Out of the left field comes this story. I'm sure my previous viewers aren't expecting this but I'm in a Kirby mood these days, considering how fast the games are coming out. Besides, it's my third favorite franchise. I hope you have decent knowledge of Pokemon and Kirby for better reading experience. If not, Google helps.


Chapter 1: Save Us, Star Warrior!

It was already 8 o'clock at night.

The fettered firmament gradually came into view. A blistering blood ball rose out of the mountaintops, growing bigger and hotter. After reaching its maximum size, chains from the edges of the heavens shot out and locked the celestial embodiment of bloodshed in place.

The Chained Moon appeared again.

The curfew started and most didn't hesitate to rush inside their homes, even the likes of revenge-fueled fools and night robbers obeyed. Children were locked in their rooms, ears and eyes shut. Doors and windows were locked tight. The same as usual.

Those who refused to behave wisely would be pulled by the hidden ghost Pokemon for interrogation. Only patrol units were allowed to remain. Although, judging from their facial expressions, they preferred to return home if they could. It was a known fact that five guards died on average each night. A huge loss considering the population of Locxin was only ten thousand. The number kept declining each day and so do the pool of talented individuals.

Stationed around the outskirts of the city, the humanoid guards rested near bright lamps and observed the sky.

The red clouds began to surround and revolve around the Chained Moon. Soon enough, they would spawn.

The intel guys at the headquarters scrutinized the wind direction, air resistance, trajectory, speed and countless other indicators to accurately predict the landing sites of them. A crucial task that ultimately could be the decisive factor between life and death for many.

Noticeably, a Metagross managed four different computers by himself. He was about to finish the calculation until…

"What?!" The Metagross turned back to his human form, slamming the table with both hands. "This is unprecedented!"

Decades ago, an apocalyptic event wiped out all humans and Pokemon, caused by the wrath of a usurper god. The metal rings of life that coded all living beings were broken apart and rechained by the new god.

To put it simply, the people of Locxin had two bodies but one soul. They weren't a fusion of human and Pokemon but rather a spirit that possessed two bodies and can switch between them freely.

As a human, the Metagross wore a white lab coat and silver glasses. He had blue eyes and short dark purple hair with bangs that swept to the right side of his face. His skin was a bit pale. However, to the jealousy of many, he had an impressive height of 185 centimeters.

Removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes before sighing, he returned to the screen. Apparently, one of the landing sites was Agna Square, the biggest commercial intersection and residential area in Locxin.


Clockwork Church

There was one book required by law for every single resident of Locxin to read. It told a story of three legendary heroes that sealed the gory god of chains away in the Sealed Grounds…temporarily.

The three heroes were neither dead or alive. Rather, they turned into stone statues and rested on their respective altars to keep the chain god chained, ironically.

Unfortunately, one of these altars already got destroyed by them. The creatures of the night would target the next statue, which was inside Clockwork Church, not far away from the center of Agna Square.

On the church spire, a giant Roman clock fitted inside a purple crescent moon structure. The moon shot a beam to the Sealed Grounds.

Inside the church, we could see smaller versions of the clock attached to each pillar. In Locxin, this procedure was sacred. In fact, clocks and watches were very popular. You could find one anywhere.

If connected together, two gigantic glass stained windows depicted a Lunala with eyes closed and wings folded as if it was just sleeping. Between them was the statue, impressive in size but colorless.

A middle-age man knelt before the altar with two staffs. His right hand held a dark blue hilt topped with the Adamant Orb, fitting inside the crescent moon like the clock. The other got a light blue hilt and Lustrous Orb, bits of water orbited around it like a solar system.

The man emanated dying persistent hope. He gripped his weapons tightly but often loosened after long moments of concentration and praying. He had light blue eyes and dark blue hair, well combed regular cut. Wearing a golden enchanted wizard robe and hood, he stood out.

There was no hiding it, he was the legendary Pokemon Dialga. In Locxin, being born as a legendary Pokemon was considered a rare mutation with odds equivalent to Shiny Pokemon. There were some breeding tricks to increase it, but they were often not talked about. It was a controversial topic.

Dialga softly sang his pleas solemnly. Light from the windows illuminated his melancholic face, showing the downward eyes that stared at two rings on his ring fingers. Diamond on left, pearl on right.

"Do reach me fast, free me from this sorrowful land." Dialga stretched the last syllable slightly.

"Times don't change unless you arrive. With hand to hand…" The song seemed slow while the time traveled fast.

"…we can change everything. Free the world from its shackles." Dialga raised his voice a little.

"Lalalalalala, Lalala, star warrior, save us, our savior." This song got a very distinct rhythm to it.

