Disclaimer: Kirby and all respective characters belong to HAL Labs. Light (Awai) Meta Knight belongs to Flamefox2 (At least, that's where I first read about him.)
Author'sNote:Any italicized words mean they're either Japanese, or the translation of Kirby's "poyo's".
A Ghost and a Demon
By Soar318
Halloween. A creepy, sinister holiday, the only time when the spirits and the ghouls can roam freely on earth. But no matter how eerie this time of year may be, the children only have one thing on their minds:
"CANDY!"
"Stop it, Bun!"
Memu quickly jerked the large bowl full to the brim with sweets away from the boy's grasping fingers.
"You've had more than enough candy, and you'll get even more during Halloween!" Memu scolded, as she placed the bowl onto the dining table. "Now run along!"
Scowling, Bun slunk out of his family's apartment, only to nearly crash into his sister.
"Watch it, Bun!"
"Sorry." Bun muttered sarcastically. Fumu looked at him closely, then gave a small smile. "Want to help me decorate?"
Immediately, Bun perked up. "YES!"
Laughing, Fumu handed him some fake ghosts and tape, while she herself carefully positioned a skeleton next to the door. The two have been helping the Waddle Dees decorate the castle for the upcoming costume party for Halloween. The entire castle was filled with suits of armor, jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, and pools of fake blood. Even Meta Knight and his two knaves, Sword and Blade, had pitched in. It was particularly thanks to said knight for some of the castle's more gruesome decorations. Fumu shuddered as she remembered the encounter with the fake - but incredibly realistic - bloody body with the head hanging on its neck by only an inch of skin, dangling from the ceiling in the east wing of the castle. The horrible corpse had given her nightmares for the next three days.
Mentally cringing from the memory, Fumu cast her mind on something else: Kirby. The little pink puff has been missing from Pupu Village ever since the beginning of the month. From what Fumu could piece together, Kirby had slipped out the window of his small, dome-shaped house and wandered off. No one in the village knew where he had gone. Fumu had a theory that Meta Knight knew, but with all the decorating and preparing she hadn't gotten a chance to ask.
But one thing was apparent: without the energetic little creampuff running around, Pupu Village just didn't feel the same. The fact was most noticeable on the children, who had all become rather quiet.
"Nee-chan! I'm done!" Bun called down to his sister, and smirked as she jumped.
"Bun! Don't do that!" Fumu glared at him. Shaking her head, she gave the skeleton one last shove before readjusting a pumpkin.
"What were you thinking about?"
"Kirby."
"Oh. I wonder where he's been off to," Bun murmured wistfully, as he gazed off down the corridor. "Do you think he's fighting a demon beast right now?"
"Bun, that's impossible. Nightmare's been defeated."
"It's not impossible. In fact, it's very likely."
The two children jumped in alarm, whipped around, and screamed simultaneously. In the shadows of the hallway, two glowing gold orbs were floating, watching them like eyes-
"What are you screaming at?"
Immediately, Fumu clapped a hand to her mouth. "Meta Naito Kyou, you scared us!"
Said knight stepped out of the shadows, gazing at them curiously. His cape fluttered freely behind him, the shadows it cast seeming darker than usual. The luminescent eyes fastened onto Bun.
"While Nightmare may have been defeated, that doesn't mean the demon beasts won't simply dissolve into dust. It will be a long, long time before the universe is completely safe," Meta Knight said. "Kirby will definitely be a popular target for any demon beasts still wandering around."
"But then he's in danger!" Fumu cried out, eyes widening. "We have to bring him back!"
"That is not necessary. He is more than capable of taking care of himself. In fact, he's returning a day before the party."
Bun stared at him. "How do you know?"
"He told me before he left."
"Do you know where he went?" Bun pressed eagerly.
"Perhaps."
"Can you tell us?" Fumu demanded impatiently.
"I never said I knew where he went."
"But you should know-"
A dark shape suddenly detached itself the shadows up on the ceiling, landing with a dull clank before them. All three of them were able to catch a glimpse of burning red eyes before the creature abruptly shot down the corridor with a loud shriek, passing in between the two screaming children and an orange-eyed Meta Knight. As the thing rounded a corner, Meta Knight swore under his breath, and chased after it, eyes an identical red.
"W-what was that?" Bun choked out, shuddering.
"I...I don't know. But Meta Knight definitely knows about it!" Fumu claimed, staring at the end of the hallway. "And I'm going to ask him the first chance I get!"
...
Fumu stomped down the stairs grouchily, with a nervous Lololo and Lalala in tow. It was three days until the costume party, and everything's ship-shape and ready to go.
