Part Four

"Excellent. I'm glad that you all made it here safely." Everyone heard a voice say, which was, of course, Reedy. "Alright, everyone, you know what to do. We're swapping teams. I'll take Kirby's group. Kirby, you take Meta's group. Meta, you take my group."

Kirby nodded as he waved his old group behind and turned to look at his new group consisting of Calzone, Parmigiana, Capellini and Lyze. Shortly after this, the other two groups left, leaving the puff with his current one.

"So... um... should we get going to one of the other areas?" He asked.

"Lead the way, Kirby. You're the expert here, so I'll trust your judgment." Calzone said, his voice filled with confidence.

"Alright, let's go to the Old Tower area then!"

"Why should I follow this brat?" Capellini barked out, causing Kirby to look at him with an unusual amount of annoyance.

"Meta Knight told me about you."

"Well, of course that moron would! Now are you gonna give me a reason to follow a brat like you?"

Kirby pulled out a red headband out of his bag and put it on. "I don't like it, but I'll just have to earn your respect!"

Capellini smirked. "So, you want to throw down, huh? Fine by me!"

The man lunged forward and attempted to punch Kirby, but his punch was effortlessly dodged.

"Vulcan jab!? Kirby yelled out, punching Capellini multiple times in rapid succession. When he was done, Capellini fell down and became a small blob. "Sorry about that, but I figured you would never listen to me if you thought I was just some weak kid."

The blob didn't say anything in response.

"One of you carry him."

Parmigiana nodded. "Come on, grumpy. We're still on the clock, it's too early to punch out now." He said, putting emphasis on the word punch.

Almost everyone else let out a groan. Kirby just looked at him in confusion as he took the headband off.

"Well, let's get going!" The group nodded and followed after him.

As they walked to the Old Tower, the puff spoke up.

"So, I've asked this to everyone else. Why did you all of you join Reedy's division?" Kirby asked as he hopped over some rocks.

"For reasons other than because he's my father?" Lyze replied.

"Well, sure, I guess."

"I actually do have a bit more reason to it, but would any of you like to go first?" She asked her allies.

"As the leader of the Task Force, I suppose I should go first." Calzone commented.

Kirby nodded, as if waiting for him to continue.

"You see, I was part of the same group Reedy was a part of before he became the leader of the Intelligence Division. At first, I didn't care for him or his attitude, but after seeing him in action and getting to know him, I decided that he was the type of person I could trust with my life."

The child nodded in response. "So, you've known him the longest out of everyone?"

"Out of everyone in Reedy's crew, yup."

"Yeah, 'cuz I guess Ms. Mercury knows him the longest out of everyone I met!"

Calzone smiled. "Yeah, they are siblings after all. Sometimes I'm a bit a jealous of how close they are."

"Please, Uncle Calzone, don't sell yourself short like that." Lyze commented.

The man gave a slight chuckle in reply to that.

"What about everyone else?"

"I'm afraid my reason isn't that impressive. Honestly, I just really looked up to the intelligence division and the task force in general. So, I worked my hardest to get the opportunity to join them." Parmigiana said a bit shyly.

"That sounds like a good enough reason as any." The puff replied with a smile. "Besides, I'm sure you're very helpful to the division!"

The man smiled bashfully. "Well, thank you, Kirby. I always try my best."

The puff nodded as he then turned to the blob he was carrying. "I only joined because the captain specifically requested me. Originally, I wanted to join the combat division, but he was very persuasive. He told me that someone with my mindset was important to have around."

"...what mindset?" Kirby asked, tilting his head.

"The mindset to act on instinct. Some situations can only be solved by passion and instinct!"

"Well... I guess that makes sense, considering my one friend..." He then turned to Lyze. "Now, what about you?"

Lyze hesitated a bit before gaining the courage to speak. "I want to surpass my father and take over the intelligence division one day."

Everyone seemed to stare at her in surprise. This made the fairy nervous. "Is it really that strange?"

"No, I just think it's really neat!" Kirby replied.

"Well, thank you, but why are the rest of you surprised?"

"Um... I guess I just didn't expect something like that from you..." Parmigiana replied.

"I don't see why not. One day my father will retire for one reason or another. I want be skilled enough to take over when that does happen."

"...well, I guess that makes sense."

"It does. If he doesn't die from overwork first."

"Or if Raita forces him into early retirement."

The child gave a giggle at this conversation.

"There's is another reason I joined though. The intelligence division is often sent on missions to scout out planets and newly discovered areas of our galaxy. I always wanted to explore the galaxy and see everything with my own eyes." Lyze explained calmly, though everyone could tell that she was excited.