"Lololo, Lololo, Lolo-lo-lo, push us out of these chained boxes." Dialga sounded a bit awkward singing these parts. He tried to make his voice younger to little success.

"Falala, Fololo, Falala, Fololo." Dialga sped up a little.

"Little bird, is there any difference between the sky and your little cage?" This didn't sound rhetorical.

"Are we all the same? Do we all suffer the same fate? Will history repeat itself? Would my eighteen years of prayers be wasted?" Dialga lifted his head and eyes to the ceiling of the church wishfully.

"Do reach me fast-" Dialga was about to repeat until he received a call. He tapped his earpiece to communicate.

"Special Unit D Leader Diamond, this is Meta! Emergency! A group of Keylers will spawn near the church!" Meta alerted urgently. "Exterminate them and protect the statue at all costs."

Diamond widened his eyes as he rushed outside, eyeing the Chained Moon with anxiety.

The chains started squeezing the blood out of the bleeding moon. Like a dying slave, it coughed gooey, thick blood-like substance all over. Something stirred up an abnormal red wind, controlling the landing sites.

"I'm going to call for all available reinforcements. Stall them out." Meta maintained semi-calmness in his voice before rapidly making calls.

"Roger that." Diamond ended, eyes following the falling blood intently.

Just outside the church, on a plaza road leading to the intersection, blood splattered on the ground. Five puddles were formed and five underworldly creatures jumped out.

They were known as Keylers. Just like a normal Locxin person, they had a humanoid and Pokemon form as well as genders. One big difference though, they had only one desire—destroy.

As a human, all Keylers wore a Klefki's face mask. They had a blood-like liquid body and steel armor covering them like clothes. The only thing distinguishing their genders was their hair. Short spiky blood hair for male and long, straight hair for female.

Each of them wielded a different weapon, all gray colored. One was armed with a key-shaped sword with sharp edges on both sides, hilt chained to his right hand. The second held a big keychain that functioned as a boomerang with four keys. The next spun around a chain with the end connecting to a hammerhead. The other shot a spear out of her left palm, linked by chain. The last wielded dual scythes connected to both palms.

"Dual scythes?" Diamond showed surprise in his voice. "Do your worst." He stretched his legs out, ready to move.

Red pupils flashed out of Chainscythes' mask and the other four rushed ahead of him while he observed with arms folded.

"I'll stop you dead!" Diamond twirled his time staff and a golden clock appeared overhead, ringing. The move Clock Out froze the time of nearby enemies. The four Keylers got trapped and Diamond changed into his Dialga form before stomping them, causing Earthquake.

A soundly shockwave shook the ground and wind messed up Chainscythes' hair. Obviously, he didn't care. Rather, he focused on observing his opponent.

That was a decent display of battle prowess. Pokemon and humans had different move-sets. Switching between them was essential. While there was no limit to how many moves a human can learn, they required a weapon and lacked an ability.

Chainscythes noticed that Dialga was exerting Pressure, an ability that accelerated fatigue rate of nearby enemies. Immediately, the calm Keyler went on the offensive.

He jumped and extended both scythes at Diamond who quickly turned human and jumped back.

Unexpectedly, Chainscythes used his scythes like hookshots, projecting himself toward Diamond with incredible speed and kicked him in the chest.

Diamond yelped as he got knocked inside the church. The four Keylers recovered and entered alongside their leader. Quickly getting back to his feet, Diamond tried to use another Clock Out.

Sadly, Chainscythes turned Klefki and erected Crafty Shield, a team barrier that nullify all status moves. Diamond's right eye twitched in heating stress before blazing up with hope as two fiery figures charged toward the church.

"Master Diamond, reinforcements reporting for duty!" Blaziken energized in a burning voice, engulfed by Flame Charge.

"Let me go ham on 'em!" Emboar spoke in a deep voice, breaking through the church with his partner.

Flame Charge gave the user speed boosts while they were engulfed in flames. Hence, the two arrived before everyone else. However, it also had drawbacks. While in Flame Charge, the user's agility got crippled, reducing their ability to make sharp turns.

Needless to say, the Conkeldurr guys got work to do tomorrow, fixing the broken church walls. Even worse, all Keylers jumped away from the linear attacks to the side aisles safely. Another sad day for taxpayers.

The two deactivated Flame Charge as they got near Diamond, positioning themselves like his bodyguards.

"More reinforcements are coming. But we hope to be enough for now." Blaziken informed, locking his eyes on the Keylers.

"Good. Men, we shall protect the statue with our lives." Diamond connected both orbs together and created Distortion Barrier, blurring reality, time and space around the statue. "Over my dead body, Keylers."

