Cutter the Sir Kibble, Dagger the Blade Knight, and Kirby the... Kirby continued their trek throughout Dream Land in search of the last three Power Stars. They walked toward their destination... and walked... and walked... and walked...
"Rusty scrapmetal..." Cutter gasped as he trudged along. "How far is it to Castle Lololo?"
Kirby looked up into the sky for a moment, putting his paw to his mouth in thought. "Actually, I don't really know."
"Welost...?" Dagger questioned, tilting his head to one side.
"No, we're not lost," Kirby corrected. "I know where we have to go. Castle Lololo is just beyond the Float Islands."
Cutter stopped. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... Hang on a sec..." he said, waving his paws about. "I was never too good in geography, but if I remember correctly, the Float Islands are a LONG way away."
Kirby nodded slowly. "Yes, but we can't give up just because of the distance. We need to get those Power Stars, Cutter!"
"But there's gotta be an easier way to get there..." Cutter grumbled. "Can't we call a Warp Star?"
Kirby smirked as he eyed the Sir Kibble. "You ever rode a Warp Star before?"
The black creampuff paused for a moment. "Uh... no, not really."
"Didn't think so. If you knew what a Warp Star ride was really like, you wouldn't be asking for one," the pink puffball explained. "Now come on, we've got to keep going."
Dagger nodded, following Kirby. "C'mon, Cuh'er," he beckoned.
The Sir Kibble heaved a sigh and continued walking. "Though... There is one problem," he pointed out.
"What's that?" Kirby questioned, looking over his shoulder.
The group suddenly stopped walking. Just ahead of them was a short cliff. Below the cliff was an extremely large body of water that seemed to stretch out for miles. Cutter pointed to this water.
"That."
"There's no problem there," Kirby remarked, shrugging. "We can still get through."
"Wait... you're not suggesting-" Before Cutter could finish, Kirby whipped out a snorkel, put it on, and dove into the water. Dagger stomped over to the edge of the cliff and dove in as well, creating a large wave. Cutter quickly dashed out of the way before the water hit is armor, and slowly walked over to the edge of the cliff.
"...there is no way on PopStar that I'm gonna swim through there," he stated. But then... how would he cross the water?
The Kibble glanced around and soon spotted some Blippers swimming in the water. That gave him an idea...
Dagger and Kirby swam around in the water, dodging Blippers and Squishies as they did so. Kirby looked at the fish sorrowfully. "These fish are making me hungry for sushi..." he gurgled.
Dagger glanced at a passing Squishy, wrapped his tongue around it, and drew it into his mouth. His already large eyes widened for a moment, and he spat out the squid, sputtering.
The puffball sweatdropped. "Sushi isn't that good when it's still alive, though..." he said with a nervous laugh.
After a while of swimming, Kirby had to wonder how Dagger was doing. He turned around again to find that the Blade now donned a pained look and a blue face. The puffball's eyes widened in surprise as he gurgled, "Are you breathing?"
The knight shook his head, seeming rather tired. His eyes were now half opened and his face was shifting to a purple color.
Kirby, swimming as fast as he could, darted underneath Dagger and struggled to push the Dreamlander up to the surface before he passed out. As soon as the Blade broke through the surface of the water, he gasped, his face turning back to its natural green color.
"Buh..." he wheezed, his long tongue lolling further out of his mouth as he panted heavily.
"Uh, yeah..." Kirby remarked as he emerged out of the water. "You really should make sure you have some way to breath underwater before you prepare to make a long swimming trip like that..."
"Buh?" Dagger questioned, tilting his head to one side.
"...never mind. Let's keep going."
The large Blade Knight nodded as he let himself sink back into the water, and continued swimming. Kirby followed, nudging the knight every once in a while so that he would remember to swim above the water and take a breath.
As the two swam for a while, they began to notice something strange happening to their surroundings. They were seeing less and less Blippers, and more Squishies of extremely varying sizes. Dagger even swam by one that was as big as himself!
"Something odd's going on here," Kirby remarked, looking askance at the varied Squishies.
A small group of very tiny Squishies swam in a circle around Dagger. The Blade laughed, a few bubbles floating out of his mouth as he did so. The miniscule squids darted around the Dreamlander, who began to bat at them playfully.
