Kirby wasn't at his house, furthermore the sword I told him to use was still here. He neglected the need to arm himself when going to somewhere potentially dangerous, for all I knew, he could be dead. I set a quick pace towards where Kirby was last seen, then followed the direction to a long dead fire, there were singed items and ashes everywhere, strewn about like a hurricane came through. I saw one, singular footprint heading away from the remains. I dashed off faster now, looking for any evidence, something to locate Kirby.
Hope. Hope is what we need. It had been a long time since something good came up, anything better than trudging through darkness on a hungry stomach. Something good happened, something nice, a needle of light was seeping through a wall. Hope is what we have.
"Look!" I shouted behind me. "Light!" I was filled with excitement.
"Say again?"
"We found our way out of here!" I grabbed a rock and hit where the light was peering through, causing small parts of the wall to shift. The wall was a mixture of dirt and stone, making it easy to bash down with enough patience. Kirby soon joined in, and we were on our way to making an exit!
We kept hitting the wall with the stones we felt on the ground, but we didn't need to any longer, a hole large enough to stick a hand through became huge, as a golden sword tore through it, from the other side. We stepped back and watched as a masked figure stepped through the hole.
"Meta Knight!"
"Kirby? I thought I told you to take a weapon with you."
"You did... I forgot. Sorry poyo."
"Don't make another mistake like this, you could've died!"
I spoke up. "Where are we?"
"Four thousand paces from the remains of a camp, which is even further from the castle by about six thousand paces."
"So... far away?"
"Yes. We'll need to start moving if we want to get to the castle before the sun sets." Kirby and Meta Knight were the first to leave, followed by me, lagging a small distance behind.
Meta Knight started to lecture Kirby on the importance of always arming yourself and being prepared for a fight. I proceeded to drop out of earshot, the leaves rustling with each breeze passing, the smell of some flowers passing by was my company.
...
The castle wasn't within view by the time we decided to stop for the night. Kirby and I were sitting next to each other, I was hungry and fatigued, Kirby most likely was too. Berries didn't help much, and I ended up dozing off with an empty stomach.
"Hey look, an exit."
"An exit."
"What should we do?"
"See what's out there, genius."
"Oh thanks, compliment gladly accepted."
"Rock, Paper, Scissors!"
"I win~"
"Fine. Don't do anything stupid."
"I should be telling that to you, as you only seem to think about killing and maiming. You need a more tactful approach to it!"
"Tactical murdering."
"A slice of death."
"...Shut up and get on with this."
"Okay, Okay. Calm down. I need to focus."
"The sooner we're out of this place, the better."
"We're?"
"Yes..?"
"I assume that means you won't be telling me what my brain is hiding from me then."
...
"That's fine."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll find it out myself, by force if I have to."
"...You're going to hurt yourself."
"Until I get the information I want!"
Kirby sat awake in a circular light, darkness all around. He tried to get up, but couldn't. His legs numb, yet stiff as a rock. He tried to call out, but was only met with pain, lungs burning. He tried to breathe in, only for it to be sucked out instead, like he was in water, but it didn't fill his lungs, it only sucked air out, like he was in space. He called out desperately with his mind, the only thing he could do at the moment. To his surprise, something did help him, it pulled him back to somewhere he could breathe. Kirby tried to turn to the one who helped him, but couldn't. Kirby started to struggle, in a vain attempt to turn behind him. It started to leave.
"No... come back?" Kirby felt something else bump into him, and then it moved to the same direction the thing was. Another thing joined, in the same place. Kirby managed to start to turn now, but he didn't get far before everything was gone, and he started to fall, but not for long. The thing from before had slowed his descent, and Kirby hit the ground softly. He tried to turn to speak to it, but was woken up.
"We need to start moving."
"He's waking up!"
"Good."
Kirby stumbled to his feet, and then started running after Dee and Meta Knight. It hurt, but he knew that it would be worth it, he would be able to sleep in his house.
"Kirby... you're going to hit a tree!"
"Poyo?" He wasn't paying attention and did, in fact, hit a tree. He soon steadied himself and started walking again.
"Are we almost there?"
"No."
"How far then?"
"Can you see the castle?"
"No?"
"Exactly." He turned to Kirby. "There's been some trouble while you were gone. The Star Rod has been broken once again."
"Why?" Meta Knight went silent for the rest of the journey, until the end.
