Chapter 4 - A Test Given by A Tree
At the northernmost point of the Emerald Forest, there is a cliff that overlooks a set of ruins in a relatively small clearing. The pillars, once made of white marble, now lay either broken and withered, some of them lying on the ground. Any that were left standing depicts a heart with four spears stabbed into it. Inside, there were small pedestals with chess pieces placed on top of them. 2 of them had already been taken.
Blake and Yang had emerged from the forest, and were standing on the cliff that overlooked the temple, though calling the ruins a temple was a bit of an exaggeration. Yang stands on her toes and places a hand over her eyes to see the temple more clearly.
"Think this is it?" She asks Blake, who looked at her with a face that read "What do you think?"
Now Playing… The Smell of a Scary Beast (Kirby and the Forgotten Land)
The two girls dropped down from their perch on the cliff and walked closer to the ruins. In the middle, there was an apple tree, whose roots seemed to have taken over the ruins, as they were wrapped around the pillars and pedestals. Strangely, it was even around the chess pieces.
Blake glared at the apple tree. She could hear something shifting underneath them, tensing.
"Are these chess pieces?" Yang asked rhetorically, walking around the ruins like she owned the place. The tree roots twitched.
"Yang, I think we need to come up with some sort of plan," Blake warned, keeping her eyes on the tree. Yang hummed questioningly.
"What's got you so paranoid all of a sudden?" Yang asked, placing a hand on her hip. She followed the black-haired girl's gaze to the tree. "You're scared about a tree?" Yang laughed. "Relax! It's not like it's gonna– whoa!"
Yang fell to the ground, landing on her nose. Blake walked over and helped her up. "What happened?" The blonde whined, and looked at her foot. A tree root was wrapped around it.
"What the hell?" Yang muttered as she kicked her leg free. Blake was once again glaring at the tree. "That doesn't prove anything," Yang quickly said, as she got up and nearly tripped on another root.
Yang cautiously approached one of the pedestals, with Blake by her side. Gambol Shroud was drawn. "So, do we just… take one?" Blake shrugged, clearly more interested in a tree rather than their assignment.
Yang reached out a hand, then threw her fist backwards, activating Ember Celica and firing a bullet at the tree. The round exploded, shrouding the apple tree in smoke and fire. Nothing happened.
"See? I told you you were paranoid over nothing!" Yang said, motioning to the tree. "Nothing happened!" She turned back and mused over which chess piece to take.
Blake, although not quite satisfied, sheathed her weapons. She was about to help Yang choose, until the smoke receded. Yang was right, nothing happened. The tree had no scorch marks, fire, missing branches, or anything else that indicated that it had just been shot.
This time, both Yang and Blake clearly heard the roots moving underneath them, and the tree itself shaking.
Yang cursed, and quickly moved to grab a chess piece.
"Yang, don't!" Blake shouted, just as Yang's hand ghosted the black knight piece.
The roots extended quickly, completely wrapping around the pedestals. Yang stumbled backwards in shock as the pedestals were dragged underground, and giant sharp roots had encircled the ruins.
Yang whipped around backwards, standing next to Blake. The apple tree shook, and two eyes and a mouth appeared on the surface of the tree. It blinked, and then suddenly turned angry. The tree let out a warbled roar, as it shook its two branches like it was waving a pair of hands.
Now Playing… Save the Kingdom! (Team Kirby Clash Deluxe)
Guardian of the Forest
Whispy Woods
"We're fighting a tree?!" Yang cried out.
Whispy Woods attacked first, taking in a deep breath and then shooting out air bullets in the form of clouds from his mouth. Yang ran forwards, thinking that the bullets would do little damage. To her and Blake's surprise, she felt the air leave her lungs when one of the clouds collided with her stomach. Whispy Woods extended his roots, making them lash out like whips aimed directly at Yang. Blake threw Gambol Shroud, wrapping the ribbon around Yang's arm and pulled her to safety just as the roots were slammed downwards, making a sizable crater.
