[Whew! Back to this. Sorry about the wait, to those who look forward to this story that is. I got wrapped up in watching stuff on you tube as well as doing various other things. Anyway, here we are, chappie six. Enjoy!]
The sun had begun to shine over the horizon signaling that the day had begun. At least to those who would wake to it. Kirby and Hal continued their sleep in their shared nest while Tokkori watched television inside the house. In the castle however, Dedede was quick to awaken, looking forward to ordering Demon beasts again. As he made his way into the throne room he was greeted by Escargon who had been tidying up the throne.
"Outa the way Escargon, it's demon beast time" said Dedede, hurrying over to his seat.
"Yea, good morning to you too sire. Are you really this eager to start wasting our funding again?" Escargon asked.
"Ha ha ha, you say that like we're gonna pay them" said Dedede.
"I suppose there's no point in trying to talk some sense into you again" said Escargon.
Dedede paid no attention to him as he immediately activated the demon beast terminal. After a brief moment a hatch on the wall opened to extend a large monitor. The floor in the center of the room also opened to extend the elaborate transporter. It didn't take long for the set up to complete and reveal the face of the blue suited customer service.
"Welcome to Holy Nightmare corporation, How may I assist you today?" asked customer service.
"What? Don't you be play'n dumb. You know what I'm call'n for" said Dedede.
"Yes, of course. As it happens Nightmare has just completed a fresh demon beast and it is ready for your use" said Customer Service.
The screen fuzzed out briefly to reveal Nightmare instead.
"Good to see you up so early. Ok then first things first. This demon beast is my first aside from Hal. With my current lack of data and resources, don't go expecting much, understand? What I can say is that it'll follow your commands to the letter… or, at least it should. Prove yourself loyal to us and you should expect some major improvements on our products" Nightmare explained.
"Yea, whatever. Long as it don't go run'n off like that last one" said Dedede.
The machine suddenly activated and lit up just as it had with Hal, and any other creature that had ever been sent through it. In a short time the light subsided and revealed a small spherical creature wrapped in a copper helmet that doubled as a suit of armor. It had red gloves and white shoes. Atop it's helmet sat what simply appeared to be a curved ornamentation, yet was edged with a sharp looking blade.
Dedede stared at it for a moment, his excitement fading slightly. Despite being warned not to expect much he let his hopes get the best of him. Still, it was a demon beast, one that he could command.
"Wow, you were right about not expecting much. You sure this little thing can take on Kirby?" Dedede asked.
"No idea, Kirby took down my predecessor after all. Like I said, Holy Nightmare is getting back on it's feet. Our center of operations was completely obliterated. I am trying to restore our data caches. I had blueprints for this guy, he'll respond to the name Sir Kibble. He was to become an addition to our forces shortly after we were eradicated, but I still have the specs so he's what you got" Nightmare explained.
"I think I liked you guys a bit more before you don got wiped out" said Dedede.
The monitor fizzed out to reveal the red suited customer service
"Just keep doing whatever you've gotta do D man and we promise to be able to provide you with the service you love and trust in the very near future" customer service explained.
"Yea, that" said Nightmare as focus returned to him.
"Hmm… fine, I'll give it a shot. But if you don't start get'n me better stuff soon, you can bet I'll never order from you again" said Dedede.
"Gotchya. Well I think that may about cover it. Just be sure to give me your results" said Nightmare.
"Sure" said Dedede not paying much attention.
"Oh yea, and about the price…" said Nightmare before the screen switched to the blue customer service.
When he appeared he was already brandishing the price display he seemed to love waving around in the past. The price however was fairly cheap compared to how much others had been, five thousand dollars.
"Well, can't say as I was expect'n that" said Dedede.
"Consider it a discount, a thank you for being our first customer to our new management" said customer service.
"Ha ha, works for me" said Dedede.
Nightmare cut off connection shortly after.
"I've gotta say Nightmare, you are much different than the original. Are you sure it's a good idea to be so forthcoming with your information?" asked the red customer service.
"I imagine you know what you are doing" said the blue customer service.
"I do. There isn't really much to hide anyway. We'll plan a bit more once we've grown a it more. For now, our best bet is to let Dedede help us gather information. Holy Nightmare will be the ultimate power of this universe again, I'll make sure of that" Nightmare explained.
In Dedede's throne room, Dedede and Escargon continued to idle, with Dedede continuing to examine Sir Kibble.
"Discount demon beasts eh? Holy Nightmare is definitely up to something. Whenever they do something that seems nice there's always a catch to lowball ya" said Escargon.
"So Sir Kibble, you will do absolutely everything that I command ou to do right?" Dedede asked, ignoring Escargon.
The small creature responded with a solute.
"Fantastic, My first order is for you to go… hang on a sec. I'll bet them Nightmare bozos were lie'n, gonna have to give you a test run first… ok then, my first order of you is to go get me some cookies" Dedede ordered.
"Really sire, you haven't even eaten breakfast yet. Shouldn't you save snack for afterwards at least, like you really need em' in the first place" said Escargon.
"You be quiet. I'm just test'n this thing out ta see if that Nightmare fella was tell'n the truth" Dedede explained.
Sir Kibble saluted and hurried out of the throne room. In the halls things were just as they often were, especially the morning routine with the Waddle Dees going to get breakfast. There was little reaction from them towards Sir Kibble rushing through the crowd. Despite having little clue where he was to go, Sir Kibble ran at full pelt. As he neared a passage with few Waddle Dees making their way through, he turned into it and followed it.
As he continued on he took notice of something, making their way towards him was a Waddle Doo, Mari to those who knew her. In the grip of her round little hands was a plate that simply happened to be filled with cookies. Sir Kibble noticed this immediately and hurried towards her. Mari however was focused on the platter, munching on it's contents as she moved onward. The moment her eye took notice of Sir Kibble closing in it was too late. Sir Kibble reached out his hands and swiped the platter away from her, immediately taking off in the direction he came.
"Hey you! Give those back! They're mine!" Mari shouted chasing the unknown figure.
Sir Kibble was plenty quick to keep his distance from the irritated Waddle Doo but Mari persisted in his pursuit. As they reached the crowds of Waddle Dees Sir Kibble weaved in and out, attempting to lose Mari. Despite being slightly shorter than the Waddle Dees, the blade atop his helmet was easily visible. Mari continued the chase until the cookie thief had made his way into King Dedede's throne room. She made her way inside to see Sir Kibble handing the plate of cookies over to Dedede.
