Kirby's Dream Trials! - ProminenceFlare (2024)

Chapter 1: Sunrise

Chapter Text

Dream Land was often said to be a wondrous place. With whimsical clouds, impossible structures, and strange but normally well-meaning inhabitants, it was a land that most, upon laying eyes on it, would declare calm. Peaceful. Almost idyllic.

Tiff and Tuff Ebrum were NOT thinking of it as such right now. “Run faster!” Tiff yelled to her brother as they darted through the trees. Behind them, the snorting noises of a Nruff herd hot on their heels, storming through the underbrush.

“Like I’m not already?!” Tuff shot back, just after the both of them vaulted a fallen tree in a bound each. “They can’t still be that close!”

They vaulted a large pit hole in the ground, clearing it with ease. The crashing had woken up some of the locals, too, and they were forced to duck a few dropping Comos that’d come out of nowhere- the stampede behind them would clear THAT up one way or another as well. Tiff risked looking back for a split-second, and blanched. “WHY are there so many of them!?” she complained as she turned back and renewed her escape.

“You wanna stop and ask?!” Tuff yelled sarcastically as they came to a cliff with vines.

“Just climb!” Tiff responded as she suited action to words, the two of them hauling themselves up the forest cliffside in seconds.

The duo quickly rolled over onto the top and immediately took off again to put distance between them and the stampede- and that proved to be a smart decision, as a massive snorting squealing noise soon erupted from the surrounding forest, and another handful of Nruffs seemed to materialize out of the forest depths to resume the chase. Fresh and with their target in their sight, they stormed forth, threatening the both of them.

However, for the kids, that had been the last big obstacle. “Almost there!” Tiff noted out loud.

“Keep pushing!” Tuff insisted as he pumped his legs even harder. The Nruff herd didn’t let up a bit, snorting and squealing and chasing, fur bristling, hooves thundering.

Alas, it was too late for them. The treeline broke, and soon Tiff and Tuff saw their salvation. “Finally!” The sight was enough to galvanize Tiff at the least, and Tuff was just plain happy as they charged ever closer.

Tiff was the first one to reach it. “SAAAAAAAFE!” she called as she touched the mailbox.

Tuff was hardly a second behind. “SAAAAAAFE!”

The Nruff herd, having just crashed through themselves, stopped short, digging their heels into the earth…courtesy of their Waddle Dee riders. For a moment, there was only the sound of panting as everyone caught their breath. One of the lead Waddle Dees was the first to speak. “Shucks, thought we had more time. I forgot your place was so close.” He smiled with his eyes, good naturedly. “That was fun!”

“Yeah…I wasn’t expecting the second wave there,” Tiff admitted as she panted lightly, wiping off a bit of sweat. “You’ve gotten more clever!”

The Waddle Dee was about to respond, before a winged shadow suddenly flew over them, causing them to look up- just as it landed. Meta Knight looked between Tiff and Tuff momentarily, before nodding in approval. “Good. You made it back without stumbling this time.”

“Just about,” Tuff said. “Those Comos nearly caught us off guard.”

“Still, this shows that your stamina is improving,” Meta Knight assured, before turning to the gathered and waving at the Waddle Dees to disperse. “Rest for now, and know that we resume tomorrow morning. We will be going to Castle Dedede for the day.”

“Oh? We’re gonna go see Great King?” Tuff asked, curious. Tiff clearly was of a similar mindset. “How come?”

Meta Knight paused. “...secret. You’ll see tomorrow.” And with that, he spread his wings, and took off.

Tiff sighed in fond annoyance. “Doesn’t matter what dimension he’s from, Meta Knight’ll never stop being mysteriously vague.” With that, they turned from the forest…to home.

“...never thought we’d be living like this, huh?” Tuff asked as they headed inside.

“Not at all.” Tiff had to admit, Tuff was right. The log house was very cozy and simple. Made out of sturdy and stiff wood, it had two floors, with the second having a door leading out to a small balcony. Both doors were forest green, while the slanted, nearly triangular roof was bright pink- a choice made by Tiff, in exchange for the green of her brother’s preference. Surrounding it were small bushes, well trimmed and placed in stone planters. The large lake a good distance behind them sparkled a golden yellow in the evening light as it ever did. The area just across the lake was known as Honey Hill, as Kirby called it, for the same reason. It didn’t seem to actually possess any beehives, though, which had been a bit of a shame to her.

As they entered, the smell of pine hit their noses as always, and they felt themselves relax a little. Meta Knight’s training was harsh, but effective. “What are we gettin’ for dinner?” Tuff asked. He’d quickly been forced to learn how to cook- Tiff refused to be a permanent chef point blank, and over relying on everyone’s generosity wasn’t in the cards for either. Still, it was always good to ask.

“Probably just soup again,” she waved off. Neither were grand cooks- they were still kids, if remarkably self-sufficent- and though living alone was an excellent trial by fire, soups were far harder to outright ruin. “We still got any meats for filler?” she asked, rummaging through the fridge.

The entire works was solar powered; Susie had offered to help on that front, and so there was a simple solar array on the back of their house with its own small protective enclosure, but it was effective enough to collect energy at such a rate that the house could be powered with no issues. They had working cold storage, plumbing, a small stovetop, and a few outlets for some quality of life tools.

“Should,” Tuff figured, “though I might just hit the hay early. Having to hike all the way up to Dedede’s is kinda the pits.” Tuff had claimed the upstairs, which really was just his bedroom and the balcony- which he’d also claimed. They also had a number of portraits up around the sitting room, as well as small souvenirs. Several pictures of the entire family, many with just Sir Ebrum or Lady Like. A few small shells she’d managed to save, a ball he’d liked to keep around just in case, other such things.

“Yeah, but it IS at least good exercise,” Tiff noted. They’d briefly lived up there, in fact, with Great King Dedede welcoming them with open arms. His castle had proved much more amiable, with the gold colorations, the bright and happy atmosphere and welcoming his Waddle Dees had given…it was astonishingly different from the castle they’d come to know. .

However, there was a problem. As different as the place was…it was still ‘Dedede Castle,’ and still brought back memories. Good ones, but distracting. After a week, the decision had been made to move them out, but still somewhat nearby. The house had been the result, and the remainder of their first month had been spent living there. “It’s still almost impressively opposite how they both have their castles set up,” Tiff admitted. “One’s big and fancy on the outside, but dreary and kinda plain on the inside, while the other’s villainous looking on the outside but warm and loud on the inside.”

Tuff shrugged. “So why do I keep expecting to see mom right around the corner or something in there?”

Tiff shrugged right back, though she wished she had an answer. “Just stay up until you can get your soup in, at least. We don’t want you waking up at night for a snack. “Not that she doubted night would come for a while yet. She wasn’t entirely certain, but this place’s days felt oddly long. “Maybe it’s something about the house itself. Meta Knight wouldn’t be training us by making us spar Great King, would he?” She was…mostly confident he couldn’t. She strongly doubted EITHER of them were ready for that.

Tuff shrugged. “Not like I’m gonna be in it for much longer…”

That caused Tiff to blink, remembering something vital. “Oh yeah…you’re going off with the Mage Sisters for…what’d they call it again?”

“Live-in training,” Tuff said as they separated the ingredients and started filling the pot. “Instead of Mr. Magolor coming to me for daily training, according to their deal, now that I’ve got the basics down well enough, I’m gonna be going to the main base for a while to get the ‘full Jambastion experience’. Flamberge says I’ve got heaps of potential!” Tuff finished saying, clearly excited.

Tiff just whistled. “Bet Magolor didn’t like that.” He’d been training Tuff in the mornings, while Meta Knight had the evenings for physically training them both.

Tuff nodded, all smiles. “Yeah, he’s kinda huffy, but he says he’ll deal with me learning from them for now because he’s gonna teach me something extra cool when I get back!”

“Huh!” That sounded exciting…and a bit intimidating. “Maybe you can tell me how big their base really is!” The massive thing they’d called the Jambandra Base, they’d claimed, was clear across the galaxy… and yet not only could they get too and from it in short order, they boasted that the base’s sheer size was so utterly massive you could, allegedly, see it from Pop Star on a clear night. They’d pointed at a small pinprick of a dim star in the far distance, but she wasn’t buying it…though a part of her greatly wondered. “How long are you going to be there, again?”

“They said at least six months,” he noted. “Uh, in local Pop Star time.” He shook his head in frustration. “Eugh, I was having trouble with plain math not long ago, and now I gotta think in galactic time zones…I didn’t even know what time zones WERE until a couple weeks ago!”

“Wait, OUR Pop Star had time zones!” she complained. “Why are you just now knowing about this?”

Their playful bickering continued into the night.

Come the dawn, they met Meta Knight outside as the sun crested the horizon- they’d been woken up too many times by Meta Knight’s increasingly…intense methods to risk him doing the same now. Tuff let out a yawn, and Tiff allowed herself a long stretch. It’d been a month, but it was still hard to get used to waking up so early every day. “You shouldn’t need any supplies,” Meta Knight determined. “Your performance yesterday has assured me that we’ll arrive before breakfast.” With that, he turned, beckoning them to follow. “Come. We make for Castle Dedede.” He took off at a jog, the other two following to match speed behind him.

They followed wordlessly- Mount Dedede wasn’t exactly difficult to spot in the distance, after all, and the path had been walked so often that an outright path to the residence had been made long ago.

Still, it wasn’t much longer before Tuff spoke up. “Soooo…” he hazarded.

“No,” Meta Knight interrupted. “I won’t be telling you before you get there,” he said calmly. “Remember your training. Eyes up, stay sharp. Even here in Dream Land, you can be surprised.”

Tuff made a face, and Tiff found herself smirking. This Meta Knight was clearly quite serious about his training, as she’d be told, but sometimes it could be funny to watch him shut down her brother effortlessly. That said, neither of them spoke much further, and it wasn’t as though they still didn’t enjoy the scenery. Honestly, Tiff could barely wrap her head around some of it. Trees that twisted in on themselves, had naturally cube-shaped growth, and yet looked whimsical and lovely instead of making her feel unsettled. Clouds that swirled and twirled in all sorts of shapes that made her giggle instead of suspicious. Water that seemed to come from nowhere (though that one did make her head hurt a touch at first) but was as clear, fresh, and drinkable as anything.

She had no clue what the stick things that occasionally grew were, but in her spare time she was performing experiments to study their composition, and that was exciting all on its own! Lost in her own thoughts, she and her brother walked through the forest, all three keeping an eye out.

It wasn’t much longer before Meta Knight suddenly held up a hand, halting them. “What’s the matter?” Tiff asked- all she could see was a rather large tree blocking the middle of the road, but the space to the side of it was clear enough. Before she could mention such, however, Meta Knight gave out a loud, annoyed hum. “Stay here,” he mumbled. Marching up to the tree, he huffed. “Wispy Woods! We ask to pass, if you don’t mind.”

Tiff gaped slightly. “Wispy?” So, this was their version of Wispy Woods? At first she’d been curious to meet him, but Kirby had admitted early that their version of Wispy Woods was… ‘less than friendly’ most of the time. She’d had a hard time believing it, but given the scowl on the now-formed face of the guardian tree, she was beginning to. He was actually a fair bit bigger than the Wispy she knew…and clearly much less amiable.

“No! There’s been so much noise lately, I’m not letting anyone through for a while!” he complained as his roots shot to either side of him, forming a barrier. “I enjoyed the peace and quiet from before!”

“We’ll be quiet as we pass through, and aren’t likely to return in this direction for a while,” Meta Knight insisted, though he drew his sword nonetheless. “Stand down or we will have to use force.”

“We?” Tuff whispered to her in surprise. “Like, even if this Wispy’s a grump, I don’t wanna haveta burn him down or nothin’!”

“I don’t think I can just punch a tre-” she started, before cutting herself off. “...no, I maybe COULD at this rate, but I don’t want to!”

Fortunately, it seemed as though they’d caught Wispy in a reasonable mood, despite his attitude. “Mmmm…” He scowled, considering. “...fine. But hurry it up!” He retracted his roots, having curled them back into himself. “It’s been very loud lately, and I don’t like it!”

“We’ll look into it,” Meta Knight promised, before turning to the kids. “Come. Move quickly as he asked.”

“R-right!” Tiff breathed a sigh of relief as they quickly moved on. Having to strike at the face of someone she’d called a friend? She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to do that. Judging from Tuff’s face, he’d felt similar.

The rest of the trip was, thankfully, uneventful, and the trio made the climb to Castle Dedede, being let in with minimal fuss. “Heya!” Bandana Dee greeted as they made their way through the front entryway. “Glad you got here! Everyone’s waiting. Follow me!”

That got Tiff’s notice. “Huh? Who’s ‘everyone’?”

Bandana Dee just chuckled. “You’ll see!”

Baffled but curious, Bandana Dee led them through several opulent halls and up a staircase or two, before reaching a large double-door. It wasn’t as big and imposing as the one in the Castle Dedede they used to know, but it was still bigger than the normal doorways, and it was one that Tiff nor Tuff had been in before. Bandana Dee and Meta Knight both opened it on either side, revealing a darkened room. “After you,” Meta Knight allowed.

Glancing at each other, the two walked in cautiously…only for the lights to switch on and reveal what looked to be a large room with a fighting ring- several stands for spectators were nearby- but in front of them were Kirby, Dedede himself, and the Three Mage Sisters, surprisingly. “Oh, hello, Great King! Sisters.” Tiff was never entirely certain how to address them, but the word seemed to work enough. “What brings you all? I didn’t Tuff was leaving for training just yet.”

“He’s not,” Zan Partizanne affirmed. “However, we’re here for a related reason.”

“I’ve decided that you both are ready to begin training with proper melee weaponry,” Meta Knight said as he closed the door behind them. “You will pick one, and will begin basic training with a specialist of whatever weapon that is. Together, we cover a rather wide range of such,” Meta Knight insisted. “So pick whichever weapon you please,” he said, motioning behind King Dedede.

“Yup! Got a little something for any style,” he assured. “Between Kirby, me, Meta and his crew, and the Mages, we’re pretty widespread!”

“Wait, you’d train us, Kirby?” Tuff asked, surprised.

“Yup!” the pink puff agreed. “I’m not the best teacher still, but I can at least show you what I can do and why! Just, uh…” He blushed slightly, turning away a bit. “...you might have to be the one to wake me in the morning some days. I’m kind of a heavy sleeper…even if I’m trying to be better about it.” That didn’t reassure Tiff at all.

“Egh,” Tuff let his opinion of that idea be known as well, before something came to him. “Wait, if I’m going to be a mage…”

“You’ll want a weapon nonetheless,” Francisca insisted. “Only a foolish mage isn’t prepared for the inevitability of a foe closing in, where magic may not be able to be performed in time.”

“...oh,” Tuff meekly said, turning to the weapons after a moment to collect himself. Tiff did the same. And to their surprise, there were a LOT. Swords, spears, and hammers were expected, but there were maces, axes, bows, even a couple of whips and cutter-like weapons and many more. “Wow, you’ve got a lot here…” Tiff mumbled as she looked through them.

“A lot, we ended up just ‘collecting’ over the years,” Dedede admitted.

Several looked a bit too…scary, if she were being honest. Or maybe ‘intimidating’ was a better word. A large, wicked looking axe that seemed to promise violence. A spiked club that was just brutal. “Hmmm…” They all seemed a bit too…aggressive. She understood the need for combat, of course. But these all would make her look almost as though she relished it. But that wasn’t why she wanted to do this, to learn how to fight. Would she be better off just relying on her fists and feet? Knuckle Joe did it, why not her?

Tuff was feeling similar. ‘Most of these kinda make me feel like I’d be some weird magic thug if I had to use ‘em. What I want is…something that I can swing without having to overdo it. But what…’

As they both spent some time looking, Meta seemed to realize their issue. “You need not worry about appearances. Pick the weapon that calls to you. Consider why you fight, and you’ll find the choice happening nearly by instinct.”

“...why I’m fighting, huh?” Tiff mumbled. It was obvious. “I’m fighting…I’m fighting so that I can protect Kirby. My Kirby…” The image of his innocent face flashed before her, and almost subconsciously, Tiff found her eyes wandering to something a bit to the side. It wasn’t just one weapon, it was two- a pair. Or rather…a weapon, and a defensive arm. She stepped up to the curved, round shield and the lance besides it. Both were a slate grey, plain and simple. She hefted the shield up- it was sturdy. It felt…good. It fit her hand surprisingly well. The lance, she picked up as well. It seemed to fit naturally, and swinging it, along with a few jabs, felt right…well, in a sense. She was sure she wasn’t quite doing it correctly.

Still, she felt like she could learn, and so she smiled. “These.”

“Oh?” Meta Knight seemed to notice her decision. “Why?” It was almost more a demand than a question.

“Because the whole point of this was to get the power to protect people,” Tiff said resolutely. “I want to help keep the bad things away, not just go after anyone I come across.” She knew it wouldn’t always be like that, but the desire to protect had brought her here, and she would keep following that desire.

Meta Knight nodded in approval. “A worthwhile cause for a defender. You will continue to train under myself and the Meta-Knights, then,” he determined, to Tiff’s private relief and excitement. She’d heard about his crew, but had yet to meet them properly. “A lance is an interesting choice, but collectively, the techniques we know can apply to it well. I might also suggest training under Bandana Dee.”

That had gotten a shock from the aforementioned. “M-me?!” he squeaked out.

Meta Knight nodded resolutely. “Yes. Whether you care to admit to yourself or not, you are skilled in spear-work. There are a few similarities.”

Bandana Dee seemed to blush hotly at the unexpected praise.“O-oh. Okay! I’ll do my best!”

As they discussed that matter, Tuff was also honing in on his selection- and as soon as he saw it, he realized what he wanted.

The bright purple staff almost seemed tailor-fit for his hands- which he supposed wasn’t exactly impossible. Still, he spun it once, twice. It felt solid, not brittle. It reminded him of the time he’d helped fight off that monster invasion in Cappy Town- he’d used a laundry pole then, and he’d kinda dug it. Now? This, this here was the real deal. It even might be able to double as a sort of scepter or something if he needed it, who knew. “Hey!” he called over. “I’ve decided!” He held up the weapon brightly. “I’m taking this staff!”

Zan blinked in surprise. “Oh? May I ask why, myself?”

Tuff blinked right back as he considered the question. “Well…I guess ‘cause it’s not like…immediately sharp and deadly,” he decided. “I don’t wanna be about that anyway. Kinda like Tiff, y’know? Besides if I’m gonna be learning magic, a staff should be cool to help with that, right?”

“...in a manner of speaking,” Zan allowed. “Still, Jambadetana- ah, congratulations. Excellent choice, actually.” The other two mage sisters clapped in approval, also clearly happy.

“Really?” Tuff was surprised at just such a warm reception.

“Indeed,” Zan continued. “The Jambastion Staff Arts are the art of choice for beginning and intermediate Jambelievers, and all three of us are skilled in it- though it isn’t our primary weapon, obviously,” Zan explained. “In fact, it was us who donated those staffs as a show of goodwill.” Oh. That made sense, he supposed.

Flamberge floated over, clapping him on the back in approval. “Hey, awesome! It’s like you were meant to rock with us!”

Francisca allowed a single nod. “It WILL make things easier- no need to adjust our training methods! We’ll teach you the Staff Arts alongside Elementalism.” She allowed herself a small expression of amusem*nt. “You’ll be surprised how smoothly they interact with each other. The forms done by a master, with control of the elements are like an incredible dance.”

“Awesome!” Tuff cheered. It seemed like everything would be working out just fine for him. “So, what do we do in the meantime?”

Meta Knight looked Tiff’s way. “In regards to that, you will be not be packing- your home will remain yours, and you will return to it. But I would suggest resolving any matters you may have desired to before you leave in the next couple of days. You in particular, Tiff, I would have shadow me on an extended patrol around Dream Land,” the knight decided. “We will train throughout, and I will show you the weapon arts, alongside my crew. You will be tasked with minor duties aboard in exchange, and given the rank of Cadet. Acceptable?”

That was…not what she was expecting. But she squared her shoulders anyway. “Yes…sir?” she added on after his pointed stare, to which he nodded. “Right!”

“As for you,” Zan continued, focusing on Tuff, “We will instill in you the proper mindset and focus befitting of a student of ours.” Tuff noticed Flamberge roll her eyes slightly, but elected to not say anything. “While the major tenants of the Jambastion Religion are…inapplicable and under heavy review, the martial studies aren’t affected.” She fixed him with a level look. “Don’t expect to start swinging that thing immediately. Best you get acclimated to your new accommodations first once we arrive at Jambandra Base. You will have a number of things to learn first.”

“Awwww…” he groaned, but straightened up when Flamberge dragged him close.

“I know, I know, especially since we were showin’ you cool stuff already!” she sympathized. “But trust me, better for ya in the long run. The Base is a total maze, and your brain’ll probably melt just trying to remember where all the bathrooms are on a single sub-level. And then there’s makin’ sure you’re outta the way when we need to do morning recitals, and finding the actual training rooms, and…”

Flamberge went on and on as Tuff quietly resigned himself to his fate.

Quietly, Kirby breathed a sigh of relief. ‘ Phew. If they’d picked something weird like Whip or something, I’d have to cut back on snacktimes!’

King Dedede eyed his erstwhile friend/rival with a knowing eye. “Lucky you- you’ll get to keep your ‘cake days’.”

“They’re the best days!” Kirby immediately responded.

“For you- some of us want more than four slices!” Dedede shot back.

“...I’m fine with two at most,” Bandana Dee said quietly, not that anyone really heard him as discussion and debate continued. It would eventually be broken up for breakfast- specifically, after Bandana Dee asked if anyone wanted apple pancakes, which was quick to catch the attention of all present.

Ultimately, it was a good day, and the start of something great.

Chapter 2: Rediscovery

Chapter Text

Over the weeks, Tiff and Tuff had learned many interesting tidbits about this Dreamland. For example, they’d learned that the moon was permanently a crescent. When they’d asked why, Kirby had simply said ‘Nightmare’s end’. They’d decided how THEIR Nightmare had ended ultimately was much better.

Another thing they’d learned was that Cappies…well, they existed in this dimension. Sort of. Frankly, Tiff point-blank refused to consider THOSE things Cappies. “They’re like…Proto-Cappies or something,” she’d decided. “Maybe Cappies in our dimension evolved out of something like these, but…” Out of a lack of argument, both kids had decided they’d just try to ignore the matter for as long as they were there.

One of the things Tiff and Tuff had learned very quickly about Meta Knight was that he was more similar to the one they knew than it first seemed. Specifically, Meta Knight had a habit of wanting to do things seemingly in the most difficult manner possible in the name of training. He’d had told them to start carrying around their weapons consistently, to get used to their weight and feel; though troublesome, Tiff could see the logic. The last couple of days, she’d hauled her shield and lance around everywhere- from training to casual walks and exploration around their new home- such as going to the Market. She’d been a bit surprised at first when she’d been told what THAT was.

More formally known as the Central Dreamland Market, if you needed to specify it for whatever reason, it was the nearest proper village and was about a quarter of a day’s walk from King Dedede’s castle, and not much closer to their home. Still, it was more of a village than they were expecting. It was bigger than Cappy Town’s main area, if only just…but it for sure had more facilities. Neither of them had a clue what a ‘theater’ was when they’d first arrived, but the idea had interested them. Though they’d been meaning to try it out, they just hadn’t had the time. The Waddle Dee band that often played in the central plaza where most of the stalls were was nice, though. But, they weren’t here for music. They were here for…ah! “There she is!” Tiff noted, pulling Tuff along.

“Whaddya wanna talk to Vividria for?” Tuff asked. They’d met the strange being upon their first journey to the Market, seeing her operating her own small arts and crafts stall. They’d discovered that she had Crafting magic, similar to Adeleine’s- but where Adeleine had elected to master drawing in particular, Vividria dabbled in other forms of artistic expression. It was that which Tiff in particular had found interesting, and had gotten the idea to commission a little something…well, she’d wanted it a bit later, but now was as good a time as any.

“Oh! Hello there!” the floating artist greeted. “Mmmm…Tiff and Tuff, right?” she checked. Tiff nodded in confirmation, sending the painter’s face in a smile. “It’s good to see you both again! Did you want to buy anything?” She had several small premade items such as keychains, small paintings, and other such items, but none of those were what interested her.

“I was wondering if you could craft a custom figurine…” she asked.

The artist’s eyes lit up. “Sure thing! Just tell me of who!” Vividria insisted.

She grabbed Tuff and dragged him close. “Us!”

“Huh? Why?” Tuff asked.

“...I thought it’d be nice to have a sort of ‘before and after’ for us,” she explained, expression slightly sad. “We’re…well, we’re not going to see each other for a while, so I thought...” she trailed off.

“Oh.” Tuff had to fight down a blush. “That…uh…yeah, that’s cool.”

Tiff beamed as Vividria asked them to strike a pose.

Further into the Market, the two of them stood before one of the most surprising sights they’d seen since arriving to this strange Dream Land. “...I have to admit, I’m kinda having a hard time believing it,” Tiff admitted as she gazed upon the unnatural sight.

“Yeah, this is messin’ with me bad,” Tuff added on. “But, uh…it’s gonna be worth it, right?”

“I…think so, actually?” Tiff hazarded. “I mean, it can’t be worse than what we’re used to, right?”

The line of people attested to that. They both looked back up at the large, orange banner with the smiling face of an all-too familiar face, along with the wording below that proudly bore the name:

Kawasaki’s Gourmet Dining

“...our Kawasaki would faint if he saw this many people lining up for HIS cooking,” Tuff noted.

“Ha!” a buzzing voice said behind them as someone stomped up, causing them both to jump. “You an’ that weird ‘other dimension’ stuff again.” The large figure of Bugzzy looked over them, expression one of amusem*nt, as far as they could tell. “Any dimension that ain’t got good Kawasaki cookin’ isn’t one I wanna live in!” he proclaimed with a small laugh.

“...hello, Bugzzy,” Tiff said neutrally. She’d found it a strange feeling- Bugzzy had been one of their earliest foes that she’d had to watch her Kirby take on. Here, though, he was nowhere near as big as the dangerous fighter that had menaced them, and while he apparently opposed this Kirby on occasion, it was rarely out of malice. Rather, this one was much more devoted to hand to hand combat and simply saw in Kirby a good fight. She could understand that, but that didn’t stop her seeing a potential threat in even his welcoming expression.

It didn’t help that apparently Kirby had gotten him to help with some of the logging for her house. ‘Conflicted’ didn’t quite describe her last encounter with him, even after she’d explained the issue. “Is there something special happening today to explain the line?”

“Nah, Kawasaki’s just that good!” the ex-king of insects proclaimed. “Ya gotta get here early if ya want a seat fast! I was too busy helpin’ with some construction work to get here, though.”

“Ugh, I was hopin’ we’d be able to try it out before we left…” Tuff muttered.

“Eh? Leavin’? Where?” Bugzzy asked. “Ya said you was here for a while last time, right?”

“I’m surprised you remembered,” Tiff admitted. “We’re going off to train in different places for a while, so we wanted to try this before we left since it’ll be a while before we got back.”

“Ohhhh!” the elder bug nodded in understanding. “So’s, you’re off for a training trip! Good work! That’ll do wonders for ya! Always good to see new sights!” he approved. It sent a small jolt of guilt down Tiff’s spine- this Bugzzy was clearly well-meaning, if a bit…loud. “But what about your house? Didn't ya just build it?”

“Yeah, we’re gonna come back to it,” Tuff noted as the line slowly moved up, “but we kinda need this for a bit.”

“You need someone to keep an eye on it?” Bugzzy offered. “Me an’ some pals could watch the place, just in case! Never know when some weirdos might come looking!"

“I…” Tiff paused, before looking at Tuff in question. He’d accepted the new Bugzzy easier than she did, in all honesty. Maybe he could be more objective..

Unfortunately, he just looked at her, shrugging. She shrugged back.

And he took that as enough. “Then no problem!” he half-yelled out, causing them both to rear back in surprise. “Don’t you worry! Won’t anyone set foot on that property! Just lemme know when you’re leaving!”

“Uh…thanks,” Tiff said hesitantly. This wait would be awkward. She just hoped the food made up for it.

Fortunately, it did. She’d been surprised to see not just Waddle Dees among the staff of the clearly upscale restaurant, but also strange flying pink things with no arms. She’d seen them around, but had never gotten a name for them.

Tiff was quick to learn that their Kawasaki had a deeper voice than the one they knew- a recurring thing, she realized. And though jovial, he was clearly more professional and put together than the hapless would-be chef back home. It almost made her feel a bit guilty.

That didn’t abate when he put in front of her what appeared to be a small dish of sliced and baked fish and rice, with some sauce on the side. It had been the furthest thing from what she’d expected- he hadn’t even asked for their order!

To Tuff, he presented a trio of small, half-circle shaped fried foods- almost buns, were it not for the flaky edges that he’d called ‘meat pies’. He’d insisted that since they were ‘new faces’, they deserved their appetizers on the house. How he’d know that, they weren’t sure, but they’d tried them anyway.

And they’d quickly realized that, to their simultaneous bliss and horror, his food was absolutely delicious. Bliss because it had been some of the best food they’d ever eaten.

Horror because they’d both realized that their old Kawasaki’s food had CLEARLY been killing their sense of taste.

“...gonna be hard to leave THAT behind,” Tuff said after getting out of the restaurant. Tiff was quiet- she didn’t want to admit she felt the same, as it felt too much like badmouthing their friend behind his back. Not that the fish wasn’t one of the best things she’d ever eaten, but…well, she’d just keep that to herself.

It was about then, however, that they both heard a commotion coming from down the street. Most individuals seemed to be avoiding it, judging by the loud, aggressive yells coming from the area. A few nearby Dees sighed. “Great,” one said sarcastically. “Wonder what Bonkers is upset about now…”

“Bonkers?” She asked in surprise. Bonkers had been one of the ones to help build the cabin. He’d seemed…a touch basic, but nice enough.

“Yeah,” the Dee answered, turning to her. “He’s been in a real bad mood lately. No one knows why!”

The siblings looked at each other simultaneously. And they took off for the source.

Sure enough, Bonkers was proving to be raising a bit of a ruckus- while several citizens were actively trying to calm him down. Fortunately, he had yet to brandish his hammer. Cowering near him were a couple of those strange sweeping fellows; ‘Broom Hatters’, she barely recalled. “Hey!” She shouted up at him. “What’s going on, here?!”

“Eh, um!” One of the Broom Hatters seemed to shake, but answer her. “W-we were just cleaning the square! A-and we accidentally bumped into him and-”

“SPILLED MY BANANA SHAKE!” Bonkers roared.

Tuff, for his part, hadn’t expected much good. Bonkers had seemed kinda dumb, to him, but even this was a bit much. Looking at him, though, he felt a worrying vibe snake down his spine as the massive being growled at everything in sight. “Hey, big guy, we can get you another one, y’know?!” Tuff tried to offer. Hopefully he’d remember that and-

“NO! THAT WAS MINE!” he yelled. “NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR!” he chanted, thumping his chest. Tuff could only grimace at the display.

“W-well, what can we d-do t-t-to make it up to you?!” Broom Hatter asked, shakily.

Bonkers glared at them, and for a moment, he seemed as though he were about to attack-

-before Tiff drew her shield. “No,” she said firmly. “No attacking anyone! Not in the Market!” She knew full well that fights happened out in the wilderness, and there was no rule against it- but here was a place of civility. “It was an accident, so give them a chance to make up for it!” she demanded.

Bonkers started to yell down at her, before he seemed to still, in behavior if not in expression. For a moment, their eyes locked, and held. The big guy’s hand twitched towards his hammer, and hers towards her lance. She’d not gotten much training with it yet, but if she had to…

…then, Bonkers blinked, before he leaned back, roaring. “I WANT TWO BANANA SHAKES!”

“W-we can do that!” The Broom Hatters said hastily. “C’mon! W-we’ll get you a bunch!”

That, finally, seemed to get rid of the intense sneer on Bonkers’ face. “...YEAH!” he cheered angrily (somehow) and trundled off after them.

Tiff held her position for a moment, watching them go… and once they got far enough away, her posture went slack as she took a deep breath. “Phew!” she breathed. “At least that didn’t get any worse. I wonder why he’s so testy now when he was pretty laid back helping us?”

“Who knows,” Tuff said, shrugging, as they made their own way. “Probably was havin’ a bad day. Didja see the yellow around his eyes? Talk about being tired.” Tiff supposed that made sense enough, though she wondered in the back of her head.

Three days of basic training later, the ‘order’ came in for her to prepare to depart. By way of Meta Knight himself, naturally. Judging by the massive shape getting closer, he’d at least had the politeness of bringing the Halberd to them…though she could see why when she noticed the massive space station in the sky. “Wait, is that ANOTHER Jambastion?!” she asked.

“Yup!” Flamberge said, next to her, amused. The Three Mage Sisters had come to collect her eager brother as well- Tiff could only presume this to be a bit of posturing between the two parties. “We got a few spares. Nothin’ at all compared to the main base, but travels way better, lemme tell ya.”

They had several of these things. How big WAS the main base? She was starting to think they weren’t exaggerating at all… “How long will it take to get there?”

“Not very,” she dismissed. “Honestly, this is mostly for style points, which I dig!” She chuckled. “If we really wanted to, Lord Hyness could probably portal us there without too much trouble, but he’s been on a whole ‘enjoy the galaxy’ kick lately, so he wants to take the long-ish way.”

“Lord Hyness has concluded that we have been too narrow in our perceptions,” Zan said, looking at both of them. “I…can see the wisdom in acknowledging fault, though…” she looked away, as though even that had been hard to admit.

Francisca merely put a comforting hand on her, which Zan merely reacted to with a sigh. Neither Tiff nor Tuff were sure of the meaning behind it, but neither of them got a chance to talk before the Halberd began to settle in the massive field near them. “Well…there it is.” Tiff said softly.

“Your home for the next few months, huh?” Tuff asked rhetorically. “I’d haveta imagine it’s got SOME kinda entertainment.”

Tiff leveled a flat look at him. “I don’t think that’ll be the biggest concern,” she said dryly as she saw the figure of what could only be Meta Knight fly out from the ship and towards them.

In moments, he landed in front of them, looking them both over, but Tiff in particular. “...good. You’ve gotten all you wish to bring, then?” He’d informed her that she’d have her own cabin, but to not overdo it on things to bring.

She hadn’t packed much this time- a few personal effects, personal toiletries, and some photos. That was about it, easily carried in a small knapsack. “I’m good, just…” she turned to her brother. “Yeah.”

“Haha, yeah. Don’t miss me too much!” he taunted.

“You mean your constant complaining about having to cook? Never!” she shot right back.

Tuff grinned. Without warning, he went in for a hug, which she easily reciprocated. “Gonna be kinda rough without ya for so long,” he admitted softly.

“Yeah…” she agreed. “...but we’ll muddle through, huh?” her voice had a sarcastic lilt to it.

“Bah, we’ll do way more than that,” he dismissed as they broke apart. “Go learn how to be more awesome, sis.”

“Same to you!” she said before turning to Meta Knight. “I’m ready to go, sir.”

“Excellent. Then let us be off.”

“You too, kiddo!” Flamberge said as they began to leave. “Like you said, we got a lot to do if we’re gonna forge you into a pillar of awesome!”

The Halberd of this Pop Star really WAS different, now that Tiff had an up close look at it. It was just as big as the one she knew of, but the style was entirely something else- less sleek, but it seemed to almost have more in it as she moved through the lower levels, guided by her teacher. The first thing she noticed was that there were a LOT more people aboard than she expected. “These are the rank and file crewmembers. As an Officer Cadet, you don’t have authority over them save for emergencies- but neither do they override your own assignments.” She nodded in understanding- she doubted she’d exercise it anyway. If she DID, it’d probably be because they were in massive trouble.

As they made their way through, she could see there was, possibly relatedly, a great deal more going on in here than she’d expected- they seemed to be crafting weaponry right inside, and she saw a number of construction robots and other large devices. She also noticed more than a few smaller ships as they made their way through what was clearly a hangar. “What are those for?” she asked.

“Emergencies,” he said simply. She frowned- that hardly told her anything, but she suspected he wasn’t going to say much more about it.

“You will meet my fellows of the Meta-Knights once we arrive at the bridge. This lift will carry us there. We’ll then head to the meeting room to give you a better explanation of your duties here.” They stepped onboard, and with the press of a button, they were shooting up through the ship.

Though she’d heard about them, it wasn’t too much beyond names (which seemed descriptive enough). From what she could gather, they were his ‘inner circle’ of sorts. Bridge crew that were also his closest confidants. She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of mysterious and able warriors Meta Knight would call such. No doubt they’d be hard to open up to, hard to appease, but dedicated and serious in their work.

‘They’ve probably got some really stringent standards,’ she mused to herself, psyching herself up for the task as the lift stopped, and they approached a large door at the end of the hallway. ‘I’ll have to really work at it to impress them!’

Meta Knight opened the door- and Tiff was immediately hit in the face with confetti.

“WELCOME TO THE HALBERD!” a chorus of voices cheered.

‘...oooor maybe not.’

Tuff, meanwhile, was freaking out. Not because of anything bad, mind you.

No, it was the simple fact that he’d finally seen where he was staying in full. “...w-wait…” and honestly, it was getting hard for his mind to grasp it. “How is it that BIG?” He could barely see six Jambastions like the one he was on, floating around it! The station was so immense, he could swear that BOTH Pop Stars could fit in it hundreds of times over- maybe more. NME’s base was a pea compared to this thing’s watermelon.

“Ha!” Flamberge laughed. “Toldja it was massive. Say hello to the Jambandra Base!”

“H…how am I gonna live here?” he muttered to himself. The Jambastion itself was gargantuan, and he’d hardly seen even half of it- rather restricted to living quarters, until the Sisters had fetched him to get to the observation deck of the eerie space station. True, they’d clearly tried to make it a bit…less creepy than it likely once was, judging by the lights and decorations, but those had obviously been freshly added, compared to the old, lived in look of the place…those creepy vines were something else, regardless of if they had flowers sprouting on them or not.

Zan answered anyway. “With honor, grace, and humility, as you learn what the Jambastion ways have to teach you. Don’t fear,” she assured, looking at his expression. “You’ll get it quicker than you think. It’s…imposing at first glance, certainly. But I have faith that you’ll adapt, and come to appreciate it as a place of nigh-infinite possibility.”

“Hey, it’s got the size for it,” he shot back. “No way I’m gonna see even a third of the place!”

“Likely not even that,” Francisca admitted. “Though much of it is empty space, living quarters, and magical technology, I’ll admit even we rarely venture beyond the upper levels- there’s simply no need to bother unless there’s an emergency.”

“As our direct student, your room will be near ours, in the same hall,” Zan informed crisply. “You will eat, sleep, and train according to the schedule we shall arrange. We do not ask you to partake in any rituals or practices, but we do ask that you respect them.”

“Tch, not like there’s gonna be much of that happening,” Flamberge scoffed.

“...point,” Zan admitted ruefully. “Nonetheless, remember that there are many other individuals aboard, and though you may be our student, that confers no unique status beyond that very fact, understood?”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” he said casually. “I’ll- ow!” that had been a slight rap on the head- nothing actually painful, but it had been a surprise. “What was that for?”

“Again, respect,” she said simply. “You’re not to be so casual in front of our subordinates, so best to get used to it now. ‘Yes,’ ‘Understood’, or ‘Yes ma’am’ will be fine. Don’t be so dismissive to the people you purport to want to learn from, understood?”

“...yes ma’am,” he said softly. “Sorry.” It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to it, but even so, he DID want to learn magic. No sense in annoying the people who were going to be teaching him.

“Apology accepted. And if it wasn’t obvious, it’s not like you’ll have to keep that up with everyone all the time,” she admitted. “I’m certain Berge would combust if you kept calling her ‘ma’am’ in casual conversation.”

“Totally,” Flamberge admitted as they began to float closer, and the supermassive base took up all of his vision. “But, enough of that! Soon as we dock, we’re getting you set up, and then you can start learning more about the place!”

Disembarking, it felt like stepping into a new city- an utterly massive one. Smaller fellows in similar purple caps were everywhere, many of them with staffs like he had. And waiting below…

“Oho! You’ve arrived!” Hyness himself stood to greet them. “Excellent, excellent. I trust the trip wasn’t too bad?”

Zan shook her head. “Not at all, Lord Hyness. We’ve brought the young trainee, and he’s eager to get started.” She gently ushered him forwards.

“Uh…hey- hello again Mr. Lord Hyness!” he greeted, trying to be mindful of his words.

“Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine!” he dismissed. “No need to be so formal! Come now!” he said, a smile in his voice. “We’ve got quite a bit to show you!” Pausing, he leaned in to Tuff, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper. “I can imagine you’re dying to find out where the restrooms are on this big ol’ rock.”

Tuff let a guffaw loose, as Hyness let out a chortle himself. Hyness offered a cloaked hand, and Tuff took it.

Behind them, Zan just facepalmed.

Chapter 3: Tiff Aboard The Halberd

Chapter Text

Tiff quickly learned that the Meta-Knights were…not as serious as the warrior himself, no, but that didn’t mean they were incompetent by any metric. He’d introduced the lot of them in short order, all of them welcoming. The helmsman, Axe Knight, had initially looked intimidating, but was soon proven to be a jovial sort, being the first to welcome her personally, shaking her hand readily. She vaguely recognized his voice, and soon confirmed as the pilot of the Halberd at the time of the assault on NME.

Mace Knight was equally welcoming- all of them were, save for perhaps the so-called Captain Vul, who while not hostile, appeared to view her as little more than a somewhat ambitious cabin girl. “It’ll take more than a fancy vocabulary and some gumption to earn a place among the Meta-Knights,” he’d boasted after her introduction. “I trust you won’t disappoint Lord Meta Knight’s expectations!”

“I don’t intend to,” she’d responded evenly, looking him square in the eye, and that had earned her some applause amongst all present, and Captain Vul just let a small huff escape him.

Now, they were at the meeting room as planned, where Meta Knight was going over plans for the intended patrol around Dream Land. “We’ll be adjusting our usual patrol route this time, considering recent events,” he said, using Galaxia as a pointer on a large screen displaying a map of Dream Land and a few areas just beyond. “We’ll begin over Vegetable Valley, move to Dynablade’s Nest and confirm all’s well there, then move to Orange Ocean, swing by the Rainbow Islands and make sure they’re quiet, then circle to Prism Plains and stop in on the Squeaks. If there are no concerns there, we’ll move on to Raisin Ruins…”

They would be stopping to visit the Squeak Squad? And investigating ruins? That got her attention, and she couldn’t stop her mind from wandering for a few moments. ‘That’ll be the perfect chance for me to learn more about this place’s history! I can’t imagine just what kinds of relics and artifacts might be there…’

“...then Butter Building, fuel up at Grape Garden, and lastly, we’ll circle back around to Echo’s Edge and then Rainbow Resort, where I’ll personally be checking up on the Fountain along with Kirby, the King, and Bandana Dee,” he finished. “Any questions?”

Tiff immediately raised her hand. “Yes?” Meta Knight asked. “I’m aware you know none of these locations, Cadet Tiff. You’ll discover them as we arrive.”

“That’s not it, actually, sir,” she noted. “I was wondering- you mentioned ruins. Would it be alright if I took some samples of anything I find for study or preservation?”

Meta Knight paused, considering the request. “...show anything you would like to keep to me, and I’ll determine then,” he decided. Tiff mentally cheered, but outwardly she simply nodded and voiced her thanks. “But now that you’ve spoken up, it’s high time we discussed what you’ll be doing during your stay here.” Tiff straightened up. Now was time to get serious. “As I’ve stated before, you’ll train in combat primarily under myself, Trident, and Javelin Knight.” He motioned to the two quieter knights, who both nodded in agreement; or in Javelin Knight’s case, bobbed. She wasn’t sure what he was about, but he seemed to be robotic in nature.

Trident Knight seemed more her speed- he reminded her of those Star Warriors she’d seen both in toy and real form back on her Pop Star, and she vaguely wondered if it was a similar case here. Still, they’d welcomed her as nicely as any others (even if Javelin Knight had a stilted voice), so she was hardly intimidated by them. “I look forward to it.”

“Mm,” Meta Knight nodded, before continuing. “Furthermore, you’ll have general duties aboard the Halberd when you aren’t training. If I recall, you have a head for numbers and organization. We will have you assist with taking stock of supplies, and you will report to me or Captain Vul about it. You will also be responsible for general cleaning in and around various areas of the Halberd. Obviously it’ll be too much for just you, so you’ll be assigned alongside various cleanup teams.”

Ah. That wasn’t exactly what she’d been expecting, but…well, it didn’t sound too horrible. “Yes, sir,” she said, and the matter was settled.

“Excellent. In that case, I’ll have Sailor Dee guide you for the remainder of the day, and they’ll show you to your quarters before lights out. They’ll retrieve you in the morning at the usual hour, and you’ll begin training tomorrow. Is that clear?” No complaints. “Dismissed, all,” he announced, and that was that.

Sailor Dee was more than happy to give her a general tour of the ship, and was eager to point out all the essentials like the mess hall, where they got lunch, recreation rooms (apparently they DID have them, and it was a lot of ping pong and other small games) and various areas aboard the ship. “It’s all a lot to take in,” she admitted as they made their way across the cargo hold, where she’d apparently be spending a lot of her time when not training.

“Oh, yeah!” Sailor Dee agreed. “When I first got here, it was soooo much to remember! But, I kept at it, and now it’s basically home!”

“I can imagine,” she admitted. “This has an awful lot of interesting technology on it…”

“Yeah!” Sailor Dee agreed. “It’s gone through a ton of changes. The Halberd’s gotten shot down before, and every time we fix it, we make sure to upgrade!” Tiff wasn’t exactly certain how she felt about hearing that the ship had been shot down before- it seemed so powerful… “Miss Susie helped with that here and there, even though Lord Meta Knight doesn’t really like her much.” Huh. Her again. Bringing her to mind made her wonder how her parents were doing- likely her dad had long settled into his manager role by now. She hadn’t heard anything about Susie herself recently, though- her life had been too much training to worry about much else. Maybe- “-sorry, are you okay?”

“Oh, sorry!” she said as she shook herself out of her musings. “Just…got reminded of a couple of things. But please, go on!”

“Oh…okay! If you’re sure! But if you ever need a moment alone, just let me know! I know coming so far can be daunting…” She smiled, grateful for his compassion, but she simply shook her head, and so Sailor Dee continued. “I think then this is probably a good time to show you the training bays, and then we’ll finish things off at your quarters, okay?”

“Sounds good to me,” she said lightly, pushing the thought of her parents to the back of her mind.

The training bays were massive gym rooms, with tracks for running, practice dummies lining the walls, even a line of target bays for ranged techniques. In the center of all of them were several mats- sparring rings. “You’ll probably get to work with the Meta-Knight’s exclusive training bay,” Sailor Dee mentioned, and privately, she found herself relieved. That was a bit too many to feel comfortable with.

“...bathroom’s down the hall. Aaand here’s your quarters!” Sailor Dee finally announced. It was…well, not exactly just a bunk, but it wasn’t that big of a berth, either. It was about the size of her old bedroom back in her dimension, perhaps a bit smaller. “I’ll come get you for morning training. Do you know the time? It’s-”

“Don’t worry, I know,” she assured Sailor Dee. “Trust me, I’ve HAD to get used to it.”

“Haha! Sounds like him! Alright then, I’ll let you have some time to yourself. If you need help finding your way around, there’s a communications module in here to ask for help. Have a good evening!” She let the door close, and Tiff let out a sigh. It had been a long day…but here she was.

She looked around- she at least had a desk and chair of her own, along with a small dresser, and what seemed to be a weapons rack. Did he arrange this for her? She set her shield and spear up- the pegs fit it perfectly. ‘Well, that was nice of him if he did,’ she decided, and she began to unpack. It wasn’t much, but it was something to remind her why she did all this. Before long, she collapsed back onto the bed. It was soft enough. Well made. Sighing, she looked up at the grey ceiling quietly. ‘This is where the real training starts. I’m going to have to be ready.’ She wondered what her Kirby was up to right now. If Sir Meta Knight was training him, had him running errands on his Halberd. Thinking about it, she supposed it didn’t matter. Whatever happened, after this, she’d be ready to defend him against anything that dared to threaten. No matter what stood in his way, even if he had to fight, she’d be the one to take any blows. He was worth it.

For Kirby? She’d be the toughest warrior in the galaxy. Well…eventually. ‘I’ve got a seriously long way to go before I can even start saying crazy stuff like that,’ she said, chuckling to herself.

But…it was a nice morale booster.

“Gaaah!” That thought ran through her head for the umpteenth time as she was sent sprawling from Meta Knight’s whirlwind attack. She collided with the mat with a thud that jarred her body, and found herself looking up at the lights yet again. Her lance dropped next to her almost as a denouement of the matter. ‘...yeah…REALLY got a long way to go.’ “Owwww…” she groaned out, less as an indicator of pain and more an admission of defeat. Not that it didn’t hurt.

Tiff had learned something particular about her Guarding ability that Magolor had only hinted at before- that while certain attacks could be guarded, sure, anyone with a strong enough will could overpower your own defenses and force the matter, as it were. It made sense enough…but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

“You’re too immobile,” Meta Knight noted, sheathing his sword. “A shield is good defense- but there is no such thing as a perfect one. You must learn to be more aware of yourself and your surroundings in a fight.” He watched as she hauled herself up by her lance- not out of a lack of sympathy, but both he and her knew that she had the strength to lift herself. “I nearly pinned you against the ring’s edges several times- had those been proper hazards, you would have perished, either to them or to my blade.”

“Y-yes, sir,” she breathed out. What else could she say? Meta Knight was merciless in his training, but he was no callous taskmaster. If she did well in some aspect, he’d say so. If not, that just meant she had to work at it harder, and he never insulted her, merely informed her what needed improving. “Will we go another round today?” She’d have to consider that in her next sparring session.

“Hmmm…” he seemed to consider the matter for a moment before shaking his head. “No. You’ll resume your other duties for the rest of the day,” he determined. “In particular, I’m hoping for a full account of how much spare steel and repair material we have. Take a Maxim Tomato if you need to, then report to the cargo bay.”

“Yes, sir,” she repeated, saluting before she turned to leave, grabbing one of the fruits from the cooler on the way out. Those tomatoes had blown her mind the first time she’d tried one. Just biting into one raw wasn’t something she’d ever think she’d do, but it had been one of the juiciest, tastiest things she’d eaten outside of this Kawasaki’s cooking. Not to mention, it had made her feel fresh as a spring flower. No wonder they’d been this Kirby’s favorite food.

Fortunately, she seemed to be getting more used to the layout of the Halberd, as well. She’d hardly needed any instructions to make it to the cargo hold- though who she saw down there surprised her. “Cadet Tiff,” Trident Knight welcomed. His voice was quiet and held a slightly raspy, metallic edge to it. It would’ve immediately had her suspecting him to be more along the lines of what she’d expected the Meta-Knights to be like if he hadn’t been the first one to offer her a glass of water. “Just came back from training with Lord Meta Knight, I see. Are you well, then?”

“Yeah,” she confirmed lightly. “He’s still beating me pretty easily, but I’m learning every time.”

Trident Knight nodded in satisfaction. “Good. Perhaps we might be able to practice a new technique for you soon.” Trident was less about live sparring practice (though he did do so on occasion) and more about helping her practice posture, stance, and movement. She wasn’t attuned enough to her weapon to be able to do anything special with it like how Meta Knight did, but perhaps in the future…

“It still feels weird to have him as a direct superior,” Tiff admitted, “but I’m growing more and more used to it.”

“Yes…you mentioned your Meta Knight was different,” he noted. “And we’d noticed that a few things certainly were abnormal for what we knew. Such as how he seemed to be undercover of sorts.” She’d shared a few comparative stories to the crew when they’d asked not long after she’d first gotten on. Now, she’d spent a few weeks onboard, and they were just off from checking on Dynablade’s Nest and the surrounding area. The Meta Knights were THOROUGH, often disembarking when it came to thicker areas like forests and the sort, and did sweeps throughout the area on foot.

Dynablade hadn’t been one, at least. She seemed almost identical to the massive bird she knew- aside from the fact that she had 3 chicks as opposed to 1, and that no one seemed to revere her in particular, just seemed to respect her. That said, Tiff had partaken in these security sweeps, but they’d proven to be entirely dull, with nothing out of place according to Meta Knight. A good thing, for certain, but still dull. Even so, it almost seemed like Dyna Blade had been antsy the entire time for whatever reason… “I’m not sure what Meta Knight’s been up to here, but over there he’s a very dedicated defender of the galaxy. It wasn’t until NME was destroyed that he’s able to do much other than spy on them via Dedede, though.”

Trident Knight nodded. “So I’ve heard. It’s a shame that the other dimension’s Dedede is so…” he trailed off.

“Massively jerkish?” Tiff tried.

“I was going to say petty, but that also works,” he allowed. “King Dedede has always been a stalwart defender of Dreamland…well, almost always,” he amended. “And ourselves… we have always acted in Dreamland’s best interest- or at least what we figured would be best.” He paused for a reason Tiff couldn’t guess at. “We fight. Sometimes we misstep. But at all times, we learn, and we grow stronger for it.”

That much, at least, she could understand. “You all seem plenty strong to me.”

“And yet the journey never ends, hm?” Trident said simply, before handing her a tablet. “Come, let us finish taking stock of these.”

Tiff grabbed at it, and the two got to work.

“No, we don’t have the spares for that.” She wasn’t sure how it’d happened, if she was being honest. She’d only been on board for about two months or so. “I can mark some steel down to be reserved, given the captain’s permission, but until we get the trolleys fixed in sector 3B, those take priority. Captain’s orders.”

“But my blades!” Sir Kibble complained. “There’s a need to keep them sharp!”

“Captain’s orders,” she insisted again. “Talk with him or Lord Meta Knight if you’ve got a problem with it.”

As the cutter knight trundled away, Tiff let out an exhausted sigh. That had been the tenth request she’d turned down. After getting to Orange Ocean, having a talk with some local oceanbound ships, and a bit of trade that Meta Knight had her help with, it seemed as though she’d been inadvertently positioned as the ship’s ‘junior quartermaster’. Supposedly that meant that she actually HAD some authority- namely over delegating the supplies in the cargo hold to the various hands around the ship.

Keyword, however, being ‘supposedly’. In practice (and Axe Knight had admitted such to her privately) it really mostly amounted to telling everyone ‘no’ in Meta Knight’s place whenever they asked for supplies to do simple or inane requests, like using steel for a better hat, or ball bearings to balance out a yo-yo collection. It was frustrating, but oddly enough, she found that…well…it wasn’t TOO bad, to her. The other part of it was helping direct traffic when new supplies came in and helping organize those, and that part she was perfectly fine with. She knew she still didn’t have any real authority- she was basically a mouthpiece for Meta Knight, who couldn’t be present all the time, but it was still nice.

They’d just made the first real stop along the Rainbow Islands tour; the plan was to take a quick survey through all of them and make sure everything was well. Tiff had been enamored with the look of the island chain from the air- the shimmering rainbows that bounced from island to island made for a wonderful image that she was sure would remain with her. It’d come as no surprise to her that Kirby had apparently made his home here for some time. “It’s here that Kirby met Gooey, as well as Rick, Kine, and Coo,” Meta Knight had informed her. “It is also here where he first encountered Dark Matter, though I am not privy to the details of that particular adventure. You’d have to ask him yourself about that.” That information by itself had been fascinating, if a bit intimidating.

Grass Land Island looked idyllic, but the entire island was so flat and plain that they’d actually been able to survey it mostly aerially, concluding that it was largely fine. The first one they actually landed on was known as Big Forest Island, and had been the ‘reason’ that Sir Kibble had wanted some ‘extra material for cutter-ing’, as he’d put it.

The name was apt, as she soon found out. “The trees here are gigantic!” she exclaimed upon setting foot out after they landed. “We’re going to be looking over all of this?”

“Not so much,” Meta Knight informed her. He’d deemed it a good opportunity to test her skills. “YOU will be investigating the areas marked on this map and making sure that all is well. I will be dealing with some other matters in the area to ensure its safety.”

Well, it was a bit vague, but she could work with that. “Yes, sir. Where am I patrolling? Not the whole island?”

In answer, he reached into his cloak, and pulled out a cell phone. “This contains a map that you can read to locate the marked areas for patrol. You can also use this to contact me, or the Halberd, and we’ll identify your location and retrieve you. Should anything be amiss, report it to me immediately.”

“Oh. That works!” She was still getting used to these phones, but she’d managed to figure them out well enough. She couldn’t resist an amused huff when she noticed that this one had been emblazoned on the back with Meta Knight’s symbol, though. “I’ll let you know when I’m finished.”

“Good,” Meta Knight said, nodding momentarily before he spread his wings. “We will do this for all of the remaining islands as well.”

“Oh. That’ll take a while, won’t it?” she admitted, before considering the matter herself. “Then again, it’s not like you don’t have time…”

“Precisely. Assuring the safety of Pop Star will take as long as it must,” Meta Knight agreed. “Now, begin your patrol!”

She saluted. “Yes, sir!” It was time to put her training to use. ‘ And who knows? Maybe I can find something interesting along the way!’

The first time she ran across a VERY strange creature that resembled nothing so much as an umbrella with an eye, however, she began to rethink that even as she swiped at it as it tried to lunge at her. It was knocked away easily, fortunately. ‘And yet why does it feel like I’ve seen those things before…?’ Really, though, a surprising number of locals seemed to want to attack her for whatever reason. She wasn’t a fan of it, but she supposed that was worth bringing to Meta Knight’s attention once she got the full picture. She continued on, but it wasn’t long after that when her phone rang, playing a strangely melancholy- but catchy- trumpet riff. “Hello?”

“Hey!” The voice of Sailor Dee came through. “Miss Tiff! So you got the phone working, then! Meta Knight said he gave it to you, so I felt it was a good idea to check in before you got too busy.”

“Oh!” She hadn’t expected it, but appreciated the concern. “Thanks, I’m fine. I was just about to reach the first site.”

She could practically see his relief. “Great! Just remember, this phone has a number of useful features on it- though I’m guessing Lord Meta Knight told you about them already…”

“Well, he told me about the map and calling you…” she hazarded. He made it sound like-

“Wait, that’s all?” Sailor Dee said in surprise. “N-no, it’s got more than that! It’s got a scanner in it, too- bring up the map function. It should be a little button in the lower left…” She did so- fortunately there was a handy little icon there. “Got it? Now, see in the top left?”

“Oh, I think I see it,” she confirmed- pressing the button DID, in fact, give her what appeared to be location markers. “Wow, that’s pretty useful!”

“Yeah, it’s great when we DON’T want to mess with the locals,” Sailor Dee agreed.

“What about when they’re weirdly aggressive?” she asked. “I’ve had to defend myself from a lot of attacks…” It unnerved her, were she being honest.

“Aggressive, huh? Hmmm…” Sailor Dee seemed to think about it. “Well, it could just be that they don’t appreciate you there. There’s a lot of sorts that are pretty territorial. It also might be some leftovers from the Jamba Heart incident. I’ll tell Meta Knight. We’ll have to investigate the rest of the islands for sure if this is a pattern…”

“Jamba Heart?” she asked. “Why does that sound vaguely familiar?”

“Wait, were you never told?” Sailor Dee asked in surprise. “Y’know, about how the mage sisters came looking for pieces of the Jamba Heart and how it had corrupted a bunch of people and animals around Pop Star?”

Tiff’s face went white. “Wait, the mages were responsible for that?!”

“Well…sorta yes but no?” Sailor Dee hazarded. He clearly recognized the social landmine he’d just stepped on. “They didn’t directly do it, they were just trying to find the shards of the heart, but…look, don’t worry about it, I promise they’re good now. Just focus on your assignment and we’ll talk more later, okay?” he begged.

Tiff nearly growled in frustration. “Gh…alright, but I wanna hear more about this later!” she warned.

“Great! Don’t worry about it too much, I think. Just make sure that after they come to their senses they’re alright.” Sure enough, she looked back at the umbrella thing, and…well, it seemed to be much less ornery, if the way it looked at her and then bounded off was any explanation.

“...alright,” she decided. “If anyone’s got too hot of a head, I’ll cool them off,” she proclaimed.

“Thanks!” Sailor Dee responded, clearly cheerful again. “Best of luck to you!” And with that, the connection cut.

Looking out into the forest further, she sighed. “...I hope you’re doing alright, Tuff…” she said quietly to the sky. Steeling herself, she marched on.

Chapter 4: Tuff Aboard The Jambastion

Chapter Text

Tuff was adrift in an ocean of nothingness. The waves might rock the boat, but he remained steady. Breathe in, breathe out.

‘What was it? Take in understanding. Expel doubt, right.’ That was what they’d said.

Breathe in. Breath out. He was a stone in the sunlight. Warm and resolute.

‘I’m calm. Nothing can phase me. It’s just me and myself. Focus. Focus…I’m-’ “…uggghhh, completely about to LOSE IT!” Tuff yelled in frustration as he opened his eyes (not that most would notice). He’d been trying this for…wait. “Gah, how long have I been tryin’ this meditation junk?”

“About half an hour today.” Flamberge’s nonchalant reply came. Tuff turned to her in frustration, noticing the other two sisters weren’t far behind. “We were just comin’ in to check on you. Kinda hard to just sit there, huh?”

“You’re tellin’ me!” he agreed. “For all the talk about how calming and relaxin’ it is, it’s a real pain in the neck!” This hadn’t been the first time he’d tried it, but it was one of the first lessons he’d gotten once he’d finally been deemed as ‘sufficiently understanding’ of where a few of the major rooms and buildings were on the sublevel he trained in. His room, one of a scant few at the ‘Highest Heavenly Hall’ was easy enough to find- and if he were talking to someone else, he’d boast that it was pretty swank, actually. The bed was softer than anything he’d slept on before, he had clothing and a private bathroom, and he had enough space in his room to play a short-range game of soccer! It was great, at first, especially just getting to wander around (or be guided) and seeing all over the place…

Then had come the actual training. The very first thing they’d drilled into him was a salute. To be used for both those above and below him, apparently. A show of respect to all in the Jambastion faith. That was simple enough. The next, though…

“Meditation is a vital part of preparing yourself in the ways of magic,” Francisca stated calmly. “For simpler spells, you could get away with not doing so, perhaps, but if you know the day will be filled with strife, then it can only be a boon.”

“I mean, you said somethin’ like that before,” Tuff admitted. “But I don’t get why I gotta do it now when you was teachin’ me just fine before?”

“Because we were teaching you the basics of the basics,” Zan replied evenly. “The rest would’ve been on your own time, and on your own? I strongly doubt you’d have learned over your lifetime even half of what we can teach you, let alone do it safely. You NEED a clarity of mind before you can try to take on harder techniques and practices.” She eyed him carefully. “I can understand why you’re frustrated, but there’s also the concern regarding your soul you need to keep in mind…”

“I know that!” he half-yelled. “It’s been bugging me this whole time, o’course I remember that! But I was thinking that learning magic would help calm it down-”

“And the first step to learning magic properly is learning to center yourself, so that you aren’t taken by emotional swings while performing it and do something you’ll regret,” she responded, just as calmly.

“Ugh, look, I- can I just take a walk or something? I need ta calm down…” he muttered.

Zan let out a small huff, but before she could respond, Flamberge moved to the side. “Sure, kid. Just don’t go too far. Not off the main pathways or anything, okay?!” she said to his retreating form.

“Yes ma’am, understood!” he said, waving them away as he left the chamber.

Zan sighed, a bit relieved. He at least remembered his manners. “It’s fortunate we already have experience dealing with someone…impatient,” she said, giving Flamberge the side eye.

Flam just laughed. “Hahaha! Yeah, you couldn’t stand not being the best from Day 1, huh?” she fired back.

“Hmph. At least I didn’t nearly burn down half of a Jambastion’s connections thanks to an ‘experiment’,” Zan riposted.

“You DID, however, nearly short out a reactor because you thought it was malfunctioning already,” Francisca interjected suddenly.

“Franny!” Zan gasped.

The three of them continued bickering as they left the training hall.

A few minutes later, he found himself walking on one of the outer pathways. Well, of the subsection, at least. He could see the stars above him, but he wasn’t quite sure what time it was, either- Jambandra Base didn’t have ‘day’ and ‘night’ like normal planets. It was waaaay too big for that. Instead, it seemed like every sector had its own time zone, and they all had their own artificial light. Not that Tuff particularly cared. The sight was both incredible, and a reminder of what he was doing here. Whether it was unwanted or not, he wasn’t sure.

“Hup! Two, three!” He watched various lines of the Jambelievers and Jammerjab followers marching and going to and fro- they seemed completely unbothered by any problems about how long or difficult something would take, at least. ‘Kinda jealous,’ he admitted to himself as he keep an eye on them, following briefly out of curiosity. ‘Ain’t gotta stress about all this soul stuff.’ Not that he would give it up, he thought after a bit. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t allowed to feel frustrated…at least, he thought not. ‘I just wish I was bein’ taught more like back home. Maybe then I’d feel less like I was just…just wasting time,’ he admitted to himself finally. Because really, that was the big issue. He could understand it, to an extent, but part of him just felt like he was on borrowed time. ‘I just don’t wanna go wasting it. Even if-’

Suddenly, he felt himself bonk into something, jarring his thoughts and forcing him to refocus. As he looked up at the large, bulbous vinelike growth, he yelped slightly as he registered his surroundings. Last he’d checked, he was on a much more clean and well-crafted stone (or was it metal? He honestly wasn’t sure) walkway. Then he’d started following some Jambelievers and…where was he now? It was darker, and looked a LOT more organic, with various rock walls and other features. In the distance, far below him, he could see some sort of massive ocean of liquid that he KNEW wasn’t water. “...d-did I take a wrong turn?” he muttered to himself. There were only a few small lamps here and there to light the way, and some of them didn’t even seem like they worked.

“Okay…okay, okay, okay, calm down, Tuff,” he warned himself even as his breath quickened. “You’re cool, you’re awesome, you can TOTALLY find your way out of this,” he tried to convince himself, even as he gingerly stepped along the path, trying to remember how he’d gotten down here. Was it stairs? One of those elevator things? Probably, but which one? And where? She shook his head as though to clear the negative thoughts out of it. “...you’ve taken on jungles before! Big ones! And you’re a mage!” He paused as another light flickered. “...In training. Running away from training.” The severity of the situation slowly began to properly register. “...somewhere he’s never been before. Or even heard of…but you’re not scared!” It was a last desperate gasp at bravado- and with no one there to reaffirm it, reality soon took hold. “...I’m so scared. I’m way scared.” That was enough for him to break into a run to try to find someone, ANYONE. “HEEEELP!”

“Do you really think he’ll be okay?” Francisca asked in concern. Tuff had long since walked off, with Zan headed off as well, but she and Flamberge were waiting patiently for his return.

“Yeah, he’ll be fine,” Flamberge insisted. “I mean, not like I was any great shakes at meditation for ages. He’ll grow into it.”

“True,” Francisca admitted. “If I recall correctly, you still have a bit of an issue with it, don’t you?”

“Eeehhhhh,” Flamberge dismissed. “It’s no big deal. I got ways to basically get the same results.” The last bit was said with a grin staring right at her.

“I see…” She coughed lightly, turning away from Flamberge’s bright expression. “W-well then. Hopefully our would-be initiate will learn himself, one way or another. Still, I was also concerned about him walking about.”

“Oh, that’s for SURE fine,” Flamberge reassured her. “He doesn’t want to admit it, but he’s sharper than he gives himself credit for sometimes. There’s no way he’s gonna have any problems findin’ his way back.”

“Where IS anything?!” Tuff half-yelled as he continued throughout the long, foreboding hallway. He’d managed to regain some semblance of poise, but that didn’t mean he was at all comfortable with the situation. He didn’t have his staff, though his magic was still an option. The place was…it was hard to describe. ‘Broken down’ wasn’t quite the best option for it, despite the bad lighting. It was more like it was kept bad on purpose. There was way too much that looked like it was arranged specifically to make the impression of disorder. Training under Meta Knight had helped with his observational prowess a bit, and by now he and Tiff both had an idea of what to look for to see if somewhere was actually ‘unkempt’ or just a trap.

And while this wasn’t a trap, it was too clean, too neat to be really forgotten about. “Think I ran into somewhere I REALLY wasn’t supposed to be…” he muttered to himself. Now, he just needed to find out where- “Huh?” He turned to the wall, to see several strange masks hanging there. They seemed pale with brown markings, and a sleepy expression on their faces. That said, they’d given off a strange vibe. “...funky,” he said, moving past them regardless. “Talk about weird decor…”

“Nehehe!” a shrill voice laughed. “ Weird?!”

Tuff jumped, looking behind him to quickly see the masks again- only they wore a completely different face! Now yellow with red markings, a wicked expression, and an extra pair of fangs on the bottom lip, they floated for him menacingly. “Perhaps you’ll be weird in a moment, too!” they hissed wordlessly.

“Whoa! H-hey! Back off!” He yelled, trying to conjure a decent flame- not that it seemed to deter the quartet of creepy masks. “Hey- don’t you-!”

Suddenly, there was a flash of grey-white that zipped across his eyesight, and before he could really register it, a strange burst of power split through them all, scattering the lot of them to the ground. In a moment, the threat had passed. “Whoa!” He looked around quickly. “Who did that?”

Only silence met him for a few moments. Then… “Ohoho! Well now…I don’t think you’re supposed to be out here.” Tuff let out a sigh of relief at that voice. He might’ve been in trouble, but he’d take that to being lost. “What might’ve brought you down hereabouts?”

“Sorry, Mister Hyness,” Tuff said, turning to the robed individual. He had his cloak on today- Tuff had gotten used to the weird glowing facelessness now that he knew who was underneath. “I was just trying to get some space n’ stuff and ended up down here by accident. I didn’t mean ta go wanderin’.”

Lord Hyness seemed to regard him briefly, before nodding, as he came up closer, patting him on the back. “We told you that this place isn’t entirely safe for a young, uninitiated youth like yourself, did we not?” His tone held no reproach, only curiosity.

“Yeah, you did. Like I said, I was just tryin’ to…I’ve been having some troubles with meditation an’ all, is the problem, and I was just tryin’ to figure out if it was really needed for…y’know, helping me with my little issue. I feel like I’m wastin’ time or letting things get worse if I don’t really learn how to do magic now, and… I mean, I’m not doubtin’ you, just…” he shrugged, a bit lost for words. “Iunno. But I guess all that centerin’ and empty mind stuff woulda helped me not freak out and get lost. If you hadn’t saved me…”

“Ohohohoh!” To his surprise, Hyness laughed. “I see, I see…you know, I was rather reckless not so long ago myself.”

That surprised him a bit. “Really? What’d ya do, play too many jokes?”

Hyness shook his head. “Quite the opposite. I took things far, far too seriously. Although perhaps justified in some respects, it took a great deal to learn that…sometimes, what seems to be a negative or a hardship can be turned into quite the positive blessing. Well, so long as you have the clarity of mind to see it.”

“...really?” Tuff eyed him carefully. “Is that where meditation comes in?”

“Very really, and in a way,” Hyness admitted as he patted the young boy on the head. “I can understand your fears. But we’re here for you.” He paused, looking over his shoulder at…something. Tuff couldn’t see what in the distance. “However, I think you have some misconceptions about what meditation is, and what it’s about.”

“Misconceptions?” he repeated. “Like what?”

“Meditation is not meant for pure silence and nothingness all the time, little one,” he corrected as he put both hands on his shoulders. “It is a time to put your mind in order. Fortify yourself for the day ahead emotionally and spiritually. Remember why you do what you do, for whom, and be certain of how you walk the day’s path forward.”

Even as they walked, Tuff’s eyes stayed on him, rapt in curiosity.

“You think about these things, reflect on them,” he continued. “Not just on the surface, but how they may change- or change you, in the future, and prepare yourself for those possibilities. And yes, sometimes, it is for calm and focus. Clearing your mind of all outward concerns. Smoothing over the lake of your mind, until you are left with only a simple goal that breaches the surface, clear and visible to all. Like now.”

“Huh?” Tuff asked, confused. Hyness gently turned his head, and Tuff blinked, nearly jumping in surprise. They were back near the training room. “Whoa…” When had they…?

He turned back to Hyness, and though he was cloaked, he could sense a smile beneath it in his words. “You see? Determine that, and you will understand meditation.”

Blinking, Tuff’s pursed his lips as he considered Lord Hyness’ words. “...alright.” However, there was one thing nagging at him. “So, uh…about me getting lost…”

Hyness simply chuckled, leaning in close. “I’ll not tell anyone if you don’t.”

Tuff grinned. “Sweet! Thanks!”

Turning back towards the training area, he made his way back. It wasn’t long before he ran into Flamberge and Francisca again.

“Hey, kiddo!” Flamberge greeted. “Have a good walk? Saw you ran into Lord Hyness.”

“Y-yeah,” he admitted. “I, uh…we had a talk,” he said plainly. However, he paused, thinking. “...I’m gonna give that whole meditation thing another shot.”

“That’s the spirit!” Flamberge cheered.

Fracisca nodded in agreement. “Lord Hyness is excellent at understanding and sympathizing. He truly desires to help, and he’s always there to lend an ear to anyone’s troubles.”

“Heh, yeah,” Tuff agreed. “You’ve got a cool guy leadin’ you all.” He then walked past them, their eyes on him only briefly before they turned to their leader.

Hyness calmly floated up to them “My thanks for keeping an eye on him so far,” he said. “I’m not surprised that he’s had a few issues. But I’m surprised that Zan’s prediction proved accurate.”

“Eh, she’s got a better head for this nowadays than you might think,” Flamberge said, shrugging. “Just a good thing you were already around.”

“Yes,” he nodded. “Thought it seems he might have more spirit in him than I expected already- he seemed to clear out a number of Two-Face masks before I arrived…”

“Really?” Flamberge said. “Those things are weird. Why haven’t we cleared them out already?”

He sighed. “We’re still working on it. Zan’s been dealing with cleanup for some time now…but, issues for later. Right now, continue to watch over the child. We’ll make sure he’s trained properly.”

They bowed to him, leaving back to the training room quickly. Hyness simply sighed, before collecting himself and leaving.

Later, Tuff found himself musing. ‘This is for my family. This is for me. I’m going to struggle. It’s going to be hard. But I’ve come this far.’ Understanding.

‘I’ve traveled to a different dimension. Leaning under some of the greatest mages in this galaxy. They’ve been kind to me.’ Breathe in.

There might be troubles. There will be troubles. Something might break. They might not be able to teach me some days. I might not understand things immediately. That’s okay.’ Breathe out.

‘I’m not perfect. I’m not some chosen one. I’m just Tuff. And that’s fine. What I can do now isn’t what I can do in the future.’ Breathe in.

‘ I said it before. It’ll be a long road. But I can do it. Everyone says I can. I can trust them. I just need to take it step by step.’ Breathe out.

‘I can keep my soul under control. That’s what this is for.’ Breathe in.

‘Even if there’s problems, I trust everyone to help.’ Breathe out.

‘Miss Francisca, Miss Flamberge, Miss Zan, Mister Hyness are all guiding me.’ Breathe in.

‘...I’ll be fine, because there isn’t anything I can’t do with their help.’ Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Tuff felt a soothing calm gently wash over him. Tender. Fragile. But present. He dismissed the thoughts, and let himself float in the gently rippling ocean of his mind. In the center of himself, what he had sworn was a roiling pond in a storm was…reduced.

It wasn’t gone. Not entirely. But what were waves of uncertainty had been reduced to ripples.

He allowed himself a small smile. “Huh. Well, whaddya know…”

Chapter 5: Tiff Over The Rainbow

Chapter Text

It’d been several days, and Tiff had rapidly gotten grateful for the time Meta Knight had made them spend training outdoors. She’d managed to make it through Big Forest Island without too much trouble- though the Nruff and Nelly that she’d met were aggressive as all getout. Far worse than the innocent animals she knew. Fortunately, she’d managed to fend them off with some effort after getting used to their head games- those bridges had proven tricky to hop between, but she knew she would never get any peace if they’d been left to their own devices.

Ripple Field Island had been a test of her swimming prowess- Magolor had managed to teach both her and her brother the further details of at least holding their breath indefinitely underwater, though this was the first time she’d put it to any serious use. Fortunately, her practice had paid off, and she found herself almost enjoying the swim through the island pieces- though she didn’t relish the possibility of her lance or shield rusting…that said, the currents had proven tougher than any enemies she had to face.

Iceberg, at least, proved familiar enough to her that she could handle it without much issue: she knew how to dismiss the cold entirely, and the slipperiness of the frozen patches were almost fun to slide over. ‘Tuff would have a field day here,’ she thought with a small grin on her face as she leapt over a rather large and icy pit. Seemed like the place was fairly pockmarked with them. She supposed it made sense- this kind of longstanding cold locale was bound to have crevasses, though she questioned how long it would hold. Continuing on, she had to clamber over a set of hills, and a few more ice outcroppings. Two more slashes repelled another one of those spiky creatures, and she had to dip out of the way of a propeller-headed guy before she could set it straight, too. They’d been bothering her relentlessly, and it was becoming a concern. ‘Might be time for a check in,’ she decided as she scanned the area- what was left seemed to be keeping well clear of her. Deciding that nothing was a risk, she dialed the Halberd. “Hello? Halberd, come in. This is Cadet Tiff.”

“Tiff!” Sailor Dee cheered. “How are things down on the Iceberg?”

She let out a huff of exhaustion. “I’m starting to get kinda tired…” she admitted, “but I don’t see anything too wrong so far. Again with the weird aggression stuff, but nothing too crazy. If I hit them hard enough they snap out of it. Any ideas about what’s going on yet?”

“Meta Knight says he might have an idea or two, but it’ll take him time to investigate. According to him, the most likely cause…well, it isn’t. The cause, I mean,” he explained, as though he’d seen Tiff’s confused expression. “He checked and everything that should be in place still is. Red Canyon and the Empty Castle have been looked over by Lord Meta Knight himself, so don’t worry about those two.” She sighed in relief. “For now we’re going to chalk it up to some remnants of Jamba Heart influence, but we’re going to go around and ask a few questions just in case. We don’t want this spreading.”

“Right. So I’m done here?” she asked. She could use a break.

“Yup. We’re coming to get you, sit tight!” Fantastic.

Tiff had been trying to learn not to get so paranoid over some things, but old habits were hard to break. “I hope they’re right about this…” she muttered to herself as she awaited her pickup.

Later, she’d gotten back aboard the Halberd, and Meta Knight had given her his approval: “You seem to have performed admirably,” he stated, nodding once. “Good. Operating alone is no easy task, and requires a dedicated mind.” With that, he’d turned away towards the bridge. “I’ll be expecting similar results going forward. For now, rest. You’ll return to your standard training tomorrow.”

“Yessir.” She unconsciously snapped off a salute, even though he hadn’t seen it. Only a few moments later, she’d caught herself, laughing at the absurdity. “Just what am I becoming…?” she muttered, half-jokingly. Well, if nothing else, she could appreciate getting the rest of the day off.

The following day, it was announced that they’d be beelining it straight for Prism Plains and Dedede Castle therein. Tiff had to admit to some excitement- that meant they’d be seeing the Squeaks again. Daroach was…a bit of a pill to swallow, but she’d ultimately come around on him. Mostly.

She also privately admitted to some trepidation- namely because it’d been noted to her that Dedede’s castle there bore more than a passing resemblance to her own home’s. “The outer arrangement is nearly identical,” Meta Knight had warned her. “However, I’m certain the inside is immensely different.”

Tiff thought there was a message in that somewhere. Somewhere obvious, even. But for a time, she put that out of her head.

Instead, she was focused on training with Trident Knight on a new technique. “Very well,” he’d began as he studied her form. “My rushing thrust is executed a bit differently than what you’re capable of. You’ll need to use your legs, not a thruster. However, I assure you that you can achieve comparable results.”

“Howso?” she asked, curious. Did it have to do with Focus?

“You’re aware of how to Focus,” he answered, causing Tiff to mentally cheer. “As well as how to channel. This is closer to channeling,” he explained. “However, it involves sending this energy to both body and weapon. It can be…difficult,” he hazarded.

“Try me,” she said confidently. “I can learn anything you throw at me!”

Channeling to her body wasn’t the overly hard part. It was to her weapon- she had to start considering it ‘part of her’ according to him, if she wanted maximum effect. That said, she COULD try it without, to get a feel for the movement, he claimed. “Plant your feet, pivot this way, and push off,” he instructed.

Thinking about it, Tiff decided to try it that way- at the very least, so she could get the basics of the move down before trying to add more onto it. Moving faster couldn’t be a waste, after all. “Okay, okay…” she paused. “Focus…” ‘The energy’s moving to my feet. I need to move FASTER. More suddenly. That IS what I’m doing, like it or not.’ It wasn’t too much trouble, she could feel the warmth. “Okay…here goes!” She leveled her lance at the target on the other end of the mat. Took a deep breath. And CHARGED.

And in three bounding steps a wicked pain shot through her lower body, immediately sending her sprawling to the floor and clutching her foot. “YEEEOUCH! Cramp, cramp, cramp! Ow, ow, ow!”

Trident recoiled in surprise. “Oh dear.” He looked around- fortunately, they were the only ones there. “You might’ve pushed off a bit TOO hard.”

“Eeeeeow ow ow…you think!?” she growled at him, seniority forgotten in the moment as she grimaced in pain. “Owww…”

“Look, forgot about that,” Trident said simply. “Let’s…not try that again so soon. Perhaps we’ll work on something else for now.” ‘ Maybe some stretches first before we try that again…’ he mused to himself.

Tiff just sat there, clutching her foot and cursing the fact that she didn’t have a tomato at the moment.

It was a day or two later that the PA went off. “Attention, all hands, we are now approaching Prism Plains. Landing is expected within fifteen minutes.” That sent the crew a bit abuzz- according to the flight plan, they’d have a couple days of proper leave before they took off to Raisin Ruins. “Cadet Tiff, you’re wanted at the Section Two bay.”

Tiff looked up from her sweeping- that wasn’t expected. She’d thought she’d have been part of the away team to talk with the Squeaks, or at the very least a member of the investigatory team that she figured might be looking around. But no, it seemed as though it was just her being called. Nonetheless, she made her way over- it wasn’t very far considering she was in bay three.

She was surprised to find Meta-Knight by himself there. “Excellent. Cadet Tiff, I have a task for you.” He paused. “Though it is also a test. Consider it an evaluation of your training.” That got her attention. “We will be lowering near the southern Prism Plains shortly. I wish for you to follow the trail, confirm the area is secure- and meet me at the castle after you do so.”

“Oh.” That seemed odd, but she supposed she could do that. “Yes, sir. Who’s coming with me?”

“It’s just you,” Meta Knight corrected. “I also expect you to get to the castle within a reasonable timeframe. Get through the plains, the forest, and the nearby mountainside, and make it to the front door of the castle. Without your Air Ride Machine, and within three hours.”

Tiff goggled. “THREE HOURS?!” she screeched. “You can’t be-” she stopped herself short, looking at the expression in his eyes. “You are.” She just managed to hold back from making an exasperated face- though the small huff that escaped Meta Knight told her either she didn’t do as good a job as she’d hoped or he’d guessed that she would feel that way regardless. “Yes, sir…” she agreed, though the uncertainty in her voice was obvious.

Meta Knight simply nodded. “Good. Be sure to check on the local inhabitants and make sure they’re not afflicted with that aggression- though be warned, many are territorial regardless.” He fixed her with a warning expression. “Do not needlessly attack innocents.”

She quickly nodded. “Y-yes, sir!” Not like she was prone to do so anyway. Really, this sounded more like some sort of speed test than anything else. “When am I headed off?”

“In ten minutes. Retrieve your weapons and any further materials.” And that was that. Tiff huffed to herself as she jogged away- getting her lance and shield in time would be a task in and of itself…

Fortunately, she managed to do so with a minute to spare, backpack in tow…and to her surprise, they didn’t land- instead, he showcased a rope that he unraveled to the ground far below them. “I understand you’re lacking in some skills yet, so this has been provided to you for now. Upon landing, your time will start.”

“Wait, what skills?” she asked in surprise. “How else am I supposed to get to the ground without smashing into it? Do you expect me to fly?”

“...No,” Meta Knight said simply after a moment of hesitation. “I’ll tell you, should you make it to the castle in three hours. Go.”

Tiff thought about saying something, but…well, that was as obvious a dismissal as she was going to get. She saluted, and grabbed hold of the rope, sliding down.

Really, even going down as fast as she was, Prism Plains was beautiful. She could easily see why it was called such, with the lake in the distance that reflected the water like it was a prism itself, a rainbow even forming at one end. It was a pretty sight.

However, that wasn’t all she noticed- and soon her attention was taken, even dropping down, at the all too familiar visage of the castle in the distance and her obvious target. “Well…here goes.” In mere moments she had made it to the ground, and, after shifting her backpack, took off running. How she was going to keep an eye out for ‘aggressive’ locals while she was trying to beat feet to the castle, she had no clue. At least she had a trail to follow, and the rainbow was a good place marker for her whenever she got into the forest.

Meta Knight watched her go. The plains she’d dropped over were flat enough. Three hours for someone of her physical ability SHOULD be doable. If she managed it, then…

…well, he had to start making more considerations.

Putting it out of his mind for a moment, Meta Knight soon had the Halberd land near the castle, and by then he and the rest of the crew that were going to had disembarked. Meta Knight himself knew his way around the castle, but it would be better to wait. Naturally, the head rat himself was shortly out to meet him, arms wide in greetings. “Ha haaaa! Welcome, my friend. Good to see you again!”

“Daroach.” Meta Knight said, nodding by way of greeting. “Is all well here?”

“My, straight to the point, aren’t you?” Daroach grinned. “Really, at least allow me to show you a bit of hospitality, no?”

Meta Knight knew full well Daroach was merely trying to play the part of a wealthy and gracious host, even as the castle he resided in wasn’t even his own. But…well, he had a reason to stall, he supposed. “...very well. I’m waiting on someone, anyway.”

That managed to attract the rat thief’s attention. “Oh? Who might that be?”

“Tiff. The young girl under my tutelage.” Meta Knight looked out back towards the forest. “I have put forth a test for her to see if she might be ready to learn more advanced techniques.”

Ah, right. Daroach did remember her, for certain. Full of fire and chomping at the bit to learn. “Oh? That’s interesting. Think she’ll hack it?”

Meta Knight paused briefly…but nodded. “Her drive is impressive. She’ll manage.”

Daroach grinned. It sounded like Meta Knight really signed off on the girl. Shame she hadn’t been more inclined towards his type of pursuits… “Well, then, perhaps we can talk over what’s next in the young lass’s future over a nice meal, hm?” But that didn’t mean he wasn’t curious. “Follow me.”

Meta Knight did so. Some different food wasn’t unwelcome, after all. Besides, he had time. ‘If I’ve estimated Tiff’s general speed correctly, right about now she should be around…’

The rockier terrain was where Tiff began to understand the reason Meta Knight had challenged her to do this- or so she believed. ‘This is twice as hard as our forest training routes!’

Navigating this area was a sight tougher than her rushes through the forest- though not impossible given the skill she’d painstakingly cultivated over the long hours of training and using the forest as an obstacle course. Several strange, flat one-eyed things attempted to flop all over her- those were ducked under like a Como’s webs. The teardrop shaped tailed creatures, cute as they were, were swerved around- though a few of them seemed to want to get out of her way regardless. That by itself was a good sign, she realized- only something crazed and out of its senses, or supremely territorial would try to assault her with her weapon and shield in hand, occasionally swinging one or either as a deterrent.

She found herself around a small rocky area, and had to leap several gaps before carefully sliding down a large hill, allowing her to leap near the end and avoid the pair of creatures there. It wasn’t long before she’d make it to the forest proper- fortunately, there was more of just a ring of trees around the area. It wouldn’t be too hard to find her way through with forest traversal being something of her bread and butter nowadays.

She broke through the treeline, strange green gulping things- Snooters, right- soon trying to get a taste of her, though they quickly backed off when her lance was pointed at them. Through the treelines she broke, and shot forth trying to clear the area as quickly as possible. She leapt over a massive fallen tree, practically thundered down a large slope, and was fast upon a small lake- one with several Scarfies hanging around above it. Still, it would take time to go around.

And then she noticed they were placed ever so nicely…

‘...Could I? I know Kirby hates these things, and they really are menaces, but…’

She didn’t have time to think hard on it- shaking her head, she leapt- and her foot collided with the skull of the first Scarfy. It let out a surprised cry as she pushed off of it, sending it deep into the water as she took to the air again.

Two, three, four, five, six more Scarfies were sent under the drink in rhythmic order, before with one last hop, she landed on the opposite shore bone dry. ‘I can’t believe I did that!’ she mentally said to herself. That was a stunt that a year ago she would’ve freaked out upon simply HEARING. But now? ‘...I can’t believe how fun that was, either! Geez, I’ve changed a ton.’

But, that’d be a question to answer later as she continued tearing a path through the forest.

After some time, Tiff started to feel like she was losing track of things. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been going, but it couldn’t have been THAT long, could it have? “C’mon, how much further…?” she mumbled to herself, before seeing something just beyond the treeline. With a bit of excitement, she pushed through with a small shout of victory as she saw a well-maintained dirt path leading straight up to the castle. “Finally…” she muttered to herself. The pathway looked a touch treacherous, but it was nothing to worry over- the immediate area onwards was well maintained enough. She just had to get there in time, now.

Fortunately, the trip was, compared to the rest, relatively quick. The first thing she noticed was that there wasn’t so much a drawbridge as there was just a portcullis gate. And it was staffed by a combination of both Waddle Dees and Squeakers. She hadn’t interacted with the latter much… “Uh, hello? I’m Cadet Tiff, part of Meta Knight’s crew. I’m reporting in to say I made it through the trial he gave me?” It sounded solid enough to her ears.

“Oh!” One of the Waddle Dees nodded. “Sure thing! Raise the gate!” he announced to the others, and she was quickly allowed in. “We can bring you to Lord Meta Knight at once!”

As they did so, she couldn’t help but notice that the castle grounds were…hauntingly familiar. Moreso than the Castle Dedede she’d briefly stayed in upon coming here. It was almost like she should expect Captain Doo around the corner, or…

Before she could get too deep into it, however, she was surprised to see the ACTUAL inside of the castle as she stepped into one of the halls…and it, for a moment, blew her morose thoughts away. ‘No way! This is massive!’ She’d known the good King’s design sense was far better than the king she used to know, but this area was…outright resplendent. As she walked through, guided by the Dee, she was witness to a number of artworks- many of Dedede himself, but several of others- some random Waddle Dees that made her smile, and a few of their fellow Star Allies. “It’s as if my old Dedede’s castle actually had a fashion sense…sorta.” That, and what was clearly a bigger love of books than to shunt them all away in one library. Like the castle atop Mt. Dedede, there was both a sense of pride and wealth, but also homeliness.

Even IF she still thought there were a few too many busts of him. It was also clear that, as he’d stated before, there were more than Waddle Dees here. Squeakers, Waddle Doos, and to her surprise, some big, burly sorts with heavy armor and dangerous looking swords. They looked wicked, but simply eyed her and gave a single, grunting nod, guided as she was. ‘Getting into THIS castle would take some doing for sure…’ she thought to herself. Still, she found herself almost being carried by muscle memory in some sections even as she kept the Waddle Dees in sight, the hallways and crossways just as she remembered. ‘I wonder if the dining room is in the same spot…’ she thought to herself.

To her surprise, it was- though the design was slightly different- apart from the gold coloration the rest of the castle shared, it was elongated, bigger. There was also a clear opening to the balcony behind them, as opposed to a closed window. “Lord Meta Knight! Mister Daroach!” Presenting Cadet Tiff!” The Waddle Dee announced.

“Hey, there you are!” Daroach greeted with a tip of the cap- the leader of the Halberd near him. “Hope that little hike your boss sent you on wasn’t too bad.”

“You did well,” Meta Knight praised, to her surprise. “You’re a bit earlier than expected.”

“R-really?” She wasn’t sure how to respond to that, though she couldn’t deny the flutter of satisfaction that went through her. “Thank you, sir.”

“Mhm. The rest of the time here, consider yourself at leisure,” he said simply. “Explore the castle if you wish. Everything should be open, correct?”

“If it’s locked, don’t try to go in unless you’re good enough that we won’t notice,” Daroach dismissed with a grin.

“Then we’ll contact you if needs must,” Meta Knight decided. “We ship out tomorrow morning. Dismissed.”

She saluted, and quickly turned away- part of her hated that she was going right for this, but she knew exactly where she was headed first. ‘I’m already feeling wistful…why am I doing this to myself?’ Not that she didn’t know the answer already. She was too curious for her own good, really.

As she walked through the hallways, part of her was still expecting Escargoon to stop her, or…or something, she wasn’t sure. ‘Take a left here…down the hallway three doors…then a right.’ It wasn’t quite right. The busts that were her usual markers weren’t there, the doors weren’t quite spaced correctly…she felt that same feeling of wrongness that she’d felt earlier at King Dedede’s main castle, but even worse, somehow. It almost made her feelings back then near quaint. “Where IS it…?” she mumbled to herself.

“Where’s what?” a voice came behind her, and she jumped slightly- only to turn and see Spinni, looking up at her with a grin. “Ain’t up ta nothin’ sneaky, eh?”

“What? No, no…” she quickly denied, before his chuckle clued her in to his joking manner. “I…I’m just comparing and contrasting the castle I used to live in with this one. There’s…there’s a lot that’s similar, and a lot that’s different.”

“Ahhh, gotcha, gotcha,” Spinni nodded in understanding. “Yeah, I betcha it’s a kick in the head, for real. So, think you can answer my question?”

“Hm? Oh, what I was looking for?” At his nod, she took a deep breath. Part of her felt like she should be able to find it herself, but… “There’s a tower I’m looking for. I’m…I’d just like to see what’s in it now. Well, a certain part of it, that is. You were there once.” She let out a sound of frustration at herself- this was far too vague. “Actually, I’ll just say it; can you lead me to-”

“Where your digs were in the other place?” She blinked in surprised at how he’d figured it out. “Yeah, makes sense ‘nough. You were bein’ way too shy about it and leavin’ obvious clues. You sure you wanna see what it’s like on the other end? Ain’t nothing special. Think it’s just storage.”

She hummed to herself, now with that information, but… “...yeah. I think I kinda want to.”

With that, Spinni relented. “...a’ight. Follow me, okay? Not too far.”

Soon, she came to see that it really WAS just storage. Boxes of various knickknacks and electronic supplies. There were several big crates where the living room would’ve been. Tuff’s room had a number of old mattresses and beanbag chairs. Her room…or what would’ve been it at one point, had a number of spare and busted weapons and various other small things in need of repair. “Well. There ya go,” Spinni said. “Not sure what you were expectin’.”

Tiff pursed her lips. “...honestly. Me neither. I guess part of me’s just been feeling…weird.” She leaned against the wall, slumping to the ground as she tried to think over the matter. “I’m doing what I want. I literally asked for this. I’ve got a great mentor, and everyone’s been so friendly…” she let out a deep sigh. “...so why do I feel so alone all of a sudden?”

Spinni tilted his head, regarding her. “...y’know, I ain’t a shrink or anythin’, but I think maybe you’re missin’ your bro? You two used ta be tight, if I recall, yeah?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I mean, we’d argue, sometimes, sure, and I might’ve been a bit mean to him some times when he didn’t deserve it, but we’ve never not had each other’s back when it came down to it. We’ve never been all that far from each other, either. At least, not like this. Across the town, I can handle, but…”

“But he’s waaaaaay away,” Spinni guessed. “Gone on that training trip with the magic ladies. Heard about that through the grapevine. Aaaand now you’re feelin’ that your one big constant ain’t there anymore, yeah? First time you really are flyin’ solo.”

“...yeah,” she confessed. “I mean, I’ve been doing this for a while now, but it’s like it’s only now that it’s really settling in. I’m…nowhere close to home. This isn’t my home at all, it just…LOOKS like it.”

“...if’n I was you, I’d consider that a good thing,” Spinni hazarded. “Means ya ain’t gotta lock yourself down to what you used ta be. You get ta start fresh! Like with me when I joined the boys!” he cheered.

She let out a huff of amusem*nt. “I…I wonder.” But she couldn’t quite deny that the idea had some appeal, even if she wasn’t sure she’d take it.

“Hey, like I said, I ain’t no shrink,” Spinni said, shrugging with his whole body. “Just throwin’ some thoughts out there what might snap ya outta this funk. You got people’s what’re invested in ya. Ol’ Kingy boy’s pretty big on ya, and Meta Knight’s talkin’ you up big, too. Wouldn’t call ya alone, perse. Just on a solo job for a minute. I mean, not like your bro just bailed on you, right?”

Tiff blinked, her stare refocusing as she realized the truth of it. “...huh.”

She mused on that, even long after Spinni said his farewells. Thinking on it, she set her backpack down, rummaging through it for…aha. Taking out the diary and pen, she began to write. ‘Dear diary. It’s been a real tough few days, lately…’

Meanwhile, Daroach and Meta Knight were talking. And Daroach had just been asked something he hadn’t expected Meta Knight to take interest in. “You’re inspecting old curses and maladies?” He shook his head. “Well, we’ve discovered nothing from our ventures, my good knight. That said, you’re free to take a look at our plunder- provided you don’t make off with any of it.” That only got a huff of dismissal from Meta Knight. “Afterwards, you’re off to explore Raisin Ruins, are you?”

“That was next on my list, yes,” Meta Knight confirmed.

Daroach shrugged. “We’ve rather scoured the area of most good treasures, but I suspect there’s always something else interesting in places like those…” He paused to think. “I believe the southeast area of the ruins have been less picked over than the other areas,” he surmised. “Too many sand geysers, ruins the engines something fierce on our little barge, but the Halberd might be able to power through.”

“It’s been confirmed the Halberd’ll be fine,” Meta Knight assured. “Thank you for the tip. I suppose I’ll should get to it.”

It might be nothing…but Meta Knight never liked to work on ‘might’.

Chapter 6: Faith and Power

Chapter Text

The sound of clacking weapons rang out in the training bay. Zan Partizanne carefully studied the movements of her sparring partner as they tried their level best to keep her at bay. It was a valiant effort, but ultimately…it needed improvement. “Two, three, two!” she barked. A long staff swung at her from left, then right, then left in rapid order. Although… “Hm…” she squinted, then said a new sequence. “One, two, one!” A jab, wide left swing, and second jab with the extended end. “Two, three, two again.” The same sequence as before, and the same weakness she’d noticed at first. “Again.” This time a little quicker. She nodded in approval. “Good. But you’re pulling back on the second swing too hard. You’re leaving too much room open. Again.”

Tuff sighed. “Dangit. Alright…” Without much further prompting he delivered the sequence yet again. He’d been working at the physical aspect of his training for a while now, the trio insisting it would improve his focus and manifestation of his magic. After the prior issue with the meditation, he’d decided to just trust them on that front for the time being- and besides, it wasn’t like training with the staff wasn’t cool, even if she mostly had him repeat the basic swings thousands of times and constantly practice blocking with it. Sometimes he wondered if she wasn’t using him as a bit of a practice dummy…

Not that such a notion was running through the minds of the room’s other occupants. Flamberge watched him practice as she and Francisca went through forms. “...Kid’s a quick study when he cares.” Flamberge noted. Now that the friction was starting to get cleared up, it seemed like Tuff was more and more willing to listen to feedback and suggestions. ‘Kid reminds me of me a ton, but maybe a bit more cooled off.’

“Do you think it might be worth stepping up the pace?” Francisca mused. She’d been watching him closely as well.

Flamberge gave a low hum of consideration. She didn’t want to overwhelm the tyke, but she wasn’t sure he would or wouldn’t be able to handle it. “Iunno…maybe if we had some way of knowing-” suddenly, she stopped, having hit on an idea. “ Say, what about testing how calm he can stay under fire?”

The ice mage blinked. “Do you mean that literally?”

“No,” Flam said, frowning. “I mean, y’know that new trial building? I forget the name of it, but we made it after the incident for Lord Hyness.”

Francisca brightened up. “Oh! Yes, yes, that building. That actually might just be what the doctor proclaimed.” She paused. “Suggested? Assigned? Ordered!” she finally hit upon. “Yes, yes, that should be more than fine. We might need to ask for his permission, however. I don’t think he’ll mind, but…”

“Yeah, probably a good idea to ask him first,” Flamberge agreed. “But this oughta be a good little test to see if Tuff here can live up to his name, yeah? Hope he does. C’mon! No time like the present!”

The duo left their leader and their youngest charge to train, the latter of the two barely noticing their leaving as he tried to perfect the techniques being shown to him.

It was a surprise to Tuff, frankly. He hadn’t exactly BEEN many places in the subsector alone, but now he was apparently going outside of it to a different one in the sector? “The transport system is moving…well, I won’t bore you with the mathematics, but it’s moving incredibly fast,” Zan had explained. “The speed we’re moving would’ve managed to cross the entirety of Pop Star in a few minutes.” It had been more than a few minutes.

Eventually, they’d landed and found themselves…elsewhere. And not too far away, stretching high into the sky, was a massive, cylindrical tower that seemed to stretch into the heavens. Right next to it was an also VERY large cylinder building that seemed wider than the first, if not nearly as tall. Maybe a fourth as such. “Welcome,” Zan greeted as they walked towards the landmarks. “This is for trainees who are striving to climb the ranks.” She motioned at the monolith of construction. “The Tower of Strife is our greatest challenge for aspirants. Only by ascending to the top, without ceasing for food or drink, can you claim the skill necessary to graduate beyond Jammerjab level.”

Tuff blanched at the intimidating and seemingly unfair requirements, but admittedly, he was impressed at the same time. “How many have done it before?”

“Three,” Francisca said simply.

“Wow! Only three?!” That was a bit surprising. “Who are they?”

Flamberge co*cked an eyebrow. “You’re looking at ‘em.”

Suddenly, all of their skill made sense, if they were able to survive and vanquish a tower of this size. “...oh. Sooo, are you gonna send me in there?” He hazarded.

To his surprise, all three reared back in what he could only presume to be horror. “What? Goodness, no. You’d probably perish,” Zan said bluntly. “This is a goal, not a task. No, you’re to take part in the tower BESIDES it.”

She pointed next to it, to the other building. “It’s a much smaller tower, as you can see. We were inspired to create this soon after our…incident.” Zan broke eye contact with Tuff at that point, though Tuff was unsure why. “Kirby’s actions brought to mind the importance of keeping calm under pressure. Both from within and without. In fact, it was by his suggestion that this area was made.”

That wasn’t expected, either. “Wait, Kirby helped make this?” Tuff asked. The idea of working with something Kirby had thought up…

She shrugged. “Not directly, but in terms of inspiration and layout ideas, yes. He was quite enthusiastic when he heard why.”

That made sense enough, he supposed. “So…this, uh…”

“Steady Heart Hall,” Zan told him.

“Right, this Steady Heart Hall will help me with keeping my cool?” Tuff heard Flamberge mutter ‘so THAT was the name’ under his breath, but before he could call her out on it, Lord Hyness began speaking.

“Yes, yes…” the older mage nodded. “The Steady Heart Hall is quite new, this one, but it certainly helps with focus, whether you seek to master the physical or the magical.” He smiled at the memories. “All you have to do is break the targets in all the rooms!”

“While under a time limit,” Zan added. “And the targets move.”

“And there’ll be obstacles in your way,” Francisca noted.

“The targets ARE weak, though, so there’s that!” Flamberge pointed out.

“True,” Zan agreed. “Even a simple strike from you will do.”

Tuff blinked, taking that all in. It seemed a LOT more intimidating now, but…well, he wasn’t going to get better by shying away from a challenge. “Oookay…and you said this can help with my magic?”

“It can,” Zan confirmed. “It can be set so that some targets will only fall when you strike with a certain element, though we’ll try it with purely physical techniques first.” And with that, her expression morphed into something smug, near taunting. “Think you’re up for it?”

That, by itself had gotten his spirit up. “Sure! Bring it on!” Tuff was sure that whatever was waiting for him in there, he’d muster through it with what he’d been trained in. ‘If they’re givin’ me this kinda challenge, then I prolly got a good chance at winnin’, right? Just watch me! I haven’t done all this trainin’ for the last couple a months for nothing!’’

The first three attempts, he’d timed out at room two. Half the targets seemed like they were intended to be practically FLOWN to- which considering all of the mages but him could fly, probably was the case. They hadn’t said anything, though, merely let the time run out as he’d tried to use his staff as a javelin, only to no avail. They merely asked him if he wanted to try again, which he’d nodded at and set up again.

It took the next four attempts for him to hit the targets, and then he’d been met with room three- which started having involved targets fluttering back and forth and being shot at by a trio of Shotzos. He’d panicked briefly before beginning to run, dodging various shots from the emplacements as he attempted to focus on hitting the moving targets between getting shot at.

Then the fourth room occupant, a ‘cell core’ had splashed water on him from above just as he’d managed to start to get used to things, and he’d ran out of time.

He didn’t get past the three room before he’d finally had it. “Okay, okay! I quit!” Almost immediately, the cell core floated up and away, and the Shotzos stopped, the targets also practically vanishing instantly.

Tuff frowned, leaving the building. “...yikes, that place is rough,” he muttered lowly. “How’s anyone supposed to not panic in there? You’re gettin’ hit from all directions!”

“Now, now,” Francisca tutted. “That’s exactly what the exercise intends to teach. And this is not a lesson anyone would expect to learn the first time.” She looked over at Zan and Flamberge, who both nodded in agreement. “One might say we ourselves are still learning. But the point is this- it’s fine to fail.”

That threw Tuff for a loop. “Wait, it’s fine to fail?” he repeated, a bit dumbfounded at the prospect. “How?”

Francisca nodded. “Precisely because you’re learning your boundaries- and how to surpass them to achieve something greater. Taking lessons from failure often begets success. In a way, it is a microcosm of our ultimate understanding.” She raised her hands, as though supplicating to the sky. “From One, to All.” Then she brought them down, flipping them as she crossed them, almost ending in a bow. “From All, to One.”

It was then that Tuff noticed something. “Wait, I’ve seen you all do that weird pose thing. What’s that supposed to be, anyway?” They occasionally did it when meeting with Lord Hyness or after a particularly annoying issue they were trying to get through- though Hyness didn’t seem to do it himself, Tuff had noted.

The Three Mage Sisters, plus Hyness, blinked in surprise, looking at each other. “Oh, we never told you?” Zan asked. Tuff shook his head.

“Surprising,” Hyness muttered as he leaned in close to Zan. “I knew I forgot, but I thought you’d have done it for sure…”

“I have been busy, my apologies,” Zan said back. Hyness simply shrugged, and she returned her attention to Tuff. “That is simply…well, what it was is of no matter now. What it is now is a calming motion, and reminds us that from Void comes all, and to Void goes all.”

“Wait, ‘Void’? Tuff asked, blinking. That was new.

“Indeed. Void, our great god and primordial progenitor,” Zan extoled as they boarded the transport again. “The source of all things in this and all universes, including your own dimension,” she pointed out, causing Tuff to lean back slightly in surprise. “The Astral Birth, Void,” she said reverently, lifting her hands on high. “There was first nothing- anywhere, or anything, nor even the concepts of such to exist. Then, a shift in the cosmic alignment…and so there was Chaos. In that second-of-a-second, from Chaos was born ‘possibility’. And from chaos and ‘possibility’, came Void, from which all other creation flows.” She bowed her head, and Tuff looked around- to his surprise, all others in the vehicle had bowed their heads reverently. Even Flamberge looked to treat this as utterly solemn.

‘Uhhh…is it really that serious?’ he thought as the moment of silence passed, though he felt it would be a horrible idea to ask that out loud. ‘Yikes, they’re saying it made everything. Like, everything EVER ever?’

“It is Void’s blessing that we have magic at all,” Hyness said solemnly. “His birth, his essence, it spreads to all places. To all things. The miracle of life, of thought, of being, is all of Void.” The trio nodded in unison.

“Wait…so that really includes me?” Tuff asked. “And like…MY Pop Star and galaxy and everything?”

“Quite,” Zan said, nodding confidently. “We arrived to help you without that egg’s assistance, did we not?” That WAS true, he recalled… “It was Void’s will that we assist their- that we answer Kirby’s call,” she stated. Tuff, however, didn’t notice the hitch, his mind occupied by other thoughts.

“So if EVERYONE comes from Void, then…” he sounded out, trying to puzzle it out.

“It means that you have great potential, as you are a child of Void,” Zan explained. “Much the same as all beings in creation. Void is all creation, which means it also has a soul- just like you. Your soul, in a way, is born of his.”

“I…me?” That seemed almost too much. “But wait, if he’s everything, and he has a soul, wouldn’t that mean that the same goes for you, too?”

Zan seemed almost friendly with how she regarded him now, face smiling as she nodded. “Just so. We are all brothers and sisters under Void’s creation. We all hail from him, and in due time, will all return to him. You are part of a greater whole…” and she gently floated up to him, tapping him in the chest slightly. “...but that whole is also part of you, and so the potential of all? Is the potential of one.”

“Potential of all is the potential of one…?” he repeated, more to himself than them. “...whoa.”

“Whoa, indeed,” Zan said, nodding solemnly. “But it is there. You merely need to realize and unlock it.”

Tuff was in deep thought for the remainder of the ride back to his quarters, as he mused on things that he’d never even pretended to think about before. ‘So Void, whatever it is, is a part of me, but everything is a part of it at the same time…so its power is my power? Or is it just like part of it is mine?’ As he got back to his room, took a bath, lay on the bed to let his sore muscles recover, he thought and thought and thought.

Sleep eventually claimed him, and briefly his dreams were filled with nothingness. It wasn’t as scary as he thought. Certainly not as scary as facing Nightmare.

The day after the next, which he had spent recovering, he approached Zan before training was to begin that day. “Yes?” she asked in curiosity. Occasionally he’d inquire about trying some new move, which she would rebuff until he nailed down the basics. However… “Hey, uh…how do I do the…arm hand thing?”

Zan blinked. “Arm…hand thing?” She wasn’t sure what he meant. “What technique is this?”

“No, the, uh, the-” he sketched a messy version of it, not quite even and a bit too elaborate, though it quickly got the message across. “Y’know the thing you do to calm yourselves and remind yourselves about Void.

‘...ah. That’s what he means,’ she thought as she regarded him carefully. Though she personally welcomed the idea, she knew it might not go over well with his friends and family. “You don’t need to…”

Tuff was surprisingly quick to interrupt, however. “Hey, if it helps, I’ll try it. So just…hands together, stretch up like this…?” The first part, at least, he’d gotten accurate.

Zan watched him do it. “...and roll down once, palms up,” she found herself saying as he suited action to words, almost a mutter more than at him. He’d even remembered to cross his hands properly. “It’s…it’s not hard,” she acknowledged. “You’ve got it.”

Tuff actually grinned. “Nice.” The motion had made him excited. Eager. Why, she had no clue. “Alright, okay…calm down, Tuff, you got this, just need to practice more…you can take on that Hall.” Oh, that explained it. But before she could focus on that, he looked up at her, full smile on his face. “Okay, what’s next?”

Zan studied him briefly, taking in the form of the small child that had gone from asking who Lord Hyness was to asking about prayer motions. “...we’ll study the Zap element a bit more for the week, alright? In between your Staff studies.”

Tuff cheered.

Hyness, having just stopped by to inform the trio of a few issues to be dealt with in the future, noticed the conversation from a distance, with Flamberge and Francisca looking on. The latter let out a huff of surprise. “I didn’t think Zan’s little lesson would strike such a chord with him…”

“Yeah. Who knew that that’s what he needed to fire him up?” Flamberge mused.

Hyness looked on. “...he’s quite open to many things, that boy. I’m quite glad to see that. It further convinces me that the path that we’ve now been set on is the correct one- and for all we know, the young man might be the first follower of our new doctrine after all,” he mused aloud.

“Ha! That’d be pretty cool,” Flamberge agreed with a grin. “Teeny little brobro of the cloth.”

“I suspect that calling him such might not exactly endear him towards you further,” Francisca noted dryly.

“Hoho! I’d hope he would find our new doctrine interesting, should he wish to pursue it further,” Hyness noted. ‘Although…that does remind me, we really must finalize exactly what that new doctrine IS. We seek Paradise…but where might it be? What is it, exactly? How would we arrive there? So many questions, and so few answers…alas, that is the trial of faith, is it not?’

Such thoughts overtook his head only briefly as he left the area to go about his day. There was much to do.

Several days later, Tuff found himself trying the Steady Heart Hall once again. He’d practice a bit, attempting to remember what he’d been through, as well as possible ways past the trouble points. The meditation thing still took some time getting used to, but…well, it did have its uses, that much was clear these days. He stood just beyond the first room, the others just outside of it, waiting for his signal to activate the challenge.

He took a deep breath. ‘Okay…I’ve thought about this. I got an idea- maybe even a couple for how ta get past that third room. Just gotta focus. Concentrate.’ He took another breath. Clasped his hands. Raised to the sky. ‘From One to All.’ The hands fell into place, as he’d practiced. ‘From All, to One. If you’re really out there and part of me, then…help me get past this!’

He raised his hand, signaling the start, and the targets appeared.

The first two rooms, he managed fine. He felt like he was moving better, at least. He had a plan, he knew what he was trying to do, he just had to DO it!

The third room opened to him. He took another deep breath. The Shotzos aimed. “Okay…” he muttered to himself, and then launched himself at the nearest target.

The Shotzos fired. The first shot was dipped under, the second and third were leapt- and Tuff SWUNG.

The sounds of cracking targets rang out for a few moments- but then the high-angle ones. He frowned. Focused- on himself, on his staff, and the target. He crouched down- and slammed his staff into the ground as he jumped. The extra propelled leap shot him higher than he’d even expected- in moments he was nearly eye to eye with the target.

It was in easy swinging range from there. Both went down quickly. The Cell Core hadn’t even had time to harass him. ‘And now, room four.’

Room four was a group of quick moving targets and spiky creatures he’d learned were called Gordos. Tuff started to move and try to swing at the first one- and then stopped, a spark of a thought crossing his mind. Rather, though the timer ticked down, he waited. ‘C’mon, there’s gotta be a rhythm…’

He was proved right after a few more seconds. ‘So once it crosses again…now!’ He swung, and the target shattered.

Tuff allowed himself a small smile.

Later, he’d manage to make it up to room nine before timing out eight times. The blinking targets in and out of visibility, and rapid-fire and shooting enemies had made that one…difficult to say the least. “How many rooms are there, again?” he found himself asking after he’d called it done for that day.

“Forty,” Hyness responded with a grin. “They’re particularly harrowing in the later stages, really. Does wonders for keeping any stray thoughts out- there’s only do it or don’t, ha! No time to think of anything else!”

“Right,” Tuff said, grinning. “Guess I’ve got a lot more practice to do, huh?”

“Oh? You’re looking forward to it now?” Zan asked, a touch of cheekiness in her tone.

“I’ve always been looking forward to it!” Tuff shot back, smile still present. “Just kinda…glad I figured something out today, y’know? I got further than I expected, really.”

“The journey is never ending, but the sights along the way are something to see,” Zan said promptly. “Enjoy that feeling of accomplishment, but never let it drive you to complacency. Tomorrow, we’ll fully focus on magic for a while. I feel it might be a good idea to have you learn how better to store a charge- and I don’t mean like the usual Spark.” She shrugged. “It’s not the most flashy thing, but…”

“No prob, I think I can wait,” Tuff dismissed.

It wasn’t until he was in bed did he realize what he’d said- and how true it was now.

Chapter 7: A Reflection of History

Chapter Text

Tiff had never actually been to a site of ruins. Sure, she’d seen a few from Professor Curio, but to go to an actual area where relics of the past still stood? “Whoa…” she breathed out as her view behind a window of the Halberd allowed her a good look at the desert surrounding her. Large pyramid structures, half buried and wind-torn, jutted out of large sand dunes. Pillars of ancient make lay shattered. She could even see massive jets of sand that she knew would be dangerous to approach spurting up from sinkholes in the ground- some of them seemed to balance massive stone structures in midair, to boot- a testament to the force the geysers boasted. “We’re going to be investigating this place, right?”

“Correct,” Meta Knight confirmed. “The Raisin Ruins can be difficult to navigate, and while the outer areas should pose you no concern, inside can be a maze.”

“You’ve been here before?” Tiff asked in surprise. “Well, I suppose that makes sense…”

“Indeed. Primarily for limited patrols, but this time we will be doing a more thorough check,” he noted, which surprised Tiff a bit. What was the cause for such a thing? She stared at him, but he met it evenly, and refused to elaborate, merely turning away. “The most notable reason for me being here earlier was when we had been…coerced…into retrieving various parts of the Lor Starcutter for Magolor after he crash landed here. We came here because his ship’s scans found that one of the major parts of the Lor had found there way here, as well as the Energy Spheres that were a power source.” He motioned her to follow as he left the bridge.

“Wow. Well, it wasn’t that bad searching, was it?” she continued on as they took the elevator down.

“Actually, we had to take things on foot, as the Halberd wouldn’t be able to scan for the Energy Spheres Magolor had lost,” he explained. “It was hot and harrowing. Fortunately, we found an oasis, and some of the spheres had dropped near it, which made for a fortuitous break point.” He paused in thought. “In fact. I believe it and the area we searched is a bit to the north of us. We may give there in particular a cursory investigation, just to be safe. I know the way around, so it shouldn’t take long. For now, we’ll attend to this area. Get ready to drop.”

“Yes, sir!” she saluted. She already had her backpack with archaeological tools and everything- and she was bright with excitement. This would be an unforgettable experience for her, she was certain.

It wasn’t a great deal of effort to traverse the sand dunes to make it into the area properly, fortunately. Few creatures actively tried to hamper them, and those that did were quickly dispatched. “We’ll observe the outside of this ruin,” he noted. If there’s an entrance, we’ll see if it’s stable enough to look around inside.”

“Right!” she nodded. Seemed fairly straightforward, at least. Fortunately, that perimeter check proved to be relatively quick thanks to Meta Knight flying and doing so from the air- it seemed a large area, but nothing particularly out of place, at least. It was, furthermore, Tiff who managed to find an entrance, if not a traditional one. “Sir, over here!” she called once he came back into view, and he pointed her towards a large hole in the side of the pyramid that she’d managed to climb up to. It seemed to be the result of one of the large bricks coming loose, but it was sizeable enough for the both of them to get in without any problems. “Think this is our door.”

Meta Knight nodded in agreement, and made his way forwards. “Agreed. Come, but be cautious as always.”

As they pushed rubble and old brick out of the way, the sandy nature of the desert gave way to mustier, stiller air as their light got a deal darker. Patches here and there from cracks prevented them from being in darkness- but then, they both had methods of lighting the area up themselves. Tiff conjured a small light sphere, but it almost wasn’t needed. The inner area of the pyramid was almost labyrinthian- it was quickly clear that there used to be a number of rooms and purposes inside this place, the sheer size of it more impressive from inside. On walls and smaller blocks and pillars, there were drawings and designs everywhere, which immediately struck her fancy. In the center, a massive pillar that looked half destroyed kept up its duty of holding the ancient building’s structural integrity. An occasional small brick fell, showing that time yet ate away at its majesty. It was awe-inspiring nonetheless. “I can’t imagine what civilization might’ve built such a thing…” Tiff murmured to herself.

