Chapter 3: Bubbly Clouds

Kirby, Cutter, and Dagger walked over one of Dreamlands many plains. Dagger seemed rather happy, as he was now sporting a new pair of Blade Knight boots. Cutter, however, seemed a little less than cheerful. He was counting a few coins in his hand-Gold, Dreamland's currency.

"I can't believe those boots cost that much..." Cutter mumbled, putting the Gold in a bag and putting the bag away.

"Aw, cheer up, Cutter," Kirby said. "You still have enough buy some food once this is all over."

"Yeah, I guess..." The Sir Kibble sighed. "Speaking of food..." His stomach gave a growl, and he blushed somewhat.

"Oh, that's right, I said I'd cook up a meal, didn't I?" Kirby questioned. "Well, let's see... Fire ability, Fire ability..." The pink creampuff stood on the tips of his feet as he observed the area. Spying a Burnin' Leo wandering about in the distance, he grinned. "You two stay right here."

"'Kay," Dagger affirmed as he and his friend stopped walking. They watched as Kirby approached the Burnin' Leo from behind, tapped him on the back, and inhaled him, the Leo screaming loudly. There was a flash, and Kirby's skin was a darker pink color and he donned a gold crown with a green jewel. A large fire crackled inside the crown.

Fire Kirby returned to his two helpers, who were staring with eyes wide with shock. "Something wrong?" he questioned, sounding concerned.

"You..." Cutter started, twitching. "You... ate him!"

"Nah, I just borrowed his ability. I'll spit him out once I cook up some fish," Fire Kirby explained. "Now c'mon, help me find a river." With that, he began to walk off.

Cutter and Dagger exchanged uneasy glances before reluctantly following.

The trio was now seated in a circle, several fried Blippers in a pile in front of them. Each of them was munching on a fish happily.

"Yummmm..." Dagger hummed, gulping down an entire fish. "...Stillhungry."

"Er... Is it all right if Dagger has another fish or so?" Cutter questioned, glancing over at Fire Kirby.

The pink creampuff shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"Thankyuu!" Dagger reached out his tongue, wrapped it around the whole pile of fish, and drew them into his mouth, swallowing. Kirby and Cutter sweatdropped.

"Well... looks like we won't be having seconds," Cutter muttered.

"Eh, that's all right," Kirby said. He stuffed the rest of his fish into his mouth, swallowed, then spat out the Burnin' Leo he had inhaled before, which frantically rushed off. "Time to head off to Bubbly Clouds." He glanced up at a large, towering cloud over the river.

"How do we get up there?" Cutter questioned, finishing his meal and tossing the fish bone over his shoulder. Dagger caught it with his tongue and quickly swallowed it.

"Warpst'r?" Dagger suggested, licking his paws.

"No!" Cutter shouted suddenly, jumping up. He then blushed, noting that his two friends were staring at him, and sat down. "Er... I don't... really like Warp Stars..."

"Well, I can always fly you guys up there," Kirby explained. He began to puff up, floating into the air. "Grab my foot!" he said through his teeth.

"Er... a-all right..." Cutter jumped up, grabbing onto one of Kirby's feet. The two began to ascend, leaving Dagger behind. "Hey, hurry up, Dag'!"

"Icommin'!" Dagger called. He rushed after Kirby, leaping into the air and grabbing onto one of the puffball's feet just as Kirby was over the river.

Kirby, not prepared to lift Dagger's immense weight, descended rapidly. He quickly inhaled more air, but not before both Cutter and Dagger crashed into the river, both soaking wet.

"AACK!" Cutter yelled. "Hurry, get us outta' here before my armor rusts!"

Kirby continued to inhale, growing bigger and bigger until he finally lifted his two helpers out of the river. They began to ascend once more into the towering mass of clouds above them.

"Holy scrapmetal..." Cutter breathed in astonishment as they passed through the clouds.

"Buuuuh..." was all Dagger could say, eyes wide in amazement.