"They want power."
"Then they would just take the Star Rod, not shatter it..."
"From... Nightmare?"
"Power from Nightmare. I defeated him."
"It doesn't matter! What's important is that the star rod has been broken!"
"I'm going to eat first..."
"Fine. Find the Star Rod pieces after." Kirby nodded and headed to his house. Kirby had an idea of what to have... but didn't need to, as there was a cake with a tag on it that read "To the hero of dreamland, Kirby!" Kirby decided to take a bite... and it was warm! It was... strawberry flavored. Kirby looked at the tag, searching for a name... but it was all worn. The tag was old, and the writing was familiar. The plate it was on was a gift Kirby received, and still had a tag stuck to it, from when he first got it, but the text was far from legible, all but one. All of this pointed to Marx busting in his house with a cake... but he was still in the cave. It must have been some weird coincidence. Some weird coincidence that someone happened to bust into his house, make a cake, use a unique plate, attach a tag, and also have Kirby arrive minutes after.
Kirby looked in his house, around his house, in every cupboard and even under his bed. There was no sign of Marx, other than the cake. Why? If Marx had been in here, why was there no evidence? It didn't matter, not now. The star rod is more important, just as Meta Knight said.
Most of the adventure went without a hitch, the Star Rod pieces not being guarded by anything. The only problem was finding them. It took two weeks- only one star rod piece remained. It took another two weeks before Kirby was forced to give up. He took the pieces to the Dream Spring, and up to the Dream Fountain. The piece was just waiting on the fountain. Kirby assembled the Star Rod and placed it on the fountain and turned to go home. It was late and Kirby didn't even know who the culprit was this time. At least the month gave him time to heal... and winter to come.
...
Kirby had pleasant dreams, as expected. He had a cap on, and it had a note on it. The one from the cave. "Forget this? Anyways, ask a question into it."
"Did you make the cake?"
There was a crackling sound, "Yes, did you like it?"
"Where are you?"
"The restaurant."
"H-how?"
"No soul here knows who I am!"
"How are you doing this... talking?"
"Simple technology." Kirby was now walking towards a restaurant, hat on his head. He looked through the window, scanning. The day was late, soon time for Kirby to return to sleep. He accidentally slept through it.
"I don't see you."
"Aw, don't recognize your dear friend Nodds?" Kirby scanned once again, now having a description to go off. It didn't take long to find him, as he was practically burning a hole through Kirby.
Ding-ding!
Kirby waved to everyone as he took a seat.
"How did you get out?"
"Same way you did."
"May I take your order?" A Waddle Dee walked over to them.
"Two sodas."
"Is that all?"
"Yep." It walked away, and Marx turned to face Kirby again, and spoke in a hushed tone. "Keep it casual." Kirby swore he heard another voice, but brushed it off.
"What's your name?"
"Nodds! Nice to meet you."
"Kirby! You're a Noddy?"
"You could say that."
"I thought they slept all the time?"
"They do! I was just having some trouble sleeping. Want to be friends?"
"Everyone is my friend! Of course!"
"Glad to hear! I have to be going now, I'll see you again, right?"
Ding-ding!
"Here's your soda..?"
"Left early, he said I could have!"
"Okay."
Kirby started to drink the soda as he walked back home, he slept through the day on accident and didn't plan on doing anything during the night. He sat the extra soda in the fridge and got in bed, near the edge.
I woke up early, and had a small breakfast before going outside. The door didn't budge. It was so cold... I punched the door with all my might, and promptly rebounded onto the floor. I let out an involuntary "Ahh..." before getting up. I looked around for something to help me escape my house, the chimney! I looked at the fireplace, and then up it, iced. "No problem." I thought, and looked around for something to light the fireplace. Matches would work, wouldn't they? I searched for matches, high and low before realizing I took my last pack on the adventure and lost them. I turned to face the bed, hoping for something to be under the pillow, and got more than I bargained for, one match no one would want to light.
"Hey, hey, hey! You found me!"
"M-Marx!?"
"That's me!"
"Why are you in my house?"
"Don't want me here?" Marx jumped up and hit me with his hat, he was wearing his 'normal' clothes, instead of his disguise.
"I-I guess it's okay?" Marx tugged at the door, and snapped the doorknob off. He spit it out and tilted his head, hat following every motion. "We're trapped in here... Poyo."