“It has been here for ages. None are sure,” Meta Knight noted. “Now, remember. We’re investigating the ruins for anything that may look suspicious or threatening in nature. Report it to me if you find anything…particularly if it has a strange shine to it. I’ve often found that power glows.” The last bit he said almost with a resigned sigh, which nearly caused Tiff to giggle. She managed to hold it in, however. Largely because that statement had reminded her of something.

Before she could ask, however, he turned fully to her, and she noticed him eying her backpack. “I recall you intended to perform some archaeological work yourself.” She nodded in confirmation. “I’ve stated before, you may do so- but report anything you wish to keep for study or collection purposes to me,” he warned. “Also, there are artifacts out there that can possess and ensorcel unwary minds. Do not touch nor interact with them carelessly.”

“R-right! Yes, sir!” She had to admit, that bit about possession rattled her a bit, but by the way he didn’t seem to emphasize it beyond that, she couldn’t help but wonder if that was just a hazard of living on this Pop Star. Still, that wouldn’t deter her. ‘I’ve been looking forward to this part of the trip for way too long!’ She’d just have to make sure she was extra aware of anything that looked suspicious.

“Good. I will allow you some independent time to do so, but we will meet up later,” he notified. “Your communication device should still function here. Use it as you will.” With that, he spread his wings, and flew off deeper into the pyramid. Looking around, she breathed in a deep sigh- which immediately caused her to cough a bit due to the dust in the air. “Ack!” was all she could get out after the coughing fit had ended, and she simply shook her head at the moment and ventured deeper into the area on foot. ‘Gonna have to remember to be careful about that…’

It wasn’t all that she had to be careful about. The entire area seemed to be held together well enough- if clearly running with sand. Some areas proved to be so fast-flowing with the stuff that they’d start to carry her away if she didn’t keep moving on. That wasn’t helped, however, by the fact that they weren’t alone in here. “Ugh, out of the way!” she complained as another Scarfy tried to lunge at her. It was swatted away like the last three, and she let out a huff of annoyance. Those things, plus the spiky Gordos that she’d seen around had proven…troublesome. Add in the strange ghostlike creatures that she couldn’t recall the names of which occasionally popped up, and she found herself having to fight more often than she’d have liked.

They weren’t the only obstacles, either- ancient pit traps, with spikes at the end for any unfortunates, were also prevalent throughout the area. Fascinating from an academic standpoint, but harrowing to traverse in practice. Her one fortune was that it looked like the actual trap triggers and concealers had been worn away over time, meaning that it was easy to see a pit coming and either leap over or walk around it. And then there were the- “Whoa!” she raised her shield in time to deflect a whip-like strike from the strange cat creature. A jab at it fortunately ended its threat. “Phew...” The things were awfully quiet until they wanted to strike. If she hadn’t had Meta Knight training her, she would’ve gotten popped badly. The hallway ended a ways in front of her, however there was a small stone set of gouges in the wall that that seemed to lead to an alcove above her now. ‘Might as well,’ she thought as she clambered up. Her guess was proven more correct than she’d thought- there was an entire other room that she quickly found, one with an ancient bench and a few small, yet interesting knickknacks. Though stale, the air didn’t feel nearly as dusty in here. ‘This oughta be a good spot for a rest,’ she thought as she sat down on the bench itself. Her pack had a small lunch of sandwiches and drinks, and one Maxim Tomato for emergencies.

It was after taking a few bites that the situation hit her all at once, and she allowed herself a disbelieving chuckle. “Who’d have thought this would be my life?” Sitting alone in some old ruins to explore and do research on an ancient civilization while on the looking for dangerous artifacts to record and warn. ‘Wasn’t what I thought would be happening a while ago. I wonder how Professor Curio is doing? Is he still fretting over his collection constantly getting broken without us or Kirby there?’

Her heart hurt a bit at that. ‘Kirby…I wonder how our Kirby’s doing? Is Sir Meta Knight teaching him like this Meta Knight is teaching me? Or maybe some other way? Is he missing me right now? I miss him.’ The melancholy started to settle in, but only briefly before she shook it off. ‘No, no…I can’t let myself worry. He’s probably fine. Sir Meta Knight, Sword and Blade will look out for him. I really have to remember to bring back a Maxim Tomato for him- I’m sure he’ll love it.’

Her thoughts took her to all the others, as well. Was Gengu still working on his yo-yo tricks while running his toy store? Were the kids still practicing magic? Spikehead and Honey seemed particularly keen on it- she mused on how strong they might be when she got back. ‘I hope Spikehead isn’t causing any blackouts…King Dedede would pitch a fit!’

She blinked, briefly. That had been the first time she’d thought of the words ‘King Dedede’ without fondness behind them in a while. The old haughty and selfish king of her homeland WOULD still be in charge, but…well, she doubted he could get up to anything particularly nasty with Knuckle Joe and Sirica still hanging around- if they are. She hoped they were, at least. They seemed to be rather good sorts, in the end, and she’d managed to count them as friends before she’d left. They HAD promised, but she had to admit that it was a long service she had asked of them. She wouldn’t blame them if something came up and they’d had to leave. Still, she hoped not. She at least wanted someone to help keep an eye on her parents. ‘Geez, mom and dad…I hope they’re getting on okay without us.’ She knew her parents were going to worry- her mom especially. Her dad might’ve had the factory to keep him busy, but she didn’t know what her mom might do. Hopefully she could get a hobby or something to keep her mind off of them all day.

She paused in her musings- realizing that she’d finished her meal and drink almost subconsciously. “...I shouldn’t fret so much,” she muttered to herself as she packed away her things and got back up. “Less pining, more focusing on making everyone proud!” And with that, she knew just where to start.

The markings on the various pillars and slates were fascinating in and of themselves- although risking breaking them, she elected to bring a couple of slates along. Those were most likely harmless, since they were everywhere. She even made sure to have gloves on before she touched anything- didn’t want her own prints on them.

What fascinated her in particular about these markings were the various eye-like symbols on the pillars. Or perhaps it was the sun? She wasn’t sure, but it was clearly surrounded by people symbols…at least, she thought that’s what they were. Along with the strange writing script, she was sure it told a story or said something about their culture- she just wished she could decipher exactly what. Nonetheless, she sketched the markings in one of her notebooks, just in case something happened to the actual slates. She couldn’t help but be a bit excited about her find. “This’ll be great- not a lot of archeologists can say they have exhibits from a completely different universe!” She paused, considering that statement. “…probably none, now that I think of it,” she admitted to herself. At least, as far as she knew.

Those, alongside some interesting bricks with star patterns, proved fascinating. Moving into a darker area, she also found what appeared to be small, light-giving plaques with said star shapes which seemed to be their equivalent to lanterns in the gloom. Although astounding, she remembered Meta Knight’s words- touching them recklessly wouldn’t be a good idea. Instead, she sketched them down and made note of them for later. If they were harmless after all, she’d definitely want one or two to keep and study. She’d contact Meta Knight a bit later when she’d checked the whole place out, then. Not like they were going anywhere.

She carried on, soon finding herself near what appeared to be an indoor basin of water off to the right- almost a pool, even. Fascinating from an academic perspective, but she doubted it’d be a good idea to take any samples. The water itself, however, WAS curious. “Huh…I’d have thought this would be stagnant,” she noted as she peered in. “Wonder how it managed to stay so clear?”

Almost immediately, a large roar met her ears, causing her to jump in concern, lance and shield out. “Whoa!” What had popped out of the other end looked like nothing so much as a massive blue maw with eyes. It was almost reptilian, even, with the spines on its back. “What’s this thing…?” It roared at her, however, before lunging at her, almost surfing on a wave of water it created itself. “Hey!” She quickly dodged to the side, swinging her lance at it- the tip scored a long strike as it passed, and she allowed its momentum to carry it away as it tried to correct and turn around. She quickly jabbed it several times- the creature flinched and roared, but it had clearly not bothered with hunting or defending itself in quite some time, and apart from a shaking that seemed to emanate large shocks of water to douse her with, it could do little against her attacks and soon fell. “...huh. Guess that thing was keeping the water clean for its own habitat,” she mused. She honestly felt a bit sorry for it. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to do anything about it now, and carried on past.

After avoiding some fire breathing traps- how they still worked was a fascinating, but also far too risky proposition to look deeper into- she soon found her way to an exit, where she found herself on what seemed to be a walkway around the large pyramid. Allowing herself another brief moment to rest, she stowed her lance and shield. This was at least some kind of exterior area with high, if busted walls. She could see up into the sky, but only barely out into the sands without using the natural peepholes- but the view given by them was still almost ethereal. “Amazing,” she said softly as she stepped back from the wall. “Now if-” Clack. “-oh?” Her musing was paused when she nearly stepped on something. Looking underneath her foot, she noticed that it was some sort of…not a crystal, quite. More like…well, she wasn’t sure, but she hadn’t encountered anything like THIS in the temple yet. The dark shard of whatever seemed to have a single orange line going through it, perfectly even, except for one little area where it seemed to veer off slightly. It even glowed…maybe even pulsed. “What in the world…?” she whispered to herself. There was something about it…but she quickly remembered Meta Knight’s words. As a small experiment herself, she poked it with her lance. No reaction at all. “Hmmm…I should definitely call Lord Meta Knight…” she muttered to herself.

It was then that she heard footsteps. “Hm?” She turned around to see- “Oh, Lord Meta Knight!” Huh, that was fortunate. He’d been right there! From the looks of things, he was just around the corner, though even that was a bit of a distance away- enough to need her to raise her voice a bit. “Sir! You weren’t too far off. That’s good! I found something like you warned!”

Meta Knight looked her up and down quickly, and began to calmly approach on foot. Her heart beat a bit faster at his approach. ‘I wonder what he’ll say about it…’ She admitted, some nerves clearly working their way through her as she met him halfway.

“Mm? Show me,” he said curtly as he approached her, trying to look behind her. That caused Tiff to blink. She’d at least expected a ‘good work’ or something out of him, but…well, alright. Her heart beat faster. Why was him looking at her causing her to sweat all of a sudden?

“Uhhh, over here,” she said, tension building for reasons she couldn’t place as she led him there. Every hair on her neck was starting to stand on end as she took the front position but for the life of her she couldn’t puzzle it out. She felt strange about this, almost…fearful. “S-see? This weird piece of…something. It-it’s not like anything else I’ve seen here yet.”

Stuttering. Rapid heartbeat. And she knew she wasn’t having fantasies of the warrior, so that meant ‘...I’m scared. But why? Why do I feel like my heart’s going to leap out of my chest!? Why do I feel like I’m in DANGER? This is Meta Knight, I’ve trained under him for months now! So why…?!?’

Meta Knight had quickly walked up to the piece, and snatched it up with almost reckless quickness, looking it over thoroughly. Then, to her surprise, he nodded. “Good. Excellent work. Now, as you were. I will be moving on.” He made a small hand motion to dismiss her.

Something was wrong here. Meta Knight had never dismissed her like that. And his voice…it…it ALMOST was like she recalled, but a touch raspier. Maybe he’d had to cough earlier much like she did, but…no. No, no, something was off.

However, it was just then that Meta Knight turned more towards her- and Tiff fought every instinct to flinch back, even though his eyes never directly met hers. After a few tense moments, he spoke first. “...is there a problem?”

The words were harmless, a simple inquiry…but there was a subtle tone to it that made her believe with all her heart that that was a threat. ‘Something’s wrong. Something’s VERY wrong,’ her mind yelled at her as her mouth answered. “N-no, sir.”

He grunted in displeasure. “Then be on your way.”

“Y-yes, sir.” She turned quickly to walk away, ideally back where she came from. Whatever the issue was, she could find out later, once she was back on board the Halberd safely . Whatever was going on with his personality, why something seemed off about his appearance-

‘- wait .’ She almost instinctively stopped as it clicked. ‘...his emblem. It’s on the wrong side. And he’s not looked me in the eyes once. Meta Knight ALWAYS makes eye contact with me…’ It all led her to a frightening conclusion as she took a last glance back at him. ‘... this isn’t Meta Knight!’ But that left the question. ‘What do I do? I can’t just call him out on this, can I? Do I try to fight him? Or just contact the Halberd? Why would someone-’

“Hmph,” the Not-Meta Knight said, almost in answer, before turning to her. “I wondered what kind of warrior you were.”

Tiff’s blood froze.

The doppelganger continued as he approached her, strange piece in hand. “That you don’t first draw your weapon means you’re still a whelp in training.” Even as she tentatively reached for her lance, he continued to approach her- and to her surprise and shock, his colors then began to fade, revealing a much darker and silver colored Meta Knight, save for his blood-red boots. His mask sported a deep, vicious cut over his left eye, and his eyes looked vicious and relentless. Tiff managed to shakily grip her weapon, not that that stopped him from approaching her. She gritted her teeth as the fake approached, and…

…walked right past her, uncaring. “Wha…?” was all she could get out.

“You are fortunate that I am busy,” was his simple response. But then, after he he had walked some distance away back to where he’d come from, he stopped, glancing behind her with a scowl in his eyes. “Tell the lesser me of my presence or don’t. I care not which you choose. But DO NOT stand in my way. If only for your own good.”

He spread his wings- vicious, tattered things that nonetheless spoke of experience and strength- and quickly flew away.

Tiff could only stare in open-gaped surprise.

“...another Meta Knight…?” was the answer she’d gotten back on board the Halberd as to what happened. She’d immediately called them after her senses got back to her, and they’d quickly sought to pick her up, with Meta Knight returning as well. On board, she’d recounted the entire sequence of events to them, including her own thoughts at the time. They’d told her that he merely was known as ‘Dark Meta Knight’. And that he was, of all things, one of the Star Allies.

“Yes,” Meta Knight confirmed. “A darker version of me. I believe I told you when we first met? Alternate dimensions are known to us.” That WAS true. She still remembered that first meeting vividly. Before she could get lost in memories, however, he continued. “…you were smart to not engage him.”

That, she hadn’t expected, but it did bring to mind something he’d said, again. “He called you the ‘lesser’ of you two.” The implicated question was strong.

And to her surprise, he didn’t answer as she expected. “...mm.” He merely huffed, to her surprise, and slight fear. If Meta Knight refused to correct her, then…

“...how strong is he?” she asked hesitantly. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.

“...strong enough,” Meta Knight said curtly. “But now we know of his presence. He will not strike at us unless we directly oppose him.” A pause as he thought back upon what he had been told. “Though I confess curiosity as to why he is collecting those shards. Not to mention WHAT they are.”

“You don’t know?” she asked in surprise.

He shook his head. “The incident with the Dimension Mirror was largely handled by Kirby. I know little of what he did before he repaired the mirror and freed me.”

“We can’t ask him?” she offered up. “You said he, of all people, was a Star Ally!”

“He is only such in the loosest sense of the term,” Meta Knight corrected. “Even looser than Marx. It’s more a matter of ‘better with us than against us,’ in regards to him.” Meta Knight got up from his seat, starting to pace in thought. “While there are a couple of Allies who can speak to him evenly- Daroach, and Adeline for reasons I’m unaware of- it’s generally considered protocol to let my counterpart do as he pleases, so long as it bodes no great threat to Pop Star or its inhabitants. He knows this…so the fact that he is risking being interpreted as doing such means it must be important.” Meta Knight stopped in his tracks. “After all, he is strong, but by no means invincible. Even he would stand next to no chance against the Star Allies united.”

“So we’re going to investigate him?” That was the only conclusion she could come up with.

Meta Knight sharply turned to her. “No. I will investigate him. After we finish our patrol route.” Tiff started to speak up, but he quickly interrupted. “ You must continue your training.” And with that, he turned away. “We make for Butter Building. It will be a brief stop, but it should be a good test of how far your skills have come.”

“But-” Tiff started.

“My decision is final, Cadet Tiff,” he said firmly. “You are NOT to engage with Dark Meta Knight should you identify him again before he does you. If you see me in a place I did NOT report to you I am, contact me through your communication device first. Am I clear?”

“Y-yes sir,” she half-mumbled. She felt almost like she was being chastised…

“Good. In this situation, however, the fault lies with me.” She blinked in surprise at that. “I failed to inform you of his existence- that was largely due to the initial protocol, but I see now that I should suspend that protocol now that you serve directly with us. It would’ve only helped you to know.” He lowered his head in apparent apology. “I will endeavor to better inform you of potential issues in the future, as I should as your mentor and a defender of Pop Star.”

Tiff hadn’t been expecting THAT, and wasn’t entirely certain how to respond. “I…it’s fine, you told me now, and I can absolutely see why you wouldn’t want knowledge of HIM very widespread.” If she’d known about him back when she was just getting to know the Star Allies, she had no clue how she’d have responded…

“That is appreciated, though I will still endeavor to improve,” he noted. “For now, dismissed, Cadet Tiff. You are on leave for the remainder of today and tomorrow.”

She saluted, snapping off a quick “Thank you, sir,” before she left the room- and let the shiver she’d held in pass through her. “That was…” Scary? Intimidating? Baffling? All of the above?

As she headed to her quarters to write an extensive journal entry, she sighed. “Tuff, I hope you’re not in the middle of something as worrying as this…”

Meta Knight watched the door where Tiff had left for a few moments more. Then, he let out a deep sigh. He’d ENTIRELY dismissed the possibility that Dark Meta would be hanging around. And for a ‘black shard with an orange stripe’? He frowned.

He would have to talk to Kirby about this as soon as possible. He couldn’t shirk his duties to Pop Star, but that that trip to the Fountain would be more important than he’d thought.

Chapter 8: Paying Respects

Chapter Text

Tuff breathed in. Breathed out. It was just him, and his teachers. ‘Feel the energy. Ground myself, but let it flow outward. Focus. Gather…’

He opened his eyes, and felt the spark coalesce and desire one thing. ‘Release!’ He swung the staff vertically, and the Zap energy on the tip exploded away from him, the small shockwave visible and giving him tingles. “Yes!”

“Impressive,” Zan said honestly. “Channeling through your weapon is not an easy feat. The speed at which you do it will improve with repetition and practice, but you should feel proud of this accomplishment, Tuff.”

“Way to go, kiddo!” Flamberge said, clapping. “Now let’s see if you can keep this hot streak goin’- I wanna see you do that with flames next!”

“Let him get used to one, first,” Zan insisted. Tuff wasn’t exactly out of breath, but he was starting to feel winded after today’s practice. They’d been teaching more in the way of Zap, Sizzle, and Blizzard energy for a while now, and he was only really just starting to understand what lay beneath the obvious for all of them. “If I recall, he intends on learning all of ours, in time.”

“Yeah, that’s the plan,” Tuff confirmed. “But it’s pretty epic to do this much!” He still remembered that Plasma Needle thing Magolor had taught him, and at this rate he’d be more skilled with Zap energy than Spikehead. That didn’t mean he wasn’t eager to learn more about Flamberge’s chosen element, mind… “I still like fire too, though. And Water and Ice is gonna be super useful, sooo…”

“Right, right, we get it,” Francisca dismissed. “We can wait. But your training will be done early for today, little Tuff. We must talk with Lord Hyness about some important matters, if I recall.”

“Important matters?” he echoed. “Is it about me?”

“Nah,” Flamberge denied. “Like, after a whole buncha stuff happened a bit ago, we decided to remodel the faith, remember? At least, a few aspects of it. We’re still working on that. ‘Specially since a lot of it just plain isn’t applicable anymore or we realized it was kiiiinda counter-productive to the whole point of worship.”

“Oh yeah, Ms. Zan said something about that,” Tuff admitted. “Is that what you were meditatin’ on this morning?” The quartet had started to begin meditating together at the start of every day, and Tuff had started to find the routine enjoyable, or at least calming enough to get through the days without more fuss. They still kept him out of the bigger rituals, and from what he’d heard Lord Hyness was very much still trying to keep everyone together and unified via speeches and talks, but he’d yet to hear anything of that sort from him directly.

“That, and other things,” Zan confirmed. “But now it’s time to move from thought to action. Now then-”

“Can I come with?!” he asked hurriedly.

They paused. “...why would you want to?” Flamberge asked, almost hesitantly. “It’s nothin’ interesting. Just borin’ clergy talk.”

“Yeah, but it’s bound to be more interesting just me messing around in my room until it’s time for bed!” Tuff complained. “I’ve been doing that for weeks!” He’d tried meditating before bed, but while occasionally helpful, it’d always proved harder than in the mornings for whatever reason.

“Really, now?” Zan asked, eyebrow arched. “You’re that devoted to learning our history and practices?” It was less a sincere question and more rhetorical, but his answer surprised her.

“I mean, some of it sounds cool. I just dunno the rest, but it’s gotta be just as crazy, right?” The boy seemed to ask that in total innocence and curiosity, which, in honesty, hurt her a bit. What they had done…TRIED to do…was abhorrent, upon reflection back at the events. They’d wallowed in that darkness for far too long, Lord Hyness included. Him hearing about the events that had brought them to where they are now…

She sighed. “Very well.” Ignoring Flamberge and Francisca’s surprised expressions, she nodded. “I suppose it might do you good to understand more of our history. It might…enlighten you in a number of ways.” She turned away with that cryptic statement, beckoning him to follow them. “Come with us, then.”

Her fellow mages were quick to catch up with her, Flamberge whispering in her ear first. “You sure about this, Zan? He might completely freak when he hears about the nasty bits…”

“I’m not entirely certain this is a good idea, either,” Francisca admitted.

“Nor am I, but it’s clear he has a false impression of what we are and what we’ve come from. Better to disabuse him of that fantasy. In fact, we should’ve come clean about it earlier, I think,” she shot back. “It’ll make things harder with training him, but at the very least he’ll see with unclouded eyes who we are now.” Her mini-speech, which hadn’t been caught by a too-busy-daydreaming-Tuff, seemed to be enough to quiet the both of them down, though neither of them seemed like they enjoyed the matter soon to be at hand. Hopefully, Tuff wouldn’t try to turn on them immediately once he’d actually gotten his wish…

They’d traveled to a large spire near the edge of the subsection- the largest, in fact. Apparently Lord Hyness had countless areas where he could conduct business in every sector and subsector in his position as leader of the religion and the base itself. It was smart work, Tuff thought. Eventually, they’d made it to the highest point, where one could theoretically look out over miles of the subsector, barred only by a large, thick guardrail that Tuff had to hop to look over.

The initial meeting with Lord Hyness was about as expected, at first- though he’d been surprised that Tuff was accompanying them, he’d simply laughed and invited him in as well. They’d talked over repairs and restructuring to the Jambastions they’d needed to do, as well as deciding on different schedules for services due to said repairs and whatnot. However, it was when they began to discuss new doctrine that Tuff perked up. “Hey, so, everyone keeps saying you gotta do different stuff now, right? So it must’ve been tough before, but you guys are all doin’ okay now, huh?”

Hyness nodded, a small hum of agreement from him. “Yes. Our order has had quite the shakeup in recent times, as you’ve noticed. It’s necessary, though. We…had been acting against our real interest, I think, for some time.” His voice grew solemn. “The worst part is that none of us realized or could act against those impulses until it was almost too late.”

“One might say we didn’t, really,” Zan admitted lowly. “It was Kirby who managed to pull us back from nearly making a horrible mistake.”

“Oh yeah, I think I heard something about that, too!” Tuff noted. “So, you all really screwed up, huh?”

“Thanks for the reassurance,” Flamberge said sarcastically. “But yeah. Not pleasant times, honestly.”

“We lost our way for quite a while,” Hyness admitted, “but thanks to your friend Kirby, we regained ourselves. Even our beloved Void was able to be swayed by Kirby and his allies from a path of destruction to that of something…potentially much better.”

“Who, Kirby did that? To a god?” That was crazy! But then again, if they could beat Nightmare, and HE was pretty god-like…he supposed it made a level of sense. Wait, come again? What about a path of destruction?” Tuff noted quickly, worry lacing his voice. “Thaaat don’t sound good at all.”

“It wasn’t.” Lord Hyness huffed- not in frustration, but sadness, and admission. “I suppose I really should tell you the history of the Jambastion Religion…the good and the bad.”

The following while was…well, if Tuff had to admit it to anyone else, he’d have to say that he almost wasn’t sure what to feel. Though he got the sense that even then, several facts were being left out, he was told about the Ancients, and how they’d split after eons of prosperity. How Hyness himself was cast out. How he’d found the Mage Sisters (and wasn’t THAT just harrowing enough to make him want to give all of them a hug?) and how they’d been so grateful that they’d follow him for life.

And how his desires had twisted into something hateful. How he’d let a desire for vengeance supplant what care and honor he’d had in his heart. How he’d read the texts, interpreted them through the lens of spite and anger, and how he’d desired revenge so badly that he nearly called for the ultimate punishment on the galaxy, if not the universe. “We…we made a great many mistakes,” Zan had merely said.

Tuff couldn’t find it in him to respond. It was almost worse than what he’d heard Nightmare doing- perhaps it was, if not right on that level. And it would’ve happened far quicker- no GSA, no warnings, no nothing. Just destruction. The thought made him shiver and his heart beat wildly. But if nothing else, he listened.

At the end of it all, he took a deep breath. “You, uh…mind if I…?” he pointed outside the door. They all nodded, understanding immediately, and Tuff left them to consider just what he’d gotten himself mixed up in.

For a moment, as he walked out, Tuff considered the immediately obvious option. ‘This is crazy?! I mean, I guess there was this part o’ me that knew they used ta be bad news, but I didn’t think it was THAT bad! Maybe I should try ta bail somehow…even if I’m on the other side of the galaxy…and I wouldn’t know the first place to go to find a ship or anything…or how to drive one…’

As the problems kept cropping up, he realized that the idea was a non-starter. But then, what would he do? Nothing? True, they hadn’t actually done anything he’d hated, and well, the truth was he WAS better at magic now than he used to be. Fighting, too. Practicing with the staff had come right behind learning magic as something…fun. ‘ But can I keep havin’ fun knowing what they used to be…? Hyness got bad enough to sacrifice his own followers…and they’re still backing him! What does that even mean?!’

A voice soon sounded out behind him, as though in answer. “Hey, kiddo.”

He turned around to see Flamberge- the first one that had really noticed him back on Pop Star, and the one that even now kept cheering him on and encouraging him, even as he was learning her sister’s art for now. “Heh…glad you didn’t take off somewhere.” She almost sounded bashful about approaching him.

He wasn’t used to that, and it threw him a little off guard. “Uh, yeah. Just…wanted to think over some things, after hearing…all of that.”

“No, yeah, that’s totally fair,” she said evenly, approaching him. For a moment, he tensed- and them immediately felt guilty when she seemed to notice and stopped short. “...yeah, we were pretty lousy for a hot minute there. Considerin’ everything we’ve shown you up until now, I can see you being freaked out.”

Tuff thought about it a moment more, and then huffed as he leaned back against the guardrail. “I just…Iunno. I think part of it is that…I should’ve expected it.” He shrugged. “You girls were given’ off all the signs, and I’m pretty sure you gave some obvious hints before, but I just…didn’t catch it. So I think part of it is me feelin’ stupid for ignorin’ what was right in my face.”

“Trust me,” Flamberge reassured, “that ain’t a reason to feel stupid. Now, not realizing your boss that you’ve revered and looked up to like a father figure for ages is going way harder than he used to with no real reason given?” She chuckled mirthlessly. “THAT’S a reason to feel stupid.” She shook her head in self-reproach. “I think me and the girls are gonna be kickin’ ourselves for ages for just going along with it.”

“But what about what he did to you?” Tuff asked. That had been grating at him still, and he had a hard time fathoming being able to forgive THAT. “Are ya really just…okay with it?”

Flamberge paused, considering it. “Well…I mean, I get where that’s comin’ from. You’d think that’d kinda be a deal-breaker, huh?” she chuckled ruefully. “But…” she shrugged. “He’s pops. We didn’t want to leave pops, and to a one, we all used to think the universe outside of us sucked anyway, so we just kinda…ignored it. Was better than losing more than what we’d already lost, in our eyes.” She shook her head. “It was all stupid, really. There’s plenty worth keeping around this universe.” She turned to grin at him. “Other places, too.”

Tuff chewed on that for a moment, remembering a brief conversation he’d had with a certain jester. “Maybe…Iunno. Maybe neither of us are stupid. Maybe we just…care a bunch?” He looked up at her. “So maybe…maybe we just shouldn’t worry about what was. We’re here NOW.”

Flamberge blinked…and then laughed. “Kid!” Suddenly, she grabbed him in a noogie, causing him to reflexively struggle. “I thought WE were the older siblings here! When’d you get so wise, huh? You trying to take my spot already?!”

“Aaaugh! Not again!” Tuff wailed as his hair was mussed up even more than it usually was. Still, he couldn’t stop his laughter.

“So, Void isn’t gone, right?” Tuff asked after he’d calmed down. Of course, he was still thinking over some things, but he knew he wouldn’t just up and ask to leave. It seemed as though the remaining three had all been relieved at his stating that he was staying, and the mood of the room had picked up markedly after that. That didn’t mean he didn’t have other questions, though.

“Not at all,” Hyness confirmed. “Remember, Void is everywhere, and is in all things. They rest now, though prayer strong enough can reach them.” ‘Right,’ Tuff recalled. ‘Like how they managed to bring the Jambastion to my dimension.’ Hyness continued as he considered this. “In time, Void’s physical shell shall reform anew. We watch over our slumbering god as they collect themselves once more; this is the current purpose of the Divine Terminus.”

He’d heard that name be said a few times, actually. It seemed as though it was a very, very, very special part of the Jambandra Base, and now he knew why.

But darn it if he wasn’t curious. “Can I go see it?”

There was a moment of shocked silence. And before Zan could tear into him about how casual the request had been, Hyness shrugged. “Mmmm…well, why not?”

Zan merely facepalmed, again, even as she followed them out.

The trip to the Divine Terminus was unexpectedly long, for Tuff. It required its own transport, and it seemed to be a planetoid, attached to the Jambandra Base by immense magical technology. “Normally, the Divine Terminus is not so…casually visited,” Zan said, with a pointed look at Lord Hyness. “It generally is only done in times of great worship or necessity.”

“Oh, it’ll be fine!” Hyness dismissed. “After all, I’d say that making sure that our young student here understands just what trials we have gone through is important! Not to mention what efforts we are making as recompense. After all, I doubt you’d really want to stick with individuals that aren’t remorseful after doing ill, right?” Hyness asked with a knowing look.

Tuff didn’t initially think it was polite to respond, but it was clear he was expecting an answer. “I mean…I guess it would help, yeah.” Help what, he honestly wasn’t entirely certain at this point, but he felt it would somehow. “How much longer?”

“Not very,” came the short response. His words proved true- a few more minutes, and they’d arrived. Tuff took his first steps off the transport, and he stepped onto a massive, arena-like area. “The Divine Terminus required great energy to sustain and carry along with us when I first located the Jamba Heart,” Hyness explained as they stepped through the massive concourse. “Originally, this was intended to be through the energies of prayer of followers, and magic offerings by the clergy. It…ended up being something different,” he admitted.

It was clearly undergoing renovations, with the area looking like it’d been seriously damaged recently for one reason or another. Gleaming white, smooth stone was apparently taking the place of rougher hewn dark bricks, and that weird, vein-y look that seemed to be in a lot of places was being cut off, or reworked to something less obviously intimidating. In the dead center was the altar itself. It was more of a basic stone, however, with the Jambastion symbol in the center, glowing a faint, light purple. The outer ring was glowing with various bright blue stones, and darker blue stones surrounded the edges, forming a crystalline wall. Steps made of the same crystal lead up to the smaller platform, wherein a small bowl-like bed or basin sat, flower-like petals laced around it. And in the center of it, floating peacefully but clearly asleep…a small, blueish-white sphere. And he could tell it had eyes. In fact, it seemed to be snoring. Tuff blinked as he made the realization. “Is that…?”

“Yup!” Flamberge confirmed. “Cute, isn’t he?”

“...not what I expected, honestly,” Tuff admitted. By their description, he’d been at LEAST expecting something a bit more…intimidating.

“Jes, he’s a lot smaller than he used to be,” Francisca admitted. “No less powerful, however.”

“You said he helped bring you to our dimension when we needed help, though…” Tuff pointed out. “He did that while asleep?”

“He did,” Zan confirmed. “Void needed not be awake for us to request and borrow a small portion of his power. We’d made a bargain with Kirby- in exchange for the deed done for us, the full might of a Jambastion’s aid rendered freely, once.”

“Thought you guys were Star Allies, too?” he asked in surprise.

“Oh, we are- but only us three,” Zan explained. “Our dedication to the Jambastion overrides any Star Ally duties…in word, anyway. In action, I suspect most anything worth their attention will be worth ours. Anything that would or could deny us that which we seek would most definitely require working in tandem with the Star Allies.”

That stuck out to him. “What you seek, huh? So what’s that nowadays, if it’s not revenge?”

Hyness’s face curved up in a smile. “What we seek is simple, young Tuff,” Hyness stated, looking to him warmly. “Paradise.”

Tuff blinked. He hadn’t expected that. “Paradise? How do you mean?”

“Just so,” he continued. “We have…journeyed long for a foolish reason. So we see finality. A place to rest. So far…Pop Star is as close as we’ve come! It’s rather enjoyable to lay about in the grass, is it not?”

Tuff chuckled. He had a point. “Yeah, I guess it’s pretty great.”

“We’ve come to consider it a symbol of how we’ve stepped out of the darkness and into the light once more,” Zan continued. “So we will protect it. And you.” She poked him lightly in the chest at the last sentence. “No matter what you might think of us.” She allowed a bit of humor to color the last statement, and Tuff’s blush told him that the message had been received. “Now, then, we allowed you many things, but you cannot get any closer from here. At this point, I would suggest offering up a prayer, but-”

No sooner had she said that than Tuff had turned towards the altar itself and bowed his head, hands clasped. ‘...Well, then. Perhaps it might be an idea to let him sit in on a few things after all…?!?’

As Tuff prayed, eyes closed, along with Flamberge and Francisca, only Zan and Lord Hyness were privy to what happened next.

The two of them noticed something strange happen where Void rested. It was only for a brief moment- barely a second, but Void seemed to almost…blink? Or rather, he emanated an aura for the briefest period of time they could still see? ‘...what? What does that mean? Does it mean anything?’ Zan thought. She looked back at Tuff, who seemed entirely normal. ‘Nothing from him. Was it just coincidence? Unlikely. So then-’

A light cough got her attention, turning towards Lord Hyness. He, to her vague surprise, merely shook his head silently, imploring her to keep quiet. Whatever had just happened was between Void and Tuff, if indeed it was between the both of them at all. They had no place in trying to interfere with such matters. Before much longer, Tuff rose up, finished. “Okay! Think I feel a little better, now that I aired a bunch of my worries out. We headed back?”

The next day found them all training as normal. But if Tuff had a bit of extra zeal in his swings, a bit more determination to cut down that slack on his channeling time, then none of the sisters chose to question where the energy had come from.

‘They ain’t so bad, I guess,’ Tuff thought as he finished another set, the Spark leaping off the end of his staff. It was still fairly draining, but he was absolutely getting better at it, and it was still exciting for him to see. ‘I was all for ‘em before I heard about alla this, so that’s gotta be good.’ Another pair of swings, blocked by Zan’s own spear. She nodded at the energy that he brought to the attack, met it with her own. He, to her surprise, threw his hand out- and Zan had to move fast to avoid a Plasma Needle to the face. She didn’t react negatively to the surprise strike- she’d said more than once that ingenuity was welcomed, and keeping with that, she simply grunted and nodded as she got back into position.

‘Maybe it might be a good idea to just keep it up as best I can- so they can be reminded of what they might end up losin’ if they don’t keep at it,’ he mused. ‘Well, them AND me, too. Especially if-’

“Okay, okay!” Flamberge suddenly interrupted. “You’ve had plenty of face time with the kid and he’s got the basics of channelin’ Spark down, it’s super obvious by now! I say it’s time we get him back to his first love! Fire!” She summoned her own sword, lighting it up in example.

Zan gave her sister a flat stare. “...you know what? Fine. I know full well if you don’t you’ll throw a tantrum and we don’t need that right now.”

“Hey! I don’t throw tantrums!” BOTH Zan and Francisca leveled a knowing stare at her, and she quickly wilted. “...as much. Anymore. Look, nevermind me, this isn’t about me!” she quickly dismissed, turning to Tuff. “We’re gonna be teaching you how to USE that inner fire better!”

Tuff’s face split into a grin. “Finally!” Though he had to admit, their bickering brought back memories… ‘I wonder what Tiff’s up to right now. Hope she’s doin’ alright, considerin' I prayed for her and everything. Betcha SHE’S not learning how to throw fireballs with her mind, though!’

Chapter 9: A Story of Dreams

Chapter Text

Tiff found herself staring up at what she could only call a MASSIVE spire near a mountain. It seemed to quite literally stretch into and above the clouds, and the massive cylinder had a…well, it clearly USED to look as yellow as its namesake. However, time had clearly done a number on the paintjob- where there used to likely be brilliant, shining yellow was now rusty maroon and a darker beige all around the outer areas. It almost had an air of ‘defiant dilapidation’, if that made sense- the fact that while it was clearly in some disrepair, it stood against the elements proudly, nonetheless. “Welcome to the Butter Building,” Meta Knight said impassively. “This is the stairwell to those who cannot get to Grape Garden by ship. Or rather, it was intended to be.” He turned away. “The citizenry proved too lazy to be willing to scale the thing. Now, it is only a hotbed for beasts and ne’er do wells, though it remains a potential access point.”

“You sound kinda upset about that,” Tiff noted- not that she could blame him. She could only imagine what this thing would’ve looked like in its heyday.

“A long story…but part of it relates to your task here today.” With that, Meta Knight turned back to her, carefully analyzing her posture. “First, a bit of background. Kirby, in one of his earliest adventures, scaled the Butter Building in order to fight Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright, two denizens under the command of King Dedede, to retrieve a portion of the Star Rod.”

Tiff goggled in surprise. “Wait, you mean the Star Rod Kirby had when he fought our Nightmare?”

“The very same,” Meta Knight confirmed. “He was not nearly as capable then as he is now, though he still had some strength to him. The Butter Building proved an able test of his abilities. I wish to see you replicate his feat.”

Tiff blinked in shock, physically rearing back. “W-wait, you want me to climb that whole thing? Myself?! And with no help?”

“Yes,” Meta Knight answered simply. “As I said, this task was undertaken by Kirby when he was far younger and had less mastery over his abilities. And yet he was able to do the same with aplomb. I believe that, at this point in your training, you could do much the same, in fact.” Well, that was quite the vote of confidence in her, she had to admit…but still, this was a LOT of climbing. “I mentioned before you took on my last challenge that I’d mention something to you. An ability that you might not yet be able to perform, but may be able to be taught. It’s called the Infinity Jump.”

“...I beg your pardon?” she asked in shock. That sounded an awful lot like-

“It’s not flight, perse,” he interrupted. “But, that’ll come later. You won’t need such a skill here,” he assured. “All the skills you’ll need to scale this building, you’ve already learned- either from myself, Javelin, or Trident Knight. She supposed that was true- she’d been learning from the lot of them in her downtime, and she’d finally managed to figure out the skill she just called ‘Charge’ for now. That, and one other skill that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to do too regularly, but…

“Remember, the building is dilapidated,” Meta Knight continued, interrupting her thoughts. “You will need to show some ingenuity in surpassing some obstacles and blockades.

“Er, right…yes, sir,” she gave, saluting. It almost seemed like too tall a task, but…well, she’d never heard Meta Knight this confident in her. And she knew he wasn’t a fanciful dreamer. Maybe she really DID have this… “I’ll get up there as quick as I can!” she said with a bit more confidence.

He nodded in approval. “Excellent. Proceed then, Cadet Tiff. I’ll see you in due time,” he dismissed. With that, she took a deep breath, and marched in.

After a few more moments of carefully watching the entrance, he quickly called up the Halberd on his communicator. “Is everything in place?” he asked briskly.

“Yes, sir!” Sailor Dee said happily. “Everything that she might need to make it to the top is set, and nothing should look abnormal for the state of the place. If she doesn’t make it, it won’t be because Kirby trashed something when he came through here or just bad luck and time wearing the place down to become impassable.”

He let out a quiet sigh of relief. “Excellent. I’ll take a look around to make sure nothing is amiss, and I’ll be ready in the old spot. You know the one. Get the knights ready.”

“Yes, sir!” With that, the line went dead. Meta Knight spread his wings, and took off, ready to see if this fiery little girl really did have what it takes.

The first few rooms weren’t too notable, really. The burnished maroon and yellow gave way to a rich purple, though the fast travel walkways really were near trashed. This necessitated a lot of maneuvering through various rooms and through risky areas that had been laden with debris or otherwise were grounds for various creatures that made the place home. In particular, those pink flying things that weren’t nearly as aggressive at Kawasaki’s…well, they seemed to be plenty aggressive here, and she’d had to swat away a score or two of them already. Scarfies were another problem that she’d had to deal with as she clambered through the next floor.

Soon, she could see a problem. “Hmmm…” She peered through one of the two doorways she’d managed to climb up to. One of them led to an indoor area- but she could see that it was a narrow staircase, and there were a number of ‘residents’ milling around there. It’d be a cramped fight. On the other hand, there was the second doorway that clearly led outside. “...worth a shot,” she decided, heading out.

She made sure to keep her eyes up and ahead as she traversed the outer edge of Butter Building, the various Bronto Burts ( ‘Oh, wait, THAT’S what they’re called!’ she remembered) clearly seeing her as a fun target to dive into. Fortunately, that’s what her shield was for- after a few bonks against her defensive arm, most of them were warded off, to her relief. “Alright, now I just need to find a way back in…ah!” The doorway was above some broken stairs, but it was easy enough to hop the gap and get back in.

That led her to a vertical climb with a number of broken and busted stairwells- as though something had just slammed clean through the center. It left just enough room to leap from one edge to another, landing on what small outcroppings there were and repeating this enough times to get as high as possible. The rocky creatures attempting to slam down on her were the obvious reason for the state of disrepair in this case, at least. Still, she managed to make her way upwards and onwards, clearing out any beasts in her path.

Through a large room with three sections, the middle with makeshift spikes that she suspected were originally building material that she had to be careful not to land on (not to mention the Gordos), she quickly moved on- nearly falling as the room emptied out into something bigger, the floor all but fallen away underneath her into a much lower area. Fortunately, there was a doorway right above her that proved reachable with a single Focused jump, and she clambered in. That led to an empty room (with a lot of impact points for whatever reason, like a big fight had happened a while back) with a singular ladder and a doorway at the top. She quickly climbed up and through, finding it to lead to another outer area- though she suspected that it wasn’t originally intended to be, if the sound of the wind and the sight of the clouds at eye level were anything. ‘I must be getting higher up than I thought,’ she realized. There were a number more Scarfies and those small chick things- she made certain to only strike at the Scarfies, at least.

She found herself breaking into a room of more ‘butter-like’ coloration, and she allowed herself a small moment to catch her breath. “This is kinda crazy. How much higher do I need to go?”

The answer proved to be a great deal, as she climbed up and down ladders, and found herself nearly lost in a maze of doors that all had somewhere to go, if not always ‘up’.

But she made her way up the stairs, and to her surprise, found what she could almost call an elevator shaft- or at least something like a lift. There was clearly a VERY long rope, and as she looked up, she noticed that far in the distance above seemed to be a weight. “Well, that gives me an idea…” she muttered aloud.

Soon, shooting up several floors via a quick application of physics and a rope lift, she found herself more than halfway up, by her guess. She let go before it hit the top, depositing her at a small balcony doorway. That little stunt had been more than exhilarating, for her tastes…but it’d worked, and she’d skipped an immense number of floors in one go. “Glad THAT hadn’t withered away,” she muttered. “Now, let’s see…”

She entered into a room that seemed to be that same yellow coloration- likely the original paint color not as worn away by dirt and whatnot. It still had some cracks and elevation issues, however…though she noticed something in particular that surprised her, waiting on one of the higher perches. “Lord Meta Knight? What are you doing here?”

He turned, briefly. “...consider it a brief evaluation.”

“Aren’t I already doing that?!” she asked back in confusion.

“A different sort.” And to her surprise, he pointed his sword at her. “Meta-Knights, strike!”

“Strike?!” she said, before he wrapped himself in his cloak, teleporting away.

“Hee-yaaaah!” Axe Knight yelled, jumping into the room- and Tiff found herself battling her shipmates in a quick and violent frenzy. Mace Knight’s weapon was barely deflected, and she batted him away in confusion- only to dodge a swing from Axe Knight, which she instinctively riposted with a jab from her lance that connected. “Haha! Good shot!”

“What’s going on?!” she asked, baffled as Javelin Knight took aim.

“A battle evaluation, as Lord Meta Knight requested,” Javelin Knight responded in that stilted way she rarely ever heard from him. She was going to respond, but the Knight had formed and hurled his weapon of choice straight at her- she quickly dodged, and swung in retaliation. It connected flush, disorienting him.

“We tested Kirby just like this a ways back!” Mace Knight added on as he made to attack again. “So now we’re doing the same for you!” He hurled his mace- and this time Tiff dodged, striking at him much in the same manner.

For Tiff, that at least made a lot more sense. If they were imitating Kirby’s ascent for her, then they’d naturally do this again, as well. Confident that there was no strange trap or the sort anymore, she squared up properly, shield up, and eyeing all three of them warily. “Alright, then,” she proclaimed with an air of challenge as she pointed her lance at the trio. “Let’s go!”

Axe Knight led the charge again, hurling his axe forward towards her. For a moment Tiff thought this might be a tactical blunder as she dodged out of the way- only to quickly see the axe behave more like a boomerang as it returned straight to its owner’s hand. ‘Wonder if I’ll be able to do that with my lance…’ she wondered.

Her musing was cut off, however, with Javelin Knight attempting to strike again- this time, she saw him preparing, and saw an opening.

She channeled magic into herself, her feet, her lance and shield- and leapt forward, surrounded by a small glow of energy. With a singular push, she Charged forwards, rocketing across several yards in a moment, the conjured javelin strike shattering on impact. Javelin Knight attempted to move out of the way, but she was just fast enough to impact the knight with her shield, sending him flying. Javelin Knight crash landed a distance away, and for a moment, didn’t get up. “I believe my part in this is done,” Javelin said simply. She knew he’d be honest about it, and turned towards the last two opponents.

“Good stuff!” Mace Knight complimented as he hurled said mace at her again- only for her to deflect it at an angle with her shield upon running in, and a wide swipe sent him sprawling. “O-owwww…good, but it hurts!”

Axe Knight was the sole member left- he delivered two nasty-looking chops fearlessly to her, which she defended against with only a bit of buckling. She attempted to respond with a pair of fast swipes of her own, only for Axe Knight to hop back and hurl his axe at her again- forcing her to remain on the defensive. “N-Not bad!” Axe Knight said, carefully watching her as his weapon again returned to him. “I can see the fruits of Lord Meta Knight’s training from you.”

“Thanks! Still got a long way to go, though!” It was pretty obvious (at least to her) that they were going easy on her. Not that she’d want much worse at this junction. So when she managed to avoid his next strike and deliver a thrust that sent him sprawling, she didn’t complain when they got back up. “Well?”

“Pretty good! We’ll report in to Lord Meta Knight!” Axe Knight said jovially. “You keep at it!”

The remainder of the Butter Building was…if not perhaps ‘easy’, then nothing particularly harrowing. She managed to make her way up a chute with a heavy updraft, through a few more rooms to the point where she was starting to notice the area narrow, meaning she was (hopefully) reaching the top. She managed to locate what she could only guess was some sort of maintenance chute as well that she was able to utilize to clamber up part of the outside of the building, skipping several more floors entirely.

The rooms were starting to color blue now, she noticed. And they were having more in the way of active defenses- namely cannons that fired at her whenever she got close. It proved…harrowing, in several ways to attempt to dodge them, and that was still with the locals aggressively trying to attack her. The end result was her sticking to the outer areas of the building more than she had initially- finding her way using both her leaping prowess, and finding pathways that she could either clamber up to or just hop to outright. ‘It’s not quite mountain climbing, but this feels close…’ she muttered to herself. She looked out over to the sky- from the sun’s position, she’d made good time so far. It was still hanging high in the sky.

She ducked back in due to a lack of places to alight from her current position- and found that there was a distinct lack of light in this hallway. Fortunately, being able to create her own light helped that problem. Hopping over debris and doing her best to avoid the attention of various specters and what looked to her like bandit swordsmen (they bore a passing resemblance to Blade Knight, which she wasn’t a fan of), she made her way through the gloom and to another door, leading to a small hallway which again led outside. The busted up ledges and walkways told her that this was a major path up back when it was new. “Hm…” She tensed, Focused, and leapt- fortunately, she could jump high enough to get to the walkways at least. From here they looked about equally distant, and not too further in the distance… “I think that’s the top!” she realized. She was breathing harder than she was used to now, and she was sure she was sweating, but this was close to the end! ‘No sense in giving up now!’

Galvanized by the near end of the ordeal, she continued to leap, harder and higher, even if on occasion she had to grab for a ledge and haul herself up. Even here there were Scarfies and Gordos and other strange creatures aplenty, and more than a couple she had to wack at a bit to keep them away. But she was so close!

She found herself on one last walkway, after heading up the middle of three corridors, clambering from handhold to foothold and outcropping to balcony, finally through the singular large door there, and marched up a flight of stairs, panting.

And there it was. Actual ground underneath her, the rooftop made up like a natural field. Over the edge, a carpet of green below her, and the peaks of mountains in the distance. Above her- not very far at all- clouds that seemed to be alight with whorls and droplets of colors, different from the sky she’d seen from the surface. She could see the Halberd flying in the distance, clearing in a slow, circling pattern. There was a small hot air balloon attached to the rooftop as well, with a large, multicolored balloon waiting on a passenger or two.

Tiff let out a large breath, and pulled out her communicator. “This is Cadet Tiff,” she reported in. “...I made it!”

Cheers erupted on the other end. “Woohoo!” “I knew you could do it!” “Congrats!” and other such well wishes came through the other end.

“Just as expected,” came Meta Knight’s voice last. Oddly enough, that one made her feel warmer than anything else that was said. “You’ve proven that you’re quick to pick up on skills and techniques. Experience will be one of your greatest teachers before long. For now, however, there’s still much to learn. Stay there, and we’ll retrieve you shortly.”

As she got back on the ship, the Halberd having come around for her, she was patted on the back and cheered the whole way to the bridge. “We’re about to stop in Grape Gardens for resupply and repair,” Meta Knight noted once they arrive. “We’ll only be taking on half-weight, however. Don’t expect a lot of shore leave.” He turned to Tiff. “Considering your recent efforts, you’ll not be on duty for the cargo loading. You may explore Grape Gardens if you wish, but only the port and central areas. We won’t be here long enough for you to do much else. We will contact you when it’s time to return. Understood?”

“Yessir!” she saluted. She was a bit tired, but she’d never forgive herself for missing out on what was said to be a city in the CLOUDS. She could take a bit of a rest while they docked, but she was going to get out there again! Space was one thing, but this was another entirely!

And soon, she was in fact rewarded with some rather impressive sights. The cloud-like ground itself, after some trepidation, was almost fun to walk on (on bounce, when she figured no one was looking), despite being otherwise as solid as any other surface. The walkways and castle-like buildings nearby almost took her breath away with how ethereal they looked- one of them, which was shown to be a large market, got her attention in particular. “Maybe I could get a souvenir for Tuff,” she murmured out loud. “He’d probably love something from up here,” she figured. The question was what.

She wandered throughout the marketplace, browsing both stalls and gawking upon sky manors, enjoying the sights. That’s when she heard a voice. “Hmm…no, no, I think that's a bit too light. Perhaps you have something in a darker coloration?”

Her eyes lit up, and she quickly moved through the crowd to look for the source. It wasn’t long before she found it. “Mr. Taranza!”

“Hm?” He clearly heard her, perking up and turning her way. “Oho!” His confusion gave way to a bright grin. “Miss Tiff Ebrum, correct? I have to say, I wasn’t expecting to see you here!” He looked her up and down, noticing the difference. “Seems like you’ve been adapting quite well to our Dream Land! Meta Knight’s not giving you too hard of a time, is he?”

“Well…nothing I can’t handle, apparently,” she admitted. “But don’t take it the wrong way- so far it’s been great! I feel stronger and more positive about myself than ever! I’m just kinda tired from a bit of…training, from earlier today.” She wasn’t too keen on saying what kind of training specifically- it almost felt like bragging, to her. Still, she very much appreciated Taranza’s smile.

“That so?” he mused. “Yes…I can see it’s been paying dividends,” he admitted, scrutinizing her closer. “You’ve gotten taller since last I met you. It’s clear you’re growing well.”

That hadn’t been what she expected. She had been referring to maybe emotional, her magic, and of course perhaps a bit of physical strength, but to have that visible? She checked her arms- they didn’t SEEM like they were overly muscular. “Am I?”

“Yes, definitely,” he confirmed. “I’d say you’re about a half a head or so taller, if I were to give an estimate on the matter.”

THAT had been surprising. She didn’t FEEL that tall, though…now that she was thinking about it…she WAS looking him square in the eye now, and he’d been floating like usual. “Huh. Wonder if I’m going through a growth spurt because of all the physical stuff I’ve been up to lately,” she mused. “That would explain it, I guess…”

“Well, don’t fret too much about it!” Taranza dismissed. “It’s good to see you nonetheless.”

“Same here,” she said happily. “Tuff would’ve loved to talk to you again- he’s off training with the mage sisters, but he mentioned you more than once before he went. Where HAVE you been, anyway?” She hadn’t seen any piece of him until today, in fact. “Have you been back to Cappy Town to do any more teaching?” Tiff found herself asking.

Taranza shook his head. “I’m afraid not. I won’t deny that the idea HAS crossed my mind once or twice, but I don’t believe that anyone interested will have gotten beyond the basics yet anyway. Even so, I’m a bit concerned about how much time it’d take. I AM aware that Susie has been back at least once already, however,” he informed her. “Why do you ask? Feeling homesick or just curious as to how everyone’s doing?”

“More the second,” she admitted.

“Oh, well, if you can get an audience with her, I’m sure she’ll update you. Myself, I’m just here at the moment to get some imported seeds and some flowers from Floralia,” he explained. “This is the only place that gets them readily, and Floralia itself is…not somewhere I’m too eager to go back to, despite my love for it.”

“Really?” That sounded strange. “Why not? It sounds like you’re a bit homesick…” The frown on his face quickly reminded her that Taranza had baggage- and from what she could remember of hearing about it, it was…particularly depressing. “A-actually, you don’t need to clarify, that was my mistake.”

The frown slowly bled off as he shook his head. “No…no, it’s fine. I know you meant no ill will with it. And yes, I do miss it.” He shrugged, somewhat helpless about the matter. “But I really can't dwell on the matter forever. They may be similar, but Floralia is one place. This is another, and they shouldn’t be held to the same expectations- even in my own mind.”

Tiff found herself somewhat surprised at that thought- but at the same time, a part of her felt gratified to hear it for a reason she couldn’t identify.

She was removed from her musings when his smile, though thinner, returned to him. “But, enough of that sort of sad talk. Please, do tell me- what have you been up to all this time?”

She took the offered out, and the two discussed for some time about their various experiences around Dream Land and what they’d done in the past while. Taranza, for his part, had been occasionally assisting King Dedede with a few small issues here and there, in between his botanical studies. Aside from that, he’d apparently heard little from Magolor recently- though he had met with the magician briefly. He’d mentioned their tutelage, and that he had ‘something big in mind for the kid’ when Tuff came back, but unfortunately had neglected to say what, exactly.

Their conversation was soon cut short by an alarm from her phone. “Oh! That’s Lord Meta Knight- I should be getting back to the ship right now. Sorry I couldn’t stay longer…”

“No, no, it’s fine! Give my best to him and the rest!” he offered, waving her off. With that, they quickly said their goodbyes and Tiff made her way back, the conversation with the spider on her mind until they made it to Echo’s Edge.

“Whoa…” Iceberg Island was nothing compared to this place. It seemed to sparkle with various colored crystals and gemstones. To her, it looked incredible. “So this is Echo’s Edge?”

“That it is. This is one of the furthest points of Pop Star, before we reach Rainbow Resort,” he explained. “It can have a few issues, but I would hope none at the moment, considering how close we are TO Rainbow Resort.”

“Is Rainbow Resort that important?” Tiff asked. She hadn’t gotten a ton of detail on just what Rainbow Resort was, only that every time she asked, it’d been treated with something close to ‘quiet reverence’, as far as she could name. It gave her some ideas, but she had far from a working base to go from in regards to what she could hypothesize. The check in, like the Grass Land island, was mostly done from the air, but she learned that they would still be going down for a foot patrol, just in case.

“It is,” he confirmed, but said nothing further, beyond telling her to go get ready.

The area was fascinating to her- and icy. Similar yet different to Iceberg Island in that it was far less flat, had more strange natural formations- at first she’d thought that maybe they were just sitting on a plethora of riches…though perhaps it wasn’t so rich if they were just abundant, here. It was a fascinating situation, and she found herself picking up a few pieces herself for study…and maybe just because she thought they were pretty. They’d go nice in her collection.

Fortunately, it was as Meta Knight predicted, and over a day’s trekking, it was determined that Echo’s Edge was fine- even the local Chillies and whatnot seemed docile enough. That was enough for Meta Knight to declare the area acceptable and for them to move on.

It was three days travel from there that they announced they were near Rainbow Resort, prepared to touch down, and Meta Knight called a meeting to inform everyone of exactly what was happening- including Tiff. “Are we at Rainbow Resort?” she asked once he gave the order.

“We are on the border of it,” he clarified. “Rainbow Resort is situated a great deal away from all other continents, and for good reason. Therefore, few can reach it with any regularity. It is widely considered sacred, and for very good reason. Myself, King Dedede, by extension Bandana Dee, and of course Kirby, are the only ones that regularly journey here. That, fortunately, is all that is needed to check on the Fountain.”

The fountain…that stirred her memory, but only faintly. They’d mentioned a fountain before, right? She couldn’t quite recall. “So why are we stopping here?”

“As I said, it’s a sacred area,” he continued. “We would rather not sully it with forms of travel that are not our own power. So we will walk.”

Tiff nodded, that made sense enough. “Ohh, okay- wait.” That’s when she caught the rest of the sentence. “What do you mean ‘we’?”

He tilted his head. “You’re coming with me, of course. This will be a learning experience. Did you think you weren’t?”

Thus, Tiff found herself walking through…well, she wasn’t even sure how to describe it. She’d been into space before, sure. She’d been onto what was a space station, but that was technology. Artificial. What this was was something else entirely. This felt…otherworldly. Ethereal. It seemed like the more she climbed the mountainous area Meta Knight had led them to, the more fantastical everything got. “Focus yourself,” Meta Knight warned as the terrain began to shift from iced-over (yet somehow still healthy and vibrant) to outright unnatural, strange oranges and yellows with an odd texture taking the place of the ground. Auroras seemed to dance above and around her, and the stars seemed clearer than any she’d seen before, save for her trip into space. Colored lights were flashing in and out of her vision, but not disorienting her somehow. Minerals and rock that she knew weren’t actually rock, yet must have been- what else could they be? Her mind couldn’t quite grasp the answer, if there was one.

She was starting to understand that perhaps this land was far more worthy of being called DREAM Land than her home ever was. Looking around, Tiff felt like she was teetering on the edge of reality and whimsical oblivion…and oddly enough she didn’t feel frightened by that fact at all. “...What IS all this…? How…” she couldn’t quite figure out how to form her question, the sentence dying on her lips in favor of continued awe.

“Hmmm…” Meta Knight seemed to want to answer nonetheless. “Dreamland is a place of peace and joy, but it is not always so.” Tiff turned to him, shaken out of her idle adoration as he spoke. “We must fight for it to remain as peaceful as it is. Many terrible threats and scions of darkness have tried to snuff out our light. I’m sure you’ve heard at least a few stories.” She nodded- Great King Dedede had indeed told her a few. “We refuse to let that happen, of course. But what you will see shortly is that desire for peace made tangible.”

Tiff’s confusion must’ve shown on her face, because he simply waved her onwards. “Come. We are close.” Tiff knew better than to argue the point and she merely nodded. Without fanfare, he continued onwards and upwards, as did she.

After at least a couple of hours, they came across something Tiff had never seen, nor anticipated. The mountain flattened out, and it seemed to be a large spring, surrounded by…she couldn’t call it flora. Not all of it, at least. There were strange small towers, and a giant star, and…so many other things that should’ve made her think the area was a chaotic mishmash.

Yet all she got a sense of was complete serenity. Like everything would be at peace forever. She almost wanted to nap right then and there. But she quickly shook her head- the feeling wasn’t strong enough to affect her that harshly. Meta Knight, looking at her carefully, nodded in seeming approval. “Good. That tells me enough.”

That didn’t make sense. “What tells you enough?” she asked.

“You didn’t succumb to the pacifying nature of the Dream Spring. It tells me your heart truly is a strong one,” he responded as he continued walking. However, before much longer, the both of them stopped, if for different reasons. Tiff gawked at the centerpiece of the spring- what could only be a large, engraved, platinum fountain, the center having a raised blue section…and on top of it, something all too familiar. “This… is the Fountain of Dreams,” Meta Knight announced.

That’s when her memory returned. “The Fountain of Dreams…so this was the thing that held back your Nightmare!” she realized, Meta Knight nodding at the conclusion. “It’s beautiful…” The Fountain’s water flowed out gently, the babbling sound providing a serene background music to the surroundings. But it was what was on top that made her double take. “...wait! Is that…?!”

“Yes,” Meta Knight said simply. “The Star Rod. When we made to face your Nightmare, Kirby knew that the Star Rod would be the only thing capable of inflicting damage upon him. However, during my investigation of your land, I found that you indeed seemed to lack a Fountain of Dreams.”

“Yeah, that was kinda a downer,” a sudden voice came out of nowhere. She quickly whirled around to find Kirby, Great King Dedede, and Bandana Dee headed towards them. “Hiiii! Glad to see you again!”

“Kirby!” Tiff said in surprise. But then she remembered that Meta Knight WAS expecting them, and so tamped down her excitement and curiosity. “So, you thought we had a Fountain of Dreams, too?” she supposed she couldn’t blame him. If she was being honest, she was INCREDIBLY jealous that they’d had such an amazing artifact to stifle Nightmare. ‘We would’ve been a lot better off if we had one of those,’ she groused to herself moments before Kirby began speaking.

“We thought something might’ve happened to yours,” Kirby explained. “And that maybe your Nightmare had pulled a similar stunt to ours, stopping the Fountain from working. Thought maybe you just never knew about it since it might’ve happened a while ago.” He shrugged. “But, Meta couldn’t find your Fountain at all, and he looked as far around as he dared.”

Meta Knight nodded in confirmation. “Thus, Kirby and I decided that it was better to be prepared just in case. Myself and Magolor journeyed here before the final fight to retrieve ours, in case your Nightmare shared the same supernatural resistance to conventional tactics, which he did.”

“But you got him from the inside while I got him from the outside, so that was great!” Kirby pointed out as Tiff let her envy pass. “At least we know you have a Star Rod, now! Although…it also being your only Warp Star is kinda weird,” he admitted. “I dunno how you can keep it safe if he’s gonna be riding it everywhere…”

“I…think he’ll be trying to use the Air Ride Machine version,” she explained. “But…I guess that’s not for me to worry about.” Her voice carried a tinge of sadness to it, but she quickly was rid of it when Kirby and Bandana Dee both grabbed her hand and started dragging her closer to the edge of the spring itself. “Huh? What?”

“Nope, no worrying here!” Kirby explained. “This is the place for good things. Hopes and dreams and happy things!” he said cheerfully.

“It is?” she asked. “How?”

“Well, that’s what the Fountain is for!” he began to explain. “The Star Rod powers the Fountain with positive energy, and the Fountain uses that, and the collected hopes and dreams of everyone in Dream Land to make the water it pours out. Then that water turns into mist and stuff, and it spreads throughout Dream Land to give good dreams to everyone sleeping!”

“Without it, everyone would hardly be able to sleep in Dream Land,” Bandana Dee mentioned. “Everyone would be restless or unable to sleep at all!”

“...oh!” Tiff realized. “I think I remember you being really surprised we didn’t have one, actually. No wonder you were so shocked if it’s that important…”

“I still am,” Bandee admitted. “Especially because in our dimension, we’re not the only planet with a Fountain of Dreams. They’re on several planets!” Tiff’s jealousy flared back up with vengeance. ‘S o it’s not even unique?! It’s just a quirk of this universe that they have them and mine doesn’t? That’s unfair,’ she thought. But soon she realized that there was no sense in being jealous. They’d managed fine enough without it, now.

To her surprise, Bandee quickly took her aside. “Y’know, this place is really refreshing! We come here to destress sometimes. Here, lemme show you our usual spot…”

She followed, because why not? This place was astounding.

What she didn’t notice, however, was how Meta Knight had wandered over to King Dedede and Kirby to speak with them privately. “Huh. So you think he’s up to something?” Kirby asked. He hadn’t expected Dark Meta Knight to try anything sketchy, but this sounded worth investigating. Maybe his Shadow had something to say about it…

“Perhaps,” Meta acknowledged. “I think we’ll need to keep an eye on him, though I worry about my Cadet being too aggressive about the matter.” Tiff was capable, but he noticed that while she was talented and had a lot of potential, she occasionally overestimated herself. “I don’t want her obsessing over this matter when she could be busy training,” he clarified. “I will need to make sure to keep her occupied for the time being, I believe.

For a moment, that seemed like that would be the plan. Then they noticed King Dedede making a face. It only took him a moment to crack after they both gave him a look. “Right. Actually, about that…” He glanced at her, almost on the other side of the spring. She seemed to be intently listening to whatever Bandee was saying. “How do you feel about letting her work under me for a while? Formally, an’ all? Last time she was just trying to live in my castle. You think putting her to work might do better?”

“...hmmmmm…”

Chapter 10: Tuff's Next Step

Chapter Text

As the young boy calmly walked away towards his quarters, he knew he was being graded. Tuff’s latest attempt to conquer the Steady Heart Hall had ended at room 17, but frankly, the thought that he was almost halfway there thrilled him. Just a bit more and…well, okay, it wasn’t like he was going to get an award or anything, but he thought it was a nice accomplishment! “Just gotta keep at it…” he muttered to himself. He’d continue on for as long as he could- he could tell when he was improving these days. It was a good feeling, and he was almost too excited for tomorrow as he made it to his quarters and began to prepare for bed. The Mage Sisters didn’t say as much, but the way they had asked him about how he felt about it, and how they were watching him intently in the Hall after he’d given it another shot? Oh, he could figure out they were judging him. That said, he wasn’t exactly sure what their estimate of him was. As he lay down, he could only hope that they weren’t too harsh on him.

A few hours later, the Sisters were indeed evaluating what they’d seen, having gathered inside Zan’s own quarters. Flamberge in particular seemed excited. “Ha! I knew the kid had the spark! He’s burning through it!” she cheered as she munched on what seemed to be spicy chips. “Nearly halfway through already!”

Francisca nodded, sipping her tea. “He’s improving well over time,” she remarked. “It’s rather heartening to see.”

Zan stirred her own cup, musing on the day’s affairs. “I must confess, he’s exceeded my expectations. If we were to judge him solely on combat ability, he’d have made it well beyond Jammerjab status already, I think.” Of course, the Tower of Strife judged on much more than combat skill- it was also a test of faith, knowledge, and will, not just of power. In that respect…well, she still wasn’t sure about him. However, she was less UNsure than she was when she’d first shown him the building.

“Oh, totally!” Flamberge agreed. “Kid’s got a knack for the staff stuff! Honestly though, I think we oughta just junk that whole pre-req, really. We’re overhauling a bunch of the religion anyway, why NOT try something new?”

“Now hold on,” Zan started, putting her tea down. “Yes, we’re considering changes, but while he might have potential in fighting, he doesn’t know the rest of the teachings OR the daily duties beyond the broad strokes that we’ve told him about. With only that level of understanding, he simply wouldn’t be allowed to become a full Mage!”

Flam started to speak, in defense, but it was Francisca who spoke first, apparently already in thought about it. “Then perhaps something else…” she murmured, getting an approving look from Flam.

“You got an idea there, Fran?” Flamberge asked curiously.

Francisca hemmed and hawwed, but eventually nodded. “I believe I do. If you’d all be so kind as to listen closely…”

After they’d all listened in, they all agreed it was a good idea, even Zan. From there, the plan began to take shape as they pitched their own suggestions.

“Heeey, kiddo!” Tuff didn’t jump anymore at Flamberge’s outbursts. Rather, he’d come to appreciate her warm, if sudden behavior. She really did come off like a cozy fire in her gentler moments… even if her catching him coming out of the training areas was a bit sudden. “Your training is done for the day, right?” He nodded. “You think you can help me out a bit?” she asked.

‘Huh. Flam looks like she’s in trouble or somethin’,’ Tuff idly noted to himself. Nonetheless, he answered. “Sure,” he agreed. “What’s up?”

“Right, so, I’m helping on Jambastion maintenance duties for a couple cycles, yeah? I’ve been going over the big list of ‘gotta clean’ and ‘gotta fix’ stuff. Well, long story short, I’m gettin’ swamped- but one of our Jambastions has something going on with it, so I was wondering if you could take care of something kinda big about it?” She looked apologetic. “Like, it’s not ‘dangerous’ big, just time-consumin’.”

“Uhhh…” Tuff froze for a moment, too surprised at the request to complain about how that sounded. “Sure? How?”

And THAT was all Flamberge seemed to need. “Okay, so in Jambastion Number Five, around Sector B, there’s a buncha vine overgrowth. We used to not care, but now that we finally got a clue, it REALLY ruins the look of the place. I’m supposed to burn it all to cinders- but I figure better to leave that to you, since you’re not, uh…” she broke eye-contact, looking away bashfully. “...as intense about fire, according to what Franny says. Like, some of the big thicker vines are load bearing, so those can’t go, but just about everything else can.”

“Wait, you want me to burn all that?!” he asked in shock. “But the Jambastions are super huge! How am I supposed to get all that done any time soon?”

“Ya don’t,” she said flatly. “That’s the whole problem. It’s JUST Sector B, but even for just a sector, Jambastion maintenance takes a while. If I started on that, I’d just get myself even FURTHER behind the schedule- so I reeallly need you to do me a solid, okay? You’re pretty rockin’ when it comes to your flames these days, soo…you’re kinda the only one I got.”

Tuff grimaced…but deep down he already knew he was at least gonna try. “I…gueeessss…”

Flamberge lit up- almost literally. “Great! I’ll walk ya to the transport, we can grab snacks on the way! I gotta take the same one to get to my other stuff anyway. Once you get there, ask some of the Jammerjabs if you’re not sure where to go or what to do exactly, they know what’s what.” She immediately grabbed his hand and half tugged him along before he could think to voice any complaint.

He was taken to another transport lift, and by the time he could think of questions to ask, they were halfway there. Not that it helped- she was quick to dodge most every question he asked. Even ‘how long will you be gone’ was met with an ‘Dunno! Depends!’ After that one, he got the picture, remaining silent until they arrived at the massive Jambastion. “Okay! There should be some directions that tell you how to get to Sector B!” she said as he stepped off to enter the main area of the fortress. “Got your snacks?”

He had a few. But that wasn’t what worried him. “You’re not gonna at least see me there?”

“Nope!” she said FAR too cheerily. “No time! And honestly, kid? I trust you’ll be fine. You got a good head on your shoulders.”

“...huh.” Well, hard to dispute THAT without looking like an idiot. “...okay! I’ve totally got this!” ‘Hopefully,’ he added in his head.

“Awesome! Just tell the Jammerjabs in Sector B when you’re done. They’ll show you how to relay a message to the main base. Oh, and here!” She quickly palmed him some sort of badge. It was purple, and had the Jambastion symbol on it. “That’ll let ‘em know you’re here on business by my order. No one’ll mess with you with that on! Anywho, I gotta go!” And with that, she gave him a wave, and the transport took off.

Tuff Ebrum looked up at the massive, MASSIVE Jambastion, knowing that he couldn’t see half of it from his vantage point. He swallowed nervously. “A-alright…here goes!” And with that he began making his way into the fortress.

He, fortunately, managed to make it to Sector B without too much trouble, at least…though that much was only thanks to timely information and a bit of direction by a few Jammerjabs. Although, when he got to what he was informed was the border… “ALL of that’s Sector B?!”

“Yes sir!” The Jammerjab with him confirmed, saluting. “This whoooole area from about here, alllll the way over there, about where you see the outer horn. Everything high and low is Sector B, and right now we’re in Subsector 2!” he informed. The area in question was utterly massive! True, most of it seemed as though it was some sort of basin for some fluid he was positive wasn’t just colored water, but Cappy Town in its entirety could’ve fit in Sector B maybe three times over! “You’re here to help with the overgrowth, right?”

“Y-yeah…” he said shakily. He was starting to see why Flamberge had foisted this off on him; he suspected even she’d be stuck doing this for ages. “I guess I am…”

“Don’t worry too much!” The Jammerjab assured. “It’s all over Sector B, technically, but it’s only really concentrated in a couple of areas! Mostly in Subsector 4, I’d say…” Tuff started to let out a sigh of relief, before the minion continued. “...thought there’s a pretty bad patch in Subsector 2, and it’s kinda getting bad in Subsector 5 too, actually, so you’ll want to look there…”

Tuff groaned. “Just…whatever’s the closest bit, where’s that?”

“Oh, no problem! I’ll show you the way!” Tuff sighed in annoyance as he began to follow the servant. It was really a good thing he’d bought those snacks. “If you’re going to be taking care of all of this, then I’ll have to show you to the mess hall, too!”

…what had he gotten himself into?

About a day and a half later, Tuff was at least feeling confident in one thing.

Controlling his burns was going to be a breeze now. “I think that’s all for this subsector!” he told a nearby Jammerjab that had agreed to help keep an eye out. “Next is 3, right?”

“Think so! Shouldn’t be too much in that one!” came the response. “You’ve really been a major help for all this, thanks!” Tuff had decided to just go full bore into it- the faster he worked, the faster he finished, after all. He’d taken one sleep break, but beyond that, the last two days had been filled with him going all over Sector B, often guided by some Jammerjab or Jambeliever, and pointing out various massive overgrowing vines that needed serious burning. They were big, UGLY things to him, too- massive purple stringy things that often had greenish bulbs in them that popped in gross ichor if they weren’t burned fast enough. He only needed to deal with a single shower before he’d learned his lesson on that front.

And frankly, it’d been tiring. Exhausting, even. While he could just allow his fire to catch and spread, it’d be risky for many parts of the construction, even the parts made of rock and stone. So he’d had to keep control over it as best he could while winding it around all the various swoops and swirls that vines often made. It…

…well, it had been fun at first, but at this point, he was almost bored of it all. It was…well, it was a job. “Ugh,” he complained as another large vine went up in flames once he arrived at Subsector 3. The one good thing was that they burnt themselves out pretty quickly, so he didn’t have to sit there for long.

“Something wrong?” the Jammerjab with him asked.

“Nah,” he denied, before rethinking it. “Well…I mean, it’s cool that Ms. Flamberge trusts me enough to do this, I guess…but havin’ to drag myself everywhere is the pits!” he admitted. “I kinda wish I could fly like them an’ maybe get this over with quicker…”

“Well, you don’t have much left to do now, right?” Tuff nodded. The minion had a point, but still! “Lady Flamberge will reeaallly appreciate this! She likes doing it herself, but she always goes too far and she ends up having to oversee new construction ‘cause she burns something she wasn’t supposed to.”

“Yeah, she said something like that, didn’t she?” he recalled as the flames died out on his latest target. “Well, whatever. Let’s wrap this up!”

The last subsector, 4, proved to ironically be the easiest. Because there was a LOT of overgrowth, which meant he had to be less meticulous in his burning. It almost felt cathartic, even. But regardless, it’d been completely by the end of the day, and Tuff was looking forwards to finally being able to sleep soundly at night. ‘ Training was almost a breeze compared to this!’ he couldn’t help but think on the ride home. ‘But at least that’s it. Flamberge is REALLY gonna owe me for this…’ It would be good to get back to the normal routine…

…or so he thought. Perhaps a day after he’d gotten back, he’d been approached by Francisca before he could get to the training area that morning. “Begging your pardon, little Tuff, but I’m afraid I don’t have the spare time right now to train you. There’s a bit of an issue, and I’m pressed for time.”

‘Boy, that sounds familiar,’ Tuff thought, but nonetheless, he decided to at least be polite. “What’s the matter?”

“I’m a bit flooded with duties, I’m afraid,” she explained. “I’m in charge of several aspects of the Jambandra Base’s works, you see. Obviously things like plumbing, water systems, and all- but also things such as event planning as well as record-keeping. And in doing the latter, I’ve discovered something distressing with the former. That is, there’s been a bit of an overheating problem around the inner western wall of Subsector Delta.”

“That sounds kinda scary!” Tuff noted. “You gotta take care of that fast!”

“Oh, don’t mistake me!” Francisca quickly corrected. “I literally mean overheating- it’s mostly for the usable water basins and whatnot, and apparently cold water simply isn’t coming out in that Subsector. The basins are apparently near dry, too, so I need to go take a look myself along with a few others…” she paused for a moment, looking away in shame. “Or at least, I should hurry along with that- but right now, there are some matters of construction around the base that are keeping me busy. It’s relatively low-priority, but still a matter of some concern.”

“Wait, you sure you can just let it lie?” Tuff asked. “I mean, Iunno. I like hot water as much as the next guy, but it sounds like that problem could snowball.”

Francisca lit up. “I agree completely. On that note, actually, I have an idea!” Tuff felt a cold dread in his gut. “Can you take a few Driblees and see to the issue for me? It’s not too far, but I’m busy, as I just said. You’ve done well with exuding the cold and understanding the ways of water. I had things set up, but I’m just rather-”

“Alright, okay,” Tuff relented. “I’ll take a looksee, I guess. Can ya at least show me where the Subsection an’ stuff is?”

“Oh, certainly!” Francisca was eager enough that it made Tuff a bit suspicious. ‘This isn’t them tryin’ ta get me to work off my stay here, is it?’

Whatever it was, he hoped it wouldn’t take as long as the job on the Jambastion…

When he arrived at the basin for the Subsector, he was both surprised and not. It was…EASILY the biggest pool he’d ever seen, divided into segments or not. “It’s like a whole set o’ smaller lakes that make a giant lake!” The Driblees next to him nodded in agreement. They’d joined him upon arrival, and to his surprise, Francisca had ordered them to listen to him in this case. He wasn’t sure what he’d do with that authority, but at least he felt cool.

At least, until he got to where he was supposed to be. The massive basins were nearly dry, save for a small bit of water at the bottom of all of them. “Wonder what happened…” he muttered. “Guess I’m s’posed to find out.” He turned to the Dribbles. “Any ideas?” They shook their heads, and he resigned himself to taking a look around the entire area. “There’s gotta be SOME reason for it…”

“Maybe in the pipes?” a nearby Jambeliever suggested. “They’re pretty big- you can walk through them when they aren’t pumping.”

He shrugged. “I ain’t a plumber…buuut, might as well.” What could be the harm?

About an hour later of wandering through pipes and complaining about having to do ‘grunt work’, alongside occasionally taking a break alongside the Driblees, he finally found what he was pretty sure was the cause.

Taking up what appeared to be a large section of pipelines, and probably more than that, were giant, red lizards that seemed to spit fire milling around. It was clear that the sheer mass of them were blocking, heating, and redirecting the flow of water to various areas. “Geez! How did they even GET in here?!” This was practically an infestation! Putting that out of his mind, he brandished his staff. “Okay, you all!” he yelled to the trespassers. “This ain’t your bath house! Get outta here ‘fore I gotta use force!”

The way the giant beasts growled at him, he was pretty sure he knew what the answer would be. He grimaced. ‘Well…good thing I know how ta use ice now…’ he lamented to himself as they growled at him. He concentrated, and a chill ran down his arms, and up his staff. Brandishing it, he looked back towards the other Driblees. “Alright, think you all can help?”

“Yeah! They’re stopping the water!” one of the Driblees squeaked out. That was enough for him. Stepping forwards, he charged. The first one that got whacked on the nose was enough to get the rest to start up, and the battle was joined.

Truth be told, Tuff was far from a master of using the elements- heck, he’d just managed to do more than make a bubble of water, himself. But he’d managed a pretty big bubble, and he used that as effectively as he could- and soon a lot more aquatic force was being thrown at the lizards than they were used to.

Not too long later, and Tuff was staring out at the now-filling reservoirs of water. The lizard creatures had been tough, but fortunately they didn’t move much. He’d frozen them solid or quite literally had washed them out. That wasn’t to say he hadn’t been hit, however. His practice robes they’d given him had scorch marks everywhere. “...I’m gonna need new clothes,” he muttered to himself as the basins just about finished. The Driblees would be able to hold things down here themselves, then.

As he reported in to the Jammerjabs and prepared to leave, he couldn’t help but think on recent days. Likely Flamberge had told about how he’d helped her to Francisca, honestly. It explained pretty easily why she’d been so quick to ask for his help, now that he thought about it more. ‘At least Ms. Partizanne prolly isn’t asking for help any time soon.’ With her personality, he highly doubted she’d simply pass off duties like that.

“...There have been a number of electrical outages on the Eastern Wall reported in Jambastion Six.” Tuff blinked. Ms. Zan had come out of absolutely nowhere the next day and started talking to him like she was delivering a report.

“...okay. What do I gotta do with it?” he asked in abject confusion.

“That shouldn’t be happening, so I need someone to investigate while I deal with following up on a few other matters, and you’re the best student I have,” she explained.

“I’m your ONLY student,” Tuff pointed out, before she suddenly handed him some sort of checklist. “H-hey!? What’s this?”

“I’ve written up a list of the areas that should have been repaired by now,” she explained briskly. “As part of your training, I’d like you to travel there, and confirm that they have been fixed, if you would.”

‘This again?!’ he wailed to himself, before he caught something in her sentence. “Wait, you want me to fix them?”

Fortunately for him, she shook her head. “No. I just need to confirm if the reports are erroneous or not before I waste time sending anyone out there, since repairs should’ve JUST concluded on that matter.” Oh. Well…if it was just him going around and looking, that shouldn’t be so bad, right?

Later, he was rethinking his stance slightly. ‘...well, on the plus side, it’s not like I gotta go over all of creation. Pretty obvious what the problem is.’ After having journeyed to Jambastion Six and the Western Wall, he’d been taken to the main breaker room. And after having noticed that everything seemed okay there, he’d gotten a transport platform to take him all along said wall, which GREATLY sped things up. However, while there was nothing intrinsically wrong that he could see with, say, the wiring…there was another obvious problem that explained things. “Why are all these batteries dead?”

“Not sure!” One of the Jammerjabs admitted. “But, we’ll figure that out ourselves! Ms. Zan insisted! You just make sure you log which ones are out and we’ll take care of the rest!” Tuff sighed. At least that was easy enough, even though it felt weird. It would only be a few hours, at the least, he suspected…

But at least that was before, as he got to the end of the Western Wall later, he saw a MASSIVE floating, sparking…thing. “What the…?” He’d seen smaller before, but this strange, blue, ghost-like thing that was sparking like a bad wire was something he’d never gotten the name of yet. “Uhhh…” Not to mention, whatever it was, it clearly was the reason all the batteries had been drained, considering how it was next to a handful of them- and he’d just walked in on the creature draining one. It was weird to see, but…he DID have a job to do. “Hey! Bug off!” He’d been fighting creatures for the past few days. What was one more?

To his surprise, the creature seemed to charge him, a massive amount of electric energy surrounding it- he quickly jumped to the side, and even then he felt a bit of static, much like Ms. Partizanne’s own power when it was a close shave. Fortunately, it was minor- nothing on her level, at least. He lashed out at the creature, not even certain his staff would do anything with how nebulous it seemed to be. However, it seemed to strike true- the creature recoiled solidly from the blow, being sent a few meters away. Shaking it off, it cupped its hands together, and… “Whoa!” Tuff had to dodge again from a massive sphere of electricity being sent his way in a hurry; the blast impacted some meters behind him as he hit the deck. “Can’t do that yet…” he mumbled to himself as he got off the ground. ‘Okay, how do I- wait. Water!’ A part of him hadn’t expected to use water on this job, but he clearly recalled Zan’s teachings. In particular, that water could short out a source of electricity. ‘Worth a shot!’

As the Plasma Wisp charged again, this time Tuff was ready- a formed water ball on the palm of his hand left him as it barreled forwards, and it hit the creature flush, it letting out a short squeal as it seemed to…spasm, was the best word Tuff could think for it.

That was all the opening Tuff needed. He leapt in, his staff raging out as he struck once, twice, three time in rapid succession. From there, the fight almost became a dance. One, two, three, sidestep to avoid a blast. One, two, three, get out of the way of a charge. Another blast, water to the face, one, two, three…

And just like that, it was over, the creature rapidly slinking away at perhaps a third of its original size, if even that. For a moment Tuff thought about chasing it…but no, that wasn’t what he was here for. In fact… “What am I gonna do with all these?” he wondered as he saw the large pile of depleted batteries.

And then it hit him. True, he wasn’t supposed to worry about this, but…well, if that thing could drain batteries, why couldn’t he fill a couple of them? Hopefully…

About an hour later, the transport returned- and with Tuff having recovered a sizable number of batteries. Charged batteries.

Okay, a handful seemed burnt out, but that was acceptable, to the Jammerjabs. Tuff was more than happy with the result, as far as he figured. ‘Alright, so all three of the Mage Sisters asked me for help with something…sooooo that means what’s left is Lord Hyness, for whatever reason. I got the feeling this isn’t coincidence at all…’

The day after, his suspicions were proven right- but not for the reasons he thought. “Wait, you want me to be what?”

“A Mage-Apprentice,” Zan said. “The tasks that you helped us with all tested your capabilities in some manner. Namely, your current control, as well as your willingness to aid in our purposes aboard the Jambastion- in assigned duties, listening to orders, and subordinate management. All such factors were found acceptable to good. And so, we’ve decided that you’ve passed our promotional trials.”

Tuff blinked, absorbing what he’d just been told. It SOUNDED exciting, but just to be sure… “Soooo, what does this mean?”

“It means that NOW you can start learning the stronger techniques from each of us,” Zan explained, seeing Tuff’s eyes light up. “...at least, after a brief break. Though, I should warn you, she continued, looking at him carefully. “It’s non-binding; unless you really do WANT to join our ranks, the title confers no permanent authority, and you don’t speak for our purposes without a superior present or a badge of authority. It DOES indicate a level of competence that we acknowledge, however, and thus means that you’re due to be treated with a level of respect a bit higher than the norm.”

“...huh.” Tuff paused to think about it. “Y’know, I was kinda wondering if somethin’ was up. It was all happenin’ too fast.”

“Well, the choice is yours,” Francisca noted. “We won’t stop training you regardless of your choice.”

Well, that was a plus. Still, he couldn’t help but be a bit curious. “Sssooooo…if I DID say I wanted to join the whole thing?” he hazarded.

“Then we would have you take the Sacrament of Void, and…” Zan paused for a moment, before blushing. “...well, if I’m to be honest, we’re not…entirely sure?” She looked at her sisters for confirmation, who both nodded. “Originally we’d have you learn the Song of Supplication alongside a few other tenants of the faith…but as we’re in a period of reconstruction, the Song is…not to be utilized anymore, and the Sacrament is honestly invalid outright, so…” she shrugged. “I suppose we’d take you to Lord Hyness where he would formally proclaim you so, then, and be done with it.”

“Meaning basically nothing would change anyway for ya since we got nothing for ya to do,” Flamberge said bluntly. “You’d still be a Mage-Apprentice, but we’d actually teach ya a few of the ins and outs of how the Jambastion and Jambandra Base works, I guess?” she threw out.

Zan quickly nodded. “Likely that, and you’d be participating in morning prayer with us as well.”

“Oh. Hmm…wouldn’t it not really be for very long? Since eventually I’d be going back home…” he noted.

“That’s the beauty of Jambastion,” Francisca said. “Remember, Void is everywhere. No matter where you are, Void will hear your prayers- and we will remember you.”

“And, in a more practical sense, we DO have reason to wander over from time to time,” Zan pointed out. “You weren’t present at the time, but a portion of that vile Nightmare’s base was handed over to us. We’ll at the very least occasionally pop in to see how things are going.”

Tuff considered it. “...do I get a cool hat? ‘Cause if I do, I’m in.”

Zan facepalmed.

“Ohohohohoho! Well, now, glad your little tests have gone well!” The four of them turned to see Lord Hyness. “And I heard him say something about a hat?” To their surprise, he presented a smaller hat, similar to what Jammerjabs wore- only it had a stylish gold edge to it, with a green crystal on the front. That wasn't all the clothing he had on him, either... “Good thing I had this made in advance!”

“Wait…how’d you know I’d say yes?” Tuff asked, astonished even as he eagerly took the hat and plunked it on his head. It felt snug.

Hyness chortled. “I didn’t! But I really really hoped! But anyway! You’re rather the go-getter, aren't you? I could think of a task that you might not be opposed to helping with a bit further.” Before Tuff could even begin to complain, he leaned in close, winking. “...How’d you like to get off of this base for a bit of fun? There’s this planet called Ripple Star, you see…”

Chapter 11: Tiff's Charge Forward

Chapter Text

“So then,” Tiff started as they landed near King Dedede’s castle. It looked like she wouldn’t be trekking through the forest this time around. “How long are we staying?” They’d finished their patrol, but with the matter at hand regarding Dark Meta Knight, they weren’t sitting on their hands, or so Tiff figured. Meta Knight very vocally wasn’t having her help in investigating, but she suspected he’d taken the matter seriously enough to consult with Great King Dedede, hence why they were here.

However, Meta Knight merely glanced at her, before motioning to follow him. “Bring your gear.” She was well used to sudden orders by now, and she merely nodded and made to do so. It wasn’t much longer before they were standing before Dedede himself, who had a happy, hopeful expression on his face as far as she could tell. “Glad you could make it!” he cheered, before walking up to them. “Trip went alright?”

“As well as it could’ve,” Meta Knight confirmed. “But I believe it’s probably best we cut right to the chase.”

“Fine, fine. Spoilsport,” King Dedede dismissed, before turning to Tiff. “Look, I know you weren’t too keen on my place before, but I’m hoping we could try something again.”

That was a weird way to phrase it. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“See, here’s the thing. Meta Knight and I figured you could use a bit of a change of scenery. How about you help me out for a while?” he explained, looking as though he was proud of himself for the idea. “We worked awful well together before, and I got something I think would be right up your alley.”

“...hmm.” He had a point. They HAD worked well together before, and truth be told, she’d missed his presence. He was a good king, and fun to be around. And he’d helped her out personally in more than a couple of ways. It was just his home that had been the sticking point, but, well…

Suddenly, the conversation she’d had with Taranza popped up in her head, unbidden. ‘They might be similar, but…well, I shouldn’t hold this place to the same expectations as the one I know, should I?’ she thought to herself. ‘Easier said than done, buuuut…’ she at least had to give it a try. “...alright, sir. What do you need?”

“Well, by now you know I got more than one castle, right?” he checked. She nodded, so he continued. “Well, one of ‘em is in a bit of…disrepair. Haven’t used it since a little after the Crystal Shard Incident. But recently I was thinking I’d clean the place up, see if it might not be a good place to either work out of or maybe get something else going in there. That little academy Taranza hosted got me thinking…”

That struck her curiosity. “Really? About what?”

“...I don’t know yet!” he admitted with a shrug. “But I figured I could use it for something! Besides, there’s been rumors that something nasty’s been sitting in it and trashing the place. You know, weird sounds from the area and that sorta thing. So either way, I need someone to go check it out, and help clear the area so that the repair and construction Dees can do their work.”

Well, that didn’t sound too rough, no… “Alright. And you want me to do it?” she confirmed.

“Yup! A lot of the Dees on this job know you already, and you’ve got a head for this kinda thing already, so you can help ‘em out after you get rid of the thing!” He seemed awfully happy with this arrangement, and she found that she appreciated his faith in her. “Bandee would’ve been along to help with you, but he’s helping handle something else right now. Think you can be a good escort?”

“Yes, sir!” She straightened up, the orders received and understood. “Don’t worry, I’ll clear everything out.”

“Haha! Delightful!” With that, he turned to Meta Knight. “Alrighty, then! Seems like that’ll be sorted soon enough. Now, c’mon. I’ll show you a map to the place…”

And so she’d journeyed off with a contingent of Waddle Dee, several in cute repairman outfits and hardhats, as well as various other tools with them. It had been surprisingly unceremonious, with Meta Knight merely wishing her well and to ‘perform her duties to her best ability’. As if she wouldn’t!

The trip had just taken them through a forested area; a large one, mind, and fortunately seemed to be traversed enough to have a pathway in certain parts. The leaves in the forest were slightly brown, initially making her think that fall was coming, before she’d been informed that that was just the natural color of them, which frankly fascinated her. The area seemed naturally verdant otherwise and vivid, and she made certain to pick a few samples for herself on the trip over. Camping out midway had proven pleasant enough, even with a late watch.

Early morning the next day, they’d taken off- and it was around midday when they noticed the treeline start to clear and the horizon to be taken up with a large stone building. “Is that it?” Tiff asked once she saw it.

“Should be!” one of the Dees with her responded. “Almost there!”

When they’d arrived, Tiff looked at what stood in front of her. A nearly circular castle, made of sturdy brick and mortar, with only a lower area and top ‘cap’ area. As they walked the circular path to the front gate, however, it was obvious to her that something indeed had laid claim to the area. The place was starting to be reclaimed by nature, vines appearing in various spots and stonework appearing dilapidated. The drawbridge nearby had a large hole in it, however. And that wasn’t all- the hole, curiously enough, was surrounded by…soot? Charred wood, for certain. “Huh. Definitely seems like something’s made its home here…” She deduced, looking around. The place wasn’t as big as her Dreamland’s castle, but it was still pretty big, at first glance. She looked back at the construction contingent. “I’m guessing none of you know how to fight?”

“Nope! We just build stuff,” the lead Dee confirmed. “Sorry…”

She huffed lightly. “It’s fine. Alright then, I’ll go in myself and see if the inside fared any better than the outside.” She wasn’t actually expecting much, but this WAS part of what she’d been tasked with, and she wasn’t planning on failing Great King Dedede. With that in mind, she marched in.

The first thing that met her was a dusty, but surprisingly bright castle hall. With red carpet, potted plants to the side, a second floor with numerous doors, and decorations aplenty, it almost seemed welcoming…if it weren’t for the three weird one-eyed knight things that were milling about and now blocking her way. They looked vaguely familiar, but she didn’t question it. “Outta the way! Get out of here!” she commanded. They merely made a strange trilling noise, before they brandished their own spears and shields.

Tiff, honestly, felt a touch insulted at the fact that they seemed to be using mockeries of her own weapon. They made to swing, stab, she wasn’t sure, but she felt no interest in finding out. She struck first, and two of them were down before they could blink their eye. The third managed to effect a thrust- but it was short ranged and weak, and bounced off of her shield. Another sharp thrust ended that one’s threat as well, leaving the foyer empty aside from the sounds of nature. She was free to explore the area.

“Well…might as well go in order.” And so she began.

The rooms were rather varied. Some of them were simple drawing rooms, but others appeared to be small living areas, bedrooms and the sort. Others seemed to almost have no purpose at all, open rooms that she couldn’t guess at the purpose, despite the fact that they had bookshelves and maps in them. A few seemed to have small galbos and other such creatures in them, which was a bit expected…but what she hadn’t expected was for those rooms to constantly lead to other rooms, and those rooms to circle back around to hallways and the sort. After about thirty minutes of walking, she’d found herself right back in the foyer, underneath the stairs. “Geez. This place is practically a maze! Where do I even start looking?” she complained. Huffing, she wandered out from beneath the staircase and looked around again. There was an open entryway straight to the back, almost being led to. It didn’t SEEM like a formal entrance, which is why she’d saved it for later, but at this point she wasn’t feeling too picky.

The opening was a hallway, it turned out, and quickly Tiff recognized that she was on the top floor of an area she’d just crossed through- made sense, she supposed. But it had looked a great deal different from below- though the stained glass windows were memorable enough. They were also the only sources of light in this room- the star-shaped lanterns having long gone out. That’d have to be fixed, too. There was only a single opening on the other side, and a massive gap in the middle. She wasn’t sure what was up with the single off color square of floor in front of her, but as soon as she stepped on it, there was a massive whirring, and it slowly started to move towards the other side. “Oh. Automatic…” she mumbled to herself in slight dismay- before she heard a cacophonous squeaking from above her. Looking up, she grimaced as a swarm of Babuts looked down at her and almost at once began to dislodge from their perches. Tiff grimaced and braced herself. A fall from this height would…hurt, to say the least.

It was a stressful 30 seconds. Tiff got the impression that the stupid platform was in a bit of disrepair, but she couldn’t spend too much time thinking on it as another trio of Babuts tried to dive onto her- a wide arcing swing cleared them out, just in time to raise her shield to deflect a fourth trying to come at her head on. She felt a sharp impact on her back, and she let out a singular yelp, twisting to hit the Babut that had successfully rammed into her- and nearly taken a bite, from the looks of things. “Come on, come on…” she muttered under her breath as she batted away another one, watching the other side get closer and closer. Another pair closed in and were deflected, and- “finally!” She made one last swipe at the group, clearing the way, and took two steps before leaping for the stairway; the transport hadn’t quite made it there, but she was done waiting and knew she could make the jump. Without stopping, as soon as she landed she broke for the exit in front of her.

Sighing in relief as the Babuts refused to follow her, she shook her head. “Okay, definitely need to mention that…” Fortunately, there was a short hallway in front of her again, devoid of anything in particular, it seemed. She took the opportunity to rest against the wall, jotting down a few notes. “This place is absolutely infested,” she muttered to herself. “It’ll take a bit of time clearing everything out, especially by myself.” Briefly, she wished Bandee was with her, but shook it off in due time. “No sense in complaining now.” With that, she continued on.

She soon came to an area that she could only presume was for wastewater runoff or something of the like, considering the waist-deep water beneath her. Fortunately, there seemed to be a set of ladders and balconies leading to an opening above- a few of the ladders were a bit broken, but with some careful jumping, she could at least make it to the higher levels. It was a quick few hops to said opening, and she popped her head out to see that she was atop the outer wall. From the looks of things, she’d found her way around to the back of the castle. There was a back drawbridge, which was pulled up. “Huh?” she looked back towards the main castle, which loomed large above her. “Did I get turned around, somehow?” Frowning at the thought, she looked over the current situation. She wasn’t a fan of dealing with those Babuts again, but she needed to keep going and see if she couldn’t find just what-

Suddenly, a trilling, guttural roar suddenly cut off her wonderings, and her gaze quickly turned to the top of the castle. She nor any of the others had seen it earlier, or maybe it was sleeping, or whatever, but now…it was pretty obvious whatever had claimed the castle was there. “Now I just need to get there…” she muttered to herself, looking around. “There’s gotta be some way I can get down from- hm?” In the distance, she noticed what looked like a strange orange creature with a parasol on its head- and it had looked down at something on the wall, before jumping over it. She was confused for a moment, before it hit her. It was about equidistant from the drawbridge as she was right now. ‘So…if this side has an entrance, then…!’

Lifting herself up and out of the hole fully, she carefully walked across the outer wall- it was wide enough to accommodate, obviously. However, this ended up including a careful walk across the uprisen drawbridge itself. After a moment of stumble, however, it didn’t prove too harrowing, and soon she was on the other side and looked down the hole. Sure enough, it led to another waterway- and she’d bet good coins that there was an exit. However, THIS side didn’t seem to have anything in the way of a good method of getting down, the ladder system clearly missing. “So then how…?” she muttered to herself, before frowning as she observed closer. The water DID seem reasonably deep… “Well, not much else in the way of options.” Bracing herself, she hopped down, letting gravity do as it would.

She impacted with a splash- and then almost immediately felt her feet hit concrete, jarring her from bottom to top, gritting her teeth at the shock. It took a moment or two to recover, as she realized that the water had just been deep enough to prevent her from REALLY getting hurt. Swimming up to the surface, she dragged herself over the lip of a nearby walkway and lay there for a few moments. ”Ugggh…” She ground out as the pins and needles feeling left her. “That was…risky.” Understatement, but she couldn’t dwell on it. After a few moments shaking herself off, she took a few more calming breaths, and continued onwards. There had to be SOME way to the top of this place…

She walked through an empty, bland room full of puddle water, and on to the next, which… “Aha!”

It seemed like she’d come through at the bottom of a spiral staircase- at least, a facsimile of one. It was nowhere near as fancy as the proper portions of the castle, but it was clearly meant as an emergency exit, judging by the basic stonework and chains, as well as the small fountain to keep the water circulating. Though even this place had windows, it seemed. Well, she was more than fine with that, especially as from what she could see, this place seemed to go right to the top of the castle. “Good thing I’m not afraid of a little climbing…” she said to herself. It wouldn’t be the ‘expected’ way of getting to the top, but it’d work all the same.

That said…for a hidden passage around a waterway, there were a lot of fire sprites, she noticed. Quickly dispatching a handful of them, she made her way up as best as she could. The chains were rusted, but they held her weight, and it wasn’t much longer before she could see the rays of light from above ONE set of chains in particular. “Bet that’s my best way up.”

She was soon proven correct, head popping up at what she could only assume was a small room, meant to be kept secret. There was a single doorknob attached to a slab of marble that seemed entirely inconspicuous by itself. Grabbing it, she pushed it open- only for the hinges to snap, essentially taking the entire door off of them and revealing her little accident to the light outside.

Tiff blushed, though no one seemed to be around to care. “Whoops…”

Suddenly, a massive trilling roar sounded out, making her realize that she’d been wrong. Directly across from her was a massive, armored warrior stomping around, green armor rough and clearly well used. Though that was nothing compared to the utterly GIGANTIC sword they held in their hand, along with a towering shield. “What the…!?” This guy was easily the equal of Bonkers in height, maybe BIGGER. But she’d never seen his like before.

Not that they cared, the way they brandished their blade in challenge.

Tiff gulped. ‘ This might be the biggest thing I’ve fought yet. But…’ She steeled herself, holding her lance and shield out in response. ‘I can’t back down here!’

The massive knight took the initiative, taking a few massive, plodding steps that shook the ground with every one. Tiff charged, herself- a head on attack DID seem to be the only option due to the armor, but she knew a bit better. Rather… ‘Aha!’ She darted to the side as soon as his blade reared back- and she was far from the area when it came down, the impact shaking the ground even worse as she made to keep her footing. But, she’d made it- it was exposed to her lance, and she made a focused thrust at the mid point.

The warrior flinched slightly, but that was about it. She blanched, before hopping back to avoid a reprisal slash. ‘Did they even feel that?’ she worried to herself.

Before she could fret any more, however, the knight gripped his sword and reared back, the weapon glowing a brilliant blue. She got no more warning than that, and needed none, diving out of the way as the blade was swung, a large blue shockwave rippling out from it along the ground towards where she was standing. ‘Right…so he can do some level of magic.’ However, he wasn’t the only one. ‘Well, so can I!’ In fact, this might’ve been a good opportunity to test something out…

As she braced herself, she concentrated, channeling her own energy as the knight recovered from his own attack. ‘Okay, just like Lord Meta Knight taught me…’ The knight took a step. Her lance glowed as she tried to force energy into it. ‘Concentrate…’ Another step. ‘Hold…’ Another step, and it was about to swing again. ‘Release!’ “HA!” She yelled out as she swung, a crescent blade of energy bursting forth from her lance and slamming into the knight, causing him to stumble back heavily. She panted, the effort from the exertion making itself known, but she was still quite capable of moving, to say nothing of the massive grin on her face. ‘Ha! I did it!’

But no time to celebrate. She raised her lance and charged in- no better time than now to take advantage! The warrior had just got their feet planted again when she was about to close in, a war cry erupting from her lips.

However, it was still far enough for them to raise their own shield- Tiff’s eyes widened, and she had to stop short quickly before she ran right into the shield, and its wicked forward spike. Unfortunately, that placed her right in front of him, and it made to swing again. This time, she couldn’t dodge in time. ‘No!’ she raised her shield on near instinct, and as the blade came around, it collided with hers; with a vicious ringing sound, she felt the ground move beneath her as she was blown back a bit, but to her surprise, she was still on her feet. ‘Phew! Thank goodness for learning how to Guard properly…’

They both were back in a neutral position, and now she needed to try something else. But what?

Before she could answer that, however, the knight did something unexpected. He took three steps back, before to her surprise, pulling out his sword and running with it ahead of him, looking to skewer her. “Whaa!” She was barely able to fling herself out of the way of the earthquake causing charge. ‘He can move that fast!?’ she thought with alarm. However, a sudden crashing sound refocused her attention towards him- the warrior had collided with one of the small walls surrounding the rooftop, and she let out a small sigh of relief as she got to her feet, and made to charge. ‘I’m just glad they can’t STOP as fast, too!’ She charged forth, letting loose a small flurry of jabs to his lower back- it looked unarmored, and she was just small enough that she could reach it without too much worry. The creature let out a roar of pain and anger before attempting a fast backhand swipe that she hopped out of the way of. ‘Okay, come on, then!’ Tiff was starting to feel confident. ‘I think I’ve got your measure by now…’

And that was when the knight reared his sword back again- though this confused Tiff. She wasn’t in range to get hit, and it wasn’t glowing blue, so then…

The knight THREW his sword, and this shocked Tiff enough that she barely managed to get her shield up in time- but this was at the last second and she had no time to brace. The flying weapon sent her tumbling, and she only just managed to get up in time to see the blade spinning through the air like a boomerang. “You can DO that?!” she said out loud in surprise. Almost as though in response, the boomerang flew back into their hand, and they began to plod forwards again.

Getting herself up, she huffed. ‘Right, maybe not quite yet…’ she scolded herself. Squaring up, she focused, looking for an opening. Anything that could get her a good strike on him. She’d have to hit hard, though- she felt herself starting to flag more. If this fight kept going, it wouldn’t end well for her. Which is why she began to channel again. But this time, to her body.

They raised their sword again, and Tiff saw an opening. “GO!” she willed herself, and pushed off, darting forward with a burst of speed that left her covered in a yellow aura. Her Charge pushed her into the Gigant Edge’s torso, and she heard a roar of pain as it was shoved back heavily; her lance dug into its belly, but whether it was finished or not, she wasn’t sure- it still felt like it had resistance…

That proved moot, however, when to her surprise she felt herself STILL moving forwards- it was only a few steps, but it was enough to suddenly feel the knight pull away from her. Something instinctual told her to stop, and she did, to see that the pull was that of gravity- she’d managed to shove the Knight right over the edge of the castle, where it landed into the surrounding moat with a gigantic splash.

For a moment, Tiff stood there, unblinking. ‘...wait…did I actually do that?’ It had taken a while to settle in, though she heard faint yelling from the distance. “Miss Tiff! Are you okay?!” ‘

Oh, right. The Waddle Dees were waiting for me.’ She looked over the edge of the castle, hopping on one of the parapets, to see the group of construction workers looking up- and waving to her once they caught sight of her. She waved back, almost blankly. “Uhh…I think it’s mostly clear!” she shouted down, barely hearing herself. “I’ll be down in a bit!” But first, she needed some time to recover.

As she leaned against another section of the wall, she was able to finally internalize just what had happened. ‘Wow. I…I did it. I beat that thing all by myself!’ She couldn’t help but smile, the sheer scale of what she’d done allowing her a bit of energy back as she realized that knight CERTAINLY would’ve been a threat back home, and before, it would’ve fallen to Kirby to beat it. But no- SHE had done it! ‘Huh…it feels good to be able to do something like that by myself.’ She allowed herself a little giggle, a little skip and a hop of excitement, and before she knew it she was bouncing to her own little beat, a full blown shuffling dance of joy with a couple of twirls thrown in for good measure and a silly pose at the end just because she could. ‘I guess working on getting the strength to protect Kirby means I can do a lot with it even besides that, huh?’ That, and she’d managed to use what the Knights had taught her successfully? Things were looking up!

And that’s when she spotted a glint not too far away from where the knight had fell. “Hm?” Intrigue taking her, she stepped closer, to see a small…well, she wasn’t quite sure what it was, but it was pitch black, with a small line of orange on it. “Wait, this looks familiar…!” Quickly picking it up, she stored it in her backpack.

Meta Knight would want to see this. Well...when she got back to him, at least.

The rest of the situation proved easily handled- she was able to run off the remainder of the Babuts with careful application of her channeled energy waves and the Waddle Dees fixing up the lights in the area, causing them to scatter to the winds. Even the front drawbridge was repaired, though they suggested just making a new one eventually. Every other local creature that wasn’t supposed to be was chased off over the next couple of days, and the construction Dees did their work. It wasn’t very long before the castle was livable again. By week’s end, Great King Dedede had come by to personally see how she’d managed. “Well, look here! I knew you’d do a grand job!” he cheered upon meeting her.

Tiff lowered her head, bashful. “It- it really wasn’t much,” she demurred.

“Nonsense!” King Dedede disagreed. “Real solid work, this! Hadn’t touched this place in ages, but you and the Dees got it looking great so far! And the Dees said you ran off a big knight in green?”

She nodded, all business for a moment. “Yes, sire. It was a tough fight, but once I shoved him off the edge into the moat, it seemed like he lost all will. Last I saw him he trudged off into the woods.”

Dedede nodded. “That’s Gigant Edge for ya. We’ll keep an eye out, but he usually takes a bit to lick his wounds.” He eyed her with an impressed expression. “It’s not easy to take him out. On a bad day for Kirby he can frustrate even the little rascal.” That was unexpected. “You did good running him off. I’ll make sure you’re paid proper for it- been meaning to find a way to get more of these new Star Coins going around anyway.”

“Wha- you don’t need to do that!” she insisted. Being paid for this kind of thing…well, it left an odd, unpleasant taste in her mouth. “I’m just happy to help!”

“Yeah, I know, but you still need to be able to get stuff,” he insisted. “Think of it as a personal thank you. I’m giving it because I wanna, not because I feel like I have to. It’s a King thing.” He nodded to himself, the situation seemingly decided, and Tiff found she didn’t have the heart to refuse. “Besides, it helps with what I wanted to ask you anyway.”

“Hm?” She wasn’t expecting that. “What is it? I’ll help however I can.” She enjoyed helping Great King Dedede, and it was hard to deny it. He had an earnestness about him that, though he could still outeat several families and still had an ego, was more endearing than aggravating, and what he’d done for her personally had earned her respect several times over by now.

Great King Dedede chuckled. “You’re too good to have around, sometimes…so here’s the deal. You pretty much already halfway look the part, and I’ve cleared it with Meta Knight. Howsabout about you take a position as my Knight?” he asked with a grin.

Tiff’s jaw dropped. “Wait, your WHAT?!”

“Well, Junior Knight, I guess,” he corrected, shrugging. “Since you still gotta train and all…but still, you gotta admit it’s a pretty sweet deal! You’ll have the authority of the King on your side, and I’ll see about getting you some sweet armor to go with that shield and lance!”

That…was a bit of a shocker, she had to admit. “I…uh, wow.” She looked away, collecting her thoughts. “I mean I’m flattered, but…you’re right, I DO still need to train, but even aside that, wouldn’t it be a bit too short term for you? As far as I’m aware, I AM still going back to my Dream Land, eventually,” she pointed out. “You wouldn’t have me as a Knight for too long, would you?”

“Aw, so what?” he dismissed. “Better to make the most of things while you can, right?”

Tiff…found she had a hard time arguing against that. “I...” At first she frowned, but then she came to a conclusion. ‘...why not? If only for the experience…and I doubt that even Great King will exactly have a ton of stuff to do, from what I know about him. She nodded, at first softly, timidly…but it became stronger once she realized that she was more than willing, as the idea settled. “Yeah. Yeah!” ‘Plus, I might be able to use this to get closer to Tuff to make sure nothing’s wrong with him. There’s gotta be a way he keeps in contact with the Jambastion mages.’

“Great!” King Dedede said happily, patting her on the head. “Then might as well do this officially and stuff. Ahem!” He cleared his throat, taking out his hammer as though it were a scepter, which caused her to grin a bit. “Tiff Ebrum, do you vow to keep the peace in Dream Land, support your King and Country, and fight against all evil that threatens either?”

‘Wow, he’s really wanting to do right by this, huh?’ Smirking a bit, she realized that such an effort wasn’t all that odd for this Dedede. ‘I guess I’ll match him, then.’ She bowed, holding position. “Yes. I vow.” ‘I also vow to protect Kirby no matter what,’ she silently added. ‘I’ll defend him to the end if I have to.’

He tapped her lightly on either shoulder with his hammer (which still caused her to flinch a little). “Right! Then I hereby proclaim you my first Junior Knight, Tiff!” She straightened up as he walked past to take a look around the outside of the castle. “Now then! I’ve got a contingent of Spear Dees and a few others waiting to take up posts here- once they get here we can get you that armor. I’m thinking a proper chestplate, maybe some of those fancy shoulder pads like Meta Knight has…oh, and a helmet, knights have to have a helmet…” he kept on.

Tiff just hoped that it all came in pink and green as she followed her liege.

“...I think knights are supposed to have some sorta personal creeds, but I don’t know anything about that,” Dedede continued on aimlessly, to Tiff's private amusem*nt. “But anyway, we should get you ready in time for the big Festival.”

That jarred her back to focus. “Festival, sire?”

He nodded. “Yup! Ripple Star’s Grand Art Festival is gonna be held soon, and Queen Ripple invited me and the others! One of those diplomatic sorta things, plus it’s just nice to visit friends. So, you’re gonna be comin’ along as a member of my personal guard!”

Oh, well she DID enjoy art. Plus, if she recalled correctly, didn’t Ribbon and Adeleine live there? Perhaps she’d be able to see them again. “I can’t wait!” It certainly sounded like it’d be a pleasant time!

Chapter 12: Ripple Star Reunion

Chapter Text

In An Alternate, Yet Familiar Dimension…

“Mail call!” came the wizened old voice of Melman as he knocked on the door of the Star Mansion. They’d kept the name from when their ‘visitors’ had been here, for the most part. Now it was considered something of a living space for the Ebrums, though occasionally it was used as a gathering house for events as well.

“Oh dear!” Sir Ebrum was quick to answer, with his wife not far behind him. “Something for us, then?”

“Howdy, Sir Ebrum. Lady Like,” he greeted. “And yup. Letter for ya both. Came in overnight, seems like.” He offered the missive to them easily, and they took it with curious looks. “You both have a nice day!” With that, he trudged off.

“I wonder what this might be,” Sir Ebrum mused as he looked over the envelope. It was rather plain, really, with no address or other indication of who it was from, save for a strange symbol in the top corner that looked vaguely familiar…an M with a sword through it?

“Do you think it iz important?” Lady Like asked, placing on her working cap. “We both ‘ave to get to work with ze quickness, do we not?”

“Well, certainly, but the factory can hold off a few minutes, dearest, and I strongly doubt Gus will raise a fuss over you not being there all day.” He still had yet to get used to his wife finally deciding to fully indulge in her interest in mechanics and taking a small, part-time job at Gus’ Garage. Mostly she just tinkered around and helped with oil changes whenever the Mayor’s car needed a tune-up, but she seemed bound and determined to crack the Haltmann Deluxe’s design, which Susie had allowed Gus to sell locally if he so desired. (Of course the factory would continue production.) His wife coming home covered in oil stains had worried him the first month or so, and it was still a bit of a work in progress.

“Well, per’aps. Open it, then!” she encouraged. He did so with little more fanfare, eyes scanning the first few lines- and his eyebrows shot into his hair. “It’s from Meta Knight! Er, the other one, that is!”

Lady Like’s expression momentarily flattened out so straight a ruler would be considered lacking. “You mean ze one that stole my babies away.” Ever since they’d left, he’d noticed that his wife had become more…well, he hated to admit it, but her tongue had sharpened several degrees since that day, and though she never aimed it at him, it still jarred him a bit as well. It was clear she missed her children terribly. “Fine, fine. What does he say?”

“Well, er, it seems to be one of those progress reports he said he’d write us. Let’s see here…

To Sir Ebrum and Lady Like,

My apologies for delaying in sending this first update, but I am pleased to report that your son and daughter are, as of this writing, happy, hale, and doing well. Your daughter Tiff has been growing steadily under my tutelage, and her strength and skill improves by the day. She has improved her handling of her magic, and her efforts in aiding Dream Land have caused our good King Dedede to request her as his first official knight, which she has accepted.

“Knighthood?!” Sir Ebrum said in surprise. “My daughter, taking the role of a knight?”

“But Tiff was always so into ‘er bookishness!” Lady Like said, equally surprised. “ ‘As she really changed so much?”

“Well, there’s more, dear,” Sir Ebrum noted. “Ahem…”

She continues her personal studies, however, and has shown a marked interest in archeology and marine biology. I have already allowed her to indulge in the former, and I suspect she will have ample opportunity to engage in the latter before her tour of duty here in Dream Land is up. She requested me to inform you that ‘Professor Curio is going to flip when he sees all the relics I’ve found and sketched!’ I doubt he’ll have quite that reaction.

“Ah…well, that’s good at least,” Sir Ebrum admitted. “I was worried she might’ve changed TOO much nowadays. It’s been…almost a year now, hasn’t it?”

“Yes…” Lady Like said, frowning. “But it iz by ZERE timeline that we follow,” she noted grumpily. “Didn’t you say Mz. Susie claimed zere time moved slower zan ours?”

“That…is true,” he admitted softly. He’d nearly missed that specification in Meta Knight’s original offer. Fortunately, Susie Haltmann, in the middle of debriefing him before she’d left the first time, had corrected him on how long it’d take from THEIR perspective. He’d miss so much of their lives…shaking his head, he continued on. “No sense in worrying now. They’re there and we’re…here. Ah, look, he’s talking about Tuff now!” he tried to redirect.

Your son Tuff is markedly more in tune with himself and his magic, according to the Mage Sisters’ reports. They claim he has taken to their garb, though they insist that the decision was entirely his own, and they strongly deny any coercion. From what I’ve seen of the boy, he retains his spirit and boldness, though it is being tempered well. They state that his soul, though still troubled, should be well and stable should he continue at this pace.

“Oh! Well, that’s pleasant news,” Sir Ebrum said sincerely. “He seemed like he was having some trouble accepting that earlier, so I’m glad he got help.”

“Mmm…perhaps,” Lady Like acknowledged. “But will ‘e come home sooner because of it? What did zey mean by ‘taken to zere garbs?’”

“I, uh…” he quickly scanned the page. “It doesn’t say. According to this…”

His magic is, purportedly, improving by leaps and bounds, though I suspect that is simple bias coloring their impressions. I distinctly got the sense that they enjoy his company, which is why I am suspicious of their statements of neutrality. I do not think they are attempting anything malicious, but I will look into it nonetheless. For the time being, they both are in good health, and good spirits. I write this before they journey to another planet- Ripple Star, home to our Star Ally Ribbon, and her close friend Adeleine. Both were with us for the incident in your dimension briefly, and now we venture to their home for their Grand Art Festival. Enclosed is a snapshot of both Tiff (provided by myself) and Tuff (provided by the Mage Sisters) so that you can see the truth to my words. I will endeavor to keep you updated should something major happen.

