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Chapter Text

[King Dedede]

Castle Dedede
Throne Room

Dark clouds were hovering in the skies.

Inside my castle, very little actual light was coming through the windows. There was nary a sound to be heard at all—save for the lightning bolts striking from outside.

I didn’t mind it.

The atmosphere was just right for my mind right now.

With nothing more than a portable lamp and a pen in my hand, I wrote a letter to my age-old nemesis. Bandana Dee – my trusty assistant, and probably my closest confidant – looked at me with worried eyes, but I paid him no mind.

I needed to concentrate on this.

…

…

…

…it’s been over sixteen years since Kirby first came to Pop Star.

Sixteen years since I stole the Sparkling Stars from Dream Land.

Sixteen years since he first defeated me and set things right.

Sixteen years of friendship and rivalry; of ups and downs and all arounds.

We’ve fought each other so many times since then, for a myriad of reasons – be it the Star Rod, possession by Dark Matter, or even over a simple slice of cake.

But now?

This isn’t about the fate of the world. This isn’t about a traditional clash between good and evil.

This is a matter of pride.

(…My pride.)

Another bolt of lightning struck down outside, briefly illuminating the room I was in.

All the while, I continued to pen down the words I wanted to say.

…

…

…

…it’s done.

I folded the letter in half, placing it inside an envelope and sealing with a me-approved stamp.

Then, I stood up from my throne.

At the same time, Bandana Dee finally found the courage to speak up.

“G-Great King… A-Are… Are you sure you w-want to—to do this…?”

I let my face turn to him, never once straying from my serious expression.

His eyes were the most anxious I’ve ever seen them. Not even during the final Dark Matter crisis did he ever look like that.

“I—I mean… K-Kirby doesn’t… Kirby doesn’t really care about this—this rivalry thing! It’s—It’s not like you have to d-do it at all!” he pleaded with me. “And I d-don’t know what’ll happen if—if you do go through with it! You, you might get hurt, and—and Kirby, too!

“P-Please…”

Tears built up in the corner of his eyes.

“Don’t… Don’t do this.”

…

Dee was always a loyal friend, to both me and Kirby. I admire that aspect of him. Really, I do. It’s what makes him such a good guy (far more than me, if I’m being honest). I wouldn’t want him to choose between either of us—

—but for my own sake, I have to do this.

I closed my eyes.

“I’m sorry, Dee,” I said, “but… I’m tired of letting these feelings hang over me. One-sided or not… this matters to me. I need to settle this. I need to.”

For too long, I’ve always ended up the loser in our matches.

I can learn some of Kirby’s skills.

I can fight him on equal ground.

I can have my Waddle Dees and Doos by my side…

…and it’s always—always—never enough.

I’m tired of that.

Once, I would’ve just treated him as my nemesis out of rage and adolescence. Out of a sense of obligation, maybe.

But I’ve come a long way since then, and I’m ready to close out this chapter of my life for good.

I have to do this. I have to prove I’m better than him.

Because if I can’t win against him, despite all my efforts…

…then what good am I as a king, self-proclaimed or not?

“B-But—what am I supposed to d-do, then!? I like Kirby and you, Great King! I—I can’t choose between either of you! You, you guys…!”

“It’s fine if you want to be by Kirby’s side,” I interrupted him, eyes still closed. “I’m not about to force you to decide who you want to follow. All I want to do…”

I opened my eyes and clenched my fist, the one that wasn’t holding the letter.

“…is show Kirby what’s for, once and for all.”

“G-Great King…!?”

I’ve prepared for this day. I’ve taken three out of Dream Land’s five Sparkling Stars and given them to old guardians. I’ve trained them up as well, and sent out several more of my generals out into the field for Kirby to face off against.

I’ve even given my castle a bit of a makeover, just for this occasion.

It’s high time that pink puffball got what he deserved. It’s time to go all-out.

No more games.

No more play.

Whatever it takes, I will reign victorious over him.

…whatever it takes.

Dee shivered, repeatedly glancing between me and the door to my throne room. He was conflicted – but that’s not surprising.

While he was doing that, I held up the letter with the seal on it, making sure it was still crisp and clean. I gestured for one of my Waddle Dees to come over, and he obediently followed, spear still in hand.

“Waddle Dee,” I stated, handing him the letter. “Take this letter, and deliver it to Kirby, wherever he may be. Make sure he opens it; don’t leave until he actually does. That’s an order, alright?”

He nodded, taking the envelope and saluting (as was Waddle Dee custom). He ran out of the throne room to fulfill my command, just as another flash of lightning shone through the windows.

Dee’s gaze lingered upon his exiting brethren for several moments, as if he was debating with himself whether or not he should follow.

As for me…?

I was gazing for a different reason.

I sat down in my throne in anticipation, drumming my fingers on the side of my throne to keep them exercised.

“…here we go,” I muttered. “It’s time to get serious.”

…my final revenge has come.

…

A couple more minutes passed in silence.

And then…

“…I’ll stay with you, Great King!” Bandana Dee declared to me. “I—I won’t let you face this alone!”

He walked up to me, and though he didn’t have any weapon by his side, I could see an unwavering, burning determination in his eyes.

“If you’re—if you’re g-going to do this, then I’ll be with you while you fight! It’s my duty as your loyal retainer!”

I smiled a little.

“…thanks, Bandana Dee,” I said. “…I really appreciate it.”

I glared confidently toward the door, both sides of my vision lined up with a row of my spear-holding Dee guards.

Another burst of lightning came down.

From a nearby window, I caught a glimpse of Kabula, newly reactivated and newly upgraded.

This is it.

This is really it.

Get ready, Kirby, I thought vindictively. Because today—you’re going to lose. You’re finally going to lose.

And for once, I’ll be triumphant.

Just you wait.

[Kirby]

Dream Land
Purple Plants

Something’s up.

That thought rang through my head repeatedly throughout this entire morning. I don’t know why I’m thinking it, or what even the ‘something’ is, but I just know—

Something’s up.

I stared out into the purple scenery that made up—well, the Purple Plants. I don’t normally come here, primarily because I think all the purple really does not suit a grassy plain like this.

Like—c’mon. The color scheme clashes so hard.

Adeleine would agree.

But there’s something else worth noting about Purple Plants: it’s a lot more chaotic than, say, Green Greens.

The natives are territorial; hostile to intruders.

And it’s definitely not the easiest place to traverse peacefully.

I… wouldn’t recommend it for a tourist spot. It’s a little too ‘Extra’ for most Dream Landers.

Even I tend to stay away, even though I can handle most things that come my way.

Still, there’s a reason I’m here.

Call me what you like, but you can’t deny I’ve got pretty good instincts. And those instincts, for some reason, just drew me to this place.

Something important’s about to happen.

Something important, in this place, is about to happen.

I…

I just don’t know what it’ll be.

I sighed.

“I wonder what Dedede’s doing right now,” I wondered, sitting beneath a bushy, purple-leaf tree. “It’s been a while since I’ve heard from him.”

I’d like to believe that we’ve become… well, maybe not friends yet.

Frenemies, maybe. Just like Mario and Bowser.

We’ve fought each other plenty of times; we’ve helped each other plenty of times.

Without him, I don’t think I’d ever have been able to get all the Crystal Shards.

But recently, however… Dedede’s been a bit dissatisfied.

Sure, we still have our regular clashes (that I typically come on top of, naturally), but he hasn’t taken as much enjoyment out of them as of late. And whenever I try to ask what’s wrong, he just… brushes me off and goes back to his business.

He doesn’t even react to any of the sass I throw.

That’s how I know he’s not acting normal.

I’m worried about him. We may not be as close as I’d like to be, but… whatever’s going on, I hope we can at least talk about it, you know?

…

“…it’s been half an hour since I got here,” I said aloud, standing up from my sitting place. “Nothing’s happened yet.”

Strange. My instincts have never let me wrong before.

…except the whole Squeak Squad debacle, but—that was a one-time thing.

“I should get moving,” I decided. “Nothing’s gonna come if I’m only just sitting around.”

Maybe I should go check up on some of my old Helpers, too. It’s been a while since our last adventure together—it’d be great to hang out with them again.

Waddle Doo, Bonkers, GIM, everybody…

(Little did I know, however…)

Footsteps bounced in from the distance.

“Kirby!”

I blinked, and turned to look at the voice. “Huh?”

A simple Waddle Dee was heading up to me. One of Dedede’s Waddle Dees. I’d recognize them anywhere.

There was a letter in his hand.

He stopped in front of me.

“The Great King has written this to you,” he said. “He wants you to read it.”

“From Dedede?” I asked. “…well, alright.”

I’d never turn down a letter from a friend—or an almost-friend, as the case may be.

What could he want, though?

If there’s anything he wanted to say to me, he could just do it in person. I’m not exactly unapproachable.

But if he so insists…

I took the envelope and opened it up.

My eyes perused the letter inside.

…

…

…

…oh.

Oh.

I think I’ve found the ‘something’ that I was looking for.

I read the letter.

Then, I re-read it.

And then, I re-read it again.

I bit my lip.

“…so this is your game,” I stated quietly.

…

Dedede’s… always been a strange one.

Strange and complex.

I mean, one year, he’s stealing everyone’s food out of total selfishness—and the year after, he’s acting as the villain to save the very same subjects he was intimidating.

He’s greedy, he’s as hungry as me, he cares for his Dees…

…but most of all, his pride can be seriously overpowering.

…

I guess…

…this doesn’t really surprise me, then.

…

…I don’t know what to think.

Mario would know what to do more than me.

He and Bowser delight in being rivals; I’ve never cared for the same.

All I’ve ever wanted is for me and Dedede to be friends.

Why do we have to have this kind of routine, anyway?

…

…there’s no point of wondering, though.

Mario’s not here.

Bandana Dee’s not here, either.

He must be standing by his ‘Great King’.

That makes sense.

He may be my friend, but he’s loyal to Dedede, too. And I can’t fault him for that.

I’ve got plenty of other friends as well, but… I know he wouldn’t appreciate them butting into our feud. Not if he’s gotten like this.

So that means…

I have to face Dedede myself.

…

What is this gonna do to us?

Are our friendships gonna break under the strain?

How…

How different will our status quo be, when all is said and done?

I already know this’ll be uncomfortable for Dee. He’s strong in his own way, but watching his two best friends fight has never gotten easier for him.

I don’t want to hurt him.

I don’t want to hurt Dedede, either.

I wish we could just get along, without any barriers holding us back.

That’s just who I am.

From the day I was born into this galaxy, to the day I started living on Pop Star… that’s the way I’ve always rolled.

And…

I don’t want it all to fall apart just because of this.

…

But I won’t accomplish anything just sitting here.

If Dedede wants a showdown, then by golly, he’s gonna get a showdown.

Maybe – just maybe – it’ll be enough to put an end to this.

And then, perhaps…

…we could be friends for real.

I put the letter down on the grass and nodded to myself.

To the Waddle Dee, I said, “Thanks for bringing this to me. Tell Dedede… I accept his challenge.”

