KIRBY ALL-STARS
A young woman is thrown into another galaxy, and wakes up to find herself in Dreamland on Planet Popstar! Realising that the characters from the Kirby franchise that she loves are real - including the loveable 'pink demon' himself - and armed with a mysterious pendant that grants her equally as mysterious powers, it eventually becomes apparent to her why she ended up in Dreamland and just where she belongs!
~ Parental Warning ~
The following chapter contains:
. Infrequent violence
. Low-level adult themes
. Character death
Reader discretion is advised.
CHAPTER THREE
Unlikely Allies
Emma had given up on trying to get through the door, and she knew that there was no way she was going to risk climbing out the window when there was a shark still patrolling the waters below.
She therefore resigned herself to sidestepping the glass and going over to sit in a corner and wait to be rescued … for about five seconds. After which time she began to go through things, like the bookcases and the drawers in them.
She found a rather strange item that was like that old address book her mum used to have - the kind where you pressed the button and the book would flip open to the corresponding letter's page.
But, instead of being an address book, it was full of what appeared to be books - which literally appeared and floated there after she'd pressed a button!
Pressing the corresponding button again returned each book to the device.
Emma, after she had brought out ten books at the same time (by pressing ten buttons at once) read a few of the titles out loud as she sat there and called the books out.
"'Queen Mascarpone And The Dessert Island' - yes, I read that right. 'Stargazing: Is It For You?' - I don't see why not. 'How To Train Your Dragon' - wait, it's non-fiction?! 'The Tales Of Sir. Don Quixote, Volume VII: The Quest To Out-Sit El Gordo' - heh, good luck with that. 'The Lore Of The Lor Starcutter' - that sounds very dreamy. 'The Wishing Stars Of The Silver River' - isn't that what China calls the Milky Way? 'Train Driving 101' - yeah, because a pirate needs to know that. 'So You Want To Summon A Sphere Doomer' - do I?"
Emma found herself tucking the contraption that looked like an address-book into the pocket of her dress - hey, if she was gonna be forced to be a pirate, she may as well start now!
As she did this, a piece of paper sticking out of a leather folder caught her eye, and she casually took it out and looked at it.
"A receipt," she identified. "A receipt for what . . . ?" She then froze, and read through it more slowly. "That's not good . . . " She whispered, just as a sound from across the room made her jump, and scrambled to her feet, as she shoved the piece of paper that she was holding into the pocket with the book-book.
There was a sound coming from the wall on the opposite side of the room … the painting of the kitchen sink shifted … and then it swung forwards, to reveal an actual hidden passage, out of which tumbled … a Waddle Dee.
Cute! Emma immediately thought, as she watched the orangey-coloured Waddle Dee pause, and straighten up a blue bandanna. But, not one of ours . . .
What was he doing here, then?
Bandanna Waddle Dee froze when he saw Emma, as if unsure what to make of her.
Emma was also frozen, and her heart was pounding, because … that secret passageway behind the bandanna-wearing Waddle Dee was her ticket out of here!
Would he let her use it, though? What if he was employed on this ship? (She refused to believe that he could be a pirate).
"Please get me out of here!" She managed to say, in a slightly breathless voice, taking a few steps forwards.
Bandanna Waddle Dee hesitated, and then said: "Y-you don't want to be here?"
Emma shook her head, no. "Uh-uh." She responded. "Do you?"
"I don't!" Bandanna Waddle Dee admitted. He then clapped his hands over his non-existent mouth. "I mean … c-can what they give me really be considered food and shelter?" He wondered, more to himself than anything.
"Sh-shall we help each other, then?" Emma offered.
"I-I'm not sure how much help I'll be." Bandanna Waddle Dee responded, looking down.
"That's okay," Emma replied. "My friends are all battling the pirates and I've just been sitting here, stea—I mean reading books, and . . . " She trailed off.
"Yeah, and I'm supposed to be … cleaning up this room . . . " Bandanna Waddle Dee sighed, looking around for a broom.
"Waddle Dees are good at cleaning." Emma said, off-handedly, noticing one close by.
"Not all of us are." Bandanna Waddle Dee pointed out. "A-are all girls good at cleaning?" He asked her suddenly.
"No, you're right." She replied. "I'm a prime e-example of that, and y-you have good intuition." Bandanna Waddle Dee's eyes widened, and then he blushed. "So, t-tell me … what's your intuition saying about m-me?"
"Hmm . . . " Bandanna Waddle Dee looked at her thoughtfully. "It's saying that … you … you're worried about staying h-here, a-and that you're unsure around strangers, but … you trust me to h-help you . . . ?" He paused. "W-well? Did I get it right?"
Emma nodded. "Yes, that's correct, and I wanna help you get off this ship too, Bandanna Waddle Dee."
He jumped. "Th-then I'll help you!" He told her, sounding decisive all of a sudden. "But … not just because you're helping me!" He added quickly.
"It's okay to want things for yourself," she assured him, taking a few steps forward. "Like, when there's already a carton of orange juice open but you feel like having apple juice and so you just open up the new carton." What the heck am I talking about?
Bandanna Waddle Dee's eyes had lit up, however. "I LOVE apple juice!" He told her.
"Then, you're gonna love what the local bar serves in its non-alcoholic section," Emma told him, thinking that it was going to be awhile before anything even resembling alcohol was going to be available in Cappy Town, and glad that she might have a (healthier) alternative. "Kirby and I tried three special ones when we had lunch yesterday … because it was too early for me to have wine and because Kirby gets a special discount half the time … and these three apple juices were, like, gourmet . . . "
"Tell me more . . . " Bandanna Waddle Dee practically begged her.
"Okay, so the juice that was made from green apples was really sweet and vibrant. Then, the one that was made from yellow apples was also sweet but it also border-lined on tart which was okay because it had a smooth finish. And, finally, the one made from red apples was kind of tangy and a little bit spicy but it had a sweet after-taste - sorry, I tend to talk too much suddenly when I get overly nervous and somebody just listens but can we please get out of this place!"
And Bandanna Waddle Dee, whose eyes had been growing more sparkly by the second, jumped up and down a few times. "Let's go there!" He cheered. "I mean, let's get out of here, and then go there, and I can meet Kirby and we can all go together!"