- Best Wishes

Meta Knight

And the pictures below… “Oh!” Lady Like was the first to exclaim. “Oh! My my, lookit Tuff in iz little uniform! Goodness, it’s so detailed!” That said, she wasn’t entirely settled with what that might’ve implied. “Zo I like ze shoes…” she admitted quietly.

“I say, and our little Tiff looks like a right proper knight!” Sir Ebrum said proudly. He seemed less concerned, at least. “She looks so serious, though, doesn’t she?” Although to his eyes, it was less a ‘dour’ seriousness and more a seriousness that spoke of dedication to duty. It was something that he’d seen in her only when she’d started hanging out with Great King Dedede, and even then only in flashes. Now she wore the expression openly, almost proudly even. Heck, they both looked taller, even.

“Our babies are growing zo much…” Lady Like said softly as she gazed at the pictures closely.

Neither of them made it to work on time.

Later, in Ripple Star’s orbit…

“What?!” Tiff said in shock as she beheld Ripple Star from a distance. “No way! That’s…” She wasn’t sure WHAT to call it, but a ‘planet’ wouldn’t quite have matched her understanding of what a planet was.

Then she paused, thinking about all the things her life had undertaken, especially recently, and realized that she really didn’t have any base to complain, considering what she’d seen and lived amongst. “...that’s really cute looking!” she ended. It’d been considered to travel by Warp Star, but it had seemed that Queen Ripple had had her own ideas, sending a personal transport for them that was more than enough to fit everyone who was going. That group had turned out to be Kirby, who’d come back on check in and was more than eager, Bandee, who’d been with him, and of course King Dedede. Meta Knight had demurred, insisting he had work to do on Pop Star that was ‘of vital importance’; not that anyone present was ignorant as to what that work was. Still, they left him be, and now here she was. Touching down onto a planet that looked like it was the literal embodiment of love. Though when they broke the atmosphere it soon dipped towards something much more normal. Nonetheless, she still found herself pressed against the glass of the flower-motif ship. This would be her first time landing on another ACTUAL planet, after all…so long as the alternate Pop Star didn’t count. “Wooow…everything seems so bright!”

“Yup, it’s a real nice place,” King Dedede agreed. “I’d probably expect us to set down on the castle grounds, and we aren’t too far from there, so get ready. Official duty and all!”

That brought her back to reality. “Oh, right!” She took a deep breath and prepared herself. They’d gone over how to announce him, and she needed to recall that. Momentarily, she thought back to when her family (and Great King Dedede) entertained royalty themselves. ‘Guess I’m playing the role of Commander Vee this time,’ she thought to herself with an amused smirk. ‘Only I haven’t switched places with anyone.’ She could still see out of the window- and her heart jumped a bit at all the tiny individuals fluttering about as they got closer to a large building that she could only presume was the Royal Castle. “Wooow…so many fairies!” Suddenly, a wave of nervousness overcame her. Would she be too clumsy? Were there any cultural differences that would make them hate her? Would they-

Before she knew it, however, the side of the ship opened up, and Tiff forced those thoughts away before stepping out first- it was time for guard duty!

Not that it seemed to be needed; the scene that met her was two lines of fairies, on either side of a red carpet- and at the end of it was a rather big fairy- though still only about the size of a Cappy from her town. The garb, surrounding fairies, and crown tipped her off. ‘That must be Queen Ripple!’

She was quick to notice who was next to them, too. Adeleine and Ribbon were both waving happily. But she’d return it soon enough- she DID have a task to perform. “Ahem: Presenting His Royal Highness King Dedede, along with Kirby, and Bandana Waddle Dee!”

The two parties met each other in the middle, Queen Ripple bowing- and inadvertently sending her glasses askew. “H-hello again! To most of you, that is. It’s very good to see you all!”

“Great to be back, Queenie!” King Dedede said with a smile and a nod. For a moment Tiff was tempted to chastise him, before she noticed Queen Ripple smile even wider- it almost seemed like she was holding back a laugh.

“Hiii everyone!” Kirby cheered, with Bandee right next to him. “I hope everyone’s been okay and having fun!”

“We’re all doing wonderfully, thank you,” Queen Ripple said with a small laugh. She gave a polite nod towards Tiff, smiling. “However, I don’t believe I’ve met you before! I am Queen Ripple of Ripple Star. Who might you be?”

Ah. “Well, I’m Tiff Ebrum, Royal Knight under the command of King Dedede,” she announced.

“Wow!” Ribbon said suddenly. “You’ve really moved up in the world, huh?”

“It’s nice seeing you again,” Adeleine added. “And in way better circ*mstances, ahah!”

“Well, welcome to everyone, friends new and old. We’ve got a lovely dinner prepared and, you can see a few of the festival exhibits early- if you like, I mean.” Queen Ripple announced with an uncertain smile. “If you’d all follow? Please?” Kirby needed no prompting, quickly bounding up to Ribbon as the two of them began talking amongst themselves. Adeleine was nearby as always.

King Dedede, Bandee, and Tiff followed Queen Ripple and her escort fairies closer as they walked through the palace. “Before it, er, escapes me again, I have to say again, thank you for…resolving the issue with the Jambastion Religion,” she noted to King Dedede.

“Yeah? Wasn’t a problem. Why bring it up, though?” he asked.

“Well, it happens that they’re rather incredible artists, turns out!” she said with a smile. “After some discussion, we’ve decided they’ll be allowed to open a small group of chapels here on Ripple Star. We’ve actually got a pair of representatives here with us right now to enjoy the festival- we’re housing them, too, so I hope you don’t mind.”

Tiff's heart skipped a beat as King Dedede asked more. “Oh, the Mages are here?”

“Well, one of them,” she corrected. “The lady who wields ice. She brought along a…newer member of their order,” she noted as she approached a sitting room. “He’s a young ‘Mage-Apprentice’, apparently. They’re right through here.” The two escorts opened the door to see-

“Ah, hello again,” Francisca said calmly as she sipped some tea. But that wasn’t who Tiff was focused on.

“Wha- sis?!” Tuff cried out in surprise. “What’re you doin’ here?!”

“Tuff!” Before she could stop herself, she’d launched herself forwards in a hug, gripping him tightly. Not that he complained at all.

“...aw, geez, sis, missed you, too.” he relented, gripping her back just as tightly. Although… “Yeouch, though!” He pulled back, looking over his sister- and her new armor. “Look at you all decked out! Think I poked something by accident!”

Indeed, Great King Dedede had done well by Tiff. His knight was now wearing a pink chestpiece, along with a full helmet with a visor currently flipped up to reveal her face. Her hands and shoulders were covered by gauntlets and pauldrons that brought to mind Meta Knight’s, though the pauldrons were slightly more rounded. She also had on foot guards similar to him as well. The slate grey lance in her right hand had been exchanged for a pink one, with an orange hexagonal handguard, and the simple round buckler shield was now just as pink, with a star symbol lined out in orange and green in the center. The entirety of her armor set was a combination of her traditional pink and green, with flashes of Dedede orange in it that indicated her allegiance well.

Ultimately, she looked the very image of a royal knight ready to do battle, even though the weapons were stowed at her sides. “When’d you get armor and junk?” Tuff asked incredulously.

“I should be asking you that question!” she shot back, looking him over. “When’d you buy into their religion that hard?” Tuff, for his part, was wearing what she could only describe as a toned down version of the Jambastion Mage Sisters uniform, slightly modified. He had a rather spiffy hat, with a gold trim with a green crystal on the front that framed his surprisingly neat hair. He was also sporting the vestments typical to them; a long, v-style collarette around his shoulders, outlined in green. On the collarette was two purple hearts interlocked by a golden chain much like how the Mage Sisters wore theirs, to keep it from falling off of him. The underside of it all resembled more of a suit vest- she could even see a small tie poking out. He also had stout outer hand pads outlined in green, with a green heart design on their cuffs. He was even wearing dress shoes, also outlined with a green heart. “And what’s this about being a ‘Mage-Apprentice?’”

“I mean…” Tuff shrugged. “They make a lotta good points, and they’re helping me out a ton, so I figured why not? Relax, sis, it’s harmless!”

She eyed Francisca, who was watching them with curiosity, but no malice as she sipped her tea. She knew they’d been up to no good a while ago, but had reformed like many of Kirby’s friends. But that still didn’t mean that they couldn’t be a bit selfish… “Fine then. Why’re you here, though?”

“Oh, well, I made Mage-Apprentice not too long ago, y’know? So Lord Hyness said that the first thing I should do is understand the people an’ stuff. And they needed an extra hand around to help set up for the Grand Art Festival, so here I am!”

“Neat!” Kirby said, at ease apparently with everything. “We came to see our friends, and because Queen Ripple was nice enough to invite us!” Queen Ripple allowed herself a short bow at this mention.

“This is a lovely planet, really,” Francisca chimed in, looking at Ripple briefly before turning back to the kids. “And I can appreciate their appreciation for artistic endeavors. That, plus we really do need to show the galactic populace that we’ve changed for the better. So we’re here to demonstrate a few of my permafrost ice sculptures- and perhaps talk a bit of business with the Queen.”

“Yeah, she just mentioned that before we came in,” King Dedede pointed out. “You got yourselves a temple here? No, it was…”

“Just chapels,” she corrected. “Smaller areas inside a few public locations they’ve picked out for us. It’s an acceptable start, I think.”

“I’m sure they wouldn’t mind talking about it further later on,” Queen Ripple interrupted smoothly. “Shall we get you to your rooms for now?”

“Sounds like a plan,” King Dedede noted, before turning to Tiff. “I’ll let you have some family time once we’re settled, that sound alright?”

Tiff blinked, looking back and forth. “O-oh yeah…I’ll talk to you soon, then?” she asked her brother.

“Totally!” he said, grinning. “I’ll be around for sure!”

“You’ll find that we have a multitude of art installations planned throughout the capital,” Queen Ripple promoted as they walked through the halls. “As a celebration of all things artistic and wonderful, we have a wide variety of types of ‘art’, from traditional painted or drawn pieces, to music, to kinetic art, to food…”

“Food?!” Kirby lit up at that proclamation- and Dedede seemed to pay closer attention, as well. “What kinds of food?”

“Everything that everyone could think of!” Ribbon said eagerly. She was well aware of his appetite, and knew just how to entice it. “Candies and cakes, roasted meats and veggies, tasty juices and fruits, anything you can imagine!”

“It’ll be really fun,” Adeleine said, smiling. “The heart of it all is gonna be getting to view the latest pieces chosen for the Royal Gallery!”

“Many of which were created by our Royal Painter,” Queen Ripple said, smiling at Adeleine before turning back to the rest. “They’ll be displayed the day after tomorrow, in the courtyard, should you wish to see them.”

“Of course!” Kirby and Dedede agreed.

It wasn’t much longer before they were presented their rooms, and split up to unpack. Afterwards, due to their status, they were then given leave to wander around, so long as it wasn’t anywhere barred by order of the Queen. Kirby, Dedede, and Bandee were quick to follow Adeleine and Ribbon around, the duo offering a tour of the castle. While Tiff was certainly interested, she was more concerned about something else. Well, someone.

Fortunately, it didn’t take much asking to find him. “Hey, sis!” Tuff waved to her as she approached; he’d wandered off outside, near the central fountain. Francisca didn’t seem to be around, either. Good. “Diggin’ your digs yet?”

“They’re pretty upscale,” she admitted. Certainly they seemed rather colorful and luxurious. Almost too much so for her, not that she’d admit such. “I guess you’ve been here for a while?”

“Nah, we got here maybe a day before you,” Tuff said casually, twirling his staff slowly in one hand. He seemed completely at ease with it, as though he weren’t even thinking of the action. “But the place is super stylish, huh? Not as big as my room back on the Jambastion, but way more artsy!”

“They gave you a big room, huh?” she latched onto that as an intro.

“Oh yeah! It’s huge! Way bigger than anything we’ve slept in before. Heck, I could play a game of soccer if I wanted!” he boasted. “And since I made Mage-Apprentice, I can actually ask one of the others if they wanna play now.”

“One of the others?” Tiff asked in confusion. Surely he didn’t mean…

“The other Jambelievers!” Tuff elaborated. “Lemme tell ya, it was fun actually being able to play a good 3 on 3 on the way over.”

“I see…” she said, musing on that. So he had a little authority? “Why aren’t you with Francisca?”

He shrugged. “Eh, talking about some business junk about the chapels. She’ll tell me about it later. Right now she wants me to ‘mingle’,” he put air quotes around it, “And make a good impression on folks. At least for now. Eventually I’m gonna help set up her sculpture exhibit- prolly early tomorrow. From what I’ve seen, those things really are permanently iced up. Held a flame up close to one, didn’t even START to melt.” He chuckled. “She says I’ve got years and years of practice to do before I can even get extra cold ice to happen regularly, but I’m still learnin’ quicker than expected!”

Well, that was interesting from a certain point of view, but that didn’t address her concern. “Sooo…they’ve been treating you pretty good, then?”

“Oh yeah, it’s been great,” he affirmed, casually resting his staff on his shoulders. “I mean yeah, when I first got there it was kinda rough goin’, but I got used to it!”

“Yeah? They didn’t force anything on you, did they?” she asked calmly. “Like making you run little errands for them and junk…”

“Nah, not until they were testin’ me for Apprenticehood,” he confirmed, starting to walk down one of the paths. She followed. “And that was mostly only the once. After I get back from this gig, they’re gonna teach me more about the faith and how the base works an’ junk. Up until now it’s just been trainin’, either with my staff or with magic.” He grinned, swinging his staff forwards and throwing out a few swings for show. “Ms. Partizanne says I’m gettin’ pretty alright with this thing. Working on mixing my magic with it, too!” At the end of the third swing, he slapped the staff down on the ground- she saw a small bolt of electricity shock the end of the staff, as though called down. “Ha! See?” He concentrated a bit more, holding his staff out- and it lit up with fire on the end. “Super cool, right?!”

Despite her concerns, Tiff couldn’t help but grin. He just looked so eager and happy… “Yeah, that IS pretty cool. But it’s not like I’ve been sitting around with Meta Knight, y’know.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I can tell. You got that ‘ready’ look in your eyes. Kinda like what Ms. Flamberge has even though she’s so chill all the time.”

There was a moment where Tiff ran the conversation over in her head, having realized something. After looking him over again, she scoffed. “I just noticed. MISS Partizanne? MISS Flamberge? You’re really being more polite to them than I’ve ever seen you.”

He shrugged. “Well, I mean…they ARE my teachers. Why not show ‘em a little respect?”

“And the fact that your hair’s styled neater than I’ve seen it in years?” she called out, near teasingly. “I almost wanna see what it looks like underneath that hat…”

Tuff hands flew to his head. “Hey! Nuh-uh, I like this hat! And sh-” he zipped up, but Tiff had caught his little slip nonetheless. For a moment, she thought to call him out on it directly…but soon she realized a better idea. Well, maybe not better, but he might let something slip if he were otherwise…preoccupied. Fortunately, she had another way of distracting him these days. And if she was being entirely honest with herself, she’d been wondering this anyway as soon as she’d seen him twirling his staff.

So when she brandished her lance and leveled it at him, the shock he expressed was plain as day. “Fight me.”

“W-what?!” Tuff recoiled. “Fight you? Why?”

“Cause, I wanna know what you’re hiding. Plus, I want to see just how good my brother’s gotten,” she challenged. “You win, you keep your secret under the hat. I win, I get to ‘uncover’ it.” Privately, she felt proud of the wordplay. It sounded clever to her.

Calming down slightly, Tuff seemed to consider it. “...you've been hanging out with Meta Knight almost TOO much, I think.”

She shrugged. She’d long come to admit that who she used to be and who she was now were incredibly different. Now, she didn’t shy away from combat…as much, anyway. “Still wasn’t an answer. What do you say?”

He looked down from her, to her lance again, and back up to her, and she knew she had him before he even spoke. “You’re on! First to three falls?”

“Sounds good,” she agreed, before the two walked off the path to find a small patch of empty land. It wasn’t private by any means, but it was flat enough to serve for their purposes. They both started going through a series of stretches, and Tiff found herself talking as she observed him. “So, you do this with the Mage Sisters a lot?”

“Pretty much all the time, nowadays,” Tuff said. “Sounds like you and Meta Knight are sparrin’ all the time yourselves.”

“Well, we do more than that,” she noted. “I help around the ship, go down on field assignments…or at least, I was. Right now I’m helping Great King out as his knight.”

“Ha, cool! You’re gonna have to tell me more about it after I beat ya!” Hopping back upright, he finished his stretches, brandishing his staff. “Last chance to back out!”

Tiff, much more calmly, got her shield out and carefully leveled her lance. “I’m the one who challenged you, so why would I be the one to back out?”

He shrugged, grinning. “Last second nerves?”

She huffed once, then smiled. “En guard!”

Tuff hopped once, twice…then began to circle around carefully. Tiff matched his pace. ‘Wow, he looks so comfortable doing that. Well, he’s got me beat on range, so-’

Suddenly her musing was cut short as with a short huff of exertion, he swung first- Tiff barely got her shield up in time to block the first shot, and quickly had to pivot her lance to deflect the second one. He’d not even let the first deflection dismay him, and had smoothly gone into his second strike faster than she expected. The third strike was more instinct than anything, but she braced herself- and when she heard the clang, she moved in, shield bared as she swung horizontally. Of COURSE she wasn’t going to actually try and injure her own brother, but she wasn’t going to be found wanting.

It was clear he hadn’t expected her aggression, and she could see the surprise on his face before he leapt sideways to clear her range; she had to turn and readjust, but brought her shield across her face in time to feel something splash against it. “...did you just throw a water ball at me?!”

Tuff grinned. “Hey, you looked a little steamed.”

“Ooh, I’ll show you steamed, you-” Cutting herself off, she threw herself back into the fight, and they began to trade blows in earnest.

Shots rang out against shields, and the clatter of lance and staff met each other more than a few times- Tuff would go for a low poke to try and trip Tiff up, but Tiff would vault over and try to come down to pin him, only for Tuff to barely skirt out of the way. Tiff would have him caught out of sorts after an exchange, his grip on his staff seemingly tenuous, only for him to have been trying to spin it in just such a way, only for her reflexes to kick in and just barely bat the strike away. Tiff would think she’d have him trapped after a flurry of strikes, without anywhere for his staff to swing, before he’d cause her to flinch on approach with a spark of Zap magic or Fire, causing her to rethink her strategy and him to regain his staff. Tuff would seemingly leave her defenseless, shield reeling, only for her to brace her lance against her side in a position that made him unsure if she wasn’t expecting it the whole time.

“I never…thought they’d be willing to go so far with you,” Tiff admitted after another even exchange, panting and sweating a bit. “But I guess if they want you in their group it makes sense.”

“Kinda, but…they didn’t press me on it any,” Tuff replied, just as winded. They’d gathered a bit of an audience by now, not that either seemed to pay it any attention. “Just…huff…kinda happened after I liked what they were sayin’.”

“What if they were saying something different before?” she asked as she approached again. Tuff went to match her.

“Whatcha mean?” he asked not unkindly. “They’ve been upfront with me so far.”

Another clash of weapons rang out as they met once, twice, three times. They were starting to get a feel for each other’s fighting styles more seriously now- reflexive actions were starting to give way to predictive ones. “Have they really? Told you- hup! -everything?”

“You mean how they wanted to destroy the universe cause they got a bad deal?” That admission caused Tiff to freeze momentarily, blinking in surprise at the blatant confession. She wasn’t even paying attention when Tuff slapped his staff into her side, causing her to yelp as she took a tumble. “Ha! First point to me!”

“...yeah.” Tiff said, realizing what had happened- in both respects. “So…you knew?” she asked as she hauled herself up. “And you’re okay with that?” She readied herself again, and with a mutual nod, the clash resumed.

“Well, not ‘okay’, I guess,” he admitted after an exchange, shrugging. “But it’s like…if they’re willing to say sorry and repent, what’s so bad about that?” With that, Tiff was back in the offensive, Tuff weaving his staff from side to side to prevent her assault. “You ain’t gotta forgive em…” he spoke just as their weapons locked for a moment; she’d tried to bowl him over with her shield, but he held out. “...but I think I might.” For a brief moment, his posture slacked- like he was remembering something painful. “...‘Sides, I don’t wanna go holdin’ grudges.” The slip was enough for Tiff to power through and knock Tuff on his rear. For a moment, he allowed himself to flop back on the grass. “Think I’ve seen an’ heard enough of what grudges and bad blood can do to a guy.”

Tiff lowered her arms, a sympathetic look crossing her face. She supposed she could understand that…

And Tuff suddenly held up a finger. “That’s one for you, though. So we’re tied.”

The sympathy turned to a smirk- Tuff really would stay Tuff, it seemed. “Unless you wanna admit defeat right now and spare yourself the embarrassment. I just wanna see under your hat!”

“No way!” Tuff hopped back up to his feet, hat securely on. “C’mon, let’s-”

“There you two are!” A sudden shout came; the two were surprised to see Ribbon by herself, the crowd quickly dispersing now that the fight was over. “I’m glad you weren’t too far away. We’ve got trouble!”

“Trouble?” Tiff said in surprise.

“What kinda trouble?” Tuff asked. She seemed particularly stressed.

“We just found out that all the latest Royal Pieces are missing!” Ribbon wailed. “All the pieces that Adeleine did for the Grand Art Festival tomorrow- gone! We think they were stolen!”

Chapter 13: Royal Ripple Robbery

Chapter Text

Tiff, Tuff, and Ribbon quickly made their way to the Royal Gallery, the latter leading the way. When they got there, it was plain to see that there were a lot of obvious empty spots where the siblings guessed paintings should’ve been. “Hey, you got them! Great!” Kirby said quickly, waving them over. Bandee, Dedede, Adeleine, and Queen Ripple of course were also present.

“We came as soon as we heard,” Tiff noted. “All the art pieces for the showcase got stolen?”

“Well, not quite,” Adeleine noted as she gestured around her. “It looks like it was just mine!” she looked beyond distraught. “It was most of the pieces inspired by my visit to your dimension, too…” she lamented. Tiff felt a pang in her heart- that made things a bit more personal. “Why would anyone steal from just me?” she asked.

“Just you?” Tuff repeated. “That’s pretty unfair! What’s still here?”

“Well, the most obvious pieces are those,” Adeleine pointed out, motioning to a pair of what looked like lifesize clay sculptures- one of both Queen Ripple and Ribbon on a stand made to look like part of a flowery field, and the other being an impressively recreation of Ripple Star itself, though it was stylized somewhat to look more alive. They both were covered in vivid hues, the work certainly enough for Tiff and Tuff to see how they were chosen. “Those two pieces were brought in by master Crafters, and have been talked about a ton, but neither got taken.” She then pointed to a smaller table, where a number of figurines were of various items. “These were made by some more local crafters that we appreciated.”

“Hm. They took the paintings, but not the sculptures,” Tiff mused. “I wonder if they thought those would be too heavy…”

“But then why didn’t they take the figurines, either?” Tuff pointed out. “Those are pretty small. Don’t weigh a ton, I bet.” He paused, considering. “Say, ya think maybe-”

“h-Hello?” A shaky, feminine voice called out. The two looked over to see…well, they weren’t sure who they were. She had a strangely pear-shaped body in a massive coat. On her head was a magenta beret, with cyan hair covering her eyes, and magenta earrings. Her pale face was blushing, and around her neck was a giant lilac scarf. At the sudden eyes turned to her, she flinched. “Oh! I- uh! Hello! Sorry for intruding…I didn’t think soldiers would be investigating…”

“Of course they’d be investigating!” a tinier voice called out behind her- which quickly zoomed out in FRONT of her to reveal another fairy- but this one had a rainbow hairdo that swooped up and around almost like a paintbrush. “Art theft is one of the most horrible things someone can do! And if we’re two of the people that got stolen from, maybe we can- oh! Kirby!” She’d just spotted the pink puff coming around to see who was speaking.

“Elline!” Kirby cheered, clearly surprised. “Claycia! Wow, you’re here, too?”

“Yup!” she cheered. “No way we could miss an art show this big!”

“Wait, you know these two?” Tiff asked in surprise.

“Yup! They’re friends of mine I met on an adventure a while back!” Kirby confirmed. “Claycia was possessed, stole the color and life from Pop Star, I had to stop with her with Elline’s help, it was a whole thing,” he told casually, completely missing Claycia’s blush of embarrassment.

“I helped on that one!” Bandee noted proudly.

“Yup, a ton,” Kirby agreed, before turning back to the duo. “Great with clay Crafting magic; Claycia makes it, Elline paints it!”

“It’s a lifestyle!” Elline proudly boasted, patting her friend on the back. “No one’s better at coloring than me!”

Adeleine cleared her throat loudly. Elline simply sent a smug grin her way. “Anywho! We’re here because we heard a lotta art pieces got stolen…but hey!” She finally took a look around, and noticed just what was left, fluttering over to their pieces. “Ours are still perfectly fine! I mean…that’s good and all, but I can’t help but feel a little insulted…” she trailed off.

“But now we know we can still share them, right?” Claycia asked softly.

“Of course!” Elline said confidently, quickly throwing away her misgivings. “But that still leaves an art thief on the loose!” She quickly took Claycia’s hand. “C’mon! Let’s look around for clues!” And without warning, the two began to do just that, Queen Ripple running off after them to make sure they didn’t wreck anything by accident.

Adeleine and Ribbon just sighed, the latter even facepalming a little. “Elline’s always so high energy…” the fairy complained.

“I wish she’d stop trying to claim she’s a better colorist than me,” Adeleine lamented. “I’d be fine if she WAS, but…” she shrugged. “Her work is mostly on clay sculptures, and that’s different from canvas art with different mediums and tools!” The young artist almost sounded exasperated, and Tiff guessed that this ‘rivalry’ wasn’t exactly a new occurrence.

“So is she a Star Ally, too?” Tiff asked, looking after them, seemingly asking a ton of questions of the harried looking Queen. ‘Shouldn’t she be a bit more authoritative?’

Kirby shook his head. “Nah. I thought about asking them, but it was pretty clear that they’re more about their art than anything. I mean, I’m sure they’d help if I asked, but I think they’re each other’s biggest priority. I’m not gonna make them uncomfortable like that.” Though he’d come VERY close to asking regardless…

“Hm.” Tiff thought about that a little. “So their biggest priority is themselves, huh?”

“Eeey, sis, I know that look in your face,” Tuff accused. “That’s kinda a leap, don’tcha think?”

“Hey, you don’t know what I’m thinking!” Tiff fired back.

“Betcha I do,” Tuff calmly responded. “I bet you’re thinkin’ those two have somethin’ to do with it.”

“Oh, no way!” All three Star Allies said simultaneously, much to Tiff’s surprise.

Said accused looked their way briefly from across the hall. “No way what?” Elline asked, only to receive mumbling answers. She merely ‘hmphed’ and went back to her own investigation.

“She’s way too direct to be a thief,” Ribbon noted. “She’d have said she robbed the place to our faces. And Claycia would’ve confessed maybe a minute after it happened if Elline didn’t brag about it first.”

“Plus she’d think it was an admission of defeat if she took out the competition like that,” Adeleine added. “Elline’s not going to go about it like that.”

“And they’re both really nice anyways! They wouldn’t steal a thing,” Kirby finished.

“Toldja,” Tuff muttered.

“Okay, okay, sorry,” Tiff apologized, holding up her hands in surrender. “But that DOES leave us with a lack of suspects. We need to figure out who might want to steal those paintings and how…”

“Okay!” A sudden shout interrupted her thoughts as Elline flittered back to them. “Good news, fellow art detectives! We might have a clue?”

Tiff was surprised- they had barely started thinking over the possibilities! “Really? What is it?”

“They flew!” Elline proudly announced. There was a moment of quiet as Elline seemed to puff up, proud of her deduction. “I’m almost sure of it!”

Eventually, it was Kirby who pointed out the issue. “Uhhh…can’t most fairies fly? And a lot of other things?”

There was a moment- and then Elline blinked as she realized how little that did. “...oh. Darn.”

“But, um…” Claycia briefly jumped as everyone looked towards her as she spoke up, but she continued nonetheless. “I…I think I DID see something flying away from the palace last night…but I don’t think it had wings.”

“Wait, ya saw somethin’?!” Tuff asked in surprise.

“Yes,” she confirmed. “Last night, it was a full moon, right?” The rest nodded. “Well…I was out late, and I thought it might be nice to do a little practice under the moonlight. I found a really nice, clear spot on a hill not too far from here. And so I started a few small sculptures of the palace…but one time when I looked up to check my reference, I saw something flying away from it. It was a bit strangely shaped, but I could tell it was carrying something big and square shaped under it.”

“That must’ve been the paintings!” Tiff quickly deduced.

“Or at least one of ‘em,” Dedede noted. “You’re sure it wasn’t flat or anything?”

Claycia shook her head. “N-no. It was too far away. I just know there was a square shape underneath a blobbier shape. It…it didn’t seem to have wings, though. At least, I don’t think it did.”

“Well, that’s a clue, alright!” Kirby cheered. “We’re gonna have to ask around, then!”

Tiff thought for a moment. “It’s not a competition, right?” she asked Queen Ripple.

“Right,” the Queen confirmed. “It’s a celebration- everyone’s art was to be exhibited equally. I-I can’t think of any reason someone would try to prevent that! It just seems horrible to me…” She truly seemed distraught, and it took Ribbon comforting her to calm her down a bit.

“I wonder if it still WAS someone who was already part of the showcase,” Tiff mused. “ After all, the thief had to have gotten in somehow, right? That means either they were let in, or they could get in themselves.”

“But where do we even start?” Tuff asked, thinking on what all had been said. “Where’s the rest of the folks in this festival staying?”

“Oh, at various inns and other places not far from here,” Queen Ripple informed them. “I can point you towards a few, if you like, and you can begin your search tomorrow, since it seems as though it’s getting late tonight.” Whatever Ribbon had said to her had apparently worked, as though it was less than intimidating, it was clear the Queen had her game face on now.

Tiff looked to King Dedede, who nodded. “Sounds like a plan. We should all get some rest, then. It’s gettin’ late. Howsabout we all meet up near the fountain outside tomorrow morning, and we’ll puzzle this out then?” he offered.

“Eeeh…I might be busy for a bit,” Tuff noted, and Tiff remembered what he’d said earlier about helping Francisca. “But I’ll catch up as soon as I can, don’t worry!”

“Tomorrow, we nab those art thieves!” Elline cheered, and Claycia nodded, smiling lightly at her enthusiasm. With their plan decided on for now, the group departed to their various rooms, each of them wondering just who would commit such a crime- and how?

The next morning, all sans Tuff were present as expected. “So, what do we do first?” Adeleine asked.

“We should probably try questioning everyone who was invited,” Tiff decided. “We’ll have to find where everyone is- but Queen Ripple said she could help with that, right?” she turned to the monarch in question.

“Yes,” the Queen responded, “but more than that, I should point out that many of the festival’s participants will be centered around the town square not far from here, as well as around the palace itself. It’ll take some effort to ask everyone, but my fairies will be certain to help as much as they can!” With that dedication, they set out, led by a couple of the fairies granted by Queen Ripple.

The small town area was abuzz with activity, and many stages and circles and other display areas were getting set up. While it was mostly fairies who were taking part, there were a few other species as well, they noticed. The first few questionings proved fruitless- everyone had an alibi about either being asleep at the time, or didn’t know anything about where the paintings were kept, or were busy in some way, shape, or form.

“...hm?” the Keke asked, near catatonic behind her booth- she in fact came close to laying down on it entirely, from what Tiff could tell. It was a large thing, full of photographs of Keke in various places on both Pop Star and Ripple Star…all with that same flat expression and only minor different gestures. Nonetheless, she seemed proud of her collection, considering how she displayed them. “Whatcha mean, thief?”

“We’re looking for someone who might’ve stolen a bunch of the exhibits from the Royal Gallery last night!” Adeleine explained. “If you’ve seen or heard anything about it, please let us know!”

The Keke rolled her eyes. “Mmmh…I was up all night developing pictures. But…there was a crafter girl who was going around yesterday who was…” she paused to yawn, “...kinda miffed; apparently she’d applied to be part of the Royal Gallery but was rejected. Big blonde hair, maroon kinda color, wears a beret, kinda like hers’,” she said, pointing to Adeleine’s. “She wasn’t a fairy…”

But fortunately, that description had been enough to identify the suspect. “Vividria?” Kirby realized in surprise as they looked at each other. “I don’t think she’d do it...”

“I’d be surprised, too,” Tiff admitted. “She was always so pleasant when we talked- I can’t see her holding that bad of a grudge…”

“Well, we didn’t meet on the best terms, even though we cleared things up pretty fast,” Kirby admitted. “She might still have a mischievous streak.”

“You mean a RUDE streak!” Elline insisted. “Now we just need to find her!”

The Keke shrugged. “Her booth is a bit of a way from mine. Around the block or-” another yawn- “-something like that. Anything else…?”

“No, thank you so much!” Adeleine said, before the lot of them took off to pursue this new line of questioning.

It wasn’t too long before they chanced upon Vividria’s booth. It was almost like her booth back home, though it seemed as though Vividria was setting up a few of her bigger pictures and sculptures still. It didn’t take much for her to notice them. “Oh? Hello!” she greeted cordially. “Wow, that’s a lot of people! Come to see things a bit early? I’ll be showing different pieces at different times all day tomorrow, so right now I’m just seeing what order I want to-”

“Not so fast!” Elline quickly interjected. “We’re here to investigate a terrible crime! The crime of art theft!”

Vividria jumped in surprise. “Art theft?! W-what? Who?!”

“Maybe you!” Elline accused, floating right up to the artist, who reared back in surprise herself.

‘A bit quick to accuse, isn’t she?’ Tiff thought with a grimace.

“M-me?!” Vividria repeated in shock. “No! Why would I do something so horrid?”

“We were told that a mysterious person was seen flying from the castle in this direction!” Elline stated, ignoring Kirby’s attempts to gain her attention. “Aaaand that you were going around complaining about how you weren’t picked to be part of the Royal Gallery! It makes all the sense in the world! A classic tale of revenge!”

“N-no!” Vividria was quick to refute, shaking her head- so in essence her whole body. “I was annoyed, yeah, but that was just…me letting off some steam.” She slumped a bit. “I know I’ve got a ways to go still. In fact, I couldn’t even decide on what I wanted to submit until the last minute, so I didn’t put my all into it, anyway, if I’m being honest. I just complained because I’d been having a bad case of artist’ block for it. But…” she paused, thinking, and everyone else seemed to lean closer, sensing what she might be about to say. “...if someone stole something, that might explain what I saw last night…”

Adeleine was the first to react, however. “You saw something else?! What was it?”

“Well…actually, I suppose it was less ‘saw’, and more ‘heard’,” she admitted. “I remember hearing something late last night. I was still up from…well, from earlier. I had a hard time sleeping, so I thought I’d get some air. Then I remember a shadow passing over me, but it was too fast to see who or what. I thought someone was rushing to get inside or something, but I also remember hearing a weird shaking noise.”

That confused everyone. “Uhh…shaking noise? Like, how?” Tiff asked.

“Y’know, like…” Vividria cast her mind about for the term. “Like the things you use at parties! I can’t remember the term. Anyway, it wasn’t for very long, but I remember hearing that weird rattling, shaking noise for just a moment close by- I thought something was after me!” She shuddered in remembrance. “Nothing was, but I headed back inside as soon as I could after that.”

‘So she heard a strange shaking noise along with the flying over? If this was related, then Claycia must’ve either been lying, or too far away to hear anything,’ Tiff deduced. She turned to the lady in question- who at the very least didn’t seem MORE nervous, only curious and intrigued at the new information. ‘I hope she was telling the truth…’ “Well, it’s something,” she said out loud. “But what can we do with this information is the question…”

“We don’t think they have wings, and there might be a shaking sound with them,” Elline summed up. “How mysterious…!”

“Hey, guys!” Tuff’s voice came from a distance. The lot of them turned to see him jogging up to them. “I’m done for now!”

“Tuff! Glad you made it!” Tiff greeted as her brother came in for a hug. “So your big exhibit is all set up?”

“Yup!” he nodded, grinning. “I wasn’t messing with the sculptures themselves, though- I just helped with the mounting an’ stuff. Y’know, setting up the places where they’re gonna be set up an’ info cards and alla that.” Shaking his head, he turned to the rest of the gathered group. “But enough about me! How’s the investigation goin’?”

“We got a few clues,” King Dedede informed him, “but nothing’ concrete. And about that…” he eyed the group they’d all formed. Elline, Claycia, Tiff, Tuff, Kirby, Adeleine, Ribbon, and himself. “I’m thinking we should split up. Search things out better that way.”

“Hmm…with Tuff here, we ARE an even eight…” Tiff noticed.

“OK!” Kirby quickly agreed. “In that case…uhhh…”

“I’m stickin’ with my sis,” Tuff immediately called.

“I’ve stuck with Adeleine all this time for a reason!” Ribbon said, hi fiving the girl in question.

“Hm…I’ll keep an eye on the kids, then,” Dedede declared, headed over to the siblings.

Elline looked at her best friend. “Y’know…it might be a good idea to split up this time,” she thought out loud. “After all, these-” here she pointed to Tiff, Tuff, and Dedede- “-need a painting expert to spot the stolen pieces! And you’ll be a big help in case something jogs your memory with the others!”

“Mmm…you have a point…” Claycia hesitantly agreed, before nodding and heading over to the trio of Kirby, Adeleine, and Ribbon.

“Alright!” Elline cheered. “We’ve got our two investigation teams! Let’s go put this problem to a close!”

With a group of cheers (some a bit more halfhearted than the others) the two parties went their separate ways for now to see if they could scrounge up a bit more information.

“Say, we’re not too far from where Ms. Francisca and I set up!” Tuff noted as they kept walking, their path having taken them a bit closer to the castle grounds. “We needed a lotta space, so we rented out this whole little lot, y’know. It looks great!”

“Should we stop in and say hi?” Elline wondered.

“Maybe later,” Tuff noted. “She kinda in the zone right now, which is why I got time off. Ms. Francisca worked a TON on these an’ she wants to display ‘em perfect! She was up for ages last night comin’ and goin’. Took a while to get to sleep myself!”

“Really?” Tiff noted. “She wasn’t in her room all the time?”

“Nah,” Tuff dismissed. “Ms. Francisca’s never one to sit still if something needs doin’. Even if it means she’s half-asleep the next day!” he let out a small chortle at the idea. “But don’t worry, no way she did it! There’d be a lot more snow and wet and junk everywhere!”

Not that Tiff was chortling. She was trying to figure out how to approach talking to one of Tuff’s mentors and a possible suspect.

“Helloooo!” A strange creature greeted Tiff’s group as they walked past a small open area. It was small, pale, sphere-shaped and had a bright smile on its face. With a small tuft of blond hair swaying as smoothly as its grass skirt in the breeze, it was clear what art this creature was all about as it danced to its own beat. “Have you come to enjoy the majesty of my dance early? It makes sense, but it’s just too soon!”

The quartet shared a look before Dedede spoke up first. “No, no, nothing like that. We’re just wondering if you saw anything weird last night. Word is some paintings for the Royal Gallery got stolen.”

The little creature let out a gasp that Tiff was positive had been rehearsed. “Gasp! Really?”

Elline nodded solemnly. “Afraid so. But don’t worry!”

“...you didn’t come to watch me dance? How unfortunate!”

“We won’t- wuhuh?” Elline stopped short as everyone mentally tripped over the realization of what she’d said. “Pardon?”

“Well, my dance is pretty incredible! You shouldn’t have to worry about a thing after you watch my incredible moves! Just look! Cha, cha, cha cha cha…” The little being was in its own world, clearly, as it went right back to dancing near blindly. Frankly, Tiff didn’t see the big deal, but the little thing was obviously pretty big on its own talent…though a glance at the other locals nearby told her that she wasn’t just missing something obvious, at least.

“Aaaanyway,” Tuff rallied, “Just lettin’ you know. So, uh, if you saw anything weird last night, let us know, okay?”

“Oh, if I know anything, it’s that my dancing is fantastic!” the little thing boasted.

“Say,” King Dedede suddenly spoke up. He’d been eyeing the little thing for a while, as though something had been off about it, and now he’d finally puzzled it out. “You’re dancin’ without your little maracas? That’s new.”

“Yup!” she said easily. “I lost them a bit ago, but the power of dance stops for no props! I just let the music of my soul move me! Which is why I’ll be able to handle any move thieves! Now, watch THIS!” And she threw herself into a…well, they were hesitant to call it dance, but.

“...right,” Tiff called as she and the rest began to carefully step away, bit by bit…

“Wooooow!” Kirby had to stop himself from drooling. They’d come across a bakery booth, and the baker in question was busy, busy, busy. “So many cookies…”

“Ahaha, yeah!” the fairy in question smiled at the obvious praise. “It’s a lot of work, but I love it! Everyone enjoys my cookies!”

“I’ll bet,” Claycia agreed softly. “They seem delicious…”

“Oh, these are only another practice batch!” she insisted. “You all can have a few when they’re done- I’ve given them out to a bunch of the other exhibitors, too!”

“Oh, that’s nice of you!” Adeleine noted while leaning in. She wasn’t too proud to admit they smelled heavenly.

“Yup! Even the most pouty ones will smile over these! Had a Keke come by the other day just as sour as anything, but one or two cookies cheered her right up!” she boasted.

“I can believe that,” Ribbon admitted. “And funny enough I think we met her earlier. She was really tired. Maybe another cookie can help pep her up?”

“Oho, yes, I bet I know why THAT is!” the fairy said, chuckling. “That Keke loves to fly everywhere- why, I caught her just coming in in the early morning from a flight! I tried to strike up a conversation with her, but she was so tired she just ignored me! I’m not taking offense, though! I know allll about late nights! Here!” and with that they were granted five rather good looking chocolate chip cookies. “Tell her I hope she feels better soon!”

With that- and a warning to not eat them all from Ribbon to Kirby- they continued their investigation as the sun rose high into the sky…

Chapter 14: Ripple Roundabout

Chapter Text

By lunchtime, the two groups had reconvened. There were more than a few booths that would be practicing the culinary arts, but unfortunately few of those were active at the moment; they’d all be filling the courtyard and beyond tomorrow with smells and tastes aplenty, but for now they’d returned to the castle to discuss with the queen what they’d learned. What they’d learned, however, wasn’t a ton. “So, what do we have?” Elline asked as she munched on a sandwich. “Anything good on your end?”

“Not much…” Claycia responded dourly, sipping at some tea.

Tiff leaned back a bit in her chair, thinking. “Well, we at least have some clues,” she said aloud. “And we’ve learned of at least one suspicious thing- that Keke that we met earlier was so tired because she was flying around, not just developing pictures. That plus how she doesn’t have any wings like we deduced…” she trailed off, thinking over the situation more.

“Sounds ta me like that Keke lady’s the most suspicious…” Tuff said openly, clearly ready to keep going. “We oughta go talk to her again! I bet we can get her to spill somehow!”

“Without any proof?” Adeleine interjected. It was enough to deflate Tuff’s hype as she continued. “If we just went up to her and started accusing her, she’d just deny it and say we’re causing trouble for her art pieces or influencing the crown or something.” She shook her head. “We need something solid, and that’s presuming it even IS her. I mean, I seriously doubt whoever it is is hiding the paintings right at their booth. We need something that’s undeniable.”

Ribbon nodded in agreement. “True…in fact, I’d say we need to find the paintings more than anything, really. But how do we do that?”

“We’d have to track ‘em down somehow,” Dedede figured. “I don’t think any of us can sniff stuff out like that, though…so we’re kinda back to square one.”

A round of sighs followed, the loudest from the Queen herself. “Oh, my dear…I’ve had my fairies look all around, but there’s little trace of them, it seems. Goodness…” she shook her head in worry as her attendants fluttered about her in equal concern. “If we can’t find them by the end of the day, then I’ll have to consider either not having the exhibition at all, or just showing the older pieces we still have.” Her expression made it clear she wasn’t a fan of either option. “I’d hoped we could have found out a bit more by now, but-”

“Wait a second…” Dedede interrupted, gaining everyone’s attention. “Mebbe we already have enough info!”

The Queen looked puzzled at that one. “W-what do you mean?”

“Well, we know they don’t want these pictures shown, right? But do ya really think they knew about WHICH pictures?” Getting a round of nos and shaking heads, he plowed on. “Well, what if we said that we were gonna just keep at it? I wonder if we can bait them into stealing more? So say we told everyone that you picked replacements already…”

Tiff was the first to catch on. “And when they come back to steal those too, we’ll catch them in the act!”

“Sounds like a plan to me?” Kirby agreed. And so that was pretty much the deciding factor. Queen Ripple was quick to agree, and of course the two groups would help spread the word around, just to make sure that everyone heard. It’d help with morale for the situation, too, after all. While she prepared the ‘alternatives’, the rest began the task of informing everyone just what the situation was.

In particular, one individual was pleasantly surprised. “...so the Queen’s decided she’s gonna go ahead and host it anyways,” Tuff finished as he looked over the sculpture area Francisca had rented out. It really did look like an icy wonderland out of place. “We figure we’ll get what we want out of it one way or another.”

“I see,” Francisca hummed as she gave the place one more critical eye. These may not have been her ‘personal’ collection, but she’d still put a great deal of love and care into these pieces over time, and so she had been meticulous on how to display them, from angle to position. “Then you believe you’d got it handled?” she asked simply. “I could offer my assistance, if it comes down to it, though I am not really all that skilled with detective work.”

“Nah, we got this!” Tuff dismissed. “By this time tomorrow we’ll have nabbed that thief for sure!”

And so they went. It wasn’t too much work to get the word around, at the very least, and it was notable that everyone they went to seemed to be happy to hear that everything would be resolved…or at least, most people were.

“Well, that’s nice and all, but I think they might’ve made a mistake!” the Chachas said, still swaying. “After all, my dancing will sweep everyone off their feet so hard they won’t have time to think about anything else for days!”

“...sure,” Tuff said, clearly deciding to not fight this particular battle. “Just lettin’ ya know.”

Similarly, the Keke they’d talked to had merely gazed upon them with a tired, flat expression, giving a small thumbs up, and then flopping her head back down on her booth. ‘She really DOES seem tired,’ Tiff noted to herself. ‘If she’s innocent after all, I hope she gets some rest.’

The rest of the day was them planning out the actual trap. There were two things they needed to do; first was prove who was the thief stealing the artwork. The second, if possible, was to recover what had been lost. While the first was simple enough, it was the second part that would cause them headaches in particular. After all, just telling them was unlikely after they’d been caught- which meant that it would be likely that they would have to be followed back to wherever they stored the other paintings. It would be then that they would be confronted, hopefully.

A number of fairies of Queen Ripple’s, Ribbon included, would be on watch, as well as Kirby, Bandee, and others to spot whoever it was. They would be posted around the area where the portraits would’ve been otherwise, hidden behind pillars, banisters, and such. Some others were waiting outside as well, ready to chase whoever it was down. The Queen had indeed supplied a number of older paintings, maybe retired from the Royal Gallery for various reasons, and one or two sculptures that had fallen out of vogue as well. They’d do the job perfectly fine, she’d promised, especially because many of them hadn’t actually been seen in several years, so the thief would have no real idea of their value.

And finally, night fell. Those on stakeout were nervous- Adeleine in particular. She insisted that she would be the one to confront them; chase them if necessary. After all, it was largely HER paintings that were stolen. “Are you alright?” Ribbon asked, hovering nearby. She’d been uncertain about her friend’s mindset for the past while, and it was clear that while the artist was putting on a brave face about it all, she had the occasional expression or gesture that at least told Ribbon that she was still both nervous and a touch despairing about the whole situation.

“I-I’ll be fine,” Adeleine insisted. “Let’s just keep an eye out.” Ribbon said nothing to this, but instead floated a little closer.

Soon, however, they heard a mumbling- though they couldn’t make out what was being said initially. Though, oddly enough, it sounded not like it was coming from any obvious openings, but rather, from the air itself. ‘Wha…?’ Adeleine thought briefly, before the air itself seemed to shimmer, like a heatwave or something was passing through.

“So tired…there’d be replacements…” she heard faintly. And then, something popped into the room. It was immediately obvious who it was.

The Keke, eyes half-lidded and clearly not focusing, floating around the area on her broom slowly slowly as she tried to focus. “...just need to get the new ones out too…” With a yawn, she outstretched her hands.

Adeleine had to admit some surprise- though she knew about their flight, she’d never seen Kekes do other magic…though she supposed it wasn’t impossible. But, regardless of who it was, their target had been spotted. ‘Now how’d she get those pictures out?’ was the question.

That was soon answered by the Keke’s eyes glowing a strange, honeyed orange. She muttered some words that Adeleine couldn’t quite catch- and before she knew it, some strange orange sparkling magic had flown from her hands- and towards the paintings. As it connected with them, they all seemed to heed her will, floating underneath her broom.

And with that, she proceeded to cast another spell; with that, the Keke seemed to vanish- almost. Adeleine could, if nothing else, boast that she had an eye for detail, and so she was able to just barely see the outline of the girl and her cargo- the distorted air that she’d seen earlier. ‘So that’s how she’s doing it!’ she realized. She’d simply snuck into the palace thanks to magic, took the paintings, turned them invisible, and left! ‘But then how did Claycia see them, then?’

Soon, the area was quiet, and the chase was on- if silently. By the time they got outside, one of the fairies had stuck by to report. “I saw her! She just appeared out of nowhere with a bunch of paintings below her! She headed off north to the forest- some of the other fairies are tailing her right now!”

“All right!” Tuff cheered. “Now we know who the thief is and where they’re goin’! Now all we need ta do is capture her!”

“W-wait!” the fairy quickly interrupted, causing the others to look her way in surprise. “T-that’s not all! I- we saw someone else nearby, too! That weird lady who likes to dance a little too much! She was giggling about something and she watched Keke flying away!”

“Chacha?” King Dedede asked. “Huh. Wonder if they’re in cahoots…”

“Sounds like we might need to split up,” Elline said boldly. “One group should go after the Keke Thief, and the other will go after her accomplice Chacha!”

Kirby was quick to look at Adeleine, Ribbon, Bandana Dee, and Dedede. “We’ll go after Keke!” he announced, and it was clear they didn’t have any issue with it.

“Team Crystal Shards ride again, huh?” King Dedede asked with a grin.

“Then leave the rest to us!” Elline declared. “We’ll catch her nefarious partner!”

Tiff was about to ask how they would catch up, before she saw Kirby seemingly focusing. On what, he wasn’t sure- but moments later she got her answer when he broke out into a smile, and she heard a light, tinkling noise coming near. A flash of yellow gave her answer. “The Warp Star!”

“A Warp Star’ll do it, yeah!” King Dedede said, gently reminding her that there was more than one (which she suspected was why he said anything at all). “C’mon, let’s get after them!”

“I’ll show the others where we last saw Chacha!” the fairy explained. “Follow me!”

With that, the two squadrons split off to engage their enemies, Queen Ripple waving a farewell to them both.

Kirby and his group had taken off at speed, and Adeleine was feeling both concerned, and a little miffed, were she to be honest. Though she supposed she had a right to, in this case. As they swept along the forest canopy, it wasn’t too long before they saw a few small glittering lights- the fairies that had tracked Keke, clearly! They were quickly waved down. “Over here!” One of them whispered as they got closer. “She went below the trees, and into a cave! She’s not far from here!”

“Okay, thanks!” Kirby said with a smile. He was back in his element, and the others gave nods of thanks as well, as they shot off under the trees.

“I wonder why she stole them…” Ribbon wondered next to her.

Adeleine could only sigh. “I wish I knew…”

“Well, we’ll get a chance to ask her soon enough,” King Dedede said in front of them. “That looks like a cave to me!” The lot of them quickly jumped off the Warp Star as it began to slow down, with Dedede catching him as the usual crash landing of the Star threw the puffball off. (None of them were willing to mention to Kirby’s face how he’d never quite figured out landing the things…) Fortunately, Kirby seemed to more or less ignore the matter by this point, instead merely taking off for the cavern opening, quickly followed by the others.

It wasn’t a lot of trekking before they heard a yawn and mumbling. “Five…six…seven…mmmyup, thasall of them…okaaay. Now for sleep- huh?” The blery, orange-eyed Keke stopped in clear shock as she saw the quintet standing opposite of her. Against a rocky wall a few feet away were the paintings. “Waaait…how’d you find me?”

“Doesn’t matter!” King Dedede boasted. “Now, are you gonna return those paintings and face your punishment, or do things haveta get rough?!” Truthfully, he had noticed the strange eyes as well, but she seemed still able to talk. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder…

She looked back at her pilfered goods, and seemed to slump. “Mmmmeeghhh…” the sound that came out of her mouth was…somewhat unnatural, if any of them had to place it. Almost a mewling cry and a yawn at the same time. “Idunwanna…but…m’not gonna have any sleep…”

And suddenly her head shot back around to them, in a glare and with MUCH more clarity than they’d just seen from her. “If I don’t get rid of you.” With that, she raised her hands, and began casting a spell.

“Whuh oh!” That was all Kirby needed to start moving as a blue portal seemed to open up above her- but by the time he and the rest reached it, something large, pink, and box shaped fell out. Oh, and the teeth. Couldn’t forget the large teeth. ‘Boxy?’ Kirby asked himself in surprise. He didn’t have much time to mull on it, though- Boxy immediately charged, causing the five of them to break off, leaping out of the way of her charge.

That wasn’t the only one, however. Keke’s hands remained up, and the portal was quick to drop a second fighter in- a large, dogfaced creature with very, very long ears that it swung quickly and fiercely. ‘Box Boxer, too? This can’t mean anything good…’

However, as the Crystal Shard team prepared to face down this duo, they could see Keke retreating further inside. “Just…a little rest…” she mumbled to herself.

‘Right. Hope that means she won’t come out of nowhere with more,’ Kirby thought as he quickly dodged another charge from Boxy- leading her right into a waiting thwack from King Dedede’s hammer! At the same time. Adeleine, Ribbon and Bandana Dee were attempting to harass Box Boxer, Adeleine flinging out crude but effective painting after painting and sending them to attack on her behalf- with Ribbon quickly carting her around when she needed to reposition once Box Boxer had gotten fed up enough. His attempts at reprisal were quickly counteracted by Bandee, who was able to strike enough with his spear that the boxer would have to refocus to get the Dee off of them, and the cycle began again. All the while, Keke nodded off further away.

Boxy was quick to hork out an explosive present, which he was quick to warn the others away from, right before he inhaled it and fired it back- the Star Bullet quickly connected, sending Boxy sprawling, but it wasn’t much longer before she hopped up again and charged. As the battle persisted, Kirby couldn’t help but worry. ‘I wonder how the others are doing…’

Tiff wasn’t sure what she expected. Again. But she supposed she really should have. The strange Chacha hadn’t stopped dancing ONCE after they’d caught up to her- which hadn’t taken very long at all. She was just moving and swaying to her own little beat, and almost seemed to completely miss their arrival. “Taaa, ta ta ta taaa…”

“Hey, you!” Elline was the one to confront her quickest. “We’ve got some questions for you!”

For a moment, the Chacha jarred, before swiftly turning over to the gathered individuals. “Oho! Some late night moon lovers come to ask about the wondrous dancing they spied? Why, I’d love to share with you the tale of-”

“No, not that!” Tuff interrupted. “We mean about the stolen paintings. You saw who did it, right?”

“Oh, that little bit of business? Nothing you need to worry about at all! Why, it’d only distract people from my dancing, wouldn’t it? No one’ll miss a few silly paintings!”

“That’s not your decision to make!” Tiff countered. “We’ve gotten word that you saw who did it and didn’t say anything!”

“Why would I?” The Chacha said haughtily. “Works in my favor, and she really wanted to do it anyway! I just gave her a little nudge…and I guess a reminder for tonight. I’m glad you all told me about those replacements! That would’ve just been AWFUL for my audience retention!”

Tiff felt her hackles rise, but not just because of the fact that she seemed shameless about it. She sounded surprisingly calm for someone who’d just confessed to, essentially, being the mastermind behind this plot. ‘Why would that be?’ she wondered to herself.

“How manipulative!” Elline said, with Claycia nodding. “We’re gonna take you in, and the Queen will take care of you!”

THAT seemed to get her attention properly. “What? You’re going to try and stifle my humble, yet amazing dancing vision? Steal my spotlight! That just seems rude! In fact…” And to Tiff’s private shock, the Chacha’s eyes began to glow orange. “I might have to take your light, then.”

The quartet braced themselves as the small Chacha suddenly began to grow to at least four times its size, quickly dwarfing them. Her hands, which were empty all this time, began to manifest two large, shimmering maracas. They looked like they were made of glass, even…

“Eep!” Elline quickly darted away behind Claycia as Tiff and Tuff braced themselves. “You, uh, you can handle this, right?”

“Not like we got much choice!” Tuff said as the massive Chacha swung one of them down. They all leapt clear, but the impact caused the ground to rumble fiercely, showing her strength. “Yikes!”

The Chacha merely giggled at this. “Ohoho! My moves sweep you off your feet? Of course they do!” She shook the other maraca almost tauntingly- but it quickly was shown to be more magic as it glowed, her following slam on the ground causing a shockwave that careened towards all of them; Claycia and Elline quickly floated above it, but Tiff and Tuff were forced to endure, guarding against it- they were buffeted back a bit, and it stung for the latter, but fortunately the strike didn’t have enough will behind it to do much more than that.

Tiff’s shield helped her bear the brunt of it, and so she was first to recover, doing her best to focus as the monstrous musician made another attempt at slamming them with her instrument, a wave of energy being flung from her lance in a wide swing. It connected with the upraised weapon, but it didn’t do much more than cause her to rethink her strategy, curling it back in towards her in a defensive measure. “Ow! Rude!” was all she said, before she made to shake them both, the two instruments starting to glow a wicked orange.

Suddenly, Tiff heard the sound of a clap above her. “E-excuse me, Ms. Tiff!” Claycia’s voice came from overhead. As Tiff looked up, she saw the artist molding something from…clay? It looked big and round and…spiked. “Hit this!” And with a thrust of her hand she sent it hurtling towards Tiff.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what she intended, and as Chacha’s spell nearly finished, Tiff swung her lance like a bat, launching the clay projectile clear into Chacha’s midsection- it collided flush, detonating like a bomb almost, and the Chachas was sent tumbling. “Oooowwwowowow…” For a moment, she was dazed, and that was enough to take advantage.

“My turn!” Tuff shouted, charging in as his staff was set ablaze. He leapt, swinging it right at the fallen Chacha’s body, a fireball erupting from the tip of his staff to smack her in the face, causing her to squeal.

Unfortunately, that plus a second energy wave from Tiff were all that could be done before she recovered, quickly righting herself and wearing a clear scowl now. “Rude! Mean! Hecklers! I’ll show you!” Two more slams meant two more shockwaves to be avoided and defended against, and this time they had to quickly run as Chacha charged forwards, flailing her maracas like they were clubs.

Tiff barely evaded one wild swing, but found an opportunity in such for a quick series of thrusts towards the Chacha’s back. The flinches told her she felt them, but their enemy let no audible sign of pain through as she turned around, intending for a backhand to clear Tiff away.

Tiff ducked, and instead she instead got another clay bomb to the face, this time launched by Tuff and his staff. “AAUGH! WHYYY?!” They couldn’t help but notice that her maracas seemed to be cracked, now…

“Give it up!” Tuff demanded. “Maybe we’ll go easy on ya, then!”

“N-no!” The burning orange in her eyes told enough of a tale to make Tiff take a step back. “I won’t be- they WILL love my dancing! So will you!” A strange, near fiery aura engulfed her as she began to spin forwards, weapons outstretched. The group made to evade- before she suddenly stopped, holding the now glowing maracas up, and…began to dance. For a moment, the siblings were mesmerized.

And that was exactly what Chacha wanted, as what could only be described as spores began to launch from the glowing maracas. They began to float down towards the enraptured children, shining ominously…

However, what she’d forgotten was the fourth member of their little group. “Nuh-uh!” Elline said simply as she shifted into a form more reminiscent of a paintbrush. Zipping through the air she began to rapid-fire draw lines; quickly using her crafting magic to expand the effect almost like a massive rainbow barrier. The spores quickly fizzled out against her magic- nothing to grab onto and grow from properly, after all.

“Hey! No fair! No fair at all!” As Chacha ranted, Elline quickly zipped down to the two kids.

“Helloooo? Hey! Anyone home?!” She clapped her hands twice, and fortunately that seemed to do the trick, Tiff blinking awake as Tuff shook himself. “Great, you’re back! Don’t look at her maracas! They have weird magic on them!”

“R-right!” They charged in again, and this time Chachas tried to flatten them both with a double arm smash- they both split apart, leaving the weapons to collide with the dirt, but managed to swing at the a maraca each in reprisal. The attacks connected, but there were only a couple more small cracks inflicted. Quickly turning their attention away- they HAD just been told to not look at the instruments, after all- they refocused on Chacha herself, who’d attempted to start charging again.

This time, Tuff muttered something, rearing a hand back. In a moment it began to crackle with electricity, and with a shout, he thrust it forwards- letting loose a yellow bolt that smacked the dancer clear in the head, causing her to shudder and yelp a bit. The second bolt that followed it up caused a crackle of electricity to run across her body. “Phew…got her!” Tuff said aloud.

“Gee-ack!” Chacha tried to say something, only to spasm- she’d been briefly indisposed, and they saw their moment.

Clayica quickly crafted another clay bomb. “Here!” With a grunt of effort, she hurled it towards Tiff. The young knight quickly co*cked back, and swung again to meet it, the projectile careening towards the stunned giant and impacting her again, detonating with enough force that it saw her hurled into the air. She quickly lost grip on her maracas, which proceeded to shatter entirely, the shards dissipating into nothing as Chacha landed, rapidly shrinking to her normal height.

That is, except for one shard that Tiff noticed, it landing near her. “...huh? No way…” She bent down to pick it up. ‘Another one…black and orange. But how…?’

“Uuughhhh…” the lady moaned, rubbing her head. “Oh dear…my aching head…” She opened her eyes, and they no longer had a glow in them, instead back to their beady black. “Hm? Oh, wow, where am I? It looks awful late…” And then she looked across towards the quartet, now standing in confusion. “Wait…you all look…a little familiar.” Suddenly, she jolted with realization. “O-oh no! What was I doing?!”

“Why don’tcha tell us?” Tuff asked, a bit snippy. “Not like we didn’t just have a fight…”

Chacha flinched at that. “N-no! I mean yes! I mean I wasn’t-”

“Hey, hey, it’s fine, relax,” Tiff tried to say kindly. “Honestly, I think I get it.” At least somewhat. It was clear to her that the weird shard had an effect…but then, why didn’t it seem to affect HER? ‘Probably shouldn’t worry everyone right now,’ she decided, but nonetheless they listened to Chacha explain.

“I- it was a week or so back, and- and me and Keke, we were coming from Pop Star, right? Keke was- she was so sure her pictures would be accepted for the Royal Gallery, and I knew my dancing was great, but- but then she was denied and got annoyed about it- so I gave her one of the lucky stones that I’d found the other day!” she fretted. “There were two of them and they looked so shiny and cool so I kept one, and for a while I thought it worked even though she was still annoyed, and then I started worrying my dancing wouldn’t be as popular so I thought it would be a good idea to practice so everyone would love it, and not worry about the Royal Gallery, then- and then next thing I know I say- I say ‘it’s a shame they won’t all go missing, isn’t it?’ I don’t know why I said that!”

“...and I thought it sounded like a good idea,” Keke muttered to Kirby, Bandee, and Dedede. She’d been knocked back to her senses by Kirby and friends as well, the lot of them easily recognizing the signs of possession and manipulation. She paused to make another yawn. “...dunno why. Not like they’d like me more just because their paintings were gone…”

“I think it was this shard,” Kirby said confidently. He’d recognized what it was, for certain. Not that he was any interested in repeating that particular adventure, but no sense in denying it. “But don’t worry! You’re fine now.” He’d absolutely have to talk to Meta Knight as soon as they got back, though. This was looking worrisome.

“Yeah!” Bandee agreed. “We’ll explain things to the Queen and make sure things are okay.”

Adeleine was busy checking over her paintings- the one of all the gang in front of Cappy Town, the strange, swooshing starlight night over the volcano, the one of Whispy Woods’ ladyfriend…those, and all the past ones as well, they all seemed intact, fortunately. She let out a sigh of relief. “Great. They’re all fine!”

“Good!” Ribbon gave her the best hug she could manage at her size. “I know you were really worried about them. Now we just need to get them out of here. I’ll get the fairies to help us out, okay?”

“Wait, can’t Keke just do that magic again?” Dedede asked.

“Nah,” Keke said simply. “I don’t feel nearly as powerful anymore. Not without…” she motioned to the shard Kirby still held.

“Oh, right…” Dedede trailed off.

Ribbon giggled slightly. “Don’t worry! I’ll be back in a flash!” With that, she zipped off to get the other fairies’ attention.

King Dedede simply huffed. “Alrighty, guess we gotta make some trips. See how the others held up, too. Let’s start carrying what we can!”

By the time the morning came, and the Festival was underway, all the paintings had been returned to their proper places, and the perpetrators had been brought in and the situation explained. Queen Ripple was, admittedly, sympathetic to the matter, having been a victim of possession herself, and while she promised they wouldn’t be punished harshly, she DID insist on them making amends…

“Mmm…alrighty,” Keke said, trying to inject anything resembling energy into her voice as she lined up the shot. “Say cheese.”

“Cheeeese!” And with that, another shot of a group of festival goers was taken. Keke had been named Festival Photographer, tasked with taking pictures of any and everyone who wanted one. Though she wasn’t permitted to keep any of them.

Meanwhile, Chacha danced along, guiding people to their booths and exhibitions of choice. One in particular was quite popular, in fact, and she’d been leading people to it all day… “Aaand here we have Fantastic Frozen Forms, by Francisca of the Jambastion Religion!” She at least appreciated that the area was much cooler than the other booths, allowing her a bit of refreshment whenever she stopped by. The canopy fabric to make it something of a tented area helped, too.

“Welcome!” Francisca stood by the entrance as always as she gestured in further. “Please, look around as much as you like. I ask that you please do not touch the works, however- if there is anything you would like to know, our dear Apprentice Tuff inside can help you further.”

Tuff, for his part, was feeling a bit swamped. “Nah, nah, they aren’t ACTUALLY frozen creatures,” he explained for the who knows how manyth time. “They’re just sculptures.” ‘...At least I’m pretty sure,’ he admitted to himself. She’d giggled oddly after getting that question a few times herself, though she denied it each time. Still, he kept a game face and a warm smile, and directed and informed people as best he could when Francisca was unavailable.

This went on for the majority of the day, until Francisca called for a lunch break, briefly closing the exhibit as they sat behind the tented area, a place marked off for their privacy. “I must say, young Tuff, you’ve done very well during our visit here,” she admitted, taking a bite of a hot dog. Flamberge had insisted she try one a while ago and, well…it wasn’t bad, she supposed. Wasn’t a big fan of the chili, however.

“Ya think so?” he asked. He’d had a much simpler dish of meatskewers, offered by one of the booths nearby.

“Mhm. All on your own, you helped the royalty of Ripple Star solve a serious theft and catch the perpetrators. That’s no small thing,” she insisted.

“What? I super wasn’t on my own,” Tuff started, but she shook her head.

“Not like that. I mean that you elected of your own will to assist in the matter. I didn’t prod you or force you to take part in the investigation. I didn’t WANT to press you, or bring any undue pressure on you when you’re already helping me. And speaking of, you’ve been on top of everything I’ve asked of you in matters of preparation.” She gestured around. “This is an excellent setup, and you’ve both kept order and provided direction in the booth and with others.” She nodded in approval. “I’ll be sure to let the others know of your excellent conduct. You’ve done very well, Apprentice Tuff.”

Despite the cold air, Tuff’s cheeks felt hot, and he found it difficult to look her in the eye. He still wasn’t used to praise like this. “O-oh…I mean, it wasn’t a big deal, but…thanks, Ms. Francisca!”

Francisca merely chuckled. “No problem at all. But, let’s finish up. We’ve still got most of the day left.”

“Right!”

As stoic as Tiff tried to make herself, she couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the antics of her King and friend. King Dedede and Kirby both had elected to peruse the food stalls, and this had led to a contest of gluttony. This seemed to be a sort of ‘who could inhale fastest’ or something…but whatever it was, the winner was never in doubt. Bandee was next to her, and he gave her a comforting pat on the side. “Don’t worry, Great King does this from time to time. He says he wants to keep Kirby on his toes.”

She simply huffed. “Couldn’t he do it some other way, though?” It was clearly a friendly ‘competition’, so it wasn’t like she was angry at him or anything…just the METHOD baffled her. Kirby was on his…actually, she’d lost count, but there were a LOT of empty plates. King Dedede had a pile, too, but not anywhere near as many as the puffball.

“Honestly, I think they both were just hungry and wanted an excuse,” he stage-whispered to her as Kirby celebrated his victory. The expression King Dedede gave the both of them made it clear he ‘overheard’.

“Oh, blah,” the King dismissed, a touch put out at his loss but still largely in a good mood. “He just shouldn’t get too co*cky. He’s no King around here, so gotta make sure he’s still humble!”

“As opposed to you?” Tiff offered wryly.

“Hey, I’m plenty humble!” He insisted. “Besides, I got you to help me out nowadays, right? Like with the stolen paintings! You did great with that!”

“Oh! Uh, thank you, sir.” She sketched a quick bow, not expecting the praise out of nowhere.

“Hey, it’s true. Would’ve been a whole lot more dicey if Chacha had just gotten away while she was bein’ influenced like that. Glad you helped put a stop to it! Real knightly of you.”

She allowed herself a small grin. “Well…that’s the point, right?”

“Yup!” he agreed. “Honestly, I hope you’re still sticking around for a while. Plenty around Pop Star could use another Knight to help with.”

“Well, it still hasn’t quite been half a year yet…” she conceded. “More like…a third? I need to check the date when we get back…” she muttered the last bit to herself.

“Yeah, you got time,” Dedede dismissed. “But, let’s worry about that later. Sure you don’t wanna try any of this?” he gestured to the various food booths around.

Tiff pursed her lips. “Weellll…those donuts DID smell great…” she admitted. They’d been frosted and looked fluffy…

“Donuts it is!” the King proclaimed, clapping her on the back and practically pushing her along. “Let’s go!” Sighing, she let herself be led along, Bandee cheerily following in their wake.

That evening, it was time for the great unveiling of the newest Royal Gallery pieces. Hosted in the Palace, Adeleine and Ribbon stood proudly as their works were revealed for the audience to ooh and ahh over. They could see all of her friends, new and old, standing proudly nearby in various spots- Kirby and Bandee cheered from nearby, while closer to the door Tiff and Tuff clapped politely, the latter with Francisca. King Dedede was next to Queen Ripple; being royalty as well meant he had a special place reserved for him- though the small giggling at some joke or other the King whispered suggested she might’ve requested such anyway.

Before long, the initial showcase was over, allowing everyone to peruse the works at their leisure. “It’s great to see everyone again, huh?” Ribbon suggested as they took a small walk around.

Elline and Claycia had both been floating around and offering their ‘sage advice’ and critique to anyone who’d listen- though fortunately the former’s effervescent attitude seemed to leave people in a good mood, rather than them considering her a nuisance. Clayica giggled at her statements more than once, even as she had to calm her friend down from getting TOO intense about a particular work. Claycia, for her part, had gotten more than a couple of interested people asking about her clay works, which she was more than happy to talk about or even demonstrate in small amounts.

Adeleine nodded, smiling at seeing the two in their element. “Yeah! I got worried for a while there, but it all worked out! I’m just glad that both Keke and Chacha weren’t that mad…” the idea that she could inspire that kind of jealousy in someone naturally honestly sent shivers through her.

“Whatever happened, the Queen said she’d make sure it didn’t anymore, and Kirby’s already promised that he’s on the case!” Ribbon assured. “I think everything’ll be fine.”

Adeleine let out a soft sigh. “I hope so, too…” she admitted. She had seen the obsidian piece that had shot from Keke as they’d defeated the girl, and there had been something about it…particularly sinister. Even just glancing at it had bought flashes of something in her head she wasn’t sure she wanted to know about fully.

Not that Ribbon needed to concern herself with that.

“Oh, pardon!” the two straightened up and quickly bowed as Queen Ripple approached. “Oh, please, no, this is your night, y-you don’t have to bow. I was just wondering where Lady Francisca was, or perhaps her apprentice- there were a couple of people inquiring about her faith, and no one else has seen them, so…”

“Hm?” Adeleine co*cked an eyebrow. “They were right back there, near the…” She looked towards the back of the audience. However… “Wait, where’d they go?”

“You sure about this?” Tiff said as she stretched her arms. “We could’ve just left it at one to one.”

“Heh, no way!” Tuff laughed as he readied himself. “You oughta know I HATE ties.”

“Sure, you used to,” Tiff said, grinning. Her tone was outright teasing. “But you’re wearing one now. Trying to impress someone?” Her eyes flickered to Francisca, who was studiously pretending to ignore the byplay. She was out here as judge and, technically, chaperone to make sure nothing nearby got hit, since there were many more people around than before.

“Oh, ha ha! Suddenly you’re a joker?” Tuff shot back, smiling all the same. “You know what I mean!”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get on with it, then!” She raised her lance in challenge again. “Ready whenever you are!”

He raised his staff similarly. “Bring it, sis!”

“Set!” Francisca said loudly. Both gave nods. “And…BEGIN!”

The siblings charged at each other, grins on their faces.

Chapter 15: Ghosts of the Past

Chapter Text

After saying farewell to her brother once the Festival was over, Tiff had returned to Pop Star…where she’d immediately been thrown into training by Meta Knight again. This time it was in the King’s castle, however. Meaning that aside from Meta Knight himself, her sparring partner was largely Bandana Dee. He wielded his spear differently from how Trident or Javelin Knight worked, even though Bandee was perfectly inclined to hurl his spear as well. Together, they’d focused more on her thrusting speed and accuracy.

“O-okay!” Bandee said, looking at the targets she’d perforated. They’d set up a bit of a range for her in Dedede’s arena, and she’d been doing her best to hit the targets tossed in front of her by Meta Knight and Bandee; she still needed a lot of work, in her own estimation. But she was at least hitting the targets more often than not. “I think we can call it here for today for spear- uh, lance work. Meta Knight has something he wanted me to start working with you on, anyway. C’mon, he’s right over there.” Bandee was pointing towards what looked almost like an oversized staircase, leading clear up to the ceiling.

It’d been a couple of days since they’d gotten back on Pop Star, but this was new. “Lord Meta Knight?” she asked upon stepping over. “What is it?”

“Mm. Remember that skill I told you about a while back? The Infinity Jump?” Oh yeah. The…not-flight, she supposed. She DID recall that. “We’ll be working on that skill now. While no replacement for true flight, I believe it’ll prove invaluable to you, both as a warrior, and in daily traversal.”

“Just exactly what IS it?” she asked. She wouldn’t deny the name alone sounded very interesting, though. “I mean, I can hazard a guess, but as far as the details…”

“The Infinity Jump is a technique that, in essence, allows you to jump repeatedly in the air,” Meta Knight explained. “Most seasoned practitioners can use it almost indefinitely, though there are limitations.”

“So it’s flight but…not?” she summed up.

“More or less,” Bandee confirmed. “It takes effort to keep doing it, y’know? But you can keep it up as long as your concentration and energy keeps once you crack it. Even so…some people aren’t able to do it at all, though. Just…don’t have the right mindset or something,” he shrugged. “So it’s not something anyone can just pick up. Susie can’t, for instance.”

Tiff only needed to think for a moment to realize it. “Oh yeah. She uses that transporter thing to get around, doesn't she?”

“Exactly,” Bandee agreed. “I’m pretty sure Rick and Kine can’t, either. They need Coo to carry them. Adeleine, either- she needs Ribbon or a painting that can fly. So it’s kinda up in the air!”

“I suspect you can do it. However, if you can’t, we’ll simply find another solution,” Meta Knight admitted. “You utilize your Air Ride Machine well enough. That’ll suffice for most day to day traveling regardless. But, enough discussion. Bandee will take you through the basics. I have a meeting to attend to with the King, so I’ll be back later.”

“Right!” Bandee quickly stepped up in front of her as Meta Knight made his way off. “So, I’ll start off by explaining that it kinda…needs a particular mindset? I mean, you just can’t worry about gravity too much. I’d say that’s the start of it. Some people do and it really messes with them, so…”

Tiff had a feeling that this would be…particularly difficult for her. Even so, she started hopping…at least, that’s what Bandee proceeded to start her off doing.

A couple of hours later, she was proven…mostly right. Though of course Bandee insisted that a few hours of trying to internalize ‘jumping again because you need to jump higher’ wouldn’t be enough to figure it out if it just wasn’t part of your life from word go. It was the same with Guarding, she supposed, so it would take some time to puzzle out.

At the very least, she was positive that her cardio would be incredible by the end of it.

Before she could think more on that, however, Meta Knight returned. “Tiff. Report to the meeting room at once.”

“Yes sir.” She saluted, though she was a bit confused as to what they might want her for.

It soon became clear once she saw Kirby and King Dedede waiting for them. “Sorry for taking you away from training, but this is kinda important,” Dedede apologized.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Tiff insisted. “What’s the situation?” The king gestured for her to sit down, and she did, with Meta Knight sitting next to her.

“The matter of those shards…and Dark Meta Knight,” Meta Knight informed her. “We’ve been discussing things, and I’ve found out a few concerning factors since you left for the Festival. Dark Meta Knight has in fact been roaming around Dream Land, seemingly searching for something. He’s been sighted at Nutty Noon Towers, Jam Jungle, Cloudy Park, Mallow Castle, and Sacred Square. In all situations he appeared to be looking for something- from what you informed me of, we’re certain that it’s those shards.”

“Yeeaah, and that’s not good at all,” Kirby said worriedly.

“Why is that?” Tiff asked. “I know he’s not really a ‘trusted member’, but Lord Meta Knight said he should know the consequences if he gets up to something, right?”

“Right,” Dedede agreed. “I don’t know much beyond the major details- I wasn’t involved in that adventure, but Kirby, can you give her the shorthand?”

“Sure thing!” he quickly turned to her. “So, to keep it short, I’m preeeetty certain that those shards are of Dark Mind- a very, VERY malevolent force in the Mirror World that I managed to destroy. At least…I thought I destroyed it.” He looked a bit unsettled. “If there’s still pieces of it around, and they’re here, then if Dark Meta Knight gets enough of them, who knows what could happen. He…wasn’t happy with people getting near the mirror the first time, and he attacked me more than once. He’s pretty dang strong,” Kirby admitted. “He split me into four with one swing. I’m just lucky I’m kinda weird and splitting me doesn’t work like most others.”

Tiff blinked. That didn’t sound right. “Wait, how do you mean-”

“Like I said, long story, and this is the short version,” he interrupted, and she allowed herself a small pout. “Point being, I managed to find him after he ran off after that first encounter, and beat him, too. We didn’t see him again before the Jamba Heart incident.”

Meta Knight nodded in confirmation. “We were never certain if Dark Meta Knight directly served Dark Mind,” he began, “if it was an alliance of convenience, or if it was sheer happenstance that he also happened to oppose us. However, the fact that he is also seeking out these shards without informing us why is distressing. As you noted, he should know that we would discover this and confront him on it.”

“Maybe he’s counting on it,” Tiff opined. “When we…met…” and she could barely hold back a shiver here, “he said it didn’t matter if I told you or not. So he’s probably expecting it.”

“True,” Meta Knight acknowledged. “The easiest route to find this out would be to ask him directly. However, he is not easy to track down. It will take some time.”

“I got back from the Mirror not too long ago,” Kirby informed them. “I tried asking Shadow Me what the deal was, but he’s in one of his moods.” He frowned slightly. “We fought and he just kinda pouted and ran off after I beat him, so I don’t think I’m getting much out of him for a while.”

Tiff had to blink at that. ‘A Shadow Kirby? I…I guess it kind of makes sense, even if that sounds kinda worrying, too. I wonder what THAT Kirby’s like…’ But no, she had to focus on the issue at hand. “So what do we do now? We’ve got to find some way to get him to stop it, right?”

Meta Knight just grunted. “As much as I dislike saying it, you seem to be immune to the effects.” That WAS true. She had handled two shards without feeling any particular negative effects, unlike the Keke and Chacha from before. “I suspect Kirby is as well, but I also suspect Dark Meta Knight knows Kirby or myself would likely be connected to this matter one way or the other, and seek to engage either of us before we’re ready. Therefore, the best option would be to keep them with you or in a place you know well, as he has little positive impression of your ability.”

Tiff felt herself flinch a bit at the blunt assessment. “Gee, thanks,” she muttered under her breath. “So I’m just going to cart them around?” she asked more loudly.

Meta Knight shook his head. “Most likely, I’d suggest to almost hide them somewhere in plain sight. Somewhere obvious, but where he would likely never look since it’s connected to YOU.”

Tiff frowned, considering the idea. “I dunno if I want to visit my house just yet…” it was really the only option she could think of on short notice, but maybe…

That was when Kirby jumped up, eyes sparkling as something came to him. “Actually! I have an idea! You could stay with some friends of mine! They’re really nice, but you haven’t met them yet! Rick, Kine, and Coo. They’re pretty strong themselves, and they’ve helped me out a ton before!” He smiled brightly at the memories. “I know you can trust them!”

Tiff was a bit surprised; not only did she know those names, but they’d just been brought up. ‘Talk about timing,’ she mused, ‘though I REALLY hope this Kine isn’t as…romantically eager as the one I know about.’ Still, fish concerns aside, it was a solid idea. “Alright. That sounds like a plan,” she decided.

She didn’t expect Dedede to chime in, though, rubbing his chin in thought. “Hmmm…actually, maybe you could do me a favor and check in on some servants of mine at the same time. They live over by the Float Islands, got their own castle I gave ‘em where they mostly just do surveillance and storage around that way. There oughta have been some supplies that were delivered a week or two ago, and I haven’t gotten word back that they arrived. Might just be a paperwork thing, but do you think you could go inspect the place?”

Well, that didn’t sound too bad. Perfect opportunity to get to know some new faces, then! “Sure thing, sire!”

“Great! Might look familiar to you,” he said easily. “Here, they go by…”

“Lololo and Lalala?” the hamster said as the quartet walked along the riverside. Their Rick had proven to be exceedingly like the one she knew…not that she knew that Rick well, admittedly. She simply knew he was around here and there. Regardless, he was friendly enough, and she could see herself hanging around him easily- though she hadn’t expected the fire-breathing. Or the transformation thing. “Yeah, we know ‘em! Keep to themselves, mostly. Not big fans o’ gettin’ stuck inta trouble, but they’ll pop around now an’ again.”

That had been…about what King Dedede had said. It also reminded her a bit much of how they’d started to turn out in her own dimension. She had been…less than enthused once King Dedede had informed just WHO she’d be checking in on. It made a disturbing amount of sense, and though she’d agreed in the end (if only to stop Meta Knight from staring at her), she had to admit she wasn’t very eager to face ghosts of her past, even if they were technically entirely different. ‘I wonder if they keep away from Kirby and his friends because they’re scared of magic, too,’ she mused to herself. ‘Maybe they figured out what they wanted to do about it a long time ago and that’s why they’re by themselves. I wonder if ones I know will just…go away, one day. Would that really be okay? Maybe I should-’

“Lass!” she felt something leap in front of her, and new-yet-active instincts kicked in, throwing up her shield and readying her lance…only to see Rick in front of her, looking at her worriedly. Just behind him had been a tree she’d been about to walk smack into. “You alright? You look awful worried ‘bout somethin’.”

Coo fluttered down closer, equally as concerned. “Perhaps it’s just some remnants of deja vu? I wouldn’t be surprised if there were counterparts of ours over there, too.”

Kine nodded, flopping around in the water. “Oh! Yeaah, that makes sense.” He’d been the one to offer to show a safe way to the Float Islands. She’d decided she’d need to break out her Air Ride Machine for this trip, as it was stated to be across the water. That didn’t mean she was willing to just up and go immediately, however, and with DMK potentially lurking about, they’d decided it would be safer to wait until she had to in order to actually use it. Hence, the on foot trip. Currently, the machine was strapped across her back, squashing her satchel a bit. Fortunately, there was nothing particularly breakable inside. “Were they scary or bad?”

She allowed herself a chuckle at that. “No, no. You’re actually pretty alike. Well, except the Kine in my universe has a crush on me…”

Kine visibly flinched. “What?! But that’s so strange! What about Mine?”

“Mine?” Tiff asked.

“My wife! Is she not there?” Tiff could only shrug. Kine looked sorrowful for a moment, before shaking it off. “Guess I should really be grateful! If she really is one of a kind, then I’m glad I was the lucky one!”

Tiff could only smile and shrug. ‘Guess that explains that. Shame she’s not around in my universe…’

“Yeah, yeah, but enough about our sweethearts, we’re avoidin’ the topic a bit,” Rick said, looking back at Tiff with a knowing eye. “I suspect that ain’t all that’s botherin’ you, yeah?”

She sighed. It seemed like there was no escaping it. “No, it’s not. You won’t be the only familiar faces I’ve gotta meet…”

“Ohhh…” the metaphorical lightbulb went off over his head. “You got bad blood with the twosome you know?”

“Sorta,” she admitted. “We don’t hate each other, but…well, it’s a long story.”

“Hey, we got time,” Rick noted. “Still a ways until we hit the mouth of the river. Why not share the burden?”

“Indeed. If we have any advice, we’ll be happy to give it,” Coo offered.

It really only took her a few moments to decide, and before long she was sharing her story. About learning magic, about the problems Fololo and Falala seemed to have with magic, and the results thereof. It was…surprisingly not as hard to talk about as she thought it would be, the more she actually did so. The trio were polite about it, as well, merely listening as she sorted her thoughts out about the matter. “So…ultimately, we’re sort of…not friends, but we don’t hate each other, either. They just can’t really deal with magic well.”

“Huh. Well, gotta admit, that’s hard ta think about. Magic’s kinda a daily thing in our lives, so…” Rick trailed off.

“Yeah,” Tiff agreed. “I’m…pretty sure that our Rick can’t breathe fire or turn into a rolling rock whenever he wants.

Rick nodded. “Right, yeah? But I guess it’s like…well, you shouldn’t be too fussed with ‘em, yeah? I don’t mean lock ‘em outta your life, but it sounds like you handled it best you could. Let ‘em know you’re still around if ya want, an’ if they ever wanna give it another go, you’re there. No sense in waitin’ around for ‘em, though, I think,” he offered.

“Life continues on regardless,” Coo agreed. “Some will move in different directions and at different paces, and that’s no great shame. Be glad of the times you had, for sure!”

“Mhm,” Kine added. “And anyway, you don’t have to worry about our Lololo and Lalala. They’re used to magic and everything. They just aren’t much for adventurin’ or gettin’ too involved with trouble, so they keep quiet the best they can.”

“Right, okay.” That helped her nerves a bit, that they wouldn’t be as vitriolic against magic as the ones she knew. Then again, she supposed that would go for anyone here since it was such a basic part of their lives. “...thanks, though. Think I needed that.” Though she wasn’t entirely at ease, their words at least helped her feel confident that she’d be able to get through this alright.

“Hey, anytime! You got any other worries, let us know!” Rick offered. “Heck, if’n you get to meet Chuchu, she’d love to hang out with ya!”

“Chuchu?” Tiff questioned. “Never heard of that name.”

Rick just chuckled. “Right, well, she’s a bit of a spitfire, but…”

They spent the rest of their time talking about their other animal friends, whom Tiff found curious- Pitch at least sounded a sight better than Tokkori. And Nago seemed…carefree. And after her telling them she’d been to the Rainbow Islands, they’d regaled her of their own sides of the adventure. Before she realized it, they’d arrived at the mouth of the river, and off in the distance, she could see several small islands- the closest in particular having a decently sized castle. “There they are!” Kine announced. "I can swim there, and Coo can fly with Rick. You can get over with your machine, right?”

“Yup,” she agreed, slinging it off of her back and stepping on- her strength these days meant she hardly even felt the thing. “I’ll see you over there, then!”

Castle Lololo, as it was called, was…not that bad looking, honestly. It had a couple of towers, and seemed to be decently sizable, if nowhere near what Dedede’s was. A suitable outpost, from what she could tell. And it at least looked welcoming. She landed on what clearly seemed to be a dock of sorts, where she was greeted by a Broom Hatter on the outside, steadily sweeping the area. “Hello there! Er, what’s your business?” they asked.

“Oh, I’m here on King Dedede’s orders,” she explained. He’d given her a small badge to prove herself- a simple thing, but it had his personal symbol on it. “I’m Tiff Ebrum, a Knight in his service. I’m just here to do a bit of a check-up.”

“Ohh, wow. Uh- yeah, that looks legit!” they admitted. “I, uh, I’ll send word ahead! Just a moment!” With that, they scurried off into the building.

Before she could get too lost into her own thoughts, however, she heard the flapping of wings, and she was quick to notice Rick, Kine, and Coo had caught up to her. “Hey there!” Rick greeted as he let go of Coo and landed. “We miss anythin’?”

“No,” she noted. “I’m just about to go in. Are you coming with me?”

“Mmm…sure, why not?” Rick shrugged.

“Mmm…I’m not so great on land,” Kine said a bit shyly.

“It’s no big, pal,” Rick insisted. “We’ll keep an eye on ‘er!”

“Alright, if you’re sure. I’ll hang around until you get back,” he offered, before dipping below the waves.

“Actually,” Coo decided, looking between the two of them, “I’d rather not Kine be stuck here alone. I’ll keep him company- your little look around shouldn’t take too long, right?”

“Hopefully not,” Tiff agreed.

“Thanks, Coo,” Rick complimented with a smile, before they heard the shuffling of Broom Hatter again.

“Er, they say come on in!” The attendant announced. “I-I’ll show you to them!”

The castle interior was large and bright, as she’d expected. However, she’d learned a surprising tidbit. “Way back when King Dedede was more selfish, they’d let this place go pretty badly. Used to be full of ghosts and stuff that’d really mess it up, and it was kinda horrible. But after the King lightened up, he kicked all of them out!” It made sense, she supposed.

However, before much longer, they’d finally made it to Lololo and Lalala. She recalled Kirby mentioning that they were ‘kinda really different’ from the ones she knew, but…well, she wasn’t sure what she expected. For one, both of them were about Kirby-sized, as opposed to the small creatures they knew before. And what was more, neither of them could fly. Didn’t even show a hint of it. “Hello and welcome, Miss Tiff!” Lololo said, the both of them giving her a salute. She responded in kind, even though she felt particularly awkward about it. “We’re ready for inspection!”

“Just say the word, Ms. Knight!” Lalala offered.

“Really, I- Tiff’s fine,” she dismissed. Differences in appearance aside, they at least seemed to have similar voices, which was enough to throw her a bit off. However, thinking about WHY she was here was enough to get her back on track. “I’m here on King Dedede’s orders to make sure that the supplies you were supposed to get last week actually got here.” She took a clipboard out of her satchel. “Let’s see…you were supposed to get a few crates of Air Ride parts, some food, a lot of crates of ‘fuel cubes’, whatever those are-” she looked up, and immediately noticed something was off. They looked…nervous. “Something wrong?” she asked, co*cking an eyebrow.

“Oh!” They both jumped. “Well, uh…” The two of them looked at each other, before Lalala nudged Lololo up. He gave her something close to a glare, before stepping up. “Weeelll…we kinda did AND didn’t get all the stuff.”

“Did AND didn’t get them?” she questioned. “Explain that, please.”

“W-well, we GOT them, at first…” he admitted. “But, uh…then something tried to steal them.” She was about to speak up, before he quickly continued. “But! We managed to stop them from getting away! It’s just…we can’t get near them, either, now.”

That drew her confusion. “Wait, what do you mean ‘can’t get near them’?”

She was quickly brought to the area in question- one of the warehouses where their supplies and goods were stored. "Over there,” Lololo spoke, pointing. Near the back a strange, dome shaped…energy, of some sort, seemed to engulf a corner, about as high as a door. “What is THIS?” Tiff asked in bewilderment.

“Well, THAT ain’t right,” Rick commented.

“Well, we’re…not entirely sure,” Lalala admitted. “It formed the day after we got the supplies. We were just about to send off the confirmation when THIS happened. We were hoping we could get someone to help us out, buuut…well, we haven’t managed to find anyone available yet. Since it hasn’t been expanding or anything, we hoped we could solve it before the King got word. But then you showed up,” she finished.

“Who was it that tried to steal it?” Tiff asked.

“Well, that’s the weirdest part,” Lololo admitted. “They almost looked like…like dark spheres with wings,” she explained. “They had a super weird and scary vibe to them…” Lalala shivered, with Lololo patting her back. “I didn’t think anything like that was ON Pop Star! They- they swallowed some crates of the fuel cubes, and then just took off! But it was really weird- they hit the wall and then THAT formed.”

Tiff raised an eyebrow. Spheres with wings? That didn’t SOUND that intimidating, but…well, Kirby was a small, pink sphere himself, and it’d be the most stupid thing to underestimate him. “Hmmm…” She marched up closer to the strange half-sphere of energy. Touching it probably wouldn’t be a good idea… “I’m not sure what’s going on here, but King Dedede won’t like it,” she concluded. “He’ll probably be more annoyed that you kept this secret from him,” she opined as she tried to make note of any details she could spare. It almost looked like looking into space as she stared further- though she could start to see small swirls of slightly different colors float around as well as she focused her gaze. “He’s especially going to want to hear about these-”

“Sphere Doomers?” came a familiar voice. “Here?!”

The lot of them whipped around to see Susie Haltmann floating up to them. “Is this why my fuel cubes were never delivered on time?!”

Ah. “Ms. Haltmann- Susie,” she corrected. “I was just here because the King noticed he hadn’t gotten word about things.”

“So I see,” she said idly, looking up at the area with a critical eye. “I’d come here to complain, since I knew this was a distribution point. But seeing the matter with my own eyes…” She scowled. “This is definitely a Doomer spacial rend. Although an imperfect one. Whatever’s causing this one is…different. This is hardly a barrier. It’s more a wide access point, which is curious by itself- normally Doomers are much more…reserved. Only split as much as they need to. As much as I hate to admit it, it only makes sense. However, I refuse to wait until Kirby and his cadre catch up to get what’s mine.” With that, Susie quickly brought out her pistol, primed, checked it, and quickly summoned her Business Suit. She only took two hops before looking back. “Well, Ebrum? Rick? Are you coming or not?”

“Wait, what?” Tiff asked in surprise. “Us? Coming with you where?” Nonetheless she’d already started moving, as had Rick.

“To Another Dimension, of course,” was the response. “We’re getting my cargo back!”

Chapter 16: Effort In, Effort Out

Chapter Text

Upon getting back from the Festival, Tuff was expecting a change in how things were going to go for him. Francisca had kept to her word and told the others about how he’d not only helped her personally, but had put the Jambastion faith in a positive light by helping with the art theft debacle. This had won him a good deal of praise from the rest, which he was more than happy with, but afterwards? It had been discussed before he’d left that he would be learning the more esoteric aspects of the Jambastion, and so it was.

The first step was morning prayer; this was usually given by Hyness himself to the three sisters- and now Tuff. He was pretty sure he wasn’t expected to say much of anything, which was good.

Because frankly, he had very little idea of what they were saying. They had their own language, which he’d heard here and there, including when he’d first met them…but the meaning of the words escaped him. Oh, sure, he’d asked a few times, and he’d started to pick up bits and pieces simply by being around them, knew what a few words meant- but he could hardly speak a sentence in it, much as he tried.

After the morning prayer, he went up to Zan, who silently met his approach with a curious gaze. “Hey, sooo…I’m still trying to figure out the language thing. So, like, if I was gonna say ‘thank you very much’...”

“That would be ‘Jamanke vun joku’,” she replied simply. “The intensifier comes after the verb.” She huffed. “Although I’m not even sure I’m explaining it right. I’m so used to just…speaking it.”

“Yeah, I understand,” he admitted. “It’s just tough.”

She nodded. “The language can be unusual for those that don’t natively speak it, true…but you need only learn as much as you desire. There’s no requirement for it.”

“Yeah, but-” he started.

“Honestly, right now, we’re more focused on getting you up to speed with the practices,” she interrupted, if politely, “…which, to be fair, are in a malleable state, so you’re a bit lucky in that regard. Language can be an extra, all things considered.”

“That last bit might actually be a good thing!” came the voice of Hyness as he arrived near them.

That took him for a loop. “Juh? How?” Privately, he enjoyed slipping that little bit of Jamba in.

Hyness chuckled. “Well, our goal now is to find paradise, is it not? To bring hope and peace to the suffering and forgotten. To bring people together under Void in comfort, not anger. Anything that doesn’t serve that purpose won’t work here anymore- and that includes worrying about figuring out what someone just said. But! That’ll come in time. For now, I actually wanted to talk to you about something else.”

That got both of their attention. “And what’s that?” Tuff asked.

He motioned to follow him as he wandered off. “Come, come! I wanted to introduce you to a facet of the Jambastion you’ll probably be touching on a bit more as a Mage-Apprentice.”

THAT got Tuff excited, and quickly made to follow. “Oh, really!? Awesome! What am I doin’!?”

When they got to a particular spire, Zan’s eyes brightened with understanding. “Ahh. I see.”

“What? What IS it?!” Tuff asked eagerly.

Hyness nearly snorted out a laugh. “Well…”

A few days later, Tuff wondered why he’d even bothered as he idly poked at a couple of buttons, bored out of his skull. It was literally so easy a child could do it, but they’d insisted that he’d be a major help…

…copying their schedules for the day. “This bites, ” he grumbled as he laid back in his seat, four other Jammerjabs surrounding him.

They’d made it sound so important when they first told him. “While a lot of our duties around the Jambandra Base take up a lot of our time, actually learning what needs to be done can be…time consuming. It is a simple yet arduous task, reporting these readouts, but one that is vital, and wholly appreciated.” Zan had such a way with words sometimes.

Back in the present, Tuff, sighed, hitting the button that indicated that yes, another sector’s heat generator was on the blink and it needed looking at, so add it to the list. He hardly really needed to do anything. Scroll down a list, see if anything on the list was blinking red, press a check box next to it, and then hit the little orange button. Done.

Do that after training every other day for a couple hours, and that apparently would free them up to train him MORE on the off days when he didn’t. To be fair, they HAD held up their part of the bargain. And it wasn’t like he was doing it for ages. But so far he’d hardly done ANYTHING while here. Well, mostly.

There was another aspect of this ‘assignment’ they had pointed out to him, but it was a part that they’d assured him was nearly never going to happen. They had a deep space scan going for several planets around their orbit, and their radar was there to indicate if anything went amiss on them, power-scale wise. They’d given him a basic rundown of how to work it, and informed him that if anything went off on that radar, he was to hit a button to contact them immediately. So far, they had proven correct in that it had been utterly silent.

Tuff sighed, the Jammerjabs ignoring the display of restlessness. “Jamblasted. The things I do for friends,” he muttered. Maybe he could try to figure out more about the Jambastion language…

Two days after that, he returned, settling into another couple hours of poking at a screen. He’d been at least worked well during training- Francisca had taken a bit of a shine to him and as a result he’d been pushed more on his Water magic, which he’d come to understand came in multiple forms and fashions. He was still hardly beyond making baseball sized water balls and the smallest of icicles that he could throw, but the idea of ‘flowing from strength to strength’ was one he kinda dug, and it helped with his staff work at least.

Bzzzzzzt.Bzzzzzzzt.Tuff jumped at the surprisingly loud buzzing noise as the Jammerjabs with him suddenly started looking around in surprise. “H-huh? What’s makin’ that noise?” he asked. It was only a second or two later that he realized. “Wait…is that the radar?” He took a closer look at it. And sure enough, there was one of the planets lit up, a glowing orange he wasn’t sure of the meaning of. “Planet…Caverna? Whoa…Oh, right!” He’d nearly forgotten what to do, but with the Jammerjabs looking at him expectantly (he WAS technically higher ranked than them, if not by much now), he quickly pressed the ‘all-call’ emergency button he’d been told about. “Uhhh, we got a problem!”

In minutes, they’d all gathered as fast as they could, and right now all four mages were gathered around the radar, including Hyness.

“Caverna’s spare defense relay…” Zan muttered once she saw the readout.

“Spare defense what?” Tuff asked.

“During our…angry period, we set up defense relays across several planets with an orbit near Jambandra Base,” Zan explained. “We used the power the relays gathered to create an impenetrable seal around it. During their campaign, Kirby and his friends destroyed the relays…except this one. They destroyed the primary one on Caverna, but this was, I think, a backup we never fully engaged.”

“Meanin’ it didn’t have a different frequency to the primary one, so once the signal from the first cut off, the backup didn’t have anything to bounce to or even from,” Flamberge explained at sensing Tuff’s confusion. “Basically, it should be useless. So what’s causing a signal to go off there…?”

Tuff shrugged, looking closer. “Dunno, but uhhhh…I’m still learning how to read alla this, but from little I DO remember, whatever’s doin’ it is pretty tough.” The rest nodded their heads, agreeing.

Hyness, for his part, simply mused on the matter. “Hmmm…I wonder…”

“Sir?” Tuff asked.

Hyness quickly turned to him, chortling. “Hohoho, nothing, nothing. I was just thinking maybe it’s a good idea to get out and see to this little issue myself. The girls are already running around to catch up on work. No need to make it worse on them, eh!”

“What? Lord Hyness, no, we can-” Zan started, only to be shushed.

“Now, now, I KNOW you can handle it all. But I AM looking to stretch my limbs a bit, and who knows? This might be worth some important attention. You three can handle things here- you’ve still got plenty to do!”

“Wait, three?” Zan asked.

“Well, I’m taking the boy with me, of course!” Hyness said, his tone obvious. “Should be an excellent little field exercise! After what you said about him, Francisca, I’d like to see him in action myself!”

Huh. ‘Didn’t think I’d be going back out so soon,’ Tuff thought to himself, ‘But I’m not complainin’!’

The trip to Caverna was shorter than Ripple Star, for certain. If Tuff was being honest with himself, he’d been beginning to get a bit of a weird vibe when they began to approach. “Alllright!” At the very least, Lord Hyness hadn’t seemed to either sense the same thing, or he considered it not worth worrying about. “Well, then, let’s get down there, hm?”

The trip down was…honestly pretty cool. Planet Caverna was called ‘The Great Labyrinth, and for good reason- a lot of the surface seemed to be torn away and hollowed out, making massive caverns that were even visible from orbit. “How deep are we going?”

“Oh, not TOO deep,” Lord Hyness suggested. “Those relays can’t be too far underground anyway.”

“Right. So, uh…why here?” he asked.

Hyness blinked in realization. “Oh! Right, never told you. Well, honestly, we’d thought this place would’ve been an excellent little staging point of sorts,” he explained casually. “I’d conjure some empty warriors, test them out here, then send them out to retrieve the Jamba Heart pieces. Was fine until Kirby broke through the primary area. Didn’t get to the elite testing grounds, though, hoho! Must’ve missed the entrance.”

“Elite grounds? Is that where we’re going?” It sounded intimidating to Tuff.

“Jes! Even I still like to practice my magic, and this was where I’d conjured up more than a few ‘extra’ soldiers. More powerful than usual, and I’d intended to send them afield. No use for them now, though, so I’d imagine most of them are dissolved and whatnot. Can’t last forever, those constructs.” He turned to Tuff, tempered humor in his eyes. “That’s a quick lesson for you- know what you want to make before you make it. Seems like you never have enough time to work with it otherwise. And I’m not talking just conjuring! Elements, too!”

“Oh, right! I’ll remember!” ‘Hey, any advice from the leader is prolly good advice,’ he figured in his head.

“Heheh…y’know, you really do remind me of me as a younger sort,” he said wistfully.

“R-really? How?” That…Tuff wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

“Oh, you should’ve seen me as a child! I was all over creation, trying to learn this and that, trying to prove how skilled I was compared to my peers. Oh, I fell into all sorts of trouble, too!” He snorted and laughed at that. “But nothing could keep me from learning magic, no matter how many chores I had to do!”

Tuff could only laugh at the mental image of a beady eyed, younger Hyness zipping around. “Ha! I bet! And look at you- you’re like, a super-awesome mage now! With that super huge base, and everyone followin’ you…”

“Mmm…yes, yes. That’s true,” Hyness agreed, though his mood had quickly taken a turn for the dour. “Though I wouldn’t say I got there in the best circ*mstances…”

“Yeah, I know,” Tuff acknowledged. “You told me before, remember?”

Hyness paused for a moment, thinking. “Oh, did I? All of that?” He turned to Tuff, who nodded. “Oh! My, I must’ve forgotten. Japologa, my memory…”

“Eh, it’s fine,” Tuff dismissed. “You’ve been around for a while, so you got a lot to remember, it’ll happen.”

“...It’s not often I hear that,” Hyness said with a huff as he patted Tuff on the shoulder. “You’re a good child, Tuff. Don’t lose that- or your yearning for magic, hm?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t!” Tuff vowed that much.

As they walked on, however, Hyness was deep in thought. ‘The child has a gift for magic I’ve not seen in many years. There’s something peculiar about his soul, as well…I wonder if our Lord Void had anything to do with it? I didn’t take a close look at it before that little occurrence, so I don’t have a good baseline. Hmmm…perhaps I should try to bestow him with an element and see how he fares with learning it? He’s not even touched Bluster, so perhaps that one. He’ll still need to train in it, but…’ “...janno,” he muttered under his breath. “Not now…”

“Huh?” Tuff asked.

“Oh, just trying to remember how far away the relay is,” Hyness smoothly lied. “We should still be a few minutes away, I think.”

“Gotcha! I’ll keep an eye out for anything suspicious!” Tuff offered.

“You do that!” ‘He’s still trying to get beyond the basics of the others,’ was the conclusion. ‘Introducing a fourth element won’t help,’ Hyness decided. ‘But it’s something to consider for later, perhaps…’

He’d keep a close eye on his progress, that was for sure.

Several minutes later, they’d made it deeper in, and they could hear what sounded to Tuff like small popping explosions, and the sound of magical techniques going off. Hyness noticed as well, perking up at the sound. “Hm! Well, well. Whoever’s here is having a bit of fun, sounds like.”

“No kiddin’,” Tuff agreed. “You think those conjured elite whaddyacallits are still around after all?”

“Perhaps…” Hyness muttered. It would make the most sense. “Though if that’s the case, I have to admit I’m a bit surprised, myself!”

As they ventured further in, Tuff couldn’t help but notice that the environment seemed to shift from a sea-green and blueish color to a more muted and ominous maroon and purple. “Uhhh…it was around here, then?”

“I believe so…” Hyness muttered, glancing around briefly, before a sound had his ears twitching. “Aha! Over here!” He floated over towards a small tunnel, and the two quickly darted through, seeing a larger opening on the other side…

…and they could hear a warbling laugh as they entered the large chamber. “Wow, you guys are actually kinda fun! Wonder what else they’ve been hidin’ away!”

Tuff stopped. “Wait a second, that voice sounds familiar…”

“So it does,” Hyness said, nodding to himself. Speaking louder, he called out. “Pardon me. Marx, is it?”

“Huh? Hey, hey, hey!” In moments there was a flash, and the jester was in front of them, wings spread and looking like he’d been in the middle of a great snack. “Lookie here! It’s the old guy and the tuff kid!”

“It’s just Tuff, thanks,” Tuff said flatly. Marx simply laughed at it.

Hyness, for his part, ignored the jab. “Well now, how did you get here, might I ask?”

“Oh, you know me? Wanderin’ around, thinkin’ of places to go, things to do, pranks to pull. Thought I’d get me some inspiration from our last little adventure, so I went planet hoppin’! Figured this place might be neat, so I decided to take a look around. And lookie what I found not long ago!”

‘Huh. He can just DO that?’ Tuff wondered.

“Ended up recognizing ‘magey’ kinda magic from here when I passed by and got curious!” he continued. “Call it a feeling. Didn’t think you’d come running, though!”

“Well, you DID set off some sensors of ours,” Hyness noted. “We got a bit concerned, you see.”

“Aw, relax, then,” Marx dismissed. “I’m not lookin’ to mess with you or any of your toys right now.” Neither of them ignored the ‘right now’, though neither said anything, either. “Buuuut anywho, how’s you been doin’?” he asked towards Tuff. “Boy, you’ve REALLY gotten a costume change since last I saw ya, huh?”

“Me?” Tuff, for his part, hadn’t been expecting a simple conversation. “Uh…yeah, I guess! I’ve been alright. Lord Hyness and the Sisters have been teaching me a bunch.”

“He’s quite the bright spark,” Hyness supplied. “We’re happy to have him.”

“Yeah, yeah, I bet,” Marx dismissed. “So, you’re feelin’ good about your learnings, huh?”

“I mean…yeah, but-” Tuff started, only to be interrupted

“-then howsabout I see just what you can do with that religion-y magic stuff, little man?” Marx had a wide grin on his face as he spun around, gesturing to the whole cavern. “This place is chock fulla conjured up dummies just lookin’ to be cleaned out!”

“Wait, you want me to do THAT?” Tuff asked in shock. “No way, I’d get stomped on!”

“Psh, doy! Not on your own. I mean a contest! You and the old man against moi, banana brain!” Marx offered. “Whoever finishes off more, faster, wins!”

“That seems…a bit lopsided,” Hyness proffered. “I know you’re rather confident, but I’m certainly-”

“NOT FINIIIISHED!” Marx interrupted. “No DOY the old man’s strong, HE doesn’t get to fight for you! Buuuut I guess I’ll let him heal you up if you get roughed up too much. You can do that much, can’t you, old man?”

To Tuff’s surprise as he turned to Hyness, the master mage seemed to be considering it. “Hmmmm…and what would be the prize, then?” he asked. “Surely accomplishing a task like that would deserve some sort of reward, no?”

“Hmmmm…” Marx seemed to think about that one. “Ooh, I got it! Howsabout I clue you in on something neato?”

“Neato? Tuff repeated. “Whatcha mean by that?”

“Lil’ trick to help with your soul stuff,” Marx said, which immediately caught his attention. “Didn’t think you could manage when you first moped about it to me so I didn’t bother. Buuuut if you can hack this, you might be able to handle it!”

Hyness looked at him carefully. “You’d claim to be able to help stabilize his soul? That’s quite a task…”

Marx quickly shook his head. “Nah, nah, I said it would HELP. Mags spun a yarn about it and I thought it was juuuust interesting enough to remember. But you’re not gettin’ any more outta me until we have at it!” His grin returned full force. “So? Whaddya say?”

The master and apprentice looked at each other in questioning. Hyness was the first to speak. “This would be your decision. I’ll help as I’m able, of course.”

“Right…” Ignoring Marx’s bored expression, he thought about it for a few moments. This would be…risky. He’d seen a bit of Marx’s power for himself. If he were being honest, he didn’t think he stood a chance. ‘So why even bother challenging? Just ‘cause he wanted to?’ That DID sound like a ‘Marx’ attitude to have…

He knew there was next to no way he could win, but…he had to figure out what Marx’s game in this game was. ‘Sometimes I kinda hate bein’ so curious.’ Taking a deep breath, he nodded. “You’re on!”

“Woo!” Marx cheered, flipping up and around. “Alright! I’ll show you where we’re gonna start, then. This’ll be FUN!”

‘Yeah, but for who?’ Tuff mentally complained.

It wasn’t very far before he was led to an overhang, and in the distance he could see a number of small openings around the cavern interior, lit up as it was- the signs next to them showed that they led to various spots with numerous conjurations. Around him, he could see a few knocked out individuals and smashed crates- various local denizens and probably leftover supplies, he could only presume. They didn’t LOOK super tough, at least. “So, what’s the rules?”

“Rules?” Marx co*cked his head at him. “Aside from no old man help, why would there be RULES?” Tuff opened his mouth to say so, but Marx simply bowled him over. “Well, I guess if you want a rule so badly, how about ‘no faking it’? Is that enough of a rule for ya?”

“Ngh…fine,” Tuff relented. ‘Which means he’s free to mess with me all he wants…’ he realized. There wouldn’t be much getting out of this one…

“Great! Okay, ready?” Marx took position without waiting. “Three…”

Tuff quickly braced himself, willing himself to calm down. “Two…”

A light touch on his shoulder. “Be calm, Apprentice. Use what you’ve been taught, and you’ll be fine.”

“One…” That gentle, single sentence did more to soothe him than he’d expected, blinking once as he refocused.

“GO!”

The two darted off, splitting into different areas to take on the first few enemies they dared, Marx’s laughter trailing them in a whooping echo.

The first conjuration he saw was…well, someone unexpected. “Mr. Frosty?” It certainly wasn’t the one he’d seen around town- that one was a bit more jolly than this one seemed to be, judging by how rudely this one scowled. He also recalled the real Mr. Frosty preferred blue accents on his overalls to red ones. Weird…

“But, can’t let that stop me,” he muttered to himself. “Bring it on!” He had just the ticket for this one…

…though he began to second-guess that when the imitation walrus proceeded to perform a VERY athletic backflip that quickly turned into a bodyslam Tuff barely managed to dodge. “Since when could you pull THAT off?!”

“GRAAAWR!” was the only response.

‘Right, they wouldn’t need to talk, huh?’ Tuff realized. Dismissing the issue for now, he took a breath, channeling his fire to the tip of his staff, and started swinging.

For the next…while, he wasn’t honestly sure, his focus was solely on darting from room to room, trying his best to keep up the pace. His fight with Mr. Frosty had been slower than he’d wanted, with the big guy pummeling him with ice cubes and sending him sprawling with body slams. It had frustrated him, but he’d persevered, and upon getting out of the makeshift arena, Marx’s warbling laughter was galvanizing enough.

The next room he’d wandered into was a bootleg Kawasaki, to his honest surprise and confusion- but unlike before, he’d decided to simply go forwards- and perhaps let a bit of repressed frustration out. Kawasaki was a friend for sure, but boy, his food…he hadn’t expected the whirling plateware dervish the clone was, however- or the weird ladle. Whatever he intended with that, Tuff would rather not find out, thanks. The fragments of cups in his hair were bad enough.

The ‘hub’ area hadn’t exactly been worry free, either. Several Comos had taken to the place that Marx hadn’t beaten up- he’d had to smash them out of the way before making his way through several tunnels.

After defeating the pseudo-Kawasaki, he’d even had to contend with a Grizzo, accidentally awoken from its slumber- once a monster that he’d ran from, he was more than confident in facing down now, and it was smacked to the side with three skillful hits. THAT in particular had made him feel proud of how far he’d come and how hard he’d trained.

As he climbed to the centerpoint of the hub to see just how much else he’d have to go, he heard what sounded like a reasonably large explosion go off somewhere behind him. The cavern shook, and for a moment Tuff was thrown off his feet. “Gah! Whoa!”

As he’d hit the dirt, however, he was quickly overcome with a strange, soothing feeling- almost like when he’d bit into a Maxim Tomato. Those things were TASTY. “Careful, kiddo!” He looked up to see Hyness over him, doing…something, he wasn’t sure. “You should be more sure-footed by now, hm?”

“S-sorry, sir,” he apologized. “It’s only been a couple fights, but they’ve seriously been rougher than I expected…”

“Have they? Or maybe not as easy as you’d hoped?” he asked simply.

Tuff grimaced. “...good point,” he admitted. There was almost no sense in lying to Lord Hyness- he seemed to be able to tell every time. “How many more rooms do we have left?” he asked.

Wordlessly, he pointed towards the one that he’d let alone until now- the single hallway above the entrance to the relay area- and where the explosion had most likely come from. Before he could confirm, he heard Marx again. “Hellooooo Not-Bugzzy!”

That was enough of a notice. For a moment, Tuff’s heart sank. If that was it and Marx had gotten to it, then he couldn’t-

-wait. ‘No rules. I even said it myself!’ he realized, and without further prompting he darted down the tunnel.

He was just in time to see Marx flying circles around the clone Bugzzy that he’d indicated, who was trying to catch him in his jaws.

Tuff didn’t even bother to think. He channeled as much energy as he dared, and swung for the fences, washing everything in front of him in fire for a few moments. He could just barely see Marx turn to him- and give a legitimately flabbergasted expression before he was blown away, tumbling through the air.

The Not-Bugzzy, for its part, seemed to hit its limit there as it just about exploded in a - likely Marx had done a number on it before and was toying with him before the finale. But that had given Tuff enough time to interfere and take the win for himself. ‘That was another thing,’ Tuff thought to himself with a small smirk. ‘If Marx is so willing to say anything goes, then he said that ‘whoever finishes off more, wins’!

“Hey, hey, HEY!” Not that Marx’s face seemed to indicate that. “What’s all that for!? I was having a grand old time!”

“You said just to finish ‘em!” Tuff said out loud. “You never said nothin’ about having to beat ‘em up before you did it!”

There was a pause, as Marx’s face twisted into a terrible scowl. Tuff thought that perhaps he’d bet too much on Marx’s capricious nature upon seeing that, and prepared to call for Lord Hyness…

And then the scowl turned into a bellowing laugh. “GahAHAHAHAHAHA! Wow! Wow, wow, wow!” Without warning he teleported right up into Tuff’s face- and Tuff only blinked once as a brief dizzy spell washed over him. “Lookit you being all two-faced and stuff! Didn’t think you’d go for that kinda play,” he said casually, still near face to face with him, only now with a massive grin. “Might be hope for you yet!”

“I mean…” Tuff leaned back slightly. “You SAID no rules.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d TAKE ADVANTAGE of it!” Marx admitted as he finally reared back. “I was alllll prepped to toy around with that guy for a while, then off him right as you showed up and wait for you and then maybe laugh at you for a little bit. Instead, you got here earlier than I expected and WHAM! Buncha fire right between the wings!” Marx faux tumbled through the air. “Never saw it coming, it was great!”

Tuff…wasn’t quite sure how to take this. “...thanks?”

Marx stuck his tongue out. “Blah, don’t thank me, thank yourself. You figured to go for it no matter what and that’s cool. I mean, don’t do that again, I’ll fill you full of LASER arrows,” he casually warned. “They’re like normal arrows but better.”

“Uhhh…” ‘ Should I tell the Star Allies about that threat?’

“Oh relax, they wouldn’t hurt you TOO bad,” Marx dismissed. “Kirbs can handle them, you’d only be out for a couple hours, tops. You’re really something, soul boy.”

