Time for my very first Kirby story ever, that being an adaptation of Kirby's Return to Dream Land! This game was my third Kirby game I've played (first was Epic Yarn, while second was Squeak Squad), so this might bring back some good memories of it as I write. I just can't tell you how very excited I am to start this story up! I've been wanting to do an adaptation of a Kirby game for SO long, but a certain idea of mine that was left on hiatus is what kept me from doing that. I'll explain about it on my Author's Note at the end.
After the success of Super Heroes 3D Land, I seriously did not want to stop there when it comes to having the Loyal Bodyguards having another wacky adventure, and this time, it's Kirby's world's turn! Only that they're now accompanied by the original Return to Dream Land cast! Given the silly nature of the Kirby franchise, expect to see the same level of comedy in this story that Super Heroes 3D Land had!
But without further ado, enjoy! ;)
Chapter 1: A Not-So Relaxing Vacation
Previously, on Prince Trifle Uprising's Epilogue…
"Ready to go?" Kirby asked the Loyal Bodyguards.
"Yep, we're all ready to go." Eleven answered for them.
"Okay! Let's go!" Kirby said and hopped into the portal first, as the Heroes immediately followed in afterwards before it closed. The moment the four stepped into the portal, the whole world around them appears to be warping out like a trippy ride, causing them to shut their eyes during this.
"Here we are!" Kirby announced. "Welcome to Dream Land!"
The Loyal Bodyguards reopened their eyes, and immediately breathed in awe at the brand-new world before them.
[BGM: Jump Towards the Morning Sun – Xenoblade Chronicles 2]
Clear blue skies, lush green meadows, colorful flowers, chirping birds, and a gentle spring breeze (see what I did there?); those were the main things that greeted the four as they took in their surroundings.
"Well? What do you guys think?" Kirby asked, waiting in anticipation for their answers.
Arusu whistled. "Okay, I'm going to say this: the Mushroom Kingdom doesn't do this place justice. This is something else!"
"Woooow!" Eight's eyes sparkled. "This place is beautiful!"
"It sure is." Eleven agreed. "We could get used to a place like this." next to him, Solo merely nodded in agreement.
"I'm glad you all enjoyed the sights!" Kirby chirped. "Boy, you have no idea how much there is to show you guys around! But I do know a perfect starting place, though."
"Alright, then. Lead the way, Kirby." Solo said.
"Okay, follow me!" Kirby began skipping ahead, and the Loyal Bodyguards followed him.
The puffball led them to a flowery meadow with some small mountains surrounding it, where a small white dome-shaped house with a chimney stood. "See that house over there? That's where I live!" Kirby told them while directing to said house.
"Oh, that's your house? It's so cute!" Eight smiled.
"Aww, thanks! I would love to show you how it looks inside, but I'm afraid that you guys are a bit too tall to fit in…"
Eleven chuckled. "It's fine. Just the outside is good enough!"
"Well, if you say so." then, something came into Kirby's mind. "Oh! I just remembered something! Just wait right here, I'll be going into my house to get a welcome gift that I prepared for you guys!" he walks over to the door of his house and opens it. "Be right back!" he goes in and shuts the door.
The Loyal Bodyguards looked around their surroundings again. "Man, I can already tell that this is going to be an awesome vacation!" Arusu exclaimed.
"Indeed." Solo agreed. "This world definitely looks peaceful enough for having a vacation."
"I can now see why Jewel chose this place for us." Eight said.
"And considering how much we went through back in Pit's world, we could easily relax and enjoy ourselves here." Eleven added.
"You said it!"
*BONK!*
[BGM End]
"Oof!"
"Huh?" Eight wondered after he just felt someone smacking into his left calf and falling to the ground with a small 'squeak' noise. "What was that?"
He and his comrades then turned around… and came face-to-face with a creature that was as small as Kirby. He had an orange body, a peach-colored face with only eyes and blush stickers on it, yellow feet, and two stubby arms. But the most noticeable features about him was the blue bandana on top of his head, and the spear strapped to his back.
[BGM: Beginner's Field – Kirby Battle Royale]
"Mmph…" the creature groaned while rubbing his face. "And that's what I get when I don't pay attention to where I'm going…" he grumbled as he stood back up and fixed his bandana before fully opening his eyes, only to be met with several pairs of legs in front of him (that should hit home to you all about how short most Kirby characters are when standing next to human characters). "Uh…?"
"Are you okay?" Eight asked as the creature looked up to see the Heroes looking down at him in a mixture of concern and curiosity.
"O-oh! H-h-hello!" the creature jolted, being a bit intimidated by seeing four tall men standing just right in front of him.
"Oh, sorry, did we startle you?"
"Um, y-yeah… a little. Sorry, I get a little nervous and anxious when I'm meeting new people… But I'm fine, thanks." and then, when the creature took notice of a certain thing on Eight… "Ohmigosh! I LOVE your bandana!" he gushed, complete with sparkly eyes. "I think it looks so good on you!"
Eight paused and felt his bandana. "Oh… Why, thank you!" he smiled and knelt down to the creature's level. "I like your bandana as well."
The creature lightly blushed in response. "Er… th-thanks!"
