Chapter 26: Como

It was an average afternoon in Dreamland. Most of its residents were either relaxing or doing another day's worth of work. One such individual was the young photographer Como. As usual the energetic photographer was running around town, taking pictures everywhere she could. Unfortunately, she wasn't paying attention to where was running and bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I should have been more attentive. Oh, hi, Kirby!"

Indeed, the one she bumped into was none other than Dreamland's young hero, Kirby, who was now sitting on the ground, rubbing his head.

"Oh, hi, Como! What's up?" He exclaimed, quickly hopping to his feet as if nothing happened.

"Oh, nothing too major, just doing my job. Oh, that reminds me. I need to hurry before I lose my chance."

"Chance? At what?" The puff tilted his head as he asked, stopping the spider in her tracks.

"There's a strange person wearing a costume going around Dreamland calling themselves the Caped Fist. My boss wants me to bring him pictures of this weirdo. I got a tip that they might be showing up in the town square today!"

"Oooh, that sounds interesting. You want me to help you look for him?"

"Five eyes are better than three, so sure! Besides photography can be a lonely job sometimes, I need the company."

"Ok! So where do you wanna look first?" Kirby asked in excitement.

"...the square, where I was headed. I just said that." Como replied flatly.

"Oh...right..." The puff gave a slight giggle. "Well, let's get going then!"

He then ran off towards the square.

"Hey no going faster than me!" The spider yelled while using her web strings to catch up.

It didn't take long for the hyperactive duo to reach the square.

"So, what exactly does this guy look like?" Kirby asked, slowing down a bit to let his friend catch up.

"That's a bit of a tough question. A few people have seen them and even then, they were only able to catch a glimpse. The most concrete information we have is that they apparently wear a long flowing pink cape. One witness said that they even saw the guy trip on it."

"Oh. Well, that sounds... odd." It also made this harder than he thought it would be.

"I mean, all we have to do is look for a guy in a cape. It can't possibly be that hard."

That was true enough but spotting him and taking a picture of him was another matter entirely.

"Hmm... maybe we can look for a crime happening!"

Como stopped and started to think. "I'm not entirely sure that'll help. From the reports I've gotten, the crimes he solves are very, very minor, like picking up litter off the street. Besides, crimes in this town are extremely rare. The last time was that weird phantom thief guy and that was like four months ago."

Kirby remembered that incident all too well, as he was one of the people to help solve it.

"I got it! Let's go find litter!" He exclaimed.

Como just sighed. "Just look for a weirdo in a pink cape. There's no guarantee he'd go after any litter we find anyway."

"Ok..."

The spider placed her hand on Kirby's head. "Listen, I know you prefer to rush into any given situation, but as a photographer, we can't afford that. We need to be sneaky or else that guy will run away."

The puff nodded in understanding. "Then should I use my Ninja Ability to sneak around?"

His friend thought for a moment. "Hm... yeah, I think that would be a good idea."

"Ok, I'll be right back then!" The child exclaimed while running off.

Como looked at where her friend was and sighed. "Well, I should start looking around."

Thanks to her three eyes she was able to look left, right, and forward all at the same time, making searching way easier on her. With her left eye she saw a Waddle Dee fidgeting in place. Her journalistic senses were telling her to investigate.

"Excuse me, may I ask you a question real quick?"

The Waddle Dee jumped up, started. "Y-yes what is it?"

"Have you seen someone in an odd costume? Wears a pink cape?"

"N-no, not at all."

"Really? Then why do you always seem to be where he shows up?" She asked, though in reality it was a huge bluff. But sometimes to find the truth you need to lie.

"How did you know that!?"

"I didn't. Now talk."

The Waddle Dee slightly groaned at that in reply.

"Look the guy with the cape!" He shouted while pointing at something behind Como.

The spider looked unimpressed.

"Really!?" She said with fake enthusiasm and used her webs to stick the Dee's feet to the ground.

"Now I can look behind me just in case." She said in a triumphant tone.

As expected, the Waddle Dee fell forward when they attempted to run away.

