the signal,’ she thought. ‘Just how many are really going to go for this?’

That was quickly answered by Tuff racing out of the house. “I gotta get down there!”

Tiff grimaced slightly, but it only took a few moments to follow behind, Bandana Dee following closely.

As she got closer, she slowed to a walk, panting lightly. She could rarely ever keep up with Tuff when he was going full bore like this- he was the athletic one, not her- not that she couldn’t hold her own at times, but she was more a thinker than a fighter. “I can’t believe this…” she mumbled to herself.

“People like free stuff,” Bandee remarked simply. He hadn’t even looked sweaty. “And with your King promising a lot of free stuff, plus the fact that Susie’s backing it, it makes sense that they’d be interested.”

“But I can’t help but feel like something’s horribly wrong, here…” she lamented.

“W-Well, I’m not gonna say I’m not getting some bad feelings myself,” Bandee admitted. “But I’m not sure what to do about it quite now. I mean, so far it’s just…a factory. And it’s not like- well, they’re not being forced to help, right?” He shrugged.

“That doesn’t mean they know what’s happening, though!” Tiff argued. “That’s why we have to convince them to quit!”

“Hmmm…well, I guess you have a point,” Bandee admitted. “I guess I’m just wondering what Susie’s angle is in all this. I-I know what she’s about,” he said nervously, “But I was hoping that she’d be good enough now to tell us about this sort of thing in advance.”

Tiff glanced at him at that. “What do you mean?”

That caused Bandee to startle a bit. “Oh! Right, uh…you don’t know.”

“Your King Dedede said she tried something bad when she first got there,” Tiff noted. “But that she was trying to make up for it. What DID she try to do?”

“Weeelll…” Bandee rubbed the back of his head. “It’s kinda hard to explain, buuuut…she kinda wanted to mechanize the planet.”

“MECHANIZE THE PLANET?!” Tiff shouted in alarm. That wasn’t ‘bad’, that was ‘horrifying’! "Why would she want to do that?! How did they-”

“Well, hold on!” Bandee quickly interrupted her train of thought, literally jumping to get her attention. “I mean, a LOT went down during that whole fiasco. And I mean a LOT. And…well, Susie was a bad person, I won’t lie to you. But, uh…a lot of what went down affected HER, too. It…it got pretty bad.” He said, sorrowfully. “Well, no, not ‘pretty’ bad. Just…horrible.” His voice was truly somber, and Tiff couldn’t stop herself from calming down at the moroseness she heard. “I mean, what she was helping in was atrocious, no doubt about it. And I wasn’t there when it all ended, but…according to Kirby at least? Whatever he did to stop it all and change it back? He didn’t like it. He said later that he ‘never wanted to do anything like that to anyone ever again’.”

Tiff blinked in surprise. That kind of regret? Just what had gone down to cause such a reaction to someone who was clearly used to fighting powerful beings and coming out on top? Tiff was intensely curious…but a strong part of her felt like she really, really didn’t want to know. “So…if it was that bad, then how is she…?” Tiff trailed off.

“Part of the Star Allies?” Bandee finished. “Regret, I think. She came to us, actually. Apologized and everything, and said she wanted to help. They way she put it was that she’d ‘heavily adjusted her business plans due to feedback’, which I think is Susie-speak for ‘had a long cry and thought about it really hard.’ ” He sighed. “...I don’t think Kirby had it in him to say no even if he wanted to. And she did REALLY helped during the last crisis,” Bandee pointed out. “She doesn’t look it, but Susie’s not just smart. She was a cornerstone of a lot of desperate fights back then. Even so, I think…I think a lot of this is trying to prove something to herself as much as anything else.”

Tiff paused at that, taking it all in. ‘It sounds like Susie’s had it pretty rough…’ “But it doesn’t excuse her if she’s up to anything shifty,” she said.

“No, it doesn’t,” Bandee admits. “Even Meta Knight is still wary around her. But…well, I just want to trust her. For now.”

“Well…I get that,” Tiff said, not slowing down any more than she already was. “But-”

“I-I don’t mean you have to,” Bandee said quickly. “But I’ve been through enough with her that I, uh…kinda want to.” There was silence for a bit, as they drew closer. The place really did seem wretched. “B-but maybe it’s a good thing you’re worried! Means if- if something bad IS happening, you’ll be able to see it faster!”

Part of her thought that that was just his way of trying to not offend, but she accepted it as they stepped up to the gates. “...right. Thanks. Y’know, you don’t have to follow me in if you don’t want to. Hopefully, I won’t be long anyway.”

“Alright,” Bandee said, accepting it. “It might be a good idea for me to look around the outside, anyway…” He wasn’t scared about going in- but the place WAS surprisingly big…

“Don’t worry. I’ll get them all out of there even if I have to DRAG them out!” Tiff said assuredly, before she charged in.

Atop a forested hill, Susie watched. Normally, she would be on the ground floor of things. Making certain that all workers involved were at optimum performance. That all systems were functioning at peak efficiency. Making plans, drawing up performance analysis from a comfortable cubicle in a perfectly cultivated office space…but this? This had no true office. Save for King Dedede’s. It seemed as though as phenomenally quick as his Dees were, he had no real intention of letting her assume a visible position of leadership. He’d accepted the engineering blueprints for the Haltmann Works tools and appliances, and all but dismissed her.

Normally, she’d have raised quite a ruckus over that. But in this case…she’d deal with it, for now. It certainly wasn’t the type of factory design she preferred, anyway. ‘It’s wasteful. Inefficient. Completely ruins the quality of the local natural resources. A sorry excuse for a factory. The Haltmann-type factory layout would’ve been far preferable to this.’ She allowed herself a sigh. ‘And yet, for the time being, it’s sadly necessary to start getting SOMETHING off the ground.’ Once she could return to her dimension and pick up a few things, she’d be in a much better position. But for now? This. She looked to the sky, where the purple-black smog was beginning to blanket the sky entirely, preventing her from seeing the sun, and forcing a small cough out of her.

"…Disgusting."

Chapter 16: Factory Inspection

Chapter Text

She’d tried everything she could think of. Spent at least a couple of hours in the factory, trying to yell, use logic, emotional pleas, everything. And as she stood outside of the factory, Tiff had to admit, she’d never been at such a loss before.

That didn’t stop her from being angry about it, even if she wasn’t in the mood to express it. ‘They’ve all been tricked into slaving away, tightening bolts and placing gears- and what’s worse, they seem to LIKE it…’ Even her brother had seemed to ignore any and all concerns she’d brought up. Granted, that wasn’t exactly strange for him, but it was HOW he went about it. Normally he’d be confrontational, not dismissive. The rest of them were just as bad- blank eyes, half-lidded stares, and endless focus on these ‘assembly lines’ that Escargoon was watching over with a cruel and careful eye. Only Kirby had managed to shake off the allure of the factory, and that had only been by grace of him accidentally getting involved in an accident. That had been enough to convince him to stay with her, and she was grateful for it, but…it was still only one person out of the majority of the town. And at the end of the day? “...I guess we can’t make them listen if they really don’t want to…” she murmured half-heartedly. Kirby, who’d followed her out, made a small sound of agreement, though he didn’t sound thrilled about it, either. This would require some other tactic. “I need to think about this. And- where’s Bandee?”

She looked around, but he was nowhere to be found. Thinking on it, he’d said he was going to investigate the surroundings, but he’d never exactly said how…and her going back in there would be…well, not great, considering they’d practically yelled her out. She’d just have to wait, it seemed. That, or he was already elsewhere. “Maybe we should wait around town…”

Kirby made a sound of agreement, though he clearly wasn’t as enthusiastic.

Some time later, she found herself sitting beneath the tree in the center of town. And she didn’t like it. “It’s too quiet…” she whispered to herself. Kirby had went and fallen asleep, and she envied him. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to do the same so easily. And while she valued her quiet time, for the moment, she wasn’t comfortable at all. She looked up at the sky- only to frown as she noticed the putrid purple cloud cover. She wasn’t even sure how late it was, now. “That can’t be good,” she said- and that seemed to jar Kirby awake, the puff making soft coos as he woke up. “Sorry, Kirby. Guess I’m letting my thoughts get away from me,” she admitted. Kirby merely gave her a pat of comfort, which she leaned into. It felt like nothing else was as comfortable these days. “C’mon, Kirby. Let’s go home,” she finally said. It felt like she was surrendering, if only for the day.

It was then, however, that another siren began to blare, and not long after, she began to see people walking back into town. Confused, she stood up, and that was when she noticed that no one that’d come out of that place did so empty handed. Many of them had different devices and gadgets; several had boxes, either with a stylized ‘H’ on the sides, or King Dedede’s emblem on them. ‘That must be the Haltmann Company logo,’ she figured as the citizens went on discussing their new rewards.

“I can’t believe they’re giving these away for free!” the barkeep said. “I’ve never much used a coffee maker before!”

“Hey, I got me a washing machine!” Chief Bookem said. He was pushing it on a dolly, and it DID seem to need it- though she grimaced at the Haltmann logo on it. “This’ll save the missus a TON of laundry work!”

“Not as much work as my toaster oven and juicers are gonna!” Kawasaki cheered.

Everyone else she passed seemed to share similar sentiments, which grated at her. “But are you really okay with spending all day in that awful place to get it?” she asked them- to no answer. It hadn’t exactly been ‘comfortable’, by her reckoning. No breaks, no place to sit, hardly any real circulation (though she spotted Escargoon popping in and out of a room she never was able to get near, which made her suspect)...it seemed horrible.

Not that Tuff seemed to notice his sweat or shaking limbs as he pushed a dolly along. “Hey, check this stuff out!” he called to her. One of them seemed to be some sort of standing cylindrical tube with pockmarks, a bit taller than him even. The other was a large, much flatter device with a weird bulb on top. “Wait’ll you get home- mom and dad are gonna be psyched for these!”

“What even ARE they?” she asked in confusion. Regardless, she went over to help push them home- Bandee would have to wait, for now. Manipulated or not, she wasn’t going to leave her clearly struggling brother to do that alone.

“You’ll see!” he teased. At least he seemed mostly back to normal now that he was out of there. Maybe she could get through to him later…

As she helped with the labor, she felt eyes on her. She glanced to her right- past Tuff, into the distance.

And a pair of blue, pupil-less eyes looked back near a hill.

Tiff almost wanted to yell, to say SOMETHING…but she was mentally feeling too drained, not to mention busy. She just settled on a scowl for now. ‘I hope you’re happy. So much for an ally to the town…this ‘improvement’ isn’t worth it at all.’

To her surprise, almost as if Susie had heard her thoughts, she turned away- looking towards the factory. Tiff put it out of her mind for the time being- there was still a ways to go.

Later on at home, after the sun had set, she learned that the cylindrical device was apparently some type of advanced cooling fan- whatever it did, it’d sent the temperature down in their quarters to something much more comfortable than the last few days had been. “Mmmm…I must say, this is rather refreshing,” Sir Ebrum said. “That pesky heat issue we run into now and again might be well and truly solved with this!”

“Yeah!” Tuff agreed. “Turns out they’ve got some super-cool stuff being made in there! We don’t handle all of it, just some parts, though.”

Tiff hated to admit it, but it WAS a lot more comfortable. Still, that didn’t change the facts. “The working conditions are absolutely horrible though, dad. We’ve got to do something about it!”

“Horrible?” Ebrum asked in surprise. “Your brother was just telling us about the wonderful time he had there today.”

“Well, yeah, but he’s like…brainwashed, or something.” It hurt to say out loud, but it was what she felt.

Not that her parents believed her, judging by the look they both gave. “Well, if he was, that’s at least something washed, hm?” She tittered, ruffling her son’s hair as he gave a slight ‘hey’ of discontent at the burn. Not that he was actually offended. “But speaking of cleaning, look at this!” She pressed a button on a small remote she had- and the little circular thing beeped, moving on its own- or no. Lady Like seemed to be directing it, almost using the small controller like a wand. “How quick and fun it is! If this is what housework is like, I’ll have to do more once in a while!”

Tiff started to remark on that- before, to her surprise, she heard another siren. She could barely believe it, looking out the window. “Again…?” she asked in astonishment.

The lot of them wandered to the balcony, to see that yes, the smoke was going, and the lights were on at the factory. “It’s still smoking…” Lady Like said with a bit of sadness in her voice.

“Must be the night shift,” Tuff answered casually. “They’re keeping the factory going around the clock so they can keep making cool stuff.”

“Nighttime, too?” Tiff said in shock. “That’s just…” Too much. “I have to get down there!” It was starting to rain, but that wouldn’t stop her.

“W-what are you doing?” Tuff said in surprise as he followed.

“I don’t know!” she admitted as she grabbed a small megaphone- it was mostly for her teaching attempts, but it’d have to do. “Something!”

‘Something’ turned out to be ‘get hit by produce after trying to convince them to demand better working conditions.’ “I can’t believe this…” she muttered. Tiff, after making sure she was alright, had headed into the factory himself- ostensibly to ‘make sure they apologize later’, according to him. She wasn’t sure how much of that was true and how much was just him wanting more stuff.

“Oh, it seems believable to me,” an older voice said sadly.

“Professor Curio!” He WAS always one of the smarter Cappies around- and it was clear that he hadn’t gotten swept up in the factory-mania like everyone else. “You know what I’m trying to do here, right?”

He nodded. “Quite. But at this point, I’d say this method is pointless. Now, make no mistake, you have excellent concerns,” he said, forestalling her complaints. “However, telling the truth can be quite the lonely business- especially when no one really cares for hearing it.”

Tiff felt like words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat. “That…that isn’t- that couldn’t…”

“That’s not to say you can’t convince them,” he continued on, causing her to pause. “But merely saying so isn’t going to cut it. You’ll need to think of something else.”

“But…how?” she asked in desperation.

“You’ll think of a way,” he said comfortingly. “You’re a rather smart girl. For right now…I’d say I’m more concerned about this rain.” The both of them looked down…and indeed, the rain wasn’t clear, like normal. It was black, oily…almost sludge. ‘What in Dream Land…’

Professor Curio was right. She’d probably be better off solving THIS mystery first. At least she wouldn’t get pelted for it.

Bandana Dee wasn’t surprised that Tiff had bailed. After he’d managed to get himself accidentally lost in the place, he’d kinda expected it. Really, that grate hadn’t been secure at ALL. And now he was struggling to find a way out. There were a LOT of twists and turns here- more than he’d expected, but- wait. ‘A light! Finally!’ He was sick and tired of crawling around in darkness.

He continued on, certain of his direction now, but still being careful about his steps as the minutes ticked by. He knew that where he was wasn’t meant to be accessed by people- but it was still big enough for a Dee to waddle through. ‘Heh, that’s actually kinda funny.’

It was light humor (ha! Another one!) but it helped keep his mind clear until he reached the end- it’d opened out, at last! Seemed like it was a ventilation grate. And though he was hot and sweat, he’d endured far worse before. ‘Alright, time to get out of here, and- whoa.’

That last bit was due to what he’d witnessed. It was a massive hangar-like area- and it seemed like a lot of heavy-duty construction was going around. This…well, this seemed out of the ordinary. Just what was going on here?

“...type should be complete,” came a voice that he was well familiar with now. “That dressed-up dame is clueless, and we’ve got cameras all around to warn us if she’s getting too nosy,” Escargoon said. “By the time she realizes the score, she’ll have lost the game!”

“Great! Not much longah and my best plan evah’s nearly finished!” King Dedede crowed. “Those Kirbeh’s won’t know what hit ‘em!”

‘So…he’s trying to make something under everyone’s noses?’ Bandee surmised. He then scowled, and settled in for a bit of a stakeout. ‘With everyone gone for now…probably better for me to keep an eye on this.’ He was strong, but steel? Not really spear-able. Still, he would make sure he noticed as much about whatever weaknesses this robot had as possible.

…not like he could just get out without being spotted, anyway.

It was late- too late at night, really. But she’d burnt the midnight oil on research before, and she strongly doubted tonight would be the last. Her chemistry tools were mostly amateur, but for something as simple as separating chemical substances from water, they’d do the job here. Truthfully, Tiff almost felt more at ease watching the solutions do their thing. Boil, separate, distill…science done properly, in its own way, was the truth as well. Something she could see and confirm with her own eyes without any garnishment. It was…reassuring.

Although perhaps not quite this moment, as one of her solutions finally resolved, the ichor that she had confirmed floating down and turning a deep red. That was the unfortunate proof that she needed. Red meant sulphuric acid. Red meant… “That smoke from the factory is affecting the rainwater. And-” she hitched briefly as she noticed the red ichor solution seemed to spread- rapidly. It was practically an infection, not a normal process. “And it’s doing it quickly…something’s really wrong here!”

She’d need to collect more samples- and maybe find Bandee, wherever he was. She looked outside one more time-

-and gasped, before grabbing a poncho and darting out. “Impossible!”

She hardly needed to set food very far outside the castle. The devastation was obvious, and after cresting one hill, it was so thorough she only stop and stare in horror.

The trees were practically sizzling, their leaves nearly burnt off entirely, the ground itself was turning brown and deserted…even for pollutants, this was fast. Too fast. And it was spreading as far as the eye could see. What of Whispy? What of Lovely, who’d just started to live there? What of everything else?

She quite nearly fell to her knees as she turned away- but she saw a sight that prevented it.

Meta Knight. And he was talking with Susie.

Tiff frowned, before sprinting for the both of them. It was high time she did the same.

As she got closer, she noticed that Susie was gesturing rather sharply. Meta Knight seemed undaunted, but merely motioned to the area with his free hand, his spare on his sword. Susie shook her head, and it was only now that she could begin to hear what was being said. “...short-sighted idiocy was entirely his own!” she said hotly.

“I am aware,” Meta Knight said simply. “This would have happened with or without your assistance. My question is, what exactly is the purpose of it?”

“I couldn’t say,” Susie said angrily. “King Dedede’s kept me out of the loop, and just walking in is met with resistance. I don’t want to hurt anyone unnecessarily.” That threw Tiff for a bit- not that it slowed her down.

Before Meta Knight could respond, however, the both of them startled, turning to her. He spoke first. “...we will continue this conversation later.”

Susie stiffened…and then sighed, nodding in resignation. “I suppose it wouldn’t be the first time…”

Meta Knight looked askance at her at that, but nodded, before turning his attention to the new arrival. “Tiff. I take it you have realized the situation that has occurred here.”

“Yeah. The water’s polluted, and it’s destroying all the plants! Everything’s…dying away…” she finished in a small voice. “And I don’t know if I can get the Cappies to realize it in time.”

“This is being caused by acid rain, made from the fumes of the factory,” Meta Knight explained. He paused. "Perhaps something more, in fact." Tiff wasn't sure what he meant by that, but it sounded ominous.

“If you didn't know, acid rain's a rather bothersome side effect of early and inefficient fuel consumption and waste removal, wherein the chemicals contaminate the atmosphere.” Susie stated. “Haltmann Works generally makes every effort to AVOID this exact issue. It creates far too many problems and it signifies sloppy work, besides.”

Tiff wanted to snap at her for that- ‘So you just want to turn it all into machines faster?!’ but she just as quickly realized that no…that wouldn’t help anyone right now. However, judging by Susie’s tilted head, the glare Tiff gave her- and Meta Knight- wasn’t missed. And there was SOMETHING she wanted to take them to task for. “So you BOTH knew- and didn’t tell anyone!?”

Susie shook her head. "It's been so long since it was an issue for me- the consequence didn't enter my head until I felt the rain myself."

Meta Knight simply stared her down. “Sometimes the best way to learn a lesson? Is the hard way.”

It was times like these that Tiff was reminded- for as nice as Meta Knight could be? He wasn’t a native. He was a traveler, here on an extended stay. He had no real loyalty to his ‘King’, let alone Pop Star, save for as a general defender as befitted a Star Warrior. He’d probably seen dozens, hundreds of planets fall to the same problem as this…and was likely deadened to the emotions it wrought, or very nearly so.

It was with this in mind that she forced herself to dismiss his seeming callousness, and return to the topic at hand. “We’ve gotta find a way to shut down that factory!” But she paused, considering the LAST time she’d tried to. “...not that anyone will probably care, so long as they get their free appliances.” She said that with a glance towards Susie, intended to be incriminating- which is why she was surprised when Susie floated forwards.

“I agree wholeheartedly,” she said, much to Tiff’s surprise. “This ‘partnership’ venture has proven almost entirely a massive flop out of the gate. Which means I’m looking to dissolve it.”

Meta Knight nodded at her proclamation as he stepped forward. “Tiff, I have learned that there is something in that factory,” Meta Knight said seriously. “They are not making only what they SAY they are making.”

“Meta Knight and I were actually talking about that just now,” Susie explained. “As you might have overheard, I am consistently turned away whenever I seek to investigate. I could make it in by force, but I suspect I’d be quickly vilified by all other parties present- and that’d affect the standing of the Star Allies severely. Unfortunately, that’s a PR hit I can’t afford to take,” she apologized. “So the question is, ‘how do we find out what King Dedede is building against terms?’ I SHOULD know every device they’re crafting in there- but if they’re doing something I don’t know about, that’s a different story.”

“Hmmm…” Tiff paused, then blinked. “I think I could get in.”

“Could you?” Meta Knight asked. “I’m sure they might be suspicious of you by now.”

“Suspicious, but they really don’t think much of me, either,” Tiff bit out. It pained her to admit, but it would come in handy, here. “If I can convince them I just want to be one of the workers now, I can snoop around and see what they’re hiding. And I think I can do just that!”

Both Meta Knight and Susie looked at one another briefly. An unspoken message passed between them, before Susie turned back to her. “Very well. Here.” And to Tiff’s surprise, she detached one of the magenta buttons on her cuffs, then turned it around to show another stylized ‘H’ on it. “This is a ‘panic call button’. This button links DIRECTLY to me. Once you find whatever it is they’re building, if it seems dangerous, press this button for three seconds.”

“What for?” she asked.

“Insurance,” Susie cryptically replied.

Tiff only looked at her strangely for a moment, but she gave a huff, and snatched the button from her. “This better not make things worse.”

“It won’t,” she reassured. “In fact, it should help solve the problem quite thoroughly. But ONLY press it when you’ve found the offending project, alright?”

“Alright, alright,” Tiff said, waving her off. She was getting tired of this rain already, but it was, at the very least, slackening up for now. “Lemme go get changed.”

Susie nodded. “Good luck, Sharp Eyes.” Tiff didn’t like that nickname.

Later, she was ‘dressed’, the button was safely stowed in her hairband, and it was time to test her acting chops. Her first issue was the guard- namely, Captain Doo. She’d gotten a bit of a ‘bonus’ problem in that he’d been talking to Escargoon, so the both of them were quick to notice her. “So, the trouble-maker’s back, eh?” the Doo said roughly.

“You ain’t here to rouse more rabble, are ya?” Escargoon snarked. He was really giving her the stinkeye.

“No, no…” she said, with a half-grin she didn’t feel at all. “I figured it no one’s gonna stop, I might as well be a team player. I at least want a new TV out of all of this. Get SOMETHING out of it all, y’know?”

“Hmmm…” Captain Doo considered her words, and Tiff had to bite her cheek to stop herself from giving the game away. “Whaddya think?” he asked Escargoon.

Escargoon merely gave a huff, it not taking long for him to decide. “Well…welcome aboard, sweetie,” his voice shaking with what she presumed to be vindictive mirth.

They opened the gates, and she was let through- though Escargoon followed right behind her. As soon as she was through the main factory doors, the snail slithered off elsewhere, and Tiff sighed. That was both easier and harder than she’d thought it would be. ‘Alright…Step 2.’ Fortunately, she’d had time to think on THIS approach. And she knew her brother.

It wasn’t hard to find Tuff, Kirby (who’d apparently went back with her brother behind her back, she’d have to talk to him about THAT later) and Fololo and Falala, all standing ramrod at the same line she’d seen them in earlier. Tuff actually managed to notice her, even smiling. Guess whatever it was hadn’t rehooked itself into him completely yet like earlier. Good. That just made her job easier. “Hey, Tiff, you came!”

“Yeah, I figured I at least wanted to try it a little,” she fibbed.

“You’ll love it on the line,” Tuff said vapidly. It was only a moment, but she noticed before he continued. “You can get cool stuff now, too!”

“Yeah, sure…” she paused, looking at the parts they were working on. “Although…something’s strange about these, don’t you think?”

That got Tuff to look her way, if only momentarily. “Like what?”

“Well, for starters, they’re all the same.” Indeed, they looked like they were interlocking parts, almost pieces of a puzzle. “Not to mention they’re pretty big for all the stuff they’re building, don’t you think?”

Tuff’s motions hitched briefly, the boy letting out a quiet ‘hmmm…’

Tiff smirked. She’d got him. Leaning in close, she whispered the deadly words. “I’d sure like to know what they’re really building in here, wouldn’t you?”

“Eghhhh…” Something was causing him to fight it- but it was a foregone conclusion. Tuff’s Tuffness would win out- after one last little push…

“I’m gonna go find out myself!” she chirped.

That did it, as Tuff shook himself and met her with a grin. “Me first!”

Kirby, Fololo, and Falala were all snagged as they snuck away- fortunately, Tiff had found out thanks to Kirby that going through the assembly line’s input was an option.

The place quickly proved to be something of a maze. It was clearly a LOT bigger than they’d anticipated, and the group found themselves lost amidst pistons, conveyor belts, and other pieces of machinery. “Anyone know where we’re going?” Tuff asked.

“No…” Tiff admitted. “But this has to lead somewhere, right? It’s too open, otherwise.” It was true, there were clear walkways and paths. Someone or something was at least meant to travel around back here, which meant there had to be an entrance and exit somewhere. As they ventured around, seeing various devices in varying states of construction and packaging, several of which Tiff hadn’t seen before, she had to imagine Meta Knight was right. Something foul was happening here.

“Hey, over there!” Tuff whispered. She turned to see him pointing at a bright light- the exit! Finally. They all made a sprint for it- only to quickly see where it was leading. Somewhere big and open- to the point where they’d be seen if they didn’t quickly dart behind what looked to be massive half cylinder canisters. She didn’t like them- they gave off a foreboding feeling- like they’d explode right in her face. Still, it was all they had right now.

Especially considering what was taking up the majority of the space in the massive area. “What…IS that?” Tuff asked, astonished.

Surrounded by cranes and other construction materials, it looked like a mechanical beast. Large, green, and terrifying, with Dedede’s logo right on the front. “I can’t believe it…Dedede made everyone think they were just building appliances, when they were building a giant robot on top of it!”

“That creep! If I…” Tuff started, before-

“Pssst! Pssst! Up here!” The quintet stopped short, looking up and around them. “The grate! It’s me!”

“Wait…Bandee!? Tiff said in a harsh whisper. “Why are you HERE?”

“Recon!” he responded. “This thing’s a robotic Ice Dragon! It’s a mechanical version of the thing me and the other Star Allies took out a while ago!”

She vaguely remembered that- the snow! So that was how it sort of looked, then… “So how do we trash it?”

“I remember them talking about speed welding the headpiece on,” he whispered as loudly as he dared. I don’t think it’s entirely ready, but they’re pushing it forwards. Another thing was making sure the coolant system didn’t crack under thermal stress!” he whispered back. “It looks tough, but if you can’t brute force it, then so long as you heat it up enough it should pop like a balloon!”

THAT might well be useful. “Thanks Bandee! Don’t worry, we’ll help get you out of there!” Tiff said.

"Oh, I can get out any time- I just didn't want them to spot me," Bandee clarified. "As for now..."

“But what about the robot?” Tuff proclaimed, interrupting.

Tiff hesitated. Should she really press the button? She wasn’t sure- whatever ‘Insurance’ Susie promised had a chance of backfiring, no matter what she said, and as far as Tiff was concerned, she was part and parcel of this whole mess. Maybe she should just-

“Forget it. I’ll rip it apart myself if I gotta!” he yelled- before he charged out to do just that.

Tiff barely had time to gawk at his sheer brazenness. “Tuff, no!” But it was far too late. He’d already boarded a crane machine, quickly swinging it towards the robot. He snagged a large piece of rebar with it- clearly intended for further expansion, and slammed it straight for the monstrosity.

Tiff was 100% sure he’d just gotten ridiculously lucky, as she watched the piece of metal collide with the beast, tilting its metal head back- but little else. It quickly responded with a stream of pure cold that had HER heart stop for a moment as the crane rapidly became cased in ice- fortunately, Tuff jumped free of it before he was encased- and the crane toppled. “Shoot! C’mon, we gotta save everyone!” she said as she felt around in her hair. ‘Well, not like I have much of a choice now!’ she thought as she grasped the button and pressed it as hard as she could while she ran. “Tuff, this way!” she called out as she heard a rapid fire beeping coming from her hand. Well, it was done. Now, she just had to survive!

The beast was immense, and though it moved a bit slowly, they knew full well they weren’t any match for it- and even then they had to keep moving to prevent the King from just STEPPING on them as it proceeded to rampage, breaking holes and utterly trashing the area. “Through here!” she called as she spotted a doorway. It wasn’t the one they came through, but any was good at this rate.

To her surprise, it quickly led them back to front of the factory- no time to ponder that, though. “Hurry! Get out of here!” she desperately called to the entranced Cappies. “It’s coming this way!”

The question of ‘what’ was quickly answered when the Robo-Ice Dragon made its own doorway, smashing through the wall as though it were paper.

Tiff couldn’t help but sweat now- the populace had been quick to realize what was going on, and they were in the process of fleeing- but that left only Kirby, who stood his ground bravely.

For a moment, she was frightened- then she saw him leap a burst of chilling ice- puffing up and floating up to a nearby balcony to gain distance. ‘Hey, he’d just learned that!’

And that wasn’t all- as it proceeded to fire off another burst, Kirby simply opened wide- and quickly went to suck in the ice stream that’d been fired his way. ‘Is it just me, or did he do that way faster than normal?’ But, that wasn’t an issue- he’d transformed into Ice Kirby now, and that meant-

-Kirby spewed a massive cone of freezing air from his mouth, and in moments, the mechanical creation was encased in a block of ice. For a moment, Tiff was relieved… before a shudder broke it- and the ice. “It- it won’t work?” she said. Then, she grimaced. “Of course. Heat! Bandee said heat was the way!” But how would-

“Ahem!” a loud, female voice sounded out.

For a moment, all combatants stopped, to look at a calm, almost smug Susie standing in the doorway. “King Dedede. May I ask what the purpose of this device is?” she asked loudly- of course, everyone could hear her just fine.

“There was a moment’s silence, before a speaker’s feedback cut through. “Whaddya think!? I’m usin’ this ta bash Kirby!”

“Yeah, so butt out!” Escargoon added.

Susie merely shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, King Dedede. You see, the contract you signed stated that we BOTH had input over the output of the factory. I never authorized such a program, use of factory supplies, or production goal consisting of…THAT,” she said with a grimace.

“Yeah, yeah, and the contract said something about being broken if we did, so too bad! We got what we wanted out of it, so you’ll just have to find somewhere else to peddle your products,” Escargoon crowed.

“I don’t think so,” Susie said, floating towards them calmly. “You see, according to Section 3, Subsection 2, concerning the Terms of Ownership…” She pulled up her own copy of the contract, which had the King’s signature and stamp on it. “It states here that ‘should any unauthorized or illegal usage of company resources be found to be utilized in the devising of a non-approved project on company property, then ownership of the land reverts to the primary partner.’”

“I ain’t read that far!” Dedede said sharply. “‘Sides, I OWN TH’ LAND!”

“Yes, but NOT what is on it!” she proclaimed cheekily. “Because in Section 1, Subsection 4, under Administrative Duties, it clearly states that ‘all property on the land assigned will be administered and governed in full by the owner of the building in question.”

“And he owns the build-” Escargoon started, before he too was interrupted.

“AND in Section 2, Subsection 5, concerning ‘Rights of Partners, it ALSO states that ‘Should a primary signatory be found to be judged of unsound mind and body by a both a fellow primary partner, and authorized secondary signatory, then the initial primary partner can be stripped of ownership of all buildings, materials, and goods made on the land independently of land ownership, to be transferred to the secondary partner's ownership in perpetuity.”

Everyone went quiet at that. “Uhhh…wazzat mean?” Dedede asked numbly.

“In short,” she said triumphantly, “It means this,” and here she turned to Tiff. “Tiff Ebrum, I hereby declare you my secondary signatory to this contractual agreement.”

Tiff had completely lost the plot by now. “...okay?” She hated that it was starting to feel familiar.

Susie continued, undaunted. “Do you, being judged of sound mind and body, declare King Dedede unfit to continue his contractual obligations towards the fulfillment of duties for this property?”

Tiff blinked. “...yes?” Not like she trusted the King for much.

Susie turned back to him, smug. “Then officially, I own this factory, and you’re trespassing.” She then pressed a button- and almost out of nowhere, a massive, steel THING came crashing through the ceiling with the sound of a drill. Tiff blinked in shock- it was sleek metal, pink and white, almost conical, with two mechanical floating hands, standing about three heads taller than Susie, who effortlessly hopped in, placing herself in the center seat. She pressed a pair of buttons, and flipped down the strange flippers she was always wearing on her head- only for them to form part of a yellow visor that covered the whole of her face. ‘So THAT’S what the headwear was for…’

Susie’s Business Suit booted up fully, whirring gently- and yet brimming with power. “Please, remove yourselves from the premises- or I will do so by force.”

Chapter 17: Factory Remodeling

Chapter Text

As the two mechs squared off, Dedede let out a bellowing laugh. “Aheheheheh! You really think your lil’ thing over there can beat our mean machine?”

“We’re gonna haveta cool that hot head of yours!” Escargoon taunted.

Susie said nothing; rather, she gripped the handles, and pushed. She rocketed forwards, the drill-bit tip proving a worthwhile piston as she leapt to engage at high speed.

In response, the royal duo shot out another wicked stream of ice- Susie’s hands proved deft enough to maneuver around the blasts, each leap of her mecha jumping the vehicle just out of range and sending it on a collision course. Before Tiff could even wonder what the intention was, one of the hands of the robot flew out in a grabbing motion- it clasped onto the metal foot, and began pulling.

Like tearing off paper, the metal began to sheer off of the creature, revealing the mechanical workings underneath. She didn’t get much of a chance to utilize the opening, however- another blast of sub-zero breath shot out at her, forcing her to disengage as she hopped her mech through the ice. The beast’s foot was otherwise fine, aside from a torn open hole almost like an opened can.

“Hey! You oughta be slippin’ and slidin’!" Dedede complained as he noticed her mech hadn’t so much as bothered to avoid the icy patches his wanton fire had made. “Dat’s cheatin’!”

“My Business Suit is rated for all climates and temperatures,” Susie said crisply. “Some minor inclement weather is NOT an issue.” With that, she went back on the attack.

“Why you-!” the King growled as he forced the machine to continue. “Stand still so’s I can retire ya!”

Susie wasn’t very inclined to do that, though. Two more hops brought her within range of the beast as he sent another blast at her- he knew enough, however, to keep away from her now, maneuvering the creature’s massive feet in a manner that was, if not deft, then at least more agile than it appeared to be capable of at first glance. Susie primed her drillbit pods, and with a press, the two payloads fired, arcing up to clear minimum distance before rocketing forwards where she’d aimed- once again on the feet.

The duo reacted by swinging their creation around- reminding them all it had a tail, and forcing Susie to leap clear again as the explosive pods detonated against the metal.

Tiff and the rest were forced to jump for cover once the debris started falling. “Geez! No wonder she said she didn’t want to use force!” Tiff said roughly, as they ducked behind a conveyor belt.

“But look!” Falala noticed. “It didn’t hurt it much!” Sure enough, the metal appendage was dented and warped, blackened, even. However, the explosives hadn’t done as much damage as the sheer physical strength had. “How’s she going to beat it without getting close?”

Susie had been quick to notice that, as well. ‘Those are meant to be anti-personnel, not anti-armor,’ she mentally groused. ‘Still, was worth a shot. I’m just going to have to be careful!’ A few careful hops backwards had the two mechs facing off once again. This time, it was Dedede acting first, forcing Susie to move to dodge the sheer cold being tossed her way.

“There’s gotta be a way to break through that armor,” Tiff said lowly. “But how…?”

“Hey! Hey!” A voice shouted, and Tiff and the rest looked over to see Bandana Dee- by the furnace no less! “Over here!” To their surprise, the furnace was OPEN, and he- stuck his spear in it?!

He swirled it around momentarily, and, well, naturally, when he pulled it out, the tip was burning brightly. A rumble caught his attention- the Robo-Dragon hadn’t noticed him yet, but it was turning in this direction. Acting quickly, he took a deep breath, then flipped the spear around. “Catch!” With that, he hefted it, leapt, and jumped, tossing it shaft-first towards Tiff.

For a moment, Tiff panicked. ‘What am I supposed to do with that!?’ she thought. But it was coming towards her- and none too soon. Fortunately, it was a high lob, and Tiff managed to catch it in both hands- whoa. It was a bit heavier than she expected, but still nothing she couldn’t carry. “Now what?!” she yelled.

“Get it to Susie!” he said quickly as he scampered off- with Dedede trying for a moment to stomp him out, though he quickly dodged. “She’ll take it from there!”

Tiff wasn’t sure what that meant, but- “Okay! Susie!” She just had to go for it!

Susie quickly looked her way as Tiff darted out. The Robo-Dragon turned around just as she managed to reach the mech, and by then, to her surprise, Susie leveled what looked to be some sort of hi-tech gun at her- which caused her to stop short. For a split-second she’d thought Susie betrayed her, before the executive yelled. “Touch it with the flames!”

By now, Tiff was going on autopilot- she had no clue what good that’d do…but she noticed a strange intake valve on Susie’s weapon. Figuring that might be the best shot, she quickly placed the flaming tip against it.

Almost immediately it seemed as though the flame was sucked in, and the little valve slid closed as her weapon clicked slightly, taking on a small red hue- and Susie then seemed to jam it in some sort of slot. “Get BACK!” she yelled, and the heat suddenly emanating from the robot quickly informed her why.

It was right then that the Ice Dragon sent another blast of frost towards Susie- and from here Tiff could well and feel the cold as she dived for safety. She barely managed to look back as the mech was engulfed by cold…

…for a moment.

Almost immediately, the area around Susie burst into a fiery conflagration, and the mech suddenly stormed forth, awash in tornadic flames as the ‘hands’ that made up the mech began revolving around it rapidly, almost making it look like a natural disaster. The metal underneath it was glowing red instead of blue now, as Kirby even leapt out of the range of the swirling flames.

They could hear a loud yelling coming from the co*ckpit of the metal monstrosity as they realized what had happened, same as Tiff. ‘She…absorbed the fire? Or copied it? Like Kirby, maybe?’

Whichever it was, it’d given her a critical advantage. No longer fearful of the ice in any manner, she literally drove rings around the much slower and less agile creation, her boosted speed proving too much to handle as she proceed to quite literally turn the robot’s legs into slag metal via the superheated hands ripping and tearing at them like a buzzsaw. That wasn’t even the end of it- they could see the innards begin to catch fire as well.

It wasn’t much longer before several small ‘pop pop pop’ sounds began to erupt from it, and the entire works began to tip over. “S-she’s goin’ down!” they heard Escargoon yell.

And so it was. Susie was on the opposite side of it, but everyone else had to run a bit extra to get distance as the machine topped over, its bulbous bottom half unable to stay upright without support. For a moment, they thought that was the end of it- but then the flames started to spread. “Oh dear…” Susie muttered. “This isn’t good.”

“Kirby!” Tiff quickly yelled. “Can you cool this place down?!”

“PoYO!” Kirby cheered, having watched from the sidelines all this time. He quickly leapt into the air, and started spewing his own cooling frost out- quickly coating the fallen beast much like before, and, blessedly, it wasn’t much longer before the fire’d been put out thanks to his speedy efforts.

Tiff sighed, never more happy for the cold. “Thanks a ton, Kirby.”

“Woo hoo!” Tuff cheered, as did Fololo and Falala. “That was AWESOME!”

Bandana Dee soon poked his head out of hiding, and quickly ran up to them. “S-sorry about not giving you any more info, it was just really tense there for a moment!”

“It’s fine,” Tiff reassured him. “We managed to solve the problem anyway.” She looked over to Susie, who was staring at the ceiling for whatever reason. ‘Wonder what she’s thinking…’

Susie sighed, not seeing what she was looking for. “No fire suppression at all. I should’ve figured. This place is a deathtrap- and not by design.” She shook her head. “I have a great deal of work to do, it seems.” Though…there WAS one place she clearly needed to start.

“First of all,” Susie announced to the gathered crowd in front of the factory gate, who’d come to see what’d happened now that the factory had stopped spewing smoke. “You all have my humblest apologies,” she said as she bowed deeply.

That, in and of itself, seemed to get murmurs of surprise from the assembled. “Huh. Not used to hearing someone say sorry,” Chief Bookem mumbled.

“I made that partnership with the best of intentions; however, it’s clear that such a decision was…short-sighted,” she confessed, looking off to the side briefly. King Dedede and Escargoon had slunk away (more like high-tailed it) once they’d heard the crowd coming back, convinced it was a mob. But, she’d deal with that later. “I caused immense harm to your town, your environment, and yourselves.” She took a moment to look up, gauging the reaction. Stunned surprise was the majority look, by her guess. ‘So far, so good…’

She took a deep breath, then continued on. “Most importantly, I’ve lost your trust. And as CEO and President of the Haltmann Works Company, trust is the most valuable thing for our continued existence. That I’ve violated it…is greatly distressing.”

Even Tiff and Tuff were surprised at her apparent humility. “Dang. She’s really taking this hard, huh?” Tuff remarked quietly to his sister. Tiff just frowned in contemplation.

“Well, it’s not like Dedede doesn’t try stunts like this all the time…” one of the Cappies said.

“It could have easily been foreseen,” the fortune teller, Mabel, admitted. “But we like to give those who have wronged us a chance.”

“It’s something of the spirit of Cappy Town, really,” Mayor Blustergas agreed. “And truth be told, I think the lot of us enjoyed your products. It’s just…the matter of the environment…”

At that, Susie stood up. “You have my word, I’ll do everything in my power to assist in the restoration of the local environment.”

“Wow, talk about timing,” a familiar (if slightly different voice) piped up, causing everyone to turn behind themselves in surprise. “I was wondering why no one was there to welcome us back,” Big Kirby said, as everyone looked back to see him, as well as Magolor, and King Dedede. Big Kirby glanced at the massive factory, then down at Susie. “Not to mention why this place suddenly looked like Planet Earthfall and Rock Star had a kid.” He sighed. “Well, we’re back, and it seems like right on time.” He turned back to Magolor. “Guess that gift’ll come in handy sooner than expected,” he said to the magician.

“Oh, certainly it seems like it!” Magolor agreed. He’d been holding a rather large sack, and he quickly floated to the front of the crowd. “Courtesy of Taranza, Rick, Kine, and Coo,” he proclaimed as he gave the sack to her.

“They have a Rick, Kine, and Coo, too?” Tuff whispered.

“I guess it makes as much sense as anything else,” she murmured. Just what was in there?

Fortunately for them, Magolor was quick to answer. “Remember that forestry project I said he mentioned earlier? They’ve about got it self-sustaining, but want to put on some finishing touches. They figured it might be interesting to take some of the fruits of their labor and see if they translate as well over here!” Susie opened the sack to reveal… “A dozen seeds?” she said. They were red and bulbous, with a black dot on each.

“A unification of a Miracle Fruit and Maxim Tomato seed,” Magolor explained. Susie’s eyes widened briefly, before he continued. “Not even remotely as powerful as either in any respect, but the intent was more to foster growth and sustenance than grant incredible health and power in the short term. Boost the effects of OTHER objects grown in the area, you see? He’s hoping to soon see what their growth might be like in similar, but separate environments.”

“Whoa…” THAT was something Tiff was interested in. And this ‘Taranza’ had cultivated them? ‘He must be really good with plants…’

Nodding, Susie held the bag closer. “Yes…then I agree, these will come in INCREDIBLY handy,” she said as she turned back to the crowd. “I’ll see to utilizing these posthaste. And once I’m done…” Here was the big moment, and she needed another deep breath to focus. “...I would hope that, as I technically own the factory, you would permit me to renovate it, so that I can get it working PROPERLY again.” That, of course, got noises of concern. “Make no mistake, it won’t be NEARLY as disturbing as this misshapen mass of inefficiency and filth,” she assured strongly. “Haltmann Works factories are designed to have near zero negative environmental impact; the lands should stay as green, the sky as blue, and the water as clear as they used to be. Haltmann Works does NOT waste,” she said with finality.

There were looks around. It seemed like everyone was a bit nervous about it, but she expected such. “How do we know it won’t be as bad?” one asked.

“I’d be more than happy to submit to periodic inspections,” she said simply. “It’d be an honor to showcase the skill and ingenuity of Haltmann Works in a proper facility. And naturally, I’d welcome anywho who wished to work at my factory- though I assure you the hours, work environment, and pay rate will be far more pleasing than what your King had you doing.”

“Wait, we’d get paid?” came another voice. “Would it be like, in stuff other than devices? Because those really were pretty neat.”

She blinked. “Certainly. Though you’d still qualify for those, I’m sure. Mind you, if you don’t, that’s also fine- as I’ll be working to add some proper automation to the factory. You wouldn’t be stuck in an assembly line all hours, I’ll certainly say that!”

Sure enough, it seemed like the Cappies really did like their free stuff, and little by little, the Mayor included, the gathered gave their blessing. “You have my utmost thanks,” she said sincerely. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” she mentioned, holding up the bag. The crowd parted for her, as Magolor followed, telling her about the seed’s various properties. Big Kirby and the rest followed her, presumably to get the story of what just happened straight from the source.

Tiff could only fold her arms as she walked away. “True, she DID help- but only after helping cause the problem in the first place…but she DOES seem sorry…hmm.” She just wasn’t sure.

Tuff seemed to have his mind made up, though. “Aw, I think she paid for it enough,” he mentioned. “If they’re really gonna help build the place back up, I think it’d be cool! Just no more ice robots, y’know?”

Huffing about it, she decided that she’d better sleep on it, and she and the rest made their way back to the castle. It’d been a long night.

Fortunately, the morning met her with a clearer head, and, to her relief, a much clearer sky. It almost was like before- and to her surprise, as she headed out, she even noticed some small grass shoots beginning to regrow. That was good! Although…also very quick. There were even some small stems she recognized as flowers. Ah, actually, that reminded her. ‘Whispy! And Lovely! Are they okay?!’ Fortunately, it didn’t take long to rouse Tuff and Little Kirby; Big Kirby apparently ‘around town’ for now. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be long. “Please let them be okay,” she said softly as they wandered into the woods.

To their great relief, both Whispy and Lovely seemed largely unharmed. Lovely especially. Why, though, was something unexpected. “Corruption?!” she said in shock.

“Exactly,” Lovely confirmed. “I knew something was strange about that rain when I first felt it. It didn’t take me long to realize that it was full of both chemicals, and similar corruptive magic that I can use to drain energy.”

“Wait, you can still do that?” Tiff said in surprise.

Lovely nodded. “I wouldn’t do that to my darling Whispy, of course, but I still know the feeling. The ability that Nightmare gave me…I felt it in every drop. Fortunately, whatever happened to me…well, it seems like that corruption doesn’t affect me any more. So I was able to repay Whispy for protecting me when I was a simple flower,” she said with a smile towards the tree in question. He gave his own back, and the trio were content to let them have their moment. Still, Tiff’s mind was racing.

“That explains why everything died out so fast,” Tiff said as she considered the facts, piecing it all together. “Nightmare Enterprises were hoping to corrode the land, and used Dedede’s greed to do it! But…everything seems to already be growing back so quickly, too. Is it because the magic’s gone? Or maybe the fruit seeds…”

“Fruit seeds?” Whispy said in surprise. “What of these seeds would cause that?”

“Well, I’m not sure,” Tiff admitted, “But the way the other Kirby and that magician were talking about them, they’re really good at that. Susie’s helping plant some of them.” She’d at least given the basic overview of who’d caused what. “Hopefully, they live up to the claims.”

“Well, regardless of what happens, Lovely and I will be here to guard the forest. Everything from the biggest tree to the smallest flower is under our purview,” Whispy stated confidently.

That caught Tiff’s attention. “Wait, flower? Are there flowers here now?”

“So it appears,” Whispy confirmed. “They are all quite fascinating. None quite like Lovely, however.”

She giggled. “What WOULD a seed of mine and yours look like, do you think?” she blushed. The kids laughed at Whispy’s reaction- he could only stammer in embarrassment. If trees could blush, Tiff suspected he’d be so red they’d think he was on fire.

“That’d be so sweet! What would be their name?” Tiff asked playfully.

“Lovely Woods? Flowery Woods?” Tuff suggested in good humor. “Oh, maybe Leafy Woods!”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Tiff chastised with a smile. “That said, it’d sure be a nightmare for Dedede!”

“Really, I wouldn’t be surprised if Dedede’s entirely given up on his little plot for a golf course already,” Lovely tittered.

“Yeah! One guardian was already rough for him as it is,” Tuff agreed. “Two would be impossible!”

“I hope you’re right,” Tiff said in agreement. It WOULD be a relief to not have to worry about that anymore. Soon, however, they bid farewell to the pair, reassured of their safety. When they got to town, however, they saw an unexpected sight.

“Waddle Dees?” she asked in surprised. Sure enough, there were a decent number of Waddle Dees roaming around- but these looked slightly different. They were a bit brighter, they moved with independent purpose- and she could hear a couple of them talking. “Okay, okay, over here!” A voice said brightly. “CareFUL! One-two, one-two! Pardon me, miss!”

She gave a light yelp, turning behind her and stepping out of the way at the same time as a quintet of Waddle Dees in hard hats passed by carrying what looked to be various construction tools, as well as some stone material. “What…? Where did these Dees come from?” Not that she couldn’t guess, but…

“Oh! Great King brought us along to help him out!” One of the Dees explained. “He wants us to help with some construction stuff around here, and when you need construction done, Super-Dee-Duper Builders is the team for the job!"

“...you have a construction business?” Tiff asked in surprise.

“Wellll, it’s not really a business, so much as the King keeps us nearby whenever something happens to his castle,” he pointed out. “But if you can think it, we can build it!”

“Yeah!” the others chorused.

“So right now, we’re helping with some renovations to Great King’s mansion!” he explained. “So if you’ll excuse us?”

“Oh, uh, sure,” she relented, stepping back. ‘Mansion?’ Tuff was already trailing them, the same thought obviously in his mind. Of course Kirby followed, and she brought up the rear. ‘Since when did he have that?’

King Dedede was not in a good mood. He’d had his factory usurped, of all things! Well, that wouldn’t stand. He’d have to get him a big monster to trash the place- it didn’t matter if it wasn’t left standing. “I ain’t lettin’ that bogus businesswoman hoodwink me!” he yelled. He prepared to press the button to call Nightmare Enterprises-

-but before he could, a strangeness filled the air- and the space in front of him suddenly warped, twisted- then with a snap it straightened out, and that weird magician in blue was floating in front of him, holding a suitcase. “Hello, hello!” He said cheerfully, as though he hadn’t been trespassing at all. “My my, I don’t think I’ve seen the inside of your illustrious castle yet.”

“Who da heck are you!?” Dedede yelled, nearly jumping out of his seat and behind it. “Whatchu doin’ in my castle?!”

“Oh, don’t mind me- I’m just Magolor, Incredible Magician, Star Ally, quite Very Best Friend of Kirby, and also, dare I say, a Very Good Friend with someone else."

“What the…” Dedede paused as the information sank in. “Wait! You’re friends with that meddlin’ merchant!”

“That I am!” Magolor said unashamedly. “And while she expresses her condolences about the hostile takeover of what is now the Haltmann Works Production Facility- Pop Star B site, she wishes to also…smooth over relations, you see.”

“Smooth over?” Dedede yelled in irritation. “Jus’ how’s she wantin’ ta do that?!”

“Why, simple,” Magolor said, floating closer to him. “We understand you have a bit of a…financial deficit at the moment. We hope this can alleviate some of the issue.” And with that, he opened the suitcase- to reveal a great number of D-Bills, much to his surprise. “You see, I’m a bit of an entrepreneur myself,” Magolor explained. “It wasn’t hard to find a selling for my amazing gem apples, and, well, with the promise of some very nice Haltmann goods in their future, certain individuals were willing to purchase some…faith, shall we call it, that more will be available in the future to buy as well.” He plopped the suitcase in the King’s lap, who grabbed for it greedily. “Of course, you’ll be getting a regular payment for the land usage-” King Dedede’s eyes lit up at that. “-so long as you don’t bug her about it.”

“Heheheheh!” King Dedede was quick to change his tune after seeing the massive amount of D-Bills he’d been handed for, essentially, nothing. “Well, if she’s willin’ to fork out like this? I’d say thangs between us are smooth as buttah!”

“Excellent!” Magolor cheered. “Now, I’m sure you realize that if you’d try to harass her again, the deal’s off and certain…punishment is due, yes?”

“Yeah, yeah, she can do whatever the heck she wants with that stupid factory. So long as she keeps bringin’ in the dough like this!” He was obsessed over the sudden windfall that had fallen into his lap.

“Then I bid you farewell!” and with that, he disappeared, leaving the King laughing.

Moments later, he appeared just outside of the castle grounds. Susie was waiting. “Did he take the bribe?”

“Oh, of course he took the bribe,” Magolor said as they walked back to the village. “You’re free to continue your work without worry.”

“Excellent. I’ll have to reimburse you for that later,” she said, but Magolor waved her off.

“Oh, don’t fret, it was pathetically easy to copy those bills. I doubt he’ll ever notice. Now, onto more important matters.” He looked at her carefully. “Don’t you need help clearing out the factory?”

She sighed. She’d been doing a lot last night. “Yes. Yes I do. I appreciate you having the foresight to bring my fabricators and a few of my maintenance bots,” she said. “Those’ll make the task easier, but your help would also be appreciated.” Being able to summon a magical space typhoon to suck up debris was always welcome.

Magolor nodded. “Of course, of course. After removing most of the ability and game rooms and renovating them into storage and passenger rooms, I had more than enough space. Besides, friends help friends, and you ARE a friend. I find I rather enjoy those, these days.”

Susie found she had to agree.

Elsewhere, overlooking the additions to the 'mansion' (which he'd ribbed the King about), Kirby looked on with a pensive face. "Y'think it'll work out?"

Great King Dedede chuckled. "No clue, but so far, so good. Susie flubbed up a bit there, but it should be alright. Just can't make it too obvious. Heck, that might've helped the matter, at least with a few people," he figured.

"We're lucky Taranza's gonna be on his way over before much longer," Kirby admitted. "He can keep those two corralled better than I ever could." The trio had a...unique bond, that was for sure.

"The Squeaks might beat him here," King Dedede muttered. "Apparently Mags asked already- they're just stopping off at their home base to organize and resupply, then they're headed our way, airship and everything."

"Oh boy, THAT'LL be something," Kirby chuckled. "If Adeleine and Ribbon weren't so worried about everyone back there now that she knows we're safe, they'd probably come quicker, too."

"That'd be an awful lot of new faces at once, don'tcha think?" King Dedede asked.

Kirby shrugged. "Maybe. But you can never have too many friends with you!"

Chapter 18: New Tastes

Chapter Text

Tiff had to admit, she was impressed. Looking at what was clearly a multi-level mansion now, she thought that their Dees worked just about as fast and thoroughly as the ones she knew. At least it wasn’t too near anyone else; it had three stories, some strangely slanted windows, and several pillars, along with the Dedede symbol in the front- however, the difference being that he had it in a circle, decorated with four small stars, and a quartet of sweeping swooshes off to the side. She was standing to the side of Great King Dedede as he overlooked the whole works; Big Kirby had just been by, but seeing Little Kirby had him wander off with the younger puff. It was just as well, there was still some work to be done, though to her, it seemed largely finished. “You’re really making yourself home here,” she noted idly.

“Nah,” he dismissed. “Just makin’ myself a bit more comfortable. I’m a big guy, I need space!” he chuckled at that, before looking out. “Good scenery, though.”

“Is that what the paved yard back there is for?” she asked. She’d seen around the back, and it was looking impressive. The skeleton for a big, domed area was forming around it, and it seemed to be the focus of most of the construction right now.

“Well, that’s mostly for training,” he admitted. “That old dirt ring wasn’t cutting it, so I’m looking into getting some proper sandbags and dummies…a real fighting ring, and some ground that can stand a hammer without it looking like I’m on a dig site. It’ll be an extension of the mansion with a roof and everything!”

“Fair enough,” she conceded. That’d be a mess to clean up.

“The rest of it's not quite done, but it’s done enough,” he admitted. “You up for another round of chess? Actually got some food to offer ya if you want.”

She smiled. “That sounds great! Lead the way.”

Before long, the two of them were before a chessboard again, each with a sandwich and some tea. “So, things are lookin’ better already, huh?”

“You mean from yesterday?” she asked as she moved a pawn. “Yeah…apparently it was some sort of corruption magic causing everything to die off so quickly. But your friend’s seeds are helping replenish the land.” She looked up at him as he moved a piece. “You said his name was…Taranaza?” It didn’t quite sound right…

“Taranza,” he corrected. “And yeah, you might say he’s the local botany expert of the Star Allies. Anything involving plants and nature, you go to him. Kinda a stuffy sort, though!” he said with a chuckle. “But, can’t blame him much.”

“He sounds very intelligent,” Tiff noted. “How’d he come about being one of the Star Allies?”

“Tried to kidnap me on some bad information,” King Dedede said casually, noting her surprise when he said so. “He was working for his Queen at the time, and…well, it’s not pleasant. Really, it’s not a story for me to tell,” he dismissed. “Point being, he realized that he wasn’t on the better side, and nowadays he’s with us.”

“Huh.” She paused, thinking. ‘That sounds familiar- wait a minute.’ She looked up at him, putting a bit of steel into her voice. “Sooo…kinda like Susie?”

“Yup,” Great King Dedede said casually. That caused her to blink- she thought he’d try to deny it, or maybe at least downplay it. After another move, he lifted his head to look at her. “Honestly, Tiff, a good number of the Star Allies came about that way. Most of ‘em, we didn’t meet under good circ*mstances. It took time and effort, and a lot of personal pain for them to realize that keepin’ on the path they were on wasn't going to end well.”

“Oh…wow.” That was…laudable, she supposed. “But aren’t you worried they’re going to go back to it?”

“I mean, it makes sense,” Dedede admitted. “But we keep an eye on them. All four of us. So far, they haven’t betrayed that trust yet. Though SOME of them ride the line here and there,” he grumbled. “Don’t ask,” he said a bit roughly as he noticed her expression. “Not Susie, though. I think for the most part, we trust her well enough.”

She relented. “Right…” She wasn’t sure, but she moved her piece along. “But Taranza, then?”

Dedede sighed. “I think he’s honestly one of the less likely ones to do anything too rash. REALLY not my place to say, though. Just, I don’t think he wants to get up to anything that’s not his plants right now.” He moved another piece, and Tiff saw an opportunity to attack.

‘Huh. I wonder just what he’s been through,’ she said as she moved to take one of his- before there was a large CRASH that shook the both of them. “What the-”

“Hey now!” Great King said as they both leapt up. Darting out the door, they ran to the source of the sound- only to see that some of the Waddle Dees had spilled both a number of paint cans and several construction tools. In one case, one of the wall sections they were planning to build in had toppled over. “What th- aw, dangit! You guys okay?” he said, him and Tiff both rushing up to them.

“S-sorry, Great King,” one of them whined. “We were trying to carry too much, and…”

“Now, now, it’s fine,” Dedede dismissed. “So long as none of ya are hurt.” Shaking heads met his gaze, and he breathed a sigh of relief. “Alrighty, then, what’s the damage?"

As the Dee started naming off all the supplies there, Tiff found herself moving alongside Great King Dedede. “Alright, alright, let’s get a list of what we need to replace, and we’ll head into town to see what we can do, okay?” She was already looking around, sizing things up. “Does anyone have a pen and paper?”

“What she said,” Great King Dedede reaffirmed. “You six get ready to go into town with her, and the rest of you get cracking on cleaning this mess up!” The two of them swiftly began directing the Dees to their tasks, with Tiff only occasionally needed to double check with him on matters of priority. Before long, she had the cadre of Dees following her back.

It felt weird. But it was a good weird.

Kirby squinted as he checked the local calendar in Kawasaki’s. He’d felt like something was vaguely off during his time here, but the trip back to his own dimension’s Dream Land essentially confirmed it. “I don’t think this Dream Land moves at the same rate of time as ours,” he finally admitted to Bandana Dee, who was generally sipping on some ramen. “How long were we gone to you guys?”

“Oh? About two days, I want to say,” Bandee responded in surprise. “How many days did it feel like to you?”

Kirby blinked. “Huh. It wasn’t even a full day for us. Like, a few hours. I thought we got back that same night at the time. Weird.”

“Well, I guess that’s another way our Pop Stars are different, huh?” Bandee thought. “So how long did it take Magolor and Susie to find us, then?”

“Well, from our perspective it was a bit, wasn’t it…?” he paused, trying to think of it, before simply groaning and slumping. “Aww, I dunno. I just know that a lot more time passed here than back home!” Kirby was many things, but (without a specific Copy Ability, anyway), he’d admit that he wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box when it came to math and science and whatnot. “So we’re gonna have to keep that in mind.” Bandee nodded absently as Kirby finished his ramen. It wasn’t the best thing he’d ever had, but it was decent. Frankly, he thought the Cappies were a bit picky, but he wasn’t going to drag them about it.

Kawasaki just seemed thrilled to have ‘twice the happy customers!’ according to him.

Unfortunately, that didn’t save him much the next day when the local King Dedede decided to spend some of his money on some ‘halfway decent grub if I’m lucky!’

Also unfortunately, for him, it…didn’t go well, to say the least. Tuff was the one to inform Kirby about it the following day as they met in the town square. “Yeesh, talk about a brutal review,” Kirby remarked upon hearing the news from Tuff. Apparently, Tiff had been busy with Great King Dedede and Bandana Dee on some expansion duties for the past day or so, and thus she was absent. Lololo and Lalala had gone along with Little Kirby to spectate upon hearing the ranting and raving. “But I guess I never noticed Kawasaki’s really is kinda the only game in town, huh?”

“Yeah. It CAN get sorta old, but we got ways to get around it,” Tuff admitted. “I wouldn’t mind having another option, though…”

“Maybe some place with sweets!” Lalala suggested.

“That’d be nice!” Lololo agreed.

Kirby gave them a look. “...y’know? Kinda out of nowhere, but out of every lookalike I’ve met here, you two are the most different.”

“Really?” they asked as one.

“Yup. For one thing, the Lololo and Lalala I know don’t fly,” he pointed out. “They’re also far less attached to the hip than you two are.”

“Oh? That’s interesting,” Lololo admitted.

“Maybe they’re more used to being two instead of one?” Lalala suggested.

“...Come again?” Kirby asked.

That was the start of a bit more storytelling, as it happened- Big Kirby was stunned to learn that they were a split monster from NME, and the two were more than surprised to learn that they owned their own castle, of all things, in the other dimension. “I mean, it’s technically Dedede’s, since they serve under him, but he let them have it.” That little tidbit got them surprised. They spent the day recounting when he first met them; Dedede’s antics included.

Tiff, for her part, was…well, as stated, she was busy. Not that she felt it. There was something to checking off a list and making sure a project went well, and as the afternoon began to fade, she was still at it. “Alright, that’s the canvas?” The two Waddle Dees that she’d been looking at nodded, the massive rolls of fabric between them. “Great. Get that over to the north end, he’s putting the ring there.” They saluted, and she checked off another task on her list, before turning around. “Does anyone know where the sandbags got stored? We need to check and see if we’re going to need to widen out the back end of the training room, so better to do it now than later.”

“They’re in the mansion itself,” Bandee noted from a bit away, hauling some targets that he set down. “I’ll get ‘em!”

“Thanks a ton!” she said. Another item checked off, and she jotted down a note for ‘storage room widening?’ in the margins below it on her notebook.

She soon felt a shadow fall over her, but it was a familiar one that she was beginning to appreciate. “You’re gettin’ awful invested in this,” Great King Dedede noted as he walked up. “Kinda didn’t think you’d be this into construction!” he laughed, but she could see where he was coming from.

“Honestly, I think it’s more I just appreciate that when I make suggestions, they’re actually listening,” she admitted with a small smile. “I’m not really all that used to it. It’s nice.”

“Well, hey, don’t let that power get to your head,” he said jokingly as he patted her head playfully. She batted him off with no real heat behind it. “Anywho, you’ve been at this for a bit. Why don’tcha head out for the day? I can keep an eye on things for a while. Heard there was some hubbub going on around town earlier, maybe see if that’s anything interesting.”

“Probably just some new fad,” Tiff dismissed. “I’ll ask around tomorrow. And don’t worry, I’ve already asked my mom and dad- I can stay here for the night. Those guest rooms are all set, right?" She'd started it, she was going to finish it.

The next day, as she was heading out with a couple more Dees plus Bandee to get some more materials, she noticed the commotion. She wasn’t expecting the new fad to be a whole new restaurant, though. “What did I miss?!” she asked as she noticed her brother.

“It’s wild!” Tuff said as they, plus Big and Little Kirby stood alongside Kawasaki at the new place. “King Dedede and Escargoon went and made a whole new restaurant ‘cause he couldn’t stand Kawasaki anymore!” There was already a line up and down the street for it; Tiff even spotted her parents waiting for it.

“I knew my cooking was rough, but this is a bit much!” Kawasaki lamented. “It’s right across the street!”

“Are they trying to put him out of business?” Tiff asked. “That’s just foul!”

Kirby and Bandee looked at each other. “Wanna bet it’s a trap?” Bandee asked.

“Nah, too easy,” Big Kirby said casually. He looked Tiff’s way. “I think your family wants to get you kids in with them.”

“Yeah, they would…” Tiff grumped. “I’m in the middle of something,” she groused, looking back at the Waddle Dees that were still patiently waiting for her order.

“Aw, go!” Bandee insisted. “You need a break, anyway.”

“Yeah,” Tuff said. “Let’s go see just how good this so-called fancy restaurant is!” Tiff grunted, but nodded, reluctantly following her brother to their parents- but not before quickly informing the Dees under her command to make sure to get everything on the list, which they were quick to salute and confirm.

Kirby looked back at Bandee after she trundled off. “Let’s get Susie and Magolor,” he said without fanfare. "Just on the off-chance this isn't petty."

Later that evening, the kids and travelers met up at Kawasaki's. “It's petty," Susie said simply.

"Well, there goes that hope," Kirby said flatly.

Susie just laid her tablet with readouts on the table. "While I appreciated the opportunity for a lunch break, and the fare WAS largely acceptable, I’m afraid I have to say- there’s nothing special about it,” she placidly informed. “We did a scan of the dishes on offer- both magically and technologically as you asked, and…”

“It’s just good food,” Magolor said, shrugging. “Whatever he’s up to, he hasn’t actually done it yet. Still in setup, if I had to wager. Engendering trust.”

“Shoot,” Tiff said. “I was hoping it’d be that easy…”

“Well, I mean. It’s pretty likely the chef is a monster,” Magolor pointed out. “Considering they came out of nowhere and rarely ever speak to anyone except likely the other Dedede.” The kids looked at him in surprise. “Hey, just saying! It’s easy to notice when you know what to look for. At any rate,” he got up, stretching. “That really was a lovely meal, and now I’m going to go sleep it off. Do let us know when he inevitably attempts to attack Kirby, alright? I want to see the aftermath.”

“What he said,” Susie dismissed as she too got up. “I still have a lot of connections to set up so I can get an actual central computer system running for the factory.”

“W-wait! Aren't we gonna do anything about this place ruining my business?” Kawasaki asked worriedly. Susie and Magolor looked at each other, then back to Kawasaki. They both promptly shrugged, and left without another word.

The kids looked at each other, then to Big Kirby. He held their gazes for a moment, but eventually heaved a sigh. “Eh, King Dedede’s probably gonna tip his hand and ruin himself. Maybe I can speed things along.” He looked down at Little Kirby. “Heck, you can help.”

Little Kirby cheered at that. Big Kirby couldn’t blame him. ‘Honestly, if the Squeaks were here they might have a better idea…I wonder what’s keeping them?’

Meanwhile, back on Big Kirby’s Pop Star…

Daroach looked across the hanger as the Squeakers shuffled to and fro, packing in small little this and thats in various crates and boxes. His Airship had gotten a few upgrades over the years. A bigger carrying capacity, for one. Jet thrusters, for another... and maybe a bit more ability in the way of self-defense, too. The twin plasma cannons on each side of the upper deck spoke well to that. ‘I do hope I won’t be needing them, but better to have and not need than need and not have,’ he thought with a chuckle.

They’d had to stop and refuel, but it’d also revealed an unfortunate issue or two; there’d been some loose bars on the ship’s frame, and one of the engines was acting up in a way that he'd described as 'risky'. Doc and a whole cadre of Squeakers swarmed the ship otherwise on the outside, taking his direction in what and how they’d need to go about repairs. It’d take some time; more than he’d hoped to explore this strange, new, but similar dimension that King Dedede’d mentioned, but haste made waste. And he was not one to waste. In the meantime, King Dedede’s Prism Plains castle was a lovely base of operations, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun before heading off. He’d been meaning to head back to Nature Notch anyway- it was so close that he’d considered it to be no real challenge in gaining the riches therein, but perhaps a test of speed would do him well…

‘That Pop Star won’t know what hit them when the Squeak Squad makes their grand debut!’

Chapter 19: New Difficulties

Chapter Text

The next day, it seemed the new store craze hadn’t ended. Tiff wasn’t happy about it, and that was an understatement. “I can’t imagine what he’s up to…” she muttered as she passed by the throng waiting outside. Today they were going to be finishing up the last walls at Great King Dedede’s mansion and beginning on painting, and she was looking forward to seeing the finished product. Part of her wanted to investigate this ‘Restaurant Goan’ herself, but she’d agreed to let the Kirbies handle it; especially if it was a monster. She blinked, the thought stopping her momentarily. “Huh…when did that happen?” she said to herself.

It had been quite a while since she’d felt like she was able to concern herself with…well, herself. Such a large part of her life recently had been worrying about Kirby or Cappy Town at the hands of King Dedede, it was just plain weird to attend to something that, if she was being honest, had absolutely nothing to do with him.

It made her feel kind of guilty, really. It felt like she was pawning off the responsibility of looking after Kirby onto someone else when she had basically volunteered for the task first. ‘Maybe I can take some time out later to help with helping Kawasaki.’ Speaking of, she looked across the street- Kawasaki hadn’t even bothered to put out a lunch special sign for the day. ‘Boy, he’s really gotta be torn up about this,’ she thought sadly. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself and began to march into the restaurant. She could at least help support her friend by buying lunch for the King’s Dees, right? It shouldn’t be THAT bad…

After she’d gotten a few dozen lunches to be delivered to the mansion, she continued on her way.

Or at least, she would’ve, had she not heard a massive shouting coming from the restaurant. Before she could even wonder what happened, a mass of screaming patrons quickly fled from Restaurant Goan; only briefly was she able to wonder just what had happened before two things happened: first, she heard a number of rapid-fire thuds coming from inside the building- and she could see it shake. ‘What in the…?’

She tiptoed closer- only to be met by her brother. “Tiff! There you are!” from the looks of things, he’d actually just come from the place himself. “Don’t go in!” he quickly warned. “The Kirbies are fightin’ the chef!”

“Really?” she asked in surprise. Though she supposed it did make sense. “He DID say they’d take care of it. Wonder how they managed it?”

“I…think he insulted the chef’s cooking.” Tuff admitted. Tiff could only goggle at that. Was that really all it took? “So he brought out a special sorbet he was workin’ on, and…well, things kinda get fuzzy, but I remember they got into a fight, so…”

As if to answer the rest of that, the yells of King Dedede and Escargoon suddenly rang out as they *ran* out, both of them quickly bailing on the scene. Only seconds afterwards, she heard a loud clanging- no, more like a ringing, almost like a dinner bell. What was that?

Then, out of nowhere, she felt a brief, harsh pull on her body, causing her to yelp in surprise- it was almost like she was getting sucked in by Kirby himself! Tuff’s yell of surprise told her she wasn’t alone in that feeling, but fortunately, it ended before they’d been pulled more than a couple of feet. Still, it was shocking enough to have caused her to fall flat, and she and her sibling had to pull themselves up, looking at the building…

…and that was about when something shot out of the ceiling, long, multi-armed, and covered in fire and…soup? She didn’t get much of a good view of it, however, before it seemed to explode in mid-air.

“What was that?!” she blurted out as Kawasaki stumbled out with a surprised yell. She turned to see both Little and Big Kirby walking out of the restaurant, the both of them sharing a little high five.

Kirby was the first to speak as the two glanced up to where the chef had been launched off. “Nice! That’s an interesting spin on Cook, gotta admit.”

“Poyo!” Kirby cheered. But then he seemed to turn inquisitive. “Poyoooo?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll help you with that, no problem,” he casually agreed.

“Wait, what’d you do?” Tiff asked as she ran up to the two of them.

Big Kirby just smiled. “We swapped cooking tips.” Lil’ Kirby laughed in agreement, as Tiff let out a huff of amusem*nt. She’d have something to tell Great King Dedede, and Bandee when she got there.

…though she still felt a little dismayed for leaving it in their hands. Shaking her head, she simply carried on towards the mansion. Maybe some work would take her mind off of it for now…

Susie sighed, as she leaned back in her chair. It had been a number of days of repair, construction, and inventive recycling. Her fabricators had been working around the clock, and even they didn’t get the majority of what was needed done. Still, the major issue had, at least, been solved. She’d managed to, with the help of some of Dedede’s Dees and Magolor’s own assistance, reworked the baseline manufacturing processes. Those didn’t need a ton in the way of raw computational power, just the knowhow to set things up properly. With her fabricators, she’d be able to build out some of what she needed herself, provided she got enough scrap metal. ‘Fortunately, there’s a good deal extra in this factory that can be cannibalized without any loss in efficiency,’ she noted.

A pair of Waddle Dees came up, both with Haltmann Company badges. “We finished with the test facility renovations!” one of them squeaked. “They’re ready any time!”

“Wonderful,” she said as she sat back up. “How goes the progress on the purifiers?” They’d be critical to her keeping her word.

“Almost done!” they responded. “They’ll be ready to engage by tomorrow!” Fantastic workers, these Dees. She wouldn’t need any purifiers nearly as big as the ones in Gigabyte Grounds, at least; it was just pollution for one factory, not an entire region.

She looked up at the large screen, giving readouts of various areas of the facility, and what all needed either repairs, upgrades, or just plain being torn down. It wasn’t a touchscreen, but that was fine for this. The important bit was that she at last had a proper central nervous system for her Haltmann Works expansion plans. She’d probably have to ask Magolor to ferry her back home soon, however- a check in was due anyway, and she needed to pick up some more specialized equipment that it was clear they just didn’t have readily available here. She’d be helping rectify that, though, at least.

Ah, that reminded her. She needed to make sure that the hangar was properly cleaned and its supply cache fully integrated. That was maybe the one thing that idiot King had done that she didn’t feel much of a need to mess with. Well, disregarding that there would need to be a bit of an addition that still needed to be made to the ceiling…

Leaning back, Susie sighed in exhaustion. “I could really go for some ice cream. Or maybe some apple sherbet. That’d be nice.”

Just then, however, one of her fabricators beeped, signaling the completion of another device. Grunting, she got back up. THIS one was worth making sure worked immediately.

“No rest for the wicked or weary,” she mumbled. And if it did, she REALLY needed that sherbet- because she had code to write.

It would all be worth it, though. Of that, she was certain of.

Later that evening, as the sun was beginning to set, Kirby sat on the cliffside near his smaller counterpart’s home. It was a good view, over the sea. But he wasn’t just taking in the atmosphere.

The sound of flapping wings met him after a few more moments, and he hopped up to see Meta Knight, as stoic as ever. “Hey! Enjoy your trip?”

“Hmph.” He grunted, but both knew there was no malice behind it. “I ventured to several corners of this Dream Land. There is surprisingly little in common with our home.”

“Really? That’s kinda wild. No Mirror?” He shook his head. “Floralia?” Another shake of the head. “Wow, that’s kinda nuts.”

“Unfortunately, the most interesting thing I located was a nearby canyon, with a rather large Kabu statue residing in it.” Winged Meta noted.

“A Big Kabu?” Kirby asked in surprise. “Well, they tend to hang out in those kinds of places, so…”

“This was the only one I saw, and it looked fairly different,” Meta Knight informed him. “Much larger than any other I've seen before, and of a slightly different makeup. I believe my counterpart told me about its existence, but I thought it myth and superstition. It wasn’t the point of my travels, so I decided to investigate it at a later date.”

“Right,” Kirby agreed, before his tone turned a bit less happy. “So…I’m guessing you couldn’t find what we were hoping for?”

Meta Knight shook his head. “I suspect my other self’s claim about the lack of a Fountain of Dreams was entirely true. And if there’s no Fountain of Dreams…”

“No Star Rod,” Kirby said with a grimace. “And without the Star Rod, that makes things a LOT tougher. Even I didn’t wind up fighting my Nightmare without it. No clue what might happen if we try going without with this one.” He sighed, looking back out to the sea. “Meaning, we’re still going with Plan B.”

“Which is risky,” Meta Knight noticed as he looked in the same direction. “Considering that while there have been many similarities, there have also been many differences. Our dimension’s Star Rod may not work, or if it does, it may not be as effective.”

“Well, it’s better than Plan C,” Kirby noted sassily. “And I don’t think we want to press The Button.”

“No.” Meta Knight said brusquely. Well, moreso than normal. “No, we will NOT press The Button unless all other avenues have been exhausted or we are in a critical junction. That would risk doing more to alter this Pop Star than any other act we could take. Do not speak of such actions so lightly.”

“I’m not, I’m not,” Kirby reassured him. “But it IS good to remind ourselves that it’s an option now and again.”

“Mmm…” Meta Knight couldn’t disagree with that. So he changed topics. “Has all been well here, then?”

“Yeah, pretty alright,” Kirby said. “Susie’s starting up her factory, Dedede’s got his mansion going now, Bandee’s enjoying the digs, Magolor isn’t trying to grift everyone in sight, everything’s good. Looking forward to picking up the Squeaks. Taranza. They’ll have fun here, I think. So long as they don’t decide to cause trouble.”

“They’ll behave,” Meta Knight reassured. “Daroach seems to have mended his ways to be a bit more honorable now, and Taranza…” Meta Knight trailed off, but they both knew what the issue was there.

“Y’think?” Kirby asked after another moment. “I’ll trust you, then. So, going back to the other topic.” Meta Knight grunted. “We just keep going as we are, seems like. We’ll get at Nightmare, eventually. Unless something catastrophic happens.”

A moment passed, and then he turned, to see Meta Knight glaring at him. “...what? What’d I say?!”

That night within the castle, King Dedede was fuming, and to him, for good reason. “My tricks an traps have taken a real tumble since those blasted ‘Star Allies’ showed up to muddy up the works!” he raved. "It ain't fair! Not one lick! It's cheatin' by bringin' in illegal reinforcements!"

“True, they’re rather meddlesome,” Escargoon admitted. “But they’re also pretty darn powerful. I’m not entirely sure we could stop ‘em, no matter what we wanted.”

“Now that’s jus’ quitter talk!” Dedede shot back as he paced around. “And I ain’t gonna quit until Kirby’s outta the picture- both of ‘em!”

“Well, what exactly are you expecting to do, your lousiness?” the sycophant snail asked. “Those weirdo heroes seem to be making mincemeat of Nightmare’s nasties!” They’d only been in contact with the Sales Guy for a brief period since then- he’d sent over the Cook with surprisingly little fanfare or argument. Dedede wasn’t complaining about THAT, at least.

“Simple!” Dedede said as he took a seat in his chair. “We’re gonna see just how bad they can get!”

It wasn’t long before the Nightmare Enterprises Sales Guy responded, smile as smarmy as ever, for once. “Well! D-Man, been expecting your call.”

That stopped the both of them. “Expectin’ us?” Dedede asked. “Fer what?”

“Well, it’s clear that our cook didn’t exactly get a rave review,” he mentioned, smile dipping only slightly. “However, we’ve got some excellent news for ya, big guy!”

The two bad apples looked at each other in confusion, before turning back towards the screen. “What kinda excellent news?” Escargoon asked carefully. “Excellent for us or for you?”

“Hahahaha! Great question, but no- consider it for…both our sakes,” he said with a nasty grin. “And as a special thank you for sticking by us all this time! You see, we’ve decided to enroll you, King Dedede, into our exclusive and brand new membership-only club! We call it the Select, Unique Customer Keeping Enrichment Rewards system!”

The two ooohed at that. “Sounds fancy!” Dedede said with a grin. “But jus’ what do I get outta it?”

The Sales Guy tipped his glasses in show. “Simply put, my fav monarch? Monsters!”

Stunned silence. And then, Escargoon spoke. “We ALREADY get monsters, ya-”

“Oh, no no no!” Sales Guy elaborated. “Not just ANY monsters, my fine, slimy friend. But rather, deluxe monsters! You see, anything you order? We’ll supercharge it if we’re able, free of charge for you!”

That got them to perk up. “Deluxe monsters for Dedede?” the ruler rumbled. “Dat sounds deeelightful!”

“I thought it would!” the Sales Guy agreed. “Mind you, it doesn’t JUST go for monsters. More standard supplies and gear’ll be beefed up for your mischievous pleasure!”

Though Dedede laughed in delight, his sidekick wasn't quite so giddy. “Well now, that sounds almost too good to be true!” Escargoon considered. “What’s the catch?”

The Sales Guy shrugged, even as he grinned. “Weeellll, we’re not exactly a charity, here. While a freebie here and there IS also one of the perks you’ve earned, there’ll be a little bit of a price hike for some of the monsters you DO order- but I assure you, they’ll be WELL worth the cost.”

“Hmmmm…” King Dedede considered. But it wasn’t long before he made his choice. “Money ain’t a problem! I’ll be sure ta have enough to get me the best monsters with the best chance of clobberin’ Kirby- either one!”

The Sales Guy could only chuckle at that proclamation. “That, my friend, is exactly the thing we like to hear from our select customers!”

Dedede was all too eager to get started. “So then! I want me a-”

“Whoa, whoa now there!” The Sales Guy suddenly interrupted. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m looking forwards to this too- but there’s a teensy bit of red tape we need to get through first,” he warned.

“Awwww- what now?!” the king lamented.

“Simple! Aside from the fact that we need to send you an updated catalogue- which means you might have to reign in a bit of your usual ordering habits- You DO still have a bit of an outstanding balance with us,” he explained. “Now, if you can pay that off in full, then we’re green to go!”

The howl that left Dedede could be heard throughout the castle. However, it didn’t need to be. No, just around the corner and behind a pillar, where the Meta Knight of this world quietly spied on them both, was all that was needed.

‘I have to inform the Star Allies, as well as the others,’ he thought as he slipped off. ‘Both their tasks and mine will only get harder from now on. I can only hope that they are prepared to face the challenge.’

He wasn’t entirely sure he was, himself- but he’d been dealing with such feelings for…a while. He’d simply have to push through regardless, as he always did.

The morning would bring new challenges, one way or another.

Chapter 20: Flexible Understandings

Chapter Text

The day was a pleasant one, with the Cappies enjoying the relative serenity. It was a bit hot, but nothing major. Tiff was enjoying a book under a tree, as was her wont. But though she had been enjoying her own literary bliss for a time, she soon found herself dragged out of it- by her brother, as was HIS wont. He was backed by his friends Honey, Iro, and Spikehead from around town, as well as Fololo and Falala. “Hey, Tiff! Wanna see something cool?”

She lifted her head from her book, but didn’t respond just yet. That line was often the prelude to a prank or something else wasting her time, and she weighed the odds of him being sincere as opposed to meddling. “C’mon!” Tuff said, undaunted, and presuming her silence as a yes. “Magolor said we could see the inside of his ship! It’s gonna be so awesome!” That caught her attention- as far as she was aware, no one had ever actually seen the inside of the thing except for the dimensional travelers, and they hadn’t said a word about it- likely because it was so normal for them.

“SOME of it,” the voice of the aforementioned magician floated from around them, causing them to jump. They looked up above the tree, and, indeed, Magolor was there, floating gently down. “There’s more than a few parts that I’m not letting kids near, now!”

“How’d they convince you?” Tiff found herself asking.

“Oh, these rascals are manipulative!” he said with a laugh. “Would make good salesfolk, believe you me!” That caused a high five between Tuff and the others. “So then, will you be coming along?”

She gave it some thought. “Well…I wanted to check on Kirby soon…”

“Oh, he’s likely out and about right. Our Kirby’s off around…I think he wanted to speak to your Dynablade a bit more? And thought it a good idea to bring your Kirby along.”

“Oh?” That was curious, but it made sense. “Yeah, I guess if he wanted to talk to Dynablade, it’d be a good idea to bring along our Kirby. He helped save her chicks, y’know.”

“Quite the brave feat!” Magolor cheered. “Worthy of a hero, indeed! But, time’s wasting, so! Shall we?”

There was…something about Magolor that pinged off, to her. Then again, Great King Dedede DID say that most of the Star Allies were bad folks that were trying to be good, so maybe that’s just to be expected? She wasn’t sure, but if nothing else, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on her brother so he didn’t get into trouble. She stowed her book, and stood up. “Sure. Lead the way.”

The Lor Starcutter was quite a sight, she had to admit. Though it looked a bit out of place on the ground, it was like nothing else she’d seen in her life. The design looked both sleek and fluffy, somehow, and it carried an air of both majesty and whimsy. She wasn’t even sure how those things could be true at the same time, but it was the best she could manage to describe it. She’d seen it before up close, but this was the first time she was really taking it in. “Ah, here we are,” Magolor crooned. Wordlessly, the entrance to the ship opened, bathed in bright light, and the walkway shot out to provide an easy path up. “There we are, watch your steps! And don’t worry about the light, it’s a masking effect. It’ll go away the closer you get.”

They stepped forwards, and despite the light not getting brighter, Tiff instinctively put her hand up to block it- only to drop it when Magolor’s words proved true, and she soon stepped into what was clearly a large, central room. It was shiny, silver, and was clearly made of some material she’d never seen before. And right in front of her was a large, curved monitor, with a similarly curved control panel beneath it. What made it more surprising was that the whole works seemed to be floating under their own power. “Whoa…”

“‘Whoa’, indeed!” Magolor said with pride. “The Lor Starcutter is a wonder, truly! Some of the finest magical engineering I’ve ever worked with! Now then,” he started, spreading his arms. “This is the control room; where all the piloting and analyzing and whatnot happens! I tend to spend most of my time in here, really. The Lor is capable of so many things- like planetary analysis, temperature regulation, and I suppose it’s obvious that dimensional travel is child’s play, of course…”

He would’ve kept on, had Tuff not interrupted him. “Wait, is this it? It’s just this one room?”

That caused Magolor to stop short- and then give a full belly laugh. “Ahahahahah! No, no! Not at all. No, you simply can’t see the other doors because- well, hold on, I think it’ll be more interesting to just show you. If you’d follow me?” With that, he turned away from the control panel and began floating off.

The kids, all looking at each other in curiosity, did so as he went to, seemingly, one random side of the room. “Wait a second, why’re you-” Iro started, before suddenly a section of the wall seemed to just…break into squared segments before sliding upwards, revealing a hallway. Tiff in particular was honestly shocked. She’d seen no seams or anything that indicated a partition for a door. It was like it had just…formed.

“Tada!” The magician giggled. “ Surprised, were you? Trust me, this is far from the most interesting thing on the Lor. Now, come on, come on!”

The lot of them, Tiff included, quickly followed. “Now, this way lies some of my training rooms for a few of the Star Allies, but mostly it’s the location of various enjoyable facilities such as a dining room, kitchen, playroom, and whatnot.”

“Playroom?!” Tuff asked quickly. “What kinda games you got?”

“Ohoh, this and that, but don’t be fooled!” Magolor said cheekily. “These are games that test your wits as well as your strength. And I rated them for the Star Allies, so they’re not really games for-” he paused momentarily, thinking about it. “Well, no. I SUPPOSE you could take a shot at them if you really wanted to…ah ah!” he quickly cut off Tuff’s volunteering. “Let’s have you get a look at the rest of the Lor before you suddenly make a decision and decide to spend all your time here in there.”

Tuff frowned, but didn’t complain as his friends razzed him about it- they knew him well enough to guess that that very thing would happen. “Fiiine…”

Magolor clapped his hands in agreement. “Excellent! Now then, the dining room and kitchen are through here…”

The tour went on in that respect for some time- Tiff had to admit she was awed at what Magolor seemed to have access to, though she tried to keep her outward expressions a bit more muted. Tuff, on the other hand, saw everything through open-mouthed wonderment, and she couldn’t blame him. Particularly when she saw, through a replay, of their Kirby going through one of the now defunct challenge rooms: ‘Wing’ Kirby, they called him. To be frank, Big Kirby seemed incredibly graceful as he blew through the rooms, though obviously one point did concern her: “Why is he hurting all the Waddle Dees?!” she’d asked in surprise as she watched Kirby seemingly plow through everything with the speed and accuracy of a thunderbolt.

“Oh, because he’s not!” Magolor cheerily explained. “Every monster you see here is holographically generated; nothing is actually real, though they can damage him thanks to the magic involved.” He pressed a few buttons- and the background and area seemed to fade out, leaving Kirby swooping and diving in what appeared to be a plain, grey room environment with nothing but some raised and lowered slopes, floors, and a few other things. As Kirby entered a door, the environment would silently shift around him, presenting the illusion of a massive obstacle course. Most importantly, however, the monsters and Dees were all revealed to be translucent, and strangely blocky… “This is the environment without the visual flairs and textures and whatnot. As you can see, it's artificial. Mind you, we can only see it like this because of the fact that it’s a replay; if you were to try it in real life, you’d still see everything Kirby sees.”

“That’s…actually pretty incredible,” Tiff admitted. “To think that magic is real- and could do something like this…"

“Magic is SO. COOL!” Tuff cheered.

“It’s like a fairy tale legend!” Honey said, nearly swooning.

“That’s so wild…” Iro said, a bit intimidated.

“Well, well, it’s actually a combination of magic AND technology,” Magolor clarified. “The Lor’s a marvel for that reason- she’s a fusion of the best technology in our dimension, and some QUITE powerful magic!” He allowed himself to preen a bit at the ooohs and ahhs. “Now then, if you’re interested, we can check out the sleeping quarters, as well as Kirby’s Ability Room if you’re interested.”

THAT caught Tiff and Tuff’s attention. “Wait, Ability Room? What’s that?”

Magolor turned to her, nonplussed. “Oh, nothing much, just where I keep a few Copy Essences Kirby requested I not throw out so he always can practice with them. Leaf, Whip, I think Hammer’s one of them…”

“Wait, wait wait wait!” Tiff stopped him immediately. “What’s a Copy Essence?”

Magolor stilled, his eyes wide in surprise. “...I beg your pardon?”

“Yeah!” Tiff assured. “I’ve never heard of a ‘Copy Essence’ before with Kirby.”

“Really?! That’s…pretty fascinating, actually,” Magolor said as the other kids watched the by-play. And then, Magolor laughed. “Ohoho! I guess that part of the tour will be more interesting than I thought! Come, come! I suppose this means it falls to yours truly to explain exactly what empowers Kirby- at least, our Kirby. Quite possibly yours, too.”

Thoroughly intrigued now, the party followed him through another unseeable doorway that floated up, and down a long hallway. “As I stated, these are mostly sleeping quarters for those folks that stay here often enough. The first one is Susie’s, you’re not allowed in unless you’re volunteering to be experimented on. The second is Taranza’s, and if you’re interested, we can take a look in there later, I doubt he’ll mind.” Tiff WAS admittedly a bit interested, but she had more important things on her mind now. “The third belongs to a Very Good Friend of mine, but he shall remain nameless for now due to protocol.” Huh. Magolor actually sounded a touch put out about that. Wonder who this friend was? Whoever it was…seemed to be very colorful, judging by the painted jester hat on the entranceway.

Eventually, however, they arrived at the end of the hallway; there was a door directly ahead that said ‘to maintenance’, but on the right was a high tech door with several flashing symbols above it. It didn’t take long to put words to images. “A leaf, a whip, a hammer, a bow and arrow, and an…eye?” she hazarded. It looked kind of like one.

“Ah, those were the last two! Yes, Archer and ESP.” Magolor nodded to himself. Tiff had no clue what ESP was, but she decided not to ask just then. “Right, then. Follow me and we’ll begin our little lesson.”

The group stepped through the entranceway, to see a simple, round room; they were standing on a balcony, and there was clearly a floor above them, judging by the ladders that led to hatch openings. And below them, all in a row on the far end- were five pedestals, upon which hovered strange, glowing stars. “What the…?” Tiff was baffled, and similar expressions of confusions came from the rest of the gathered.

“Follow me down, if you would?” Magolor said, his tone taking on something she recognized as ‘trying to teach someone’. “Now then, you’re all aware that when Kirby swallows something, he can gain an ability from it, correct?”

“Yeah,” Tiff confirmed as they clambered down to approach the objects. “Of course.”

“Well, what you see before you are called Copy Essences. They are, in a way, exactly what they sound like,” he began. “You see, most objects, and many individuals, have something about them- some skill that they excel at, or resonate with extremely strongly, even if it’s not so powerful. It is not just something they can do- it’s part of them, intrinsically linked, whether learned or natural. It is their essence of self.”

The kids stood, enraptured as the magician began to exaggerate with his hand movements as he got more into the explanation. “In truth, it is THAT which Kirby inhales and absorbs into himself more than the opponent or object itself- those are mere collateral damage. That essence is what allows Kirby to gain not only the ability, but proficiency at said ability.” With that, he gestured at the five stars. “When Kirby decides to discard that essence, this is what it looks like in a condensed form. Normally, these would dissipate after some time if Kirby didn’t suck them back up- this energy would be unable to hold its form, and return to the air as simple magical particles. But on these bubble platforms, their energy is held together, and constantly memorized thanks to the bubble’s magic. This allows Kirby to absorb them whenever he pleases- and the bubble will recreate the essence almost instantly from etheric memory.”

All of the kids looked at each other in confusion- most of them only got the basic idea of what he was saying. Tiff, however, had managed to catch more of it than the others (though she had to admit even she had no clue what ‘etheric memory’ was, or how magic was really involved). What she was concerned with was simple. “You mean Kirby could just copy these whenever he wanted, as much as he wanted, and practice with them?!”

“Exactly!” Magolor cheered. “There’s a room above us,” he explained, pointed up. “And it allows Kirby to largely train to his heart’s content- well, barring perhaps a few heavier hitting abilities, but he’s polite enough to not do that!”

“So, if our Kirby wanted to…” Tuff started, catching on. “Maybe he could come here and try out those abilities? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him use those before…”

“Hm. Well, I don’t see why not!” Magolor said after some consideration. “I’m sure my Best Friend Kirby would appreciate it if I helped out his smaller self. I’d offer to save one or two more essences for him, even, but from what you said earlier, he doesn’t know how to properly discard or dismiss them in condensed form, does he?”

Tiff and Tuff shook their heads. “Nope,” Tiff confirmed. “Either he’ll just get hit and it disappears, or it kinda just goes away on its own over time.”

“Hmmm…” Magolor considered that. Not that he was particularly worried about the mini-Kirby, but his friend was obviously enamored. No reason to not keep in his good graces. “I suppose if you bring him here with him already having a Copy Ability, I COULD try to Crack it out of him…”

“Crack?” Tuff asked in surprise. “What’s that?”

“Ah, sorry,” Magolor said with a bit of a flourish. “It’s a spell of my own devising. It basically forces a condensed Copy Essence out of Kirby. Makes a lovely little ‘cracking’ sound when it happens, but doesn’t hurt him. Hence the name. I might be able to use it against yours and snag it before it disappears.”

“Wow. That sounds impressive.” Part of her realized that likely, that technique was used against Kirby more aggressively. But, not the place to say, she supposed.

“That said,” he said as he further considered it, “it might be best to just bring some odds and ends or someone extra for him to swallow just in case it doesn’t work. You never know.”

That, however, she couldn’t ignore. “What do you mean ‘someone’!?” she said hotly. “Kirby doesn’t swallow things that aren’t monsters!”

There was a pause that sent a chill down Tiff’s spine as he regarded her. “Really?” he said simply. “Yours doesn’t? How innocent.”

The implications made Tiff’s heart hammer in her chest. A glance to Tuff showed her he wasn’t much better. But, it was something she felt she had to clarify. “How do you mean?” she asked, trying to keep her voice level.

“Oh, why, Kirby swallows up pretty much whatever’s in his way!” Magolor said without an ounce of menace. “Monster, resident, new, old, doesn’t matter much, honestly! He’ll inhale it and use it as he must. Really, it’s very impressive.”

“Wait, but why would he do that?!” Tiff half-yelled as the others reeled back. It seemed too brutal- even for what she knew of their dimension.

“Because it’s what he does?” Magolor said, the questioning nature coming out as more ‘obvious’ to him. “Kirby is what he is, and he’s quite good at being it! It doesn’t matter the reason- even for a slice of cake, Kirby will inhale and remove anything that stands in his way. You can’t tell me that doesn’t sound familiar to you in the slightest, does it?” He leveled a knowing look at her. “I’ve heard stories around town.”

“...you’re fibbing,” Tiff finally called out. He had to be lying- even though she couldn’t really deny how her Kirby acted sometimes.

“Kirby’s not that bad at all!” Tuff agreed.

“Yeah,” the bigger kid, Iro, backed up. “Kirby’s a nice guy!”