"Ha ha ha well whaddya know, he actually did it. Maybe that Nightmare was tell'n the truth after all" said Dedede.
"Hey Dedede, those are mine! Give them back now!" Mari demanded.
"Well they're mine now girlie, now run along. I'm sure you've got better things to do then sit here and spoil my breakfast" said Dedede.
Mari was growing furious, however, given the situation, there was little she could do about it.
"I won't forget about this you know" Mari declared.
"Ha ha, and what are you gonna do huh? I'm the king round here" said Dedede.
Mari's fury was clearly evident and she briefly considered zapping Dedede with a flare beam. However before she could do anything Waddle Doo entered the room.
"C'mon Mari. If you don't get to the dining hall soon breakfast is gonna get cold" said Waddle Doo
Given that Waddle Doo went out of his way to get her, Mari decided she'd go with him. She was till angry but attacking the king wasn't going to do anything, she figured she'd get back in some other way. For now she followed Waddle Doo out of the room.
"Now then, what should I have this guy fetch me next?" Dedede asked.
"I'm surprised he actually did what you told him" said Escargon.
At Kirby's house Hal had begun to stir, a simple result of a dream waking him up. He looked around from his position in the nest to the surrounding area. A vast expanse of green scenery, varying in it's source. As he did so an awakening yawn caught up to him and he reached out his arms to stretch. As he did so he brushed up against Kirby and pulled his arm away immediately. This managed to wake Kirby from his sleep who glanced around and rubbed his eyes before looking at Hal.
"Poyo" said Kirby happily upon seeing his friend.
Hal stared at him and smiled in response. Afterwards he looked around again, then directly below the nest. As he did so his stomach growled which drew his attention. In response he pressed his hand against his stomach curiously.
"Poyo" said Kirby as he motioned to Hal before climbing out of the tree.
Hal watched Kirby quickly climb down to the bottom.
"Poyo, poyo" said Kirby motioning to Hal.
Hal stared for a moment then looked to the side of the tree where Kirby had climbed out. Afterwards he gradually positioned himself and began to climb down. He neared about half way down before his foot slipped on the bark. He tried to grab hold of something but all there was, was more bark which crumbled and sent him falling until he landed on the soft squishy surface of Kirby. After bouncing off and landing on the ground he quickly got up and looked to Kirby. Hal gasped and grabbed hold of him to pick him up. When Kirby assumed a sitting position Hal rubbed the top of Kirby's head with his arms worriedly.
"Poyo" said Kirby who had been mostly fine.
Kirby smiled as he stood up leaving Hal feeling relieved and smiling back.
"Poyo poyo" said Kirby running off into the general direction of town.
Hal watched him unsure of what to do as Kirby stopped and turned to him.
"Poyo Poy" said Kirby motioning for Hal to follow.
Hal responded by doing just that and began to follow Kirby to whichever destination he was going to. Kirby seemed to be enjoying running along with Hal as did Hal enjoy running along with Kirby. As they continued on Hal found himself distracted by something, a blue butterfly fluttering through his path. Hal stood and stared at it, watching as it landed on a flower. Hal made his way over to it and slowly reached out his light blue hand towards it. The butterfly fluttered away before Hal's hand reached it and began flying around him. Kirby quickly took notice that Hal had fallen behind and turned to see him trying to catch the butterfly.
"Poyo" said Kirby happily, as Hal's antics looked like fun.
Kirby was quick to return to Hal and join him. Together they tried again and again to catch the bug but it continued to evade them. Once it took off into the air the two watched it feeling disappointed. That was, before Kirby thought of something. Kirby inhaled a gulp of air inflating himself slightly. Afterwards he flapped his arms and lifted himself off the ground, floating towards the level of the butterfly.
Hal watched astonished at this and vaguely recalled Kirby having done that to save him from the moat. Kirby looked back down at Hal and motioned him to come up. Hal took note of this and stared at the butterfly. From there he leaped but failed to get anywhere near high enough. Recalling how Kirby managed to do it Hal did just as he remembered and inhaled. With lungs full of air Hal attempted to flap his arms to reach Kirby but only returned to the ground. After a couple of attempts Hal was forced to release the air from his Lings. Looking back at Kirby, Hal noticed his eyes shift to disappointment. Hal found himself upset at this and attempted again, harder this time. As he did so he felt a moment of vertigo and felt himself losing balance. It was different this time than the first however as Hal felt his body stretch, most notably his torso. He would have felt alarmed if he wasn't determined and in a short moment a puff of white smoke formed around him and quickly dissipated.
From the cloud of smoke appeared a blue green spherical creature. It's eyes, a similar shape to Kirby's were completely bright green. It's mouth appeared similar to Kirby's as well and it had large oblong patches on either side of its face that seemed to be shifting from white to blue to green. It's body, though similar as a sphere to Kirby's was much different. It was a transparent blue green bubble appearance with no arms, only a pair of legless feet. This however was still Hal
Hal looked around a bit feeling dizzy and shortly lost his footing resulting in him rolling a little ways. He looked back up to Kirby who no longer looked disappointed and felt compelled to reach him. He managed to roll onto his feet and leap upwards. This time instead of dropping back to the ground, he slowly drifted. With no other options Hal kicked his feet as he attempted to float upwards and this time, succeeded.
Hal was not expecting this in the least and felt a moment of alarm when he realized what he was doing. He faced downwards and realized how far he was off the ground but when he ceased his kicking he began to drift slowly towards it again. Afraid to fall he looked back up to Kirby and continued to kick, rising yet again.
Kirby watched as Hal reached him, a smile on the bubble's face. Kirby found himself smiling as well. When Hal reached level with Kirby his attention was quickly drawn back to the butterfly, reminding him why he had floated up here in the first place. He attempted to reach out to it but realized that he had no arms to do it with. At this, disappointment shone across his face. Realizing that he still had feet however he attempted to reach his foot to it but ended up twirling around in the air. Kirby noticed Hal's disappointment and attempted to reach the butterfly himself but it quickly fluttered away.