"Wow, would you look at that, there's nothing behind me. How surprising. Now get talking, mister. What do you know about this guy?"

The Waddle Dee struggled in vain to move before finally giving up.

"Alright, I'll talk. Look I don't know who he is, but I've been working with him. He pays me to cause a mess and then he swoops down from nowhere and fixes it, making himself look like a hero."

Como stared.

"I see... that's quite...interesting." She said, trying to find the right words to describe it. "Why you specifically?"

"It's not just me, he's hired other residents of Dreamland to do the same thing."

"So, a superhero conspiracy, huh?" Como said while taking a picture of the Waddle Dee.

The Waddle Dee blinked in a daze from the sudden flashing of the camera.

"Why are you taking pictures of me!?" He then shouted after his vision seemed to return to normal.

The spider looked at him in slight annoyance. "You kidding? You're a part of the subject I'm being paid to look into. Standard journalism. Now, when is he supposed to be here?"

"Uh... I don't know! Maybe in an hour or two?"

"Yeah, and I'm the second coming of Sectonia. Now spit it out already."

"I'm telling the truth! I was just told to come here and wait for the signal! I don't know when he'll show up!"

Como gave a slightly annoyed sigh at that. "What is the signal then?"

"He has a laser pointer. If you see a red dot, that's the signal!"

"A laser pointer? A strange method, fitting for a strange individual. Now would be a good time for you to come back, Kirby." She said under her breath.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Como! It took longer than I thought to find a Copy Essence!"

Looking to her side, Como saw that her friend was now using the Ninja Ability.

"It's fine, Kirby. Besides, I know what we need to look for now."

The puff nodded happily. "Alright, what am I looking for then?"

"A red dot. This guy here is working with him and told me mostly what I wanted to hear."

"Oh... a red dot...?" Kirby asked, sounding somewhat disappointed. "Oh, whatever, if it'll find the guy you need to photograph, that's fine!"

The spider looked at her friend in the eye. "What are you so disappointed about?"

"Um... I kinda thought it would be something a bit more... I dunno... exciting?" He replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"Signals aren't supposed to be interesting. The interesting part will be the person giving the signal."

"Oh, ok!" The puff then turned back to search for the signal.

Como sighed, but was smiling. "No better person to look for a dot than a hyperactive kid..."

Not surprisingly to the spider, Kirby was completely focused on finding the dot.

"Shouldn't you tell him that the don't won't be around for another hour or so?" The captive Dee said.

"Nah, knowing Kirby he'll accidentally find the guy just by looking around."

"So... um... can you let me go now?"

Como pretended to think about it for a moment. "No. We need you here so the plan can appear to proceed as normal."

The Waddle Dee hung his head down. "Can you at least remove the webs? I can't feel my feet."

"And risk you running away? Nah."

The Dee gave a sigh.

Meanwhile, Kirby was diligently searching for the dot. While doing that, he was also thinking of potential identities that could belong to this mysterious wannabe hero.

"How many people do I know wear capes?" He then began to think aloud. "Hm... the first person to come to mind is Meta Knight, but there's no way he would do something like that!"

The description of a clumsy glory seeker didn't fit the knight at all. The type of glory he sought was the thrill of the fight, not cheers from the public. In fact, his mentor hated being the center of attention. For that reason, he could also cross off Daroach as well. As far as non-cape wearers, he could cross Dedede off. If he wanted attention, he wouldn't bother with sneaking around. He was too loud and proud for that, so there was no doubt he would make sure everyone knew it was him.

"Maybe it would be easier to think about everyone I know who is clumsy? Well, it still wouldn't be Dedede." Kirby said with a giggle.

Then came the question of who else he knew that was clumsy. He could also rule out his best friend, Bandana Dee. While clumsy, he never cared about sticking out or attracting attention. Even if he was like that, he would have talked to Kirby about it himself. He could also rule out any friends that don't have hands like Plugg.

"Caped Fist, huh? A glory seeker who wants to be known by his fists... you can't be serious." Kirby said with a deadpan expression and ran back to where his friend was waiting.

