Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The day had started out just fine. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, no eltrich horrors were at the doorstep waiting to strike, and no one was being possessed.
It was a very peaceful day in Dreamland!
Around this time of day, the castle would be filled to the brim with busy waddle dees running from room to room and the royal knight's would be patrolling around the castle. Dedede would be walking down the hallways observing the waddle dees around him.

And there would also be a very bothersome Kirby wondering around.

The pink puffball zipped and hopped along the royal corridors in hopes of finding Dedede. The monarch had promised a nice picnic today, and when it comes to food, Kirby isn't the type to kid around with promises like these. He hoped Dedede kept his word.

Amongst the hustle and bustle of the castle dees, Kirby spotted a familiar blue sticking out from the crowd. He smirked and started to sprint full speed towards the unsuspecting dee.

"BANDANA!"

Bandana dee turned around and, with no time to react, he was tackled to the floor by Kirby.

"Good afternoon Kirby." Bandana casually greeted.
He lightly pushed Kirby off of him so he could dust himself off.

"Hey Bandana! Me and Dedede are going to have a picnic today! Well, once I find him. Wanna tag along?"

"Aw I'd love to Kirby, but I just ate."

"Well you don't have to eat, you can just hang out!"

Bandana sighs. "Well I have nothing better to do. Aw why not, I'll tag along!"

Kirby squealed. "AWESOME! Now we just have to find Dedede!"

"Oh, you just missed him Kirby. He left to go take a walk about 10 minutes ago."

"Darn....that means we'll have to go and find him! Come on!"

"But can't we just wai-"

"No time!" Kirby pulled Bandana with him as they set off to go find Dedede. "Where does Dedede usually walk to?" The dee tries his best as he scrambles to fix the piece of cloth on his head. "Usually the King would walk through the trails of Whispy Woods!"

And they set their direction towards Whispy Woods.

-----

It was quite calming really. Most people would find habits like walking to be boring, but to Dedede it was really the opposite. You get to take a break from socializing and step back to enjoy the nice little things in life, like how gorgeous some wildflowers looked when in bloom or how the sunrays beam through the trees, illuminating the forest floor. It was things like these that Dedede loves to spot while on his hikes.
He stops in front of a big oak tree to check the time on his phone. "I gotta start preparing for that picnic I promised Kirby, but I still have a little time."
He was going to continue on his hike, however he seemed to have spotted something out of the ordinary that caused him to do a double take. In the distance was a star shaped portal, similar to the portal for the forgotten land, but this one wasn't life threatening, sucking everything in its presence. It was just there.
Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he changed his course and cautiously took a step forward. Once he began to get a closer look, he was able to identify the portal better. For one thing, the portal had an unusual pink hue to its glow and it had almost an eerie angelic hum to it.
"How odd..."
He wanted to test something. Dedede picked up a nearby pebble and chucked it at the opening.

Nothing happened.

The glow started to lure Dedede closer. He slowly stuck his arm in its opening. Still nothing. Dedede shook his head, snapping himself out of whatever trance he was in. "No, this thing could be very dangerous. I have to warn everyone immedia-"
With no time to turn around, a strong gust of wind had caused Dedede to lose balance and topple over into the portal.

In a quick blur, he saw the opening close behind him. White light blocked his vision as he began to spiral closer to unconsciousness.

Chapter Text

The beautiful blue afternoon sky began to morph into shades of orange and red as the sun began to set upon Cappytown. Around this time in the evening, cappies would be closing down their shops and businesses so that they can go home to either an empty tranquil home or a lively family awaiting for their return. They all say their goodbyes and split paths to go their own ways. Some cappies on the other hand would still be at their jobs, either cleaning up, counting money, or both.

Inside a quaint little restaraunt, Chef Kawasaki hums a little tune to himself as he sweeps the floor. He couldn't wait to go home! Sure there were hardly any customers making him really busy and worn out, but it would still feel good to go home and rest. As he's cleaning up, Chef Kawasaki feels a slight tinge in his heart, like a sense of uneasiness, but he just brushes it off and continues to sweep. Soon though, His humming starts to fade and his cheeriness changes into a more serious approach. Something in his restaurant wasn't right. It felt almost as if the whole mood had been snatched away. Kawasaki's grip on his broom tightens, he cautiously looks around, then takes a shaky breath in and out. Maybe he's just tired and his mind was playing tricks on him. Yeah, that's it! Just silly old fatigue messing with his imagination.

At least he hopes it's just fatigue.

In his peripherals, he catches a spark appear from thin air. Kawasaki swivels his head to spot where it was coming from. It takes a moment or two for another spark to appear, then another one, then a couple more after that. In disbelief, Kawasaki rubs his eyes to make sure he wasn't just dreaming this up. Soon the lights begin to flicker and the kitchen starts to rumble as more sparks start to form a giant portal right in the middle of the room.

Kawasaki frantically looks around his kitchen to see where he could take cover. He ducks behind a counter, covering his head and waiting for the catastrophic event to stop.

