Let's see here, when was it I last updated? October? Well I'm sorry for the extremely long wait for this chapter and I'm grateful for your patience. While since my last update to now I have uploaded three oneshots, been a judge for two smash bros fanfic contests and realising that this chapter is longer than all previous chapters of this fanfic combined I have no excuses for the delay. From now on though the writing should be easier and I should be able to get most chapter out monthly (I still have two oneshots I wish to work on before dedicating myself solely to this fic.
There are one or two scenes that I felt could have been improved on and edited more but I really wanted to get this chapter out of the way and give all my readers something to read. I feel that while the two scenes are somewhat confusing the chapter on a whole is worthy to be uploaded. On that note I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter.
Kirby Ancient Ruin Adventure!
Chapter 3: Venture Forth! Passing by Whispy isn't easy!
Sleep was often a moment of tranquillity, and for King Dedede it was a moment he enjoyed very much. So much that he did not like being awoken until he had decided he had slept long enough. Today his sleep seemed strange, he was within his space of tranquillity as usual, but it felt as if the place was shaking, as if he was nodding continuously. This bothered the penguin king little at first but it proved consistent and further proved annoying, so he opened his eye a notch and leaned forward only to see a dull light and experience a falling motion. It turned out that while he was asleep he been placed onto his sedan chair and had been carried about by the waddle dee's. Upon leaning forth though his momentum unsettled the waddle dees that slowed their pace, whilst the King fell forth. Oh yeah, the fall.
'Thud'
"Oh dear, Heika." Yelped one of the many waddle dee's before him and his fellow troops rushed over to aid there king.
"W-what in tarn nation is going on?" The rudely awakened penguin yelled with fury as he pushed away his men and got to his feet "why the heck is it so dark out here, or better yet, why are we outside?"
"C-calm down no kimi." A lone waddle doo managed to whimper as along with the group of men he began to back off in fear of the well known anger of King Dedede.
"Heika, do you not remember," A gordo, and the only one immune to the sense of fear that spread in the other subjects, piped "we are currently heading off to the dark woods, but considering our distance we had to leave as early as possible".
While many would assume it was because he had just woken up, and in not a very gentle manner, that the king was slow to put the pieces together and remember but the more likely answer would be a slow, lazy paced mind and his general stupidity. But he was not of such a degree that he could not put it together eventually, as such the king soon remembered.
"I did? Yes, I did. Good job there and all but the next time you try and wake me like that and I'll be docking your pay for the months to come till your retirement." The king began to praise but, though in a low tone, snipped with bitterness from the disruption of his joyful slumber.
Despite the threat that would have shattered the wits of any of the other men, the gordo simply nodded and continued "I apoligise Heika. You often make it clear that we should not disrupt you early and I considered the possibility of transporting you to the bottom safely. I knew not of the two left feet of the waddle dee's".
The waddle dee's glared at the gordo for this remark, but the king cared for little of it as he hopped back onto his sedan chair and sighed.
"Yeah well, I'm awake now. No slacking now boys, full speed ahead." The King ordered as he begun to shift in his chair, trying to get himself comfortable. The waddle dee's and doo's became alert immediately, the red creatures raising the sedan chair and moving carefully down the path of Mt. Dedede.
"Let's go get that there treasure." King Dedede guffawed as his men silently and obediently obeyed.
Some time had passed by since the day began and the sun had slwoly risen from beyond the hills, casting its rays of light upon Popopo town. As the villagers began to emerge out from their dwellings, the chattering began, and the day had truly begun. For one Waddle dee though the activity of the day was still awaiting him, or it awaiting him. It matters little what way around you see the future events unfold but right now Dee was the first of his friends to awake, prepare and arrive outside of Whispy Wood's forest.
Sat on a stump, he nervously touched the ends of his feet, silently beckoning his friends to hurry.
"Seriously guys, you all woke up nice and early before." Dee mumbled to himself, prodding at his own feet as though they were of unknown identity to him. The brushing sound of feet against the grass, and the crunch noise of feet against dirt alerted Dee. Perking up he saw Adeleine coming towards him, the second to wake on the day of adventure.
"Hello Dee, you're up early as always." The child greeted her friend as her pace quickened to meet him.
"Well, us waddle dees are early risers, we have to be." Dee replied with a sense of pride as he hopped off the tree stump glad that company was now with him.
"So you've been here since?" Adeliene asked with a giggle, knowing quite well that her friend had arrived much before herself.
"Oh, since about sunrise, six-ish I guess," Dee said, unsure of his answer as he thought on it "yeah, a bit after six in the morning".
"I know we agreed to meet in the morning, but there is such a thing as being too punctual," The painter cheered as she sat down on the green grass of green greens "besides, you know Kirby and Gooey take a while to get up in the mornings".
Dee nodded his head, inclining agreement but said no words on it as he too sat down. Dee tapped the ends of his feet nervously as he had before, looking to his friend to see her gaze transfixed skyward. Turning his attention upward as well Dee saw nothing but, well, sky. Dark sky becoming pale as shades of purple and black leaked away, and the colour blue spread further and further. Seeing nothing peculiar Dee looked back down at his friend, fixed in the same state as before, and watched.
"Do I have something on my face" Adeliene asked as she noticed Dee looking at her.
"Wh-wait. What? Oh no, no I was just, just thinking," Dee broke out of his daydreams with a blush and mumbled quickly "I was wondering what you were looking at."
