--

Dedede dismissed the tiny bird with a wave of his hand, watching as it flew off with cage in tow. The Waddle Dee inside the cage cried out as it was lifted away, making the penguin pause for a moment.

Why...why did this make him feel sad? There wasn't any reason he could remember for it (he was only doing what he'd been instructed), so why did it seem...wrong?

...It didn't matter.

All that mattered was fulfilling his task.

(Nothing else is important.)

The sound of footsteps on the stone floor behind him shook him back to reality. Tightening the grip on his hammer, Dedede turned to face the intrusion, ready to fight.

And then he stopped, as something about the scene before him threw him off. Something was wrong.

There was a Dee with a bright blue bandana on its head, holding a spear. And a light blue rodent-looking thing (weren't we all looking for this one?).

But what made him pause was the small, pink puffball staring right at him. It seemed...familiar?

There was something he was forgetting here, something important, he just knew it...His head was starting to hurt...Shaking it off, he raised his weapon, eyes narrowed.

"Who are ya?" Dedede demanded sharply, pointing his hammer towards the pink blob threateningly. "What d'ya want?"

The figure's face fell, like that was something it hadn't wanted to hear. "...Dedede? What are you--"

The penguin narrowed his eyes further. "And how'd ya know my name?"

"Your...but, your majesty, it's us!" the little guy in the bandana piped up. "Don't you...don't you recognize..."

('Your majesty?' Does the guy think I'm royalty or something?)

And why did that feel right? He wasn't a king or anything...was he?

Everything felt fuzzy for a second. (No, it's probably just a mistake.)

"I dunno what you're talking about, kid. I think I'd know if I've seen ya guys before..."

..Right?

(I would know, right?)

The pink puffball looked distraught. "You mean you really don't remember?" it asked him, a pleading kind of look in its eyes. "You don't remember us?"

"What are you talking about?!" (Why would I remember someone I've never met?)

"Come on!" the bandana guy said desperately. "You know us, it's me and Kirby!"

Dedede froze.

That name...

He held his forehead as it started to hurt again. (Why...why does that sound so familiar?)

Something was wrong.

Something was wrong.

(No, ignore it, it doesn't matter--)

But it felt like it did.

Why was that name so familiar?!

(IGNORE IT)

The pain was too much, he could barely think--

Adjusting his grip on his hammer, he tried focusing on the only thing here that wasn't messing with his head to look at.

(...That blue thing, that's number one priority or something, right?)

"...Hey, floating mouse guy. It's been looking for you."

...Were those last words even his own?

It seemed scared by his words and ducked behind Kirby, who took up a protective stance.

"What do you want with Elfilin?" the puffball demanded, their expression hardening.

"None of your concern," the penguin harshly replied, trying to ignore how wrong this all felt. "So get out of the way."

"No!"

"I don't wanna fight you, your majesty, but I will!" the bandana guy added, holding their spear at the ready.

King Dedede growled, glaring at the two (standing in his way ). "Don't say I didn't warn you!"

–

“This should keep you more compliant.”

(No–get it off of me–I don’t–)

He struggled, trying to pull the wooden mask off of his face, but to no avail. He didn’t want to forget again, please–

The whir of machinery churned in the background, metal grinding against metal, somehow sounding both far away and deafening at the same time.

“Now, you will buy us time against the intruders.”

(No, not–not them, don’t make me fight them–)

He barely registered the elevator doors closing in front of him, leaving him alone as the other being left.

(Leaving him to his post.)

What–no, this wasn’t his–he didn’t–

There was something about this mask, he had to get it off, it was messing with his head even more than he had been before–Why wouldn’t it come off?!

The mask just wouldn't budge.

(I have to–I have to get this off–get it off–GET IT OFF OF ME–)

Everything seemed to grow fuzzier with each passing second, and it felt harder and harder for him to even think clearly.

This was wrong. This was very wrong.

There were footsteps behind him, clattering against the metallic floor.

(I–no–I don't want to–to fight them–no–please–don't make me–I don't–please–PLEASE–)

...

...

...Who?

Who...was it, that he didn't want to fight?

He...

He...couldn't remember...

...It...well...it probably wasn't important...

(No, not important.)

...Yeah...it...it wasn't important...didn't matter...

It all seemed fuzzy now, like static.

Static. That was all he could seem to register anymore. He couldn't think. There was only static, and nothing else.

Nothing else but the order he'd been given.

(To stop the intruders.)

That was all that mattered anymore.

He turned around, dual hammers at the ready, facing (those who had dared to interfere time and time again).

In the back of his mind, he could register the two small figures crying something out, maybe a name, but he didn't recognize it. (Besides, whatever it was probably didn't matter, did it.)

Everything had become just a blur.

The white noise was deafening.

All he could see was red.

There was only one thought in his mind anymore.

Destroy them.

D̶̲͛̍̌͋̕͝E̵͉̭̣͖̦̺̓̌Ŝ̷̫͇͙̣̀̈́͛̓̐T̷̘̈͝R̶͓̥̳̬̎͌̌̀̅̅Ö̸͕̯̠̘́̿́ͅY̷̧̗͛ͅ ̵̧͉̉T̸̯͖͎̼̦̄́̚̚H̵̡̜̮͙̗͛͌E̶̤̳̞̜̥͑̑͌͒̒́͜͝M̷̦̫̤̟̿̊–

Everything else faded to the background as the command echoed through his head.

Yes.

He would destroy them.

Furiously, he began swinging at the two intruders, hammers ablaze. Somehow, however, they dodged, and the momentum nearly spun him to the ground.

Shaking off the dizziness, he got back to his feet, only to pause. He could only see one of the figures standing there. Where...

He got his answer as he was suddenly knocked off-balance from behind, and turned to find the other one had managed to sneak behind him and land a strike.

He snarled and swung back at them in return, but once again hit nothing but empty air.

They would pay for this.

Angry, he resumed his firey onslaught and kept it up as best he could. But his opponents wouldn't stand down, wouldn't let themselves be hit, wouldn't flinch.

They wouldn't stop hitting back, and each time they only hit harder.

Soon, it felt as if the world was spinning, and he could barely stand.

He fell to the ground, keeling over onto all fours.

Fury overcame him, and he could feel nothing else.

Letting out a low growl, he looked up to see his targets just...standing there.

...

No, not his targets.

His prey.

...

...

...

Something inside him snapped.

...

No rational thought remained.

Only instinct.

Only pure, primal, feral instinct.

They were prey.

He was the hunter.

Hunt.

Devour.

K̸͉̀̅̕ͅį̴̮͉̙̦͈̋l̷̫̳̤̲̮͌̽́̓ḽ̸̳̈́̆̓͝.

The growl became a guttural roar.