Vile: Some days I feel like my story drive is schizophrenic: I randomly get ideas for my stories, and it made me make the first chapter this Kirby fanfic. Kirby: Right Back At Ya! was and still is one of my favorite animes of all time, so this fic is my take on a second run of that series. BTW, there's a major plot element that might be too big of a change for some purists, so please suspend your disbelief, but then again, for anyone who's been on my dA page, you'll already know about this. This chapter is mainly to test the waters and see what you guys think of it. I also didn't know where exactly to post the intro song. XD I'll post more chapters if you guys like it. I don't own anything canon about Kirby, games OR anime, but I do own anything of mine that eventually appears. Enjoy, folks!

Kirby: Right Back At Ya! Next Season

Episode 1: A New Way To Think Pink

Deep in the reaches of space, a spacecraft tore across the stars. Within the craft was a gleaming white star-shaped jewel of some sort. Next to them was a small girl with two wings like a dragonfly, pink hair with a red bow on top of her head, a red-and-white dress, and beige feet. Her blue eyes quivered with fear as she constantly looked out the windows of the ship. Her fears were confirmed as, out of nowhere, a dark energy blast struck the back of her ship, causing a massive spin-out. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Another dark energy blast smashed open the window, and another one caused the ship to rock, making the jewel fly clean out the window, sending it and the ship on two different crash courses... with Pop Star.

A shadowed figure that seemed to have hair and a cape started to chase after the ship, but it was stopped by a different figure. "Let her go!" It said, looking back at Pop Star. "Master has told us about this planet… If we're lucky, we ourselves won't have to lift a finger to retrieve it."

"You had better know what you're doing…" The caped figure growled.

"Oh, trust me. I know exactly how to win over the locals… or at least one of them." The other figure replied with a chuckle.

*Down on Pop Star*

The sun shone down on the field on the outskirts of Cappy Town, the time being three months since the defeat of eNeMeE. Peace had returned to the planet, though the one blemish (in most eyes) was that King Dedede's castle had been completely rebuilt since then. What would our group of heroes be doing today? Well, the football that was just flung through the air should answer that question. The football was caught by Tuff, with Kirby, Iro, Spikehead, Fololo, and Falala around them. "Hey Tuff, I'm open!" Iro called.

"Catch!" Tuff called, throwing the football toward him, Iro running after it.

However, Fololo, who kept to the ground, made a motion like he was jumping and snagged it clean out of the sky. "Mine!" He chirped.

"Oh no you don't! Get back here!" Falala laughed, chasing after her male counterpart. Off to the sidelines were Tiff, Honey, and a third figure that looked like a pink spherical creature about the same size as Kirby, with no arms, big purple eyes, brown feet, a red bow tie, and a jester hat with one blue side and one red side, who was sitting on top of a multicolored ball. He appeared distracted.

"Come on, Spikehead, grab it!" Honey cried.

"Haah!" Spikehead leapt after Fololo, grabbing hold of his feet.

"YIPE!" Fololo cried as he and Spikehead hit the ground, Fololo dropping the football. Tuff rushed toward the ball, but an Inhale swept it up, which cut out right as the ball reached Kirby, the puffball grabbing it and holding it up.

"Aw, man!" Tuff groaned.

"Nice Inhale, Kirby!" Spikehead said with a laugh.

"Poyo poyo!" Kirby chirped.

"Hey Kirby, throw it here!" Falala chirped, holding her hands out. Kirby did this in an unorthodox way: He ate the ball, rumbled a bit, then spit it out toward the floating girl. "Whoa!" She tried to catch it, but it went right past her… toward the armless jester. "Watch out, Marx!"

"Huh?" Marx asked, turning to see the football coming right at him. "WHAA!"

BAM!

The impact of the football knocked Marx right off his ball, the poor jester's foot twitching with a dazed look and a red impact circle on his face. "Ooh… that had to hurt." Tiff mused, getting up and walking over, helping the jester to his feet. "You okay, Marx?"

The jester shook his head (or body) rapidly, blinking. "Dang! You gotta tame that killer Exhale, Kirby! You're gonna take someone's head off one of these days!" He started laughing in good spirits, which was quickly contagious, as everyone else was soon laughing as well.

*Meanwhile*

Up in King Dedede's castle, a welding torch was at work on a piece of metal, King Dedede sitting on his throne watching with protective goggles over his eyes. Escargoon was next to him, also wearing goggles. The torch was then shut off, and the person using it lifted his welding mask. He was an egg-shaped creature with no feet and detached, floating hands with white gloves. He wore a regal blue suit, complete with a white cape with gold trimmings and a dash of purple, the suit itself having gold-trimmed cog designs. He also wore a white scarf with a blue buckle interwoven. His face seemed void-like with a black-to-brown color, and his eyes were oval-shaped, yellow, and glowing. "That'll do it. All fixed up." He was floating in front of King Dedede's old monster-delivering system, which had completely fixed up.

King Dedede and Escargoon removed their goggles, checking the egg-shaped creature's handiwork. "Hmm… Heh heh heh heh! I gotta admit, ya didn't do too shabby, Mabogor!"

"That's 'Magolor', Your Majesty." The creature said, putting his tools away in a blue toolbox and pulling out a clipboard. "Mechanics are my specialty." He floated over to King Dedede. "Sign here, please." Escargoon swiped the keyboard and scribbled his name as well as Dedede's (since King Dedede can't spell), then handed it back. "Thank you." He floated back to his toolbox and put the clipboard away. "My employers will contact you shortly." He said as he picked up the box.

