Vile: *rides in on a UFO* Jeez, I need to give my brain a good shocking. I haven't been around here in two years!
Kirby: Well, at least you haven't been completely dead.
Vile: Surprisingly, due to my lousy update schedule. But yes, I've created another chapter for my own Kirby season... or should I say chapterS? Yep, I made two chapters this time around. ...Granted, this one WAS supposed to be one chapter, but it got so long that I had to split it into my first two-part episode. I was leery at first, but Kirby's done two-parters in the canon show.
Tuff: *pulls up a chair and pulls out some popcorn*
Vile: I'll likely give this chapter a few days before posting the second part, but the second part is already complete, just so you guys are aware. ;) Plenty of people have asked me when the next chapter of this story would be posted, and I've heard all of you. Trust me, I never forgot about this. Enjoy!
Kirby: Right Back At Ya! Season 2
Episode 4: Live By The Sword…
"Magolor." The mechanic's master called to him while he had his back turned.
"Yes, Master?" Magolor replied, turning to face him.
"What is the progress on the Monster Mutator?" The master asked.
Magolor's eyes seemed to squint with joy. "Oh, that's a question I was hoping you'd ask. The Mutator is completely finished."
"Good… Well done, Magolor."
"Thank you, Master… but there is still one thing." Magolor told him. "Since SHE ran off with the gem, we've lost our only test subject. Using it on any of our existing monsters could be disastrous."
"Hmm… You have a point." His master said.
"But fret not, Master. I've already formulated a plan." Magolor began explaining the plan to his master, out of earshot of anyone.
When he was finished, his master chuckled. "Excellent, Magolor… Your intellect gains the advantage once more. Implement the plan as soon as possible."
Magolor bowed. "Yes, Master."
*The Next Morning* *Castle Dedede*
"So lemme get this straight, Mabogor. You want me to set up a swordfightin' tournament in Dream Land?" King Dedede asked Magolor from the other end of the screen.
"Indeed, Your Majesty. I've witnessed your little friend, uh… Meta Knight, was it?" Magolor replied, getting a nod from Dedede and Escargoon. "Ah, good. Anyway, his skill with the sword was impressive, and I feel there's nothing wrong with a little sport, so I put two and two together and came up with this idea."
"At least one of you two can add." Escargoon snarked, getting conked on the head for his troubles.
"And exactly what's in this for you? You sales types always got a trick up yer sleeves." Dedede asked skeptically, tapping his hand on his arm rest.
Magolor grabbed at his chest like he had pains… a little too dramatically. "Oh! You wound me, King Dedede. I have not attempted to swindle you once since you started our program! Why do you confuse us for the cheapskates that are Nightmare Enterprises?"
Dedede brought the monitor closer to get in Magolor's face. "'Cuz after all the times I got burned by them, I can't trust you lot! Not to mention my head still aches from Box Boxer slammin' me into the dirt!"
"All right, all right, I understand!" Magolor griped, backing away from the monitor. Dedede moved the monitor back into normal position. The mechanic let out a breath. "Okay, you're right. I do have a reason. But if things go well, I'm willing to give back to my customer." Dedede and Escargoon leaned in with "I'm listening…" faces. "We have a new swordfighter monster created, but he needs testing. Therefore, I want you to bring together great swordfighters to see where he ranks. And if he happens to win the tournament…" Magolor leaned into the screen. "I have a fabulous prize for you."
The duo's eyes lit up. "It better be one heck of a prize, Hard-Boil!" Escargoon said.
"Oh, trust me, it will be." Magolor said. "I should warn you, though: Bringing our monster to you will count against your trial program, but I've made sure the prize outweighs it. Do we have a deal?"
Dedede and Escargoon looked at each other for a moment as if to try and figure out what to do, then they turned back to the screen with grins. "Deal!"
*The Next Day*
"First Annual Lorxram Swordfighting Tournament. Test your skills against those who share your skill with the blade. Tournament will be held at Green Greens in one week. See Waddle Doo at the town square to sign up." Tiff read off of a poster in town, Tuff and Kirby with her.
"Why the heck is Dedede putting this together? It's not like we have a whole lot of swordfighters other than Sword, Blade, and Meta Knight." Tuff said.