I stared out into the Purple Plants where I knew the first Sparkling Star would be located.

I hope you’ll forgive me for the rude reunion, Helpers.

“Very well,” the Waddle Dee replied. “I shall inform Great King of this at once.”

As he retreated back the way he came, I made my way into the heart of the grasslands, riding in on that ever-so-familiar spring breeze.

And just as Dedede said… there was several of his troops, waiting for me at the edge of destiny.

I wasted no time in getting into a fighting stance.

Koozers, Perots, Bio Sparks, Waddle Doos—creatures of all kinds were glaring at me, be them natives of the Purple Plants or otherwise.

I didn’t show them any trace of fear.

Numbers didn’t mean much when it came to me.

Alright, Dedede, I thought determinedly. You say you’re not gonna hold anything back?

Then I won’t either.

Come what may, I’m giving this my all. I’m Pop Star’s premier protagonist for a reason—and if this is what it takes to bring you to your senses, so be it.

Prepare yourself, buddy…

…‘cause it’s way past time I finally saved you from yourself!

Chapter Text

Three days later…

[Kirby]

Skies Above Mt. Dedede

At last, after a long fight, Kabula became too impaired to remain in the skies.

Exterior heavily damaged and on fire, she started tumbling down to the ground—

…leaving me and my Helpers still flying and triumphant.

I wiped some sweat from my forehead.

“Phew!” I said. “Dedede’s pulling out all the stops now. I really didn’t think I’d see Kabula again, of all things…”

The last time I had seen the Aerial Fortress was during my first adventure on Pop Star—when Dedede had stolen everyone’s food. I dispatched her using a Mint Leaf, and that was about it for her.

I thought she had been retired… but I guess she had it in her for one more match.

If it hadn’t been for the three Sparkling Stars saving my bacon, that might’ve been it. Dedede would have won.

That blimp should not be allowed to make cannonballs that powerful.

“Hmph!” Birdon huffed, sitting behind me on the Starship. “Our esteemed ‘king’ could have at least brought that oversized balloon in politely! He’s got some nerve, playing unfair like that!”

The surprise attack had undoubtedly left her pretty pissed. It was a pretty good move, in all honesty—it takes a lot to get my Warp Star to shatter!

“Is such an attack really so unexpected?” a calm, wizened voice said.

Riding a different Starship – a golden, more robotic one – was another Helper of mine, Simirror. He seemed rather unfazed.

“In war, it is customary for one to unleash their trump cards when the enemy least expects it,” he said. “In that regard, it was rather clever of King Dedede to attack us now.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean he had to send us hurtling towards the ground!” Birdon hissed. “Do you know what happens to birds that suffer a hard crash!? Oh, when I get my hands on him, I’m gonna…!”

“Calm down, Birdon!” I interrupted her, putting a hand on her wing to soothe her. “You can send complaints to Dedede later. Right now…”

I turned the Starship around to face Castle Dedede.

“…we’ve got business to take care of.”

The skies may have been blue, and the clouds not too numerous, but the atmosphere around us remained tense.

It’s been three days since Dedede issued his final challenge to me. It hasn’t been easy getting here, even with Helpers by my side.

You know your day is going to suck when even Whispy Woods has gotten dangerous.

But now we’re here, three Sparkling Stars in hand.

One step closer to ending this whole thing once and for all.

…

This isn’t gonna be easy.

The stakes may not technically be as high as, say, with Zero or Drawcia—but in my own biased opinion, the well-being of our entire relationship is dire enough.

But it’s not like I can back down now.

“Right, right,” Birdon groused. “Dedede’s grudge match, or whatever. This had better be worth it, you know! I didn’t endure several days of this utter nonsense for nothing!”

“Don’t dismiss this, now,” Simirror commented. “This isn’t just a peculiar reunion party; there is a weight far heavier hanging on our hero here. A seemingly innocuous event like this has so much more of a purpose than you imagine.”

I narrowed my eyes a little.

He shrugged. “But I sense that subtlety is lost on you right now.”

“Hey!” she protested. “I can too be subtle—and understand whatever it is you’re babbling about! You’re not the only one who can be a big smarty-pants! So lose the big words and just say… whatever it is you want to say!”

“You are not exactly winning yourself any points, you realize.”

“Sh-Shut up! I totally am!”

“Then why are you so in denial then, Birdon?”

While the two continued their fairly one-sided bickering—I swear Simirror does this to her on purpose—I tightened my grip on the Starship’s cockpit.

A swarm of thoughts swirled through my head.

I hesitated for a single, solitary moment.

Was… Was this really the only way forward?

Do… Do I really… have to do this?

Do I have to go in and trample over the things I care about?

…is there no other alternative?

…

…

…

I clapped my cheeks.

You shouldn’t be hesitating like this, I told myself. C’mon, me. You’re the hero of Pop Star! Vanquisher of all those demons and deities alike!

Life’s not gonna end just because of a dispute between you and Dedede!

Everything’ll turn out fine. It will! It’s always been that way!

So you don’t need to worry.

Let’s make it happen!

Closing my eyes tightly, and feeling the weight of the sword sheathed on my back, I willed the Starship forward.

Birdon squawked, startled.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, K-Kirby! S-Slow down! D-Don’t go f-flying so fast, s-seriously!”

“So we’re starting the final mission? Very well—let us see where this leads… shall we?”

The Sparkling Stars settled out of the makeshift Starship, transforming it back into my trusty Warp Star. As Simirror jumped onto it, I shot my gaze straight ahead.

A thought passed my mind:

Alright. Here we go!

[King Dedede]

Castle Dedede
Throne Room

Kabula’s external camera feed started transmitting static, just as another Starshot slammed into her.

I knew immediately what that meant.

“G-Great King!” I heard one of my Waddle Dees cry. “We’ve… We’ve lost contact with Kabula! Her energy readings have gone completely dark!”

Bandana Dee started panicking beside me.

“Wh-Wha!?” he jolted. “B-But… sh-she’s one of the strongest guys we’ve got! We a-attached every upgrade we c-could put on her! H-How could she—she even go down like that…!?”

A frown came to my face.

“…it was the Sparkling Stars,” I realized. “They gave Kirby the power to overcome her.”

I knew it from the start. Something tells me they didn’t appreciate being used for my little scheme. Magic can be finnicky like that, sometimes—

—so of course they’d give Kirby yet another last-ditch miracle.

He’s always been the hero; the shining star facing off against all evil, the one who can wield all these wild power-ups. They’ve always promoted those who stand against ‘the bad guys’. Why wouldn’t they save his bacon in opposition to a villain like me?

(I know they’ve got a good reason for it. I won’t argue otherwise. I haven’t been the greatest of kings, that’s clearly obvious.

That doesn’t mean it still doesn’t hurt.)

I slammed my fist on the side of my throne.

“Dang it!” I swore. “She was our only outer defense against intruders! With her gone… Kirby’ll be here in a matter of seconds!”

If I’m being honest, I’m not surprised things turned out this way. Kirby’s a resilient guy. Our past adventures and matches have more than proven that.

My little ambush with Kabula there wouldn’t have deterred him one bit. He’d find a way around it no matter what it took. After what he’s been through—what we’ve been through—it’d never be a game ender for him.

But even then… the fact that he still made it, that he’s one step closer to potentially defeating me once again…!

It… It…!

Bandana Dee glanced toward me.

“G-Great King!” he pleaded. “You—You need to r-relax!”

He tiptoed closer over my throne. Concern was all over his face, like it had been all throughout these past few days.

“This is just a little setback! I mean, you’re—you’re still on track to v-victory! So, p-please… stay calm!”

Taking my assistant’s advice, I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath.

In… and out…

In… and out…

My hand stopped clenching the throne so hard.

“I’m calm,” I stated. “I’m calm now.”

I opened my eyes and looked to my trusty partner.

“…thanks, Dee.”

He closed his own eyes in happiness.

“A-Anything for you, G-Great King! Just please—d-don’t go overboard.”

“…I’ll try.”

…I’m glad Dee’s with me for this. I really am. This would be so much worse if I had to fight against him as well.

I just hope this whole thing won’t tear him apart, in the end.

(And me.)

I turned back to the monitors hovering in front of me, now displaying security footage of Kirby and two of his other compatriots breaking through the front door.

I scoffed a little.

Typical Kirby, charging in headfirst.

I have to admit, he’s done very well. Again, it’s barely been three days since I issued that final challenge to him, and he’s blasted through my field troops and ex-lieutenants without so much as hesitating.

Maybe it would’ve been easier if he’d fallen to them.

Maybe.

But now that he’s here, once again storming my fortress of operations…

…well, I can’t say that a part of me isn’t excited to face him for the last time.

With this, I’ll prove that I can really be the Great King that Dream Land deserves. That I’m more than the arrogant, greedy, short-sighted regent that I used to be.

I can be better than Kirby—even if just on a personal level.

…

…I sound pretty petty right now, don’t I?

A part of me still hopes the four Sparkling Star guardians gave him a rough time.

(Something tells me they did, oh so much.)

But that doesn’t matter now.

I gotta stay focused.

This is the here and now.

And I won’t get a chance to end this rivalry on my terms if I don’t put my all into making that wish come true.

My other monitoring Dees turned to me, one of them seeing fit to ask, “Great King—Kirby and his entourage has broken through our first line of defenses. What shall we do, our liege?”

We locked gazes, and I carefully considered the battle plans we had readily available. We had prepared for this for a good long while, and we had quite a number of contingencies in place should things go wrong.

I just hope it’ll be enough.

“You know the drill,” I finally stated. “It’s time to put all of our training to use at last. Send all our servants at them—every last one. We can’t afford to show Kirby any mercy. Set up our battle stations, and wreak havoc! Because today…

“Kirby will be ours!”

“Y-Yeah!” Dee tentatively agreed. “This—This’ll turn out f-fine!”

The little Dee nodded. “Very well, Great King.”

A few of the Dees I had stationed exited the room, others readying their communicators for any immediate commands.

And all the while, I leaned back in my throne and continued to watch intently.

Today’s the day, Kirby.

You better be ready.

[Kirby]

Castle Dedede
Entrance Hall

A bit of nostalgia hit me as I crashed through the front doors, blasting through the opening brigade.

Birdon was screaming in my ear (“Slow down already Kirby what are you crazy—”), but I didn’t let that distract me. I swerved around and around, scattering several of the gathered formations, until finally—

I crashed into the ground, landing on my feet with sword in hand.

Simirror similarly warped off the dissipating Warp Star, his own wand glistening in his grasp.

As for Birdon…

She… just slammed into a nearby wall.

…whoops.

Slowly, she slid off of it and onto the floor, her head dizzily spinning around.

“J-Jeez…” she slurred, stumbling about. “G-Give me… some warning next time… will ya?”

She shook her head and turned to face the path ahead.

There were several types of guards awaiting us: Capsule J2s, dual-wielding Waddle Dees, Burning Leos… and all of them equally as prepared to fight as us.