Strange glowing fruits started growing in Whispy's branches, which then fell to the ground and rolled their way towards Blake and Yang. At the same time, large spiked balls with eyes fell as well, bouncing each time they hit the ground. Blake threw Gambol Shroud again and pierced a glowing fruit, causing an explosion. With a flick of her wrist, the blade cut through the remaining fruits, leaving only the Gordos.
Yang, now on her feet, propelled herself forward and raised her leg, kicking the Gordo. It felt like she slammed her toe against a coffee table, except with enough force to knock her in the air. Whispy Woods shook his branches again, and a large apple fell on top of her. Blake ran forward to help, but was rudely interrupted by another set of roots trying to stab her. One of the roots scratched her cheek, and the other wrapped itself around her leg, pulling her off the ground and slamming her into the ground.
Whispy prepared another set of air bullets, and while he was charging the attack, Yang ran forward and started rapidly pummeling the tree with her fists. The living tree only seemed slightly annoyed at the hits, only closing one eye in response to each of them.
Whispy Woods spun around, knocking Yang away and then fired another set of air bullets, each of them slamming directly into her, launching her higher into the air. Just as she was about to go past the wall of roots, they suddenly grew longer, preventing Yang from falling out of the arena and causing her to fall back to the ground.
Blake grunted as she picked herself up, and started firing bullets at the apple tree. It barely even flinched. Irritated, Blake ran forwards, and Whispy Woods sent another flurry of roots to stop her. She jumped over each of them, using Gambol Shroud's blade and sheath in order to cut through the ones that came in too close. She used a shadow clone to propel herself forward, and pulled in both legs close and prepared a drop kick.
Whispy Woods opened his mouth and swallowed her. After chewing for a few moments, he spit her out with the speed of a bullet, causing Blake to crash into Yang and making them both collide with the wall of roots.
Whispy Woods blinked again, and blew another volley of air bullets. Yang and Blake jumped away, running towards the tree. Yang fired a few explosive rounds of fire dust at Whispy Woods, who defended by pulling up its roots.
Blakes bow twitched, and she shouted "Jump!" Yang used her gauntlets to propel herself upwards, just as another set of roots shot out from the ground. In the air, Yang fired more rounds of fire dust, striking the tree branches.
Both girls launched themselves downwards with the recoil from their weapons, and were about to land a deadly blow, but then…
"THE TREE CAN JUMP?!" Yang shouted in disbelief as the apple tree flew into the air, scratching her with its branches. Whispy landed on the other side of the arena, creating a shockwave as it did so, Blake used a shadow clone to avoid the attack, while Yang, trying to wrap her head around, well, everything, fumbled and tripped over it.
Whispy Woods continued shaking, dropping a barrage of explosive fruits and apples aimed directly at Yang. Before the blonde could get pummeled, Blake ran up to her and grabbed her wrist, jumping away as a fruit exploded where they were just standing.
Blake set Yang to her fight, and they both readied their weapons as Whispy Woods blinked. He opened his mouth wide and started inhaling. Blake dug her blade into the ground, and wrapped the ribbon around Yang's wrist, who desperately dug her nails into the ground.
Once the vortex died down, Whispy Woods released another wave of air bullets. Both girls jumped over the clouds and made their way towards Whispy Woods. He created a wall of roots, which Yang easily smashed through, and started pummeling Whispy Woods with punches and kicks. Blake slashed at the tree's trunk, using the Gambol Shrouds ribbon so that the weapon acted like a whip.
Not very fond of being used as a punching bag, Whispy Woods started spinning in place, dropping gordos and giant apples on the girls, forcing them to retreat. Whispy Woods jumped again, landing on the far side of the makeshift arena and spread his roots, herding the girls to the center. Whispy Woods started to inhale again, but Yang was ready this time. She fired a shot from Ember Celica, and Whispy Woods inhaled it. Whispy Woods chewed, and his mouth exploded, stunning the tree.
Yang and Blake went on the offensive, landing as many blows as possible while Whispy Wood dizzily turned his trunk. With one solid punch, Yang fired her gauntlets and forced the tree backwards, making her smile.