"I'm not so sure Dedede's the one behind it this time, Tuff." Tiff told him.
"Plus, Tuff, you missed one other." Kirby said in a fake hurt voice.
Tuff was confused. "Huh?" Kirby pointed to himself with his thumb, smiling with his eyes closed. "Oh yeah! How could I forget about Sword Kirby? But still, four's not much of a tournament, is it?"
"You're thinking too small, boy." A voice said. A loud footstep then rattled the three of them, making them turn and come face-to-face with a large, smirking brown-skinned creature with wild black hair, a muscled frame, a breastplate and kilt, a face mask on the wrong side of his head, and a single large green eye.
"Uh, and you are…?" Kirby started.
The creature put his fist to his breastplate. "I am Triplade, King Dedede's representative for the Lorxram Swordfighting Tournament.
"You? Over the knights?" Tiff asked.
"It isn't my fault that they didn't want to partake. But as I mentioned, there will be more participants than just us. Swordfighters from across the entirety of Pop Star are incoming for this tournament. There's nothing more alluring than the spotlight of battle glory." Triplade said, clenching his fist.
Tiff rose an eyebrow. "Didn't want to partake? Wonder what's up with them?" Tuff and Kirby shrugged their shoulders.
"Well, it doesn't matter how many are in the tournament, because I'm going to win nonetheless." Kirby said confidently.
Triplade gave a sporty laugh. "Bah hah hah hah hah! You've certainly got guts, kid, but you don't look like you can handle a sword." He said with a grin.
"Just wait for the tournament and see for yourself." Kirby told the large creature with a smirk.
"I'll be looking forward to it. Don't disappoint me or your public, Kirby." Triplade gave a sign-off gesture before walking away.
"Huh, guess my reputation precedes me." Kirby said.
"Well, you did save the whole planet from eNeMeE." Tuff told him.
"Heh heh, good point."
Tiff had a very skeptical look on her face. "…I don't like this."
Kirby looked at her, confused. "Why not, Tiff? It's not like Dedede's the one who put this together."
"Not that, Kirby, it's what he said about the knights." Tiff replied. "I could understand them not wanting to show off their skills without a good reason; but if that guy's Dedede's representative, something else must be going on."
Kirby looked thoughtful, his hand on his chin. "Hmm... You have a point. Maybe we should try and find Meta Knight and see just what he thinks about all this."
"Just what I was thinking. Come on." The three friends headed off in search of Meta Knight. The only real problem was that they didn't even know where he was. They found Waddle Doo and asked him (signing Kirby up for the tournament in the process), and he pointed them in the direction of the Cappy Town outskirts. After a while of looking, the trio managed to find Meta Knight along with Sword and Blade, but for some reason, they were sparring with each other.
"Uh... Are we interrupting something?" Kirby tried asking them, but they didn't even notice that the three kids were there. This miffed Kirby a bit. "Hello? Trying to have a conversation here!"
Sword Knight landed from a backflip, glancing over at them. "Sorry, Kirby. Bit busy at the moment." He told them, going right back to parry Blade and Meta Knight's moves.
Kirby facepalmed. "Oh, I hated it when they did this." Tiff then whispered something in Kirby's ear, making him smirk. "I didn't think you had that sort of idea in ya."
"Us smart types can be devious when we want to be." Tiff told him, winking. Tuff looked confused, but Kirby stepped forward, rapidly moved his feet, then unleashed Inhale in the direction of the three knights.
Meta Knight was quick to react. "What? Stand your ground!" All three knights held fast to prevent Kirby from Inhaling them, but rather than them, all of their swords changed into energy, escaping their grip and flying into Kirby's mouth. Kirby then spit them back out onto the ground as stars, which turned back into the swords.
"Now that we have your attention..." Kirby said, crossing his arms.
Meta Knight's eyes briefly glowed green before fading back to yellow. "You wish to know about the tournament, yes?"
"How does he always do that? Are you psychic or something?" Tuff griped.
"No, just well informed."
"Either way, if your reaction is any indication, you don't have a good feeling about this tournament." Tiff stated.
Meta Knight nodded. "You are correct. That name, Lorxram... I have heard King Dedede mention it multiple times."
"Could it be where he's getting his monsters now?" Tuff wondered.