Suddenly, with a roar of wind and a deafening crash, the portal disappears.

Within a few seconds, Kawasaki slowly raises his head from under the counter. When his vision clears, he drops his jaw in shock.

There was a messy trail lining his kitchen floor, and at the end of it was a big hole in the wall holding a mysterious figure. It groaned and coughed as it was stirred awake, wobbling trying to stand up. Kawasaki took a few gingerly steps closer to see what it was.

Once the figure stood up, it loomed over Kawasaki, gigantic hammer in its hands and a long robe draped over its body. Hey come to think of it, it almost looked exactly like King Dedede!

Maybe because it WAS King Dedede.

Chapter Text

Bandana dee waddles through the tall grass, slashing at any cobweb that hung in his way. Kirby was right behind him...or more like five yards behind him, dragging his feet while throwing out a complaint every now and then. By now the sun was starting to set and the woods were getting darker by the hour.

"UUUUUGGGGHHHHH!" Kirby groaned.

The puffball glances up at Bandana dee. No reaction. He sighs.

"...I said, UUUUGGGGGHHHH!!" Kirby repeated, obviously wanting to grab the dee's attention.

"Yes? Is there something you need Kirby?" Bandana stops in his tracks and turns around, finally acknowledging the pouty puffball.

"We've been out here for HOURS trying to track Dedede's butt down! It's also starting to get dark out! Let's just go back to the castle and start dinner without him!"

"Kirby that's just your hunger talking. I'm sure we'll find him any second now and we'll be on our way back to the castle. Plus this whole search was your idea."

Kirby rubs the back of his head. "...Okay so maybe we should have just waited at the castle for him. BUT you said the same thing 30 minutes ago and yet we're still on the forest trail. At this point he might as well be back."

Bandana dee taps his foot in deep thought. "I suppose that he may have returned already..."

Kirby, again, grabs the dee's nub then retraces their steps back to the castle.

"Well then come on, let's go look and see!"

-----

"What?"

"I'm sorry fellas, but the king hasn't come back from his hike yet!"
A soldier waddle dee standing at the gates anxiously fiddled with the spear in her hand.

"But we just wondered around in Whispy Woods for 5 hours trying to find him!" Kirby shouted.

"He should be back by now! Dedede never stays out this late in the woods!" Bandana added.

"Well uhh...perhaps he got lost on his way?" The soldier dee squeaked.

"If that's the case then we ought to send out a patrol group to find him." Bandana suggested.

"Well hold on, let's not be to hasty. Tell you what, if he's not back by tomorrow, we can send out a couple of troops to find him. Right now just try to call him and see if he's okay."

"Why can't we send out any troops right now?" Kirby tilted his head.

"Well you know how dark it can get in the woods. Even with flashlights, we could lose a waddle dee out there and we wouldn't even know."

The duo nods, understanding the reason why.

They are finally led inside, where Bandana immediately pulls out his phone and searches for Dedede's contact. He presses it then waits for him to pick up.

"..."
"..."
"..."

It leads straight to voicemail.

"Hmm...he's not answering his phone." he observes.

"Maybe his phone died?" Kirby added.

"No no, I know the king and he never let's his phone run out of battery."

"OR he just forgot to take it?"

"He never forgets to brings it with him."

"...He lost it somewhere?"

"That- Well that could be a possibility..."

Kirby shakes his head. "Well nevermind the endless possibilities! If something happened to Dedede, we can go look for him again tomorrow, and maybe we will find him.-"

Just then, one of the waddle doo captains ran up to them, his panting getting louder the closer he got.

"You...you guys might wanna hear this."

Kirby and Bandana dee exchange looks then simultaneously looks back at the waddle doo for an answer.

"We had just got word from Whispy that there...there was a reported accident in the woods!" He paused, catching his breath.

"Apparently another portal had opened up near the same trail King Dedede was walking on!"

They all go silent.

"You don't think...?"

"He fell in?"

The waddle doo nods. "We may have a missing king on our hands."

Chapter Text

"Ah, what a beautiful morning!"

Tiff, along with her brother Tuff, Tokkori and Kirby, had just exited castle grounds and were now heading towards Cappytown to meet up with the rest of the children. Tiff breathed in the fresh morning dew scent and took in the waking scenery around her. "How can anyone stay inside on such a lovely day like this?"
At least, it started out lovely until Tuff stopped her in her tracks. She immediately found that something was odd when she looked at his confused face. He pointed in the direction of Cappytown. "Hey sis, what's going on over there?"

In the distance, Cappytown's residents were all crowded near the center of the town, as if there was an announcement happening.

"I don't know, but we should check it out!"

-----

Once they arrived, They gasped at how big the crowd was. "The whole town's here!" Tuff exclaimed. Listening to the tone of it all, it sounded like everyone seemed a bit distressed.

"What is going on?!" Tiff cried out. "Why is everyone so worried?"

