Pizzazz

The Adventures of Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee

By Doroken

Status: Incomplete     Rating: E     Posted: 12/24/2022     Finished: N/A (Ongoing; 2015-2017, 2020-Present)     Word count: 58,711
Characters: Kirby, Ronald McDonald, Bandana Waddle Dee, Meta Knight, King Dedede, Burger King, Wendy, 40 year old dude in a Dora costume, Fred the Subway Manager, Bob the Dairy Queen Manager, Galacta Knight, Magolor, Blade Knight, Sword Knight, Sailor Waddle Dee, giant plastic wind-up chicken that craps jelly beans, that one Waddle Doo from the anime, Fred Johnson the Taco Time manager, Dora the Explorer, Colonel Sanders, Juan the Chihuahua, Taranza, Snoop Dogg, Shrek cameo, Marx, Captain Vul, Mace Knight, Axe Knight

• Character List •

These are the characters used in this story, and their personalities and such in this crazy Kirby AU. All of the Kirby characters used belong to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory, and I claim no ownership of them.

Kirby Characters (In Order Of Appearance)

Kirby: A small, pink and red puffball. Kirby is one of two main characters in this story. He yells a lot and has frequent mood swings, between screeching at someone to happily eating cake. He is usually the one to lead everyone, being the main character and all. He also breaks the fourth wall frequently.

Bandana Waddle Dee: Also referred to as Bandana, Waddle Dee, and Bandana Dee. He is a Waddle Dee with a blue bandana on his head and and carries his spear everywhere with him. He is the second main character in this story, and is Kirby's closet friend. He is a peacemaker, although, once in a while he will lose his temper and begin stabbing anyone and everyone that made him angry.

Meta Knight: Kirby's somewhat-overprotective mentor. He always has to be in charge and seems to follow Kirby almost everywhere. He seems to enjoy lecturing Kirby with articles that are copied and pasted from Wikipedia. Although he denies it, he is a blue and purple puffball. He cannot stand Galacta Knight or Magolor.

King Dedede: Literally the fattest person in Dreamland. The blue and yellow penguin is always hungry and will quickly eat any food in sight. He also sleeps a lot. Hates lettuce.

Galacta Knight: Meta Knight's old frenemy. He takes whatever chance he can to annoy Meta Knight, and challenges him to duels quite often. He sees Kirby as an annoying, pesky child, and often has an exasperated tone when speaking to the pink puffball.

Magolor: A Halcandran that also hates Meta Knight. He's always planning something, although he acts innocent until he reveals his plan, at which point he's already carried it out. He'll do pretty much anything to tick off Meta Knight, much like Galacta Knight, except it's in a far less bantery way.

Blade Knight: One of Meta Knight's knights. He is rather oblivious most of the time, and doesn't have much of a contribution to the plot.

Sword Knight: Meta Knight's other knight. He snaps at Kirby and Galacta Knight a lot, and seems to follow Meta Knight everywhere. He's basically just Meta Knight's little clone. Again, he doesn't have any major contributions to the plot.

Sailor Waddle Dee: A young Waddle Dee that wears a sailor hat with a long, blue ribbon. He is scared of King Dedede and often seeks protection from Meta Knight. Meta Knight is surprisingly protective of the Waddle Dee, and is usually kind when speaking to him. He often cheats when playing games, too. Sailor Dee does not have many contributions to the plot, other than making the floors shiny by mopping them.

Waddle Doo: Just your average Waddle Doo...except he has a sword and says that everything is racist...He will yell at anyone that is racist, and if they anger him enough, he will beat them up with his sword. Leader of the racist police (despite the misleading name they fight racism, not practice it), which consists of Bandana Dee and Meta Knight.

Marx: Kirby wants him gone as soon as he sees him, but Magolor insists on letting him stay and join their group. The two backstabbing traitors spend lots of time conspiring together. Marx is prone to random mood swings and unpredictable actions. More than half the group is convinced that he's crazy. Dances on a beach ball practically 24/7.

Captain Vul: Imagine your typical dudebro. One that likes sports, shouts a lot, and always wants to hang with the bros. Now picture him as a light brown bird. One that's dressed in a white captain's uniform, if you will. One that loves destruction and explosions, even. Also one that hasn't paid taxes since 2004. That's Captain Vul.

Axe Knight: He is...odd. He likes pranking and scaring people. He's quite aloof, but still tries his best to suck up to Meta Knight. Probably hoping for a promotion.

Mace Knight: Kind of has the same personality as Blade Knight and Sword Knight, except he's not as dumb. He also tends to side with Captain Vul more than Meta Knight, while Axe Knight sides with Meta over Vul.

Knife Knight: An OC that exists just to die. A very lazy, laid-back knight that just vibes on the Halberd. According to Meta, he's a new recruit, which would explain why he doesn't seem to understand why everyone else freaks out about Kirby being near the Halberd. He is orange with purple markings, and wears a dark red helmet with an orange fur-mohawk on it and a W-shaped iron mask.

Fast Food People (In Order Of Appearance)

Ronald McDonald: Owner of McDonald's, a clown with bright red hair and a white face. Despite being killed twice throughout the story, he somehow keeps coming back. He has machine guns that fire Chicken McNuggets, and a cannon that fires giant McNuggets. His main enemies were Wendy and Burger King, but he teamed with Burger King after their fight to defeat Wendy.

Burger King: The owner of Burger King. He wears a paper crown on top of his brown hair. He has cannons that fire Whoppers, and is another character that keeps coming back, despite being killed. He teamed with Ronald McDonald after their fight so they could try to defeat Wendy.

Wendy: Owner of Wendy's, with hair as red at Kirby's feet. She is probably the most powerful out of the three main fast-food chains. She has an army of trained employees, each with full armor and machine guns that shoot lettuce. She herself wields a bazooka that shoots lettuce.

Fred: He is the manager at Subway, and is a short, pasty male with shoulder-length brown hair. His main rival is Bob, the Dairy Queen manager. His weapons include throwing meatball subs and a helicopter that shoots messy subs. Not to be confused with Fred Johnson.

Bob: He is the Dairy Queen manager, a short, brown-haired white male. He employed Meta Knight at one point, although the knight lost that job during the fight. His weapons of choice are throwing cups of DQ Blizzards (often half-empty) and a helicopter like Fred's, except it shoots DQ Blizzards.

Fred Johnson: Not to be confused with Fred, Fred Johnson is the manager at Taco Time. He has a bushy brown mustache that matches his hair, which is covered by a large sombrero, and light tan skin. He was innocent in the whole ordeal, until the fast food people brought the fight to him. He is accused of being racist several times, and had a pet Chihuahua named Juan.

Colonel Sanders: The mascot of Kentucky Fried Chicken. He just tags along with the other fast-food mascots, even though he winds up betraying them later. Everywhere he goes, he has a bucket of fried chicken.

Other Characters

Dora The Explorer: Introduced to Subway when they were doing a promotional thing for her. Dora was originally a 40 year old dude in a costume, but he was killed in the fire, and somewhere along the line they got the real Dora.

Juan: He is an EXTREMELY yippy Chihuahua that used to belong to Fred Johnson, but was given to Sailor Dee. He wears a small sombrero that is secured by a strap under his chin. Of course, Waddle Doo comments many times about how his name and hat is racist, just because he is a Mexican dog breed. Galacta Knight also takes a liking to the dog, despite calling him a goblin.

•1• Kirby Goes to McDonald's

One day, Kirby was feeling hungry, so he decided to walk into McDonald's. It was there that he had the unfortunate incident of meeting Ronald McDonald.

"Hi there little girl!" Ronald laughed creepily. "A ha ha ha ha!!"

"AHHHH!" Kirby screamed. "And I am not a girl!" He added as he ran into the bathroom to hide.

Kirby locked himself in the bathroom, panting heavily. "Oh gosh," he thought. "That dude is scary!"

Suddenly, a loud blurp came from the toilet. Kirby turned around to see his best friend climb out of the toilet. It was Bandana Waddle Dee. "Oof, hey Kirby," he said, shaking some toilet water off himself.

"Um... What are you doing in the McDonald's bathroom?" Kirby asked. "Er... Nevermind that," Bandana said, looking nervously to his left. "What matters is that we need to get rid of that clown, in order for you to get your Chicken Mcnuggets!" Bandana declared, his gaze meeting Kirby's again.

"Yeah!" Kirby agreed. "Here you go," Bandana said, handing Kirby a sharp, shiny, golden sword. Kirby recognized it as Meta Knight's. "Um... Won't Meta be mad when he finds out that you took his sword?" Kirby asked.

"Uh..." Bandana trailed off, then wordlessly took another sword out of the toilet. This one was a sharp, shiny, silver. "Let's go!" He yelled, pointing his sword in the air. Then the two of them ran out of the bathroom with their swords, screaming wildly.

To them, it was like going into an epic battle. For the people that were eating at McDonald's, it was like watching two spazes that just had a ton of candy and soda and were now running around and playing some imaginary game involving swords.

"WHERE IS THAT CLOWN?!" Kirby screamed. "WE MUST DEFEAT IT!" Bandana added. They ran in circles, screaming for Ronald McDonald.

Sure enough, after a few moments of screaming, Ronald McDonald showed up. "Well well well... What seems to be the problem, girls?" He asked, his smile still really creepy.

"DIE!" Kirby screamed, slashing at Ronald's face. "Yeah, DIE!" Bandana yelled, slicing at the clown as well. They both went psycho with their swords. When they finally stopped, panting for breath, they saw that Ronald was dead. "HOORAY!!" They both shouted.

But the funny thing was, Ronald McDonald bled Chicken McNuggets. Kirby happily ate them, and Bandana happily absorbed them through his face. But then, Meta Knight ran up to the two.

"Kirby! Bandana!" He cried. "Stop!"

The two stopped eating the Chicken McNuggets to look up at Meta. "What?" Kirby asked innocently. "Do you have any idea what they put in those?!" Meta asked. "No..." Kirby said.

"This," Meta Knight said, taking out a printed picture of strange, pink, gooey stuff. "Ewwww!" Kirby screamed immaturely. Bandana's eyes went wide, and he ran into the bathroom to puke. Or, well, at least attempt to. Well, it's not like he has a mouth... (How does he even talk?)

"And give me my sword," Meta Knight added, grabbing his sword and walking out of McDonald's.

"Well," Kirby thought. "It's a good thing ol' Mety showed up to stop me from eating that crap."

Then he went back to eating it.

Do not make the same mistake as me. Do not look up Chicken McNugget ingredients on Google Images. You will never eat them again. Same thing goes for hot dogs. And supermarket meat. And pretty much everything else you eat. The Government controls all our food!

•2• SACRIFICE

"Come on Waddle Dee!" Kirby called to his buddy. "Coming, Kirby!" Waddle Dee, AKA Bandana replied cheerily.

The two had left McDonald's after the cops had shown up. They'd quietly sneaked out the back door as the cops were investigating Ronald McDonald's dead body, whistling causally. From there, they had ran deep into the forest.

"So where are we headed?" Bandana asked as the two ball shapes trotted through the forest.

"I dunno!" Kirby said. "But let's keep trotting!"

"Otay!" Bandana agreed, his expression an Epic Face. They ran through the forest, until they crashed into Meta Knight, knocking him over. Meta Knight's eyes went wide as he scrambled to get up and swung his sword around. "En guard! Who's there?! Show yourseeelves!! Attack a knight when he's down; how dishonorable!"

"Relax brah," Kirby said, kicking his mentor. "Oh, you," Meta Knight sighed as he got up and brushed some dirt off his cape. "What are you two doing now?"

"Come trot through the forest with us!" Kirby demanded, grabbing Meta Knight by his cape and dragging him through the forest, with Bandana at his side. "La la la la la la la!" Kirby sang, and Waddle Dee joined in. They shouted their song to the bright blue sky of Dreamland.

"La la la la la... LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA!! La la la, A-la la la! LAAAAAA!"

"Bruh!" Kirby gasped. "Look!"

"What is it, senpai?" Bandana asked. "No, not you, Bandana-Chan," Kirby said, which made the Waddle Dee blush for some reason. "D'aw... Kirby-Chan."

"D'aw... Bandana-Chan."

"Aw... Kirby-Chan."

"Aw... Bandana-Chan."

"Oh... Kirby-Chan."

"Oh... Bandana-Ch-"

"WOULD YOU STOP WITH THE FUDGING CHANS?!" Meta Knight screamed. "Aw... Sorry Mety-Chan," Kirby apologized, patting Meta's head like a dog. Meta Knight rolled his eyes.

"But look!" Kirby said, pointing ahead. "There's a tree!"

"NO FREAKING DUH!!" Meta Knight yelled. "You said a bad word!" Bandana gasped.

"'Freaking' is not a bad word," Meta Knight sighed. "Sacrifiiiice!" Kirby cried, picking up Meta Knight and walking over to a conviently placed lava pit.

"No!" Meta cried as Kirby tossed him into the conviently placed lava pit.

"Bad word sayers are not welcome here," Kirby declared gruffly, while Bandana's eyes were wide with horror, shock, and fear.

Suddenly, a loud CRASH thundered from behind the companions. It was King Dedede!

"Give me your food!!" Dedede roared. "Noooo!" Kirby cried, grabbing Bandana by his bandana and running as fast as his stubby feet could run. King Dedede attempted to chase them, but since he was so fat and out of shape, he was unsuccessful in catching them.

"Sacrifice!" Kirby cried, picking up a nearby apple and chucking it at King Dedede. Caught off guard, the fat penguin was knocked backwards... Into the lava pit.King Dedede disappeared into the lava pit. Derp.

"Noooo don't sacrifice meee!" Bandana pleaded. "It's okay," Kirby reasurred his BFF. "I won't kill you."

Bandana relaxed after that. Then, too quiet for Bandana to hear, Kirby ominously murmured to himself, "Yet..."

What am I doing with my life.

•3• McDonald's VS Burger King

Suggested by @NightofShadows

You can suggest your own ideas as well! I'll write anything you guys tell me! <3

Well, almost anything. But I most likely will. Okay, I'll shut up now. On with the story!!

"So Waddle," Kirby said as the two continued their walk through the forest. "Where ya' wanna go?"

"How about Burger King?" Waddle Dee suggested, pointing to a Burger King restaurant. "What's a Burger King doing in the middle of the forest?" Kirby asked, cocking his head. Or, his body, really.

"Who cares?" Waddle Dee said. "I'm starving!"

They trotted into Burger King without another word. Suddenly, the slightly-less-creepier-than-Ronald-McDonald Burger King popped up from behind the counter, and stared at them with wide eyes. "W-W-What are you two doing here?!" He asked in a terrified whisper. "Don't you know that there's a war going on?!"

"What?" Kirby asked, confused. No sooner than Kirby had asked his question, the entire building shook violently. "What the fudge?!" Kirby screamed. "Oh no!" Burger King cried. His paper crown fell off of his head, but that seemed to be the least of his worries. "McDonald's is attacking!"

Waddle Dee looked out the window, and he saw three cheeseburgers go splat on it. They had McDonald's wrappers on them. "Gasp!" He exclaimed dramatically.

"Get to the cannons!" Burger King cried. Several Burger King employees ran out from behind the counter, and climbed up a ladder to the roof. Curious, Kirby and Waddle Dee followed them.

On the roof, there were several cannons. The employees were rushing to position the cannons. "I don't get paid enough for this," one of them muttered, as he dumped a load of Whoppers into a cannon.

"Fire!" Burger King yelled. The employees did as he said, and began firing Whoppers out of their cannons. "Incoming!" An employee screeched. No sooner than the word had come out of his mouth, a load of Chicken McNuggets rained down on the roof. "Aw, gross!" A female employee yelled. She frantically tried to get the crumbs and McNuggets out of her hair, muttering words to herself like "ew," and "disgusting."

"What the hell..?" Kirby asked. "Another incoming!" The same employee screeched, ducking down on the roof. The female employee growled as she flattened herself against the roof, as did the rest of the employees and Burger King. "Get down!" Burger King said to Kirby and Waddle Dee. Kirby was about to ask why, but then he saw it. A giant McDonald's Chicken McNugget was heading straight towards them. And it was big. Bigger than an elephant, bigger than a school bus, and the author couldn't think of anything else big... It was bigger than everything. (Well, except the Earth, the Galaxy, and King Dedede.)

That was why.

Kirby's first instinct was to jump off the roof and run as far away as he could from this fast-food war zone. But there wasn't any time. The Chicken McNugget was already about to hit them.

Kirby flattened himself next to Waddle Dee. "Waddle," he began. "If this is really how we go- by a giant Chicken McNugget- then there's something I have to tell you..."

"Yes, Kirby?" Waddle Dee asked happily, his eyes little hearts. "I ate your brother," Kirby replied. "WHAAAAAT?!" Waddle Dee screamed. Kirby didn't get to reply, as the Chicken McNugget sailed over the roof, casting them all in a dark shadow.

"This is the eeeend!" Burger King cried, while his employees screamed in fear. But then, several things happened at once.

The Chicken McNugget was knocked away from them by several, small, green shreds. "Wha..?" Burger King asked. Him and his employees slowly stood up, followed by Kirby and Waddle Dee. Kirby peered over the rim at the edge of the roof, and his eyes widened when he saw Ronald McDonald on the McDonald's roof with his own employees and cannons.

"Hey!" Ronald yelled. "That was our only giant Chicken McNugget! What'd you do to it?!"

"We didn't do anything!" Burger King called, cupping his hands over his mouth to make himself audible.

"Eat Chicken McNuggets!" Ronald yelled, taking out a machine gun that was filled with Chicken McNuggets. He shot it at them, hitting them in their faces. The employees, Burger King, Kirby, and Waddle Dee started to duck, but froze when more green shreds showered over McDonald's. Ronald McDonald dropped his McNugget-filled machine gun, and stared wide-eyed at a third restaurant: Wendy's.

Wendy and her employees had joined in the battle, and were currently firing bits of lettuce at McDonald's. "This can't get any weirder," Kirby mumbled, slouching down on the rim of the roof.

"Eat lettuce!" Wendy screamed, her hair as red as Kirby's feet. All of her employees looked professional; they were dressed in bullet-proof vests, with goggles covering their eyes. Their gazes were fixed intently on McDonald's, as they fired lettuce from their machine guns with precision. Anyone could've mistaken them for soldiers in training.

Wendy turned around, and appeared to be picking something up. When she turned back around, she held a bomb. A bomb filled with lettuce, Kirby guessed.

Wendy tossed the bomb at McDonald's, and Ronald McDonald screamed like a girl. He tried to usher his employees inside, but it was too late. The bomb exploded, completely destroying McDonald's and sending lettuce bits everywhere. Kirby saw Ronald laying on the forest floor a little farther off, but his employees had disappeared.

Ronald slowly got up, his hand on his head. He took one look at his destroyed restaurant, then ran away into the forest. Wendy turned to Burger King, smiling evilly. "You're next!"

"Oh noes!" Burger King cried. He did the same thing as Ronald McDonald, trying to usher his employees inside. Kirby knew that his and Waddle Dee's only hope was to jump off the roof. He grabbed Waddle Dee, and jumped over the rim. Waddle Dee quickly untied his bandana, and they used it as a parachute.

No sooner than they'd landed on the ground a few yards from Burger King, the restaurant exploded. The two were hit with showers of lettuce. After the load of lettuce, Kirby and Waddle Dee sat together, shivering with fear.

Footsteps sounded from behind them, and the two spherical-shaped creatures turned around to see Wendy standing over them, smiling. "You two survived the explosion?" She asked, studying them. "Great! Now you can eat at my place!"

Wendy picked up Kirby and Waddle Dee, and the two had no choice but to go along with it and eat at Wendy's.

•4• The Meal at Wendy's

rip I'm getting a headache from being on my laptop for so long. It's so painful... I wanna type more stories but my head hurts.

So, um, yeah. That's why this one is pretty short.

Silence.

That was what filled Wendy's restaurant as Kirby and Waddle Dee forcefully munched on their salad. Wendy stood over them, smiling creepily as she watched them consume their meals. "So, how is it?" She asked every five seconds, to which Kirby would reply with a small nod.

After a while, Kirby looked up at Waddle Dee. "I take back what I said earlier," he mumbled. "Ronald McDonald was better."

"EXCUSE ME?!" Wendy screamed. She did a table-flip in her rage. "How dare you!"

Kirby and Waddle Dee sat with wide eyes, now tableless.

"Gosh!" Wendy scoffed. She flipped one of her pigtails back and stomped away.

"Pffff," Kirby scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Dramatic, much?"

"Uh... K-Kirby?" Waddle Dee asked, his eyes wide as he looked at something behind Kirby. Kirby turned around, and let out a panicked "AH!" at the sight of Wendy behind him. Wendy held a bazooka, most likely filled with lettuce.

"OH CRAP RUUUN!" Kirby cried. Waddle Dee threw himself at the window and splatted against it. His plan had been to crash through it with swag and run away, but it failed.

Wendy began firing lettuce from her bazooka. "AHHHHHHHHHH!!" Kirby screamed as he ran back and forth, trying to dodge the lettuce. "Stay still!" Wendy snapped, but Kirby kept running. "AHHHHHHH!!"

"Halp," Waddle Dee said, his voice muffled by the glass. "My fashe ish shtuck."

"AHHHHHH!!" Kirby continued screaming. "Would you freaking stay still?!" Wendy yelled. "Nuuuuu!" Kirby cried.

Wendy continued to try and shoot Kirby for the rest of the afternoon. She finally gave up when the sun started to set.

"Ugh!!" Wendy groaned, tossing her lettuce-bazooka on the ground. She turned around and stomped off. "Let's get outta here," Kirby whispered to Waddle Dee, whose face was still stuck on the glass. "Mah fashe ish shtuck," Waddle Dee replied with a mumble. "Oh, um... Hang on, buddy!" Kirby cried.

He ran out the door and over to the outside view of the window Waddle Dee was stuck on. Kirby pulled out Meta Knight's sword that he'd had from earlier and sliced a circle around Waddle Dee.

Waddle Dee splatted on the floor, the glass still stuck on his face. "Itshtill shtuck," Waddle Dee said. Kirby was about to help him, but he caught sight of Wendy. She was wheeling a large cannon out from behind the counter. "OH CRAP THERE AIN'T NO TIME FOR DAT!!" Kirby screamed. He picked up Waddle Dee and dragged him as he ran far, far away from Wendy's.

"I shtink we can shtop now."

Kirby finally stopped running upon Waddle Dee's request. Unfortunately, the glass was still stuck on Waddle Dee's face. "Ahh," Kirby sighed, out of breath. "Ya' wanna go home?"

"Eh," Waddle Dee shrugged. "I'm shtill kinda hungry."

"We can go toooo..." Kirby said, looking around for a restaurant. Eventually, his gaze settled on a Subway restaurant in the distance. "We can go to Subway, if you want."

"Okay, we can get shubs there," Waddle Dee agreed.

The two trotted off in the direction of Subway, where they would hopefully have a normal meal.

•5• Subway VS Dairy Queen???

Sorry it took so long! But, anyway, here it is. Prepare for some sappy/sad stuff at the end.

Suggested by De_AlterSorcerer and XDMasterMichael


A bell jingled as Kirby pushed open the door to Subway, followed closely by Waddle Dee.

"Welcome to Subway, home of the subs!" An employee greeted them, smiling nicely from behind the counter. "As you're probably aware, we are having a promotion."

"Promotion, huh?" Kirby asked. "What's it this time? Another Disney movie?"

"Well, we were going to do Disney's new movie: Inside Out," the employee began. "But that seemed too predictable."

"Sooo... What are you doing?" Kirby asked when the employee didn't continue.

"Huh? Oh! We're doing Dora the Explorer."

"Dora the Explorer?!" Kirby practically yelled. "Shush," Waddle Dee said, his voice muffled due to the glass still stuck on his face. "I want to shee Dora."

Then, Dora walked out. Or, I should say, a 40 year old dude in a Dora costume.

"DORA!!" Waddle Dee screamed. He ran towards Dora so fast that he tripped and fell over numerous times before finally reaching Dora.

"Hola, young 'un," Dora said in a failed Dora voice; it more just sounded like a lazy 40 year old dude, which was true, in this case.

"ER MAH GAWSH!" Waddle Dee exclaimed. "What happened to chu?!"

"Uh... Puberty," Dora answered. "Huh," Waddle Dee said. "Interesting."

Kirby turned away from them and looked up at the employee. "Anyways, 2 subs, please. One with hamburger, lettuce, tomato, mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, meatballs, sausage, maybe a few globs of frosting mixed in-"

"Frosting?" The employee asked, wide-eyed. "Yes," Kirby clarified, then went on, "And some pickles-don't forget the pickles!-uhm... Maybe throw in a little peppers, some turkey, salami... Did I say tomatoes already? Ah, whatever... Tomatoes, too. Aaaaaand... Ah, ah, ah, ah... Hmm... Fish, do you have fish? Well, if you do, maybe just throw in some of 'em as well... And how about some fruits... You know, oranges, tomatoes, beans, lettuce, dirt... W'eves. And... And... A stick of butter, yeah! Aaaand... Throw in a whole package of salt as well-"

"And this is just one sub?" The employee asked exasperatedly, his head resting on his hand. "Yes!" Kirby answered irritability, then continued, "What else ya' got..? PICKLES. DO NOT FORGET THE FREAKING PICKLES. Uhm... Tarter sauce? Yeah yeah, sure. Tarter sauce. And, perhaps some fish sticks as well. Is human meat possible? Well if you got some, you know, spare human meat in the back or something, then throw that in, too. Some worms too, if you got 'em. And a slice of pizza or two would be cool. And maybe some-"

"DQ BLIZZARD!"

"WHAT?!"

"DQ BLIZZARD!"

Suddenly, a large cup of ice cream splatted against Subway's window. "Oh yeah, throw in some of those, too," Kirby said to the employee, pointing to the cup of Dairy Queen ice cream. But the employee didn't seem to hear him. He started running around in circles and screamed, "The DQ Blizzards are coming! The DQ Blizzards are coming!"

"Hey, what about my sub?" Kirby asked. "I got money!" He held out a single dollar bill.

"Kirby, we gotta get outta here!" Waddle Dee cried. He turned around and ran towards Kirby so fast that the glass fell off of his face. "What? Why?" Kirby asked, confuzzled.* "Don't you remember what we were just in?!" Waddle Dee yelled angrily. "Do you really want to get caught in another fast-food war?! Huh?! Is that what you want, Kirby?!"

"I am not leaving until I get my sub," Kirby said, crossing his arms and sticking his tongue out at Waddle Dee. "Fine!" Waddle Dee scoffed angrily. He turned around and stomped out the door, heading far, far away from Subway.

"Give me my freaking sub!" Kirby snapped. His yell was drowned out, however, by a large group of DQ Blizzards raining down on the restaurant. "Waddle Dee was right!" He thought worriedly. Then, he thought, "Pff, whatever. I'm still not leaving 'till I get my sub."

"Heeeelp!" The employee cried, ducking down under the counter. "The DQ Blizzards are here!"

"Thanks for the warning!" Another employee scoffed. The windows suddenly shattered with a deafening craaaash!

"Throw the meatball subs!" A guy yelled. He wore a tag that read, "Hello, my name is Fred," with "Fred" written in handwriting. Below that, in bold letters, was printed "Manager."

Each employee picked up a meatball sub. They began chucking them out the window, but it was no use; the Dairy Queen army had already arrived. "ATTACK!" The DQ manager shouted. The DQ employees began throwing all different kinds of ice cream at them. "Hold them back!" Fred yelled, picking up a turkey sub and throwing it at the DQ manager.

"Conquer them!" The DQ manger, whose name Kirby later learned was Bob (aren't I so creative with these names?), ordered. The two restaurants continued fighting. Unfortunately for Kirby, he was caught in the middle of it, so he wound up getting covered with subs and ice cream. "And yet I still have not received my sub..." Kirby thought.

"Psst!"

Kirby looked around confusedly.

"Kirby, over here! Under the table!"

Kirby looked under the table. To his surprise, it was Bandana Waddle Dee. "Waddle Dee?" Kirby asked. "Quick!" Waddle Dee cried in a whisper. Kirby crawled under the table next to him. "I thought you left?"

"Did you really think that I was gonna leave you in this?" Waddle Dee asked. "Yes," Kirby answered. "The way you stomped out and all..."

"Of course not!" Waddle Dee answered, then added, "so let's just wait this war out, then we can sneak out the back door like we did at McDonald's."

"But what about my sub?!" Kirby whined. "Kirby," Waddle Dee sighed. "You're not getting your sub today. I'm sorry, but Subway's obviously got bigger issues on their hands right now."

"Well that was a waste of an evening," Kirby muttered. "I was really looking forward to that-"

"KIRBY LOOK OUT!!"

"Wha-" Kirby was cut off as a DQ Blizzard hit him in the face. "AHHH IT'S SO COLD!!" Kirby screamed. "GET IT OFF!!"

"Shh!" Waddle Dee snapped. Kirby frantically wiped his face over and over again until he finally got the ice cream off. As soon as he got it off, he heard laughter. Kirby looked up in shock to see Meta Knight alongside the Dairy Queen employees, laughing at how his ice cream hit Kirby in the face.

"Meta Knight!" Kirby gasped. "You work at Dairy Queen?"

"Eh," Meta Knight said, shrugging. "Just trying to make a living." He threw another cup of ice cream, laughing again as it hit Kirby's head. "Stahp!" Kirby yelled, wiping the ice cream off his face again.

Meta Knight laughed repeatedly as he continued to throw ice cream at Kirby. "Leave my friend alone!" Waddle Dee demanded bravely, jumping in front of Kirby. Meta Knight laughed even harder and fell on the floor. After he'd caught his breath, he stood back up and threw ice cream at Waddle Dee, still laughing.

However, Waddle Dee absorbed the ice cream through his face. (Oh yeah, I went on the Kirby Wiki, and apparently Waddle Dee eats by absorbing food through his face. I was like, "wait what")

"Aha... Aha, huh?" Meta Knight asked, confused. Waddle Dee glared at him, absorbing the last of the ice cream on his face. "Uh..." Meta trailed off.

"Wait a minute," Kirby interrupted. He stood up, picked up a half-empty cup of ice cream, and threw the ice cream as far as he could, which wasn't very far. He just managed to hit Meta Knight. "Ha!" Kirby laughed. "How do you like it?"

Meta Knight's only reply was a slow, somewhat exasperated, blink. "Ha ha ha!" Kirby laughed as he picked up the half-empty cups of ice cream Meta Knight had thrown at him and threw them back. "Take that! And that! And that! Mwahahahaaaaa!!"

"That's enough!!"

Kirby, Meta Knight, and Waddle Dee all spun around at the sound of Fred's yell. He held a giant sub filled with hamburger, lettuce, tomatoes, mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, meatballs, sausage, a few globs of frosting mixed in, peppers, turkey, salami, fish, oranges, beans, lettuce, a clump of dirt, a stick of butter, lots of salt, tarter sauce, fish sticks, surprisingly some human meat, a bunch of worms, two slices of pizza, and spoonfuls of Dairy Queen ice cream.

Kirby gasped. His sub!

Fred glared at Bob, who was frozen with shock, along with all the DQ employees. "Take your Dairy Queen employees and get out right now, before I throw this sub at you."

"Now now!" Bob backed up. "Let's not be too hasty-"

Fred threateningly held up the sub. "Retreat!!" Bob screamed, turning around and running out the broken wall, with his employees following behind.

"Shouldn't you go with them?" Waddle Dee asked Meta Knight. "Eh." Meta Knight sat down. "I didn't really like that job, anyway."

"MY SUB!!" Kirby sprinted up to Fred. "Oh, you're the one that ordered this?" Fred asked, looking down at Kirby. "Well, I'd say that you're pretty little to eat something like this. Eyes bigger than your stomach, perhaps?"

"Nuh-uh!" Kirby insisted.

"Well, if you say so." Fred gave Kirby his sub. "Here you go, kiddo."

"Yaaaay!" Kirby excitedly took a bite of his sub. "Well, how is it?" Fred asked, smiling. Kirby chewed the food for a moment. It was good, but...

"YOU FORGOT THE PICKLES!!" Kirby roared. "Ah! Oh no! I'm so sorry!" Fred cried, falling on the floor. "Sorry's not good enough..!" Kirby growled, throwing his sub on the floor. There was a small fire in the corner (courtesy of Bob) that nobody had seemed to notice yet. But Kirby noticed it. He ran over to the fire, inhaled it, and got the fire power-up.

"I'm sorryyyyyyy!" Fred cried, running in circles. His employees did the same. "We're sorry, we're sorryyyyy!"

But Kirby didn't care, and proceeded to breathe fire along the walls, igniting them. "Run, fool!" Meta Knight cried at Waddle Dee, running for the exit. The two fell on the ground outside, panting. Well, Waddle Dee, at least. Meta Knight just kinda stood there with perfect stamina. He watched as Subway was ignited into a large, hot fire.

"Wh-what about Kirby?" Waddle Dee asked worriedly. "Good point." Meta Knight blinked. "But I'm sure he'll be fine." Meta Knight continued watching the fire, the flames reflecting on his mask. He chuckled evilly, causing Waddle Dee to back up with fear.

"Th-There's no way Kirby survived that..!" Waddle Dee began to tremble. "H-He's gone!" Waddle Dee lost it after that, and curled into a trembling ball, sobbing violently.

"He'll be fine," Meta Knight repeated, although slightly uncertain. He was glad that Waddle Dee couldn't see that he was feeling uncertain. Suddenly, a loud CRASH echoed throughout the area. The roof of Subway caved in and crushed the entire building. Anyone that was still alive in there would've been crushed...

Meta Knight kept waiting; waiting for Kirby to appear. After about 10 minutes, he finally gave up. Kirby was gone.

"Hey! What happened?!"

Meta Knight recognized King Dedede's voice. "Kirby happened," he stated, not turning around to face his King as he normally would. "Dammit!" King Dedede angrily threw his giant hammer on the ground. "I was just about to get a sub!" He looked around, then asked, "Where's Kirby at, anyway?"

Waddle Dee was the first to speak. "He's... Gone." His last word came out as a sob, and he curled into a ball and resumed crying.

"Meta?" King Dedede asked, turning to the knight. "Is that true..?"

"Yes," Meta Knight sighed. "It is. Kirby's... Gone." He kept his gaze focused on the ground.

"Why aren't you looking at me?" King Dedede asked. "You're supposed to face me when you're speaking. Uh... I think."

Meta Knight turned around and looked up at King Dedede. King Dedede was surprised by the emotion he saw in Meta Knight's eyes. Pain, grief, regret, confusion, disbelief, sorrow, derpiness... It was quite a difference, since his eyes usually showed no emotion at all.

King Dedede sat down next to the two, watching the burning Subway. They were all thinking about the memories they had of Kirby, even if they weren't the best (like Kirby stealing King Dedede's cake and destroying his castle countless times, Kirby destroying Meta Knight's ship, along with his plans of taking over Dreamland, and Kirby eating hundreds upon thousands of Waddle Dees).

"Hiii!"

"Damn voices in my head," Meta Knight mumbled.

"Kirbyyyy!" Waddle Dee screamed. He stood up and ran towards where the sound came from, leaving Meta Knight and King Dedede alone. King Dedede leaned towards Meta Knight. "So... You hear voices in your head, too?"

Meta Knight didn't bother replying. Then, Waddle Dee returned. Meta Knight turned around, and widened his eyes in surprise when he saw Kirby with him. "Kirby?!"

"Hi!" Kirby waved. Meta Knight ran over to Kirby and picked him up. "How?!" He asked, shaking Kirby. "I had an extra life." Kirby blinked. "You know those 1UPs I get? Well, I had one, and it came in handy. Saved my life."

Meta Knight put Kirby back down, relieved, but not daring to show it. "I can't believe you actually made me feel emotions for you!"

"Aww!" Kirby gushed. "I always knew that you secretly loved me!"

"What? No I-"

"Group hug!!" Kirby cried, pulling both Waddle Dee and Meta Knight into a tight hug. "Ehhh..." Meta Knight shifted uncomfortably. He was definitely not a hugger. Kirby eventually let go of them. "Anyways, what do you guys say to a sleepover?" He asked eagerly.

"Of course!" Waddle Dee answered. "Oh hell no!"** Meta Knight replied at the same time. Kirby didn't get to reply however, as King Dedede interrupted them. "DID SOMEONE SAY 'SLEEPOVER'?!" He asked excitedly, jumping in the middle of them. King Dedede looked around, confused when he only saw Meta Knight and Waddle Dee. "Where'd Kirby go?"

"Underneath you..." Waddle Dee said, slightly worried that Kirby might have gotten crushed underneath King Dedede. King Dedede stood up, revealing a flattened Kirby. "Oh... Sorry, Kirbs," King Dedede apologized. Kirby didn't move.

"Whoops..." King Dedede turned back to a wide-eyed Waddle Dee and Meta Knight. "Well, he's got another life." King Dedede shrugged, then uncertainly asked, "Right..?"


*"Confuzzled" is a word, right?

**Sharknado 3 was funny :3

•6• SLEEPOVER!

I just realized that I've been calling Bandana Waddle Dee "Waddle Dee" instead of "Bandana" for the past few chapters. Whoops.

Well, I'm too lazy to go back and fix those errors. I fixed it in this chapter, though. Hopefully I won't mess up again in the future chapters! Anyway, on with the story...


Well, luckily, Kirby was able to be revived. It started with Bandana Waddle Dee attempting to give him CPR, which didn't work out, because he doesn't exactly have a mouth...

"I can't do it!" Bandana exclaimed, breaking away from Kirby. "I don't have a mouth! One of you needs to do it!"

"I ain't doin' it," King Dedede said, backing up. Bandana turned to Meta Knight. "Meta, you have to! Please!"

"Um... I don't have a mouth, either," Meta Knight lied. "Yes you do," Bandana said, narrowing his eyes in confusion. "How would you know?" Meta challenged. "I'm wearing my mask most of the time!"

"So it is a mask..." King Dedede murmured quietly to himself.

"Meta, please!" Bandana pleaded. "Ugh. Fiiiiine," Meta Knight groaned, rolling his eyes. "But I'm not giving him CPR. I have another technique that will work, though."

Meta Knight walked over to Kirby, who was still unconscious. He reached into his infinite cape, and pulled out a shiny, red apple. "Kiiiirby," he called, waving the apple above Kirby. "Wha..." Kirby blinked open his eyes. His eyes widened when he saw the apple being waved above him. "APPLE!!" He sprang up quickly, and bit the apple whole. Unfortunately, he bit Meta Knight's hand as well as the apple.