Soon, he could see his friend in sight.

"Como! I think I figured out who the Caped Fist is!"

Como looked half surprised as Kirby shouted that.

"Really? Who do you think it is?"

"The Caped Fist is a glory seeker who wants to be known for his fists, right? Doesn't that sound like anyone we know!?"

"...yeah, Joe would be that stupid, wouldn't he?"

"Yup..." Kirby replied bluntly.

"And with all the money he earns from those tournaments he crashes; he could certainly pay a lot of people to help him with this."

"...well, at least most of the ones he doesn't go to uninvited to beat everyone up to prove his fighting style is better. Which is still a lot."

"Yeah. Well, we're just going to have to wait for him to show up. Anything you want to talk about, Kirby?"

"Hmm..." The child took a moment to think. "What's the most interesting thing you've had to take a picture of?"

Como created a chair from her webs and sat down, thinking about the question for a little while. "I guess it would be the sister of Dyna Blade, Dyna Edge."

"Dyna Edge? I've never heard of her before!" Kirby exclaimed in clear interest.

"Nobody had, until discovered her. I was originally supposed to take pictures of Blade, but then I saw an unfamiliar bird fly away from Blade's nest. So, I decided to investigate."

The puff looked enthralled. "What did Dyna Edge look like? Was she similar to Blade?"

"She was very similar in appearance to Dyna Blade, except her colors were more shades of grey than anything. As for their personalities... she seemed to be a bit more aggressive, if I'm being honest."

"Maybe she was trying to protect something? Maybe her own children?"

Something like that had happened with Dyna Blade. Kirby had fought the bird after she had been attacking Dreamland's crops.

Como shook her head. "Nope, didn't see any kids. She was probably pretty territorial. Might be the reason barely anyone knows she exists."

Kirby wasn't quite sure what to think. He hard time believing any sibling of the kind, yet overprotective Dyna Blade could be so aggressive. Then again looking at other members of his own species, maybe it wasn't so farfetched after all.

"Ok, so why did you want be a photographer in the first place?"

"Well, it's a long story, but would you like to hear it?"

Upon seeing the child vigorously shake his head up and down, Como sighed.

"At first photography was nothing more than a hobby. I enjoyed taking pictures of nature in particular. I'd often explore forests and caves just to see what I could take pictures of. Then while exploring I accidentally came across something I shouldn't have. You may not remember it, but there was a mayor of another town that wanted to take over our town. I stumbled upon him meeting up with a band of thugs, paying them to attack our town. Without thinking, I took pictures of the deal and left before they could see me. I showed the pictures to the authorities and that led to the ex-mayor getting arrested. After that I realized that my hobby could help people."

Kirby stared in amazement. "Wooow, that's so cool!"

Como shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I just did what felt right. Most journalists are journalists just to get fame. I prefer to use my talents for more useful purposes. Like teaching people about the planet or busting crimes. As long as I can inform others of what's going on, then that's good enough for me."

The puff nodded. "So how about you, Kirby? Interested in learning how to do photography?"

Kirby took a moment to think. "Hmmm... it sounds really interesting!"

"So, is that a yes or a no?"

"Yeah!"

"You do know you'd have to be patient, right?"

Kirby then pouted. "I can be patient when I want to be!"

"But can you be like that all the time?"

The child just kept pouting, knowing he couldn't argue.

"I mean, there's no better proof than the fact that you're fidgeting right now."

"Only because you're making fun of me!"

"Really? I thought it was because you're struggling to sit still."

"I was standing perfectly still until just now and you know it!"

Como's eyes widened at the genuinely angry outburst. "I see..."

"Como, you know I hate it when I'm treated like a dumb kid! You brought up my lack of patience just to make me mad didn't you!? If you don't want me around anymore than you should have just said so!"

Como's eyes softened and was mentally berating herself. "Kirby, that wasn't my intention. I was just bringing up how you have problems being patient."

Kirby continued to pout, but his eyes were becoming a bit teary. That was something he had been working on with his mentor.