"It is very possible. We're taking no chances if it is." Meta Knight said. "The three of us have decided to enter this tournament in order to see if something deeper is happening."
"But that Triplade guy side you didn't want to partake in the tournament." Kirby said.
"We didn't. Not at first, at least." Sword told them. "But that guy sent shivers down our spine." Blade mumbled something, the only intelligible word he spoke being "monster". "Blade's right, that bloke's definitely got to be a monster."
Kirby crossed his arms. "King Dedede ordering a monster to win something. Why does that not surprise me one bit?"
"I believe it is more than that, but what I am not sure." Meta Knight said. "Either way, I must ask that I keep my sword for the tournament, Kirby."
"Never planned on keeping it from you." Kirby then Inhaled Galaxia and spit it to him as a star. Meta Knight caught the star effortlessly, causing it to reform into Galaxia. Kirby then turned to Sword and Blade. "Either of you two got a spare sword on you?"
"Just so happens..." Sword Knight said, pulling out a generic sword that wasn't his yellow one.
Kirby smiled. "Nice. Set me up, Sword." He then kicked the swords at his feet back to their owners, who swiped them with ease. Sword Knight then tossed the spare sword at Kirby, who used Inhale on it, gulping it down and leaping into the air.
*Transformation Scene*
Kirby backflipped rapidly in the starry sky before righting himself, then a bolt of lightning strikes the "ground" in front of him, making him briefly shield his eyes, a blue sword hilt with a red gem in it embedded in the ground where the bolt struck. Kirby looks back and grabs the hilt with both hands, slowly pulling the sword out. As he does, his body changes color from his feet to his head, making his feet brown, his outfit resemble a green tunic with a brown belt, brown gloves appear on his hands, and his hair turn blonde. When the sword was fully out, revealing its silver blade, Kirby slashed with it twice, a conical green hat with a yellow ring and pom-pom forming while he did this, then he held the sword aloft.
"Nice! Sword Kirby is in the castle." Tuff said.
"You brought up a good point. I need to make sure my skills are in shape as well, so I'll be joining this session." Kirby said, twirling his sword.
"Happy to have ya, mate." Sword told him.
"Indeed. The more allies we have in this, the better." Meta Knight added.
Kirby nodded. "Then let's begin!" The four warriors then began the training session anew, Kirby trying out his new body's skills against them. Sword Kirby was just as powerful a swordsman as he used to be, parrying the three knights as they attacked him one at a time, keeping everything fair. As Kirby leapt back from an attempted strike by Blade Knight, he pointed his sword upward with a "Hyah!", white energy gathering into the blade, before he then gave a slash that created a Sword Beam, the laser blade screaming forward and slicing the ground. Blade Knight smartly leapt out of the way, the Sword Beam slicing a tree clean in half. Kirby panted a bit. "Whew. I forgot how much it took out of me to use that."
"Your new form's nimbleness has become a new advantage for you." Meta Knight told him. "Perhaps you have what it takes to emerge victorious in this tournament."
"Perhaps. It will hopefully be a fight of honor no matter what." Kirby said, twirling his sword and holding it on his back.
*King Dedede's Castle*
Three slashes across the black screen came before seven targets were slashed in half, the pieces falling to the floor. Triplade was in position after having cut his targets apart, his eye closed, facemask on the right side of his face, each hand holding a sabre, including a third arm that had sprouted out of his back. "…0.4 seconds for 7 targets. That's about .05 seconds per target." He opened his eye with a smirk. "New record."
"You certainly do like to keep yourself in shape, don't you, Triplade?" Magolor's voice said as Triplade turned to face the blue egg-shaped creature, who was watching through a small TV with a helicopter blade.
"The way of the sword is the way of readiness, after all." Triplade said, twirling his swords. "Be ready to grab your blade and cut 'em down in an instant."
"Very true. However, I trust you haven't forgotten your mission?"
Triplade's smirk became a sick grin. "Of course not. I make my way to the top… then this planet won't know what hit 'em, heh heh heh heh!"
Magolor clapped. "Good. Now, let's see if you can go for 10 in half a second!" He pushed a button on his control panel, spawning a group of ten more targets in the room.
"Consider it done, coach." Triplade said, getting into a battle stance before charging at his targets.
