Calm
Dark, gray clouds loomed off of the white sandy shores of Dream Land, slowly, but surely bringing its destruction along with it.
"This is going to be the worst storm we've ever had in ages. I urge you to find shelter as soon as possible. This is not a dri—"
The television screen turned off suddenly, leaving the only noise in the room to be Dedede's obnoxious laughter. "Those weather people are cuckoo. Did they even look out the window? It's sunnier than a sunflower out there!"
A snail slithered over to his side, looking especially worried. "Not necessarily, sire; hurricanes roll in rather quickly—ouch!"
His concerns were dismissed with a painful mallet to the face. Dedede growled at his servant, "That's nonsense, Escargon. Haven't you heard the sayin', 'as long as it's sunny, the world is all bright and funny'?"
"B—but that's not how it wor—ah!"
Escargon received another whack on the head, leaving him crumpled up in a pitiful heap on the floor, crushed underneath the weight of Dedede's mighty hammer.
Said penguin king returned to his spot on the throne, and impatiently slammed the buttons on the armrest. The monitor turned on again, but this time, it showed something different.
"Hey, Triple-D, how can I help you toda—"
"Quit your jabberin' and give me a monster to defeat Kirby right now!" demanded King Dedede.
The man on the screen only smirked at Dedede, making his blood boil with even more anger. "Sorry, D, but I can't offer you anything until you pay your bills..."
King Dedede punched the armrest, fuming. "I shouldn't have to pay for it!That annoying pink pest and that traitor Meta Knight beat the last one up like it was nothing! Do you want to lose a loyal customer?!"
The Customer Service representative dropped his smile after hearing that and resorted to desperation. "Uh—ah, that one was only made to handle one opponent at a time, so it can use its power to its greatest extent! But, if you want, I can offer you something that—"
"I don't care!" Dedede snapped, red and livid. "How many times to I have to say it?! I've had enough of Kirby! Send me your strongest Demon Beast now!"
"Did you say Kirby?"
The voice was deep, calm, and rough. A dark, thick-set figure pushed aside the man on the screen, make the Customer Service Rep scream. His sudden appearance drained the color from Dedede's face and sent Escargon cowering behind King Dedede's back. "You are familiar with Kirby, I presume?" it asked.
King Dedede frowned again, feeling frustration coming back to him at the mention of his rival. "Are ya kiddin' me?! That little pain in the neck has been pestering me and my servants for months! Eating my food and drawing on the walls… I can't take it anymore! He's disruptive!"
The silhouette on the screen seemed interested. "I see… You wouldn't happen to also know a Meta Knight, would you?"
"Don't even get me started on that traitor! He's sworn to protect me, but he always ends up helping Kirby instead!"
The shadow growled, and their eyes actually glowed—a dark, eerie red. "Those two… they have brought shame to my finest student!" They slammed their fist down on something, and, judging by the loud snap and horrified scream that followed, Dedede and Escargon could tell that they broke something important.
The Customer Service Man squeezed into the side of the monitor, pointing to the mysterious figure. "This is Kurai Eikyo, and he is the leader of our ninja division—"
"No time for pleasantries." Kurai shoved the man away again, rougher this time, earning a pained wail from him. Kurai didn't seem to care in the slightest as he pressed a few buttons on the console below him. "Tell me, penguin. Do you happen to know if the two Star Warriors are… close in any way?"
King Dedede was so furious at this point that he lunged out of his throne, shaking a fist at the monitor. "My name's King Deded—"
"Answer the question, dolt!"
Normally Dedede would berate him for insulting him with such name-calling, but he yelled it out in a way that made King Dedede's anger seem like nothing. It scared him out of his wits and he practically had to tear the answer from his throat. "I-I don't know… but I do see them hang out every once in a while, I guess?"