"We're trapped?"
"I'm trapped."
"No-one's trapped, as long as you promise to get me a replacement ball."
I lightened up a bit, it couldn't be that hard to get a ball, right? "I... Yeah! I can do that."
"Hehehehe! That's the attitude! Sorry for the damage!" Marx shot forwards, and a blinding light made me cover my eyes, as closing them simply wasn't enough. By the time I opened my eyes again Marx was laughing on the spot, in front of what I assumed to be the rest of the door frame and surrounding wall. Whatever Marx did was angled upwards, as the shot had burned a hole through a nearby tree. The brightness irritated my eyes and made me start crying.
A second voice kept laughing while he talked. "Oopsies, might've attracted a crowd!" Surely Marx didn't mean to do this much damage?
There were murmurs and gasps as said crowd grew closer. I was left in the remains of half my house, holding something black between my arms, it had a strange string going into it... A bomb. Marx hid behind the fridge as the crowd came closer.
Marx whispered, "Pretend like you accidentally blew up your house." I didn't like lying to people... but trying to explain the truth would be harder.
I looked down, and dropped the bomb, wiping away tears. "House!" I fell over and started sobbing.
"Are you alright Kirby?"
"Where can I get explosives like that!?"
"We can fix your house in no time!" Others gave reassuring statements, I only nodded.
With the hole in my house the heat flowed freely- and I quickly lost warmth. The only thing heating me now was the hat.
"I'll be fine! With your help I'll be sleeping in no time!" The crowd cheered and started to look for supplies to build my house. Marx had managed to sneak and change outfits, and walked out with a drowsy look on his face.
"Oooh Kirby... What was that noise?"
"My house blew up..."
"Your house..." He opened his eyes and had a shocked expression that seemed too realistic. "What was that last part?"
"It blew up." I held Marx against me as the people worked. Marx was crying, and started to lean against me.
"Your house blew up?" I acted out a hug.
"Your friend going to be okay?"
"I'll be okay..."
We started to walk down a path, slowly dropping the act. Marx was mumbling something to himself, I tried to listen in, and failed. "Marx?"
"What do you want?"
"What are you saying?"
"It's a secret."
"F-friends don't keep secrets from friends!"
"Hmmm... Friends don't keep secrets from friends..?" Marx looked towards the castle. "If you insist."
"What do you mean you want a room!?"
"Sorry sir..." Marx had tears in his eyes. "I have nowhere to stay..."
"What about your parents?" Marx sank low to the ground and started sobbing. It became obvious this had pulled Dedede out of his upright demeanor.
"I-I can even help out... Please..."
"No- just... I'm sorry... It's the first one from the stairs, on the right." Dedede shifted in his seat. "I don't care if Kirby joins you."
"Thank you..." Marx dragged his feet to the room, Kirby not far behind.
Dedede spoke up once again. "The food is on the house!"
The room was mostly normal looking- a bed, window and dresser. A single lamp was in the corner.
"Midnight." Kirby turned to Marx.
"Huh?"
"Friends don't keep secrets from friends, right? So I won't hold back."
"N-no you don't-"
"You said so yourself~! You have any secrets?"
"N-no!"
"Kirby, Kirby, Kirby."
"I don't!"
"Aw, breaking friendship so quickly? It was just getting fun!"
"We can... Talk about our secrets at midnight! Just as you said!" Marx leered at Kirby.
"Is that really your best idea?"
"...Why am I even doing this?"
"What?"
"I just lied to half the people here, faked my feelings and haven't told anyone about you... Why am I even trying to become friends with you again!?"
"Is that how you really feel?"
"Yes." Marx put on his original clothing and looked out the window, wings hanging limply at his sides.
"I was... going to try and become your friend actually. I see now that it's impossible."
"You were?"
"It was going to go back to normal."
"What do you mean?"
"I was sorry for ruining our friendship in such a big way. I just wanted to go back to when I could juggle knives and no-one would bat an eye."
"I didn't even think you had that in mind."
"Only destruction... Right? After you saw what I did to your house?"
Kirby nodded.
"I won't bother you any longer. Maybe we could be friends later."
Knock, knock, knock. Kirby turned to Marx. "Hide?"
"Who cares." Kirby opened the door. It was Meta Knight. "Hey, hey! It's blue Kirby!" Meta Knight drew his sword.
