Land of Kirby
Metaknight and Jecra were walking along the path through the forest on a strangely quiet day. The two were surprised to see no demons anywhere in sight. Normally, they would have found a demon or two by noon.
"Well, it seems the star soldiers might be making progress after all," Jecra stated as Metaknight shifted his eyes back and forth saying, "You may be right. There hasn't been a single demon all day."
At that exact moment, a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky towards Jecra as Metaknight's eyes went wide, the knight shouting, "JECRA, LOOK OUT!!!!!" pushing the soldier out of the way while the bolt struck him hard in the back. Metaknight's body started to twitch from the pain, Jecra with a concerned look as he asked, "Are you alright?"
The knight nodded and glared up at the sky as a large gray cloud floated down from behind the regular clouds. The cloud had a large green eyeball along with four golden spikes coming from its sides. Metaknight's eyes went wide as a series of bolts shot down towards them, Metaknight and Jecra doing their best to dodge the onslaught.
"What is that thing?" Jecra asked once the attack stopped as Metaknight glared at the creature and said, "It looks like a Kracko, but not the usual kind."
Suddenly, Metaknight felt another presence as his eye twitched, the knight picking up a rock and hurling it towards a bush. The rock entered the bush but was tossed back moments later as a certain ninja leapt towards Metaknight, his blade raised. Luckily, Metaknight was able to whip out his blade in time to block the incoming attack from who else but Yamikage.
"Yamikage..." Metaknight said under his breath as the ninja leapt back, the knight shouting, "What are you doing here, you traitor!?"
"I just wanted to see if you liked my little present for you," the ninja replied, pointing up into the sky at the dark Kracko.
Metaknight's eyes went wide as he stared at the ninja. How had the ninja gained control over a Kracko, let alone one that was far more powerful than even the Mega Krackos? Jecra was equally shocked, but also frightened to think that the enemy had control over a beast such as this.
Yamikage let out a sigh and said, "I can tell by your expression that you don't like it. At least my hard work wasn't completely in vain."
"What do you mean by that!?" Metaknight retorted as the ninja replied, "I built that myself with materials given to me by a nice dealer. He sure had a lot of useful battle items. I should have probably paid him if I'd known his materials would allow me to make something this useful. I think I'll call him Mecha Kracko."
The knight grimaced as Jecra pulled out his sword asking, "Should we kill him?" as Yamikage ran off, Metaknight shaking his head and saying, "First, we have to destroy his awful creation."
"But how?" Jecra asked, and a good question that was. Without any means of which to fly, there was no way the two of them could fight a Kracko. However, Metaknight had a look of confidence on his face. Jecra knew that the man had something up his sleeve.
"Can you keep a secret?" the knight asked, pulling out his blade as Jecra grinned under his mask and replied, "You're my best friend. I'll gladly do it for you."
The knight smiled under his mask and looked back towards the Kracko, which was charging up electricity. The man focused hard as his cape ripped in half, Jecra's eyes wide open. Bits of the two cape halves started to transform into black flies until the two halves were in the shape of bat wings. With that, Metaknight's eyes glowed as he took off into the sky, the man flying towards the cloud.
Jecra simply stared, his jaw dropped. He couldn't believe what he was seeing as Metaknight swerved to avoid the incoming lighting, planting his sword hard into the Kracko's eye.
A metal ball located behind the eye started to sputter as sparks flew, Metaknight quickly flying away from the cloud as the metal orb controlling it exploded. The cloud material dissipated as the golden spikes fell to the ground, Metaknight landing in front of his friend, the flies returning to form the torn halves of his cape. The halves then touched up against one-another, combining to make the cape whole again.
"Metaknight... you-you're..." Jecra stuttered as Metaknight let out a sigh and said, "Yes, I'm half-vampire."
The warrior was silent, but soon he smiled under his mask, placing a hand on Metaknight's shoulder and said, "Don't you worry about a thing. This is between you and me."
The knight sighed with relief, smiling at his friend as the two resumed patrol. While most would have been scared to find something like that out, Jecra wasn't the kind to give up a friendship just because of something like this. After all, Metaknight was only half-vampire. As such, he didn't need to feed on blood nor did he ever do it. It also meant he could walk around in the daylight without burning up, something pure vampires couldn't do. Of course, that didn't really matter on Dark Star where there was no sunlight.