Said smile dropped when Whispy Woods roared and angrily (and cutely) waved its two branches up and down, and then suddenly started growing because of course it can. It jumped again, this time landing on the cliff that overlooked the ruins. Yang and Blake attempted to follow, but the roots that made up the battlefield extended, preventing them from leaving the arena.
Whispy Woods started shaking itself, dropping an onslaught of fruits and gordos and forcing both girls on the defensive. Whispy Woods exhaled another volley of air bullets and then jumped back into the arena. Both girls expected him to come crashing down, but he instead hovered over Yang for a few moments, and then landed on top of her.
"Yang!" Blake shouted, firing bullets into Whispy Woods trunk and throwing the sheath, which was attached to its ribbon. A few cuts later, Whispy Woods jumped again, creating another shockwave. Blake ran up to the crater and looked down, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw that Yang relatively
"I'm okay…!" Yang muttered, raising a hand while her eyes moved in circles. Blake reached out a hand to help her up, and both quickly went into their fighting stances again. The apple tree narrowed his eyes, and exhaled another volley of air bullets that moved faster than normal.
Yang weaved around the projectiles using Ember Celica, while Blake used her shadow clones to propel herself forward. Whispy extended his roots once more, creating a sea of sharp wood heading straight for the girls.
Yang's fists made quick work of the roots, and yelped when Blake pushed her. Moments later, Whispy Woods came crashing down, his roots scratching Blake's ankles. He jumped again, trying to turn the girls into pancakes each time he slammed into the ground. Once he stopped, he took in a large breath and released an air bullet the size of an Ursa. Yang and Blake scrambled out of the way. When the cloud exploded it hit the walls of roots, sending shrapnel flying everywhere, creating small cuts that slowly dwindled their aura.
Blake threw Gambol Shroud, wrapping the ribbon around Yang's torso and swung her into the air. The roots crashed into Blake, knocking her away. Yang thrust her first backwards, using the recoil from her shotgun gauntlets to propel herself to the overgrown tree. Her eyes turned red as she threw one of the strongest punches she had ever managed to land a blow with, and added damage with another blast from Ember Celica. This time, Whispy Woods physically flinched, lurching backwards and making some sort of sound.
Yang attempted to attack again, but was slapped away by one of Whispy's roots. The apple tree started inhaling again, aiming the vortex at Blake instead of Yang. She threw Gambol Shroud into the root walls, and held on tightly. Yang released another explosive round from her gauntlet. Whispy noticed this, and started turning, dragging the explosive round in air and sending it straight into Blake's side.
Enraged, Yang activated her semblance and charged, and did not flinch when the air bullet crashed into her. With a look of concern, Whispy Woods unearthed more of his roots, sending them straight to the blonde brawler. Using the momentum from her shotgun blasts and the power of her fists, she easily shattered the roots and made her way closer to the tree.
Before she could land a blow, Whispy Woods jumped again, returning to the cliff and releasing another wave of giant fruit. Blake grabbed an explosive berry and kicked it back to the tree, which blew up in his face. Whispy Woods blinked the soot out of his eyes, and jumped again, nearly squashing Blake. Then, he jumped again, hovering for a moment Yang, who took the opportunity to blast the roots of the tree, and quickly evaded the stomp.
Whispy Woods jumped back again, landing in the center of the arena, and created another wave of air bullets, roots, and fruits. Yang moved forward again, tanking more and more attacks as her hair and eyes grew brighter and redder. Her aura started flickering, a sign that it was about to break.
With one final push, Yang launched herself with her gauntlets, and reared her fist back to throw a haymaker. Whispy Woods jumped out of the way, and Yang cursed. Then, Blake wrapped Gambol Shroud's ribbon around Yang and spun, throwing her towards Whispy Woods.
Yang used her fired gauntlets again, picking up speed and rearing back her fist as far as she could. Then, with her semblance active, she let it fly forward, slamming it into Whispy Woods' nose, and firing the shotgun for additional power.
Save the Kingdom! - Cut Off
Whispy Woods' nose snapped off with a satisfying crack, and the force of the blow pulled him off the ground, and sent him crashing into the wall of roots. Whispy Woods ping-ponged against his own walls, until he landed perfectly into the center of the arena and spun around in circles. Whispy Woods' two branches went slack, and he slouched.