Kirby gave a smile. "Well, that's reasonable! Reedy seems like he'd be very protective of his family, so I'm sure you didn't get a chance to go you too much!"

Lyze let out a sigh. "I love my father, but yes he was and still is very protective of us. Overly so."

The child tilted his head. "Well, then why'd he allow you to go on this mission? Each of these four areas have a guardian of sorts. Like Sub-Tree has Fatty Whale, Crystal has... or I guess would be "had" Computer Virus, and Garden has the Wham Bams."

"Does this area have a guardian, Kirby?" Parmigiana asked.

"Yeah, Chameleo Arm."

The fairy sighed, giving a small glare for interrupting. "When I became a soldier, father promised to ease up on the overprotectiveness."

"How has he been with that?"

"Surprisingly, he's been good about respecting my wishes. He won't let me go on any incredibly dangerous missions by myself yet, but I can wait."

The puff nodded in understanding. "Um... this might be a dumb question, but does Raita work for the Organization?"

"My mother? Well, I suppose the best way to describe her is that she's like Meta. She's affiliated with the Organization but doesn't work for the Organization. She'll work with the Organization but isn't actually a soldier. I guess you can say she works for my father's crew and only his crew."

Kirby nodded but looked a little confused. "If she doesn't work for the Organization, why does she know so much?"

"Did you forget who her husband is?" Calzone replied with a smirk.

"Is Reedy really that big of a deal?"

"He has the same position as Kurabe in the Organization. In other words, the only person more powerful than him is the general."

"So, in other words, he can do whatever he wants?"

"Within reason. Besides, he's not the type to abuse his position. Much." Calzone replied.

"...has he abused his position before?"

"If you count making an entire day dedicated to showing off his family to everyone as abusing his position, then yes."

Kirby gave a sigh of relief. "So, it's nothing bad..."

"Speak for yourself. That day was so embarrassing..." Lyze muttered.

"Well, he didn't use his position to hurt anyone, right? So, it's fine!"

"Anyway, you mentioned a chameleon?" Calzone asked.

"Yup, Chameleo Arm. He's the guardian of the Old Tower area."

"Why is there a tower underground? Do you think it's the remains of an old civilization?" Parmigiana asked.

"I dunno. I never really thought about it." Kirby replied.

"Well, you lived here on Dreamland all of your life, right? You must have overheard someone talk about it before?"

"You'd be surprised then. I've never heard anyone talk about it!"

"Really? You'd think something as incredible as an underground tower would get people talking."

Kirby shook his head. "Weird things are very common in Dreamland!"

"How weird are we talking?"

"Well, there's a magic sock that brings you to another dimension."

"...that is weird."

"And yet no one thinks it is! That's why Dreamland is so fun!"

"Well... you're right about that, I think." Parmigiana replied with a smile.

"I heard that apparently you're the protector of Dreamland." Capellini said, now back in his regular form. "Why? What made you want to be a protector?"

Kirby tilted his head as he looked at him. "Do I need a reason to want to protect my home and friends?"

"So, you put yourself at risk, fighting against nightmarish abominations, all because you want to?"

"Well. to protect my friends and home, but yeah."

Capellini didn't respond, but Kirby could tell he was somewhat impressed. Though the man would never admit it.

"Getting back on topic a bit. How strong is this Chameleo Arm?" Calzone asked.

"Um... not very strong, if I'm being honest. Especially if I use the Paint Ability."

"So, it's the weakest of these guardians then?"

"Honestly, not really. The weakest is Fatty Whale."

"From the sounds of it, a lot of these guardians aren't that strong."

"Oh, that's mostly because I've fought them multiple times. If you wanted a challenge, we should've gone to the Garden Area and see if one of the other Wham Bams are there!" He then scratched his head. "Though, I think that doesn't really matter, since the strongest of those guys was already beaten by Pandoro."

"Well, that's too be expected. Pandoro's one of the strongest people I know. She's a real cut above the rest." Parmigiana said.

"From what I've seen, yeah!"

The man sighed, noticing his pun went over Kirby's head.

"Please, I could beat her easily." Capellini mumbled.

Calzone scoffed. "Really? You, who've lost against her every time you've dueled?"

"Shut it! I'll beat her one day you'll see!"

"Sure, you will." The man replied, clearly not believing a word he says. "In case you forgot, she's a 10, you're just a 9. An impressive number yeah, but nowhere near a 10."

"What's this about numbers?" Kirby asked.

