Chapter 10: Sir Kibble
On this fine day in Dreamland, we join our hero, Kirby, as he takes a stroll through the peaceful town that he lives close to. While Kirby certainly enjoyed the peace and quiet, there remained a part of him that was getting slightly bored of it. Not only that, but his usual ways of gaining excitement were unavailable for various reasons. His mentor, Meta Knight, was currently off-planet and King Dedede was busy due to actually doing his job for once. As for Bandana, he was the king's advisor, so that would also mean that he was busy as well. Thinking about this, Kirby began to wonder if nothing exciting would happen until he saw a certain armored clad friend of his.
"Hello, Sir Kibble!" he called out to him.
"Ah, salutations, sir Kirby!" He received a jovial response in turn.
"Sir Kibble, I've told you before! You don't need to call me "sir"!" Kirby slightly whined with an irritated pout on his face.
"Nonsense! As a fellow warrior of justice, I insist that I call you by a proper title!"
The puff could only sigh in response to that. "Well, ok, fine. What are you up to anyway?"
"I'm patrolling the town, keeping an eye out for trouble. Rumors say that there's a group of bandits planning to attack this place, and if those rumors end up being true, I want to be able to stop them."
Fighting bandits? Now that sounds right up Kirby's alley.
"Well, in that case, I'll join you!" he exclaimed, wanting a bit of excitement on this otherwise boring day.
"Thank you, sir Kirby! Together nothing will stop us!"
Just as Sir Kibble said that, a loud explosion and screams could be heard from a few blocks away.
"Speak of the devils... sir Kirby, we must hurry!"
Before they could head out, they were attacked by a flurry of arrows. The one firing the arrows was likely a member of the bandits.
"Sir Kirby, you go on ahead, I'll catch up with you as soon as possible!"
"Understood!"
With that said, Kirby headed off. Just as Sir Kibble was about to fight, he heard a bystander shouting at him.
"You can't be serious about going after them! They totally outnumber you! You'll never make it back here alive!"
Sir Kibble only gave a slight laugh.
"1 or 100, it matters not! My blade will strike down all evil! As long as I draw breath, I'll always return to where justice is needed!" he yelled before striking a heroic pose and heading to engage the bandit. "Alright, bandit scum, I'll give you one chance to surrender peacefully!"
The response Sir Kibble got was an arrow that nearly hit him dead on. "Ok, so be it."
Sir Kibble grabbed his blade and threw it, only for it to miss the bandit.
"HA! You missed, loser!"
Instead of acting concerned, Sir Kibble kept his composure.
"Listen well bandit. Justice may not be instant. Sometimes it unfortunately takes a while. However, regardless of how long it takes, my justice always hits its mark."
As soon as Sir Kibble finished his one liner, his boomerang-like blade came back and delivered a direct blow to the bandit, knocking them out cold.
While Sir Kibble was busy with his foe, Kirby made it to the center of town, where he saw a horde of bandits scrambling to get through the town's exit.
"Oh no! I'm not going to make it time!"
Kirby looked around quickly, hoping to find anything that could be useful. Then he saw some rope. Thinking quickly, he inhaled the rope, becoming Whip Kirby. Using his Copy Ability, Kirby lassoed one of the fleeing criminals, as well as some of the stolen goods.
"Ah! Sir Kirby! I see you captured one of those vile villains." Sir Kibble shouted out to him while running up to his pink friend.
"Yeah, but the rest got away..." Kirby said, sounding a bit disappointed at the outcome.
"Cheer up, my friend! We'll get those bandits soon enough! But first..." Sir Kibble then turned to the captured bandit. "Where's your base?"
"Why should I tell you bozos anything?" The bandit grumbled in defiance.
"Because if you don't, I'll-"
"Please calm down Kibble, let me handle this." Kirby cut him off. His friend nodded before the puff then focused his attention entirely on the bandit.
"Would you please tell us?" Kirby asked as politely as possible.
"No way, kid! I ain't not gonna tell ya a single thing!" Suddenly, the whip around the bandit tightened.
"Please tell me." Kirby uttered, his voice carrying a tiny bit of coldness to it. The bandit only remained silent. Then the whip got even tighter, making it hard for the bandit to breathe. He looked directly into Kirby's eyes, which now resembled a navy-blue void.
"Talk." Was the only thing that Kirby said, even more coldly than before.
"OK! OK! I'LL TALK!" the bandit screeched.
"Uh... Sir Kirby... what was that?" Sir Kibble asked, slightly panicked at his friend's behavior.
"Oh, just something Meta Knight taught me! He said it's called "interrogation"!" Kirby replied, back to his usual cheery behavior.
"Ok, our base is located in the middle of the woods. It's a huge, abandoned building that we decided to claim for ourselves, you can miss it!" The bandit said quickly.
"Thank you very much!" The pink puff replied.
"Now will you please let me go!?"
"Who said anything about letting you go?" Kirby said in a strangely ominous voice. Sir Kibble swore that Kirby's eyes became like a navy-blue void for a split second.