"Huh? What are you talkin' about? You fixed my machine and you get paid. What more do you want outta me?" Dedede asked.

"Oh, it's not what I WANT from YOU. It's what you'll GET from US." Magolor said mysteriously.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Escargoon asked. "This had better not be a lifetime commitment plan!"

"I just have something to say to you. If you feel the ground shake, find Kirby. He'll have something you'll want." Magolor then saluted. "Toodles!" A blue circle appeared underneath him, which then caused him to teleport out.

Escargoon sniffed twice. "I smell a blue-furred rat."

"Nah, that's me. Two weeks of no showers, and counting! Heh heh heh heh!" Dedede laughed. Escargoon plugged his nose as the ruler of Dream Land walked off. Dedede strolled through the halls of his castle, smirking. "Heh heh. Ground shakin'? Kirby has somethin' I want? I think Egg Boy might've lost a bit of brainpower from all those weldin' fumes!" All of a sudden, the king heard a loud BOOM… and he felt the ground shake, knocking him over to the ground. "…Or maybe Egg Boy's psychic!" He quickly got to his feet and rushed back the way he came.

*A Little Earlier*

"Incoming, Tiff!" Tuff cried as he threw the football toward his sister.

As Tiff threw the ball herself, something caught Marx's eye. Looking to the sky, he saw a twinkle before something white came into view… streaking straight toward them. His already big eyes went even bigger. "SPACE DEBRIS, COMIN' AT US!"

Everyone looked up and recoiled in fear. "RUN!" Tiff yelled, her and the others running away from the intended impact zone. However, Kirby, who had grabbed the football, was dancing happily unaware. "Kirby, look out!"

"Poyo?" Kirby wondered. He looked in the direction of the incoming object, and immediately freaked out, dropping the football.

BOOM!

The impact caused a powerful explosion that, while the others were thankfully out of range of, sent Kirby flying into the nearby forest. "KIRBY!" Tiff cried.

"Aw, man… That ain't good." Marx groaned.

"We gotta help him! Come on!" Tuff told them, heading toward the forest with the others right behind him. However, unbeknownst to them, a bright white glow erupted from within the forest.

At the same time, King Dedede's limo drove out through the drawbridge and down the path leading into town. "Heh heh heh heh! I knew Mabogor was on to somethin'! Whatever that flash of light was, it's gotta be somethin' I want!"

"You can't even read your fortune cookies! Why do you think that gearhead knows what he's talkin' about?" Escargoon complained, only to get himself whacked on the head.

"'Cuz when a gearhead's talkin', he knows what he's talkin' about!" Dedede replied. "Kirby's got ahold of somethin'… and I know I want it!"

*In The Forest*

Various calls of Kirby's name were heard as the gang searched every nook and cranny of the forest. "Kirby! Where are you?!" Tuff cried.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Spikehead called, looking behind a bush.

"You up for a game of Marco Poyo?" Marx shouted, hopping across some trees. "Marco!" No answer. "It was worth a shot."

"Keep looking!" Tiff cried, moving through the brush.

"We'll get a bird's eye view!" Fololo said as he and Falala took to the air.

"What was that thing that crashed into Kirby?" Iro asked as he moved through the forest.

"It certainly ain't something good, I know that much!" Marx replied.

Tiff looked behind bushes and trees frantically trying to find the pink puffball. 'Kirby… please be all right!' After everything that had happened to Dream Land, Kirby became a big part of everyone's lives. The thought that he might actually be gone…

Tiff then heard something: "Ooooohhhhhhhh…"

"Huh?" The girl followed the sound of the groan. She heard the same voice groan a couple more times, which helped her follow the source. As she moved a bush out of the way, she gasped at what she found. Lying on the forest floor was a young boy of her own species, seemingly the same age as her. He had very pale skin, which Tiff would've thought meant he was dead if it wasn't for the fact that he had rosy cheeks. His hair was similar to her brother's, but shorter, as his closed eyes were visible. The color of it seemed odd to her: It started as a light pink color on the top of his head, but it had six visible ridges counting that light pink, and on each ridge that went down the length of the hair, the pink color got darker. He wore a one-piece outfit like her own that was patterned with vertical dark pink and purple stripes (with a few light pink stripes), though the shoulders were purely dark pink. Lastly, he had red feet. Tiff quickly rushed over and shook him gently. "Hey, wake up!"

The boy groaned again as his eyes shook before they slowly opened, showing that they were large and dark blue in color. "H… Huh…?" His vision was blurry, but he slowly managed to focus, seeing Tiff clearly.

"Are you all right?" Tiff asked.

"I… I think so…" The boy said, slowly sitting up. Tiff thought his voice sounded a bit familiar. "…Who are you?"

"My name's Tiff. How long have you been out here?"

The boy groaned, holding his head. "I… I don't know. I… I can't remember anything. I don't even know who I am."

Tiff looked at him with sympathy. 'This poor kid…'

"Tiff, did you find anything?" Tuff asked, finding her and the unknown boy. "Huh? Hey, who's he?"

"We don't know. He's got amnesia." Tiff explained.

"You said your name was Tiff, right?" The pink-haired boy asked. "While I was out cold, I kept hearing you and a bunch of others call out this name… Kirby. Who is this Kirby?"

"Kirby's a friend of ours. A strange object fell from the sky and knocked Kirby into this forest, and we've been trying to find him." Tiff explained.

"Oh… but you found me instead." The boy then jumped to his feet. "I'll help you find Kirby, provided he's still around here. You, what's your name?" He was looking at Tuff.

"I'm Tiff's sister, Tuff!" The dark-skinned boy chirped.