It was like a light went on for Emma just then. H-hold on … he was hanging on to my every word … what if … there's others like him out there … who are friendly and I just need to be myself around and then I can make friends . . .
It wouldn't be quite that easy, but, regardless of that, that was how she and by extension Kirby became friends with Bandanna Waddle Dee.
Emma finally smiled for the first time in what must have been hours, just as the ship was rocked all of a sudden and the chandelier fell to the floor and shattered.
Emma shrieked.
Both her and Bandanna Waddle Dee stared at the squillion shards of crystal, and then looked back at each other, and then turned to face the broken window … just as hands appeared, and two pirates began to pull themselves up.
"Is there a banshee on the ship, Gary?"
"Unless the shrieking eels are massing, Saul . . . "
Emma pole-vaulted over the broken chandelier using the broom, following Bandanna Waddle Dee into the hidden tunnel as quickly as she could.
"Mum! Dad!" Tiff cried joyfully, rushing up to the cell and reaching through the bars.
Her parents clasped her hands.
"Tiff!" Her mother exclaimed. "How did you get here?! You shouldn't have come, it's dangerous!"
"I'm fine!" Tiff tried to explain, as she let go of her parents' hands and reached up to pull out something that was hidden in her hair tie. "I didn't come alone, I had — "
"Oh, I see!" Her father said suddenly, looking past her. "You had his majesty with you for protection, good show!"
"No, that's not what I — " Tiff sighed, as Dedede came up to her, and began tapping his foot impatiently. "He's only here so he can rescue Emma." She told her parents, as she unlocked the cell door.
"Oh, how noble and romantic!" Lady Like said at once.
"Yes, yes, it's quite understandable!" Sir Ebrum commented, nodding.
Tiff groaned, and then noticed that Dedede was now holding out his hand.
"Will you just hold on a minute!" She told him crossly.
"I haven't got a minute!" Dedede replied shortly. "Now, hand it over!"
"Do as the king says, Tiff." Her father advised her.
"We have two pirates deadset on finding this key, and they'll have just figured out that we have it!" Tiff told Dedede, trying to ignore her father. Why can't they ever see what Dedede's really doing?!
"All the more reason for you to hand it over quickly, Tiff!" Her mother exclaimed.
Tiff decided then and there not to mention that Tuff was involved. It didn't seem to matter much, anyway, because just as she was handing the key over to Dedede, somebody dashed between them and swiped the key in an instant.
They all cried out and Redbelly, now at the steps leading up from the brig, grinned triumphantly.
"There!" He said, pointing up to someone that they couldn't see at the top of the stairs. "I be winning our little contest, and don't ye dare say anything about that keyring ye managed to swipe from that other bird! I got the key, which be the actual plot-point, and … now I be doing this with it." And, he dropped the key straight down through the metal grate at his feet.
Dedede froze.
"Oh dear — !" Madam Synger squeaked, as Dedede began to tremble in anger.
Tiff felt her blood run cold. What's the bet he blames me for this?
Redbelly was revelling in the dismay that he had clearly just caused, as he sang: "Poor pink birdie, pink as pig, Captain said: 'stay out the brig'!"
"Grr . . . " Dedede muttered under his breath.
"Hey, what's this?" A small voice came from within the grate by Redbelly's feet, but Redbelly was too preoccupied with taunting them to have heard that, as he leaned forwards, getting right into his song.
"Captain stole a weak king's wife, he be owning her for life — "
It was at that point that the handle of a broom shot up from the depths of the grate, striking Redbelly in the stomach and making him fall to the ground in agony.
Seizing the opportunity, Tiff cried: "Get him!"
Her parents looked shocked, but then Madam Synger, Buttercup, and Mabel all ran out of the cell, and began tying Redbelly up with various ropes and pieces of cloth and such.
The others just stared at them, as they finished up, and then turned to find that they were being stared at.
"I'm a seamstress." Madam Synger reminded them all.
"And I have learned a thing or two from my husband." Buttercup said proudly.
They all looked at Mabel.
"Five years of boot camp for troubled youth." She shrugged.
They all gaped at her.
Just then, Buttercup happened to look up at the stairs, and gasped.
"What is it?!" Bookem immediately cried.
"It's — it's the bird who attacked you, dear!" She exclaimed.
And, that was when a second voice came from beneath the grate.
"It's Stellar! Fen! Fen, Stellar's there! Fen!"
It was Emma!
Dedede was immediately unfrozen but, before he could do anything, something small and red came flying out of the cell and over to the foot of the stairs.
She looked like a small fox, with a cream underbelly and big green eyes masked by black. She had black socks, black ear tips, and a tail with black stripes leading to a tip. It was those ears and that tail that were the most impressive, however - the pointed ears were huge and bat-like, and the tail (though it had stripes like a lemur) was big and brushlike, like if a fox could have a paintbrush for a tail. She was positively adorable.
"Stellar!" Emma called again. "That's Fen! You know! Your best friend!"
"H-how — ?" Stellar said, in a completely expressionless voice.
"Beakbeard's been lying to you!" Emma called to her.
"Th-that's a lie!" Stellar said immediately.
"It's true, Stellar!" The small, male voice that was unknown to most of them insisted. "That's why the captain never let you down here!"
"Fen being here is proof that he doesn't care!" Emma added. "He kept your best friend down here without telling you!"
"Emma, show her the receipt!"
"Oh, yeah . . . " A piece of paper was pushed up through the grate.
Fen immediately took it in her mouth and raced up the stairs with it.
"Stellar," the small voice from beneath the grate said. "The captain has ties to that place where you came from, despite the fact that he took you from there … he-he didn't save you, he was just doing what pirates do. And … and there's something else . . . " He trailed off. "She-should we tell her?" He suddenly sounded uncertain.
"She deserves to hear the truth." Emma whispered to him, and the she raised her voice. "Stellar," she went on, in a deadly serious voice, but one that had an underlying empathy because of what was about to happen. "He killed your parents."
Silence rang out.
"You're lying . . . " Stellar whispered.
"Oh, Stellar … I wish I was . . . " Emma told her, with so much sincerity that there could be no doubt to what she was saying, even though it was so horrible. "I'm so sorry."
The seconds seemed to tick by, and nobody knew what to say or do.
And, then, Stellar's shaky breathing could be heard, as she struggled to find the right words.
