Chapter 1: Green Greens

Dagger was sitting on the small couch in Cutter's living room as the Kibble typed some things into a laptop. The Blade Knight looked away upon hearing someone knocking at the door. "Whothat?"

"Oh, that's probably just the mail," Cutter explained, shutting the laptop. He hopped off of the couch and walked over to the door, opening it. A maroon-colored Birdon stood at the door, carrying a single letter in his beak. Cutter took this letter and handed the bird a few coins. The Birdon happily accepted this payment, squawked the Kibble a "thank-you!" and flew off.

Cutter watched the Birdon fly away before shutting the door and looking at the letter. However, he didn't have to look at the address to know who it was from when he spotted the familiar peace-sign seal. "Oh no..."

"Buh?" Dagger questioned, hopping up to look at the letter.

"It's a letter from my boss," the puffball said. "Usually when I get a letter from him it isn't for a good reason..." He nervously tore open the envelope and read the letter. It was written in slightly sloppy handwriting, which wasn't surprising seeing as it was coming from King Dedede.

"Dear servant:

My scouts have reported that you've been slacking off, and not pestering Kirby like you're supposed to. This is not acceptable! If you continue to disobey my orders, then you're fired!

-King Dedede"

Cutter moaned, tossing the letter over his head and into the garbage. "Why did I ever apply for this job? It's suicide to annoy Kirby..."

"Kuh-bee?" Dagger tilted his head in confusion. "Whothat?"

Normally Cutter would have been surprised if someone didn't know who Kirby was, but then again, Dagger didn't even know who Dedede was. Instead of scolding the Blade Knight, he simply explained. "I've never seen him myself, but from what I heard, Kirby's a monster Dreamlander that devours anyone in his path... I'm not sure what he looks like, but I think he's something a giant monster with big red eyes, vicious fangs, and sharp claws." The Kibble shivered. "Few of Dedede's servants that confronted him made it back alive... So you can see why I'm not doing my job."

"Yah," Dagger answered with a nod. "Monst'rbad."

"The thing is, though, knowing Dedede, he'll probably do something worse than fire me... he might put me in the dungeon or something. I can't really decide what's a worse fate: rotting in a dungeon for the rest of your life or being viciously devoured by a monster."

Dagger nodded again, but paused. A loud growl echoed throughout the room, and the Blade Knight gave a nervous smile. "...Ihungry."

"Well, it's after lunchtime, so I suppose I could go make a few sandwiches..." Cutter walked over to the kitchen, but stopped upon remembering something. "Oh, that's right... I'm out of food." He sighed, grabbing a bag of money off of the table. "I checked the nearest grocery store, and they were completely out of food. Kinda weird... There's another grocery store nearby, I guess we could go check that one. C'mon." The Kibble walked back over to the door, motioning for Dagger to follow. With that, the two started the short walk.

The path to the grocery store went nearby a row of houses. Usually it was bustling with activity around there, but right now it was eerily silent. Dagger shivered, sensing something was wrong. "Buhh..." he whimpered.

"What's wrong, Dagger?" Cutter questioned, looking up at the Blade Knight. He glanced around the area, not seeing anything suspicious aside from the lack of activity. "There's nothing to be afra-"

The Kibble was suddenly cut off by a forceful vacuum of wind that was pulling him towards a nearby bush. Instantly he began to panic. "IT'S HIM! IT'S KIRBY!" Cutter cried, grabbing his paws at the ground as the vacuum continued to pull him. "HELP ME!"

"Ihelpyuu!" Dagger exclaimed, grabbing Cutter's red paw. He fought against the strange vacuum, casting an occasional nervous glance at the bush that the forceful wind was coming from.

"HELPMEHELPME!" Cutter yelled, kicking his feet. Dagger continued to pull his friend out of the vacuum of wind until-

SLUURRRP!

The vacuum stopped. Dagger glanced at Cutter, who was now dangling about a foot above the ground, his armor gone and face bright red.

"...he ate my ARMOR."

The Kibble quickly struggled free of Dagger's grip and hid behind the knight due to both embarrassment and fear, for the monster that had been trying to eat him was now emerging from the bush. The duo trembled in fear as they watched Kirby approach them...

Both of their jaws dropped.