*The Next Day*
Grasslands coated the area as far as the eye could see. Plenty of trees and flowers were growing, but not enough to truly cover the area like the forest of Whispy Woods. Odd formations that could probably be mountains could be seen in the background, having cylindrical shapes with green domes for peaks. Undoubtedly, this was the place Pop Star knew as Green Greens, wild animals and other creatures happily going along their usual lazy lives.
However, there was a much greater bustle going on in a certain valley within this area. Set up in the area was a large square of stone, and surrounding it were plenty of various tents, as well as seats with numerous spectators of all races, genders, and ages eagerly awaiting the commencement of whatever effect was going on. That effect was displayed on a banner above the area: "First Annual Lorxram Swordfighting Tournament."
"Hello, and welcome to you all!" The voice of Magolor spoke as the mechanic addressed the crowd, holding a microphone. "My name is Magolor, and I will be your host for this, the first ever Lorxram Swordfighting Tournament!" The crowd cheered, save for Tiff, Tuff, Fololo, Falala, and Marx in the crowd. King Dedede and Escargoon, who had their own seats away from the bleaches, grinned at what was about to happen. "Word of this show of bladed sportsmanship has spread far and wide across this planet, so it is my pleasure to introduce the 16 competitors that will strut their stuff for you, as well as decide who among them is the master of the blade!" Magolor gestured toward the contestants, all of whom stood ready.
"An edge forged from fire itself: Vulcan!" A jaguar-like competitor pulled out a hilt, flames raging from it to create a makeshift blade.
"From five blades into one forceful fusion: Yugo!" A young man of the same race as Tiff and Tuff pulled out five swords and merged them into one larger sword.
"The furious slashes of the unhinged mind: Inzaniac!" A rather crazy-looking creature spun around like a tornado, a sword slashing as he did.
"Unpredictable warrior with an accent for flavor: Sword Knight!" Sword Knight slashed twice before planting his sword into the ground.
"His strange speech hides his true skill: Blade Knight!" Blade Knight twirled his sword before pointing it to the sky.
"The best offense can make a good defense: Ferra!" A young woman of Tiff and Tuff's race hefted a massive sword with ease, holding it in front of her like a shield.
"Tamer of the living sword and the pet he calls friend: Kenta and Sodory!" A small sword-like creature with a single eye on the hilt flew around a young boy before willingly landing in his hand.
"Pulling her armory from out of nowhere: Erza!" A red-haired woman created two portals in space, pulling a sword out of each.
"The man whose skills got better with age: Zanji!" An elderly man in samurai-like armor bowed before showing a katana in its sheath.
"She sticks to the basics, but is no less a pro: Kanon!" Another young woman brandished not a steel sword, but a wooden kendo sword, having the clothing to match.
"An edge as cold as the arctic north: Celsius!" A pale-blue-skinned woman gathered icy energy to her hand, forming a sword made out of ice.
"If two blades are good, three blades make it a party: Triplade!" Triplade sprouted his third arm from his back, a sword forming in each hand, holding his third sword like a scorpion tail.
"His swords are part of his very existence: Gallant!" A rather thin, green-skinned humanoid horse creature sprouted blades from the undersides of his wrists.
"The masked knight of mystery with the fabled sword Galaxia: Meta Knight!" Meta Knight merely moved his cape to his sides and drew Galaxia.
"Constructed to wield a sword with 100% efficiency: Rohm!" A robotic entity launched a sword from its back, catching it in its hand.
"And last but not least, Pop Star's very own swiss-army hero: Kirby!" Kirby, already in his Sword form, tossed his sword into the air, spun around once, then snagged it before hefting it on his back. All of these contestants had garnered cheers from the crowd, but naturally, Kirby got the most applause of them all.
"Show 'em whatcha got, Kirby!" Tuff cried.
"Yeah, send 'em home to mama!" Marx added.
Magolor then walked (er, floated) up to the contestants. "All right, everyone, here's a quick overview of the rules: These matches have no time limits, so they go on until one person loses. You are declared the loser if you give up, if you pass out and do not get up at the count of ten, if you fall out of the ring, or if your swords are knocked out of your hand by your opponent. Other than that, any and all tactics are allowed apart from killing your opponent: You are forbidden from inflicting lethal damage on your opponent, and in the event of a victory by 10-count, medical personnel are on standby. Does everyone understand?" Various affirmative gestures came from the 16 swordfighters. "Excellent! Now, to decide your placement in this competition!" Magolor produced a small deck of cards and fanned them out. "Everyone, please take a single card. The number on it will determine your placement." One by one, each contestant took a card.