"I — all this time — "
"Stellar — " The male voice began.
"If I had just — if I'd gone against him and come down here — "
"That's on him, not on you — " Emma called. "Stellar, you did nothing wrong — "
"I did … I trusted him … but, now … I WILL NEVER FORGIVE HIM FOR THIS, IGARA!" The little bird cried in a voice that was choked by both tears and anger. "NEVER! FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!" There was the sudden fluttering of wings that indicated that she might've just left.
Fen barked, somewhat weakly but with enough panic to announce that Stellar had indeed just left.
"We have to stop her!" The small voice immediately cried out.
"Or else the rest of her life is going to be all of two minutes!" Emma added, somewhat shrilly. "Silversword was trying to warn me about Beakbeard, he's really dangerous!"
"If we follow this passageway then we'll come out in the galley, which has access to the deck!" The other voice told her.
"Let's go!" Emma exclaimed.
"Hold it!" Now that the first part of the incident involving Stellar had passed, Dedede had decided that it was high time for his moment, and so he suddenly lunged forwards, and knelt down at the grate which he peered through. "Emma! I was worried again!" He exclaimed, as the young woman looked back up at him.
"Again, I-I'm sorry, King Dedede!" Emma called back up to him. "B-but, e-even after you got hurt, you came all this way to rescue me?!" She suddenly asked in wonder.
"He came all this way just to rescue you!" Tiff called, rolling her eyes as she moved past Dedede to get to the stairs. She then happened to glance down, somewhat able to see the owner of the other voice too, now. "Huh? Who's that?"
"He's Bandanna Waddle Dee, and he h-helped me escape!" Emma explained.
"You turned against your captain?" Tiff was surprised.
"N-not exactly . . . " Bandanna Waddle Dee stammered. "M-mutiny is one thing, but … I wanted to help . . . "
Dedede coughed, slightly, and said: "Well, if you're all for helping my Emma, then you can stay at the castle!"
Bandanna Waddle Dee gasped.
So did Tiff. "Now, just hold on a second! He hasn't even escaped his firsttyrannical employer and now you — !" She was suddenly cut off by her mother dragging her away up the stairs.
"Come on, now, Tiff, and you can tell me what your brother has been doing today." Lady Like said calmly.
"The whole day, or . . . ?" Tiff, on the other hand, suddenly sounded nervous.
"Well, just the parts you know of . . . "
Dedede watched them go, and then looked back down at Emma, and said: "Oh! That's right! Here!" And, he slid the Star Pendant through the grate.
"Oh!" Emma reached up her hands to grasp the pendant, which glowed with a soft amethyst light. "Fantastic! Now I can fight!" She looked up at the king, her hazel eyes gleaming. "King Dedede, you are the best!" She told him, before she disappeared from view down the passageway.
After a quick, startled glance up at the king, Bandanna Waddle Dee followed her.
Dedede was somewhat frozen in shock, before a slight groan from his left dragged him out of his reverie.
"So . . . " Redbelly was eyeing the king, from where he was still tied up on the floor. "Now that she has that pendant … she's stronger?"
Dedede didn't say anything. This guy wasn't even worth his time.
Redbelly wasn't done yet, though.
"Probably … that be what … caught the captain's attention, even without that pendant to … channel her powers through … what the captain wants, more than anything … be power … and, he always be wanting more and more . . . "
"Oh, hey Emma," Tuff said by way of greeting, from where he was perched on top of a large barrel and eating what appeared to be a potato chip sandwich. "Who's your friend?"
"Bandanna Waddle Dee," Emma explained, as she and said Waddle Dee came out of the secret passageway and into the galley. "Come on, Tuff, we gotta go!" She added, eyeing the weird sandwich. Other kids had eaten it back in the day, but, she never had. Each to their own, though . . .
"Okay." Tuff agreed, bringing the rest of his sandwich as he followed Emma and Bandanna Waddle Dee out of the galley.
"Where are Tokkori and Escargoon?" Emma wanted to know, as they hurried along.
"They went up on deck to wait." Tuff explained. "How did you get free?" He looked down at Bandanna Waddle Dee. "Was it . . . ?"
Bandanna Waddle Dee nearly tripped, just as they reached the stairs that led up onto the quarter-deck, and found Escargoon and Tokkori there.
"Wow, she's angry . . . " Tokkori was saying, shaking his head.
"Who is?" Tuff asked, as he hurried over to the railing where Escargoon and Tokkori were.
"It's Stellar!" Emma gasped, also hurrying over to them, with Bandanna Waddle Dee in tow. "What's she been saying?!" She looked at Escargoon, but it Tokkori who answered.
"Oh, just some stuff about how she trusted him and he lied to her and that she's never going to forgive him!" The yellow bird remarked casually. "At least it meant that he stopped going after Kirby! Even Meta Knight and that Silversword guy are just standing there!"
At these words, Emma's head snapped up, and she looked over to see both Meta Knight and Silversword, who were indeed just standing there but they were both now looking at her. She could tell that they had been fighting, because they still had their swords in their hands, but there was something strange about what Tokkori had just said . . .
How long had those two been standing there for?
Before she could try and wrap her thoughts around this, though, the door on the deck below where they were standing burst open, and the group from the brig all emerged on deck - with Fen in the lead.
The little fox barked, looking weak, and Emma gripped the railing in front of her.
"How long has she been down there?" She asked no one in particular, gritting her teeth. "With little food and water, and no friends … how awful for Stellar … her best friend, to not have known — " She suddenly froze, as Beakbeard noticed Fen.
"Ye disobeyed me, Stellar." He said, in a suddenly low voice.
And Stellar, who had been yelling at him just moments ago, now fell silent.
Bandanna Waddle Dee gasped softly. "Th-the captain hates to be disobeyed!" He whispered.
What happened next was proof of that.
Beakbeard back-handed Stellar, with enough force that it would've left a mark on the face of someone his own size - he could have held back slightly because Stellar was a small bird, but, he didn't.
There were a few gasps here and there, as Stellar hit the mast and fell to the deck. Most expected her to not move again, but she immediately began to try and pick herself up, even as Beakbeard looked at her.
Which is when Fen leapt between them, despite her obvious exhaustion.
Meta Knight and Silversword were both just watching Emma, who had gone stock still.
"Are you sure?" Silversword said, his voice low.