Back in present time, Metaknight let down a sigh after looking at a picture of his friend and thought, 'I wonder if anyone else could possibly take it as well as he did.'
That was a question best left unanswered. He was better off just hoping he'd never find a reason to use his wings in front of another ever again.
Meanwhile, Melanie was in the forest on the other side of the kingdom looking for wood to craft her new hammer with, a saw strapped to her back. This wasn't as easy as it sounded as she was looking for a certain type of wood. See, Melanie always wanted her hammers to be as strong as possible. As such, her aim was always to go after the strongest tree as it would contain the best material.
She walked from tree to tree, tapping on them as she let out a sigh. It seemed no matter how many trees she examined, she just couldn't find the right one.
After an hour of searching, she let out a deep breath, exhausted from the hours of walking and examining trees. She just wanted to take a breather now. As such, she rested her back up against a nearby tree and sat, taking another deep breath.
Seconds after doing so, her eyes went wide open as she quickly rose to her feet, turned around and gasped, her eyes sparkling. This tree was perfect, perfect thickness, perfect density... she couldn't have asked for a better tree to make her new hammer with.
With that, she slowly reached her hand toward her back, pulling her saw out and moved it towards the tree. Soon, the perfect wood would be hers.
But seconds before the saw could touch, a loud booming voice entered the area shouting, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!!!!!??"
The girl's eyes went wide as she turned back and forth, the voice snapping, "LOOK UP!!!!!!"
Melanie slowly turned her gaze upward as her jaw dropped. She couldn't believe her eyes. The tree, which had just been a simple tree before, now had eyes and a mouth that resembled holes.
"Who are you?" she asked, blinking as the tree glared down at her and explained, "I am the ruler of the forest, Whispy Woods!"
Melanie stood silent for a few seconds before shrugging, letting out a sigh and taking her saw back saying, "Well, I certainly can't use a living tree for my hammer. Sorry for wasting your time."
However, she was soon stopped short when roots shot up out of the ground. The girl screamed in terror as more roots sprung up behind her, snatching the saw and lifting it up towards Whispy's mouth, the tree opening wide and swallowing it whole.
Melanie started to tremble as she said, "Okay, I get it. I promise I won't come here ever again," as Whispy glared furiously at her and spat, "OF COURSE YOU WON'T!!!" as a group of vines lifted her up off the ground, the grip tightening around her.
This was terrible. If this kept up, Melanie would suffocate. What could she possible do to get out of this? She had no hammer and no saw. Perhaps this was the end.
No... this wasn't over. Melanie refused to believe that she was going to die this instant. There was no way she would allow herself to be killed by a talking tree. She was tired of being pushed around by every monster or demon that she fought.
With that, she glared at Whispy and spat, "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!!!!!??"
The tree's eyes went wide as the girl snapped, "I said I was sorry! I said I wouldn't return! Why are you trying to kill me!? What do you hope to gain from that!?"
The tree blinked, rather spellbound by this as his grip on her loosened. However, Melanie knew her words hadn't reached him. In a few seconds, he would surely tighten the grip again, so Melanie needed to act fast.
With that, she started to turn her body around as she managed to squeeze herself out of the roots, taking off in a flash. There was no way she could defeat this demon tree without something to fight with. Perhaps it was best if she used a more common tree.
A few miles from the kingdom, a lone man was wandering the forest. This man had an orange bean-shaped build and a chef's hat along with an apron. Strapped to his back was a frying pan.
'Why can't I seem to find a place to call home?' the man thought as he trekked along the forest grounds, 'I've been a chef in over ten kingdoms and they've all cast me aside. Alas, I am a lonely, wandering chef.'
He let out a sigh as he continued to advance forward. Little did he know he was headed towards New Pupupuland. Perhaps they'd accept him there.
Meanwhile, Spencer was happily taking down the portraits of Dedede from the wall in his room. He knew it was frowned upon to take down the pictures of one viewed as a hero, but he knew the truth. He knew that Dedede was nothing more than a fake. Why show respect for such an awful man, especially when he had recently gained confidence in himself.
'Honestly, me, slaying a demon,' he thought as he stacked the portraits and opened his door, looking for someone to give the pictures to, 'I may have just what it takes to uphold the family honor.'
At that moment, Parm and Memu had entered the castle having left it a few minutes ago to buy doves from the nearest pet store. Rather than getting doves, they ended up with a red dragon head known as a Galbo.