Kirby, who could see behind the large Dreamlander, began to wave his paws around frantically in a sign of panic.
Dagger didn't notice, however. He batted his paws at the tiny creatures, unaware of the dark presence that lurked behind him. The little Squishies swam away into the darkness, and as the Blade turned to follow them, a giant tentacle shot out of the shadowed area and wrapped itself tightly around him. The creature slowly swam out of the darkness, revealing itself to be quite possibly the biggest Squishy on PopStar.
"IT'S THE GRAND-MOMMY OF ALL SQUISHIES!" Kirby exclaimed.
Dagger and the Squishy stared.
"...no pun intended," the puffball said sheepishly.
"BUH!" the Blade exclaimed as he began to struggle. "HELP!"
"I'm coming, Dagger!" Kirby called. He swam up to the surface of the water, taking a deep gasp of air. He then swam back down and exhaled forcefully, shooting a long stream of bubbles at the Squishy.
The giant sea monster gave a gurgling growl as it was hit by the bubbles, and tightened its grip on Dagger. The Blade Knight whimpered as his face started to turn blue again.
An idea suddenly hit Kirby. "Hey Dagger, say 'hi' to the Squishy!" he commanded.
The Dreamlander was confused, but nodded anyway. He stretched out his tongue and licked the Squishy's face in his strange form of salutation. The squid froze completely, a weirded-out look on its face. Dagger took this chance to swim out of its grasp and up to the surface for air. As he swam back down, the Squishy was beginning to regain its senses and Kirby was preparing to swim away.
"I'll be right back," he whispered to Dagger. "Distract this thing for me, will ya'?"
"'Kay," the knight responded with a nod.
Kirby swam away, while Dagger swam towards the Squishy boldly. He made a swift kick (well, as swiftly as one can kick underwater) at the squid's eye, causing the monster to roar in pain. He then swam back a distance and spun towards the sea monster, tackling into him. The monster gave a gurgling growl and reached out two of its tentacles to grab the Blade Knight. Acting quickly, the Blade darted away.
The Squishy's face turned red in frustration. Gurgling angrily, it stretched out all of its tentacles at once towards the Blade Knight.
"...buh oh," Dagger whimpered. As the monster's many arms began to wrap around him, an idea formed in his tiny brain. He made a face at the squid, and one of the arms began to "chase" him. He led it between two of the other tentacles and continued to swim about until all of the Squishy's limbs were tied in a tight knot.
The sea monster burbled angrily, but its pupils shrank in fear. "Buuuh...?" Dagger questioned, tilting his head to one side. He looked behind him to see Kirby swimming towards him frantically.
"GET OUTTA HERE, DAGGER!" he shouted. Behind him swam a large Joe. Giving a quick nod, the Blade Knight started to swim to the surface, Kirby following. The shark-like monster started to follow until it noticed the helpless Squishy. Smirking, the shark darted towards the monster...
It wasn't long before Kirby and Dagger finally reached the Float Islands. As soon as they reached the shore, both of them flopped to the ground, exhausted.
"Whew..." Kirby gasped. "We made it..." The creampuff stood up and shook himself dry, only to be soaked again as Dagger shook the water out of his messy hair. "...thanks."
"Yuuwelc'm," the Blade Knight stated happily, not noting the sarcasm in Kirby's voice. He blinked his large eyes for a moment as a thought somehow entered his mind. "...where Cuh'er?"
"Yeah..." Kirby agreed, looking around. "Where is Cutter? Didn't he follow us?"
Dagger shrugged and cupped his paws around his mouth to amplify his voice. "Cuh'er? CUH'ER!" he called.
"Hey Dagger... look!"
"Buh?"
Something could be seen out in the water. It was moving quickly, causing water to splash everywhere. It was speeding towards shore, spinning around in several loops and darting from side to side. As it got closer, it was identified as a Sir Kibble riding atop a Blipper. The fish neared the shore, bucked the Kibble off of its back, and hit it with its tail, causing the armored puffball to fly forward.
"!" the Sir Kibble yelled as it flew through the air and crashed into a tree. Its blade stuck into the bark, causing it to hang there. The Blipper made a face at the Sir Kibble and splashed back underwater.
Kirby and Dagger cautiously approached the Kibble. As they glanced at its red feet, they identified it as Cutter. "CUH'ER!" Dagger exclaimed, yanking the Sir Kibble out of the tree and hugging him.