"Oh" Adeliene replied "I was looking at the sky."
Dee looked up once more to see the lighter blue flush through, adorning the sky above "Why?"
Adeliene blinked at first, as if confused by the question, but then smiled and said "Simply because it looks nice, that's why."
The little Waddle Dee flushed for a moment, looked down and agreed "Yeah, it does."
For a moment there was sweet silence, and a blissful mood was set in the early morning. Of course this was because Gooey was not there and as such when he did appear it became-
"Hi there guys, been waiting long" Gooey cheered with emphasis as he appeared between Dee and Adeliene.
"Wait, where did you just come from?" Dee yelled in shock as he flipped off of his back and onto his feet.
"Home."
"I mean now, you just appeared all of a sudden."
Gooey looked over at Dee, hopped once to reach his friend and said "There are some things we are just never meant to know."
Dee didn't respond and silence came once again aside for the whistling air.
"Good morning Gooey" Adeline greeted the dark matter blob in a cheery mood, as if the friend had not just conversed with Dee and only then arrived.
"Morning to you too Adeliene," Gooey replied in good faith "Just Kirby we're waiting for then."
Adeliene nodded "Yeah, he shouldn't be long though".
Adeliene was correct as in this as soon a humming could be heard, and as the small hero came bounding along, the humming grew louder for the ones awaiting his arrival.
"Hiii." Kirby greeted his friends from afar, and proceeded to alter his usual pace of skipping to that of a rapid sprint, eager to see his friends.
"How do you feel today pal? Up for adventure I hope!" Gooey said with a child like enthusiasm as his cheery friend nodded his head.
Adeline smiled and said "It's nice to be able to go on adventure together again. Maybe we should have invited Dedede to join us as well?"
Overhearing this was Dee who let out an alarmed shriek from the sudden remembrance of why he wished for the groups quick meeting.
"King Dedede! That reminds me I saw the King earlier with some of his troops and he entered the forest." Dee spat out hurriedly.
"Daydayday?" Kirby asked, trying to confirm what Dee said from his flustered and rushed dialogue.
"Yeah, Dedede. It seems he's heading for the Dark Woods as well."
"Hold on! The fat bird is good pals with that log pile which means he'd be allowed into the woods right?" Gooey added.
"Whispy's supposed to be pretty strict about entry to the Dark Woods but you never know." As Dee thought on all this he noticed the absence of two of his friends and realised that rather than contributing to the serious topic the painter and puffball had begun to go into the forest.
"Wait, shouldn't you two be a bit more concerned about this?" Dee asked with a tone containing both his worries and frustrations at the easygoing group.
"Why should we be worried?"
"Daydayday's friend!"
Gooey and Dee could not help but wonder how the two, particularly Kirby who is a long time enemy of King Dedede, could consider the main villain of the series to be there friend.
"I-I give up with you people." Dee commented as he lowered his arms and admitted his defeat, slowly trudging after the Kirby, Adeline and now Gooey who had bounced on after them.
"Let's see now. We've just past the bandits stop, and it's a good thing he wasn't there. Now up ahead should be two bushes which hide a medium sized rock." Professor Iru said aloud as he walked forward, reading his friend's journal at the same time.
"Professor," Ume called out as she hopped over to the wizened crow, holding a map in one hand "I have a map of the forest so why are you looking through the journal entries."
Iru stopped and looked away from the leather-bound book for a moment and at his student.
"Dear Ume, the main objective of all this is to find out where my good buddy Takahiro is, and the logical way of tracking him down is to follow every move he made." Iru said as he tucked the book under his wing.
"But sir, the journal says he went through the forest. He even got past- before Ume could finish her sentence Iru had placed a wing over her mouth.
Leaning his head to her ear he whispered "They say a forest hears all."
The poppy bros. Girl appeared confused at this and so the croucar tried again to convey his veiled message "They say that the in a town the king knows all."
One more it appeared Ume did not understand, however she soon noticed the professor gazing at the trees and nodded. Iru removed his wing. A wind navigated its way through the trees and brushed against the leaves calling all in the forest to rustle.
Iru signalled for his student to follow him and the two soon found themselves in a small clearing where the trees gave way.
"So long as we keep quiet, Whispy should not be able to hear our conversation."
"Yes professor."
"Whispy Woods is not only very protective of the mysteries of dark woods but also gets very irritated by it. He would impede our progress if he knows are plans." Iru explained, occasionally glancing over his shoulder.
"Why professor? What could be in the woods that Whispy doesn't want people to know?" Ume asked trying to keep her voice down.
"There are many theories about it to which Takahiro speculates upon. The most common theory is about a hidden treasure though it is not known what form it takes. Most assume it to be gold, others believe it to be vast land while some say it is something or artistic value. Rumours even suggest it to be a great sword wielded by the Noble Knight of legends fame."
"Noble Knight, isn't he just a legend?" Ume said, her whispering fading a bit in her reply.
"The Noble Knight by my account did indeed exist, as his sword does too. I was very young at the time but I do remember the stories I was told of him. He had great stamina and endurance, battling for days on end without a break. In all that time his sword Isabella never once failed him and is said to be unbreakable." Iru finished.
"A-and this sword could possibly be somewhere in the Dark Woods?" Ume asked excitedly, her volume increasing.
"Keep your voice down." Iru scolded.
"S-sorry professor" Ume said meekly as Iru walked past her.
"Come along now."
"Yes sir!"