"Ow!" Meta Knight cried, flinging Kirby off of him. Kirby proceeded to nom on the apple. "So, sleepover?" Kirby asked after a moment or two, his voice muffled by the apple. "Sure, Kirby!" Bandana replied. "YES!!" King Dedede screamed. "I don't think I have a choice..." Meta Knight mumbled.

"Great! Let's go!" Kirby trotted off towards his house, with Bandana, King Dedede, and Meta Knight following.

The author was too lazy to write about their "journey" to Kirby's house, so he just fast-fowarded.

"We are here!" Kirby announced. "Yay!" Bandana cheered. "I'm gonna go jump on your bed!" King Dedede exclaimed, running to Kirby's room. "No!" Kirby cried. "You're too fat! You're gonna break it!"

But King Dedede didn't seem to care, and he jumped on Kirby's bed anyway.

"Okay, good night," Meta Knight said, laying down on Kirby's couch and wrapping his cape around himself. "Nobody touch me, bother me, wake me, look at me, or think about me."

Kirby and Bandana watched him for a moment, then Kirby walked over to him and sat on the couch next to him. "You didn't say anything about sitting next to you," Kirby smiled smugly when Meta Knight glared at him. "It counts as bothering me," Meta mumbled, turning away from Kirby and laying down on his other side.

CRASH!

"Dammit, Dedede!" Kirby yelled. "I told you that you'd break my friggen' bed!"

"It wasn't me!" King Dedede called. "It came from outside!"

The four ran outside to find where the noise came from. Well, Kirby kinda just dragged Meta Knight by his cape. They eventually found the source of the sound: It was Galacta Knight!

"Galacta Knight?!" Meta asked.

"Yep," Galacta Knight replied. "I am here for reveeeeeenge!"

"Excuse me for a moment," Meta Knight said to Kirby, King Dedede, and Bandana. He walked over to a nearby tree, and said to King Dedede, "You might want to cover their ears." He then proceeded to beat the tree with his sword. He screamed every single swear word you could think of, even some in other languages.

King Dedede covered Kirby and Bandana's ears (or at least where they would've been), preventing them from hearing Meta Knight's swears.

Galacta Knight watched his enemy with a confused expression, especially when he began cussing in Japanese.

After what seemed like forever, Meta Knight stopped beating the tree and fell silent. He wasn't even panting. Meta Knight always had perfect stamina for some reason.

"Fight me," Galacta Knight demanded, pointing his sword at Meta Knight. "That's my saying!" Meta Knight complained. "Tough cookies," Galacta Knight retorted. He poked Meta Knight's side with his sword. "Fight me!"

"Ow," Meta Knight said, pushing away Galacta Knight's sword. "I don't want to fight you."

"Fight me you weak puffball!" Galacta Knight snapped, poking Meta Knight with his sword again, but harder this time. "Oooooh," Kirby said. "You're not gonna take that, are you Mety? Come on! Show him what you can do! Do it! Just do it!"

"But I don't want to..." Meta Knight sat down, wrapping his cape around himself. "I don't see why I should fight him, unless he is a threat."

"I'm not a threat?!" Galacta Knight asked. "Humph, well I'll be a threat!"

Galacta Knight ran over to Kirby, grabbed him, then flew up into the air. "Oh Metyyy!" He taunted. "I got your precious Kirbyyy! Am I a threat now?"

"Kirby's trained," Meta Knight replied. "He can fight."

"This little thing?" Galacta Knight asked, studying Kirby. Kirby glared at him, and began punching him repeatedly in the face. "Ow! OW! Jeeze, I'm sorry! Ah! Alright, alright! I'm putting you down!"

Galacta Knight placed Kirby on the ground next to Meta Knight. "Are you proud of me, daddy?" Kirby asked eagerly. "Very," Meta answered, rolling his eyes.

"DADDY?!" King Dedede, Bandana, and Galacta Knight screamed at the same time. "Who's the mommy?" Galacta Knight asked, smirking underneath his mask. "Well, I did pretty much raise him," Meta Knight replied. He ignored Galacta Knight's question.

"I nominate you for world's worst father!" Galacta Knight said, raising his hand. "What? Why?" Meta Knight asked. "Well, let's see..." Galacta Knight began, thinking. "You've had sword battles with Kirby numerous times, and you tried to kill him a bunch of times. You claim to help Kirby, yet you've never actually helped him in a battle. At least that I'm aware of. You're too stern. You're really mean. And overall, you are just a horrible father figure."

"You can be really mean," Kirby piped up.

"I've had sword battles with him," Meta Knight began, ignoring Kirby's comment. "But I wasn't trying to kill him. One time he fought me because I was trying to stop him from fighting... Well, I can't remember his name, but it was someone big and dangerous. I didn't want to fight Kirby, but he wanted to fight me. Angry, he was. Maybe it was because I was getting in the way of him getting his cake back. I'm really not sure. Another time, he was trying to stop me from taking over Dreamland-"

"You... You tried to take over Dreamland?" Galacta Knight asked. Meta Knight nodded, somewhat proudly. Galacta Knight fell over and burst into laughter. "You actually thought you could take over Dreamland?! Seriously?! Aha ha ha ha! You're a tiny, blue and purple puffball! I can't believe you actually thought you could take over Dreamland!"

"Hilarious," Meta Knight said, rolling his eyes. "I think that you had a pretty good chance," Bandana said. "Remember? I was there with you!"

"No you weren't. That was Sailor Waddle Dee," Meta Knight replied. "Oh. Well what happened to everyone else, anyway?" Bandana asked. "After the ship crashed in the ocean?" Meta asked. "Mhm." Bandana nodded.

"Well," Meta Knight began. "After the ship crashed in the ocean, the only ones that made it out alive I believe were Vul, Blade Knight, Sword Knight, Axe Knight, Mace Knight, and myself. Everyone else on the ship either drowned, or got away without us knowing."

"You... You thought you were with them?" Kirby asked, stepping forward and looking at Bandana. "Yeah, I guess," Bandana replied. "Traitor!" Kirby gasped. "But we're all friends now!" Bandana insisted.

"Wait..." Meta Knight interrupted the two. "But you weren't the Waddle Dee that was there. It was Sailor Waddle Dee, not you, Bandana Waddle Dee."

"Oh, right," Bandana said.

"Continuing with our dispute..." Meta Knight said, turning to Galacta Knight as he continued. "I've helped Kirby plenty of times. I can't help him all the time, though. I need to let him do things on his own sometimes. It's good practice for his training, as well. Too stern? It's called disciplining. Something you obviously never had as a child."

Galacta Knight gasped. "You dare insult me?!"

"I wasn't insulting you," Meta Knight stated. "I was just saying that you've obviously never been disciplined."

"Uuuuuugh can you two please continue this tomorrow?" King Dedede interrupted. "I'm hungry! And tired... But mostly hungry!"

"Yeah," Kirby interrupted. "You two can continue this argument in the morninggg."

"Very well," Meta Knight said, turning away from Galacta Knight and going over to Kirby. "We'll continue this tomorrow," he said, turning to Galacta. "Fiiine," Galacta Knight groaned. He turned around and walked into the forest.

"Now, it's SLEEPOVER TIMEEE!" Kirby yelled. The four went back inside.

"I CALL THE COUCH!" King Dedede yelled, jumping onto the couch. It bounced and squeaked underneath his weight. "Okay," Kirby shrugged. "Oh, that's fine," Meta Knight mumbled. "I'll just sleep on the floor, then." He laid down on the floor and wrapped his cape around himself.

"Can I sleep on the end of your bed or something?" Bandana asked. "Sure," Kirby replied. "I have some spare pillows and blankets in the closet that you can use."

"Okay, thanks!" Bandana called, running into Kirby's room. "I'm gonna go raid your fridge," King Dedede said, getting up and heading towards the kitchen. Now, Kirby was left alone in the living room with Meta Knight.

"So..." Kirby began, sitting down next to his mentor. "How've you been doing?"

"Fine," Meta Knight replied. "That's good," Kirby commented. "I wonder how Galacta Knight found us," Meta Knight murmured, mostly to himself. "Who is he, anyway?" Kirby asked. "Is he your brother or something?"

"Many assume that," Meta Knight answered. "But we're not. We are more like frenemies, I suppose. We have a very, very long past, one that you would most likely fall asleep listening to."

"I won't fall asleep!" Kirby insisted. "You sure?" Meta Knight asked. "Yeah!" Kirby said. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell meeeee!!"

"Okay, okay. Calm down there," Meta Knight said. Kirby stopped his pleading and stared up at Meta Knight with wide, puppy-like eyes. "Well..." Meta began. "The first time we met was when-"

"Zzzz.... ERGH BLERGH! Zzzzz...."

Meta Knight was interrupted by the sound of Kirby's ridiculously loud snoring. He sighed. He should've known that Kirby would wind up falling asleep... But within the first 5 seconds? Oh come on!

"Hey Kirby," King Dedede called. "You need to go grocery shopping."

"I just went yesterdaaay!" Kirby whined, snapping awake. "Yeah..." King Dedede said as he walked into the living room, eating a large drumstick. "Like I said, you need to go get more food."

"Uuuugh," Kirby groaned, flopping onto his back on the floor.

"I'm goin' to sleep," King Dedede mumbled, flopping on the couch. "...And Bandana's probably sleeping in my room." Kirby smirked at Meta Knight. "I guess that just leaves you and me, Mety."

Meta Knight sighed. They went into Kirby's room. Meta Knight sat on his bed, leaning against a pillow. Kirby sat next to him. Bandana was sitting at the end of the bed. Upon seeing Meta Knight and Kirby, he joined them.

The three sat in silence for a while, until Kirby asked, "Say... Meta? Didn't you and Dedede die when you fell in that conveniently placed lava pit earlier?"

Meta Knight seemed like he was about to answer, but Kirby interrupted him.

"Why do you never die?" Kirby went on. "Your ship crashed into the ocean--with you on it!--and you didn't drown. You've been in numerous, crazy, life-threatening situations, yet you're still alive. Then you fell into a freaking lava pit, and you didn't die!"

"Hey, look." Meta Knight pointed out the window. "It's Nightmare!"

"Where?!" Kirby gasped, turning his attention to outside. There was nothing. Nothing but the ol' trees. Kirby turned back around, and much to his confusion, noticed that Meta Knight had vanished. "What the fudge?!" He asked. "Meta just disappeared!"

"No he didn't," Bandana said. He pointed upwards and said, "He flew into the fan."

Kirby looked up and saw Meta Knight, his cape/wings tangled in Kirby's spinning fan. "Curse you, faaaaan!" Meta Knight angrily cried.

Kirby shook his head at Meta Knight's derpiness. "Should we go to sleep?" Bandana suggested. "What about Meta, though?" Kirby asked. "Eh. He's Meta Knight; he'll get out of it." Bandana shrugged.

"Good point." Kirby got into his bed, putting on his sleeping hat. Bandana grabbed a spare pillow and blanket from Kirby's closet, then set them up at the end of Kirby's bed. "Night, Bandana," Kirby yawned sleepily. "Goodnight Kirby," Bandana replied.

Kirby closed his eyes, eventually falling into a peaceful sleep.

•7• Pool Party

Okay, I've finally decided what to call Bandanna Waddle Dee. From now on, I'm calling him Bandanna Dee. Now I just need to keep typing "Bandanna" instead of "Bandana" because that's what autocorrect keeps telling me to do...


Kirby woke up screaming from a nightmare. "Great Nova!" Kirby heard Meta Knight exclaim. Kirby blinked, and realized Meta Knight was laying next to him. He must've gotten out of the fan and fallen asleep next to Kirby for some reason. "No!" Kirby screamed. "I am not your son!" He yelled, shoving Meta Knight off of his bed and onto the floor.

"Kirby, what the hell?!"

Kirby was silent for a moment, then he realized that it was just a dream. Meta Knight and King Dedede weren't his parents; it was just a bad dream. "Er... Sorry," Kirby awkwardly apologized. "I just had a bad dream."

"I'll say," Meta Knight mumbled, sitting up, but still remaining on the floor. "Why were you sleeping next to me, anyway?" Kirby asked. "I fell asleep in the fan," Meta Knight replied. "I must've fallen out of the fan while I was asleep and somehow wound up next to you."

It was the middle of the night; Kirby could tell by the lighting. There weren't any sources of light, except for Meta Knight's glowing, yellow eyes. "So you had a dream where I was your father?" Meta Knight asked. "What's so bad about that?"

"That wasn't the bad part." Kirby shuddered. "King Dedede was my mother, and luckily, I woke up right we he was about to give me... The talk."

"You had every right to scream, then," Meta Knight said. "Well, try going back to sleep," he added. "Where are you going to sleep, though?" Kirby asked. "I'll find somewhere," Meta Knight mumbled, getting up and starting to walk out of Kirby's room. "Nooo," Kirby whined, sitting up and grabbing Meta Knight by his cape. "You're not sleeping on the floor. You can sleep with me, if you want."

"No thanks..." Meta Knight said. "That's... Awkward."

"Well would you rather sleep on the floor?" Kirby retorted. "As a matter of fact, yes, I would," Meta Knight answered. "Well too bad," Kirby muttered, pulling Meta Knight onto his bed. Kirby thought a bit about his dream. He thought about what Meta Knight had said.

"He was really angry when I ended our relationship, though. He nearly demoted me from being a Knight! After a few days, he apologized for yelling at me and threatening to demote me. Then he asked if I'd still be his Knight, which I didn't refuse, of course."

"Meta?" Kirby asked. "Yes?" Meta Knight asked.

"Uhm... Who are you a Knight to, anyway? Are you King Dedede's Knight?"

"No," Meta Knight half-chuckled. "Why would I want to be a Knight to King Dedederp?"

"Sooo... You're just some random Knight from Popstar, then?" Kirby asked. "...Let's just go with that," Meta Knight said. "I'll tell you the full story later, since I'm sure that the readers are not interested in the author's made-up interpretation of my past."

"You... You broke the fourth wall," Kirby gasped. "Huh," Meta Knight remarked absently. "So I did."

"What's going on?" Bandanna Dee asked, turning on the lamp. Kirby hissed as he covered his eyes from the sudden light.

"Kirby had a nightmare, is all," Meta Knight replied. "Oh, nothing too bad, I hope?" Bandanna Dee fretted. "Try having Meta Knight and King Fatty as your parents," Kirby scoffed. "What is so bad about having me as your father?!" Meta Knight asked again. "Uhm..." Kirby thought for a moment, then replied, "Everything that Galacta Knight said earlier!"

"Galacta Knight's full of crap!" Meta Knight retorted. "You're full of crap!" Kirby shot back.

"Your mom's full of crap!"

"I don't even have a mom!"

"Neither do I!"

"So we're basically just orphans then?!"

"Pretty much!"

"Oh."

The two fell silent after that. "Do you believe in unicorns?" Bandanna Dee asked, attempting to start a conversation. "What's a unicorn?" Meta Knight and Kirby asked at the same time. "Jinx!" Kirby exclaimed, punching Meta Knight's shoulder. Well, he tried to, at least. Kirby just hit Meta Knight's shoulder pad, then held his hand in pain.

Knock knock!

"Now who would knock on my door at this hour?" Kirby asked, scratching his head. "Well, let's go see," Meta Knight said as he hopped off of Kirby's bed and headed to the front door. "It's 12 in the morning!" Bandanna Dee mused as he followed the two. Meta Knight was the one to open the door. Guess who it was?? Galacta Knight.

"Oh my goooosh," Meta Knight groaned. "Galacta, I told you that I'd fight you tomorrow."

"But it is tomorrow!" Galacta Knight retorted. He took out a pocket watch, and, shoving it in Meta Knight's face, said, "See? 12:01! It is now offically the next day!"

"Did you really stay up until midnight, just to challange Meta Knight at exactly 12:01?" Kirby asked. "That's pretty sad, you know. It makes you look like you have no life, which is probably true."

"It is true," Galacta Knight said quietly. Very, very quietly. He put away his pocket watch and stared at the ground.

"Well, if you don't have anything else to do, maybe you could sleepover with us!" Kirby suggested eagerly.

"Oh hell no!" Meta Knight interrupted. "Oh hell yes!" Kirby retorted.

"Sure." Galacta Knight shrugged. "I don't really have a house or anything, anyway."

"Great! Come on!" Kirby called as he headed back inside. Bandanna Dee trotted behind him. Galacta Knight was about to follow the pink puffball, but Meta Knight blocked him. "I don't trust you," he said, narrowing his eyes.

"I don't trust you either," Galacta Knight retorted, narrowing his eyes as well. The two Knights continued to stare each other down, until Kirby and Bandanna Dee came outside and interrupted them. "Come ooon," Kirby whined as he stepped inbetween the two. "You'll catch a cold if you stay outside too long!" Bandanna Dee fretted. Meta Knight reluctantly stepped aside to let Galacta Knight inside, glaring at him. Galacta Knight didn't seem to notice that Meta Knight still disapproved.

"Sooo..." Galacta Knight said once the four were inside. Meta Knight sat on a windowsill, giving Galacta Knight the death stare, even though he wasn't even facing him. "Where's your horse?" Kirby asked. "What..?" Galacta Knight asked, confused. "Why would I have a horse?"

"Well, I just assumed that you would, since you have a jousting weapon," Kirby explained as he pointed at Galacta Knight's jousting-like weapon. "Oh," Galacta Knight said. "Well I don't have a horse. And it's called a lance."

"Ah," was Kirby's only reply. "This is great," Meta Knight scoffed from where he was still sitting on the windowsill. "Why don't we just invite Magolor over, too?"

"That's a great idea!" Kirby smiled. "What--Kirby, I was being sarcastic!" Meta Knight exclaimed. Kirby didn't listen to him, though. He ran over to his house phone and dialed in a number. After a few seconds, he said, "Heyyyy Magolor! Meta Knight, Bandanna Dee, King Dedede, Galacta Knight and I are having a sleepover! You wanna join us??"

"YEEEES!" Magolor screamed. "Who's idea was it to invite me over, anyway? Yours?"

"It was actually Meta Knight's."

"I was being sarcastic!" Meta Knight yelled in the background.

"Well... Okay then," Magolor said. "I shall be over in about 3 minutes."

"Great! Bye-bye!" Kirby hung up the phone. "Kirby..." Meta Knight groaned. "Anyone else I should invite?" Kirby asked. "Why don't you invite Nightmare?" Meta Knight asked sarcastically. "Alrighty then." Kirby shrugged as he walked back over to his house phone. "He can't... He isn't," Meta Knight chuckled somewhat nervously, feeling dizzy. Kirby dialed a phone number and waited as it rang. "Oh gosh, he is." Meta Knight shook his head. "Nightmare will be here, right here, right in front of me, right in front of us, able to kill us all... Kill us all..." Meta Knight alternated between nervous chuckles and moans of distress as he continued to ramble on, frequently mumbling "kill us all."

"Er... Are you alright?" Bandanna Dee asked, as he sat on the windowsill next to him and touched his forehead. Kirby stared at Meta Knight, the line on the phone dead. "Dude, I was just joking. Chill out. Nightmare is dead. I killed him, remember?"

"Oh," was Meta Knight's only reply.

"The guy's seen a lot in his life. Give him a break, will ya'?"

"THE PENGUIN'S AWAKE!!" Galacta Knight screamed. Yup, King Dedede was awake. "Yeah, I know," Kirby said. "Meta's old."

Meta Knight sat up and cleared his throat, trying to look dignified, as if he hadn't just been moaning about Nightmare coming back. "Kirby, I'm not that--"

"OOOOOOLD," Kirby interrupted.

"Kirby--"

"OOOOLD!"

"Kir--"

"YOU. ARE. OOOOLD!!"

"Kirby--"

"Old old old old old old OLD!!"

"Oooold!" Galacta Knight joined in. The two of them continued annoying Meta Knight. "OOOOLD! Oldie oldie oldie OOOLD! Old, you're so old. OLD! Seriously, you're, like, ancient dude. OOOOOOLD! You're so oooold!!"

"Ooh, are you annoying Meta Knight?" A new voice asked. Everyone turned to see the arriver that had just appeared in Kirby's house. "Hi, Magolor!" Kirby said. "And yeah, we're calling Meta Knight old. Would you care to join us?"

"Hell yeah!" Magolor responded instantly. He joined in with Kirby and Galacta Knight's taunting. "OOOOLD! You are OOOOLD! OLD! OOOOOOLD! You're older than my mom! OOOLD! Who's old? YOU ARE!! Ha-ha-ha!! OOOOLD!"

"Hilarious." Meta Knight rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I think you've made your point. I'm sure the readers are sick of reading the word 'old' by now."

"YOU BROKE THE FOURTH WALL AGAIN!!" Kirby screamed. "Fantastic," Meta Knight answered sarcastically, rolling his eyes again.

"OLD!" Galacta Knight shouted. "Like you're any younger," Meta Knight scoffed in reply. "OOOOLD!" Magolor shouted. "Well--Er, I don't really know how old you are..." Meta Knight scratched his head. "But I'm sure that you're not all that young, either."

"Leave him alone!" Bandanna Dee demanded, taking out his spear and pointing it at the two. Kirby whistled casually as Magolor's and Galacta Knight's eyes grew wide. "He's been through a lot in his life! He's... Er.... Been through some...stuff, probably lost quite a few loved ones through the years, uhm, uhm..." Bandanna Dee fell silent for a moment, then quietly whispered to Meta Knight, "Er, I-I don't know what else to say... I have no idea what you've been through in your life..!"

"You don't have to defend me," Meta Knight said as he stood up, brushing his cape. He was still taken aback that the young Waddle Dee had defended him. "I do appreciate it, though," he added when he noticed Bandanna Dee's defeated expression.

Galacta Knight cleared his throat. "Well..."

"I have a pool," Kirby spoke up. "WHAT REALLY?!" Magolor squealed. "POOL PARTY!" Galacta Knight screamed. The two of them ran out the back door.

"Wait for meeee!!" Kirby called as he ran after them. "Come on, Meta Knight!" Bandanna Dee called as he trotted after Kirby. "You too, King Dedede!"

Screw it; I'm tired of changing "Bandana" to "Bandanna", so I'm sticking with Bandana.

Dedede had already fallen asleep again, so he didn't hear Bandana Dee. Meta Knight reluctantly followed Bandana Dee.

"LAST ONE IN'S A META KNIGHT!" Galacta Knight screamed as he did a cannonball into the pool. He was followed by Magolor, Kirby, and Bandana Dee.

"Hey--Oh..." Meta Knight trailed off. He wrapped his cape around himself and stood by the edge of the pool, watching the four have fun.

"You look so serious," Kirby said as he studied Meta Knight's eyes. "Why don't you invite over Blade Knight and Sword Knight? The more the merrier!"

"They would never fall victim to your childish acts!" Meta Knight huffed. He turned his back to Kirby, his cape making a whoosh sound.

"DID SOMEONE SAY POOL PARTY?!"

"Oh, for the love of--" Meta Knight didn't get to finish his statement, as he was cut off by his Knights. "CANNONBALL!!" Blade Knight screeched as he dove into the pool. "I DON'T WANNA BE A META KNIGHT!" Sword Knight screamed as he dove into the pool as well.

"How did you two find me?" Meta Knight asked once they had quieted down. "Oh, we follow you everywhere, Meta Knight," Blade Knight responded. "Everywhere..." Sword Knight whispered, his eyes wide.

"What... Even in the bathroom?" Meta Knight asked, taking a step backwards. "We're always watching you, Sir..." Sword Knight whispered, his eyes growing even wider. "Sir?" Meta Knight echoed. "I like that. Keep calling me Sir."

"You are far from Sir," Galacta Knight butted in. He was sitting on Kirby's roof now, looking down at Meta Knight. "SHUT YOUR FACE, GALACTA KNIGHT!" Sword Knight yelled. "Yeah!" Blade Knight agreed.

"YOU'RE NOT EVEN THE GREATEST WARRIOR IN THE GALAXY!" Sword Knight went on. "Yeah!" Blade Knight agreed.

"META KNIGHT BEAT YOU WITHOUT EVEN TRYING!"

"Yeah!"

"AND HE CAN CERTIANLY DO IT AGAIN WITHOUT EVEN TRYING!"

"Yeah!"

"SHUT UP, BLADE KNIGHT!"

"Yea--Oh...o-okay..."

Meta Knight sighed. Why did he have the stupidest Knights in Dreamland?

Galacta Knight scratched his head, confused. "Hey," Bandana Dee piped up from where he was sitting on a chair. "Meta, why don't you invite Sailor Dee over?" He suggested, in an effort to ease some of the tension.

"I haven't seen Sailor Dee for about 4 years," Meta Knight stated. "Surely, you must have some idea of his whereabouts..?" Bandana Dee asked, his eyes showing faint concern. "Nope," Meta Knight replied.

"You have no idea at all?"

"Nope."

"Oh dear... Sailor Dee, he didn't drown after the Halberd crashed... Did he?"

"No, I saved him."

"Oh; good." Bandana Dee let out a sigh of relief. "Sailor Dee?" Sword Knight asked. "I've got his phone number. It's 111-111-1111."

"Oh, uhm..." Meta Knight looked around. "Does anyone have a cell phone?"

"You don't have a cell phone?" Galacta Knight asked disbelievingly. "Er... No," Meta Knight answered. "That's because he's OLD!" Kirby yelled from where he was floating in circles in the pool. "OLD!" Magolor shouted from where he was floating in pointless circles above the pool.

"Uhm..." Bandana Dee awkwardly scratched his head. "No offense, Meta Knight, but you are kinda old... Not in a bad way, though! Like, the wise kind of old, not the old kind of old... Eh, if that makes sense..."

"OLD!" Galacta Knight shouted. "OLD!" Blade Knight and Sword Knight screamed in unison. "OLD!" King Dedede screamed; he had woken up and heard about the pool party, and was now outside.

"See, everyone agrees," Kirby said. He was now sitting in one of those floaty ring thingies. "Meta Knight is OLD!"

"Not everyone," a new voice spoke. "Whozat?!" Kirby asked, sitting up. Then, out of the bushes came Sailor Dee. All eyes turned to Bandana Dee. He was holding a flip phone, which was currently open. Bandana Dee wordlessly shut his phone and tucked it into his bandana.

"Meta Knight is not old," Sailor Dee said, narrowing his eyes.

"Yo! Waddle Dee!" Dedede called. "Where you been hiding at?!"

Sailor Dee's eyes widened, and he immediantly ran to hide in Meta Knight's cape. Meta Knight let Sailor Dee stay in his cape, even though Dedede had already seen him, so hiding was kinda pointless.

"Well, that's another party member," Kirby said, then, looking up at Meta Knight, asked, "What about Sir Squawk-a-lot?"

"Kirby..." Meta Knight sighed. "His name isn't 'Sir Squawk-a-lot.'" Even though Meta Knight said that wasn't Captain Vul's real name, he did chuckle a bit at Kirby's nickname for him. "But, yes, I do believe he is still alive and well."

"Then why don't you invite him over?" Kirby asked. "Like I said earlier; the more the merrier!"

"OH MY GOSH YES!!" Sword Knight screamed. "SIR SQUAWK-A-LOT IS BAAAACK!!"

"Ya--Hub blub blub bluh!" Came the muffled reply from Blade Knight. His body was completely underwater, and his head was just barely above the surface. "Er... Blade Knight?" Meta Knight asked. "Are you alright..?"

Sword Knight turned around to look at Blade Knight. "No, he's not," Sword Knight answered for Blade Knight. "He went into the deeper end of the pool, and now he's starting to drown because of his armor weighing him down."

"You two are such idiots..." Meta Knight groaned. "Hey, I stayed in the shallow end," Sword Knight pointed out.

"First of all, you should never jump into a pool, or any body of water, for that matter, while wearing full armor," Meta Knight began. "And second of all... Sword Knight, your fellow Knight is literally drowning, and you are doing absolutely nothing."

"Hey, I don't wanna end up like him," Sword Knight said. "I'm fine with staying alive, thank you very much."

"I don't see you doing anything, Meta Knight," Galacta Knight put his two cents in. "Yeah!" Magolor agreed, looking over at Meta Knight from where he was sitting--well, floating--on a chair. "That's different," Meta Knight stated as he sat down, wrapping his cape around himself, as he often did. Of course, doing this exposed Sailor Dee. Sailor Dee looked cautiously around, then quietly snuck over to where Bandana Dee was sitting at a table, playing solitaire.

"Sword Knight is closer to Blade Knight than I am. Therefore, it is Sword Knight's problem; not mine," Meta Knight explained.

"Rude!" Sword Knight scoffed loudly. The Knights were silent for a moment, with the exception of Blade Knight's muffled drowning noises. After a while, Sword Knight, turning to Kirby, said, "Go save him, will you?"

"But I don't wanna..." Kirby whined as he floated aimlessly around the pool; he'd abandoned his floaty tube. "Well, you're closer!" Sword Knight said, using Meta Knight's excuse. "But Blade Knight isn't my responsibility!" Kirby whined again. "Well, I'm a Knight, so you gotta do what I say!" Sword Knight huffed, puffing out his chest to try and make himself look bigger. "But I'm a Star Warrior!" Kirby shot back. "You can't go bossing Star Warriors around, just because you're a Knight! If anything, you should be taking orders from me!"

"Why would I take orders from you, pinky?"

"Because I am a Star Warrior. One of the last, too."

"One of the last..?"

"Oh yeah. Apparently, me and Meta Knight are the last Star Warriors. Weird, huh?"

Sword Knight didn't reply after that. He fell silent, his expression neutral. "Yeah, Meta's a Star Warrior, and you take orders from him," Kirby pointed out. "So you should take orders from me, too."

"You have a point..." Sword Knight admitted. "Yeah, of course I do," Kirby said. "Now go make me a dinner sandwich!"

"Uhm... Y-Yes, Sir!" Sword Knight said as he ran into Kirby's house to make him a dinner sandwich.

"You guys... Hub blub--are so--blub--mean!" Blade Knight tried to scoff, his voice muffled by the water. "Eh." Meta Knight shrugged. "I still need my revenge," Galacta Knight said, leaning down from where he was still on Kirby's roof to poke Meta Knight with his jousting weapon.

Meta Knight tried to stab him, but Galacta Knight held up his shield, blocking the attack. Meta Knight tried to stab him a second time, but again, Galacta Knight held up his shield. Meta Knight, now obviously irritated, kept trying to stab Galacta Knight.

"Ooh," Kirby said. "Fight!" He exclaimed. "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" Magolor and King Dedede chanted. "Please, no!" Bandana Dee exclaimed, turning around from where he was seated at a table with Sailor Dee, playing a game of cards. "Fighting is not necessary!" Sailor Dee exclaimed as he looked up from his hand of cards. Waddle Dees were usually the peace keepers in these types of situations.

"A fight?" Sword Knight asked, sticking his head out the kitchen window. "Ooh! Sounds interesting! I'll make popcorn!" With that, he retreated back inside. "Don't forget my dinner sandwich!" Kirby called after him.

"Screw popcorn," Dedede scoffed. "We should get tacos!"

"I'll call Taco Bell and place an order, Your Majesty," Bandana Dee said, placing his cards down and taking out his flip phone. "Is Taco Bell even open this late?" Sailor Dee asked. "Or early, I guess."

"I guess we'll find out," Bandana Dee said as he dialed Taco Bell's phone number. While he was doing that, Sailor Dee leaned forward to investigate the cards Bandana Dee had put down. "Wha--Hey!" Bandana Dee exclaimed. He quickly flipped his cards over. "You're cheating!"

"Sorry..." Sailor Dee apologized, leaning back and self-consciously adjusting his sailor hat. "Ah... It's alright," Bandana Dee said. "After all, it is only a game." He held his phone up to his nonexistent ear after that.

"Would you just fight me already, you lazy puffball?!" Galacta Knight snapped, stabbing Meta Knight. "I AM NOT A PUFFBALL!" Meta Knight shouted.

"I know how to resolve this!" Kirby exclaimed. He climbed out of the pool, then jumped in-between Galacta Knight and Meta Knight. "We will resolve this wiiiiiith... A JOUSTING MATCH!" Kirby announced.

"Oh hell--" Meta Knight began to protest, only to be cut off by Kirby. "Don't even start that, Meta. Anyway..." He turned to King Dedede and Magolor. "What do you guys think about a jousting match?"

"Eh." Dedede shrugged. "If there's food, then sure."

"Does it involve Meta Knight getting hurt or injured in any way?" Magolor asked eagerly.

"Probably," Kirby said.

"Then yes!"

"Okie dokie then," Kirby said as he turned back to Meta Knight and Galacta Knight. Bandana Dee and Sailor Dee were oblivious to the situation; Bandana Dee was placing an order at Taco Bell (apparently they were open at 1:00 in the morning!), and Sailor Dee was busy making card towers.

"Well, I guess you two are jousting," Kirby said. "But this chapter is getting a little too long--"

"That's what she said," Magolor interrupted. "Ew. Magolor, please. There are children and an elder here," Kirby said, shoving Magolor away by his face. "I AM NOT AN ELDER!" Meta Knight screamed. "Whatever." Kirby rolled his eyes. "Anyway, as I was saying, this chapter is getting a little too long, so let's have the jousting match in the next chapter. 'Kay?"

"Okay." Galacta Knight shrugged. "As long as I get to fight Meta Knight."

"Well look who's breaking the forth wall now," Meta Knight scoffed, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.

"It's settled!" Kirby announced. Then, turning to the readers, he announced, "This chapter has officially ended!"

•8• The Jousting Match ft. More Filler

"POSITIONS!" Kirby screamed. Meta Knight remained where he was standing, and Galacta Knight took a few steps back. Sailor Dee and Bandana Dee had given up on trying to stop the situation, and were now watching the preparation for the jousting match, their game of cards forgotten.

"I GOT THE POPCORN!" Sword Knight announced proudly, walking outside with a large bowl of popcorn. "HERE IT--Oops!" Sword Knight suddenly tripped and fell, sending the popcorn scattering everywhere. "OH NOOO!!" Kirby screamed. "5 SECOND RULE!" King Dedede screamed, running over to the popcorn and gathering as much as he could. "Ew." Kirby stuck his tongue out in disgust. "Dedede, a dog could've...sorted out its business in that spot for all you know."

"Eh." King Dedede shrugged before stuffing his face with popcorn. "Oh, I'm fine, but I appreciate your concern," Sword Knight scoffed as he got himself up. "You're welcome!" Kirby smiled before turning back to Meta Knight and Galacta Knight. "Aaaanyway, jousting match."

"We need horses, though," Galacta Knight pointed out. "We don't have horses," Meta Knight scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I will be your horse, Sir Meta Knight!" Sword Knight exclaimed.

"What? No, that's not what I--"

Meta Knight didn't get to finish his statement, as Sword Knight ran over to him and picked him up. "There," Sword Knight said as he settled Meta Knight onto his shoulders. "Now you have a horse!"

"Thanks..?" Meta Knight asked. "Anything for you, Sir!" Sword Knight responded cheerily.

"Well, I still don't have a horse!" Galacta Knight pouted. "Hmm..." Kirby said as he looked around. His gaze eventually settled on Magolor, who was busy juggling Bandana Dee's bandana and Sailor Dee's sailor hat. The two Waddle Dees were below him, pleading for their hats back. But Magolor was floating just out of reach of them. "Yo! Magolor!" Kirby called.

"What?" Magolor asked, looking over at Kirby as he continued to juggle. "You wanna be Galacta Knight's horse?" Kirby asked. "Do I have to..?" Magolor groaned. "You'll be contributing to Meta Knight's pain," Kirby pointed out. "Oh! Why didn't you just say so, then?" Magolor tossed Bandana Dee and Sailor Dee their beloved hats, then floated over to the other four.

" 'Kay, now that that's sorted out... JOUSTING TIME!" Kirby announced.

"HELP!" Blade Knight suddenly screamed. Everyone turned to look at him. No sooner than he had called for help, Blade Knight sunk into the water. "Idiot..." Meta Knight muttered, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Well, since nobody else is gonna save ya', I guess I will," Dedede sighed as he walked over to Blade Knight. He effortlessly grabbed Blade Knight and placed him by the side of the pool. "Th... Thank you, King!" Blade Knight gasped.

"Eh. You're my Knight." Dedede shrugged. "No I'm not," Blade Knight said. "But thank you for saving me anyway!"

"What..? Yes you are!" Dedede looked confused now. "You're my Knight... Right?"

"No, Your Majesty," Blade Knight replied as he stood up. "I am Meta Knight's Knight."

"That's not possible..." Dedede scratched his head. "Meta Knight can't have Knights, 'cause he is a Knight! And Meta's my Knight, anyway."

"Meta Knight isn't your Knight, either," Blade Knight said.

"Then why does he live in my castle? Huh?" Dedede asked.

"Uh, because he pays rent." Blade Knight answered like it was obvious. "Ergh... Nevermind," King Dedede mumbled, turning away from Blade Knight.

"Alright, alright!" Kirby called. "Enough with the random filler events! The author's been thinking that these chapters are getting way too long, so he's trying to shorten them!"

"But maybe the readers want longer chapters," Meta Knight pointed out. "Stop breaking the fourth wall, would you Meta?!" Kirby snapped. "But you just--ugh, nevermind..." Meta Knight trailed off.

"Okay, everyone shut up now!" Kirby yelled. "Nobody was even talking--" Dedede started to say, only to be yelled at by Kirby. "I said SHUT UP!! Anyway, now we will begin the jousting match. Unless, of course, some other random filler event were to happen..."

No sooner than Kirby finished his last statement, a giant, wind-up chicken fell out of the sky! "What the actually fu--" Magolor began, only to be slapped in the face by Kirby. "Language!" Kirby screamed. "Oops, sorry," Magolor apologized, then said, "What the actually fudge?"

"I can tell that Doroken's really starting to run out of ideas.." Bandana Dee murmured as he looked up at the giant wind-up chicken. The chicken was silent. Then, a giant hand reached towards his side and wound him up. The chicken turned around and began to walk away, his rear facing the group. Then, as he was walking, he started crapping giant jelly beans!

"EWWW!" Everybody but Kirby and King Dedede screamed. "Ooh!" Dedede exclaimed as he looked up at the giant jelly beans. "Yay! Jelly beans!" He ran up to one and began trying to eat it.

"NO!" Kirby screamed as he ran up to the jelly beans. "MY JELLY BEANS!!" He looked up at the jelly beans and inhaled them.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..." King Dedede screamed in slow motion, falling dramatically to the ground. "Poyo!" Kirby smiled. He swallowed the jelly beans and became...