"N-nice to see you too, Dagger..." Cutter choked, squirming free of his friend's grasp. Swaying slightly, he stumbled around the ground before dizzily uttering, "Never attempt to cross water by riding a Blipper." That being said, he collapsed.
"I'll keep that in mind," Kirby said with a sweatdrop. "Anyway, we have to keep moving. Castle Lololo shouldn't be much farther away."
A sudden roar tore through the air. Cutter instantly leapt up and dove into a bush, whimpering in fear, while Kirby stepped back, eyes darting around the area. "Who's there?" he questioned.
Dagger's face turned bright red. "...Ihungry," he stated, giving an embarrassed look. There was another roar, which clearly came from the Blade Knight's stomach.
Cutter crawled out of the bush. "Scrapmetal Dag'... you have the biggest appetite I've ever seen... next to Kirby's, anyway."
Kirby laughed. "Thanks for the compliment. Lemme find something that'll give me a Fire ability, and I'll cook us some fried Blippers. How's that sound?" he inquired.
"Yum!" Dagger exclaimed happily. He made an attempt at licking his lips, but ended up causing his long tongue to smack him in the face. "...ow."
Both Cutter and Kirby laughed this time. "All right, let's keep going, now," Kirby commanded. The group nodded in unison and continued their trek. Not too far away from the shore was a short cave. There didn't seem to be any way around it, so the trio had no other choice but to walk through it. Kirby and Dagger entered, while their Sir Kibble friend cowered at the entrance.
"Wutwrong?" Dagger questioned as he looked over his shoulder.
"I-I don't exactly like caves... or dark places..." Cutter explained, shivering.
Kirby sighed. "We have to go through here, Cutter. There's no other way around."
"Ihelp yuu," Dagger stated, picking up Cutter. He set the Sir Kibble on his head.
"Er... thanks, Dag'," Cutter replied. Having a fear that he would find scary things within the cave, the black puffball closed his visor.
Once this was accomplished, Dagger and Kirby continued walking through the cave. It was, of course, dark, as most caves are, as well as damp. Within the first few steps, Dagger's boots and Kirby's feet were already soaked. There was the sound of water dripping in the deeper parts of the cave, as well as a few other strange noises. One of these noises was a strange whrr..whrr...whrr... noise that kept getting closer every time it was heard. Another noise soon made itself apparent: the clattering of Cutter's armor as he trembled.
"Wh-what's th-that noise?" he stuttered, lifting his visor slightly.
"It sounds like something warping..." Kirby whispered, straining his eyes to see in the darkness. "But what it is, I don't kno-"
"KABOOOOOO!"
The whrrr sound was at its loudest now as a large brown figure suddenly appeared right in front of the trio. It was a Kabu, and though it wasn't a very scary looking creature, its sudden appearance and loud yell was enough to scare the-well, scare someone... which it did.
"'MGONNADIE!" Cutter shouted, jumping up. He lost his footing, slipped off of Dagger's head and fell to the ground head-first, the blade on his helmet slicing right through the Kabu.
"Nice," Kirby commented, smirking. "Your cowardice actually did some good for once..."
"Eheh..." the Kibble laughed nervously. He hopped back onto Dagger's head. "So... uh... onward?"
"Right."
After walking for a while, there was a sudden squeak as Kirby's soft body hit a wall in front of him. "...dead end," he mumbled. "Can you climb very well, Dagger?"
"Yah," the Blade Knight replied. He nodded, causing Cutter to have to grab onto the Blade's head to keep from falling off. Dagger's tongue flopped over his head as he nodded, smacking Cutter in the face.
"...Isowwie," Dagger responded, lowering his head slightly. He started to climb up the wall as Kirby puffed up and floated over it. Before long they reached the top and continued their trek, only to stop a few moments later.
"...do you get the feeling that we're defying gravity?" Kirby questioned.
Dagger looked down to find that there was no ground beneath them. He looked up again with his eyes half open in an annoyed expression. "Yah."
The trio tumbled to the ground, yelling the whole way. Kirby fell to the ground with another squeak, while Dagger, strangely, didn't make too much noise when he fell. "What'd you land on, Dagger?" Cutter asked, straining to see in the dark.