As the croucar and bomber walked off further into the luscious green forest, a rustling could heard by a row of trees. A purple armoured figure wielding a short trident emerged from behind a tree.
"N-noble Knight's sword. I've got to tell the crew about this."
Within Whispy Wood's forest, not too far from the clearing where Iru and Ume had their conversation, a group of loyal knights were setting down for a brief rest. Tired from training, the crew were prepping for lunch.
"So where did Trident Knight go off to again?" A large (for a dreamlander) purple armoured knight asked with a deep voice, relaxed in tone.
"He went off to find some firewood as Axe Knight-san refused to." A green armoured knight with a cone shaped head (though if Kirby were here he would see it as a loaf of French bread).
"Oh sure I have an axe which must mean I'm a woodsman, clearly with a passion for cutting down trees." A walking skull with a Viking style helmet, Axe Knight, said in an eerie voice that carried on even after being said, a sarcastic tone rolling with the seemingl echo of his words.
"Taking time, been a while." A small purple rotating creature encased in armour said in a computerised voice "Should be back now, where, where?"
"Do not worry Javelin Knight-san, there is nothing that poses a threat to him or us in this forest." The green swordsman, Sword Knight replied.
"I do wish he'd hurry. I'm getting really hungry for something other than raw apples." The larger mace wielding knight, Mace Knight, commented.
"Yay, then we'll go up from apples to cooked apples. I can barely hold in my excitement at this one of a kind prospect," Axe Knight replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm "how much longer do we have to stay in this forest for."
"Until we find Sailor Dee!" A deep voice brimmed with strength and authority was heard from amongst the trees. Coming out from the shade and into the light was a blue masked ball not all that bigger than Kirby, and endowed with a cape and sword.
"Metaknight-sama." Trident Knight suddenly beeped and tipped its head/body to the masked warrior. The other members of the fearsome crew, the Meta-Knights, all bowed to greet their leader as well.
"All is well I take it sir?" Sword Knight asked while bowing.
"Certainly, but I feel my skills are being wasted in my spars, I had to stop early for Blade Knight couldn't go on," The knight explained as he sheathed his legendary sword, Galacta, and wrapped his cape around him "My sword and I thirst for stronger opponents."
"Sir, may I intrude in asking why we are still looking in the forest. He could be back in town you know?" Mace Knight asked as he tapped his mace against the floor.
"We have already checked once and there was no trace of him. I do believe however he is nearby, I feel it." Metaknight said with a hand over what I would presume to be his heart "By the way where is Trident Knight?"
"H-Here sir!" A voice yelled from deeper into the woods and the sound of running feet could be heard. An abrupt thudding sound could also be heard; presumably the person of said actions had fallen over but soon went back into running. Trident Knight, a small ball creature encased in authentic Japanese style war armour, soon came into view of the entre, puffing and panting.
Meta Knight paid immediate attention to his soldier and the surrounding vicinity "Trident Knight, what's wrong, were you attacked?"
"N-no sir, I wasn't, b-but sir, I've got big news to tell."
"You may speak." Metaknight replied after having a quick look round him, checking the tree's for Whispy Woods presence.
"I was looking for some firewood when I overheard a conversation saying there is evidence that suggests Noble Knights sword Isabelle is deep within Dark Woods." Trident Knight yelled out.
"N-Noble Knight." Ax Knight stuttered "Don't be ridiculous, Noble Knights just a myth."
"He is not a myth." Meta Knight bellowed out at his soldier who lost his footing and fell from a result of shock "I have heard tales of him and his sword, and many historical facts point to such a person once existing. Trident Knight you honestly tell me that his sword may be within the forbidden Dark Woods."
"I-it's what I heard. The old bird had a book from a man who ventured in there and he was saying there was something of great value there, a-and that Isabella was one of the more prominent possibilities."
"Someone ventured to Dark woods. Only known is Takahiro. Never seen since." Javelin Knight chimed.
"This seems awfully sketchy." Sword Knight contemplated.
"It matters not at the moment. The chance of obtaining the everlasting sword of endurance wielded by Noble Knight is too good of an opportunity to pass up," Meta Knight declared with mighty authority "Men, we set off for Dark Woods now."
The crew looked at each other uneasily at first but soon shook it off and roared in agreement.
Many a wounded native of the forest lay as well as the beasts and bugs that dwell, for all saw right to pick a fight but were smite by the penguins might. Or that would have been the case if King Dedede was willing to deal with the creatures that blocked his way. But after getting into a comfortable position he decided to have his men do the job. Now this would normally be a good thing to do but when most of your troops are waddle dees it serves little difference, even professionally trained soldier waddle dees.
"Why, this is taking too long. Can't you guys quicken the pace a little." King Dedede groaned as he leaned back in his throne.
"Sorry no kimi, we are trying our hardest." One Waddle Doo replied.
"Well try harder then." The King ordered.
To this one of the waddle dee's lifting the King's transport chuckled "should have seen that one coming," and then sighed.
The King and his troops were not progressing at amazing speed, mostly due to the wide and heavy (in truth it was the royal who perched on top who was the heavy one) mode of transport that made travelling through the forest difficult.
"Hey, you don't suppose anyone else is after the treasure, do you." the waddle dee up front asked the gordo.
"Only the most daring would go into Dark Woods and there are few like that in Popopo town." The gordo replied.
"Oh, what about Kirby-san then?"
At this question the entire troop stopped and King Dedede brought his attention onto the said dee.