Kirby looked completely different than Cutter had described, aside from being a ball. He was a round Dreamlander with pink skin; small, stubby paws; red feet; large, blue, happy eyes; red cheeks; and small smile on his face. He was also wearing a peculiar hat. It looked like a yellow baseball cap with eyes similar to his own, small wings, and a boomerang-blade attached to the top.

"S'cuse me," he said with a slightly kiddy voice. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just needed to borrow your ability for a while. I'll give it back when I'm done, all right?"

Cutter hesitated for a moment before responding. "Y-you're KIRBY?"

The puffball laughed. He was used to these kinds of reactions. "What did you expect, a great big monster with red eyes, vicious fangs, and sharp claws?"

"Er... Yes, actually."

"Meh. That's what everyone expects," Kirby replied, rolling his eyes. "But let me tell you, I'm no monster."

"B-b-but what about all of the king's soldiers that never returned? Didn't you-"

"No, I didn't kill them," Kirby stated, an angry look upon his pink face. "I did attack them, but only because they attacked me first. They ran away after that... Prob'ly too ashamed to go back to their king after being beaten by the likes of me." He laughed again.

"What about me?" Cutter yelled. "I didn't attack you!"

"Yah!" Dagger agreed.

"I didn't attack you! I'm just borrowing your ability! I already told you I'd give it back."

"But I really need my armor, you know..." Cutter backed behind Dagger further, and began to shove the Blade Knight forward. "Here, take Dagger's ability instead."

"HEY!" Dagger shouted. He might not have been very smart, but he knew what Cutter meant.

"Actually, that's not such a bad idea," Kirby mused. He took a breath and coughed out Cutter's armor, his hat disappearing off of his head. He then turned to Dagger and started to inhale. He aimed his inhaling at the Blade's shoulder guards, and finally was able to swallow them. There was a flash, and Kirby now wore a green elf-like hat with a yellow brim and puff at the tip, and held a semi-large sword. "I'm better at Sword ability than I am at Cutter ability anyway."

Cutter quickly slipped into his armor while Dagger was busy trying to figure out where his shoulder guards went and while Kirby was busy inspecting his new ability. "Thanks... Why do you need an ability anyway?"

"You know how all the grocery stores are out of food?" Kirby asked, adjusting his hat.

Cutter nodded. "Yeah... Kinda odd, don't you think?"

"Not really, 'cause I know what happened to it," Kirby stated, frowning.

"Wut?" Dagger asked, finally giving up the search for his armor. He walked back over to Cutter, and faced Kirby.

"King Dedede stole it."

The pink puffball wasn't surprised to hear gasps from the two knights.

"You see, King Dedede is a very greedy person. He ordered food so much that his kitchen ran out of food, and his chefs had nothing to cook with," Kirby explained. "He's too greedy to spend his money, so he ordered some of his servants to go and steal the food. Not only that, but he also ordered them to steal the Power Stars, which cause the food in Dream Land to grow. He gave those Power Stars to some of his allies, and they are still guarding them." Kirby adjusted his hat once more. "So that's why I need your ability. I need an ability to fight the king's allies and get the Power Stars and food back."

Kirby then walked up to Cutter and Dagger, smirking. "And that's why I need you two to help me."

"WHAT?" the Kibble exclaimed, jumping back. "I can't do that! The king would kill me if he found out that I was aiding you!"

"Who's gonna know? I told you that all the guards and soldiers that I defeat just run away and never show their face to the king again. And I really need your help with this..."

"'Kay," Dagger said, stepping forward.

Cutter watched his new friend join Kirby, and gave a defeated sigh. "Fine, I'm in too." He took a few small steps forward. "Just don't steal my armor again, all right?"

"All right," Kirby said with a nod, a smile spreading across his face. "Let's go, then! Off to Whispy Woods!"

"Whiwuuds?" Dagger questioned, tilting his head and looking at Cutter.

"It's a real nice place, Dagger. I've been there a few times. Shouldn't be too hard... I don't think."

"WAAAAAAGH!"

The trio had just barely entered Whispy Woods when a flock of Tookeys and Chickies started to chase them. Cutter and Dagger ran for their lives while Kirby, still with his Sword ability, chased after the flock with his sword high in the air.

"Bad burds!" Dagger spat as he looked over his shoulder to glare at the fowls.

Cutter looked over at his friend, yelling to him as he ran. "Do you know any kind of techniques?"

"...buh?" The Blade Knight blinked in confusion.

"Can you attack them at all?" Cutter rephrased.