I pointed my blade at them, and they glared back at me undeterred.

“You’ve finally come,” the frontline Spear Waddle Dee said. “You’ve defeated all of our guardians. Whispy Woods, Lololo and Lalala, Kracko—even Kabula was felled by your hand. Truly, you deserve to be the hero of Dream Land, just as much as our Great King’s greatest rival.”

Greatest rival, huh…

“I wouldn’t be much of either if I couldn’t face off against them, powered up or not,” I replied. Kabula may have been a shocker, and the other four may have been way tougher than they had any right to be, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t deal with any of ‘em.

“I’m surprised you’re all willing to face us like this. Are you really that confident now?”

“Our training has all been leading up to this,” he declared. “So long as we have the backing of our Great King behind us, we will not back down—even against you.”

I hummed. “You’re not gonna let us past easily, huh?”

He nodded.

“I’m afraid this is where your path ends here.”

All the troops got into hard battle stances, several weapons now pointed at us.

“By order of our Great King, you are not allowed to traverse any further through our castle. Surrender now… or face the might of our army.”

Simirror raised an eyebrow.

“So this is our final challenge,” the Mirror mage noted, sparing a glance at me. “Like you said, our esteemed king is not holding back this time. This…”

His eyes began glinting with something resembling delight.

“…will certainly be an interesting battle.”

“D-Don’t you think that just because you outnumber us means we can’t put up a fight!” Birdon declared, flapping her wings in anger. “J-Just watch us! We’ll take you down!”

I myself remained silent.

In a different time, and perhaps even a different place, I’d be cracking jokes and getting all sassy. I’d be grinning and laughing and flying about with joy—

—but not today.

Three days.

The past three days have been leading all up to this.

Dedede’s final revenge.

…time to face it head on.

I spun my sword.

The Spear Dee got the message.

“If that’s the case,” he solemnly stated, “then… you know what we must do.”

We sustained our little standoff for a few moments more.

And then, all hell broke loose.

I rushed toward the frontline Spear Dee and initiated combat with him, Simirror and Birdon doing the same for his battalion.

Sword clashed against spear as we duked it out, one-on-one. He attempted a downward stab at my feet, but I blocked it easily, following up with an upwards climb that sent him spiraling.

He recovered fast, and soon enough, he was tossing a volley of spears my way. I sidestepped back and forth between each one, even batting a few away as I got a little bit closer to the Spear Dee.

Chaos reigned all about the halls: Simirror was fending off endless amounts of fireballs using conjured mirrors, and Birdon was flying and weaving through waves of assaulting Capsule J2s.

Me? I was doing my usual, dancing around the battlefield as if it was a ballroom.

The Spear Dee tried his best anyway, even calling in the rest of his spear-wielding mates to try and take me down… but a few months of training can’t discount several years’ worth of experience. Despite that, they put up far more of a fight than I expected – at the very least, I have to commend them for that.

With the three Spear Dees officially knocked out, I turned to my two companions to see that they had cleared their brigades… mostly unscathed, anyway.

“What the heck kind of ‘shrooms have these guys been taking!?” Birdon panted, breathing heavily. “These guys aren’t supposed to hit so hard! Jeez!”

Simirror patted out a flame that had been brewing on his wizard hat.

“A testament to our king’s renewed determination, let’s call it,” he stated. “But we don’t have time to muse upon that.”

“He’s right,” I said.

Dusting off my blade, I turned back around. Even more guards were coming.

“Sound the alarms!” one of them was shouting. “Kirby has infiltrated the castle! I repeat, Kirby has infiltrated the castle!”

“The whole place must be on high alert now,” I said. “There’s only one thing we can do. C’mon, guys—let’s charge forward!”

So we continued onward, battling our way through a barrage of enemies. Some were more irritating than others—but no matter how many came, it never took us long to take them out.

Soon enough, the end of the hallway was in sight.

“Just a little further!” I said, batting another Dee out of the way. “Don’t let your guard down! Whatever’s ahead, it won’t be simple!”

“I get it, I get it!” Birdon groused. “Go in and beat up some more Dedede goons. Don’t need to tell me twice!”

“Do not fear,” Simirror said, another of his reflect shields up. “I am still plenty prepared for any enemy.”

Eventually, I brought us up close to the doors ahead. With a bash, busted them down with a mighty bang, revealing a curiously empty square room.

No sooner had I come in—and Birdon and Simirror had caught up with me—the intercom in the room suddenly started up.

“Well, well, well, my little puffy rival…” a voice echoed from it. “You’ve finally made it! I’d say congratulations, but I think we both know this isn’t over yet.”

I’d recognize those deep tones anywhere.

“Dedede,” I grimly noted.

“Heh heh heh! That’s right! I haven’t gone anywhere, you three! I’d greet you here personally—but I get the feeling your friends there wouldn’t… appreciate all the efforts I’ve gone to here.”

“You’ve got that right!” Birdon shouted into the empty air. “Show yourself already! Your face has an appointment to make with my fist!”

[King Dedede]

Castle Dedede
Throne Room

“I’d love to,” I lied into the microphone, “but I’m not the only one here to fight. There’s plenty among my servants that want a first bite at you three… and well, who am I as their king to deny them the opportunity?

“In fact, there’s even one coming in now! You’ll find he might be a little… time-consuming, if you know what I mean.”

The Simirror next to Kirby snorted.

“Interesting phrase of words,” he remarked.

Beside me, Bandana Dee shifted around. For a second, it looked like he wanted to join in on the conversation—but at the last second, he backed down.

This… This hurts… doesn’t it, Dee?

…

…don’t worry.

I’ll make this as painless as possible.

“Where even are you, anyway?” Kirby asked me, seemingly staring right into my eyes from beyond the monitor screen. Blue and determined… I wonder if that’s what my own eyes look like. “You have to still be in the castle to be conversing with us like this.”

“I’m waiting in the throne room, you see,” I explained—for now, I didn’t add—“but don’t you think it’ll be an easy ride there. If you can get past all my servants and make it all the way here… then I’ll face you. But if you fall to them first… that’s just as fine. Whichever way the wheel of fate turns… I’ll be sitting here, waiting for the results.”

The end of this battle, the end of our grudge… I wonder how it’ll turn out, in the end.

(And if it’ll be a result I actually want to know.)

I repeated the words from my letter: “Don’t disappoint me.”

“Us, disappoint you?” Birdon glared into the ceiling. “Ha! That’s a heck of a statement to make. You’re the one who disappoints us all the time! Why are you even doing this to begin with!? Is your ego just that inflated!?”

I clenched my fist and looked away from the screen for a moment.

“That’s for me and Kirby to know, and for you to deal with later.”

…the greater populace still thinks of me that way, huh?

Heh.

I’ve never really shown them anything else, have I…?

…whatever. I can deal with that later.

“Now, Kirby… let’s see how you handle this! Come on in, Mr. Tick-Tock—it’s your time to shine!”

I deactivated the intercom and once more watched the monitor in front of me, the giant walking clock entering the scene.

“What the heck is this guy!?” Birdon screeched. “Are—Are those bells?”

…yeah, he’s always been a weird one.

His alarm bells ringing and shooting explosive music notes, Mr. Tick-Tock ran forth toward the three-man ssqua. I soaked in the aspects of the fight in my mind: Kirby was in form, treating the battlefield like it was a second home.

I wonder if—before he ever came here—it was.

…maybe I’m overthinking things.

“…Kirby’s as good as ever,” Dee noted quietly next to me. “He—He doesn’t look like h-he’s having a lot of trouble.”

“I can see that,” I replied. “At least Tick-Tock’s not completely outmatched here.”

The only thing I’m really doingiat this point is delaying Kirby and his Helpers. If my powered-up guardians couldn’t handle the heat, then how much of a chance do my troops have?

I have to try, though. Even if the odds are against me, I have to try.

Whatever it takes, the triumph will be mine.

“I—I guess that’s a little bit of a c-consolation…” he conceded. “B-B-But… it’ll mean that Kirby’ll be closer to us, w-won’t it? I—I dunno if you’ll be able to h-handle it… The battle you’ll have, I mean…”

“I’ve trained several months for this, Dee,” I reassured him. “If—or rather, when—Kirby gets here… I’ll be ready.”

And that’s not hyperbole. Since the Brawl tournament ended, I’ve been doing practically nothing except training. I’d wager the only person here who hasn’t is Bandana Dee, and that’s because he doesn’t fight.

Like, at all.

“It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”

“…I just hope it d-doesn’t mean the end of… w-well, you know.”

…our ‘friendship’, right?

Well… however much of it actually exists, anyway.

I didn’t have an answer for that, unfortunately.

So… I just stayed silent.

Then, I heard an explosion echo from the speakers. Mr. Tick-Tock was down; Team Kirby was moving onward to the next hallway.

Dee immediately started panicking. “O-Oh no, G-Great King! He—He had an easy time!”

“Argh!” I banged the side of my throne again. “Should’ve known that wouldn’t be enough…”

“G-Great King—wh-what do we do next!?”

“We’ll have to rely on the rest of our mid-bosses,” I said. “Together, those four might be able to wear him down!”

I pulled down a different monitor, bringing up individual views of Grand Wheelie, Phan Phan, and the Fire Lions.

“Let’s see how Kirby likes this welcoming party!”

[Kirby]

Castle Dedede
First Hallway

Slice!

Dice!

Slash!

My sword may not be the most elegant, or the most powerful—but in my opinion, that doesn’t matter so long as you can use it well.

Another Spear Dee was sent flying into the wall, courtesy of a good old-fashioned Spin Attack. I dashed to a Chilly and stabbed him upon my blade, tossing him away and right onto a nearby Blade Knight – all while coconut bombs and annoying Star Blocks were descending from the ceiling.

Behind me, Birdon more tiredly sniped at a swarm of Burning Leos, protected from several fireballs thanks to Simirror’s shields.

It’s been… something else, seeing the ‘old guard’ of mid-bosses: Mr. Tick-Tock, Grand Wheelie, Phan Phan… Who would’ve thought that Dedede still kept them on his roster?

It's not without purpose, either; Birdon learned the hard way what it’s like to be used as a living basketball by that elephant. Even Simirror’s a little out of it now.

I’d give them a break, but… they insist they’re perfectly okay. ‘We can take a little more,’ they said—Birdon more stubbornly, Simirror more reservedly.

…they’re with me all the way, huh?

“There’s no end to these guys!” Birdon said, wincing as another fireball nearly got past to her. “Simirror, can’t you do anything!?”

“Holding up a shield is not as easy as you think it is, you know,” Simirror grunted. “I can’t shield and attack at the same time. It just doesn’t work that way!”

“Maybe you should learn how to, then!”

A scratch. I hopped out of the way, narrowly dodging another falling bomb, a new bruise on my cheek from a lucky Spear Dee. He and his friend began to toss a volley of spears my way, and I dodged those too—only to get hit on the head by a falling Star Block.

I have to take them down – but I have to do it while assaulted by basically the entire hallway. How the heck am I supposed to—?

