Reunions

If there was one thing that Tiff had never expected to see again, it was the Halberd. After all, the massive airship secretly built by her dimension's Meta Knight exploded during the attack on eNeMeE's fortress. But that strange Dream Land had surprised her yet again, as the Halberd was standing intact. It was like it had never gotten into any battle at all.

Or so she had believed until Kirby mentioned that Meta Knight and his crew had rebuilt the ship after it had been completely destroyed twice. That world's Meta Knight not only had Blade and Sword as companions; he was also followed by a group of warriors called the Meta-Knights. "It seems that Dedede is not the only one who has a big ego around here," the girl thought once she found out that Meta Knight's crew was named after him.

As for what she was doing there, it was Meta Knight himself who had brought her and Kirby to his airship. His crew had caught a troublemaker who was not only identical to Dedede but also acted in a similar way to the one she had described. The knight needed her help to confirm the impostor's actual identity, as he suspected that it could be her universe's Dedede. Kirby had joined them, intrigued to meet the Dedede whom Tiff had criticised so much.

"I don't think he is that bad, poyo. I'm pretty sure that deep down he is a good person," the little hero had affirmed, and Tiff didn't want to break his heart by saying otherwise.

The other Dedede, along with Bandana Dee and Gooey, had decided to stay behind, mostly because Meta Knight feared for the Halberd. Knowing the king, it was quite likely that a fight would break out between him and his counterpart, and Meta Knight didn't want it to happen on his recently repaired ship.

On their way to the Halberd, Tiff discovered two interesting things about that universe. The first was that Warp Stars functioned way differently. In that dimension, they weren't linked to the Star Warriors at all (as they didn't exist) and were just a natural part of it. Despite this, Kirby still seemed to be connected to them somehow, as he could also easily find, summon, and use them as transportation.

The second discovery was that Meta Knight had wings. They looked very similar to those of a bat, and she was certain that Tuff would have found them "cool." But those wings only raised more questions for her. "Does this imply that my world's Meta Knight has wings as well? And if he does, why doesn't he use them? They look quite menacing... Could he be afraid to show them because people would think he is a monster? Nah, that wouldn't stop him. Maybe I should ask him about this when I get back home," the girl mused while Kirby piloted the Warp Star they were riding towards Meta Knight's airship.
Finally, they reached the Halberd, which was "docked" on a cliff near a beach. As soon as they landed on the deck, the Meta-Knights came out to greet their boss... and some got startled when they noticed Kirby landing shortly after.

"Don't worry. He is with me this time," Meta Knight quickly informed, relieving the crew.

Tiff looked at the group. It consisted of Sword, Blade, four other odd-looking warriors, a Waddle Dee in a sailor hat, and a large bird dressed as a captain. All of those (except the first two) were new faces for her. The captain bird especially caught her attention, not for their strange appearance but because they had a bag of ice on their head and seemed to be in pain.

"Thanks Nova you have finally arrived, sir. Captain Vul has ended up with a terrible headache from listening to the screams of that madman..." the Waddle Dee said, quite annoyed, as they pointed to the bird.

"You all will pay for this! I'm going to send you all straight to the dungeon! You call this food? I'm pretty sure you guys took this from a dumpster and called it a dish!" someone shouted from inside the ship.

Tiff could recognise that obnoxious, loud voice with a characteristic accent anywhere.

"Yeah, it's definitely him," the girl confirmed to Meta Knight, exasperated. Of all the people in her dimension, why had Dedede been the one who ended up in that world with her?

"Who is this landlubber?" Captain Vul asked upon noticing her.

"Her name is Tiff, and apparently she comes from the same Dream Land as our dear guest," Meta Knight explained, with sarcasm in the last words. "Tiff, I know you're not eager to see him, but you have to. We need to confirm that he is from your dimension and not from a third one," he asked the girl, who had no choice but to give in.

"So he isn't an impostor but a King Dedede from another universe?" Sailor asked. Meta Knight and Kirby nodded.

"Ha! In the end, it was me who won the bet! Those sweets are mine, Sailor!" one of the Meta-Knights (some sort of round skeleton skull who carried an axe the size of his body) exclaimed while pointing at himself.