Kirby flipped his card over: 9. "Looks like I'm right near the middle."
"I was not so lucky… or unlucky, depending on your point of view." Meta Knight said, showing his card as 14. Sword and Blade's cards said 3 and 12, respectively.
"Looks like it'll take me some more time to get to tussle with you, Kirby." Triplade said, showing his card as 2. "Don't lose before I get the chance, got it?"
Kirby smiled. "Don't get too expectant, Triplade. I'm not too sure what the others here are capable of. They might just surprise us." Triplade merely laughed in response.
After everyone had taken their cards, Magolor clapped his hands, causing a board with a tournament bracket to emerge from nowhere. The bottom of the bracket was lined with the numbers 1-16 from left to right. Everyone's cards then glowed before shooting toward the board, each one striking a number and morphing it into a contestant's face, showing the fight order:
Match 1: Ferra VS Triplade
Match 2: Sword Knight VS Gallant
Match 3: Zanji VS Vulcan
Match 4: Rohm VS Erza
Match 5: Kirby VS Inzaniac
Match 6: Kanon VS Blade Knight
Match 7: Yugo VS Meta Knight
Match 8: Celsius VS Kenta and Sodory
"The matchups have been decided!" Magolor announced to the crowd. "Are you ready to see some superb swashbuckling?!" The crowd cheered in response. "All right then! Let us commence the first match! Sword… CLASH!"
*Ferra VS Triplade*
"You're good with a blade that big." Triplade mused as he kept assaulting Ferra with his three blades, Ferra blocking them all with her sword's width. "However… Defense isn't all you need to win! Hi-yah!" With a quick motion, Triplade stuck his two main arms under her sword before using the fingers of his third arm to punch her chest. Suitably off-guard, Triplade then flung his main arms upward to effectively catapult Ferra's sword out of her hands and into the air. "Game over." The Cyclops then spun around and gave Ferra a rough kick to the gut that knocked her onto the ground, her sword planting itself beside her.
"We have a winner! The three-armed terror Triplade has won the first match!" Magolor announced, making the crowd go into cheers.
"Hey, he's actually pretty good!" Fololo said.
"Heh heh heh heh! Smooth slicin', Triplade! You'll have the gold before ya know it!" King Dedede cried as he and Escargoon clapped. Triplade merely gave the crowd a smile, waving with his third arm.
*Sword Knight VS Gallant*
Sword Knight wasn't exactly having a difficult time dealing with Gallant: As far as he could see, his strategy largely consisted of simply charging ahead with his blades outstretched. He was more like a jouster than an actual swordfighter. "Is this all ya got, mate? I could be finishin' my latest book with all the open time you're givin' me here!" Sword said to his opponent.
"You dare mock my noble prowess? Have at you, good knight!" Gallant shouted back, charging at Sword Knight once more with blades outstretched. Sword Knight, clearly already bored, kept dodging Gallant's charges before pulling an age-old trick: With the horse knight sufficiently ticked off, Sword merely moved close to the edge of the ring. Sure enough, Gallant didn't notice a thing as he kept charging him, only for Sword to simply dodge left and stick out his foot, causing him to trip, front flip, and because his blades were still outstretched, practically pole-vaulted himself further away from the ring, landing face-first into the grass.
"Ole! A supreme matador technique from Sword Knight, running Gallant straight off the ring for a ring-out victory!" Magolor cried, with the crowd showing their liking from the Aussie swordfighter.
"Heh! Gallant always thought he was better than he really is!" A person in the stands jeered.
"Yeah! His ego's longer than his face!" Another cried, causing the two of them to burst into laughter. Gallant snorted as he picked himself up and slowly walked away from the ring.
*Zanji VS Vulcan*
"RAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Vulcan roared as he charged toward Zanji, fiery blade brimming with a desire to slash and burn. Zanji, meanwhile, merely ambled slowly toward Vulcan in a steady stride. The jaguar's eyes blazed with fury as he moved his blade down…
A bright flash sliced through blackness.