"Yah!" Dagger exclaimed. He came to an abrupt halt, spun around, and narrowed his large eyes at the approaching flock. He watched them come closer, then, just before they dive-bombed him, leapt into the air. The Tookeys and Chickies slammed into the ground, slightly dazed. Dagger came crashing down, crushing a few of the birds beneath his heavy body.

Kirby smirked, leaning against the handle of his sword. "Now THAT'S throwing your weight around..."

The remaining five Tookeys and Chickies flew back into the air. Two Chickies flew off to attack Cutter while three Tookeys dove towards Kirby.

"WhadoIdo!" Cutter exclaimed, running around in circles in a panic.

"You're a Sir Kibble, use your boomerang!" Kirby replied, smacking a few birds with his sword.

"Oh, right..." The round knight grabbed his boomerang-blade, aimed it at the two Chickies, and threw.

When Kirby had taken care of the remaining Tookeys, he glanced over in Cutter's direction. He stared for a moment, then facepalmed. "Don't tell me..."

Cutter's boomerang flew around the Chickies in a circle, not even coming within a foot of touching them. The blade returned to the knight's helmet, snapping back on with a click as the two birds continued to dive-bomb Cutter. "Aw, scrapmetal."

The black creampuff winced, preparing to be hit by the birds' sharp beaks. He closed his eyes and waited.

"Igoh'em!" Dagger exclaimed.

"Wha..." Cutter opened his eyes to find Dagger standing before him, mouth full. The Blade Knight twitched, spitting out a pair of saliva-covered Chickie. "Oh, er, thanks Dag'," the Kibble said, giving his friend an odd look.

"You know, you're reeeealy gonna have to work on aiming your boomerang properly if you want to help me get the food and stars back," Kirby said with a sigh. He then gave a thoughtful look. "I've never really met a scaredy-Kibble that can't use a boomerang properly, and I've never seen a handicapped Blade Knight that doesn't use a sword." He gave a laugh. "You two sure are unique."

Cutter and Dagger exchanged slightly embarrassed glances.

"Hey, that's not a bad thing," Kirby assured, smiling. "Now come on, we have to get that Power Star!"

"Yah," Dagger replied with a nod, his tongue flopping around. He walked back towards Kirby, Cutter following as well.

The group continued through Whispy Woods, fighting whatever forest creatures ran out to attack them. Cutter was still having trouble due to his poor aiming skills, so he had to use his boomerang blade as a short-ranged knife.

"BUHHHH!" Dagger yelled as he chased a Birdon that had tried to attack him before. The Birdon was now fleeing, and Dagger was pursuing it.

"Why didn't you ever learn to use your boomerang properly, Cutter?" Kirby asked, batting an angry Grizzo with his sword.

"Iduno, really... I was just never very good at it," Cutter answered, his voice quiet. He swiped his blade at a Waddle Dee. He didn't cut it, because he knew that while Waddle Dees try to attack, they always run away when their enemy fights back. The little 'Dee scampered away, squeaking in fear.

Once the attackers were defeated, Kirby dusted off his paws, smiling. "Well, that takes care of them!" As soon as this was said, a large explosion erupted from behind the pink creampuff, sending him flying forward. "ARGH! What was that!"

Kirby and Cutter instantly whirled around upon hearing a high-pitched laughter. Behind them, a Poppy Brother Sr. was balancing himself on a medium-sized bomb.

"Blast!" Cutter exclaimed, eyes widening. "What're you doing?"

The Poppy Bro, apparently named Blast, smirked as he rolled towards them on the bomb. "I thought I'd give you a hand there, Cutter! Kirby's a dangerous guy, y'know. And..." He gave a sly smirk. "...I figure if I help you get ridda him, King Dedede'll split the reward between you an' me!" His smirk grew into a grin as he produced another bomb in his gloved hands.

"No, Blast! You don't understand! Dedede stole all the food and Power Stars and Kirby's trying to get it back!" Cutter explained frantically.

"You know this guy?" Kirby questioned, giving Cutter an odd look.

"He's a neighbor of mine. He works for Dedede, too..."

"Heeeyyy, wait a second!" Blast stated, straightening himself on his bomb again. "Why're you talking to Kirby all friend-like?" He eyed the Kibble suspiciously, and soon understood. "You... you're a TRAITOR!"