“Indeed he is,” Hyness noted, the two of them turning to see his form coming through the tunnel. “I’m impressed he took such initiative! Though it WAS risky…”

“Blah, there’s no fun without risk!” Marx dismissed. “Anyway, said I was gonna slip ya a little info for doing well enough in this little competition, and that last bit was funny enough that I’ll call this one a draw even though I won.” Neither of them debated the wording, instead listening carefully- one in curiosity, one in caution. “Mags told me once a little tidbit about one of his interdimensional trips. This one wasn’t long after Kirby kicked his keister so hard he got shunted inbetween dimensions.” Tuff…had SEVERAL questions about that, but kept them to himself for now. “So, sad kitty boy is working on getting his powers back- long story, blah blah blah, but point being…didja know there’s more than one way to supercharge your magic energy, and getcha more besides?” Marx gave a grin that was almost wicked. “A way that's allll natural, and doesn’t worry about Soul?”

Chapter 17: Face The Future

Chapter Text

“Oy…this ain’t the Another Dimension I remember,” Rick had said upon entering the darkness and taking a look around. “What ‘appened here?”

“It’s hardly a consistent place,” had been Susie’s response. “There are a few stable pockets, but nothing looks like how you’d expect it here.”

Well, in her case, Tiff had no real expectations going beyond the threshold. Susie and Rick had called it ‘Another Dimension’, and Tiff was both shocked and not. She’d understood that they’d been to different dimensions before hers, had heard about such things in passing, but it never really settled as to how ready they seemed to be or how steady they were when discussing the situation. The idea of alternate dimensions, though it was starting to be internalized, still filled her with both dread and wonder.

At the moment, the wonder was all gone, and there was only dread. “How long have we been here…?” she asked shakily as her head whipped to and fro, trying to keep an eye on everything that moved.

Susie took only a moment to glance down at something on her Business Suit. “Not very long. Keep moving.” Sure, like everything else.

And really, there was a LOT that moved. Even the ground beneath her didn’t quite feel solid. In the distance where the sky should be, she could see a swirling vortex that she refused to think any deeper about. Surrounding it were…planets. Buildings of unnatural make. Objects that she couldn’t quite discern. Stars and shapes and concepts she swore had no visual equal in realspace, but this was…

“Whoa now,” Rick said, catching her as she nearly tripped over a rock that she swore hadn’t been there seconds ago. “This place ain’t for the foggy-eyed, yeah?” She could only nod, and resolve to focus more.

Susie took a moment to look around, look up. Then she suddenly shifted direction. “This way.” Tiff and Rick had to be quick to follow as she wound around various strange clouds that she knew for certain weren’t clouds, and stone arches- doorways that seemed to be empty, but survival instinct told her to avoid walking through.

…this wasn’t anywhere ‘normal’. Intrinsically, she understood that this wasn’t somewhere she could ever hope to fully understand- something beyond even Dreamland’s whimsical nonsense. So the best she could do was simply follow Susie, who’d been marching along with a steel gaze and steady piloting of her Business Suit. “You’re tracking them, right?” Tiff asked. “You look like you know where you’re going.”

“Yes,” Susie said brusquely. Silence followed it. Tiff couldn’t help but wonder both why she was so silent, and more importantly…

“So…you’ve been here before?” she asked. Rick gave her a cautious side-eye, but said nothing.

“Yes.” Susie took only a moment to look behind her- her expression wasn’t angry, but she was clearly focused. “I didn’t enjoy it.”

“...do you mind if I ask how that happened?” Tiff ventured, ignoring the alarmed look from Rick at that question. She looked like she needed or at least wanted to vent, and the sigh she gave seemed to agree. However, she simply shook her head.

“I appreciate the attempt at conversation, but as I said. I didn’t enjoy it. It strongly affected me, in various ways I’m loath to recollect.” Her expression softened- something more akin to sorrow. “I suspect you already know the candid parts as they relate to Pop Star. I’ll spare you the drama.” She turned around to focus on piloting, and Tiff’s eyes widened briefly as it hit home. ‘This has something to do with her mechanization plan! This place…did it make her change somehow? Change her personality, or her mind or body?’ She couldn’t stop the followup question from coming out. “How long WERE you here?”

The Business Suit came to a stop, and Tiff saw that Susie couldn’t meet her face as her voice broke only slightly. “...too long.”

Oh. Rick sighed, and moved to interrupt. “Lass…”

“But…you’re willing to come back to such a creepy place for your stuff anyway?” Tiff gently asked, pushing onwards anyway. It seemed almost silly…

“Yes,” Susie said, her voice a touch brighter- but only a touch. “They’ll be vital for continuing operations for my latest ventures. Among other tools, I’ll need them to broadcast my most recent project."

“Broadcast?” Tiff asked. That sounded like-

“Channel HST- Haltmann Shopping Television!” she announced proudly. “Your future one stop TV channel for all your shopping needs! Selling unique and innovative goods and labor-saving tools to bring happiness and prosperity right to your front door, all broadcast and shipped multiversally to anyone with the proper reception devices!”

“Wait, multiversally?” Tiff repeated. That sounded like-

“Well, of course!” Susie said brightly. The talk of her business had energized her, clearly. “Remember, I AM working within YOUR Dream Land. That means I have a whole new market out there to appeal to! The Haltmann Works Company’s reach will extend beyond dimensions!” She paused, before whipping back around to turn to the girl. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to film a brief promotional advertisem*nt for the channel, would you?”

Tiff’s expression went flat as Rick held back a laugh. ‘I almost forgot who I was talking to…’

As they made their way through the strange, ever changing dimension, Tiff soon came to realize that her suspicions about the ground itself being suspect was accurate enough, especially when several portions of the ground seemed to move on their own, shifting their balance and forcing the two to move slower. “Careful. This pocket isn’t stable,” Susie said a bit obviously. “It shouldn’t collapse, but let’s move quickly, just to be safe.”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘collapse’?!” Tiff asked worriedly as she tried to correct for the sudden plateau she was on. It had been flat terrain just seconds ago…

“Put it like this- if suddenly you can see nothing but a purple haze that seems to be getting closer from one direction, run your hardest in the other,’ she stressed.

“She ain’t kiddin’,” Rick agreed. “Just beat feet. Scary stuff, a collapse.” Tiff could only nod at the frighteningly simple advice. And both of them had dealt with it before?

A bit further, before Susie suddenly stopped. “Hold. Something’s ahead.”

Rick stepped up, eying just what Susie had spotted. “Now that’s somethin’ new ta me,” he admitted. “Look frightenin’, though.”

“Is it those Doomer things?” Tiff asked, stepping alongside her. They were circular, all right, and seemed to have wings, but they didn’t seem all that big- or threatening. There were a good handful of them, though…

Susie shook her head. “No. But they’re related. Dippa horde.” Her sentences grew more clipped and direct, long-thought dead feelings surging back to the surface by just looking at them. “Annoying, but manageable. They’ll shoot at you, then charge. Deflect or dodge, then strike. Hard, fast, with no mercy, or they will END YOU. Understand me?” The look she leveled at Tiff brooked no argument, and Tiff wasn’t inclined to start one.

Both Rick and Tiff nodded. “Yes ma’am,” she responded, falling back into Cadet habits subconsciously. Honestly, they’d probably help her here. “On your order.”

“...right, Meta Knight’s been working with you,” she mumbled, before turning back towards their enemies. Tiff idly wondered how much she’d kept abreast of, considering her relative closeness to her father. ‘Something to ask later,’ she decided as Susie continued. “I’ll launch a pod volley, then we move in. You do your Knight thing, Rick lights them up, and I’ll be right behind you both. I’m hoping he’s trained you well enough to handle this, Ebrum.” Tiff nodded, and braced herself, dropping her visor as Susie did the same and tapped a button, counting down. “Three…two…one…firing!”

Two pods shot out and arced over towards the flock- she remembered seeing them in action before, and knew that the explosion would probably be enough to scatter them. She was quickly proven correct, and the strange warbling screeches they made only galvanized her to move fast and get this over with as she charged in. She could just barely hear Rick alongside her or Susie bounding behind her as she lunged into the nearest Dippa- her lance skewered it straight through the center, and with a short shriek it seemed to almost explode with a gooey pop , with little of it remaining- no body, only specks of paint-like substance .

‘Gross…’ She was just glad there wasn’t a lot of residue to get on her armor. ‘Different dimension, way different rules of engagement,’ she noted to herself as the remainder of the flock converged on them- there were a good number that Susie’s first strike hadn’t taken out. She didn’t have time to rest as two more spat globules of dark energy at her- the first was blocked, the second dodged entirely, and she leapt to swat both of them out of the air with a swing of her lance. That and the impact on the ground was enough to dispatch the both of them, meeting the same fate as their brethren.

She heard Rick take a breath, and gouts of flame began to spew out of his mouth as several of the Dippas roasted in the heat. He seemed to be markedly aware of where he was, stopping only to reposition himself to avoid a Dippa’s charge as his flames ate into project and creature alike.

Behind her, she heard Susie’s Business Suit going to town as the mech slammed into several Dippas itself, the high-speed hands as good a bludgeon as anything else. That calmed her a bit, even as more Dippas began to assault her. She responded in kind, stabbing through at least two more before turning to face the rest.

Ultimately, the fight was fierce- it felt like it had been several minutes by the time it was over, but was more than likely only a few seconds, Tiff getting the last one with a solid thrust upwards, bringing it to the ground in a splat. “All clear?” Tiff asked, as she moved to check the perimeter of the immediate area… as much as she could, anyway. Nothing that she could see, at any rate, but in a place like this that wasn’t saying much.

“Nothin’ I can hear,” Rick offered.

“Nothing on radar, Ebrum,” Susie acknowledged. “I believe that was the last of them. We should get moving.”

“Right,” Tiff agreed, moving on with them.

It was a few more minutes of cautious travel before Susie, surprisingly, was the one to break the silence. “You’ve grown, Ebrum.”

“Thanks. Time generally does that,” Tiff shot back, though the rejoinder had no heat behind it.

“Hmph.” What left Susie’s mouth was almost a chuckle. “Not wrong, but I meant more in maturity, though you ARE taller than last I saw you. I suppose in a way I’m not too surprised. Our Pop Star’s been treating you well,” Susie concluded.

“...Yeah, it has,” Tiff agreed, though Susie’s mention of time brought back to mind something she’d thought about earlier. “How’s mine been treating you?”

“Fair enough,” she admitted. “One gets…acclimated to the Cappies with enough exposure. There have been a number of changes to Cappy Town since last you saw it. Some finished, and some still under construction.”

“Wait, there’s been new buildings?” Tiff asked in surprise. “What’s happening?”

“Nothing negative, I VERY much assure you,” Susie insisted. “Simply the natural consequence of the galactic community hearing that Nightmare and NME has been destroyed at large…and that the people who did it came from a little backwater planet known as Pop Star.” She turned around and flipped her visor up, giving Tiff an mildly amused look. “Ironically enough, it seems Dream Land, and Cappy Town in particular, HAS in fact become a bit of a tourist destination. Or at least a bit of a pilgrimage site. Little Kirby’s house has…quite the number of decorative gifts and expressions of gratitude plastered around it, much to your king’s displeasure.”

Tiff blinked in surprise at that news. ‘Kirby’s house? A pilgrimage site?’ That just sounded…weird. But then the other half of Susie’s statement clicked. “Wait, just what is OUR King Dedede trying to do now?”

“Nothing that your friends cannot handle, don’t fret,” Susie said calmly. “That Knuckle Joe and Sirica girl have proven quite capable of short-circuiting any robots or beasts he tries to make.”

“Wait, your Dedede’s cookin’ up monsters?” Rick said. “That don’t sound very safe. Don’t think ours did that in his darkest days.”

“So he DID finish that serum?” Tiff realized, asking. She remembered how it had made a small caterpillar into a massive worm-beast. That sounded like that would be rough for the citizens…

“It appears so. But, as I said, those two, plus a few of the locals have proven to be able defenders of the town. So relax- your home is safe,” Susie assured calmly. “Not to mention, my own security forces are helping to make sure that anything untoward that they attempt is shut down rather quickly. His crony’s amateurish engineering still doesn’t hold a candle to Haltmann Works. Your father can attest to that personally.”

“Dad?! How’s he and Mom doing?” she leapt at. Truthfully, she had been trying to avoid the topic for fear of heartache, but Susie had practically dangled the conversation topic in front of her- she quickly became invested enough to nearly trip over a suddenly moving set of rocks, and for a moment they had to focus on dodging free flying boulders- and to Tiff’s vocal alarm, what appeared to be pieces of…space? “Wha! What th-?”

“This happens,” Susie said calmly as she hopped over another piece of dimensional space, and Rick and Tiff darted out of the way. “Another Dimension isn’t stable, as I said before. Sometimes pieces like to start moving and then settle elsewhere.” Tiff looked to Rick, who’d been dodging them as well almost casually, nearly making a game of it. ‘I really need to figure out that Infinity Jump thing,’ she resolved. However, before much longer, the flying chunks seemed to stop. “Here, I think we’re clear,” Susie noted. Indeed, no more pieces were flying at or around them.

“That’s always a thriller,” Rick noted with a small chuckle. Tiff found herself disagreeing…or maybe agreeing in a different manner.

“Now, where was I?” Susie continued. “Ah, right, your parents. They’re fine- your mother’s actually working with your local mechanic at the moment, which I wholeheartedly support for more than one reason. And your father’s doing surprisingly well as Factory Manager. He’s navigated the expansion plans with skill and aplomb. I’m vaguely considering giving him a point-five percent raise.”

“Expansion, huh?” she noted…but considering how many people she’d just informed her were visiting now, and her plans from before, she supposed it made sense.

“Yes. I prefer to build up, not out, so don’t worry about taking up too much space,” Susie informed her. “No, what you SHOULD be annoyed at is your King’s attempt to- hold.” Suddenly, the conversation came to an end as Susie froze up again, visor going up; now used to it, Tiff halted immediately and lowered her own visor as well. Rick stretched out a bit, readying himself. “...found them.” The trio looked out in the distance, near what appeared to be a small stone ruin.

They were large…orbular creatures with wings, and two large tailfeathers apiece, just as Lololo and Lalala had described. One seemed to almost be roosting on the stone pillars, and the others swaying around some floating land almost like they were bobbing in the nonexistent breeze. But what was notable about them besides their strange, purple nebula-like bodies, were their massive mouths. And inside them, in strange spheres… “My fuel cubes. Just as I suspected. They’re attracted to high energy objects. Normally they prefer the energy of magical items, but when starved…anything that gives off a decent amount of energy will do.”

“Starved?” Tiff asked. “They’re hungry?” She couldn’t tell at all, and judging by the confused expression he wore, neither did Rick.

“Half lidded eyes, thinned feathers,” Susie pointed out. “And they’re not moving nearly as jerkily as normal Doomers do, either. No, this section of Another Dimension seems to be lacking in food for them- which also explains why they expended energy so wantonly. They want an easy doorway back to get more fuel.”

That made sense enough to Tiff. She looked at Rick, who simply shook his head. “Right. So we gotta bash ‘em up to get your stuff back?” he asked.

“Just so,” Susie confirmed. “However. Just like with the Dippas, but more sincerely, you need to realize they are NOT to be trifled with, starving or not.” Her voice was steely, and carried a hint of a hated memory, if Tiff had to guess. “They’re smarter than Dippas, they can coordinate, and they’re brutal. Spare no quarter, and don’t think twice.”

“Right…” Tiff breathed out. “Like the Dippas.” ‘Okay, steady now. I can do this. I’ve fought bigger before…I think.’ Not that size was an indicator of strength, obviously, but any reassurance helped.

“Steady on, Tiff. You got this, alright? Did great earlier, just keep that rollin’,” Rick reassured. “I got your back.”

“Thanks,” she responded lightly. Really, ANY reassurance helped. “On your mark,” Tiff offered to Susie.

“Right, then. Same opening as last time,” she decided, readying herself at the controls. “Three…two…one…firing!”

The drillbits went up, over, and they connected yet again on the nearest Doomer. However, instead of scattering the trio, they instead merely turned towards the source, screeching terribly almost as one. It didn’t take them long at all to charge back at the trio that was doing the same to them. Rick had to dodge a volley of energy bullets sent his way suddenly, the Doomer practically spitting them out at him; his flames given in return hit flush, causing the Doomer to back off momentarily- where it was quickly replaced by a divebombing partner, intending to take up where its brethren left off.

Tiff quickly interjected herself in between the two, and could only raise her shield and brace as it rammed at full force into her, the impact jarring her body badly and forcing her back at least a foot or so. She gritted her teeth to stand her ground, but she slowly began to give way against the beast’s incessant pushing.

“Off!” She heard Susie’s voice say, and a massive steel hand moved to swat it away, the Doomer going sprawling. However it was clear that she had simply reprioritized, not dispatched her own Doomer so soon. It hadn’t been disoriented for long, and quickly began to shoot more energy spheres. One of those hit her Business Suit, and it buckled slightly, causing a huff of frustration from Susie even as Rick barreled into it via rock form, close as it was to the ground.

The third, meanwhile, had recollected itself, and added to the rain of energy, causing both Susie and Tiff to leap out of the way of the volley; there was little in the way of cover, and so all they had was retaliation. Susie fired off a second pair of drillbits, while Tiff took aim and channeled her energy. The drillbit explosion was enough to keep their attention off of Tiff for a few moments, and when she let loose with a yell and a wave of energy aimed at the two menacing creatures, they were hit flush and sent tumbling midair.

“Watch it!” Cried Rick to their left. Tiff looked to see what the danger was-

“AGH!” -and only saw a blur of purple before she felt a jarring impact and a buzz of pain shoot through her, her vision flipping between ground and sky for a few moments as she was bowled over.

“Tiff!” She heard as she made to get back up quickly- that impact had shaken her, and hurt, but she’d dealt with worse, and being able to recover from impacts and mentally refocus was one of the things Meta Knight had been keen to drill into her early on. She quickly turned to see the Doomer, out of melee range, turn around and immediately spit another volley of spheres at her, likely intending to keep her down. Training carried her as she near-instinctually leapt out of the way- only to have to keep running when a sound in her ears told her that that wasn’t the only volley she’d been the target of.

Two, three, four more orbs splashed just where she was as she ducked and dove, one clipping her lance hand causing her to wince as Rick quickly came over to cover her. “You alright, kiddo?” he asked as Susie moved to engage solo for a moment, again drawing attention.

She nodded as she reset herself. “Yeah. Let’s go.” And with that, she charged again. Tiff could barely hear herself at this point- her pulse thundered, her ears tuned out anything that wasn’t her opponents and her allies, and her eyes were laser focused on their quarry. There was no fight or flight at this point, not that she was in a state to recognize it. There was only fight and win, or else.

Susie, fortunately, had managed to keep them at least at bay with her spin cycle, arms flailing and preventing them getting too close. Two broke off as soon as they spied Tiff and Rick returning to the fray, spitting yet another volley at them as they swarmed closer. Tiff ducked low, holding her shield up to defend, and the energy bullets broke against it harmlessly, allowing Rick a moment to get closer to spit his own ordinance back. Fire bloomed from his mouth, causing them to screech in pain and anger, and more importantly for them to flee for a moment.

Suddenly, a loud screech of pain interrupted the proceedings, and the two glanced to Susie to see that, in a burst of black energy, one of the Doomers had been destroyed, causing its cargo to be released harmlessly.

The remaining two Doomers screeched loudly in anger, but the damage had been done and the advantage was now lost to them. They didn’t retreat, however, instead charging again one after the other, despite the flames that still buffeted them.

Rick, to her surprise, smirked slightly, leaping up, seemingly to clear the first Doomer’s charge- however, it was too shallow, and that was his intention. “Hup!” With a grunt of effort, he thrust his feet down, slamming on top of the Doomer’s head in a show of impressive timing that sent the monster crashing into the ground, skidding for a brief distance.

Tiff didn’t have time to see beyond that as the second Doomer had been bearing down on her- but this time she was ready for it. Instead of retreating or defending, this time she charged back. It wasn’t a Charge, no, but she just had to get the right angle and move riiiight…

‘Now!’ Tiff shifted left. Just by a bit.

…and the creature missed her by inches, while her lance was angled to skewer it through. It felt like it’d shoved itself clear through the beast, it barely getting a squawk out before it disappeared in a burst of energy as well, the last bits floating away. Two down, but that still meant that there was one more left to-

-oh. She had turned around to face the last opponent, only to see Rick detransforming from his big boulder form, the last traces of energy from the fallen Doomer dissipating into the ether, and the fuel cube crate no longer restrained. “Woo!” Rick cheered. “That was a dicey one, yeah?”

Looking around, and seeing no more Doomers, she realized that it was over. Letting out a sigh, she nodded. “Yeah. But we got them all back, right?” she asked, looking over to Susie for her answer.

The businesswoman nodded. “It seems so. Thank goodness. Now, let's hurry and gather these up. With the Doomers dead and gone, normally…” Her statement cut off as the air in front of her seemed to shift and shimmer- and suddenly there was another strange rip in space- though on the other side they could see a familiar castle’s walls. “...the resonant energy of the original access point gets shunted over to the place of death to attempt to keep it stable for as long as possible.” Picking up the crate nearest her, she turned to the others, who had done the same. “Let’s move, this is a temporary exit!”

‘Thank goodness,’ Tiff thought to herself. ‘This place gives me the absolute creeps.’

“Really, thank you so so much!” Lololo and Lalala cheered yet again as Tiff finished her inspection. She’d have to report what all had happened, but as Susie had expected, the dimensional tear had collapsed in on itself not long after they’d exited, leaving the castle just as it was with no further damage. They’d been thankful to the point of tears, practically. “We really owe you one, Ms. Knight!” Lalala insisted.

“No, really, I was doing this on King Dedede’s order!” she insisted. The hero worship was getting to be a bit much. “And again, it’s Tiff.”

“Oh, right!” Lololo agreed easily. It had been the second time he had and she doubted he’d remember this time, either. “So, Ms. Tiff, everything in order now?”

She sighed, putting away her clipboard. “Yeeeess, everything looks fine now,” she said with a hint of exasperation. “No damages, no shortages, no nothing. Aside from the Doomer issue, everything’s in order. You’re clear. Just make sure you start shipping everything out soon, and let King Dedede know.”

“We’ll send out the shipment confirmations first thing!” Lololo promised, saluting.

Susie spoke up from the entranceway. “And I hope you don’t mind, but I’ll simply take my parcels back with me now, hm?”

“Oh, sure!” the duo agreed. “By all means!”

“Excellent,” Susie agreed. “Then I’ll be taking my leave soon. What about you, Ebrum?”

Tiff nodded. “I’m done here, too. I’ll need to get this report back to Great King on the double.”

As they both gave their farewells to the duo and exited the castle, they noticed Rick had reconnected with Kine and Coo, regaling them about the quest they had undertaken in Another Dimension. “...Big things, too- and apparently Susie there says those were the sickly type! I wouldn’t wanna face a healthy one!” His tale was interrupted seeing the other two approach. “Oh! You’re both set already?” Tiff nodded, looking askance at Susie who was clearly shifting her Business Suit to fly, the crates jammed into the device somewhere she couldn’t see..

“That we are,” Susie also confirmed. However, she then looked to Tiff. “Ebrum. I’ll also be headed to Castle Dedede. Shall we form a mutual escort? I’d like to talk with you about something.”

“Girl talk, eh?” Rick commented. “That’ll be something I’ll pass on. Pick’s enough lady talk for me.”

“Pick?” Tiff asked, before it clicked. “Wait, you have a wife, too?”

“Eheh…” Rick seemed to get awfully bashful awfully suddenly, and the two girls left amidst some playful needling between the animal trio.

It was about halfway there when Susie maneuvered a touch closer to Tiff, finding the moment to speak up. “Right, then. I’m afraid I have a bit of a confession to make.”

Tiff eyed Susie curiously. At this point in time, she’d begun to…well, she could sort of begin to see behind the mask of ‘strict businesswoman’ that she seemed to wear all the time. At least, she felt that way. “What is it?” she asked mildly. She at least doubted it was anything nefarious.

“Truth is, I had another action item on the agenda,” she confessed. “It wasn’t happenstance I came here. I was actually asked to locate and speak to you you, Ebrum.”

That had caught her off-guard. “Wait, what?”

Susie merely nodded in confirmation. “You’re a popular one nowadays, it seems. I wasn’t planning on complaining today, but after King Dedede contacted me, it proved a ready excuse. Really, I should’ve seen about the delivery delay earlier, but I was busy. At any rate,” and here she eyed Tiff carefully. “I need to see one of those ‘Dark Mind’ shards of yours…because I believe I may be able to develop a shard locator.”

Chapter 18: Interlude- The More Things Change...

Chapter Text

In A Similar, Yet Different Dream Land…

The young Cappy girl wrapped her shawl carefully as she looked outside. Cappy Town rarely got snow outside of abnormal circ*mstances, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t occasionally get chilly. Hefting her tote bag, she checked to make sure everything was in its place; a few smaller packages had arrived, and several important places had their own little pockets for letters so she wouldn’t get them mixed up. It helped speed things up, on the whole.

Turning to her boss, she gave a quick wave as she headed out to begin her rounds. “I’m off, Melman!”

“Thank you, Honey,” the old delivery man offered with a small smile as he prepared his own route. “I know I say it a lot, but I appreciate the help!” Melman had been getting on in years, after all. While he was at first confident he could keep it going for a while longer, the town had changed over the last year…so he wouldn’t say no to some volunteer assistance giving him some much needed downtime.

“It’s no problem!” she reassured, and with that, she hopped on her Winged Star, and zipped away. That was another positive to her helping- the citizens got their mail faster than ever now thanks to how fast she could go. Why, they could actually get their mail in the morning!

She’d be a great choice to take over if she ever felt like it. But, for now, he was still Melman the mailman, and he had a route to get to himself. Huffing a bit to collect himself, he stepped out into Cappy Town to do as he always did.

Honey had come to realize something. She didn’t just love flying. She adored it. Being able to move in any direction hadn’t lost its thrill and usefulness to her in the year she’d been practicing, and it had gotten to the point that she largely only touched the ground when necessary anymore. Under her own power, she was still limited, yes, but with her Winged Star, the skies were freely open to her. However, she had a job to do- a job she’d asked to do, really- and so that would have to wait a bit. A couple of the other kids waved to her as she passed by- many families still didn’t get much mail, but many more than before NME’s fall did.

That was more than likely because there were more families outright. The news had spread across the galaxy, practically overnight. As a result, the town had grown in popularity over the past year or so- and it wasn’t showing signs of slowing down any time soon. It soon was common to see visitors walking about, talking about the area or asking about the local history. (Thankfully, most were much better behaved than the rude tourists Dedede had attracted a bit ago.) There were a few more houses, a couple more dirt roads, and a few big projects underway. As she made her way around the town square, she took a moment to look at three of the first, if not THE first additions to the town after NME’s destruction.

Three statues surrounding the big tree in the center had been constructed. Tiff, holding a miniature Warp Star high in one hand, looking serious and stoic. Tuff, raising the opposite fist in defiance, yet with a challenging grin on his face. And Kirby, smiling as he ever did, raising his arm as if to warmly greet whomever was approaching.

They’d been agreed upon by unanimous consent- save for King Dedede and Escargoon’s, but in an interesting reversal of the norm the town had collectively shouted him down. Supposedly it had been Fololo and Falala convincing him that ultimately did the trick- he’d let it through with the caveat that on the base of each, the words ‘With thanks to the illustrious King Dedede’ would be engraved. They’d agreed to the bargain- and then promptly wrote it in as small text as possible, at the veeeery bottom.

He still hadn’t noticed after the first inspection, where they’d tricked him with some well placed magnifying glass.

Continuing on her route, she found herself in front of Gus’ Garage. It’d gotten a few additions as well- namely, a few more fueling spots. That had been largely due to the addition of some more vehicles around town, courtesy of Haltmann Works and the Mayor’s own interest in motorsport. She’d introduced the ‘Haltmann Roadster’ to Cappy Town as well, to respectable fanfare and as a bit of a test run. Not many had one yet. The town was still very walkable, but it was starting to get just big enough that some wheels (or wings in her case) wouldn’t go amiss for those that could afford such. And speaking of… “Mail call, Gus!” she called out as she entered the front door.

Mrs. Ebrum was at the counter today, it seemed; she was often alternating between helping with the vehicles nowadays or doing this on slower ones. “Allo, Honey dear!” The lady greeted. “‘Ow is the mailmaning?”

“Doing alright, Mrs. Ebrum. Just started!” Honey had been a bit worried about Mrs. Ebrum since they’d left King Dedede, and at first she seemed to almost be listless after Tiff and Tuff had left, but the former Lady Like seemed to be doing just fine these days. At the very least she wasn’t mopey, instead busy cleaning off a few dirty tools with a rag behind the counter. A far cry from the prim and proper lady Honey used to know, but no less pleasant. Just different.

“E’s got mail, you said?” she confirmed. “Just put it ‘ere, I’ll give it to Gus when he gets back from his latest repairing.”

“Roger that!” Honey said happily, and placed the two envelopes and the small parcel on her desk.

Mrs. Ebrums’s eyes lit up upon seeing the shape and size of the parcel. “Oh, perhaps zat must be my new wrenches!”

Honey gave a chuckle as she headed out, waving. “Well, if they are, hope you enjoy, Mrs. Ebrum. See you around!”

“Have a good day, dear!” the ex-lady called back as she began to unwrap the package. Gus wouldn’t get too mad, she figured…

Next was Kawasaki’s place. Kawasaki’s was the same as it ever was, to her…which she wasn’t sure how to feel about. For a few months, the town’s increased interest from abroad had resulted in a boom for Kawasaki’s business.

Then word about his mediocre fare had gotten out, and it’d quickly dipped lower. However, an increase of people was still an increase of patrons, some of whom actually enjoyed his unique flavors, and he welcomed the lot of them eagerly. Nowadays, it wasn’t uncommon to see his restaurant at least half-full, such as it was today. She quickly hopped off her Air Ride and zipped to the back- there were a few oohs and ahhs as they saw the young girl glide through the air smoothly and quickly, but soon she was in the back kitchen. “Hey, Kawasaki!” she yelled out. “Mail call for you!”

“Oh, gracious!” Kawasaki blurted out in the middle of stirring a pot of noodles. “Thanks a ton, Honey- just put ‘em on the counter over there! I just gotta remember to not chop ‘em up this time, huhuhuhu!”

What had particularly helped had been his old friend- she’d forgotten the name, Nago-something. He’d dropped by after the news had gotten out and when Kawasaki’s busy period was at its height, and after some sort of event she’d not bothered with, he’d decided to open his own restaurant there as well, something called an ‘izakaya’, whatever that was. It was smaller than his place, but served slightly different fare and had a different atmosphere. Regardless, his food quickly proved delicious, and it was enough to take some of the heat off. Kawasaki, nearly drowning in the increased customer load, had actually been grateful for it, and had proclaimed that his old friend had ‘saved him again’, whatever that meant.

At least she and the others had options, now. Speaking of places like that, her next stop was one she’d enjoy.

Samo and Mabel’s Bar. After Mabel had closed up her fortune-telling business, she had joined Samo in the bar business, something he was all too happy to include her in. ‘EVERYONE knew Samo liked her,’ Honey thought as she hopped off the Winged Star again to head in. ‘I’m just glad THEY know it now, too.’

The two were finally ‘official’, for however they meant it, and thus had renamed the bar slightly. It even had a cute feather boa decoration around the outside bottle decoration symbolizing the new addition. The bell rang as she entered. “Hello? Mail call, Samo! Mabel?”

“Over here, lass!” Samo called as he worked on cleaning a few glasses. It was early morning, so Honey wasn’t surprised at the lack of customers. “I’d hope the lot of that ain’t bills,” he half-joked.

“Sorry, but I dunno,” she admitted as she handed over the stack of letters to him. ‘Boy, that’s a lot,’ she silently mused, before speaking aloud. “It’s a rule of the post to not look at other people’s mail,” she recited. “It’s rude.”

“True, true,” Samo admitted. His brow furred as he flipped from envelope to envelope. “Huh. Mabel’s gettin’ popular,” he mumbled, a door from further in opening just as he said such.

“Who’s getting popular?” Mabel said, stepping out ahead of a thankful-looking cappy. Mabel had proven to be a bit of an attraction- having improved her ESP, she often liked to mix and serve completely handless, to the bar crowd’s tension and awe. It often resulted in great tips, so she claimed.

“Oh, nothing, just more fanmail,” Samo said with a sigh. She also still gave advice for patrons, and did 1 to 1 consulting in the bar’s off hours, like now. It was clearly appreciated by the locals, and found entertaining to the visitors.

“Oh, is that so?” Mabel said. “I suppose I should be flattered.”

“Hey, you must be doing a good job if people wanna send you letters saying so!” Honey pointed out.

“Ohohoh! True,” Mabel admitted, looking slyly at Samo. “But this big lug here gets nervous whenever some guy starts to compliment me. Silly.” She pinched his cheek as she walked by him to take her place behind the counter and help with the cleaning. “It’s actually kind of adorable.”

“M-mabel, you don’t need to say stuff like that…” Samo could barely speak, blushing hotly. A peck on the cheek was her only response to that.

Honey found it awfully cute, but at the same time, she needed to get going. “Okay, I’ll leave you two alone now! Bye, have a great day!” she waved as Samo tried to stammer out some sort of rebuttal.

Besides, NOW she could finally get some good flight time in.

“WOOOO!” she yelled as she shot into the sky. Her satchel prevented her from doing the flips and spins that she wanted, but she could at least get high enough and speed up enough to enjoy the familiar sight of the town below her. Cappy Town had changed, yes…but it was still just as nice to view from up top, and it still bore all its familiar landmarks. Even if some had been expanded upon.

Professor Curio’s museum had proved to be surprisingly popular in the visitor boom, and it had gotten to the point that he’d actually had donations begin to flow in properly. In fact, he’d gotten enough finances that he’d recently been able to afford something he’d wanted for a while- an actual, proper observatory for the star-minded among them, as opposed to the archeological. It wasn’t very far from his museum, being situated atop one of the nearby hills, and due to the materials required, it was still under construction, but it was one of the bigger talks of the town. Curio had been proud of the fact that he was able to finance it himself, and would never stop talking it up. Which meant…

“I’m sure a young, budding aeronaut like yourself will be putting the place to good use!” Curio eagerly said as he took the latest letters. “You know, I managed to put together just enough to get all this done, but it’s young folks like yourself that’ll see the Cappy Town Observatory be a place of wonder for years to come!”

“Y-yeah…” she said, trying to keep her levity. Curio had given her this spiel at LEAST four times by now.

“You know, the lenses we’re using for the main telescope will be the most powerful in Dream Land!” he boasted. “Sure, King Dedede has his own private telescope, but that’s several years old. The Cappy Town Observatory will have the latest and greatest, allowing us to see deeper into space than ever before! We’ll also have some small exhibits and interactive areas for youth like yourself to feed the mind…”

“Uh, right, yeah, okay Professor!” she quickly backpedaled as he continued to stare off into the distance, rambling. “I’ve still got deliveries to make so I’ll see you later!”

“...even late night programs such as community stargazing or comet watching, and- oh?” Curio turned around to find his audience not as captive as he’d thought. “...huh. Perhaps I should think up something a bit more engaging, then.”

“Phew…” Honey let out a sigh as she darted away from Professor Curio’s. Great guy, but really longwinded nowadays, and the recent developments had given him a bit of a swollen head. But, well. He’d had to struggle for so long she supposed she couldn’t ENTIRELY blame him. Even if listening to him talk about how the observatory would change the town for the 50th time was tiresome.

Besides, there was one particular new area that she personally thought would be what actually changed the town seriously. And she was coming up on it fast as she made her way to the Cappy Town outskirts.

The Cat’s Eye Lighthouse had been built ages ago, and for the longest time, it was purely as a general warning to not come too close to the cliffside. But now, it was officially to be a landing point for interested spacefarers to park their vehicles, before coming into town. The Cappy Town Spaceport was still very much new, and several areas were still under construction- the technological requirements for such an area were well beyond what Cappy Town, or even Dream Land could field by itself. However, after the first initial wave, it had become exceedingly clear that one was needed by hook or crook to prevent spacefarers parking wherever they pleased, and causing potential accidents or issues. Thus, Haltmann Works had elected to step in. Both in financing and construction- no one else had any experience with such a project, and with it being needed on the double, the town had agreed to Ms. Haltmann’s offer. So far, the spaceport had managed to finish building four state-of-the-art large hangars, each of them large enough to fit the Queen Kabula plus a bit. They came along with repair and refueling services, even. They’d even provided open-air landing spaces for six more areas outside, one of which was ‘battleship-class’, specifically rated for the Halberd’s specs. It took up a LOT of space, but it was looking to be Cappy Town’s most technologically-heavy location yet, and something of its crown jewel.

Honey, personally, loved it. She loved seeing all the strange and fancy starships, and often wondered what it’d be like to pilot such crafts one day. Soaring through the stars wherever she wanted…

But she remembered she was on task, shaking herself from her daydream. She looked down at the various Waddle Dee workers, searching for someone in particular…but when she didn’t find them, she frowned. “Guess they aren’t here today…” she muttered. They were usually either here, or…

She booked it back towards town. She didn’t want to take too long, after all.

She heard the sounds of combat before she saw them. The Star Mansion training area was clearly in use once again. “Knuckle Joe! Sirica?” she called out. “Are you here?”

“In here!” Sirica’s voice came from one of the indoor areas. She quickly dipped inside to see the two sparring in a small ring. No weapons this time, it seemed. “Mail for us, then?” The warrioress asked. Knuckle Joe stood behind her, the both of them panting with exertion.

“Yup!” Honey confirmed, holding out two envelopes. “One for each of you!”

“Huh. Dat’s somethin’,” Joe said, taking the one near him. “We don’t usually get mail.”

It only took a month or two before Knuckle Joe and Siricia had all but put down roots in Cappy Town- not that either of them would admit such. But they’d gotten a small house built on the outskirts in short order, close to the town limits where the monsters began to roam. They always came in to say hello, and they persistently patrolled the town enough that they’d begun to be called the Guardians of Cappy Town- a title which neither of them seemed to protest. As far as Honey was concerned, she liked them both. Knuckle Joe was a funny guy, and fiercely protective. Siricia, despite her supposed standoffishness, was surprisingly empathetic, and usually more than willing to converse with her whenever they crossed paths. And of course, they both were quite strong. She was glad to have them in town.

It only took a moment for Sirica to read through the letter. “Oh! It’s a formal invite to the Cappy Town Performance Festival being hosted next week. I suppose they want us there as VIPs?”

“Oh! I was gonna try and do something for that,” Honey noted. The Cappy Town Performance Festival was the first of its kind, a showcase of Cappies and their talents. It was going to be a full day of plays, acrobatics, and most interestingly, magic performances. It was rapidly becoming the talk of the town, and most people intending to feature were practicing diligently for it. “Were you going to?”

“Eeeh, we thought about it, but I dunno how well my stuff would show off,” Joe admitted. “It’s strong, sure, but aside from my Smash Punch maybe, it ain’t all that flashy.”

“It’s all in how you present it,” Sirica chastised. “Though I can’t say much. I’m not performing either, so this might be a good idea.” Knuckle Joe grumbled, but said nothing in particular about it.

“I’m going!” Honey supplied. “I think it’d be a great idea! I could see you both there!”

Sirica gave a small smile. “Perhaps, then. Thank you, Honey.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Joe said, offering a half-smirk at least.

“No problem! Bye now!” And off she went to let them think about it. It was pretty fortunate, anyway. Because speaking of the Performance Festival, the main stage for it was where she was headed next.

The Cappy Town Stadium, as it had become known, was still rarely used outside of big events like this, but it had quickly proven yet another fascinating site for the visitors showing up. Thusly it was at least staffed and cleaned daily, even if nothing was going on. With an event happening shortly, there was an undercurrent of business around it daily. Having a scheduled event meant that everyone could take their time to prepare for it, and several would-be contestants were there, practicing and training for their big chance on the big stage.

As she soared into the central arena, Iro was among the people practicing, bouncing his balls off of a couple of pillars and trying to catch them on the rebound stylishly. He actually wasn’t doing too bad- they seemed to curve in the air towards him whenever they rebounded, though he still occasionally had to chase after a ball that bounced weirdly, or just plain missed his hand. But it wasn’t him she was looking for.

And then she saw him. She could easily see the sparks coming off his head as he looked to light up a row of lightbulbs. She felt a blush come over her as she observed how he focused so intently. One, two, three, they lit up. ‘He works so hard…’ she thought to herself, but upon him looking up, she jumped slightly. He waved, and she had to remind herself to wave back, even as she approached. “H-hey…Spike…” was all she could say.

“Hi, Honey!” Spikehead said eagerly, powering down to go over to her. “How’re you doing with the delivery thing?”

“I-it’s okay!” Honey said, looking into his eyes. ‘He’s so caring…’ “How’re you? You look like you’re working hard…”

“Yeah, he’s been at it all day!” Iro said, jarring her out of her rose-tinted glasses. Iro had taken to a larger bowler hat nowadays, considering it better to hide his boppers in. Along with that, he’d started wearing a vest and undershirt. She thought it made him look kinda dapper. “He JUST managed to get those lightbulbs lit up yesterday. You should’ve seen his whoopin’ and hollerin’!” he joked. “He was making all sorts of crazy faces!”

“Hey!” Spikehead protested. “I wasn’t that crazy!” Frankly, she thought it was just because of his hairstyle. Iro had constantly made fun of what it was nowadays- a whole long, shaggy and spiky hairstyle that came down to the small of his back. ‘I always thought it looked rakish…and handsome,’ she privately thought, still blushing as Spikehead continued at her. “A-anyways, what’re you here for?”

“Oh, right!” ‘Focus, Honey!’ “Uh, do you know if Chief Bookem is here? He’s been around the last few days…”

“Yeah, he’s near the outside,” Spikehead said, pointing. “He’s makin’ sure things stay safe ‘cause they’re putting in a bunch of new stalls and junk for ‘em. Mayor says that this’ll be a big deal, so he wants to have a bunch of stuff for people to buy!”

“It’s gonna be awesome!” Iro cheered.

And then they heard an all too familiar voice. “It’s all through heah, isn’t it!? Move along!”

“One side, make way!” came the snobbish addition.

And to her disappointment, two smaller, high-pitched ones. “Little further, please- there you go!” the raspy one said

“Just stay right there!” the more feminine agreed. “Everything will be done before you know it!”

All three of their expressions fell, but it was Iro who spoke what everyone was feeling. “Aw, nuts.”

King Dedede came tromping in, his usual scowl on his face as he looked around the occupied colosseum, gazing at everyone present as though they were intruders in his personal domain. Besides him, as usual, was Escargoon, wearing a similar expression. And to the left and right of the both of them…

“Attention! King Dedede on the premises!” Fololo announced.

“If you would please pay attention to the royal message!” Falala seconded.

“Probably somethin’ stupid,” Spikehead muttered under his breath. Honey just sighed. Ever since Tiff and Tuff left, it had gotten out somehow that Fololo and Falala had a particular disliking for magic, and had fallen out with Tiff and Tuff. She’d been wondering what was going on during the whole issue with NME and the Jambastion, but things had moved so fast she really didn’t have time to investigate- and as a result, had only really learned about the issue after it was all said and done.

Word was quick to spread, and before long the two had gotten…well, maybe ‘snubbed’ wasn’t quite the right word, but it had been eventually noticed that neither of them spent much time around town anymore, nor was anyone particularly distressed by that fact, save for her and her close friends. But, with none of them welcome in the castle, she’d simply gone on with her life. And it became clear over time that there had been…a change, in the two. They’d gotten a bit of a mean streak, to her dismay. They weren’t actively taking part in plots against the townsfolk, as far as she knew, but they were a lot more snippy when they WERE in town, and King Dedede clearly held them in better favor than before. Which wasn’t much, but it was enough that they willingly palled around with him and Escargoon now.

“You heard ‘em!” King Dedede yelled out, his bellowing voice forcibly attracting everyone’s attention, like it or not. “Zip it and pay attenshun!” he warned, before proceeding anyway. “Now then! Y’all wanna hold y’all festivities here! And ‘cause I’m so generous-like, I went ahead and said okay! But y’all gotta make sure to pay your dues ta me! After all, this here’s MY stadium!”

Escargoon was quick to elaborate. “What the king means, for anyone who didn’t catch that, is that half of the total of all entry fees for this little showoff showdown will be donated to the royal coffers!”

“Wait a sec…” Spikehead started. “There AREN’T any entry fees!” he complained.

“There are now, bucko!” Escargoon gleefully corrected. “The king in his infinite gluttony has decreed that anyone who wants to use the stadium has ta pay up!”

“Anyone who doesn’t pay the amount will be removed from the premises immediately!” Fololo said primly.

“And they’ll be barred from entry until they pay the fine!” Falala finished.

“Whaaaat?!” Iro (and everyone else present) yelled. “How?!”

“Heh heh heh heh! You’ll find out come the day of!” King Dedede taunted. “But if I was you, I wouldn’t test my luck!”

“But that’s not fair!” Iro complained. “Besides, how much is it?!”

“Not tellin’!” King Dedede denied. “Don’t want anyone tryin’ anythin’ sneaky and underhanded to get outta payin’ the fees, now do we?”

“Yeah! That’s OUR department, after all!” Escargoon agreed.

“Then how do we know how much we have to pay?!” Spikehead asked in frustration.

“Guess you’ll just haveta empty your piggy banks and hope for the best!” the snail taunted. “Buuuut, if you’re so desperate to skimp out on the payment…” With a grin, he turned towards the twins.

“King Dedede, in his generosity, has decreed that anyone submitting a production showing how great he is will get free admission!” Fololo said.

There was a solid round of boos at that, to which Escargoon and Dedede only cackled. “That’s yer choices!” King Dedede taunted. “Either flash the cash or tell everyone about my amazin’ness!”

Escargoon waved dismissively as they turned to leave. “Now then, we’ve got places to be, so see you hopefuls the day of- preferably with cash in hand!”

“The King is now leaving- you may continue with your day!” Fololo proclaimed.

“Don’t forget what he saaaaid!” Falala warned. And with that, they were gone.

Spikehead let out a low growl. “Boy, I’d like to give HIM a bad case of static hair…” But before he could muse on it any more, Chief Bookem rumbled in, clearly having ran from somewhere. “Chief? You okay?” the spiky-haired youth asked.

“Hoo…hoo…I’ll be fine,” Bookem panted as he straightened up, clearly still winded. “I heard King Dedede was here just now…”

“Yeah, but he left already,” Honey said, going up to him. “I was gonna find you since I was trying to deliver some mail. Here you go.” She was a bit less enthused now, thanks to that sudden visit, but she still had a job to do.

“Oh, why thank you, Honey! Though, uh, you can just bring it to the house next time. Buttercup should be there, I think!”

Honey flinched as she realized her whoopsie- and why she’d made it in the first place, glancing at Spikehead. “Uhhh…bye!” Without another word, she scrambled back to her Winged Star and took off.

‘Oh! I’m so embarrassed! Of course I could’ve just taken it to his house!’ she chastised herself.

Hopefully, the next delivery would put that humiliating thought out of her head. The place smelled like soap half the time anyway.

The Haltmann Works Production Factory was busy every day, it seemed. With so much to do in and out of the building, it hadn’t been very long before it required…well, more building. The second story of the factory proved to be worth the effort, however, considering how many goods they were pumping out. In a way, it had become the industrial heart of Cappy Town, responsible for much of its growth and improvement.

And she was still surprised that Mr. Ebrum was in charge of it all. Well, technically Ms. Haltmann was, but she had only visited a couple of times last year. Honey had barely seen her once, maybe twice. She buzzed the front gate as she hovered near it. “Mail call!” she said as normal.

“Come in,” came the voice of the receptionist, and the gates opened automatically.

The rest was pretty straightforward; she’d drop the mail off at the front desk and that was that…at least, that’s how it usually went.

She was surprised to see none other than the Factory Manager there today. “Mr. Ebrum! Hello!”

“Oh, my!” He seemed surprised- he must’ve just come down. “Hello there, little Honey. Just in time for the morning mail, I take it. I trust you’re doing well?”

She giggled. Mr. Ebrum always had a funny way of talking that she liked. “Yup! I’m doing great!” Without fanfare she handed the stack of envelopes over to the receptionist- they’d sort through them and get them to the proper places. “How’re you?”

“Oh, I’m as well as can be, eh?” He gave her a small pat on the head, which she giggled further at. “Just a lot to deal with for a fellow in my position. Making sure the production goods are coming along, and then there’s the construction work on the coast…goodness, it seems like my workload just keeps growing, eh?” His half-smile told her he at least seemed accepting of it.

“Yeah! I’m really looking forwards to the spaceport!” she gushed. “It’s gonna be so cool!”

He gave a chuckle. “Well, that just means I’ll have to do my best to make sure it’s finished in a timely fashion, hm? Really, I wouldn’t have expected such a thing to be part of our sleepy little town not so long ago…”

“Me neither, but it’s kinda exciting, don’t you think?” she asked. “A lotta stuff’s different now, but it’s not so bad. Kinda like now ‘cause I’m older? Mom says I can have more responsibility, so I can do this!”

Mr. Ebrum gave off a strange, almost sad smile. “True, true…I suppose the town is growing up in its own way as well. It’s just a matter of growing with the growth, I suppose.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Oh, but listen to me ramble. I’m happy you’re happy, Honey. Now run along, I’m sure you’ve got more deliveries to make, eh?”

“Just a few, but you’re right!” she agreed. “See you later!” she waved, before heading off. Ebrum watched her go with a soft smile, before turning back towards his duties. He’d just gotten a missive from Ms. Haltmann- something about some television channel or the sort. ‘So much to do, so little time…’

Really, the remainder of the deliveries- Gengu, Tuggle, a few others- weren’t much to write home about, and they were finished in short order. No, what was left was, if she was being honest, probably one of the biggest sources of letters and cards that she delivered.

Kirby’s house.

Kirby wasn’t home, no, but that certainly didn’t mean he wasn’t remembered or beloved. The Mayor had declared the day of his arrival, his birthday, a local holiday and day of celebration. And interplanetary visitors had come to learn of Kirby as some sort of savior, many making a personal pilgrimage to his house on foot (and carefully watched by the local guardians, of course).

Surrounding his house were a wide assortment of flowers, small statues or varying quality depicting either him or people he’d saved indirectly, hand-drawn pictures and thank yous, and much more. And the letters.

Letters from every corner of the galaxy, she wagered. In every language and every style, all of them some form of gratitude for what the little pink puff had unknowingly done, all the lives he’d saved. They were preserved letters much like those she now added to the pile, so many expressions of thanks both in and around his house. He’d have a heck of a time cleaning it all up whenever he returned, but she didn’t doubt he’d feel the love from every single moment.

“We miss you,” she quietly said, and went on her way.

Far far away, in a distant corner of Pop Star, two small beings looked out over the moonlight fields. The jungle they had trekked through was behind them, the beast threatening the villages within at last waylaid. Night had only recently fallen, and they’d set up camp as the sun set. With a small fire for warmth, they were looking to get a good night’s rest. The Halberd would be back for them in a couple of days, and from there…

“You have done well, Kirby,” Meta Knight said with clear pride, his accent ringing out clearly. Kirby looked up at him, a question in his face. “Not just with the beast here, but throughout your time here training. We both know it was not always easy,” he allowed. Kirby simply nodded in agreement. “You still have much growing to do, but I think you are well on the right path, so far.” Kirby smiled, before refocusing on his fire-grilled sausage, inhaling it in moments and savoring the flavor. Meta Knight merely quietly observed, his own meal to be eaten in privacy.

They had a moment of peace and quiet, before Meta Knight spoke up again. “I believe it may be time for you to return to Cappy Town shortly.” Kirby’s eyes shot up at that. “Yes, though it has been some time, and we are perhaps later than expected. Training should not be rushed, but I believe you have but one more step before we can call this exercise finished.”

Kirby’s expression grew excited for a moment, before he blinked, and suddenly a bit of worry crossed his features. Naturally, Meta Knight could read him like a book. “True, we will be a touch late, but I do not think anyone will welcome you any less.”

The worry didn’t leave his face, but it did shift in a different direction. Again, Meta Knight caught on. “Not to worry. While they will not be there to greet you on arrival, I am sure that your friends remember you. They have been training hard as well, and I am sure they will surprise you with their strength when they return. Have faith, young Kirby.” Kirby simply let out a sound, but nodded. “Now then, I believe you should retire for the evening. I will take first watch,” he offered.

After thinking about it, Kirby nodded, and turned, preparing to sleep. And then he paused briefly. Turning back slightly, he managed to lock eyes with Meta Knight, still watching him. He smiled.

“...t’anks, Mena ‘Nee.” And with that, Little Kirby turned to sleep.

Meta Knight just huffed quietly. That was the closest he’d gotten yet to a solid sentence.

Chapter 19: Seeing Double

Chapter Text

Tiff, these days, was no stranger to pain. “GAAAH!”

That didn’t mean she enjoyed feeling it, obviously, and that was as much as her mind could manage as she tumbled along the ground at high speed- only to slam back-first into the stone wall that lined the area of Sacred Square. Her vision swam dangerously on impact as she let out another cry of pain, and for a few moments she lost track entirely of where she was as the feeling coursed through her body.

It was almost a bad thing that somehow, she found her footing after physics decided she could come down now. Higher thought functions were a pipe dream, but she managed to register someone colliding into the wall next to her with a similar yell of distress. It took her a few moments to register that that was her brother as she tried to collect herself. “T-tuff…” she ground out as he tried to force himself up. Her grip on her shield felt weak, and her lance uncertain. “I…I think we’re in trouble…”

“Unngghh…yeah…no kiddin’,” he managed as he shakily got to his feet as well. He still had his staff, but it had done little in this fight.

Dark Meta Knight simply observed the two of them from where he stood. “Pathetic,” he dismissed. “This is what the training of my counterpart yields? It seems the weak begets the weak.” He began to calmly march towards the two kids, who both yet stood opposite him. They both raised their weapons in defiance. “...though if nothing else, I commend your resolve. THAT, perhaps, is worth praise.”

It didn’t slow his pace any, and Tiff could only grimace and recall how she and Tuff had gotten into this situation in the first place…

Three weeks. It had taken them three whole weeks to track down the shards that they could. One week for Susie to build her shard locator, and two to actually go out and find them.

And Tiff hadn’t taken part in ANY of it. Rather, she’d been stuck alternating between Dedede Castle and Rick’s place, little more than a dolled-up cavern. It had lights and everything, sure, and surprisingly good furnishings- Pick was a treasure and she really did like the lady hamster- but it was still a cave. Fortunately, she didn’t sleep there, at least- it was where she spent the daylight hours training, using her Air Ride machine to travel back to the castle. Still, a week’s persistent effort, and she had yet to crack the Infinity Jump. Apart from that, however, Bandana Dee constantly drilled her in combat and sparred with her often, pointing out matters in her form. Occasionally, the animal trio would serve as different opponents to prevent her falling into a rut, but she was still annoyed that she’d been told to sit on the sidelines.

“We can’t have Dark Meta Knight getting your shards or potentially using you as a bargaining chip if he has truly gone rogue,” Meta Knight had warned after the shard tracker was completed. “You’re not ready to fight him alone. Remain with Rick, Kine, and Coo as planned, and continue training.” A part of her wanted to pitch a fit, but a larger, more regimented part of her quickly realized the logic of his order. She’d merely saluted, and left with them as planned. Her frustrations were borne out through rigorous exercise instead, and she threw herself into the forms and methods she’d been taught. She ran laps around their section of the forest. She performed calisthenics until she felt like she’d drop. She practiced channeling until she was fit to burst. To get her to stop, it had taken the combined efforts of all three animals, Bandana Dee…

…and Tuff.

He’d shown up unexpectedly after the first week, flying in on his Slick Star. “Tuff? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to see you, but…” she trailed off.

“Why am I here?” he finished, unable to meet her eyes as he looked away. “Uhh…call it some training of my own. Some that came on by surprise. Figured I’d keep you company once I heard what was going on.” She had wordlessly co*cked an eyebrow at him, but her usual trick of staring him down until he cracked seemed to be ineffective nowadays. “It’s kinda personal. And a limited opportunity kinda thing. Besides, Lord Hyness says he wants me to ask Mr. Magolor some questions.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t think he’d get much answer if he or the Sisters asked.”

“That so?” she retorted. That almost sounded suspicious, but…well, by now they’d earned the benefit of the doubt, she supposed. “Mmm…you’re gonna tell me eventually,” she warned.

“Yeah, yeah, japologa, but right now I’m waiting on Mr. Magolor to get back, so how about we just work out some frustrations?” Tiff reared back slightly at the strange verbiage, but she let it go for the time being- he was already acting cagey, and pressing him on that wouldn’t help the situation.

The next week was thus spent sparring and spending time with her brother, for the most part. While happy to be around him, occasionally Tuff would vanish for a few hours, and then return without saying where he’d gone. She figured he was trying to find Mr. Magolor, but the magician seemed to come and go as he pleased, and there was no easy way to track him if he didn’t want to be found.

It was then that they’d finally been given some news one morning, after making it to the castle. "We believe that we’ve located Dark Meta Knight,” Meta Knight informed them on arrival. “After having retrieved several of these Dark Shards, we’ve identified a massive signature near the vicinity of Sacred Square. We aren’t sure why he’s returned there, but this is our opportunity.”

“About time!” Tiff exclaimed. Tuff was curious about the situation at least, leaning closer. He’d more or less decided to invite himself along. It’d probably be for the best, anyway- Tiff had suggested they could help him find Mr. Magolor afterwards, and that sealed the deal. “So what’s the plan?” she asked.

“Kirby is already en route with the shards he’s found. Myself, the two of you, and the rest of the Meta Knights we will go to investigate the area. The tracker is not exact, so we will have to search for him ourselves once we arrive, understand?”

Tiff gladly saluted. “Yes, sir!” ‘Finally, I’ll be able to actually DO something!’ she thought.

She would later come to regret that mindset.

They’d found him, all right. They’d been assigned a group with Axe Knight and Blade Knight, funnily enough, and the quartet had, upon landing in the area, agreed that a wide-perimeter search would be the best option- keep in visual range, but spread out.

They’d heard a clash of swords, and had run towards the sound to see Blade and Axe desperately trying to hold off an attacking Dark Meta Knight. Before the final blow was struck on a fallen Blade, Tiff called out, desperate to redirect his attention. “HEY! Hold it!”

It worked, as he turned to the source of the noise. “...you.” He said simply. “And…” his eyes squinted as he took in the young boy next to her. “...one of those irritating mages. A newcomer, then?”

“Eh, more or less,” Tuff responded flippantly. This ‘Dark Meta Knight’ looked cool, but to Tuff, he was just a fake compared to the ones he knew. “So what’s with all this shard gatherin’? Everyone’s freaking out about it.”

“Tch.” Dark Meta Knight simply turned away. “I need not justify myself to whelps. Begone before you are struck down like-” He turned back to his former quarry, only to realize they had fled during the distraction. “...”

“Lord Meta Knight’s not happy with you,” Tiff proclaimed. “You better have a good reason for this, or you’re gonna have a serious punishment coming!”

“...and who are you to speak on my lesser’s behalf?” His voice held the anger it always had, but now an undercurrent of curiosity lined it.

Tiff felt a mental alarm go off, but she kept her expression steady. “...We’ve trained under him,” she answered. She’d noticed Axe and Blade slip away, and she knew they were contacting Meta Knight on the double, if they hadn’t already. It was a game to stall for time now. “And he’s my sword master and commander.”

“...a pupil?” Dark Meta Knight’s eyes lit up with a violent hunger. “So…he thinks himself skilled enough to take on a student or two.”

“Yeah, he’s a pretty good teach, too,” Tuff offered with a grin. “What, worried?”

The response was a snort from the dark one. “Hmph. Fool. If you think his teachings are worth anything…” He held out his sword in challenge. “Then I will prove your folly in following him!” Without warning, he unfurled his wings, and with a few strong beats, burst over to them, the duo barely dodging his opening thrust. He’d turned back around to them in short order…and the fight was on.

Considering the position they were in now, it wasn’t going well.

She and her brother desperately dodged the sword beams flung their way by the dark warrior as they made to close in on him before he did them. She’d barely managed to defend against a single one earlier- and that had nearly ruined her mentality for defending anything serious-looking. As soon as the third one had passed them by, they leapt, hoping to catch him in the recovery of the attack.

Tuff went in for an overhead swing- he’d managed to get his fiery swing reflected early on all too easily, and having had his own fire turned against him, he’d quickly learned his lesson.

Simultaneously, Tiff went in for a low sweep of her own- the hope being that he would be forced to choose one way to go, and finally be forced on the defensive.

And then Dark Meta Knight seemed to split in two. It was only for a moment, but he was there…and then he wasn’t.

Tiff and Tuff had been learning to school their emotions, namely to not fly into a rage or get frustrated so fast- at least outwardly.

Confusion still clearly needed work as their swings hit nothing but air, the world appearing to move in slow motion for a moment. “Wha…?” Tiff managed to croak out

Tuff fared little better, the moment feeling like being cheated out of something he’d worked for. “Huh!?”

The two sailed past the spot where he should’ve been. And then the moment passed, time seeming to return to normal as the two, exhaustion taking hold, crashed into the sandy floor.

“Foolish.” Dark Meta Knight disparaged as he turned around calmly- seemingly back where he was a moment ago. ‘How did…?!?’ Tiff’s mind raced, even as he spoke. “You are weak and inexperienced. You would have to train much more to even stand a chance against me. Beating me would take you a level of power you could not currently even dare to grasp at.”

“Y-yeah? Wanna bet?” Tuff spat out as he tried to force himself up. Tiff attempted to do the same, but her entire body felt like lead…

Dark Meta Knight simply shook his head. “Brash and foolish. Stand down and accept your failure.” He began to march up to them again…

And looking at him, Tiff felt a moment of dread…before she saw in the sky behind him. “I…yeah,” she said, barely making it up to her feet. “You…you’re way…way stronger,” she admitted, panting. “There’s…there’s no way we could beat you.” ‘Not yet, anyway,’ she added in her head. It stung to admit that out loud.

“Tiff?” her brother asked, hurt in both ways.

“Good. You recognize your own weakness.” Dark Meta Knight said as he got closer. “And now-”

And then she lifted her visor, and Dark Meta Knight paused as he saw the grin she was sporting. “But he might do better,” she said as she pointed behind him.

Dark Meta Knight had just enough time to turn and brace himself as Meta Knight came flying in, their swords clashing. With a grunt of effort he managed to heave Meta Knight away, the opposing knight landing gracefully in a battle stance.

“Why have you done this?” Meta Knight asked. It was clear what he referred to. “Speak now, or we will have to presume betrayal of your compact.” And now the numbers were solidly against him. Still, perhaps-

“Hey!” a high voice shouted. “There you are!”

Dark Meta Knight grunted in frustration. THAT was the dagger in his plan. Two whelps and his inferior, perhaps he could fight his way out of.

Two whelps, his inferior, and KIRBY together?

A growl emanated from him as he realized he’d have to involve them, like it or not. “You continually meddle in affairs not your own…” he grumbled at them.

“The shards you are collecting could possibly resurrect Dark Mind,” Meta Knight noted, baring his sword. “We will not allow that to happen.”

“How?” Dark Meta Knight asked simply.

“We would destroy them,” responded Meta Knight. It was then that he realized what his counterpart might be getting at. “Do you mean to say-”

“That would be just what that blustering fool wants if you wait too long!” Dark Meta Knight finally bit out.

That promptly caught everyone flatfooted. “Wait…what?” Tiff asked softly. That almost sounded like…

“If he has gained enough power through negative emotion, then he will try to reform. That is his whole purpose,” Dark Meta Knight elaborated. “I have searched, and heard word that several people of this dimension have fallen to his possession, fueling his revival. Weaklings.” He harrumphed.

“Wait…you mean the people with the orange eyes?” Tiff realized.

Dark Meta Knight nodded, not even facing her. “The signs of him attempting to find stable purchase in this realm,” he confirmed. “When the light Kirby defeated him, his body was destroyed, his influence wiped away. But his essence was cast out beyond the mirror, and I believe it spread amongst this Pop Star in the hopes it would find several places to settle and multiply. Those shards are his essence, coalesced and sheltered.”

“...well, why didn’t ya say that in the first place?” Tuff asked. “Sounds like you could’ve prevented a whole lotta trouble by just comin’ clean!”

“The affairs of the Mirror Dimension are none of YOUR concern!” he bit out. “I will handle the situation before it becomes a serious problem, so long as you cease your interference.”

“No can do,” Kirby said resolutely. “You’re wrong, because this is our Pop Star he’s trying to do this on. It’s TOTALLY our concern! So don’t shut people out when they want to help!”

“...” for a moment, Dark Meta Knight looked around. The whelps, the lesser him, and the pink one…none of them looked angry, for once. Rather, they just looked as though they were waiting for his response. Neutral, if a bit perturbed.

Really, there was only one decent response, considering the situation. He valued power, but he was no fool. “...very well. Do as you will, but do NOT ruin this matter for me, and the Mirror Realm!”

Kirby let out a relieved sigh. “We promise we’ll do our best to help get rid of him for good!”

“Hey, just a moment!” Tiff yelled, and for a moment, all attention was on her. “If you’re willing to help out after all and just wanted us out of your way, then why attack us like that?”

“You are warriors in training, are you not?” he asked brusquely. “I said so at the very start. THAT one-” here he pointed at Meta Knight, who jumped back a bit and scowled, “-is weak, and you would do much better in training under someone with REAL power. And I proved such by defeating you effortlessly. You years spent with him are wasted, and you would be better served under my own tutelage.”

THAT wasn’t what she expected. “W-what?! How could you- we haven’t been training under him for THAT long!” Tuff rapidly nodded his agreement. “It’s only been a few months! How good were you expecting us to be?!”

The way his face tilted told them that that fact surprised him. “...hm? Months?”

“YES!” she yelled, red-faced.

“...then you are not long-term students of him.” It was a statement, more than a question. “...I see.” With that, he turned away from them again. “Then my statement and offer is rescinded. At any rate,” he barreled on, ignoring the sounds of consternation from the two, “I know you have some shards hidden away somewhere. Bring them here, and we will see to the end of this play. Dark Mind will be forced to re-gather himself early, and then we strike!” Dark Meta Knight announced.

“Hm…very well. But know we will be cautious,” Meta Knight warned. “Even the slightest sign of duplicity, and-”

“Save your barking,” Dark Meta Knight interrupted. “It will not be needed. Where are the shards?”

“Haven’t gotten all of them yet,” Kirby responded. “Susie built a whole locator and according to her, there’s three left out there somewhere. I’ll go looking!” And with that, he took off- Tiff just managed to see a Warp Star nearby that he quickly hopped on, darting away in a flash.

‘Wow. That was quick.’ She then looked over at Meta Knight, who gave a small nod. “I’ll go get the ones I have,” she exclaimed, calling up the Halberd. When Dark Meta Knight looked at her in something resembling alarm, she elaborated. “For whatever reason, those shards don’t affect me. I can handle them fine.”

“Dark Mind’s influence fails to affect you?” Dark Meta confirmed. “...curious. But a question for later. If you are immune, so much the better. Go.”

Fortunately, Tiff didn’t feel any urge to salute this time.

“We’ll return once Kirby has located the remaining shards,” Meta Knight had said once they’d all boarded the Halberd. It meant there wasn’t much to do on her end except manage her stress just waiting around. Though the trip itself wouldn’t take an immense amount of time, they weren’t sure how long Kirby would take to find and secure the shards. So, Tiff found herself slipping back into her role as Cadet over the next few days, to Tuff’s surprise.

“Wait, so you’re really just…cleaning the deck?” Tuff asked one afternoon as he spotted her doing such. He’d been offered a spare room in the same hall, but he was considered a guest, and so wasn’t required to do anything in particular.

“Yup,” she confirmed casually as she ran a dust mop to and fro. “I train in the morning, clean in the afternoons, and help with cargo in the evenings, if time permits.” It was honestly something very close to relaxing to have a scheduled time to do this, that, and the other. She supposed a part of her had missed it- the feeling of knowing what you needed to do when. “It’s just how I help pay back for Meta Knight taking the time out to train me.”

“...eh, guess I can’t really say anything about that,” Tuff admitted. “I’m doing busywork myself these days on Jambandra Base. You gonna at least have time for a spar later?” He’d mostly done sequences and meditation the last two days, and was feeling a bit restless.

“Don’t see why not!” she agreed. It would be nice to spend time with her brother aboard.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t for very long. Only a couple of days of work between getting back to the Animal Trio, collecting up the shards, stowing them away in her quarters, and then waiting until word that Kirby had gotten the shards before getting back to Sacred Square. By the time they’d landed again at the ancient arena, it was clear that Kirby hadn’t managed to get back yet. “Though he should be on his way,” according to a communication by Susie, who’d been of course keeping an eye on everything. “There’s three shard clusters I’m reading, one of which is moving towards the third, so I can only presume that’s you lot towards Dark Meta Knight. The last one is standing still- I’m guessing Kirby’s still working on the last shard.”

It had turned out to be accurate, and it wasn’t long after they arrived that he did as well, his Warp Star seemingly breaking on impact (she’d been worried the first time she’d seen it happen, only for him to assure ‘it happened all the time’). “Hey, everyone!” Kirby cheered as he showed the various shards, tossing them in the center. He looked to be wearing his Sword hat. “Got all the ones left over! You got all yours?”

“Right here,” Tiff exclaimed as she lowered the sack containing them. Dark Meta Knight as well dropped the ones he’d possessed. “Say,” Tiff realized, turning to the frightening warrior. “I just noticed- these aren’t affecting you, either?”

“We hail from the same dimension,” Dark Meta Knight explained simply. “His hold is not as great on me- it is easily resistable.” He then turned to her. “YOU, however, are curious. You are no denizen of my realm, yet...”

“She comes from another dimension entirely,” Meta Knight explained, to Dark Meta’s glare. “Therefore, she and likely her brother are existences that Dark Mind’s magic cannot quite grasp, as they have no counterpart here or in the Mirror Dimension that we know of. However, that is only my theory.”

“Well, doesn’t matter much right now!” Kirby exclaimed as Dark Meta Knight stomped into the center of the mass. “Now that we have all the shards, what do we do?”

“We FORCE the matter, while it lacks the power to flee!” Dark Meta Knight exclaimed, and suiting action to words, thrust his sword up with a shout- and the kids and several others yelped as four MASSIVE silver swords suddenly shot out of the ground, skewering and shattering the pile of shards in an instant.

‘Yikes! He had to have been going easy on us…’ Tiff mused with a bit of fright. However, that was nothing compared to the strange, eerie orange smoke that seemed to float out of the shards, disintegrating bit by bit as they added to the haze that formed above them. Tiff felt something primal in her scream at her to run, but she swallowed it down, and stood fast, as did her brother as a single black and orange eye seemed to form in the center.

It took a single look around at the forces arrayed against it. A low rumbling met them- a deep, dark sound that promised nothing but hate, anger, and vengeance, something that she felt deep in her spine. She blinked, and she found her shield up and lance in position before she could recognize she’d done so.

“Now! Strike!” Dark Meta Knight yelled, and charged forth, as did Meta Knight and Kirby- only for the haze to suddenly shoot off, as they pursued…

…Straight into the nearby Axe Knight. “WHUAAAGH!?” the hapless crewmember shouted as his face was filled with a haze- and then it seemed to vanish inside him all at once. “G-ggrraaaah!!”

“Uh oh.” Kirby was first to react as Axe Knight hurled his namesake at Kirby- only for Kirby to inhale the weapon, and spit it back out at speed as a Star Bullet.

The possessed Knight clearly wasn’t expecting that, the projectile careening into his face and knocking him back. He attempted to right himself, only for Dark Meta Knight to swoop in immediately, knocking him up into the air. Flashes of steel only met his vision as the knight of shadow battered him with strikes fast enough to look as though they were teleporting. The final strike came with brutality as a second, massive blade from nowhere formed on the downswing, spiking the knight to the ground, out cold.

Dark Meta Knight dived to continue the assault, but was quickly stopped by Meta Knight. “Enough! Look!”

The latter did, to his annoyance, and sure enough, the haze had already quickly retreated from its ill-fated first attempt, seemingly dizzy from the battering it’d gotten if the wavering of the center was any indication.

“Okay, let’s try it again!” Kirby said quickly, and the three of them charged the being- and this time, their swings struck home as they scored several blows. However, to the onlookers, it seemed almost like they were scratching it instead of doing any real damage- the creature seemed to shake off the disorientation quickly enough, and it swooped back up into the sky- diving down again towards-

‘Oh no. Oh no no no no-’ Tiff tried to run, even as her brother yelled and attempted to intercept it, but already she felt something slimy and angry worming its way into her mind. VERY angry, angry angry, angry angry angry HATE HATE HATE-

“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” Tiff screamed as she lit up suddenly-

-and the haze of orange suddenly shot from her, the eye lingering on her for several heartbeats, almost stunned.

“HEY, YOU JERK!” Tuff was quick to take offense as his sister recovered from the sudden effort, leaping to smack the iris with a staff on fire. His shot connected, and he swore that the haze surrounding him recoiled a bit. That was enough for him to join in on the assault against it, and upon landing, quickly hurled a fireball at it that seemed to only draw its attention. “DON’T TOUCH HER!” With that cry, he leapt right back in alongside the two knights and Kirby- only to be thrown back when the being’s eye seemed to light up, and a flash of blue energy threw him back with a yell. “GWAAH!”

“Tuff!” Kirby was quick to check on his friend, while the two knights held it off as it began to exercise its latest attack.

Tiff, during all of this was currently hunched over, attempting to nurse a massive headache and willing her vision to stop swimming. ‘W-what the…what was that?!’ She had no clue how she’d managed to expel it, but she wasn’t questioning it right now. She managed to lift her gaze, and saw the three of them fighting feverishly. To her eyes, however, they didn’t seem to be doing much to it, though it did occasionally recoil. With no one else to possess without getting hit in the attempt, it had few options aside from casting more of those powerful bolts from its eye, and attempting to lash them with the latent energy coalesced around it. However, its natural defense rendered it hard to hurt. She had to think. “A-alright, how can I help…?” she muttered to herself.

“Dummies.” Tiff blinked, but before she could look to see where the raspy, but familiar voice came from, a golden sword suddenly clattered to the ground in front of her. “You forgot this.”

‘No way…!’ she turned to face the speaker- but she was only able to see a small portion of a spherical body and a flash of greyish (or was it black?) coloration before it vanished. But…it looked astonishingly familiar. ‘...Kirby?’

But she didn’t have time to consider whoever it was she had seen. More importantly, she had HEARD what they said. ‘You forgot this.’ ‘That can only mean this sword is important!’ She quickly grabbed for it- and for a moment felt a brilliant heat as it seemed to light up in her hands. She felt..powerful. But another part of her knew that her using this would do nothing to help. ‘Now who to- gah, duh!’ “Kirby!!”

The puff looked over, and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw just what she was holding. She threw it without fanfare, and Kirby quickly discarded his ability as it sailed through the air. She could see the eye of the figure look over- and she swore that it somehow yelled as Kirby leapt into the air to catch it. A part of her was surprised that he didn’t inhale it, but as the sword lit up in his hands, she felt a lot more confident in their victory.

Especially as she saw Kirby suddenly surge forwards through the air, almost drill-like, delivering a massive cut through the Dark Haze’s eye and causing another rumble of pain from it. From there, she felt a lot more confident in charging in- especially as Tuff was still recovering from the blow he’d been dealt.

She slid in front of her brother just in time to reflect a stray, panicked bolt of energy as the Dark Haze realized that it was on the ropes now- after all, from what she recalled, this was a vastly depleted version of…whatever it used to be. And likely that sword had been involved in striking it down the first time. “Sis, you okay?” Tuff asked as she proceeded to cover him.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” she assured him. “Let’s help bring this thing down once and for all!”

“Right!” With that, they both charged into the fray, Tiff managing to deflect another shot at an angle as the haze tried to keep track of a multitude of opponents at once. Dark Meta Knight and Meta Knight both seemed to work in an odd tandem, cleaning cutting into it from opposite ends, which seemed to force it to wobble, losing altitude, and that was enough to provide an opening for both kids, a fiery blow from Tuff forcing it to reel away- and being open for a Charge coming from Tiff as her lance scored a blow against it, leaving a noticeable scratch in it that had her feeling surprisingly satisfied.

Perhaps it was because that had cleared the way for it to miss Kirby, having leaped above it, come plummeting down like a comet, the blade splitting through the reformed eye cleaning in a finishing blow that she couldn’t help but marvel at. There were a few heartbeats as the attack seemed to be slow to register. but once it did, a deep, guttural groaning seemed to emanate from the iris as it shook irritably, rising into the air slightly, the gaseous exterior slowly fading away, leaving only the solid inner eye- before with a small puff of orange smoke, even that faded away to nothing.

There was a minute of looking around- the shards were gone, and so were their source. “...WOO!” Kirby cheered. “We did it!”

“Hmph. So, you weren’t wholly a nuisance after all,” he grumbled.

“Kirby has his ways,” Meta Knight said sagely, before turning to Tiff and Tuff. “Though I am impressed you were able to reject Dark Mind’s influence. If you had been possessed like Axe Knight, things would have been more concerning.”

“Oh yeah! Will he be okay?” She looked beyond them to the unconscious warrior. He’d been so nice to her, and it pained her to have to see him like that.

However, Meta Knight seemed calm enough. “He will be fine with some rest and good food. The Meta-Knights will not fall so easily. But now that the threat is passed, we should tell King Dedede. He’s probably beside himself with concern.” Tiff couldn’t help but chuckle- she had to agree with what she knew of the monarch. “And you will have to tell me how you got your hands on Master.”

“Huh?” she co*cked an eyebrow in confusion before it hit her. “Oh, the sword? Well, it’s the weirdest thing- I heard someone that kinda sounded like Kirby, and-”

“Oh, Shadow Me?” Kirby interrupted. “Yeah, that makes sense. Guess he’s in a better mood now.” Kirby couldn’t help an embarrassed grin. “Boy, I’m glad he remembered about that thing, because I sure didn’t!”

“So, like I thought…” she muttered to herself. “That WAS Shadow Kirby…” shaking her head, she spoke up louder. “Well, he was at least nice enough to give it to you,” she noted. “...though he DID call you all dummies.”

“Accurate,” Dark Meta Knight said simply.

“...yeeeaaah. Like I said before, he’s got his moods. But! No sense in worrying about it now. I’mma go bring this back and hopefully find him and say thanks! You all can start heading back too, now!”

“We’ll be doing just that,” Meta Knight agreed, motioning to Tiff. “Come, Cadet. Help me get Axe Knight back on board the Halberd.”

“Yes, sir!” she saluted, and everyone dispersed, Dark Meta Knight seeming to simply go his own way, nearly vanishing into the sky with a few flaps of his wings. “...well…at least he’s not as bad as I thought he was.”

“Everyone has their facets,” Meta Knight noted sagely. “Now, be careful, don’t let his axe hit you…”

“So, that’s how it ended up, huh?” King Dedede chuckled as Susie began to pack up the last of her tracking gear. “Ha! Great! Knew you all could handle it! Glad I decided to help guide you!” Tiff rolled her eyes at the boast, but didn’t complain. “Tiff, you’ll be gettin’ some extra pay for this, too! An’ probably a good meal! Tell the chefs whatever ya want!” That was partially why.

“Thank you, sire,” she stated, bowing. She could sense a weird look from her brother, who had joined them for now, but she ignored it for the time being. “I didn’t do much, though…” she admitted quietly, only for King Dedede to barrel over her.

“Nonsense! You got some of those shards, and from the sound of it helped make sure things didn’t get worse than they already did! Shakin’ off mind control like that…heh! Need to figure that out myself one of these days!” It was still pleasant to hear him praising her, at least. “You helped plenty! In fact, take a breather for a couple days! This all had to be tough on you!”

Well…she wouldn’t say no to that. “Thank you again, sire. I’ll do that, then.” Though she’d at least keep up basic exercises, she figured. Part of her had to admit that she’d start to feel too lethargic otherwise.

“As for you, Tuff? I’ll see about finding Mags. He tends to come and go, though, so you might be waiting for a bit,” Dedede warned.

“No problem, sir,” Tuff said, shrugging. “I got permission to hang out here for a bit so long as I keep up my practice and find out what Lord Hyness asked me to.”

Dedede nodded in understanding. “Right, right…any way you can tell me what that something is?”

Tuff only offered a cheeky grin. “Sorry.”

“Meh. Fine, fine. Alright, alla you! Get on outta my throne room- you can celebrate, but not in here!”

“Wanna stop by the house?” Tuff asked, to which Tiff thought about momentarily before nodding in agreement. She’d missed the place, and it’d been months for the both of them. They could bother to relax for a bit.

“Awwww…I was hoping for a cake!” Kirby complained. “Like, a BIG one, too! I wanted chocolate coating and strawberries and-” he kept on complaining as he left, with the others surrounding him.

Shortly after, Susie finished packing up to leave. “Well, that was a bit exciting,” she said, giving a short bow. “Thank you for utilizing Haltmann’s services, and if you have any other needs-”

“Actually,” he said, stopping her short, to her own surprise. She noticed a contemplative- and slightly mischievous- look on his face. “I just might have something else in mind you’d be a big help with.”

Her curiosity was piqued. “Oh? And that would be?”

“Well, you’re big on robots, aren’t ya? How long would it take you to build a few? And maybe a few other things, for that matter?”

“Depending on the scale, not long at all,” was her answer. “Robotics IS one of our primary fields, after all. We can build automatons for almost any requirement with a minimum of fuss, you should know this.

“Right, right…” As the idea began to solidify in his mind, punctuated by Kirby’s rambling, he couldn’t help but grin. “In fact…think you could help set up a lil’ something over on the other side with Channel PPP? I’ve got an idea for a little bit of friendly sport, you could say.”

“I trust advertising rights are a part of this deal?” Susie quickly asked. If he was looking to broadcast something…

“Heck, you can be one of the sponsors,” King Dedede nodded. “Come on, lemme explain this to ya over a private lunch.”

Susie’s business sense tingled. It was the sense that she was about to land a rather sizable deal.

Chapter 20: The Cake Royale- Opening Ceremonies

Chapter Text

A few more weeks passed peacefully, with the siblings returning to their house near Honey Hill. Tiff continued to work under King Dedede, often mostly serving as a guard, or keeping a section of the Waddle Dees in order as she always had. Tuff had largely taken to wandering afield with the use of his Air Ride Machine in search of Magolor, at least when he wasn’t training himself. With his formal training ‘put on hold temporarily’, according to Hyness, it was up to him to refine and expand his techniques on his own.That said, so far at the end of every week one of the Mage Sisters would randomly show up and duel him, along with asking for an example of a different technique he’d worked on magic-wise, generally relating to whatever element they specialized in.

That had taken the form of him attempting to ‘borrow’ several of their techniques, though upon hearing this, he’d gotten their formal blessing for it (and privately they felt a bit proud of the fact). He was still coming along with fire, Flamberge’s ‘Flam Flambé’ technique having interested him. It was a trial getting the trail of fire to last, but he at least had the motion down. Francisca’s Deadly Ice Candies was a touch easier, but he could only get one, and it was more of a single bludgeoning shot than her piercing set. So more of just a Dangerous Ice Candy, really.

Zan Partizanne’s serious elemental techniques, to be honest, were too intense for him to even start at the moment without daring to call on his Soul. He had considered the possibility of doing so, yes, but…even now, he felt unease at the idea. ‘Not until I know for SURE I can handle it’, he said to himself with a shiver as he threw out his most recent technique attempt.

He’d managed to affect a pale imitation of her Zan Zkewers (which was a funny name, but he didn’t debate it) using a lot of Focus and a willingness to pull a muscle on occasion. He couldn’t thrust at even a quarter of the speed Zan did when she was serious, but it was still fast enough to cause Tiff difficulty in holding steady when he did so, and that was good enough for now. Indeed, she’d offered herself up as a bit of a practice partner to see if his techniques had enough skill behind them to be practical- not serious sparring or fights, but just enough action on her part to double-check that he wasn’t leaving himself wide open.

Today was another such day, after Tiff had been relieved of duty for the evening. She’d been getting sent home sooner than before, though that was likely due to her brother now back. As they stepped around each other in practice, she couldn’t help but notice that Tuff had a bit of extra force behind his swings, a little extra bite. “Whoa!” she said instinctively as one swing nearly rocked her head. She got her shield up to deflect it, but if it had hit, even through her helmet, she would’ve been seeing stars for a while. “What’s up, Tuff? You don’t usually aim for the head…”

“Huh?” He paused, as though coming back to his senses, before huffing and turning away slightly. “...sorry. Just lost in thought.”

Tiff lowered her arms, sensing a reason. “About what?”

He merely sighed. “Mr. Magolor.” Looking out towards the lake behind their house, he was clearly frustrated. “I’ve been running around everywhere trying to find him, and nothin’!”

“King Dedede DID say he’s hard to reach…” Tiff hazarded. She could understand his annoyance, though.

“Yeah, but still!” her brother complained. “You’d think he’d check in sometimes! It’s like he vanished!”

“Yes, I DO have that ability, true,” a high pitched, familiar voice said behind the both of them, causing them to jump as they turned around.” Almost nonchalantly, there the wizard was, looking as smug as he ever could, hands behind his back. “Now, what have you been wanting so badly that those traffic lights are willing to let you go hunting for me over it? I have to admit I wasn’t expecting them to let you go so quickly.”

“Mister Magolor!” Tuff quickly jumped at him. “I’ve been looking all over for you! Where’ve you been?!”

“Oh, here and there,” he said wryly. “Really, though, back and forth between a few places. I DO have a rather sizable theme park to concern myself with, you know. That plus peeking in on Dedede, my off-planet research…all of that keeps a fellow busy!”

Tuff thought for a moment…then slapped his head in realization. “Gah! I should’ve remembered you had a theme park! I’ve been going every which way when I could’ve just stopped and asked for directions!”

Tiff couldn’t help but laugh at that. It WOULD be just like him to forget something so basic about his teacher. “Really, Tuff?”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” Tuff waved off. “But anyway, I have a question for you! A personal one, too. Mind, uh…?” He thumbed towards a different direction, and Magolor wordlessly took the hint, while Tiff looked on curiously.

‘A private question? I wonder if it’s something about the Jambastion Cult…’ she thought to herself. Tuff wasn’t really a private kind of guy- he often wore his heart on his sleeve…at least, he had as long as she’d known him. How he behaved with others was something she was beginning to wonder about- she knew his attitude had changed somewhat, but she wasn’t quite sure how far it went when dealing with people that weren’t her.

Their conversation was whispered at a level she couldn’t decipher, but she clearly noticed when Magolor reared back a touch in surprise. “Oh? THAT little stunt?” Tuff nodded. “Hmmm, I suppose I COULD share the secret to it…” he thought for a moment, to Tuff’s clear interest. However, he simply waved his hand. “...but honestly, those four shouldn’t concern themselves. That’s not justified pride talking, mind you,” he informed as Tuff’s face fell. “That’s the truth of it- what they’re worried about is absolutely impossible outside of Another Dimension.” That got her interest, considering she’d just been there. What was supposedly impossible? “The forces that keep that dimension from entirely collapsing in on itself are…limited, but strong. Think of it like strands of rope that are yet incredibly tensile. They’ll loop in on themselves, sway in the wind, all that, but they won’t snap. You’d need an phenomenally infeasible amount of power for such a catastrophe to occur. Yes, the Master Crown contained such power, but that gaudy piece of headwear isn’t a factor anymore, I assure you,” he huffed. “So what they’re worried about isn’t, either.”

“Huh…well, that’s a relief,” Tuff said with a sigh, before his expression turned thoughtful. “So then what Marx told me…” ‘Marx?!’ Tiff thought alarmedly. She knew they’d talked before, but he’d kept communication with the mad jester? Why?

“Oh, you can do THAT, certainly,” Magolor said, interrupting both him and her train of thought, “but it’s rather less effective against anything that’s not literally made entirely of magic. Wouldn’t recommend it. I can still teach you, mind, might even be a good idea. But!” He looked Tuff over, as though inspecting him. “I’m not certain you can handle it yet,” he said with squinted eyes.

“What? But sir, I’ve got-” Tuff started.

“Fortunately,” he interrupted again this time with a mischievous expression, “I’ve got the perfect test for you to prove otherwise…or rather, I should say King Dedede does,” he said, floating over to both of them.

Though his eyes remained hidden, it wasn’t hard to guess that Tuff was looking on in confusion. “He does? What’s that?”

“Well…” and here, he finally took his hands from behind his back. In his hand was a flyer, and the both of them leaned in to look closer at it.

Frankly, Tiff was a bit shocked as she read the contents. “Waaait, this is…!”

Elsewhere- elsewhere being the other dimension in Cappy Town…

Everyone had been surprised at the new order that Ms. Haltmann had personally instructed. All hands were on deck for the last few weeks, with several new products that she’d made a priority. In particular, one of which was a new ‘television enhancing product’ to be distributed. She hadn’t hidden this one, fully intending to use the mystery and excitement to drum up interest. And interest was what she got as the rumor mill continued to swirl, right up until the grand reveal…

“In the interest of providing you all with respectable, enjoyable, and targeted entertainment, I present to Cappy Town, the Dimensional Antenna!” she announced in the town square to a crowd, Mr. Ebrum by her side. It looked almost like a pink cap with a pair of flat ‘wings’ on each side, sticking up and swooping back. It looked vaguely familiar, in fact, but no one could place it exactly. “As the name implies, this antennae will, upon activation with your current television sets, allow you to take part in watching televised shows and events from across dimensions! You’ll have access to a range of shows, movies, and even live entertainment that none other can witness!”

“How much is this gonna run us?” Gus asked, clearly curious.

“That’s the rather interesting part!” Mr. Ebrum said, expression rather curious. “For this momentous occasion, and in the interest of goodwill, Ms. Haltmann has decided to distribute this latest device to the town absolutely free!” At that, the crowd started massively applauding.

“...for the first three days it is on the market after which you’ll have to pay standard retail price,” Susie finished at normal volume. Mr. Ebrum let out a soft sigh- it was clear only he had overheard, but…well, she WAS his boss. Bringing that up might not go well.

Regardless, it wasn’t very long before she’d sent out a number of delivery Waddle Dees and others to begin distribution. People were all too eager to plant the things on their television sets, replacing the old antennae, and soon it was clear that her claims weren’t idle boasts. A number of new channels were accessible now, and they could hardly believe it- television from another dimension! And it was this way that they were introduced to an entirely different Pop Star. There were various movies and documentaries that were positioned to play that were entertaining, though on all channels, there were commercials and advertisem*nts.

Mrs. Ebrum in particular was interested in Channel HST- it had quickly proved enticing for the easily coerced Cappies as well. The next evening after work, she had sat down to watch more of Channel PPP’s Wide World of Pop Star. “My my! Zis is ever so fascinating! Zo many places and strange tings. And this is where my children are? It almost seems too dangerous…” she fretted. Those reporters sure got into some trouble…

“I’ve been assured by Ms. Haltmann that all’s well with the both of them as far as she knows,” Mr. Ebrum promised her. “And the last time she had seen either of them had been fairly recently by her timeframe. I think they’re just fine. Though I do wonder what they’re up to now…” he murmered

“And now, presenting a special announcement!” the TV blared. The both of them, as well as almost every individual in Cappy Town currently watching, were surprised, promptly paying close attention to the bowtie wearing Waddle Dee on-screen- particularly because next to him, was none other than Ms. Susie Haltmann. “To all viewers, we’d like to inform you about the upcoming Cake Royale! Hosted by none other than our illustrious King Dedede!”

“Cake Royale…?” the parents said in confusion. The TV continued.

“That’s right!” continued the announcer, almost in answer. “This amazing, multi-day tournament will be held at the lovely Popopo Islands,” and here some images of the island chain were shown, “where many brave, bold teams of two will be competing in a plethora of challenges designed by some of Pop Star’s best and brightest to push them to their limits! You can bet we’ll be live on-site to learn more about the tournament, and even speak directly to the contestants to get their thoughts first-hand!”

“My word!” Mr. Ebrum had honestly not expected this- though it all made sense now, to him. “That seems rather exciting. No wonder Ms. Haltmann was so bullish on getting that project done on time!”

“Thank you for that, Reporter Dee,” Ms. Haltmann said politely, before turning back to the camera. “As Haltmann Works Company is aiding in the sponsorship and creation of the Royale, I will also be serving as an in-depth analyst between rounds of competition. Rest assured, I will be objective and fair- no one involved in the competition is under my employ.” Here, she put on a much brighter face. “And I can safely say you can all look forward to an exciting series of competition by some of the best Pop Star has to offer! The Cake Royale will have over TEN different events to contend with, so you can expect a lot of variety. No team will have a clear advantage with so many different forms of competition on the table!”

“That’s right!” Reporter Dee agreed. “Everyone will have to be at their best to win! The competition will begin in a round-robin format with the teams drawn into two groups. The top four in each group after completion will advance to the knockout rounds! The competition then moves on to an eight team single-elimination tournament, where the last team standing will be the winner!”

“And what is the prize for victory?” Susie asked rhetorically. “Why none other than the title of Grand Cake Royale Champions, a lovely trophy, and a fifty-thousand Star Coin cash prize!” Susie practically had stars in her eyes for the last one.

“And for some folks, even that will pale to the promise of the Cake Of Your Dreams!” Reporter Dee announced gleefully. “That’s right, a Triple-Layered, custom cake designed and hand-crafted by none other than our very own Gourmet Chef Kawasaki!”

“...Chef…Kawasaki…?” Ms. Ebrum (as well as MANY other citizens, including Kawasaki himself) asked themselves. That sounded…less than desirable.

“I’m sure it’ll taste absolutely delicious to anyone fortunate enough to take a bite,” Susie agreed. “It sounds mouth-watering even to me right now!” Her expression said that she was exaggerating, but Mr. Ebrum privately thought that she wouldn’t be adverse to sneaking a bite if it really was that good…

“Now then! I’m sure you’re all wondering when this amazing competition will take place!” she continued.

“The Cake Royale will begin in just two days!” Reporter Dee announced grandly. “Make sure to arrive early to get your seats for any and all events you want!”

“For our interdimensional friends, that’ll be approximately one week,” Susie clarified. Mr. Ebrum blinked, realizing that this might indeed be in some manner of real time- that, or Ms. Haltmann had anticipated the delay. “Keep your eyes on Channel PPP for a round-the-clock countdown!”

“I can hardly wait!” Reporter Dee said, enthused. “I hope you all get ready, because this’ll be a tournament like no other!”

“Good day to all of you out there, and good luck to the participants!” Susie said with a bow, and with that, the channel switched back to the Wide World of Pop Star that they’d been watching previously, only now there was a small countdown timer in the bottom right, with a small stylized cake icon behind it.

Mr. Ebrum couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well now…that’ll get the town buzzing! I do wonder just who’s going to be participating…”

Later, back on Pop Star Prime…

King Dedede looked over his plans the next day with a smile as he area mid-morning snack. It’d all come together swimmingly! Even if not EXACTLY as he’d hoped. Susie had been totally onboard from word go, as he’d expected. Magolor had agreed to assist as well, provided he got dominion over one particular event. He’d called it ‘Crazy Theater’, and Dedede had to admit, it sounded GOOD. The Animal Trio had agreed to help supervise, as had Taranza, who’d assisted as well with some creative input for an event. He’d asked the Mage Sisters if they’d wanted in as well, but they had, to his surprise, demurred for whatever reason, though they assured that they’d watch the competition.

Meta Knight…well, he hadn’t bothered asking Meta Knight, simply because he knew that Meta would want to compete. No sense in giving him knowledge in advance. Fortunately, a few other competitors would serve to make things interesting for him. In particular…well.

He knew full well that at least ONE competitor was a guarantee. With that in mind, he turned to a couple of his Waddle Dees about to retreat after bringing some food. "Probably a good idea for some last minute advertising. We still got plenty of those basic fliers left, right?"

"Yes, sir!" they confirmed. "Plenty!"

He nodded in relief. "Great! Go get all of em and start handin' them out! I want as many eyeballs on this thing as possible!" At once, they saluted, and set off to do just that. Though as they left, Dedede realized something.

'Did I remember to actually invite the little menace? …bah, it's Kirby. He'll hear about it one way or another.' Satisfied with that thought, the king finished up his snack and prepared to set off. He needed to leave in short order anyway to give the opening address.

Meanwhile, the Waddle Dees went to carry out the order…and it was a LOT of fliers. “...guess there was a reason we didn’t use all of these, huh?” one of them remarked as they picked up a stack. It was pretty unwieldy, but they’d just hand them out to whoever, right?

As they headed out for the day, they all went their own different ways to spread the word. One of them in particular headed out into the plains; there were always some people out there for one reason or another, and who knows? Maybe they didn’t know yet! It was with this optimism that this particular Waddle Dee moved forwards on its task.

However, only a few minutes into his stroll, he soon stumbled across a sleeping Rocky- quite literally, as the stack of papers were a bit blinding on foot level. The hapless Dee tripped over the sleeping creature- and wouldn’t you know it, that was just the perfect time for an errant gust of wind to send the entire stack scattering into the air, and far from his reach.

“O-oh dear…” the Waddle Dee worried briefly. “...it’ll be okay, right? I mean, they were supposed to be handed out to anyone anyway! M-maybe they’ll fly into someone or something…that’ll count, right?” He could only watch the last of the fliers sail away.

“…maaaaybe I’ll just walk around for a while and then say I did it. Yeah…” And the Waddle Dee trundled off to do just that.

However, a bit of a ways away, on a hill with a single tree, sat a sleeping Kirby. He’d seen fit to appease his inner Meta Knight a bit and get some training in with his Sword ability; but right now he was enjoying a bit of a break.

That promptly ended when he felt something smack into his face, waking him up. Peeling it off sleepily, he took a glance at the offending object- a poster? No…a flier. Some kinda advertisem*nt for…

…oh. Oh. OH.

“...wooow.” Already Kirby’s mind was filled with the idea of devouring a cake thrice his size. Almost immediately he grabbed his sword and ran off. “Ok, I’m in! I’m getting that cake!”

Really, Kirby almost wasn’t sure what to expect. After meeting up with Bandee, who’d he found half-collapsed on the side of the road due to exhaustion (and privately Kirby suspected hunger pangs as normally a long walk wasn’t much trouble for him) he’d offered to haul the Dee along with him- literally in fact. Despite the dirt road being grossly out of repair in this direction, the two managed to travel along without much issue- until they ran into a dead end. “Huh? The road just stopped…”

“I could’ve sworn I was on the right path to the castle…” Kirby murmured. Sometimes his sense of direction wasn’t the best, he had to privately admit to himself. “I wanted to ask Dedede more about this tournament thing.”

“Oh, well, I’m pretty sure he’s on the Popopo Islands by now,” Bandee pointed out. “Maybe you could-”

Suddenly, they were quickly interrupted by a number of Bronto Burts charging the two of them, swarming out of the trees. “Waa! Ambush!”

He found himself getting tossed away towards safety as Kirby brandished his sword. It fortunately was only moments before the threat was cleared- a few slashes and they were quick to retreat. The glade was silent for a few moments as Kirby looked around for any other surprises, but fortunately none came. “Hmmm…maybe I better get a move on,” he said to himself as he concentrated.

“You’re as strong as ever, huh?” Bandee asked. “I wonder if- hm?” He looked up, seeing something sparkle in the distance. “Hey, what's that? In the sky, falling fast!” He blinked as it hit home. “Oh, wait, that’s the Warp Star!” He paused as he realized something. “...why not use that earlier?”

Kirby shrugged. “Wouldn’t have found you if I did, though! Now come on!” He preempted any further discussion by swiftly chucking Bandee onto the star before hopping on himself. “Popopo Islands at Dedede’s Resort, right? We’re gonna win that tournament for sure! Onward!” and with that simple command, the two of them twirled up into the sky, taking off towards the sea and the archipelago quick as a wink.

From where they left, however, a single bush shuddered, as the individual hiding in there frowned.

“...tournament?” the raspy voice said to himself, considering the matter. Then he smiled mischievously as an idea came to him. “Might be fun.”

There was a clear landing area that they noticed- a number of individuals seemed to be milling around there, standing before the bridge that led to the main area of the Castle, the major landmark of Dedede’s Resort. As they landed in the entryway, they could see a number of Waddle Dees looking on at the various hopefuls crowding around the entrance- Knuckle Joe, Wester, Beetley, and several others looked ready to go, though a Soldier Waddle Dee held them back. “Careful, careful! I have an announcement to make for all of today’s arrivals!” he declared. Fortunately, everyone quieted down. “Now listen here. It’s an open tournament, but I don’t want any roughhousing outside of the tournament events! Every team has to register at the counter to the left once you get to the main plaza, and you’ll be assigned a room to stay in once you do.”

Kirby and Bandee nodded to themselves. They’d be a duo for sure!

“Alright, then!” The Soldier continued. “I’ll let you all in now. Try not to rush!” The gates opened, and everyone filed through.

The plaza was nice and sizable, enough for a number of contestants and spectators to hang out in. Behind them was the castle resort itself, home to their rooms, the training areas, and a number of arenas and transports to get to the events around the islands that need a bit more space. They could see that a number of them had arrived before them- and a certainly portly penguin seemed to be waiting around the center talking to a few Dees.

Naturally, he almost seemed to sense his destined rival without looking, and turned with a grin on his face. “Finally! Thought you’d never get here.”

“And miss out on this? No way!” Kirby responded eagerly, still brandishing his sword. Then he paused. “Uh…what IS this, anyway? The flier didn’t say much…”

“Ha!” King Dedede chuckled. “You’re gonna love this, then. I’ve got a delicious treat for you. A truly deluxe delight!” he boasted, before his expression turned challenging. “A triple helping of danger.”

‘He makes it sound like a bowl of spicy curry,’ Kirby idly thought. Great, now he was hungr-

“Welcome to Dedede’s Cake Royale!” he announced as several nearby Dees clapped and cheered politely.

“...well, I feel welcomed, at least,” Kirby quipped.

“You oughta!” Dedede agreed, before his expression turned more stern. “But don’t get too comfortable! This tournament’s jam-packed with wild and crazy events- stuff where you can’t just rely on sucking things up to win! You gotta play fair, alright?”

“Yeah, can do,” Kirby agreed. “No inhaling- I’ll pick whatever ability I want before I start an event.” Sounded fair enough- this wasn’t a life or death thing.

“That’ll be just fine!” Dedede said, nodding. “And you’ll need to pick smart! ‘Cause without that stunt of yours, I’ve made sure that you’ll have to give it your all just to win a match or two!” He grinned, clearly bantering with the puff. “So don’t get too co*cky! Someone might come outta the woodwork and surprise you!”

“Hey, I’m all for it!” Kirby said easily, stretching in preparation. “You know I love competition!”

“Yeah, but what about when the competition’s for the tastiest cake you ever ate?” Dedede countered knowingly, still grinning. “You better believe I’ve made sure this one’ll be ten times BETTER than that shortcake from That Incident. I’m paying Kawasaki a mint for it!”

“...” Kirby wasn’t sure how to answer that, but...BETTER than The Strawberry Shortcake?

“Uhh, um…” Bandee attempted to snap him out of it, tapping him on the head a few times. “You’re drooling!” It took a bit to take, Kirby shaking his head as he heard King Dedede’s laughter.

“Yeah, I figured you’d have that reaction!” he said, guffawing. Kirby fought down a blush. ‘Really never gonna let that go, huh?’ But before he could offer a rejoinder, Dedede was already heading off. “Better try to not lose, you little demon!” the King gave as a parting shot as the massive double doors closed behind him.

There was a moment of silence before the hustle and bustle of the plaza started again. Kirby sighed, before shaking his head to clear it. “Come on, let’s go get in line to register!” Dedede could laugh all he wanted- he was NOT losing out on that cake. Fortunately, it didn’t take too long to get to the front, and he and Bandee quickly signed up- just below a Knuckle Joe/Wester combo, and there was a Blade Knight/Poppy Bro Jr. duo behind him as well, so…well, something to note.

“Here you go,” The Waddle Doo at the desk said, handing over a pair of keys. “Your room’s in Section Eight, Room Six. You’ll find a complimentary buffet in the mess hall, but, uh…considering your usual appetite, we ask that you please don’t eat everything since much of it is for the guests and other competitors, y’know.”

“Don’t worry, I can hold my appetite,” Kirby assured him. Then paused. “...well, mostly. I can do it for the cake.” Ignoring the mild concern on the Waddle Dee assistant’s face, the duo took the keys gratefully, and headed off to rest.

And far atop the spires, unnoticed by anyone so far, Meta Knight watched the byplay. “So, he DID arrive…good. That makes things more interesting.” With that, he flew off. He and his partner had already registered- but now that Kirby was here to battle, he had to speak to a few others.

As the sun set on the last day before opening, everyone retired to their rooms or places to rest, but many were unable to, eagerly awaiting the beginning of the great Cake Royale.

Chapter 21: The Cake Royale- First Rounds

Chapter Text

Back In Cappy Town (Because by now it doesn’t need special introduction…)

The week seemed to fly by before anyone knew it- everyone in town was abuzz with the news of the event happening. Most viewed it as simply a coincidental happening, though several had caught on that Haltmann had wanted them to see this. By the time the countdown clock reached zero, most of the town were glued to their seats.

“Welcome, one and all!” came the voice of Reporter Dee as the camera came into focus. “It’s finally time! We’re here live at the site of King Dedede’s Cake Royale!” Sure enough, the massive castle and arena was portrayed behind the Dee as he began. “We’re only a few minutes away from the start of the first event, and the start of the chase for the Cake of Your Dreams!”

“My my,” Mrs. Ebrum noticed. “Zat’s a razher big castle. Will it all be in there?”

“Not to mention that fifty-thousand coin cash prize!” came the voice of Susie, as the camera shifted to follow her walking to Reporter Dee’s side. “Greetings. I’m Susie Haltmann of the Haltmann Works Company...”

“And I’m Reporter Dee of Channel PPP!” they introduced themselves. “Here on the beautiful Popopo Islands, we’ll be keeping pace with the latest developments in the tournament, and getting a close-up look at every major battle! We’ve already got a few interesting tidbits for you all out there- not the least of which are the contestants! Several outstanding individuals have been confirmed to be competing in the Cake Royale, which will make for some exciting matches!”

“Indeed,” agreed Susie, as several pictures proceeded to show up- simple headshots of them smiling. “Not the least of which is everyone’s hero, Kirby! He’ll be partnering with his friend Bandana Dee- and the two of them are likely the odds-on favorites to win the whole competition.”

“Really?” Mr. Ebrum seemed a bit surprised. ‘From what I’ve seen of him, that would make things a bit preordained, no?’

“But that won’t be an easy ride!” Reporter Dee informed, as though in answer. “We’ve gotten word that Kirby has agreed to a handicap in this competition- he will NOT, I repeat, NOT be using his signature inhaling and copying ability! Instead, he’ll be restricted to a single ability per event!”

“Oho! Well, that’s nice of the lad!” Mr. Ebrum noted- as well as several others around town who’d been thinking similarly.

“I’m sure the other contestants are sighing in relief,” Susie added on. “But, I doubt that’ll matter much to the other major contestant in this competition- Meta Knight!” His picture came up- though his face was turned away, as though it had been taken mid turn away, or possibly as he tried to leave. “His partner has been stated to be a mystery- but knowing Meta Knight, they’ll either be a close ally or strong enough to be considered worthy. Nonetheless, he’s sure to give Kirby a good fight, especially with the limitations placed on the pink puff. If luck falls their way in events, we could see a dashing victory from the masked warrior!”

“And yet he’ll have challenges himself in due time!” Reporter Dee continued. “As we further have arguably the most mysterious challengers yet! Two young travelers, from beyond our stars and striving for greatness!”

Mr. and Mrs. Ebrum blinked. “Iz he talking about…” Mrs. Ebrum started- but then her jaw (elegantly) dropped as the images popped up.

Reporter Dee continued on. “Hailing from a different dimension-”

“-not to be confused with Another Dimension-” Susie quickly interrupted.

“-are the young warriors Tiff and Tuff!”

Cappy Town as a whole nearly went up in both shocked and surprised cheers.

“My goodness!” Mayor Blustergas noted with his wife. “Don’t they look dapper?”

“Hey! There they are!” Iro cheered, Spikehead and Honey having been invited over to play at the time.

“Whoa, they look so awesome!” Spikehead said.

“Tiff looks so brave!” Honey exclaimed.

“Ho ho!” Mabel cheered. “Of course they’re doing just fine!” she nodded to herself. “I expect great things of them.”

“Hey now!” Knuckle Joe said, leaning forward. Sirica did too, if subconsciously. “Look at them! Boy, now I’m jealous! Wish I could be there tearin’ it up, too!”

“In time,” Sirica said calmly- though a smirk of approval was on her face as well. “Let’s see what they’ve learned so far, first.”

“MY BABIES!” Ms. Ebrum wailed as she nearly choked the life out of her husband. “Lookit lookit! Oh my gracious zey’re zo handsome and pretty and zey look zo growned already!”

“D-dear…need to breathe!” her husband choked out, his face reddening rapidly.

“Oh, yes, yes, of course,” she blithely said, letting go, though still focused on the TV. “Oh, I wish I could be zere to hug them and make them feel better- zey must be so nervous! What would zey do trying to be in zis competition?”

“W-well,” Mr. Ebrum coughed. “I imagine they’re there to, ah, test themselves, as the good reporter said,” he noted as they continued to speak about the competition.

“...with wins being worth 2 points, a tie being worth 1, and a loss zero.” It seemed that Susie was explaining the rules. “In the event of a tie score in a pool, the tiebreaker decision will be whichever team won their head to head match. The final eight proceed to the single elimination knockout rounds!”

“And from there, it’s a simple matter of being the best to take home the championship!” Reporter Dee continued. “But, enough talking- let’s get into the arena and get eyes on our first match of the day!”

“And to my understanding, that first match will be a classic Battle Arena match!” Susie described. “The rules are simple- this is a straightforward pit fight- brawl until your opponents are both out for the count. However, to be specific, they must BOTH be down for the count of five! If either of them can get back up, the fight goes on until they’re both down!”

That caused Mr. Ebrum to rear back a bit. “Oh dear! That sounds rather intense.”

“I swear if they hurt my babies…” Mrs. Ebrum said, wringing her hands. “I just hope zat zey don’t have to do zis immediately…”

“And the first contestants are…none other than a pair of our own!” Reporter Dee informed. “One of the guard Dee’s has thrown their hat in the ring, bringing along their trustworthy spear! And the other, a good friend of theirs with their faithful umbrella! And don’t let that fool you, folks, he knows how to use it! And opposing them…”

“Will be the young, interdimensional duo of Tiff and Tuff!” Susie announced. “This is sure to be interesting, with the newest, most mysterious individuals getting the first match! It’ll be a good opportunity to see what they bring to the table. While I’ve not fought against them, I’ve seen what they can do- and I can promise you they aren’t a duo to take lightly!”

“And for anyone worried about their safety, folks, have no fear!” Reporter Dee noted. “We have individuals standing by with Maxim Tomatoes to get everyone fit as a fiddle after every match!”

Unfortunately, neither Mr. or Mrs. Ebrum heard this, as the latter was too busy panicking in concern, and the former was trying to convince her to not storm the Haltmann factory to get access to the portal there.

Back at the actual Cake Royale…

Tiff and Tuff were stretching before their first fight. Not only had they been chosen to go first, but they’d be on TV as well! “A Guard Dee and one using an umbrella?” Tiff asked rhetorically. “Almost seems too well set up…”

“Whaddya mean?” Tuff asked in confusion. “I know ‘bout round robin stuff. You can rig things, sure, but if they entered officially-like, then it wouldn’t really matter if we fought ‘em now or later ‘cause we’d have to eventually.”

“No, no, I’m not saying they were set up against us specifically,” she amended. “Just that compared to everyone else, we’re a mystery, right? Us getting the first match smells like a ratings stunt to me.”

“So?” Tuff asked. “What’s the harm?”

“I…” she paused, considering. After a few moments, she shook her head. “...nevermind. You’re right- ratings stunt or not, it’s not really a big deal. I think I’m just getting into my own head.”

“Nerves, huh?” he questioned kindly. “Yeah, fair. I’m nervous, too. Even if it’s just some Waddle Dees.”

“Well, that’s kinda not fair to say,” Tiff responded. “I KNOW those Waddle Dees have been training hard, I’ve seen them. I might even know the guard we’re fighting!” She sighed, before admitting her thoughts. “No, I think what I’m worried about is the deal we made.”

That caused Tuff to think about it in a new light. “Ohhhh…yeah, pressure’s on, huh?” The deal in question was one Magolor had made with Tuff, and Meta Knight had made with Tiff. ‘If you can get higher than third place, I will consider your basic training complete.’ Tiff was still struggling with the Infinity Jump, but she couldn’t resist the idea of finishing early. Not specifically to return home faster, but rather she simply wanted to be able to claim she had exceeded expectations. She wouldn’t leave Tuff behind, after all.

Tuff, according to him, had been promised something else; he himself admitted that he didn’t want to stop training. However, what Magolor had promised him, he refused to say yet again. All she knew was that he would only get it if he fulfilled ‘certain conditions’. It wasn’t a specific placing, that much was clear. But the specific conditions…

“Pardon, Tiff and Tuff?” one of the employee Dees asked. “You’re wanted at the Battle Coliseum in five minutes!”

Tiff sighed- just another thing that was distracting her. “Right, thank you!” she said kindly, putting her questions and worries to the side for now. “We’ll be right there!” Now was time to fight.

The tunnel that they were led through seemed intimidating, if well lit. As they exited to the sounds of a raucously cheering crowd, they found themselves in a stone coliseum, gray bricked and torches lining the arena for atmosphere. Larger towers in the back outlined the whole works, with the centermost one having two wicked looking horns. Why Great King Dedede constantly went for the intimidation factor, she never understood, but it did give the proceedings some gravitas.

Across from them were the two Waddle Dees they were to fight, who to their credit didn’t look scared at all.

“All competitors are present!” They heard a voice sound out. It was unfamiliar to either of them. “Presenting, the first event of the Cake Royale! Your competitors in this Battle Arena event are…the team of Soldier and Parasol Dee, and Tiff and Tuff!”

The crowd cheered mightily for them, the four waving in gratitude for the cheers as the event was about to begin. ‘Okay…here we go,’ Tiff thought, bracing herself. She eyed the Guard Dee carefully- but to her vague surprise and amusem*nt, he broke eye contact as soon as they met. ‘Huh. Wonder if I do know him…’

‘Let’s get this show on the road,’ thought Tuff as he brandished his staff.

“Ready…” there was a pause for a heartbeat, two, three, the tension at its peak. “...begin!”

The two Dees, further showing that they did at least train for this, didn’t rush forwards recklessly; rather the spear-wielding guard attempted to circle around the two of them, clearly trying to split their attention, while the parasol one approached Tiff carefully, parasol out in front. In exchange, she quickly circled the opposite direction as she advanced carefully- she didn’t want to put him between her and her brother, as the Dee might see that as a quick opportunity. She had to keep them both in view. Not that the Parasol Dee would make that easy.

Tiff had long since understood that parasols in Dream Land weren’t just for blocking rain or sun; they had magic in them as well, provided the user could draw it out. So she held steady- sure enough, taking a quick step forwards, the Dee was quick to react, slinging his parasol and sending out a burst of water that would’ve halted her advance if she’d committed to it. Instead, her defenses were up, allowing the burst to splash harmlessly off of her shield and allowed her to continue to press her attack. As expected, the Dee jumped back to create space, and she was able to press again-

-or so she expected. The Dee suddenly seemed to shift trajectory, divebombing her with his parasol below him to cover his descent. She quickly jumped to the side, and struck while he landed, getting one, two, three good whacks in that sent him sprawling, if only for a moment. As he got back to his feet, she noticed that he only got even more defensive as she made to break through yet again.

Tuff was proving to be a bit more aggressive in his approach- he met the spear user in close quarters, delivering several quick swings to test their reflexes. To Tuff’s mild surprise, the Dee managed to keep up and blocked two of them, if barely. The third he took on the chin, but it didn’t dissuade the guard as he recovered. He thrusted back, but Tuff had already danced out of reach; it was the staff with the superior range in this case, and their exchange began again.

The Dee attempted to close in again, only for Tuff to leap to the side- channeling a spit of fire on the edge of his staff. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for the Dee to lose nerve for a moment- and that was enough for the following strike to send the Dee flying, though after a moment or two it got back up to the roar of the crowd. ‘Sturdy little guy, huh?’ Tuff thought to himself, before he quickly checked another thrust attempt by the Guard, responding with his own poke that sent them stumbling yet again. The Guard Dee shook himself to clear the cobwebs, to notice Tuff still waiting on him. Breathing deeply, the Dee attempted to approach once more.

Tiff similarly had found a rhythm and pressure that suited her well as the fight continued on, managing to charge through an attempt at a watery ball and into the Dee to push him back heavily. Put simply, Meta Knight’s speed and power were such that she was used to fighting at a much faster pace of combat; in comparison, while the Dee did their best to defend against her attacks, he was just too slow to pose a major threat. His attempted swings were either deflected, or in one case, jumped over, and she quickly managed to send him to the ground with a channeled energy wave that he couldn’t defend against in time.

She heard a warbling ‘wanyaaaa’ before the Guard Dee came flying past her vision, clearly courtesy of Tuff. The two opponents were sent sprawling near each other, and they then heard the count start while they watched, guardedly, to see if they got back up.

“ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE!” And with that, a loud gong sounded. “The winners of the first round are Tiff and Tuff!”

“...huh.” Tiff let out a breath, looking to the roaring crowd. “At least it wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.” She wasn’t even breathing hard.

“See? No problem at all!” Tuff boasted, clapping her on the back.

“For the first match, I guess,” she warned as they waved to the people. “But we’ve got a LOT more to go.” Fortunately, they were done for the day- quick as that was, Channel PPP and Haltmann had several more matches to watch and comment on. Not that she would complain about the rest of the day TO rest…and maybe practice for another event.

“My goodness!” Mr. Ebrum exclaimed after witnessing his kids fight. “That was downright ferocious!” While he knew his daughter had a temper and his son was rambunctious, he’d never quite expected to see that kind of martial skill from them, even when they’d been training in the fields not far from home.

“I’m zo glad zey weren’t hurt…” Mrs. Ebrum admitted, sighing. “Zat spear looked quite sharp! Really, Zey shouldn’t be so easily carrying that thing around! Zey could put an eyeball out!” Mr. Ebrum made to respond to that, however the voice of Reporter Dee quickly cut him off.

“Wow! That was fast and furious!” Reporter Dee said.

“That’s just the nature of the Battle Arena,” Susie noted. “Unlike many of the other competitions, which either have set time limits or need a certain amount of points, you can win and lose in the blink of an eye in that one. Let’s go over exactly what happened there, shall we?”

“That was too cool!” Iro said, eyes shining. “They kicked butt!”

“Yeah, it was pretty cool, but it was just some Waddle Dees, right?” Spikehead asked.

“I-I thought they were brave…” Honey hazarded.

Spikehead flicked his eyes to her, and then shrugged, grinning. “Yeah, I guess they were, huh?”

Meanwhile. Knuckle Joe let out a long whistle as he watched the replay, peppered by Susie’s commentary. “Not bad. Didn’t get ta see much of their styles with how quick they went, but not bad.”