Solo kept staring at the creature in fascination. "It's amazing how this creature can still talk even without having a mouth…" he mused before addressing the creature, "Do you have a name, by the way?"
"O-oh, yes! Ahem. I'm known as Bandana Waddle Dee… but you can just call me Bandee for short!"
"Ah, it's because of your bandana, right?"
"Yep! So…who are you guys?" the Loyal Bodyguards proceeded to tell him their names. "Uh-huh, gotcha." and then it occurred to him, "Hey, wait a minute… Are you guys supposed to be the ones Kirby told me who would come here to spend a vacation?"
"That's us!" Arusu nodded. "Are you a friend of Kirby?"
"Yes, Kirby and I are really close friends!" Bandana Waddle Dee replied. "Anyways, it's so nice to meet new faces! You guys look so cool!" the Loyal Bodyguards couldn't help but crack a chuckle for being called 'cool'. "Hmm… Shame that you guys only carry swords, though. It would be even cooler if you carried a spear like I do." he said while unstrapping his signature spear. "I've had this spear ever since his majesty, King Dedede, promoted me as his most loyal subject after I've worked as an ordinary castle guard until then."
A smirk then formed on Eight's face. "Well, isn't that ironic?" he took out his spear, immediately catching Bandana Waddle Dee's attention. "I happen to carry a spear with me, too. And I also used to work as a royal guard just like you!"
"…I love you more and more!" Bandana Waddle Dee's eyes sparkled again, causing Eight to laugh.
The rest of the Heroes laughed too. "Wow… we only met this little guy just now, and he's already getting along with Eight!" Eleven remarked.
"Yep." Solo said, and then they watched Eight giving Bandana Waddle Dee a high-five.
"I'm back!" Kirby said as he came out of his house, now holding a large slice of strawberry shortcake above his head. "Oh! I see you guys already met Bandee!"
Hearing his name being called out, Bandana Waddle Dee looked over at Kirby. "Hey, Kirby!" he waved as he ran up to the puffball. "I ran into them just now! But wait… these guys are humans like Adeleine is, right?"
"Of course they are! Well…two of them are hybrids, but the human subject still applies."
"Then how come they are so tall while Adeleine is near our level of height?"
This earned a giggle from Kirby. "Silly Bandee! That's because Adeleine is still a child! These guys are clearly grown-ups since humans increase in height as they mature! So after a few years, our friend Adeleine will grow up in a similar manner to them!"
"Ah, right… I kind of forgot that the human species have growth hormones, heh heh…" Bandana Waddle Dee chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Say, I don't mean to interfere, but who's this Adeleine you two are mentioning?" Eleven asked.
"Oh, she's a human artist who came from another world to Popstar to study art, and has the ability of making drawings come to life just by painting on her canvas. I and Bandee first met her back during the Crystal Shards incident, the same one Lacey mentioned." Kirby explained.
"Ah, got it. And another thing… what's with that slice of cake you're holding?"
"This is my welcome gift I've mentioned before! What better way to commemorate your first arrival here in Dream Land than sharing some strawberry shortcake together?"
"Mmm, great idea! That cake does look really good!" Eight exclaimed. Unbeknownst to everyone, however, a large figure was watching them from behind Kirby's house.
"It sure does!" Bandana Waddle Dee chimed in. "Did you make it yourself, Kirby?"
"I did!" Kirby nodded. "Alright, let's not waste any more time! Time to dig i-"
[BGM End]
"Not so fast there, Kirby!" a gruffy voice said, making everyone freeze and look around to find the source of the voice… and then the large figure came out of his hiding spot and revealed himself to be a portly, blue penguin-like creature with blue eyes, a yellow beak, and yellow feet. He's donned in a kingly red coat with fluffy white trim, and a red tuque with a golden crown-like ridge and a white pompom on top. The back of his coat depicted a V-sign emblem, and under the coat is a beige undershirt with a tessellated red-and-yellow designed obi wrapped around it, and he wore yellow gloves on his hand.
By that description, you all clearly know that this creature is King Dedede.
[BGM: Dedede Passes By… –Hoshi no Kaabii]
"Dedede/Your Majesty?!" Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee exclaimed in unison, with the latter saying 'Your Majesty'.
"That's right; the pinnacle of perfection himself has arrived!" Dedede boasted. Then, he looked over at the Loyal Bodyguards. "And what do we have here? Huh… you guys must be the new vacationers I've been told about." he then smirked. "Well, then! You guys came at a perfect time to see one of my antics!" he turns to face Kirby.
"What do you want from me?" Kirby asked.
"Isn't it obvious? I want that cake of yours, Kirby!" Dedede replied, pointing at it.
Kirby put on a deadpan expression. "Listening to your gut as always…" he drawled, before furrowing his eyes into an angry expression. "No way! I made this cake specifically for our vacationers here!"
Dedede gave out a hearty laugh at Kirby's misunderstanding. "Aw, come on, now! I'm not actually here to steal your cake for myself! I just want to give these guys a little entertainment show so they can see what we both do all the time!"
Kirby sweatdropped. "Oh, goody…"
[BGM: Dedede Bustle – Hoshi no Kaabii]
"Alright, now gimme that cake, Kirby!" Dedede exclaimed and dove for Kirby to tackle him as he jumped away, resulting in Dedede tackling Bandana Waddle Dee instead.