Kirby finally kicked the helpers off of his feet, both of them landing softly on a strangely solid cloud. "Well... here comes the part I hate," he muttered. He opened his mouth, letting the air out. This caused him to fly backwards and all around the fluffy clouds. He flew around the colorful pillars that were planted onto some of the clouds, and just barely missed hitting a few creatures nearby. Finally he was back to his normal size, and began to drop. The creampuff landed on top of an orange-furred creature, bounced off its head, and landed on a soft cloud below.

"Wutthat?" Dagger inquired, pointing at the orange creature.

"Oh no...!" Cutter whimpered. "That's a Scarfy!"

"Uh oh..." Kirby said in a child-like way. He looked up at the Scarfy, whose face began to contort in anger. Suddenly its face changed altogether, its two eyes merging and its formerly tiny mouth splitting open into a giant, fanged grin. "RUN!"

The Scarfy roared ferociously, and the trio began to jump from cloud-to-cloud to get away from it. The Scarfy, not having to jump, was beginning to gain on them, however.

Kirby and his two helpers found a pathway made up of blocks among the clouds, and quickly leapt onto them. "Ov'r... there!" Dagger shouted, pointing at a nearby door.

The Scarfy, however, noticed this exit before the Blade Knight did, and rushed in front of it, growling threateningly.

"We'regonnadiewe'regonnadie..." Cutter whimpered, ducking behind Dagger.

"No... just wait..." Kirby said, glaring at the Scarfy.

The monster's eye suddenly widened, and its body began to flash. A tremor rose up its round form, and soon it was shaking violently. A few moments later, it exploded.

Dagger heaved a sigh of relief. "Thatclose..." he mumbled.

"Yeah... sorry, I'll have to be more careful," Kirby stated sheepishly. "Now let's get a move on; we're wasting time." With that, the puffball disappeared through the door, Cutter and Dagger following.

The trio was now in another room with hovering blocks serving as its floor. Cutter's eyes widened when he found that it was full of Dedede's servants. "H-hide me!" he stuttered, darting behind Dagger for a second time.

"You remember what I said, Cutter," Kirby said. "These guys won't have the guts to return to King Dedede after we're done with 'em!" With that, he charged forward, inhaling the nearest enemy and spitting him out into a wall.

"Yay!" Dagger shouted happily, leaping into the air and crushing another enemy beneath his weight.

"A-all r-right..." Cutter glanced around the area, spotting a green and blue robed creature with glowing eyes staring down at him from a pile of higher blocks. The Sir Kibble grabbed his boomerang blade and threw it as best as he could at the creature.

Kirby had just chased off another enemy when he noticed Cutter throwing the blade at the creature. "Wait!" he yelled frantically.

"What?" Cutter questioned, looking back at Kirby, then at the creature. Quick as lighting, the creature whipped out a wand, which produced a giant mirror. The blade bounced right off of the mirror, flying back towards its owner with twice the speed as normal. The blunt side of the blade smacked Cutter in the face, leaving a red mark down the center of his face. "...OW!" He rubbed his face in pain and replaced his boomerang.

"Be careful when you attack a Simirror like that!" Kirby shouted.

"Iget 'im!" Dagger announced, charging forward and leaping into the air once more, attempting to crush the Simirror.

The Simirror, however, simply pointed his wand upward and produced another mirror, a bored expression on his face. Dagger bounced off of the mirror and flew upward with twice the speed that he had when he was falling. The Blade Knight crashed into a pile of blocks above him, eyes turning into stars in a cartoon-like manner.

"...ouch," Kirby said with a wince.

The Simirror put his wand away and dusted off his paws. He then began to walk away, only to be crushed when Dagger fell back down. The Blade fell onto his stomach, eyes spinning and miniature Birdons flying around his head. "Whee..." he muttered.

"You okay, Dag'?" Cutter questioned, rushing up to his friend.