Meta Knight gripped the hilt of Galaxia and then, as Silversword watched, he returned the legendary blade to its sheath.
"Just watch." Meta Knight told him.
Beakbeard had raised The Monica again, and its dark blade seemed to gleam red just then, as he said: "Ye'll soon learn what happens when ye be disobeying me . . . "
He bought the sword down . . .
There was a blinding flash of purple light, as Emma had just thrown herself over the rails from the quarter-deck, and hurtled across the deck to place herself in front of Stellar and Fen.
"Igara?!" Stellar cried.
"Just like before!" Tuff added. "Whoa … is it Swordfighter Emma?" He wondered, as the light became blue ribbons that quickly wrapped around the owner of the Star Pendant.
"Uh . . . " Escargoon wasn't so sure.
The transformation only took a moment, and Dedede rushed up onto the deck in time to see the end of it.
His mouth fell open.
Emma was now standing there wearing a dark brown leather corset over a white long-sleeved blouse that had a lacy jabot, and a long dark blueish-green skirt that didn't look like it was going to inhibit her movement. She wore tall brown lace-up boots, and brown leather gloves, and a dark brown leather choker from which her pendant was now suspended.
In her hand was a falchion to rival Beakbeard's own - it had a blue hilt and a golden cross guard, and its blade was such a light shade of silver that it was almost white.
Everybody, whether they be a pirate or a resident of Cappy Town, was now staring at her.
"She … has a sword . . . " Tuff pointed out, somewhat uncertainly.
Meta Knight heard him, and sighed. "It is a … variation of Swordfighter Emma … a more fitting name would probably be Pirate Princess Emma."
"Pirate Princess Emma?!" A few people repeated.
It was at these words that Emma finally moved.
She looked up at Beakbeard, who had staggered back as if the light had physically pushed him away from her, and who seemed to be in a slight daze.
Emma took the brief opportunity to say, in a low and urgent voice: "Kirby, get Stellar and Fen up there where I just came from, and Tuff give Fen the rest of your sandwich, she's starving!"
"Poyo!" Kirby acknowledged.
It was then that Beakbeard, his own sword in hand, appeared in front of Emma, so fast that it was almost like he had teleported, but, she was ready for him.
Their swords met with a resounding clang, and then they both moved to Emma's right, with her blocking Beakbeard's second strike and giving Kirby enough time to race over and gently grab Stellar.
"Igara . . . " The pink bird seemed to be in almost as much of a daze as her former captain had just been. "Why … would she . . . ?"
"We've only known Emma for a few days," explained Tiff, who had come over to help get Fen up to where Tuff and his chip-sandwich were waiting. "But, I get the feeling that, as cliché as this might sound, she has a strong sense of justice. She doesn't like to see others get hurt."
"But … the way I treated her . . . " Stellar was still confused.
"Yeah, not to mention the way you treated us!" Tokkori snapped, eyeing her somewhat suspiciously as Kirby placed her gently on the quarter-deck.
"You probably did something to deserve it, Tokkori." Tiff commented dryly, as she placed Fen down carefully.
"I just called her a few names, nothing too serious!" Tokkori snapped.
"He called her that thing Mum said when the telephone stopped working." Tuff spoke up.
"Yup, he totally deserved whatever she did to him." Tiff nodded. "Anyway, Stellar," she went on, looking back at the bird, whom she had warmed up to considerably since learning about the horror of her past. "You don't have to worry anymore."
"But … if she loses . . . " Stellar tried to say, as the adults joined them up on the quarter-deck - except for Dedede, who had stayed behind; Escargoon quickly went to join him.
"If it looks like she's losing, then Kirby will help her, won't you, Kirby?" Tiff looked at her friend.
"Poyo!" Kirby nodded.
"Kirby, Emma, and Meta Knight teamed up the other day to take on a flying Monster in a wedding veil." Spikehead said, as he joined them. "They each had a sword, and that Monster had no chance!"
"Wow . . . " Bandanna Waddle Dee was looking between Emma's fight with Beakbeard and Kirby, his eyes shining. His gaze then travelled over to where Meta Knight and Silversword were still standing, watching the sword fight between Emma and Beakbeard.
"Tuff!" Tiff snapped impatiently, seeing her brother jealously guarding his chip-sandwich. "For goodness sake, give Fen your sandwich!"
"Poyo!" Kirby suddenly grabbed the sandwich out of Tuff's hands, and handed it to Fen. "Poyo!"
"Aww . . . " Tuff complained, and then realised that his parents were both watching him. "Uh-oh . . . "
"She's fighting better than she did the other day . . . " Escargoon couldn't help but comment, as he and Dedede carefully ventured closer to Meta Knight and Silversword.
"The pendant allows her to quickly pick up the skills necessary for her transformations, even if she's only used them once." Meta Knight explained quietly, watching intently as Emma and Beakbeard ascended to the main yard (it didn't look as if it had been Emma's idea). "As this is a variation of Swordfighter Emma . . . "
"You seem to know an awful lot about that pendant." Escargoon observed, narrowing his eyes slightly. "You wouldn't happen to be the one who gave it to her, would you?"
Meta Knight didn't say anything, but Dedede did.
"Why'd you give it to her?" He demanded to know.
"Would you have preferred it if she didn't have a way to defend herself?" Meta Knight asked him quietly.
It was Dedede's turn to go quiet, as he contemplated this. At last, he said: "Hey, you," he pointed at Silversword, who glanced at him. "That red-bellied guy said something interesting before … something about how your captain goes after people with a lot of power . . . "
"Aye." Silversword confirmed. "He be the kind who always wants to be in control, to have power over others. He didn't care about Stellar … he just wanted to have control over her … with people who have more power than him, well, he be seeing that as a challenge - he wants that power for himself and he wants control over whoever's got it."
"Silversword!" Old Tom, who was sitting nearby with his father, was aghast. "Why're you telling them that?!"
Real Old Tom, who hadn't spoken for awhile except to comment on Emma's sword in comparison to Beakbeard's ("a clash of light and dark . . . "), now chuckled. "You're contemplating your life's choices now, aren't you, sonny?" He asked Silversword, who flinched slightly. Real Old Tom chuckled again. "That's what happens with a captain like ours … a tyrant with a blood-lust can only hold a crew together for so long … before they become as such . . . "
Silversword's slightly shaking hand was on the hilt of his blade.