"Owch!" Bandana Waddle Dee yelled.
"Oh, so you want this cake, right?" Kirby taunted his friendly rival. "Then try and catch me, fatty!" he took off running.
Dedede quickly got back up. "Who're you calling fatty?" he taunted back. "You can bet that I will catch you, pink puff! Come over here!" he then ran off after Kirby.
"Uuugh…" Bandana Waddle Dee groaned and got up. "H-huh?! H-hey! Kirby! Great King! Wait up!" he called out and ran off after the rivals.
Meanwhile, the Loyal Bodyguards watched in befuddlement as Dedede was chasing Kirby and yelling words akin to 'get back here!' as Kirby was taunting him, while Bandana Waddle Dee was just running after them.
[BGM End]
"Well… that happened." Solo broke the silence.
"Hmhmhm…" just then, a deep-sounding chuckle was heard next to them. "Seems like Kirby and Dedede are at it again…"
The owner of this baritone voice belonged to another round creature with a physique similar to Kirby's, with a blue body and a silver mask covering his face with only his yellow eyes showing. He wore a blue cape with a purple bottom, being attached to his body by a white collar, metal shoulder plates with the left one sporting an M-shaped insignia, white gloves with armored gauntlets, and purple sabatons covering his purple feet.
[BGM: Revenge of Meta Knight: Ending – Kirby and the Rainbow Curse]
"…But I suppose it's a natural thing for them now." the creature added.
The Loyal Bodyguards blinked. "Um… And you are…?" Eight asked.
"Ah, my apologies." the creature replied as he turned to face them. "I am Meta Knight, a traveling warrior seeking worthy challengers to hone my strength in order to become the strongest warrior in the galaxy. I also command the Halberd, a flying battleship with my crew, the Meta-Knights, to maintain peace and order around Dream Land." he then took a good look at them. "Say… you all wouldn't happen to be the new vacationers Kirby told me about, would you?" they nodded in response. "I see… Well, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. May I know your names?"
The Loyal Bodyguards introduced themselves to Meta Knight. After that, Meta Knight's eyes perked up, "Those are some…interesting names." he then shook it off. "But it doesn't matter. Please, feel free to make yourselves at home here."
"Well…thanks." Eleven replied sheepishly.
"By the way…" Meta Knight began. "I also heard from Kirby that you guys apparently became newcomers for the upcoming Smash Bros tournament. And for that, you all have my congrats. Judging by the weapons you carry, you seem to be swordfighters like me."
"Yeah, but we can also perform all sorts of magic spells too!" Arusu smirked pridefully.
"Huh, interesting… I guess I'll look forward to see your combat style until the tournament starts."
"Or perhaps we could do some sparring together?" Solo suggested.
"That would be a great idea. But let's leave this for another day; I just came here to relax and read a nice book." Meta Knight said as he pulled out a book with a brown cover. "Would you like to join me?"
"Of course!" Eight nodded enthusiastically, making Meta Knight chuckle and then he guided them down to a small hill, where he sat down under a knoll to read the book while the Heroes sat next to him.
[BGM End]
…Oh wait, I still haven't made the introduction about Kirby's world like I did with Pit's, right? Well then, I guess right now should be perfect time to start it.
[BGM: A Visitor from Afar – Kirby's Return to Dream Land]
Planet Popstar. A yellow star-shaped planet with two sparkly rings orbiting it. It gives off a very strong light seen from outer space, and so it's stated to be the brightest star in Kirby's universe. Characteristic to Popstar is its relatively untamed natural environment, brimming with life of all sorts.
In the peaceful afternoon skies of Dream Land, we can see a rainbow swirling across as the camera slowly pans down to ground level. When it does, it next pans over to the right to show Kirby holding the strawberry shortcake slice, still being chased by Dedede with Bandana Waddle Dee trailing behind him. Then it cuts over to the knoll where Meta Knight was reading his book while the Heroes were sitting down next to him and admiring the scenery, until they all glanced over at the running trio passing by, causing them to playfully shake their heads. Trying to ignore them, the swordsmen proceeded to turn their attention back to what they were doing before.
But not too soon afterwards, a bright light suddenly came and caught their attention as they looked up at where it came from, which was some sort of swirling vortex opening up in the sky. That also caught the running trio's attention, first starting with Kirby skidding to a halt as he looked up at the light… but then Dedede slammed right into him and caused him to drop the slice of cake as it splattered onto the ground, immediately followed up by Bandana Waddle Dee slamming onto Dedede's back and made him bump Kirby a few feet forwards. As Dedede and Bandana Waddle Dee were looking up at the vortex, Kirby couldn't help but look back at the now-ruined strawberry shortcake slice on the ground for a brief moment.
Within the vortex, a star-shaped hole materialized, and out of it came a magnificent-looking blue flying ship. Except that it was slowly falling down towards the ground as a few sphere-like objects were coming out of it, and in addition, its five main parts – oars, both wings, the front emblem, and mast – began to shed apart and scatter around to different places of Popstar. Dedede, Bandana Waddle Dee and Kirby then proceeded to chase after the falling smoking ship towards the countryside, where it eventually crashed.