"Oh right, guess that wouldn't normally come up in conversations you've had with the captain and Mercury. You see, the power of Limet is ranked and put on a power scale. Limets that are a "10" are the strongest and Limets that are a "1" are the weakest."

The puff nodded in understanding. "So, who's the strongest and the weakest in your group?"

"Well, in the Task Force as a whole, including the captain and Lyze. Reedy is the strongest 10. In fact, he's so strong we've considered making the scale 1 to 11."

"Whoa! Is he really that strong? What about compared to Meta Knight, Ms. Kurabe, and Ms. Mercury?"

"Well, the scale doesn't include Kurabe and Meta, but they are both stronger than Reedy. As for Mercury, she's an upper 8, borderline 9."

"So, does that mean she's still pretty strong?"

"Of course. Being an 8 means you're capable of doing a lot in terms of fighting."

The child nodded. "Then who's the weakest?"

"That would be Granita. She's a 4, but almost a 5. What holds her back is... well, I'm sure you're aware of her condition."

"Oh! Oh! Has Reedy fought Meta Knight or Kurabe?"

"I'm not entirely sure if he's fought Meta, but he's definitely fought Kurabe. Only a handful of times and Kurabe's won the majority."

"Really? He beat Ms. Kurabe? But she's so strong!"

"I know. Like I said, she's won the majority of the flights. Reedy's only actually beaten her once."

"How?"

"Unfortunately, I can't really say. Whenever those two fight, they do it at a remote location and don't allow anyone to watch. They won't even talk about what happens during the fight, only about the outcome. I imagine Reedy came up with a strategy that led him to victory, but what it was I have no idea."

Parmigiana then spoke up. "There was an exception, though. The Greatest Warrior in the Galaxy battle. Though that's because he nearly died..."

Kirby looked at him expectingly. "What's the Greatest Warrior in the Galaxy battle?"

"To put it simply, a battle to decide who the strongest warrior in the galaxy is. You can probably imagine how that went."

"It must've been very intense!"

"It was."

Kirby nodded in reply. "So what rank is everyone else?"

Parmigiana was the first to speak up. "Me, Fettuccine, and Minestrone are 5's. We aren't exactly weak, just that our strengths are in less combat oriented areas."

"Me, Risotto, Pandoro, and Reedy are all 10s. Though, as mentioned, Reedy might be an 11 with his strength." Calzone replied.

"Tiramisu is a 6. Bicerin is a 7."

"Wow, a lot of you are so strong! Lyze, what number are you?"

"I don't have a number, actually."

"You don't?" Kirby asked confused.

"I don't. The number system is used for Limets."

"But you're Reedy's daughter, aren't you? Why wouldn't you be a Limet?"

"That's the thing, Kirby. I may be his daughter, but because my mother's a fairy, I'm not a full-blooded Limet."

"Ohh, I guess that makes sense. I guess that's why your wings are so pretty."

Lyze blushed at the unexpected complement. "Well... thank you..."

"You're welcome! Oh, if you aren't on that scale, then we should make a scale for you and other Hybrids! At least, I think Hybrid is the right word."

"Yes, it is. That's the official term used for people who are half-Limet and another species."

"Awesome! I was right! But yeah, we should make a scale for you!"

Lyze took a moment to ponder over it. "But what exactly would it scale? The reason there's a scale for Limets is because it measures the exact percentage of strength used in the Abilities, they copy through mimicking others."

Kirby nodded and smiled. "I dunno! But it's not fair for Hybrids to not have a scale just because they can't mimic."

The fairy chuckled at the child's enthusiasm. "I'll talk to my father about it later."

"Ok! Now let's go look for some treasure!"

Everyone nodded and began to walk while looking around in every direction.

After a bit of walking around, a voice suddenly spoke up.

"Ah, up there on that ledge." Lyze said, pointing at a treasure chest that was way up high.

"Do you want to get it since you noticed it?" Kirby asked.

"Yes! I mean, I'll get right on it." She said, reigning in her enthusiasm.

The child gave a slight giggle as the fairy flew up to the ledge. Lyze was frankly enjoying herself. Finally having the freedom to explore something to her hearts content. Soon she made it to the chest and gently floated down.

"Well, since you found it, now you get to open it!" Lyze nodded, and quickly opened the chest, incredibly curious about what could be inside.

"This is fascinating." She said as she pulled out a sword, a rapier to be exact.

"Oooh, that's a neat looking sword! What are you gonna name it?" Kirby asked.

"A name? I'm afraid I'm not very good with names." She said with a nervous chuckle. "But I suppose if I have to. The Blade of Light."

"That sounds like a good name!"