…aha!

This time, instead of sidestepping the spears, I hopped over them – and with my sword pointed up, I managed to get a coconut bomb stuck onto the blade. In fact, I got three in a row. (How… convenient?)

Touching down on the ground, I slashed my sword and shot the bombs off toward the Spear Dees.

The resulting explosion was glorious.

BOOM!

Coincidentally enough, the booming noise got the attention of the Burning Leos – the ones trying to savage my Helpers. It didn’t take me long to take action. Sooner than they could react, I swished and slashed them outta the way, giving Birdon and Simirror a rest at last.

“Oh, thank NOVA!” the bird exclaimed. “I used up, like—way too many feathers there. My wing feels sore…”

“…and my energy is almost depleted,” Simirror stated, following on from Birdon. His finally let his shields down, hat falling halfway down his face. “One does not use so much magic in such a short period of time without tiring themselves out. My reserves are not happy with me.”

“Don’t worry, you two,” I said, “I’m getting the sense we’re almost there. So long as we can make it there, we’ll be fine.” Hopefully.

“Can’t we, like… rest here for a little, though?” Birdon groaned. “There’s simply too many things here. Just so many…”

I sighed.

“You know we can’t do that yet. The rest of Dedede’s troops are closing in. Stopping here would mean dragging this out even more.”

“He’s correct, you know,” Simirror pointed out. “We need only take a momentary break before we march forward.”

“Ah, poop…” she cursed. “Fine, fine. Give me a few seconds, sheesh…”

Once she was all rested up, it was time to face our fourth—and presumably final—mid-boss of the day.

Unfortunately, it was also a tag-team.

Entering the next room, I found myself utterly surprised: Dedede, somehow, had procured two Fire Lions. And they both looked very excited.

“Oh,” I simply said. “This… isn’t gonna be very fun.”

“Gee, you think!?” Birdon exclaimed, throwing her wings up into the air.

Once more, the intercom came online.

“Enough of this, Kirby!” Dedede’s voice crackled. “You won’t be getting out of this one! Face the Twin Fire Lions!”

Surprisingly enough, Bandana Dee’s also faintly called, “D-Don’t go too hard on ‘em, guys…!”

(So there’s where he’s been.)

The two mid-bosses roared at us, and I reeled back from the sheer force of it.

Simirror did his own shadowed version of a grimace.

“…well, this is… rather unexpected,” he blithely stated. “I… don’t suppose we have any pet treats, do we?”

The first Fire Lion proceeded to leap into the air in order to stomp on us, and we got out of the way just before a torrent of flames exploded from our previous positions.

I winced.

NOVA save us all… I’m gonna need a cold shower after this.

What followed was nothing sort of chaos. One Fire Lion began to breathe out fast-firing fireballs all about the room, much to Birdon’s dismay; and the other turned into a fireball and shot himself right at us.

This time, not all of us made it out unscathed: I got hit by a projectile flame as I was rolling, and Birdon got hit by the Fire Lion while dodging a fireball. An almost hilariously pained squawk was all she could scream as several tons of flaming hot doggy slammed into her.

He, uh… seemed to like her, too—like her a lot.

Did he think Birdon was a chew toy or something?

Unfortunately, I couldn’t focus on that question for too long, because this freaking guy didn’t understand the meaning of overkill! I don’t either, but still! It’s way too hot! I can’t put out flames this intense!

Eventually, he did stop, but only because there was too many blazes for both us and him to keep track of.

So this is what it’s like to be in an oven.

Simirror and I met back up, both of us panting all the while.

“Looks like he’s distracted,” the mage noted, lifting up his hat. “He It and his partner. This is our chance to strike back, before we get overwhelmed.”

I nodded. “I got ya. You take the one with Birdon; I’ll keep the other off of you.”

As fast as I could, I ran forth to the lone Fire Lion and slashed at him. He screeched as I followed up with an upper swing, taking his claws and scratching at me with them.

I guarded it with my blade, and he moved on to breathing a wave of flames at me. Only a well-timed sidestep prevented me from becoming fine ash. Afterward, I ran up behind him and slashed repeatedly at his back; he howled and promptly summoned a tornado of fire around.

Fireballs bounced about the arena, forcing me to step back and maneuver around them. Keeping my eyes locked on his form, I shifted my stance and began to charge up an attack.

Once the miniature inferno began to die down—at least, to a point—I got in close, inching my way further and further to him. When at last I was in his blind spot… I unleashed a devastating Twister Slash.

That was it. He was done.

The typical round of explosions and shooting stars burst from his defeated body, and he laid on the floor utterly defeated.

I let out a quiet whistle.

“That was more exercise than I needed today,” I quipped. “Hope nobody’s planning on us putting all of this out…”

That’s one down, and one more to go.

Speaking of which…

I turned my attention to the other Fire Lion in the room. He was currently in the air, jumping after a panicking, fleeing Birdon… and about to drop in right on me.

…oh, come on, I just got done with this!

I hopped out of the way, narrowly avoiding his giant mass trying to turn me into a pancake.

Simirror teleported next to me at the same time, wand letting loose a sharp-looking Reflect Force.

“Why hello there, Kirby,” he casually greeted me. “The two of us are almost done dealing with this fiery ruffian. Would you mind lending us a hand?”

Good to see he hasn’t lost his sense of humor.

“Yeah, I’ve got your back!” I replied.

Sword still in hand, I joined my mirror-based friend in assaulting the big guy. I sliced and diced him while dashing back and forth, with Simirror using his mirror clones to his advantage to maximize our damage output.

We made a fine good team, if I do say so myself.

The Fire Lion would’ve launched a counterattack, but by this point, he was well and truly exhausted. Same as his friend, he fell to the floor, defeated in another explosion of stars.

“That’s the last of the mid-bosses,” I stated aloud. “We’re in the homestretch.”

“Duly noted,” Simirror said.

Nearby, Birdon breathed a sigh of relief. I looked to where she was sitting; evidently, she had been taking a long, long rest. “Oh, good. I’m just so done with all these stupid mid-bosses…”

…I feel you, Birdon. I feel you.

…

So, Dedede.

We’re at the climax now.

You’re out of mid-bosses and guardians. You’ve got no more Sparkling Stars to defend. Only a fraction of your troops are still up and ready to go.

You’re the only one left.

…what are you gonna do now?

[King Dedede]

Castle Dedede
Throne Room

“Oh no,” Bandana Dee whispered. “Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!”

He clasped his hands to his head, voice getting steadily louder until he was practically screaming.

“The—The Fire Lions are down! The Fire Lions are down! Kirby’s beat everyone we have!”

My eye twitched as I glared at the monitor screen as hard as I could.

All around the room, my Waddle Dees were running about as if it were the end of the world. Bandana Dee was close to having a total freak-out himself.

I slammed the side of my throne again.

“Why…? Why is this happening!?” I shouted. “Can’t anyone even scratch him!? He’s barely winded!”

Sure, his Helpers are out of juice – but that doesn’t mean a whole lot.

At the rate Kirby’s going—and I can tell he’s still moving; he’s already in the next hallway—I predict he’ll be at the throne room in T-minus fifteen minutes. And unlike our first battle, I don’t have an elaborate boss rush prepared to stall him.

I’m outta forces. I’m outta time.

The jig’s up.

It’s over.

And though I was fully expecting this, even psyching myself all throughout the castle siege… I still dreaded it. Absolutely. Because there’s nothing stopping Kirby from steamrolling me, too; nothing stopping him from leaving all my training – the training I had spent so long undergoing – completely for naught.

Because, in the end…

…I’m the villain.

And villains always get defeated by the heroes.

Always.

“K-Kirby’s approaching the throne room, Great King!” Dee frantically informed me, on the verge of tears. “We don’t have m-much time left before he gets here! Wh-What do we do!? We’re—we’re not ready for this! I’m not ready for this!”

He tugged at my arm. “Please, tell me… what do we do?”

…I don’t know.

I knew what I was going to do. I’ve had that planned from the very beginning.

But… I have still have everyone else to think about. Everyone else who was unfairly dragged into my petty schemes for revenge. They don’t deserve any of this.

Face growing uncertain, I eyed Dee carefully as he looked to me for guidance.

In fact, all the other Waddle Dees had stopped what they were doing to look at me specifically, as if I was their only salvation. (Ha. Like I could be anyone’s salvation.)

They needed me.

I needed to give them something.

A thought came to me. Wh-What if… What if they…

What if I set them against—

…

My breath hitched.

…no.

No; how could I think that!? I can’t do that! I berated myself. That’s the actions of a terrible king! Aren’t you trying to grow past being someone like that!?

You know there’s only one thing you can tell them now.

…you know there’s only one thing you can do after this.

I took in a deep breath—a really, really deep one.

I got up from my throne and said one simple word.

“…go.”

“H-Huh?” Dee blinked in confusion. “Go? Go… where, Great King?”

“You’re all free to go,” I clarified. “Tell all the other Dees that.”

I gazed into each and every one of my loyal followers’ eyes, an incredibly solemn expression resting upon my face.

“The final order I give to you, as the reigning—” I choked for a moment “—king of Dream Land… is to evacuate the castle, posthaste.”

…is this what Meta Knight felt, so many years ago, during the launch of the Battleship Halberd?

What would he say, if he could see what I was doing right now…?

…ha. I bet he wouldn’t even care.

A flurry of panicky murmurs spread throughout the crowd of Dees.

“You—You c-can’t be serious, Great King!” Dee gasped. “You can’t do this alone! Let us be by your side! It—It doesn’t matter what happens—if you want to d-defeat Kirby, then… we can h-help you!”

The other guys nodded furiously alongside Dee’s declaration, seemingly just as resolute as their bandana-wearing brother.

Oh, Bandana Dee. Dear, sweet, innocent Bandana Dee…

You’re too good for this castle, I swear.

All of you Dees are.

I sighed. This is my last chance to convince them.

“…no. I have to do this alone. This… This isn’t solely about my pride anymore.” Maybe it never was. “I can’t keep sending you and everyone else to continuously indulge in my shenanigans. And I can’t, in good faith, send you after the guy I know will demolish you without even having to think.”

I looked away, determined not to let them see my half-formed tears.

“…I haven’t been a good leader to you guys. I admit that. I’ve been selfish; I’ve been egotistic; I’ve dragged you all into situations that I should never should have forced you to involve yourselves in.”

It hurts, drawing out all my flaws like this – but I don’t really have a choice. I have to get my point across, now.

“…so I’m going to stop being that to you guys. As of now, I’m officially releasing you all from my command. You’re free to do whatever you want now.”

I glanced briefly at my assistant—

—no, not just that.

My best friend.

“…even you, Bandana Dee.”

He started crying himself, as did everyone else. “N-No…! G-Great King…!”

I walked behind my throne and toward the back wall, opening up a secret passageway I had installed months prior, just for this.

“…I’m gonna be heading for the arena now. You guys don’t have to keep yourselves beholden to me. Just run, and keep yourselves safe. Keep yourselves together. And please, for the love of Galactic NOVA… find a better life than here. That’s my final wish to you all.”