"It's just not the same as doves," Parm sighed as Memu patted him on the shoulder saying, "There, there, dear. They didn't have doves. At least a Galbo can defend itself against predators."
Parm nodded, let down light tears and added, "They also eat six meals a day."
Memu rolled her eyes. Parm was being a drama queen again. She knew he would get over the loss of his doves eventually.
As the two passed Spencer down the hallway, Parm blinked and asked, "Excuse me, Spencer, but where are you taking those portraits of the late King Dedede?"
"Well, I decided someone else deserved to look at his awesome face than me," Spencer fibbed as he held them up saying, "Perhaps you'd like them."
The Galbo growled and opened its mouth, releasing a burst of flames from its mouth and burning one of the pictures as Memu took out a small water bottle, spraying water on the dragon head as it gave a sorry look. Every dragon could be tamed with water. After all, fifty percent of one's body was fire.
Parm gladly took the photos that had remained and marched off happily, Memu patting Spencer on the head and said, "Thank you. Now he's no longer obsessing over the loss of his doves."
Spencer felt pretty happy with himself. Not only had a slayed a demon, but he had just helped the royal family with a crisis of sorts, even if it wasn't a significant one. However, the boy couldn't let this get to his head, and he knew that well. He still had a long way to go before he could be a true hero.
At that moment, Melanie opened the entrance door, wiping some sweat off of her forehead with a new hammer strapped to her back. She just wanted to rest now. That encounter with Whispy Woods had taken a lot out of her. But she had made a vow to herself that she would take her new hammer and use it to beat the living daylights out of that tree.
Outside of the castle, a certain chef had approached the door as his eyes sparkled, a smile forming on his face. Perhaps this kingdom could be his new home. He slowly reached his arm out and knocked on the door excitedly.
However, shortly after he did that, his heart started to race, a look of fear on his face. What if they rejected him? What if they were looking for someone better? What if they already had a chef?
'No!' he thought as he shook his head, 'Now is not the time for thoughts like that! If I am to get a job here, I need to show confidence!'
Soon enough, the door opened as the chef's heart started to beat faster, nervous sweat going down his face. Much like before, Fumu was the one to open the door as the chef started to panic, passing out from the pressure of it all.
Later, his eyes started to open as he found himself on a couch within the castle, a cute young girl looking at him with concern as she asked, "Are you okay?"
The chef shook his head, snapping back to his senses as he got up, let out a sigh and moaned, "I'm not okay! I came here looking for a job as the kingdom's chef and I passed out before I could even meet with the royal family! How can they possibly take a worrywart like me? Every other kingdom cast me aside!"
"You poor chef," the girl, who of course was Fumu, replied as she patted him on the shoulder and said, "I'll take you to meet my parents if you want."
"That's sweet, but I'm here to see the king and queen," the chef replied as his eyes went wide, the man blinking before shouting, "YOU'RE PRINCESS FUMU!!!!!!"
With that, he leapt off of the couch and bowed to her as the princess giggled saying, "It's okay. You don't have to act formal around me. Come on, I'm sure my parents will accept another chef."
"Really?" the man replied, his eyes sparkling as the princess nodded, a warm smile on her face.
The man let down tears of joy as the princess led him down the hallway toward the royal chambers. The chef couldn't have been happier. Maybe this kingdom was the one. Maybe this was where he could spend the rest of his life working.
Knuckle Joe and Flint had been training for the last hour, but no matter how hard he tried, Flint just couldn't seem to make a breakthrough. He'd try and try but he just couldn't handle anymore than the basics of combat.
"What am I doing wrong!?" he whined as Joe placed a hand on his shoulder saying, "Don't worry about it. You still have a long way to go, but you're close enough."
At that exact moment, a Waddle Dee dressed like a postman slowly opened the door and said, "Sorry to bother you, but I have a message for a Knuckle Joe. I was told he would be here."
Joe let out a sigh and groaned, "Don't tell me I've been called for another emergency," as the postman pulled out an envelope and said, "Be careful. It's a SINGING telegram."
"Dammit, I hate those," Joe cursed as he took the letter and shooed the postman away. Flint blinked, curious about this. He had heard of singing telegrams before but had never actually seen one.