JELLY BEAN KIRBY!

He wore a top hat, like the one he gets when he has the Magic ability, except the hat was a bright, neon pink and was decorated with multi-colored jelly beans. And he had a red bow-tie.

"Wow," Galacta Knight gasped. "He looks so fabulous!"

"Not as fabulous as me, though," Meta Knight scoffed.

"You sure are!" Sailor Dee agreed. "And so sexy..." Sword Knight whispered. Nobody seemed to notice Sword Knight's comment.

Then, a Waddle Doo appeared out of nowhere. "Oh, this is a filler! Filler thing! I don't know the rest of the lyrics, but this is a filler!" He sang to the tune of Thriller.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!!" Kirby screamed. "Nobody was talkin' except--" Dedede began, only to be cut off by Kirby whipping a jelly bean at his face. "I said to SHUT THE HELL UP, DEDEDE! Anyway, NOW we are beginning the jousting match for REAL."

Magolor and Sword Knight backed up. "NEIGH!" Sword Knight yelled. "Sword Knight, do not be an idiot!" Meta Knight said, bonking his Knight on the head. "HORSEY NOISE!" Magolor yelled. Galacta Knight held up his weapon, aiming it at Meta Knight's face. Meta Knight watched him aim, then leaned to the side and said, "Dude, not my eye! What the hell is wrong with you..?!"

"Sorry," Galacta Knight apologized, lowering his weapon.

"Go Galacta Knight!" Blade Knight cheered. Meta Knight sent a sharp glare at Blade Knight. "Er... Go Meta Knight..!" Blade Knight reluctantly cheered. Meta Knight rolled his eyes. Kirby stepped between the two and their "horses."

"And so," Kirby began. "On the count of 3, the jousting match shall begin!" He stepped out of the way. "1..."

Galacta Knight held up his weapon. Meta Knight's only response was a blink.

"2..."

Galacta Knight narrowed his eyes. Magolor backed up a bit, preparing to build up speed. Sword Knight crouched a bit, also preparing to charge. Meta Knight held up his sword, blocking his face.

"PICKLES!" Kirby screamed. Magolor and Sword Knight ran at each other. Galacta Knight aimed his weapon at Meta Knight, determination in his eyes. Meta Knight held up his sword.

"NOOOOOO....." Bandana Dee screamed in slow motion, while running slowly towards them. Kirby turned around to watch the Waddle Dee. "This is their battle," Sailor Dee said as he pet Bandana Dee's head. "Let them sort it out on their own."

The sound of metal breaking made Kirby turn back around instantly. Sword Knight had fallen, and was now laying motionless on the ground. Meta Knight was on the ground, too. Galacta Knight and Magolor were staring at them, their eyes wide. Meta Knight slowly got up, his hand on his head. That was when Kirby saw what had broken--Meta Knight's mask.

Meta Knight felt his face, realized he didn't have his mask on, and saw it laying broken on the ground. He blinked, looking around at everyone. Everyone's gaze was focused on him. "BAH!" Meta Knight screamed suddenly. Then, he wrapped his cape around himself and disappeared into thin air.

"Did... Did I win?" Galacta Knight asked. "I think you did," Magolor said. Kirby walked over to Galacta Knight and raised his fist in the air. "We have a winner!" Kirby declared. Everyone cheered.

"Wha... Did we win?" Sword Knight lifted his head, blinking repeatedly. He noticed Meta Knight's mask laying broken on the ground. "Oh dear..." He moaned. "I killed Meta Knight!"

"Yeah, ya' sure did," Dedede said, looking over at Sword Knight. "Shame on you!"

Sword Knight sat on the ground, silently hanging his head.

After the cheers had died off, everyone broke into their own little conversations about Meta Knight.

"Did you see his face?"

"No..."

"Oh okay."

"The way he just screamed 'BAH' and disappeared was hilarious!"

"I know, right!"

"I wonder where he disappeared to..."

"He looks like me..." Kirby murmured to himself. "He looks like me," Kirby repeated, slightly louder. "He looks like me..!" Kirby said, his voice steadily growing louder. "He looks like me!" Kirby exclaimed. "...He looks like me!!" Kirby yelled. "HE LOOKS LIKE ME!!" Kirby screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Uh... I think now might be a good time to end the chapter!" Bandana Dee said as he watched Kirby scream. "HE. LOOKS. LIKE. ME!!!!!" Kirby screamed. He ran around in the background, repeatedly screaming "HE LOOKS LIKE ME!!!"

"Uhm... Okay then!" Sailor Dee said. "Let's end the chapter!"

"Dude, you soooo just broke the fourth wall," Galacta Knight said. "I did?" Sailor Dee asked innocently.

"Yeah, you did."

"Oh. Cool!"

"Yeaaahhh..."

"Okay, the chapter ends...." Bandana Dee began, stepping forward, then exclaimed, "Now!"

"HE LOOKS LIKE MEEE!!" Kirby screamed in the background, even though this chapter was supposed to have already ended. "This is a filler!" Waddle Doo sang, moving his non existent butt from side to side. "Guys, we were supposed to end this chapter!" Bandana Dee said. Nobody seemed to hear him. Bandana Dee sighed. "I'm surrounded by idiots..." He muttered to himself.

•9• The Taco Thief

"HEY!" Kirby yelled. He'd finally gotten over his screaming about how Meta Knight looked like him. 8 heads snapped to attention at Kirby's yell.

"What?" Magolor asked, turning around from where he was playing pool with Sailor Dee on a pool table that had appeared out of nowhere. While Magolor was turned around, Sailor Dee leaned forward and nudged the white ball into the hole. "You scratched!" He exclaimed.

"Aw, what?" Magolor turned back around, and saw the white ball sitting in the hole. "Oh fudgeballs," he muttered. Bandana Dee rolled his eyes; he'd seen Sailor Dee cheat.

"AHEM!" Kirby yelled. Magolor, Bandana Dee, and Sailor Dee turned their attention back to Kirby.

"Well? What is it?" Galacta Knight asked. "I never got my dinner sandwhich..." Kirby said, looking over at Sword Knight. "Oh! Uhm, uhm, uhm..." Sword Knight tried to think of an excuse. "GO MAKE MY DINNER SANDWHICH!!" Kirby screamed. "Er... Yes, Sir!" Sword Knight ran back into the kitchen.

"Bandy!" Kirby yelled. "What about those tacos?"

"They said the delivery guy would be here in 5 minutes," Bandana Dee answered, then asked, "Bandy?"

"DO NOT QUESTION HIS METHODS!" Dedede yelled. Then, he picked up Kirby and threw him at Bandana Dee, yelling, "SUPER LAME KIRBY ATTACK!"

Bandana Dee was knocked over by Kirby. "Sorry, buddy!" Kirby said as he scrambled to get off of him.

"Here's your dinner sandwhich, Sir!" Sword Knight exclaimed, running outside with a large dinner sandwhich. "Thank you," Kirby said as he took the dinner sandwhich. "Now be gone!" He kicked Sword Knight into the pool, ignoring the muffled drowning noises he made.

Ding-Dong!

"THE TACOS ARE HERE!" Kirby announced. "YAAAY!" Everybody cheered. "I'll go get them," Kirby said. He walked inside his house, dropping the dinner sandwhich carelessly on the ground, much to Sword Knight's outrage, and opened the front door. A Waddle Dee wearing a Taco Bell hat was there with a dozen box of tacos. Kirby paid for the tacos, thanking the Waddle Dee as he left. Then, he put them on the counter to sort them out. He was about to start sorting them, but suddenly, he heard a noise.

Leaving the tacos on the counter, he headed towards where he thought the noise came from, and discovered a blue bundle on the floor, in the darkest corner of the house. Kirby poked it. The bundle growled. "AH!" Kirby screamed, jumping a foot in the air. He slapped the bundle.

"Ow! What the hell?!"

Kirby took a step back. The figure got up, and Kirby recognized it as Meta Knight. "Ohhh it's just you," Kirby said. Meta Knight looked around at his surroundings. "What..? Ah, I didn't mean to warp here! Crap!" Meta Knight was silent for a moment, then, holding up his sword and glaring at Kirby, asked, "Why have you disturbed me?! Do you seek a duel?!"

"No, I--" Kirby started to say, but since Meta Knight didn't have his mask on, he just looked like an angry little puffball. He was trying to be deadly, but it was hard to take him serious.

Kirby didn't finish his statement, and instead fell on the ground laughing. "What's so funny?" Meta Knight asked, lowering his sword. "It's hard to take you serious when you look like that!" Kirby managed to explain between laughs.

"SHUT UP!" Meta Knight wrapped his cape around his face. After quite a while, Kirby managed to get over his laughter. The two were silent, until Meta Knight looked up a bit and said, "I smell tacos."

"How can you smell anything?" Kirby asked. "You don't have a nose."

"Neither does anybody in Dreamland," Meta Knight retorted. Meta Knight looked around a little, until he spotted the two boxes of tacos on the counter. "There they are..." He murmured. "No. You can't have any," Kirby scoffed. "They're for members of the party only, and since you left, you don't get any!"

Meta Knight glared at Kirby. Then, suddenly, he ran towards the counter and grabbed the boxes of tacos!!

"HEEEY!" Kirby yelled. Meta Knight stuck his tongue out at Kirby, then wrapped his cape around himself and disappeared into thin air with the tacos.

"FUUUUUUUUUU....." Kirby screamed. His screaming ceased as he heard a knock on the back door. "Yo. Are those tacos ready yet?" Magolor popped up at the back door, looking in the house. Kirby ran over to the back door and flung it open, flinging Magolor to the other side of the backyard in the process. "GUYS!" Kirby screamed. "We gotta BIG problem!"

"WHERE ARE THE TACOS?!" Dedede demanded as he ate the dinner sandwhich Kirby dropped. "I'M GETTING TO THAT, SO RELAX, WOULD YOU?!" Kirby screamed in reply. He picked up Sailor Dee, who just so happened to be next to Kirby, and threw him at Dedede, yelling "SUPER LAME SAILOR DEE ATTACK!!"

"Oh, so first ya' run away, then ya' have the nerve to attack me?!" Dedede yelled at Sailor Dee. Sailor Dee ran in panicked circles, screaming, "Axe Knight, Squawk-a-lot, Meta Knight, someone! HEEEELP!"

Dedede chased him, holding up his hammer while he yelled, "Why, I oughta clawbah ya'!"

So, the two of them just ran in circles.

"Sooo... What were you gonna tell us?" Galacta Knight asked from where he was laying on a chair.

"Uhh... I forgot," Kirby said. Bandana Dee facepalmed. "Where are our tacos, man?!" Magolor asked impatiently. "Oh! I'll go get them!" Kirby walked inside to get the tacos. Once he was inside, Kirby walked over to the counter to get the tacos, but they weren't there...

"I was sure I put them there..." Kirby thought, scratching his head. Then he remembered what happened: Meta Knight stole the tacos. "Ohh... So that's what I was going to tell everyone."

Kirby went back into the backyard.

"Oh, there's no way you forgot about the tacos that quickly!" Magolor called from where he was floating in circles around Bandana Dee over and over again. Bandana Dee looked extremely dizzy as he watched Magolor float around him again, and again, and again, and again...

"Yeah, I just remembered what I was gonna tell you all. And it involves the tacos," Kirby added when he saw Magolor glaring at him.

"Well?" Waddle Doo prompted. (Oh, and BTW, he's not just a random Waddle Doo; he's the one in the anime that has a sword and stuff)

"Meta Knight stole the tacos!" Kirby yelled. "WHAT?!" Magolor screamed. "THAT COWARD!" Galacta Knight yelled. "STEALS OUR FOOD WHEN OUR BACKS ARE TURNED!"

Kirby looked in the pool, and saw Sailor Dee, Blade Knight, and Sword Knight all floating on a raft. Sailor Dee had a paddle, and was currently paddling away from King Dedede. "GET OVER HERE!" Dedede roared. He started hitting the water with his hammer, causing big waves to form in the pool.

"Yar! These be stormy seas we facing!" Sailor Dee cried as he tried to steady the raft. "Can't you go any faster?!" Sword Knight asked. "I be trying my best, matey," Sailor Dee responded as he continued to paddle. "Why are you talking like that?" Blade Knight asked. "You're a sailor, not a pirate."

"Don't question yer captain!" Sailor Dee snapped. Then, handing Blade Knight a mop that he got out of nowhere, he ordered, "Now swab the poopdeck!"

"Oooookaaaaaay..." Blade Knight began mopping the raft.

"Man, this boat sucks," Sword Knight pouted. "Just pretend it be the Halberd, matey," Sailor Dee said. "I know how we can make this more like the Halberd," Blade Knight spoke up. He pointed to where Meta Knight's broken mask was. "Tape that to the front of the raft!"

"Good idea, matey!" Sailor Dee said. He paddled over towards where Meta Knight's broken mask was, got duck tape out of nowhere, and taped it to the front of the raft. "Woohoo!" Blade Knight and Sword Knight cheered. "Make-shift Halberd!"

"WE NEED TO TRACK DOWN THAT BLUE PUFFBALL AND GET OUR TACOS BACK!!" Magolor declared. "Yeah!" Everyone except Sailor Dee, Blade Knight, and Sword Knight replied, as they were too busy trying to escape Dedede's hammer. "Do you know where he went, Kirbs?" Magolor asked, turning to Kirby.

"Uh... No," Kirby said as he scratched his head. "He kinda just vanished into thin air."

"We should check the front yard," Galacta Knight derped. "Good idea." Kirby nodded. "To the front yard we go!" He walked around the side of his house to the front yard, with everyone else following him. Well, except Sailor Dee, Blade, and Sword...

"Men, we've been abandoned at sea," Sailor Dee said, taking off his sailor hat and holding it in front of him. Sword Knight curled in a ball, sobbing something about loving his mom. "Guys, we can get out right here," Blade Knight said, pointing to the pool ladder that was literally right next to their raft/mini-Halberd. "SHUT UP!" Sailor Dee yelled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yo! Meta Knight!"

"Get out here, ya' taco stealer!"

"SHOW YOURSELF!"

The 6 looked around Kirby's front yard for Meta Knight. Searching, searching, more searching...

Which is boring, so the author is just gonna get to the point.

A rustle in the trees made Kirby look up. He immediately recognized the blue shape of Meta Knight. "I FOUND HIM!" Kirby screamed. The other five gathered around Kirby and looked up.

Sure enough, there was another rustle, and a "crap!" Meta Knight slipped and fell from the branch, but, unfortunately for him, his cape got caught on the branch, so he was left hanging above everyone. The boxes of tacos fell to the ground, too. But the tacos weren't everyone's center of attention--Meta Knight was.

At least he'd taken the hint from Kirby's reaction, it seemed - he'd wrapped his face up with cloth; it was most comparable to a ninja look. Only his silver eyes were visible.

He narrowed them challengingly, glaring down at everyone even though he was the one stuck hanging from a tree.

Then the annoying questions started.

"Do you wear a mask because you think you're ugly?"

"Dude, now your eyes are silver? What gives?!"

"Are you related to Kirby?"

"NO!!!" Meta Knight screamed, his eyes narrowing even more.

"Hmm..." Kirby looked up at Meta Knight for a few moments, hanging from the branch by his cape. Then, a mischievous idea came into Kirby's mind...

Kirby looked around, then picked up a stick. "META KNIGHT PINATA!"

"What? No! That's rude!" Meta Knight protested. "Yeah!" Everyone but Bandana Dee and Waddle Doo cheered. Everyone else picked up a stick of their own and began beating Meta Knight. Galacta Knight, Magolor, and Kirby hit him the hardest.

Meanwhile, Bandana Dee and Waddle Doo watched silently. "So... You're not beating him up?" Bandana Dee asked, turning to Waddle Doo. "Nah," Waddle Doo replied. "I got nothing against 'im. It's a shame that he's losing so much dignity, though, y'know?"

"Yeah, I guess..." Bandana Dee trailed off.

"ENOUGH!" Meta Knight screamed. He yanked his cape free of the branch, falling on the ground. As he got up, he targeted Galacta Knight. Quick as lightning, he grabbed his sword and slashed Galacta Knight's mask in half. He then targeted Magolor. He tried to slash at his hood, but Magolor floated into the trees, exclaiming "Nope!"

Meta Knight then slashed Dedede's hammer in half, breaking the handle. He then turned to Kirby. After a pause, he said, "I don't really know what to do to you..." After another pause, he reached into his cape, pulled out an egg, and threw it at Kirby's house.

"RUDE!" Kirby yelled. Meta Knight shrugged, wrapped his cape around himself, and disappeared into thin air for the third time that night... Er, morning.

...

Kirby looked over at Galacta Knight. He had his cape wrapped around himself, pouting silently. After a moment, he reached into his cape, pulled out some duck tape, taped his mask together, and put it on. "Good enough," he said to himself.

Kirby looked over at Dedede, and saw him sulking over his broken hammer. Bandana Dee and Waddle Doo stood off to the side, whistling casually.

"Well, at least we still have the tacos," Kirby pointed out, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah," Dedede mused. "Meh." Galacta Knight shrugged. Kirby walked over to the box of tacos. But when he picked it up, it felt oddly empty...

Suspicious, Kirby opened up the box, and what do you know? It was empty! "THE TACOS ARE GONE!!" Kirby screamed. "WHAT?!" Dedede's jaw dropped. "The tacos aren't gone," Galacta Knight scoffed, rolling his eyes. "SEE FOR YOURSELF!" Kirby retorted, whipping the empty box at Galacta Knight's face. The empty box made his mask fall apart again. He frantically used more duck tape to fix it, then taped it to his face.

"ALRIGHT! WHICH ONE OF YOU WORTHLESS LOW-LIVES TOOK THE TACOS?!" Kirby demanded, scanning the group.

"We should go check on Sailor Dee and the others," Bandana Dee whispered, nudging Waddle Doo. "I agree," Waddle Doo whispered in reply. The two of them quietly ran to the backyard.

"It wasn't me," Dedede said, holding up his hands like a criminal would when they're about to be shot. "Wasn't me, either," Galacta Knight said, copying Dedede.

"Wait, where'd the other two go..?" Kirby asked, looking around. "They went in the backyard, I think," Galacta Knight said, scratching his head.

"AFTER THEM!" Kirby shouted. He ran into the backyard with King Dedede and Galacta Knight following him.

...

Meanwhile, high up on the trees, a Halcandran was enjoying the tacos. Yes, it was Magolor. He had taken the chance to swipe the tacos during the chaos of Meta Knight's little temper-tantrum.

The tacos were rather spicy, not that Magolor cared. Hey, tacos were tacos.

After he had eaten about 9 and 1/2 of them, he started to feel a strange feeling in his stomach area. Magolor looked at the taco he was currently eating, and noticed with dread what was in it--beans. "Ohhhh no," he thought.

"Ohhhh yes," the tacos seemed to say. Magolor barely had time to put his hood back on before the beans forced his body to release... Natural gasses. The force of it was so strong that it sent Magolor blasting out of the trees and through the sky. "I will never eat tacos again!" Magolor screamed. "Never agaaaain!"

•10• Revenge of The Fast Food Mascots

Yeah! Finally got it done! Sorry it took forever...I'm just really lazy...I procrastinate...I get bored, I get writer's block...etc, etc.

It was kinda rushed, so sorry if there's any typos.


Kirby sulked as he walked in circles, still incredibly bummed about having the tacos stolen behind his back. He'd already asked Bandana Dee if Taco Bell was still open so they could get more tacos. But Taco Bell was closed. After all, it was 5 in the morning, and who would be eating tacos at that time?

"Need... Tacos..." Galacta Knight groaned as he crawled towards a chair. "I haven't eaten anything for 10 minutes!" Dedede complained. "Do you know how long that is?!"

Sailor Dee hummed softly as he paddled in circles in the pool. Sword Knight and Blade Knight had both fallen asleep on the raft, mainly from boredom. "We can get tacos tonight," Sailor Dee murmured, then continued his peaceful humming.

"But I want tacos now!" Dedede snapped. Sailor Dee, eyes wide, pinched his metaphorical nose and jumped underwater. He created a giant splash that soaked everyone, even those that weren't in the pool.

"SAILOR DEE, YOU BUTTFACE!" Bandana Dee yelled as he wrung out his bandana. Sailor Dee's only reply was a few bubbles from underwater.

"GUYS!!!" Squealed a voice. Everyone turned to see who had spoken: Galacta Knight. "I found a taco place that's open!" He squealed excitedly, turning his laptop that he'd apparently had this whole time to show everyone a website.

"Taco Time," Kirby read aloud as everyone else gathered around the laptop (excluding the three in the pool, of course). "Open from 4PM to 6AM."

"A taco place that's open until 6AM?" Bandana Dee questioned, scratching his head. "That just seems a little...off to me."

"Shhh," Waddle Doo said, putting his hand-of-sorts in front of Bandana Dee's nonexistent mouth.

"I HEARD TACOS!!" Dedede fell out of the air, landing square on Galacta Knight's laptop. Of course, he crushed it, being really fat and all.

"Well now we can't place an order," Galacta Knight muttered as he glared at King Dedede. "Why not?" Dedede asked. "BECAUSE YOU JUST CRUSHED MY LAPTOP, YOU FATTY!" Galacta Knight screamed. "You questionin' yer King?" Dedede snapped. "I'M GONNA CLAWBAH YA'!" He hit Galacta Knight with his hammer. "Oof," Galacta Knight wheezed. "Also I'm not a legal resident of Dreamland so you're technically not even my king."

"WHAT?" Dedede shouted.

"Taco Time?" Waddle Doo asked. "Is that what it was called? If so, I think I know where it is."

"Yep," Kirby said. "Taco Time."

"Then follow me!" Waddle Doo cried, pointing his sword in the air. "What about them?" Kirby asked, gesturing to the three in the pool. Sailor Dee was still underwater, much to Kirby's amazement. "Eh." Waddle Doo shrugged. "They're just side characters." Yeah, because Waddle Doo was one to talk about "side characters."

"WHATCHU WAITIN' FOR?!" Dedede yelled. "TAKE US TO TACO TIME!!"

"K den." Waddle Doo shrugged. Then, pointing his sword in the air again, he repeated, "Follow me!" This time, Bandana Dee, King Dedede, Kirby, and Galacta Knight followed him.

"LET'S GO GET DEM TACOOOOS!!" Dedede screamed as soon as they'd arrived. "Alright, alright. Take a chill pill," Kirby scoffed as he led the way inside Taco Time. Everyone else followed him.

"Hola! Welcome to Taco Time!" An employee wearing a sombrero greeted them. "That's racist!" Waddle Doo yelled, pointing at the employee. The employee just shrugged and walked away.

"Okay guys, what are we getting?" Kirby asked, slamming his fist on a random table. Everyone else sat in a chair around the table, except Dedede, who wound up sitting on the floor because he couldn't fit in a chair.

"I say that we should get a dozen tacos, since there's less of us," Bandana Dee suggested. "2 dozen was kind of a lot, anyway..."

"I say that we get ALL the tacos!" Dedede yelled, banging the table. "No, we are not getting all the tacos," Kirby scoffed. "1 dozen sounds good."

"I HAVEN'T BEEN MENTIONED SINCE THE TIME SKIP!" Galacta Knight screamed. Once everyone's attention was focused on him, he said, "Okay, okay. Whew... I think that we should each get 1 taco. That way there, it'd be fair."

"Why wouldn't a dozen tacos split between us be fair?" Kirby asked. "What's 12 divided by 5?" Galacta Knight asked somewhat exasperatedly, narrowing his eyes. "EHHHHH I DON'T WANNA DO MATH!" Kirby hid under the table, covering his head. "Well then." Galacta Knight leaned back in the chair as he watched Kirby.

"We could get a dozen tacos, and then I could eat 12 of 'em, and you guys can have the rest," Dedede said. "Sounds fair, right?"

"NO!" Everyone else screamed at him. "Oh, okay..." Dedede sadly trailed off.

"2 tacos each?" Waddle Doo suggested. "Hmm..." Kirby poked his head out from underneath the table to scan the group. "How's about one and a half tacos each?"

"How the hell would that work?" Galacta Knight scoffed. His question was drowned out by everyone else chiming, "Alrighty then!"

Kirby went up to the counter. Since the employee had walked off, there was no one at the counter. He repeatedly banged on the bell that was there.

Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding...

Well, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration of the "dings", but whatever.

"WHAT?!" The employee screamed, running out of the back room. "We want tacos," Kirby said, narrowing his little blue eyes as he stood on his toes to see over the counter. Seriously, why were the counters so high? A large majority of creatures in Dreamland were just tiny spheres, anyway, so why would the counters be so tall?!

"How many tacos?" The employee sighed, taking out a notepad and pen. "One and a half for each of us," Kirby stated, gesturing to the other four at the table. "Hey." Waddle Doo waved casually at the employee.

"Uhh..." The employee trailed off dumbly, since he was just a stupid teenager. "I uh, don't think we can-"

"I DON'T CARE! JUST GIVE US THE DAMN TACOS!!!" Kirby screamed.

"Uh...I'll have to uh...ask the manager..." The employee then walked into the back room. "Can you believe this guy?" Kirby scoffed, turning to face the rest of the group.

Galacta Knight had seemed like he was about to say something, but was interrupted by a sudden BOOOOOOOM!!

"WHAT THE FRICK FRACK DIDDLY DACK WAS THAT?!" Kirby screamed. Then, he heard a frighteningly familiar laugh. "EAT LETTUCE, YOU MEXICANS!!"

"Hey! That is racist!" Waddle Doo yelled. Nobody seemed to hear him.

Then, Wendy blew a hole through the wall with her lettuce bazooka. "BWAHAHAHAHA!!" She laughed evilly as she fired lettuce around the restaurant.

"CRAP! NOT THAT PSYCHO AGAIN!" Bandana Dee yelled. "HIIIIDE!" Kirby screeched, diving under the table. Him and Bandana Dee were the only two to hide under the table.

"LETTUCE!" Wendy shrieked, firing lettuce at their group. "EWWWW HEALTHY FOOD!" Dedede screamed, diving under the table and making room for himself, thus squishing the two that were already under there. "Hey guys," he said casually. Kirby glared at him, then faintly slapped him.

"I don't mind lettuce-" Galacta Knight had began, starting to shrug, but was cut off when he was blasted right in the face with lettuce. "THE PAIN." He screamed. "THE GOD DAMN PAIN. IT HURTS SO BAD. JUST PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY. DO YOU THINK IT'S FUNNY TO HURT PEOPLE LIKE THAT?! WELL IT ISN'T! KILL ME NOW; IT HURTS SO MUCH AHH!!!" He fell dramatically to the ground.

"THERE SHE IS!"

The opposite wall exploded, and a bunch of Whoppers and McNuggets went flying everywhere.

Kirby groaned.

Sure enough, Burger King and Ronald McDonald burst through the wall, Ronald with a McNugget Machine Gun, and Burger King with a Burger Catapult. They both began shooting their weapons of choice at Wendy, causing her to rage and flip a bunch of tables.

And just when Kirby thought that it couldn't get any worse, Fred from Subway and Bob from Dairy Queen crashed through the roof (who, apparently, had both survived the fire), each in their own helicopter with their restaurant's logo on it. Dora the Explorer (the real Dora the Explorer, as the 40 year old dude in the costume had apparently died in the fire), was in Fred's helicopter. "Hola!" She called to nobody in particular.

"Racist!" Waddle Doo yelled from somewhere in the background.

Fred pushed a button, and his helicopter started firing meatball subs at Bob. Bob responded by pressing a button in his helicopter to shoot DQ Blizzards back at him.

That was when the teenage employee returned with the manager. The manager was a short, tan, brown haired dude with a sombrero and a mustache. His nametag read "Fred Johnson."

The two of them stared at the scene that had just occurred in the short time they were in the back room. "Man, what the hell?" The teenager scoffed. "I ain't gettin' involved in this; I quit!" He walked straight out the door. "NOOOOOOO..." Fred Johnson cried dramatically, falling to the ground in slow motion.

"Hey, who's that guy?" Burger King asked, looking over at Fred Johnson. The other fast-food owners momentarily stopped their fighting to look at Fred Johnson. The Taco Time manager looked up to see everyone's attention focused on him. "Who are you?" Bob asked. "...I am Fred Johnson!" Fred Johnson yelled. "And I like potato chips and Mexican food!"

"Racist!" Waddle Doo yelled again.

"...You stole my name!!" Fred (the Subway manager) yelled angrily. "You must die!" He redirected his helicopter to fire the meatball subs at Fred Johnson. "Hey man! I just wanted to be in charge of a taco place!" Fred Johnson protested as he was covered with meatball subs.

Meanwhile, Wendy had finally stopped flipping tables and was now chasing Ronald McDonald and Burger King with her lettuce bazooka. The two of them ran in circles, screaming in high-pitched voices. "GET BACK HERE!" Wendy screamed angrily. "NOOOO!" Ronald and Burger King screamed. "Oh, okay..." Wendy trailed off at their refusal, then sat at a table and stared down at it.

Also meanwhile, Fred was still firing meatball subs at Fred Johnson, while Bob just flew off to the side awkwardly. Dora stared at the readers in a creepy way, like at the end of every episode when she asks the viewers what their favorite part was.

...

Now the story is getting boring, so the author's gonna make something happen.

Suddenly, a bunch of fried chicken poured out of an air vent. Kirby stared silently from underneath the safety of the table with Bandana Dee and Dedede. That was a new one...

It was then that Colonel Sanders from KFC jumped out of the air vent, only to yell, "Ah! My hip!" and fall to the ground, since, you know, he's old. "Colonel Sanders?!" Ronald McDonald, Burger King, and Wendy yelled in unison. "Yep!" Colonel Sanders replied cheerily as he got back up, holding his hip. "And I say that this new territory is mine!"

"OH HEEEEEEEEELL NO!" The other three yelled, waving their fingers and doing a sassy hair-flick at the same time.

"Hey hey hey!" Fred Johnson interrupted, momentarily breaking free from Fred's meatball subs. "Now, you four wait just a minute. This is my restaurant, and I say that-"

Each fast-food mascot held up their weapons at him, except Colonel Sanders, who just held up a bucket of fried chicken. Fred Johnson let out a terrified "eep!" and ran to cower underneath the table with Kirby, Bandana Dee, and Dedede. "Welcome to the club!" Bandana Dee said cheerily, as Kirby followed with a mumble of "and gimmie some blood." Fred Johnson didn't reply, and instead scooted to hide behind the three.

"Hey...Dedede..." Kirby said. "You got a hammer, right?"

"No, obviously Kirby, I have a sword," Dedede answered sarcastically. "Right. Anyway, do you think you could just...y'know..." Kirby made a hammer-swinging motion towards the fast-food mascots.

"I could try." Dedede shrugged as he got out from underneath the table and slowly walked over to the fast-food mascots and held up his recently-repaired hammer. Some of them looked questioningly at him, but not Wendy. She glared at him for a moment, then shrieked, "LETTUCE!"

"NOOOOOOO!!!" Dedede ran away and crashed through the window, then resumed running away.

"Same," Galacta Knight said from where he was still laying on the floor, covered in lettuce. "Oh, shut up," Waddle Doo muttered, still sitting at the table with an exasperated expression. Not that Waddle Doos really had many expressions, anyway, since their face was just a giant eye.

"Hey!" Ronald McDonald screamed. All the fast-food mascots stopped their bickering to stare at him. "It's them!" He pointed at Kirby and Bandana Dee. "They're the ones that killed me twice!"

"They're the ones that refused to eat my salad!" Wendy yelled.

"They're the ones that burned down Subway!" Fred yelled.

"They're the ones that distracted one of my employees!" Bob yelled. "If it wasn't for them, Meta Knight wouldn't have gotten distracted! Hey, where is he, anyway?"

Nobody answered Bob's question.

"They're the ones that...well...I suppose they really didn't do anything to me..." Burger King trailed off.

"Eat KFC!" Colonel Sanders yelled to the readers, holding up a bucket of fried chicken.

"NO FREE ADVERTISING!" Bob yelled, firing ice cream at Colonel Sanders.

"And now they're the ones that are bringing all you guys here..!" Fred Johnson said, his tone growing angry as he glared at Kirby and Bandana Dee. The two backed away uncertainly. That was when the riots started.

"They'll blow up every fast-food restaurant in the world!"

"They'll kill us all! KILL US ALL!!!"

"They'll burn our crops, poison our water supply, and burn our homes!" Fred yelled.

"They will?!" All the other mascots screamed, fear in their eyes. "Uh...maybe..." Fred shrugged. "But we're not just gonna stand around until they do, are we?!"

"No!" Everyone else yelled. They then all held up their weapons, and Bob and Fred aimed their helicopters at Kirby and Bandana Dee.

Dora was preoccupied with repeatedly singing "backpack, backpack..."

Colonel Sanders stood off to the side, as he had no idea who the two strange sphere creatures were and why they were so bad, but he threw a piece of fried chicken at them anyway.

Normally, Kirby would've chirped "thanks!" as he ate the chicken, but not now, when each fast-food mascot was surrounding him and his friend, hostility in their eyes. Kirby huddled farther under the table, and so did Bandana Dee.

"I'd suggest you start running now," Galacta Knight said as he absently stared at the ceiling, still laying on the floor.

Kirby and Bandana Dee exchanged a quick glance, then both nodded at the same time. Slowly standing up, they both bolted towards the door.

"STOP THEM!" Wendy screeched, firing lettuce in front of them. Kirby and Bandana Dee stopped running to avoid the lettuce, then turned around and started running the other way, but Fred blocked them with his helicopter. The two backed up until they touched the wall, and the rest of the fast-food mascots surrounded them (excluding Colonel Sanders, of course).

"Well crap," Kirby muttered. "Crap indeed," Bandana Dee replied quietly.

"Any last words?" Wendy asked, stepping forward.

"HIYAAAAAH!" Waddle Doo jumped in the middle of the crowd and began randomly swinging his sword. "What the Chicken McNuggets?!" Ronald McDonald picked up Waddle Doo, then threw him at the other end of the restaurant. "Sorry," Waddle Doo called to Kirby and Bandana Dee. "I tried!" He then laid limply on the floor. Must've been painful, laying on his eye like that. Meh. The Kirby world never makes sense.

"As I was saying...any last words?" Wendy repeated.

Kirby looked around frantically for an escape. There was no way he was getting past them...but wait, what was that above him?! Kirby squinted to see it. It was the window, which was revealed to the outside world since Dedede had crashed through it!

Kirby nudged Bandana Dee, then pointed at the window. Bandana Dee's eyes beamed. "How'll we get to it?" Kirby whispered. "It's too high!"

"...I'll give you a lift," Bandana Dee whispered. "But then how will you get out?" Kirby asked quietly. "Don't worry about me; I'll catch up to you." Bandana Dee closed his eyes for a moment. "If I don't get out, then go hide in the Walmart across the street."

"Walmart?!" Kirby whisper-yelled. "Ew! You know I hate that place!"

"Kirby, it's either that, or get pelted with fast-food."

"I...I guess..." Kirby was silent for a moment. "Okay, okay fine. I'll hide in Walmart if I have to...I guess...eck..."

"Good." Bandana Dee lifted Kirby up and held him up to the window. "Go, go!"

"Hey! They're escaping!" Burger King yelled, which Wendy replied with a "No freaking duh! Stop them!!!"

Kirby landed on the pavement outside with a small "oof!"

He looked up at the window, expecting Bandana Dee to appear. But he didn't...

"Bandana Dee?!" Kirby yelled. "Bandana!!"

Bandana Dee popped up at the window, but Kirby saw that the fast-food mascots had him.

"Bandana Dee!"

"Kirby, go hide in Walmart!" Bandana Dee yelled. "I'll catch up to you, I promise! Just give me a few minutes!"

"But-"

"GO HIDE IN THE WALMART!"

"O-Okay..." Kirby stood there for a moment longer, then bolted across the street. Right before he went in Walmart, he glanced back at the window for a moment. Bandana Dee was no longer there, and all Kirby could see were the fast-food mascots. Fighting back tears, Kirby ran into Walmart. And yet he still never got his tacos.

•11• The Walmart Adventure + Rescuing Bandana Dee

I got fancy little time-skip thingies now ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉

Kirby looked around the store once he was inside. There were lots of others roaming around, most of which were just ugly teenage girls with tight clothes on. Because that's Walmart in a nutshell for you.

Kirby looked over at the cash register, and gasped when he saw who was there. "EW META KNIGHT YOU SHOP AT WALMART?!"

Meta Knight instantly turned around from where he was paying for paper towels. His mask looked brand new, which confused Kirby. Ah well. Meta Knight was not one to be questioned. "Kirby!" He exclaimed. "I-It's not what it looks like!"

"Oh, I know exactly what it looks like," Kirby retorted, crossing his arms...stubs...things.

"But they had such a great deal on paper towels!" Meta Knight protested.

"Not good enough," Kirby muttered as he continued to glare at his mentor. Needless to say, finding out that Meta Knight shopped at Walmart had really lowered Kirby's respect for him.

Meta Knight shrugged, paid for the paper towels, then walked over to Kirby, setting the package of paper towels down and sitting on them. "Where'd the others go?" He asked.

"Uh...Sword, Blade and Sailor Dee are still at my place," Kirby began, thinking. "Dedede ran away because of...lettuce, and Galacta Knight and Waddle Doo are still at Taco Time."

"What about Bandana Waddle Dee?"

"He...he...he..." Kirby tried to say it, but instead burst into tears. He then proceeded to bawl his eyes out on the Walmart floor.

"Well then." Meta Knight silently watched Kirby sob. After quite a while, Kirby managed to stop crying. "So he died?" Meta Knight asked. He probably should've used a different word choice, as that just made Kirby burst into tears again.

"Well. Good thing I bought paper towels." Meta Knight opened the package of paper towels, then gave one to Kirby. "...What's a freaking paper towel gonna do?!" Kirby snarled, looking up and glaring at Meta Knight. "Fine. No paper towels for you, then." Meta Knight folded the paper towel into an airplane, then threw it and made it fly off to...somewhere.

"...WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?!" Kirby screeched angrily, glaring up at Meta Knight. "I FREAKING NEEDED THAT DAMN PAPER TOWEL!"

"Hey! Watch your language!" Meta Knight yelled, bopping Kirby on the head. "I did not raise a trash-talker!"

"Whatever...WAIT WHAT WHAT DO YOU MEAN RAISED?!" Kirby yelled.

"Uh...hey, look! It's Shadow Kirby!" Meta Knight exclaimed, pointing behind Kirby.