I closed my eyes. I didn’t look back.

If… If I saw their faces now…

…I don’t think I’d have the strength of will to continue on.

“So… goodbye, everyone.”

“D-Don’t go, Great King!”

…I’m sorry.

I entered the passageway, and it closed behind me. I couldn’t hear their voices anymore. Whatever happens now… is all up to them.

I hope they make the right call. I hope they’ll find someone better than me.

(Even if the idea of that hurts beyond all belief.)

“…right. Enough games.”

From in the barely-lit tunnel, I got out a sinister-looking mask—a metallic one, covering my entire face save for my eyes. With only a moment’s hesitation, I put the thing on and secured it around my face.

“There’s nothing else to do now—but finish this.”

I opened my eyes, and reached out behind me.

My fingers rested upon the grip of a massive hammer.

“Now, Kirby…” I growled.

“…you pay!”

[Kirby]

Castle Dedede
Last Hallway

I narrowly avoided a dive attack from a resolute Rosely, doing my best not to accidentally brush against a nearby Gordo.

“Jeez,” I muttered, “and I thought I was stubborn…!”

“You’d think,” Birdon panted, fighting off a Moto Shotzo, “that when your leader’s… practically beaten… that you’d… get the hint… and just give up… already…!”

A Condor Dive took care of that guy soon enough, but a swinging Waddle Doo came in right after to keep her busy.

“I can’t even… get a break here…! At all!” she complained.

Close to me, Simorror was batting back two Capsule J2s at once, he was sweating bucketloads every second.

“I concur!” he said. “This is an almost physically painful process! Is there no respite from this!?”

I’d grit my teeth if I had any.

Ugh, I thought, I don’t have the patience to deal with all these enemies right now!

I threw my sword at the Doo plaguing Birdon and tossed an emergency Pep Brew at her. “Birdon! Take this!”

She whirled to face me, subsequently getting it smacked in her face. (How does that keep happening to her?) She reacted quickly, grabbing the item and downing as much of it as she could in one gulp.

“Th-Thanks!” she said, letting out another sigh of relief. “What was that for, though—?”

“No time to talk now!” I interrupted her. I grabbed Simirror by the hand and jumped onto Birdon’s legs. “Fly, Birdon, fly as fast as you can!”

“Okay, okay, I’m on it!”

The colorful bird flew off past the horde of enemies and toward the end of the hallway, weaving past all the projectiles and bodies being tossed her way. We clung on to her as tightly as we could, fueled by the adrenaline rushing through our veins.

Before too long, we crashed through the double doors leading into the throne room. Simirror and I jumped off of Birdon and landed gracefully onto the floor, weapons out to threaten whoever was in range.

But the closest guy there… was someone I didn’t expect to see.

I had thought that he’d stay out of this, for the most part.

When you’re caught between two sides like this, anyone would do their best to stay out of the fight.

And yet… standing between us and Dedede’s throne, alongside a band of equally defenseless, but equally determined Waddle Dees…

…was one of my best friends.

Dedede’s best friend.

“…Dee?” I breathed. “What are you doing?”

His eyes shifted about, and I could tell he’d be biting his lip if he had one.

“K-Kirby,” he gulped. “I—I… I’m sorry, but…”

He stared right into my eyes, a nervous resolve seeming to empower him.

“…I can’t let you pass.”

…wha?

“Wait, wait, hold the phone!” Birdon exclaimed, landing off to my side. “What’s up with you, Bandana Dee? We’ve got an appointment with your ‘Great King’! C’mon, let us through!”

Dee slowly shook his head. “I can’t.”

“But… But why!?” she shouted. “You shouldn’t still be defending him! You can’t fight, and you know what he’s like! So… why?”

“…just a minute ago, you seemed fine with just cheering us on from the sidelines,” I remarked. “What’s changed?”

…

“Great King… He needs us,” Dee said. “E-Even if he orders us not to assist… there’s no way we can let him do this alone. You guys may be my friends, but… he is, too.

“I… don’t want to fight. I don’t like fighting. I don’t know the first thing about throwing a punch.

“But… this is important to Great King. I can’t just ignore it. If it’ll help him, in the end… then I’ll be there to see things through.

“S-So… here I am. Here we are!”

He stared at us with newly determined eyes.

“We are the Waddle Dees! We live to serve our Great King!”

The Waddle Dees surrounding him nodded assent.

“And that means…”

He broke into a run.

“We will defend him to the bitter end!”

Together with his brothers, they charged at us all at once—and it was all we could do to hold them back safely.

Birdon and Simirror, already fairly worn down, were easy targets. Most of the Dees, naturally, chose to focus on them.

“So, this is your resolve,” Simirror mused, somehow still unfazed by the turn of events. “You’ve finally found a purpose worth fighting for. How admirable.”

“I can’t believe you!” Birdon exclaimed, flapping her wings and playing keep-away with the Dees. “You’re—You’re actually siding with Dedede! With. Dedede! What the heck! What the actual heck!”

That just left me with the small, remaining portion of servants… and Dee.

My brows lowered.

“Please don’t do this, Dee,” I begged.

He didn’t stop.

“Kirby…” he said. “I have to.”

He and the others moved to dogpile me. I quickly backed off, but they were persistent, throwing themselves at me with reckless abandon. At the front of the party, Dee was trying his hardest; though he overshot every swing, he was clearly giving his this all.

And I don’t want to hurt him for it.

My sword was way too sharp; my fists wouldn’t be much better. And I don’t tend to bring my Copy Essences Deluxe if I can help it—they’re too much of a potential crutch for everyday things.

“Maybe it’s your choice, but it doesn’t have to play out only one way!” I insisted. “I don’t want you to regret this!”

“I’d—I’d r-regret it more if I didn’t do my best!” he replied. “Great King matters to me, too!”

I aimed my sword to try and deter him.

It didn’t work.

He latched onto the handle and tried to wrench it from my grasp. I held on as best I could, but his fellow Dees were quick to join him on both sides.

“We… have to do… everything… we can…!” Dee breathed. “We… can’t… lose, because…!

“We’re… Great King’s… last line… of defense…!”

I grunted.

This is getting too close for comfort…!

I have to get past them, now!

…

I looked into my friend’s eyes.

“Forgive me for this, Dee,” I asid.

“…huh?”

I closed my eyes and concentrating, letting bits of my Miracle Magic travel into the blade of my sword. All the Waddle Dees’ eyes widened, but I didn’t give them time to recognize what was happening.

Fire!

An explosion burst forth from the hilt, blasting away the gathered Dees and opening a path to the end of the throne room.

I took the opportunity and ran.

A series of shrieks lit up behind me.

There were markings in the wall, the markings of a hidden passageway. The fact that it was so hastily closed meant that Dedede must’ve gone through it.

There’s only one place it can lead to.

It wouldn’t be hard for me to figure out the trigger.

“No!” Dee cried.

I raised my voice. “Birdon! Simirror! I’m leaving this up to you two! Stall the Dees, but don’t hurt them!”

Dee tried to lunge at me—only to be tackled by Birdon, temporarily having escaped her pursuit. He flailed and he flailed, but she wasn’t letting go.

“Hear you loud and clear!” she said. “Go ahead and beat up Dedede! We’ll bring these guys to their senses!”

“Though I would love to witness your clash for myself,” Simirror added, “I recognize that is intensely personal business for you—so I will see you off here. Do what you must.”

I nodded. “I’m putting my trust in you guys! Go!”

I ducked and bobbed my way past a few more attacking Dees, Birdon and Simirror keeping the rest off of me. Making it to the back, I slammed a button on the wall with the flat side of my blade—and then, I ran on into the passageway.

It closed behind me.

This is it.

This is really it.

The final battle.

The destined moment.

Me and Dedede, at the precipice.

…let’s finish this. For good.

And maybe then… we can be friends for real.

…here we go.

[Bandana Dee]

“Stop struggling already!” Birdon said, hanging on to me and rolling about the throne room. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we don’t actually have to fight!”

No way!

“Again—I have to!” I insisted. “I’m—I’m not g-gonna walk away from this!”

Frustrated, she grabbed me by the feet and took into the air. She was flying rather slowly, likely since she was running out of juice—but I still couldn’t break free.

She didn’t get much further before a tower of Waddle Dees stepped in her way. Impacting them forced her to release me, and she fell to the ground, summarily being attacked from all sides by my now grounded brethren.

I took a moment to catch my breath, words echoing through my head.

‘You’re all free to go. Tell all the other Dees that. The final order I give to you, as the reigning king of Dream Land… is to evacuate the castle, posthaste.’

…I know what you’re trying to do, Great King. I really do.

But… I can’t follow that command.

Not at all.

Getting back to business, I went to hinder Simirror however I could. Unfortunately, my ineffectual punches weren’t really doing anything to actually harm him in any way. He put up a light mirror shield, forcing me to call in two other Waddle Dees to help.

We flung ourselves at it repeatedly, putting strain on the mage as he tried to keep it up.

“Ugh… you all are certainly persistent, aren’t you?” he noted.

Thankfully, it shattered soon enough—only for him to warp away before we could take advantage of it. Two clones of himself surrounded him, and the three of them together began firing little mirror shards at us.

We jumped and stumbled about wildly, dodging the attacks as best we could.

I know that we’re not the strongest of beings around. I know that, on any other day, it’d take these guys five seconds to knock us out.

But I can’t let my Great King down here!

With us focusing on dodging, Simirror then warped to Birdon to scatter her attackers. He put up a volley of mirror shields afterward, which she seemed grateful for.

She started shouting, “This is ridiculous! What about King Dedede makes you so loyal to him!? He’s a terrible king! He’s always been terrible! I know this, everyone knows this—I know even you know it! All he’s ever done is steal and break our stuff!”

“O-Of course I know that!” I shouted back. “He’s my king, but that—that doesn’t mean I can’t see his f-faults, too.

“But there’s more to him than j-just that!”

He proved himself to me, so long ago, while we were traversing the galaxy for the Crystal Shards. I’ve been there for his most compassionate moments, and all the times he’s stood unrelenting in the face of resistance.

However flawed some of his goals may be, he never stopped trying to achieve them.

And he’s always tried to better himself as he went.

“He’s so much more now than the th-things he used to be!” I valiantly defended him. “He’s shown us t-time and time again the good that exists in him! You—You may not have seen it… but I have! Me and the other Dees have! He proved his worth to us long ago—

“—so by NOVA’s name, we’ll fight for him through thick and thin!”

All of us Dees gathered up and ran into the fray again, crowding around Birdon and Simirror. Birdon tried to flick us away with her wing, but we were nearly overwhelming her through sheer numbers—same thing with Simirror.

“You… You really believe that, don’t you?” Birdon realized. “You’re not being ironic at all.”

She bit her beak. “I—I don’t even…”

“Do you see it now?” Simirror told her. “How this is more than what you expected it to be…?”

She faltered.

“I… still don’t get it. H-How… How can they still have faith in him, even now…?”