Sailor rolled their eyes and handed their crewmate a bag full of jelly beans. Kirby approached the knight with pleading eyes and asked for some. The warrior reluctantly gave in, but Tiff wasn't sure if he shared his price out of kindness or because he didn't want to upset Kirby. In any case, the puffball cheerfully ate the few he received and happily thanked Axe Knight.

"Great. People from alternative universes popping out and causing trouble is just what we needed," Vul growled, his words filled with sarcasm. "If you'll excuse me, sir, I'm going to retire to my cabin until this pain passes," he told Meta Knight, who nodded to grant him permission. "I'm gettin' too old for this..." the bird mumbled as he left.

"Well, let's not waste any more time. Take us before him," Meta Knight requested.

It was a curious coincidence that the alternate versions of Sword and Blade were the ones who led them to the cabin where the self-proclaimed king was being held. Meta Knight opened the door after a brief warning from the two warriors.

There he was. The selfish penguin Tiff disliked so much was lazily laying in the cabin's bed, probably tired from his previous tantrum. However, as soon as he saw Meta Knight, Tiff and Kirby, he abandoned his lazy stance and stood up, his face red with rage.

"I knew it! As soon as I saw Sword and Blade among these weird guys, I knew you were the ones behind all this mess, you traitors! Where have you hidden my castle?! And what have you done with Escargoon?!" Dedede yelled at them, totally enraged.

With those words, he had just obliterated any doubt about his identity.

"Dedede, please calm down and allow me to explain..." Tiff began to say.

"I'm not going to calm down, you meddling brat!" Dedede interrupted her bruntly. "You, the annoying pink ball, and this good-for-nothing knight are going to spend the next century in the dungeon for conspiring behind my back in order to get me out of the way!"

"What do you mean by good-for-nothing?" Meta Knight asked, his voice filled with barely contained anger.

"You know exactly what I mean! You are of no use! You just spend all day either being lazy or helping Kirby and the other brats behind my back! You are a terrible knight, and this is the last time you betray me! I should have fired you a long time ago..." the king ranted.

"Oh no, this is bad," Kirby said, worried. The little puffball approached his friend and asked him in a conciliatory tone: "Meta, please calm down. He is not worth it."

"Wait, did that idiot Kirby just talk? But..."

The penguin's next words were cut short as Meta Knight pointed Galaxia at his neck.

"Do you have any idea of who I am?" the knight asked. His voice was cold and yet filled with rage as he answered that question himself: "I am the greatest swordsman in this galaxy, the scourge of darkness, one of the warriors who stopped Void Termina among other horrors alongside Kirby, and one of the defenders of this planet. I will not tolerate any insult or disrespect coming from someone who has aligned themselves with Nightmare in the past, you patethic excuse for a king."

Dedede swallowed, a fearful expression on his face. Even Tiff was taken aback by the knight's cold outburst, as it was something she would never have expected from him. He seemed to be very offended by Dedede's words, despite them not being actually directed at him.

Meta Knight sighed to calm himself down and withdrew his weapon, much to the relief of the one on the other side of his blade.

"The Meta Knight you know may put up with your attitude out of pure professionalism, but I don't. Have I made myself clear?" he said to Dedede with contempt.

"The Meta Knight I know?" the king repeated, totally confused.

"That's what I was trying to explain: we're not in our Dream Land," Tiff answered him. "We've somehow ended up in another dimension. These Kirby and Meta Knight are not the ones we know."

"Sure, sure. What a hoax! Do you take me for a fool?!"

"Yes," was the girl's emphatic response.

That prompted Dedede to yell again, to which Tiff, who had lost what little patience she had with the monarch, responded in kind.

"Well, it seems that Tiff knows how to stand her ground against the likes of this guy. I like that. She could become a fine warrior with proper training," Meta Knight whispered to Kirby after letting out a low chuckle.

Kirby, for his part, was tired of all the pointless arguing and approached Tiff and Dedede to mediate.

"Sorry, Dedede from another dimension... "

"And what do you want?" he asked in a mean way.

"I want to help you and Tiff get back home," Kirby continued, ignoring the king's rudeness. "Could you please answer a couple of questions, poyo?"