“Perhaps now, yes, but he’s also much younger,” Magolor pointed out. “Our Kirby, though quite nice and I am quite glad to be Very Best Friends with him, DOES have his weaknesses and vices.” His voice turned serious and grave. “Allow me to tell you a story that’s rather legendary in the Star Allies. We largely only call it ‘The Squeak Squad Incident’. Or, perhaps to others, ‘The Shortcake Crisis.’” He shook his head, as though bad memories ran rampant. “Really, it was the most infamous instance of Kirby’s desire for food overtaking his good sense.”

“SHORTCAKE?!” Tiff yelled. “Now I KNOW you’re lying.”

“Am I? Am I really?” Magolor questioned. And right there he began. “The history goes as follows- one day some many years ago, Kirby, in his hunger pangs, had procured quite the delectable slice of strawberry shortcake. A gift from Nova himself, to be sure, and the most decadent cake he’d ever managed to obtain in his many years of life. Several layers of fluffy goodness, perfectly ripe strawberries- ah, but I’m getting too descriptive for it. At any rate, just as Kirby was about to take his first mouth-watering bite? It vanished!”

‘Oh brother,’ Tiff thought, rolling her eyes. Not that Tuff and friends seemed to care, by how they were leaning in. ‘None of this can be for real.’

Not that Magolor let up in the slightest. “Of course, upon realizing that a mysterious thief had absconded with his precious cake, he flew into a terrible rage! Indeed, Kirby’s anger is such that it can slay gods, and here he directed it at the only person he knew with a history of food thievery- his very own good friend King Dedede!”

“Wait, the cool Dedede?” Tuff asked, astonished. “Why’d he think he did it?”

“I can’t say!” Magolor shrugged with a cheeky tone. “Perhaps in his rage he couldn’t remember how his former enemy and now ally had changed. Perhaps he suspected a return to form. Either way, in his haste and anger, he laid siege to the castle, tearing apart tower after tower…”

And so he told her of things. Of how Kirby supposedly tyrannized the Squeak Squad thinking them nothing more than ‘vicious cake thieves!’ (which nearly caused her to laugh out loud), as he destroyed a forest, of how he ‘savaged Meta Knight’ and, ultimately, the climax. “Even when it was discovered that it was no shortcake, but rather a fierce and long-forgotten piece of Dark Matter known as Dark Nebula that had been sealed away to debilitate the main source, Kirby didn’t care a jot. He merely believed that this ancient avatar of darkness had done something to his cake, and he annihilated it utterly.” Magolor shook his head in apparent shame. “I pity the creature- it had only just escaped its captivity, and had grand plans- only to run into the unstoppable force that is Kirby, who dispatched what was once such a mighty foe with contemptuous ease.” He then clapped his hands. “And that’s the story of how Kirby enacted a one-puff Rampage throughout Pop Star for his cake! Of course, the Squeaks knew whose wrath they’d earned well by then, and gifted him another piece of similar quality, which I’m told he enjoyed greatly. T’was not long after they kept touch with him, and when the call came out to form the Star Allies, he and his weren’t long in joining on! Of course, I was one of the first, but that’s not here or there,” Magolor dismissed. “The point is, Kirby can be quite the terror when he feels like it! I suspect yours carries the same potential, if not more.”

“You…you can’t be right!” Tiff rebutted. She couldn’t say it was all lying- it was too detailed. But then…ah! “I’m gonna go talk to Kirby himself, then!”

“Ohohohoh! By all means!” he said easily. “Tell him I said hello!”

She found Big Kirby, as well as King Dedede, near the Haltmann Factory grounds. Just the people she wanted to see. “Kirby! Hey!”

The puff turned around, waving as she and Tuff ran up to him. “Hey, you two! If you’re looking for little me, he’s back home. Got a hankering for melons and I can’t blame him. We spent a while up with Dynablade, y’know!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m glad you had a good time,” she said quickly. “But I was told- I…” she hesitated, not sure how to put it. If she asked outright, would he get mad? Would he- dare she think of it- actually try to suck HER up? Maybe she-

“Magolor told us about somethin’ called the ‘Squeak Squad Incident’,” Tuff blurted out. Tiff could only look at him in stunned silence. “Something about shortcake. Issat true?” the boy asked.

Silence hung thick in the air for a few seconds after that. Tiff mentally began to panic. ‘Oh no! What if it’s true? What if he really did do all that and we’ve been trusting someone who’d tear through an entire country for a slice of-'

“BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Great King Dedede burst out laughing. “Wooohahahahahah! I told you he was going to do it if you didn’t!” he blurted out to Kirby. Tiff managed to refocus on him, only to see that Big Kirby was…blushing? And he had an awfully embarrassed look on his face.

That…wasn’t what she was expecting, exactly. A full throated denial, a stoic confirmation, but not embarrassment. “That…wasn’t one of my better moments,” he mumbled out, turning away from them somewhat.

“Bwahahahah! You’re tellin’ me! Can’t believe you went and tried to wallop me over a little piece of strawberry shortcake!” Great King Dedede guffawed.

“Wait, so he really did beat you up over shortcake?” Tuff asked in surprise. He didn’t really seem all that offended at it…

“Aw, he held back plenty when he actually fought me,” Dedede dismissed. “We were pretty quick to clear the air afterwards, but at the time I wasn’t feeling so apologetic,” he admitted with a grin towards Kirby, who had a wry look on his face. “Hucked him straight into the Squeaks who were trying to run, blew a wall out, sent him clear into a ravine, and forgot about it.” He shrugged. “Didn’t have a clue about the whole rest of the adventure until I was told about it later. I just focused on repairing the massive hole in my castle that trouble caused.”

“Huh. That’s kinda different than what Magolor said,” Tuff noted. “He said Kirby beat you until you were pleading for mercy and then he took off after the Squeaks himself.”

“I knew it!” Tiff said triumphantly. “I knew he was lying! You didn’t rampage through the countryside, or ‘savage Meta Knight’, or suck up innocent creatures at all, didn’t you?”

Kirby sighed, blush still on his face, which quickly put a halt to her exulting. “I mean…I was hungry,” he admitted. “And it was a REALLY good slice of strawberry shortcake…”

“Wait, so he wasn’t lying?” Tuff said as Tiff gasped.

“Well, it’s Magolor,” Dedede said. “He used to be all about lying, but we’ve taught him better nowadays. Now, it’s more like he prefers to… ‘massage the truth’, I think was the way he phrased it.”

“Massage the- that’s just lying in a different way!” Tiff said. “You’ve gotta do something about that!”

“Well, he’s mostly telling stories for dramatic effect,” Kirby said. “But yeah, I’ll give him an earful for it. That said…” And here he met her eyes. “I mean, I DO suck up a lot of things,” he admitted. “Usually, it’s because I need some kind of ability real bad, and usually it’s because I’m trying to save something or someone. Often both.”

Tiff blinked. “So…you do?”

He nodded. “Yup. Gonna be honest Tiff, even with what I’ve been told about this dimension? I think you don’t quite get how nice you’ve had it here.” He fixed her with a level eye. “Our Pop Star’s great, and when it’s peaceful? It’s AMAZING. But I’ve had to defend Pop Star against threats that wanted it conquered or destroyed and had the power to do it. Consistently. Remember, the threat scale for the Star Allies?” She did. “They’re all named after enemies I’ve had to personally take out. That kinda threat in general? You kinda have to use what you have on hand. Sometimes…” He shrugged. “Yeah. Sometimes I really need to burn something blocking my way and the only thing nearby is a sleeping Burning Leo. No, he hasn’t done anything to anyone yet, just minding his business. They’re still getting sucked up because it could mean the difference between other people getting to wake up tomorrow, or EVERYONE sleeping- for good.”

The kids fell silent at that explanation. Tiff looked, in perhaps desperation, to King Dedede- the funny and kind ruler she’d started to get to know as of late. In that moment, he looked far more world-weary than she’d ever seen him as he nodded quietly, and she knew then and there two things. One, that this Kirby had seen far more than anyone she’d known, save perhaps her own Meta Knight.

Two, that she never wanted her Kirby to wear that same expression. “...I see.” What else could she say? Tuff didn’t even bother, simply turning away, rubbing his arm in abashment. “Well…could you not do that here, if possible?”

Kirby shrugged. “I mean, sure, if I can. I make no promises, though. Not like they lose a ton of time out of their day, so-”

Wait, what? “What?” she asked out loud.

Kirby blinked in confusion. “What do you mean, what?”

“Time out of their day? How can you say that when you’re…y’know?” Tiff said hesitantly. She hardly wanted to think it.

“No, seriously, what are you talking about?” Kirby said with clear confusion. “Yeah, getting inhaled isn’t the most pleasant thing, and reasserting after I swallow can be disorienting, but if I need to copy someone’s ability essence, that’s kinda the only way I can really do it- unless someone’s got a copy essence already available.”

“Reassert- do they not, y’know. Perish?” Tiff finally asked. This was getting too strange.

To her surprised, they both goggled. “Uh, NO! I mean, I’ve had to put the permanent kibosh on some enemies before, yeah, but generally me swallowing people and kicking some butt? Why would I be that cruel?! Swallowing doesn’t work that way!” he insisted.

“But you- then…” she paused…and groaned as she remembered what they’d JUST said about Magolor. “UGGGGGHHH! He really WAS messing with us the whole time, wasn’t he?!”

“Yuuuup,” Kirby said plainly. “When I swallow something, it…well, to be honest, I’m not entirely certain how it works myself, but you’re not DEAD. Once I copy the essence, I basically ‘eject’ whatever I swallow and you’ll wind up back where you were when I swallowed you. Just some things or people have an essence I really need to borrow at the time, y’know? Again, really not the most pleasant of things, I’ll admit, but…” he trailed off. “Sometimes things happen.”

“So it’s non-lethal?” Tiff affirmed.

“Totally,” Kirby affirmed. “But, to get back to a better topic- I DID beat up an ancient forgotten piece of an evil I thought I’d finished off already. It really wasn’t that big of a deal, though, it kinda went down like a chump,” he dismissed. “I was REALLY more worried about the cake at that point.”

“ATTENTION LOITERERS!” a sudden speaker system went off, shocking all present. “UNLESS YOU HAVE HALTMANN WORKS RELATED BUSINESS ON THESE GROUNDS, PLEASE LEAVE THE AREA BECAUSE YOU ARE DISTURBING CONSTRUCTION.” A pause. “THIS MEANS YOU, PINKY, BIG GUY, SHARP EYES, AND NO EYES!”

“...no eyes?” Tuff mumbled.

Kirby sighed. “Look, I gotta get in there- as it happens, I DO HAVE BUSINESS!” he yelled the last part back towards the still incomplete factory.

“THEN GET IN HERE AND STOP LOLLYGAGGING! MY TIME IS VALUABLE!” came the response over the speakers as the gates opened.

Turning back to the kids, he shrugged. “Welp, that’s my cue. Sorry if Mags freaked you out- he does that, but he’s just having fun. He doesn’t mean anything by it!”

“Well, I’m not gonna ‘mean anything’ when I pop Magolor one myself!” Tiff yelled in annoyance as she stomped off, Tuff following her with a quick ‘hey, wait! I still wanna know more about magic!’

Kirby just watched the two of them go for a moment before he and Dedede headed in. “I think they’re gonna get along fine.”

“You really see the best in everyone,” Dedede noted dryly.

“Better than the worst!” Kirby happily admitted as the main doors to the much whiter, much cleaner, and much more screwhead-shaped factory opened.

Susie waited for them inside. “Welcome. Finally. Enjoy using my front gates as a social forum?”

“Hey, they came up out of nowhere,” Kirby said casually as he walked in, looking around. “Whoa. Talk about memories.”

“I’ve had to utilize only the basic design for now,” Susie noted. “But, we’re working on building down in order to minimize environmental impact and maximize space. Still, yes, you’ll likely be familiar with several sights, if not nearly at the scale of before. But I doubt you came here for a tour.”

“Nope,” Dedede confirmed. “We’re just wondering if you managed to make any progress with our little project.”

“I have, in fact,” she answered. “It’ll take some time to work in the details, but the boilerplate code is ready and sound.”

“Awesome,” Dedede sounded off. “This oughta help a ton, then.”

“Indeed,” Susie agreed. “Step One of the Rival Elimination Plan is underway.”

The two heroes blinked at that. “Riv- we are NOT calling this the ‘Rival Elimination Plan!” Kirby squeaked. “That’s so-”

“It’s accurate, thank you,” Susie briskly said. “They are technically rivals to me, we are eliminating them.”

“It’s a force of undiluted evil using monsters to terrorize and control planets, Susie!” Kirby said exasperatedly.

Dedede just groaned as the two continued to bicker.

Chapter 21: Carnevil Games

Chapter Text

“Right, right,” Magolor sighed as he maneuvered the slide into place, next to the jungle gym and swings. “Is this good, then?” he asked. “Really, I could do SO much more than this-”

“Nope,” Big Kirby immediately shut down. “This is your punishment for exaggerating, you don’t get to go all out.” Kirby had, in fact, kept to his word about haranguing Magolor about his ‘storytime’ the other day, and it had been decided that his punishment would be to assist in construction of a local playground for the kids, which was something they’d been hoping for for some time. Susie had agreed to assist in supplying the materials- though it was less out of the kindness of her heart and more because she could put the Haltmann Works Company logo on things like the aforementioned slide, and test her production capacity at a low level, to boot. ‘Two birds, one blaster shot,’ she’d said. Kirby wasn’t sure if that was the right phrase, but whatever.

“All I’m saying is that I could make a few improvements to, say, that jungle gym! Give it some capacity to change shape to keep things fresh, maybe!” Magolor implored. “It’d help with reflexes and-”

“Nooope!” Kirby said with a mischievous grin. “Now hurry up, next up is a merry-go-round!”

“How’d she craft THAT so quickly?” he muttered. “For a factory that’s still under construction, she’s already putting it to a lot of work!”

“Preliminary tests are always vital to ensure that operations will work as intended before ramping up to full capacity,” Susie said as she floated over. “It’s a basic rule of production. Make sure your pipeline works before you start shoving things through it at full speed.” Magolor had nothing to say to that, save for more general complaining. “Now get back to it, because I’ve got a few more props to move.”

Tiff and Tuff watched it all with a satisfied air, as Little Kirby sat atop his bigger counterpart’s head. The latter wasn’t sure why, but he wasn’t going to say anything about it. The doe-eyed looks Tiff had given the sight said it was more than worth it to him. “Thanks for doing this for us, Big Kirby.” Tiff remarks. “It’s a great way to punish him for lying, and helps out the town to boot!”

“I’m just looking forward to FINALLY getting to see how high I can swing!” Tuff admitted. “Plus, it’s cool to watch him just…LIFT things!”

“It’s not easy, you know!” Magolor called as he glanced back. “This takes time and practice! Practice that could go towards making a proper amusem*nt park instead of a mere playplace!”

“That’d be awesome!” Tuff said. “But this is good for now!” The others just sat back, and enjoyed the punishment.

However, they weren’t the only ones. “So, that fancy-pants magician wants to make an ‘amusem*nt park’, eh?” Dedede grinned from across the street, spying from around a bush along with Escargoon. “Well, shame that I’ll beat ‘em to the punch! With what I got in mind, I’m ‘bout to wipe the shine offa those universal unwanteds and back onto where it belongs- ME!” He laughed, as he realized he could do that and handle his Kirby problem at the same time…

The Dees were going to be working overtime.

The next day, his punishment completed, Magolor found himself making a few last minute plans as he walked with Susie. “Daroach should at least be ready by now,” he mumbled to himself as Susie looked at him in questioning. “Taranza should be, too, but you never know with him…”

“I can’t say I’d be very opposed to making two trips,” Susie pointed out. “I’d like to see if anything I or the Dees working with me have learned here could be applied to the Shiver Star factory’s production modules. If I could get both of them working in tandem properly, that’d be quite the boon to production speed and variety.” She looked away for a moment in annoyance at being reminded of something in particular: the reason they were here in the first place. “I wish we could find a blasted power source for the dimensional portal devices, but that’ll have to wait.”

Magolor wasn’t sure what to say about that. “Hmm. Should I drop you off there, then, and pick you up later? I might be able to just send Daroach through,” Magolor suggested. Before the conversation could continue, however, the two of them saw a commotion near the square. There were a number of tickets scattered about, and Cappies were buzzing with excitement. “Well now, what’s all this about?” He picked up one, to see it was just a silhouette of the castle with the king’s face on it.

“The King said that he built an amusem*nt park! And everyone’s invited for the opening this weekend!” one of the Cappies said in response.

Magolor went still. “...A WHAT?”

“Oh my,” Susie said in surprise. “That’s unexpected for what little I know of him.”

“It’s unexpected for everyone,” came Tiff’s voice. They turned to see her waving a pair of tickets at arm’s length towards them. “Which means it’s probably some sorta scam. The weekend’s in two days, and he’s been working on something at the castle around the clock. Now we know what.”

Susie glanced back at Magolor, who was muttering to himself rapidly. “Well, this seems uncharacteristic of him,” Susie noted. “I wonder just why this is happening. Perhaps an attempt at restoring his public image?”

“Well, we’re certainly going to find out!” Magolor said suddenly. The two of them turned to him- and yes, the magician seemed to have a determined expression on his face now, looking at the both of them with resolution. “Susie, my apologies, but our trip back is going to be a touch delayed.”

“...pardon?” Susie asked carefully.

“Once we leave, we’ve got enough to do that the time differential means that by the time we get back, the event will likely be over with! That means we’re staying for now!” he said resolutely. “I’ll not let some amateur show ME up for the sake of some pithy words!”

Susie just sighed as Tiff looked between them. “Well…I suppose this might be fine,” she concluded. “I can do some extra bug-checking.” Though Tiff had no clue what that meant.

Later, she would ask Big Kirby, to which his response was simple. “His ego can’t handle someone else doing amusem*nt parks better than him.”

The next day was a lot of buzz and curiosity, with Tiff and Tuff electing to spend it AWAY from the castle. Little Kirby had spent the day with them as they tried to explain what an amusem*nt park was; Big Kirby had been talking with Winged Meta Knight for some reason, and thus was largely unavailable. Great King Dedede and Bandee, on the other hand, had a ball regaling the young Kirby with stories aplenty about spinning rides, challenging shot games, obstacle courses, and bouncing rhythm games. (Though that last one sounded awfully hectic to Tiff, regardless of how much he liked it…) That said, they’d begged off going- not because they disliked parks, obviously, but because they knew neither would be welcome outright.

Magolor, surprisingly, was holed up in his ship, refusing to come out or answer to anyone. The reason for it, however, would be revealed the following day when everyone proceeded to head up to Dedede’s castle.

Big Kirby, along with Magolor had elected to escort his younger counterpart, but was soon left behind after some of the local kids had egged him on to hurry up. They could see a massive crowd at the entrance, all very excited and interested, judging by the high-energy talk going about. “Not the biggest I’ve seen…” Kirby muttered as he watched the kids excitedly talk with each other. And it’s right in the castle?”

“Clearly a cheap measure to provide some extra grandeur,” Magolor criticized, harumphing. “I doubt the entire works have much consideration for spacing.”

Big Kirby just rolled his eyes. ‘Boy, this guy can get particular when it comes to amusem*nt parks.’ Not that that wasn’t obvious. And speaking of obvious. “Hey, do me a favor? It’s something you might get a kick out of, anyway…”

That piqued his interest. “What is it, Very Best Friend?” Magolor said, turning to him.

As Kirby explained the idea, Magolor had to admit it. He WOULD get a kick out of this.

Meanwhile, Tiff was livid. “...this is probably another trap?!” she said hotly. She’d not trusted this one bit, and had been more than a little shocked that her Kirby had shown up.

“But how could Dedede trap Kirby here?” Lololo asked.

“This is way too public for him to try anything!” Lalala added.

Considering that, Tiff had to admit they had a point. But that still didn’t shake her suspicions entirely. Especially not after Dedede and Escargoon arrived- indeed, on massive floats, dancing and likely pretending that they were just here to have a good time. Not that the Cappies (or Kirby) seemed to notice- they quickly bought into the presentation and looked to be quite happy with the festivities.

There was even an indoor feast hall, which seemed to get the adults’ approval- “Hey!” -alongside a certain big puff’s. “Can’t say I’m surprised to see him here,” Big Kirby said as Little Kirby cheered a hello. “What, am I not a good escort?” he asked good naturedly as he patted the kid’s head, to his squeals.

“Oh, so you were supposed to keep an eye on him?” Tiff asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, but you know him by now- ran off and next thing we know, he’s gone! Glad you all found him, though,” Kirby said happily. “So, what do you think of this all? It’s a pretty nice spread, at least.”

“It’s suspicious,” Tiff immediately answered. “But I can’t think of a reason as to why he’d do it. There’s no WAY King Dedede suddenly cares about his image like this. Do you have any ideas?”

Big Kirby shrugged. “I mean, maybe he DOES mean it. You never know!”

“I don’t like it,” Magolor said without warning. “The attractions are far too close together. It doesn’t allow you to take in the sights, the sounds! There’s no sense of wonder, just immediate excitement and overwhelming sensation. No wonder at all!”

She wasn’t expecting that out of him. “Wow…you’re really into amusem*nt parks, huh?” Tiff noted. She’d not seen him this passionate about anything, yet- even his ‘trick’ on her hadn’t been as fervent.

“Well…” Magalor turned away, huffing a bit. “Aside from magic, it’s become a bit of a passion of mine, yes. Had a bit of a life change a while back, you could say, and I found that the design and creation of amusem*nt parks does wonders for me.”

That sounded interesting, she had to admit- but she’d have to ask about it another time. “Well, right now I’m just wondering what King Dedede has in mind for Kirby. There’s gotta be something else at play here.”

“Eh, don’t worry too much about it,” Big Kirby dismissed. “We’ll keep an eye out. For now, the only playing is checking out those rides.”

“Hmmm…” It only took her a bit to decide. “Alright…but you’ll let me know if anything weird starts happening, right?”

“Sure thing,” he assured.

Magolor just huffed, before he started to float off. “Well then, I’ll be around. There’s a lot about this park to complain about.”

Tiff just scoffed at that, before Tuff dragged her and Little Kirby off. She supposed she’d have to see what came of it all. In the meantime, though…well, at least her Kirby was having a fun time.

For a while, it actually seemed perfectly fine. She wasn’t keen on the go-karting like Tuff was, but the spinning cups turned out to be a perfectly nice time- at least up until Tuff tried to make them go way too fast. It wasn’t much longer before she insisted on bailing on that, mostly to stop her stomach from spinning, too. Still, it was hard to get (too) mad at him. “Hey!” the aforementioned pest yelled over. “Kirby wants a snack so we’re gonna get a few things and then we’re headed for the roller coaster!”

“D-don’t mention food to me right now!” she complained as she fought to keep her breakfast down. Tuff just laughed in response and he, Kirby and the rest headed off.

After getting some water and calming down, however, she sought to look them up. “Tuff? Why, he was over on the far end, last I checked- lots of fancy foods down there!” the mayor said once she asked. “I can’t blame the boy, hohoho!”

So off she went; Tuff wasn’t exactly a light eater himself, so she wasn’t surprised when she saw him stuffing his face with a plate full of meat, shrimp, and other things. Lololo and Lalala comparatively had much lighter fare, as did the trio of Iro, Honey and Spikehead. “You know you’ll get sick later on all that, right?”

“Nah, I got a stomach of steel!” Tuff professed as he bit into another piece.

“He’s no Kirby, but he can pack it away for sure!” Spikehead agreed.

“Actually…” Tiff began as she looked around. There was a certain pink puffball conspicuously missing. “Where IS Kirby, for that matter?”

The lot of them looked at each other in surprise. “Whaddya mean? He was right…” Tuff paused to look behind him- only to notice a lack of pink. “...here? Hey!”

Tiff was about to berate her brother once again, before she spotted a flash of pink headed a bit out of bounds, into a room elsewhere. “Kirby, wait! That’s not part of the amusem*nt park!” she moved to chase him, as did the rest of the group.

“Kirby, where ya goin?!” Tuff asked as they rounded the corner, seeing him munching on a massive melon- only for a portion of the wall to suddenly fall away- and the ground they were on to tilt, causing the whole group to be forcibly launched into the hidden passage.

The wall came up, the ground back down, and no one was the wiser.

The slide spun them around and down, and not a one of them was certain what was up and what was down until they all collapsed, dizzy, sore, and confused.

“Is…is everyone alright?” Tiff asked.

“I think so…” came several mutters. But, the lot of them all managed to get up. Nothing permanent, at least.

“Where ARE we?” asked Honey. They could see that it was dark, stone and some steel, and poorly lit.

“I…I don’t know,” Tiff admitted as she looked around. “I’ve never seen this place before.”

“But don’t you live here?!” Spikehead asked panickedly.

“That doesn’t mean-” Tiff started, only to be interrupted by part of the wall lighting up, revealing it to be a screen.

“Enjoy the trip?” the image of King Dedede laughed, Escargoon by his side.

Tiff huffed. “I knew you were up to something…” she muttered.

“Maybe so!” King Dedede agreed. “But now you’re gonna be rewarded, ‘cause you’re gonna be the first to test our scariest ride!”

“Prepare for the ride of a lifetime!” Escargoon taunted. “Dare you enter the ‘Crushing Caverns’?”

Well…that didn’t sound ominous at all.

It didn’t help when Little Kirby found yet another melon sitting in a roller coaster seat, only for it to be a fake- that got them onto the darn thing. No, that was when they found themselves careening down a stone slide that had the lot of them screaming. Left and right the ‘ride’ threw them, and all they could do was hold on for dear life. “Brace yourselves!” Tiff managed to get out, before they blew through a bright doorway, and crashed down into what looked like a lake, eventually stopping next to a piece of land, which had hallway opening not far away to the right. The light down there gave off a copper tint, bathing everything in an oddly putrid glow. “...eugh,” was all that Tiff could say.

“We made it, at least…” Tuff started to say, but quickly trailed off. Where they’d ended up was nowhere they’d have anticipated in the slightest. The place seemed like a cavern of death and despair- a number of statues, including one massive one resembling Dedede in front of them lined the area, and they could see gross, ichorous cracks in the ground in a distance, like something had been trapped underneath- and was trying to break free. “O-or did we?”

“Relax, Tuff,” his sister tried to reassure. “It’s all fake just to scare us!”

That was when she heard- and felt- a massive rumbling as the seat guards lifted. Quite soon she realized that it was the massive statue, easily stretching up to the roof of an already high cavern and nearly as wide seemed to grind its way towards them.

In this moment, Tiff started to think that she’d seriously underestimated Dedede. “RUN!”

They didn’t need to be told twice, as the lot of them started sprinting down the only opening available to them. ‘Has he lost his marbles!?’ Tiff thought to herself.

The entire group ran screaming as the massive statue chased after them. “We’re never outrunning that thing! Kirby! Can you suck it up!?” Tuff yelled.

“Please try!” Tiff added. It was selfish of her, and she hated the fact, but it was their only option! She quickly ran past as he turned to face the creature, an opening to a wider room just ahead. Maybe, just maybe…!

But no. There was a massive rumbling, and debrief flew past her head as the lot of them stumbled into the room, each wall lined with a similar statue. She turned- and immediately had to wave the smoke out of her face as Kirby emerged, coughing up a storm. ‘The dust-!’

And the statue seemed to recognize that, lifting a massive slab above its head, intent on finishing the deed. Tiff couldn’t even scream-

-but she didn’t need to; a strange sound she’d never heard before reverberated through the air as several dark orbs suddenly careened towards the stone face, bursting both the head and the rock slab it carried to smithereens. “W-what?”

“My my,” a familiarly smug voice came from behind them. “See? This is what I was talking about. No sense of a unified theme at all, here!” He paused, looking over the scene. “Although really, I don’t think this was intended to be ‘amusing’ at all.”

“M-magolor?!” Tuff said in surprise. Tiff could certainly understand that. “How?”

“The very same!” he announced. “And as for ‘how’, I must confess, that came by way of a friend of yours.” He gestured to behind them, to see a familiar masked friend.

“Meta Knight!” Tiff cheered. Sword Knight and Blade Knight were quick to drop down as well. Suddenly, their chances of escape had skyrocketed!

“We saw through several security cameras that you had been taken,” Meta Knight explained.

“Speakin’ of, they’ve all been trashed,” Sword Knight noted. “Dedede can’t see a thing, now!”

“Well, really, I was the one who noticed a whole different area when I spied it through a glass floor during my inspections,” Magolor muttered, before he spoke up. “Nonetheless, we met up and came to the same conclusion after no one could find you. And so here we are!”

“We need to get you out of here, fast!” Meta Knight ordered. “We are still in danger!” Just as he said that, yet another two statues began to move- and both Meta Knight and Magolor were quick to act, with the former and his knights moving to intercept one, and Magolor priming a second triple blast for the other.

Tuff was stunned as he saw Magolor’s hands, then body light up- and from them a trio of fireballs careened forth, each as big as him! On impact, the room shuddered, as a massive hole was blown through the mighty construct. “Whoooa!”

The Knights were no slouches either, their sword work proving hardier in this case. With shouts of effort and mighty swings, they brought down their own statues as well. Before long, any animate inanimates had been felled by their hands, with none of them even able to pose a great threat. “That was sweet…!” Tuff said in awe.

“Let us go, now!” Meta Knight ordered.

“Right, right. Exit’s thisaway, ladies and gents!” Magolor informed as he began to float to the other end of the room. The kids eagerly followed him, with Meta Knight and his knights watching the rearguard.

After a few quiet minutes of travel, Tuff jogged up to Magolor- he’d at least been going slow enough to let them keep up. “Hey…do ya think I could learn magic?” He quietly asked.

Magolor turned to him in surprise, eying him a bit. “Magic takes time to learn, my boy. It’s not something you can master in an afternoon.”

“I know, I know…but could I?” he pressed as his eyes shined.

Magolor sighed. “Well, theoretically, anyone has potential for magic, down to the humblest Waddle Dee…but I’m not much of a teaching sort, really…” he admitted.

“But you were teaching us the other day!” Tuff argued.

“No no, I was telling you, not teaching! That’s a whole different ballgame. Susie can teach. Taranza can teach. Me? Noooo, no no no,” he waved off.

“Have you tried teaching before?” Tuff pressed.

“Well…no. But I’d be horrible at it!” the magician insisted. “So there you go!” Tuff fell silent, and Magolor considered that to be the end of it as they continued to make their way through the underground area.

Chapter 22: Double Bluff

Chapter Text

They hadn’t met with any further resistance as they made their way out, thankfully. It wasn’t anything anyone had wanted to deal with, and they soon found themselves out by way of one of the nearby hallways that Tiff thankfully recognized. “Finally!” she breathed out as the others cheered their escape. “C’mon, we need to go tell everyone just what this park is REALLY about!” That got a round of agreements, though…

“Well, I’m sure they’ll believe you,” Magolor said idly. “But if you don’t mind?” And to their surprise, he turned to go right back down. “Just a couple of things I’d like to check out, if you don’t mind! I’ll be along in due time.” While they wanted to ask just what, Meta Knight shook his head, dissuading them. “Stay safe now, hm?” With those parting words, the trapdoor closed behind him, leaving them without him.

“C’mon, let’s go!” Tuff urged, and everyone took off for the fairgrounds. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to find the mayor, and from there get everyone’s attention on them, allowing them to tell just what exactly had happened. “...so really, King Dedede only cooked up this whole thing to get at Kirby!” she announced, finishing her tale.

“...Well, I suspected,” the Mayor admitted. The assorted Cappies didn’t disagree; Tiff and Tuff were relieved to see that the townsfolk at least had learned enough to consider the possibility by now. Even moreso when they began to discuss going home. ‘Finally,’ she thought. ‘This whole thing can be over and done wi-’

“Attention, everyone! Your attention please!” Escargoon's voice, amplified, spoke over the din. “Before you all try to leave- good luck with that- we here at Castle Dedede would like to give you one last treat before ya go!” Naturally, no one in particular was too intrigued with this. At least, not until he cut the dramatic pause as a rich, electronic beat began to sound from inside the castle, along with…singing? “That’s right! We got ourselves an old-fashioned sing-off! Aaaand with the grand prize of a lifetime supply of watermelons!” came the announcement.

Tiff swore she felt herself wither a bit inside at the cheering, and a bit more at the stampede into the castle, Kirby among them. ‘These people…’

However, as she was preparing to charge after Kirby, she heard a sound like a rotating fan… “Well, now,” Susie stated, Kirby flying alongside her as her Transporter brought her lower. “I have to say, Magolor’s parks tend to be more lively than this.”

“Everyone just went inside because they announced some silly karaoke contest!” Tiff lamented. “It’s gotta be a trap for Kirby!”

At that, Susie and Big Kirby looked at each other in surprise. “Huh. This actually might work out for us,” the latter noted.

“Or it could be quite troublesome,” Susie argued, before turning to Tiff. “Lead the way, please.”

Susie didn’t know what either of them were talking about, but at this point she didn’t matter, as she and Tuff quickly raced to catch up with the crowd, coming across Magolor, who seemed to simply wink at them when they fixed him with surprised expressions. "Personal business," was all he said before joining them. Tiff put it out of her head- no time for that now.

Before long, they’d all made it to the source of the music- and to their surprise, it seemed to be the throne room. Bright, pulsing lights, pounding music, and currently, a very off-key Chief Bookem trying to sing into a very large microphone. “In here…? But why?” Tiff muttered- before noticing just where her charge was. “Wait, Kirby! Shoot! What’s he doing over there?” The crowd was getting rowdy, and he was starting to get bounced every which way!

Big Kirby, Magolor, and Susie meanwhile all squinted, looking carefully at what the officer was holding. “Wait a second…” Big Kirby started to say. “Is that-”

“The crux of the trap,” an accented voice came from behind them all. They turned as one to see Meta Knight. “That is indeed a monster, bought by King Dedede- and the stage is really the transmitter for Nightmare Enterprises’ monster delivery system!”

“What would that do to him?” Tiff asked in alarm.

“The second Kirby steps on that stage, he would be uploaded to Nightmare Enterprises!” Meta Knight warned.

“I thought so!” Big Kirby exclaimed. “Just like Dedede and Susie said. And that monster- that’s a Walky!”

“Ah- you have encountered it before?” Meta Knight asked.

“For sure! I love seeing Walkies around!” Big Kirby grinned- before he frowned. “But why would he even DO that? He’s ASKING for it…”

Meta Knight made a noise of confusion. “Hm? What do you mean?”

They all paused at that. “...he doesn’t know,” Susie supplied, her eyes going wide as she watched everyone start to fight over Walky. “And that means this Nightmare likely doesn’t know, either.” Without warning, she grabbed something from her suit pocket; though she kept her hand around it, so no one could see what it was. This. This could be big.” With that, she turned to Big Kirby. “C’mon!”

The pink puff quickly leapt up, floating with Susie via her Transporter. Fortunately, Little Kirby was still being kept in the back by the throng, which made it easy to snag him.

“What are they doing?!” Tiff yelled in surprise as they seemed to bring him up to the front of the pile; she saw Susie whispering something in Little Kirby’s ‘ear’, for lack of a better term…but he seemed happy enough about it, surprisingly, as she patted him on the back. With that, they both plopped him right on the stage facing the crowd- and right where the mic was, alongside a number of other Cappies trying to vie for Walky.

And that’s when Little Kirby opened his mouth.

“He’s inhaling!” Needless to say, everyone BOLTED off the stage, leaving Little Kirby, after a bit of struggle, to inhale the monster himself.

In a flash, Little Kirby soon gained a new pair of simple, red headphones, as well as a small microphone to sing in.

“Awesome!” Big Kirby cheered as Susie quickly landed, and Magolor simply shook his head. “Mike Kirby in the house!”

“I have never heard of ‘Mike Kirby’ before, “Meta Knight admitted. “This is new to me…”

“Uhh…is Mike Kirby good?” Tiff asked as Little Kirby began bobbing to a beat only he could hear.

And to her shock, Susie and Magolor BOTH proceeded to cover their ears (or where their ears would logically be). “It means-” Susie started.

“HIT THE DECK!” Magolor finished loudly as he suited action to words. Tiff and Tuff, immensely worried about this out-of-character action, quickly did the same.

Which was good, because right then, Mike Kirby began to sing.

Tiff…well, covering her ears didn’t really help. Not at all. She felt like she was being buffeted by shockwaves coming in via drills straight through her ears, and she had to grit her teeth as the entire room seemed to rumble in fright of Little Kirby’s awful singing voice…

…until a bright light suddenly activated around Little Kirby, and he vanished.

Dead silence, and Big Kirby blanched. “...aw, crud, he didn’t do it fast enough.”

Susie cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Well. Hopefully at least one good thing happened…” she muttered as she glared at King Dedede at the head of the crowd, dancing in delight over his seemingly vanquished nemesis, and everyone else simply milled about in confusion. Tiff was about to ask what that was, halfway into despair- before suddenly another shining light, and electricity began to arc from the service platform. “Wait, it’s activating again?” Susie said in surprise.

And indeed it was- with a flash and a pop, Little Kirby returned just as quickly, and still had a microphone. He took another breath-

“Oh, no you don’t!” Susie quickly said, hopping up and drawing her blaster- Tiff hadn’t even seen her bring it in. She quickly fired off a trio of shots that hit Kirby dead center. They threw him back a bit with a squeal, and they noticed the Mike power dissipating from him in small motes of purple energy…but fortunately, Kirby quickly got back up, seemingly surprised at it all, but none the worse for wear.

Tiff was about to tear into her, before both Magolor and Big Kirby stopped her. “Trust me, that was for the good of everyone here!” Magolor insisted. “And THAT’S not exaggeration.”

“Yeeeaah, the thing about the Mike power, awesome as it is to really let loose and sing? Can’t really choose whether it affects friend, foe, or building,” Big Kirby grinned, slightly embarrassed. “It’s kinda ridiculously strong, especially when I REALLY get to belt out my tunes, but…yeah, half this castle would probably be rubble if you let him go on.”

“...well, why’d you DO such a risky thing in the first place!?” she shifted gears.

“We thought he’d short out the machine BEFORE he got transported!” Big Kirby admitted.

“But, things turned out quite fine. More than fine, even,” Susie stated as King Dedede began to rant and rave. His last attempt at getting rid of at least one Kirby foiled, he was quick to declare a no-contest, and proceeded to do his best to kick everyone out of the castle- mostly via just demanding that they all leave. Not that he needed a lot of help with that. Before long, normalcy would return to Cappy Town again.

Well, mostly.

Somewhere wicked…

The Sales Guy cleaned up the area as best he could. And by ‘him’, he meant ‘get a monster to do it.’ That they had Kirby so close and had to send him back was vexing, but…he’d have put a massive dent in their operations, if not their BASE, had he been kept to singing. He hadn’t expected ALL the monsters they’d prepared as a ‘welcome’ to be instantly destroyed by…that. “Forgive me, sir, about my rash decision, but it was-”

“It was a reasonable course of action,” the Dark Wizard Nightmare dismissed. “We have many more methods of disposing of the Star Warriors yet available. No matter what they do-” and here he held up a tiny, near unseeable thing, floating it near the Sales Guy’s eyes. It…looked like a computer chip. Near unseeable by the naked eye unless you were actively looking for it. “Whether they try to track us or strike us directly, they will fail- and fall.” With a snap of his long, twisted fingers, the chip shattered to dust.

The Sales Guy grinned. He had to admit, that was sneaky of them. A bit amateur, but sneaky. He could respect that much.

Turning back to his console, he made sure to run some quick self-repair modules, and made sure all the systems were backed up. It wouldn’t do to be caught out again like that, after all…

Back in Cappy Town…

Several faces crowded around Susie as she stared intently at her tablet. “So…do you think it worked?” Great King Dedede asked. “I didn’t think you’d get a shot at it like THAT.”

“I don’t quite get what you did,” Tiff admitted, “But I still don’t think you should’ve used Kirby like that!”

“It was fortuitous timing, yes, and again, we DIDN’T INTEND TO,” Susie admitted. “But this way, it is likely to prove even more effective due to the parameters and protocols I coded in. They were made to be subtle, and to integrate themselves into the registry seamlessly, so that it’d look like it was just your bog-standard data logging. I’d thought we’d have to make due with using a physical receiver, but if we get a connection, then this way-” she stopped short as an icon on her table went green, and her eyes narrowed in vindictive victory. “Physical medium or not, my little data worm means we’ll know every step they take- and every monster they send to Dedede.” She gave off a laugh that had Tiff shuddering briefly. “Haltmann Works Company: one. Nightmare Enterprises: zero.”

Tiff had to admit, (laughter aside) she was more than a little relieved. A method to detect whenever King Dedede bought a monster, and could even tell what it was? She wasn’t sure if it was worth risking Kirby for it, but she couldn’t deny the advantage it’d give them. “So, you came up with this plan, Great King Dedede?”

He nodded. “Yup. Ever since you told me what was happening in that throne room, I figured there had to be a way to even the playing field. When Susie showed up, that was the first thing I asked her about.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t be able to make such a thing without resources, hence the factory partnership,” Susie explained. “I’d hoped to work on it under his nose, perhaps slip it onto the system myself after some trust was gained. The situation turning out like it did was regrettable, but it ended quite well. Now I have room to work on any and all projects- Star Allies centric or not- as I please.”

“...wow,” she said. She had to admit, that was INCREDIBLY clever of him. All this time he’d been working on a plan like that, and it’d paid off impressively. “That’s something else.”

“I will admit, your strategies have borne excellent fruit,” Meta Knight said, nodding in understanding. “Of course, you will inform us whenever the King has done such, correct?”

“That’s rather obviously the plan, yes,” Susie said, a bit miffed at the insinuation. “It wouldn’t be good business to keep my potential customers at risk.” Meta Knight huffed, but said nothing.

“Great!” Bandee said, cheering. He’d been a bit left out during this whole debacle, and he was just glad to be back around. “So, what’s the plan now?”

“The plan, as it were, is to go collect a couple other of our friends,” Magolor noted. “Susie has a few things she wants to do back in our dimension, and that’ll take some time, so you might not see her for a bit.”

“It won’t take an exceptional amount of time from my end, but I’d be surprised if I returned within the week from your perspective,” Susie noted. “I’ll still have a few Dees on assignment at the factory however- it still needs a few finishing touches; they’ll work on those, and I’ll be finishing up on that when I get back- then the factory will enter full production for anyone who wants to work there.”

“Wait, so what about this monster detection thing you just made?” Tiff asked. “Aren’t you the only one that can use it?”

“What? Naw, I know my way around tech just fine,” Great King Dedede said easily. “I can work her tablet easy.”

“You AREN’T touching my tablet,” Susie quickly denied. “I’ll give you access to the factory, and any time an alert comes through, it’ll be routed to my factory computer anyway, and automatically displayed on the primary screen, so you can identify the issue from there and act accordingly.” She leaned very, very close to him. “Don’t. Wreck. Anything.”

“Aw, you worry too much,” Great King Dedede dismissed, hardly intimidated. Tiff had to admit to herself, she was curious how that would pan out.

“I will be going back as well,” the deep voice of Winged Meta Knight said brusquely. “There are issues I must attend to, and individuals I must see.”

“Awww, so you’re leaving for a bit?” Tuff whined.

“Oh, don’t get too broken up!” Magolor reassured him. “Like I said, I’ll be back with a couple other Star Allies. Need to get them situated and understanding of things. I’ll be back the soonest of the lot."

“Oh, so you ARE taking two trips?” Susie asked.

Tiff and Tuff excused themselves as the Star Allies talked travel plans.

“I can’t believe we’re finally gonna see more of ‘em!” Tuff cheered. “This is gonna be so awesome!”

“I just hope we’ll have a bit more peace and quiet around here for a bit…” Tiff lamented. But, at least Great King Dedede would be sticking around. That’d be nice.

Back on Pop Star Prime:

“Pssh. All done, an’ about time!” Doc muttered to himself. The damage had been bad, but fortunately a few days’ worth of scavenging and repair work did the trick. “Now where’s that leader of ours…”

“Looking for me, old friend?” The dulcet tones of Daroach sounded from above him as he floated in, a rucksack full of spoils. “Sorry about being away for so long, just wanted to get a bit of practice in.”

“So you did!” the old mouse screeched. It was all from a place of care, mind. “Nearly had a panic or two lookin’ for ya, we did!”

“Says you!” a self-assured voice came from the hangar bay doors. “I was thinkin’ about taking over if you didn’t show up for another day!” Spinni chortled as he hopped through, leaping up on a nearby table.

“Afraid those dreams will have to wait, pal,” Daroach replied good naturedly. “After all, we have a whole new world to expand the legend of the Squeak Squad to!”

“Finally!” Spinni cheered. “I’mma get Storo and we can get outta dodge! I can’t wait to see what new shinies they got! We got the meetin’ place, right?”

“That we do,” Daroach assured. “Let’s not keep our erstwhile escort waiting for much longer, shall we?”

In a homely and happy forest, four individuals watched as the grass, formerly ripped up by and unfortunate forest fire, seemed lush again. It’d taken only a couple of days. “Well, ain’t that a beauty!” Rick noted. “S’not bad, not bad at all!”

“Everything’s so pretty again,” Kine agreed. “It feels nice.”

“I daresay our ventures have most assuredly exceeded expectations,” Coo concurred. “And I believe we owe a great deal of that thanks to you, good sir.”

Taranza smiled. “Well…I suppose it always feels good to see something grow and flourish.” and yet, his smile couldn’t help but be tinged with a bit of sadness. “It does wonders for the heart, I think.”

The animal trio looked at each other. “About that,” Coo started. “We’ve been talking, and…”

“You’ve been puttin’ this trip off long enough,” Rick said unabashedly. “Ya need to see how those seeds are doin’, sure, but more important, you need some time away.”

“W-what?” Taranza replied with a blush.

“Mate, you’ve been workin’ like worker ant day in an’ day out. You need you somethin’ else ta focus on, and by all stripes, that wacky Pop Star Magolor and Kirby went on about are just the ticket. You can do some good and get some fresh perspective, yanno?”

“You could really use it,” Kine admitted. “Do it for us if you won’t for you, please?”

“I…” Taranza wanted to say something about it…but the excuses died in his throat. That’s all they were. Excuses. Really, on an objective level he knew that they were right. He could use some refocus. A change of scenery, of sorts.

“We’ll walk you to the meeting point, alright?” Coo offered.

After a few more moments, Taranza sighed, and nodded. He hoped he could find something to at least distract him for a while in this Alternate Pop Star…

Chapter 23: Growth Effort

Chapter Text

The next couple of days, thankfully, were quiet- at least in regards to any troublemaking or exceptionally strange events, allowing her to catch up on some much-desired reading, among other things. The amusem*nt park had thankfully been dismantled fully, and was to be junked entirely. She supposed that he wasn’t interested in keeping it all around; as for what to do with it? All the material’d probably go off to a landfill or something of the like. At least, that’s what she’d presumed.

She didn’t expect Great King Dedede to ask for her help for organizing the spoils of it, however. He’d caught her around town one day, and recalling how well she’d done with helping with his mansion extension, had asked if she could ‘help Bandee make sure my Dees got everything I asked for from the junk pile.’ When she’d asked why, she was surprised to learn that the lot of it would be going straight to the Haltmann Works factory; according to him, ‘Susie would kill me if I let good metal go to waste. Most of it can probably be melted down and reforged for stuff, or used for her fabricator machines. Anything else, she’ll probably just study and rework.’

With that in mind, Tiff hadn’t seen a reason to say no, and so here she was, along with Bandee, marking off what arrived on a clipboard at the factory entrance as the materials were dropped off inside by a number of Dees pushing carts.

“Motor engines from the go-karts!” a group announced. Check. She waved them in.

“Spare metal from the roller coaster,” came another. “How many wagons is that now?”

After checking, she looked up. “That’s the fifth wagon’s worth, so we want five more. Go ahead,” she said simply.

“Buncha spare tires!” another group announced. “Like, two dozen!” Tiff looked down. Where were…ah.

“Mmmm…yup, you’re good,” Bandee noted before she could. The task went like that for some time yet as they stood sentinel outside of the factory doors, waiting for the line to move bit by bit. After what felt like hours, the flow of Dees finally abated. “Phew…” Bandee sighed, wiping his forehead. “I think that’s it.”

Tiff rubbed her eyes- this was far different than reading for pleasure. “Yeah. At least for now.”

“Thanks a ton for helping me out,” Bandee said gratefully. “If you weren’t here, I’d have probably spent all day there. Wanna drink? I’ll buy!” Bandee offered. She wasn’t about to say no to that.

The walk to the corner store was congenial. Though she couldn’t help but notice. “Say, where’d you get money from?”

“Your parents!” Bandee said happily. “They were really nice to me; even though I said I didn’t need any money, they sometimes just handed me a few bills and said it’s ‘for being a pleasant guest’.” Huh. She hadn’t guessed her parents had been paying him while he’d lived there. He was with his king now, but she hadn’t seen any indication of the fact still. “So, it’d be nice to treat you with it.”

“Oh.” Well, wasn’t that sweet of him. “Well, thank you! Though I bet you’re feeling a lot better about being near your Dedede again.”

“Yeah,” he admitted as they walked into the store. The locals had gotten used to the talking Dees fairly quickly, and they exchanged a quick hello as they went to the drinks section. “I mean, Great King can take care of himself, of course, but I like to help him out however I can. Especially nowadays.”

She was grabbing a bottle of water for herself when he’d said that. “Hm? Why now, specifically?”

“Well, remember, Great King used to be a bit more…temperamental,” Bandee gently reminded as he grabbed a bottle of apple juice, and one of soda. “At first, I was under him because I felt like I needed…direction in my life? Something to do that was more than just ‘be a Waddle Dee,’ no matter what it was,” he clarified as he paid for the drinks. “But as time went on, I saw how Great King began to improve himself, little by little. He got more friendly, more open, more willing to fix his mistakes and stand up in Dream Land’s defense. He went from treating us like just furniture and servants to friends. The more he did that, the more I realized that, well…I wanted to stick by him. See where it all went.”

Walking out, Tiff almost felt like she shouldn’t interrupt, quietly sipping on her water. But the way he looked, she couldn’t help but ask, if only in a subdued voice. “So…how’s that worked out?”

Bandee nodded to himself. “Good, I think. He’s constantly pushing himself, even if he never shows it exactly. I’ve been by him in his darkest hours, and considering recent history, probably some of his brightest.” He took a sip from his juice, looking out in the direction of the ocean. “It’s all that that made me go ‘Yeah. He’s a king worth following.’ I don’t think I’d ever want to not.”

Tiff had to admit, she was impressed. She’d long since gotten the idea that Great King Dedede was a good king, but hearing it put like that was something else. “You’re making me jealous,” she said in a lighthearted tone. “If our Dedede was anything like yours, Cappy Town wouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

To her surprise, he didn’t respond immediately, instead continuing to look away as he seemed to consider something. But with a blink, he appeared to make up his mind, turning to her suddenly. “Have you ever thought about learning to fight?” he asked out of nowhere.

“W-what?!” she leaned back in surprise. “What do you mean, me learn to fight?”

That seemed to cause the Dee to lose the nerve he’d built up, looking away in surprise. “Well, considering what your Dedede’s always doing, I-I just thought, y’know, maaaaybe it’d be a good idea to learn how to defend yourself? Or maybe help others out, too! I mean, I maybe could show you a few pointers- or maybe Meta Knight? I don’t think he’d be too opposed to teaching someone if they asked,” Bandee put forth. “I’m not sure how good a teacher Great King would be, but-”

“Whoa, whoa!” she quickly calmed him down as they carried on. “I dunno about that. I mean, I appreciate the worry, just…I’m more of a thinker than a fighter, y’know? I usually leave that stuff to Kirby and Meta Knight.” The idea of learning to fight was…well, that idea started a roiling in her gut that she wasn’t sure how to decipher. Bad? Good? Nerves? She didn’t know. “So, uh, thanks, but no thanks.”

“Oh.” He seemed to wilt at that a bit, but perked up. Just as well, they were approaching the factory, where Great King Dedede was waiting outside. “W-well, if you ever change your mind, lemme know? I’m sure we’d be happy to help you out! You can be a fighter and a thinker at the same time! Susie does it, and so does Magolor and a bunch of my smart friends.”

She couldn’t help but smile at his persistence- it so clearly came from a place of genuine care and concern. “I’ll be fine, Bandee. Really.”

He nodded as Great King Dedede waved to the both of them, and they waved back. “So that’s where you two went!” He said amicably.

“Yup! Everything’s present and accounted for!” Bandee said, holding out the soda. “We got you something, too!”

Grinning, he took the offered beverage gladly. “Ha! Glad you two are on top of things. Now c’mon! We need to make sure everything’s packed properly and sorted so Susie doesn’t pitch a fit when she gets back. I figured that the big open warehouse around the back has enough space, we’ll kick it all in there when everything’s said and done.” He turned to Tiff. “I got those Dees that worked with you last time to stick around, so you’ll be in charge of those lot in particular. Make sure they don’t slack off!” With that, he began walking back into the factory, and Tiff didn’t think twice about following.

The remainder of the day was spent making sure that the materials were in boxes, that labels were on the correct boxes, that the boxes weren’t mixed up, that the Dees assigned to one area hadn’t accidentally moved to another…by the time she opened the door back to her family’s quarters in Dedede Castle, she was exhausted.

And yet, she was smiling. Things had been organized and stored, and the task was done and just waiting for Susie, now. It felt good to accomplish something that she knew would be put to use in the near future. Her parents both were resting on the couch themselves; it was getting more and more common for her to get in after them, she noticed. “Hey mom, dad!” she greeted as she looked around.

“Oho!” Sir Ebrum was the first to speak. “My little girl’s finished her day’s duty already?” he said with a surprisingly cheeky grin.

“Duty?” she asked confusingly.

“Why, as a King’s aide, of course!” He said, full of good humor. “You’ve been spending quite some time with the friendlier version of our monarch, haven’t you? I hope you’re not planning on moving out just yet!”

Tiff’s expression morphed into an embarrassed grimace as she turned away. “Daaaad…”

“Why, I’ve ‘eard tell that you’ve gotten your own little subordinates!” Lady Like joined in the ribbing. “Zey grow up so fast…” she dabbed at her eyes playfully.

“Okay, okay, knock it off…” she grumbled out as she marched towards the kitchen. Some ice cream sounded great right now. “So the other Dedede is pretty cool to be around, so what? And they aren’t my subordinates. They’re just some Waddle Dees that he temporarily puts me over when we need something done.”

Sir Ebrum fixed her with a knowing look. “Sweetie, that is exactly what ‘subordinates’ are. It’s not always permanent.” Tiff blinked in realization as she sat down next to her father, and he held her look as he began to speak a little more seriously. “All joking aside, honey…whether you realize it or not, it seems you’ve very much gained the other king’s trust. Although it’s certainly unofficial, I wouldn’t be surprised if he considered you part of his court- if only while here.”

Tiff paused in bringing a spoonful of sherbet to her lips as she considered it. Maybe in the back of her head, she’d realized this already- but it was still kind of jarring to just hear it put out there. “Sssooo…” she trailed off as she considered it. “You’re not asking me to stop, are you? He kinda needs the help, and...”

“Oh, heavens no!” Sir Ebrum waved off. “If I might say, Tiff, you actually seem rather happy with that clipboard in your hand and directing people to and fro. It’s rare that one finds their calling so early in life, but…you might just have found yours.”

“Of course, we’re not zaying you should go run off and pledge your allegiance right now!” Lady Like quickly interjected. “What we mean is…we’re happy zat you’re happy, darling. Enjoy it! I mean, look at what you’ve managed already! Ze children love ze new park, and it was your pushing ze Star Allies that got it done.”

Tiff rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment as she blushed. That, uh, wasn’t quite how it went, unless you considered it in broad strokes, but she was too flustered to correct them. “I…guess so?” she proffered.

“Be proud, darling,” her mother insisted. Then a pause. “And go call your brother and Kirby from ze courtyard, if you please. It’s getting late!” She eyed the sherbert in Tiff’s lap, then fixed her daughter with a grin. “Normally I would say zomething about dessert before dinner, buuut…I will let it slide, zis once.”

Tiff rolled her eyes with a smile as she got up. “Thanks, mom, dad.”

It was a good day.

Big Kirby was concerned.

He hadn’t really been worried about it before, but after hearing a passing reference to ‘not having visiting Kabu for guidance in a bit’ that morning by a passing Cappy, he’d found his curiosity piqued. He honestly wasn’t the biggest fan of Kabus, particularly the Big variant- they tended to be annoyingly in the way on his adventures, and he’d been pestered by more than one spitting out Kabu after Kabu. This Kabu variant sounded either magical or worrying (or both), and considering Tiff was unavailable, he figured it was for the best to find the next most likely source of information; Professor Curio.

He was away on a dig, unfortunately, and so Big Kirby had stumbled upon maybe the third best option instead, that being the Mayor. What he had been told honestly surprised him. “An all-knowing idol?!” he asked incredulously. That sounded…yeah. VERY worrisome. “It’s not, like…powerful or wish granting or anything, is it?” he asked.

“Ohohoho! No, no, not at all!” Mayor Blustergas denied. “He serves as a guide and aid for us in times of trouble. His wisdom has helped us greatly. In fact, it was Kabu that first prophesied that Kirby would come here to help us- although I suppose that’s come true twice over now, hasn’t it?” He laughed again, but Big Kirby found it to be no laughing matter. Prophecy and foresight…that kind of magic was deep, and dangerous. He didn’t like the matter. The problem with it, though, was that this was clearly some being that they revered, and had for quite some time. He wouldn’t be able to just pop a few Star Bullets at it and call it a day.

“Would you care to meet him?” the Mayor asked obliviously. “It wouldn’t be too much a trek to show you where he resides.”

That was tempting. He might be able to get some information on…whatever this purported Kabu was. Then again, if it really WAS as powerful as claimed, or gifted with knowledge…Kirby frowned.

It might know about, well. Recent more-than-likely revelations. He wasn’t sure if he was up for acknowledging that anyone but the people that were with him knew about THAT particular aspect of himself. It’d cause waaaaay too much chaos. “Um, thanks! I think I’ll pass, though.”

“Oh!” The Mayor seemed a bit surprised, but he didn’t question it, smiling again. “Alright, then, I suppose he CAN be a bit intimidating to anyone that’s never met him- but I assure you, he’s only got Cappy Town and Dream Land’s best interests in mind! Just let me know if you change your mind!”

“Will do!” Kirby offered, and the two parted ways there. When he was far enough away, however, Kirby let out a deep sigh. That was an issue he’d just have to push to the back of his mind, for now. He had more important things to do, anyway. Whatever this ‘Kabu’ said or thought about him wouldn’t affect him doing his best to protect Pop Star. Or, in this particular case, helping a certain alternate version of him do the same.

Meanwhile, however, someone else had come to the opposite conclusion in pursuit of the same goal.

Meta Knight stood across from Kabu, eying up the ancient idol and awaiting its response. He didn’t often come for advice or information- he considered himself well-traveled, and capable of utilizing his own faculties to obtain whatever knowledge he needed. However, this particular situation was…abnormal. Though he had certainly put a measure of trust into the newcomer dopplegangers (both out of genuine faith and practicality, particularly when his counterpart brought up one particular piece of information no one else could know), one could never be too careful. As such, he’d decided to swallow a measure of pride. “What can you tell me about these newcomers?”

Still silence. For a moment, Meta Knight was starting to get a touch impatient. And then, finally, Kabu spoke. “The beings you speak of- they are unlike any other in this universe.”

He froze at that. Unlike any other? Considering that the bigger Kirby and nicer Dedede looked virtually the same as the ones he knew, he speculated that Kabu didn’t mean visually. “Explain.”

“I can see little of these beings you speak of.” Kabu’s tone was ever unchanging. “Their fates are shrouded from my senses. I do not know why this is.”

“Then we cannot be sure how this Kirby’s friends will be able to affect our battle with Nightmare…for better or for worse,” he remarked.

Meta Knight wasn’t of the mindset that they were villainous in disguise, mind. However, what they might be able to bring to bear could be a great boon, or an inadvertent fortune for NME. Though their technician’s trickery had proved to have a good outcome, he could see ways such plots could backfire in the future. Perhaps their universe’s Kirby could-

“I do not sense this alternate Kirby you speak of,” Kabu said out of the blue.

“What?!” Meta Knight asked in alarm. Out of all of them, he should’ve been the one that Kabu at least had an inkling of, right?

“However, there is something most strange that I can sense,” Kabu continued, and Meta Knight listened keenly. “An absence of being, though not oppressive, which roams in your midst. Blind to my senses but for the hole ever present. Something not truly unknown…but unknowable.” Another pause. “I cannot be sure of more than that. However, within is…warm.”

That was…very disturbing. An absence of being, and yet having feeling?

He was starting to remember why he rarely went to Kabu for assistance beyond health purposes. The statue could be annoyingly vague. Still, it was enough to confirm that he should at least keep a closer eye on things. He’d been too taken with certain discussions with his counterpart, but he’d try to adjust that sooner than later.

It didn’t help that he felt as though Kirby's training was lacking, ever since the other Kirby had come. It was clear that the bigger Kirby had his younger self’s best interest at heart, of course. He almost felt like the larger Kirby and smaller one had developed something resembling a sibling relationship, which he was somewhat grateful for- but perhaps he should impress on him more the urgency with which their Kirby should be training.

‘Although, he is not the only one,’ Meta Knight thought sourly. ‘I have been lacking against myself. That is no way for a warrior to act.’ With his counterpart gone for a while, maybe he’d see to restarting some of his old training regimens. Maybe with Kirby, too.

It would do them both well, he supposed.

As another new day dawned, the group of Big Kirby, Little Kirby, Tiff, Tuff, and Meta Knight were out in the rolling fields of Dream Land. Meta Knight was quick to put his thoughts into action and approached Big Kirby, who had immediately agreed- as it happened, he was actually thinking along similar lines already. And for this reason, the lot of them were here to, according to Big Kirby, practice several techniques that he ‘really should have learned already’, according to the bigger puff. Next to him lay a set of what looked like buzzsaw blades.

“Today, we’re learning how to control your copy essence!” he announced to all present. Everyone quickly noticed that he was wearing a hat near identical to the one they all knew represented the Cutter ability. The only difference they noticed was that the cutter on his head was both golden and silver.

“Oh, right!” Tiff noted. “Magolor explained copy essence before…although I don’t know how much of it was fact or not.”

“If it has to do with magic, he doesn’t fib about that,” Kirby quickly explained. “I would trust whatever he says on that front- he’s got too much pride to lie about stuff he claims to know. If he didn't, he'd just avoid the question.”

“If you say so,” she muttered, but didn’t argue.

“Right, so if you got the explanation from Magolor, you have an idea of what’s about to happen here,” he began. “But, as a refresher, everything specialized for something has an ‘essence’ to it, whether you cultivate it or you just ‘have’ it. When I- or very likely, Lil’ Me- inhales something, someone, whatever, it’s that essence that gets absorbed and copied, and bam!” He pointed to his head. “Neat cap, neat ability to go with it that I kinda just know how to use. Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m a pro with the ability, just that I know enough to use it effectively. Still gotta practice for that. But that’s not what we’re here for. The important bit…is being able to eject it. ”

And here, Kirby seemed to take a quick breath, and immediately seemed to- squash himself? It looked about like that to everyone present, and it happened in maybe a second, but the results were immediately obvious- in a short, small flash of light, Kirby returned to normal…and briefly, floating above him in a gentle arc, was a yellow, slightly pulsing star with a Cutter symbol on it. As it bounced once, Kirby quickly pointed at it. “THAT. That’s a Copy Essence in the wild, and it’s what any power I take ends up looking like if I don’t want it anymore. Now, if Lil Me sucks it up-” It had already bounced twice by now, but Little Kirby was quick to understand, and quickly inhaled it.

Almost at once, he flipped up, shining- and when he landed, he had on his own Cutter hat. “Huh…” Tiff noted. “It IS kinda different. Maybe that experience theory is close to the mark after all…”

“That’s a thing for later,” Big Kirby redirected. “For now, we’re gonna see if we can’t get you popping out Essences properly!”

“Hey, why would he want to get rid of a copy ability early, anyway?” Tuff asked, curious.

“Versatility!” Big Kirby answered promptly. “Being able to eject abilities on command frees you up to inhale other things that might prove to be a better option in whatever situation you’re in. If you’re really good, you can even get the timing down before ability stars dissipate and start juggling abilities around. REALLY effective, I can tell you that- and intimidating to whatever you’re squaring off against!” he grinned. “I had to juggle abilities during a, uh…recent situation,” he admitted. “Honestly, juggling abilities was kinda the only way I could keep up with them…but, that’s not the point here. Okay, so, time to practice!”

“Poyoyo!” Little Kirby agreed. Meta Knight could see the usefulness, he supposed.

“That’s the spirit!” Kirby cheered. “Alright, so here’s how I see it…” And so the training began.

The idea of ‘feel the power inside you, and kinda push it out through your head’ was the first attempt. While…something, it soon became clear that Little Kirby wasn’t quite visualizing it right, and he almost seemed to give himself a headache after an hour or so of practice, with Big Kirby occasionally giving physical examples.

“Well…maybe you need to condense it first in your head. Envision the star, the essence, all of it at once,” Big Kirby suggested. “Whatever you need to do to force it all mentally into one big clump. I’ve seen it come out of you before, I know you HAVE essence in you when you Copy. You just need to grab hold of all those little pieces and smash ‘em together!”

“Poyooo…” Little Kirby seemed a bit exhausted at that, but nodded, closing his eyes. “Mmmmmm…” His face screwed up, and he started to sweat.

Tiff started to say something, but both Kirby and Meta Knight quickly shushed them as they watched Little Kirby intently.

After about another half minutes, Little Kirby began to glow, if slightly. ‘There he goes. He’s feeling it a little! Great, great!’ Big Kirby cheered in his head.

Little Kirby began to shake. And then… “Mmmmmmmaaaaah!” Suddenly there was a VERY bright flash, and when it receded…there was Kirby, Cutter-less. Instead, in front of him, was a simple yellow, plain star, which bounced twice before dissipating into sparkles that faded.

There was a pause. And then Tiff rushed up, hugging Kirby as the older one let out a whoop of victory. “Kirbyyyyyyy! You did it! You ejected a power all on your own!” she cheered.

“Awesome stuff!” Big Kirby cheered as he patted the sweating Little Kirby on his back. “Way to go, that looked just like what mine did up until a while back! Gonna have to work on the speed, but it’s a great start!”

“P-p-poyooo…!” Little Kirby tried to cheer- before he collapsed on his back from exhaustion.

“The first step is often the hardest, young Kirby,” Meta Knight pointed out. “You will be stronger for this, I am sure.”

“You bet he is!” Big Kirby agreed. “ ‘Cause now that I know he can do that, I want to see how he takes to trying a proper Star Bullet!”

Little Kirby groaned.

Chapter 24: New Blooming

Chapter Text

Little Kirby, to put it bluntly, was exhausted. They’d been at this for the better part of the morning, Tiff insisting that he try and improve what he now knew first, and Big Kirby had admittedly been curious to see if he could shave down the time of his recently learned ability to discard a Copy Ability. Apparently, what Little Kirby was doing with the glow initially was called Focus, “With a Capital F,” Kirby emphasized. “It’s the basic starting block of most magic and powerful feats, and it’s kinda a cornerstone for serious fighting, doesn’t matter if you’re doing it physically or magically. Each and every one of the Star Allies at LEAST knows how to Focus.”

“Hmmm…” Meta Knight considered this. It sounded simple, yet versatile. “A method of temporarily pushing yourself beyond your normal capabilities to provide extraordinary results,” he summarized. Perhaps he would see about incorporating it himself. He would have to pay close attention. “Fascinating.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty neat!” Kirby agreed. “Thing about it, though, is that even Focusing can be improved on. Like, when King Dedede Focuses on his hammer swings, he can hit HARD.” He grinned, thinking back. “In fact, one or two full force swings from him could probably level a house!”

Tiff, recalling Great King Dedede’s own stories and claims during what he called the Crystal Shard incident, realized that he likely wasn’t exaggerating. “So in short, it’s really important he learns how to do it faster, then?” She looked back at Little Kirby, busy eating a plethora of snacks she and Tuff had gotten for him while he was practicing.

“Yup! Magolor or Taranza or…” he paused, pursing his lips. “A few other Star Allies really skilled with magic might be able to tell you more about it, but that’s the general idea!” Big Kirby nodded as Little Kirby stood back up, belly full (enough for now). He still seemed to be a touch out of it, but his stance stood ready, and he was far more energetic than earlier. “Atta boy! Alright, let’s see how you do!” Panting a bit, Little Kirby nodded in determination.

Unfortunately, there was little improvement; according to Tiff, she’d at the start clocked it at about twenty seconds, and he’d yet to improve it. Far, far too long to use in any real combat scenario unless he had a lot of space and a distraction. That, plus the bright glow and flash, while great indicators that he was starting to understand the process, was way too much of a signal to opponents about what he was trying to do- or even that he was trying to do anything in general. Big Kirby’s Ability discard, by comparison, was near instant and had only a slight glimmer of dispelled energy.

The end result was a slightly dispirited Little Kirby sucking down a number of watermelons and juice that Tiff and Tuff had gotten for him, as well as some other goodies. They’d run out of buzzsaw blades, unfortunately. “Alrighty, sooo…ejecting powers- something to work on!” Big Kirby said brightly, patting the younger him on the head as he lay back. “That’s fine! I think you’ve got the gist of it at least, so right now, we can finally move on to something that I, honestly, think is even more important.”

“Right, the Star Bullet thing,” Tiff noted. “What is that, anyway?”

“Honestly? It’s about what it sounds like,” Big Kirby explained. “When I suck something up, if I don’t want to convert the essence to a Copy Ability or if it’s something that’s essenceless, OR just decide that it’s a monster that really needs to go…I can convert it, or cover it and spit it out as star energy instead. It’s REALLY useful, since sometimes I don’t want to copy everything I come across.”

“Whoa,” Tuff exclaimed. “That’s pretty wild! Our Kirby just spits things out as-is.”

“Yeah, I can do that by choice if I want,” Big Kirby elaborated. “It’s not a ‘must-happen’, but it’s really nice to be able to do since there’s very little out there that can resist star energy without actively defending itself. Doesn’t matter what Copy Ability I might or might not have, a Star Bullet ALWAYS hurts. In fact…” he looked around, and it wasn’t long before he saw what he was looking for- a set of larger rocks. “Those’ll do.” Without fanfare, he quickly opened his mouth and inhaled one of the bigger ones. Motioning to pay attention, he quickly turned away and fired out a single bright Star Bullet, causing a few gasps among them. It hit a nearby tree, causing the trunk to erupt in a shower of splinters. It still stood, but it had serious signs of damage.

“And that was just from a rock. It’s way easier to form Star Bullets, since ANYTHING can be converted into star energy, but not everything has an essence I can copy,” Big Kirby explained. “Sometimes in a fight, I’ve actually found that Star Bullets just hit harder than even my Copy Ability because whatever I’ve got is something they’re resistant to. But with star energy? Doesn’t matter. Stone, steel, magic, whatever. Star Bullets will at least put a dent in them.”

“That definitely sounds useful,” Tiff agreed, as the rest nodded.

“Absolutely is. And what he learned with Focusing might help with that,” Big Kirby surmised. “The basic idea of energy conversion is about the same, you just don’t have to worry about pushing out as an essence, sorta. You just kinda feel the energy, clump it together, and then just…push it out! Now then…” he looked back at the rocks. “Try and suck one of those up and we’ll see what we can get out of it. If anyone could find some big stuff for him to use as ammo, I’d appreciate it!”

The remainder of the day went like that; Little Kirby would find various things to inhale, and then attempt to spit out as anything but what it was. Unfortunately, this also proved to be slow going- while he could spit things out just fine, converting them into star energy seemed to take an exceptional amount of time and effort. When he was able to, it took a full eight to nine seconds- yet again too slow to be practical without a major distraction. Even then, the Star Bullets were shorter ranged. Not only that, Kirby’d quickly started rubbing his stomach again in a sign of clear hunger after ultimately managing to fire only a grand total of three of them.

Tiff was dismayed and confused after the third food break. “I didn’t think he’d get hungry again THIS quickly. If he keeps this up he’ll eat all the melons in Cappy Town!”

“Well, they say a lot of work makes you hungry…” Tuff noted, though he didn’t sound all that convinced.

Meta Knight, on the other hand, had a theory. “I do not think it is so simple,” he began. “I have been observing young Kirby’s attempts rather closely. I may be able to offer a hypothetical reason for his inability to perform the technique to satisfaction.”

“Oh yeah?” Big Kirby asked, raising an eyebrow. “Go ahead.”

“While I am only somewhat versed in the knowledge of magic, I believe that we should remind ourselves that Kirby is yet a baby.” He looked over the panting child, clearly a bit distressed- though over food or his lack of skill wasn’t clear. “He may not have the inner reserves of energy you have acquired in your many years and battles to facilitate this ‘conversion’ regularly.”

Big Kirby didn’t discount the possibility right away, considering. “Well…hm. I know I was able to spit stars since I was young. I don’t THINK he’s younger than I was when I first showed up on Dream Land…” Big Kirby eyed his counterpart carefully, as though looking for a tell that indicated their exact age. Obviously, he found nothing. “I mean, that might be the case, sure, but Iunno. I still think it’s useful he knows how to do it.”

“I agree,” Meta Knight concurred. “However, we may want to consider it a technique to be used with a delaying action until he grows a bit more.”

“I get it!” Tuff said eagerly. “Like some kinda super finishing move!”

“Huh. So something to do only when they’re stunned?” Kirby figured. “I…guess I could see it. But he should still practice every now and again.”

“Agreed,” said Meta Knight.

“Hey, guys?” Tiff called, looking at the sun beginning to set. “It’s getting late. Maybe we should try something else tomorrow?” She focused on Little Kirby, who was exhausted and clearly less cheerful than he’d been at the start of the day’s lessons. “I’m sure he’ll pick it up if he keeps at it, but is there anything else that you might want to work with him on?”

Kirby paused, thinking. “Well…oh, wait. Maybe there is!” He glanced toward Little Kirby, who looked at him questioningly. “How’d you like to learn a new Copy Ability?”

THAT got Little Kirby cheered right back up.

The next day saw them in a similar area, though notably closer to the forest. They were quick to notice that Kirby had a bag, though it seemed fairly flat. “So, what’s the new ability?”

“Okay, so first, I need to admit something- it was going to be something else entirely, originally,” he admitted. “At first, I was gonna show you Archer because it’s cool, you get a really spiffy hat, and because I actually found an old bow and arrow set around town. But then I went into Whispy’s Woods to talk to him about getting some apples for target practice and then I met his plant…girl…friend?” He paused for a moment to parse what he’d just said. However, he quickly shook his head. “Nevermind. Point is I met ‘Lovely’, and from there I had a WAY better idea than just shooting at apples. Check this out!” With that, he reached into the bag and pulled out…

“Hey, wait…” Tiff exclaimed. “Isn’t that one of Lovely’s petals?!” It was large- about Big Kirby’s size, and bright yellow and orange much like her original coloration.

“Wait, you took a petal offa Lovely?!” Tuff asked in surprise. “Wouldn’t that hurt her?”

“Actually, she offered!” Kirby informed them. “She shed these for me- I tested it and everything. So here’s what we’re doing today- I’m gonna teach you how to Leaf.”

“Leave?” Tuff said in confusion. “Why does he haveta go somewhere?”

Tiff gave him a light thwap for that one. “Leaf, not LEAVE. And I remember that that was one of the powers in Magolor’s ship!”

Kirby nodded in acknowledgement. “Yeah, I asked him to keep some of the rarer ones around just in case, and Leaf’s one of those. Prrrrobably should’ve asked him to just leave the Copy Essences Bubbles with me, honestly,” he confessed. “But, no big deal. I’ve got a few petals here just in case, sooo…” He held the petal out towards Little Kirby. “Call it roughage!”

Little Kirby seemed a bit uncertain at first, but soon nodded, opening wide and inhaling as Big Kirby let go of the leaf. No sooner had he snapped his mouth shut than Big Kirby quickly fetched one of his own.

In twin flashes, the two of them had changed- Big Kirby with less fanfare, while a swirl of leaves seemed to surrounding Little Kirby, before he had to shuffle them off himself quickly. To the spectators, the differences were plain to see. Big Kirby had on a crown of large leaves, with an emerald with a golden bezel on the forehead. The crown also had two thin withered leaves on the back. Little Kirby’s, by comparison, had much shorter leaves, and the crown was fuller, ringed by golden whorls. Notably, Little Kirby turned a rich green color from it as well.

“Well now, that’s neat!” Big Kirby marveled upon seeing the new look. “Reminds me of my older days with Fire and Ice.”

“Whoa!” Tuff exclaimed. “So that’s Leaf Kirby?”

“Strange…” Tiff noticed as she turned from her Kirby to the elder. “How come you don’t change color?”

“Honestly? I’m not entirely sure. I think that ‘experience’ or ‘mastery’ theory might be coming back into play again. Hmm…” he thought for a moment. “Does he change color when using the two I mentioned before? Fire, Ice? Maybe Stone, if he’s done that one?”

“Yeah!” Tiff affirmed. “All three of those, and in all of them he changes color!”

“Right, thought so. I used to, too,” he noted. “So maybe, considering what Meta Knight said the other day, this might be another indicator that he’s not holding it all in yet.” He was met with confused stares from the kids. “His power, I mean,” he elaborated. “That tinted skin might mean that he’s kinda ‘leaking’ the power a little bit. Although I dunno if that’s even right- I remember back when mine tinted, I could still hold it for as long as I cared to…eh, whatever!” he dismissed. “We’re here to show him some cool Leaf skills!” He motioned for Little Kirby to get near. “C’mon! I’ll walk you through the basics.”

“Poyooo!” Little Kirby cheered as he waddled over.

“Yeah! They say ‘there’s magic in the trees’, and there’s plenty in the leaves, too! Lesson one- your leaves are sharp, so use ‘em! They’re not as good as Cutter or Sword, but they can do some things that both of those can’t quite…” And so, the lessons began.

As he showed off the various elements of the Leaf Ability, Tiff, Tuff, and Meta Knight looked on with awe. “He’s really doing his best, isn’t he?”

“Who, our Kirby or the other one?” Tuff asked.

She paused. “...both, I guess.” The Elder Kirby was explaining to the younger one about how the leaves could be spiraled or thrown normally, and the younger Kirby was listening attentively, eyes sparkling.

Meta Knight nodded in approval as he imitated the older Kirby’s leaf attack- quickly forming a pair of leaf swirls, though one was noticeably faster than the other. “This is good. Learning as much as he can, be it through success or failure, is only a positive.” They all jumped back a bit as Kirby quickly demonstrated the more advanced capabilities of Leaf- summoning a tall pillar of leaves in the blink of an eye, which dispersed almost as quickly. “...though I suspect he will have much to practice,” he huffed. “The magical element is one that I have little modern experience with.” Little Kirby proved to be having some issues with the stalk, as well, judging by how long it took him to Focus and bring it up. The rest, however…

“You really got the hang of this one quick!” Big Kirby complemented after a bit more practice. “In fact, I think it might be good to take it a step further!”

That intrigued the trio watching. “How’s that?”

For that, Kirby grinned, and began to walk into the woods. “Follow me!”

The trio did so, but only Meta Knight had an idea of where Kirby was going with this- and he silently approved.

It didn’t take too long before they found the clearing of Whispy and Lovely. The latter was humming to herself slightly, before she opened her eyes at their approach. “We sensed you were coming. Well, then,” she said, smiling. “I suppose you’re here for what we discussed?”

Tiff and Tuff were confused, though they looked past her to see Whispy looking…disgruntled? It was an odd expression on his face.

“Yup!” Big Kirby confirmed. “You two are still okay with it, right?”

Lovely tilted her head in confirmation. “I don’t see why not. It can only help. Dear Whispy, on the other hand…”

“I just would rather you not get hurt,” Whispy lamented. “Even if they say they’ll be careful.”

“Trust me, I know what I’m doing, but thanks!” Big Kirby said confidently as he stepped in front of her, before turning around with a grin. “Consider this a little test, Mini-me! If you wanna prove you’ve gotten the hang of the Leaf Ability, you have to beat HER!” He pointed straight up to Lovely’s now leering face, vines undulating mischievously. “And I’m not helping a bit!”

“What?!” Tiff and Tuff both cried.

“Neither should you,” Meta Knight said to both kids, who both had looks of surprise on their faces. “If Kirby is to grow, he must face trials on his own.”

“But…” Tiff started- but stopped.

What would she even say that wouldn’t come off as selfish? He WAS a Star Warrior… “...ugh, fine!” She marched off as far to the side of the clearing as she could get. “Just don’t hurt him too badly!” she warned. Despite what he said, she was hoping he’d see reason if Kirby got too injured and stop the fight.

“Eeegh…I dunno,” Tuff mumbled as he joined her. Across from Lovely, Little Kirby stood determined. “I hope it doesn’t get too bad…”

“So do I,” Whispy agreed lowly.

“Okay!” Big Kirby announced as he raised his arm. “First to call it quits or whenever I say you’re done! 3, 2, 1, GO!” He somersaulted out of the way, and the fight began.

Lovely was first to strike, vine tendrils raising up- in a rhythmic beat she tried to bring them down on the Star Warrior, the organic whips slamming into the ground, but Little Kirby quickly dodged between them, spinning as he brought a swirl of leaves to bear, spiraling around him and cutting into her vines bit by bit.

“Lovely!” Whispy quickly shouted, but he was shushed by her promptly.

“Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine, those’ll heal- as long as it’s not my stem, dear!” she reassured him. “It stings a bit, but I’m faaaar from done…” Suiting action to words, she quickly buried four of them- a rumbling from underneath was all that Little Kirby had for a warning as the vines, one by one, erupted from up underneath him with a spray of dirt. The first two he quickly tumbled out of the way of- the third just barely, but the fourth caught him, and with a bit of a yell, he flew upwards; instead of being skewered, Tiff noticed. Upon closer inspection, she realized that the tips of the vines had been coiled like a spring. ‘Guess she was told to go easy on him…’ Tiff thought.

Fortunately, even in midair, Little Kirby managed to regain his senses; as he began to fall, he quickly righted himself, and began to hurl out sharp leaves below him. They scattered in threes, a full rain of them buffeted Lovely, as she was forced to close her bud and hunker down in order to prevent any harsher impact.

“Be careful with those!” Whispy scolded as a few ended up his way. As Little Kirby landed, Lovely saw her chance; sweeping a pair of tendrils back and forth, she attempted to sweep the Star Warrior off his feet quickly- one grasping limb was ducked under, before the lower second one, to their surprise, managed to catch a stumbling Little Kirby, who tried to pull himself out to no avail. “Well well!” She brought him up to face level as he struggled. “I’m sorry, Kirby, but I suppose this makes me the-”

Suddenly, Little Kirby closed his eyes in effort and raised his hands- and a brilliant pillar of leaves shot out from the ground in front of him- just tall enough to poke at the tendril that held him captive, but it was enough for her to flinch, dropping him to the ground. “Oof! That stung…” she lamented.

“Woo hoo!” Tuff cheered. “Way to go, Kirby!”

The Star Warrior landed with a small ‘hup!’ and faced down the lady of the forest with a bit more confidence than he’d had earlier.

She met the silent challenge with a smile.

From then on, it was a constant dance of back and forth- Lovely would attempt a grasping, swinging, or stabbing attack with her vines, and Little Kirby had to figure out when she was open to strike with his Ability- too obvious an attempt and she’d close up, protecting herself. Take too long and he’d be a sitting duck.

Leaves and vines flashed and met and were swatted, cut into, stabbed, and blocked as for several minutes the spar continued, everyone but the fighters watching intently.

A twin-vine slam that turned into a bi-directional sweep was dodged, leapt over, and Little Kirby charged in, spinning furiously as a tornadic flurry of sharp leaves billowed out from him. “Eeek!” Lovely cried as she quickly threw up as many vines as she could to defend herself- which only amounted to about three…

“GAME!” Big Kirby suddenly shouted, face serious as he charged in-between them. “That’s it, fight’s over!”

Little Kirby quickly stopped spinning before he ran into his older counterpart, tottering a bit before falling on his face, and Lovely carefully took her vines from her face. “Ohh…phew.” She smiled. “I’m quite sorry. I suppose that we got a bit carried away…”

Whispy let out a sigh. “Finally. I was getting so worried my branches were withering…”

Little Kirby had the good grace to look embarrassed, making a sound of agreement as he turned away from Big Kirby’s eyes.

Tiff and Tuff, who’d been enraptured and worried by the contest, snapped out of their stupor. “Wow, that was great!” Tuff cheered.

“I can’t believe you took her to the limit like that!” Tiff agreed.

“An excellent fight,” Meta Knight complemented. “Though remember that this was a sparring session. In the battlefield, such fights are often won or lost far quicker. It is for this reason that we train. Nonetheless, you took a new Ability, and used it quite ably,” the warrior continued. “It is good to see.”

“No kidding!” Big Kirby agreed. “Thanks for this, Lovely. I owe you one!”

“It was…well, largely satisfying to me, too,” she admitted, before frowning slightly. “I DO hope that’s as far as my link to Nightmare Enterprises goes now…I don’t think the strange being that purified me before will be coming back.”

“Strange being?” Big Kirby asked.

“Hallo!” a voice suddenly called, causing all of them to jump.

“Whoa!” Big Kirby shouted, as he got a look at the newcomer. Though once he did, he broke into a smile at the familiar blobby face. “And unexpectedly, Gooey! Wow, what are you doing here?!”

“Wait, THAT’S Gooey!?” Tiff said incredulously. “THAT’S the one that purified Lovely?!”

“He looks so…dumpy,” Tuff remarked. “How’d he pull off something like that?”

“Hallo!” Gooey said cheerfully. “I made it back! For fish!”

“Wait, yeah, how’d you get here?” Big Kirby asked.

“On the ship!” Gooey answered happily.

On the- oh. “...Welp,” Big Kirby said, shrugging as he turned to Tiff, Tuff, and Meta Knight. “I guess that means it’s time for you three to meet your next Star Allies.”

Taranza was…less than eager to step off the ship, but Magolor had urged him, and they…well, Magolor often made fun of his personality, but he wasn’t wrong about this. As he floated off, he smelled the salt of the sea, listened to the whisper of the wind through the trees, and looked over the town in the near distance. It looked…quaint. No Floralia, but then again, nothing ever would be. Not that he’d likely be welcome back any time soon…

Still, it made for a pleasant atmosphere. That much, he’d certainly admit.

“Found your nerve, friend?” the smooth-talking rat next to him spoke. Taranza was never sure what to think about the thieving leader- he always seemed to have an angle, or at least a goal unto himself and crew. He couldn’t blame Daroach for that mindset, but it DID make him hard to predict. They’d come here in their own airship, the Lor crafting a dimensional hole and allowing him through first. They’d refused to come via the Lor itself. In fact, from what he heard, that had been preferred…but, that was for another time. “You must admit, it is picturesque,” the rat continued. “A lovely village by the seaside, no? Doesn’t get more idyllic.”

“It’s…quaint,” Taranza allowed, letting a bit of his inward opinion leak out. “I suppose my measure of it will be taken properly when I meet the locals,” he surmised. “I understand Susie’s already managed to form a bit of a base of operations here?”

“From what I understand, she’s been running around doin’ everything in her power to get that company of hers back up to par. I don’t know how I feel about it, but, hey, she’s not here right now, so let’s focus on other things, hm?” Taranza wasn’t even looking at him, but could easily sense the playful expression. “I, for one, would love to see just what’s going on in that oh-so-familiar castle, wouldn’t you? Word is the local monarch isn’t much compared to our well-meaning glutton.”

“You can have your…adventurous exploits,” Taranza said primly. He was NOT interested in joining in on the Squeak Squad’s rambunctiousness. “I think I’ll…take in the local color, I believe is the term. Yes.”

Daroach just chuckled. “Yes, you do that. I’ll be planning on how to make the Squad's grand entrance properly. A master treasure hunter doesn’t walk in like a common citizen, after all.” He grinned. “There has to be a measure of presentation, you see.”

“Right…” Turning his nose up at the proclamation (and getting a short laugh for his troubles), he straightened his scarf, smoothed out his hair, and headed for Cappy Town. If he was going to find something to occupy his time, the puppeteer magician knew that the first step to that was a good first impression.

He just had to hope he was at all skilled at it.

Chapter 25: Magic and Tricks

Chapter Text

On the whole, Taranza was…well, he was at least moderately satisfied. The town was fair enough so far, and he had little complaints about the warm welcome. He’d gotten more than a few curious stares, but no one seemed to be worried or offended, at the least- much like Magolor had described. ‘Simple, a bit rustic, easily duped, but pleasant enough company aside from that,’ had been the description. Indeed, the area appeared to be a touch…slow, overall. Very much a sleepy sort of place. Good for a getaway, but perhaps not if what he was trying to get away from were his own thoughts. Still, there were positives.

For one, they clearly recognized good manners and bearing when they saw it. No one treated him with anything less than respect, barring the occasional inquiry as to his origins. He couldn’t blame them for that much- a stranger with looks like his would be most curious to anyone that hadn’t seen him or a Floralian before. Those questions were merely talked around or redirected beyond the acknowledgement of ‘an alternate dimension’- and it seemed not a soul tried to press him on it. That was appreciated, even if they never realized it.

Although, if he were being honest, he’d have thought Kirby would be here to help show him- “Heeey!” Ah. Well, speak of the pink demon. “Over here!” And there with him, Gooey, two locals…Meta Knight? ‘ Wasn’t he back with- ah, no, this must also be the local version of him I was informed of. And with them…that must be the younger Kirby ours was so effusive about.’ He wasn’t sure how he felt about yet another Kirby, but…well, he supposed he could deal with it. All things considered, he knew the pink thing meant well by everyone.

…Well, everyone that could be helped…bah, there he went again. He cleared his throat, affecting a reasonable smile and waving to the lot of them as they approached. “Ah, hello there, Kirby. Kirbies. I was just wondering if I’d have to find my way around by myself.”

“Nah,” Big Kirby quickly denied. “Gooey lucked out and found us, and that’s how we learned Magolor made it back,” he explained. “Figured you’d want to introduce yourself.”

“Makes sense,” the spider noted as he took in the forms of the individuals behind him. The young girl seemed inquisitive, the boy seemed excited, and the Meta Knight doppleganger…well, he wasn’t certain, but he sensed an air of caution around him. Suitable for a Meta Knight, he supposed. He’d have to be on his best behavior around that one. “Then allow me to do so. Ahem: my name is Taranza, master magician, and member of the Star Allies. A pleasant afternoon to you.” As he took a bow, he inwardly let out a sigh of relief. He’d had a couple of stumbles at first, nearly introducing himself as, well. Something he’d rather move on from right now, but he’d gotten at least some short term practice in, and for now at least knew what to say.

“Oh!” the girl reacted. “So you’re the one that made those revitalizing seeds!”

Ah. She’d learned of them? “That I am. Botany and agriculture are something of a favored hobby of mine.”

“He’s being humble,” Kirby immediately outed. “He knows more about plants than anyone I’ve ever met, Whispy included.”

“Gah!” Taranza startled as he rounded on the grinning pink orb. “Why would you-! If you knew I was trying to be humble, why would you say that?!”

“Because you deserve it!” Kirby said shamelessly.

Taranza blinked, frowning. “You know full well I do not. Not after-” ugh. Already he was being dragged into a-

“I think you do,” the girl suddenly interrupted. “Those seeds of yours really helped restore the land after our acid rain scare. Regardless of anything else, you helped save Cappy Town’s ecology! It’s like nothing happened!”

“Yeah, exactly!” Kirby agreed.

…hm? Wait a minute. “Oh? That fast?” Those seeds were supposed to boost growth rate, certainly, but it hadn’t been very long since he’d sent them along with Kirby and Magolor. “That’s abnormal.” Perhaps he needed to check on the results…

“Time differences, buddy! I told you about them!” Kirby noted. “Everything kinda just shot back up in a couple days, really.” And then he jumped in realization. “Oh, but I haven’t introduced you to everyone! Okay, so she’s Tiff, pretty smart, gonna wanna pick your brain about those seeds…”

“Uh…well, he’s not wrong,” she admitted. “Pleased to meet you.”

“The kid with the shaggy hair is Tuff, they’re siblings,” he continued. “Probably gonna ask you about magic all day.”

“Totally!” Tuff agreed with a grin. “This is super cool, even if I dunno why none of you have arms!”

There was a moment of silence at that proclamation. “...and that’s this Dream Land’s Meta Knight if it wasn’t obvious,” Kirby continued. “Pretty cool, no wings which is wild, but there ya go.”

The knight in question merely nodded in recognition, and he did so back. Yes, that one was certainly being cautious.

“Aaaaand this!” Here he lifted the smaller him up to face level, to which the child cheered a hello. “Is Little Kirby! Half the size but all of the heart! I’ve been teaching him everything I know!”

“Poyo!” Little Kirby cheered.

Taranza paused. “...pardon?”

“Oh, right, I didn’t say? Yeah, he can’t talk properly yet, still in his early stages. Don’t worry, he’s plenty emotive, it’s not hard to understand him.” He placed the mini-puff down again. “Anywho, have you eaten yet?”

It figured he’d worry about food as the first thing. “I had a bit of a snack on the way here, but…”

“Try Kawasaki’s! It’s pretty alright!” Kirby said.

“I heard there was something going on with an inspector or something earlier,” Tuff noted.

“Huh. Wonder what that’s about, then?” Kirby wondered. “Meh, let’s get something to eat anyway. I don’t need an inspector to tell me when something’s tasty or not! We can get Dedede and Bandee, too!”

And so it was. Turned out that a few customers was just the pick-me-up he needed after an apparent visit by his old cooking teacher, who’d rather torn it down. His cooking, and almost the building, by the sounds of it. “But with you guys around, that just proves ‘im wrong for once!” he’d said.

“So, what kind of plants are your favorite?” Tiff asked as they were just about finished. “There’s so many out there, I’m not sure I could decide!”

Taranza froze. So did the other dimensional travelers with them, looking at the spider with palpable concern, and Tiff got the distinct impression she’d somehow stumbled onto a touchy subject.

“...hm.” He gave a soft, sad smile as he reached within his cloak and pulled out a flower encased in a protective, magic bubble, from what she could guess. It was a soft purple and yellow, with sharp points that she thought only added to its striking appearance. The magic was dispelled, and he allowed himself a single feel of it. “This one, without question.”

Meta Knight was no stranger to the look on his face. He’d seen it far too many times, during what little respite he had on the battlefield.

The look of someone that had lost a love, and was desperately trying to hold onto the good memories of them. For all he knew, that flower was likely the only physical remnant of them.

In that moment, Meta Knight felt as though there was more to this Taranza that he could relate to than he’d likely learn directly any time soon.

Not that he really needed to. Sometimes, expressions told enough of a story.

“...it’s beautiful,” Tiff said softly. She hadn’t had the insight that Meta Knight did, but she certainly realized that it was precious to him.

“Indeed,” was all he said as he replaced the flower within both the bubble and his clothing- she noticed how it seemed to shrink for easier storage. “The most beautiful I’ve ever seen.” With that, he focused on her a bit more. “Though I can understand if others wouldn’t think so. I’m sure that, despite what you said, you’ve plenty of flowers that you think are beautiful, right?”

“I…yeah,” she agreed as the tense feeling lifted and the rest of their company relaxed. Whatever she’d been accidentally broaching, he’d left it alone. “But like I said earlier, right now I’m more grateful you helped in letting those flowers grow at all.”

“I DO want to see the areas they were planted in,” Taranza noted, his tone returning more to his normal self. “I have to admit, from the way you’ve said, they accelerated the natural growth of the area by a factor even I wasn’t expecting. It sounds rather fascinating, really.” He wasn’t exaggerating about that, at least. “Hopefully, they haven’t taken too much of the soil’s minerals to do it. If it were just a matter of expedited efficiency, that’d be wonderful…”

“Aw, I wanted to see what kinda magic you do!” Tuff complained.

“I’m no entertainer,” Taranza said crisply. “Magic is a complicated and difficult skill. It takes a lot of dedication to learn, and even the simplest abilities take practice.”

“I knoooow!” Tuff complained. “But that doesn’t make it not cool!”

He paused. “...I suppose it CAN be very impressive,” he granted. “Especially when it’s unknown at large.”

“So can I see some?” Tuff pressed.

“...perhaps later. I really do want to check on those plots of land,” he insisted as he got up, much to Tuff’s groaning despair. Tiff rose, too.

“I’ve checked up on them before myself. I can show you where they were planted!” she offered.

“Well, if you’re gonna do that, we’re gonna go find Magolor,” Big Kirby stated.

“Ah. He was resting inside the ship,” Taranza informed them. “Apparently, before retrieving us, Susie had him help her with some things on Shiver Star. He was complaining that he ‘wasn’t a living furnace’ when he came to get us.”

“Got it!” Big Kirby said, jumping up. “Lil’ guy, you hang out with Tiff for now. We’ve got some Star Allies junk to talk about with Mags.”

As they left to go their separate ways, Taranza passed a trio of older Cappy ladies, who he didn’t see watching his retreat.

“Oh my. That’s another one of those strange visitors, right?” Hana asked.

“Seems like,” the other, Buttercup, noted. “He seems like a rather quiet sort, doesn’t he?”

“More like mysterious…” a younger Cappy girl swooned. She wasn’t the first, either.

Later that night, Taranza had to admit, he was surprised. The girl at least seemed sincerely interested in his work. The boy was more curious about his magic, but with how he constantly asked how such and such was done, he could start to believe the boy had a genuine interest. Perhaps it wouldn’t be such a horrible thing to try to sate a least a bit of his burgeoning curiosity.