"Iuno," Dagger responded with a shrug. After a few moments, the Blade Knight suddenly shot up into the air in a delayed reaction of pain. "OOOWWWW!" He crashed back onto the ground next to Kirby.
"Looks like he landed on a Gordo..." Kirby stated, glancing at the urchin-like creature.
"...rusty scrapmetal, that's gotta hurt," Cutter said with a wince.
"No time to sympathize now, Cutter," the puffball said nervously, "'cuz that Gordo doesn't look too happy!"
The Gordo was indeed very unhappy. Its eyes were narrowed as it glared at the trio, and it backed up before charging after them.
"RUN!"
The giant urchin blasted after Kirby and the two helpers, eyes flashing in anger. Up ahead there was a small exit with light pouring in. Kirby easily fit through. Cutter leapt off of Dagger's head and dove through, while the Blade made an attempt at crawling through it. Unfortunately due to the Dreamlander's large size, he got stuck mid-way. "HELP!" Dagger yelled.
Cutter and Kirby each grabbed one of Dagger's paws and started pulling. They succeeded in yanking the Blade Knight out just as the Gordo rammed into the entrance. It was too big to fit through the hole, so it just sat there, glaring angrily. Because of the force of the pull, Dagger ended up flying backwards and crashing into a bush. His two friends quickly rushed over to him.
"You all right, Dag'?" Cutter questioned worriedly.
"I 'kay," Dagger responded, sitting up. Suddenly, something shiny caught his eye. He glanced over at the ground beside him to find a large, scintillating lollypop. The Blade Knight smiled happily and picked up the candy.
"Uh, Dagger, I wouldn't eat that if I were you..." Cutter warned. "You don't know where it's-"
Gulp!
"...been."
Dagger froze completely. He stared into blank space for a while as a tremor rose up his body. Suddenly he shot into the air and came back down, but instead of crashing to the ground, he took off running with a speed that would rival a Rex Wheelie's.
"Holy scrap..." Cutter gasped. "What happened!"
"That'd be a sugar high," Kirby remarked with a laugh. "C'mon, let's follow 'im!" With that, the puffball rushed off, the Kibble following. They noted that many enemies in the area had been trampled completely, which made it easy for them to get through. There was a sudden CRASH as Dagger blasted through the doors of a small stone house. Cutter and Kirby quickly rushed in and came to a stop on top of a rug to find Dagger lying in the middle of the house, eyes swirling. Kirby smirked. "Thanks, Dagger."
"Wheeeee..." the Blade mumbled.
"This sure is an odd rug," Cutter commented as he looked down at the rug that he was standing on. It had an odd feel to it... almost as though it was something alive.
"That's 'cuz it's not a rug... that's Mr. Frosty, only more pancake-like," Kirby explained. "Dagger must've trampled him."
"...oh." Cutter quickly hopped off of the flattened walrus and glanced around the house. "Now what? How do we get to Castle Lololo from here?"
Kirby put a paw to his mouth in thought. "Hmm..." He scrutinized the room before turning back to look at Cutter and Dagger with a smirk. "You guys feel like riding a Warp Star?"
The two helpers turned around to find several Warp Stars sitting conveniently in the corner of the house. Cutter inspected one of them. "This'll make things easier... how do we ride them, though?"
"Like this." Kirby picked up one of the Warp Stars and set it down again. It hovered a few inches off the ground, rotating slowly. Kirby then hopped onto one of the corners of the star, which expanded slightly to form a seat. He inspected the star for a moment. "Hm... these are headed to go straight to Castle Lololo."
"That helps, too," Cutter said, hopping onto one of the stars. Dagger shook off his dizziness and sat on one of the Warp Stars as well. "How do we get these things to take off?"
"Just hold on and tell me when you're ready," Kirby instructed. He held onto the Warp Star tightly, waiting for the two helpers' responses.
Cutter, slightly confused, held onto the star and gave a nod to Kirby. Dagger held on as well. "Iready!" the Blade exclaimed. As soon as he did so, all three Warp Stars blasted off without warning through the ceiling and across the sky. "WHEEE!" Dagger yelled happily, his tongue flailing about behind him.
Cutter yelled in surprise and fear as he flew through the sky, and soon whimpered quietly. "C-can we go b-back and get my stomach...? I-I think I-I l-left it b-behind..." he stuttered.