Eye was closed, and the other dropped a single tear.
…
"Hey, Blake?"
"Yes?"
"Do you feel like… I dunno, dancing over the fact that we fought a tree and didn't lose?"
"You want us to dance in front of a tree that nearly killed us, and is now crying because you broke off its nose?"
"Yeah!"
…
Now Playing… Kirby Dance [Long] (Kirby and the Forgotten Land)
Yang started by performing three backflips in a row, while Blake groaned and crossed her arms under her chest.
After the backflips, Yang went into a handstand and started spinning in place. Blake started tapping her foot to the beat of the music that is totally there.
Yang pushed herself off the ground and struck a pose in the air. She crouched and then jumped back up, hi-fiving Blake as she came back down.
Yang placed a hand on her hip and used to point at the horizon. Blake placed both hands on her hip, and turned so that only one eye was visible.
"Well, it appears that Ozpin was right when he said I shouldn't have underestimated humans," the tree said.
Wait, the tree spoke?!
Yang and Blake quickly spun around, but Whispy Woods' roots quickly slapped Gambol Shroud away and detached Ember Celica from Yang's wrists. They didn't realize that they had been disarmed until they turned around completely. That didn't stop Yang from running forwards and trying to break off more of Whispy Woods branches.
The tree made some sort of laughing sound, and simply tripped her with a root, making her face plant on the floor.
Now Playing… Kaepora Gaebora
"Greetings, young ones! I am Whispy Woods, the protector of all life that lives in the Emerald Forest!" Whispy Woods said, handing the girls their weapons. "Would you care for an apple?" He asked, shaking his branches so that two bright red fruits dropped next to them. Thankfully, they weren't menacingly rolling towards them.
"Umm… weren't you trying to kill us back there?" Yang asked, more than a little confused. The tree blinked. "What gave you that impression? I thought that was a friendly spar."
"The loud roar, the vicious attacks, the exploding fruits, you chewing on me, and getting bigger and madder," Blake listed, helping Yang to her feet.
"Really?" Whispy Woods asked, tilting his trunk to the side. "Huh. I suppose that could be interpreted as a fight to the death. Oh well! What matters is that you won, so now… you get to choose one of the relics that Ozpin totally didn't buy from the thrift store!" He said, as the pedestals resurfaced.
"Alright, hold up, wait a minute!" Yang interrupted, and then pointed at Whispy. "What's your deal? We weren't told that we'd be fighting a tree of all things! And why were you keeping the 'relics' hostage!" Her eyes had a slight red tint to them.
"Well, I suppose you deserve an explanation," The apple tree muttered. "How do I put this… I suppose you can think of me as sort of a 'pop quiz,' a test of your abilities against something that you never could have predicted ahead of time!" Whispy Woods explained. "Considering your expressions during our battle, I'd say I did a good job with that, eh?"
"A pop quiz?" Blake repeated, to which Whispy Woods nodded. "Exactly! Specifically, Ozpin used this as a way to measure your strength against the forces of Dream Land! Though, considering there are now grimm that look like Dream Landers, you could say that my presence here is a bit redundant."
"You're from Dream Land?" Yang asked.
"To my knowledge, there are no other talking trees in this world, much less those that are capable of cognitive function. Or almost beating you in a fight. I think that should've been a dead giveaway," Whispy reasoned.
"In retrospect, it sort of is," Blake said.
"Alright… anyways, since we beat you, that means we can get one of the chess pieces, right?" Yang huffed, taking the white knight. Whispy Woods nodded. "Of course. But remember, the test does not end until you return to the cliff where you began," the tree reminded them. He blinked.
"Ah, here come your friends!" Whispy Woods.
Kaepora Gaebora - Fade Out
—
"Ruby! I told you this was a terrible idea!"
"We're fine! Stop worrying!"
"I am SO far beyond worrying!"
"...In a good way–"
"In a BAD way! In a very! Bad! WAY!"