"W-What do you mean?" A nearby Waddle Doo asked.
"Well if you think about it, with the kind of treasure we're talking about you could buy a lot of food. So, Kirby could be after it, as he is also both brave and reckless enough to go through Dark Woods."
"Hey don't joke about Kirby-san in front of the king," One of the waddle doo's said "Right your majes-uh, your majesty?"
King Dedede appeared to have gone into a trance upon hearing how Kirby could be within the forest, looking for the treasure as well. Rusted gears churned in his brain and he began to imagine it all.
King Dedede (looking much better than he does) speeds along dashingly through purple hued trees and into a large bright clearing where he see's before him a giant treasure chest overflowing with glittering gold. As he goes to claim what is rightfully his the meddling puffball Kirby (looking much more ugly and sinister than he does) arrives and kicks the great and wonderful king out of the way.
"Ha, ha, ha. This is my treasure Dedede, all mine." Kirby maliciously snarls as he somehow picks up the enormous chest and runs away laughing maniaclly to himself.
"Darn you Kirby, the treasure I worked so hard for. Why?" King Dedede yelled out as Kirby left him wounded in the forest to be preyed upon by the many beasts eager for revenge against the just and noble penguin that so easily beat them to a pulp. Taking advantage of his state, they attacked King Dedede.
Back in reality the troops were starting to get worried at their leaders drooling mummified state. But then the king of dreamland burst into flames as his anger flew out.
"Why that their Kirby, meddling with me all the time. I'll never let him get his hands on my treasure." King Dedede bellowed as he leaped from his seat and began charging through the forest like a lumbering giant. What? You expect him to sprint.
"W-wait up king!" The troops called out to him as they dropped the throne and chased after their fired up ruler.
A large bear like animal dodged the tossed bronze sickle and chuckled "You can't hit me like that Kirby."
The Grizzo continued chucking until Kirby pointed behind him and smirked.
"Huh, I don't hear the cutter blade coming back." The Grizzo noted as he turned round to see a shadow looming over him, and a cut down tree falling upon him.
The yellow furred Grizzo shrieked in fear as the tree crushed him, rendering him unconscious.
"Poyo" Kirby cheered as he started to wave his arms up and down, humming a familiar tune.
"We really shouldn't have let him play that game should we?" Adeline asked her companions as she watched the puffball now adorned with a metallic duck billed hat do a small dance routine.
"I'm wondering how he even played the game. It's mostly text." Dee pointed out as he too watched his friends joyous victory.
"So when are you two going to do any work, it's just been me and Kirby dealing with all these foes." Gooey whined.
Dee spun round, pointing at the dark matter accusingly and shouted out "What do you mean you and Kirby, you ate one waddle doo in order to get a beam ability and that's it."
Gooey lay on his side and stared blankly at Dee before reply "So, that's more than what you've done."
"Hey, I'm no fighter now and I've done my fair share." Dee argued back.
"Such as..."
"I-I-uh-I did the narration about Kirby's cutter power and for your beam power."
"I was surprised you could get your voice to go that deep, putting that aside shouldn't we be moving on?"
Dee nodded his head, and called out to Kirby "Kirby, it's time to move on."
Kirby stopped his dance to look over at Dee.
"Hai" Kirby chirped as he hopped over to Dee and Gooey, who was just finishing off an apple. The trio were about to head off when they noticed that they were in fact a trio at the moment.
"Hey, where's Adeline?" Dee asked as he stopped midstep. The group looked round but saw no sign of their artist companion. Kirby however hopped to the side and soon ran off.
"Adeween." Kirby called out as he rushed over to the painter who was busy at work.
"Hold on a moment guys, let me just finish this off." Adeliene called back as she checked the winding tree to whom an apple balanced on a thin, tipping branch.
"Apple poyo" Kirby cheered as he noticed the gleaming red fruit that was the object of Adeliene's painting.
"Hey Adeliene, can we have the apple after you're done with?" Gooey asked as he licked his lips at the snack.
"I don't see why not."
"Guys, we can't be dilly-dawdling like this. If King Dedede gets to the treasure first he'll be sure to keep it for himself." Dee moaned at his friends constant stops.
"Poyo!" Kirby gasped as the little guy went into a daze, imagining what would happen.
Kirby skipped his way through purple hued trees and into a clearing where a glittering tomato lay atop a wooden carved pedistal. Suddenly from behind the pedistal King Dedede leaped up and snatched the tomato.
"Ha, ha. Look! I now have the tomato." The red robed King taunted his nemesis but then looked into Kirby's eyes and decided otherwise.
The King held out the tomato and declared "Let's share the tomato my good friend."
Kirby proceeded to jump with joy and as the two former foes ate into their respective tomato pieces they became the best of friends.
"No way, nuh-uh, that isn't going to happen." Gooey added as he stared up at the thought bubble hovering over the Dreamlander's head.
"Guys, seriously we need to hurry." Dee said frantically.
"Don't worry, Dedede's a friend remember." Adeleine said with a smile on her face as she started adding the finishing touches to her painting.
"Yes, but also a greedy friend, and when you add treasure in the occasion he'll be going to great lengths to get it. Heck he'll probably have the whole forest taken away."
Adeline paused mid-stroke upon hearing this, and suddenly quickened the pace. Finishing with care but at great speed she put her stuff away safely.