"Then why bother asking me if I wanted to try photography if you were just going to insult me? I was perfectly calm until you brought up my lack of patience. I fidget when I get embarrassed, and you know that."

"Kirby, I'm sorry, ok? I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just warning you about how being a photographer requires a lot of patience. It was never my intent to insult you and I truthfully didn't notice that you were calm until I said anything. It was my fault, not yours."

Hearing that made the child noticeably calm down.

"Plus, it's not like you're incapable of being patient. You've saved the world who knows how many times. It was wrong of me to assume you'd have trouble with photography." Como sighed. "Admittedly, that's a problem I've been trying to fix. I tend to run my mouth without filtering my words. Perfect for interrogating people for information. Terrible for speaking with friends."

"Oh, don't worry about it! It's fine!" The child replied happily, his mood turning a complete 180 from how he was earlier.

Como blinked and smiled. "Thanks, Kirby. Hmm?"

She then saw a red dot behind the puff.

"He's here. Kirby, I want you to sneak up on him and prevent him from running. If he gets away, who knows if we'll ever get a second chance."

The puff nodded and then began to move as stealthily as possibly towards the direction it came from.

Soon he saw the source of the laser, a strange man wearing a pink cape, a pink mask and poorly dyed pink hair. Without a doubt, it was his friend Knuckle Joe.

"Come on, why isn't that guy causing a scene already!?" The "mysterious" individual muttered under his breath.

Slowly, the puff sneaked up on him.

"Ninja rope!" He yelled, pulling out rope and tying Joe down.

As much as he struggled, he couldn't break free from the enhanced rope.

"AHHH WHAT THE HECK!?" Joe shouted.

"Gotcha, Joe! Como, come over here! I got him!"

His friend quickly rushed over to where he was.

"Say cheese, Joe." The arachnid journalist said while taking a picture of him.

"ACK! Don't do that! And why do you keep calling me Joe, huh?"

"Because we know it's you, Joe." Both Kirby and Como said at the same time.

"Oh, come on! My hair is pink instead of blonde. I can't possibly be Joe!"

"...the back of your head is still blonde, idiot."

Quickly, Joe felt the back of his head and then looked at his hand, noting that there was no hair dye on it.

"Dang it. Well, what other evidence do you have, huh?"

"Well for starters, the Caped Fist? Seriously? That's the best name you could come up with? Anyone with a working brain could figure out it who it was from just the name alone."

"Also, the fact that you're pretty clumsy so when I learned that the Caped Fist tripped a lot, well it my deduction much easier to make." Kirby said proudly.

Joe now looked annoyed.

"Why are you even stopping me anyway!? I haven't done anything wrong!" He yelled.

"You're right." Como said, surprising him. "However, I'm being paid to take pictures of the Caped Fist. After that, I don't care what you do."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" He shouted in anger.

"What, would you rather I kept you tied up? Besides, now you'll be getting that attention you wanted."

Joe only groaned in response, being unable to completely deny that.

"I don't get it though." Kirby said, scratching his head. "You're already famous in the martial arts community, right? Why go through all this effort for more attention?"

"Well, it's simple. I wanted to be a superhero!" Joe declared proudly.

The puff, however, still looked confused. "But weren't you already a hero? I know tons of younger martial artists look up to you as one."

Joe looked embarrassed. "That's true, but I want to be a hero to everyone in Dreamland, like you, Kirby."

"Aw shucks..." Kirby said rubbing the back of his head.

"But I'm sure there's better ways to do it, Joe." Como said.

"Yeah, probably." He said, brushing her off. "But I couldn't think of anything better. Like you know how often crimes happen here? Barely! And every time one does happen, I'm always away competing in a competition!"

"Yes, but is that really a good reason to set up your own crimes to solve?"

"Oh, come on, it's not like anyone is getting hurt! I make sure of that! I haven't done anything wrong!"

"That's not the point. You're creating problems just for you to solve. Would that really make you a hero?"

"Well, how else am I gonna be a hero? Whenever the world is in danger it's always Kirby who saves it before anyone else can!"

