Chapter 1: Knuckle Joe
"What's this about a tag-team tournament?"
It was a regular day in Dreamland. Kirby was resting underneath a tree when he was visited by a familiar friend by the name of Knuckle Joe.
"It's as I said, they're holding a tag-team fighting tournament today! You wanna join up with me and fight together?"
Kirby scratched his head for a moment. He'd question what the prize for winning was, but he also knew that Joe would sometimes show up to tournaments uninvited just to beat down the competition and prove he's better than everyone there. Every time he had, he was successful and has since earned the nickname "Steel-Fist Joe".
"Come on, it'll be fun!" The fighter added on.
"I don't know…I think that's more of your thing…" The puff uttered in hesitation, slightly worried his response would upset his friend. While he normally would think the idea of joining a tournament to fight alongside his friend would sound fun, he had finished a long training session with his mentor just this morning. He had mostly recovered from the exhaustion that resulted from it, but he still wanted to rest for the remainder of the day.
However, Knuckle Joe gave a grin. "…if we win, I'll buy us dinner!"
Upon hearing that, Kirby immediately hopped to his feet. "WELL, WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR, LET'S GO!" He quickly ran off.
"Wait a minute! Kirby! The stadium is the other way! You're going in the wrong direction! …ugh!" The fighter chased after him.
It didn't take long to register at the front. As Kirby and Knuckle Joe entered, the crowd within the stadium roared with excitement.
"Wow, I didn't know there would be so many people here!" The pink puff looked around, amazed at the sights around him.
"Heh...I hope you don't have stage fright, Kirby! This is nothing like the Megaton Punch tournaments!"
"Of course not! I fight well under pressure, you know!" As someone who had participated in Dedede's Cake Royale, Kirby was used to being watched by a massive crowd of people.
"You better keep up that attitude throughout the whole tournament!" his friend rubbed his nose. Thinking about it further, Kirby began to be reminded of the Cake Royale. He was asked to use a single ability for it (Fighter, for this instance) and had to fight in front of a large crowd. Just then, there was a screech from a microphone. The sound, of course, came from Walky.
"Ah, Kirby! We'll be starting soon!" Joe pointed out.
"Welcome one and all to the whatever-annual Dreamland Tag Team Tournament! We kind of lost track of how many times we did this kind of tournament after number 50 and..."
"Ugh...I thought we were going to start, but he just went on a tangent..." Joe shrugged with a sigh. Walky loved to hear himself talk and often went off-topic, even when he was acting as a public announcer.
"Well, it just gives us time to stretch and warm up a bit before we start, right?" Kirby replied as he began to stretch and loosen up his limbs. The last thing he wanted to do was sprain one of his limbs. That had already happened once during a Megaton Punch tournament and it was one of the most physically painful things he had ever experienced.
"Yeah, that'd probably be a good idea." Knuckle Joe joined him and the two stretched together while they waited for the microphone being to finish his unrelated tangent.
Walky had been talking on a tangent for approximately three minutes.
"…you see, we were originally going to have it be one on one, but with such a big prize at stake, it would not be fair to restrict it to a single person…"
"OH FOR NOVA'S SAKE, JUST START ALREADY!" an irritated voice from the crowd shouted.
"Oh...uh...right, right, I'm sorry. So, for the first round, we have Team 1, made up of the Pink Demon, Kirby and Steel-Fist Joe!" The crowd roared upon hearing their names. "And in this corner is their opponent…Knuckle Ryu and Knuckle Ken!" The opponents were similar looking to Knuckle Joe but wore a white and red gi. Knuckle Joe stared at the opponents in deep thought.
"Is something wrong, Joe?" Kirby questioned.
"Oh, it's nothing, I just think I beat these guys at the last tournament I went to uninvited…" his friend uttered.
"Was it one where you beat down everyone just to prove your fighting style was better!?"
"Yup." The pink puff only looked back at the team. He hoped they wouldn't get angry if they recognized his friend. The opponent in a white gi got into a fighting stance.
"I wonder, what will your fists tell me?" he uttered.
"I'm sorry, what?" Kirby blinked in confusion.
"Heh… don't mind him, he's always saying stuff like that." The opponent wearing a red gi shrugged. "Though, I do have a question. Kicks or punches, which is better?"