Klefki pointed his keys at the three and the four attacked. The calm Keyler then turned back to see more reinforcements coming. He chained all available entrances with Fairy Lock. Due to his Bloody Prankster ability, his status moves received a wide range of buffs. From reduced cooldown and energy consumption for Crafty Shield to ghost type-blockage and long-lasting effect for Fairy Lock.

"Feel the burn." Emboar created a ring of bluish flames and blasted Will-o-Wisps at them. This move would inflict Burn, dealing continuous damage and cutting their Attack. Reflexively, Klefki blocked it with Crafty Shield.

"Oi, not fair!" Emboar turned human, a chubby full-metal knight with sword and shield. He shielded the relentless sword slashes from Keysword and deflected Keychainerang's keychain with his broadsword.

"I'll take that troublemaker down." Blaziken stopped dodging Chammer's swings and kicked his chammer away blazingly. After a Blaze Kick against his face, there was an opening to attack the Klefki.

Suddenly, Chainspear made her ambush from under the seats, trying to impale Blaziken.

"Watch out!" Diamond blasted her away with Time Beam: the time gear projectile would stop the enemy's time after multiple uses.

"Thanks. Now, here's his demise. Hyah." Blaziken aimed Blaze Kick at the Klefki, betting on getting that lucky Burn.

However, Klefki outsmarted him by shooting Mirror Shot at Blaziken's eyes, blinding him momentarily. After the attack missed, Klefki rushed over to his left ear and drastically reduced his Sp. Def with a harsh Metal Sound.

Seeing this opportunity, Keysword and Keychainerang changed their target. They each blasted a ball of bloody fairy energy shaped like a full moon, called Blood Blast. Blaziken screamed in pain as he took major damage, coughing out blood.

"Hang in there!" Diamond hastily cast Lustrous Bubble, putting Blaziken inside a regenerative and protective water spell.

"Thank…you." Blaziken slumped inside the bubble, exhausted. Threateningly, Chammer and Chainspear tried to burst his bubble. Emboar hurried to help his friend.

"For a bunch of soulless creeps, y'all know a thing or two about teamwork. However, you'll never have heart like we do!" Emboar roared and switched into a fire pig before stomping the ground with Bulldoze, decreasing their Speed.

Klefki commanded Keychainerang to switch their roles. Afterwards, Chainscythes threw out both scythes and locked Emboar's legs in place. Diamond was too preoccupied with Keysword to help. Not to mention the energy used to maintain Lustrous Bubble.

Chainscythes pulled and Emboar toppled. Chammer capitalized this chance to whack his back black and blue.

"N-no. We can't…lose." Diamond short-breathed, blocking Keysword's strikes to no end.

The situation was hopeless to say the least.

Chainspear kept poking the bubble, terrifying Blaziken.

Chainscythes restricted Emboar's mobility as Chammer tortured him.

Klefki maintained Fairy Lock, stopping the reinforcements.

Since so many reinforced guards were called, the patrol units at the outskirts were outnumbered, leaving a large number of Keylers roaming free. They broke into people's homes and killed them…

Worst of all, the reinforcements outside didn't watch their backs and got slaughtered one by one as the Keylers got their reinforcements instead.

It was a chain effect really; would tonight go down as one of the worst tragedies in history books?

"Please save us…Kirby." Diamond made his final plea as he was slowly overwhelmed.


King Dedede's Castle

A penguin was sitting on a throne with his snail lackey by his side. They were King Dedede and Escargoon respectively.

King Dedede opened his monitor to contact Nightmare Enterprises. No doubt the dededestructive king wanted to order monsters for his selfish schemes once again.

"How can I help you, King Dedede?" NME Salesman said with a bright smile and charming voice.

"I need a monster to CLOBBAH DAT DERE Kirby." King Dedede ordered with his dededelightful voice.

"That's what we do best at NME." NME Salesman showed both hands in a celebratory pose.

"You'd better get it with a money back guarantee!" Escargoon advised earnestly to no avail as usual.

Thus, began an ordinary day for Kirby…


Kirby's House

It was a cozy little dome house with basic and minimal interior. Yet, it was probably more welcoming than any mansion out there. A small fireplace provided warmth as rings of smoke rose up the tiny chimney. A window gave a beautiful view on the green, fine fields.

Any normal Locxin person would prefer to live here. Very small but most could manage. The object of envy was definitely the starry blanket. There was no such thing as stars in Locxin. Only blood clouds and the Chained Moon.

Surprisingly, the Star Warrior wasn't the one sleeping inside. Rather, an obnoxious yellow bird named Tokkori.

Knock! Knock!

"Put a sock in it!" Tokkori covered his face with 'his' blanket after rudely yelling at the guest. "Can't a bird get any sleep?"

The knocking sound got louder. Tokkori groaned before crankily getting out of bed.