"Well, why don't we just jump?"
"What are you, insane?!"
…
"OH YOU INSUFFERABLE LITTLE B–!"
—
Now Playing… Comedic Curtains (Mario & Luigi: Dream Team)
"Hey, do you hear that?" Yang asked Blake. When she turned, she saw her partner pointing to the sky. Looking up, Yang saw her little sister flailing her arms, apparently having jumped from a giant bird with rainbow colored wings. Yang panicked, moving under her as fast as she could, and gawked when Jaune Arc of all people came flying in out of nowhere, crashing into Ruby. Whispy Woods extended his roots, and both of them crashed into the wall he created.
"Uuuuuh… What was that…?" Ruby mumbled. She shook her head to recollect herself, and found Jaune laying on her lap. "Oh, hey there…" the blonde muttered. If she hadn't almost died a couple seconds ago, she'd probably be extremely embarrassed.
"Did… did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked. Before Yang could answer, they heard rumbling coming from the forest, and all mouths (Whispy always has his mouth open, he doesn't count) went wide open as a girl in pink clothing appeared, riding an Ursa of all things while shouting "Yee-haw!" as if she were a cowboy.
The black bear collapsed as the girl fell off. "Aww, it's broken," She complained, as her partner, a young man with a streak of pink in his hair collapsed next to it. "Nora! Don't ever do that again," He pleaded, taking in deep breaths, only to notice that she had disappeared.
"Ooooh!" Nora had ran all the way over to the pedestals, grabbed the white rook, and started chanting, "I'm queen of the castle~! I'm queen of the castle~!"
"Nora!" Her partner cried.
"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked. It wasn't as strange as cute aliens from another dimension, or being locked in combat with a tree of all things, but it was still pretty bizarre. Nora skipped her way over to Ren without a care in the world.
Everybody tensed when they heard a screeching sound coming from the forest. When they looked, they saw Pyrrha running as fast as she could, with a Death Stalker snapping its claws at her. For some reason, a Mookie was riding the giant scorpion, cheering each time the Death Stalker snapped its pincers.
"Did she run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?" Blake questioned, as she readied her weapons.
"Oh, don't worry about that. I'll have it taken care of in a jiff," Whispy Woods said. Everybody except for Blake and Yang stared at the tree with wide eyes, realizing that it was alive. Whispy Woods tensed, and a few moments later, the Death Stalker and Mookie were turned into pieces of swiss cheese through the apple tree's roots. The demonic scorpion a haunting shriek, and stilled after a couple seconds.
"Oh, my, god…" Nora muttered in shock. "You're a talking tree!" She cried, completely disregarding that a tree one-shot one of the most dangerous creatures known to man. Nora quickly skipped towards Whispy, and started poking and prodding him all over, his roots and leaves and apples. "How does that even work?!"
"Why, I have no idea!" Whispy responded with equal enthusiasm, making everybody else faceplant on the ground, with the exception of Pyrrha, who collapsed from exhaustion.
Comedic Curtains - Fade Out
Now Playing… Panic Pit (Mario & Luigi: Dream Team)
"Though, you have more problems than the logistics of a talking tree at the moment," Whispy Woods noted, as he stared pointedly at Ruby. Her eyes widened in realization. "Whoops…! Um, Yang?" Ruby shook Yang's shoulder, and then pointed to the sky. Everybody looked up, and were shocked to see Wiess hanging onto Dyna Blade's talon.
"HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME?!" Weiss shouted, though it sounded more like a harsh whisper to everybody on the ground.
"I told you to jump!" Ruby shouted back.
"She's gonna fall," Blake said.
"She'll be fine," Ruby said dismissively.
"She's falling," Ren noted.
Jaune, who had barely got up from crashing into Whispy's roots, saw Wiess falling, and immediately sprang to action. He climbed up a tree, and jumped with his hands extended, catching the falling girl.
"Just dropping in?" Jaune asked, trying to sound sauve. The moment was cut short when both of them looked down. Wiess clung onto Jaune as they both fell, with the "savior" screaming his lungs out. Jaune landed on his face, while Wiess landed on top of him, making him groan in pain.