Except that a) Fumu hadn't managed to corner Meta Knight and demand answers, and b) there were rumors that a ghost had taken up residence down in the cellar of the castle, the latter of which she was currently investigating, and the former of which she wished to be able to accomplish while searching down in the cellar.
Scowling, Fumu led the way with a flashlight in her hand, while Lololo and Lalala followed close behind. The two would never admit it, but they hated flying around in the dark; it reminded them too much of Nightmare's fortress.
The trio had reached the bottom of the stairs. Shining her flashlight around, Fumu couldn't help but feel rather nervous as she gazed around the cellar. She couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching them...
"M-maybe we should go back, Fumu..." Lalala muttered quietly, wanting to fly as fast as she can up the stairs, yet not daring to leave the light of the flashlight. "W-we can investigate later..."
"No. I'm investigating right now. We're going to have to move those boxes if we want a clear view of the room." Fumu replied, pointing to a large wall of crates blocking a corner of the cellar from view. Reluctantly, the Lola twins drifted over, then, setting their tiny feet against the dust-coated floor, the two easily shoved two boxes out of the way. Blinking in surprise and because of the dust, Fumu carefully placed the flashlight on the ground, then started helping the other two.
"What are in these boxes?" Fumu grumbled irritably, as she wiped some greasy oil off onto a crate. "Some of them are disgusting!"
Lololo and Lalala didn't answer, knowing better than to talk with Fumu when she's in a grouchy mood. So the girl was reduced to shoving another box so hard it hit the wall.
However, Fumu forgot her temper, and just about everything, when the crumpled box suddenly let out a loud "OW!".
Immediately snatching up Fumu's flashlight, the Lola twins pointed the beam of light toward the crate, their small hands shaking uncontrollably. The trio watched with baited breath to see what in the world was hiding there.
Then the light went out.
The entire cellar plunged into inky black darkness, except for an incredibly faint glow coming from the box. Fumu had to clap a hand over her mouth, as to not to scream. Lololo and Lalala drifted closer to her, dropping the flashlight in the process. As they watched, transfixed with terror, a single gold foot emerged from the side of the box, only for a white sheet to cover it. Almost hesitantly, the thing steps out of the box it was concealing in, raised its head, and stared at the girl and the twins.
The creature was covered in a gold-white sheet with a golden hem that completely covered it. The glow was coming from it. The only visible part of the thing were two shining, celestial amber eyes, gazing straight at them. The three couldn't help but feel reminded of Meta Knight's own bright gold eyes.
Suddenly, the ghost flew up into the air, and charged straight at them, shrieking as it went. Immediately, the three screamed at the top of their lungs, then started running like there was no tomorrow. They dashed up the stairs with the creature hot on their heels, shrieking and screaming (and occasionally quietly swearing, in the ghost's case). After chasing them halfway to the top, the creature decided to ditch them, and flew back down to the cellar.
Fumu and the Lola twins burst through the heavy door of the basement, only to almost smash right into Meta Knight and his knaves. Fortunately, Meta Knight dodged out of the way just in time. Unfortunately, Sword and Blade were too slow, and the impact sent the two tumbling onto their backsides.
"Owww..." Sword groaned, as he carefully pushed Lololo and Lalala off himself, then got up rather painfully. Blade did the same, then helped Fumu up. "What was that all about?"
"We...we saw a ghost down there!" Lalala wheezed out, exhausted after the long fly up the winding stairs.
"Yeah! It was glowing, it was covered in a white sheet, and its eyes looked a lot like Meta Naito Kyou's!" Lololo cried, pointing at the door. "It was hiding in a box down there!"
"It can also fly, and I think we saw one of its feet!" Fumu added, watching Meta Knight closely.
"Really? What color was it?" the puffball questioned, tilting his head slightly. "Did it make any noise?"
"Well, the foot was gold, and it kept on screaming at us," Lalala answered, eyes wide. "It chased us all the way up the stairs!"
Fumu's close scrutiny paid off, and as she watched, Meta Knight's eyes immediately flashed a surprised orange, before turning into a faint red, then slipped back into its usual gold, like nothing had happened.
"Thank you very much for the information," the knight dipped his head politely to the girl and the twins. "Sword, Blade. Escort them back to their rooms. I will investigate this 'ghost'."
"Hai!"
With a swish of his cape, Meta Knight tugged open the heavy door like it was made of plastic, then swept down the stairs, shutting the door behind him.
"Well, come on you lot," Blade jerked her head towards the end of the hallway. "You can tell us everything on the way."
As the two knaves led the way to Fumu's apartment, the girl couldn't help but wonder:
'Does Meta Naito Kyou know something about this?'
...
