#clocker

Kirby opened his eyes.

Right in front of his eyes was grainy, white sand. The peaceful whooshing sound of waves could be heard. 

Kirby quickly got up to his feet and gave a look around at his surroundings.The waves were breaking on the white sandy shore and retreating back into the sea. Just a short distance away from the foreshore grew brightly colored grass and many trees full of leaves. 

“Hmm?... Where am I?... I... uh...”

There, he finally recalled being sucked up by the mysterious vortex.

“Guess I blacked out after getting caught up in that vortex thingy. What happened to Waddle Dee?”

Kirby began walking around, looking all over the place restlessly. However, it didn't seem Bandana Waddle Dee was anywhere nearby. He didn’t see any of the other Waddle Dees, or any of the other residents of Dream Land either.

Kirby turned his back on the ocean and made his way into the expanse of trees. 

The sound of waves gave way to the sound of tree leaves swaying in the wind. The dim forest extended out far and wide. Kirby continued walking deeper and deeper into the forest.

“It’s really quiet in here...  Wonder if anyone else is here...”

Just as he started feeling just a tiny bit forlorn...

He could see a bright light coming from the end of the forest.

 Kirby gave a sigh of relief and started running for the end.

And then- the moment he got out of the forest, Kirby shouted:

“WOAH! COOL!”

He almost couldn’t believe his own eyes at the sight spread out before him. There were many tall things that looked like pillars standing there, reaching all the way up to the sky. The ground was hardened and perfectly leveled, with a white line drawn on it.

“What a strange town...!”

Kirby broke into a run, absolutely spellbound. 

As he approached the pillar-like structures, he began to notice the many doors and windows which one would be able to enter through. 

Kirby finally realized they weren’t pillars at all, they were buildings.

“Wow, these houses are huge! Who’s living in them? Heyyy, HEYYY!”

However, there was no response.

Upon further inspection, the window glass was cracked, and the walls were covered in cracks. The floors were covered in weeds. 

“Is anybody here?...”

Kirby entered one of the buildings.

Inside, it was completely silent. As he looked around the building, he saw a single car parked at the far end. 

“A car... Is it gonna move?”

When Kirby approached, suddenly, three pairs of ears poked up out from behind the top of the car. Three fuzzy animals poked their heads out.

Encountering this world’s inhabitants for the first time made Kirby happy.

“Hello! My name is Kirby. If you don’t mind me asking, where-”

However, the three animals glared at Kirby and growled:

“Grrrrrrrr...”

Kirby was confused.

“Huh? Ummm... are you mad at me? Why-”

Without warning, the trio of fuzzy creatures pounced.

“WaitwaitwaitwaitWHAT?! Stop, don’t do this!”

Kirby tried to stop them, but the beasts’ desire to fight bore like fangs. With such circumstances, he had no choice but to fight.

“Alright then...!”

Kirby sucked in a lot of air.

His signature inhale.

“Grrrr?!

The beasts, facing this inhale attack for the first time, were frozen like a deer in headlights. In desperate attempt not to be sucked up, they dug their short paws into the ground with a firm stance. 

Whoooooosh!

Without letting up, Kirby continued to inhale. 

It was there that something unexpected happened:

The car behind the beasts, wobbling so much that Kirby wondered if it was floating, came off the ground straight toward Kirby.

Kirby panicked. There was no way something that big could fit inside his mouth!...

However, the moment he was hit by it, Kirby’s mouth stretched out wider than one would think possible. 

Enough to suck in the entire car.

“Nggggg?!”

The next moment, the car was stuffed in Kirby’s mouth.

At such an unexpected event, Kirby darted his eyes about in shock and confusion.

“Ng... gggg... ngng?”

Although he couldn’t talk, he didn’t feel any pain.

Kirby’s form had taken the shape of the car.

This- should it be called Car Mouth?

New world, new ability??

Caught off-guard observing the impact, the three beasts backed up. 

“Grrrr...”

“Gr...”

They were trembling, faces frozen in shock. 

If they were able to talk, they likely would’ve said, “What even is this guy...?” Oh crap!”

The moment Kirby glanced over at them, the three creatures jumped and fled the scene yelping.

“N... ng... ng?”

Kirby, about to chase after them, noticed a few things:

The way he was now, Kirby’s body had taken on the shape of the car. Tires underfoot. 

As he tried to drive, he picked up noticeable speed.

With that force, he broke through the wall, jumping out into the outside.

Road full of cracks, sharp hills, nothing special.

Without axels or breaks or handles, Kirby began his wonderful drive.

~

Bathing in the radiant sun rays, Kirby pleasantly continued driving. Crossing the bridge over a large stream, dashing down the highway, to wherever the road would lead him. He was so happy, he wished he could sing.

As he continued on his merry drive, Kirby, noticing small shadows passing across the sky, glanced up.

More birds than he could count were flying overhead.  