"Tiff and Tuff… Nice to meet you both." The pink-haired boy said with a smile.

"Now we just need to give you a name." Tiff said. She, Tuff, and the new boy started to think. "Hmm… How about 'Kibble'?"

"Kibble?" Both Tuff and the new boy asked.

"Well, to be honest, you remind me a lot of Kirby." Tiff said. "It just… I don't know, felt right to give you a similar name."

The boy thought for a moment. "Kibble…" He smiled. "I like it. Kibble it is."

"Then come on, Kibble! We gotta find Kirby!" Tuff said, rushing off.

"Wait up, Tuff!" Kibble cried, him and Tiff rushing after Tuff. "What exactly does Kirby look like?" He asked as they moved.

"Pink puffball, red feet, blue eyes! You can't miss him!" Tiff replied as she headed for another bush. "Kirby!"

Kibble took the idea and started looking. "Kirby! You out here anywhere?" He called. As he looked, he heard an odd noise. "Huh? Is that Kirby?" He followed the noise, but he emerged from the forest and slammed into the grill of a car, with two headlights on the front. He wobbled backwards and landed on his rear, rubbing his face. "Ow…"

"Hey, watch where you're goin', kid!" A voice spoke. Kibble backed up and saw a blue bird-like creature dressed in what looked like regal clothes in the passenger seat of the vehicle, which he noticed was a limousine, with a snail-like creature in the driver's seat.

"Um… Sorry, mister." Kibble apologized.

"That's 'King Dedede' to you! You may not be anyone we know, but you should know the king when you see him!" Escargoon snapped.

Kibble's eyes widened. "K-K-K-K-KING Dedede?!" He quickly bowed on one knee. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty! I don't even know this place! I-I don't even know who I am!"

"Kibble?" Tiff called out. Kibble looked back and saw her, Tuff, and the others rush out of the forest.

Marx took one look at King Dedede and gave a half-lidded look. "Oh, great, King Dedede. What are you doing here, tubby?"

"Why are you talking like that? This is a king we're dealing with!" Kibble cried.

Marx bounced over to him. "Lemme clue you in on something: This 'king' is a jerk. Nobody except for his servants and Escargoon over there respects him, not that he deserves any respect."

"I can hear you, ya know!" King Dedede yelled.

"That's the point, buddy!" Marx jeered.

"We THOUGHT he became a better person, but he's still the same jerk as always." Tiff said. Kibble wasn't sure what to believe, looking back at Dedede.

"Ah, I ain't got time to listen to this! I gotta find Kirby, so outta my way!" The king said.

"What do you want with him?" Tiff demanded to know.

"That ain't none of your business! I'm the king here, so I ain't gotta explain myself!"

The group, sans Kibble, stood firm. "Back off, Dedede! We can't find Kirby anywhere in there! We gotta make sure he's all right!" Tuff said.

"That's fine by me, but some psychic egg boy said Kirby's got somethin' I want, so step aside before I-" Dedede was cut off by a multicolored ball hitting him in the fact. "OOF!"

The ball bounced back toward Marx, who stopped it with his foot. "Nasty slice kick, huh?"

King Dedede was mad now. "Why, you little juggle ball!" He pushed a button on the limo's control panel, causing a large mallet to come out of the car. "Let's see how you bounce when you're flat as paper! Floor it!" Escargoon hit the gas, speeding the limo right toward Marx.

Marx immediately felt his own words biting him in the rear, looking in fear as the car approached him. "Aw, man…" However, he was quickly pushed off his ball out of range of the mallet by Kibble, who quickly grabbed the ball and held it up in the mallet's range as it swung down. Humorously, when the mallet struck the ball, it bounced clean off and swung back, slamming Escargoon in the head.

"Why is it that I'm always the nail for the hammer…?" The poor snail asked as the mallet retracted into the car.

Kibble was glaring at Dedede as he tossed Marx's ball back to him. "You really are a jerk!" He snapped. "These nice people went into the forest looking for their good friend who was struck by a meteor, but all they found was me, a boy with no memory! Can't you feel even the slightest bit of sympathy for either them or their lost friend Kirby?"

"Kibble…?" Tiff breathed.

Kibble let out an angry sigh. "Now that I know just who you are, you lost all respect I might've had for you. But I'm feeling civil right now, so I'm offering you a deal. Back off now, and if we find Kirby, we'll give you whatever it is you're looking for. Deal?"

King Dedede and Kibble had a brief staredown, neither of them buckling. "You definitely got a lot of guts, kid. Escargoon, we're outta here!" Escargoon turned the car around. "You got 'til tomorrow to find Kirby, or I'm ravagin' that forest! Heh heh heh heh!" The limo sped off back toward the castle, Kibble glaring at it as it retreated.

"How did that jerk ever become ruler of Dream Land?" Kibble asked.

"He likes to think he's the ruler, but no one ever listens to him." Fololo said.

"He's just a fat guy with a fatter ego." Falala added.

"…If he's being serious, though, we have to hurry. Unless Kirby somehow wandered off, he's still in there, and we've gotta find him before tomorrow!" Kibble said. "Come on!" He led the others back into the forest.

*A Little Later* *King Dedede's Castle*

King Dedede and Escargoon strolled back into the throne room, Escargoon holding an ice pack to his throbbing head. "Maybe you should've had that mechanic work on the limo so it wouldn't hit me." He groaned.

"Hmph." Dedede hopped back on his throne. "That pink kid sent a weird vibe up my back. Almost like I should know him. I don't know why." All of a sudden, a beeping was heard from the control panel on his throne. Dedede pushed the flashing button, which caused the video screen to emerge from the wall. "Hey, I didn't know Mabogor fixed this thing!"