Beside her, Tokkori chuckled. "I bet those cappies are struggling to pay up them taxes! They ARE getting higher each year!" Tiff nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah that may be the case, but I've never seen the town this chaotic when it comes to taxes!"

"IT WAS TERRIBLE!"

Just then the group lifted their heads in unison to locate the voice. "Hey look!" Tuff pointed to the front of the crowd, where Kawasaki was shouting hysterically, as if he was trying to desperately justify a statement he made.

"You HAVE to believe me! The figure looked exactly like King Dedede, from the hammer to the face!"

The crowd was murmuring amongst eachother, some giggling and shaking their heads, and some a bit cautious about the news.

"Kawasaki officially lost it guys!"

"I'm not surprised in the slightest. I've heard worse news than this."

"Two Dedede's in Dreamland!?"

"What are we going to do about this?"

Everyone had mixed feelings about Kawasaki's announcement. Tuff scratched his head.

"Two Dededes? What are they talking about?"

Tiff furrowed her brows and groaned. "Come on!" she grabbed Kirby's nub and stomped her way towards the crowd, the rest of the gang in persuit. When they arrived, she told Kirby to stay with the rest, then pushed her way towards the front of the crowd. Once she was at the front, she glared at Kawasaki with a very stern look, stern enough to make him shiver under the cold stare.

"This better not be some kind of dumb prank, Kawasaki."

he frantically shook his head. "It's not, Tiff! I can even tell you the whole story!"

He paused, everybody lowering their voice to a mumur.

"Last night I was settling down and preparing for closing time when this big pink spark of light just appeared right out of nowhere in my kitchen! I went to take cover when this figure comes shooting out of a big portal! I saw the thing and it looked just like Dedede! The resemblance was absolutely uncanny!"
He took a moment to catch his breath. "He looked very intimidating up close..." Kawasaki mumured. Tiff hesitated.

"How do you know this wasn't just some crazy nightmare?"

"Here, I can show you."

Kawasaki grabbed Tiff's hand and leads her straight towards his restaurant, the crowd following from behind.

"What kind of nightmare could be able to do this?"

he opened up the doors and the first thing that was noticeable was a big hole in the wall, along with a charred trail following it. Tiff's mouth gaped wide open. The crowd gasped.

"I..." Tiff hesitated. Now that Kawasaki was proven correct, she didn't know what to think about this.

"Do you know where it went after it crashed?"

"No clue! I was too freaked out to process what happened that I fainted!"

"Well we can't just sit around and do nothing!"

Tiff points at Chief Bookem. "Chief, can't you do anything about this?"

The town turns their attention towards him. Droplets of sweat run down his face as he stutters. "Well I uhh...I wish I could help but this isn't my area in policing! I'm sorry kid but I deal with cappies, not aliens!"

"But...come on guys we have to do something about this!"

No glance of determination from the crowd is seen. Tiff sighs. After a few moments, Tuff finally pops in.

"Come on guys, my sister's right! Think about it; this whole situation could roll out smoothly if we took care of it. Do you, instead, want Dedede and Escargoon to get involved and ruin everything?"

He raises a good point. The crowd starts to increase in both volume and interest. The two sibling smirk in success.

Mr. Curio steps up. "You're right. If we took care of this in an orderly fashion we could possibly fix this."

"B-But if anything gets out of hand then we oughta call for help!" Kawasaki adds.

Tiff smiles and nods her head. Next to her, Tuff scratches his head in thought. "Now where should we start looking?"

Just then Tokkori flew over everybody's heads. "If y'all wanna start lookin' for him, try lookin' over here!"

He flutters off as they all follow him towards a young oak tree. Under the tree lay a penguin draped in red and beside him lay a hammer tattered with scrapes and cuts. He appeared to be in a deep slumber.

Everyone holds their breaths in anticipation. Kawasaki points "That's him! That's what stood in front of me!"

Hesitation hangs above everyone.

Tiff inhales the cool air around her then takes a few slow steps closer and closer, reaching a shaky hand out as her breath got caught in her throat.

"K-King Dedede?"

Chapter Text

The young duo sit in the cold hallways of the Halberd, waiting in front of Meta Knight's office door. Muffled voices could be heard talking with eachother through the metal, one being dark and booming while the other one being squeaky and weak in volume. News can spread very quickly throughout Dreamland, and this accident was no exception, but the two can tell that this news had already overwhelmed the knight by a lot, considering the last life threatening incident happened just three months ago.
A few tension-filled moments later, the door clicks open and Axe Knight wobbles out, clearly shaken up. He closes the door behind him with care, making sure not to slam it on accident.

"Uh...S-Sir Meta Knight will be with you shortly! He just needs a little, um, time right now."

"How is he? Emotion-wise, that is." Bandana perks up.

"He's, well, let's just say that he's no where near delighted; He's pretty mad!"

Bandana nods, staring at the floor for a moment before looking back at Axe Knight.

"I'll go talk to him."

Axe Knight hesitates for a moment, then just nods and walks away. Looking into his eyes, Bandana could tell that Axe feared for him.