"Hey, deafy! Can't you hear? Whatever you're sellin', I ain't buyin'. Now, put an egg in your shoe and-" Tokkori realized just then that this was no ordinary visitor.

It was Masher, one of Nightmare Enterprises' monsters. A red cylindrical robot with a golden spike helmet, double the size of Kirby's house. It wielded a heavy flail and wore black shoulder pads. In addition, it got a cross on its body.

Crouching down and staring at Tokkori with its intimidating V-shaped visor sensor, the bird turned pale.

"Heh heh, I c-can bring you to Kirby. Just don't touch my feathers." Tokkori negotiated apprehensively.

Masher lifted its flail up and Tokkori flew away, squawking. The monster chased Tokkori and eventually found Kirby sleeping under a tree, daydreaming about food.

"Open your peepers, pinky! We got company." Tokkori shook Kirby awake before hiding behind his back.

"Poyo?" Kirby yawned as he slowly came to his senses only to see the flail coming for his face.

At that moment, a rift between space and time was opened underneath the three. Before Masher could mash dat dere Kirby, the three got sucked in.

Tokkori and Kirby both screamed in shock as their voices echoed throughout the wormhole.


Clockwork Church

"Argh!" Diamond eventually fell. He tried to get back up with the support of his staffs. However, Keysword swept them away with a low kick. He then stepped on Diamond's head disparagingly in a sheer act of dominance.

Diamond gritted his teeth as he clawed the ground.

"I won't let you prevail!" Diamond turned into Dialga with the last of his strength and tackled Keysword away.

"You killed far too many of us… You destroyed our homes… I'll kill you!" Diamond snapped into rage, tears falling from his eyes as he rammed recklessly right at the Keylers.

"Master!…" Blaziken exclaimed in surprise before clenching his fist and punched through the bubble into Chainspear's face. Even though the bubble exploded, it was a great distraction.

Emboar grabbed hold of the chains and tried to swing Chainscythes into a pillar. The Keyler immediately let go of his legs.

The three grouped together as they made their last stand in critical condition.

"Gimme orders and I carry 'em out." Emboar glanced at Diamond.

"What shall we do?" Blaziken did the same but with more worry.

Diamond switched back and retrieved his staffs. "Simple, we fight. Fight until the end. If there's no star in the sky, we won't pray for one to suddenly appear anymore. We'll be one instead!" Diamond rallied their spirits.

His voice was heard.

A crack in the sky opened and a star appeared. A shooting star named…Masher.

Masher's heavy body descended down in a flash like a flaming meteor. Its system seemed to be malfunctioning as it lost control and crashed into the Keylers outside of the church, killing them all. No casualties as all the reinforced guards were already dead.

Tokkori followed suit, falling down someone's chimney.

"Something smells like turkey." Tokkori sniffed. He then widened his eyes. "Hot, hot, hot! I ain't a baked bird, you hear? Help!"

Unlike them, Kirby floated down gently. At first, he mistook blood for tomatoes sauce and licked his lips. They reminded him of Maxim Tomatoes, his favorite food. Upon closer look though, Kirby saw they were coming from the dead bodies and lost his appetite.

"Poyo?" Kirby nudged a dead body. It was cold, limp and lifeless. The pink puffball immediately became horrified. He wasn't used to something like this in Dream Land. Sure, Kirby annihilated a lot of monsters but…

Just then, Keysword rushed out of the church and tried to take him down. Big mistake.

Kirby merely sucked him in. The Star Warrior transformed into Keyler Kirby. He wore a Klefki mask over his right eye. The Keyler ability allowed him to summon any combinations of two Keyler weapons as well as using all of their available humanoid skills. In this case, Kirby picked dual keyswords.

The three wounded guards scrammed out, showing positive reactions toward Kirby's arrival. Diamond grinned glitteringly like a gemstone. Kirby was one of the most popular franchises in Locxin. A franchise filled with sweet nostalgia for many. Diamond always knew Kirby wasn't just a fictional character as the manipulator of time and space.

However, just like any other series, Kirby got fans and haters.

The three quickly ran behind Kirby, relying on his protection as the four Keylers surged out.

"No time to explain. Please save us." Diamond pleaded genuinely. Kirby nodded and engaged in combat determinedly while Diamond and the rest recovered inside the bubbles.

Chainscythes analyzed the pink alien's battle skills as Chammer and Chainspear threw themselves at our wholesome boy.

Kirby blasted Chammer into oblivion with Blood Blast and rolled away from Chainspear's stab before performing an Upward Slash and Sword Dive combo against her.