“Tiff’s got a rather explosive combat style, I think,” Sirica noted. When Joe looked her way in question, she elaborated. “She seemed to be fighting from behind her shield until she managed to send the parasol user off-balance or found a good opening. Once she was able to accomplish that, she more or less swarmed him until he was finished.”

“Yeah, true,” Joe agreed. “Thinkin’ about it, lil bro was almost the opposite, huh?” He turned back to the tv with a grin. “He was tryin’ to force that Dee to make their own mistakes. Pressed ‘im just enough, then he let the trouble come his way and was ready for it.”

She nodded in agreement. “I’m looking forwards to seeing what else they do. Though I understand that not every competition is centered around combat…”

“Kinda makes ME wanna get into the ring for a bit,” Knuckle Joe admitted. He felt the weight on the couch shift, and he turned back to see Sirica standing up, a challenge in her eyes.

“Then lets,” she said, grinning. Knuckle Joe couldn’t get up fast enough.

Later that day, Tiff and Tuff both were milling around the castle lobby, having gotten a few bites to eat. The plaza was nice and all, but inside was plenty luxurious as well. With numerous places to sit and watch the various matches that were scheduled to be played today, visitors and contestants alike were around and about, several talking about their first matches with friends. Others had partaken of the buffet spread as they had. “Boy, they really spared no expense, huh?” Tuff muttered to himself as he munched on a potsticker, looking around at the large space.

“You’re not wrong,” Tiff admitted. She’d gotten a finger food sandwich herself. “This is a pretty big production…” She eyed the spilled plates a few feet away just behind the serving table- two of the Waddle Dee attendants had accidentally collided with each other, resulting in a big mess that they were fretting over. She’d have offered to help clean it up, but they’d mentioned getting cleaners quickly, so she’d kept out of it while waiting for them to show up.

“Mmm, beggin’ pardon!” a high pitched voice came not long after. They both turned to see…a cat? And a strange…jelly…thing…on top of their head. “Heard there was a spill near here, nyes?” The large, multicolored cat had on a bandana, as did the jelly-thing. They both had buckets and mops, and the latter had a broom and a few other cleaning tools as well.

The latter’s eyes sparkled as she noticed just past. “Nago! There it is!” she pointed out, literally doing so with a surprising long, stretchy tentacle. “Let’s get to it!”

“Got the hand vacuum, Chuchu?” He asked without breaking stride.

The two let them pass, eying them briefly before turning back to the rest of the lobby. The sound of said vac starting up prompted them to move to a quieter corner of the room. The lobby television screens, bigger than anything she’d seen to date, were showing other matches; on the main four screens in the center was what seemed to be whatever the ‘marquee match’ was considered. They’d finished with the first round of the A Block, which was what Tiff and Tuff were part of. Now was B block, where Kirby and Bandee were, as well as Meta Knight and whomever his partner was.

On the main screen at the moment was a contest called Slam Hockey: this one between the team of Bugzzy and Simirror vs. Sypnum and Waddle Doo. They had a large puck between them and were on an arena stage, both with goals behind them. The two teams were viciously rallying the puck as well, with Bugzzy showing his strength as he barreled through Waddle Doo, with the sending the hapless sphere flying clear out of the stage. The insectoid got possession and hurled the puck at the goal- only for Spynum, who had gotten clear of the initial charge, to hit the puck with a well-aimed arrow sending it careening off course and bouncing from the back wall, to the side wall, to Simirror; it was only instinct that allowed the magician to throw up a mirror wall to bounce it away a third time and into Spynum, who crashed into the boards and slumped down to the cheers of the crowd. The score went up one- and then the puck was lazily kicked in by Bugzzy for a second point.

Tiff and Tuff blinked at the wanton sport violence they’d just witnessed. “...dang.” Tuff said simply.

“Yeah,” Tiff agreed, nodding. Both Spynum and Waddle Doo had gotten up, however- the latter being fetched by a Bronto Burt in a ref cap, and tossed back in, but still clearly ready to fight after shaking it off. Refusing to surrender, they kept at it. Spynum and Doo even managed a goal after a good play had gotten the puck around Bugzzy and Simirror was out of position to help defend. Alas, they couldn’t quite overcome the strength advantage the other team had, meaning that after three 5 minute rounds, the team of Bugzzy and Simirror took the match. “That was pretty exciting…but I’m glad we don’t have to compete in it, I think.”

“Not unless something changes up on us at the last minute, nah,” Tuff agreed. Their schedule was fortunately planned out, at least, letting them know what was ahead. With how the tournament was set up, no one would play the full suite of events, so they hadn’t even bothered to try. It was the luck of the draw. “Anyway…I wonder where Meta Knight is? He hasn’t gone up yet?” he wondered. They didn’t see him on any of the screens- several of them had switched over to the news coverage of the event.

“Dunno. You think he finished his event already?” Tiff questioned.

“I did, cadet.” came the voice of Meta Knight behind them.

“Sir!” Tiff instinctively snapped to attention, and Tuff had to muffle a snort of laughter.

“At ease, cadet,” Meta Knight said calmly, and fortunately she quickly relaxed as she turned around. “I was unable to witness your first victory, but I came to give my congratulations nonetheless.”

“Oh…thank you, sir,” she said happily. “It was just the first match, though. We’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us.”

“You do,” he agreed. “But the only victory that should not be celebrated is the one in which you gave no effort to obtain. Use this as motivation to continue onwards and become stronger.”

She nodded. “I will, sir. Thank you. I take it you’ve won your first event, too?” she asked.

“I have. It was…curious,” he said, looking around at the lobby. “I am surprised that collecting apples could be made into a contact sport, but it seems King Dedede has crafted a way. It was an interesting change of pace for training.”

“The Apple Scramble thing?” Tuff noted. “I think we got that in Round 3.”

“I’m confident you’ll do fine,” Meta Knight declared. “We did…surprisingly. I suppose it was fitting that the first event involved apples.”

“Say, speaking of,” Tiff noted. “Who IS your partner? We haven’t heard anything about them yet.”

He co*cked his head in surprise. “Oh? Hm. It was intended to be Axe Knight. However, he was unavailable, suddenly. It appears he ate something that disagreed with him the other night. I had to find a substitute in short order. Fortunately, I did come across someone. You might know him.”

“Yeah?” Tuff titled his head in a way that gave the impression he’d co*cked an eyebrow. “Who’d tha-”

“Hallo!” came a friendly voice from RIGHT behind them.

“Eep!” Tiff flinched, looking behind her (and missing Meta Knight’s disapproving look). “Who’s- oh.” The blob before her was unmistakable. “...huh. And unexpectedly, Gooey.” She looked back at Meta Knight. “Really?”

“He’s a capable warrior when the chips are down,” Meta Knight pointed out. “He merely needs specific instruction sometimes.”

“Are you having fun too?” Gooey asked innocently at Tiff’s incredulous stare.

Tuff couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Pfffthahahahaha! I know I am!”

Tiff sighed, realizing their chances of getting to the top had just gotten a lot harder.

Chapter 22: The Cake Royale- Second Rounds

Chapter Text

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the second day of the Cake Royale!” Reporter Dee welcomed to two worlds worth of watchers. “We’ve got a new day of events, in all meanings of the word!”

“Day 2 will be full of new challenges, which we’ll be explaining, and these will prove that the Cake Royale is not limited to pure physical challenges!” Susie explained. “While the other day’s events are a good start, remember we have six more days to go!” Mind, to the Cappy Town audience, it’d been a couple days between broadcasts, but that had almost been an ultimate positive, as speculation and favorites had quickly started to run rampant, with many of the various teams proving surprisingly popular amongst the Cappy contingent of watchers.

“Crazy Theater!” Reporter Dee had summarized. “Tests of your mind! A quiz, interspersed with moments of intense action!”

“Our resident mage, Magolor, will be hosting this event,” Susie elaborated. “He’ll be asking questions that will require a quick body and quicker wits to answer correctly, as many of them will require physical exertion- even if you choose to not attack the opposition to prevent them from doing the same, or answering when you can’t. Let’s get down to the field!”

The first proved curious, with Knuckle Joe and Wester facing off against the Guard Dee and Parasol Dee from yesterday. Knuckle Joe (the one on the alternate Pop Star, that is) found this…curious. Really, he’d noticed the other day, but it was only just now sinking in for him. "A whole lookalike, huh? I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, but I really…dunno how I feel about that,” he admitted, grimacing slightly.

Sirica wasn’t sure what to say, either, looking upon the scene with bemusem*nt. “...I think you look better,” was all she could hazard.

That didn’t mean they didn’t cheer for him as Magolor asked a number of strange questions about the alien Pop Star (“The heck’s a Gem Apple?” Knuckle Joe had asked at one point), as well as more general questions that were at least familiar to them. (“Seventy-two, it’s seventy-two!” Sirica had shouted after Magolor had given the math question.) Alas, the Dees had taken it- they simply knew more answers and could respond faster. “Bah,” Joe had dismissed. “If he’s anythin’ like me, he’s a fighter, not a brainiac!”

Honey, meanwhile, was rooting for the pair of Birdon and Como, having taken part in competing in the Ore Express event. “Yay!” she cheered as Birdon swept up the final gem on the track and tossed it in their team’s compartment. It had been a challenge almost like a gathering obstacle course, but they’d managed it thanks to Birdon’s fearsome flying. “He was so graceful…” Honey said sweetly. “I hope they go far!”

“You like him, huh?” Spikehead said with a sour look on his face. Not that he was jealous or anything, but…

“Yeah,” Honey said shamelessly, before turning to him with a bright grin. “They aren’t quite as cool as you, but this is really fun to watch!”

That alone caused a great amount of stress to evaporate, even as Iro held back a snicker or two.

The Robo Bonkers event brought it all right back. “Whoa!! Isn’t that dangerous?!” Spikehead said in shock. They were actually not only expected to take that massive mechanical monster down, they were being tested on how fast it took them to do it. It was almost inconceivable for the vast majority of the Cappies.

“They’re really layin’ it all out in this competition, huh?” Knuckle Joe said in surprise as he saw Bio Spark sling kunai after kunai at the mech’s weakest points, distracting it while Beetley loaded up rockets in the cannon supplied to them. They fired off with a spectacular explosion one after the other, rocking the massive beast heavily and causing it to tilt back, getting it in range for Bio Spark’s deadly swordplay. “I gotta admit I’m kinda surprised.”

“To think, this is what is expected in their Dream Land…” Sirica said in shock. “No wonder they’re so powerful, if this is what they have to be ready for.” Nonetheless, she was fascinated as both teams fearlessly took on the giant mecha one at a time. However, it was Bio Spark and Beetley that managed to defeat it faster; Chemitory’s science proving a bit too slow to be of much assistance with Chilly’s short-range freezing.

And soon, it was time for the last event of Pool 1- Tiff and Tuff against Burning Leo and Sir Kibble in a Rocket Rumble.

“Hello, one and all!” Susie said, her and Reporter Dee’s backdrop looking markedly different than the usual TV background. “Welcome to the Haltmann Space Center, Launchpad 3! For this event, Rocket Rumble, I’ll be overseeing the proceedings personally. While everyone gets set up, allow me to explain the rules and how this event is going to go!” She motioned to the platform, where four rockets were situated on the edges. “The goal here is to fill the rocket's fuel tanks with as many fuel cubes as they dare over the course of one minute! There are only a finite amount of fuel cubes, however, so they can either move fast, or attempt to steal from their opponents- especially if they have their hands on a ‘high-efficiency cube, which you’ll recognize by its golden hue. When ten seconds are left, that’s the time for the players to judge if they have enough fuel to win, and lock the induction port to see which rockets fly higher! The competitors don’t actually get IN the rocket, mind you…”

“Not to mention,” Reporter Dee interjected, “Ms. Haltmann will have one or two surprises for the battlers to contend with during the stressful minutes, won’t she?” he asked, turning to her.

She nodded in confirmation. “Indeed. If anyone out there is thinking this will be a similar situation to the Apple Scramble event, not only will there be multiple rounds for a best of five competition, I can assure you there’ll be some variables thrown into the mix. But, why take my word for it when you can see for yourself! The Rocket Rumble begins in ten minutes!”

“In the meantime, let’s go over the battlers for this event! Burning Leo and Sir Kibble have started hot, winning their first match in decisive fashion! But so have Tiff and Tuff! It’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top in this indirect competition!”

Tiff had gotten quite used to stretching before exercises- or anything strenuous, really. It soothed her, focused her mind more than she thought it ever would. She spared a glance over to her brother- it was clear he had taken the opposite route- currently on the ground meditating quietly. At first she wasn’t sure if he was napping- but no, she got a distinct vibe from him that made her confident he wasn’t unconscious. ‘Never thought seeing Tuff quiet like this would suit him, but here we are,’ she mused. She wondered if he might think the same about her as she finished her last round of stretches. “Ready to go?”

“...” Tuff remained quiet for a moment, but as she started to suspect jarring him awake after all, he took a deep breath, making a motion with his arms she couldn’t quite follow. With that, he hopped up, all smiles. “I’m good! Let’s get goin’!”

“Had me worried for a second,” she admitted as they made their way to the transport, where they’d be ferried to the Space Center. “So what does that even do for you?”

“Eh, helps me center m’self,” he said, shrugging. “Focus on what I am, where I’m going, all that junk. Ms. Partizanne helped me get used to it. Sometimes I pray, too, like now. Helps keep me focused.”

That was another aspect Tiff didn’t know much about. While they’d been training together for a while now and enjoyed their time together, they hadn’t actually talked about what daily life with their teachers had been like. Tuff likely had an idea of hers by now, considering recent events, but he seemed to keep very mum on what he’d gotten up to at the Jambandra Base. He insisted it wasn’t anything bad, but occasionally he’d let slip something unexpected.

It was clear that despite his dismissal to her face, he’d genuinely bought into whatever religion the Mage Sisters were promoting…and the fact that he hadn’t attempted to sell her on the idea as well made her think that whatever it was, he suspected she wouldn’t approve if she got the full story. The only reason she didn’t press him on it was the simple fact that, well, she (thought) she knew her brother- if it was anything sincerely disturbing or wrong, he’d for sure tell her, even if he didn’t like doing it. As it was, it was likely something he really did consider benign, but likely he thought she’d flip about it. ‘I don’t think I’m THAT high-strung,’ Tiff thought to herself. ‘But whatever it is…well, I’ll just have to keep an eye and ear open.’ Just because she trusted Tuff didn’t mean she wouldn’t heed some caution.

Later, they arrived at the Space Center, taking only a moment to look around. “Whoa. This place is pretty glitzy,” Tuff remarked, before noticing a familiar face up in the control center. “Hey! Ms. Susie’s here!”

“She’s probably here to make sure everything goes as intended,” Tiff noted. They’d gotten the rundown on the event on the way over, and it seemed…well, perhaps logical wasn’t quite the word for it, but she could understand both the intended task at hand and why it’d need Susie’s presence. “C’mon, that’s the stage. Let’s win this!”

“Yeah!” Tuff cheered. They took their places, getting a look at their opponents.

Tiff squinted as she eyed the Sir Kibble. He looked vaguely familiar…and then she noticed something about his hat. “Waaait a minute…”

“Hello, junior quartermaster!” Sir Kibble saluted. “I promise to fight my hardest, even against a fellow shipmate!” He even struck a ready pose. “Perhaps soon you’ll allow me a few extra whetstones from the storage bay when you see how good I am!”

“Oh, no…” she groused to herself before she tightened her grip on her lance. “You’re still not getting any extra supplies even if you win!” she warned, before the announcer team introduced them. Sir Kibble looked like he was going to respond, but the cheering had the two teams quickly waving to the crowd instead, many watching over the TV as the event was set to begin.

The contest itself proved as challenging as expected- The siblings traded on and off on defense as the other teammate scrambled to get the fuel cubes that were tossed into the field via delivery cannon. It certainly made for a spectacle, with Sir Kibble’s attempts at distraction and sabotage, and Burning Leo’s flames doing their best to shut down any cheeky attempts at getting too close.

However, Tuff proved to be on his A-game, moving quickly and efficiently, slipping between throws of the cutter, and using his staff to practically bat the cubes over to Tiff, who quickly installed them into the large rocket nearest her. Fortunately, the intake valve was quick to work with- she could slam 5 of them into the machine in less than as many seconds. When the cubes were closer to Tuff’s, they quickly switched over, Tiff’s shield providing more than enough deterrent to approaching her, and similarly sweeping what she could get towards her brother.

That didn’t mean that their rivals didn’t collect any themselves, of course- far from it. Largely, it was a rotating push of sorts- neither team could control the middle area for long, with both being defensively minded, so any pushes were short-lived.

At last, however, the timer gave the ten-second warning, and the two of them were quick to lock in both rockets just as their opposition did the same. They both watched with awe as the ships blasted off in unison, Susie watching carefully on the control systems. Soon, they were hard to see with the naked eye, and cameras focused on two large scale digital readouts that Susie pulled up in the Space Center.

Up, up, up went both rockets… “How high are they gonna go…?” Tuff wondered- right as the red rocket, their opponents’, suddenly shut off, and a parachute opened. And theirs kept going, to great cheers. “Ha! Well, nevermind!”

Ultimately, they took the first round with a score of 62 to 48. “Alright, that’s one!” Tiff cheered, turning to her brother. “Think we can go three for three?”

—-----------------------

Later, the two were celebrating their victory in the lobby, armor doffed for the time being, leaving Tiff in plainclothes and Tuff in a simple dress shirt and basic pants. Oddly enough, he still wore the hat and tie. “You really like that hat,” Tiff said idly before she bit into an apple.

“It’s a good hat,” Tuff replied simply. “Though it’s not quite up to Kirby’s standards, I’d guess.” They both were watching another replay of an earlier event- Kirby’s, naturally. He’d been up for Attack Riders, which sounded both familiar and dangerous to them. Kirby and Bandee worked well together, and Kirby had clearly chosen well for this race, using Bomb. He was raining destruction down on the track, preventing his opponents from even getting close. Tuff grimaced as they nearly took a spill. “Geez, that’s rough to go against,” he remarked. “That Spynum’s a crack shot, but that’s just too many explosives.”

“No kidding,” Tiff agreed. “He might just have one ability per event, but Kirby’s still a terror.”

“They call me the Pink Demon for a reason!” Kirby’s voice came from behind them. They both turned to see him walking up with a massive plate of a variety of cookies. “I used to not like that nickname, but now I just kinda roll with it.”

“Hey, Kirby!” Tuff greeted. “You eatin’ all of those?”

“I can spare a couple for friends,” he offered, and the two quickly accepted, grabbing a couple each. “Watched your match earlier- you two did great!”

“Thanks,” Tiff offered, before biting into a sugar cookie. “Oh wow, these are great! Dedede’s got some great chefs on board…”

“Yeah, he’s got a ‘refined palette’, so he needs the best, he says,” Kirby said with clear amusem*nt. “Kawasaki’s pretty much the best out there, though, and Dedede’s never managed to coax him to work for him outside of commissions. Like that caaaake…” Kirby briefly zoned out, his eyes focusing on an imaginary cake that he was preparing to devour.

“Hey, where’s Bandee?” Tuff asked, snapping him out of it. “He was doing some pretty sick work with the pickup chips thing, too!”

“Oh! That reminds me!” Kirby said, voice getting a bit more concerned. “Have you two seen his spear? It went missing after the event.”

That got their attention. “Wait, his spear is gone?” Tiff asked to confirm. “That’s…kinda worrying.”

“Yeah, he’s looking all over the place for it right now,” Kirby agreed. “I said I’d ask around and look for myself, too, but I’ve gotten nothing so far. He’s gonna use an umbrella in the meantime, so it’s not like he’s going weaponless, but we still obviously want it back as soon as possible. You’ll know it’s his because he has a red cloth tied around it in a particular way. Pretty sure his is the only one that’s that color, too.”

“We’ll keep an eye out for it, totally!” Tuff agreed, as did Tiff.

“Thanks, you two!” In a single inhale, Kirby quickly swallowed the entire stacked tray of cookies, before wandering off. “I’m gonna keep looking, then! See you both later!”

Back in Cappy Town…

“Well!” Mr. Ebrum said energetically one evening. “I for one am quite happy our kids seem to be taking this competition by storm!” They’d invited several members of the community by for a little get together, and several friends and workmates all had accepted. Of course, the dinner table discussion was of the Cake Royale and the particular competitors within it, which they’d all been following thoroughly.

“Mmm…per’aps, yes, but I still don’t know why zings are so scary zere!” Mrs. Ebrum opined. “It iz like every day zere is dangerousness around ze corner!”

“Oh, I doubt it’s quite like that,” Gengu dismissed. “You gotta get people with a hook if ya want folks to watch your stuff. Upsellin’s just one o’ the ways to do it! Make look more excitin’ than it is, y’know? Least, that’s what I figure.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think they can control every bit o’ it,” Gus added. “So at least summa it’s real, I suspect.” Leaning back, he considered what he’d seen over the past week or so. “...gotta say, though, kinda surprised they’re goin’ so heavy on the combat stuff, but those kids didn’t even look phased! I just hope they ain’t had it too hard…no clue what they been through to be so calm about that kinda stuff.”

“They looked in good spirits before and after the match,” Mabel pointed out, helping herself to a bit of salad. “So I would think that they’re certainly not traumatized or anything worrisome like that. Rather, I’m excited to see how far they can go!” she cheered. She’d long been one of their most ardent supporters, and it excited her to see them doing well. “I believe next match they face off against… NESP and Gim, was it?” she asked around. “I am interested to see how they do against another psychic- I was rooting for them, too but ah, I predict they will not fare well.” NESP and Gim had gone oh-for-two so far, and it was looking to be oh-for-three.

“I’m glad Mr. Birdon got one win!” Honey said as she floated to get herself another piece of meat. “He seems nice.” Spikehead and Iro agreed- they’d been friends of the siblings, and so it’d been decided to invite them around as well. Besides, with them practicing magic as well, it was good to see what was possible on the other side and talk with others about it.

“I’m hopin’ to see that Bio Spark dude keep winnin’!” Spikehead said. “He’s so fast!” The Cappies nearest him leaned away slightly as his mane started sparking slightly. He’d gotten…better with his Zap element, but he often manifested it as close range electricity, as opposed to anything like lightning bolts or the sort.

“I’m lookin’ at that Joe and Wester team,” Gus stated. “Seem real standup. Speakin’ of Joe, though-” and here he looked at the last person currently around the table. “-how’s he doin, Sirica?”

She simply let out a small huff of amusem*nt. “He’s still rooting for the same, regardless of how awkward it makes him feel. So you’re at least similar in that respect. Though I doubt you have the desire to spar after he loses,” she pointed out, to a few understanding chuckles around the table. She’d been surprised at the invite, but the Cappies had a strange way of making her feel at home regardless of who’s home it was. Joe was supposed to have been here by now, unfortunately. “I wonder what’s keeping him…” she mused.

“Oh, he probably saw someone needing help and stopped,” Gus suggested.

“That, or he went an’ found himself trouble,” Gengu said wryly. “Got wind the little sprites were flutterin’ around town earlier.”

“Ah…” Mr. Ebrum had been…distraught, to say the least. It seemed like forever ago that his birth children and who he’d regarded as his adopted children had come to odds. While both Ebrums had attempted to talk to Fololo and Falala, it seemed as though the two had made up their minds about the matter- though they still treated their parents-in-all-but-blood with respect, it was clear that neither of them wanted to speak too much about Tiff or Tuff, limiting it to ‘We accepted it. They went their way, and we’re going ours, that’s all.’

Of course, that was before they had cleaved closer to King Dedede’s side, and now Mr. and Mrs. Ebrum could do little else but watch and try to insist on occasion that they be careful, watch how much influence they were letting Dedede have, or at least restrain him from going as overboard as he used to. They’d agreed to that last one, at least.

Still, while his youngest had become social pariahs, Knuckle Joe in particular did not get along with Fololo and Falala- even Sirica gave a small frown at the mention of them that she quickly schooled into something more neutral.

‘I do hope they haven’t gotten into anything severe,’ Mr. Ebrum thought. Whether it was hope for Joe or for Fololo and Falala, he wasn’t sure. ‘Or worse, come to meet each other. That wouldn’t end well…’

Unfortunately, it was just the case.

“Oh, come off it, ya berry bushels!” Knuckle Joe had been having a good day. He’d gotten in some good training, helped out with some work on the Spaceport, and his patrol with Sirica had gone swimmingly. He was planning on bringing some chips and drinks to the get together the Ebrums had invited him to. Normally, he wasn’t much of a partier unless the party involved fighting, but Sirica had insisted, so he’d capitulated…after some last second checks around some trouble spots at the edge of town, that is. But then THIS had happened. “It’s just snacks and junk for a shindig I’m going to!”

“It’s not a crime to check for contraband!” Falala insisted.

“Yeah, if it’s nothing, then this’ll be quick!” Fololo insisted. They’d been harassing him about what was in the bag not long after he’d gotten out of Tuggle’s. “Besides, you don’t DO ‘shindigs’,” he accused. “You gotta admit that sounds a little suspect.”

Joe gritted his teeth- largely because yeah, he didn’t really do shindigs. “Don’t mean I can’t change a bit. You two ain’t exactly stuck in time yourselves!”

“We’re providing a valuable watchdog service to Cappy Town!” Falala insisted. “Just like you’re doing your patrols, and everything!”

“Hey, I ain’t the one diggin’ in people’s groceries!” he bit back. “Sides, if you’re watchdogs, you’re sleeping on the job a lot- I don’t hardly see you both around here any!”

“That’s because we have a lot of duties in the castle! They’re very important,” Fololo insisted. “If the King didn’t keep us so busy, we’d be down here a lot more often, whether we liked it or not, since it’s important to us!”

“Sure, important like Tiff an’ Tuff were,” Joe shot back, watching as they physically flinched with a grim satisfaction. It was a bit of a low blow, but he very much had decided they weren’t really worth jawing with evenly once he’d heard the story between them. “I betcha you don’t even know what they’ve been up to these days!”

The two looked like a strange combination of infuriated and abashed, but they attempted to rally nonetheless “...learning magic, right?” Fololo asked. “That was their whole big thing before they left.”

“Ha! Yeah, sure, guess you could say that,” Joe allowed with a laugh. “Not big on TV watchin’, are ya?”

“What do you mean? We watch Channel DDD every day!” Fololo insisted, with Falala nodding. “How’s that supposed to tell us what they’re up to?”

“Heh. Well, that explains it!” Joe half-taunted. “You ain’t got the latest setup with the new antenna, so o’ course you’re missin’ all the action!”

That caught Fololo and Falala off guard. “New antenna? We never heard of that!” Fololo said in surprise.

“Tell us! Tell us now!” Falala demanded as best she could.

“I think you two got some shoppin’ of your own ta do,” Joe simply said. “Anywho, I’m gonna get these snacks to the party, okay? Buzz off until ya get a clue!” With that dismissal, he turned on his heel and left the two floating balls alone with their own confusion.

About 10 seconds later, they both darted into Tuggle’s store themselves.

About 20 minutes after that, the castle shook in outrage.

“WHAAAAAT?!?” King Dedede roared as the news they’d brought settled in. “Whaddya mean dey been using a newfangled TV thingamabob!?”

“It’s called the Haltmann Dimensional Antenna,” Fololo reported. “Apparently it went on sale a while ago, and now just about all of Cappy Town is using it to get expanded channels!”

“So you mean even when dem Star Allies ain’t here dey messin’ up my life!?” Dedede complained loudly. “That’s crossin’ da line somethin’ fierce!” He got up, beginning to pace as he thought.

“It’s almost like they were wantin’ to surprise us,” Escargoon suggested. He didn’t really believe it, but it was occasionally fun to rile up the boss. “I bet they were just waitin’ to cause a whole big to-do about it and sayin’ how much better their own ramshackle Dream Land is and cause trouble!”

“According to what we’ve heard, there’s some sort of competition going on over there right now,” Falala informed them. “Tiff and Tuff are there, too, I think.”

“Rallyin’ the rabble, no doubt! Or being nefarious sorts tryin’ ta undermine my authoritah!” He growled to himself. Channel DDD was, he had believed, one of the last reasons why he hadn’t been deposed yet- of course no one would want to depose someone as witty and funny as him, right? But now… “Ain’t no one respectin’ me nearly as much these days! It’s like they forgot who’s dey King! And now they tryin’ to finish the job!”

“I don’t think it’s gotten that bad yet,” Fololo eased. ‘It’s more like everyone ignores him unless he sends a monster or a robot,’ Fololo thought to himself. It was that aspect that made the both of them more comfortable hanging by him, really; Dedede was a blowhard, but you always knew where you stood with him…well, they were pretty sure of that, anyway. “I bet we can win them back somehow…”

“Unless they don’t have those pirate antennas anymore, we can’t influence the masses by rocking the cable waves!” Escargoon noted. “Either we prove we’re can’t miss TV, or we make sure we’re the only thing on air!”

“Smart thinkin’!” Dedede nodded. “ And I ain’t leavin’ anythin’ ta chance! You two!” and here he pointed at Fololo and Falala. “Go around and get a listen-to at whatevah this surpeptious-”

“Surreptitious, sire,” Escargoon interrupted.

“WHATEVAH! Go find out what everyone’s sayin’ ‘bout me an’ that second-rate Dream Land, real quiet like!” The two saluted, and quickly took off. They had a good idea of where to go first, after all. “Escargoon!” And here he turned to the snail. “Get your thinkin’ cap on! We gotta build us a fancy sort of robot if we’re gonna smash dem ratings now! And smashin’s what I do best! ‘Sides everythin’ else, o’ course!”

Chapter 23: The Cake Royale- Midgame

Chapter Text

The Cake Royale was officially heating up. With everyone having gotten a solid look at their competition by now, folks were starting to invest in more specifically strategic methods; since everyone knew who was facing who, and had an idea of most of the events now, it turned to more brains than brawn that began to decide the rounds. The Dee Duo took a thrilling, close match of Slam Hockey on the back of Parasol Dee’s defensive play, preventing Leo and Sir Kibble from making full use of their offensive capabilities and allowing the Guard Dee to take whatever shots he could- both on opponents and the puck.

The Flagball match was an excellent display of shutting down team sync, as Knuckle Joe swarmed Beetley enough that his skill at tossing and slamming never came into play in the Flagball game, which would’ve otherwise spelt disaster for the team. Chemitory and Chilly took what many considered to be an upset win over Birdon and Como in the Battle Arena thanks to an inspired strategy involving a lot of taunting, and bringing the animal duo in range for Chemitory’s sleeping gas pills, which Chilly took full advantage of, walling them off and setting up for a devastating Flash Spark flurry.

Tiff and Tuff weren’t planning on falling to a similar fate. “Alright,” she said, straining a bit as she went into side stretches. “We know NESP can use telekinesis,” Tiff noted, going through her pre-match stretches. “And he’s young and tricky.”

“He’s part of the Jambastion Religion,” Tuff noted. I’ve seen ‘im around, and he does the same prayer rituals I do.”

“Hm…is that going to mean anything?” she asked. He obviously knew more about it than she did. “Should we expect something special from him? Like unusual skills?”

Tuff was doing slow forms with his staff- his head didn’t move more than what was necessary to perform his techniques, not looking at her. “Nah. But he’s not gonna be easy to psyche out, if I had ta guess. That an’ don’t expect him to back down unless he’s gotta.” He finished up one set, started on another. “ ‘Void embraces all.’ I doubt he’ll be too scared of you pokin’ at him.”

She was about to ask what that last bit was for, but huffed, backing off of the topic. Jambastion stuff still made her feel leery, honestly, but it hadn’t gotten too bad apart from him slipping some of their phrasing into his language. She’d brought up the matter at least once, but he’d just shrugged and admitted ‘it sounds cool, though!’ She had to admit that DID sound like Classic Tuff, and not some brainwashed stooge for the sisters.

Well, as far as NESP went, it was something, at least. “What do we know about Gim, then?” she redirected. He was largely a mystery, too.

“He’s a robot. Likes his yo-yo,” Tuff offered, shrugging. “S’kinda it as far as I know ‘im.” Well, drat. Guess that was understandable.

It was then that there was a knock on the door, and they knew they were being called to get to the transportation so they could get to the Apple Scramble fields. “You two ready?” the Dee asked.

“As we’ll ever be,” Tiff responded as the two of them prepared to head out.

It didn’t take them long to be on their way; the Apple Scramble fields weren’t too far away from the main castle, fortunately. “We just get the apples, make sure they don’t get as many, and drop them in,” Tiff reminded herself, trying to shake off the nerves. “We’ve got this.”

“So long as nothin’ crazy happens, yeah!” Tuff agreed. “I’ll do the apple collectin’ since I got way better range than you, and you just keep ‘em off me.” Tiff wasn’t entirely sure that that statement was the truth, but she’d let it slide for now. She could see where he was coming from with it, at the least.

Before long, they’d arrived at the location, but… “Huh. This looks kinda different from what I saw on TV,” Tiff noted. “Is this a different locale?” She knew the Apple Scramble fields were around the edge of the forest…

“Yup!” The attendant Dee said. “This is Double-Cross Forest!”

The two looked at him in surprise. Tuff was the one to broach the Phan-Phan in the room. “Uhh…why the name?”

“Because you gotta cross over both the bramble vines and the river to get from one side to the other!” The Dee happily exclaimed. “At least, that’s what it was originally meant to mean. I don’t think anyone’s done anything particularly BAD here, don’t worry!” That calmed their nerves a touch- at least they were AWARE of what that kind of name could imply. In particular, it seemed the river didn’t wind through here specifically, so that put her more at ease.

It wasn't much longer before they spotted their opponents; the duo of Gim and NESP stood out well enough. The former simply gave a two finger salute, while the latter nodded at Tuff briefly before performing that strange hand motion she'd seen her brother do from time to time. He repeated the motion back, leaving her looking slightly baffled and annoyed as the announcer began their duties.

"Welcome to the Apple Scramble event!" At those words, Tiff put all other concerns out of her head. Now was the time to focus.

The challenge was strange, but they just had to be consistent and ready. They could win this.

Come the third round of Apple Scramble, Tiff was feeling a lot less certain. NESP and Gim proved to be incredibly efficient at apple collecting- namely by way of NESP not even needing to knock the apples down to get them in his psychic grasp. Similarly, Gim’s yo-yo skills were proving to essentially allow him a long ranged snatching for the few that did, or to allow him to pull the release level at a distance, minimizing travel time for the two of them. Skilled though they were, neither of them had range like that, Tuff’s flames working against them briefly as he quickly found out burned apples didn’t count.

From there they’d had to scramble, no pun intended, to haul as many as possible- for the first round after that opening flub, they’d forewent direct aggression almost entirely to focus on simply keeping up with the output their opponents had been bringing to the table. It was a panic decision, and had resulted in their first loss in the tournament, a clear defeat as they were behind by twenty apples. Their only saving grace was that this was a Best of Three match.

The second round, they’d decided to try to stick to their gameplan. Tuff went for the apples, and Tiff played shutdown against the other team. This had had…mixed-to-good results. Gim was more than willing to engage her, his Yo-yo proving just as harrowing impacting against her shield as any other weapon, and he was clearly experienced. NESP had largely focused on collecting, but she couldn’t get a moment to interrupt him without Gim moving to interrupt HER. They’d won that round, but mostly via element of surprise, both from their sudden shift from ‘pacifistic’ play, and from the new element that had quickly made itself known in the form of delivery cannons deployed on each side. That had allowed Tuff to make deliveries himself much quicker, and had forced Gim and NESP to actually attempt to devote some effort into aggression themselves. Fortunately, they’d rallied too late, and the siblings took the second round by a scant five apples- and even that would’ve been a two apple loss and the match if NESP had been a second faster on pulling the lever. A thin win, but enough to keep them in the match. Even so, though…

“They’re…huff…gonna expect us to press them, I think,” Tiff said, still trying to catch her breath. There were two minute breaks between rounds, and the two had to admit, they’d been pushed hard darting back and forth, trying to keep an eye on their own apple count alongside fending off their opponents. “We can’t let them do their own thing, so…huff…that’s our best shot anyway.” Splitting her personal attention across three separate tasks was…challenging. And Tuff’s sweating face was grinning, but he was- wait, grinning? “What’s so funny?”

“Haa…nothing,” he said, panting. “Just…glad you’re enjoyin’ yourself as much as I am.”

She blinked, then felt her own face. Sure enough, her lips were turned upwards, somewhat. ‘When’d that happen?’ she wondered to herself. But deep down…she couldn’t help but acknowledge it. ‘...I guess I AM having fun. I want to win, but even if I don’t…well, it’s fun to test myself, I guess!’ she admitted to herself. It was then they heard the warning bell go off- the last round was about to start soon. “Well, either way, we know what we need to do.”

“Nothin’ left to it but to do it,” Tuff agreed. “Let’s go!” Tuff held out a fist, and she tapped it with her own before they headed back out to the field.

‘We’ve got this,’ Tiff thought more confidently.

Back in Cappy Town…

Everyone’s eyes were glued to the TV for the day’s rounds of the Cake Royale. “This one’s gonna be rough,” Knuckle Joe said, leaning forwards as the contestants began to reemerge. He had been visiting the Ebrum place for training, but had gotten roped in to watch the matches with them again, and he and Sirica found themselves providing local commentary. “Those two haven’t been pressed like this yet, so they’ve gotta be feelin’ the nerves.”

“The first loss is always your most memorable,” Sirica confirmed. “The looks on their faces after the count told the whole story. They did an admirable job of battling back in the second round with a change of strategy, but…”

“But they squeaked by,” Joe continued. “They’ve gotta pull out all the stops if they’re gonna take this round.”

“Oh dear, oh my…” Mrs. Ebrum fretted. “If zey loze, zey will be so disappointed…”

“Maybe, but it ain’t the end of the world,” Joe noted. “Top four move on to the elims, remember? Even if they drop this one, they’re fine if they can rally back in the other events. Besides...from the looks on those faces, they ain't ready to wave the white flag just yet! Ah, here we go!”

The four eagerly looked on as the competitors faced each other, the announcer counting down. “Three…two…one…”

But just as they began, a loud thud shook the area- and the TV. “What the…?!” Sirica started, instincts flaring as she grabbed her multi-tool and ran to the window. It didn’t take long in peeking out for her face to shift into a scowl as another massive thud ran through the area. “Oh, really! Now, of all times?!”

“What’s up?” Joe asked, moving to see for himself. What he saw was a massive, rotund…well, the best he could describe it was a rabbit-looking kinda thing. As it hopped closer, the sheer impact to the ground was what was causing the shaking, rattling, and rolling. “What’s he up ta now?”

“Don’t know, but we’ll have to put a stop to it,” Sirica said resolutely. “Sorry about this,” she said to the Ebrums, turning back to them. “You’ll have to tell us who won later!” And with that, she was gone, Joe only just trailing after with a quick ‘hey!’ of surprise.

The two Ebrums could only look at each other in surprise and worry, before another thud was heard. And then, to their surprise, they noticed that the TV began acting up- the screen blinking with static intermittently. “What the blazes is going on?” Mr. Ebrum wondered. Mrs. Ebrum, for her part, could only think of one thing…

Joe and Sirica didn’t take very long before reaching the massive beast, complete with giant bunny ears rotating around here and there- as far as Knuckle Joe could tell, it was sending out some type of signal. Situated in the front where the forehead would be was, naturally, the terrible twosome themselves. “You two yahoos again!” King Dedede groused. “You get outta my way! I’m doin’ some official business!”

“Official? In THAT getup?” Joe challenged.

“Yeah!” King Dedede retorted. “I gots word that there was some unauthorized TV shows bein’ showed that’s underminin’ my authoritah! So I’m cancellin’ alla ‘em!”

“Hey, you can’t block us out like that!” Sirica said hotly. “And where’d you hear that mess?”

“Where do ya think!? I got ears everywhere!” Dedede boasted. “And they’s been hearing a whole lot about dat dere pretender Dreamland!”

“Ha, jealous?” Joe taunted as he got into a fighting stance. “Tell ya what- cut this out and we’ll just laugh at ya later, eh?”

“Are you kidding me?” Escargoon refused. “We don’t want the heads of our impressionable masses to be filled with trash that WE didn’t make! And with this here Rab-bot, these bunny ears are big enough to intercept anyone else’s signals- even your fancy Haltmann stuff, I bet! Folks won’t have much choice BUT ta watch the only official channel that matters again!”

“Dat ain’t your call ta make!” Joe challenged, before running straight for the bot. The sound of a rocket going off followed him- Sirica and he had long figured out how to synchronize their fighting styles, and he didn’t so much as flinch as the projectile shot past him, the missile well above his head at this point.

It wasn’t above the mech’s, however, and the blast caught it flush on the chest, causing it to stagger back a bit- but only a bit. “You really think we ain’t figured out your- gwaaaah!” Dedede didn’t even manage to get his boast out, as before the smoke even cleared, Knuckle Joe was on his way up, using the smoke thrown up by the explosion as a cover. By the time they saw him, it was already too late.

“Spin kick!” Suiting action to words, Joe rotated once, twice, three times, lashing out with a trio of powerful strikes that put several big dents in the metal mammal. It didn’t take long for it to recover though- just as Joe landed, the mouth of the creature opened up to reveal what seemed to be some sort of tri-barreled cannon. “Yipe!” was all that Joe let out before he had to dodge small shots of what seemed like some kind of glue from the bottom one. “What the heck?”

“Hey, if you wanna stick around and watch us work, be our guest!” Escargoon crowed. Three more shots pushed him out and away-

“Actually-!” Came Sirica’s voice, and the twosome had realized their folly in forgetting about her. She had climbed up to the top of a house, and her multi-tool was aimed right for them. “I’d rather cut this short!” A pair of rockets punctuated her proclamation, streaking for the mech, however, its maw cannon seemed to twist, and out of the next barrel came a firestorm that prematurely detonated the two. “...Hmph. You’ve learned.”

“And trust me, that isn’t easy for His Majesty!” Escargoon shot back, before getting thumped by the king in question. “Ow, hey!”

“You quit sassin’ and start blastin’!” King Dedede ordered, so with a grumble he went to work, pressing a couple more buttons, and forcing Sirica to jump for it before she was met with a lot more fire than even she was comfortable with. She leapt between the rooftops, quickly switching to rapid-fire mode to pepper him with gunfire as she went.

While the minor projectiles did little but leave pockmarks in the massive mech’s chassis, it did grab their attention long enough for Knuckle Joe to resume the offensive. Two more kicks destabilized the massive mech, and as it swerved to refocus on him, Sirica quickly took advantage, this time closing the gap severely.

Namely, by landing square on the thing’s head.

Dedede and Escargoon both squealed in shock and worry as she shifted to her tool’s sword form- and hit a particular button that was a bit of an aftermarket installation. Her blade lit aflame as she then charged forwards with a yell- and she managed to shear straight through one of the rabbit ears. “What the-?! This thang don’t need no haircut!” King Dedede yelled at her. But it was already too late; the second ear was soon to follow. “Hey! Now how’s we supposed to make sure they watch our junk?!”

“Try gettin’ better material!” Knuckle Joe said, as he threw a Smash Punch- straight for the co*ckpit. Without warning they were blasted clear out of it, and towards the river, it looked like. “Geez…” Joe sighed as he and Sirica alighted next to the now idle mech. “Now they gotta get the Haltmann folks out here again.” They were the only other game in town that regularly used that much metal, and whenever one of Dedede’s machines had been beaten, they’d take it to be easily repurposed for better use. But that would take some time, which meant… “ Augh! We’re gonna miss the rest of the matches! Let’s go, we’ll clear this junk up later!”

Sirica could only grumble in annoyance- whether at Dedede or the situation or Joe was unclear as she followed him back.

By the time they did, to their frustration, they’d found out that Tiff and Tuff HAD in fact won, though according to their parents, it’d been a real nail-biter. “They only just won by two apples!” Mr. Ebrum proclaimed. “It was a thrilling show, I’d say! Though, ah…I am a touch concerned by the sudden ferocity on display there…” he admitted. “I knew Tiff wasn’t afraid to, ah, take matters into her own hands, but she was fighting like a girl possessed! It’s still hard to believe she had that in her!”

“It was razher frightening at first, but better zan zem getting disappointed over losing and getting hurt, I think,” Mrs. Ebrum decided. “Although, I wonder if- oh?” She was soon interrupted by Reporter Waddle Dee suddenly showing up on TV- along with Tiff and Tuff themselves; it was clear they were a bit banged up here and there, and exhausted, but happy and smiling- a victory well fought. Tiff’s helmet was cradled in her left hand, while her lance was stowed away.

"This is Reporter Dee reporting live, here with a tournament update! We’ve managed to get some face time with the hot new team that’s been taking the tournament by storm!” Tiff and Tuff waved lightly as the camera focused on them briefly. “With three straight wins under their belt, these two are currently the only undefeated team in Pool A! Talk about a milestone! They might just have what it takes to go all the way!” With that, he turned to the twosome. “Tell me, how do you feel about such a marker in your tournament experience so far?”

“Oh! Well…we’re glad it happened!” Tiff said, almost shyly as she rubbed the back of her head. “But we know that there’s a lot more tournament to go, too! So we’re not going to let up yet!”

“Yeah, we’re goin’ full throttle all the way!” Tuff exclaimed eagerly.

“And isn’t that what it’s all about?” Reporter Dee said gamely. “Now tell us; it’s been said that you come from a completely different dimension- mind enlightening us over on this end of things how your neck of the woods is like a little?”

“Oh, this oughta be good,” Knuckle Joe snarked, even as the rest listened curiously.

“Well…it’s pretty relaxing. Mostly.” She allowed herself a sardonic grin. “Just about everyone’s really nice and welcoming, and it’s a quiet kind of place- the sort where everyone’s friends with everyone else, y’know?” She paused, thinking. “Although, it’s been a while since we’ve been home, so who knows how things have changed…”

“It was kinda boring until- well, we found out about you guys!” Tuff said, grinning. “Then things got way more awesome! And now we’re both learnin’ a whole buncha stuff! It’s been great!”

“I can only imagine the journey you two have been on,” Reporter Dee said with clear interest. “We’re about to take off for now, but before we go, any words for those family and friends watching at home?”

“Oh! Uhhh…” Tiff took a moment to think. Then she smiled, looking straight into the camera. “Mom, Dad, if you’re watching this…we’re doing great, I promise!”

“Oh, deary…” Mrs. Ebrum looked on the verge of tears.

“Yeah!” Tuff agreed. “I mean, look at me! I’m gonna show you all SO MUCH magic stuff when I get back! It’s gonna blow your minds! Spikehead, if you’re watching, you’re SO going down!”

Spikehead, who WAS watching, had his jaw drop, before quickly pouting. “Just you wait, I’m gonna be training SO HARD…” Honey, alongside him, merely patted his arm in sympathy.

“When I come back, I want to share what I learned with everyone,” Tiff continued. “I’ll be able to help protect Dream Land with this. So… just wait for us, okay? We love you!” The two of them waved as the camera refocused on the reporter.

“And on those sweet words, we leave you for now, viewers! Expect us back soon with another tournament update as the remaining four rounds of the Cake Royale pools get underway!” With that, the broadcast was finished for the day, the channel beginning to show some sort of produced drama piece regarding a ‘Dreamy Gear’ and something about airplanes and mines.

“...Zey really ARE doing alright…” Mrs. Ebrum said softly.

“Now now, dear, did you really doubt them?” Mr. Ebrum asked.

“N-No, I suppose not,” she admitted to herself. ‘Zo perhaps part of me ‘ad ‘oped…’ she admitted to herself selfishly. ‘Iz it really so wrong to want to hold my children again?’ Sighing to herself, she settled on getting it out of her head, getting up to the concerned looked of all present. She ignored them, heading off. ‘Maybe Gus ‘as something for me to work on late…’

Back at The Cake Royale…

Tiff and Tuff were just leaving the foyer; they’d talked about it, and decided that considering how close a call their last match had been, some training time was well due. They couldn’t rest on their laurels, and this narrow victory had been proof of that. Fortunately, the king had set up a couple of training rooms for those with that itch. Unfortunately, it was really more just flat sparring rooms as opposed to a purpose specific training room, but she supposed that made a level of sense if they didn’t want someone to gain too much of an advantage. However, getting used to your partner’s skill and refining your own? That was more than doable. There was even a cute little robo-Kirby that was clearly meant to be a combat dummy.

Why the apples were there was a mystery to them both, though.

Nonetheless, they were in the middle of a sparring session when the doors opened, and saw that Kirby had walked in- and he looked a bit concerned. As was Meta Knight and Gooey, surprisingly. “Hellooo?” Kirby asked. “Anyone in here?”

“Over here,” Tuff said after he’d sent an ice block at Tiff, which she’d deflected. “What’s up? You guys don’t look too happy.”

“Yeeeah, we’re still trying to find Bandee’s spear,” Kirby admitted. “We’ve asked everywhere, and so far, no luck. And that’s not all. Have you been hearing stuff late at night?” he asked.

That had seemed strange to ask. They looked at each other in question, and it only took a glance to be able to answer. “Nope, sorry,” Tuff admitted. “Things’ve been quiet for us. Why do ya ask? Something funky going on?”

“Sword Knight said that he’d been hearing bells all night and that had kept him up,” Meta Knight explained.

“Wait, is that why you seemed kind of sluggish in your match?” Tiff asked. Sword Knight and Poppy Jr. had been the first match of the day, and they’d lost to Spynum and Waddle Doo in what was widely considered to be a bit of an upset in a Robo Bonkers match. Tiff had made note of the slower-than-normal reaction time of Sword Knight, who she’d seen fight in person, and how he seemed to have less power and speed behind his sword swings as well. “If something was preventing you from sleeping…” Her old suspicious nature started to reassert itself as her mind considered the possibilities.

She wasn’t the only one. “I’m beginning to worry. This is beginning to reek of sabotage,” Meta Knight noted. “I’ve already informed the King, and he’s agreed to post more lookouts so that there’s less chance for foul play.”

“But the question is who would even WANT to sabotage the competition?” she asked. “From what I understand, just about everyone here is all about fair play. They wouldn’t sabotage this out of greed, would they?”

“I doubt it,” Kirby admitted, “But never say never. We’ll have to keep an eye out. I’m gonna make sure no funny business is going on for the rest of the tournament!”

“Right,” Tiff said, nodding. “We’ll make sure to set up patrols and-”

“No,” Meta Knight said stiffly. “You are still in training, cadet. And I believe I have a deal I proffered to you earlier. I intend to have us both stick by that bargain.” He continued on before Tiff could mount a defense. “You will continue to focus your efforts on the tournament. I will investigate and see if there’s any more occurrences of this nature we need to know about. Should anything worrisome come up, I’ll inform you of what it is and any plans to combat it. Understood?”

Her lips pursed, but she saluted nonetheless. She knew that tone. “Yessir.”

He nodded in approval. “Excellent. You’ve been doing well so far, Cadet. I’d rather not force you to split your attention.” That softened her expression by a couple of factors. In his own way, he was being nice and trying to spare her the worry. She could at the least appreciate that.

“Hey, she’s got me backing her,” Tuff proclaimed, clearly feeling a bit left out. “Mister Magolor or the Sisters wouldn’t waste their time on a hanger-on!”

“True,” Meta Knight agreed. “I’ve seen your work. I expect the Sisters to train you particularly hard when you return to their services.” That left Tuff a bit stunned- he clearly wasn’t sure if that was a warning, compliment, insult, or any combination of the three. “For now, we’ll leave you be. Just be cautious.”

“Uhh, right,” Tuff agreed. They’d quickly left, and Tiff merely sighed, starting on practicing some forms. “You good? I know you hate it when they leave you outta stuff.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she said, and to Tuff, she honestly did look mostly okay. “I trust them when they say they’ll let me know if anything happens. They could’ve just kept it from me, after all.” Well, he couldn’t dispute that. “Now come on- we’ve got another Rocket Rumble match tomorrow. We should probably work on our sprints. You know how this works, just like how we used to!” she goaded.

“Ugh,” Tuff complained as he meandered over to take position. “I always hated those…Meta Knight never even had to do ‘em, he has wings!” Even so, for the next hour and change, the two could be found running back and forth the length of the training cage, pushing their bodies as they’d been taught.

The next day’s Rocket Rumble proved to, thankfully, be similar to the first; Chemitory and Chilly were both game competition, but neither of them had the range to compete with Tiff and Tuff’s efforts. They attempted to focus on collection their own cubes, however Tiff was quickly able to shut down the vast majority of Chilly’s attempts at offense and defense- it got to the point where they were even able to steal a few from the opposite side. The one major concern was once the ‘siphon bombs’ began to come into play- supposed ‘explosives’ that would drain the cubes of their energy, resulting in inert and useless cubes that cluttered the landscape.

The end result was that Tiff and Tuff took their fourth win, and shortly afterwards, there became talk that they were the clear frontrunners in Pool A, having been on a flawless run so far. Neither Tiff nor Tuff wanted to focus too much on that, but the local scuttlebutt was starting to get too heavy to ignore.

Hence, come Round 5, there were a great deal of expectations. “Flagball…” Tiff muttered to herself, having looked at the schedule again. “This’ll be a hard one.” She’d seen Flagball matches before. Heck, Kirby’s first match was a Flagball match. But that didn’t mean she was confident about the situation. Flagball had quickly proved to be one of the more intense games, if only because of the ruleset and strategy involved. And that didn’t even take into account the biggest problem. “They’ve got the experience advantage over us,” she sighed, considering. “Joe and Wester have played a Flagball game before- and won it, too. They have an even record so far, so they’re definitely looking to get into the positives with a win here on familiar territory.”

“They ain’t gettin’ past us, though!” Tuff exclaimed, moving slowly in Jambastion-trained stretches. “Experience or not, I think we can take ‘em! It’s not THAT different from soccer.

“I’m just saying, toppling the number ones would be a good way to do it, and they seemed to be pretty in sync,” Tiff noted. “This isn’t going to be fight-heavy, by all accounts. They don’t have to beat us directly, just get the ball onto the flagposts.” It didn’t matter how strong the two were- if Western and Joe managed to aim well and get some lucky shots, that was that. And that didn’t even take into account the whole ‘you can literally move the goalposts’ rule. THAT was going to be rough to figure out.

“Yeah, it’s great!” Tuff said as though all her internal musings didn’t matter. He hopped up, clearly ready to go. “But we’ve handled everything else before, why not this?” She supposed she couldn’t debate that. “You ready?”

She breathed in, breathed out. Focusing, she put her helmet on, making sure it was snug. Didn't matter what event, she was expecting SOME physicality, after all. “...yeah. Let’s go!”

Chapter 24: The Cake Royale- Pool Finale

Chapter Text

“Welcome back to another day of the great Cake Royale!” came the voice of Reporter Dee on just about every TV in Cappy Town. They’d been glued to the event that came on every couple of days for them- it ended up being a surprisingly good pace, as each brief break allowed the populace to get talking about the latest events and happenings, and the excitement could grow organically. It all usually ended up reaching a fever pitch just in time for the next day’s events to come up and start the cycle all over again. “I’m Reporter Dee, she’s Susie Haltmann, and we’ve got a thrilling slate of events ready for you today!”

“And the day will be starting off with a bang,” Susie took over, “as our plucky Dee Duo seek a win in today’s first event- a Robo Bonkers timed battle against NESP and Gim, who are coming off a thrilling draw game in Coin Clash with Burning Leo and Sir Kibble!”

Mayor Blustergas and his wife had gotten a kick out of that. “I’m honestly shocked they managed to do so well!” The Mayor cheered to his wife. “If it wasn’t for that last minute slip by Leo, they would’ve lost!”

“I wonder if they’ll be able to do better today…” she wondered. “That mechanical gorilla always makes me nervous!”

It ended up being a bit one-sided for NESP and Gim, however- their longer range and quicker attack speed ended the contest easily in their favor, whereas the Dees largely had to rely on the cannons provided by the contest itself to do most of their damage. Before much longer, the day’s events truly began.

In Pool 2, Spynum and Waddle Doo managed to win a game of Ore Express, their ability to keep their opponents from being able to deposit their ore pieces proving the key to carrying the day. Spynum in particular seemed to be getting a few fans from Cappy Town, not that he knew such. Meta Knight and Gooey made easy work of a Rocket Rumble match, almost literally blowing the competition out of the water.

Kirby and Bandee continued their winning ways in a game of Crazy Theater, which many thought entertaining; it was relatively simple math questions and basic things such as holding onto the sole apple or three apples before the time ran out, and other sorts of challenges. Nothing too harrowing, but with enough challenge to cause them to take the matter seriously. Kirby wasn’t the smartest fellow around, but he knew enough to answer basic mathematics and dodge a few errant strikes while holding onto food.

Meanwhile, Honey cheered as Birdon and Como took their second game of Ore Express- they knew what they were doing by now. Burning Leon and Sir Kibble managed to take a surprisingly close game of Slam Hockey with Chemitory and Chilly proving a surprisingly adept duo- Chemitory’s pill projectiles proving a lot of ground coverage while Chilly played able defense. Alas, it wasn’t quite enough to repel the determination of the fiery and sharp warriors, resulting in a 2-1 match that was much closer than what the numbers might’ve indicated.

Even so, for most of Cappy Town, these were the preshow. The appetizer, if you would, before the main event. Come the end of the day, King Dedede had tried to declare some sort of curfew law to attempt to curb the watching, but it wasn’t like anyone was paying attention to him anyway. Even Fololo and Falala’s ‘street patrolling’ did little to discourage them from watching their hometown heroes.

They’d seen Flagball before. It was remarkably enticing to several citizens, minus the rougher play the other Dreamlanders clearly preferred. “Welcome, one and all, to the final match of the day!” Susie exclaimed. “The otherworldly warriors, Tiff and Tuff, have a, pardon the pun, tough matchup today, as they face off against the duo of Knuckle Joe and Wester in Flagball!”

“Woooo!” Iro cheered. “This is gonna be awesome. Joe and Wester were pretty awesome in their last Flagball match. Wonder how Tiff n’ Tuff’ll handle ‘em.”

Naturally, Spikehead and Honey were over, watching it with him. They’d been thick as thieves for a while now, and watching the matches together had quickly become a recurring thing for them. “It’s gonna get tense out there, prolly,” Spikehead opined. “Joe and Wester haven’t been doing so hot.”

“Tiff and Tuff should be careful…” Honey worried. “Flagball can be extra dangerous, and it’s their first time playing!” Indeed, with the large field, one might’ve presumed it was similar to soccer…however, full contact was more than permitted, and that didn’t even take into account that the players could freely move the goal marker if either team had made it halfway- so long as it wasn’t past the half-court mark, and they had both hands on it. It was a game that was both the most sport-like in its presentation, and arguably the most encouraging for violence outside of the Battle Arena itself. She couldn’t help BUT worry!

“Aw, don’t sweat it!” Spikehead reassured her as he patted her back. “Those two are probably the best in the tournament! Well, ‘cept for Kirby and Meta Knight, I guess. No way they’ll lose!”

“Mmm…” while his words helped, his hand on her back helped more. “If you say so…”

“Either way, this is gonna be a good one!” Iro cheered, before pointing at the screen as certain images came into view. “Hey! They’re doing the intros now!” Sure enough, Tiff and Tuff and Knuckle Joe and Wester had come onto the sandy beach that made up the court, taking a bow and waving each. The platforms, along with the flag goals had been placed on the sides and the center point were raised. “Here we go…!”

Across town, another Knuckle Joe was watching the event with mixed feelings. “Nevah thought I’d be rootin’ against ME, honestly…” Joe admitted.

“Then don’t think of it as ‘you’. I keep telling you that,” Sirica chided before sipping on some juice. They’d had a long day of patrolling and making sure Dedede wasn’t trying anything particularly out of pocket like the robot from before. Fortunately, he seemed to have gotten the memo and stuck to running his mouth…for now. He’d try something again soon enough, of that he was certain.

“Easy enough for you ta say. You ain’t the one with a copycat or three runnin’ around,” Joe shot back. However, further banter was paused as the game began- and immediately Wester hurled his whip at the ball, being the first to strike and sending the siblings on the defensive. From there a quick flurry of action as both teams tried to jockey for position before making any heavy inroads into the opponent’s half of the field.

Mrs. Ebrum, watching as always with her husband in their mansion home, flinched as a Smash Punch from Joe impacted flush on Tiff’s shield, sending her stumbling back. “Oh dear!” By now, she had already expressed her worries to her husband, and could do little but fret as the back and forth continued- though she admitted some vindictive satisfaction when her daughter paid him back with heavy swipe of her lance that sent him sprawling for a moment, opening a gap in defense for them to charge in, Tuff guiding the ball like he’d been born to do it. A massive kick sent it flying upwards towards the flags- only for a powerful whip to nail it and careen it off track. “Oh me, oh my!”

“This’ll be a real test of their skill, I daresay!” Mr. Ebrum admitted. However, he cheered just as loud as his wife when Tiff managed to keep them from advancing too much, and a solid impact from Tuff’s staff re-redirected the ball square into the flag holder, scoring them the first point of the match.

From there, however, it was quickly shown that it wouldn’t be so easy- Joe and Wester battled back in short order, responding with a goal of their own with an impressive sequence passing the ball between them to confuse the two, before sending Tuff off-balance with a well-placed whipstrike, allowing a further one-two combo to send it up and over Tiff before she could respond.

And so the match began in earnest, with several long rallies between the two before either would score a point. “Geez, they both really want this one,” Knuckle Joe said as his doppleganger launched a low-level force blast at Tiff, who responded with her shield and then an attempt at a Charge he had to admit looked a bit reckless, even as it cleared the ball. “Somethin’s gotta give…”

“At this rate, I suspect it might be the ball or the branches before either of them,” Sirica admitted. “Tiff’s quite dedicated, but I’m sensing a bit of desperation from her end. I wonder why?”

“Your guess is as good as mine- aw nuts!” Joe commented as Tuff got yanked by Wester’s whip and taken for a ride he really didn’t want. It started suddenly, and ended abruptly as he was flung across the beach- enough to space them out to get the fourth and fifth points. “Seven to take a set, right?”

“Right, and it’s best two of three for the match,” Sirica confirmed as the two teams reset and the siblings looked to battle back, still at three. With how Tuff absolutely LAUNCHED the ball at round start, it was clear they knew they were on the backfoot.

“Go, go, go!” Iro cheered as the competition continued.

“They are SWEATIN’ out there!” Gus noted, having been watching as well. “They gotta be runnin’ outta gas sooner than later!”

The commentary desk seemed to agree. “This is probably the most intense game of Flagball yet!” Susie noted as a camera managed to zoom in on the siblings, then Joe and Wester. “Neither team wants to give in just yet!” It wasn’t long after they said that, however, that Wester made what could only be called a desperation play as he managed to whip the ball and drag it in closer to him- he charged for the flag goal as Tiff rushed to intercept, or at least get the goal away from him. Tuff moved to keep Joe busy with an aqua sphere, which splashed off the fighter and only made him flinch for a moment before engaging the apprentice mage with Vulcan Jabs aplenty, forcing Tuff to Guard the onslaught or risk knockout.

Meanwhile, Wester slung the ball forward with all his might- Tiff was enroute to slap the ball away, but as soon as she did so, Wester leapt forward, whip snaking out again- and the moment Tiff had thought she’d redirected the ball AND hit Wester, the whip impacted, sending it right back nearly in her face and causing to instinctually follow it with her eyes, even as her limbs weren’t quite quick enough to react to such a sudden shift.

“Dang!” Joe said as Wester and his counterpart score the final part for the first set. “Hard ta even be MAD at that, that was good.”

“That Wester is dedicated,” Sirica agreed. “Skilled with that whip, too. But it’s not the first loss they’ve taken,” she noted. “They have to win the next set, is all.”

“Boooo!” Iro jeered. “Stop tryin’ so hard, ya jerks!”

“They were desperate for that last one,” Spikehead groused. “I betcha they knew they weren’t gonna last much longer if they didn’t wrap it up then and there.”

“I just hope Tiff and Tuff aren’t too tired…” Honey worried as she saw the closeups on the huffing, frustrated faces of the two. “I know they can win!”

That was proven correct, to her delight in the next set- Tiff and Tuff’s cardio was clearly more advanced than Wester and Joe’s- well, Wester’s at least. Still, that made enough of a difference as the first two goals were scored back to back on whiffed defense attempts by Wester. “Yeah! That’s the way!” Spikehead cheered as Tiff dunked the second goal in.

“Hoho!” Mr. Ebrum was delighted to see his children begin to bring things back. “I suppose outlasting your opposition is a perfectly valid stratagem, eh, dearest?” Mrs. Ebrum simply nodded, too enthralled by the proceedings to give voice to her concerns and hopes.

Joe managed to keep his reserves of energy used for big pushes or attempts to move Tuff out of position as they passed the ball back and forth, which did manage to get them a goal, but it was quickly answered by a third from the duo, now clearly having caught a second wind and understanding the game more. Tiff, fortunately, was almost able to move around with impunity; blocking advances or otherwise forcing them to pay more attention to her than they’d have liked with her own encroachment into their half of the field.

The second set passed much quicker than the first, with Tiff and Tuff taking it 7-2. However, it was the third set that proved the most harrowing. “Hey, they aren’t s’posed to come back, too!” Spikehead complained as Wester and Joe executed another move, bouncing the ball from the centermost platform to one of the outer ones at an angle, allowing Joe to kick it into the flag at an angle Tuff couldn’t get to in time- with that, the score was 1-all.

Fortunately, the duo shook right back, mimicking the end of the prior round by using the same forceful approach method to score two unanswered goals. From there the entire game became a scramble, as Wester and Knuckle Joe tried to respond.

“They’re gettin’ desperate,” Joe said from his seat on the couch, munching some sort of carrot stick. “They’re tryin’ ta make plays that ain’t happenin’ and hopin’ the two screw up.”

“I can’t blame them too much, considering it DID work for them previously,” Sirica noted.

“Yeah, but that was when Tiff and Tuff didn’t have a rhythm goin’,” Joe responded back. “Now they got a feel for things, an’ those mistakes ain’t happenin’ anymore. They’re covering way better and know how th’ game works more.”

“Hm. Kind of like the Apple Scramble match,” she realized. “They lost the first round, but once they figured things out…” She watched on as Tuff swatted the ball in for points four and five again. “Well, that happens.”

From there, it was almost academic, or perhaps anti-climatic was the better word. The duo went for a rather daring maneuver where Tuff vaulted up to the center platform while Tiff took to the bottom, hauling along their flag goal. Joe (the one watching) realized what they were going for faster than his more competing counterpart as well as the commentators. “They’re gonna try to push ‘em both!”

“Whoa, that’s risky!” Iro exclaimed as Tiff barely dodged a Force Blast.

“I can’t watch!” Honey exclaimed as Tuff barely dodged a whip strike.

“Almost…almost…!” Mr. Ebrum said tensely as Tiff made it past the center line.

“Go go go!” Mrs. Ebrum cheered (if worriedly) as Tuff got possession of the ball.

The two didn’t waste any effort in being fancy. Tuff rocketed off of the high platform downwards. Tiff put her all into leaping upwards.

The two crashed together for the final score in a 7-1 victory, and cheers went up throughout the town.

From there, the two were clearly celebrities; Tiff and Tuff plushies were soon seen at Gengu’s store, and they rather rapidly sold out. Mr. and Mrs. Ebrum were uncertain of how to feel at first, but they did admit that the plushies were surprisingly cute…and the matter was somewhat settled after Mrs. Ebrum bought five each.

It was especially major by now, as according to the score and the commentators, Tiff and Tuff officially had the last perfect record remaining in Pool 1. “That’s going to put a big target on their backs,” Reporter Dee noted as Round 6 prepared to get underway. “These last two matches will have their opponents trying their hardest to fell these mighty warriors!”

“I imagine that’s exactly it,” Susie concurred. “Especially considering that none other than Kirby and Bandana Dee, two of Pop Star’s finest, are the only OTHER team with a flawless record. Meta Knight and Gooey have only fallen to those two as well, so they can’t be counted out, either, but I don’t think anyone can exactly deny that the young contestants have had a bit of an easier time with how the bracket fell- not to take anything away from them, of course.”

That got her a few light jeers from Cappy Town’s watches, but even they had to admit that NOT having to fight either Kirby or Meta Knight was a boon. “I’m sure they’re thankful, but they can’t avoid that conflict forever at the rate they’re winning,” Reporter Dee noted. “They’ll be across from each other one way or another, having guaranteed themselves a place in the Top 8 already.”

“True,” Susie agreed, looking at a digital display on her desk. “While there’s still several spots up for grabs, the teams of Kirby and Bandana Dee, Meta Knight and Gooey, and Tiff and Tuff are guaranteed a spot in the Knockout Rounds. Blade Knight and Poppy Bros. Jr. are still at risk but are the next best team up, and beyond that the door’s still wide open for a few teams to make a comeback, or at least bring it to a tiebreaker.” She looked back up with a smiling expression. “Make no mistake, we might be getting into the last rounds of Pools, but this competition is just heating up!”

Fortunately for Cappy Town, that wasn’t the case for their prodigal son and daughter in Round 6, where they had to face off against Bio Spark and Beetley in an Attack Rider race. With the goal of the game being to finish 10 laps with more chips in their given bag than their opponent, it was a test of teamwork and good driving, often with the setup of one partner driving, the other attacking or fending off attacks.

Really, it proved to be largely simple for the two to acclimate, and only Cappy Towners could boast why- the Cappy Town Grand Prix held over a year ago, of which they were the first winners. In fact, they might’ve been surprised to learn that the Grand Prix had continued to be held, though Dedede had been distracted to prevent entry both other times. With the Haltmann Roadsters now on the market and their top racers out, it’d been a markedly different race field and feeling, and though not exactly as thrilling as the inaugural event, it still commanded a good sized audience. The winner of this most recent race had actually been Sirica, who had managed to defeat the incumbent champion, Mayor Blustergas by a matter of seconds in her modified ‘Repentance’ vehicle, using her own knowhow and the frame of a Roadster.

“Boy, are they gonna be surprised when they see THAT trophy,” Joe quipped with a grin as he watched the duo play excellent defense against a struggling Bio Spark and Beetley. “Last they was here you weren’t in no mood fer racin’!”

“Yes, well…” she blushed lightly, her cheeks turning a deep purple. “...people can change, can’t they?” She huffed, turning away. “A girl can get some hobbies!”

“Neva said it was a bad thing,” Joe noted, smug grin still on his face.

Ultimately, with Bio spark only able to sling kunai to hit their bag any consistently, it wasn’t too hard of a race for the duo, who finished both first and with more chips. As good as an aim that the ninja was, it was rough going to get into a range to pass without Tiff warding them off and deflecting kunai whenever she was able. In the end, they won by a score of 312 to 130. The duo even had the spare energy to take a bow and even provide a bit of grandstanding after the race, which only hyped up the watchers even more.

Honestly, it was much appreciated, as the arguably most harrowing event was soon to come next.

Crazy Theater was the brainchild of Magolor, and it had gotten shocking reactions from those that had watched it. It seemed like Magolor had almost come up with random questions to puzzle the competitors, and as of Round 5, it had been the one event in which Kirby and Bandee had even come close to losing; Kirby would be the first to admit he wasn’t the smartest banana in the bunch, and Bandee’s knowledge was…specialized.

Magolor’s physical challenges had been what gotten them through; fast enough and strong enough and juuust witty enough to hold away their opponents, Buggzy and Simirror. The latter was smart, but the former wasn’t. And fortunately, he was also stubborn, which led to their team often getting single points in a competition where points were per contestant, not per team.

Now, it was two of their own being tested.

“Y’think Teach is gonna go easy on him?” Spikehead asked as Tiff and Tuff stepped out onto the field. They were surrounded by bleachers in a box-shaped arena, with a number of Waddle Dees and Doos and whatnot spectating. Many had glowsticks to light up the dark surroundings, with the other primary light being the areas where the contestants were to stand; there were small podiums for all four of them lit up.

“You still call him that?” Iro asked in surprise. “It’s been like, over a year.”

“Well, yeah!” Spikehead admitted with a smile. “I’m still tryin’ to figure out some o’ the stuff in Taranza’s Grimoire he wrote. So he’s still ‘Teach’ to me.”

“You still trying to figure out how to charge up without electrocutin’ everything around you?” Iro asked. The LAST time he’d tried that in Iro’s presence, he’d nearly learned what it was like to be a lightning rod…

“Shhhh, the both of you! They’re starting!” Honey chastised. That got the two of them to shut up and pay attention.

“And welcome once more to Crazy Theater!” Susie opened. “Today’s duo- our valiant otherworldly visitors test their knowledge of Pop Star against the locals of Birdon and Como!”

“This one might not end well,” Knuckle Joe said worriedly, leaning in. “Who knows how much sightseein’ and all they been able to do between trainin’. If they get a bad set o’ questions…”

“But really, dear, it’s fine if they lose this one!” Mr. Ebrum tried to remind his wife. “They’ve clinched their appearance in the next round already!”

“That doesn’t mean I want zem to lose!” Mrs. Ebrums quickly shot back- but then the first question was asked.

“Right, then…” Magolor harrumphed as he checked an index card. “What is the name of Meta Knight’s flagship?”

A set of four answers popped up- both on TV screens and on the podiums. All four of them, however, immediately hit answer B: Halberd.

Quickly, it lit up green, all of them correct, starting things off at 2-2. “Pah. Well, that was an easy one. Next up is a challenge! And for it, I’ve gotten a bit of help…” And with that, the podiums quickly zipped underground- just as a large stormcloud began to form in the center of the arena above them. “Dodge the lighting strikes until time’s up!”

“We wh- AAH!” Tiff couldn’t even get started before she leapt out of the way of a massive lightning bolt that crashed into where she’d been standing.

“I REALLY wish I’d watched this earlier!” Tuff lamented as another bolt was narrowly dodged. Fortunately, the lightning was persistent, not a series of strikes.

That didn’t seem to help Como, who as a spider, wasn’t exactly the fastest fellow out there. Though his feathered friend was able to duck and dive between the beam-like bolts, Como strayed a touch too close- and was punished with a heavy shock that sent him spasming for a moment before flopping to the ground. “O-owww…” he lamented.

“Yeeeah, I’m not gonna be able to do anything like that for a WHILE,” Spikehead noted somberly.

“My, I hope the poor fellow is alright…” Mr. Ebrum fretted. “That looked frightful!”

Fortunately for the rest of the ten seconds, the remaining three made it through, setting the score at 4-3. Como, as was procedure, was quickly fed a Maxim Tomato piece, and fortunately, the spider was able to shake himself back into the game. He’d taken worse lumps, that was for sure. The podiums rose once more, and Magolor cleared his throat.

“Then, here’s another question for you,” he started. “How many basic elements are there in elementalism?”

Tuff’s face shot up as Tiff, Como, and Birdo considered. Almost instantly he slapped option C. Unfortunately, Tiff couldn’t see it, though she was surprised at his quick response. To her surprise, Birdon was the next to lock in an answer, looking confident. ‘This oughta be simple, right?’ she wondered. ‘Fire, Water, Earth…Air? So four?’ She made her choice.

“Ah, some mixed results this time. Well then, let’s see…” To some people’s surprise, the digital screen showed the number five, and the green lights shone on Tuff and Birdon- but red for Tiff and Como. “Ooh, sorry!” He didn’t look it. “Seems like only one on each team got it right!”

“What?!” Tuff looked in surprise at his sis. “You didn’t remember there was five? Blizzard, Bluster, Sizzle, Splash, Zap, right?”

“Just so, Tuff!” Magolor said with something resembling pride in his voice. “Those are the five core elements of Elementalism. Commonly best used in conjunction with a different more powerful school but that’s neither here nor there.”

Tiff ran over the elements she’d thought about in her head- and let out a sound of frustration. “Ice and Water are two different elements for magic, right. Shoot!” She’d been focused on physical and esoteric magic, not Elementalism like Tuff had been.

Birdon looked at his own partner, who seemed to be quick to beg an apology, which Birdon shrugged off- he wasn’t mad.

“Oof, yeah, that was a tricky one,” Spikehead noted. “I totally forgot Bluster was a thing.”

“Me too,” Iro admitted.

“I forgot, too,” Honey followed up. Regardless, the score was now 5-4.

“Let’s keep this rolling then, hm? Don’t get too caught up!” Magolor warned. “The next question is… ‘What area within the Gamble Galaxy is NOT formally under the protection of the Star Allies?’ Is it ‘Ripple Star’, ‘Seventopia’, ‘Jambandra Base’, or ‘Floralia’?”

That one got a few murmurs. That was a tough one for anyone not clued into what the Star Allies were doing.

Most of the viewers at home were just as baffled. “I can’t say I know any of those locations…” Sirica said with a grimace.

“Now, hold one, I SWEAR I heard about Ripple Star…” Joe noted. “They talked about th’ place on one o’ those vacation commercials or somethin’. I think they’re covered.”

“Isn’t Floralia where Mister Taranza comes from?” Iro noted. “I remember him talkin’ about it a lil’ in class. He brings it up in his grimoire from time to time, too.”

“Did he say anything about it being protected?” Spikehead asked, but Iro could only shake his head.

“It’d make sense if it did…” Honey noted.

“Where the devil is ‘Seventopia’?” Mr. Ebrum asked with only the mildest frustration. At a loss, he turned to his wife. “Dear, was that place ever mentioned in those shows you like so much?”

“I…believe zo once, it was ze art planet or zomezing like that…” Mrs. Ebrum thought, rolling her eyes up in reminiscence. “I zink zey are…but I’m not certain. Still…ze Jambandra Base- zat is where Tuff is staying, yes?”

“Quite right. It’d make sense if they were under that umbrella, hm?” Mr. Ebrum finished, to her nodding. “Well then, by process of elimination…”

It seemed as though as the audience made their decisions, the contestants had made theirs, locking their answers in. “Alright, and your answers aaaare…”

Tiff and Tuff were shown to pick Seventopia and Jambandra Base respectively, to their mutual surprise- and once again, Tuff was lit up in green, while Tiff was red. “What?! Why Seventopia?” Tuff asked loudly.

“Weren’t they not part of the Star Allies?” Tiff questioned, near incredulous- and a bit embarrassed, if she were being honest. ‘That’s two in a row I’ve missed now…and here I was supposed to be the smart one!’

“Correct, they aren’t,” Magolor answered, “-but that doesn’t mean they aren’t under our protection. No, it’s the Jambandra Base that, technically, stands alone if anything were to cause trouble to it or us. Now, how about the bird and bug?” Their answers, to everyone’s surprise… “Oho! Looks like you both got it. Congratulations, that ties the game up!” And so it was 6-6.

Tiff slapped her face with both hands. ‘C’mon, get it together! You’re supposed to know stuff!’

It was soon obvious she would have to wait a moment, though. “Right, then, here’s a challenge: Don’t get hit by your rivals!”

The four of them blinked, turned to each other, and immediately Tuff went for a cheap shot against Como, who managed to spit a web at him while flying back. The two traded, and Birdon quickly took to the air, dodging Tiff’s lunge.

“Whoa!” Iro was a touch surprised. “She didn’t even hesitate there!”

Como wasn’t out, either. Even as Tuff struggled to free himself, he managed to right himself and make a second attempt- this one toward Tiff, who blocked the shot- “That’s a hit!” Magolor’s voice came.

Tiff’s eyes widened, but she didn’t waste time arguing. Birdon was high up, Como had gotten hit, and time was running low as Tuff managed to free himself- though quickly had to keep Como’s attention. How would she get him down? Would she have to jump to him- she might be able to, but if she missed…

“Five, four…” Magolor counted down…

‘Oooh, FORGET IT!’ In that moment, all plans and worried were emptied out of Tiff’s mind. She did the only thing that her instinct said could work.

And fortunately, she HAD been training in spear throwing. Or in this case, lance throwing. She reared back, and pitched her weapon clear up towards Birdon- who’s beak dropped in surprise briefly. But briefly was all that was needed to clip him on the wing and send him spiraling down to earth. “Hit!” Magolor called. “Aaand time! That’s a no contest, you ALL need to work on your agility and dodging. Score remains the same.”

“I’m a KNIGHT, I’m supposed to block things…” Tiff grumbled to herself, even if she knew that wasn’t entirely true.

It had been picked up by the mics, however. “Now, now, dear, you’ll get it next time,” Mr. Ebrum said, though his words couldn’t reach.

Not that Magolor cared. “Right, then! Next question! Which one of these skills utilizes a subset of Warding Magic? Mirror Guard, Stone, Plasma Barrier, or Parasol Shield?”

THAT one got a lot of surprised conversation. “Whoa, that’s a hard one!” Reporter Dee exclaimed out loud.

“It IS a bit more specialized than the normal fare…” Susie agreed. “Wonder why he chose to ask that question?”

The Cappy kids were flabbergasted. “Uhhh…was that in the grimoire?”

“Uh, uh, I dunno!” Spikehead fretted. “Can we check?” The trio quickly grabbed Iro’s copy, the lot of them flipping through it for examples.

Tuff herself seemed a bit stunned at that question, but not for the reasons everyone else had. ‘I think I might know this one! Warding magic is fundamentally different from elementalism, so it can’t be the Plasma Barrier, and Stone is just extremely dense, so…Parasol or Mirror Guard…hm…’

Tuff was deep in thought, too, his theory along the same lines as his sister. It came as no surprise when they both hit their answers near simultaneously. Such an act seemed to surprise Birdon and Como, however, both of who quickly tapped an answer. Magolor nodded in understanding. “Right then! Let’s see here. The answer iiiiiis…Mirror Guard!”

“Yes!” Tiff cheered as both of their answers were revealed to be such. “That’s two!”

“Awesome!” Tuff cheered- though he missed the look Magolor gave him.

Birdon and Como had mutually selected Parasol, and so both were wrong. The score was 7-6, now. Things were getting tense.

“Right, how about we keep this train going?” Magolor suggested. “Another question! Guarding is considered useless against what type of magic? Binding, Illusionism, Elementalism, or Force?”

Tiff didn’t miss how he had to drag his eyes away from Tuff as he asked it, however. ‘Waaait…is he quizzing Tuff on magic knowledge in secret? Why would he do that?’ She wasn’t entirely sure, but part of her wanted to complain about it. The other part of her was glad he was feeding questions that Tuff (and thus her team) were likely to answer correctly.

Sure enough, it took only a few moments before Tuff hit an answer on his podium. “Pretty sure a’ this one.” Tiff wasn’t, but…

‘If I remember right, Guarding was for sure useful against Elementalism and plain Force magic. But Illusionism…only maybe? And Binding, I don’t know much about…I think I’ll just go with that one, then.’ She made her choice just as her opponents did.

“I got no clue about this one,” Spikehead admitted. “I didn’t even know what Force magic was until a couple days ago. It’s in the grimoire, but I didn’t read much about it…”

“These are REALLY HARD all of a sudden!” Honey complained.

“The magician thinks he’s clever,” Sirica grumbled from her position on the couch. She’d come to the same conclusion Tiff had. “He’s testing Tuff under the guise of these questions. His body language tells the whole story.”

“Yup,” Joe agreed, eating a bowl of sherbert. “But heck, I ain’t complainin’! Don’t know much a’ nothin’ about this magic stuff anywho.”

“Aaaaand…” Magolor trailed off for a moment, before- “Binding it is!”

“Yes!” Tuff cheered as he and his sister’s podiums lit green. Tiff just let out a sigh of relief- she had more or less guessed, after all. But it had paid off, with the score now 9-7 and them on the verge of victory.

“Alright, one more question!” Tuff boasted.

But to their surprise, Magolor wagged his finger. “No, no. Not ‘question’. Your last challenge! And that is to…avoid the asteroids!”

There was a beat of silence. “The WHAT?!” Tiff asked.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Magolor dismissed. “They’re small ones!”

Then the roof of the arena opened. “Why would yo- GAAH!” Tiff, once again, was cut off by having to dodge for her life as an orange asteroid smashed into the ground where she was.

“Oh, that’s just WRONG,” Knuckle Joe complained as he watched.

“How do they LIVE?!” Sirica asked as Tuff barely escaped the impact on another one.

“Oohhh, run run run run!” Honey fretted.

“Aaaand…time!” Magolor announced. Tiff was flat on her back, staring up at the sky that was rapidly being closed off by the closing rooftop again. She was nearly pinned between two meteors that had fallen just so. For his part, Tuff had only just managed to avoid one by pressing himself in the corner.

Birdon had managed, fortunately, and Como had stuck himself to the wall and more or less prayed to Nova. They’d all made it, and the fact that Tiff and Tuff won…honestly didn’t sting as badly as they thought it might’ve.

“Congratulations, you two!” Magolor said to the siblings. “You made it through Pools with a flawless record!”

True. They'd made it with a perfect 7-0 record, for 14 points. They were easily the top of Pool 1, and the top eight would be finalized by the end of the day. But at the moment, they weren’t exactly in a cheering mood.

Neither was their mother. “Oh nononono, zat is IT!” She’d gotten up and was storming towards the door, ready to march on Pop Star herself despite Mr. Ebrum’s physical attempts to stop her. It’d merely resulted in scuff marks on the floor. “Deal or not, I am going to-” she flung the door open- only to nearly trip over someone. “OH! Oh, Sir Meta Knight, I am very sorry, ‘owever-”

And then she caught herself. “Wait… Sir Meta Knight?”

Sir Meta Knight nodded. “Yes.”

“...you’re back?!” she asked in surprise, rage temporarily forgotten.

“I am,” he nodded, his familiar accent promising sincerity. “As well as someone else that has missed you.”

It took them only a moment to realize who they meant. “No…you mean-!” both parents had realized.

Sir Meta Knight smoothly stepped aside to see a very familiar pink puffball, staring up at them with bright and cheerful eyes, and a smile that resonated throughout their very core.

“Hiiii!!”

Back on Pop Star Prime:

Honestly? It'd been...kinda interesting so far. Watching. Seeing how everyone fought everyone. Even if it wasn't the BEST sorta fighting. It needed more spice, he thought. And so he'd decided to help with that a little bit, here and there. The pranks he'd pulled were fun, but he had yet to pull his best out. Besides, doing ALL of those teams would be too much trouble. But now that things had been narrowed down...

"Now I can focus on some REALLY good pranks...

...especially for those dummies."

Chapter 25: The Cake Royale- Knockout Round 1

Chapter Text

Tiff sighed as she took off her helmet for a few moments, allowing the wind to cool her head off. The day had been given off to allow those who’d been ended in pools to leave properly, and to allow things around the castle to… ‘contract’ a bit, might have been the best phrasing. Empty rooms were being cleaned, unnecessary goods were being taken away or recycled, and the remaining teams could rest for a bit and refocus themselves for what came next. The tournament was far from over, but now more focus could be put onto who had made it.

Tiff and Tuff, however, had taken that to mean they could use the day to freely train. Nothing heavy, just some light calisthenics to keep them ready for tomorrow. Some jogging here and there and some light sparring. They’d just come back from such a run and were both looking forward to relaxing the rest of the day. It was early afternoon, and if nothing else, Tiff wanted to record recent events in her journal. “You good, sis?” Tuff asked.

Ultimately, she simply nodded. “I’m fine. Let’s get back in for the day.” She wasn’t too surprised to hear the congratulatory tones of the Waddle Dees that she passed by as they made her way back into the castle proper. They were a big hit, it was clear- the new and unusual always tended to be. She’d even signed a couple of autographs, which had been an awfully strange experience. It’d been a while, but she’d long been able to match her brother in physicality- but that still didn’t stop him from occasionally showing his concern at times. It was a little annoying, but that annoyance was often drowned out by her appreciation for his concern.

No, what she was more weirded out by regarding her brother was his lack of grandstanding when he was approached by the same. Despite putting on a brave face for the cameras, and letting his attitude show during matches, he’d remained surprisingly subdued after the last match had been won, simply nodding and smiling and saying his thanks. Even now, he merely gave the hellos and good lucks that came their way a simple wave and maybe a vocalization of appreciation. It was…unexpected, she supposed was the word for it. “You know, I would’ve thought you’d be shouting about this to the heavens. A big tournament like this and we’re doing really well? You’re not proud of that?”

Tuff allowed himself a smirk, and a huff of amusem*nt. “I mean, I’m happy, for sure!” he admitted, before shrugging. “Just…Iunno, now that we got through the first part, kinda feels like I’d get scolded from Ms. Partizanne if I went too over the top when it’s not even over yet.” He looked off into the distance, staring at some nameless point in the sky for a moment. “If she caught me getting too proud, she’d probably say something like-” and here he affected a higher tone of voice and a ‘proper’ accent as best he could- ‘-Young Tuff! Be cautious that your joy at the start does not become sorrow at the finish.’ or somethin’ like that.” When he turned back to her, he was grinning. “I can hold off until the tourney’s over. I owe her THAT much, at least.”

“...huh.” That answer hadn’t quite been what she was expecting, but… “I’m actually proud of you for that. You’ve really learned and matured under them, huh?”

In response, he stuck out his tongue. “No way! You’re makin’ me sound like an’ old fuddy duddy. I just got respect for some folks, is all!”

“Oh, relaaaax. You-” Tiff began to reassure him, before she noticed a figure toddling towards them. “Huh? Kirby?”

Sure enough, it was him- though to her surprise he looked…half-asleep, at best. Lidded eyes, and a walk that was more of a controlled stumble. That didn’t seem anywhere near normal for him, and the both of them knew that. They both walked a bit faster to meet him- upon closer inspection, there were clear bags under his eyes as well. “Heeey…” He drawled out, smile on his face, but he was clearly out of it.

“Kirby? Yikes, have you gotten any sleep recently?” She resisted the urge to prop him up, such was his wavering.

“A few minutes…” he admitted. “I’m fine, I’m fiiiine. Normally I…” He paused here to let out a big yawn and stretch, which almost had THEM feeling tired. “...mmm, I can go for way longer if I really need to without a nap. Wonder if it might be something in the food…” he mumbled.

“Dude, you should really conk out early today, then,” Tuff offered. “You look like you’re about to fall asleep standing up!”

“No, no, I know. I think I might have an…” another yawn. “...an idea about what’s happening with those weird events over the tournament.”

That got their attention. “You do?!” Tuff exclaimed. “Sweet! Well, what is it?”

“...” For a moment, they looked on in anticipation, as Kirby swayed a bit, his eyes staring nowhere. “...Oh!” He blinked twice, seemingly snapping to attention. “Sorry…you said ‘sweet’ and I started thinking…” Yet another yawn. “...mmm…of cake.”

At that, Tiff sighed. “Y’know what? You REALLY need a nap.” They moved over to him, gently ushering him back into the castle towards his room. To her slight surprise, he didn’t really resist. “You can tell us what you’ve learned when you’re rested enough to actually talk, okay? Is Bandana Dee around?”

“Mmm…he’s…” Another yawn. “...out somewhere, I think…” he responded as they managed to reach his room. “...I’ll get him after I wake up…an’ we can go over it all…g’night…” She barely closed the door before she heard a soft snore coming from inside.

“Well, so much for that,” she sighed. “I wonder what it was he figured out…”

“Meh, we’ll find out soon enough,” Tuff dismissed. “Don’t look for what’s already in front of ya.”

“...gonna have to get used to that,” Tiff muttered to herself. A mature Tuff? Wild.

Just as they left the hallway, however, they were quick to stumble across Reporter Dee and Channel PPP yet again. “O-oh! Hello there! Talk about lucky timing!”

“Lucky?” Tiff responded. “Lucky how?”

“Well, we’re doing more in-depth interviews for the last eight teams, and we were hoping to get a bit more of your time!” he explained. “Do you mind? This would be GREAT footage!”

“Oh, dear me!” Mr. Ebrum said, having been watching a movie with his wife. “I must say, I’m rather surprised that all ended up well, but that was a rather thrilling epic! I’m impressed how they all came together at the end of the day to save everyone…”

“I got ze shuddering at ze start with all ze beams and swooshing, and I was worried with ze one little boy surviving, but him bringing everyone back- it was quite ze tale!” Ms. Ebrum agreed.

Little Kirby, who was on their lap, nodded. “Wah fun!” Him speaking semi-properly had shocked them silly at first, but they’d quickly recovered and showered him in affection and treats for the first couple of days. They and Sir Meta Knight had spent quite some time simply talking- Meta Knight had admitted his surprise at the vast changes that Cappy Town had been going through since he’d left. By his own admission, they’d actually were supposed to arrive a few months earlier- however, an ‘incident’ that he refused to speak of had delayed them greatly. The only thing he would mention of the situation was that ‘Kirby proved himself quite able’ and that the matter had grounded the Halberd briefly. Now, he had left them to catch up further, while he decided to investigate all the new additions Cappy Town was sporting.

Before they could talk any further about the movie, however, the familiar symbol of the Cake Royale took over the screen. “Oh?” Mr. Ebrum said in surprise. “I thought they said there wouldn’t be any games played for a bit?”

“Hello again, Cake Royale enthusiasts!” Reporter Dee greeted. “It’s only me here today, as Ms. Haltmann has some business to attend to. However, Channel PPP isn’t going to leave you without any juicy Cake Royale info to digest! And today’s scoop? The contestants!” That had gotten all of them interested. “We’ve interviewed all the remaining teams, to get to know them better so that YOU can know them better- their history, their personality, their likes and dislikes, and more! This promises to be a deep dive into the competitors like never before! So stay tuned!”

“Oh!” The Ebrums weren’t expecting that. “What do you think they’ll be asking in particular?” Mr. Ebrum wondered.

Fortunately, it wouldn’t be long before they found out. “...and next, we have our champions of Pool One- Tiff and Tuff!” Reporter Dee announced. They’d just gotten through the Dee Duo, who’d barely managed to make it, as well as Bio Spark and Beetley- the latter proving surprisingly sympathetic with his desire to prove himself ‘The King of Bugs’ by sheer hard work and effort. But now it was the duo that they’d been waiting for. “We’ve got a number of questions for them, so let's get right to it, shall we?” The siblings were sat on a couch in the foyer; Tiff had doffed her helmet and weapons, as had Tuff, who’d also taken off the clipped sash part of his outfit and gauntlets, though he still wore his undershirt and the rest. Ultimately, they looked perfectly casual. “Let’s just start right off with a big one,” Reporter Dee began. “What was your motivation to come here and participate in this event? We got a bit of it from you last time, but could you elaborate?”

“Uh, sure! I don’t think it’s a giant secret, right?” Tiff figured. “Anywho, we come from an…alternate Dream Land, I guess you could say. A, uh, VERY alternate Dream Land.”

“My! How different would you say?” the reporter asked, clearly fascinated.

Tuff took over from there. “It’s like…super similar? But also TOTALLY different. It’s not as big, for one.” From here, his hands grew more animated. “And like, some stuff’s juuuust similar enough you wonder, but it’s like this place goes in the totally opposite direction!”

“I can’t say that’s wrong,” Tiff admitted. “There’s…a lot about this place that our Dream Land doesn’t have. Not that that’s a knock on ours, of course!” She allowed herself a smile. “Where we live is pretty calm…mostly. It’s very friendly, and everyone means well. It’s pleasant.”

“Provided our ‘good king’ decides to stay home for the day,” Mr. Ebrum couldn’t help but snark to a giggling Ms. Ebrum. Little Kirby was simply cheering the appearance of his friends. “Tiff! Tuff!” He could say those two names clear as a bell, if nothing else.

The interview went on. “Sounds idyllic. And yet you chose to leave there, correct?” Reporter Dee followed up.

Tiff sighed with a bit of a forlorn expression “...yeah. We came to realize that as peaceful as it was, there was still trouble out there that, if we’re going to keep it peaceful, we’d need to be able to protect it better. We can’t just rely on other people all the time,” she admitted, keeping the details vague.

Fortunately, Reporter Dee didn’t dig in on that. “Goodness! I can certainly understand that. Tell me, how’ve you trained for this, then?”

The two of them let out a laugh. “Well, it wasn’t easy!” Tuff snarked. “Meta Knight loved to run us ragged.”

“Oh! You mean to say you two were trained by the illustrious Meta Knight himself!?” That seemed like news to several folks, then. “How impressive!”

“Well, as it stands, I’m the only one still training under him,” Tiff pointed out.

“Yeah, I jumped to the Jambastion Mage Sisters after a couple months,” Tuff confirmed. “Pretty obvious what I thought about that,” he noted, pulling at his outfit a little. “After this, I’ll probably stick with them for a little bit longer. Then Mr. Magolor wants to teach me a few more tricks.” He stuck a thumb towards Tiff. “Me an’ sis started out learning magic from ‘im, but I was super more into it and stuck with it, while she eventually started leanin’ more towards bashing things in personally.”

“It’s not like I’m not trying to learn a few more things,” Tiff confirmed, “But I’d say it’s more…esoteric. Stuff to help my fighting and defense, not the fancy stuff Tuff’s doing.”

Tuff let out a chortle. “Yeah. Anyone who knew us prolly would’ve guessed the opposite at first! Wild how things end up, huh?”

“Certainly, and it seems like you two have quite the selection of tutors. Are you worried at all about facing Meta Knight in the Knockout Rounds?” It was something of an obvious question.

They looked at each other. Tiff was the one to answer. “Honestly? Kinda, but not really? I mean, we both have sparred against him before.”

“Like, I’m not gonna be a downer,” Tuff added on, “But we’re gonna have to kick it into super DUPER high gear whenever we end up against Meta Knight an’ Gooey, OR Kirby and Bandee.”

“Very true,” Tiff agreed with a sigh. “Well, we’re not gonna just roll over, I’ll say that much.” Even so, she smiled. “Still, I’m looking forwards to showing Lord Meta Knight everything I’ve learned so far. Who knows? Maybe I’ll surprise him.”

Mr. Ebrum let out a chuckle at that. “I wonder what Sir Meta Knight would say to that if he were around to have heard it? Surely he’d be a bit shocked.” Unfortunately for the Knight, he was preoccupied.

“Let’s move to something a bit lighter, then!” Reporter Dee decided. “Since coming here, have you found yourselves a favorite food so far? Anything from our Dream Land particularly please your palate?”

The two looked at each other, before chuckling a bit. Tiff went first. “Actually? I served a good bit of time on Lord Meta Knight’s Halberd, and the mess hall often had meat buns. It ended up being kind of a staple food for me, and I’m kind of missing it, now! They were always really packed and juicy…” she admitted.

Kawasaki, as well as everyone in his restaurant that had been watching the interview, paused for a moment. Then as one they all looked towards the hapless chef.

Kawasaki just blinked. “...think I’m gonna need to practice m’bun rollin’ before I get rolled over! At least they’ll sell like hotcakes! Even though I don’t make those…”

Meanwhile, Tuff nodded, continuing the thought. “I’m really into pudding nowadays. It’s Ms. Partizanne’s favorite food, and she, uh…” he paused. “Well, that might not be my place ta say how, but I got a taste for it from her, I guess! It’s REALLY good, guys, seriously.”

As half of what wasn’t clamoring for meat buns started clamoring for pudding, Kawasaki realized that as troublesome as it might end up, he could be sitting on a gold mine.

As the interview wrapped up with Reporter Dee thanking them for their time, Tiff wondered, not for the first time, if her parents would be seeing this. It’d likely take them a little bit before it aired, but that was fine. It allowed them to get some much needed rest. “Phew. I’m all FOR some pudding, now,” Tuff admitted.

“I’ll save it for later, I think,” Tiff admitted. “Tomorrow’s gonna be something else. I’m gonna do some writing and destress.”

“Shouldn’t we get a look at the bracket first?” Tuff suggested. “See who’s where?”

Tiff paused, considering…but then she recalled what Reporter Dee had been asking her, and her innermost thoughts on the subject. “Honestly? I…kinda don’t want to,” she admitted. “If we have Kirby and Bandee or Meta Knight and Gooey up next, I don’t want to psyche myself out before the match.”

Tuff went silent, thinking it over for a moment. “...honestly, not a bad call,” he ultimately decided. “Whoever they are, we’ll just do our best ta take ‘em down!”

“Bold statement, trainee,” said a familiar voice. They both turned around to see Magolor bearing down on them. “I wanted a bit of a word with you, if you don’t mind?” He glanced at Tiff. “You can listen in if you care to, but this doesn’t really concern your field, sad to say.”

“Mmm…it’s fine,” Tiff said, shaking her head as she moved on. “You know where I’ll be when you’re done, Tuff.”

“Right, then,” Magolor nodded, ushering the young Tuff away. “I have to say I was impressed with your quick answers in that little quiz I gave in Crazy Theater…” She didn’t really focus on whatever else he had to say, too busy figuring out how she’d word her thoughts in her journal.

The next day came all too soon.

“Wellllllcome one and all!” Reporter Dee announced grandly to all. “We’re live at the Cake Royale! We’re entering the last few days, and more importantly, the Knockout Rounds!”

“That’s right!” Susie confirmed by his side. “We’re down to eight teams, four from Pool 1 and four from Pool 2. These eight will now participate in a randomly seeded single-elimination style tournament bracket, and the winner takes home the title of Champion, the cash prize-”

“-and they’ll be feasting on The Cake Of Their Dreams!” Reporter Dee finished. “The remaining competitors have fought long and hard to make it to this point, and we’re sure they must be tired! But they’ll have to dig deep to get a taste of that sweet, sweet victory cake!”

As usual, many eyes were watching, from both universes. “You know,” Mrs. Ebrum started, “I wonder what zat cake WOULD taste like…”

“Dreamy, I’d imagine,” Mr. Ebrum said amusedly. “A custom made cake for the winner? I certainly know what I’d rather on mine…”

“Something to note, dear viewers, is that the rules have furthermore changed so that ALL teams remaining in a round will compete in the SAME event!” Susie explained. “And the first event is…Coin Clash! One mansion, two teams, a LOT of riches, and one ghost looking to illegally steal everything you’ve earned!”

“Wait, so is zere legal stealing?” Mrs. Ebrum questioned.

“Fees and Taxes, dear,” Mr. Ebrum said simply. Mrs. Ebrum just made a sound of understanding.

“For those of you just tuning in,” Reporter Dee continued, “Coin Clash is played like so- both teams will be let loose in our specially designed mansion stage, wherein there will be treasure and coin aplenty for them to pick up! However, one coin is actually the Skull Coin - and boy, you don’t want to pick THAT one up. It’ll summon a spooky ghost to chase you down and take all your loot!”

“That’s always the best part!” Spikehead cheered. “This one’s one o’ my favorites!” The mansion wasn’t really a mansion, but more like a very large single floor mockup of one with a number of rooms and high walls. Surrounding the arena high on all sides were bleachers for the cheering crowd.

“You can shake the ghost off in one of two ways,” Susie continued. “One: Simply find and attack another player to convince it to change targets. And two: getting rid of the Skull Coin once it’s revealed itself- but it HAS to be put into the opponent’s possession before it leaves. Just tossing it won’t do you any good. Of course, since the Skull Coin looks like any other coin, you better have been keeping track of what you pick up!”

“That’s such a tricky rule…” Iro admitted. “I dunno if anyone’s managed that yet.”

“Me neither…” Honey agreed.

“However, we’ve wasted enough time talking,” Reporter Dee finished. “Let’s get down to the field for our first match of the day! The interdimensional warriors Tiff and Tuff versus our own ‘Eye Spy’ team of Spynum and Waddle Doo!”

The feed quickly cut to the two, the screen split in half showing the siblings on one side and Spynum and Waddle Doo on the other waving to the crowd. “We’ve got a packed audience out here in the stands- including a very special guest!” Reporter Dee noted, and the camera briefly zoomed in on someone they recognized well…

“Oh hey! It’s Teach!” Spikehead pointed out as Taranza came into focus, applauding. “That’s so cool!”

Susie giggled. “Will his crafted cottage turn our competitors craven? Let’s find out!”

“BEGIN!” the announcer sounded, and the two teams took off.

Immediately it was clear that they both had differing strategies- Tiff and Tuff immediately moved around what could be called ‘their side’ of the arena first, keeping to a small area as they collected the gold-colored large coins that had been placed around. Not real currency, of course, but certainly enough for this challenge. Gold was the name of the game here, so gold crowns, gold plates, gold anything, as per the rules given- if it was gold, you wanted to get it into the bag- and then into your stash.

Tiff got her hands on a pair of plates, it was seen, while Spynum slipped around, collecting a number of high-value coins. They’d only moved to the first couple of rooms. “They gotta hurry it up,” Spikehead said worriedly. “Center’s where all the real action is!”

“They still got a couple minutes,” Iro noted as Tiff made her way into the Trap Room- and immediately had to watch her step as some hatches opened to reveal painful spines on the floor- nothing exceptionally dangerous, but still something to avoid. “They’ll be fine!” Almost putting proof to words, Tiff was able to nearly skip (though not with any of the levity skipping usually had) between all the trapdoors trying to give her aching feet. She’d either seen roughly where the traps were placed, or was making VERY good guesses as she gingerly hopped to the middle of the room where a VERY high-value crown was-

-only for it to get sniped out of her hands by an Arrow from Spynum, knocking the crown clear to the other side. “Hey!” she shouted in indignancy. Another arrow was her answer, which was blocked- but the distraction had done its job as Waddle Doo grabbed the crown and waddled out- barely avoiding a retaliatory energy wave from Tiff in the process. “Tuff!” She yelled as she hopped out, mindful of the traps. “Center, center!!” As soon as she was on safe ground, she started booking it. The cameras cut to see similar with Tuff, having deposited his current haul in a chest- guaranteeing his gains.

“I heard ya!” he yelled back. “...barely,” the mics caught him whispering. Nonetheless, he quickly took off for the center.

“No ghost yet- they’ve been lucky,” Iro noted. “Usually someone picks up the Skull Coin pretty fast.” The moment he said this, Tuff stopped briefly to dart into a bedroom to pick up a couple more coins…

…and as he laid his hands on the last one, it flashed blue, smoke suddenly gathering outside the door, coalescing into something that made Tuff stop in his tracks and grimace.

“A ghost has appeared!” A digital voice announced, almost in confirmation of that statement.

“Aw, dangit, Tuff!” Iro said, dismayed.

“Oh, nonono! Run, darling!” Mrs. Ebrum yelled.

Fortunately, he did, blasting past the apparition just as it finished forming. With a mighty cackle, it took up the chase.

And meanwhile, the remaining three had just gathered in the Central Room, where there was a large, rather obvious trapdoor in blue in the center. ‘Should be right about…now!’ Tiff calculated, and proving her right, the trapdoor opened, revealing a literal barrel full of gold and valuables.

“Treasure Time!” The digital announcer proclaimed- this bounty was only available for a few seconds, if that- but they’d be particularly pressed for time now.

She’d gotten a good handful of coins, which would be valuable, but now she’d need to flee the area- and her brother, she realized, as he came darting into the room, all but trying to tackle Spynum, who dodged at the last moment. Though she hated to leave him, he’d just given the best distraction for her to get back to base and deposit her coins.

Thus began a whole running battle of sorts; Tuff, potential points dropping every couple of seconds, would manage to tag Waddle Doo, who’d try to run and catch the two off guard, as they tried to increase their score. A lucky hit from Spynum once got Tiff, who’d been then ambushed by the Doo- she had to deal with the specter for a minute straight or so before she managed to send it to Spynum by way of a long range hit. Fortunately, those counted.

“One minute remains!” came the call, and from there they had to hustle. The second and last Treasure Time had ended just before, and Tiff and Tuff both had full sacks, not that Waddle Doo and Spynum looked any less filled. At this point it was a race back to the chest to deposit. They weren’t able to detect their score, but the roaring of the crowd told them that it was likely close.

The problem was that while the Waddle Doo was easily outpaced, Spynum? Not so much. Arrow after arrow peppered them, and eventually Tiff was forced to turn and provide active cover, shielding Tuff as he managed to deposit his amount just before a loud, ominous bell and “FINISH!” sounded out.

Everyone leaned on pins and needles as the tally was counted and the contestants were led out of the arena. The action had been fast and heavy from word go, and ten minutes of it proved harrowing.

But soon? It was shown: Spynum and Waddle Doo? 256.

Tiff and Tuff? 272. Not remotely as big of a gap as the numbers themselves might suggest…but it was over with. They’d won.

“YEAAAH!” Spikehead cheered. He wasn’t alone in that jubilee. They’d made it past the first round of the Knockout Rounds!

Tiff simply slumped down against an exterior wall as the numbers were shown officially. “...phew…” She drew a deep breath and held it for a moment, before exhaling sharply. Before much longer, she felt more than saw her brother do the same. “Close one, huh?” She asked idly. She had to take this helmet off- it was starting to stink of sweat…again.

“No kiddin’,” Tuff said, taking a rare moment to air out his hat, though he put it back on again. “Around halfway in I thought I might be stuck with that ghost!”

“It looked like he was getting used to you,” Tiff noted. However, before she could continue musing on their performance, they noticed another figure coming up to them. “Mr. Taranza!” she greeted, the spider looking rather pleased. “I thought I saw you in there!”

“Yes, well, who do you think helped come up with the concept and layout?” He asked, grinning. “Excellent work, you two. Especially at the end there- if Tuff had gotten hit once or twice more…”

“He wouldn’t have had enough to put us over, no,” Tiff agreed. “So, just come over to congratulate us?”

“Mostly,” he admitted. “Though there IS something I wanted to ask you about, Ms. Ebrum.”

That piqued her interest. “Yeah?”

“You wouldn’t have happened before this match to have seen anyone around your area with a, ah…hm. How to phrase this…it’s a personal effect of mine, you see. And the last person I questioned was Chuchu, who claimed she saw it while cleaning the hallway…and that Kirby had it.”

“...okay?” That was confusing. “But why not ask Kirby?”

“Well, for two reasons,” he began to explain, looking off in thought. “One, I tried, and Kirby’s rather…sleepy, at the moment. I’m not sure why, but it’s proving rather difficult to rouse him at the moment. He’s more lethargic than I’ve ever seen him. I’m actually thinking of feeding him some curry…”

“Kirby? Sleepy?” She turned to her brother. “Wasn’t he halfway nodding off last we talked to him? He said it was because he was up constantly trying to find out why stuff was going missing or things were happening. He still hasn’t gotten enough sleep?” That was irritating. Maybe she’d have to go straight to him and-

“Well, that’s where reason number two comes in,” Taranza continued. “To put it simply…I’m not entirely certain if that was Kirby at all.”

She blinked at that. “What? Why?”

Taranza looked back in worry, then seemed to glance around before sighing. “Because I can’t think of any reason Kirby would want my personal journal.” Huh. That WAS odd… “Well, I suppose you can at least try to ask him before tomorrow- that’d just be awkward, no?” He let out a chuckle.

A chuckle that confused the both of them. “Huh?” Tuff asked. “Why would it be awkward?”

Taranza blinked ALL of his eyes. Then he blanched. “O-oh. Oh dear. Did you not look at the tournament schedule?”

“No,” Tiff noted. “We didn’t want to psyche ourselves out in case…” There was a pause as his words sunk in- and then the context hit them. Simultaneously they let out loud sighs. “We’re fighting him tomorrow, aren’t we?”

“In Slam Hockey, no less,” Taranza confirmed.

“Aaaaaugh…” Tuff groaned. Tiff, frankly, couldn’t blame him. Already the thoughts were running through her head. ‘If Kirby gets enough sleep tonight…we might be doomed.’

Meanwhile:

This little book was something else. “...neat.”

That spider sure had some funny stories about that stupid village. Downright inspiring, really. Oh, the trouble he could cause...

Chapter 26: The Cake Royale- Knockout Round 2

Chapter Text

The next day, they were in their room…stewing, to be frank. Well, perhaps from an outside perspective. Tuff was deep in meditation, while Tiff was attempting to square her thoughts away via the written word again.

They’d tried to reach Kirby before his own Coin Clash match yesterday, but instead they’d been blocked off by Bandee of all people, who’d insisted that ‘I-I’ll take the message! But right now Kirby can’t be disturbed- he needs all the energy he can muster!” he’d said. When they’d asked why, Bandee had merely sighed. “I can’t tell you right now…but you’ll probably see before much longer anyway.”

Thus, they’d retreated to their room, trying to take their minds off of the potential sabotage they might be facing. Tiff frowned, finishing up with her latest self-report. "Do you think Kirby really knows what's going on?" she muttered to herself as she heard the door open.

"Hope not!" Came a familiar voice. "All the better for you to surprise 'im!"

Tiff’s head shot up. “King Dedede?”

“Th’ same!” He looked rather proud of himself, standing in the doorway. “You two have really been tearing it up lately, huh? You’re the talk of the town! Wanted to give you my congrats personally.”

“Oh, well…!” She was quick to get up and bow, glancing at Tuff- who was surprisingly (or perhaps not) silent about that phrasing. “Thank you, sire. Although against Kirby, even in a friendly game…”

“Yeah, pipsqueak’s gonna be a real tough customer,” he nodded. “So don’t hold anything back!”

She saluted. “We won’t, sire!”

“Good, good! Oh, right, by the way, king to knight…” he motioned her in closer, and when she did, he whispered slightly in her ear. “Uhh…you wouldn’t want a little vegetable help there, would you? I’m not kidding, it’s gonna be a hard game out there and that puck hurts. I can slip you a Maxim real easy, or at least-”

“Sir!” She reared back at the implication, frowning. “Really?! You know me better than that!”

“Right, right…” He gave a lopsided grin and shrugged. “Well, fair enough. Just wanted to offer. I’ll be cheering for you anyway.” She searched his eyes for any further dishonesty, but to her relief, she found none. “Try and lamp him one for me- like I said, he needs to make sure his ego’s in check!”

She huffed at that. Though she didn’t like him trying to game the…well, game like that, part of her understood that unlike her own, THIS one was doing it more from a place of concern. “I’ll give it my best, sire. You can count on that.” Not that she really wanted to hurt him, but she had to admit to being taken by the spirit of competition.

“Yeah, I know,” he agreed. “You’re that kinda girl. See ya after the match!”

With that, he left, careful to close the door behind him. Tuff shifted pa bit, clearly having broken his trance to listen in. “Hey, what’d he say to tick you off like that?”

“Nothing much,” she dismissed, shaking her head. “Just…was worried, I think.”

“Tch. Against Kirby? Can’t blame him. Half asleep or not, I don’t wanna take him lightly." They’d not actually watched his match thanks to replay the other evening, but they’d heard bits and pieces. Apparently, Kirby had indeed made his match in Coin Clash…but he’d stumbled out to it looking like he had literally simply rolled out of bed and trudged to the arena, ready to drop right then and there.

What had shocked them was that apparently they’d WON- and it wasn’t as though Bandee had been carrying his friend to a victory, either. Truthfully, the kids were both a bit skeptical. Just a touch. They’d seen his lack of focus when talking to them, after all- it had to have been exaggerated just a touch.

“I don’t, either,” Tiff agreed. “So we won’t.” She allowed herself a glance at the clock. It was maybe an hour before their match- the quarterfinals. “Still…I don’t know whether to be hopeful that he stays sleepy or hope he wakes up in case it’s something more nefarious.” She’d confess to that much, at least. While she certainly didn’t condone cheating, she wouldn’t exactly shed tears for an ill-prepared competitor. (Meta Knight had helped to drill that lesson into her too, really.) “But, we’re just freaking ourselves out. C’mon, we can at least do something about this weird lost journal thing,” she decided. “Maybe we can ask some of the castle workers around here.”

“Sure, why not?” Tuff agreed, and so they set out.

It was, at least initially, a bit of slow going. Despite asking a number of Waddle Dees, Broom Hatters, and other such citizens and guests, no one had seen anything about Kirby wandering about with a book. Though, to their surprise, they DID get information about something odd…

“Your cap?” Tiff asked the Noddy. She was a slightly unusual one, more vanilla colored than the usual pink, but ultimately looked very much like a typical Noddy, save for their signature sleeping cap, which, well... “It’s missing?”

“Mhm…” The poor Noddy girl seemed like was about to pass out regardless, but it was clear she was distressed. “Went to sleep with…” she paused to yawn. “...with it on…woke up with it off. Just me in my room since I need peace and quiet. Been looking for hours.”

“...but then why’re you here at the Cake Royale?” Tuff asked. Tiff only didn’t elbow him because she had to admit an inkling of curiosity at the same. “It’s pretty loud here.”

“Mmm…yup,” she placidly agreed, nodding- and barely keeping herself from tilting over. “Mom said…” another yawn. “...I need to get out more. So here I am…watching people do crazy stuff in the peace and quiet of a comfy room.” She shook herself, and perhaps looked a shade more alert. “I can stay up for seven whole hours by myself now. So…that’s something.” Another yawn. “If you can find my cap, I’d appreciate it.” She looked away, clearly both tired and sad. “I’d…really like it back. Was my mom’s.”

“...gotcha,” Tuff said simply.

“Yeah, we’ll keep an eye out for it,” Tiff offered, mind whirling.

“Thaaanks,” the Noddy girl said, nearly yawning in the middle of it. “...think I’m gonna try and keep…” another yawn. “...looking.” And with that, she started trundling away.

The two looked at each other. “You don’t think-” Tuff started.

“-That her missing cap might have something to do with our sleepy pink ball? Absolutely!” Tiff finished. “But who and why, is the question…”

“Kirby might know, remember?” Tuff reminded her. “We can’t talk to him now, though…” he frowned. “In fact, we probably should be getting to the arena.”

“Hmm…you think it’ll be a bad idea to let this wait?” Tiff wondered. “If he’s still not completely awake…”

“Then we’ll try to end it fast and talk to him about it afterwards,” Tuff decided. “If anything is even going on.”

“I’m positive something’s going on,” Tiff insisted. “It’s just finding the last pieces of the puzzle that’s the hard part.” She allowed a huff. “But, you’re right. We need to get going. C’mon.” With that, the two of them headed out, neither of them certain of what to expect when they arrived at the Slam Hockey arena.

Meanwhile, in Cappy Town…

Everyone was, to put it frankly, nervous that day. They, unlike the kids themselves, had been told rather up front in a grandiose announcement right after Kirby had won his match: “The young up and comers from another dimension will officially be facing off against the Hero of the Stars and the Courageous Waddle Dee: Kirby and Bandana Dee! This clash of dimensional warriors is sure to be something to remember!” It was Reporter Dee who had said all that, while Susie had calmly sat there and watched him extol.

“I suspect it’ll be their biggest trial yet,” she said simply. “Both are the only undefeated teams in the tournament, but one of them will have to fall here, at this critical juncture.” She leaned forwards slightly, as though sharing a secret. “Of course, we saw the other day that Kirby is not always 100%...”

Not that Mr. and Mrs. Ebrum felt all that reassured. “Dear, oh dear…” Mr. Ebrum started. “This’ll be dicey to overcome. We’re all well aware of their Kirby’s power,” he admitted. Little Kirby was watching eagerly, understanding that this was where the other one that looked like him was right now. “Do they have it in them, I wonder…?”

“I would ‘ope zat Kirby doesn’t hurt zem too much,” Mrs. Ebrum admitted. “When he waz ‘ere, he was a lovely, jolly fellow!” She smiled at Little Kirby. “Much like you are now, no?”

Little Kirby simply raised an eyebrow at her.

Mrs. Ebrum reared back slightly, the rejection obvious. “Eh, ah, nevermind. So!” she quickly changed the topic. “Do you really think he’ll be so nasty?”

