Chapter 24: Bugzzy

It was a relatively normal morning in Dreamland. Most residents were still fast asleep, save for a few. One of these few was surprisingly Kirby, who was currently in the middle of training his completely original ability, Wrestler. Tired of hearing constant comparisons to his Suplex Ability, the puff was trying to think of different ways to show just how different it was. Unbeknownst to him, another grappler was slowly making his way towards the child. This was Bugzzy, the former King of insects.

"HIYAA!"

With a mighty shout, Kirby threw a large border into the air and eventually into outer space.

"I guess I got carried away." He said with a nervous giggle.

"Not bad, kid."

The puff heard a voice say from behind him. Turning around, Kirby saw that the voice was his friend Bugzzy.

"Hi, Bugzzy! How's it going?" He asked cheerfully.

Bugzzy shrugged. "It's going alright, I guess. I assume that's the Wrestling Ability you've told me about?" He asked, pointing at the outfit Kirby was wearing.

"Yup! What do you think about it?" He said proudly.

His friend gave a seemingly blank expression. "I think, that it's incredible!" He exclaimed.

"I know, right?! Everyone keeps saying it's just a flashier Suplex, but it's way different!" He said with a pout. "Like even Meta Knight did!"

Bugzzy looked confused.

"In what way are the two even similar? The only similarity I see is the use of throws, but the style of throws are completely different!" He said.

His preferred style of fighting was grappling, so he knew what he was talking about.

"For example, Blade Knight and Sir Kibble. They both fight with swords, but they use them in different ways. There's more to fighting styles than just what's on the surface."

"That's right! You'd think even Meta Knight would know something like that!" The child continued to pout.

"That goofy mask of his probably obscures his common sense." Bugzzy said while laughing.

"Sometimes... like who would schedule a training session during a thunderstorm?"

His friend looked shocked. "Why would he do that!? The perfect conditions for training is a nice sunny day!"

"He said it's to prepare me for all situations of combat and it was completely normal to do when he was a student!"

"I guess that makes sense but still, that's way too dangerous." The grappler said.

"He thinks that just because he can control lightning that there isn't an issue." Kirby said still pouting. He then shrugged. "Well, what are you doing here, Bugzzy?"

"Oh right. It's actually pretty convenient that you're in wrestling mode, Kirby. I need help practicing for a fight I have later this week, and I was hoping you'd show off a bit of wrestling for me."

"Huh? Really? Who are you going to be fighting?"

Bugzzy grinned, which just happened to look like his normal expression. "Beetley. Remember how I went by the title "King of Insects"? Well, I retired that title and Beetley was the one chosen to inherit it. Despite that, she still wants to fight me to see who the strongest between us is. No way was I gonna decline a challenge like that."

Kirby looked conflicted. He didn't like the idea of his friends fighting each other, but it seemed like the fight would be an honorable one. In that case, there would be nothing wrong with helping.

"So, you just want me to show off a few of my moves?"

"Sure! Just start whenever!"

Kirby nodded. "Ok, what would be a good move to show off...? Ah, that could work!"

The puff grabbed the training dummy he brought with him.

"This is what I call the Giant Swing!"

He then began to spin in place, becoming faster with each complete spin. Soon, wind began to swirl around him, similar to his tornado ability except the wind was being generated by Kirby's sheer strength and speed. When he completed the tenth spin, he threw the training dummy with breathtaking power, the dummy breaking completely apart once colliding with a nearby boulder.

"Good thing I brought a few spares." Kirby uttered. "What do you think Bugzzy?"

"What do I think?! That was amazing!" The bug replied with a laugh.

"But how do you prevent getting dizzy? You look like nothing even happened!"

"I practiced with Tornado a lot!"

It was true. After fully becoming familiar with the Tornado ability, he was able to spin himself as much as he wanted without getting dizzy.

Bugzzy sighed. "Well ok, but do you have any tips for me? You know, the guy who can't create tornadoes?"

Kirby blinked. "Close your eyes as you spin then wait a bit before opening them once you're done spinning."

This was actually a technique that he learned from his mentor.

Bugzzy didn't look convinced but nodded his head. "Any other moves you can show me?"

"Sure thing!"

Kirby grabbed another dummy, raised it over his head and jumped up high. When he came back down the momentum caused his head to slam into the dummy, breaking it in half.

"I call that the Back Breaker! I normally save it as a finishing move since well, it's called the back breaker."