"Punches" The reply was unanimous.
"Darn, I'm outnumbered here."
"You'll find fellow kickers soon enough, Ken. Now, let the fight begin!"
"Round One!" Walky shouted. "Ready? Go!"
Kirby was the first to begin with a Smash Punch, sending Ken sliding back. This left Knuckle Joe to fight the second opponent. Both opponents were equally strong, but it seemed that the puff and his friend had the overall advantage. After a particularly harsh hit, Kirby's opponent was thrown across the arena.
"Heh, not bad! Time to turn up the heat!" The red fighter proceeded to use fire kicks, which were easily dodged.
"Oh! That's cool! I wanna try that!" With a quick movement, the pink ball replicated his opponent's kicks perfectly, causing him to guard.
"Wow, how did you do that so fast!?"
"Good question, I'll think about it later."
Meanwhile, Joe and Ryu slowly looked back at each other. Before Knuckle Joe could do anything, he was hit with an uppercut from his opponent, sending him immediately to the ground. Managing to dodge a kick, Kirby looked back over at him in concern, only to notice Joe standing back up and delivering an uppercut of his own.
"We appear evenly matched." Joe glared at his opponent in a fighting stance.
"That we are. I wonder, though, which of us will drop out first?" "Well, it certainly won't be me!" Joe only gave a slight smirk.
"Then come on!" Joe charged at his opponent and gave several quick punches, all of which were being blocked.
"Hmph, you seem to have gotten better since the last time we fought." He uttered and then threw his opponent off guard with a kick. Ultimately, their straightforward tactics were a success, as it didn't take long for their opponents to fall to the ground.
"MEGA FORCE BLAST!" the ground shook from the impact of both fighters hitting the floor.
"Unbelievable, that's a clean sweep victory for Kirby and Knuckle Joe!" Walky yelled as the crowd cheered. "Man, I can't believe we lost in the first round…" Ken uttered as Kirby helped him up.
"Nothing we can do about it now, Ken." Ryu stood up and turned towards Knuckle Joe.
"We lost fair and square, Joe!"
"Uh…yeah…so?"
"Keep up the good work." Ryu crossed his arms with a nod.
"You too pink dude!" Ken waved over towards Kirby.
"Thanks! That was fun! Let's do it again some time!" he waved back.
Then the other two fighters exited the stadium.
It was around time for the second round to start and the duo could see that their next opponents were two giant stag beetles, one yellow and the other wearing some type of hat and jacket.
"…wait, I think I recognize the guy with the hat…" Joe uttered.
"Was it from another tournament you went to uninvited?!" Kirby exclaimed.
"No, it's…actually I forget where." He scratched his head while trying to remember.
"In this corner, we have the Pink Demon and Steel-Fist Joe!" Walky began and then turned to their opponents. "And in this corner…King and Marduk!"
"Oh well, it's not important now…" Joe uttered as he got into his stance as their next opponents walked over towards them.
"So, you little bugs are our opponents? Is this some kind joke? Where's the actual competition!?" The beetle wearing a hat sneered. His partner, King gives a thumbs down, though Kirby was uncertain if it's directed towards the duo or Marduk's behavior.
"Who you calling a bug, you…you bug!" Joe barely managed to snap back.
"If that's the best material you got, then this fight is already in the bag!" The bug laughed.
"Oh yeah? Let's see how well that holds up! You ready, Kirby!?"
"Yeah! I plan on giving these guys a taste of their own medicine!" Kirby replied with a nod, readying his stance.
"Oh yeah, small fry? What makes you think you can even hurt me?" Marduk glared over at the pink puff.
"Ever heard of the Megaton Punch competition?"
"Well duh, everyone has."
"Then you should recognize me as the winner of the last one, right?" The bug let out a massive laugh after Kirby said that. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! That's a good…joke." His face slowly turned to shock, as if he had finally processed what Kirby had said. "Oh no…"
"Oh yes. Let's go, Joe!" With a nod, the two readied their stances.
"Round two! FIGHT!"
The duo charged at their opponents. However, Kirby was quickly grabbed by the silent opponent and thrown into the ground, losing his Fighter Copy Ability.