"Fumu! Bun! Are you ready yet?" Parm cried, standing next to his wife at the door, waiting for the two children to hurry up with their costumes. It was nearly time for the Halloween party, which was being held in the scarcely-used ballroom. Afterwards, the children would go trick-or-treating down at the village, then go to sleep with stomachs aching from too many sweets. At least, that's what happens every year in their household.
"Almost!" Bun yelled back, as he waited impatiently for his sister to come out. This year he was dressed as a ninja, using his old ninja gear. Tapping the bathroom door, he yelled through the wood, "Nee-chan! Are you done yet?"
"Yep!" came the satisfying reply, and the door opened. Fumu stepped out wearing a black jumpsuit with a white circle in the middle, and a long tail, tipped with white. Her feet were covered in furry white boots resembling cat paws, and she wore matching gloves. On her head was a head band with two black cat ears, and she had whiskers drawn on her face.
"Well? How do I look?" Fumu asked, twirling in front of her mirror.
"Perfect! Now come on, we're going to miss the party!" Bun grabbed his sister's paw and dragged her to the front door.
"You two look magnificent!" Memu gushed, reaching down to hug her younger son. She wore a long purple dress with jagged edges, a black belt, and a witch's pointy hat, complete with a fake spider. She reached over and snatched a wooden broomstick. "Alright, let's go!"
Nodding, Parm lightly tapped the door with his long, golden wand. He wore a midnight blue cloak with sparkling stars, and a matching wizard's hat. "Open, sesame!"
Immediately, the door sprang open. "Great trick, dad!" Fumu grinned, as she bounded excitedly into the hallway.
And nearly crashed into Meta Knight for the third time that week.
"Meta Naito Kyou!" she gasped, skidding to a stop just in time, even if she was a bit too close for comfort. She carefully backed off. "What are you doing here?"
The knight watched her with bright pink, sparkling eyes and a small smirk from behind his cape. For this day he was wearing a pure black cape, colored blood-red on the inside. He had black shoes, a black top hat with a red ribbon, and a red bowtie. Just for today he wore an altered mask, but so far no one had noticed, due to him having his cape wrapped tightly around himself for the entire time he had worn it.
"Just accompanying a friend to make sure he gets properly welcomed," was the amused reply, as the "friend" shifted restlessly inside the infinite depths of Meta Knight's cape, eager to come out.
"What friend?" Bun asked, trying to peer inconspicuously around Meta Knight, while his parents, looking awkward, tried to pull him back without the knight noticing.
"Your friend," the puffball corrected, as he let go of part of his cape, allowing a small white thing to float out.
Both Fumu and Bun gasped, as they watched the little thing float toward them. It had a plain white sheet draped over it, dark blue eyes, and, from what she could see, a purple tongue. Fumu cringed backward as the ghost drifted closer to her, while Bun hid behind her nervously.
"Poyo?"
"Kaabii?"
"Poyo!" Kirby replied happily, pleased to be recognized. Fumu could only stare as the little transformed puff floated around her head excitedly.
"But...how?" she stammered, as Bun poked his head out from behind her to watch Kirby hover without inflating.
"That is Ghost Kirby," Meta Knight offered. "It is an incredibly rare ability, hence why Kirby wasn't here for the entire month. Ghost Kirby can control enemies to do what he wants, even to use them as meat shields."
"Woah, that is so cool!" Bun exclaimed excitedly, eyes wide as he stared in fascination. "What else can he do?"
"Nothing else, really, except for being able to fly," the puffball explained absentmindedly, as he gathered his cape around himself and strode off, effectively stopping Fumu's staring at his altered mask, which was now a plain white, and covered only his eyes and cheek blushes. As the knight walked off, he couldn't help but snicker at the expression on Fumu's face. After all, it wasn't everyday that you got to see more than just Meta Knight's eyes from behind his mask.
"Poyo?" A nudge from Kirby brought Fumu back to the present, and she shook her head irritably. The pink puff gave her a surprisingly sympathetic and knowing look, then chuckled softly.
"Why were you staring after Meta Knight?" Bun questioned gleefully, as the family started their walk to the ballroom. "Were you staring at his costume? Did he look really cool? Do you like him?" Bun burst into peals of laughter as Fumu glared at him, then danced out of the way when she tried to punch him. Snarling, Fumu leapt at him, determined to beat him to a pulp, when she suddenly felt something soft hit her in the back. Then, a tingly sensation spread quickly throughout her body. The girl tried to twist her head around to see what was it, but her head wouldn't turn. Panicking, Fumu tried to move her feet and arms, but nothing happened. Then, her feet started moving of their own accord, and she walked backward while not having any control over her limbs at all. Bun, Memu, and Parm could only stare open-mouthed at her.
When she was a good five feet away from her brother, another tingly sensation traveled through her body, and she felt something lightly brush her back. Fumu jostled her arms and legs, and was pleased to see that she had regained control. Looking up, she stared at her family and snapped, "What?"