"If he does that I'll never be able to see it. He could damage it in the transaction, guys hurry up." Adeline said as she began sprinting into the forest. Kirby and Gooey who had split the apple in two and were now enjoying it nodded their heads and leapt after Adeline. Dee just stood there upset that no one had agreed to go when he had asked.
Iru and Ume walked on the clear path, shrouded in shadow from the lining row of trees. This was the safe path, albeit also the longer path, and was used whenever one of friendly circumstances wished to meet with the protector of the forest. Only those who were considered as harmless or those who were considered friends were allowed to trek this path. If they were not then the trees would barricade the entrance and the traveller would be forced to go through the territory of the forest dwellers.
Unlike the short and dangerous path, the longer path enabled a traveller to approach Whispy Woods from the front, where he would greet you, as was with the case of the professor and his student.
"Why hello there professor," Whispy Woods boomed with his naturally loud and echoing voice that made one feel as if they were in a tunnel "You haven't visited as of late now have you."
"W-why no Whispy-tono I haven't," Iru replied nervously as he stepped within the clearing known as Whispy's domain. The tree's shades of brown lined the clearing, and the only light came skyward, casted by the sun and pass the odd structure of the far larger, hollow tree that served as a crafty shortcut for oft foes of Whispy such as Kirby in many a case.
"Yeah, it's been a good year or two I believe," The large tree boss chuckled to himself "Your pestering me had always been annoying but now after so much time apart I find it to have been rather joyous to have such respectable company."
Iru was silent at this and Ume decided not to add any comment, leaving the discussion to her senior.
"Actually Whispy-tono," Iru began, catching Whispy's attention "I'm here today because of such old times."
Whispy seemed to frown at this, and shifted on the spot a little.
"What do you mean Iru-kun?" Whispy whispered.
Iru said nothing and simply held up Takahiro's journal. Whispy simply stared at it, not recognising it and wondering where the croucar was going with this.
"Don't recognise this? Well that's a problem for this journal came from the woods behind you." Iru proclaimed as he kept ahold of the book above his head.
This unsettled the large tree as a flash of anger passed in his eyes.
"That's nonsense," Whispy yelled, hints of his anger obviously flaring his voice "How can you claim such a book came from the dark woods."
Iru smiled and said with a mischievous smirk "For this is the journal of Takahiro-san, my good friend who ventured into the Dark woods eight years ago."
"That guy again," Whispy growled, the hatred rising alongside the anger "I make one exception after putting up with his pleading for so long and he causes nothing but trouble."
Whispy caught sight of Iru's intense gaze, a question lying beneath his eyes and as such Whispy answered "No!"
"No, Takahiro-kun has not left the Dark Woods as far as I'm aware of."
"What do you mean by 'as far as you're aware of'," Ume pitched in, gaining a look of disproval from the croucar beside her.
"I cannot monitor what happens in the Dark Woods as I sleep, I only hear the trees of the forest constantly as the trees admist the woods are of a different kind to I. For all I know he could have escaped by flight and soared over my forest. It would not be the first thing to arrive by flight, one even crashed so heavily into the dark woods that I felt my roots quake." Whispy Woods explained.
"Rather odd." Iru murmured to himself "Whispy-tono I need to ask you this one favour."
Whispy raised a brow or he would if he had one but nonetheless the expression was the same.
"Please, grant me and my assistant here permission to enter the dark woods." Iru pleaded as he looked up at the one whose permission was needed to enter the dark woods.
"No." Whispy replied at once.
Then dawned silence as the two looked to one another, Whispy awaiting Iru's response where as Iru was waiting for Whispy to explain the reasons behind his refusal. Realising an explanation would come once he inquired about it, the professor did just that by asking "So... Why are we not allowed to enter the Dark Woods?"
"Because it's forbidden! How many times do I have to tell you people that entering the forbidden woods just so happens to be forbidden!" Whispy bellowed as heated steam sparked from his mouth, flustering his cheeks.
"You mentioned things crashing into the Dark Woods from time to time. We could investigate these things for you if you permit us entrance." Ume added nervously, being left out of most of the conversation she had accidently blurted out a thought of hers before proper analysis to deem it suitable. Iru had been prepared to scold her for speaking without warning but the old croucar realised the possibilities and advantages of following the chain of thought brought up. Contrary to the expected reaction, the large pale brown tree simply smirked and replied
"That's nothing to worry about. I had my children investigate such matters and they find nothing of interest, though the crashing one left no mark on the ground and did not damage the trees either so I often wonder if it did crash in the woods at all."
"Have you checked the ruins?"
"Of course not. I'd never allow my children to go into the – Hold on! How do you know about the ruins?"
Iru chuckled loudly upon witnessing the expression of shock on the living tree's face as he began to hold up the battered journal.
"Why, its talks all about it in this here journal. Well, all about the exterior of the ruins at least, the entries end on the day Takahiro-san decides it's time to enter the ruins."
Whispy was certainly unsettled by this sudden knowledge, and was about to retaliate with a quickly thought up reply but closed his mouth, and rethought his words.
"This-this does not change anything. My rules are clear about the Dark woods and how no one is allowed to enter without my permission."
The Croucar continued to smirk though in a sly manner more commonly seen on a TAC than a crow, and began to speak with an eerie sense of a threat "Well if that's how it is then me and my assistant will just have to force our way through."
Whispy Woods and Ume were equally surprised to hear of such an announcement. Ume wondered if her senior was having a senile moment whereas Whispy assumed that the old bird was cracking a good joke.