During his uncontrolled twirling Hal had briefly become more concerned with stopping it. That was until he noticed the butterfly fly off and felt disappointed again. Kirby found himself beginning to grow short of breath. Though he was disappointed that he had lost the butterfly he slowly drifted back to the ground and let out a puff of air. He then looked up to Hal who was now floating upside down and looking at him. Seeing the ground get closer Hal kicked frantically and managed to correct his positioning. Seeing Kirby standing on the ground he found himself compelled to land as well. His nervousness was clear however, though he only descended slowly he was nervous about hitting the ground, unsure of how it would be. Kirby could see this however.
"Poyo, pooyo" said Kirby beckoning for Hal to come down.
Hal stared at Kirby and after a moment trusted him. Hal then proceeded to drift downwards slowly, keeping his eyes on the ground as well as Kirby. As he neared the grass he extended his feet a bit to touch it. When he landed he immediately lost balance and rolled over, rolling down the hill gaining slight loft at every bump.
"Poyo!" said Kirby about to hurry to his friend before Hal managed to stop.
Hal gradually found his footing and stood. Being on the ground he began to feel how strange it was for him in this state. He didn't feel comfortable without his coat wrapped around him but his eyes felt fine. The lack of arms made him feel awkward as well but he didn't have Time to figure it out before Kirby poyoed and motioned for him to follow. Hal watched for a moment before following behind. As he did so he noticed just how light he felt, like he could blow away in even the slightest gust of wind. Fortunately there didn't seem to be any so he continued to follow close to Kirby.
Despite the little diversion Kirby could recall the destination he had planned out from the beginning, one of his favorite breakfast locations. It did not take them long before they arrived. Before them was a large field of watermelons.
"Poyo!" said Kirby excitedly, his mouth beginning to water.
Kirby was first into the field and immediately picked out a fresh melon to eat. Hal watched, unsure of what to do. He watched as Kirby shoved an entire watermelon into his mouth yet again and thought about doing the same. He looked to the melon nearest to him and approached it. After staring at it for a moment he leaned over and wrapped his mouth around it, engulfing it until it passed his lips and dropped into his transparent body. Due to that fact the melon could still be seen in his otherwise empty body. The watermelon weighed down on his feet causing his body to touch the ground slightly. Kirby noticed it and watched the melon curiously before it bubbled and vanished, startling Hal. Hal looked to Kirby who returned the look only to soon grab another melon and eat it. After watching Kirby for a moment Hal decided to eat another as well.
As those two went about their business Tiff and Bun went about theirs, shortly after eating their own breakfast.
"What do you think those two are up to?" Bun asked.
"Hal and Kirby? Probably sleeping right now or something" said Tiff.
"Ha ha ha, yea, we always gotta wake Kirby up when we get him" said Bun.
Tiff then began to think to herself and began to wonder what it was that Kirby would do when she wasn't with him, especially with someone like Hal around. She knew Kirby as the playful type and his carefree nature has gotten the better of him in the past, not to mention he was still so young and lacked common sense or judgment skills. She was almost surprised that she hadn't thought of this before. As of yet she didn't know much about Hal aside from that he was definitely about the age of Kirby but it was clear to her that Kirby became much more playful with others like himself around. This thought brought a slight sense of worry as well as a great deal of curiosity. Tiff's train of though was soon broken however when she heard two familiar voices addressing her.
"Tiff, Tuff, glad we ran into you" said the voices.
The source of the voices were those of two small figures hovering above them. Both figures had the same exact shape spherical with pointed tail like structures, white shoes, and white gloves. Both of them shared the same facial features as well, simply being that the only visible features were their large white eyes with black pupils. However, there was still a difference between them. One had pink skin and a yellow bow while the other was blue with no other features.
"Hello Lololo and Lalala. What have you two been doing?" Tiff asked.
"You missed Hal's party yesterday" said Bun.
"Hal? Who's Hal?" asked the pink one Lalala.
"Oh yea that's right. You guys didn't meet him. I guess you could say he's new to town" said Tiff.
"Yea, Dedede ordered him from Nightmare, he's a demon beast" said Bun.
"A demon beast? Just like us" said Lalala.
"Wait a minute… Nightmare? Didn't Kirby beat him?" the blue one Lololo asked.
"Well… it's a long story" said Tiff.
Lololo and Lalala looked at one another, a hint of worry in their eyes.
"Well, actually Tiff, that's kind of the reason we were glad to find you" said Lololo
"Dedede's been up to something all day. Lololo and I passed by his throne room and heard him shouting inside. When we went to look we seen something that looked really odd. He was talking to some little creature dressed in armor" Lalala explained.
"We seen this same th9ing earlier today as well, though not for long. He was running out of the kitchen with something" said Lololo.
"Then we seen him leaving the court yard a little later" said Lalala.
"And now… you mentioned Dedede was buying Demon beasts from Nightmare. Lalala and I thought the creature was a little suspicious and thought you might know something about it. Now well…" said Lololo.
"Do you think it might be a demon beast?" Lalala asked finishing Lololo's sentence.
Tiff felt her heart sink a little.
"So that's what was causing all that commotion earlier. Lololo, Lalala, you guys might be right. We should go ask Meta Knight about it" said Tiff growing serious.
"Yea" Lololo said.
The group of four ran onward towards Meta Knight's room, keeping an eye out on the area around them. Fortunately for them they did not encounter the creature that Dedede had ordered and were given a simple path to Meta Knight's room. As the approached, Tiff immediately knocked on the door and it was answered quickly. This time however, it was by Ragnarok.
"Hey Tiff, you came to visit me" said Ragnarok.
Meta Knight could see her from his position in the room.
"Tiff, you have been stopping by much more as of late" said Meta Knight.
"Sorry about that Meta Knight, but we need to talk to you" said Tiff.
"It is no trouble Tiff, please, take a seat" said Meta Knight motioning for her and Bun to sit.
Ragnarok turned and took his own seat in the room as the other four made their way inside, shutting the door behind themselves before sitting down.
"So, what is it that you need? I notice that things have become quite eventful as of late" said Meta Knight.
"Have you seen something running around the castle dressed in armor?" Tiff asked.
"I've got a name you know" said Ragnarok.
Lololo and Lalala found themselves curious about Ragnarok, given that they had never even seen him before. Thinking of it, they were almost shocked that they hadn't and yet he was here in Meta Knight's room.
"Umm, Pardon us but who might you be?" Lalala asked.
"You aught to know better than go around asking questions like that, mind your own damn business!" Ragnarok shouted as he drew his weapon and pointed it at them, startling them.
"Wha-! Oh umm, sorry abou-"Lalala started.