"WAAAAAH! NO!" Cutter exclaimed, his body starting to tremble. He fell down to the ground, getting into a kneeling position (somehow). "Please, please, PLEASE don't tell Dedede! He'll kill me if he finds out what I'm doing!"

Blast shook his head. "Nah, I wouldn't tell Dedede..."

Cutter gave a sigh of relief.

"I won't need to! I'll just blast you to smithereens along with Kirby!" Blast shouted. He pocketed the small bomb he had been holding, and out of nowhere grabbed a giant bomb, bigger than himself. He held it high above his head, giving a high-pitched laughter.

Kirby immediately got into a fighting stance. "I'll take care of this! Cutter, Dagger, get out of here!"

"C'MON DAG-" Cutter stopped in mid-word when he noticed that the Blade Knight was nowhere to be seen. "...where's Dagger!"

"Bluuuhhhh..." Dagger whimpered. Kirby, Cutter, and Blast all looked up to see Dagger hanging by his paws from a tree-branch directly over Blast. He had chased the Birdon up a tree, and had gotten stuck up there. He winced, hearing the tree branch begin to crack. Within a few seconds, the branch snapped and sent Dagger tumbling down right on top of Blast.

"That was convenient..." Cutter stated, blinking for a few moments. "Good job, Dagger!"

"Yay!" Dagger exclaimed, still sitting on top of Blast and the giant bomb.

"You'd better get off of there, though!" Kirby warned. "That bomb's still lit!"

"...buh?" The Blade Knight looked down just as the bomb exploded. He shot up into the air, and as soon as he came back down started running around in a panic as his blue shirt caught fire. "BUHBUHBUHBUHBUH! HELP!" he screamed.

Kirby gave a sigh. "I knew this would happen..." The puffball took off his hat, and handed it as well as his sword to Cutter. "Hold these for a second."

"But what about-" The Kibble was cut off as Kirby walked away and out of sight. He looked back at Dagger, frantically trying to think of a way to put the fire out. Kirby returned quickly, though, and he seemed... larger than before.

"Hold still, Dagger!" he gurgled. The knight obeyed, and a blast of water shot out of Kirby's mouth, putting out the fire.

"...thankyuu," Dagger mumbled, and instantly fell to the ground, eyes swirling.

Kirby put his hat back on and picked up his sword. "...I guess we'll have to carry him until he wakes up."

"Great..." Cutter muttered. He walked over to Dagger, attempting to lift him up. "Man... he's heavy! Give me a paw here, Kirby!"

Kirby nodded and walked over to the Blade, also trying to lift him. Dagger still seemed too heavy. "He's too heavy to carry..." The puffball put his paw to his mouth in thought. "I have an idea, though."

"What's that?" Cutter questioned.

Kirby grabbed the Blade Knight's long tongue, and pulled him forward. "We'll drag him around 'til he wakes up."

The Kibble nodded, grabbing Dagger's tongue in his paws and helping Kirby drag him along. He glanced at the flattened, charred Blast as he walked past, wincing. "Do you think he'll be all right?"

Kirby gave a laugh. "Not really. Looks like he'll be knocked out of commission for a while... but that's a good thing, right? He can't tell Dedede about you, and he can't attack us."

"I guess you're right..." Cutter remained silent after that, as did Kirby. They continued dragging Dagger around for quite some time, surprised not to run into any enemies. Cutter spoke up again. "Where IS Whispy, anyway?"

"In the middle of the forest, which we should be reaching s-OON!" Kirby's last word erupted into a yell as he began to fall through a hidden hole in the ground. Since Kirby was holding onto Dagger's tongue, he dragged Dagger along with him, as well as Cutter.

The trio tumbled down through the hole, and finally hit solid ground. Upon making contact with the ground, Dagger leapt to his feet, saluting. "Iwake!" He blinked, glancing around. "Wherewe?"

Cutter hopped up, rubbing his back. "Iduno, Dag'..." He looked around. They were, oddly, not underground, but in another forest-like area. The area was a clearing surrounded so thickly by trees that no one could see past them. A large tree stood in the center.

"I do..." Kirby quickly jumped to his feet, taking a fighting position. "This is Whispy's hiding place!"

"Then that means that..." Cutter shivered as he turned to look at the giant tree. "That's Whispy Woods...!"

"That's right..." an echoed voice replied. An angry face appeared on the giant tree, glaring down at Kirby, Cutter, and Dagger. "What are you doing here!"

