PART 3.5: Whispy Woods
Kirby continued walking, hugging himself to keep warm. The night was quiet... so quiet... not even the chirping of the crickets could be heard. In fact, the night was so quiet that he could hear the flowers crunching under his feet. He looked at the trees... softly swaying in the breeze, thier leaves falling off... the sign that Autumn was coming. He found one with no leaves... he remembered that he had removed those leaves to make a mark, so he could see if he was going in circles or not. Kirby turned around to see if he could find another path.
Kirby could see small eyes peeking at him from inside the trees. He shivered again and kept walking. A small creature burst from a clearing and saw Kirby. It looked at him innocently, and Kirby approached it carefully. It ran back into the clearing and Kirby squeezed through the trees so he could follow it. Perhaps it could lead him somewhere.
Kirby got to the other side, and the first thing he noticed were two enormous flowers. They were twice his height, colored like sunflowers. Thier leaves were closed like a buds, but it was obvious that the flowers were fully grown. Kirby walked closer, and the flowers slowly opened thier petals, one by one, revealing faces that stared at Kirby in a way you could only describe as seductive. Of course, Kirby didn't understand this and he continued walking. The flowers began to sway back and forth, like a cobra preparing to strike. Kirby was momentarily distracted by this and watched one of thier movements for a moment.
The flower leaped at him out of nowhere, and captured him like a fly. Kirby was caught in it's peddles and shook around furiously. He struggled, swaying his arms wildly, but the flower had him in it's grasp.
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Mable's death had shooken Samo. Literally. His nervousness caused him to spill drinks, break wine bottles, drop glasses... he slept less, lost his appetite, and he began drinking wine...which he had never done before, although he sold it. He became a nervous wreck, always unfocused and depressed...
It was past midnight, but Samo was wide awake. Broken bottles of beer littered the floor. He was sitting on his bed, his eyes red and baggy from lack from sleep and excessive drinking. He was holding a picture of him and Mabel. His hands shaky, he stared at it blankly. A tear rolled down his cheek and hit the photo as his face turned from one of depressed sadness to unsupressed rage. He gripped the picture tightly.
"Why...did you have to...die..damn you..." he said, his voice slurred. Still gripping the picture, he lifted it above his head and threw it against the wall. The glass shattered and the photograph fell out. As the frame landed, a breeze blew into the room and carried the picture out the window. Realizing what he had done, Samo leaped for it and tripped. As he fell to the ground, he watched the picture fly out of sight.
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Kirby shook himself furiously, desperately trying to escape the flower's grip. The flower finally spit him out, throwing him against a tree, back-first. The flower began to sway again, back and forth in a seductive motion. Kirby noticed the other flower was doing the same, and had an idea. He ran inbetween them, thier eyes following his every move while they swayed endlessly. Kirby stood his ground inbetween them, waiting for them to strike...
Kirby blinked and they both struck simultaneously. Kirby, anticipating this, leaped into the air as they struck. They both hit each other at the same time and got entangled together like a knot. Kirby smiled victoriously and ran off, looking for another path.
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Kawasaki was cooking overtime, all for one person, almost every minute of every day. Whether it be for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner, or just for a snack, Kawasaki was cooking it. Of course, this made Kawasaki wonder something. Why would Dedede want to buy HIM? Dedede hated his cooking. Was there another reason behind it? Could Dedede want something more from him, perhaps? He'd ask him later... he didn't want to wake him up now.
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Kirby found another path and went down it, eventually emerging at a clearing. In the center of this clearing was an enormous apple tree... it was the biggest tree in the entire forest, but there was something special about it... that something being the whole reason he had come all the way there in the first place.
"Poyo!" Kirby yelled, looking at the tree. No answer. He tried again. Still nothing. He tried again and again, until he eventually began to give up. As he turned around, an enormous apple fell from the tree's branches and hit Kirby on the head. Kirby looked at the apple quizically, and then he looked at the tree.
The tree was smiling at him. Kirby grinned as a pair of hollow eyes larger than himself opened. The tree smiled at him again, and Kirby sat down next to the apple.
"What brings you here at this time of the night?" the tree, Whispy Woods, asked. Kirby took a large bite out of the apple (which was as big as Kirby was) and told him about Mabel, the fog, the prediction, and his nightmare. Whispy listened intently.
"That's a very strange prediction, Kirby. I myself have never seen or heard anything like it." Whispy replied. "But I don't think you would ever betray Dreamland, Kirby."
Kirby felt relieved by this, so he took another bite out of the apple. Whispy continued.
"Your nightmare of the black fog worries me. It is said that a dream can be like a reflection... a reflection that shows things that were, things that are, and things that will be... warnings of the dangers yet to come, sometimes. Dreamland could be in grave danger, Kirby... and everything in it. You, me... everything. And the only advice I can give... is to not go looking for the black fog, no matter what happens."
Kirby took another bite out of the apple.
"But you should go now, Kirby... you need your rest." Whispy advised. Kirby simply nodded, ate the rest of the apple, and began to leave. He waved at Whispy just as he exited the clearing.