The grappler was impressed. It was certainly an incredibly strong move, but he had one issue.

"Kirby, I'm not sure I can do that with my pincers. Grabbing with hands and grabbing with pincers is completely different."

The puff pondered what he just heard, trying to think of a solution.

"How about instead of jumping up with them, you toss them up and jab them in the stomach with your pincers?"

One look at Bugzzy's face and you could tell he was convinced.

"Use my pincers to jab, huh? Why didn't I ever think of that? That's an excellent idea!"

The puff nodded. "Wanna try it?"

Bugzzy quickly ran towards a nearby boulder and, with incredible strength and dexterity, threw up and jabbed at it, breaking it into little pieces. The grappler himself was stunned by the display of strength.

"That's going to be a last resort only move, just saying it now." He said absent-mindedly.

Kirby only nodded in agreement.

"Well, that's two useful moves you showed me. Do you have anything else? Could be big or small I don't care, I just like seeing new moves."

"Now you're starting to sound like Meta Knight." The puff said with a laugh. "Well...let me see, most of the other throws I have are similar in execution to your throws. You aren't much of a fist fighter, so my fist attacks probably won't be any good. Um, how about a drop kick?"

Bugzzy actually looked confused. "A dropkick? I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure what that is. I don't really fight with my feet, like at all."

"Exactly! You never kick so no one will see it coming!"

"Hm..." His friend uttered. "Well, that's true I guess, but I'm still not sure. Could you show me how it works?"

"Gladly!" The puff replied happily.

Kirby started sprinting and then jumped towards another dummy. Right as he was about to collide with it, he extended his feet forward, sending it flying into the ground.

"There! Now how about you try it?"

Bugzzy nodded, still unsure about it. He started to run, but a problem became very apparent early on. He wasn't that fast, and speed was crucial for this.

"BUGZZY, TRY FLYING WHILE DOING IT!" He then heard Kirby shout.

He should probably try that. He then began to fly. Now he was picking up speed. Problem was, how was he going to kick? He wasn't very confident in his coordination skills.

"Try to focus yourself on a single point!" Kirby shouted up to him.

"What does that even mean!?"

"It means just pick a place to kick and do it! Just perform a half circle!"

Bugzzy looked even more confused.

"JUST RAISE YOUR FEET!" The puff yelled.

"OH OK!"

The grappler did just that and kicked the dummy so hard it was sent flying to an uninhabited island.

"WHOOOAAA THAT WAS AMAZING!" The child exclaimed as he watched the dummy fly.

His friend looked dumbfounded. "I guess I should try adding kicks to my game plan, huh?"

"Yup! If you want to have an advantage in a fight!"

Bugzzy hummed. "You're a pretty decent teacher, Kirby. Did Meta Knight teach you on how to be one?"

"Not at all! Most is I may have picked up a few things from him, but that's it..."

"Well, if you say so. I bet that someday you'll become a better mentor than he is."

"You think? Hee hee! Thanks!" The puff replied with a timid laugh.

"Well, that's everything I think I can show you Bugzzy. I hope it helps." Kirby then said bashfully.

"Of course it will!"

"Alright! Good luck with your fight then!"

"Thanks again, Kirby!"

Just as Bugzzy was about to leave, Kirby stopped him.

"Hey, Bugzzy, there's something I've been wondering. What exactly is the king of insects? Is it similar to what King Dedede is?"

"As in a self-proclaimed king?"

"I guess? I haven't met a lot of royalty, so I don't really know how it works."

"No, it's not a self-proclaimed title. The insect community votes on who is worthy to be the king. I was the previous king before I stepped down from the position."

Kirby nodded along to his friend's speech.

"So then, what does the king of insects actually do? Do you have castle? I've never seen you live in a castle so probably not, huh? Unless you've been keeping the castle a secret from me!" Kirby finished with a point.

Bugzzy just silently stared at him. The puff immediately took the hint.

"So, no castle then?"

"No castle."

"Oh..." He said, disappointed.

Then his mood shifted back to normal a second later.

"So, what do you do as king? Or I guess, what did you do?"

"...it meant that I was the strongest of bugs."

"Is that all?"

"Pretty much. You see, the king of insects isn't a ruler. It's a figure or a symbol. Each king of insects viewed the role differently. Some used the role to be leader. Some used the position to be a guardian. For me, I used my position to be a symbol of inspiration. Inspiring all insects, young and old, to work towards being the strongest insects they could. Once I felt I did all I could as a symbol, I stepped down and Beetley took the title."