"Heh, do you really think you can help? I don't need you at all. After all, the only thing little pink menaces like you are good at is irritating great kings like me," he rudely declined. Kirby looked at him with a sad expression. Meta Knight gave Dedede a murderous look, asserting that he would not tolerate any disrespect towards Kirby either. "Fine... What do you want to know?" Dedede asked reluctantly, feeling threatened by the knight.

"Well, let's start with the most basic question. What is the last thing you remember before you ended up here?"

"I was planning something with Escargoon when Meta Knight, that pink menace, this meddling girl, her insufferable brother, and someone I'd never seen before ran into the throne room," Dedede recalled. "And that's it. I can't remember anything else. My mind is blank. How weird..." he finished, scraching his head.

"Hey! Don't lie! I don't remember any of that!" Tiff exclaimed.

"What I've said is true! I gain nothing by lying in this situation!" Dedede retorted angrily. Tiff didn't know how to reply because, for once, he was right. "You just like blaming me for every single problem," he added.

"Because, most of the time, you are the cause!"

"Stop arguing, you two!" Kirby scolded them. "I get it; you two don't get along. But you're both in the same boat, so, for once in your lives, work together, please."

"I don't need a Kirby to tell me what to do!" Dedede yelled. "I'm tired of this. I'm going to take a nap, and when I wake up, I'll think about answering your questions. And Meta Knight: tell your fan club to get me a better pillow. This one is trashier than their food!"

After saying that, Dedede turned his back on them and lay down on the bed without a single care. He began to snore a couple of seconds later. Meta Knight, Tiff and Kirby left the room defeated. They wouldn't get more information from the king.

"Do you see now what I have to endure?" the girl asked her companions as they left the cabin.

"I pity anyone who has to share a roof with him," Meta Knight said. "I don't know how your Meta Knight can put up with him. He must have the patience of a saint."

"I didn't think it was possible, but he's even more difficult to talk to than our Dedede was!" Kirby complained.

"The only thing I don't get is why I can't remember what he said about me and my friends entering the throne room," Tiff wondered. "Why did we all go there, and who is the person he had never seen? This is so frustrating..."

"This is just a theory, but given how you and the other Dedede's memories are just 'cut' short, chances are that whatever force brought you two here is also behind your memory loss," Meta Knight surmised.

"But don't worry about it, poyo! I'm sure that you'll remember everything that happened sooner or later," Kirby quickly said, in order to cheer her up after Meta Knight's worrysome words. "However, I'm wondering if you and your Dedede are the only ones in this situation..."

Tiff was suddenly filled with guilt. How could she have been so selfish? She had been so focused on finding a way home (as well as intrigued by that strange Dream Land) that she hadn't even considered the possibility of her friends ending up in that place too! "You have to find them." Those words echoed in her mind. Where had she heard them? In a dream? She tried to remember, but all she got was a headache.

"Are you okay, Tiff?" Kirby asked. He and Meta Knight were looking at her with concern.

"Yes, don't worry. I guess I am not as recovered from the fever as I thought," she replied dismissively. "And regarding your question, I have a feeling that Dedede and I aren't the only ones who have arrived from my world."

"I see. In that case, a meeting with Magolor is in order. If there is anyone in Dream Land who can identify any dimensional anomaly that could have brought you all here, it's him," Meta Knight decided.

"So, what should we do with this Dedede? Are you going to lock him up until this is all over, poyo?" Kirby questioned the knight.

"I wouldn't mind if you kept him locked up forever," Tiff muttered.

"Unfortunately for my crew, I think the most reasonable thing to do for the time being would be to leave him in that cabin," Meta Knight said dejectedly. "He may have caused some trouble, but he hasn't committed any crime. It wouldn't be fair to put him in a dungeon," he reasoned.

However, fate had other plans. Right at that moment, the sound of an explosion came from the cabin they had just left behind. Alarmed by the sudden noise, the three re-entered it, only to find Dedede facing a robot that had destroyed one of the walls of the cabin and part of the floor. A purple snail poked its head out of a hatch on the top of the machine.

"Escargoon!" Tiff exclaimed when she saw him.

"Indeed, meddlesome girl!" he exclaimed. "Those idiot mercenaries Meta Knight hired didn't even notice that I followed them while they kidnapped the king or that I slipped into their ship! I even got to steal this beauty from them!" he boasted. He then turned to the king, who seemed as surprised as the rest, and told him, "Let's get out of here, your majesty!"

