Chapter 4: Castle Dedede

Still flying slowly across the sky was the charred Warp Star, carrying our heroic trio towards Castle Dedede. The three had fallen asleep as the Warp Star trudged on throughout the night, and were beginning to wake up as the sun rose.

"Buuuhh..." Dagger yawned, stretching. He looked over his shoulder at Castle Dedede, noting that they were about half-way there. "Stillnot there..." he mumbled, reaching over to the other side of the star and nudging Kirby with his paw.

"Huh... Wha?" Kirby muttered, blinking awake and wiping the drool off of his mouth. "Shouldn't we be there by now...?" He rubbed his eyes, glancing around as his vision began to clear. "What the-? We're only half-way there! It'll take us all day to get to the castle at this rate!"

Kirby's shouting caused Cutter to wake up. The Sir Kibble, still sitting atop Dagger's head, raised his visor to reveal his annoyed expression. "What's going on? Can't I sleep for five more minutes?" he grumbled, observing his surroundings for a moment. He snapped his visor shut again, only to open it once more and do a double-take, eyes nearly bugging out of his head when he saw just how high they were. "Holy scrapmetal!" He held tight onto Dagger. "We're still flying!"

"Yah," Dagger said with a nod, shaking his Sir Kibble friend around.

"DON'TLETMEFALLIDON'TWANNADIE!" Cutter yelled, wrapping his paws around Dagger's head.

"Stupid Warp Star..." Kirby grumbled, hopping up and glaring down at the charred Warp Star. "Can't you go any faster?"

At that, the Warp Star took a nosedive, spiraling down through the sky.

"SORRY! SORRY!" Kirby yelled, hanging on for dear life. The Warp Star stopped, and hovered back up to its original position. Kirby blinked in confusion, then put his paw to his mouth in thought. "Can you please go a bit faster?"

Instantly the Warp Star blasted off at the speed that a Warp Star would normally fly at. Kirby and Dagger gave whoops of joy at this, enjoying the change in pace, though Cutter, as one might expect, didn't.

"Rusty scrapmetal!" Cutter yelled, snapping his visor shut. "T-too fast, too fast! I feel like I'm on a roller coaster!"

Suddenly the Warp Star stopped, Kirby and Dagger looking up at Cutter in confusion. "What's a roller coaster?" Kirby inquired.

"...No idea," came Cutter's response. The Warp Star resumed its normal speed.

Kirby whipped out a pair of binoculars looking over at Castle Dedede. "Almost there... aim for the door to the top floor!"

Dagger looked over at the castle as well, but stared in confusion. "Wut door?"

"Huh?" Kirby frantically looked around the castle, which was about thirty seconds away. "Wait... there is no door to the top floor!"

"What?" Cutter exclaimed, looking up and opening his visor again. "...We're gonna crash!"

"Brace yourselves!" Kirby commanded, quickly getting into a defensive position. Cutter and Dagger did the same, just as the Warp Star smashed through a thick wall.

The Warp Star, somehow still intact, zipped through the hallway. It slowly began to descend low to the floor, smashing through an unsuspecting Rocky. The Rocky was smashed into a pile of gravel, its eyes and its bandana sitting atop the pile. It cried hysterically, rushing away and trailing pebbles behind him.

The Warp Star continued through the hallway, eventually crashing to the ground and shattering. Kirby, Cutter, and Dagger all skidded forward, finally stopping a few feet away from a giant door. Kirby hopped up, dusting himself off. "Well, that wasn't too bad, was it?"

Cutter and Dagger groaned-both of them had red marks down their faces from skidding face-first.

"Good!" Kirby said cheerfully, skipping forward. "C'mon, let's kick Dedede's tail so we can get the last Power Star!"

The two helpers nodded, standing up and hesitantly following Kirby. Before they could walk close to the creampuff, however, both of them were suddenly grabbed by someone and pulled through a hidden door.

"DON'THURTME!" Cutter screamed, curling up into a defensive ball.

"Hey, I'm on your side, don't worry!" the abductor said, holding his paws up in defense. He was a Poppy Brother Junior, wearing yellow clothing. "Nice job luring Kirby here! You two did great!"