When he was done with that speech, he noticed that Kirby was now staring at him in admiration.

" ...Is there something on my face?"

"No! Just you sounded so cooool!"

Bugzzy blinked. "I did? Huh, guess I still got it."

The puff laughed, then got a thought in his head. "That's probably why Beetley wants to fight you. You inspired her and she must want to show you how strong she's become."

"...hmmm, you know what? You're probably right about that."

The child had a smug look. "When aren't I right?"

Bugzzy just stared at him. "Do you actually want me to read off a list or are you being hyperbolic?"

Kirby pouted. "Oh please, you don't actually have a list like that!" He protested.

Bugzzy wordlessly took out a notepad.

Kirby's pout increased. "...point taken."

His friend then laughed.

"So, do you want someone to come watch the fight?" The puff suddenly asked.

"Sorry, Kirby, she made it very clear to me that she doesn't want an audience. But if you were to say, use an ability to hide yourself, I certainly wouldn't say no to you watching."

"Ahhh. Ok!" Kirby had the perfect ability in mind. "I know exactly what to use! Beetley will have a very small chance of seeing me!"

"...oh, so Mini."

Kirby immediately faceplanted.

"Well, that'll work. Beetley will be too focused on fighting me to look around for a little guy. Just make sure to stay far away from the fight itself. Don't want you to be accidentally crushed."

"Understood." Kirby nodded in response.

"Good. Here's a map. Just follow it and you should find the place the fight will be pretty easily. The fight itself will be at high noon. Her idea, not mine."

"Ok then! I'll see you tomorrow! I gotta go eat lunch now!" He said before running off.

Bugzzy just stared at where his friend was. "...How does he always have so much energy?"

It was now the day of the fight and as agreed upon, Kirby was now in his mini mode and arrived an hour before the fight began. Currently, he was waiting for his friends to arrive. While he himself wasn't a huge fan fighting normally, fair one on one fights that have no ill will involved were a different story.

"Ah! There they are!" He shouted as he saw his friends arrive together.

Thankfully, no one could hear him. Though at the same time, Kirby couldn't hear them either. All he could do was watch. Honestly, it was probably for the better, since their voices might scramble his brain from being too loud. After the two exchanged pleasantries, the fight began. It didn't last for long, but it was easily one of the best fights Kirby witnessed. Beetley would smack into Bugzzy. Bugzzy would repeatedly slam her into the ground. She would pierce through his carapace. He would crack her armor. By the end, both fighters were tired, but only one of them had one last trick. Taking flight, Bugzzy dashed at Beetley and kicked her as hard as he could. Beetley landed on the ground, instantly losing consciousness.

"...wow, that was quick..." Kirby thought.

Before he could go approach them, Bugzzy picked up Beetley and started walking away, presumably taking her somewhere to get healed.

"Hey, Kirby, if you can hear me, I'll talk to you later!" He yelled.

The sudden response startled Kirby and caused him to fall out of the tree he was watching from.

"Okay!" He yelled, now back to normal size.

Not knowing what else to do Kirby just took a seat on the ground.

An hour later Bugzzy returned with a smile on his face.

"Ah, Bugzzy! Is Beetley ok?" Kirby asked, worried for his friend.

Bugzzy laughed at that question. "She's fine. A bit too fine if you ask me. The moment she woke up she spouted out lines like, "I'll defeat you next time" and began exercising."

Kirby gave a laugh. "Well, that does sound like her! I'm so glad to hear that she's ok!"

Bugzzy looked smug. "Of course she's ok. She's the current king after all. She's tougher than most insects, no, than most people in Dreamland."

The puff nodded, then got a curious look. "Bugzzy, you wanting to learn tricks from me. Was that part of a plan to further inspire Beetley to work hard?"

"...guess the secret's out."

Kirby just laughed. "I mean, I kind of figured it out when you told me what you did as king."

Bugzzy looked a bit sheepish. "Yeah... well, it's Beetley's dream to surpass me. So, I figured if I kept improving myself, then she would keep improving as well. Once a king always a king, I suppose."

The two friends shared a good laugh at that, the sun setting a productive day for a small part of Dreamland.

Yet another fairly short chapter, hope you enjoy!

Sapphireglare- Ahhhh, I'm sorry if I didn't say this yet, but I really appreciate your reviews, thank you!