Disclaimer: Kirby belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.
Vesa and Fecto Elfilis headed for Capupu Village the next day with Kirby and Elfilin accompanying them. She noted her partner had been antsy for some reason. She made a mental note to ask them what they wanted to do later—maybe she could come along and help out with their magical experiments when needed.
When they stopped at the line of storage houses, Vesa waved her hand with a smile.
"Morning!" she called over.
One of the Cappy farmers locked eyes onto Vesa and waved back.
"Good morning, ma'am," he greeted, "are you here to help thresh the rice?"
Vesa nodded.
"Of course," the Cappy nodded, "right this way."
The Cappy farmer led Vesa, Elfilis, Kirby and Elfilin inside the storage house. While the tall space mage examined the rice stalks piled on a straw mat, Vesa took a moment to examine a nearby senbakoki. She took note of a basket underneath it. She then glanced at the other Cappies as they threshed piles of rice stalks at their stationed senbakokis. Having gotten the idea of how the process worked, Vesa didn't hesitate as she immediately went to work threshing handfuls of rice stalks at a time. Her partner also proceeded to help her out, separating the grains from the stalks with their biological powers.
Elfilin spotted a moth perching on a nearby wall, he immediately recognized. He soon let out an excited squeak.
"Kirby!" Elfilin chirped, flapping his arms, "it's that cute moth! Come look! Come look!"
Kirby blinked twice before approaching the small chinchilla.
"Poyo?"
Kirby stood on the tips of his feet as he carefully examined the moth on the wall. A moment of silence went on until the moth flew and perched on Elfilin's head. The small chinchilla giggled as he floated down to Kirby's level.
"What do you think?" Elfilin clamored, "you think it's cute?"
"Poyo!" Kirby nodded.
Kirby and Elfilin proceeded to wander the storage house with the moth chilling on the small chinchilla's head. Meanwhile, Vesa built up a rhythm as she grabbed a handful of rice stalks as thick as a few pencils and ran them through the senbakoki's iron-jagged teeth. Once the basket was full half an hour later, she scanned her surroundings until she noted a couple Cappies carrying baskets of threshed rice grains to one of the few large mortars at the other side. Elfilis zoned out and allowed their body to carry out the repetitive motions of separating the grain.
Vesa picked up her basket and carried it over to one of the mortars. She carefully poured the rice grains into it before she returned to her stationed senbakoki. She took a moment to check the rice stalk pile next to her. Vesa then made a brief glance at her partner's basket. Elfilis didn't actually notice their basket was overflowing. She thought fast and swapped baskets, placing the empty basket under her partner's senbakoki. She then poured the rice grains into the nearest mortar before she went back to threshing.
By the time another half hour passed, Vesa and Elfilis finished threshing their piles of rice stalks. From there, the Cappies started hulling the rice with large pestles. Elfilis allowed their eyes to refocus now that their work had been completed. The tall space mage led their girlfriend to the Cappy farmer at the entrance. At the same time, Kirby and Elfilin paused what they were doing before they scurried to the entrance. Elfilis made a brief glance at the moth still on Elfilin's head, realizing it wasn't a species they've seen before. After a moment of contemplation, they decided to ignore it, mostly since their little brother grew fond of it.
"We finished our part, sir," Vesa informed the Cappy.
"Thank you so much!" the Cappy cheered, "your help is appreciated. I can get you some pay as compensation for your work after it gets bought by the local store and King Dedede."
Vesa smiled as Elfilis placed their hand on her shoulder.
"Ready to head back?" Elfilis asked her.
"Of course," Vesa nodded.
With a gesture from the Cappy farmer, Vesa, Elfilis, Kirby and Elfilin left the storage house and ventured through Capupu Village. Along the way, Vesa noticed the strange moth on Elfilin's head.
"Oh?" Vesa blurted, "where'd you find that little guy?"
Elfilin floated over to Vesa, clasping his paws together.
"It was hanging out at the storage house," he explained, "can I keep it?"
"No," Elfilis shook their head, "you need to release it back into the wild. Maybe if it were something larger and easy to take care of, but that moth will likely be dead in a few days or a few weeks."
Elfilin drooped his large ears.
"Aww," he pouted.
Kirby sighed as the moth hopped off the small chinchilla's head and flew off. Elfilis simply shrugged. Still, Vesa, Kirby and Elfilin followed Elfilis down the pavement, even when they exited Capupu Village and began strolling down the field.
"So," Elfilis asked, "do you want to walk back or just teleport home?"
Kirby shrugged.
"Well," Elfilin placed his paw behind his head, "Kirby and I are thinking of exploring out here a while."
Vesa leaned closer to Elfilis, hugging their left arm.
"I'm ok with teleporting home," Vesa told Elfilis.
Elfilis took a moment to think.