"Buh...?" Dagger questioned, tilting his head to one side in confusion. He looked down at Cutter, who seemed equally confused.

"C'mon, don't play dumb! Follow me! You guys wanna get some good seats, don't you?" the Poppy questioned with a grin. He then proceeded to drag Cutter and Dagger down the hidden hallway, which was beginning to get darker and darker. Eventually the hallway opened up into a huge arena-like room, packed full of baddies. They were all seated in the various rows of seats that circled a giant wrestling arena. Everything was dark, though, so all one could really see was if a seat was taken or not.

Cutter and Dagger wandered around the various rows of chairs in confusion, eventually taking a seat near the middle. The Poppy sat next to them, smiling. "Hey, you hungry?" He took out a giant watermelon, which Dagger happily whipped into his mouth and swallowed whole.

"Wait... Where'd you get that?" Cutter questioned, amazed. "I thought Dedede took all the food?"

The Poppy nodded. "He did, and it's all here! And if you work for 'im, then you get a special discount..." The clown took out a shiny red apple. "This apple costs two hundred Gold, but with the discount, it was only a hundred-ninety-nine Gold!"

Cutter sweat-dropped. "That's a real bargain, there," he muttered sarcastically, then turned around to face Dagger, whispering to him. "This makes sense, though... Dedede didn't only get more food for himself, but now he's making a ton of money from being the only place in town that actually has food!"

"Buh... Hebad..." Dagger whispered back.

Cutter nodded. "Yeah... We've gotta help Kirby beat him!" the Sir Kibble whispered. "...Somehow."

The murmuring throughout the whole arena started to quiet as the sound of an elevator was heard. One could just barely make out a small figure that was wandering around in confusion in the dark arena.

"Hey... What's going on? Cutter? Dagger? Where are you?" The lights came on, revealing Kirby standing in the middle of the stage, and a red-robed form in the corner of the arena with his back turned.

"Welcome, ladies and gentle-baddies, to the battle of the century!" a Walkie shouted, hopping into the middle of the stage. He kicked Kirby to top left corner of the arena before continuing on. "In this corner, we have the little pink creampuff that we all love to hate, Kirby!"

Various boos resounded throughout the stadium, and several Dreamlanders threw rotten foods at Kirby.

"Wha-? Hey! Stop!" Kirby shouted, holding his paws over his head. He licked some food off of his face, only to recoil and shiver. "Eeeww..."

"Aaaaand in this corner," the Walkie continued, turning to the person standing in the lower right corner of the arena, "we have the fearless ruler of Dreamland, King Dedede!"

Cheers exploded throughout the stadium as King Dedede turned around, his beak curved into large, malicious grin. He held a giant wooden mallet in his yellow-gloved paws, ready to strike.

"This is the battle you've all been waiting for!" the Walkie exclaimed, hopping into the air. "Hero verses Zero! This is the main event!"

"This is the only event," a Gim muttered, rolling his eye.

"You paid for an entire seat, but you'll only need the edge! Sunday, Sunday, Sun-er, I mean, today! This is the battle of the century!"

"Yeah, and this battle'll take a century if you don't shut up!" the yellow-clothed Poppy Brother Junior shouted in annoyance. The Walkie, however, ignored the remark, and continued his long rant. The crowd ceased its cheers, and remained silent as the microphone continued yelling out cheesy lines.

King Dedede gave an irritated sigh, wandering up to the Walkie. "Excuse me..." he said, tapping the Walkie on the shoulder. "I would greatly appreciate it if you would shut up!" The penguin swung his mallet swiftly, causing the Walkie to fly out of the arena, across the stadium, and into a wall. The crowd erupted into cheers, and the king nodded in approval.

"L-let the battle begin..." the Walkie groaned, sliding down the wall and crashing to the floor.

Ding-ding!

As soon as the bell sounded, King Dedede charged forward, swinging his mallet at Kirby skillfully. Kirby was hit, and flew into the ropes, which launched him to the ropes on the other side of the arena, which continued to launch him around until he crashed right into Dedede, knocking him over.

"Woo... Kirby, one, Dedede, zero..." Kirby mumbled as he stumbled around dizzily.

Sounds of booing resounded throughout the stadium, and Kirby was again pelted by rotten food. This gave Dedede the chance to hop back up and swing his mallet at the pink creampuff once more.