As for the results of his seeds, what he found was…well, fairly fascinating. He’d brought over a few testing supplies and some other tools of his hobby, and had taken a few samples; Great King Dedede was willing to offer him lodging in his mansion, which was welcome, and allowed him some privacy. As it happened, it seemed as though the soil in and of itself was rich with both natural minerals and magical essence. It was like magic hadn’t been used in ages, so it had hardly been stirred up in as long. The result was that his own hybrid seeds had essentially ‘woken up’ the soil in that regard. The end result? Hyper growth. He was surprised that the entire grasslands wasn’t a forest, but perhaps it only worked up to a certain point? Or maybe it was due to the amount of area it took…

He huffed, smiling lightly. Maybe he would have one or two things to keep him occupied here, after all.

The next day, he felt a bit refreshed. He’d prepared a few compounds last night to see how they took to the soil here, a little magic infused with them. It’d be fascinating to see what they produced long term. Sure, he could force plants to grow with his magic directly (and he was rather good at that, if he said so himself), but he couldn’t be everywhere at once, now could he?

He’d started to head through town, before he noticed that everything was oddly…quiet. ‘I called it sleepy before, but it’s outright dead now? That can’t be normal…’ he figured as he wandered along the street. It wasn’t long before he passed by that chef’s place- Kawasaki’s. It seemed open, so he headed in- if only to ask what was going on.

He was surprised to see Big Kirby, Bandee, and Great King Dedede there. And they were looking at a television? “Pardon, but just where has everyone gone?” He asked, surprising the trio as they turned to look at him.

“Oh, hey!” Bandee said excitedly. “Check this out!” Here he pointed at the TV, and Taranza craned his head to look. “We came in for an early lunch, and apparently there’s this guy cooking up gourmet stuff at the other Dedede’s castle! I think this was the guy that taught Kawasaki- or tried to, anyway.”

Huh. That was somewhat interesting, he supposed. The fare on offer from the other day was…lacking, being honest, but he felt it worth being polite before he started critiquing the local cuisine. Perhaps with this new chef in town, he could get something a bit more palatable…

Or so he thought before Tiff came out from off-screen, chasing someone extremely familiar. “Hey, you! Give that back! It’s proof!” she exclaimed, causing more than a bit of commotion.

The quartet watching’s collective jaws dropped.

The individual on-screen, now standing- or rather, hovering- at the top of the stylish platform they’d made for the show now bowed, his ruby-red top hat titled just so to give off an air of jaunty irreverence. “Forgive me, young lady, for interfering in your sordid exposé.”

Big Kirby had already raced off, throwing open the door.

The stranger continued. “However, I’ve found that, deceptive chemical additive or no-”

King Dedede sighed. “Of course he’d pull this kinda stunt.”

“-such an impressive compound sounds like it’d be quite the tasty little add-on to my gang’s lunches,” he said to a gobsmacked crowd.

Bandee wasn’t sure how to react. “Awwww, he’s not gonna go on a spree or anything, is he?”

“It’s no great treasure, but it’ll do fine as an appetizer, pun very much intended. We’re rather bad cooks, you see…” His grin spoke of mischief and confidence as a big rat fellow, a smaller, sunglasses wearing yellow mouse, and an elderly rat in a hovercraft joined him, shocking all present.

Taranza just grumbled. “I knew it.”

“...but then again, the Squeak Squad are treasure hunters extraordinaire, and value is rather subjective, don’t you think?” With that, he bowed again, and vanished, his squad doing similar thanks to a smoke bomb from Spinni.

Even as the smoke cleared, and Tiff tried to use Daroach’s statements as proof that he’d been misleading the people, it was easy to see that most attention was on the mysterious red robed stranger that had appeared and disappeared.

‘He said he was going to make an entrance, but I didn’t think it’d be like this!’ Taranza thought heatedly. If he went around town causing mischief and mayhem, it’d probably not only reflect badly on him, but also his friends.

Kirby had clearly bolted for the castle to do damage control. Dedede just sighed, and asked for Bandee to follow him. “We’re gonna need to make sure we knock some sense into him.”

And so Taranza was left alone in the building. He could only sigh at the debacle. “I hope they manage it quickly. Otherwise-” and it was then that he was interrupted by a sudden flash of red. “Hello, my friend! Enjoy the show?”

“W-what?!” Taranza yelled in surprise- but that quickly turned to frustration. “Just what did you do!? Why cause trouble as soon as we get here!?”

“Oh, relax,” Daroach said easily as he flicked his paw- revealing the spice he’d stolen. “I actually stopped by to hand this over to you. Doc reminded me that he only needed a little sample and he could probably synthesize plenty of it himself. So I figured that chef that was down on his luck might put this to better use.”

Taranza paused. He wasn’t expecting that reasoning. “Wait, so why give it to me?” he asked.

“Well, you’re a bright boy, you can figure it out, can’t you?” He grinned. “Who better to retrieve the stolen goods than a Star Ally? Should make you a bit more popular around town, no?”

That was… “How completely asinine!” he yelled as he took the spice. “It still makes no sense!”

“Just trust me,” Daroach insisted, waggling his eyebrows. “You return this, with my ‘apologies’, and you and the Star Allies will be more popular than ever- and the Squeak Squad will be more infamous.”

“Tch.” Taranza grumbled. “That’s such a fool idea. It’ll never work.”

The very next day, Taranza had to beg off someone else inviting him for tea and conversation. He normally enjoyed both…but not for the eighth time in two hours. “I can’t believe that idiotic plan worked,” he mumbled to himself. He’d done exactly as Daroach suggested, returning the spice to the chef, who’d in turn proffered it to his teacher, who insisted he keep it, whether he wanted to use it or not. It was all very touching, and he thought the guy had decided to trash it, but Taranza had only half paid attention.

The other half had been concerned about the applause he’d gotten once he presented the missing spice. He’d even gotten a commendation from the local police chief later! Though it hadn’t actually been anything more than a verbal thank you. Nonetheless, Taranza had found himself the toast of the town somehow, just for that little act.

He’d even heard some not-entirely-negative rumblings about Daroach, of all people. Apparently upon hearing Kirby’s proclamation that he was a Star Ally and that they’d punish him, some were thinking his act one of incidental righteousness, calling it brave to expose the false ingredients and taking them so that he couldn’t use them while there anymore. The thief was getting admirers.

(He’d been smart enough to retreat to his airship where no one but the Star Allies could accost him about it, at least.)

Though Taranza was hardly faring better. He’d gotten more than a few pining looks from the lady contingent of the strange capless Cappies. And while he was trying to…move on…he wasn’t sure that was exactly what he was looking for. He could see why Magolor had said the place was ‘easily duped’. Why they liked HIM, some newcomer spider mage, was a mystery likely for the ages. He’d have to buy the mage a drink later, honestly.

Back in Dedede’s Castle, however, the King was in no great mood, either. “They jus’ keep comin’!” King Dedede complained. “I wuz tryin’ to be all nice and gentle-like at first, since they might not realize how things iz run around heah! But more n’ more of those weirdos are comin’, an’ they ain’t stoppin’ tryin’ to take my citizens away from me!”

“Not like that’s particularly hard,” Escargoon mumbled. Alas, it wasn’t quiet enough- he was quickly met with a thump to the head. “Owowowow! Don’t blame me for saying what needs it! Your subjects are all gaga for those ‘Star Allies!’ Especially that new spider-guy. Never heard so many lovelorn sighs in under a minute…”

“And that sticks in my craw!” the King complained. “I need ta do somethin’ to remind everyone just who their most handsomest and Kingliest bachelor is! ME!”

“Well, unless you’ve got the mother of all dirty laundry on the guy, I doubt that’s happening!” the slimy sycophant argued.

And like a (half-dead) lightbulb going off, the king brightened. “Maybe not- but I betcha we can do the next best thing!”

“And that is?” Escargoon bit.

“Make ‘im look like a chump next to tha champ!” Dedede crowed. “We’re gonna invited that six-limed loser to tha castle proper-like! An’ everyone’ll see right on TV just how plain he is- against Dedede! Aheheheheh!”

Chapter 26: Magic and Resolve

Chapter Text

With Magolor having left once again for their home universe the next day, Taranza felt a bit put out. Not that he didn’t agree with the course of action. It was better to wait there for Susie’s work to be done than here, where he’d be objectively waiting for longer. Not to mention there was work to be done on that end of things, too.

However, that still meant he felt like he was committed to whatever this whole venture was now. He understood the general gist of it- the wizard Nightmare, his army, all that. Frankly, he thought this Nightmare sounded like a bit of a tactical dunce for not solidifying his hold here, but he wasn’t complaining at all. Besides, he’d gotten the rest of the galaxy, so…

Ah, but that wasn’t pleasant to think about. Right now, he was out near the factory, further observing the seeded areas that Tiff had told him about. They were lovely white flowers, really. Lilies, perhaps. Or within that family. They’d make an excellent scene for a painting, he thought. Still, apart from their aesthetic value, he needed to see just what the range of the seeds' effects were, if there was any notable falloff of growth rates further from the centerpoint of the planting area…

“Hey, you! Fancy britches!” a voice called; Taranza turned to see the local King Dedede alongside a snail, but…in a tank, of sorts? “You this ‘Tyrantza’ I been hearin’ about?” ‘Well, this can’t be good. This must be the local version and his aide,’ Taranza surmised. He’d heard more than a few negative things about the duo, and he already found them annoying, honestly. ‘ Nonetheless, I suppose I’ll TRY to be polite.’ “I am TARANZA, yes.” he said, stressing his name. “Might I ask why you’ve sought me out?”

“Simple!” the King stated. “You’re gettin’ awful popular ‘round here! I figured them Cappies might want them a closer look at their new favorite spidah! So I’m invitin’ you to a special show!”

“We’re callin’ it ‘Talkin’ with the King!’” Escargoon explained. “You’ve got the honor of showing up on television with none other than our King Dedede, where he’ll get to ask you all sorts of interesting and probably intrusive questions for the sake of our fascinated viewing audience!”

The statement had been so brazen, Taranza wasn’t even sure he’d heard right. ‘I don’t think I’d have mistaken HIM for a hero…although I suppose in a way I didn’t back then, either.’ He’d just gotten the wrong one. “...is that so?” he said, his eyes squinting.

“Yup! That’s so!” King Dedede confirmed. “So get on in here and we’ll getchu ready for the screen!”

“...no thanks,” Taranza said simply, turning around to continue monitoring the flowers.

There was a brief silence as his flat refusal took hold. “W-what?! ‘No’? Just like that?” Escargoon asked in surprise.

“Correct. No.” Taranza confirmed.

“Why, you…! Don’tchu know what kinda honor it is for me ta invite you to something like this?!” the greedy King yelled.

“Not particularly,” he admitted, “And I don’t really care to. Leave me alone.”

“Oh yeah!?” King Dedede had well and truly gotten mad now as he pressed a button on his tank. A large, metallic claw sprang out from the back, motioning towards the spider. “Well, I’m havin’ you as a guest whether you like it or not!” The claw sprang towards Taranza, and Dedede readied to drag him back.

A single hand of Taranza’s six stretched out behind him and began to glow a vicious purple- in the next instant, a glowing web formed a foot or two in front of it, directly in the claw’s path as though spun from the air itself.

The claw slammed into it, hardly making it bend before it repulsed the offending construct back with twice the force, causing both Escargoon and King Dedede to duck in panic before it clocked them both. “WHOA!” they both yelled as the metal construct screamed by their heads, and they both felt a vicious jerk that sent them flying as the force of it sent the tank toppling, the back end getting smashed up near entirely, and the tank itself completely flipped.

When they got up, they could only stare astonished at how he’d so casually rebuffed them. He hadn’t even bothered to turn around. “Can you please not keep this up?” he asked with clear annoyance. “It’s awfully uncouth of you.” It was also potentially disturbing to the flowers, which he didn’t like either.

“Aw, come on!” Escargoon whined. He managed to sense that this would require a different tactic. “Can’tcha see that the King’s just wantin’ to pick yer brain on why you’re so popular? You got most o’ the ladies around town eatin’ outta your hand!”

“I can’t say I’m thrilled about that…” he muttered. He STILL wasn’t sure why that was happening, and he still didn’t want to find out.

“Well, neither are we!” Escargoon kept up. “So maybe you could tell us a few things aboutcha, maybe clue us into some hobbies or the sort, and the King can do the same thing- maybe take some of that attention off your hands, eh?!”

He paused. While he really was looking for something else to do, being the resident dreamboat wasn’t really high up on the list of preferred activities for him. Would he, deep down, really want to find another queen- someone he could dedicate himself to wholly, to enjoy the rest of his days with?

No. No, not really. It sounded…traitorous. Even moreso than he already was. But he wasn’t an idiot. Rather prided himself on being anything BUT, honestly.

And the truth was that it would, ultimately, be better than this emotional miasma he’d been stuck in for so long. "You get to be your hermit self, we get all the popularity!" Escargoon continued. "It's a win-win!"

He sighed. It seemed like the King nor his servant understood. “It’s unlikely that you would be able to divert any unwanted attention from me, to be frank,” he told the duo. “While the idea of letting people know why I’m not someone to pine over would help with that, I’ m certain that I could think of several better ways to do it than submit myself to this foolishness.” For one, just explaining it in town himself would probably yield better results than whatever this transparent attempt at manipulation was.

“Well, for a quiet sort, you’re just a rebellious one, aren’t ya!” Escargoon yelled back. “Well, fine! We’ll pry those secrets from ya one way or the other!” The duo took off, abandoning the wrecked vehicle, and Taranza merely shook his head. It was clear that they’d be hounding him about this, now.

‘How annoying…’ But, he’d put it out of his head for now- he had work to do. If they were planning on trying anything shifty towards him…

…well, he’d just have to do his best to get some recreation out of it.

The first incident was approximately an hour later; he’d wandered around the melon fields on the outskirts of town. He was no big fan of them, taste-wise, but they were excellent indicators of how the soil was doing. And so far, it was interesting. It seemed as though the growth levels were consistent up to a certain radius around the planted seeds themselves- easily indicated by a deep red and yellow plant that produced smaller, similarly colored tomato-like bulbs. He’d absolutely made sure to grab a couple of those for testing.

It was then that he heard a rustling in the bushes nearby, and he allowed himself a small grin. ‘Well, then.’ Seemed like this was it. He raised his hand- and a purple, web-like sphere burst into existence. Waving once, he sent it towards the sound, and a pair of shouts told him that he’d hit the targets. Pulling his hand back, he turned to see the ‘King’ and his partner floating around in his Web Hold futilely. “Hello.”

“Y-you let us down right this instant!” Dedede declared. “This is an assault on my royal personage!”

“Gee, didn’t think you knew that word,” Escargoon mumbled, before he spoke louder. “But he’s right! Put us down- and gentle like!”

“Hmmm…” Taranza was quick to realize just what was happening here. “Alright,” he said lightly- and began floating with them in tow.

“H-hey! We said put us down!” Escargoon argued.

“I will,” he promised, and it wasn’t long before he arrived at his ‘drop off point’- the river.

He dismissed the web easily, and the duo, yelling, took an impromptu pair of belly flops straight into the water. It was only a few more moments before they surfaced- but already he was off to inspect elsewhere.

King Dedede simply grit his teeth. “If’n he thinks he’s gonna make me take a bath on this, he’s got another thing comin’!”

Escargoon was just as fired up. “Yeah! No one can force you to take a bath anyway!”

That got him another thump on the head. He didn’t disagree, though.

Later, Tiff and Bandee were playing chess; they’d both been so used to playing Great King Dedede that they had overlooked that by default, the other of them knew how to play as well. An idle talk between their relative experiences had turned to a friendly challenge, and so they’d decided on a best of five series to wile away the hours. Of course, this accounted for breaks and the sort as well, and they mutually decided to hold it at Kawasaki’s, if only so that they could perhaps entice others to get interested as well.

That…hadn’t happened. Kawasaki’s was as empty as ever, barring one or two citizens at a time, which by itself was a positive. It also allowed them to overhear when the TV decided to blare. “This is Channel DDD! Coming to you with a major announcement!”

“Ugh,” Tiff groaned. She’d been in a groove, ahead in the series 2-1. (She privately figured that Bandee was too used to playing against his King and wasn’t expecting her aggressive strategies.) “ ‘Major announcements’ are never good,” she said lowly.

Bandee made his move, pushing his rook up. “Wonder what he’s up to?”

“We’re here because we’ve got questions!” Escargoon continued. “Questions that we believe the public has a right to know! And with that right comes intense scrutiny and uncomfortable realizations. Specifically, about everyone’s newest heartthrob, Taranza!”

“Huh?!” Tiff stood up in alarm, as did Bandee. “Why him?”

As though answering, Escargoon continued. “In case you’ve been living under a rock the last couple of days, it appears that our newest otherworldly interloper has captured the hearts of Cappies ‘round the block! And so we decided to see just what his big secret was to being so doggone fascinatin’!”

“And boy do we have a surprise fer you!” King Dedede jumped in, his smug grin covering the TV. “‘Cause what if we said that your Prince Charmin’ ain’t so charmin’?”

“Oh no,” Bandee muttered. “Why is he trying this?”

The scene on the TV shifted to a camera shot- clearly filmed by a Waddle Dee. It showed the King and Escargoon being lifted by Taranza’s magic, and there was an eerie sheen to Taranza’s eyes, a rich purple in color. “As you can see!” King Dedede’s voiceover started, “Your so-called sweetheart is more of a meanheart!” The scene shifted again, this time as he faced the camera and spread his hand, a twisting magic line of web streaming towards the camera before enveloping it in purple entirely. “Although we went an’ tried to get an honest interview with ‘im, he was so rude that he tried ta attack us jus’ for approachin’ him!”

“...well, that’s not really that bad, at least…” Tiff figured. At least, she hoped it wouldn’t be seen as such among the watchers.

“And even then, when we DID manage ta get a few words outta his fanged mouth, it wasn’t anything like you’d ever expect!” Escargoon continued on. “For example, when we asked him what was his favorite foods?”

A static image of Taranza flashed up on the screen, looking more than a little disgruntled. “-bugs-” his voice came out, before quickly flashing back to Escargoon at his desk.

“That’s right!” the snail ‘confirmed’. “Don’t you ask for a smooch from him, ‘cause he’s probably got bug breath!”

“Hey!” Tiff complained. “That wasn’t even him talking, was it?”

Bandee gave a hum. “That didn’t sound like he was talking to them…it sounded like he was saying something and got cut off.”

“I bet that’s exactly what it was!” Tiff agreed. “He’s trying to smear Taranza’s good name!”

“And that’s not all!” the voice of Dedede continued, interrupting their diatribe. “Alla that love y’all are sending him is one way- he ain’t talkin’ with the locals or nothin’! He just heads out to the fields and stares at flowers all day! He don’t just stop and smell ‘em, he practically lives out there!”

“Okay, now THAT’S just mean,” Bandee said, glaring. “I don’t think they know the first thing about Floralia! It makes all the sense in the world he’d like flowers!”

Tiff didn’t know anything about this ‘Floralia’ either, but she could make a guess from the name alone. And she agreed- it wasn’t fair at all. “Do you think he knows about this?”

“I had an inkling,” a voice came from nearby them. Jumping slightly, they looked to see Taranza himself, standing near the middle of the restaurant, looking at the television broadcast with a thoughtful expression. “But I didn’t expect this.” It didn’t escape them that the few guests that had been present had quietly slipped out upon his arrival, and it irked Tiff to no end.

“You can’t just let them get away with that!” Tiff said, going over to him. “Whether it’s harmless or not, you can’t just let people speak up for you! You’ll lose all control over who you are!”

“...hm. I came here to get away from who I was,” he muttered. “In a way, it’s poetic. An…alternative perception of myself is exactly what I’d hoped for.”

Tiff paused, considering that. Everything that she’d been told about Taranza, everything that she’d seen? She could only come to one conclusion. “I don’t think you’re nearly as bad as you think you are.”

“You don’t know what I’ve done,” Taranza said, half-glaring at her. “If you did-”

“She’d probably say the same thing!” Bandee hopped up, waddling over to him. “Taranza, I know how bad you must feel about it. I’m not gonna say I understand entirely, because I’m not you. But Taranza, I was THERE.”

Tiff quietly looked on, feeling, for once, that her input wasn’t needed- that this was something only someone who’d been alongside him for longer could tell him.

“I watched Kirby fight the Queen,” Bandee continued. I watched you decide to do the RIGHT THING.” Taranza attempted to look away- but Bandee was right there, rounding on him and pointing at him. “I mean, it took a while for you to realize just how far she’d fallen, but you chose to help Kirby! Because in the end, you realized how bad things had gotten, and you chose to help bring peace back to Floralia. We’ve forgiven Susie for what she did. You can bet we’ve long since forgiven you. You just need to forgive yourself, finally.”

“But…I…” the forlorn spider started.

“Taranza!” Bandee hopped up to pull his face down, Taranza’s eyes widening in surprise. “Listen to me. Did you intend for what happened to Sectonia to happen?”

“Wh- NO!” He shook himself from Bandee’s grip, backing away in a flash. “Never!”

“Then whatever happened, it was an accident at worst, and not your fault at all at best,” Bandee insisted, his eyes shining. “Please. Don’t let this mess with you any more than it has already.”

“I…you…” Taranza started. But he couldn’t finish, instead sighing, and hanging his head.

There was silence in the restaurant- not even the sounds of cooking. Only Dedede’s show, now onto a commercial.

“Taranza. You’ve come to help a lot of people since then,” Bandee insisted. “Look right in front of you, for once.”

Taranza frowned. Then looked up.

Tiff was still standing there, admittedly feeling a touch awkward, but also sympathetic. He’d…had to make a hard choice, that was clear. And maybe he felt like it wasn’t the best one? But either way… “You’ve helped us a ton already,” she said softly. “So…thank you, for helping Dream Land. I don’t think I actually said that, before…but I want to say it now.”

Taranza’s mouth opened a little at that, surprise etched clearly on his face. Closed it, opened it, closed it again. “...Ah. Er. Well…you’re…welcome? I suppose?”

“It’s like Kirby said,” Bandee said, patting him on the back. “You deserve it.”

“I really think you do,” Tiff repeated with a smile.

Another moment of quiet- and then the voice of Escargoon cut through it, advertising more of Channel DDD’s shlock. Taranza glanced at it…and his face hardened a bit, giving a huff. “I apologize, but I have to go…correct a few things.”

They simply smiled and waved him off.

A few minutes later…

“And now, back to our latest exposè on the strange and unhandsome fellow known as Taranza!” Escargoon began.

“Actually, I believe I’ll speak for MYSELF from here,” the prim voice of the spider himself came, as Escargoon was quickly surrounded by a Web Trap again. The two of them- as well as the camera- looked up to see Taranza floating towards them from the ceiling, carefully controlling Escargoon’s cage before setting him aside and turning to the camera. “Hello, Cappy Town. If it wasn’t obvious, I am Taranza…”

“Hey, now!” King Dedede roared. “You really think you’re jus’ gonna come onta my show an-”

With a flick of his wrist, a web string came out, ensnaring the portly king in mystic thread from head to toe. Not even a speck of him was unwrapped, and he could only make muffled noises from inside the impromptu cocoon. “As I was saying,” Taranza said undaunted, turning back. “I apologize for arriving so suddenly…but I feel as though I should come clean as to my behavior.” He took a deep breath. “The truth is…I am a bit intimidated by everyone’s sudden interest in me. I’ve…long since felt that I wasn’t worth, nor deserving of such grand affection.” For a moment, it seemed as though he wanted to look away, but he shook his head. “Perhaps that was incorrect, but the notion guided my actions for…quite some time. I mean no disrespect if I ever rebuff your advances, or if I perhaps act a bit too…cold, at times. It doesn’t befit someone of my personage, I suppose. I’ll try to be a bit more…approachable from here on in, but regarding the, ah…romantic inclinations?” He bowed in apology. “I’m afraid I’m not quite ready yet. Perhaps someday. Maybe some day earlier than I even expect. But not now. However… I am a fan of puzzle games. I enjoy flowers a great deal, yes. Puppeteering, as well…ahehehe…” He couldn’t help but let out an honest giggle; that was an in-joke very few would get.

Already, he felt a little better.

And he could only imagine the groaning reactions the OTHER King Dedede and Kirby were having right now.

And that’s when he came to a realization. “Yes, maybe talking to others like this isn’t quite so bad. How much longer was this segment meant to last?” He asked Captain Doo off-screen.

“Uhh…like, anotha twenty minutes?” Captain Doo guessed. Really, he wasn’t entirely sure…

“Oh?” He thought for a moment. Just leaving them high and dry would be…well, just uncouth. “Then in that case, perhaps all of you out there might be interested in learning a bit about the fascinating world of flowers?” He pulled out one or two sample flowers he’d kept on him. “I think you’ll all be rather surprised at the wonder and potential they hold- especially in your own, special Dream Land soil, which has more in it than you think!”

Tiff would later say that it was the first time she was genuinely glued to the television set.

The next day, Taranza greeted the two elder lady Cappies that walked past him. They both smiled, nodded, and went about their day.

He came across a young girl who’d lost her ball, thanks to her brother’s roughhousing to the top of a house- it was no problem to retrieve it. She thanked him kindly, and went about her business.

He breathed in deeply. The air was sweet, and clear. It was quite nice. Almost freeing.

Taranza was content. He doubted it would last for long…

...but he appreciated it, nonetheless.

Chapter 27: Magic and Guile

Chapter Text

It was a fairly normal day in Cappy Town that day. King Dedede had been holed up in his castle for a bit, and only recently had come out, all bluster and bombast as he used to be. Today in particular, however, he was lounging around his castle, it seemed. Likely the repairs to his jeep were keeping his behavior in check for the time being. That, fortunately, meant that the citizens of Cappy Town were enjoying life worry-free.

When one part of the sky suddenly seemed to shiver and split, forming a bright, star-shaped hole in reality that expelled a brilliant blue and white ship? The locals barely glanced at it. Such a thing had become downright routine, even.

It just meant that a couple of their long-term visitors had returned. It settled down near their new factory, and one of the ports on the side opened, revealing that it was a door, and a long ramp shot out from it for easy egress.

Susie stretched a bit as she walked down the ramp, letting out a sigh of relief. “Aaaaah…I must admit, I greatly prefer this climate to Shiver Star’s.”

“That’s not exactly a daring thing to say,” Magolor noted as he disembarked alongside her, the ramp retreating upwards.

It was then that Meta Knight flew out of the ship, wings flapping as he landed in front of them. He eyed Susie, who met his gaze evenly. “Will you be informing them of the news?”

She didn’t like the implications there, but she also knew that was just her permanent standing with Meta Knight now, and so she only let out a small breath of annoyance. “That’s the plan,” she confirmed. “There’s no reason to hide this from them; the sooner they know about their expanded options, the better.”

“Agreed,” Meta Knight said. “Then I’ll leave you to deliver the news. We should meet somewhere private. I believe his Highness’s mansion would work for our purposes.” Without waiting for a response, he spread his wings and took off towards town- likely to wait at said mansion for everyone to gather.

“...So then,” Magolor said, as though he’d ignored that entire exchange. “Hopefully Taranza managed to survive without me here! Think we should look him up first?”

“I’m rather confident he’s doing fine,” Susie countered. “Nonetheless, I suppose that’s an acceptable course of action, though I DO have to get those supplies into the factory as soon as possible. I didn’t spend all that time analyzing the Shiver Star protocols, redesigning their automation systems and restructuring their fabrication priorities for no reason.” She’d been burning the midnight oil for much of her stay back- but it had borne excellent results.

“Right, right,” Magolor dismissed. “Those stasis tubes confused me, too. At any rate, it’ll frankly be a relief to tell them about this and get a load off of my back. Might be better to just do as he says and give everyone the news first. Then maybe EVERYONE could help you bring all those crates and gears and whatnot in, not just ME for once,” he griped.

“Hmph.” She didn’t respond verbally, but Susie’s eyes showed a slight smirk as she headed off, while Magolor continued at his own pace.

It only took a bit of asking around before she found him- sitting idly on a nearby bench. “Getting used to the locale, are we?” she asked.

Taranza turned around in surprise, only to meet her with a small smile. “Ah, Susie! So you’re back?”

“Just arrived, and with a number of much-needed resources for my factory here,” she explained. “I trust you’ve been well enough?”

“As can be,” he admitted. “It was a bit of a rough start, but…things have gotten better for me.”

“Good to know! Especially because I have rather important Star Allies news for everyone. If you could help me round them up?”

“Sure,” he said, rising. He had to admit, this sounded curious- and she sounded proud. ‘Wonder what she’s got to say?’

He was particularly surprised when she requested that they all meet at Great King Dedede’s mansion. “It’s particularly something I’d rather not get out to the local populace,” she insisted. “Their curiosity may override their good sense.” Taranza wasn’t sure if that would’ve been the case, but he couldn’t fault her for her sense of caution, at least. At least, it wasn’t too hard to round up Kirby and the rest; he’d even managed to find Gooey. Not that Susie seemed thrilled to see him. Why she was so antagonistic towards the small blob, Taranza had no clue.

“Alright, then!” She started once everyone had arrived and were standing in the Great King’s ‘living room’. “I’m glad we’re all here, and doing well. I have some rather important news to share that I’m confident will greatly shift how we are able to progress forth with this operation. Does anyone have anything to say or mention before I begin?”

A few looks around; nothing. Taranza rarely spoke up at these events- mostly because he really didn’t have much to say. Kirby and Meta Knight turned back to her. “You have the floor,” Meta Knight said simply.

“Thank you,” she nodded. Now then, this involves my trip to Shiver Star. As you know, I’ve been working tirelessly to turn the massive underground research and development facility there to our purposes. The damage inflicted by Kirby and the Crystal Shard team, as they’re known-” (Kirby, Bandee, and Great King Dedede surreptitiously shared high-fives she pretended to not notice) “-was primarily in three sections of the facility: packaging, disposal, and secondary assembly.”

Ah. He’d heard about her struggles with that location before. Apparently, while her company had managed to gain some blueprints and data from the place, as she told it, the area was ‘more secure than anticipated’, and during her company’s travel here, they’d decided they didn’t want to waste the resources on cracking the data encryption nor staging people there. He supposed he understood…at least somewhat. Still, Taranza thought it fortunate for her- if they’d managed it earlier, it might’ve been wiped out along with most of the rest of her systems.

“There were many more sectors that they left untouched, either by choice or by chance. Currently, the only thing that beats that factory for potential is the planet Mekkai, and that’s so gigantic I don’t dare even land without much, MUCH more infrastructure, tools, and data acquisition done. But, I’m digressing,” she said as he saw Magolor’s hand about to rise. “So I’ll get to the point. “I’ve managed a breakthrough in that aspect, and in doing so, I’ve also managed to luck into finding some information that might solve another one of our problems- that of transport between our dimensions. By now you’re all aware of the…initial incident that led to us discovering this dimension, correct? Which I must insist I am also still very sorry for?”

“It’s fiiiine,” Kirby said breezily. Taranza agreed- he wasn’t there when the situation occurred, but he liked to think he knew Susie a bit; a mistake like that would never be intentional or wanted from an organized individual like her. “But what’d you find?”

Susie took a breath. “Well, to put it simply, you know how the factory is somehow still active there? I’ve managed to gain entry into their databases, and I’ve discovered the schematics for a power source for my dimensional portal; a source that shouldn’t be so particular that it’ll cause the entire works to break apart like before.”

That got everyone’s attention, Taranza’s included. That would do wonders for his studies, and perhaps calm his nerves regarding his stay over here. Kirby himself was certainly surprised. “Say what? Really?!”

Here, she turned to Magolor. “I believe you can confirm that?”

The magician nodded. “Right, yes. There’s a defunct robot that Susie managed to find, big ol’ thing just laying on a bridge on the outskirts of a dead city near the factory. It-”

“Wait!” Kirby yelled in surprise. “Was it big and white and yellow and had a dark underside to it?” ‘ Unsurprising that he’s encountered it,’ Taranza thought.

Magolor went quiet. “Ah. Your handiwork, then. Well, yes, that one. Point is, Susie found it via system scans, and discovered that its power source was designed to last for…well, millenia. Impressive stuff, I have to say! It was a bit busted up, but fortunately, she managed to repair the thing. The power source, I mean- not the robot itself. We dismantled that. It’s currently sitting in the Lor’s cargo hold, in fact.”

“The power source, however, we thought we could put to better use,” Susie resumed. “We used the schematics to repair the power source to the best of our abilities, and we thought to utilize it to activate and stabilize the portal system.”

“With a LOT of help from yours truly in energizing said source,” Magolor pressed. Taranza had to stifle a chuckle.

Susie sighed. “Yesss, yes, with a good deal of help from the Great Magolor,” she said deadpan, before returning to her normal tone. “We managed to actually activate, test, and confirm that the dimensional portal, once activated, IS stable and functional!”

That got a lot of cheers and excitement from everyone. Of course it would be good news! Though to Taranza’s dismay, she continued. “However! That is, I’m afraid, only for a limited amount of time,” she elaborated. “It remains active for approximately ten minutes before the portal snaps closed due to the fail-safes I installed so the power source can recharge- which takes approximately a day in Pop Star Prime time, so even longer here. Apparently, keeping a defensive combat robot active in standby for millennia is nothing compared to keeping a hole in-between dimensions open for longer than ten minutes,” she griped.

“That’s still really good though, isn’t it?” Bandee asked. Frankly, the spider wasn’t so certain of that, but he decided to keep the thought to himself.

“It is,” Susie confirmed. “Though it does mean that the Lor will still be required to transport anything of larger size than perhaps a particularly big individual or a small sized vehicle. And you can forget transporting anything but basic supplies through. And I should ALSO specify that that test was for intra-dimensional travel, not between here and there. From the data and study that we’ve done, such travel SHOULD also be possible- but I wouldn’t be surprised if the power draw is even bigger, and means we’ll have even less time to get through.”

“Hm. So no daring thefts with a ready-made escape route, then,” Daroach said, chuckling.

“Just so,” she said evenly. “Still, this DOES open up some more possibilities for us. I have one half of the matching portals on the Lor, and if you’re all willing to help, we can get it all to the factory, and I can test it out ASAP.” Everyone’s hands (or tongue, in Gooey’s case) went up. “Excellent. I’ve got a lot of supplies, tools, and materials to unpack as well, so you can all help with those, too.”

“Yeah?” King Dedede noted. “There’s not gonna be a ton of room in that hangar for a while,” he said, chuckling. “Me, Bandee, and the girl dropped off some presents for you while you were out.”

Susie nodded. “I’m sure I’ll love them.” She looked around. “Well, then. Overall, I believe that this development will increase both the Star Allies and the Haltmann Works Company’s efficiency immensely. That concludes my report. Thank you for your time.” She bowed, and sat down.

“Very well, then.” Meta Knight took over. He tended to lead the room when it came to the rare meeting like this. “I also have something to report. Does anyone else have any news to share or questions before I begin? This may take some time.”

Magolor raised his hand. Even Taranza knew what this what about, and he wasn’t a fan of getting the topic brought up AGAIN. Friend though the magician was, his OTHER friend was…less tolerable.

Meta Knight sighed. “No, we are not rescinding the protocol. ESPECIALLY not with this town and situation.”

“He’s going to find out eventually,” Magolor noted. “And when he does, he’s going to be cheesed off.”

“That’s why the protocol is there,” Meta Knight pointed out. “To calm him down when it happens. You KNOW he’ll bite.” Magolor rolled his eyes, but put his hand down- and the spider breathed a silent sigh of relief. “Any other questions?” Daroach raised his hand, which got a mild look of surprise from the knight and a few others. Daroach rarely interjected in these meetings unless it was about him. “Yes?”

“Well, now that he brought it up, I was just wonderin’,” Daroach began. “Since it seems like it’s gonna be a heckuva party here in due time, maybe we should be bringing refreshments, if you get my drift? Including the resident emergency supplier?”

There was a pause as they considered it. ‘He has a point, but I’m not certain if it’s necessary right now. It’s not like there’s anything we can’t handle,’ Taranza figured. He’d talked to the artist more than once, and she and her fairy companion seemed pleasant enough. “Adeleine and Ribbon WERE initially willing to join us,” Magolor noted. “They only stayed behind for logistical aid once we confirmed that everyone was fine, but if that’s becoming easier thanks to the portals…” he trailed off. He had a point…

“Don’t you think we need someone on that side to keep an eye on things?” Susie asked. “It struck me that Adeleine was respectably responsible for her age, alongside Ribbon. I don’t think we should mess with what we’ve already got set up, especially considering that she’s one of two people that can reliably handle the OTHER side of the reason for protocol.” Magolor could only hum at that, clearly considering.

“I mean…I can think of three others,” Kirby said. The room went quiet, and Taranza felt his mouth dry. “...I’m just saying, they could.”

They COULD, sure. It would be akin to calling in a Pyribbit to keep a Galbo contained, but it’d theoretically WORK. But theory and actuality could be two very different things.

“But do we really want to call them?” Bandee asked. “Like, it wouldn’t be…y’know…right?” Right.

“No, that’s a different agreement,” Meta Knight confirmed. “Still…”

“Put it to a vote!” Dedede said. “All in favor of bringing Adeleine over?” He, Kirby, Gooey, and Daroach raised their hands (or tongue in Gooey’s case). “Dang. Not you, Bandee?”

“They’re the best two I know to make sure everything over on our Pop Star is safe, I think,” Bandee admitted. “I’d love to have them here, but only when and if we really really need them.”

“That’s a no, then.” Meta Knight declared. Daroach snapped his fingers in annoyance, but didn’t complain, and Taranza let himself calm down a bit. “Any last pieces of business?” Silence. “Very well, then. I’d like to begin by noting that my talks with my dimensional counterpart have been very productive in certain areas…”

Ah. Meta Knight was starting. He’d have to push himself to focus…

Ultimately, Taranza had little understanding of what was going on when Meta Knight had started talking, and he’d thus started to tune out a bit despite his best efforts. He meant no disrespect to the knight in particular, but it very much sounded as though it only vaguely concerned him. Rather, he was more interested in getting around to investigating this ‘Lovely’ character that had been brought up; apparently Gooey had done something to her- they’d said she’d been ‘purified’, and he was curious to see what, precisely, that meant. Hopefully she wouldn’t object to a bit of an examination…

But, that would have to happen AFTER he’d helped finish getting these crates to the factory; Magolor had steered the ship over to the other side of town, so that meant a bit of a trip. Susie ended up near him, leading the procession through the streets. “Are you certain you’re well?” she asked. “I noticed your attention was wavering during the meeting.”

“Ah, nothing to worry about,” Taranza dismissed. “Meta Knight’s report was a touch dry, is all.”

“Hmm. Yes, I suppose I see what you mean,” Susie admitted. “Perhaps-”

Suddenly, the rumbling of a vehicle sounded behind them, as did a horn’s honking. Immediately, the two quickly split apart as a red and yellow kart shot past them and the rest. “What the-?!” Susie yelled as the sounds of laughter trailed after it. “Do they not have traffic laws?!”

Taranza was just as confused. What could possess someone to drive so recklessly?

Later, as he was dislodging a number of crates from the cargo hold, he was about to ask Susie where to put them, when suddenly several beeps went off on her person. “Oh? Hmmm…” she quickly pulled out her tablet. “It seems as though my logger is working perfectly. King Dedede’s ordered a new…” she paused. “Hm? Well, now, that’s a bit unexpected,” she noted as she looked at it. “This doesn’t seem to be a monster, but rather, a new vehicle.”

“Come again?” Great King Dedede asked as he ambled up next to her. “He got a car or something?”

“...more like a road-based war machine,” she clarified. “Take a look,” she noted. Intrigued, Taranza did as well, the crates still floating in his grasp. He saw a 3D picture of the machine, long, sleek, and stylish looking. “High horsepower engine, heat-seeking and dumbfire side-mounted rockets, concealed tire shredders, liquid discharge valves, and that’s just the basics. This thing is basically a vehicular weapons platform! I wonder what he’s intending to do with it?”

He had to admit, that seemed rather threatening. “Nothin’ good, obviously,” Great King Dedede mentioned. “We might wanna think of something to counter it, considering he got it from Nightmare.”

“Hmm…” Susie thought for a moment. “I might have just the solution, now that my production capacity will be more comprehensive with these installations.” With that, she turned to Taranza. “Keep bringing those in; in fact, those specific crates hold just what I need to work with.”

“Hm?” He eyed the crates in his grasp briefly before turning back to her. “What are they?”

“Engine parts,” she declared. “Nightmare Enterprises aren’t the only ones that have worked in the vehicle business, and I’m going to show them so!”

About a half hour later, the television she kept in the hangar (mostly to keep up with any news) suddenly interrupted its broadcast, “To bring you an important Channel DDD news bulletin!” Captain Doo declared on screen. “King Dedede has announced that he will sponsor the greatest sporting event in the history of Dream Land! The first ever Cappy Town Grand Prix Motor Race!”

“And there's the rub,” Magolor muttered. “What’s this race really about, I wonder…?”

The Waddle Doo continued on. “All citizens and guests of Dream Land are eligible to compete in the Grand Prix! Rules for entry are simplified and…”

Susie turned away from the broadcast, and he turned his attention to her. She had a notably serious look on her face. “I’ll be competing in that race,” she declared immediately, much to everyone’s surprise.

“Really? You’re getting involved in this silly competition?” Taranza asked. He couldn’t see why, unless…

“The flag will wave on our racers in just three days!” Captain Doo continued. “In a twelve-lap test of skill and endurance, drivers will speed through rugged terrain and even down the streets of Cappy Town itself, while traffic will be shut down during this important event!”

“What traffic?” Magolor harrumphed before turning to his friend. “Really, Susie, normally I’m all for a good race, but this seems like it’d be a farce. Why bother yourself with this?”

“Because for one, it would make excellent marketing as to the developmental capability of the Haltmann Works Company,” she explained as she moved to open several boxes herself. “Being able to design and manufacture a race-worthy vehicle with only three days of warning would unquestionably position us as fast, capable, and high-quality. Fortunately, I already have some schematics for a baseline high speed road vehicle from prior to the…liquidation of previous assets.” She paused, huffing at the memory. “The major thing will be making some adjustments to the practical model, and then the actual assembly. But I’m confident I’ll be able to do it with a bit of late night work.”

“Hey, we’ll help!” Kirby quickly declared. He’d been quiet throughout this whole thing, but now he felt it was time to support a friend. "I mean, racing is fun! I might want to, too, but I'd probably have to go home, and I'd wanna get the Dragoon, and that'd just be cheating and not fun for anyone, I think. So I'll just be support!" Dedede and Bandee also quickly affirmed their assistance. Meta Knight wouldn’t, but even barring how he felt about Susie, he had other ventures to focus on.

“...ugh,” Magolor grumbled. “I suppose you’ll be wanting help with that too, then?”

“If you don’t mind?” Susie asked, trying (and somewhat failing) to look guileless. “You ARE one of the only other engineers present…”

“Fine, fine, but you owe me afterwards,” he noted, setting over a few metal pieces.

“Cool!” Kirby cheered. “Daroach?” he turned to the rat in question. “Up for it?”

The mouse had been surreptitiously looking over several of the parts in question, but he didn’t seem to fret about being called out. “Actually…” he murmured. “...I think that such a competition sounds interesting to me. I might be taking part, myself.”

“Wait, you?” Susie said in surprise. “Why would YOU want to race?”

“Why else? The grand prize, of course!” he announced. “None of you were paying attention, but the winner receives quite the lovely looking trophy- alongside a tidy little cash prize. I think that’s worth my attention.”

Magolor couldn’t help but find that curious. “And just how are you going to compete? You don’t have a vehicle!”

The master thief waved off his concern. “Doc’s got plenty of half-finished rides; I’m sure he and the rest of my crew can put something worthwhile together. In fact…I think it might be good to go make sure. If you don’t mind?”

“...If you insist, I suppose we can’t really stop you,” Susie said plainly, before fixing him with a challenging look. “However, I should warn you- I’ll show you no mercy on the road, Ally or not.”

“Heh! I wouldn’t expect anything less! Ciao!” With that and a wave of his cane, he vanished.

There was a brief moment of stillness, before Meta Knight took to the skies as well after a brusque ‘best of luck’. They watched the knight fly away before Susie turned back to the spider. “Taranza?”

He froze. He, truthfully, wasn’t all that interested in racing. He knew Magolor at least had a passing curiosity, but him? No. Still, she WAS a friend… “Alright. Though I should warn you, I’m no mechanic.”

“That’s fine,” she assured. “I just need an extra set of hands for the time being.” Taranza nodded, and moved to finish putting up those boxes.

Frankly, part of him wasn’t looking forwards to it. But as he thought about it more, an idea came to him.

He floated over to Magolor, who was already looking at some engines, presumably for some inspiration. “Pardon me, but I was wondering if you might be willing to hear me out. It’s about that race.”

“Hm? What, are you suddenly interested in it, too?” Magolor asked.

“Only in the sense that I’d rather not have this go completely off the rails- or off the road, in this case,” he admitted. He glanced Susie’s way- her attention was occupied with checking her tablet and speaking to some of her worker Dees, and the rest weren't near them. Good. He glance back, and a bit of his old trickster’s smile returned. “What would you say to a bit of…aggressive security for our friend there during the race?”

That got his attention, as he co*cked his head. “Hmmmm…tell me more.”

The next day, Tiff was at a crossroads. That ridiculous race that Dedede had announced sounded like nothing but trouble. But it was clear her brother would be risking his neck in it- and he wanted Kirby to, as well. She…wasn’t a fan of that, to say the least. Though Kirby even did his own bit of pleading, she was confident it was either a trap, or just unwise regardless. She doubted the Star Allies would just let such a thing go, mind, but it still felt unsafe.

Meta Knight hadn’t helped when she’d found his old starship, and insisted they repair the thing and make it raceworthy. She’d acquiesced to it, with Tokkori of all beings agreeing to be his partner, but she’d done so with more than a bit of grumbling, and she needed to talk with SOMEONE to make this antsy feeling go away.

This was why she was headed to Great King Dedede’s mansion. He’d been the best source of advice for her to date, and hopefully they’d agree to keep tabs on this race.

To her surprise, she found not Great King Dedede as she approached the residence, but Winged Meta Knight, seemingly standing sentinel over the area. “...welcome,” he said brusquely. “If you’re looking for King Dedede, he’s out.”

“Oh, shoot,” she complained. “I wanted to ask him something.”

He eyed her closely, before leaping down. “This wouldn’t be about the announced race, would it?”

“That’s it exactly!” she confirmed. “My brother wants him and Kirby to compete, but I’m pretty sure it’s gotta be some kinda trap.”

“We’ve already confirmed that it is,” Meta Knight said. “He’s acquired a new vehicle, and it is…concerning.”

“You mean the big white car he showed off yesterday?” she asked in surprise. It’d seemed fancy, but not threatening.

He nodded in confirmation. “We’re already aware of its capabilities, and are taking steps to counteract it…in a sense.”

Frankly, that was a relief to hear. “Oh, that’s good…but what do you mean ‘in a sense’?”

“Susie Haltmann intends to compete in the race,” he explained. “Daroach the thief also intends to participate. I suspect that both our King Dedede, as well as Kirby and the rest will be keeping an eye on your Dedede’s antics in the meanwhile. Susie in particular expressed a desire to contest with his vehicle, and I doubt she will leave him to his own devices, if only for her own gain.”

“Hmmm…” that admittedly made the prospect of letting this happen go down a lot smoother- if the Star Allies were making sure that everything was either above board or keeping Dedede distracted, then maybe… “I don’t know…”

“If you desire an outside opinion,” Winged Meta stated, “I believe it would be beneficial to let your Kirby race.” At her look of surprise, he elaborated. “Although immature, it’s clear that he holds great potential. It would be remiss to not allow him to train in fulfilling it. Furthermore, if this plot really is to get at your Kirby, then the best option at the moment is to beat him at his own game. His vehicle is…dangerous. This is as controlled a situation as we’ll likely get to either destroy it or at least reduce its potency.”

Tiff gritted her teeth- she didn’t like the sound of that. It was too logical, and too familiar. “I just don’t want him to get hurt!”

“Completely understandable. But he is a warrior, is he not?” Winged Meta Knight asked. “Warriors must train.”

Tiff’s lips thinned into a line at that. “Maybe, but-” she let out a huff of air instead of finishing the sentence.

“If you’re so concerned, why not participate yourself?” Winged Meta Knight suggested. “The more individuals racing that are friendly or at least neutral with your Kirby, the better.”

“I- hmm…” Tiff paused to think about that. That would leave her without a partner, and she wasn’t exactly keen on driving herself…

However, she quickly realized she had just the partner in mind.

Later, she’d found her brother lounging around Gengu’s workplace. He’d been working on the go-kart for him, apparently, and it was there that she approached them and made her deal. “Wait, you an’ me?!” Tuff said incredulously. “Is this just ta keep Kirby out of the race?”

“I wish,” she grumbled. “No, he’s racing- in his own starship. It’s a Star Warrior thing, apparently. Me and you teaming up is to keep a close eye on him, and to keep everyone ELSE away. How’s that sound?” she offered.

Tuff stroked his chin in contemplation- but it didn’t take him long to decide. “So long as I get to race, then! Deal!” He stuck out his hand, and his sister shook it solidly.

“Then you’ve got yourself a navigator and co-pilot,” Tiff agreed. She even felt the beginnings of a small grin form on her face. “We’ll take this race by storm if we have to!”

“NOW you’re talking!” Tuff cheered.

The next day, all parties were hard at work.

Little Kirby ran through practice races with a training ship Meta Knight and his crew devised, with Tokkori lambasting him as they finished repairs on the real thing.

Susie, Magolor, and Taranza brought together pieces and gears and valves as her blueprints came to life, and her simulation tests ran around the clock as the final pieces were fitted together. And during the quiet hours, the latter two would plan and prepare on their own.

Tiff and Tuff researched the racetrack’s layout and environment, Tiff using every resource she could grab to make certain they were prepared.

Daroach made sure to impress to Doc and the Squad EXACTLY what he had in mind for the race, and of course they’d be sure to follow the plan to perfection.

The town was abuzz with the preparations, and all of them were sure of at least one thing.

This would be a race to remember.

Chapter 28: Magic and Drive

Chapter Text

It seemed to stretch forever, but at last the day had arrived. Fireworks filled the air, and Cappies made for the stands built just for the occasion, eagerly awaiting the start of the day’s events. The Cappy Town Grand Prix was set to begin later that morning, and everyone’s preparations were as finalized as they could be!

“My goodness. These people are hard up for entertainment.” Taranza was honestly a touch surprised at the turnout. He could see quite the number of spectators, and it soon came to mind that this event could seriously be considered a sea-change for them in terms of entertainment. He doubted they got anything like this normally, considering the only car he’d seen before this was that mayor’s. Magolor, though he’d been rather less eager about it before, was more excited now thanks to Taranza’s planning. They’d agreed that having King Dedede cheat so wantonly was…unwanted. And while Susie had every intention of beating him at his own game, they knew she would appreciate the assistance, deep down.

“Races are rather fun to watch. The speed, the drama, the tactical decision making? Not much better than a good one!” his magician partner commented as he looked out from the garage they’d been granted. For Magolor, this was an easy way to both show off, and stay in Kirby’s good books. For Taranza, even aside from helping a friend, he was interested in stretching his magic muscles a bit. That, and maybe a bit of proper payback on the lout that was this universe’s Dedede might’ve been a factor. He wasn’t beyond admitting that much. The taking over of his channel briefly was…therapeutic, but he felt like perhaps a statement needed to be made, just in case.

“I can’t say either of you are incorrect,” Susie said from behind them. “Which is why this will be ideal marketing for Haltmann Works.” She stood to the side of her completed vehicle, looking at it proudly. It was a hot pink color, arrow-shaped, with the back end heavy and outfitted with wide spoiler wings. The nose was rounded and a bit thinner with front wings, and sported an closed-air co*ckpit. Susie herself actually had a change of clothes for this- a racing uniform with the Haltmann Works symbol proudly emblazoned on her chest and helmet. “Thanks to your assistance with the Haltmann Deluxe, my success in this competition is all but assured.” As a few Haltmann-employed Waddle Dees made a few last-minute spitshines and checks to the vehicle, Taranza and Magolor looked towards the distance.

They’d have to be getting ready for their own ‘jobs’ shortly. “In that case, are we free to go?” Magolor asked.

“Certainly,” she dismissed. “I’m sure you’ve got other things on your mind. Just be sure to meet me in the winner’s circle!”

“We’ll do that,” Magolor chuckled as the two of them left. And none too soon- they could see several interested Cappies starting to make their way towards the garage, having likely gotten a glimpse of the sleek looking car and wanting to know more- which Susie, judging by her enthusiastic welcome, was all too willing to share. “I might know how to pitch a sale, but that seems like it’d take some time…”

“We have other things to do, yes,” Taranza agreed as they passed by the other bays. The mayor’s car seemed woefully underprepared to them, but Magolor did little but elbow him as he passed by the elder fellow reassuring some kids.

They had areas to stake out.

In the meantime, though Tiff had seen them pass, she dismissed waving or worrying. Instead, she was going over the track layout one last time with her brother. “That canyon section is gonna be the worst,” she said with concern. “It’s narrow and probably got a lot of rocks. Our kart’s pretty nimble, but whatever King Dedede has up his sleeve, he’ll probably pull it out there.” She paused. “Well, knowing hime, he’ll pull whatever out whenever, but there he’ll probably be EXTRA tempted. We’re going to have to drive carefully, and make sure Kirby’s watching himself.”

“Tiff, we’ve GOT this,” Tuff reassured. “King Dedede will be so worried about losin’ to us he won’t have time to go after Kirby!”

She frowned. “I hope you’re right…at any rate, I think our best bet is going to be to try to use the curves to our advantage. This isn’t the fastest kart, but going through the Cappy Town and jungle sections are where we can make up time, so long as nothing busts us up.” Her parents, astonishingly, had agreed to be her pit crew- why her mother of all people seemed so raring to help was a mystery- but deep down she had to admit that her mother had a tendency to surprise her. “If we push it, we can keep up, but we’ll have to be careful!”

Tuff just revved the engine. “Yeah, don’t worry! With your brains and my drivin’ skills, we’re gonna rule the road!”

“I just hope Kirby survives on it,” she muttered to herself as the opening ceremonies began, and they were waved out of the garage.

As Lololo and Lalala made the introductions and the preview, she looked around as the contestants began to line up. “Driving the Royal Racecar, we have King Dedede and Escargoon!” He revved up next to her, grinning nastily, and she could only presume that was intentional.

“Next up, is the Mayor’s Car, driven by Mayor Blustergas and navigated by his wife!” The pair set up on the opposite side of the King. She hoped they were really ready in that thing.

“Then, the Gengu Go-Kart, with driver Tuff, and co-pilot sister Tiff, sponsored by Gengu’s Toy Store!” Was she getting nervous? She was for sure getting nervous.

“And now, the Haltmann Deluxe, driven solo by Susie Haltmann, racing for Haltmann Works Company!” Tiff was starting to accept that SHE’D be a constant figure, as the lady even stood from her car to take a bow.

“Here, the Big Wheel Roadster, driven by Daroach and navigated by co-pilot Doc!” Tiff looked behind her to see a large, sharply wedge-shaped vehicle with heavy exhaust pipes, painted a deep red with grey stripes and a large spoiler in the back as well. He tipped his cap to her with a smirk, to which she gave a scoff at. She still hadn’t quite forgotten him stealing that spice…

“And our final entry today: Kirby and Tokkori in the Star Car!” Lalala announced. “Good luck to all our Grand Prix racers!”

‘Alright, then, this is it,’ Tiff thought. ‘ We just need to-’ but she was interrupted by a sudden announcement. “Hold it, everyone!” Lololo announced through the intercom. “We have a last minute entry!”

“Come again?” she heard Susie say in surprise. She couldn’t blame her, as she heard a honk and turned behind her once more.

“Racing to the starting line in his Metamobile- Dream Land’s own Meta Knight!” Lololo announced. He was driving an elongated race car that looked like it was custom built for the job- similar to Susie’s own, if perhaps with less details.

As he pulled up near her, she could hear Dedede and Escargoon grumbling, but she wasn’t concerned about that. “Nice car…but why?” she asked out of curiosity.

“To test my racing skills, of course,” he answered succinctly, his voice betraying no indication of anything else.

Regardless, she wasn’t too sure of that answer, but it poked at something hot inside her anyway. “Oh yeah? Well, we’ll see how good they are!” What had prompted that, she wasn’t sure, but she’d do some self-reflection later. Right now, they had a race to run.

Meta Knight just let out an amused huff as Tuff agreed. “Yeah! He’ll be starin’ at our tailpipe the whole way!”

The lineup complete, the racers held themselves steady as Captain Doo raised the flag, signaling that the event was about to start. Engines rumbled, and everyone held their breath and tightened their grips as moments ticked by…

The flag dropped, wheels spun with a loud screech, and: “The Cappy Town Grand Prix has begun!” was the last thing Tiff heard before her head was filled with the roar of engines.

Almost immediately, King Dedede headed the pack- though Tiff’s estimation of the kart’s handling was as accurate as she’d hoped. As the first section was the town itself, the large vehicle was forced to take the corners wide, while the smaller, nimbler go-kart was able to turn much tighter, and by the time they were out into open land, they were hot on his heels- a quick check behind showed that they were closely followed by Susie and Meta Knight, who were virtually neck and neck. She spared a glance at him, but quickly realized a problem. “Hey, where’s Kirby? I don’t see him!”

“Probably way behind!” Tuff said, focused on driving. She HOPED that was the case, as the treeline approached and she heard another rumbling- no less than three cars were behind them now, with the Mayor creeping up on them over flat land and Susie starting to overtake Meta Knight.

A turn caused some separation, however, Susie dropping back to avoid going too wide, and Meta Knight managing to take an inside corner and over take THEM as they blew through the trees into the forest. “Shoot, that thing’s nimble!” Tiff cursed, before turning to her brother. “Okay, just like we planned!”

“On it!” He hit the gas, and she braced herself against the seat. They wound through the forest, blasted through the upcoming tunnel, and soon had a stretch of land that would quickly be turning into rocky canyon before long, forcing everyone to clump in close. It was here where a lot of the real trouble would be, if anywhere…

She was about to remind Tuff of this when she heard a roaring engine from above them; to her surprise, Kirby came blasting out of the forest over the small cliff’s edge, making a terrific leap that ended with the star vehicle thumping down near her, as Susie also began making up lost ground. “Did you take a shortcut?!” She yelled in surprise as he made a sound of (presumably) confirmation. She didn’t think he had it in him!

“Who’s in the lead?” Tokkori asked hurriedly.

“Not sure!” Tuff said back. “Either King Dedede or Meta Knight!”

“My thanks for the information!” Susie’s voice came from their left as she sped past.

Tokkori just saluted. “See ya! Push it, Pinky!” he yelled at Kirby, and fortunately (or unfortunately) Kirby obliged, their speed overtaking the kart’s.

Tiff, however, wasn’t worried. If her estimations were correct, they’d have to slow down in that canyon unless they were completely alone or were just that confident- it was too rocky and uneven to risk top speed. “Stay steady!” she commanded. “Remember what we went over!” Tuff grit his teeth, but obeyed. Looking back, she saw the last racer, Daroach, on approach, but it was a bit of a surprise that he was staying so far behind. Was his car not intended for speed?

Soon, the canyon loomed in the distance, and they blasted through the opening into it, where they could indeed see that Tiff’s predictions had come true. The racers, not wanting to run over rocks or risk even glancing against the walls of the canyon, had dialed it back slightly, leaving them to maneuver effectively at near top speed and catch up to the pack.

They could see now that King Dedede was indeed in first- and Kirby was gaining rapidly, as Susie, the Mayor, and Meta Knight were trading places not too far behind.

Suddenly, they saw -something- come from King Dedede’s car- and streak towards the canyon walls ahead, exploding harshly- and sending down massive chunks of rock, swerving out of the way for them to crash on Kirby. She yelled to watch out, and she heard Meta Knight say something right before Kirby sped up; in an attempt to clear the boulder before it landed…

…only to see a streak of green fly towards the biggest chunk, suddenly shattering it into pieces. “Whoa!” She had to cover her eyes from the dust as they swerved out of the way (how Tuff kept his cool, she didn’t know, but was impressed), but when she looked towards the source, she saw something retract under Susie’s front hood as they caught up, winding around a corner that took them near a cliffside. ‘ She did that? Is that how they’re planning on protecting Kirby?’ They rounded the turn and shot into the second part of the canyon path without problems.

Susie, for her part, quickly tapped a button, leaning in slightly. “As you can see, the Haltmann Deluxe has a number of point defense systems built in for any eventuality! It’s capable of repelling any attack, which I hope to demonstrate further as the race goes on!”

Tiff blanched. “Are you RECORDING ADVERTIsem*nTS?!”

Susie didn’t even glance at her. “Live demonstrations are the best way to convince customers of the product’s quality.” She then hit the gas, aiming to catch up to Dedede as Meta Knight pulled up just behind them.

Glancing at Kirby, and then the kids, he merely nodded in respect, and revved his car as its superior speed took over. Tokkori quickly said something, and Kirby pushed to keep up as well. Tiff groaned in annoyance, and was about to instruct Tuff to keep things light on the straightaways, before she heard another rumbling come up. “My my! Talk about exciting, hm?” Daroach said as he caught up. “First lap and already we’ve got some action, how thrilling!”

“Aren’t you supposed to be doing something about this?” She yelled back. He’d been bringing up the rear so far, so she had no idea why he was so confident.

“Of course, but ruin the experience for Kirby immediately?” He grinned. “I would never!”

Tiff, right there, came to the conclusion that Star Ally or not, she Did Not Like Daroach. “Punch it, Tuff!” she yelled.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going!” he half-complained. Fortunately, it seemed like Daroach was content in staying behind- for now.

It was going to be a hard twelve laps.

Taranza was just finished with some preparations at the time, himself. He and Magolor had quickly spotted a set of Waddle Dees, led by Captain Doo, out near the canyon. They had a plunger and were waiting for something, judging by the way Doo kept glancing at a receiver in his hand. That’s when they heard the explosion go off, and saw part of the canyon crumble down. The hidden group hadn’t done anything, but that explosion was signal enough for the two magicians. “Whaddya know,” Magolor said. “Seems like the King isn’t too confident in his skill.”

“Quite the shame, that,” Taranza concurred. “On the other hand, it DOES make me feel better about what we’re going to do.”

“Right,” Magolor agreed, before making a show of tightening his gloves. “Well, then, shall we?”

“Let’s,” Taranza nodded.

After they were done, then come the next lap, the Waddle Doo and his subordinates would be securely tied up with magic thread, and the triggers for their various traps kept well away from them. “Excellent!” Magolor said, making a show of dusting off his hands in completion. “And that’s Part 1 done. And now we wait! I’m looking forwards to getting to the exciting stuff!”

Taranza just chuckled. HE had been the one to suggest the ‘exciting stuff’, not Magolor. Still, it would be quite the boon to the racers…as long as they were smart about it, at least. A little magic in this particular case wouldn’t go too amiss…though he had to think about when to time it properly.

These kinds of spells were a forte of his, after all. He just had to pick his spot.

As the race kept on, King Dedede was getting antsy- and annoyed. “This dime-store double-dealah’s messin’ up my cheatin’!” He growled. The lap before last had seen Susie tailing him like a woman possessed, fighting to get around Kirby’s ship, and she seemed absolutely intent on derailing all of his attempts at cheating- his first attempt to cut down the nearby trees lining the road had been met with a massive repulsive blast of some sort- it’d bumped him ahead and Kirby behind, true, but it’d also left the road free and clear for them to catch up once the inadvertent boost had worn off.

The second attempt, coming around the end of the lap, had been the Big Bomb Lobber they’d had installed- a free upgrade over the standard version as part of his exclusive membership package. Indeed, several massive bombs had been launched towards Kirby AND her- only for her car to activate several lasers again, prematurely detonating them- they’d stopped after she’d tagged one earlier than expected, leaving them with the majority of the backlash.

An attempt to wash them out or get them mud stuck earlier in the third didn’t fly either- windshield wipers were enough for that, and her wheels didn’t seem to get affected at all. While Kirby seemed to get slowed down a bit, that only let Tuff and Tiff catch up, the lightness of their kart allowing them to run through the mud with less concern of sinking in.

The others were catching up, now, the course track becoming more and more familiar to them and losing their raw speed advantage to better driving. The brief cliffside hang blew past as Dedede struggled to maintain his lead against a relentless Susie hugging the inside lane on the curve.

“That tears it!” Dedede yelled, using one hand to grab a radio receiver. “Go ahead and set off those traps!”

Silence. “Well?!” Escargoon asked when nothing happened save for Susie managing to overtake them for the first time in the race, and Kirby, Meta Knight, and the brats inching up. “Aren’t there supposed to be pillars or bricks or something?!”

“WHAT HAPPENED TA MY TRAPS?!” the king roared.

Up above him Magolor let out a giggle- he had heard that even from the top of the canyon! “I think that it’s time,” he decided. “Next lap?”

“Next lap,” Taranza agreed as they watched the pack race off into the distance.

“And Susie Haltmann takes the lead!” Lalala said excitedly as the cameras managed a zoom in on her as she came out of the canyon. “This is her first lead in the race so far, and she’s hoping to demonstrate the ability of her company by keeping it!”

“But that dastardly Dedede’s not far behind!” Lololo added. “And Kirby, Meta Knight, and Tuff and Tiff are right on them! It’s still anyone’s race!”

“The Mayor and Daroach have some catching up to do, but they’re not out of it, either!” Lalala continued as the first five came into town, blowing through the starting line to begin the next lap.

“Wooo!” Big Kirby cheered. He was really getting into it, and turned to Bandee in his excitement. “This is great, isn’t it?”

“It’s pretty exciting,” Bandee admitted. “I wonder where Great King went, though…”

“He’s off getting snacks, you know him,” Big Kirby said. “Anyway, who are you rooting to win?”

“Uhhhh…” Bandee paused, thinking. “Can I abstain?”

Big Kirby just laughed.

Meanwhile, Great King Dedede, intent on getting himself one of those big meat bun sets, was waiting in line. Looking around casually at the number of Cappies, he couldn’t help but wonder what else the Cappies might be interested in, sports-wise. It was about then that he saw a certain blue mouse creature that he associated with a certain rather larger rat thief. It vanished behind a set of bushes almost immediately, and he wasn't sure if anyone else actually saw it.

Dedede squinted his eyes; he wasn’t sure what they were doing so far from their designated garage, but he doubted it was anything involving repairs.

He’d have to keep an eye on that.

Upon the next lap’s onset, the pack was getting tight again. Susie still held the lead, but she was fighting tooth and nail for it with Dedede and Little Kirby. The latter was forced to back off against the tightness of the forest corridor coming into the tunnel, but Dedede looked to take back his first place position harshly as he poured it on, impacting Susie’s car from the rear as they hit open plains.

From there began a deadly dance of back and forth as the two vehicles jockeyed for position; the King's longer car gave him a threatening advantage in possibly spinning her out if it approached at a bad angle, forcing her to maneuver carefully in order to avoid any accidents. Moving into the canyon, unfortunately, found her at a disadvantage as she was forced to the outside by his relentless pursuit. ‘There’s still a lot of race to go, Susie,’ she grumbled to herself as she dropped back behind him; Kirby, Tuff and Tiff were right on her, and she had to keep THEM from getting ahead, too…

Only for the small go kart to place itself right behind hers. It didn't exactly take her long to figure out what their game plan was, and though she wanted to, the simple truth was that she didn’t have enough room to maneuver to break their tailing her slipstream. Before very long, they were nearly bumper-to-bumper with her, and upon the canyon widening, coming around the bend near the cliffside resulted in what she frustratedly expected.

‘STILL a lot of race to go, Susie,’ she reminded herself as they slingshotted themselves past her. Kirby pulled up on her, but she at least successfully blocked him from passing, preserving her position for now.

That was when she saw the strange colored bubbles descended from seemingly nowhere. They had come so suddenly that she wasn’t able to react when she drove through one…

…and felt her blaster fall in her lap. ‘Well now,’ she thought. ‘That’s rather tempting.’

“What was that?!” Tuff yelled, still focusing on driving.

“I don’t know!” she admitted as she looked at what'd shown up in her lap after they'd drove through. It looked like a fancy (and tasty, honestly) lollipop- even had a cute little star candy on it. “Worry about it later! We need to catch up!”

“Right!” He pressed the attack…

Only for King Dedede to anticipate that. “This’ll be a gas!” he crowed as a rear hatch opened- and a thick smoke poured out, blinding them and causing them to cough harshly, slowing them as they lost focus.

“Finally! Time for you all ta take a lil’ trip!” And with that, a valve below opened up, spilling a slick oil-like substance. They weren't going to be able to avoid it, all they could do was hold on.

The car began to spin out of control, Tuff’s attempts to straighten out proving futile and the two of them spinning to careen into the wall-

-before they suddenly felt a tug; or rather, the kart did. A strong force dragging them away from the wall, they felt a much softer collision with another racer- braking hard and dragging them through the corner they would’ve slammed into the wall on, if far slower than than they’d like. As they saw Kirby and Meta Knight rocket by, the smoke soon cleared, and it was just as clear what had happened. “Susie?” Tiff asked in surprise.

It was clear that she had done something to attract the kart to her own car. She merely glanced over at them, and pressed a button on her dashboard, and they quickly felt the tug cease. Tuff was quick to regain control. “Thanks a ton!” he said gratefully.

“I intend to beat Dedede at his own game,” she said to them as they both straightened out. “And that means not letting him win!”

They could at least agree on that. As they streamed out of the canyon and into the grasslands for the last stretch of the lap, she saw what looked to be something long, thin, and spiked laying on the road- and Kirby had clearly been affected by it, spun off to the side of the road, but trying to get back on. Susie, just ahead of them, swerved to avoid- but she was a bit late on the reaction, it catching her left side as a pair of loud popping sounds came from her tires.. The kids made to swerve left- but a SECOND one was just beyond the first and hit their right, with the same results.

“Aw, no! We got flats!” Tuff complained. “Come on, we gotta make a pit stop!” It looked like Susie had the same idea, slamming her dashboard in frustration before trying to right herself onto the road again.

Great. And they had seven laps to go!

Chapter 29: Magic and Growth

Chapter Text

The crowd was reaching a fever pitch as the race kept on.

“And as they round the bend for the next lap, we see- oh. It’s still Dedede and Escargoon,” Lololo noted with less enthusiasm, before he picked himself up. “With Meta Knight in second! But where’re the others…?”

“Here they come!” Lalala quickly identified. “It seems like Kirby, Susie, and Tuff and Tiff have flat tires! That’s not good!”

“You’re right!” Lololo continued. “They’ll need a pit stop to change!”

The kids and Kirby quickly rolled in, their respective pit crews quickly getting to it. Kirby’s crew of kids was quick to reassure him he was doing great, and quickly got to their tire changing. They only had three to worry about, after all!

Susie glanced behind her as she pulled in- hers was the furthest away, which already was costing her time. Unfortunately, none of the pit crews were professionals at the skill- even her Waddle Dees had essentially only gotten a crash course. Fortunately, tire changing was all that was needed. She merely spoke into her recorder again, making sure her expression was as even as possible. “The Haltmann Deluxe is, as you’ve seen, difficult to damage and easy to repair in the rare case it does…”

None of them noticed the Mayor pull in- quickly asking Gus to refuel. His wife quickly wiped some sweat off his brow. “Do you want me to get you anything while we wait? You know you get cranky when you’re hungry…”

“Doh, not now! I’ll have a late lunch after we win!” he said testily. Then paused. “...a sandwich, maybe.”

She giggled. “I’ve got some in the cooler. l’ll be right back!” She dropped a strange little crystal in her seat. It’d plopped in her lap when they’d driven though those strange bubbles, and she thought it pretty, so kept it with her. ‘Maybe it’s a good luck charm?’ she thought as she fetched her husband some food.

Tiff was impressed at how her mother seemed to know her way around a tire, to be frank. Her father sure didn’t. She looked perfectly at ease. ‘No wonder she volunteered. But where’d she learn this?’ she couldn’t help but wonder. But, that’d come AFTER the race.

Tuff, for his part, was mostly anxious, gritting his teeth after he saw the Mayor take off- then to their surprise, Daroach from the pit area. “When did HE make a pit stop!?” he shouted. Glancing to his sister, he saw her scowling as well. Kirby’s crew soon finished up as well. “Awww, we’re falling behind!”

“Zere we are!” Lady Like quickly called as she bolted the last nut on.

“Thanks mom, dad!” Tiff said before they took off. They were just behind Susie, who’d finished shortly before them.

The upcoming lap was largely catchup- it was clear Dedede and Meta Knight had a large lead, getting around the cliffside as everyone else was just getting out of the town, and it would take a lot of work to catch up.

With only five racers to worry about at the time, the overall speeds picked up as they shot through the forest. “Can’t believe that rotten Dedede…” Tuff grumbled as he made to catch up on Susie- though she seemed just as intent on pushing her vehicle’s speed. Kirby was already pulling up to the Mayor’s car.

“I know, but stay focused!” Tiff chastised. “We’re not out of this race yet! And knowing him…”

As they came around again, the public was clearly making their opinion on the race leaders known loud and clear. “Look at everyone booing us to victory!” Escargoon jeered as they came around the bend back into the town. The crowd, safe to say, was not exactly on the monarch’s side, not that that stopped them even a single bit.

“It’s good ta be the racin’ king!” Dedede said co*ckily as he waved to the crowd, not realizing that they’d already pulled up on the gas a fair bit as they did their grandstanding. “Thanks, everybody!”

Meta Knight remained a few paces behind, waiting and watching.

As the screaming machines drove on, Magolor and Taranza looked down at the lot. That Dedede had managed to pull something was… annoying. “A little more help?” he questioned.

“Hmmm…” Taranza thought as he saw the other racers come through. They were actually making up good time as they came through the canyon. “I don’t think it’s necessary, actually. No one’s used what they got yet.”

“True…” Magolor muttered, considering. He wondered if they would at all, looking down at the Mayor’s car. He had a fierce look on his face, intent on catching up as fast as possible. His wife was even feeding him sandwich pieces which…well, Taranza supposed he could respect the dedication.

‘Speaking of dedication, however…’ His attention flitted over to Daroach, who was maintaining a steady distance from the Mayor’s car, neither gaining nor losing. ‘Wonder what HIS plan is? He likely could’ve overtaken them by now but he just…hasn’t.’ The purpose was, admittedly, lost on him.

Daroach looked to Doc as he carefully stuck to having a bit of distance behind the Mayor. “Not time yet?”

Doc shook his head. “Give ‘em a bit.”

It wasn’t much longer before his words proved prophetic. Kirby was attempting to overtake the mayor, and both Susie and Tuff and Tiff were approaching Daroach fast. “I suppose I should at least make a bit of a show of it,” he said aloud. Doc merely grunted, and Daroach took that as acceptance as he began to block off Susie from passing as they tore out of the canyon and into the grasslands.

“And with Dedede in a solid lead, followed by Meta Knight, there are six laps left! Everyone’s roaring to get back into the race!” Lololo announced as the remaining five hit the line again. “It’s Kirby in a far third, followed by Tuff and Tiff, then Susie, the Mayor, and Daroach in last place!”

“And they’re all doing their best to catch up fast!” Lalala added. “I wonder what they can do to close the gap?”

Way out in the canyon, Taranza came to a decision, almost as in answer as he saw Dedede in the final stretch of the canyon just as the rest were headed into the first. “I’m going to do something,” he declared. “I don’t think they’re going to catch up in time,” he said resolutely.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Magolor noticed as he kept an eye on the progression. “Look at how they’re all going about it, and compare that to Dedede and the snail.” As Taranza looked on, he explained. “They’re slacking. On the turns, they’re taking them wider and a lot safer than they were earlier. They’re not going as fast as they were, either. It’s one of those mental things, I think. You think you’re going faster than you are if you’ve got nothing to compare your speed to. And the rest of the pack wants to catch up, and BADLY. They’re pushing themselves.”

As Taranza looked closer, he saw that Magolor was right. “Oh…so it is!”

The 5th lap approached, and there was boos, but also a few roars and cheers. “We’re halfway there, folks!” Lololo announced. “The king and Escargoon are still in the lead,” he said as they passed by. They could hear Dedede’s mocking laughter even as they left eyesight in response.

“But there’s hope!” Lalala added shortly after. “Look who’s catching up!”

As the wicked duo exited town and made for the forest, they didn’t hear the cheers of the raucous fans as the rest of the pack closed the distance to the starting line, led by Kirby. “Keep that pedal to the metal, Pinky!” Tokkori yelled. “We’re not letting that blowhard show us up!”

Like blurred comets the back 5 crossed the line, the cheering roars in their wake. It was almost a silent agreement that no heavy jockeying would happen until they closed the gap. The quintet shot out of the city, and into the forest. It was then that- “Hey, I got an idea!” Tokkori realized. “Remember that first lil mishap we had in here?”

Kirby’s eyes went wide. He did remember.

Only Tiff and Tuff realized what happened when Kirby seemed to continue straight through the underbrush at a turn he should’ve made. “Wait, is he going for that shortcut again?!” Tiff exclaimed, wondering. By then, it was too late for them- they’d made the turn and had to follow the road. Susie was hard on their tail, but she at least wasn’t making any aggressive moves. Chances are they’d be overtaken come the straightaway out of the forest, though…

“I hope it works!” Tuff said. He was more focused on winding through the forest.

Dedede and Escargoon had just entered the canyon, and Meta Knight not far behind, by the time the five blasted out of the treeline- Kirby first thanks to his shortcut, quickly followed by Susie and Tuff and Tiff dead even, and the Mayor not too far behind that, then Daroach as well. Halfway through the canyon, Tokkori was the first to notice it

“There!” Tokkori said. “Somethin’s been kickin’ up dust! We’re catchin’ up!” Kirby made a cry of excitement as he continued pushing his vehicle on. It was visible to the rest of the racers, too, and it galvanized the entire lot to know that their quarry wasn’t that far off.

Above it all, the two mages watched. “They’ll be back even by the end of the lap,” Magolor guessed as he looked at their relative speeds. “It’s getting exciting again!” Taranza didn’t respond to the estimation, rather, he simply watched closely. Just in case. Sure enough, near the end of the lap, it was clear they were within visual distance once again of the pack leaders. Taranza couldn’t help but admit. ‘Maybe Magolor’s onto something here with his race enjoyment…’

As Dedede and Escargoon made another clean lap around, they noticed something different. “The crowd’s really roarin’, now,” Escargoon noted. “Wonder why’s that?”

“Hah!” Dedede laughed. “Maybe they’ve finally come around on lil’ ol’ me! They know who’s all set to win this-”

“And with four laps to go, the field is full again as the rest of the pack catches up to Dedede and Meta Knight!” Lololo outright shouted again, his shrill but eager voice adding to the excitement exponentially. “This race is STILL UP FOR GRABS!”

“Say WHAT?!” Dedede said as he looked behind him. Sure enough, the rest of the pack- a group of five hungry, driven racers, were closing in fast. “HOW’D DEY CATCH UP SO FAST?!”

“They just don’t quit!” Escargoon said as he pushed the pedal down more. “They really oughta get a clue!”

“I’ve got goosebumps! I’ve got goooosebumps!” Lalala trilled as Dedede and Meta Knight, nearly even, hit the line- and about four seconds later, so did the rest of the pack, Kirby leading still, trailed by Susie, Tiff and Tuff, the Mayor right on them, and Daroach yet in the back. By the time they were into the forest again, Kirby was within attacking distance of Meta Knight.

And Dedede didn’t like that, turning to his servant. “Hey, you! You’re with us, aintcha! SLOW ‘IM DOWN!”

Meta Knight glanced at him. And finally: “Yes, sire,” and carefully began to pull back.

The siblings quickly noticed. “What’s he doing?!” Tiff yelled in surprise.

“Aw, I hope HE’S not against us, too!” Tuff groaned. He glanced at the lollipop in her lap. He could use some sugar soon with all this stress…

Sure enough, however, Meta Knight began a series of blocking maneuvers as they ripped through the forest track, Meta Knight attempting to attack him on the inside as they collided briefly. “Hey!” Tokkori yelled. “What’s the big idea! This ain’t no bumper car derby!”

Meta Knight remained quiet- his only response was another shove that Kirby and Tokkori had to try to fight back against. The two jockeyed for position, swapping paint nearly, with Meta Knight forcing Kirby’s Star Car into as bad positions as he would dare. They both shot into the tunnel- where Meta Knight went for his biggest shot yet to ram Kirby into the wall. A jerk of his steering wheel-

-he wasn’t there. They both blasted out of the tunnel…and Meta Knight realized there was a shadow over him.

He was forced to slow harshly for a moment as the stunt of Kirby riding up the wall in a corkscrew maneuver had led him over the Star Warrior, and giving up the position to him in order to not get squished by accident as the vehicle rolled upright in midair. It landed with a heavy thunk, but picked up speed nonetheless as its rider and co-pilot realized their advantage.

Meta Knight had to admit- he was impressed. “Excellent work, Kirby,” he muttered to himself. He didn’t have much time to mull over the event, however, as Susie was quick to blast past him, the kids and the mayor blowing past him as well. He revved his engine, and moved to pick the pace back up.

“Why- I oughta dock his pay!” Dedede complained as he saw Kirby and his friends approach through the canyon. “He can’t get anythin’ done!” And then he gave a nasty grin. “But ya know what? That’s alright! We still got us some options!” As Kirby crept in closer to attempt an overpass, with Tokkori now much more active in the guiding, they made the turn around the cliffside; hugging the inner wall, they were about even with Kirby, who was attempting an outside pass… “Now!”

Escargoon swung out, meaning to shove Kirby away and off the cliff face- and hopefully eliminate him from the race. The Star Car was smaller than their machine, so it would’ve worked beautifully…

…and it seemed to, the Star Car flying off the edge.

For a moment, everyone in the race seemed wordless; even Susie and Daroach that were expecting such play. It almost seemed like the race was put on hold for a moment as everyone seemed to slow down in shock (or glee, in Dedede’s case).

A roaring engine, however, put that notion to bed; a star-shaped starship shot up from beneath the cliff, getting space and taking a wide loop to everyone’s astonishment.

“So that’s space-worthy?” Susie noted in surprise. “Fascinating…”

“My, my, that’s a surprise!” Magolor said in good humor.

“How’d he learn to do that!?” Tuff said in shock.

“Deep down, he always knew,” came the voice of Meta Knight. There was a measure of respect in his voice as he watched the ship circle back, noticing the wheels returning from underneath the chassis. “Now, come. I believe there is a race to be run.”

Tuff grinned. “Right!” Everyone else seemed to quickly realize it too, as Kirby darted into first on landing, wheels squealing with effort as the race continued.

“And we’re down to the third lap!” Lalala said excitedly. “Kirby is in first place, but there’s a lot of hungry competitors right behind him!”

“Well, we all know about Kirby’s appetite, so let’s hope he stays the hungriest!” Lololo added on as the pack passed. “Dedede and Escargoon are behind him, and after that, it’s Susie, the Mayor, Meta Knight, Tuff and Tiff, and Daroach!”

Dedede was gritting his teeth now, but as he wracked his brain for any other dirty tricks to pull, Escargoon was busy just trying to avoid the scrum of the racers now fully back into it and jockeying for position outside of the town. “I don’t do so well in crowds!” he complained. “We need some way to sweep ‘em away!”

They blinked. “That’s it!” They both crowed together. Then they both hit a particular button.

Out of the sides of the vehicle came four massive, steel-tipped brush-like devices. “Shove off!” Escargoon taunted as he swerved back and forth, threatening disaster with anyone foolish enough to risk impact. Even Susie didn’t dare for the moment; as they blazed through the forest again they needed to find a way past for certain. This got him enough space that they kept the distance throughout most of the second half- by the time they were out of the canyon and into the grasslands, the only one they had to focus on for the time being was Kirby. “That’ll do it!” Dedede said as another button was pressed, retracting the spiked spinners and bringing forth a new weapon- a pair of massive mallets, held up by claw-like holds.

“Watch out!” Tokkori squawked as the first hammer came down, and Kirby was in a race within a race as the hammers attempted to make pink patè of him, smashing down in sequence as he swerved and dodged, Tokkori even gripping the stick to help him yank it just that much faster.

Like lightning they passed into the stadium, the crowd roaring. “Two laps to go!” Lololo yelled, trying to be heard above the din. “Kirby’s in the lead, fending off King Dedede!”

“And behind him are Susie, the Mayor, Tuff and Tiff, Meta Knight, aaaand Daroach trailing!” Lalala equally shouted. “We’re in the endgame, now! They’ve gotta be tired!”

“They’ve gotta be stressed!” Lololo agreed. “But they’ve still gotta FINISH!”

As Daroach, trailing the pack, darted out of the city, he looked to Doc briefly. “Now, do you think?”

Doc thought for a moment- then nodded and braced himself. “Yup. Now. Make it count!”

Daroach pressed a button on his dashboard; then a second before he lifted a communicator, using both hands to steady it as the vehicle turned itself. “Showtime!”

It was about then that the juice kicked in, and the turbo engines roared, the extra exhaust pipes spitting out a massive, roaring blue flame that rocketed them forward at blistering speeds, fanning out and framing the back end of the Roadster as...well, one wouldn’t be remiss in calling them ‘ears’. It nor the autopilot would last forever, but it didn’t need to.

‘The only important lap in a race is the last one!’ Daroach grinned to himself. ‘THAT’S where all the drama is!’

Elsewhere, Spinni heard the roar of the crowd and grinned just as he got the call, turning to Storo and the Squeakers. “Game on! We know where the goods are, right?!” The Squeakers nodded, jumping up and down in delight. “Then let’s get down to business!” the yellow mouse chuckled as they took off. Storo was just hungry- but maybe he could get some food with the money. That might be nice.

Meta Knight was honestly shocked as the rat came up on him in a hurry as they exited the forest, seemingly taking the road curves near perfectly. “What-?” he was forced to jerk to the side as the flames themselves nearly scored against his car’s sides, the rodent passing by in a blur. It didn’t take him long to realize, however. “So…this is what he was waiting for!”

Tuff and Tiff had a similar reaction as Meta Knight- the latter gawking as he shot past them, forcing them to swerve hard out of the way, slowing them down. “No way! Since when was he that fast !?”

“SERIOUSLY?!” Tuff wailed as he saw the mechanical mouse head pull away.

The Mayor’s Car nearly got spun out, such was the speed against him when Daroach made a seemingly impossible shot inside, hugging the cliffside flawlessly without brushing up against it- but a hard and brave outside and shift in angle got him around the cliff face as he approached- drifting surprisingly smoothly into the next straightaway on the second half of the course that allowed him to shoot forwards at high speed, as the rest of them turned into it. Not that his wife was thrilled with the maneuver.

“Wooooo!” Magolor cheered. “Excellent, excellent! Blistering pace, desperate maneuvers! That’s excitement, right there! THAT’S racing!”

Taranza couldn’t talk at the moment- largely due to being inadvertently choked out by Magolor in his excitement.

Susie saw the thief coming up on her rearview display, and she just frowned as they stormed through the grasslands, closing in on the final lap. “Of course you’d have some sly trick,” she muttered to herself. She did her best to ward him off, speed increase or no, and she was hanging on to her position by a thread when they crossed the line for the final lap. She glanced at her blaster. Maybe…

“IT’S DAROACH! DAROACH COMING UP FAST AND MAKING A PLAY FOR THIRD!” Lololo and Lalala twinned out, such was their excitement. “SUSIE CAN’T HOLD HIM OFF FOREVER! DAROACH OVERTAKES SUSIE OUTSIDE OF THE CITY! DAROACH IN THIRD! CAN HE GO ALL THE WAY?!” Kirby and Dedede were still dueling it out, the King having been forced to recall his hammers and Escargoon having to force their way on pure speed and driving now as they exited the forest, Daroach hot on their heels.

The rest of the pack weren’t too far behind, however, speed boost or no. “I can’t believe this!” the Mayor complained as he did his best to hold up to the pack- taking the inside positions as best he could, hitting the straightaways with as much speed as he could muster as they tore through the forest one last time. His wife was holding onto him with one arm in concern, and fiddling with that strange little rock in the other.

“Dear, please! This race isn’t worth your health!” she pleaded.

“It’s worth quite a lot, honey!” he rejoined. She just grimaced and gripped the rock tighter.

As the entered the canyon for the final time, Dedede and Escargoon’s speed had managed to win over again as he overtook Kirby once more, if only barely. “You ain’t beatin me this time, Kirbeh!” he roared as he took first again. He hit a button, and what Susie, a few paces back behind Daroach recognized as a gatling gun head erupted from the rear of the vehicle.

She quickly pressed a button and flipped a switch as she spoke into the speaker once more. “As you can see, the Haltmann Deluxe is made with security in mind!” The sounds of ricocheting shots off of her chassis punctuated the statement, as did the screeching of tires as Daroach had to wrest back control to dodge. “Even the harshest of attacks can’t penetrate the hull of the Haltmann Deluxe when it engages Heavy Armor mode! ”

Meanwhile, Tuff and Tiff were fending off Meta Knight, now at the back of the pack- Tiff had to admit, it wasn’t looking good for them. “What was that all about?!” she asked in shock.

“I dunno, but I can’t believe we’re gonna be near last!” Tuff ground out. In frustration, he glanced over at her, and saw that she still had the lollipop in her hand. “Gimme that!” he said, snatching it with one hand and plunking it in his mouth unceremoniously. “If I’m gonna lose, I at least want a…” he paused, and Tiff gasped as a rainbow of color seemed to wash over him. “A…” And then over the kart. “I…”

And then over HER.

She felt. Everything. Every molecule of her being. Every wisp of the air around her. Her strength and sense was incalculable. She could shatter a mountain. Dodge the rain. Split the sky. But there was one thing they had to do. Right now. She turned to Tuff, who also seemed to have been overcome with an unnatural calm. A powder keg right before an explosion. A lion before it roars. Cannons, ready to fire.

“Drive.” One word, spoken with the force of a flood, their vehicle the hurricane.

Tuff drove. The go-kart stormed forth. None would stop them.

The mayor saw the rainbow kart approaching. FAST. “Oh, no, not again!” he worried.

“Oh my!” his wife shouted, and she gripped the stone one last time and desperately wished that nothing bad would happen-

-only for a sudden, translucently purple bubble to envelope them and their car. The go-kart flashed past them, seemingly impacting the bubble, but they felt nothing, and the go-kart continued past without trouble. They both felt an immense sigh of relief- though they still had to catch up. Meta Knight was gaining on them as well, and that was no good.

They were in the grasslands now, and Daroach was desperately trying to keep his position, his turbo juice running out, yet still present- but autopilot completely gone. “These speeds weren’t meant to hold without AI assistance!” Doc shouted. “Turn it off!”

“But- drat!” Daroach started, only to be cut off as he attempted to make the next turn, almost, almost…!

Suddenly, he felt a tire give out and his speed slow dramatically. It was almost slow motion in his vision as well, as he turned to see none other than Susie, co*ckpit open, hand outstretched…and her blaster in her hand aimed at him. It wasn’t even a second, but he swore that she had given him a look. A look that spoke only three words.

“I warned you.” Neither of them, however, anticipated the multicolor flash that was Tuff and Tiff blow past them both, causing Susie to refocus on the final stretch, defending hard against the Mayor.

Kirby was right in front of them; they had enough sense to shoot past him as they made for the final turn, to Kirby’s honest shock and Tokkori’s open-beaked amazement.

Irrelevant. However, the leader was a different story. Dedede needed some comeuppance. And they were coming up FAST as they rounded the final turn. They could see him, looking behind himself in shock and horror. He knew what was coming. As did they. The impact felt like a napkin’s touch to them, but to the monarch and his henchman, it must’ve been a thunderbolt as the vehicle was sent skyward, the duo flying clear of it with screams of shock and surprise.

And then- normality. The energy, the power- it all vanished as quickly as it came, and they regained themselves just as they were about to cross the finish line- to a roaring crowd.

“Whoa! Did…did we win?” Tiff said as they registered just what had happened…and she heard Tuff let out a whoop of excitement as they shot past the finish line and the checkered flag.

“YEEEESSSS!” He felt as good as the crowd did.

“IT’S OVER, IT’S OVER!” Lololo and Lalala twinned as the remainder of the pack crossed the line. “TUFF AND TIFF TAKE THE FIRST CAPPY TOWN GRAND PRIX IN AN ASTOUNDING FINISH!”

Elsewhere, just as Spinni and Storo were preparing to break into the area where the trophy was held, the Squeakers suddenly…well, squeaked. “Not now, I almost got it!” Spinni said quietly as he picked the lock.

“Ahem,” a voice called out, and the two froze, looking behind them. “You really shouldn’t be doing that, y’know.”

“Hey! Aren’t you supposed to be watching the race?!” Spinni complained as he looked towards the two blocking the exit. “Why come all the way here?”

Winged Meta Knight just pointed at the badge on his chest that clearly read ‘SECURITY’. “Deputized by the Chief of Police,” he said simply.

“And I just figured you were up to somethin’ sneaky,” Great King Dedede chastised. “Now, we gonna do this the hard way an’ make it worse, or are you all gonna come quiet so we can give you the usual punishment?”

“Awww…but I don’t LIKE bananas!” Storo complained.

“Well, it’s better than clippin’ grass,” Spinni complained as well, though he didn’t put up a fight. He knew what the OTHER punishment could be. “There’s a lotta grass here, too!”

Kirby, cheering his heart out, briefly got a vague sense of fright directed at him. He shrugged it off- probably a Squeak Squad thing. He just resumed cheering along with Bandee before they stormed out of the stands to congratulate the winners.

As all the cars finished, and at last, slowed down, cheers were had, and Tuff and Tiff exited the kart to hugs aplenty from their parents. “My goodness gracious!” Lady Like cheered as they were subjected to a loving group hug. “How astounding!”

“Champions, the both of you!” Sir Ebrum cheered. “Oh, I knew you could do it!”

Ultimately, in second place came Kirby and Tokkori, and in third Susie in a nailbiter against the Mayor. Fifth had been Meta Knight, and sixth had been Daroach, ultimately limping to a finish. Not that he seemed too torn up about it as Susie stood on the lowest of the winner’s podiums. “I suppose that WAS quite a show,” he admitted. “I’m impressed, madam Haltmann.”

“I was surprised,” she admitted, “However, I suppose this is…satisfactory. Though I WOULD say,” she continued, looking over at a grumpy Mayor being consoled by his wife and racing crew. “If I may, Mayor?” she asked a bit loudly.

“Hm? Ohh, what now?” he grumbled, clearly in a sore mood.

“I just wanted to say that I was very impressed by your skill and spirit,” she consoled. “If it weren’t for all the…shall we say, unexpected surprises, I daresay you would’ve bested me in terms of sheer racing acumen.”

He blinked, looking up at her. “Say what, now?” Daroach slipped away while they were talking. He was needed elsewhere, anyway. Or so he thought. He was in for a poor reception, sadly.

“Just so,” she admitted. “You were very consistent and clearly knew what you were doing. I suspect that, if you had access to my own vehicle, the outcome would have been quite different.”

“I-uh, well…” he stammered, clearly not expecting this admission. “Well, I suppose the right car matters, too…not that Gus did a bad job, I mean!” he quickly amended, turning to the mechanic.

“Nah, I getcha,” Gus admitted with a small smile. “That there’s a heckuva ride, Missus Haltmann. Kinda makes me wanna take a peek under the hood m’self.”

Susie tilted her head. “Is that so? I suspect that, considering your own skill with repair and upgrading vehicles that’s been shown, you could do much with some blueprints of mine. Perhaps a deal might be in order? Mayor?” she turned back to him. “Working directly with your office and perhaps Gus’s shop might do well for both of us in the future. I think a bit of collaboration would end up with the both of us benefitting and growing from it, hm?”

“Ah- hmm…” the Mayor huffed and hawed about it- before his wife clearing her throat brought him back to his senses. “Ah! Right, er, I’m afraid I have some other business to get to right now- but I must say the idea interests me, Ms. Haltmann! Considering your own skill at motorsport, perhaps we might be able to talk later?”

“I look forward to it,” she said, and bowed as he and his entourage left. Susie returned to the podium, where the photographer was finishing setting up for the commemorative pictures. She noticed Meta Knight give Little Kirby…something, she wasn’t sure what, and simply focused on presenting herself as best for the cameras as possible.

‘Yes. Satisfactory, indeed,’ she thought as she struck an undoubtedly cute pose.

Tuff and Tiff held the trophy high, and their smiles were bright as they celebrated and the flashes went off. Kirby had been largely safe during the race, Dedede had been beaten at his own game and then some, and they’d WON! “I can’t believe we did it!” Tiff admitted cheerfully. It felt good. They looked at both their Kirby and Big Kirby, who both cheered for them in good sportsmanship.

No, in fact? Today had been a great day.

Later that night was a different story.

They were both resting in their rooms; the race had worn them out, physically and mentally. The trophy holding a place of honor in the living room, they were prepared to sleep for quite a long time…

Though there was something preventing Tiff from getting her much desired rest. She wasn’t entirely sure what, but it was…something. ‘ It’s like there’s something itching on the inside of me, something that I just want to crack open, or- or-’

The sound of knocking interrupted her. “Come in,” she said softly- it WAS bedtime after all. But she had a hunch who this was.

Tuff, as expected, came in, unusually subdued. “Hey. You awake too, huh?” She nodded. “Yeah. Wanna sleep, but…can’t.”

“Nope,” she agreed, bags under her eyes. “Even though I’m tired, it’s like I’m…riled up, too.”