"Now that's a good one. You had me fooled for a second, haha!" Whispy Woods laughed in a jolly fashion but looking still at Professor Iru he realised that the smirk had not vanished and the eyes showed a bright determination, "You're kidding right?"
When it became apparent that Iru was not bluffing Whispy became quite solemn and responded with "You surely don't believe that you can defeat me?"
Whereas Whispy reacted with stunned silence and disbelief Ume opted with the assumption that the professor was stating the truth and willing to go through with the plan. This caused the poppy bros girl to panic in such a scenario.
"Professor, what are you thinking? There's no way we could even hope to take him on." Ume muttered as she flustered about.
Whispy nodded in recognition at this "The girl's right! I'm not some kind of push over first boss y'know."
Despite the declaration of battle Iru was not concerned in the least by it all and continued to look straight at the long lived guardian of the forest.
"Don't worry Ume, I expected something like this to occur and while I had wished to avoid it I asked for his assistance in dealing with this big old lug in case he stopped us from entering," Professor Iru then turned his attention to a nearby row of bushes and announced "Now come out and take care of Whispy, Kirby!"
Whispy Woods eyes lit up at this and his voice boomed all of a sudden "What! Kirby!"
The guardian of the forest immediately turned his all of his attention to the single bushy bush where his puffball nemesis lay hidden. The tree gritted his wooden teeth, grinding and grounding them as memories of the humiliating defeats delivered by the gluttonous hero flashed through his mind. His eyes burned like wild fire, and the more Whispy's anger surged, the more intense the flames in his eyes became, like giving logs to a fire. As a result his stare fuelled by wild emotions intensified. The tree had now reasoned with himself that today would not be like the days of the past, this time he was prepared for the battle. The moment Kirby steps out of the bush will be his last the tree sounded. In the midst of waiting for the pink blob to emerge to encounter his very destruction a gentle breeze blew past, echoing silence and ruffling the very leaves the great tree adorned.
"Wait a minute?" Whispy thought out loud to himself in a low and quiet tone as he looked over to the gate too witness the professor and his assistant climbing over it, and heading off into the Dark Woods.
"You tricked me!" Whispy called out with all his might as the duo succeeded in getting past their biggest problem "Come back here now!"
"You tricked me!"
The burst of anger woved its way into the forest, and the penguin king and his loyal soldiers were close enough to the source to hear it clearly.
"What was that?"
"That was Whispy-tono!"
"Oh no, we made him angry, we must have!"
"Mummy!"
The group of Dees and Doos panicked at the sound of the usually calm guardian of the forest erupting with ferocity.
"Heika, it appears we are indeed close." The Gordo mentioned calmly to the seated King.
"I know that already you buffoon! I'm just resting a bit." The King replied as he lay against a thick but now trembling tree.
"I apologise Heika. I did not mean to question your wisdom and wished only to advise you of our task." The Gordo said, once more in his calm voice and retaining his calm composure.
"Heh, don't fret men. I and the big oak of this here forest are on good terms so I have nothing to fear." King Dedede proudly stated as he adjusted his position, leaning further back on the weeping tree.
All the waddle dee's and waddle doo's breathed a sigh of relief from their nonexistent mouths, while the Gordo simply rolled his eyes, waiting for the group to think back on what the king had just said.
"Wait? I? What about us?" A Waddle Doo screamed in panic as he realised the King had only mentioned his own safety.
"Meh, depends how charitable I'm feeling."
With this comment the minions panicked once more and bowed before their King, pleading to be spared. The King seemed to enjoy this moment, seeing the how reliant his people were on him. They were thankful for his generosity, and only his. So he was taken aback when, not only did his Gordo aide not bow, but when one Waddle Dee was still standing with a hand raised as high as it could. With a sweep of his hammer the King juggled the little reddish-brown skinned creature closer to him and proceeded to ask with a tinge of anger "What?"
"Well sir, you see, uh" The Waddle Dee tried to speak but couldn't find his words and currently stammered.
The Kings patience grew thin as he barked "Spit it out already?"
"Yes, I-I was wondering what Whispy-tono could be annoyed at and I thought that maybe he's angry about Kirby." The Waddle dee finally murmured as the King held him by a wing. The hold on his head grew tighter then as the King realised that this would mean that his nemesis was ahead of him.
Tossing the soldier of his aside and into a tree, the King jumped up and ordered "Men we haven't time to waste, move out."
The King ran off with his men in tow as a Waddle Dee simply groaned to himself "Why me?"
"I won't let you beat me this time you little runt!"
Whispy spun round in recognition of a voice, in which in the instant he did the source of the voice ran into the clearing.
"Oh, King Dedede-kun," Whispy exclaimed as he saw the panting, breathless figure of his royal friend and occasional employer, before him "it's been a while."
As the rest of the loyal troops of the king came into the clearing (including a waddle dee with a large bandage on his forehead) King Dedede replied "Yeah, yeah, now where is Kirby?"
"Wait, you mean Kirby's actually here?" Whispy Woods said aloud as he looked round him, checking the area for the ever energetic puffball.
"I heard you yell didn't I? The only person who could make you that mad is Kirby."
"The reason I yelled?" The tree asked out loud to himself, and in an instant had regained his earlier frustration.
"No it wasn't Kirby! I was tricked by that damn professor and now he's snuck off into the Dark Woods." Whispy Woods explained to the group of much smaller beings.
