[How ya do'n folks! After a two year absence, I've finally updated this story again! But, seriously, I had no idea I was gone that long, especially since I've been developing this story on a regular basis since I started it. I was kinda sad to see that it had been that long since this is one of my personal favorite stories I've been working on... man, hope some of my old readers are still around. It was your feedback and comments that helped bring me back to this. Anyway, I intend to work on this story until completion, and update it on a regular basis. Should be easy since I actually have the next two chapters planned out already, buuuut that won't be until after my vacation. Anyway, I would like to apologize first that I have yet to actually proofread this chapter since I've gotta catch a plane to Florida in three hours. When I have an opportunity however, I will proofread this as well as make any adjustments to my previous chapters that I may need. Also, I messed up a bit in the last chapter with some character details which will be fixed as well. The one who's character i'm talking about probably knows what I'm talking about, hint, it's the character this chapter is about... anyway, without further adieu, let's finally get back to the adventure!]
Dedede sat in his throne, arms crossed and a scowl over his face as he stared towards the large double doors in front of him. Escargon was there as well in a similar stature as the king though he was standing. It was only a few minutes ago that Waddle Doo had left the room, but, alas, the doors soon opened.
"Your majesty, I've retrieved the sorceress, Labid for you" said Waddle Doo stepping through the doors first.
Waddle Doo was followed shortly by a maroon colored rabbit creature with floppy round ears donned in a primarily jade green robe and a teal colored band covering her right eye. A more notable feature she carried with her however was a pair of fluffy tails that shared the deeper mauve color of her freckles and feet.
Making her way forward to the center of the room, the creature took a bow to the king in his throne as she came to a halt.
"Greetings my liege, the name is Labid. I believe we have spoken before... briefly anyway, have we not?" the creature asked.
"Yea we did, and I'm not too keen on doing it again. So what brought you back to pester me this time?" Dedede asked.
"well, I figured you might be able to make use of my services of course. Yes, I've heard about what's been going on. Aliens appearing all over the place. Battling with your arch enemy. Word gets around, and I notice allot. However, I've taken note that you still have not taken me up on my offer, so I figured another meeting might be able to convince you to change your mind" Labid explained.
"And just why is it you want to work for the king so badly?" Escargon asked.
"Why? Well it's quite simple. My abilities are going to waste out there on my own and I've gotten a craving to get in on some action again. It's for my health in a way. Trust me. You'll find that it is more beneficial to have me as an assistant than not" said Labid.
At that moment, both the king and Escargon went silent with thought before turning to one another.
"Sire, do you really think we can trust her? Personally I think we'll do just fine without her here" said Escargon to Dedede.
"Yea, maybe... although if she really can help with getting rid of Kirby, then it's probably a good idea to have her along... alright Escargon, I've gots an idea" Said Dedede before returning to a proper sitting position.
"So, you really wanna help out that badly do ya? Well hows about we give you a little test. Yea, I think I remember you tell'n me about some magic n' whatnot you could do. So, what I want you to do is demonstrate what you've got on that little pink pest Kirby" Dedede requested.
"Ah yes, of course, the little pink puff. Very well my liege, I can assure you satisfaction in this endeavor. It should be entertaining, to say the least" Labid assured Dedede.
"Oh it'd better be, or it's back onto the streets for you" Dedede threatened.
"Of course" Labid replied before bowing once again and turning to make her exit.
"Sire, you can't be serious about keeping her around" said an irritated Escargon.
"Of course not! Haha, aint no way she's gonna be able to pull off anything that'll impress me" said Dedede with a grin.
Elsewhere, in the fields just outside of Cappy Town, were the kids of the town along with Kirby and Hal, playing a game of soccer. With a fierce kick, Bun sent the ball soaring straight towards Hal who stared at it as it soared towards him.
"Quick Hal! Stop it with your head and kick it into the goal!" Bun shouted.
Hal turned his head slightly to look at Bun just in time for the ball to ream him in the head and knock him to the ground. Before the ball had a chance to his the ground however, Kirby managed to run up o it and catch it.
"Poyo poyo" said Kirby to Hal as Hal pushed himself back to his feet.