Kirby, however, saw the mallet coming and quickly inhaled it-along with several rotten foodstuffs. His eyes widened, and his face turned an ugly shade of green. Several people in the audience laughed, but stopped when Kirby spat the saliva-covered foodstuffs and mallet back out, right into Dedede's face. Various "ooo"s of pity were heard.

"That had to hurt..." Cutter muttered, wincing.

The mallet fell from Dedede's face, revealing a very annoyed expression. The penguin retrieved his mallet and stuffed it into his coat, rushing backwards against the ropes and flinging himself forward, flying right into Kirby and crushing him with his immense bodyweight. He stepped off of the creampuff, which was now flattened. Cheering and laughter exploded throughout the stadium.

Kirby puffed himself back up, forcing himself to inhale the rotten food and spitting it out at Dedede; it was his only form of attack at this point. He was starting to gain the advantage, but he was pelted by more rotten foods again, giving Dedede yet another chance to attack.

"Hegettin' hurt!" Dagger whispered to Cutter.

"I know... We gotta do something..." Cutter whispered back. He thought for a moment, then quickly got an idea. "I know!" He reached into Dagger's pocket, pulling out what was left of the Maxim Tomato.

"Giveit... toKirby?" Dagger questioned, tilting his head to one side.

"Yep... Think you can toss it over to him?" Cutter inquired.

"Yah." Dagger took the tomato, throwing it with all his might towards Kirby, adding a "Boooo!" as he did so.

Kirby, smelling the Maxim Tomato, perked up. He opened his mouth, gulping down the tomato before it smashed onto the ground. Instantly he felt his strength recover and quickly hopped back up, ready to fight.

Dedede seemed startled at this. He knew that for the only way for Kirby to recover his energy like that was if he had eaten a Maxim Tomato. He glared out into the crowd, holding out his mallet. "Who threw that Maxim Tomato at Kirby?" he yelled angrily. Cutter and Dagger slouched in their seats, hoping that the king wouldn't notice them.

Kirby, seizing the opportunity, inhaled Dedede's mallet. In a flash, he donned a white headband, as well as a large mallet.

"Wuh-?" Dedede shouted, stunned. "Where'd my mallet go...?" He looked frantically around the arena, and spotted Hammer Kirby, who made a face.

"Looking for this?" Kirby questioned, waving the mallet about. Dedede dived at the creampuff, only to be knocked away as Kirby swung the mallet at him.

Boos echoed throughout the stadium once more, and several rotten foods came flying towards Hammer Kirby. The creampuff spun his mallet around, however, deflecting them. He then charged at Dedede again before the penguin could get up, smacking him again with the mallet.

"Yeah!" Cutter exclaimed, hopping up in his seat. He fell silent, however, as did the Dreamlanders around him. "Er... I-I mean... BOOO!" The Dreamlanders also resumed their booing as though nothing had happened.

Hammer Kirby leapt backwards across the arena, holding up the mallet and aiming it carefully. As he did so, Dedede got up and started to rush back towards Kirby. Just before the penguin got to him, though, Kirby threw the mallet full-force at Dedede, releasing his ability.

Screeching in pain, King Dedede flew through the air and crashed through the ceiling of his own castle. Kirby gave an evil grin, turning to the rest of the Dreamlanders in the stadium. The baddies stared for a while in silence before going into a panic and rushing out of the castle.

Kirby reverted back to his usual happy expression, smiling up at the only two Dreamlanders left in the stadium: Cutter and Dagger.

"Thanks, guys!" Kirby exclaimed, rushing up to his two helpers. "I couldn't have beaten Dedede if you hadn't tossed me the Maxim Tomato. That was delicious, by the way..." The creampuff licked his lips.

"Yuu welc'm!" Dagger responded, licking Kirby across the face.

"No problem!" Cutter answered, smiling. "Where's the Power Star, though...?"

"Hm..." Kirby hummed, observing the room. "Dedede probably doesn't want anyone to find it. He probably hid it somewhere deep inside the castle, or maybe he put it some place so obvious that no one would guess where it was..."

As he said that, a large, shining star fell from the hole in the ceiling and onto his head.