"He must like all-nighters." Escargoon added.

The screen then flashed on, showing Magolor himself on the other end. "Ah, greetings, King Dedede! Thank you for answering my call. Welcome to Lorxram Express, top servant-delivery system in the galaxy!"

"Servant-delivery system? I don't recall signing up for this!" Dedede griped.

Magolor laughed. "Obviously Escargoon didn't read the fine print!" He held up the clipboard that Escargoon signed. "By contacting me to repair your systems, you were automatically signed up for our free 100-Man Trial Program!"

"There wasn't anything like that in the contract!" Escargoon shouted.

"Well, I don't care if you're more legit than Nightmare Enterprises, you ain't gettin' a single D-bill outta me for any of your 'servants'!" Dedede snapped while shaking his fist.

"Ho ho ho ho, you misunderstand me, my liege!" Magolor chuckled. "We here at Lorxram Express are dedicated to making sure our customers are satisfied. That's why WE'RE still in business, and Nightmare Enterprises went down the toilet. Our 100-Man Trial Program works as such: All you do is pay us for all the repairs I did to your castle, which does come out to a quite sizable amount of D-bills." A payment number appeared on-screen, making Dedede and Escargoon growl. "In return, however, the first 100 deliveries you order using our system will be free of charge. That's right, King Dedede!" He somehow pushed the payment number off-screen and pressed his face against the monitor. "You won't owe us a single coin!"

"I won't?!" King Dedede asked with a grin.

"Not at all! 'It's all for the customer!' That's the motto of Lorxram Express!" Magolor said with a swipe of his hand and a wink. "Our trained monster servants are designed to suit whatever your needs may be!"

"Escargoon, did you hear that? I can order monsters again! Heh heh heh heh!" Dedede chirped, unknowingly knocking Escargoon on the head multiple times with his fist.

"I'm all aflutter with joy…" Escargoon said in a daze.

The point of view switched to Magolor's side of the screen, showing him at his control panel. "Excellent! I'm glad to hear you'll be using our services!" Magolor said, clapping his hands together. "Now then, as per the provisions of the contract, you can't actually order anything today since the repairs were completed today. But contact me tomorrow with whatever you need, and it'll be here before you know it! Ta-ta!" Magolor cut out the transmission, turning around to face a shadowed figure. "Well… that was easier than I thought."

"Dealing with eNeMeE must've lowered his guard." The shadowed figure said. "You were lucky, Magolor. Our scouts told us that it did indeed land on that planet."

"Ribbon thought she was so smart. All life gravitates to Pop Star in the end." Magolor said. "Rest assured, Master, one of the monsters in this Trial Program will retrieve it."

"I trust your judgment, Magolor. You have not steered me wrong before." The shadowed figure mused. "I just hope that HE doesn't get in our way."

"Even if HE decides to fight, the minute we retrieve that jewel, no one will be able to stop you." Magolor assured.

"This… is going to be very amusing…" The shadowed figure mused, letting out a distorted laugh.

*Later That Day*

The group dragged themselves out of the forest, all tired and dirty. The sun was beginning to set. "It's no use… We've looked everywhere, but we still haven't found him…" Fololo panted. "Kirby must not be in there anymore…"

"But… where could he go?" Falala wondered.

"Is something the matter?" A familiar deep voice. The group turned to see, accompanied by his signature Spanish guitar theme, the cloaked form of Meta Knight.

"Meta Knight!" Tiff cried.

"So this is that Meta Knight that you told me about." Kibble said.

"Hmm?" Meta Knight heard Kibble and turned to see him. The blue knight approached the pink boy, his eyes still seemingly devoid of emotion like always. They turned to a shimmering green color as he examined Kibble, but quickly faded to a purple color. "I do not recognize you… Who are you?"

"I don't know, sir. Tiff found me in the forest, but I have no memory of who I am or where I came from." Kibble admitted. "Tiff gave me the name 'Kibble' so that I at least have a name."

"I see…" Meta Knight breathed. "Perhaps Kabu knows who you are."

Kibble was confused. "Kabu is a prophet here in Dream Land. He knows a lot of things we don't." Tiff told him.

"Some of his knowledge surpasses even my own." Meta Knight said.

"Hmm… If Kabu knows so much… maybe he knows where Kirby is, too." Kibble deduced.

"Kirby? What happened to Kirby?" Meta Knight asked.

"He's missing. From what Tiff told me, a strange meteorite crashed into the ground and flung Kirby into the forest. We've searched for hours, but we found no trace of him anywhere." Kibble explained.

Meta Knight let out a gasp, his eyes briefly flashing red. "That can't be good… Even with all his training, Kirby's infant mind makes it likely that he couldn't survive on his own out here."

"Then let's hurry and ask Kabu where Kirby is! Come on!" Tuff led the way, followed by everyone, Meta Knight included.

"You seem a lot more helpful than you were described." Kibble said to Meta Knight as they ran.

"Though Kirby has proven himself strong, he is not yet mature enough to survive the world on his own." Meta Knight replied. "I have helped Kirby greatly against eNeMeE… He is partly my responsibility." Kibble nodded, but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of suspicion at this odd warrior's words.

*Valley of Kabu*

"I already know why you are here… Kirby, the Star Warrior that protected Dream Land from eNeMeE, has vanished from sight." Kabu's voice echoed.

"Tell us, Kabu. Do you know where he is?" Meta Knight asked.