With the talons of their feet, they appeared to be gripping something: Small cages.

And what they were carrying inside those cages...?

Kirby strained his eyes, before the realization hit him:

Inside the cages were Waddle Dees. 

Dozens of Waddle Dees, held inside the cages, were being carried off.

“The Waddle Dees...!” Kirby shouted without thinking, overcome with surprise. There, the car came rolling out of Kirby’s mouth, taking him out of Car Mouth mode.

Back in his normal form, Kirby’s mind was set on chasing after that flock. 

“Waaait!!”

However, the birds moved quickly. Soon they were completely out of sight.

The moment Kirby skidded to a halt, he could hear a faint voice:

“Heeeelp! Help me!!”

Someone was calling for help.

“...that way!”

Kirby began to run in the direction of the voice.

His destination was a small town. 

No- it was what used to be a small town, it seemed. The buildings had all been destroyed, reduced to piles of rubble. Scattered here and there were furry animals like the ones from before, running around. In the skies flew the birds who had carried those cages. They seemed to be hunting their prey.

“H-Help meee!!”

Shouting and attempting to run away, was an aqua-colored creature with big ears. Surrounded by beasts, targeted by the birds- clearly he was in a dire situation!

“HEY!!”

Kirby shouted as he ran toward the beasts and birds.

“Grrrr!!”

“Caaww!!”

The beasts and birds, noticing Kirby, all charged to attack at once. However, when Kirby got serious, no one could stand a chance against him. In the blink of an eye, it was no contest. 

Both the beasts and the birds were crying out as they fled the scene. 

The aqua-colored creature, running up close to Kirby, let out a relieved sigh before speaking:

“Phew! You saved me! Thank you...”

However, his look soon turned glum before he continued:

“But what about those other guys, the Waddle Dees? They were all captured! And taken away!”

“Huh? You know the Waddle Dees?” Kirby asked, surprised. “My name’s Kirby, and the Waddle Dees are my friends. What about you?” 

As Kirby said this, the aqua-colored creature shouted with delight:

“You’re Kirby?! Like, the Kirby?! Oh my gosh, the Waddle Dees told me so much about you! I was thinking about how nice it would be to get to meet you someday. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kirby. I’m Elfilin!”

“Elfilin...”

“Yeah. I’m friends with the Waddle Dees too. We built this town together, and we lived here happily. But then, they came and attacked us...”

Right that moment, a shout could be heard:

“Kirby! There you are! Wait for meeeeeee!!”

Coming in running, waving his arms around wide, was Bandana Waddle Dee. On his back, he was carrying a long spear.

“Waddle Dee! Thank goodness!”

With a spring in his step, Kirby ran over to him. Full of joy, the two embraced each other tightly.

“So you really came to this world too after all! I missed you so much, Kirby!”

“Yup! I was looking for the Waddle Dees for a while.”

“...a while?”

“Yeah. A while ago, when I got sucked into the vortex, and I woke up on the beach- and after that, I’ve just been doing this for this whole time!”

“...Huh? But that’s... uh, Kirby...”

Bandana Waddle Dee stared at Kirby confusedly.

“Kirby, you said you got sucked into the vortex a while ago...?”

“Uh-huh!”

“We were sucked into the vortex, into this world, way more than a while ago.”

Bandana Waddle Dee spread his arms out.

“We’ve been looking for you and Great King Dedede for... I don’t even know how many days at this point.”

“...what?”

“But we didn’t have any clues at all... that’s when we met Elfilin and became friends with him. Together, we built this town here, and we settled in.”

“...I’m sorry, what?”

Kirby stared blankly, mouth agape, absolutely lost. 

It had been so many days since the Waddle Dees got sucked into the vortex that they were able to build an entire town...?

And yet Kirby had only just gotten to this world a short while ago?

“How did that happen? We all got sucked up together.”

“Yeah... I don’t really know, but...” Bandana Waddle Dee said while pondering, “maybe time got all warped somehow inside the vortex. That’d explain why we both got sucked up at the same time and yet came out at different times and places.”

“Hmm...”

Kirby tried thinking about it, but didn’t understand it any better. Regardless, thinking to go along with what Bandana Waddle Dee had said, he continued the conversation:

“So King Dedede’s not here?”

“...yeah. We got separated in the vortex and still haven’t found him yet.”

Bandana Waddle Dee looked dejected. Kirby, with a cheery voice, tried to lift Bandana Waddle Dee’s spirits.

“It’ll be fine, I’m sure we’ll bump into him sooner or later! Maybe King Dedede just went back to Castle Dedede first, he’s probably just waiting for all the Waddle Dees to come back too.”

In response, Elfilin shook his head with a sad look.

“No, I’m afraid. It doesn’t seem like anyone will be able to return home to Pop Star anytime soon.”

“...really?”

