It was a beautiful summer afternoon in Dreamland and Kirby, and his friends were outside Castle Dedede, playing frisbee. Whoever caught it was the next to throw it. Even though Kirby had tiny arms, he played the game pretty well.
After a few minutes, Sir Ebrum opened the front door and sat on the porch to read a book and watch as the children played.
"What a beautiful day today," He mumbled to himself. "With the sun shining high in the sky and the warm breeze blowing in your face, what more can you ask for?"
"Hi, dad!" Tiff called out, hearing her father talk to himself.
"Oh, hello, children," Ebrum responded. "When You're the Cabinet Minister having that penguin boss you around, it's good to have some time on your hands, especially on lovely weather like this."
"Yeah," Tuff answered. "While summer is fun, it just doesn't feel the same without Sirica playing with us. We haven't seen her in over a month. And she's awesome at throwing the frisbee."
"Last time we saw her, she told us to go away, but never explained why." Joe pointed out. "By any chance, did you see her recently, sir?"
"Merciful heavens no," Ebrum replied. "It sounds like something seems to be troubling her. Why don't you all see what it is?"
"But dad, she said that she doesn't want to be talked to," Tiff protested.
"Tiff," Ebrum said sternly, "Don't you remember what your mother taught you and your brother?"
"Problems don't simply go away if you ignore them," the yellow-skinned girl sighed.
"Exactly," said the Cabinet Minister. "Now go and see what's bothering your friend. She likes to spend time with Meta Knight in his apartment. After all, he's like a father to her."
"Okay, dad," the siblings replied simultaneously. "Come on, Kirby," Tiff called out to the pink puffball "Let's see why Sirica doesn't want to talk to us,"
"Poyo!" Kirby replied before following the rest of the children.
The four of them arrived at Meta Knight's apartment. Tiff knocked on the door, and the masked warrior almost immediately answered.
"Kids, good to see you all," Meta Knight greeted. "What can I help you with?"
"It's just that we haven't seen Sirica in over a month," Tiff answered. "We're very concerned about her. My dad said she'd be at your place."
"Sadly's she's not here at the moment," the masked warrior responded. "In fact, I very seldom saw her since I returned to Popstar four weeks ago. If you're looking for her, she lives with her aunt on the edge of Cappy Town. It's a quaint little house, beautifully decorated. You can't miss it."
"Thanks, Sir Meta Knight," Tuff replied, and the children made their way to Cappy Town.
Kirby and his friends made it to a quaint little house on the edge of the town. On the front lawn sat a black cat.
"Don't touch it, Tiff!" yelled Tuff. "It's bad luck!"
"Calm down, Tuff," Tiff reassured her brother. "That's just superstitious nonsense."
That was then the cat approached Tiff and began to rub at her feet and purred
"See?" Tiff laughed as she sat down to pet it. "It likes me."
That was when the front door opened, and a female voice called out: "Mittens, come here, girl," the cat named Mittens approached the door and entered the house. The owner of that voice stepped out. She was a woman who resembled Tiff and Tuff but with dark purple skin and hair. "How are you, Waddle Doo?" she jokingly greeted. Everyone laughed at that rhyme.
"Uh, hi," Tiff nervously replied. "Are you Sirica's aunt?"
"That I am. Name's Astrid, and you must be my niece's friends. I remember you, Joe. As for the rest of you, let me guess your names. Tiff, Tuff, and Kirby."
"That's right," Tiff answered. "Can we please see Sirica so we can talk to her?"
"I see no harm in that," replied Astrid. "Come on in, "
Astrid led the children into her house and her living room.
"Would any of you like a drink or a snack?" she asked them as they took their seats on the sofa.
"No, thanks, we all had a decent-sized lunch earlier," Tiff answered. "Especially Kirby," she pointed her finger at the adorable little puffball who was sitting on the floor, petting Mittens.
"Believe me; his appetite is bigger than his body."
"Upon hearing this, Astrid let out a chuckle and said, "I can see why my niece is friends with you. You say the darndest things."
"Poyo," Kirby giggled as Mittens rubbed her face on his and purred.
"You like her, don't you, little guy?" Astrid said to Kirby.
"Yeah," replied Tiff. "He loves playing and interacting with animals whenever he has the chance."
That was when Sirica entered the room.
"Hi, guys," she muttered. "What brings you all out here?"
"It's just that the last time we saw each other, you told us to go away, but you didn't explain why?" Tiff replied.
"Sorry about that," Sirica hung her head down in shame. "You're still my friends, though, and I think your question deserves an answer."
"Let's hear it," Joe answered. "What are you waiting for?"
"Don't rush her," said Astrid. "Giver her time to speak."
"Well," the white-skinned girl took a deep breath and began to speak. "My mother, Garlude, is a member of the Galaxy Soldier Army or GSA. The last time I saw her, she told me that she and Meta Knight were assigned on a dangerous mission. She never told me what it would be, just that it would be a while before she would come back. That was..." she paused. "Last year."
"We would write letters to each other back and forth and make a phone call once in a while." Astrid explained to the children."Most of them were warnings that the GSA would get her killed, but my sister's as stubborn as a mule. She'd keep saying that she can handle herself, and it was her duty to defend those she loves. However, the last letter I wrote to Garlude was about a month ago, and we haven't heard back from her since."
"So, that's why we haven't seen you all this time," Tiff began to connect the dots.
"Yes," Sirica sighed grievously. "I'm sorry that I shut you out. It's just that all I can think about is my mom. I love her dearly, and I can only pray to Nova that she'll come back like in time for my birthday, which is two days away, like what she promised."
"It's okay," Tiff replied, putting her hand on Sirica's shoulder. "Tuff and I know what it's like to lose a loved one; our grandpa died three years ago. It was hard on all of us, especially our dad. But we eventually got over it."
"Why don't we go over to Meta Knight's apartment and talk to him?" Joe suggested. "If anyone knows what happened to your mom, it's Meta Knight,"
"I don't see why not," replied Sirica. "He helped my mom raise me and fought alongside her plenty of times before I was born. I'm nothing if not persuasive,"
"Let's go then," Tuff said eagerly.
"Remember to be back for dinner," Astrid told Sirica
"I will don't worry." Sirica giggled as she and her friends left her aunt's house.