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Notes: I didn't see any fem!kirby stories so I made one. Based around the english dubbed anime Kirby: Right Back At Ya! with some reference to the Kirby games. There will be a slow-burn eventual Adult!Fem!Kirby/Meta Knight with minor pairings that include Knuckle Joe/Tiff. Please enjoy the fic.

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All great beginnings start in the dark when the moon greets you to a new day at midnight.

—Shannon L. Alder—

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Fofa, one of Nightmare Enterprise's smallest and weakest monster creations, was tasked with the mundane chore of cleaning up the boss's laboratory today. But he didn't mind. Rather than cause destruction and mayhem like the others, Fofa preferred this type of work.

Swept and scrub the floors, check.

Wipe down the counter tops, check.

Take out the trash and don't look inside the bag or else be traumatized, check.

Fofa picked up the cleaning supplies ready to depart the lab when a flask at eNeMeE's workstation caught his eye. Fofa glanced to the right and then to the left. He was still alone. Surely one little peep won't hurt… Fofa floated closer. Inside the flask was a wriggling mass akin to an egg except the colors were all wrong. The yolk part of the orb was indigo surrounded in a dark icky substance like black goo.

"Interested, are you?" a voice behind Fofa crackled with evident amusement. A shadow overtook him not a second later.

"O-Oh, Master!" Fofa stuttered, dropping his mop and bucket. "Forgive me! I-I was just um… I have just completed m-my work and was a-about to leave b-b-but I…I am sorry to- to- to-" stuttering so badly that he could not finish his sentence.

"Curiosity is not always a bad thing," eNeMeE purred dismissively.

Fofa wisely floated back to allow his maker to step up to the counter. The wicked grin on his mug was an ugly sight. Whenever eNeMeE was in a good mood Fofa wondered what new misery that would bring to the universe.

Running a bony, long-nailed finger across the flask's surface, eNeMeE inquired, "Do you have any questions regarding this?"

Fofa wanted nothing more than to get out of eNeMeE's presence, but the wizard seemed unusually eager to talk about his newest creation. Whoever said ignorance is bliss was a fool. In Nightmare Enterprises every droplet of information mattered. If you didn't have enough power in your fist, like Fofa, then knowledge was your only defense.

"Well… um," Fofa hesitated. "What is that, master?"

"My greatest work thus far."

Fofa had seen many marvelous and terrible creations eNeMeE has conjured up over the years but to call this his greatest work was very underwhelming-

"It may not be much to look at now, but this is underdeveloped perfection! In this flask is the monster destined to lead my armies and destroy those meddlesome Star Warriors once and for all!"

Nothing but silence filled the air until Fofa unwittingly blurted, "That's a monster?"

eNeMeE's thin lips drew back in a displeased sneer. Fofa flinched, fearing he had just insulted his master. eNeMeE always had a nasty temper brewing beneath the surface and an even crueler backhand.

But then as quickly as his rage came, it went. eNeMeE crackled with laughter. "Ignorant child! What you see before your eyes is a perfected fertilized Kiridian egg successfully infused with the DNA of the ancient Vamporia race by my magic!"

A chill ran down Fofa's spine. Vampire DNA? But… they were only a legend!

They were rumored to be long-lived, bloodthirsty beasts that lived for war and conquest. They had night vision, accelerated healing, heightened reflexes, and great strength. Rumors had trickled down to Fofa's ears that eNeMeE has been trying and failed to recreate a Vampiric monster for over a thousand years since he found a perfectly preserved DNA strand in the sacred ruins on planet Mutocaia.

As if reading his mind, eNeMeE elaborated. "I was given the opportunity to test it out when a Kiridian couple came to me in secret begging for an heir. I finally had an egg and sperm to experiment with… Ha, ha, ha! I should have done this sooner! Kiridians are one of the few long-lived species still in existence. It makes sense for the strand of Vamporia to take hold!"

Small in numbers and stature, Kiridians dwelt on their fortified home planet, Crescent Starray. They were a race of fearsome Knights and currently the leaders of eNeMeE's greatest foe, the Galaxy Soldier Army. They were also a very secretive and private people. Always wearing masks, helmets, veils, or shawls in public. For one of their kind to come willingly to eNeMeE, the literal enemy of the universe, they must have been desperate.

"B-But… if our general is currently an unborn baby, it will take years, sir!" Fofa exclaimed and then immediately berated himself, of course, eNeMeE knew this. He probably planned this.

"Yes…" eNeMeE chuckled, sending chills down Fofa's spine. "…however, I am nothing but patient. Those desperate fools came to me for a baby. I will let them have their "child" back, but in return, I will one day have my general-"

"Whoa!" Fololo gasped as he jerked awake.

Jetting up from his pillow into the air, Fololo panted heavily as he took in his dark surroundings. His heart rate slowed as he recognized their living quarters in Castle Dedede of Dreamland. He glanced down to see his other half and sister, Falala in the same shape as him.

"What do you think this means?" Falala wondered. She floated up next to him.

"Dunno, I guess it was just another memory-dream," Fololo suggested.

It was rare for them to have dreams like this but shortly after the discovery of their original form, Fofa, they would have sporadic memories revealed to them through dreams.

"But this one seems different somehow…" Falala insisted. She was right. Their memory-dreams were normally a bit sketchy, but this one was so vivid that both halves remembered every little detail and every word. "…why would we dream about something like that now?"

Fololo shuddered as the echo of eNeMeE's cruel laughter still rung in his ears. "Let's go to the kitchen for a glass of water, Falala," he deflected. "I'm thirsty."