The trio, along with Meta Knight and the Loyal Bodyguards, arrived at the crash site, and with a bright glow, a door with a ramp appeared at the side of the ship. The group stared at the ship's entrance in awe for a bit, before deciding to head in. The interior of the ship appeared to be technologically advanced, but due to the crash, some of the wall tiles have fallen out. Eventually, the group encountered a strange alien being lying unconscious on the floor, right in front of a large static monitor displaying some foreign alien language.
The alien appeared to be egg-shaped and was clad in a blue and white robe, and had disembodied ivory hands. Kirby began to reach his stubby arm towards him, only for him to open his eyes with a few blinks before suddenly snapping awake, and then immediately rushing to the ship's console to access the damage as the group could do nothing but watch. The large monitor then shows a screen displaying a meter with the number 120 and a gear-like object on the side, before the meter began going down fast while the number counted down until it reached 0, and when it did, a large red 'X' appeared over the gear. Next, the screen changed to show an overview of the entire ship with its parts on, until large red 'X's popped up on each missing part before they dispersed, leaving the ship into the state it was now.
Upon taking in the information, the alien cresfalled sadly. Kirby took notice of this and ran over to the alien, tapping his back to get his attention. The alien turned over to Kirby as the puffball proceeded to cheer him up and try to solve his problem. At this, the rest of the group approached the alien too and they, along with Kirby, assured to him that they will help track down the missing ship parts for him. The alien felt thankful for them and introduced himself as Magolor, and after the group introduced themselves to him, he directed to the monitor to show them where they can find the parts. The screen showed an overview of Planet Popstar and where each ship part was located in each of its five corners, before Magolor eventually zoomed in on the location where the oars were located: in some lush grasslands.
Determined to help their new friend, the group pumped their fists with ready expressions on their faces, and soon afterwards, they left the ship via the same entrance they took as Magolor was waving to them. They ran off to their first destination, Cookie Country, which was not too far off, ready to search for the first part.
And even though the Loyal Bodyguards already knew that this means no relaxing vacation for them at the moment… at least they'll be having a brand-new quest in a brand-new world, and thus they cannot wait to see what Popstar shall offer for them.
[BGM End]
Stage 1-1: A New Discovery
[BGM: The Adventure Begins – Kirby's Return to Dream Land]
The group walked through the area, with the Loyal Bodyguards looking around the gorgeous scenery before them and were soon greeted by a few Waddle Dees and Star Blocks. The Waddle Dees were just peacefully wandering about, until Kirby sucked them up and spat them out as a Star Bullet that destroyed the Star Blocks.
"Those little guys looked inoffensive… I almost feel bad for them." Eight said, frowning a little.
"They're called Waddle Dees, and Bandana Dee here belongs to their species." Dedede explained. "Some of them serve me, others are just normal inhabitants."
"And you're not bothered about any of us or even yourself taking out your own species?" Arusu asked Bandana Waddle Dee.
"No, don't worry about me or them. There's plenty of us living here in Popstar." Bandana Waddle Dee assured.
"Well, if you say so." Solo shrugged and they kept walking as a Blade Knight ran over to them and tried to slash at them, only for Kirby to suck it up and swallow it, instantly becoming Sword Kirby.
"Ah, good to use Copy Abilities for another adventure again!" Kirby smiled.
"Hold on, we have these four swordsmen and Meta Knight with us. Wouldn't they make this ability a bit redundant?" Dedede wondered.
"Nah, I don't think so." Meta Knight snarked as Kirby proceeded to slash through some more Star Blocks and Waddle Dees, until they came across a Sir Kibble that threw a cutter blade at them, but they quickly ducked under the blade before Kirby defeated it with a Sword Beam… and it suddenly left out the Cutter hat upon exploding in a puff of smoke, much to the Kirby cast's confusion.
"What the… Is that my Cutter hat the Sir Kibble left out?" Kirby thought. "Strange… this has never happened before!"
It was then that Eleven walked past him, looking down at the Cutter hat in curiosity. "Hello, what's this?" he wondered while picking up the hat, and then he put it on. Immediately, he felt some sort of power coursing through him, but nothing seemed to have changed on him. "Odd, I feel like I got a Power-Up, but…" he turned to face his comrades. "Guys, did anything change about me?"
"Aside from the funny hat… no." Solo shook his head. "I can see some sort of blade on top of it, though. Can you take it off?"
"A blade?" Eleven wondered as he reached up to the top of the hat, and felt said blade on it. "You mean this one?" he pulled off the blade and, seeing a Bronto Burt flying overhead, he instinctively threw the blade at it like a boomerang. The blade instantly defeated the Bronto Burt and returned to Eleven's hand. "Oh!"
"Whoa!" Eight exclaimed, he and the rest of the Heroes looking fascinated. "It's like a boomerang!"
The Kirby cast, however, looked completely astonished instead. "Did… Did that really just happen?!" Dedede questioned.
"No way…" Kirby breathed, looking the most astonished out of the four. "Ven, you're actually wielding my Cutter Ability!"
"Wait, that's one of your Copy Abilities?" Eleven asked, and then realization instantly hit him, "Could this mean…?!"
