Chapter One: Blueberry Knight

It was a lovely day in Dream Land. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, the air was fresh and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Two children, Fumu and Bun, walked side by side into Castle Dedede, carrying bags of groceries they had picked up from Cappy Town. They were gathering ingredients to bake a cake for Kirby's birthday. The pink puffball had already been distracted by Sword and Blade Knight, so they didn't have to worry about him finding out about their surprise party.

It wasn't long after they came through the gates that the two noticed a commotion in the courtyard, a contrast to the sweet silence of the fields.

"Dedede, what were you thinking?!"

"Oh, Meta Knight, I'm sure he won't be a bother…"

"Be quiet, Andrew. You don't need to get involved."

Curious, Fumu dropped her bags in her brother's arms and rushed towards the sounds.

As soon as she dashed into the courtyard, she saw Meta Knight, Bandanna Dee, Escargon and King Dedede arguing in the middle of the paved gardens.

"Guys! What's happening here?" Fumu cried, trotting up to them with Bun trying to follow her without falling over.

"Dedede has let a guest into the castle, and Meta Knight here doesn't approve." Escargon answered.

"A guest?" Bun asked, finally managing coming into the courtyard with all the bags. "Who is it?"

"One of Kirby's past enemies." Meta Knight answered gruffly. "And I don't want him causing trouble and putting everybody in danger!"

Fumu's emerald eyes widened.

"Past enemy?"

"He's really not too bad," Bandanna Dee interjected, "I knew him before he became evil. Maybe if Meta Naito here stopped being an idiot and actually gave him a chance, we wouldn't be having this conversation!"

In response to this, Meta Knight simply replied, "Andrew, calm yourself. You're speaking Japanese again."

"DON'T call me that!" Bandanna Dee snapped. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?! Maruku is here to stay, and he's not leaving any time soon!"

Fumu was carefully listening, trying to make out what they were saying, when she was hit in the back of her head.

"OW!"

It didn't hurt, not that much, but the shock was enough to make her cry out. She turned sharply to see what had hit her; a colorful, striped beach ball.

"What in the world ...?"

She cautiously picked it up and looked to where it had come from. A staircase leading up to the north tower. Strange, nobody ever went up there. The guest must've moved in. The evil one.

She took the ball and walked up the stairs. What would she find at the top? A demon beast? A robot? Maybe something that looked cute but was actually a evil genius! Kirby wouldn't be enemies with any old creature, unless it had a pure black heart. That's why Dedede and Escargon, although cruel, were still considered friends.

The air was stale up there, musty and thick. Fumu took a deep breath. The sooner she returned the ball, the sooner she could get out.

As she reached the top, she was confronted by a door. She pressed her ear up against it, trying to hear if there was anybody inside.

What she heard sent shivers down her spine. A creepy, spooky, high-pitched tune being hummed quietly. It was like nothing she had ever heard before, and she definitely never wanted to hear it again.

Taking yet another nervous deep breath, she tapped her knuckles on the wood.

The response came quickly. The sound of something wooden falling on stone. A slight gasp. And the startled cry.

"Huh? Who's there?!"

Fumu was silent for a moment. Should she respond?

"Um... My name is Fumu. I found your, uh, ball?"

Silence, for a moment, and then the voice spoke again.

"Uh, you can come in. The door's not locked."

Fumu carefully turned the knob, peeking inside. The first thing she noticed was that the air had changed. It was no longer thick, but cool and fresh. White curtains flapped up and down at the window where a cool breeze was blowing.

Then she noticed the furniture. There never used to be any, but now there was a dresser and a bed.

Last, but definitely not least, she saw who was living there. And she didn't know what she had expected, or whether this creature fit that description.

What she saw was a purple puffball wearing a twin tipped jester cap which was a bit too big for him. The right side of the hat was blue and had white circles all over it, while the other side was red with white triangles. He was also wearing a red bow tie and brown boots with yellow laces. He had large, violet eyes and had some hair sticking out from underneath his hat. One fang slightly stuck out of his mouth.

"Hey hey hey! You found it! I had wondered where it had rolled off to!"

Fumu smiled at the creature and put the ball down on the ground.

"Yeah. So, you must be the guest that Dedede and Meta Knight were talking about."

"Probably, yeah!" the puffball laughed, jumping on top of the ball and rolling backwards a bit.

Fumu looked around. She noticed a feather duster lying near the dresser, abandoned on the cobblestone floor. This puffball must have been dusting before she interrupted him.

"So, what's your name?" she asked.

"The name's Marx. You're Fumu, correct?"

"M-hm." Fumu nodded, almost about to ask him how he knew that before remembering how he told him at the door.

"Well, nice to meet you, Fumu!" Marx smiled. "Do you live here, or...?"

"Yeah, I live here." Fumu answered, before shivering a bit. It was really cold up there, and the fact that this puffball used to be Kirby's enemy frightened her slightly.

"I'm sorry to leave so abruptly, but I have to prepare something for a friend."

"Hey, I'll come with you!" Marx exclaimed, rolling towards Fumu as she descended down the stairs. "I really have nothing else to do up here, and besides, I

have a few friends to catch up with!"

He must be talking about Bandanna Dee. Fumu thought.

She let him roll down behind her, and they soon reached the bottom. Somehow Marx managed to get down without slipping off his ball.

"Hey hey hey!" Marx called to the group in the middle of the courtyard. "Did I miss anything?"

The group turned towards them. Bandanna Dee was the first to respond.

"Marxy-sama! I missed you so much! Where have you been?" the Waddle Dee cried happily, running towards his long lost friend.

"Andy! Long time, no see!" Marx laughed as Bandanna gave him a warm hug.

Fumu noticed Meta Knight's eyes glowing red as he stormed towards the pair.

"Hello, Marx." he said coldly, glaring at the purple puffball. Marx grinned snidely back.

"Hey, Blueberry Knight. How've you been? Is your boyfriend alright?"

Fumu gasped slightly. Bandanna Dee stepped back a couple of steps.

"This isn't going to end well..." He muttered, hiding behind the girl. "Oh, NOVA…"

Meta Knight's eyes widened slightly for a second, turning pink, before returning to a wine red color as he glared harder.

"I'm fine." he answered through gritted teeth. "And I don't have a boyfriend."

Marx's eyes narrowed, but his smile grew wider. He stared Meta deep in the eyes.

"Oh really? What about that student of yours you have such strong feelings towards? What's his name? Oh yeah, K-"

"Poyo!"

Marx suddenly broke eye contact with the knight and turned his head towards the source of the sound, his eyes wide.

Fumu recognized it immediately.

"Kirby!"

The group started rushing about frantically, trying to hide any evidence of the upcoming party.

While rushing about, Fumu noticed Marx frozen on the spot, his eyes wide; a shimmering green color closely matching her own.

"Marx...?"

The puffball suddenly bolted, abandoning his ball and dashing up the staircase to his room.

Fumu became curious.

"Marx! Wait!"

As she climbed back up the mountain of stairs, her mind fluttered back to the previous conversation.

"Hey, Blueberry Knight. How've you been? Is your boyfriend alright?"

What could that mean? Meta Knight didn't have a boyfriend, did he?

"Oh really? What about that student of yours you have such strong feelings towards? What's his name? Oh yeah, K-"

Student? Who did she know that Meta taught who's name began with 'K'? Nobody came to mind.

And when Marx's eyes went green… Weren't they supposed to be purple? Unless…

There was one part of the conversation that stuck out the most for her, something that would be super useful in the future.

"Blueberry Knight. Now that's a new one. I'll have to remember to call him that whenever he annoys me…"