“Well of course, should the worst happen, I would hope that our little piece of support could help see them through.” He left that unelaborated on- they all knew what he meant. “Though,” he continued, thinking further, “there’s one matter that might affect things. If you remember yesterday…”

For once, however, they weren’t the only ones watching. “This is it, Your Majesty!” Fololo said proudly.

“We’ve been keeping an eye on Tiff and Tuff’s progress throughout the tournament, and now they’re up against Kirby himself!” Falala continued.

“Ha! Figures!” King Dedede said, munching on a bag of chips. “Dem Cappies been glued to th’ tube fer weeks now ‘cause of all this hullabaloo! An’ it’s been good fer th’ TV business! But jus’ you wait!” He had his usual sneer on, having been fed the details from Fololo and Falala from time to time. “Now that that no-good gumball’s up against ‘em, he’s gonna have to whup ‘em and but good! They’s gonna see that that place ain’t right for ‘em, I bet! They’ll come crawlin’ back ta me!”

Escargoon, as always, was right next to them. “Absolutely, sire- you’re a whole lot less threatening.” Escargoon was already bracing for the pop upside the head, and he wasn’t disappointed.

“You mean I’m MORE threatenin’, you half-brained half-shell! I gots me…” He paused to think. “...what’s that word? When you’re real sneaky-like about whatcher sayin’?”

Escargoon sighed. “...you mean ‘subtle’, sire?”

“Right! I’m as subtle as a river!” he proudly declared.

“Methinks the flow’s been dammed up for a while,” Escargoon said under his breath. Nonetheless, they both watched on as the contestants made their entrance.

“And now, here they come!” Susie announced on screen, and they watched as Tiff and Tuff came out, walking out of the stadium entrance to raucous cheers. “My, they’ve built up a following rather fast, haven’t they?”

“Their story’s awfully touching, so I’m not surprised,” Reporter Dee responded.

“More like awfully revolting,” Escargoon snarked again.

“Tiff’s always figured she was the smart one,” Fololo noted. “Can’t she see this won’t end well?”

“Well, it’s not like Tuff’s ever been one to back down from a challenge either,” Falala added on. “Even when it was for his own good.”

“Don’tchu worry. Those brats’ll get some smarts beat into ‘em one way or another.” He grabbed another handful of chips. “I might hate me dem Kirbies, but I won’t mind seein’ ‘em and their friends smash each other up! Aheheheheh! Bring on the carnage!” he cheered. ESPECIALLY since THEIR Kirby had had the gall to return, according to the duo- but he had something special in mind for that as a little ‘welcome back’ after this.

However, when Kirby and Bandee came out… “Hey, what gives!?” Dedede yelled.

Tuff frowned. “Hey, what gives?” The arena was pretty cool and all, but as they all walked up to shake hands? It was clear standing across from them, though physically present, Kirby was… “Are you really still half-asleep ?”

Indeed he was, his striped nightcap firmly on his head, and pillow in his hand. Even his eyes were shut, and he wavered as though he was going to drop any moment now. Tiff couldn’t help but fold her arms. While she figured what might be happening to an extent, she still couldn’t resist the feeling of…of insult. “Are you sure you don’t just want to call this off?” she asked aloud, motioning to Kirby. “It’s CLEARLY extenuating circ*mstances. He can’t fight in this state!”

To their surprise, however, Kirby briefly opened his eyes just then- at least, halfway. “Nope…” he said in a softer tone of voice that they could barely hear. “I-” A pause for a yawn. “-can still fight n’ stuff…jus’ focusing on that, not…other things…” He trailed off.

“Wait, what do you mean, ‘other things?’ Tuff asked, clearly curious.

“Just…start and...and you’ll see…” he said, before toddling back to his side of the field.

She huffed in mild frustration, before turning back. “Alright. Let’s hope he knows what he’s doing…”

“Iiii think he might,” Tuff admitted, backing away. She noticed he had an odd grimace on his face. “Let’s get this going, huh?”

“Right,” she said, nodding, before looking out to the referee to wave their readiness. Idly, she noted that Rick was watching from the front row. Well, she’d have to put on quite the show.

Bandee and Kirby waved as well- though Kirby’s was more of a limp lifting of his arms and a bit of shaky balance on one leg. ‘Right,’ she huffed to herself. ‘Let’s try to keep this quick.’

“BEGIN!” the announcer shouted, and Tiff immediately darted for the center field, surprising everyone as she lunged for the puck and slammed it roughly with her lance, sending it careening past a shocked Bandee and straight for Kirby-

- who didn’t even move. With a flick of his arm, he’d swung the pillow and batted the puck away- ricocheting it off the wall and past a lunging Tuff who’d reacted too late for an early, and shocking goal.

Tiff and Tuff both gawked at him in surprise. After a moment of silence on the field (but certainly not in the crowd, Kirby just shrugged. “...trying to…figure out how…” another yawn. “...to focus this Ability. Think I might be onto somethin’…eventually…”

With that, the whistle blew, and the other three got back into position for the puck’s resetting. “...toldja,” Tuff muttered to Tiff. She merely grunted, nodding her admission of what he’d said. ‘Right. If he can do that…I can’t let up for a moment, sleepy or not!’

“I’m staying forward this time,” Tuff declared. Tiff nodded- no time to argue. Plus, shield. It made sense.

The puck went live again, and this time, Tuff and Bandee battled it out for possession. Tuff, unfortunately, had to relinquish, Bandee swung to send it into their half of the field, and the game was truly on.

Several shots were quickly deflected by a lunging Tiff, with Bandee showing that he had more brains than most might guess at first blush- he clearly knew his geometry with how he was angling shots off the wall in an attempt to slip by her. Fortunately, she wasn’t too shabby at that either, and was able to meet him, by staying far back. This had the consequence of leaving her unable to pursue a follow up with Tiff sometimes, but it was too dangerous.

Kirby was quickly proving that somehow, he could move and fight with his eyes closed and tired just fine. He had taken up a goalie-like role as well, with any shots Tuff had managed to slip past Bandee quickly being deflected and sent back by a fast pillow thwack. Jumps, dives, spins, and more were proven to still be in his arsenal in short order.

“And all of zat with hiz eye shuttered?!” Mrs. Ebrum declared as the defensive battle continued on their screen.

“Intimidating, to say the least,” Mr. Ebrum admitted. They weren’t the only ones concerned.

“The last match was impressive enough, but this is a whole different thing,” Knuckle Joe admitted. “If his eyes weren’t closed you wouldn’t think he was sleepy at all!”

“There’s something about it, though…” Sirica muttered as she watched them duel- a pass from Kirby to Bandee, who went for a shot on goal. Tuff missed it, but Tiff managed to deflect it hard, sending it at the wall at a shallow angle- but enough that Kirby felt the need to try and pursue it. “It’s on the tip of my tongue…”

They weren’t the only ones who had spotted it, however. Bandee, and indeed, both Meta Knights could see what the issue was. ‘He’s still not moving quite as good as he does when he’s fully awake,’ Bandee mentally reminded himself. ‘I have to keep the pressure up!’

Lord Meta Knight was watching carefully. “His strength and reflexes have been dulled, somewhat,” he explained to Sword Knight. “Bandee is having to cover a few defensive gaps that Kirby would normally handle effortlessly. His eyes squinted as he did some mental calculations, watching both teams carefully.

“...sir?” Sword Knight asked after a few more seconds had passed.

“They have a chance,” Meta Knight rumbled out. “A slight one. VERY slight.”

“...but still a chance,” Sword Knight breathed out as he understood the implications, turning back to the screen. ‘That means you two are gonna have to give the fight of your lives, if you want the mother of all upsets.’

Almost as in answer of that, Tuff pulled off a leaping spin that Meta Knight was certain Partizanne would’ve applauded to get him in front of the puck, letting off a slapshot close in that Kirby turned to stare at- but clearly wasn’t getting to, having likely expected Bandee to keep play to the other side of the field.

It was even, and cheers went up throughout Cappy Town. “Hoho! That’s my boy!” Mr. Ebrum proclaimed, clapping.

However, it was far from over. The next drop, Kirby quickly showcased a technique apparently no one had expected. He almost seemed to fall over, and out of his mouth… “Is that a BUBBLE?” Tuff exclaimed.

“Ew, gross!” Tiff yelled, rearing back almost in instinct.

Even Bandee didn’t look the most thrilled- but he did recognize an opening when he saw it. To their credit, the bubble was quickly popped- but the force behind it proved it would actually be painful, and not just kinda icky to get hit by. And importantly, it proved to be a very effective distraction, allowing Bandee another score and giving them the lead back.

From there, it was almost back and forth, blow for blow. Tiff managed to juke the defenders by extending a bit, and feeding a heavy shot to Tuff for a shot on goal that had Kirby diving- but also seemingly plopping on the ground for a moment to ACTUALLY sleep even as the large puck just barely slipped over him to even it. That didn’t last long, and was returned when Kirby gave a massive overhead slam with his pillow (and looking for all the world like it was nothing while asleep) that managed to actually send the puck careening into Tuff when he couldn’t get out of the way in time, sending him sprawling- enough to count it as a point.

“Tuff!” his sister yelled, but was quickly waved off as Tuff shook himself off, the score 3-2. ‘ Right, the puck is still in play after a hit…’ She quickly pursued it, just managing to move up to keep it on their side of the field- Bandee went to return the hit, causing another brief rally between the two sides, as the puck went back and forth, back and forth.

It hadn’t escaped Tiff’s notice that compared to the others they’d fought and the other Slam Hockey matches in general, Kirby and Bandee had been playing things rather ‘fair’ so far. Even taking into account Tuff’s impact, they’d been MARKEDLY less directly aggressive than others so far- direct combat was perfectly within the rules, but aside from some small scrapes, they’d refused to engage. Honestly, she understood why- heck, Bandee had been training her! If it was an actual fight, neither kid would really stand a chance.

That still didn’t stop her feeling, again, annoyed and a tad insulted about it. She knew the feeling wasn’t rational, as she batted back the puck again. But a part of her- a larger part than she’d expected existed- wanted to at least yell at them: ‘TAKE ME SERIOUSLY!’ Really, it was a part of her that had been growing, and as much as she appreciated the concern, it wasn’t much of a competition if both sides didn’t give it their all, now was it? If she lost? That just meant she had more to learn. To improve on.

She wasn’t sure how Tuff felt about it, mind, but as they hit a two-on-one offense against Bandee that resulted in them managing to break past and approach Kirby, she risked glancing over to him as she batted the puck his way. Kirby shuffled over to the left.

Tuff batted it back. Kirby shuffled to the right.

Tiff motioned as though faking another pass back- and then shifter her angle, and swung.

Kirby was already moving back towards Tuff, and his head tilted, yet again, towards the puck that passed him, scoring the tying goal at 3-3.

Judging by the frown Tuff wore, she wondered if he felt the same…but, they’d be able to actually talk about that shortly. Judging from the game clock, there were only ten seconds left in the period. ‘Five…four…three…two…one,’ she counted as the buzzer went off, and she sighed, walking to the sidelines along with Tuff. Ideally, she would be able to talk to Kirby and Bandee about pushing things a bit. Then, they could rest and-

-and just as she thought that, there was a strange rumbling throughout the arena, causing everyone to look around in concern. “Oi! Wass’ all the shakin’ about!?” she overheard Rick exclaim. However, just as she was about to speak up herself, it stopped- and a strangely dark figure shot through the roof of the arena, sending rubble scattering everywhere.

For a moment, she could barely see what it was that had intruded, but the glow of whatever it was only brought one thing to mind…

“Issat a Warp Star?” Tuff asked to no one. But his question was answered regardless when the figure got closer at high speed, slamming the Warp Star into the ground in the center of the ring, leaping off as it dissipated.

From here, Tiff could see that calling them darker colored was only partially right- in truth, their body seemed a deep greyish purple as best she could tell, and around the edges they had a strangely nebulous appearance, almost like their body was a swirling vortex. Perhaps almost TOO apt a description, really, considering the rest of them was a dead ringer for Kirby himself. It even seemed to have an ability hat- Sword, clearly.

Well, minus the fact that instead of the cheery smile or amused grin the Kirbies SHE knew had, this one had something that couldn’t be called anything less than a scowl.

They looked around at the shocked audience- at her, Tuff, Bandee. And finally Kirby. He had managed to muster up enough energy to look properly surprised, and when their eyes met, she saw the intruder’s scowl lift up into something approaching a crafty smile. “Feeling sleepy?” he said simply.

She’d never formally met him, but that tone of voice had been stuck in her head since she’d first heard it, and there was no mistaking who or what this was. “...so, you’re Shadow Kirby?” she asked.

“SHADOW Kirby?” The Ebrums said in shock.

Little Kirby looked on in surprise. “...looks meeean.”

“Shadow Kirby?!” Sirica and Knuckle Joe dropped their drinks. “That don’t sound good,” Joe opined worriedly.

“THERE’S ANOTHA ONE?!” King Dedede yelled in disbelief. “HOW MANY KIRBEHS ARE THERE?!”

He just nodded. “Yup. Nice contest you got here. I wasn’t invited.” His dry voice was simple, curt, and to the point. Although…

“...what are you talking about?” Bandee asked in surprise, which is what she was wondering. “You can just sign up for this! It was open to any-”

“Not that.” Shadow Kirby spoke sharply. “The other thing.” He suddenly pivoted towards Tiff and Tuff, pointing towards them. “That thing. I wasn’t invited. I don’t like that.”

“Heeeey…” Tuff frowned, about to talk, before Bandee responded.

“You were guarding the Mirror World, right?” Bandee noted. “There’s no way we could’ve pulled you from that.”

“You never asked.” Shadow Kirby accused. “So I’m making my own fun.”

Kirby trudged forwards a few steps. “So…you’re why I’m sleepy, huh?” He was doing his level best to put some energy into it. For whatever reason, it seemed like talking took a lot out of him, even if he could move just fine.

Shadow Kirby nodded again. “Yeah. Not telling how. But keeps you sleepy. Then I have some fun with the others. Mess with some people. Mostly you. The other travelers. S’a fun prank.”

“Wait, why us?” Tiff demanded. “We didn’t have any say in you not coming over!”

Shadow Kirby scoffed. “You come over here. I can’t come over there. Not FAIR,” he complained. Upon saying that, however, they couldn’t help but notice he had pointed his sword at them in challenge: Tiff, Tuff, Bandee, and a sleepy Kirby.

His scowl had returned. “So I’m gonna have fun- like it or not.”

Twisted Reflection
Shadow Kirby

Chapter 27: The Cake Royale- Finale

Chapter Text

For a moment, no one dared move. The challenge- dare they said the THREAT- in front of them was waiting and ready. “Pranking four dummies for the price of one,” he mused. Fun deal, to me…”

He didn’t wait for long. Rushing in, he was quickly met by a spear from Bandee to fend off his first strikes, forcing Shadow Kirby to hop back. This was just enough to allow the others to split up and surround him, and from there the fight was on.

Tuff was the second to strike, attempting a horizontal swing that Shadow quickly hopped over. Tuff was relentless, however, with a reverse swing meeting him as he landed; this one was defended against as well as the third that Tuff threw out to keep him in check. Tiff went in for a strike of her own, seeing that the doppleganger was presumably locked down- only for him to virtually pirouette out of the way, dodging her strike with just enough distance that she was nearly right next to his grinning face. She barely got her shield up before a sword impacted it, then another that rattled her-

-before he could continue, however, he was forced to dodge out of the way again- this time of Kirby, who’d pulled out another nightcap? Strange, but she chalked it up to magic yet again. It missed Shadow’s head, however, though Kirby was quick to toss out a pillow swing in the direction of Shadow’s dodge. The darker reflection met it with his sword, and the two objects almost seemed to clash, bouncing off of each other despite the pillow’s supposedly softer material. The two leapt apart for space at that, and soon Bandee was back on the offense, attempting to strike at Shadow as best he could, who was blocking and deflecting at speeds that shocked both kids. ‘He’s really just as strong as Kirby, isn’t he?’

Not that they would let that deter them. There was another attempt from Tuff- an overhead swing to try to catch him off guard. And to Tiff’s eyes, it was near instantaneous. One moment, he was dueling Bandana Dee, intensely focused on him.

The next? He’d twisted and slapped the attack aside while smoothly moving out of the way of Bandee’s own thrust at the same time, only to counterattack with a rushing stab that Tiff wasn’t entirely sure Tuff got out of the way of- she saw a flash of light somewhere on Tuff’s body as he tried to dodge- his robes fluttered oddly, but fortunately he still seemed to be in one piece as he rolled to a better distance. Even so, that had been TOO close. Now, it was Shadow staring down all four of them once again, the ‘circle’ having been broken by his sudden movements.

“See? Fun.” Shadow Kirby said simply.

“Fun for one, maybe,” Tuff grumbled as he readied his staff again.

“Yep,” Shadow Kirby said simply. And so he charged again, leaping into the air to deliver a vertical spin that she was sure would leave a mark.

At least, if Tiff wasn’t the first to meet him- the attack bounced off of her defenses, but she was alarmed to feel the sudden, shocking strength behind it! It had been such that it’d pushed her back a foot or so- and that was from just a moment of contact! She didn’t have very long to dwell on it, however, as Kirby leapt over her, and the two Kirbies began to clash again.

Even as the announcers and audience watched in worry, they weren’t the only ones.

“No no no no!” Mrs. Ebrum was looking torn between wanting to run out immediately or keeping eyes on her children just in case she missed something vital. “What is zis?! Why iz zere a wickedly Kirby attacking!?”

“Uhh...Iunno!” Little Kirby responded worriedly, to which she quickly shushed him, patting him atop the head.

“No, no no, not you sweetheart, I’m just worried,” she reassured him.

“Dear, oh dear…” Mr. Ebrum fretted. This hadn’t been expected at all, and the idea of a Kirby with as much power as Kirby, well, had? And used it for ill ends? He, for once, couldn’t blame his wife…but he also knew that whatever was happening, it’d likely be well and over by the time they got to the factory and the portal.

Elsewhere in Cappy Town, others had their own thoughts on things.

“Geez, move, move!” Joe yelled at the TV as Shadow Kirby wound up a spinning attack that threatened to clear out all the competitors. Fortunately, they’d all managed to stay clear of it from what Joe could tell. “A Kirby that don’t play nice…boy, I got the shivers.”

“I don’t even know what to say about it,” Sirica admitted. “What history does he have with the one we know, then?”

“Prolly somethin’ foul. Sounded like this one got a chip on his shoulder,” Joe said. “Ya heard what the mics picked up earlier?” He paused as Bandee and Kirby tried a dual approach, while the kids were trying to move into Shadow’s blind spot. “He wanted to come ovah HERE. He got wind o’ the whole operation.”

“I didn’t, no,” she admitted. “So you’re saying that Shadow Kirby is a Star Ally?” she scoffed. “I can hardly believe it!”

“Yeah, somethin’ about protectin’ the Mirror World…whatever kinda world THAT is.”

“Well, from how it seems…that Kirby’s an exact opposite copy of theirs. And not exactly similar to ours, either. Do you think…?”

“What, that we got a Shadow Joe and Shadow Sirica walkin’ around? Pft, doubt it,” he dismissed. Although… ‘Geez, I HOPE we don’t!’

“There’s no way this fake’ll beat all four of ‘em, right?” Spikehead said heatedly. If anyone else noticed the undercurrent of worry, they didn’t bring it up as Shadow Kirby moved threateningly between one fighter then the other as they attempted to corral him. It wasn’t working, but similarly they’d managed to stay out of range of anything particularly nasty as well.

“N-no way!” Iro said, or rather, tried to say confidently. “They’re way too good for that!”

Honey fretted, the action on the scene calling that statement into question, but she at least found the courage to speak up. “I…I have faith they can do it!”

Meanwhile, Dedede was laughing. “Aheheheheh! Well now! I guess maybe onna dem Kirbehs ain’t THAT bad!”

“He’s at least direct about what he wants,” Escargoon agreed. ‘And not ta mention a real thorny issue for that blob, if what we heard was any indicator.’

King Dedede seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “If’n there’s anythin’ willin’ to put a whoopin’ on those pesky big-mouthed brats, I’m all for it!” Dedede cheered. “An’ best of all, can’t no one accuse me o’ nothin’ about it!” Already, his brain was whirling with possibilities to use this to his own advantage.

Fololo and Falala, meanwhile, watched on with mild worry. “Ooh. How do you think they’ll get out of this one?” Fololo asked.

“Dunno,” Falala admitted. They were worried for them, but it wasn’t as if they could do much. Besides… “They can’t wave their hands and send this problem away, though!” They had all that magic, surely they could do something with it, right? She nodded self-assuredly. “They might have to get tossed around a little before this is over with…”

“Hey, he can toss ‘em around all he wants!” King Dedede crowed as Shadow Kirby let loose a barrage of slashes that Tiff buckled under- the final blow sending her tumbling. “Jus’ like that! Aheheheheh!” he laughed again. “Whoda thought I’d EVAH be cheerin’ for a Kirbeh?”

Bandee was getting worried. Not because Shadow Kirby necessarily had him on the ropes- Shadow was a scarily good fighter, but he also used Kirby’s own techniques, who Bandee of course knew well enough to see what was likely coming and counteract it. But that didn’t mean much when his own offense just couldn’t find purchase. And as for Kirby himself… “Can you discard that Sleep?” Bandee asked as he darted over to keep Kirby up- they had a scant moment where Tiff and Tuff had taken Shadow Kirby’s attention.

“I’ve…been trying…” Kirby mumbled out, glancing at him. “Something…making me not…” he let out a reluctant yawn. “Dunno…what…”

“Maybe it’s becaus-” Bandee started- only for Kirby’s eyes to suddenly widen, and without fanfare Kirby suddenly moved at a speed Bandee remembered…to shove him out of the way.

Bandee barely managed to focus his gaze before to everyone’s surprise, the pit of darkness that was Shadow Kirby’s wide open maw came down and seemed to slurp up Kirby in a blink.

For a moment, a stunned silence. Bandee blinked almost in confusion. Tuff’s jaw dropped. Tiff swore her stomach did the same. The vast majority of the views at home let out a collective gasp at the scene- that the shadow would manage to do that so easily to the ‘real thing’.

But the, cheeks bulging, Shadow Kirby took on an expression of distress as he began to flail…and then, something that could only be described as disgust , and only after a few seconds, suddenly he lurched, and with a loud ‘EW!’ he spat out Kirby- hard enough to send him into the wall, even. “Did you fall asleep and make a bubble in me?” Shadow Kirby asked in disgust.

But even that turned to surprise when, upon closer look, he realized that his inhale and spit had in fact done something. And what it’d done was bouncing in front of him.

The copy essence- light purple, and clearly an indicator of Sleep essence- bounced once…twice…and then dissipated, leaving a single, small, striped sleeping cap lying on the ground. Shadow Kirby looked over to see a fully awake and energetic Kirby bounce off the wall. “Sure did!” Kirby confirmed cheekily. “What can I say? It was warm in there.”

No one was quite sure how to respond to that one.

Shadow Kirby, for his part, merely huffed, before he charged once more. This time, Kirby was quick to dodge the thrust, cartwheeling to get just out of range, before he quickly moved back in to slide right into Shadow’s feet, tripping him up briefly. It was enough of an opening for Bandee to hurl his spear, with Tiff moving in as well; as soon as the spear was dodged, she lunged out- only for Shadow Kirby to again meet her lance with his blade and bounce her back with his strength.

She hadn’t even regained her footing before Tuff was following up behind her, lunging in just as Bandee moved to get closer- but that’s when she (and the rest) saw him glow, and they realized their mistake.

It was in a flash of light that a rapid spin took Shadow Kirby into the air, connecting with all three fighters and flinging them back, to her dismay. As she quickly checked on Tuff, she was relieved that no serious marks seemed to mar him yet again; how he’d managed to luck out of that one, she didn’t know. But it didn’t really help things- they were still on the backfoot. At least, with how they were already exhausted from the competition, and now this…

“See?” Shadow Kirby asked, almost tauntingly. “This is pretty fun, isn’t it?” To her surprise, his smile almost seemed…sincere. Like this really was just playing for him.

Before she could respond, however, she heard the flap of familiar wings. “Kirby!” They all looked up to see Meta Knight flying through- and though Galaxia was in one hand, in the other was, to her surprise, a slightly planer sword. It was that blade that he let drop right on top of Kirby. “Take it!”

Shadow Kirby glared. “Hey! Not fair!”

Kirby didn’t need to be told twice- before Shadow could run over to prevent it, Kirby had his mouth wide open, and the blade was quickly inhaled. Before another moment, Sword Kirby was ready with his own blade. “There! Much better!”

“...no.” Was all the response he got before he charged again. This time, Kirby met him blade to blade, and from there it was very much a more even fight. Kirby got the better of the first exchange, with three strikes clearly hitting- though Tiff could see no scars or the sort, which was…relieving. Shadow quickly righted himself, and gave another lunge at Kirby, who spun away to dodge much like his counterpart. And much like that familiar engagement, Kirby was just close enough to Shadow to force another stalemate before the latter could keep pressing the attack.

At this point, the shift in momentum was clear. With Kirby able to use his own sword skills to stalemate Shadow Kirby, the other three were free to strike much more efficiently, and they all realized it.

Shadow Kirby tried to disengage again once on the receiving end of a flurry of strikes from the original. He’d managed to block the majority, but as he jumped back to gain space, he only managed to see Tuff to begin his own barrage, a solid sequence that Tuff committed to that resulted in the doppelganger getting hit once, twice, thrice, FOUR times, reeling. His stumbling resulted in him being sent back into Tiff’s range, who was waiting for such an opening. She got three swings off of her own before Shadow Kirby attempted to react to her as well, sliding underneath one of her horizontal swings. Though her shield was well positioned, for a moment she was worried the blade would come up right under her-

-only for Bandee to intercede, a rapid-fire series of pokes battering him away from her before he could do any major harm. She could only give a nod of appreciation before he had to turn back to Shadow Kirby’s attempt to answer the assault.

Fortunately, it would prove to be short lived. Kirby quickly jumped back in, and this time it was clear that Shadow Kirby simply couldn’t keep pace with the two’s movements and strikes- around and around Shadow was battered, though he tried his best to keep up. Tiff and Tuff could barely keep track of the teamwork, but it was soon clear that, once Shadow Kirby managed to leap back twice and quickly floated to the scoreboard above everyone, that he was about done.

“That’s no fun,” Shadow Kirby said- and to their surprise, a Warp Star seemed to jump down from the hole Shadow Kirby had made in the roof. “That’s not fun at all.”

“Wait, Shadow-” Kirby tried to say, but his counterpart was having none of it, scrunching up his face in frustration as he hopped aboard.

“...You’re ALL dummies! And jerks!” Tiff blinked- that was the first time she’d heard him raise his voice like that. But before anyone else could say anything about it, he’d rocketed off into the sky.

Kirby could only sigh. “Darnit. I thought those melons would’ve been a GREAT peace offering from the Mirror thing…but I think I just made him more jealous.”

“Huh?” Tiff asked quietly as order was slowly being restored. “Did he really want to come over to my universe that badly?”

“More like we went on a few adventures without him,” Kirby explained sadly. “He wanted to help during the Jambastion Incident, but we were so concerned with making sure nothing corrupted got into the Mirror World, we asked Shadow Kirby to just keep eyes on the Jambastion. Then we stumbled over to your dimension, and we didn’t ask him to join us because we figured he was still busy with guard duties. And now this…” He shook his head. “I think he thinks we’re just snubbing him.”

Thinking about it, Tiff had to admit, she could kind of see-

“I mean, you kinda are?” Tuff said flatly, interrupting her train of thought. “Not that you’re doin’ it to be mean, I know!” he quickly amended, given the surprised look Kirby gave. “Just…it don’t sound good when you hear it by itself.”

Kirby paused, thinking for a bit…then nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’ve got a point. Maybe whatever next it is, we can invite him along…”

“Prolly a good idea,” Tuff agreed.

“He certainly seems like he can handle himself,” Tiff added on. “It couldn’t hurt to ask if THIS is how he’s going to react to not being invited.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Kirby agreed, his expression clearly a bit better. “I know what he did was a bit…reckless here, but we can-”

“Hey!” a deeper voice came. The four of them turned to see Great King Dedede in all his clearly annoyed glory. “What the heck was that?! I heard from a couple of Waddle Dees that this match got crashed! What gives?”

“Shadow me, is what,” Kirby responded. “He’s not happy about us not bringing him along on some of our recent adventures. He was the one pulling all the pranks and stuff around here, turns out.” He took a moment to look through the hole that the latter had made once again. “...really gonna have to say sorry about not inviting him, too,” Kirby noted before turning back to them. “He’s not bad, honestly. Heck, I’ll try and make him something tasty for later after he cools off. That should help, too.”

“Hmmm…that so, huh?” King Dedede considered. “Fine. Then I’ll trust you to take care of it. But what that doesn’t help is this match, though!” King Dedede complained. “We can’t just leave the competition like this! Not to mention, you went and changed abilities!”

“Because I had to!” Kirby quickly defended.

“Yeah, but that still means you didn’t follow the handicap!” Dedede complained. “I was hoping you’d get beat fair, not have an excuse!”

Meanwhile, Tiff had quietly picked up the sleeping cap, looking over it. Tuff was quick to follow behind. “Huh. Y’think…?” he let the question trail off.

Tiff quickly picked up on it. “This belongs to that Noddy? Yup.” She looked back at Kirby and Dedede, still debating. “Actually…this might be a good thing.” She carefully folded it up, and walked back to the bickering duo. “Excuse me?” The two stopped in their tracks, nearly jumping in surprise. “I’m pretty sure this was the reason Kirby was so sleepy all the time. We think this is a Noddy’s special sleeping cap. It was stolen earlier.”

That got Dedede’s attention. “Stolen, now? Hm.” He took the cap, eyeing it from all sides. “I don’t see anythin’ special about it.”

“Even so, I think it’d be a little rude to inhale it again now that we know what it is. Shouldn’t we get it back to the Noddy as soon as we can?” Tiff insisted. Tuff tilted his head slightly in her direction, but said nothing.

“But that still means he’s fightin’ with an ability he didn’t start with!” King Dedede complained again.

Tiff shrugged. “I don’t mind. In fact, I’m kinda glad for it. What about you, Tuff?” she asked, turning to her brother.

“Hey, I’m game!” Tuff said with a grin. “Sword, pillow, no big difference to me!”

“You sure about that?” Kirby asked warily. “I’m not exactly a novice with this…”

“We know,” Tiff assured, arms folded. “That’s why we asked. We wanted you at your best anyway!”

“Well said.” Meta Knight swooped in without fanfare, looking over all of them, before settling on Dedede. “I’ve made sure that all individuals who were in the arena are accounted for once again. Fortunately, none ran too far. Now then…” and here he turned to the rest of them. “Though the rules of the match may have been bent, they were also bent before with Shadow Kirby’s interference. Hence, it is time to set things to rights. I agree that they should resume the contest as they are.”

Kirby and Bandee and Tiff and Tuff looked at each other, and nodded resolutely. Dedede sighed. “...alright, alright! In that case, you both better take your breaks now and get ready to come out in the last period swinging!”

“Don’t worry,” Kirby reassured with an eager grin. “I’m raring to go!”

Tiff and Tuff agreed, nodding. ‘Alright. Time to see just what we can do!’

The lights and music soon set up for the second period- and this time Kirby was moving as ably as he ever did, Sword in hand and hat on head. He and Bandee both looked refreshed as did Tiff and Tuff. There was a different feel in the air now- after Shadow Kirby’s surprise entrance and exit, they now knew that the rest of the event would be free and clear, and the answer of who’d move on was to be answered here.

They both took their positions- there were no smiles here. Everyone had their game faces on, and would be coming at this with all they had.

The announcer soon blared, and everyone tensed themselves. “3…2…1…START!”

Kirby quickly got up to the center line, a swing getting it away from Tuff at an angle. A good wall bounce, but not enough to get past Tiff, who tried to send it back on the opposite wall- only to get immediately counteracted by Bandee, who’d slipped past her brother. He was quick to launch the puck to Kirby, who swatted it in near point blank in a flash of steel before she could reposition.

In a flash, the score was 4-3.

“My goodness!” Mr. Ebrum voiced as he’d continued watching. That that Shadow Kirby wasn’t a factor anymore was something he was grateful for, but that didn’t mean his kids were out of the woods yet. “That was fast!”

“Oh! Don’t worry, sweeties!” Mrs. Ebrum cheered. Her husband suspected that if they had a pennant, she’d be waving it right now. “You’ll get them back!”

Alas, it wasn’t to be on the next possession- Tuff managed first possession, but it was quickly blocked again by Bandee, who sent it back past him- again to Tiff, who this time reflected it in the same direction- Kirby had to lunge to get to it, but he managed- still, the strike was good, but Tiff managed to rally and swing for another block, sending the puck careening away down the middle. She began to move up a touch, along with her brother-

Only for Bandee to intercept again, batting the puck off the sidewall once, twice- Tuff attempted to intercept but managed to only briefly rally before a switch in sides tripped him up and cleared the puck towards Kirby; though she was in a defensible position this time. She prepared for the swing…

…and then the puck was flipped back to Bandee, who struck it on the out edge and in a rising motion, to her surprise, causing it to flip into the air, up and over her head. It was a bit late for her to realize, her desperate jump tapping it, but not enough to adjust the trajectory, and it fell in for another goal, bringing the score 5-3.

“Dangit,” Tiff swore, frowning to herself. Two behind, and just the start of the period! How could they come back from this when they’d fought tooth and nail just to tie? She turned to Tuff to get his opinion on the situation, but to her surprise, Tuff was…still? Stock still- ah. ‘Is he trying to calm down?’ It certainly looked like it. He took a breath, held it, released it. Made some sort of small hand motion she didn’t recognize, but presumed it was Jambastion in origin. “You alright?” she asked as they got into position once again.

“Yup,” he answered tersely. “Just remembered how to play.”

She blinked. ‘What?’ But, she had to put it out of her head for the puck drop.

This time, Bandee managed first possession, but Tuff, to her shock, IMMEDIATELY swung. For Bandee. And he clearly wasn’t expecting it.

One, two, staff impacts rocked Bandana Dee, clearing him away. The third final one was aimed at the puck…and the puck was aimed at Bandana Dee. The poor Dee went flying into the wall, slammed there by the force of the puck and Tuff’s own blows. For a moment, Tiff was prepared to yell about it- but then she noticed the score tick up. 5-4. And that’s when she remembered, too. ‘Right…puck slams are a point themselves! I was just thinking about that last period!’ But again, she had no time to think about it as play continued- and she soon found herself caught in a rally between her and Kirby.

Cappy Town had been surprised by the blatant aggression. “Oh, ouch!” Mr. Ebrum fretted. “That was a bit rough, son, hm?”

“I didn’t teach him zat behavior…” Ms. Ebrum murmured.

“Whoa, that was heavy,” Iro said, surprised. “Did Bandana Dee say somethin’ to him he didn’t like?”

“Maybe he ate something Tuff called dibs on?” Spikehead guessed.

“If he did, I hope they can make up later!” Honey decided.

At the castle, they’d watched with bated breath the Shadow Kirby encounter, but had found it a shame that Shadow had retreated. Now, however, they were still watching carefully. “Yowza, that was brutal!” Escargoon commented as the game continued. “Trouble in paradise, methinks?”

“Ha! I hope they’s gettin’ tired of that Kirbeh’s goody-goody act! The other one was at least more fun!” King Dedede figured. “Maybe they’ll realize MY Dream Land is the best there is!”

“I wouldn’t count on that, sire,” Fololo suggested.

“Tuff’s pretty competitive,” Falala continued. “It might just be his spirit showing itself.”

“Well, phooey!” King Dedede dismissed. “They betta at least TRY to win. My good name as King o’ Dreamland is on the line!” Not a single individual in his court bothered to correct him on that point.

For their part, Bandee seemed surprised as he tried to shake off the hit, and Kirby…was still busy trying to get the puck past Tiff. He was quickly counterhit by Tuff once again, and this time Kirby was forced to dodge as the puck sailed past into the net. They were officially tied again, this time at 5 apiece.

Tiff trotted up to her brother as they took place. “Tuff, what the heck?” she asked in a heated whisper.

“Hey, it’s all fair!” Tuff quickly noted, just as quiet. “They’ve taken way worse! Hittin’ ‘em is a point, it’s in the rules!”

“Yeah, but…” she paused. ‘Wait. Isn’t this what I wanted? For them to fight their hardest against me so I can see what I can do?’ Well, this would be the best way to force that out of them, wouldn’t it? They wouldn’t be able to play so safely if the two of them were more aggressive. As they took positions once more, she took a good look at the both of them- neither actually seemed offended or worried. Rather, Bandee simply was looking at them in slight surprise as he whispered something to Kirby himself. Kirby made a small ‘o’ of understanding, and then nodded to his friend, before looking back at them with a stern expression, sword at the ready. ‘Guess it got through to them that we're playing for real now, so they should too.’

The next round started, and this time Tiff managed first contact, and from there the game was notably more intense. Kirby and Bandee had gotten the message loud and clear, and they were responding in kind- Tuff barely managed to get the puck away before he was checked back by Bandee, and likewise Tiff cleared the puck to head behind Kirby’s goal before the pink puff descended on her with a flurry of slashes that to her shock had her bracing HARD almost as soon as he started swinging. It was only for a few moments, but she was already forced back two steps before he broke off to retrieve the puck.

Tiff gritted her teeth. ‘...Right, I asked for this. Repeatedly.’ Steeling herself, she threw herself back into the game.

Several shots were deflected in a longer range game for a bit as Kirby tried to get the puck out of their half of the field, Tuff moving his best to intercept them and prevent them from getting to his sister while she held down the back. When Bandee made to rush past him, however, Tuff was briefly frozen between whether to pursue or keep volleying, and that was all the opening they needed. The puck sailed past him, and Tiff tried to engage early and possibly get two birds with one stone, but she quickly found herself moved past by an artfully dodging Bandee, and she was a shade too slow to react as a pitch of his spear hit the puck at just the right angle to shift it into the goal. 6-5.

“AUGH!” Tiff let out an audible groan. That was…what, how many times now that she’d been inches away from a deflection only to miss it? ‘I need to be faster somehow!’ she decided. But all her Focus right now was in defense. If she burned Focus for movement as well, she’d be in deeper water than she already was before long. ‘So how can I move faster?’ Fortunately, it was quick in coming to her. ‘Wait a minute…I’ve been using my shield more than my armor so far…’ No sooner had the thought come to her than she’d dropped her shield briefly, to everyone’s surprise. That surprise only grew as she shed her chest piece. ‘ Honestly, if I was going to get hit, I doubt this would do much that Reinforcement isn’t already in this situation.’ Gone was the chestpiece. Gone was the helmet, both pieces taken beyond the wall by the ref. Only her shoes, lance, and shield remained.

Oddly enough, she felt more exposed than she’d been in a long time. ‘Alright…it’s just me here.’ She slammed her lance against her shield in challenge. “Alright! Let’s go!”

The remaining three, looking surprised, resettled themselves, with Tuff realizing what she was intending and gave her a grin and a thumbs up.

“What in Dream Land is that girl up to…?” her father wondered. “Why discard her armor?”

Mrs. Ebrum, surprisingly, said nothing, lips pursed and leaning in. She looked pensive, but intrigued. Her husband looked at her questioningly, but she remained silent, save for a miniscule muttering he could barely make out.

‘...reducing drag…’ Drag? What?

His wife sometimes spoke with car terms these days, and he STILL had no clue what she meant.

“Whoa!” Iro said in surprise as he saw his friend discard her armor. “What’s that all about?”

“Y’think she’s going on an all out offense?” Spikehead asked.

“That sounds risky…” Honey opined. “...but it might work!”

“Aheheheheh!” King Dedede chortled. “See! That fancy-pants armor weren’t worth nothin’! Guess it was just bunk goods from a bunk king!”

“Takes one to know one, sire,” Escargoon snipped. The thud on the head was worth it- that one was just too easy.

“Actually, I wonder if-” Fololo started.

He was cut off when play resumed, Kirby got first contact, then Tiff seemed to dart over to the side in the blink of an eye to send it back. “-whoa!”

“She got a whole lot faster all of a sudden!” Falala realized.

“So that’s her gameplan…” Escargoon realized.

The rest of the audience had at that point as well. That armor, while not ridiculously heavy, HAD been adding a few extra pounds to her weight- and she’d been wearing it day in and day out for ages now. Without that added weight, well. She was moving just that much faster, and suddenly the game’s pace had jumped. Bandee managed to get a pass and take a shot on goal on the opposite side.

In mere moments Tiff had been there to meet him and deflect to Tuff, who had to try to get past Kirby now. The pink puff went for the actual combat, just enough to get the boy to focus on deflection, which, with a swipe of his sword, got him the puck back and back towards Tiff off of a rebound- which she got to and reflected just as fast.

Kirby couldn’t help but raise an impressed eyebrow. ‘Wow. She’s really moving now that that armor’s off. I-” He paused his mental assessment as the aforementioned girl rocketed off a shot that slipped past Bandee and down the other half of the court- he quickly hustled to regain control of it and fire it back at the Dee, who was again threatening Tuff with quick jabs. They’d made it clear they wanted to play rough, so rough they would get. Even so, as they quickly passed from one to the other for a clear shot, it was obvious that Tiff was playing to win. ‘I’ve really gotta put in some effort now!’ he realized as another clear forced him back towards the net. He made it before it circled around to the other side, and hit it forwards back up. ‘This’ll be interesting for sure…’

Sure enough, the contest was getting more heated- with Tiff more able to send back shots, for several minutes the two parties were at a stalemate as they tried to push each other; Kirby wasn’t able to breach their defenses due to Tiff, and both the siblings simply weren’t quite offensive enough to break theirs. Tuff wasn’t happy- and he was feeling his stamina flag. ‘C’mon, c’mon. Think, for Void’s sake! We need one good in! But how to break past both of ‘em?’

As the puck came back to him, Tuff gave a huff as a flash of an idea formed in his head, but it wasn’t like it was surefire. Still... ‘Nothin’ too it but to try!’ With that, he curled his hand, and a shape of ice formed in it. With a yell, he hurled a Dangerous Ice Candy at Bandee, who was quick to see it coming. One swing and Bandee deflected the projectile- towards Kirby, while the puck went towards Tiff due to the different approaching angles.

As soon as Kirby jumped at the ice coming his way, Tiff saw the opening. She reared back and swung, the lane wide open for a powerful shot. The puck went sailing- but Kirby wasn’t so easily distracted, and he was just close enough that he quickly managed to lunge forwards, slamming down with his sword on the edge, if just barely. Barely was enough, however, and the puck flipped upwards, rocketing off the arena floor a few feet.

Problem, though- it was still headed for the goal. And now Kirby was as well, in order to knock it away. He wasn’t the only one who’d thought of that plan, however. Tuff had managed to break away from Bandee to come up to them to try to force the matter through, and he did it via a rapid-fire series of, to Kirby, a surprisingly accurate series of staff stabs that looked familiar. ‘Zan’s been teachin’ him a lot, huh?’ he realized as he was forced on the defense. It wasn’t nearly as fast as Zan’s, but it was still impressive, and considering Tuff was trying to force the puck through, he didn’t have a lot of time…

Kirby took a step back to brace himself, and he quickly responded in kind, letting rip a Multisword Attack to keep the puck from getting away- the two striking the puck as fast as they could, causing it to rapidly oscillate between the two. For a moment, it was an incredible sight, one that forced Tiff to back off at the sheer speed of it. Bandana was about to move in to assist, but just as he was Tuff misfired by only a few inches, his staff scraping the edge of the puck. That was all Kirby needed to end the flurry, the finishing blow knocking both the puck and Tuff away.

For about half a second. “Nuh-uh!” Tuff, with a heavy grunt, slapped it with his staff even as his footing proved unstable, sending it right back towards the two, with Kirby lunging for the last second deflect along with Bandee-

“Haaaa!” -only for Tiff to Charge in with a roar of her own, completely abandoning the backfield to both of their surprise. Surprise enough that when her lance impacted the puck almost the instant they’d pushed it off their weapons, it went flying past the both of them, still recovering from the last lunge and into the goal.

6-6. They’d managed to tie it up AGAIN.

“Ha HA!” Mr. Ebrum cheered as he witnessed the play his kids had made. “THAT’S the way to do it!”

“Poyo!” Little Kirby agreed. “Go! F’ite! Win!” he cheered.

“Oh dear, oh my, yes! One more!” Mrs. Ebrum said, practically willing her children, whom she could see panting and sweating, to keep going. “One more goal and zey COULD win!”

The realization of such was settling in around Cappy Town as well. “That was CRAZY!” Iro said, gobsmacked. “Kirby and them didn’t even see it coming!”

“Neither did I!” Spikehead admitted. “She was playing defense for so long…”

“They might be able to do it!” Honey cheered. “They could beat Kirby!”

“There’s no way they’ve come DAT far…” Knuckle Joe said in surprise.

“It’s a sport, not a true battle, but it’s still quite impressive,” Siricia noted. “There’s a true desire to succeed in them that’s obvious.” Really, she had been quite fascinated with the sport herself- Slam Hockey had been the event she had always paid attention to the closest.

Not that Knuckle Joe didn’t notice. “We’ll try an’ figure out if we can pull that off here one day,” he promised her. The glowing smile he got from her was quite fetching.

Of course, elsewhere, they were frowns all around.

“Dangit!” King Dedede roared in his castle, slamming his armrest at what he’d just saw. “I wish there was a way they could ALL lose!”

“Didn’t you rather those brats take the win?” Escargoon pointed out.

“Yeah, but they’s puttin’ too much effort into it!” Dedede complained. “It makes ‘em look all herofied and whatnot! They’d end up gettin’ a swelled head, and that ain’t healthy!”

“Wait, then…” Fololo started.

“-And by that I mean it ain’t healthy for my rule!” King Dedede quickly elaborated.

“Ah,” Falala realized. “Well, if it helps, they look awfully tired.”

“Grrrr…aw, forget it!” King Dedede roared, stomping off. “No mattah who wins, I lose!”

“Ain’t that the story,” Escargoon mumbled, settling in to watch the last minute or so of the match. He didn’t like the kids any better than the King, but good sport was good sport. Besides, maybe they’d be knocked around more.

And meanwhile, a certain other knight was watching as well. Had been for a while, actually. “A fascinating sport. And their skills…they’ve grown quite well over the years. How curious…” His eyes shone behind his mask as Sir Meta Knight contemplated the matter at hand.

‘ONE MINUTE REMAINS,' came the automated call. Tiff and Tuff, sweating and panting, both looked up at where the sound came from, then looked back down. Kirby and Bandee were breathing deeper…but they hardly looked out of breath. Tiff grimaced, and looked back at her brother. They had about hit their limits. But neither were willing to go out like that. Brother nodded to Sister, Sister nodded back, and both of them squared back up for what was likely the game-deciding goal.

The whistle blew, and Bandee got first possession- not that it lasted long as he knocked it towards the kids’ goal, and the dance began again. Back and forth the puck flew, with each team trying to poke at the others to force an accident or hit them out of position. Tuff launched to Tiff, who launched the puck past Bandee, only to be deflected by Kirby. Bandee impacts Tuff, seems to have a clear shot, only for Tiff to shoot across the goal line and bounce it away. Before either team knew it, 30 seconds were left on the clock.

And that was when they found themselves in a similar situation- Tuff made to pass, but Bandee was in his way this time. A swipe that was too close to Tuff for comfort had him back off a step, but allowed Bandee a shot on goal. And this time, the Dee co*cked back and SWUNG, the puck flying at Tuff- too direct. But ALSO too fast to deflect.

It was like slow motion as the puck approached. But his thoughts were moving a mile a minute. ‘It’sgoingtoofastI’mgonnagethitthey’regonnagetapointIneedtastopitcanIstopitIcan’tcanIbutwhatif-’ And just like that, a memory sparked in his head. Kirby had stopped a puck earlier that had nearly been too fast. So just maybe…!

Tuff spared no more time to think about it as he slammed his staff end down on the puck’s upper edge. It was tricky timing, being honest. Part of him was surprised he’d hit. But he’d had to try. That was the quickest thing he could do to prevent it slipping too far past- a swing would’ve taken too long to wind up. But this? He watched as it ricocheted into the air nearly completely vertically, causing all of the audience to gasp as it soared to near the top of the arena. ‘Okay…now what?’ he realized, backing up slightly as it continued its shallow arc.

Fortunately, he and the audience weren’t the only ones watching. So was Tiff. And seeing it, through the impromptu skylight, she too had a flash of realization in mere moments. ‘Abilities are allowed here. Hitting is allowed. These two can handle just about anything…’ And she remembered. She had ONE ability that could really bring the house down. But could she get mad enough to use it? ‘I’m…I’m so tired. But…’ She scrunched her face in displeasure as the puck reached the apex of its flight. ‘Forget it. I’m going to try anyway! If it’s anything like my other magic, anything at ALL…!’

Focus. Concentrate. Fast. A small glow started to surround her as she pushed Tuff behind her.

Tiff took a deep breath.

The puck started falling. ‘Three…’

The energy continued to gather. ‘Two…’

Kirby’s eyes broke from the puck, to her- and they widened, immediately realizing what she was trying to do. ‘One…’

Bandee followed the puck, but a split second before it hit the ground, his eyes crossed with Tiff’s- and he realized it, too.

Kirby was already guarding when she opened her mouth. “GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Shockwaves of pure energy erupted out of her mouth as soon as the puck crossed her normal field of vision, Tuff scrambling back to avoid being point blank- and the puck itself rocketed forwards from Tiff’s Mike Shout, awash in energy. The shot was like a comet, a surefire victory technique that would bowl over anyone in its way towards the goal.

“HAAAAAA!” Until a clang reverberated throughout the arena as the puck, still propelled by the Mike energy, impacted Kirby’s blade, backed by Bandee’s spear. A shock (as well as massive flinching from the raw sound energy) tore through the crowd, leaving everyone on the backfoot. ‘He blocked it? Ho-’

“-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-” And that’s when they realized she was STILL shouting.

Kirby struggled as he pushed against the directed energy. ‘She…she still had the energy to do this! Wow!’ Kirby couldn’t help but praise her in his mind as he pushed to fend off the continuous assault. Bandee was holding on as well, if barely. ‘But I just gotta…’

“-OOOOOOOOOOOOOO-” And then to his shock, she stopped, and for a split second he thought that was his chance-

-and then he heard her take a short, sharp breath. “No wa-”

“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-” And suddenly the pressure- and volume INTENSIFIED. ‘LEVEL TWO?’

The protective glass, and even the floor of the arena began to CRACK. The arena started to shudder.

Bandee nearly slipped, but just managed to stay upright, as Kirby, sweating now, pushed harder to resist- even as he felt himself being pushed back. ‘Come on, come onnnn!’

“HAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaa-” And suddenly it stopped again, as the audience saw Tiff’s eyes bulge, and at once she took a massive gasp of air as she doubled over, clutching her chest. She was out of air. Out of energy.

And Kirby and Bandee had held. “NOW!” Kirby yelled.

He and Bandee pushed with what they had left, and surged to send the puck BACK with all their might.

In a salient moment, Tiff looked up, seeing the puck coming straight for her. And strangely, she couldn’t find it in her to be afraid. She was just tired. But she still had a thought when she realized what had happened. And what was about to happen in the next few milliseconds. ‘Aw, dangit.’

The puck slammed into Tiff, and for a moment she felt weightless, then suddenly saw a LOT more of the stadium than she expected- then felt a LOT of something on the back of her head that stung a bit.

Tuff gawped at the scene that had just taken place. The hit had utterly blasted his sister out of the court and into the stands. For a moment he didn’t know WHAT or HOW to feel, even as the goal buzzer sounded, and the score flipped to 8-6. ‘...right, hit plus goal,’ Tuff absently realized. Even as the end of play buzzer sounded, a set of Bronto Burts were carting her right back down, it seemed…and to his mild shock she seemed mostly okay. Clearly exhausted and dizzy, but one of the Burts handed her what he recognized as Maxim Tomato pieces, and a few chomps had gotten her back to her senses. Not fully recovered, but still enough that he was sure she’d be okay. “Sis!” he yelled, running up to her. Frankly, he’d take the loss, but… “That was SO COOL!”

She looked at him nonplussed, before suddenly breaking out into chuckles, rubbing the back of her head. “Ahahah, yeah, it was kinda cool, huh?”

“Totally!” He shrugged. “Kinda lost, though.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, nodding. “But…honestly? I don’t feel too bad about it.”

Meanwhile, Cappy Town had broken out into tearful applause and cheers.

“Glorious last stand, dears!” Mr. Ebrum clapped, naturally giving his children a standing ovation as the two teams waved to the crowd, and the winners were officially proclaimed.

“Oh…oh sweeties!” Mrs. Ebrum cried. “You tried zo hard! You did zo well! I’m just zo happy you’re safe, ze last little bit had me zo worried!” She knew they couldn’t hear her, but she had to get it out.

Little Kirby felt similar, cheering nonetheless. He recognized that both teams had fought with all they had at the end, and they respected each other for it. “Was good!”

“Dangit!” Iro said, disgruntled. “They were soooo close!”

“That last shouting thing was super cool!” Honey said. “Why didn’t she use it earlier?”

“That probably takes a TON of magic energy,” Spikehead surmised. “I betcha she’s gonna be sleepin’ for days after this.”

“Talk about goin’ out with a bang!” Knuckle Joe said, nodding at the effort. “Heckuva try, you two!”

“It was a valiant effort,” Sirica agreed. “I’m glad to see how much they’ve grown. Did you see her crack the ground with that shout? I wonder if it can be learned by others…” she mused.

“Wh- hey, no!” Joe immediately refused. “You’re gonna shatter alla th’ windows!”

“Egh. Toldja she’d be trouble one day,” Escargoon said snippily. “Look at all that work left for the poor schlubs that gotta repair that!”

“All the magic in the world didn’t help there,” Fololo noted primly. “Shame, that.”

“Yup,” Falala agreed. “Kirby and the Waddle Dee just pushed it back. It’s not a solution to everything. But they gave it their all, at least.”

“Uhuh,” Fololo continued. “They can call it a learning experience! It’s fine.”

Escargoon huffed, before getting up. “Well, I’m not interested in watchin’ the finals of this debacle. You two can do whatever, I’m gonna make sure Captain Doo hasn’t been gettin’ any funny ideas. Saw HIM watchin’ this drivel earlier…” he mumbled as he made his way out of the room.

From there, it was almost all but academic. The stadium was shifted for a new one, and Meta Knight and Gooey won their match handily.

Looking at her teacher, Tiff found herself smiling exhaustedly. ‘I think I sorta kinda get why Lord Meta Knight likes fighting Kirby so much now,’ she admitted to herself. ‘He’s so strong that just trying to see how far you can get against him is…exhilarating!’ She already found herself wondering if she’d be able to properly fight him in the future. That would be an entirely different prospect, but still. It sent a feeling down her spine she was hesitant to call bad.

“Heeey…” a voice came.

She turned to see- “Oh! You’re the Noddy from before.” She’d nearly forgotten about all that.

“Yup,” she said, nodding. “Saw you handle that Shadow Kirby guy. Thaaaaanks…” she said, yawning. “I think I saw…my cap?” It was more a question than an accusation, not that she minded.

“Oh, yeah.” She quickly pulled it out. “Got it right here. Might be a little…crumpled,” she winced at the state of it. It didn’t look very comfy.

But the Noddy simply tucked her head under it and it seemed to slip naturally into place on her head. “...mmmh, nah. No worse than…” she paused to yawn again, her eyes going half lidded. “...it is when…when I…something.” She trailed off. “I’m…really sleepy, sorry.”

“Hey, I don’t blame ya,” Tuff mumbled, face in his arms. Though not disappointed, he was also clearly deep in consideration.

“I appreciate it anyway…” she mumbled. “So…you shouldn’t worried you lost…” she trailed off. “It’s…nice to know there’s people that can…protect us other than Kirby…and some of his friends.” She smiled a soft, tired smile. “You’re great kids.”

“...oh. Thank you,” Tiff offered, blushing a bit. “Really, that means a lot to us.”

“...s’no big deal,” Tuff said, turning away. It was obvious to both that he was probably blushing HARDER.

“Kinda is,” she said placidly. “Anyway…Iiiii should go now,” the Noddy said, nodding to them once more in thanks. “Appreciate it again,” she said, before she toddled off.

“Anytime,” Tuff said before Tiff could speak the same. She just chuckled at him and tried to take his hat- which he quickly slapped away.

The day after, once everyone had gotten some much needed rest, Kirby, Bandee, Meta Knight, and Gooey faced off in the finals, which was a Flagball match, surprisingly. Tiff and Tuff ended up watching the remaining matches at a table with some sugary treats to keep them energized. Meta Knight took it seriously as always, and Gooey didn’t take it seriously at all but still managed to put up an excellent fight. Still, Kirby and Bandee managed to win after a close set…

…but what wasn’t expected was King Dedede inserting himself into the proceedings at the last minute. Tiff wanted to ask what was going on, but she didn’t get the opportunity to, as the King challenged Kirby to a Battle Arena match right after.

He’d put up a good fight, but the outcome, even there, was no longer in doubt. Ranting to himself a bit had caused Tiff to shake her head in exasperation. Now, she could kind of understand the frustration. Fortunately, he kept it to complaints. That wasn’t what had surprised her, however.

“Third place?” The two exclaimed together, a Guard Dee having approached them for an ‘important message’.

“Yup!” the Dee said happily. “Due to your flawless performance in Pools, you automatically win the tiebreaker for 3rd place!”

“Hey, that’s something,” Tuff said, a bit of energy returning to him.

“It’s no small feat, considering who’s first and second!” The Guard Dee noted. “But, that’s not all I’m here for!” That got both of their attention in particular. “I have a letter for you both!”

That was unusual. “A letter? From who?”

“Uhh…I was told to just let you read it,” the Guard Dee admitted. Tiff took the letter, looking it over as he left. It was pretty nondescript.

“You think it’s a trap or something?” Tuff guessed.

“Maybe…but I get a strong feeling it isn’t,” she admitted. Throwing caution to the wind, she opened it up and began to read.

“Well?” Tuff crowded her, looking over her shoulder. “What is it?”

It was then that he noticed Tiff’s eyes beginning to water, and once he began to read the contents, he’d never admit it, but so did his.

‘...Mom. Dad…’

They didn’t get much more than a medal and a few hundred star coins, which to Tiff looked pretty enough, but weren’t useful in the immediate future. They’d likely just store the majority at home.

And the cameras had come down for one last interview with the top three. It’d been decided that they were going first since they were third place.

“You’ve made a spectacular showing in the Cake Royale, and while you didn’t win, you’ve turned a lot of heads!” Reporter Dee said cheerily. “So, what are your next plans?” he asked.

Tiff had mused on that for a bit, actually. “Honestly? I…actually want to get back to training with Meta Knight,” she admitted.

“Huh?” That had caught the attention of the King, who was nearby, having still been sulking a bit. “What’s wrong? Something not agree with you?” he asked.

“No, no, you’re great!” she quickly reassured. “It’s just…this whole tournament was great, but it reminded me that I’m still lacking in a number of areas. Being your knight is great, and I don’t want to just stop, but…I need to get stronger,” she admitted. “And I think returning to my position with Lord Meta Knight can help with that.”

Meta Knight simply grunted, nodding in understanding.

“Hm…” King Dedede grumbled a bit, thinking. For a moment, Tiff grew worried that he’d have a bit of a selfish streak and ask her to stay. ‘ It wouldn’t even be entirely unfair of him,’ she thought. He would have a lot of cleanup and other things to deal with now, and her help WOULD be useful.

“Got it!” Great King Dedede suddenly said. “I’ll just say you’re a detachment or something. Crown envoy training with Meta Knight. That sounds good to me! Official and everything!” he nodded to himself, as though it had been a brilliant idea.

Tiff couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. “Then that’s what we’ll do,” she agreed.

“Amazing! A warrior’s journey never ends, I suppose,” Reporter Dee spoke towards the camera.

“And what about you, young Tuff?” Susie asked. “What’s next for you?”

“Mmm…” Tuff folded his arms, musing for a moment on his wording. But he soon just decided to go with his gut. “Kinda the same as sis, really. I need to work on getting better, too. That’s gonna start with Mr. Magolor,” he explained. “He said he was gonna teach me something super cool if I did or didn’t do some stuff in the tournament, and I did ‘em!” He sounded pretty excited, and Tiff had to admit some curiosity. “So he’s FINALLY gonna show me. But after that…” he paused. “Bein’ honest? Gonna go back to the Sisters for a while. Kinda miss it.” He shrugged, trying to play it cool, but Tiff saw the subtle physical tells that said to her that there was no ‘kinda’ in it.

“Well, then! Quite the dedication from these two!” Reporter Dee said grandly. “We’re sure they’ll come back in the future and be better than ever!”

“I have every confidence they’ll improve as the days go on,” Susie agreed. “Now, let’s move on to our second place-”

“-I have nothing to say,” Meta Knight said. Gooey was already nowhere to be seen. He spread his wings, before turning to Tiff. “The Halberd will rendezvous at the south of the resort in one hour. Be there for pickup.”

She was quick to salute. “Yes, sir!” With that, he nodded, and took off.

“...Right, then!” Susie quickly moved on. Frankly, for once she didn’t mind Meta Knight’s bluntness. She had a factory to return to, herself…

Meanwhile, back at Haltmann Works Company HQ…

It was pretty easy to gain access. He wasn’t a member of the Star Allies, but he was known. A few guile-less looks, and the workers had let him waltz around almost at will. It was fine, though. He wasn’t going to wreck anything in here, even though he was still steaming over their neglecting him for a while. He’d get over it eventually, he supposed…but right now, he needed space.

A lot of space.

Maybe even more than ‘space’. Fortunately, he knew just where to go.

After all, that spider dummy had recorded EVERYTHING in his journal. Including where the ‘Haltportal’ was.

As the swirling vortex started up, he couldn’t help but grin.

“...this should be fun.”

Chapter 28: Expression

Chapter Text

The sun was beaming down on Tuff and Magolor that day outside of his and Tiff’s house, and the young apprentice mage was sweating something fierce. It was bright out today, but that wasn’t the reason for his exhaustion. No, Magolor had been teaching him a new skill- or rather, an improvement on an old one. Tuff took a deep breath as he tried to let the energy gather, while ignoring his hair seeming to rise on its own. “Aaaand…HA!” Arm outstretched, he managed to hurl another Plasma Arrow that collided with the tree stump in front of him. He’d just managed to figure it out after about 3 weeks, and it was draining just to do it three times in an hour! “Finally!” With that, he slumped to the ground, breathing hard. “How’d I do?” he asked tiredly.

Magolor, looking on calmly, nodded. “Gotta say, kid. You’ve got a knack for this,” he admitted. “I’m not easily impressed, but here we are.”

“This th’ part where I say it’s ‘cause I got a good coach?” Tuff quipped.

That got a chortle out of the traveler. “Heeheeheehee! Well, now! I can’t say I won’t deny some sincere praise!” At that, however, he affected a casual air that Tuff knew was largely faked. “That said, you’re good, but it’ll still take you a few years before you’re anywhere beyond basic mage level,” he pointed out. Tuff couldn’t hold back a grimace. As much as he didn’t want to think about it, he was completely correct. “You’re lucky I’m patient.” To get anywhere near the Mages’ levels or Magolor’s, it’d take a LOT of growing up and training. Much of that likely on his own. But things had been so cool so far he couldn’t see himself not pressing on- “But I’m not THAT patient.”

That ground Tuff’s thoughts to a halt. “Huh?” was all he could spit out.

“Simple put…we’re going to cheat a bit!” Magolor grandly announced, before turning to the Lore Starcutter nearby. “Pack your bags, kid, we’re going on a little field trip!”

Now THAT was something interesting, and Tuff found himself a reserve of energy to hop up in excitement. “Awesome! Where to?” Not that he had much to pack…

“Another Dimension,” was the succent response as the alien continued motioning to follow him into the Lor.

Frankly, this had caught Tuff further by surprise. “Whu?”

Magolor turned around to look at him briefly, his expression alight in triumph. “Oh yes! Time is strange, there,” he explained. “Depending on where you are, at least. Some places, it’s one to one with the outside world! Others, it’s…” Magolor grimaced, and Tuff had the suspicion he knew why. “...not, to say the least.” Shaking his head and dismissing the issue, he barreled on. “But don’t worry, I know a PERFECT training ground for you. Heck, I was there for a while, in fact! I pushed myself harder than I’d ever had before to raise my abilities to new levels, and-”

This sounded familiar, and Tuff couldn’t help interrupting. “Is this the same place you got sent to after Kirby knocked the Master Crown out of your soul?”

There were a few moments of silence as Magolor processed that…upon which his expression went flat. “Ah. Who-”

“Marx.” Enough said.

“AH. Well then.” Magolor coughed, and clearly tried to underplay the matter. “I’m sure he embellished and fancified some parts; I told him the truth, of course, but you know him.” Sure, but Tuff also knew Magolor. Not that that stopped him. “Anyway! No need to waste any more time. Let’s go, shall we?”

Well, not like Tuff could restrain his curiosity. He’d heard some from both Marx and his sister’s own brief trip through Another Dimension, but, well…he’d just have to trust his teacher. “Sure!”

About an hour later, he wasn’t sure at all this was a good idea as he stared out at the ethereal elsewhere that was Another Dimension. “Uhhh…what?”

And that was very much an understatement with what he was seeing. They’d found themselves on a stable landmass, according to Magolor, near some sort of ancient altar with a number of unlit braziers that, upon seeing, Magolor had seemed to almost freeze up at. For a moment Tuff had been worried, before he dismissed it, citing ‘strong memories’. That had passed…but then Magolor had said something he wasn’t sure he understood. “This is a whatnow?

“Yeah, that’s a pretty standard reaction,” Magolor said dismissively. “I said this was a ‘multidimensional congruence point’. It’s not really as fancy as it sounds- it simply means that bits and bobs of other dimensions have found their way here to this point by some force or another and all kind of...smushed together, for lack of better understandable phrasing. Some of it’s real, some of it’s just dimensional morphological resonance to make it SEEM real…all a bunch of astrophysics and magic theory that’s outside your scope right now.” Well, Tuff could only barely keep up with all those fancy words, but he THOUGHT he got the gist. “All you need to know is that it’s an excellent training area for a mage who’s wanting to get stronger, faster, and doesn’t mind taking a little risk to do it!”

That set off the lightbulb. “Ohhh. So this is like a super-hard place to train?”

“Well, it can be certainly challenging if you stumble into the wrong vortex,” Magolor admitted, “But, more importantly, it’s also a place that’s chock full of magic! So much so the stuff is literally overflowing out of the beings that call this place home!” He gestured around him. “In fact, come with me.” He began walking off, with Tuff following very closely. “You see, magic around here is… ‘sensitive’ isn’t quite the term, but it’s as close as I can get to a one-word descriptor. When enough energy coalesces together at a single point, it takes the form of a semi-solid, tangible object. I call them ‘Magic Points’ to keep it simple. They’re ‘points’ of ‘magic’ congruence. With me so far?”

Tuff, to his own surprise, nodded as they headed down a set of steps. Context was enough for him to make sense of it. “Invisible energy bunches up, becomes somethin’ you can touch. Got it!”

Magolor chuckled. “More or less! Normally, it’d disperse into other aspects of the world- the air, the ground, et cetera, but here, it doesn’t. Blame- or in our case thank- the unique suspension properties of Another Dimension for that. Decay here is a suggestion, not a rule, barring collapses. It can recognize when something more…active gets near it, however. And magic particles always want to be part of something active. ” They crossed a small bridge of stone- and the world seemed to shift before his eyes. Where there was once creepy dark space, there was now a brilliant green hue over everything and grassy hills, plains, and strange ruins where Tuff took notice of another star-shaped vortex on a small rise, little bigger than himself. “You’ll be seeing and finding that out for yourself, too.”

Tuff quickly grew nervous as they approached the rip in spacetime. “Uhhh, are we-”

“Yup!” Without fanfare, he’d picked up the hapless child, who yelped in surprise. “In we go!” And without further fanfare he leapt in, and Tuff’s world was a swirl of blues and stars. His sense of balance, of self, was scrambled, tossed asunder like clothes in the wash-

-and then suddenly he felt a somewhat squishy yet still grassy impact on his face as he landed. “Oof! Oy…” Lifting his head, he quickly saw that he was in some sort of grasslike field. Old ruins seemed to litter the area, and though it was clear that he was in the same general area (or so he hoped, judging by that massive vortex in the far, far distance he refused to pay too much attention to) it was also as though he were in a completely different-

“-welcome to the Aerogree Dimension!” Magolor announced as Tuff made to stand. “Or at least a slip of it intersecting this nexus. We’ll start you off here, it’s a nice place.” Magolor took a deep breath. “Feels like just yesterday I was fighting for my life here. Don’t miss it, but we’re here anyway. Now then! Keep up.” He floated along, and Tuff followed. “Don’t worry, this place should be easy to deal with even for you- but it also proves an excellent jumping off point for me to show you a few things…aha!” He pointed ahead. “Like what exactly Magic Points look like. We’re in luck, it seems like there’s one just ahead.”

Tuff was kind of surprised. It almost looked like a blue sphere with a glowing core, shaped like a raindrop. Or maybe something more gem-like, he wasn’t sure. “That’s a Magic Point?”

Magolor nodded. “Yup. Concentrated magical essence, waiting to be absorbed into an active magic circuit. So go touch it!”

Tuff, taking a deep breath, went to do so. So this was something that’d help him get stronger? He wasn’t sure how, but as he reached out for it, he prepared himself for a rush of energy, of understanding, of-

-nothing? “Huh?” The thing seemed to just vanish on contact with him. “Heeeey…it just disappeared!”

“Of course it did- it was absorbed into your body,” Magolor explained plainly. “You haven’t really acclimated to it yet- that’ll take time. Besides, that was just one little Magic Point, you’re not GOING to feel anything.”

“Oh…so how many of these do I haveta get?” Tuff asked, feeling a touch put out.

He shrugged. “Depends, really. To focus on improving yourself? Not as much. Improving your magic? A bit more. Affecting the outside world? A ton.” Tuff began to slump at that. “Oh, don’t worry. Remember what I said? Beings here are chock full of magic- which, once their forms destabilize, usually leave behind a few congealed magic points, ripe for the taking!”

“Wait, so…I gotta beat up things here?” he asked, cold worry welling up inside him.

He nodded. “A bit more than that, yes, but don’t fret. Save for some of the locals- and you’ll know THOSE when you see them- they were never alive in the first place. Like I said, echoes of life, formed via etheric memory. Really, you’re doing this place a favor regardless, and helping yourself besides!” he noted. “Most don’t know how to draw magic points out of the foes they beat. Not like Kirby NEEDS it, after all, and everyone else has their own specialities that raw magic helps little with. But for proper mages like you and I? A veritable treasure trove!”

“Is that what you did to get so powerful?” Tuff asked. It DID seem a bit cheat-y, but if all he had to do was destroy these things, then-

“Of course not!” Magolor said, nearly affronted. “I was restoring powers I already had- upping the potency wasn’t too hard since I knew I already had it in me.” He paused, then rolled his hand around dismissively. “Plus, you know, other extenuating circ*mstances. But you? You’re still a kitten, practically! Your maximum potential can only go so high without training yourself further, even with the help of Magic Points. You think getting this powerful was easy?”

“I, uh- no!” Tuff quickly affirmed. “I just wasn’t sure what was going on…”

Magolor sighed. “The point of, well, Magic Points, is to use that extra imbued magic to…draw things out, so to speak. Maximize what you’re capable of now, so that later on you can train to improve further. Does that make sense?”

“As much as anything else around here, I guess,” Tuff said, shrugging.

“I’ll take that!” the mage allowed. “Now, I DO have a question for you, and I’d rather you answer it sincerely.” He looked carefully at Tuff, eying him up and down. “How stable is your soul right now, do you think? How do you feel?”

That came a touch out of nowhere, but Tuff thought about it, reaching deep in himself as his eyes closed. “Mmm…a ton better, honestly. I hadn’t really thought about it in a while, but, it’s like…” he paused to collect his thoughts. “...there’s still something there, but if everything was like a lake in a storm before, now it’s just tiny, gentle ripples.” He shrugged. “That good?”

“Sounds about as good as you’ll get for a while,” Magolor decided. “And also sounds like you’re stable enough to learn that trick I mentioned a while back. IF you can get through a few of these trials, that is.” With that, Magolor began to fly up and away.

“H-hey, wait!” Tuff yelled, quickly marching after him. “What am I s’posed to do here?!”

“Keep heading in this direction!” Was the blithe response. “I’ll be seeing you soon, hopefully; don’t forget to pick up any loose magic points along the way!” With that, he flew over the horizon, and was gone from sight.

“...oh, JamBLASTED.” Saying no more, he huffed and began to make his way forwards. This shouldn’t be too hard, right?

For the most part, he was initially proven right. The area, some sort of ruins, had several creatures that he’d never seen before- silvery beings that reminded him of Waddle Dees slightly, as well as strange beings that reminded him all too much of mobile jelly. Some of them flew, others couldn’t, from the look of it. Every time he hit those, they’d pop, and more magic points would erupt from them. It was…a VERY weird feeling. But he got the impression that everything was weird here.

It wasn’t long before he had traversed through a field of old temples, avoiding the strange spiky things as best he could. It really wasn’t very difficult at all, fortunately. He had managed to make his way up a very tall hill, where he could look out at the surroundings cleanly. “Geez, where do I go from here…?” he wondered. Looking ahead, he saw…something…shimmering in the distance next to a sheer cliffside- one far more steep than he just climbed. It seemed to have a small, yet long overhang, enough to walk on, at least. “Huh. Well, might as well check it out…”

He gingerly made his way down, careful to avoid the small pit of natural spikes that seemed to be in a not-so-deep crevasse. As he got to the foot of the hill and approached the cliffside, the air (such as it was) seemed to flux and twist, and two smaller vortexes opened without fanfare. “What th-!?” But fortunately, all that seemed to come out were some more of those strange blobby jelly things- and they immediately ran for him. “Hey! Buzz off!”

A few swings of his staff were enough to clear those out and obtain the magic points within them. For the moment, he’d thought he was done-

-only for a SECOND portal to form just as quickly as the first one, with a GIANT version of one the strange flying jelly things erupting from it. “Oh, gross!” Tuff said quickly as he flung a fireball at it. It seemed to take it in stride, and flapped for him anyway. Fortunately, the thing was slow- and three more fireballs, and a big swing from his staff seemed to do the trick quickly enough. “Ugh…well, at least it wasn’t too bad. Now where do I…?”

As though in answer, yet another portal seemed to form in front of him- this one blue. “Ah! Right on time!” came the voice of Magolor, and Tuff looked up to see his mentor floating down. “I thought you’d have an easy time of it. Really, that was just to get you used to absorbing magic. How do you feel?”

Tuff paused, searching inside himself. “...energetic?” he hazarded.

“Not bad, not bad!” Magolor admitted, nodding. “That means you’re getting enough unconverted magic to consider trying to advance one of your spells. Or perhaps learn the basics of a new one…”

“Wait, unconverted? Oh, like you said earlier,” he realized, cutting his own question off. “It needs time to acclimate.”

“Bingo! But you CAN speed it up a little. And we’ll be doing so, after we get back to the nexus. Now, then, after me!” And with that Magolor jumped into the portal, yanking Tuff along yet again.

When they’d gotten back (with Tuff managing to keep his footing this time), Magolor spoke up again. “Now, let’s think, shall we? Hmm…” Magolor seemed to consider for a moment. “It’s really a shame you haven’t figured out levitation, yet. Those traffic lights never bothered?”

Tuff shrugged. “They said it’s a flourish and will come easier once I have better control of my magic senses. They’re gonna teach me, but later. Ms. Flamberge doesn’t use levitation in fights, and she’s doing pretty okay, so...” Tuff thought it was cool, but if she didn’t have to, then neither did he.

Not that Magolor was any impressed. “Bah. I don’t know what I’d do without flight. The little time I had to deal without it was horrible.” He sighed. “But I suppose if they’re going to teach you that, then I’d rather not have to deal with them if I jumped the line, so to speak. I’ll just focus on teaching you what I said I would. Now then…” he cleared his throat. “You’ve noticed how whenever I’m about to pull off something really cool, there’s a runic symbol every time that shows up before it?”

Tuff nodded. It was pretty visible. “Yeah!”

“Well, get ready, because I’m going to show you how to craft a basic runic circle!” he said grandly. “This handy little subspell is essentially for amplifying spellcraft without a dangerous strain on your soul…”

And that was what got Tuff really excited. “Seriously!?”

“Very!” he said, laughing. “And that’s because it uses your Soul as a source in the first place!” That quieted the kid immediately. “Remember how I asked you what your Soul felt like? And remember my little lesson on how it acts as a filter normally?”

He nodded. “You said my specialty IS Soul period, right?”

“Exactly. So this should come fairly easily to you. It’s essentially a CONTROLLED output of Soul Energy. Think of it like an external variation of that internal filter you don’t have to worry about so much. There’s a set amount of output that can get through that external filter, and that’s that, which is how you can amplify spells without overdrawing on your Soul power. Make sense?”

“Uhh…I think so!” Tuff admitted. “As long as it’s safe!”

“It is, don’t worry!” Magolor reassured. “Now then, shall we get started? It’s a matter of drawing from within- but instead of, to use your previous example, trying to collect the water with a bucket, you merely need a cup…”

For the next few…hours? Was it hours? Tuff wasn’t sure. It felt like hours. It might’ve been longer. But Magolor proceeded to go over several steps of creating a runic array, as well as the relative power of it. Apparently, the spikes around the circle represented potency. Magolor’s had six, which he claimed was the highest level. Tuff wasn’t 100% certain he believed him, but it was at least a goal.

“Now, you can’t force a spell THEN make this. The runic circle MUST come first,” Magolor warned. "You have to will a smidgen of your Soul out to this.”

“Right, right…” Tuff muttered. Soul was supposed to be his specialty, and he could feel SOMETHING wanting to come out- less dangerous feeling than before, at least, as he held the formations Magolor taught him in his mind’s eye. He just had to focus, keep that image, mold the Soul…

And PUSH.

Something flashed in front of him, and only his training had Tuff keep from freaking out as a glowing, arcane circle floated in front of him. “Hmmm.” To Tuff’s mild dismay, he noticed that it only had one spike, rotating around its perimeter. “Not bad for a rookie. I suppose. A bit weak, won’t give you but a little extra jolt… but it’s a start.” Magolor decided, nodding. “That Soul affinity is really coming in handy- my first spike on my runic circle took a while and a fair deal of understanding. You’re really jumping ahead, here! Though under my tutelage, I suppose that’s just to be expected,” he bragged, before something seemed to come to him. “In fact…I wonder…”

He went quiet at that, prompting Tuff to dismiss the runic circle for the moment, looking at him questioningly. “Mr. Magolor?”

“Hmmm…” Magolor turned back to him- and though the cat didn’t have a visible mouth, Tuff could just TELL he was smiling slyly. “Maybe there’s something else I can teach you with that. But first, you’ve got to show me you can hold onto it while casting at least that Fireball of yours. Onwards!”

Tuff sighed, and followed him deeper in. This time, when he saw the portal, Tuff merely hopped in of his own accord, tumbling through.

A few minutes later, he was deep within what seemed to be more overgrown ruins. There were…a LOT more spikes. “Startin’ to see why Mr. Magolor likes flying so much,” he mumbled to himself as he took another running leap across a pit to the safer spot of land in the center. There was another jelly thing (he kept forgetting the name) across from him blocking a safe landing. ‘Might as well see what this runic circle thing can do!’ he decided.

It wasn’t as hard the second time to conjure it up, fortunately. Now he had an idea of it. But then, he needed to concentrate on a second spell- and therein lay the difficulty. “Gah!” he quickly broke concentration as the jelly’s spit nearly hit him. “Two at once is killer…but I guess that’s the trick, huh?” A sudden jolt of inspiration came to him just then, remembering how Magolor usually used his spells. “I wonder…”

He resummoned it again- yeah, it was getting a touch easier. And without fretting too much, he conjured up his fireball, quickly hurling it- straight through the already dissipating circle.

It was enough- almost without fanfare the fireball visibly doubled in size, as big as his head, and impacted the beast. “HA!” Tuff cheered. It took a fair bit out of him, but already, that was worth it.

Especially later, as he found himself in yet another melee, as denizes tried to swarm him. “Where are they all coming from?!” He fortunately was skilled enough to make short work of most of them, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t annoyed. Especially when the strange, large, bee-thing with a spear came. It was wreathed in a purple aura. Ominous, if not for the fact that it was also slow. Three runic’d fireballs were enough to bring it down, though they winded Tuff enough that he slumped down, resisting the urge to lay there and rest. "G-geez, seriously..."

“Oh, anywhere. Everywhere, really! Sometimes anyWHEN, even,” Magolor answered blithely as he floated nearby. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the same insect that I had to take down back in the day brought back for another round. But, that’s not important.” He floated rather closer to Tuff, startling him a bit. “What IS important is that you seem to have gotten down my runic array. At least, enough to hold it together. Which is why I think I’m going to give you the opportunity to learn a VERY cool and very PERSONAL spell of mine.”

“REALLY?!” Tuff cheered- that announcement had quickly (if temporarily) given him his energy back. “AWESOME!”

Magolor had to MIGHTLY resist giggling. ‘Oh, Magolor, you cad! Once they see the kid perform THIS, they’ll have no choice but to admit I’m the superior mage! Though, I know he said his soul was stable, but…nah. I went through the same thing, and that runic array does wonders for me. His is less powerful, but shouldn’t be any less stable.’

Having thus reassured himself, Magolor took Tuff to the side.

It had to have been days, Tuff thought. They’d left Another Dimension, but they hadn’t stopped training him in forming that runic circle. “That’s the important bit for now,” Magolor warned. “My spell is quite fantastic, but that’s the anchor for it.” They were currently not too far away from the Lor Starcutter, around the southern area of Green Gardens.

“Right!” He’d been able to call it up easier now, though splitting his focus was still a headache. Ironically enough, the only time it wasn’t was when-

“Hello there?” An old, familiar voice came, as a swirling portal seemed to interrupt their training.

The both of them turned towards it, one with excitement, the other with masked annoyance. “Lord Hyness!” Tuff was quick to proclaim. "Bonjam!"

Hyness came out, face smiling, though the portal held. "And bonjam to you, young Mage Apprentice. I hope you've been doing well during your absence. We watched you over the television." He made to pat Tuff on the head approvingly. "Most impressive work!" Tuff simply bashfully waved him off, wordlessly, causing another round of chortles.

“Ah,” Magolor said simply. “Here to pick the boy up and spirit him away, are you?”

Hyness simply nodded, still in good humor. “Hoho! Well, with all the good work he does around the Jambastion, I can certainly say we miss the tyke. We’d quite like him back for a while. Can’t be too greedy now, can we?”

“I don’t know, CAN you?” Magolor shot back.

“Well, perhaps you could, but it’d be quite troublesome for the rest of our friends, I’m sure!” Hyness rejoined, still amused. “And it wouldn’t just be his sister miffed, would it?”

“No, but we’d both know that, wouldn’t we?” the traveler continued. “Though some better than others…”

“Quite, quite! A good thing we’re all friendly with each other, hm? Ah, but at any rate, Mage-Apprentice Tuff!” The Jambastion leader turned towards his apprentice. “Ready to get back to it?”

“Oh, yeah, sure thing!” He bowed, before waving to Magolor. “Thanks for the training, Mr. Magolor! When I get back I’ll be better than ever!”

“With my training underpinning it, I’m sure you will,” Magolor agreed, though his voice had become a little more bitter. “Now go get out of here, then, and don’t let them walk all over you!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Tuff reassured, Hyness giving an amused chuckle before the bother of them disappeared through the portal once more, the latter guiding the former. Magolor could only huff at the brief exchange. That old coot had such a blithe and rude attitude. ‘Really, he should understand how to be a little less condescending…’

Putting it out of his mind for now, he made his way back to the Lor. It could do with a checkup and he had some reports he wanted to look at.

As he stepped into the main area, however, he noticed a…well, a notice, that the Lor had thrown up on the main screen. It had been doing some deep space scans- just some stuff to check on some good pathways to and from a few places around the Gamble Galaxy he could go for supplies. “Hm? That’s odd.” He thumbed through the results again. “That’s a few more rifts than usual around those coordinates. Bah, I hope it’s nothing to do with that Void Termina mess. I’ll have to be careful getting back…” Ideally, it would be nothing but a brief spat of them, the rifts would close naturally, and he could continue using his usual routes. Until then, he'd have to make some adjustments to his jump coordinates.

Ultimately, he decided, it was nothing to fret over.

Chapter 29: In Her Defense

Chapter Text

The day had started well enough, honestly. She’d enjoyed being back on the Halberd, being welcomed jovially upon her return. She’d also slid back into her prior role as ‘Junior Quartermaster’ and Cadet smoothly enough that it was almost like she hadn’t left. Once again back to the simple yet satisfying nature of routine. Morning ablutions, breakfast, morning workout, day duties, training, evening duties, free time, lights out. It was regular, reliable. She would occasionally get updates on priority tasks that needed doing, like if there were some sort of repairs that needed some oversight or the sort, but ultimately she knew what was going on throughout her days and liked it.

Which is why when Meta Knight came up to her while she was in the middle of her morning aerobics, she had an ominous feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Sir? Something wrong?”

“Potentially.” Meta Knight responded brusquely. Before she could even brace herself, he barreled onward. “We’ve gotten word from Haltmann that Shadow Kirby has absconded to your dimension.”

Tiff blinked. Then again. And then a third time for good measure as the sentence managed to settle in her mind. “HE DID WHAT?!” Meta Knight grunted, and Tiff immediately realized her error. “Er, sorry, sir! I just-”

Meta Knight merely nodded. “Forgiven. Now, according to Haltmann, Shadow Kirby actually showed up some time ago already- roughly three weeks already. It was not reported because, she claims, her employees believed Shadow Kirby to be on official business and so did not stop him. She’s…planning on giving them all ‘disciplinary measures’ for the error in judgement.” Meta Knight seemed almost unnerved at the term, and Tiff could only wonder. “I admit my skepticism at this statement- I suspect she was aware sooner, attempted to quietly resolve the situation herself and failed. Thus why she’s actively requesting assistance.”

“I…” Tiff wasn’t sure what to say, but the idea that her Dream Land could be under threat, even lightly, made her grit her teeth. For a moment, she yearned to ask him. ‘Then I’m going. Send me back and I’ll help take care of him!’ She would put her all into dragging that mischievous miscreant variation of her favorite pink puff back to where he belonged…

…but she also knew her chances of actually doing that were slim to none. She’d just fought him, and though she hated admitting it, even with a 4 on 1 advantage, Shadow Kirby had been WINNING that fight until Kirby had been inadvertently woken up by Shadow Kirby’s own strategy backfiring. She strongly suspected that even with Sir Meta Knight, Sword and Blade’s help, they’d all fall to the monochrome doppelganger in short order. She wasn’t even sure her own Kirby would be able to ward him off.

And so, she bit back her pride and panic, and spoke. “...orders, sir!?” Alright, so her voice might’ve still held a teensy bit of panic.

“Remain here and continue your training,” was the response, with him looking her straight in the eye. “Ms. Haltmann is claiming to already be over there to see what the situation is, and once her information gathering is complete, she’ll report back to the rest of us. As I’ve said, she will not be the only one operating over there, either.”

That stung. It stung hard enough to make her gut feel quesy. But a large part of her had been expecting that, and so she swallowed the bitter feeling of Not Good Enough as she saluted. “...yes, sir.” ‘Let it fuel your training, Tiff,’ she said to herself, remembering something Lord Meta Knight had said before about the matter.

He nodded in approval, as though he’d heard her thoughts. “I understand this might be a particularly stressful time,” he offered. “I do not blame you. However, should things come to blows again, it’s better if you were prepared as much as possible should your presence indeed be requested. A fight could break out at any moment, and we would prefer you at your best.”

She was- no. Meta Knight didn’t do empty platitudes. This was something he really did feel, and it helped soften the metaphorical blow. She nodded in understanding. “Agreed. I just hope it won’t come to that.”

“Neither do we,” Meta Knight agreed. “So far, the hope is still that we can locate him and convince him to return of his own free will, and that he has not terrorized your Dream Land in the name of his ‘entertainment’ in the meantime.”

“Right…” Tiff said, thinking about the situation. While she held no love or real concern for the Other King, her parents being potential targets worried her. “...so, who else is going?”

Meta Knight motioned as though answering, before a ringing interrupted them- Meta Knight’s personal phone. “Hello?” He answered.

“Lord Meta Knight! Our guest is requesting boarding,” came Sailor Dee.

‘Who’s that?’ she wondered idly as Meta Knight turned back to her.

“This conversation will continue later,” he stated as he headed off. “Do not shirk your duties for the day, cadet.”

“Yes, sir!” she said a bit more heartily, putting on a brave face.

It lasted until he disappeared up the lift. “Great…” Still, without anything else to work out her stress, she resumed…well, working out. Surely her routine would bring her back to a bit of mental normalcy, right?

THAT belief lasted until of all people, Captain Vul came across her in the cargo bay, on what she could only assume was some sort of general inspection. “Hmph. Not looking quite up to your usual today, are you?”

“Sorry, sir.” Captain Vul was, to her, haughty and had an all-too-familiar inflated sense of self. However, if nothing else, he was loyal to Lord Meta Knight and never went out of his way to antagonize her besides some occasional challenging words- it was in fact the ol’ buzzard that had gotten her to start calling Meta Knight ‘Lord’ at his insistence, and she’d grown so used to it she did it now just out of habit and respect. That had gotten her on his good side…for a couple of weeks. So she was content to treat him with the amount of respect his position granted him, and otherwise let things be.

“Don’t be sorry, just remember your position here!” he fired back. As she debated whether it was worth glaring at him, he kept on. “Whatever it is you’re worried about, you shouldn’t be.”

“And what makes you say that, sir?” she asked, more heat in her voice than she intended.

“Didja forget you’re part of something bigger?” he asked rhetorically. That made her growing frustration vanish almost entirely as the words settled in. “You’ve got a whole ship’s worth of support for whatever it is that’s troubling you.” He puffed out his chest a bit more, almost in a show of braggadocio. “You think someone serving under Lord Meta Knight has to handle things alone? That’s awfully arrogant! …And maybe sad,” he amended at the end.

Tiff’s entire thought process had paused at the realization. “I…huh. I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right! I’m the Captain for a reason!” Vul affirmed. “I might not believe in going down with the ship, but I’m not going to just let someone who’s being trained by our Lord second-guess themselves!” She considered asking what he meant by that, but thought better of it- he seemed to be on a bit of a roll. “He deserves better than that- think of the bad name it’d give both him and us! Besides…you’ve done alright so far.”

“I think that’s the most encouragement you’ve ever given me,” Tiff said without thinking. Fortunately, for her, that actually managed to drag a caw of laughter from him.

“HA! You’re right, I guess. So, just what’s troubling you?” he asked.

“Well…I don’t know if I can say outright,” she admitted, “but I’d been worried about my own Dream Land.” Her circ*mstances were well known amongst the crew by now. “I thought about asking him to take me back because of…something concerning that I learned of-”

“Ah, that scallywag counterpart of that Kirby fellow?” Captain Vul said idly. At her jump of surprise, he chuckled. “Again- I’m the Captain! You think I wouldn’t know about the goings on of anything that might involve the Halberd?”

“Fair point,” she acquiesced. “Well, yeah. Shadow Kirby. And I guess it’s just frustrating feeling like it’d be too soon to go back.” She huffed. “I mean, I know the situation. I’m not remotely strong enough. But it’s not just that. It’s my parents.” She thought back to the letter that they’d gotten. All the well wishes and promises that they were doing fine, how things had changed…it was all a bit much. “I can’t help but worry. I don’t feel like I can really do anything directly to help make sure my Dream Land is safe.” She shook her head. “I’ll get over it, just-”

“First of all, who says this isn’t ‘your’ Dream Land as much as the other one?” Vul interrupted. She intended to mention that it was her homeland, but. “Everyone here’s accepted ya just fine, and you’re a known name. Sure, you weren’t born here, but that’s the same for several of Pop Star’s more famous citizens. Like it or not, you’re probably considered a true blue Dreamlander by the majority of the populace who knows you!”

Tiff had stared at him in open shock at the almost casual declaration. Could she really even try to deny such a heartfelt statement? (Well, as far as Captain Vul went.) “...thank you, sir.”

Captain Vul simply nodded. “Right. Got your head screwed back on straight, then?"

“For the most part,” she decided. “I should get-”

Then a ring on HER phone. “Whoa!” She quickly answered. “Hello?”

“Cadet Tiff.” It was Lord Meta Knight. “Meet in the usual Training Bay in ten. Over.”

She snapped to protocol, as strange as this situation was. Her day duties weren’t over for another 2 hours.. “Training Bay in ten, understood. Over and Out, sir.” She closed the connection, and turned to Captain Vul. “Sorry, but-”

He waved her off. “Go, go. See what our Lord wants.”

With that, she was quickly off, wondering the same.

Two swings of her lance had the foe backing off; their smile was a constant, and she normally enjoyed seeing it. Right now, however, it was a clear sign that she wasn’t pushing them hard enough. On the other hand, however, they had been most certainly pushing HER. A massive arcane orb formed above their head, and it was hurled directly at her. Her first instinct was to flee.

However, she had someone she needed to protect. At all costs. She put her shield in front of her, and braced.

She was promptly engulfed, and felt a torrent of energy blast through her. For a moment she fought to resist, to downplay, to ignore- but it was overwhelming. A rush of pain lanced through her, and then…

Tiff opened her bleary eyes. “Wha-huh?” she moaned out. She was laying flat on the ground and felt like she was trying to move through mud. Standing over her were both Taranza and Lord Meta Knight, the former looking concerned. It was then that she realized what had happened “...oh.” She’d been knocked out. “Again?” It’d been the same result for days now. If her parents knew this was happening, and that she’d ASKED for it, no less, they’d have reacted in a way that ‘freaking out’ would be sorely understating it.

“You DID manage to withstand it for a couple of seconds that time,” Taranza pointed out. “So there’s certainly progress!”

“Right…” she mumbled as she lay back. It wasn’t exactly a strange sequence of events that had led her to this…but she got the feeling it was hardly normal, either.

“Mr. Taranza?” Tiff had said after arriving to the Training Bay that day as ordered. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, but what brings you here?” She had just gotten the question out of her mouth when it clicked. “Wait, you’re going over there to get Shadow Kirby back?”

“Ahehehe, yes, it seems so,” he admitted, chuckling. “I was with King Dedede when I overheard the transmission mentioning the issue, and decided to offer my help. It only makes sense for me to go- I’ve got the most experience with Binding magic, and that should be able to restrain Shadow Kirby at least long enough to drag him back through the portal, should all go well. Plus, Susie will be there. I’ll have someone on the ground with me to help corral him.”

“We agreed to meet to detail some of the specifics of this operation,” Meta Knight added on. “After all, Shadow Kirby is notorious for being hard to find when he doesn’t want to be found. Kirby’s perhaps the only one that can regularly get into contact with him, but until there’s been proven to be an active threat to your homeworld, we’re still rather not call in the ‘big guns’ so to speak.”

“Mmm. I guess that makes sense,” she admitted. N.M.E was one thing, but Shadow Kirby, while clearly powerful, likely didn’t exactly have plans for world domination, from what she’d heard and learned about it. Really, he almost came off more as simply a naughty brat with too much power. Marx-like but arguably less…sheer chaos. “Just make sure everything’s okay over there for me, will you?” she requested.

“Oh, of course!” Taranza acceded. “In fact, I’d been thinking about it a bit more, and I might reopen the old school now that I’m going.” Her eyes lit up. “I recall us having talked about it last we spoke. I didn’t think anyone had managed to learn everything in my grimoire by then, and I still think it’s unlikely, but a check-in and maybe some practical lessons might not go amiss, hm?” He winked at that, and even though Tiff wasn’t sure what he meant by that, she couldn’t help but smile at it. “However, before I go, I must say I had been thinking about something…” he trailed off.

Tiff couldn’t help but notice how he was staring at her intently. “Uhh…what about?”

“You, specifically,” he said. “Specifically, your performance at the Cake Royale.”

“Oh.” She huffed slightly. It’d ended well enough, but she still felt a touch disappointed in herself. “We weren’t that bad, were we?”

“Oh, perish the thought!” he quickly dismissed. “No, no, quite the opposite! I thought you two did quite well! Your last plays in that Slam Hockey match were inspired! Although it DID make me wonder. If perhaps you were able to improve your defenses even more, what might come of it?”

The question was tantalizing for Tiff. “Are you saying what I think you are?”

“If by that you mean ‘I wish to help train up your defensive measures for a time before departing’, then you’ve got it in one!” he confirmed, before turning to Meta Knight. “Of course, provided I have permission. She’s currently your student, after all.”

“Hmm…” Meta Knight seemed to take a bit to consider it. “How long would it take? You can’t tarry for very long. Remember, their time moves quicker.”

“True, true…” Taranza acknowledged, “but training half-heartedly will do no one any favors. Hmm…I suppose there’s nothing for it. We’ll have to get her used to it the hard way if anything is to be effective. Provided she wants to at all, mind.” They both looked at her.

“Uh…the hard way, huh?” Tiff couldn’t suppress a shiver. She knew EXACTLY what the ‘hard way’ implied. But at the same time, she understood why that was the only practical route. Not to mention…well, it’d help her greatly regardless. “Guess I’ll have to get used to it…but yeah! Do your worst!”

“That IS the intent,” Taranza said as he raised his arms-

“Hold.” Meta Knight’s voice rang out. “On one condition.”

That stopped the both of them in surprise, though Taranza recovered first. “Hm? And what condition is that?”

“Mental Resistance,” was the brusque response, and Taranza seemed to jump back slightly from it. “I understand you know how to manipulate minds, correct? I wish to be able to defend myself from such assault.” It was a simple, plain, and logical statement. “If you’ll aid in training me, I will agree to you helping to train Tiff.”

His eyes widened in slight surprise as Tiff’s head tilted in slight confusion. But before she could ask the reason, the spider mage nodded. “Deal. In fact, it might be a good idea to train BOTH of you, just in case.”

And so her training, for the next few days, consisted of getting bowled over by Taranza Bursts and Taranza Balls, and the slimy, SLIMY feeling of a foreign force attempting to intrude on her mental wellbeing. Although it had happened briefly before, the sensation had still been enough to freak her out and consider calling the exercise off…if she hadn’t seen Meta Knight shudder himself after the first ‘lesson’.

In truth, Meta Knight was notably on edge the whole time- it seemed that in between Mental Resistance lessons, he’d get running updates on Susie’s position. So far, it seemed that, to their good fortune, Shadow Kirby was keeping a low profile. Apparently initially he’d shown up and caused enough trouble to force the newly built astronomy lab to require some basic repairs, but that had been the worst of it. Some sightings here and there, but never for very long, and only here and there. “He might be setting something up,” Meta Knight had worried. “I’d hope that his mood had settled, but he’d leave if that were the case.”

So they’d continued their lessons. Tiff later learned that her Star Energy affinity didn’t really help make her resistant to mind control, as she’d hoped. However, the truth was arguably more useful. “I can’t make great inroads,” Taranza explained. “Not saying it’s not impossible, obviously-” (it very much WAS if Tiff losing all sense for a few moments per session were any indication- blacking out without blacking out was scary ) “-but it’s almost like…like trying to travel through a forest to a place you’ve only heard of but have no idea how to get to it and can barely recognize, because the forest is so different and your usual expectations have been tossed on their ear.”

Tiff paused. Then shook her head. “Sorry, that analogy lost me.”

He sighed. “No, it wasn’t a very good one. But to put it bluntly, your mind is different enough it’s hard to gain purchase in your psyche.”

“That may explain why you were able to resist and expel Dark Mind’s influence from before,” Meta Knight theorized. “You are not of this Dream Land nor its reflection. I’ve never even seen your race before, so there is possibly no counterpart, either, unlike the Waddle Dees or some others.” He took a moment to study her. “Technically, you are an utterly alien existence. His influence perhaps couldn’t adapt to your psyche before you repelled him.”

“Huh. I…guess that makes sense?” she decided. It was the best hypothesis SHE had, anywho. “Not that I FELT all that resistant at the time…”

“Indeed. It’s for that reason I would still remain prudent, however. Continue your training, as I will mine,” he ordered.

“Yes, sir.” She wasn’t thrilled about the matter, but it was plain to see the use of it.

Later that day, she’d been helped back to her quarters by Sailor Dee after one too many ‘mental shoves’ had gotten her queasy. That had been what made her decide that she’d had enough for a bit. “Feeling better?” Sailor asked as they made it to her quarters.

“A little bit,” she responded, trying to shake the cobwebs out of her head (and she was half-sure that it was more literal than she’d like). “If I’m being honest, learning how to defend against mind control by GETTING mind-controlled is…not fun. Creepy, more like.”

“Oh, I can imagine!” Sailor Dee commiserated with her. “It’s just…mind control is kinda a thing around here. More than you’d hope, really.” He shrugged, a small, resigned sound leaving him. “Better safe than sorry.”

Tiff could only sigh as she took a seat on her bed. “Yeah, I know…” Meta Knight had not spared tales about himself falling to such, and she’d quickly learned that King Dedede was surprisingly susceptible to the issue as well. Considering what nearly happened to her (not to mention some memories of the fight against N.M.E) she was immensely grateful for the fact that she was resistant. Still… “Just wish it weren’t so scary,” she admitted. “Anyway, thanks for helping me back.”

“No problem! But I should get going- gotta get back to the bridge! And hey, don’t worry! You’ve got this! Just because it’s scary doesn’t mean you aren’t strong enough to handle it!” With that bit of encouragement, he left her, and she was alone to muse on her own thoughts. Before long, however, she found herself pulling out the letter her parents had sent them. Between the two of them, Tuff had insisted she hold onto it. ‘If I ended up losin’ it by accident on the base, I’d never forgive myself,’ in his own words.

‘Dearest Tiff and Tuff, our wonderful children,

‘Firstly, we just wanted to let you know that we’re so very proud of you both. We have been getting updates from Meta-Knight (the other one, not ours), and everything we’ve heard and read speaks well of you. You both seem to be having a lot of fun, though we confess our concern from time to time. At the time of this letter, you both are likely to have just finished or are near the finals of that Cake Royale competition. We’ve been following along, of course, and been cheering you every step of the way! We’re so relieved that you’re doing well. (Though your mother has proven a bit antsy at times- the things they throw at you can be quite frightening to us!)

Cappy Town has changed a great deal in a short time since you’ve left, much of it thanks to Ms. Haltmann. I’ve done my level best to make sure she respects the area’s ecology, as I know you’d have liked, Tiff. She’s a touch inflexible on certain matters, but surprisingly permissive on others. I think you’ll like at least a few of the new changes, both of you! However, I’ll leave the details as a surprise for when you get back- besides, there might be yet more changes in store in between after all!

Our ‘good’ King Dedede is yet up to his usual tricks, though they’ve lessened a bit with lack of monsters to purchase. Escargoon upped his skill with robotics, however, and they continue to produce Monster Serum to mutate the local wildlife. Knuckle Joe and Sirica are quite capable of keeping things safe so far, though I DO fret from time to time when something particularly nasty comes. I have faith in everyone who’s agreed to help defend the town, however!

Speaking of, your friends Iro, Spikehead, and Honey have all grown since you’ve last seen them- appears that they were all due for a bit of a growth spurt! Iro’s come to embrace the art of entertainment, it seems, and he can crack quite the joke, dare I say! Tuff, Spikehead’s taking your little rivalry seriously, and he’s become quite studious in magic. I hardly see him around town without that little grimoire! Honey’s taken to the air so much I hardly look for her on the ground these days, either. She’s also assisting with the mail, which Melman is QUITE thankful for.

Your mother sends her love, of course, and you might be surprised to know…’

And so on it went. Her father had spared few details, telling about her friends, what everyone was up to, and the occasional happening around town. It was pleasant…if it didn’t remind her what she had to come back to. So much more than she’d honestly expected, and though Kirby had returned (and didn’t that warm her heart!) he’d not gotten at all used to the adulation and well-wishes people gave him. She had to stifle a chuckle at the thought of Kirby having to clear out a bunch of gifts blocking him from his front door.

…well, if he didn’t just inhale them all. But she (mostly) believed he wouldn’t. Still. So much that had changed. There were more people, more places, more things.

More to protect. Kirby and Knuckle Joe and Sirica, and to a lesser extent Iro, Spikehead, and Honey. All of them had become, at some point or another, compatriots. Defenders of a Cappy Town that had grown in size enough to warrant an actual police force among other things. There was so much to protect, now. And her being here. Am I falling behind?' she couldn't help but wonder. She knew she was growing all the same, physically, mentally, and in skill. So was her brother. But there was this feeling that was running through her...

Before she could continue further down that line of thought, however, there was a knock on her door. “Hello?” came the voice of Taranza. “It’s me- I’m just making sure you’re alright after earlier. May I come in?”

Her prior worries were shunted to the back of her head as she focused on answering. “Oh, of course!” Shortly after she found her bedspace shared with the spider. “Sorry if I worried you.”

“Oh, nonsense! Really, I’m the one who should be apologizing,” Taranza insisted, his expression a bit pained. “I should’ve seen that you were about to hit your limit. Are you sure you want to keep going on with this?”

“Wha?” That hadn’t been what she’d expected. “I mean, I might not like feeling like my head isn’t my own, but…that doesn’t mean I can back down from this. Better it’s done by a friend who’ll cut it off when I’m feeling bad than something that wants to use me for nasty purposes.”

“Yes, yes…” Taranza had a tough time keeping his eyes on her. “I daresay I know about THAT.” She didn’t need to ask- she knew of his history. King Dedede had told her enough. “In fact, I will admit I feel very similar about this skill as you do.”

“What do you mean, exactly?” she asked, tilting her head.

“I mean I’m not much of a fan of it. Not anymore. Heh…they used to call me The Puppeteer,” he admitted. “It was a title I took pride in. But now, knowing what I know and what I’ve done…” he shook his head. “Not anymore. That title, this skill…it reminds me too much of the past. It’s useful in situations such as this, where one can learn to defend against it, so I don’t feel like I can completely abandon it…but I’d rather keep it for a last resort.”

“I mean…that sounds understandable to me,” she admitted. “And if you’re so worried about it, I don’t think you’ve got any risk of using it by accident.”

He nodded at her words, taking them in. “True…and yet the memories of what I’ve done with it won’t fade so easily. Not from myself or the victims.”

Unfortunately, Tiff found herself uncertain how to respond to that- he wasn’t wrong. But even so, he was better than that. “You can at least keep doing what you’re doing,” she said, laying back on her bed, looking towards the ceiling. “Turning it towards better purposes. Like defense! You wouldn’t know how to defend so well against it if you didn’t know how to DO it, would you?”

“One DOES tend to lend a bit of an advantage trying to learn the other, yes,” he admitted, before letting out a hollow chuckle. “Though by that logic, I should be teaching you the fundamentals behind Puppetry. No one wants that.”

There was a pause. Taranza looked at Tiff, expecting her to say something. But her eyes were clouded, mind off elsewhere. Then a single blink, and she sat up, fist balled. For a moment, an unspoken tension. Tiff opened her mouth…

…closed it, shook her head, and leaned back on the bed.

Taranza let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding as the tension building in him washed away. “Well then, I-”

“Hey, Mr. Taranza?” And then it roared right back as she looked square at him, the eyes of someone not having made a life-changing decision yet, but being very, very close. “I have a question…if you don’t mind answering it, I mean.”

Chapter 30: Aberration

Chapter Text

Flamberge was miffed as she read the report, to put it lightly. “You’re kidding me. The jamblasted boiler in F-12 is on the fritz AGAIN?!”

“Yup,” Tuff said from his seat in the relay room, where he was once again sending out work orders and general information for the day. They’d granted him permission to utilize the comms feature more freely from then on, in case anything was particularly amiss…and that often resulted in Flamberge calling in to complain about stuff. Although she was always chided about it, she never stopped, which suited Tuff just fine. “Third time in three weeks, too! Haha, that thing does NOT wanna stay hot.” The boiler being broken wasn’t exactly ‘funny’ to Tuff, but it was entertaining how she constantly trudged down there grumbling and growling.

“We’re gonna have to take the stupid thing apart before we find out what’s causing the cooling factor, huh?” Flamberge complained before marching off. She started muttering underneath her breath, though all Tuff caught was something about the whole mess being ‘crazy’. He couldn’t blame her.

He just chuckled and returned to looking back over the status readings. He’d take this over being in Ms. Flamberge’s position any day. ‘Lesse…clear, clear, clear, clear…’ Such went on, and he reported what was needed. And afterwards, he turned his attention to the deep space scanner. He’d found that once he’d started to learn what meant what on the readout, it was…well, not ‘fun’ per se, but it could be mildly interesting to see what changed from time to time. For instance, he could read that Star Lavadom was going through a lighter eruption period than normal. Little things like that, which would sometimes tickle his fancy and make him wonder what such things would be like to see first hand. ‘Gettin’ to see a BUNCHA volcanoes going up without them being a threat would be cool….’

Nothing was alarming, fortunately. Everything was within expected limits. There was a bit of a measurable spatial flux near the edge of their territory behind the Base, but that was common enough and expected; apparently due to the whole Void Termina thing. It was something that hadn’t quite ‘healed’ yet, so it’d occasionally get noticed by the scanners. Tuff didn’t know the math or science behind it; in fact, he barely knew what a ‘spatial flux’ was. It’d taken Ms. Partizanne the better part of a day to try to teach it to him, and even then she’d eventually summed it up as ‘like ripples in water, but in space, and pushed out in all directions, not just on the surface.’ He was pretty sure she’d hated putting it like that, but hey, that was what he’d understood.

“Mage-Apprentice Tuff, calling to confirm,” came Ms. Francisca’s voice. “The automatic walkways in Sector H-26 are inactive?”

“Accordin’ to this, jes ma’am,” he responded promptly. “Japologa.”

A sigh from the other end. “No need for that, you’re merely the messenger. I’ll get a work team down there.”

“Roger that!” The communication cut off, and he grinned, tapping through the rest of the alerts.

“You’ve been jhappy the last few days,” Ms. Partizanne noticed as he defended against a triplicate of stabs, returning his own. Francisca and Flamberge were both training as well, a spar against each other for stakes only they knew. Hyness was supervising the whole affair, it having just come after morning meditation and prayer. “Something happen?”

“Nah, just kinda glad to be back, y’know?” Tap tap tap, went his staff as it clacked against Zan’s in a checking maneuver. “This place has kinda grown on me.”

“Ah. Good to hear.” A wide yet fast swing was ducked under, Tuff attempting to press her even as she kept up conversation. “We’ve tried to make you feel as though you can see this place as a second home, so it’s a relief that that effort has borne fruit.” She effortlessly parried his strikes, grounding the cheeky attempt at shocking his own staff on the last swing instantly. “Good effort.”

“Dangit, didn’t think you’d notice that quick,” Tuff bemoaned with little real heat. Nonplussed, he continued his efforts. “But anywho- hup!” he quickly jumped back from a lunging stab she made, grinning. “After all that craziness with the tournament, this is almost relaxing!”

Zan co*cked an eyebrow, and Tuff immediately realized he’d said the wrong thing. “Oho? Then clearly we must step things up.”

Before Tuff could try to backtrack or course correct, Zan seemed to disappear in a flash of lightning- he barely had time to blink, before he felt the tip of a training spear in his back. Zan had gotten behind him before he’d even registered that she was gone. “Wha-huh? How’d you…”

Zan allowed herself a small chuckle. “Hmhmhm…don’t forget, young Mage-Apprentice, that you are just starting on a very long road. Your first steps have been promising…but they are still only your first steps. Though perhaps we’ll move to more intense sparring, if you’re finding our current routine lackadaisical.”

“...oh, Jam blasted .” That got a chuckle out of everyone, who’d stopped to watch the exchange after Tuff had made his casual remark. The speartip receded from his back, and Tuff turned to face her, expression chagrined. “Japologa majaja.”

Zan tilted her head slightly. ‘He’s getting more used to the language.’ “Nothing to be sorry for, just remembered,” she advised as she thought on the matter. “In all sincerity, if you AREN’T feeling challenged enough by our current training program, I think I’d take that as a good sign, despite the phrasing you chose. We’ll test you on your current skills and knowledge to see if your statement holds true- and once that’s done, if we determine you’re indeed ready for it, we’ll increase the intensity of your training. With that will come the opportunity to learn new techniques, and new magics, of course.”

Tuff grit his teeth. That sounded fantastic, but he admittedly wasn’t as one-hundred percent sure as he was a few moments ago now that they were seriously considering it.

Not that Hyness was keen to let him back out now. “Oh, don’t fret! It’ll be grand. And I might be able to help your meditation to cool off from those rougher training days. Even show you a few extra tricks on that front, if you really wanted.” Well. That was the extra bait. And though he might’ve realized that, it was just too tempting to NOT bite.

“I…alright, then!” No reason to go into this sounded disappointed, and so he huffed, trying to hype himself up. “Whatever tests you’ve got, I’ll ace it!”

Almost as one, they gave a challenging look to him, and Tuff had to mentally brace himself.

Tuff, coming off of another day’s deskwork, eyed his surroundings carefully as he stepped out of the tower. He’d been on edge for a bit now, and he was only just now getting used to the ongoing trials. Why? Because- “INSPECTION!”

He braced himself as soon as he heard Ms. Flamberge’s yell. “Oh, crud!” At once he had to leap back to avoid a triplicate of fireballs, and he managed to send back his own water sphere. It was quickly snuffed out, but he’d at least repelled the initial attack.

Now he had to fend her off for thirty more seconds…

Really, they hadn’t been kidding! They’d been running him through a battery of tests over the last week. Random quizzes on the nature of magic, demanding examples and short debates about the religious factors of the faith. Honestly, the only reason the latter weren’t his downfall was because of the reconstruction efforts leaving him with only needing to really remember the basics- prayer procedures and several of the newer tenants. The arguable worst was surprise sparring against any one of the sisters at seemingly random times, even on ‘off days’. They never went all-out against him, but they NOTICEABLY had stepped up their game, forcibly reminding him of his relative novice status in both martial and magical might.

And lastly, testing his magical output- which still wasn’t a ton more than before, though there was ONE skill he’d had to keep secret.

“Hahaha! Not bad, kiddo!” Flamberge congratulated as she backed off. Tuff’s arms were already sore and shaking, and the sweat was from more than just nerves. “That’s a pass for now. Keep that up, huh? Take yourself a break first, though!” And almost casually she bounded off.

“...break. Sure.” He didn’t even know what he meant by that. He just felt like saying it.

Before his day was out, he’d been accosted once more by Ms. Partizanne, who’d quizzed him. First on the relationship between the Splash element and the Blizzard element first, and then came questions about the nature of Void’s design (“He has no selfish design. He is all designs in one, thus his design is my design, and mine his. So thanks unto Void for giving me the mind to create my own design, that was born of him. May my design reflect unto him myself in truth.”) as well as their goal. (“To find paradise- in body, mind, and soul given unto Void, and to ultimately recuse ourselves from the labors of mortality that we might find true peace in days of praise and respect to him.”)

The plus side was that Zan usually asked her questions, got her answers, and left. The minus was that she NEVER actually told him how well he was doing with them.

That would drive him bananas itself if it weren’t for Lord Hyness. He’d kept to his word, and had been showing Tuff more than a few tricks to improve his meditation. Calmness, repetitive notions, and a focus towards a ‘peaceful unity’. “Separate your will from your being,” had been Hyness’ advice. “Embrace the totality of nothingness, and all else. Let it surround you, but not supplant you. Your mind is its own boat adrift among the living dream of the Void, and all that exists within.” It was calming, in that he didn’t need to worry about anything, or anyone. Although he wasn’t gaining ‘enlightenment’ or anything high-brow like that, it sometimes felt like he could just let everything drift away as he did; it wouldn’t be incorrect to say he felt as though he had the occasional out of body experience.

He hadn’t, but it had helped him to calm down after particularly rough days, and after getting slapped around by any of the three in sparring, he knew he’d be grateful for the lessons in the future.

Today was one where he was probably good to meditate without Lord Hyness’s instruction, he figured. As rough as Ms. Flamberge had been on him, it wasn’t the most tired he’d ever been.

As he settled down in his room, he slowly began to breathe in, and out. Center himself. Focus on his core.

It wasn’t long before he’d managed to slip into that half-aware state of consciousness that left him feeling freer than anything else he’d felt before. Little bits and pieces of the other day began to ‘click’ as he let things take their course. He clearly could’ve moved better -here-, there was a spot -there- she was open, his magic could improve if maybe he tried -that-. All these thoughts and more flowed through and around his psyche, never consciously acknowledging them, but nonetheless making this newfound wisdom part of him.

Before long, he felt the pulse of nothingness, and he began to truly relax- truthfully, it sounded grand, but it was simply allowing himself to just ‘be’, and nothing else.

He existed, just as the universe did, just as all things did, at the core of it. To exist, to be, to dream…

‘...-t here-’

It was so faint, Tuff nearly didn’t notice. But he did, and though he felt little emotion in that moment, he was still able to feel curiosity.

‘...-ed mor-’

For a moment, Tuff wondered. He felt a vague pull…somewhere. Faint, near imperceptible. But in nothingness, it existed.

He didn’t even recognize his state of drifting. He barely recognized that where once was nothing but stillness, there was existence. And yet his psyche drifted further. Where? He did not, could not know.

Had Tuff been more aware, more cognizant, he might’ve recognized the danger. He might’ve been able to comprehend that something was out of sorts. That there was a presence that normally should not be. But he was still young. Still inexperienced. And so he merely felt that vague curiosity in his state, and let his mind and soul drift further afield. Just a bit.

‘-or. Will es-’

There was…something. Some strangeness. A barrier? Not quite. More like a…fog, perhaps. Tuff could barely understand, but something about this was…energizing.

Sense began to return to him. Buzzing, abnormal. Sight that wasn’t quite sight began to make sense of shapes and colors. Feeling that was his but not. And hearing, more than he had expected. ‘Soon. Get-’

Color. Soft hues of purple, of nothingness. Stars but not stars. Land but not land. He couldn’t understand. Why was he shown this? What was it? How did-

And then his being, his soul shuddered in fear.

Hate. Loathing. Pure malevolence. It was not even directed at him, but it permeated this whole place. Destruction. Chaos. He’d not felt something like this, not remotely like this, since N.M.E had tried to flay his very being.

And though he knew it was not of him, nor aimed at him, it was beginning to be directed his way. A ray of fell light, magnified to where the heat could be felt easily the closer it got.

His cognizance was made whole in this moment of life or death. If it touched him, there would be no resistance. He would be ash.

Tuff could barely muster up the strength to pull himself home, home to his body, home to safety and the sisters and help. But he could, and he did. As his projection slipped away, beyond the bounds of the strange sound and hateful feeling, he could only wonder in fear as he realized just what it was.

Something was out there. Something was looking. But where at? And for what?

Tuff snapped out of his meditation with a gasp, sweating heavily. “What the-?!” he gasped out as he tried to steady his racing heart. “I- that…!”