He answered, “It’s for the same reason why Kirby remains our friend. We see the good in him, just as they see the good in our esteemed king. Is it not unreasonable, then, that they’d continue to fight for him through those lens?”

She groaned.

“U-Ughhh… This is… way too complex for my brain right now…!” she said.

(Really? I don’t think it’s that hard to understand…)

“Wh-Whatever! I get it, okay! E-Enough of it, at least! L-Let’s just hurry up and finish this already!”

And so our clash continued.

We were all being knocked around, sure—but we refused to give up. Again and again, we ran at the Helper duo and battered our fists at them, their mirror shields continuously breaking and reforming within seconds.

But as the battle really began to intensify…

…the monitor screens suddenly flared up again with static.

“What the—?” Birdon was asking. “What the heck is…?”

“I see,” Simirror muttered. “So it’s beginning.”

B-Beginning? Wh-What could he…?

We stopped dead in our tracks to stare at the screen, eyes were glued in anticipation.

And then, we saw…

My eyes widened.

“Th-That’s…!”

Kirby! Great King!

[Kirby]

Castle Dedede
Battle Ring

Through the doorway at the end of the passage, I dropped into the battle ring where I had first fought Dedede, so long ago. At least, I’m pretty sure it was the same battle ring.

It was kind of hard to tell, given that everything was dark as heck.

Despite that, I still took the effort to look around, just in case. You don’t come all this way without learning to be a little cautious, especially after the difficult quest I had went through.

Finally, a familiar voice began to echo from parts unknown.

“So, you’ve finally made it here,” it said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

I tensed up.

“Dedede!” I shouted. “Where are you? Come on out!”

The sound of a spotlight turning on was all that answered back. I looked around, and saw a single red-and-yellow pedestal lit up – atop which lay a simple brown hammer.

“Arm yourself with this first!” Dedede told me.

Well, since he asked so nicely…

I dropped my Sword ability, letting it bounce around as a star. I walked up to the hammer and ate it—and within seconds, a white-and-blue-striped headband tied itself to my head, the very same hammer materializing in my hands.

That was when all the lights turned on.

It took my eyes a little bit to adjust to the sudden influx of light. But afterward…

…I found myself gawking.

The battle ring, aesthetic-wise, was the same as ever. The banners were still there; the windows were still clear; even the audience stands were unchanged, minus the fact that they were emptied of people. The arena itself, meanwhile, was now surrounded by a gigantic cage—one that was sparkling brightly with electricity.

…okay, that’s new, I thought. We’re having a cage match, huh…?

“At long last,” Dedede’s voice fluttered into range, “we’ll settle our grudge, once and for all.”

Abruptly, a part of the cage wall in front of me briefly opened, and Dedede’s form hopped through it. He lifted his face, allowing me to see his striking mask—colored gray, except for the three large yellow horns toward the top.

But even more strikingly… was the mighty metallic hammer in his hand, its mallet inscribed with his usual symbol.

It looked heavy and hi-tech in equal measure—

—and it was emitting sparks, same as the cage Dedede had activated.

I couldn’t help but gulp.

He took a step forward.

“No more games, Kirby,” he declared.

“Meet my powerful secret weapon: the brand-new Deluxe Dedede Hammer!”

[King Dedede]

I’ve waited so many months for this.

No, not just months. I’ve practically waited years for this day.

This single day, when all of my efforts would pay off in one big, absolutely gigantic way.

The chance to, at last, beat Kirby for once in my life – and finally overcome all of the worst parts of myself.

Success is the only option I have. There can be no failure this time.

Here and now, I’ll gather all my willpower—and win this match!

“Let’s finish this!”

Deluxe Dedede Hammer in hand, I jumped at Kirby with all my might, slamming down on the place where we stood. He quickly dodged backward, his instincts clearly working overtime—but unfortunately for him, he couldn’t anticipate the resulting shockwaves as easily.

To his credit, Kirby bounced back quickly, rushing back in and to try and bash me in the side. I countered with my own hammer strike, and we traded blows with each other for a bit. He was having trouble matching the weight of my hammer—but he still made the effort.

Just the way I like it.

As he swung in for another hit, I blocked it, held up my hammer—and started spinning.

I spun so fast, and for such a long period, it began to get difficult to tell exactly where I was going. Thankfully, though, I could make out Kirby attempting to flee—but inevitably falling victim to a dozen strikes and then a toss to the arena bars.

“A-AHHHH!” he shrieked, faceplanting onto the floor.

I internally cheered…

…even though everything was rotating in impossible angles…

Is my mask loose…?

I shook my head and reattached my mask. No time to think about that now.

I got back to business with my signature hyper jumps, slamming up and down on the floor wherever Kirby happened to be. He narrowly dodged each time.

“I have to say,” he said between dodges, “you’ve… certainly gotten better… since we came back to Pop Star. Is this… all you’ve been… between our fights?”

As I landed for the last time, he fought back with a close-hand strike. I winced for a moment, but continued on anyway.

“What else do you think I have to fight for?” I retorted. “Every time we’ve fought, at home or in the Smash Mansion… each and every time, you’ve defeated me without fail!”

I raised my hammer into the air, fire engulfing its wide mallet.

“You should know by now that I’m sick and tired of it!”

I let loose a fiery Hammer Flip, just barely missing a sliding Kirby.

(And yet, what exactly is the point of all of this, Dedede?

In the end, is this not simply an attempt to sate your own disgusting ego—? )

Gritting my teeth, I grounded my hammer and opened its lid, revealing a working missile launcher inside of it.

“Take this!” I screamed.

I watched as he grimaced and started running again. Several homing missiles came for him, littering the floor with their explosions. Some of them nearly engulfed him, and it was only through a well-timed boomerang with his hammer that he avoided collision with a few other strays.

In the ensuing chaos, I chose to dive directly into him.

“Agh! Th-That smarts…!” he muttered, recoil sending him back.

He batted back another one of my strikes.

“Is that all this is!?” he demanded. “Just being ‘sick and tired’!? I’ve had you as my rival for years; I know you well enough to recognize that that’s not the full story!”

As he spoke, flames covered his hammer and his own Hammer Flip came a-knocking. It hit hit harder than I thought – it always was one of Kirby’s strongest attacks.

Just as expected from my eternal nemesis—

—who just—won’t—stay—down!

“Who really cares anymore?” I growled. “All that matters now is that we fight – and through my own power, I will take you down!”

Empowered by my will, I opened the lid again on my hammer – and started fighting fire with fire. A flamethrower came and struck him dead-on—

—and as it did, I let my thoughts whirl about.

He doesn’t know the real reason why I’m doing this. He hasn’t seen the consequences of all of his bad actions constantly laid out to waste with every waking moment. And he doesn’t know just what he represents to me.

He’s not just my rival – he’s a symbol. The representation of all of my hopes and dreams and failures and anguish.

It doesn’t matter what type of person I grow into. So long as I never land that final blow and take him down… then it only proves how limited, how pitiful, how truly unworthy as a king I am.

…how much being a villain still defines me.

(And if I can’t defeat him, even after all this training, even after all my efforts…

…then what’s honestly the point of even continuing to do things this way?)

I’ve already done my part to remedy as many of the errors I’ve made. I’ve given my—the Dees their fair due by releasing them from my service. I’ve gradually become less and less imposing on everybody in Dream Land (if that’s even still important).

And now there’s just one last thing to do.

…I have to take Kirby down.

I will take Kirby down!

At long last, I will overcome my eternal fate—

—and finally win!

[Kirby]

I flipped away from the burning flames, glaring intently at Dedede’s determined eyes.

There’s something else in his words. That I can tell. And there’s definitely more to this grudge match than what meets the eye.

But whatever it is, he’s not telling me.

He might not ever, the way things are now.

But I can… exposit enough, at least.

Oh, Dedede…

…you didn’t have to do this.

I should’ve insisted on asking before. I should’ve been a friend, willing to listen and stubborn enough to push on.

The way he’s acting now, it’s like he’s staked practically everything on this.

…maybe he did.

He shot at me again, spinning around with his hammer outstretched—with the way it was electrified, I’d argue it was akin to a thunderstorm—but this time, I knew what to do. I puffed up my cheeks and took to the air, careful not to fly too high, lest I hit the cage’s ceiling.

I watched as he spun about the arena, noting how much more aggressive he was fighting this time. Every attack had all of his strength behind it, every move made to capitalize on as much damage as possible—with no regard to the strain it’s putting him through.

That… can’t be healthy. At all.

(I wonder if he knows it, too.)

Once he slowed down and sat still, mask coming off and eyes glazing about dizzily, I took another chance with a Hammer Flip. He recoiled appropriately, his mask falling back onto his face and his unsteadiness dissipating.

Glaring at me, he resumed his earlier spree of hyper jumps. Again and again, he whammed the floor as hard as he could, leaving me little room to dodge out of the way.

When he was done with that, he aimed his hammer and fired missiles upon missiles upon missiles, a never-ending brigade at his fingertips. I batted them away with my hammer, sending the projectiles right back at him.

But he just kept pushing himself to ignore the pain. With his hammer still sparkling, he started swinging at me erratically and dangerously.

This deadly game of cat-and-mouse went on for quite a long time.

Too long, if you ask me.

It was a delicate dance. We were only narrowly able to keep ahead of one another, trading several glancing blows and slowly tiring each other out.

Both of us were strong, in our own way. We had brawn, technique, and versatility in spades.

But my years of experience—centuries, even—were hard to match.

And Dedede wants so desperately to, even if it’s only a fraction.

That’s… probably the biggest reason why this is so tragic.

I think I’ve got it now.

Dedede’s pride won’t allow him to accept his repeated losses by my hand. He’s not strong enough, he feels—and to him, that’s unacceptable.

So he has to cross that barrier. He has to become stronger; he has to rise above his failures.

He has to validate himself, by overcoming me.

(But it doesn’t have to be that way.)

…

Eventually, we reached a plateau.

Experience gave me enough stamina to stand, but Dedede was tuckered out.

I still had plenty of tricks to try, but Dedede had exhausted his supply.

I could still continue on…

…but Dedede refused to accept that it wasn’t the other way around.

Another swing toward me; another backdrop away from it.

Another vertical slam downward; another sidestep away from it.

He was visibly panting now, sweat leaking through his mask.

“Th-This…” he breathed heavily. “Th-This isn’t over yet…!”

Even his grip on his hammer was slipping, and his stance was slouching over.

“I… I can still win…!”

I shook my head.

“No, Dedede,” I sighed. “You can’t.”

I looked up into his eyes.

“…it’s over. You’re done.”

A frenzied scream exited his mouth. Desperately, he flew at me, completely disregarding any kind of defense—

But I had one last Hammer Flip ready to go.

With a final, fiery blow, Dedede’s mask broke off into two halves. The regent was sent soaring into the air…

…and out of the castle, just the same as our very first match.

A bittersweet bookend to our long-standing rivalry.

I looked at the Dedede-shaped hole in the ceiling solemnly. The sun was setting, turning the sky orange.