Lyze smiled. "Well, thank you, Kirby. Tell me, as someone who has been at this for a long time, you must be talented at naming treasure correct?"

"Yup! I name all of the treasure I find!"

"Then perhaps you could teach me on how to name objects as well as you do, please?"

"Of course! It's very simple!"

Capellini scoffed. "Please, what can you possibly learn from a kid? You're already a genius, Lyze."

"There's always room to learn, Capellini. And age is irrelevant. Children can be just as wise, if not even wiser than adults." Lyze said, channeling a bit of her father in her tone, straight down to her glasses shining as she pushed them up.

"...I can't argue when you talk like that, dammit."

"As long as you understand. And please refrain from using that language around Kirby." She said, her tone reminding Kirby of Raita.

"Ok, mom..." He grumbled.

Kirby looked at Lyze in amazement. "Wow, you're so good at getting people to calm down, Lyze."

While she did look proud, the blush on her face made it obvious that she was embarrassed by the complement. "I-I was only copying what I saw my father and mother do."

"Don't sell yourself short little lady." Calzone said. "It's one thing to imitate, it's another to make those techniques your own. I'm sure Kirby would agree."

"Yup! All the moves I know for my Copy Abilities are stuff I learned through practice!"

"Exactly. Remember, Lyze, you might be their daughter, but you are your own person."

"Yeah, I know that."

"Then if you know that, hold your head up high and stop saying you're just copying from them. I'm saying this both as a superior officer and as your uncle."

"Ok, uncle Calzone."

"Say it again, this time like you mean it."

"Ok, uncle Calzone!" She repeated, this time sounding a lot more like this was a discussion that was fairly common.

Kirby giggled, something about this interaction honestly reminded him of his own conversations with Meta Knight.

"Excuse me. Can we get back to the hunt? Though I'm glad you guys seem to be treasuring the moment." Parmigiana said.

"Ah! That's right! Let's go!" Kirby exclaimed, ignoring everyone else groaning from the bad pun.

"I should ask him how he ignores those puns." Calzone said.

"Something tells me that's not something he can just teach." Lyze replied.

The remaining group only followed after the child.

"So, Kirby, as you were saying about naming object being easy."

"It is easy! You just look at an object and say the first thing that comes to mind when you look at it!"

The fairy looked at him confused. "So, the secret to thinking, is not to think?"

"Yup! That's how I come up with most of my names!"

Capellini scoffed. "That's so stu-"

"That's genius!" Lyze said, actually impressed by Kirby's words.

"I know, right?! At first, I had a hard time thinking of names as well, but then when I thought of that, it was genius!"

"Hold on! How is not thinking genius? I rarely think and I'm not a genius!" Capellini protested.

"The difference is that you not thinking usually gets yourself nearly killed. It's completely harmless when it has to do with thinking of names."

"Whatever..." The angry man said.

"Let's just find this stupid treasure and be done with this."

"Knowing him, he'll probably trip over a chest."

Almost on cue, the man fell over, slamming his face into the ground.

"Knew it."

"Wow, that's the fastest anyone's found a chest right after another one. A new record! Now come on and open it!"

Grumbling in annoyance, the Capellini picked himself up and kicked open the chest.

"What the heck? Gloves?"

Inside the chest was indeed a pair of gloves. To be specific, a pair of green boxing gloves.

"Huh, that seems to be a very fitting treasure for you." Lyze said.

"I guess so. I've been needing a new pair of gloves anyway."

"Oh, but you have to name it now!" Kirby exclaimed.

"Why should I? Just 'cuz you have that rule that doesn't mean I have to follow it. Ugh! I wish I could just punch out of this place. Wait, Punch Out... Alright, that's its name now."

The child only giggled, as if amused that the man had followed along with his rules anyway. However, this then caused him to think of another question to ask his group.

"So why is he so...violent?"

"Last I checked, that's just how he is." Calzone said with a shrug.

"Really? So, he was this miserable even before joining Reedy?" The child asked while tilting his head.

"Oi! Don't be calling me miserable just 'cuz I'm not a happy go lucky kid like you. I'm perfectly happy!"

"But you don't seem happy."

"You star punks can sense emotions, right? Well, read mine."

The puff nodded and did so. To his surprise, Capellini actually was happy, in fact his happiness outweighed his anger. Admittedly, Kirby didn't understand this.

"I don't get it, why are you so happy and angry?"

"Because that's just how I am and I'm happy being who I am. Plus I got a new pair of boxing gloves."

"Oh, ok."