He managed to get to his feet, unsteadily.

He had to at least talk to Lord Hyness about this.

IT ran its powerful psyche over where it thought it had sensed…something. But nothing was there. If there had been anything, no trace of its psychic imprint was left.

‘...intrusion?’ It thought, but then dismissed such possibility. It was dilapidated, but nothing could penetrate Its inner sanctum. It was still Mighty. ‘Highly unlikely. Aberrant thought.’ It still had those from time to time. Minor dreams and thoughts that It dismissed without concern or care. All else was secondary to It’s goal.

It returned to its task. It had labor to find.

Initially talking to Lord Hyness had him calm the young boy down. “Now, now. You might’ve sensed some remnant of someone’s psyche. I have to admit, I’m impressive if you managed to do that!” He said casually.

“I…I dunno,” Tuff admitted. “It didn’t FEEL like it was any ‘remnant’. It felt…hateful. Like, hateful NOW, not in the past. I thought I was a goner if I’d stuck around any longer.”

“That CAN happen,” Hyness admitted. “That feeling, I mean. Willpower is a very real thing, and even though the body can be long gone, the power of the mind and soul can remain if one is strong enough.”

“Right…kinda like how Marx managed to stick around,” Tuff realized. “Isn’t that still kinda somethin’ to be worried about, though?”

“Only if you allow yourself to be, or if you’re its target,” Hyness informed him. “Nonetheless, you are and should continue to be fine. Though I do wonder just how far your psyche managed to drift afield- that sounds almost impossibly far.”

“It didn’t feel like I was that far away,” Tuff noted. “Buuuut, not like I could tell exactly where I was or anythin’.”

“Because there was nowhere to ‘be’, strictly. But I do believe we talked about that, no?” Hyness asked. It was really more of a redundant question, simply a reminder of lessons past.

“Right, yeah.” Tuff had no desire to delve back into those lessons right now, but he knew the general idea. ‘What would be thousands and thousands of miles could be mere steps when inside the mind,’ and such. But this… “Just felt weird.”

Hyness merely patted him on the head, which Tuff only mildly waved off. “You’ll get used to it, have no doubt, young Tuff. Trust in yourself.”

It didn’t reassure him entirely, but…it would have to do for now. Whatever he went through, his sisters- all four of them- and his faith would have his back.

Another week passed, as did the assaults from the sisters, as well as quizzes. It was after one particularly spirited duel with Ms. Francisca that he was made to stand in front of all four of them.

“We have tested your knowledge of the faith, of magic, and of martial might,” Ms. Francisca said.

“And we’ve come to a decision!” Ms. Flamberge continued.

“Mage-Apprentice Tuff,” Zan spoke primly, “considering your current demonstrated level of skill, faithfulness, and ability, we have decided…”

“JAMBADETANA!” Hyness suddenly shouted jovially. “You’re being promoted!”

“...oh, wait, really?!” Tuff said in shock. “Yo, that’s awesome! I-”

“To Senior Mage-Apprentice,” Zan finished plainly.

That caused Tuff’s jubilation to end abruptly as he took in the new ‘title’. “...wait. Jamanke and all, but… what’s the difference between a Mage Apprentice and a Senior Mage-Apprentice?”

“We’re gonna let you boss around a couple of Jambelievers, and see how you do with ‘em,” Ms. Flamberge said with a chuckle. “Other than that, ya get that advanced training you wanted so badly. So you better get ready!”

“I believe THAT should alleviate your complaints of boredom quite thoroughly,” Zan said, lifting an eyebrow.

Tuff pursed his lips. Not that he was ungrateful, but… “Uhh, I didn’t SAY I was bored-”

“The implication was there,” Zan dismissed, before plowing onwards. “And you’ve proven we really do need to step your training up, anyway. Now then, let me introduce you to your new squadron.”

Flamberge just shrugged. “It really is just like, five of ‘em. We’re not lettin’ you take control of anything more than that, and even this is just on a trial basis.”

Tuff shrugged. “Hey, I’m cool with that.” Being honest, he liked the IDEA of being a leader, but the actual doing? Maybe he would’ve been all for it a couple years ago, but nowadays, he wasn’t entirely sure he was the leader-y sort. Still, he’d at least give it a shot if they thought he could do it…

Later, having been introduced to his five groupies (who he really needed to figure out nicknames for eventually), he’d returned to scanner duty. Frankly, he was getting used to it. “Sooo…you guys got any hobbies?”

Beep, beep, beep, beep… Before they were forced to answer such a banal question, he heard several beeps go off. That made his eyebrows shoot up. Not a buzzing, so not something on-planet, but…

He looked again. And Tuff’s face- as well as the faces of the other Jambelievers that had looked over his shoulder- went pale.

The spatial flux…he had no clue how to interpret it, but something was going on with it. It was well beyond the usual readings, that much he could tell. What was worse, all those dots could NOT have been a good sign. Especially with how they were showing up around Pop Star…

A memory, unbidden, flashed through his head, and he’d slammed down the all-call button. “Uh, everyone?! We got a problem!” Tiff’s face next flew into his mind’s eye, and he knew he had to do SOMETHING, or else she would be in BIG trouble that she wouldn’t see coming. Something major was about to happen, and no way would he let her be alone for it.

“And I need to get back to Pop Star. Like, NOW.”

Chapter 31: Lost and Forgotten

Chapter Text

Tiff ran through her checklist one more time. “Okay, that’s twelve crates of repair plates, fifty barrels of fuel, forty crates of preserved food and …” She had been bounced between the various cargo bays for the majority of the day taking stock of both what they needed and what they had; they were visiting King Dedede for a bit of a check in and resupply; though more the former than latter. After that had been done, she’d been sent ahead a day early to let him know what to prepare, exactly. As things stood, it seemed like all was well. King Dedede had been more than happy to see her, and she him, so they’d spent a bit of time catching up over a game of chess before they’d gotten down to business. (She still couldn’t beat him.)

Taranza’s training had been finished; at least, to the extent he’d felt she’d at least made some improvement in both mental and physical defensive efforts now. Meta Knight had seemed to feel some comfort in the same, and…

…well, he HAD answered her question. So that was good to know. If unsettling.

They’d sent him off with smiles (well, A smile. Meta Knight had just sort of grunted and wished ‘safe travels’) as he took off for Susie’s headquarters- he hopefully could drag Shadow Kirby back without much fuss, but Meta Knight had assured him that should it be necessary, they’d be prepared. In fact, he’d offered to ferry Taranza most of the way, which was another part of the reason for her early departure.

King Dedede, sitting at the head of the small outdoor table they were both at, simply nodded at everything she said as another Waddle Dee walked up, offering the both of them a strawberry shake, which they both accepted. “Yeah, yeah, don’t worry. This isn’t the first time Meta’s dropped by for stuff. Won’t be the last, either!” he laughed.

“I’m just making sure everything’s in order,” Tiff said idly. She knew he didn’t begrudge her efforts, especially not when she’d used them for his own sake before. “Though I’m a little surprised Bandee isn’t handling this…”

“Oh, he usually does! In fact, that’s why he ain’t here!” Dedede exclaimed. “Helped with getting the usual set up for Meta Knight, so I let him off for the day. He’s out an’ about.” He gestured towards the fields that stretched for miles. “It’s a heckuva day to enjoy!”

“Haa…you’re right,” she admitted, looking out at the serene horizon. She felt a bit more secure, then. If Bandee had helped take care of it, then it was likely all accounted for just fine. “With Kirby, or…?” she asked out of mild curiosity.

“Nah, who knows where the little troublemaker might be,” Dedede dismissed. “Doubt he’s too far, though.”

She nodded, standing up. “Well, in that case, we-”

“Guys!” came a voice she hadn’t expected to hear- and it sounded worried. “Tiff! King Dedede! Where are you?!”

“Tuff?” Tiff said in surprise as she looked towards the inside of the castle. “We’re up here! On the balcony!” Her brow furrowed as she heard running. “What’s going on?” As the words left her, she got a shiver down her spine. “And how’d you get here?!”

Tuff reached them in mere moments, having sprinted through the castle, apparently. He was backed, as far as she could tell, by five little…she couldn’t remember what they were called. Jam-somethings… “Lord Hyness sent me along- couldn’t get a bigger portal open!” He sounded out of breath and panicked. “W-we got a BIG problem! The sky- and space- and it’s fluxing-” He quickly shook his head to clear the cobwebs. “We need to get to shelter and FAST!”

“Tuff, hold on, you’re not making any sense!” she tried to tell him. “Take a deep breath and-” before she could finish her sentence, however, she felt another chill- this one much more external. At the same time, a gloved hand fell on her shoulder. She turned to ask King Dedede what the matter was-

-but it was incredibly obvious as she turned around. “What the…?”

The sky had clouded and darkened noticeably. To do that so rapidly was unusual even for this Dreamland. And something- some sort of suction force was starting to pull loose gravel and leaves into the air nearly directly above them. “What’s goin-”

“Dimensional rift!” Dedede said, interrupting her. He was already starting to head them both inside. “It’s nothin’ good, but we need to-”

But that was when HE was interrupted; a bolt of lightning struck near the group, sending them sprawling as debris and like flew into the air. As they tried to re-orient themselves, the very event he’d tried to warn about happened. With only a small portent of electricity, a massive tear in the sky seemed to rip open- star shaped, and shimmering a brilliant, electric blue.

And then the massive suction intensified. Atop a mountain as they were, it was like the rift had opened right next to them. There was no recourse, and no combating its pull.

At least, not for very long. Tiff felt her body lift off the masonry, and her mind immediately went into overdrive, fighting for her life as she grasped onto a piece of more solid brick. Her legs had no such brace, and she was left like a flag in the wind, fighting against a vortex that she could see had already begun to vacuum up countless hapless Waddle Dees. “Aaaaaahhh!” Tuff’s little friends, the Jambastion ones, were soon flying after, to his shouts of dismay.

“Why- gwaaaAAAH!” She then heard the yell of King Dedede, and to her horror she saw him lose his grip on something, and fly past her in a flash, faster than she could react, into the maw of spacetime as he clambered in midair for a handhold that wasn’t there, eyes bulging in fear.

She was tempted to reach out a hand, shout, do SOMETHING- but she didn’t even have the chance.

“Ohnonono-” Tuff’s iron grip on his staff had never wavered, but the stonework itself was. A crack, two…

‘I’m about to lose my brother.’ That was the only thought that ran through her head. The fact that she was in the same dire straits didn’t seem to register for her at that moment- just the fact that it was likely that her last thoughts would be seeing her blood, her brother, spiral into the unknown and unknowable with a look of fear on this face.

It was foolish. It was madness.

But then she felt her own grip giving way; the stone was being torn up bit by bit. And she realized that if this WERE to be their end…

As Tuff’s staff scraped his last, and he began to get sucked past her, she DID reach her hand out- he instinctively caught it, and Tiff couldn’t care less that her remaining hand lost grip that instant. She managed to pull Tuff into her embrace, and he wordlessly followed suit as sister and brother hugged tightly as they were drawn rapidly into the rift.

Tumbling, tumbling, upwards and onwards, the moment seemed to take forever but she knew was only moments. And yet…

Just before they breached the entrance, she, looking down, spotted a small, fast moving, yellow dot on the horizon- and getting closer. ‘Kirby…I hope you can stop whatever this is!’ She, by now, had faith in the pink puffball. If she could not, then…

When they breached the rift’s opening, tumbling through, she had just enough wherewithal to make sure her brother was still with her before the strange, supernatural forces of Another Dimension caused her to black out.

Tuff had little more luck. ‘W-we’re in Another Dimension…’ he realized, struggling to stay conscious. ‘But how we’re moving, we…we…!’ His head spun, and couldn’t keep any thoughts together. It was like he was being mentally strangled…

“Labor…found…”

‘Wha…?’ was all Tuff could think of the strange voice that had slipped inside his head, before he, too, passed out.

He could only pray he and his sister would wake up at all.

Fortunately, it seemed his prayers had been answered. Though, perhaps only just. “Ugggh…” he groaned out, the feeling returning more intensely to his body. “Feels like I got ran over by a truck,” he murmured to himself. ‘But better than not feelin’ anything at all,’ he quietly added on. Sitting up, he got the vague sensation of… “...sand?” he realized, getting up and finally looking around. Wherever they were, it was somewhere sunny. And green. It almost reminded him of his Pop Star…but there were still some subtle differences about the trees, the bushes, how things looked that made it clear.

He was nowhere near home.

Shaking his head, he tried to focus his thoughts. His first priority was Tiff. Where’d she- oh. Phew. He merely had to turn his head, and she’d been only a few feet away. It seemed her deathgrip on him…well, judging by her groaning and sitting up, wasn’t going to be aptly named today. She blearily blinked herself away, no doubt as groggy and aching as he was. “Wha…?”

“Welcome back to the land of the livin’, sis,” he said gladly. He’d be more excited if he had the energy for it, but right now he simply hoped his sincerity came across in his tone. “Holding up okay?”

“I…” she paused, looking herself over, still waking up. She got to her feet, shaking them a bit once she was upright- she’d gotten more than a little sand in her boots, it seemed like. “I think I’ll be alright,” she decided, twirling her wrists, neck, making sure nothing was broken or sprained. She grimaced nonetheless. “Feels like my body’s one big bruise…but it’ll heal. What about you?”

“Ditto,” he admitted. “Tripping through Another Dimension without any safeguards isn’t fun. No wonder Mr. Magolor just uses his ship…”

“Wait, we got thrown into Another Dimension?” Tiff asked in surprise. “This doesn’t look like…”

“Nah, through Another Dimension,” Tuff corrected. “Mr. Magolor mentioned this to me, too. Another Dimension is weird, because it’s not just its own place, y’know? It’s like…like a gateway, sorta. Or a ‘nexus’ between dimensions.” He shrugged. “At least, that’s how he put it. You go through there to get somewhere else.”

“Huh…fascinating…but I guess worrying about that can wait until later. For now…” she looked up at the large, tropical trees, the rocky cliff faces. “The question is ‘where are we?’”

“Wish I knew,” Tuff admitted. “Doubt it’s Pop Star, though. Doesn’t seem like there’s much around us right now, so thank Void for that. Important thing is we’re alive.”

“Yeah,” she agreed sadly. “I just wish it wasn’t just us,” she admitted. “All those Waddle Dees, and Great King Dedede, and who knows who else got sucked up, too. Who knows where they ended up…” For a moment, she felt her heart break for those that had gotten lost in that interdimensional morass…

Until she noticed Tuff looking thoughtful. “Actually…” he murmured, deep in thought. “Most dimensional rifts, if I remember what Mr. Magolor said right, usually have a destination in mind. And it’s pretty locked there, y’know? Like, there’s usually a teensy bit of variance on like, planet-sized scale, but…”

Tiff was quick to catch on, as ever. “But you’re saying that Great King might be on this planet somewhere? Maybe even nearby?!”

“Pretty sure that’s the gist of it,” Tuff agreed.

“If that’s the case, then if we can reconnect with him- maybe even the Waddle Dees that got sucked in, too!” she theorized.

“I’m hopin’ my Jamba squad are here, too,” Tuff noted. “They got sucked up right before we did.”

“Then we’ve got a plan!” Tiff said, much more galvanized now. “We’ve got to make sure we survive and find King Dedede, and everyone else!” A fire was in her eyes as she looked around at her surroundings with a more critical gaze. “I’m guessing we might be near a beach somewhere?” Tiff asked. Although they might’ve been on a different planet, the climate was at least familiar enough that she could make educated guesses.

Tuff nodded, trying to hold back a grin. His sis was way better when she was up and at ‘em. “That’s about what I figured. We should prolly get the lay of the land first, huh?”

“Bingo,” Tiff agreed. “We’re gonna need food and shelter first and foremost.” Her eyes were drawn to a large banana tree not too far away. “Seems like food won’t be too big of a problem, at least in the short term,” she noted. “Shelter might be another issue. It might be best for us to explore while we can, like you said, before we get a run of bad weather.”

Tuff shrugged, strolling towards the banana tree. In no time, he’d knocked a bushel down for them to split. “Hey, no time like the present, huh?”

“This beach is insane,” Tuff said, looking out towards the waves below. It had been only a couple hours’ journey before they’d reached the edge of land, where brilliant blue water seemed to stretch out for miles. During that time, they’d ran into a few local beasts such as large rabbits plant-like creatures, she was pretty sure she recognized, and otherwise. They’d still managed to hold onto their weapons, fortunately, so there was little trouble in dispatching them. “How big is it?”

“Maybe a coastline, considering how long it is,” Tiff opined. There were rocky cliffs and dunes aplenty, however, along with some truely giant trees. It seemed like the area ahead was a massive collection of islets, just from what she could see from the highest point she could find nearby. It wasn’t a mountain, but it was pretty high up on a large hill, with what she could only deem to be a massive root from the tree. The duo, fortunately, had little problem scaling such heights, with her brother arriving only minutes later due to having stopped to collect more fruits. There, she could make out stranger, box-shaped islands.

Not that she didn’t know what those were, and in fact they only served to verify suspicions she’d had running across what could’ve only been an empty can and some old crates. “This place IS inhabited!” she said as he came up, munching on what she was pretty sure was an apple- at least, it was shaped like one. “That’s got to be some sort of constructed island out there in the distance! It’s way too square and precise to be natural.”

“Awesome! Hope the locals aren’t ornery,” Tuff opined with a grin. However, that smile quickly faded as he saw the square dot in the distance. “Actually…how are we gonna get there? You really think we could swim that?”

Tiff squinted, assessing the perceived distance. “Hmm…maaaybe,” she admitted. But the more she thought about it, the less likely it seemed. “It WOULD be a really tough swim, even assuming there’s no strong currents. And I wouldn’t want to do it in my armor either way.”

Tuff kicked the ground in slight annoyance. “Gah. I wish we had our Air Rides.”

Tiff could only nod. “Those or at least a Warp Star,” she added. “Then this wouldn’t be a problem.”

Her brother looked towards her, and though she couldn’t see his eyes, she knew he was looking at her in surprise. “You can’t summon one?” he asked.

She huffed in answer. “You didn’t think I’ve tried yet? As soon as I got up here, that was one of the first things I did.” She shook her head in indication. “No luck, though. Honestly, it was always more ‘asking Kabu’ anyway, not demanding it show up.”

“Great,” Tuff griped. “Slow way it is.”

“It might actually be better to look inland, anyway,” Tiff suggested. It wasn’t a big leap of logic- though the beach was large, and had several small rivers leading to it, from their location, they could see what looked to be a large, rocky, but forested area in the distance to their west that seemed to eventually meld more into jungle, or perhaps forest, in front of what seemed to be a true mountain range. That could only speak to grassland being SOMEWHERE further in, she hoped. “Maybe we should head in that direction,” she pointed. “Follow the mountain range on in. Less trouble getting around, and we at least have experience in wandering around forested areas.”

“True…” Tuff considered, before shrugging his shoulders. “M‘kay, then. Probably a better shot at a town where we can get our bearings, too. Let’s get back down an’ make sure we got some food for travelin’.”

“We can take the day to prepare,” Tiff suggested. “Make sure we’ve got enough, and some way to carry it all. It’s gonna be a loooong walk, looks like.”

Fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult to find some cloth- a bit dirty, but washing them and the fruit was of no concern- there was water everywhere. They’d first had to take shelter in a small cavern, but there was no ill weather, fortunately. The next morning, they set out, and it was the beginning of a routine of careful progress; making sure not just their immediate surroundings were safe, but making sure that there were no major threats lurking just out of sight or unknown to them. Much of their traveling had them go only so far and then stop and make sure they had a wide perimeter circle, before bundling up for the evening. Tuff would usually meditate, while Tiff practiced forms.

Tuff hadn’t been schooled too much in survival techniques, unfortunately, but Meta Knight had drilled some of the basics into both of them, and Tiff in particular had gotten a bit more knowledge on the matter thanks to the Meta-Knights’ far reaching and extended inspections. Ultimately, this led to them located a small cave area that they would have to utilize temporarily. They also were fairly quick to understand just where they were.

Though the nights were largely calm, it was still night, meaning they often quickly had to either find or make shelter, more commonly the latter. Over the next couple of days, they found themselves soon exposed to the elements in truth- with little treeline to cover them, if any. Yet again, their only real saving grace was the fact that so close to the shoreline with little else but sand, rock, and the occasional tree, few predators seemed to bother with this stretch of land. They ultimately had to resort to foraging for washed up or broken logs and branches, and stripping the large fronds of the few trees they did come across in an effort to make temporary lean-tos. “How do ya know how to do all this?” he asked that third night. They were resting before what would be a annoying, but not impossible swim to the neighboring shore.

“Lord Meta Knight showed me how between forest and jungle patrols,” she noted. “Just in case. I honestly never really thought I’d have to use it, but…”

“Hey, it helps now,” Tuff pointed out as he made to tear off another palm tree leaf. Looking down at it, he sighed. “...this sucks.”

Tiff couldn’t disagree with him, merely grunting in commiseration. “Well, I’m not just gonna roll over and die, are you?”

“Heck no!” He was quick to make his displeasure known. “But I’m gonna get sick of the tropics real quick, I think…”

Though the trip was boring, food was, blessedly, of little concern; many plants here seemed to bear fruit, and Tiff only wished she had her journal with her to record these all too familiar-looking foods as they came across them. It was risky, but necessary to try them, and many looked so familiar she could only trust in their taste. “I wish there was a way to determine if there were any biological effects…” she muttered while looking over what seemed like a tangerine and some cherries one night.

“”If you’re right and this place has aliens livin’ in it, there’ll probably be a way once we find a town,” Tuff noted. He’d just finished tonight’s meal, a strange looking fruit that, once broken open, proved to be surprisingly sweet, alongside some cherries. “ At least we’ve found a few vegetables.” Those were less common, and thus eaten sparingly. They both hoped the further inland they got, the more common they’d become.

As they marched on, they managed to come across a more varied environment; they found themselves cleaving closer to the sea, briefly. Making their way through underbrush proved to be as familiar as they’d hoped, if perhaps with a bit more water to be concerned about, but fortunately there was still plenty enough land to hop to and walk on. Tiff found herself feeling good about the travel time as they made their way around a short cliffside.

Tuff, on the other hand? “...How far away are we from the mountains?” he asked, looking up.

“It’s still a ways away, but we’re making distance,” she noted as she looked at him curiously. “Why?”

He never took his eyes off the sky. “Just askin’. I dunno, this place feels…weird.”

“Weird how?” Tiff asked seriously. No sense in dismissing her brother’s senses. “Like, ‘double time it out of here’ weird, ‘we should explore more carefully’ weird, or…”

“None o’ those,” he corrected. “Just… weird weird. Like my brain’s itchin’ a little for some reason.” He paused. “Maybe leanin’ towards that second one, though.”

She looked around. She didn’t have quite the magical sense her brother did, but… “The sun’s going down, but this’ll be a good place to rest for the night, anyway. There’s a lot more cover than we’ve had. We-” she had pushed through some small shrubs, making her way through the brush, before stopping in surprise as she looked ahead- and down, into what at first glance looked like a strange, if massive lakefront. “...no way…”

There were buildings. Actual buildings, large ones. She wasn’t sure what they were for, but they were clearly long flooded- she could see into the depths a good ways, such was the clarity of the water. Though the tops of the roofs remained above water, they were clearly all that was left. She could see some sort of containers as well- big industrial things that brought the factory works of both the old King Dedede and Haltmann to memory. “What was this place…?” she asked in awe.

“No clue, but…” Tuff trailed off, equally as surprised. “Wild…”

“In more ways than one,” Tiff agreed. “This…what happened here?” There was a quick, obvious answer that she didn’t want to think about right then and there. Instead, she looked over the area to see how to press on.

Unfortunately for them, it seemed like the fastest way to get through the area was to do some rooftop hopping. A few large, intimidating beasts had seemed to take up residence in the water as well, from what she could tell in the distance. Giant reptilian things with MASSIVE mouths. She could see little signs here and there of other things moving around as well. “...going around would probably take us days by itself,” she realized, looking off into the distance to check how far the edge went. It was a massive lake horizontally, and though not as massive as the seascape they’d seen earlier, it still vanished into the horizon from their perspective. On the other hand… “If we’re careful, I think we can get across in like, a couple hours.

“You mean we’re gonna have to hop across alla that?” Tuff frowned. “Huh. Well…at least we can probably keep anythin’ from messin’ with us too badly.”

“Probably,” she agreed. “Wanna try looking around now or in the morning?”

“Morning,” Tuff immediately said, looking up again. “I…don’t think what I’m feelin’ is bad. Just…”

“Right, weird,” Tiff finished. “C’mon. If we’re lucky, maybe there’s a building we can sleep in. I’d love a roof over my head again.”

Fortunately, they were in fact able to find one after a handful of minutes searching- though it was very small and seemed more like a standalone office, sitting just on the bank of the lake with a single window. There were clear signs of rust and dilapidation- the door was easily pushed in, the lock clearly either long since snapped or broken. There was an old whiteboard with illegible writing on it, a steel table and some chairs that, though aged, looked in surprisingly good condition, and some other devices such as a computer that was long out of use. To their surprise, there was even what seemed to be a small bed, though it was just the mattress on a frame. It was still far better than literal sticks and leaves. “Well, it ain’t my room back at the Jambandra Base, but it’ll work,” Tuff quipped. Sighing, he plopped down on the bed- to his appreciation, the mattress still had some give to it, too. “Leastway my back won’t be complaining. Right, Tiff?” He turned to his sister-

-who was staring out the dirty window almost forlornly. “Sis? You there?”

“...I REALLY hope there’s someone out there,” she said. “We need to find King Dedede. We need to find everyone. We- we need to. We can’t be lost here-” she paused, took a deep breath.

A hand came down on her shoulder- and soon, another joined in making it into a hug from behind that lasted for several minutes. “Relax, sis. Like I said, odds are good King Dedede, the Dees, and a buncha others are around here somewhere, too. We might not’ve run into him yet, buuuut I’d put good money on him having a similar idea as we did. I dunno as much about the guy as you, but I doubt he’s super into swimming for miles and miles, right?”

“I…true,” Tiff agreed, trying to calm herself down. “He CAN, obviously, but he doesn’t really like it. I- that’s what I thought at first anyway,” she admitted. “He’d go inland first. See if there was somewhere a bit more civilized he could hole up in before trying to make sense of things.”

“Well, there ya go! And from what ya told me, he’s got pretty darn good cardio for a guy his size, right?”

She nodded, catching on. “He’s called Great King Dedede for more than one reason. He’s in amazing shape despite how he might look. I could believe he’d outpace us, or he might’ve just landed further away.”

“Soooo, chances are either we’ll eventually run into him-” Tuff started.

“Or he’ll run into us, so long as we’re going in the same direction,” Tiff finished, sighing. “I knew all that, just…I guess I saw this town under water, and…” she shook her head. “It got a little overwhelming. We were hoping to find civilization here, but now…” she shrugged. “Everything we’ve seen so far points to this place being…abandoned. And that probably won’t help much.”

“I mean, helped tonight at least,” he said, gesturing around them. “So that’s something.”

“True…” by now, the sun had dipped over the horizon. She sighed. “Let’s eat dinner and get to sleep. We want to be up early. Fortunately, they had enough food picked up to at least have some bananas and a small melon. “We might have to start considering actual hunting…”

“Ugh,” Tuff shuddered. “Meat’s fine, but I don’t wanna see how it’s made. Maybe fishing? I could do fishing,” he offered.

Tiff sighed. “I really hope King Dedede is doing better than we are…”

Uncomfortable, uncertain, and unhappy, yet still willing to press on, they ate their rationed fruit and both clambered into the bed, Tiff in particular finally shedding her armor for a night.

Tiff’s sleep was dreamless.

Tuff’s…

‘Go a...-in the-...ll. Br-...lab-…me.’

…he couldn’t quite remember, upon waking. But his stomach was empty, his head itched, and that was more important to him.

Chapter 32: Everbay Coast: Concrete Lake

Chapter Text

When they woke up, they didn’t have to share many words. The plan had been determined, and now there was nothing else to do but carry it out. “How’re you feeling?” Tiff asked as they prepared to head off.

“Good enough,” was Tuff’s response, stepping alongside her as they got closer to the water’s edge. “Head still itches, though. Dunno why, but I can ignore it, don’t worry.”

That concerned her, but there was nothing to be done for it at the moment. “Alright. Like I said before, it shouldn’t take us TOO long to get across, if we’re lucky. It’s a big lake, but I think as long as we’re careful, we’ll be fine.”

He nodded, and with that, the two set off.

The trip began smoothly enough- they could access the rooftops thanks to a natural sandy outcropping, which got them to the first few. Aside from what were clearly intentional metal walkways between the closer roofs, nature had clearly reclaimed much of this, beyond just water. There were sandbars everywhere, as well as more than a few vines and fallen trees, all hopefully sturdy enough to walk on. As she got closer, she could see that there was apparently some construction still taking place around here when whatever happened to flood this place occurred. Their first roadblock was soon forthcoming, however, after turning a corner and climbing a ladder to get a bit of height, however. They found themselves on a slightly higher rooftop, true- but no real way off of it. And a pair of those big-mouth gators were occupying the water beneath them. They clearly weren’t inclined to get OUT of the water, but Tiff wasn’t interested in testing their patience. “Now what…” she murmured to herself as they looked around for inspiration.

“We need some kinda bridge,” Tuff suggested- and Tiff had come to the same conclusion, already spotting what they could use. There was a small crane nearby, and strung up to it…

“Stand back,” Tiff said, breaking out her lance. With a strong swing, she sent a wave of energy towards it. As expected, the cables holding it snapped cleanly in two, and the two steel beams promptly crashed down- right between the two buildings, and inadvertently knocking out the gator-things below. “Whoops…” she muttered.

“Hey, better them than us,” Tuff grinned, already turning to head down.

Upon crossing, Tiff looked back at where the gator-things had been. “You’re right, honestly,” she admitted.

That was put to the test, however- the next one they’d encountered, Tuff had thought to see just how much they could take. He was promptly astonished when it seemed to not care in the slightest about ANY of his elemental attacks. Fire, Ice, Spark, none of it seemed to do much more than mildly irritate the scaled creature.

Tiff had similar luck; even against her good sense attempting to POKE the thing when it swam close enough to shore. It was just in its back, but the thing barely seemed to notice, merely snorting in annoying- and possibly derision. “Jeez, these things are like a fortress!” Tuff complained after they’d managed to find a way around it- namely by finding an open window in a bigger building nearby. They could walk through the office-like area there.

Unfortunately, it seemed that some strange doglike creatures, as well as monkey things had taken up residence here- almost immediately after they entered what seemed to be an abandoned office room, they’d been ambushed by a handful of the hounds! “Hey, back off!” Tuff yelled, smashing two aside.

Tiff quickly ducked out of the way of one charging. Cute as it seemed, she couldn’t risk the danger. She rammed her shield into it, and that was it for that one. The last two were taken on separately and finished easily- only for the monkeys to consider it THEIR turn now. “Oh, come on!” her brother complained as he sent a Dangerous Ice Candy towards one. “We’re just passin’ through!”

Tiff managed to sidestep one hurling its hammer- they ALL seemed to have one, and she didn’t doubt that those bared teeth weren’t a sign of nice intentions. A pair of jabs sent it running, and a quick spinning slash got two more to call it quits.

Tuff jabbed out, rapid-fire, as another pair tried to team up on him. One was smacked flush, but the other was a touch close, and Tuff grunted as his shoulder caught a glancing blow from the thrown projectile. Fortunately, that was all, as another horizontal swipe sent the beast flying back into the depths of the room.

For a few moments, all was silent. Tiff looked around, tense and ready to strike just in case…but no. “I think we’re all clear,” she said softly.

“Thank goodness,” Tuff admitted, rubbing his elbow. “What was up with that?”

“What do you think?” Tiff asked, only slightly annoyed. “We’re intruding on territory they claimed. I dunno why those dogs and monkeys are living together, but they’ve clearly worked something out that we’re probably interrupting.”

“You make it sound like they’re partners,” Tuff chuckled, but didn’t dispute the matter. “Anywho, let’s just get a move on.”

That, she could agree on.

After making it a bit further, a situation similar to the first one seemed to present itself. “Great,” Tuff opined. “Buncha big-mouths, a roof we need to get to, and no bridge in sight like last time.”

“It’s really annoying, yeah,” Tiff agreed as she looked over to see if anything was nearby they could perhaps use as a distraction. Those gators HAD to have a weakness of some sort, right?

Tuff, meanwhile, was looking in another direction, at the opposite rooftop- and it was following that line of sight that he spotted something with potential. “Waait a tic.” That looked like a pipe…but where it was, plus what seemed to be keeping it stuck…

“Hm?” Tiff didn’t look back at him yet, so she missed how his eyes traced an invisible path, taking slight mental measurements. Yeah, he could make that. “What’s up?”

“...I think I got an idea,” Tuff said, already backing up. “But you totally can’t hate me for this.”

“Hate you for- hate you for what?” Tiff asked, whipping around. But it was already too late- Tuff was charging forwards with a yell, and before she could ask what was he thinking, he planted his staff in the ground and flung himself upwards, pole vaulting and absolutely launching himself up and over the massive gator things- which saw fit to try and snap at him as he did, though they didn’t launch themselves out of the water.

Tuff landed safely on the other rooftop, having cleared over twice what Tiff could do in one jump, and immediately began to take off for the balcony he’d noticed off to the side, racing up the makeshift ramp between it and the lower roof for his prize- the large pipe on top of it, fallen from a crane, clearly, but perfect for what he was hoping for. It was just restrained by a LOT of vine growth, but he’d fix that easily enough. Some fire was enough to burn them away; and from there the barely hanging pipe was freed. “Alrighty…here goes!” With a shove, Tuff sent the pipe promptly rolling down the small rampway, and from there it was launched into the air, crashing down inbetween the roofs- though it was large and heavy enough to CRATER the edges of both buildings a bit. Fortunately, that had been enough to keep the makeshift bridge steady.

Tiff had backed back after seeing where he was going, but the surprise drop had been enough. “TUFF! You MANIAC! Why would you even RISK THAT?!”

“Aw, it wasn’t a risk!” Tuff assured. “I can make that jump easy! Did it all the time in training! And hey!” He pointed between them. “Now you got a way across, right?”

Tiff shifted her glare between him and the pipe, before grumbling, shaking her head, and climbing on top to cross.

The next while of making their way was blessedly free of such necessary stunts- though they accidentally stumbled across what seemed to be more than a couple of Sqiushies taking offense to their presence as they tried to cross another bridge- including a rather BIG one they hadn’t expected to be swimming about. That one had been difficult to beat back without stumbling into the water themselves, but they both managed without a ton of trouble.

“Looks like we’re a little past halfway there!” Tiff said brightly, looking ahead as she and Tuff clambered into another building to pass through. There was no ambush this time, but there was a large obstruction in their path again, though- this time what looked to be a large file cabinet blocking what she was fairly certain was the only way out of here- a hole made, likely intentionally. Fortunately, it was only a minor annoyance. “Ugh. Hold on.”

“Hey, it’s all you,” Tuff said easily as his sister rubbed her hands together in preparation. Planting herself securely, she began to shove the massive steel furniture out of the way. Although there was a lot of rumbling and some screeching from it grinding against stone, before much longer, it was clear, and they could move on. “Geez. Glad you’ve still got your freaky strength.”

She shrugged. “Just don’t need to use it all that much, or the people that I DO are stronger than me,” she admitted. “But something tells me it’ll be useful as long as we’re here…”

The next rooftop seemed free and clear of anything concerning, thankfully. It seemed another high/low rooftop pair. Tiff wanted to continue on, though Tuff quickly stopped her. "Hold on, wanna see if that weird feelin' might be around here."

"Wait, is it?" she asked, concerned. "Are you getting headaches or is it just feeling weirder than it has been?"

"Nah, just wanna check around just in case," he promised, stepping off what seemed to be a small rooftop terrace to the lower roof. Where he landed seemed to be a sitting area and... “Huh. A vending machine?” Tuff walked up to it in curiosity. “Why’s one up here?”

“Probably because this looks like it was a rooftop where people hung out,” Tiff guessed. There were tables and chairs and other amenities for relaxation up here. It made sense enough. “Wouldn’t be surprised if whatever company that owned this placed wanted to sell drinks for anyone who came up here, too.”

“Huh.” He looked down at the place where the cans came out of. On sheer curiosity, he gave the machine a decent little kick. He didn’t expect it to rumble, and for a can to plop out. “Ha!” He snatched it up, opening it. “Neat! This thing was still stocked!”

“Tuff, no, it could be-” she grit her teeth and sighed as he seemingly took a big gulp. “...rancid or something,” she finished lamely.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tuff grinned- and then pulled the can away, revealing that he had his lips closed the whole time. “Pfthahah! C’mon, sis, you think I’m just gonna drink anything? Who knows what’s in this stuff!”

“I…” she huffed, allowing herself a small grin. Tuff HAD gotten more mature in some ways, but in others? Not so much. “Fine, fine, you got me. But now that I’m thinking about it…how bad IS it?”

“Dunno,” he said, before tipping the can over on the concrete. He was a touch surprised to see what was clearly some kind of juice pour out. “Huh. Doesn’t LOOK bad.” He flipped it back up, now looking at it curiously and even taking a sniff. “ Doesn't smell bad, either, actually. Y’think…?” he trailed off.

The two of them looked at the can in contemplation. Finally, Tiff huffed. “A quick sip or two,” she decided. If it was still good, then this would be quite the boon to their supplies.

And judging from Tuff’s shocked smile, they’d indeed lucked out. “Jackpot!” Tuff exclaimed. “Tastes like apple! And I mean, I ain’t gettin’ a stomachache or nothing, so I think we’re good!”

“Well, I don’t know how healthy it’s gonna be for us in the long run, but something’s better than nothing,” Tiff decided, wacking the machine herself. Sure enough, two more cans fell out. “Let’s get a few of these for the road just in case.” Their cloth sacks were filled to bursting, but they had little other recourse. “Alright, let’s get going.”

The opposite shore got closer and closer as they moved between rooftops, jumping, fighting, and climbing as necessary. The shoreline wasn’t too far, but they still had to reach it first, all while avoiding the Big Mouths. That proved to nearly stymie them when they’d gotten to one more rooftop series- and saw no way to get across without risking a TON of Big Mouths that were swimming nearby. “Juuust GREAT,” Tuff snarked.

Tiff looked around for yet another solution- fate had been kind to them so far, so hopefully it would be nice to them again. “Check and see if there’s something else we can make into a bridge or something.”

Tuff just looked around in general. “I’m not seein’ anything,” he noted idly as he walked around the rooftop. It wasn’t one of those ‘relaxation’ ones with furniture, he noted. This one seemed more for business or was in the middle of some sort of construction, with a high fence barrier and several small tools and devices he didn’t know what were. “Swimmin’s out, but I dunno how else we’re gonna get around all those Big Mouths.”

“Well I- hm?” She was about to admonish him before spotting something on an adjacent rooftop that looked vaguely familiar. “Hey, Tuff, over here.” She hopped over, as did he, and leaned down once she got to the contraption to take a closer look. She wasn’t sure, but it looked like a tiny, tiny version of the generators that the Halberd used. Even had a lightning bolt symbol on it. There were wires streaking from it as well, and tracing them, she noticed that at least two of them lead into what seemed like shuttered doors. “Dunno if this’ll help anything, but maybe you could power this up with your Spark? Who knows if something might be behind those doors?”

“Y’think?” Tuff asked, but he was already walking up to the device. “I can try an’ give it a jolt, sure.”

Forgoing his staff for this, he touched the device directly, and channeled his Spark element as much as he dared, sending voltage coursing through the strange machine. Almost immediately it revved up, and seemed to rumble heavily. “Whoa!” Tuff said as the door in front of them opened up- as well as something else, from the look of things. To their shock, they heard what they could only presume was a muffled explosion below them, as the building shuddered. Alarmed, the Big Mouths began to scatter away, clearly disinterested in finding out what had caused that explosion. In front of them, an assortment of debris began to float up…as well as an old, steel boat. It surfaced without trouble, showing it was still plenty buoyant. “Hey! You were right!” Tuff said eagerly. “That’s our ticket outta here!”

They wasted no time running for the boat before it floated out of reach, both hopping on. Both of them proceeded to use their weapons as makeshift paddles, steering their way towards the opposite shore of the island. They couldn’t help but notice that there was a matching building here, too.

As they clambered out, they both sighed in relief, smiling at one another. “We made it…” Tuff said in relief- before holding his hand out for a high five. “Up top!”

Tiff could only grin- she was just happy they were out of that mess. Up Top became Down Below, a forearm bump, a playful spin, a shimmy and a shake, and a hug to cap it off.

No matter what, they’d survive this, so long as they worked together.

They elected to make as much distance as they could- that had all happened during the morning, and considering the sun was high in the sky, there was still plenty of daylight left by their estimate. However, as they kept going, Tuff couldn’t help but notice something. “Hey, I think my head itchiness is goin’ away.”

“Is it?” That was a bit of a surprise to Tiff. She had been expecting it would be something she’d have to keep in mind for as long as they were here. “Wonder why?”

“Honestly? I think it’s because we’re getting further away from that drowned town,” Tuff opined. “I’m not gettin’ that ‘this place is weird’ feeling anymore like I was.”

“So there was absolutely something strange about that area, then,” Tiff opined.

“For sure,” Tuff agreed. “Just wish I knew what. Felt like it was just out of reach sometimes. Like I could’ve figured it out if I’d just…walked around and thought about it a little more.” Tiff looked at him curiously, and he waved her out. “Not sayin’ I wanna go back, don’t worry! Just…kept getting that feeling like something was right THERE and I wasn’t cluin’ in.”

“Well…if you get any more weird feelings, let me know,” Tiff insisted. “I don’t want to be caught by surprise, and if it happens again, we can try to figure out what’s going on and why you’re feeling like that.”

“Yeah…sounds good,” Tuff agreed, looking to the sky one more time.

Nope. Nothing. ‘Too weird…’

Later, they’d managed to make their way along a bit rougher ground. It seemed as though the area was getting a bit more rocky again, though it was obvious that there was still more than plenty of water and islets to go around. Tuff looked down at the spray against the beachside cliffs a fair distance below. “Y’know what?” he realized. “We should’ve kept the boat. Why didn’t we keep the boat?”

“It would’ve been REALLY awkward to carry with us,” Tiff reasoned. “Yeah, if we had a boat, we’d be able to just sail around all these islands, but I haven’t spotted a good launching off point to get into the sea yet, have you?” She pointed at the tiny river they were following. “I don’t think it would’ve even fit in THAT.”

Tuff had to admit she had a point. “Okay, but the next time we find a boat, we’re keepin’ it until we’re done with this whole beach business.”

“Fine, sure,” Tiff said dismissively. She wasn’t at all confident they’d just randomly STUMBLE across another boat. What would be the odds- no, no, she wasn’t going to test her luck by thinking it. ‘Just move on, Tiff…’

Though rocky, the terrain began to prove quiet once again in terms of creatures, though they did occasionally run into more of those strange dog-things. The duo mostly kept clear of them. “Y’know, for being so cute, they’re surprisingly aggressive when they notice you,” Tiff admitted. “It’s really kind of a shame.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty cuddly-lookin’,” Tuff admitted. “Kinda makes me feel guilty until I remember they wanna take a bit outta me or something.”

“Well, to be fair, that’s camouflage for a lot of animals,” Tiff reasoned. “Look unassuming so that a predator mistakes you for an easy meal, and then…” she trailed off, the intended finale obvious. “So yeah. Let’s not make any assumptions.”

“Yeah, fair,” Tuff agreed, before they moved on. The terrain was far more broken up at this point, but at the same time more coherent. Say, how high up are we?”

“I don’t think we’re THAT high,” Tiff figured. “I can still hear the waves below just fine. But now I’m wondering...”

Sure enough, the river opened up into a small pool of water that they could only guess was being fed from underground and the ocean nearby. Surrounding a copse of trees, it actually ran off into another river on the other side, but unlike the first lake, this one was easily circumvented. Which was just as well- no rooftops here to hop on. “Here might be a good spot to rest for a while,” Tiff decided. “Let’s scout ahead a bit and see what’s what.”

“Hey, works for me,” Tuff agreed, looking around. “Void willin’ the place’ll be empty.”

Their scouting usually was the two of them moving in a wide counter-clockwise pattern, spiraling in- they did no differently this time. However, Tiff, as she was checking what she believed was a small trail, noticed something odd in the bushes nearby. “Hold on, now…” she murmured to herself as she cleared away some grass to get a better look at it. It was… “Some kind of crystal?” And a very pretty one, at that. Shaped like a star, it seemed to sparkle all sorts of colors, and glowed with ethereal light. “Wow…” She could sense there was SOMETHING about this crystal- some sort of magic emanating from it that she wasn’t sure what was. “...maybe Tuff might know something,” she hazarded. It still felt kinda odd to consider her brother the resident expert on magic, but there was no reason to deny that he knew more about anything vaguely magic than she did.

Her trust proved…somewhat well-founded; upon coming back, she’d handed it over. Neither of them had found any sign of habitation nearby, which was good. That meant they could puzzle this over. “It’s…definitely magic, sorta,” Tuff hazarded.

“What do you mean sorta?” she asked. “I thought things were either magical or they weren’t.”

“It’s like…how do I put it?” he paused to think for a moment. “...It feels like a Magic Point, sorta kinda.”

Great, more terms she didn’t know. “What’s a Magic Point, then?”

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” he dismissed, to her mild annoyance. “All that’s important to know is that this thing’s got magic in it…but I suspect it can’t use it yet. Dunno why not though, before you ask.”

“Huh. Do you know how to draw it out, then?” she kept on.

“Somethin’ like this?!” Tuff said, clearly worried. “That’s way too dangerous, especially if this thing really IS anything like Magic Points, ‘cause that’d mean it came from Another Dimension, and NOTHING’S a sure thing in there.” That said, Tiff couldn’t help but notice he was particularly fixated on the stone for some reason. He hadn’t looked away from it once since she started asking questions.

“So, we’re throwing it away?” she questioned as she made a small fire pit. Though this one had a particular reason for it…

“Nah,” he said confidently, finally looking at her briefly before he packed the stone away. “Betcha we can find some use for it later,” he hazarded. “Doubt we’ll come across a ton of these.”

“You sure there’s nothing else going on with it?” she asked. “Not that I’m doubting you, just…”

“Relaaax,” Tuff insisted. “If it was dangerous, I’d say so! It’s just weird and I’m wondering what might be possible if we DO manage to figure this thing out.”

“...well, I guess I can’t fault you for that,” she admitted as she tossed in some kindling. She was all too similar with her archeology and other studies, so if magicology (if that was a thing…) was his interest, she’d let it happen. “I’ll keep on the lookout in case I run into any others, then.”

Tuff couldn’t help but grin at that. “Awesome! So, we got something to do in our off-time. But I guess first thing’s first, huh? We gotta find the King and all the Waddle Dees for ‘im, and my Jambeliver crew. Then we’ll really be in business.” He snapped his fingers, conjuring a fire for them. He didn’t need to do that, but he liked it for style points.

Tiff nodded, grateful for his understanding. “Yup. That comes first. I really need to report in to him, since-”

A squeak, something rustled, and the two of them shot up, weapons at the ready as they turned towards the sound in a blink. “Hey, who’s there?!” she shouted- but it was already too late, even as they moved towards the sound’s source. Whatever it was had taken off like a rocket. “...huh. First time something’s ran from us.”

“Aw, jamblasted!” Tuff swore, looking around for tracks and finding none. “Well, considerin’ everything else here wanted a piece of us or didn’t care, but this thing bailed...I got an iffy feelin’ about this,” he admitted. “You get eyes on whatever that was?”

Huffing, she shook her head. “Not really. I can’t even say I saw a bit of them. Too fast. But I agree- we’re going to have to be more careful moving on.” Her eyes squinted at nothing, frustrated but determined. “If it comes back, we’ll handle it, right?”

“For sure!” Tuff agreed heartily. “No weirdo scaredy-animal’s gonna slow US down!”

Elsewhere, the runaway had to calm down. He could fly. They couldn’t. But he’d nearly given himself away! He’d never seen them before, but what he’d overheard them saying had shocked him.

Whatever those two were, they were dangerous if they were really in league with the King…and especially if they were looking for his new friends!

He had to protect them…but how? He…there might’ve been some things he could do, but he couldn’t fight at all! But that was when something came to him. ‘ Maybe if we all just…just stay far away from them…then they won’t look so hard for us, right?’

Thinking about it, there was this one place near the coast he knew…

Chapter 33: Everbay Coast: Abandoned Beach (Other Side)

Chapter Text

Despite keeping a watch that night due to their surprise ‘visitor’, nothing else accosted them that they could identify or notice. While their training had allowed them to function on surprisingly little sleep if it was necessary, that didn’t mean they enjoyed it. What that meant was that they both weren't exactly the most talkative as they kept moving through the underbrush. It was a couple of hours before either of them felt like speaking. “Still nothin’?” Tuff asked.

Tiff shook her head. “Nope.” It was clear what they were talking about. “Might’ve just been a timid little thing we spooked after all.”

Tuff huffed. “Hope so. Got more important things to worry about.”

As they went on, there was little else they could worry about without going in circles- the strange stone they’d looked at didn’t seem to do anything to them, and they didn’t have any more strange encounters, so that just left them with the occasional piece of combat and wondering. “Y’think this place had to deal with a war, too?” Tuff opined. “Some kinda ‘Nightmare’ of their own?”

“Hm…” it was a dour thought, but she couldn’t think of a reason to deny the consideration. “Not sure. But there’s something about this place that makes me say ‘no’. I can’t place it yet, though.” It felt like it was something she was just missing. “Maybe if we see more of the place we can make heads or tails of what happened here.” ‘And how worried we need to be’, she silently added.

Soon, however, they began to hear not just running water, but falling water. “Watch your step,” Tiff warned. “Don’t want to take a tumble over whatever waterfall’s nearby.”

“Right, yeah,” Tuff said idly. “Wouldn’t be surprised if we ran into it sooner than later anyway.”

He was proven right as the trail they were following soon began to clear a bit- the treeline thinned, the high ledge they were on seemingly ending shortly ahead of them, converting to a more slate grey stone they couldn’t get around. They could look out into the distance atop the cliff they were on. “Another one?” Tiff grimaced as she looked out at the partially flooded environment, awash with several animals swimming about- she saw yet more ‘big-mouths’, among others. “Was it some sort of massive flood that happened, then…?”

“Dunno for sure, but at least there’s more land to deal with here,” Tuff noted. “In fact, there’s a nice spot right over there- to the left of us. C’mon, let’s head down and see if this won’t lead us further inland!”

Sighing, Tiff could see no reason to deny him, hopping down alongside him into a bit of greenery. This area seemed to be much smaller, at least. Though there were clearly half-submerged buildings around, there was also a clear land path that they could follow. A quick hop above a smaller natural ledge had them stepping past some trees, and a gated off area. A quick glance showed nothing but a big-mouth enjoying the quiet pond it’d found itself in, so they moved on.

Rounding the corner had them stepping by another old set of buildings- though as large as they were, they seemed to be dead ends, judging by how there were no other buildings near them. A couple of careful hops over a small rooftop and some scaffolding lead to their first roadblock- almost literally. “Whoa,” Tuff said simply at the arboreal stop sign. “That’s a tree. Although it’s kinda funny lookin’...”

“Seems like someone was cutting it for lumber bit by bit. The top’s almost gone.” Dismissing that, she craned her head as best she could around the tree. “Can we just swim around i-” Only to see a pair of big-mouths leering back up at her. “No. That’s a no.” Ugh. ‘This place is practically infested with these things,’ she thought sourly. “So…how do we get past this…?”

“Can you cut it or knock it down or something?” Tuff asked, gesturing to the thing. “Y’know, go all lumberjack on it…or is it lumberjill?”

“Ehhh…” she squinted at it. “Well, I guess I don’t see why not. Not like we’ve got any other ways to get around it without those things getting a chance at snacking on us.” She reared back. “Stand back for a bit, Tuff.”

He did so, and she proceeded to launch an energy wave at it. It did, to her appreciation, bite into the bark of the tree a few inches. “Right…it’ll take a minute, but you were on to something.” Though she had to rest for a few minutes after each one, she made progress in chopping the remnants of the big tree down. After it was a bit over halfway through, she squinted- it’d almost looked like it was wavering- and that’s when she realized her mistake, considering physics. ‘I cut it from the wrong side!’

“Whoa- what?” Tuff said in shock as she barreled forwards with her shield, and with a yell, jumped and rammed the tree with as much strength as she could muster- which did indeed tilt the correct way after that little coercion. With a mighty crash, it fell, toppling well enough to make a bridge to the other side, cracking almost clean down the middle as it did so. “Hey, awesome! Nice work!” It didn’t take him very long to hop on- “Whoa!” and he felt something creak as he did.

“Tuff, get off!” his sister yelled, and just as he leapt, she took a deep breath, firing off another crescent wave- this time vertically. The yellow beam finished the job physics had apparently been trying to do, splitting the log in two- and smashing, yet again, one of the big-mouths as that half plunged into the water. The second half, however, had already begun to set itself into the groove its fall had made.

“Huh…hey, you made a bridge!” Tuff noted with a grin. “C’mon, Lumberjane Tiff, let’s go!”

“You BETTER not call me that the rest of the way!” she said quickly following. They followed the sandy pathways around yet again, the natural cliffs having built up to lead directly to a building’s rooftop, similar to what they’d seen in that strange lake. Atop it was a sign in those strange letters they’d seen on occasion, and to the left of them and aways a bit, a small cavern opening that likely led deeper into the area.

The two of them hopped onto the rooftop. “Alright,” Tiff stated. “It looks like we should-”

However, to her surprise, that’s when they heard a howl- and then a number of those monkeys again seemed to leap out of the trees and from the nearby buildings. “Aw, crud! Again!?” Tuff said in annoyance as he brandished his staff once again. Tiff did the same with her spear. Fortunately, this outcome was little different than the last time- there were too few of them, really. Tuff even managed to wack one into one of letters in the building’s sign, sending it sprawling. “Home run!” he jeered as the reinforcements seemed to no longer show up.

After they looked around and saw no more, Tuff couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Ha! See?” he said, hopping down from the building onto the sandy walkway. “This place can try, but it ain’t gonna put us through the ringer without a lot more effort!”

It was just then that she heard something snap, groan- and then the giant ‘O’ like part of the sign- the part Tuff had knocked the enemy into- toppled over and fell.

Right on top of Tuff. Tiff’s eyes went wide…

…but fortunately, that meant that he was in the center of the O when it fell with a resounding crash around him, causing him to yelp and brace his staff in front of him in panic. “Ack!” As the dust and sand cleared, he realized he was unharmed, and looked around, before blushing a deep red. “Uh…” He immediately straightened up and performed what she recognized as a Jambastion praying motion, muttering to himself. “...forgive me for my hubris, for that is the path to greed and regret…”

Tiff could only lightly snort at his mishap and his very rapid contrition as she hopped down. Tuff stepped out of the ring as she lifted it- heavy though it was, she’d lifted heavier- and with a huff, tossed it back onto the rooftop, where it landed against the back fence with a clang. “Alright, slugger, let’s keep moving.”

Tuff’s lips flattened into a line, recognizing the ripost to his earlier jesting, but obviously in no spot to strike back. “Yeah, yeah, moving on,” he said, following.

As they came out the tunnel, they were met with a very long, waterlogged canyon. “Ohhh boy,” Tiff groaned. “All this water.” True, it made for a beautiful sight, but…

“Really should’ve kept that boat,” Tuff opined again, and this time Tiff couldn’t even find it in her to debate the matter. “Though with those whirlpools, I dunno if it would’ve mattered too much,” he pointed out, having spotted the natural obstacles.

Tiff looked upwards- the cliffs that were just ahead were still high and grey, but they didn’t seem AS high this time. Not to mention she could just barely see some treetops… “Maybe we can climb those? Might lead to actual flat land up top.”

“Honestly, worth a shot,” Tuff agreed. They carefully picked their way along the rocks lining the area, before arriving at the cliffs, fortunately having a well-packed sandbar to stand on. “Alright…here goes!” Tiff said, hopping up, with Tuff shortly behind her and putting their training to good use. Handhold to foothold to handhold they went. As cragged as the cliffs were, they fortunately didn’t have much trouble reaching the top. “Oh, thank goodness, we caught a break,” Tuff said upon getting up. It had hardly taken them a full minute.

“Yeah, and it seems like there isn’t much up here to worry about like down there,” Tiff noticed. Indeed, much of it was flatter up here, or at least less craggy, and there were flowers, trees and even creatures that seemed to be residing up here. “Let’s be careful not to get knocked off.”

That proved to be more salient advice than she expected- namely because there were apparently a GOOD number of Foleys that had made their homes up here, many of them not at all happy to have an intruder in their midst. Several explosions rang out as they made to avoid the naturally volatile enemies. That didn’t even take into account the numerous dog-creatures they’d seen before. Or worse.

Tiff eliminated what had to be her 5th Scarfy, as Tuff was working on two others. "There's more Dream Land animals here than I thought…" she admitted after they were clear for the moment. "I’ve been seeing a lot of familiar faces.”

“Still, better than those big mouths below,” Tuff opined. Tiff had to admit she had to agree. Trying to swim in all of that? Not exactly her strong point. Still…

“I wonder how many of Dream Land’s creatures got pulled here,” she thought out loud. “There had to be a lot of them.”

“Who knows?” Tuff shrugged. “For all we know most of the planet got pulled through.” He grimaced at his own thoughts. “...really hope not, though.”

“Me either,” she admitted as they finally made it through the canyon, seeing a beach below and another overhanging area. She briefly considered going down again, but decided against it- no sense in case they’d have to come right back up. “Let’s keep moving- seems like we can get past this outcropping.”

They had to sidle along a cliff’s edge, but they managed to, fortunately. “Hey, see!” Tiff said happily as she noticed the greenery below them. “Seems like there’s a lot more land around here. I bet things will get pretty solid before too much longer.”

“You sure this isn’t just a spot of hope?” Tuff asked half-jokingly. “ ‘Cause at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if-”

“YAAAAAGH!” a sudden voice roared behind them, and to their shock, they felt something barrel into them, HARD, sending them soaring and spiraling down below. For a moment, Tiff and Tuff felt panic.

Then they both felt wet as they careened into the water. It took them only a few moments, fortunately, to realize what was happening as they sunk. It also was small fortune that the water wasn’t THAT deep, meaning that despite the shock of plunging in headfirst, it was a relatively easy matter to swim to the surface for the both of them- though that didn’t stop them from coughing up lungfulls as they collapsed onto the grass that they’d hauled themselves to. “What- *hurk* ” she paused to hack and cough up more gobs of water, her lungs burning, “What was that?!” she rasped out when she felt able to talk. If they’d fell just a few feet to the left…

“I- ack, *cough* -I dunno!” came the reply. “But it hurt!” He sounded little better. They both stumblingly got to their feet, and hopefully-

“WAAAGH!” Came the voice again, and this time, they looked up to see a very large, and VERY familiar silhouette atop the cliff. It very quickly bounded down after them, as well. The massive jaw. The purple color scheme.

It was fur, and the hammer was much, MUCH different, but there was no mistaking who it really was. “B-Bonkers?!” Tiff said, her throat still not in the best shape. “What are you doing here?!”

“YEAAH!” Bonkers roared. “ME…BONKERS! THIS BONKERS’ TURF!” he roared.

“...what happened to you?” Tuff asked, almost pityingly. The guy had always been high strung and a bit belligerent, but never quite like this. “Dude, you’ve gone native or something?”

“BONKERS GOT LOST! REALLY LOST!” Bonkers yelled/explained at them. “THEN BEAST PACK FOUND BONKERS! HELPED BONKERS! GOT IN TOUCH WITH WILD SIDE! NOW BONKERS HELP BEAST PACK!”

“Beast Pack…?” Tiff said in surprise. “What’s that?” She’d never heard of that group before now…though to be fair, she hadn’t run into anyone who could TALK before now, either.

“BEAST PACK RULES THIS LAND! AND BONKERS PART OF BEAST PACK!” Why he flexed upon saying that, they had no clue. “BONKERS AND MOOKIES! THEY GREAT! BEST TEAM! SMASH EVERYTHING!”

Tuff in particular wasn’t sure what to make of this all. “Uhh…good for you, dude, but-”

“NO BUT!” Bonkers interrupted. “THIS BONKERS’ TURF! YOU COME HERE AND I NOT SAY SO! SO YOU JOIN BONKERS AND BEAST PACK… OR BONKERS SMASHES YOU!”

“...aw, JamBLASTED,” he swore. Considering what he’d just did to them, it didn’t take a genius to imagine this ‘Beast Pack’ was bad news. “Look, dude. We can’t- we’re really busy okay?”

Tiff nodded rapidly. “Yeah, we really gotta find the King, not to mention the Waddle Dees, so-”

“NO! YOU SAY NO, SO SMASHING TIME!” And with that, he charged them, trying to do just that. The two of them broke apart just as he brought his massive stone hammer down, quickly making a crater in the dirt as they leapt away.

Tiff was immediately worried. Bonkers was…strong. To say the least. She’d seen Bonkers lift trees like the one they’d felled before with little effort, and he could easily contest with her in strength, quite likely surpass it. But it was a two on one fight, and that would be what had to win the day here. “He’s never been THIS wild, has he?” she asked. She knew he had an attitude sometimes, but even at his worst…

“No way! Think something’s fishy?” he asked- but she couldn’t answer, as he proceeded to hurl MASSIVE durians at her. She hadn’t been paying attention to him to see where he’d gotten them from- something that would’ve earned her an earful from Lord Meta Knight, had he been here to watch. Still, she quickly moved to dodge them, especially glad as they seemed to burst heavily on impact.

“Hey, back off!” Tiff yelled as she tried to channel an energy wave- only for her to quickly hurl herself out of the way as Bonkers went into a spinning frenzy, whirling like a top with his hammer outstretched. “Seriously,” she said in incredulousness as the spin stopped, “what’s gotten into you?!”

It only took a moment for him to regain his bearings and growl at her. “YOU NOTHING!” Bonkers yelled as he charged again, trying to smash her over the head. Fortunately, this time he was met with an oversized ice cube in the face, courtesy of Tuff. It impacted hard enough to make him shudder briefly, but little more.

Fortunately, that was time enough for Tiff to move out of the way and swing once, twice, thrice at him. “I-said-back off!” Tiff reiterated with each swing.

“GGHH- GAAH!!” Bonkers seemed to not be expecting that, with the grimace he wore, taking a step back. Nonetheless, he charged again- though as Tiff sidestepped, Tuff stuck his pole out- sweeping hard right at Bonkers’ feet.

He went tumbling end over end, crashing into the rockface behind them. “OOWW!” Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough, and he was quick to right himself. “YOU HURT BONKERS! BONKERS SMASH HARDER!” They expected him to run at them again.

They didn’t expect him to take a spinning leap into the air. “What th-” But then her training kicked in, and she quickly tumbled out of the way, as did Tuff. The second time, they were ready as well- and this time when he dropped, Tiff was readying a sword beam, while Tuff seemed to light up briefly with silver- and a MASSIVE fireball erupted from him, scorching the poor Dreamlander and sending him tumbling. Tuff let out a small gasp from the effort, quick to take a knee, as Bonkers, to Tiff’s private surprise, got back up. “SMASH!” he yelled, running up to the still child.

Tiff was already running to intercept, and this time her shield was in front of them as the hammer came down.

*CLANG* went the shockwave as stone met steel, and Tiff’s eyes bulged as she buckled under the force. ‘...can’t feel my arms. Thaat’s not good.’ She REALLY hoped nothing was broken, but if nothing else, she couldn’t feel any pain dragging her lance against and charging him, he clearly having not been ready for her to block that attack either. He was still looking in shock as she rammed into him.

His massive fist only just stopped the lance, but the sudden shock of her defense and the quick switch to offense had left him wrong-footed, and he stumbled over yet again, falling. With seemingly new eyes he looked up to her, and grit his teeth. “BOSS NOT GONNA LIKE YOU!” he roared, and then with surprising agility, he ran for the rock wall, scaling it with a deftness she didn’t think Bonker had. Within moments, he was out of their sight.

“...is he gone?” Tuff asked, just getting up.

“...yeah, I think so,” Tiff affirmed. She briefly put her lance and shield away, trying to shake feeling back into her arms. “That last attack he gave me made my arms go numb. Gimme some time to get feeling back in them, okay?”

“Y-yeah, sure. I need a breather, myself,” Tuff admitted.

“What was that you did back there to make such a massive fireball?” Tiff asked out of curiosity. “Your training’s come THAT far?”

“Eeh… sorta,” he admitted. “I’m finally figuring out how to use my soul without putting everything outta wack. Took more outta me than I expected, though…” he figured. “Wonder why that is.”

“You mean you’re not supposed to get that tired doing it?” she realized.

“Not AS tired, nah,” he confirmed. “Took the wind outta me normally, but…nothing like that. Still, not gonna keep me down for long. Just lemme catch my breath for a bit and we can hang out here.” He looked around- it was a smallish area, and there was a sandy point off to their right, along with some palm trees. “C’mon, I’m feelin’ kinda peckish after all that.”

She couldn’t disagree. Fortunately, it was no difficulty crossing the small body of water, even hurt as they were. The bananas were a welcome reward for their efforts. “So…” Tiff started as Tuff rested in a sandy corner, near a rockface and some palm trees. “Bonkers mentioned something about a ‘Beast Pack’. I hope that’s not as bad as it sounds.”

“Might be,” Tuff snarked, taking another bite. She merely glared at him as he swallowed. “Just sayin’. From my experience? Group of folks what take in a lone, lost guy and treat him like one of their own? That gets a lotta loyalty outta you. Whatever they did for him, he thought big of it.” Another bite. “What I wanna know is how far their turf is. He said somethin’ about ‘Mookies’, too. None of that’s soundin’ good.”

“Sounded like those might be minions this Beast Pack gave him,” Tiff deduced. “I wouldn’t be too surprised if they were those monkey things we keep seeing everywhere. He did say they smashed stuff, too…” she blinked, coming to a realization. “Hmmm… ‘Beast’ Pack. You think those little doggies that keep coming at us are part of them, too? We DID see them together earlier…”

“Ugh. This picture’s gettin’ worse and worse, if you’re right,” Tuff opined. He’d finished with his banana, and started sand sculpting for…whatever reason. It didn’t take long for what he was making to take shape. “Those things, right?” he asked, pointing at the sculpture of the small dog.

“Yeah, those,” she confirmed. “Though you could’ve just drawn it…”

“Eh, I still needed to rest a lil’,” he said with a half hearted grin. “Still, if those things are part of that ‘pack’, then I don’t feel so bad about wackin’ em. Heck, this might be the only nice one around!” he chuckled at his small joke.

“If you’re feeling good enough to sand sculpt, you’re feeling good enough to walk, I bet,” Tiff admonished. “C’mon, leave it and let’s go.”

“Yeah, yeah, coming,” he agreed, leaving the sand creation behind.

It didn’t take much to get out of the area- headed back in the direction they’d been going anyway, there was a small beachline that allowed them to walk around the edge of what seemed to be a cove-like area. “Yeesh. Glad it’s low tide,” Tiff said, noting the area on the rocks where the waterline had darkened. “We’d have to swim this otherwise.”

“The smell can go, though,” Tuff complained, waving his hand in front of his face. “Times like this I wish I knew Bluster magic.”

“It’s fiiine, you big baby,” Tiff dismissed. She’d smelled worse after an intense workout with the Meta-Knights. “Keep going and we’ll be out of here in no time.”

They soon, to their appreciation, found another large, very climbable section of cliff face, which was excellent as their beach seemed to be running out, somewhat. “Your arms doing alright?” Tuff asked in concern.

“They’ll be fine,” she insisted. “Feeling’s coming back. Enough I can climb this.” It wasn’t a tall order, and indeed they both made it to the top fine- where it was clear that there was a LOT more lushness to the area than before, as well as much larger areas of land. Not too far off looked to be a lagoon of some sort- one end leading out into the wider sea, but in the direction they were headed? A clear beach-like landing that seemed to lead further in. “Whoa. Looks like we’re heading in the right direction!”

“Awesome! I’m REALLY hoping we’re done with the sea for a while,” they said as they began to make their way across. It fortunately didn’t take too much- most of the animals were below them, lazing around on the sandbar or otherwise focusing their attention there, whereas above, though it was uneven and full of foliage, it was also empty, save for the occasional black bird that fluttered away upon seeing them.

It didn’t take them much longer to make it down to ground level again- this time forced by the lack of higher elevation. "Woo! We're outta here!" Tuff cheered.

Tiff smiled, feeling the same, but she just didn't want to jinx it. Looking ahead, she took stock of the area, and liked what she saw. "Ahead doesn’t look like there’s a ton of jungle or anything, so let’s be ready,” she warned.

“Hey, I’ve been ready,” Tuff said eagerly. “Let’s get outta here!”

To their surprise, it was only another hour before they broke through the treeline- and saw a LOT of sand. “...aw, jamBLASTED!” Tuff said again. They were at the foot of what seemed to almost be a desert, with a massive hilly dune in front of them.

Tiff grimaced, but then shook her head. “No, this can’t be right. Remember? There’s mountains nearby,” she pointed out, before proceeding to begin to climb up the dune. “This can’t be as bad or as far as it looks,” she insisted. Tuff grumbled, but followed, and the next few minutes were them simply panting with effort as they made the hike up. Soon, however, it was proven that Tiff was indeed correct. “I knew it! Look, Tuff, over there!”

“What do we got- oh.” Sure enough, the mountains were maybe a day and a half’s journey away. Ahead of them, and perhaps a little to the east was a large, grassy plateau in the distance, right in front of the mountains. And in front of them, easily seeable now, were gentle rolling plains maybe a two days’ walk out. “Now isn’t that a sight…”

“Yeah…” she looked at him, smiling. “We’re not licked yet, see? We’ll head for the plateau, keep to the plan. We’ll be going into those plains, but I’d rather not just walk in plain sight.”

“Sounds good,” he admitted. Without further ado, they began to head down the dune towards their destination.

The journey was quiet, but as the sun traveled through the sky, Tuff couldn’t help but think back to the ‘talk’ they’d had with Bonkers. “Say. Bonkers mentioned havin’ a boss, right?”

“...yeah, he did,” Tiff agreed seriously. “Honestly, that makes this all the more important that we get to cover and not travel out in the open. If we’re gonna have someone on our tails, we can’t make it easy to get to us.” Keeping her eyes and ears open was something Lord Meta Knight had in fact quite drilled into her, and she understood more than ever the reasoning behind it. “I hope whatever ran from us wasn’t part of that Beast Pack, but in case it was, we’re going to have to keep watch now.”

“Gah. Alright, sure.” Tuff knew that now wasn’t the time to argue the matter. She was right on all counts. “I’ll take first watch.”

“Fine with me. I’m a morning person anyway,” she reminded him playfully.

Later, though they hadn’t reached the plateau, they’d at least found a small copse of rocks, and made lean-tos again. It was laughable defensively, but it was all they had. “Wake me if anything attacks,” Tiff said, before laying back and closing her eyes, and Tuff wondered what was their lives now that either of them could say with anything approaching calm.

“Yeah, sure thing,” he agreed softly as the moon lifted over them. Looking around after a few minutes, as his sister’s breathing evened out, he settled into a meditative position. Though true meditation was off the table for now- he wasn’t good enough to snap out of it immediately like the sisters or Lord Hyness- he could still settle his heart and mind for now. Prepare for another day of survival.

Even so, he found himself slipping into something resembling a trance. ‘...a lot of abandoned buildings. Gone. Not a battle, just…abandoned. Why?’ the thoughts swirled around him, through him. ‘Void is the will of all. What was his will here? Why leave? You abandon something if it’s too much work to keep up or you find something better, or…’

His mind flashed back to not long before he was dragged here- when he had been dragged unconsciously elsewhere. That HATE. That rage. From something powerful. Something other. ‘Something MAKES you leave.’ But were the two matters actually even connected? It could be a stretch, though something else made him uncertain.

‘Soon-’ The word leapt out at him. One of the few he’d understood in that hazy morass. ‘Soon’. ‘Soon…soon what? In the silence of the moon, he began to put the pieces together. ‘Soon…it was going to do something. Or something was going to happen.’ Something frightful, no doubt. But then what- or how?

It finally clicked, and Tuff looked up at the moon, his eyes hidden, but his expression clear nonetheless ‘...I don’t think this was an accident. Someone brought us here on purpose.’

But were they here, somehow? Or were they running rampant on Pop Star? Why send them here? What was the plan, if there even was one?

Tuff had no problem staying awake through his watch.

Chapter 34: Everbay Coast: Sunswept Plateau

Chapter Text

A couple more days had passed, and as Tiff had guessed, they’d managed to arrive at the plateau without anything else happening on the way. It’d proven to be a bit further than she’d expected, but nothing major aside from a slow but noticeable increase in altitude. The only real matter was AFTER they’d more or less arrived. Tuff had summed up the matter succinctly as they looked up at the natural landmark and its surroundings. “Boy, this is…big.”

The plateau was for certain taller than they’d guessed, and honestly a fair bit wider, too. “I should’ve accounted for how far we were away better,” Tiff said, slightly frustrated at herself. “It’s half the height of a mountain itself. Not even mentioning the area AROUND the main one.” It was rough and rocky, though still grassy.

“Well, I dunno about you, but I haven’t climbed a mountain that wasn’t Mt. Dedede yet,” Tuff noted. “I mean, I prolly could , but…” he shrugged.

“I’ve done something…similar,” Tiff hazarded, remembering her climb of the Butter Building. Were she honest, that had been taller than this- but it had also been more structured, even dilapidated. There was a sense to it all that she could puzzle out, and she’d bypassed a good chunk of it due to luck. This was wilderness in the purest sense of the term. No stairs, no convenient ledges, none of that. “I think we can at least try to climb it.”

“Why would we?” He asked, looking at her now. “I mean, if we just want somewhere to be able to hang around for a bit, pretty sure we can find an overhang or somethin’ on the ground floor.”

“No, we want to at least try to get up a bit, right?” Tiff debated. “We still don’t know the full extent of the land here. This’ll be the highest we’ve been able to get. We can map out our path from up there, and if there’s any kind of remaining civilization, we can head towards it.”

“And if it ain’t?” he asked not-unkindly. “What if it’s just green jungle forever? You can’t say we’re gonna search every nook and cranny.”

She pursed her lips, before shaking her head. “I think we’d try to search SOME of it...but as much as I hate to say it, we’d have to turn around if we didn’t find anything in the first couple of days, I guess. Try to make a raft or something, get out to those constructed islands we saw. That means he had to be in that direction…”

“...but that might be ocean, and that’s WORSE.” He sighed. “There’s way too much off about this,” he lamented.

“...I can see where you’re coming from,” Tiff acknowledged. “But we still should take it one step at a time. Let’s see if there’s anything to see, first. That means…” she trailed off, merely pointing up. “There’s enough varied terrain we can at least try to get partways up, if not all the way.”

It was enough to get the point across. “Fine, fine,” Tuff said, sighing as he walked up to the plateau. Fortunately, it at least had a sloping base that led up to the actual terrain. “Might as well get started…”

It took them a few minutes before they quickly found out the first issue with scaling the thing- that rocky terrain was good for handholds when climbing, but not the best for grip with walking. It was loose pebbles and such that was the culprit, and it wasn’t but a few minutes into following a narrow path around a corner that they heard (and then quickly felt) rumbling. “Aw, GREAT!” Tuff exclaimed as the sounds rapidly got closer.

Tiff looked around in worry, and nearly panicked before she saw a possible out. “Over here!” she said as she grabbed her brother’s hand quickly and yanked him into a crack in the stone. It was none too soon, as before them a number of small rocks and even a few boulders suddenly seemed to drop from above them, rolling down what they could only presume was a slope higher up. The momentum fortunately sent most of the stone sailing past them, though Tiff quickly raised her shield as cover, trying to keep the smaller ones that didn’t quite have the speed from falling on them.

For just under a minute Tiff’s shield clanged and banged against the rockslide’s excess, and only when it had stopped for around thirty seconds and the dust around them had settled did she risk setting it down. “...I think it stopped,” she opined, talking quietly just in case- and to keep too much dust from getting in her mouth.

“Finally,” Tuff mumbled for similar reasons. “How many times you wanna bet THAT happens?”

“Hopefully, just the once,” Tiff said as she waved away the remnants of the smoke. “Let’s keep going, then.”

Tuff sighed, but obliged.

The next issue they came across, fortunately, was nothing so harrowing. There was a gap in the natural path that had formed; it seemed almost like the area had something carved out of it, forming a natural, inverted ‘U’ that meant that they’d have to sidle along the small path that was present if they wanted to get any higher- and that was awfully risky. There were a few Bronto Burts around, it seemed, and they could be territorial…

“Hmmm…” Tuff looked around. “Alright, so how are we…hm?” He noticed a rather large, upright, almost flat pillar of a stone; kinda like a stalagmite (and boy did he feel proud for knowing what THAT was). “Saaay…”

Tiff was looking at the same thing. “That looks convenient. If we can break it down…”

“Might as well give it a shot,” Tuff suggested. “Looks kinda thin on the bottom, anywho.” He began to back up. “Might take both o’ us.”

“Right,” Tiff agreed, matching his distance. “On three?”

“One…” Tuff started in reply.

Tiff braced her shield in front of her. “Two…”

“Three!” They both Focused, charged, and slammed into the rock simultaneously. Although Tuff’s shoulder in particular took the most pain, their effort was almost instantly rewarded when they heard a crack from it. A following snap , and the long stone snapped at the base, tumbling over the gap with a massive crash. Fortunately for them, it didn’t break apart on impact, leaving them a bridge to cross with.

“Woo!” Tuff cheered- and then quickly rubbed his shoulder. “And ow. That might bruise…”

“Sorry…” Tiff apologized, shrugging. “But I appreciate the help!”

“Meh, I’ll walk it off,” he dismissed, and the two of them continued on, mindful of the Bronto Burts that seemed to have made this place their territory. A few swipes warded them off, usually, but many times they were stubborn- especially when they had to directly scale the plateau itself to get a bit higher.

It was pulling themselves up and over one lip that saw them facing what looked to be a small cavern. “Whoa. Didn’t expect that,” Tuff admitted.

“Me either,” Tiff agreed. “Wanna take a look?” she offered. Tuff responded by heading inwards, herself following.

They quickly realized that it was a natural and hidden pool of water; almost a very small lake. There were a number of outcroppings around the cavern walls, and there was a fairly large gap in the ceiling above where light shone down onto the pool of water- clearly rain was how it had accumulated in there at all. “Wow. This doesn’t even look that stagnant,” Tiff noted, eying the water carefully. “Probably not too safe to drink, but if we had camping tools or something to boil it, I might go for it…”

“Meh, we’ve still got some drinks and juicy fruits,” Tuff dismissed, sitting down for a moment. “We should be alright.” Tiff nodded in agreement, seemingly finding his unspoken request for a rest to be agreeable, as she plopped down as well, breathing a sigh of not quite exhaustion. After a few moments of companionable silence, however, Tuff felt some thoughts gnawing at him- the same that had done so for several nights now. He’d kept it to himself up until now, but considering what they were trying to do, clarification seemed like it would be the order of the day. “So…I been thinkin’.”

“Yeah?” Tiff was quick to notice the tone change of her brother’s voice, and she knew this would be a serious topic.

He took a deep breath. “There’s a lotta abandoned stuff around here, right? But it looks funny. Not like there was a big struggle, like everyone bailed. An’ I was wondering why. So the way I figured it…”

With that, he explained his logic and thoughts that had been plaguing him for the last few days. He told her about what he’d felt before getting sent to Pop Star, then here, what he’d heard. And the conclusion he’d come to. “...so yeah. I’m kinda wonderin’ if this was on purpose.”

Tiff was silent as she took it all in, with Tuff very obviously tensely waiting for her reaction. “...if you’re not misinterpreting anything, and that’s all accurate…” she paused, getting her thoughts together. “...I think that actually might be pretty plausible.” She didn’t WANT it to be true- the idea of a malevolent entity kidnapping them and so many people on Pop Star like they did sent a chill through her she fought against showing. But it DID make a lot of sense as opposed to, say, a random phenomenon. Naturally, however, that begged the question of ‘who’ or ‘what’ caused it. And the first suspect, or suspects, were obvious. “Do you think it was the Beast Pack that did that?”

Tuff shrugged helplessly. “I…I dunno,” he admitted. “I wish I did. What I felt was…something serious. Raw.” He shivered in remembrance yet again. “Like it didn’t just have a grudge, like hate was what it WAS. Like…can any living being be THAT mad? That full of loathing for the universe?”

“Didn’t know you knew that word,” Tiff mumbled jokingly.

“Yeah, the Sisters wanted me to expand my vocabulary,” Tuff shot right back. “But c’mon, this is serious!”

“I know, I know, sorry,” she granted. “Just trying to lighten things up a bit because…well, the idea that something like that is out there is… scary. I mean, that almost sounds as bad as…well, y’know,” she shrugged, not wanting to think about the past any more than necessary. “At any rate, we’ll have to probably find some way to figure just that out if we’re on our own. And that’s gonna start with still finding the King. We just have to finish making our way up,” she said as she began to stand. “So might as well get back to it. We’ve rested enough, haven’t we?”

“Right,” Tuff said, slapping his cheeks in preparation. “Back on it!” They’d table that talk about evil beings kidnapping them for another day…but it was at least something they both would be considering, now. “We really going to the top?”

“Either that or somewhere high enough we can see everything,” she admitted. “It’d be nice if there was a way to get a bit higher without risking the outside…maybe we can use those rocks to climb up,” she figured, pointing out the outcroppings. They were large enough that they could be used almost as platforms with some good jumping. And what was more, they went clear up to the opening up top.

“Hey, yeah, didn’t even notice that,” Tuff admitted. “Let’s go!”

“Be careful you don’t fall!” she warned. The two of them clambered up as best they could- fortunately, due to their training, neither of them found the climb particularly difficult at this point. It was some careful leaps and making sure neither got in the other’s way, but before too much longer, they’d made it up to the opening, the evening sun close enough to hop up to and grab the edge, hauling themselves over.

It led to a insert (that still led outside) that seemed to almost be a natural cavern entrance, or exit in their case. And in front of them…a sea of green. Forests and plains met their eyes, far, far into the horizon. Tuff was the first to say something about the view. “...we’re gonna be here a while, aren’t we?”

Tiff sighed. The sight was beautiful in its own way, but… “...yeah. Longer than we thought,” she admitted. Looking around and carefully, however, she noticed a few signs of hope.

The way Tuff grunted, he hadn’t. “You sure we aren’t walkin’ into wilderness?” he asked, clearly dismayed.

Tiff nodded, pointing out to a small black line snaking through the plains that she’d spotted. “Yeah, actually. Look over there. See those lines?” It took a moment, but the slight jolt Tuff gave indicated he’d spotted them. “Those are trails, maybe even roads,” she explained. “Someone HAS to have been here before to make those. We just have to head deeper and stay off the beaten path, just in case something’s waiting for us or any other travelers directly on them. But we’ll stick close! We can follow the roads to the nearest town and hopefully figure out what to do from there.”

“...yeah, I guess that sounds like that’d be the better play,” Tuff conceded. “King Dedede would find it easier to follow a road than try to take a boat.”

She nodded. “Exactly. And he’s pretty strong, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he felt confident enough to think he could handle anything that he came across, too. This is probably the direction he went,” Tiff concluded. “We’ll keep an eye out for anything that might prove he was nearby as we go.”

“Huh. Well, whaddya know!” Tuff grinned, finally feeling like they were making real progress. “Alright, sounds like a plan to me!” And then after a moment, his smile turned back into a frown. “Say…are we REALLY gonna have to walk all that way?”

“If we want to keep safe about it, YES,” she insisted, though she didn’t look much happier about it. “Like you said…we’re going to be here for a while, like it or not.”

“How long has it been already?” Tuff wondered.

“I hate to admit it, but I stopped keeping track of the days,” Tiff admitted. “At least a few weeks, I think.” She turned away. “C’mon, we got high enough to see what we needed to see. We’ll camp out in the cavern for tonight, and we’ll set off bright and early tomorrow.”

“Man, if we’re goin’ through all this , I hope at least King Dedede’s doin’ better than we are,” Tuff groused before following.

The way down was much less perilous than the way up, fortunately, so the next morning saw them head off rather quickly, all things considered. The sun was still rising as they clambered down from the plateau’s base, careful to do as they’d decided the other day and follow the road from a distance. That meant to travel within the forests carefully- far enough away that no one could see them from the roads, but also not so far that they couldn’t check their direction easily if they grew uncertain.

The days were both familiar and more harrowing. They were out of the sand and sun most often, but unfortunately the wild woods provided different challenges. Now, they had to be wary of mud pits, uneven terrain and other such natural problems, even near the roads. It was familiar ground, fortunately- the forests of Pop Star were similar, but it didn’t mean the challenge wasn’t there. The days were often spent going in something of a zig-zag pattern; checking the roads for anything interesting, and if not, returning back to the relative safety of the trees. It was a rote and simple journey- or it would have been if they hadn’t constantly been on the alert.

“It’s been four days…” Tiff mumbled to herself as they continued to trek one day, the sun high up in the sky. Tuff’s complaints about the timeframe had stuck in her mind a bit, and she’d decided to try and keep track of how long this journey took again. Four days without any sign of civilization beyond the road that promised such at some point, so long as they kept moving forwards. That wasn’t necessarily the longest they’d traveled, but she’d still privately been hoping for something. Training had taken a backseat to walking, but she’d still slipped in some when she could, often with Tuff before bed. Alternatively, she’d just train in forms and motions if Tuff had decided to take the evening to pray and meditate.

Once, she’d asked if he couldn’t ‘just ask your Void god to help us out’, to which he’d almost acted offended. “Void doesn’t just up and answer prayers,” Tuff had practically scoffed. “You have to get his attention.”

“So then why are you praying so much?” she’d dinged.

“In case he decides to look my way anywho,” was the response. “Besides, Void is the creator of all things. He sees all when he looks- so they’ll likely help us in ways we’re not expecting.” She’d let it drop, her interest in a theological debate or sermon not exactly intense.

However, the very next day, they’d gotten a bit of a break. They were checking on the road again- the usual nothing, aside from some litter and a sign or two they couldn’t read at all. However, in the distance… “Hey, is that something…moving towards us?” Tiff asked, squinting. It was on the road, and moving slowly.

“I can’t see it,” Tuff grumbled. “Sure it’s not an animal or anything?”

“...come on, let’s get closer. Carefully,” she decided, and the two of them slunk back into the treeline, following the road closer than they normally would.

Ten minutes of slow, cautious approach eventually revealed more details. It was a solitary thing. Small, purple…

As soon as it clicked, Tuff burst out of the treeline. “Hey! HEEEEY!” he yelled, waiving. “OVER HERE!”

Sure enough, the Jambeliver perked up, looking up from its seemingly morose trek. It seemed to shake in shock and surprise, and broke out into a run almost immediately.

It didn’t take very long from there before they met up. “Whoa! Can’t believe I managed to find one o’ you!” Tuff said happily.

“S-same here Apprentice Tuff!” the little fellow said, the both of them making a small prayer motion. “When we got sucked up, we all got really scared! But we knew with the blessings of Void we would persevere!”

“Yeah, it’s good to keep the faith…wait, so the others that got sucked up- they’re nearby?” Tuff realized, shifting topics as he grew excited. If everyone was already together, then…

“Uh…” Right then his excitement dropped a bit. “Sort of? See, I got sent out to scout further afield than we've normally done recently. We located an abandoned town a couple of weeks ago, and we’re basing ourselves in it for now.” He pointed backwards. “It’s about two or three days travel back that way! I’d say finding you is the best result I could’ve gotten from scouting, so…want me to bring you there?”

“Yeah, please!” Tuff agreed, Tiff quickly nodding as well. If they had an actual base of operations where they could rest safely, plan, and get more information, well, they’d take that happily. As they set off, however, they couldn’t help asking. “You guys seen King Dedede around there anywhere?”

“Afraid not, Apprentice Tuff,” the Believer said sadly. “We’ve searched as far as we’ve dared, but there’s a dangerous group of animals out there controlling much of the major roadways and areas we’ve seen-”

“The Beast Pack, yeah,” Tuff said sourly. “We’ve met.”

“Oh. Is that what they’re called? Well, I hope you stayed safe in your interactions; there's a lot of those creatures around to make things scary! But with your help, maybe we can extend our range a bit more in that direction! You see, the area's pretty patrolled by those animals...especially the BIG one." He shuddered at the mere name.

" 'Big one'? Tuff asked in surprise. "You don't mean Bonkers, do ya?"

He shook his head. "No, no...bigger. Much bigger. He and his cronies haven't found us yet, but we're worried it'll only be a matter of time. It's why we decided to even risk scouting further out this way in the first place. We were hoping we could either find somewhere else as good to flee to, or someone to help." He blinked, turning to Tiff as he realized something. "But, er, to answer your question, no. We’ve seen or found nothing of Pop Star’s king. However, we’ve certainly not looked much further into the area."

“Shoot,” Tiff cursed lightly as she looked into the sky. It was disappointing, but part of her was expecting that answer. Still didn't mean it didn't hurt, however. “Just where ARE you, Great King…?”

Unfortunately, that question was carried away on the wind, and no one could answer her.

Chapter 35: The Sight of a Scary Beast

Chapter Text

It was in fact three more days’ journey that they needed to travel, though fortunately much of it seemed very calm. According to the Jambeliver, it seemed the ‘Beast Pack’ hadn’t stretched this far according to him. However, a bit of sharing between the siblings and him had him dismayed . “I didn’t know their influence was THAT big! I thought it was just a local animal gang. But to think they’ve subverted people from Pop Star already…”

“Yeah, looks like they work fast…then again, it’s Bonkers. He ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed,” Tuff shrugged. Tiff gave him a half glare, but she couldn’t really deny the statement. “I just hope not a lotta others got taken in by ‘em…”

“Same here,” Tiff agreed. “It sounds like there’s already a lot to deal with involving them.” No way they were just going to let Bonkers be manipulated like that!

“Well, perhaps you can be the ones to maybe deal with them?” the Jambeliever half-asked.

“Well, we’ll take a shot at it, prolly,” Tuff shrugged. “Considerin’ how things usually go with us? We’re gonna come across ‘em sooner or later.” Tiff, again, couldn’t disagree with the supposition.

The nights were…Tiff wouldn’t quite call it ‘awkward’, but she certainly didn’t feel like she was seriously included in the nightly discussions about their religion. Admittedly, it was less deep theology and more casual musing on various aspects of life and how things might change further. Tiff genuinely got lost regarding the conversations, and resorted to solo training for the remainder of the nights.

The view of large, LARGE buildings (though not as big as NME’s base, but bigger than any other building she’d seen before) in the distance one afternoon galvanized her. “Hey! Is that it?” she asked excitedly.

“Oh!” He’d been busy in further discussion with Tuff, but they both turned their attention to her. “Yeah! That’s it, all right!”

They devoted their energy to getting to the city first and foremost, and within the next two hours, they’d made it into the town. “Whoa…” the two of them couldn’t help but be awed. Massive buildings of steel and glass that rose almost as high as Dedede’s castle, unlike a lot of what they’d seen before. Even the higher tech buildings they’d seen before like the factory and others didn’t look like this- these had a more precise, simple but clean design.

They were also overridden with natural growth. This was a city of ruin, clearly, with moss, vines, and other greenery growing unabated among and around the buildings, many of which were crumbling, dilapidated, and out of order. Even still, there was something they couldn’t help but notice. “This place seems super quiet,” Tuff noted.

“And is it me, or is it almost…too clean?” Tiff agreed. It reminded them of what they’d talked about earlier- that the locals had evacuated intentionally, for one reason or another due to whatever had spooked them. It seemed like Tuff’s hypothesis might just be on the mark, to both of their concern.

The Jambeliever shrugged. “Maybe, but we’re not going to question it! There’s a lot of stores and whatnot that still have supplies that are good to use!”

“Huh. Wonder if they got anything that makes carrying all this stuff easier…” Tuff wondered, motioning to the makeshift cloth bags they’d been carrying, either wrapped around their waists or on their backs. “Sometimes this gets really in the way.”

“Actually, there is!” the Void follower perked up. “In fact, there’s one on the way- we’ve taken some stuff from it ourselves! Follow me! We can find you something, then we can get you to our base!”

As they traveled further into the city, they couldn’t help but look around the roads and the various buildings that were now standing as silent relics, wondering what all of their purposes were. Many clearly had an answer, but in the form of that ancient text. “Now that we might have some time, I wonder if I could work at deciphering just what those symbols mean,” she mused to Tuff. “There’s GOT to be a method of translation, and I swear I’ve seen the same one multiple times. If we can find some place with a sign where we KNOW what it is, then…”

Tuff began to say something, before he stopped suddenly, glancing up in the air in confusion and a bit of concern. It looked familiar…

“Uh, sorry to interrupt,” the Jambeliver said softly, jarring them both from their thoughts. It turned to look back at them before pointing at a store which had the front window thoroughly busted through, replaced by a cloth- and a small wooden ramp leading through it.. “But you mentioned better packs? They’ve got some here.”

Sure enough, it seemed like it was a store specifically to sell gear and tools for camping. The two quickly found that there were still proper camping backpacks, as well as supplies like tents, lanterns and other materials. “All right!” Tuff cheered as he slipped on his pack, now with more than a little gear and long lasting canned foods. “NOW we’re cookin’! Tyin’ our junk to my back like that was gettin’ old.”

“It IS nice to have actual supplies now,” Tiff agreed. Her strength meant that she could carry far beyond what one might expect looking at her, and she had a tent, some cookware, and other wilderness survival tools inside and strapped to her oversized backpack. Even so, she only barely felt the weight. “We’ll be a ton more comfortable with all this.”

“Yeah, we got a lot of our supplies from here, too! It’s been really helpful!” The Jambeliever agreed. “Come on! We should get you to our base. It’s not much further from here!”

Properly kitted out now, they set out to follow him. Once again, however, Tuff found himself looking at the sky, head turning this way and that, frown on his face. This time, Tiff had time to lean closer to him. “Something wrong?” she whispered.

“That weirdo feelin’s back,” he said similarly. “Y’know, the funny brain itchy one like at the first lake.” Hm. That was concerning. He’d said he didn’t feel like it was a threat, but it was still a strange feeling. She’d have to keep an eye out.

The rest of the trek proved no great hassle either- the streets, though pockmarked and dirty, were blessedly flat, and soon they arrived at a brown building with two stores- it would’ve been big relative to their homeland, but was downright quaint compared to the massive constructs that surrounded it. It had two windows, boarded over, and a doorway in between that had a thick purple cloth draped over it. “We’re in here- it only looks bad on the outside!” the Believer pointed out. They both followed him in.

What they entered was a surprisingly simple home- one that held amenities that were more familiar than they expected. Couches, TVs, phones, all such things lay about, easy enough to identify. “We’re in the basem*nt,” he pointed out, heading towards a doorway. “It’s where we mostly stay, though the whole building is available. Just in case, we don’t want to get heard by accident or something like that.” Made sense enough.

Sure enough, the door led to a stairwell going down, and at the bottom were the remaining four Jambelievers; all of them in a prayer circle at the moment. Only upon a quick ‘hey!’ from their guide did the others break from meditation and turn towards him. What had followed was nothing less than cheering and jubilation from the four of them, thanking Void for ‘twisting fate’ to allow them to reunite with their young leader.

Both Tiff and Tuff could see that they had various cans of food, what looked to be a stove, even, and more. “Geez, you guys got it all covered in here, huh?” Tuff noted.

“You rigged up electricity?” Tiff realized. They had a cooler and everything!

“N-no!” One of the Jambelievers said. “Actually, many areas in this town still have running electricity and water!”

“...awwwwwwww, jamBLASTED!” Tuff swore, kicking the ground. “You’re tellin’ me this place got free real estate and we just got that unlucky!?” Tiff had to admit, she could understand the frustration.

“I, uh…!” The poor subordinate tried to explain, before shrugging shyly.

But before he could say anything else, Tuff sighed, making another strange prayer motion as he did. “Void works how it will…” he said in a heated breath. Another deep breath, and he was calm. Mostly.

“Y’know, if we’d just shown up here, we probably wouldn’t have learned about Bonkers, the Beast Pack, or that weird crystal,” she pointed out.

“...yeah, that’ll do it,” Tuff agreed, sighing. “Forget it, then. Let’s just get things set up for the night, huh? You guys got beds?” Fortunately, they did- neither of them objected to taking the couch or the sort, but proper, actually decently soft beds put them to sleep in minutes.

Tuff tossed and turned in his sleep.

‘Mo.. -ds…my la... Re -ll …ant bu…mit to me…’

When he woke up he was sweating and nervous, though he had had no dreams. “Geez. Didn’t think I’d have a bad night in here…” he muttered to himself. But, then again, he was used to getting up early, as was his sister.

The later morning found them more refreshed than they’d been in ages, but it also carried with it more serious concerns. “So, none of you’ve seen the Waddle Dees OR Great King Dedede?” Tiff confirmed.

“Sorry, but we’ve been our only company for the time we’ve been here,” was the unfortunate response. “The Beast Pack prevents us from going too far afield without risking their wrath. At least, not in that direction- they’re less concerned going towards where you came from for some reason.”

“From how Bonkers worded it, they’re extended out around the beach and islands there, too. So chances are they’ve got multiple bosses or something,” Tiff deduced. “Which means they’re probably going to be around no matter where we go.”

“O-oh…” that deflated the rest of the Jambelievers a bit. “That’ll make things tough, then…”

“Hey, we’ve handled ‘tough’ before, we can do it again,” Tuff said resolutely. “It bites, but we can take a look out, see what’s what, and prolly fight back against most problems, too.”

“Right…” The Jambelievers said. “Well, before anything else, you should know. We’ve scrounged as much of this town as we could, and while we have plenty of water and electricity, food is…kind of running low.” He sighed. “We’ve got enough to last for a couple more days, aside from the canned things in that store we gifted you, but-”

“Say no more,” Tuff interrupted. “We got this. We’ll go lookin’ for some grub for everyone and haul it back!” He huffed. “Who knows, maybe we can find a clue about the Waddle Dees and everyone else, too. We REALLY need to find them.” Tiff could understand that worry- she was just as concerned.

“I…thank you so much, Apprentice Tuff, Knight Tiff.” As one the Jambelievers bowed to them, making Tiff feel slightly uncomfortable. “We went as far as…well, this is sort of a small town, but to the east, maybe a day’s walk is a bigger one. We’re positive it’ll have more food for lying around, but…it’s rather dangerous.”

“The Beast Pack presence is pretty large around there,” another continued on, “and the big one…”

“Right, our guide mentioned that,” Tiff realized. “It sounds scary, but it also sounds like you might not have much choice soon, right?” They nodded. “Then…yeah, it’s probably for the best if we take the risk.” She didn’t like how self-sacrificing that sounded, but she wouldn’t take it back. “We’ll just have to be extra careful.”

“We have faith in you, and in Void’s will,” was the response. Judging by Tuff’s smile, it was meant to be positive reinforcement, so she took it as such.

They both decided to head out that day, since they were still in a traveling mindset- staying more than one day would have begun to ruin that, which wouldn’t do when they were facing a food shortage.

Sneak around the city, collect food, sneak out without getting caught by the Beast Pack and the ‘big one’. That was the assignment. They could do this.

As they left the town behind, Tuff found himself looking back up at the sky. “...aaaand it’s gone again.” Tiff didn’t need to ask what he meant by that. “Somethin’ screwy’s going on here.”

“Maybe it’s like…like you’re sensing something specific?” Tiff wondered. “I’m not sure what else it could be since I’m not sensing it myself.”

“I know, just…somethin’ to keep in mind. There’s something funny about that town,” he noted.

Beyond that, however, the trip was mostly them keeping on the lookout to avoid any animals that looked like they might be part of the Beast Pack. They were encroaching on enemy territory now, and they had to move fast and keep quiet. There was mostly plains and dull land between them, however, which meant that the longer they stayed out there, the higher the chances they’d be spotted by an errant patrol, and so the two of them double-timed it as best they could. They were no career soldiers, however, and late into the evening they began to flag, choosing a lowland area to bed down in a lightly forested area. They were fortunately able to see that the city was up on higher ground, but that still left them with little choice in terms of approach, as most of the land had been cleared out save for small treelines like this. “Hopefully nothing gets too nosy,” Tiff murmured as they laid out sleeping bags and had a quick meal of canned goods and fruits. It had gotten to the point that living hand to mouth off the land almost was no longer a pitiable thing for them- it was just ‘something they had to do to survive’. “We should get there tomorrow,” Tiff said softly. “We’ll scout by an inward spiral- check all the outskirts, then move inward closer to the center of the city, repeat.”

“Yeah, I got the idea,” Tuff agreed. “Anywho, want me to take first watch?” She nodded, before bedding down for the night. ‘This is so messed up,’ Tuff admitted to himself. ‘Went from doin’ great as a mage-apprentice and livin’ the high life to wilderness survival on a world that might be literally out to get us. Void works in REALLY mysterious ways, huh?’ Even so, he felt, if not calm about it, then confident that he and his sister would be able to survive. Still… ‘...boy, I’m missing everyone all of a sudden. Gah, can’t think of that. Not now. Gotta keep my eyes peeled…’

He stretched his senses to detect any sound, anything that moved, anything that did, well, anything. A couple of birds cawing, but little else. Still, the tense situation kept him up well enough that he was still a bit wired when it was time for Tiff’s turn on watch. She quietly relieved him, and he was finally able to try to get to sleep.

Tiff was more used to this whole scenario, given her training with Meta Knight and work afield…but she still hated being without more resources, though they were much better off than just a couple days before. ‘Whatever civilization system they have set up, we don’t want to interrupt,’ she reminded herself. ‘Just get in, take some food, and get out.’ Nominally, it was stealing since likely the Beast Pack had more ‘legal’ claim on it than they did, but…well, it was clearly largely lawless, and ruthless besides. They shouldn’t miss a bit, hopefully. What Tiff was worried about was more personal. There was a reason she had stopped initially paying attention to the days passing, and now that she’d started again, that worry came back in full force. ‘This is probably how Big Kirby and his friends felt when they stumbled onto OUR world. Only we don’t have a convenient town full of helpful Cappies to help US. We’re just on our own, fighting for survival…’ She had no clue how long it’d take for any survivors of the spatial phenomenon to recover on Pop Star, let alone turn efforts towards recovering THEM. But she’d already had that conversation to some extent with Tuff. She shook the morose thoughts out of her head, trying to focus on watching.

By the time her brother was up and ready to go, she’d long since tore down the campsite just in case.

Fortunately, even with the uphill climb, Tiff had been correct in that they reached the suburbs of the city at around what she estimated to be noonish. The houses were bigger than they were used to, clearly meant for beings that were taller than even the tallest Cappy on average. “Might as well start here,” Tiff decided. Normally she wasn’t one for breaking and entering, but…

Tuff, for his part, had fun acting the role of a delinquent with all the glass he broke. However, to their frustration…

“Nothing, huh?” Tiff asked as she saw Tuff come out of another house. At least, nothing that was edible, likely.

Tuff confirmed this with a nod. “Just more spoiled food. Ugh, tellin’ ya, it’s RANK in some of those houses.”

“You say that like I don’t know,” she groused. They’d been at it for several hours. Water and some drinks were preserved well enough, by her estimate, but food had been a different story. She’d also found signs that they weren’t the first to think of this place to find food- she’d located pawprints and other prints in some areas. It was clear that they were going to have to move on, even though the majority of the suburbs hadn’t been looked over. “We’re going to have to get deeper into the city. Maybe even find some place to hole up for a night or two.”

“Yikes,” Tuff said, but didn’t argue. “Ehh, alright, lead on, then.” And so they went, still keeping their eyes peeled for Beasts.

They made to cross a bridge, and it was there they ran into their first roadblock- almost literally, as they had to stop short and dive behind a nearby fence as they saw a large number of those doglike creatures running down the street in front of them. They seemed to be heading somewhere close by, but the route was fortunately perpendicular. Still, they didn’t want to risk any wandering eyes. “Where do ya think they’re goin’?” Tuff asked as he peeked out.

“No clue,” Tiff responded, squinting…and realizing that many of the dogs were carting along bags and boxes behind them, attached to rope like they were sled dogs. “...but I wonder if we can find out where they’ve BEEN. Come on!” After they’d passed, she took off, Tuff following close behind her. It didn’t take long to cross the bridge and turn down a side street. “We don’t want to get too reckless, but maybe they’re less worried about wherever they just came from. Might be a good place to start looking around.”

It was sound enough of a plan to him, so he just nodded and let her try to figure their way around. They had no map and only the basics of a plan, which meant that stepping around had to be careful and measured. It wasn’t very long before, having cut down an alley, they had to back off yet again as thunderous hooves stomped closer. They both hid behind a dumpster as a set of large bovine beasts lumbered past them, many dragging crates of some sort. With reddish-brown fur and large, white horns pointing forwards threateningly, they looked to be angry and not easily messed with. “Geez! We’re really in it now…” Tuff muttered to himself, grimacing. “Those things didn’t look friendly.”

“Nope,” she agreed. “But did you see what they were carrying?” she asked before tiptoeing to the end of the alley carefully, peeking out in both directions. “They’re carting a lot of something somewhere. We’re clear…and there looks like a store nearby, down the street. Let’s go!”

Sure enough, it was a small convenience store…alas, most of it was picked clean. There were a few canned goods, but many of those were bent and misshapen. Still, better than nothing. “Let’s keep going up the street; it seems like more than a few of these Beast Pack members are headed somewhere, so we should be wherever they aren’t,” Tiff advised. With that said, they kept moving, jumping from alley to alley and street to street. They occasionally heard the bark of one of the dog creatures in the distance, or a squawk, but they kept careful, skulking through the back alleys and side entrances to snoop through various buildings.

Little was found as they explored, and to make things worse, they’d clearly not been getting as far away from the action as they’d expected- more than once they’d had to take cover behind a trash can or underneath a car or the like to avoid the Beast Pack finding them and sounding the alarm, as they were doing now. Tiff’s heart thundered in her chest as she watched yet another group barrel past, a group of those bovine things, though atop these were dogs. These, however, looked much more dangerous, in that they had hats. Actual clothing- and more importantly, a short, old-looking, but clearly still functional gun . They had FIREARMS, and that raised the threat level significantly.

Suddenly, one of them seemed to perk up, and tapped the bull-thing with the butt of its gun, causing it to stop. Tiff and Tuff both broke out into a cold sweat as it started to sniff the air. The bull gave a small grunt of annoyance, but the dog seemed insistent as its head slowly scanned the area.

Tuff looked at his sister in panic. ‘What do we do!?’ was clearly all over his face.

‘How should I know?!’ was the expression she sent back. For a moment, they both worried that this would be the end of their little mission- that they’d have to fight for their lives against a massive horde-

Before a deep, resounding roar ripped through the air, causing a sense of dread to thrum through all of their bodies. The siblings barely managed to peek out from under their cover to see that the bull and its rider had quickly decided to abandon their suspicions in clear favor of booking it double time. “What was THAT?!” Tuff said after they made certain it was clear and clambered out to look for a more secure spot in a hurry.

“Whatever it was, it sounded BIG,” Tiff noted- and then froze as the word hit home for her. “The ‘Big One’...” she realized. The Jambelievers HAD mentioned something like that. “Let’s hope we don’t-”

Suddenly, a MASSIVE form landed at the far end of the street with a resounding thud. Even from this distance, they could tell it was gigantic. Bonkers looked like a weak child compared to this thing. Gigant Edge would be a minor pest to it. A large ape with gray skin and black fur. His broad arms were wider than their house arguably, though his legs were short and stubby, though that clearly didn’t hinder his mobility. Small, beady white eyes with black pupils and a large, fuzzy snout set in a grimace dominated his face as he looked off in another direction. Atop its head was a white mohawk and a wicked black ring piercing on his right nostril, giving him the very definition of a monstrous punk. Three red stripes on either shoulder and similar on his cheeks sold the wild and fierce look. Completing the whole ensemble, around his neck, he wore a chain that, at the end, was a ship anchor.

That was really kind of the bullet point on the whole thing, really.

Clearly, whatever beast this was, they did NOT want to mess with. Fortunately, it didn’t spot them- the brute’s attention was taken by something else, clearly, looking off in a perpendicular direction, away from them. He roared again, a shorter one this time, seemingly pointing at someone they couldn’t see, before grabbing hold of a nearby building as though it was just a mere handhold, and launching himself down the street that way.

“...oh sweet Void keep me from your embrace for now…” Tuff muttered to himself as he fell into a brief prayer.

Tiff had to resist the urge to run. This was a much different fear than facing down N.M.E. He might have been bigger, but it was almost larger than life. His bombast, his attitude made him seem almost unreal. This? This was a much more primal, more basic fear of simply being physically beaten down by something they couldn’t fight against, and they didn’t have Kirby to help them, big or small.

They had to face this colossus alone. “I…you think THAT was the leader of the Beast Pack?” Tiff managed to get out.

“I mean… he LOOKED like it,” Tuff opined. “Like, big monkey, small monkeys, Bonkers…th’ theme fits.”

“They have more than that, though…” Tiff argued, but it was halfhearted, and she dismissed the idea of trying to, instead focusing on arranging her thoughts. “Look, let’s…we CAN’T get caught by that thing, agreed?”

Tuff nodded so hard she thought she caught a flash of eye. “Totally. Those gun dogs, that BIG one…this place is trouble waiting to happen.”

“C’mon,” she said. “We still need to search. Just…keep your eyes peeled.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Tuff said snarkily. “I don’t think I’mma miss seeing OR hearing that guy.” It was a few streets later that something clicked in Tuff’s head, however. “Y’know…it just hit me. He’s constantly getting food from somewhere, right? Maybe we can use that.” Tiff turned to him in shock. “Whoa, I’m not saying we waltz up to the guy and try to pick his pockets, but maybe we can suss out where his stash is, and while he’s away…I mean, ya think he’s smart enough to recognize if some snacks went missing?”

“Are you nuts?!” Tiff exclaimed in shock. They’d JUST said-

“No!” Tuff quickly countered, disrupting her mental chastisem*nt. “But I bet one or two melons for this guy are like grapes! He’s not gonna panic over a couple disappearing!”

Tiff frowned. She hated to admit it, but she COULD see the logic. “Even if we stay far away from him until we move in though, it’s a big risk…”

“Is it more a risk than wanderin’ around for too long and upping the risk of getting caught as time goes on?” Tuff shot back. “We know he’s gotta be eatin’. And a LOT, I mean, look at the guy!” he gestured. “We snatch his midnight snack or some of his emergency stash while he’s off doing whatever, we’re probably good for a month!”

Tiff quietly huffed. Her brother was good at making points against her now, and part of her didn’t like it. The Jambelivers did seem to indicate that he moved around a fair bunch, enough for them to see him- but it was still a heavy risk. That said, many of them were clearly on the move for something, and their attention was obviously taken by other matters. If there was ever an opportunity…it would be in the middle of whatever this was.

She sighed. “...alright, fine. But we’ve GOT to be extra careful!” It would be, quite literally, feast or famine for them, but they weren’t in good straits. “We’ll try to tail him for a bit, see where he beds down and if there’s anything else of his we should notice. It shouldn’t be hard to keep track of him, at least.” Really, keeping eyes on him wasn’t what she was worried about.

It was if his eyes found THEM.

Chapter 36: Natural Plains: Uptown Rush

Chapter Text

The intrepid duo found themselves moving carefully up to a building in short order- backs against the wall quite literally, they peeked out from around the corner to identify their target. Gorimondo had been going around the city for one reason or another, occasionally stopping to grunt or yell at the much smaller members of its group, often when they had some sort of cargo they were dragging or carrying.

He was much too fast with his massive leaps to keep up with, but that was all the better for them. They just needed to hear him to know where he was, and that wasn’t too hard, considering his…impressive lungs. Right now, they’d managed to stumble upon what seemed to be another bull-thing with some smaller dogs. Though it was what they were dragging on a sled that was the interesting bit. “Hey, check it out!” Tuff whispered. There were giant crates of what were clearly various fruits- the vast majority being bananas. “Jackpot!”

Tiff squinted as she looked on at the beasts. “Yeah, I see ‘em. I’ve gotta admit, that’s a LOT.” The crates were big enough so as to be stuffed full and overflowing. Melons of all stripes, oranges, apples, cherries, grapes, and somewhat obviously PLENTY of bananas were in the crates being hauled along. “If we could get even a few handles from one of those crates, that would help out a ton.”

“The question is ‘where are they going’, though,” Tuff noted as the convoy gained distance.

“Only one way to find out,” Tiff responded as she took a deep breath and braced herself. “Alright, set?”

“Roger that,” Tuff responded, readying himself as well as the group rounded a corner.

They disappeared from sight, and Tiff counted down from ten. “Three…two…one…okay, move!” And with that they shot off, quickly, quietly, to the relative shadows of another building as they continued to track their potential source of food. This would take a while…

Or so they thought. Perhaps ten or so minutes after they’d tailed the group, they noticed that at least two of the dogs quickly broke off. “Huh? What’s that about?” Tuff muttered to himself as they seemed to go dart ahead. A few barks got their attention, and they soon had to pull back into the shadow of the wall they were hiding behind as a flock of blackbirds came with what seemed to be a rope net of some kind. “Are they…airlifting the food the rest of the way?” Tiff realized.

Sure enough, it was placed on the ground, the dogs were clearly intelligent enough to push a box on top, and the birds, rope ends of the net in their mouths, flew up, seemingly with little trouble, and flew off deeper into the city. They repeated this for two more crates…but to their surprise, the last one- the one with the most bananas, remained. “Wonder why they didn’t take that one?” Tiff questioned.

“Might be special somehow,” Tuff guessed. Now with a lightened load, the bull creature and the dogs left again, going in a different direction than the birds did- and clearly at a much faster pace. “C’mon! We can’t let ‘em lose us!” He took off, and Tiff huffed, but followed. The city had been built on hills, and it was showing in how they’d had to march uphill carefully. Fortunately, it flattened out over time, but the journey up proved to only make hiding from wandering patrols harder.

They soon found themselves near a larger building...they weren’t sure what it was for, but it seemed rather run down, abandoned like everything else. Even in the middle of this concrete jungle, it seemed wide and elaborate, and in its heyday probably would have been called extravagant. There was a large, flat-laying arch (she couldn’t think of what it was called, and had no mind to try to recall at the moment) with that strange lettering on it; likely a sign saying what it was, if only they could read it. More importantly, there was a particular…well, if they had to admit it to anyone, it was an odd stench. It felt like something was, indeed, living here. And that didn’t set well with them. “...think this is it.” Tuff asked as he and his sister hid behind a large sign, watching them pull the crate in.

“Might be,” Tiff agreed. “We need to be EXTRA careful and make sure the big one’s not around,” she instructed, and Tuff nodded. With that, they began to sneak around the big building, looking for any sign of the massive ape. The building was fenced off for the most part, save for a single opening they found near the back- however, though it seemed to be a parking lot, there was no visible entry. As they skulked around, to their surprise there seemed to be little guard presence there; a few dog things, sure, but none of the security or at least massive grouping of animals that either of them had subconsciously expected. “Maybe they’re all still busy,” Tuff thought out loud.

“Or maybe he thinks he’s all he needs to keep intruders out,” Tiff countered. “But…we’re here. Might as well give it a shot. C’mon, I think I see a way in- up on the second floor over there,” she noted, having been looking up. It seemed like it was a large, broken window behind the large sign off to the left. Fortunately, the arch was wide enough that both would be able to stand on it easily. “We’ll have to climb, but it’s better than trying the front door.”

It wasn’t a trying climb, but they had to figure out how to get up in the first place- a few errant vines snaking their way up ultimately proved sturdy enough. ‘I REALLY need to figure out how to do that Infinity Jump,” Tiff resolved as they both made it up. If they were going to be here for a while, she might as well focus on trying to figure that out. Hopefully she even COULD, but no one had said she seemed unable to yet, so she took that as a good sign.

“Definitely not the intended way up,” Tuff noted; though they were able to enter the area through it, they both had to make a jump due to a gap between the second floor walkway and their ‘opening’.

“Aaand…hup!” Tiff had to back up and take a running start to get across, but she landed safely and without trouble, though it was shallow. Her size meant that she didn’t make much noise upon touching down on the floor despite her armor.

Tuff, for his part, simply took a deep breath, ran, and pole vaulted over. To both of their surprise he cleared the gap easily, and had to stop himself from panicking as he nearly crashed into the far barrier on landing. “Ghhh!” He struggled to hold himself still; any more forward would’ve sent him sprawling down to the bottom floor where the dogs were, clearly on guard duty. To their surprise, they didn’t seem to notice her despite the heavy thud and grunting he’d made.

He carefully backed up from the edge, making sure they didn’t look up…and fortunately, they didn’t. “Phew…” Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, Tiff motioned to Tuff to come with her. Together, they walked along the 2nd floor, near a large center area walled off by what looked to be a bunch of fancy glass windows- save for the broken ones.

Fortunately, the area seemed rather opened up, and as they passed a broken window, their eyes lit up as they looked down, quickly noticing all the various foods stored in several crates inside the artificially forested area just past a pair of escalators. “Toldja!” Tuff whispered to his sister, and after a quick check, they both hopped down, fortunate that the foliage and grass was tall enough that anyone looking would have to be focusing to notice. They quickly began looking into various open crates and stuffing more than a few apples, melons, and other fruits and vegetables in it. “It’s like a teensy snack for this guy, he won’t even notice!”

“How are we sure this stuff’s even still edible for us?” Tiff asked, even as she began to do the same, though she at least gave everything a once over before she bagged it. She didn’t see any major signs of rot, but she couldn’t be sure considering they were likely in a completely different dimension with different rules.

Tuff shrugged, clearly not as worried. “Hey, it doesn’t look moldy or bruised, so I dunno about you, but I’m hopin’ for the best,” he admitted quietly. She supposed that was really all they COULD do.

They were careful to not take too many from each crate on Tiff’s suggestion- after all, too much would be obvious. They’d both agreed to not take anything from the massive crate of bananas, either. “If he’s gonna freak over ANYTHING, it’ll be smellin’ bananas and not seein’ em!” Tuff had said, to solid agreement.

They’d gotten through scrounging through three crates before she motioned to stop, resulting in her brother looking at her curiously. “How full are you?” she asked.

“I got some more space, why?” Tuff asked.

“Let’s find another place,” she said softly. “If we take too much, it’ll be obvious, and this place is still a bit too open for me.” After all, if it seemed like some set was missing a lot when others weren’t, it’d be more likely to be seen as the theft it was instead of someone not pulling their quota. Fortunately, there were some paths out they could see, namely the busted windows. They’d have to move quickly and carefully, but they could make those jumps.