With Hal's attention, Kirby proceeded to show him how to do it. He tossed up the ball and slowly bounced it off of his scalp before hoping into the air and giving the ball a quick kick. Although it was a simple kick with little effort, Kirby managed to kick it perfectly and send the ball into the goal past the defending Hohhe.
"Hey, that doesn't count, Kirby touched it with his hands" Hohhe complained.
"Gah, just one more point... man, this is impossible to play with these guys" Bun complained.
"Knock it off Bun, they're still learning" scolded Tiff who was sitting off to the side reading.
"Yea, well, you'd think after two years Kirby would finally understand how to play" said Bun.
Tiff Glared at her younger brother over her book, startling him a bit.
"Yea, well, I'm getting tired of playing this anyway, how about we go find something else to do?" Bun asked.
"Alright, but you know we were gonna win" said Iroo.
"Not a chance! We had that game and you know it" Bun argued as the kids began to leave.
Kirby and Hal began to follow when Kirby stopped, seemingly distracted by something. As it was, it appeared to be his stomach, or it's equivalent as he began to where one would presume a belly would be. Hal took note of this and just watched him as he looked around the area. Tiff however, also took note, of this and her experience with Kirby made it pretty obvious what he was doing.
"Hey Kirby, ya hungry?" Tiff asked as she returned her book to her bag.
"Poyo poi" said Kirby excitedly before hurrying over to her.
"Alright then, you guys have had a pretty buisy day today, you must be starving... hmm, now let's see... aha, I know! How about we pay a visit to Whispy? It's been a while since our last visit, plus, we can introduce him to Hal" Tiff suggested.
"Poyo poyo poyo!" said Kirby excitedly.
A big smile grew over Hal's face as well, likely due to how positive his friends were feeling.
"Alright then, c'mon you guys" said Tiff leading the way.
In a nearby tree, just to the left of where everything was taking place sat a shadowy black crow that watched as the trio made their way elsewhere before turning to fly off.
The crow made it's way through the gentle air, focusing on a little area shaded over by a small handful of trees and shrubbery. There, on a stump in the center sat the sorceress Labid, flipping through a large tome. On the cover it read "Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft and Spells". As the crow neared her location, she flipped the book closed and turned her attention to it. Labid then rose her arm allowing the crow to perch as she leaned her ear close to it.
"Hmm... I see. Whispy woods then. Alright, this could yet prove interesting" said Labid as the bird vanished.
Meanwhile, back at the castle sat a seemingly irritated Escargon beneath a tree in the castle courtyard. In his hands he held a monitor with a couple buttons and the like on either side of it. On the screen he could see the rat sorceress leaving her spot in the small patch of trees.
"Leaving to the woods huh? Just what are you going to do?" Escargon asked himself scowling.
"Wow Escargon, I've never thought of you as that much of a creeper" said a voice from behind.
"Gahh, Mari! What are you doing here?" asked Escargon, holding the screen of the device to his chest.
"Just taking a walk. Do you always sit out here and stalk girls like that?" Mari asked.
"Gahh, no no no no, i-it's not what it looks like!" said Escargon in a fluster.
"Maybe not, and if not, what's it supposed to be then?" Mari asked.
"N-none of your business that's what!" shouted Escargon.
"Creeper" Mari replied.
"Knock it off with that... alright, you know that rat Labid? Well the king sent her off to so something to impress him, thing is I don't trust her in the slightest, so, that should be sufficient to explain why I want to keep an eye on her" Escargon reluctantly explained.
"I see... still kinda creepy though" stated Mari.
"Ah what do you know? Besides, aren't you supposed to be training or something?" Escargon asked.
"Ohmigosh! You're right! Oh man, I'm sooooo late!" wailed a panicked Mari before hurrying off.
"Hmph" said Escargon smugly before turning his attention back to his monitor.
Elsewhere, Tiff and the others continues to make their way to the forest where Whispy lived and stopped just at it's outskirts.
"Okay Hal I I need you to listen carefully. I need you to stay close to Kirby and I because it's easy to get lost in here if you lose your way. Do you hear me?" Tiff asked.
Hal stared at her intently as she spoke to him and a moment after she was finished, smiled at her.
"Well... I guess I'll take that as a yes then. Alright you two, let's go" said Tiff as she motioned to them.