"HAHAHAHA! That's what ya get for overselling yourselves!" Marduk laughed while he held Joe in his jaws. The Ability Star hit a spike and was instantly destroyed. "Ah…there's no way I can easily fight this guy normally!" he floated over an incoming attack. "I need to find another Copy Ability quick!" Kirby dodged another charging attack before opening his mouth and inhaling deeply.
"Gahhhh! Look out! The Pink Demon is using his inhale! Wait, is he even allowed to do that? Hey! Someone! Can anyone tell me if he's allowed to do THAAAATTTTTT?!" Walky shouted as he got caught up in the vortex and was swallowed by Kirby. The pink puff transformed, gaining a set of red earphones with stars on them. It was as if a switch was flipped because the whole audience stopped cheering the moment Kirby gained his new Copy Ability.
"Oh…that ain't good…" Marduk uttered in horror once he noticed how silent the entire stadium became.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Joe scrambled to cover his ears as Kirby seemed to gain a sparkle in his eyes upon realizing what Ability he had.
"Ah! It's time to listen to my song, everyone! This song's called "Interstellar Flight"!"
Knuckle Joe braced himself for the impact of Kirby's singing attack.
After the attack from the Microphone ability, Knuckle Joe managed to pull himself back up after the impact, only to see that the entire stadium had been emptied out except for their two opponents, now laying on the ground.
"Beaten, by a small fry…." Marduk managed to utter before he fell unconscious.
King silently gives a thumbs up and passes out himself.
"Aw…no one wanted to hear my singing…" Kirby gave a slightly saddened pout as he flipped once in the air, turning the headphones back into Walky.
"Guh! That was awful! Don't you do that again!" the microphone scolded Kirby, who lowered his head. The crowd began to file back into the stadium as Walky announced their victory.
"And the winners of this Round are Kirby and Knuckle Joe!" The duo high fived. "Buuuttt, we might need an intermission to get everyone back in the stadium after that Microphone attack…" Kirby rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he walked off with Joe. As the duo approached one of the entrances, they heard shouting and saw a red Blade Knight arguing with the tournament staff.
"What do you mean I can't compete!?" the knight exclaimed in fury.
"Sir, this is a tag tournament. You need a partner…" The Waddle Dee at the gate replied.
"My sword is my partner!" he pointed to the giant sword on his back.
"No weapons allowed. If you want a weapon tournament, that's next week."
After hearing that conversation, Kirby had a vague feeling that his mentor might have him participate in that as an excuse for additional training.
"Ok, Kirby, you got any ideas for your next ability?" Joe asked, breaking the puff out of his thoughts.
"Oh, I know!" Kirby pulled out a Wrestler mask and showed it to his friend.
"...we're not doing that." His friend replied bluntly.
"Oh, you're no fun sometimes, Joe." Kirby grumbled with a pout.
"Ugh…whatever… just find something else…" The fighter began to look around for anything that can be used as a Copy Ability. Shortly after that statement, Kirby pulls out the headband for the Suplex Ability. Knuckle Joe gave a sigh before adding. "Kirby, I said no."
"You said no to Wrestler, not to Suplex." The puff replied with a triumphant grin.
"It's the same thing Kirby…"
"... say that again." The somewhat dark tone of that reply made Joe almost regret what he said.
The duo returned to the stadium with the Fighter Copy Ability to wait for the next match. However, Kirby had a noticeable pout on his face as Walky began talking again.
"So, uh…I had a talk with the judges, and they agreed to not disqualify Kirby for using Microphone as long as he doesn't use it again. As a result, we will have Copy Essences on standby in case he requires one."
Kirby didn't say it, but the problem with that statement is that usually his first instinct is to try and find something to inhale before using a Copy Essence.
"In this corner, we have the Pink Demon and Steal-Fist Joe!" The microphone then turned to the other side of the ring. "And in this corner, we have their opponents, Kusanagi and Yagami!"
Across the ring were two Burning Leos. One was red with purple flames on his head and the other had normal colored flames and was wearing a white jacket.
"Go, Kusanagi! You can do it! Yagami, don't get in his way!" Kirby and Joe heard a shout from the stands and looked to see a Waddle Dee in a blue outfit and white headband yelling out.