That was all the silhouette on the screen needed to hear, and he bellowed out a mischievous laugh that could rival that of the Customer Sevice Man's. He smashed another button on the control board and said, "We will start with the young one. We will make sure his death is well drawn-out, and exceptionally painful. Then we will make Meta Knight watch, helplessly, unable to do anything about it, before he faces the same fate!"
His laughter had reached a point of haunting, sickening even, sending chills throughout Dedede and Escargon.
"You sure you want to hire this man, your Majesty?"
Even Dedede looked like he was having second doubts about this, but the second his servant asked, he shook his head and denied it simply at the notion that he would be interpreted as a coward. "Of course I'm sure. As long as he can get rid of Kirby I'll be happy."
That's it. There was no turning back. Dedede was willing to pay whatever it took, so long as that pink pest was out of his hair for good.
The man walked onto a warp pad in the background, which sparked to life upon sensing his movements. King Dedede's throne room transformed to accommodate its own. Lightning shot out of the mechanism attached to the ceiling, buzzing and sparkling in its familiar dazzling light show as the download completed. Before long the man was standing there on the platform, appearing just as menacing as he did on the monitor. Kurai's face contorted into a sick, twisted grin as he stepped off the platform.
But the chilling effects of his sadist expression was nothing compared to that of the long, rattling hiss of the massive python that followed.
"Are you sure you'll be alright going home by yourself, Kirby?"
The puffball in question perked up at the sound of his name. He turned to see Fumu, who was looking at him worriedly. "I can take you, if you'd like. But if not, I guess it's okay. I just want you to stay safe…"
Kirby didn't say anything in response; instead, he gave Fumu a reassuring smile. It was the most he could do to assure her that everything would be alright. He had wanted to show her how much of a brave and responsible Star Warrior he was becoming for a long time, and he believed that getting home by himself could prove it. But Fumu, being the worrywart she was, couldn't help but feel conflicted about the idea.
"Well, okay. Promise me you'll stay safe, okay? Because I've heard that there's going to be a really bad storm later…" she said as she patted Kirby's head.
"C'mon, sis, Mom and Dad's gonna start freaking out if we don't get home soon," Bun said anxiously. "Plus, I think Kirby will be fine. He may just be a baby, but he's still a Star Warrior!"
Fumu sighed and looked at Kirby. "Ugh, I know… but I can't help but feel worried about him whenever he's alone. What if he gets lost on the way home? Whispy Woods can be confusing, especially when it starts to get dark."
"Kirby comes here all the time with Meta Knight. I think he knows this place better than us!" Bun pointed out.
"I know," Fumu started, pausing to pick up Kirby and gently hug the little puffball. "Please, please stay safe, Kirby. Because if you get caught in that storm later, I'll never be able to forgive myself…"
Kirby quietly cooed and wrapped his stubby arms around Fumu as much as he could to return the embrace. The two hugged in blissful silence for a minute before Bun spoke up and interrupted them. "Fumu, we should really go. Like, right now. I can already see some clouds rolling in," he said, calling his sister by her real name. Fumu knew well that her little brother rarely called her by her real name, only using it when he was dead serious. This time was no exception.
"Okay, I'm coming," she finally gave in, letting go of Kirby and walking over to her brother. "Bye Kirby, s—see you tomorrow," she said, the hesitance clear in her voice.
Kirby quietly watched his two best friends walk through the trees and into the slowly developing darkness; not taking his eyes off of their figures until they were only tiny colorful specks. With a determined sigh, he turned around and started walking down the path that would lead him home.
A/N: I'm sorry.
I am so, so sorry for leaving this idea up on my profile for more than a year, and not even bothering to finish it until now. I'm sorry for getting the hopes up of people who wanted me to post it for so long. Real life has been tough. That's all I can say.
But yes, have some new, overdue Kirby content from me; I know, it's another anime story, but this thing has been cooking on the backburner for too long, may as well post it while I figure out the ending. \o/
Thanks for reading!
AO3 link: archiveofourown .org/works/15200591/chapters/35254328
k-sei-bellissima . tumblr .com
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