Como was getting fed up with this. "Listen, Joe, heroes don't help people for fame, they do it because it's the right thing to do. I'm not strong, I'm not cut out for the world saving business, but I don't need to be. My journalism had helped solve crimes. My webs have helped Kirby save the world. As long as my actions are useful, I could care less about getting attention."

Joe became silent, thinking about what he was just told.

"Look at Kirby. He doesn't save the world in order to be hero. He does it because that's just who he is. Always helping others without expecting anything in return. It's not his actions that makes him a hero, it's who he is as a person."

The fighter then gave a sigh. "I guess you're right..."

"There's one thing I don't get. Why bother wearing a costume? Couldn't you just do good deeds as Joe instead of the Caped Fist?" The puff asked.

His friend blinked. "...you know, I haven't really thought about that."

Como and Kirby both sighed.

"Well case closed, I guess. Here you go, Kirby, you take the final shot." Como said, tossing her camera to him.

"Huh? Why me?" He blinked in confusion.

"You're interested in photography, right? Besides you deserve it as thanks for putting up with me."

Understanding this, Kirby nodded and took the final picture.

"Then I guess we're done?" He then asked.

"Not quite. I actually have a second assignment if you don't mind sticking around for a bit longer."

The puff immediately looked interested. "What kind of assignment is it?"

"Remember what I told you about Dyna Edge? Well, I'm being ordered to get more pictures of her as well."

The child's interest intensified. "Really?! And you're gonna let me come with you?! Thank you so much!"

"Alright, settle down." She said while laughing. "What about you, Joe? You can come with if you want."

"Uh... I mean, I 'm not really doing anything right now, so sure." He replied with a slight shrug.

"Alright then, let's get moving. Oh, and Joe? Take off that dumb costume already."

He grumbled as he took it off.

"Now then, it should only take us an hour to get there. Any questions before we get moving?"

"How long will it take us to get there?" Joe asked.

"I just said it will take us an hour. Did you get hair dye in your ears or something?"

Joe quickly hit the side of his head and a puddle of hair dye dripped onto the ground. "Yup."

"Any other questions? Preferably good ones."

"Where does Dyna Edge live exactly?" Kirby then asked.

"So, you know the mountain Dyna Blade lives on, right? Behind it is a cave. Though with how big it was, it'd be better to call it a labyrinth."

The puff nodded. "Ok, so we should get some supplies for trekking in a labyrinth, right?"

The spider shook her head. "Nah, I know exactly where in the cave Dyna Edge will be. No need to bother with supplies."

"Oh... ok, now let's go!" Kirby quickly ran off without saying anything else.

"Hey, Kirby, wait up! You don't know where we're going! Ugh...!" Como groaned in response.

The journey to the cave was rather uneventful outside of the expected comments of Kirby being hungry and Joe trying to take the lead despite having a terrible sense of direction.

"So how far do we have to go to find Dyna Edge?" The child then asked.

"Believe it or not, we just have to keep going left. We should get there in like ten minutes."

"Alright, then let's go!" Joe quickly ran in that direction before anything else could be said.

Just then, a large stalactite fell down towards the fighter, who quickly dodged it.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that there's traps."

"AND YOU WAITED UNTIL NOW TO TELL ME THAT?!" Joe then shouted.

"Not like you gave me a choice, muscle for brains."

"STILL!"

"Still, huh? Should you really be using words that you don't know the meaning to?"

"Will you guys please stop fighting? We need to work together, don't we?" Kirby said with a pout.

"Fine..." They both said at the same time.

Kirby sighed and scratched his head. "Is this what Adeline calls flirting?"

"NO!" The both of them screamed at the same time.

Somehow, Kirby didn't believe them.

"Riiiight. Let's go anyway." He said before continuing on with their cave journey.

"So, Como, what are the chances that we'll be attack by this bird?" Joe asked.

"...considering how the last time I tried to take pictures of her, she attacked me, very high. She seems to be quite territorial."

"Please how bad can it possibly be? I can handle a Dyna no problem."