"You ever hear what curiosity does to a person?" Ragnarok asked, his tone growing darker as he leaned to them.
"Err, umm, well…" the two said beginning to shake.
"Gah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Nah, just kidd'n, name's Ragnarok. Just blew into town the other day through the castle's roof" said Ragnarok sheathing his weapon.
Lololo and Lalala looked at one another with shock and confusion.
"Don't worry about him too much you two" said tiff to Lololo and Lalala.
"Hey, weren't you asking meta Knight about something? Some armored thing?" Ragnarok asked.
"Yea… Lololo and Lalala could probably tell you about it, they were the ones who seen it today" said Tiff.
"It was this round thing, it kind of looked you but I think he was a bit smaller. He had this really sharp looking blade on the top and was running around the castle" Lalala explained.
"We couldn't tell what he was doing, just that he was carrying stuff" said Lololo.
"Tiff told us that Dedede was buying Demon beasts, do you think it might have been one?" Lalala asked.
"Hmm…" said Meta Knight, his eyes flashing green momentarily.
There wasn't much time for thought however as a commotion was heard from just outside the door. After the discussion they just had they had a pretty decent idea what it was about. Being the closest, Tiff swung the door open first, quickly followed by the others. there was no need to leave the room however as the figure who had been vaguely described to them all made his way past them.
"You dastardly thief, get back here this instant!" shouted the frazzled cabinet minister.
"Where do you think you're going?" said his wife Memu angrily.
The creature did not stop however and continued on to wherever it's destination may have been. It took no more motivation than that to give them cause to pursue the creature with the entire group giving chase. After only a short pursuit the creature made it's way to an obvious destination, the open door to Dedede's throne room. When the group approached the door they could see King Dedede at his seat near the back of the room and the armored creature making it's way towards him. The group came to a stop and instead of entering, simply listened in.
"Ha ha! Good work Sir Kibble, you really are an obedient one, and you found me some good treasure at that" said Dedede happily.
"Sire that's got to be the sixth thing you sent him to do since you got him. Don't you think you should send him after Kirby now or what?" said Escargon.
"Hey, this is fun. I think you may have a replacement in the near future Escargon" said Dedede with a laugh.
Escargon fell silent and pale with that remark.
"But sire, you wouldn't really replace me with that demon beast would you?" Escargon asked.
Dedede seemed to be ignoring him.
"Alright, what do you gotta do for me next?" Dedede asked to himself.
Their echoes sounded clear through the room, it was the part about it being a demon beast that really caught everyone's attention.
"So it was a demon beast after all" said Tiff.
"Heh heh heh heh, finally. Been too long since I carved one of them up" said Ragnarok beginning to draw his weapon.
"Wait. You should think twice about this before acting" said Meta Knight.
"Huh? Why's that?" Ragnarok asked.
"Dedede has had a lack of trust in me since I revealed my true intentions a month ago. I was fortunate enough to return to my position afterwards, and since he is aware of both of us being star warriors he has little trust for either of us. If we attack his demon beasts he is bound to remove our positions and remove us from the castle" Meta Knight explained.
"Yea, what the hell's the problem with that?" Ragnarok asked.
Meta Knight looked to Ragnarok and Tiff motioning for them to follow. They did so and the two made their way down the hall a bit, leaving the others out of earshot.
"It is simple. We have the perfect position to keep an eye on Nightmare's actions through the king. Without these positions we will be unable to keep track of his actions. If that happens we will be blind and Nightmare will have the full upper hand… Ragnarok, it is our job to keep an eye on Dedede and Nightmare. Before the original Nightmare was defeated I left the job of defeating the demon beasts up to Kirby. Tiff, I must ask you to assist Kirby as you always have. I am afraid the threat of demon beasts is indeed returning, but fortunately, our old tactics should continue to work. Right now Tiff, you must go warn Kirby, that demon beast will not pose a threat to him but Dedede will indefinitely send that demon beast after him" Meta Knight explained.
"Your right. I'll go tell him right away" said Tiff immediately turning to leave.
"Huh? Sounds like there's more to that kid than I know" said Ragnarok.
"Yes, Tiff has been at Kirby's side for nearly every demon beast that Dedede sent after him. Without her Kirby would forget his abilities as well as lack any means to summon his warp star" Meta Knight explained.
"And someone like that beat Nightmare huh? Either Kirby's more than he looks or Nightmare himself was just a chump. Anyway, we're gonna be playing spy huh? Alright, I think I can deal with that" said Ragnarok.
"Good. We must also keep an eye on Kirby and Tiff to be sure that they remain safe. We cannot interfere however unless the situation grows truly dire or our actions can remain subtle" Meta Knight explained.
"Sounds like a plan. Not something I'm used to but hey, might as well get good at everything right?" said Ragnarok.
Kirby and Hal had left the melon patch behind them as they headed towards town. Today Kirby appeared to be with an undying smile, others his age were rare, as were those with similar demeanors. Of course Kirby couldn't see this, he was simply just happy to be with Hal. Hal himself was still in the form of the blur green bubble and was getting used to walking like this.
As the two passed by a river Hal found himself intrigued, staring at the running water. The shifting scene that formed as the water rippled captured his attention. After a moment he noticed something else, there was something staring back at him, a blue green spherical creature with a lack of arms, two eyes, a mouth, and a large color shifting oblong sphere on either side of his face. Hal yelped and jumped backwards only to slowly drift back downwards onto his back.
Poyo!" Kirby shouted, running over to Hal, alarmed at his yelp
Hal rose to his feet and stared back at the water a little ways away, cautious about approaching it again. Kirby noticed Hal's fear and approached the water curiously. Looking down Kirby could only see his reflection. A smile spread over his face as he laid down on his belly and began splashing around in the water. Seeing this, Hal was quick to forget about what had scared him about it and approached to see what he was doing. When he looked into the water he seen the same image looking back at him, imitating his movements. Seeing Kirby splashing around he intended to do the same thing, at least, until he realized yet again that he lacked any arms. Instead, he decided to use his feet. With one foot on the bank he slowly dipped the other into the water resulting in a surprise to feel the cold water as well as to see the effect that it had on the surface. He dipped his foot in a couple more times before he began to kick and splash it around. However, just because he had learned how to walk in this form did not mean that it had any more balance. As Hal proceeded to kick a couple more times he lost his footing and fell into the water with only a slight splash. Although the water was not Rapid Hal began to panic and kick around as his low density body followed the water's will.