"What are you doing here!? Explain yourself!"
"Hmm... Nah."
"What?"
"I don't feel like it."
"Then fight me!"
"Blueberry, as brave and courageous as you are, you're too quick to assume. I don't want to fight you. I was saying goodbye, but you just had to interrupt."
"No! You should rot in a cell for what you did!"
"Well, Kirby... have a nice day! Au revoir! Adios! Adieu, and goodbye!" With that, Marx smashed out the window and started flying upwards. "Give triple D my regards!" Meta Knight used Galaxia to shoot sword beams up at Marx, being so far away made it very easy to dodge. Kirby just looked upwards, watching Marx fly higher and higher until he was no more than a speck. Meta Knight ran off without a word. Kirby ran out to the dining hall.
"Dedede!"
"Oh, Kirby! Where's your friend? The meal is ready."
"He left?"
"Kirby... Don't lie to me! What happened?"
"He jumped out the window."
"Oh really?"
"Come look."
...
"How could a fella like him do that?"
"Because... Maybe the 'fella' you were looking at was an act?"
"Kirby?"
"He was maybe...?"
"Kirby."
"Good at acting?"
"You're sayin' that was a villain? It looked as harmless as a Waddle Dee with a spear!" Dedede let out a hearty laugh, before realizing Kirby wasn't also laughing. "You're pulling my leg, right?"
"When you stole all the food in dreamland, around that time." Dedede rubbed his chin, eyes closed. "The sun and moon?"
"They fought! Then you went off and did who knows what and came back down looking all battered."
"The red and blue hat person."
"Huh? Oh, that was him? What was his name?"
"Marx."
"Why's he bein' so secretive though? I don't get it."
"He's the reason the sun and moon fought."
"You fixed it though, forgive and forget?"
"I fought him."
"He doesn't sound so different than me, or Meta Knight. Meta Knight tried to take over dreamland, and I stole all the food in it!"
"But..."
"I want to meet this Marx again, he doesn't sound too bad."
"I have this hat, it sends sounds."
"Like a radio? I have my hands free tonight, just give me the hat."
"Alright..."
"It's settled then! I'm gonna meet this Marx fellow!"
...
"Can't let this food go to waste though."
"You're being oddly kind today!"
"It's been going my way."
...
"Kirby, wake up." Yawning, Kirby sat up to the large penguin himself, Dedede.
"Hi Dedede... How's it going?"
"It's time."
"Huh? Oh... I don't think he'd be too happy to see me."
"Hello? Weren't you his friend?"
"Disagreement? You talk."
"Hello?"
...
"Kirby do something and make this work!" Dedede smacked the hat, causing a static sound. Then a voice came through, wind blowing hard in the background.
"Moonlight by the window-side~ The glass makes shines where ever it goes, gleaming like the sunlight, clashing with the night sky!"
"Is that Marx?" Kirby nodded.
"Hey? Where are you?"
"Space-ward is my way, dancing across the clouds"
"I wanna talk with ya, come on to my castle!"
"I'll consider it... Is sir blueberry with you?"
"Meta Knight? He's been on a joyride on his battleship all day and night."
"Oh I've seen it. Just give me a day, midnight tomorrow?"
The day sped by, Kirby's house nearing full completion. Dedede sat impatiently on his throne, he lost the hat somewhere in the castle. Meta Knight patrolled the sky with his battleship, the Halberd. The winter snow piled up quick, and people were assigned jobs of clearing paths. When it finally was close to midnight Dedede went to the room.
Dedede decided to play card games to pass the time, and he got fully involved, a Waddle Dee came and went with hot drinks. Dedede didn't even notice lights come and go. The only thing that pulled him out of the game was the sound of glass being crushed. Marx looked around before staring at Dedede.
"You're Marx?" He nodded. "Kirby told some things."
Marx spoke softly. "Oh, did he? Like what?"
Dedede twiddled his thumbs. "Things not to do."
Marx giggled, and then jumped to the floor, where Dedede was sitting. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Since you're back... I was wondering if you would like to have a job?"
"A job?"
"You could do tricks or something."
"...A Jester?"
"You dress up as one?"
"...I'll consider it. Why are you acting so positively towards me?"
"You've only made the sun and moon fight! It's been a long time since that. I as a fellow villain understand!"