While her mother and father simply continued to stare, Bun raised a shaky finger to point at Ghost Kirby. "He...he started controlling you!"
Fumu turned her head to look at the puff floating next to her head. "Is that true?"
Kirby blinked at her, like he was coming out of a trance, then nodded vigorously.
"But why?"
"Probably to stop you from tearing Bun apart."
"Lololo! Lalala!" Bun grinned, as the Lola twins floated into view. Lalala had a tiny headband with antennas attached to it, and two colorful butterfly wings attached to her back. Lololo also had an antenna headband, but it had much more feathery antennas attached. His wings were a soft brown with large circles.
"We saw the whole thing," Lalala exclaimed, as the family continued to walk down to the ballroom. "Kirby started glowing gold-"
"And then he bunched up-" Lololo cut in.
"And charged straight at you-"
"Then he was right behind you-"
"And whatever he did-"
"You did!" Lololo finished.
"That is very interesting," Parm commented, after a moment of thought.
"And you know what else is interesting?" Bun asked, a hint of panic in his voice.
"What?"
"Me."
Suddenly, a dark figure dropped down from the ceiling. He had a night-black, hooded cloak, that covered his entire figure, so that the only thing they could see were his blood-red eyes.
Memu fainted in terror, as the rest of them screamed, and Kirby simply scowled. The figure only chuckled darkly, and stepped forward.
"My, my, my, what do we have here? A family and their pets going down to the party," he snickered. "You wouldn't happen to know me, would you?"
"You mean, you're that thing we saw?" Fumu stuttered, backing away from him.
"Correct, Fumu," the figure smirked. The girl gasped. "Oh, yes, I do know your name. In fact, I know all of your names. But that's not relevant. For identifying me," - he gave a mocking bow in Fumu's direction - "I will give you a warning in turn."
"A warning?"
"Yes, a warning," the figure replied. "I wouldn't go to the party if I were you."
"And why not?" Bun spoke up nervously.
"Beware a shining ghost that comes when you dine, and a dark hooded demon that comes right behind," he chanted.
"A shining ghost and a dark hooded demon?" Lalala blinked. "Then it has to be that ghost we saw in the cellar! And the hooded demon...is that you?"
"You'll find more than one person who would be dressed in a cloak, you know," the figure shot back tauntingly. "I dare you to find him before the stage starts to glow!"
"What do you mean, 'Before the stage starts to glow'?" Lololo asked.
"That is for me to know and you to find out!" he laughed mockingly, but was abruptly silenced by a growl from Kirby. Everyone turned to the tiny ghost as he started jabbering away in his own language.
"Poyo po piyo poy poyo puy po!" he snapped. The figure whipped around, and the cloak fluttered around his feet, giving them all a very brief glance of scarlet feet before he turned back around and dashed off.
Abruptly, Memu jerked awake. "What happened? Is that nasty person gone? Where am I?"
As Parm began to fill her in on everything, Meta Knight swept into the corridor out of nowhere. "Did you see him?"
"If you mean-" Lololo began, but was cut off by Kirby.
"Poyo poyo poyo piyo poy poy po!" he cried, then pointed down the corridor, where the figure had gone. "Poyo poy pu!"
"Thank you, Kirby," Meta Knight dipped his head briefly, then shot down the corridor like he was flying.
"What was that all about?" Bun asked, once the knight had disappeared around the corner. "It was like he was chasing that person!"
"He probably was," Fumu murmured, as she stared at Kirby, who had floated impatiently ahead. "But one thing's for sure: both Meta Knight and Kirby definitely knows what's going on!"
...
Bun grinned. Ghost and hooded demons or not, this party was the life! Smiling happily, he plucked two candy apples from the snack table, then tossed one to Kirby. "Here ya go!"
"Puyo poy!" Kirby chirped, as he bit into the apple. The little ghost was enjoying himself immensely, and he had loved the shocked faces that had appeared on everyone's faces when they saw him. Floating higher than everyone's heads, the small puff looked around the ballroom, while still munching on his candy apple. At the far end of the big room were two giant oak doors, and a large stage with the curtains lined the middle of the wall, which Kirby eyed rather suspiciously. Long, cloth-covered tables made an L-shape at the other end of the ballroom, with a raised dais nearby. On top of the dais was a small table set for two. Overhead hung a truly enormous yet delicate chandelier. On the walls were large, shaded alcoves, many of which held pots overflowing with flowers.