“Right,” Tuff agreed, and they went to move on-

-only to see little more than a shadow cross their vision, then hear a MASSIVE thud sound outside, enough to rock the foundation and cause some dilapidated masonry to begin to crumble away near them. Even more, it was clearly enough to get the dogs inside to come to attention, running off somewhere they couldn’t see from their vantage point. “...aw, Jamblasted…” Tuff muttered with a panicked expression as he and Tiff scrambled to find somewhere to hide.

It was Tiff who spotted something. “Over here!” she quickly pushed them both past a broken window, behind some rubble that had stacked up.

It was just as well, as a mass of dogs began to show up, clearly intent on hauling their goods out to their boss. Where they’d come from they couldn’t see from where they were, but they could hear all the movement. ‘If even one of them gets too curious for whatever reason…’ She tapped Tuff, motioning him to back up as she did the same, wanting to put a bit more space between them. They didn’t have a lot of space to run, but there WAS a broken window not far away that could get them-

*tink* Tiff’s heart stopped as something clattered to the ground near them. Her eyes shot to the source of the sound. ‘A can…’ she realized, body frozen as it rolled out from their hiding spot. ‘How did I not see that? No, no, no!’

But it was, and one of the dogs looked over at the sudden source of the sound. Tiff jerked back behind her (now flimsy-looking) cover, bracing herself for the inevitable barking, the alert, and…what was likely to come next. She could hear a small animalist huff of surprise, and of course it set to sniffing the ground. She couldn’t see, but she was sweating nonetheless. Tuff similarly had a grimace on his face and a white-knuckle grip on his staff. She heard footsteps- light, almost innocent sounding as the beast got closer and closer… ‘We’ve got to strike first,’ she realized. ‘Okay, I’ve got to time this just right…’ she breathed in, out, then held her hand out to Tuff in signal. He grimaced, but made no move to suggest otherwise. ‘Three…two…o-’

Suddenly, another guttural roar caught their attention- as well as the dogs, judging by the sudden yipping. To their immense relief, the hound’s footsteps suddenly sounded at a rapid pace- away from them, as the throng made to move double-time, from what they could tell. It seemed that their boss had been getting impatient.

There were sounds of stampeding, but only for a few moments. Afterwards, silence in totality, though they heard some commotion in the far distance. “...too close.” Tiff muttered.

“Yeah, but I think it paid off,” Tuff noted looking around and finding no one present. “We’re home free!”

Tiff didn’t want to jinx it, so rather than debate with him on the point she simply made to look carefully as the duo slipped out, backpacks bulging. It had taken them the majority of the day to make their way through the city, and it was evening by now. “We’re trying to get out of here before night time, right?” Tuff asked.

“Yeah,” she said as they slipped out, making their way back to the atrium. There would be an easy out, ideally. If not, they could make their way upstairs and leave how they came in. “If whatever they’re doing is just a one-day thing, we don’t want to be here when everything’s normal for them,” Tiff explained. “So let’s be quick about it!” Their added weight wasn’t too heavy, fortunately, meaning they could mostly move as normal, if perhaps a tad slower.

He said nothing else, nodding. To their relief, the front opening was indeed unguarded now, allowing them to leave unhindered; Tiff remembered to put less energy into her jump while Tuff had to do a bit more, but they both managed to make it out. “Alright!” her brother cheered quietly as they hopped down. “Now we just need to get outta this city!”

“Easier said than done,” Tiff muttered, hearing the sounds of animals nearby, but fortunately not seeing any. Close, but not close enough they couldn’t affect a quiet getaway. “C’mon, we don’t want to spend the night here.”

“No kiddin’.” Tuff agreed. “We got plenty of stuff, so I just hope we can get it all back without a-”

Call it tempting fate, call it bad luck, but it was then that a breeze blew- and with it several petals that had been floating on the wind wafted by Tuff. Petals, AND their pollen. It got in his nose, and it was too sudden for him to catch. “A- aah-a-CHOO!”

The nearby animal sounds went silent.

Tiff’s eyes bugged. Had anyone seen her, they would’ve laughed at the comical face she’d made. But this was no laughing matter. That had sounded louder than a gunshot to her ears. ‘No, no no no…’ She turned to her brother fully intending to at LEAST glare at him for his folly, maybe a small admonishment even as mortified as he looked himself- but the breeze hadn’t stopped at him. She felt a tickle in her nose, in the back of her throat, and it built up too fast to resist. She’d have at least clasped her hands over her mouth- if they weren’t full with her lance and shield. “Wa-CHU!” Even as it happened, she felt an unpleasant co*cktail of fright and embarrassment. “...oh, no…” she squeaked out as the inevitable happened.

“AWOOOOOOOOO!”

Not two seconds afterwards, a loud, almost rippling howl echoed out nearby. The two turned in shock to see one of the small dogs clearly the perpetrator, charging at them fearlessly.

“Run!” Tiff quickly yelled as the two of them about-faced and bolted. It wasn’t the singular dog, of course, that frightened them. It was the massive pack on its heels that they could clearly hear having been summoned.

The two shot out of the parking lot, nearly bowling over a trio of dogs that had wandered over to see what all the commotion was. They quickly darted down an alleyway and hung left as they pushed themselves to get as much space as possible between them and the horde. They could still hear the barking of hounds and stamping of hooves as they did, though. “WHAT HAPPENED TO BEING QUIET?!” Tiff yelled in frustration and exasperation as they cut to another street. They knew where they had come into the city, now it was just a matter of finding a way to get OUT.

“IT WAS A SUDDEN SNEEZE!” Tuff yelled back, sparing only a moment to check their distance. “WHAT DO YOU THINK I- MOVE!” Without warning he tackled her to the side, the two of them barely dodging what seemed to be a massive chunk of ground hurled at them.

They didn’t need to look back to hear the immense roar of the Beast Pack leader, the thumping of his chest, or the massive thud he made upon landing near them. Tiff did as she got up, however, and he was clearly furious. ‘He caught up that quick!? We were like a block away!’ His size was such that he stood head and shoulders above the single story building next to him- Tiff knew there’d be no fighting THAT juggernaut. The two of them scrambled to their feet as his massive hand gripped a dumpster nearby, lifting it like a shot put. “Go go go!” Tiff urged, hauling her brother up and around another corner.

They’d barely made it around as the steel container slammed down, causing them to nearly lose their balance from the shockwave. Fortunately, they kept upright, and found themselves racing along another open street briefly before taking another turn, quickly pursued by the Pack. This was blocked off by a large, chain link fence, but both of them refused to let that bar them- latching onto it by almost second nature, they both climbed and hopped over quick as a wink, managing to leave the majority of the hounds behind at the obstacle. Tiff glanced back only for a moment, a dour smile starting to snake its way on her face. ‘Maybe we’ve caught a break…’

Then another massive howl erupted, and Tiff fought the urge to grimace as Tuff shouted the alarm; more bovine enemies were coming from down the street. ‘Shouldn’t have tempted fate!’ Not even saying it out loud, the two began to dart through various alleyways, doing their best to shake their pursuers, and hopefully getting the Big One off their trail for a bit. The buildings they began to cut through had small alleys that he couldn’t fit in, and they utilized that advantage to the fullest as hounds barked (or shot at them in some cases) in pursuit.

The two of them darted through a small park, having clearly grown over its former boundaries. They hopped over a pair of swings, with two of the hounds chasing them getting tripped up on them as they attempted to do the same. One trio of the hounds attempted to cut them off at an angle, approaching fast- but there was a building nearby which they quickly darted into and shut the door- the dogs slamming into it with a thud when their speed proved too high to stop in time. As far as they could tell, it was a sort of boutique department store.

Not that either cared as they shot through the store. “There’s gotta be a back exit!” Tiff said in desperation.

“There better!” was Tuff’s only response as he did his best to keep up around the various mannequins and display tables. A massive thud nearby, however, caused them to rethink things just as they located the bright red emergency exit. “Crud! Uh, uh…” Tiff racked her brain for an escape plan, but it was Tuff who would speak first, seeing a sign in that weird language that he didn’t understand- but he knew what a bridge looked like, next to a set of stairs leading up. “Up there!” he said quickly. “Maybe there’s another way out!”

Tiff was…concerned, but this wasn’t a situation to complain in, as she followed him up. Fortunately, she quickly saw what Tuff had guessed at as they made it to the top- and indeed, there was covered bridge connecting this and another building over the street! “Tuff, you genius!” she complimented quietly- she could see right over the lip of the guardrail that the big boss was still clearly checking the door for them to come out, unaware they were right above him. “Let’s move, and be careful about it!”

The two of them ducked down a bit, moving quickly and quietly across the skyway bridge as Tiff noticed the massive primate posted up outside the door…

…only for something to gain its attention that Tiff couldn’t see. But whatever it was, it caused him to turn his head up towards the bridge immediately, big eyes bulging as he located them- or likely rather their packs- halfway over. “Oh no…”

The beast wasn’t as tall as the Skyway- but those long, strong arms could certainly still reach, and one of them did. Tiff took off, grabbing Tuff and yanking him along in a panic. “Get off the bridge, GET OFF THE BRIDGE!”

She’d barely gotten the second alarm out before the goliath’s massive hand crushed the part of the bridge they’d been on as he tried to grab at them- the shockwave of the effort tossing them into the other building they’d been attached to- which seemed to be the top of some sort of large, multi-tiered parking lot judging by all the rusted cars.

She didn’t like it. They were too out in the open already for her. Tuff picked himself up as Tiff tried to think of where to go next-

-only for a massive, crunching, rumbling sound to come from behind them, and suddenly there was a massive shadow above. The Beast Pack Leader slammed down in front of them, cracking the cement heavily and shaking the whole of the building mightily. To their dismay, there was nowhere to go from here- they were too high up, and ringed in, with the only exit downwards being blocked off by his bulk. There was a vicious, full-toothed smile on his face. ‘An intimidation display for apes and similar primates’, Tiff thought blankly as her mind began to race for some strategy, anything to defend themself, the monster rearing back a massive limb to swat them like flies-

-only for something to crack underneath them both. Both parties paused in confusion- and then as the cracking grew, horrified realization of what was happening. “You CAN’T be serious…” Tuff muttered in resigned despair.

As the foundation cracked and gave way, both sides yelled out in panic as parts of the building began to collapse underneath them. The Big One’s area gave way almost immediately, sending him tumbling down with a massive roar.

Unfortunately, that crack quickly spread to where the siblings were standing. Tiff looked around in a panic, looking for somewhere, anywhere to escape to. It only took her moments before she spotted a possible avenue- the only one. “Run!” she yelled, racing over to the edge. It was a rooftop to their right. It was a higher one than they were on by about a floor, but it was all they had. “Jump, jump, jump!” she barked out as they reached the end.

“HERE GOES!” Tuff gritted out as he Focused, planting his staff into the ground, and, in a flash of energy, pushed.

He shot up into the air, the Pole Vault sending him well above the lip of the other building with a yell of alarm. Tiff didn’t have time to worry about it just yet, though, as she hit the ledge, Focused as much as she could, and leapt.

For a moment, she thought she might make it. The ledge of the other building crept closer, as though her senses had slowed everything down, watching it all at half speed. She could at least grab onto it, and…

Then it seemed to slowly, slowly, back away. Her eyes widened as she realized. ‘I’m too heavy. I won’t make it! I-’

Those thoughts stopped there, even as she started to fall. ‘I HAVE to make it! I’m not leaving Tuff behind!’

Taranza’s words from so long back echoed in her mind, even now. ‘The air is a perfectly good stairway…’ That, and Bandee’s teachings, too. She had to…

She had to believe it. She WOULD believe it- and the world would too. It was momentary, it was unseeable from outside. Even as her jump arc dipped, she shut it all out, and focused, and a familiar old scowl grew on her face. ‘I’m going up there.’ It was a statement as simple as ‘The sun is shining,’ or ‘Kirby is hungry.’ A statement of unassailable fact. One way or another, she WOULD find herself up there.

Fortunately, the world decided she had a point. So when she took her next step, a small hopping jump as though she were bouncing up some stairs, the world indeed agreed that was good enough.

She gained a little height. Still wasn’t there. So she took another step.

Still wasn’t there. Another step, then. She was much closer…

Another step, a bit more height. One more…

“Tiff…?” her brother said in shock as she crested the ledge and hopped onto the rooftop, almost immediately slumping down in apparent exhaustion. “You made it?!” For a moment there was stunned silence, then he wrapped her in a massive hug, grinning widely as she began to register exactly what she’d managed. “You made it! What even WAS that?!”

She blinked, everything finally slotting into place. “I…I think I jumped. Again. And again.” It was the best way she could describe it, and she could still barely believe it himself.

“Awesome!" he cheered, breaking from her with a grin. "Aw, you gotta tell me how ta do that!” He insisted, as he peered to look over the edge. However, that was when the joy on his face dimmed a bit. "Whoa." At that expression and statement, she did too, wondering what he was looking at.

The parking building they’d been on had been reduced to rubble, likely having been not very stable due to the years just eroding its base. The massive beast that had been chasing them was easily seen among the masonry, clearly knocked out but very much still breathing. For Tiff, it finally settled in. “Huh...we’re alive. HOW are we ALIVE?!” she asked almost incredulously. By all accounts…

Tuff shifted his attention back to his sister, grinning sardonically. “I mean I could answer that, but-”

“Figure of speech, Tuff,” she answered flatly, before looking out into the distance. It was then she saw something that drained the excitement from her entirely. “But…no sense in celebrating too early.”

“Huh? Why not?” Tuff asked. “We just managed to shake that big scary guy! He’s totally out of it! We just need to get down and-”

Wordlessly, she pointed out at the street, where a HORDE of Beast Pack members, including several she hadn’t seen before such as snakes and others were storming towards the area, clearly concerned for their leader.

And there weren’t any buildings they could just jump to nearby. Looking around, Tiff saw a doorway, bound by a rusty chain and padlocked, but that wasn’t a problem. “C’mon, inside!” she said, as she ran over to it, grabbing the chain and with some strain, snapping it.

They pushed inside, heading down a set of stairs, through a doorway… and found themselves in some sort of large office, as far as they could tell. “Woah…” Tuff remarked, noticing all the computer stuff. “Hi-tech.”

“Very… and look,” she pointed at the windows on the sides. They both could see out, but they were fairly certain the beasts couldn’t see in, as they made to move rubble and rouse their giant leader. It was clear it would take a while, however.

Tiff sighed. They’d escaped notice…for now. But now they were stuck, and would be for a while, it seemed. Especially as the last rays of the sun were vanishing- not that the beasts seemed to care. She grimaced at their diligence. The one positive was that they clearly were focused on their excavation, not tracking down their quarry. “Guess we’re staying overnight whether we want to or not…”

Tuff groaned, both in exhaustion and frustration. She could sympathize.

This would be a very uncomfortable night.

Somewhere cold...

He looked at the crude drawings Bonkers had given him. Those two...were here? And they were actively opposing him? He scowled at the idea, the audacity.

The boy he could understand. He was rebellious. An unknown. He had helped before, but by command of another or his own desire.

But the girl? She was one of his. SHOULD be one of his. He'd thought she was loyal. Turning traitor? That...that couldn't stand.

"More of these," he commanded to the Awoofies and others near him. "Spread them throughout the land. Capture them both." He may not be the ruler of this land, but he still had minions and orders he could make. And one of those orders would be to bring his Knight BACK. Both of those traitors would be punished.

A King had to be strict with his discipline, after all.

Those matters taken care of, he had to return to the task his master had set for him in the first place. Now, where had those worthless Waddle Dees disappeared to...?

Chapter 37: Natural Plains: Big City Hustle

Chapter Text

Tiff and Tuff were not having the best day. Or night. Or morning, which it was. They’d slept in fits and spurts, and neither of them were feeling exceptionally cheery at the moment. The sun hadn’t come up, even.

Tiff glanced out of the window of the building they’d been holed up in, her expression having long since settled into a frustrated look she hadn’t worn this long in a while. Her brother was quick to notice. “...ugh. They gone yet?” he asked as he rolled over.

Tiff sighed. He’d asked that basically every time he got up, and the answer hadn’t changed. She was tempted to yell at him for constantly repeating himself, but if she were honest, she could understand the annoyance. “Not since I last checked,” she muttered as she saw the dogs and other animals shuffling around at ground level. They’re still on high alert.” Truth was, they had been all night. They’d dug out Gorimondo, but not having found where the two went, they were looking around everywhere. “If they keep this up all day, too…” she sighed, not wanting to finish the thought.

He just groaned, turning over again. “No waaaayyyy…”

She just shook her head as she glared out at the street again. “I know, but- hm?” She blinked as she took in what was happening. Some of the dogs perked up- it was clear something had caught their attention. Unfortunately, she couldn’t hear what. After a few more moments of them action both alert and confused, the dogs and their animal cohorts ran off. For a moment, Tiff couldn’t believe her eyes. “...they’re gone!”

Tuff shot up. “Seriously?”

She nodded, still processing it herself, but her body almost moving automatically to pick up their gear and pilfered supplies. “They JUST left. Something caught their attention to the west.”

Her brother was moving to do the same at once. “Then we’re outta here, too, right?” he asked almost rhetorically.

That was enough to get Tiff to take a breath and think about the situation. It was very odd, true, but. “I…we don’t have much choice, do we?” she noted. “This is the one time they’ve even so much as stepped away from the area. If we don’t take advantage of this now…”

“We’re basically saying they might as well come get us, yeah,” Tuff admitted, shrugging on his pack in finality. “We don’t take this window, it’s prolly gonna shut on us for a while.”

“Then we don’t have any more time to waste,” Tiff agreed, doing her best to force herself completely awake. “C’mon. Let’s get out of this crazy city.”

They didn’t take long to find their way down, fortunately- the stairs they’d found earlier led to the bottom floor, and from there, it was easy enough to open a door, though they were extra-careful to not risk making more sounds than necessary. Peeking out first, Tiff scanned the area. “Okay. Coast really IS clear. Let’s move!”

As soon as they said that, they both darted out. Getting in was tough, but they hadn’t been known at that point. Getting OUT would be a lot harder now that the Pack knew that the duo were present and trying to hide from them. They ducked into a small floral shop nearby. “Okay…they’re gonna probably be searching for us again before long. We’ve gotta either get out by then or make sure they won’t be able to catch us when they refocus on us.”

“Shame none of those cars work,” Tuff grumbled. “We could just drive one of ‘em out.”

“I might’ve learned a few things about electronics with Lord Meta Knight, but he’s never let me drive anything, even IF they were in working order,” Tiff noted. “We’ll have to make our way out some other way.”

“Hey, was an idea,” Tuff shrugged as they slipped out the back door.

They kept to the shadows as best they could, nipping through alleyways, holding at alcoves of trashed buildings, and doing their best to keep away from the sparse few Beast Pack members still patrolling. As they made their way down the street, they cut under an overpass- and nearly tripped over a small pack of dogs that were all napping at the moment.

Tense, Tiff put her finger to her lips, and Tuff merely nodded in confirmation. Carefully, gently, they made to tiptoe between the smaller pack; made harder because of the trash and refuse that had accumulated underneath. ‘Careful…careful…’ Tiff said mentally as she gingerly picked a path devoid of paper or cans. She was just fortunate no wind was trying to make her sneeze this time…

One of the dogs stirred, and the two froze. Its head rose…and then it rolled over, still asleep as its paws started to wave in the air, running at nothing. The two couldn’t even let out a breath, and continued on. Though Tuff nearly laughed at the sight, and Tiff had to motion to cut it out. Thankfully, they made it across after that close call, and kept going. ‘That was just crossing under a road,’ she said mentally, the difficulty of the task starting to seriously bear down on her. ‘ How the heck are we going to stay under all of their noses?’

Later, they found themselves a combined dog pack- including some of the ones with guns. They were still patrolling as well, walking closer and closer to them as they crouched down behind a pair of large trash cans. ‘Sweet Nova, how are we gonna get past this…’ she swore to herself.

Her brother, at least, had different ideas. ‘Void help me, I’m not gonna be the problem this time!’

There was a tenseness in the air as they scanned the area, seemingly sniffing here and there. From past experience, once they got too close, that’d be it- that gun-toting mutt would catch wind of them and that’d be that.

That’s why the second they looked away, scouting down an alley perhaps a building or two away from them, Tuff grabbed a can right by him. It was small, and had little weight to it. Concentrating like nothing he’d managed before, a sphere of cold quickly surrounded, giving it much more heft. Taking a quick and quiet breath, he focused- and then heaved as hard as he could, hurling it down the street and across it, the projectile hitting a window in a building away from them.

Of course, they heard it immediately, and took off- quickly and soundly passing the two by without any time to focus on any lingering scents.

Tiff looked at her brother with admiration, a smile blooming across her face even as they took advantage of the now open space. “ Nice, Tuff! Let’s move!”

“Heh.” Tuff couldn’t help but feel proud of himself. “From Chaos, Inspiration,” he muttered smugly.

Tiff blinked, turning back to him. “Pardon?”

He shook his head in dismissal. “Jambastion thing, don’t worry about it.” ‘Not even the whole saying,’ he noted in his head.

Tuff just huffed, but nodded and continued on.

There was a small bridge area they were coming up to, after making sure the most recent patrol hadn’t spotted them. Fortunately, no birds were in the air nor dogs or hedgehogs on the ground- but it was also starting to become morning, with the first rays of light peeking over the horizon. “We’ve gotta move faster,” Tiff complained. “If we can’t at least-” and then she stopped as she saw a pair of figures in the distance, on the other side of the bridge. Instinct and training told her to hide, but these silhouettes…they looked familiar. ‘Wait a second…! No…it can’t be.’

“What’s up? Why’d we stop?” Tuff asked behind her. He peeked around, and whatever she saw, he did. “Heyyyy, that kinda looks like…”

But Tiff was already running up to them. Sure enough, the two’s image became clearer to her as she got closer. The green armor was too familiar, as was the other’s floppy little hat and pointed shoes. She recognized how they carried themselves, the nuances. “Blade Knight? What are you doing here? Poppy, you too!” They didn’t seem to answer, and despite something pinging as ‘off’ in her head, she barreled on. “Nevermind, we need to leave-”

“Nope!” Poppy Jr. said quickly, just as cheerful as anything, even as he pulled out a bomb.

Tiff blinked, the words barely registering. “...’nope’? What do you mean ‘nope’?”

“You aren’t allowed to leave!” he said, just as cheerily and eerily. “Our leader demands your capture!” He said it oh-so-casually, hopping from one foot to another.

An ice-cold feeling settled in her gut as she realized the implications.

Tuff, on the other hand, was incensed. “Come again?” he asked hotly.

“Stand down and it will be painless,” Blade Knight insisted, pointing his blade at them. His voice was cool, calm. Out of place. “However, you must be punished for going against the Pack.”

That cold feeling quickly turned into righteous and heated anger to match her brother’s at that declaration. “...what?” The question was less a question in truth and more a statement, even as her grip on her weapons became white-knuckled. “You…did you forget who you serve?! Who you swore to help!”

“That is irrelevant now,” Blade Knight insisted blandly.

“Irrelevant!? You- you TURNED on your King?!” Tiff roared. Tuff had to admit his surprise, rearing back at the declaration. He’d known she’d enjoyed her time with him, and saw him differently from the one back home- heck, so did he, and boy howdy. But this? This was…something else. “You made an OATH to serve Lord Meta Knight as best as you were able, no matter what! That he was worth following, and you-”

“I follow the Pack’s will,” Blade Knight said simply, with Poppy Jr. nodding. “That is all.”

“How COULD you!?” Tiff accused…though something about this smacked wrong to her. They really turned traitors so easily? Bonkers she could understand, he wasn’t really with Meta Knight or King Dedede, but Blade Knight? She’d seen them around so often it’d be ridiculous to not consider them part of King Dedede’s castle. It was almost like a personal betrayal. Blade Knight was someone she’d sparred with, on occasion. He’d loved to constantly try to improve himself, and she often figured she could certainly use the training, as well. However, as lower ranked as he was, she didn’t see him on the Halberd very often. She was pretty sure he and this Poppy Bros. Jr had both competed in the Cake Royale, in fact.

“We will take you by force if necessary,” Blade Knight said plainly.

“Dude, you can try!” Tuff said scathingly as he brandished his staff. Tiff wanted to reprimand him for the remark, but even she couldn’t see how they’d avoid a fight.

‘...something has to be wrong. This can’t be them. They…!’ However, she had no further time to think about it as Poppy started hurling his bombs, with Blade Knight approaching under cover.

Being honest, Tiff had partially expected a close, harrowing fight. Something that she’d have to summon up all her reserves of courage and strength to will herself to overcome, defeating people who she had long considered comrades in arms alongside her brother.

But it wasn’t. In fact…it wasn’t close at all. Poppy’s bombs seemed to have a slow, obvious arc to her eyes now, and Blade Knight’s swings, though much faster, and did have her defend, were nothing compared to Lord Meta Knight’s bladework. ‘He’s…so slow,’ she thought to herself once the shock of it had worn off. ‘Why is he so slow?’ An overhead chop was deflected and riposted in one smooth motion, knocking him off balance. At the same time, Tuff had already clapped Poppy Bros. Jr on the head at least twice, who was reeling. He’d darted in, wacked one bomb away, and went to town. ‘I know he trains a lot. He’s not a slacker. So why is he SO SLOW?’ Even as her body went on autopilot to deflect his strikes and delivered a shield bash that sent him sprawling, she still couldn’t quite register it.

In seconds, the two were on the ground, unconscious with the twins standing over them. “Great,” Tuff muttered, clearly not nearly as conflicted as she felt. “They’re gonna squeal on us as soon as they wake up.”

“Then let's not be here for it to matter,” Tiff responded. Her heart was heavy as she accepted the truth.'They'd been gotten to...' He sighed, but didn’t argue as they pressed onwards.

Fortunately for the both of them, that was the last major trouble they’d had to deal with for some time. The duo crept along, finding what looked to be a particularly run down section of the city- to the point there was a massive hole in the concrete, showing the underneath. “Careful, Tuff,” she whispered, looking down into it. There was a massive pipe, likely some kind of sewer system, and water that looked surprisingly clear continuously flowed out from it. She couldn’t even smell anything particularly bad from it- likely natural rains and the sort had literally flushed any actual waste and refuse clean out. Still… “It’s deep.”

“Prolly goes all throughout the city,” her brother muttered.

And that’s when it hit Tiff. “Wait…if it goes all through the city…then maybe it goes OUT of the city, too! Tuff, this might be our ticket out!”

“Wait, seriously?” Able to see his eyes or not, she could tell he was looking at her with an expression usually reserved for crazy people.

“Yes!” she began to explain. “If this goes throughout the city, it probably empties OUTSIDE of the city somewhere!” At least, that was the hope. “If nothing else, we can probably get out close to the city limits so long as we don’t take too many turns. And no one will expect us to use the sewer system!”

Tuff grimaced…but again, he couldn’t find major fault in her logic. “Eghh…alriiiiiight. Just, like…hope we don’t smell.”

“We’ll be fine, Tuff,” she insisted as she spotted a pipe they could slide down. “C’mon!”

Sure enough, the lack of a smell remained as the two begin to walk through the ancient waterway, lit by their own magic. As Tiff had surmised, there was no actual waste, it all having long since been washed away barring small things like ruined toys, cans, paper, and other minor issues. Although damp, that was more than acceptable, and even Tuff began to lose some of his tension upon realizing it. It was surprisingly quiet, too, and that had let Tiff begin thinking out loud.

“Something had to have hijacked their minds,” she deduced after they’d been down there for a while. “There’s no way anyone would betray King Dedede like that!” she stated with confidence.

Tuff let out a small scoff. “I mean, depends on the-” Tiff whirled around, glaring daggers at him in less than a second. “-shutting up.”

She held it for a moment longer, before the anger melted from her face, escaping in a long sigh. “...sorry. I’m just…confused, I guess. As to all of this.”

“I mean, no kiddin’,” Tuff agreed. “I’ve been confused since we got dumped here! But frankly, I still say it’s ‘cause of that super-evil thing I felt earlier. Sounds about right, doesn’t it?” Tiff nodded wordlessly, considering the statement. “Sooo, I doubt we can do anything for a while, but I betcha we can either find something that could beat it up, or we could get strong enough to beat it up ourselves!”

Tiff scoffed, but it was lighthearted. “...just that simple, huh?”

“Nah, it’s gonna be stupid hard,” Tuff said easily, which again surprised his sister a bit- though she was starting to get used to his blunt wisdom. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t do it. Heck, maybe King Dedede along with everyone could!”

“Maybe…” Tiff tentatively agreed, before huffing. “I do wish Kirby was here, though. That’d make this whole thing easier.”

“Yeaaah, but I’m pretty sure he’s tryin’ ta keep Pop Star from ALL fallin’ in here,” Tuff noted. “Prolly on an adventure of his own, so it’s on us to deal. We just gotta keep looking forward. And what happens, happens, and we just do our best to handle it. ‘From Void, to Void.’”

‘Again with this Void stuff…whatever,’ Tiff ultimately decided. She wasn’t going to worry about every little thing he said with his religion anymore, she figured. ‘ If it helps, it helps.’ She might’ve thought it before, but this time she meant it.

Together, they traversed the sewer system, with their only concern being occasionally to stop at an intersection and decide on what direction they were going in. It was pleasantly mundane for once. “If we can get out and get this to them, we can start setting up search patterns for the King. We’ll have to be careful, though, and-”

“What about the Waddle Dees?” Tuff asked suddenly. She turned around to see Tuff standing there, almost ramrod straight. “They’re…?” he paused, as though he wasn’t sure what to say.

Tiff flinched, looking away briefly. Had I really forgotten about them? “No, no, you’re right,” she admitted, looking back at him, seeing him clearly upset by her negligence. “The Waddle Dees are important,” she reassured him.

“Very important,” he insisted. Still tense, but just a little looser.

“Very important,” she agreed. That had been all that was needed to see his posture slacken a fair bit, which did her good, too. “C’mon, we still need to find a way up.”

“...right,” Tuff agreed, nursing his head slightly. ‘Am I sure there ain’t no smells in here? Starting to get a headache…’ Fortunately, it receded quickly, and Tuff put it out of his mind.

Which was just as well, as soon something much, much more immediate took up his attention. “We have to have gotten pretty close to the city limits,” Tiff deduced. “I’ve been seeing less trash and junk,” she noticed. “Maybe we can-”

*Thump* *Thump* *Thump* They both paused immediately as a rhythmic rumbling began to shake the ground above them. “W-what the?” Tiff asked quietly.

“What’s goin’ on up there?” Tuff muttered scowling above himself.

Tiff was already running to keep up with it. It was pretty obvious that they were the Beast Pack. And moving in force. The question here, though, was why? Maybe it was because they were below them and the sound transmitted better, but it felt like there were many, MANY more than normal.

It fortunately wasn’t much longer before they noticed a small ladder. They’d seen several before- they usually led to covers above them. One of them had indeed let them out on the street. She wasn’t about to question why anymore, not when she could peek out and- perfect! It was already slightly ajar. No having to risk sound here. She looked through the small slit the daylight afforded her, and her jaw dropped.

An army. Practically an ARMY was in front of them. She could see the city limits, yes- but in front of them, only a street or two away, were a throng of beasts. Many she had seen, and many she hadn’t- but whoever they were, she wasn’t wanting to meet them in person. She didn’t see the big guy anywhere, but that was no guarantee that he wasn’t nearby. She’d probably hear him before she saw him in this case.

Tuff poked his head out onside of her- he’d managed to squeeze next to her on the ladder, and she was only mildly surprised that his balance was good enough to hang by one arm nowadays. “So…just a hunch, but...that’s super not good, I bet.”

Almost as if to answer them, they noticed some strange parchment billowing- normally nothing to even pay any attention to- but they could see that more than a few pieces were billowing around, all of a similar size and color. It looked almost like cardboard, even. Being behind the majority of them, Tiff managed to snake her hand out as one fluttered close enough to the manhole and snatch it up.

Both of them blanched upon seeing what was on it. A crude, basic painting of two spheres. One, was pink and green and had a slight poke of yellow out from atop it. The other was yellow on the bottom and purple on the top. Both had basic beady eyes on them. Even with the very simple drawing, it was unmistakably them.

“Yup,” Tuff said stiffly. “Super not good.”

“They’re putting out wanted posters of us?!” Tiff was admittedly a bit surprised. They’d just been discovered here- they were moving that fast? ‘I wasn’t even really expecting them to know how to draw at all,’ she privately admitted. “...we have to get back to HQ. FAST.”

“Aw, crud, yeah! If they’re lookin’ for us, they might find my crew!” Tuff realized. Looking at each other, they nodded resolutely, and ducked back down. They needed to be careful in getting back, but they needed to move quickly. They were going to have to step faster- especially as they felt the thrumming above of footsteps. “I’m pretty sure this is around the end of the city- we’d end up back in the outskirts before too long if we keep going this way,” Tiff noted.

She fortunately proved to be correct- they could soon quite literally see a light at the end of the tunnel. When they got closer to it, they looked up to notice that it was the bridge they had crossed coming in from the suburban area. “Knew it! Now we just have to keep low, move quick, and let your friends know before we have to leave.”

“Yeah. No way that whole pack isn’t gonna search that town,” Tuff admitted as they carefully stepped out. Fortunately, they could see no beasts nearby- likely because moving as a unit until they got to their destination would mean they’d be moving a bit slower. But they couldn’t rely on that.

This was yet another time they were glad for their training as they proceeded to hike through the plains and woods. Both of them had silently agreed that they’d only sleep when absolutely necessary; they never moved slower than a brisk walk for the next several hours, and in that time covered a good deal more distance than they had coming to the city…

…or at least, that’s what Tiff had guessed. She’d noticed small objects here and there that she’d memorized for landmarking, and the first one passed that afternoon. “We’re making really good time,” she said, panting lightly. “We might get halfway there by the end of the day.”

“Hope so,” Tuff said, but that was all. His headache was coming back with a vengeance, and he was putting most of his effort on ignoring it. ‘Not like we can stop anywho,’ he admitted to himself. ‘We need to get to the- WADDLE DEES.’ his mind blared at him.

Tuff nearly tripped over himself. “Whoa!” ‘Where’d that come from? I mean, I’m not WRONG, but-’

Tiff looked back in concern. “You okay back there?”

“Fine, fine, just nearly tripped over a rock,” Tuff quickly lied as they kept moving.

“Well, watch your step- we don’t want to spill anything. Might be using these sooner than we thought,” she noted.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” he dismissed. ‘...I really am worried about the Waddle Dees, huh? I mean, they are cute an’ stuff, so it makes sense…Tiff doesn’t need ta worry about this just yet.’

It was later that night that they bedded down briefly. Only a few hours for both of them, on and off. Little time to spend casually talking. But before doing so, Tuff felt an urge. “Hm?” Tiff asked as he pulled out that strange, rainbow colored stone. “You’re taking a look at it now? I thought you said it was dangerous.”

“It’s got…SOMETHIN’ to it,” Tuff muttered. “An’ I said that before we were getting chased by a three-story gorilla and his army. Now I’m just kinda hoping this can give us an edge in case they come over the hill in a couple hours.”

She sat down with him, still concerned, but trusting. The campfire was minimal tonight, but the stone still glowed surprisingly brightly under its own power. “Whatcha thinkin’, then?”

He frowned. “I think maybe…maybe I’m overthinkin’’ it,” he guessed. “Maybe if I…” He grabbed it in both hands, concentrating a small portion of Soul. A teensy bit. A drop, if that.

It immediately rippled, then bloomed into a silver light. “Whoa!” For a moment, he was about to hurl the thing away- but then the stone felt…strong, again, for a moment. In fact, it felt…good? Before he could question this, the light dimmed, and he realized that Tiff was holding him, trying to shake him to awareness. “W-w-whoa, hh-h-hey! I’m okay, I’m okay!” he insisted as she finally relented.

“Tuff! What happened? Why’d it get so bright, I-” she nearly grew tongue tied at what just happened, though even now he could see her glancing up and about, making sure that no one else had seen the sudden light show.

“I’m fine, relax,” he assured- and he meant it. “In fact, kinda more than fine…that was a heckuva rush!” He couldn’t help but flex a bit. “In fact, I feel like…” Concentrating, he formed two ice cubes above his hand- and they quickly sharpened into proper spike shapes- actual Deadly Ice Candies, not his lesser versions. “...ohoho, yeah! Sweet!”

“Tuff?” she blinked.

“This stuff’s got a real kick behind it!” Tuff exclaimed as he shot the two icicles off- they promptly shot into the nearby tree, splintering the wood and burying themselves deep, as ice spread out a bit from the source. “Put some magic energy into it, and it’ll amp you up!” His face was filled with glee, clearly now excited at the possibilities. “We totally gotta find more of ‘em! If we wanna stay safe out here, I betcha this is how we’re gonna do it!”

There was something about his energy that was…concerning. But also, it was Tuff. “...maybe, once we get your friends out and we’ve decided how to keep ourselves under the radar,” she hazarded. A way to gain strength, in this case, wasn’t so horrible, but they very much had to still be careful.

“Right, got it.” He could understand that much, at least.

That didn’t stop him from going to bed with a wide smile on his face. ‘A few of these treasures and nothin’ll stop me!’

Elsewhere…

The little one couldn’t help but sigh in relief. He’d managed to find that spot again, and they were starting to actually build now. It was secluded, against an old seaside town. It was nowhere near Beast Pack territory, and had plenty of space for them to live and grow, if they needed to. ‘...I hope they like it,’ he fretted to himself. He’d enjoyed this little space himself, and he’d be more than glad to share it with his newfound friends. While he DID definitely feel bad that they’d been thrown here…he couldn’t help but be glad he had a few friends again.

As they talked about further progress below, one or two of the more adventurous sort climbed the lookout tower, asking him what they’d call the town.

He simply shrugged, bobbing in midair. “Well, it’d really be your town. So you can name it whatever you want…but why not just ‘Waddle Dee Town’?”

They nodded, and seemed to love it, sliding back down to share the news. He couldn’t help a smile crossing his face. Hopefully, he could keep them safe from the Beast Pack and their cronies. Though, as much as he didn’t like it, while the Beast Pack he knew was dangerous, for the most part, they could be avoided.

No, what worried him were those NEW faces he’d seen around the coast, even now. That strange, eyeless boy with the staff he’d not seen used, but the ease he’d carried it spoke volumes, not to mention his conjuring fire with a literal snap of his fingers. And the girl in armor, with those steely eyes. They hadn’t caught him out, but they’d gotten close, and he’d seen those eyes. Dangerous. Determined.

Maybe even Deadly. They looked too familiar. He didn’t want those eyes turned on him if he could help it.

‘...but I’d be silly if I thought they weren’t going to be looking for me. I think…maybe I should keep an eye out for them. See what they’re doing. Just in case.’ He was no fighter, didn’t want to fight…but he could hide, and observe. He was VERY good at that. If they spotted him, he’d just have to fly fast…right?

Right.

‘I really hope they don’t see me…’ he lamented to himself as he slipped away in the dead of night.

Chapter 38: 2nd Interlude: The Long Road

Chapter Text

During their struggle, in Cappy Town…

Sir Meta Knight had experienced a great deal in his long life. And part of that meant that he was used to rapid change- usually for the worse. He could adapt to new and developing situations very fast if need be.

Which is why he found it odd that he seemed to be continually surprised at how Cappy Town had changed. The town had been freed from the spectre of N.M.E, both figuratively and quite literally. The town was growing, and he’d bet his mask that in the future it’d be considered almost a holy site, if it wasn’t already. Fortunately, the citizens seemed to be adjusting mostly well- an adaptation he had to laud them for. To adjust like this in a scant…what was it now, two years? No time at all, and yet. They’d been managing well. Well, mostly. There were some changes that he’d still had to adjust to.

Such as not being employed by the King, for one. He’d considered asking for his old job back, but…something about it all rang insincere when he’d walked up to the castle drawbridge. It, for the most part, looked the same as ever, with even the C.O.G.S defense system repaired. But considering what he was focusing most of this time on? No. He’d had other things to worry about, ultimately, and after hearing about how his ‘court’ had changed, decided that he’d be better served on the outside. He was…disappointed in Fololo and Falala, certainly, but trying to work them back over to a more honorable side while working on his own projects would be…difficult. In more ways than one. As much as it grated at him, he’d decided to let the situation lie, and they’d reap whatever they sowed. Besides, he had a more pressing matter to worry about than King Dedede’s ego. Though to be fair, so did King Dedede. ‘If only his ways of trying to resolve the situation weren’t so…reckless,’ he thought to himself.

The influence of the other dimension was palpable in a multitude of ways, and in the way he was currently dealing with, it was leaning negative. A mischievous doppelganger by the name of ‘Shadow Kirby’ had invaded Cappy Town, and had begun making it his own personal playground. He was reminded of that crazed jester Marx, or perhaps King Dedede on a particularly bad day- with the difference being that Shadow Kirby more often got directly involved with his ‘pranks’. Like now.

“Surrender, shadow!” he commanded, only for Shadow Kirby to simply look at him from atop the massive rolling ‘Kirby Capture Machine’ - really just a jeep with a bunch of nets and other capturing tools King Dedede (and thus Escargoon) had crafted to try and distract him from ‘pranking’ the castle again and losing another tower.

To his credit, it had worked- on Little Kirby. Having caught and bounced him along the hill, Knuckle Joe was trying to catch and untie him, leaving Sirica and himself to fend with the counterpart.

Meanwhile, Shadow Kirby had been watching all of this with amusem*nt. “Nah,” Shadow said simply. He was much more terse than either Kirby he knew, despite clearly being able to speak like the older one. Unfortunately, that was a large part about what he knew concretely of Shadow Kirby at all. He’d managed to learn a little bit about him from TV one time, but that was it; the other two things Meta Knight knew was that he was very strong and mischievous, and that was about it.

A missile suddenly shot above his head, causing Shadow Kirby to leap off quickly as it impacted, shattering the the device and sending shards of metal down everywhere, not to mention a few tires. As Meta Knight covered himself with his cloak, the warrioress shot through the air, quickly coming down on the landing spot where Shadow Kirby had landed, sword mode engaged.

Sirica ducked a sudden star bullet that Shadow Kirby launched, having inhaled it on the way down. Two quick swipes had Shadow pirouette swiftly away from her, only to immediately slide back into her, causing her to trip and stumble; she quickly transitioned into a roll, and Shadow Kirby made to inhale another several pieces of metal, only for Knuckle Joe to burst forth. “Smash PUNCH!” he yelled, sending a massive sphere of energy towards their enemy.

Shadow had enough reaction speed to turn and launch the bullet at it, however, the two projectiles colliding and detonating in midair. Still, it had done enough, allowing Sirica to get to her feet and forcing Shadow Kirby to back off a decent distance.

Meta Knight turned to see both the fighter AND Little Kirby now present- the fight soon coming to a 4 on 1 as they faced him, trying to encroach. None of them were now in melee distance, but if they could be careful…

Shadow eyed all of them warily. Meta Knight huffed, recognizing the expression. He’d seen it once or twice already, and that meant-

“Too serious now,” he said, and Meta Knight was already on the move to restrain him- but it was too late as Shadow Kirby inhaled a nearby loose wheel. In a flash, he was Wheel Kirby, and dashed away in the other direction, fleeing to…well, who knew where.

Knuckle Joe sighed angrily. “Got away again. ” Sirica grunted, kicking the ground in frustration.

Meta Knight sighed. He hadn’t really been able to do much that fight- Shadow Kirby was especially wary about him, and had managed to lead the Kirby Capture Machine to fire in his direction more than a few times, causing him to step carefully. “We will get him one day,” he reassured the younger fighter. Shadow didn’t show up TOO often, but he would always make himself known when he did.

“S’okay!” Little Kirby tried to reassure his friend. Joe could only give off a small grin at that. Hearing Little Kirby talk properly for the first time had surprised both kids, but they’d gotten used to it. “Try again t’morrow!” His voice was high pitched, and he didn’t quite get longer words, but it was endearing nonetheless.

“Or whenever he comes back,” Sirica admitted. She in particular had a bit of umbrage against him, as he’d bested her in a swordfight on their first meeting. She’d yet to pay him back properly, though she didn’t let the losses eat at her for very long, at least.

“It has been a trying morning,” Sir Meta Knight suggested, turning to them both. “I will report this in.”

“Prolly a good call,” Joe admitted. “In that case, we’re gonna head out.” With that, the lot of them went their separate ways for now- the kids to their home, Kirby to his, and Meta Knight…

Well, not to Dedede, though he considered stopping by the castle anyway. He wanted to talk with a couple people, and the truth was, dealing with Shadow Kirby was STILL better than King Dedede at his worst.

“An’ there goes my patented Kirby Capturin’ Machine!” King Dedede groused as he turned away from the mess. The snail was with him as always, and hovering nearby were Fololo and Falala, looking on concernedly. “What was all that bluster you was talking about, Escargoon?!” King Dedede groused as he saw the remains of the device his aid had promised ‘was the cream of the Kirby-catchin’ crop!’.

“Well, maybe if those goody-too-shoes hadn’t interfered, it mighta done its duty properly!” the snail excused back. It was a common fallback for him, and it worked every time- including this one, as the king turned away, stomping back to the throne room as he groused to himself.

“If we can’t get dat dere Shadow in MAH shadow, I’ll never be the baddest guy around again!” It was clear in King Dedede’s eyes that Shadow had taken up the mantle, and he didn’t like that. His latest attempts to instill good sense and respect in those Cappies hadn’t been going anywhere, and to his horror, they were even starting to ignore his great personage. “An’ if ain’t nobody gonna lick my boots, they might give ME the boot! I’mma be out on my lonesome with nuthin’ but the clothes on my back!” he fretted.

“You don’t wear boots, sire.” Escargoon, really, wasn’t surprised by any of this. Ever since the tournament, and maybe even a bit before, it’d seemed like the King didn’t command the same fear and loathing as he’d used to. He blamed those Star Allies, personally- in particular the science wiz and the magician. It might only be a matter of time… ‘Wonder how mummy’s doing,’ he mused to himself for not the first time this week. ‘Did she move everything out of my old room?’

“Now, now, your prodigiousness,” Fololo tried to comfort. “You’re still just like we remember!”

“Yeah, you’re as stubborn as ever!” Falala agreed. “It just needs a bit of work done!” He at least appreciated that the two had ‘seen the light’ and come back to his side, taking some pressure of duties off of him, but it wasn’t helping the King’s public perception much.

“Yeah! You’ll come up with something with that rock-solid head of yours!” Escargoon jabbed.

Fortunately, the slights went right over said head, as Dedede let out a huff of arrogance. “Course I will! Now leave me alone! I’m feelin’ peckish, an’ I need some grub! C’mon, Escargoon! That kitchen betta have something halfway decent!” Together, the two left the twin monsters alone for a bit.

Left alone in the hallway together, they sighed. “Boy, that didn’t end too well.” Fololo noted.

“Nope,” Falala agreed. “But it was kinda expected.”

“Then why do you encourage him?” came a voice that was all too familiar, but still caused them to jump.

“Eep! Sir Meta Knight?” Falala asked in surprise, turning to see him. How had he… “What are you doing here?

“Visiting,” he noted idly. “I wanted to ask you. You are aware that King Dedede is…no great person. He yet carries his grudge against Kirby, and sees the intrusion of this new one as a method to gain the upper hand. Not to mention his attempts to control Dreamland. Why follow him?” he asked.

The two looked at each other, and shrugged. “Oh, he’s not as bad as people say,” Fololo insisted.

“He just likes attention!” Falala added on. “He’s not gonna do anything too horrible, so long as people listen to his edicts. They’re mostly harmless, really!”

Meta Knight couldn’t help but question that. “Like what?”

“Oh, y’know…maybe a bit more posters around town. A couple statues,” Fololo insisted. “Coming to all his royal declarations. Stuff like that! Even Kirby would be welcome if he did it.”

The knight had to raise an eyebrow at that statement, regardless if anyone could see it or not. “Really?”

“Yeah!” Falala insisted. “He’ll cool off on Kirby so long as he listens to him. I mean, I get why he’d be suspicious, but he’s not as bad as he used to be! Promise!”

Meta Knight huffed. “I do not deny that people can change. I simply have yet to see it in him.”

“Then hang around a bit more and maybe you will!” Fololo offered. “Come back into his service- he’d be glad to have you, we bet!”

Meta Knight quickly shook his head. “I’ll have to decline. Despite how it may seem, I do have many matters that will be taking up my attention. For instance…”

A bit later that day, Meta Knight found himself overseeing a brief sparring match on his way to report the earlier altercation. Sirica and Joe hadn’t been up for it, but Spikehead and Iro had grown to want to better themselves- and the other. Honey had chosen to watch as well.

Iro launched bopper after bopper with a speed that impressed Meta Knight a bit- he’d seen faster and stronger pitchers, but the boy had a knack for it at his age. Being able to recall like he was now was impressive as well; he seldom had to focus on a ball before it reappeared in his hand now. That they’d been enhanced with the force of wind- Bluster magic- only added to the impressiveness.

On the other hand, Spikehead was…well, he was still the free-wheeling kid Meta Knight remembered, but there was a particular intelligence and slickness about him now; he constantly had that Grimoire in his hand, and seemed to consult it readily, even as his hair sparked with electricity and he defended against ball after ball, occasionally using the book itself as an impromptu bat before charging and sending off a Plasma Needle or two. On occasion there was even a small aura of electricity that formed around him that seemed to repel or at least slow the Boppers outright. It was..heartening. “I wonder if perhaps the GSA would have them…” he mused to himself.

“Really?!” Honey, being next to him, had overheard him, and she now looked to him, stars in her eyes. “Me too! I wanna go places!”

‘Drat. I spoke aloud,’ he chastised himself. “In perhaps a few years, when they are older,” he corrected. “You are all still very young. I would not deprive you of your youth, even if you are training.” It was true. Though promising, there was much both they- and he- had to do first.

“Awww…” she sighed, before perking up. “Well, maybe one day!”

Maybe one day indeed. He could easily see her as a future starship pilot, and a good one. But for now- ah. “Cease! That is enough!” he called out. It appeared that Spikehead had won this duel, having closed in on Iro and ‘threatening to shock him silly. As he declared Spike’s win, Honey went in for a quick hug- whatever remaining static Spikehead might’ve had didn’t seem to faze her at all, even as he saw a small current run up her pigtails. Something for later, maybe. Now that that was done, he had to move on. As good as they were for kids, if they wanted to be in the GSA, they’d have to train a lot harder with…

“Mister Taranza,” he greeted as the spider closed up his book. “We had an unfortunate run-in with your Kirby’s Shadow.”

“Oh!” The mage in question wore a concerned expression. “Drat. I should’ve been there.”

Meta Knight shook his head. “It was rather sudden as he tends to be; do not blame yourself.” Though he knew that would be difficult to do; Taranza had arrived on an extended stay explicitly to track down and bring back the doppelganger for a bit now, after Susie’s initial efforts had failed. They were reluctant to bring in the counterpart’s original, though they knew that both the alternate Meta Knight and possibly the alternate King Dedede knew of his invasion. Other reinforcements would be brought in as necessary if things escalated, but as it stood, all parties involved wanted to keep this as ‘local’ as possible. It helped that although troublesome, Shadow Kirby seemed reluctant to do ACTUAL damage or injury to parties that opposed him, and though Cappy Town was often harassed and aggravated, no heavy damages had been incurred by the monochrome puff as of yet. “We managed to run him off this time with nothing being damaged apart from the king’s device.”

“Ah, well, that’s good,” Taranza allowed, before looking out at the schoolyard next to the mansion. “I’d hate for anything particularly foul to happen to this place again. And at least the King has material to spare, so it’s no great loss.” He’d gone back to teaching more classes in between search attempts, and the kids were more than happy to have him back, as were a few adults. Being considered one of the originators of ‘returning magic to the galaxy’ (or at least Pop Star), he and Magolor had been considered living legends, to his own embarrassment, with some calling him ‘Archmage’, which he INSISTED he wasn’t worthy of. Nonetheless, he’d wound up being a premier teacher, to the point some foreign individuals had arrived and were even taking some beginner lessons. “I’d particularly be frustrated if the new schoolhouse had been damaged. I certainly know Curio would be.”

Professor Curio had finally finished his observatory, and to everyone’s mild surprise, it’d turned out as enticing as he’d hoped; it was a common place for young interested Cappy Towners to learn about the stars that surrounded them, and proved a bit of a secondary educational area for other planets and cultures; many guests of which were more than happy to provide source material of. He’d even successfully pitched making a dedicated schoolhouse for more than just magic, with the Star Allies Mansion being repurposed to the ‘Star Allies’ Inn’, named for its significance. It largely catered to out of towners and visitors staying over.

“I’m certain Mr. Chip is looking forward to starting classes himself,” Taranza opined. The fellow was nice enough, and had a good mind on him. Although lacking any serious magical potential, he helped fill a niche, which both Curio and Taranza recognized, and Curio had half-begged him to take the position. “He’s been wanting something like this forever.”

Meta Knight had been a bit concerned after he’d admitted he used to work under N.M.E, though as a ‘contract’ monster, not a true one. But his vetting had revealed nothing particularly worrying; by all means the man was a victim that the dark lord had simply taken advantage of. He wasn’t the only one, but he was still a rare sort. The rest… “I can only hope for the best for him,” Meta Knight decided. “He will have many ears listening to him. And you.”

“Yes, probably because the inn’s been packed. The town is growing,” Taranza admitted. He had his own personal room there, though many a day he slept in an offshoot room in his magic classroom, simply due to his busy nature. “Well, you have my thanks for letting me know he was present- I’ll have to contact Susie, and perhaps we can stretch our search efforts in the direction he fled.”

“Of course,” Meta Knight agreed. “Allow me to tell you the details.”

“Will you be informing Susie?” he asked. Susie wasn’t present at the moment, but she’d been showing up with more frequency as of late. He still wasn’t entirely certain why, but if anyone would know…

“Oh my? Ms. Haltmann?” Mr. Ebrum asked. He and his wife had been enjoying an evening away from work.

“My apologies for the interruption, but I was simply curious,” Sir Meta Knight admitted.

“Oh, it’s no problem!” Mr. Ebrum insisted. “I believe she’s off-planet; she’s setting up something or other in orbit, is my guess. Her last attempt at catching that tricky little ‘Shadow’ fellow didn’t end well, and she’s hoping to not repeat the process, is my wager.”

Right. Susie hadn’t appreciated getting made a fool of, with her last attempt resulting in some ‘rather unfortunate damages’ and a public apology (which was granted and understood). She was not to the point of obsessed last he had checked…but he might want to check again soon and cool her head if she was getting overzealous. “I will ask her myself about her efforts,” he decided.

“Ah, well, then give her my hellos- and perhaps my condolences,” he admitted. “I’m just glad no one was hurt by him.”

“I zinks he needs some disciplining,” Mrs. Ebrum admitted, mulling it over. “‘Owever, he zeems more ‘armless zan I thought…”

“And yet, he is still a concern,” Meta Knight noted. “So we will continue to work to catch him. As well as any others with ill designs on Pop Star. Sword and Blade Knight have been quite busy, as have I.”

“Oh, I trust you’re not working yourself too hard?” Mr. Ebrum asked in concern. “I can certainly say I’ve come to realize the benefits of having a bit of time to yourself.” He hugged his wife a bit closer as he said such, causing her to giggle.

“I’ll be fine,” Meta Knight said, sidestepping the answer. “My work is…rewarding, much of the time. There are many planets and societies from Nightmare’s reign that are still recovering. I am taking note of those, and intend to forward them to the GSA so that they may aid them more efficiently.”

“Oh! ‘Ow noble, as always!” Mrs. Ebrum said, approving. Though, he doubted they would if they knew the WHOLE truth. There was more to it than what he’d claimed.

True, he was notifying who around the galaxy needed general assistance- there were always places that were trying to get infrastructure back in order, or just some help with recovering people, or other efforts like that.

But he was also receiving information as well. Some ‘potential issues’ that the GSA had been suggesting they may want to resolve quickly. ‘ While NME is gone, there are yet remnants,’ he mused to himself. ‘Truly, nature abhors a vacuum.’

Whippy The Clown and his Training Clowns, the chief Monster Trainers of NME, had been confirmed to have all escaped along with several of his would-be trained monsters. They had been quiet for some time, but it was now clear they’d simply been building up their power base. Having renamed themselves ‘Whippy The Red’ and his Menagerie, they had been seen on several planets, releasing monsters, enslaving others for his collection to be ‘trained’, and terrorizing the populaces in general. He’d yet to show up around here, but that was somewhat expected; likely he didn’t want to risk running afoul of the one that had defeated his master just yet.

“Have you heard much from your son and daughter as of late?” Sir Meta Knight asked.

Mr. Ebrum just sighed. “Only second-hand, I’m afraid. Mr. Taranza said they were doing rather well when he showed up, so we’ll have to believe him. Apparently right before he came here he stopped by their Meta Knight to help train them a bit. So I suppose things are going alright, hm?”

“For now,” Mrs. Ebrum said roughly. Sir Meta Knight decided to not speak on that- besides, his concern was elsewhere.

‘The animals and monsters are technically the responsibility of the Jambastion Mages,’ Meta Knight mused. ‘It may be reasonable to try and request their presence to help with resolving this issue.’ He wouldn’t commit to it just yet- it smacked of a difficult effort to pull them away from their dimension, and the situation hadn’t devolved to that extent. Though with the other things on his plate, it was a distinct possibility. He certainly wasn’t the only threat to have recently reared his ugly head.

Yamikage, the renegade ninja, had also been confirmed to have been sighted on a nearby planet; it seemed that since his apparent appearance so long ago, he’d escaped Big Kirby’s hunt for him and had been making his way as a sword-for-hire, doing work for the shady and ill-meaning around the area. That one, he might have to look into personally. Though even he wasn’t the end of it.

The mad Dr. Moro, geneticist supreme, had also been spotted, in fact- testing out his nascent Monster Army on innocent planets. He and Whippy had been seen together on rare occasions, but largely it appeared the ‘good doctor’ was ALSO trying his hand at filling the power vacuum NME’s death caused, at the expense of innocents. He distinctly recalled one video sent to him, which had caught the doctor boasting: “Where magic has failed, science PREVAILS!” As…hokey as it might’ve sounded, the threat was very sincere.

“There’s much for me to do,” Meta Knight admitted, looking away. “I will have to take my leave, so I will-”

“Mena!” the small voice of Little Kirby toddled up to the three of them, looking at him as brightly as always, before looking up at the Ebrums. “Can we have dinner?” He’d learned how to say THAT perfectly, if nothing else.

It was amusing.

“Oh, of course!” Mr. Ebrum said softly. “Why, that was just the idea, wasn’t it, dearest?” She nodded happily, clearly not put off their date by his presence. “We’d love to have you with us.”

“Yay!” Meta Knight was about to let them be, before the child turned to him in surprise. “C’mon!” he cheered.

It took a moment for it to register. “...you wish for me to have dinner with you?” Little Kirby nodded eagerly.

“We’d certainly welcome you,” Mr. Ebrum started, “but if you’re busy…”

Sir Meta Knight paused…but looking into the youngster’s eyes, he found he couldn’t say no. “...very well,” he relented, sighing. “Where shall we go?” Little Kirby’s eyes sparkled. That only reinforced the thoughts he’d been having. ‘I yet have things to finish up here, and still won’t be leaving for a bit. Although…’ He would eventually have to. To support the GSA’s efforts more directly. To travel the stars to aid those that needed it, as he used to. ‘I wonder how much longer I will remain here?’

He was unsure, as he took Kirby’s hand and they walked together, but he would cherish whatever time he had.

Chapter 39: Natural Plains: Alivel Mall Rats

Chapter Text

Tiff felt exhausted as she slumped down into the shade. Several days of hurried fleeing to get ahead of the Beast Pack’s search net had left them sore and aggravated. They’d gotten back to the Jambastion followers, and quickly explained the situation. They’d elected to pack up and make for inland; the idea being that hopefully, they’d find a spot to exist under their noses, or perhaps even make it far enough that their influence was less widespread. The result of that was a lot of trekking by night, and careful sleeping during the day.

However, it seemed as though it might be paying off. The city they’d made it to didn’t seem to be overrun yet. Though there were a few beasts here and there, it seemed as though this city- or at least, this part of it- had escaped scrutiny, at least so far. As they skulked through the moonlight night, it was Tuff who first spoke up. “Anywhere lookin’ good?” he asked quietly.

“Not sure,” she admitted. “Hard to tell if anywhere’s occupied or not.” Sparse population or not, it wouldn’t do to get caught out by what WAS present. “Anywhere strike you as good?” At this point, she was open to suggestions.

Tuff and his Jambastion followers did their best to scout the immediate area, but both a lack of ability to read the language and uncertainty of their location meant that they couldn’t give a concrete answer. “Best we can see is this super wide building a bit to the west of us. Seems like it’s got plenty of room. Kinda reminds me of the one we ran from, in fact.”

“You don’t think that’s a base of theirs?” Tiff asked, all too concerned about the description. If they were going to be blindly wandering into his summer home…

Tuff shrugged. “Worth a look. Especially because when I say big, I mean BIG. The place is like, five times as wide as the other one!”

Well, that just made her fascinated. And worried. At this point, who knew? Might be something ELSE they needed to beware of. Better to get eyes on it than be clueless. “...alright. Lead the way,” she offered.

Tuff did just that, leading them to the large building. She had to admit, it did seem a lot bigger than the one they’d infiltrated, and there also didn’t seem to be a great many people, either. The side they were coming up on seemed to be on a bit of a natural rise. A smaller hill than the one the other city was on, but still large enough to set the construct on safely, with it overlooking a decent portion of the rest of the city, as far as she could guess from her vantage point. That said, what she could see of the building directly in front of her wasn’t much. There WAS, however, a small emergency ladder that seemed to go up somewhere. That would do.

“I’ll go first,” Tuff offered, and so he did, with the Jambastion followers right behind him. They hopped up and over the ledge railing, and Tiff waited for a few tense moments. Fortunately, after a few seconds, her brother’s head popped back over the edge. “Looks clear to me!” he yelled down.

“Alright, then I’m coming up,” she noted as she began to climb.

When she got to the top, she quickly realized she was on some sort of balcony. One with two levels, from the looks of it. A quick look around showed that a few tables and chairs were all that was on the top deck barring a couple small trees for atmosphere, while the lower one had a rather large tree, dwarfing the others, and aside from that, what looked to be a pair of some sort of small concession stands, before there was a set of double doors heading inside. “Well…so far so good.”

“Yeah,” Tuff agreed, preparing to push the doors inwards. “Maybe we can rest here for a while. C’mon, it’s worth checking out, at least, right?” And with that, he entered the large building, and it didn’t take long for Tiff and the Jambelievers to follow.

The place was surprisingly quiet, it seemed. Not the worst option to lay low in, if it seemed as secure as it looked. Thick iron shutters long since dropped blocked off some alternate routes into the building, meaning that at least in this spot, there was only one way in, and a set of escalators led down a thin path, also shuttered up. “Not bad…” Tiff admitted. “Alright, if you want to take a look around, let’s go.”

They soon found that the area was indeed gigantic- the two floors they checked out would’ve been a good base of operations by themselves, but that was before they discovered the other aspect about this place that made it a good hideaway. “This place is a maze…” Tiff said, though in this case it was more of a compliment than a critique. If anyone wanted to find us, they’d have to basically guess.”

“Not ta mention there’s a buncha stuff here we could prolly use,” Tuff continued, looking around. There were clothes, tools, even some games for entertainment. Food, fortunately, still wasn’t a concern. “Wonder how the place managed to keep power for so long…”

Tiff could only shrug at the question as they looked around. Really, the place was almost ideal. With twists, turns, hiding places and supplies aplenty, the only thing they wanted for was food, and she’d suspect there’d be some sort of food processors here that just needed energy anyway. “I wonder what the odds of working kitchen supplies are here,” she wondered, sighing. “We wouldn’t be that lucky, would we?”

“Prolly not, no,” Tuff admitted with a small laugh.

She just huffed, musing on the matter, before another thought crossed her mind. “Might be a good idea to lock those doors somehow,” she opined.

“How?” Tuff asked. “Not to mention, why? It’s not like it’ll do us any good when they’ll just bash through ‘em.”

That was true enough. “Hmmmm…” Tiff put her smarts to work, trying to think of a solid way to bar entry. “Let’s try and find some tools; see what we can’t scrounge up and make this into a secure base with,” she decided.

It wasn’t too long before a few power tools, as well as energy supplies (though she did NOT recognize these batteries) found their way into their hands. That, plus a couple of bolts… “Say, I’ve got an idea,” Tiff decided. “We’re probably not going to leave the way we came for a bit, right?”

“S’pose not,” Tuff agreed, sighing. "Not like we're goin' straight back to say sorry or anything."

“Well…” she looked over their haul, the image forming in her mind. “We’ve got some drills, and some attachment plate things, and some industrial screws…” 'Yeah. This might work,' she realized.

About a half hour later, the whining of the power drill was finally wearing down as the two finished fastening the large tool cabinet to the doors. It was one of those big, heavy ones- they’d in fact gotten it from the same hardware store their tools were from. “OKAY! I THINK THAT’LL DO IT!” Tiff yelled over the drill, her helmet functioning as a makeshift facemask.

Tuff stopped. “WHAT?!” he yelled back, his hearing just as shot.

“I SAID STOP!” she yelled again. Fortunately, that was enough, Tuff powering down his own device. “Phew. Alright…that should do it.” She and he hopped off the top of the cabinet to look over their work. What she saw pleased her- though she idly noted Tuff hadn’t quite screwed his all the way in…but, the size of those screws were plenty big enough to hold well. “This should keep EVERYONE out, except maybe that gorilla,” she determined.

“Yeah, nothin’s getting past THAT,” Tuff agreed. “They’d haveta rip the whole wall down! So, what’s next?”

What’s next was exploration. For the next couple of days, it took them time to look around the area further, and one of the first things they’d decided was that it was WAY too easy to get lost inside. There were a few arrows and direction signs, sure, but beyond that? There wasn’t very good direction through the various hallways, and they weren’t planning on staying long enough to memorize everything. The solution had made itself apparent when they wound up finding some old cardboard and crayons. Drawing picture signs had been the order of the day, plastered in a couple of locations nearby, taking the place of other, dilapidated signs. Fortunately, the symbols of various small restaurants, food stalls, and such were easy to copy, and they simply needed to glance at them to remember the proper direction to their sleeping area.

Furthermore, they were pleased to find more supplies, including a few dried and sealed foods that seemed to have stood the test of time, astonishingly enough, like some rices and beans. Add to that some portable cookware that they DID in fact find, and they were able to have a decent stew for the first time in a while, as they sat in a side room off from the main walkway. “I can’t believe so much of their food seems to be able to be preserved for this long,” she admitted. “I was worried about how healthy they might be, but it all at least seems edible…”

“But nothin’, these folks musta been awfully smart,” Tuff commented. “They got tons of stuff you just need water for, seems like!”

“I had found some packaging that looked like dehydrated donuts or something, but I’m hesitant to try them,” Tiff admitted, to a laugh from her brother.

“Say, you found any more of those star stones?” Tuff asked. She’d been looking at what seemed to be an empty reception desk earlier, with papers she couldn’t read- but there were also magazines, and those at least she could attempt to make sense of the pictures. “I’ve been lookin’ around the area and I got nothin’.”

“Not really,” she admitted, putting what she’d been looking at down. Some kinda lab or factory, judging by the massive machines he spied on the cover. “I’ve been busy making sure it’s safe around here.” She trusted he knew not to venture too far out, but even as good as this was, it was a temporary location, all things willing. They had people to find, and this would be a good staging ground if it was possible. “I’m worried the Beast Pack will eventually come looking. This place is too big to ignore, so we’ve got to be ready to leave if it comes to that.”

“Ah, yeah, good point. I’ve been going out every now and again at night,” he admitted. “I think I’m kinda losing the juice that the first stone gave me, so I’m hopin’ to get some others,” he explained, tensing his fingers. “Just need a recharge somehow, an’ that last stone isn’t doin’ it again.”

She looked at him cautiously. “I don’t think you need to worry about those. You’re improving pretty well already, after all.”

He nodded, understanding, if still frowning. “Yeah, I know, but I’m just worried. We’re tryin’ to survive, y’know? Find the Waddle Dees, find the king. That’s important. If it means cheatin’ a little, then…” he shrugged. “Hey, I can live with it.”

Well, it was hard to refute that. But something about it still sounded off to her. “...alright. Just be careful. We should probably start searching a bit more tomorrow.”

“Eh, good idea anywho,” he admitted. “And I’ll keep an eye out.” He grimaced, looking around. “Not tryin’ to freak you out, but sometimes I get the feeling I’m being watched out there…”

“Watched? Have you gotten any glimpses?” she asked concernedly. If they were being tracked or observed, then…

“Iiiiunno.” He sighed, trying to remember. “It’s like, it feels like someone’s watchin’ me, and then it goes away. All I got for now, but I try to be tricky about how I come back, anywho.”

“Hmm…well, if you’re doing that, then not much else to be done unless we try to hunt for who or whatever’s trying to keep an eye out for you.” She paused, considering what she just said. “In fact…that might not be a bad idea. Do you remember where you got those weird feelings from? We might be able to track wherever they might be going or coming from if you do.”

“Hmm…I kinda remember one place, yeah,” he admitted as they got up to go to bed. “We can try and start there tomorrow.”

They wouldn’t get the chance. Later that night, the both of them were woken up by one of the Jambeliever still on watch. “H-hey! Hey! Wake up, please!”

“Huh?!” They were up almost simultaneously. “What’s going on?” Tiff asked.

“I- we heard noises! Footsteps!” the small one said nervously. “We think the Beast Pack showed up!”

“What?!” Tiff said in shock, though she kept her voice down. “Already?!”

“Aw, shoot,” Tuff said, already packing. “That’s WAY sooner than we were expecting, right?”

“I thought we’d at least have a couple more days,” Tiff admitted. “But if they’re here now…did they track us or were we just unlucky? Gah, nevermind!” She dismissed it as she began doing the same. “We need to get out of here without attracting the whole lot of them. It’s a good thing we know the layout of the place.” It would be a close run thing, but if they were quick about it… “Where’d you first hear the noises?” she asked the Jambeliever.

“Uh, well, we mostly heard them around the front entrance,” one of them noted, “but they’re probably looking around everywhere! We don’t think they heard us- we weren’t chased or anything…”

“Well, that’s one good thing,” Tuff snarked as he hoisted his bag. “C’mon, let’s bail!”

Tiff was already moving. “We’ll take the upstairs route; with any luck they’ll look around the ground floor first.” Nodding, her brother and his team followed her out. “Say, can you guys fight or anything?” she asked, turning briefly to the quintet.

“S-sorry, ma’am,” one of them apologized. “We’re still initiates into the Jambastion way, and we might know how to perform some duties aboard the ships, we’re not qualified for Jammerjab status yet.” She sighed, but said nothing. They could at least clean and whatnot, so that was something. But if they were caught in a fight…well, they’d just have to not.

They soon found themselves back in the main hallway. “Alright, keep an eye out, we don’t want anyone to spot us already,” Tiff warned. “And try not to panic.”

“We’ll be fiiiine,” Tuff insisted. “Let’s get moving!”

They stepped lightly through the great hallway- fortunately, it seemed like the bulk of their searchers hadn’t made it this far yet. They were about to take one of the rooms to dart through when suddenly Tiff realized. “The signs!” She took off for the nearest one, in the side room.

“Huh? What about ‘em?” Tuff asked as he followed, hopping the countertop. As he got to the room, however, he was slightly shocked to find that there were already two dogs nearby. He nor his sister hesitated, and without warning they both struck quickly, a single thwack to both putting them out of commission. “So much for them not being here yet. If they were supposed to come back…” he trailed off, the intention obvious.

His sister didn’t respond as she ripped up the map- unfortunately, the shoddy materials caused her to miss a section, leaving the ice cream part of their pictograph. She looked around, thinking. “Nowhere to throw this away…” she briefly looked at her brother. “If we try and burn it, it’ll do it, sure, but if this place has working fire alarms…no, best not risk it!” she decided. “C’mon!”

“I wasn’t even in there!” he hissed as to his shock, Tiff moved near a large filing cabinet off to the side. “Help me block this doorway!” she asked quickly. He didn’t have time to debate the matter as he went to the other side and lifted. It fortunately only took a few seconds to move it over the entrance, sealing up the room.

“Just in case they wake up and try to warn them quick,” she admitted as they set it down gently. “And now…” she frowned, the piece of cardboard still there. Even tearing it up should work…unless it makes too much noise again. But they’ll be looking for her anyway, so- wait. “That’s it!” she whispered to herself. Looking nearby, she slapped the rest of it onto the wall next to the countertop. A quick shift of the mini-lockers next to the portrait, and it was hidden. “They’re gonna be expecting us to have some sort of way figured out how to get through here…so let’s throw them off!” she stated out loud. Now that she did, Tuff could see the logic behind it.

“Ohhh. You wanna let ‘em know there’s ‘something’ there and make ‘em go on a wild goose chase instead of just lettin’ ‘em pick and they might get lucky!”

“How devious!” one of the Jambelievers noted. Tuff had to agree.

She nodded. “Exactly. Let’s move. There’s at least one other place I know we should do that…but we’re going to have to be VERY careful. Maybe we can start some problems while we’re there, too, actually…”

Meanwhile, back outside…

The little one was worried, as he often was. Now more than ever, as he looked out from behind a building. They hadn’t really spread towards where the town was at first, but now…! ‘I can’t believe they’re suddenly around here!’ he said to himself. ‘It’s not many, but…they’re moving closer than I ever expected! Are they really searching for me that badly?’

He’d seen the boy who hid his eyes a couple of days ago, walking around the block around the mall. Him and his strange squadron that seemed to follow his every command. The smaller ones didn’t SEEM to be dangerous, at least not typically. But they scanned the area with fervent dedication, and reported to him the smallest things. They were scary in their own ways, really.

But of course the boy was the centerpiece. He held himself with a casual confidence, and almost looked eager to fight. He’d been marching around, carefully checking a number of locations. In particular, places with little room. Small hidey holes and non-obvious areas. ‘Places something as small as me could hide,’ he thought as he shivered a bit. More than once the boy had proven his perceptive skill by almost seeming to sense where he was, forcing him to flee quickly before he was spotted. Maybe he had some psionic abilities? Well, it didn’t matter too much, now. He’d shown up- and more than likely the girl had, as well. He’d heard SOMETHING loud going on inside recently, and that could’ve only been them. And now, the Beast Pack were moving in around the very same area.

That’s when it hit him. ‘They were scouting! They must’ve wanted to make Alivel into another base! That’s what they’ve been doing! Preparing it for the Beast Pack!’

That was worrisome. Waddle Dee Town hadn’t even been finished yet, and now this…what would it mean if they found the place? He had to at least collect more information on how many would be around. At least they hadn’t sent any of the leaders this far yet, which was good. But now that he knew that they were close, this would at least mean he wouldn’t be completely caught off guard, right? He had to hope for the best…and that those two wouldn’t be moving out too soon.

So for now, he watched, and waited.

It was luck that they’d found a set of circuit breakers along the top floor conveyor system. Tiff hadn’t seen them before, but activating them would be useful in the short term. “Every extra step they take is a step they’re not catching up to us,” she had pointed out. None of them could find an argument against it, and fortunately it hadn’t caused them too much trouble to traverse what remained.

As they made it to a wider open area, Tiff glanced down over the railing at the ground floor. ‘Way too risky to try the ground floor,’ she realized- it was not just overgrown with weeds and tall grass, there was debris everywhere, and any attempted movement would give them away asap. This was for sure their best bet. A number of cardboard boxes sat nearby as they continued on- and just as they were about to round the corner, Tiff threw her hand back, calling for a hurried halt.

Tuff had seen exactly what the cause was. “Mr. Frosty?” Tuff muttered. He was sleeping at the moment, resting against a pillar- and it was clear he’d changed, too. His clothing was in tatters, and he seemed to have his lip partially iced over, giving him icicles as imitation fangs. He sported a thick, partially iced over beard to boot. The warpaint sealed the primal look, and it was clear who’s allegiance he lay with now.

“He’s probably the one that was sent here to overlook everything,” Tiff realized.

“I could take ‘im…” Tuff muttered, but even he recognized the value of stealth at the moment. He still had his charges to watch over, and fighting recklessly would endanger them, as things were. “...but how are we gonna get past him if we don’t wanna fight or wake ‘im?”

The tone wasn’t accusatory, and Tiff quickly realized what he had in short order. “Hmm…” she looked around at her surroundings- and quickly came back upon the cardboard boxes. “...I think I’ve got an idea.”

A minute or two later found a pair of some curiously mobile boxes carefully shuffling past the snoring Frosty; the cargo being the siblings and a couple of Jambelievers each stuck in it; they had room, and the less pieces, the better. More importantly they also found their way past some of the dogs. Clearly tired, they hadn’t gone to sniff and check, luckily, simply letting the moving walkway transport themselves to the other end- and Tiff, Tuff and company to the opposite one they’d just come from. ‘I cannot believe that worked,’ Tiff thought with an inordinate amount of both pride and a bit of pity as they shuffled down the escalator.

This area, fortunately, had all of one sleeping hound. “Alright, let’s go,” she said, the two of them discarding their boxes into the corner next to the escalator.

They quickly slipped through and- wait. They quickly paused, ducking back behind the wall as they heard someone’s voice. “This is a good place. Lotsa room for explosions!” ‘A Poppy,’ Tiff had quickly realized, as well as two dogs. “Can’t wait for the others to get here!” That didn’t sound good. Did she really want to fight another Poppy? Or a group of them? She wasn’t sure.

However, she quickly realized that they wouldn’t exactly have a choice. There was something at the end of that hall that was pointing right in their direction- a sign they’d made for each other to tell which hall was the shortest path to their sleeping area. If they were on the move, they’d just run into each other at this rate! They’d have to fight this one, too, and they’d have to be quick. If he got one of his bombs off…

Tuff noticed the tension in his sister’s eyes, and when she looked back, he could only nod as he gripped his staff a bit tighter. ‘Strike hard, strike fast,’ he thought. ‘Miss Partizanne style.’

She held up a hand. ‘Three…two…one…’

A small bark. ‘Go!’ They lept.

One of the dogs was closest- and a swing from Tuff render him a non-factor. A followup swing from Tiff did much the same for the other one.The Poppy, on the other hand, was a little too far away. Tiff turned and Charged directly, bowling him over, but he’d gotten a bomb materialized and on the ground. For a moment she gritted her teeth- if that went off, then…

Suddenly, a short icicle spear shot past her, freezing the bomb into inertness. It took her a moment to realize what’d happened before she let out a breath. “Thanks,” she whispered.

“No prob!” Tuff allowed, grinning.

“Astounding!” one of the Jambelievers cried.

“To think both you and your sister are so skilled…” another said in awe.

Tuff fought off a blush. “Allllrighty, are we good to go?”

“Yeah, it’s right down here,” she noted. Fortunately, that was all in the area as they crept carefully. “Hurry up, we don’t have time to dispose of it, just- this locker on the opposite wall…”

“Got it, yeah,” he agreed as they both made to lift it up and cart it in front of the map. “Bam, hidden. At least for a bit.”

“Hopefully we can come back here and use it,” Tiff admitted, before they moved on through the door. “We should be getting close to the entrance.”She was proven right as the hallway seemed to be mostly abandoned; moved on, clearly, but the majority of their forces brought here had clearly moved on. “No time to dawdle,” she noted as they moved on. “We’re almost there!”

As they rounded the corner, however, Tuff stopped briefly as he spied something through a door out of the corner of his eyes (hidden they might be). “Wait a sec!” Without warning, he peeled off towards the doorway.

“Tuff, what are you-!” She stopped her admonishment short when she saw what he was looking at. It looked like a small service room of some sort, but more importantly? It had both some snacks in it as well as some sort of surveillance system, as far as she could tell. Well, intelligence on the enemy was worthwhile, she supposed…if any of the cameras still worked.

As the Jambelievers looked around to help gather up anything, she took a look. To her slight surprise, it seemed at least a few did work, at least for the outside. “Huh…good. Seems like they really didn’t send the bulk of them here,” Tiff noted as she looked upon the feeds. “And it looks like there’s a path to the south we can escape through.”

“Not just that,” Tuff noted, looking at what seemed to be a map along with several pictures, as well as some arrows pointing here and there. “If I’m understandin’ this at ALL right…” Tiff got the impression he was squinting very hard as he looked back and forth between the marked up map and pictures. “...there’s a tunnel not too far from here. Mebbe we could use it?”

She came over to look as well. “Huh…you’re right! That looks like some sort of maintenance tunnel. Maybe it’s supposed to help with the refuse from around this place? And it’s south of here, too! So…” Taking the map, she took a moment to walk back to the cameras, mapping the route out with a finger. “We go in this direction, we can use the tall grass to hide our tracks, if not our scent. So we can use that area where there’s not any patrollers-”

She looked up, and her breath hitched.Something was on the camera. Blue, she could tell. Species…very much unknown.But it was looking right at the camera. If only for a moment- but then it seemed to dart off further into the grassland off the top of the screen, leaving the area of view.

“Crud!” she swore softly as she glanced at the control panel. She had no clue how to operate this, and it’d be stupid to try, on the short time table they were. She looked through the other video feeds available- there were only three or so, and it showed up on none of them. “Did you see that?!”

“The weird blue thing starin’ into the camera all creepy like? Yeah!” he said just as concerned. “That’s a new one.”

“You…there’s no way it knows we’re here, right?” she blinked, considering the matter. “I…you can’t tell that through cameras,” she tried to dismiss. “And we’d have noticed, right?”

Tuff nodded. “I think so, unless-” and there he froze, chilling not just his words, but Tiff’s. “...that weird feelin’...”

Tiff remembered. ‘He said he’d gotten a weird feeling of being watched! Was that it?! It moved so fast, that…’

However, she wouldn’t get the chance to voice her thoughts just yet. As she was about to speak, a number of popping sounds came from above them. Then the sounds of laughter. Poppy Bros. laughter. That caused the both of them to look up in surprise and horror as the popping sounds- explosives- sounded more and more.

“...not good.” Tuff mumbled as the ceiling began to show cracks.

“Everyone out!” Tiff yelled, heedless of the risks as everyone raced out of the small room. It was only seconds later before a massive crash sounded through the area as the rooftop collapsed. That was only the start, however, as shattering glass soon sounded out as well. “Huh?! What in Nova's-!?” She looked up, and her eyes widened in alarm.

Poppies. A good number of them, clearly enjoying what they were up to. "Wooooo!" and similar cheers erupted from the top.

“Above us!” she yelled as a number of Poppies and others began to drop in from the now shattered skylight. “C’mon!” she urged, as everyone promptly picked up the pace. She looked behind herself long enough to see Tuff’s small box of snacks spill, to her dismay, but she didn’t have time to lament it, and neither did he, as he picked himself up as fast as possible. They HAD to have been seen now, and while there weren’t a ton of the Beast Pack here now, they knew that could change fast, which only seemed to be punctuated by the various bird calls and explosions behind them.

To their immense relief, the opening area of the building was largely unguarded, the lot of them leaping up and then down escalators to race to the entryway. They practically threw themselves down the last set, and raced through the doors, willing the Jambelievers to keep up as best they could as they thundered into the tall underbrush nearby, they could detect no one following them, though now they knew that was a falsehood in particular. “...they’re not chasing us, I think,” Tiff realized as she slowed slightly.

They both looked back at their brief base of operations for only a moment before they turned to press on. “So much for that place,” he huffed. “Guess we’re back to roughin’ it.”

“Maybe,” Tiff admitted, “but now we have somewhere to go.”

“Right,” one of the Jambelievers agreed. “We make for the tunnel, correct?”

“And what’s more, we now know the image of one of your aggressors!” another pointed out. “Small in size, but perhaps big in purpose?”

“How do ya think?” Tuff asked as they marched.

“Well, you stated you had felt its presence before, right?” they asked.

“I mean, I dunno if that was it I was feelin’, but…” he shrugged. “Moved fast enough that it could be.”

“If it’s a member of the Beast Pack, we HAVE to be extra careful,” Tiff determined. “If I had to guess, that thing’s probably some sort of scout or informant.” She shook her head. “Either we’ll have to find a way to capture it or convince it that the Pack isn’t worth their loyalty.” Not that she was sure how to do either.

“I’m tellin’ ya, we need ta try to find more of those stones!” Tuff insisted, looking around. “Those’ll help us out big-time in this, AND in finding the Waddle Dees- that’s still the most important thing!”

She sighed. “We’ll keep an eye out, like I said. C’mon, let’s go.” This was a massive city, and they’d have a hard time finding their way around it.

Meanwhile, the little one shuddered. He hadn’t seen them come out after Alivel Mall’s glass ceiling had been blown wide open near the front, being too distracted by the event itself. Why they’d bothered, he wasn’t sure, but likely it had to do with allow the flying elements of the Pack easier access. He’d circled back around, intending to get a good view of all the Beast Pack that was there now with that in mind.

It was coming back around to the entrance where he’d seen the group standing almost exactly where he’d been hiding not a few minutes ago. That couldn’t have been good. He couldn’t quite hear them from this distance, out of safety concerns, but it wasn’t a long conversation before they nodded to each other and headed off calmly. ‘They know where they’re going,’ he realized. That was a concern. They were clearly done here- the folks intended to occupy the place were arriving, and they were headed elsewhere.

He’d have to follow them even more now. He knew he’d have to confront them sooner than later, but it was still scary. “What else are they going to do…?”

Chapter 40: Natural Plains: Tunnel Vision

Chapter Text

Tiff felt concerned. She always felt concerned, but in normal situations, her concern was usually regarding something or someone else outside of her control; something that had come on suddenly, with much fanfare and intimidation in some way or another. It was something that compelled her to often act in a hurry and without completely understanding a situation, a tendency that she had only recently begun to see the real pitfalls of, were she being honest with herself. Decisive action was good, but sometimes one needed to stop, think, and plan. She had the Star Allies to thank for coming to truly realize that. But she was still used to feeling concern, and acting in some way to silence that.

Not like now. This concern- this worry- was a slow, creeping worm that wriggled its way into her brain and refused to leave. She had no reason for it, as far as she could see; quite possibly the delusions of her own paranoia. No proof positive that there was anything to worry about at all, really.

And yet as she looked at her brother holding another strange star stone up almost reverently, she couldn’t help but feel concerned, especially as he broke out into a short, gleeful laugh. “Hahaha! Yesss! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” he crowed. “This’ll be the stuff!”

“It’s excellent that your power grows, apprentice!” One of the Jambelievers promoted. She couldn’t help but sneer a bit at the blatant brown-nosing.

She couldn’t deny that the stones’ power would help them survive. He’d clearly had a small leap in power for the time it coursed through him. But was that justification enough? Part of her wanted to slap it out of his hand, convince him that he was improving just fine on his own and that any help would be fooling himself.

Another part of her argued that they were in unprecedented circ*mstances, with little help available at all. It’d be foolish to not take what they could get, especially when it seemed like the only consequence she could see was him getting a little overeager and possibly egotistical- problems for certain, but ones she could and had shut down from him before. So as her brother focused to absorb another stone’s power, she found herself paralyzed by indecision, which was just as frustrating as anything else she’d been dealing with today. “That all?” she asked, with not a little bite in the question.

Fortunately, he was too elated to notice it. “Yeah, too bad. Well, until we find another one.” She noticed he stored the used stone in his backpack; she’d presumed they were empty and useless, so why…? “Now we just get to that tunnel and hopefully we can shake these guys and start focusing back on finding the Waddle Dees! We need ‘em back ASAP!”

That was the other thing. She couldn’t help but feel like his zealousness in finding the Waddle Dees was…off. But it wasn’t like she could say that out loud- it was far too easy to refute, and even she didn’t like thinking it, because he was right - the Waddle Dees were absolutely important, and finding them should be a priority, right up there with King Dedede. She knew he’d likely say something similar, and she’d agree wholeheartedly…

…so why was she so uneasy when it came from her own brother’s mouth? “I hope that tunnel isn’t too much further,” she said instead of her thoughts.

Fortunately, it wasn’t much longer before they stumbled across a large basin as they began to reach the outer edges of the city. With scaffolding and broken concrete, it looked clearly unfinished. More importantly, however… “Hey, that’s it!” She hopped down, quickly followed by her brother and his cadre- the height wasn’t as big of a problem as it might’ve been before, but she took a small mid-air hop to soften her landing anyway. “This looks almost exactly like the picture!” There was no mistaking it, this had to be the utility tunnel.

Tuff was already moving forwards. “Awesome! Let’s get goin’!” She just sighed- at least that hadn’t changed too much. Or maybe more it’d reverted…

Shaking her head clear of those thoughts, they all began to make their way through the large pipe. “Careful,” she warned. “We don’t know what’s waiting for us.”

They soon found themselves in an outside area, however, clearly half done and intended to be an exit way, or perhaps some sort of staging area for further work deep in. There were excavation tools, portable stairs, and she saw what she could only presume was a cannon meant to blast rubble clear. To their surprise, a few dogs had apparently stumbled into the area, but they clearly weren’t expecting anyone else to show up. They were batted back without too much trouble, but it only told them how far the Beast Pack’s influence had stretched after all.

Fortunately, this area seemed lightly occupied- the only thing that brought them pause was a kind of big, Kabu-like creature. “Y’know…I like our Kabu better,” Tiff admitted after the clay head had been dispatched. “Spitting mini-Kabu heads is weeeeird…” she said, grimacing.

Tuff wore a matching expression. “No kiddin’. Let’s keep goin’. Seems like we’re going way underground, now.” He pointed to the entrance around the corner that seemed to dip low and into the shadow. Tiff nodded, and they both headed inwards.

Things quickly got a lot more metallic- and under construction as they soon exited the access passage. Almost immediately, it seemed like there was a roadblock in the form of a large gap in front of them. “Ugh. Really didn’t manage to finish this in time, huh?” Tuff remarked. It all seemed more than just dilapidated…

“I guess everyone here working on it left in a bit of a hurry…” Tiff opined, but she wasn’t even sure of that. “That jump’s not a problem, is it?” she asked her brother.

“For me? Nah,” he agreed- but then he turned to the Jambelivers. “For them, though…”

“S-sorry, sir,” one of them apologized, but he was quick to wave them off.

“Eh, relax. Place has a low ceiling anyway,” he pointed out, already looking around. “No big deal, though!” There was a metal plank lying off to the side. It was quick enough to place it across the ground. “Easy. C’mon, let’s see what’s going on down-”

Suddenly, a rumbling came from nowhere, shaking apart loose bits of gravel. “Huh? Somethin’ going on up top there?!”

Just as suddenly, however…it stopped. The two were frozen for a moment, scanning the area to make sure something nasty didn’t come from out of nowhere, or perhaps for the ceiling to start coming down. “...that didn’t sound good.”

“They couldn’t have tracked us down already, could they have?” a Believer asked. “I didn’t hear anything before…”

“Nope,” Tiff agreed simply, out of concern. “But let’s…keep moving. Just in case.” Tuff nodded, he and his group quickly following his sister across.

They quickly crossed the makeshift bridge, and from there they could get a much fuller view of the area. Lined with gravel bags, floodlights, and wires and pipes everywhere along with warning barriers, it was something curious and a bit intimidating. “Wonder what all this is for…” Tuff mumbled. There were even two closed off lesser tunnels, though they largely ignored those.

“Well, most likely it’s for the major power lines in the area,” Tiff pointed out. “That and maybe even the area’s water, but I haven’t seen any basins for it or anything, so maybe something else like gases or something, too. This is absolutely an electric tunnel, though, at least,” she deduced. “It’d explain why all these lights are still functioning.” Though with the sight of another cannon, she had to wonder if they were blast mining here.

“Wait, gases?” Tuff asked in alarm, grimacing. “We’re not gonna haveta hold our breaths or anything, are we?”

Tiff shook her head. “I doubt it, but we’ll have to see and hope for the best.” She stepped again- only to notice a cracked patch of land a bit late. As a steel-covered foot came down near it, she was shocked to see the patch of land crumble and fall away into a deep abyss- a small misstep and she would’ve been sent plummeting thanks to the thin land there! “Yikes! No wonder there’s warnings everywhere. Watch where you step!” she alerted.

The two stepped lightly from then on. Fortunately, it only happened twice more, with one of the Jambelievers causing one by accident- proving that the ground really WAS just that flimsy. “Geez, this place really is falling apart…” Tuff groused as they made it to the exit.

“Well, it was originally under construction in the first place, so by nature it’s going to be unstable,” Tiff pointed out. “Add on who knows how long it’s been left alone to decay, and it makes sense that you get this.”

“Doesn’t mean I gotta like it, though,” he grumped, and she couldn’t argue the matter. "Wonder what used to power it," he mused out loud. "Betcha a bunch of Waddle Dees would be up for making this place have some get up and go again."

"How would they even do that?" Tiff asked with a light snort at the statement.

"I dunno, a buncha hamster wheels?" Tuff guessed.'Wheels for power. Power is needed.' Tuff shook his head minutely. Where had-

Tiff had turned around, face contorted in bemusem*nt and a bit of shock. "How'd you even come upwith that? That's horrible!"

Tuff shrugged, the prior thought vanishing from his memory like dust in the wind. "Iunno. First thing that popped into my head?" Tiff just shook her head in disbelief, not answering his statement and choosing to just continue on. They made their way deeper, quickly stumbling upon somewhere much less built. It seemed like a bunch of massive stone steps along a path, but that path was only one part of a massive, dug out cavern. “Whoa. Lotta digging. Wonder what’s down here?” Tuff asked, peering deeper in.

“Like I said, this part’s probably the gas and stuff,” Tiff guessed as she moved on, clanking down the large, makeshift steel and stone steps. They clearly weren’t actually steps, but they’d serve well enough. “Careful, there’s some distance between these. We should- wait.” She paused, looking at what was ahead of her, atop a small pedestal in the center. It seemed to be a lit lantern. A few Gordos had crowded around it, no less. “Has someone been down here recently? I wonder who lit them?” However, she quickly dismissed that thought- there was a bigger concern, in her mind. “Those could be a fire hazard.”

Tuff turned to her in a way that suggested he was looking at her oddly. “Down here?” he asked half-incredulously.

She huffed. “You’d know, huh? Can you just douse this one, please?” she asked. “It’s not like we can’t light our own way.”

He sighed in resignation. “Yeah, you got a point,” Tuff admitted, and with an aqua sphere, the flame was doused. “I see any more lit and I’ll drench ‘em, too,” he said, preempting her request. “Alright, guys, let’s move!” With that, they continued on their way, walking further down into the tunnel. “How far ya think this goes?” he asked idly.

“Well, if it’s a utility tunnel, it’s got to probably go down and come back up at some point,” Tiff guessed. “So it’ll probably dip a bit, but as for where it comes out… dunno. Might be a long tunnel, but I don’t think it is.” Another set of large, unyielding concrete levels took their concentration to jump down. “Watch your step. It’s seriously a long way down here…” She wasn’t a fan of trying to look- Infinity Jump or not, there was something about that darkness that was just too foreboding.

“Just one by one,” Tuff said, making sure the Jambelievers made it down okay. “Right, there we go. Easy!”

“Thanks so much, Apprentice Tuff,” one of them said gratefully. “We appreciate the concern.”

“It’s no big deal,” he said easily. “We get outta here, things’ll be gravy aga-” And then suddenly another rumbling shook the area- the only saving grace was that they more heard than felt it this time, deep as they were. “Whoa! Something’s going on up top, that’s for sure,” he noted worriedly. “Hope we don’t run into it…”

“Me neither,” Tiff agreed, grimacing. “C’mon, can’t stay down here forever, though.” And so they continued. They even found another lit lantern, which Tuff quickly doused, and made their way past a locked gate, dropping another few feet to see- “Hot Heads? Here?” Tiff asked as she quickly blocked a fireball spewed by one of them. Tuff was quick to wash out the second, whereas a few strikes from her sent her attacker sprawling. “And they were quick to attack, too…”

“Not much different than normal, really,” Tuff said dryly. “C’mon, I see another lantern. Lemme snuff that and…I think that’s an exit?”

“Or at least another passageway,” Tiff agreed. There was some light coming from the area, at least…

“Oh, eesh.” At first, the light had excited them, but it was soon seen to be that it was merely skylight, sort of. It seemed to be a chasm, one with only a tiny spit of land in the center, and no other obvious way across. “Yikes. Talk about digging too deep.” Tuff quipped. There was clearly some construction material around the bottom of the area, but none of it exactly looked comfortable to land or step on, what little he could see. “Looks like they were either trying to pump somethin’ up or deposit somethin’ deep down…think we can make that jump if we’re careful?” He turned to his sister-

-only to see her eying something up above them from across the gap. “We might not even have to do that. Take a looksee up there,” she pointed out. He followed her gaze to see what looked to be another construction beam, possibly scaffolding suspended above them, clearly in the middle of being lowered by a crane. However, the construct had been stuck up there, in between some old rocks, and what looked to be a staging platform that would’ve been groaning underneath its weight if vines hadn’t grown underneath to add to that support. “Look at where that crane is positioned,” Tiff pointed out. “We knock that beam loose, and I bet that it’ll make a perfect bridge.”

“Hmm…worth a shot,” Tuff decided, forming a fireball. “I’ll burn the vines, and you can knock the rest down?”

“Ready when you are,” she agreed, nodding.

“Right. One…two…three!” At that he hurled the fireball up- it hit flush, immediately setting fire to the vines. Almost immediately the scaffolding began to dip lower, and the platform it was stuck on began to groan, but not give. “Got it! Now let’s hurry before anything else catches on fire!”

Tiff was already aiming. “Okay, might wanna take cover for this one…” She eyed what looked to be a rusty, weak support beam. ‘That oughta do…’ she decided as she Focused, and fired off a wave of energy that hit the beam flush, not to mention the rest of it. With the sound of a vicious snap and then a massive groan, the scaffolding- not to mention the platform- fell quick. “Watch out!”

They all had to dive back for cover as the platform hurtled into the abyss, and right after, the scaffolding crashed to the ground…right between the ends of the chasm, just as Tiff had hoped. “Owwww, ow, ow, ow…” Tiff groaned, the intensity of the sound causing a headache. The two had to hold their ears for a moment at the loudness of the destruction they’d caused, even, but as they recovered… “Haha! I thought so!” she cheered as she saw the results of their handiwork. “Nice work, Tuff! We’re through!”

Tuff let the tension bleed out alongside a sigh.“...phew. That was a loud one. Kinda scared me for a second,” Tuff admitted.

“Y-you’re not the only one,” one of the Jambelievers agreed. The rest murmured similar sentiments. For a moment, they’d been worried it’d fall ON them.

“Well, we’re through, at least,” Tuff sighed. Tiff had already stepped forwards, testing its stability and finding it more than passable. “Let’s get goin’. I hope there’s not much more tunnel left…”

They ended up traveling through a few more pipes, and here Tiff noticed something. “We’re on an incline,” she realized. “Hopefully that’s a good sign.” It wasn’t much longer before the group found themselves coming out at what seemed to be an area a bit more green. “We’ve gotta be getting closer to the topside again,” she surmised. The area ahead seemed rocky, but mostly flat, or perhaps carved out, with a lot more greenery and general small sounds gave them a bit of hope. There were some areas with steel platforms, but the area seemed like it was largely intact, save for a few spots.

“Yeah, this looks like a staging area or somethin’,” Tuff realized. “I think this was gonna be a connector area for the main pipeline we’ve been traveling through. Probably spiral off into a buncha other side tunnels or somethin’ if construction had kept goin’.” Tuff turned to his sister to see her giving him a surprised look. “What? I learned more than magic an’ stuff on the Base! They got big ol’ pipe setups like this too, only way bigger.”

“...I need to visit one of these days,” Tiff muttered to herself as they traveled along.

“You should!” Tuff agreed. “Trust me, it’s way cooler than you think. It’s INSANE how big it is! Like, you thought NME’s base was huge? The Jambandra Base makes it look like a pebble.” Looking over, he saw a small building, next to what he could only guess was a water tank. “Hey, see that?”

She did. “Huh. Some sort of room. But it’s blocked off…” Steel was beyond her for the moment. So how would they…oh! “Hey, up there! Seems like the roof got ripped off or something…”

“That’s our ticket in, then,” Tuff said calmly as he prepared a pole vault before turning to the Jambelievers. “Don’t worry, we’ll be right back, okay? Hup!” Tiff was quick to follow as he landed- she was clearly starting to get a bit used to the Infinity Jump, though Tuff couldn’t help but notice she had a high-stepping gait, like she was trying to climb really big stairs. He turned away to prevent a laugh as she landed. “N-nice…”

She raised an eyebrow at the break in his voice. “What?”

“Nothin’,” he insisted, trying to ignore his own thoughts. “Hey, check this place out,” he redirected. “This looks like a control room or something…” It had enough lights and control systems, as far as the two of them could tell.

Tiff had to agree. “Seems like it. There’s a panel over here…” Going over to it, she noticed that it had a single, blinking red light as well. “Wonder what this does…” She was tempted to press it, but thought better of it. She wasn’t that impulsive.

Tuff was of a similar mindset, to her surprise. “Probably not a good idea to just up an’ press it.” Missing their bemused expression on his sister’s face, he continued to scan the panel. “Seems like it might be for the rest of the area. I don’t think pressin’ it would do much harm, considerin’ where it’s at and all.”

“Yeah, good point,” she admitted, looking around towards the wiring and pipelines as well. “This was supposed to be a utility tunnel. I’d be surprised if they wanted anything dangerous to happen.” A memory flickered through her head of her time spent on the Halberd. “In fact…I know we’re in another dimension and all, but usually, if a button’s flashing like that, that’s because it WANTS to be pressed. I wonder if maybe…” Frowning, she shook her head. “Brace yourself just in case,” she warned. Stepping up next to him, she pressed the red button.

Almost immediately a whirring sound echoed all around them, and for a moment they readied themselves for whatever they’d started back up or perhaps released…only for a number of lights to suddenly blink on, many of which hadn’t been before. The whirring quieted down after a few moments, and that was that. “...heh…hahah!” Tiff let out a small laugh of relief. “Okay, good. That was just some sort of button to reset the power breaker or something. For a second there I got worried…”

“Well, hopefully nothin’ dangerous got powered up, either,” Tuff noted, but so far, nothing they hadn’t seen already seemed to be making its presence known. They both quickly exited the same way they came in. “Back! And looks like the place really did light up, huh?”

“Yessir!” One of the Jambelievers confirmed. “The lights just suddenly popped on! Whatever you did restored power!” If nothing else, things were at the least a bit more visible now.

Tiff nodded in approval. “Alright, looking good. In that case, then, we-” Before she could finish the sentence, another rumble sounded, droning and crackling…but this one was longer. They were both quick to tense up, but it was Tiff who saw the early signs as the ground nearby began cracking. “Uh-oh.” As several pieces of land began to crack and fall away, she quickly looked to her brother. “RUN!”

They all took off as several areas of the ground seemed to collapse beneath them, quickly hopping from an unstable patch of land to the outer edges near the rock faces, trying to keep to stable land as often as possible. “Move, move, move!”

A piece of land nearly came undone beneath a believer’s feet, forcing Tuff to lean back and yank him forwards. “We’re moving, we’re moving!” he yelled as everyone pushed to keep up. The cultists had some steps headstart, but it didn’t help much.

It seemed like the whole floor was going to be swallowed up as they ran forth to keep ahead of it all. Fortunately, with a last surge of energy and grabbing onto those lagging behind, they managed to hit moss and actual grass, and it was only a second or two afterwards that the rumbling finally stopped. “I…is it over?” One of the Jambelievers timidly asked.

They turned to look around, and… “Whoa,” Tuff said, seeing what had just happened. While there had been a few spots already overgrown with vines and moss, there were many more gaps than had just been there- the earth below having apparently been weakened and split by time and nature. Now, two big holes had formed, cavernous depths becoming a part of the landscape. The steel supports hadn’t been budged, at least. “That was a bit too close…”

“You’re telling me,” Tiff groused, brushing herself off. “Let’s keep going and get out of this crazy place.” She made her way up the small natural stairs, where the opening of the initial pipe connection seemed to be, as the rest followed. “I feel like we’ve been getting closer to the surface again, so maybe we won’t have to- hm?” She squinted, looking ahead. “Hey…I think I see an exit!”

“Oh, awesome!” Tuff cheered, as did his party. They all made their way forwards with renewed energy, and they all cheered again upon seeing the opening spill out into what was clearly an outside work area. “We made it!”

“That got a bit scary for a moment there, but at least we did it,” Tiff agreed. Steel girders, dry cement, and more construction materials were laid out here, but it was at least an exit. “This might not be a bad spot to camp, even,” she noticed. “Shaded, not easy to get to, good places to hide…”

“Egh, maybe if we have to, but I’d rather put some distance between this place and us,” Tuff said, looking around. “I dunno if- oh, huh. Hold on.” There was one last lit lantern that he quickly doused, glaring at the Hot Head that snorted at him in response. “Oh, come off it!” he dismissed before turning back to his sister and his crew. “Right, where was I? Oh yeah, I dunno if we wanna stay around here. We’ve got too much to do. Might wanna start lookin’ around here for any sign of those Dees, even, just in case.”

Tiff could see the logic. “Well, maybe-”

A rustle. “Hm?!” Her head whipped around to the source of the shuffling- and saw a flash of blue and big ears zip away. “That thing!” She half yelled. “C’mon!” Without warning she immediately ran for it, everyone else quickly following behind her. The thing seemed to scatter leaves and other things in its haste, and it was easy for them to follow it. “We’re not gonna let that thing shake us off!”

The little one was already panicking. ‘Oh, no, oh no! I have to get back to at least warn everyone!’ He could outpace them, but he doubted he wouldn’t see them again. They were already close! Still a distance away, technically, but THIS close was too close! And to think he still had the bigger Beast Pack members to worry about! They’d never been this relentless…fortunately, he could at least prepare them, somewhat.

However, in his fear, he hadn’t noticed the small, black birds in the trees that VERY much noticed him swooping past.

They would have much to say to their leader…

Two days later, and his individuals of concern- namely Tiff and Tuff- were still tracking him. They and the Jambelievers sat around a campfire within a small building on the outer edges of the city; they’d been roughing it as per normal for them now, and as the little blue thing hadn’t seemed to be going in various different directions, Tiff had deduced it was going back to its ‘nest’ or base or wherever it called home. They could only go so far in the day, but… “It’s gotta be somewhere further in that direction,” she deduced. “As far as I can tell, at least.”

"Right..." Tuff mumbled. He'd been oddly silent since they'd decided to track him, and Tiff wasn't entirely certain why. He'd also been sleeping fitfully a bit, but whenever she questioned him, she couldn't get anything out of him. She'd simply heard him muttering from time to time. 'Find...Dees. Wad...dees...' Frankly, she felt a bit bad. He was clearly taking it harder than she'd anticipated. Had he been friends with some of them? Or maybe he was just becoming more empathetic and responsible? He DID have those five cult guys with him. Maybe that resonated with him more, made him understand Great King Dedede's found respect for them? “I think we’re on the right track,” Tuff suddenly said, looking off in the direction they’d seen him flee last.

“What makes you say that?” Tiff asked curiously.

Tuff just shrugged. “Call it a hunch. Void’s guidance if you gotta. But I’m pretty positive THAT’S the direction we’re supposed to be headed.” The Jambelievers just nodded and bowed as though that was all the explanation needed, though Tiff was still skeptical.

“There’s gotta be a reason it’s been stalking us,” she deduced. “Maybe it knows about King Dedede, or the Waddle Dees? Or maybe just whatever brought us here in the first place.” She hoped that was the case, at least. She’d rather not have been wasting her time on a fruitless chase, though something told her just as well that it wasn’t. “I hope we can get some answers.”

“Same,” Tuff agreed. “Maybe-” And then there was another rumbling. Fiercer, and with squawking, and yipping, and…

“Animals,” Tiff said, her eyes widening. “The Beast Pack!” She scrambled to pick up what she could, started to think of exit strategies as the rumbling came closer and closer…

…and then it was on them, a massive thundering horde that shook the ground viciously. “W-w-w-w-whoa!!” Tiff stuttered out as she, her brother, and the Jambelievers did their best to cling onto something, anything that was stable. For several minutes they had to suffer the miniature earthquake, but…nothing seemed to smash through the windows to get at their presumed quarry. None of them even looked inside.

And almost just like that, the streets were quiet again. “What the…?” Tiff quietly asked. They’d been completely passed over. “Wait, they…did they even notice us?”

Tuff shook his head- he’d been paying as much attention as he could, as had the Jambelievers. “I don’t think so.”

“No, t-they went past us entirely,” one of the believers confirmed. “I don’t think they even knew we were here.”

Tiff frowned, an unnerved feeling roiling in her gut. “So…if they’re not after us…then who or what are they after?”

Several miles away, on a small, forgotten beach, a small pink puffball pulled himself off of the sand, looking around to see an unfamiliar world.

“Whoa…wait...oh no. Again?! ”

Chapter 41: The Point of Arrival

Chapter Text

Kirby was torn. On the one hand, this was the second time in honestly less than a year that something weird had happened and he’d been shunted to another world- very likely with Bandee, Meta Knight, and King Dedede along with who knows who else flying through along with him. The whole thing was starting to wear thing.

On the other hand, this place was incredibly fascinating. It looked abandoned and dilapidated, but there was almost a sense of mystery and wonder that seemed…innocent. Fantastical, something that was almost begging for explorers to uncover the lost history here. And that wasn’t even mentioning the total weirdness that stumbling through Another Dimension had managed this time.

He knew his suction was powerful, but something about it had felt…off…once he’d regained his bearings enough to take stock of himself, which fortunately wasn’t very long at all. That had proven correct after he’d inhaled a few strange dog-like locals to get them out of the way after they’d charged him- and he’d been so intent on making sure he’d gotten them all that he’d sucked up the car on display behind them. He’d just…not exactly…finished the job, perse. It was a weird feeling, but as with a lot of changes, he was quick to adapt- especially when he’d felt himself sort of ‘merge’ with the car, for lack of a better term. It wasn’t stuck to him or anything, but he felt in control of its abilities, regardless of engine power.

It beat walking, THAT was for sure. Especially with the additional ramming power he’d gotten from it! Being able to bust up rocks and walls like that? The interdimensional trip had clearly done something wacky to him, and he wasn’t entirely certain what. That said? ‘The fact that my first instinct is ‘see what big thinks I can suck up and control probably says something about me, but I’m having too much fun driving to worry about that right now!’ he mused to himself as he drove alone the roads exploring. The scenery was incredible, really; there were gulls, ducks, those strange dog things, Waddle Dees in cages…

‘Wait, what?’ Okay, THAT wasn’t good. He sped up, quickly following the direction they were flying from. No one kidnapped Waddle Dees on his watch!

Unfortunately, he could see smoke rising up in the near distance. Soon, he found himself having to spit out the car (he was frankly glad there was no aftertaste), and clambering up the hill to see just what the damage was. It turned out, there was a lot, with wreckage strewn everywhere…recent, too, by the looks of it. “Huh…what happened here?”

He quickly got his answer when he saw a set of Waddle Dees suddenly burst out of some nearby foliage, quickly followed by those weird dogs- and those just as weird birds with cages. In moments, they’d slammed the traps down on the Dees and began to lift them away; it had happened so fast Kirby was still processing the sudden turn of events…

…and that was when a strange, blue thing raced past as well, clearly desperate in nature. It seemed to run itself into a dead end, and panic and indecision flashed through its face for a moment- before a larger, gold cage slammed down around it. The sheer way it panicked told him it was likely some kinda magic, and with the three birds about to take off, he knew he didn’t have any time to waste.

Even with the sudden dogs coming in to help, he was fortunately able to quickly dispatch them in moments- and just as quickly disperse the birds holding onto the cage via a Star Bullet in moments as well, the weight of the cage clearly having caused them some difficulty. He quickly ran up to the enclosure, touching it briefly in a show of reassurance. “Hold on! I’ll-”

But then, to both of their surprise, he felt something twist and shake slightly within him. Nothing bad, but it seemed whatever it was, it resonated harshly with the golden magic of the cage; the prison shattered into pieces, and it was only a moment later that the little thing sighed in small relief. “Oh, thank you! Thank you!” The fellow said quite happily, buzzing around the area.

“Uhhh…” Kirby murmured, trying to keep up with him- it was only when catching up to him a bit of a ways away did the creature remember his presence.

Fortunately, he seemed rather ready to remedy that, as he gave a deep sigh of relief. “You saved me! Really, thank you again…” But it was just then that his expression dampened. “But what about those other guys- the Waddle Dees, I mean! They all got captured! And taken away!”

Kirby made a concerned face at that. It was about what he expected, but he still didn’t like it. “How’d that happen?” he asked.

“It was a group called the Beast Pack,” he explained readily. “They came and invaded us after…” he paused, shaking his head. “Nevermind. We fought those beasts as hard as we could, but they kept coming back for more.” He looked around in sorrow- ruins everywhere. Kirby could tell that whatever had happened, the Waddle Dees had adapted like they always could and had started some kind of village. To see that in ruins…well, he certainly wasn’t the only one sad about it. “Now I’m the only one left…” the blue thing lamented, sniffing. “It was my fault. I have to save them. I have to!”

‘What does he mean by ‘it was his fault?’ Kirby wondered. But, that wonder was quickly superseded by the desire to see this well meaning little guy happy again. Kirby liked to think his judge of character was solid enough nowadays- and he saw in this thing a potential friend. Not to mention, he’d been doing right by the Waddle Dees, it sounded like, and that was a major plus in his book. “If you’re going to save them, then I’m in!” Kirby happily declared. “The Waddle Dees are my friends too, after all! But in order to get around…” Kirby concentrated. In moments, a Warp Star zoomed into existence- Kirby breathed a soft sigh of relief that he could still do that much, at least. It sat patiently in the small earthen circle, awaiting its passengers. “We’ll need a ride.”

The sudden act seemed to surprise the little fellow. “What? You’ll help me save everyone?” he asked brightly. A simple nod was all it took to get him bouncing in midair happily. “That’s great!”

“It’s what I do!” the pink puff said proudly. “Kirby of the Stars is here to help!”

“Oh! So, your name is Kirby?” he asked.

Kirby nodded eagerly “Yup! Hiiii!”

The blue thing smiled brightly back at him. “I’m Elfilin! Nice to meet you!” With that, the two of them turned back to the Warp Star awaiting them. “And there’s no time like the present! We should probably get going. There’s…”

“Hey, Kirby!” A familiar voice sounded out, and the sound of pattering feet quickly accompanied it. Kirby was quick to turn towards it; he knew exactly who that was!

“Bandee!” he cheered as the Waddle Dee ran up to him. “You’re here!” Fortunately, he seemed none the worse for wear.

Bandana Waddle Dee could only look relieved. “Yeah. Boy, am I glad to see you. I got pulled through that vortex over Planet Popstar, too. I thought I saw you tumbling through with me in the distance…” he muttered the last bit, more to himself than anything, though he quickly shook it off. “Not long after I tumbled through here, I saw the cages flying overhead and decided to track them down. I didn’t hear everything you just talked about, but I got the gist enough. No way am I gonna just let someone kidnap Waddle Dees! Do you want some backup?”

“Always!” Kirby quickly agreed, before turning to their newest friend. “Bandee, this is Elfilin. He was helping out the Waddle Dees before we got here. Elfilin, this is Bandana Waddle Dee. Bandee for friends! He’ll be able to help a ton!”

“Oh! That’s great!” Elfilin seemed to have no complaints or suspicions, so that was good. “As I was saying, we should probably head out to start looking for them. I have…a little history with avoiding the Beast Pack- the ones who kidnapped the rest of the Waddle Dees. I can tell you a bit about them and where we might find a few as we look around. Knowing them, they’ve probably split them up to deliver them in sequences, so we’ve got a bit of time before they’re all taken away for good.”

“We’ll have to be thorough, then,” Kirby decided.

“And careful,” Bandee agreed.

Elfilin nodded. “Yeah- the Beast Pack is everywhere and has agents even this far- it…it was how they found us in the first place,” he softly admitted. “I didn’t think they’d track us this far, but they did. And their newest trackers went and probably pointed the Pack right to us b-because I wasn’t careful enough in running away.”

“Hey, you couldn’t have known,” Kirby assured him with a pat on the back. “And if we spot any trackers, we’ll take them out for you!”

“Y-yeah!” Bandee agreed. “So c’mon! We’ll rescue everyone, starting now!”

Taking a breath to steady himself, Elfilin nodded, good mood restored. “You’re right! I know we can do this together! Let’s go!” With that, they made their way towards the Warp Star, and quickly took off for their first destination. “There’ll probably already be a few not too far away- we should probably start around Downtown, in the heart of the grassland!”

“Then, onward!” Kirby declared as the Warp Star shot high through the sky, unseeable to anyone not paying the closest of attention.

Down on terra firma, however, two others were in less good spirits as they marched through well-grown underbrush. “This grass is getting way too thick,” Tiff said, trying her best to clear it out. “I can barely see three feet in front of me!”

“I still say I could burn it all down,” Tuff quipped, following closely behind her. “Wouldn’t start a forest fire or nothin’.”

“Still rather not take the risk,” Tiff shot back. His Jambeliever followers could only pat him on the back in sympathy. “We’ve already got enough on our plates; the few cages we saw couldn’t have been all of them!”

Indeed, they’d more or less just woken up from the other day’s hike when they’d noticed some birds high up carrying strange cages…and all of them had Waddle Dees inside. Considering the living storm that was the Beast Pack that they had been tracking for the past day, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. That had been more than enough to galvanize them to investigate the matter- though Tuff had wanted to chase down the kidnappers immediately. It was her who’d noted how if they blew where they were hiding, they’d very likely be beset by one very angry, very BIG gorilla before much longer; and this time no big unstable buildings to crash through for it. Instead, she’d realized that they had to have been capturing them from somewhere, and had thought to follow the direction where they were flying FROM. That wasn’t to say it was an easy jog, however.

They’d been trekking for the better part of a few hours by now when Tuff stopped out of the blue. “Hey, you hear water all of a sudden?” Tuff asked, co*cking his head.

Tiff paused, concentrating. Sure enough, the sound of waves met her ears after a moment of paying attention, and more besides. “Hmmm…yeah, actually. Seagulls, too. We must be near the coast. Let’s keep moving.” With that, they continued on. “All this busted underbrush means they came along here, and if there’s a coast nearby, there’s not much space left for them to rampage. I hope we’re close.”

“If we’re not, they probably came here from suuuper far away, then,” Tuff opined. “So in that case, we need ta-”

“W-wait! Apprentice Tuff!” One of the Jambelivers called, pointing at a small space in the foliage. “Look over there!”

They did, to see a shattered and ruined cliffside, pockmarks everywhere, rubble strewn all about and massive splinters of wood scattered about. Clear signs of struggle. “Whoa! What happened here?” Tuff exclaimed in shock as they approached.

Tiff cast a more critical eye around the area. ‘Might just be me overthinking things, but this feels…recent.’ Looking over the area, she noticed that at the base of one of the cliff areas was a small car; they weren’t sure how long it’d been there, but it looked a bit out of place…and then she saw it. ‘Wait, the tracks it left. It rolled over things already here to make those. I think someone was here before us…so that might mean-!’ “Come on!” she said out loud, moving quicker.