“Like there’s a part of you that wants to just do somethin’ even though the rest is sayin’ no way?” Tuff challenged. She just nodded. “Yeah…”

The two sat in companionable silence for a while, before Tuff sighed. “When I bit into that candy. That was magic, wasn’t it.” It wasn’t a question, and Tiff merely nodded. There was nothing else it could’ve been. They didn’t make up the rainbow colors, and while their parents had asked how it happened, they admitted they weren’t sure, just that it was ‘something during the race’. Their parents had ascertained they hadn’t been hurt, and then simply suggested to them to ‘thank their lucky stars’. Not that they didn’t, but…

“I felt stuff I never felt before,” Tuff admitted, unsure of where to look- his hands, the wall, his sister- upon looking at her it was clear she was equally uncertain of what to do with her hands, fiddling them in what would be nerves if her face didn’t exude calm acceptance. “It was- I felt something REALLY cool in that moment, like- like a body part I’d never paid attention to before suddenly started working. Like I could douse the sun, or scorch the sea.”

“...For a while I felt like the strongest thing in the galaxy,” she admitted quietly. “Like I could punch a mountain to rubble. Like nothing could touch me if I didn’t want it to.”

“...It bites not feeling it anymore, huh?” Tuff said, looking at his sister carefully.

Tiff didn’t answer directly. “...it wasn’t natural,” she said with a slight sigh. “I can’t imagine how we’d get it back…I don’t know if we’d even want to.”

“I kinda do,” Tuff admitted. “But…I think I kinda get that it wouldn't be easy. And…it’s probably better to not feel all that way in one go.”

Tiff turned her head to look at him curiously. “What do you mean?” It wasn’t an accusation. Simply a statement.

“I mean…” he paused, thinking of the right words. “I think… I’ve got some growin’ to do. I dunno how, but…I wanna feel like that again. On my own terms, y’know? I wanna feel strong like that. But I wanna do it myself, not ‘cause of some weirdo magic lollipop.”

Tiff blinked. Nodded, then smiled. “I’ll be rooting for you, then.”

“What about you?” Tuff asked. “Do you wanna feel like that again, too?”

She paused. Her smiled faded. The answer was right on her tongue, but…it couldn’t come out. It wouldn’t. She turned away. “We should probably try to get some sleep. Mom said we can sleep in tomorrow.”

“...right.” Tuff, for once, didn’t press her. He got up, paused. Waited. “...hey. Uh…I know it’s kinda lame and uncool, but, uh…d’ya wanna…”

She’d already opened her covers. “Get in.” She didn’t want to admit it, but she was feeling similar, too. Too many thoughts rolling around in her head, even for her.

They’d at least deal with it together, she supposed, and prepared herself for a long night.

About 20 minutes later, they were both sound asleep, reassured by the other’s presence enough to at last let sleep claim them as powers and forces they'd never really thought about before flashed throughout their dreams.

Chapter 30: Magic and Soul

Chapter Text

“All systems set?” Susie asked. They were in one of the open testing rooms of the Factory today, and she was looking at what had caused this whole issue in the first place.

The dimensional portal. She’d tested it once, but that was within the same dimensional plane- its original purpose. All well and good, but she needed more out of it now. And she intended to get more.

The Haltmann Works Company wouldn’t lose more by her hand. “Ready?” she called out to Bandana Dee. “If all goes well, it should activate and you should wind up in my base factory on Pop Star. I didn’t want to risk one side getting trapped or delayed, so it’s activatable by either side. Just poke your head through for ten seconds and come back. Alright?”

“Got it!” Bandee agreed. “Whenever you’re set!”

She nodded. “3…2…1…OK!” She pressed the button on her tablet, and the star shaped portal device lit up around the edges…and then glowed as a hole spread from the center outwards, caught by the device. “Alright, go!”

Bandee quickly swung himself in, leaving an arm on the other side just in case. Susie counted down nervously, but at the ten mark Bandee swung his head back in, clear joy on his face. “It works! That was our Pop Star to a tee!”

Susie sighed in relief. “Excellent. Now, we just need to see how long it lasts.”

That turned out to be five minutes, and she logged the data immediately. “Honestly, longer than I expected. I estimated around two to three,” she admitted. “That’ll improve some metrics- and the parameters of our stay here, for certain. Thank you for your offer of assistance. I’m going to be rather busy for a while working out the parts-for-pieces deal with the Mayor, alongside other projects. Getting out of this factory isn’t in the cards for a while, and the help is appreciated.”

“No problem,” he said easily. “I mean, Kirby and Great King are busy, so I figured why not?”

“Speaking of,” she noted. “Where IS everyone else, for that matter?”

Bandee looked away in a bit of embarrassment. “Oh, well, Kirby and King Dedede went to talk to Tiff and Tuff ‘cause of the Invincibility Candy thing the other day, Meta Knight’s watching over the Squeak Squad’s punishment, and as for Mags and Taranza? Well, there’s this new book out, and it’s really popular. It caught a lot of people by surprise ‘cause, well…”

“For the last time, no! We didn’t learn at magic schools!” Magolor said hotly to the youths as Taranza sighed. “Our skill is the result of intense self-study; we scoured tomes, practiced spells daily, driven by our desire to master the arcane realm of magic without fear of what might happen to us regardless!” He harumped as the kids looked disappointed. “You would be so lucky to have a structured environment, or a tutor- like SOME traffic lights I know,” he muttered, the last bit quieter. Not that the children didn’t hear it. “This is the fifth time I’ve been asked that. Just why the sudden interest, anyway?”

Taranza looked at him in surprise. “Really? I’d have thought you’d have known by now. There’s a bit of a craze going on at the moment. Some sort of book’s been selling like wild, and it apparently has to do with magic. Something about a boy at a magic school,” he explained. “It’s called-”

“Pappy Pottey and the Fool’s Stone,” the voice of Kirby said from behind them. They turned to see him coming up from down the street, Tiff and Tuff with him as the former held a book. “Apparently in the last couple days while everyone recovered from the race and all that, this has been taking the town by storm. I dunno if I should be flattered or weirded out, though…” he admitted with a bemused look.”

“Why’s that?” Taranza asked.

“Take a look for yourself,” Tiff said lightly. Kirby cast an eye at her, but said nothing as Taranza took the book. “I…well, I got it a couple of days ago. Haven’t finished reading it yet, but I like it a lot!”

The cover was enough to get Magolor to guffaw a bit, and Taranza gave a bewildered look. “Well, this is almost just…you? Did you or the other Kirby accidentally inspire someone?”

“Not as far as we know!” Kirby stated. “We’re pretty sure it’s just a funny coincidence.”

“Ah,” Taranza said simply as he thumbed through the first few pages quickly. “So…this is what’s been inspiring people to come running up to us asking about how we learned magic, is it?”

“Looks like,” Kirby nodded. “Figures that with real magicians hanging around, they’d be interested in a book about magic and how you learn it.”

“I suppose I can’t begrudge them THAT much,” Magolor admitted. “After all, magic is quite the astounding skill. But I could go without being asked where my broom is. That’s not me.”

“True,” Taranza agreed. “Or hats. That’s someone else entirely.” Magolor blinked in surprise, and Taranza flinched. “Oh, were you not talking about the same person?”

“Broom Hatter?” Magolor hazarded.

“Oh…no, no, someone else- you don’t know them, then. We have game nights,” he said idly. “At any rate, the point is that this is far from real magic, or how real magic is learned.”

“...how IS real magic learned?” Tuff asked. Magolor was wont to sigh, considering his prior questions, but held it in.

Taranza eyed him a bit more carefully, however. “It’s through a lot of study. Deciding what branch of spellcraft you want to focus on, and training in that relentlessly, by hook or crook.”

“Or, if you’re amazing like me, you eventually learn all of them!” Magolor boasted.

Taranza gave him a flat look. “ Most of them. And even that has its downsides. You’re very skilled, for certain, but you still can’t match my level of Metamorphic magic. And if you REALLY think your Elementalism even comes close to The Th—”

“Alright, alright!” Magolor quickly waved him off. “Can we NOT bring up those three?” he begged off, before turning back to Tuff. “Point being, you can’t just learn ‘magic’.” He paused. “Well…I suppose technically you CAN just learn the basics, those are fairly universal, but that won’t get you anywhere in the long run. It’s a path. A neverending one- you’re always seeking new heights, new avenues, new-”

“Can you teach me?” he asked. Magolor paused- he let out a small huff, but the kid at least wasn’t begging like before. ‘ Actually…’ Magolor looked closer. ‘Kid almost seems serious this time.’ “Please?” That got an eyebrow raise from him.

Taranza, however, was the first to respond. “Why so?”

Kirby just glanced at the kid, and patted him on the back as he took a step back from both of them. Had this been rehearsed or planned? “I…I wanna get stronger,” he responded. “Y’know, to…to be able to fight back against stuff. Protect the town…Tiff, maybe,” he added with a grin, which got him a look and a shove. “But seriously, it’s like- I realized somethin’, yanno? I don’t wanna just sit in the background while Kirby does all the cool stuff. I wanna help!” he finished, trying to meet their eyes as he brushed his hair out of his face. “So…yeah. Please.”

Silence, as the two looked at each other, considering. Magolor spoke first. “Kid…that was really sappy.” Tuff wilted. “You could’ve just said ‘so I can be stronger’ and left it at that, really.”

“It’s no shame to want to protect people or places you love,” Taranza said softly. “You can’t do that without power. And while there’s certainly many forms of power, magic is, dare I say, rather undeniable.” He allowed himself a small grin.

“Uhhh…” Tuff looked around uncertainly. “Isss…that a yes?”

“Well…” Taranza thought, before smiling. “...I don’t see why not! It’d behoove this place to have a bit more magical resonance, I think!” And then Taranza’s eyes all widened as he hit upon an idea. “In fact…perhaps we should give those Cappies precisely what they’re asking for!” he said proudly.

“Come again?” Magolor asked in surprise.

“I say we open a School of Magic right here in Cappy Town!” Taranza pronounced. Tiff and Tuff gaped in shock, and even Kirby gave him a surprised look. Unbeknownst to him, several passing Cappies- many fans of the book themselves- overheard this pronouncement, and quickly started talking amongst themselves. “Nothing too grand, of course- but I can’t say that being headmaster of my own schoolhouse doesn’t sound exciting! With a capable teacher assisting me, of course,” he added, turning to Magolor.

“What, me?!” the aforementioned responded in surprise. “Normally I’d agree with that sentiment, but I’m a horrible teacher!”

“Have you tried before?” Taranza said.

“Have YOU?” Magolor shot back.

“No, but I have instructed people before! I doubt it’s exceptionally different!” Taranza responded. You have measuring graphs and whatnot in the Lor, don’t you? And I’ve got a few tools that should aid us in that endeavor from my botany work. We can take the measurements of any Cappy interested in magic tutelage, and show them how to draw it out! Imagine what it could be like!”

“My measurement are for general environment calculations, not PERSONAL measurements!” Magolor argued, oblivious to the excitement surrounding him, including Tuff. “Yes, everyone SHOULD be capable of some level of magic, but without being able to tell how much, we’ll-”

“You really mean it?!” Tuff asked excitedly, interrupting. “You’ll teach me?!”

“Teach us ?” Tiff added. She looked at them both intensely, as though trying to ascertain their sincerity from staring alone.

“Aw, come on,” Kirby pleaded. “They deserve it! Trust me on that one,” he said cryptically, looking back at the two kids. “They’ll for sure at least pick up the basics.”

“I…” Magolor started. He tried to come up with a reason besides ‘he didn’t think it was a good idea’, but came up with nothing. “...gah! Fine! You’re lucky Kirby’s my Very Best Friend, and Taranza’s a Very Good Friend. I’ll help with this disaster, but don’t blame me when all of your ‘students’ go home crying! Magic isn’t so simple!”

“Then the first thing we need to do is find or construct a suitable place for learning!” Taranza declared. “Although perhaps an outdoor class might be good for initial lessons…” he mused. “In which case, no reason to not start sooner than later! But how to get word around…?”

“I still think this is a horrid idea,” Magolor noted. “But perhaps the plains around the King’s mansion might be a decent place.”

“Ah, yes, around the beachside! Excellent idea!” Taranza said eagerly as Tiff's eyes widened. “I’ll go ask him!”

“Ah- wait up! I’m coming, too!” Tiff said quickly as she ran to follow him.

“I can’t wait to tell everyone!” Tuff cheered as he failed to realize that most people had already begun to spread the word. “I’m finally gonna learn MAGIC!” Magolor just shook his head, as Kirby looked rather pleased at the turn of events.

‘This is gonna make things really neat.’

Taranza was quick to give his pitch to Great King Dedede, and had gotten amused permission to set up nearby ‘so long as no one tries to mooch off my food’. In exchange, he’d agreed to hang around in case the need for demonstrations arose, as did Big Kirby. Tiff had quickly taken charge of helping arrange some learning materials; a blackboard or two with stand, chalk, and a few other things were procured by her, though Taranza quickly warned her to not go overboard: “Magic is more felt than written,” he’d informed her. Still, they’d procured basic log desks at the least- there were some expectations, after all.

It wasn’t very long at all before word got around; and a number of Cappies began to make their way to the area- several Tiff recognized in particular. “Mabel?” she asked in surprise, seeing the fortune-teller looking around, clearly interested. She’d been rather reclusive whenever the magicians were around town, but she had presumed that to simply be a rivalry sort of thing- Magolor certainly seemed to have individuals he didn’t like, judging from earlier. “You’re trying to learn magic beyond fortune-telling?”

“Oh, well…I thought it might be interesting!” she said, a bit hesitant. “Considering my, er, fortune-telling skills are a very unique subset, I think, I figured perhaps I could expand my horizons?” Tiff supposed that made sense enough, and didn’t question it further.

Aside from her, she wasn’t surprised to find Tuff’s friends among the interested- Honey, Iro, and Spikehead- but there were some other unexpected faces like Chef Kawasaki and Chief Bookem. (Well, maybe the latter she could understand…) As more and more Cappies showed up, Tiff got the feeling that this would be a much, MUCH bigger class than she thought. ‘It’s a good thing they decided to hold it outside,’ she thought. They’d have been in trouble if it was anywhere else.

Taranza merely looked around at the growing crowd, nerves spiking as the din of conversation and excitement did. “O-oh dear. I didn’t think this many would be interested,” he admitted to himself. There were several dozen, easily. “But…I suppose all the more reason to hold it, hm? Right!” He took a deep breath. “Okay, Taranza, you can do this!” He focused on keeping himself calm, and by the time Magolor arrived, grumbling with a number of instruments in his levitating grasp, he felt himself…mostly calm. “Ah, you’ve gotten everything! Great! Look at the turnout!” He motioned to everyone present.

“No kidding,” Magolor scoffed. “But yes, here. Equalization crystals, should be useful.” They were a set of nearly clear diamond-shaped prisms. “These generally expect a LOT more juice, so anything tossed their way by this lot shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Right, right,” Taranza agreed. “I’ve got a few density markers, myself.” He brought out a dozen of the stick-like measurement tools that normally he used for testing the soil for magical density. They resembled plant support sticks, if with a web-design on the top. “I suspect they’ll be good to help refine potential if they work right. I gave one of them a shot myself and they seem to detect fairly reasonably.” He held one of the sticks tightly, and channeled a bit of magic into it- it quickly proceeded to light up a bright, yet pale purple.

Murmurs erupted from the people behind them- they’d forgotten that they likely had an audience, and Taranza quickly let the stick go. “There we are, perfect.”

“Alright them, use those first- that’s probably the best way we’ll be able to gauge them accurately,” Magolor determined. “If we’re going to do this, take them through the bare basics, first.”

“Of course!” Taranza agreed. “Alright. Ready?”

“No,” Magolor rebuffed, “But let’s get this on the road anyway.”

“Ahem!” Taranza said loudly, before realizing that just about all eyes were on him, anyway. Tiff and Tuff were, as expected, front and center- along with Little Kirby for whatever reason. “Thank you, all of you, for attending the first of what I hope are many lessons to come on the subject of magic! It’s clear there’s an interest in Cappy Town, and I do hope to fuel that interest! I’m, ah, aware many of you know me by now, but in case you don’t, I am Taranza, Star Ally from another dimension. With me is Magolor, a mage of some renown-”

“GREAT mage, thank you very much,” Magolor interrupted.

“-and my teaching partner,” Taranza continued undaunted. “Together, we will instill in you the values and basic understandings of magic, and hopefully craft you into proper mages!”

“So make sure you pay attention, otherwise you’ll get nothing out of this,” Magolor said directly. “And the first step to learning what magic is, is telling you what it ISN’T.” That got a number of confused murmurs, but Magolor kept on. “Magic isn’t fancy words, and it’s not canned and set rituals, no matter what SOME people might say,” he insisted. Taranza gave him a flat look for a brief moment, but didn’t argue the point. “No, what magic IS? Is will. Magic is dreams, it is hope, it is heart, it is soul, it’s all of those and more besides!” he finished, spreading his arms out for emphasis as many eyes widened in shock. “The essence, the core of magic, is imposing your will on this realm. It’s- it’s staring up at an apple tree and deciding with all of your being that the air is a perfectly good stairway to get that apple… so the air agrees. ”

Taranza nodded in agreement. “It’s…looking at a flower and deciding ‘That’s not a flower, that’s a tree,’ and you being so absolutely certain of the fact, that the world agrees with you for fear of what you’ll do if it denies you.” He heard a snorting laugh from Kirby’s direction but decided to ignore it. “Magic is a great many things, but at its core it is absolute certainty that what YOU want to happen is happening. There can be NO room for doubt in spellcasting,” he emphasized. “Not even a minor bit. The moment you doubt you can do what you want to do is the moment you’ve failed the spell. Confidence MATTERS,” he emphasized. A few uncertain mutterings were already going through the crowd. Taranza motioned with his hand, and Magolor sighed. Fine, he’d gotten the point across, he figured.

“That said, there is generally a minor bit of magic you can do- provided you have the proper mindset- that does not take absolute belief,” Magolor continued, and that got people’s interest. “In fact, ironically enough, it’s a very common and relatively easy to learn skill, which makes it integral among just about all mages and non-mages, particularly if you’re engaging in combat. I’m sure most if not all of you know of Susie Haltmann?” Murmurs of confirmation. “Even SHE knows how to pull this off, and she’s not remotely a mage.” Magolor mentioned, and that turned the murmurs into curiosity.

“Ahem,” Taranza took over. “The skill is called ‘Focus’.” He heard a small gasp from Tuff and Tiff- had they heard about it somewhere? “That’s Focus with a capital F, mind you. It is the art of concentrating the magic in your body via your desire to do something , and then doing that thing. For example…” Here, he turned away from the crowd, and holding his hands up high together, quickly formed and shot a single magic ball out into the distance, where it bounced off the ground, creating a notable impact and crater, throwing up grass and dirt chunks, before careened into the sky, where eventually dissipated after some distance. That by itself got a number of oohs and aahs. “See, this is a technique I devised. A complicated technique already by itself, due to its rebounding effect.” He raised his arms again as another ball appeared. “Now, should I want to take it beyond that? I must Focus.”

And so he did.

To Tuff, it was much like how he saw his own Kirby do it- only there seemed to be more of an aura around him; something shining and glowing- before the ball seemed to triple in size, causing shouts of amazement and alarm. He hurled it far away from them, the impact in the distance almost causing a small quake as it crushed the ground- then rebounded away off towards the sea.

Turning around, Taranza saw the astonished looks of just about all the Cappies present. He allowed himself a small grin. “THAT is what Focus can do, and that’s just a single example. Focus can allow you to augment not just the magical, but the physical as well. Focus allows you to press yourself beyond your normal limits; the want and desire is paramount to will your body to DO something extraordinary, and then belief that the world will help you to make that happen.”

“Now, the reason we’re telling you all this at first,” Magolor picked up, “is because while EVERYONE should have the potential for at least learning to Focus, some individuals might be able to learn more than that sooner. Magical potential is in everyone, but it’s a little more…obvious in some, than others.”

“Not to say that magic can’t be learned and improved upon!” Taranza pointed out. “It very much can, make no mistake. I myself started rather slowly, and I could name a few others. But if we tried to teach a class this size all one way no one would learn much of anything, to be frank. So! We’re going to do a bit of measurement.” And here he brought out the density markers. “There’s no concrete tools we have that’ll gauge your potential exactly, but these magic density markers I have should do the trick. These sticks are normally for gauging the latent magic in the ground, and I use them in my botanical studies- however, a tight, hard grip can fool them into reading your own magical signature. I’m going to pass these out, and I want everyone to take a turn gripping them as hard as you can for…about ten seconds or so should do it.”

“Don’t expect anything grand,” Magolor pointed out. “We’re mostly looking to see if the sticks shine anything other than a… soft yellow, I believe?” he asked Taranza, who nodded. “Right. There’s little markers on the sides, but don’t worry about those. Either a brighter yellow than normal, or a different color entirely. That’ll more-or-less indicate a natural affinity to a particular type of magic, which is rare, while a bright yellow is simply a better…call it internal reserve, which means you’ll have the chance to pick things up easier. No promises, though!” he warned as they began to pass them out. “No need to announce your results unless it’s PARTICULARLY interesting; we’ll be keeping an eye on all of them ourselves.”

And so it began. Already talking began, indicators of nerves and excitement and wondering if anyone had real potential. The first few on the edges indeed, gripping their sticks, shone a soft yellow, which resulted in a few disappointed sighs. “Tried to warn you,” Magolor said relentlessly. He skipped Little Kirby entirely when the young puff tried to reach for a stick. “Not you,” he said bluntly. “We already know YOUR potential. We’re trying to see everyone else’s.”

Little Kirby only let out a disappointed ‘poyo’.

It didn’t take long. Not five seconds after Tiff stiffly gripped the stick given her with a nervous swallow, the stick shone with a brilliant yellow that took her by surprise. “Wah!”

“Oooh! Well, well, so we have our first case of serious potential!” Magolor said. “...and it’s one of the smarter kids in the town, how surprising,” he said sarcastically under his breath. Fortunately, no one heard.

Tiff blinked in surprise, and then blushed hotly as the praise and congratulations began coming in. “Uhhh…I, uh…ahahah…” for once, she was stuck for something to say.

Not that Tuff was. “Gimme!” He reached for the stick eagerly. Taking it, he gripped it tightly. ‘Come on, come on…’ he thought anxiously. The stick lit up a soft yellow…and it seemed to…waver? Almost as though it had a hard time deciding, it became slightly pale in coloration, though the intensity didn’t seem to change.

“Hmmm…what does that mean?” Magolor asked, looking closely. “What does that color map to, again? Ice?”

“No, no, that’s much bluer, because it shares with water,” Taranza noted. “This seems…well, I’m not entirely certain,” he admitted. “You have an affinity for SOMETHING, that much is clear. It’ll take some testing to figure out what. Let’s move on for now, shall we?” he decided, taking the stick from a surprised Tuff and giving to the next. “We have a lot more people to test.”

“...so was that good or not?!” he whispered harshly to his sister.

“Why are you asking me?!” she fired back.

“I dunno!” he admitted. “It just seemed kinda…lame, y’know? But I guess I gotta do it like I figured,” he relented.

“Relax, I’ll be right there with you,” she said with a smile.

He allowed himself a grin. “Yeah, you didn’t even wanna come here. And look at you, Miss Prodigy!” he poked her in the side, which she slapped away jokingly.

“You keep that up and the first spell I learn will be how to shut you up!” she threatened with a half-smile.

The testing continued thereafter- it didn’t take as much time as some feared, as most seemed to have about the same basic potential, their sticks glowing that soft yellow. Though there were a couple of surprises…

“CHEF KAWASAKI?!” over half the gathered Cappies said in unison when he gripped the stick, and it resulted in it glowing a respectably bright, honeyed orange. “HE’S got magical potential?!”

“Not surprised!” Big Kirby said idly, though few people were paying attention to him right then.

“Oh, geez!” Kawasaki said as he blushed, rubbing the back of his head shyly. “And here I just came to offer folks after-school specials!”

He wasn’t the only one to have something particular, however; when Mabel took hold of one of the sticks. She looked rather nervous, however. “I do not think that my own skills would, ah, be well represented here, though I would-” she had to stop herself when, to her and everyone else’s shock and surprise, the stick began to glow- rather brightly, at that. “...eh?” Not only that, but it seemed to shift to a dark purple. “Gwah!”

“Well now!” Taranza said brightly. “Now THAT is a rarity! If I recall correctly, that particular color indicates you have an affinity for…ESP, I believe. That’s a rather unique magic, I’d say! Or at least a rare one.” He thought about it for a moment, then nodded in assurance. “Yes, I’m rather certain of it. Some individuals consider psychic ability to be something other than magic entirely, but I’ve always found it to be more of a subset of magic- something where you need to convince yourself, as opposed to the world. Surprisingly difficult to master, but very potent. Fascinating!” Taranza allowed, looking at Mabel closer as though studying her, before he suddenly started and backed up. “Ah! And, er, congratulations!”

Mabel, for her part, had frozen in shock when she heard the word psychic. And only just now was she coming to realize. “I…I’m…really…a psychic?” she whispered to herself. “Really…?”

Damo, who’d only gotten a soft yellow along with everyone else, felt the urge to wipe her eyes, clearly brimming with tears. He had to restrain himself, though- besides, he got the idea they weren’t sad tears.

Tuff gritted his teeth slightly, looking at the scene, but then snorted at himself- Mabel was cool. She deserved it. ‘ It’s not HER fault she got a super-cool, ultra-rare affinity and I might not’ve…’

A bit later, it had been determined; of the several dozen interested in magic, while ALL of them had at least minor potential, as stated, only a few had stood out via the stick test: Tiff, Tuff, Mabel, Chef Kawasaki, Honey, Spikehead, and Gengu. “Alright, you seven seem to be our most likely advanced students,” Magolor said. “All of you have affinities or potential that’s a bit more than abnormal.” The seven mentioned got ovations, to their surprise. “Now, as for everyone else,” he continued, “I’m warning you now- magic is nothing easy. I told you before, I’m saying it again. It’s not a weekend thing. You have to WANT magic to GET magic, understand? So anyone that doesn’t think they can spare the time or effort because of other purposes, you can probably head out now.”

“Well, that’s a bit harsh!” Taranza rejoined. “I wouldn’t say that it wouldn’t do them some good to at least learn Focus, and THEN they can decide whether they want to stay or not, hm?” He looked towards the crowd- it seemed like only a few were getting up to leave; the older folks, which he supposed made sense. “Though I can’t stop them if they feel that’s all, we’ll officially be starting to learn the basics- how to sense our own internal magic; from there, we’ll learn how to Focus.” He smiled. “Fortunately, my speciality is Metamorphic magic, which involves…altering or adjusting the nature of things, or in this case, showing.” He straightened his scarf proudly. “I’ll be able to help you all to recognize and embrace the magic within- though it’ll of course be up to you to hold on to it. Now then!” he said with a wide smile. “We’ll be starting with a basic concentration exercise, and once you’re set, I’ll be coming around…”

“Right, okay, okay…here we go,” Tuff muttered to himself as he began to listen intently.

The next few days flew by for Tuff as he threw himself into it. Taranza was quite understanding and patient, guiding everyone through the basics of concentration and feeling their own magical capacity. That first day Taranza (and to a lesser extent Magolor) had helped everyone just as he’d said, and by all accounts the feeling was…pleasant. Like a warm ball just on the inside- Tiff and some others had agreed with his description of it being as if they’d just had a warm, great meal, but without the feeling of pudginess that came with it. He’d tried to hold onto that feeling for as long as he could for the rest of the day, as his teachers had instructed. It’d left him exhausted in a way; he felt mentally sluggish and physically winded, but he’d done his darndest, and collapsed into his bed in a heap.

On Day 2, a number of Cappies had apparently decided not to come back; Taranza wasn’t dismayed, stating that he’d realized that it was a curiosity to some and little else. Only about two dozen Cappies were left, but Tuff was privately relieved; why, he wasn’t sure. Taranza kept up his talks and examples on Focus. “It’s like taking that energy that you held onto the other day, and pushing out to every part of your body. And trust me, if you can hold it, you can push it out. I want everyone to try and grab onto that core of magic themselves, today. I trust everyone knows the consequences of trying to hold onto that for too long now, though, hm?” He grinned as some groans came in as they realized the trick he had played to teach discipline. “So you must learn to be quick to grab, and then push, and release!”

To his delight, he felt it- though he’d never wanted to let it go since the other day, he found that it already was…well, not easy, but possible. He and Tiff, who also seemed to grasp the idea a bit easier than others as expected, both confessed to the other when they felt like they’d gotten it that evening. Tuff had gone off on his own to practice, as did Tiff. He wasn’t sure she’d gone, but she’d gotten back late.

On Day 3, Taranza finally decided to try to teach them how to Focus. Energy was in the air as he declared it. “As I said, it is a desire,” Taranza explained, “To do something you would not be able to normally. You are nonetheless convincing the world ‘I want to be able to do this, so LET ME.’ It’s a difficult thing. You have to internalize whatever it is you want to do- and let the desire to do it take you without taking you OVER.” He looked over the classes. “It doesn’t have to be anything particularly elaborate, even. For example, King Dedede?”

“Yup,” Great King Dedede strolled over, hammer in hand. “Alright. So, simple but effective. Me? I just use Focus to do this.” With one hand, he reared back, an intense look on his face as he looked out to the sea. In moments, the head of his hammer suddenly lit on fire, causing shock and surprise.

Then, with a simple grunt, he swung it, single-handedly; for a moment, it seemed like that would be it- only for the ground nearby to suddenly go flat and the closest to him to totter off their feet momentarily as a air distortion of sorts seemed to emanate from his hammer, rushing across the grass to the sea edge, where it continued to travel out of eyesight. “Whoa!” Tuff shouted. “What was that?”

“I call it the Dedede Hammer Flip,” he said, dropping said hammer to his side. “Don’t get hit by it.”

“Seriously,” Big Kirby said along the sidelines, grimacing. “But yeah, that’s Focus for you! You don’t have to make it some big thing- if you just wanna hit harder, you can Focus for it. If you wanna try to do something else, do the thing. No stress!”

“As he says,” Taranza agreed. “Remember, magic is about making what you want to happen happen, not what you think should happen, happen. And with that in mind, Focus is the easiest magic that anyone can do. So then! I’ll give you a few minutes to decide on an action, and then you will try to Focus to allow yourselves to do it.”

Everyone began to talk amongst themselves. Some kids talked about doing a flip- no, three flips. A couple of the older Cappies just wanted to feel young again. Some wanted to try their hand at a Fireball or the sort ‘like in the book’ anyway.

Soon, Taranza announced that it was time. “And don’t be afraid of failure,” he emphasized. “I will warn you right now- you will fail INFINITELY more times than you will succeed, regardless of who you are. We’ll be here to prevent any real injury.”

And so, the first few Cappies went up. The first one, Tuff didn’t know them, tried to do a flip. He stopped, ground his teeth as he tried to concentrate. Only a flash of a glow happened before he jumped.

He’d landed flat on his stomach. “Don’t get discouraged, that’s about as expected,” Taranza reminded them as he walked back with his head hung. “Remember- take hold of that magic inside of you- and convince the world itself of what you want to do!”

Another went up. He tried to make himself ‘super fast’. Barely a flash, and he ran at a plod.

Honey, surprisingly, was the first to do SOMETHING. “Well…I just thought it’d be really really neat if I could fly, like you!” she said as she went up.

“Ah, flight IS rather useful,” Magolor conceded, but said nothing else at the time. Taranza nodded in agreement.

And so it was that Honey took a deep breath, screwing her eyes shut. For a few seconds, nothing happened…and then she began to glow, slightly. Magolor and Taranza made slight noises of interest, but said nothing else.

With a short, sudden hop, little Honey jumped up, curling up like she was doing a cannonball into a pool…but then she stayed there.

A moment of silence. And then the crowd erupted. Honey was hovering!

Unfortunately, that much noise proved too much a distraction- her eyes shot open in surprise, and she looked down to realize just what was happening- and after a few more moments, she dropped to the ground with a thump.Not that she cared, hopping right back up with jubilance. “I did it!” she cheered. “I did it!”

Magolor and Taranza clapped in appreciation. “That you did!” Taranza agreed, and both Big and Little Kirby gave full throated cheers, causing her to blush.

A few more mixed results- one fellow actually managed a rather strong karate chop, which seemed to send a bit of wind out at the force- up until it was Mabel’s turn. She seemed nervous, holding her crystal ball almost like a security blanket.

Saying nothing, she also took a deep breath, looking at Honey briefly, who waved cheerfully in support, before closing her eyes, holding her crystal ball out.

There was nothing for a few moments, and Mabel’s face turned from a veneer of calm to a rictus of nerves. Grimacing, she tried to focus harder…

Until a shimmering aura flashed from her, staying in a halo around her feet. And slowly, slowly her crystal ball began to hover in front of her.

“Oho…” Magolor muttered to himself. He wasn’t the only one impressed.

Suddenly, Mabel’s eyes opened, focused intently on her crystal ball. She jerked her head to the left…and it went left. To the right…and it went right. Up…and then down into her waiting hands. She got a standing ovation for the display, and it was hard to blame anyone. "That's our Mabel!" one of the Cappies cheered.

“Fantastic!” Magolor admitted, clapping his hands. “Levitation can be a tricky devil! I'm impressed you got it for a few seconds already! That ESP affinity at work, I suppose.”

“A…ahahaha…it is…nothing,” Mabel said, panting, and clearly exhausted from even those few seconds of effort. “I am…a psychic, no? Ahahaha…a real…psychic,” she said below her breath.

Even so, she was quick to sit down, and was noticeably out of it for the rest of the lesson.

Tiff was soon after her, and she went up slowly. Almost hesitant. Tuff was wondering just why that was. She had seemed mostly normal the other night, apart from so why…?

Slowly, she took a breath. And her eyes fixed into a familiar glare. But oddly enough, they weren’t focused on anyone in particular…right? It wasn’t aimed at him, that was for sure.

Her right hand balled up into a fist. Staring at nothing, almost- no, not ‘almost’, she WAS angry. Mad. Livid. Even as the glow of Focus surrounded her, Tuff was worried about other things at that moment. ‘W-what’s up with Tiff? What happened?!’ Out of concern, he was almost about to call out her name, as she raised her fist into the air…which Tuff just realized was shining a bright yellow.

“...eeeeeeYYAAAAAAAH!” Shocking everyone, she let out a yell that was really more primal screech as her fist suddenly came down, punching the ground ferociously with a loud thud- loose dirt and grass was tossed up due to the impact, but more to the point, Tuff was just worried. “Yo! Sis, are you alright?” He quickly leapt out of his ‘seat’ to jump near her side; she was already on a knee and panting hard, sweating and shaking, showing that it’d taken her a monumental effort to do just that.

“I…I…think…I’ll live,” she joked even as she was trying to take in gulps of air. “I…I just thought…about being…angry enough…to protect Kirby…from...from…” she tried to explain even as her body sank and head lolled back.

“Whoa,” said a voice, who everyone quickly realized was Big Kirby’s. “Say, I might’ve been seeing things, but…was that Star Energy?” Not waiting for an answer, he puffed up, flying above Tiff a bit as he looked down at the epicenter of where she was. His eyes went wide, when he realized: her impact had made a relatively small, but noticeable star-shaped crack in the earth, with her as the epicenter. He landed, looking at her with new eyes. “Yup. I think that was Star Energy you managed to channel up, Tiff, not just Focus. Got the hallmarks of it. Consider me impressed!”

“I’ll say,” Magolor agreed. “I didn’t think ANY of them would be able to channel any kind of real magic source yet.”

“She’s something else,” Taranza agreed. Tuff felt a strange tightness in his stomach at that, but why, he couldn’t place. He didn’t like it, though.

“Haaa…haaaa…” by now, Tiff couldn’t even respond.

Kirby frowned. “Ooookay, I think Tiff’s done for the day. I’ll get her inside Dedede’s, you all keep at it!” He quickly lifted Tiff above his head, carrying her bodily towards the mansion.

Tuff had half of a mind to follow her, but he quickly resisted the urge. He’d seen what his sister had been up to- what she’d clearly gotten an inspiration to do the other night.

Now, he just had to live up to it. No- he had to do BETTER.

He’d seen all the stuff they were doing. All the neat physical tricks, like they’d said to do. Aside from his sister, and even hers was physical, just with something else added on.

He needed something else. Something that he’d seen before, but they hadn’t. And last night, he’d realized exactly what he wanted to do. The thing that’d made him want to learn magic for real in the first place.

He looked at Magolor, watching him with his ever-present faint smugness mixed with genuinely curiosity. He turned back towards the sea, closed his eyes, and Focused.

The energy was a part of him. It ran through him, up and down and all around. It WAS him- and more importantly, he’d make everyone and everything realize it, too! ‘It might not be for a while…but just you wait! I’m gonna be a GREAT magician! And that path starts right NOW!’

He cupped his hands together, and thrust them forwards. A dark spark left his hands…

…and popped after about half a foot. It was no bigger than a particularly large soap bubble.

Tuff didn't even have the energy to react with disappointment. He collapsed on the spot.

Chapter 31: Magic and Soul - Breathe

Chapter Text

They’d called the lesson short as soon as he fainted, Taranza quick to catch him and Magolor shooing everyone off posthaste. That both of the Ebrum kids had collapsed after trying magic began to have several people worried, and while a few such as Honey and Spikehead insisted on sticking around to make sure, everyone left after Magolor confirmed that he nor Tiff were hurt. They’d quickly brought him inside, where they laid him next to his sister, both siblings out like a light. “Alright,” Taranza started as he looked around at everyone. “I think we REALLY need to hammer home the message of ‘restraint’ next. Though I’d made it clear, but apparently not.”

“The heck happened there?” Great King Dedede asked, doing his best to calm Little Kirby down. The poor tyke had been clearly worried sick ever since Tuff dropped, and had been by their bedside the whole time. “Tiff I can understand, but what’d Tuff do to knock himself clean out like that?”

Big Kirby, for his part, just looked at both of them worriedly. What COULD he say? He’d recognized just what they both had done, of course- and Tuff’s was far more concerning.

“He tried to copy my Magic Sphere, that’s what,” Magolor said roughly. “And by sheer Focus . He’s got, what? 3 days of any kind of training? And he manages to channel Soul and Dark energy, of all things just through that?!” Magolor shook his head. “This kid’s gonna be a terror when he finally figures magic out. Him and his sister both.”

“Wait, do you mean that as a warning or as a compliment?” Taranza asked.

“No clue,” Magolor admitted. “But either way, let’s hope they wake up before their parents get wind of this. These two need an emergency lesson.”

Tiff was the first to wake up, grimacing in exhaustion. “Ugggggghhhhh…wha’ happened?” she asked drowsily. “Feels like I ran a marathon with no breaks…”

“Channeling too much magic without being used to it will do that to you,” Magolor said flippantly. “Thought Taranza drilled into you to NOT push it. You and your brother didn’t just push it, you both pushed it clear off the edge!”

“I…” she started, before she paused, sighing and hanging her head. “...you’re right. I got too ahead of myself. I’m sorry.”

Taranza just sighed, shaking his head. “I can understand wanting to delve into the deep end of magic,” he said. “But there’s more than one rather good reason you generally don’t try to reach too far beyond your means all at once. It can be rather dangerous, as you and Tuff have found out. Physically and mentally.”

She nodded, before she stilled. Blinked as the words settled in. “Wait, Tuff? What happened to him?!” She tried to get up, before a big, gloved hand stopped her, Dedede’s mitts gently pushing her back down and tilting her to the left, where she saw the sleeping face of her brother. “...oh…”

“You two are more alike than either of you’ll probably admit,” Great King Dedede said as she looked over him in worry. “Kid tried to mimic something he saw Magolor doing, apparently. “Knocked himself right out trying.”

“He either misunderstood the entire point of what Focus is, or didn’t care,” Magolor continued. “Honestly, it was the same for several of you out there. Focus is for augmenting things you can ALREADY do. Mabel managed her levitation because she’s got an affinity for ESP, and it’s basically ‘tossing a sphere without moving your hands’, so she can force the issue a bit. Honey managed her floating because that’s just ‘jumping, but waiting a bit on the whole landing part’. YOU basically just punched the ground particularly hard with an extra effect- but we’ll get back to that later, because we have questions about that.” he noted. “Point is, Focus is an augment, not a spell in and of itself. “Which, honestly, is probably part of why he passed clean out. The other part is-” Just then, a groaning noise came from Tuff’s side of the bed. “Ah, grand timing. We won’t have to explain it twice. Let’s get you two some food, first. Magic takes fuel.”

She wouldn’t say no to that.

Later, after having eaten simple hot dogs in mutually embarrassed silence, Taranza and Magolor stood before the two children, both looking at least a bit ashamed of themselves. Magolor and Taranza looked at each other, before the former sighed. “Right, then. No sense in leaving it hanging, might as well rip the bandaid off.” He looked straight at Tuff. “Kid, what you just did was insanely stupid.”

“...mhm…” Tuff quietly agreed. Food or not, he couldn’t find the energy to even put up a token defense.

Magolor continued mercilessly. “You, essentially, attempted to brute force a spell through sheer want. Not even will, just a heck of a lot of hoping you pull it off and pushing your all into it. That’s not just the mark of an amateur, it’s the mark of someone who’s desperate, and desperate people don’t make good mages.”

Tuff just nodded again, failing to meet anyone’s eyes. “...mhm…” Tiff just put her arm on his shoulder.

“...they do make POWERFUL ones, though,” Taranza suddenly tacked on.

That got both of them to look up in surprise. “Huh?” “What?” they each asked, confusion on their faces.

“Right, quick magic history lesson time,” Magolor explained. “So, I’m NOT going to bore you with all the details because most of them probably don’t matter here. But long story short, it’s often said that there are four elements that make up everything in all of creation, this universe or ours. Dream, Dark, Heart, and Soul. The big popular guess is that everything that has ever or will ever come into creation has at least one or more of these four elements inside of them. Following this, most beings- like, the vast majority- have a mix of all four, some select few don’t, and almost none actually show a leaning in those. They’re less a source of magic and more of a invisible filter said magic is run through before the world submits and you perform the spell. Supposedly, most folks get it run through all of them, and that leads to the magic we know of the modern times.” He glanced back at Kirby.

Kirby was very particularly staring outside the window.

He promptly turned back to the kids. “So, skipping a lot of stuff that’s frankly unverified anyway, the point we’re making is that Tuff might- MIGHT,” he emphasized, “be a special special boy, because unlike the vast majority of everything, he forced a spell- even if it was horribly incomplete, inefficient, and ultimately self-defeating. And he did it through sheer desire, not confidence. If this hypothesis is correct, he used his Soul to cast it, not impressing upon the will of the world."

“And THAT’S perhaps what we saw light up earlier when he did the stick test,” Taranza summarized. “He doesn’t have an affinity with any specific magic type- his magic affinity is ‘anything he pushes his Soul to cast’.”

“Whoa…” Tuff sat there in astonishment as he let it sink in. “So…I could cast anything?”

“Hahahah, not at all!” Magolor laughed. “Or did you already forget why you just woke up?”

“What it means is something we aren’t exactly sure about,” Taranza clarified. “We’re…not exactly experts on using Soul to cast spells, so we’re not sure if things might be easier or harder for you, or what. While we ARE confident that you can learn magic, and likely even cast spells as normal, what that lack of filter will do is something we’re entirely uncertain of.” He looked at Magolor, who shrugged. “Our current hypothesis, though I’ll admit it was made all of twenty minutes ago, is that your Soul will allow you to Focus beyond normal extremes,” he explained. “Essentially, whatever you’re trying to do, depending on your current mastery of it, will be super…or I suppose, hypercharged. However, it’ll also likely have consequences. That’s why you passed out, we think.”

“Specifically, you tried to cast a spell wholesale without knowing the first clue of how it’s formed, what it does, or any other details beyond general size and shape,” Magolor explained. “So all you got was a teensy spark- but that’s still a LOT better than the nothing you should’ve gotten.”

“Oh…” To Tuff, it made about as much sense as anything else. That is to say, very little, but he was willing to accept it and go with it if it meant still learning magic. “So, I need to practice how to use my Soul to cast-”

“NO!” Kirby shouted in alarm, turning around with a panicked look on his face. “Not that!”

The room was shocked silent at his outburst. It took a moment for him to realize what he’d done, blushing hotly as he turned away. He didn’t see Magolor facepalm due to it. “Uhhh…I mean, you really shouldn’t worry about using your Soul to cast everything, since it can be dangerous.” He managed to face Tuff again, if tried to keep his expression more neutral. “Your soul is precious, is the thing. Too much pressure on it can make it…change. And not in a good way.”

“...He’s not wrong,” Magolor said, side eying the pink puff. “Using Soul to augment what you can do is one thing- that’s kind of the whole point of Focus. But using it as a catalyst to cast magic itself is…not advised. You’d hurt yourself- and I DON’T mean physically,” he said gravely. “Take it from a guy who very nearly paid the price for it.”

“...and take it from someone who saw the price paid by someone who ignored such knowledge,” Taranza said morosely.

“Oh, uh…yeouch. Okay,” he said, nodding quickly. “Soo…what do I do, then?”

“Just be aware, kiddo. In any case, you should be fine now, so get back to practicing tomorrow.” Magolor said idly. “And don’t try for the big stuff anymore before you know what you’re doing. Stick to simple physical things for now; there’s a REASON we said to start with that.”

“Uh, yes sir!” Tuff saluted.

“And speaking of physical augments…” Taranza started, and here the room’s attention turned to Tiff. “There’s the matter of what YOU did, little miss.”

“I…I said I was sorry!” Tiff quickly interjected.

“And that’s been accepted,” Taranza quickly affirmed. “However, after Tuff’s little accident, it registered exactly what you did.”

“I…think you said something about me channeling Star Energy?” Tiff tried to remember. “I got…well, like that, as soon as I did it, but-”

“No, we get that,” Kirby said, and this time he was the one with the curious expression. “But afterwards, we remembered something. Channeling Star Energy isn’t the weird thing- there’s a couple people that can do it, like Dedede can sorta,” he mentioned turning to the king, who nodded. “But, here’s the thing. Most beings that can channel Star Energy like you did need to have had regular contact with Star Energy before. And that’s not common.”

“Sadly, though we are Very Best Friends, even I’ve yet to be able to channel it,” Magolor mentioned.

“I can, like he said,” Dedede mentioned, “But, uh…I’ve got particular circ*mstances. That, and a HECK of a lot of training under my belt.”

“Is that so?” Tiff asked. “Huh. I guess that makes sense,” she figured, as she put a hand to her chin in thought. “I wonder if it has anything to do with me being the one to summon the Warp Star…”

A pause. And then: “WHAT?!” from four different parties.

“Whoa!” The sheer shock of it caused Tiff to rear back. “W-what is it?! What’d I say?!”

“No, nononono, time out, hold on, pause, back up!” Kirby said frantically. “What do you mean ‘summon the Warp Star’ "?!

Tiff blinked. Then she realized. “Oh! Did I really never tell you guys? Since our Kirby is a baby, I’m the one that has to summon the Warp Star for him because of our incredibly close bond. I thought maybe that might be the cause of it…”

“I- you…” Kirby stuttered, trying to form words. “Do you- you don’t-”

“Kid, you don’t realize how ‘not possible’ that sentence is to us,” Great King Dedede said. “In our dimension, for as long as I’ve known him and everyone else, there’s exactly one person that can summon a Warp Star.” He then silently pointed to Kirby, still trying to remember how to speak in full sentences again.

“Really?” Tiff asked in surprise. It made sense in a way, but still…

“Uh huh!” Kirby managed to croak out. “Being able to summon a Warp Star!? Yeah, that’d do it. ”

“You think we misread her affinity for Star Energy as being just general potential?” Taranza suggested.

Magolor shrugged. “Well, those sticks AREN’T exactly the best measurement tools. I wouldn’t be surprised if it just decided Star Energy was so neutral it was just a brighter yellow.”

Taranza sighed. "So a brother who has an affinity for raw Soul, which can augment any spell but is terribly risky to overuse, and a sister with an affinity for Star Energy, which has no inherent weaknesses, if also no inherent strengths. How curious." He huffed in amusem*nt. "Quite a pair, you two."

"Mom always said we were special…" Tuff said quietly, though he had a light grin on his face.

"Oh, but don't think that you're not going to need plenty of training!" Taranza quickly advised. "We're getting right back to it tomorrow, so be ready! Now get home so you can let your parents know you're ok, and we don't have to face their wrath. Please."

They did just that- and just in time, too, as word had reached their parents, and they were starting to worry. “We’d started to hear some unsettling rumors, son.” Sir Ebrum said. “I was beginning to think this whole ‘magic’ business was too risky.”

“Nah, not at all!” Tuff quickly assured him. “We’re totally fine!”

“We just made a few silly mistakes, “ Tiff backed. “We’re fine, and we learned a few things about ourselves, too!”

“Yeah! They said we’ve got tons of potential!” Tuff said. He wasn’t sure if they should tell them the whole story, but it seemed like Tiff at the least wasn’t adding any more information, though he was curious as to why. Fortunately, after some reassurance, their parents were calmed down, and they were left to their own devices once more. Tiff, for her part, felt the urge to get some book reading done. With a magic school actually being a thing now (although much, much smaller and simpler, obviously), it seemed like the populace’s interest in magic had exploded. While this was more expressed in book interest than anything else, on her way home she’d heard rumblings and hopes about how things might eventually turn out. Idle gossip and pipe dreams for now, but who knew?

Although to her, considering that now she knew a bit more about how REAL magic was done, the book started to seem a bit silly…

After managing to get through a chapter without accidentally laughing, she at last gave up the effort, and decided to go seek out her brother. Along with Little Kirby, who’d clearly elected to stay over for the night as he occasionally did, Tiff found Tuff playing around in the courtyard- soccer was still a favorite of his, it seemed. “Oh, hey,” she greeted. “Kinda figured you would be out here. Trying to unwind?”

“Yeah, kinda,” he admitted. “Kinda freaky to hear about that whole Soul business.”

“Yeah,” she admitted. “They said it’s fine, but I still can’t help but be worried. I mean, my affinity seems like it’s okay, but yours…it doesn’t feel fair. You’re the one that wanted this the most, but it might be too risky for you to use magic…”

“Well, it’s not risky for me to do magic, I don’t think,” Tuff pointed out as he dribbled the ball a bit, kicking it towards Kirby, who missed and ran to gather it. “Like they said, I’ll be fine so long as I don’t act all stupid and force it like it did earlier. Heck, I said before this all started that I needed ta do it the long ways.” He sighed lightly. “I just…Iunno. Got so into actually practicing that I just forgot it, I guess.”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Tiff reassured him. “I said it once, I’ll say it again: I’m right here with you.” She sat down on the edge of the fountain, watching him as the evening sun came. “If I’m being honest, it’s weird for me, too. I’ve been feeling more energetic than I used to,” she admitted. “Not a ton, but I’ve wanted to just move and do things more the last couple of days. I don’t know if it’s the whole situation, or just me. But either way, I’ll help keep you cool just in case you get too eager.” Kirby, for once, managed to not only reach the ball, but kick it back with a cheer. Tuff stopped it easily, holding it under one foot briefly.

“Heh. Says the girl that punched a crack in the ground ‘cause she was mad that someone might hurt Kirby!” he taunted as he kicked the ball her way.

Normally, she wasn’t very much one for sports, but hearing that brought an idea to her mind, and she stopped the ball in its tracks herself. “Oh yeah?” She challenged with a grin. “Then how about we practice? I’ll actually play with you for once…and I’ll see if I can’t use Focus to blow you out of the water!”

“W-wait, what?!” Tuff said in alarm, before stopping to think. “They DID want us to practice using physical skills…” he pointed out. “And so long as we don’t try to Focus on everything, we should be fine, right?”

Tiff responded by setting the ball down on the ground and punting it his way. “First to fifteen wins!”

“You’re on!” he responded. Hey, if it meant that she would take part in a good game for once, he kinda liked this change.

The two played until sunset proper and they both were properly exhausted; Tiff would claim victory, but only because Tuff let her…or so he said, at least. She was no sudden expert at Focus, but she’d managed to put on a burst of speed twice that’d let her practically glide across the ground. Almost like what she’d seen Bandana Dee do a while back, actually. That must’ve been how he did it, she figured.

Tuff had groaned, but not complained; he hadn’t managed to Focus but once, a powerful shot on goal that Little Kirby accidentally got sent flying with. It felt…different than what he’d experienced before, though they both knew why. Casting from Soul instead of using it as an booster…it sounded so cool , but it was wayyy too dangerous. In the meantime, though, he’d still do his best to try to learn typical magic. THAT would still be neat!

As he left the field alongside Tiff and Kirby, he admitted to something else that was on his mind. “Y’think Cappy Town’s gonna change much now that folks are startin’ to learn magic?”

“I think Cappy Town’s been changing ever since Kirby arrived,” Tiff said simply. “Both of them. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cappy Town in a year was entirely different from Cappy Town today at this rate. It’s already starting to be a lot more different already! A year ago, we didn’t have a factory, or a blimp-thing flying around, or a mansion that kinda played host to a magic school. And that’s not even everything!”

Tuff thought about that. Yeah, it seemed like a lot when she put it into perspective like that. “I get you got a point,” he admitted. “Guess the best thing to do is to just make sure we’re still hanging around to see it, right?”

“Ugh, that sounds so morbid, even if I get what you mean,” she admitted as they headed inside to pack the soccer ball in, before steering the topic to other things. “I do want to go and see and do things out in the world, but I don’t think that’ll be for a while yet.” She stretched a bit to put the ball away, wincing as she felt the strain on her muscles. “Oww…”

“I betcha having that levitation thing Mabel can do would come in handy right now,” Tuff wondered. He was feeling sore, but it was a good sore. “It’d be great to just float the blankets on top of me…”

“Hm. Maybe we should visit her tomorrow before class?” Tiff suggested. “I know she seemed excited to figure out more magic.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he said, before trudging off to his own bed.

The next day, all seemed normal enough. Or at least, normal relative to the citizens of Cappy Town.

Tiff and Tuff made to travel to Mabel’s tent, as they’d agreed to the night before. The idea being that they’d talk to her for a bit, and then all walk to magic class together. They managed to catch her just outside of her tent. “Mabel!” Tiff greeted. “Morning! Wanna walk to class with us?”

“Ohoho! I don’t see why not,” Mabel agreed. “Though I must ask- are you feeling well, dears? You tried something quite risky, I gather.”

“We’re fiiine,” Tuff groaned. “We just went a bit too far. You kinda did the same, didn’t you?”

“Oh, I was right as rain after a bottle of water and an early night,” Mabel insisted. “But, if you insist you are fine, then very well.”

It wasn’t long before they were joined by Honey, Iro and Spikehead. Honey hadn’t had an affinity as far as anyone could tell, but her potential was higher than average. She was more than eager to show it off, too. “Hi, everyone!” She was clearly enjoying her newfound ability to float, judging by how she had a giddy face as she hopped into the air and seemed to hover there for a couple of seconds before dropping back down. “It’s gonna be great today, I bet!”

“Maybe for the Special Seven,” Iro joked. He hadn’t had anything particularly standout about him, but had continued to attend mostly to support his friends. “You all better get like, super mage status by the end of the year!”

“Nah, no way!” Spikehead dismissed confidently. “By the end of the fall, more like!” It’d been shown that he had an affinity for the Spark Element, and though he had to admit that he had no clue how to do anything with it, it SOUNDED cool to him, so he rather enjoyed the claim.

“Special Seven?” Tiff asked in surprise. “Where’d that come from?”

“After Tuff fainted,” Iro responded. “Everyone left, but a lotta folks talked about how the seven of you guys were the main ones doin’ cool stuff. So, some folks already started callin’ you the ‘Special Seven’.”

“Even Chef Kawasaki?” Tuff asked. He was STILL confused about that one.

“Naw,” Spikehead admitted. “He’s just kinda…lumped in. Didn’t get a chance to do anything yesterday, so who knows?”

As they arrived at the field, they noticed that it was surprisingly quiet, save for Taranza and Magolor, as well as one other… “Hey! Meta Knight!” Tiff called.

“Ah,” the warrior noticed, turning around. “You are earlier than expected.”

“Well, that saves us a bit of threat time,” Magolor said blithely. “Your Meta Knight had some choice words about what happened yesterday, and we’ve been telling him you’ve properly apologized, and we explained just what the situation is.”

“No- we’re fine,” Tiff insisted. “It really was our fault. But enough about that. I was wondering if you were interested or not,” she admitted. “I was kind of surprised you didn’t even show up to the first day.”

“I showed up after the primary class. I felt it would be…unwise of me to attend so openly,” Meta Knight noted. “I am still in the employ of the King, after all.”

“Ooh, good point,” Tuff admitted. “If he got wind of this, he’d probably get really mad.”

“You mean ‘when’,” Tiff corrected, sighing. “I just hope he doesn’t respond too badly…”

Alas, it wasn’t to be. “Your majesty! Big news! Big bad news!” Escargoon quickly burst into the King’s chambers, where he was guffawing over his own latest comedy routine. It was genius stuff, if he said so himself- slapstick, but with a message! (That message was ‘this snail is stupid, and thus I’ll bash ‘em for it!’) They’d been filming a batch of stuff for the last couple of days to try and get him viewed as more ‘fun-loving’ than before, considering recent events. It sounded like a grand idea!

Of course, this meant that having it interrupted didn’t go over well with him, especially not when he was at the best part. “What, what? Whaddya want? Somethin’ tryin’ to invade?” That’d be annoying.

“No! Worse!” Escargoon alerted. “There’s been some sorta craze goin’ on the past couple days that’s sent our ratings down the tubes! We’re practically sittin’ at zero!”

“Whaddya you mean!?” he yelled as he grabbed at the snail, wringing him around in frustration. “You tell me what’s up right now, ya hear?!”

He let the lackey go roughly, who merely cleared his throat and began. “Far as I can tell, it’s some sorta magic mania! Everyone’s talkin’ about learnin’ the stuff, an’ those Star Allied sorts are teachin’ em!”

“Say what?!” Dedede roared. “What’s th’ big idea?! Magic, for reals?!” He’d never heard of such a thing, but even he knew that when the Star Allies were involved, just about anything could happen. “Are they tryin’ ta gear up my Cappies for a revolution or summdat?!” It was the only logical explanation HE could come up with, anyway.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Escargoon admitted under his breath, “but from what I’ve heard, it might be somethin’ else.”

“Somethin’ else?” Dedede repeated, intrigued. “Like what?”

“Well, that ain’t the only rumor I’ve heard goin’ around,” Escargoon continued. “Seems that what might’ve started alla this is some sorta popular book.”

“Book!? Now they got contra- conter…stuff that ain’t should be read?!” Dedede said in alarm as he jumped up. To him, that was one too many signs of a potential road out of town, and he wasn’t going to have THAT. “That’s it! We need ta investimagate this on the double! I can’t have any junk what tell folks I ain’t the best King! We’s gonna find the source of it and consifacte it on th’ double!!”

“You mean ‘confiscate’, sire,” the snail noted.

“Same thing!” Dedede continued, undaunted. “We’re gonna find out ourselves just what’s causin’ all this magical revolution business an’ put a stop to it! Or at the least, we’re gonna make sure that alla that magic learnin’ is for the guy what deserves it most!”

“And who exactly, would that be, sire?” Escargoon couldn’t help himself. The smack on the head was worth it.

Not that Dedede’s angry face was any less satisfying. “Me, you spiral shelled cuckoo! Now let’s get movin’!”

Chapter 32: Magic and Soul - Reconstruction

Chapter Text

The lesson had started pleasantly enough. Taranza and Magolor had picked up from where they left off the other day. “I’m expecting something at least passable today since you all had a whole extra day to practice,” he warned. “Also, after this, we’ll be splitting the classes up.” That got murmurs. “We said that teaching a class like this wouldn’t do anyone any good, so here’s what’s going to happen. Against my better judgement, I’ll be dealing with the ‘advanced’ class. Mind you, that’s less ‘advanced skill’ and more ‘they have affinities, so they’re going to need someone who knows what they’re doing to keep them from hurting themselves. Again.” He looked square at Tiff and Tuff when he said that last bit, and both of them had the good grace to blush as he continued. “Now, you know who you are, but in the hopes of fostering healthy competition, I’ll announce the starting seven of the Advanced Class again: Tiff Ebrum, Tuff Ebrum, Miss Mabel, Chef Kawasaki, Miss Honey, the kid called Spikehead, and Mister Gengu.” He looked at them in turn. “During ‘school hours’, nebulous though they may be? You seven will be under my control. Good luck in advance.”

“Geez, he’s gonna be intense about it, isn’t he?” Tuff whispered to his sister.

“We didn’t exactly make the best impression yesterday,” Tiff whispered back, grimacing.

“At any rate,” Taranza continued while they whispered, “The rest of you will be under my purview as we continue to learn the basics of understanding magic and the casting thereof. So not to worry!” he said grandly. “Anyone who has the will to tough it out over my curriculum I assure you has the will to do magic properly! Remember, confidence is key!”

“And you’re not stuck in one or the other,” Magolor noted. “Taranza decides you’re good enough, you get bumped up to ME. So there’s your warning.”

It was just then that they heard tires screeching nearby, and over half the collective class groaned in unison. “Well, it was nice while it lasted,” Tiff grumbled.

“Make way! One side!” the nasally voice of Escargoon came through. “Official royal investigation happening, clear out!” There were grumbles and noises of discontent as the King and his crony came walking through, clearly intent on making as much trouble as they could.

“So, what’s goin’ on heah?! Somethin’ shady, I betcha!” the King accused. “All this talk about magicafying the citizens better not be hidin’ nothin’!”

“Perish the thought,” Magolor said smoothly . “Consider this nothing more than a grouping of individuals with a shared interest. Much like a hobby, perhaps.”

“Izzat so?” King Dedede challenged. “Word on th’ street is that you’re trainin’ up a whole mess o’ mages. Now why’d that be, huh? You got the only fella who’s got the gumption to be a mage right here!” He thumbed at himself confidently. “If’n I can’t use magic, I doubt any o’ these fools can!”

Tiff was not too proud to admit that she started to panic. The idea of King Dedede being capable of performing actual magic like Magolor and Taranza sent shivers through her spine. If boundless confidence was the key to magic, Dedede had a ton, she had to admit. But still, her old playbook when it came to the antics of Dedede might have been a bit rusty as of late, but they still came to the forefront. “You’re wrong!” she accused. “We’ve already used magic! Taranza and Magolor are excellent teachers.” Magolor started to preen at that, before quickly catching himself.

He looked at her with a sneer. “Betcha it weren’t nothin’ special! Nothin’ like what a King could do!”

“You don’t know that!” she rejoindered.

“Oh?” he said smugly. “Then howsabout I prove you wrong, lil missy?” With that, he turned to Magolor and Taranza. “You two teach me all you’s know in a day, and I betcha I’ll end up knowin’ more than her! She does better, I’ll leave this lil’ get together alone. But if I’m bettah, then you two gotta be my personal trainers!”

Taranza and Magolor looked at each other in incredulity. Then, as one, they turned back to him. “No,” they both said in unison.

“Fine, th- wait, ‘no’?!” Escargoon corrected himself in surprise. “Whaddya mean ‘no’?”

“As in “no, I don’t want to make such a ridiculous wager,” Taranza clarified. “We get nothing from allowing this foolishness. Trying to attack us and forcing the lessons off won’t work, and I’d hope you know this by now, King Dedede. I’d suggest simply sitting back and letting the class continue, in this case. It’s of no harm to you.”

“You really expect me ta just let this slide without gettin’ a piece of that magic pie?!” Dedede asked, incredulous. “You gotta be jestin’ me!”

“Nope,” Magolor said brusquely. “Jokes are funny. This is just annoying.”

“I won’t lie and say you don’t have potential due to the, frankly, absurd levels of self-confidence you have,” Taranza noted drily. “But, if I’m being honest? I simply don’t want to.” The malicious duo heard a snickering from the seated students, and that got them riled up.

“Why, you sanctimonious spider!” Escargoon sniped back. “You oughta be grateful the king himself wants to learn from you!”

“I’ve room for exactly one monarch in my heart, thank you,” Taranza said brusquely. “You are NOT them. Now, away with you, please. If you want to study magic, perhaps read that book that everyone’s been raving about lately. I’m sure you’ll find it a blast,” he dismissed.

“Why you…!” Dedede grew near incandescent with anger, but he knew what the mage was capable of too well to threaten him. He wasn’t interested in another impromptu bath. “Jus’ you wait! I’mma do just that an’ make myself a better magic school than you evah could!” With that, he shook his fist in anger, before stalking off. “One side, you losahs!”

Escargoon gave them all the stink eye, before turning away. “You’ll be sorry about this!”

“Doubtful,” Taranza said plainly, watching them as they drove off. Giving a short huff of satisfaction, he then turned back to the class. “Apologies about that. But, the situation seems to have been resolved for now, so back to the lesson! This time, we’re going into the varieties of schools of magic, which is a different concept from magic schools, I assure you!” That got him a few laughs. “These are different from affinities, though there might be some overlap in cases. An affinity is very often a specific category of magic in a specific school, and schools very very often share aspects between them when you try to realize a spell to the world- best practices, if you will. You should recall me mentioning the other day that I specialize in Metamorphic magic. That’s because that’s the school and spell type that I’ve studied extensively. However, my affinity is actually…well, it’s a bit embarrassing, but common parlance simply calls it ‘Spider’- the art of making webs both standard and ethereal.” He quickly demonstrated this by stretching his hands, quickly crafting several glowing, purple webs that seemed to hang in the air above the students to oohs and ahhs. “These webs are the magical medium through which I cast my spells, simply because they are the easiest way for me to imagine them engaging with the target. It will be different for all of you, no doubt.”

“My affinity is actually neutral,” Magolor mentioned. “Though I had a rather high potential. Naturally, I wasn’t the most thrilled at first when I learned I didn’t have an affinity- which is why I made that up by dedicating my life to studying everything! That’s why I’m a Great Mage now!” he boasted.

“Right. At any rate,” Taranza continued as he actually began to write on the chalkboard. “The most common schools of magic are as follows: Elementalism, which utilizes the natural elements both as a conduit for spellcraft and is often the intention of the spell itself. Illusionism, which focuses on mimicry of both sound and image for imperfect envisioning of objects or beings. And lastly, Crafting, which utilizes arts and artistic objects as mediums to work magic. Obviously, these aren’t ALL the schools of magic- notice I didn’t mention Metamorphic magic. That’s because Metamorphic magic isn’t a widely practiced school. There are others as well, like Binding, for constraining things in physical and non-physical manners, Spatial which involves the manipulation of the…well, space around you to perform various things, and Conjuration magic, which is the true creation of impermanent objects, and at higher levels, even creatures. Needless to say, that last one is exceedingly rare.” Magolor coughed at that, looking exceptionally smug, which naturally got a few people talking.

“The important thing to remember is that while it’s usually good to dedicate yourself to a primary school, don’t be afraid to experiment outside of that,” Magolor mentioned, now that eyes were on him. “Good mages follow one road diligently. GREAT mages explore all the side roads, too.”

“While I’m surprised Magolor would say that, considering past history with some VERY dedicated mono-schoolers,” Taranza said with a knowing smirk, “I’m of a similar opinion, in truth. I would suggest choosing one school to focus on, and then perhaps supplementing that knowledge with skills from the other schools- for instance, I am capable of some minor Elementalism, as well as Illusionism. My natural Spider affinity lends me an easy understanding of Binding magic, as well, if you hadn’t figured that out. Now, as for how you best choose a school to study? Simple! You just pick. Whatever calls to you! For you lot with affinities, it may make you think you should dedicate yourself to one particular school, but don’t be fooled. Any affinity helps with any school, so don’t feel locked in, and don’t feel like you have to choose right this second.” Taranza clapped his hands, signifying the end of the lecture. “Any questions?”

Gengu raised his hand. “Er, no offense, but I been thinkin’...what am I s’posed to do with a Yo-yo affinity?”

“Hey, don’t diss the yo-yo!” Kirby quickly called out.

“However, that IS a good question- particularly because it lets me segue into discussing applications of each of these,” Taranza said quickly, seizing on the opportunity. “You’ll find there’s no one right way to do or interpret things in most cases, so let’s use that Yo-yo question to talk about just how your imagination comes into play when learning and practicing spells…”

Tiff was glad she’d persisted in bringing a notebook.

Meanwhile, King Dedede was livid as he stomped through the castle. Waddle Dees were quick to avoid him; they knew when their leader was in a foul mood. “They’s just pushin’ me around!” he complained as he practically kicked open the door to his throne room. “They ain’t scared, they ain’t respectful! It’s a travesty!”

“They clearly think they have the run of the place,” Escargoon agreed. Annoying liege or not, they were VERY carefree, and he wasn’t a fan of that. “They’re getting way too uppity!”

Dedede hopped onto his throne with a wicked grin. “Well, don’t you fret! I got something that’ll put a bee in their bonnet!” he said, immediately activating his communications with a certain Sales Guy… “Like I said- I’ll go ahead and read me that book they all been yappin’ about. An’ I’mma be the ONLY one to do it, eheheheheheh!”

The Sales Guy quickly showed up, smarmy grin ever present. “Ahh, hello Triple D! What can I do for our esteemed client today?”

“I got me a double-order! You know that there Pappy Pottey book?” he asked, continuing before he even got a response. “I want you ta find me the author themselves!”

“Oooh? Planning a booksale or something, big guy?” the Sales Guy asked.

“Don’tchu worry none about that! You jus’ find ‘er and send ‘er over ASAP!” Dedede demanded.

“Well, I’ll certainly see what I can do,” he said, grin never fading. “We’ll get your author a bit later today; some red tape, you understand.”

“For once, that’s fine!” Dedede said, still loud as anything. “I needs ta get a few things done anywho! But she better be ready by the time I get back!”

“Of course,” he said smoothly. “And what about the second thing?”

“Somethin’ that can do for me some o’ that magic stuff myself!” He ordered.

That brought a raised eyebrow out of the Sales Guy. “Magic, big guy? For our monsters and certain goods, it’s already included in the charge, but if you want something for yourself to do magic at will? That’s a premium- after all, magic is rather scarce, and for good reason! The stuff’s risky. Dangerous. Needs a…carefully guided hand.” And then he grinned. “Not that I’m complaining, of course! And with your exclusive membership, we’ll get you the very best of both orders.”

“Good!” he agreed. “You do that! Now we’ll gab latah!” With that, the connection was cut and King Dedede stood right back up. “Gather up the Dees! It’s time ta get movin’!” he commanded. “We’s gonna confilate-”

“Confiscate,” his lackey interrupted.

“-confiscate all those books! Ain’t a single copy of ‘Pappy Pottey’ is gonna get away from me!”

The class had just ended- and Tiff, along with Kirby, Tuff, Spikehead, Honey, and Mabel walked home for the afternoon. Gengu had his toy store to run, and Kawasaki had his restaurant. “So,” Tiff started, “Any ideas for what school you’re going to try to learn?” she asked generally.

“Iunno yet,” Tuff admitted. “He said elements were the most common because they’re easy to shape an’ stuff. Maybe that? I mean, I don’t think I’m gonna use a yo-yo any time soon- even if they can do waaay more than I thought,” he figured.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not sure yet, either,” Tiff consoled. “What about you all?” she asked, turning to her fellows.

“I think perhaps Illusionism is preferable for me,” Mabel considered. “I think it would quite help my fortune-telling if I could show them their fates directly, ohohoho!”

“Probably Elementalism too,” Spikehead decided.

“Anything that lets me fly!” Honey said brightly. Little Kirby could certainly agree with that, making sounds of delight as he puffed up, flying little circles around her. Honey tried to float as well- but she could only keep it up for a few seconds, not that it dissuaded her. “I’ll be flying as good as you one day!” she declared.

Before they could converse any further, however, there was a screeching noise from nearby; they turned, and were all forced to leap to the side as Dedede drove past in his now repaired car, and inside it they could see…

“Were those…books?” Tiff asked in surprise.

“Why would he want those?” Tuff asked in surprise.

It didn’t take long for Tiff to realize. “Oh, no! Come on, we need to check the bookstore!” She took off, and the others were right behind her. Unfortunately, her suspicions were proven correct in short order after a talk with the owner, and it didn’t take long before she realized the full extent of that.

“Why on Pop Star would he take everyone’s copies of Pappy Pottey?” Mabel wondered. “He hasn’t managed to get mine, but-”

“He took my mom’s!” Honey cried, Little Kirby trying his best to console her.

“Someone was borrowing mine…” Spikehead admitted.

“I’ve still got mine, too.” Tiff noted. “Probably because we were at class. If he thinks he’s going to take everyone’s books, though, he’s got another thing coming!”

Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who felt that way, either, after a bit of time looking around and asking questions. A number of Cappies had taken it upon themselves to march to the castle in protest.

They didn’t expect the drawbridge to lower, seeing Captain Doo. “Attention, citizens!” he announced. “Considerin’ the interest in Pappy Pottey and the elements of magic, his royal highness has decided to convert his castle into a King-sponsored magic school!”

“Say what?!” Tuff cried in alarm.

“You’re kidding…” Tiff said in shock.

Captain Doo continued undaunted. “Anyone who wishes to learn how the book ends, as well as learn magic in a much faster and more exciting manner than any other school in Dream Land-”

“-hey!” Tuff griped.

“-is free to enter and take as many lessons as they please!” he finished. That got a number of people talking; many of them had dropped the classes when they realized how difficult actually learning magic was.

Most of them didn’t even sound that opposed, to her surprise. The lure of ‘free, easy, and quick’ seemed a potent siren song to them. “Wait, everyone!” she tried to stop. “We already have a perfectly good magic school! This is just a trick by Dedede!”

“Either way, probably a good idea to investigate personally, don’tcha think?” Chief Bookem asked her as he passed by. “...besides, my wife REALLY wants to know how the book ends,” he admitted.

Before long, it was just Tiff, Tuff, Kirby, Honey, Mabel, and Spikehead left. “I can’t believe them…” Tiff groaned.

“Hmmm…” Mabel figured. “Perhaps we should do as the Chief says,” she said. Everyone else looked in surprise. “There is clearly something dishonest happening here. It may be a good idea to at least witness it first hand.”

“...she’s got a point, Tiff,” Tuff admitted. Tiff sighed, not wanting to admit it, but nodded anyway, and headed inside. She just knew that this whole thing would become a debacle in short order.

None of them expected him and Escargoon to come out in a scholar’s robe. “Greetin’s, you all! And welcome ta the Dedede School o’ Magic! You can call me Headmaster Dedede!”

“And I’ll be your administrator of scholastic affairs, Mister Escargoon!” the so-named added. “Now then, because WE have some sense of propriety and fashion, we actually have uniforms! You schlameels get those on, and we’ll begin classes proper-like!”

“Ugh…” Tiff exclaimed as she trudged off. “I feel traitorous.”

“You?” Tuff said lowly. “How do ya think I feel? I can’t wait to short circuit whatever this is.”

“Courage, children,” Mabel offered as they all split to get dressed.

It seemed as though he at least went through the motions of converting one area to a grand hall, as after they got dressed they were directed to a large area that she swore hadn’t existed before. “Alrighty, all you folks! Good afternoon! Y’all are here for two things- ta learn how that there book ended, and to get yourselves all magicified, right? Well, not ta worry! Ya’ll all gettin’ learned in some magic quick like! But first, we’ll introduce you to the lady who wrote the book on magic!”

Tiff and Tuff scoffed in stereo. Even Honey giggled. “Like they really have-” Tiff started.

“-presenting the author herself!” King Dedede crowed, stepping by to reveal a lady stepping out of the shadows. Long blond hair and a confident, full smile, the lady waved to the spectators.

Tiff gaped. It was a dead ringer for the lady on the back of the book! “No way…it’s her!”

“Hello, class!” she greeted. “I’m rather pleased you chose to attend today. I understand all of you are rather intrigued by magic, no? Oh, what am I saying- of course you are!”

“That’s right! The good lady here’s a bonafide magician, an’ she’s gonna be teachin’ you all the magic you kin stand!” Dedede boasted.

“Wait, she knows magic?” Tiff said, surprised. Looking around, she saw that the rest of her classmates seemed to share similar skepticism.

“Indeed,” the lady agreed, as though she’d heard Tiff. “As a bit of proof of my bonafides, well…” She closed her eyes, and slowly, calmly began to float in the air, to several gasps.

“She can float!” Honey said in shock.

“I hope this convinces you that I’m ‘for real’ as they say?” the author said as she floated back down. “Now, while I could bore you all with a lot of lessons and history and whatnot, you’re all here to do magic, not that!” she smiled toothily- and maybe it was just Tiff, but it had a hint of maliciousness in it. “And that’s why I’ve brought along some rather lovely little items.” She gestured to Escargoon, who pushed in a dolly with two crates. “In here are a number of pendants; these lovely little things will let you cast magic as good as any mage!” she boasted. “It cost me quite a lot of money to get them, I’ll have you know! At LEAST a month’s worth of sales!” She giggled, and Tiff’s internal warning bells began blaring for real.

“Go on, try ‘em on!” King Dedede urged.

“We’ll get to the ending of the story once you do,” the author said, grinning. “It’d be nice to be wearing an artifact that shows up in it, don’t you think?”

The suggestion and hint was too much to resist. A number of the Cappies jumped for the pendants and began to put them on- either ignoring or not hearing Tiff’s protests.

She was paused by Tuff putting a hand on her shoulder. “Maybe they should’ve taught us about magic tools and junk first…” he said, grimacing. She couldn’t help but agree with the morbid humor. Fortunately, looking back, it seemed that the rest of her friends, the ‘Special Seven’ as they were called, felt similar. Though she didn’t see Chef Kawasaki anywhere, either, or Gengu. That was good, she supposed.

“Now then!” she announced as she looked over the mass of Cappies. She blinked, making a face of discontent for all of a half-second, before returning to her beatific smile. “I believe we should all head out to the far courtyard, where we can get in plenty of proper magic practice! Fow now, however, here’s a quick and effective spell for you to learn that’ll improve your clarity of mind! I’d call it quite important for any budding mage, so repeat after me!” She raised her hand high. “Ahem: Jaityapo.”

“Jaityapo!” the rest of the class announced. Her hands flashed a sickly green, and to the kids’ horror, so did everyone else’s eyes. It didn’t remain, but it was clear that she’d done something foul.

“Excellent! Aren’t your minds just a bit clearer now?” the author said- Dedede and Escargoon stood to the side, looking gleeful. “Now then, everyone to the courtyard, please!” She clapped twice and began directing them out.

As one, they stood up, save for the five, who looked to each other with honest panic in their eyes. And yet, they had little choice but to file out, though they made sure to stick close to each other. Tiff, looking at the Mayor next to her but seeing no green in his eyes, couldn’t help but wonder what was up.

“...Uh…I dunno if I wanna be here anymore,” Honey admitted in a small voice. “Can I leave?”

“Why, whatever for?” the Mayor responded quickly. “This is rather incredible, wouldn’t you say? Things are just so, even.”

Tiff’s internal alarm was so loud at this point she’d deafen herself if it was real. But she and the others still followed.

As they all headed out to the courtyard, she began speaking as she spread her arms, levitating what looked to be hockey sticks towards the affected Cappies. “You know, part of my story involves Pappy Pottey getting the attention of some foul miscreants and a wicked teacher, who are part of a rival house,” she explains. “They undermine everything poor Pappy tries to do, and it’s not until later in the book does he manage to exact a measure of revenge on them by humiliating them so thoroughly they no longer try their tricks against him…so! In that spirit, I declare we’ll play a game!”

Oh no.

“It’s called ‘Magic School Drubbing!’ she declared with a truly wicked grin towards Tiff, Tuff, Kirby and her other friends. “And THOSE SIX will play the miscreants in question! Particularly the pink one.”

“Now wait just a minute!” Mabel started, but the author’s voice was strong and quickly talked over her.

“Whoever can capture one of the six miscreants gets one point,” she continued. “The pink one gets you five … plus one for every time you smack him around. Getting him in the goals I’ve set up gets you ten!” The goals…didn’t seem like nets. They looked like cages.

Tiff felt numb as the reality of the situation hit home. “No…NO!”

“Yes !” The Author insisted giddily. She wasn’t even trying to hide it, anymore. “Fortunately, in the interest of entertainment, as all good showpeople do, I’ll give you a ten-second head start.” Even her face seemed off, a rictus grin on it. “ Ten…NINE… .”

“Y’all betta start running if you don’t wanna spend time in th’ hoosegow!” Dedede taunted, off to the side. He was behind her, so she doubted he noticed, if he even cared at all.

“EIGHT…” her voice seemed to deepen ever-so-slightly.

Tiff ran, as did all the others, Mabel scooping up Honey and carrying her as the child let out a wail.

“This is crazy!” Tuff yelled as they darted straight into the hallway- no way were they going to stay out in that field. “What the heck happened to them?!”

“It’s gotta be those pendants!” Tiff yelled back as she dragged Kirby behind with them. “They’ve got some kinda charm, or-or hypnosis magic or something on them!”

“That is not all,” a familiar voice came from out of the shadows as they skidded to a halt. “That is no author. That is a monster, purpose sent to entrance them!”

“Meta Knight!” Tiff said in surprise. “Oh, thank goodness! Can you help snap them out of it?!”

“I cannot,” he admitted. “However, I can help delay them. Sword and Blade have already been sent to fetch the magicians, so-” A rumbling through the conversation, and they realized that they’d been found. “Move!” he shouted as a dark sphere surged towards them. They quickly rounded the corner, the dark impact sticking to the wall like a shadowy ichor.

“Oh geez, oh geez, oh geez…” Spikehead fretted as he ran. “Not cool, REALLY not cool!”

“We MUST find a way to stop them!” Mabel said in a hurry. “They are not themselves!”

“This way!” Meta Knight announced quickly as he turned a corner. There was a bust nearby, and he quickly hit the head of it- part of the wall suddenly opened to reveal a hidden pathway. They were quick to dart in, and it closed in short order.

It was almost pitch black inside, unfortunately. There was a torch nearby, but it was obviously out. “I can’t see a thing…” Honey whined.

“Shhh,” Meta Knight said softly. “We cannot let them know we are here.”

“Hey, wait a sec,” Spikehead said with dawning realization as he took the torch. “Maybe what we learned today…” he closed his eyes and concentrated. For about ten seconds, it looked as though nothing would happen, and Tiff was about to chastise him for it, before the lightest blue spark- a single, solitary thing- suddenly jumped from his hair to the torch. Almost immediately it began to glow- and the torch caught on fire, bursting into a small, but hot flame. “Yes!” Spikehead cheered, to quick shushes.

“Good work,” Meta Knight said, nodding as he took the lit torch. “Now, move quickly, and quietly.” With that, they began marching through the gloom.

It was only a couple of minutes before Spikehead felt the need to speak up, whispering. “Hey…why not let Kirby handle this?” he asked. “Shouldn’t this be the time he does…y’know, Star Warrior stuff?”

“That’d put everyone at risk, though,” Tiff answered. It wasn’t like she hadn’t considered the idea. “They’ve all got those pendants secure on their necks, and I don’t think they’ll just let them come off. Theoretically, even if Kirby swallows them by accident, it shouldn’t hurt, but…I just really don’t want to risk it,” she admitted.

“Dang,” Spikehead said, but nothing else.

“So we have to hold out until Mister Taranza and Magolor get here,” Mabel said. “They will hopefully be able to counteract this dark magic.”

“So what, we just hide out in here?” Tuff guessed.

“No,” Meta Knight said. “I have no doubt that they have ways to find us, and we are only between the walls. We must keep moving.”

“I think he’s right,” Tiff agreed. “She wouldn’t have given us that head start otherwise. So where are we going? I don’t recognize this passageway.”

“This leads to a different section of the castle,” he said. “Closer to the front. We will evade them from there.”

Fortunately, it wasn’t much longer before they noticed a small stairway leading upwards. Meta Knight motioned for them to follow him, and he quickly pushed aside what appeared to be a strangely smooth protrusion of the rock above him; as he’d said, it was apparently a secret entranceway, in what looked to be a storage area. “Come. Step quietly.”

They all made for the entrance as quietly as they could, crowding behind a number of boxes and other objects. It was then Tiff spotted something…familiar. “Hey, is this…”

“Yes. It is where we trained for the race,” he answered quickly. “Now, we move.”

Tiff got the picture, and they kept quiet as they moved closer to the stairway. “I will check. Move on my signal.” He darted up, and looked both ways, before motioning to them. The quintet sprinted up and quickly followed him out of the doorway, down the hall. They could see the opening to the outside. If Tiff recalled, that was to their favored courtyard, with the fountain. They began to follow him- only for him to hold out his hand to stop. They all froze in alarm as he quickly jerked back. No sounds were made for a few seconds, before he turned to them. “Four searchers,” he whispered, shaking his head. “Too many. And they are not leaving. We find another way.”

They were about to agree, before Mabel raised her hand. “Actually…may I try something?”

Meta Knight looked her square in the eye for a few moments.

Mabel met his, and then to their surprise, huffed with a confident grin. “My mistake. I should say, ‘I AM going to do something.’”

In the distance, one of the ‘seekers’ was Chief Bookem. Frankly, he was agitated that such delinquency had been going on under his watch! It was terrible! Unjust! Ah, but now he had a chance to deliver due punishment to them just as the story demanded. Only the cowardly bunch had ran, and now-

Crack. The sound of something falling and breaking caught his attention. Aha! He turned his attention to the nearby entrance. “Over here!” he proclaimed. “I heard something!” The group moved towards the location, moving through the door to capture the miscreants…

Only to see a small plate laying on the ground, shattered. “Strange…” he muttered, before shaking his head in realization. “They must’ve gone through here! Let’s go!” The four charged after their prey…

…not realizing that, on the other side, six individuals were moving as quickly and silently as they could away from them, one of which had a mean headache now.

“Excellent work, Mabel,” Meta Knight complimented as they moved into another part of the castle.

“Thank you…but I will need plenty of tea after this…” she muttered, rubbing her head. It wasn’t long before they arrived at the castle drawbridge- which to their surprise was both up, and unmanned. No Waddle Dees or anything. “They’re trying to keep us in,” Meta Knight muttered. “We’ll have to get to the top in order to lower the drawbridge. This may be difficult…”

“Right,” Tiff agreed. “Not much of a choice, though. What if we-”

“Ummmm…” Honey started. They all turned to her, but though she blushed at the sudden attention, she didn’t falter. “I think…I can make it up there?”

“...come again?” Tuff asked in surprise. “Isn’t that a little far for you?”

“I…no. Nuh-uh!” she shook her head, frowning with determination. “I can fly up that far. I know I can! I’ve been practicing, after all!”

“I-” Tiff started, before Tuff simply stepped up, cupping his hands.

"I got you!" he said confidently. Honey took a deep breath, looked up, and stepped on his hands. Tuff, shining pale, flung her as high as he could- which was still only about halfway up. But glowing, Honey took it from there. It was clear, now, as she floated up, with purpose and direction, towards the gatehouse tower.

Honey flew.

It was slow. It was tense for the ones watching, but still she rose, bit by bit, inch by inch, her body shaking near the end- before she finally reached the opening of the gate tower and disappeared inside of it. “She did it?!” Tuff asked in shock. But that quickly turned to relief. “She did it!”

“Way to go, Honey!” Spikehead cheered.

“Heads up!” she said from above them, and they heard grunting and struggling for a moment…before the sound of the drawbridge lowering met their ears. “Phew…I’m really tired…” they heard her say.

Tiff was never so glad to see the open road to Cappy Town. “Alright, maybe we can get out of here now, and-”

“-and leave so soon?” a dark voice asked, nearly compelling them to turn around in fear. “Now, now. That’s not what the story calls for at all! The villains don’t just get to escape.” The Author grinned as she stared them down, the morass of mind-controlled Cappies behind her like a soldier force, their eyes now a solid, putrid green. “That just wouldn’t be satisfying , now would it?”

“You all gonna get it, now!” King Dedede crowed from his usual perch in the castle proper, overlooking the whole thing. “Once she’s done with y’all, Cappy Town’ll finally understand that I’M the best in the kingdom propah! There ain’t but one you should be listenin’ to!”

Carefully, Meta Knight drew his sword. Tiff glanced at him anxiously, but she wasn’t sure what could be done.

“Ah, ah, ah!” The Author wagged her finger in admonishment. Almost immediately, several Cappies quickly surrounded her, making a living shield. “You wouldn’t want to hurt your precious townspeople, would you? That would rather up the age rating of this story, I’d think!” She tittered at her own morbid joke. “No, I think it best you either play your part…or!” Her eyes glimmered cruelly. “Perhaps a little rewrite wouldn’t go TOO amiss…yes! Perhaps the villains could yet find redemption…” Cruelly, she lifted a set of six pendants, their intended use obvious.

Tiff balled her fists, and Tuff grit his teeth. “Never!” they both spoke as one.

For a moment, The Author co*cked her head, looking at them in curiosity. But it was only for a moment as that horrible rictus smile spread on her face again. “Too bad!” She pointed. “SEIZE THEM!”

Immediately a handful of them charged towards the five, intent on capture. Tiff braced herself- the one thing she could do, the one thing she could risk to get everyone else out, was now or never. She began to glow-

-but a massive, spherical web shot over her head in the next moment, taking everyone by surprise. The three-dimensional web washed over all the charging foes, seemingly ensnaring the lot of them, suspending them almost in the middle, floating, but not touching anything as it drew the would-be assailants out of the way. She knew EXACTLY who that belonged to, as did the rest as they all looked up. “Mister Taranza!” Sure enough, it was indeed the spider- and he wasn’t alone.

“Well, isn’t this a mess?” Magolor said idly as he floated down in front of them. “This is what happens when you try a shortcut to power. Believe me, been there, done that, hated it. Do not recommend it.”

Taranza, nodded, sending the trapped Cappies none-too-comfortably to the side, causing the rest of the controlled Cappies to flinch in surprise. They’d have some bumps and bruises, but it was the best that’d likely come of this, Tiff figured with a frown. “Indeed,” the spider agreed. “It’s a bit disappointing, really…and to fall to an amateur mage like that? Perhaps we should include Defense Against Magic in the curriculum.”

“AMATEUR!?” The Author yelled in anger, her eyes flashing a solid red. “How DARE you call my work amateur!”

“We’ll make it a priority,” Magolor agreed, ignoring the Author entirely. “Now, let’s make this quick. This is cutting into my ‘me time’.”

“Hey!” King Dedede yelled ineffectually. “Stop buttin’ inta my business all th’ time!”

“Your ‘me time’ is figuring out sales pitches,” came a higher pitched voice from Taranza’s back, who hopped off. Big Kirby, wearing a purple bowler hat with a web-like pattern on the crown portion, stepped up. “That, and talking to yourself in the mirror about how great you are.”

“It’s a self-confidence boosting technique, vital for magic!” he rebutted. “For example, when I want to do this...” And in a flash, he waved his hand around in a strange circle, and another one in a counter motion Tiff couldn’t follow. “Shatter.”

Almost at once, the controlled Cappies’ pendants all seemed to crack, the sound reverberating through the area. At once, the assembled Cappies began to blink in confusion, some touching their heads and muttering as they tried to figure out where they were.

“W-what?!” The Author yelled in shock as she saw her work dismantled. “My- my pendants!”

“Any Metamorphic magician that requires talismans to fuel their spells is most certainly ‘amateur’, Taranza insisted, shaking his head in disappointment. “Really, it’s a crutch. Having a summoned or imbued weapon with affinity is one thing, but needing a power source to maintain the spell? For shame, madam!”

“Everyone!” Tiff yelled in alarm. She was gratified to see so many turn their attention to her. “This has been another Dedede trick! That lady was mind-controlling you into capturing all of us! Get out while you can!”

Several of them looked to the Author in question- only to jump back in alarm.

She wasn’t paying attention to them anymore, her eyes a vicious blood red. “You…you DARE. You waltz in here, irreverent and irrelevant to the story, destroy my work, call it shoddy…” Her teeth grew sharp and jagged, and smoke seemed to envelope her as the Cappies proceeded to hightail it out in fear. “You have no idea what goes into a proper performance! A BRILLIANT STORY! INTERLOPERS! FILTH! HECKLERS!”

“Well, we’re writing our own story, you see…” Taranza said, smoothing back his hair as he stared down what came out of the smoke. “And you are but a footnote in it.”

The creature that stared back at them was a warped interpretation of a large wooden mannequin doll, as far as Tiff could tell. At least twice King Dedede’s height, it stood big and round with a wide, frightening, full lipped smile and those blood red eyes. From its jointed hands were a hole in each one, letting out small tendrils of string which seemed to writhe of their own accord. “Not if I edit you out first!”

“Lil’ me, catch!” Big Kirby suddenly yelled as he hurled something. “From Gengu!”

It was a Yo-yo. Tiff’s eyes widened. “Swallow it, Kirby!” She’d learned a LOT about what a yo-yo could do in the right hands.

Little Kirby did- and leaped up just as The Author tried to swipe him away. A brilliant flash formed on his brow as a full, purple baseball cap, turned backwards, appeared on his head. He landed quickly, brandishing a yo-yo with a star on it.

“So. That is…” Meta Knight started.

“Yo-yo Kirby!” Big Kirby announced. Meta Knight gave him a look, but Big Kirby ignored it. “...Anyway, you all stay safe! Me, lil’ me, and the mages got butt to kick!”

The Author just let out a screeching roar of anger as they charged. She attempted to flatten them twice, her large palms trying to squash them, but they both quickly dodged out of the way; Big Kirby launched a pair of Spider web needles skyward, both of them impacting the monster; causing her to flinch as she was quickly blinded. She raised her hands to claw the magic web away…

…which was just the opportunity Little Kirby needed to dart in, tossing his Yo-yo that Tiff realized was revolving at an insane rate. How?

Well, the wood off her hand seemed to shatter as it wrapped around her, large pieces of her wooden fingers falling off. “Hup!” Little Kirby yelled as he darted in- and Big Kirby quickly webbed up the falling pieces, before swinging them around and slinging them back into her face, sending her tottering backwards as a crack formed in her forehead. “Now! Gazer Spiral!”

Little Kirby was right there behind her at those words- and to Tiff’s astonishment, he slapped the yo-yo down, and proceeded to…spin? Breakdance? She wasn’t sure, but whatever it was he began to rotate at a massive speed as he seemed to glow with yellow energy- Star Energy, she realized. He then shot straight up, the yo-yo string as stiff as steel as he rose. On making impact, a massive crash of what looked like glowing stars erupted out of Little Kirby’s body, slamming into the Puppet Author’s body, sending her crashing to the ground at an angle.

She could barely get up, before realizing that the two mages were above her. “Now, then?” Magolor said, boredly.

“After you,” Taranza said primly.

Magolor simply nodded, and raised his hands. A strange, glowing rune seemed to appear out of nowhere above and in front of him. “Right, I suppose this is goodbye,” he said idly. “I’d say nice knowing you, but I didn’t and it wasn’t.” He let loose a spark of energy-

-and Tiff and everyone else had to brace themselves as a star-shaped hole in space seemed to erupt right then and there, the powerful suction lifting her slightly and sucking her in bit by bit.

“NO!” she yelled in panic, throwing herself forwards to try to counteract the pull. She clawed, and scratched, and managed to pull herself up inch by inch…

…but she hadn’t focused on Taranza, who had HIS hands raised, as well. This, Tiff was a bit more familiar with. “Ahem,” was all he said. “Please leave.” He hurled the massive ball without further fanfare.

It detonated against her with a loud and rough sound, the energy flinging her back towards the black hole- only for, to everyone’s surprise, her torso to get stuck in it; though her frantic movements said that she was still fighting its pull. “You…can’t! My…story! It’s…not…”

Out of nowhere, something went flying at the Author, wreathed in yellow light. It connected right on the forehead, and the pain was too much- and the force just enough as her grip broke and she was sucked through, her body disintegrating at the pressure and stress it’d been put through. The Author had just enough sense for her last sight to be of Tiff, with her hand outstretched and a fierce look on her face on the other side.

“Your story’s LAME!” Tiff yelled as the Puppet Author, at last, lost coherency, and exploded in a shower of wood, smoke, and stars. Magolor closed the black hole, and everyone, finally, let out a sigh of relief.

“Are ya sure?” Tuff asked as Tiff dropped the book in the trash. Everything had been cleaned up, and King Dedede had holed up in his room for the time being, as had Escargoon. They tended to do that when their plans went awry, in order to let the heat die down.

“Pretty sure,” she admitted. “I mean, I know this might not be the REAL author…or maybe she was. I don’t know. But…I think the book just doesn’t hold many good memories for me to want to keep it around anymore,” she confessed.

“Hey, no big deal,” Tuff tried to console. “Who knows? Maybe one day you can write a book yourself! It’ll be all about all the stuff we’ve done and everything! And maybe I’ll actually have done something worth writing about by then,” he jokingly jabbed at himself.

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up,” Tiff said soothingly. “I hardly did much during that, either. That was just me…getting out some frustration.”

“But it was pretty cool,” Tuff said with a grin. Tiff refused to respond, but she did a poor job of hiding her own. “So. What now?”

“What else?” she said. “Get some sleep. We’ve got class in the morning, don’t we? I’m starting to think we really do need Defense Against Magic lessons…”

"Man, this new normal of ours is crazy," Tuff said with a grin. "Whoda thunk I'd ever be excited for school?"

“That’s it!” Great King Dedede yelled. The only reason he hadn’t been there was because it was agreed that it’d take them too long to arrive, and after Kirby had told him of what had happened, he was livid. “He tried to mind control everyone! That’s a straw too far!” he proclaimed. “I don’t care if it’ll double my duties, these Cappies need someone halfway decent in charge!” He started to march out the door to do just that- maybe challenging him to some one on one combat would solve things- before he was suddenly stopped at the door.

“I wouldn’t recommend that,” Winged Meta Knight said. “Or else we’ll lose our one great advantage against our foe.”

“Wha- hey!” he frowned as he gave Winged Meta the stink eye. “Jus’ where have you been all this time?”

“Coordinating with both my counterpart…and Haltmann,” he said, looking away.

THAT got his attention and surprise. He knew that Meta Knight had…particular opinions about Susie. “Wait, you’re working with Susie? Willingly?”

“I can put away my personal distaste for greater purposes,” Winged Meta said. “I have before, after all.”