It made me feel kind of sad.

This was the way my day would end—that Dedede’s day would end.

…and here we are.

It’s done.

This revenge… it’s finally done.

(…but at what cost?)

[Bandana Dee]

Castle Dedede
Throne Room

I stared helplessly at the monitor screen as the battle ended.

Silence filled the throne room for several solitary moments.

Birdon could only manage a horrified “Oh, dear Stars…” A wing was being held to her mouth, Simirror beside her with his hat covering his eyes.

I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t breathe.

(Nobody else could, either.)

Something bubbled up within me.

Something I had to let out.

“GREAT KING!”

I bolted from the room, running straight as I could to the front door.

There were a brigade of footsteps behind me as I went – but my mind couldn’t focus on that right now.

I—

I have to get to Great King!

Chapter Text

[King Dedede]

Dream Land
Sunset Trail

…

…

…

…I’ve failed.

My coveted revenge, my final stand—

It’s completely and utterly fallen to pieces.

…

It took me a while to get off the floor.

It was a cold, hard, incredibly uncomfortable floor.

But in a way… it was where I belonged.

Honestly, I didn’t want to get up.

I’d let the night wash over me if I could.

But… I promised myself that I wouldn’t run from my mistakes.

That hasn’t changed.

Even if all I have left are my regrets…

…I have to still face them, either way.

Reluctantly, I got to my feet and started trudging the gravel path in front of me.

The setting sun cast a gigantic shadow over the entire area. My head faced the floor, a despondent expressing filling my features. Many a thought spun through my mind.

I pulled out all the stops for this.

I recruited all my old Guardians. I sent out every minion I had. I trained myself and all of us until we reached our breaking point—

And despite all that… it still wasn’t enough.

I laughed bitterly.

Things never change. They never do.

Why do I even try? I fail every time.

There’s no point to this. We’ve been fighting for over sixteen years now. It doesn’t matter how much tougher I get or how much I throw at Kirby; he’ll always find a way to triumph over me every single time.

He’s the respected hero of Dream Land. The lone light holding back all the demons. The one friend who everyone adores.

Me?

I’m just the wannabe king. The bad guy that does bad things and doesn’t know when to stop. Even if I actually do good, nobody stops to take note of it.

They just remember the villain who stole all of Dream Land’s food because he was hungry that one time.

And now, it’s too late for me to change anything.

…who do I even have left, anyway?

I sent all my Dees away.

I’ve alienated all of my subjects.

…I bet even Kirby’s finally given up on me.

How could he not, when I was trying so hard to engineer his perfect destruction in the name of my own ego?

That’s literally the definition of petty animosity.                                                                                  

I sighed.

And I only have myself to blame.

…I hope my Waddle Dees made it out fine, at least.

That gave me some thought.

Will they be okay now? Out there in this world, completely free of my guidance, however poor it may have been?

Did I end up making another poor, terrible decision, dragging all that I care about into it?

I wanted to say no. I wanted to say that they’d be perfectly fine.

But my heart couldn’t shake the feeling of uncertainty flowing through my veins.

I looked up the trail into the vast desert beyond.

It was going to be lonely without them by my side, but…

I’ve been making my bed for a long, long time now.

It’s only right that I finally lay in it.

…

Then, I heard it.

A peculiar waddling sound, right behind me.

I’d…

I’d know it anywhere.

Slowly, I turned my head.

There, I saw… one of my former Waddle Dees, walking alongside me as if it were still his duty.

I stared disbelievingly.

We locked gazes with each other.

…

He gave me a firm nod.

A reaffirmation.

“…you should’ve gone with everyone else,” I said wearily. “You deserve better than to stick with a guy like me.”

To my surprise—subdued though it may be, given my recent rollercoaster of emotions—he shook his head and kept marching onward with me.

It was clear: he wasn’t going away.

In a way… that was its own sort of comforting. I mean, if he’s still here, then… maybe there’s hope for me yet.

…probably.

I don’t really think so. I mean, I failed here, didn’t I?

But it’s not like I can order him away now.

(…after all, I don’t even have the right to anymore.)

So, I let him stay and continued trekking into the sunset. If this is what he wanted to do, then who was I to disparage him?

But as my feet trudged forwards through the rather barren desert with cactuses abound, my face remaining solemnly directed toward the ground… the sounds of waddling became more and more numerous. One by one, the footsteps traversing this gravel path increased in volume and synchronization, as if it were a band performing a well-practiced symphony.

…no.

It couldn’t be.

I turned my head again—

—and my jaw dropped.

All of my Waddle Dees—every single last one of them, even Bandana Dee—were loyally marching behind me, as if the past seventy-two hours or so hadn’t happened at all.

I… I don’t get it.

They saw me today. They saw my twisted determination, my desperation and despair brimming all around me.

And yet, here they are. Refusing to leave me.

Loyal to the end.

As if he was sensing my confusion, Bandana Dee looked up to me—and gave his best impression of a smile.

“S-Surprise, Great King!” he announced brightly. “We’re… We’re here for you!”

I’d try to count how many Dees were here, but I know that’s a number too high for me for my mind to even remotely get to.

“…Bandana Dee?” I breathed. “…everyone? You’re… You’re not gone?”

He got up beside me, practically beaming all the while.

“Y-Yep! All of us are here and a-accounted for, King!” he said. “You’re not getting rid of us that easily! No matter what happens… we’re not leaving you alone.

“I’m not leaving you.”

“…but why?” I asked. “Why are you all still willing to follow me?

“I told you before, in the throne room: I’m a terrible king. Selfish, egotistic, careless, unrewarding, ungrateful—if there’s an unpleasant adjective, it probably describes me.

“Surely, there’s someone better for you guys…?”

Bandana Dee shook his head.

“Of course not! You’re our Great King – and that means a lot! We wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t taken kindness on all of us. Remember the day you first met my brothers…?

…

…yeah, I do.

It was a year prior to my ‘ascendency’—fresh out of my formative years, venturing away from my childhood home for the first time.

I wanted to make something of myself, as many of us so wish. To that end, I had built a little house in sleepy little Dream Land.

But I was seeking so much more…

The sun was shining.

The skies were clear.

The grass bristled wildly in the fresh spring breeze.

For the rest of Dream Land, it was another bright and cheerful day in this sleepy country.

But for me…

…this couldn’t be anything further from what I wanted.

“I’ve been here for months and still, nothing’s happened,” I groused loudly to myself, not even bothering to hide my distaste. “You’d think that I’d find something interesting every once in a while, but no!”

I raised my arms to the sky in frustration.

“I’m so sick of waiting! What does it take to actually become a legend ‘round here!?”

Seriously! I travel the whole freakin’ planet, visit all these interesting places – and the sum total of worthwhile events I had stumbled upon was essentially zero.

I knew I was born to do something great—maybe be a superstar warrior, or something neato like that—

And yet… here I am, nothing more than a simple commoner in this backwaters land.

It makes me so… ugh!

I brought my arms back down as I continued to walk along this grassy path.

“Well,” I huffed, “at least this place is… pretty enough, I’ll admit. Doesn’t completely make up for all the nothing I’ve been through, but whatever.”

Look, it doesn’t even have to be a ‘KERBLOOEY!’ or something. I’ll take anything.

A few crickets chirping differently than usual? Sure, why not?

Just please—let something happen already!

(And then…

…my wishes were heard.)

…

“Huh?”

I noticed something off to the side, something that definitely qualified as ‘unusual’.

Sitting on the sidelines were these… strange, orange-colored creatures. They had tan faces reaching out to their cheeks—and for some reason, they lacked a mouth at all. (Freaky!)

There were a huge number of them, too; more than I can honestly bother to count. And each and every one of them were simply sitting on the ground, doing nothing more than looking out into the horizon.

Wh-What the heck are they doing…? I thought. They’re not… waiting for something, are they?

Hmm…

They… They don’t seem unfriendly. Just a bit weird. I wouldn’t exactly be losing anything if I walked away here…

…but then again, the same thing could be said for if I approached them.

And this did shake things up on an otherwise boring day, so…

…I suppose I should see what they’re on about.

“Heh,” I chuckled to myself. “It’s your lucky day, Dedede. You won’t be bored anymore!”

With a prominent gait, I strutted on over to the brigade of brownies. They didn’t seem to notice me at all.

I can change that soon enough.

“Hey, you there!”

The brownies started turning their gazes to face me, their heads tilted in curiosity at my mere presence.

“What are you people doing here, just sitting around? You all look like you’re having a joint snooze fest, staring all the way into space! You gonna be this dreary all day or what?”

They looked at each other, as if they were pondering the meaning of my words. Eventually, the bunch of ‘em collectively turned back to me and effectively shrugged.

I furrowed my brow. Okay, I didn’t expect that reaction…

I guess I’ll have to take a different approach, then.

“…do you guys need a hand, or anything?” I tentatively asked. “I, uhh… don’t think you should really be squatting ‘round out in the open like this.”

I have no idea what they want, seeing as how they haven’t said a word. Do they use sign language? Do they even understand English?

Again, they shared glances together – what are they, a hivemind? – and shrugged.

It was getting a little grating, keeping up this ‘conversation’.

“…well, you’re all simply an eyesore on this grassy plain!” I declared.

(…what? Don’t look at me like that! It’s true!)

“You’re weird and silent and I don’t even know what you’re supposed to be! I think you should be doing something else, at the very least! Hmm…”

My mind whirled on with ideas, until it finally settled on one that was… mmm, gonna be a little uncomfortable.

But hey, these… squatters have gotten me out of a funk. They should be thankful that I’m even deigning to do this for them to begin with!

“…how about all of you join me at my house?” I suggested. “I’ve got plenty of food for your tastes! Maybe not enough beds… but somehow, I don’t think that’ll be a problem for you! Heh heh heh!”

I mean, if they’re willing to sit on the ground for no reason, they’re probably willing to sleep on the ground for all I know.

“C’mon, whaddya say?”

Anyway, another lock of their gazes, and then finally—finally!—they nodded.

Getting up, they all formed a sort of crowd circling ‘round me, a wave that could probably be seen from orbit.

I looked with surprise at each of them… before a delightful grin sprouted on my face.

“Heh heh heh! Man, you sure react pretty fast to that! This place may be boring as can all get, but I’ll do my best to make things entertaining as possible!

“Now, let’s head home!”

And so, the group of dozens of creatures strong began to follow me back down the trail to my house, marching obediently by my side like they were servants.

Man… I didn’t know I was missing something like this.

Weird though these guys may be…

I think I’d be just fine with them hanging around!

…heh.

Who would’ve thought just a simple act of kindness—well, whatever passes for it—would’ve indebted them to me?

An offer for shelter…

…was that, perhaps, something they hadn’t seen before?

Or… was it that they saw something in me?

Something more than just an arrogant blowhard?

“…yeah, I remember that day,” I finally replied to Dee. “That was… something else, looking back in retrospect.”

The day I first got my beloved servants…

I could never forget that, not as long as I live.