"Kirby's energy has been eclipsed by a new energy that I do not recognize. When I try to sense Kirby, this energy is all I can see." Kabu explained.

Tiff gulped. "…Does that mean you don't know where he is?"

"I am afraid that is exactly what I mean." Kabu replied. Everyone looked rather glum. "However, the Warp Star within me still glows with life. It is a sign: Kirby has not yet perished."

A few deep breaths came from everyone. 'Warp… Star…' Kibble thought. Then, another thought came to him. "Kabu, you said that when you try to sense Kirby, all you see is this new energy. Where is this new energy?"

"The new energy I sense… is coming from you." Kabu said, shocking Kibble.

"M… Me?"

"Yes… I do not know exactly who you are… but the energy that prevents me from locating Kirby is emanating from you."

Kibble gulped, his already pale skin seeming to pale even more. "It's… MY fault we can't find Kirby? Why?! How could this be my fault?!" Kabu had fallen silent. "Answer me, Kabu!" Kibble begged, his eyes starting to tear. Still no response. Kibble fell to his knees, sobbing. "Please… why me…?"

Tiff walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Kibble… I'm sure it isn't REALLY your fault…"

"It is! You heard Kabu! Whatever's keeping Kirby from being found is coming from me!" Kibble cried, sobbing. "But… why…? Why me…?" Tiff couldn't stand seeing this boy crying, kneeling down and hugging him. Kibble immediately returned the hug, crying on her shoulder. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be… It isn't your fault." Tiff told him.

"Yeah, you wouldn't do this on purpose, would ya?" Tuff asked.

"N… No…" Kibble breathed.

"Whatever the problem is, you obviously have no control over it." Marx said. "Chin up! We'll find Kirby no matter what!"

"Easy for you to say…" Kibble said. His sobs had stopped, but he was still in a state of moping.

Meta Knight's eyes briefly changed to a dark gray color before fading back to yellow. "…It is getting late. You should all return home and rest." The knight departed with that.

"Meta Knight's right. Let's head home, everyone." Tiff said, helping Kibble to his feet. "You're coming with me and Tuff, Kibble. You're staying in our wing of King Dedede's castle."

Kibble sniffed. "Th-Thanks, Tiff… I'm glad my first contact was a group of nice people." He allowed himself a small yet sad smile.

*King Dedede's Castle*

"Here you go, darling." Lady Like said as she placed a tray of tea and sandwiches in front of Kibble in Tiff's family's living quarters.

"Thank you, ma'am." Kibble said, slowly taking a sandwich. "Tiff and Tuff certainly have kind parents. That must be where they get it from."

Sir Ebrum laughed. "You're certainly a stand-up young boy yourself, Kibble! Tiff told us how you actually stood up to King Dedede today!"

"Dedede showed no sympathy for them for losing Kirby. It made me sick." Kibble said, biting into his sandwich.

"You should've seen him! He just knocked the hammer on Dedede's limo back without even blinking!" Tuff chirped. "Escargoon's probably still got a headache from it!"

As Tuff laughed from the memory, Kibble munched on his sandwich and looked around the room before spotting something on an end table. Getting up, he walked over and saw a picture frame, picking it up. The frame depicted Tiff, Tuff, a large array of friends they had made, and in the center, a pink puffball with red feet and blue eyes. Tiff noticed him and walked over to him. "Is that him?" Kibble asked, pointing to the puffball.

"Yeah… that's Kirby." Tiff said.

"When you said I reminded you of him, I didn't understand it. Now I can see it. We have the same feet, the same eyes, the same cheeks… even the same pink color scheme." Kibble said. He placed the picture back on the table. "Kirby… Don't worry. I'll make sure Tiff and her friends find you. I promise." Tiff smiled. Whoever Kibble was, he had a good heart.

Then, a knock was at the door, which Lady Like answered. Waddle Doo was on the other end. "His Majesty wanted me to deliver this. Something for a kid named 'Kibble' or whatever it was."

"King Dedede sent that?" Tuff asked.

"I smell something rotten." Tiff said, walking toward the package. Opening the box, a mystified Tiff pulled out a pair of dark pink pajamas. "Huh?" She examined the pajamas inside and out, finding nothing wrong.

"King Dedede said 'the new kid might as well be comfortable'." Waddle Doo said before walking off.

"Hold on." Kibble said, stopping Waddle Doo. He took the pajamas from Tiff, smiling. "Tell King Dedede I said thanks. Maybe he's not such a complete jerk." Waddle Doo saluted and headed off. Tiff still seemed suspicious.

*Middle of the Night*

The entire castle was dead asleep, including Kibble, who was wearing the pajamas Dedede sent to him and was sleeping on Sir Ebrum and Lady Like's couch with an extra pillow and blanket. However, in the castle's throne room, the delivery system whirred to life with no one there, electricity crackling as something was transported in. The lightning stopped, leaving behind two blobs of dark energy. They floated off of the ground and hovered for a moment before taking off through the castle. They darted through the castle's hallways before one found the door to King Dedede's bedroom and the other to Escargoon's room, slipping under the doors' cracks. They hovered in view of the snoring Dedede and Escargoon, a low hum coming from their bodies…

*The Next Day*

"Come on, let's hurry!" Tiff cried as she, Tuff, Kibble, Fololo, Falala, and Marx headed toward the forest where Kirby landed, hoping they could try and find him again.

However, a powerful burst of flame shot out from the forest, nearly missing everyone as they jumped out of the way. "What the heck was that?!" Marx yelled.

"Oh no… Don't tell me King Dedede was serious!" Kibble said worriedly.