Kirby still really didn't understand, nor did he really want to. If Capellini was happy being irritable, then that's just how it is. But Kirby couldn't imagine living the same way, it just seemed too sad for him.

"Don't worry about it, Kirby." Calzone said, as if he read his mind.

"Well, alright. I guess if he doesn't cause too much trouble then it's fine."

"Yup. My same thought process."

"I guess you have to deal with this regularly, huh, Calzone?"

"Yup. I'm the vice captain of this crew, of course."

"Is being a vice captain hard? I assume it is, at least that's what I know from watching Captain Vul a few times."

"It can be at times, especially if your captain is commonly incapacitated due to overworking."

"I don't get it. I mean I get that being a leader is hard, but why does he overwork? From what I can tell all of you can easily handle whatever comes your way."

"Oh, that's because Reedy's an idiot who thinks everything is his responsibility."

"Uncle, please don't call my father an idiot, even if it is admittedly warranted." Lyze chided her uncle figure.

"I've known him longer than your mother, missy. I think I can."

"I suppose that's fair enough." She sighed.

Kirby title his head. "How does being an idiot make someone overwork? Dedede never overworks himself."

"What would you think of someone who has worked themselves to near death multiple times?"

"I'd sooner say reckless than idiot, but I guess I get your point."

"Yeah. We've told the captain not to overwork himself multiple times, but he just doesn't listen."

"Well then, that sounds more like being stubborn." Kirby said, already thinking of certain stubborn knight not listening to others.

"He's both."

"Ok, but why? What makes him so stubborn? I've never met anyone more stubborn than him, and I know plenty of stubborn people."

Calzone gave a shrug. "Honestly, I don't really know. Might just be how he is."

Lyze nodded her head in agreement. "I love my father, but I'm so glad his stubbornness is one aspect that I didn't inherit. As far as I know, there have only been five individuals that have managed to get through to him."

"I assume one is Raita?" Kirby asked.

"Mother is the most consistent at getting through to him. Aunt Mercury is the second."

"Who else?"

"Between me and the rest of my siblings, I'm the only one that's managed to get past his stubbornness, but even then, it doesn't happen too often. General Z can easily get father to stand down. The 5th person is aunt Kurabe. Oh, but please don't tell father I called her that. He doesn't know that's how I view her."

"Oh, ok." The child nodded. Kirby wasn't really surprised that Kurabe could change Reedy's mind, even if the two were rivals. There was just something so commanding about her.

"Yeah, you need to be something special to get through the captain's thick skull. For someone who can come up with strategies on the fly, he's not the most flexible guy around." Calzone added.

"Yeah, from what I've been told by the others, it really seems like it." The puff agreed.

"He doesn't need to be flexible." Capellini said while trying out his new gloves.

The puff looked at him in confusion. "Why not?"

"Because that's what the Task Force is for. We can be the flexible ones for him. We're perfectly able to perform duties he doesn't want to. If he chooses to do them, then it ain't our business."

"It would be better if he doesn't try to do everything on his own." Calzone said with a smirk.

"And we shouldn't worry about it. The boss can look after himself."

"Oh, it's not that I'm worried about. It's the fact that he does everything to the point where we have nothing to do."

"So? That just proves how dedicated he is."

"You're just saying that because you get to take longer breaks."

"Yeah, so?" "Alright guys, break it up already." Parmigiana said.

Lyze nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's focus on finding treasure for now."

Calzone nodded quickly, showing that he wasn't invested in the would-be argument.

"Ok, so let's go!" Kirby motioned to the group to follow him deeper into the Old Tower area.

During the travel, Kirby kept trying to think of different conversation topics, a task that proved to be difficult thanks to Capellini's personality.

"So, Parmigiana, why do you like puns so much?"

The man looked at him and blinked. "Do I need a reason to like puns?"

"Not really, I guess. But why puns instead, well, actually good jokes?"

"Well, I guess they're not very punny if you're saying that."

Kirby himself blinked at the failed attempt to make him laugh. "Do you make puns to just get reactions?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Because every time you make someone groan, you get really happy. And when I don't react you get annoyed." Was the puff's simple explanation.

"...yeah, that's the case."

"So, if I'm getting this right, you don't tell jokes to make others laugh, you do it to make yourself laugh."

"If you wanna be that pessimistic about it, sure."

The child tilted his head in questioning. "Pessimistic? I don't see what's so pessimistic about wanting to make yourself happy."

"I dunno, there just seems to be a negative connotation about wanting to make only myself laugh, I guess."

"Well, there shouldn't be! It's never wrong to be happy! So, keep telling those puns!"