“...alright, true,” Great King Dedede conceded. “But what’s the reason for it?” Then he blinked. “Wait, you’re helping with-”

“As I said, coordination between projects,” he said obliquely. “Also, she registered when the Author arrived,” Winged Meta mentioned.

“Right, Bandee came about right when those two Knights did,” Dedede reminded him.

“She recognized something else as well that she wished for me to tell you,” Winged Meta noticed. “She spotted some data in the system to adjust the parameters of the transportation device. It isn’t good.”

Kirby blanched. “How ‘not good’?”

Meta Knight simply stared him down. “I suggest we all take the opportunity to train amongst ourselves sooner than later.”

“Ah. That ‘not good,” Kirby said flatly.

“Hm.” Meta Knight said nothing more.

Susie checked off the last of the sub-tasks on her lists as she leaned back in her chair, looking at the digital schematic in front of her. It had taken days of calculation, simulation testing, and drafts. So many drafts. In-between was dealing with the locals for the material, pre-test testing, and much more. But this was the official blueprint that she’d decided on. “Finally…it’s finished. Now we just need to test the components…”

Bandana Dee walked into the office, bringing with him some apple juice for them both. “That what it’s going to look like?” he asked as she took her glass gratefully.

“Well, I trust it’ll have a better color scheme,” she joked. “But yes. This configuration should have everything we need. Provided everything works.” She downed a swig of her apple juice. It felt cool and sweet. Like success.

“So that’s the next step? Building and testing, and then we put it all together?” Bandee asked, before sipping his own juice. He just liked the taste and hoped it did something for his growth.

“That’s the idea. Fortunately, we already have an idea of how the engine will operate,” she said with relief. “Seeing as I put a much scaled down version using the same basic properties through its paces in that race.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good!” Bandee said. “Right?”

“So far,” she allowed. “Though we may have to cut a corner or two…” she murmured.

“What was that?” Bandee asked, turning away from his own thoughts.

“Oh, nothing,” she dismissed as she sipped at her juice, looked at the blueprint, and thought of the future.

Somewhere wicked…

“Well, that was…unexpected,” the Nightmare Sales Guy admitted. “Not often I’m really taken off guard like that, but…who knew they were rockin’ that kinda firepower, huh? What do you think we should do, sir?” he asked, turning back to his lord and master.

Nightmare scowled. “...this…this is a potential aberration in my plans.” He turned to his chessboard, and waved his hand as many pieces seemed to coalesce, creating shape and form bit by bit. “They will have to be punished for this transgress.”

“What about the self-proclaimed king?” Sales Guy asked. “Should we, ah, strike him from the service list?”

“...no,” he said after some consideration. “That pawn will still be useful to me…”

“Gotcha. Favored customer he remains!” Sales Guy faux-cheered. “But, uh, about that punishment.”

“Send no monsters to him for now. Only dark objects. A proper punishment must be…carefully nurtured. Prepared.” Nightmare grinned the darkest of grins. “And they will learn what it means to anger me.”

And yet, the citizens of Cappy Town slept soundly that night.

Chapter 33: Settling Sea

Chapter Text

A Parent’s Wishes

“Okay,” Tiff said, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Tuff was sitting across from her. “Ready?”

“Yep!” Tuff said. He held out his hand, containing a small ball, and she held out one of her own. “Any time you are. First to drop it does dishes!”

“You’re on!” she agreed with a grin- and the both of them promptly closed their eyes. For a moment, anyone watching would’ve been confused.

However, the both of them soon began to light up after a few seconds, the spheres in hand being charged with energy from the both of them. It was like a particularly bright lamp had gone off in the middle of the room.

And across it, preparing dinner, Lady Like sighed. “I still can’t get used to it…” she admitted in a soft voice.

“Yes, it’s rather surprising,” Sir Ebrum admitted. “Tuff’s rather dedicated about finishing his homework these days. Quite good of him, really!”

“No, not that!” Lady Like chastised. “I mean zis whole magic thing. I thought I would understand, but…oh.” She shook her head. “It’s dazzling in more ways zan one. It makes me zo nervous.”

“Nervous?” Sir Ebrum asked in surprise. “How?”

“Hahah!” they heard Tuff cheered as Tiff dropped her ball with a sigh. “You’re doing dish-essss!”

“Shoot…” they heard their youngest lament.

“We’ll talk about it after dinner,” Lady Like said. Sir Ebrum simply nodded.

Later, after a mostly pleasant dinner, where Tuff playfully needled his sister for her loss (who took it surprisingly sportingly and even shot back a bit in good humor), the two parents prepared for bed. “So…will we be resuming the topic, dearest?” Sir Ebrum asked his wife.

Lady Like sighed. It was times like this that the remembered that despite his occasional clumsiness, he could be surprisingly sharp. “I…’ave you seen them lately?”

“I…would certainly say so,” Sir Ebrum said in confusion. “They ARE our children, after all.”

“And yet…look at zem,” she insisted as they both climbed into bed. “Zey are so focused zese days. Zo driven. Zey ‘ave a goal. Tuff is more focused zan I ‘ave ever seen him! And look at our little Tiff,” she said, lip trembling. “She is growing up so fast. I know I zupported her affiliation with ze nice King Dedede, but…” she fidgeted, unwilling to finish the sentence.

Her husband finished it for her. “You’re worried that once they do whatever they came here to do and go back for good…she’ll want to go with them.”

Lady Like couldn’t resist anymore, breaking out into tears as she collapsed against her husband. “S-she iz my BABY! She iz zo YOUNG! And she is so…so…”

“Hm?” Sir Ebrum asked, gently patting her on the back. He would admit he was feeling similar, too…

“She is zo HAPPY around zem!” Lady Like confessed. “Before zey came, she didn’t smile zo much! She didn’t laugh zo much! She wasn’t happy!” she wailed. “M-my baby wasn’t happy…”

“I think you’re taking it a little far, dearest,” Sir Ebrum said soothingly. “I’m rather certain that Tiff isn’t exactly chomping at the bit to get away from us. This is something new to her, and you know how Tiff loves learning. She’ll get rather deep into this, certainly. But I don’t think she’ll just run away, unless something big changes. And I don’t think she’ll stop loving you as her mother, which I’m starting to think is the real reason for this concern, hmm?” He looked at her knowingly as she lifted her tear-streaked face.

“...Darling, you…ohhh, I just don’t know!” Lady Like started, before simply diving into him again. Her tears slowed, but did not stop. Ebrum knew that when she got like this, she just had to tire herself out.

“If nothing else, I’m certain of this,” Sir Ebrum said confidently. “She loves you with all her heart, and that’ll never change.”

Lady Like didn’t respond, but he felt her nod. That would have to do for the night.

The both of them eventually fell asleep, fitful, and not entirely reassured…but calm enough.

Power of the Stars

Tiff braced herself. “Okay…one, two, three, puuuuush!” She and Professor Curio heaved against the large pot as they shoved it across the ground; it was too big for the dolly, and considering she was the only other person around to help him, well, she’d be remiss if she didn’t at least offer to.

Fortunately, the jar, despite being twice their size and made of rock, didn’t seem TOO heavy. With one solid concentrated effort, they managed to push it over to the waiting wagon. Curio slumped against the side of it, exhausted. “Phew…thanks a ton, Tiff. This…would’ve taken me…so much longer if…if you weren’t here…”

“It’s no problem, Professor!” she dismissed as she looked up at it. “This is going to be one of your biggest finds yet, I think.” The jar was immense, still closed, but had a number of ancient letters and images etched into it. They seemed fascinating, but she couldn’t decipher what they meant, obviously. She walked circles around it as she took it all in.

“My, youth is…certainly something else…” he panted out. “I didn’t think…that’d you still have that…that much energy!”

Tiff paused at that, looking at her hands as though they would reveal something. True, she HAD been feeling more energetic lately. A lot more desire to get up and move. But she still wouldn't call herself particularly athletic…right? She hadn’t really thought much about it, presuming it was a side-effect of using magic more. But it was true. She felt a bit sore, yes, but she wasn’t out of breath or anything. Honestly, the only reason she’d stopped pushing was because Curio had. “I guess so,” she hazarded. “I’ve been doing a lot more activity lately.”

“That’s good…” he said as he finally lifted himself up. “Exercise is vital for good health, after all. Maybe I should start on a bit myself, hohoho!” He took the disparity in good humor.

Tiff couldn’t stop wondering about it, though, even after she finished helping with Curio’s dig- though she knew someone she could ask.

She had wanted to visit, anyway.

“Yeah, magic does that,” Great King Dedede said later when she asked him. “Especially Star Energy.” There was a number of additions that Great King Dedede had decided on; now that there was a magic school essentially in his backyard, he’d figured to just go in on that and work on a full (if small) building; while his mansion wouldn’t be a direct part of it, it would be connected via a tunnel to his training area. In case it rained or other weather. “Don’t honestly know too much about the stuff, but I know that. It ain’t gonna replace exercise or anything, but it’ll give ya a boost of energy, for sure. Part of the name, after all.”

They’d decided to use the local resources as best they could. Without getting Whispy annoyed, at least. That, plus needing a bit more in the way of structural stability, had resulted in them making it out of rock; steel would’ve been ideal, but for whatever reason Susie was more or less hoarding it all (she had asked why, but Susie was playing coy and so were the rest when she brought the issue up. Vaguely annoying, but whatever). “It’ll help teach control, hopefully,” Taranza had said about the issue.

But that wasn’t her concern as she directed the latest batch of stone material to the proper places and quickly informed that the Dees working on the roof that they were due to be rotated out. “So the more I get used to using Star Energy…”

“The more stamina you’ll have to use in general, magic or otherwise. It’s like working out another muscle at first, but it’ll pay back the effort in due time,” Great King Dedede told her. “Eventually, you’ll be doing like we do and consider a dead sprint clear across the town as a nice morning warmup.”

“...huh.” Not much she could say to that. But it was fascinating. She was never all that much for physicality until recently. “Am I going to start feeling restless if I don’t move all the time, now?”

“Naaah,” he dismissed, before he paused. “...well, maybe for a little bit. But it just takes some getting used to. Goodness knows I’m not all that active when I don’t wanna be. You kinda just figure out when to draw on it and when not to.”

That actually calmed her down; for a moment she was worried she would lose the focus to enjoy her pastime of research. “That makes a lot of sense. Thanks,” she said gratefully, before turning back to the Dees. “...hey! No, those are for classroom storage, they go in the back for now, ok?”

Although maybe participating in Tuff’s games more often wouldn’t go amiss…

The Soul of a Dreamer

Tuff had had a pretty good day. He’d had a nice play session with Iro and Spikehead, and Honey had been a decent goalie. He’d even gotten in some solo magic practice later…though it was really just him making sure to figure out Focus a bit more. He’d not quite gotten it like his sister had.

Focus had proven a bit of an issue up until now, but he’d had the realization that he didn’t want Tiff to surpass him so easily. And so here he was. Sitting on the beach near the seaside, practicing via throwing Focus-enhanced stones, to see how far they could skip.

It was challenging, and honestly kinda fun if he said so himself! Though he did wish he could skip straight to the real magic. They’d only just started learning the fundamentals behind ‘molding their thoughts to make the world understand’, as Taranza and Magolor had put it. He wasn’t quite certain of it, even after Taranza’s explanation, but that was what practice was for, he supposed.

Then again…there was also another way. Just that…well, it was dangerous.

He wasn’t sure about why, beyond it’d hurt him, but it still made him wonder. “My soul…”

It sounded…not even weird. Otherworldly was more like it. His very soul being used as the fuel for spells? It sounded pretty cool, on its face.

But Kirby had looked terrified of it. And Tuff might’ve been reckless, but he wasn’t an absolute idiot. He knew that if Kirby and the others said it was a bad idea, it really likely was.

But still… they said he could use it to augment what he already knew, right? And he knew how to skip a stone, right? So maybe…

He closed his eyes. He wasn’t sure how to REACH that part of him- that Soul…but he could remember that drive, that pure determination to cast a spell no matter the cost. The desire. The refusal to have anything- not anyone, not the world- deny him or take it away from him without the fight of his life, and he focused on that.

He felt…warm. VERY warm. Just a bit beyond comfortable, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself giving off a very faint, silver glow.

He didn’t have time to dwell on it. He slung the smoothened rock with a strong toss and a flick of his wrist, like he always did. He expected it to get at least to about fifteen or so good skips.

The rock cut a small swath through the water and sailed past the horizon in perhaps two seconds. Tuff gawped, as the glow and warmth receded. He waited a few minutes to see if anything else changed, but…no, nothing. “Hey. That wasn’t so bad!” he laughed to himself.

In that case, then what about…well, something reaaallllly small? Like a candle flicker? Taranza mentioned that to be a ‘starter spell’ for people, especially elementalists. That wouldn’t cause TOO much trouble with him, right? They’d said it was if it was pressed, and…he could handle a flicker of a flame, couldn’t he?

He brought up that feeling again- it wasn’t any easier. But this time, he didn’t have any source of reference. Only that he wanted fire. Just a little. Like a lighter’s worth, out the tip of his finger… He felt himself warm again, and particularly his index finger…

Suddenly, a woosh, and when he opened his eyes, there was not a flicker, but a strong fireball on the tip of his index finger. The center even had a cool, silvery-yellow glow to it! For a moment, Tuff grew excited- this wasn’t that bad at all!

And then something- he wasn’t sure, it didn’t feel physical- seemed to push at his chest, his very skin. It wasn’t his heartbeat, it was…

“Ugh…g-gah!” he grimaced as for a second he felt faint, and dropped to his knees, the fire snuffing out as his body tensed, young and underdeveloped muscles rippling for a moment. For a second he was about to panic, cry out, beg forgiveness- something-

But just as suddenly, it stopped. His skin stopped itching, his mind was clear as a bell, he didn’t feel woozy anymore. He stood up carefully, and took a deep breath. No problems. Whatever it was? It’d come and gone. “...huh. Almost felt like I had onna those out-of-body experiences…” he admitted to himself after a moment of bodily checking. “Think I get why they said don’t do it, now…”

He wouldn’t be admitting this little discovery to Tiff, though. She’d lecture till HE was blue in the face.

…though that power. If he got a head-sized fireball out of wanting a little flicker…

…no. Best not to think about it. Maybe his sister would be up for a late game.

What The Future Holds

Samo’s Bar had been doing much brisker business as of late than he used to, he noticed. That, he had to concede, was in large part due to the Haltmann Factory now in town. More than a few Cappies had decided to find employment there- the coming of age that could use some extra money, mostly, as well as the older sorts that couldn’t work harder labor, still had some pep in them, but didn’t want to spend time lounging around all day.

So the Haltmann Works Company Factory had found itself with a full employee roster, and Samo’s Bar found itself the latest evening hotspot for weary workers after the day’s efforts. By all accounts it didn’t seem too horrible, either- Ms. Haltmann seemed to treat her employees mostly well, with good pay. He’d heard more than a few complaints about her wanton need for secrecy, how working ‘on the line’ was rote and dull, and her occasional harsh discipline should a mistake be made, true. It wasn’t perfect- but most Cappies in general were content with their new job options. That wasn’t the focus of his worries right now, however.

No, that was Mabel. She’d been making more frequent trips here, he’d noticed, though she only rarely seemed to have the need to drown any sorrows. He’d not managed to pry anything from her (lovely) lips yet, but he felt good about today in that aspect. She was idly looking at the other bargoers, nursing a drink and generally people watching with a somewhat pensive look on her face. She wore that expression oddly, like something was happening and she didn’t want to like it even though it was likely a good thing.

‘Better now than never,’ he supposed, and took the plunge. “Something troublin’ you, Mabel? You’ve had yourself that forlorn look on you for a while now.”

She didn’t respond for a moment, not even turning his way. For a moment, Samo thought he’d misread her. Then she spoke. “Samo, you’ve been doing good business lately, no?”

That wasn’t what he expected. “I- uh- yes? Better than usual, I’d say.” Where was she going with this?

“Mmm.” She paused, taking a sip of her drink. Collecting her thoughts. “I am not,” she confessed as she set the drink down, idly playing with the straw in it.

“Pardon?” he asked in surprise. Mabel’s tent was usually a fairly well visited spot, he thought…

She blew a breath. “I have gone three days without a single customer,” she informed him, blowing a breath. “Not a single Cappy or otherwise has stepped into my tent in that time. It’s the longest I’ve ever been without even one.”

“Oh!” That was…unfortunate, to say the least. A bit worrying, too, for him. “Any clue as to why not?”

She shook her head. “I am not sure. I think, perhaps…it is because of the magic that is here now.”

“Come again?” He’d been rather surprised by the revelation that magic was real, too, if he was being honest. He’d attended a class or two out of curiosity (and after learning that Mabel was attending), but he’d decided to abandon that after realizing that studying magic would take up FAR too much of his time to both run his bar and study the art. Not that he needed it- he’d ran his bar perfectly well without magic up until now, and he saw no reason that’d change. But… “How would magic cause your fortune telling to fall out of favor?”

“Because more people can see through it,” she said, slumping down. “They know what real magic looks like. I know what real magic looks like. And my readings are no magic. You know this.” True, he did. He WAS her information supplier, after all. “They have no need for a phony fortune teller. And you want to know what’s funny?” she asked with a half-hearted grin. “It is only now that I can, in fact, call myself a true psychic.”

It was then that he noticed that the little straw in her glass had kept spinning. She wasn’t touching the glass in any way, but it was only now that he noticed Mabel had been keeping her eyes on it the whole time. It stopped shortly after he realized, however. “When I knew no magic, I was popular. And now that I know magic, I’m…old news, strangely enough.” she lamented. “I’m praised for my real magic, but I fear I might have to close my tent if this keeps up…”

That was depressing. Mabel, he knew, genuinely loved that tent. Loved giving advice and helping the Cappies wherever she could. Losing that avenue would tear at her something fierce. But try as he might, he was no Mabel when it came to advice. He couldn’t think of anything outright to save it. “Mabel…” he sighed, cursing himself inwardly for his lack of advice.

Not that Mabel seemed to begrudge him that, giving him a wan smile. “It’s not your concern, Samo. In all honesty, I’m very glad you’re doing well.” She gestured out to the rest of the bar, lively and filled with Cappies in Haltmann uniforms. “It may not be very long before you see me out there. I certainly appreciate your mastery of drink mixing, hahaha!” The laugh was dry, and a bit false, but he knew she meant well behind it.

That only made it hurt more, and why he blurted out what he did. “Mabel, you’ll always have a place here. Behind the bar, I mean. With me!”

A pause, then Samo’s face began to turn a hot red as the full realization of what he said hit home. “Er- uh, I didn’t mean that as- I mean I could give you a job! And you could still give advice! Not that- well-”

“Eheheheh…”

He paused as he heard something new from her. She rarely giggled. “Ohohohohoho!”

But her laugh always brightened his day. He looked away in a bit of shame. “I…well, I’m certainly glad I could make you laugh, if that helps you feel better…but, uh, what I meant by that was just-”

-smeck-

He froze as a pair of lips hit his cheek. Was that…did she…?

He could barely move his head to see her paying for the drink with a smile. “I’ll consider it. I…don’t think that would be the worst thing in the world, no?” She gave him a wink that made him swear his heart stopped. “You’re a very sweet Cappy, Samo.”

With that, she left. And he was left to consider his thoughts behind the bar.

…at least until the sound of glass shattering made him realize some patrons had gotten a bit TOO rowdy. Then there was just yelling.

The Important Things in Life

“Okay, so you move like this-” Big Kirby started.

“Poyo?” Little Kirby asked, moonwalking to the left.

“Yup!” Big Kirby agreed. “Okay, now you twirl back in the opposite direction- just like this.”

“Poyo!”

“Hop, hop…”

“Poyo!”

“Cartwheel, and back!”

“Eeeee!”

“Bingo! Now, one in place, two in place…”

“Po-yo!”

“Spin, double jump- hup! Hi!”

“HI!”

“Nailed it! You're going to be great, Lil' Kirby, I just know it.”

Chapter 34: Shadow Games

Chapter Text

Tiff studied her opponent carefully. They had an expression of intense uncertainty and nervousness- obviously new to the battlefield. They held themselves with the air of someone who knew they’d only survive this meeting with a great deal of luck. Sadly for them, she was experienced. Forged in the flames of battle with one yet many times her superior, and had learned from every duel because of it. The few basic tactics they’d tried, she’d seen through easily. In the positions they were in? Her adversary, though they didn’t even know it, was already done for. He made his move- the only move he could make, and she was prepared.

No sense in dragging out the inevitable. She made her move, and with one deft stroke, it was over. “Checkmate.”

“O-oh dear…” Chief Bookem said in despair as he looked over the chessboard. His King near the corner had been boxed in by her Bishop, though it was clear across the board. She had eliminated his only defense of a single pawn, and after dragging her Rook back, that was it. “I thought I had a way out there…what about if I move this queen piec- oh.” He stopped short as she idly tapped the Bishop waiting in her backline- it’d be a temporary reprieve, is all. “Well, drat. This game’s awfully complicated. I wish I could arrest one for speeding…”

Tiff allowed herself a small, victorious smile, but she tried to not let it grow too large. The point of this gathering, after all, was to encourage people to get more into chess, not discourage them. “It’s alright, it’s an easy set-up to fall for. Wanna try again? I’d be happy to point out plays for you!” She, Great King Dedede, and Bandee had decided to make a more concentrated effort to expanding the hobby to other Cappies- Magolor and Taranza played it on occasion, but she was surprised to learn that they weren’t massive fans of the game, though they respected it as an intellectual’s pursuit. As such, they’d decided to host a ‘Beginner’s Chess Meet-Up’ where anyone interested could have a free lunch…if they tried their hands at a few games. Kawasaki was thrilled to host it- even if he didn’t make much off of it. They’d gotten a few interested parties, at least. Some Cappies had stumbled in- mostly wanting the free lunch, but willing to try to learn a new game all the same. Tiff, Bandee, and Great King Dedede all floated around different tables, doing their best to both advise the beginners of the basics like piece movement and checkmating, and occasionally sitting down to enjoy a game themselves- which invariably went by rather quick thanks to the beginners…well, being beginners.

“I suppose so,” he agreed, and they began to reset the board. “You’re rather good at this!”

“Thanks. Great King’s been a fun opponent, so-” They were about to start a new game when she heard the doors open again, quickly turning to them. “Hello! Are you- oh! Gengu!” She smiled when she saw that the toymaker had made an appearance. They’d not gotten as close as she and Mabel or the rest of the ‘Special Seven’ (though that nickname DID annoy her a bit), but he still came to the classes regularly, and he’d earned her respect through his dedication. He’d also started carrying around a yo-yo of his own after learning his affinity, and he’d admitted that performing a few tricks with it had ‘felt as easy as 1-2-3!’. It was fast becoming a noticeable quirk for him.

“Tiff!” he greeted back. “Looks like things are goin’ pretty well here!” She’d gotten the chess sets from Gengu, after all. “Lemme tell ya, this little get-together’s already payin’ dividends! Had a couple folks come by askin’ for chess sets for themselves already!” He chuckled. “I might haveta order me some more!”

“Oh? That’s great to hear!” she said brightly, before turning to Chief Bookem. “What about you? Do you think you might want one, Chief?”

“Er, well…” he paused, considering- though to Tiff’s eyes, it was more like he was trying to think of a good excuse not to. Before he could answer either way, however, they were interrupted by a screeching of tires outside that everyone had long since learned to recognize.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before they were ‘greeted’ by King Dedede, barging in and nearly shoving Gengu out of the way. “One side! I’m hungreh and the castle ain’t cuttin’ it! I doubt this place will either, but a desperate king’s gonna get some grub one way or th’ other!” It was only then that he noticed the amount of people inside. “Wha’s all this? Kawasaki finally figured out how ta make somethin’ edible?”

Tiff frowned. Frankly, she’d thought that Kawasaki had been improving, though he still had a ways to go. “It’s because we’re hosting a chess game meetup!” she angrily retorted.

“Chess?!” he said incredulously. “What kinda pansy game is that?” It was then that he noticed Great King Dedede in the back, and shortly the two mirror monarchs found themselves glaring at each other in distaste. With a huff, King Dedede turned away from him, leading to a small snort from Great King. “Betcha it ain’t nothin’ fun! Prolly some borin’ junk.”

“It’s not boring!” Tiff quickly defended. “It’s a very cerebral and tactical game that requires a lot of thought and skill! That’s why they call it ‘the game of kings!’” Truthfully, she hadn’t known that, but Bandee had mentioned such. “Not that YOU’D know.”

“Game o’ Kings?!” Dedede said in shock. “That’s a load o’ hogwash. If that’s so, then I’M th’ only real king, so’s you all shouldn’t be playin’ it!”

“Yeah!” Escargoon, always by his side, agreed. “The King’s not clever enough to play chess, but that doesn’t matter!”

“Hush, you!” Dedede said, thumping the snail. “I kin play it if I wanna! In fact, if you ain’t fibbin’, I bet I’ll be better at it than any of ya! Fake kings included!” The last bit was clearly aimed at Great King Dedede, who simply rolled his eyes, turning away. Not that he wanted to, but trying something here would make an awful big scene. More than was already happening, anyway.

Tiff, on the other hand, was quite close to seeing red. “Prove it!” she yelled as she pointed to the recently set chessboard. “Let’s have a match right now, then!” She outright glared at Bookem, such was her anger. “Let him sit!” she yelled.

Chief Bookem was more than happy to allow his liege to have a seat, quickly scooting out and gesturing. “Hmph,” Dedede huffed as he settled in. “Fine! I’ll whoop you in this stupid game an’ build me up a propah appetite!” He was sure that he’d be more than capable of beating a little girl in a silly game as she heatedly explained the pieces and rules…

“Got it?!” she said, still annoyed and frustrated after she’d given her overview. Escargoon seemed to know the game, and confirmed her words, if reluctantly.

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” he waved off. “Escargoon, you’ll make sure everythin’s right, right? That way when I beat her, she ain’t got no excuse! She’ll see how’s a real king plays!” Tiff tensed up, and it was only through her prodigious willpower that she resisted the urge to shout her head off at him.

Escargoon, for his part, simply looked at his liege warily. “I’ll call it like I see it, sire…dunno if that’s wise, though…” he mumbled.

“You just shush and lemme know when I got her into checkmate!” he responded.

“Let’s get started,” she huffed as she tried to calm down. Chess was no good played in anger. “Since you’re new, you’re the white pieces, since they go first,” she said.

“Like a King oughta!” he said, moving one up one space confidently. “I won’t even need ta use all th’ fancy pieces to beat you!”

She moved, scowl still on her face, her pawn going two spaces ahead.

“Tryin’ ta get the jump on me?” he crowed. “Ain’t happenin’!” He moved the piece right next to it…two spaces ahead. “Now I got one up there, too! An…”

Tiff, at that point, had stopped paying attention, almost looking in disbelief. ‘Did he really just do that?’ Had he really made the most foolish move you could make in chess, just like that?

She blinked, and realized there was no reason to question it. She immediately moved her Queen at a diagonal. “Checkmate,” she said with a blank face. Oh, she was happy about it. Giddy. But she still couldn’t believe he’d done it.

“...so ain’t none of yo’ pawn- wait, wha?!” he screeched, eyes wide.

“Uhhh…yup,” Escargoon confirmed, looking at the board. “You can’t get away from that. Checkmate in 2 moves, wow,” Escargoon admitted. “I knew you were a loser, but I didn’t think you were a quick loser, sire -owowowow!”

“You- you hush up!” King Dedede said, incandescent. “She was cheatin’!”

This time, Tiff completely allowed herself a smug smile to relax across her face as the realization hit. “Care to play again?” she asked, full of faux-sweetness.

“NO!” he yelled, getting up and knocking over the chess pieces in frustration. “I don’t play with cheatahs!” He made to stomp out of the building, hauling Escargoon by his neck. “I’ll be back an’ be the best chess player you done evah seen! Count on it!” He stormed out, letting the laughter trailing behind him fuel his spite.

“OR you could not!” Tiff yelled after him as a parting shot. “Ooooh! Why doesn’t he just know when to quit?!” she growled out. “If it was anyone else acting like that-”

“Now, why’re you all heated up?” came the voice of Great King Dedede. Almost immediately, her teeth unclenched, turning around to see him with a grin on his face. “I get being mad at the whole interruption thing, but I would’ve said you got him pretty good there, personally.”

She blinked as the haze receded, and the question gave her good food for thought. Why WAS she that mad about it? Trying to sound it out, she let herself speak as she considered it. “I…guess I just didn’t want him to insult my-” oh. “-hobby.” Well, that realization was staying firmly in her head.

Didn’t want to worry her parents, after all.

She wasn’t sure if he’d noticed the hitch in her voice, but he didn’t seem to, chuckling and patting her on the head. She’d gotten used to it by now and casually brushed it off. “Fair enough! But like I said, you sent him packin’, so I think we can get ourselves back on track, don’t you say?”

“Right!” she agreed cheerfully as she turned to the guests still present. “Okay, everyone! Sorry about that! If anyone’s curious about some playing tips, just let me know!”

“Chess, big guy?” the Sales Guy asked in surprise, raising an eyebrow. Naturally, the first thing Dedede had done when he’d gotten back to the castle was attempt to ring up a monster. “I didn’t think you were such an intellectual. Unfortunately, we’re putting a moratorium on monster orders at the moment.”

“Say WHAT?!” Dedede asked in shock. “What’s the big deal here? Ain’t I your best exclusive customah!?”

“Oh, of course!” the Sales Guy agreed. “But this isn’t about you, unfortunately- it’s a decree from the higher ups, I’m afraid. Got some big plans for a lot of those monsters, so we’re doing a bit of work in that department for the time being. Organization and filing and all that paperwork stuff. That means we need all the monsters we can spare for now, so, sorry!” He didn’t very much SEEM sorry.

“Grrr…well, y’all betta get those plans done soonah than latah! Then howsabout this- I need me somethin’ to make me a chess playin’ pro, pronto!” King Dedede demanded. “Can ya at least manage that, ya so-and-so?!”

The salesman considered this. “Hmmm…well, I do believe we have something in that vein, luckily for you!” he said, grinning. “Just a moment…here we are!”

The machine fired up, and when it was done transmitting, what lay on its surface was…a box. “The heck is this?” Escargoon asked. “It’s awfully small…”

“Well, ‘this’ is our patented ‘Kingmaker Chess Set’!” he announced. “It’s a full chess set with both a perfectly weighed board and exquisite, hand-crafted jewel pieces- and these pieces have quite the interesting secret!” he boasted, grinning. “Play with the special purple pieces, and before you know it, you’ll be the biggest and best chess king on Pop Star!”

“Now that’s more like it!” King Dedede said, grinning as he lifted the box closer. “With this, ain’t no one gonna be able to say that King Dedede ain’t a King worthy o’ the game! Eheheheheheheh!”

“No, sir, they certainly won’t,” the Sales Guy agreed before signing off, laughing all the while.

“Alright, everyone!” Tiff announced as the day was about to wrap up. It’d been a long, fulfilling day of chess, and while she enjoyed it, it was time to call it quits as she spoke to all the people leaving. “Thank you ALL for being here for so long! I think chess is a great game, and if anyone wants to play, it doesn’t matter how skilled you are or aren’t- it’s worth your time. And of course I’ll be available if you want!”

“Heck, you could stop by my place,” Great King Dedede offered. “I’m always up for a new challenge!” He turned to the doorway to see Susie entering against the flow, tablet in hand. “Well, there! You’re late- just missed the chess festivities!”

“Ah. So that’s what was going on today?” she asked rhetorically. “Unfortunate. I might’ve liked a game or two, though I’m no regular player. I came here to impart a bit of information onto Kirby, and as he wasn’t at his house, I figured this to be the next most likely stop…” She paused as she looked around. “...but I see he’s not here, either.”

“He’s with Little Kirby-” Tiff started, before being interrupted.

“I was showing him the fun of rolling!” Big Kirby mentioned, walking in behind her, Little Kirby resting on his head. “It was a blast. Whatcha got there?”

“Ah. Fortuitous timing. Really, it’s good all of you are present. It seems that King Dedede has made another order,” she noted, lowering her table to show its display.

“Oh, great,” Tiff said, huffing. “I guess this is what he’s going to do to try and get even.”

“I’m presuming he made a poor showing here or something akin?” Susie asked. “Because this seems to be some sort of automatic chess set.”

“Automatic?” Tiff repeated. That was a new one to her.

“Yes,” she confirmed. “If I’m reading these specs correctly, it is essentially a chess set with an artificial intelligence embedded in the system that seems to influence the wielder to make optimum plays,” she informed. “Presumably via magical control of some type since there’s no mention of implants or anything of the like, so it’s not electronic…”

“Geez, he isn’t taking that beatdown you gave him well,” Great King Dedede noted. “Maybe beating him in two moves ate at him more than we thought…”

“Well, I don’t think I can say ‘sorry’ for it,” Tiff grumbled.

“So basically you beat him in chess and now he wants payback via cheating pieces?” Kirby summarized. “That doesn’t seem too bad, but there’s gotta be a catch, right?”

“Well, that was the information I was here to share, and from what you tell me has transpired, I suspect that is indeed the case,” Susie hypothesized. “The data that I could decipher revealed that there’s likely some manner of transformative effect embedded within them.”

“Ah, and there’s the catch,” Great King Dedede muttered. “What is it? Lose and become pieces?”

“I’m honestly not sure,” Susie admitted, shrugging. “It seems that it’s ONLY on one set of pieces, however, not the other. If Dedede doesn’t know about this, you might be able to turn things around on him and short circuit this petty plot. Or, worse comes to worst, call Taranza.” They considered that- turning the tables would be sweet. “However, there is one other reason that I came here today…”

“Oh yeah?” Great King Dedede asked.

She nodded- before turning to Kawasaki. “Astonishingly, I’ve become a bit fond of your Golden Egg Drop Soup. I’d like a container to go, if you please.”

Kawasaki lit up. “Certainly!” Tiff just hummed in silent confusion. It was…good that he had someone who enjoyed his food, she guessed. But he used APPLES in it. Apples!

The next day after class, Tiff had been approached near the town square about a tutorial game, and she’d been delighted to share her knowledge, to her brother’s annoyance. They’d barely gotten a couple moves in, however, when she’d heard a commotion, turning to see King Dedede marching up with a box under his arm. ‘That must be those Nightmare Enterprises pieces…’ she thought, and met his grin with a glare. “What do you want now?” Not that she didn’t know already…

“Simple! You an’ me are gonna have ourselves a lil’ rematch!” he argued as he slammed his chess box onto the table, scattering the pieces and board already there as well as scaring the poor Cappy off. “I went an’ got me my own chess set, too! Jus’ ta prove how serious I am about winnin’!”

Tiff wanted badly to call him out then and there that the pieces he would use were particularly for cheating, but she couldn’t help but be curious as he laid them and the board out. The would be black pieces were seemingly carved out of crystal, instead a brilliant, sparkling purple as though they had small stars inside of them. Though no doubt nefarious, they WERE pretty, she could admit that much. Still, it’d probably be smarter to shut this down entirely-

-but as she opened her mouth, she realized- he didn’t know they knew. If he or Escargoon realized that their shipments were being tracked, would Nightmare Enterprises fix their system? She might accidentally ruin their one big tell for when anything MAJOR happened. And, well, according to what Susie had said, chances were Taranza could at least try to counteract anything too rough, and Tuff was right there…

She sighed. Seemed like the best thing to do right now would be to beat him at his own game. “Alright, let’s play,” she said evenly.

Tuff groaned. “Really? You said you were gonna play soccer with us! Can ya at least beat him quick?”

“Hehehehehe! You don’t even know what yer in for!” Dedede crowed as Escargoon set up the board for the both of them.

“We’ll see,” she huffed. Whatever this was, she hoped that it wouldn’t be that bad. Though… “White goes first, so-”

“Oh no ya don’t!” he said in a huff, turning the board around so that he got the special pieces. “YOU kin go first. I ain’t fallin’ for any traps like before! ‘Sides, pretty pieces like this oughta be handled by a pretty king!”

She bit her tongue to avoid the retort there. Escargoon didn’t. “Then they’re still in the wrong hands, aren’t they?”

“Hush up and let us play!” he shot back as Tiff made the first move.

Halfway through, Tiff had to admit that though she expected this…it still stung. It was clear to her that Dedede wasn’t actually deciding on these moves himself; there was a spark of purple in his eyes every time he reached for a piece- sometimes his arm would jerk and suddenly move to another one, making a move that dashed her current strategy into pieces. But just as Susie had calculated, the movements on the board were, as far as she could tell, very well placed, if not flawless from her perspective. She wasn’t any sort of chess master, was the truth of it- she still regularly lost to Great King Dedede (though she’d been closing the gap little by little). A Nightmare-powered Jerk King Dedede was well beyond her skill level to handle, even as she made the best moves she could think of. King Dedede continued to move with almost mechanical precision, and she could see his countenance darken and steady as the game took him. ‘I wonder what’s happening to him?’ she thought as she moved another piece. ‘He looks almost…stiffer than normal.’ She unfortunately had to put that out of her head.

Sadly, the end was rapidly coming; in short order, her Queen was being forced to defend two squares, his Rook threatened, and the Knight was waiting in the wings. She was stuck between him and her own pieces in the corner. He moved his Rook, and she let out a breath of frustration. There wasn’t much left to do- but she wouldn’t just surrender to him , at least. She let her Queen capture, and that was that. He moved his Knight, and: “Checkmate,” he said woodenly. The surrounding Cappies gasped in surprise- they’d attracted a bit of a crowd, it seemed. “It seems that I have won,” he said plainly. “And thus, my rule is solidified.” His eyes sparkled a purple yet again, and this time, it stayed.

That immediately set off warning bells, and she quickly glanced at Tuff and mouthed ‘Taranza’ at him- he quickly nodded and sped off. None too soon, either- because that was when the crystal pieces on the chessboard began to melt away, stretching and flowing into an ever expanding liquid that took over the table and sent the spectators scurrying in fear. “This realm will be under my order forever!” Tiff barely had time to jump away from the goop herself, watching in astonishment as she backed away.

When the spark leapt from the monarch’s eyes, energy solidifying around his face to form a crystalline mask, that’s about when she realized that this chess game had been higher stakes than she’d thought.

Chapter 35: Playing For Keeps

Chapter Text

Tuff had booked it to Great King Dedede’s mansion as fast as his legs could carry him- whatever was going with Dedede was NOT good news. He just hoped his sister would be okay…

When he managed to get there, he was glad to see that they were talking with the King about something. Daroach was there, as well. “Hey!” he yelled, and they quickly turned towards him.

“Lemme guess,” Magolor started. “This is about the strange pulse of magic we felt earlier?”

“Yeah, probably!” Tuff confirmed. “I-it was King Dedede! Uh, ours, not you, but Tiff beat him at chess the other day and-”

“I already told ‘em what it likely was,” Great King Dedede interrupted. “Lemme guess. He tried to get back at her with those funky chess pieces, right?”

“Y-yeah!” Tuff confirmed as he began to speak a mile a minute. “He beat her, and then suddenly they got all melted and he started speakin’ funny and everything started to get covered in purple goo so-”

“Right then, some kind of possession or mind control,” Taranza summed up. “And more than likely that transformative effect of some sort you mentioned which might be corrupting Cappies. We should move quickly.”

“I’m not much inclined to touch that stuff,” Daroach mentioned. “Even just lookin’ at it from up on my airship, I could tell it was bad news. It just about covered the main square when we took off for here. Can’t imagine it’s an easy reversal, is it?” he asked, looking at the two mages in question.

“It might be,” Taranza mentioned, before turning towards Tuff. “Exactly what happened between the chess game starting and the corruption flowing?” he asked. Tuff was quick to recite everything he noticed- he might not have been any interested in chess at all, but he had been hoping that she would deal with the co*cky king quickly before resuming what they were GOING to play before this had all started. By the end, Taranza was nodding thoughtfully. “I see…so it sounds like the King is the source of this spell. We might be able to do something temporarily, or localized within a small radius, but it seems as though if we’re going to break this spell, we’ll need to deal with the King directly.”

“Well, that sounds simple enough,” Magolor declared. “Let’s get a move on, fly over, and-” Suddenly, a great humming came up, thrumming through them all. “What th-” Magolor couldn’t even get the phrase out before a massive, violet forcefield of some sort surrounded the castle off in the distance, with several columns of violet light erupting throughout Cappy Town as the entire area became blanketed in a light haze. “...oh, phooey.”

“Drat,” Taranza said sourly. “Guess that would’ve been too easy. Chances are those pillars will be relevant to our little journey,” he noted.

“What, can’t ya just bust through the force field thing?” Tuff asked impatiently.

Magolor shrugged. “Maybe, but likely not advisable. It takes quite the amount of power to bust through most forcefields worth their salt, and considering the power that’s suddenly been called up, I’d wager that it wouldn’t be a cakewalk. We’re great and good mages, but we aren’t unstoppable,” Magolor noted. “But- no forcefield is flawless. No, I think Taranza’s got the right call on this one,” he decided. “Do we split up, or go together?”

“Probably better to move as a group,” Great King Dedede said. “If this whole thing’s chess related…makes sense that a King would probably be considered the most important piece. And I AM a king, after all,” he said with a grin. “Meaning I better make sure you all stay safe!”

“Pretty sure in chess it’s the other way around,” Magolor pointed out.

“I know, but-” Dedede started.

“Come,” Daroach said, interrupting. “We’ll take my airship just to be safe. We’ll investigate those lights one by one.”

“Hm. I can’t say I wouldn’t like to be driven around, for once,” Magolor stated as he followed. Daroach quickly unveiled a small remote controller, hitting a button. It wasn’t long before the Squeak’s Airship floated overhead, dropping down a ladder for all to grab onto- for those that needed it, anyway. “Let’s see how bad things have gotten,” Magolor mused as he floated up.

Tuff, unfortunately, couldn’t focus on the interior of the airship- he was too busy looking out towards Cappy Town, noticing that the several areas that were lit up appeared to be coming from dome-like shields, much like what surrounded the Castle. “C’mon, let’s go!” he said worriedly. “My sister’s down there!”

“We know, we know,” Daroach said calmly. “Where was she last?”

“The town square!” he quickly responded. With but a nod, Daroach quickly turned to the wheel and the Squeaks began making their way towards it.

“Don’t worry, kid,” Spinni said, coming up to him. “We’ll get this town back to normal lickety-split. I got my eyes on a few things in that castle…”

“Yeah, Boss Daroach knows what he’s doin!” Storo agreed heartily. “He’s th’ best!”

Tuff could only nod at the attempts at reassurance, and hope.

When they arrived over the town square, near one of the dome lights, they were surprised. Namely, because they could still see people. Cappies. “Hey, there’s people down there!” Tuff quickly noticed. “But…why are they movin’ so weirdly?” A couple seemed to be turning at odd times for no reason- one seemed to walk at an angle- and then stop, then move at another angle. Most of them seemed to simply take a single step forwards- slowly and carefully. Sometimes, they’d manage to turn, and then walk slowly, carefully in another straight line. Still others seemed to jog, then stop suddenly, before turning and doing it in another direction similarly.

“Hmmm…if I had to hazard a guess,” Magolor started as the other walked to the windows, “I’d say they’re all fulfilling chess piece roles. If rather sloppily. They’re all moving with…well, at least vague similarities to chess movements. Though they all seem to be on one team, at least, considering no one’s assaulting anyone else…”

“Are we gonna get got if we go down there?” Dedede asked quickly as the Squeaks dropped the ladder.

“I wouldn’t say so,” Taranza said, peering as close as he could from there. “This seems to be a derivative of metamorphic magic, and that tends to have a defined effect. From what I’m looking at and what I know, it’s likely already transformed everything it’s GOING to transform.”

“Mmm…well, only one way to find out!” Dedede decided. “Geronimo!” And with that, he leapt out, wind rushing past him as he dropped to the ground. Any Cappies nearby stumbled and fell as he hit the ground with a loud smash, throwing up gravel.

Tuff, a bit more sensibly, came down via sliding down the ladder, quickly followed by the others. “Huh. Well, this is…interesting,” Magolor said as he lay eyes on the situation. “I can agree that the area seems…stable, for lack of a better word, at least. Not that that’s good.” The dome was nearby- it was actually fairly small, about only a few persons wide. But within lay a strange key, with the head of what he could only surmise was a Queen chess piece.

Speaking of, everyone seemed to have various pieces on their heads- chess pieces, that is. Like small hats with various familiar figures. Their eyes, unfortunately, were a slate purple, giving a half-lidded stare as they mindlessly moved around in their strange chess patterns. To the King, it looked like the majority of them were pawn heads. That said, none of them were who he was looking for. “You said Tiff was around here when you left, right?” he asked the boy.

“Y-yeah!” Tuff confirmed, looking around as well. “But she’s not here anymore! Where’d she go?” He huffed. “Not really any way we can ask, though…can’t you think of something, Cool King Dedede?”

At the word ‘King’, it was as if something triggered in all the citizen’s heads- they all stopped at once. “Oh…well, that did something,” Taranza said in concern. “But what-”

“Kiiiing…” one of them droned out.

“Capture…king…” another said.

They all turned towards the party, eyes now truly alight and hands outstretched with shimmering darkness. “Aw, crud,” Great King Dedede said. “This isn’t good.” Sure enough, the controlled Cappies made to step towards King Dedede, chants repeating as they bore down on the group..

“Well…you ARE a king,” Daroach pointed out. “It makes sense.”

“Great!” Magolor said sarcastically, holding up his hands to defend himself. “I know the rule is ‘no harming civilians’, but I’m not keen on becoming a shambing Rook!”

“Rook?” Taranza huffed even as he spun up a protective web. “You’d be a knight at best.”

Magolor gasped. “Slander!”

“Can we FOCUS?!” King Dedede half yelled, batting away one of the Pawn Cappies with his hammer. “Kid, stay behind me!” he said roughly. Tuff obeyed- as much as he wanted to get directly involved, he was no fool about the situation.

“Perhaps…ha!” Daroach fired his Triple Star, a simple ice spell meant to delay and capture more than harm outright. The first volley met the Cappy square in the head, however- and cracked the pawnish headwear. The ornament broke further, and with a poof, became little more than dust.

Almost immediately, the Cappy’s eyes flickered, fading to their usual color. “W-what…?” Before he could say anything else, the Cappy collapsed, clearly discombobulated, but they seemed fine otherwise.

“Knew it!” Daroach cheered as he aimed at another one. “Aim for the headwear! That’s what’s causing their manipulation!”

“Ooh, they’re going to have quite the headaches,” Magolor said without a lick of pity. A low powered sphere quickly popped another one off. “Are we really going to be doing this all day, though?”

King Dedede looked back at the dome briefly as he snatched the helm off of another palm with his hand, crushing it before the Cappy could touch him. “Maybe not…” Years of adventuring experience had him deduce an idea. “We need to find whoever’s got the Queen piece on their forehead! Might be able to break this forcefield!”

“Better idea than I had,” Magolor admitted. “Shall we go?”

“That’s best done from the air,” Daroach suggested, “Unless you’re fortunate enough to see this Queen piece right now.”

“Well, no, but-” Dedede started, before he saw someone vaguely familiar. That Curio guy, moving in a rapid, diagonal pattern, like he couldn’t walk straight. He’d shuffle off, facing forwards, at an angle. Seeing that, Dedede twigged onto something, cracking two more Pawn Cappies. “Hold on there. That Bishop hatted guy! Clear him!”

Magolor was the one to do it, a small charged Gem Apple bursting atop his head and cracking the headwear wide open. To most of their surprise, out of it dropped what looked to be a small, yellow gem in the shape of a Bishop piece, and Dedede quickly moved to dodge the shambling Cappies in racing for it and snatching it up. “Ha! Betcha these are in all the special pieces,” he said as he checked over the discombobulated Curio. “C’mon! We got a lot more of these to get!”

Daroach quickly unveiled a walkie-talkie, and gave out orders to the Squad. “We’re on the lookout for some valuable chess pieces, people. You’ll know them by the fact that they don’t just move via hopping. We need to get to wherever there’s a lot of them!”

“You got it! We’ll keep an eye out up here!” Spinni said confidently.

With that, Daroach turned to the rest, though not before freezing another Pawn Cappy. “Alright, then, shall we move?”

The first special piece they met was, to their surprise, Mabel. She was right in front of her tent, waddling back and forth, though at that diagonal shuffle that Curio was doing. She too, had a Bishop on her head, and more importantly, her tent was covered by one of those domes. Just outside was a table with a chessboard, and on it…a floating key- with the head of a Bishop. “This seems like where we need to be,” King Dedede muttered. “Now, what about that Mabel lady…”

“Kiiiing…” she mumbled, turning around- and suddenly, the Bishop hat glowed as she motioned with her hand, a chair nearby seemingly flying at them from nowhere.

“Whoa!” Tuff ducked as Dedede met it with his hammer, smashing it to pieces.

He wasn’t expecting THAT. “Geez! She’s that good already?” he complained.

“No, it’s more likely the artifact empowering her,” Taranza explained, grimacing. “The piece lit up, which means in the state she’s in, it’s granting her power. We need to get it off!”

“Fine, fine,” Magolor said blithely as he fired another weak sphere at it- only for it to bounce off. Magolor blinked in surprise. “...oh. Well! Unexpecte- hey!”

Mabel had hurled another chair at him, and Dedede had intercepted that one, too. “Come on, now? What’d those chairs do to you?!”

“Kiiiiing!” Mabel moaned as she tried to charge him- though with her seemingly magical binding, she could only strangely…sidle, of a sort, in his general direction much like Curio.

“Just a moment,” Taranza said, before slingly several web strands her way. They impacted flush, growing and binding her in magic thread. “There! Now, be careful!” he warned.

“Right!” Dedede said, rushing in. Mabel glared at him briefly, before squinting, and seeming to try to bring up something massive as the ground started to shake. She never got to unveil it, however, as King Dedede was quick to grab and yank the hat off her head, quickly tossing it to the ground and crushing it with his hammer. “There!”

“...uuuggghh…” the effect was almost instant. “M-my aching head…” she complained softly, before passing out much like the others. But they’d gotten what they wanted- another Bishop piece out of the hat, identical to the one that they’d acquired earlier.

“Great!” cheered Dedede, taking out both of them. “Alright, so chances are, we just need to find- huh?” The two pieces began glowing- and before he could react, they seemed to slam into each other, merging, and when the glow faded…well.

It was a bigger chess piece, big enough to not quite fit in his hand anymore. But gold. “...alright. So now…” he turned to the dome, and walked up to it, holding out the Bishop piece. Sure enough, on contact, there was a warbling, and the force field seemed to suddenly shatter, the light it was emitting going out. “HA!” he cheered, snagging the key and holding it up to the others. “This’ll probably come in real handy! Now we just need to find the other-”

Suddenly, the sound of static interrupted them. Daroach held up a hand as he activated his communicator. “What’s up?”

“Boss!” they heard Spinni say. “Didja see that light go out?”

Daroach sighed lightly. “Of course, Spinni, that WAS us, after all.”

“No, no,” Spinni objected, to their surprise. “I meant the one like, five blocks away from ya!”

That was news. “Come again?”

“Near the toy store!” he explained. “One o’ the lights just shut off!”

They all looked at each other only briefly in surprise before making a beeline for the toy store as one.

Who they saw made them all breathe a sigh of relief. Especially Tuff. “Tiff! Kirby! Kirbies!” he cheered.

“Tuff?!” she said in surprise, turning around. “Oh, thank goodness, you brought them!” She seemed a bit scuffed up, like she’d taken a tumble onto the ground or such, but ultimately she seemed fine. Nearby, the Kirbies were helping Gengu regain consciousness, it seemed- he must’ve been the one they’d gotten the key from.

“Sure did!” he said happily. “Hey, we found out some weird stuff about this whole setup. Apparently-”

“Some people have special piece chess hats on,” Tiff said, though her expression looked…strange. Awkward. “And those pieces have something in them that’ll help break through this weirdness.”

“Yeah!” Tuff agreed. “Guess you figured it out, huh?”

To his surprise, she shook her head. “Nope. The Kirbies told me.” With a sad smile, she held out her hand- and it had a golden Queen piece in it. “After they freed me, that is.”

“Wait…they got you?” Tuff asked in surprise.

“I’m pretty sure they did,” she admitted. “I can’t really remember a thing between when that gunk swallowed me up and when the Kirbies freed me…”

“Probably for the best,” Great King Dedede grunted. But then he smiled. “Still, great to have you back, kid!” Tiff beamed.

“Glad to be back,” she said eagerly. “So, have you seen how this all works, then?”

“Sure have,” Magolor confirmed.

“Hey, everyone!” Big Kirby said as he ran over, Little Kirby right behind him. “C’mon! We just got this Rook Piece!”

“And we got a Bishop Key,” Dedede said. “Which means there’s pairs of pieces, and that means we need to get both Knights, another Rook, and the Queen key, and we know where the last one of those is.” He turned towards the castle. “Got a feeling that the King key won’t be necessary.”

“But, ah…might we want to get the rest of them first, I think?” Magolor suggested quickly. “Just to avoid needless backtracking. I hate that.”

“Same!” Big Kirby admitted.

Escargoon was not having a good time. His liege had been taken over by that creepy mask, and suddenly his voice was deeper, he was way stronger, and he almost seemed too malevolent. And yet all he did was sit there. In his throne. Like always. The problem was that he didn’t move at all. He was almost a statue- save for when Escargoon tried to use the armrest to call Nightmare Enterprises; the new masked Dedede had warned him coldly to never touch that armrest again ‘should he value the ability to use his own’.

The King NEVER talked like that before. Even when threatening violence, it usually had a unique…Dedede-ness about it. It was never just direct and simple pain. No, this would be Dedede seemed only satisfied when he stood next to the king stock still, much like the imposter himself did. “At least pass some interesting laws if you’re gonna take over!” he groused mentally. “ Declare a holiday, ban spinach, do SOMETHING!”

The masked Dedede turned his head, and Escargoon flinched, expecting more of his wrath. “Send for the castle pieces,” he commanded.

“The…pardon?” Escargoon stammered out.

“The…Dees…” he ground out, tone threatening severely. “And my servants!”

“Y-yes sir! At once!” Escargoon saluted, before bounding off to do just that. “Boy, for once I hope this plot falls on its face! Think I’d rather have the old King back…”

Masked Dedede simply smiled cruelly. He’d have to fix that little rebellious streak in the snail when he got back. He wore his thoughts too openly; a pathetically simple tell.

Fortunately for him, it would be a simple task. Just as it would be to fix the two knights attempting to spy on him…

—-----------

Now more confident in their approach to things, many hands (and flying associates) made for light work- using Magolor, Taranza, and Daroach’s airship as spotters, they were able to quickly find the remaining special pieces.

The Knights had been Spikehead and Iro, which, being honest, hadn’t been too much trouble. Iro was dealt with, same as the others, whereas Spikehead, apart from the occasional electric shock he managed to create around his body, hadn’t posed much of a threat either. They’d been together, which had resulted in a quicker retrieval, fortunately.

The second Rook had been Honey- and hadn’t THAT been a careful one? Honey had nearly Hi Jump levels capability with her augmented skills according to Big Kirby; she’d nearly flown clear up to the airship! Fortunately though, it hadn’t been permanent. She’d floated down upon getting exhausted, they’d webbed her up and gently plucked the Rook piece off of her head- before smashing it with extreme prejudice.

That left the Queen piece- which as far as they could tell, there was only one of. And with that in mind, they made their way back to the square. “Here’s where it all began,” Tiff announced.

Great King Dedede, guarded by the rest, quickly let the Queen piece do its thing; ripping apart the force field that blocked the Queen key from them, and snatching it up quickly. “Got it!” With all eight keys in hand, he looked through them- and noticed they began to glow, if nothing else. “Alrighty. I’m guessing that means we found them all.” He looked towards the castle. “We all know the next stop, so let’s get to it!” Various sounds of affirmation followed, and off they went.

Upon reaching the castle via airship, they noticed a curious sight- Susie was standing outside of the castle gates, as was Bandana Dee. Fortunately, they waved down the airship- not possessed or anything then, good. Daroach kept at the wheel in case they needed a quick getaway. “Hey!” Big Kirby cheered as the rest of them dropped down. “So this is where you were!”

The drawbridge was up, and notably, there were four slots, seemingly magical in nature, that permeated the force field area where the drawbridge was.

Susie nodded. “It wasn’t hard to deduce the cause of what happened to Cappy Town. Myself and Bandana Dee, as well as Meta Knight were barely spared. Mostly because we got out of range in time.”

“Say, where IS Meta Knight?” Kirby asked, looking around. He didn’t see him…

“He’s attempting to locate an alternate method of entry, but I can see that that perhaps won’t be necessary,” she noticed as she saw the glowing keys in Dedede’s hand. “I wager those will do the trick?”

In response almost, the keys seemed to leave his hand, and one by one, jammed themselves into their respective slots in the forcefield, each impacting with the force of a thundershot.

“...he wanted this,” Kirby whispered to Dedede, who nodded. “Wouldn’t have been keys otherwise.”

“Wonder why,” Great King Dedede admitted, but before Kirby could respond, the ethereal barrier surrounding Castle Dedede suddenly wavered- and shattered, vanishing. The drawbridge ominously and slowly lowered, to the concern of all.

“C’mon!” Big Kirby said, quickly followed by Little Kirby as they charged in.

“Not a Waddle Dee in sight,” Tiff muttered, looking around as they stepped in. “Strange…”

“Fine with me,” Great King Dedede said as he hefted his hammer. “Let’s end this game, huh?”

The lack of Waddle Dees was noticeable as they walked through the halls, heading for the throne room. The place felt more empty and foreboding than ever. “I wonder if mom and dad are okay…” Tiff wondered softly.

“They gotta be, right?” Tuff tried to reassure her- and himself. “They weren’t in range of all that…gunk.”

Even he didn’t sound like he believed it. When they managed to reach the throne room, opening the large doors, they were dismayed to see EXACTLY where the Waddle Dees had gone. An entire fleet of them, purple eyed and bearing spears. Behind them, were Sword and Blade Knight, to their surprise, clearly manipulated as well. Escargoon stood near the King himself. But that wasn’t who the kids were paying the most attention to.

“Mom! Dad!” Tiff yelled in sorrow and shock. Sure enough, Sir Ebrum and Lady Like stood next to the knights, both behatted, and both sporting those same lidded, purple eyes.

“Wait…that mask…” Taranza started, eyes widening. “How is-”

They didn’t have time to speak further. “Go!” Masked Dedede commanded, and like a tide, his servants surged forth.

“Keep the kids back!” Great King Dedede roared as Big Kirby, him, and the rest of the Star Allies present went to meet them. Bandana Dee and Susie held the two at bay while the rest went to work.

The wave of Waddle Dees met them first- loathe though King Dedede was to use excessive force, he had little choice in this matter and just had to hope they wouldn’t get too hurt. Two swings of his hammer sent a number of them flying, spears and all, though he soon had to defend against a multitude coming his way, forcing him to back off. Taranza quickly bound two of them, sending them careening away with a quick bump, before dodging out of the way of three more, allowing Big Kirby to inhale them, and launch them all as a Blaster Bullet, clearing a path to the King. “That mask is giving EVERYONE a boost!” Taranza said quickly. “We need to work fast!”

Magolor met him similarly, two spheres erupting from his hands and knocking over a set of them- though he quickly had to put up his guard against Sword Knight, who made to leap over the throng to strike him down. Sword met magic barrier in a clash of sparks as Sword Knight tried to force his way through, pushing down as hard as he could. “Come now, is this really necessary?” Magolor snarked as he shoved the knight off of him into a group of Waddle Dees that caught him. Sword Knight attempted to rebound, but quickly found himself waylaid by Big Kirby, who’d pivoted to the new issue as well, quickly sliding underneath Sword Knight to trip him, and inhaling and firing off the Waddle Dees again to keep the path steady.

Great King caught at least two Waddle Dees that sought to strike at him, bowling them over before meeting Blade Knight’s attack, who struck at his hammer in a clear attempt to cut it apart. It wasn’t normal wood that made up his hammer, however; each clash was deflected as Dedede quickly parried the first two strikes left to right, before jabbing out to impact Blade with the head of the weapon, shoving him back. He sought to leap back on top, and Great King prepared to meet him again after a sweeping attack cleared out the Waddle Dees approaching him-

“Yiiiiiiah!” he suddenly paused in alarm; that sounded like-

“MOM!” Tiff yelled in a panic as, in a seeming disregard for her own safety, Lady Like dived onto the back of Great King Dedede, throwing him off balance in his surprise. “She…is…mine!” she whispered, violet eyes glaring.

“W-what?!” Great King could only stumble, shocked as the weight imbalance left him wide open for a lunging stab from Blade Knight-

-when a blur of dark blue came between them both, and a golden sword blocked his own. “Meta Knight!” Tuff said in shock.

“Go!” he said as he resisted the attacks of his subordinate. “We will help handle the crowd!”

“We?” the monarch asked- before he heard the fluttering of wings.

Big Kirby quickly inhaled a spare spear, copying the ability, and beginning to meet the assailants with a multitude of quick jabs and pokes. “He probably means me and-”

Another blur dived down from the air, rending the spears of the Waddle Dees that had broken away from the mages to attack King Dedede in twain. “They’ll not get past us,” Winged Meta Knight said assuredly. “Destroy this masked imposter!”

King Dedede tried to nod- but quickly was reminded of the madam on his back. “Gah, right!” He reached behind himself- fortunately, Lady Like was the furthest thing from a fighter, and though she might’ve gotten a boost of strength, it was…minimal. Taranza quickly turned to him, flinging a web that bound her tightly, if securely. “Thanks!”

Sir Ebrum and Escargoon were just as ensorcelled, the two of them charging; while he sidestepped Sir Ebrum neatly; he fell near Big Kirby, who was quick to tap him over the head just to be safe, before quickly lifting him off to be safely secured. Escargoon, Dedede was a bit less merciful towards, shoving him aside to send him spiraling on the floor- the lackey was clearly still possessed of some cowardice, as he quickly retreated inside his shell.

At this point, however, Masked Dedede had seen how the battle was turning out. “It is…uncouth for the King to take the opponent’s pawns,” he said, standing up. “But it appears I have no choice.” With that, he bounded up- Great King backed up as he recognized a Super Dedede Jump, and upon landing, the massive shockwave that erupted threw most of the Dees and other combatants clear. The masked king let out a mighty roar as Great King Dedede stared down his counterpart. ‘Wonder if this is what it’s like whenever Kirby squares off with ME in that mask…Well, worry about that later!’ He spun his hammer once, and swung hard as Masked Dedede charged, his own hammer alight with sharp purple energy in a vicious overhead swing. The two powers collided, hammerheads crashing into each other and blowing them both back. ‘Alright…let’s try that again!’

Masked Dedede charged again, spinning himself around in a massive swing- Dedede leaped over, body turning into a flip as he brought the hammer down on Masked Dedede’s head, causing the menace to practically belly flop on the ground, with Dedede landing safely. He turned around, only to see the unmasked King charging him- and promptly showing him how to properly head slide.

This time, when he landed from the modified tackle, everyone around him heard the massive crack that sounded as Masked Dedede’s face hit the floor. Rising up, it was clear that the mask had a visible crack in it- stretching from the top of his head to the eye. That eye, however, was now set in a scowl.

Great King Dedede just grinned, twirling his hammer again in a taunt.

In the meantime, while both Susie and Bandee had managed to keep them away from the majority of the scrum, it now fell to Magolor and Taranza, along with the Meta Knights, to allow the duel to take place unimpeded. Susie in particular had managed to fetch Sir Ebrum and Lady Like, who had fallen nearby, and were holding them in her Business Suit’s arms tightly enough that they couldn’t escape. Tiff and Tuff were relieved that their parents were okay, for lack of a better term, but they were similarly spellbound by the duel that was taking place. Great King Dedede jumped to avoid another strike, but to their alarm, the attack hit the ground anyway, causing the area nearby to be surrounded in purple electricity.

It didn’t get near them, but the kids were shocked when they saw the King puff up and seem to fly above the entire attack. “Wait, he can fly?” Tiff asked incredulously.

“Sure can!” Bandee responded. “After his first defeat at Kirby’s hands, he trained REALLY hard. In fact, while he can’t Copy, he can inhale just as good as Kirby can! Maybe even better!” Big Kirby, who’d stayed behind to help keep them safe, just glared at Bandee, who shrugged.

Tiff's eyes went wide. “You CAN’T be serious.”

“No no,” Susie interjected as they watched Great King Dedede land a clean strike on Masked Dedede’s stomach. “I’ve actually measured them. King Dedede’s suction range is approximately 1.3 times that of Kirby’s at maximum vacuum, barring outside influence.”

“Range!” Big Kirby protested. “NOT power! I’m still better!”

Susie leaned in close. “ Very quick way to get on Pinky’s nerves,” she whispered. “Don’t do it. Unless it’s funny.”

“It’s never funny!” Big Kirby complained.

Suddenly, a loud roar distracted them all- focusing back on the bout, they’d found that Great King Dedede had smashed Masked Dedede’s mask…at least somewhat. The shot had done enough to cause half of the mask to fall off- as well as his hammer to be wrenched free from his hands, tumbling towards the group in question…

“W-wha..you!” Masked Dedede’s eyes had flashed normal but for a moment, as the purple reasserted itself quickly. “Im-IMPOSTAH!” he ground out as his hands suddenly sparked with electricity again…

And the attack seemed to stream straight for Dedede, one he couldn’t entirely defend against, even though his hammer was put up. “Gaaaah!” He grunted, though he kept his footing… if barely. The shocks wracked his body, and second after second he found it harder to stay up. Great King Dedede strained with exertion, trying to prevent being forced to a knee…if he could just get in close…!

“I…will not concede…” Masked Dedede ground out. It was clear that this was taxing on the mindwarped monarch as well, and it was coming down to a battle of wills. “I…will…end this…”

And then a shadow came over him; he barely had time to register it as he looked up in surprise- and was met with a hammer to the face.

“Hammer Kirby!” Meta Knight said in surprise, looking at his defending counterpart. “Excellent!”

“Great shot!” Big Kirby cheered.

For a moment after, however, it was like time had stopped. Little Kirby leapt off of the Masked Dedede- only for a sudden backhand to send him sailing.

“Kirby!” Tiff yelled, breaking away through sheer panic to leap for her friend; in a moment it felt like she’d cleared several meters, catching him against her snugly as she landed. “Are you okay?”

“Whoa,” Tuff said in surprise. “Great catch.”

“Ngggh…” at that, however, they both turned to see that the remainder of the mask still was attached to Masked Dedede’s face, if in multiple cracks and fissures. “This…won’t…stop…me!” Slowly, the fragments began to glow, and for a moment, an ethereal version of the half that had been missing began to form…

“Right, I’ve had enough of this!” yelled Great King Dedede as he reared back. “Hey!” As soon as Masked Dedede turned, likely to gloat, threaten, whatever- Dedede took his hammer, and spun much like his counterpart had done early in the fight- only in HIS case, Great King Dedede let the hammer go. “CHECKMATE!”

It impacted flush, and all and sundry saw the Mask utterly shatter into less than pebbles as the once-Masked Dedede toppled over like a tree, crashing to the ground unconscious. One by one, as they tinkled to the floor, the pieces seemed to burst in small bits of purple smoke, dissipating.

More importantly, as they looked to their parents, Tiff and Tuff were elated to see the violet leave their eyes. “...I say!” Sir Ebrum said with a puzzled look. “What happened? I was being dragged to see the King, and suddenly I see you, dear?”

Tiff could only smile in relief, small tears dropping down her face in happiness. “I…it’s a bit of a story, dad. But everything’s okay now.”

However, that DID leave King Dedede with a face full of mallet. Not that anyone minded. There was a lot of cleanup to do.

Chapter 36: Phantom Thief

Chapter Text

“Alright, so I think it’s high time you poor sods learned how to defend yourselves properly,” Magolor said outright to his limited class. After the Chess Corruption Incident (“Feel proud; we don’t call every little problem an Incident,” Magolor had said, which earned him a smack from Big Kirby) the King himself had been passed out for over a day now. He was still obviously alive, and according to both scientific and magical medical scans, King Dedede would make a full recovery…after a lot of rest. No one complained about that, least of all the castle occupants. While none of them (or the town citizens, for that matter) had any real recollection of what happened between getting mind-spun and being released, there were enough grumblings to indicate King Dedede might’ve crossed a line- even to Escargoon, who was nonetheless keeping quiet.

Even two days in, Tiff wasn’t expecting that public sentiment to last, but she WAS a bit hopeful. She (and hopefully others) would take him to task once he woke up. In the meantime, however, she’d returned to school, as Magolor and Taranza had hinted that the next lessons would be ‘very relevant’.

“It’s clear this place is a magnet for danger, so you should at least be able to weather the storm a bit instead of being tossed around,” Magolor continued. He’d brought them out near Whispy’s Woods, and currently the seven of them were being lectured; Tiff surmised that they’d be going in before long. “So, I’m teaching you all a bit more about channeling, affinities or no. Well, for the most part,” he said with a glance at Tuff, who just frowned and folded his arms. “Really, with enough practice you’ll find that your day to day routine has become miles easier and wonder how you ever got along without the stuff. Now, first, a test.” He fixed them with an imperious glare. “Focus! Under ten seconds, now! Ten, nine, eight…”

He got to ‘two’ before everyone was lit with the light of Focus. “...adequate, I suppose. Could still use some work, but considering many of you are literal children, I guess it can’t be helped. Drop Focus, if you please.”

The lights went out, and Kawasaki raised his hand. The kids were honestly surprised he’d managed to Focus as well (though to be fair, he WAS the one that’d gotten down to two), but no, he DID seem to have some sort of talent. “Hey, teach? Uhh, I was wonderin’. Alla this is great, an’ it’s helped out my cookin’ a bit, too!” Tiff was surprised at that. How would magic training help cooking? “But, ah, is anyone really expectin’ a chef like me ta fight?”

“Probably not, no,” Magolor answered with a long-suffering sigh. “But your affinity for BEING a Cook is much better than you think it is. Your role in any severe situation would be either cleanup or provisions. Often both, and I’m going to inform you how.”

“..oh! I think I could do that! I can’t battle a baddie, but I can sure battle hunger pangs!” he joked.

“...moving right along,” Magolor continued. “Considering all of you seem to have at least the basic idea behind Focus and can do it in a halfway respectable timeframe, I’m going to talk to you about Channeling and why it’s more than just Focusing. There’s some basic similarities, namely the concentration bit. But Channeling is where magic REALLY starts to happen, especially if you have an affinity.” He began to float back and forth, lecturing while he paced. “Now, Channeling is the first, most basic instance of Magic you can do- you have to channel a spell through yourself, and then you have to bully the world into letting it out, like we mentioned at the start of classes. Taranza’s classes are starting with Channeling as well, but unlike them, we’re not going to just be summoning tiny balls of light for vision at night. No, we’re going to do something more relevant here.” He carefully looked over all of them, eyes lingering on Tuff and Tiff. “I suspect most of you have played around with channeling already, maybe even gotten some results, but here, I’m going to try to express how to do it somewhat SAFELY. You won’t even be letting it leave your bodies very far. No, you’ll be doing what’s called ‘Reinforcement’ for the next while.

“What’s Reinforcement?” Tuff asked quickly.

“I’m getting to that!” he griped. “Reinforcement is a basic spell, channeled fairly simply, and it doesn’t take a lot of convincing for the world to let you do it. Inward changes are always easier than outward ones. What it does is it lets you withstand injuries that would otherwise debilitate you, and sort of ‘prep’ the groundwork for using other spells. Now, that might sound familiar, but unlike Focus, Channeling is not an augment of what you can already do. It’s the start of changing something about the world by bending the world’s ear about it. Without from within. Makes it easier to convince the world of further adjustments. ”

Tiff mused on that. That seemed almost familiar… oh. When she was trying to build up enough anger to Focus that day, she’d thought something…well, what she thought was rude, she had to admit. But she’d apparently gotten something across to the world. Though it had clearly exacted a toll, so maybe this lesson WAS necessary. “So, how do we do that?” she asked curiously, notebook prepared.

“Mindset again,” was the response. “It’s absolute certainty that you want whatever it is to come through. The idea is simple. You are resistant. ‘This technique, this danger, this whatever-it-is is not capable of harming me.’ Things like that. You have to feel like, in this case, that readiness, that resiliency? That it’s already part of you, that it’s missing, and that you want it back. Now, HOW resilient you are can vary, and I can (sadly) assure you that no one’s invincible. But! It makes anything hitting you have to try a heck of a lot harder to really hurt! Now with an affinity, it’s easier. But that doesn’t mean much. Overall, I expect you’ll be spending a while trying to nail this one down,” he admitted. “Especially because it gets into the basics of willpower vs. willpower, which is the central core of most magical combat. But, that’s a topic for later!” he dismissed. “Once you do get this down, it opens the doors to much, MUCH more almost immediately.”

“So why bring us here?” Mabel asked.

“Simple!” and here he grinned. “We need a lot of room, because we’re going to try to speed up the process! I expect ALL of you to defend, and you can defend in any way you see fit so long as you try to channel Reinforcement doing it.”

The giddy way he looked at them all made all of them shiver. “Uhh…defend against what?” Tuff asked, shakily.

Magolor just held up a small Magic Sphere in response. “I suggest you run and make use of the 10 second headstart I just gave you,” he said gleefully.

They ran.

That evening, Tiff and Tuff trudged back to the castle- they were both beyond exhausted, having been Magolor’s not-exactly-willing target dummies for the better part of the day as everyone else had. “That was sooooo rough…” Tuff exclaimed, sweat dripping from his head. He had been flattened several times by the reduced power magic spheres, but they still were as rough as a good tackle in a soccer game, leaving him with several stains on his shirt and shoes and…a lot of places, really. “Augh…I didn’t think THAT’D be part of being a mage…”

“I…I can’t believe he’d do that to us…” Tiff panted. She was nearly in as bad shape, her ponytail ragged and nearly gone outright- the hairband she had keeping it in place was on its last legs, and she looked and felt like she’d had to keep up with worse. “He…he’s a monster…” she said, more complaints than actual accusations. She’d found, to her weary surprise, that though she’d been knocked down more than a few times, she’d at least found the energy to get back up every time, even if she hadn’t defended against anything.

None of them had managed to Channel anything in fact, according to Magolor, but he’d kept up the pelting nonetheless ‘for motivation’. Even Honey hadn’t escaped the onslaught, but they’d all somehow stuck it out. ‘If anyone’d gotten it Day 1, I’d have been shocked silly,’ Magolor had admitted with a chuckle before he let them go. The thought of having to face that again made her vision swim. “Let’s just get to bed,” she muttered. “We’ll turn in early.”

“I’m down,” Tuff admitted, and though the walk felt long, they indeed managed to get in, get bathed, and passed out quite early, more than feeling the soreness for tomorrow. Tiff couldn’t even bear to write about it in her diary, nor could Tuff find the energy to put up his soccer ball. They’d do it in the morning. For the time being, they both fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

“Chiiiiildren!” Their mother called from the other room, waking them up all too soon. “Breakfaaaast!”

The two managed to drag themselves out of bed; soreness was still plenty present, but it was much lesser at least. The two hauled themselves into their seats as breakfast was served…though there was something about their mother that looked…vaguely different. “Mom? Did you do something with your hair?” Tiff asked.

Lady Like simply blushed, giggling a bit for whatever reason. “O-oh! So you noticed. Well…it’s a bit embarrassing, but for whatever reason I can’t find my hair dryer!” She waved it off. “I just dried it with a towel, I’m sure ze silly thing will turn up sooner zan later…”

“It’s the darndest thing, really,” their father admitted. “I was certain it was on the top of our dresser last night. I won’t have a great deal of time to look for it, I’m afraid…”

“King Dedede’s still not up?” Tiff asked.

“It seems not,” Sir Ebrum confirmed. “While the law states that technically Escargoon is in charge if the King is unavailable, he’s not shown his face either. So stewardship falls to me, I’m afraid…” Sir Ebrum let out a sigh. “Not exactly my preferred role, but I’ll do what I must.”

“You got this, dad,” Tiff reassured.

“Yeah, you can hold down the fort!” Tuff agreed, before looking pensive. “Prob’ly easier than our training right now…”

“Dears, are you sure you’re okay?” Lady Like asked, concerned. Her tone was soft, cautious, but if Tiff didn’t know any better, she’d say it held a warning- though for who, she wasn’t sure.

“We’ll be fine, mom,” Tiff said, nonetheless. “It’s just exhausting, really.”

“Yeah. Like, imagine if I went like, four soccer games back to back,” Tuff elaborated. “It’s kinda like that…”

Lady Like put a hand to her face in surprise. “Oh. My, that sounds tiring. Well, remember that no one’s forcing you, dears- you can always be done with it if you want!” she promised.

“No way!” Tuff immediately rebutted, fist in the air. “I’m gonna be a great mage, no matter what!” he proclaimed.

“I at least want to figure out more about magic,” Tiff agreed. “I’m learning things about myself I never even thought about before…”

“...hmmm…well, darlings, remember we’re always here for you, alright?” Sir Ebrum said resolutely. “If I had to, I’d certainly drop any ruling matters to make sure you’re both alright!”

“Thanks, dad, but we’ll make it through,” she declared. Tuff nodded.

They finished breakfast, and went to get about their day, their parents waving them off.

When they got home, once again battered and exhausted, however, they noticed a number of Waddle Dee’s scurrying around more than normal. “Wonder what’s got them all worked up…” Tuff wondered.

“S’cuse me, just a moment!” the voice of Captain Doo said behind them. They turned to see the captain with a clipboard, looking at them intently. “Kids, you- yeesh,” he briefly interrupted himself. “Rough day?”

“You could say that,” Tiff said, brushing a stray lock of now-loose hair out of her face. She didn’t want to get people commenting on similarities. “What’s up?”

“Just wanted ta know if you two have had anything missin’,” he explained. “Apparently the Waddle Dees an’ others have found that a lotta stuff’s been vanishing recently. Bunches o’ food, couplea paintings, a few other things.”

They looked at each other in surprise. “Mom DID say her hair dryer was missing…” Tiff noted. “Maybe we should double check…”

“Yeah, we’ll be right back!” Tuff said as they both quickly ran off.

To their shock, they were quick to notice some things missing, and it wasn’t long before they raced back to Captain Doo. “My diary’s gone!” she wailed.

Tuff looked at her curiously. “Thought you said it was a-” She just fixed him with a dangerous glare. “Uh- my soccer ball’s gone, too! I left it next to the door yesterday evening and now it’s gone!”

“Sooo…seems like we got ourselves an old-fashioned mystery on our hands. Hmm…” Captain Doo considered the issue. “We’re gonna haveta take statements from everyone we can, then, an’ start questionin’ suspects!”

“Can we help?” Tiff asked. She was reluctant to admit it, but she was more than a little dismayed that her diary had vanished. “We can see if anyone around town’s missing anything, too!”

“Hmmm…actually, I might haveta ask you two to question one of our biggest suspects,” Doo said thoughtfully.

That wasn’t what they expected at all. “Us? Why?”

“Simple,” he said. “‘Cause it’s one o’ them Star Ally fellas.”

It wasn’t hard to deduce who their primary suspect was after that.

“Me, eh?” Daroach said, lounging next to the lake near Kirby’s house, watching the puff play around. They’d been surprised at how quick he was to find. “Sorry, but while I’d love to take credit for a rash of likely well-executed thefts, I’m afraid me and the boys have been sticking to treasure hunting in the outer areas of the Kingdom as of late. Not to mention-” he gestured to Little Kirby. “I’ve been tasked with watching the tyke while the ‘good king’ and his cohort are back home for a bit of business.”

“What kind of business?” Tiff asked, raising an eyebrow. “That sure sounds convenient.”

He shrugged. “Star Allies business. Ask Susie, she was at the meeting, too. Right now, it’s just me, the Squad, and the Trouble Team.”

“Trouble Team?” Tuff asked in surprise.

“Susie, Taranza, and Magolor. Star Allies in-joke. But, this isn’t about them, right?” He grinned. “I can’t say I’m behind these little capers. Although, if you want my expert advice?” He leaned back, tilting his hat over his face. “Whoever is, is probably confused.”

That was strange, to Tiff. “Confused?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yup. No pattern of value or target type. That says to me that they’re either takin’ anything they can get their hands on- which still ain’t likely because they’d have taken a lot more- or they ain’t sure of what they’re lookin’ for in the first place, so they’re spitballing and taking anything that they think qualifies.” He shrugged. “Heck, for all I know, it could be both!”

“Hmmm…” Tiff thought about that. Random objects? No sense at all? She supposed she could see the logic. Well, assuming Doron was still locked up, she might as well make a stop on the way to town to ask questions… “Alright. C’mon, Tuff, we got a businesslady to talk to.”

The Guard Waddle Dees at the gates welcomed them in; it was a workday, clearly, but apparently Tiff had ‘special clearance’ for whatever reason. ‘Is this her way of paying me back for helping her? Tiff mused as they entered the facilities of the screwhead-shaped building.

They were MUCH different than she remembered- now a sterling white and pink, with the Haltmann Works Company logo proudly displayed on the floor, the main room had been segmented off here and there, where she could just see Cappies working. However- there was a desk right next to the entrance, where sat a strange figure that she’d never seen before. It…actually resembled Kirby a bit, though at a glance she could tell that it had a longer head, a sort of black mask, and wearing some sort of white jumpsuit… “Greetings! And welcome to the Haltmann Works Company Production Facility, Pop Star B site!” It had a cheery voice, and seemed to be expecting her. “You’re Miss and Mister Tiff and Tuff Ebrum, correct?” Tuff grimaced at being called ‘Mister’, but said nothing.

“...yeah,” she agreed, looking around briefly at the new area. “I just need to talk to Susie for a bit. It’s a…local matter.”

“Hm.” It tapped a few buttons on some sort of console she couldn’t see from in front of the desk. “Ms. Haltmann is busy right now, but you’re whitelisted for clearance to proceed through the factory unescorted. Please, go straight ahead, then ascend the stairs to your left, then proceed through the doorway straight ahead and it’ll be the third door on your right. I’ll make sure Ms. Haltmann knows you’re on your way!”

“Thanks,” Tuff said brusquely, tugging on his sister’s arm. “C’mon, let’s go!”

“I’m coming, don’t take my arm off!” she complained, looking around as they walked. On one side were desks and readouts from those strange, almost unreal screens, but on the other were line production items, much as she remembered from the days under Dedede- however, they all seemed to have abandoned the automated belt feed. From what she could tell, they pulled a lever to advance to the next product. Electric fan casings on one, it looked like a pair of others were working on finishing hair dryers…ah, right. She was here for questions. Up the stairs here, then through the door straight ahead…

“Ah, hello,” Susie said, appearing just beyond the doorway- it appeared that she’d moved to meet them. As always, she had her tablet in hand. “What brings you here? From the looks on your faces, I surmise this is no social call.”

“Afraid not. Is there somewhere we can speak privately?” Tiff asked.

“Mmm…” Susie gave the distinct impression of being both curious and displeased. “Follow me,” she finally said, heading back through the hallway.

“Thefts? Really?” the mogul said in surprise after they’d explained the situation. She’d led them to a large workroom that seemed to be completely empty at the moment. All Tiff could tell about the area was that it was chock full of massive cogs and gears, something she couldn’t puzzle out why- not that it mattered right now. “I wasn’t expecting a crime spree here of all places. A shame the rest aren't here to investigate right now.”

Well, that verified at least some of Daroach's claims. “So you really don’t think it was Daroach?” Tiff asked. “I was hoping if it was, you could tell him to knock it off.”

“No, no, silent thefts aren’t his style,” Susie rebutted. “If it was him and his gang, you’d already know. He loves the infamy. But this is both concerning and a potential market. Obviously, we don’t want our goods to be stolen. But I wonder if this might prompt a desire for home security systems…” she muttered to herself.

“Do you have any idea who it COULD be?” Tiff prompted. “Or at least a way to help out?”

Susie went quiet at that, considering. “...hmmm…I might have something, actually,” she decided, heading back further into the workroom. “Step carefully.” She led them past the massive cogs, and to a smaller offshoot room that was no less disheveled. Here, she dug into what seemed to be a few transport boxes, opening one in particular. “I had no real use for these until perhaps recently, but it’s sounding like I really do need to drag these out again,” she said, holding up what seemed to be a cube-shaped object. “These will detect any movement from any non-authorized individuals up to a 10 meter radius, and fire a laser meant for either…sincere damage, or if you prefer, temporary incapacitation, shall we say. You can set the mode here-” she pointed to a specific, tiny button on one side. “Once for standby, twice for near-lethal, three times for incapacitation. And you can perform the authorized individual registration process by pressing and holding this button,” she pointed to another one not far from it. “Just make sure that anyone you want to register as ‘allowed’ is in the room at the time,” she noted. “The power button is on the other side.”

“Aw, sweet!” Tuff said, picking one up. “This ought to make sure we don’t get burgled again!”

Tiff wasn’t sure how much these things would help, herself. It wasn't even what she was asking for, but…well, maybe it might be good to get something to reassure her parents. Better than nothing in case the culprit wasn’t caught by tonight. “Do you have enough for the castle? It doesn’t look like it…"

“These aren’t hard to develop, don’t worry. But for now we should test them in a smaller location. You’re a family of four, correct?” Susie noted. “Then I’ll give you three for free.”

Tiff blinked. “Wait, but there’s four of us?”

“Yes, I think it’s a rather excellent deal!” she said happily. “I suspect the fourth would be worth about forty D-Bills or so, considering exchange rate and value,” she surmised. “If you want, we could engage the transaction right here at the factory!”

Tiff just sighed.

After having left (without paying for the fourth), she and Tuff made to ask around town. Fortunately, it seemed like no one was missing anything, actually. Whatever it was, it was relegated to the castle alone. That made things even more curious. When they informed Captain Doo of this, he’d merely sighed and said that he’d upgrade security. For now, that was all he could do while still investigating.

“...this seems almost too simple,” Tiff later said, staring at the boxes later at home. “I feel like there should be some sort of catch to it.”

“Well, my hair dryer waz rather simple to work, too,” Lady Like admitted. “I got it from zem, after all.” Huh. Tiff hadn’t known that, and she wasn’t sure what to think of it.

“So, apparently, this thing should catch the burglar if they strike us again?” their father summarized. “I hope that turns out to be the case…how do you activate it, anyway?”

After they’d managed the process (though it certainly took time), the blocks were placed, the day finished up, and they all hoped for good news come the morning.

When they woke up, while no thief was caught, it WAS a relief that they hadn’t been victims once again. “I wonder if it was really these security blocks,” Tiff muttered to herself at breakfast. They might’ve just been done with the place…

Suddenly, a loud and heavy rapping on the door shocked them all. Looking at each other in surprise, it was Tiff who got up to answer first. “Hello- hey!” she frowned. “What are you doing here?”

Escargoon stood there, arms folded and scowling. He didn’t LOOK any worse for wear, that was for certain. “Came here because you and your little cadre tend to be involved in mysterious mysteries like what’s going on right now,” he grumbled.

“Er, my apologies Escargoon, but just what do you mean?” Sir Ebrum asked, a measure of relief in his voice now that it seemed that the issue of being in charge was no longer his. The topic of what he’d been doing all this time was at the back of all of their heads, but no one seemed to want to broach the topic.

“I MEAN I’ve been keepin’ an eye on His Majesty while he recovers from your little friends’ assault in smashin’ that stupid mask off his face,” Escargoon clarified. “And when I woke up this morning and went to check on him, his hammer was NOWHERE to be found!” Tiff gasped. Not because she was all that torn up about his missing hammer, but because the thief HAD simply passed them over. “Any clue what’s going on here, short stuff? Or am I gonna have to get nosy?”

“There’s a thief, sure, but we don’t know who it is yet!” she battled back. “We asked around town and no one else’s had anything stolen.”

“Yeah, yeah, I asked Doo about alla that,” Escargoon dismissed. “He’s half-decent on his best day. But I know that there’s a rat-friend o’ yours that’s got a history of this…”

“Daroach is…” she hesitated. “Several things…but I don’t think he did this,” she defended.

“Indeed I didn’t,” came a voice from out near the hall, to everyone’s surprise. Poking their heads out, they saw the leader of the Squeak Squad himself, floating placidly in the hallway. He tipped his hat as a greeting. “Apologies for the sudden appearance. The front door was open,” he said with a formal smile.

“Aha!” Escargoon started. “And just why are YOU here?! Retrieving evidence?”

“Oho, if only. No, the little lady’s quite the busy bee, and I was wondering if she’d managed to uncover anything. Seems not, and because of that, I find myself most curious in discovering just who’s behind this work for myself. It’s been impressive from the outside, I’ll say that…” And that accursed grin crept across Daroach’s face. “...but I think it’s high time a master of the craft looked into things.”

Chapter 37: Cat and Mouse

Chapter Text

It’d been a schoolday full of wondering and concern for them. Daroach had promised that he’d have at least a lead by the time they got back, but that hardly allayed their concerns. Still, their teacher was more than happy to remind them of the training that they had to get through before they could go check on that little problem. If she didn't know any better, she’d have said that he actually went easy on them a bit today, though. It didn't feel like his spheres hurt as much this time around- though they certainly still sent her sprawling. When she asked him about it, he simply shrugged. “Does it matter? The point is what YOU think. After all, if they don’t hurt to you…then they won’t, now will they?”

He had a point, she supposed. Instead, they worked through the day to improve upon it; by the time they all left, although breathing hard and still looking like they came out of the wrong end of a mass fight, they had just about entirely forgotten about the issues awaiting them at home.

Which is why when they opened the door to their living room and saw a massive blue mouse sitting there, eating a massive sandwich opposite Little Kirby, who had his own melons they nearly screamed for help. Before they could, however, a more familiar face came out of the kitchen. “Hey there, kiddos!” Spinni had a sandwich. “Glad you’re all smiles, lookin’ good.”

“...huh?” Tiff said in surprise. She’d briefly met them during the incident, but they didn’t exactly have a lot of time to learn about each other. “Wwwwhat are you doing in my house?”

“Well, boss said he wanted to see who’s musclin’ in on our turf, an’ yer ma said it was cool, so we’re all takin’ a break from lookin’ around. He said to be ready to get back out there once you two got back home from learnin’ how to sling spells, too. And that means…yo!” He turned to the big blue mouse. “Storo! Up an’ at ‘em! Kids are here, so we’re back on th’ beat!”

Storo obediently rose from the couch- Tiff flinched at the imprint he’d left. They might need to get a new one. “...Sorry,” he said as he looked back to see his own handiwork. “...didn’t mean ta mess it up.”

She blinked, once, then just let out a sigh. She hadn’t been expecting him to apologize, or even realize. Something to remember, she supposed. “It…we’ll deal with it. Where’s Daroach?”

“Waiting for my cue,” came a voice behind them, and they both jumped immediately, turning to see the red-caped leader floating there in all his glory. “Excellent to see you two still have some energy in you! We might need it, as I’ve found what I’m fairly sure is a clue or two.”

“Wait, ya did?” Tuff asked excitedly. “What is it? Didja find my soccer ball?”

“No, alas,” he apologized, “But I did find something most interesting in the kitchen where the food was stolen. If you’d all follow me?” Tiff and Tuff couldn’t think of much else, so they did. “We’ve already investigated a few places, but haven’t turned up much until recently. I can say this, however- I was, I think, a touch wrong earlier.”

“You were?” Tiff repeated, surprised. “How?”

“I said that they were confused and didn’t know what they were aiming at. Now, though? After quizzing that Doo about what was lost and asking your folks about a few things, I think it’s simply that what they’re going for doesn’t have traditional worth.” Thinking about it, she realized that he had something of a point.

Her mother’s hair dryer (though she’d NEVER badmouth her mother in front of anyone, she’d admit privately that her mom could be…vain), her brother’s soccer ball that he cherished and played with as much as he could afford to, her own di-journal…although she wondered why her father hadn’t had anything taken from him, not to mention the strangeness with the food. “So it’s more sentimental value?”

“Bingo,” Daroach confirmed. “Something precious to these individuals that they want to keep.”

“How’s food an’ paintings sentimental?” Tuff asked.

“For food, I’m thinking it’s a favorite food, judging by how Captain Doo said the Dees enjoy it, but for paintings, apparently the artwork stolen was some of the first done for the King. I’m thinking that still qualifies. Or, again, I might be off-base.” He looked back at them. “It’s important to never get too comfortable with one line of thinking. I’m fairly certain I’m on the right track now, but I’m not going to count my treasure before it’s pilfered.” She didn’t like the phrasing, but she could at least respect the intention. “Ah, here we are.” Sure enough, they were soon in the kitchen- a couple of Dees were busy cooking, but fortunately, where they were looking towards wasn’t near the stove. Rather, it was in the opposite corner. It was blocked off- or rather, guarded- by Doc, who moved out of the way. “Take a looksee.”

They did, and the lot of them were surprised to see…nothing. Or at least, nothing immediate. It was in the corner where a few barrels of flour were, but nothing else. “...what are we supposed to be looking at? They’re just barrels,” Tiff said, confused.

“Yer lookin’ in the wrong place,” Doc responded. “Check the bottom of the barrel.”

She tilted her head down, and it took a bit of squinting, but… “Wait. Footprints?” Sure enough, it seemed like there were footprints, faint, composed of both dust and flour, but the lines were too evenly spaced. And that wasn’t all. “And this is a tiny piece of cloth…” It was green, and not much bigger than her finger, but it was there.

“We’re pretty sure it’s not anyone around here, considerin’ the Waddle Dees here aren’t much for fashion,” Daroach mentioned as Little Kirby moved to get a better look at it. “And accordin’ to Doc’s analysis, there’s short, fine hair attached to it. Yellow colored. Know anything or anyone that fits that bill?”

The two thought for a while, but shook their heads. “Nothin’ I can think of,” Tuff admitted.

“Me neither,” Tiff agreed. “But at least it’s a start.”

“This footprint says that they’re on the smallish side,” Daroach pointed out. “Probably not too likely they’ve got a lot of carrying capacity. My wager is that they’ve got some sorta way to cart it all with them. I got my suspicions, but like I said earlier…”

“Right, it’s too soon to make a deduction,” Tiff agreed. “Besides, it wouldn’t do any good if we can’t catch them. Still, we at least have an idea of one or two of their features.”

“Should we ask for Captain Doo to keep an eye out?” Tuff suggested. “He might be able to figure something out.”

Daroach thought back. “Y’know, I recall seein’ some familiar faces around here. Where’s lil’ Lololo and Lalala been off to? They might make some real good lookouts.”

Tiff and Tuff looked at each other in surprise. “Huh! Well…” Tiff grimaced. Loathe as she was to admit it, the last couple of weeks had had them…well, absent from their lives, somewhat. Oh sure, they saw the duo around the castle, but aside from a quick ‘hi, how’re you doing’, she’d either been too tired or otherwise preoccupied to hang out with them like she used to. Judging from Tuff’s reaction, he’d had the same lack of communication with them.

“...y’think they’re mad about it?” Tuff asked hesitantly.

“Mad or not, we at least owe them an apology,” Tiff admitted. “Buuut…well, yeah, they’d probably be a good idea to ask.” She sighed in resignation. “No time like the present, I guess…”

“You all do that,” Doc said roughly, before turning to Storo. “Help me get these barrels, wouldja? I’m gonna analyze ‘em further, see if any other traces got stuck on ‘em.” Storo wordlessly saluted.

“Oh! Well…sure!” Lololo agreed after they’d approached the two. It fortunately wasn’t too hard to find them. “No hard feelings. It looked like you were really getting into the magic stuff!”

“It would’ve been sorta interesting to try it ourselves, but we think we’re okay as is,” Lalala admitted. “All that’s kinda a sore spot with us, and we weren’t gonna rain on your parade.”

“Oh…right.” She’d almost forgotten that they were indeed monsters from Nightmare Enterprises. Logically, they’d have some ability for magic- if only so that Nightmare would be able to use them for wicked deeds. But if they didn’t want to, she’d try to make sure that the topic wasn’t brought up around them. “We really appreciate it, you two.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome of you, especially after we haven’t been the coolest,” Tuff agreed sincerely.

“Seriously, it’s okay!” Lololo assured them. “What do you need?”

“Well, there’s been a rash of thefts around here, my friends,” Daroach said, taking the lead. “Some small stranger with at least a patch of golden fur has been running around stealing anything precious to the castle inhabitants…and perhaps a bit of food due to being peckish, if the kitchens were any indication. If you could keep an eye out for anyone that might fit that depiction? We’d appreciate-.”

“Wait!” Lalala interrupted. “You said they’re kinda small, right?”

“And they were in the kitchens last night?” Lololo continued.

“That we did,” Daroach confirmed as the trio leaned in. “I take it you saw something?”

“Yeah!” they agreed, before Lololo led off. “Last night, we were stargazing for a bit later than usual!”

“And when we went to bed, we saw someone leaving the kitchen!” Lalala confirmed. “We didn’t get a good look at them, because it was pretty dark, but at the time we thought they were a Waddle Dee with a bag, so we didn’t question it.”

“But now that we think of it…why WOULD just one Waddle Dee have a bag?” Lololo asked his counterpart.

“I dunno!” Lalala admitted.

“Then that might’ve been the thief!” Tiff concluded. “Did you see what direction they went in?”

“It wasn’t for very long, but we saw them go down the south hall- I think they went to the library!” Lololo noted. “We weren’t going in the same direction, so we didn’t see much else, but that’s the only big room down the way they went.”

“It’s something, for sure!” Tuff said excitedly. “Maybe we can check the place out!”

“Or anywhere along those lines,” Daroach said, before turning to the two monsters and bowing. “My thanks for the valuable information, you two.” With that, he floated off, looking back at the siblings. “Shall we away? We’re likely to find something of note along that path.”

“Hopefully,” Tiff said. “Not like anyone but me uses the library much.”