"You're gonna stay in the care of the nice townsfolk while we go and take care of your friends! Let's go Kibble!" He followed up once again in his normal cheery tone.
"Yes, my friend, at once!"
As the two heroes ventured forward, the bandit started to shake in fear as a horde of angry townsfolk holding pitchforks and torches were walking straight towards him.
As Kirby and Sir Kibble made their way to the hideout, they began to talk to each other.
"Hey Kibble, I've been meaning to ask. Who told you about the rumor of the bandits anyway?" The puff began the conversation first.
"Ah, it was Ms. Tac." Kibble followed up.
"Oh... OK, that makes sense. Y'know, I'm a bit surprised at how close you two are."
"While, yes, she's a thief, she has a good heart. I mean, you've seen it for yourself, she only steals from villains."
"Ah, that's true. Hey, Kibble, there's another question I have. What inspired the whole hero of justice thing?" His friend took a moment to think as they slid down one of the hills leading deeper into the forest.
"Well, that's an easy question. I've had three direct inspirations. First, my mother. Back before she retired from combat, she was known as "the courageous blade", someone who would throw herself in harm's way to protect her comrades. Of course, growing up, I aspired to be just like her. The second is Sir Meta Knight. To me, he's the prime example of what it means to be a knight."
"Well, those reasons make sense..." Kirby thought to himself. "And the third?"
Kibble simply chuckled and looked at his friend. "You." The puff stopped walking for a moment. "...wait, seriously?"
"Seriously."
"Aw...I don't really think I'm much of a hero..." He seemed to fidget a bit upon hearing that.
His friend only seemed to shrug and continue walking. "Well then, how about you, Sir Kirby? What inspired you to help people?"
Kirby had a look of deep thought on his face.
"Hmm... thinking about it, I don't think anything inspired me." Kirby replied.
Strictly speaking, this was true. He set off to fight against threats to Dreamland far before he met and befriended figures such as Meta Knight, as evidenced during his first quest to take back the Sparkling Stars and Dreamland's stolen food supply.
"So, you fought creatures like Dark Matter and Nightmare, only because it was the right thing to do?"
Kirby scratched his head. "Well...when you put it that way, yeah."
His friend gave a slight laugh. "And that my friend is why you are an inspiration." Kirby only blinked for a few moments.
"Eh hee hee... thanks..."
They continued their trek through the woods.
Eventually, the duo made it to the base the bandits were using. It appeared to be a massive, abandoned building, just as they were told. However, they then noticed that one thing would prevent them from entering: A Bonkers.
Kirby readied his whip to go and fight, but Sir Kibble stopped him before giving a slight laugh.
"If a tree branch falls on a villain, does it make a sound? Let's find out." He uttered before tossing his blade at a nearby tree branch.
It cut the branch, which fell immediately onto the guard, knocking him out. Sir Kibble then carefully walked over to the Bonkers to make sure he was fully unconscious. Upon confirming it, he motioned towards Kirby, who followed him into the base.
Upon entering the base, two heroes quickly saw just how big the inside of this building was. Before the bandits took it for themselves, it was an abandoned mansion with three floors. Thankfully, most of the bandits appeared to be on the second and third floors, making it easy for Kirby and Kibble to sneak around. Unfortunately for them, the stolen items were nowhere to be found on the floor they entered.
"They must be on one of the other floors." Kirby uttered, stepping out of a closet.
"I have an idea, Sir Kirby. " Kibble said, calling his friend's attention. "I'll distract every bandit here. While I'm busy fighting them, I want you to find and secure everything they stole, understand?"
"What? Why!?" Kirby exclaimed, just quiet enough to not draw any attention. "Wouldn't it be easier if we fought them all together?"
"Yes, it would be." Kibble replied, catching the puff off guard as he was expecting Kibble to argue.
"Then why do it by yourself?"
"Bandits are cowardly and greedy. Let me ask you a question. Say you were charged with keeping something safe and someone was coming after it, what would you do?"
Kirby paused for a few minutes to think of an answer. "Hmm...if I was guarding something super important that someone else is after... I would move what I'm guarding to a safer spot."
"That's correct. I fully expect the leader to send some of his men to take the treasure somewhere else while the fights going on. So, I need you to prevent them from doing that. Ok?"
As much as Kirby didn't like the idea of leaving Kibble alone, he couldn't argue against what he was just told.
"I understand." He replied.
"Thank you, Sir Kirby! I'm off to do battle!" Kibble said as loud as possible. Then he jumped through the ceiling to reach the next floor.
"Well, that's one way to attract attention I guess." Kirby mumbled, scratching his head for a moment before heading off.
After exploring the second floor and finding nothing, Kirby figured that the stolen items had to be on the final floor. Sure enough, he was correct as he saw two Bronto Burts struggling to carry a large chest. He could hear them talking to each other.
"Why did da boss choose us again?"
"Cuz' we suck at fighting."
"Well, ya don't have ta' be mean 'bout it."