The trio had begun making their way through the forest with Kirby and Hal taking time to admire the scenery. All around them sat the tranquil beauty of Whispy's forest.
"You like it here Hal? It really doesn't get much better than this. Taking a walk surrounded by nature. That's what makes Pupu land such a great place to be. Did you know that there are places out there that have plants and animals you'll never find here? I'd love to be able to visit them some day" Tiff explained.
As it was, Hal didn't really seem to take notice of anything she said and instead turned his attention to a single blue flower resting on the side of the path. From there, he proceeded to make his way over to it, leaning down to get a closer look. Tiff and Kirby took notice of this and made their way over to see what it was he was looking at.
"That's an iris Hal. They're pretty rare to find in a forest. Here, let me see" Said Tiff.
Hal turned his head to her before stepping out of the way. Tiff then proceeded to move to where Hal was and gently plucked the flower from the ground before handing it to Hal.
"Hold onto that Hal, we can probably plant it again when we get back" Said Tiff.
Hal looked to the flower in his hand and smiled.
"Po Poyo poyo" said Kirby to Hal.
Hal stared at Kirby for a moment before looking back at the flower. A moment later, he stretched out his hand, handing the flower over to Kirby who smiled and took it from him.
"Po po poyo!" said Kirby excitedly, holding the flower over his head.
Tiff gave a little chuckle before continuing onward with Kirby and Hal following right after.
A short time had passed as the trio continued making their way further into the woods. Up in the sky, the sun revealed a time of late afternoon. The sounds of a crow could also be heard from somewhere up above.
"We should be there soon you two" said Tiff.
As she finished her sentence however, the crow could be heard once again, only this time much louder. Looking up above the trio could see the creature swooping down just in time for it to seize the iris from Kirby's nub.
"Po, Poyo Poyo!" Kirby shouted as he jumped up trying to reach the bird, but it was far out of reach.
"Hey, get back here with that!" Tiff shouted stepping off the path slightly, followed by Kirby and Hal.
The bird however, was quick to lose them above the trees and the disappointment was clear on both Hal and Kirby's faces.
"Oh, it's okay you two. We can probably find another one. There's probably a whole bunch growing out in the fields" Said Tiff reassuringly.
Hal and Kirby looked to her and after a moment, agreed with her, though still looked upset. The crow however continued through the air before dropping through the canopy again to a small clearing. As it was, there again was Labid, standing adjacent to a small fire with a pot of boiling liquid above it. Upon seeing the crow swooping down to her she reached out her hands to retrieve what it had in it's talons.
"Ah, a blue iris. Just what I needed" said Labid to the crow before taking a sniff of the flower.
From his post in the castle, Escargon could see this all happening through his monitor.
"Make'n some sorta potion are ya?" asked Escargon bitterly.
"Alright, what are we watch'n out here?" asked another voice from behind.
"Geez, what is it with people today!? Can't you see I'm working on something important here!?" asked a furious Escargon.
"Important? Staring at ladies through a surveillance system is important to you? Creepy man" said the voice which apparently belonged to Ragnarok.
"No that's not it at all! I'm keeping an eye on Labid because the king sent her to do something for him and I can't trust her in the slightest"explained Escargon, irritated.
"Alright, and what might it be he sent her to do?" Ragnarok asked.
"She's trying to work for him and she's been pestering us for days. The king sent her to do something to impress him" said Escargon
"That so huh? You sure she's untrustworthy, or are you just afraid she's gonna take your job?" Ragnarok asked.
"What!? No, there's no way the king would replace me with her!" said Escargon spitefully.
"Ya know what, come to think of it. I know a a bit about engineering. Maybe I aught to request the king to make me his assistant, whaddya think?" Ragnarok asked.
"Wha!? Bah, he'd never make you his assistant" Escargon growled.
Just as he finished his sentence he took note of what Labid was up to on his monitor.
"Well, that should about do it. Now I just need the thorax of... hey perfect" Said Labid, reaching down.
As it was, her hand had begun to make it's way over to the scree, and before Escargon knew it, the camera was moving without his prompt to make it do so. It rose into the air before Labid's other hand reached up and her finger covered the screen.
"Oh no no no no no!" said Escargon in a fluster just before he lost connection with his camera.