"I was going to even if you tell me not to!" Everyone else groaned at that statement which just put Parmigiana back in a good mood.

"Kirby, must you encourage his behavior?" Lyze asked.

"I mean, you find them funny, don't you? I see your lips twitch whenever he makes one."

The fairy blushed furiously. "I do not!"

"Oh, she's protesting. That means Kirby is right." Calzone said.

"It doesn't mean that!"

"You can't argue against someone who has known you for your entire life."

"I think I could!"

"Alright, let me rephrase it. You can argue against someone who has known you for your entire life. You just won't win."

"Careful now, little lady. We don't want you to become as stubborn as your dad." He said as he ruffled her hair.

She only responded with a pout. "Ah, channeling your mom's side of the family now, huh? You always were cute when you pouted."

She only pouted more.

"If you guys aren't busy, we have treasure to find." Parmigiana suddenly said.

"Yes, of course, let's go." Lyze said as she quickly walked off.

Calzone only gave a smirk.

"Well, hopefully whatever treasure we find next will be interesting. If not, then it'd end up feeling like fools' gold." Parmigiana said.

Everyone but Kirby groaned in reply.

"That one wasn't even a pun that time it was a genuine statement!"

The others only stared at him.

"Well, it would suck if the next treasure was a dud. Even I can be sincere, guys."

"Yeah. Once in a while."

"Oh, you wound me, good sir." He said sarcastically before continuing. "Now, come on. I want some treasure and I want it now-ish."

"Then get to looking around." Calzone replied.

"I already am! Eye don't see why you're telling me to look."

Everyone groaned.

"Geez, tough crowd. Whatever, hey what's that over there?' He asked, pointing at something shining amongst a pile of rubble.

"Oh, that might be a treasure chest! Let's go see!"

The crew wasted no time in running over, with Parmigiana being the first to arrive.

"Alright, baby, my turn for some treasure."

"Ok, then open it!"

The man with no sense of humor nodded and quickly opened it, revealing a silver gauntlet with a crab like claw.

"...it's a crab claw." Parmigiana then grinned. "Normally something like this would put me in a crabby mood but I'll make an exception. This thing looks like it could pierce a hole in the strongest rock."

"So, you gonna try it?" The puff asked.

"Try what? Piercing a rock? No, I'll just keep it as a trophy. It is very well made, though I have no idea what this thing is made from. It's not metal, or at least not any kind of metal we have."

"Do you have any way to analyze it?"

"Not in a traditional sense, but as a Limet I can assimilate objects into me and then I'll naturally learn about it. But whatever this is, I can't assimilate it. Like at all, I can't wrap my head around it."

Kirby looked surprised. "Really!?"

"Now what would I gain from lying about that? I might be a joker but I'm always honest."

"I'm not calling you a liar, I'm just surprised!"

"I know, I'm just teasing you. Anyway, I should probably show this to Minestrone later. He'd probably go crazy at the idea of something we can't absorb."

"Well, you have to name it first!"

"A name, huh? I guess the most fitting name is... the Claw." Parmigiana said in an exaggerated voice.

"The Claw? Oh, come on! I'm pretty sure anyone can come up with a better name than that!" Capellini grumbled.

"Fine, then its name is Crabupuncture."

"Why?" "Do you know what acupuncture is?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then there you go." Was all he responded with.

"But what does that have to do with a crab claw!?"

"It's a claw. You stab things with it. Like acupuncture. Come on, I thought that would be obvious."

Calzone gave a smirk. "You're talking to someone with muscles for brains, remember?"

"Well, yeah, but even a child would get such an easy pun."

"I can hear what both of you are saying! You wanna fight!?"

"You might be a level 8 strength wise, but that temper of yours is easily level 1." Parmigiana replied.

"I'M A LEVEL 9! NOW SHUT UP! WE'RE GONNA FIGHT THIS OUT RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!"

"Excuse me." Kirby said as he pulled out his headband from earlier. "Stop with the pointless fighting, please."

The man only gave a groan.

"HA! You're getting ordered around by a kid." Parmigiana said but he immediately shut up when he saw Kirby give him the same look he gave Capellini.

"I'd prefer that we don't fight on a day where we're supposed to have fun." Calzone uttered.

The small man nodded in fear. "Geez, for such a cute kid you sure can be terrifying."

"That kid you're talking to defeated a literal god of destruction."

"Fair point, well made. Alright, let's goooooo." The now frightened man said as he walked away.

"...speaking of which, where in this tower are we exactly going?" Lyze asked.

"The only place left to go, the top!"

"Which means next treasure is mine." Calzone said.