The Keyler ability was like a powered-up package of Kirby's old abilities. Therefore, he could use them naturally like an expert straight away. The biggest takeaway from this, however, was the fact that Kirby dealt massive damage even with resistance in favor of the Keylers.

Chainscythes finished forming a strategy. First, he ordered Klefki to use Imprison, restricting Kirby's ability to use blood energy altogether. Second, he threw both scythes out, blood energy transforming them into giant claws. Kirby floated up quickly and barely dodged Reaper Claws, exhaling after the scythes were pulled back.

Since Imprison didn't prevent Kirby from attacking normally, he rushed to stab Klefki before finishing with spin attack. Only one Keyler remained, an elite one, however.

Chainscythes performed a horizontal slash, which Kirby ducked easily considering his height.

The Star Warrior countered with Upward Slash. Unfortunately, Chainscythes kicked Kirby away faster. Although, the damage wasn't enough to knock the copy ability out.

Seeing Kirby in trouble, Dialga removed the bubbles and cast Chrono Cure. Magical blue light removed all of Kirby's negative status effects and special conditions.

Wasting no time, Kirby changed his right weapon into a keychain and utilized the move Keynado.

Chainscythes knew this tricky move well. The red tornado served serious multi-hit damage. However, it got one weakness. Before its returning trip, the keychain would need to recharge blood energy.

Chainscythes dashed away before turning back to attack it. Shockingly, it disappeared…

Kirby switched to chainspear and shot it out to pierce through Chainscythes before pulling him close for the finishing attack. The Star Warrior stabbed through Chainscythes with the keysword before turning it like unlocking a door. This was called Unlock Death.

The three watched in awe as Chainscythes exploded, all thanks to Kirby.

"You'd it, lil guy! You showed 'em who's boss." Emboar praised and lifted Kirby up on his shoulder. The puffball chuckled happily.

"I wasn't aware that Kirby's this edgy. This isn't what I expected." Blaziken commented from a distance, pointing at the mask specifically.

"You haven't seen the early Kirby commercials, haven't you? Ever played the games?" Dialga asked curiously with a knowing look.

"Unfortunately, no. What's next? Organize the funeral for these brave guards?" Blaziken looked at the corpses with sorrow before turning human and removed his helmet, bowing respectfully.

He was a skinny knight with a claymore sheathed behind his back. His hair was curly, red on the front, orange on back.

"First, I think we got some explaining to do. Kirby deserves to know what he's getting himself into." Diamond held his chin, preparing his explanation.

"Fair enough." Blaziken nodded, eyeing the dead guards guiltily. Some were flattened by Masher, bet their corpses wouldn't look good.

Speaking of Masher…

An abrupt wind breezed through the night. A red shadow darted across the sky, dropping a Keyler mask down on the broken monster.

"What the hell?!" Emboar yelled out in frustration. Kirby looked confused.

"This doesn't look good." Diamond sweated, looking up for any signs of the culprit. Miserably, nothing.

The mask wrapped around Masher's visor and revitalized it. Activating its shoe jets, Masher rocketed to the sky and howled.


Boss Battle 1: Keyler Masher

Recommended Music: Super Mario Odyssey's Madame Broode Battle


Masher spun around and hurled its flail down, targeting Kirby exclusively.

"Gotcha, lil guy!" Emboar grabbed Kirby and ran, avoiding the spike ball.

"Masher's coming down. Now's our chance!" Diamond indicated, attacking with fully-charged Time Beam. The clock meter filled up faster against airborne opponents.

Emboar placed Kirby down and burned it with Will-o-Wisp. Blaziken finished the combo with Flaming Slash, dealing additional damage because of Burn.

Masher quickly snuffed the burns and grabbed the flail, blood energy flowing through the entire weapon. Automatically, the spike ball pounced on Kirby like a mad chain dog.

"Poyo, poyo poyo." Kirby vocalized his fear as he flapped his arms, flying away fast.

Masher flew up and chased Kirby, continuing the move Masher Chomp. The puffball defended himself by throwing two keychains. However, they weren't very effective against Masher's armor.

Emboar tried to help Kirby by using Fire Blast at Masher. It didn't deal much damage.

"Damn, that piece of junk is tough." Emboar frowned frustratingly. A relaxed hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Master got this in the bag. Save your attacks." Blaziken turned to Diamond admiringly, who fired another fully-charged Time Beam.

Blaziken and Emboar smiled with anticipation. Just one more fully-charged Time Beam and the clock meter would be full.

Diamond concentrated and shot the last Time Beam with precision, smiling triumphantly.

Masher got a surprise for them though. Its cross emblem radiated Blood Barrier, nullifying all negative special effects and status conditions.

"Hell no! What we supposed to do?" Emboar scratched his head furiously. Blaziken looked flustered.