Labid on the other hand stared in confusion as the grasshopper she just snapped in two emitted a couple sparks.
"Well then... somehow... I don't think this one's gonna work" said Labid, with her eyes narrowed, just before she tossed the pieces aside.
"Ga ha ha ha ha! Well, lemme know how everything works out for ya" Ragnarok said as he walked away laughing.
Back in the forest, the trio finally neared their destination. A single tree sitting in a slightly more open section of the woods with beams of light shining dimly around it.
"Good afternoon Whispy" said Tiff as the group made their way over to the tree.
"Tiff, Kirby, it's been a long time" said a deep, seemingly disembodied voice.
A moment later, the tree before them appeared to grow somewhat distorted with black gaps beginning to appear. Afterward, the gaps seemed to form a face.
"Yes, it has... now that I think about it, there's allot of stuff that's happened since we last visited" said Tiff
"I see. Yes, I've notice allot of commotion over the last few months. Tell me, what events have transpired beyond the forest?" Whispy asked as he noticed Kirby looking up towards his branches.
"Oh yes, you would probably like some of my apples, wouldn't you Kirby?" Whispy asked.
"Poyo!" said Kirby excitedly before making his way to the top of the branches and stuffing an apple into his mouth.
"Please, help yourself. I think since you've been away for so long I have actually build up an excess of fruit... oh, and who's your friend here?" asked Whispy just taking notice of Hal.
"That's Hal, he actually came into town yesterday. We've been showing him around" Tiff explained.
"I see. So then Hal, would you like some apples too?" Whispy asked.
Hal stared back at him silently.
"Umm, Hal doesn't really talk much" Tiff explained.
"Hmmm" said Whispy before one of his roots bored out of the ground.
Hal shrieked and stepped back just before the root wrapped gently around him, lifting him to Whispy's highest branches. Now at the top of Whispy, Hal looked around to see Kirby enjoying himself and looking at him"
"Poyo poi" said Kirby handing an apple to his friend.
Hal took the fruit and stared at it for a moment before shoving it into his mouth.
"Yea, allot has happened since our last visit, but most importantly, Kirby managed to defeat Nightmare" Tiff explained.
"Is that so? Things must be peaceful out there now. And I suppose I can rest easy knowing that the forest is safe from demon beasts" said Whispy with a smile.
Tiff opened her mouth to speak but said nothing.
"Oh, you seem hesitant. Is there something else?" Whispy asked.
"Well, we got rid of Nightmare... but, I think we've got another problem now, there's still someone out there who can create demon beasts. He's started talking with Dedede yesterday. He's the one who sent Hal here" Tiff explained.
"What, is Hal a demon beast then?" Whispy asked somewhat alarmed.
Hal looked down at Tiff at the mention of his name.
"Oh no no no... well, he is, but he's not a bad one. He actually helped Kirby defeat a demon beast earlier today. He's really nice" Tiff explained hoping to keep Whispy from overreacting.
"I see... well, if you trust him then I suppose I have no reason not to" said Whipsy relaxing again.
Tiff proceeded to take the rest of this time filling Whispy in on what had transpired since they last met. She went on about Reverie, Ragnarok, and anyone else of significance who popped up in the previous months. As the sky began taking on it's twilight tint, Tiff finished explaining every important detail she could recall in recent memory.
"I see. For such a quiet countryside allot seems to happen around here" said Whispy, interested in Tiff's stories.
"Yea, sometimes I don't think we'll ever catch a break around here. There's always something new" said Tiff with a sigh. "Well, it looks like it's getting late. We should really be going".
"Very well, it was good talking with you again" said Whispy.
"Well, we'll probably be back again some time, goodbye Whispy. Kirby, Hal, come on, we're going back home" called Tiff to Kirby and Hal.
As it was, the two were out cold, sleeping atop Whispy. Hearing Tiff call him fortunately caused him to stir awake and look down at her as Tiff motioned to him.
"Poyo" said Kirby waving to her, afterward, turning to Hal and shaking him awake.
Hal made a couple small noises before slowly stirring awake and getting up.
"Po poyo poi" said just before puffing up with some air and drifting off of the tree.