Kirby leans in, "You sure you wanna talk to him right now?"

Bandana nods, then hops out from the chair he was in and knocks on the door.

"Meta Knight I know you don't want anyone right now, but we need to talk."

A few seconds of silence, then a soft plop and shuffling of feet could be heard.
Meta Knight opens the door; a cold but tired look could be seen in his ambient eyes.

"Meta Knight listen, we need to find out what's going on immediately. I mean the last time a portal opened up it lead us to another world and the same thing could be happening again-"

Bandana was stopped mid sentence when Meta Knight put a hand up.

"I understand the urgency of this situation, but there are still many outliers that we must find before we even figure out where Dedede could be. I've tried getting in contact with him, but there seems to be some sort if signal block, and trying to track his phone down wasn't any help either, so as of right now, I'm trying to see if there are any more of these portals on Popstar that we could use."

Silence fills the air. Meta Knight walks back to his desk and continues his work; a long drawn out sigh could be heard from the puffball.

Bandana scuffles his foot on the floor. "Well, if this is a dimensional problem, we could always call for help."

The knight scowls. "No."

"Come on Meta Knight, I know you don't like Magolor all that much, but he's helped us in the past-"

"Correction, he BETRAYED us in the past then helped us. Even then he was still an annoying little...jerk." Meta Knight stopped himself before he had the chance to cuss.

The dee shakes his head. "Well if you don't want to work with Magolor, why not Susie? She has more technological things that could help us!"

Meta Knight gives a look.

"Okay...not Susie."

"Listen Bandana, I understand you're trying to help me here, but just give me a little time, and I'll find out where Dedede is, then we can figure out a way to bring him back."

Bandana looks down. "Alright, I'll leave you to your work."

-----

Kirby glances around the hall trying to keep his mind occupied, humming a little tune to himself as he does so, then he hears the office door open. The dee walks out, shutting the door behind him.

"Come on Kirby."

Kirby hops out from the chair, walking next to the dee as they head out.

"So what did he say?"

A glint of mischief flashes through the dee's brown eyes.

"He said we should go get some help."

Chapter Text

Muffled mumurs could be heard in every direction as a blinding light floods Dedede's weary eyes. His head lulls from side to side, trying to face away from the light. Sentences were cut off by the sound of his own heavy heartbeat and steady breathing.

"..hey..."

"..."

"wake..."

"..."

"YO WAKE UP!!"

A piercing screech rings through his ears, and his eyes snap open as he immediately gets up from his sleeping position. He was about ready to pick up his hammer, when he looks around and sees that there was no visible threat, only a crowd. Trying to calm down, he slumps back with a relieved sigh.

"Tokkori! That wasn't necessary!"

He looks to the side and sees a girl with, quite, the stern look. Next to her was a small yellow bird laughing his tail off.

"Whew! I'm sorry Tiff but we had to wake him up somehow!"

Dedede rubs the side of his head, ears still ringing. "So it was you who woke me up, huh?" He grumbles.

All of a sudden, the crowd goes silent.

The bird, Tokkori, stopped laughing and instead hid behind the girl, who was named Tiff.

"I-I...who me? No no I...! I don't know anyo...h-how dare they wake you up in such a manner!" He shudders.

Dedede scoffs. "Well if you wanted to wake me up you could've just shook me awake."

Taking this time to scan his surroundings, he finds that he is no longer on Popstar, but the crowd around him more or less look like cappies, just without the cap.

With a big yawn and broad stretch, Dedede gets on his feet, his gigantic hammer resting on his shoulder and his other hand on his hip. He looks around and for a second he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him because he could've sworn he saw the crowd shuffle back, as if they were afraid.

He clears his throat. "Greetings! I am King Dedede of Dreamland, and apparently I seem to be lost. I've never been on this planet before, but if one of you kind souls could point me to your nearest warping device I would be so thankful."

Not a word was whispered. Just looks of confusion.

Tiff rubs the back of her head.

(Warping device?)

"Uh, Planet Popstar, correct?"

Dedede nods.

"Well then, you're already in Dreamland!"

Dedede stares at her as if she was speaking a different language.

"Huh?"

He briefly looks around again.

"But...Since when does Dreamland have a town full of Cappies?"

One of the cappies step out of the crowd. This one was clad with brown clothes and had a white mustache.

"Since I was even born! This place is called Cappytown and it's been around for ages! As mayor of this place I can proudly say that Cappytown has been In the heart of Dreamland for years!"

He then points behind Dedede.

"Up on that cliff is a huge castle, but there's already a King Dedede living in there."

Dedede swivels his head around, and lo and behold, there was a castle. Not at all like his castle! It was bigger and appeared more closed in.

"Perhaps you meant a different place?"
The mayor suggests.

For a short while, Dedede repeatedly turned from the castle back to the crowd to make sure he wasn't being fooled.

"But...this isn't-"

"Poyo?"