(But that wasn’t all.)

“And don’t forget!” Dee perked up. “You inspired me, too! P-Plus… I might not even be here if you hadn’t saved me during the Crystal Shard hunt!”

There was a giant lump of magma in the background.

We were fighting a giant lump of magma.

“What the heck is this thing!?” I shouted, barely able to steady myself these tiny rock platforms. “And why is this place so dang precarious, anyway!?”

This wasn’t exactly my idea of a good time. I was barely able to keep my hammer from falling into the very hot magma below! What am I supposed to do here!?

“No time to talk!” Kirby told me, jumping over a swinging tentacle of magma. A stone with an electricity field was ricocheting about him, bashing the arm as it went. “Just hit Magman as you can! Preferably without becoming fried chicken!”

“Th-Th-This is c-c-c-crazy!” Bandana Dee exclaimed, doing his best to stay in the center of his glorified podium. “I—I don’t wanna g-g-get burned here!”

“You and me both, Dee!” I replied.

Is this the type of stuff Kirby has to deal with on a regular basis!? I think a part of me’s actually pitying him now—and that’s not right!

I’m Kirby’s rival, I’m supposed to be envying him!

On the mainland, which was sadly far from where the three of us were, Adeleine and Ribbon—the former an artist from two years ago, the latter Kirby’s newest friend—were cheering us on as much as they could, given the circumstances.

“You can do it, guys!” Ribbon called out to us. “Don’t let this lava-weirdo win!”

“Yeah!” agreed Adeleine. “If he’s got a Crystal Shard, just beat it out of him! I can get a picnic ready when you’re finished!”

Well, that’s motivation enough for me!

And Kirby too—but mostly me!

Focusing back on our not-so-little boss fight…

The big monster guy—Magman, apparently (heck kind of name is that?)—bashed his head into the ceiling, causing a bunch of rocks to fall from the ceiling. Of course, all of those rocks weren’t falling in his area; that would make too much sense.

No, they were descending down on us—who would’ve thunk?

Oh come on! I internally groaned. It’s hard enough to dodge the tentacles as it is!

Thoroughly annoyed, I set about hammering away at the falling projectiles.

‘Least they die to any ‘ol attack! And my hammer’s a good cleanser!

Thanks to that, none of them even came close to scratching me. Though they were still falling, I was ready to congratulate myself on a job well done—a kingly performance, if I do say so myself!—

—and then, a startled yelp hit my eardrums.

I turned my head sharply, and found Bandana Dee having an extremely rough go at dodging things. He was jumping all about creation—as much as he could on that thing—but for some reason, the rocks were piling up. Soon enough, he found himself pushed to the brink, barely hanging on by a thread.

“H-H-Help!” he cried. “I-I-I need h-help!”

The sight of it gave me pause, and an uncomfortable, even frightful feeling went down my spine.

Wh-Why do I feel this way…?

Yes, his situation is extremely precarious, and yeah, I’d want to assist him from death-by-too-many-degrees. And s-sure, we’ve been… ‘bonding together’, or so Kirby says, and he’s not really that bad, but… he’s just a Waddle Dee, isn’t he?

He’s not someone I really care about, or even one of my own Waddle Dees. This is Kirby’s job, not mine!

Sh-Shouldn’t he be the one to handle this…?

I turned to Kirby… but he was preoccupied with his own issues. He was busy weaving through a bunch of weird fireball beings—and he was too far.

“No! B-Bandana Dee!” Adeleine screamed, heart practically in her mouth. “He—He’s going to fall…!”

Ribbon looked similarly distressed—she’d probably be rushing in herself, if she wasn’t so fragile herself.

For a moment, I didn’t know what to do.

The rocks had stopped falling on me at this point, leaving me some time to think.

My limbs trembled, unable to budge despite my mind shrieking at them.

Sweat squirreled down my forehead, dripping onto the floor and immediately dissipating.

Another magma tentacle shot straight for him—

—and finally, I willed my body to finally move.

Hammer still in hand, I valiantly jumped from platform to platform, until I slammed down into the dumb arm and sent it reeling. With a free hand, I grabbed Bandana Dee and perched him on my back, saying grimly, “Hang on to your hat, Dee!”

“Y-Y-Your Majesty!” he squeaked. “Wh-Wha—!?”

I didn’t give him too much time to reply. Quickly, I hopped to another rock as Magman sent the one I had been on straight into the freaking ceiling.

I continued to put a little more distance from him, so I could finally get some actual breathing room.

This guy is way too nuts for me…!

“Jeez—that was too close!” I panted. “I need to take a break from all this nonsense, I swear…”

“Your Majesty…” Bandana Dee exhaled. “You… You saved me? F-For real…?”

“Well, yeah,” I replied. “I—I couldn’t just let you boil ‘cause of that magma freak. I’m your king, and that means you’re my subject. And I always protect my subjects.”

And by that, I mean my subjects… minus Kirby.

And no, this wasn’t because Dee was becoming a ‘friend’ or anything. Definitely not.

“Now, don’t let go! It’s gonna be a wild ride, dealing with this guy!”

“W-Wow… A-Amazing…! You’re, you’re like—a great king! A true Great King!”

His eyes sparkled in admiration.

“I’ll—I’ll try my best to do as you say, G-Great King…!”

…that adventure certainly had many ups and downs.

There was a lot for me to grouse and grumble through; back then, I still had a long way to go. Despite that, though, I still lent a hand where I could—and ended up spending a lot more time with Dee there than I had expected.

…I haven’t ever regretted that.

(It’s… nice, having a best friend.)

“…yeah, that happened too, didn’t it?” I recalled. “Saving you from that crazy Magman… You still remember that?”

“O-Of course!” Dee said. “You were—you were amazing then, y-you know? Th-The way you swooped in and hammered that guy… Th-That type of thing’s why you’re my Great King.

“And it’s also why you’re everyone else’s Great King, too! I—I know you haven’t done all good—but you haven’t done all bad, either! You’re more than what you think you are! D-Don’t put yourself down for everything.”

“…that still doesn’t change the fact that I’ve been an unworthy king,” I replied. “Nothing ever will. Everyone knows it. My subjects, Kirby; even you guys have seen it first-hand. I can’t overcome that.”

“Yes you can!” Dee tugged at my arm. “Th-There’s no reason why you can’t be a better king now! Even if it t-takes a long time for everyone to acknowledge it… it’s s-still worth it to try! A-And you won’t have to do it alone!”

He gestured out to everyone behind me.

“…we’ll be here with you. So d-don’t worry!”

…he won’t give up on me, huh?

Not him, not any of my Waddle Dees.

“Wh-What about Kirby, though…?” I questioned. “I started this whole thing to take him down in the first place.”

“I’m—I’m sure he hasn’t taken it personally! He’s a f-friend, after all! Friends understand what other friends are going through. If you talk to him a little… then things’ll change!”

Dee stared at me wisely.

“You don’t need to be better than him to be a worthy person. T-Trust me on that, Great King!”

…

…he believes in that to his core, doesn’t he…?

…

…

…

(I guess it couldn’t hurt to give it a shot, just this once.)

“…alright,” I finally conceded. “I’ll… I’ll do my best, then.”

If he really, truly still has faith in me—despite everything that’s happened, despite all the things that I’ve said… then maybe I need to have a little faith in myself, too.

After all, when you’ve hit rock bottom… the only way to go is straight back up, right?

For the first time in what felt like forever, I allowed myself a little smile.

Where would I be without you?

“…thanks, Bandana Dee. I… I really appreciate you being here.”

“It’s—It’s no problem!” He closed his eyes tearfully, a hand rubbing the back of his head. “J-Just doing my duty, th-that’s all…”

With that declaration, we walked on into the beautiful sunset – and I could feel a heavy weight at last lifting off of my shoulders.

Though my final revenge had failed, and I had been defeated in every sense of the word… I didn’t have to let that define who I am.

I’m King Dedede.

I’m the ruler of Dream Land.

I’m the guy who takes care of both his servants and his subjects…

…and it’s time I finally take that job description seriously.

No more moping around.

No more trying to clobber Kirby.

No more trying to steal food, or inconveniencing everyone with my actions.

Today… is the day I really change.

(There’s just one last thing to take care of, first.)

For several minutes, we walked to the end of the sunset trail—

—and at the precipice to my castle, Kirby stood with his two Helpers, Birdon and Simirror.

Birdon seemed nervous, shifting around uncomfortably as she sat.

Simirror had his eyes closed, seemingly meditating amidst the quiet desert.

In-between the two, Kirby… looked as patient as ever. When he noticed me and my crowd of Waddle Dees… he perked up and smiled.

“Dedede,” he called. “You’re back.”

“…Kirby,” I replied. “You’re—You’re here.”

…has he waited here this whole time?

Birdon jolted at our greetings, and stared at us with surprise.

“D-Dedede, Bandana Dee.” Her eyes shifted away. “It—It’s good to s-see you.”

Simirror hummed as we approached, opening a single eye that gazed at us rather creepily.

“…so, you have returned. And your resolve… much like Dee’s, I sense that it is no longer in constant turmoil. You’ve taken your first step to a new future.”

His eye glinted with intrigue.

“…it has been a long time coming, I say. I look forward to seeing what’s in store for you.”

Gee, does he have to sound as cryptically foreboding as physically possible?

I swear Kirby makes the weirdest friends just to troll me sometimes.

The pink bird sighed and looked tiredly into my eyes.

“…look,” she said, “I know I and everyone else haven’t exactly been the most… welcoming to you, as of late.”

It sounded painful for her to admit it – much like how it was painful for me to admit my own mistakes.

“…but, well… Dee showed me that there is more to you than what I’ve always believed. If… If you are willing to change, then…” She looked away, a light blush coloring her cheeks. “…then I guess I could try to accept you. T-Try, a-anyway.”

Kirby just smiled wider.

“…you don’t have to be an enemy, you know,” he simply stated. “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past; I’ll always be someone to reach out to.”

He sounds so earnest when he says that.

“Do you really mean it?” I asked. “Like… really, really mean it?

“Of course. I’ve always treasured friendship in all kinds. And even though we’ve been rivals for the better part of two decades… I’d love to be your friend, too. After all… there’s nothing wrong with having a lot of good friends!”

He held out his hand toward me, wearing a heartfelt expression.

“So… what do you say? Wanna start over?”

There was a sincerity to his words that I couldn’t deny. It was like a wave of water flowing down and splashing against your back, giving you a sense of calmness in its serenity.

I stared into Kirby’s inviting eyes for a few seconds more.

Here he was, the hero of Dream Land, my rival—and even a travelling companion, at times—offering to put all our animosity behind us once and for all.

The very action that, deep down… I knew I wanted all along.

…

…

…

“…you know what? Sure.” I took his hand and sealed the deal. “Let’s start over.”

I smiled.

“I’m King Dedede.”

“And I’m Kirby—Kirby of the Stars.”

His eyes twinkled.

“Let’s be the best of friends now, alright?”

Best friends, huh?

…I think I’d like that.