Dagger hopped back up after a moment, smiling brightly and licking the Sir Kibble. "I 'kay!" he exclaimed.

"Then let's keep going," Kirby stated. With that, the trio continued to the next room. They appeared on a small platform, where the three of them barely had enough room to walk. Kirby looked beneath the platform, then quickly jumped up, eyes wide. "Don't look down...!"

And, like anyone would, both Cutter and Dagger looked down. The platform they were on was hovering in mid-air, and Dreamland could be seen below-several miles below.

Cutter instinctively clung to Dagger for dear life. Dagger simply stared down at the land, blinking curiously. "Longway down," he commented.

"L-l-lets g-g-get out of h-h-here...!" Cutter stuttered, shivering enough to make his armor clatter.

"I know, I know!" Kirby shouted, observing the area around them. They were surrounded by clouds (except below them), there was another door hovering in midair, and two Tookeys perched on a nearby platform. "I think I have an idea..."

The creampuff puffed himself up, flew over to the Tookeys, and grabbed them both by the scruff of their necks. He then flew back over to the platform where Cutter and Dagger were, inhaled Dagger's shoulder-guards, and set the two Tookeys on the Blade Knight's shoulders. The two birds flapped their wings furiously while still perched on the knight's shoulders, carrying him and Cutter (who was still clinging to Dagger's side) though the door. Kirby puffed himself up again and followed, returning Dagger's shoulder guards when they landed.

The next room that they were in appeared to be empty. It was made from blocks, like the other rooms, and it had several large windows through which the evening sky could be viewed. Kirby and his helpers gazed around, wondering why there were no enemies in this particular room.

"Maybe they ran away...?" Cutter wondered aloud.

"Could be," Kirby said with a shrug. "Makes the work easier for us." He looked through one of the windows and spotted another tower of cloud a long distance away. "Hm... I think we'll need a Warp Star for this one. C'mon, let's see if we can find one in this room."

"A-are there any alternatives?" Cutter stuttered nervously.

"'Fraid not..." Kirby said with a sigh.

With that, the three wandered around the room, looking for a Warp Star to transport them. Dagger wandered around the far right corner of the room, which at first looked to be empty. Just as he turned around, though, something caught his eye. Something was hiding behind one of the pillars...

Cautiously he approached the pillar and looked around it, and saw eye-to-eye with... a giant eye. The eye was about the size of a Waddle Doo's, and a few clouds hovered around it. "Buh...?" Dagger questioned in confusion. He reached out to poke the eye, but a jolt of electricity surged through his body before he could do so. His hair sprung out in several directions, making the Blade Knight look utterly ridiculous. His large eyes narrowed at the... eye... thing, and he began to make "shoo"ing motions with his paws. "G'way! Shoo! Shoo!" he commanded. One of his paws accidentally struck the eye, causing its pupil to turn into a large "X". The strange eye flew out the window and towards the large towering cloud.

Dagger shook his head in annoyance, and returned to center of the room to see what the others found.

"Well, I didn't find anything..." Kirby reported. "What about you, Cutter?"

"N-nothing..." The Sir Kibble was standing in the corner of the room, facing Kirby, and trying to block something from view, and apparently failing, because the tips of something yellow were poking out from behind him.

"...I can see that Warp Star behind you, Cutter." Kirby rolled his eyes.

"Aww..." Cutter kicked his foot. "Stupid short height..." he muttered, stepping away from the Warp Star.

Kirby and Dagger approached the Warp Star, and as they were preparing to get on, Kirby noticed Dagger's static-y hair. "...Wh-what happened t-to your h-hair... Dagger...?" the puffball questioned, attempting to stifle a giggle while doing so. Eventually he couldn't help himself and burst into laughter.

Cutter glanced over as well to see what was so funny. "N-nice hairstyle, Dag'..." he commented, and began laughing as well.