"If Silversword leaves then I'm leaving, too . . . " One of the pirates muttered.
"Aye, I'll not be staying without him around to keep things calm." Another added.
"Silversword won't leave, he owes the captain his life . . . " A third pirate spoke up.
"No . . . " Silversword seemed to have realised something. "It … isn't like that . . . "
I was on the brink of death at that time, not because of my injuries - because Sir Meta Knight made sure that Dame Shield Knight healed me as best she could - but because I lacked purpose and direction, which made me weak … which is when I again met the one that they be calling the fearsome Captain Beakbeard … we'd crossed blades before, with that battle being a draw only because of outside intervention, but … given the chance on that first day, he'd've slain me … only the fact that I was weakened the second time that we met, and the fact that he had use for what power I did still have … meant that he didn't follow through with that … he be using me, as much as he be using Stellar for her skills . . .
A sudden cry from above snapped Silversword out of his reverie, and he looked up to see that Beakbeard had succeeded in pushing Emma right to the end of the yard that they were standing on, right over the water.
There was a strange aura around him that hadn't been there before, and it was black and red and sinister-looking.
Emma was standing stock-still - she had been disarmed and suddenly seemed to be very much aware of how high up she was.
"Ye be a minnow in a sea of sharks, lassie," Beakbeard said, a strange glint in his red eyes, as the blade of The Monica shone with a red lustre. "Ye don't even know how to wield that power of yers . . . "
Emma was breathing heavily, knowing that if she looked anywhere but the one spot where she was looking then she would fall, but also feeling paralysed by this madman's gaze … between him and the sword, which she had come close to being sliced with numerous times already, she didn't know how this could get any worse . . .
"Oh no, the shark!" Somebody called.
Aurgh.
Beakbeard seemed to smirk slightly, and changed his grip ever-so-slightly on his sword, and . . .
"What do ye mean by this, Silversword?" Beakbeard asked quietly, as he paused, for the silver blade was held up against his throat.
And Silversword, who was standing behind him, said, just as quietly: "Ye used me." It wasn't a question.
"This be mutiny." Beakbeard reminded him, a dangerous edge to his voice, as everything seemed to grow still around them.
For a moment, it was just the two pirates and the 'pirate princess', standing there on the yard as the shark circled beneath them.
"Aye." Silversword replied.
"For what reason?" Beakbeard wanted to know. "Because I used ye?"
"This be not about ye." Silversword told him. "This be … my way … of righting what was wronged."
"By throwing yer no-good life away?" Beakbeard said flatly.
Silversword looked beyond Beakbeard, to the young woman who was standing on the edge of the yard, her face pale and the Star Pendant gleaming against her throat. Silversword was holding a rope that was connected to the topgallant in his free hand, which he angled slightly to draw Emma's attention to it.
Her eyes widened.
"I've no intentions of dying here today." Silversword said clearly.
Which is when he swung the rope towards Emma, just as Beakbeard moved - the captain turned sharply and slashed with his sword, but Silversword met that with his own blade. And, with that clang, the spell was broken.
"Silversword's gone and done it!" One of the pirates shouted. "This be mutiny!"
"Only one of them will survive!" Another added. "This be it, boys! This decides the fate of the Bad Dream Pirates!"
Real Old Tom chuckled. "This is it, alright . . . " He said, more to himself than anything.
Emma, meanwhile, had just placed all of her faith in the rope that Silversword had thrown to her - it was either that or risk staying up there with the two duelling pirates. She just leapt from the yard, aiming for the deck, where she landed right next to Real Old Tom.
"If you're looking for your sword, lassie . . . " The old pirate said casually.
"I'm not," Emma told him, her hand to her chest as she looked around in a slight panic. "I'm looking … for Kirby!"
"They're about to be in the same place." Real Old Tom chuckled. "Thanks to the young'un with the bandanna . . . "
"Huh?!" Emma blinked.
"Here, Kirby!" Bandanna Waddle Dee was holding the white-bladed sword that Emma had wielded before and running full-tilt up the stairs. "Before he uses Dual Role — !" He suddenly tripped, and the sword went flying.
"Kirby!" Tiff instinctively called. "Suck it up!"
And, to the surprise of most of those not in the know, Kirby immediately inhaled the flying sword … which almost instantly appeared again in his hand, as a blue bandanna similar to Bandanna Waddle Dee's wrapped around his head.
"Don't you dare faint again, Father!" Old Tom told his father, who looked the most shocked out of all of them.
"What is that pudgy pink starfish?!" One of the other pirates cried.
"He be one to reckon with!" Another pirate remarked.
"Yeah, he's Pirate Kirby!" Tuff cheered, as Pirate Kirby immediately headed topside, towards where Beakbeard had just pushed Silversword back, and now he faced his former first-mate, with unbridled anger.
He held The Monica straight out in front of him and, when he withdrew his hand, a copy of the fearsome blade was in his hand - the actual sword with the currently blood-red blade stayed where it was, surrounded by the same dark aura that now emanated from Beakbeard, who said: "I'll be glad to send a mutinous barnacle like ye straight to Davy Jones's Locker!" He lunged straight at Silversword with the copy of The Monica - as The Monica itself moved of its own accord and shot behind Silversword, ready to stab him in the back.
"How's he supposed to block two swords at once?!" Tiff cried.
"Also, how's that other sword moving by itself?!" Tuff wanted to know.
"Because … it's cursed . . . " Stellar tried to explain.
"That's Dual Role?!" Tiff asked.
Bandanna Waddle Dee nodded.
Stellar then gasped. "Igara!"
For, Pirate Kirby had just leapt up to intercept The Monica, beginning a strange duel against the sword itself, leaving Silversword free to continue duelling against Beakbeard.
Dedede, meanwhile, had hurried over to Emma.
"That was something else!" He told her, slightly breathless.
"I-it's just like Mabel said, I guess!" She sounded just as breathless. "Th-that I would .. step into the role of a childhood hero … m-my favourite singer when I was a child did a m-music video wh-where she was a princess captured by p-pirates and she turned the tables in swordplay and t-took control of the ship - so it's n-not exactly — !"
"Emma, you're doing it again . . . " Bandanna Waddle Dee said quietly, having picked himself up and come back down the stairs to join them.