Arusu smirked. "Well, what do you know! We can use Kirby's powers too!"
"That's awesome!" Eight gushed before looking down at Kirby, "Looks like you're not the only one, Kirby!"
"Wow! I never imagined that other people are able to use my Copy Abilities!" Kirby beamed.
"But I believe that this only applies to anyone who doesn't belong in this universe, because as far as I'm concerned, nobody in Dream Land aside from Kirby can even use Copy Abilities." Meta Knight clarified. "Still, this is a very fascinating discovery…"
Everyone then resumed moving on, running across tiny gaps on the floor and jumping over a larger one, then they came upon a wall that was very tall for the Kirby cast but short enough for the Loyal Bodyguards to leap up and pull themselves up to the top due to their difference in height in comparison to the Kirby cast. Once the Heroes made it up, the Kirby cast then proceeded to fly up to them, with Kirby and Dedede inflating themselves, Meta Knight turning his cape into wings (which caught the Heroes off guard but he later explained to them), and Bandana Waddle Dee rapidly squatting up, and at the top, the group noticed a small bush with a pair of cherries on it as Eight decided to pluck them out and eat them.
"Mmm! I feel… refreshed all of a sudden." he said.
"That's because all of the food in my world has healing properties!" Kirby replied. "If you're low on stamina, just scarf down a piece of food and you'll be back up and running in no time!"
"Is that so?!" Eight was surprised. "Oh wow, things about this world are already looking way more different than the Mushroom World…"
"No kidding." Solo agreed as they walked off some more, until they came across a cave.
"Oh, a cave!" Bandana Waddle Dee exclaimed. "I wonder what we'll find in there!" everyone then walked in.
[BGM: Rocky Area – Kirby's Return to Dream Land]
Immediately, the group came across a Hot Head upon entering the cave. "I got it!" Kirby said, readying his sword… only for Eleven to take the Hot Head down first with a Cutter Boomerang. "…Or not." Kirby playfully sweatdropped.
"So, anyone want to take that fire hat?" Eleven asked his comrades.
"I'll take it!" Arusu volunteered as he walked over to the Fire crown and first removed his circlet before putting it on. He basically changed into his Fire Flower form complete with the flaming sword, with the differences being that there was fire painted on the bottom of his mantle while its back depicted the Fire Ability's symbol in place of the Mark of Erdrick, his gloves and boots were dark red, and…his hair caught on fire, but he didn't notice that just yet. "Heh, sweet." he grinned, looking down at his burning sword before looking back at his comrades… who were all staring at him in shock. "…Why are you guys looking at me like that?"
"Um, don't freak out, but… Your hair is on fire!" Eight exclaimed.
"What?!" Arusu's eyes widened and looked up at his hair, seeing that it was indeed on fire. "Ack! What the hell?!"
"It's okay, it's okay! The flames are purely cosmetic!" Kirby assured. "There's nothing for you to worry about!"
Arusu stopped, and realized that the flames really weren't burning his head as he let out a small sigh of relief. Turning around and looking directly in front of him, he spotted a Cappy as the next enemy. "All right, let's test this power out!" Arusu said and put his hand out, expecting to shoot out fire from it… buuut nothing came out. "Uh…"
"Oh. I forgot to tell you… You see, my Fire Ability doesn't quite work exactly the same as Mar-Mar's Fire Flower like you're used to. For instance, instead of shooting fire from your hand, you shoot fire from your mouth."
"Oh… You mean like this, then?" Arusu then took a deep breath before blowing air out, as actual flames came out of his mouth by doing so and burned down the poor Cappy alive. "Heeey! How about that?" he grinned.
"And that's not the only thing the Fire Ability does! It also allows you to encase yourself in flames and basically turn into a living fireball!"
"Neat! I'll keep that in mind!"
"Seems like Kirby's powers are way more complex than Mario's Power-Ups, as far as I can tell." Solo noted as they walked down the cave, and soon came upon a key that Kirby picked up and carried it over to a Key Gate to open it up. It was then that they saw a floating gear encased in a sphere of energy right after they passed through the unlocked gate.
"What's that thing?" Bandana Waddle Dee wondered as Eleven went over to the gear, which was an Energy Sphere, and took it.
"Maybe we can ask Magolor about it once we find the oars." Eleven said and put the Energy Sphere away before they resumed walking, as they came across a few Puppet Waddle Dees on the way that were easily burned down by Arusu, and at the end, they climbed up a ladder to make it out of the cave.
[BGM End]
Back outside again, all the group had to do was walk a few steps ahead downhill for the next big surprise to appear in front of them: a Blade Knight sporting longer tassels on its helmet, paler colored armor, and a cutlass-shaped blade. Not to mention that it also had a glowing star on its head and a multicolored star-shaped aura surrounding it. That was a Super Blade Knight, so you all know what that means…
"Huh, that Blade Knight looks different…" Meta Knight mused. "And I'm sensing an incredible huge amount of power within it as well."
"Well, either way, you already know what to do, Kirby!" Bandana Waddle Dee said as Kirby nodded and discarded away his Sword Ability before running up to the Super Blade Knight and sucking it up… but instead of turning into regular Sword Kirby, he instead gained a longer floppy green cap with a star-shaped yellow pompom on the tip and extra blade-shaped designs on the brim with a glowing star in the middle of it. The sword he gained was also slightly different.