He felt a weak tug on his robe and peeked behind him. There was a small Kirby looking up at him with a sense of curiosity and excitement. One look was all it took to finally realize.

"I'M IN THE WRONG DREAMLAND!"

-----

Up upon the big hill, trouble was about to start brewing at the castle.

Dedede sits on his throne fiddling with his hammer, a bored sigh escaping his breath.

Ever since he couldn't order anymore monsters, life in Dreamland has been nothing but boring. The pink pest would still roam the halls and Tiff and her family would still get onto him about doing his job as a king, but other than those factors, everything was VERY mundane.

That is until Escargoon comes bursting through the throne doors.

"SIRE, SIRE YOU GOTTA COME SEE THIS!"

His interest peaks. "What is it Escargoon?"

"IT'S IN THE TOWN, IT'S- OH YOU GOTTA COME SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT!"

With that Escargoon rushes the king to the doors, and once he was out he finds that the castle was chaotic with waddle dees running around.

Dedede grumbles, stopping in his tracks and grabbing the snail. "Escargoon you better have a good reason to be turnin' this place upside-down!"

"Trust me sire this is nothing to scoff at!"

Tugging on the King's sleeve, they both continue to rush to the castle gates.

Observing all this chaos unravel was a very curious Meta Knight.

Chapter Text

Magolor hums a sweet little tune to himself as he organizes items in his shop. He pauses when he looks through a glass bottle and sees Kirby and Bandana dee walking up to him. The mage's eyes squint in delight as he approaches the front of the shop ready to greet the two.

"Ah, Kirby! Buddy! What brings you around here? Perhaps you have some gem apples you wanna give me?" His eyes light up when he says the last part.

The puffball looks to the side. "Well, no we didn't come here to give you anything. We came here because we need your help with something."

"Why, anything for you pal! What is it you need me to do for you?"

Kirby takes a deep breath. "Okay, so you can hop through different dimensions correct?"

Magolor slowly nods his head, a bit confused.

"Well an incident happened with King Dedede and we need your help. He's been sucked up into this weird portal thingy and now he's stuck in another dimension! Can we use your ship to help us?"

Magolor clasps his hands together as he hisses, "Oooh! Sorry Kirby but...yes while I can hop through dimensions, I hop to certain places in my head that I know of and have the right coordinates for!"

Kirby tilts his head then looks at Bandana, who just shrugs.

Magolor sighs. "Meaning we can't just go hopping through dimensions all willy-nilly to find your friend! Not only does that create problems for the Lor, but also dimension hopping has to be exact, and one tiny slip up could lead us to being stuck in the middle of an unknown galaxy in a different dimension light-years away from Popstar!"

Magolor places down an old antique box on one of his shelves. "I'm sorry Kirby, wish I could help, but I'll need more information first!"

Bandana nods, understanding the dangerous risks they could come across. "Alright, thanks anyways Magolor."

-----

Kirby takes a bite out of his burger while Bandana sips a cup of apple juice. "Okay well, I'm stumped. If we can't have Magolor's help then we won't even be able to progress this plan!"

Kawasaki comes over to refill their drinks.

"Thank you Kawasaki."

Kirby speaks through the chewed food in his mouth. "Well what about the other people you mentioned? I'm sure they can help!"

Bandana perks up. "Like...?"

"Well, like you said Susie has a bunch of technology stuff. Maybe she can track him down? Or the Halberd is still available! Sure it's a little slower but It'll still get the job done! Of course we would have to get Meta's permission though."

Bandana sits in contemplation. "Maybe...but most of the smart people don't get along too well."

A little girl's voice joins their conversation. "Perhaps there's something I can do to make you feel better?"

Chapter Text

They watched as Dedede paced back and forth, his thoughts consuming him.

"But..this can't be-I-How...???"

He then felt a hand be placed on his back. He flinches, turning around to sees the mayor with a face full of concern.

"Perhaps you need to sit down?" He softly suggested. The king just nods.

Hand still on back, Dedede slowly sits down on the grass; clearly being in a state of shock and confusion.

"No no, this can't be....."

They all watch the now disoriented king mumble to himself in confusion. However, one sentence catches Tiff's attention.

"Dammit, that portal must've lead me here. If only I-"

"Portal?"

Kawasaki joins in. "He must be talking about that thing he was shot out of!"

Dedede nods. "Yeah. I was just out for a walk minding my own business when I see this eerie glow. I figured it was dangerous so I was gonna turn back around, but this big gust of wind took me by surprise and blew me into the thing."

Tiff pauses for a moment, clearly thinking about what Dedede had said. "But wait, why was there a portal leading to our world...?"

Before any possible answers could be uttered, a loud roaring vehicle comes speeding toward the cappy crowd with big gaudy laughter echoing off the walls of buildings. Murmurs and groans emerge from the crowd. Dedede looks over to the girl for context, but all she does is cross her arms.

"Oh great..."

The car comes to an abrupt halt and stops next to a nearby tree.