"Thanks." She whispered to him. "It's just … I feel like things are … about to … reach the conclusion — ah — !" She suddenly cried, because the fake version of The Monica had just landed by her feet and, in the time that it took for her to register that and the sword vanished in a swirl of black smoke, Beakbeard appeared before her, and grabbed her around the throat, apparently having decided to take the conclusion of the day's events in an entirely different direction.
The Monica left Kirby and flew back down to Beakbeard, who now held the sword against Emma's throat.
"Not the scar tissue!" She gasped, as the pendant burned warmly against her throat.
Beakbeard was pulling her back, towards the plank. She had no idea what he intended to do - nobody did, probably not even him - but the aura that was coming from both him and that cursed sword of his was enough to make her realise that she had no way out of this on her own.
Before somebody like Dedede or Meta Knight or Kirby (who had hurried back down to the deck quickly) could try and make a move to help her, however, somebody else did.
Fen, apparently having regained some strength just from that one chip-sandwich, came flying across the deck in a blur of red and black, and latched on to Beakbeard's hand that was gripping The Monica. The pirate immediately dropped the sword which fell overboard … and, so did he and Emma.
The only reason that Fen didn't was because she had extended her huge ears, which allowed her to fly when she flapped them up and down.
It was incredibly bizarre for most of them, but it wasn't what was important right then.
Emma hit the water and, as soon as she came up, coughing and wondering how long it had been since she had been in the ocean, she instinctively began treading water … a long time or not, she knew what to do … she looked all around her … which is when she noticed something that she had landed next to in the water.
"Is that — ?!" She gasped, reaching out and clinging on to the hammer. How is it floating?
She didn't know, and it probably didn't matter, because it was at that point that Beakbeard surfaced about ten feet away from her, and the two of them made eye contact.
Emma then felt something brush up against her side … really, it was pretty close to being a nuzzle . . .
Except that the animal who did it was an eleven foot long shark.
Emma froze, and the hammer became the only thing that was keeping her afloat, as the shark stared at her with his round black eye as he slowly swam past her.
"Joe — !" She squeaked, remembering the name of the shark from the Kirby series but kind of wishing that she didn't.
She was positive that the shark nudged her in direct response to her speaking, before something in his demeanour shifted.
The timeframe felt like a few minutes, but it was really only a couple of seconds, and then Joe headed straight for Beakbeard.
Emma half reached out, as the look in the pirate's eyes indicated that he knew what was about to happen, but there was nothing that could be done, and Emma ended up clamping her eyes shut as she heard Beakbeard's cry got cut off, as the huge shark dragged him under water.
Emma just clung onto the hammer. She didn't dare open her eyes. But, in her mind, what she pictured was the sword that Beakbeard had wielded, sinking slowly to the bottom of the sea, its thirst for blood never to be satisfied.
Who had been in control? Beakbeard, or The Monica?
How long had the sword had a grip on that bloodline, and, what would happen now . . . ?
Emma was shaking, when she felt a pair of hands clasp the straps of her corset.
She didn't even have to look.
"Meta Knight . . . " Emma whispered. "Beakbeard … Joe just . . . " She couldn't say it. "If the kids saw it — ?!"
"They didn't, don't worry." Meta Knight replied steadily.
"But, the sword … it's still down there . . . "
"It's alright." His voice was quiet. "We will check."
Emma didn't want to ask who would be tasked with such an assignment. She just wanted to forget about the cursed sword altogether.
"I still love sharks." She found herself saying. "Sharks are beautiful." And, she meant it.
Meta Knight didn't say anything other than: "Hmm . . . " As he effortlessly used his wings to carry Emma and the hammer out of the sea and back up on to the deck.
She felt her clothes return to normal, and only when her now bare feet hit the wooden deck did she open her eyes.
The very first person that she saw was Dedede.
"Here." She said, handing the hammer to him and kind of surprised by how it felt both heavy and light to her.
Dedede took the hammer and then said to Escargoon, who was next to him: "Here, hold this." He shoved the hammer toward Escargoon, who staggered. Dedede then said to Emma: "I have to ask again if you'll marry me!"
"Sire!" Escargoon gasped, as Emma looked shocked. "You didn't learn anything from this, did you?!" He accused, just as Kirby, Tiff, Tuff, and Bandanna Waddle Dee reached Emma and crash-tackled her in a huge hug.
"You're okay!" Bandanna Waddle Dee cried, leaping up and latching onto her left shoulder.
"Poyo!" Kirby added, latching onto her other shoulder.
"We did it!" Tuff cheered, hugging her left side.
"Emma and Kirby did most of it!" Tiff reminded him, as she hugged Emma's right side.
"I couldn't have done it without everybody!" Emma said, swallowing to try and get rid of the huge lump that was threatening to form in her throat. "R-really! I-I mean — oh!" She exclaimed, as Fen leapt up and started licking her face. "Y-yes, that includes you, Fen!" Her tears were gone even before the had begun; it was hard to cry when a small furry creature was licking your face like that.
"Yeah, if Fen hadn't bitten Beakbeard, then who knows what would've happened!" Spikehead said.
"What does this mean for the pirates now, though?" Tokkori wondered.
"I-it means that Silversword's the captain, now!" Emma stammered, and all eyes were suddenly cast upon Silversword, who wasn't looking at anybody. "E-even if … you hadn't … t-taken a stand against h-him … th-that's the order of things, i-isn't it?! Th-that's, like, p-part of some pirate code, or something? The first-mate, y-you know . . . ?"
Silversword glanced at her. "Ye really think … that it should be me? All formalities aside, ye be believing that I can take the helm?"
"W-well, it's not up to me whether you do or don't, b-but, your crew-mates like you, t-too … s-so . . ." She swallowed. "P-plus, y-you're now the strongest … and, umm . . . "
Bandanna Waddle Dee squeezed her shoulder.
Emma looked right at Silversword. "Yeah, it's you." She told him.
He continued to gaze at her for another moment, and then they both looked up at the railing of the quarter-deck, where Stellar was perched.
The pink bird was staring at the spot where Joe had taken Beakbeard underwater, and then she just sighed.
Half an hour later things had settled down a little bit. Possibly because Silversword had stepped in to protect Emma, and then fought alongside Kirby, and now he was the captain of the Bad Dream Pirates, things seemed to have reached a truce of sorts, as the pirates were happy enough to help the ones that they had previously captured be rowed back to shore.