"Masher isn't capable of this in the anime or games." Diamond clicked his tongue, shaking his head slowly. "I don't know…"

They looked disappointed, unable to create a solid plan…yet.

When Masher got close enough to Kirby, eyes and mouth formed on the spike ball's face. The eyes shot blood lasers at Kirby, blasting him down before swooping to chomp him.

Kirby got chewed and spat out, crying in pain. Diamond winced, thinking that perhaps it should be him in Kirby's place. After all, it would be tougher to chew a Dialga like a marshmallow. His eyes then lightened up.

"Shoot Focus Blast at Kirby, give him the fighter ability now! I got a plan." Diamond ordered with confidence.

Gazing into Diamond's reassuring eyes, Blaziken obeyed doubtlessly. "Inhale, Kirby!"

Kirby, who was about to retrieve his Keyler ability, turned around and inhaled the Focus Blast instead, gaining his iconic fighter headband.

"Now, hit and run, Kirby! We've your back." Diamond directed.

Kirby listened and sprinted away from the chomping attack, jumping left and right to dodge lasers before momentarily shooting Vulcan Jabs. The other three chipped away Masher's health slowly from behind.

Fuming, Masher blasted lasers in a rapid succession after it kept missing. Kirby blocked in fear, knowing he couldn't dodge them all.

"Don't worry! We've your back, remember?" Emboar reassured, linking Kirby to his shield with green magic. The defensive art Damage Divide split damage equally among linked allies.

The explosions made clouds of smoke. Believing Kirby to be a goner for sure, Masher turned to the three cockily. This gave Kirby the perfect chance to charge Giga Force Blast and shot it at Masher's back, making a nasty dent.

Masher immediately turned back to chase Kirby with Masher Chomp, pushing its shoe jets to the limit.

"Masher's at low enough health. Time to finish this." Diamond addressed Blaziken, gesturing for them to execute the final part of the plan.

Blaziken, in his Pokemon form, grabbed Diamond's legs and spun around before chucking him toward Masher.

Diamond channeled his energy into both staffs. Upon getting close to Masher's back, he used Adamant Boost to double Kirby's Attack, albeit also halving Sp. Atk. Then, he proceeded to send out pearl white energy in a move called Space Switch at Kirby.

Before Masher could chomp Kirby, Diamond took his place and used his mighty Dialga feet to push the spiky teeth away.

Kirby felt his fists hardened and stiffened, as if they turned into gemstones. The pink fighter stared at Masher's damaged back, knowing what he had to do.

"Poyo!" Kirby performed a spectacular, shiny uppercut. Rising Break pierced through Masher's armor. Red lights flashed out before the monster exploded for good.

Kirby landed and did his little victory dance before the situation settled in. This wasn't the best time to celebrate…

Blaziken made calls, presumably to the headquarters, cleaners and funeral directors.

Kirby looked down in sadness, innocent to this level of brutality and gore.

"Hey, don't be sad. None of this is your fault." Diamond crouched next to him. "You might be new to this kind of thing but… It happens every night." He spoke in a mournful yet slightly desensitized manner.

Kirby didn't look any better.

Diamond sighed. "I know you didn't choose to get involved in any of this yourself. Therefore, I can't be mad if you choose to leave. However, do know that everyone will be happy beyond words if you stay. We are developing a machine that can destroy the bad guy. However, we need you to power it up. It should be finished in…three weeks." He came up with an optimistic estimation. "So, what's your choice?"

Kirby viewed the starless sky. The crack was still wide-open and he could return to Dreamland whenever he wanted…hopefully. However, the bloody atmosphere and the Chained Moon scared the young boy. Were the weird strangers of this world worth saving? Risking his life for what?

Seeing his hesitation, Diamond played his trump card.

"Kirby, imagine years' worth of delicious yummy cakes, sweets, deserts, tomatoes and food everyone will give you in return for saving them." Diamond persuaded exaggeratingly and Kirby watered his mouth.

"Poyo poyo!" Kirby jumped up and down in excitement. Everyone chuckled at Kirby's straightforward food-loving attitude.

"Hopefully, starvation doesn't become an issue…" Diamond had a quiet, nervous chuckle. Suddenly, he got a call.

Tapping his earpiece to receive it, he heard the voice he knew extremely well. The voice of a late adolescent girl.

"Dad, are you okay?! I just heard that they attacked Clockwork Church. I thought that… I thought that…" She spoke in a brittle voice.

"Altarigia, everything is okay. I might get older, but definitely not weaker." Diamond assured, touched by her caring concern. "Besides, Kirby is here."