"Poyo!" Kirby shouted after seeing his friend fall in.
Kirby hurried to the edge and reached his stubby arm out.
"Poyo!" Kirby shouted as he leaned over the side to catch Hal.
Hal looked over to him, Kirby's voice breaking some of his panic. Hal kicked rapidly in response but failed to catch the water in a way that would push him over to Kirby and Hal continued to drift along the light current. It may not have been fast but more than enough to frighten Hal. Kirby was desperate to help his friend but couldn't reach him. Looking at the water Kirby didn't hesitate to jump in and began swimming towards Hal who had rotated, his face now under water. Hal opened his eyes and seen what position he was in as he attempted to hold his breath, he had recalled the incident at the castle where he had fallen into the moat and was struggling to keep his head up so he could breathe. This was different however, somehow the water felt natural on his face unlike how it had felt in the castle. He felt Kirby take hold from behind and roll him over. Hal immediately took a breath taking note of his bubble like form stretching out a bit.
"Poyo" said Kirby relived with a large smile
Hal looked at Kirby and smiled wide as well. Suddenly his panic seemed to fade away and he felt confident. Kirby looked around and wondered how they would get to shore. Instead of thinking of course he took the first good opportunity he seen and swam to shore using one arm and dragging Hal by the foot as they climbed onto land. The two rolled into sitting positions and took a rest. However, that rest would be very short lived as the sound of an engine roaring in the distance began to close in. Hal and Kirby turned to look and could see the dust cloud in the distance. The two stared t it and rose to their feet. In only a short moment it had closed in on them and quickly slowed to a halt. The source of it all was something that Kirby had seen plenty of times before, a white and gold limousine.
"Found ya Kirby, it's been too long" said Dedede.
"Just like the good old days huh Kirby?" Escargon asked.
"Poyo?" said Kirby confused.
"You aint gonna poyo your way outa this Kirby, It's been too long since we last had our fun with you… an jes who's this with ya? New friend of yours huh? Well looks like I'll have to show him who's king round these parts as well. Sir Kibble! Eliminate that Kirby and his friend there!" Dedede shouted.
Hal and Kirby watched as a copper armored creature leaped out of the car, grabbed the blade atop it's helmet, and flung it at the two.
"Poyo?" said Kirby as he jumped out of the way.
Hal gasped and leaped backwards falling onto his back. The blade sliced it's way through the air and returned to Sir Kibble only to be thrown at the two yet again. Kirby dodged towards Hal who himself, rolled out of the way. When the opening created its self both of them rose to their feet and began to flee opposite the car.
"You two aint go'n anywhere!" Dedede shouted.
Escargon revved the engine and followed behind them with Sir Kibble at the ready. With Kirby and Hal still in range Sir Kibble tossed his blade yet again. Kirby managed to narrowly dodge it but the back of it managed to strike an unaware Hal launching his light weight body off to the side with ease. When the blade flew off of him the large oblong blotches on either side of his face flashed briefly. Hal shouted with pain but managed to avoid injury. Kirby looked to him worriedly before the blade was thrown at him again. Kirby managed to dodge and hurry over to Hal who was rolling around on the ground whimpering.
"Poyo po poyo" said Kirby trying to comfort his friend as he reached out to him.
Hal looked to Kirby and gradually stopped whimpering. Upon seeing what was behind him however, Hal quickly shot up and began to run. Kirby looked back and quickly followed Hal's lead as Dedede's limousine pursued them. Despite the two's running, thanks to the limo, Sir Kibble retained his range on them and didn't hesitate to throw his boomerang like blade again and again. Fortunately Kirby and Hal had enough stamina to keep evading, but they were at the disadvantage. The two returned to the main road and continued to flee along it, dodging Sir Kibble as much as they could, however, the two noticed something off in the distance. It was the figure of a person moving towards them and it quickly became clear that it was Tiff followed closely by her brother.
"Oh no! Dedede's already after him!" Tiff shouted.
"What are we gonna do now Tiff?" Bun asked.
Tiff observed the situation. She watched as Escargon drove the limo leaving Sir Kibble to attack Kirby, as well as this other figure she didn't recognize. There was little she herself could do aside from notice that Kirby was of course simply running around without using his ability. As usual she would have to remind him.
Tiff and Bun made their way closer to the fight in order to enter earshot of Kirby.
"Kirby, inhale the demon beast!" Tiff shouted.
Kirby who had seen her previously heard her and stopped in his tracks leaving Hal to crash into him and knock him over.
"What's Tiff do'n here?" Dedede asked.
"Probably here to help out those pests" said Escargon.
"Stay outa this girlie! Sir Kibble, what's take'n you so long!" Dedede asked.
Sir Kibble tossed his blade once more and looked back to Dedede. Just as he did so he felt a powerful gust of wind pull at him from the front of the car. When he looked, it was Kirby, his mouth wide open sucking in the surrounding air. Dedede and Escargon immediately hit the brakes as both he and Dedede held onto the sides of it tightly. Sir Kibble however, despite trying to hold his ground, was thrown off when the car stopped and sent sailing in Kirby's vacuum. Just as he approached Kirby's gaping mouth Kirby was struck hard in the back off the head from Sir Kibble's returning blade.
Sir Kibble hit the ground and slid a short distance before stopping himself. He immediately rose up and caught the blade as it flew back to him. In response to this new threat, another blade appeared atop his helmet and he quickly removed that one as well. Now with two blades in his hands he hurried back to the limo and jumped back atop it.
"Ha ha, this guy just stopped Kirby in his tracks" said Dedede to Escargon.
Sir Kibble returned his attention to Kirby and Hal who had recovered mostly from the attack. He also noticed Tiff and Bun making their way over to them. He responded by tossing a single blade towards them. Seeing this Tiff and Bun stopped and dodged as the blade narrowly missed them. The blade didn't seem to be intended to hit them however, more or less to keep them at bay. With his second blade Sir Kibble proceeded to toss it at Kirby to prevent Kirby from trying to inhale him again. It was now that he perceived Kirby as being much more of a threat than Hal. As his second blade returned to him he immediately tossed it again forcing Kirby and Hal back on the run.
