(A/N: Short chapter this time, since there's not much to find in the Gourmet Race.)
A long splitting path was displayed before Kirby. Food laid in wait on each path, and a checkered finish line rested at the end. Immediately the puffball knew what this was: a Gourmet Race.
He'd participated in some of them before, so the rules came to him quickly. The goal of this game was to move down the path and eat as much food as you could without stopping or turning around. Backtracking wasn't allowed. Whoever had eaten the most food at the end of the course won.
So, the optimal thing to do here was to observe the course. See what path and pattern led to the most food. Kirby squinted, taking his options into account. He took a few steps back… and broke into a run.
Left. Then left again onto the uppermost path. He swallowed a pear- one- whole and dashed across a bridge over a small lake. At the next fork, he took a right, downing a cup of tea- two- in the process. Kirby took off through another left turn, snatching up the approaching cup of soda. He drank both the liquid inside and the accompanying lemon slice- three. He kept up the pace, running down the path and consuming a hot dog when he changed paths again- four.
As Kirby left the green landscape and entered a snowy white area, he inhaled another drink and spat out the cup- five- while continuing to run. He changed paths onto the second right path, consuming a salad as he did so- six. Instead of going for a batch of pancakes, he returned to the last path and chomped away at a loaf of bread- seven. He inhaled an apple as he passed by it- eight- and made another left into the direction of a kabob. He inhaled that too, spitting out the stick- nine.
Now on the uppermost path again, he inhaled an entire chicken and spat out the bones as a star- ten. Finally, he turned onto the final path, dashed towards the finish line, and swallowed an entire bunch of grapes- eleven. After he slowed to a stop past the finish line, Kirby let out a loud, satisfied burp.
"Huh? Who's- oh, no! Not you!"
Kirby looked towards the nearby podium. Normally it would hold the top three in the race… but this time it held enemies. Four copies of Kirby in the third-place column, a Pac-Man puppet in the second-place column. And in first place…
"You've really messed up Galeem's plan for this world this time, Kirby! Taking out his soldiers and beating up his army? That's one thing, but going solo in a Gourmet Race is something else entirely! It's not a real competition that way!"
Kirby frowned. His friends never belonged to Galeem in the first place!
"I kept telling the big guy that failing to get you would be bad news for him. Of course, he didn't seem all that bothered by it, but I'm gonna clobber you good and take you to him to correct his mistake! And once we're finished with you, we'll just gather everyone else again and clean up after you!"
King Dedede readied his mallet and bounced from the podium, landing on the ground with a thud. The other puppets followed, hopping off the podium and turning to face Kirby. "Mess him up, boys!"
The five rounded puppets rushed Kirby on Dedede's command. The Pac-Man puppet was the first to reach Kirby… but vanished into Kirby's open maw. Turning his attention to the copies of himself, Kirby spat out the contents of his mouth. A large star smacked into two copies at once, knocking them away. The other two pounced forward, landing several punches and kicks on Kirby. A combined strike sent the puffball flying away.
Kirby landed on his feet, equipping his hammer. One puppet charged at him again only to be sent flying like a baseball. The next puppet was battered to the ground, and Kirby delivered a final blow to the Pac-Man puppet, knocking it right over the edge. Kirby wasted no time as two spirits appeared in the air, jumping high and spinning wildly with a cry…
The next thing his hammer hit was the hammer of Dedede.
"Ha, ha! I've been waiting for this! You're mine now!"
Dedede shoved Kirby back, moving to slam his weapon down on top of Kirby. Kirby hopped to the side, the hammer smacking the ground. He jumped over it, delivering a spinning strike to Dedede's face. He touched down, swinging ferociously again. Dedede moved his hammer to block, striking Kirby with the handle and swinging upward to knock the puffball.
Kirby swapped his hammer for his Cutter blade, sprinting for Dedede again. He dodged hammer swings, jumped off the mallet's side after hopping atop it, and slashed a three-hit combo at Dedede's head before performing an overhead slash.