"Only?"
"You've fought Kirby, just as I had?"
"I also lost twice to him."
"That's not a big deal! I've lost many times to Kirby!"
"Haven't lost as hard as me then."
"Hm?"
"I'll take the job... I have something to do first."
"Glad to hear!"
Marx jumped back onto the window. "I'll see you around then. Don't tell anybody about me."
"You gonna fly off or somethin'?"
Marx turned around to face Dedede. "In a way!" Then jumped backwards out the window. Dedede rushed towards the window and looked down. The room was elevated high off the ground, if he hit the ground it would've almost certainly would've killed him. "Dedede! Close your mouth before something flies down it!" Marx landed on the tree just below the window.
Dedede, mostly in shock, shouted out "Are you suicidal!?"
"Hehehe... Maybe!"
"You can't perform whilst you're dead!"
"Aw, did I worry you?"
"N-no! I just didn't want to have to get you to a medical room!"
"Thanks." Marx fell through the branches, eventually disappearing from Dedede's sight. He bounced from branch to branch, until he reached the bottom and looked back up to Dedede, who was chewing on his glove. "Hey! I'm sure the snow would've made a soft cushion!" He looked towards where Marx was talking, a silhouette just barely visible.
"Don't get yourself killed before you come back here!"
"I've been around this long haven't I?" Dedede grabbed a box of cards out of frustration and threw it at Marx. "Cards? Maybe tomorrow Dedede! Shouldn't you get sleep? To, you know, do kingly things?" Dedede stepped back from the window, feeling very tired. Yawning, he was half way to his bedroom, until he bumped into a Waddle Dee.
"S-sorry sir."
"Still up, huh?"
"Trouble sleeping."
"Why don't you take a walk and fetch some apples?"
"Why... That's a great idea! I'll be right on it!"
"Yeah... I am pretty great, ain't I? Don't take too long..." Dedede snapped his fingers, waiting for a name. "Dee?" Dee clapped his hands.
"Good night King!" Dee grabbed a basket and made his way out the castle doors. "A night stroll... should be relaxing!"
...
The trees went by, branches rustling in the wind. The occasional Waddle Doo could be seen sleeping behind rocks. The snow crunched with every step he took, footprints trailing behind. He finally walked up to a shack, and went inside. He flipped a switch next to the door, but no light came on.
A chilling voice directed him instead. "Take three steps forwards, not one back." Dee was hesitant to follow it's instructions, but decided it would probably be better to try to get an apple. Tip, tap, tap. "Now, five steps left and then four forwards." Tap, tap, tap, tip, tap. Squeeak. The voice was close now. "Just hold out your basket, don't blow a gasket." Something landed in the basket one after the other, each with 'plops'. Dee waited for further instruction, but none came. The door was still open, so the light from outside could guide him back. There were several apples in Dee's basket.
"Thank you!"
"I could've done better, need a sweater?" Dee held the door open, waiting for it to come out. It didn't, so Dee closed the door and started to head back to the castle, following the faint footsteps in the snow. The footsteps started to fade fast, as it started to snow. The basket creaked and groaned under the weight of the apples. A hard gust slid Dee off the path, and into the shadows, the trees sheltering against any moonlight. The gust kept blowing, and Dee was forced to drop to the ground, otherwise he might blow off too deep into the dark.
It eventually died, and Dee got up to return to the path.
SNAP! Thunk... Thunk. The basket's handle snapped, the bottom rolling the apples out onto the frosty floor.
"Just wait on the path, I can get the apples."
"You followed me?" Dee sat in the snow and played with it. A tiny snow house was made before a reddish thing extended out of the darkness with the basket and apples hanging off it. Whatever creature it belonged to, Dee didn't know. Dee heard some chatter.
"Remember, no killing, not yet. I know that."
Dee took the now repaired basket and backed up a bit. It slithered back into the darkness. "I'll be going now."
Dee picked up the pace, hoping not to get blown back into the darkness again.
"Orange and fuzzy, sleeping peacefully in the night, blissfully unaware of how much danger it is in. The moon dances across the sky, breezes flowing by. Being alone this late, are you full of hate? At least you have moonlight, some hope might come in on the stars tonight?" Our voices united, speaking as one.
"What is that..?"