“Yes. I’ve always been on this star, but I’ve heard things about Pop Star from the Waddle Dees. Before they came along, though, I’d never even heard of it. I’m guessing that this star and the one that the Waddle Dees came from are in entirely different universes.”

“Different... universes...?!”

Kirby’s eyes widened. 

It seemed he had come to a much more difficult place than he had thought. 

“According to Elfilin,” Bandana Waddle Dee said, “this place where we are now is called Natural Plains. With the forest and the lake nearby, it kinda looks like Dream Land, right? So, we decided we’d build a town here. We had a feeling that the Great King would’ve landed somewhere in the plains here too... but then the Beast Pack showed up and destroyed everything.”

“Beast Pack?”

Elfilin responded to Kirby’s inquiry:

“They’re the guys who just attacked us. The fuzzy ones are called Awoofies, and the birds carrying the cages are Clockers.”

“The Beast Pack’s leader is known as Leongar,” Bandana Waddle Dee added. “I haven’t seen him for myself, but apparently he’s really, really strong.”

Elfilin nodded his head.

“The pack’s basically Leongar’s minions. They’re most likely carrying out all of Leongar’s orders. They destroyed our town and kidnapped the Waddle Dees. If Kirby hadn’t gotten here when he did, they would’ve gotten me too!”

Elfilin trembled with fear. Kirby offered some encouraging words:

“Never fear, ‘cause I’m here now! Let’s go save the Waddle Dees! Elfilin, I promise that as long as you’re with me, everything will be fine.”

“Ok! Thank you, Kirby!”

Elfilin looked at Kirby with a twinkle in his eyes. 

“The Waddle Dees would talk about you all the time. About how strong you are. And after that fight you put up, I can see it was the truth!”

“But I’m wondering, are you still able to use your Copy Ability in this world?” Bandana Waddle Dee said worriedly. “Kirby, have you tried already?”

“Nope! But it doesn’t matter, ‘cause even if I can’t use any Copy Abilities, I’ve gained a new ability here, and it’s really neat!”

“Huh? What ability?”

“Yeah! See that car...”

Kirby looked around, but the car was nowhere to be seen. It seemed he had gotten quite far away from where he had stopped using Car Mouth. 

“I’ll have to show you later. Anywho, it was so cool! But first, let’s all go rescue the Waddle Dees.”

Bandana Waddle Dee and Elfilin both nodded.

“Well then,” Elfilin said, “we should start by investigating the shopping mall.”

“Shopping mall?”

“Yes. A large building located in the North of Natural Plains. Right now, it’s no longer in use. The Beast Pack seem to have settled in the ruins around the land, using them as bases to carry the Waddle Dees off to.”

“That means the Waddle Dees are there...?”

“Yeah, probably. I could see the clockers carrying their cages off northward. Follow me, I’ll lead you there!”

“Got it, let’s go!”

Just as Kirby cheerfully shouted this, from somewhere in the sky, something was approaching, making a humming noise.

Kirby, noticing this, strained his eyes and stared.

It was a yellow star. Simultaneously, Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee shouted:

“THE WARP STAR???”

It made a sudden drop toward the ground, and stopped right in front of the three.

“A small star???” Elfilin shouted in surprise. “What is this?”

“It’s the Warp Star! It must’ve gotten sucked into the vortex with me. Thanks for coming along, Warp Star!”

Kirby quickly hopped onto the Warp Star, and held out a hand to Bandana Waddle Dee and Elfilin.

“C’mon, hop on! With the Warp Star, we can get to anywhere in no time!”

“Gotcha!”

Bandana Waddle Dee eagerly latched on to the Warp Star. Elfilin timidly boarded, clinging on to the Warp Star tightly. 

“S-So I’m guessing... this thing flies?”

“Of course! Now, here we go!!”

Just as Kirby shouted this, the Warp Star began to speed off with its usual hum. 

Though he was scared at first, Elfilin, getting used to it quickly, cheered:

“Woah, this is awesome! We’re going so fast! Like this, we’re gonna reach the shopping mall in no time at all!”

However, out of nowhere, Bandana Waddle Dee shouted:

“Wait a minute! Warp Star, stop!!”

The Warp Star came to a sudden halt in midair. 

Elfilin, who was nearly thrown off, screamed:

“Hyaaaaa!! Wh-What?! What’s wrong, Bandana??”

“I think I just heard something. Sounded like a voice.”

Bandana Waddle Dee looked around at the surroundings.

Kirby heard it too. From somewhere in the distance, voices were faintly resounding.

“The voices... the Waddle Dees!”

Bandana Waddle Dee nodded.

“They’re all calling for help, they’re crying.”

“They’re being held somewhere nearby. We gotta look for them!”

The Warp Star flew lower and continued slowly.

Bandana Waddle Dee pointed at the tunnel that could be seen up ahead.

“The noise is coming from that tunnel!” he said.

“Got it! Let’s go!”

Kirby and co. hopped off the Warp Star.

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