Emerging from the vehicle was an all too familiar blue tyrant and a lavender colored snail.

"Well would you look at this crowd Escargoon! I never seen such a fuss in quite a while!"

His voice compared to the other dedede was completely different. So different, in fact, that you could easily mistaken them for being two different people if you only hear. One was loud and full of attitude and a tad country, while the other was deep and booming with no apparent accent.

The snail, Escargoon, pushes through the crowd to make a clearing.

"Come on! Out of the way! Clear for his Highness!"

Escargoon points. "Look sire!" Soon the crowd moves to the side, and the two kings are now face to face with eachother.

At first, they don't say a thing, they just quietly observe eachother. The crowd continuously moves their heads from one dedede to another, anticipating some sort of reaction.

Another thing that made them so different was their appearance. Their dedede wore the color schemes orange and red and the symbol on the back of his robe was white. The other wore the color schemes yellow and red, along with a kimono, while the symbol on the back of his robe was blue.

The other Dedede let's out a chuckle. "Well well, what do we have here? Anotha me huh?"

Before dedede could say his greetings, the latter moves up to him and pulls him into a tight side hug.

"Seems the universe loved me so much they decided to make anotha me! HEHAHAHA!"

He reaches out for one of his hands to shake in a sloppy manner. "King Dedede of this here Dreamland! But I suppose you already know dat!"

Escargoon joins in the conversation, also shaking his hand but in a more delicate style.

"I see you've been stuck with this crowd of peasants for FAR too long! If you join us you can have a tour around the castle and see what a luxurious life our Dedede lives!"

At this point Dedede had no say in anything. Before he could even utter a sound, he was being escorted to the vehicle (that looked very tacky in his opinion.)

"But wait I-"

The engine starts and they take off, leaving the cappy crowd in the dust.

"...So now what Tiff?" Tuff asks, standing next to her in confusion.

She turns around with a face that is still stern and arms still crossed. I don't know, but just be prepared if anything bad happens."

With mumurs of disappointment, the crown walks back to go on with their daily chores.

-----

Before he even knows it, he has arrived at the courtyard. He observes the high yellow walls and notices how this castle has a moat.

He head whips around when he hears Escargoon speak. "Here you can see the castle's lovely architecture! If you look around you may see some waddle dees waddling around, but just ignore them, they're nothing compared to the eye candy we call King Dedede!" The other king puffs out his chest with pride.

Something twists inside Dedede a little when he heard the waddle dees don't matter. Though it was true that some waddle dees were working in the courtyard "Well, your bab- I mean your waddle dees sure do work hard!"

He looks down to see three waddle dees looking up at him in confusion, tilting their heads.

Dedede uses all of his might to not pick them up and shower them with affection.

"Er, moving on!"

-----

The tour was over (finally) and they were now in the throne room discussing where Dedede will be staying.

"I'm glad you could stick around an' see my lovely castle! Would you even say it better and bigger than yours?"

Dedede let's out a fake chuckle. "Well I wouldn't say it's necessarily better! We all have something that makes us unique right?"

No comment. "Well, if you say so.."

The atmosphere was awkward with silence now. Escargoon finally speaks. "Well we appreciate you waiting but I'm sure your ready to see your wonderful room! WADDLE DEES! STOP DOZING OFF AND ESCORT THE NEW DEDEDE TO HIS ROOM!"

Dedede turns around to see two dees now standing beside him on each side. They nod and turn around to exit the throne room.

Not a word was said during the walk. Just sound of echoing footsteps and clinking from the spears they had. They finally arrive to the room and the pair of waddle dees turn around to leave. Before they do, Dedede picks them up and embraces them in a tight hug.

"Thank you. To be honest with y'all, I kinda don't wanna be here, but I really have no choice. It amazes me how level headed you can stay during all of this."

They didn't have any visible expression and didn't say a word, but they didn't struggle either.

"I'm gonna take your silence as a your welcome."

He puts them down and they turn around to retrace their steps. Dedede finally enters the room and with no hesitation plops onto the bed with a sigh.

"This is gonna be a long ride.."

Chapter Text

"ADELEINE!"

Kirby excitedly hops out of his seat to hug the girl. "Adeleine, thank NOVA you're here! It's an emergency!"

She sighs. "I heard; the King's missing. It's all over Popstar now! Every news outlet, every morning paper, every online article, it's even spread to Ripple Star! Ribbon even came back from her vacation to find a way to help."

"Wow, news spreads fast huh?" Bandana scratches his head. "But nevermind that, we really do need your help Adeleine."

"I'm sorry but, I don't think there's much I can do to help Dedede. I don't even know how these kinds of portals work!"

The dee shakes his head. "No no no, I need your help creating a team, a rescue squad! If I know anyone who can convince quite easily it's you!"