"Actually," Elfilis suggested, "you should come home with us, Elfilin. It's not exactly safe to be out on your own right now, even with Kirby. There are potentially assassins out there, so it would be best if you were kept close and out of harm's way."
Kirby and Elfilin exchanged glances while the small chinchilla shivered anxiously. Before Elfilin could even make a decision, Vesa suddenly felt an unusual gust of wind, so she covered her face with one arm. Elfilis saw what happened with their superior clarity. Before the wind even began to dissipate, the tall space rodent pressed their leg against one of the ratlike mobsters. They pulled out their spear, glaring at the other five which just showed up, their eyes giving off an eerie purple glow.
Vesa pulled her wand out of her pocket bangle without thinking, stiffening her spine as she stood her ground, almost as if she was trying to be vigilant. Elfilis didn't say a word as they pulled a cloth from their pocket dimension and wiped the blood off the tip of their spear, their foot not having left the still warm body of the ratlike gang's comrade. Kirby stepped backwards while he scanned his surroundings. One of the Squeaks gave Elfilin a fierce stare, sending a chill down the small chinchilla's spine. Vesa beckoned Elfilin to come to her, so he burrowed under her jacket. His older sibling stared at the Squeak intensely and tore his mind apart, causing him to collapse, bleeding from his ears, eyes and nose.
Kirby jumped towards Vesa and Elfilis and entered a defensive stance. The remaining Squeaks shivered with fear as their eyes fixated on the space warrior mage.
"You can leave," Elfilis warned, "but if you don't, I'll kill you. It's your last chance to escape with your lives."
The renegade Squeak gang shared nervous glances in a moment of silence. They clearly had an objective, yet having seen what Elfilis did was enough to stop them in their tracks. Kirby tensed as he wondered how they'll respond to the threat from the space warrior mage.
Elfilis wanted them to stay, wanted them to fight. The space warrior mage wanted to send the rodent assassins home, broken and battered as a warning. They projected their own feelings outwards towards the frightened rats, wanting them to see the eagerness Elfilis had to kill them if that was what it took to protect those close to them. They transmitted all their deadly thoughts to the intimidated Squeaks in detail in under a second. The surviving four Squeaks slumped, admitting defeat. Elfilis kicked the body under their foot towards them, letting them catch the corpse.
"Leave," Elfilis barked, narrowing their eyes, "I will not offer mercy a second time if you return."
The rogue Squeak gang immediately scurried away, leaving Kirby to let out a sigh of relief. Elfilin popped his head out of Vesa's jacket.
"Are they gone?" he asked sheepishly.
Vesa stroked Elfilin's head with her finger.
"That was close," she breathed.
Elfilis let out a soft breath, relieved they didn't need to kill anymore of the rogue rodents than they already have. Vesa zoned out, unsure what to feel of what she just witnessed. Kirby was used to this violence, though he was known for killing off creatures too irredeemable or even non-sentient. Glancing at the blood on the ground, the ultimate life-form quickly cast a spell to clean up the carnage.
"Ready to head home?"
Vesa nodded.
"Elfilin," Vesa asked, "will you be ok?"
Elfilin gazed into Vesa's eyes, shaken by what just happened.
"U-Uhm," Elfilin stammered, "I think so. I-I think I just need to lay down."
Kirby approached Elfilis while they scooped Vesa into their arms. The ultimate life-form stared at the pink puff in confusion.
"Poyo," Kirby asked, "poyo?"
Vesa blinked twice.
"If you want to," Elfilis nodded.
"Poyo!" Kirby chirped.
Elfilis closed their eyes softly before they teleported back to the tower, taking Vesa, Elfilin and Kirby with them. They set down their girlfriend upon arriving in the foyer.
"You three go eat," Elfilis mumbled, "I'm going to improve the defenses on the tower some more."
With Elfilis leaving the foyer one direction, Vesa, Kirby and Elfilin made a beeline for the kitchen.
Aboard the Halberd, Dedede's summoned Nightmare Monster darted from shadow to shadow, moving carefully and taking measures to not be seen. He kept a keen eye out for the captain's quarters, suspecting that was the most likely place has what he was looking for. Running through the ship gave him a bit of nostalgia for some reason, feet making no noise despite his speed. The familiar faces and the ship's interior reminded him of the old Star Warrior vessels.
Yamikage didn't need to waste time checking every single door he passed by. He headed directly to the main deck, knowing it shouldn't be too hard to slip by any of the crewmembers there. From there, he continued along his path in the shadows.
Little did he know, he tripped a silent alarm without noticing. Yamikage soon stopped at the door to the captain's quarters.
Elsewhere, the soldiers on the ship began arming themselves, communicating via radio and organizing themselves to hunt down the intruder. Based on which alarm they knew was tripped, they figured the dead end hallway full of rooms wouldn't have any escape routes. Sword and Blade Knight led the squadron down the hallway.