Drifting back down, Kirby gave the stage another suspicious look, then decided to momentarily forget his warning. Absentmindedly, Kirby wondered what he should be for the next Halloween. Maybe Cupid Kirby? But then he'll have to find a Cupie, and to find them, the best place to go to would be Mustard Mountain. While he didn't mind paying a visit to the Mirror World, it was a pain in the neck to find the Amazing Mirror, which constantly moved across the sky. Maybe Animal Kirby? But then where would he find a Gaw Gaw or a Gao Gao? Or maybe UFO? But UFOs are incredibly hard to find, even harder to find than Ghost. He'll have to pay a visit to Patch Land, via the magic sock Prince Fluff gave him.
Frowning to himself, Kirby wandered through the crowd, occasionally glancing with interest at certain costumes. Samo was a magician, Honey was a princess, Iroo was a criminal, Mabel was a honeybee, Gus was Captain Falcon...
The little puff chuckled at the fame of Captain Falcon, then abruptly stopped as he caught sight of something shifting in the shadows. A brown paw, claws, the silhouette of pointed ears...
Kirby sighed. Really, he should have hid himself better. After all, when the pink puff first came to the Mirror World, he never knew where he would be hiding... Muttering under his breath, Kirby reached over and snatched a slice of pumpkin pie from a table. Drifting over to a random column, the puffball glanced around to see if anyone was watching, quickly dropped the plate into the shadows, then shot away like nothing happened. Watching out of the corner of his eye, he saw the shadow move carefully over to the pie, then swallowed it, plate and all. A very faint sigh of contentment sounded, and the thing simply vanished.
'Mission accomplished,' Kirby thought satisfyingly to himself, then went back to mulling over copy abilities. The little puff soon became so engrossed in thinking, that he bumped into someone and didn't even notice, until that someone tugged hard on his foot.
"Nani?"
"Hello to you too, Kirby."
"Meta Knight!"
Chuckling, the knight let go of the ghost's foot, then sidled back into the shadows. "You seem preoccupied. What's wrong?"
"Well,I had to give him a piece of pie, and we were blocked by you-know-who."
"Why did you have to give him pie?"
"Apparently he was hungry."
"Oh."
The two puffballs fell silent as they gazed out across the ballroom, simply enjoying each other's company. Eventually Kirby spoke up.
"When is the time for the feast?"
"In a minute or two. Why?"
"Well, it's just that-"
The little puff was abruptly interrupted by a loud fanfare from the Waddle Dees, announcing the arrival of the king and his lackey. Meta Knight hurriedly teleported away and Kirby quickly darted over to Fumu, who welcomed him with a light pat on the head.
As everyone watched, the large wooden doors of the ballroom were heaved open by seven Waddle Dees and Captain Waddle Doo, the latter dressed like one of the three musketeers. Another fanfare sounded, then Waddle Doo stepped forward.
"Please welcome his majesty King Dedede!"
Silence.
The crowd began to mutter among themselves. Where was the king? Was something wrong? What happened?
Lololo and Lalala glanced up at Meta Knight, who had teleported into one of the shaded alcoves, and was well hidden by the flora. The knight's eyes had turned a slowly disappearing purple, and were staring at the door. Sword and Blade, both dressed as Vikings, and were on either side of him, were also watching the door closely.
Suddenly, a terrified scream sounded from down the corridor, and Dedede and Escaragon burst through the open doors, running like the devil was after them. The two skidded to a stop, then ran to the heavy doors, and struggled desperately to shut them. Seeing their king trying futilely to close the doors, the Waddle Dees and Waddle Doo braced their feet, and helped shut the door with an echoing bang, just as the first hint of dark, mocking laughter reached everyone's ears.
Panting, King Dedede and his lackey, Escaragon, turned toward the crowd. Escaragon was wearing a red and blue jester costume, complete with a currently lopsided four-pointed jester hat, with bells tinkling at the end. Dedede had apparently dug out an old, moth-eaten, ragged gray robe, along with an almost black band that had several holes in it. His usual beanie cap was just as moth-eaten and gray as his robe, and the makeup on his face depicted what half his face would look like if you stripped away his flesh. On his chest was a red splotch, and in the middle, a dark circle that looked like a hole. The king definitely looked quite a bit like a pengi zombie.
Giving a less than convincing smile, Dedede spread out his arms and hollered in a rather shaky voice, "LET THE FEAST BEGIN!"
Immediately, the stage curtains were flung aside as countless Waddle Dees, all dressed in various costumes, marched into the ballroom in single file, carrying dish upon dish of delicious foods. Added to the marching of the feet were the scrapes of chair legs on the floor as everyone took a sit at the tables, even Kirby, who gave Meta Knight one last curious glance before taking his seat. The Waddle Dees marched up to the long table and placed their various dishes on top of the smooth white cloth, while a few other ones clambered onto the dais to set the smaller table. After the food had been placed, and Dedede and Escaragon settled, everyone raised their glasses, and with a loud symphony of delicate clinks, the crowd roared out,
"To the spirits of Halloween!"