Of course, Escargon wasted no time reacting to the situation and immediately picked up the chase again. As Kirby and Hal fled to the left of the car, along the branching road, Tiff and bun ran to keep up with them. If Tiff couldn't help Kirby directly, she could at least keep on the lookout for him. Sir Kibble continued his ferocious assault, casting both blades at Hal and Kirby whenever he had the opportunity causing Kirby and Hal to make awkward evasions. The fact that the two continued to be so persistent began to infuriate Dedede.
"Alright, this has gone on long enough. Looks like I'm gonna have to do something about that now won't I" said Dedede.
Dedede extended his finger to press one of the switches on his side of the vehicle but Escargon took notice of which one it was.
"Sire, you can't use that now, we're too close, we'll get caught up in the explosion when it fires" said Escargon frantically.
Dedede considered that for a moment and realized that Escargon was right, he didn't feel like wrecking his car yet again after all. Instead he chose something else and pressed it's switch. Out from a hatch in the front of the vehicle extended the long mechanical arm wielding a giant mallet.
Sir Kibble retrieved his blades and tossed them yet again causing Hal and Kirby to dodge out of the way. This however caused Hal to lose his footing yet again and roll on the ground. Dedede seen the opportunity and the mallet swung down violently, directly onto Hal.
"Poyo!" Kirby shouted attempting to approach him but he was forced to dodge another of Sir Kibble's attacks.
The moment Hal's body was flattened against the ground he felt all the air in his bubble like form get squeezed from his mouth. In that moment he felt a surge of energy and a puff of smoke appeared around him, forcing the mallet up slightly. Dedede proceeded to retract it regardless and from beneath it, it was revealed to be Hal having returned to his original form. Hal slowly rose up, stunned from the attack and turned dazed to look around.
"Huh! What's all this about! That's that waste of a demon beast Nightmare sent me!" Dedede shouted.
"So this is where that thing ended up, figures he'd be with Kirby" said Escargon.
"I call treason on this, he turned against me!" Dedede shouted.
"Don't do anything crazy sire, surely you must remember what Nightmare said about him" said Escargon.
Dedede fell silent to recall for a moment.
"Awe yea, that. Well if he's any strong he won't get beaten by our new demon beast now will he" said Dedede.
Sir Kibble reared back his arms and tossed his blades at both Kirby and Hal. Hal seen it coming but was worn out from what had just occurred and instead of dodging with any form of grace, he simply collapsed onto the ground causing the blade to miss. Kirby rolled out of the way of the one that had targeted him as well and approached Hal. Hal had risen to his feet again and looked around frightened.
Tiff and Bun had seen everything from their position and were surprised to see that that bubble creature had actually been Hal. Instead of worrying about what that was about she was much more concerned with the situation. Sir Kibble was keeping them pinned and unable to do anything but flee, which Both Kirby and Hal had begun to do again towards a nearby tree. The two were unable to make it far however as Hal could barely run at this point and Kirby chose to stick by him. It was only a short distance from the limo however and Sir Kibble was determined to finish them. He drew back his arms yet again and flung both blades at them.
They sailed towards them but again failed to finish them. One had flown over Kirby's head while the other got lodged into the trunk of the tree near Hal. Tiff noticed the blade flying through the air and seen this as Kirby's opportunity.
"Kirby, suck up that blade!" Tiff shouted.
Kirby was surprised to hear her voice but acknowledged what she had told him and he immediately began to inhale the weapon. Seeing this Sir Kibble revealed yet another trick of his and the blade sticking out of the tree vanished only to appear in his hand again. As the blade neared Kirby's mouth Sir Kibble threw the weapon to Kirby's blind spot. Hal took notice of it however and seen it heading directly for Kirby. Despite lacking any knowledge of what to do Hal hurried between Kirby and the weapon. In his new position the blade was now coming for him. With a frightened mind Hal followed his impulse and took hold of his hood, pulling it over his face before crouching down, prepared to take the hit. As it was, the blade struck hard, however what it had struck were the hard gems on the backs of his hands. The gems flashed brightly, knocking him back, just barely missing Kirby.
With the opportunity Hal had given him Kirby was able to inhale the blade. After a brief moment Kirby felt a familiar surge of energy and he leaped into the air. As he did so a yellow hat donned with small white wings and two black eyes placed its self into his head. As it did something began to fly around him wildly before placing its self onto the hat. The something in question was a sharp looking blade that glinted in the sunlight. As the blade was flying around Kirby it startled Hal who had attempted to get up and run away from it. As he did so however he felt heavy and the glow from his gems persisted. It only resulted in him falling onto his face yet again.
Kirby, now donned in his new hat turned to Sir Kibble who now lacked any sort of weapon.
"Why that Kirby, Sir Kibble finish them off!" Dedede ordered.
Sir Kibble concentrated for a moment before another blade appeared on his helmet followed by another which he took as they formed. Kirby jumped up immediately and tossed his blade at Sir Kibble who tossed both of his. One contacted Kirby's while the other flew past it causing Kirby to dodge.
"Alright, he's cutter Kirby now" said Bun.
"I knew he would do it" said Tiff Happily.
At that she noticed Hal lying face first on the ground.
"Oh no, Bun, we have to help Hal!" Tiff shouted.
"Right" said Bun as the two hurried over to him.
Kirby caught his blade as did Sir Kibble. The two stared each other down briefly before Tiff and Bun closed in on Hal. Seeing this Sir Kibble proceeded to toss both blades at them. Kirby however was quick to respond. Seeing them in danger triggered him to jump in front of them, deflecting both blades with his own. Tiff and Bun helped Hal up off of the ground and began to lead him away from the fight. As the moved he looked to them before suddenly feeling rejuvenated.
"Hey, those two are get'n away with Hal!" Dedede shouted.
"Why don't we just go take care of him ourselves then. We can leave the tin can here to finish Kirby" said Escargon.
"Good idea, Sir Kibble, you stay here and finish off Kirby" said Dedede, ready to smash Hal into the ground again.
Sir Kibble listened and acknowledged Dedede before jumping off of the car. Dedede immediately turned to engage Hal. Sir Kibble and Kirby stared at one another, watching each other's moves. In an instant Sir Kibble tossed one of this blades and strafed to the left. As Kirby deflected the first blade Sir Kibble tossed his other resulting in Kirby dodging it. When the first blade returned Sir Kibble immediately tossed it again. At the moment Kirby was stuck on the defensive and focusing solely on Sir Kibble's attacks before noticing Dedede going after the others. As he attempted to move to them he found Sir Kibble between them and him. Sir Kibble then tossed a recently returned blade at Kirby yet again, forcing Kirby to hold his ground.