Nobody wanted to question it. It was a good result.
As Emma was about to step in to the lifeboat, she saw Tuff and Spikehead following behind her; they then stopped, as a monkey ran in front of them, and then stopped and looked up at them questioningly.
"What's that?" Spikehead asked.
"Oh," a nearby pirate looked over at them. "He's our powder monkey, Jomo. He's a demolitions expert." He added, as Jomo ran off again.
The two kids watched him go, and then looked at each other.
"Do you think they'd lend him to us?" Spikehead wondered.
"Yeah, can we have him?" Tuff asked the nearby pirate, but it was his mother who responded.
"No." She said simply, before she steered her son onto the long-boat where Sir Ebrum was waiting. She then looked around, and spotted Tiff still on the deck. "Tiff?"
Tiff was staring up at the flag that was still flying high above them, and then she said: "It's not right . . . "
"What's not?" Emma asked her, as Dedede and Escargoon came up to her, ready to board to long-boat that Meta Knight was already sitting calmly in.
Tiff looked at them. "These pirates just wrecked half our town and now they're gonna leave like it never even happened?!"
"Well, we can't expect them to help us . . . " Her mother tried to reason with her, but that was when Emma spoke up again.
"And, why not?" The young woman said, not looking at anybody and instead staring down at her hands. "After all, a-all actions have a consequence!"
"Uh, and what exactly would that consequence be?" Old Tom wanted to know.
Emma turned around, and her hands flew to her hips, just as Joe the shark breached, leaping up into the air behind her before splashing back down into the water.
A second later, a voice could be heard calling: "Tiff!"
"It's Kine . . . " Tiff realised, and she hurried over to the edge of the ship to see the ocean sunfish looking back up at her from the water.
"Joe and I are gonna keep an eye out for that sword, but I'm just glad you're okay!" Kine told her.
"O-kay . . . " Tiff looked embarrassed.
"H-hi, Joe!" Emma called out, waving to the shark. "Th-thanks for not eating me!"
"Joe says that you're like Kirby!" Kine told her.
"Meaning?" Tiff and Tuff said in unison.
"That they look tasty but they're friends so they're off-limits!" Kine replied.
"Oh." Emma blinked. She didn't know what to say to that.
"Poyo." Kirby also blinked. He clearly didn't, either.
"They be friends with the shark who rid us of our former captain?" One of the pirates muttered.
"There be space sharks out there too, ye know . . . " Another added.
"If I'd've known how scary these landlubbers be, I wouldn't have left the ship at all here!" A third pirate said.
"Stop worrying so much!" Silversword suddenly snapped, as he came up on deck. "Of course we won't be leaving until we've helped them!" He gave the crew a steely glare with his one eye. "Any one of you who refuses to help gets keel-hauled! Understand?!"
"Aye aye, Captain!"
Tiff looked a whole lot happier, as she hopped into the long-boat.
"I thought there was none . . . " Emma blinked, staring at the bottle of red wine that Samo was holding.
"I managed to save one." He replied. "Would you like to try it? As thanks for helping us."
It was later on that evening, and the repair work around Cappy Town had stopped for the day, to resume the following day at first light. Samo's Bar was one of the few places that had been fixed up first, and was looking almost back to normal when Emma came in.
"Hmm . . . " She was tempted, but then she shook her head. "Better save it, S-Samo. I'm h-here for something else, actually, if you've got any . . . "
"Free of charge, of course." Samo told her. "Just tell me what it is . . . "
Sailor Waddle Dee hurried out of Kawasaki's with boxes of fish and chips, and met up with Emma who had what she had gone to Samo's for. After a quick stop at the grocery store, they went to the field close by to Kirby's house.
Kirby himself was there, waiting for them, along with Tuff and a slightly disgruntled Tiff and their parents, Spikehead, Iro, Honey, Bandanna Waddle Dee, Fen, and, unexpectedly, Dedede and Escargoon. No wonder Tiff didn't look particularly happy.
"When he found out about this he insisted on coming." She muttered, as Emma sat down.
"That's okay, we got extra." Emma replied, smiling in contrast to Tiff trying to glare holes into the king.
They watched as Sailor Waddle Dee hand Bandanna Waddle Dee a bottle of apple juice.
Bandanna Waddle Dee's eyes had just lit up, and he looked like he couldn't be any happier … that is until he actually tried the juice, and proclaimed that this was the happiest day of his life ever.
Nearby, Tuff was teaching his friends how to make the perfect potato chip sandwich, as Fen watched hungrily.
"The trick is to make sure that all of the chips are spread out evenly." He said.
"What if we tried it with hot chips?" Honey suddenly said, and the kids all exchanged glances.
Tuff then quickly gave his chip-sandwich to Fen, and joined the other kids in constructing a sandwich with the hot chips, instead.
Dedede was looking around for Emma. "Wait, where is she?!" He exclaimed.
Escargoon pointed, to where Emma was standing next to a nearby tree, where two birds were perched on a low branch - Stellar and Tokkori. They watched as a bandaged Stellar, who had taken off her pirate hat and didn't seem like she was in the ding to put it back on ever again, said something, and then Tokkori seemed to complain about whatever she'd just said - Stellar responded by pushing Tokkori out of the tree.
Chuckling now, Emma headed back over to the blanket and, noticing that Dedede and Escargoon were watching her, came over to them after only some hesitation.
"Th-things are gonna get m-much more lively around here." She commented, glancing over her shoulder to where Stellar and Tokkori were now bickering like an old married couple.
"Is she staying?" Escargoon grimaced slightly.
Emma nodded. "Well, s-since Fen is, and they're best friends … l-looks like Kirby made a new friend, too . . . " She added, seeing Kirby and Bandanna Waddle Dee making a hot chip-sandwich together, along with Sailor Waddle Dee.
"Can we put fish in it, too?" Bandanna Waddle Dee wondered.
"I don't see why not." Sailor Waddle Dee held up a piece of battered fish.
"Poyo!" Kirby cheered.
"Oh, great . . . " Dedede sighed. He then noticed that Emma had paused, and was looking at him. "I mean . . . "
"Y-you and Kirby . . . " Emma tried to figure out how to say what she was thinking.