All glasses drained, everyone happily dug into their food, with the exceptions of Fumu, and, surprisingly, Kirby, who both started eating with much less enthusiasm.
"Cheer up, nee-chan!" Bun mumbled through a mouthful of pastries. "It's Halloween, for Nova's sake!"
"I know, Bun," Fumu sighed back. "But I just can't stop thinking about what that person said.' Beware a shining ghost that comes when you dine, and a dark hooded demon that comes right behind.'? What if they come right now?"
"It's probably a prank," Bun replied, after swallowing. "After all, anybody could have done it." He waved a hand around at the couple dozen of hooded figures, all munching hungrily. "Right, Kirby?"
However, instead of answering with his usual cheerful "poya!", Kirby simply picked at his food and didn't answer. The Lola twins looked at the quiet puff. "Kirby? Is something wrong?"
The small puff cast a rather pointed look toward the stage, inhaled the rest of his food, and snatched two apples from another plate. Popping one in his mouth, Kirby chewed quietly, while still casting suspicious looks at the stage.
Suddenly, all the lights went out, leaving the glows coming from certain costumes to illuminate the darkness. Hands were grabbed, gasps and swears sounded, and shrieks were stifled. However, it was Honey who let rip the first scream that started a series of terrified cries.
The stage was illuminated by cold, icy blue light, courtesy of the tiny little flames that bobbed and floated around the platform. Glancing up at the other dais, Fumu was surprised to see that Dedede and Escaragon were hugging each other, clearly scared out of their skin. 'So they're not responsible,' Fumu thought, but her attention was directed back to the stage by a series of new gasps. The thick red velvet curtains were slowly sliding open, and a soft white light was permeating through. As they watched, the light condensed into a white form: a figure draped in a white-gold sheet and a golden hem, with celestial amber eyes. Fumu and the Lola twins gasped. It was the ghost!
The ghost gazed at the audience for a single moment, then raised its arms. Immediately the tiny blue flames started dancing around it in two circles. Floating upwards, the ghost continued to stare at the petrified audience, while the cold fire flew around it.
Suddenly, it let out a piercing scream, then shot towards the audience, streaming blue fire, which now flew behind it in a flaming tail. Immediately, everyone started screeching in terror, and all the Waddle Dees and Waddle Doo struggled to open the heavy doors that were the only way out for the panicking crowd. But, try as they might, they couldn't even shift the doors. Someone had bolted them shut from the outside.
Realizing this, the mob backed against the heavy doors, struggling to stay as far apart as they could from the ghost, which now was floating serenely towards them, as if it had all the time in the world to torture them all.
Fumu, Bun, Lololo and Lalala were in the very front of the crowd, which meant that they were the closest. Panicking, all four of them looked frantically around for Kirby, but the little ghost puff was nowhere to be seen. Not even Meta Knight and his knaves were in the alcove they've been hiding in. It seems like they were now truly without any help.
Narrowing her eyes against the light, Fumu stared at the ghost in horror. Was this how it would end? Killed or tortured by the paranormal figure in front of her? She closed her eyes fully, and turned her face away, preparing for the killing touch of the ghost.
Suddenly, a horrible, eerie cackling started up from the stage. All heads turned to the sound, save for the ghost, who had stopped and was simply staring at them. At the stage, a single, dark hooded figure stepped out from behind the curtain. Turning to them, his revealed his smoldering, blood-red eyes. Throwing back his head, the figure started laughing insanely, uncontrollably. The sound brought their deepest, darkest fears to the villagers' minds, and all froze where they stood.
Just then, then door opened from the outside, and everyone tumbled out. Now that they were free, the villagers ran madly from the ballroom, screaming like no tomorrow. Fumu, Bun, Lololo, and Lalala hid behind the heavy wooden doors, instead of running. They watched as the ghost floated out, along with the cloaked demon, who was still snickering. Together, the two set off at a run the opposite way from where the townspeople had run. When they had faded from sight, the four stepped back out from behind the doors, only to nearly scream from the hand that had tapped them on the shoulders. Whirling around, they came face to face with Meta Knight, Sword, Blade, and Kirby.
"Thank the stars!" Fumu gasped out in relief, clutching at her heart. "It's only you guys!"
"Of course it's us," Meta Knight replied, puzzled. "Who else could it be? Now if you would excuse us, Kirby and I have some business to attend to."
Right on cue, a howl sounded from somewhere in the castle, making everyone except for the puffballs jump in fright. Looking impatient, Kirby tapped Meta Knight's shoulder pad and poyoed a few times, jerking his head down the corridor. The knight nodded, and turned to Sword and Blade.