"It's us, can't you see?" The Waddle Doo tried to jump back, but hit the rocky outcrop it was sleeping near. "Why are you in fright? Not used to seeing creatures in the night?"
"Your voice is just..."
"Oh it's frightening you? Let me enlighten you, our speaking voice is worse."
"I want to hear it?"
The voices divided. "Here it is."
The Waddle Doo rubbed its hands together. "T-the sing-song one please..." We stepped closer. "N-no stay back!" Don't kill him.
"Little Waddle Doo, are you scared? Do you care?"
"I-I'm warning you! I'll shoot!"
"Backed in a corner, scared stiff. The distance becomes shorter, your beam will whiff." It shot a beam at us, and as predicted, missed. It quickly realized it's mistake.
"I'm sorry! Please leave me alone!" Don't murder him!
"Sorry? Quite the cowardly thing to try and lie your way out of here." One of the wings shot out and grabbed him, the other slowly descending towards his eye. Stop it.
"No! STOP!" The claws stopped mere hair-lengths away from his eye. "Please tell me this is a joke?" No, don't kill him.
"Not a joke, try not to choke." The claw pulled back, and then forwards again, ripping right into it's eye and exposing what was once inside. It cried out in pain, but only for a moment, as it went quiet after a few moments. You're a disappointment. The blood getting on the wing wasn't a big change from the reddish color it already had. The other wing let go of the Waddle Doo. It can't run when it's out like a light. Both claws dug into it's flesh, exposing bones, nerves and veins as they clawed. The blood covered us entirely, the wall and snow getting a nice coat too. So much evidence. The flesh ripped apart. The vibrations as it ripped felt good. The bones snapped with satisfying cracks. The lungs were now on full display, soon the stomach, kidneys and the other fun squishy bits were too. We admired the body now laid before us, looking nothing like the Waddle Doo it used to be. It's chest was bust open, organs looking wonderfully cold. A sniff- it was almost disgustingly wonderful. One of the claws sliced up the organs with a 'shlick', causing the smell to intensify. The other grabbed some intestines and twirled the tube around and through the claws. A couple bites were enough to get the flavor. It was delightful! We couldn't help ourselves as the wings picked up more of the remains. It was squishy, chewing took extra long, if not the flavor would have made us slow down. You're fucking disgusting.
After filling up, we turned and started to leave. We looked up, the Halberd visible against the stars. We sat under a tree and started licking the blood. Our long tongue made it easy to reach almost anywhere on us, no blood could escape. The claws against our tongue made it feel wonderful, but we knew not to press to hard. The blood was gone by the time we got up again. A familiar feeling came over me, the feeling of control being lost. That was okay, I enjoyed myself.
"You're not going on a joyride ever again."
"Sorry?"
"I'm trying to get back into normal living, but I can't if you go around killing things without a care!"
"I couldn't resist the temptations."
"Tell me, why do you keep the details from me?"
Kirby woke up, in his house. He remembered seeing it be completed before he went to sleep. It was warm and friendly, a contrast to the cold and unwelcoming snow. He put on a scarf and mittens before bouncing towards the door. Kirby pushed and the door budged a little. A few more shoves pushed the door wide enough for Kirby to get through. He had a list of where to go in his mind. First up, the castle.
...
"Dedede?" Dedede was face down on the side of his throne, snoring loudly. Kirby shook Dedede in a vain attempt to wake him. It didn't work, so Kirby went to the next place, the kitchen.
Kirby looked through the various storage sectors before deciding on a sandwich. Surely Dedede wouldn't notice? Kirby didn't even need to make one, as there was one on a counter nearby. He recognized most of the ingredients, tomato, lettuce and such. He took a bite out of the sandwich, and felt his mouth start to sting. His eyes watered as he looked at the sandwich once again. It wasn't tomato, it was hot pepper. Kirby rushed out, desperate to find a sink.
Whisssshh
Kirby started to drink out of the sink, but stopped when his mouth started to burn even harder. He slapped himself for not thinking of what he needed to drink. A Waddle Dee was walking by with a cup of milk, and Kirby leapt towards it, palms outstretched. The Waddle Dee didn't see him coming and got bumped into the wall, cup falling. Luckily for Kirby, he snatched it out of mid-air and gulped it down. The Waddle Dee rubbed it's head and started to regain it's balance.
"S-sorry poyo." Kirby made sure the Waddle Dee was fine before he ran off to his next destination, a store.