He had turned into Ultra Sword Kirby.
[BGM: Bring on the Super Ability! – Kirby's Return to Dream Land]
"Aw yeah, it's Ultra Sword time!" Kirby smirked.
Dedede's eyes widened. "Oh, snap! I forgot about this!"
"Whoa, Kirby! You look different!" Eleven exclaimed. "What kind of Ability is that?"
"It is known as Ultra Sword, a Super Ability that Kirby received for his new Final Smash in the fourth Smash Bros tournament." Meta Knight explained. "As for what it does… just see it for yourselves." he chuckled at the last sentence as the Loyal Bodyguards watched Kirby twirling his sword around like a badass in front of a clod of dirt… and in a flash of light, the sword suddenly grew bigger.
"WHAT THE CRAP?!" the Loyal Bodyguards yelled in complete shock as Kirby effortlessly swung his gigantic sword down in an arc, cleaving through the clod of dirt with ease.
"…I still get chills every time I see that in action…" Dedede shuddered.
The Loyal Bodyguards had their mouths hung open by what they just witnessed. "Holy… crap…" Solo gaped.
"…Just how powerful Kirby can get?!" Arusu questioned.
"You guys' universe doesn't have anything similar to that?" Bandana Waddle Dee asked.
"Nope…" Eight replied. "That's a first for us…"
"Your reactions are quite priceless." Meta Knight chuckled in amusement as they moved onwards, with Kirby making use of his Ultra Sword ability to cut his way through more clods of dirt and enemies and clear up the path for everyone. Then, after Kirby cut through a larger clod of dirt, something began opening up in the middle: a star-shaped interdimensional rift of sorts.
"Uh, what's that?" Eleven wondered.
"Dunno… Looks like some sort of dimensional rift or something." Dedede mused… and then the rift began creating a suction effect that pulled everyone towards it.
"It's sucking us in! Heeeeelp!" Bandana Waddle Dee cried out as they all held on to the ground as firmly as they could…
*Another Dimension Fanfare plays*
…but it was all in vain as they were sucked into the rift, with Kirby losing his Super Ability during it.
[BGM: Another Dimension – Kirby's Return to Dream Land]
When they all came to be, they found themselves standing in a strange monochrome realm. "Uh… where are we?" Kirby wondered as he and the others looked around.
"Uh, g-guys…?" Eight stuttered after he looked behind them, as the rest looked back as well… to see a purple wall of matter that was slowly eating away the very fabric of space as it advanced towards the group, making them pale up.
"No good! Run!" Dedede shouted and they all did so, jumping across some grassy platforms while minding the bottomless pits and defeating every Waddle Dee that was getting in their way.
"What the heck is going on?! What even is this place?!" Arusu questioned as they were running across another series of tight gaps on the floor and breaking through a blockade of Star Blocks.
"I have no idea!" Eleven replied, and after getting rid of a Puppet Waddle Dee, they eventually reached the end and exited through a door.
[BGM End]
Luckily for them, the area they were taken to had no purple wall chasing after them and so they all sighed in relief. "I think we somehow escaped it…" Solo sighed.
"Thank Nova for that…" Kirby chimed in. "Maybe we're safe now."
Unfortunately, just when they thought they were safe, a strange roaring sound came as they jolted in alarm and looked up to find out that the roar belonged to a purple winged creature with yellow angry eyes and serrated mouth descending viciously towards them.
The Sphere Doomer.
[BGM: Sphere Doomer – Kirby's Return to Dream Land]
"Wh-what IS that thing?!" Bandana Waddle Dee frantically asked, but he would receive no answer as the Sphere Doomer proceeded to charge at them, forcing them to dodge out of the way.
"Look alive!" Meta Knight said, readying his Galaxia Sword. "If it's a fight that thing wants, then so be it!" the others then got ready to fight as well.
The Sphere Doomer flew over to the background and charged at them from there, but they again dodged out of the way and proceeded to wail on it until it shrieked to force them away from it. It then next released several purple orb-shaped projectiles at them, but Eleven cut through those purple orbs with a Hyper Boomerang as Arusu came running and breathed fire while Bandana Waddle Dee threw spears at it before stepping back to allow his king deliver a Hammer Flip to it. Meta Knight went running in and slashed the Sphere Doomer repeatedly, followed by Kirby diving kicking it in the face to make it crash to the ground and then Solo and Eight performed a double Kazap attack, finishing it off.
[BGM End]
The Sphere Doomer shrieked in agony before exploding into not one, but two Energy Spheres. "Hey! It just turned into two of those gear thingies!" Bandana Waddle Dee exclaimed as Kirby took them, and then everyone watched as everything around them was now in color.
[BGM: Silence of Another Sky – Kirby's Return to Dream Land]
"Huh, everything's back in color now…" Meta Knight mused.
"That's the least of our concerns now. How do we get out of here?" Dedede asked.
Eight looked up ahead. "Look!" he pointed, as everyone followed to see another star-shaped rift a few feet away, only that this one was in a brighter color. "Do you think that might be the exit?"