"Buuuh..." Dagger grumbled, licking his paws and smoothing out his hair. He pouted then, when Cutter and Kirby were still laughing, and glared at them in annoyance.

"S-sorry, Dag'..." Cutter apologized, wiping a tear from his eye and patting his friend on the back. "Didn't mean to hurt your feelings..."

"That 'kay," Dagger said, expression brightening. He licked his friend across the face, smiling.

"All... all right..." Kirby said, taking deep gasps of air. "We really need to get that next Power Star... C'mon, get on the Warp Star." He hopped onto one corner, which expanded to allow Kirby to sit on it.

"'Kay," Dagger responded, picking up Cutter and setting him on his head before sitting on the opposite corner.

The Warp Star burst off at full-speed towards the other pillar of clouds. Cutter yelped, glancing down at the ground far, far below him. His eyes began to spin and his face turned a green. "N-not feeling good..." he mumbled, swaying from side to side. Both Kirby and Dagger held their paws up to cover the Sir Kibble's mouth to keep him from vomiting.

"I liked that fish, Cutter, but you can keep it..." Kirby said with a wince.

A minute or so later, the group hopped off the Warp Star before it crashed into the next room. This room was made up of blocks as well, and there were thick yellow blocks that obstructed the passageway to the next room.

"Howget... through?" Dagger questioned, gazing up at the giant wall of yellow blocks.

"Hey, what's that?" Cutter pointed out what looked to be a walking microphone, which was prancing around part of the room, singing some off-key notes.

"Aha!" Kirby exclaimed, smirking. "Just what we need... a Walkie!" The puffball quickly rushed up to the creature, inhaling it. There was a flash, and the creampuff was then wearing headphones and carrying a microphone. "Listen to this..." Microphone Kirby held the microphone out, and made the most horrible screeching sound into it.

Dagger quickly covered his ears, and Cutter snapped his visor shut before the sound waves could echo throughout his helmet. Both of them shouted in pain as the sound reverberated throughout the room, creating powerful sound waves. The yellow boxes that blocked their way began to crack, and eventually shattered.

Finally the sound wave stopped, and Kirby spat out the Walkie. "So... you two think I could make it to the opera?" he inquired jokingly, grinning.

Both of the helpers collapsed, twitching.

"Buuuh..."

"C'mon, Dagger... just a little bit further... just a little bit..." Kirby instructed.

Kirby, Cutter, and Dagger had traveled through the rest of the room, and found a long pit near the end of it. Now they were all looking down the pit, Dagger's long tongue reaching out into the darkness.

"So... tell me again why we're doing this...?" Cutter questioned, leaning against a wall in boredom.

"'Cuz I smell a tomato in there... and not just an ordinary tomato..." Kirby licked his lips. "It's a Maxim Tomato!"

"What's a Maxim Tomato?" Cutter inquired, still not seeming all that impressed.

"It's a really, really rare tomato that's supposed to have special healing powers. It can even heal someone when they're on the brink of death... not to mention it's absolutely delicious!" Kirby explained excitedly.

Cutter stared in silence for a moment. "...you have to be making this up."

"I'm not!" Kirby said with a grin. "You'll see..."

"Goh'it!" Dagger yelled, retracting his tongue back up from the pit. He pulled up a large, bright red tomato with a golden "M" planted onto it.

"LEMMEEATIT!" Kirby exclaimed, lunging at the tomato.

"Wait!" Cutter said, hopping up and grabbing Kirby. "If it really is that special, then we should save it for later."

"Yah..." Dagger nodded, grabbing the tomato and stuffing it in his pocket.

"Fine..." Kirby grumbled. "But if we don't need it by the time all this is over, that thing's mine." He licked his lips happily. "Now let's go... the sooner we get that Power Star, the faster I get to eat that toma-I mean, the faster we can get this over... eheh..." With that, he and his helpers headed through the next door.