...
The store was rather large, and took a while to navigate. He turned a corner and found clothes, the next corner was tools. It was like a maze to him, each aisle having something different, and that led into another aisle. Kirby was about to give up and try to find a smaller store, but he saw something catch his eye. A beach ball. He ran over and found hundreds of them, all different. He searched through the balls one by one, inspecting closely. He knew it had to be perfect. It was an hour of searching before Kirby was interrupted.
"Can I help you Kirby?"
"Ball!"
"Oh a ball? Which one?" Kirby looked at each ball, finding no luck.
"Special."
"Could you describe it?"
"Uhh... Yellow... Blue, red and white?"
"Pattern?"
"Striped."
"How big?" Kirby thought of what he could use as a reference... Himself!
"Slightly bigger than me, poyo."
"Okay. Anything else?"
"No. Thanks!"
"No problem. Given it's you, we should have it by tomorrow." Kirby waved goodbye and walked out.
Dedede started to wake, falling face first off his throne. He looked around for the nearest subject, a parasol Waddle Dee. It was wearing a flag attached by a band around it's wrist, a symbol of being a new recruit.
"Hey you!"
"What is it, your majesty?"
"I need you to deliver a message!"
"O-okay! What is it?"
"There's a jester lookin' guy running around, tell him to come to me."
"Oh, uh, can do!"
"I don't know where he is... So good luck!" Dedede laughed slightly.
"I won't fail!" He made his way out, and sharply turned the corner. A little too sharply, and fell down the stairs. "...Won't fail!" He jumped out the doors of the castle and looked around. He spotted Kirby not far ahead of him.
"Kirby!"
"Poyo?
"Have you seen someone dressed like a jester recently?"
"No."
"Oh. Alright." I ran off towards a grouping of people. "Hey! Have any of you seen a guy dressed up as a jester?" There was a chorus of "No." He looked around once more, spotting something in the trees. Maybe it would know something about it? He ran towards it, trees being farther away than they looked. He froze as he heard voices from the tree.
"...I told you I would do it if you didn't tell me..."
"...Fine! Just stop it."
"Hey! Have you seen a jester around here?" I noticed some blood coming down from the tree, just seeping from the top. Some wood chips also fell down.
"And if I did?"
"I-I have a message for him?"
"Let's hear it."
"Oh... Uh, King Dedede wants him to go to the castle!"
"Move to the left." I did, and something jumped from the top of the tree. I turned around to it. It wore a jester hat, like Dedede said. It was wearing a wooden mask as well. The mask had two eye holes, nothing else. It covered most of it's face. Blood stained half the mask, with some seeping out underneath.
"Do you need... uh..."
"No. Just lead me to the castle. Avoid the town and any people."
"Uh, alright. This way." He distanced himself before heading to the castle. Why does King Dedede want him? A gust blew the mini-flag off his wrist, and the Jester jumped at it, intent on catching the flag. The mask, being untied, fell off as soon as he jumped. It hit the ground softly, the snow crunching under its weight. He spun on a heel away from the Waddle Dee, the flag just sticking out in view.
"Take it." He stuck out his hand to grab the flag, from where he was standing. He didn't want to see what caused such amounts of blood. The Jester might also be mad if he saw his face, as he was wearing a mask.
"Do you want m-"
"No. Just look away." With flag in hand, he turned to the castle. He slipped the flag back into it's spot. "Right, go." He turned back, the mask once again on his face.
"What should I call you?"
"Masky." They started walking towards the castle again. The blood started to trail in the snow.
"Alright, Masky?"
"I said that as a joke."
"Oh. Why are you bleeding, anyways?"
"Oh, it's not important."
"What was the other voice?"
"Practising."
"Oh."
"Why does the King want me anyways?"
"He didn't tell me."
"Guess I'll find out soon." They entered the castle, and started up the stairs. As soon as they set foot in the throne room Dedede dismissed the Waddle Dee, along with everyone else inside the room.
"What happened?"
"Nothing important. Why'd you call me?"
"I was wondering if you could perform something."
"I'm missing something, but alright." He backed up and then jumped forwards. "Hey, hey. What's with Kirby? He seems to have stopped sucking!" It took a while for Dedede to get it but clapped when he did.
"Hey, that was pretty good."
"Alright, was the real reason you called me?"