Hal then leaned over the side to see Kirby land and turn back to him beckoning for him to come down. It was the distance to the ground however that made him nervous. Remembering his floating around from before, Hal worked up his courage and inhaled deeply before readying his decent. However, his foot slipped from the branches causing him to plummet straight to the ground, spitting out the air he had just inhaled.
"Poyo!" Kirby shouted as he ran over to Hal quickly followed by Tiff.
However, any concerns they had at the moment were unfounded as Hal stood up without issue, though a little dazed.
"Are you alright Hal?" Tiff asked.
Hal replied with his usual stare.
"Umm... alrigh then, well, you seem okay... alright then, let's just get going" said Tiff as she turned to leave with Hal and Kirby in tow.
The three made their way back along the same path they had taken to get to Wispy. The sky, beginning to take on it's darker tones as time progressed. On the edge of the path however, the trio, starting with Kirby, took notice of three red apples resting on the ground. Upon approaching it, Kirby smiled and ate one, picking up the next and considering eating it briefly before handing it to Hal. Staring at it for a moment, Hal then smiled and took it, proceeding to eat that one as well. With one left, Kirby picked it up and proceeded to bring it to Tiff who stared at it for a moment before taking it.
"Well... I was just going to wait until I got home to eat... but alright" said Tiff, checking it over for blemishes, though it looked fine.
Peering around the area, Tiff couldn't help but wonder how the apples had gotten here in the first place, but, since everything seemed fine, she too took a bite of her apple before moving onward. However, unbeknownst to them, there were a pair of eyes watching them. Hiding behind a tree where she had a decent view of the path, stood Labid with a quill and paper in hand. With a wide grin growing across her face, she dipped the quill into a tiny pouch. Upon removing the quill, it appeared to now be covered in a twinkling pinkish powder. Wit the powder on the quill, Labid proceeded to write something down onto the paper. "Obey" it read.
Just as Labid's word made it's way onto the paper, Kirby, Hal, and Tiff, all fell silent and still, their eyes slowly shutting as they stood there. Labid however stepped out from behind the tree with the feathery tip of the quill against her lips as she thought. She eventually wrote something else down onto the paper reading "Bake cupcakes for Dedede"
the instant she finished her second line, Kirby and Hal opened their eyes with their expressions taking on a very relaxed, smiling state. As it was, their eyes had now taken on a bright pink glow with the glow of Hal's shining just beneath his hood. With Kirby on point, he and Hal upped their pace to a light jog and made their way along the path. Tiff on the other hand held her hand to her head, her eyes beginning to glow pink as well. However, she wasn't jogging. On the contrary, she seemed to be moving at a hesitant and reluctant saunter with a confused moan leaving her lips.
"Gah... no, of course it wouldn't work on Tiff... ah well, she can do whatever she wants. I've gotta catch up with the other two" said Labid as she began to move through the forest.
At their quickened pace, Kirby and Hal made their way out of the forest and along the way to Cappy Town. With little issue, they soon came upon their destination, unlike Tiff who was still slowly staggering through the forest path. Down below were the townsfolk, most of them making their way home for the night. Kirby and Hal were quick to enter the town as well, making their way past the cappies as if they were not even there.
"Ah, good evening you two. How goes the-" Chief Borun began to ask, though neither Kirby nor Hal even acknowledged him.
As they approached the town center, Kirby and Hal came to a halt, peering around the area in confusion before locking eyes on Kawasaki's restaurant. Without hesitation, they quickly made their way over to it and passed through the entrance. The restaurants only inhabitant was Kawasaki who was busy wiping down tables. The duo didn't really seem to take much note of that however and instead made their way into the kitchen. Throwing on a spare chef's toque, Kirby and Hal began to dismantle everything in search of cupcake ingredients.
In a short time, the kitchen was a mess with piles of random ingredients and cookware strewn around. In a mixing bowl, there seemed to be some of the ingredients necessary for cupcake batter, though it was missing flower. Fortunately, Hal managed to find a large bag of it on a high shelf. Climbing onto the counter to grab it, Hal slipped on the now slick surface and fell to the floor with the flour landing on top of him. This in turn caused the bag to burst open as well as causing a bunch of items to crash onto the floor. It wasn't long before the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard making their way to the kitchen.
"What is all the commotion in he- ghah!" said Kawasaki with a gasp.