Joe slowly opened the envelope, letting out a sigh as the image of a Kirby wearing a blue headband appeared singing, "Knuckle Joe! We need your help! Please come over now! Knuckle Joe! We're being invaded by the enemy! Our forces tried their hardest and failed miserably! We need you and you're unstoppable army! Knuckle Joe! Please come and help us, it would mean a lot! Knuckle Joe!"
With that, the letter sealed itself back into the envelope, the package bursting into flame as Joe groaned, "Do you see why I hate getting these things?"
Flint just blinked, no idea how to respond to that. That was the weirdest thing he had ever seen in his life.
Joe let out a sigh and rubbed his invisible nostrils saying, "That letter was from our neighboring kingdom, Gluttonberg, a kingdom run by Kirbies. If they really need my help, it must be a serious emergency. After all, every one of their soldiers is a Kirby."
Flint nodded in understanding as Joe turned to him, grinned and said, "Well, we have our work cut out for us. Let's get going."
Joe's eyes went wide at the sound of this. He was going on a mission with the others? He had dreamed of going on a royal mission led by Knuckle Joe, but he never thought it would actually happen. This was a very happy day for him. He had to do all he could not to let his trainer down.
The chef was led into the throne room as Fumu told him to wait outside like she had the Kirbies when they'd first arrived. While he waited, the chef sighed, sweating nervously. What if they didn't accept him?
Fumu poked her head out of the room and said, "Dad's ready to see you," the chef gulping as he slowly entered, eyes widening at the sight of the new pet Galbo.
The Galbo growled at him as Memu sprayed the dragon head with water saying, "Don't intimidate newcomers!" the Galbo putting on a sorry expression.
The chef immediately knelt down on his hands and knees quickly shouting, "It is an honor to be in your presence!"
Parm chuckled and knelt down, lifting the man up to his feet by his shoulders saying, "Please, you don't need to be a nervous wreck around us. After all, we're happy to have a new chef among us."
The cook breathed a sigh of relief as he wiped some sweat off of his forehead saying, "My name is Kawasaki. I have traveled far and wide to work for you as your kingdom's chef."
Parm smiled and said, "Well, we are certainly pleased to hear that, right dear?"
Memu simply nodded in agreement, and unlike usual, she wasn't just going along with her husband on this. After all, there was nothing wrong with having another chef working for them, especially since most of the kingdom's chefs were Waddle Dees. It was nice to see a new species come along, whatever Kawasaki was supposed to be.
Kawasaki let down a tear of joy and said, "Thank you so much," as Parm smiled and said, "If you have any problems of any kind, don't be afraid to ask the other chefs for help. That's what they're here for, after all."
"I thought they were here to cook dinner for us," Memu replied as Parm let down a sweat drop saying, "Yeah, that too."
And so it was settled. Kawasaki was the new chef and he was going to do his best to make the kingdom proud. However, when he exited the throne room, he started to worry. Every other king had banished him, saying that his cooking was criminal and that he had no chance of ever becoming great. He prayed so hard that these people wouldn't react the same way to his cooking as the others before them had.
Meanwhile, Joe had called his students together for a meeting in regards to the letter he had received earlier that day. The boy rubbed his invisible nostrils and explained, "Everyone, I've received an urgent message from the kingdom of Gluttonberg. We must help our allies in this time of crisis."
Michael grinned and said, "Hey, we haven't gotten a request for help from those guys in a while."
Melody nodded with a smile saying, "I remember the last mission we had. It was so wonderful. Everyone praised me for my work so much," as Jason rolled his eyes and replied, "They treated you just like they treated everyone else who wasn't Joe."
Melody folded her arms and grumbled, "Killjoy," as Sam folded her arms and said, "It must be serious if an army of Kirbies needs our help."
Melanie rose her stubby arm in the air and asked, "Hey, Joe, I know I'm not one of the castle's fighters, but can I help?"
Joe shrugged and said, "I don't see why not. After all, you are one of my students."
Melanie smiled with confidence as she twirled her hammer around, four Waddle Doos standing around her ducking their heads for safety purposes. If she could do a good job helping the other kingdom out, maybe Metaknight would see her as a great asset to the kingdom's army. It was worth a shot.
And after more briefing, the plan was clear as Joe led the fighters out of the gym. They needed to get to Gluttonberg as soon as possible for the next attack from the invaders was to start on the following day, and they needed to act fast. The neighboring kingdom was forty miles West from New Pupupuland.