“You two wanna come with?” Tuff offered. Tiff looked to them hopefully. It might be nice to reconnect a bit. Little Kirby even cheered, as though trying to convince them himself.

However, the twins looked at each other briefly, before shaking their heads. “We’re gonna look around the rest of the castle since we can fly to places quicker. But we’ll let you know if we find anything else. Good luck!” Lololo and Lalala said, waving them off.

“...Alright! Thanks!” Tiff said, putting a smile on her face before taking Tuff’s hand. “C’mon, let’s go.” With that, they left the two and proceeded towards the library. Looking back briefly, the two of them noticed Lololo and Lalala quickly darting out to head in the other direction, not even looking back.

The tripe was largely done in silence, but she glanced at Tuff briefly along the way- it was clear he was still feeling a bit bad about neglecting them, and considering their reaction about being around magic, especially considering that Daroach was, in some ways, magic himself, along with them LEARNING magic…

“Huh. We apologized, and they said it was okay, but…” Tuff trailed off.

“It still feels like it’s not exactly settled, huh?” Tiff finished. “Do you think they might’ve been…I mean, if they’re uncomfortable around magic, then…” She turned away. The idea that they didn’t want to be friends anymore…

“Poyo…?” Kirby said quietly. It was clear he’d understood, and was just as concerned, by the look on his face. Lololo and Lalala were his friends, too, after all.

“Friendship’s a funny thing,” Daroach commented from out of nowhere. “You can’t force it, you can’t steal it. Either it’s given freely, or you don’t have it. My crew are my friends and family…but that’s by choice. They’d never do anything they didn’t want to, and I wouldn’t want to make them. If one of them wanted to leave the fold…well, I think I’d miss them terribly, but I’d wish ‘em happy trails all the same. And I’m pretty sure they’d do the same for me.”

“So…what, just…let them go?” Tuff asked, a bit heatedly. “If you’re not gonna fight for your friendships, then were you ever really friends?”

“Fighting for your friendship is perfectly fine- so long as there’s something to fight against,” Daroach calmly responded. “But last I checked, you wanted to be a great mage, right?”

Tuff flinched. “Well, yeah…” he admitted.

“And from how they were responding, even though they ain’t fans of the stuff, they certainly don’t hate you, now do they?” he continued.

“...no,” Tuff admitted further, looking down. “I…don’t think they’d ever hate us…” Tiff nodded solemnly.

“Then you might wanna come to terms with the idea that while they don’t hate you, that whole ‘mage’ thing you’re aimin’ for might make them a touch uncomfortable,” he said simply. “Sometimes, it’s fine to acknowledge that someone can not like something even though there’s nothing wrong with it, and ya can still be friends so long as that thing isn’t involved. Like how someone might not like cheese on rye. I think it’s great, but Doc hates rye.”

“I like sushi,” Spinni piped up from almost nowhere. “And boss can’t stand the stuff.”

Daroach made a face. “It’s raw fish, Spinni. Really!”

“And it’s a piece of culinary genius, I tell you!” he rebutted. Neither Tiff nor Tuff had any clue what ‘sushi’ was, but raw fish…didn’t sound great. Still, the both of them took the moment to think about what had been said. Neither of them liked it, but…

‘I guess he’s got a point,’ Tuff admitted to himself with a frown. ‘I ain’t gonna force ‘em to enjoy magic, but I still wanna be a great mage. If they ain’t fans of magic…maybe it…might be better to just leave them out of magic stuff?’ The thought hung heavy in his head, and part of his heart hurt even thinking it. Lololo and Lalala had done nothing wrong, and here he was, considering keeping them at arm’s length for something they had every right to dislike. ‘Ugh. Some friend I am.’ Before he could ask about it, however, they’d arrived. “Alright. Let’s be careful, hm? We disturb too much, we might lose out on a valuable clue.” Sounds of agreement met him, and they headed in. The library, as expected, was largely empty and had no one present; not even a Waddle Dee.

“Spread out and look for anything even slightly out of place,” Daroach suggested. “Try not to touch too much. Spinni, you can do your usual.”

“You got it, boss!” the yellow mouse cheered, and he darted forwards, hopping from bookshelf to bookshelf, clearly having a method to his madness.

“C’mon, Tuff, Kirby,” Tiff said, her expression telling him that she was thinking about a lot. “Let’s see what we can find…”

They broke apart to search the area, scouring over several bookshelves, underneath tables, and everywhere else. After some time searching, they overheard Daroach a bit. “Gotta say, this place is less impressive than the one I’m used to…”

Tiff blinked at that. “Oh yeah. Great King Dedede did say that he had a castle similar to this one, huh? It must be weird to see it again.”

“Sorta,” Daroach admitted. “It’s honestly waaaay different from our digs. Outside looks the same, but the inside couldn’t be more opposite. Wonder if that says something about them…”

“Wait, you live in the castle?” Tiff couldn’t recall at the moment if she’d been told that or not. So much was roiling around in her head…

“Sure do! I mean, it’s only one of several he’s got, so it’s not like he’s there all the time,” he explained. “He prefers his digs on Mount Dedede; the one that looks like this is in an area we call Prism Plains.”

“Wait, he has his own mountain?!” Tuff said in surprise.

“Yup,” Daroach said, looking carefully at one particular bookshelf, face turned away from them. “First to climb it, so he named it. Built his first castle up there, and there you have it. But, this isn’t the time for that. Especially because…” he squinted, peering closer. “I think I’ve got something here. Come take a look.” They gathered around, to see what looked to be…

“What’s that white stuff?” Tuff asked. “Kinda looks like…”

“Flour, I think!” Tiff said, excitedly. “Like from the kitchen! So they were here! It must’ve gotten stuck on them somehow, and they didn’t clean themselves entirely off.”

“That’s my guess,” Daroach agreed. “And the fact that they were in here after they were already in the kitchen means that they likely came here for a purpose. I wonder…”

“Boss!” Spinni’s voice came. “Over here! Found somethin’ you might wanna see!” They followed him to what was a shadowed, nearly abandoned corner of the library. Near it was a slightly tilted board, clearly cut in two. “Saw this an’ it struck me as a lil’ odd. Separation’s too clean to just be wear and tear. So I lifted it a bit, aaaaand…” He lifted one part of the board- only to reveal that it was more than just that. “Lookie there. Think we found where our thief’s been comin’ and goin’.”

“Well, isn’t that somethin’?” Daroach said, chuckling. “Makes sense. You wanna make sure your exit plan’s somewhere the guards aren’t gonna bother.” He looked at Tiff knowingly. “And you said it earlier, missy- no one uses this place except you. Making a tunnel for a smooth entrance and exit here is probably the smartest play a thief could make.”

“So now what do we do? Follow it and catch ‘em outright?” Tuff suggested.

“Nah, if they’re any smart, this won’t lead to their hideout or anything. No, if you wanna catch a thief, the best chance of that is putting something just about irresistible in front of them. Something that they know just by lookin’ at it is valuable. And I think I’ve got just the goods.” He turned to Spinni. “Head back to the airship and get some of our medals. I think those oughta at least be worth a looksee by any enterprising thief.”

Spinni saluted and ran off, leaving Daroach to turn to the others. “And now- !” Quickly, however, he cut himself off, spinning around to level his collapsible cane at another figure that they hadn’t seen, a cold power emanating from the weapon, but not yet fired. “...mind telling me why you’re bothering to sit in the shadows, friend? C’mon out.”

Surprisingly to him, the figure indeed did. “My apologies,” Meta Knight said sincerely as he walked out. “I was merely observing your deductive methods. They are…quite thorough.”

He let out a chuckle. “Not thorough enough, if Spinni couldn’t tag you. We’ll have to work on that. So, then? What brings you here, if I might ask?”

“You are seeking the one responsible for these thefts. I am as well,” he explained. “I thought it perhaps prudent to share our knowledge.”

“Hmmm…normally, I’d wonder if you’re trying to suss us out,” Daroach admitted, before sheathing his cane. “But, in this case, I suppose we can try that out. I’d wager you’ve heard most of what we know by now. Likely a shorter one, wearing footwear, yellow fur, and with some sort of green cloth?”

Meta Knight nodded. “I have indeed seen a figure matching what you mentioned- or at least, the size of such. And I suspect that the ‘green cloth’ is the sack they use to carry their ill-gotten gains. However, I must admit my confusion on one point.”

“And that’d be?” the master thief pressed.

The creature that I saw did not head in this direction,” Meta Knight said, to their surprise. “They headed towards the courtyard. I followed- but to my surprise, they vanished as I made it to the courtyard.”

“Say what!?” Tuff yelled, surprised. “But then who was coming this way?”

“An excellent question. And one I hope to find out alongside you,” he said, looking to Daroach again.

The rat, however, had a deeply thoughtful look on his face. “Hmmm…I wonder…” Before they could ask, however, he turned to Meta Knight. “Come with, if you please. Once Spinni’s back, I think we might be able to actually put the kibosh on this. Can’t be having rivals steal the treasure I want to steal, after all!”

“No honor among thieves, huh?” Tiff muttered.

Later, Spinni had gotten back- and with a number of strange, golden and platinum medallions. Daroach spread them on the library’s tabletop. “These, I managed to acquire with the help of our mutual friend Kirby. The Big one, of course. Rare things, these medals. The rainbow colored ones in particular have an interesting power about them…but that’s a story for another time.”

Tiff squinted at them, seeing something familiar about what was on them. “Is it just me, or do these have…Kirby’s face on them?” They were a bit old and worn, the gold ones, but she could swear that-”

“Surprising, no? I thought that, too,” Daroach said with a laugh. “At least…well, before past events. Now though, I’m pretty sure I know what that image is supposed to be.” He tilted his cap down, and she felt as though he actually showed a bit of concern- or perhaps remorse. “But that is ALSO a story for another time. For now, I suspect we can use these medals to lure our thief into trying to take them. After all, these medals are sentimental to me, valuable by make, and powerful by design. There’s no reason to not at least look at them. So once they do and decide to help themselves…”

“That is when the trap is sprung,” Meta Knight concluded to a nod from the rat. “Very well. We shall follow this plan of attack.”

“I hope it works,” Tuff said as they went to hide, and the stakeout soon began.

The children seemed to be too anxious at first- more than once they had to be calmed down by either Daroach or Meta Knight, and after about an hour had passed, they were starting to wonder if the thief would show up. “D’ya think they’re onto us?” Tuff asked. Tiff frowned, but didn’t say anything to oppose the idea.

Neither Daroach nor Meta Knight liked that thought, but before they could say anything at all, a dark figure jumped out of the castle, clearly holding onto a massive sack- a green one, with wind-like lines. This time, by the light of the moon, they could see the figure clearly. It was indeed a round individual, but it wore a dark blue robe of sorts. It was only just visible, but their fur did peek out of their full-body gear; a soft, creamy yellow. They had ears that could only be described as cat-like, and visible eyes, though they were squinted at the moment as they seemed to look around themself to make sure they hadn’t been spotted or followed. Soft sandals kept their footsteps light and unnoticeable to either of the kids.

The thief looked around carefully, inching towards the medallions as the collective watchers held their breath.

Their hand flashed out, and they nearly missed it, such was the speed the medals disappeared. But, it was proof enough. Daroach and Meta Knight nodded to each other, and charged out. “Hold it!” the latter yelled.

The creature looked shocked, jumping back, but it didn’t waste much time other than that as it proceeded to bolt away, heading for the castle walls. “They’re making a break for it!” Tiff yelled as she and the others pursued.

Daroach was the first to catch up to them; his teleporting allowed him to quickly get in front of the creature, who had to brake quickly when he saw the master thief’s cane pointed square at him, glowing with chilly energy. “Sorry, but I’m afraid this castle’s been claimed for thievery already.”

“By who?!” a raspy, masculine voice came from the being.

“By myself- Daroach, leader of the Squeak Squad,” he proclaimed, bowing almost mockingly as Meta Knight cut off his retreat, leaving him stuck between two capable fighters. “And I’ve got a few friends in high places, so I’d suggest you leave that little bag of goodies, tell us where the rest are, and we can put this whole sordid affair behind us…eh, TAC?”

“Tac?” Meta Knight repeated. “You know of this thief?”

The thief almost rounded on Meta Knight for that one. “Tch, of course anyone who’s anyone knows o’ the great TAC the Burglar!” he boasted. “But TAC shoulda seen it comin’,” he grumbled to himself. “This gig was goin’ too clean. Had ta be too good ta be true after all…”

“Oh? Howso?” Meta Knight inquired. At that, TAC went silent. “We will have to keep you until you are feeling more…conversational, perhaps, if you do not tell us now.” Meta Knight adopted a ready pose to prove his point- one way or another they’d get the answers out of him.

But TAC didn’t seem too intimidated. “Well, I dunno how well that’d work out for yas…seein’ as TAC don’t like it much when TAC has to sit in one place, yous unnderstand.”

“Afraid there’s not much of a choice there, friend,” Daroach insisted.

“Ohoho, but there IS!” he said quickly- and like lightning he whipped out what seemed to be a whistle, and blew.

The shrill noise shocked everyone, but that was nothing compared to the blur that suddenly streaked out of the gloom, hurling itself like a rocket at Daroach. He barely had time to get his hands up before he was rocked by a living missile, tackling him to the ground, and engaging in a quick scuffle.

TAC took this time to leap away from Meta Knight, though he made to give chase quickly; it was only briefly, however, before the invading individual jumped off of Daroach to join their partner’s side…and Tiff blinked.

‘Am I seeing double?’ She asked herself. The individual standing aside TAC…was another TAC. Same outfit, same look, same everything. The new one’s bag may have been slightly smaller, but that was it.

“Can’t believe yas, TAC,” the newcomer said- they notably had a higher pitched voice, suggested feminity. “You up and gotcherself caught by onna the oldest tricks inna book.”

“Hush it, TAC,” the first TAC said. “We’s gotta get outta here, first!”

“You’re not going anywhere!” Came Tiff’s voice, Tuff and Little Kirby by her side. “Give back the stuff you stole!”

“Fat chance!” they yelled in stereo, before suddenly, the male one’s arm glowed, and shot out towards Tiff, who gasped in surprise as she was gripped, and-

SOMETHING was pulled from her, something that she wasn’t even certain of. She felt her vision swim for a moment, before the lady one suddenly pulled what looked to be a smoke bomb from her person, tossing it down with force and causing a large smokescreen to erupt around everyone.

“Kirby!” Tiff said, coughing. “Suck up the smoke!” Little Kirby quickly complied, in moments the attempted distraction removed, much to Meta Knight’s relief. That wasn’t much of a head start, so now-

“Huh!?” Tiff said in shock as she looked across from…herself.

“Hey!” Tiff said as she saw her counterpart. The other TAC stood only a few meters away- still easily catchable, and it was clear she hadn’t expected Kirby’s ability.

“What’s going on, here?!” they shouted in stereo. After a moment, they growled at each other, and it looked like they were going to start arguing.

“...oh man. It’s like a nightmare come to life!” Tuff wailed.

“Shut it, Tuff! She’s the imposter!” they mutually said, pointing at each other.

“Augh! How do we figure out which is which?!” Tuff said, looking at the other TAC. “Hey! You tell us right now!”

“Like heck!” she shot back. “You all scram so’s we can scram, an’ maybe thataways you can find out!”

“But if you do that-” Tuff started, before he was suddenly interrupted.

“This is not such a dilemma as it might appear,” Meta Knight interrupted. Everyone looked at him in surprise. “There is an easy way to determine the true Tiff.”

“There is? What’s that?” The Tiffs asked, both with identical curiosity on their faces.

“Simple,” Meta Knight said, as to everyone’s surprise, he entered an attack stance. “I’m aware of what you have been practicing. So you will defend against this attack.” Without warning he threw himself at the Tiff on the left.

“Eep!” she barely had enough time to throw her arms up as Meta Knight struck with his foot; the impact shuddered through her, and Tiff went sprawling, landing flat on her back. “Uuughh…”

“Tiff! Hey!” Tuff started to yell at Meta Knight- only for him to charge the other Tiff similarly.

She threw up her arms in a x-shaped position, bracing herself, and as the kick impacted her, there was a small flash of magic as the attack, while it didn’t bounce, merely moved her back slightly.

There was a momentary pause, before the successful Tiff opened her eyes with a grateful smile. “See! I knew I could do it after all that practice…that’s an easy way to tell, all right!”

“...ahehehehehe…” To that Tiff’s surprise, however, the other Tiff started giggling.

“What’s so funny!” the Tiff standing said to the one sprawling. “You’ve been caught out! It’s time to face your punishment.”

“Tehehehehe…” The Tiff on the ground sat up, shaking the cobwebs out, and met her doppleganger with a lopsided smile. “I’ve been practicing Reinforcement, sure…but that doesn’t mean I’ve figured it out, yet.” The standing Tiff paled. “For sure I’d never be able to get it THAT flawless!”

“It’s true,” Tuff backed up. “Me and sis are still tryin’ ta figure that one out at all!”

“And thus, your lie is revealed, imposter!” Meta Knight said, aiming Galaxia towards the now panicking ‘Tiff’. “Surrender, and tell us who sent you.”

“Not to mention the location of the missing items,” Daroach added, pointing his cane at the TAC trying to tiptoe off.

“You…you dirty rat!” the lady TAC cursed.

Daroach just chuckled. “I consider myself rather hygienic, but playing dirty? Naturally. Now, lead the way, hm? March.”

“So, that’s who was after everything?” Captain Doo said the next morning after breakfast. “A pair o’ thieves!?”

“TACs are a known thief gang back in our dimension,” Daroach explained. “Seems like they still have the habit of calling every member TAC to keep everyone’s identity a mystery over here, too.” They’d managed to get all the goods back, but that wasn’t their biggest concern. “They were doing this under the orders of, supposedly, a ‘strangely well-dressed gentleman’, and were hunting for things with ‘emotional resonance’. My guess? Objects that could be considered a focus for magic.”

“It’s probably Nightmare Enterprises,” Tiff opined. “Not that we have a way to prove it…”

“I am investigating already,” Meta Knight assured them. “We will discover the source of this.” Although, privately, Meta Knight had his suspicions that it was someone else…

“Escargoon was sure happy to get the King’s hammer back,” Tuff noted. Probably ‘cause he would’ve tried to whack him with somethin’ worse if he hadn’t.”

“Well, I’m just glad it all got resolved, yeah?” Captain Doo said. “An’ it’s good timin’, too! The King woke up not too long ago, ‘pparently!”

“He did?!” the kids asked in surprise.

“Yup!” Captain Doo nodded. “Went an’ called a morning assembly of the guard fer once, out in the courtyard. Seemed kinda nervous ‘bout somethin’. In fact, if I don’t get movin’, I’m gonna be late!” With that, he saluted. “Thanks for all your help! Catch ya later!”

“...thinking about it, are you two not late for your own schooling?” Meta Knight said.

The two kids’ eyes widened. “...He’s gonna be mad.” Tuff said flatly.

“Or worse,” Tiff said, grimacing. “He’ll be happy about it.”

“Maybe we could skip?” Tuff suggested. “Say it was official castle stuff!”

“Well, that’d be an awful funny story to tell him later…” Daroach teased.

Tiff gawped for a moment, before she glared at him. “I knew that was a reason I was suspicious of you,” she said lowly as the two marched off.

Daroach just laughed after them. “Hahahahah! Smart call, that!”

And so he glanced to Little Kirby, who was still hanging around- he’d since learned to not follow them to school. With a deft flick of his paw, he produced a single lollipop. “A little gift for being such a respectable trooper during that whole debacle,” he said, as the puff took it eagerly. Ah, how easily satisfied.

…but really, he might zip on over to the egg-boy and put in a quick little plea for their case. They were good kids. A bit too wound up, but good kids.

Chapter 38: Fierce Dreams

Chapter Text

They’d gotten there a bit late, as they expected; however to their surprise, Magolor hadn’t done much else aside from harumph a bit. They chose not to question their good fortune, and instead settled in for the lesson. As Kawasaki’d informed them, he’d stopped with the living target act with them for today and had moved on to another lecture, this time about the interconnection of body and magic. “...in short, the healthier your magic, the healthier your body,” he finished up. “Sometimes it might not be able to account for everything, but you’ll find that getting your magic flowing can be excellent exercise. At least, in my experience.” Tiff recalled that Dedede said something to that effect a while ago. “It might not make a massive difference now, but I assure you it will later.” He looked over them all, squinting. “You might’ve noticed that you have more energy nowadays. Restless feelings, or at the very least a distinct lack of exhaustion where normally you would. That’s not just you getting exercise, I’ll have you know right now! Ideally, this information will help you learn Reinforcement. And considering that, I’ve decided to give you all an incentive. Anyone who manages to successfully channel Reinforcement- and trust me, I’ll know when you have- will be taught a single spell from my repertoire. And I know a LOT of spells.”

“Oooh!” That naturally got a lot of people interested.

“But!” he continued. “As I said earlier, it’s been suggested that I still let you all rest today, so instead of slinging spheres at you, instead, I’m going to try to get ahead of things a touch. Remember how you were all taught about different schools of magic? I’m curious if any of you have bothered to consider what school you’re interested in learning. What might be happening is that while the lot of you practice some general magic, I’ll be taking one or more of you aside to focus on a specific class, depending on what you want. Otherwise, I might punt you off to Taranza. So! Let’s hear it, hm? I trust you’ve all remembered the classes we told you about? Though if you have something particular in mind, let me know and I’ll consider it.”

Tiff’s eyes widened a bit- it was sort of like a test. Though if she was being brutally honest…she still wasn’t certain.

“Let’s start with Gengu. What about you, big guy?” Magolor asked.

Gengu startled a bit. “Me? Oh, well, uh…considering you found me out this yo-yo, which is pretty neat, I guess anythin’ that’d let me use it better?”

“No, no, that’s your affinity, ” he emphasized. “Your spell class can be just about anything. What do YOU want to do?”

He paused, thinking. “Weeell…I suppose it’d be nice if I could figure out how ta put together some nice displays for my customers!”

Magolor clapped primly. “Boring, but that’d be either Illusionism or Conjuration. Probably the latter, which I can promise you is rare and precious and hard to master. You MIGHT be able to get a few small things out, however..” he muttered. “We’ll try it and see. Next!” He turned to Spikehead.

“Uh, Elementalism! I like being all sparky and stuff!” he cheered.

“...Hm.” Strange. He looked…dissatisfied with that, for some reason. But, his expression hardened into something determined, and he nodded. “Right, then. I can work with that. Not shocking, dare I say. Moving on!” He turned to Honey, ignoring Spikehead’s confused look at him.

“Uhh…uh! Elementalism, too! So I can fly better!” She announced. "I wanna be able to fly anywhere! Everywhere!"

“Completely understandable,” Magolor decided, “But if it’s true flight you want to do, take it from someone who does it, Spatial magic would be better for that.”

“Oh! Then that!” she quickly corrected. "I wanna do that!"

“Grand! You’ll be soaring through the cosmos before you know it,” he assured. “Ms. Mabel?”

“I would like to study Illusionism, I think.” Mabel decided. “It would help with some current…issues.”

“Righto. You’ll probably float between myself and Taranza for that,” Magolor noted. “What about you, Kawasaki?”

“Oh? Uhh…I s’pose I can’t learn to conjure up ingredients, could I?” The chef asked, half jokingly.

“You could,” Magolor said plainly, causing Kawasaki to reel back in surprise. “Among other things. I actually think you’d get it easier than most.” Tiff wasn’t sure, but there seemed to be a faint amusem*nt behind his words.

“Wait, really?” Kawasaki said in surprise. “Well, ain’t that a kick in the ol' frying pan!”

“You and Gengu for Conjuration, then,” he said, finally turning to the siblings. “Alright, latecomers, what’ll it be?”

She flinched slightly at that, but Tuff spoke up ahead of her. “I wanna do Elementalism, too! Like, I wanna learn ‘em all! But that sounds like a good start on my dream of becoming a Great Mage!”

“Oho? Ambitious kiddo, aren’t you?” He peered closer, as though trying to ascertain just what Tuff was about. “...alrighty, then. You’ll be with your little friends. And I'll be sure to remember that whole 'Great Mage' thing.” And there he turned to Tiff. “And what about you, little miss?”

Tiff thought. She knew she could channel Star Energy, but…even considering that, she had to admit the truth. “I…I’m not really sure,” she said, looking away as she thought further. “I guess when it comes down to it, I just want to be able to protect Kirby, and whoever else needs help. Y’know, be their rock- someone who can stand with them.” She sighed, uncertain of how else to put it. “But that’s not exactly specific, is it?”

“Not really, no,” Magolor said brusquely. “But fortunately for you, you might be in luck anyway. Warding, also known as Defensive Magic, is a popular enough school of magic…well, among certain sorts. It sounds up your alley enough. And before you ask, yes, I know how to use it.” He brought up what looked like a circular glyph of sorts, surrounded by five points. “In fact, this guard is generally my preferred method of defense; it’s more…encompassing than simple Reinforcement, in a way. Taranza has his own magic guard, as well. Both our variants fall under that Warding subsection.”

“Oh! That doesn’t sound bad,” Tiff considered. The idea of being able to defend against anything the world threw at her? She allowed herself a moment of daydreaming of a great monster standing before her. She might not face it herself, no- but it'd bounce off of her defenses, find itself breaking before her shield. It'd wear itself down, allow for Kirby or Meta Knight or whoever to defeat it in spectacular fashion. No, that didn’t sound bad at all. "So...why's it a subsection?"

“The reason it’s a subsection is because very often, it requires something else to hold the defense together if it’s for anything but yourself," Magolor explained. "In short, you’ll be attempting to learn Conjuration as well eventually. For now, though, what you’ll be working on is essentially Advanced Reinforcement between probably me and Taranza.” He let out an amused huff. “Lucky you. You know what THAT means, don’t you?”

She grimaced. “More getting pelted?”

He actually laughed. “Look on the bright side! Eventually, you won’t feel it anymore! That’s the whole point!”

“That doesn’t help!” she yelled. She didn’t change her mind, though. Being able to protect Kirby and everyone else? It’d be worth it. Hopefully.

That evening, as they approached the castle, they noticed to their surprise, Little Kirby sitting alongside the road, looking there way as though waiting for them. “Poyo!” He quickly got up, running to them almost urgently as he began to tug at them.

“Huh?” Already, this was concerning Tiff. “What’s wrong, Kirby?” He was quick to tug her along, babbling as he often did and pointing towards the castle. “Is something wrong at home?” They quickly headed up to the castle itself, where they noticed a quartet of Waddle Dee guards on duty. ‘ More than usual…’ Tiff thought. But when she tried to move past them, to her shock, the spears crossed, barring her and Tuff from entry. “Hey! What’s the big idea?” she asked in surprise.

“Yeah! Didja forget we live here?” Tuff added.

“Not anymore ya don’t,” came the voice of Captain Doo, to their shock. He came around the corner from just over the drawbridge. “Sorry, kiddos- especially considerin’ you just helped us out the other day. But by word o’ his highness King Dedede, you two an’ Kirby ain’t allowed on the premises anymore until he says otherwise.”

“What the heck?!” “You gotta be kiddin’ me!” Tiff and Tuff yelled in surprise. “What’s the meaning of this?!” Tiff asked hotly. “Why in Dream Land would he kick us out of our own home!?”

“No clue,” Captain Doo admitted. “But when he showed up for the mornin’ address, he looked kinda spooked about somethin’.” The duo looked at each other in confusion as Captain Doo continued. “Wouldn’t spill what, though. Just told me that you two weren’t permitted on the castle grounds anymore.”

“That’s…what?!” Tiff was blindsided, and frankly, she was trying to mentally adjust to this new fact still. Why would he-

“You are not the only ones,” a familiar accented voice said suddenly. They turned to their right to see Meta Knight, as usual…but with some bags and supplies packed. Along him were Sword and Blade Knight, also in similar states. “It appears the King has seen fit to release us from duty.”

Tuff gaped in surprise. “No way! You guys, too?!”

“Indeed,” Meta Knight confirmed. “When I last checked, the only people still permitted in the castle besides the guards were Escargoon, and your parents.”

“OOOOOOUT!” The sudden yell, seeming to permeate throughout the castle, startled all of them, and to their increasing bewilderment, Sir Ebrum and Lady Like both hurriedly came out of the front entrance, Lady Like having to hike her dress slightly to move at something approaching a jog. Sir Ebrum in particular wasn’t having a great time of it, clearly out of shape. They both had suitcases they were carrying.

“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!” Lady Like said worriedly as the guards permitted them out (though clearly still kept an eye on the others at the gate). “Oh, oh goodness…” she panted, getting a bit out of breath herself as she attempted to fan herself.

“G-Gracious…” Sir Ebrum said exhaustedly. “I say, I haven’t ran quite like that in a while!”

“Mom! Dad!” Tiff and Tuff quickly ran up to console their parents. “Are you okay?” Tiff asked.

“Oh…oh, yes,” Lady Like reassured, before taking a deep breath, and looking back at the castle with an honest to goodness glare. “Well! ZAT is a fine ‘zank you’ after all zese years of work! How ‘orrible!”

“I certainly wasn’t expecting THAT to be the pin in my career, true,” Sir Ebrum added on. “Dearest, I’m not sure King Dedede is in his right mind right now.”

“Was he ever?” she said wryly. “Zat walnut in ‘iz ‘ead has finally cracked completely!”

“Whoa, mom!” Tuff said, surprised at his mother’s attitude. ‘I guess Tiff had to get it from somewhere…’ he thought in surprise.

“That’s rather harsh, dear!” Sir Ebrum chastised. “...even if it might be true…” he said more quietly.

“What happened?” Tiff asked.

“Well, as far as we can tell, it happened not long after you left…” Sir Ebrum started.

“Yer majesty, you sure this is a good idea?” Escargoon asked, looking at the pacing king. Ever since he’d woken up, he’d been blaring about ‘Kirbeh’s after me! Him an’ all his pesky, traitorous friends!’ Escargoon had no idea what had brought that one, but whatever it was had frightened the King greatly. He’d had wide, wild eyes the whole day and had yet to stop moving. “I mean, the brats are brats, but getting rid of the Cabinet Minister and Meta Knight seems like a move we might wanna think about…”

“They ain’t gettin’ NO chance to feed ME to any Kirbeh!” King Dedede said, pacing around. Abruptly, he stopped, throwing his hand into the air in what he no doubt perceived as a grand declaration. “In fact, this whole place is goin’ under twenty-four seven protection duty!” He declared. “Every nook and cranny’s gonna be guarded by Waddle Dees! Ain’t nothin’ gettin’ in or out without my say-so, ya hear! Don’t matter if it’s a Minister or a mouse!”

“Your majesty…” Escargoon could only say tiredly.

“What, you ain’t got nothin’ ta worry about!” King Dedede assured him with a faux smile. “You wasn’t in my dream, so I’m guessin’ you’re safe an’ all! No, no, not like them other two! Naw, they weren’t right! They’re too attached to them little chaos-bringers, them!” He marched out of his throne room, apparently going to do the rounds himself to make sure. Escargoon could only follow.

“Wait, you’re really causing all of this over a dream?” Escargoon asked, eyes wide. “Don’tcha know dreams or nightmares or whatever aren’t real?”

“Oh, maybe, maybe not!” King Dedede said almost cheerily. “But that ‘un FELT real. It felt different, I’m telling ya!”

“Different how? ” Escargoon insisted.

“Felt like it was…a heads up, I guess I gotta say…” he mused as he thought back on it, though even just doing it sent shivers up his spine…

He woke up to a pounding on his door, and an impossibly bright light coming from…somewhere.

“THERE HE IS!” the wicked, metal warped voice of the child yelled as the door burst into splinters. Her face was wrapped in steel and malice, giving her a deformed grin and glowing yellow eyes. No word would turn her away, no hammer strike would delay her.

Aside her was another. Her kin, her brother, swaddled in old and frayed robes draping him like a mummy, and yet underneath was a feeling of absolute power that would swallow all if unleashed. “TAKE HIM!” his voice said, resonating deep yet of a powerful light.

On command, Cappies. Innumerous, unstoppable. Like locusts they swarmed on him. He fought. Oh, did he swing and yell and charm.

But they were possessed of an unnatural, terrible strength, and he could only end his struggle yelling and pleading as he was dragged away. Down a hall, a bright hall, a hall without end and yet with a terrible finality.

His eyes alit on the people standing on the sides of this accursed hallway. Gleeful, taunting citizens.

The twisted visage of the fortune-teller, eyes alight with burning, swirling gaze. “Your end is foretold. It is now.”

The traitor Minister, his wife draped upon him as they gazed with cruel victory. “The kingdom will be in MUCH better hands now…”

The pithy children of the town, singing a song of joy. “Aand there he goes, the old dumb King, he’s headed to his eeeend~! Hurrah, hurrah, the last fool king, he never had a frieeeend~!”

Suddenly, the bright lights grew even more, and the good king thought himself blind and burned- but no! He could yet see what was ahead of him.

Above its pink visage was the arch traitor- the dual headed, bat-winged, masked snake that was Meta Knight. His once-somewhat loyal vassal (but not really) standing sentinel over his ultimate fate. He would get no help here.

And just below, smiling, ever smiling like the terror that he was, the eater, the Trouble, the Pink Demon. A fanged grin that elicited a scream of fear from the Good King, as he opened his enormous maw, blotting out the light perhaps for good.

“In you go!” The metal girl yelled, attempting to push him-

-but wait! A moment’s weakness. They’d both let go of him! He rounded on her, threw her behind him- for sturdiness and weight were two different things. He could escape! He could-

-not. Caught, he was, the glimpse of freedom tantalizing, but never tasted. He did not even have the dignity of facing his last end as he was hurled into the unending, uncaring maw, screaming…

…and then he’d woken up (and fallen on Escargoon outright, but that bit wasn’t important). “It weren’t pleasant!” King Dedede finally summed up. “You ain’t gotta worry about the details. Just know that I knows it was a sign! It were important! So you keep alla them people away from me! In the meantime, get the Dees to rustle me up some grub! Bad dreams mean I got a bad appetite!”

“Oy yoy…” Escargoon facepalmed as he marched to the dining room.

“So he accused you of being traitors and kicked you out?!” Tiff said in shock. She’d known Dedede…well, he occasionally had his own idea of reality. But to call her parents traitors?

“Eet waz not pleasant, I can tell you zat!” Lady Like said hotly. “Really, I never…”

“In all sincerity, surprising though it was,” Sir Ebrum continued, “I have to say, thinking back on it, that it’s obvious the King wasn’t thinking straight. He was…twitchy. On edge. Really, like nothing I’d ever seen out of him!” he clarified.

Tiff considered recent events, huffing when she came to a conclusion. “I…can’t say I disagree,” she admitted ruefully. “The mask issue likely has some sort of after effect, is my guess. But we wouldn’t be able to tell without getting closer to him, and with someone a LOT more skilled with that kind of magic.” Tiff looked in the distance. “I think we should get Mister Magolor. Or Mister Taranza. Maybe both.”

“Oh dear? Would zey be able to help?” Lady Like asked. “I would really razher hope this was all just a massive misunderstanding.” Her anger hadn’t abated, but she was at least thinking it through.

“I’m almost certain of it,” Tiff said confidently. “They’re probably in Great King Dedede’s mansion. That, or the Lor Starcutter- the ship.” Apparently, they had more than one way to move dimensions now, though the specifics were unknown to her. These travelers just kept doing impossible thing after impossible thing, it seemed. “C’mon, follow me!”

When they arrived at the mansion after dark, it was surprisingly empty. “Huh. Maybe they’re in the Lor?” She looked across- the Lor was usually spottable from here off in the distance, but… “Wait, where’d it go?”

They looked around for a moment, before Tuff got everyone’s attention. “Uhhh…I think they’re doing a thing,” he said plainly, pointing high. “Look up.”

Fortunately, the sky was clear tonight. They followed his finger way up to the stars, and just within sight was the image of what could only be a flying boat. “Guess they’re busy tonight.”

“Oh, shoot!” Tiff complained. “Well, we’ll just have to wait for them to finish whatever it is.”

“Well, we can’t just stay out here tonight, can we?” Sir Ebrum noticed. “We’ll have to see if someone can take us in for the night.”

Tiff raised an eyebrow. “Huh? What are you talking about? We can stay in Great King’s mansion.”

Lady Like gave her a look. “Sweetheart, it would be a bit rude to impose…not to mention we can’t exactly get in!”

“No, no, I’m serious!” she insisted, pulling something out of her pocket…

“Wait, you got a key to this place?!” Tuff asked in shock. “Since when?”

She gave it a glance, smiling- it had Dedede’s Star Allies symbol on it. “Great King Dedede gave me a key not long after we finished the training area. He said I can stay here whenever I want, and I can invite anyone I want in so long as they don’t mess up anything!” Looking back up, she gestured to the family. “So we can stay here for the night, and ask them about this whole issue tomorrow! Here, lemme go unlock the door…”

“O-oh! Er…well zen!” Lady Like had her lips stretched thin, like she wasn’t sure whether to smile or frown as she watched her child go. “‘Ow fortunate…”

“Dearest…” Sir Ebrum said under his breath in a warning tone.

“I know…” she replied equally sotto voce.

Tuff had no clue what they were going on about, but he was just happy to get into a bed.

As they entered… “Oh my! Zis really is razher nice looking…” It was both wooden and stone, but notably had more of a yellowish, bright tint to it- like it was all painted such. It even had a dual staircase leading to a second floor. Overall pretty impressive, they had to admit.

“It’s got quite the charm to it,” Sir Ebrum admitted.

“C’mon,” Tiff urged. “Bedrooms are back here, and spare rooms are on the second floor. He’s got a bunch of them for the Waddle Dees around town and a couple extra besides.” She’d gotten so used to the talking Dees she hardly noticed them anymore, really. It had gotten to the point where she’d occasionally talk to a Dee in the castle and be surprised when it wouldn’t respond. “The rooms next to mine are empty because he knows I like peace and quiet.”

“...you ‘ave your own room ‘ere?” Lady Like asked. Tiff failed to notice the tremble in her mother’s voice, busy as she was focusing on guiding. Tuff was still overawed at the place.

“Yup!” Tiff said happily. “It’s nice to have a place just for me to crash sometimes, or do some private studying.” She turned towards her mother, beaming a smile that warmed Lady Like’s heart so much she felt it turning to ash. “Thanks for letting me stay over all the time, mom!”

“...no problem, sweetheart.” Sir Ebrum simply patted her on the back in understanding, before asking where their room would be.

They got dressed for bed, slipping between well-crafted covers, and Lady Like collapsed against her husband. There were no tears this time. Just pure emotional exhaustion.

“One problem at a time, darling,” he soothed, hugging her close. “We’ll handle this oddness with the King we know, and then we’ll address the King we don’t.”

Castle Dedede stood that night, quiet, foreboding, save for one delusional monarch doing his best to stay awake. It would fail.

It would also be the last night for a while that Cappy Town as a whole got any restful sleep themselves.

Chapter 39: Wild Dreams

Chapter Text

When the morning came, at first Sir Ebrum and Lady Like were confused. This wasn’t their bedroom. It was simpler, if perhaps still possessing an air of regality. “Ah, yes…” Sir Ebrum mumbled to himself as the memories came back to him. They’d been, er, ‘dismissed’ by a King likely not in his right mind. He looked towards his wife, still slumbering away. It’d been quite some time since they’d had a day off, but she seemed prime to make the most of it. Perhaps he should as well.

And while he wasn’t sure of what would come of it, he could at least perhaps treat her to a breakfast in bed (provided there was a way to do that here). Giving her a gentle peck on the cheek, he quietly exited the room- the facilities were down the hall, right? He’d have to wash up first.

Meanwhile, Tiff (who was an early riser) and Tuff (who wasn’t if he had a say in the matter) both were already headed downstairs- and it was fortunate that they were, because she was greeted by a familiar wardrobe, but in much better condition and with a bit extra. “Huh! Stayed over for the night, eh?” Great King Dedede, along with Bandana Dee, Big Kirby, and Winged Meta Knight were all present. “C’mon over, Bandee’s cookin’ his apple pancakes!”

“Oh, that sounds cool!” Tuff said, immediate issues forgotten. Indeed, the scent of apple-y cinnamon batter was permeating throughout the dining area in a surprisingly pleasant way.

Tiff wasn’t so distracted, however. “Uh, that smells and sounds nice, buuut…”

“Whut-oh. That doesn’t sound good,” Big Kirby noted. “Something happened while we were gone?”

“Oh yeah,” Tuff piped up, mood falling. “Our King went cuckoo.”

“...say what?” Great King Dedede asked in surprise, before turning to the kitchen. “Might wanna super-stack those pancakes, Bandee! The kids stayed over and I got a feeling it’s gonna be one of those days!”

“On it!” Bandee said simply from the other room.

With that settled, he turned back to the duo. “Alrighty. How’s about we eat first, and then you can tell us the whole story. Sounds good?”

The two looked at each other, and then shrugged. No sense in fretting on an empty stomach, but… “Well, there’s something you should know first. We’re not the only ones here.”

“And what do you mean by that?” Winged Meta Knight asked. “Who else is with you?”

“Oh my!” The group turned as one to see Sir Ebrum looking at all of them in surprise. “Well…I suppose judging from that smell, the kitchen’s occupied at the moment?”

The four Star Warriors looked in surprise at the elder statesman. “...yup,” Big Kirby agreed. “It’s gonna be a Day.”

After the pancakes were prepared, with Sir Ebrum taking a few upstairs to his wife, they’d sat down and Tiff had delivered the news after most everyone had eaten (which, to be frank, hadn’t really taken that long). The reaction was, predictably, astonishment. “Wait, you mean to tell me EVERYONE’S out?” Dedede asked in surprise.

“Well, far as we know, Escargoon’s still kicking around,” Tuff confirmed. “I dunno about Lololo and Lalala, but maybe them too? We haven’t seen them around town yet.”

“Even so, this is abnormal even for him.” Tiff continued. The pancakes had been good, and they’d helped settle her nerves a bit so she could relay everything promptly. “I’m wondering if there aren’t any after-effects from his possession, but we’ve got no way of knowing without Taranza or maybe Magolor’s help.”

“Taranza’s skillset seems more in-line with deciphering this issue,” Winged Meta Knight concluded. “We’ll have to get him, and then see about infiltrating the castle. It’s currently under heavy guard, correct?”

“Well, as heavy as Waddle Dees can get, unless he’s ordered something nasty to help with that,” she confirmed.

“Understood. We’ll have to be cautious, but…” he turned to Kirby, who seemed relatively unphased.

“Yeah, this shouldn’t be an issue,” Big Kirby affirmed. “I’ve crashed King Dedede’s castle loads of times! And he had way more defenders than just Waddle Dees.” The aforementioned king gave him a look at that, which Kirby simply returned with a wide smile.

“We told our Kirby to stay outta this one,” Tuff mentioned. “Who knows what he might do if he sees either of you when he’s paranoid about keepin’ us out?”

“Ooh, good point,” Big Kirby admitted. “You think he might do something drastic?”

“Like what?” Tiff asked. “You think he’d try to order something to fight you off?”

“No clue,” Kirby admitted.

“It’s better if we don’t take the chance,” Winged Meta Knight decided. “We will gather Taranza, first. You and your parents, if you so wish, will come with us as far as your Kirby’s residence and wait there. We then proceed to storm the castle and work to bring your king back to his senses.” He looked around to see if anyone had any objections- none did. “Excellent. Tell your parents- whether they follow or not is up to them. We’ll be moving out shortly.”

They did just that shortly, much to Sir Ebrum’s surprise. “Oh my, they’re already on top of it? That’s rather relieving,” he admitted. “Hopefully this’ll all be over with by the day’s end.”

“Oh, as nice as zis bed is, I would love to sleep in my own, tonight,” Lady Like admitted now that she was awake.

“We’re going to be going with them to make sure things are okay afterwards,” Tiff said, projecting an air of confidence that wasn’t all there yet. “So you two can relax and enjoy a free day to yourselves!”

“Heck, have you ever had a vacation day, dad?” Tuff asked out of curiosity. “If you haven’t, now’s the time!”

“Ohoho! And here I was just wondering about that,” her father admitted. “It’s quite nice to know you two are so willing to take on such matters.”

“Well, ever since our Kirby showed up, we’ve had to help take care of him,” Tiff agreed with a casual shrug. “Kinda helps prepare for situations like this, I suppose.”

“Ha, yeah, no kidding!” Tuff agreed playfully. “We’ve got this, no sweat!”

Neither of them missed the way that their mother and father glanced at each other. Nor did they miss the almost too-quick smile their mother plastered on her face. “You’ve been growing so well, darlings! Well zen, off with you, try to bring our king back to his senses- and please be safe, hm? Please?” She didn’t mean to beg…but fortunately or unfortunately, her kids didn’t quite seem to notice the slight tonal shift, or didn’t think it anything special.

“We’re on it, mom!” Tuff said eagerly, and Tiff nodded before they both turned away. “Talk to you soon!” she cheered, smiling and waving before they headed out of the door, and out of the mansion.

There was a moment of quiet that felt unnatural. Unwanted. Lady Like just let out a massive sigh, looking down. “...”

Sir Ebrum noticed the look on her face. He wasn’t sure if he liked it. “Dear?”

“...what can we give ‘er?” she muttered out.

That wasn’t what he was expecting. “I- pardon, sweetums? What do you mean?”

She looked up, looked at him- looked almost through him. “What can we give my daughter zat they cannot…?”

Sir Ebrum let out a breath. “I would say a parent’s love, for starters.”

“And if somehow zat is not enough?” Lady Like asked softly, with no heat. “If she wishes to…to leave. What iz ze right thing? What- what would keep my baby close to me?” She shook her head helplessly. “I-I do not know.”

Sir Ebrum could only look on and hold her. Because as much as he tried to avoid and delay the topic…

…he couldn’t really think of a single thing.

“I’m still rather surprised that there could be any real mental backlash or after-effects,” Taraza said on the way to the castle. They’d stopped by the ship, where he and Magolor were. The latter had been informed all the same, but he’d begged off, admitted that A: he didn’t really care much for the monarch enough to bother, and B: he really DID have something rather important to calculate as well. “I’d rather not say until I’m finished,” he’d told them, “in case it’s nothing. I’ll probably catch up in due time, but I rather WOULD say that it could be Star Allies Important.”

Although unnerving, they’d let the issue lie, since ideally Taranza would be all that was needed, and by all accounts, he could be restrained otherwise.

Kirby led the pack. “Alright, everyone!” he called to his friends as they approached Little Kirby’s house. “It sounds like we’re not getting in without a fight, so…”

“Gonna be weird to be on the other side of this for once,” Great King admitted.

“Don’t worry,” Bandana Dee reassured. “Let’s just remember to not be too harsh on anyone!”

“We make straight for the King,” Winged Meta Knight confirmed. “We’ll need to determine whether he’s in his throne room or elsewhere, however.”

The kids were dropped off at Little Kirby’s, with the group promising to return shortly.

As they came up to the drawbridge, however, they saw something they didn’t expect, yet was familiar- Susie, alongside the other Meta Knight and his subordinates. They were standing before a now open drawbridge, the Waddle Dees at the guard knocked out cold. “Hey! You two again!” Kirby noticed.

Susie turned back first. “Ah. I’d call this deja vu, but to be fair, your counterpart wagered that you’d be here before long,” she admitted, motioning to him. “He convinced me to wait until you arrived.”

“What are you two doing here?” Bandana Dee asked in surprise.

“I knew that once I saw your ship arrive, you’d get news of the matter quickly,” Meta Knight confirmed. “Myself and Ms. Haltmann both decided it would be prudent to open the way in advance, as it were.”

“Sir Meta Knight, his crew, and myself were already working together,” Susie explained. “It seemed only logical. Besides, I’d been looking to sell him a few things lately. Like some security lasers, as well as a new and improved defense system I’ve been working on.”

“Wait, you and Susie?” Bandana noted. “Working on what?”

“That is of no great concern right now,” Meta Knight said at the same time Susie simply replied ‘classified.’ They looked at each other briefly, before Meta Knight resumed. “For now, we must make haste; the King is likely in a delirious state by now.”

“Right!” Kirby agreed as he ran forwards. “Let’s go! Know where he is?” he asked, turning back briefly.

“I do not. However, it is likely he is in his throne room,” Meta Knight suggested, following, as did the rest of them.

“Then that’s where we’re headed!” he decided. “Onwards!”

The castle’s guard all being Waddle Dees was, fortunately, easy for them to work around- flying, leaping, or otherwise deft footwork were all employed as they marched towards the throne room. Kirby at one point had to suck up at least 3 of them to bowl a charging party over, and Taranza netted a few himself. “This is honestly kinda easier than normal,” Big Kirby admitted. “You’ve got a lot more variety, Dedede.”

“Yeah, no kiddin’,” Great King agreed. “He needs some different faces on the defense, here.”

“Well, considering that we’re trying to find him to analyze his mindset, I would have to disagree,” Taranza noted. “The sooner we do that, the better.”

“Fortunately, we’ve arrived,” Meta Knight said quickly as they opened the door to the throne room to find…

…no one. “Hm. He’s not here…” Kirby muttered.

“So where could he be, then?” Bandee asked. “Maybe his bedroom?”

“That might be the next best option,” Meta Knight agreed. “Sword, Blade, you two-”

“Wait, wait!” a high pitched voice came from above. They looked up to see, to their surprise, Fololo and Falala descending down on them. “Uhh, what’s everyone doing here?” Fololo asked.

“Are you looking for the King?” Falala continued. “He’s, uh…not seeing anyone right now!”

“So we’ve heard,” Winged Meta Knight said, eying them. He didn’t distrust them, but he was curious as to how they’d remained around and unharrassed. “We aim to determine exactly why that is, and fix it.”

“Oh, uh…so you know?” Falala hazaraded, looking concerned. “He’s been REALLY strange lately.”

Fololo nodded in agreement. “Yeah, he even promoted us to royal assistants, because he said we were ‘safe’, whatever that means.”

“Safe?” Great King Dedede repeated, looking at everyone else. “Safe from what, I wonder…”

“Well, he mentioned not ‘getting fed to Kirby’!” Falala supplied helpfully, looking at the pink puff. “It sounded like he was really scared of you! But I didn’t think you or our Kirby would just eat anyone!”

“I wouldn’t!” Big Kirby protested. “And neither would Lil’ Me! Something’s really weird here.”

“Nightmare might be exerting their influence here…” Meta Knight figured. “Though I do not know what purpose this would serve.”

“We’ll ask later, then- that or pry the information out of him ourselves,” Taranza concluded before turning to the floating duo. “Now, if you don’t mind our asking, where is he right now?”

The duo glanced at each other briefly, before pointing. “He’s down in his studio! He’s trying to run everything from there for now- but we think he bought something from NME earlier!” Fololo said worriedly. “We don’t know what it’s for, but it’s probably not good!”

“Our thanks for the information.” Winged Meta Knight said. “I believe we have our next destination, then.” He turned to his counterpart. “I don’t think any of us have been to that portion of the castle yet. Will you guide us?” he asked.

“Of course,” Meta Knight said, nodding. “Follow us!”

“Good luck!” the two wished as the party left them.

Meta Knight began to lead the group down a number of hallways and stairs. “The king has a private studio, where he films all programs of Channel DDD.”

“Channel PPP is better,” Great King said idly. “Less bad comedy.”

“That DOES remind me I need to speak with them…” Susie muttered to herself.

No one else bothered to remark as they were led downstairs- it soon became clear that it was better to focus, anyway. They heard a strange, whirring noise as they got closer to the studio. “...keepin’ all the good an’ none of the bad!” they heard King Dedede say. Looking at each other, it was clear what the plan was. Whatever was going on, it was too risky to let simply play out. “Alright! Now ta-”

“CHARRRRRRGE!” Kirby yelled as he and the rest burst through the door- much to cries of shock and alarm from King Dedede and Escargoon. Next to them, a strange, almost printer-like machine that had just revved up, glowing a number of rainbow colors.

It wasn’t even able to be called a fight, tAs the vast majority of the Star Allies and otherwise fell on King Dedede, Great King Dedede and Winged Meta Knight were quick to destroy whatever device it was- they didn’t know, they didn’t want to know, and the issue was of no matter once it crumpled and split under the combined might of both Great King Dedede’s hammer and Winged Meta Knight’s swordplay.

Escargoon didn’t even try to interfere, yelping and fleeting for the furthest corner of the studio as the group collectively bound and restrained King Dedede. “THIS IS IT! I KNEW IT! I AIN’T GONNA GET FED TO THAT MONSTAH! YOU LET ME GO RIGHT NOW!”

“Yeesh. Something’s up with him baaaad,” Kirby admitted, before turning to Taranza. “You’re up. Can you figure out what the issue is?”

“If nothing else, I can determine what it isn’t ,” he confirmed as a purple glow began to envelope both Dedede and his own eyes, the king quickly falling into a daze. “And there you have it,” Taranza pronounced. “One sufficiently mesmerized monarch. Now, then… what’s going on in that head of yours…” Here he got close, holding one of his hands above the king's cap. “it’d be appreciated if you spoke about it plainly, hm?” He closed his eyes and concentrated.

“...uugh…” King Dedede almost seemed too out of it- for a moment, the gaze held, and no words came out. But before they could think to try anything else, he spoke, finally. “Dream...Evil kids…came to my room…hold. Kirbeh…burning. Lotta burning…” his face lolled and rolled as his memories were wracked.

“Hm…if I’m deciphering this correctly, these images he’s sharing with me…they’re of the kids,” Taranza explained. “They’re…ugh, rather different. But that's dream effects at work, I think. Let’s see…ah, they’re taking him…prisoner? Fascinating. Oh, there’s some of the citizens.” Taranza flinched lightly. “Oof, not exactly stellar reviews of his tenure- oh. OH. That’s a rather big Kirby he dreamt off. Very hot one, too. Ah, there’s Meta Knight above him. Meta Knights, technically.”

“Me?” Big Kirby asked in surprise. “Well, I guess if I was gonna ‘eat’ him…

“Ah, he tried to escape…and nope. There he goes…ah, and that was the end of it.” Taranza frowned. “Honestly, I was kind of hoping for something much more gripping. At the very least, we should be able to snap him out of it easily enough.” And with that, he promptly thunked King Dedede on the head, cap and all.

“OW!” The king was quick to rub his head, cap be darned. “Y-you!”

“Yes, us. And before you say anything else- it was a dream. Just that, alright?” Taranza implored. “Did you see ME anywhere in there? No? Then likely I’m fine. So I’m telling you- abupup! Listen!” he quickly redirected the attention-less king. “Whatever you THINK is going to happen via Kirby to you, it is very likely either impossible or something we can handle ourselves. Understood?”

King Dedede blinked owlishly. “B-but-!”

“Nightmares aren’t a big deal for us, remember?” Kirby pushed on. “Just forget all that and go back to normal, okay? I’m not swallowing anyone.” ‘ That I don’t REALLY neeed to,’ he privately thought.

“B-but the burning behind Kirbeh…” he protested. "They all...they...all wanted to get rid o' me..." he said softly, yawning. For a moment, he seemed less of an immature tyrant and more of an attention-seeker for validation.

“We’ll handle it, whatever it is. You get sleep,” Taranza insisted.

King Dedede’s eyes blinked off-sync. Then he looked around. Looked back at Taranza. Back around. Back at Taranza.

“...I need me a...longer nap,” he said tiredly. And bonelessly, he slumped to the floor.

“Oh, thank the stars!” Escargoon said gratefully as he slithered back into view. “I wasn’t sure what was going to happen there, with the burning dream and all, but it ended fantastically!” He paused, looking at his monarch on the ground. "Well, okay, notfantastically since he's out again, but probably as good as he could get it..."

“Yup!” Kirby said, confident. “This wasn’t a big deal at all!” Inwardly, as soon as he said that, he flinched. ‘Oof, should I have knocked on wood, there?’ he silently fretted.

Exiting the castle, confident that they’d be all done for the day, the LAST thing they expected was Magolor coming up to them- with Tiff and Tuff in tow. “Hey, everyone!” she cried, waving for their attention.

“Ooh, that can’t be good,” Taranza said worriedly. The rest of them looked at him, but didn’t have a chance to say anything before she came up.

“Hey!” Big Kirby said, still uncertain of the situation unfolding. “Good news! King Dedede oughta be just fine after he finally gets some proper bed rest. Again.”

“No, that’s not it!” Tiff said. She was almost panicking, which wasn’t really her general emotion. “We’ve got a problem!”

“Oh, no…so the calculations told you something bad, then?” Taranza said, forlornly. Everyone else looked at him in confusion for elaboration. “Last night, the Lor detected something on its long-range radar. It seemed big, so myself and him set out to scout it out.” He sighed, looking back at Tiff. “I’m guessing he told you what it was?”

“Yeah!” she said. “Look up!” She pointed up, and everyone followed her finger-

“...oh,” Big Kirby said simply as he noticed the red dot in the sky. “That looks an awful lot like-”

“An asteroid!” Tiff finished. “And it’s headed right for us!”

“At first, I thought it smaller than it really was, nor on the course that it was,” Magolor explained. “Figured it’d be good for target practice, but the Lor’s armaments just aren't doing the trick. The asteroid’s too dense to break through without a LOT of sustained fire. And even that’s not a guarantee. I finished running the math on the thing, and it's...well, not looking good. I just came to tell you that in case we might want to choose to evacuate.”

“Evacuate?!” everyone else shouted, forcing Magolor to cover his ears.

“Ow! Really, did you all have to say it in unison!?” he complained.

“Sorry, but…no way we can just LEAVE, can we?” Tuff asked incredulously.

“Well, by all accounts, yes!” Magolor informed him. “Or at least, well, most of you- it’s a bit of a big town, and I don’t know if the Lor can make so many trips in the amount of time it’ll take the meteor to get here- which I’ve calculated to be approximately 3 days.” There were a number of grimaces at that. That wasn’t a long time at all.

“But then what can we do?!” Tiff asked, despondent. That…was a good question. Susie looked to be in thought, but said nothing, and Magolor just shrugged. The Meta Knights looked at each other, though she had not the slightest idea of what their silent conversation meant.

But Kirby and Dedede looked at each other as well- and nodded resolutely. “Tch. What do you think we do?” Great King Dedede said, hefting his hammer. For a moment, it seemed like a beacon- a symbol of hope. “We’ll rally the town, pool our resources, and find a way to knock that rock off course!”

“We’ll reconvene in an hour or so,” Winged Meta Knight declared. “I believe it would be good to take stock of exactly what those resources are.”

“Agreed,” Susie said quickly. “I must be off.”

“I can at least check to see how much power the Lor can really spare,” Magolor said.

“Then the rest of us will head around and inform the townspeople,” Great King Dedede declared. “It won’t be the nicest of news, but if anyone needs help, everyone’s gonna be pitchin’ in!”

“Alright, sounds like we got a plan!” Big Kirby cheered. “We’re gonna save this Pop Star no matter what! Star Allies, GO!” he pronounced, and with that everyone split off to do their respective tasks.

Tiff wasn’t sure what, if anything, they could do…but somehow, seeing them all like that? It lit a fire in her.

‘I don’t know what they’ll do,’ she thought to herself, ‘but I have faith they’ll be able to do it.’

Chapter 40: Radiant Dreams

Chapter Text

The lot of them had quickly gotten to their tasks- in particular the raising of the alarm. It wasn’t something that needed a ton of explanation; more than one Cappy had looked up and noticed the ‘extra sun’ in the sky, and that was quickly realized to be in error- that it was bearing down on them and getting closer every moment. Although a few at first were reluctant to believe it, it was difficult to deny when you had a ship that could sail the stars hanging about, and that very vessel had confirmed its path.

It had taken a bit more than an hour, getting into the evening, but everyone reconvened as planned around the King’s mansion. It proved the best place to hold tactical planning. Meta Knight quickly looked around as the last, Susie, made their way in. “Apologies for my lateness,” she said. “Finishing some last-second calculations.”

“Hey, at least you knew about it,” Daroach said sourly. “This is rather a dampener on my day, I can tell you that much.”

“It’s affecting everyone, Daroach,” Taranza said simply. “Which is why we’re working to counteract it.”

“So long as everyone’s here, then,” Meta Knight said simply. “Firstly, reports.” He looked towards Tiff, Tuff, and the rest of the Dream Land team, who had been responsible for that bit of work. “First, how fares the town?”

“They’re not doin’ great,” Tuff said with a grimace. “Everyone’s real on edge now; they kinda knew what was happening, though.” They’d even managed to reach Gooey, who’d been ‘in the forest’ for some time. He had an uncharacteristically nervous look on his face, helped by both Big and Little Kirby who kept him distracted.

“Us promising to find a way to stop the asteroid helped soothe a lot of nerves,” Tiff added, glancing over at both Kirbies briefly. “But that’s not going to make it go away; just stop it from boiling over into mass panic.”

King Dedede nodded. “Basically, they’re counting on us to handle it. I don’t think evacuation’s an option, either- I floated it past a few folks, and none of them seemed like they enjoyed the idea at all. It’s all or nothing in this case, I think. Not entirely sure how we’re gonna stop the thing yet, mind, but that’s what this meeting is for, right?”

Meta Knight nodded. “Just for posterity’s sake, Magolor?”

He humphed. “I MIGHT be able to push the Lor to open a double-wide portal at best without causing a dangerous drain on power before the energy spheres recharge, presuming that’s without an outside source of additional power to draw from. The meteor’s far beyond those dimensions, however, so it wouldn’t take- it’d just shatter the spacial rend and destroy the rim ma- bah, forget it.” He shook his head. “No sense in technical talk- essentially, no, we can’t just portal the asteroid away.”

Meta Knight nodded- he had expected this. “Anything about boosting the damage output of the cannons?”

“Can do that, but don’t expect much more than chipping away at it,” he responded. “Would be too slow to really affect the trajectory, nor the impact effect to any practical degree.”

Meta Knight grunted. “Noted. We’ll still consider it. Any help is good.” With that, he turned to Susie. “What of your work?”

Susie eyed him carefully. But she took a deep breath, then spoke. “I think I may be able to provide a possible defense against this.”

Everyone promptly looked at her in surprise. “Elaborate.” Meta Knight insisted.

“I said ‘I think I may, ” she immediately reminded them. “I’ve been working on something, and this would be a good test of it- not to mention I don’t doubt it can output the necessary amount of energy to at least render the impact event less-than-apocalyptic.” She looked around at everyone. “However, I will concede this is a gamble, and it is indeed ultimately one based on a successful TEST. We would do well with a secondary plan.”

Meta Knight looked at her hard. Their eyes met in a battle of wills…and then Meta Knight nodded. “Understood. I may be able to provide that backup plan.”

“Ah.” Susie leaned back a little bit. Everyone- save Tiff, Tuff, and Little Kirby- knew what that meant.

“Hey, just to be sure,” Big Kirby suddenly asked, looking at Magolor. “How fast can you get from this Dream Land to ours? Could you do it fast enough to get back in the same day over here?”

“I daresay I could, yes,” Magolor confirmed. “But why?”

Big Kirby paused, considering. “...just in case. I know they don’t WANT to, but if they HAVE to…”

Tiff grimaced. She could see the logic in forcibly moving everyone, but it certainly wouldn’t make them any friends. Sure, SHE might be fine with the idea if it came to it, but everyone else? “We’ll deal with that if it comes to it,” she interjected. “For now, let’s just focus on combating the meteor.”

Magolor raised an eyebrow at her, but said nothing.

“I could get a decent few folks on my airship,” Daroach offered. “But it’d be cramped, and I agree with the little lady that we shouldn’t be fretting about that first.” With that, he looked at Susie. “If I send Doc over your way, think that’d help? He knows a ton about getting a lot out of a little.”

She gave him a flat stare for a few moments, before sighing. “...yes, you have a point,” she eventually admitted. “Very well. If he’s willing to collaborate, I’ll have him welcomed to the factory.”

“Grand,” Daroach said, pleased. “He’ll probably be along shortly. He’s got no desire to get swallowed up by a fireball from the stars, either.”

“I’ll set everything to run around the clock,” Susie said as she got up. “Everyone will either be working overtime shifts until this threat has passed. And yes, that includes myself,” she added. “I should resume working on the project as fast as possible. It’ll need some modifications. Fortunately, those shouldn’t be too hard to implement.” She turned to the rest. “Is there anything else to be known? Otherwise, may I take my leave?”

Meta Knight turned to the remainder. “Taranza, Magolor. I’d suggest you continue holding your classes as normal.”

“Yeah,” agreed Big Kirby. “Might take some people’s minds off everything.”

“If I can focus on it,” Tuff rumbled. Tiff said nothing, but she felt similarly.

Winged Meta Knight nodded. “Meeting adjourned, then.” With that, everyone split to their various abodes. Well, almost everyone. Winged Meta, before leaving for elsewhere, turned to the three children. “You should get some rest,” he said, before spreading his wings and soaring off to wherever he needed to be.

“...yeah, that’s not happening,” Tuff said morosely.

His words proved mostly prophetic, with Tiff spending the majority of the night trying to think of possible ways to help, while Tuff was just plain restless. Though they eventually got to sleep, it was fraught with frightening dreams, and the next day’s lesson of continuing Reinforcement training for the first part of the day was almost relieving- though none of them managed it.

“Alright, you lot,” Magolor said primly as everyone was, once again, on the ground panting from exhaustion. It was common, and they’d be all up again in a few minutes having to do it all over again. “You’ve all come along pretty well in a surprisingly short amount of time. Color me impressed.”

“W…what are you talking about?” Tuff said, groaning as he tried to pick himself up. “None of us have gotten it down yet!”

“No, but I will concede you’re all getting close,” he said. That caused everyone to lift or turn their heads in surprise. “None of you have noticed, but I figured I’d give you some good news today. I’d been upping the intensity of my spheres bit by bit over the days. You’ve been doing well in shrugging off the worst of them, and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of you managed to really crack it soon. It sounds so simple, doesn’t it?” He started in on a mini-lecture. “But thinking that you can assure yourself that something won’t hurt- and then seeing something really dangerous looking coming directly for you and thinking it won’t hurt are two vastly different things. It’s why presentation matters!” he informed them. “It can be funny to think about, but in many cases for a mage, being flashy equals being effective . If it looks like it’s going to hurt, it most certainly will. Doesn’t always work the other way around, but again, going into willpower versus willpower there. But generally the same idea is there. So!” He looked over them once more as Tiff began to rise first. “Since now you KNOW that you can handle the lowest-power magic spheres I can toss? I expect RESULTS. Now-”

“Hey!” Before he could command everyone to stand, they were interrupted by Honey yelling in surprise. Looking towards her, they noticed that she was looking off in another direction…a direction where a large number of Cappies seemed to be walking. “Where’s everyone going?”

Looking a bit of a ways down the field, they saw the Mayor, his wife, and several others- including Susie Haltmann, Great King Dedede, Bandana Dee, and others. Even-

“What’s mom and dad doing?” Tiff wondered out loud. “It looks like they’re going towards- oh!”

Suddenly, she realized what was happening. They hadn’t asked for that kind of help in a while…

Great King Dedede looked up, and up, and up at the large wooden totem. He had been out with Tiff’s parents, trying to reassure Sir Ebrum and Lady Like that all would be well (Sir Ebrum, perhaps, was taking it well enough. Lady Like was less so- poor lady looked like a nervous wreck and part of this outing had been to get them out of their own heads). It was not long into it that he noticed that everyone had begun to go to the Mayor’s house- as the local leader, it made a measure of sense, and they’d followed for curiosity’s sake. However, Blustergas had begged off. “The Star Allies are working as best they can to prevent this tragedy…but if you’re still worried, then I suggest we go ask Kabu.” It’d proven a popular idea, and so he and Bandee had ended up coming along. Susie as well, out of pure scientific curiosity. She’d spotted the procession pass through her security cameras, and once she’d heard the reasoning, thought to join. Why, he wasn’t sure- especially when she was now looking at the thing with clear derision.

Still, though he guessed it would look something resembling the Kabu he knew, he wasn’t prepared for the sheer SCALE. “So this is a Kabu for you guys?!” That was the biggest one he’d ever seen, flat out. Thinner, though, and despite being gigantic for a Kabu, it wasn’t a Big Kabu due to lacking the crown-like head shape. “That’s somethin’ else…”

“At least it’s not spitting out smaller ones…” Bandee noted quietly. Dedede had to agree with that much.

After some looking around, it was decided that the Mayor would be speaking for all of them; Sir Ebrum and Lady Like seemed in no emotional state, and he was the one who suggested it, so… “Great and Wise Kabu, we beg your advice,” the Mayor started. “Is there a surefire way to prevent this asteroid from destroying our planet?”

A pause, and Great King felt the tension in the air. ‘So they’re expecting it to just give them the answer?’ he thought? However, moments later, it spoke, its voice deep and booming. “I have seen the burning star you speak of. Its approach brings much destruction.”

“W-what kinds of destruction?” the Mayor asked timidly as Susie began tapping her hand at her side in annoyance.

“I see windstorms and earthquakes. Fire and darkness,” was the unemotional response.

“Sounds about right,” Great King muttered to himself. Although he was wondering…

Kabu sought to continue. “Volcanoes shall erupt, sp-”

“Enough!” Susie yelled out, much to everyone’s shock. They all turned towards her, gasping, but Susie’s expression had hardened into something displeased, but unwavering. “We are well aware of the consequences of failure, and there is no need to review them, thank you. These people sought your counsel for potential low-risk solutions, not threat assessment. Do you have any recommended courses of action, or have we all been wasting our time?”

The entire glade went deathly still. Great King Dedede and Bandee simply facepalmed. ‘Just like her to cut to the chase,’ he thought, mentally sighing.

However, before anyone could reprimand her, the Kabu spoke once more. “None within my power.”

“Brilliant,” Susie said sarcastically as she turned away. “I’d hoped perhaps something intriguing might be learned from a so-called oracle, but the only thing I’ve confirmed is that you’re a useless, oversized lawn ornament.”

More gasps. “N-now, don’t you think that’s a bit-” the Mayor started.

“No,” she quickly responded, turning only her head to look back at him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must continue to oversee my project to actually DO something about this impending threat. We have only approximately 48 hours left, and every minute spent here is clearly a minute wasted.” She turned away, heedless of the shocked stares she was getting. “So, fare-oh.” In front of her was Tiff, who was staring at her in surprise. “Sharp Eyes, what are you doing here?”

Tiff looked behind her briefly, to the worried and shocked expressions of the Cappies that had been looking at her like she’d just spoken the biggest faux pas ever. (And from what she’d heard before she’d ran up, she might well had.) But she didn’t have time to think about that. “I was wondering if there was any way I could help,” she admitted. “I can worry about magic later.”

There was a moment’s thought…but Susie eventually nodded. “I believe there is. There’s a matter where your input might be quite valuable. Come on, Sharp Eyes, we’ve got a lot to do and little time to do it in.” She made to leave, and Tiff quickly followed, to the crowd’s shock.

Great King Dedede sighed, and began to apologize for her attitude-

-when to his surprise, Kabu spoke again. “The future…is not set in stone. Now moreso than ever.” Everyone turned back to him quickly, transfixed. “With the arrival of your strange allies, the future of Cappy Town, of Dream Land, and of Pop Star, is blind to me. The tapestry of destiny has been rewoven from threads that I cannot follow and cannot discern. Your fate…is in your hands, and yours alone. I can no longer help you in that regard.”

That shocked everyone, barring Great King and Bandee. They just laughed. “So business as usual, then!” the King said grandly. He raised his hammer once again, and everyone looked to him. “C’mon, everyone! If we’re gonna take things in our own hands, we’ve got a lotta work to do!” With that proclamation, he began to march off.

There was a moment’s pause, before the crowd began to follow him, as well.

Meanwhile, Tuff had wandered off a bit as well- though he couldn’t really be blamed too much- Big Kirby and Taranza had stopped by to talk to Magolor briefly not long after Tiff had taken off, and they’d gone around into the forest for privacy. Tuff had thought to practice a bit along with everyone else, but soon he’d found his natural curiosity flaring up, and next thing he knew, he was tiptoeing through the underbrush. It wasn’t very far, however, before words made their way to him. “-this calm,” Magolor’s voice came through. “It’s almost unnerving. You wouldn’t be hiding anything from us, would you? Some secret last second ‘save-the-day’ skill?”

“Nope,” Big Kirby’s voice came. “I really kinda can’t do anything about something THAT big unless you got me a Miracle Fruit or an Invader Armor suddenly popped up, and even that might not do it. But I trust you know what you’re all doing.”

“I think I feel confident that we’ll be able to do something about it,” Taranza said, nodding. “We’re not exactly waiting until it’s knocking on our doorstep.”

“Got a plan B then, at least?” Kirby asked.

“Sure do! Even have a Plan C, though that one is very ‘if all else fails’,” Magolor noted. “Not to mention it’d probably cause a lot of headache and heartache even if it DID work.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that, hitting the Button?” Kirby asked, and Tuff’s curiosity piqued even more. What’s ‘the button’? It sounded cool- and kinda dangerous.

There was a pause for reasons he was unsure of. Then: “Goodness, NO! Why would I want to invoke that stupid-”

“It’s not stupid,” Taranza interjected. “And it’s not the worst possibility…” he seemed to muse.

“Well, I’m against hitting that stupid button,” Magolor said hotly. “The last thing we need is to trade one problem for another,” he declared.

“Oh, come on. It wouldn’t be THAT bad, you’re just holding a grudge!” Big Kirby tried to defend, but they weren’t having it, it seemed. “Besides, what’s your plan C, then? You said it’d be as bad, too!”

“Nope, no, no,” Magolor countered. “I said ‘it’d cause a lot of headache and heartache’- and that’s because we don’t want a Soulform running around causing only slightly less destruction than a meteor impact.”

Tuff’s heart leapt into his throat for a moment, the word ‘Soulform’ resonating in him like someone had him in a vice grip. “Wait, you don’t mean…” Big Kirby started.

“Trust me, we’d really really rather not intentionally draw something like THAT out,” Magolor said. “But chances are, if that Tuff kid’s got as much potential as it SEEMS like to me? If he, me, and Taranza put our all into it, we can likely at least redirect the thing to miss the planet, or at worst skim the atmosphere. Probably get a lot of nice big craters still, some flooding likely, and a lot of bad weather, but nothing world-wrecking.”

“It’d undoubtedly break his body, though,” Taranza said softly, and as shocked still as Tuff was, he could yet imagine the grimace on the spider’s face. “He’d burn himself out just through the effort. With all the magic pushed through his Soul, it’d likely end up physically manifesting, and…”

“I know.” Big Kirby said stiffly. “Trust me, I know the results. That’s not happening,” he immediately decided, and there was a hardness in it he’d never heard in Big Kirby before. “We’ll evacuate everyone by force before I let ANYONE’S Soul manifest for this.”

“...yes, we figured,” Magolor said with a sigh. “Still, we just wanted to mention the option.”

“...I know,” Big Kirby admitted, tone now much softer. “Let’s just hope Plan A works.”

By now, Tuff had heard enough. He bolted out of the forest, fully intent on running clear to his room in the castle, and hiding out there for a while.

He stopped when he saw Kirby’s house. Their Kirby.

‘...if Big Kirby can’t do nothin’ about it, I doubt our Kirby could,’ he thought. ‘Would he be able to escape if it came down to it?’ Maybe Meta Knight could do something? Or would he go to the other Pop Star, their planet now protected by two Kirbies? But even barring them… ‘What about everyone else, too? What if they miss someone? What if someone just doesn’t wanna go? What about other places on our Pop Star? Do we just leave them behind ta get smashed up?’ He looked back up in the sky, the angry red fireball encroaching ever closer. ‘...if it was down to me, or everyone else…’

Tuff wasn’t an idiot, after all. He didn’t know what a ‘Soulform’ was, but it sounded bad. And from how they were describing it, and their warnings from earlier, it would be HIM, in a sense. But probably, well…not right. Something primal. Unrestrained.

Dangerous.

They’d be trading one threat for another, like they said. But…they’d also sounded like they had experience with that before. They knew what they could do in that situation.

It probably wouldn’t be pleasant.

Tuff looked back towards Cappy Town. Full of people nervous and worrisome, but loving and beloved regardless. Home. “If it was me…or everyone else…” he mumbled. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath.

Then started marching back to the field where everyone else undoubtedly had questions for why he’d taken off. He could come up with an excuse like having to potty or something.

‘Easiest decision of my life. Prolly the last one, too.’ He wryly thought with a bit of black humor, before shaking his head. ‘Never figured I’d be thinkin’ like THIS before I got grown up. Mom and Dad would totally panic.’ He couldn’t help but grin. ‘...it’d be a REALLY epic way to go out, though.’

But, like Big Kirby had said? Hopefully, Plan A would stick, and then he’d keep those thoughts well to himself until they could laugh about it in the future.

The far, faaaaar future. So he had an escape route when Tiff started yelling her head off at him.

The next morning King Dedede had woken up…and the first thing he had asked was simple. “Da heck happened?!”

He didn’t care to understand much beyond that the so-called asteroid, which he’d initially dismissed, WAS in fact beginning to get closer; and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. After some moments considering, he’d decided to fall back on his usual.

Having fun! He’d never really been one for skating, but with everyone all in a tizzy, he had plenty of room in the castle to try it out, and was currently testing his speed near the castle ramparts. “C’mon, Escargoon!” he’d said with cheer he wasn’t sure he felt. “If these gonna be our last hours, we might as well live it up!”

Escargoon, for his part, had loyally stuck by his liege; but at this point he wasn’t too keen on taking chances, he’d already packed his meagre belongings and the king had caught him as he was just about to make his exit. “No thanks, sire! Whether or not those loony lookalikes can bounce this thing or not, I’m not taking any chances! I’m outta here!” He made to move past his ‘ex’- ruler, before getting stopped by a massive hand.

“Come again?” Dedede asked. “Whatchu mean there?”

“I mean,” Escargoon explained hurriedly, “I’m off to mother’s before-”

“Naw, naw! The other thing, you said them impostahs was tryin’ to stop it?” Dedede asked in curiosity, his energy somewhat abated for the moment. “Dat just don’t seem any kinda possible!”

Escargoon sighed. Guess he’d have to do one last bit of explanation. “Trust me, sire, I’m thinkin’ the same- but that other you and his cavalcade of kooks have been running around trying to pull off some co*ckamanie plan that they say could knock the rock off course! That Susie girl’s factory you let happen has been runnin’ around the clock like old times, and I’ve not seen a soul leave.”

“Ha!” Tryin’ ta get some last product out afore they skedaddle, more likely,” Dedede said with a chuckle that wasn’t all there. “They can slip in an’ outta here as they please- they can likely wait til’ the last minute!”

“I’m…not so certain of that, sire,” Escargoon said. “Everyone’s pitching in, every Cappy, every traveler; heck, I’ve seen a few of the forest dwellers running about.” He motioned beyond the castle outside; the view was red and angry due to the approaching asteroid, but there was a hustle and bustle about the town that even Dedede could detect; many voices and sounds of building or construction. “Seems like that Other Dedede’s managed to sway everyone to whatever madcap plan they’ve got.”

For a moment, Escargoon appreciated the silence as he stared out at the village. It was an annoying, frustrating, illogical place. But it was almost quaint at times. Although, when he looked to his liege, expecting him to be wearing a look of dispassion at best, he was surprised to see something resembling thoughtfulness on his face. That was rare as hen’s teeth. “...Sire?”

There was a moment before King Dedede spoke. “...Now how you suppose he managed alla that?” he asked. It was a question with surprising sincerity behind it, as though he actually wanted to know the answer. “Those fool Cappies ain’t willin’ ta listen ta me unless it suits ‘em. But he shows up an’ everyone’s hangin’ off his every word.” He frowned, folding his arms in indignation. “That just ain’t right! Ain’t they known me longer?!”

“Might be the problem right there,” Escargoon muttered under his breath. Ah, if he survived, he’d miss snarking at the king. It was entertaining regardless of the inevitable punishment. “Well, if I had to guess,” he said louder, “I’d suppose it was because he’s a kinder, politer sort. He treats folks like they’ve all got something to contribute, even if it ain’t much. He’s willing to stick his neck out for anyone, and he’s not afraid to step up for people he sees as his subjects. He’s gentle sometimes, and determined the next. He’s strong without wanting to flaunt it all the time. He just DOES things and people like it, so they follow him.”

King Dedede turned to his assistance as he finished his summation. “How you know alla that?”

Escargoon scoffed. “I don’t , I just get word from the town here and there, plus our own dealings with him. Frankly, I think he’s a bit of a softy, but it’s what the Cappies like, so there ya go.”

King Dedede looked out back at the town. For a moment, Escargoon wondered what he was thinking, before: “Tch, whatever,” the king said, a brief scowl on his face before it straightened out, and he looked back to his assistant. “Hey, Escargoon? Afore you take off, go tell the Waddle Dees they…uh…” he paused, thinking. “Ah! They ain’t gotta work the rest of the day. An’ that…” Another pause, as though he had trouble forcing the words out. “Egh…say they can… have as much as they want fer lunch.”

Escargoon blinked. “Sire?”

The king shrugged. “Ehhh, I figure if this here’s it, might as well try my hand at tryin’ ta act how that phony king likely acts fer a day. See if it’s any my style.” He looked like he doubted it himself, but didn’t elaborate any further.

Escargoon made a face, but nodded. “A-as you say…” He turned away, unsure what to make of the order as he heard King Dedede skating off. He took one last look up at the sky. The red was really such a horrible color.

It was getting too red outside for her tastes. The asteroid’s speed had likely increased. Susie Haltmann turned back towards the factory as she hit a button on her tablet. “Ebrum! Do you have the latest analysis?” she called.

“It just came through!” Tiff’s voice said from the device. And from the looks of it…I think we’ve got it! Now, how do I send it to you…?”

“L-like this, miss!” the voice of one of her Waddle Dees came through. In moments, she had a file transferred to her tablet as she made her way to the construction bay. “There you go!”

“Excellent,” Susie noted as she pulled open the file, read and viewed the contents. This was well within expected parameters, and she had faith that there would at least be no misfirings. In that case…she pressed another button, one that activated the speakers factory-wide. “Attention, all temporary and full-time employees. I believe construction on the project is complete.” A raucous cheer went up; everyone had been pulled from their normal jobs to assist with this one, and thankfully, they had all proved able. “Should this succeed, I will see to it that all involved are rewarded to the best of my ability. But time is of the essence. We must begin to move the product; and more importantly, install it upon the highest stable point in the vicinity.” And they all knew where that was. “This is non-negotiable if you wish to save your town.”

While Dynablade’s nest was the highest point outright, it was too far to haul the massive machine, and too unstable to let it operate at maximum power without collapsing the whole works. That left only one practical area.

When the lot of them marched up to King Dedede’s castle, she and Tiff in particular were surprised- shocked even, to see the Waddle Dees not even at guard, merely milling about and eating. “What’s going on here?” the latter wondered.

“The King gave them the day off,” was the surprise response by Waddle Doo. “Ain’t no one wanna be workin’ on their last days.” That was…morbidly kind of him.

Tiff was more surprised, however, to find King Dedede casually singing to himself, something she’d never heard him do before. “Whaddya y’all want?” he asked in surprise.

“We WANT to save your town,” Great King Dedede said. “And we got a plan to do it. But we’re gonna need to set it up here.”

“That so?” King Dedede said, looking over at all of them. The fake Dedede, the fake Kirby, the fake…well, okay, those were the only two fakes, but still. “You really think you can stop that big ol’ thing?”

“My analysis predicts an estimated eighty-two percent possibility of it,” Susie said simply. “So we’d certainly like to try.”

To their shock, King Dedede did nothing more than shrug. “Fine. Do as ya please.” With that, he turned away from them. If’n y’all wanna busy yerselves strugglin’ an’ cryin’ ‘fore it’s all over, no reason for me ta say no.” He began to walk away, before stopping and turning back. “Wait a tic. What’re y’all settin’ up here?”

But Susie had already pressed a button, and everyone present could hear the immense sounds of massive metal shutters opening up- and the ones outside would see that, behind the factory, the ground was splitting open in an unnaturally clean manner, to reveal a hangar that they’d had no clue was there this whole time.

Susie’s face had the expression of a smile. “I would like to introduce to you, King Dedede, the latest product from the Haltmann Works Company line. The Customizable Offensive Guardian System, version 3. Or, C.O.G.S 3.0, for short.”

The device had ‘underwent some changes, such as an energy core replacement, but had a very solid base’ according to Susie. Tiff wasn’t sure what that base was, but the idea was in two parts, and she couldn’t find much fault in it. She’d been let in on the plan during a last Star Ally meeting late that night, and had faith that it’d been thought out well enough that it would, indeed, work.

She didn’t want to think otherwise.

Fortunately, Part 1 was going well so far. Thanks to her information allowing for proper clamp design, they’d managed to get the gargantuan machine installed atop the castle. It, frankly, almost dwarfed said castle in sheer size, the circumference of it larger than the main dome of the castle. The C.O.G.S. 3.0 rested atop it almost like a large top hat, with a myriad of gears and four gigantic cannons, one each engulfing the towers, with a fifth gargantuan one in the center pointed skyward. It helped that it had a propulsion system, which was to allow the massive creation to reposition in short order. Once it had clamped on, Susie had begun barking out orders like a woman possessed. “GET THE SHIELDING LAID DOWN! WE DON’T WANT THE BACKBLAST TO MELT THE ENTIRE FOUNDATION! I WANT TIME TO ATMOSPHERIC ENTRY EVERY TEN MINUTES! WHERE’S MAGOLOR!?”

“Right here,” Magolor said calmly behind her, causing her to jump.

“Ah! …ahem. What did your tests say?” she asked at a much more reasonable volume.

“It should be doable,” he determined. “It’ll take a while for the Energy Spheres to recharge from such an effort, but if I route the remaining 100 of them to the weapons systems, she can pull it off.”

“My thanks for loaning me twenty of them,” Susie said, nodding as she looked over the silvery coating the top of the castle was growing, courtesy of her various workers. “That plus my own technology providing a power boost should put us well over the top.”

“Let’s hope,” Magolor admitted. “Because you mentioned something about time to atmospheric entry?” She nodded. “You were right, the speed is increasing somehow. We’ve got perhaps 4 hours before it breaches the atmosphere.”

Susie blinked. Then rushed off without a word.

Magolor sighed. “We’re going to be cutting this VERY close…”

“Alright, people, we’re on a VERY strict timetable!” Susie yelled as she darted through the castle, Bandee and several others by her side. “Is it ready to fire?” she asked the Haltworker next to her.

“All clamps are locked in and secure, and heat shielding has been applied to the top of the castle as requested,” he reported. “We still need to coat the southeastern area of the castle-”

“No time,” she interrupted as she darted into the highest level of the castle, preparing to take off for the rooftop. “Whatever’s over there, consider it acceptable losses. We need to fire in the next hour, which means we need to make certain that we’re ready in the next ten minutes. Bandee, how’s Plan B looking?”

Bandee hesitated. “Well, according to Meta Knight-”

“We will be ready,” an accented voice said, to her surprise. She turned to her left, to see both Meta Knights on the rooftop next to her. “We stand prepared to support, should this prove not enough.” He glanced over to his winged counterpart. “Though I confess my unease to such a reveal…it will be necessary.”

“As he said,” Winged Meta Knight agreed, nodding to her. “Go.”

She nodded, and took off.

“She has an impressive will,” Meta Knight noted. Winged Meta Knight simply huffed. “I feel as though I repeat myself often, but are you certain that our modifications will suffice?”

“This is not the first planetary disaster we’ve averted, nor the first massive one,” Winged Meta Knight huffed. “In particular, I would hope Haltmann feels at least a vague sense of deja vu.” Meta Knight eyed him, but did not ask for clarification. “Ultimately, yes. Our modifications will be at least enough to break the asteroid apart into much more manageable pieces.” He glanced further at his counterpart. “You should prepare, just in case.”

Meta Knight nodded, and leapt down as Winged Meta Knight kept an eye on things where he was.

Susie quickly arrived at the rooftop (or at least the edge of it), where Sir Ebrum, Lady Like, Tiff, Tuff, and both Kirbies stood along with Magolor and Taranza watching over the massive machine. “C.O.G.S. 3.0 is ready to fire,” she reported. “Trajectory prediction and alignment is beginning…” she pressed a button on her tablet, and the entire thing went red as a timer began to countdown. “Now.”

As it began to count down and the cannons slowly moved into position, Big Kirby looked askance at Tiff and Tuff. “Y’know, you all don’t have to be here. Do you wanna go down? It’s fine if you do."

They hesitated at that, before shaking their heads. “I think if this all fails…I’d feel better knowing I was up here trying,” Tiff admitted.

“I need to be here, too,” Tuff said. Big Kirby raised an eyebrow, as did his parents, but said nothing. Magolor and Taranza both gave him a glance as well, but neither responded, turning their attention back to the timer.

“We’d razher be with our children, no matter what ‘appens,” Lady Like said determinedly.

Sir Ebrum nodded, similarly resolute. “I’d not be anywhere else.”

“30 seconds,” Susie announced evenly, silencing them all. An unnatural calm had come over them all- really, had come over the entire town. It was the moment of truth. She tapped a small button on her tablet before speaking into it. “Daroach, thank you again for Doc’s assistance. Do you have visual confirmation of the target?”

“Sure do,” Daroach’s voice came back. “It’s big, rocky, and full of holes. Not a pleasant sight.”

“...Target locked.” Susie spared one last glance, then tapped two buttons. “Haltmann Apex Logic engaged. Calculating…all non-major systems rerouted to primary cannon.” She hit another button- and slid her finger all the way from the bottom to the top. “Output increased to three hundred percent. Recalculating…Haltmann Apex Logic Systems have deemed it necessary to increase the output to 500% percent and are doing so.” She looked up, grave. “This is all or nothing, people. We get one good shot and only one good shot. C.O.G.S is going to burn itself out on this.”

Tiff took a deep breath. “Here we go…” she muttered softly as her parents hugged both her and her brother from behind. She didn’t see Taranza or Magolor start deep breathing, as though prepping themselves for something.

She certainly didn’t see her brother closing his eyes, trying to do the same.

“Firing in three! TWO! ONE!” And Susie pressed the button as hard as she could.

The primary cannon, big as the roof itself, began to shine. For a moment, everyone had to look away, as instead of two suns, there were three.

And, with a light as white and bright as a star itself, a massive beam shot forth from the primary cannon that, from a distance, seemed to engulf the castle, showing itself to be almost as wide as the entire fortress itself. The tallest towers had their tops disintegrated almost immediately, and Tiff, vain though it was, flinched at the realization that one of those towers was her home gone.

The thought was only fleeting, however, as the massive white beam erupted into the sky, breaking atmosphere in nanoseconds, and storming with only the slightest diffusion through the blackness of space. The beam impacted the asteroid with the force of a hundred Crash bombs, and then a hundred more as various chemical reactions began to set off as the beam bore through the mineral.

“Daroach?!” Susie quickly called.

“Impact!” he said happily. “Looking good so far…” The beam continued on, on… “Aaaand, it’s through!” Almost as soon as he said that, there were a number of whines, some massive popping sounds that sounded like explosions themselves, and the white light vanished entirely. “Looking good, I can actually see stress lines already from it!”

“Alright, then beginning phase two!” she announced as the four remaining cannons began to whir. “Ready! Three! Two! One! GO!” another press, and a salvo of massive, sharptooth grinning rockets suddenly shot forth, streaking into the sky. “Okay, okay…” Susie’s eyes were glued to her tablet. “Navigation solid…breaching atmosphere…”

“I can see ‘em going up,” Daroach noted. “Doc says they’re on target so far.”

Susie didn’t move. “Alright… impact should be in five, four, three, two…”

“They’re in,” Daroach quickly said, “and-”

Suddenly, the assembled, no matter where they were, saw a number of small, yet fiery, explosions from the meteor’s surface. Everyone held their breath…

…and slowly, but surely, the massive meteor seemed to drift apart into several smaller pieces, spreading far apart. Already her scans told her that the vast majority would miss, and anything that would survive atmospheric entry and impact would simply be an interesting souvenir of the crisis, unless it landed in someone’s home or garden.

They’d done it.

They could hear the entire town go up in cheers, as did the people that had come to the castle to watch themselves. Tuff let out a private, small sigh of relief. Tiff would’ve fallen to her knees in emotional exhaustion, had it not been for her parents holding onto her, crying in relief.

Susie herself slumped to the ground. “And THAT’S how to shatter an asteroid,” she said tiredly. 'I think I need a break,' she admitted to herself.'...but I did it.'She spared one final glance at her tablet.'Not only did this systems test go absolutely swimmingly and got me all the data I needed for the primary projects, I was able to improve my reputation around here by a marked degree, I think.' She let herself drift off due to exhaustion.I'm sure I can call that a worthwhile result for some extra overtime.'

Chapter 41: Changing Seasons

Chapter Text

A New Day Dawing

A day after the meteor incident, Tiff was standing…well, if she was being honest, she couldn’t even say she was standing in ruins. That implied that there was something LEFT from a great calamity, but this...

There wasn’t any good way to describe this. The expanded, hypercharged blast from the C.O.G.S 3.0 cannon had utterly eradicated the VAST majority of what used to be her home; there was almost a clean, shallow diagonal cut through the area, as though taken to with a massive blade, or perhaps some sort of twistedly large turbo-spatula, considering that nothing above the cut remained, leaving everyone in the open air. Even below, there were signs of damage, with what little furniture remained either in shambles or tossed everywhere. From where Tiff was, standing near the front door, she could see the inside of her room; anything above the lowest dresser had been utterly erased. “...my shell collection…” she muttered, realizing that her painstaking work at collecting and categorizing the sea life had been removed, a casualty of battling back the meteor.

She wasn’t the only one, naturally. “...well,” Sir Ebrum said with a sigh, as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I won’t fib, this is quite depressing.”

“Oh…oh dear me…” Lady Like could only say. She began to reach out somewhere, anywhere, but she could barely even decide what to lament first. “Zere’s so little left…”

“...well, it was either summa it or alla it,” Tuff said sadly, kicking his foot at the floor lightly as he looked down and away.

Tiff shook her head to clear it, realizing the truth of it. “Tuff’s right,” she admitted. “If that cannon didn’t have as much power put into it as it did, we probably wouldn’t be here right now, one way or another- and what little is still here would definitely be gone.” She walked inside, carefully picking her way through the refuse, seeing a small portrait on the floor. She carefully reached for it, dusted it off, considering it was a picture of all four of them. Maybe it was a sign… “We still have all of the good memories of this place. I think that’s more important than the physical objects.” ‘Not that losing them doesn’t hurt…’ she mentally added. “And it’s not like we’re suddenly homeless. Great King Dedede’s offered to put us up until it’s fixed.”

“Yeah, easy for you to say,” Tuff said without any real heat. “You had half your stuff over there anyways.”

“I did not!” she rebounded, almost relishing in the familiarity of sibling conflict. “It’s my science kit, a few changes of clothes, and a couple of other things!”

“Now now, children,” Sir Ebrum interjected. “Tiff IS right- we do still have somewhere to stay, at the least, and we had already left due to that whole trouble from before. We still have the majority of our personal belongings, as well. We should be thankful for that.”

“Although why our King Dedede is taking so long to get around to repairing our part of ze castle is something I would very much like to know!” Lady Like said annoyedly. Deep down, she knew at least one reason why- their place wasn’t the only one ripped up by the beam, with Meta Knight’s living quarters, the observatory, and some other areas just as damaged. Not to mention there were likely stability issues- if it turned out something underneath them had come loose, that’d just end poorly for all involved. Priorities, and all. She understood. Didn’t mean she had to like it. What was more?

“I don’t think he ever actually hired me back, did he?” Sir Ebrum mused. They’d all seen Fololo and Falala darting around the place on their way up here, their new positions evidently sticking as further aids to the king. The fact that King Dedede and the family could sometimes be at odds, and he perhaps saw this as a means of not having to deal with them as often nagged at the back of all of their heads, but no one was bold enough to say it outright.

“Well, ‘e never technically fired you, either,” Lady Like pointed out. “He just told us to get out due to ‘is silly fears. Not zat I think he meant anything else…”

“I’m rather certain the intent was there, darling,” he said back, before shaking his head in disappointment. “Nonetheless, he’s said nothing about bringing me or any of us back, so as far as I’m aware...we should get what we can.”

They began to pick their way through what was left, sorting through broken memories and lost dreams.

Today was a new day. They just had to keep on living.

The Cogs Keep Turning

“Fantastic,” Susie said lightly as she packed the last of her tools, turning to the Haltworker. “You know how everything works, so I’m entrusting you to hold things down while I’m away. You know who has clearance and who doesn’t, and you know the protocol for contacting me in an emergency.”

“Yes, ma’am!” the Haltworker saluted. “I’ll keep everything in pristine working order!”

“Good. It’s really more a working vacation, so I suspect I won’t be out too long, but just in case, you know how to get to Dedede. Ours, not the local lummox.” She paused. “Oh, that reminds me. Everyone should be coming into work regardless of my presence. If anyone is absent for unjustified reasons while I’m out, they’re fired. Especially if they’re on Project Royal.” With that, she closed up the last suitcase, and began to make her way downstairs. Waiting for her was her fellow Star Ally.

Before she stepped out, she paused once more, turning back to the Haltworker who’d followed her out. “One more thing. Reach out to the Ebrums and see what all they lost in the blast. Anything they’re missing, compensate them with replacement goods if possible.” She paused, considering. “...Call it cashing out their warranty.” With that, she turned towards her escort.

“Ready, then?” Winged Meta Knight asked directly. She nodded. “Good. Magolor ascertained that no more meteors are at risk of falling. He’s waiting now.”

“By your leave,” she responded, and the two made their way to the ship. “All’s well on your end, then?” she asked as they walked.

Meta Knight gave her a side eye briefly, before responding. “...well enough. The situation was resolved neatly thanks to your efforts.”