As it was, he entered to the sight of his kitchen practically turned upside down and Kirby making his way over to the bag of flower to fill a cup full of it. Hal also managed to push the bag off of him and stand leaving himself covered in flour before sneezing.
"Gah, Kirby! What has gotten into you!?" Kawasaki asked, though neither Kirby nor Hal responded.
Kawasaki inhaled deeply before speaking again.
"Kirby, Hal, I think I need you to leave, right this instant!" Kawasaki demanded.
Outside however was Labid, smacking her forehead with her palm.
"This... is never gonna work... alright, change of plans" said Labid, brushing away the powder on the paper with the quill, causing Kirby and Hal to halt, mid action.
Where she once had "Bake cupcakes for Dedede" she began to write "Find cupcakes for Dedede". As soon as the text was shifted, Kirby and Hal sprang back into action, Leaving Kawasaki and his now messy kitchen behind. They now made their way out of the restaurant and made their way towards the town's Grocery store. In response, Labid casually stepped out from her hiding spot and walked after them.
As this occurred, Tiff had made her way out of the forest and was on her way to the castle, still staggering and holding her hand to her head, mumbling to herself. Outside with her tonight however was Meta Knight, making his way in the opposite direction she was. As a result, it was not long before the two came across one another. It was out of the corner of his eye that Meta Knight spotted Tiff walking awkward in his direction. It was immediately that Meta Knight notices something wrong and made his way over to her.
"Tiff, what happened to you?" Meta Knight asked calmly.
"M-Meta..." Tiff started saying as she slowly wandered onward.
Meta Knight went silent as he watched her walk onward, his eyes flashed with suspicion.
"She appears to be under some sort of spell... and if she's under it then..." Said Meta Knight to himself before turning to face the town.
Within the Town, Kirby and Hal managed to find their way to the town's only grocery store. As it was, the store was a bit busier than Kawasaki's restaurant, though nobody noticed Hal and Kirby running inside. Now inside the store, the duo made their way straight for the pastry section and grabbed a container of cupcakes each before turning to leave. As they made their way out the door, they were caught by a cappy wearing a green outfit adorned with two images of a red and orange sun with matching green and white hat.
"Hey you two, you have to pay for that! Those haven't expired yet Kirby!" shouted the clerk.
Neither Kirby nor Hal paid any attention to him however and made their way back into town, soon followed by the clerk. A look of irritation and disapointment came over the clerk's face before he was approached from behind.
"Well, aint that unfortunate" said a growly voice.
"Gah! Oh, Ragnarok... "said the clerk.
"Here, keep the change" said Ragnarok, placing a handful of den into the clerk's hands which covered more than the cost of the cupcakes, and the cookies Ragnarok had apparently been eating combined.
"Oh uhh... well, thank you" said the clerk.
"Yea, don't mention it umm... Tuggle right?" Ragnarok asked.
"Umm, yea" said the clerk confused.
"Great!" Ragnarok shouted, leaning closer to the clerk before hurrying off, leaving Tuggle confused.
As Kirby and Hal reached the edge of town, Meta Knight stepped out behind them in an effort to head off the one following them. As it was, Labid wasn't far behind the duo and Meta Knight was now in her path.
"Labid, what is this trickery all about?" Meta Knight asked in a stern tone.
"Meta Knight!... I wasn't expecting you... but, no, you needn't worry about those two. They are under a mind control spell at the moment, but it is a fairly simple one. It will not last forever" Labid Explained.
"That does not answer my question. I understand you have been trying to work with Dedede, I have no doubt that this has something to do with him correct?" Meta Knight asked.
Labid was silent for a moment before she spoke.
"Well, yes, this is in fact entirely related to the king, but it's not what you may be thinking" said Labid.
"Mind control spell huh? Alright, and just what exactly is it supposed to be? You don't go through all that work of stalking kids for nothing" said the voice belonging to Ragnarok as he approached from behind.
"Oh, and just who are you?" Labid asked.
"Answer the damn question!" Ragnarok shouted.
Labid was silent for a moment. She had no intention of starting a fight and she seen no harm in explaining herself.