Kirby quickly spun around, but Shadow Kirby wasn't there. "What..?" He turned back around, and saw that Meta Knight had vanished with the paper towels. "...What the actual freaking Shotzo..." Kirby muttered. He mumbled to himself as he walked around the store. Ah well. Might as well see if they had anything good while he was stuck in there.

Within the first isle, he bumped into Meta Knight again. Like, literally. He was staring at the ceiling when he was walking, so he literally just bumped face-first into his mentor. "Watch where you are going!" Meta Knight snapped, moving backwards about a meter and brushing himself off.

"...What are you still doing here?" Kirby asked, tilting his head slightly. "I could say the same to you," Meta Knight responded, looking down at Kirby. "Dunno." Kirby shrugged. "Figured I'd look at some stuff while I was stuck in here."

"Well look who shops at Walmart now." Meta Knight rolled his eyes, then asked, "Stuck? What do you mean 'stuck'? Did you already get lost, Kirby?" He sighed.

"No, no...I'm just hiding out here until the fast-food guys calm down," Kirby said, sitting on the floor and rocking back and forth for whatever reason. "Fast-food guys?" Meta Knight asked, sticking his sword in the ground and leaning on it as he looked down at Kirby. "They're still bugging you? Eck. I thought we got rid of them at Subway."

"U-unfortunately..." Kirby mumbled, still rocking back and forth. "What happened to Bandana Waddle Dee?" Meta Knight inquired. "Uhh...w-we-me, Dedede, Galacta Knight, Waddle Doo, and Bandana Dee-went to T-Taco T-Time," Kirby stammered. "A-and t-then a-all the f-fast-food mascots came back f-for r-revenge...D-Dedede ran away, Galacta Knight a-and W-Waddle Doo were s-still there l-last time I s-saw them...and B-Bandana D-Dee..." He trailed off, then began bawling again, falling on his face as he proceeded to bawl on the Walmart floor.

"Kirby, get up..." Meta Knight mumbled as he poked Kirby with the end of his sword, glancing around to make sure nobody was watching. "You're embarrassing me..."

"S-sorry..." Kirby mumbled, sitting up and somehow looking like he hadn't just been bawling on the floor. "T-the fast-food mascots cornered us," he went on quietly. "We thought w-we were done for, until we saw the o-open window...I-I managed to 'scape, b-but they...got Bandy..." He trailed off.

"Bandy?" Meta Knight echoed. "That's an...interesting nickname."

"Oh, I have nicknames for everyone," Kirby chirped, looking like his normal, cheerful self again. "Like, Bandana Dee is Bandy, Dedede is Dedederp, Galacta Knight is Galacty, and you're Mety! Or daddy. Either one, really."

"Kirby, for the millionth time, I am not your father," Meta Knight sighed. "BUT YOU LOOK LIKE MEEEE!" Kirby screeched, earning him lots of "what the crap" looks from other shoppers.

"I'm blue, you're pink, that...that doesn't even make sense!"

"Well maybe my mom was pink!"

"Or maybe she wasn't!"

"Or maybe she was!"

"KIRBY YOU WERE CREATED BY ACCIDENT!"

"Wh..what?" Kirby tilted his head in confusion. "I was...what?"

Meta Knight stared at him for a moment, then suddenly ran away, leaving Kirby to sit there and wonder about what he'd said. He was...created by accident? Wasn't he prophesied or whatever, though? So how could he be an accident if he was prophesied..?

...Ah well. He'd worry about it later. There was a plot to be developed.

And so, Kirby kept wandering around the store, staring at random items. At least until he bumped into Waddle Doo. "Oof!" Waddle Doo stumbled for a moment to regain his balance, then looked at Kirby. "Oh, hey Kirby!"

Kirby picked up Waddle Doo and shook him. "WHERE IS BANDANA WADDLE DEE?!" He screeched. "Huh? Oh, I uh...do not know." Waddle Doo shrugged. "The fast-food guys went into the back room with...something orange tied up, which could've been Bandana Dee...I heard them saying something about a deep fryer...I think." He shrugged again.

Kirby immediately dropped Waddle Doo. "THEY'RE GOING TO FREAKING DEEP FRY BANDY?!"

"Uh...I uh..." Waddle Doo didn't get to finish his statement, as Kirby grabbed him by the leather strap that held his sword and dragged him off, shrieking, "WE MUST GATHER ACQUAINTANCES TO STOP THEM!!"

҉

Meanwhile, Galacta Knight was randomly walking down the street. He'd snuck out the window in the middle off all the chaos, apparently. So, he was just walking, until he heard a voice from farther behind him shriek "GALACTYYYY WE NEED YOUR HELP!"

Galacta Knight slowly turned around. Crap, it was the annoying kid again. "Whaaat?" He groaned.

Kirby ran up to him, still dragging Waddle Doo, and yelled, "THE FAST-FOOD GUYS ARE GONNA DEEP FRY BANDY AND WE NEED YOUR HELP TO STOP THEM!"

"That...I don't think that-"

"WHO CARES WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP AND YOU'RE HELPING WHETHER YOU FREAKING LIKE IT OR NOT!" And with that, Kirby grabbed Galacta Knight by his right wing and ran back towards Taco Time, dragging the two behind him.

҉

Once they had arrived back at Taco Time, Kirby stopped in the parking lot and let go of the two. "Ugh...ow...I think you broke my wing," Galacta Knight muttered, his wing twitching painfully. Waddle Doo just sat there silently. "We need more people," Kirby muttered, surveying the tiny group. "Hmm...anyone know where Dedederp and Mety are?"

"Dedede probably went back to the castle," Waddle Doo said. "I have Meta Knight's phone number," Galacta Knight piped up. "...Why the Shotzo would you have the phone number of someone you despise?" Kirby asked, tilting his head. "...Prank calling." Galacta Knight restrained a chuckle. "Alright, fine...just call him and get him down here," Kirby mumbled. Galacta Knight went off to the side to have his conversation.

"Okay, you." Kirby pointed at Waddle Doo. "Go find Dedede and the other three we left at my house. We need all the available help we can get."

"Okay--" Waddle Doo had begun, only to be cut off by Galacta Knight screaming into his phone "DAMMIT META JUST GET THE HELL DOWN HERE TO TACO TIME SO YOU CAN BE WITH YOUR MEXICAN BROTHERIN!" He angrily threw his phone on the ground, then looked up at the two staring at him. "What?"

"That's racist," Waddle Doo muttered, narrowing his...eye...at Galacta Knight. Galacta Knight only shrugged in response. "Meta Knight's Mexican?" Kirby asked. "Uh...well, I assumed that, with the accent and all..." Galacta Knight shrugged again. Waddle Doo narrowed his eye even more at Galacta Knight. "That's racist, too."

"WADDLE DOO YOUR FACE IS RACIST OKAY NOBODY GIVES A POYO IF GALACTA KNIGHT'S BEING RACIST OR NOT NOW GO GET THE OTHERS LIKE I FREAKING TOLD YOU TO DO!!!" Kirby screeched, his eyes practically bulging from anger. Waddle Doo stared at him for a moment, blinked, then slowly backed away from Kirby until he was out of sight.

"Sooo Galacty," Kirby said, turning around and looking up at Galacta Knight. "Galacty?" Galacta Knight repeated. "No! Do not call me that!"

"I have nicknames for everyone, though," Kirby said. "Like, Bandana Dee is Bandy, Dedede is Dedederp, you're Galacty, and Meta Knight's Mety! Or daddy. Either one, really." He stood there for a moment, then asked, "Hey, are you my mom?"

"What?! No!" Galacta Knight huffed. "I hardly even know you! We literally just met each other last night-I don't even know your name! You...call Meta your father...are you implying that we have a relationship?!"

"No, I just figured since you were pink and all..." Kirby trailed off, then giggled, "I didn't mean it like that...but I think you two would make a cute couple."

"SILENCE!" Galacta Knight shrieked, pointing his lance at Kirby. "Okay, okay, sheesh. Calm the frick down," Kirby scoffed. "I don't think vampires and clowns would go together, anyway."

"...You better be referring to me as the vampire," Galacta Knight muttered angrily. "Uh, hello? Since when do vampires wear pink and have angel wings?" Kirby retorted "Exactly. You're a clown."

Galacta Knight sighed exasperatedly. "Cloooown," Kirby dragged out, smiling. "Like Ronald McDooonald."

Galacta Knight narrowed his eyes exasperatedly at the small puffball, before asking, "Speaking of Ronald McDonald...What did you say the fast-food guys were going to do to Bandana, again?"

"THEY'RE GOING TO FREAKING DEEP FRY HIM!" Kirby shrieked in his face. Galacta Knight fell back on the ground when Kirby screamed right in his face. He stood up slowly, and Kirby sat casually on the ground. Galacta Knight then quietly asked, "And how long ago was this? A little while, I take it? Then why are you wasting time trying to gather others to help? By the time everyone gets here, they would've already fried him...if that's even what they're doing--"

"OF COURSE IT'S WHAT THEY'RE DOING!" Kirby interrupted angrily, waving his tiny arms frantically.

"Right, right. Of course." Galacta Knight rolled his eyes before continuing. "My point is that if they haven't fried him already, then they will by the time we gather everyone. So if we're to stop them, we should just go in now and stop them rather than wait for everyone else to show up."

"...What do you mean?" Kirby asked, tilting his head at the knight from where he was still sitting casually on the ground. "Of course they won't fry him before we get everyone! Have you ever seen a movie, Galacty? Don't you know that the protagonists always have time to do tons of random filler crap before the antagonist blows up the world or whatever? It's just the way fiction works, Galacty."

Galacta Knight was obviously very confused. "...What..?"

It was then that Waddle Doo returned with a neutral Dedede, reluctant Meta Knight, and a confused Sailor Waddle Dee.

Meta Knight hissed and ran to hide in a shadowy part of the parking lot when he saw Galacta Knight. "See? Told you he was a vampire," Kirby whispered, nudging Galacta Knight. Neither of the knights replied to Kirby.

"What's going on, again?" Sailor Dee asked, adjusting his hat. "Something about Bandana Waddle Dee..?"

"Nova, how many times do I have to explain this..?" Kirby groaned, facepalming. "The fast-food guys are going to POYOING DEEP FRY BANDY!"

"They're going to-WHAT?!" Sailor Dee screeched. "Well what are we doing in the parking lot, then?! WE NEED TO SAVE HIM!"

"Relax, we have plenty of time," Dedede responded nonchalantly. "Protagonists always have time to do random filler things before the antagonists do anything major."

"YEEEEAH DEDEDERP GETS ME!" Kirby yelled, fist-bumping Dedede.

"Anyway, what's the plan?" Waddle Doo asked, looking around at the group. "Uh...run in and try to overpower them?" Kirby shrugged. "I...guess I didn't really have a plan."

"...LET'S ATTEMPT IT!" Galacta Knight yelled, pointing his weapon into the air.

"That will not work." Meta Knight stepped out of the shadows, cape wrapped around himself. "If we were to just run in like that with no plan, we will fail. We need a plan."

"And what plan do you think that'd be?" Kirby retorted, glaring over at his mentor. Meta Knight looked around the group, only to hiss and step back in the shadows when he saw Galacta Knight looking at him. Galacta Knight hissed in response and backed into another shadow on the opposite side.

The group stared at them for a moment, then went back into their own conversation. "Okay, he's actually right. We need a plan," Kirby said. "Hmm...Waddle Doo, you go in first and see if you can distract them, since the fast-food guys don't have anything against you or know you...Then maybe Dedede can try and knock 'em out with his hammer while they're distracted...Sailor Dee, uh...you can just, mop the floor..."

Sailor Dee let out an offended huff, but didn't say anything else.

"And that just leaves..." Kirby trailed off, looking back and forth between Meta Knight and Galacta Knight. "No," Meta Knight stated firmly, backing even farther into the shadows. "No."

"No," Galacta Knight replied, glaring over at Meta Knight. "No no no no no."

"No. No no no no no." Meta Knight retorted, glaring back at Galacta Knight.

"No no no no no no no no."

"No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no."

"No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no."

"No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no."

"No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no."

"No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no."

"No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no-"

"ALRIGHT WE FREAKING GET THE DAMN POINT!" Kirby shrieked, jumping inbetween the two and flailing his arms-of-sorts.

"LANGUAGE!" Meta Knight and Galacta Knight shrieked at the same time, both slicing at Kirby with their weapons at the same time. "Oww!" Kirby whined as he was hit on each side. "Hmph, are you two sure you're not my parents..?" He mumbled, glaring at the two before turning away.

Meta Knight and Galacta Knight exchanged a quick glance, then glared at Kirby. "That's disgusting!" Meta Knight yelled. Kirby only shrugged in response, not even bothering to turn around. "Anyway, it's like I said; Waddle Doo distracts 'em, Dedede clobbers 'em, Sailor Dee mops the floor, and...you two..." Kirby paused to turn back around to look at the two hiding in the shadows. "Uh...rescue Bandana Dee while everyone else is taking care of the fast-food guys. Okay? Okay!" He yelled, not even bothering to wait for an answer. "TO NARNIA-I MEAN TO RESCUE BANDANA DEE!" He slowly walked up to the door, the others following.

"Why do we need to start a war?" Waddle Doo asked quietly. "Maybe they're not frying Bandana...they could've been talking about frying oranges for all we know," he pointed out.

"Fried oranges?" Galacta Knight asked. "That doesn't sound too bad..." He murmured, causing Meta Knight to give him a "what the actual heck" look.

Kirby narrowed his eyes at Waddle Doo. "It's a Mexican restaurant that serves Mexican food, and has an American owner that wears a sombrero."

Waddle Doo was silent for a moment as he processed the information. "...That's racist!" He exclaimed. His eye narrowed as he took out his sword. "Why, those no-good-"

"Exactly! You're totally right, Waddle Doo! They're very racist!" Kirby yelled with mock-enthusiasm. "Now do you see why we must take action?"

"Yes I do!" Waddle Doo replied. "Let us go, then!" He opened the door, while the others waited outside. Waddle Doo had at first walked casually up to the fast-food people, who were all randomly chilling at a table and chatting. Kirby let out a small sigh of relief. So far, so good.

At least until Waddle Doo suddenly started stabbing them with his sword and yelled "YOU NO GOOD RACIST SONS OF-"

Kirby covered his "ears" on the last word. Hey, he knew that he shouldn't be listening to stuff like that. "Well, guess our plan just went out the window," Galacta Knight sighed. "No freaking duh," Meta Knight retorted, giving Galacta Knight a sideways-glare.

While Waddle Doo kept chasing the fast-food guys around, Sailor Dee casually walked in and began mopping the floor. "What? No!" Kirby hissed, sliding off the door and laying on the ground, groaning in exasperation. "Uuugh..."

Then, of course, it was then that Dedede ran in and began hitting everything and everyone with his hammer, hitting Waddle Doo and Sailor Dee a bunch of times in the process. Sailor Dee, visibly ticked, went into the corner and began mopping the same spot a bunch of times with excessive force.

"Hmph. Well they just fudged up our plan," Kirby muttered angrily, glaring at the members of their group that were inside Taco Time. "Sailor Dee did as he was told," Meta Knight pointed out, gesturing to the ticked-off Waddle Dee in the corner. "Mopping the floor isn't rocket science," Kirby retorted, turning around and walking off a bit. "So I guess there's only three of us, then," he sighed, back still turned to the other two. He turned around and smiled. "Guess we're just a threesome, then!"

"Ugh, no no no," Meta Knight backed up with a disgusted expression. "No, that's just...no!" Galacta Knight said, having a similar response. Kirby giggled and trotted off to the corner of the parking lot, the other two reluctantly following. "Hmm. I'm thinking wrecking balls," Kirby said once the other two had caught up. "Wrecking balls?" Galacta Knight echoed, wrapping his cape around himself. "Hey! Copy-cat!" Meta Knight sharply nudged Galacta Knight, since he'd already had his own cape wrapped around himself. "Nuh-uh! I did it first!" Galacta Knight retorted, nudging Meta Knight back. "No you did not! You are being childish!" Meta Knight nudged Galacta Knight yet again. The two kept arguing while shoving each other, which eventually turned into poking with weapons, which eventually turned into vicious stabbing.

"YOU DID NOT DO IT FIRST YOU FOOOOL!!"

"YES I DID! STOP STABBING ME WITH THAT JOUSTING THING, WOULD YOU?!"

"YOU STOP STABBING ME WITH THAT OP SWORD OF YOURS, THEN!"

"MY SWORD IS NOT OP; YOU'RE JUST WEAK!"

"I AM NOT WEAK AND YOU'RE A PUFFBALL AND YOU CAN'T DENY-NY-NY-NY IT!"

"...I AM NOT A PUFFBALL YOU'RE A PUFFBALL AND YOU WEAR PINK!"

"PINK IS A MANLY COLOR!"

"PINK IS UGLY AND STUPID!"

"I-" Kirby had begun to protest, but instead shut his mouth and continued staring at the two that were stabbing each other while screaming. After a while, he jumped inbetween the two and separated them when he started seeing blood. "NO BLOOD!" He screamed. "LET'S TRY TO KEEP THIS A CLEAN FIGHT, OKAY??"

Silence.

"UUUUGH FINE BUT ANYWAY WE NEED A PLAN." Kirby thought for a moment. "We could get a wrecking ball-"

"And where would you get said wrecking ball?" Meta Knight asked, giving Galacta Knight another quick glare before looking at Kirby. "I...dunno. Maybe ask Miley Cyrus if I could borrow hers..." Kirby answered thoughtfully.

"DUDE STOP BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL!" Galacta Knight screamed. "WHAAAT WHY?" Kirby asked. "YOU'RE GOING TO RELEASE THE RABID FANGIRLS AND THEY WILL KIDNAP US!" Meta Knight screamed. "Oh no!" Kirby yelled dramatically. "And I care how? The fangirls are only after you two...and maybe Bandy...OH CRAP WE FORGOT ABOUT BANDANA WADDLE DEE!!"

"Oh, right..." Meta Knight turned around slowly to look inside Taco Time. Eeeeyup, still total chaos in there. Waddle Doo was pinning Fred Johnson down as he screamed about how wrong racism was, Dedede had broken pretty much everything breakable, and Sailor Dee was still angrily mopping the floor. All of the fast-food employees had disappeared, with the exception of Fred Johnson.

Suddenly, a small Chihuahua wearing a tiny sombrero ran out of the back room, yipping loudly. "Oh, hello Juan!" Fred Johnson greeted the tiny rat-I-I mean dog-as he broke free from Waddle Doo. "...Juan?" Waddle Doo asked, his eye twitching. "You named a Mexican dog with a sombrero...Juan?! THAT. IS. RACIST!" He pinned Fred Johnson down and started stabbing him, Juan the Chihuahua yipping at Waddle Doo as he bit and gnawed on the leather strap that held his sword.

"Let's just...go find Bandy..." Kirby said slowly, quietly opening the door and sneaking along the wall towards the back room, the other two reluctantly following. Once the three got into the backroom, Kirby began tearing the room apart while looking for his friend. "NO NO NO THEY DID NOT ALREADY FRY HIM NO NO NO PROTAGONISTS ALWAYS HAVE TIME TO DO FILLER CRAP NO NO NO!"

"Kirby?" Asked a voice casually.

Kirby looked up in surprise to see Bandana Waddle Dee sitting casually on the counter, the other fast-food employees seated at a random table near him. Kirby gasped. "Dee?!"

"Hey, Kirby!" Bandana Dee chirped. "The fast-food guys aren't as bad as they seem, y'know. Ronald gave me some free McNuggets, Burger King gave me a free Whopper, Wendy gave me a free salad, Colonel Sanders gave me a free bucket of fried chicken, Fred gave me a free sub, Bob gave me a free DQ Blizzard, and Dora gave me a random map!"

Kirby's jaw practically dropped to the ground. "You...what?!"

"They're pretty nice, Kirby." Bandana Dee shrugged. "You shouldn't judge a book by its cover."

"Wha..." Kirby trailed off. His confused and shocked expression turned to one of anger. "ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME, BANDY?! THESE DAMN PEOPLE NEARLY KILLED US A BUNCH OF TIMES, AND YOU'RE FREAKING OUT HERE IN THE BACK ROOM CASUALLY CHILLING WITH THEM WHILE WE'RE ALL FLIPPING OUT, THINKING THAT THEY DEEP FRIED YOU-"

"That, that wasn't exactly-" Meta Knight had begun to say, but Kirby interrupted him by turning around and shrieking "MEATBALL JUST SHUT THE HELL UP OK NOBODY GIVES A DAMN POYO WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY!"

"Damn, feisty," Meta Knight backed up against Galacta Knight, who strangely didn't protest. Kirby glared at him for a moment before turning back around to continue yelling at Bandana Dee. "AS I WAS SAYING, HOW COULD YOU?! YOU FREAKING KNOW THAT THESE GUYS WANT TO KILL US, AND YOU'RE PERFECTLY FINE WITH CHILLING WITH THEM OUT HERE IN THE BACK ROOM WHILE THE REST OF US ARE GOING CRAZY TRYING TO COME UP WITH PLANS TO SAVE YOU BECAUSE WADDLE DOO SAID HE HEARD THE FAST-FOOD GUYS WERE GOING TO DEEP FRY YOU SO WE ALL RISKED OUT POYOING LIVES TO SAVE YOUR NON-EXISTENT BEHIND YOU SELFISH INSIGNIFICANT WADDLE DEE!!!!!"

Total silence filled the room. Even everyone else in the other room was silent. Finally, Bandana Dee spoke. "...Why would they...deep fry me..?" He asked quietly. He looked up at the fast-food guys. "T-that's not true, right..?"

The fast-food guys all exchanged a quick glance, then looked nervously at Bandana Dee. "You see," Ronald McDonald began. "You and the pink one did kill me twice..."

"You refused to eat my salad," Wendy butted in. "You burned down my restaurant," Fred butted in as well. "And you caused us to lose the war," Bob added. Burger King and Colonel Sanders were silent, as Kirby and Bandana Dee hadn't really done anything to them, so they didn't really care. They were content with sitting at a table in the corner while eating fried chicken and burgers. "And you didn't go on an adventure with me," Dora said, narrowing her eyes. "Y-you never asked..." Bandana Dee trailed off, then asked, "So...you were all just leading me into a false sense of security...so you could FREAKING DEEP FRY ME?!"

"Not exactly-" Ronald had begun, only to be cut of by Bandana Dee screeching loudly and pulling out his spear. That sent the fast-food guys and Dora into a panic. They ran around wildly, screaming at the top of their lungs while Bandana Dee chased them and stabbed them. Except Burger King and Colonel Sanders, who both seemed to be entirely oblivious to the situation, playing Go Fish instead.

Once the fight started getting ugly, Meta Knight slowly pushed Kirby into his cape, while Galacta Knight just stood off to the side. "We should...go check on the others," he said slowly, dragging Kirby with him. "But-but what about Bandy?" Kirby whined. "I think he'll be fine..." Meta Knight slowly dragged Kirby with him into the main room, the puffball whining and kicking in protest.

When they got back into the main room, they found that Fred Johnson had disappeared, along with Juan and Sailor Dee. Dedede and Waddle Doo were casually sitting at a table, having some conversation. As the two puffballs got closer, it became audible as to what they were saying.

"Oh yeah, I know. Then Meta Knight comes in...'Oh, Your Majesty, you shouldn't do that!'" Dedede said in a mocking tone. "'You might endanger the lives of Dreamland!' Can you believe that guy?! Hahahaha!" He banged his fist on the table, only to look up and stop when he noticed Meta Knight. "Oh, uh...hey Meta. Totally wasn't talking about you; what gave ya' that idea?"

Meta Knight didn't even bother responding, and instead just stared at the two in a somewhat exasperated way, eyes narrowed. At least until Kirby decided to poke his head out of his cape. "Hi!" He chirped, causing Dedede and Waddle Doo to fall off their chairs at his sudden appearance.

"Ugh...my head...hey, where's Bandy?" Waddle Doo asked, sitting up while Dedede just laid on the floor. "Oh, he's in the back room beating the crap outta the fast-food guys," Kirby explained, wrapping himself in Meta Knight's cape. "You're so warm...Hee-hee..." He giggled, causing Meta Knight to quickly push him away.

The four continued standing there awkwardly, until Bandana Dee trotted out of the back room happily, fresh blood coating his spear. "Hey guys!" He greeted them. He looked around at Dedede, Kirby, and Meta Knight-Waddle Doo had apparently disappeared at some point during the awkwardness. The Waddle Dee let out a chuckle. "Heh, just like old times: the four of us..."

The other three stared at him silently. Bandana Dee sighed. "Whatever. Let's just go hang out at Kirby's place or something." He started walking away, the other three following, until suddenly, a voice shouted "Wait for us!" which was followed by high-pitched yipping. The four turned around to see Sailor Dee with the Chihuahua from earlier running towards them. Juan was casually sitting on Sailor Dee's hat as he continued yipping, his short tail wagging feverishly. "Fred Johnson said he'd let me have his dog if I stopped beating him up with my mop," he explained.

"...Why were you beating him up with a mop?" Meta Knight asked. Sailor Dee shrugged. "He called me a side character, so I proceeded to beat him with a mop. Seems reasonable, no?"

"Whatever..." Meta Knight sighed, turning away. Waddle Doo casually walked out of a random side room. He was holding a taco, staring at it. "Now how am I supposed to eat this..." he mumbled to himself, until he noticed the others. "Oh, hey! Did you beat up the racist guys?"

"Yep!" Bandana Dee replied, popping the p as he twirled his spear. "Good job!" Waddle Doo tried to give Bandana Dee a thumbs-up, but it didn't really work out, y'know, not having fingers or anything, so it just like he was holding out his hand-of-sorts or something. "It's good to have you on the racist police!"

"The...racist police?" Kirby echoed, tilting his head/body. "What's that?"

"Oh, you'll see quite soon," Waddle Doo chuckled, his eye narrowing as he rubbed his hands...stubs...things...together in a devious way. "Just wait until the next chapter of Waddle Doo and the Racist Police by Doroken, the author of all this crap."

"HEY! NO FREE ADVERTISING!" Bob poked his head out of the back room and whipped a half-empty cup of ice cream at Waddle Doo, disappearing afterwards.

After wiping the ice cream off and glancing confusedly into the back room, Waddle Doo casually dropped the taco and joined their mini-group. The six (seven, including Juan) were about to leave, until Galacta Knight appeared out of nowhere and scared the crap out of everyone.

"WEEEUWEHWDBO IT'S A GHOST!" Kirby screeched, running in circles. "OH NO! NOT A GHOST!" Dedede cried, running in circles as well. "I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE AUHDOQWDBWE!!" Bandana Dee cried. "THIS IS ALL YOUR GUYS' FAULT!" Waddle Doo yelled. "YOU WERE RACIST, SO NOW YOU HAVE SUMMONED THE GHOST OF RACISIM!"

"YIPYIPYIPYIPYIPYIP!" Juan cried, his body shaking violently. Sailor Dee as well ran in circles, screeching "NOOOO I'M TOO YOUNG, TOO!!!"

"I am surrounded by idiots," Meta Knight muttered, eyes narrowing. Galacta Knight stared at everyone else screeching and running in circles. "Damn...am I that scary?" He was silent for a moment, then glanced triumphantly at Meta Knight as he nudged him, whispering, "You're not the only one that can freak people out by appearing out of thin air, Mety."

After everyone had calmed down and realized there was no ghost, they all formed a loosely organized circle. "So, whatcha guys wanna do?" Kirby asked, looking around at the small group.

"We could TP Walmart," Bandana Dee suggested, giving a small shrug. "I have paper towels," Meta Knight offered, holding up a paper towel roll. The group stared silently at the two for a few moments. Kirby smiled evilly. Then, grabbing the closest weapon-which happened to be Meta Knight's sword-Kirby pointed it into the air and shrieked, "TO NARNIA-I MEAN WALMART!!"

The other seven followed Kirby across the street to Walmart, Meta Knight complaining about Kirby taking his sword the entire time.

•12• Kidnapping And Such

I'm sorry for being a bad author; I have had MAJOR writer's block!

I'll try to make this chapter more interesting-ish to make up for it...

After they had finished vandalizing—I mean, TPing—Walmart, they went back to Kirby's house. Now, the author had had a plot idea, but since he'd been away from this story for so long, it's been completely forgotten...well. This was certainly awkward. So, what to do when there are no plot ideas? Why, random fillers, of course!

Sailor Dee was teaching Juan to fetch a stick. Of course, Juan would just pick up the stick, then lay on the ground and gnaw on it like stubborn dogs in Nintendogs.

Kirby was attempting to put back together Galacta Knight's laptop, which had been crushed earlier by Dedede. Galacta Knight was currently rocking back and forth in the corner, repeatedly singing "You are an idiot! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" while glancing over at Meta.

Bandana Dee was pacing off to the side, humming softly to himself.

Waddle Doo was playing Minecraft on the Mineplex server. And of course he was using a hacked client, because what fun is a minigame if you can't cheat to win? "LOL GET REKT SCRUBS I AM THE SUPREME MINECRAFT LORD BWAHAHAHA!!" 2 seconds later, there was a message telling him he was banned for 30 days due to using a hacked client. He sat there silently, then flipped his laptop over while screeching demonically.

And Meta Knight, the only mature one there, was in the corner reading a book as usual. He looked up briefly to glare at Galacta Knight, then went back to his book.

And Dedede was just complaining about wanting food.

"This is so boring," Kirby mumbled, giving up on trying to fix the crushed laptop.

I'm hungry. When was the last time I ate something? Yesterday? Last week? Do puffballs even need to eat? Eh, whatever. Might as well see if Kirby has anything.

And surprisingly these were not Dedede's thought. Nope. Meta's.

So he went into Kirby's house. He was about to open the fridge when he happened to notice the dead body of a random Waddle Dee on the floor. He rolled his eyes. "Galacta!"

"What?" Galacta Knight appeared out of a random cabinet, mask lazily lifted above his face.

"Why is there a dead person here?!" Meta gestured at the Dee.

"I have never seen that Waddle Dee in my life," Galacta Knight stated.

"Galactaaaaaa," Meta whined. "Tell me what happened." He glared at the other.

"Okay, well, I was in this cabinet..." Galacta began.

"Mhm?"

"And I was eating some cookies..."

"Okay?"

"And this Waddle Dee randomly showed up..."

"And?"

"Well...he wanted a cookie so I stabbed him 37 times."

"...Galactaaaaaa!" Meta whined again. "That kills people!"

"Oh, it does?" Galacta asked, tilting his head. "I did not know that. I will have to make a mental note for future reference."

Meta just sighed. "Aye...I'm just going...to go back outside and pretend I saw none of this..." He turned around and started to head back outside.

"Okay." Galacta shrugged, already finding a new snack to eat. "Have fun."

But just as Meta was about to open the door, something hit him in the head. "Hey! What the he—" his statement was cut short as something else hit him and made him unconscious.

Oooh spoopy plot.

Well of course he woke up in a closet. Because where else would he be, besides a basement?

He'd been in situations like this a lot, so he was sorta used to it. He sighed, drawing his sword. "State your name and business for bringing me here."

"Meta? You kidnapped me?! Dude it was just one Waddle Dee!" Meta felt someone tackle him. He sighed, shoving the other off of him. "Oh shut up Galacta. We were both 'kidnapped'."

"Well if it wasn't you, then who the hell brought us here?" Galacta huffed, adjusting his mask over his face again. "Your guess is as good as mine," Meta shrugged.

Galacta Knight started rambling then. "Why are we here what if someone tries to murder us who would do this why both of us why not random side characters that nobody cares about why am I still talking is this Nova's revenge for me killing the Waddle Dee I'm sorry I just wanted the cookies okay is this an evil twisted plot set up by the baby rock demons with banana swords and chairs did they team up with the purple mutant wolves with hats to plan this what if we die I never learned that pink guy's name Meta hug me I'm scared I actually don't hate you I kinda like you but not like like-like because that's weird why do they call you Sir Meta Knight anyway what did you do to deserve the Sir in your title it doesn't make sense I forget what I was even talking about I don't know ahaha...ahaha...aha...eheh...ehh...ehhh..." He broke off into weird sobbing sounds of sorts, hugging Meta for some reason. "What—get off of me!" He yelled, trying to pry Galacta off of him. "You're worse than Kirby, my Nova!"

"Sorry." Galacta let go and sat on the floor. "Did you try opening the door?"

"Oh, no, I did not." Meta reached for the knob and turned it. Surprisingly enough, it opened. He looked back at Galacta. "Well that was easy." He shrugged as he walked out. "Oh, if I only I had that Staples button..." Galacta mused as he followed. "Wonder who kidnapped us anyway..."

"It was MEEEEEEEE!" A squeaky voice off to the side yelled. And then Magolor appeared. His eyes widened when he saw the two out of the closet. "How did you get out?!" He demanded. "I call hacks!"

"You left—"

"HACKS!"

"But you left the—"

"HACKS!"

"You left the door—"

"HACKS!"

"...YOU LEFT THE DOOR UNLOCKED!"

"Oh, I did...? Whoops, silly me!" He giggled, then glared at the two. "You die now!"

"I will stab you 37 times in the chest and eat your hands," Galacta stated in a monotone voice, taking out his weapon.

Magolor just stared for a moment in silence. "Uhhh...OH MY GOSH THE HALCANDRANS ARE CALLING ME I MUST GO THE RITUAL HAS BEGUN WE MUST WORSHIP THE BABY ROCK DEMONS AND EAT BANANAS K THX CYA!" He quickly ran/floated off to...somewhere.

"...I knew it was the baby rock demons!" Galacta Knight hissed to himself. "What really was the purpose for Magolor disappearing, then showing up the next day just to put us in a closet..?" Meta questioned. "Dunno." Galacta shrugged. "Maybe it's part of some eeeevil plot!" He gasped sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Eh, whatever," Meta sighed. "We should go get the others."

The two went outside, but were surprised when they didn't see anyone. "I bet Magolor kidnapped them," Galacta Knight chuckled jokingly. "...I think he may have..." Meta said, staring at something farther off. "Heheheh-wait what." Galacta followed his gaze to see Magolor stuffing everyone into his ship.

"Magolorrr!!" Meta whined, glaring at the Halcandran. Magolor looked back innocently at the two. "Oh, hello, dearest Mety and Galacty-Chan! I was just going to er...take out all of your friends to get a treat at that ice cream place down the street..." He said slowly, looking nervously to the left.

"Oh, okay!" Galacta Knight's eyes brightened. "Can I come, too?"

"Uh...sure! The more the merrier!" Magolor responded, opening up a hatch in his ship for Galacta to jump in. "Yay!" Galacta jumped in while Magolor got in the front to begin driving the ship that had apparently been fixed.

Meta Knight just stared at everyone in the ship, eyeing Kirby in particular. It was basically a "This is obviously a trap that will end very badly and dramatically so I suggest you get out of that ship right now unless you want a boring 5 hour lecture after I have to come rescue your sorry butts from whatever Magolor is planning" look.

Kirby's innocent smile faded to a look of uncertainty and faint anxiety. Slowly, he stepped out of the ship while Magolor was fumbling with random controls. He cast a glance back at Bandana Waddle Dee, who was also looking uncertain. Bandana Dee also followed Kirby. The two stood in front of Meta, looking up at him with tilted heads. Sailor Dee and Waddle Doo followed afterwards. The rest stayed in the ship, looking forward to the promise of ice cream.

"It is a trap!" Meta yelled at everyone in the ship. They didn't seem to hear him, and finally Magolor took off with Dedede, Galacta Knight, Sword Knight, Blade Knight, and of course, Juan.

Meta Knight sighed, closing his eyes. "How did Magolor get his ship fixed?" He asked, eyes still closed.

"Uhh...Sword and Blade rebuilt it for him..." Kirby answered, shifting on the ground. "Said they had experience with ship-rebuilding..." He mumbled, staring at the ground.

"JUAN!!" Sailor Dee screeched, apparently just now realizing he had left his beloved Chihuahua on the ship. Juan had his face pressed against a back window of the ship, yipping feverishly.

Meta Knight finally opened his eyes, surveying the group. "So now we have to go rescue them," he stated, gaze sweeping across the group. "And all I have for help is an easily-distracted puffball, a peaceful Waddle Dee, a Waddle Doo that thinks everything is racist, and a Waddle Dee that mops everything." He closed his eyes again, letting out a loud sigh.

"And we're stuck with an old, boring, up-tight 'leader'," Kirby mumbled, eyes narrowing.

"Well, why do we have to save them?" Waddle Doo scoffed. "We don't really like any of them-"

"MY DOG IS ON THAT SHIP!" Sailor Dee screeched in his face. "My knights are on that ship," Meta hissed at the same time, glaring at Waddle Doo. "Okay, okay, I didn't mean it like that..." Waddle Doo said, backing up. "I mean, we can all pretty much agree that we don't care about Dedede."

"Mhm..." Bandana Dee agreed, nodding. "Absolutely." Sailor Dee agreed as well. "I care more about Blade and Sword than him," Kirby scoffed. "Even if we do not like him," Meta Knight said, glaring at the group. "We still need to rescue him. He is our King."

"Ugh. Booooriiiing," Kirby groaned.

"Well what about Magolor?" Waddle Doo asked Meta, eye narrowed. "Oh, he can crash into the sun and burn for all I care," Meta Knight responded nonchalantly. Waddle Doo just gave him the "Who put you on the planet?" look that Spongebob does.

"I still think that I should be the leader of the group, since I'm the main character," Kirby mumbled. "Well, Sir Meta Knight is the most mature of us," Sailor Dee pointed out quietly. "No way! Kirby's the best leader!" Bandana Dee protested. "Well maybe I should be leader!" Waddle Doo snapped. "You already lead the racist police! Isn't that enough?!" Meta snapped. They all broke off into their own bickers, until Kirby stopped it.

"EVERYONE!" He yelled. They all stopped arguing to look at him. Kirby smiled. "Why don't we let the readers vote in the comments?"

"NO." Meta Knight stated loudly. "STOP. BREAKING. THE. FOURTH. WALL!"

"What's that? I think I hear the shattering of the fourth wall," Kirby said, metaphorically holding his paw up to his "ear."

"Stop. Right. Now." Meta hissed menacingly.

"Hmm..." Kirby thought for a moment. "'EY Aura_Blaze, XDMaster, De_AlterSorcerer, NightofShadows, LeBlueHero, TheUltimateKirbyFan, AND ANY OTHER MAJOR READERS I FORGOT, WHATCHA GUYS THINK?"

"YOU DID NOT JUST-" Meta stared wide-eyed at Kirby. "WHY?!"