"My hero," Wiess sarcastically said.
"My back…!"
As if things couldn't get any worse, the giant rainbow bird circled back blowing everybody. They readied themselves for a fight, but Dyna Blade just shrieked in annoyance and flew away. It had more important things to do.
Panic Pit - Fade Out
Kaepora Gaebora - Fade In
"Great! It seems that all of the initiates have arrived at the temple," Whispy Woods announced. "Well, at least the ones that everyone cares about."
"Did you say something…" Pyrrha asked, taking in deep breaths. Jaune just had to walk into a cave with a Death Stalker, multiple Grimm Bonkers, and Scarfies. Hot damn, Scarfies are terrifying. Wait, were the Scarfies even wearing masks?
"Nothing important, I assure you!" Whispy Woods said. "Now then, why don't you all choose your relics! Remember, your test does not finish until you make it back to the cliff in one piece," He reminded them.
"Wait, aren't you supposed to fight them?" Yang asked Whispy, drawing confused looks from everybody else.
"Umm, how?" Jaune groaned elegantly, as Pyrrha walked over to help him up.
"You don't want to know," Blake said, before turning to Whispy.
"Well, It wouldn't really be a 'pop quiz' if everybody already knew I was capable of a round of fisticuffs! Also, I'd much rather not lose any more branches…" He said. He was probably looking at his broken nose, but since he didn't have any pupils they could only guess where he was looking.
Yang sharply inhaled. "Whoops! Sorry about the whole… y'know," she mumbled, pointing to her own nose.
"Oh, water under the bridge! It will grow back in a few days. Now, go on! Choose your relics!"
Cautiously, the four duos selected their chess pieces. For all they knew, Whispy Woods was going to do a little trolling.
Kaepora Gaebora - Fade Out
Ruby let Weiss choose their relic, and she preoccupied herself by examining the engravings on the ruins. As her silver eyes roamed the pillars, she noticed a different set of engravings hiding behind the pillar.
For some reason, there were three people depicted, all in some sort of pain. Except for one, a woman dressed in a white cloak. Even though she was missing her face, she seemed calm. Unhappy, but still calm.
Ruby extended one hand, letting it brush against the stone carvings. She reached out to touch the woman that lacked a face. For some reason, she–
"RUBY!" The girl in question jumped and turned around. Weiss was tapping her foot impatiently, giving Ruby a cold glare. "Are you done admiring the architecture?" She asked sarcastically. Ruby sheepishly rubbed her neck and smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, I am," She ran to catch up with the others.
"Bye, Mr. Tree!" Ruby waved at the Whispy Woods, who waved one of his roots. "Good-bye! Try not to agitate the Scarfies!" Blake, Jaune, and Pyrrha all simultaneously shivered at his warning.
After a few minutes of mostly awkward silence, Nora decided to speak up. "What's up with Scarfies?" She asked, invading Blake's personal space. "Are they dangerous? Poisonous? They make bombs out of nowhere? Do they have eye lasers?!" She moved to Pyrrha, and started shaking her violently by the shoulders.
"It's much, much worse," Jaune muttered, and Pyrrha nodded solemnly.
"What happened?! Did they bite your balls off?!"
"Nora!"
"What?"
"Hey, what's that?" Yang said, pointing to a star in the sky. Everybody else looked in wonder, and then in sheer panic.
"It's heading straight for us!" Jaune yelled.
—
Now Playing… Waddle Dee Town (Kirby and the Forgotten Land)
After dropping off the scary witch lady in Oz-that's-definitely-his-name's office, Kirby and the Warp Star flew in the direction of the Emerald Forest. According to Flamberge, there was some sort of scary test that they had to speedrun, sort of like the Treasure Roads from the Forgotten World, except they had to bring the treasure back.
Kirby left before Flamberge could finish. He wanted to see the red girl with the big cutter again. He flew around the woods slowly, so that he wouldn't crash into another tree branch and lose the Warp Star again.