"Heh heh heh heh! Well, look who showed up!" King Dedede's obnoxious voice laughed as his limo drove up, Escargoon in the driver's seat.

"What are you up to, Dedede?" Tiff asked.

"Didn't I tell ya? You couldn't find Kirby, so I'm ravagin' that forest to find him!" Dedede said with a grin.

"But… if you're out here… then what's in there?" Kibble asked, pointing to the forest.

Dedede laughed again. "That would be a little new friend of mine…" He held out a hand toward the forest. "BATAFIRE!" At that moment, a huge fireball shot out of the forest into the air, darting around before floating down near Dedede's limo. Two large orange bat wings sprouted from within the flames, two small pointy red ears appeared from the top, and right underneath those ears, a small cat-like formed, letting out a screech.

"Is that a…?!" Fololo started.

"M-M-MONSTER?!" Falala finished.

"HEH HEH HEH HEH! That psychic egg boy fixed up my monster-orderin' device and gave me 100 free monsters!" Dedede told them. "I ordered a monster that could tear through a forest with no problem, and I got Batafire here, a livin' fireball!" Batafire had a quaint smile on its face as it looked down at the shocked kids. However, when it laid eyes on Kibble, its tiny eyes widened. In its own vision, something glowed within Kibble's stomach. Batafire then let out a loud, angry screech. "Huh? What's your problem, Batafire?" Batafire ignored Dedede and immediately dive-bombed toward Kibble.

"YIKES!" Kibble cried, quickly running to get out of Batafire's range. A final jump helped Kibble avoid being hurt when Batafire slammed into the ground, causing a slight burst of flame on impact.

"You all right, Kibble?" Tiff asked as she and Tuff helped him up.

"Yeah, I'm all right!" Kibble replied, looking back. Batafire dislodged itself from the ground, shook its "head", then turned to face them. Shooting into the air, Batafire covered itself with its wings before shooting them out, causing a rain of fireballs to come sailing down.

"Run!" Tiff cried, pulling Kibble along as the group tried to dodge the burning rain.

However, the fireballs also started to come down near the limo, making Dedede and Escargoon yell in fear. "Floor it, Escargoon!"

"I'm floorin', I'm floorin'!" Escargoon cried as he punched the gas, driving the limo out of the path of the fireballs, coming to a screeching halt as Batafire started chasing the kids.

A beeping was heard on the dashboard of Dedede's limo, and Escargoon pushed the button, causing a newly-installed video screen on the dashboard to turn on and show Magolor. "So, Your Majesty, how is Batafire performing for you?"

"He's one firecracker of a monster, that's for sure!" Dedede cried.

"Oh, dear. He used his fireball rain attack, didn't he?" Magolor asked, getting a frantic nod from both of them. "I could've sworn that he was trained not to do that around the person who ordered him."

"That's not all! That flying rodent just went nuts and started attacking people! Not that we're complaining about that, but it almost hit us!" Escargoon cried.

Dedede smacked him on the head. "So what? My monsters did that all the time last time!"

"That isn't right. You didn't order Batafire to fight anyone!" Magolor cried. "He shouldn't be attacking, unless…" He gasped. "You didn't happen to find Kirby yet, did you?"

"No." Dedede and Escargoon said at the same time.

Magolor was silent for a moment. "…He's found it."

"Found what?" Dedede asked. "Answers, Egg Boy!"

"…Follow Batafire! You might find out!" Magolor said, cutting off the transmission.

"I swear, each time we sign up for something, we never get straight answers." Escargoon complained.

Dedede laughed. "Maybe not, but somethin's tellin' me that things are gonna get crazy!" He made Escargoon drive after Batafire.

Speaking of Batafire, the flaming bat chased after the kids, lining itself up with them on ground level before charging forward, Tuff and Kibble dodging. "What is up with this thing?!" Marx shouted.

"Split up!" Tiff cried. The group broke off into three groups: Tiff and Kibble went one way, Tuff and Marx another, Fololo and Falala into the air. Batafire wasn't distracted at all, immediately turning to follow Tiff and Kibble.

Kibble was scared out of his mind as Batafire chased them. "Any bright ideas, Tiff?!" He cried.

Tiff had one, but she wasn't sure if it was a good idea. 'Kirby's not here… but it's the only chance we've got!' She gulped. "…Kabu, send the Warp Star!"

A pulse went through Kibble's head. 'Warp… Star…?'

"WARP STAR!" Kabu's voice echoed as his mouth opened. The golden star levitated into view before shooting into the air, locating Tiff and Kibble before floating near them, enlarging to a rideable size.

Tiff hopped onto the Warp Star. "Come on!" She cried, helping Kibble on board before stepping on part of the Warp Star and directing it into the air, Kibble hanging on to prevent himself from falling. Batafire looked confused before looking at them, screeching in anger before taking off after them.

Kibble's mind was running circles. Something about this item, the Warp Star… it felt familiar to him. And the way Tiff called out for it also sounded familiar. Then, an image flashed in his mind: A first-person view of himself riding the Warp Star. 'Is this… a memory?' Batafire's screech cut him off as Tiff made the Warp Star dodge his flaming tackle, then another one. Another memory flashed within his mind: Him facing a tentacled creature by shooting fire at it, also in first-person. 'These memories… Who am I?!' Batafire then shot up and unleashed another rain of fireballs, which streaked down across the land. One fireball struck a rock that the Warp Star was near, causing an explosion that sent the Warp Star into a spin-out.

"WAAAAAAH!" Tiff and Kibble cried as the Warp Star was sent spiraling towards the ground.