"Does that nuisance have to follow you everywhere?" The red Leo, Yagami, grumbled.
"Do you have to complain about everything? He's just being supportive." His partner argued, only to get a huff in response.
"Whatever. Why did I agree to this again?"
"Don't ask me! You forced yourself on me about it, remember?" The red one gave a glare back.
"You got a problem with that?"
"I don't know, do you?" The red one gave a snarl.
"After this tournament, I'm taking you down!"
"Go ahead and try you ba-!"
"Uh, guys?" Knuckle Joe finally spoke.
"WHAT!?" Both opponents snapped at him.
"Are you gonna continue with this lovers quarrel or fight?" he crossed his arms.
"WHAT DID YOU CALL US!?" The fire on both of the Leos' heads erupted as they shouted that.
"I think you made them mad, Joe..." Kirby uttered in response.
"Eh, at least we can actually fight now." Joe said with a scoff.
"Round Three! Fight!" Walky shouted. The red Leo was first to rush towards Knuckle Joe, trying to strike at him with claw-like attacks of fire.
"Ah…they're different from other Burning Leos I've seen!" Kirby noted before throwing a punch towards his own opponent, which was blocked.
"Ah, they're actual fighters!" The puff continued to dodge the flaming punches sent his way.
Kirby managed to land a kick, but his opponent quickly recovered before continuing with his assault. It was so much that he didn't have a chance to look over at what was going on with Joe. As for Knuckle Joe, he was in a similar situation, where he had to block various claw strikes and avoid being slammed into the ground. However, he was slammed down once, but easily was able to kick him off and over him. Just as he jumped up onto the ground, Yagami managed to grab Joe, his claw-like grip keeping Joe from escaping, and set him on fire. Seeing an opening within that attack, Kusanagi knocks Kirby away and starts to ignite his fist with the intention of delivering the finishing blow to Knuckle Joe. Thinking fast, Kirby delivers a flying kick to Kusanagi right before the punch could connect. Kusanagi attempted to counter but was hit with a Smash Punch in response. Using this opportunity, Joe breaks himself free from Yagami's grasp and delivers a powerful spinning back kick, slamming him so hard he was stuck in the ground.
"KNOCK OUT! THE WINNER OF THIS ROUND IS KIRBY AND KNUCKLE JOE!" Walky announced as the crowd cheered.
"Damn it! Yagami, what was that?!" he stumbled to his feet as his partner struggled to get out of the ground and dusted himself off afterwards.
"Don't blame me for your own weakness. This is why I work alone." He growled back.
"YOU JOINED WITHOUT BEING ASKED!"
A glare. "You got a problem with that?"
"Hell yeah I have a problem! Out back, now!" The two of them bolted out of the stadium, eyes still locked onto each other in rage. As Knuckle Joe and Kirby watched them rush off in confusion, the Waddle Dee with a white headband from earlier walked up to them with a sigh.
"…I knew this was going to happen sooner or later. Good fight, you two! Sorry you had to see that. Good luck with the tournament!" the Dee said before rushing off after them.
"Well, that Dee was pretty friendly. What's wrong, Joe?" The puff looked over to see that his friend was clenching his head.
"I think I got a headache from those two." He uttered.
"Did they hit you in the head pretty hard? Do you need to get help?" Kirby questioned.
"No, I'll be fine." He replied with a sigh before they walked out for their short break.
The puff was starting to get hungry anyway.
The final round of the tournament was upon them.
"Hey, Joe! What are we doing for dinner?!" Kirby questioned in excitement.
"You do know we have to win the tournament first before we can, right?" Joe replied back with a shrug.
"What, you don't think we'll win?" he pouted back.
"Shhh! We're starting!" The fighter pointed to the microphone being, who was clearing his throat.
"Welcome back after our short interlude! We are about to begin the final Round of the whatever-annual Dreamland Tag Team Tournament! In this corner, we have the Pink Demon and Steal-Fist Joe!" The microphone then turned to the other side of the ring as the crowd applauded. "And in this corner, we have their opponents, Akira and Bio Shadow!" Across the ring was, to their surprise, a single fighter standing there.
"Yo, where's your partner? Did he chicken out or something?" Knuckle Joe looked around the arena.