"Escort the children back to their rooms. This is too dangerous."
"Hai!" the two knaves replied, but they sounded unhappy.
"Now wait just a second here!" Fumu snapped. "You can't lock us up! The castle is my home too, and I want to take part in chasing down whatever dangers are lurking in here! Remember Wolfwrath?"
"Yeah! And we want to help too!" Bun and the Lola twins cried out in unison.
Meta Knight winced mentally at the mention of the disastrous meeting with the demon wolf, then said in a firm tone, "No. Last time I...underestimated my opponent. This time I know exactly what I'm doing. Besides, Kirby is with me." he added, in a somewhat futile attempt to shake them off.
Fumu folded her arms stubbornly. "Then all the more reason for me to go with you guys. Who else is there to summon the Warp Star?"
Heaving a huge sigh, the blue puffball gave Kirby a sideways look, and muttered in a voice so quiet - and so exasperated - that only their own species could hear,
"I don't recall her ever being so annoying."
The younger puff could only shrug his shoulders and give a weak smile and a sympathetic look, before cocking his head to listen to another outbreak of howling, fainter than before. Frowning, Kirby floated toward the sound, then back again, obviously torn between waiting for his friend, and chasing down the escaping prey.
Meta Knight was growing more and more impatient by the second, thanks to the four children's annoying stubbornness. Finally, the blue knight threw up his hands in defeat, and exploded.
"All right, all right, all right! You all can come! On one condition though," he added as an afterthought.
"What condition?" Fumu asked suspiciously, while the others, including Sword and Blade, danced and cheered in the background, and Kirby simply face-palmed.
At this, Meta Knight smirked in an unsettling way, then replied happily, "I'll let you come with me...if you can keep up."
Abruptly, he tossed his cape over Kirby and himself, and teleported away. Everyone else finished singing and dancing, and, seeing no puffballs, turned to Fumu, who had her jaw around her feet.
"Uh, Fumu?" Sword questioned awkwardly. "Where are Meta Naito Kyou and Kirby?"
"Well, I don't know!" she exploded. "They just vanished and left us here without even telling us where they went!"
Right on cue, another faint howl sounded somewhere below them. Lololo and Lalala darted over to everyone.
"What if we followed the howls?" Lololo offered.
"Then we can find the ghost and the demon-" Lalala started.
"-and Kirby and Meta Naito Kyou!" Lololo finished.
"That's a good idea," Blade applauded, before turning back to everyone else. "Come on. We have no time to waste. We have no idea how close our lord and Kirby are, so we better hurry!"
And with that, all six of them took off towards the closest flight of stairs.
...
Downstairs, Meta Knight was swearing in about ten different languages, unknowingly teaching Kirby some very colorful phrases. The two were chasing after a small, furry brown thing, and right now it was so far ahead of them they could only see the very tip of its tail. The blue puffball turned to the ghost floating next to him.
"I thought that having the Animal ability slows you down, not speed you up!" he gasped out.
Ghost Kirby simply shrugged, and replied, "Well, he does have to keep those two in sight, and this part of the castle isn't exactly what you would call clean."
"Too true," Meta Knight groaned, glancing at a massive web in the corner, which held an even bigger spider. He shuddered as the gray spider turned its head to stare at him with its eight milky eyes. The knight pointed it out to Kirby.
"It reminds me of Seymour," the ghost remarked, as they passed underneath the web. "Big, gray, and nasty.Yuck."
"Don't let Zelda hear you saying that! Besides, that sounds rather...childish."
"I'm barely a week old in puffball terms, so I can be childish," Kirby sniffed. "Anyway, weren't you the one who shook the others off by cheating at a mixture of tag and hide-and-seek?"
"Oh, shut up."
...
Meanwhile, the others were creeping through a secret passage way that Bun had pointed out.
"It leads to an abandoned part of the castle," Bun explained, leading the way with a flashlight. "If I'm right, then we just might get in front of Meta Knight and Kirby, and catch that ghost and demon!"
He sounded so positive; one couldn't help but believe him. Sword gazed at the walls of the musty tunnel and whispered to Blade, "You know, I think we've been down here before."
Blade nodded. "When Meta Naito Kyou told us to meet him down here a month ago, and we were late. He was in such a grouchy mood too. It's a good thing that we found this tunnel and got ahead of him, so we could pretend that we got here early to scout around."
"Yeah," Sword agreed absentmindedly. "But then doesn't this tunnel lead-"
Abruptly they tumbled out of the tunnel and onto something soft.
"-to here." Sword finished lamely.
"Oof!" Bun sat up. "I wasn't expecting the tunnel to end so quickly, but I'm glad that we landed on something soft!"
"That something soft is me, you nincompoop!"