King Dedede's limo sped forward as they watched the Warp Star descend. "Bat's eye bulls-eye!" Escargoon said.

The Warp Star crashed into the ground, sending the two kids tumbling along the ground, the Warp Star itself being reduced to tiny size and landing in Tiff's hand. "Ngh…" Kibble groaned as he picked himself up.

"Tiff! Kibble!" Tuff's voice cried as he and the others rushed to their location. However, Batafire swooped down and drug its boy across the ground, keeping them away with a wall of fire. The flaming bat loomed over Tiff and Kibble, glaring at them.

The limo pulled up to the scene. "Heh heh heh heh! Batafire's one persistent piece of pyro!" Dedede laughed.

"I've wanted to see this happen ever since that Kibble kid backtalked to us!" Escargoon added.

Kibble quickly rushed to Tiff, picking her up off the ground. "Tiff, we need to hurry- huh?" He noticed Tiff was crying. "T-Tiff?"

Her hand gripped the Warp Star. "I'm sorry… Kirby…" She sobbed. "I couldn't… find you…" Then, the Warp Star began to glow, surprising and aweing her as well as the others.

The glow washed over Kibble, causing something else to glow within him. "H-Huh?!" As the glows merged, images flashed throughout Kibble's mind, showing numerous events that had happened. 'All these events… they're events that Tiff told me about! I'm seeing them through someone's eyes…' The images then switched from first-person to showing Kirby taking part in them. 'Kirby? These happened to Kirby…? But why do I feel like it's me…?' Then, another image flashed, showing the white meteorite falling to Earth, Kirby freaking out. However, something ended up flying inside Kirby's mouth right before the explosion that sent him into the forest. 'Wait…' An image showed Kirby lying on the forest floor before something glowed within him, turning his body completely white. 'These aren't just Kirby's memories…' His body morphed, forming a main body, longer arms… and a defined head. 'Th… That's it…' His eyes in real life closed slowly… before opening in a determined look. "Tiff… Get behind me."

"Kibble…?" Tiff asked.

"Trust me." Kibble said, stepping forward. Staring up at Batafire, he held out his arms as if welcoming an attack.

"Hahahahahahaha! Kibble must've given up!" Escargoon laughed.

"Batafire, give us another fireball rain!" Dedede ordered. Screeching, Batafire pulled its wings over itself before unleashing another storm of fireballs.

Narrowing his eyes, Kibble put his arms by his sides and took a deep breath, puffing his cheeks. Then, he curled up his body and rapidly moved his feet before leaping forward… and unleashing a powerful suction breath.

Everyone gasped as the suction breath caused powerful wind around the whole area, Batafire screeching and flapping its wings in order to keep from being pulled in. "No way… That's Inhale!" Marx cried.

"But how can he do that?!" Tuff asked. The fireballs were all caught in the suction breath, being pulled toward the inhaling Kibble, all of them turning into thin streams of energy.

Tiff watched in utter shock as the streams went into Kibble's mouth one-by-one as he kept inhaling. It finally clicked with her. "…It's him…" The suction breath finally finished, the pink-haired boy gulping down what he just ate. The boy then smiled before he leapt into the air.

*Transformation Scene*

Kibble backflipped rapidly in the starry sky before righting himself, and with a glow behind him, a familiar six-sided emerald formed side-by-side at a faster rate than normal, with Kibble still on-screen. The emerald and crown hooked onto Kibble's head, then he pointed the top of his head toward the screen. Flames burst from the crown, covering the screen, then the flames were whipped out of the view area by Kirby raising his head. Kibble's outfit had changed from his striped design to a red-and-orange flame pattern with red shoulders, his feet had become bright red, and his pale skin had returned to the same pink as his puffball form. The transformation was complete when the flames Kibble moved out of the way, rather than pointing upwards, came down to right above his feet and started flowing like long hair, Kibble himself sporting a confident grin.

*End Scene*

King Dedede and Escargoon were whimpering off to the side. "E-Escargoon… Please tell me you saw that!"

"I did, sire… That kid has the same powers as Kirby!" Escargoon replied.

"Not quite, Escargoon!" The boy said, making them realize he knew they were there. He was smirking at them. "I don't just have Kirby's powers. I may look like this, but puffball or not…" He pointed to himself with his thumb. "I AM Kirby!"

"Kibble was Kirby the whole time?!" Tuff cried, himself, Marx, Fololo, and Falala all in shock.

"Kirby…" Tiff breathed. Now she knew why his voice sounded familiar: It was Kirby's voice, only it sounded slightly older. "But, why do you look like that?"

"I'll tell ya later. Right now, I've got some wings to clip." Kirby said, looking up at Batafire. "Hey, Batafire! Wanna dance?" He took a quick breath before unleashing an orange fire breath that struck Batafire in the face. Despite being a fireball, Batafire was clearly being hurt by it. Screeching, the bat dove right toward him, but Kirby kneeled down, causing his fiery hair to start waving. "Burning… ATTACK!" He suddenly shot into the air, completely cloaked in flames, screaming right toward Batafire. The two burning entities impacted each other, but Kirby's flames proved too strong, causing Batafire to be the one who was sent backwards, landing on the ground with Kirby landing right after. Kirby looked at his hands. "Wow… This new body rules! I feel stronger than I ever was as Fire Kirby before!" He looked over at the wall of fire keeping the others out and used Inhale, sucking all of the flames like they were nothing.

"Thanks for the cooldown, Kirby!" Fololo called.

"Yeah, my ribbon was starting to melt!" Falala added.

"Anytime! Tiff, get with the group! I can handle this!"