"Yup! So be sure to keep an eye out!"

"My eyes are always out." The man said in an attempt to sound cool.

"Oh, ok. Then keep them out!" The puff exclaimed.

"Man, one minute he's intense and the next it's like he doesn't have a care in the world. I'm a bit jealous."

"Yeah, it's kinda weird."

"I think it's fascinating. I have much to learn from him." Lyze said as she walked alongside Kirby.

"I guess we all have something to learn from him." Calzone said.

"Please, what's there to learn from a kid who got lucky?" Capellini said.

"You don't get lucky against a god of destruction."

"Hey, you don't know that!"

"No, I do know that and so do you. Now quit being a stubborn mule and get walking."

The man grumbled and followed along.

"Hey Kirby, have you ever thought of joining the Organization?" Calzone suddenly asked.

"Not really, if I'm being honest."

The tall man tilted his head in questioning. "Why not? Someone as strong as you would be a massive help to us."

"I dunno. I guess it's because Meta Knight said not to."

Calzone's smirk dropped. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Poor guy still has those scars of his I see."

Kirby looked confused, but he decided not to say anything. If Meta Knight wanted him to know about whatever scars Calzone mentioned, he would've told him already.

"But anyway, you sure you don't want to join us in the future?"

The puff shook his head. "No, not really. If anything, I'd want to start my crew like Meta Knight did!"

"I see. Well, perhaps you could work tangentially with us like Meta Knight does."

"I wouldn't be opposed to that! But I'd rather start of small if that makes sense."

"That's understandable."

"Why do you want me to join the Organization anyway? Besides for the fact I'm strong, I guess."

"Well, because we enjoy your company." Calzone replied in a surprisingly blunt way.

"Um... thanks, but I'd rather just stay here on Dreamland for the time being."

"Well, I'm sure you can come visit us sometimes if you'd like." Lyze said.

"Of course! I'm just not going to be joining you guys or anyone else in the Organization and that's final."

"Very well." Calzone replied with a hint of disappointment.

"Oh, don't be sad. I'll still gladly work with you, I'm just not interested in joining anything at the moment is all. I feel more comfortable staying here in Dreamland for now."

"And that's reasonable. You're still a child. I'm sure that the captain would very reasonably have an aneurism if he found out a child joined the Organization."

"He would?" Kirby asked surprised. He knew Reedy was protective of his own children, but he didn't expect Reedy to be as considerate for other children.

"Of course. He can actually become quite concerned when it comes to children."

"It took him forever to let me join. Even when I was legally old enough, he still put up a bit of resistance." Lyze explained.

"Oh, that's just because you're his daughter. He'll have less resistance if you're legally an adult."

Kirby scratched his head. Honestly, he didn't really understand most of this conversation, but at least Calzone seemed to be less disappointed now, so he was fine with being a little confused.

"Well, I suppose I'll drop the subject. I had a feeling I wouldn't have been able to convince you anyway." The vice captain then said.

"Of course not!"

Calzone laughed at the response. "Alright, let's open up this chest." He said as he pulled out a chest from seemingly nowhere.

"Huh? When does you get that?"

"Earlier while we were talking."

The puff blinked for a moment, but then nodded.

"Then let's get this sucker open." Calzone said, turning his fingers into claws and slashing the lock off.

"So, what is it?" Kirby asked.

He then reached in and pulled out a small, golden badge of some kind with an image resembling scales in the middle.

"What do you think it is?"

"Looks like a normal badge to me." Capellini said, bored with the treasure.

"Objection!" Calzone suddenly said catching them all off guard.

"W-what?"

"It's not just any badge. It's...a cool badge!"

"Um... we see that, but does it do anything?"

"Oh, I have no idea. But does every treasure need some kind of cool purpose?"

"I don't think so." Kirby said.

"Exactly. So, with that said the Badge of Justice stays with me."

"Is that the name you're going to give it? It's great!"

"Yup. I figured with the scales on it, whoever this belonged to must of been someone who fought for justice."

"Well, if they have scales on it, it must." Lyze said.

"Hmm? Why would scales mean that?" Kirby then asked.

"Because scales are a symbol commonly associated with justice."

The puff nodded in understanding. "Then I guess whatever universe this comes from must have a similar idea about scales."

"Yup."

"Well, now what?" Parmigiana asked.

"We keep going to the top of course! Let's go!"

The group nodded and followed after the puff.

"Excuse me Kirby, but what exactly is at the top of this tower?" Lyze suddenly asked.

"The guardian of this area, of course!"

"Right, you mentioned it before. Any particular reason we have to see and inevitably fight it?"

