Meanwhile, back at Castle Dedede…
King Dedede paced feverously in his room. His gaze was glued to the floor, and he held his hands behind his back as he walked back and forth, heart racing and sweat drops beading down his face.
Outside the weather was absolutely horrid, and through his bedroom window one could see it raining buckets, while thunder cracked, and lighting flashed across the sky. However, King Dedede hardly paid it any attention. His mind was elsewhere. Fumu's death and everything that had happened since then had left his mind spinning like a broken record.
Had he really killed her? Fumu… the girl that had been born and raised in this very castle for the past 12 years? Was it all his fault? Was everything that had happened because of him? Sure he hadn't directly harmed her, nor would he have ever thought about doing such a thing, but the fact that his new demon beast attacked and killed her basically made him, by extension, responsible for her death.
He paused in his pacing, gulping down the large lump that had formed in his throat. The thought of being responsible for this absolutely terrified him. He hadn't meant or desired to hurt anyone; he just liked having a bit of fun with his Demon Beasts is all. It had been an accident... R-right?
However… it seemed everyone else thought otherwise. He noticed how everyone treated him differently once Fumu was confirmed dead. Those angry, hate filled glares that he'd received from some, and those broken and remorseful looks he'd gotten from others… It was as if the towns people actually looked down upon him for all this!
Dedede heaved a sigh. He resumed his pacing, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. This was all a mess… just a big, giant mess! He wanted to point blame; declare all this trouble and pain onto someone else, and have them punished for it! But each time he tried to think of someone, eventually it only came right back to him. There was no one else to point fingers at…
"This is all my fault," Dedede murmured.
He paused in his pacing, tears glossing his eyes over. As much as he hated to admit it, everything that had happened was because of his foolish choice to order that Demon Beast. He knew that monster was going to be a handful, but it just looked like so much fun! He just wanted to scare the towns people a little. Laugh as they scattered and screamed; just shake them up, and have a little fun! But most of all he wanted to get back at Kirby. That pink puffball was always taking all the credit, and admittedly he felt rather jealous about it. He had been ruler of Dreamland for years! Why was Kirby, a mere toddler and newcomer, the one to receive all the attention!? It wasn't fair! He just wanted to get rid of Kirby, or at the very least bring the attention back to himself. He never asked for anyone to get hurt, much less killed, because of his actions!
King Dedede suddenly hitched in his breathing, failing to keep a few tears from falling. He paced even more restlessly than before, hands planted on top of his head, and gritting his teeth from the amount of crippling anxiety he was feeling.
As he paced, he couldn't help but think of all the people he had hurt emotionally because of his stupid mistake.
The Ebrum family was in absolute despair, and he didn't know if they'd ever find it within their hearts to forgive him. He'd be internally grateful if they did, but so far, the chances seemed slim…
As soon as he heard about what happened to Fumu, he had went running off to try and make amends. He remembered stumbling upon the scene of the crime in his Castle courtyard; whole walls had been broken away by that monster, with large chunks of castle rubble and dirt thrown about in every direction, and even a few smoldering fires were seen being put out with fire hoses by his Waddle Dees.
Amongst the carnage, he had spotted the broken family quite quickly, and immediately went running up to them.
However, they just about panicked once they saw him, eyes going wide with fear, and practically scrambling to get away just at the sight of him. Admittedly he had faltered at their reaction; he didn't want them to be afraid of him. He just wanted to apologize… to fix thing and make them right. Despite their initial response, it didn't stop him from at least trying to make amends.
He had started begging, pleading, and apologizing, trying to get them to forgive him. But he discovered quickly that advancing toward them like that had been a very bad idea, as Sir Meta Knight had immediately came between him and the stressed family.
He shuddered at the memory. The knight's blazing red eyes had held an unwavering and intense gaze, and he held his sword unsheathed, pointing the business end of it at him while he took a battle stance. King Dedede occasionally questioned the knight's loyalty given how he tended to help Kirby in battles at times, and now it was very clear that Sir Meta Knight wasn't afraid to go against his own King, the very one he had sworn allegiance toward, to protect the ones he cared about. The intensity in the knight's gaze left him rather shook up; Sir Meta Knight just barely seemed to have had a handle on his emotions, and coupled with the way he was holding his sword at him it was clear he had meant business. The knight could have easily sliced him in half if he desired!
And Kirby… he remembered seeing the toddler hiding behind Sir Meta Knight, doing anything in his power to avoid him. The poor kid was so shaken, that instantly he had started crying, trying to shield himself behind the knight and avoid any sort of eye contact. He didn't seem to want anything to do with him anymore, only looking at him with absolute fear and horror from what happened.
King Dedede stopped in his pacing. He rubbed the back of his neck as guilt started to overtake him.