Como only chuckled. "...well, please do then."

Kirby then nudged the spider to get her attention. "I'm guessing it's impossible to get a picture of her without alerting her, huh?"

"Yup. Otherwise, she won't leave her nest."

"Hmm... does it matter if she's in her nest? I mean you must have plenty of pictures of her out of the nest. So wouldn't it be better to get a picture of her in the nest?"

Como thought for a moment. "Now that you say that, I don't think I've ever taken a picture of her in her nest..."

"Then let's just do that! That way we won't need to worry about fighting her."

"We should probably stop Joe then." Como then shot a ball of web at Joe, stopping him in his tracks.

"Oh, come on!"

"Change of plans, Joe. We're gonna try to take a picture of Dyna Edge in her nest. Now, I know this is going to be very hard for you, but don't do anything stupid."

"I never do anything stupid!"

Como and Kirby just stared at him.

"...OK I occasionally do something stupid."

"Exactly. Now you just stay there while we go get a picture of Dyna Edge."

"Then what was the point in bringing me along!"

"Comedic relief."

"SO, I CAME ALONG FOR NOTHING!?"

"If you're going to be that pessimistic about it, yes. Now, come along, Kirby." Como began to walk off.

"Sorry, Joe, but if it makes you feel better, I enjoyed having you around." The puff said before following after her.

"Yeah... yeah... all right... thanks..." He grumbled, slightly embarrassed under his breath. Once they were out of sight, Joe kept his face in the ground.

"Stupid spider, I only came 'cuz she asked."

Thanks to the Ninja Ability he still had equipped, Kirby was able to get himself and Como close to the nest without waking up the ferocious bird.

"This is perfect. I never thought I'd get a picture of her sleeping." Como raised her camera and turned off the flash.

"Wouldn't it be hard to get a clear picture without the flash on?" Kirby asked.

"Nah, there's enough light in the cave. See all the cracks on the ceiling? She made those herself in order to let sunlight in."

"Ah that makes sense. Though I wonder why a cave instead of a mountain like Dyna Blade?"

"Who can say?" Como quickly took a picture.

Suddenly, the large bird's eyes opened. Kirby quickly grabbed his friend and teleported out of the way before they could be seen.

"So, should we leave now, Como? All you needed was a picture, right?"

The spider looked at her camera. "Well, I was supposed to get multiple, but a picture this good and this difficult to get should be more than enough."

"Then let's get going. I'm sure we could win in a fight, but I really don't want to fight for no reason."

"Agreed. Joe's probably already bored out of his mind by now."

Being as quiet as possible the pair walked away. While making their escape, Kirby looked behind him to see the large bird went back to sleep.

"It's a bit hard to believe that something so peaceful looking can be so violent."

With that thought, the puff left the cave.

Upon reaching where they last found their friend, they noticed immediately that something was different.

Knuckle Joe, now freed from the webs, stretched his arms and sighed. "Man, I was looking forward to a fight. Kirby, fight me now!"

"Huh!? Why?" The puff exclaimed, startled.

"Because I wanna fight something!"

"Alright, back to web prison for you." Como said as she wrapped Joe up once more.

"AGH! NO FAIR! I WANNA DO AT LEAST SOMETHING!"

"Wasn't being the comic relief enough for you?"

"NO!"

"Well, too bad. Besides I'm taking you to my boss. I'm sure he'd love to meet the Caped Fist in person."

Joe only groaned.

"Well, I guess this situation is over, isn't it, Como?" Kirby asked happily.

"Yup, mostly thanks to you Kirby."

"Awww... no problem, Como! I'm just glad to help!"

"Well then, I'll be sure to ask you for help if I need it, my junior journalist."

He only nodded happily as he followed his friend out of the cave.

First of all, I'm apologize if I didn't catch all the grammar mistakes in this chapter. I did my best, but I've been under a bit of stress due to college recently.

Second, this chapter was just finished the day Kirby and the Forgotten World was announced. So of course I kind of wanted to get this edited as quickly as possible.

I hope you enjoy it regardless.