Dedede inhaled Kirby and spat him out, knocking a Gordo towards the pink, round hero to follow up. Thinking fast, Kirby inhaled the Gordo and spat it at a charging Dedede. The spiky projectile struck the king of Dream Land in the gut, knocking him on his back breathlessly. Kirby hopped on top and stomped wildly, but Dedede swatted him away like a bug and climbed back to his feet.
Dedede jumped into the air to squash Kirby beneath him. The puffball's eyes went wide, and he dove to the side as the penguin plopped down. The following hammer swing knocked Kirby away. Inflating himself, Kirby floated above Dedede… and returned the favor, turning into his Stone form and crushing Dedede on the head.
Dedede stumbled in a dazed manner, holding his hammer high to squish Kirby… but to Kirby's surprise, he dropped the hammer, fell flat on his face, and turned into a trophy of himself.
Kirby waddled up to Dedede, tapping the trophy's base. A flash of light filled the course of the Gourmet Race, revealing Dedede in his defeated position. But when he raised his head and blinked open an eye, Kirby saw that it was no longer a bright red.
"Wha… who… Kirby?" croaked the king, slowly standing up. "That you, pal? Where the heck am I? And why do I feel like I've bumped my head on the ceiling? Or a rock?"
Kirby just gave Dedede a warm hug. Well, as good as a hug can wrap around, given the king's size. The penguin smirked, patting Kirby on the head. "Yeah, yeah, the feeling's mutual. Good to see you, too."
Kirby heard something from his right, prompting him to back away from Dedede. Just behind the duo, a portal opened up on a small pathway leading away from the podium. Gesturing for the self-proclaimed king to follow, Kirby ran towards the swirling blue hole.
…
Popping out from the portal, Kirby and Dedede ran right out into thin air. Realizing their predicament, the duo shot downwards… and onto the deck of the ship. Kirby landed face-first while Dedede landed on his belly. His hammer clonked him on the head, nearly knocking him out again.
"And so arrives the second king back into the party!" said Bowser. The Koopa King looked around at the assembled group. "Hm. Looks like we've got plenty, too."
"Then the time has come!" spoke Marth in a commanding tone. He drew his sword and pointed it into the sky. "Onward, my friends! To Galeem! To vic-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" interrupted Pit. "Look, I'm all aboard the payback train as much as you all are, but… we don't have everyone."
Everyone soon realized the angel's words rang true. Their numbers were high again, but not high enough. Friends and allies remained absent, leaving the Smash Brothers at nearly half their numbers.
"We have plenty of warriors to spare," said Ryu. "We have enough to take on Galeem. Once we are finished with him…"
"...we'll find out where he's keeping the rest of our friends and set them free!" finished Red.
"That… sounds like a good plan," said Pit. "Alright, then! To Galeem!"
The Smashers erupted into cheers as Mario rotated the ship and set sail. He heard words rise among the liberated.
"Payback time at last!"
"Time for round two!"
"This time, we are prepared!"
"Falco, contact our backup!"
"Roger that!"
Before long, Mario noticed the Great Fox move up beside the airship, its looming figure bringing inspiration to the others. Removing one hand from the steering wheel as Kirby joined him, he nodded to his pal and clenched his fist.
It was time to settle this!
…
"Surprising… Kirby has upheld his reputation well. Too well. All of my forces in my perfect realm are all but destroyed. My enemy has depleted my numbers and regained their own… but I have plenty of sources to create more soldiers.
But alas, I am exposed. My guardians have fallen and my shield is shattered. They are coming even as I speak. It falls down to me to defend my world… and my role. The fact it has come to this… it is almost amusing. Surely, they remember our first encounter. Their swift and inevitable defeat still seared in their minds. What hope have they for a successful retaliation?
Perhaps a test is in order. I must see how much they have grown in skill. Send one of my own to face them. They will possibly believe it to be a final challenge… all the better. Soon they will come, as they did before.
And they will fall, as they did before."