"Because you're scared of the crazy fangirls," Kirby smiled.

"You and your fourth-wall breaking is going to kill us someday..." Meta Knight groaned, facepalming...maskpalming...same difference.

Kirby shrugged innocently. "Eh, we need a good leader, so why not let some of the readers do some voting?" The puffball then turned to the readers. "So..."

"VOTE FOR KIRBY!" Bandana Dee yelled, pointing feverishly at Kirby.

Waddle Doo held up a painted sign that said "MAKE THIS STORY GREAT AGAIN. WADDLE DOO FOR PREZ 2K16."

Sailor Dee was just doing some sort of weird dance thing while pointing at Meta, who seemed reeeaaally ticked off at the moment.

"So, yeah, awkward ending yayyy..." Kirby trailed off uncertainly.

I am still having some writer's block ;~;

So, yep, like Kirby said, you can vote for who you want to be leader, because I honestly cannot decide between Meta, Kirby, and Waddle Doo. Sorry again for the super long wait! I will try to update at least once a month from now on!!

•13• SPAAAAAAACEEEEEEE

Again, I am really sorry for the lack of updates! So, I had originally finished this last night and was going to post it. But, of course, my excuse of a laptop froze and I had to do a forced restart. When it finished restarting, everything I had typed was GONE. 2 plus hours of work: GONE. So yeah needless to say I was pretty angry. Anyway, have another crappy chapter to make up for it. Now that I'm on summer break, I should hopefully have time for more fanfics!

"Well, the readers have spoken," Kirby said as he read the comments on the laptop screen. "Two for Bandy, one for Waddle Doo, one for...Juan...two for Mety, and...one for me..." The puffball trailed off, frowning. "That can't be right. How can Sir Boring Knight have more votes than me??" He whined.

"Oh well. The readers have spoken." Meta Knight just shrugged. "So it's between me and Meta Knight..." Bandana Dee murmured. "Now, Bandana Waddle Dee. It is 'Meta Knight and I'," Meta Knight corrected, which caused Bandana Dee to roll his eyes when Meta turned away.

"So how are we supposed to get into space?" Kirby huffed, changing the subject as he looked around at the small group.

"...Build a ship..?" Sailor Dee shrugged. "We could build a ship with the corpses of all who have wronged us," Waddle Doo suggested.

Kirby hissed. "No killing people! We don't even have the stuff to build a ship, and I'm sure as Hell that Meta's excuse of a ship won't get us anywhere."

"Hey!" Meta Knight protested in the background.

"We could always fly, I suppose?" Bandana Dee shrugged. "You inhale air to fly, Meta has wings, I use my spear as a helicopter thing, and...well sorry Waddle Doo...uh you could stay here to protect the castle, since Dedede's gone..?"

"But what would you do if you were to encounter a racist being?" Waddle Doo whined.

"Er...don't worry; Meta and I will take care of that! Right, Meta?" The Waddle Dee put emphasis on 'Meta and I' as he nudged the knight awkwardly.

"I...I guess?" Meta Knight just shrugged.

"Okay, then I'll stay!" Waddle Doo gave the best smile he could, not really having any facial features other than a giant eyeball and all.

"What about me?" Sailor Dee whined. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to Sir Meta Knight!"

"I can take care of myself--" Meta Knight had started, but was cut off when Sailor Dee jumped on his head, holding onto him with a death grip. "Sailor Waddle Dee, please...you are still young, and this will be a dangerous mission. Stay here with Waddle Doo."

"O-okay..." Sailor Dee trailed off, reluctantly letting go of Meta and standing next to Waddle Doo. "St-stay safe, Sir."

"So we're just going to fly into space...seems legit..." Kirby mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"So you do not question tyrannical penguins, a personification of nightmares, why we live on a literal star, why random characters are always trying to take over the planet, and how you can inhale literally anything to gain its ability, yet you will question how we can fly into outer space without suffocating?" Meta Knight huffed, already beginning to fly up.

"Well...ugh you make confusing things more confusing," was all Kirby mumbled in reply, puffing himself up and flying after his mentor, Bandana Dee twirling his spear and quickly following. Kirby and Bandana Dee waved goodbye to Waddle Doo and Sailor Dee until the three were up and out of sight.

"How much longerrrr?!"

The three had been flying for a while with Kirby asking the same question every 5 minutes. Of course, each time he spoke, he lost the puff of air he was holding in, causing him to fall a bit whenever he said anything which made Meta Knight pretty much have a panic attack every time. It got to the point where Meta Knight had to carry Kirby as they continued to fly.

The Knight sighed tiredly. "Not much longer, I hope. How long does it take to get a ship into space? Well, it would take the average ship approximately 8 1/2 minutes to get to orbit. And if you think about it, you'd be accelerating a ship that's at least 4 1/2 million pounds from zero miles per hour to its orbital velocity of 17,500 miles per hour in those 8 1/2 minutes. The American space shuttle, which is now retired, achieved this height of 100 kilometers at approximately 2 minutes 30 seconds into flight, then reached its initial orbit at an altitude between 300 and 500 kilometers generally at about 8 minutes 30 seconds into the flight. The Russian Soyuz rocket achieves similar times...The three of us are probably moving at an average speed of 30 miles per hour, so it will most likely take at least 583.333333333 times as long for us to get there, if not more."

Kirby just whined, squirming. "KIRBY-POY IS GETTING BORED POYO."

"It shouldn't be much longer!" Bandana Dee chirped, still happily twirling his spear to fly.

"Hey look there's the atmosphere." Meta Knight spoke very casually.

"What--" Kirby had started, only to break off into a loud, drawn out screech when everything around him burst into sudden light patterns and heat pulsed on every side of his puffball body. Bandana Dee had squeezed his eyes shut as he flew through the atmosphere, and Meta Knight showed no sign of the atmosphere affecting him at all, as if he'd already done this several times.

"MAKE IT STOP IT'S TOO BRIGHT POYO POYO POYO IT'S TOO HAWWWWT!!" Kirby screamed, squirming wildly.

"Kirby! Hold still!" Meta Knight hissed, trying to hold onto the squirming puffball.

"I CAN'T HOLD STILL WHEN I'M BEING BURNED ALIVE POYO POYO POYO!"

"The sooner you stay still, the sooner we'll get through the atmosphere!"

That seemed to shut the puffball up. He did as his mentor said and held still, trying to ignore the searing heat all around him.

And then, the heat was gone and was replaced with a chill. Kirby slowly opened his eyes to see the blackness and white specks of outer space, along with the other distant planets. "Thank Nova that's over," Kirby mumbled, wiping his forehead. "So where's Halcandra?" The puffball asked, looking up at his mentor, who was still carrying him.

"Erm..." Meta Knight just looked around. "I...I'm not sure. We all kind of just blacked out on the ship when Magolor took us there..."

"Maybe he didn't go to Halcandra?" Bandana Dee asked, still twirling his spear. "He could have thought that it was too obvious and gone to a different planet..?"

"Well, what planet is it?!" Meta Knight snapped, gesturing to the countless planets that only appeared once or twice in the Kirby series and were never mentioned again after that. Mostly the planets in Kirby 64 and Super Star Ultra.

"Uh...I don't know." The Waddle Dee gave a shrug. "I guess we should just search them all until we find him."

"Search every single planet? Are you out of your mind?!" Meta Knight just stared at Bandana Dee. "He would have already carried out whatever plan he has by then!"

"Uhh...hey, isn't that his ship over there?" Kirby asked, pointing to the Lor Starcutter which was just randomly flying around the moon.

"Oh. Er, yes, yes it is." Meta Knight just stared at his ship.

"Well that was easy." Bandana Dee mused, flying towards the ship. "Let's go!"

Kirby kicked down the door of the Lor Starcutter. "MAGOLOR POYO I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING TO KIDNAP OUR FRIENDS AND CARRY OUT AN EVIL PLAN BUT THE JIG IS UP SO GIVE US BACK OUR FRIENDS POYO!!"

Magolor was asleep at the control panel, but upon the arrival of the three, he jolted awake, falling backwards. "Oh, why hello my dearest Kirby, Bandy, and Mety!" He said happily. He paused for a moment, then gave Kirby a confused look. "Kidnap...evil plan?"

"Don't play stupid with us." Bandana Dee help his spear up to Magolor's face. "Where are they?"

"You mean your friends? They're in the side room there, eating ice cream like I promised them." Magolor still seemed confused at their hostility.

Bandana Dee dropped his spear. "Oh. Well let's go then!" He walked into the side room with Kirby following him. Meta Knight hung back, though, and narrowed his eyes at Magolor. "I still do not trust you."

"Ah, Mety, you need to let go of the past." Magolor rolled his eyes, then started fiddling with some random buttons on the control panel. "Learn from the past, live in the present, and plan for the future."

Meta Knight walked forward towards the Halcandran, until they were face to face, their yellow eyes locking with each other's. "I know you are planning something. I may not know what it is as of now, but I will find out. And when I do, you will be sorry for attempting to carry out your plan." With that, the knight turned around and walked off to the room where Kirby and Bandana Dee had gone.

Magolor stared after Meta Knight for a moment, then muttered a "Sí señor," before going back to fiddling with random buttons on the control panel.

"See? He wasn't lying about the ice cream!" Kirby trotted up to his mentor, two ice cream cones in his grasp. One was strawberry, the other was vanilla. "Want some?" He held out the vanilla one, pausing to lick the strawberry one.

"No, thank you." Meta Knight just walked past Kirby, pausing to survey the scene. Dedede was just eating ice cream out of the container, Bandana Dee was shoving it in his face, Juan was licking some off the floor, and Galacta Knight was trying to fit it through his mask. Sword Knight was in the corner reading a book, Blade Knight asleep on his shoulder.

Meta Knight stood there for a moment, then walked over to Blade and Sword in the corner. He curiously looked over at Sword Knight to read a few pages of his book, then grew bored and just remained sitting there, staring lazily at the others.

Kirby just shrugged. "Ah well. More for me." He began eating the second ice cream.

After everyone finished their ice cream, they sat around the table, chatting feverishly. Well, everyone except Meta and his Knights, who were still in the corner, refusing to socialize.

"Uh-huh!" Kirby was saying. "We flew into space! But Meta kept freaking out whenever I fell, so he wound up carrying me." The puffball rolled his eyes. "It felt like I was being burned alive when we flew through the atmosphere."

Dedede was just staring at Kirby and Bandana Dee in shock. "You...flew through the atmosphere..."

Kirby just nodded. "Uh-huh!"

Dedede stared at the puffball for a few moments before turning away with a sigh. "Aye..."

"I don't think that's possible," Galacta Knight said, tilting his head. "You three would've burned up in the atmosphere...there's no way you could have survived."

Kirby just gestured at himself and the other two that had come with him. "Yet we're still here."

"So you don't question a personification of nightmares, battles in outer space on the moon, puffballs that eat everything in sight, Waddle Doos that think everything is racist, and a Waddle Dee flying with a spear. But you will question how we survived flying through the atmosphere?" Meta Knight snapped from where he was still in the corner, glaring at Galacta Knight.

Galacta Knight just shrugged slowly.

It was then that Magolor floated into the room. "Hello, my guests!" He chirped. "Now...about the ice cream..."

Meta Knight glared at Magolor. "What did you put in it?" He asked flatly.

"Er..." The Halcandran nervously scratched an ear. "Well, Meta Knight was right about one thing...I uh, did have a plan..." He trailed off to stare nervously at Meta Knight, who was giving him a death glare at the moment. "Whether it will work or not, I don't know. But uh...I may or may not have laced the ice cream with laxatives."

"LAXATIVES?!" Kirby screeched angrily.

Magolor smiled (well, at least he appeared to) nervously. "Eh...maybe..?"

As if on cue, everyone that had eaten the ice cream ran as fast as they could to the bathrooms, screaming the entire time. The only ones left were Meta Knight and Blade Knight, who was somehow still asleep. Meta Knight just narrowed his eyes at Magolor. "Laxatives. Seriously."

Magolor just smiled innocently, shrugging. He then floated down the hallway, yelling "NOW YOU WILL KNOW THE PAIN I ENDURED WHEN I ATE THOSE TACOS AHAHAHA!"

Meta Knight sighed loudly. "Surrounded by idiots..." He muttered, leaving a sleeping Blade Knight as he went to wander aimlessly around the ship.

•14• A "Friendly" Visit From Ronald McDonald And Friends

It had been about 2 hours since Magolor had admitted to putting laxatives in the ice cream. Most of the victims had gotten over it and were now in the previous room at the table. Dedede was the only one still in the bathroom, actually.

"Has anyone seen Magolor?" Kirby growled, surveying the group. Everyone else either shook their head or shrugged.

Kirby sighed. "Meta?"

Again, everyone shrugged and shook their heads.

Kirby sighed again. "Where's Dedede?"

"Still in the bathroom," Bandana Dee responded, seeming distraught. "Oh dear...I hope it isn't too bad for him..."

It was then that Magolor floated back into the room. "Well, in my defense, what I did was fair, considering how four of you foiled my plans to take over the universe, and the pain I endured after eating those tacos. Seriously. Why the hell would you put beans on a frickin' taco?!"

Bandana Dee gave Magolor an apologetic look. "Sorry, I didn't think of that when I was ordering the tacos..."

"Don't apologize to him!" Kirby yelled, glaring at Bandana Dee. "That worthless, double crossing, back-stabbing alien doesn't even deserve--"

"Cake." Magolor held up a slice of strawberry cake.

Kirby stared at the Halcandran for merely a moment before demonically screeching and tackling the cake. "CAAAAAAAAAAAKEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Of course, Magolor was knocked over when Kirby tackled the cake, along with everything and everyone in the way. So in total, Magolor, Bandana Dee, and Juan were knocked over. Kirby just sat on the floor, nomming on the cake. Bandana Dee mumbled something, getting up and heading out of the room.

Kirby finished his cake, then looked up at the others. Dedede was back from the bathroom and was currently sitting at the table, holding his stomach. Sword Knight was back in the corner, reading his book. Blade Knight was still asleep. Juan was sitting on Galacta Knight's head, who was just doodling on the table with a random pen. Magolor was petting Juan, giggling as he did such.

Kirby sighed lazily, sad now that he had finished his cake. It was getting kinda boring on Magolor's ship. Man, I wish something interesting would happen, Kirby thought, slouching.

As if on cue, Bandana Dee suddenly ran back into the room, eyes wide. "Uhh guys..? We got company!"

Kirby groaned. "What now?" He followed Bandana Dee out of the room. Bandana Dee frantically pointed out the window. Kirby looked where he was pointing, and saw a spaceship that looked like a giant Chicken McNugget. "You have GOT to be poyoing me."

Sure enough, Ronald McDonald could be seen in the driver's seat with Burger King as his copilot. The windows on the ship showed Fred, Bob, Wendy, Colonel Sanders, Fred Johnson, and Dora. And of course they were heading right for the Lor Starcutter.

"We should probably tell Magolor," Bandana Dee murmured, somewhat pressing himself against Kirby's side as evident fear grew in his chestnut eyes. "What, so he can crash on another planet then make us all go get the parts that were somehow scattered across the planet?" Kirby scoffed, narrowing his eyes and shifting slightly when Bandana Dee leaned on him. "No way! If it's a fight they want..." The puffball stepped away from Bandana Dee and turned away for a few moments. Bandana Dee backed away, paws on his cheeks as the fear remained in his eyes. Kirby turned back around to look out the window, directing his glare towards the giant Chicken McNugget ship. "It's a fight they'll get."



"Stations, people! We are NOT going down without a fight!"

Kirby was currently barking orders at everyone, Bandana Dee worriedly twirling his spear by the puffball's side.

"Galacta, man that cannon! Dedede, stop eaTING MY CAKE YOU FAT LARD AND GO MAN A CANNON! Blade, wake up you lazy poyo! Sword stop reading you're turning into a Meta Knight. And can one of you SHUT THAT CHIHUAHUA UP?!"

Juan kept running around in circles, yipping loudly. Galacta Knight tried to make him shut up by slapping his hand over his muzzle, but that just made the Chihuahua yip even more. Juan just bit the knight's gloved hand and resumed running in circles. Due to the firm grip the dog had, Galacta Knight wound up being dragged in circles by the tiny dog. "THIS CHIHUAHUA IS A GOBLIN!" Galacta Knight yelled as he kept getting dragged in circles.

Kirby sighed loudly, looking around to make sure everyone did what he ordered them to. He paused to look down at Bandana Dee and give him a reassuring nod. Sword Knight appeared to be ignoring Kirby's orders, with Blade Knight asleep on his shoulder like an idiot. Kirby growled, stomping over to the two and snatching the book from Sword and smacking Blade with said book until he woke up. He mumbled a "Mini-Knight" at Sword before stomping back over to Bandana Dee.

"Speaking of Meta..." Kirby looked around. "Where the frickle frackle is he?!"

"I dunno." Bandana Dee just shrugged as he adjusted his bandana. "Maybe Magolor's seen him?"

"Hmph." Kirby just walked out of the room and went to where Magolor was steering the ship. "Have ya' seen Meta?" He asked in a flat tone, eyes narrowed in exasperation.

"I think I saw him in...that...general area." Magolor didn't even looked up from the control panel, just briefly gesturing with a hand towards a hallway on the right.

"K thanks mate." Kirby just walked off down the hallway, although he didn't see Meta Knight anywhere. The puffball sighed as he glanced around. "Where the crap did he--" Kirby was cut off as a sack was tossed over his head. "WHAT THE CRAP ARE YOU DOING STRANGER DANGER--" The puffball didn't get to finish his screaming, as he was suddenly knocked unconscious.



Light.

Too much light.

The puffball whined and covered his eyes.

"Kirby..." A female voice called. "Kirby, wake up..."

"THE HELL YOU WANT POYO?!"

"Oh, Kirby..." The voice chuckled, leaning over Kirby and prying his stubs from off of his face. Kirby stared up at who was speaking at him, only to draw back in shock. It certainly was not a female, whatever it was. It took a minute for Kirby to adjust, but he realized that it was actually Taranza--wearing a blonde wig, pink dress thing, and lots and lots of lipstick.

Kirby groaned, rubbing his face. "I'm...I'm not even gonna ask..."

Taranza just shrugged. "I'm doing what Sectonia-Senpai says to do."

Kirby looked around at his surroundings during the awkward silence. The two of them were on what seemed to be a neon pink cloud, that stretched out in every direction. There was a giant mountain made of Doritos in front of him, and a few blue polka-dotted trees to the right with neon green bushes. Kirby stared at the bushes, tilting his head as he stood up. The puffball's eyes narrowed when he saw those familiar, glowing yellow eyes fixed intently on him.

Growling, Kirby picked up a rock and hurled it at the bushes. "Stay oUT OF MY DREAMS AREN'T YOU ALREADY OVERPROTECTIVE ENOUGH IN REAL LIFE SIR BORING KNIGHT?!"

Kirby swore he heard a very animal-like hiss before the eyes disappeared. Taranza seemed very confused, staring at Kirby for quite a while. Finally, he spoke. "So uh...I'm supposed to take you to see someone that's gonna give you a prophecy or something."

Kirby rolled his eyes, groaning loudly. "Fiiine." He reluctantly followed Taranza as the spider led him up the mountain of Doritos. Ponponpon played in the background as they climbed the mountain, mixed in with varied sound effects of "Oh yeah Mr. Krabs."

By the time they got to the top of the mountain, Kirby was very sick of hearing the Oh Yeah Mr. Krabs Ponponpon remix and smelling Doritos. It was a huge relief to the small puffball as they reached a shed that smelled like fresh Mountain Dew.

"Oh, stay away from there," Taranza warned as he took extra precaution to avoid the shed. "Dedede touched it."

"EWWWWW!" Kirby gagged and ran away from the shed. "Well, if that's not where we're going, then where ARE we going?"

"Uhhh..." Taranza looked around. "Whoops...got lost again."

Kirby rolled his eyes, groaning loudly. Right as he was about to head back down the mountain, he heard someone mumbling to themselves and looked up to see a Chihuahua with almost transparent wings flying over them.

"God DAMMIT Taranza, I said the 2010 mountain, not the MLG mountain!"

"...That would explain the extra dankness here," Kirby mumbled, glancing over at Snoop Dogg, who had shown up at some point and was currently dancing in the background. He then looked back at the Chihuauha, who he recognized as Juan. "What's the 2010 mountain?"

Juan landed on the ground beside the two, his transparent wings folding on his back and disappearing with a slight shimmer. "Like this mountain, except it is made up of dead memes from 2010. You know, epic faces, Nyan Cat, Annoying Orange, the whole 'random' phase, stuff you would find on the old Flipnote Hatena basically." The small dog glared at Taranza. "Now GET OUT OF MY SWAMP!" He barked, teeth baring. Taranza just shrieked and half ran, half jumped down the mountain.

Juan calmly sat back down. "Now, young Kirby, where were we?"

Kirby remained standing, seeming extremely confused. "Uhhhh--"

"Okay, I will get right to the gist." Juan stood up and padded forward, until he was nose-to-metaphorical-nose with Kirby. "Even the dimmest ray of light can shine through darkness. Even the smallest shadow of the dark can penetrate through light...You are that light, Kirby. You are the light that will save us from the darkness of fast-food chains." Juan stepped backwards, giving what appeared to be a smile. "Stay gold, Kirbyboy."

"Wh--" Kirby didn't get to finish his question, as Daroach came out of nowhere and shoved him into a portal. The last thing Kirby was aware of before he passed out was All Star playing distortedly while a sfm Shrek danced in front of him.

This

This is why I shouldn't watch a compilation of Shrek animations before attempting to type something

•15• An Epic Chicken Boss Battle

Happy new year! To celebrate the new year, I figured it was about time that I updated this story. Writer's block really sucks.

Kirby jolted awake, already freaked out by the Shrek he had seen. The sack was thrown loosely over his head, so he reached up to pull it off of his head. He almost wished he didn't after seeing the situation.

Colonel Sanders was lying on the ground in front of him, appearing to have been brutally stabbed. Kirby did a quick survey of his surroundings and saw Meta Knight sitting in the corner, reading a book as usual, his sword covered in blood. Meta Knight looked up to see Kirby staring at him.

"Oh, hello Kirby," the older puff greeted way too casually. Kirby stared for a few more moments, in too much shock to even do a simple thing such as blink. He finally spoke. "Meta, there's a dead human in front of us."

Meta Knight's yellow gaze rested briefly on Colonel Sanders before he went back to his book. "Hrm. How'd that get there?"

The shock finally faded, and Kirby stood up, sapphire eyes narrowing. He stomped over to his mentor and snatched the book from his gloved hands. "Why did you kill him?!"

"I did not kill him," Meta Knight hissed, glaring up at Kirby. "Killing people is my least favorite thing to do."

Kirby didn't seem convinced. "What were you doing while I was dreaming about winged Chihuahuas on meme mountains with Shrek?"

Meta had seemed like he was about to answer until Kirby mentioned his dream. "The hell? Are you high or something?"

"What's that mean?" Kirby titled his head/body before his anger returned. "Whatever!! Just tell me what you did or else you're not getting your boring book back!"

Meta Knight sighed, rolling his eyes. "I was merely scouting the interior of the Lor Starcutter-"

"English please."

Another sigh came from Meta Knight as he "dumbed down" his explanation. "I was walking around the ship and heard you screaming. When I came to investigate, I saw Colonel Sanders trying to kidnap you or something. So I did my job and protected you or whatever."

Kirby sat down, blinking before he spoke. "So you killed him."

"I said before that is my least favorite thing to do, and that I did not kill him."

"Then why is he dead?"

"Because I protected you."

"By killing him?"

"No."

Kirby tried to speak in an angry fluster of words, the only comprehensible thing being "MMMMMMM!"

Meta Knight just shrugged, taking the chance to get his book back. Kirby didn't seem to care about it, speaking again. "So how did you 'protect' me, exactly?"

"By stabbing Colonel Sanders in the abdomen until he shut up."

"...Meta that freaking kills people."

"Oh? I will have to make a note of that for future reference."

Kirby gave a heavily-exaggerated facepalm...stub...thing.

And then writer's block happened. So what better thing to add than the giant wind-up chicken mentioned in a previous chapter?

And that's what happened. The giant wind-up chicken crashed through an air vent, making loud chicken noises. And naturally, Kirby and Meta Knight ran, the chicken loudly following them in typical loud chicken fashion.

"Honestly what even is this story anymore?" Kirby asked to nobody in particular. Meta Knight didn't answer, instead flying up into a random air vent and disappearing. "Oh thANKS FOR THE HELP!" Kirby yelled after him as he continued to run away from the chicken.

Meanwhile, Magolor had seated everyone around a long meeting table. The occupants chattered amongst each other.

"Why did Magolor make us sit here?"

"Why does Magolor have such a giant table?"

"Why are we asking so many questions?"

"Enough! You guys are so loud!" Magolor whined, gloved hands over his ears as he floated into the room.

"But why did you-" Bandana Dee started to ask, but was interrupted by Magolor screaming a "SHUT UP!"

"Rude," Galacta Knight scoffed, crossing his arms. "You don't have to be such a buttface, Magolor."

Magolor seemed like he was about to retort, but was interrupted by a screech in the distance, which increasingly grew louder. Then Kirby crashed through the wall, leaving a Kirby-shaped hole in it. "CHICKEN!"

Magolor's ears flattened in confusion as he blinked. "As in, a chicken nugget, or..?"

"NOPE HE MEANS A LITERAL CHICKEN." Galacta Knight was now pressed against the wall, staring wide-eyed at the giant chicken. The chicken stared blankly back at him with its plastic eyes. Juan trembled beside the knight, giving an occasional shaky yip at the chicken. Bandana Dee shuffled behind Magolor, chestnut eyes wide in fear. Dedede looked up at the chicken, licking his lips...beak..? Sword Knight stepped forward, unsheathing his sword as he glared at the wind-up chicken. Blade Knight did the same, although in a more clumsy manner.

"Er..." Magolor seemed confused, looking around at the group. "Fight or flight?"

"Flight!" Galacta Knight cried, trembling as he gazed upon the mighty chicken. Juan yipped in agreement. "Fight!" Sword Knight and Blade Knight declared, firmly grasping their swords. "Eat!" Dedede yelled, gazing hungrily at the chicken. He obviously didn't realize it was plastic. Boy, would he be in for a disappointment.

"Okay have fun dying then." Magolor went into an escape pod, pressing the button and flying off of the ship.

"...Well crap." Kirby mused as he watched him go. "Now the ship has no captain."

"I wouldn't say that."

Kirby looked up and gasped. Meta Knight was standing on a random ledge higher up, his cape blowing backwards despite there being no wind. The light inside the ship reflected off of his mask, matching the yellow glow of his eyes. Meta Knight leaped down from the ledge, landing on the table with a skilled frontflip. He looked up, yellow gaze scanning the others as they gazed at him with admiration. The elder knight raised his stance, speaking with a heroic voice that was as clear as Magolor's "secret" plans. "I will pilot this ship."

The small crowd cheered in triumph, but they were soon drawn back to the matter at state - the chicken. With a loud cluck, the chicken brought down a yellow talon(?) in an attempt to crush those beneath it. Kirby rolled out of the way to dodge the attack, growling. "Alright!" He yelled to the others. "If you're not gonna fight, then go cower in another room somewhere while us epic people take care of this thing!"

With a girly screech, Galacta Knight scooped up Juan and ran out of the room. Dedede slowly backed out of the room, although stayed in the doorway, his gaze never leaving the chicken.

Kirby rubbed his stubs together, exhaling. His blue gaze traveled upward, scaling the mighty chicken. He'd fought lots of bosses before. Surely this chicken wouldn't be too hard. Looking behind him, Kirby mentally noted Meta, Sword, Blade, and Bandana Dee as being there to help. Blade and Sword, who had seemed like heroes before, were now looking uncertain as they shuffled behind Meta Knight. Bandana Dee stood next to Kirby, twirling his spear in anticipation. The Waddle Dee leaned towards Kirby, speaking quietly. "When do we attack?"

Kirby turned to glare at the chicken. "We attack...NOW!" With a loud shrill, Kirby leaped at the chicken, landing a hard kick on its stomach. However, being made of plastic, the chicken did not take any damage, but rather Kirby did. "Ow!" He hissed angrily, foot numb with pain. "Okay...okay...uh, new plan...try stabbing it and breaking the plastic."

The other four did as he said, throwing themselves at the chicken and stabbing it in various spots. Bandana Dee was on its head, Meta Knight flying above it and occasionally giving a downward thrust with his sword on its back. Blade and Sword were underneath the chicken, trying to knock it off balance. Kirby, after a pause, flew up and landed beside Bandana Dee on the chicken's head. The chicken clucked loudly, throwing its head back and forth in an attempt to shake its attackers off.

"Kirby!" Bandana Dee cried, his paws scrambling to get a grip on the plastic. Kirby leaped towards the young Waddle Dee, grabbing him by his bandana. As the chicken shook its head again, Kirby felt himself start to slip off. "I can't hold on!"

The two screamed as they fell off the chicken, although luckily they were caught by Meta Knight, even though they most likely wouldn't have taken any fall damage due to the logic of 2D games. Meta Knight was going to set the two back on the chicken, but was knocked out of the air by a swing of the chicken's wing. (Rhymation be fun.)

The three landed on the table, breaking it in half. "Oh, so we can break the freakin' table, but not the chicken?" Kirby growled, trying to sit up. Dizzy from falling off the chicken and crashing into the table, the puffball fell back down. He couldn't comprehend which way was up or down, let alone fight. Bandana Dee was probably feeling the same way, Kirby reckoned as he watched the Waddle Dee act similarly. Meta Knight had gotten up, and was slashing at the chicken's face. The chicken let out another loud cluck as a compartment on its backside opened up to reveal a giant jellybean. The jellybean rolled out, crushing Blade and Sword. Meta Knight flew down to roll the giant piece of candy off of his knights, but it was no use; the two had been knocked out cold. Before Meta Knight could do anything, he was sent flying into the wall with another smack from one of the chicken's wings.

Kirby watched Meta go flying into the wall and frantically looked around at the others. Bandana Dee was laying face-first on the broken table, and Sword and Blade were still passed out. Well...there was still Dedede. Kirby looked over at the king, who was still watching the scene from the doorway. Oh, who was he kidding? Dedede wasn't gonna do crap. Kirby looked over at Bandana Dee with a weak sigh. "So this is how we're gonna go, huh? After all the crazy stuff we've been through...a giant, wind-up chicken."

Bandana Dee couldn't even muster the strength to look up at Kirby. "There's nothing left for us to say; soon we'll be dead anyway."

"...What's that supposed to me-"

BOOM!

The wall was blasted open in a fiery, charred mess with bits of metal flying everywhere. The chicken was lit on fire from the explosion, and began letting out panicked chicken noises until it finally collapsed into a flaming pile of plastic. Kirby lifted his head, trying to see their hero. His mouth opened, but no sound came out as the figure emerged from the smoke.

Covered in dried blood and soot, with a rusty kitchen knife in one hand and a deep fryer in the other, came Colonel Sanders. The elderly fast food mascot pushed his cracked glasses up onto the bridge of his nose, the flames from the dead chicken reflecting in the broken lens. "Nobody does chicken like KFC."

•16• A Visitor And A Plan

"CHICKEN CHICKEN CHICKEN CHICKEN CHICKEN CHICKEN CHICKEN CHICKEN!" Dedede's voice cut through the stunned silence that followed Colonel Sanders' appearance. The king pushed past everyone to stare hungrily at the melting plastic chicken. After staring for a while, he turned to Colonel Sanders. "Oi, ya' gonna fry this up or what?"

Colonel Sanders adjusted his glasses. "Well son, you do realize that it's plastic, do you not?"

"Plastic shmlastic." Dedede just scoffed.

Meta Knight looked up from where he was laying on the floor. "Ingesting plastic can lead to digestive problems."

"Well, whateva!" Dedede huffed, crossing his arms. "I'm starvin'!"

"YOU JUST ATE MY ENTIRE INVENTORY 10 MINUTES AGO!" Magolor poked his head out from around the doorway, despite having disappeared in an escape pod in the previous chapter. The Halcandran's ears flattened as he angrily gestured towards an empty refrigerator.

Dedede shrugged in response, answering in a monotone "sorry."

Colonel Sanders cleared his throat. "This thing here is just a pile o' plastic, but I can whip ya' up some real chicken."

Dedede squealed immaturely, waving his mittened hands around while Meta Knight rolled his eyes. With a groan, Kirby sat up and rubbed his head. "What month is it..?"

"April 29th, 2017, which is precisely 71 days after national cabbage day," Meta Knight informed the puffball, who was wide-eyed with confusion. "Or, if you'd prefer, 2 months and 12 days, excluding the end date. Alternate approximate units include 6,134,400 seconds, 102,240 minutes, 1,704 hours, 71 days, 10 weeks and 1 day, and 19.45% of 2017."

Kirby just blinked. "Why the crap do you know stuff like that?"

"Because I'm Meta Knight. So I know everything."

Sword Knight coughed pointedly, apparently having regained consciousness. "Conceited."

Kirby scanned the room. Bandana Dee was sitting up, being oddly quiet. Sword Knight was standing with his arms crossed, leaning on the melted chicken; the fire had long since burned out. Blade Knight was just starting to come to, rubbing his head several times. King Dedede was having an engaging conversation with Colonel Sanders about fried chicken. Magolor was just chilling in the doorway, ears still flat. Meta Knight was hiding in his cape, mumbling something along the lines of "Nova take me now."

Bzzzzzz!

At the sound of the buzz, Magolor's flattened ears perked up. "Oh. It seems we have a visitor." He left the room after that, going to the entrance of the ship. Kirby decided to follow him.

Magolor promptly opened the main door, despite them being in outer space. Kirby was beyond shocked by who he found floating outside. The puffball's mouth opened, but no sound came out, leaving him staring at the arrivers in stunned silence. Kirby almost wished that it could have been Ronald McDonald, Burger King, Wendy, Dora, anyone besides him.

The all too familiar face of Marx was there, accompanied by a shaking Galacta Knight, happy Sailor Dee, neutral Waddle Doo, and yippy Juan.

"Hello!" Magolor greeted them kindly. Kirby pushed past the alien to glare at Marx. "What are you doing here, you poyo?"

Marx smiled innocently. "Well, I was back on Popstar, just bouncin' around on my ball as usual, when I came across these two." He gestured at Sailor Dee and Waddle Doo, who both waved at Kirby. "Anyway," Marx went on, "they said that you guys went off into space, and the Waddle Dee was worried about y'all, while the Waddle Doo said something about...'A disturbance in the force of racism.'" The light purple puff shook his head. "Whatever that means. So I said I'd take them into space so I could reunite 'em with you guys. Along the way, I found this one-" He paused to gesture at Galacta Knight, "-floating around in space with the Chihuahua, saying something about a...turkey?"

"IT WAS A CHICKEN YOU DAFT NUGGET!" Galacta Knight smacked Marx with his lance, messing up his jester hat. "A GIANT, WIND-UP, CHICKEN!"

"Right..." Marx stared at the knight for a few moments before turning back to Kirby. "So, yeah!"

Kirby just gave a grunt of disapproval, crossing his stubby arms. "Okay, you've brought them to us, so go now."

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!" Magolor protested, frantically shaking his gloved hands. "All guests are welcome on my ship!" He stepped to the left, gesturing inside. "Please, Marx and company, come in."

Kirby growled loudly. "Are you pOYOING ME?!"

"What's all the noise?" Bandana Dee poked his head around the corner and looked confused until he saw the arrivers. "Oh. Hi Sailor Dee and Waddle Doo! Hey, Galacta Knight...Juan...And uh...Who's that?"

"Another backstabbing traitor," Kirby grumbled, glaring at Marx, who was just casually bouncing on his striped beach ball thing.

"What." Meta Knight appeared around the corner above Bandana Dee, his voice tight. "We don't need another one of those," he growled, yellow eyes narrowing.

"Oh, come on!" Marx protested, trying to look innocent. "All I want are some friends!"

Sword Knight and Blade Knight poked their heads around the corner, most likely picking up on Meta Knight's hostility. "Backstabbing traitors? We're good at dealing with those, Sir." Sword Knight narrowed his eyes, and Blade Knight nodded in agreement. Dedede joined the other four in poking his head around the corner. "Did he bring food?"

"I mean I have a granola bar but-" Marx took a granola bar out of his hat as he started to speak, but was cut off as Dedede smacked him aside with his hammer and stole said granola bar. The self-proclaimed king ran off into a side room to eat his prize.

"Granola bars are so...bland," Kirby remarked, staring after King Dedede absently for a moment before looking back over at Marx, his eyes narrowing in a glare. "Go get a job at Dairy Queen if you want some friends." The pink puffball started to push Marx out the door, prepared to slam it on him, until Magolor interfered. "I said all guests are welcome!"

Kirby growled as he crossed his stubs, but reluctantly stepped aside as Magolor let Marx in again. "What a load of floccinaucinihilipilification."

Nobody commented on Kirby's use of the overly-large word, instead coming forward to greet Marx. King Dedede said a heavily-accented "Hello!", Colonel Sanders gave him a piece of (plastic) fried chicken, Blade and Sword each nodded in acknowledgement, Juan sniffed everyone for a good 5 minutes, and Magolor chatted excitedly with his old friend. Meta Knight, Kirby, and Bandana Dee stood off to the side, not being very trusting of the newcomer.

"We might as well see if he's useful," Kirby muttered to the two before stepping forward, loudly clearing his throat. The bustle of greetings and chatter died down as everyone turned their gazes towards the main character. Once Kirby was sure he'd gotten everyone's attention, he walked forward to Marx, blue eyes glaring into his.

"So, Marxy...ya' know anything about the fast-food mascots?"

Marx tilted his head, seemed to think for a moment, then answered casually. "Not really, but I did see a uh...something that looked like a giant chicken nugget coming towards this ship, I guess."

"And who did you see in it?" Kirby asked gruffly, taking a threatening step towards Marx. The lavender puff flinched, bouncing backwards on his ball. "I don't know! I didn't think much of it, ya' know?"

Kirby blinked a few times in confusion before narrowing his eyes and hissing. "You mean to tell me that you saw a giant chicken nugget floating in outer space, and you thought nothing of it?"

Marx just shrugged nonchalantly. "Hey man, when you've lived in Dreamland for a few years, you get used to that kind of stuff."

Kirby scowled and turned away from the conflicting-personalitied puff, stomping back over to Bandana Dee and Meta Knight as he settled himself into a pouting ball between them.