They found themselves in a room that was half cloud and half block. The only way through the room was up, and seated atop a few clouds above the group were a few menacing looking Sir Kibbles in maroon armor. The armored creampuffs glowered down at the group, holding their boomerang-blades up threateningly.

"Yike!" Cutter squeaked quietly. "Th-those are some of Dedede's best Sir Kibbles... they have really good aim, and they can slice us into pieces in seconds..."

"All right," Kirby whispered, staring up at the Sir Kibbles intently. "When I say go, I want you guys to hop up those clouds as fast as you can and get to the top of the room." He turned to look at his helpers. "Ready?"

"Yah," Dagger said, nodding his head.

"No!" Cutter whimpered.

"Good, then GO!" Kirby drew back his foot, somehow punting both Cutter and Dagger up to the nearest cloud. Instantly, the Sir Kibbles began to fire their boomerangs at them, and the two helpers had to be constantly jumping to avoid being sliced in half.

Kirby puffed himself up and hovered in front of the Kibbles, making faces at them. The puffballs then launched their weapons simultaneously at the pink creampuff. Kirby waited until the last minute before he inhaled them and became Cutter Kirby.

The Sir Kibbles, now weaponless, started to back away in fear as Kirby grabbed his own boomerang-blade. The pink warrior flipped into the air, and released a large blue beam at the Sir Kibbles on his right side, then did the same to attack the Sir Kibbles on his left side.

Cutter and Dagger, who were now at the top of the room, gazed down and watched in amazement as Kirby fought the Kibbles. "Final Cutter..." Cutter gasped, eyes widening.

Once the Kibbles were taken care of, Cutter Kirby hovered up to the top part of the floor where his helpers waited by the final door. "You guys ready?" he asked. Once given the affirmative nods, Kirby smiled. "Good... now let's finish this up."

With that, the trio entered the final door in the giant Bubbly Clouds palace. They found themselves at the top part of the castle, where various rainbow pillars were set up. An eye hovered in the middle of the room, surrounded by a few small clouds.

"HEY!" Dagger exclaimed, pointing at the eye. "Ityuu!"

"You saw him before?" Cutter Kirby questioned, looking back at Dagger. "Why didn't you tell us? That's Kracko! He's the one keeping the third Power Star!"

Suddenly, a lightning bolt crashed within the room. The group jumped back in surprise as the clouds around Kracko began to increase in size, eventually forming into one giant cloud. Several yellow spikes jutted out of the cloud's sides, and the single eye glared down at Kirby and his helpers.

"I-I think we're in trouble...!" Cutter whimpered.

"We will be if we just keep standing here!" Cutter Kirby shouted, grabbing his boomerang-blade and throwing it at Kracko. The giant cloud hovered over it and floated back down, giving a growling laugh. "Don't start laughing yet..." the pink creampuff said with a smirk.

Kracko's eye suddenly widened when the boomerang-blade flew back through his side, but he soon resumed his laughter.

"Wha-?" Kirby shouted, eyes widening. "Why didn't it work...!"

"...w-we c-can't beat it...!" Cutter stuttered, sweat leaking from his armor. "Sweet merciful rusty scrapmetal WE'REGONNADIE!" The Sir Kibble began to run around in a panic.

Dagger grabbed his friend by the boomerang-blade, causing the black creampuff to start running in place.

Kracko gave another roaring laugh, but soon turned serious again and charged forward, swooping low to the ground.

"Jump!" Cutter Kirby commanded, quickly leaping into the air to avoid the attack.

Cutter and Dagger nodded, both of them jumping as high as they could to dodge the assault. Unfortunately for the Blade Knight, he landed his foot on one of Kracko's spikes. He crashed to the floor, hopping on one foot while holding the other in pain. "Owowowowow!" he shouted.

"H-hey, don't h-hurt Dag'! He didn't do anything to you!" Cutter yelled. He suddenly paused, blinking. "Well... n-not yet, anyway." With a shrug, the Sir Kibble grabbed his boomerang and threw it with all his might at Kracko, only to miss-aim and cause the blade to go crashing through a window. "...whoops."