"We have to if we want to escape."

"We do? Is there a reason we can't go out the way we entered?"

"We could, but we do get a good reward from beating him."

"Then in that case, let's keep going then." She said, practically giddy about the situation.

"She seems excited." Kirby noted.

"Yeah, cause she's finally able to experience adventure." Calzone said.

"Hasn't she gone on a few of them before?"

"Nope. She's usually kept on the ship but even when she gets to be off the ship, it's for missions that don't require any kind of adventuring."

"I see. That's because of Reedy, isn't it?"

"That's right. He swears he's not doing it to protect her, but we all know that is the reason why."

"Yup, it's a bit obvious."

"Which I get it, she is his daughter. But she is also a trained soldier, she knows what she's getting into."

"It makes me wonder why he let her come on this journey, since he does know there are guardians in this place."

"Because he knows he can't coddle her forever. Besides, we're here to help her if needed."

"You say that, but he's probably still going to worry about her. I'm pretty sure Ms. Kurabe worries about Meta Knight, and he's really strong!"

"I never said he won't worry. Parents will always worry about their kids. Coddling and worrying aren't the same thing."

"I guess. But anyway, let's just keep going. We should be near the top."

"We should be. I have a feeling Lyze already is. When she gets excited nothing can slow her down."

"Well, hopefully she didn't catch the guardian's attention. I'm not sure how well she'd do against Chameleo Arm."

"Oh I wouldn't be too worried. She's a lot stronger than one would expect. Even herself."

"...huh?" The puff blinked in confusion.

"While she seems pretty dainty and not much of a fighter, and admittedly she isn't, she still learned a lot from her parents in the ways of fighting and from me. She'll be fine."

Kirby silently tilted his head, but accepted that response either way.

When they reached the top of the tower they were greeted by a shocking site. Chameleo Arm was on the floor completely unmoving, with Lyze standing next to it completely unharmed.

"Oh, so there was nothing to worry about." Kirby said a in a nonchalant way before looking up at the fairy. "How did it you beat it though?"

Lyze blushed, not really used to be asked about how she wins fights. "My mother is a master medic and she taught me most of what she knows. One of these things she taught me was a magic spell that paralyzes anyone I touch. Normally, it's used to keep patients still while operating on them, but as you can see it's quite effective in combat."

"Oh, that's neat!"

"Oh no, it's not that neat really." She replied, embarrassed from the child's reaction.

"No, it is neat!"

"It's just a simple skill really. I'm nowhere near as skilled as my parents are yet."

"Yeah, but you still took down something you never fought before!"

"Yes but-"

"Lyze, if you want to surpass your father you need to accept your victories. If you keep downplaying yourself, you'll never reach your goal." Calzone said in a strict yet kind voice.

"Yes, Uncle Calzone."

"Good. Kirby, compliment her again."

"Huh? Oh, ok!" The puff then cleared his throat once more before speaking. "You did a great job, Lyze! It was amazing that you took down Chameleo Arm so easily!"

Lyze blushed and nodded. "Thank you." She said with a smile.

"You're welcome! Now let's see if he dropped anything..."

Underneath the goofy chameleon was indeed another chest.

"Well, since you beat him you can have it!"

The fairy gave a nod and opened up the chest.

"It's some type of shell?" She said.

Indeed, it looked like a turtle shell, but it was blue in color and has spikes on it.

"It's a cool looking shell, don't you think?"

"It is, but it looks pretty dangerous as well."

"That's true. Be careful with it, ok?"

"Please it's just a shell. You act as if it's a bomb." Capellini said.

"It could be. You don't know that." Lyze replied.

"A shell shaped bomb?"

"In whatever universe this came from this might just be what bombs look like."

The puff nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Magolor uses gem apple bombs!"

"See? It's pretty common for people to disguise bombs as everyday objects."

"...yeah, whatever."

Suddenly, Calzone pulled out his phone and answered it. "Yes, sir? Understood. It's time to meet back up with the other groups everyone."

"Oh, already? Well, it should be easy getting back to our meeting area from here, so let's go!"

"How exactly? Are we supposed to jump off the tower?" Parmigiana asked.

Without breaking eye contact, Kirby walked over to one of the walls and pushed a stone, which opened up a door to a stairwell.

"Oh, you really do know everything about this place, don't you?"

"Well, yeah. I've been to this place multiple times!"

"Talk about not leaving any stone unturned."

"Yup! Now let's get going!" Kirby took off excitedly, looking forward to seeing everyone again.

And that's another chapter down. I hope you all are still enjoying this story.