"Wait, you two!" Tiff called as Dedede climbed into the robot. "We have to find a way to get back home!"

"Of course we do. But first, we are going to take over this Dream Land to show everyone who's the real boss!" He responded with an expression of superiority on his face.

Escargoon turned to him with a confused look and asked:

"Wait, what do you mean by 'this Dream Land'?"

"We'll talk about it later; we have to go," Dedede replied as he closed the hatch. "See ya later, losers!"

And with that, the robot flew away from Halberd at high speed, all while Dedede laughed like a Saturday morning cartoon villain.

"I'm going after them. You two need to return to the castle and tell our Dedede about what is going on. We will meet there later," Meta Knight ordered the two children. Tiff guessed that the knight hadn't prevented Escagoon and Dedede's escape because he didn't want to cause more damage to his ship.

"Be careful, poyo," Kirby told him before he flew off in pursuit of the two villains from another dimension.

Meanwhile, a spider was having a peaceful day in another part of Dream Land.

Taranza usually resided in Floralia, but sometimes it got difficult for him to live there. He had to deal with the pressure of trying to mend a broken kingdom as its main representative, and the anguish caused by the melancholy-filled memories of someone who would never return didn't help. Fortunately, King Dedede had given him a small plot of land on which he had built a house and a lovely little garden. There, he could relax and rest before returning to the stressful work in his kingdom.

Taranza had been practicing his magic in the garden that day. Magolor had convinced him to be his partner in the upcoming tournament after Marx had been banned from the competition (and from setting foot in Waddle Dee Town) due to one of his pranks gone wrong. He didn't have high expectations of winning, given that the participants included the terrifying duo of Dedede and Meta Knight and the unbeatable team of Kirby and Bandana Dee, but it was a charity event, so he signed up. Anything that could improve Floralia's reputation was welcome.

It was during one of his breaks that he noticed that one of the flowers in his garden was withering. Taranza looked at it with sorrow; it had been Sectonia's favourite type of flower before that mirror corrupted her.

Seeing the state of that flower hurt him a lot. It reminded him of how, little by little, the light had gradually faded from his dear queen's gaze, replaced by an abyss of darkness and contempt for everything that she didn't consider beautiful. And he, blinded by fear and a toxic distortion of what once was love, had done nothing to stop it.

However, it wasn't too late for that flower. It did not have to suffer the same fate as Floralia's late queen. He was a wizard, and his magic had only improved since the events that had brought him to meet Kirby and the others. He'd spent the entire morning practising offensive spells, so it was time for support magic.

Determined not to let the flower wither, Taranza began to cast the rejuvenating spell he had been working on. His intention was to develop it into a magic capable of healing wounds, but for the time being, all it was good for was restoring the plants in his garden.

A green aura began to surround the entire garden, but Taranza put all of his focus on the flower. Slowly, the colour came back to its petals, and the flower soon rose again, radiant (though its petals were still closed; those flowers only opened at night). The aura disappeared, and Taranza smiled proudly, albeit a little sad. If he had managed to master that magic years ago, would he have been able to save her?

His brooding was interrupted by a confused "poyo" coming from the other side of the garden hedges. He only knew of one creature who made such a noise.

"Kirby? Is it you?" the spider asked as he peered over the garden, floating thanks to his magic.

Indeed, there was the young hero, looking around as if he were lost. "It's me, or does he look smaller than usual? His colour is a bit off too..." Taranza thought.

"Is everything alright? Are you looking for something?" he questioned the puffball.

Kirby finally became aware of his presence, but the only words that came out of the pink hero's mouth were more "poyo" sounds.

Alarmed, Taranza jumped up to join him. Why was Kirby behaving so strangely? Taranza asked him what was wrong again, but he only got more "poyos" as an answer, followed by some other words that didn't make much sense either:

"Tiff, Tuff, Meta Nini, poyo?"

Taranza had no idea what a tiff or a tuff were, but 'Meta Nini' sounded like how a very young child would pronounce 'Meta Knight'. That behaviour, coupled with the reduced size, made Kirby look like a baby. Didn't he just cast a rejuvenation spell? What if it had reached Kirby and triggered some weird reaction?