"You two better drop that demon beast and get outa the way now if you don't wanna get the death penalty" said Dedede to Bun and Tiff.
"Why can't you just leave them alone. Neither of them have ever done anything to you" said Tiff.
"For a king you're nothing but a bully" said Bun.
"You're right! I am your king! And you all gotta do what I tell ya to, so get outa the way!" Dedede shouted.
Just as he finished speaking Tiff and Bun felt a surge of pressure emanate from Hal who had turned around to look at Dedede. The two backed away from him slightly as the area around him began to feel heavy.
"What's go'n on with him?" Escargon asked.
Hal stared with a puzzled stare then lifted his hands to look at them as they had suddenly begun to shake. Hal had suddenly begun to feel nervous but felt energy circulating throughout his body. In a flash Hal's Hood suddenly blew off of his face revealing a thick green lensed visor over his eyes as well as a pair of large pointy ears that extended from the top of his head and rested against his back. At this Hal gradually reached up and touched the unfamiliar article in front of his eyes. As he did so he also notices something else. Connected to the gems on the back of his hands were now two long blades, one on each gem. Studying them they were thick and short at the front but grew thinner where they curved outward.
"Huh! I didn't know he could do that! Dedede shouted.
"Looks like He wasn't as useless as we thought" said Escargon.
"Let's take him out and tell Nightmare bout it then" said Dedede.
The mallet wielding arm on the vehicle reared back, prepared to come crashing down onto Hal. Hal stared in confusion at it, even Tiff and Bun were confused about what to do. In a moment the mallet began plummeting towards him striking Hal into fear. As it neared him Hal suddenly felt the urge to fight back and instinctively closed his eyes swung his fist upwards causing his large ears to flop. He felt as if something had left his arm and soon heard the sound of the hammer crash beside him. When he opened his eyes to look he seen that it had been completely severed and noticed the glint of one of his blades spinning through the air. Hal stared at it still confused before it flew back to him. As it did he yelped and reached up his arm while closing his eyes to block it. Instead of hitting him however, it re attached its self to the gem on his hand and he opened his eyes again, though they couldn't be seen through the visor. Dedede stared at the damage in shock. Until now Hal had done nothing but try to run, now it had just destroyed one of Dedede's weapons.
"Why you little munchkin! How dare you destroy my things!" Dedede shouted.
"I didn't think he had it in him" said Escargon.
Hal listened to them for a moment but soon noticed Kirby near the tree in combat with Sir Kibble. Kirby had heard the crash from the hammer but was attacked again before he could observe anything. At this point Kirby was eager to gain the upper hand, however, sir Kibble remained in control and was almost always armed or prepared. Kirby had yet to even get a throw in. in a moment, Sir Kibble retrieved both of his blades and again hurled them both at Kirby. Kirby attempted to deflect one but would be open for the other so he simply dodged both of them yet again. When he recovered he found that Sir Kibble had no weapons. Kirby took the rare opportunity to make his first attack and threw his blade at him. Sir Kibble managed to roll out of the way and retrieve both of his blades as they flew back to him. Dedede and Escargon noticed the situation with Sir Kibble and Kirby.
"That good for nothin demon beast hasn't finished off Kirby yet!" Dedede shouted.
Hal couldn't help but notice Kirby's predicament, he continued to get overwhelmed from the demon beast's assault. Recalling what he had just done Hal found himself compelled to hurry over to Kirby's aid and immediately began to engage Sir Kibble. As Kirby deflected one of Sir Kibble's blades and prepared to deflect the other. Just as it neared him the blade was knocked out of the air with a loud clang. As it was, it was from another blade and when he looked to see where it had come from he seen Hal hurrying over as fast as he could, catching the blade as it returned to the back of his hand. From there he stood side by side with Kirby while Sir Kibble retrieved his blades.
Now faced with two opponents, Sir Kibble returned to his guard and began to size them up, preparing for an attack. Kirby and Hal seemed to be doing something similar. Being prepared for combat like this was something new to Hal, unlike Kirby who had done this plenty of times before. Sir Kibble however proved to be more aggressive than the others and began his attack again, flinging a blade at each of them. At this point though, Kirby and Hal had gotten enough experience with these blades to know how to defend themselves against them, even counter them. As the blades were deflected the two split up a bit and flung their own blades at him. Sir Kibble dodged them both narrowly and found himself thrown off balance but managed to catch his blades as they returned.
Sir Kibble could see that he was now out matched, victory would be difficult against two opponents such as these. As he bided time for his next move Dedede and Escargon brought their vehicle back onto the road facing them from a decent distance away.
"Alright you two, it's time to finish this for good!" Dedede shouted, pressing a button before him.
As he did, it caused a second hatch on the front of the limousine to open and reveal a short mechanical arm holding a large black, box shaped rocket launcher with four openings in the end. Sir Kibble acknowledged what Dedede has said and attempted to bring an end to the fight, tossing both of his blades at Kirby and Hal yet again. However, Kirby had other plans this time. As the blades closed in and were deflected Kirby placed all of his focus into his blade. As a result, it had begun to glow with a bright light. Kirby then leaped into the air while Hal flung his blade again. Kirby extended his weapon in front of himself and came crashing back down to the ground.
"Final Cutter" Kirby shouted as he impacted the ground.
Hal looked to Kirby and was immediately blasted by the bright light from the tall beam that had been formed. As it appeared the beam immediately traveled forward, crashing into the back of Hal's weapon and pushed it towards Sir Kibble who had no idea how to react. A moment after the beam impacted Hal's weapon, that weapon had begun to glow, charged with the energy from Kirby's attack resulting in a wide horizontal beam. Together they formed a symbol that looked like a plus and sliced through a defenseless sir Kibble, destroying him immediately.
"Woah! Escargon get us out of here" said Dedede, his voice beginning to shake.
Escargon quickly put the car in reverse and began to back away from it as fast as he could. The beams of energy were much faster than the car however and quickly closed in. Dedede and Escargon were in a panic as the beam sliced into the front of their vehicle and made it's way to them. It was only a matter of time before it reached them. With little option the two took a dive out of the car and rolled onto the grass. When they turned to asses the damage, their car had been sliced into four equal lengths and the beam had dispersed. They stared at their vehicle devastated. Not only did Sir Kibble fail but they lost their vehicle yet again.