"Shouldn't that series that you mentioned have told you everything about his majesty's disdain for that pink puffball?" Escargoon commented.
Emma nodded. "Umm … the same pink puffball who just stole your tomato sauce?" She added, as Kirby ran off with the bottle.
"Hey!" Escargoon exclaimed, immediately getting up. "Thief! Give that back! You're not Pirate Kirby anymore!" He added, as he went to retrieve his condiment.
"So, about this series that you know about from your world . . . " Dedede was looking at Emma.
She began to feel apprehensive, like she was back in danger on the pirate ship. What did Dedede want to know? Did he want to know what she knew? What information would be dangerous to be known by others at this time? She didn't even know if any of the events from the anime actually would happen … there were a number of things that didn't align with the show's version of Dreamland, but . . .
"Am I your favourite character?!" Dedede suddenly wanted to know, and Emma was so startled that she just stared at him as he tried to correct himself. "I mean, is King Dedede your favourite character?!"
Emma blinked a few times more, somewhat relieved that his question wasn't aimed more towards the meaning of life or something … and, then she realised what he'd just said. A faint blush crept up to her cheeks.
Yes, the character of King Dedede was absolutely her favourite, and always had been.
She couldn't tell him that, though. No way. Not gonna happen. She was still waiting for him to realise what a big mistake he was making when it came to her, after all.
Emma swallowed. "I-I actually h-have … a few favourite characters . . . " That wasn't a lie, either; King Dedede just happened to be her first favourite, but, she really liked other characters, too. Like Kirby, and Meta Knight, and Escargoon, and . . .
"Okay, well, I'm obviously the main one." Dedede decided, speaking more to himself than to her. "But, who else is there?" He asked her, somewhat suspiciously.
Feeling that it would be best to mention somebody who wasn't currently within hammering reach, and that to mention Meta Knight might be a bit risky, also, Emma said: "Okay … I like … Magolor."
"I have no idea who that is." Dedede told her truthfully.
Emma smiled. "Lucky for you both." She replied calmly, taking a sip of apple juice as Escargoon continued to chase Kirby around to get back his tomato sauce, and Stellar could be heard telling Tokkori that she'd heard that it was Kirby's house and that she had already been invited to stay.
"I'm doomed!" Tokkori cried.
By mid afternoon the next day, the town was pretty much back to normal, thanks to the combined efforts of the townspeople and the pirates.
"Where's Bandanna Waddle Dee?" Tuff wanted to know, as he, Emma, Tiff, Kirby, and Fen walked down to the western shore to watch the pirates leave.
Stellar was perched on Fen's head, not saying much of anything.
"He's getting inducted." Emma explained. "Escargoon mentioned something about having to do a character check, but, I dunno . . . " She trailed off as they reached the bay, and found Meta Knight standing there, evidently having just said goodbye to Silversword, who was just exiting a long-boat and boarding the Sand Star.
They joined him, and watched in silence as the pirates prepared to leave, weighing anchor and such.
"I wish I knew . . . " Emma said all of a sudden. "Just what it was … that Silversword had failed to do that caused him to leave the Galaxy Warrior Army before . . . "
"Yeah, and what caused him actually turn against his former captain and everything?" Added Tuff who, like most of the kids, wasn't aware of what had actually happened to Beakbeard, although Emma suspected that they at least knew that the pirate was dead. And that, like her, they were all trying not to think about it.
Meta Knight was silent for a moment, his eyes briefly turning green as he thought about something. At last, he said: "I suspect … that he made peace with his past, and found his true purpose." His eyes returned to yellow.
"Is it always like this here?" Emma found herself suddenly asking, and Stellar and Fen also looked over, clearly waiting to find out just what their new home was going to be like.
"Poyo, poyo!" Kirby replied, which could have meant just about anything, but, Tuff's sudden cry interrupted this discussion.
"Holy SHIP!"
For, the Sand Star had just risen up out of the water, suspended by some unknown force … and then, via rocket-powered thrusters that were on the ship's underside, it suddenly shot off towards the sky, disappearing so quickly that it left most of them speechless.
"Space pirates?" Emma whispered.
"Mmhmm." Meta Knight confirmed.
Finally, when the waves of the ocean had settled down, Tuff seemed to find his voice again, and was the first to say: "That was so cool! The others are gonna be so jealous when they hear about this!" He added, as he turned and was about to take off running back towards the town, when something made him stop. "Uh . . . "
A voice behind them all chuckled, and said: "Well, well, well … you didn't go with them then, Stellar?"
"Igara!" She immediately snapped, as they all turned quickly to see Real Old Tom standing behind them. "You all knew that I was going to be leaving, but what about when they realise their mistake of leaving you behind, Tom?!"
And, he laughed, and said: "Realise their mistake?! They tied me up in my hammock when I was sleeping and left me behind! My son's idea, no doubt!" He added, shaking his head. "Those good for nothings didn't want me there, my knowledge on weapons and skills in repairing them were being wasted! That mayor of yours ended up finding me and freeing me, and I've already asked him if I could stay! So, it looks like I'll be living out the rest of my days on land!"
"And, uh, how long do you think that will be?" Stellar wanted to know.
"How long is piece of string? I could outlive you all!"
And, that was how Dreamland gained four new residents - the timid apple juice-loving Bandanna Waddle Dee (who had passed his character check with flying colours), the old weapons expert (who had asked to be just called Tom, since he no longer had to be differentiated from his son), the sweet-natured Flying Fox Fen (Emma had found a book all about the species in the book of books that she'd 'borrowed' from the pirates) who was more or less no worse for wear after being liberated, and Fen's best friend Stellar … who had once been an unknowing prisoner but was now free … to make Tokkori's life miserable.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Tokkori all-but screeched, when he came in to find pink flowers decorating the whole entire house.
"This place really needed a woman's touch, igara!" Stellar declared, as Emma made a floral collar for Fen.
"Kirby! You have to be on my side with this!" Tokkori immediately said, turning to the only other male in the house.
Kirby was placing a bunch of flowers in a nearby vase.
"Poyo!" He said happily, confirming Tokkori's worst fears.
"This … couldn't … get … any … worse . . . " The little yellow bird grumbled as he went back outside, flying into the tree and staring out at the field. "It surely couldn't . . . "