"Come on, you can do better than that!" Cutter Kirby shouted, grabbing his own boomerang-blade and throwing it at Kracko. Like the first time, though, it passed right through the cloud, leaving the creature unharmed. "Why isn't this working?"

Cutter rushed about again in another panic, eventually cowering in the corner of the room. Kracko noted this, and with what would be a smirk if the cloud had had a mouth, hovered over to the Sir Kibble. "We can't beat him we're gonna die we're gonna DIE we're gonna die..."

"Cutter, look out!" Kirby exclaimed.

"We're gonnadiewe'regonna-" Cutter looked up when he felt Kracko's shadow passing over him and as his boomerang-blade came crashing through the opposite window to snap back onto his helmet. His pupils shrunk in fear as he gazed up at the giant cloud in fear. "...die," he whimpered, finishing his phrase.

KER-ZAP!

The boomerang-blade attached to his helmet acted like a lightning-rod, attracting the lightning bolt that Kracko unleashed. Cutter could feel the lightning surging through his body as the giant cloud zapped him. Finally when the lightning stopped, the Sir Kibble crashed to the ground with a loud clattering of his armor, twitching. His armor had turned black while his feet were now grey, and both of his eyes swirled, miniature versions of Kracko hovering comically over his head.

"Buuuh...?" Dagger looked in confusion at his charred friend, then glared up at Kracko. "Hey!" he yelled. "Yuu JURK!" Without warning, the Blade Knight leapt into the air towards Kracko, and, when he got close enough, swiftly kicked the giant cloud in the eye.

Kracko flew backwards, the pupil of his eye turning into an "X", roaring in pain. Dagger landed on the ground, crossing his arms and giving a nod of approval. "Hiseye!" he said, looking over his shoulder at Kirby.

"Of course!" Cutter Kirby exclaimed, grabbing his boomerang-blade and throwing it at Kracko again, this time aiming for his eye.

Kracko was hit again, and his eye turned red in both pain and rage. The giant cloud swooped back down again at high speeds, attempting to ram directly into Kirby.

Cutter Kirby smirked, opening his mouth and spitting out the Sir Kibbles' blades that he had inhaled before, one at a time. Kracko was hit, each time backing up further, and each time roaring in pain. By the time Kirby had spat out all of the blades, Kracko had flown out of one of the room's windows.

Kirby and Dagger heaved sighs of relief. "Itover..." Dagger gasped, panting heavily.

"Yeah... but where's the Power Star?" Kirby wondered.

A low rumble was heard within the room, and it slowly began to grow in volume. Soon the floor was shaking, and Kirby and Dagger were looking about the room wildly, wondering what was going on. Suddenly, the largest bolt of lightning one could possibly imagine tore through the room, smashing through the ceiling and floor, tearing the room in half.

The whole palace, being made mostly of cloud, began to separate. Dagger and an unconscious Cutter were on one side, while Kirby was on the other. Kracko, now angrier than ever, hovered between the two halves of the room, his now bright-red eye narrowed in absolute hatred. Lightning sparked everywhere, and rain began to pour down from the sky and onto the open platforms that Kirby and his helpers stood on.

Kracko was mad.

"Okay, now we're in trouble!" Kirby said with a nervous laugh.

"Buh-oh...!" Dagger whimpered, already huge eyes widening.

Kracko gave a thunderous roar, shaking the whole palace. Lightning jolted out of his body in every direction, Dagger and Kirby having to be constantly moving to avoid getting electrocuted. Every time the lightning made contact with the floor, however, the rain conducted the electricity, causing Kirby and Dagger to get zapped.

"Do something, Dagger!" Kirby shouted, holding his paws over his head and leaping out of the way of another lightning bolt.