Everyone looked down and screamed at the top of their lungs, then jumped off as if they were burned. Getting up, the hooded demon and the ghost straightened their outfits, then glared at them.
"I'll give you a ten second head start. Then we'll kill you."
All six of them ran screaming down the corridor, with the two paranormal figures chasing after them.
...
"Did you hear that?" Meta Knight cocked his head, in order to hear better.
"I you mean Fumu screaming, then yes, I did hear that," Kirby replied, bored. "I really spend too much time hearing her scream. At least I know when she's in trouble."
The older puffball glanced sharply at his apprentice, before letting out his huge bat wings with a large amount of cracks and pops.
"That's better," he said happily. "Now, let's hurry!"
...
Fumu, Bun, Sword, Blade, Lololo, and Lalala were cornered. And there was no Kirby to save them.
Leering, the ghost and the demon slowly advanced. They had chased the six for a full thirty minutes, and were eager to claim their prize.
Everyone was slowly backed into the corner. Sword and Blade unsheathed their swords in a flash, but they were abruptly knocked away from their hands. They were defenseless.
Chuckling, the demon tilted his head and fixed his gaze onto Fumu. "Tut, tut, tut. You didn't find us before the show started. And you didn't heed my warning. I'm disappointed. And I thought you were such a smart girl too." He shook his head in mock disappointment, then grinned. "No matter. You won't be alive after this night anyway." He started laughing again, quietly at first, then louder and louder, until the laughter became the same as the one he had laughed back in the throne room. Horrible, insane, dark laughter. Except that now that it sounded right in front of them, it was ten times more horrible.
Giving one last snicker, the demon smiled, and pulled out a long silver sword.
"DIE!"
All shut their eyes tightly, tensing against the expected pain. But it never came, save for two soft sighs.
It was Lololo who opened his eyes first, and the sight made him gasp. It certainly was odd.
"N-nani?"
The ghost and the demon were passed out on the floor, and a small brown wolf-like animal with a black chest was sitting on top of the demon's body. Over the three was a red-eyed Meta Knight, Galaxia in hand, and Ghost Kirby, floating next to him. Apparently the blue knight had smashed the flat of his blade against the two figures' heads.
"You are all such bakas! You should never have come down here!" Meta Knight snapped, sheathing Galalxia. "I have half a mind to have you doing drills for the rest of the night and into the morning!"
"Sorry, sir," Sword and Blade lowered their heads meekly.
"And you four!" The knight rounded onto the children and the Lola twins. "You all have no idea what might live downstairs! Do you know what might have happened if you passed out all alone down here? You probably would have been devoured by carnivorous spiders and rats!"
All of them winced at the mental picture that the irate puffball had conjured up in their minds, while Kirby quietly nudged Meta Knight and murmured something in his ear. Taking a deep breath, the knight calmed down a bit, and muttered in a low voice.
"But I suppose I shouldn't blame you. After all, it was these two hooligans who had caused all the trouble," he explained, and gestured to the two unconscious figures on the floor.
"But who are they?" Bun stammered, staring at the two.
Sighing, Meta Knight gestured for the small animal to get off the demon, and it did, running over to Kirby, where the small ghost started chatting with it. The knight then reached down and tugged off the sheet and the dark cloak. Everyone save for the two puffballs and the animal gasped.
Underneath were two Meta Knights. Or at least, they looked like Meta Knight, except with different color schemes. The ghost was a white Meta Knight with golden feet, gray-gold shoulder pads, and had the same color cape as the sheet he had been wearing. The demon was a dark gray Meta Knight with lighter gray armor, and scarlet feet. He had a long scar going down his mask where his left eye would have been, and his cape was dark gray and tattered.
"Who...?" Fumu gasped, staring at the two, then staring at Meta Knight. Three Meta Knights? This was most odd.
Sighing, Meta Knight grasped his white look-alike's cape, and dragged him off down the corridor. The animal and Kirby did likewise with the dark look-alike. Looking closer, they could now see that the animal was actually a dark gray Kirby wearing an animal suit. The three chucked the two armored puffballs into a dirty, but admittedly handful closet. Shutting the door, Ghost Kirby settled himself onto Meta Knight's armor, and the dark gray Kirby contented himself by ducking under the knight's cape. Fumu dashed after them.
"Hey! You haven't answered by question yet!"
"That," Meta Knight replied tiredly. "is a tale for another day."
The Kirbies chuckled. "Grown-ups are always the same, aren't they?" Shadow Kirby remarked casually. "When they say 'later', it's always 'never'."
"Oh, shut up."
End
Author's Note: Happy Halloween! Twenty pages in Microsoft Word. I think I'm not going to update for a while...
Nani-What
Baka-Idiot
Hai-Yes?