"Kirby?!" Altarigia was astonished.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. It's a miracle. Want to see him? I'm thinking that we should meet at a nice ramen restaurant. Yeah, that one. Reminds me of Kawasaki's place. The food's dirt cheap and Kirby might like it. See you soon, my lovely daughter." Diamond finished the call.

After the curfew's over, the three brought Kirby to Chef Ocyaki's place. It oozed oriental charm and conditional coziness with sliding bamboo doors, tiny tables, cushion seats and banners with strange symbols.

The Octillery chef was rather lousy. His cooking skills were mediocre at best to put it politely. To his credit, he got a generous heart. One L-bill could buy a bowl of ramen. Somehow, the restaurant managed to stay in business despite the clear lack of profit margins and poor customer reviews.

With no staff, he did everything by himself. He cooked as a Pokemon, accepting orders humanly. Just your average fair guy with creamy tentacles-like hair in a chef's uniform.

Ocyaki quickly returned to the kitchen with a delightful face. Apparently, Kirby ordered everything on the menu. Diamond got the right idea eating here, otherwise…

Not long after, Altarigia arrived. She inherited her father's light blue eyes and light skin tone. Her long light blue hair fell to her waist. Peculiarly, she got two feathery white tufts of hair to the sides. For her body, she was slender and flat-chested.

The Altaria girl wore a long sky-blue dress with fluffy cloud hems, alongside white pants and silver sneakers.

"Hi!" Kirby greeted the new stranger, waving his hand.

"Hi." Altarigia returned the gesture shyly. "It's nice to meet you, Kirby. You might not know this but, I'm a big fan of yours. Um, you can call me Ali."

"Al-li." Kirby pronounced with some difficulty.

"Oh, introductions, introductions. How'd I forget?" Diamond rubbed his head sheepishly. "My name is Diamond, yeah named after a literal gemstone. A big fan as well."

"I'm Bon. Don't really know much about you, honestly." Bon admitted, shrugging before sipping his hot tea.

"And I'm Gruth. I don't mind if you forget it, lil' guy." Gruth sounded casual and friendly. Without his helmet on, his bowl-cut dark brown hair and moustache were revealed.

"Dee-ah-mon, Bonk, Ga-rood." Kirby butchered their names, creating laughter all around. "Kirby!" After introductions were done with, the topic changed.

Altarigia was tense throughout the conversation about the recent battle. Thankfully, the food arrived and it ended. Ignoring everything else, Kirby slurped up bowl after bowl. Even though the young boy lacked manners, the rest didn't mind much.

Compared to Kirby who seemingly loved Chef Ocyaki's food, the rest were eating sluggishly. Particularly, Altarigia spiraled the noodles in a trance. Sure, the food was bland and tasteless. The meat of non-Pokemon animal was also seasoned poorly. However, something else bothered her.

"Kirby, here." Altarigia pushed her bowl to Kirby, who gave a confused look. "I'm not hungry. You can have it. Consider it thanks for saving my father."

Upon hearing this, Diamond placed his chopsticks down.

"Ali, I will be safe. Please don't be anxious." Diamond reassured, almost in a pleading manner for her to relax.

"You know what happened to Mom…" Altarigia restored a painful memory, one which traumatized Diamond night after regretful night.

Diamond's eyes drowned in sorrow, gazing ever so tightly down on the pearl ring. Kirby watched worriedly.

Altarigia saw his expression and felt guilty. "Dad, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay… I'm fine. Eh?" Diamond widened his eyes when Kirby pushed a ramen bowl toward him. "For me?" He pointed to himself.

"Poyo." Kirby nodded.

"What a cutie. Lil' guy wants to cheer you up." Gruth commented.

"T-thanks." Diamond didn't know how to react. Kirby had shared food before but this was still a rare sight. The puffball really knew how to lighten the mood…by forcing extra Ocyaki's junk down someone's throat. Diamond couldn't refuse as that would be rude.

Ocyaki was called over after they finished the meal. The chef counted all the bowls and drinks, adding them up to a grand total of 145 L-bill, which he rounded down to 100 L-bill. A special hero discount apparently.

Diamond paid for everything. Bon easily looked the most grateful.

"Please come again!" Ocyaki bowed before carrying the gigantic stacks of bowls to wash, grunting.

Once they were outside, Gruth and Bon bid their farewells.

"Bye, lil' guy, we might not see each other for a long while." Gruth rubbed Kirby's head, forcing out a smile. "Be a good boy, will ya?"

"Poyo?" Kirby looked puzzled.

"You see…" Bon started to explain. "We are just random grunts that have gotten a transfer order to Ilios Province not long ago. You will be with Master Diamond and his special unit, so show some pride and don't concern yourself with us low-ranking guards." He averted his eyes.