There was something about Marx that just put Kirby off. It wasn't that he was a mean-spirited puff, in that retrospect, but it was more the factor of knowing what he was capable of. Kirby had trusted him all those years ago, thought he was a friend, and for what? In the end, Marx had betrayed him and all of Popstar. With his often happy-go-lucky smile and cheery vibes, it could be hard to maintain such an aggressive attitude towards him. He always had an innocent look about him, despite the twisted mind he had and the diabolical acts he was capable of. Kirby almost wished Marx was more of a jerk - it would be so much easier to hate him if he was.

"You know what?" Bandana Dee stood up from where he had been sitting beside Kirby, his chestnut eyes narrowed defiantly. "I'm sick and tired of running! These fast-food guys have been following us everywhere. We've all kept running and hiding, hoping that they won't find us, but in the end, they always do. I say it's time we bring the fight to them!"

"Yeah!" Waddle Doo chimed in, raising his sword. "I wanna stab Ronald McDonald!"

Kirby stood up, surprised at Bandana Dee's sudden outburst, but he yelled his agreement anyway. "Let's see how they like being chased all the time!"

Bandana Dee nodded, looking around at the rest of the group. Blade and Sword looked at Meta for approval, who of which had an unreadable expression. King Dedede enjoyed the idea of getting revenge on Wendy for all the lettuce she'd shot at him. Magolor didn't really care, as long as his ship didn't get damaged in the process.

Juan is just a Chihuahua that's a side character, so his opinion, if he even had one, was unimportant and irrelevant.

Sailor Dee was excited at the chance of finding new floors to mop. Marx was confused as hell, needless to say, so he stood off to the side with Colonel Sanders, who was staring at the ceiling with great interest. Galacta Knight, like King Dedede, wanted to beat up Wendy; she had lowered his reputation drastically ever since she humiliated him with lettuce.

Kirby glanced over at Bandana Dee, who gave a firm nod. Kirby turned back to the group, eyes narrowed as he made his announcement. "We strike at dawn."

Meta Knight spoke quietly. "Um...you do realize whereas we are currently in outer space, there is no time perception-"

"WE STRIKE AT DAWN."

•17• The Waiting Game

Finally, after 2 (or has it been 3?) years...it's back...and ready to attack.

"So, Magolor, what's this ship run on, anyway?" Kirby leaned absently against the control panel, lazily looking at his stubby hand as Magolor fumbled with miscellaneous buttons.

The Halcandran replied without looking up.

"Memes."

Kirby glanced up at Magolor, raising an eyebrow. "Memes..? What kind of memes?"

"Dank memes."

Kirby was silent as Magolor carried on with his button-fumbling. Thankfully, the awkward silence didn't last for long, as Meta Knight entered the room.

"So, Kirby. How is your 'plan' going?" The knight asked with a sarcastic tone, narrowing his yellow eyes.

Kirby, being his naïve self, did not pick up on said sarcasm and responded as if it were a normal question. "Oh, great! Bandana Dee's on watch for when it turns dawn, and then he's gonna give me the signal, and then we're all gonna go and attack the fast-food guys and we're gonna rip out their entrails and decorate their ship with them after gouging out their eyes with rusty sporks and drenching their bodies in gasoline and throwing cherry bombs at them and laughing as they bleed and burn to death!" Kirby squeaked happily, giving the sweetest face.

Meta Knight's eye twitched, and he slowly backed away from Kirby. He almost seemed like he was going to say something, but then must've thought better of it and just backed into the room he'd previously come out of, leaving Kirby and Magolor alone again.

"I'm proud of you," Magolor commented to the puffball before going back to his usual button-fumbling. Kirby had the suspicion that half the time, Magolor wasn't even doing anything with the buttons, and instead just did it in an attempt to look busy. He wouldn't have been surprised, at least.

Leaving Magolor to his useless button mashing, Kirby wandered into the room where Bandana Dee was on watch for dawn. "Yo, Dee! Any sign of light yet?"

"Hm...nope, nothing yet Kirby." Bandana Dee was staring straight out the window, eyes squinted. Kirby sighed in frustration. "If only we had a heckin' watch or something..."

Bandana Dee looked over at Kirby, chestnut eyes wide in shock. Kirby returned his stare with a confused look. "What?"

The Waddle Dee continued to stare as he quietly screamed out, "Why would you swear like that?!"

"Wait. How the hell does someone 'quietly scream'? What?" Kirby asked to the air, unintentionally breaking the fourth wall. Bandana turned away with a shake of his head, not commenting on Kirby's use of "hell" or his fourth wall breaking.

"Psh...whatever. Call me when you start to see light." Kirby had started to walk away, but was forced to stop when Meta Knight jumped out of an air vent and landed straight in front of him. The puffball groaned loudly. "Whaaaat?"

"Kirby, there is no time perception," Meta Knight reminded him. "Whereas we are in outer space, the sky will always appear black. There. Is. No. Light."

"Yeah yeah, whatever old man." Kirby spun around and marched the opposite way, sassily rounding the corner, but it was then that he bumped into Colonel Sanders, who was busy chasing a rat. "Er...I'm not even gonna ask why you were chasing that," he mumbled as the two of them watched the rat scamper off. Looking up at the elder, Kirby added, "Yo, I'm hungry. Can you whip up some chicken?"

Colonel Sanders leaned in close to Kirby, talking very quietly. "You got the money?"

Kirby pulled out two dollars from wherever he stored his stuff, responding with "Yeah. Gimmie the usual."

Colonel Sanders took the money from Kirby before speaking. "Oh yeah, sorry but the fried chicken machine broke."

"Oh okay," Kirby said. "Understandable, have a great day." The puffball turned around and walked off, not seeming to care that Colonel Sanders had just robbed him of two dollars.

At the end of the hallway, Kirby was greeted with a wide-eyed Meta Knight. "Did you just have a drug deal with Colonel Sanders?"

"WhAT?" Kirby looked confused out of his little mind. "Are you oKaY?"

Meta Knight was about to respond, but Kirby shoved him out of the way and ran around the corner, screaming "HUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE!"

He wound up back in the room where Bandana Dee was. Kirby just stood next to him, following his gaze out the window. The giant chicken nugget was nowhere in sight, causing the puffball to narrow his eyes in confusion. "Dee? Where's the chicken nugget?"

When Bandana Dee didn't respond right away, Kirby turned to look at him. "Dee." He repeated. "Have you seen the nugget?"

Bandana Dee's gaze was still focused out the window. "Oh? No. Have you?" He asked absently.

Kirby rolled his eyes. "That's why I asked you."

"Oh. Um...Maybe Meta should hear that-" Bandana Dee started, but was cut off as Meta Knight jumped out of the air vent above them again. "I should hear what?"

"We lost the chicken nugget." Kirby stated in a monotone voice, as Bandana Dee fainted in the background for some reason. He was probably spooked by Meta's sudden appearance. Meta Knight gave a confused look, gaze drifting from the collapsed Dee to Kirby. After a few moments of awkward silence, Kirby gasped, forming his own opinion about the situation. "Holy CRAP DID DEDEDE EAT IT?!"

"What? No, no!" Meta Knight snapped angrily, smacking Kirby on the head. "Stop screaming like that, too. A lot of us are getting annoyed by your screaming, you know."

"You didn't have to hit me!" Kirby whined, rubbing his head dramatically even though Meta Knight hadn't even hit him that hard.

Meta just sighed, closing his eyes. "As for the McNugget, I believe it is on the other side of the ship. Perhaps you should keep watch over there?" He opened an eye.

"No you," Kirby retorted, sticking his tongue out.

"You seem to be forgetting that you're not the one in charge here." Both eyes were open now, staring evenly down at Kirby.

"I'm the main character of course I'm in charge!" Kirby snapped.

"What about the 'vote' you called for a few chapters ago?" Meta Knight eyed him questioningly. "The one you conveniently forgot about after finding out you didn't win?"

"Biased and rigged!" Kirby yowled.

"It seemed rather fair to me," Meta remarked.

"Doesn't matter! Didn't count! I'm in charge!" Kirby stomped.

"You cannot call off an election because you don't like the results."

"Never counted in the first place!" Kirby stomped harder this time. He was basically throwing a tantrum. Made sense though, since he was technically a baby.

"Then why did you hold a vote in the first place?"

"Well I didn't think the readers would vote for you guys!! I thought they'd all vote for me!" Kirby whined. "I'm the star of the show, aren't I?!"

Meta Knight just stifled a sigh. "Kirby..."

Kirby huffed. "And I was already in charge before anyway so I'll keep being in charge!"

"That is how dictatorships start." Meta Knight's eyes narrowed slightly. Just slightly.

"What, you mean like King Dededumb?" Kirby retorted, sticking his tongue out.

"HEY!" Dedede's voice boomed from one of the hallways. "I HEARD THAT! DON'T MAKE ME COME CLOBBA' YA, KIRBEH!"

"COME DO IT THEN!" Kirby yelled back, sticking his tongue out in the direction Dedede's voice had come from. "You won't! DEDEDUMB! You need to go on a DEDEDIET! You're Dededangerously fat, you Dededict-"

"That's enough," Meta Knight hissed, slapping his hand over Kirby's mouth.

"Mmph!" Was Kirby's only response.

Meta Knight hadn't been quick enough to shut Kirby up, however, and the next thing they knew King Dedede was stomping into the room.

"I'll take care of him," Meta Knight tried to assure Dedede. The penguin king just grumbled, glaring down at Kirby, who looked up at him tauntingly.

It was then that Bandana Dee finally came to, probably from all the shouting. He sat up, rubbing his head. "Ugh...wh'happened?" He looked around and noticed the other three looking down at him. His eyes brightened. "Hey, it's the four of us together again!"

Kirby gave a disdainful glance towards King Dedede. "Ew."

"What?" Bandana Dee asked innocently.

Kirby stuck his tongue out at Dedede. "Dededisgusting."

King Dedede inhaled deeply as he raised his hammer, glaring down at Kirby. In raising his hammer, however, he'd accidentally thwacked Bandana Dee, making him slide to the other side of the room as he was knocked out again. But none of the other three seemed to really notice or care much.

Meta Knight was quick to intervene, pushing himself in front of Kirby. "Dedede, please. I can handle him."

"Then handle 'im!" Dedede huffed, looking slightly offended and hurt. "Make him stop calling me names! I don't like it!"

"But it's Dededelightful to make fun of you!" Kirby smiled innocently.

"Kirby." Meta Knight gave Kirby a sharp glare. Kirby's smile faded. Then the dread started to set in. "Poyo?" He offered, smiling guiltily.

"No, no. That won't work on me anymore." Meta Knight continued to glare at him.

Kirby kept trying to look innocent and give a pleading face, but Meta Knight didn't waver.

"You apologize to King Dedede right now or else I'm making you sweep the entire castle when we're back on Popstar."

"WHAT?" Kirby glared up at his mentor. "NO!"

"Sweep the castle or apologize."

Kirby growled, kicking at the ground before looking flatly up at King Dedede. "I am Dededearly sorry, Dedede."

"Kirby!"

Kirby rolled his eyes and sighed before looking up at King Dedede again. "I'm sorry for calling you names, Dedede."

Dedede eyed him skeptically. Meta Knight seemed satisfied with the apology, at least.

Kirby smiled at both of them before going over to Bandana Dee, who was waking up again. "What happened THIS time?" The Dee groaned. "Or the first time, even?"

"The first time Meta jumped out of the air vent and gave you a spook, which I suppose is somewhat appropriate considering the month it is...well...was at least, when the author started writing this particular part..." Kirby commented. No sooner than he had trailed off, Galacta Knight ran down the hallway, with Juan yipping on his head as he chanted "IT WAS SEPTEMBER WHICH MEANT IT WAS ALMOST OCTOBER WHICH MEANT sPoOkY tImE!"

"Actually...it's been September again. Like at least 3 times. Because over 2 years have passed now. Wow, this guy is really behind." Kirby shook his head as he mumbled to himself. "This is getting trippy."

"...There's something not right with him," Meta Knight commented disdainfully, watching the so-called "Greatest Warrior in the Galaxy" run off. Sailor Dee had been walking down the hallway with a mop, and had to jump out of the way as Galacta Knight ran past him. Muttering angrily to himself, the Dee went on down the hallway.

"I should go check on him," Meta Knight stated after a brief pause. He went off into the hallway. King Dedede followed him, leaving Kirby and Bandana Dee to wait for the morning in outer space. Kirby watched them go, and an awkward silence followed between him and Bandana Dee. Finally, Kirby turned back to his friend. "Anyway...the second time Dedede accidentally hit you with his hammer. Are you gonna go watch from the other side of the ship like Meta said?" He quickly changed the subject before Bandana Dee could even process the fact that Dedede had accidentally clobbah'd him.

Bandana Dee blinked. "Are you?"

"Am I what? Gonna listen to Meta?" Kirby scoffed. "Of course not. He's almost 3,000 years old. Definitely gonna go senile if he hasn't already."

"You're like...200," Bandana Dee pointed out, to which Kirby responded with a shrug. "I think you should listen to him more," the Waddle Dee went on, eyes narrowing. "He's very wise, and he's always right."

"How much is Meta paying you to say that?" Kirby scoffed, looking down the hallway where said knight had walked off. "What? He's not paying me anything!" Bandana Dee huffed, looking offended. "You think I would accept a bribe? Especially one that involves lying to you?"

"Defensive," Kirby remarked in a low whistle.

"Well, whatever Kirby!" Bandana Dee huffed again, stubs crossed as he glared at his pink friend. "I'm gonna listen to Meta Knight and go keep watch on the other side of the ship." He turned around and started walking down the hallway that lead to the opposite side of the ship.

"If you were really listening to him, then you just wouldn't keep watch at all!" Kirby yelled after him. "ThErE's No TiMe PeRcEpTiOn In SpAcE!" He called mockingly.

"Uh...well yeah, there isn't," Waddle Doo commented, turning to look at Kirby as he walked by. He paused and stared at the puffball. "Meta Knight isn't dumb - he knows what he's talking about."

"And how much is he paying YOU?!" Kirby screeched, whirling around to glare fiercely at the Waddle Doo. The walking eyeball simply held up his stubs, backing up. "Whoa man, hey, he ain't paying me anything."

Kirby narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, sure."

"W-Waddle Doo's right," Sailor Dee stammered, peeking out from behind said Waddle Doo. When Kirby turned his blue glare to the timid Dee, his eyes went wide and he stammered even more. "Don't blame me I just work here!" He turned around and ran off.

"Hey wait wasn't Meta just following him-" Kirby asked absently.

BOOM!!

"Uh oh," Kirby said.

Another loud boom followed it, and this one cause the ship to shake.

"Whoooaaa!" Waddle Doo shouted as he was thrown down the hallway.

"YIPYIPYIPYIPYIP!" Juan cried as he was lurched down the hallway in the opposite direction, followed by a "JUAN NO!" from Galacta Knight.

"AHHHH!" Kirby yelled as he was thrown against the window.

"Ugh..." he groaned as he slid down the glass, landing slowly onto the floor. "What the poyo was that..?" The puffball rubbed his head as he stood up.

"Meta Knight for Nova's sake!" Magolor shouted.

Seeing as that's where the problem most likely was, Kirby headed back to where Magolor was at the main control panel. "What's up?"

Magolor turned to look at him, and huffed as he gestured to the windshield/front window/whatever it was. "This is up!"

Kirby followed his gaze. "Oh. Hi, Halberd."

Right in front of the Lor Starcutter was the Halberd. The two ships were literally nose-to-nose. Obviously the boom noises and the shaking had been from the collision.

"Where is your mentor?" Magolor asked, looking annoyed.

Kirby shrugged. "I-unno."

"Yes you do," Magolor insisted, hovering closer to Kirby. "Where is he."

"Last I saw him he was looking for Sailor Dee." Kirby remained nonchalant even though the ships' collision was definitely more than a minor problem.

"Well, go find him!" Magolor huffed, throwing his hands up as he went back to the control panel. For once, he actually seemed to be doing important stuff and not just random button-mashing.

Well at least Kirby didn't have to go wandering around the ship, as Meta Knight conveniently appeared out of an air vent. "Find who?"

"Wha - you!" Magolor sputtered, glaring up at Meta Knight. "And get out of my air vents!"

"I'm seeing if you're hiding anything up here," Meta Knight retorted. "Besides, the air vents have proven to be a superior travel method."

"There is nothing in my air vents besides air now get out of there and get your ship off of mine!" Magolor barked.

"My ship?" Meta Knight was obviously confused.

"Yes, the one that just crashed into mine!"

Meta Knight finally hopped out of the air vent to investigate. He stared at the Halberd emotionlessly for a few seconds before answering. "That's not my ship."

"What?" Magolor turned to glare at him.

Meta Knight shrugged. "Never seen that ship in my life before."

Magolor just glared at Meta Knight. There was an awkward silence for a bit. Kirby, not wanting to get involved with the argument, just sat down on the floor and watched them. Even though he definitely knew the Halberd was Meta's, he wasn't gonna say anything about it.

"That's your mask on the front of it." Magolor finally spoke.

"Hm...no. Looks more like Galacta Knight's," Meta Knight rubbed his head as he gazed at the other ship.

Magolor's eye twitched. "Galacta's is more of a plus shape. Yours is a V shape." He turned forward again and gestured at the Halberd. "That is a V shape, my guy."

"You are wrong." Meta Knight just wrapped his cape around himself, staring neutrally at Magolor.

"No I'm not!" Magolor insisted angrily.

Kirby looked over towards the Halberd as he heard what sounded like someone very loudly tapping on glass. He could see the silhouette of someone inside the ship, so he stood up and walked up to the glass so he could get a closer look.

"YOOO META KNIGHT!" A voice shouted from the other ship.

Kirby gasped. It was Sir Squawk A-Lot! And two random knights he didn't recognize right away.

"...So are you still gonna try to tell me that ship isn't yours?" Magolor asked in a deadpan tone, turning to give a narrow-eyed glance at Meta Knight, who had turned away from the windshield and was still standing with his cape wrapped around himself.

"HEY WHAT'S UP, META?" Captain Vul called. "WE GOT THE WHOLE CREW HERE!"

Meta Knight finally decided to acknowledge Vul, walking up to the windshield near Kirby and shouting so he could be heard between the ships. "For Nova's sake, Vul!"

"Hey, is that a fresh bird that can be turned into KFC fried chicken?" Colonel Sanders suddenly asked, standing behind Kirby and Meta Knight as he stared over at Captain Vul.

"No." Meta Knight hissed, glaring angrily up at Colonel Sanders as his eyes flickered red. Kirby instinctively backed away from his mentor, remembering how his eyes only turned red when he was really angry.

When the elderly fastfood mascot just backed up a bit and stared down at him, seeming a bit frightened, Meta Knight turned back to the other ship, his eyes returning to their normal yellow. "Vul what is the meaning of this?"

"Sailor Dee called us!" One of the knights shouted. "He said you guys needed some help fighting fast food chains!"

"Fast food is consumed by lazy people!" The other knight - Kirby was pretty sure it was Axe Knight - shouted. "We hate lazy people!"

The fast food guys! Kirby jolted upright, which made Meta give him a slightly concerned look. They still had a chicken nugget ship to find!

Leaving Meta Knight, his crew, Colonel Sanders and Magolor to sort out the mess of the collision, Kirby turned and bolted down the hall. "Bandana Dee! Bandy!!"

"Kirby?" Bandana Dee called out.

Kirby skidded to a halt and turned to run towards the sound of Bandana Dee's voice, finally finding him on the other side of the ship.

"Dee!" Kirby panted. "Did you find the chicken nugget?!"

Bandana Dee's gaze lowered, and he probably would have been frowning if he had a mouth. "No. I can't see it anywhere."

Kirby growled in frustration. "I hope they drove into the sun!"

"That's not very nice, Kirby-"

"THEY TRIED TO DEEP FRY YOU AND THEY KEEP TERRORIZING US I HOPE THEY BURN."

"Hey, uh...you alright, kid?" Galacta Knight asked cautiously.

He flinched as Kirby whipped around to glare at him. "Sorry, sorry, I'll keep walking." He hurried on his way, Kirby glaring after him.

"Can you stop taking out your anger on our friends, please?" Bandana Dee asked with a soft sigh.

"He's not my friend," Kirby pointed out. "I barely even know him."

"Am I your friend, Kirby?" Marx approached them, bouncing on his ball as usual as he smiled down at Kirby.

"GO AWAY MARX!" Kirby shouted angrily.

"Aw...okay." Marx looked down, sadly bouncing and rolling away on his sad ball as he sadly departed down the sad hallway.

"What did Marx do, anyway?" Bandana Dee inquired as Kirby settled next to him with a huff.

"Tried to take over Dreamland like pretty much everyone else on this ship. What else is new?"

"Oh, I see."

There were a few moments of silence between them until Bandana Dee asked "Do you know what that explosion-type noise was? Or why the ship started shaking?"

"Oh. Apparently Sailor Dee called Meta's crew for backup and they crashed the Halberd into the front of the ship."

"Oh well that's...that's great." Bandana Dee shook his head. "How bad is the damage?"

Kirby rubbed his head. "Oh, uh...I don't know. We could go back and look."

"Okay."

The two of them walked back to the main area. Kirby noticed that Magolor was still occupied with buttons and levers, mumbling to himself as he did. Colonel Sanders was gone. Sword Knight and Blade Knight had showed up, and were standing on either side of Meta Knight as he continued to shout back and forth with Captain Vul. Galacta Knight was sitting on the dashboard, watching Meta Knight with a neutral expression. Sailor Dee was also at the windshield, waving to the Halberd occupants with his mop. Juan was on his head, taking a nap on his hat. Waddle Doo was doing his best to help Magolor, even though it was obvious he had no idea what he was doing. Marx was in the corner of the room, smiling and bouncing on his ball as usual. King Dedede was standing in the middle of the room, hands on his hips as he just stared at the Halberd and shook his head, most likely in disappointment.

"So the gang's all here, I guess," Kirby called.

A couple of them looked over at him, but it was only passing glances.

Kirby smiled.

He ruled everyone in this room.

A whirring noise snapped the puffball out of his thoughts. He glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed it. The Meta Knights were too busy shouting at each other. Magolor was still frantically at the control panel. Everyone else was still doing their own thing.

The only other one that seemed to notice it was Bandana Dee. They exchanged a nervous glance with each other before Bandana Dee spoke up. "Guys I hear something-"

SCREEEEECH CRASH!

Everyone immediately shut up and started glancing around. Kirby noticed that Captain Vul was staring at something they couldn't see. His beak was wide open in shock.

"This can't be good," Kirby murmured. He noticed Bandana Dee was starting to quiver at his side.

"Attention!" Captain Vul's voice sounded much louder. Kirby glanced over to see him holding a microphone. The puffball narrowed his eyes slightly. Why had he wasted all that time shouting when he could have just used the microphone?

"Get ready to fight."

"What?!" King Dedede gawked.

"They've attached to your ship. They're going to board it any moment now."

"Who?!" Sailor Dee wailed.

Axe Knight grabbed the microphone from Vul. He stared down at them, holding the microphone in front of him like it was a flashlight and he was telling a creepy ghost story. "The chicken nugget."

"You heard them!" Kirby snapped. "So stop being dumb and get ready to fight!"

Everyone scrambled about, getting into different positions. Everyone pretty much set themselves up like that one scene from Star Wars where the rebels are preparing before Darth Vader boards the ship. Galacta Knight was near the back (figures; definitely The Greatest Warrior in the Galaxy), holding his lance in front of him. Sailor Dee was next to Waddle Doo somewhere in the middle. Waddle Doo had his sword drawn, while Sailor Dee held his mop threateningly. Sword Knight and Blade Knight stood in front of them, their weapons drawn. Marx was behind his ball, looking like he was ready to kick it.

Seriously? He was going to kick a ball at them? Really?

"I'm helping too!" Magolor called loudly. "I'm just uh...engaging the...security systems."

Sure he was.

"We're charging up the main cannon!" Captain Vul shouted. "Just try to hold them back!"

Kirby was sick of being chased by these fast food guys. Unlike everyone else, he was going to be right up front. He pushed past everyone until he was at the front. He wasn't too surprised when Bandana Dee ran up to stand next to him.

"You don't have to be up front, Dee," Kirby said when he noticed just how scared the Waddle Dee looked.

Bandana Dee shook his head. "No. I'll be right next to you, Kirby."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." He nodded firmly, and Kirby could see the fear in his eyes replaced with determination.

"Let us handle this," Meta Knight said from behind Kirby. "You stay at the back with Galacta Knight."

Kirby glanced behind him to narrow his eyes at Meta Knight, but was surprised to see King Dedede next to him. He'd figured Dedede would go off to hide somewhere on the ship.

"You stay at the back," Kirby retorted. "Let the Hero of Dreamland be the hero."

Meta Knight blinked slowly at him. Kirby noticed a slight pink tint to his yellow eyes. Was that amusement?

"Fine, Kirby. Just stay close to us." He took up the spot on Kirby's right, while King Dedede stepped up to Bandana Dee's left. He noticed that King Dedede had his brand-new Dedede Hammer - the metal one with the missiles and all that.

"And take this." Meta Knight gave Kirby a sword. "Unless you think you can handle them without an ability."

An ability! Kirby hadn't even thought of that. Nodding at his mentor, he gratefully took the sword and recieved the sword ability.

There was a faint pounding noise on the outside of the ship.

The four of them stood, ready to attack.

Huh. So it really was the four of them again.

Kirby couldn't help but give a little smile.

There was banging on the outside of the ship, then the sound of a drill cutting through the metal.

He turned to glance at Bandana Dee. "Are you ready?"

"Ready to drink some clown blood? Always," Bandana Dee growled, glaring straight ahead.

"Um...what?" Kirby gave him a concerned look.

CLANG!

There was a big cloud of smoke as the cut piece of metal fell forward. Kirby could see figures approaching through the smoke. He gulped, clutching his sword tighter.

From the smoke, 3 figures appeared first. Wendy on the left, Burger King on the right, and Ronald McDonald in the front.

King Dedede, Bandana Dee, Kirby and Meta Knight all pressed closer to each other, clutching their weapons in anticipation.

Ronald McDonald took a step forward. He smiled down at the four, and said a single word.

"Bazinga."

•18• The Final Battle

I added descriptions for Captain Vul, Axe Knight and Mace Knight to the character list page if anyone wants to check that out.

I wasn't even planning on really writing this chapter today; I just wanted to get my ideas down but next thing I know I'm at the end and I thought "alright, that should be a good closing point for this chapter - oh...guess I just wrote the entire chapter."

So yeah I unintentionally banged all this out in a day. Oops.

Anyway, enjoy! There will be 2 chapters left: the journey back to Popstar and then the epilogue. Thanks for being with me on this wild, 4+ year ride.

King Dedede was the first to attack. He slammed his hammer down as the compartment on the front opened up to shoot out several missiles.

The fast food mascots were clearly surprised at their retaliation. Wendy was knocked back into the smoke from the missiles, and Ronald McDonald was thrown off guard. Burger King's eyes went wide in fear as he backed away from King Dedede, only to bump into Meta Knight, who slashed at him. Burger King yelped and fell back, bumping into Ronald McDonald and knocking him over.

Huh, Kirby mused to himself. Could this be easier than they thought?

Bandana Dee charged forward to lunge at Burger King with his spear. The fast food king turned to dodge, but Kirby lunged at him from the other side and landed a good hit with his sword.

The false king was finally knocked to the ground, clutching his side from Kirby's blow.

"WAAAAAH!" Ronald McDonald screamed, and Kirby turned to see that King Dedede was currently clobbering him.

"Yay we're winning!" Kirby yelled excitedly.

"Don't get too confident, Kirby," Meta Knight warned, his eyes fixated on the dissipating smoke. The silhouettes of more fast food mascots were approaching.

Wendy emerged from the smoke, holding her lettuce bazooka. "Ha, did you think it would be that easy?"

"Yes," Kirby replied emotionlessly.

Wendy stared at him blankly before growling and shaking her head. "Well, it won't be!" She aimed her lettuce bazooka and fired it into the ship.

"AHHH!" Galacta Knight screamed as lettuce was sent flying all over the ship.

Meanwhile, the rest of the fast food mascots had boarded the ship. Bob and Fred came on opposite sides, followed by Fred Johnson and Dora.

A ball went flying and hit Fred Johnson in the face, making him shout "oof!" and fall back onto the floor.

It seemed Marx's ball wasn't entirely useless, then.

"You will all pay for this!" Fred shouted. "You will pay for ruining and inconveniencing our franchises!"

It was then that Kirby noticed both Fred and Bob had what seemed to be tactical machine guns.

Oh no.

"Hey, are the rest of you gonna help or what?!" Kirby yelled, turning to glare at everyone behind him. So far the only one who had done anything was Marx.

"I-I'm scared!" Sailor Dee stammered, hiding behind Waddle Doo.

Waddle Doo looked equally as terrified. "W-We'll stay back here and make sure they don't get any further into the ship or mess up the control panel!"

"Please," Magolor said, his eyes wide as he tried to figure out stuff at the control panel. "I can't focus on both."

Waddle Doo nodded, and him and Sailor Dee moved to guard the control panel as Magolor went back to fumbling with it.

"We're waiting for orders from sir." Sword Knight and Blade Knight were standing completely still, their expressions neutral.

"What - you don't need orders from me for this!" Meta Knight answered, glaring over at the two of them. "Just get up here and help us!"

"Yes sir!" The two said in unison, quickly running up and beginning to slash at Ronald McDonald and Burger King.

"There you are!" Bob shouted, glaring down at Meta Knight. He turned to point his DQ Machine Gun down at the knight. "You didn't give me proper notice before leaving!"

"I did make it quite clear at the beginning of my employment that it was only a temporary arrangemen-" Meta Knight was cut off as Bob fired his DQ Machine Gun, making Meta Knight go flying back and crash against the wall from the onslaught of DQ Blizzards.

Kirby screamed in rage, pushing past everyone in his way as he lunged for Bob. He dropped his sword, losing his ability as he grabbed onto the DQ manager's leg. He growled as he bit down hard and shook his head like a dog or something.

"Ah! Get off!" Bob kicked his leg, but Kirby held on tight.

"Help! Someone get it off!" Bob cried.

Kirby heard maniacal laughter, and looked up to find that Marx was now in his soul form.

"OH GOD!" Fred Johnson screamed.

Marx continued to laugh as he split open, revealing a black hole.

"AAAAIIIEEEE!" Fred Johnson cried as he was sucked in.

Meanwhile, King Dedede was spinning around with his hammer, going through the other fast food mascots like bowling pins. And also electrocuting them in the process.

Bob managed to shake Kirby off while the puffball was distracted. He pointed his machine gun down at him and fired. Kirby just inhaled all the DQ Blizzards.

Bob glared down at him, continuing to fire until his gun suddenly jammed. Growling and muttering to himself, he began smacking the gun and shaking it.

Kirby's body had almost doubled in size from all the DQ Blizzards he hadn't swallowed yet. As Bob continued to smack his gun, the puffball waddled closer. Bob eyed him uncertainly.

Kirby smiled before spitting all the DQ Blizzards at him.

"AAAH!" Bob was sent flying and landed hard against the wall, right next to Meta Knight. The knight had long since recovered from flying into the wall, at least. He was just standing there now, shaking his head and looking annoyed as he tried to get all the DQ Blizzard residue off of himself. He stopped to glance at Bob before looking over at Kirby.

Kirby just smiled. Meta Knight gave him a thumbs-up before jumping on top of Bob and attacking him. After a few moments, Blade and Sword ran over to help him.

"Back up!" Captain Vul squawked over the speaker.

Some of the fast food guys seemed confused, but King Dedede backed away from the entrance the fast food mascots had made.

"Ready! FIRE!"

The main canon on the Halberd fired into the chicken nugget ship. There was an explosion and some yelling from inside. A bunch of Wendy's soldiers ran out of the ship and onto the Lor Starcutter. "Wendy! The ship is on fire!"

"BWAHAHAHA!" Vul laughed.

"WHAT?!" Wendy screamed.

Meta Knight left Sword and Blade to continue beating up Bob as he went over to the windshield. "Fire again!"

"Well, uh...it's gotta charge up again." Vul frowned. "Not your best design, Meta."

"Well, fire it when it's ready then!" Meta Knight huffed.

"DEDEDE THAT'S THE NAME YA' SHOULD KNOW!"

"AAAAAHHHH!"

Kirby watched as an electrified Burger King was thrown across the room. He crashed into a wall and laid there, unmoving. Kirby slowly turned to stare at King Dedede, who was standing proudly with his hands on his hips. "That's how we deal with fake kings!"

"You guys are awful!" Wendy shouted, glaring disdainfully at the other fast food mascots and her soldiers, who were cowering behind Dora in the corner. "They're just a bunch of little puffballs and a penguin! We already own their wallets, it shouldn't be that hard to own them too!"

Kirby looked up at Wendy, only to gasp when he saw that she was standing on Bandana Dee. The Waddle Dee was struggling, his spear knocked just out of reach.

"Dee!" He cried.

Wendy looked over at Kirby and smirked.

Kirby looked around, starting to panic. Meta Knight was helping Magolor at the control panel. King Dedede was holding off Ronald McDonald. Fred Johnson was crawling away from Marx, who was still laughing as he flew around. Blade and Sword were still beating up Bob. Waddle Doo and Sailor Dee were standing close together, guarding the control panel. Juan stood on top of Sailor Dee's hat, growling ferociously at the intruders. Magolor was staring wide-eyed at the battle, pulling a few levers and turning to glance at the screen above him every so often. Dora was just standing in the corner and smiling, occasionally saying "soy Dora!" to no one. Wendy's soldiers continued to cower behind her.

Hm...someone was missing. Who was it? Kirby tried to think.

His question would soon be answered as fire began shooting from the ground. Luckily it was only near the fast food people, and didn't seem to hurt anyone else besides them. Fred yelled, stopped, dropped, and rolled as he caught on fire.

Following the flames came a small tornado. Kirby glanced over at Meta Knight, wondering it it was him, but he was clearly focused at the control panel. As Kirby watched the tornado crash into different fast food mascots, he realized it couldn't have been Meta anyway - his tornadoes weren't that controlled.

And then Galacta Knight flew across the room. He stopped in front of Wendy and quickly began doing his multi-jabbing attack. "Who's 'just a puffball' now? Huh? HUH?"

Wendy tried to block him with her bazooka, but Galacta Knight's lance went right through it, breaking her weapon in half. She tried to dodge Galacta's attack, but it was literally impossible. Jab jab jab jab jab...

Kirby began running towards Wendy to save Bandana Dee, but Ronald McDonald blocked his way. The McDonald's mascot kicked him back, making Kirby yelp and land on his back.

"Well well well...we meet again, little girl." Ronald smiled.

Kirby growled lowly, standing up and glaring at Ronald McDonald. "I. Am. Not. A girl!" He launched himself up at Ronald McDonald, grabbing onto his face and repeatedly punching him.

Ronald slapped at the puffball, trying to get him off, but Kirby just screamed and started punching him harder.

"YOU LEAVE THAT THERE KIRBEH ALONE!" King Dedede bellowed, coming up behind Ronald McDonald and thwacking him hard with his electrically-enhanced Dedede Hammer.

Ronald was mildly electrocuted, along with Kirby. After they both recovered from it, Ronald finally managed to pry Kirby off of his face. Then he whipped him across the room like a ball.

"AAAAAAH!" Kirby shouted as he went flying.

"Kirby!" He thought he heard Meta Knight shout, but before Kirby could acknowledge him he landed hard against the wall. Ouch. That definitely left a dent.

Everything looked blurry. Kirby tried to sit up, but he felt too dizzy. He slumped back down with a quiet "Ugh..."

He could see a dark blue shape running towards him. "Kirby!"

"No, no," Kirby mumbled. "Go rescue Bandy..." He trailed off, closing his eyes, only to yelp and open them again when he felt someone shaking him.

Things were starting to come into focus again. Unsurprisingly, Meta Knight was the one who had run over and started shaking him.

"I'm fine," Kirby grunted. "Wendy has Bandy. You gotta rescue him!"

Meta Knight turned to look over at Wendy. He continued to stand there.

"Go!!" Kirby whined.

Meta Knight glanced back at him before moving to stand in front of him, looking over at where Wendy was. Kirby wondered what he was doing until he saw Meta lean forward and stick his sword into the ground.

And then the huge mach tornado came. Burger King, Ronald McDonald, Fred, Bob, and Fred Johnson watched it go by. They all had fear in their eyes. Sailor Dee, Waddle Doo, King Dedede, Blade, Sword, Marx and Magolor all watched it go by too. Some of them looked impressed, others looked confused. Even Dora was looking at it curiously.

The battle seemed to stop. Everyone watched as the mach tornado headed straight towards Wendy, Galacta Knight, and Bandana Dee. Galacta Knight just glanced at it, his expression not conveying much besides a bit of surprise. Bandana Dee looked up fearfully. Wendy's expression seemed to say "oh crap."

The three of them were caught up in it. Bandana Dee was released from Wendy, but continued to spin around in the mach tornado. Galacta Knight continued to repeatedly jab Wendy with his lance as they spun around in it. Wendy screamed in a mixture of anger and fear, it seemed.

As the tornado continued to the other side of the ship, dragging the three with it, it started to fade out. By the time it hit the wall, it dissipated, dropping Wendy and Bandana Dee unceremoniously onto the ground. Galacta Knight just hovered there, flapping his wings as he glanced down at the two. His feathers were a bit ruffled, but otherwise he was clearly fine.

"Bandy!" Kirby shouted.

As soon as Bandana Dee regained his senses, he looked over at Kirby and made a run for it. Wendy tried to grab him, but she was quickly trapped in a prison of barbed vines.

"You leave the Dee alone!" Marx snapped, hovering next to Galacta Knight.

Bandana Dee kept running and collapsed next to Kirby, panting. "I don't like Wendy," he said quietly. "She's mean."

Kirby, after checking to make sure Bandana Dee was okay, stood up. He glanced at Meta Knight, concerned when he noticed just how much that giant tornado had seemed to taken out of him. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, Kirby," Meta Knight replied, leaning on his sword, which was still in the ground. "Just give me a moment." He sounded tired, but it didn't seem to be anything too urgent.

So Kirby instead observed what everyone else was doing. Burger King and Ronald McDonald were slumped over and laying on the ground, King Dedede standing triumphantly over them. Galacta Knight was watching Marx as he kept Wendy in the barbed vine prison and attacked her with raining spikes. Fred Johnson was limping up behind him with his fist raised, but Marx just turned around, split himself open, and sucked him into a black hole again.