"Well, there's no need to be so rude about it, but, fine, I'll tell you. I've been trying to work for the king for a few months now, with half the reason to be in a secure shelter, the other half being to put my talents to use. The king however wished for me to impress him by doing something to Kirby. I however have no desire to harm the little guy so I worked up a simple mind control spell. This was done for the purpose of making Kirby himself present a gift to the king. Afterwords, I would show up and explain to him that that is just a sample of what I can do, and if he wants more, he should allow me a place beneath his roof. However, Kirby was also in the company of others, so I thought, why not cast the spell on them too. The little blue guy took to it as easily as Kirby, but as for Tiff... not so much. The spell is designed to work on simple, easily manipulated minds. Kirby and his friend, being so young were perfect. Tiff on the other hand has a much more complex mind. Heck, if she knew it was a mind control spell she was under, she'd be able to brake out of it in an instant" Labid explained.
"Ga hahahahahahahaha. That's great!" Ragnarok said through his laughter.
"Why thank you, i'm glad you can appreciate it... now then, if you excuse me, I have a king to impress" said Labid before tossing a small sphere to the ground which burst into a sparkling cloud.
Through a voice in the air however Meta Knight and Ragnarok could here Labid.
"The immediate cure for the spell is Lavender. Just take a bushel of it and give them a whiff... not before I'm finished of course" said the voice.
As Meta Knight, Labid, and Ragnarok conversed, Kirby and Hal had quickly made their way to the castle running across the drawbridge and into the building, heading straight for the throne room. Inside sat Dedede watching television and Escargon tinkering with some electronic device.
"Well, it's certainly getting late now, isn't it sire, and wouldn't you know, Labid had just about the entire day and still has nothing to show for it. What do you think huh? You'd probably aught to banish her from the kingdom" Said Escargon with a snicker at the end.
"Quiet Escargon, it's get'n to the good parts" said Dedede with his eyes glued to the television screen.
As he finished that sentence however, Dedede and Escargon could here the high pitched noises of Kirby approaching the throne. Naturally, Dedede immediately turned to him with an enraged expression prominent on his face. However, it quickly faded when he seen that the pink puff was holding up a container of cupcakes for him, soon followed by Hal who did the same.
"Huh? What is this!? Just what are you try'n ta pull here!?" Dedede shouted.
"Easy my Leige, they're just offering you an apology gift for being so naughty to you all this time... an apology, at my behest of course" said Labid, stepping into the throne room.
"Apology?... hey, what's up with their eyes?" Dedede asked.
"Oh, just a little side effect of the spell I put them under. A spell that turned them into good little boys who do whatever it is I command" Said Labid calmly.
"I see... hmm..." Said Dedede examining them.
Dedede then reached out and took the trays of cupcakes from them.
"Alrighty, prove it to me. Make em' watch in envy as I eat these in front of them" said Dedede with a grin.
"Of course my Leige" Said Labid as she took hold of her quill and paper once again and wrote "long for cupcakes, do not eat them".
Immediately, Hal and Kirby froze for a moment before their cheery expressions became one full of desire as their mouths watered.
"Hahaha, excellent!" Dedede shouted before stuffing his face.
Hal and Kriby continued to stare at the king as cupcake after cupcake disappeared into his mouth and not a single one made it's way to them. When he was finished, Dedede tossed the cupcake trays off to the side and slouched back into this throne.
"So my leige, what do you think? Is this not an adequate enough demonstration of what it is I am capable of. I will have you know that the spell to turn these two into simple puppets is by far one of my most trivial. Call it a sample, if you will, of what is to come should you be courteous enough to hire me as a subordinate of yours" Labid enticed.
"Well... hmmm..." said the King as he thought to himself.
Labid looking over to Escargon could tell that he too on a bit of a nervous demeanor.
"Haha, yea, alright you're hired! Lemme tell ya, I didn't think you had it in ya, but you're definitely the type I want work'n for me hahahaha" said Dedede cheerfully.
Escargon's jaw dropped in shock.
"But, sire..." Escargon pleaded, though the king paid no attention to him.
"Well then, I suppose that settles it. Okay, first thing's first, I will need a location with plenty of space and access to a garden, if that can be managed" requested Labid.
"Yea yea, whatever you need. Escargon, find my newest assistant a room will ya?" Dedede asked.
As could be expected, Escargon was finally at a loss for words.