“...right. Thank you. Well, it’s always good to have backups, as well…” she paused, realizing she had no idea how to continue that line of conversation. ‘Well, that was a bust. Hm…’ “...Project Royal is continuing apace. The weapons system test was a rousing success, which should translate well to-”

“Project Blacksmith, as you call it, has already underwent a few upgrades,” Meta Knight said stiffly. “I aim to check on them upon our arrival.”

“Grand,” she said. Meta Knight never once looked her way.

Mentally, she sighed. ‘Well, at least this’ll be a short awkward trip instead of a long awkward trip.’

Stunning Realization

“No, the bags of flour go into the storeroom at the back of the hall and on the left,” Tiff said almost automatically as she marked off another task on her clipboard. It’d been a bit since she’d managed to do her usual routine of working with Great King Dedede, but with her teacher away and her needing to do something to avoid the weird pseudo-moping her family had been doing, it was a perfect opportunity to get back into the rhythm of things. “And make sure to not get it mixed up with the dry cement this time! We don’t need a repeat of that!”

“I-it’ll only be the once, Miss Tiff!” the Waddle Dee saluted, before running off towards…the storeroom. Great. She hoped he’d find someone to help with that- cement was heavy. Now, as for her current actual task, she needed to find-

“Hey, Tiff?” she turned, smiling, to see Great King Dedede walking up to her. “Everything going good?”

She nodded. “Yeah, just making sure all the supplies get to the right places, and needed to talk to some of the construction Dees. Taranza’s teaching went and caused some cracks in the wall when he got a bit too wild with some of the examples,” she explained. “So I pulled them off cleaning duty to help with repairs. I need to get there before they do.”

He nodded. “Fair enough.” He motioned to her to follow him outside. “Wasn’t talkin’ about that, though.” He looked at her pointedly as they walked.

She met it for a moment- but then sighed as they walked around. “Yeah…everyone’s still kinda unsure what to do. Dad’s been the Prime Minister for so long, I don’t think he really knows how to be something else. He’s kinda just been wandering around and ‘enjoying the vacation’. I think he thinks he’ll be asked back sooner than later. Mom…” She shrugged helplessly. “Well, I’m not sure about mom. I think Dedede finally got on her last nerve. She’s been hanging out with Mabel and a few others the last couple of days. Tuff’s…well, he’s Tuff.” She looked away. “Still focusing on magic. Now more than ever. Dunno why.”

“And you?” he pressed as they stopped, looking up at the sounds of construction.

“Hey! This isn’t cement!” they heard a voice say from above. Tiff sighed. ‘Of course THAT’S where the flour went.’

She paused, considering. “...I’m adjusting. I can’t say I dislike not having to be around him all the time. You’re a ton better.”

Great King chuckled. “You can tell the difference?”

“Are you kidding?” she said, honestly surprised. “You’re like day and night with him. Sure, you’ve got some…vague similarities, but you hardly look alike, and that’s not even counting personality at all!”

“...huh. Thanks, kiddo!” he said, grinning. “Well then-”

A sliding noise suddenly caught both of their attention as they looked up and something bagged and bulging slipped off- and Tiff was right under it. The shadow loomed large as it barreled straight for her, the moment being perhaps a couple of seconds, but stretched long from her perspective.

However, instead of screaming, or even dodging, Tiff just frowned, annoyed at the situation as it registered in her head at the speed of thought. ‘Ugh, I don’t have time for a flour bath right now. At least it won’t hurt, though,’ she naturally thought, holding up her arms to let the flour thump right off of her.

Instead, the bag slammed against her forearms in the next second…

…and she felt perhaps a pillow smacking her in the arms as the bag shattered against her, raining down what it was containing, revealing…

“Oh geez, are you okay!?” one of the Waddle Dees called down as the bricks around her settled. “That was a lotta stone bricks!”

Tiff blinked in surprise- and a bit of shock. “...those were bricks?” she asked. She looked around, and it sure wasn’t flour. But then…

She looked back up as Great King chuckled. “Whoa! Didn’t think you knew how to Guard.” He patted her on the head, brushing off some of the accumulating brick dust and debris from her head and shoulders. “We’re gonna need to clean that up, though.”

Guard. Reinforcement.

She looked back from the bricks she’d dismissed as mere flour, and the height they’d fallen from, and finally to her arms, which stung a tad, but no real pain.

And suddenly, it all clicked. “So THAT’S how you do it!” she said with a smile. She had to tell everyone else as SOON as possible! ‘Tuff’s gonna be SO jealous!’

Under Renovation

Five days. Mabel stared up at the crystal ball above her house that had been her signature for so long. She liked the fuzzy top, so that wasn’t going away. Gave the place character, in her mind. But she’d have to at least get a proper door, now, and the place would need some redecorating.

Five long days of absolutely nothing- which wasn’t even counting the downright trickling customer base she’d had before the five-day drought. And considering the conversations she’d overheard around town, she knew exactly why, and she wouldn’t be making a comeback any time soon.

She sighed, closing her eyes and, if more than a bit begrudgingly, accepted her fate. “Well…at least I have a fallback plan.” With that, she planted the sign in front of her front door curtain, and set off to Samo’s bar to let the sign tell exactly what the situation was.

Business Closed- Private Property

“Eh!? You closed up for good?!” Samo asked, incredulous at the news he’d just heard. Mabel was situated at the far end of the bar, away from the rest of the patrons. “R-really?!”

Mabel sighed, nodding. “After the meteor fiasco, it appears that trust in oracles and fortunes has hit an all time low,” she said. “After all, if even Kabu says he cannot divine our fate, it would be foolish of me to continue to pretend I could. And the town has clearly realized this.” She took a sip of her drink, before looking at him a touch forlornly. “So…is that position you mentioned still open?”

He startled, not expecting that question. “I- of course, certainly!” He gestured her behind the bar. “I can show you the ropes right now, if you like!” A pause. “Er, well, maybe not right this second, but-”

She grinned, waving him off. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll come back around closing, no? I need to, ah…make a few purchases and get some remodeling done while it’s light out, anyway. I hear there are some Waddle Dees particularly adept at construction hereabouts…” she looked away. “I’ll have to ask them about adding a door.” Thinking about it, she sighed again, looking out at the populace with a wry grin. “I just hope people will still come to Mabel the Bartender for advice, even if it comes with a drink instead of a card reading…”

“I don’t see why not!” Samo encouraged her. “In fact, why not continue your counseling business here on the side?”

“Hm?” Mabel looked up, back at him. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I’ve got an extra room for old stock I could clear out,” he suggested. “You could take that and it’d be your counseling room if you want for your off-hours! And don’t have to speak with all the mystic flavorings, I mean…”

“But I LIKE the mystic flavorings!” she complained, frowning. “It’s very energizing, and lets me think!”

Well, that wasn’t what he wanted. “Ah- then keep all the flavorings you want!” he quickly backpedaled. “Just, er, all I’m saying is that you don’t need to make them think that you’re doing legitimate psychic readings, do you? You can enjoy it for the atmosphere's sake! Maybe make it easier for them to calm down and tell you if they think they’re going along with an act, y’know?”

“...hmmmm…” she paused at that, considering his words with a thoughtful expression, tapping her chin as she looked off into the distance. “That…that doesn’t sound half bad.”

As she sat there and mused about the future of her business, Samo resolved that he’d have to do some remodeling of his own. He REALLY needed to expand that room ASAP. Perhaps-

Suddenly, a rumbling passed them by, as a massive horde of sheep, howling like wolves, stormed past the window. They could both only stare on, shocked as the bleat-howling continued on into the distance. Fortunately, it seemed like the fluffy horde more or less ignored them. “...I think perhaps it was a good time for me to retire,” Mabel could only comment, wide-eyed at what just happened. “I wouldn’t have predicted THAT in a thousand years.”

Knock on Wood

“Are you sure we’re goin’ the right way?” Tuff asked Tokkori. They and Little Kirby had gone to say hi to (and in Honey, Iro, and Spikehead’s case, meet for the first time) Whispy Woods, and he’d given them a task- check up on an old friend of his. They’d agreed, and so had set off. Tuff in particular had been looking for something to do- especially after his sister had informed her of how she’d managed to figure out Reinforcement. He’d managed it not long after…but like with soccer, practice made perfect

“Whispy SAID to head East to get to Acore’s part of the forest,” Tokkori confirmed.

Honey looked up at the sky worriedly, wrapping her new red shawl around herself a bit tighter. It’d been a gift from her mother, and it fluttered ever so nicely in the wind. “The sky’s getting cloudy…” Honey said with concern.

Not that Spikehead was deterred. “My dad told me there was gonna be a storm tonight!” he cheered. “I always feel full of energy during a thunderstorm nowadays!”

“No surprise there,” Iro snarked back, grinning. “Your head’s fulla static these days!” Spikehead had been letting his hair grow out more for that exact reason, and the tiny topknot on his head was beginning to resemble more of a bush. He’d also acquired some fuzzy wristbands the same color as his hair band.

They all laughed at that crack- even Spikehead didn’t disagree.

Later on, thanks to Tokkori’s tracking, they’d managed to find the eldery (if kinda disfigured looking) tree.

They’d also discovered that it was currently playing home to a number of animals; a few that Little Kirby had even met before, which baffled them as to why they’d be doing this. And THAT had started a bit of a row…

“Acore ASKED us to live here, and keep ‘im company, ya lil’ ankle-biter!” Rick reaffirmed hotly. He’d been accused a bit too much for his liking.

“Oh yeah?!” Tuff was, if he was being honest, more looking for a distraction than a logical debate- he was never the smartest in the room, but in this particular case… “Says you! Let’s hear what Acore says, huh!?” In that moment, Tuff had to admit, he felt a bit ashamed of himself. Upon first even seeing the tree, he’d guessed that if he was indeed alive like Whispy was, he was probably asleep. But with what the issues with his Soul, his so-called ‘potential’, the meteor, his room being all but destroyed…he’d had to keep a lid on it around his parents and sister, but…

…he wasn’t in the mood for playing cool detective, right now. He really wasn’t. “Or else maybe you’re tryin’ ta hide somethin’ huh?”

“Oi!” Rick almost reeled back. “You got a real bee in yer bonnet, don’tcha lad!? He’s been asleep for 5 years! Ya can’t talk ta him, he don’t wake up for no one!”

“He might not wake up until you’re old!” Pon said.

“Maybe try and come back then?” Con followed up, clearly mocking.

Tuff felt his blood boil. He’d never seriously harm anyone intentionally, but if it was a little scuffle?

He didn’t notice Spikehead start rubbing his armbands together, nor Honey squat down a little as though she were about to leap up. Iro for his part seemed to tip his cap, as though preparing to reach under it.

And Tuff himself felt his gut burn in a way he hadn’t felt since Kawasaki’s dynamite dumplings. “Forget it!” he yelled. “We’re-”

“Hallo!” a voice said off to the side, immediately causing all of them to jump.

“-YIKES!” Tuff wailed, as did the rest of them at the sudden voice. Only he recognized the strange blue blob, however. “...whoa. Aaaand unexpectedly, Gooey.”

“Eh?” Rick looked back and forth between them. “You know this fella? I swear, ‘e just pops up ‘round here at random as he pleases.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Never see ‘im come. Never see ‘im go. Just he’s here or he ain’t. Never got his name, either.”

The anger sloughed from him as the incredulity of the situation sunk in, looking back to Rick. “Uhhh, yeah. He’s a Star Ally and friends with Big Kirby.” Little Kirby, for his part, quickly recognized the blob and had wandered over to greet him, Gooey quickly returning the welcome with a waving tongue. “...Somehow. Say,” he mentioned, turning his attention to Gooey fully. “…what’re you doing here?”

“Fishing!” Gooey yelled happily. “There’s lots of fish here!”

Tuff blinked. “...oh.” He couldn’t debate that, he supposed. “Yeah, I guess so, huh?”

“Uh-huh! I fished allll night last night.” He gushed. “I got lotsa fish! It was kinda loud, though, ‘cause of the cutting thing.”

That gave Tuff pause. “Cutting thing?”

“Yuh-huh! The not-Great King and the snail person…I think. They had a cutting thing. It was loud.” He stuck his tongue out, waving it towards the animal friends. “They helped stop it, though.”

Tuff blinked as the realization hit home. “...Awwww, it’s Dedede! That’s who Acore’s in danger from! I bet he tried his stupid plan for a golf course over HERE now that Whispy’s end of the woods is super protected!”

“Ohhh…you s’pect he’s gonna give it another burl, eh?” Rick summarized. “We chucked ‘im one, we kin do it again!”

Meanwhile, Dedede was indeed watching all of this. “Guess you’ve been puzzled out, sire,” Escargoon noted as Dedede ground his teeth.

“Dangit! I was hopin’ I’d at least get a lil’ somethin’ done ta relax myself, but forget it!” He chucked the viewer away. “This ain’t worth da trouble! Seems like every time I try, someone’s pushing me away from gettin’ a half-decent country club!” He stomped off, heading back within the castle. “Whatever! I’ll try mini-golf! Can’t be half as frustratin’!”

“Dunno about THAT, sire…” Escargoon muttered as he followed. Besides, there was a storm starting up, anyway. No sense in getting caught out in THAT mess.

Tiff, for her part, had started to grow concerned as she looked out into the forest. He’d stopped by to tell her about his ‘mission’, at least, and she’d been expecting a quick check-up and return. But with the storm clouds rolling in? ‘ Tuff should’ve been back by now…’ she thought. It didn’t take her long to decide that she’d probably be better off finding him.

She wasn’t expecting to arrive in the middle of a storm to a tree-saving effort, the massive thing being shored up by the thickest branches and kept stable by the strongest twine they could find. They managed to keep it stable, but she didn’t expect Spikehead to get hit by lightning.

“HAHAHAHA! YEAH, BABY!” She didn’t expect him to LAUGH about it either. Though the way his large fuzzy tuft was sparking made her slightly concerned. (And perhaps a bit envious.)

She couldn’t wait to ask Magolor about that.

Chapter 42: Fear Factor

Chapter Text

Tuff had to admit, while Magolor’s training was intense, it did seem to yield results. With everyone fairly certain they’d learned Reinforcement, they were eager to show it off to Magolor, and were hoping he’d return sooner than later. With him still absent, however, the Special Seven had elected to sit in on Taranza’s classes just to see if anything was different. Being friends with Iro, who was still attending classes, it was old news to Tuff. Taranza’s teaching was much more structured and formal. Being inside a building, everyone still used the seats, everyone asked questions, and to his annoyance, everyone had homework much like the initial days. Some of it was even written. Eugh.

“Alright, everyone, I trust you have your homework?” Taranza asked, looking out at the dozen-plus students. All of them nodded, holding up papers. “Excellent. Alright, pass them up. We’ll do the morning circulation test, then we’ll get to today’s lecture.” From what Iro had told him, since none of them had an affinity or high natural talent, it was Taranza’s practice to measure them daily for now, as now that they had started using magic regularly, their ‘capacity’ should’ve been improving- or at least holding steady.

“Today’s gonna be pretty cool,” Iro whispered to Tuff, who’d sat next to him.

“Why’s that?” Tuff asked just as quietly.

‘Cause the other day he said he was gonna teach us how to not breathe!” Iro said excitedly.

Tuff blinked (as did the other six, who overheard him). “Uhhhh…what?”

“He’s a bit mistaken, I’m afraid,” said Taranza, who made it clear with a look that Iro’s whispering wasn’t nearly as quiet as he’d thought it was. “Today’s lecture and subsequent exercise will be explaining how magic can substitute for vital physiological functions in extreme situations, such as temperature regulation, with proper control and understanding.”

“Wait, what?” Tiff asked in surprise. “Magolor didn’t tell us anything about that!” To her, that sounded incredibly useful.

“I understand you’re learning Reinforcement, correct?” was his response. “It’s essentially an offshoot of the same idea. From what he’d told me, the intention was to teach you that once you’d gotten Reinforcement down because it’d come to you easier, by his estimate. They’re almost two halves of the same technique, but Magolor’s always been a bit more…direct, than I have, when it comes to magic usage.”

“Oh…” Tiff considered that. “I guess that makes sense…”

“Not to worry; you’ll learn about it under me,” he assured as he gathered the last of the papers and put them away. “Now then- to put it simply, Regulation is making sure everything about you always functions as it should. I won’t say it’s an easy ticket to perfect health- it’s not, and you should certainly still exercise and whatnot. But your base physiological functions CAN be supplemented utilizing magic- including substituting oxygen for it, allowing you to essentially ‘breathe’ underwater, and in space. However, it’s dangerous to do anything particularly intricate, without careful study and practice, at least. So, we’ll be focusing on the most simple of effects right now- and that is temperature regulation. The capacity to ignore extreme weather like excessive heat or cold.” The class let out a number of ooohs and aaaahs at that. “Yes, it’s a bit of handy magic. And the best part is that it’s not costly, magic wise. While this may be my own bias, I’d say it’s about as difficult as flipping a mental switch- with the trick being finding the switch in the dark, first. As for actual execution, it’s largely a matter of, funnily enough, disbelieving the cold and using your own circulation magic- as I’ve been teaching you- to keep yourself warm, or cooled down, whichever is needed. Or rather, it is a matter of convincing the world that what it’s throwing against you isn’t cold, as well as that your body is unaffected by such. Trust in yourself, and show the world that trust- and your magic will follow.”

“Ohhh…” Tiff could see why Magolor would delay teaching them that, then. With us already understanding the type of mindset needed for this sort of thing, I don’t think it’d be hard to comprehend, while defense against injury might’ve still been an issue.’

“Now then, I understand the idea of it sounds a bit rough, which means it still will take some practice. Normally, and as I was taught, this would mean exposure to VERY cold or hot temperatures.” He looked upon them all as they reeled back at the implication. And yet, he smiled. “However, instead of just putting you all in a cold room to learn it or freeze like Magolor suggested and how I learned (and boy, Tiff could kinda see it), I’ve decided upon something a deal more simple. Pardon me, Kirby?”

The pink puff himself waltzed in, carrying a number of full ice cube trays. “Here you go! All freshly frozen!”

“Right.” He turned to the class. “Now, Kirby’s ice generally takes a while to melt, even under duress, so it should be perfect for this. You’ll all be practicing by holding an ice cube for as long as you can without dropping it or crushing it! And don’t try just ‘muscling through’,” he warned. “The point isn’t to test your bravery, it’s to see you learn and understand the concept of circulating magic, and using it to keep yourself in optimal condition. Remember- for magicians, heat and chill are just concepts, and you’re free to disagree with them.”

“And WOW, will some folks disagree with that,” Big Kirby added on. “But that’s for way later. For now, who’s feeling bold?”

Tuff raised his hand. “Are we allowed to try?” he asked, motioning to the Seven.

“Of course!” Taranza assured. With that, Tuff quickly marched up along with Iro and a couple of the others to take their ice cubes.

Without fanfare he snatched one up and grasped it in a tight fist, looking at it resolutely. ‘Alright, so…if this is kinda like Reinforcement, then it’s just somethin’ like…no, it IS knowin’ it’s not gonna bug me any. It’s not cold, it’s just a cube. Heck, if I wanna be an elementalist, I gotta know this anyway. I’m the one controllin’ the cold, not the other way around! Yeah…’ He grinned, not noticing the others looking at him curiously. ‘I’m the boss here! If I say it ain’t cold, it ain’t cold!’ Slowly, he felt the chill creeping up on his palm and wrist recede, and soon was gone entirely.

After about fifteen seconds straight of him not so much as shivering in the arm while holding the ice cube close, Taranza had him open it- where the cube lay in his palm perfectly intact. “Ha! Piece of cake!” he boasted.

Tiff scoffed, though it was light and she wore a small smile on her face. “What a braggart.”

The rest of the Special Seven proved to indeed have gathered the understanding of temperature regulation rather quickly- both a galvanizing sight and an enviable one to the rest of the class, who largely were unable to last much longer than a few seconds before the inevitable dropped ice cube and shaking hands.

By the end of the class, only a couple had managed to replicate the feat the Seven had, with Taranza promising they’d keep trying at it. “Alright, everyone, a bit of a special note to end things on,” he informed everyone, now holding two stacks of papers in a hand each- one was clearly the marked homework, but the second stack was new. “If you don’t know, there’s an event called the ‘Spook-Out’ happening tonight, and naturally you’re all invited! A fun little distraction to prove your courage, and perhaps aid in understanding your own techniques.” He began to pass the pamphlets out, and Tuff took one in curiosity.

“Huh… ‘Only the bravest and brightest will survive the trek through the Path of Peril, leading to the graveyard and its buried grand prize!’ ” he read. “Never heard of it before. Wonder what kinda grand prize it’ll be?”

“So you’re saying this is some sort of weird game from all the adults?” Tiff clarified.

“Correct! And yours truly will be aiding in the festivities!” Taranza said proudly. “I’ll be providing an assortment of frightening imagery and fiendish traps to test your nerves against. Staying calm under duress is the mark of a practiced magician, after all! And who knows…” he grinned mischievously. “Perhaps any budding magician who manages to do so will receive something quite valuable for their studies in exchange!”

THAT got the students talking. “Well, it doesn’t sound that hard- or very exciting to me,” Tiff demurred in their little group.

“Weeell, sometimes it IS fun to get scared,” Tuff admitted. “So long as it’s JUST for fun.”

“Oh, c’mon, Tiffy!” Kawasaki said teasingly- to which he got a glare in return. “W-well, I’m just saying, give it a try! Don’t be a spoilsport.”

Honey looked between the two of them, unsure. “Should we?”

“I’ll go if Tiff goes,” Iro said quickly.

At that, she sighed. Tiff was many things, but she wouldn’t ruin other people’s fun over her own opinions. “Alright, sure. Why not?” she shrugged. “All it’s gonna be is a bunch of phony, fake ghosts. There’s nothing to be scared of!”

She didn’t see Taranza nearby, who merely grinned mightily at her statement, before quickly turning away- and having to shush Big Kirby, too.

“Sweet!” Iro cheered, before looking to his other friends. “What about you two?” It was an open secret how the two had a case of puppy love going on, but blushingly, both Honey and Spikehead agreed, nodding. “Awesome! Tuff?”

“Prolly,” he said, looking to Little Kirby. For whatever reason, he’d joined them today- probably because Tuff had told him they were only ‘sorta taking class’ today. “Kirby?”

Little Kirby cheered gamely. “Welp, that settles it!” Tuff confirmed. “Looks like we’re all gonna take on the Spook-Out, tonight!”

“Whatzat?” King Dedede said in surprise when the report came. “Now, how can they have a Spook-Out an’ not invite me?!” he said in surprise, jumping up from his relaxation on the terrace. After he’d kicked out Sir Ebrum and his family, he’d gotten the report that they’d been loafing around town, CLEARLY despondent at not having the positions they used to. ‘I’ll let ‘em stew for a bit more, a’fore I take ‘em back,’ he’d decided a few days ago. Alas, he’d forgotten about the actual ‘taking them back’ part, as Fololo and Falala had been doing a surprisingly bang-up job keeping the castle running well enough- in his eyes, anywho. They had a surprising knack for organization in particular…but that was neither here nor there at the moment. “I’m as scary as they come!”

“Jealousy,” Escargoon dismissed. “They all know you’re tops when it comes to terrifyin’ tots.”

“Yeah!” King Dedede agreed. “They prolly so intimidated that they know anythin’ else wouldn’t worry ‘em! Heck, the only thing scarier I can think of than me is…uh…me not bein’ around!” he proudly declared.

“That reminds me- both of those Kirbies are going to be there too, along with those troublemaking tykes,” Escargoon noted. “That spurious spider’s helping setting things up there, to boot.”

“Tch!” Dedede turned his nose up at the news. “Figures! Can’t nobody let those nosy nellies outta nothin’! Why, if they weren’t there, I’d-!” And Dedede paused, as something both simple, yet fiendishly effective came to mind. “Well, I’d be the big name on the hill, wouldn’t I?!” He quickly turned towards the inside of his castle, headed for the throne room. “C’mon Escargoon, I got me an order ta place!”

“Oh? What’s the plan, your highness?” Escargoon asked, curious.

“Simple!” he cheered. “I’mma make sure those Cappies understand that I’m King of this haunted Hill! An’ ta do that, I’m orderin…”

“...something to make the Cappies afraid? Aren’t you doing a good job of that already?” the Sales Guy asked with an amused eyebrow. They hadn’t called in a while, but he was more than happy to resume business. But this seemed a bit off…

“O’course I am!” King Dedede retorted. “But this is special! It’s about makin’ them Cappies know I’m the best option they got! So’s I need something that’ll scare the pants off the whole lot of ‘em and make it click in their little heads!”

Ahhhh. THAT made a bit more sense. “Hmmm…something that’ll scare a whole town of Cappies into obedience? I think I’ve got just the thing!” the Sales Guy said cheerfully. Before they knew it, the teleporter had been fired up, and the powerful machine wound up, flashed, and then wound down, presenting in its center…a box. A very BIG box, but a box nonetheless. “Presenting the ‘Supreme Scaring Set’!” the Sales Guy announced.

“Supreme Scaring Set?” they both asked in surprise.

“Yessir! Guaranteed to spook any native into a state of perfect sublimation in regards to regarding your Kingly self.” The NME Sales Guy grinned. “After a nice, long taste of this, they’ll be singing your praises from the rooftops, Triple D!”

“Excellent!” King Dedede cheered. “With this, and those Kirbehs out on that silly Spook-Out, they’ll finally see just how great their King can be! Aheheheheheh!”

NME paused for a moment, before joining in. His laughter was deeper.

Back in the Haltmann Works Company Factory, a *ding, ding, ding* came from the Primary Computer, signifying that a new monster and/or device had been purchased from Nightmare Enterprises. The computer began to display the analyzed makeup of the device and what it was for…

Unfortunately, the only one nearby at the moment was a certain snoozing Haltworker that had been on hour 17 of their recent (self-assigned) 24 hour shift in their efforts to make sure Ms. Haltmann’s Factory was always in peak condition, and working optimally. He wasn’t roused, instead turning in his (really his boss’s) office chair and continuing his impromptu nap.

Taranza was in a good mood come nightfall. He’d set up some rather clever and tricky traps and frights along the path, in his own opinion, and was looking forwards to seeing how his students might fare. He had to admit to being a bit of a fan of the scary stuff, when he had the spare time- but it’d yet been too long since he’d indulged. Maybe in the future. He could do with another hobby, he supposed. He, along with Big Kirby and several of the adult Cappies, had been helping with the preparations, and now they were here to enjoy the fruits of their labors.

“Shouldn’t be too long, now,” Big Kirby noted. It was…exceedingly difficult to scare Kirby properly, but that just helped him be an ‘emergency’ contact, in case it got too much and someone needed a bit of guidance out of the forest. “Think they’re up for it? You put more than a couple of challenges in there.”

“I’m confident that at least the majority should find their way through, so long as they remember what they’ve been taught so far,” he said assuredly. “These students wouldn't still be with me if they didn’t want to learn.”

And then there was the reward. In his personal opinion, it wasn’t much, but it might prove useful to an up and comer. Although he wasn’t sure if any of the Seven really needed it, honestly…they seemed to be coming along just fine.

“Gotta admit, Mister Taranza, you’ve done a real bang-up job with the props, too!” Chief Bookem complemented. “I’ve never seen such frightful things! They look almost real!”

“Well, I based them off the various specters we have at home,” he explained casually, looking out for the children to approach. “There were enough, ah, remains laying about to metamorphose a few small spooks, though Magolor’s admittedly superior in that respect…” He didn’t notice until just then the surprised look that they all gave him. “What? Did I say something wrong? Do something improper?”

“W-wait, you actually have ghosts where you’re from?” the Mayor asked in surprise.

“Yeah, you don’t?” Big Kirby asked in surprise. “We’ve got plenty of spooky things here. Heck, I can turn into one if I inhale the right thing.” He frowned at that memory. “Not that it does a whole lot for me. I try to avoid it.”

“O-oh dear!” The Mayor seemed surprised at that. “We don’t actually have ghosts here, it was all intended to be in good fun!”

Taranza paused. “...ah. Honestly, I was wondering about that,” he admitted.

“Relax, Mayor!” Kirby appeased. “I’ve seen what Taranza did, and it’s all fine. Spooksteps aren’t really very dangerous, and they’re slow, honestly. Anyone can outrun ‘em. Phantas can be a bit tricky, but worst that’ll happen is a couple kids might get shoved around a bit, don’t worry!”

“Well…if that’s all…” the Mayor said hesitantly.

“Promise,” Big Kirby said with a smile.

“We’ll take your word on it,” Professor Curio relented, looking out into the fields. “Particularly because here they come, now!” Sure enough, when he turned his attention back, he saw the kids marching up the hill, Tiff, Tuff, and Little Kirby leading.

The Mayor looked at him once, and nodded in understanding, turning back to the assortment of kids as they drew closer. “Well, now! So you’re the first group, eh? Glad to see you kids! We thought you might chicken out!”

“It’s gonna take more than some fake looking ghosts in a forest to frighten us away, Mayor!” Tiff boasted.

“Oh, you’re brave now,” Curio taunted, clearly having gotten back into the spirit of things. “But it won’t be so easy! Pretty soon we’ll have you blubbering!” he allowed himself a small chortle at the idea.

“Remember, you’ll have to walk along the path to the graveyard- without straying!” the Mayor warned cheekily.

“Which means that you won’t be simply walking past any…difficulties, shall we say, on your journey.” Taranza added on. “You’ll have to be of sound mind and stiff spine to not run screaming from this little challenge!”

“So, then! Who’s going first?” Chief Bookem asked jovially.

The six immediately balked, looking to each other in concern- save for Little Kirby, who just looked entirely too interested. “I…guess I can go first…” Tiff said hesitantly, casting her eyes about for anyone else. Taranza found that a bit amusing. ‘Oho? Bold when not faced with what she boasted about, it seems. Ah, I suppose I can relate a bit.’ he chuckled to himself.

It was just then a smattering of crows saw fit to take off from the forest, their loud cawing and shaking up the trees causing the kids to jump, and providing a wonderfully sinister natural ambiance to the proceedings. “Uhhh…” Tuff started, but even that was enough for Tiff to sense an opportunity.

“Aren’t you trying to be a ‘Great Mage’?” She said quickly, frowning like he’d said an insult, because giving him a small push. “You go first!”

“Hey, aren’t you the one trying to protect Kirby?” Tuff fired back just as quick. “You can probably take anything they dish out! YOU go!”

“Ohohoho! A bit of cold feet, hm? Let’s see here…” the Mayor had well and truly gotten into it by now. “Iro? What about you? You’re not scared, are you?”

“Uhhh…” Iro started, looking around. “I…guess not?” he questioned.

“GOOD.” The unity of the adults was almost frightening enough on its own. “You can go first!”

“Excellent, Iro!” Taranza applauded. “Remember, eyes up, remember your training, and, ah…don’t forget to watch your back, hmmm? You’re allowed a torch to start with.” He gestured nearby to the small holder.

Iro reared back at the sneaky look in his teacher’s eyes. “R-right…” Turning away, he grabbed a torch and lit it, taking a deep breath. “...yeah. I’ve been training for this. I’m not scared…!” he said to himself, before marching into the forest, disappearing out of sight in moments.

“...how long you think he’s gonna last?” Tuff whispered.

“AAHHH!” they heard a shout from the gloom, before they then heard a loud *thok* and then silence. Iro, however, didn’t come out.

“...huh. That kinda sounded like one of Iro’s…” Tuff said. “Y’think he let loose?”

“Should I check on him?” Big Kirby asked in mild concern. “He’s been doing okay in class, right?”

“Yes, he’s been rather fine,” Taranza agreed. “Perhaps it might be an idea to check on him, though…”

“Sure,” Big Kirby offered. He began to step forwards…

“Wait!” Tiff said hurriedly, causing everyone to turn towards her. “...I’ll go,” she said, if a bit reluctantly. “We should check on him.”

“Me too!” Tuff said quickly. Little Kirby agreed as well, raising his arms to volunteer.

“Alright, but if he’s fine, I’m leaving,” Big Kirby warned. “Let’s go!”

With that, they made their way into the forest, Tiff leading the way with a torch. “Good luck, you all!” Taranza said, waving them off.

As it happened, King Dedede had been busy himself. “Alright, sire, if my calculations are correct, then this should be the last one,” Escargoon said, pointing to a specific spot. “Right there!”

“HA!” With a (relatively) mighty yell, King Dedede slammed down the final piece of the Supreme Scaring Set. A tall, thin brazier resting atop a wicked, curved horn tripod stand was what he’d placed, well around the outskirts of Cappy Town. “That oughta do it! Once we light these puppies, everyone’s gonna know what real fear is- th’ fear of not havin’ ME!”

“Here ya go,” Escargoon said, pulling out a match. With a stroke, it was lit, and King Dedede tossed it into the bowl.

Almost immediately, a massive, purple flame roared to life, and unbeknownst to them, so did the other five that they’d planted around the town. An eerie smoke the same color began to billow out of all of them, soon blanketing the town in a violet haze. At first, everyone was just confused as to what was going on.

Then the first screams started, as one by one the Cappies seemed to panic, confusing onlookers. “You don’t see it?!” One Cappy said in shock. “It’s huge! I’ve never seen a bigger wolf! We need to run…” His vision was a tad foggy due to the fog, sure, but he knew what he saw!

But before his eyes, what he saw was something unthinkable. King Dedede, with a mighty battle cry, jumped in to smash the beast over the head, causing it to disperse. “Haha! Dat dere lil’ old pup ain’t no match for me!” he crowed. “An’ don’tchu worry, citizen!” He turned to the Cappy, giving him a big thumbs up. “I’ll take care o’ everything! You put your trust in me! Don’t you go bein’ fooled by copycats!”

“Uh…okay! Thanks, I guess?” The Cappy said, before King Dedede bounded off. “I can’t believe King Dedede saved me!” he said happily.

Nearby, Mabel had to agree. “...I cannot believe it either. Largely because I did not SEE it…” she muttered. As soon as that smoke had come in, she’d gotten a touch suspicious. “Just what is going on here…?” She turned- and to her shock, a flock of strange, sharp-beaked crows appeared out of nowhere, crowing and leering at her. She grimaced, bracing herself. “What on Pop Star…?!” Before she could question it further the crows began to dive, clearly intent on attacking.

Similarly, Gengu had taken his yo-yo out and was swinging it in a manner that could be mistaken for casual, if it weren’t for the serious look on his face and one could see the myriad of monstrous horned beasts that seemed to surround his toy store, though he couldn’t be sure where or how they’d shown up. That didn’t matter. “Now don’t you go gettin’ any ideas, there…” he warned. “Else, Imma haveta put you all out ta pasture!” It was a bold line, but if Gengu was honest, it was mostly a bluff.

A bluff that was called, as they began to charge.

Meanwhile, however, the Kirbies and the siblings had caught up to Iro, easily accomplishing a couple of the challenges laid in front of them- one to stick their hand inside a scary looking carving for what seemed to be a key, and another to avoid a strange, spiked creature that seemed to only move when they WERE shining a light on it that Kirby had called a ‘Ghost Gordo’. They’d made it through, and to their relief, Iro had been fine. “Geez!” Iro frowned as they explained the situation in front of a sign right when the path curved off. “This place really IS spooky! I saw an actual ghost!’ It was this skeleton thing. It howled at me and tried to scare me off, but I beaned it with one of my boppers.” He held out his hand to show his tool of choice- one of a set of rubber balls that he’d gotten from Gengu. He knew how to throw, and how to Focus. That meant that with his natural strength, those play balls became something dangerous if thrown recklessly. Fortunately, Iro wasn’t as reckless as he might’ve seemed at first blush. “I’ve been makin’ my way alright so far, but now there’s this sign that sign makes like, no sense.” All but Kirby took a closer look at it.

The road most interesting is often the road less traveled.

But appearances can be deceiving. Take stock, less you find yourself losing what you have.

Let the light of your hope guide you.

“Hmmm…” Tiff thought. “Taranza did say that it was supposed to be a test. And Magolor mentioned he taught you to cast balls of light to see in the darkness. Maybe try that?”

Iro paused…then slapped a palm to his head. “Doy. Let’s see…” It took several moments, but a small light, just enough to encapsulate his body and a bit beyond it, formed in his hands. Almost immediately, the ‘path’ that they’d seen vanished, and the true road reappeared in front of them, going straight ahead. “Whoa! Awesome!”

“There you go!” Tiff cheered. A bit more resolute, they continued straight ahead.

Kirby, nodding, prepared to head back. “Good luck, you all!”

He was looking forward to them getting to the end. That’d be the REAL challenge, after all.

As the kids trekked through, they found themselves rather on edge, due to the forest’s strangeness. “Okay…” Tiff said unsurely. “Is it just me or are we being…watched?”

“Nah, I see it too…” Tuff said worriedly. “Is this part of the-” he never finished, as he tripped a wire he hadn’t seen.

“GwooOoOooOOoo!” A number of one-eyed, glowing, ethereal creatures leapt out of the gloom, marching towards the group almost on cue.

“GWAH!” Tuff yelled, backing up into Tiff, who’d actually don’t the same. “R-r-r-real ghosts?!?”

“N-no way!” Tiff tried to deny, but…it was certainly LOOKING like they were real.

“RUN!” Iro yelled in shock as he broke from the group and bolted, slipping through a gap in the Spooksteps’ ring.

“Wait, Iro!” Tiff’s sense overrode her fear momentarily, and she, Kirby, and Tuff quickly took off after their panicking friend.

They charged through branch and brush, but before they knew it, they’d all stumbled out into what appeared to be a graveyard. “...whoa. Here it is…” Tuff noted, before looking around. “Okay, now we need to find the treasure…uh, somewhere!”

“Poyo!” Kirby cheered, running over to a headstone. He pointed at what seemed to be a small drawing on it. “Poyooo!”

“Hey, Kirby found somethin’,” Iro noted, looking closer. “Looks like a drawin’ of a Star. Wonder if that means anything.”

“Hm…” Tiff thought. “Spread out and look!”

It wasn’t long before they found a headstone with a star on it. But the drawing underneath THAT was a moon.

They followed that one, too, to the next with two: a Sun and a Flower. They quickly agreed to split up, and fortunately, it wasn’t too hard to go from there. “Hey!” Tuff said, calling them over. “Found the Sun headstone! Should we start digging!?”

“Wait a second, I found the Flower symbol over here, and it’s not a headstone at all!” Iro yelled over. “It’s like…off on the side here in a flower patch!”

“Try both!” Tiff suggested. They did, and to their surprise…

“I found another key!” Tuff noted.

“Hey, I found a locked box!” Iro said eagerly. They were quick to meet up, only to see that the lock had TWO locks. “Glad I decided to stick my hand in that weird lion statue,” Iro said cheekily. But then he paused. “Wait…so, before we open this, who gets the treasure?”

The siblings and Kirby all looked at each other only briefly, before nodding at him. “It’s yours. You DID enter and get here first. And you found the box itself,” Tiff noted.

“Yeah, it’s no big,” Tuff said.

“Alright…thanks, guys!” With that said and decided, he quickly used the two keys to unlock the small box, to reveal inside… “Whoa…”

It was a piece of jewlery- a small, blue gemstone surrounded by a gold floral crest. With it was a note. “This is a Sun Stone, a device that can trap the power of the sun,” Tiff read. “It can be used by a skilled magician to augment their power. Otherwise, it’s also very pretty. Make as much use of it as you care to on your way to becoming a great magician, or keep it as a memento of your bravery and resourcefulness this night.” She looked up from the note in surprise. “Wow…and he just gave us that?”

“Awww, now I’m kinda jealous,” Tuff admitted, kicking the dirt. Kirby was dancing around, clearly happy with the result.

Tuff didn’t have much time to rue the decision, however- not when a mighty rumbling from the heavens came, and the rain started to pour down. “Aw, geez!” he complained as they all ran for shelter beneath a tree. “Now rain? We’re gonna get sick if we don’t get outta this!” Tuff complained.

“So where DO we go?” Tiff shot back.

“Hey, guys!” Iro noted, pointing in the distance. “There’s a house there!” Sure enough, in the distance, there seemed to be a somewhat old, but still clearly intact, several story house. Desperate as they were, it looked inviting enough from that distance.

“I don’t remember that being there before…” Tuff noted, giving it a pensive look.

Tiff sighed. “Worth a try! Let’s go!” With that, they charged towards it. Before long, they reached it, and began pounding on the door. “Hello! Anyone there?! Can you let us in, please?!”

Silence, save for the pounding of the storm. “Maybe they’re out…” Tiff muttered.

“Just our luck,” Iro muttered.

Tuff, for his part, grew curious, and tried the handle. It swung easily. “Hey! It’s open!” He’d ask forgiveness lat-

“Whoa.” The place looked outright abandoned, with spiderwebs, mountains of dust, and other such detritus laying about. “...maybe we should stay on the porch.”

“And let the rain hit us with every change of wind?” Tiff said, shaking her head. “Normally, I’d say to not even chance it, but it’s not like we’re helpless. We’ve got Kirby with us, and if push comes to shove, we can defend ourselves a little, can’t we?”

“Yeeeah, I dunno about you guys, but I’ll take my chances inside where it’s dry,” Iro said, walking in. Tiff and Kirby were quick to follow.

“I REALLY got a bad feelin’ about this place,” Tuff said, though he did go walk in as well.

They got maybe five feet before a massive gust of wind from nowhere buffeted them back- only for Tiff to put a foot forwards and brace herself, Focusing as she held Kirby close to prevent him from getting blown away. “Gah!”

Both Tuff and Iro did the same, preventing them from getting tossed off their feet, and having the door shut behind them all with an eerie sense of finality. As the wind died down, they all looked around concernedly. Tuff was the first to race back to the door, tugging on it with all his might. “...It’s locked,” he said resignedly.

“Wait, we’re stuck here?” Iro said, nervous.

“...Toldja something was off about this place,” Tuff said grimly.

“So far, it’s all good,” Kirby said to Taranza, having just reported their little journey. “They should be around at the Graveyard by now, so-” but it was then that something caught his eye in the distance. “Wait a moment…is that fog over Cappy Town?” Even as he said it, he knew that wasn’t it.

“It sure looks like it…” The Mayor admitted. “But why just around there?”

Taranza frowned. “Something’s wrong. You all stay here, while Kirby and I investigate.”

“What he said!” Big Kirby agreed as he latched onto Taranza’s back.

They began to quickly fly off, intent on resolving this mystery. Honey and Spikehead looked at each other, unsure of just what was going on and nervous for all involved.

Chapter 43: Fright Night

Chapter Text

It didn’t take long for Taranza to see what might be the issue- the purple fog had swarmed over the entire town, enveloping it in a thick soup. “How horrid…” Taranza muttered as he cast a protective spell over himself and Kirby. A translucent shield surrounded them, similar in color to the fog, but shimmering and brighter. “This is definitely some sort of magical happenstance. But for what purpose?”

“Good question,” Kirby noted as he looked down. It was admittedly pretty hard to see through the gloom, and he grew concerned about what it looked like groundside. “Better question- how do we stop it?” He looked around for a certain airship, only to find them absent. “Ugh. Kinda wish Daroach was here. Last time something took over the town, his airship was really nice to have.”

“He comes and goes- you should be used to this by now,” Taranza responded, though he admittedly was similarly annoyed. “If there’s treasure to be found in these lands, he’s one to look for it.” He paused. “Don’t you have a cell phone for situations like this?”

Kirby shook his head. “Yeah, but if he’s off and away, we’ll probably be better off handling it ourselves. It’s localized, at least, so the culprit is probably the obvious suspect…” Although that DID bring to mind a concern. “Actually, I wonder where OUR Dedede might be during all this?”

“It seems like it happened quickly,” Taranza noted. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Dedede decided to exercise caution and stayed holed up in his mansion, too.”

“That’s at least more sensible,” Kirby conceded. “Meaning it’s probably best we get started. I can’t see anything from up here, can you?”

The spider boy shook his head. “Not at all. Hold on, we’re headed down.”

Together, they swooped downwards into the town, finally getting a clear look at everything as they made their way to the center square. It seemed…almost surprisingly normal, though several people were clearly cowering. They quickly moved over to one person who was hiding in the bushes nearby. “Hey, are you okay?” Kirby quickly asked. “What’s going on?” He looked familiar, but…

“W-whaddya mean?” The Cappy asked in surprise. “Can’t ya see the monsters runnin’ around?”

“Monsters?” The two repeated. That was new. “We haven’t seen anything,” Taranza noted.

“Really?” The Cappy seemed surprised. “B-but there was one here just a minute ago! I tried to get ‘em offa me with them yo-yo tricks, but they were too much!” he admitted. “If it weren’t for King Dedede, I’d have been a goner!” It was then that they recalled that that was Gengu, though his bush camouflage had prevented them from realizing that- his cap was clearly missing.

“King Dedede?” Taranza asked in surprise. “So he’s out here fighting? That’s good news, at least…I hope.”

“Wait,” Kirby stopped him. “Yours or ours? Did he talk?”

“Y-yeah. I’m pretty sure it was ours ‘cause of how he spoke…” Gengu noted. “Didn’t think he had it in ‘em. Heck, I thought he might’ve been behind it!”

That caused the two to turn to each other. “That doesn’t sound like him, from what I know…” Kirby noted. “I wonder what’s going on, here?”

“I would like to know that as well,” the voice of Mabel came from behind. Turning around, they saw her approaching, eyes constantly checking back and forth. “Because I saw something similar. A flock of horrendous crows about to strike at me,” she explained. “I struck at one of them, when King Dedede came out of nowhere and smashed them all with his hammer!”

“Curious,” Taranza noted, thinking hard. “Did he talk to you, too?”

She nodded. “Yes. He said to not worry, and that he would ‘save the day’.” She grimaced. “The strange thing, however, is that I turned away for a moment to make sure my house was safe- and he’d disappeared without a trace!” she shook her head. “I feel as though something is very off here…”

“It is,” Taranza said, scowling. “And I think I have an idea of what, now. This might be high level Illusionism at work.”

That caused Mabel’s eyes to widen. “Illusionism? Really?”

He nodded, determined. “Magolor tells me you were interested in learning, correct? Then you might do well to follow us while we search for the source.” He turned back to Gengu. “You as well. If only to prevent you from falling prey to these illusions.”

“Where do we even start, is the question…” Kirby muttered. Then he paused. “Wait a second. Isn’t Susie supposed to have an alert for this kinda thing? She left someone in charge, right?”

“Oh! She did, yes!” Taranza realized. “We should probably try to find them. Should we head for the factory, then?” Upon getting a round of nods, they set off.

Meanwhile, Tiff, Tuff, Little Kirby, and Iro from the get-go were dealing with strangeness of their own. “This place looks like a dump…” Iro said quietly.

“Dump or not, if the door’s locked and none of us can get it open, we’ll have to find another way out,” Tiff noted. They’d all tried to force the door open, but to no avail- Tiff’s channeling ability would still likely tire her harshly, she wagered, so punching the door open was right out. She doubted she had the strength even WITH channelling, if she were honest with herself. Similarly, Tuff and Iro had had no luck physically or with Iro’s focused bopper balls- the latter had just nearly gotten him a bopper to his own head if Tuff hadn’t intercepted the projectile at the last moment.

“Maybe there’s a back door or something…” Tuff suggested. “We should probably start looking for- huh?” He stopped short.

All of them saw why. Something strange- sparkling and white, and many. Small motes of…something. Ethereal, floating through the air, coming down the hallway and down the stairs. “What the…” Iro started, though he couldn’t form words after that as he backed up.

“No way…” Tuff mumbled as the creature began to form into something large; something that caused his heart to race.

Tiff was no better, holding Kirby nervously and clearly uncertain of what to think. “Wha…I…K-kirby…!”

He was little help either, as the motes of light coalesced- and began to shape into something none of them could make out- not entirely. Some form of… thing . She couldn’t understand what it was and her mind wasn’t sure it wanted to.

It lunged- and instinct took over. “RUN!” Tiff yelled, taking off in a panicked sprint, and that was all they needed for the lot of them to flee right behind her. None of them were willing to check if it pursued as they ran past the stairs and through the door at the end of the foyer.

Tiff, to her private shame, nearly forgot that it wasn’t just her; she had to stop herself from slamming the door in the face of her own brother, Iro- she’d even, for a moment, forgotten about Kirby, to her private shame. Not that anyone seemed up to calling her out, if they even noticed. “W…what was THAT?!” Iro asked in a rush.

“How should I know?!” Tuff replied just as hotly. “Some sorta ghost is what!”

“I…I didn’t think ghosts were real…” Tiff said in shocked surprise. But that was when she got a look at her surroundings, as did the rest of them. “...whoa…”

They’d made it into some sort of central room, absolutely covered in spiderwebs. A small couch with a fireplace on the wall and a wickedly creepy gargoyle statue above it lay on one side, while on the other were various statues in states of disrepair, none of them looking exactly noble. That wasn’t the most notable thing, however. THAT was the utterly massive staircase in the center of the room, that seemed to go both upwards far, FAR higher than what the house indicated from the outside, as well as to a lower level they couldn’t see from there. “This is crazy…” Iro muttered.

“From the outside, this place only looked a couple of stories tall,” Tiff noted. “That stairway goes up WAY too high.”

“So what, you gonna talk to the landlord about it?” Tuff snarked. Before he could say anything further, however, his breath chilled. Turning around, he saw that the lights were coming back- and coalescing into what looked to be a massive gargoyle bust that began to move and cackle, its eyes shining white. He wasn’t interested in seeing what became of it. “It’s back!” he quickly yelled, pulling his sister and Kirby along. “Over here!” he yelled, picking a door at random.

Iro didn’t waste time either, quickly running straight for the doorway and tossing it open to let them through before slamming it shut. “No way, no waaaay…” Iro panic-whispered.

“Calm down!” Tiff said quickly, before taking stock of her surroundings. It looked to be a large dining room, vaguely similar to what they had at the castle. The plates and cutlery- everything but food, really- had been placed and prepared, but now was overridden with only dust and cobwebs. “Let’s keep moving,” she said as they made their way towards a door in the back. ‘Seems quiet in here, at least,’ she thought…

But only moments later, for the plates themselves to start swirling in the air, much to their shock. “Oh, come on! Ghost dishes, too!?” Tuff complained, just as the first of several dived for them-

-And was promptly shattered by a well-pitched Bopper Ball. The ball quickly ricocheted off the back wall, up to the ceiling, down onto the table, and back into Iro’s outstretched hand. The pieces fell harmlessly to the ground, as the small motes of whatever animating force that was seemed to float up a foot or so before dissipating.

The rest of the plates stopped short, as though they weren’t expecting that. Neither were Tiff and Tuff, for that matter. “Hey, that was cool!” Tuff complimented.

“Poyo, poyooo!” Little Kirby seemed to agree.

Iro laughed a bit, though it was still nervous. “I’m scared of a lotta junk, but that’s like, my mom’s fine tableware without no one to complain about me breakin’ it!” he boasted.

A pause, and with it came a distinct re-understanding of the situation.

“...he’s got a point,” Tuff admitted. “You were kinda right earlier, sis…” A near-malicious grin spread across his face at the realization, and Tiff swore she saw the ghost plates BACK AWAY in fear. She just hmph’d in slight derision and disbelief. At least these were less intimidating, but they didn’t want to risk any trouble. “Let’s go,” she said, turning away from them. She noticed Tuff and Iro turn to face her, and she was about to continue speaking-

-before something made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. In a moment she doubted she’d forget any time soon, she turned around as though on instinct; her hand balled into a fist. It rammed right into a charging plate, shattering it into pieces while Tuff similarly turned, instead hurling a non-haunted cup at his, shattering the both of them.

Again, however, all was still for a moment. Tuff was the first to talk. “...whoa. You okay, sis?”

Tiff was…still unsure of how she’d felt or did what she did, but realized she was being talked to, looking at her knuckles, where she’d punched the plate. There wasn’t a scratch on them. “...huh. I’m fine,” she noted, to a sigh of relief from Tuff. “...but we’ve wasted enough time here,” she continued. “C’mon, let’s go.”

They had to agree with that. As one, and with their spirits buoyed just a bit by the successful encounter, they entered the door…but wherever they were was FAR from pleasant.

A large, green tinted, candlelit room, with a massive effigy of…something horned, and winged sat in the center of the room, disfigured and howling sculptures of faces on either side of them; a macabre altar to entities she couldn’t decipher. “...wha…” she breathed out. She was transfixed, after a fashion, at the sheer horror.

“...this isn’t good,” Tuff said, gulping. That only intensified when she saw the dripping of red, horrid blood from the thing’s eyes, as though it were a morbid, violent fountain. “This isn’t good!” he repeated as the faces on the sides began to spew the same, and they soon found that the room might be filled.

“We need to bail!” Iro yelled, and Tiff found herself agreeing as she looked for a way out. There was a nearby set of stairs that seemed to take them to the second floor- a single point and ‘this way!’ and they all proceeded to race up them, heedless of where it might lead so long as it was away from that.

The only room that was open, however, led them into a cacophony of noise and clocks and flashing colors, causing them to panic- while nothing seemed to directly harm them, they all had to clasp their hands over their ears, Kirby included- actual ears or no.

Fortunately, with that lack of actual threat came a quick retreat out the other doorway, which they saw led to a hall.

“Geez!” Iro complained. “That was horrible!” Even Little Kirby looked a bit distraught at the aural assault he’d had to weather.

“You’re tellin’ me,” Tuff agreed as they took a look back towards the center of the foyer. Indeed, it was still the same place they’d come from, massive spiral staircase and all. “This place has been messin’ with us since word go. If we get outta here I hope I never see it again!”

“You mean ‘when’ we get out of here, Tuff,” his sister admonished. She looked down towards the door they’d come from- and shivered. The gargoyle above the entrance/exit they’d walked through was clearly animated, and staring at them. It beckoned with its finger, a clear taunt and ‘invitation’. One she wasn’t inclined to accept. “L-let’s just keep moving,” she said as she turned away, putting the quietly laughing gargoyle bust out of her mind. It clearly wasn’t going anywhere.

“Yeah…” Tuff agreed, having seen the same. As they came along the back wall of the walkway, however, they noticed something else. “Huh? This place gets even DEEPER?”

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Tiff admitted. “The question is, do we want to see what’s down there?” Peering down, it seemed…mostly just paintings. Nothing obvious.

“I…I guess,” Tuff conceded. “Iro?”

“...alright, but if anything jumps out I’m…I’ll…I dunno, do something,” he ‘warned’. They sighed, and with that, began to trek down the hall.

It wasn’t very long before they noticed the paintings seemed to be of strange creatures. A big, yellow hovering mouth-thing with massive teeth, lunging at something off-picture as though to devour it whole. A mighty lion with angry, shining white eyes, its body composed of roaring flames that looked like it’d incinerate anything that came across it. A small, simple, doll-like ghost- footless, with a strange set of glasses on and a halo, giving it a calm, irreverent air. “...dunno why, but that one looks kinda cool,” Tuff admitted. Tiff privately agreed.

And lastly they came up to a strange round, blue ghost with a single eye and a smiling mouth. It seemed to have a lance and shield, and she wasn’t sure whether to feel intimidated, or perhaps slightly jealous. “I could use a shield right now, myself…” she muttered to herself.

Almost as in response to her words, the painting seemed to shake, and shimmer for a moment- before that internal danger feeling kicked in again. She dived to the side before the spear the creature had been holding suddenly struck the space she’d been in, causing everyone to yelp and back away, and the creature seemed to emerge from the painting , to her baffled horror. “What’s that?!” Tuff said in surprise.

“I don’t know!” she yelled. In her alarm she turned to Kirby, who was already on the case, charging forwards to protect his friend. The Knight jabbed at him once, which he quickly jumped over, landing on the other side of him. The Ghost Knight swung its lance wide, only for Little Kirby to hop over it again- this time ready with a counterattack in the form of an Inhale at point blank range. The knight had nowhere to go, and with its mouth going from a smile to distress, it was quickly sucked into Little Kirby’s maw.

“Eh? Kirby!” Tiff was surprised. Not that necessarily he’d gone ahead of his own volition, but that he’d inhaled another creature so readily. “T-that…” she paused. Big Kirby had said exactly why he did this. And he’d been teaching Kirby a lot lately, as far as she was aware… ‘I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised he’s been mentioning a bit of his own philosophy to our Kirby,’ she mused. ‘And I doubt that was REALLY a living thing. It came out of the painting, for goodness’ sake. Wasn’t that a form of magic Mr. Taranza taught us about?’

So into her own thoughts, that she’d missed the transformation- to her surprise, she saw that Kirby was now wearing a strange cap, full of pointy, spiny needles- not to mention he was colored orange now. “Huh? That gave you an ability?”

“Weird. I don’t think we’ve seen this one before,” Tuff noted. “Any clue what it’s called? It’s all…spiny.”

Tiff shrugged. She’d have to ask Meta Knight when they got home (she refused to think of the alternative outcome). “Spiny Kirby is as good a name I can think of,” she acquiesced.

“Cool! Spiny Kirby it is!” Tuff cheered. Kirby looked at him…oddly, as though he had something to say about that, but thought better of it, looking instead past him. Following his line of sight Tiff looked and saw a door at the end, slightly ajar.

“Aw, great…” Iro muttered. “We going in there, too?”

“We don’t have much choice,” Tiff said, taking the lead with ‘Spiny’ Kirby next to her now. She felt a lot more calm now that Kirby had an ability, even if it wouldn’t last too long. They opened the door, prepared for more horrors…

…and so were surprised when it seemed to be an ordinary, if clearly unused, bedroom. “...huh. Alright, keep your eyes peeled,” she said, cautious as they looked around. To their surprise and relief, however? No strange spectres came to accost them. Nothing odd or abnormal about the bedroom, merely a lot of cobwebs and dust. “I…I think this room’s okay.” She pressed her hand against the bed mattress- it even still had a bit of give to it. “If anyone wants a break…”

“Me, for sure,” Iro said, immediately hopping onto the bed and giving it a test bounce before sighing and leaning back, letting himself de-tense a bit. “ Ever since the Spook-Out started, this whole night’s been a horror show…”

“Yeah, it kinda got bad, quick,” Tuff admitted as he sat in an old chair. “But hey, no one can ever say we’re chicken ever again!”

“Yeah, if we get out…” Iro muttered.

“Don’t think like that!” Tiff admonished. She was feeling a bit mentally exhausted as well, but she wasn’t about to start thinking negatively. “We’ve survived this so far, and Kirby’s right here- we even found out a new ability for him!” she said, pointing to the spine-headed puff. “We’ll be fine.” ‘I think,’ she mentally amended as she leaned against the footrest.

She supposed she could do with a bit of a breather, herself…

Back in town, Taranza and the group had been doing their best to make headway towards the factory. It was…not the hardest thing, but oftentimes they’d been accosted by ensorcelled Cappies thinking they were some kind of hoodlums and trying to shoo them away. More than once, Kirby had gotten a ‘we don’t need an imposter around here!’ line thrown at him as he’d tried to dodge angry brooms, fire pokers and other things without harming the innocent townsfolk. One of them had even said ‘especially one as ugly as you!’ to which he had to admit, he’d taken a bit personally. Still, knowing it was a spell and that, according to Taranza, he likely DID appear completely different to them was a bit of a balm to the ego. He was currently explaining Illusionism to Mabel after a couple more similar interactions.

“Illusionism can be…tricky, honestly,” Taranza started off with. “It’s by no means impossible, but it can take a certain…mood, I suppose is the best way to put it, and I’ll confess that even I haven’t mastered it. Still, I know enough to teach something about it. Namely, for something to be an illusion, there must be two parts at play- what is perceived, and what is the truth. That can be harder for some people to grasp than others. You have to convince the world of two simple things in conjunction- what something looks like to everyone, while what it is, is underneath.” He looked at Mabel carefully. “Not literally, but in a sense of-”

“-of what lies deep within a person,” she guessed. “An innermost self, of sorts.”

“Yes, yes!” Taranza agreed. “After all, if something is just truly light and sound without major substance, that is much easier to convince the world of than creating a true entity. It’s taking the concept of a mirage, or perhaps a dream, and placing it wherever you please.”

“Hmm…fascinating,” Mabel murmured. Although something nagged at her. “Taranza? If you don’t mind my asking, you’ve noticed how everyone else seems quite affected by this fog, right? Even I was at first, but now…”

“Ah, you’re wondering about your seeming sudden immunity?” Taranza guessed. She nodded. “Well, that’s simpler than it sounds. See, an illusion tends to lose effectiveness if you already KNOW it’s not real. Especially when it affects perception. You were already suspect of Dedede, and you knew us. Most importantly however, in my opinion, is your ESP affinity.”

“My ESP?” she hazarded.

“ESP is the power of the mind,” Taranza explained. “I said so before, it’s very much an ‘inside’’ expression of power and magic, as opposed to the usual ‘outside’. Though there are exceptions.” He regarded her carefully. “This often leads to incredibly strong wills by the users of such an affinity. I suspect your training in your ESP affinity, along with your natural skepticism of the situation allowed you to break the illusion’s hold quicker than if you hadn’t had such.”

She mulled on that as they continued to the Haltmann Works Company Factory, though they had to shake her out of a distant sighting of what she claimed what ‘King Dedede fighting off a great boar-creature’. She’d turned to them to relay the imagery that she saw, but when she turned back…he’d vanished.

Fortunately, it wasn’t much longer before they arrived at the factory. “Hey, open up!” Kirby asked after Taranza pressed on the call button. “It’s Kirby, and it’s kinda urgent!”

“Oh!” came a voice from the speaker. “J-just a moment!” The gates opened shortly, and they all breathed a sigh of relief. “C’mon in! I have news for you anyway. Er, and I suppose a confession.”

They looked at each other in surprise. “Confession? What kinda confession?” Kirby wondered as they entered.

As he would soon learn, he wasn’t the only one who’d slept while something bad happened around them, now.

“YOU WHAT?!” reverberated throughout the factory, causing the workers to stop in surprise. They’d been informed of the ‘hazard’ outside, and had at least had a major filter system in place to clean the air brought from the outside, to the inside of the factory. Still, it was mostly a safe spot now.

“Nevermind that,” Taranza said, turning to the schematics that were being shown on screen now. “We know that these braziers are the key to this issue,” he pointed out. “We just need to find and disable them, and we’ve won.” The spider turned thoughtful. “The question now is, ‘where would they be?’”

“W-well, I might be able to help with that a bit,” the Haltworker said, typing a few things. “I-if you say it’s smoke, then we can likely measure the density of it around the town…and wherever it’s densest…”

“That’s where we’ll find a brazier,” Taranza concluded. “Excellent.”

It wasn’t much longer before they had a set of six hotspots, all in a circle around the town. “There!” the Haltworker proclaimed. “Six spots, six braziers. It matches up!”

Kirby eyed them all. It wasn’t exactly the hardest to memorize- they were all placed around Cappy Town’s very edges, save for near the castle and the sea. In fact, they might’ve passed one of the braziers coming into town, as one spot wasn’t too far away from where the Spook-Out was supposed to start…

He wondered if anyone would take the initiative on that, actually. ‘Might be best if they didn’t, due to the effects, though,’ he considered. Nonetheless, he still had a goal. “Alright! I think we know what we’re doing now,” he declared. “We’ve got some fires to put out!”

Chapter 44: Spark to Flame

Chapter Text

Big Kirby and Taranza, now accompanied by Mabel, had managed to get two of the braziers down before too long- all of them were on the outskirts, but it was noted than none of them were very close to the castle- no doubt to allow King Dedede a bit of safety from his own plot. “We’re making good time,” Taranza noted, before turning to Mabel as they decided to cut through town. “Perhaps you should head to the Spook-Out meeting area, let them know what’s going on and that it’s being solved.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” she agreed, and made to leave in that direction- before a loud screaming came from ahead of them. “Hm?”

At first, they readied themselves to bat off another series of individuals thinking they were people they weren’t…only for Kirby to quickly realize something. “Hey…they’re all looking in the same direction.” That was odd. The illusions had largely been localized before this, and Kirby wasn’t certain what that meant.

Taranza, however, knew much better. “A greater illusion. Something to confound anyone that looks at it- and only a step or two away from true conjuration.” He frowned, as just as he expected, something seemed to waveringly form in front of them, a mirage made nearly real. “Stay near, me, Miss Mable. This’ll be a good lesson.”

She was barely able to ask what he meant before the creature coalesced together into something she’d never seen before. It was something big, with a single, sinister eye, with trailing wisps from its ethereal body. Atop its head it wore a mockingly simple cap, but that took nothing away from the malice in its fanged grin…

Not that Big Kirby seemed at all impressed. “Oh, for- great,” he muttered. “Another universe version of Tedhaun. ”

“ ‘Tedhaun’?” she repeated, curious. “You’ve faced this thing before?”

“Yeeeaah, he’s…mostly an annoyance,” Big Kirby admitted as he gathered smaller spooks, miniature versions of him without the hat. With a wave of his arms, he began to send them after the populace, causing the Cappies to panic and flee, covering their heads in fear as he cackled. Kirby huffed in annoyance before turning to Taranza, who’d been studying the specter closely. “We need to get those mini-ghosts away from them!”

“Right!” Taranza agreed, before turning to Mabel. “Like I said, That ‘Tedhaun’ is an illusion. Still, even though it can’t harm anything directly, it can manipulate people’s perceptions, and make them do it!”

“So how do we stop it?!” Mabel asked, concernedly.

“Kirby? Do you think you can resist?” Taranza asked.

“Only one way to see,” Kirby admitted, before hopping off and stepping out of Taranza’s shield. After a moment or two, he nodded. “...so far so good. If that changes, I’ll let you know.”

“Then you handle Tedhaun,” Taranza decided. “Myself and Mabel will keep the Cappies off of you.”

“Me?” Mabel asked in shock. “How will I help with that?”

“It’s time to give you a crash course in basic illusionism,” he said as Kirby darted off to face Tedhaun directly. “The first lesson is that illusionism is convincing someone that something that isn’t real? Just might be.”

“...well, I have some experience with that already,” she admitted ruefully.

“Exactly,” he admitted as they faced down one of the specters, harassing a family. “Which means to dispel it, you do the opposite. Well, that, or-” Wordlessly, he tossed a smattering of web strings towards the swirling ghosts- which of course passed straight through them, the webs opening up and snaring nothing as they hit the building behind them. “-just use a bit of force to dispel the imagery. That’s Illusionism’s big weakness by itself.”

“H-huh? What?” one of the Cappies asked, looking around themselves in confusion as the others began to do so as well. “How did you-?”

“These spooks are nothing but fakes!” Mabel quickly informed them. “You are under the control of a powerful monster of Dedede’s!”

“P-powerful monster?” he asked, before looking off into the distance. “T-t-then you’re not with them?”

“Of course not! Do you not recognize me?” she asked. “Mabel, the, er, ex-fortune teller!” That still stung a bit…

There was a pause. “M-mabel? Why do you look so…gaunt?”

“The fog around you has messed with your mind,” Taranza informed him. “It’s making you and other Cappies see things that aren’t there. This is Taranza speaking, for the record.”

“...oh! I think I remember you. You look different, too…” At once, the Cappies around him stopped, starting to talk amongst each other. “How long has this been going on?”

“About half the night,” Taranza noted. “King Dedede’s doing, is our guess.”

“Is that why he suddenly came out of nowhere to battle back a bunch of monster hounds?” he asked. “I’d thought he’d finally gotten a bit braver…but I guess that makes more sense.”

Mabel sighed, relieved. There was going to be a LOT of convincing in her near future, but as long as the others took to it as well as these had, it’d be doable. She just hoped everyone out near the Spook-Out point was safe…

“My my, the kids have been gone for a while, haven’t they?” The Mayor asked worriedly. “I was hoping they’d be back by now so we could let them know the situation back in town. What do you suppose happened?”

“Ya don’t think they went and got kidnapped by ghosts or nothin’, do ya?” Kawasaki asked in concern. That caused some mumbling of worry. Honey and Spikehead in particular grew concerned. They’d had Kirby with them- and yet something might’ve been holding them up? That was worrying. But as they looked at each other, Honey tightening her hand around Spikeheads, they both independently realized that it wasn’t fear for themselves that was why they were worrying.

“In that case, we’d need to assemble a search party,” Chief Bookem noted. “And with that fog causing trouble in the town, it’d be risky to try to find anyone else. It’d probably be best to do it with who we have here. Any volunteers?”

Honey and Spikehead’s hands were the first up.

Meanwhile, Tiff, Tuff, Little Kirby, and Iro were back on their feet. Little Kirby’s ‘Spiny’ Ability had dissipated, and so that was no longer an option for defense. She’d thought it’d last longer since he hadn’t been actively using it, but…something to remember, Tiff supposed. “Alright…we need to get back to finding a way out of here,” she said, looking around on the floor they were on; they’d gone past the second floor…somehow. The walkway circling the room led to a couple more doors on the far side of where they’d first come up; no reason to not start there.

“There’s gotta be something…” Tuff complained as she opened the first door- only to see a large room, with a number of different shelves with books on them, from top to bottom. “Oh boy,” he said sarcastically as his sister nearly jumped into the room. “A-”

“-a library!” she said excitedly. “If there’s anything that’ll tell us how to get out of this mess, it’ll be here!”

“You think so?” Iro questioned, though he didn’t refuse to enter. The place was dusty and decrepit, but it also at least seemed to have a lack of malicious ghosts, at least. “Guess it makes sense…there should be, like, a map or something of the place in here, right?”

“We’ll find out,” Tiff said confidently. “Everyone spread out and see what you can find!”

Everyone quickly proceeded to do so; a map would’ve been ideal at the least. However, after a few minutes, they’d all reconvened with similar expressions of annoyance or frustration. “Anything on your end?” Tuff asked her brother.

“Nah,” he responded with a shake of his head. “Just a buncha books I can’t read. Real weirdo language.”

“Same here,” Iro admitted. “Didn’t have a map anywhere. I swear there’s something else in here, though. Some of the books weren’t where I left ‘em.”

“Poyo, poyoyo!” Little Kirby agreed, pointing around at various areas of the room.

“Huh?” Tiff was first to notice such. “What’d you see, Kirby?” They looked around at where he was pointing at, but they saw nothing. “I’m not sure what-”

That’s when she saw a book lurch out of its place on the shelf, landing with a heavy thud.

There was an equally heavy pause as the dust from the sudden movement settled. “Uhhh…did anyone else see that?” Tuff asked hesitantly.

That was practically a signal- almost at once, various books began to fly out of various bookshelves, flapping and swooping about, causing everyone present to yelp in shock. “Awwwww, you gotta be kiddin’ me! Again?” Tuff lamented as they dived for the children, and with nowhere to run, everyone braced themselves.

For a few moments, they fought desperately- None of the kids were fighters, however; even Iro only had his Boppers, and there were far too many for him to hit all of them, especially when one of them went flying off elsewhere and he couldn’t retrieve it. Tuff was athletic, to be sure, but he nor Tiff had any combat training at all either, which meant that apart from knocking away a couple of the books, they didn’t really know how to do anything but flail as the ghost books began to tackle and harass them. Reinforcement prevented real damage from being done, but that didn’t mean that they could sit there and let them swarm all night.

Tiff was, fortunately, much quicker on the uptake than her brother as she backhanded one away- causing it to careen off into a wall and fall down unmoving for a time. “Kirby!! Suck ‘em up!”

Little Kirby would’ve been glad to, though he was unfortunately having his own issues. The sheer number of books, and his lack of ability to Reinforce or guard himself meant that he was getting buffeted by the mass of books, bouncing him about like a pinball. For a moment, Tiff’s fear spiked for her friend and ward as he yelped with every bounce.

That soon morphed into something resembling anger, even as she batted the books off herself. “Get OFF OF HIM!” she yelled fiercely, focusing all her thought on getting RID of these creepy books, and for a brief moment, she flashed a bright yellow as she swung a fist. It collided into a nearby ghost book-

-And the thing practically poofed into pieces the moment her fist made contact.

There was a moment of clarity in the storm- much like the plates from earlier, a pause ran through the books that they could almost call ‘fearful’. But this time, Tiff took advantage. “Now, Kirby!”

As though realizing it too late, the books began to flap away, but to no avail. They’d been caught in the storm and it was coming to swallow them- quite literally.

While the kids had to brace themselves, the books had no such recourse, and one by one they were sucked into Kirby’s maw, the pink puff quickly being done with the morass in moments. “Thanks, Kirby,” Tiff said gratefully, though it soon turned into an annoyed grumble. “At this rate, I’m going to be trusting books less…”

Almost all at once, the kids slumped down. “Phew…that was rough for a minute, there,” Tuff admitted. “Is there anything ELSE that’s gonna come after us?”

“Don’t jinx it!” Iro says hurriedly, but after a moment of tense waiting, they were relieved to find that no more books or other objects accosted them. After a bit more waiting, they shook themselves off. “Ugh…I’m way too dusty,” Iro admitted.

“Same, I...I…ah-choo!” Tuff soon sneezed, underlying the point.

“Let’s keep moving,” Tiff decided. They continued on, into another door which led to another hallway. “This place really IS gigantic on the inside…” Together, they walked down the hallway, careful about any other portraits coming to life. Fortunately, there was none. “I hate the idea that we might have to leave the way we came, but that’s starting to look like the only option.”

“Ugh, and face that creepy ghost statue thing blocking the way?” Iro complained. “I dunno.” He looked towards their pink friend. “Can Kirby even HIT a ghost? I mean, he hit the weird ghost books and you hit the plates, but…those were possessing stuff,” he pointed out.

“I don’t know,” Tiff admitted, looking to the puff in question, who looked back in curiosity. “That’s why I’m worried about risking it.”

“Ugh. Well, I really need to find somewhere to wash all this dust o…ah…ah-choo! Off.” Iro was clearly feeling the effects of the battle’s aftermath.

Fortunately, they were able to find a bathroom nearby- though it was cracked, dilapidated, and a bit smelly, it at least had running water, which seemed clean enough. They each took turns washing up, before moving on.

Further down the hallway, they made a single turn, and after a brief period of time investigating several seemingly empty and dull rooms, they found a stairwell leading down. “Any idea where this goes?” Tuff asked. No one spoke up. “Great…” Not like they had much choice, however.

As they headed downwards, they felt a chill go up their spines. “I dunno what we’re heading towards, but we better be ready to book it,” Iro muttered.

“If we can get back up,” Tuff responded as the stairs continued. “How deep do ya think we have to be by now?”

“Stop thinking about that, Tuff,” his sister lightly chastised as they continued. Admittedly, she didn’t want to think about it, either.

However, it did end- the door at the bottom led to a hallway, in which there were a large number of statues. There were two doors, however, one at each end of the hall. Lining the walls were an assortment of knights and fierce monsters. Neither of the doors were open. “Which way do we go?” Iro asked

“Well…” Tiff paused, considering briefly, before she pointed to the right. “Let’s go down this way.” Shrugging, they followed the suggestion. Tiff entered first, only to see what appeared to be an entirely empty room; simple brick and mortar and nothing more. “Huh. Just a storage room.” She shook her head in relief, before turning around. “C’mon, guys, let’s- huh?”

They were gone. The door had vanished entirely. “Oh no!” She ran up to it, feeling along the wall in case it was an illusion…but she couldn’t feel any doorknob or anything. ‘How do I get out of here now?!’ she thought again, turning around-

“Hello.” -and coming face to face with herself.

“AHHHH!” she lept back in shock, her back slamming against the wall. “W-what?! W-who are you?!” True, her brain registered her face as ‘her’, but the rest…no, the rest was all different.

THIS Tiff was dressed as…well, as a knight, to put it bluntly. She had on a helmet, the visor lifted up to look her…other self? In the eyes. She wore a chestplate, swooping shoulder armor that vaguely reminded her of Meta Knight’s, and steeltoed boots. She had no weapon, however, her hands placed firmly on her hips. “Well, that’s a fine hello. But I suppose there’s still a lot of work to be done on that personality…” whoever this was sighed. “Really, I’m here because- well, answering that wouldn’t be helpful, actually. I’m here to give you a warning. And it’s gotta be vague, because isn’t that just how this kinda stuff works?”

“M-my personality is FINE, thank you!” Tiff retorted. “And you didn’t answer my question!”

This Not-Tiff chuckled in apparent amusem*nt. “Well…what do you think I am?” She had on a playful, if slightly malicious grin that Tiff would’ve called out of place some months ago. “Some sort of future apparition, come back to help you? Maybe a figment of your imagination gone wild, because you’re losing it?” She took a step forwards, and Tiff gulped, having nowhere to go. Still, she continued to lock eyes with whatever wore her face. It was phenomenally eerie. “I might even be some sort of evil doppelganger out to replace you and take over your Dream Land.” She shrugged, as she took another step. And another. And another. “Or maybe…I’m just…” One last, and they were face to face, near touching. “...you.” Even now, the two never touched.

Tiff was shivering at this point, she couldn’t deny it. But her teeth were grit, and she refused to look away. “...w-what’s the warning?” she ground out.

The Not-Tiff looked at her carefully…before suddenly leaning back, grinning. “Hm. Not bad.” And suddenly, she stepped back a foot or two. “My warning is something you should already know by now. But if you- or they- are going to grow at all, you need to accept it.”

“What IS it?!” Tiff yelled, growing frustrated.

Not-Tiff? Grinned. Then held out her hand- and to Tiff’s horror, a wickedly sharp blade materialized in her hand. “If you truly love him? When he leaves? Let him go. ” Her eyes shone a terrible blank white.

She thrust the blade forth, and Tiff, as much as she tried to resist, couldn’t help but let out a terrified scream as a stinging feeling ran right through her.

She couldn’t look down. She wouldn’t look down. She didn’t feel like she could move. She…

The doppleganger stepped forwards. “Tiff.”

She…felt weird. “Tiff.” But her doppleganger leaned in, close to her ear. The last words she would hear?

“Tiff…it’s time to wake up.” Tiff gasped-

“GAAAAAHHHH!” -and shot bolt upright, yelling in fear and pain…from her forehead.

“WHOA!” “HEY!” The voices of two of her friends came from nowhere as she tried to remember how to breathe again. After a moment, one of them spoke once more. “Uhh…you okay?”

Wait. That wasn’t Tuff or Iro- those two were right next to her, Kirby trying valiantly to shake them both back to their senses. They at least seemed in the process of that. But who spoke was… “Spikehead?” she craned her neck around to look. Sure enough, that was him, Honey right next to him. “What are you two doing here?”

“We came to look for you all after you took forever to get back,” Spikehead explained. “We…kinda ended up running from a ghost, but it worked out, cause we found you all conked out down here. What happened?”

“Ughh…I-” And suddenly, Tiff’s mind went blank. “I…” she desperately tried to recall what happened when she stepped down here. She looked down the hall- there was the one door, sure. She remembered that. Checking down the other way just in case, the other end of the hallway simply led to a dead end.

“I can’t remember nothin’ after getting down here,” Tuff admitted. Kirby looked at him with an expression she could only describe as surprised.

“Same,” Iro agreed.

Hmmm… “Something must’ve blindsided us when we got down here,” Tiff deduced. Kirby, to her surprise, looked almost downright panicked. But they were all okay, no lasting injuries, so… “Kirby, we’re fine. Did you see what attacked us?” Maybe he had a clue.

“Poyo!” He frantically pointed down the hallway to the dead end. “Poyoyo! Poyo!” He quickly ran for the dead end, feeling around it, much to her confusion.

“Whoa. Something got him spooked. Prolly a spook,” Tuff decided. Tiff had to agree inwardly, it was likely a ghost that’d gotten them and vanished through the wall, much like the one earlier had. “Come on, Kirby!” Tuff yelled. “We’re fine, I promise!”

“Yeah, it’s all good, Kirby!” Iro agreed. “Let’s get outta here!”

“Uhhh…we gotta problem about that,” Honey noted, before pointing back at the door to the stairwell. “The door’s locked!”

“And we tried to bust it down, but we can’t do anything,” Spikehead mentioned. “We were thinking we might be able to find something to break it down with.”

“Great…” she muttered. “Maybe there’s something in the other room,” she decided, getting up. “Trying to use one of these old rusty weapons is probably just asking for trouble.” Kirby, who was just getting back to them, seemed…uncertain. He kept glancing back at that wall in something close to suspicion. Just what did he see while they were out? ‘Times like this I wish he could just talk like Big Kirby,’ Tiff privately lamented as they headed towards the other door.

They opened it to see…a massive, metal knight statue. It was vaguely similar in stature of the other ones, but it was full body (though said body was almost triangular) and held a massive, chipped blade that nonetheless looked like it’d be horrid to get hit by. It was standing atop a candlelit altar, the entire area surrounded by shackles and skulls of long dead creatures. “Eugh…this a dungeon!” Tuff said.

“More like a containment room…” Tiff idly corrected. “I wonder wh-”

“GYAHAHAHAHAH!” She didn’t even get a chance to guess before a terrible, screeching laughter filled the room, frightening all of them to their core. From out of the ceiling, smoky and yet brilliantly white, emerged that same, glowing spectre that’d been chasing them. But now it was…combining? Morphing and condensing into something else.

“What the…” Iro started, but it was already too late.

The strange being soon became much wider, much more transparent, though still visible. It had long, vicious teeth that seemed to come straight out of its lips, and a long, drooping lower half that terminated in a wispy, smoke-like tail. Its eyes, formerly implied only by the shape of the light around it, now glowed a sickly and dangerous yellow against a bloody maroon that colored the top half of their face. Atop its bulbous head was a ragged, floppy hat, more eerie than intimidating, but no less for it.

The ghost took one look at them, and screeched an ill, warbling laugh that caused their stomachs to turn. Without warning, it turned around, seeming to flow straight into the armor.

When its visor began to glow yellow where the eyes would normally be, that’s when they knew they were in trouble.

Meanwhile in the city, there had been a fierce fight going on- between making sure the Cappies weren’t injured due to their possession and Tedhaun being altogether too squirrely, Taranza and Mabel had been quite busy. The one thing they knew for sure? Big Kirby was no better, clearly showing signs of annoyance as Tedhaun flitted away for a third time. He had, for whatever reason, opted to retreat to the braziers around the town whenever he’d gotten too injured to continue the fight, using them to refuel his power. “Shoot!” Kirby said in frustration as he watched the spectre swoop away. “He did this in my dimension, too! He just wouldn’t stay down!”

“To be fair, he IS a ghost,” Mabel pointed out.

Big Kirby just gave her a look , before turning back and pursuing him again. There two upsides were that one: Tedhaun himself didn’t seem to have anything in the way of possession abilities; he relied solely on his creations to do the deed for him, and otherwise attacked with spectral blasts and haunting howls. Nothing his Tedhaun had done, but also nothing that he was unprepared for. Fortunately, inhaling and spitting back out his spectral ‘friends’ seemed to work just as well as ever.

And speaking of that, upside 2? This was the last brazier. It’d been planted out by the shoreline, on the beach, and made for a grand, if haunting, finale to this chase.

Another Star Bullet collided with the annoying apparition, and it wasn’t much longer before he fell down…and this time, he seemed to dissipate, slowly, gently, as though made of nothing more than smoke.

Big Kirby let out a sigh. That hadn’t been exactly life threatening…but it HAD been a slog. And now, he needed to- hm? “Hey…is it just me or is the air clearing up a bit?”

Taranza looked up. “It is…!” Although it wasn’t clear yet, it was notably less than it was before. That was excellent.

Indeed, as they headed back into town, he couldn’t help but notice that the Cappies were beginning to show signs of confusion and uncertainty- normally bad, but excellent in this situation.

“Right!” Big Kirby agreed. “Mabel, you make sure everyone keeps snapping out of it! We’re still not done here!”

“Hm?” Mabel seemed confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, we’ve gotta go talk to your King Dedede!” he said, he and Taranza already headed off in that direction.

They didn’t have to go far, however, when they noticed a familiarly long vehicle roaring down the road nearby. To their surprise, King Dedede and Escargoon were laughing. “Well, well! Lookie heah! Two pieces o’ yesterday’s news!”

“What?” Taranza asked in surprise.

“Just what I said!” he retorted. “Aftah tonight, I’ll be th’ hero, and you’ll be th’ zero! An’ everyone’ll respect me propah! Aheheheheheh!”

For a moment, the only sound on the beach was his laughter. Loud, obnoxious, and unchecked. For a moment, he basked in it.

But only for a moment, as he realized he hadn’t even gotten so much as a denying retort out of either of them. “Ey! Ain’t you got anythin’ to say…?” And when he finally looked back at them, at first he was confused…but then he realized. They were looking at him with…pity? “The heck those looks are for?!” he half-shouted. “Don’tchu lookit me like that!”

“You oughta be pleadin’ his majesty to not sic the whole town on ya!” Escargoon added on. “What’s your damage?”

“I hardly think you’re the one to be asking that,” Taranza retorted, but surprisingly, there was little heat in it. “Have you considered that perhaps, in order to get respect, you cannot hold the people’s opinion hostage?” ‘I would know…’ he couldn’t help but think to himself.

Unfortunately, King Dedede just looked askance at him. “Dummy! Ain’t that why I’m changing they opinion?”

Taranza sighed. “What I mean is simple. If one wants to be relied on, one has to prove themselves reliable. You can’t force ideas and opinions onto people, even with the best of intentions.”

“Really, it’s kinda just a shame,” Kirby admitted. “You could be something pretty great if you wanted to be.” He paused. “I think you could, anyway. But we’re done here now. We need to get back to the Spook Out.” Without even thinking twice, he hopped onto Taranza’s back, who took off back towards the forest. “Have a good night!” Big Kirby said back. “Maybe think about what I said!”

“I don’t needta take anything from you!” King Dedede said, shaking his fist. But in due time, they were gone, and the king and his aid stood alone. “...well, shoot. The heck do they mean?”

“Gaaah!” Tiff dived out of the way of the most recent attempt at the phantom knight to chop her in half. Kirby had done his best to try to suck the thing up, but it’d proved too hardy, and he’d had to stop and dodge to avoid a similar fate. Now, in this room that Tiff honestly believed was too cramped all of a sudden, they had to contend with a metal shelled spirit that wanted nothing more than for them to join it in eternal ghosthood.

The problem was that they had no clue how to actually contend with the thing! They were surrounded by a number of creepy skulls, statue pieces, and other hazards, to boot. Iro’s Boppers just bounced off, and it wasn’t like Spikehead’s Spark ability was strong enough to do anything. Tuff had little magic of his own yet either, and Honey was right out. Even escape wasn’t plausible- the door had slammed shut of its own accord shortly after they’d realized their predicament.

Another swing was barely dodged by Iro as the big knight lumbered forwards. If there was one saving grace, it’s that the construct was too big, too heavy to move nimbly. The spirit inhabiting it wasn’t strong enough to force the issue, which meant they had breathing room- but not enough at all to call the matter easily handled. “Hey!” the older boy called. “You nearly hit my hat!”

“Your hat’s the last thing we need to worry about!” Tuff said, annoyed, before he turned to his sister. “Tiff! Can’t ya punch him!”

Tiff grimaced as the phantom knight turned towards her at that. She knew that was an option…but she was far from confident in staying upright once she did it. “I-I don’t know!” she said. “Maybe if you could-”

“Pooooyo!” With a sudden cry, Little Kirby leaped forwards, cheeks bulging. Since when did he suck up something?’ she wondered. But she didn’t have to wait long.

In a flash of yellow, Little Kirby shot out something glowing and star shaped from his mouth, impacting the thing head on and causing it to stumble. Eyes wide, the memory came back to her. ‘Oh, DUH! Star Bullets! He needs time to fire them, but he can!’ And that’s when a plan came to her. It was dangerous. Risky.

…but for Kirby? Worth it. “Hey, you stupid, idiotic, no-life piece of junk!” She had to get angry. “You really think you’re some kind of big shot trying to off a bunch of kids!?” She had to get fierce, and as the construct turned towards her, she kept it up. “You’re rude, you’re foul, and you’re trying to hurt the sweetest little guy just because you CAN?!” She had to get mad.

It was a lowlife. It was trying to hurt all of her friends. Hurt Kirby. Hurt everyone. It didn’t care. She cared. She cared for all of them.

Tiff’s body and fist glowed, and she saw red, perhaps tinted with gold at the edges. “STAY AWAY FROM KIRBY!!”

The big thing took a step towards her- and almost simultaneously, a pair of Boppers and a metal goblet, all imbued with Focus-enhanced strength, were lobbed in its direction, sending its helmet wobbling and causing it to briefly stop to right it.

That was all the opening she needed. “I SAID BACK OFF!” With as much vitriol as she could muster, she swung her fist forwards- connecting with the things chestplate.

Her fist felt like it was on fire, it stung so bad. But she also felt the metal indent sharply around that fist, and that caused the armor to stumble back a couple of steps away from her. As she collapsed to a knee, she saw that there was a deep indent in the chest now. “Haaa…haaa…” Already, she was woozy.

But the gamble had paid off. Kirby had puffed his cheeks up with another item- perhaps another skull, perhaps something else, she wasn’t sure- and had managed to charge up enough energy. “Mmmmmaaaah!” Another Star Bullet erupted from his mouth- and this one knocked the helmet off cleanly. This was enough to cause the specters true form to erupt, chattering wordlessly as it flew about in anger.

“I got it!” Honey said, quickly diving for the helmet, and hopping up, floating close to the ceiling for as long as she could.

The phantom gave chase- but Iro, Spikehead, and Tuff were ready. “Ohh, no ya don’t!” Tuff quickly intercepted, tossing a massive, Focused candle towards the creature- it impacted flush, and the small candle flame that was on it had quickly become something much larger in size- how Tuff’d manage that, she wasn’t sure, but she wasn’t complaining.

Iro hurled Bopper after Bopper, and these seemed to injure the spectre, reeling after each hit. Spikehead as well- it was no great shakes, but even simple sparks added to the collective pain the phantom felt.

After several seconds of attempting to escape the onslaught, it let out a gastly wail in frustration, causing everyone to flinch. “Gah!” Tiff was forced to cover her ears, but her body was already being pushed to its limit, and the phantom noticed.

Racing over her, she wasn’t sure if it was trying to flee or possess her- but fortunately, she never had to find out.

A sudden, massive vacuum started, catching the ailing phantom in its grip. She didn’t need to ask or look over to know that it was Kirby- protecting her just as she’d protected him.

For a few moments, the phantom fought, and fought hard, trying to swim against the inevitable current. In her haze, she could still understand that, and it wasn’t going to win that fight. In the next few moments, another brilliantly lit candle suddenly tore from Tuff’s hands to scorch the creature once again, and with a primal yell, it was sucked into Kirby’s maw with a small ‘pop’.

“WOOO!” Tuff cheered as he quickly ran to check on his sister. “Way to go, everyone! We really made that ghost give up the ghost! But, uh…” He did his best to help Tiff up, who was only just clinging to consciousness. “You okay there?”

“I…I’ll be…” she took a breath to steady herself; it only partially worked. “I think…I’ll be okay. Just…just need to get outta here…”

Kirby said something, muffled. It was then everyone realized that he still had the phantom in his mouth. However, he quickly turned to the locked door, and soon the phantom was spat back out in the form of a LARGE Star Bullet, demolishing the entryway.

“...that’s a way to open it, I guess,” Tuff admitted. “C’mon, let’s get OUTTA here! I betcha that was what was blocking the way in that gargoyle.”

“Aw, that’d be it, wouldn’t it?” Iro said with a sigh as Spikehead and Honey caught up to him. “Well, we’re gonna…” and then he paused, as a peculiar smell hit him. “Hey…does anyone else smell smoke?”

At once, everyone paused in fear, Tiff even waking up as his words hit home. They turned, to see one of the tapestries strewn about…now on fire. And it was spreading rapidly.

“Oh, crud!” Iro said quickly, before they all ran for it- Tuff supporting his sister, who held Kirby tightly as she forced herself to move. “Come on, come on!”

Up the staircase they went, the fire quickly licking at their heels, through the main hallway, and out the door. The foyer was open- and so was the door leading outside, astonishingly. In the way, however, was-

“Outta the way!” Irrelevant, at least to Tuff, as he shoved Big Kirby and Taranza off, half helping his sister, while Iro, Spikehead, and Honey brought up the rear.

“Whoa!” Big Kirby said in shock as they ran past him, only to collapse in the dirt once they’d gotten well clear of the house. “What got you all shook…up?” he turned back to the house in question, to see it being consumed in flames, to his surprise.

For a moment, they all stood there, watching the burning building go up in smoke quite thoroughly. Some in relief. Others in astonishment.

Taranza was the one who broke the silence. “What in Nova’s name happened in there?! That wasn’t a part of the Spook Out at all!”

Tiff, laying flat on her back, tried to answer, leaning up, but only got out a couple of coughs before waving it off entirely, choosing instead to lay back down.

Tuff just chuckled ruefully as he cradled his sister. “You got time? ‘Cause this is one HECK of a ghost story.” But at least it was over...

'When the heart extends their hands, accept.'

Tuff blinked, as his friends began helping him tell the sordid story. Where'd that thought come from? What did that even mean?

But as soon as he questioned it, it vanished from his mind, and he thought no more about it.

Chapter 45: Single Minded

Chapter Text

The day after, the populace had managed to settle down, like always. It’d been a harrowing night, but considering the night was intended to be full of spooks and scares anyway, it was easy for the populace to dismiss it as, though it was clearly another ill-conceived plot on their king’s part, a price for the festivities.

That’s not to say that everyone was happy with the occurrence, however. Great King Dedede had guessed the situation and had resolved to stay in after a few of his Waddle Dees began acting…suspect. “Thought Kirby’d come around to ask after me, but I guess he handled it quick enough,” he explained to everyone at the Star Allies debriefing. “But, lucky enough it didn’t get in here. Me and Bandana Dee kept ourselves occupied enough!”

“I helped teach the king how to make a roast!” Bandee agreed, to the mild amusem*nt of the others. They’d at least had a good laugh about it.

However, there was another Dedede that wasn’t laughing at all. Clear across town and lounging in a reclining chair, King Dedede looked out over the town with Escargoon there as well. The wore a perturbed frown, and for a moment, it seemed like he was a statue. Escargoon had to admit, he rarely saw his monarch in such a state. The silence reigned. And after a fashion, he finally spoke. “I need some thinkin’ tea! HEY YOU!” He looked over to the diminutive servant Waddle Dee, who jarred only slightly at the call. “I want me some fresh tea, asap!”

At once, the one present saluted, and headed off. He grumbled, looking back outwards. “Somethin’ wrong, yer majesty?”

“Escargoon, I been doin’ a bit o’ considerin’!” he announced.

“Don’t strain yourself,” the snail muttered.

King Dedede looked at him, annoyed, but choosing to ignore the jab for now. “You said a bit ago dat the fakah me had evrrybody fallin’ all ovah him because he was a goody-two-shoes, right?!”

“Something along those lines,” Escargoon recalled. “Honestly, I don’t put too much thought into him- strains my brain a lil’ bit.”

“Well, you gonna give it a big ol’ workout!” he announced. “Cause you gonna shadow dat faker all day!”

“W-WHAT?!” Escargoon said in a panic. “Me?! Why?!”

“‘Cause I wanna find out fer certain what he got that I ain’t got!” King Dedede admitted. “That way I kin copy it and prove once n’ for all that he ain’t squat compared tah me!”

“But what if I get caught?!” Escargoon wailed.

“Then you bettah come up with a good excuse!” he responded.

Escargoon grumbled and whined about it, but he left. In the meantime, King Dedede settled back with some newspaper comics (the NME Monster Catalogue Series he had likely outdated, he figured), and decided to relax with some laughs until both his tea and his servant got back. So he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

It was near evening when Escargoon came back- and so did the King’s tea. “I can’t believe you lukewarm lot! Y’all took near the whole day just for a refill!”

“The tea’s not the only thing that took the whole day,” Escargoon pointed out. “I’m back from followin’ around the more borin’ king.” And boy, had it been a hassle and a half- it seemed like everyone around that mansion was constantly on high alert, the way they would, at random, turn towards his hiding spot for a few moments before turning away. He’d made certain he wasn’t spotted, however- his disguise had been flawless, and his noise level minimal.

“At least someone here got some kinda results!” Dedede griped. “What’s the big fat secret?”

“Far as I can tell?” Escargoon shrugged. “The guy’s a borin’ cuss, but at least he’s competent. Seems he’s wrangled himself the services of the Ebrum girl just about full time. Her and that Waddle Dee with the dirty bandana tend to call the shots when he’s not around.”

“Eheheheheh! He got himself a kid as an assistant!? Ain’t that just sad!” he gloated. “Sure, she ain’t as thick-headed as mosta the lumps ‘round here, but she still just a kid! I’m already doin’ better in that department- even if it ain’t by much!”

“Hey! I’m miles better than that,” Escargoon argued. “Anywho, he doesn’t even run his Waddle Dees all day! He actually gives ‘em breaks and vacations and whatnot.”

“Breaks!? Vacations?!” Dedede said, gobsmacked. “How da heck does he get anythin’ done, then? Pft. Prolly jus’ cause he’s got a smaller place. Runnin’ this castle is an all-day gig, ya hear! At least, when it’s done smart-like!” He growled at the servant Waddle Dees that had remained nearby when the tea was delivered. “I’m gonna be makin’ a heap of changes ‘round here…”

But just then? A memory, unbidden, popped into his head. The image of Kirby (as annoying as he was, for sure) and that spider Taranza (looking at him like a failed student, a gaze that he both hated and mentally recoiled from. To be frank, he never wanted to see that expression again. But would letting go of any and all incompetent Dees do that? Frankly, he didn’t see the big deal…

…but, they were bleeding hearts. So maybe they would. Who knew? “...or at least, that’s what I WOULD say. So instead, I’mma do this!” he decided. “Escargoon! You head around an’ get a head count tomorrow!”

“...fine. What for?” he asked.

“You’ll find out! Now git ta countin’!” he dismissed.

Morning the next day revealed something that King Dedede almost expected- there were far more than he expected. Escargoon hadn’t even managed to count the lot, and he’d called the entire mass disorganized. “It’s like countin’ sand grains at the beach!” he complained.

“No wonder the food bill’s so expensive if we gotta feed all them mouths!” he realized.