"...like his coat pocket." Everyone laughed at this. Kirby took the star off of his head and tossed it back into the air, setting it free. The star flew away into the sky, meaning that their quest had finally come to an end.

"It over...?" Dagger inquired, tilting his head to one side.

"Not quite," Kirby returned, glancing to the back of the stadium where a huge concession stand stood. The creampuff noted that whoever had been running it had been selling mostly rotten food. "This can't be all the food..." The puffball put a paw to his mouth, trying to think of where the food could be.

"I've been to this castle before," Cutter stated with a nod. "The only place that could possibly contain all of Dreamland's food would be the dungeon, which would be at the bottom of the castle."

Kirby nodded, observing the stadium again. He looked up at the giant hole in the ceiling, then down at the arena. "Hey... I have an idea..."

"What's that?" Cutter questioned.

Kirby beckoned for his two helpers to come closer, and he whispered the plan to them.

"Tha krayzee!" Dagger exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Yeah, but probably crazy enough to work..." Cutter remarked. "You really think you can do that, Kirby?"

The puffball nodded. "I know I can! It might take a while... but just trust me, I know this'll work!"

Kirby, Cutter, and Dagger stood atop Castle Dedede. The ropes from the arena were tied to the corners of the castle, with the other ends tied to Kirby's feet. Cutter sat atop Dagger's head, and Dagger was sitting right next to Kirby.

"You guys ready?" Kirby questioned. "I don't want you to fall or anything..."

"We notfall," Dagger mumbled in reassurance.

"I-I hope not, anyway," Cutter muttered.

"All right... here I go!"

Kirby began to puff up, drawing in as much air as he could. His body expanded, and he hovered higher and higher. Eventually, however, he stopped.

"What's wrong, Kirby?" Cutter called up to his friend.

"I-I can't inhale any more!" Kirby grunted.

"Buh-oh..." Dagger whimpered. He glanced around, wondering what he could do to help Kirby, and noticed something out of the corner in his eye. "Hey, whathat?" he questioned, pointing to four objects that flew about in the sky.

Kirby glanced over in the direction that Dagger was pointing, and saw the objects as well. As they got closer, he was able to identify them as the four Power Stars. "Hey... wh-what're they coming back for?" he wondered aloud.

The four Power Stars circled Kirby, and began to hover around him. The creampuff them found that he could inhale more air, and quickly did so. He started to expand again, eventually growing larger and larger, until he was nearly twice the size of the castle. Finally the castle was ripped right off the top of Mount Dedede, its very bottom floor left on top of the mountain. Kirby then floated forward as fast as he could as the huge food supply began to pour out across Dreamland.

The citizens of Dreamland soon noticed the flying castle, as well as the food falling out of it. They rushed out of their houses, grabbing as much food as they possibly could. Dreamlanders everywhere were enjoying the rain of food as Kirby flew throughout the whole land.

Cutter and Dagger stood atop the castle, gazing down at the hungry Dreamlanders below. "Well... we did it, Dag'!" Cutter exclaimed, patting his friend on the head. "We helped save Dreamland!"

"Yah!" Dagger responded happily, smiling slightly. He frowned, though, looking down.

"What's wrong?" Cutter inquired, casting a worried glance down at his friend.

"Sad itover..." the Blade Knight answered, sighing.

"Sad that it's over?" The Sir Kibble tilted his head to one side. "How can you be sad that it's over? We nearly got killed several times, we got hurt, we got the scrapmetal scared out of us... why would you be sad that it's over?"

"'Cuz itfun!" Dagger responded, grinning. "Letsgo... on 'nother?" He looked up at his friend hopefully.

"Hate to tell ya', Dag', but adventures like this only happen once in a lifetime." Cutter leaned back, slouching on the Blade Knight's head. "And let me tell you, I'm glad for that..."

"Nomore 'ventures?" Dagger asked, frowning.

"Nah... no more adventures. Just be glad we got to go on one like this!"

"'Kay." Dagger smiled, gazing back down at Dreamland.

"Nope... no more adventures..." Cutter smiled as well. "Finally, I can relax..."

Little did they know, their adventures had only just begun...

Chapter 3: Bubbly Clouds << Previous