"Only one way to find out." Eleven said as they ran over to the rift, and like last time, they were all sucked right into it.
[BGM End]
Thankfully for them, the rift took them back right where they left from. "Yay, we're back!" Kirby cheered as the rift closed.
"Well, that was definitely something else." Solo remarked.
"Now I'm starting to wonder what other weird surprises we're about to encounter as we continue our quest in here." Arusu stated as they walked some more until they reached a dense forest area, where they would find a ladder leading up to a long wooden bridge that stretched all the way up to the top of the trees, and so they proceeded to climb up the ladder.
Stage 1-2: Tall Wooden Boardwalks
[BGM: Through the Forest – Kirby's Return to Dream Land]
Soon after reaching the top of the wooden bridge, they would come across a new enemy – the Leafan – that was instantly defeated by them and the Leaf crown appeared.
"I think I'll take this." Solo said, picking it up and placing it on his head. Nothing has changed on him aside from having leaves circling around his blade while surrounded by wind. "Sooo, I have powers upon leaves or something…?" he wondered while looking down at his blade.
"Oooh, looks like we have a new Copy Ability!" Kirby chirped. "Judging by how it looks, I guess this one does grant you leaf-based powers of sorts, so I'll call it Leaf."
"Hmm…" Solo mused and looked up ahead, seeing a Como hanging down from the ceiling by its web. "I'll test it out on that enemy." he said and did a slash, as some of the leaves on his blade were launched out and swirled around, with one of them cutting through the web and instantly killing the Como as it fell down onto the floor. "Oh!"
"Cool! Those leaves are actually razor-sharp leaves that can work as a cutting tool!" Kirby exclaimed enthusiastically. "And considering that your sword is surrounded by leaves that are blowing in the wind, I believe there might be some attacks you can do that involve wind… but since this is the first time I'm seeing the Leaf Ability, I'm not really sure how you can perform those."
"It's fine. I'll find out by myself." Solo replied as they walked off, with Eleven and Solo defeating more Comos by cutting off their webs with their Copy Abilities and making them fall into the abyss.
"There's bottomless pits in this world too?" Eight asked, looking down at it apprehensively.
"Eh, they're not exactly bottomless unlike what the Mushroom World offers, although it is kinda hard to get out if you don't have flying capabilities like we do." Dedede replied.
"But luckily for you four, this world is kind enough to offer enough floating platforms over pits for those who can't fly over them." Meta Knight reassured.
"That's a relief, at least." Eleven said and they proceeded onwards, as they would later go down a set of steps and come across a Crackler item.
"Oh, hello!" Dedede exclaimed, the item having piqued his interest as he immediately went to pick it up, and it started repeatedly shooting out small cannonballs at an arc on its own, taking out any enemy that was hit by those. "Heh heh! I like this!" Dedede grinned.
"You go, your majesty!" Bandana Waddle Dee cheered as they walked off with Dedede in the lead, clearing out all the enemies and blocks on their path, as well as hitting a blue switch to make another bridge rise up, with the repeated cannon shots from the Crackler until they got to a point where they found some Metal Blocks above in a hidden cache in the ceiling, and so Dedede proceeded to destroy those with the cannonballs before Kirby floated up to take the Energy Sphere that was previously concealed by the Metal Blocks. After that, Dedede noticed that the Crackler was almost about to blow up… and with a smug grin, he threw the Crackler towards Kirby and it blew up on him.
"Yowch!" Kirby yelled as he dropped the Energy Sphere he just got in the process before Dedede ran over to snatch it. "Hey!"
"Now, now, who was the one who destroyed the blocks again?" Dedede asked with a teasing look.
"…Fine, I guess that's fair…" Kirby muttered and got back up, dusting himself off before they resumed walking, and next they found themselves inside a hollowed interior of a large tree trunk as they began scaling it by jumping on the platforms, and soon they came upon a Needlous enemy that was immediately sucked up by Kirby, allowing him to gain the Needle Ability. "Hello, Needle!" he exclaimed.
"Remind us to not get too close to you." Bandana Waddle Dee sweatdropped sheepishly as they resumed going up the tree and upon reaching the top, Meta Knight looked up at a canopy to see an Energy Sphere hiding within it and so he flew up to take it before he and the others progressed onwards… only for a Gigant Edge to suddenly pop up in front of them via a flash of light.
[BGM: Mid-Boss (Planet Popstar) – Kirby's Return to Dream Land]
"What the heck?!" Arusu exclaimed. "That thing came out of nowhere!"
"A Gigant Edge ambush!" Meta Knight said. "It won't let us pass until we take it down!"
Gigant Edge began walking slowly towards them as he was getting pelted by Kirby's Needle Burst and Solo's Leaf Rain, but he either didn't seem to care or shrugged them off before he pulled his sword back to slash down at the group, but clashed with Meta Knight's blade as they both struggled while the rest snuck from behind him to attack from behind. Gigant Edge soon noticed the blows he was receiving from behind and first swung his shield to send Meta Knight away from him before turning around and slamming the blade of his sword to the ground, creating a wave that traveled along the ground as it managed to hit Dedede and Bandana Waddle Dee and knock them to the ground, while Kirby and the Loyal Bodyguards dodged it.