In the blink of an eye, Zanji was on Vulcan's other side, katana drawn, and Vulcan wasn't moving an inch. Ominous silence fell over the area before Vulcan crumbled to the ground, his sword's fiery blade dissipating. Magolor went over to Vulcan and saw that he was clearly out cold, so he began the countdown. "1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6! 7! 8! 9… 10!" A few Waddle Dees off to the side rang a bell. "That's it! A well-placed slash shuts all that fiery energy down, leaving Zanji victorious over Vulcan!"
As the crowd cheered for Zanji, the old man approached Vulcan, who was finally stirring. "You have potential, young one." He told the jaguar. "Perhaps if we meet again… I can help you harness that power."
Vulcan was silent for a moment, but then he nodded his head. "Thank you. I would be glad to call a fighter like you 'Master'." Zanji waved to the approaching medical personnel, who took Vulcan off the ring.
*Rohm VS Erza*
"No machine can match the level of prowess of a living being!" Erza cried as she summoned many different swords from seemingly nowhere. "Take this!" Pointing forward, the swords rained down on Rohm, piercing through the robot like multiple needles. Its body crackling from the open areas, Rohm fell over backwards with a hollow thud.
Erza eyed the robot harshly for any sign of it wanting to continue, but then its arm raised and produced a new object: A white flag, which it began waving. "The white flag's the universal sign for 'I give up', so Rohm has officially conceded the match to Erza!" Magolor announced as the crowd cheered, but then he looked around. "I wonder if Rohm's creator is around here. …Those repairs are not going to be cheap, I can already tell, eheheh!"
*Kirby VS Inzaniac*
"COME HERE, HERO!" Inzaniac shouted as he spun around like a bladed tornado, moving back and forth quickly as Kirby desperately tried to either dodge or block his attacks with his sword. "WHAT'S WRONG, DON'T YOU WANT A HERO'S DEFEAT?!"
"Jeez, what's with this maniac?" Kirby wondered to himself as he continued to dodge the insane attacks. "I need to take him down quick before I end up turned into coleslaw. How should I do this, though…?" Kirby went into deep thought, somehow still managing to avoid Inzaniac's power.
Inzaniac eventually spun away from Kirby, screeching to a stop. "Not gonna play ball, huh? All right, then!" He pulled out a belt lined with daggers. "Then let's see you handle THIS!" Tossing the belt into the air, he went back into his mega-spin, creating a small tornado as he slashed the belt to pieces, the daggers being carried in the wind and spinning around him.
Kirby braced himself for a harsh attack, but something about the way Inzaniac was preparing his attack caught his eye. "That spinning…" He breathed to himself. He felt the lightbulbs in his head flash brightly. "That's it!" Taking a stance with his sword held behind him, Kirby focused his energy as hard as he could, causing his sword to slowly begin taking on a pink glow as energy gathered into the blade.
"Say goodbye, hero!" Inzaniac cried. "BLADE STORM!" Bringing his spin to a stop, Inzaniac swiped his sword forward, causing the mini-tornado to shoot toward Kirby, the wind carrying the daggers with it to make a bladed tornado.
At that moment, Kirby's blade flashed pink, full of energy. "All right!" He smiled at Inzaniac. "Let me give this a whirl!" He then began spinning around rapidly himself, his sword giving off a trail of pink energy. The blade tornado got near Kirby, but when his sword touched the wind, the tornado actually changed its spin direction, tinging the wind pink with the sword's energy.
"WHUT?!" Inzaniac cried with crossed eyes.
"Haaaaaahhhh…" Kirby groaned, the pink wind turning harsher, sharpening the daggers even more. "TWISTER SLASH!" With a jump, Kirby made the tornado higher through the continued spinning before leaping back in mid-air, slashing his sword toward Inzaniac, resulting in the tornado firing the daggers like spinning missiles at their owner. The poor crazy man could only lean slightly forward in sheer stupefaction before he was pelted by his own knives, being sent flying from the impact velocity, landing clear outside the ring in a heap, his swords landing next to him.
"Oh, dear!" Magolor cried, Kirby looking at Inzaniac with concern.
