Escargoon had been toiling away all last night, and all this morning on what eNeMeE had requested of him. He'd gotten the Waddle Dees to assist him in the more menial parts of the construction— mainly the transporting of parts out to the location he'd figured eNeMeE'd wanted. Escargoon ran a finger along one of his eyebags, internally knowing that sag was just going to get worse and worse the more he'd allowed himself to bow down to tyrannical rulers like this.

It was a process he was thankful to have the Waddle Dees for, and even more thankful to be out of the castle for. Now that it was well into the afternoon, he'd heard and watched as a whole army descended upon the place, and as the guards he'd left behind fought 'valiantly' to protect it. For anything other than physical labor, those dees were about as useful as a piece of paper in keeping someone safe in a hurricane.

He was glad to be out here rather than in there. From all the commotion and fighting, he surely would've been swallowed whole by the mayhem and end up with a whole slew of bruises and broken limbs by the end.

As Escargoon watched the lamp's construction near to the local volcano, he wiped the sweat off of his brow. He decided to sit down next to the rifle he'd pilfered off of Kirby's person when they'd arrested Susie and Magolor. Watchng what had happened to Dedede, and recalling it now.. He was almost glad he was able to do something other than sleep last night. A project always got one's mind off the more troubling aspects of life, Escargoon found.

This project was more immediately important than all of his other ones, and though it was rather drab and beneath him, the stress of doing it for eNeMeE was enough to keep his mind surging with adrenaline and thoughts of Dedede completely out of his mental crosshairs.

Now he was sat down next to him, and funnily enough, Escargoon felt safer next to him than he had in years. No mallet, no yelling, no berating.. Was it sad, Escargoon wondered? Was this sad, that he found more solace in a gun than a actual person? There's nothing wrong with the snail in particular, he liked to believe and hope, but.. Was it wrong he would be happy to keep it this way? Despite the horror of the transmogrification?

"Later." Escargoon said to himself, pushing the gun slightly away from him on the bench, as though Dedede were judging him through its barrel.

Instead, he put a hand on his cheek and looked up at the Waddle Dees, crawling all over the spotlight like ants on a piece of meat— or a piece of candy, depending on where one lived.

Looking didn't distract him.

Dedede would certainly hurt him less if he just started working on getting him back now, rather than later. Maybe he would be rewarded if he just got to work now, maybe Dedede would be- no, what is he talking about? The longer he waited like this, the worse the punishment would be. Dedede was probably already steaming mad, being put on hold like this. The seconds ticked on, as did the amount of hammer hits to the head Escargoon would be getting for being so stupid and selfish.

The longer he waited, the longer he toiled, the worse it would be. The worse it would be. eNeMeE wouldn't even stop Dedede's wrath, Escargoon was sure. How would any wizard save him from Dedede? Could a creature like eNeMeE protect him from someone so strong and demonically tempered as Dedede? Would he? It's only getting worse, Dedede would be furious with him.

It's only a matter of time before Dedede gets out somehow, isn't it? Like that one time Dedede's doll had been sucked into Kirby's stomach, taking the king with it. They'd all thought that was the end of him. Yet, Dedede was perfectly healthy and walking around peachy keen just a while later, like nothing had ever happened in the first place. He was unstoppable, unkillable. He was an immovable object, or maybe the unstoppable force, or both at the same time. Dedede would wiggle himself out, and when he did, not if, WHEN-

Escargoon realized he was getting misty-eyed.

Between a demon and a wizard, that's where he was stuck.

Getting their way through the Noddys was easier now that Gryll was around. Barby had stuck with them on Gryll's broomstick as they flew back to the castle. Though Tiff wasn't exactly sure of what to do when they got there, they could only hope that Barby probably would.

The swarm of sleepy little devils did not clear for him nor listen to him either as Gryll swerved through the halls of the castle. Certain passageways were completely blocked off by the new wall of monsters that'd splurged through it like water down a pipe. They couldn't even go over them, they were genuinely filling the castle up to the ceiling in certain areas.

They were all going to one place inparticular; Meta Knight's quarters.

"We need to get through."

Gryll had said, waving their wand threateningly. Tiff grabbed it by its business end before a spell could be launched, making Gryll sputter.

"If you attack them, they'll dogpile us." Tiff recalled almost being suffocated under a Noddy mound just a few minutes ago, before Gryll showed up to save the day. "Then we won't be able to go anywhere. We need to find another way."

Gryll looked at the stone walls, their broom floating over to it as they placed one hand on it. Their expression soured.