"I have turned Kirby into a baby," the spider deduced, and a horrified expression appeared on his face as he realised the gravity of the situation.

"I've turned Kirby into a baby!" he screamed, terrified. "Oh no. Meta Knight and King Dedede are going to kill me..." he continued, his voice trembling.

"Meta Nini! Dede!" the puffball joyfully claimed.

"Yes, when they find out about this, Meta Nini and Dedede are going to cut me up and serve me as a dish to the Waddle Dees," Taranza replied shakily as he lifted the little pufball into the air with his hands and examined it. Kirby weighed less than usual, though he didn't weigh much to begin with. The hero had no visible injuries, which was a relief.

Taranza took a deep breath to calm himself down. If Kirby were his usual self, he'd be saying that neither Dedede nor Meta Knight were going to kill him and that, while they would be a bit mad, they would help find a way to turn him back to normal.

Anyway, Taranza had no idea how to do so. He needed help.

"All right, we'll start by looking for Magolor, and we'll see where we go from there," Taranza decided as he lowered Kirby to the ground.

"Golo? Poyo?" Kirby asked puzzledly. It was apparent that he didn't recognise the name.

"You don't know who Magolor is?" he asked. Kirby shook his head. "Curses! It seems like the spell has also affected your memory," the spider grumbled. Why did nothing ever go his way? He could already hear Magolor and Marx making sarcastic remarks about what he had done. "Well, it's pointless to cry over spilt milk. Kirby, come with me. I will fix this even if I have to suffer through vicious mockery."

Taranza took Kirby's hand. Unless they found a Warp Star, it would take them a couple of hours to walk from Taranza's house to the Lor, where Magolor and Marx resided, so before leaving, he stocked up on water and enough food for the journey.

Although Kirby was at first eager to walk alongside him, his expression soon changed, as if he didn't want to be there. Kirby didn't seem to recognise where he was either, and he soon began to complain.

"Meta Nini! Tiff! Tuff!" Kirby repeatedly shouted while pointing to another path.

"For the fifteenth time, we'll go see Meta Knight after we talk to Magolor," Taranza promised, slightly irritated. Kirby had been behaving that way for the last few minutes, and the spider was growing impatient. Furthermore, if the situation continued, Kirby would most likely end up fighting him due to a tantrum (and morally, he couldn't hit a baby even if it was Kirby), so he made a drastic decision. "I apologise, Kirby, but this is for your own good."

"Poyo?"

Taranza used the same spell he'd used to capture Dedede, trapping the baby inside a spider's web and putting him to sleep. That would save the spider time and possibly a headache. He just wished that no one saw him. It looked like he was kidnapping the baby puffball, and the last thing he needed was a misunderstanding.

But since when did Taranza's wishes come true?

He hadn't been carrying Kirby for more than five minutes when, suddenly, he was attacked from behind. It was so quick that he didn't see it coming. When he realised what had happened, he was lying on the ground, and he could feel the tip of something cold and metallic on his back.

"Free that Star Warrior right now, villain!" a muffled woman's voice said.

"What in Shiver Star is a Star Warrior?!" he asked.

"That voice... it can't be," he heard his attacker say in a tone of total disbelief. "Turn around!"

Before he could do so voluntarily, his attacker forced him. She was a fully hooded figure, with two orange horns protruding from her head. She held a familiar-looking rapier in two of her four floating hands. And... why was the logo of Floralia's royal family embroided on her cloak?

The woman, for her part, gasped before tremblingly asking:

"Ta...Taranza?"

Taranza was quite stupefied. Who was that person? Why did she know him? His answer came before he could even think about it.

The woman removed her hood, and Taranza could feel tears welling up in his eyes as he recognised her face. It was a face he never expected to see again outside of his dreams—a face that tormented him and yet he couldn't help but long for. A face that had vanished because of him.

"Sectonia?" he asked back, his voice filled with pain, doubt, and hope.

The following words, full of anguish, were uttered by both spiders at the same time:

"But you're supposed to be dead."

I know that there is a theory about Sectonia's actual name (before getting corrupted) being Joronia; however, since there is still nothing to confirm it, I am going to use her original name in this fic.

Also, thanks for all the support! I never expected this to get that much attention, specially given that I struggle a bit with English. You guys are awesome!