However, despite his eyes looking dazed, his tongue hanging out of his mouth, and his foot twitching, Inzaniac rose an arm and gave a thumbs-up. "I'm okay…! I'm cut and stab-proof…! …Can someone stop the room, please…?" His arm limply fell back to the ground. Medical personnel rushed over to Inzaniac, checking various parts of him. Despite the daggers clearly being lodged in his front, the medics flashed Magolor a thumbs-up.
Magolor nodded at the medics' decision. "That's a clean bill of future health for Inzaniac, folks, but due to his out-of-ring catapult, that's the end of this battle! Kirby moves on to the next round!" The crowd cheered once more as Kirby waved, the medics taking Inzaniac away to rest.
"Way to go, Kirby!" Tiff cheered.
"You've got this in the bag!" Falala cried out.
'One fight down… Who knows what I'll be up against next.' Kirby thought to himself.
*Kanon VS Blade Knight*
Wood smacked against steel over and over as Kanon continued blocking Blade Knight's attempted strikes with her shinai. "You're quick with your hands. I'll give you that." Kanon said, Blade Knight merely mumbling in response. "But if you think you're a fast swordfighter… you need to think again!" With a mighty shove, Kanon pushed Blade Knight away from her, then held her shinai in front of her face. "Observe… my Shooting Star Surge!" With an incredibly fast charge, Kanon got right in front of Blade Knight before knocking him into the air with a whack of her sword… and then she seemed to vanish.
"What the?" Marx cried, looking back and forth. "Where'd she go?" He quickly got his answer when Blade Knight reached the top of his unwilling ascent, as Kanon simply materialized in front of him before vanishing once more. In mere seconds, Kanon seemingly teleported all around him, apparently delivering unseen blows with her sword, as Blade was clearly reacting from some sort of hits.
Then, Kanon re-appeared above Blade, shinai held up high. "FALL!" With one last swing, she plummeted to the ground while pushing Blade downward, slamming him right into the dirt.
As Kanon backed off from her last attack, Magolor moved toward Blade Knight to check on him. No reaction. "1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6! 7! 8! 9… 10!" The Waddle Dees rang the bell. "It's over! With speed unseen prior to this tourney's start, Kanon has overtaken the sharpness to emerge victorious over Blade Knight!" Kanon twirled her sword before placing it back on her hip, turning her back to Blade and closing her eyes.
Tiff and Tuff just stared at the result of the battle. "I… I didn't even see her do anything." Tuff said shakily.
"She's really fast…" Tiff breathed. "I hope Kirby can handle her next round."
*Yugo VS Meta Knight*
Yugo deftly swung his fused sword, clashing with Meta Knight's Galaxia, but using some skillful presses of a trigger on his hilt, the blade began detaching its smaller parts to try and catch Meta Knight off-guard. "Impressive, no?" Yugo asked mid-battle. "I made this Fusion Sword myself. At any time, the five blades that make the big blade deploy to attack." Another press of the trigger, and the blades extended to almost make his Fusion Sword resemble a scythe, giving larger swings that nicked Meta Knight's armor.
"I admit, you have great skill." Meta Knight said as he kept parrying Yugo's strikes. "But there is one flaw in your strategy that can be exploited."
"Oh? What is that?" Yugo asked.
A small chuckle came from him. "This." Twisting Galaxia, he brought Yugo into a blade lock that he was having trouble escaping. Then, in a single swift motion, Meta Knight reached out and grabbed the hilt of the Fusion Sword, pressing the trigger… causing the entire sword to immediately disassemble itself into the different blades.
"HUH?!" Yugo cried with disbelief as the blades landed around them, leaving him with just his empty hilt… which Meta Knight then pulled from his unmoving hands and dropped onto the ground.
"Hahahaha, what a collapse, folks! Meta Knight took Yugo's Fusion Blade apart like a toy!" Magolor announced with a chuckle. "Under this tournament's rules, a blade falling apart or breaking mid-battle counts as a disarming, so Yugo yields this battle to Meta Knight!"
Yugo sunk to the ground, groaning as he picked up the pieces of his Fusion Blade while the crowd cheered for Meta Knight. "I knew I should've tweaked the trigger a bit more." He looked at Meta Knight. "Thanks for pointing that weakness out, though. Mistakes are how you improve, right?"