"I don't have strong enough destructive magic of any element to get through brick like this. Destroying stuff has never really been my strong suit." Gryll twisted around on the broom to look back at their 'captive salesman'. "What about you?"

"Uhh, no.. I only know, well, uh.. This, summoning circles, shadow magic."

Was their only option truly through the wall? Tiff tried to think. Was there any way to get to Meta Knight's room? No, there wasn't.. Not that she remembered. But-

"We need to go to the cafeteria where the Waddle Dees eat, there's a secret passage there that should get us close enough to that room."

Tiff remembered using that passage back when the Waddle Dees had revolted against the king for underfeeding them.

Tiff had directed Gryll to the cafteria. At first it had been used when the castle was turned into a 'magic school' for everyone to LARP Pappy Potty as a general dining hall for the students, but it had remained over the years for the Waddle Dees to use. The cafeteria had a small outcropping that looked like a pizza oven or strange storage space.

Tiff had opened it up to reveal a long tube slide, much too steep to climb. Thankfully they had Gryll's broom to get all the way up to the very top of it. They couldn't activate the mechanism to open it up, so Kirby slashed at the closed up panel, and out the four popped from Sword and Blade's fireplace. Their room was completely empty, but they could hear and see the door to the hall buckling.

"Where do we go from here?" Gryll wondered aloud.

Tiff looked to Kirby, who nodded knowingly. He jumped off of the broom and headed towards a wall. He held his sword aloft, and with a mighty swing, a gargantuan blade of light spawned from the sword's tip, cutting through the castle's stone like butter. The ceiling rumbled, and the floor cracked as Kirby splintered the wall, and gave it a whole new window to multiple other rooms.

Gryll had to dismount from their broom as the rag-tag group squeezed through the narrow crack the Sword Beam had left for them. Tiff and Kirby got through easy enough, but Gryll really had to suck in their gut to get in. Barby had to be tugged through, because despite how he looked, his onion body was still there, just.. Invisible? Something like that. It was an illusion, after all, not genuine shapeshifting.

It was more than clear that eNeMeE was not in some room. They would've seen the Noddys by now, as they squeezed their way through various rooms to find them empty. They managed to get to the very last room, which looked out into the torch-lit hallway. Tiff and Kirby peered through the crack while the two onions stood behind them.

Tiff's eyes narrowed as a wet splatting sound was accompanied by the gargantuan, skeleton-esque slime figure that was eNeMeE. He was far less consistant than before, but she could still tell it was him. He looked like a half melted popsicle, but one that had more than just a stick under this particular treat's rotten exterior. She could've sworn she saw smoke puffing from his claws as he'd dragged himself along.

A gasping cackle made itself clear as she'd watched while Noddys assaulted his cape-like back, tossing themselves into him and turning into sludge-like bubbles that floated into him, never to be seen again. Yet, no matter how many went into him, he didn't seem to be gaining any mass. All he was doing was melting more. Tiff, perplexed, gestured for Gryll to come take a proper look.

Gryll looked positively revolted by the state of the demon, and gave a few seconds to silently express their disgust to themselves. They watched alongside Tiff as he'd folded in around himself to swallow a whole mass of the cutesy monsters into the black slime, watched as their bodys bulged against his back, but never burst through the other side. The imprints of expressionless faces were left for a few seconds before they melded down into the ooze.

He was far larger than anyone else in the room. Tiff wouldn't hesitate to say he was probably just as big as Dedede right now; he'd easily trumped anyone else in Dreamland.

"What's happening?" The salesman had asked.

eNeMeE had heard him. He turned directly towards the crack, his nasty nails slamming into the stone and splattering across the hole. Tiff and Kirby backed as the wizard tore through the polished stone. He'd grunted, his voice gurgling from the grime of his own essence. The Noddys, seemingly knowing something was afoot, had stopped tumbling into their creator and waited behind him.

Tiff held up her fists. Kirby readied his sword. Gryll was paralyzed by horror, Tiff had to pull them back as eNeMeE broke through. When he was finally in, crawling through his hole like some horror monster that loved psychological thrill rather than slashing and goring, Tiff was a little surprised. eNeMeE looked more astonished than he did furious. In fact, she almost thought that look on his half-melted face was the most non-evil stare he'd probably ever managed to have in his life.

"My cat." eNeMeE said, astounded. "You- I thought you died."

eNeMeE, quick as a whip, slammed Gryll, Kirby, and Tiff into various items inside of the cluttered room with his hands. They were more like tendrils with how much they deformed from all that velocity. They all slumped in pain whilst eNeMeE stalked closer to the purple salesman.