"Well, I suppose I'll take my leave of you for now, and of course, I'' get these two out of your hair" said Labid as she wrote "Follow Labid" on the paper.
Hal and Kirby were quick to obey their new orders and follow Labid out of the throne room. Just outside however were Meta Knight, Ragnarok, and an irritated looking Tiff waiting for her. In Ragnarok's hands, he held a bouquet of Lavender blossoms.
"Ah yes, good news you three, my plan was a complete success and I am now one of Dedede's assistants. I'm sure we'll be seeing much more of one another in the near future... in the meantime, I no longer have need of these two, so, do with them what you will" said Labid handing the quill and paper to Ragnarok.
As she turned to leave, both Hal and Kirby turned to follow her.
"Oh yea, and, you may want to get them to come to you. I forgot to change that last order" said Labid before taking her leave.
With quill and paper in hand, Ragnarok grinned from behind the mask and placed the lavender bouquet onto the ground.
"Oh no, you'd better not be doing anything stupid. You just tell them to come back here" said Tiff warily.
"Huh... meh... ya know what, how about heh heh, I just do this" said Ragnarok before writing something down.
"What did you write!?" said Tiff, reaching out to swipe the paper, though Ragnarok kept it away from her.
As it was, Kirby and Hal turned and made their way over to Meta Knight.
"Hmm?" said Meta Knight as Kirby neared him and raised his equivalent of a hand.
After they stood there for a few moments Ragnarok eventually spoke up.
"C'mon don't leave him hang'n man. You know what he wants" said Ragnarok.
"You are... unbearable sometimes" said Meta Knight before he slowly raised his hand.
In an instant, Kirby lept up just a bit and slapped his nub against Meta Knight's hand. No sooner did he drop it back down however did Hal make his way over, beckoning for the same thing. With a sigh, Meta Knight raised his hand again and let Hal excitedly slap his hand again. Afterwords Kirby made his way over to Ragnarok, only Ragnarok was much more eager to partake in the art of hand slapping and gladly jumped into it along with Kirby, then did the same for Hal. Then it was on to Tiff.
"Oh no, I'm not playing your games Ragnarok" Said Tiff turning away from him.
"C'mon, don't be such a spoil sport tiff" Ragnarok said in a raspy, creepy voice as he wrote something else down.
"Hey what did you do!?" Tiff asked alarmed as Kirby and Hal moved behind tiff and forced her hand into the air.
"There we go tiff" Ragnarok said in the same creepy voice as he raised his hand and slowly stepped over to her.
"Hey, knock it off already!" said Tiff growing ever more irritated.
When Ragnarok closed in however, she slowly reared his hand back before bringing it upon Tiff's
"Geez, you don't know when to stop do you?!" Tiff shouted as Kirby and Hal let go of her.
"Ga haha, naw, not really... lemme see here, what next?" Ragnarok asked himself.
As he thought, Tiff looked down and noticed the bouquet of Lavender resting on the floor.
"Grr, enough of this" Tiff growled as she lifted the lavender from the floor.
Meta Knight immediately followed suit and took half of the bouquet for himself as they both proceeded to shove it into the faces of Hal and Kirby.
After a couple moments the pink glow emanating from Hal and Kirby's eyes faded and the two of them looked around in confusion.
"Finally" said Tiff breathing a sigh of relief.
"Awe, c'mon guys, that was fun" Ragnarok complained.
"C'mon, let's just go" said Tiff.
"Agreed" said Meta Knight.
"Come on Hal, come on Kirby" said Tiff
At that, the four of them left, leaving Ragnarok on his back laughing in hysterics.
[And that's that! Man am I feeling rusty. It was nice to be able to scape some of that off though. Anyway, if any of my original readers are here, please, let me know! You guys were incredible, and I'd love to know if you are still around. Also to note, some of the OC's people have left me may not be appearing. Character's I've mentioned in the story already are guaranteed to be in it, but I have yet to mention a couple of them. Some, not all, of the ones I haven't mentioned have yet to find a place in the story, and if any such folks aren't around any more then I won't be using them. It's pretty much just me doing some cleanup since it's been so long. But, again, if you are still around, let me know! Oh, yea, and to any new readers, Welcome! Hope you like what I have to provide. Anyway, I must be off, so I'll see you all later my friends!]