"AHHHH!" Fred Johnson cried before disappearing.

Seeing as Marx could obviously handle them, Galacta Knight flew over and landed beside Meta Knight. "Didn't think you could still do that."

"It's been a few years," Meta Knight admitted, still leaning on his sword as he tried to regain his energy. Kirby watched the two of them, rubbing his chin. Why were they acting like old friends now?

Galacta Knight gave Kirby a dirty look when he noticed him staring at them, so the puffball turned away and continued observing everyone else.

Bob and Fred were still up. They were firing their DQ Blizzard and Subway Machine Guns at anyone who came close to them. Sword and Blade were the only two actively doing anything about it. Sailor Dee and Waddle Doo were still guarding the control panel, occasionally blocking a stray sub or Blizzard from hitting it. Juan had hopped off Sailor Dee's head and was now eating the subs on the floor.

Dora was dancing in the corner for some reason, bending her knees and twisting back and forth as she smiled at nobody. Wendy's soldiers had retreated to their chicken ship and were trying to extinguish the fire. Magolor watched them worriedly, probably afraid of the flames spreading to his own ship.

"FIRE AGAIN!" Captain Vul shouted.

"You better not make my ship catch on fire!" Magolor yelled.

"WAIT!"

Everyone turned as Colonel Sanders ran into the room. "Stop fighting!"

"...Why?" Kirby asked dubiously.

"Because we shouldn't be doing this."

Everyone turned to look at Colonel Sanders as he stepped into the middle of the area and began to give a speech. "Now, in my short time here, I've learned a lot from these youngsters and oldsters. This penguin guy reminded me how nice it is to share a meal with friends and family," he glanced at King Dedede.

"The egg-shaped one told me to forget about the past, live in the present, and plan for the future."

Magolor narrowed his eyes at being referred to as "egg-shaped", but he didn't interrupt.

"The one on the ball taught me to just be happy with life and have some fun..." Colonel Sanders glanced around. "Where is he?"

"Oh, hi." Marx waved with a wing. "This is my other form."

Colonel Sanders stared wide-eyed at him for a moment before continuing. "The creepy blue one wearing armor taught me to look at the small things in life, the things you may not notice or think much of. Like the air vents."

"Will you all stay out of my air vents?!" Magolor snapped.

"The point is," Colonel Sanders went on. "We're all more alike than it may seem. We need to forgive each other for whatever happened in the past. We should all move on and become friends." He turned to look at Kirby. "Because the little pink guy taught me the most important lesson of all: friendship."

King Dedede sniffled, wiping away a tear.

Galacta Knight rolled his eyes.

"...Maybe you're right," Ronald McDonald admitted.

"Friends are better than enemies," Burger King stated.

"I...suppose having good relations with our customers is important, yes," Wendy agreed after a pause.

Ronald McDonald turned to look at Kirby. "Would you be willing to forgive us if we forgive you?"

Kirby, unsure, glanced to Meta Knight. He just shrugged, silently saying "it's up to you", basically.

Kirby turned back to Ronald McDonald and smiled. "Sure. As long as I can get a free Happy Meal."

"That Happy Meal is all yours." Ronald McDonald smiled back.

And then there was another explosion.

Magolor flinched, closing an eye as his ears flattened. "You're paying for my ship damages!" He shouted, his ears going backwards like an angry cat as he glared up at Captain Vul.

"I'll pay for your damages as soon as I pay my taxes! BWAHAHAHA!"

Wendy's soldiers screamed as their ship lurched from the explosion. There was the sound of metal creaking, and then their ship broke off from the Lor Starcutter and started floating out into space. The soldiers were screaming, and some of them got sucked out into space, where they began suffocating.

Wendy watched it unfold in horror, but was unable to escape the vine prison Marx had personally built for her. And Marx was too busy watching the other ship float off to really do anything about it, either.

And as soon as Fred Johnson was released from Marx's black hole, he was immediately sucked out into space. He screamed before he started choking, flailing around helplessly.

"Someone block that up!" Meta Knight shouted.

The suction was starting to get stronger. King Dedede didn't get dragged, of course, but some of the lighter weights, like Kirby and Bandana Dee, were starting to get sucked towards the hole.

"Nooo I don't wanna go on a space adventure!" Kirby yelled as he tried to grab at the floor.

"Dora no quiere ir al espacio!" Dora cried as she was dragged into space.

"Bye Dora," Galacta Knight commented casually as he watched her float off crying "Noooooo!"

An alarm began blaring. Kirby looked up and saw that metal walls were coming down.

"Finally!" Magolor exclaimed.

Kirby looked over at him, still being dragged. "Wait, you mean you actually have a security system?!"

"Uh, yeah." Magolor's ears flattened as he narrowed his eyes a bit. "Did you think I was making it up?"

"Yes!" Kirby hissed.

Magolor looked slightly offended, but didn't retort, instead turning back to the control panel.

"Whoooaaa!" The suction was stronger now. Kirby looked behind him and saw he was approaching the hole fast. Some others were being dragged too, like Bandana Dee, Sailor Dee, and Waddle Doo. But Kirby, being the lightest, was being dragged the most.

He looked up at the metal walls, wondering if they'd be able to come down before he was sucked out into space.

"MAKE THEM CLOSE FASTER!" Kirby screamed.

"I can't!" Magolor shouted, looking equally as scared as he held onto the control panel to stop himself from being sucked along with the rest. The remaining fast food mascots were holding onto whatever they could find as the suction grew stronger.

Kirby was being pulled a lot faster now. "AaaaaaaAAAAAHHHH!"

He was suddenly tackled, letting out a yelp as he found himself pressed against the floor. He looked up to see Meta Knight on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

They were both still being pulled a bit, given how close they were to the hole, but Meta Knight's armor weighed him down a lot. He stared wide-eyed down at Kirby for a few moments before looking away, glaring at the others who weren't being dragged. "You were all closer to him! I can't believe none of you did anything!"

"Well that's your job." Marx shrugged his wings, since he didn't have any arms.

"Yeah, you're his mentor or whatever," Galacta Knight agreed.

King Dedede didn't say anything, but he looked down guiltily.

Sword and Blade were still trying to beat up Bob and Fred, even after Colonel Sanders' speech. They didn't seem to even notice that all 4 of them were slowly being tugged towards the hole.

Meta Knight turned to grab Bandana Dee by his bandana as he was being dragged past them. "Hold onto it!"

Bandana Dee held his bandana tightly on his head, his eyes wide.

The walls continued to slowly come down, until the metal creaked and then they suddenly stopped halfway.

"You have GOT to be kidding me," Meta Knight scowled. He turned to glare over at Magolor.

"I-It must be stuck on something!" Magolor stuttered, still holding on to the control panel for dear life.

"Galacta!" Meta Knight called. "Come hold these two!"

Galacta Knight flew over, holding Kirby and Bandana Dee down as Meta Knight got up.

"Where are you going?!" Kirby asked.

"To find what the wall is stuck on."

"Wait no come ba-mmmfmfm!" Kirby's cry was muffled as Galacta Knight just pinned him and Bandana Dee down with his wings.

These wings feel funny, Kirby thought. They feel like...pants!

"There's a piece of metal sticking out where the hole is!" Meta Knight called.

"So get rid of it!" Magolor shouted.

"If I get that close to it I'll be sucked out into space!"

"Okay!"

"What - no, not okay!"

"Your ship's right over there!" Magolor pointed out loudly. "Just fly over to it and get on!"

"...I hate how you actually have a fair point."

"See? I can have good ideas too!" Magolor retorted. "Now get the piece of metal out of there - hurry! I can't hold on much longer!"

Kirby squirmed, trying to get up, but Galacta Knight was a lot heavier than him. At least his wings felt nice, though. Meta's were too sharp. Almost leathery feeling. They kind of hurt. But Galacta's were the opposite - soft and feathery. It almost made him want to take a nap...

No! He couldn't take a nap! He couldn't let Meta Knight float out into space by himself!

Kirby squirmed harder this time.

"Hey, keep still, would you, kid?" Galacta Knight growled.

"No!" Kirby whined. "I have to help Meta!"

"He can handle himself," Galacta Knight answered. "You'll see him again when we're back on Popstar."

Kirby gave a hard kick upwards, making Galacta Knight hiss and flinch back.

"Just stay down, you stupid kid!"

"Poy-no!" Kirby shouted, kicking harder this time.

"Behave yourself, Kirby!" Meta Knight called firmly.

"I'm not letting you do it yourself!"

"Kirby, please!" Bandana Dee pleaded. "He'll be okay!"

"Stop telling me what to do!" Kirby whined as he continued to kick at Galacta Knight. Due to his kicking and squirming, Galacta Knight had to push more of his weight onto Kirby, but when he did Bandana Dee started to slip out of his grasp, so he kinda wound up going back and forth between them.

"I can take one of them," King Dedede puffed as he got closer. He had Waddle Doo and Sailor Dee each tucked under an arm.

"I'd be fine if it wasn't for this pink menace!" Galacta Knight hissed.

Kirby heard a metallic clang, and looked up to see that the walls were coming down again.

"I'll see you back home Kirby!" Meta Knight called, but his voice quickly became further and further away. Kirby wailed and started to squirm more. Dedede stepped forward and looked like he was about to help pin Kirby down, but the pink puffball was quicker. He grabbed Galacta Knight's wing and bit it hard.

"Ow!" Galacta Knight yelled, lifting his wing to examine it.

King Dedede tried to grab Kirby, but he just went zoop across the floor and was quickly sucked out into space.

"Kirby!" Bandana Dee wailed.

Kirby had narrowly made it underneath the walls before they closed down, putting the ship in lockdown.

He stared at the Lor Starcutter as he floated in outer space. He started to roll backwards. Kirby tried to right himself, but he wasn't sure which way was up or down.

He felt someone grab him, and he gave a soft sigh of relief as he was turned right-side up. He looked behind him to find a very unamused Meta Knight looking back at him.

"Hi!" Kirby chirped.

Meta Knight just continued to stare exasperatedly at him.

"Poyo?" Kirby offered, putting on an innocent face.

Meta Knight blinked slowly. Very, very slowly. "You're lucky my ship is here," is all he said as he flew over towards the Halberd, holding Kirby underneath him.

•19• Havoc Aboard The Halberd

6600+ words are ya ready kids?? Holy crap though. This is definitely the longest Kirby and B-Dee chapter, but it may even be the longest chapter for any story that I've written. Anyway the next chapter will also be a bit long, but it will be the final one as well.

"Wow, I haven't been on this ship since I blew it up!" Kirby remarked, smiling as he looked up and around the hallway Meta Knight was leading him down.

"Yes, I know," Meta Knight replied with an edge to his tone. "And I had planned on never letting you on this ship again. But I suppose I don't have a choice right now."

Kirby just looked up at him innocently as they continued to walk. Meta Knight turned to look back at him every so often, probably making sure that Kirby wasn't trying to run off and mess with stuff.

But Kirby was obedient. In fact, blowing up the Halberd again wasn't even a thought that had occurred to Kirby until he realized why Meta was keeping such a close eye on him.

They finally made it to the control room.

"Meta Knight!" Axe Knight exclaimed, quickly turning around and standing up straight. Kirby noticed that he'd dropped a piece of paper on Mace Knight before turning around. Mace Knight grumbled and crumpled up the paper before nodding at Meta Knight.

Captain Vul spun around in the swivel chair he was sitting in. "Hey Meta! We—AUGH! Why did you bring that pink menace?!"

"I didn't have much of a choice," Meta Knight answered, turning to give Kirby a side glare before looking back over at Vul. "He followed me out into space, and Magolor's ship is on lockdown."

"...Can we trust him?" Axe Knight asked dubiously, eyeing Kirby.

"I expect Kirby to be on his best behavior." Meta Knight looked down at Kirby.

"Okay, sure." Kirby shrugged.

"I don't trust him," Mace Knight grumbled.

"Me neither..." Axe Knight shook his head. "But if Meta Knight does, then I'm sure it'll be okay..." He trailed off, still eyeing Kirby.

"Well, what else can we do? Shoot him off into space?" Meta Knight shot back.

"I like that idea!" Captain Vul smiled.

"Let's charge up the thrusters!" Mace Knight chimed in.

"No!" Meta Knight ordered sharply.

"You're no fun, Meta," Vul pouted.

Kirby just shuffled awkwardly, uncomfortably aware of the fact that everyone in the room besides Meta Knight seemed to hate him.

"We have more important things to address." Meta Knight hopped up into the empty seat beside Captain Vul. "Like uncolliding our ships with as little damage as possible."

"Oh, uh, right...oops." Captain Vul adjusted his hat. "I thought it would be a funny prank to crash into Magolor."

Meta Knight was silent. He did give Vul a side glare, though.

Well, that left Kirby standing by himself. Axe Knight and Mace Knight were standing at opposite ends of the control panel, their weapons drawn in front of them as their eyes followed Kirby.

Kirby stuck his tongue out at them before stepping further into the room. He noticed the piece of paper that Mace Knight had crumpled up was on the ground. Curious, he picked it up and uncrumpled it.

Kirby's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to figure out what exactly he was staring at.

It appeared to be a very fat cartoon rabbit.

Expression a mixture of confusion and disgust, Kirby looked up to see Axe Knight staring over at him.

"What do you think?" He asked. "Pretty funny, right?"

"It's just a fat rabbit," Kirby frowned. "What's so funny about it."

Axe Knight's eye twitched a bit, and then he growled and glared at Kirby. "What's so funny about it?! You have no sense of humor! Dumb puffball."

Kirby continued to frown, re-crumpling the paper and dropping it onto the ground. Axe Knight just scoffed and looked away.

"Sup?"

Kirby turned as a knight he didn't recognize strutted into the room. He looked even weirder than Axe Knight—this knight was orange and purple, and had a mohawk on his helmet, along with a W-shaped mask. "Who the poyo are you?"

"I'm Knife Knight," the knight answered. "Why are you pink?" He asked.

"Knife Knight?" Kirby shook his head and turned away, not bothering to answer the knight's question. "And I thought Sword Knight was a dumb name..."

"Sword Knight's pretty cool," Knife Knight said. "I'd hang with him."

Kirby rolled his eyes and started to walk over towards the control panel.

"Whoa, hey! Stay back!" Axe Knight and Mace Knight moved to block his way.

"I just wanna see what they're doing!" Kirby protested.

"No Kirbies beyond this point!" Mace Knight growled.

"That's Kirbyist!" Kirby whined. He stretched up and looked over at Meta Knight. "Metaaaa your knights are being mean to me!"

"No, they're being cautious," Meta Knight answered without turning away from the control panel. "We have every reason not to trust you on this ship, Kirby."

"Chill out, guys," Knife Knight called. "He's just a little pink dude."

"That 'little pink dude' has blown up this ship at least twice!" Axe Knight retorted.

"At least twice?" Knife Knight asked. "Has it really been so many times that you guys can't keep track anymore?"

"Shut up!" Axe Knight snapped.

"...Well maybe you guys should've built a better ship, then." Knife Knight mumbled. "Especially if a little kid keeps blowing it up."

"The Halberd is the finest ship there is!" Captain Vul snapped, whipping around to glare at Knife Knight. "That Kirby is a spawn of Nightmare! He just destroys anything he feels like—"

"That 'spawn of Nightmare' also happens to be my apprentice," Meta Knight cut in, narrowing his yellow eyes at Captain Vul. "Watch yourself, Vul."

"Sorry," Vul muttered, but not before glaring at Kirby distrustingly.

Leaving Axe Knight and Mace Knight to keep overprotecting the control panel, Kirby trotted over to Knife Knight. Besides the dumb name, he liked this guy. "I like you," he smiled.

"Oh, uh, why?" Knife Knight asked, seeming surprised.

"Cause you're not boring and serious like the others."

Knife Knight's yellow eyes seemed to brighten. He was probably smiling underneath his W-shaped mask.

Kirby studied his eyes for a moment. He noticed they were actually more of an orangish-yellow, not full yellow. They also looked a bit different...more similar to a Burning Leo's. A knight that wasn't just an insecure puffball? That was kind of cool, he thought.

Kirby smiled back at the young knight. "So, how'd you get the dumb name anyway?"

"Well, you see," Knife Knight began, his orangish-yellow eyes squinting a bit. "It all started in the Costco parking lot."

"Uh...okay?" Kirby blinked, confused.

"Have you ever had Costco hotdogs?"

Kirby just shrugged. "I kinda eat everything. It's hard to keep track."

Knife Knight chuckled before continuing. "Me too. Well, anyway, Costco hotdogs are, like...amazing. They banned me from the store though cause I kept stealing them. So instead, I'd just shank people in the parking lot and steal their hotdogs."

"...I'm sorry you what—"

"The hotdogs are really good, man!" Knife Knight huffed. "Anyway, one time Meta saw me stabbing people and thought I'd be a good recruit."

"Yeah, that sounds like Meta," Kirby remarked with a disdainful glance towards his mentor.

"So yeah," Knife Knight concluded. "He named me Knife Knight cause I was stabbing people in the Costco parking lot over hotdogs."

"Good to know..." Kirby trailed off.

"Hey, stop being friendly and sociable, Kirby!" Mace Knight called. "We're supposed to hate you!"

"...What?" Kirby asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Can you go break something so we have an excuse to hit you?" Axe Knight asked quietly.

"No!" Kirby glared at them and stuck his tongue out.

"Please?" Axe Knight asked.

"I'll break your face!" Kirby shouted, charging at Axe Knight.

He clearly wasn't expecting that, seeing as how Kirby was easily able to knock him over and start punching him. Of course, the metal from his skull-shaped mask kind of hurt, but he kept hitting anyway to make a point.

"Kirby stop punching Axe Knight." Meta Knight didn't sound angry, but his tone was still commanding.

"He was trying to get me in trouble! He wanted me to break stuff so he could hit me!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Mace Knight separate them. I can't deal with this right now." Now Meta Knight just sounded annoyed.

"Yeah, get this dumb, humorless puffball off me," Axe Knight scoffed, which just made Kirby even angrier as he started punching him more. He even grabbed his mask and tried to pull it off before Mace Knight grabbed him and picked him up.

"PUT ME DOWN STUPID METAL MAN!" Kirby screamed, kicking at the air as Mace Knight continued to hold him up.

"Uhhhh sir what do I do with him?"

"PUT ME DOOOOWN!!"

A sigh came from Meta Knight before he answered. "Put him in the chair next to me."

Mace Knight was more than happy to get rid of Kirby, dropping him quickly into the chair. As soon as he did, he went to stand near the back of the room.

"You sit right there and don't touch anything." Meta Knight narrowed his eyes down at Kirby. "Understood?"

"Poy-kay."

Meta Knight glanced at him for a moment longer before turning back to the control panel.

As he did, Kirby's gaze wandered to all the buttons and levers. He wondered what they did. "What do all these buttons and levers do?"

"They control the ship."

...Well no duh, Kirby thought. He frowned. Maybe he shouldn't be bothering Meta Knight while he was busy.

So, instead, he looked around the room and observed everyone, as he often did. Vul and Meta were busy at the control panel, occasionally saying something to each other. Axe Knight was standing close to them, offering his input at times. Mace Knight was still at the back of the room, glaring at Kirby. Knife Knight was laying on the dashboard way down the end, against the wall. It seemed like he was asleep.

He stretched up a bit to see through the windshield. They were looking right down into Magolor's ship. Magolor was at his own control panel, looking up at Meta Knight and Captain Vul. King Dedede and Galacta Knight were also in sight.

Kirby noticed Bandana Dee standing near Magolor, looking anxious. He kept looking up at the ship, only to jump up in excitement when he spotted Kirby. He waved to Kirby, and Kirby smiled and waved back. The Waddle Dee tapped Magolor and pointed up at the ship. Magolor glanced at Bandana Dee before looking up at Kirby. He closed his eyes and waved up at Kirby as well. Kirby waved back to him, too.

"Everyone, get in a chair," Meta Knight ordered. "We're backing up. Magolor's going to back his ship up, too."

"Backing up!" Captain Vul called through the microphone.

Kirby looked through the windshield and glanced down at Magolor. He seemed pretty annoyed, but he still nodded, grabbed onto a lever, and gave a thumbs up to Meta.

Mace Knight got in the chair to Captain Vul's left while Axe Knight sat in the one next to Kirby. The seat Kirby was currently sitting in was the one usually reserved for Axe Knight, he guessed.

Curious, Kirby looked around. He counted 5 seats at the control panel, all of which were now occupied. One of them was probably for Sailor Dee. The two Meta and Vul sat in appeared to be swivel chairs, while the rest were bigger but normal. And unsurprisingly, Meta's chair was higher than Vul's. The thing all the seats had in common though was that they were bolted to the floor.

"What about him?" Kirby asked, looking over at Knife Knight.

Meta Knight just waved dismissively.

Oh, so that's how it was.

"Main thrusters are ready!" Vul announced.

"Engines online?" Meta asked.

"All seven of them!" Vul answered with a smile.

"What—seven??" Kirby sputtered. "Isn't one enough?!"

Meta Knight glanced at a lever on his right before turning to observe a screen to his left. "Kirby," he said, looking down at said puffball. "I need you to hold that lever down. Can you do that?"

Meta Knight was actually going to let him touch something? And it was doing something helpful??

"I can have Axe Knight do it if you—"

"I wanna hold the lever down!" Kirby exclaimed excitedly.

Meta Knight's eyes flickered pink for a moment before turning fully yellow again. "Okay. Hold it tight." He reached over to pull the lever down. Kirby grabbed onto it with both of his stubs, surprised at the resistance it gave when Meta Knight let go.

He could hear the ship start to whir when the lever was pulled. Holding tight onto the lever, he looked over at Meta and Vul.

Captain Vul was watching him cautiously, his gaze mostly unreadable. Meta Knight was busy with another lever and a few buttons.

"What happens if I let go?" Kirby asked curiously.

Vul's eyes widened, and Meta Knight whipped around to stare at Kirby. "The ship will go forward. Don't let go of that lever, Kirby." His eyes were almost as wide as Vul's.

"Okay."

Meta Knight inhaled deeply before exhaling and returning to the control panel. Captain Vul took a few more moments to calm down, adjusting some dials once he had.

"Ask Axe Knight for help if you need it, alright, Kirby?"

"Okay." He glanced to his right. Axe Knight was holding onto the arms of his chair, his eyes fixed on Kirby.

Kirby was surprised that it took this much work to fly the Halberd. The control panel in Magolor's ship was much smaller and had far less buttons, levers, dials and screens. Then again, Magolor's ship probably was more modern and futuristic, while Meta's was more mechanical, and also a lot bigger.

"Hold on!" Captain Vul shouted.

Meta Knight pulled a lever while holding a button, and the ship lurched backwards. Kirby noticed Magolor's ship do the same.

Knife Knight rolled off the dashboard and landed on the floor with a grunt, but he didn't get up. Probably either still asleep or just didn't feel like getting up.

"You still have that lever, Kirby?"

"Yep!"

"Hold it tight."

There was the sound of metal scraping. Kirby noticed Magolor was shaking his head and looking distraught, probably thinking about the amount of damage his ship had taken.

Meta Knight stood up and grabbed the steering wheel. He started to cut it to the left; Magolor had grabbed his own steering wheel and was cutting it the opposite direction.

There was more metallic scraping and clanging as they tried to separate their ships. It seemed Vul had managed to crash it good. That's...probably why Meta was steering the ship now, and not Vul.

Kirby continued to hold the lever as there was a loud clang and another scrape. Then the noises stopped.

"We're clear!" Mace Knight announced.

Kirby could see now that the ships were finally separated. Ouch...there was a big Halberd-shaped dent in the front of Magolor's ship.

"How's the damage?" Meta Knight asked reluctantly.

"It looks like it's mostly cosmetic, sir," Axe Knight replied, looking at a screen.

"Good." Meta Knight let go of the wheel for a moment, letting the ship steer itself. "Can't say the same for Magolor's. But that's not my ship, so I don't care."

Kirby gave his mentor a side glare, but he was too busy staring through the windshield to notice it. "Keep backing it up. We should be in the clear in a moment," he said.

Kirby kept holding onto the lever as the ship continued to back up. Magolor had turned his ship sideways a bit, so they were now facing the front right corner of it.

"We should be in the clear now, sir!" Axe Knight called.

"Good. Now let's turn it around and head back home."

And then Kirby let go of the lever.

As soon as the lever went up, the ship quickly lurched and began going forward in full drive. Captain Vul squawked in surprise. Meta Knight grabbed onto the steering wheel to prevent himself from falling over. Mace Knight was pushed back in his chair. Axe Knight tried to reach for the lever, but wound up being flung back and onto the floor since he leaned too far from his seat. Knife Knight literally hit the wall. Through all this, Kirby just sat and smiled innocently.

CRASH!

They crashed into the Lor Starcutter again, this time wedging the ship in the front right corner of it. Kirby could hear Magolor scream in frustration, even between their ships.

Axe Knight was quick to climb back into his chair and began doing something at the control panel, flickering through different screens.

Meta Knight's eyes were white in shock, and it seemed like he was still trying to process what had just happened.

Kirby considered making a run for it now, but that would probably just make Meta angrier than he was already bound to be.

Gradually, the color started to come back to his eyes until they were a full yellow again. Meta Knight, still leaning against the steering wheel, slowly turned to glare at Kirby, as did Captain Vul, Axe Knight, and Mace Knight.

Kirby shrugged. "Sorry, it slipped."

Meta's eyes turned red as he kept glaring at Kirby.

Kirby smiled nervously.

"That was awesome, dude!" Knife Knight called.

"It was not 'awesome'!" Meta Knight snapped as he turned to direct his glare at the aloof knight. "Now we're stuck again!"

"Okay, so..?" Knife Knight asked. "Just get it unstuck again."

"Maybe if you weren't busy sleeping on the dashboard, you would know how much work it took us to get it unstuck the first time!"

"Dude, like...just chill, Meta Man."

"You don't understand the situation!"

"Seems pretty straightforward to me." Knife Knight shrugged, his tone still casual-sounding. "Ship got stuck, you got it unstuck. Now it's stuck again, so just get it unstuck again. Plus you put a little kid who's supposedly blown up this ship several times in charge of an important lever, and now you're mad that he couldn't do it."

"That isn't what happened!" Meta Knight snapped. "He let go of the lever on purpose. If he had really needed help with the lever, he was told to ask Axe Knight."

"Huh...I don't know, man." Knife Knight just stretched. "Sounds like you're spewing a lot of bingus." He started to walk away before Meta Knight could continue the argument, but stopped to look at the crumpled piece of paper on the ground. He leaned over to pick it up and uncrumpled it, and then made an "eck" sound. "Who left this dead meme on the ground?"

Kirby noticed Axe Knight visibly twitch.

Meta Knight turned to look over at Axe Knight, his eyes turning yellow again once his gaze settled on him. "Axe Knight, may you please remove the new recruit?"

"With pleasure, sir." Axe Knight hopped out of the chair and stomped over to Knife Knight, who looked a little spooked.

"Would you like to see the air ducts?" Axe Knight asked, his eyes gleaming as he looked down at Knife Knight and dragged him out of the room by the mohawk on his helmet.

Kirby watched silently as the new recruit was dragged off. He had a feeling he wouldn't be seeing him again for a while. Well, at least it seemed like Meta had taken out most of his anger on Knife Knight instead of Kirby.

"Why did you do that, Kirby?" Meta Knight finally asked. He sounded very, very exasperated. And to add to that exasperation effect, he had his eyes closed and was leaning on the steering wheel.

Kirby shrugged. "I-unno. I felt like it." The truth was that he hadn't really thought about why he had done it; just kinda thought "hey what if I crashed the Halberd into Magolor's ship again that would be kind of funny I think."

Meta Knight sighed and shook his head.

"It was funny the first time." Captain Vul looked down at Kirby, eyes narrowed. "When you overuse a joke it isn't funny anymore."

"Yeah, well, tell that to Axe Knight and his Big Chungus picture," Kirby muttered as he looked away.

He looked up, however, as he heard a loud clang above him. Nobody else seemed to really notice it or care much, though.

The pink puffball suspected that it had something to do with Axe Knight talking about the air ducts as he dragged Knife Knight off...

Kirby turned around as he heard someone walking towards the control room. Was Axe Knight coming back that quickly? He didn't see how that was possible, seeing as he had just dragged Knife Knight off less than 2 minutes ago.

Meta Knight didn't seem to notice it, and if he did, he didn't care enough to turn around or acknowledge it. He still looked exasperated.

Captain Vul was just sitting there with his eyes closed, his demeanor similar to Meta's.

Mace Knight shook his head, seeming a bit distressed.

Kirby blinked in surprise as Galacta Knight strutted into the room. The pink warrior glanced around the area, taking it in before looking over towards Meta Knight and scoffing. "Way to go, Meta."

"Wh—what?" Meta Knight sputtered, turning around to stare at Galacta. He blinked a few times, as if making sure Galacta was really there, before narrowing his eyes. "How the hell did you get on this ship?!"

"Uh, same way you probably did. I just landed on the main deck and then came inside." Galacta Knight deadpanned.

Meta Knight turned around to look at the Lor Starcutter, then back at Galacta. "Magolor's ship is in a complete lockdown. How did you get off?"

"Hey, they had to put me in a special crystal prison for a reason," Galacta Knight shrugged.

"I..." Meta Knight trailed off with a sigh, closing his eyes and rubbing his head. "Why are you even here?"

"Seeing what you're doing up here." Galacta Knight blinked as he put his hands on his non-existent hips. "Magolor's really upset down there."

"It was him!" Meta Knight hissed as he pointed over at Kirby, who had been sitting there quietly and watching the two of them. "He crashed the ship!"

"...How?" Galacta Knight, after studying Kirby, gave Meta a weird look. "How did a child crash your ship?"

"The same way he blew it up a bunch of times!" Meta Knight snapped in reply.

Galacta Knight turned to glance at Kirby again, who just smiled and waved.

The feathered warrior blinked as he turned back to Meta. "That's pretty based."

"...Based on what?" Meta Knight asked, eyes narrowing.

"Based on you making Ronald McDonald hit the wall." Galacta Knight paused and blinked before going on. "I'm serious though. When you hit the ship again the impact made Ronald go flying into a wall. I think he fractured his skull or something. I don't know. I didn't stick around long."

Meta Knight was silent for a moment as he took in the information. Then, with a pointed glare towards Kirby, he said, "Once again, Galacta. It was Kirby who crashed the ship, not me, and not anyone else."

"Galacta?" Captain Vul finally interjected, turning away from the control panel he had previously been busy with. He glanced at Meta Knight. "Is that the guy you always talk about?"

"I don't always talk about him," Meta Knight mumbled, glancing at Galacta Knight before turning away. Kirby caught his eyes changing color, though. They looked pale pink. He was pretty sure that meant embarrassment. Of course, he couldn't really remember, especially when Meta's eyes usually weren't anything besides yellow or red.

Galacta Knight looked a bit weirded out, but he didn't say anything.

Of course, Captain Vul couldn't just leave it at that, and went on. "Sure you do! You're always talking about him. You said he shops at Costco cause he thinks it's a better deal even though it's not, according to you. And you said he's always scared of running out of supplies so he buys a lot of stuff and that's why he has a fridge full of Costco chicken salad."

Galacta Knight huffed, looking offended that Meta had supposedly said all this about him.

Vul didn't pick up on it, and was still talking. "And you've said more than once how soft his wings feel—"

"That's enough, Vul." Meta Knight was doing his best to look angry, but his eyes were still a light pink.

"Wow, man. You really said all that about me?" Galacta Knight narrowed his eyes. "I thought we were friends. But apparently you talk about my shopping habits behind my back. And Costco is a better deal."

Kirby thought it was strange that Galacta Knight was visibly upset about the Costco shopping thing, but didn't even blink at the comment of his wings being soft. Made him wonder just how close the two of them were outside of the public view.

Kirby stuck his tongue out at the thought. Ew.

"Costco is not a better deal," Meta Knight shot back, his eyes yellow again as he glanced over his shoulder at Galacta.

"Uh, yeah it is!" Galacta Knight huffed. "4 bucks for a dozen paper towels. And how much do your precious Walmart paper towels cost again, Mety?"

"...5 dollars," Meta grumbled.

"Exactly!" Galacta looked proud of himself.

"Don't you guys have anything better to do than argue about paper towels?" Kirby asked boredly. The novelty of crashing the Halberd had worn off, and he was looking forward to a free Happy Meal when they got home.

"I mean, I don't." Galacta Knight shrugged at Kirby before glancing over at Meta. "He does, though."

Kirby glanced at his mentor. He was leaning over to point out something on the control panel on Vul's side. Kirby let his gaze wander over the buttons and levers, looking to see if there was a big shiny red button. When he couldn't find one, he frowned. "Where's the self destruct button?"

"What?" Meta Knight turned to stare at Kirby, looking baffled. "Why would I ever put something like that on my ship? Especially with you around!" His eyes narrowed.

"It'd make my job easier." Kirby shrugged.

"Your job is being my apprentice, and that means you listen to me," Meta Knight shot back with a glare. "Now you sit there and don't touch anything. Understood?"

"Okay."

Meta Knight glared at him for a moment longer before turning away again.

Of course, right when he did, Kirby reached for the first lever he saw and pulled it.

There was a loud clang on the other end of the ship, followed by some faint whirring. A moment later, Axe Knight ran into the room, his eyes wide. "Uhh sir, did you mean to release the Heavy Lobster?"

"What?!" Meta Knight stared at him, then immediately turned to glare at Kirby, who shrugged. "Sorry, it slipped."

"I've had enough of you, Kirby!"

Kirby yelped in surprise as Meta Knight lifted him off the seat and began marching towards the corner with him. He dropped Kirby unceremoniously onto the ground as his eyes flickered to red again. "You sit in the corner!"

"I'm not a baby," Kirby muttered, crossing his stubs and pouting over the fact he was now in a timeout.

"You're acting like one." Meta Knight glared down at him. "You sit there until you prove you can behave yourself."

"And if I don't?" Kirby stuck his tongue out.

"Then you'll sit there until we're back home."

The two glared at each other for a few moments. It was broken when Meta closed his eyes, sighed, and then turned around and went back to the control panel. "Axe Knight, keep an eye on him," he called.

"Oh, with pleasure, sir." Axe Knight turned to glare down at Kirby. "Bad, humorless puffballs get put in the corner. How do you like that?"

Kirby glared up at him, unamused.

"That's right," Axe Knight huffed. "You're just a dumb little puffball. I am above you. I get to keep you in this corner—"

"I could inhale you," Kirby replied flatly.

Axe Knight blinked, taking a step back. He looked a bit surprised, but then huffed and narrowed his eyes. "Well, don't. Unless you want Meta to kill you or something."

Kirby just rolled his eyes before directing his attention over towards the others. Galacta Knight had hopped up into the seat Kirby was previously in. He was leaning over to see what Meta was doing.

"So I saw...Axe Knight, I think is his name? Yeah, that guy. He was dragging one of your other knights down the hall," Galacta Knight remarked, leaning back in the chair and putting his hands behind his head as he stretched out a bit.

"Oh, that was just Knife Knight," Meta Knight answered dismissively, his gaze still focused downwards as he adjusted some dials and levers. "I saw him stabbing people in the parking lot and thought he'd be a good recruit. But all he does is sleep and complain about...'bingus'."

"Bingus?" Galacta echoed. "What's—"

"Nobody knows except for him. I reckon it to be a word he made up."

"Yeah...guess that seems like the most likely answer." Galacta Knight was silent for a few moments before speaking again. "So why don't you fire him?"

"It's—" Meta paused for a moment. "He's just a teenager. And his parents don't seem to care about him. So I suppose I feel kind of bad for him."

"Aw, so you adopted him," Galacta teased.

"What—no! I don't adopt anyone." Meta Knight glared at him.

"I mean..." Galacta Knight turned to glance over at Kirby before looking back at Meta again. "You basically treat that pink kid like your son."

"That's different," Meta Knight insisted. "He's my apprentice, and he is much younger. I have to treat him like a child."

"Yeah, but there's a difference between treating him like a child versus your child."

"I asked if I could call you my dad and you said yes," Kirby called over.

Galacta Knight looked at Kirby, and then Meta Knight again, probably waiting for an explanation. Meta Knight simply stared at Kirby before closing his eyes and turning away without any further arguments.

"Knew it," was all Galacta Knight said.

The room was silent as Meta, Vul, and Mace continued to do their own things at the control panel.

Galacta Knight was still sitting in the same position, stretching out a bit more as he looked at different things on the control panel.

Meta Knight glanced over at him cautiously. "Don't touch anything, Galacta."

"Oh come on," Galacta Knight scoffed. "You've known me for how long? Don't you trust me?"

"...Sometimes."

Galacta Knight huffed and rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Hold onto something, Axe Knight," Meta called. "We're backing up again."

Axe Knight was quick to grab onto a metal railing that went across the wall.

"What about me?" Kirby whined.

"You stay in the corner!" Meta Knight glared at him.

"The corner's stupid!"

"Stupid puffballs get put in the stupid corner," Axe Knight mumbled, looking down disdainfully at Kirby.

"You're a stupid puffball!" Kirby retorted.

"I am not a puffball!" Axe Knight snapped.

"Okay, Mini-Knight." Kirby rolled his eyes. That nickname was usually reserved for Sword Knight, but Axe Knight was definitely acting a lot like Meta Knight at that moment.

Speaking of Sword Knight...that made him think of Knife Knight.

Kirby glanced up at Axe Knight, who was staring straight ahead towards the others. He wondered where he'd dragged Knife Knight off to, but decided it was probably better not to ask.

The ship lurched backwards, and that metallic scraping noise could be heard again.

It didn't seem to take as much effort this time, and soon enough the Halberd was no longer in collision with the Starcutter again.

"What are you holding that lever for?" Galacta Knight asked, looking down at the lever Meta was holding.

"It controls the direction the ship is going. It has to manually be held down in order to go in reverse, since we're usually going forward."

"Man, this ship is just full of dumb designs, isn't it?" Galacta Knight remarked as he looked up at the ceiling, which earned him a glare from Meta. "So, if you let go, then what? The ship just starts going forward?"

"Yes."

"Hm." Galacta Knight kept looking at the lever. "The control panel in Magolor's ship looked a lot more simple. I don't know how you guys fly this thing."

"Magolor's is a more modern ship. The Halberd is more mechanical, and also much bigger."

"So basically Magolor's got the cool futuristic ship, and you've got the pile of scrap metal."

"Essentially, ye—what? No!"