Kirby would then go into his Rolling Needle form and roll towards Gigant Edge, but he rose his shield to block the attack before proceeding to charge at the Loyal Bodyguards with his sword pointed at them, but they jumped over him as Eleven did a Cutter Drop, hitting Gigant Edge on the forehead with a cutter blade that made him hunch over in pain… and then he got struck by four Metal Slashes at once from each Hero, which proved to be the mortal blow of the match as he exploded.
[Resume "Through the Forest" BGM]
"That takes care of it." Eleven said. "But where did that even came from? Are these 'ambushes' common in this world?"
"Yep." Dedede nodded. "Welcome to Popstar, where ambushes are frequently common." he snarked, causing Kirby to roll his eyes at said snarkiness.
"Oh, lovely…" Arusu said sarcastically before they walked over to an alcove, where Solo sent out more leaves in order to cut a rope through the wall, making a metal platform fall down and uncover an Energy Sphere that was taken by Bandana Waddle Dee. Additionally, he also found something else in there as well: some french fries and a cheeseburger.
"Ooooh!" Bandana Waddle Dee's mouth watered as he took both food items and fell down to where Dedede was. "Look, Great King! Some food for us to recover from that blow we received during the Gigant Edge fight!"
Dedede's face instantly brightened. "Oh ho ho! Now this is what I'm talking about!" he said as he took the cheeseburger to start eating it while Bandana Waddle Dee was eating the french fries, with both of them feeling their stamina slowly recovering as they ate.
"Wow, is it really that common to find food anywhere?" Solo asked.
"Most of the time, it is!" Kirby answered. "That way, not only we can recover stamina almost instantly, but we also never get hungry! Isn't it great?"
"It sure is!" Eight nodded, and at this point, Dedede and Bandana Waddle Dee finished eating and instantly collapsed to the ground in a sitting position, feeling stuffed.
[BGM End]
"Whew… I don't know about you guys, but I'm a bit bushed." Dedede said.
"Me too…" Bandana Waddle Dee threw in.
"Then let us take a short break." Meta Knight suggested. "We did walk quite a lot, after all."
Kirby and the Loyal Bodyguards nodded in agreement and thus they all sat down on the wooden bridge alongside Dedede and Bandana Waddle Dee in order to rest.
Little did they all know, that this adventure was just the beginning…
To be continued…
And there's the idea I've been teasing about in the beginning: the idea of other characters that are not from the Kirby universe being able to use Kirby's Copy Abilities in a similar vein to my idea of them using Mario's Power-Ups! Now you might be wondering: why did this idea of mine go into a long hiatus? Because after I came up with it (which was a long time ago, after I finished working on the Galaxy Heroes Saga), I realized that this idea wouldn't quite work due to the fact that Kirby must inhale enemies to gain Copy Abilities, and obviously no other character can do that. No matter how hard I tried, I just could not find a way to make it work, and at one point, I went all "Welp, do I keep trying to find a way to make it work or scrap it?". But I really wanted to do a Kirby story, only that the question still remained: how do I make other characters gain Kirby's Copy Abilities without having them eat the enemies? And because I thought that writing a Kirby story without this idea wouldn't really be complete, it was left on hiatus for a very long time, but I at least did not forget about it.
But just then, Kirby Star Allies came out... and that game happened to hold my most needed missing piece of the puzzle for my idea just for this single little bit featured in it: whenever you unfriend a regular Friend in your party or if you defeat a Mid-Boss without inhaling it, it would leave out the hat of the Copy Ability it provides, and Kirby can simply obtain the Ability by just touching the hat. As soon as I saw that, a lightbulb came to my head and I went "EUREKA! Now I know how I can make that idea work!". And with that, my idea was complete and I could finally write a Kirby story at last!
Now for one last thing I need to make clear: you just saw that Kirby was already familiar with the Ultra Sword Ability (and in addition, the other Super Abilities) despite RTDL being the game where it made its first appearance. Well, for this Saga, I made up a headcanon where the Ultra Sword is a creation from Master Hand by pouring some of his power to a regular Sword Ability, before giving it to Kirby for his new Final Smash (remember, the Jewel and Trifle Saga takes place after the fourth Smash Bros) after testing out all the Super Abilities that he also created. So basically, the existence of the Super enemies are merely just another way of Kirby getting Super Abilities from.
Originally, I was going to just include the first stage in this chapter, but after seeing the length of its progression that I wrote, I figured that I could put in the second level and be able to squeeze in the remaining three stages for the next chapter. So, how was the beginning? I hope you enjoyed it and look forward to more! See you next time!
Trivia for this chapter:
1. The name 'Bandee' was Bandana Waddle Dee's originally planned name, but it was scrapped due to the HAL Laboratory developers thinking players wouldn't be able to recognize who that was.
2. Dedede referring himself as the 'pinnacle of perfection' is a reference to one of his fighter hints in Super Smash Bros For 3DS/Wii U, stating that he can't copy his opponents' abilities after inhaling them because he's 'already perfect'.
3. Meta Knight's signature sword, Galaxia, originally didn't have a name until the anime Kirby: Right Back at Ya! gave it one. After that, the name Galaxia has since then been adopted to be the official name of Meta Knight's sword.