Despite his frequent jealousy toward Kirby, he didn't want the kid to fear him… not like this. Having a mere toddler be scared of him for something he'd never intended to happen was one of the worst fates imaginable! Kirby was always a very bright, and bubbly kid, never seeing anyone as a threat. Rather, everyone was a friend in Kirby's eyes. But to see the child do a complete one-eighty on his response toward him... It actually really bothered him to see Kirby so scared and upset like that.
Dedede heaved a sigh. He rubbed his forehead as he felt a headache coming on. This was all so awful… If only there was a way he could fix things, and let everyone know that he truly did care.
Originally he had firm plans to attend Fumu's funeral. Despite the awkwardness it would pose to him and everyone else in the Village, at least his presence would have made a statement.
However, news travels fast in his Kingdom and when Waddle Doo gave him word that Sir Meta Knight and his two Squires, Sword and Blade, where heavily patrolling the funeral site, his hopes were instantly shattered. Their message was clear; he wasn't welcome there…
Instead, he was left to pace alone in his room as his thoughts consumed him.
Why, he never meant to get her killed! If he had known that this would have happened he would have never ordered that monster in the first place! The fact that he was responsible for all this caused guilt to wash over him like open floodgates. It was practically eating him alive at this point! He would have gone to her funeral out of respect… to give her the only apology he could.
But now that he couldn't do that, it left his mind spinning for another solution. There had to be something he could do to mend things! He didn't care what it was. If it could change things for the better he would do it in a heartbeat!
Dedede started pacing again, becoming frustrated at the situation before him. But what could he do to make amends for such a tragedy!? Even if he couldn't bring her back, there had to be something he could do to show he was sorry!
He felt his frustration boil over to the point of great anger as he continued to draw a blank. He paced a few steps more, before he suddenly grabbed his hammer and aggressively smashed a near by coffee table, splintering it to pieces.
He stared at the now broken table for a moment, breathing heavy, before roughly tossing his hammer away.
"UGH! If I hadn't ever came into contact with Nightmare Enterprises, none of this would even be happening in the first place!" he yelled in a fit of rage.
He stood there for a few moments, struggling to keep his emotions from swinging from one extreme to the next, when suddenly, what he just said caused an idea to come to him.
"W-Wait…. I-If I hadn't started ordering Demon Beasts from Nightmare Enterprises… then none of this would have even happened..." He repeated again in a low, and shaky whisper, as if he hadn't heard himself right the first time. His breathing became broken and flightily, while his heart raced as he started to connect the dots. "T-then I would have never ordered any monsters… a-and… Fumu would still be alive, and… a-and…"
He started frantically looking about, searching for his Demon Beast Catalog, before spotting it under all the broken wood chips of his old coffee table. He quickly snatched it up and stared at the cover for a long while. Nightmares silhouette was staring right back at him… as if to taunt him into ordering something else.
King Dedede heaved a sigh, sadly down-casting his gaze.
This is all my fault…
Those words rang in his head like a siren, and he knew now what he had to do. If he ever had any chance of being forgiven, and have any way to show that he was truly sorry… then he realized that the only possible way to do it was to end his hobby of ordering Demon Beasts, and end ties with Nightmare Enterprises entirely…
It deeply hurt him to even think of such a thing, as ordering Demon Beasts had always given him such a thrill! It gave him something to enjoy, and even look forward to in his reign! But… he knew in his heart that it was the right thing to do. Even if the Ebrum family didn't forgive him, he didn't even know if he'd have it in his heart to order anything more. Just the thought of ordering another monster caused his stomach to twist in an anxiety induced knot. It only brought back reminders of what happened to Fumu, and he was sure he'd become paranoid of something similar happening again. He never desired for anyone to get hurt because of his actions… Why would he then continue his hobby if there was a chance of risking someone else's life…?
King Dedede gave a heavy sigh. He blinked back tears, before ripping the book apart and tossing it the trashcan.
He then gave a few deep breaths to steady his emotions, and to help prepare him for what he needed to do next. No… ripping his catalog book apart wasn't good enough. He needed to go straight to the source and end it there.
He took one last moment of preparation before, he turned and sprinted out of his room as fast as he could. He twisted and turned down the castle halls, and within minutes he had reached the throne room. He didn't take the time to slow down or catch his breath, before slamming into his chair and hurriedly punching in the buttons to Nightmare Enterprises.
Within seconds the line was picked up, and as usual the familiar face of the Sales Guy was there to greet him.
"Hey, hey, hey Tripple D! What can I-"
"SHUT UP!" King Dedede roared, cutting off the Salesman's greeting. "I'm not here to play games! I'm here to end ties! I'm through with you guys!"