Because his attention was on the ground, he nearly flew into Dyna Blade. He swerved to avoid crashing into her. He waved politely, and asked her if she had seen a… What species was scythe girl again? Huge Dees? Anyways, Kirby asked Dyna Blade if she'd seen a girl with a big cutter.
Dyna Blade squawked, and turned to show Kirby her back. The feathers were more ruffled than usual. Then, she gestured to where Whispy Woods was hiding. She looked pretty annoyed. Kirby thanked Dyna Blade and waved goodbye, urging the Warp Star to head to the temple.
Whispy Woods was sleeping, since his eyes and mouth weren't on his trunk. He found some footprints leading back to the cliff, and took to the skies once more. A few minutes later, he saw a group of colorful Huge Dees. And one of them was his new friend!
Kirby told the Warp Star to dive, and dive it did. It crashed into the ground in front of the new students, with enough force to knock them away. Kirby jumped off his trusty friend and waved good-bye. The bright star spun around, and then flew into the sky until the next time it was needed.
Kirby floated out of the crater he made, and started looking around his new friend. He waved at all the other new friends, who had their weapons out and looked pretty frazzled.
"OH MY GOD IT'S ADORABLE!" The one with the giant hammer squealed. The blonde one with cool bracelets looked like she recognized him. "Hey, isn't that…?" She asked, nudging her shoulder against the girl with the giant cutter.
What was her name again… Oh, right!
"Wubee!" Kirby cheered, and started running towards the red cloaked girl. He heard some more squealing, specifically from the white girl with the toothpick, which he elected to ignore.
Kirby jumped in her a hug, wrapping his stubby arms over Ruby's stomach. After she hugged him back, Kirby jumped on top of her head and sat on it, like a bird in its nest. Ruby has soft hair. He waved at the other people, who he assumed were her friends, and since Kirby was Ruby's friend, he was also their friend. Kirby likes friends.
"Ruby, who is this… admittedly adorable individual?" The girl with the toothpick asked. The girl with the giant hammer ran up to Ruby and plucked Kirby from his spot. Ruby sounded like she died on the inside. "You think he can shoot lasers out of his eyes?"
The ninja kid rolled his eyes. "Nora, not everything can shoot lasers out of their eyes," He said. Nora and Kirby pouted. He can shoot lasers, just not out of his eyes.
"Um, well… T-this is Kirby!" Ruby said, patting the puffballs head. Said puffball nodded and started repeating his name.
"Wait, Kirby?" Toothpick girl asked, eyes widening.
"Have you heard of him before?" The girl with the frisbee and stick asked.
"The Waddle Dees speak highly of him," the cat added. Why was she hiding her ears behind a bow? Maybe she's scared that people will treat her differently. "Apparently, he's saved Dream Land more than a handful of times," she explained.
"He's a hero?" The guy in the hoodie asked. The cat shrugged. "It's just what I've heard from the Waddle Dees."
"I've heard that from some of the Waddle Dees myself. Though, I imagined him looking more, well, hero-like," Toothpick girl muttered. "Still, that doesn't explain what he's doing here," She, walking over and taking Kirby from the girl with the hammer. "Or the star he was riding on."
Kirby jumped from hammer girls and landed on the ground. He started telling them about the Warp Star, and how he needed to save it from a giant killer centipede that lived in front of a lake of black goop.
"...Okay, did anybody understand that?" The girl with the bracelets asked, placing her hands on her hips.
Kirby pouted. He pondered for a moment, and realized that what he said probably didn't make sense out of context. Perhaps he needs to go more in-depth with his explanation.
Kirby walked towards the cliff, motioning for the others to follow. As they walked, Kirby told them all about his day in Forever Fall.
—
Opponent: Guardian of the Forest - Whispy Woods
Information - After he was pulled in by the mysterious vortex, Whispy Woods landed headfirst into Ozpin's office alongside The Battleship Halberd, which crash landed in Forever Fall. Meta Knight arrived five minutes later, since he landed in Atlas. After some discussion, Whispy agreed to help out Ozpin with the first year's initiation. However, Whispy Woods just wants to make sure that nobody kicks the bucket during the test.
Next Chapter…
Running Through the New World