"Too late now!" Kirby said. "We're almost at Castle Lololo!"
Dagger had been enjoying his Warp Star ride until he noticed that Castle Lololo was fast approaching. "Wegonna crash!"
"Yup," Kirby replied. "Get ready to jump."
"Oh no..." Cutter whimpered.
The trio leapt off of their Warp Stars just before the vehicles crashed into the ground and burst. They had landed on the outside of the topmost floor of the castle. There were two doors, one of them leading to the room where Lololo and Lalala kept their stolen Power Star. Kirby looked back at his two helpers. "So, guys, what did you think of your first Warp Star ride?"
Dagger grinned. "Itfun!" he exclaimed.
Cutter's response, unfortunately, wasn't quite as enthusiastic. His face had adopted a color similar to Dagger's skin, and his body was shaking slightly. The Sir Kibble stumbled dizzily "off-screen" as a few unpleasant noises were heard. He returned, his face not quite so green, and said in a hoarse voice, "I am not doing that again."
Kirby and Dagger sweatdropped. "...er, yeah," Kirby responded. "You gonna be all right?"
"Yeah... just as soon as everything stops spinning..." With that, the Sir Kibble collapsed a second time.
Kirby sighed. "This hasn't been a good day for you, has it?"
"Nope," came Cutter's response. He slowly rose to his feet, shaking his head. "Yeah, I'll be fine."
"Good, then let's get this Power Star," the pink creampuff stated. He opened the door to the castle, carefully peering in. "I don't see anything in the-"
SQUISH!
A large block flew through the door and over Kirby, completely flattening him.
"...ouch," the puffball whimpered. He puffed himself back up and leapt to his feet. Another box came flying at him, but he quickly leapt over it. "HEY! You two come out here and show yourselves!" There was some muffled talking and scrambling from within the room. Kirby looked back at his two helpers. "Let's go, guys. And be careful not to get crushed by any blocks."
"'Kay," Dagger said with a nod. He, Cutter, and Kirby walked into the room. It was dark at first, but in a few moments the room was lit. It was a narrow room that looked similar to a hallway with a door on each end. Just above them was a clear floor with an identical room; the same held true for the floor below them.
Cutter blinked in confusion as he observed the odd rooms. "Where are they...?" he questioned.v
"They're here somewhere..." Kirby stated. He started walking towards the other door, but suddenly stopped. His eyes widened as he shouted, "Get outta' the way!" He flattened himself against the wall. Cutter, being a puffball, did the same thing. Dagger stood in the middle of the room, blinking in confusion.
"Buh...?" He looked over at Cutter and Kirby, and then back at the door just in time to see a large block come flying at him. It smacked against him, pushing him backwards at great speeds. The Blade Knight used his feet as breaks and gradually began to slow down. He was pushed out of the room and finally stopped just before he went over the edge of the castle. The helper winced and lifted up one of his feet; his shoe was smoking from being used as a break. With a whimper, Dagger rushed back into the castle.
"You all right, Dag'?" Cutter questioned. The Blade Knight gave a reluctant nod.
"Everyone, keep an eye out for Lololo or Lalala... and for cryin' out loud, WATCH OUT FOR THOSE BOXES!" Kirby exclaimed.
The sound of two young voices giggling was heard. The trio looked up to see both Lololo and Lalala standing in the room above them. "Hello!" Lololo greeted, waving a paw.
"Are you looking for this?" Lalala questioned. She held up a large, sparkling star –the second Power Star!
"Dedede gave you that, didn't he?" Kirby questioned. He didn't give them time to answer. "Give it to us, please! We need it!"
"I think it's pretty," Lalala stated, holding the star close. "I don't want to give it away."
"Neither do I," Lololo said.
"So go away!" the twins shouted in unison.
"We're not leaving without a fight!" Kirby exclaimed.
"Actually, that's not such a bad idea..." Cutter started to dart out of the room, but Kirby quickly grabbed his foot, causing him to trip. "...scrapmetal."
"Yah, wefite!" Dagger exclaimed, stomping his foot. The twins exchanged glances before darting in opposite directions, each exiting through a different door.
"They could be anywhere... Split up. Cutter, find a way to the top floor. Dagger, find a way to the bottom," Kirby commanded. "I'll stay on this floor."