The Sales Guy just stared at him for a moment, before bursting into a fit of laughter. "That's a good one Triple D! You almost had me there for a second!" He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses, before continuing. "But seriously, what will it be? I think you'll be most impressed by our newest Demon Beast lineup! We have lots to choose from! Here.. I'll pull one up now."
Dedede's eyes grew wide. "What!? No! I-I'm serious! I've had it with you guys! I'm not ordering another Demon Beast ever again! I'm done!"
At this the Salesman stopped what he was doing, and looked at King Dedede with a slightly confused expression.
"What's with the sudden change in attitude Your Majesty!?" he asked in a slightly harassing tone. "I thought you loved our monsters, hm?"
"Well I did before they went off and killed someone!" King Dedede snapped. "Because of that monster of yours, that little girl Fumu is now dead, and now I'm to blame for it! Everyone is either angry at me, or afraid of me… and I can't say I blame them…" he added sadly. However, he quickly shook it off. "If I hadn't ordered that demon beast from you none of this would have happened in the first place! That's why I'm ending ties! I can't live this way anymore! All the stress and guilt I have over this is eating me alive! So rip up my dumb contract! Burn it! Shred it! I don't even care anymore… I'm just done!"
"Now Your Majesty, calm down… I'm truly sorry for what happened, but really... are you sure? You've ordered monsters from us so many times before, and nothing has ever gone wrong. Surely you wouldn't want to make any rash desicions..."
"Listen here!" Dedede barked, effectively cutting the man off once again. "This is the only way I'll ever be forgiven for what happened… Don't try to butter me up, and get me to change my mind! This is what I want! I never meant for anyone to get killed, so I'm ending this before it can get worse. If anyone else got hurt because of some stupid monster that I ordered, I'd never be able to forgive myself… Just the fact that Fumu is gone is already hard enough to deal with…"
"Now Tripple D, I'm sure-"
"No! Forget it! I'm done!" King Dedede screamed, nearly in tears again.
And before the Salesman could respond, Dedede pushed the button to end the call, and ran off to his room to be left alone.
The Sales Guy stared at the blank monitor, staying quiet for a minute as he mulled over the sudden information.
"I'll call him back…" he said, as he started to dial the number to King Dedede's throne room.
"Save it!" a deep voice boomed behind him, causing the Salesman to flinch. "I'll deal with him later… He is currently of no use to us. My priorities are elsewhere…"
The Salesman just stayed quiet, not daring to argue with the Lord of Nightmares behind him. He watched as Nightmare suddenly gave a wave of his boney hand, and a large viewing portal appeared in the middle of the room. Blurry images flashed all across it like a vision, until it eventually slowed and found it's target. The image cleared, and settled right on the familiar face of a young, and sleeping pink puffball… Though sleeping, one could easily see the stress and exhaustion written all over his face.
"Hey… didn't Dedede say that it was Fumu who was killed by our monster?" The Salesman asked, as he slowly walked toward the image, hands behind his back. "Kirby and her were close… right?"
Nightmare gave a sick chuckle. "Indeed… The young Star Warrior was very attached to her..." He stared at the image a moment longer before a wide, and toothy smile spread across his face. "And that is why now is the perfect time to strike! Kirby is weak, and vulnerable… Attacking him now will leave him little opportunity to recover!"
"Ah! Do you want me to send a Demon Beast his way Sir?"
"No!" Nightmare barked. "Not yet… I need to degrade his mental state first for this to be most effective… Something like this takes time, and precision… It's only when they've cracked that you make the final move." He then turned to the Salesman. "Leave me to my work!"
The Sales Guy gave a bow, and without a word exited the room, leaving his dark master to his evil schemes…
Nightmare turned back toward the image before him. His evil smile retuned as he stared at the image of Kirby before him.
"Tell me boy… What scares you most?"
Well... this story is awful! AWFUL SAD! Hopefully the heaviness is not too much for you guys lol. But... I think I'm just being really paranoid... As long as it stays within the T rating we're good lol!
Anyway... hey! Look at that! A chapter! But seriously guys, I'm sorry it took so long to write this! And it's short! I'm a jerk. At first this chapter was supposed to be double or more of its current length, but I decided just a couple days ago to cut it off at this lovely cliffhanger (MWAHAHAHAHA), and move the rest of what I had planned for chapter 2 into chapter 3. So I actually did have a ton more orginally written for this chapter, but I kept stalling to write it because I was really struggling to convey certain scenes into words. You can blame that for my lack of updates. However, I made the goal with myself earlier this week to get this chapter out just before we leave for vacation. And amazingly... I have reached that goal. Granted it came out differently than planned, but that's okay. So have a chapter! And let me know what you guys think :)