"Everyone search the rooms," Sword Knight ordered, "be quiet and don't let them know we're here. No one goes alone, everyone takes a partner."
The other soldiers saluted quietly. Sword Knight and Blade Knight didn't hesitate to pair up.
"We'll check the Capt'n's quarters," Blade Knight said, a hand on his sword.
The apprentice duo silently approached the door left ajar. Sword Knight gestured to Axe Knight and Mace Knight to join them as they slowly opened the door. Peering inside, they spotted a long familiar face snooping in one of the drawers.
"That's—" Mace Knight almost blurted.
Axe Knight shushed him by gently stepping on his foot so as to not let their armor clink loudly. They shared a glance for a brief moment before Mace Knight split off to inform the others.
Yamikage continued to rummage through the next set of drawers. Sword Knight slowly entered the room, his sharp blade starting to glow with energy. He began to charge up an attack only Kirby and Meta Knight were skilled to use in the past. The traitor had his back turned, thus it was the right time to strike with a Blade Beam. The apprentice warrior raised his sword. He brought it down, sending a beam of energy through the air. It sliced Yamikage's back without warning. He should've been able to respond quickly, but his age caught up to him despite Nightmare's aid and power fueling him now. He hasn't seen real combat in a long time.
"Gah!" Yamikage scowled, "you bastard!"
Yamikage turned around, red eyes narrowing at the familiar knight.
"You're one of Meta Knight's little fake knights, aren't you?" he growled, "one of the two bandit pets he adopted."
Blade Knight stood back while Sword Knight gripped the hilt of his weapon with both hands.
"We turned our lives around and followed Sir Meta Knight out of a feeling of obligation and a desire to change," Sword Knight objected, "we didn't turn to banditry because we wanted to. Sir Meta Knight gave us a chance to be better and we took his help. You turned your blade on your allies and slaughtered dozens of us before running away in the night. Who are you to judge us, you traitorous bastard?! You were one of us! We trusted you and you killed off most of the round table…not in honorable combat, but when they were asleep…when their blades were undrawn!"
Sword Knight leapt forward, slamming his blade down. Yamikage pulled out a kodachi and kept the apprentice knight's sword at bay.
"We were destined to lose!" Yamikage yelled, "I made the right decision, turning on you was the best decision I made! I spent the last several decades alive, stronger than before, faster…I didn't die out in space, or in a ditch or on an alien world! I lived like a king!"
Yamikage pushed Sword Knight's blade to the side and nicked his armor.
"How do you sleep at night," Sword Knight growled, pulling himself back into a stance, "knowing you betrayed your brother in all but blood?!"
"Like a log," Yamikage smirked.
The renegade ninja let out an angered swear as a Laser Ball floated in the doorway, having just blasted him in the eye. The ninja threw a kunai at the floating ball. It blasted the projectile, the molten metal hitting the floor with a hiss as the Laser Ball retreated backwards and out of the way.
"You will pay for that," Yamikage hissed.
Yamikage charged at Sword Knight. The apprentice went low with his blade, the ninja taking another large hit. Yamikage's mind raced for any ideas when he realized he couldn't escape. Mace Knight returned with the rest of the squadron.
"So that's how it is, huh?" Yamikage scowled, "well, if I'm going to die here, I'll take you all with me!"
Yamikage reached into his pocket dimension and pulled out a belt of live grenades, all of their pins missing. Sword Knight and Blade Knight shuddered.
"Move!" Sword Knight yelled.
Blade Knight kicked a few of the slower ones down the hall a bit as Sword Knight rushed out the door and slammed it shut before Yamikage could follow. A massive explosion ensued, the door coming off its hinges and sending Sword Knight flying into a wall. His armor became heavily dented and shattered in places from the force at which the metal door came off its hinges. Ears ringing under his helm, he tried surveying his surroundings. Struggling to stand, he used his blade as a crutch.
"I-Is everyone alright?!" he yelled.
A brief moment passed before Blade Knight came into his line of sight.
"We're fine over here," he reassured his friend, "it looks like you're the only one who was seriously hurt."
Blade Knight helped Sword Knight to his feet.
"Let me go in and take a look," Blade Knight continued, "if we're lucky, he didn't survive the explosion, but Nightmare's monsters are tough."
Blade Knight glanced at the open doorway. He examined the charred remains of Yamikage.
"Well, he's dead," Blade Knight shrugged, "I just wish he didn't have to die in here. Meta Knight doesn't really have anywhere else to stay, does he?"
"Well, Sir Meta Knight would probably just be happy it's his blood littering the carpet and not ours," Sword Knight replied, "still, someone should go let him know."
The knights gathered in a circle.
"1, 2, 3," Sword Knight proclaimed, "not it!"
"Not it!" Blade, Axe and Javelin Knight jumped backwards.
"Not i—" Trident Knight blurted, "oh, damn it!"
He wasn't looking forward to that conversation.
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