"It's been so long sir, I'm just glad you remember me." The salesman stepped forward.

eNeMeE smiled fondly, circling around him.

"You look- yeah, you look the same." eNeMeE examined him, though dared not to touch him. "Exactly the same. How did you survive the company exploding? How did you-"

"I don't think we should discuss this in a room full of enemies, sir."

"Yes, it can wait until they're in shackles. Or worse, if you think of worse. I didn't expect- well, I thought you were dead. If I knew you were alive, I'd make myself look more like how you remember me. But I'm sure you can deal with this for now. No big deal, so no complaining."

"Of course."

eNeMeE grasped him suddenly, as the salesman squeaked in surprise. Then, he shot from the room and bounced with a meaty thwacking and disgusting slorch down the hallway. For the briefest of seconds, Tiff saw Meta Knight skidding down the hallway right after. The Noddys took after him just as quick, and just like that, Gryll's friend had become a hostage.

Sword and Blade had just sat down and made themselves at home in the forcefield Gryll had left for them. They couldn't really go anywhere with all these Noddys, and they couldn't do anything meaningful anymore being surrounded by them. Oh, don't get them wrong, they'd certainly tried to make a difference in the numbers by taking pot shots from the inside of the shield. They'd both also tried bursting through the wave, but they were quickly overwhelmed.

They'd both long regretted not getting onto Gryll's broom, but they were both more than sure that their armor would've weighed it down too much for it to fly. Sure, they could walk around in it, but a broom probably only held so much weight before snapping. It was wood, after all.

Now all they were doing was sitting uselessly. Great. A little bit disempowering, not gonna lie. Their time came, finally, when the last of the Noddys had finally crossed over, around, or over the forcefield.

They had all gone into the castle, over the walls. Sword and Blade were quick to jump into action and get through the forcefield after them. However, with the castle drawbridge up, they seemed pretty out of luck.

However, Blade seemed to have caught something Sword didn't, and began dashing around the side of the castle moat. Sword was still without his namesake, so he wasn't too sure how useful he'd be, but he would still back his comrade with what little power he had now.

He was really hurting for his own sword when they'd rounded the corner and saw their teacher and eNeMeE. The latter had shrunk considerably, and the former was out cold. Blade did not slow down, and neither did Sword. Blade lunged at him, stabbing deep into the gooey menace. eNeMeE was hunched over, and the sword stuck deep into his back— his cape, more like.

Blade attempted to pull it back, but it held still, as though eNeMeE had made it part of his anatomy. Sword tackled Blade out of the way before eNeMeE's goo had swallowed him whole. Now they were both unarmed. Great.

"You're trying so hard to protect him," eNeMeE chuckled, slowly, "but who's around to protect you two?"

That salesman from before stood next to eNeMeE smiled vacantly as the wizard lumbered towards them. Ontop of the castle walls, Sword and Blade's fight was being spectated by dozens and dozens of dreary Noddys. Sword put up his dukes, and eNeMeE chortled again before he shot directly onto him, pinning him down against the grass. Despite being the same size as Sword, he was unduly heavy. Sword could hardly bend his arm under the weight of the sludge.

"Have you ever almost drowned? Meta Knight has." eNeMeE's voice was heavy with a delirious quality. "Throwing my dogs into rivers, he knows how to hold his breath. You're not him, though."

eNeMeE shoved his hand directly onto Sword, smothering the knight completely under his essence. He felt the struggle, the vicious kicking and fighting.

Sword went limp, and as soon as he did, eNeMeE was upon Blade right after. Rinse and repeat, until the fight was gone. eNeMeE couldn't really tell if they were properly dead or not. eNeMeE didn't feel any fear from either of them. Not even when he was drowning them with his own horrible essence. But they were limp, and he'd drowned them for an awfully long time.. Yeah, they're one hundred percent dead. He was sure. But just in case..

eNeMeE pulled them into his body, much like he had with the Noddys. He could feel them like lumps under his skin— dead beetles that'd tried to devour him only to choke on the poison of his blood.

The cat was horrified.

"Been a while." eNeMeE looked back at him, smiling. "You're still as much of a weakhearted little man about murder as I remember."

He'd gulped, then smiled nervously. eNeMeE grabbed onto him the best he could now that he'd been reduced to the smaller stature, and dragged him along. Noddys began to follow after them in a tidy, orderly march.

eNeMeE had to hope that the place Escargoon chose would be easy to find, and not too far away. He didn't want to spend the whole day looking. Now that he'd gotten some new murders under his cape, he was just absolutely itching for more.