"What! Someone got into those woods." The King yelled with frustration as he slammed his hammer at the ground.
"It surely must be professor Iru-sensei, the friend of Takahiro-san and the possessor of the explorers journal, who snuck by." The King's aide added.
"Professor Iru's a bit old to be doing something this reckless?"
"But Takahiro-san is supposed to be a reckless fellow and the two were close friends."
"The croucar's really smart and he has the journal."
"Wish we had the journal."
"That would make things easier."
"I wonder if his cute assistant is with him."
As the bungle of men discussed to one another the circumstance and about the professor, the stone faced Gordo hovered over to his King in order to talk.
"That bird's ahead of us. He shouldn't be much of a problem when it concerns the treasure as I could easily steal it off of him." King Dedede said to himself as he rubbed his chin.
"We can do so with ease, surely." The Gordo added.
"The journal was what told us about the treasure right? Why didn't you have my men take it?" The King asked his aide who was without a reply for once.
"I-I did not think of it at the time. You gave no orders to retrieve it and I can't imagine anything posing a threat to you Heika." The gordo praised King Dedede, sweeping his own mistake like water under the bridge.
"That's right, we don't need no stupid journal. I'm the great King Dedede after all." King Dedede stated as he raised his wings, hammer clutched high above his head.
The men stared in awe, except for the Gordo who was wiser than the many men of the King's services, and the injured Waddle Dee who was still feeling pretty sore about being chucked into a tree. Whispy had now turned his attention to the King, wandering what they were all talking about.
"Hello there my dear friend Whispy, it's been so long." King Dedede began to say as the scenery around him and the beginning boss began to sparkle with glorifying friendship.
"It hasn't been too long my good friend." Whispy Woods replied with same twinkle in his eyes.
"I know it's been a while but I have something to ask of you."
"Oh ask away, I'll gladly give you anything."
"Can I be allowed to enter the Dark Woods then?"
"No!"
"Oh, well in that case, why the hell not!" The King broke the field of happiness as he shouted out at his supposed friend.
"Because it's forbidden! How many times do I have to tell people this before you begin to understand?" Whispy shouted back with equal annoyance.
"Well I'm the King so you should make an exception for me!" Dedede retaliated.
"Like hell I will, I'm not letting another person pass here." The large tree stated with determination as he stared down at the hammer wielding oaf.
The King merely grumbled to himself, looking over his shoulder and to his aide who was in deep thought. King Dedede was in a pickle currently as he placed a hand on his chin and thought hard. Naturally for a man who doesn't do much thinking it took a while before anything came to mind, and once it did it was only after an apple fell on his head.
"I got it," The proud king blurted out as a smile grew on his face, and then proceeded to point to some nearby trees "was that Kirby I just saw."
The men just fell over at the stupidity of their leader though it seemed to work as Whispy Woods turned his attention to the trees.
"Yes, it worked. Now men lets hurry past him." The large, tubby penguin called back quietly to his disbelieving men, particularly the Gordo who was having a hard time even comprehending the absurdity of this cliche plan. Despite this the men chose to chase after their King, unaware that Whispy Woods was pretending to fall for their plan.
"The king and his men are truly idiots to think I'd fall for such a trick again," Whispy said to himself as he kept a lookout on the dashing group beside him "now I just have to turn round and teach them-Kirby!"
Whispy yelled out the name of his hated foe for a reason as from among the tree a small circular shaped creature was stepping out with feet just like that of the puffball warrior of the stars. Whispy wasted no time, forgetting all about his plan and unleashing an attack from below at the approaching figure. The brown, earth covered roots were halted though by a swift swing of a blade, as the cape wearing masked warrior cut through them with ease.
It was here that Whispy realised his error, staring not at Kirby but at the blue ball swordsman, Metaknight, who with glowing eyes of red appeared to be both angry and hostile at the sudden attack. Whispy turned round to the gate, hoping to spot the King and his men about to enter but wasting no time it appeared that the King had hammered his way through the gate, reducing it to lumber.
"I knew peace negations would make no difference in the matter but I never thought you would be in such a hurry for conflict." Metaknight said calmly, Galacta still raised above his head and in the direction of his attacker.
Gaurdian of the forest turned to the speaker and two eyes locked, gazing at one another calmly and making not a sound.
"I can't believe you guys had forgot about me." Voices were head from amongst the forest in which Metaknight had burst from, and coming closer to the confrontation, and also into the clearing where the dark warrior's crew.
"Look we're sorry for forgetting you, kay." Sword Knight reasoned with his good chum and fellow recruit, Blade Knight, a green armoured knight with red tassels at the tip of the helmet and large shoulder pads.
"I'm not childish enough to hold a grudge, why, leaving me behind is nothing to fret about." Blade Knight grumbled in a stern tone.
This lead to Ax Knight replying in his sarcastic trait "Yeah, you sure sound like you've gotten over it."
This in turn led to a slight chuckling amongst the group of deadly weapon wielders except for Blade Knight who was the target of the joke, and merely grumbled to himself in response. The laughter died out though as the group came into the clearing, and following suit with the heavy atmosphere between the two veteran fighters, drew their own weapons in preparation.
"Metaknight-kun, why on dreamland are you here?" Whispy asked sternly, his temper having focused into a dark abode, creeping through and manifesting into the current chilling glare across the tree's face.