"Precisely. Continue your efforts to perfect your craft as best you can." Meta Knight replied, Yugo nodding in response.
*Celsius VS Kenta and Sodory*
Sodory flitted around in midair with high-pitched squeaking, trying to avoid the slices from Celsius's enlarged ice blade, while Celsius kept a dead stare on her face. "Do you not know how to stay still…?" Celsius breathed. "I will entomb you within winter's wrath…" Pulling her sword back, Celsius let out a loud breath, unleashing a blizzard in Sodory's direction. The living sword squeaked in pain as parts of it were slightly frozen over, causing the poor creature to drop out of the sky.
"Sodory!" Kenta cried, rushing toward it and giving a dive, catching his friend out of the sky. He looked horrified, gazing with horror at the slightly frozen sword as it slowly opened its eye. "Sodory…?" The sword gave a small squeak, moving its wing across his hand as if to say it would be fine.
However, they both felt Celsius's chill as she pointed her blade at them, icy wind swirling around it. "Draw your weapon…"
Kenta was shaking, but he held Sodory protectively. "H-He's not a weapon! He's my f-friend!" He said, clearly intimidated by the freezing warrior.
Celsius didn't even blink. "Relinquish your hold… or surrender."
Sodory let out a squeak, trying to say something to Kenta, but he shook his head. "I'm sorry, buddy. I shouldn't have put you through this." Kenta looked over at Magolor. "Magolor, sir? I withdraw from this match. I don't want anything else to happen to Sodory."
Magolor nodded. "Very well, young man. As per your decision, I hereby aware the victory to Celsius." However, almost immediately, the crowd erupted in a flurry of negative reactions, booing Celsius relentlessly.
"Go back to Shiver Star, you witch!" One spectator yelled.
"You don't deserve to be called a warrior!" Another shouted.
"I hope you melt in the summer!" A third roared.
In the fact of all the hatred, Celsius merely turned away from them, a light icy breeze blowing her hair. "I make no apologies… I am merely an emissary of the cold…" She was covered by a swirling blizzard, vanishing using the snow and ice.
"Admittedly, I'm not a fan of her either, folks." Magolor admitted. "Despite this, all our combatants fought hard in Round 1! We'll let them rest for a moment, but it won't be long until Round 2 starts!" He gestured to the board, causing the victors of the previous matches to ascend to the next stage.
Match 1: Triplade VS Sword Knight
Match 2: Zanji VS Erza
Match 3: Kirby VS Kanon
Match 4: Meta Knight VS Celsius
*A Little Later*
While the combatants were resting and/or conversing with each other, Triplade slipped to behind a boulder. Looking around, he pulled out a small computer and switched it on, causing an image of Magolor's master's silhouette to appear on the screen. "Progress report, Triplade." The master said.
"So far, so good." Triplade replied. The target is still in the tournament, and at the rate they're going, they'll be in the championship before we know it."
"Good. We'll have that hero by the end of the day." The master told him. "Continue your ascent and be ready to strike."
"Roger, master. There's no way I'll lose." Triplade said with a grin, turning off the computer. As he walked back to the other competitors, however, he didn't notice that Meta Knight was watching him, his eyes boring holes into the back of his head. Triplade merely walked back to where he was relaxing beforehand, ready to get to his next fight… the star-shaped iris-in focusing on his insidious grin and deep, devilish laugh.
Vile: Round 1 is done, and Triplade's got an agenda up his sleeve... Okay, fake surprise over. It's pretty clear that he's up to something. XD
Kirby: Have you done tournaments in fanfiction before?
Vile: Once, back in one of my YGO stories. I tried to keep the fights small, but still have a decent enough detail to show what some of the contestants are capable of.
Kirby: I hope I'm not gonna lose due to some cheap shot later.
Vile: Trust me, Kirby, if you DID lose, I wouldn't stoop that low. But for the actual result, you'll have to wait until next time. If you guys liked this chapter, leave a review for me, and don't forget that I still take writing commissions for anyone who's interested! I recently started a new one that combines two unlikely fandoms (YGO and Undertale), and you can read it either on my DA page or, for once, on Yugioh Custom Wiki. It goes by the name "Dueltale", so anyone can check it out. I'll be back in a few days with the next chapter, so stay tuned until then! Ja ne for now!
Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.