Although Bon sounded cold, he had a reason. Living as a guard meant chaining your life next to death. Perhaps it didn't sound so bad, ignoring that god was the opponent.

"Men, I won't forget your bravery." Diamond saluted.

"It's an honor fighting alongside you, Master. I won't forget it." Bon saluted respectfully.

"Bye, lil' guy." Gruth waved.

"Poyo." Kirby waved back, quite sad to part ways with his new friends.

Diamond and Altarigia guided Kirby to his new home in Selinia Province, a house located close to Plaza Park. The public park where trees and pathways were chained together, tying the fountain in the middle.

Along the way, Altarigia shed light to a significant matter.

"The headquarters are shuffling people around again? Is that why Chester and Chenryl are returning?" Altarigia asked, looking up to her father.

"Um, yes." Diamond looked around before he began criticizing openly. "They're exchanging the weak guards here for the strong ones there because Ilios Province is now pretty safe. Quite counteractive to be honest. Sure, stronger guards come here but, at what cost? Most of them are forced to leave their hometown. They'll be homesick and I'm sure as hell they won't give their all to protect Selinia strangers."

Kirby looked curious and baffled.

Diamond decided to cater his curiosity, customizing the content to suit him. "Kirby, you'll meet new friends tomorrow. Fun fact, you aren't the only new member to join our little family of four. There's also the Grovyle prodigy that took down an entire group of Keylers by himself."

"So, he is really joining us…" Altarigia covered her embarrassed, red cheeks.

"I know you two had a history together. However, start things afresh, okay? Make him feel at home." Diamond thought about teasing her but didn't pursue it. Altarigia nodded obediently in response.

The three eventually reached their home. A typical ghost-proof house with two floors. The second floor's balcony gave a breathtakingly creepy view of the Chained Moon.

Altarigia unlocked the tall steel gates and Kirby waddled excitedly into the front yard. Noticeably, a tree cavity allured the boy with familiarity. It reminded him of Tokkori's nest. Kirby decided to sleep there for the night.

Diamond and Altarigia had no objections but they seemed amused.

"Good night, Kirby." Both of them said one after another.

"Poyo." Kirby yawned before soon falling asleep.

Diamond disrobed, revealing the black suit underneath. Altarigia took the golden robe off his hands, evoking a smile naturally on his face. Diamond delved into his right pocket for an electronic keycard. Using normal steel keys was a taboo in Locxin.

Diamond slid the card through the lock and opened the door with a different hand. Strangely, his hands felt colder than usual. An omen he noticed but didn't make a big deal of.

Tonight, a star shined in the sky for the first time. However, would this star satisfy the people's hopes and change the course of history, defying the very fate the chain god desired? Or would Kirby fall like the countless guards before him? Only time will tell…


Nightmare Fortress

"Interesting." NME Salesman smirked as he watched the footage one of Nightmare Enterprises drones had captured.

"Looks like it's time for Nightmare Enterprises to branch out into new worlds. Huhuhu, let's see if I can trick Big D into donating a large sum of D-bills for our magnificent conquest." NME Salesman rubbed his hand eagerly. "But first, time to report this to Nightmare…"


Extra Information

Diamond: Age-46 Height-180 cm

Altarigia: Age-19 Height-174 cm

Bon: Age-28 Height-177 cm

Gruth: Age-31 Height-168 cm

Ocyaki Age-23 Height-175 cm

Meta Age-22 Height-185 cm


The combat introduction chapter's now done. I'm sure you have many questions. However, be patient. I will explain things when they are necessary.

This story has a focus on combat over plot. I actually cut down a lot of words in this chapter to maintain the exciting fast-paced feel of it.

I advise you to use your own imagination to fill the gaps. Details like wind blowing against someone's hair won't be mentioned often. I will also reduce the frequency of redundant details (form changing, ability knockouts, putting their weapons away as the fight's over etc.) as the story progresses. Keep an eye on the "s", it tells the difference between a normal and elite Keyler. Also, experiment with camera angles and try to play the fight like an animated cutscene for optimal experience.

The Kirby Universe in this story is sort of a mix between the games and anime. King Dedede is the only one who can speak in full capital word because his voice is better than everyone else (my bias). Normally, it's not my style.

Spoiler warning, certain Kirby final bosses will be spoiled. Kirby fans, keep track of the chapter titles. It won't be easy as the Kirby games to figure out the final boss though. Lesser known Kirby characters will also join the fight. I will keep their identities as surprises.

For the music recommendations, feel free to choose your own. I don't mind.

Sorry if there are any mistakes, I didn't give this story to my editor since it isn't intended to be released before my other future stories. I will let him decide if he wants to proofread or not.

The story will be updated slowly. However, I promise that I will never abandon it as long as I live.