Adeleine perks up. "A team? Gosh I don't know Bandana, after the Jambastion incident everyone's just kinda went their own ways, y'know? Dark went back to the mirror realm, Daroach is cruising the galaxy, Taranza's still atoning to his misdeads in Floralia...Helping your enemy back then was already difficult enough, I mean, have you seen the Meta Knight's with Susie? Not to mention Some people couldn't care less if Dedede's in trouble. Again." Her tone sounded dejected on that last sentence.

The trio hang their heads in deep thought.

"Maybe...if we stretch the truth just a little?" Kirby suggests. The two swing their heads in Kirby's direction. curious on what he has to say.

"Being upfront isn't going to help us. If we say who their going to work with, they won't come along...so we can lie about a couple of things that way we can gain their help!"

"That...just might work. Wow Kirby, great idea!" Bandana nudges the puffball. He brightens up. "I know."

Adeleine nods, showing that she agrees with the plan. "Great so, who are we going to convince first?"

Bandana thinks once more. "No, not we, I think we should split up, that way we can gather more people while also appearing unsuspecting."

The plan sounded foolproof, however their was still one major and noticable flaw. Adeleine was first to point out. "What happens if they decide to leave? We can't control where they go and we can't force them unless we want to see their ugly side!"

"This is the only chance we've got. We have to try and see how far it will take us. If it doesn't work, then we find another way. We don't stop till we find a plan that will work for everyone!"

Kirby perks up. "Bandee's right! We'll do anything to get our friend back!"

"Then it's settled!" Adeleine smiles. "We split up and gather up our pals for a rescue quest! I'll go and get Dark and Daroach, Kirby you try Susie and Magolor, Bandana you try Taranza and the rest."

The trio quickly disperses and ventures out to find their targets.

Chapter Text

Waddle dees pace back and forth through the castle, watching out for any dangers that might appear during the night. Roaming the halls of the dark castle was Meta Knight along with Sword and Blade. Only the dim lights on the walls illuminate their path. Quietly, Meta Knight takes a peek through the room where Dedede is staying. He hears nothing but the deep snores that are emitting from the king.

"Anything suspicious?" Sword whispers.

Meta Knight takes a step back. "Nothing."

Next to the trio was Knuckle Joe, clearly uninterested about the whole thing. He crosses his arms and leans on a nearby wall. "Big Deal! Some new guy shows up looking nearly identical to tubby and he's now got the whole town interested. I say who cares!"

Meta Knight turns to face him. "Watch your volume Joe. Secondly, a portal that leads to our world is nothing to scoff at. This may seem like nothing right now, but things could quickly turn ugly."

He turns back to observe the king once more. "Not to mention, anything thet involves Dedede is sure to lead to trouble."

They continue on their path, shifting their interest away from the other king and to the safety of Dreamland. "Make sure to keep a close eye on this Dedede. If there's any activity that's considered suspicious, report it to the group. Even you, Knuckle Joe." The kid rolls his eyes.

Sword nods. "We'll make sure to report any suspicious activity as soon as we see it." Next to him, Blade mumbles the same promise.

-----

The bright sunlight is what woke up the drowzy king from his slumber. Slowly, he raises his body off of the warm bed and scans his surroundings. Everything snaps back into place.

"That's right, I'm stuck here."

A sudden wave of depression hits the penguin. The uncertainty of it all: the indefinite time he'll be staying here, the eerie but familiar environment, the people he knows now unknown doppelgangers...it was too much.

He flops back down onto the bed, hoping to sleep all day, or until someone he knows comes and rescues him. He was hoping that they would be scared enough to not cross paths with him and just leave him be. However, that was not the case.

A knock on the door indicated someone was wanting him to come out and greet the world. It was Escargoon. He groans.

"Knock knock! The king...OUR king, invites you to breakfast! Don't be late!"

His last night encounter with the other king told him everything he needed to know. How his ego and pride seem to overflow from the rim. And that snail who seemed to egg on the king. If he had one word to describe him it would be: "snobby."

He fixes himself up in the nearby bathroom. grabs his hammer and groggily heads out the door.

The first thing he is met with are two waddle dees looking up at him with blank stares.

"Uhh, good morning?"

They say nothing, except wait for him to walk to the dining hall.

"Not creepy in the slightest." He mumbles.

The second thing he was greeted with is loud shouting coming from the other Dedede that echoed off the vast walls. The two waddle dees slow down to get behind Dedede.

"Hm, y'all aren't ready to start the day either?" He jokes.

Once he reaches the dining hall, he notices waddle dees scurrying around with breakfast menus in their nubs and plates ready to go. The waddle dees that were behind him lightly push him towards a big table and seat him at one of the ends and leave, eventually coming face to face again with himself. They weren't the only ones at the table though, the little girl he met yesterday, along with Kirby and her supposed family were sitting there also. And...Fololo and Falala? Escargoon was there too, sitting right next to his king.

In an instant, he is served a plate of heaping food. He thanks the dees that served him and he immediately digs in.

It didn't take long for him to realize all eyes were on him. Usually he likes attention, but this kind, like observing an animal at a zoo, made him very uncomfortable. Now self aware, he slows down his eating. It was clear that a lot of questions would soon be asked. Finally, their Dedede clears his throat.