"We need that Power Star that you're holding, Whispy!" Kirby explained.

"Oh, this?" Whispy lifted one of his roots out of the ground. In his root, he held a large, glowing, star-shaped object. He then brought it back underground. "I'm afraid you can't have it, Kirby. I'm under orders of King Dedede to guard this Power Star... If you want it, you'll have to fight me to get it!"

"Buh-oh..." Dagger gulped.

"Not good...!" Cutter whimpered.

"All right then!" Kirby exclaimed, raising his sword. "If a fight's what you want, then a fight's what you'll get!"

"So be it!" Whispy shook himself, and instantly all of his branches grew longer, covering the hole that Kirby and the others had fallen through. "Hope you like apples..." He shook his branches, and giant apples began to drop out, dropping towards Kirby, Cutter, and Dagger.

"Look out; you've got one right over you, Cutter!" Kirby yelled.

The round knight looked up, seeing a giant apple tumbling towards him. He ducked down again, waiting for it to hit him. The apple fell right onto his boomerang blade, slicing in half. "Hehe..."

"Come on, help me attack Whispy!" Kirby charged towards the giant tree, and sliced into his trunk with his sword. Whispy howled in pain, eyes narrowing as he glared at Kirby.

"Run away or you're gone with the wind!" Whispy yelled. He took a deep breath, and blew a forceful wind at Kirby. The puffball sailed backwards into the wall of the forest-area.

"Oof..." Kirby slid to the ground, unconscious.

"Takethis!" Dagger drew his tongue back into his mouth and whipped it back out, catching some apples as they fell from the branches. He spat them at Whispy, and grinned as the apples splattered against the tree's wooden face.

"You...!" Whispy drew in a deep breath and released it with enough force to knock Dagger off his feet. The Blade soared backwards, and hit the wall next to Kirby. Whispy then faced Cutter, who was trembling so much that his armor clattered. "Aww, you scared, Kibble?"

Cutter gulped, leaping out of the way of another giant apple. "N-no..." He grabbed his boomerang with quivering paws.

Whispy laughed, digging two of his roots out of the ground. The roots crept towards Cutter, ready to grab him and throw him against the wall, just like all the others.

The black creampuff squinted his eyes shut, and blindly threw his boomerang through the air. He waited a moment, and opened them again upon hearing a howling scream from Whispy. The two roots fell to the ground, sliced in half, and Cutter's boomerang returned to his helmet. "I... I did it..." he gasped.

Whispy's face twitched in pain. "Please... no more..." he begged.

Kirby and Dagger awoke again, surprised to find Whispy surrendering. "What's going on...?" Kirby questioned.

"I'm sorry for attacking you..." Whispy apologized. "Dedede FORCED me to guard this Power Star. He said that if I didn't guard it, he would set my forest on fire... And I needed that Power Star anyway to keep the trees and plants on PopStar alive since Dedede stole the other ones. I also need it to keep my apples growing." The giant tree lifted up a root out of the ground, holding the large, sparkling star. "And I still will need this until all of the stars are back... I can't give it to you yet... I'm sorry. You understand, don't you?"

"Don't worry, we understand," Kirby said with a nod. "When we get the other three Power Stars, we'll send you a signal to release this one."

"Thank you..." Whispy gave a sigh of relief, pulling his roots back down underground.

"Where to next?" Cutter asked.

"To Castle Lololo. Lololo and Lalala are guarding the second Power Star there," Kirby explained.

"All right. C'mon, Dag'! Let's get out of here!" Cutter called. He waited for Dagger's usual enthusiastic response, but blinked when he didn't hear it. He turned around to find his friend munching on one of the giant apples that had fallen on the ground, and laughed. "Good idea, I could use a bite to eat, too..." Cutter picked up one of the apples and started eating as well.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind a bite to eat, myself..." Kirby stepped back and jumped forward as he began to inhale. All of the apples were sucked into his mouth, and the puffball swallowed, licking his lips. "I s'pose that's enough for a snack, eh?"

Both Cutter and Dagger sweatdropped.

"...eh-heh, well, let's continue on! Whispy, can you give us a lift?"

"Certainly!" Whispy smiled, picking the three up with a root. He brought them back up to the surface, and released them.

"Let's go, to Castle Lololo!"

With that, Kirby, Cutter, and Dagger darted out of the forest and towards their next destination...

Prologue << Previous | Next >> Chapter 2: Float Islands