The other fighter, Akira, gave a simple reply. "Ask him yourself, he's right behind you."
A ninja, clad in black, appeared behind them.
"Woah! Where did you come from?" Kirby exclaimed.
"A ninja never reveals his secrets." It took the puff a moment to realize where he had heard a phrase like that.
"You're related to Spark, aren't you?" Now that he got a good look at his opponent, he could see that he resembled a Bio Clan ninja.
"Ok, Shadow, that's enough messing around..." Akira sighed as the ninja teleported back over to his side.
"I never mess around, my friend. All my actions are deliberate."
"You know what I meant." He turned back to Knuckle Joe and Kirby. "Anyway, since you two got to the finals, you both must be strong. Good, testing myself against the strongest, that's the type of fight I seek."
Joe gave a slight laugh. "Then in that case, let's give him what he wants Kirby!"
"Yup!"
"Final Round! Fight!" Walky shouted with Joe unleashing a punch straight out of the gate. This was quickly dodged by the ninja, who flips over his head. He was too shocked to react further and was hit with a combination of fist attacks that immediately knocked him out.
"Ah! Joe!"
Kirby was engaging Akira while this happened, but now the second opponent joins in on the attack. They unleash a tag-team attack on Kirby, who tries to keep up while still being slowly worn down by the attack. The puff is taken to the edge of the arena. At this point, he was about to be knocked out when...a wave from a Smash Punch suddenly hits Bio Shadow, knocking him out of the arena. Kirby looks in the direction it came from to see that Knuckle Joe was on his feet again.
"Let's finish this, Kirby!" Joe yelled, receiving a nod in response.
"RISING BREAK!"
Together, they deliver a powerful uppercut to Akira, knocking him out of the arena to the sounds of the cheering crowd.
"Holy smokes, did you see that, folks?! What a turnaround! The winners of this year's tournament is Kirby and Knuckle Joe! And what a victory! I haven't seen a match this intense ever since…" The duo ignored Walky's jabbering as they helped up their opponents.
"Well, looks like I was the one ten years early. Good match you two." Akira said once he was on his feet. Bio Shadow nodded as well.
"You've won the fight, but the battle will always continue. Keep strengthening yourselves and always remember: true warriors fight to protect, not to destroy."
The two warriors left the stadium, leaving Knuckle Joe and Kirby to enjoy their victory.
"And that's what happened today!" Kirby gulped down a bowl of chicken rice soup.
"Wow, did they really have that many tournaments that they forgot what number they were on?" Kawasaki questioned in amazement as he brought out two more plates of food.
"That's not the point, we managed to beat all of those opponents and won!" Knuckle Joe replied with a grin as he dumped some hot sauce into the curry dish he was served.
"I mean, that'd be impressive if you already didn't go to tournaments you weren't invited to just to beat up everyone there and prove you're stronger than everyone else…" The chef gave a bit of a sigh as he said that. "Besides, was there even a reward for participating in that other than bragging rights?"
Joe only shrugged in response. "I dunno. I don't really care about the rewards when it comes to fighting in tournaments. As long as we have fun, that's all that matters. Right Kirby?" he was given a nod in response.
"You said it! We're like the ultimate tag team duo!" The puff said with a smile back.
"Alright, then. I have to get back to the kitchen and finish more orders. Enjoy your meal!" Kawasaki bowed and returned to the kitchen.
The two friends continued to chat as they ate their victory meal.
Well, this chapter was a bit difficult to finish...
I came up with this idea while working on my first posted work, Dreamland on the Glittering Star and really wanted to post a non-crossover Kirby fic before I worked on the sequel to that. I actually finished the first chapter of DoGS's sequel before I finished this, so that was quite a problem, I think. Either way, I hope you enjoyed!
Omake (Bonus):
Fiery-eyed ninja in yellow: Would you repeat that?
Waddle Dee: Um...I said you two are late, I'm sorry...
Fiery-eyed ninja in yellow: I blame your brother for this.
Blue ninja with icy breath: I'm not responsible for his actions. Besides, it's you who agreed to the fight.
(Waddle Dee begins to walk away slowly)
Fiery-eyed ninja in yellow: GET OVER HERE!
*(No Waddle Dees were harmed in the making of this omake)