"Okay!" Tiff said, rushing toward the others.

Kirby then eyed Batafire trying to get up. "Let's see how Batafire likes a taste of his own medicine!" Puffing his cheeks, Kirby jumped and unleashed a stream of fireballs from his mouth, pummeling Batafire further into the ground.

"Yeah, Kirby! Take him down!" Tuff shouted, the others also cheering for him.

However, Batafire was getting angrier with each hit. Finally, it let out a loud screech and immediately charged toward Kirby, impacting him with a flaming tackle. "AGH!" Kirby was flung back a bit, but he managed to backflip a bit. He shook his head. "Now that was spicy!" He saw Batafire raise itself into the air, glaring daggers. Kirby merely smiled. "Come on, can't you tackle better than that?"

"Where's all that confidence coming from?" Tiff wondered.

Batafire screeched again before diving straight toward Kirby, its flaming body going wild with rage. "Come on… A little further…" Kirby mused to himself. He could almost see Batafire's angry pupils as it screamed downward like a meteor. "That's it… Come at me!" Kirby clenched his fists and curled up his body, causing his hair to wave wildly. Another angry screech came from Batafire, Kirby's friends looking scared while Dedede and Escargoon were grinning. "Fireball…" Fire started to cover Kirby's body as Batafire was inches away from him. "INFERNO!" Kirby stood straight up and shot his arms upwards, causing a powerful burst of flames that covered his body. The burst was large enough to catch Batafire in the blast, making it screech loudly in pain as it was forced upwards by the force of the flames. Its body pulsed in and out as it yelled in pain before it finally swelled up like a balloon before completely exploding, releasing a veil of cinders that slowly floated toward the ground, almost like victory confetti.

"HURRAY!" Kirby's friends all cheered in the face of Kirby's victory.

"I'm gonna miss Batafire's cute little face!" Dedede said while bawling.

"The best things always go up in flames!" Escargoon cried along with him.

Kirby closed his eyes as his body glowed white, and when the glow faded, he was back in his normal form. He felt something come up his throat, making him cough a moment before coughing up a weird star-shaped figure that was red with a darker red rim, the image of a flame visible in the center, which floated in front of him. "I wonder what this thing is?" He said to himself. He didn't get a chance to figure out, though, as the star merely vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Great work, Kirby!" Tiff said as the others rushed over to him.

"Heh heh heh… thanks, everyone." Kirby said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Amazing…" Meta Knight's voice was heard. Kirby turned to see the knight approaching. "It seems you have transformed… Possibly even evolved. But I don't understand it: Just a day ago, I couldn't tell who you were at all. Now one look at you tells me you are Kirby. Kabu can now sense your energy again as well."

"I don't know the whole story myself, Meta Knight." Kirby said. "One moment I have no memory of who I am, then I see the Warp Star glow in Tiff's hand, which made something within ME glow… and next thing I know, all my memories came back!"

"What happened with that meteorite, Kirby? Do you remember that?" Tiff asked.

"Yeah… Yeah, I do. I don't know what that thing was… but while I was freaking out, I ended up eating it. Then the explosion happened, knocking me into the air, which also made me swallow it. I landed in the forest, and something glowed within me… turning me into, well, this." Kirby gestured to his new form.

"Any way you can spit it back up?" Marx asked.

"I… never really figured out how to spit up stuff I already swallowed. It might not look too good with this new body, anyway." Kirby said. "I think I might be stuck like this."

"Doesn't sound like a bad thing to me." Fololo said.

"Yeah, since you can actually talk now, and all." Falala said.

"That is true. I also feel a lot stronger than I used to. If King Dedede's back to ordering monsters… then maybe I'll have an easier time dealing with them this time around."

"There may even be surprises lying in wait, Kirby." Meta Knight added. "Not even I know where that new monster came from… but there is indeed a new threat on the horizon."

"Don't worry, Meta Knight." Kirby assured him. "I'll be ready. But for now, I think we've got some, eh heh, re-introductions to make, don't we?" He started laughing, which quickly spread to the others (even Meta Knight managed a chuckle), and a star-shaped iris out panned on Kirby's new head, which stopped laughing for a moment to give a wink before it fully closed.

*Meanwhile*

"Im...possible..." Magolor breathed, watching secretly recorded footage of Kirby facing Batafire. "This was the only thing that could have gone wrong... why did it have to happen?!"

"Why did WHAT have to happen?" The voice of Magolor's boss asked, startling him.

"Um..." Magolor decided lying as a bad idea, and he sighed. "Kirby... the Star Warrior who defeated eNeMeE... He has it."

"Why didn't Batafire simply take it, then?" His boss asked.

"No, I mean..." He showed his boss the footage of Kirby's new form. "He swallowed it."

Magolor's master was silent for a moment before firing a laser beam with a growl, destroying the monitor and scaring Magolor. "I was correct to not underestimate how much an utter fool could derail my plan... It seems we'll be doing more business with King Dedede after all. Wipe your fear off your face, Magolor. You are not at fault here. Make sure whoever goes next is prepared..."

Magolor shook for a moment, but bowed. "Yes... Master."

Vile: And thus Episode 1 concludes, with Kirby now sporting his evolved form. This new form of his is a key plot element, and I will explain it in an upcoming chapter should I get there. I'm not sure I captured the anime's humor that well, since it was one heck of an act to follow. But if you guys liked this chapter and can handle Kirby's change, leave a review for me! I posted a picture of Kirby's new form on my dA if you can't quite get an idea of what he looks like now. If I get enough good reviews, I'll keep making new episodes. Ja ne for now, folks!

Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.