"Ido sumthin'..." Dagger growled, narrowing his eyes at Kracko. The Blade Knight backed up, hopping part of the way to avoid a bolt, and, timing it just right, charged forward and leapt into the air, flying towards the giant cloud. Once he was close enough, he delivered several kicks and punches to Kracko's eye.

That was enough. Kracko couldn't take it any more, and finally retreated into the air, several large teardrops falling after him.

The Blade Knight stood apparently in midair, watching Kracko retreat, nodding and smiling in approval.

"Dagger, look!" Kirby exclaimed, pointing below the helper.

"Buh?" Dagger looked down in confusion, and noticed that he was standing beneath a golden star-the third Power Star! "Pow'r star!"

"All right!" Kirby cheered. "Go over to the other side and grab Cutter, and let's get outta' here!"

Dagger nodded, leaning forward. The Power Star slowly hovered to the left, allowing Dagger to hop onto the other platform. The Blade Knight nodded a "Thankyuu!" to the Power Star, which floated off into the distance. He then rushed over to his friend, who was still unconscious.

"Cuh'er?" Dagger questioned, shaking the Sir Kibble. "Cuh'er! Wakeup!" When the charred creampuff still wouldn't answer, Dagger cast a worried glance over at Kirby. "Henot... wakeup!" the Blade Knight called over to the pink puffball.

Kirby puffed himself up, hovering over to the other platform and examining Cutter. "Well, he got zapped pretty bad. It hurts enough without being completely encased in metal. Geez..." he said, shaking his head.

"Heneed help..." Dagger reached into his pocket, taking out the Maxim Tomato.

"No!" Kirby shouted, grabbing Dagger's arm. "I wanna have it!"

"Igive 'im half..." Dagger said with a sigh, tearing the tomato in half. He pocketed one half, then shoved the other half down Cutter's throat.

Instantly the Sir Kibble jumped up. "Who what when where how?" he shouted, falling over backwards a few seconds later. "Holy scrapmetal, my everything hurts! What happened?"

"You got zapped," Kirby explained. "By a pretty strong bolt of lightning, I might add."

"Butyuu 'kay... nauh!" Dagger exclaimed, licking his friend across the face.

"Sorta'..." Cutter sat up, rubbing his head. "Kirby, I'll tell you this now... This is the last time I go anywhere with you. I am never doing this again."

"Aw, too bad," Kirby said, his mouth taking on an upside-down "v" shape. "Maybe you'll change your mind later..."

"Pow'r stars?" Dagger inquired.

"Oh, right... only one more left!" Kirby shouted excitedly. "King Dedede has that one..."

"Oh sweet merciful scrapmetal!" Cutter exclaimed, falling over backwards again. "Don't tell me we have to fight my boss!"

"Fine, then I won't," the pink creampuff responded, rolling his eyes in a joking manner. "We have to get to Castle Dedede... which is waaaay out there." He pointed to a large castle on a hill in the distance. "Any idea how to get there?"

"Warp Star?" Dagger glanced over at a fried Warp Star sitting in the corner of the destroyed room.

"Huh." Kirby wandered over to the star, tapping it to set it hovering into the air. "Convenient, these," he murmured. The creampuff leapt onto one side of the star. "Well, what're you waiting for? Hop on!"

"Buh'kay," Dagger said with a nod, grabbing Cutter and hopping onto the side of the star opposite of Kirby. The Warp Star slowly rose into the air, hovering across the sky.

"Too bad this thing's fried. Otherwise we'd get there a lot faster..." Kirby said, patting the Warp Star's side.

"W-well... a-at least it doesn't go r-really fast..." Cutter stuttered. "I-I'm kinda g-glad it's fried..."

As if on cue, the Warp Star suddenly froze, dropping from the sky. A few moments later, however, it picked back up and continued on its course.

"...you were saying?" Kirby questioned, eyeing Cutter.

The Sir Kibble fainted.

Chapter 2: Float Islands << Previous | Next >> Chapter 4: Castle Dedede