"Kirby, this aint the end of this, ya hear me!" Dedede shouted before he and Escargon turned to hurry back to the castle.
Kirby and Hal stared forward blankly at the vehicle they had just destroyed and reverted to their normal states. They were shortly joined by Tif and Bun who had been watching the entire time.
"You did it you guys!" said Tiff excitedly.
"Poyo!" said Kirby happily.
Hal replied with a large smile of his own.
Tiff and Bun weren't the only ones watching however. In the distance, standing within a tree were Ragnarok and Meta Knight.
"Heh heh, so that's what pinkies capable of huh? Guess I can see how he was able to beat Nightmare" said Ragnarok.
"Indeed, he has many more forms than that as well, I simply call that one Cutter Kirby" said Meta Knight.
"Still took him forever to take out that pipsqueak though" said Ragnarok.
"Indeed, Though that demon beast even surprised me. He could handle Kirby's ability to inhale his enemies as well as his cuter form" said Meta Knight.
"No kidding. Course, looks like he didn't stand much of a chance against two opponents. Kinda surprised to see Kirby's abilities but what's up with that other guy, Hal or whatever. Some ball form then suddenly he can use cutter. How's that work?" Ragnarok asked.
"Yes, I was wondering that myself. I have never fought a demon beast like that before" said Meta Knight.
"Well, it was cutter, least looked like cutter, Kirby could copy cutter by sucking in the weapon. You think Hal was able to copy that too?" Ragnarok asked.
"Perhaps, again, I have yet to see such traits amongst demon beasts. If it is a copy ability… then how and why?" Meta Knight asked.
A short time had passed before Dedede and Escargon had returned to the castle. They would tend to the vehicle later but at the moment Dedede's rage drove him to call and complain to Nightmare. Sitting in hit throne Dedede pressed the button to connect to Nightmare's headquarters. When the screen opened and focused it was revealed to be the customer service donned in blue.
"Hello and welcome to Holy Nightmare corporation ho-" Customer Service started before being cut off.
"Knock it off, you know why I'm call'n I ordered a demon beast from you and it failed horribly!" Dedede shouted.
"Ah yes, one Sir Kibble correct?" Customer Service asked.
"Of course!" Dedede shouted.
"I see, if you would I believe my boss would like to hear your thoughts himself then, if you would wait but a moment" said customer service before the screen switched to Nightmare.
"So, how'd it work?" Nightmare asked.
"Horribly, Kirby and that worthless free demon beast you sent me clobbered it!" shouted Dedede.
"Clobbered it hmm, by Kirby and my demon beast as well? How did it go then?" Nightmare asked.
"Started off do'n everything I told it to but when it was time to fight he couldn't hold up. We chased Kirby and Hal all over the darn place and he still couldn't hit em'! even when he took out two o' those blades he was use'n he couldn't beat em' then Kirby sucked one up and beat him with that other demon beast!" Dedede shouted.
"Is that so. Well, as I told you, you shouldn't expect much from that first demon beast. However, thanks to your efforts we should be able to sort some things out and get some better products. I wish to thank you personally for your business and I promise, further business such as this will be rewarded, you have my word" said Nightmare.
"Your word huh? Long as you can get me some decent Demon beasts you can count on my business" said Dedede.
"Excellent, I shall see you whenever it may be that you need more demon beasts, farewell" said Nightmare before cutting off connection.
Dedede found himself less enraged than before as he slouched in his throne.
"Well, looks like things are gonna be back to the way they were again soon" said Escargon.
Dedede sat silently before he broke out in laughter.
"Looks like it. Time to start think'n about get'n some things done around here" said Dedede with a grin.
As Dedede finished speaking the door to his throne room opened and Waddle Doo made his way inside.
"Your Majesty, I was asked to give you a message" said Waddle Doo.
"what kind of message?" Dedede asked.
"It's from that sorceress Labid, she arrived while you were out and wishes to speak to you" said Waddle Doo.
At Holy Nightmare, Nightmare had just cut off connection with Dedede.
"It is a shame that Dedede is so unfair with our demon beasts. We may not be able to rely on him for an accurate evaluation of them" said the blue customer service.
"It's no issue, I've read his files and know what to expect from him. Given his description I know that Sir Kibble had preformed better than I had expected, yet just as he was designed to perform. Not to mention, I am sure to implant them with something to give me readings" said Nightmare.
He reached beside his chair and retrieved an electronic tablet.
"From what I can see he was in combat for a while. His spikes of aggression lasted until his defeat, before all this his compulsion spikes fluctuate slightly, Dedede was likely ordering him around at this time. Later along the aggression spikes I can see hints of stress that seem to rise and cap out near the end when his spikes of worry begin" Nightmare explained.
"He also mentioned Hal, looks like he's with Kirby" said the red suited Customer Service.
"Yes. And Hal preformed exactly as he was supposed to. More data like that and we should be able to make some major improvements to our cutter demon beasts. Still, we are a long ways away, but so long as Dedede wants Kirby dead we will have an endless source to gather data" Nightmare explained.
"Perhaps you should consider something boss. There are still a number of rogue demon beasts out there, even someone Pop Star. You may wish to think about what you wish to do about them" said the blue Customer Service.
"Name the ones on Pop Star to me then" said Nightmare.
"Of course. There is Kurai of course, the one who manipulates shadows. She had been fighting Demon beasts since she broke your predecessors hold on her. She's mostly a wanderer but happens to be on Pop Star at the moment. Then there is Labid who had been meant to sow chaos on her worlds by creating demon beasts in the field. She arrived on Pop Star some time ago but has yet to create any more demon beasts. Another is a potion maker by the name of Pauwau, also a recent arrival" said the blue Customer Service.
"Yea, I took a look at that, Kurai may hunt demon beasts but she still suffers the effects of Nightmare's curse. She may prove useful. Labid seems to be just fine. Though I just wonder what amount of ability Nightmare had given her to make demon beasts. I will have to look into it more. As for Pauwau, I will need to check up on her past, see what potions she makes. They also seems to have their uses however, let's just wait and see" said Nightmare.
[There you have it, again sorry about the wait. Hope it was worth it. Well, it's long if that was any consolation! Anyway I should have some more chapters up soon so be ready. Also, if anyone wants to chat feel free to send me a message. Anyway I am off to do stuff, see ya!]