"Shut it and keep pushing, you loser!"
Feeling somewhat sorry for the struggling Burts, Kirby decided to make things quick by karate chopping both of them unconscious.
"Now...where do I put the treasure?" Kirby wondered aloud.
Then he noticed a tree outside of the window. Acting quickly, the puff opened the window and floated his way to the top of the tree.
"Well, this should be fine for a temporary spot." Kirby thought, now slightly out of breath from carrying the heavy treasure chest.
"Now, I better hurry back and help Sir Kibble..."
Meanwhile, Sir Kibble now found himself surrounded on all sides of the room he was currently in. The series of fights had brought him to what appeared to be a large ballroom. While this did give Kibble plenty of freedom to dodge and use his blade creatively, the same could also be said for the bandits. However, there was one major difference between them. While Kibble was physically stronger, it was clear that the bandits had the numbers to back themselves up.
"This is really starting to wear me down..." he thought as more bandits began to show up. "But even so..."
He clenched his blade. "I'LL NEVER STOP FIGHTING!"
"Ah. So, this here's the nuisance that's been giving you all trouble?"
A new, somewhat sophisticated voice said. Suddenly, all of the bandits stood up in attention and gave Kibble a perfect view of the voice's source. It was, of all things, a Scarfy wearing a fedora and a candy cigarette poking out of his mouth.
"So, you're the one in charge?" Sir Kibble uttered.
"Watch your mouth!" One of the bandits shouted.
"You're looking at the Scarfather! Show some respect!"
This only made him glare at the leader.
"So, you are the leader then. Good, I take you out and then everything else will come crashing down." He uttered.
The boss scoffed. "You act as if you have a chance of victory. Look around you. Sure, you've beaten some of my men, but clearly, I have more men than you have brain cells." The Scarfather replied calmly but his tone also indicated that he was clearly smug about having the advantage.
"Oh please, I know I don't have a chance." Kibble suddenly replied, causing the Scarfather to grin, thinking that he had managed to scare Kibble.
"I don't have a chance... because I know I've already won!" Kibble declared in defiance.
"So be it. Boys, take my hat."
The Scarfather transformed into his monstrous form and looked Kibble dead in the eyes. He charged at Kibble, who just stood with his blade drawn. Kibble managed to get off a few hits but was ultimately tackled to the floor.
"Any last words before I tear your face off?"
"Yeah. About time you showed up."
Before that statement could be questioned, the Scarfather was kicked away by Kirby, who had just arrived.
"The boss of these bandits is just a regular Scarfy?! You can't be serious!" The puff shouted, ignoring the angry yelling from the other bandits in protest.
Following up, Sir Kibble shouted. "You are all weeds that need to be cut down. So, we shall become the lawnmower of justice!"
"YEAH! Wait... what?"
Before Kirby could question any further, Kibble charged his boomerang blade and tossed it towards Kirby, who instinctively grabbed it with his whip and swung it around the room quickly, taking down all of the goons in the process. By the time the attack was finished, and Kirby recovered from his slight dizziness, it seems they took out all of the minions. All that was left of the bandits was the Scarfather, who had barely managed to avoid the attack. However, the shock of what just happened reverted him back to his original form.
"Don't think this is over, you bozos! I still have some fight left!" he growled in fury. It was an obvious lie.
Without another word, Kirby and Kibble walked up to him and delivered the hardest punches they could, knocking the Scarfather out cold.
After knocking out the remaining bandits and retrieving the stolen items from where Kirby had hidden them, the two heroes were preparing to head back to the village when they noticed that the sun was in the process of setting.
"Wow, I'm surprised it's almost the end of the day already. Didn't feel like it took us that long." Kirby looked towards the sunset with a slight sigh.
"Well, you know what they say. Time flies when you're fighting crime." Kibble said, crossing his arms with pride.
"I thought it was "time flies when you're having fun"?"
"Isn't that what I said?" Kibble replied, earning a look from Kirby that appeared to be a mix of confusion, concern, and annoyance.
"Well, all that matters is that we won, right?" Kirby asked with a smile.
"Of course! Now, let's get back to town before it gets dark."
"Why? Is the brave hero of justice scared of the dark?" Kirby asked with a mischievous smile.
"Of course not! I'd just rather not deal with it." Kibble replied, sounding embarrassed, which prompted Kirby to start laughing which then caused Kibble to start laughing himself.
After catching their breaths from laughing so much, the duo began to make their way back. Due to the weight of the chest, Kibble and Kirby worked together to lift it up for the trek back. Of course, the chest, which had been heavy when the puff first retrieved it was now light as a feather with their collective strength carrying it. With a mutual nod, the two friends walked together with the setting sun, happy with the work they accomplished.
A fairly short and simple chapter that only took so long because of classes. Again, sorry about that.
Omake (Bonus)
The Scarfather: You come to my house on the day my daughter is to be married and you ask me to do murder...for money.
Sir Kibble: Um...excuse me?
Kirby: Who said anything about murder?!