"To talk about you. You're being too secretive." He walked up closer to Dedede so the conversation could be quieter.
"Okay." Dedede reached forwards to take off the mask. "What do you think you're doing?"
"It'll be easier for you to talk with the mask off."
"Fine." Dedede lifted the mask off, and gagged a little. His face was shredded. Dedede immediately put the mask back on. "What's the problem?"
"That doesn't bother you!?"
"...No? Should it?"
"Were you being serious about bein' suicidal?"
"No. It's just I've survived worse."
"O-oh, uh, like what?"
"There was a time where I juggled knives."
Dedede's mouth hung agape. "W-what did you just say?"
"I juggled knives. On my feet. A crowd watched as I told jokes and slowly passed out from blood loss." Dedede's jaw threatened to fall off his face. "Then something else happened, causing me to lose more blood. Your Waddle Dees found me soon after."
"...Yeah?"
"Technically I've been worse."
"What do you mean?"
"Why are you so curious?"
"If I'm going to be around someone, I might as well know 'em a little bit."
"Talking about their death isn't the best way to do that."
"I know talking about the- WHAT?!"
"Yeah I died, twice. I might've died once and then been close to death, but it doesn't matter, I felt dead."
"How?"
"Kirby."
"...Kirby?"
"Yeah. If I were to be diagnosed, I would be declared dead by #1 explosion and #2 vertical bisection."
"That's... How're you alive?"
"Some secrets have to remain hidden."
"Anything else I should... Know?"
"Nah, I told you enough for now."
"No, you didn't?"
"Aw, tell him about me!"
"What was that?"
"Nothing, you're just imagining things."
"Be honest."
"Maybe later."
"No, now!"
"No." He turned and went up to the room again. Dedede stubbornly followed.
"Why are we here again?"
"Do you want to play cards?"
Dedede huffed. "Fine." Marx slid a box out of his hat. Dedede took the cards out and started to shuffle them.
"What game?"
"Crazy eights." Dedede dealt the cards and flipped the top one. Seven of clubs. Dedede was about to slap himself for not realizing an important fact about cards, that you needed arms to play. He didn't expect a seven of spades to be placed. Dedede looked up from the cards to Marx, who was looking at the cards.
"How'd you do that?"
"It's your turn." Dedede placed a six of spades and then looked back up to Marx. He kicked a card on the right, which landed, a nine of spades. Dedede drew a nine of hearts and played it. "When do you think the snow is going to stop?" Dedede looked out the window.
"It hasn't snowed this much in a long time... I don't know." Dedede looked back to the cards, a two of hearts. Dedede looked up to Marx, the mask now having rather big slashes on it. He decided to ignore it and picked up two cards. If you asked Dedede, the game went normally. It of course, didn't. Unbeknownst to Dedede, Marx was swapping cards like it was how you normally played.
"Hey, I won."
"What's with the mask? It looks like it's about to explode-" The mask shattered into pieces. "-into tiny shards."
"Don't know, just felt like wearing it."
"Marx, could you help with the snow? The townsfolk can't keep up with it."
"Oh, I'm sure they would be glad to see me around, especially Meta Knight. Blueberry wants me to rot in a cell. I'll do it, just keep Meta off my back."
"Alright? The town will just have to suck it up. Having another helper will help keep the snow from locking everybody inside."
"Let's go then."
...
They stood on a small hill, the citizens crowding around. Marx stood behind Dedede.
"I have found a new helper to deliver messages! You may not like him, but deal with it for now!" He stepped out from behind Dedede, and was met with a few stares. What happened to him wasn't really well known, only that he was the one who made the sun and moon fight that one time. He started to move towards the crowd, curious how they would react. Most backed off for one reason or another. A Waddle Doo didn't, so Marx walked right up to him.
"Hey, hey, hey! Mr. Eyeball, you don't look too bad. Sorry for what happened."
"What happened back then was a fluke!"
"You going to try to fight me again?"
"Beach, two hours."
He sighed. "Fine..." The Waddle Doo then ran off in some direction Marx didn't bother looking. Marx made his way into town, snow piled up in heaps and mounds. His job was to ferry messages to and from Dedede. It wasn't hard, and gave him time to formulate a plan.
A plan for that Waddle Doo. He didn't want to kill him, that would be bad. Something to make him stop.
It would need to be one good plan.