"How many times has this thing been blown up?" Galacta Knight asked with a snort. "Like, at least 3?"

Meta Knight turned to glare at Galacta Knight. "Why did you come on my ship if you were just going to berate me over it?"

"So I could do this." Galacta Knight quickly grabbed the lever and yanked it forward.

"Wh—GALACTA!"

CRASH!

Kirby did his best not to burst out laughing when the Halberd crashed into the Lor Starcutter for the third time. He was successful for a few seconds, but as the chortles came, so did the chuckles, which turned to soft laughter, which then turned into a laughing fit.

"It's not FUNNY anymore!" Captain Vul shouted, shaking his head as he banged on the control panel. "It was funny the FIRST TIME and that was it!"

"Hey, the kid likes it," Galacta Knight remarked, ignoring the red-eyed death glare that Meta Knight was giving him. Kirby kept laughing and banging the floor. After a minute or two, he finally quieted down, especially when he noticed he was being glared at by most of the others.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Magolor cried out loud enough to be heard.

"Oops," Galacta said.

"Augh! THAT'S IT!" Captain Vul growled. "I never want to see a pink puffball on this ship ever again!"

"Hey, I'm not a puffball," Galacta Knight huffed.

"I don't care what you are!" Vul glared at him. "All I know is that you're pink and you crashed our ship too!" He glared over at Kirby after snapping at Galacta.

"See what happens when you let pink people on our ship, Meta?!" He was now glaring at Meta Knight. "All they do is crash it and blow it up!"

"Hey, you don't need to get racist," Galacta Knight huffed softly.

There was a splat noise, and Kirby looked up to see Waddle Doo on the windshield. He looked very angry at Vul.

Mace Knight slowly reached for a lever and turned the windshield wipers on. Waddle Doo tried to smack the wipers, but ultimately he was no match for them, and he was soon scraped off the windshield like a bug.

"Er...what was that all about?" Captain Vul questioned, understandably confused.

"Don't worry about it..." Meta Knight shook his head, closing his eyes.

"I'm worrying about it," Vul stated, looking mildly concerned.

Meta Knight sighed, his eyes still closed. He sat there for a moment before slowly opening his eyes and glancing between Galacta and Kirby. "What am I supposed to do with the two of you?"

"Air ducts?" Axe Knight piped up.

"Throw the Heavy Lobster at 'em!" Vul chimed in.

"Blast them off into space?" Mace Knight suggested.

Meta Knight shook his head at all three of those ideas, his eyes closing again.

"I will turn you all into a shish kabob and fried chicken," Galacta Knight threatened with a huff.

"Don't do that, Galacta." Meta Knight just sighed.

"...Well, I'm going to go check on the cannons just in case," Captain Vul stated after an awkward silence. He got up and left the control room.

"Uh, I'm gonna go help him." Mace Knight quickly followed him.

"I'll stay," Axe Knight stated, thumping the handle of his axe against the floor, as if to make a point, like "Hey Meta look at me I'm being loyal and staying in the control room and guarding Kirby like you asked me to can I please get a promotion now oh Nova please."

"...Well then," Galacta Knight commented as he looked around the control room that suddenly seemed much emptier. "So are you gonna get your ship out again, or..."

"In a moment, when everyone comes back." Meta Knight still had his eyes closed.

"Are we going home soon?" Kirby called impatiently.

Meta Knight opened his eyes to glare at Kirby, who flinched a bit when he saw that his eyes were red. "We would already be on our way home if you hadn't crashed the ship!"

"Galacta crashed it too, though," Kirby pointed out, whining.

"And Galacta wouldn't be here right now if you hadn't crashed the ship in the first place!" The older star warrior retorted.

"B-but..." Kirby trailed off.

"This is all your fault, Kirby!" He snapped.

Kirby sat there silently for a moment. Well, he knew it was his fault, of course, but hearing his mentor say it out loud in such an angry tone...

Axe Knight leaned closer to Kirby. "Bad puffball," he whispered.

"SHUT THE POYO UP AXE KNIGHT!" Kirby yelled, grabbing his axe and hitting him over the head with it.

"Kirby!" Meta Knight snapped.

The puffball frowned, instantly dropping the axe. Looking up at Meta, all he could offer was a nervous smile.

A soft thunk noise made Meta Knight turn back around, and he saw Galacta Knight standing there with the now-detached steering wheel. "Uh...oops, hehe."

"For Nova's sake, Galacta..." He groaned before looking at Kirby again.

Kirby, again, gave him a nervous smile.

Meta Knight sighed once more, closing his eyes as he turned away. "Don't look at me like that, Kirby. Just stay in the corner and behave yourself, or else I'm letting Vul blast you off this ship."

He would really blast his own apprentice off into space? Kirby didn't believe it. Maybe he should call him out on it, or start messing with more stuff on the ship just to see if he would stay true to his word.

"Damn," Galacta Knight commented, still leaning back lazily in his chair as he stared at Meta. "You really go hard on that kid. I bet even that penguin guy would be a nicer father."

"Dedede?" Meta Knight snorted, trying to put the steering wheel back where it belonged. "The one who sent monsters and demonbeasts after a child? Yes, by all means, I'm sure he would be the nicer father."

"Well, at least he's fun to be around." Galacta Knight stretched a bit. "He's usually in a happy mood. He's just kinda loud and over-confident sometimes. But at least he can take a joke. You're too serious and mean."

"It's called disciplining."

"No, it's called being a jerk."

Meta Knight turned to glare at him, pausing in his efforts to fix the steering wheel. "Are you questioning me?"

"Obviously," Galacta snorted. "Would it kill you to be nice to the kid? I mean, he's just a little puffball, look at him—...oh..." He trailed off as he turned to find that the corner Kirby had been sitting in was now empty, with Axe Knight passed out on the floor.

"What?" Meta Knight asked, still trying to put the steering wheel back in.

"Uh...you might wanna go check on the kid."

"Why?" Meta Knight turned around, only to drop the steering wheel when he realized Kirby was gone. Hissing and cursing to himself, he shook his head and then picked the steering wheel up again. Before he could do or say anything, he heard an explosion from the other side of the ship, followed by a loud squawk from Captain Vul.

Above him he could hear someone running down a hallway, and then he heard Kirby shout "TAKE THAT STUPID METAL LOBSTER HAHAHA!"

"...You know what? You fix this." Meta Knight shoved the steering wheel at Galacta. "I need a drink...or two...or several," he mumbled, rubbing his head as he left the control room and headed down the hallway.

•20• Epilogue

Kirby breathed in the fresh ocean air as he stepped up onto the main deck of the Halberd. He could see the ocean all around them as the setting sun turned it orange.

The wind blew gently, carrying over the ocean. He could hear seagulls in the distance.

Kirby smiled, feeling content. Soon he'd be home in Dreamland with all his friends again, and this time he wouldn't have to worry about fast food mascots hunting them down. He was also looking forward to that free Happy Meal!

He thought back to the battle they'd had back in Magolor's ship. He couldn't really fully appreciate it at the time, but now, looking back, he thought of the way they'd all worked together. How Waddle Doo and Sailor Dee had guarded the control panel so Magolor could focus without worrying about the battle. How he'd knocked Bob into the wall so Meta Knight could beat him up. How King Dedede had jumped in to confront Ronald McDonald for trying to fight Kirby. How Galacta Knight, Meta Knight, and Marx had all helped to free Bandana Dee from Wendy. How they probably wouldn't have been able to win without Captain Vul blowing up the fast food mascots' ship.

And out of all people, Colonel Sanders had been the one to defuse the battle and talk them into forgiving each other. Maybe there was more to that old man than just buckets of fried chicken.

Kirby heard a grunt, followed by a soft clang. As he drifted out of his thoughts, the puffball glanced around. There was nobody else that was close to him. He heard another, slightly louder grunt, and turned to start walking in the direction it had come from.

He rounded a corner and froze when he saw Axe Knight lifting up Knife Knight. The new recruit was completely limp and unmoving. Axe Knight grunted again, and there was another soft clang as Knife Knight's mask tapped the railing. Axe Knight gave one last grunt as he rolled Knife Knight's unmoving body up and over the railing.

Kirby's eyes went wide as Knife Knight's body fell off the Halberd, and a moment later there was a splash as he landed in the ocean.

Axe Knight dusted off his hands. Glancing over the railing one last time, he turned, closed his eyes, lifted his head up and started to walk away. He stumbled back and opened his eyes as he bumped into Kirby, who was frozen with shock.

"Oh, uh...hey, Kirby," he greeted hesitantly.

Kirby was silent, staring wide-eyed up at the knight.

Axe Knight stared back at him for a few moments before speaking again. "Hey, you like cake, right?"

Kirby slowly nodded, his eyes still wide.

"Great! There's some in the kitchen. Would you like some?"

Kirby slowly nodded again.

"Okay, follow me." Axe Knight turned and started to walk away, stopping to glance over his shoulder and see if Kirby was following him.

Kirby, eyes still wide, started to follow him.

As they began to head inside the ship, Axe Knight said, "Just don't tell anyone what you saw and that cake is all yours, alright?"

"Okay," Kirby replied hastily.

The cake was worth it. It was even his favorite kind—strawberry!

He still felt a little bit sad, though. Knife Knight was kinda cool.

But strawberry cake was cooler.

He was back on the main deck, watching the sunset over the ocean. He'd always thought that sunrises and sunsets were really pretty. But over the ocean, it was even prettier. The setting sun looked like it was sinking into the ocean, casting rays of yellow and orange across the water.

Kirby looked up as he heard another ship. The Lor Starcutter was a bit higher up. It was much faster than the Halberd, so it was only a few moments before it passed and went ahead. Kirby couldn't help but internally wince when he saw all the dents and Halberd-shaped holes in it.

The puffball glanced after where Magolor's ship had gone off, wondering how much longer it would be until they reached land. While he didn't mind the nice, calm, ocean sunset, he wanted his Happy Meal!

Kirby frowned when he couldn't see any land. And with how slow they seemed to be moving, it would be nighttime by the time they were finally home! What if it was too late then? What if McDonald's closed? He didn't want to wait until tomorrow for his Happy Meal!

He could hear someone walking up behind him, but didn't bother turning around to see who it was yet. The steps sounded metallic, which told Kirby that it was...well, that really didn't narrow it down at all, did it?

So, he turned around. He wasn't very surprised to see it was Meta Knight.

"How much longer?" Kirby whined as his mentor continued to approach him.

"How much longer until we're home?" Meta Knight asked as he stood next to Kirby, looking down at him.

Kirby nodded.

"About 30 minutes."

"Too long," Kirby whined again. "I can't even see land!"

"Well, we can see land on the radar."

"But I can't see land with my eyes!"

Meta Knight chuckled a bit, and his eyes flickered pink. "We'll be home soon, Kirby."

Kirby huffed.

A few moments of silence passed between them. Meta Knight was looking out across the ocean, and Kirby was staring at him. Finally, the pink puffball broke the silence. "Aren't you supposed to be flying the ship?"

"Vul is taking care of that."

"Well...I wouldn't trust him," Kirby mumbled. "He literally crashed your ship into Magolor's as a 'funny prank'."

"And you didn't?" Meta Knight retorted evenly, turning to glance down at Kirby.

"...Hmph." Kirby kicked at the railing.

Meta Knight glanced at him for a moment longer before looking back out across the ocean.

Since there wasn't really anything else to do, Kirby did the same.

The silence was a bit awkward, but it was also kind of peaceful. Kirby found himself involuntarily smiling.

The sun had sunk lower into the ocean, and the sky above was starting to turn darker. The ocean air had grown cooler, more crisp. It was refreshing, in a way.

Meta Knight didn't say anything, even when Kirby started pressing into his side a little bit. He just leaned forward on the railing and kept his gaze focused across the ocean. Kirby smiled happily. He thought that Meta seemed very calm. Maybe too calm. He looked up at his mentor, blinking.

Meta Knight returned his glance for a moment. When his eyes turned blue, Kirby knew that he was feeling content. Kirby just smiled.

And of course, Galacta Knight had to suddenly show up and ruin the moment.

Meta Knight shouted in surprise, his eyes immediately turning white as Galacta Knight tackled him and landed on his head. "Hey Mety!"

"Easy, Galacta!" Meta Knight grunted. "I have Kirby with me."

Galacta Knight blinked from where he was on top of Meta Knight, glancing down to see Kirby, who was rather small in comparison to the two of them. "Oh. What's up, kid?"

Kirby just gave Galacta a weird look.

Galacta Knight blinked again, staring back at Kirby blankly.

"So...uh..." Galacta Knight awkwardly trailed off for a moment as he looked away from Kirby. He leaned forward a bit until he was hanging upside down over Meta, and the two were face-to-face (well, mask-to-mask). "How much longer till we're back home?"

"No more than 30 minutes, Galacta." Meta Knight looked mildly annoyed about Galacta being in his face. Though the yellow eyes indicated that he wasn't angry about it, at least.

"That long? Wow. I bet Magolor's ship is already back by now." Galacta Knight huffed a bit.

"You should have stayed on his ship, then," Meta Knight retorted.

"Aw, don't pretend you don't want me here, Mety," Galacta Knight teased, reaching down to slap at the opening on Meta's mask.

Meta Knight didn't say anything, but he did look annoyed, and maybe even a little flustered.

Kirby considered making a comment about how weird the two of them were acting with each other (especially Galacta), but decided it was probably better to keep his mouth shut.

"I bet I could fly to Dreamland and back before your ship gets there," Galacta Knight remarked, pushing himself up a bit so that he wasn't completely in Meta's face anymore.

"Go ahead, then." It was hard to tell how Meta Knight was feeling, since his eyes were still yellow and his tone was neutral.

Galacta looked like he was smirking underneath his mask. "Wanna race?"

"What?" Meta blinked. "Us?"

"Yeah."

"But...I can't leave my crew behind!"

"You're not leaving them behind, just...taking a break from them." Galacta winked.

"I...I suppose I could...let me tell Vul first—"

"Oh don't even bother with Sir Squawk-A-Lot. Come on, let's go."

"...What about Kirby?"

Galacta Knight glanced down at Kirby, who was still looking at them weird, and then looked at Meta again. "Take him with you. I'm sure he'd love it."

Meta Knight glanced down at Kirby.

Well, if they were gonna go fly off, Kirby certainly didn't want to be left behind, especially with a crew that hated him. So he looked up at his mentor and nodded.

"...Alright," Meta Knight finally agreed.

"Awesome." Galacta Knight hopped off of Meta and stretched his wings as he stood on the Halberd's railing. He was clearly getting ready to take off.

Kirby wanted to be able to fly on his own. It wasn't anything personal, but Galacta Knight was the only one present with feathers, which is why he had to hop up and tug at one of his wings to pull some feathers loose.

"Ow! You little-" Galacta hissed, turning his red glare to the pink puffball, who simply shrugged at him before inhaling the white feathers he'd pulled in order to gain the wing ability. He smiled afterwards, giving his wing hat a couple flaps.

"I suppose I can't be surprised by your behavior, given your mentor," Galacta Knight remarked snidely, giving Meta Knight a side look. "I'll bet you approve of him doing that, don't you?"

"I can't say I'm upset," Meta Knight replied, his cape wrapped around himself for some reason. There seemed to be a hint of amusement in his tone. After all, he'd just watched his apprentice pluck feathers from The Greatest Warrior in the Galaxy completely unprompted.

"Bah! I'll show you both," Galacta Knight scoffed, turning away to stretch his wings once more.

Before Meta Knight could finish unwrapping his cape, Galacta Knight had already laughed and taken off.

"Oh no fair Galacta!" Meta Knight shouted as he started to fly after Galacta. "You got a head start!"

"You both did!" Kirby whined, the feathers of his hat flapping rapidly as he took off after the two knights. "Doesn't matter though, because I'm still going to beat you two!"

It was dusk by the time they landed back in Dreamland. Unfortunately, as powerful as Kirby may be, he couldn't quite manage to outpace the two warriors, who were both extremely fast, both with flying and their attacks.

"Ha!" Galacta Knight laughed as he landed, tumbling and rolling onto his back. "I won!"

"You got a head start," Meta Knight scoffed, landing more delicately. He wasn't as heavy as Galacta, and was certainly much quieter.

Kirby flopped forward into the grass after he landed, smiling as he felt its softness. He closed his eyes, still feeling the rush of wind from flying. It truly was a great feeling. And he didn't even have to really exert himself much at all, unlike the other two. The perks of being able to fly with a hat!

As a thought crept into his mind, the puffball looked up from where he'd had his face buried in the grass. He looked around, but couldn't see the Starcutter. "Where's Magolor's ship?" He kept looking around, but the ship was nowhere in site. He pushed himself up a bit, his gaze settling on the other two for an answer.

Galacta Knight was still laying in the grass, and had his wings stretched out as he put his hands behind his head. Meta Knight was standing next to him, his cape wrapped around himself. "I'm sure it's around here somewhere," he answered.

"Well I don't see it."

Meta Knight offered a shrug in response. "I guess we beat him too, then."

Kirby rolled his eyes and stood up, brushing some dirt and grass off of himself. He turned to look out at the ocean, trying to see if there was any sign of Magolor's ship.

Seeing nothing but water, he sighed and turned back around. So he couldn't fly faster than his mentor or Galacta Knight, but he could go faster than an airship? It didn't make much sense to him.

Galacta Knight was sitting up a bit now, leaning back on his hands. Meta Knight had settled down next to him, his cape still wrapped around himself. Galacta was talking about something, but Kirby didn't really know what any of it was about.

Well, with nothing else to do, Kirby walked over to them. As he got closer, he could hear their conversation more.

"And then, get this, he says 'I'm a tire', and then he turns into a tire!" Galacta Knight laughed. He seemed like he was going to say more, but fell silent and looked up at Kirby.

"Um...right." Meta Knight obviously didn't get it. He looked up as Kirby approached. "Yes, Kirby?"

Kirby said nothing as he just plopped himself down in front of them, and, well...sat there.

"...Alright." Meta Knight was obviously a bit confused, but didn't press the matter.

Kirby smiled, and he wound up closing his eyes.

"Well, anyway," Galacta Knight went on. "The next one was even funnier. So basically, Luigi says 'I'm a soup!', and then he turns into a soup!" He snickered.

"I don't understand," Meta Knight stated.

"It's funny!" Galacta Knight insisted.

"I still don't understand the humor. Last week you were trying to tell me a guy turning himself into a pickle was somehow 'funny'."

"It is funny!"

Kirby opened his eyes and stared straight ahead, a confused expression on his face. He found himself agreeing with Meta Knight.

"I still fail to find the humor in it," Meta Knight remarked softly.

"Yeah," Kirby agreed, narrowing his eyes over at Galacta. "Where's the funny?"

Galacta Knight blinked at him before scoffing. "You don't get to have an opinion here, kid. Axe Knight said you're a humorless puffball."

"Axe Knight's a stupid poyo!"

"Watch your language, Kirby," Meta Knight warned before glancing at Galacta. "When did he say that?"

"Oh, I talked to him for a minute when I saw him dragging that other knight down the hallway." Galacta Knight shrugged and leaned back.

"Axe Knight more like Stupid Knight," Kirby muttered.

His remark was ignored, and the two of them settled into a normal, less dumb conversation about the different knights. Kirby, of course, found it boring. He almost wished Galacta had gone back to talking about Luigi turning into soup.

But no, instead he had to listen to the two gossip about the Meta-Knights.

Kirby rolled his eyes, involuntarily yawning at the boring conversation. Of course, as the conversation dragged on, Kirby continued to yawn, and the yawning was making him tired.

It eventually got to the point where he was struggling to keep his eyes open. He grunted in frustration, sitting up to gaze out at the ocean. He couldn't sleep—he had to stay awake so he could greet Bandana Dee and everyone else when they got back!

The knights' conversation had now steered towards books. Of course, Meta Knight always read boring history books. And as he made a very boring comment about a very boring book, Kirby couldn't help but yawn loudly, which made him feel even more sleepy.

"Are you tired, Kirby?" Meta Knight asked, apparently just now noticing that he'd been yawning and struggling to keep his eyes open. He peered down at Kirby inquisitively.

"M'not tired," Kirby mumbled sleepily.

"You look it." Meta shifted a bit as he stood up and fumbled with something behind him. That something turned out to be his cape, which he took off and put over Kirby like a blanket. "Take a nap. You could really use one after all that fighting. I'll wake you up when everyone's back."

"We'll wake you up," Galacta Knight corrected as he cut in, leaning over to stare down at Kirby before looking up at Meta with a wink. Meta Knight just gave him an annoyed look.

Galacta Knight leaned back, chuckling and patting Meta on the head. "You're so serious, Mety."

Kirby was already dozing off, so he wasn't too sure if Meta Knight replied or not. He could still hear them talking, but he wasn't focused on the words. It all just kind of faded into the background as sleep overtook him.

Kirby awoke from dreams of sugar-coated apples and infinite Happy Meals to someone shaking him. He gave an agitated grunt, his eyes still closed as he reached out to smack at whoever was shaking him.

"Kirby," he heard someone say his name.

"5 more minutes," Kirby growled.

"They're back, Kirby."

"What's back? The five dollar beefy box at Taco Bell?"

"...No?"

"Then let m'sleep..."

"Kirby—"

"YO KID!"

Kirby yelped as he was shaken harder this time. He finally opened his eyes, glaring when he found Meta Knight and Galacta Knight standing over him, the latter of which had been shaking him so roughly while shouting. At least he stopped when Kirby opened his eyes.

Meta Knight didn't look amused. "That was extremely unnecessary, Galacta," he said, glaring at the feathered warrior.

Galacta Knight shrugged. "Well he's awake now."

"What?!" Kirby hissed as he rubbed his head, wondering what good reason these two had for waking him up.

"Don't you want to see Bandana Dee and everyone else?" Meta Knight asked, looking down at him.

"What...OH!" Kirby had completely forgotten about them. Shoving the cape off of him, he stood up and began looking around until he saw the Lor Starcutter.

It looked like Magolor may have had a bit of trouble landing, if the strip of churned-up earth behind the ship was anything to account for. Kirby winced a bit, wondering how he had slept through that.

He glanced behind him to look at Meta Knight, who had picked up his cape and was in the process of putting it back on. Galacta Knight was standing next to him, and it looked like he had one of his wings draped over Meta for some reason.

"Go ahead, Kirby," Meta Knight called, not looking at the puffball. Instead, he was looking behind him as he adjusted his cape.

"Aren't you guys coming?" Kirby gave him a confused look.

"In a few moments," Meta Knight answered, now smoothing out his cape.

Kirby figured Meta Knight just needed a minute to adjust his cape. That made sense. As for Galacta Knight...what was his deal? He was just standing there. The wing around Meta Knight was also a bit suspicious. Was it intentional, or did neither knight even notice it?

"What about you?" Kirby finally asked. "Are you waiting to ask Meta Knight out or something?"

"What?!" Galacta Knight jumped back, looking baffled and appalled. Similarly, Meta Knight looked up sharply, staring over at Kirby with wide eyes. He blinked a few times before shaking his head and closing his eyes, as if he was still trying to even process that question. "I highly doubt it, Kirby. Neither of us wish to settle down that way with someone."

"Exactly," Galacta Knight added a bit gruffly, his feathers bristling. To Kirby, he sarcastically quipped, "Calm down, I'm not trying to date your dad." He scoffed and fluffed up his wings afterwards, most likely trying to calm himself down as well. He did have a notoriously short temper, after all. Even worse than Meta Knight's, if one could believe such a thing.

"Whatever, Gaylacta Knight." Kirby spun around on his heels and started heading towards the Lor Starcutter. He paused as he heard cursing and a weapon being drawn. Gulping, he glanced over his shoulder.

Galacta Knight had his lance out and looked ready to impale Kirby, but Meta Knight was blocking him and trying to calm him down.

Kirby stuck his tongue out at Galacta before spinning around and trotting to the ship, snickering to himself as he heard more curse words and shouting.

Magolor was the first to get off his ship, sighing as he rubbed his head. As Kirby approached, he noticed that the Halcandran was looking at all the damage his ship had taken.

"I can help you fix it later," Kirby offered as he trotted up.

Magolor flinched as he turned to stare at Kirby, looking baffled. "How did you get here?"

Kirby tilted his head/body questioningly.

"We passed the Halberd," Magolor explained, looking around. "And I don't see it—" He broke off as he noticed Meta and Galacta coming over. He blinked a few times, then shouted "HOW?!"

"Uh, we flew." Galacta Knight shrugged. "You know, with our wings."

Kirby nodded and pointed at his hat, giving it a couple wing flaps to add to the effect.

"There's no way you could have flown faster than my ship!" Magolor insisted.

"Well, we did," Galacta deadpanned.

"That's—" Magolor sputtered before groaning and throwing his hands up. He then turned to glare at Meta Knight. "You better be paying for all my ship damages!"

"I will do no such thing," Meta Knight hissed, wrapping his cape around himself as he returned Magolor's glare. "You'll have to ask Captain Vul, Kirby, and Galacta Knight. They crashed the ship, not me."

"Well, it's still your ship!" Magolor retorted.

"But I was not the one to crash it."

"Your ship, you pay!"

"Pay for it yourself! I'm sure you have lots of extra money laying around with all the tax fraud you've committed!" Meta Knight accused.

"You can't prove it!" Magolor huffed, looking defensive.

Kirby raised an eyebrow about the taxes thing. Well, Magolor did spend an awful lot of time out in space...maybe there was a reason for it.

"Hey, I don't even have to pay taxes," Galacta Knight remarked, shrugging his wings. "I'm still not a legal resident of Dreamland, so..."

Meta Knight glanced over at him, eyes narrowed a bit. "...What?"

Well, before they could start arguing about taxes and make Kirby fall asleep from boredom again, Bandana Dee trotted out of the ship. "Why are you guys all arguing?"

"BANDEEEEE!" Kirby screeched, doing a condor charge over towards the Waddle Dee. He heard his friend yelp in fear, and a second later they were both on the ground. Laughing, Kirby hugged him.

"Oof!" Bandana Dee wheezed when he was knocked over. He took a moment to recover before chuckling and hugging Kirby back. "Kirby? How did you get back before us?"

Kirby sat up a bit, freeing Bandana Dee from the tackle-hug. They both stood up. "Oh, well we were on the Halberd but Galacta and Meta decided to ditch it and that we should have a race back home."

"You flew faster than the ships?" Bandana Dee looked confused, yet surprised.

"Apparently," Kirby shrugged, glancing over at the two knights that he had mentioned. Galacta Knight was laughing with Magolor about taxes. Meta Knight was still standing there with his cape wrapped around himself, but Kirby noticed that he was watching him and Bandana Dee, eyes somewhere between pink and magenta. Amusement and affection, Kirby thought.

By that point everyone else had started to exit the ship. King Dedede came first, shoving past everyone. As soon as he was off the Starcutter, he flopped onto the grass and kissed it repeatedly (how dramatic). Then came Marx, Colonel Sanders and Sailor Dee. Marx was back in his regular form, and seemed happy with bouncing on Colonel Sanders' head.

As soon as he noticed Meta Knight, Sailor Dee ran over to him. Meta finally looked away from Kirby and Bandana Dee to start calming down Sailor Dee, who was obviously worked up.

Burger King and Wendy came next, helping a bandaged Ronald McDonald limp out of the ship. Bob and Fred quickly followed them, as Sword and Blade were still stabbing at them for some reason. Kirby guessed they needed explicit orders from Meta Knight before they stopped attacking.

"YIPYIPYIPYIPYIPYIPYIP!" That stupid chihuahua came running out of the ship and started barking at everyone.

"Don't you bark at me," Galacta Knight huffed, looking offended that a chihuahua was barking at him.

Of course, Juan just got closer and started yipping at him even more.

"YIPYIPYIPYIPYIPYIP—YIPE!" Apparently Galacta had enough of Juan yipping at him, seeing as he punted him. The chihuahua went flying into the air and landed with a thud about 10 yards away.

"DON'T KICK HIM!" Sailor Dee screamed. When Galacta Knight just turned to glare at him, the Dee gulped and hid in Meta Knight's cape.

"So...this is everyone?" Kirby asked, looking around. He felt like more than one person was missing.

"Well, everyone besides the Halberd crew," Meta Knight pointed out.

"I don't wanna wait for Sir Squawk-A-Lot," Kirby scoffed.

"Ahem."

Kirby turned around at the sound of Ronald McDonald's voice. The injured McDonald's mascot smiled. "If it's okay with all of you, we'd like to hold a funeral for Fred Johnson."

"Who?" Kirby asked blankly.

"The Taco Time manager. He was sucked out into space and died."

"Oh, that guy." Kirby blinked, trying to remember anything notable about him. He liked potato chips and was Juan's previous owner. That was about it. "Uh...yeah, sure, we can hold a funeral for him."

Ronald McDonald bowed his head. "Thank you." He looked around at the others for a moment before speaking again. "We can set up the funeral while we wait for the other ship...we will remember Dora and Wendy's fallen soldiers, too."

"Uh...okay." Kirby watched as Ronald McDonald limped back over to Burger King and Wendy. He looked around. He still felt like there was someone missing...oh well, it couldn't be anyone too important.

Meanwhile in outer space...

"Uhh...hello? Guys? Anyone out there?" The sword-wielding Waddle Doo called out. "G-Guys?" He started to roll backwards, and squirmed as he tried to right himself. "You guys didn't leave me here, did you?"

Silence.

"...Guys?" Waddle Doo's voice cracked.

Upon still not receiving a response, the Waddle Doo whimpered. For a moment, a thought crept in, and his eye narrowed angrily. "Wait a minute, isn't this a JoJo referen—" As he continued to roll and float out into space, he found that he had stopped thinking, and thus could not finish his sentence.

Back on Popstar, Kirby watched as the Halberd arrived over the horizon.

"Oh, they're back!" Bandana Dee exclaimed, even though Kirby was standing right next to him and could clearly see the ship.

Unlike Magolor, it seemed Captain Vul could actually land a ship.

"WAAAAAH!" Ronald McDonald screamed before going crunch underneath the ship.

Kirby winced.

Okay, maybe not.

Kirby glanced behind him to see if Meta Knight was going to address his ship, but it looked like he was too busy having a conversation with Galacta Knight. Sailor Dee was still hanging onto his cape, and it seemed like he was trying to draw Meta's attention towards the Halberd. Alas, the young Dee's attempt was in vain.

"Uh, Meta, there's a dead body underneath your ship," Kirby called over, growing faintly concerned when Meta Knight didn't even so much as glance over at him.

Instead, the only response he got was a very flat, dismissive "That's great, Kirby." It was the same tone a parent would use when their kid was trying to show them something, and the parent couldn't care less. But the kid, being an innocent kid, wouldn't pick up on that, and would instead keep eagerly talking. The parent would then nod along, going "yup" and "uh-huh", all while the kid tries to excitedly talk about something, or keep trying to show it to the uninterested parent.

No, they weren't uninterested, the parent would claim when questioned about their interest. They were just "tired", or "busy with work". They'd come check it out later, they assured. But soon the child would grow tired of waiting for the parent to come see what they made or what they found, and, defeated, the child would give up and accept the fact their parent didn't care, and they would go back to sitting in a laundry basket by themselves.

Kirby frowned. He considered going over there and dragging Meta by his cape, but then he remembered how it went the last time he tried to do that. Getting whacked by Galaxia hurt a lot more than Kirby would have expected it to, and he definitely wasn't eager to relive that experience.

And so, the puffball could only watch as Ronald McDonald slowly dragged himself out from underneath the Halberd. Sure, he probably had both of his legs broken, but he'd survived worse. A lot worse, actually, if death counted.

He continued to watch as Wendy and Burger King essentially became his crutches. Seeing the three rival mascots together was kind of weird, but then again, Ronald McDonald and Burger King had been teamed up for a while.

Well, setting up a funeral was probably going to involve a lot of boring adult stuff. Sighing in annoyance, Kirby plopped down onto the grass, and Bandana Dee settled next to him. The Waddle Dee was trying to excitedly talk to him about something, but watching the adults set up a funeral was extremely boring, and eventually Kirby wound up dozing off again.

One convenient timeskip later, the funeral had been set up. Kirby yawned as Bandana Dee nudged him awake, sitting up and stretching.

"Sorry, Bandee," he apologized. "I was trying to listen to you, but watching them do funeral stuff made me sleepy."

"Oh, it's okay, Kirby," Bandana Dee assured. "I took a little nap there too myself! Anyway, I was just telling you about something Magolor said. I can tell you later." He stood up and stretched his arms over his head. "Well, I guess we have a funeral to attend..." He trailed off, looking a little sad.

Sure, funerals were sad. But Kirby hardly knew this guy, so his whole outlook on it was rather "eh, whatever". Bandana Dee, on the other hand, was likely the type to cry at the funerals of people he didn't even know.

Everyone else was settling down, either sitting in the grass or standing up. In the center of them was a fancy rock, which might have been a gravestone? Kirby didn't see why one was necessary, seeing as Fred Johnson's body was somewhere in outer space. It wasn't like they had anything here to bury.

As the two title characters walked over to everyone else, Kirby began to hear Bob speaking.

"We lost a great man today. While deemed insignificant by many, he was a fine contributor to this nation's taco supply, someone who was always available in the absence of Taco Bell, a man who was very worthy of his 'manager' nametag..."

As the Dairy Queen manager droned on and on, Kirby found himself paying more attention to the scenery than the eulogy.

How bittersweet, to have something as tragic as a funeral occur during such a beautiful ocean sunset. How dare it be so beautiful? Couldn't the sun tell how inappropriate that was? It should have the manners to at least save it for the after party.

Wasn't anyone else bored by this? Bandana Dee had taken off his bandana out of respect, and was holding it solemnly in front of him. As Kirby continued to look around, he saw Sailor Dee doing the same with his hat. It seemed the Waddle Dees were the only ones doing this, even though plenty of other people here were wearing hats - Kirby included. He couldn't exactly take his off though unless he dropped his ability, and doing that in the middle of a eulogy probably wasn't an appropriate time to do that.

Besides, he reasoned with himself, it wasn't exactly a hat - it was mostly just feathers. Even if a hat was, by definition, something that was worn on one's head.

Bob finally finished speaking, and Fred was the next one to step up. "I am honored to have been able to share a first name with this man..."

Weren't you the one who accused him of stealing your name? Kirby wondered a tad bitterly, feeling his eyes narrow.

As Fred went on with his boring speech, Kirby had to resist rolling his eyes. Instead, he looked around at the others again.

Magolor and Marx were both together off to the side, their expressions neutral. The rest of the fast food mascots were on Kirby's right, spaced out a bit. Fred stood in front of them, being the one that was speaking. Bob stood solemnly behind him, looking downcast. Ronald McDonald was still being supported by Wendy and Burger King on either side of him.

Was someone missing there? Or was it whoever he'd been thinking about earlier? The thought briefly puzzled Kirby, but when no faces or names came to mind, he was able to shrug it off. There were a lot of people to keep track of, after all.

Looking to his left, he saw everyone else. Surprisingly, they all seemed to want to be near Meta Knight for some reason. Sure, Kirby knew Meta Knight had a lot of admirers and fans, but actually seeing a portion of them all around him was a bit staggering. In this case, it was quite literally everyone besides the fastfood mascots, Magolor, Marx, and Juan...if he even counted. Where was that stupid chihuahua, anyway? Kirby glanced around briefly, but didn't see him anywhere. It wasn't a huge concern, so he turned his attention back to Meta Knight's fanclub.

His knights being so close to him wasn't surprising in the least, nor was Vul and Sailor Dee. But Kirby hadn't expected for King Dedede and Meta Knight to be standing so close together. Since when did they get along? Had Kirby just not been paying attention?

The king seemed to be composing himself fine, while Meta Knight had his usual look, his cape wrapped around himself, of course. Dedede stood on his left, while Sailor Dee stood in front of him. Next to the Waddle Dee was Bandana Dee, and next to him was Kirby.

Sword and Blade were on their lord's right side and would occasionally shoot stern, threatening glances over at Galacta Knight, who was standing stiffly at least a meter away from Meta Knight. Clearly the two of them were protecting him, for what reason Kirby had no idea, considering how buddy-buddy Galacta had been towards Meta Knight.

Behind Meta Knight, Vul was standing tall, looking stoic. Though when Kirby looked a bit closer, he noticed the captain seemed to be more bored than anything. He even glanced at his wrist at one point, suggesting he was checking a watch. He had two of the other four knights on either side of him, most of whom seemed to be slightly bored or indifferent. Kirby couldn't blame them.

Well...surely no one would notice if Kirby took a little nap.

Sure, it was a bit ridiculous that this was his third nap within the past hour or so, but in his defense, there was a lot of boring things going on.

And so, plopping down into the grass without any other care in the world, Kirby dozed off yet again.

He wasn't sure how long he slept for, but it couldn't have been long. The sky was still orange, though the streaks of indigo in it had grown thicker as the sun continued its descent.

Being peered down at by Meta Knight like that wasn't a great way to wake up, and Kirby poyoed innocently, expecting some sort of lecture.

"It is rude to fall asleep during a funeral, Kirby," he scolded, yellow eyes still squinting at him in disapproval. Yellow, not red — so that was good, at least.

"So is waking up the one who saves this entire planet all the time," Kirby retorted sleepily. "What's your point?"

Meta Knight continued to look down at him for a few moments, though he eventually straightened up and turned away without arguing. "They're wrapping up," he informed him.

Yawning and stretching, Kirby sat up and looked over. The fastfood mascots had gathered around the stone. Their heads were bowed in grief, and Bob looked like he was praying. Fred stepped forward and leaned down to place something on top of the stone.

"One last potato chip for our friend," he said solemnly.

At the thought of food, Kirby's stomach rumbled. It was loud enough to draw attention, apparently, judging by the side glances he was suddenly getting from some of the others. Axe Knight in particular looked confused, as if he didn't understand how Kirby could be hungry after the large slice of cake he'd bribed him with earlier.

Foolish mortal, underestimating Kirby's appetite. The puffball only smiled at him.

"I know what you're thinking," Meta Knight stated warningly, turning around to give Kirby a glance. "Don't."

"But I'm hungry," Kirby whined. Not that a single potato chip would do anything to satisfy his hunger, but, well, it was the only food option that was available...unless he went back to eating the knights, he supposed, giving a half-interested glance over towards them. How come he could inhale all six of them no problem, but not Meta Knight? Most of them were bigger than him. It made no sense!

//colonel sanders has to do something. idk. blowing up the other restaurants?

//perspective switch; kirb blows up ship and it goes into the ocean yet again

//mcds closed thats bingus speaking of bingus...