Dagger nodded and plodded forward, only to fall through a trap door to the lower room. "...ouh."
"Careful!" Cutter called to his friend. After hearing a "buh" of acknowledgement, the Sir Kibble looked up at the floor above him and felt around the ceiling for a trap door. Upon finding it, he leapt through it onto the topmost floor. "I'm ready... I guess."
"You'd better be, 'cuz here they come!" Kirby exclaimed. At that instant the right door on his floor flew open as a large block sped at him. The puffball inhaled the block and spat it back out through the door. There was a crashing sound as well as a few surprised shouts before the door slammed shut.
Kirby and his two helpers stood still, waiting for another one of the twins to show his or herself, or for a block to come flying at them. Dagger was the next person to be attacked, the left door on his floor bursting open and a block flying towards him. The Blade Knight whipped his tongue at the box, wrapped it around it, and swallowed it.
"...whyyy did you do that, Dag'?" Cutter questioned, giving his friend a strange look.
The Blade Knight shrugged. "Ihungry."
"Eat something... Iduno, EDIBLE next ti-" A block slammed into the Sir Kibble before he could finish, smashing him flat against the wall on the other side of the room. "...ouch."
"Pay attention!" Kirby yelled. This time doors in both Kirby and Dagger's room opened, throwing blocks at the two Dreamlanders. Kirby used the same tactic as last time: inhaling the block and spitting it back out, while Dagger rammed into the block with all his weight to send it back in the other direction. Unpleasant shouts were heard in the unseen rooms as the doors slammed shut again.
The rooms were silent for a minute or two after that. The trio waited for a sign of the twins coming to attack them once more, but nothing was heard. All three of them stood in the middle of their rooms, waiting, waiting, waiting...
A slight creak was heard. Cutter looked to his left to find that the door was starting to open. Another creak was heard-the door was opening on the right as well. The Sir Kibble began to sweat nervously, wondering how he could block both blocks at once. He looked down at Kirby and Dagger, giving them a look that said "Help me before I become a living tin can!"
Kirby started to run towards the trap door to Cutter's floor, but Dagger leapt through both the trapdoor to Kirby's floor and through the trapdoor to Cutter's floor. The Sir Kibble smiled upon seeing his friend there to help him, and stared at the door ahead of him with a determined look. "C'mon, Dag', let's show these two!"
"Yah!" Dagger shouted with a nod.
The doors slammed open and two blocks flew towards the two helpers. Both Cutter and Dagger leapt into the air and kicked the blocks away at the same time, sending them back towards their owners.
"!"
"They're not enjoying this so much," Kirby said with a laugh.
"Thatnot them," Dagger corrected. He glanced over at Cutter, who was writhing on the floor in agony.
"SWEET MERCIFUL SCRAPMETAL! THE PAIN!" he yelled. "I THINK I BROKE MY FOOT!"
Kirby sweatdropped. "Er... you don't have any bones, Cutter. How could you break your foot?"
The Kibble stopped, blinking. "That's a good point." He rose to his feet, absolutely fine. Kirby and Dagger facefaulted.
Moans of pain were heard from one of the unseen rooms. Soon Lololo and Lalala stumbled out of the right door on Kirby's side, both covered in many bruises.
"Stop..."
"...please..."
"We..."
"...give..."
The twins collapsed, Lololo holding out the Power Star with one of his paws in Kirby's direction. The pink creampuff snatched it, giving the two a worried look.
"Uh... you guys gonna be all right?" he questioned. He couldn't just leave them there like that unless he knew they were fine.
"We'll..."
"...be..."
"...fine..."
"Just..."
"...don't..."
"...tell..."
'...Dedede..."
Kirby nodded. "Can do." He looked up at the floor above him. "C'mon, guys. Let's get outta' here!" Cutter and Dagger nodded, hopping through the trapdoor and following the pink Dreamlander out of the castle. Kirby smiled, holding the Power Star in his paws. "All right... That makes two Power Stars so far. So that means... we need two more."
"Somethin' els'," Dagger stated.
Cutter gave his friend a confused look. "We need something else? What?"
Dagger sat down, showing the bottoms of his boots, or lack thereof. The soles had worn out from being used as breaks earlier. Kirby and Cutter laughed.
"All right, then! Two more Power Stars, and two more boots!"