Metaknight nor his crew budged, waiting calmly for any sudden movements. Deeming it safe to speak but keeping an eye out just in case, Metaknight replied "I'm here to enter the Dark Woods, preferably without your interference."
Too this Whispy chuckled, seemingly happy with this but returning at once to his intense rage "Why I've had to deal with two groups of nuisances that wished to do just that. First that bird brained professor snuck past me and then because of your well timed distraction that other obese bird brain, King Dedede-kun, also managed to clamber into the Woods with his posse."
Surprised by this new information Metaknight instantly replied "You mean the King has gotten into the woods!"
At the simple reminder of this an apple dropped down from Whispy's branches, but with swift precision the masked swordsman cut the red fruit in half and then flew away from the ground at the sudden emergence of roots. The knight landed away from the spot where he was, the spot now with a large root pierced through it, and with drawn sword pointed to his attacker the meta-knights quickly leaped over and assembled behind their leader.
"Guessing you're in a foul mood today." Ax Knight lulled as looked steadfast at the large, brown tree.
"Anger high, anger peaking." Javelin Knight beeped as he floated high above each member.
"Perhaps you should cool down a bit." Mace Knight chuckled as he gripped onto his mace with both hands, preparing either a heavy blow or a swift parry in case of attack.
Too this comment Whispy finally turned round, his eyes bloodshot and falling leaves around him snapped.
"Gah! Thanks a lot Mace, that's just made him angrier." Trident Knight moaned as he flinched at the sight of the enraged guardian, currently less of a guardian and more of an aggressive tank of firepower.
Time froze for the two groups, spotlight shinning squarely on Metaknight and Whispy, who were currently opposites. Metaknight stood still as a statue, calm, patient, waiting whereas Whispy was shivering from his pent up fury that boiled his bark and made the very ground twitch and shake. Their eyes stared only to one another, the warrior saw not a thing sides his opponent and the tree saw nothing but blazing red with black and blurry silhouettes wavering in his line of sight.
"Come!" Metaknight declared, opening his wings up and demanding his attackers next move.
Time for a while slowed as Whispy roared, the wind itself rusted and leaves cascaded the vision of all. The fighters focused themselves, various attacks needing stances to strike and these stances were being moulded. As all shifted in the clearing of the forest the clash began.
"Hi."
The two units halted, as normality returned to the field and the mood of battle was broken. They were ready to attack with the meta-knights charging headlong, Metaknight poised to thrust his Galacta with deadly precision and Whispy who had pulled his head, or rather top half, back to shake out many a variety of fruits, weapons and living creatures from his forage but something caught their attention. Kirby.
"Poyo." Kirby queried, a question mark floating over his tilted head as he wondered what was going on.
The silence broke.
"KIRBY!" Whispy yelled, shaking his body forth and showering a bonanza of red apples at the little fellow. Kirby turned and while anyone else would have saw a collection of painfully large fruit coming their way the ever gluttonous puffball thought of how best to fit it into his stomach. Inhaling was his answer and inhale he did. So Kirby with his ever wonderous powers began to suck up the apple barrage and unfortunately was late in realising the sheer quantity was too much to get in at once. Bopped and bashed, the hero of this story spun off backwards from the impact of the attack.
Hearing the sound of battle, or in truth, the sound of thrown apples smacking into a bouncy pink gumball, Adeline, Dee and Gooey sprinted into the clearing.
"Kirby what's the matt-Kirby are you okay?" Adeline asked as she saw the dazed and bruised hero lying on a pile of apple, and rushed over to him with the others.
"Kirby, you okay dude?" Gooey slurped as he bounded as well too his friend who shook his head and regained composure. Kirby shook his head with a minute smile that grew when he realised that he was currently on top of a pile of mouth-watering red apples.
The three other members of Kirby's team turned to see the sudden attacker of their friend, only to see Whispy with his back turned, gazing into the distance.
For you see Whispy, after attacking Kirby and at the moment the other three arrived, realised he had been distracted momentarily once again and that other foes were in his midst. He had searched quickly and spotted them, no longer in the clearing but running off further into the dark woods. The Meta-Knights had gotten past him.
Whispy slowly turned round, creaking in the stop motion turn, and with his face fully revealed to the group of friends fear shot cold chills down their spines. A twittering, twitching Whispy foamed from the mouth as his widened, blood shot eyes bulged eerily out of his head to an extent where one would think they would leap out from the retina at any moment.
Whispy proceeded to blather incomprehensibly as he foamed even more, his voice raised to ear piercingly high levels.
"W-what?"
"KIRBY!" Whispy bellowed, his voice reaching throughout the forest and making the very earth tremble as the tree stared menacingly at Kirby, who was eating an apple.
Kirby looked back at the enraged Whispy Woods and realised a fight was to ensue. Snack time was over and so Kirby swallowed whole the rest of the apple.
I realise that as I upload this chapter the title may be out of position as per usual but I've been having particular difficulty with it and I just wanted to upload this chapter while I could.
Anyway I had originally planned the Kirby vs. Whispy Woods fight to be in this chapter but due to the time its taken to do this much and the length of this chapter as it is I thought it can do without. The next chapter will thus be dedicated to the fight and as such will be an easy one for me to write and upload. Expect it to be uploaded late July or August as while I could do the next chapter with ease there is a oneshot I'm writing which needs to be uploaded on a specific date.
Anyway I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and I hope the wait was worth it. I'll try not to ever take this long to update a fanfic ever again and as always constructive criticism is appreciated.