“Plus, we owe the water company a bundle, too,” Escargoon admitted.

Now Dedede was starting on a tirade. “And think of all the electricity them Waddle Dees use up!” That alone, even with the standards he enforced…

“Good thing you don’t pay ‘em any salary,” Escargoon noted. That was true, a massive savings right there. Heck, they never seemed to need it. But that wasn’t the issue- with him being unable to order monsters regularly, as well as Susie’s…generous donations to the crown to keep that silly factory of hers up and runnin’, he wasn’t starving for money. No, the point was that he had an idea to puff up his public image. And this was just icing on the cake. “Alrighty, then! Here’s an an order for ya! Outta the goodness of my incredible heart…”

“Like that’s believable…” Escargood muttered.

Again, he was ignored. “I hearby declare that every Waddle Dee-”

“- is on extended vacation?!” Tiff repeated in shock. She’d noticed the increase in Waddle Dee traffic around town, and choosing to investigate, she’d spotted Captain Doo out walking the streets, which was unusual for him. “Wait, wait wait wait- are you sure you’re not mistaking OUR King Dedede for Great King Dedede? Y’know, the one from the alternate universe?”

“Nope,” Captain Doo affirmed. “This one’s ours, all right! I dunno why he went an’ let the whole lot of us off for…hm.” He paused, considering. “Well, he never exactly said, buuuut I was kinda too excited to ask for specifics. Even one day off woulda been great, and we got this!”

“...huh.” That didn’t sound like him at all. Part of her wondered just why he did such a thing. It had to be some sort of plan, right?

The other part of her, the part that was beginning to sound suspiciously like Great King Dedede, said that she might be better off not directly interfering in whatever this was. Rather, she’d want to keep an eye on it from a distance. That, and perhaps tell a few Allies what was going on.

Susie, Magolor, and Winged Meta Knight had all finally returned that morning, and she wasn’t surprised to find Susie hard at work in the Factory. The whole place was buzzing about last night, to boot. Seemed like a lot of the workers had been affected, and working through it was helping everyone return to normalcy. She caught Susie, actually, walking out of her office, towards a back area, which is when she informed her about the situation. “I’ll keep an eye out,” she’d promised, but she’d had little time to spare; why exactly, Tiff wasn’t sure, but she did catch a glimpse of something on her tablet- something about a ‘Project Royal’. She saw little else before she was politely escorted out.

She’d met up with Big and Little Kirby as well, apparently having lunch. She’d stuck around, mostly out of politeness, and the fact that Big Kirby was apparently a solid Cook. “Yeah, we noticed a bunch of them leaving the castle earlier,” Big Kirby confirmed when she’d asked. “Was wondering about that. Maybe he actually decided to listen to me!”

“Listen to you?” she asked in surprise. “You mean you talked to him about this?”

“Kinda!” He quickly recounted the brief discussion between them the other night, and Tiff had to admit, she was thoroughly surprised.

“I…have a hard time seeing our King Dedede actually doing anything altruistic for its’ own sake,” she admitted. “Part of me still thinks it’s a trap or something…but alright.” She held up her hands in symbolic surrender. “If you really think so, I’ll try to leave it alone.”

“Hey, can’t have people grow if you don’t show a lil’ faith in them first!” Big Kirby cheered. Little Kirby as well, before quickly downing an entire plate of sandwiches and curry. She couldn’t help but smile. Big Kirby had better control over his appetite, but it was still endearing how her own ate…even if he could go overboard sometimes.

Maybe today would be good after all. After all, barring the sudden leaving of the Dees, it wouldn’t be too big an issue for when they went back, right?

…ugh. She frowned unconsciously. ‘I hope I didn’t just jinx it.’

Back at Susie’s lab, her computer beeped several times in succession, a familiar sign to her by now. “Huh. So he DID order something,” she mused, flipping to the program. “Let’s see here…” she blinked as she saw the schematics and read the specs of just what it was that had been sent over.

And quickly let out an unladylike snort. “Well, then. I think I can safely say Haltmann Works holds the edge on automated robotics. This thing is downright primitive. Not to mention…” She eyed a few particular features that she doubted were on the official sales pitch.

Shrugging, she refocused on her primary project. That’d hardly be a threat to anyone but the user. “Buyer beware, I suppose.”

“Beware of what?” A smooth voice sounded behind her.

Susie didn’t jump. Jumping in fright was for interns. She DID, however, level her blaster at him in the blink of an eye, to which Master Thief Daroach did nothing but grin. “Well, that’s an interesting way to say ‘hello’. I thought you wanted me here?”

She sighed, placing down the blaster. “I did. And what you overheard were my thoughts about this new robot that’s been hired to, from what I can guess, replace all the Waddle Dees that this area’s King Dedede idiotically let all go on vacation at once.”

Daroach blinked. “Wait…as in just the one?”

“Seems so,” she admitted. “It’s not even a good robot. Haltmann Works Company’s budget models are higher spec’d than what this thing is. Not to mention, logistically it’s just impossible to keep a castle of that size maintained without equally sizeable staff…”

Daroach had a glint in his eye. “Too true, too true,” he said gamely. “A bit of a poor decision to leave himself and his valuables so unguarded.”

Susie eyed him. “Daroach…”

“Oh, come now,” Daroach quickly interrupted. “We’ve been unofficially pulling his fat from the fryer for a while now. We’re certainly not aligned with him, but he owes us. So I say some of that finance can be remitted to the local interdimensional protectors, no?”

Susie shook her head. “I wasn’t going to stop you. I was just going to say ‘make sure none of it is traced back to us.’ Technically you’d probably be stealing some of my own counterfeit bribe money back, so be sure to not accidentally take any yourself,” she warned.

“You of all people should know I have a discerning eye,” Daroach said, grinning. “Now, let’s get to that consultation you wanted from me, yes? Doc will be along shortly.”

“Yes, lets,” Susie agreed as they continued on.

“Eheheheheh!” Meanwhile, King Dedede was having a ball with his latest purchase, aptly titled the ‘Domestic Servant Robot’. They’d rather quickly decided to turn to Nightmare Enterprises after Fololo and Falala had been run ragged with attempting to do all the maintenance themselves and had begged for rest.

‘Slackers, the both of them. But at least they’d been doin’ alright up until then,’ he’d inwardly grumbled. But, that was then and this was now. And he was quite happy with the now.

It’d cleaned the majority of the castle in almost no time, provided lunch, and more than anything- actually got him tea and comics just how he liked it. “This was brilliant o’ me!” he crowed as he took a much enjoyed putt, his mini-golf course having gotten plenty of use. “Now, those Cappies can be all impressed that the Dees get all that time off, plus I ain’t gotta mess with those incompetents!”

“Gotta admit, it’s freeing up my days something fierce,” Escargoon agreed. “Think I might be able to get in on some of that fancy butlerin’ of it?”

“Hah! Not a chance unless you’re the one doin’ it!” Dedede quickly disagreed, taking another putt. “With this thing around, we ain’t gonna need those Dees at all! They can make it a permanent vacation, for all I care!”

“Permanent? I dunno about that…” Escargoon muttered. “This place is altogether too quiet without those bozos around.”

“So start a band or somethin’!” Dedede replied nonchalantly.

What neither of them realized was that this conversation was being listened in on.

Meta Knight adjusted his cape. He’d never been formally invited back in, but he HAD been seen outside, and King Dedede had just kind of assumed he’d wanted his job back, and so had proceeded to order him around as normal. The fact that the King hadn’t repaired the Ebrum living quarters by now bode unwell, considering this. “...this could be…troublesome.” He bore no ill-will towards the Waddle Dees, of course. But King Dedede spending more time out here would put a bit of a dampener on current plans…

He’d have to see if anything could be done about rectifying that, somehow. Whether it be convincing him that the Dees were worth taking back after all, or finding some other way to have him spend his time…

…or perhaps he might be able to enlist some of them for his own purposes? His counterpart did mention that he had a Waddle Dee serving under him at a high level…but no. There was more than one reason that robot had to go. Now, he just needed to find out how. ‘That may require getting information to the right people…’ he mused.

A bit later that day, across the town, Great King Dedede was just learning of the situation as well, as reported by Tiff. “So they’re all takin’ a break? Good. About time he did something halfway nice for them,” he commented as they played their customary game of chess. “Maybe he might be almost as great as me, one day!”

“You really think so, sir?” Bandana Dee asked, spectating near the King.

“Well, I have to say, it’s certainly a deviation from the norm,” said her father, sitting on a chair nearby. Sir Ebrum had decided to sit in on the match- he’d professed himself no good at chess, but he insisted on spectating, and they saw no reason to say no. His wife had expressed a desire to go outside for a while yet again. While he knew the reason why, he dared not bring it up right then, instead focusing on the intensity his daughter showed on her face as she tried to puzzle out the King’s next move and thus hers. “I wonder if he might be willing to extend the same courtesy to myself one of these days…”

Tiff briefly broke her focus to look back at her father, preparing to say something- but before she could, they were interrupted by someone unexpected. “Tiff, darling!”

“Mom?” She stood up. “I thought you were out visiting Mabel or something.”

“Oh, I was going to, but zen….Fololo and Falala showed up,” she said, her voice calm. “Zey said zat ze Waddle Dees in Dedede’s castle are all fired!”

“What?!” Tiff jumped up in alarm. “Fired?! I thought they were on vacation!”

“Oh…well, ze term zey zaid zey overheard was ‘permanent vacation’, but I zink it’s ze same thing,” Lady Like shrugged. “He’ll not be able to do ‘alf of what iz needed by ‘imself with only zome robot to ‘elp him. According to zem, it doesn’t even look cute!” Tiff had professed some surprise to learn that her mother held a bit of a fascination for robotics and engineering. Remembering her skill at changing a tire, she supposed that made a vague amount of sense, but still…her mother had depths she had no clue about yet.

“Why would he send them on ‘permanent vacation?’” She wondered. “And a robot? Was all this just to replace them and not get told off about it?”

“Well, that’s a bit concerning,” Great King Dedede spoke up. “I wonder if they got somewhere ta go.”

“Well, zey were all heading for ze sea,” Lady Like informed them. “I wonder why…what do you think, dear?” she asked, turning to Tiff. “Zat sounds like a bit of a mystery, no?”

As Tiff considered the question, Great King answered first. “Huh. Well, either that’s the only place that can hold ‘em all without being in the way, or there’s something else to it significant,” Great King mused as Lady Like frowned behind his back. “If it’s the second one, then that’s on them. I won’t mess with them if it’s important. But if it’s the first one, that won’t do. Hmmm…” He paused, thinking. “Well, they’d have to agree to it, but I wonder if they would like to come to our Pop Star.”

“Wait, really?!” All but Bandana Dee asked- though the two parents asked for entirely different reasons. Sir Ebrum was the first to recover. “There’s a GREAT deal of Waddle Dees in that castle- would you really be able to accommodate them all?”

“Sure!” the ruler said easily. “Not like we don’t have tons of space around there. Couple thousand Dees aren’t much, honestly.”

“Not much?” Lady Like wore an expression of surprise. “Just ‘ow much land do you rule?”

“Well, our Dream Land’s a pretty sizable place!” he boasted. “A good deal more than here, anyway. All the green grass and blue water you could ever need- or caves here and there if you’re an underground sort. We’re plenty peaceful if there’s not something attacking us. Trust me- I’ve been to a good number of other planets, and Dream Land’s still the best.” He paused. “Ripple Star’s a good second when it’s not covered in Dark Matter, too, but that’s not here or there. Point is, there’s wilderness as far as the eye can see, generally! There’s plenty of room to explore, and make their home there.” He nodded, assured of his little explanation.

Sir Ebrum thought about it a bit. “Well, I imagine if there’s not much in the way of major civilization, then it might be a little bit basic, but…”

“Oh, no!” Bandana Dee interrupted. “I mean, it’s not all primitive. There’s town’s an’ stuff. Y’know, homes, communities, places with permanent markets, and all that. Not to mention more techy areas like Studio PPP, and the New Haltmann HQ- heck, Meta Knight’s kinda the unofficial leader of his own little city on the coast- has been for ages.”

“Wait, he’s in charge of a city?!” Tiff asked, astonished. “No way.”

“Well, it’s closer to an HQ and community living area for all the people under his command,” Bandee clarified. “Not to mention, he mostly lets it run itself. Point being, it’s not like everyone but the king just lives in huts and under the stars.” He paused. “I mean, Kirby has a house a bit out of the way of most people, sure, but he just likes his space.” He then turned to his monarch. “And the main Castle Dedede is so high up because he wants anyone who’s trying to petition him to ‘be sure about it’, not that anyone ever comes…”

“Which just proves it works!” Dedede rebutted.

Bandana Dee sighed lightly. “It’s not really that hard a climb anyway,” he noted, turning back to the family. “Point is, there’s plenty of room in Dream Land! You can live with others, or way away from them. Just don’t annoy your neighbors if you have them and respect the local rules. That’s kinda it, sure, but it works! Most folks are happy with it, and we like to help each other out if we need to.”

“...huh.” That one word from Tiff was about the only thing they could say. Sir Ebrum looked surprised, but relatively unphased.

Tiff looked thoughtful, considering what was just said and trying to imagine it for herself. It didn’t honestly sound that bad.

Lady Like looked…nervous, as she eyed her daughter carefully.

Great King Dedede and Bandana Dee weren’t sure what to make of it all. ‘It didn’t sound THAT weird, did it?’ Bandee wondered.

Meanwhile, Dedede (and secretly, Escargoon) were making the most of their robotic gopher. The evening was filled with

“Hey, robot! Bring me some more comics!” called Dedede.

“Hey, bolt-brains! I need some clean towels!” called Escargoon.

“I expect round th’ clock survella-fying!” ordered Dedede. “You patrol the whole castle and keep anyone what tries ta force their way in, out!”

On and on it went, the automaton programmed to follow its orders to its best ability, along with its standing orders to keep everything about the castle shipshape. Fortunately, its AI proved at least up to the task of delegation…somewhat.

Its primary mission didn’t help in that regard. Not that it mattered. It was a machine.

It was in the middle of recovering both of the requested items, when suddenly its sensors hitched for a moment, its data intake frozen somehow. It paused, running recovery programs, until audiovisual and the rest of its sensors were back online. According to its internal clock, it’d been in low-power mode for approximately 12.34533 minutes. It was now behind schedule, though it didn’t think much of this beyond increasing its travel speed.

It was a machine, after all.

Meta Knight looked on from behind a pillar as the robot darted off. If everything went well, this would be the first step to getting that robot out of here without King Dedede being any the wiser on who caused it. ‘ I dare not let any creation of Nightmare Enterprises roam freely in these lands. King Dedede will have to learn to rely on himself- or his Waddle Dees.’

“Hey, what took ya?” Escargoon said as he snatched the towels for his bath. Of course, the robot couldn’t respond, but he was used to that. “Next time, don’t be late!”

It got a similar response from Dedede, who threatened to bash it. Not that it felt fear or annoyance. It was a machine.

This included when its memory started to take a bit too long to search for relevant locations to map out.

This also included when it attempted to perform repairs on a section of the castle, however it miscalculated the amount of force one of its lifting arms could currently handle. There had been injury to it that, although subtle, proved disastrous in repairing the tower it’d been assigned to. Not that it cared beyond logging the need for repairs. It was a machine.

And so on it went. At first, the issues were ignorable, or at the very least, not deserving of more than words.

It was when it attempted to bring Dedede dinner and ended up bringing a book for inspection that the straw finally broke. “Okay, just wait a second!” Dedede roared, getting up from his place at the table. “This bucket o’ bolts been gettin’ worse and worse all day! ESCARGOON!”

“What, what?” the snail yelled, apparently on his way to the dining room already. “I was about to ask if you’d seen the- hey!” He quickly raced up, snatching the tome from the platter. “Why d’ya have parchment on a platter? Trying to digest something like that would give him indigestion!”

“This rust-for-brains ain’t workin’ properly no more!” Dedede whined. “Fix ‘em!”

“Well- how am I supposed to do that?” Escargoon said annoyedly. “I dunno one bit about the innards of this thing- and if I took it apart to learn, you and I both know you’d go hungry before I was done!”

“Yipe!” King Dedede did NOT like that. Growling, he turned to the machine. “You pesky piece of metal! I’mma decommission you real quick-like!” He held up his hammer…

…and that was when the robot, constantly reassessing, calculated that King Dedede was now a threat to its wellbeing- and that of its primary mission.

Lady Like had taken walks fairly often these days. She still hadn’t been sure of what she’d do with herself outside of the castle for quite some time, but she’d often found herself busy by way of either spending time with Mabel, or some of the other ladies, such as Mrs. Blustergas. Their company was refreshing, and kept her from brooding about…certain issues, if she were honest with herself. She’d still think about them, for certain. But it wouldn’t ruin her mood entirely and cause her such emotional distress. She could actually THINK about it.

Lately, she’d also had to admit to some fascination with the doodads and various machinery that came out of the Haltmann Works Factory- and to a slightly lesser extent, Gus’ garage. She had no clue how the little things inside made them work, but it was fascinating to her nonetheless. It almost reminded her of her younger days…

But this wasn’t about that. This was a bright, moon-filled night, not a sunny day in the fields. And she wasn’t with her loving husband, but rather another she associated with, though never in the manner that she was now. “Ze conversation wasn’t as…fruitful az I’d ‘oped,” she admitted as they kept behind the rocks. “I’m afraid zey merely want to take ze Waddle Dees with zem.”

“I’ve already started on an alternate plan,” Meta Knight reassured her. They’d agreed to meet near the coast, away from the mansion, for a reason, and could see the Waddle Dees congregating by the shore, as they’d had since they first came down here. “Do not worry. It will not remain there much longer.”

“Oh, good,” she sighed in relief. “I just ‘ope we can go back sooner zan later. It iz…distressing ‘aving to try zis whole ‘trickery’ zing. I don’t know if I like it…” she admitted.

“This is for the kingdom’s own good,” Meta Knight reassured, “and so-”

“Emergency!” Waddle Doo suddenly cried, running down the shoreline full tilt. To Lady Like’s surprise, he hopped upon a rock. At once, he drew his sword. “The King needs us! WADDLE DEES, TO THE RESCUE!”

At once, they moved, rushing to the castle, much to the surprise of Lady Like. “What iz zis?!”

Meta Knight calmly looked at the throng rush past. “Plan B,” he simply stated.

She had no clue what that meant, but…

The next day, the Waddle Dees were back within the castle. Apparently, the robot had gone haywire, and it’d taken a combined force of Waddle Dees and Little Kirby to beat it? Big Kirby had been there too, but according to him, he’d ‘supervised’, and little else. She wasn’t sure what to think of it…but if nothing else, she’d gotten a bit of what she wanted. The Waddle Dees were back, and her daughter…

…

…well, her daughter at least was convinced she had to keep an eye out for Little Kirby’s sake. Perhaps that would suffice.

Perhaps…

King Dedede stewed in his throne as the Waddle Dees mulled around his throne room. They’d come back, and he’d accepted them back with open arms…relatively. The little goobers were useful, that was for sure, and at least weren’t so obviously traitorous. So he supposed that, warts and all, they DID earn their keep. They were a darn sight better than the robot, at least.

But the whole venture hadn’t saved him as much money as he’d thought- especially considering that he’d shelled out a pretty penny for that defective bot. NME never did refunds, either, which rankled at him. “C’mon, I need ta think. How’m I gonna get me summa dat dere popularity junk?”

“Why not try what this book says?” Escargoon noted. He’d been busy poring over an imported one for the past while now. “Apparently there’s plenty of ways to get a city to be popular- and if a city is popular, its LEADER is bound to be popular- and rich!” He held up the cover to him: “The Art and Science of Tourism: Making Your Piddly Poorville into a Prime Hotspot!”

King Dedede paused as he considered that. “Hmm…rich an’ popular town means a rich an' popular king, huh?” That didn’t sound so bad to him.

Not at all!

Chapter 46: Hot Times

Chapter Text

With Magolor back and rested, and things calmed down, classes for the Special Seven resumed in due time. And he’d been surprised upon getting the news of their developments. “Won’t lie, I’m impressed, you lot,” he admitted once they’d all gathered out in the fields. “Part of me’d hoped you mastered basic Reinforcement by the time I got back. Another part of me didn’t, though.”

“What? Why not?” Tuff asked in surprise.

“‘Cause it was fun throwing spheres at you, of course,” he admitted shamelessly. “However, those days are over, seems like. There’s more to Reinforcement than just Guarding, but that’s one of its primary uses. And now that you’ve gotten the fundamental process of THAT down, that means we can move on to the FUN stuff!” He had a challenging grin on his face as he said that. “Now, I distinctly recall I made a promise to all of you. Anyone who learned Reinforcement gets to learn a single spell from my repertoire. Now, thanks to my impeccable memory- and perhaps writing it down after class- I recall what you all wanted to specialize in. What that means is that, Tuff and Spikehead, you’re up first. I’m gonna give the both of you a rather ‘shocking’ lesson in utilizing the Lightning element, commonly called ‘Zap’ for short.”

Tiff grimaced.

Tuff and Spikehead grinned.

“Now, the beginning of this lesson is going to be good for ALL of you, so pay attention, because I’m only going to go over this once. Now, you all know what channeling is, by now. You’ve all done it in Reinforcement. That’s the core idea of it, and most of what you learn in magic builds off of channeling. Taranza tells me he jumped me a bit and taught you all about weather resistance?”

“Sure did!” Tuff cheered. “I won’t have to wear a winter jacket ever again!”

“That you won’t,” Magolor confirmed. “It can do far more than that- though that’s a bit more complicated to comprehend at first. But, I digress. Knowing how to Zap something can be quite useful. In fact, of the base elements, Zap can be said to be the most directly powerful- though if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll deny it. Moving on,” he quickly continued, “You don’t really have to know the fundamental nature of electricity to convince the world you can wield it. But it DOES help. I’d suggest doing some research into the nature of lightning and its properties between classes.”

“Awww, you mean we gotta read books?” Tuff lamented. Tiff was about to say something- but Magolor beat him to it.

“Well, if you’re satisfied with being a mediocre mage, then no, not at all,” he said simply.

“What?! But I wanna be a GREAT mage!” Tuff shot back. Spikehead didn’t seem to have an issue with the edict.

“Then I suggest you get comfortable with sitting down with a good book and doing proper research,” Magolor said sternly. “It’s foolish to try to build from scratch what others have already prepared a comprehensive blueprint for. Magic can make many wondrous things happen, make no mistake. But understanding how the world does it naturally makes wresting control of it from the world all the easier.”

“...okay…” he relented.

“Hey, it probably won’t be SO bad,” Spikehead tried to comfort. “I’ll be with ya, too!”

Tuff nodded. “Guess if maybe I try to think of it like a challenge or somethin…”

“If you must, then by all means.” He turned towards the others. “That goes for you all, too. Magic is better done with active practice, that’s for certain. But having a jumping off point in cases like this will absolutely help. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t get a little something going for you now!”

“Awesome!” cheered Spikehead. “I kinda can make little sparks come out, and I can kinda sorta shock people if I REALLY try at it…”

“But you can’t get anything major out of it, can you?” Magolor chuckled. “Again, this is what research is for. At any rate, I’ll be teaching the two of you a basic Zap spell, one that’s so simple that once you get it down, it’ll be second nature. It’s called Plasma Needle, and it forms the basis for a number of Zap techniques. Now, do you know what kinetic energy is?” They both shook their heads no. “Then sit down, it’s time for a science lesson. In the meantime,” he said, turning back to the others, “I want the lot of you to hit the books. There’s a bookstore around here, last I checked. I suggest you all get something related to your school focus. So! Gengu, anything about toy modeling. Kawasaki, ingredient books or recipe books if you don’t already have any (which wouldn’t surprise me). Mabel, if you’re still doing Illusionism?” He didn’t say outright, but he’d heard word of her recent career change. However, she nodded. “Right, then, get a magic trick book, or something involving mirages, hallucinations, that sort of thing. Honey? Probably something on physics. Trust me on this one, even if you won’t understand most of it. Tiff…” he paused, considering. “...nothing right now. I’d suggest you take a visit to Taranza first. Warding is unique, so you’ll be getting more one on one time. But in the meantime, unless you want a lesson yourselves, shoo. This might get a bit…sting-y.” He grinned, and Tiff gave her brother a pitying smile before leaving him to his fate.

And so the day went, Tiff coming back to retrieve her brother around the usual time class ended after having a brief talk with Taranza, who promised her some spare time soon to learn more about Advanced Reinforcement.

Her brother…looked a little frazzled, to say the least. But he spoke no negatives about the lesson, just saying that it was ‘way different than I thought’.

The second day went much as the first, only it was Honey, Gengu and Kawasaki getting training. Honey because her lesson would be fairly quick. “It’ll take you a while to get good enough before you can do the really neat stuff safely,” he’d admitted, “But until then I’ll tell you how to make basic flying easier on you.” And Gengu and Kawasaki because, well. “Since one of you wants it, and the other one desperately NEEDS it.”

The third day, however, proved different. “Alright, you lot. Today we’re going to be taking a little breather before I get around to the other half of you, and studying a very neat little spell I like to call-”

Suddenly, he looked behind them, scowling. “HEY! This isn’t for spectators! Shoo!”

That caused the students to look behind themselves in shock, to see…well, what looked to be a number of grey skinned beings with…huh. Magolor had to admit, he was caught a bit off guard. ‘Well, those are as tacky vacation shirts as I’ve ever seen.’ Before he could lambast them any further, however, a number of flashing lights went off- camera flashes, in particular, causing everyone to yelp as the flashes briefly blinded them.

By the time they’d managed to recover, the troublemakers had run off. Tiff had made to pursue briefly, but she stopped, looking at something on the ground. “Hey, look at this.” She held the item up to show that it looked like…a brochure. “I…think those were-”

“Tourists! In THIS hick town!” Magolor said with disbelief as he watched a number of them walk about below in the town square, taking shelter inside his now flying ship. They could photograph all they wanted from down there. That they ALL had on the tacky shirts honestly was probably one of the worst parts of it, though. “Why would they bother?”

“Why else?” Susie answered next to him, eyeballing the tour bus with the obvious insignia via remote camera. “No doubt the local King is trying to find a new revenue stream- regardless of how disruptive it’d be to the current local economy.” She’d been accosted earlier in the day, and while she was more than happy to give a guided tour to potential customers, things had gone sour after one of them had expressed a desire to go into her more restricted areas. She’d refused handily, and they’d quickly gotten bored enough to want to try their hands at ‘making their own gifts’, at least, according to her hacked together translator. Before THAT had the potential to go horribly, she’d forcibly kicked them out of her factory, to their grumbling, and after shutting down the factory for the day, she’d sought refuge elsewhere to prevent complaining- or worse. “Normally, I don’t mind promoting my wares, but there’s something to be said for workplace safety AND respect.”

“You’re not wrong,” Taranza’s voice came as the door from the personal rooms opened. “I had to cancel classes because a throng of visitors more or less tried to storm the mansion to get in and touch EVERYTHING. An absolute MESS, really!”

The trio stewed in their discontent for a moment, before Magolor spoke up. “...I should’ve cast a sleeping spell.”

“Too many,” Taranza dismissed. “You wouldn’t have snared them all. No, what was needed was something to properly round them up. Like a massive net,” he grumbled.

“Ha! Cages wouldn’t be too hard to manufacture, but you’d need to corral them,” Susie added on laughingly. “Perhaps some adjustable shepherding staffs…ones with a stunning feature.”

“Oh, or all three!” Magolor finished off, causing the trio to laugh uproariously at the thought. “Hohohohoh- oh!” Magolor paused briefly, looking to his outside feed again. “Seems like they’ve headed off on whatever part of the tour doesn’t involve the town.”

“Thank goodness,” Susie sighed. “Mind landing?”

They did so to find the town in a rather disheveled state. Garbage was strewn everywhere, and it seemed like the visitors rather enjoyed leaving their mark artistically- graffiti in the form of marker drawings and other etchings were everywhere. “Ugh. Terrible.”

“You’re telling me,” Tiff said as she walked up to them, visibly annoyed. “They’ve completely trashed this place!”

“They’re interrupting everyone’s lives with little to show for it,” Susie admitted, looking around. “Tourism isn’t something you just dive into. You need to have comprehensive plans for it. There’s a reason why larger cities have entire districts dedicated to entertainment and tourism as a business- trying to attract individuals willy-nilly like this is bound to end in disaster.”

“Escargoon said he read about it in a book,” Tiff grumbled.

“Tch. That’d explain it,” Susie responded. “Might I ask if you have plans to clean this up?”

Tiff took another look towards the garbage strewn everywhere. “We’ll all have to pitch in.”

“Lemme help, then,” came a voice she was much gratified to hear. “Me and the Dees need something to do.”

“Great King Dedede! Where’ve you been all day?” she asked as the much more regal monarch walked up, a small battalion of Dees behind him, led by Bandana Dee.

“Soon as we saw the tour bus roll in, me, Kirby, and Bandee realized what was going on. We figured it better we lay low in the mansion to avoid any confusion. Meta Knight- ours, I mean- is around inside, too.”

“Yeah, but now we can stretch our legs and help out a little!” Bandee assured. “Cappy Town’s a nice place. It doesn’t deserve to get junked up like this.”

“Aw. Well, thanks a ton. We could really use the help! But…” she paused, looking around. “That brings up a good point. Where’s Big Kirby? I saw Tuff and Little Kirby board the bus- probably to keep an eye on things, is my guess, but as for yours…”

“He’s keeping an eye on things with Daroach’s help,” Bandee explained. “He’s keeping out of sight for the same reason, though if he’s spotted we have a pretty easy excuse. But, let’s worry about that later.” Bandee made a show of rolling his arms. “Let’s get this place cleaned up!”

Fortunately, thanks to magical assistance and all the extra hands, it didn’t take long at all. “Place most of it out to the back of the factory,” Susie requested. “Considering the lot of this looks organic, I can likely either recycle the majority of it or at least use it for furnace fuel.”

“You heard the lady!” Great King ordered. “Let’s get it movin’!” With that, the King and assistant led the way.

“I hope we don’t have to put up with them for long…” Tiff muttered.

King Dedede, in truth, had been…well, he was rather eager to make a bit more money now than before. Why? Simple.

Those dirty rats from the Star Allies, that’s why. “Still can’t believe they had the gall ta swipe my ill-gotten gains!” he grumbled as he sat down on the throne later that evening. And during the Dee’s time off, no less! He’d have tried to get it back, but he already knew he was behind in the PR game. Hence, this! Problem being the tourists had been…well, dismissive, to say the least. They wanted excitement! Danger! Thrills!

Well, he’d find a way to give that. “Hey!” He rang up the only person he knew what could help.

“Well, well!” The Sales Guy’s face was as inscrutably amused as ever. “What’s shakin’, D-Man? Quite the coincidence- we were just about to reach out to you!”

That got his attention. “Ya were, huh?”

“Yup! Wanted to let you know that we’re just about done with our Monstrous Monster Renovations!” Dedede perked up at that. “We wanted to let you know, and give you an opportunity to take one for a little test run. At a reduced rate, of course!”

“Well, FINALLY!” King Dedede shouted in excitement. “And ya got good timin’, too! I need me somethin’ that’ll liven up these tourists’ trip!”

“Right, right, the tourism thing!” the salesman realized. “Not to worry- our latest and greatest has your back!”

While initially they were excited, the palm-sized sphere that was sent to them made them look on in confusion as they held it. “What’s this little marble s’pose to be?” Dedede asked in annoyed confusion.

“Why, this little fellow is called Flame Feeder EX! A superhot variant of one of our more recent developments!” The Sales Guy grinned wickedly. This would be the perfect test... “It’s real simple to use. Allow me to explain.”

Big Kirby, for his part, hadn’t been sure what to think about the newcomers. He, for all his friendliness and general joy of life, didn’t actually recall people ever coming to Dream Land just to gawk. It was a newish experience. Great King Dedede was the one who’d puzzled it out first- after all, he had a whole resort that relied on tourism.

That said, a lookalike of King Dedede wouldn’t be very easy to explain away, and so he’d stayed in. In solidarity, Bandee and Kirby had also stuck themselves inside. It wasn’t like he’d ever refuse a chance at a good long sleep, anywho. Heck, even Meta Knight, who’d only recently come back, had agreed that if he and his counterpart were spotted at the same time, it’d just cause more problems.

Fortunately, Daroach had been good with letting them know when the tour bus was out, and when it was coming back in, allowing for everyone to get some fresh air. Though it’d sounded like things weren’t great that first day according to Tuff that evening. Tiff was surprisingly quiet about it, though clearly was annoyed- but he couldn’t help but notice Magolor snickering to himself now and again when he’d helped clean up, looking towards the bus. That had been enough to convince him that he had something planned, though the ‘what’ was unsure. Magolor’s ship was locked off for the night, and Kirby knew full well that Magolor slept like the dead. Kinda like him, really.

That only really left one option- especially when, to his shock the next day, he learned from one of the Cappies that King Dedede had found her early the next morning as she was on her way to class, asking her to be the tour guide. Why she’d agreed, he wasn’t sure. Probably to try and keep everyone safe from Dedede, or maybe try to bore them away, who knew. Nonetheless, he suspected something was up, which meant…

“Not to worry, my friend,” Daroach said as their flight path took them over the forest later that day. He’d fortunately agreed in short order to help out. “I’m sure that whatever’s going on won’t be too troublesome.” The sun was just about to set, and the bus had only left the forest a bit ago, clearly heading for the volcano. They set course for the same.

“Hopefully,” Kirby admitted. “I think things will be okay. I just can’t shake my worry…maybe if I had some food.” He turned to Daroach. You wouldn’t happen to have any melons or watermelons aboard, would you? Lil’ Me’s given me an appreciation for them.”

To his surprise, they did. They’d never outmatch Maxim Tomatoes, in his humble opinion, but they were still plenty good!

Not that it mattered once they saw the volcano start shooting out sparks. “Whoa! What the-” For a moment, he calmed down. It seemed like it was just fireworks.

At least, until the big one came out- a massive ‘firework’ bursting into physical form above the volcano’s opening. “Whaaaa?!”

Daroach grimaced. “Oh, dear. That doesn’t look pleasant.”

The creature was giant, a lava-made, bulbous headed thing that almost looked like a molten brain. It had four glowing, unblinking eyes in the center and just as many tendril arms, the ends burning with malevolent flame. Almost immediately, the creature let out an inhuman roar and began lashing the volcano rim dangerously, causing the small figures on the rim they could see to panic and flee for safety.

Kirby looked to Daroach instantly. No words were needed.

“On it!” At once, he snatched up Kirby in his grasp and made for the door.

As they quickly swooped down, they saw a flash of light as Little Kirby transformed… “Fire Kirby? Not my first recommendation…” Daroach muttered.

Big Kirby was too focused on the monster to critique the choice. “It’s pretty high up- I’d need a Warp Star-”

“Kabu!” He heard as they closed in, and his attention turned to Tiff, who had her hands clasped in what he’d almost call a prayer or pleading motion as she looked off in the direction of the forest. “Send the Warp Star!”

It was only moments before he saw a twinkle coming from out of the forest at high speed. ‘So THAT’S how she does it,’ he thought as he pulled up to them. ‘Kinda like she said, she can call it, but it’s not a direct summon, it’s a request.’ But, that’d have to wait. “Hey!” he called, causing both twins to look over to him and Daroach. “Don’t have another one of those, do you?” he asked.

“Oh! Big Kirby! Sorry, but that’s the only one,” she said quickly as Little Kirby mounted the Warp Star with only a bit of stumbling and took off. “Do you think you can help?”

“Yeah,” he said quickly, turning to Daroach. “Ice us!”

“Bang!” With a twirl of the cane, Daroach fired a single large icicle into Kirby’s waiting mouth. Quickly swallowing it, he flashed into Ice Kirby. “Now, where’s the littl- oh.”

Little Kirby had already taken off, attempting to, quite literally, fight fire with fire. The streams that he let loose only seemed to be absorbed by the creature, instead of overpowering him. “I can’t say that’s entirely surprising…” he muttered.

They had little time to talk, however- a torrent of fireballs were suddenly released from the creature’s body towards him- and it only took a couple before he was hit, knocking him flush off of the Warp Star, and resulting in him smacking into a volcano wall below the rim, collapsing onto an outcropping. Little Kirby struggled to get up- it was clear that attack had hit hard.

Tiff’s hands flew to her mouth in horror. Tuff blanched, now looking to the beast himself.

“Dangit!” Big Kirby quickly jumped forwards as the creature lowered itself to finish the job. “I’ll keep it distracted! You get him up, Daroach!”

“Good luck!” he said as he slipped down.

The creature’s tentacles indeed had begun to slip down towards the fallen Star Warrior- but that also put them in range of Kirby himself. A quick shot of Ice Breath got its attention, and the beast roared, turning to Big Kirby. He couldn’t help but mentally smirk. ‘Limited forward and back movement, big lava monster not wanting to stay near me…Wow, this feels familiar.’

The creature immediately tried to slam one of its tentacles down on the puffball- who nimbly dodged, the strands of fire coming from it not proving an obstacle as Kirby quickly tumbled into a ball- an ice covered ball. At once he seemed to roll over one of the tentacles, freezing it instantly.

The limb shattered to the gasps of the kids, causing the beast to give a rumbling roar in anger. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Daroach fly back up with Little Kirby, doing his best to jostle him awake. It seemed like it was working, he was shaking his head- but that would have to wait a bit longer.

The beast was for sure focused on HIM, now, and with the remaining three tentacles it started slinging down fireballs. Kirby kicked off, skating through the bombardment like a professional, weaving, dodging, even performing a spin at one point when he had to jump a close explosion.

Now all he had to do was wait for it to get agitated…

“No way!” Tuff said in shock as he saw Big Kirby do his best impression of a figure skater. “I didn’t know Ice Kirby could just…skate!”

“I didn’t think he could turn himself into an ice ball. He’s the experienced one for a reason,” Tiff said dryly, before turning her attention back to her Kirby. “Are you feeling alright? That was a rough bump…”

“Mmm…poyo!” he quickly nodded, determined.

“Excellent, kid,” Daroach said jovially. “Because it seems like you might be needed to put this guy on ice permanently. Big you doesn’t have the transportation needed, so you need to get right back on that star and do what you do best. Only this time, instead of trying a hot hand…” he twirled his wand again. “How about a cold shoulder?”

Little Kirby’s eyes twinkled as the Warp Star came back up- and they all heard a massive roar come from the creature again.

Big Kirby had just taken ANOTHER tentacle off via a targeted Ice Breath- and now, it seemed to be trying to rise higher into the air. “That’s your cue, kiddo!” Daroach cheered.

“PoYO!” Kirby nodded, hopped back on the Warp Star, and flew up, up, and away to assist.

Tiff smiled at his determination…before something ringed up in her head, and she turned to Daroach. “Wait a minute…you can fly, AND you’re skilled in Ice Magic. What are you doing staying down here?”

Daroach grinned. “A good performer knows when to let the other acts shine.”

Unbeknownst to either of them, both siblings thought the exact same thing at that moment. ‘So you’re feeling lazy, huh?’

Mind, Daroach got that sense from the identical flat looks they both gave him. How he knew they were identical even with Tuff’s hair covering his eyes?

He just knew.

As soon as Little Kirby was able to take to the air again, this time Ice’d up, the battle proved to be over in short order. Little Kirby’s Ice Breath and mobility was easily able to carry the rest of the day, as he quickly froze over the wounded monster top to bottom, much to the cheering of both friends and guests.

Big Kirby wasn’t sure that the total inhaling and spit out back at what were clearly the hiding forms of Dedede and Escargoon were necessary, but he decided to not say anything about it. The kid could use some catharsis. If nothing else, the King would probably be put off of any tricks for a bit…

‘And I might be able to use that time to check up on things back home.’ He was starting to feel a touch homesick, and thought he could use a bit of a breather.

Especially after he’d learned that Magolor had magically redesigned the tour bus to be a four-wheeled advertisem*nt for ‘Magolor’s Magical Amusem*nt Parks’.

Chapter 47: Tense Relaxation

Chapter Text

Come the following days of that debacle, it seemed like things were going to continue in that vein, much to the Allies’ annoyance.

The first issue?

After the issue with the tourist had come his attempt at a ‘make good’ that involved sending what had been described as ‘good fortune dolls’ to everyone in Cappy Town. The dolls were far from the nicest looking, and the fact that the NME alert from Susie had gone off spoke of their no-goodness. “They’re spell transmitter-/slash-receivers,” Susie had said to the Allies, minus Big Kirby, and plus Tiff and Tuff at Great King’s mansion. “Upon checking the data- and scanning one I’ve ‘acquired’, it’s clearly meant to carry spells beyond effective distance, if I’m understanding what you’ve informed me about the process, Magolor.”

Magolor nodded to himself. “Hmm. I have to admit, that’s curious. What’s he trying to gain from this?”

“Some sort of quick way to a positive reputation, I’m sure,” Taranza groused. “I’d hope we don’t have to put up with this nonsense.”

“No kidding,” Great King Dedede agreed. “We should just tell everyone and smash the things up.”

“That would lead to the same issue that yet stymies us,” Winged Meta Knight noted. “They’d become suspicious about how we were aware of their plot. They’ve yet to use their expanded transporter capabilities to their fullest. They’re waiting for something. That, or still preparing.”

Everyone gathered looked around in concern at the reminder of the truth. That refined data that Susie had identified so long ago- a program for efficient mass transport of monsters, as opposed to the one or two at a time that the transporter had used before. Why it hadn’t been activated yet was anyone’s guess, but it was clear the reason.

NME was preparing a flat out land invasion force, using that as their insertion point. The question was ‘when’.

“...fine. So what do we do in the meantime?” Tiff asked, incensed. “We can’t just let everyone be bamboozled by this!”

“Oh, but we can!” Magolor said cheerily.

“What?!” both she and Taranza responded in shock. “Why?!”

“Well, because knowing your king, it’s bound to be amusing in a pathetic sort of way,” the magician said shamelessly. “And more importantly, it’ll let us know how dire the situation is, depending on what it is he’s trying to send through. If it’s something like ‘destroy Kirby’, for example, we’ll need to shut that down pronto. On the other hand, if it’s just something like ‘you now have a fancy for the latest doodad I’m selling’ then that’s less concerning. I want to figure out what his endgame is.”

Tiff didn’t like it, but the rest of them agreed to at least let it play out- after the former got some assurance from both Taranza and Magolor that they’d make sure to end the problem after their ‘investigation. They’d of course suggested that no one else expose themselves to the doll.

The first night was both expected, and yet not, and they all gathered the next morning for the news. “I have to admit, I knew your Dedede had a capacity for magic,” Taranza started, “but I wasn’t expecting him to start outright casting subliminal control spells. Consider me reluctantly impressed.”

“Subliminal control?” Tuff asked in curiosity. Any spellwork tended to do that for him nowadays.

“Yes- the art of casting spells that dig into your subconscious, as opposed to overt control. It’s somewhat like hypnosis- makes you act according to another’s will, but you’d never know, because you think it’s your own decision!” Taranza’s face was an excited one, hands gesturing quickly. “A most fascinating sub-branch of Metamorphic magic to me, and the fact that aural magic is- well, I have to wonder how he managed, considering the…” and there he paused, blinking twice, before looking away. “I- nevermind. The point is, it seems to be just as I figured- a foolish attempt at getting more popular. Fortunately, the spell is ultimately a simple one, easy to break. The problem with subliminal spells is that if they’re not constantly reinforced, they wear off over time- sooner if the individual realizes they’re being ensorcelled and thus has the sense of mind to fight against the foreign influence. Considering the type of receiver they are, I can engage a counterspell whenever I please that’ll end the issue even faster.”

“Oh!” Tiff was pleased at that, smiling. “Then this problem’s solved already!”

“Mostly,” he admitted. “However…it’s exactly BECAUSE such a spell needs to be reinforced over quite some time that makes me wonder. What’s the endgame of him wanting this?” He looked down at her. “I’d like to extend this for at least another day or two. If it gets too dire, I’ll snap everyone out of it. Not to mention…” he looked over the doll with further curiosity. “There’s something about it I’ve yet to decipher…”

“Hm?” the siblings weren’t expecting that. “What’s that?”

“There’s…something about it,” he tried to explain. “I get a sense from it that something’s trying to ‘go back’, is the best way I can put it. I’m not certain what, yet, but I want to unravel this mystery,” he admitted.

The second night had been the surprising demand of, not to like him, perse, but to put spare change in the doll. “Is he planning to steal everyone’s money?” Taranza wondered, but requested one more night. As it was all still technically within reach, no one complained.

The third night, however, was the night everything became clear, once the demands became to ‘put all money into the Dedede dolls and trust him to keep it safe’. And while some were exasperated, others…

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of this myself,” Susie admitted as she looked upon the rustically built (to her, at least) yet first of its kind Triple D Bank. “This is brilliance for a simplistic town like this- one still growing and thus will have a lot of individuals with money to store.” Indeed, a massive number of Cappies, ensorcelled by the spell, had come to deposit their money. “I hate to do so, but I have to applaud his plan on this one.”

“If Kirby were here, he wouldn’t really get it,” Taranza noted. The pink puff had gone back home to check on things by himself, but he’d promised that he’d be back sooner than later. “But, I suppose the fun must end now- and for more than one reason. Really,” he admitted as he raised his six hands, “It’s for his own good.”

“Finally,” Tiff groused.

The issue had been resolved with a wave of several fingers and a wide, etherical net that seemed to drape over the Cappies gathered- it sunk in, and the initial depositing and cheering had quickly turned to frustration and reclamation. When King Dedede had made to confront them about interfering, he’d resolved the argument in moments:

“I’d suggest you ask the maker about any defects this doll might have.” THAT had gotten his attention.

Two days later, all the dolls had been either junked or taken by Dedede himself to trash.

The second issue had been simpler to resolve, but almost worse in consequence. It was approaching the anniversary of Little Kirby arriving in Popstar, according to the kids. The Star Allies had mostly agreed to stay out of the preparations- they knew their Kirby well, but this Kirby clearly had his own likes and dislikes, and their knowledge wouldn’t be nearly as useful. Not to mention, considering that this was very much for the village more than anything, Great King Dedede deemed it more respectful to steer clear of it.

According to them, it ended up being for the better- though Tokkori had inadvertently nearly sent the whole thing off course thanks to some careless wording. Fortunately Tiff managed to…’convince’ him to rectify the situation. According to Tuff, she’d done so by ‘calmly’ in his own words, ‘punch the ground into a grave! It was EPIC!’ and assure the bird that the grave would be for him if he didn’t find Little Kirby. (According to Tiff, SHE claimed that he’d threaten to ‘hand-fry’ him. Magolor was proud of the innovative threats. Bandee, less so.)

Ultimately, a last-second decision by the local king to attempt to sabotage the anniversary with a booby-trapped cake was short-circuited by Great King Dedede, who’d warned him in no uncertain terms that any such attempts would end in pain. He’d gone ahead and tried to blow him up with his hidden beast in the massive cake- only to be surprised and disheartened when Great King and Bandee made short work of him. It was, ultimately, a minor concern, and the day ended peacefully.

It wasn’t the only one.

Back on Pop Star Prime:

‘Boy, this place never gets old’ . Even if he wasn’t too far from Susie’s Pop Star headquarters, HIS Pop Star…it just looked brighter. Greener.

Home. Kirby lifted another Maxim Tomato to his mouth. Still delicious.

“Heeheehee…I’m glad you’re still doing alright, Kirbs.” Adeleine, the painter sat down next to him, eating a sandwich of her own. Natural, not painted, apparently. “It’s been weird staying around here knowing you’re off in another Pop Star.” She was wearing her usual outfit, but with the addition of an apron over her usual green smock, holding a number of different pencils, paints, paint brushes, and art tools. On her hat was a small badge resembling a trio of hearts- the symbol of her official status on Ripple Star.

A pink-hair fairy was quick to alight on her shoulder, though her bright eyes were focused squarely on him. “But at least everything’s going well, right? Nothing’s gotten TOO dangerous over there, right?” Ribbon asked worriedly.

“No,” Kirby said, smiling. Ribbon was always like that, though certainly not because she was scared- she was just worried for them and willing to jump into the fray if she needed. “Honestly, we suspect things might be picking up soon, but for now, it’s alright. Are things over here okay?”

Adeleine grinned. “Mostly. No one’s causing any major issues, though…let’s see…oh, the Meta-Knights have been going around here and there. Saw the Halberd coming this way. I asked Meta Knight himself when he came through a while back with Susie, but neither of them would say exactly what was going on.”

Ah. He had an idea of what was going on there. “That’s okay. Anything else?”

“Well…” She looked around concernedly, as though making sure no one was listening in before she spoke in a lower voice. “You-Know-Who’s been acting up around Grape Gardens. Apparently trying to do a lot of cloud-shaping, you could say.”

Kirby sighed, smiling. “Of course. That sounds like him. He’s not causing too much trouble, is he?”

“Nothing that can’t be changed back so far,” Adeleine assured him. “Honestly, he’s been pretty restrained, all things considered. Wonder why.”

“Hmmm…” Another worry onto the pile.

However, Ribbon frowned, spotting it. “Are you SURE you’re okay?”

“...I guess I AM a little concerned about the other Pop Star,” he admitted. “We’ve handled everything so far, and the locals…well, SOME of the locals are really helpful, but still. I think we’ve got a handle on things over there, but I’m still a bit worried that we haven’t done everything we could. But, I guess I can think over that later. What about you two?”

Adeleine shrugged slightly, jostling Ribbon a touch, though she didn’t complain. “Aside from the usual suspects, things have been fine. I’ve mostly been working on personal paintings. We can hop over if you really need help.”

Ribbon nodded almost eagerly. “Queen Ripple said we can stay ‘for as long as the threat persists’, but she’s always really lax about time frames.

“Hm…” Kirby thought about it. They’d be the first to admit they weren’t the strongest duo around, but their painting magic could help in a ton of other ways, and even then they weren’t exactly lousy in a fight these days. Buuuut… “Nah, maybe not right now. Soon, maybe, but not now. If M- he starts to act a bit more out of it, I hope you can come and get me.”

“Of course! But, hey, I doubt you wanted to just talk about Star Allies junk. I brought roast!” she tempted, and Kirby’s mouth watered. “You can tell me more about everyone you’ve met over there!”

He hadn’t had a good roast in aaaaaages… “Okay! So, one of the locals is this fortune-teller…”

After a time of conversation and a LOT of roast (some of it quick painted after Kirby got an appetite for it) he took his leave. A quick Warp Star flight after that delicious lunch, and he found himself in Coo’s forest. It’d been a bit since he’d been there…

“Oi! Well, ‘ello there, been a tick, huh?” Rick greeted after a bit of searching for the trio. “How’s tricks? Heard you’d been on an adventure again lately. That all wrapped up?”

“No, just visiting back home,“ Kirby corrected. “It’s been a while! A bunch of the other Allies have it handled for now, though.”

“Well, glad to have ya ‘round!” Rick cheered. “C’mon. Coo’s not far, we been playin’ a couple games.”

“What games?” Kirby asked in surprise.

“Stackers!” the hamster responded gamely. Kirby grew interested- he hadn’t played that in a while. After a few rounds, it was clear he hadn’t missed a beat, though after they cleaned up, the topic wasn’t what he was expecting. “Oi, you doin’ alright? Seems like you got a bit of nerves.”

“Oh, you can tell?” Kirby asked, not unkindly. “I am! I’m really glad to be back- I missed this place! Though the other Pop Star’s okay, too. It’s nice and green over there, same as here. You all would like it. I’m pretty sure there’s other versions of you all there, too- that’d be neat!”

“Oh, would you want us to follow you back?” Coo asked. “I’m sure we could help in some manner. And seeing how our counterparts are compared to us is…well, I can’t say I’m not interested!”

“Yeah, but I want people to keep an eye on the place aside from the Mages, Adeleine, and Ribbon,” Kirby explained. “And you three are the best forest protectors I know!”

“Awww…though lettin’ Whispy hear that might not be a good idea,” Rick chuckled.

“Mmmm…how’s Taranza?” Kine asked. “He seemed…sad, before.”

“Oh, he’s doing great!” Kirby said, grinning. “He was sad earlier, yeah, but Bandee said he talked to him, and one of the locals, and since then, he’s been feeling a lot better. Lately he’s been teaching a bunch of kids about alllll sorts of things, so he’s got a lot to do. It takes up a bunch of his time, but he’s happy about it!”

“Aha…that’s good to hear,” Coo noted. “The poor soul was just not quite all present in spirit last we talked to him. Glad to hear he’s recovered!”

“Right, but back ta you,” Rick pressed.

Kirby smiled shyly. “Sorry…I was just thinking…” his smile left, replaced with a pensive frown. “I never thought I’d be dealing with Nightmare ever again. Considering how badly he’s left off the other Pop Star, I think I’m really glad for Dedede’s decision now. If we hadn’t gotten him when we did, who knows what might’ve happened…”

“Kirbs, you think can take this Other Nightmare down?” Rick asked, concernedly, before yawning. “I ain’t doubtin’ you or anything…”

“No, no!” Kirby reassured them quickly. “I’ve had a lotta time to think this over, and we have plans and stuff! I know I can beat him again! But it’s still a bit weird to think about sometimes…” He never actually liked being too serious. If he had his way, he’d prefer to eat, sleep, and have fun with his friends. But with so many threats…well, things just turned out that way. It wasn’t a bad thing, though. He’d met a ton of friends this way, despite how things might have started out.

“Well, if ya got stuff planned out, no need to stress yourself, yeah?” Rick noted, smiling good-naturedly at him, before tossing the puff an apple. “Worry ‘bout the now and when you get back, then you worry about kickin’ Nightmare’s tail again. With us, if’n ya need to!”

Kirby smiled. “Yeah…I guess you’re right!” No matter what happened, his friends had his back, and that he was sure of. He’d pop back home, maybe pick up one or two things and go back to do the hero thing again.

…definitely had to bring a couple of Maxim Tomatoes. He REALLY missed those.

‘Oh, and a few extra rides, just in case. Not having a Warp Star to call on is torture…’

Chapter 48: Snack Showdown

Chapter Text

The night was clear, and the moon was bright that night in Cappy Town- perfect for stargazing, a late night up, or any other number of well-meaning activities.

Unfortunately, what was occuring this night wasn’t exactly ‘well-meaning’. Not that the perpetrators meant any particular harm by it, but…well, needs must, sometimes, and the both of them had realized they were a bit at the end of their rope in this situation, and so a mutual pact had formed out of the throes of despair and desperation. Not that it helped any under the light of justice. “Really, Gengu?!” Tiff said disappointedly as she lowered the high powered flashlight away from his and the grocery store clerk Tuggle’s eyes. “I’d hoped to catch the litterbugs that’d been making this field a trash heap, but I expected better out of you! We’re classmates, for crying out loud!”

“I know, I know! And I’m sorry!” Gengu pleaded.

“We both are!” Tuggle insisted. They’d chosen an out of the way corner of the land just because they knew that otherwise would’ve gotten found out even faster- but here they were. “We didn’t have much in th’ way of options!”

She sighed, walking up to the massive junk heap. It had to be at least three, four times her height and maybe as wide. “Why not just take it to the junkyard? That’s what it’s THERE for!”

“ ‘Cause we didn’t want anyone to find out what we were dumpin’!” Tuggle exclaimed.

“Yeah, Susie and a buncha other folk like ta root around in it nowadays- that whole ‘recyclin’ thing!” Gengu noted. “That’s all well an’ good, but if they keep at it, then most our customers might just think all we sell is junk…”

“...wait, this is all merchandise and stuff from both of your stores?” Tiff asked in surprise as she took a closer look. “Comics, minifigures, chocolates…most of this looks just fine. Why throw this away?”

“No one’s buying,” Gengu admitted, shrugging. “Can’t even get folks interested!”

“Yeah, no one wants single chocolate balls. Had to get rid of all the old stock!” Tuggle agreed.

“Hmmm…” she supposed she couldn’t fault them for THAT much, at least. No sense in keeping stuff on the shelves that no one’s buying. Still… “Even so, this is kind of a waste, don’t you think?”

“Oh, for sure,” Tuggle conceded. “Spent a decent amount getting all those set up, but unless you got an idea for how to convince folks to buy hollow chocolates and history figurines, we’re stuck!”

Tiff paused…and then brightened. “Actually, I think I have an idea…”

“So what’s this all about?” Susie asked a few days later, having stepped out of her factory for a quick (personal) supply run at the grocery store. She could make many things, but even she could be struck by the impulse to ‘just buy it’ in several regards. What she wasn’t expecting to see was a number of kids crowding around in various places, all of them holding what appeared to be figurines with excitement. In the store where she was, Tuff and his little cohorts, smaller Kirby included, seemed to be marveling at their latest acquisitions.

“Why, it’s the latest craze!” Gengu said cheerfully, even as he rung up more customers of the product. “For collectors and fans o’ sweets! Candy with a toy smack inside!”

“Ah, you’ve invented capsule candy on this planet?” she realized. “A common, and always popular treat given to youths, provided it’s not barred from consumption for choking hazards,” she mused, before nodding in approval. “Not bad. Not bad at all.”

The two looked at each other in vague surprise, before smiling in resigned humor. “Yeah, guess with all your fancy business skill, this ain’t that impressive, huh?” Tuggle asked, shrugging.

“Well, for-” she paused, coughing a bit and clearing her throat. “Nnnno, what I mean to say is, you came up with the concept without, as far as I could tell, any extraplanetary help. It’s…laudable, to do so on your own, as it’s a persistently welcome item amongst civilizations with trade and luxury goods.” She looked back at the pile. “In fact…they seem to be selling rather quickly.”

“Sure are!” Tuggle agreed. “We can hardly keep ‘em in stock!” he boasted.

"I see…" Susie leaned forward, her expertise and experience sensing an opportunity. "Then you're saying you may be having some issues with production?" Her eyes grew intense, and the two leaned back, neither Gengu nor Tuggle being sure how to respond.

Not that they didn’t try. “Uhhh…well, maybe? I mean, we got a good few for now…”

It was just then that a screeching of tires were heard, and before she could make any statements, the local King Dedede quickly barged in. “Outta my way, kiddies!” he yelled, ignoring her entirely to storm towards the group. At once they broke apart, dodging in every direction (up included for Honey) to clear the way lest the corpulent king bowl them over. It was clear where his focus was, as he snatched up one of the candy capsules himself. “Here they are! Now let’s see inside!” He began to fiddle with the box-

“-you’re gonna have to pay for it first, your majesty,” Gengu said, fixing his king with a disapproving frown. “Them’s the rules.”

“Aw, I can put it on a tab or somethin’, can’t I?” he dismissed.

“Your credit’s no good here, your majesty,” he refuted firmly. “Your ‘I.O.Us’ always end up ‘B.A.D.’”

‘Clever,’ Susie idly thought as she observed the exchange. King Dedede, to her mild surprise, was quickly coerced into paying properly; well overpaid, in fact. He seemed delighted…only to be dismayed when he was informed by Tuff that the ‘trooper’ he’d gotten was of common stock. From there, Tuff had opened another one of his, to reveal it was…huh. ‘That resembles Meta Knight. And by extension, Kirby. Fascinating…’ Perhaps she should look more into this on her own time…if she had any to spare. The children ooohed and ahhed about it, presuming it was a really rare ‘Star Warrior’, which she again filed away for future investigation. ‘This place IS only just barely insulated from a wartime situation…I wonder…’

She continued to watch as King Dedede attempted to force Tuff to hand it over, only for him to taunt the King about it. She had to admit, the way the kids showed a complete lack of fear was amusing. Even when he called forth the guards to (attempt to) restrict the children’s movements, she could tell by the look on their faces that they were less intimidated and more mildly annoyed. Magolor must have been teaching them well.

When King Dedede proceeded to buy out the ENTIRE STOCK of figurines, however, that’s when she saw her opportunity. As the self-proclaimed king left, with the kids following more out of morbid curiosity than anything else, she leaned towards the shop owners. “You mentioned something about stock issues?” They looked at her in surprise. “I might be able to offer my services in regards to assisting production…for a nominal fee, of course. I think with your innovations and my production capacity, these figurines could take Pop Star by storm!”

They both looked at each other, then looked back at her eager eyes. For a moment, they felt almost predatory, and left them dry mouthed. “Uh, well…” Neither of them felt it safe to say anything in public like this.

‘How do we break it to her that we actually got plenty and we was just bluffin’?’ Gengu silently panicked. “Maybe you can see our stores for yourself?” he hazarded.

“Very well,” she quickly responded. “I’ll return at closing time and you can take me to your warehouse.”

“Really more of a big abandoned cabin,” Gengu noted.

“Note,” she dismissed. “See you then.”

As she left, she hardly noticed the kids grumbling about the loss of the figurines, while Little Kirby seemed all too happy to eat all the chocolate containers.

She DID, however, notice the Ebrum girl watching the entire situation with concern. ‘Ah. Likely she’ll be getting involved in some manner, then,’ Susie deduced as she left the area. She had her own work to finish before she met with the two later.

When later came, however, she was escorted to their ‘warehouse’, and brought inside to see… “Ah.” There was a veritable wall full of the boxes, nearly stretching out to the middle of the building.

“Yeeeah,” Tuggle admitted. “The King doesn’t realize we got TONS of figures left.”

“We held a lot back; good thing, too! Got plenty of new figures we still gotta release.” Gengu noted.

“Ahh.” She let out a small huff of amusem*nt (and privately, disappointment) as it clicked. “Seems I’ve underestimated you two. You understand how to control the market well, at least on this scale. I take it that’s the reason so many basic ‘troopers’ are available?”

“Yup!” Tuggle admitted with a grin. “Bad for collectors, but good for us!”

The two allowed themselves a laugh at their fortune, and she permitted a chuckle as well. She hadn’t expected them to be capable of manipulating things as they had, but-

“I can’t believe you all!” Tiff’s voice cried out.

‘Ah, was wondering when she’d show up,’ Susie thought as she turned around to see the girl in question glaring daggers at them, arms folded. “Ms. Ebrum. Always a pleasure.”

“So you’re tricking your customers by holding back all the minifigures that people actually want!” she proclaimed.

Before she could say anything, it was Gengu who spoke up first. “Well, what else do ya want from us, Tiff? We GOTTA get rid of ‘em!”

“Yeah, this WAS your idea!” Tuggle noted, which surprised Susie.

“You mean to tell me this bit of entrepreneurship was your doing, Ebrum?” she asked, puzzled.

Tiff looked away in apparent embarrassment. “Yeaaah…but now I think I regret it.”

“For what reason?” Susie asked as she stepped forwards. “By all means, your idea’s a smash hit! Had you elected to take royalties from each sale, forget your parents, you by yourself you have quite the windfall right now. Why such disdain for success?” She couldn’t wrap her head around it.

“B-Because!” Tiff started, not expecting a debate but ready to engage in one anyway. “I just suggested it to try and stop them from illegally dumping their old junk in Cappy Town! I didn’t expect all…this!” She waved her hands around in general. “Now people are going crazy for whatever new rare toy comes out and they’re spending so much time and money on it…”

“And how is that your concern?” Susie asked plainly. No heat was behind her words, just curiosity. “You are in no position to dictate how the populace can spend their money, last I checked.”

“I-I know! I’m not suddenly going to try and stop them from selling anything!” she refuted. “I just want things to be a bit more fair.”

“...hm.” Susie leveled a flat look at her, which almost instinctively caused Tiff to jerk back in surprise. (As did Gengu and Tuggle, really.) “You’re clever for a child, and you often carry yourself with a level of maturity your peers lack. However, at times like this I am reminded that you ARE still, in fact, a child.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Tiff bit back.

“It means you’re naive to the way business and sales works, Ebrum,” she said with a sigh. “PROPER business, not simple local mercantile pursuits or person-to-person transactions. You like learning, right? Allow me to impart upon you a basic economics lesson.”

Tiff co*cked an eyebrow. “About what?”

“The concept of Supply and Demand, and the Scarcity Principle,” Susie began. “A basic foundation in economics- some might say THE foundation. It’s actually an incredibly detailed and fascinating principle, but I’ll keep it extremely simple for the time being. Essentially, the more there-”

“I KNOW what supply and demand is!” Tiff interrupted hotly. “That doesn’t mean it’s fair!”

Susie blinked. “...hm. Pardon me, then. Well, do you know what the Scarcity Principle is?”

Tiff grunted. “No, but I have an idea already…”

“Impressive,” Susie allowed. “Then let me formally explain it. Consumers place a higher value on goods that are scarce than on goods that are abundant. When a good or service is perceived to be scarce, people want it more.” She leaned forwards. “Consider how many times you’ve seen an advertisem*nt stating something like this: limited time offer!” she began with faux cheeriness. “While supplies last! -and such?”

Tiff thought off to the side. “Well…yeah.” Heck, Kawasaki’d done it a couple times when testing out a new dish.

“THAT is scarcity,” she explained. “To keep a long lesson short, it’s simply an information method to drive up sales and increase customer engagement. Nothing nefarious, mind. No one’s forcing anyone to buy anything, and this is most certainly a luxury good, so there’s no critical reason to buy it. It’s simply something they want, so they spend it. If they don’t get it…” she shrugged. “They’re cheap enough that people will spend until they do. And once they do, they’ll feel a sense of pride and accomplishment for sticking with it, and they’ll seek to gain that feeling again- ah, but that’s neither here nor there,” she dismissed. “My point is-”

“Your point is to leave them alone to make their money, I get it,” Tiff waved off with a pout. “Ugh. It still feels manipulative, to me.”

“Oh, it’s manipulative, for certain!” Susie blatantly admitted, much to her shock. “However! It’s manipulation that, generally, all parties are in on. Few are foolish enough to think that it’s just their own bad luck preventing them from getting that rare item. Deep down? They KNOW that getting a basic trooper is much more likely than getting a shining golden warrior, because that’s how things were arranged. But? They’re willing to play those odds.” Susie shrugged. “We, as businesspeople and storerunners, merely facilitate play.”

“Mmmmm…” Tiff frowned…before finally turning away. “I don’t like this. I hope it’s worth it to you.”

“So far, yup!” Gengu agreed, before his gaze softened. “Hey, hey, don’t worry. We’ll release a whole new set tomorrow! And the Troopers ain’t gonna be near as common as they were, promise.”

Tiff paused. Then huffed once, nodded in acceptance, and walked away.

Susie watched her go, thinking.

Gengu and Tuggle were good as their word, as a new trio of figures were released- however, it brought with it some problems. Meta Knight in particular was a smash, though the extent of its popularity was beginning to cause some problems…

“Wait, your King Dedede himself got arrested?!” Bandee asked in surprise. He hadn’t really been too taken with the craze, himself. At the moment, he’d just been taking a break from training with his King, when Tiff and Tuff had both come by to say hello after class. The King was now sparring with Winged Meta Knight, the two operating at a skill level that was something to behold with their agility, strength, and tactics. Big Kirby, having returned, was watching them carefully. Little Kirby was, as often the case, besides him marveling at the both of them. Even Gooey was about, next to the both of them, calmly eating what looked like his fifth massive fish.

“Sure did!” Tuff said with amusem*nt to Bandees exclamation. “Iro said that King Dedede tried to get in his house to take his Meta Knight figure, but the chief stopped ‘im!” Tuff’s skill with the Spark Needle had gotten along surprisingly well, though it lacked range and speed.

Tiff…well, she wasn’t sure what it’d take to break through the block she’d been dealing with, but while her reinforcement and Guard technique was proving able, she wasn’t making much progress in advancing it, not that they lambasted her for it. “Warding magic is a tricky bit of business,” Taranza had warned. “There’s a reason it’s not common despite its usefulness. It’s difficult to keep such a mental state up for so long as proper Warding often requires, and the spells can be worn down over time.” Still, she wasn’t quitting on it.

Not that that was here nor there right now. “Serves him right,” she said dismissively.

The day after, not only was it clear that he was out, it was obvious that SOMETHING had happened overnight.

“Another new series?!” Tiff asked. She’d been blindsided by the suddenness, as had Tuff- they’d been busy with magic school to worry about it otherwise.

“Yup!” Iro said, having come to visit them at the Great King’s mansion. “They’re pretty cool- like, there’s a karate dude, and a sumo guy…” he listed off the lot of them. “I got one earlier today!”

“Huh…” Tiff had to admit, that was a surprise. “Guess Gengu and Tuggle weren’t joking about releasing more.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” came Susie’s voice. The group turned to see the businesswoman coming up to them- and she wore a rather serious expression for once. “The other Dedede’s ordered something recently, you see. A LOT of something.”

Bandee and Big Kirby, who both had been sparring, stopped upon hearing her voice. “What’s this ‘something’?” the latter asked.

“Take a look,” she said, holding out her tablet. “Seems to me like he’s trying to get into the mini-figure game, but in a bad way. These are HUNDREDS of minifigures.”

“...alright,” Bandee noted, though he looked confused. “How’s that so bad?”

“Because, if you didn’t identify it, these particular mini-figures seem to have mutative properties. If this data is correct, they’re capable of self-locomotion…although the trigger is baffling even to my computer.”

“Wait, something your computer can’t puzzle out?” Great King asked in surprise as he came up, having noticed the group clustering in his front yard. “That’s not a good sign.”

“I’d hope it’s just the result of a failed analysis- they CAN happen,” Susie admitted. “Really, I knew something was off as soon as I noticed the data was taking far longer to parse. But as far as I can piece it together…I think it’s moonlight. Something to do with the nighttime hours, for certain.” She closed her eyes, considering. “My hypothesis is, moonlight triggers the transformation from static to active. So I’d suggest trying to warn as many people as you can. We don’t want animated figurines causing a ruckus.”

“Aw, maaaaan!” Tuff whined. “Does this mean I gotta give up my collection?” Tiff’s ferocious glare met him, and he simply pouted.

Susie shook her head. “It’s just these new ones,” she assured. “The old ones seem completely fine.”

Tiff turned away from her brother, looking to the sky, and not liking what she saw.“It’s near nightfall, though!” Tiff noted in alarm. “A lot of people are probably turning in soon. This won’t be easy!”

“We’ll do it anyway!” Big Kirby said assuredly. “We’ve got enough people here to split up and warn everyone! C’mon!” He quickly called forth. “We need to spread the word, and fast!”

It didn’t take too long to get word to all the present Star Allies- and from there to everyone else’s ears. Two individuals having a ship helped speed things up, for sure. Most were surprised. A select few didn’t take it seriously (and kicked up a fuss when their minifigures were forcibly confiscated), but by the time the sun dipped over the horizon, just about all of the mini-figures were rounded up, and quickly placed into numerous trash bags. If the moonlight had to hit them, it was the quickest solution to prevent that, after all. “Alright, that’s about all of them, right?” Magolor asked after tying up the last one. They’d reconvened near the square.

“Hope so,” Big Kirby said. “Just so long as there aren’t any extras laying around anywhere.”

“There’s always a piece of treasure or two laying around after everyone’s scooped up the big haul,” Daroach noted. “We’ll likely have to scour around for it.”

“Well, that’s at least better than a whole warehouse full of the things getting loose,” Tiff noted- then blinked. “Speaking of, who got that?”

“Got what?” Great King Dedede asked.

Tiff froze for a moment. “...Gengu and Tuggle’s warehouse…?” she said carefully, to no reaction. “Y-y’know, where they’ve got that massive backlog? I mean, they WERE selling them, so there had to have been some there, right?” Silence, before Tiff whipped around to the only other person there. “Susie?!”

“You split off in that direction at first, I presumed you were handling it!” she shot back.

“I was going towards Kirby’s house and I was just with Tuff!” Tiff countered.

“Uhhh, ladies? I don’t think it matters right now…” Daroach pointed out. “Because I think it’s quite clear we have company.”

They two looked ahead towards Dedede’s Castle, only to witness a scene they’d never expected.

A veritable flood of monsters, at least about the size of a Waddle Dee apiece (and some bigger), began streaming out of the castle- and a few other places that clearly, they’d missed. The majority of them were grey and green in various simple shapes: spherical, pyramid, cube, but all of them had vicious looking eyes and a clearly bad attitude.

“What the…?!” Tiff said in shock. Then she realized. “Dedede brought a ton of them, too!”

And now it seemed like they were paying for it, as the monsters rushed to encroach on the town.

Winged Meta Knight quickly turned to the kids. “We have an alert. Rally your friends. Rally the people. All will fight tonight.” His tone brooked no nonsense, and Tiff and Tuff found themselves unconsciously snapping off a salute each before taking off to do just that, dragging Little Kirby with them.

Big Kirby, for his part, turned to the encroaching horde with something close to a smile. “Gotta admit, this kinda feels nostalgic.”

“Ha! No kiddin’,” Great King Dedede admitted as he and Bandee brandished their weapons.

“Bet I black hole more than you web up,” Magolor wagered.

“Do try,” Taranza responded, grinning.

“Now, now, boys, don’t get too ahead of yourselves,” Susie warned as her Business Suit activated.

“This’ll be a party to remember,” Daroach said grinning. The horde was growing closer. They wouldn’t get all of them, no- but they’d stand as the bulwark for the town, for certain.

“Will there be snacks?” Gooey asked.

“Later, but these are unwanted guests,” Big Kirby said calmly. “They won’t be staying long.”

“Ooooh. Okay!” Gooey wiggled in anticipation. “...we’re gonna make them leave, then, right?”

Kirby chuckled. Then pointed forwards. “Star Allies, GO!”

They all charged.

Chapter 49: Cappy Town Beatdown

Chapter Text

Meta Knight cleaved through two more of the monsters as he fought his way through the hall. Having been busy with a particularly big project, this invasion had seemingly happened out of nowhere, the creatures having assaulted him in his own quarters before anyone could make heads or tails of them.

He lept back to gain some distance from a pair of charging spiked beasts, his years of experience kicking in hard as he prevented the simple creatures from converging on his position. ‘Has NME decided to attack in force?!’ he wondered in alarm, as two quick swings of Galaxia cleared out a portion of assailants. He hadn’t expected it to happen quite yet- if this was the case, then both he and his counterpart would have to make some VERY quick adjustments. “Sword! Blade!”

“Right ‘ere, sire!” Blade called quickly as he stabbed through a more pudding-like creature, and Blade dispatched a pair of hairy ones. “We’re ‘olding up just fine!”

“Good! We make for the throne room!” The other option was that King Dedede had summoned them intentionally- in which case he might have to do some hard thinking about his role here.

“Roight!” the two agreed, moving closer to him to make a delta formation as they proceeded forwards.

The trio were experienced enough to make steady progress; any foe that met them was cleaved in twain by expert bladework between the three of them. ‘I must thank my counterpart for those sparring sessions,’ Meta Knight thought as he flipped backwards, then proceeded to Focus. ‘They have proven most useful.’ Briefly, he turned into a blur of yellow as he spun forwards, cleaving through the mass of enemies like a bladed top and sending them flying otherwise. It only lasted for a moment or two, however, as he felt his momentum stop. He’d been fascinated by that trick, and only recently had managed to execute it correctly. ‘However, I still have much training to do.’ He quickly threw up Galaxia to prevent a charging horned minion’s attack, before flicking it away towards Blade, who met it with an upswing, splitting it in two and causing it to poof. Wordlessly, he nodded to the others, signaling to continue on.

As they reached the outside hallway leading to the throne room, the number of monsters lessened. For a moment, they wondered why- when they heard the sounds of yelling and combat in the distance. It didn’t take much to know who was down there, and it eased the concern in his heart, if only a bit. Signaling briefly to hold, Meta Knight quickly jumped over to the balcony edge to peer over, seeing how the battle was going beyond the castle walls.

Great King Dedede met a mass of creatures from on high, squashing a number of them with a Super Dedede Jump that he could hear from there. The monarch charged another group, spinning swiftly to take a number of them out, before a pair of slightly bigger, squirrel-like beasts attempted to take him down. Dedede simply blocked the first one’s attempt at slashing at his face, before pushing it away, and rearing his hammer back with a single hand, glowing briefly. It was only a few moments before he swung- and on contact both creatures seemed to outright evaporate. Two more mundane swings of his hammer sent as many charging minions flying, though a third seemed to sense a moment of opportunity, leaping for his back-

-which was covered tightly by Bandana Waddle Dee, as he quickly stabbed his spear upwards to pluck it out of the air and sling it away, just as a few more made to surround him. Several rapid spear jabs struck home, drilling the attackers in front of him as he pushed them back, before delivering a no-looking reverse stab that nailed the two goat horned creatures attempting an ambush. That wasn’t the end for him, however, as a handful attempt to swarm again. For a moment, there was a pause.

And then Bandee began to twirl his staff at high speeds, the magic within lifting him (and at least two unlucky foes) off the ground, practically blending them as he began to rise above their reach. The two unfortunates poofed away in short order, and the rest made to jump to get him down into their clutches.

There was a feminine shout, and the massive pink mech he’d seen all of once from Susie Haltmann stormed into the fray, its own arms spinning like a top itself to scatter the attackers. Bandana Dee quickly stopped his technique, landing on top of the mech and right behind the businesswoman as she revved the mech to drive in circles, clearing out a large swath of the attacking beasts for a clear area in moments. She soon sped off with the Waddle Dee, the sounds of her attack pods’ explosive results echoing across the countryside.

The reason for it soon became clear as the two mages quickly floated into it back to back. Magolor channeled, focused, and a runic star shape materialized in mid air as the spider wove an ethereal net in short order. The town’s first magic teacher quickly swept the spell in a wide arc, catching a morass of monsters in his net as though he were fishing. Behind him, the runic star broke, only to reveal a mass of starry space that immediately began to vacuum anything nearby in. Scores of monsters began getting sucked in, and any nearby that put up resistance were collected by Taranza and tossed in, or were slung away by the spider himself. As the star closed, they quickly shifted to firing bolts of magic and entrapping thread, respectively.

The little blue blob was out to ‘play’ today as well; he was quick to lick and snap up any monster that got a little too close- who knew what he was thinking, but it was clear he knew what he was doing as he slung a pair towards Daroach, who made known his own physical acumen as he darted through a line of creatures intending to mob him; neither intentional attackers nor projectiles fared well- they only found his claws slicing through the lot, before another group attempted to leap on him to prevent such a thing from happening again.

Almost with jaunty irreverence, the master thief leapt backwards, quickly covering himself up with his cloak- and then spreading it wide in a reveal of was was clearly a manifested bomb. They barely had the time to recognize it as such before it detonated upon them, eliminating the cluster of beasts immediately. With a flair, he produced his cane, beginning to fire away ice shards at anyone too close. The frozen victims were soon rendered no more for good by Gooey, as well as some otherwise, as he was quick to transform? Into a fireball, burning through the impromptu ice statues and shattering the lot of them- and burning anything that already wasn’t. Another pair lunged for him- he hopped higher, avoiding the both of them, and suddenly seemed to come down with a sudden thud that he could just barely hear from there that ended the two. He certainly seemed to be having a good enough time…

Enough that he could see his counterpart have no worry for him as he cut his way through several enemies all in moments; he tensed for but a moment, executing the same tornado spin that he’d taught the wingless version of himself; he could clearly see the difference in control as he seemed to move like a living storm, slicing up scores of beasts. A moment, a flash of yellow energy, and two wicked crescent waves slung out from his blade, bisecting numerous monsters in moments. He heard a shout he couldn’t quite make out, before the other Knight took to the air, the final glowing crescent wave streaking from his blade to- King Dedede?! For a moment he grew concerned, before he noticed the King’s eager reaction. With a swing of his hammer, which must have had some sort of enchantment on it, the single wave split into five in a spread pattern, clearing out scores of monsters that had approached them. The two worked well in tandem, it seemed.

And of course, the elder puff himself was no slouch. In fact, Big Kirby was quick and impressive, dodging any and all attacks and strikes that came his way, only to slide with perfect timing, tripping up some would be attacker (when it didn’t eliminate them outright), inhale rapidly, and fire out Star Bullet after Star Bullet- and in more than one occasion, some bigger bullets that REALLY did a number on anything in their path for a good distance, clearing out wide columns at a time. He said SOMETHING to Gooey nearby, who nodded, stretched out his tongue- and Kirby actually hopped into it! For a moment he wasn’t sure what was happening, before Gooey suddenly spun, and with much more velocity than expected, Kirby was careened out of Gooey’s grasp, sending him bowling over a line of the beasts and behind a number of them- just where he wanted, as he began to inhale a massive torrent of them, simply swallowing now as dozens and dozens vanished inside of him.

‘They are most impressive,’ Meta Knight had to admit; all of this seemed to happen in moments, all parties acting in unison and like a cohesive force. It brought back proud memories…but this wasn’t the time for such. And even their prowess had limits. They couldn’t reach in here, for example, and even now he saw some stray forces avoiding the melee and heading towards the town, galvanizing his resolve.

The Star Allies could handle the bulk of things for the time being, that was certain. HE was going to get to the bottom of this. He turned back towards his goal, quickly throwing open the throne room doors-

-only to see the Monster Transporter clearly active, spitting out monsters…but no Dedede. “What?”

“E’ ain’t ‘ere?!” Sword said in surprise. “Then who-”

“THE HECK’S ALLA DIS RUCKUS!?” Came the surprised and very loud voice of King Dedede as he and Escargoon charged to- and past- Meta Knight and his men. “One side!”

Meta Knight hummed in concern. “So you did not order these?”

“I ain’t order nothin’ but a buncha toys!” Dedede protested as he began to slam down buttons on the arm-mounted keypad.

Meta Knight grew concerned at that, even as the communication screen activated, and he and his men vanished from sight to eavesdrop. This might be more troublesome than he thought.

Back in Cappy Town proper, Tiff and Tuff’s warning had very much been heeded- it wasn’t hard when the sounds of all out battle had been coming from the outskirts, and keen-eyed viewers could see the masses coming. A lot of them were scared. Worried, confused. “But we’re not gonna let some dumb toys take over OUR town, right?!” Tiff had shouted to the masses gathered at the square- the end of a short speech. It’d struck a chord, too, as they’d armed themselves with whatever they could find- brooms, sticks, pipes, anything else. Some of the more learned of Taranza’s classes thought to put their recently learned skills to use, minimal though it was, helping provide light in the darkness for everyone to see.

They weren’t the only ones. The Special Seven, plus Kirby, had been scattered throughout Cappy Town for the most part, splitting up to better warn the populace. As the beasts began to stream in, the populace at last began to fight back, scared, but determined nonetheless. “Gaah! Get back, get BACK!” Tuff yelled, soccer kicking one, which seemed to have enough force to send it flying backwards a few yards out of the Mayor’s yard. He’d gone to warn the Cappy and his wife, only to be caught out. He managed to raise his arms to deflect against the next set lunging monsters, throwing them off with another kick and a yell. They’d come faster than he’d hoped, really. He wanted to try his new Plasma Needle skill, but he wasn’t even sure if that would be any successful. Still…at least a little channeling wouldn’t go amiss, if he did it right…

The beast slammed against the laundry pole nearby, snapping it in half and knocking the whole set loose- fortunately, considering it was nighttime, there were no clothes on the line...save for a scant two sheets, abandoned before the Mayor and his wife had taken refuge. The top half of the pole dropped towards him, and as a number of the creatures stalked towards him, he scrambled for it, holding it in both hands as he bared his teeth at them. “I said stay back!” he warned. At the same time, his body buzzed with Zap energy, just like he was taught- though he knew it wouldn’t last for any real length of time, he just had to find a way out…!

It came when the slow falling cloths floated over the creatures, briefly blinding them- and allowing him to swing for the fences, throwing as much force as he could muster into slamming the pole into them. It didn’t just connect, it gathered all four of them, sending them flying into the distance for a bit before poofing. “...whoa. Cool!”

Alas, his thrill was short lived when he saw even more coming. “Aw no, not cool!” What made things worse was that they were even bigger than before! Not quite adult size, but certainly taller than him. They looked fuzzy and dangerous, elongated forms and blood red eyes.

They were on him in moments and his panic expressed itself on his face. ‘No… no, no no no no no no! No WAY I’m bitin’ it HERE!’

And it was then he had a sudden flash of inspiration- and remembrance. Briefly, for just a moment, he closed his eyes, and allowed himself to not just focus, but channel. And not just channel…

‘If there’s any time to soul boost my stuff, it’s now !’ And for a moment, his spirit was fire.

The tip of his makeshift staff burst into red flame, and Tuff had no time to think. He swung, the pole in his hands almost like a baseball bat .

Both creatures caught immediate flame, even as the physical force did damage enough itself, sending them off their feet and careening into the dirt several yards away where they evaporated into dust.

Even that little bit had dropped Tuff to one knee- though it was enough to clear the area for a moment. ‘...wo-woooo…dizzy. But nothin’s feeling like it wants to leap out again at least…’

“Tuff!” the Mayor’s voice came. “My word, look at you!” His wife had a great mug of water. “You’re exhausting yourself! Here, drink up, m’boy!”

“Thank you SO much for this, really!” his wife offered as he accepted.

“H-hey, no p…problem,” he panted out as he took big gulps. “All…all part of learning to be a great mage, right?” Truthfully, he was just glad that the majority of the things had passed them by. Though…well. He wasn’t the only one with troubles. ‘Hope the others are doing alright…I might wanna hold onto this for now.’

“Bug off!” Spikehead said, pushing another bug-like monster off of him- and shocking it to a crisp with a wild discharge of Zap energy. The act left him a bit winded, but he’d dealt with worse. “Ha…ah…right, right…yeah.” Spikehead said pantingly, slapping his cheeks to psyche himself up. “Nothin’ to it...” Honey stood next to him, clearly worried, but not shivering, simply leaning close to him. “Augh, I hope this works out…” he admitted, scratching his now shaggy hair in both nervousness and preparation. Static was a thing Magolor had taught both he and Tuff about- not that they didn’t have the basic idea before, but it had surprised him to learn that it was a way to ‘cheat’ until he learned how to channel the Zap element properly himself.

“I…I think we might be okay,” Honey admitted. “We’ve got so many friends- and everyone’s helping, right?” she asked.

Spikehead stopped at that, turning to her and smiling. “...yeah,” he admitted. “I guess you’re right.” She beamed back- but then her smile quickly morphed into a frown, as she moved past him and shoved a pair of beasts back herself, carrying them upwards with her for a few moments above the house, before letting them go to let gravity finish the job- it was clear they were still subject to its rules, for the most part, unlike her.

“See?” she cheered, a bit of sweat present. “I can help you now, just like you help me!” Setting action to words, the next small beast that approached them was quickly scooped up by Honey and tossed towards Spikehead, the Zap energy coursing through him- and soon enough the enemy, as he shocked it to poofing.

That still took a good bit out of him, though. “Hehe…thanks a ton! Dunno what I’d do without ya!” he said gratefully.

Honey smiled eagerly, yet blushing lightly. “See! I’ll be right here! N-no matter what! I can sorta fly now, so…so nothing can keep me away!”

He couldn’t help but blush at that, as well. But it was fleeting, as they still had a great deal more monsters to deal with.

He had to admit, the sound of a yo-yo sliding down its string and back up had become rather soothing for him. Especially in times like this.

“I got a whole lotta makin’ up to do,” Gengu said, flicking his yo-yo as he watched what the Star Allies couldn't take down get closer and closer. “Can’t believe I let m’greed get to me like that. Dang shame.” Tuggle was watching the inside of his grocery story, and Gengu had agreed to help protect it.

“It is no great shame,” Mabel said comfortingly next to him, having agreed to assist as a classmate. “We all were enraptured by those little figures, myself included. Besides, now is not the time for such regrets,” she pointed out, as she lifted a bat- and then a second one in a purple aura. “I predict that we will be very busy, very soon.”

“Heheh,” Gengu chuckled. “Woulda called that kinda obvious, myself.”

Mabel shrugged. “Eh. I’m a touch out of practice.” She then slammed both bats over the top of the heads of several encroaching creatures, two of them blobs of cat and bull-like features. One, two met their ends before she was jumped upon by a trio more- she held the bat out physically to deflect their approach- which made them all too vulnerable to the bludgeon she held with her mind. Another slam took all three out, and she quickly backpedaled to avoid a retaliatory swipe from a monster nearly as tall as she was. She was still no expert, and fully intended to make use of what little time she had with her skill, however. She was just glad she’d managed to procure some headache prevention medicine…

The beast made to charge her, but Gengu let fly with his yo-yo, the snap and speed on the action sending it slinging out like a shot to nail it in the forehead in a flash that stopped its charge cold. He called it back, sending it in an around-the-world to thrash three, four, five of the small grey shape monsters, before lashing it out at another foe that dropped like a rock without warning as the big one just managed to recover- in time for Mabel to wind up a physical home run swing just as quickly, laying into it with enough force to send it flying. “Alrighty, you lot,” he said, giving them all a nasty look. “In case y’all didn’t get the memo, store’s closed, so no trespassin’!”

Kawasaki…was not a fighter. He really really wasn’t, if he had to admit it. The entire reason he’d stuck out that magic hoo-haa was because he’d been hoping to ease the burden on his food budget- but fighting? Well, that wasn’t always on his mind, though he wasn’t afraid to help out his friends from time to time.

THIS was something else, though. “Hey now! Get outta here!” he yelled, trying to wave them off. He’d snagged a ladle from somewhere, and a rolling pin, but neither were proving too effective- he wasn’t a ‘working out’ sort, either. A number of beasts had made to ransack the restaurant, likely attracted by the food, and the best he could do was bop some of the things on the head as any real form of defense. That ‘Focus’ stuff had helped with preventing cuts and scratches, but… “Oh boy, this is worse than gettin’ a bad review!” he lamented as they tossed out another large pot of stew clear out of the kitchen, the contents spilling on the floor recklessly. “You coulda just said you didn’t like it!”

“Kirby! Suck ‘em up!” Tiff’s cry came, and almost through instinct Kawasaki braced himself as he felt a vacuum pull at him- and at the rest of the monsters inhabiting the restaurant. It cost him his plateware, but he was more than happy to see when they started slipping and flying towards the pink puff, where they were quick to vanish inside of him. “Kawasaki, are you okay?”

The chef managed to readjust himself quickly enough. “Oooh…kinda feel like overworked dough, but I’ll pull through!” he said cheerily. “Thanks for the assist!”

“No problem!” she assured. “I- waaah!” She was suddenly cut off by the feeling of weightlessness as she was thrown through the air without warning. Her vision tumbled end over end for a few disorienting moments before she crashed back to the ground with a grunt. ‘W-whaa…?’ she barely had time to register what had happened before a surprised and slightly pained yell of surprise met her, clearing her mind of all but what that meant. “Kirby!”

Sure enough, the creatures that had thrown her aside had turned their attention to Little Kirby, who was getting bounced around like a beach ball against his will. It was only moments before a handful of other creatures noticed the ‘game’ on the doorstep of Kawasaki’s restaurant and made to join in, causing the cries to intensify.

That was enough to make her grit her teeth.

That was enough to make her stand up, the pain vanishing at once. She took a step forwards- hearing the steel of the pot lid ring out under her feet. For a moment she was confused. But then, in the next moment, she was inspired.

She picked up the large pot lid by the handle, braced herself behind it, and charged.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaa!” She felt a rush of energy, of strength. And the monsters hadn’t even kept an eye on her; she felt herself slam into at least two as she saw Little Kirby get clear out of the corner of her eye. She stormed on, the two monsters caught on her makeshift shield until she felt impact on…something, and was forced to stop.

All at once, she felt even more tired, but she still had enough in her to look around her defensive arm- only to see that she’d ran clear into the outer walls of the shop across from him, cracking it harshly. Unsurprisingly, the monsters were nowhere to be found, destroyed in the collision. ‘Whoops. Did…I really do that?’ she thought, mouth agape. But then she shook herself out of it. She had something more important to worry about. “Kirby! Are you okay?”

“Poyooo…” Little Kirby dizzily got up, clapping his own cheeks to shake the cobwebs, but fortunately, he seemed okay as she ran up to him, giving him a once over.

“Don’t worry, Kirby,” she assured. “I’ve got your back.” She smiled in reassurance. “Now let’s finish getting rid of the rest of these monsters!” She was winded herself, but right now, she had to be Kirby’s rock. She would do whatever it took to help keep him safe. Fortunately, Little Kirby’s bright and determined smile energized her as much as anything else could. ‘...I might hang on to this pot top for a bit, though.’

She doubted Kawasaki would mind too much.

Meanwhile, Meta Knight had to admit surprise- and dismay- when the secret behind the invading force was revealed. NME had indeed acted on their own accord, the toys having what they’d termed as a ‘bonus feature’, along with a 'few more presents for you for comparison's sake'. ‘Unlikely,’ Meta Knight mused. ‘They may perhaps be reaching the end of their consideration of King Dedede as useful. Everyone must know of this!’

“...but, we kinda figured there might be some kinks to work out- and it’s no problem!” the Sales Guy assured. “We’re prepared to send you the services of our new monster management director! He’s sure to help get things under control! YOUR control, that is!” Meta Knight’s worry only grew. Whoever that was, it couldn’t be- “In fact, you’ve met before!” What? “Say hello, Joe!”

Meta Knight’s blood ran cold. ‘...no! Has he…?’

But sure enough, that was Knuckle Joe’s face up on the monitor now, grinning nastily at the King. “That’s Knuckle Joe! Nice ta see ya again, Tubby!”

This wasn’t good. Not good at all.

Chapter 50: Team Takedown

Chapter Text

The fight had continued on for a while now, as far as they could tell. The Star Allies knew some of the monsters had gotten past, but as things stood they’d have to hope that the locals could handle what had made it in; they were still busy holding back the bulwark of the legion. It wouldn’t be an easy thing…until they heard the drawbridge open and King Dedede’s car racing out of the castle grounds towards town. “Now what?” Susie asked annoyedly. “Where’s he off to?”

“Kirby, follow him.” Meta Knight said quickly, as a few more monsters fell. “We will hold things here!”

By now, Kirby knew better than to second-guess his friends’ ability. He took off at once.

It wasn’t too much longer before he made it to the town, though he quickly noticed something off with the situation. The sounds of fighting and carnage and everything…had stopped. Instead, it was a loud voice- undeniably Dedede- talking. He soon saw that even the monsters still around had ceased their rampage.

When he got closer, he was able to make out the last bits of it. “...so THEY can fight the monstahs instead o’ you folks! Agree ta that and everythin’s square!”

“Hey, what’s going on!?” he asked loudly as he could. Almost immediately the king turned to him, a self-satisfied grin on his face. “Why’d you do this?”

“Well, well. As it so happens, I didn’t cause this little hullabaloo at all! But I sure know a good opportunity when I see one!” he said all too casually. “Anywho! As I was just sayin’, I went an’ struck a deal. I’m able ta call this whole thing off- if you two Kirbehs can beat my own warriors in a little combat contest!”

Big Kirby looked at him askance. ‘ Why would he do that?’ he wondered. ‘He’s gotta have some sorta plan, right?’ Though…whether he had a plan or not, it wasn’t like there was much other option- a quick glance at the populace around revealed that even this much was causing a lot of exhaustion. Tiff and Tuff had a pot top and a washing pole respectively, clearly as makeshift weapons or protection, and even they looked a bit worse for wear…and that was the least of it. “I’m in,” he decided.

Little Kirby voiced his agreement just as quickly with a nod of his head.

King Dedede laughed. “Ehehehehe! It’s a deal, then!” With that, he took out a massive whistle, and BLEW.

The ear-piercing sound caused everyone present to cover said ears, as little help as it afforded. Almost immediately, the remaining monsters seemed to straighten up. “Alright, you’s all! Back to th’ castle! We got a whole arena to finish up!”

“Arena?” Big Kirby asked- but King Dedede was already driving off, the mass of creatures following. Waving off the dust kicked up, he walked over to Little Kirby and the kids. “Just what was he talking about ‘arena’?”

“I don’t know…” Tiff admitted, as she looked back at the receding car with a scowl. “...but I don’t trust him. Not one bit.”

It wasn’t much longer before the rest of the Star Allies made it to the town, where they were informed of King Dedede’s challenge. “You gotta be kidding me!” Great King Dedede said in surprise. “What, does he want the town to be taken over?”

“Likely that he sent those minions to cause turmoil so he could swoop in and play savior, like before,” Susie surmised.

“That isn’t quite the case this time, Ms. Haltmann,” came the voice of Meta Knight from nearby. They quickly turned to find him atop a lamppost, and he just as quickly hopped down. “I can confirm that King Dedede bore no knowledge of these creatures before they attacked.”

“Come again?” Magolor asked in surprise. “So then…if it were me, and I was starting to send monsters of my own initiative…that means that that Nightmare fellow’s starting to see your king as redundant.” At Meta Knight's nod, he turned to the rest of the Star Allies. “Right. Sounds like that was just a probing action. Feeling us out and seeing how hard it’d be to overwhelm us.”

“I believe so,” Meta Knight confirmed. “However! They were quick to seek an advantage with King Dedede. They offered him ‘control’ of the beasts…” He paused, his posture almost sagging minutely. “...through Knuckle Joe.”

“Knuckle Joe?” Taranza said in confusion. “Was there anything particular about this Knuckle Joe?”

“It was before you showed up,” Bandee noted. “A weirdly purple Knuckle Joe showed up and tried to wreak havoc because of a misunderstanding. We…well, Meta Knight here told the truth of it, and that got him to run off…but I didn’t think he’d just sign right up with Nightmare afterwards! I thought he’d go off to learn the truth!”

“Perhaps it was too much for him…” Meta Knight lamented. “Nonetheless, he is now a member of their organization, as their ‘monster management director.’ He is the one who truly controls those beasts, and he has commanded them to follow King Dedede for now.”

“So how do we get him to knock it off?” Tiff asked heatedly. “This Knuckle Joe’s already made a couple of bad decisions, if you ask me.”

“That remains to be seen- however, I suspect that he will be present during tomorrow’s…’event’,” Meta Knight noted. “He mentioned something about ‘personal supervision’.”

“Sounds like he’ll be on the premises, yes,” Susie agreed.