"Alright…"

They both glided out of the room. Very careful to open and close the door gently as not to wake the Ebrum family. It has been 25 years since eNeMeE's defeat. Fololo and Falala liked to think as little as possible about the tyrannical wizard they had once served as Fofa.

On their way back from the kitchens something caught Falala's eye as they glided past the open balcony.

"Huh?" Falala paused, feeling something there. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust. The moonlight made it easy. An outline suddenly stood out against the pillars. Bat! She almost let out a startled shriek only to realize it was just Meta Knight wrapped in his cloak perched on top of the stone ledge.

Falala sighed in relief. He was often found on nightly patrols when Blade Knight and Sword Knight took the morning patrol.

"Hey…" Fololo noticed his sister wasn't following him back to their bedroom. "What's the matter?" he glided over to her.

She pointed to the veteran star warrior. "I don't know why, but I feel like we should tell Sir Meta Knight about our dream, Fololo. Maybe he can make sense of it somehow."

"Well, he does know an awful lot about eNeMeE…" Fololo admitted reluctantly.

"That's because he fought against Nightmare Enterprises while he was in the army," Falala reminded him.

"…" Fololo hesitated. What if it was more to that? Meta Knight was not one to talk about his past, but the grudge he held against the evil warlock seemed deeper and more personal somehow. "Alright, let's approach him," He finally agreed.

They floated outside.

"Hi, Sir Meta Knight!" Falala chirped.

"Fololo, Falala," he greeted them back as he turned to face the pair. "What are you two doing up at this hour?"

"We had another memory-dream," Fololo answered. Turning to his sister, he said, "Falala wanted us to tell you about."

Sir Meta tilted his head. Evident they now had his full attention. They told him everything. His eyes flashed silver at certain intervals, especially when they mentioned the embryo and the Kiridian race. They then bleed red, blood red.

Falala let out an audible "eep!" cowering behind Fololo.

Seeing their fear, Meta Knight began to rope in his anger and let out a deliberately calm breath. "My apologies," his eyes bleed out, slowly turning to a deep orange color. "And thank you for telling me about your dream. Now if you excuse me…" he didn't wait to be excused.

Meta Knight hopped down from the ledge and landed with the grace of a cat on the tips of his toes. Wrapping his cloak even tighter around his spherical form, Sir Meta disappeared into the shadows of the garden.

"I…I hope we did the right thing," Falala muttered regretfully.

"Me too," Fololo sighed. "C' mon let's get back to bed. We got a big party to help prepare for tomorrow."

Her spirits lifted just slightly, Falala chirped, "Yes, you're right-"

"Emergency! Emergency!" a high-pitched voice shrilled into the otherwise blissful night.

Fololo and Falala turned towards the noise. "…huh?"

A yellow canary flew towards them at high speed. "Hey, you two over-sized meatballs!" It was Tokkori. He may be small but big in mouth. "Which one of them windows belong to Tiff?" he demanded.

"The one on the lower west-wing," Falala answered. "But why? What's happened?"

"It's Kirby! He's running a high fever!"

"Kirby's sick…?" Fololo muttered. It almost didn't compute. Kirby has never gotten sick before-

"A fever you say?" asked someone with a familiar spaniard accent. Meta Knight was suddenly standing in their midst on the balcony.

"BWAHH!" Both Fololo and Falala let out startled cries. The same train of thought running through their heads as they exchanged panicked looks. 'How the heck did he get back up here so fast!?'

"Yeah, the poor kid," Tokkori confirmed. "He's hotter than a tin roof!"

"What other symptoms is Kirby projecting?" The sense of urgency behind a simple question was distinguishable.

"Acting kind of delirious, giving off some weird smell I can't put my feather on, can't sit still for more than ten seconds, rubbing up against anything and everything!" Tokkori shook his feathered head. "I told Kirby not to eat that cabbage stew that has been sitting in the back of our fridge for 2 months but noooo he never listens when it comes down to his stomach! Now he possibly has the worst case of food poisoning I've ever seen!"

Meta Knight shook his head with a rueful sigh. "Of course this would happen when Arthur and the rest of the Star Warriors are due to arrive in Dreamland…" he looked up. His amber eyes gleamed like polished steel with determination. "Tokkori, there is no need to awaken Lady Tiff from her slumber. Please allow me to assist Kirby tonight."

Tokkori seemed hesitant to accept the star veteran's help. "But Tiff ordered me to tell her right away if anything happens to Kirby…"

"I assure you this is something she cannot help with," Meta Knight insisted.

"Oh, really?" the bird's snarky tone turned skeptic. "You're better than a medical practitioner?" he challenged. "I flew by the clinic before flying here. The doc should be heading to Kirby's house as we speak-"

"Send Dr. Yabui away," Meta Knight commanded him firmly. "His services will not be needed."

"I think your helmet is on a little too tight-"

"Do as I say!" Meta Knight cut him off. His tone ringing with authority than none of them dared to question. "Now hurry!"

Feathers puffed up in affront, the bird retorted, "…fine, fine! But if Kirby doesn't make it, it's your fault!" Tokkori flew off in the direction of Cappy Town to intercept the doctor.

"Um, is there anything we can do?" Fololo offered.

"We will be glad to help!" Falala added.

"You two go back to bed," Meta Knight ordered. "And speak of this to no one. Should the King or my subordinates inquire about my absence, tell them I am out patrolling the fields and will be back in the morning."

Fololo and Falala reared back with an audible gasp. They had never seen Meta Knight act like this before. Just what was going on? Fololo had half a mind to follow him. He glanced at Falala who gave him the same look and then nodded. Alright, it seems like they were going to pay Kirby a little visit too.

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Next Chapter: Passing the Heatwave

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