"I'd like to start off this Introduction by stating one thing. I'm the king of this here Dreamland and what I say goes! You may had some different rules back in your place, but you're in my town now!" He points a finger directly at the king.

The sudden change in mood and tone was noticeable. What made him so uptight from last night to now? He wasn't sure.

"Secondly, any form of backlash you have will be considered treason! If you don't like what I do then maybe you'll find a more lovely place down in Cappytown where the peasants stay! Are we clear?"

Oh it was clear to him alright, that he was trying to be the more dominant king. "Yes ma'am." he mumbles under his breath. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one that heard. Tuff, the boy next to him started to snicker.

"What's that?" He booms.

Dedede was quick to recover. "I said yes sir! We're clear."

In between chews, Tuff was the first to ask a question. "Hey, how come you seem more level headed? Do you have some kind of monster controlling you?"

He was more than confused. "Wha..?"

"Tuff, don't you know it's rude to speak with your mouth full?" The mom scolds.

"I also have a question!" Falala speaks up. "Do you even order monsters?"

Fololo argues back. "He doesn't seem like he would! He's been nothing but respectful...so far at least..."

"What is the Cappytown like down there?"

"Do you have an Escargoon?"

"What is your castle like?"

"Do you still keep in touch with either Salesman or Nightmare?"

All these questions were making his head spin.

"Uh, well..."

"Hey I have a question."

He turns around to see Tiff staring straight into his eyes.

"Will you deliberately hurt Kirby?"

"Hurt Kirb-What??? Listen, the last thing I want to do here is hurt anyone! If I do then I'm sorry in advance! What makes you think I would want to hurt Kirby? He's a child!"

He takes a glance over at the other Dedede to see him swearing bullets.

"Correction, he's an infant. And to answer your question, the moment Kirby crash landed here-"

"We gave him a nice warm welcome!" The other Dedede interjects. "He was immediately accepted and respected by everyone!"

"Hey that's not-"

He cuts her off once more. "What a ridiculous question to ask girly! Next!"

She sighs. It was obvious to Dedede that his doppelganger was hiding something, but he didn't feel like going down that rabbit hole just yet. He was already overwhelmed this morning and he certainly does not want a headache.

-----

He quickly thanks everyone for the breakfast and leaves, not wanting to answer any more questions.

He decides to head out and clear his mind. Maybe downtown won't be so "up his ass" and will give him time to process the questions he is asked.

He hears footsteps from behind him. Swiveling his head he sees Tuff trying to catch up.

"Hey, where you goin?"

"Outside, why?"

They boy scratches that back of his head. "If your planning on going around Cappytown, I could show you around so you won't get lost!"

He rolls his eyes. "Kid, I've seen your town. It looks too small to get lost in."

"But still! I could tag along and tell you everything you need to know!"

It was clear he wasn't going to leave anytime soon. Dedede sighs and signals the boy to follow him. Tuff happily joins and skips right beside him.

"Alright! Well, to start, My name is Tuff..."

Chapter Text

It already started out terrible.

Everyone at the diner sits on the opposite side of the building as they watch the crowd of local heros and enemies go at eachothers throats.

Kirby, Bandana and Adeleine try to calm down the group, making sure nothing escalates too quickly.

Daroach scowls. "Explain to me why you summoned me back to this planet to meet up with these dorks?"

Dark nods. "Same here. Why meet up with people I find unpleasant?" He turns towards his double, making sure he knew he was talking about him.

Taranza quietly adds. "I understand your king is gone but I'm sure you can handle this without a whole army."

Kirby sweats. "I know some of these nice faces don't bring you much joy, but me and Bandana think something else is up, not just a missing Dedede, and we need help!"

Magolor sucks in air through his teeth. "You know when I said I would help, I didn't mean right now."

He sighs. "Come on, can't we get along one more time, for Dedede?"

Everyone mumbles. Not a good sign.

Adeleine decides to join in. "Kirby's right! Something else is going on, I mean a random portal appearing out of nowhere? Last time that happened Popstar almost crashed into another planet!"

Now everyone is silent. Maybe a good sign?

Meta Knight leans in and whispers, staring straight at Susie. "Does she really have to come along though?"

"We need directions don't we?" Bandana whispers back.

He rolls his eyes and mumbles under his breath.

Ribbon pipes in. "You guys have a plan?"

The trio exchanges looks. "Nope."

"So...you want us to just, go into this blindly?"

"Basically."

"So, if there's something beyond this...?"

"We don't know."

Sailor Dee hops in. "Well I'm willing to take the risk!"

Captain Vul sighs. "It has been quite a while since we've done something worthwhile..."

Magolor joins in. "And I do need to make sure the Lor is still capable of hopping dimensions..."

Daroach huffs. "I guess we can bring Dedede back. Kings are important, I assume. I can tolerate these guys for a while."

The trio grins, silently celebrating their persuading.

"As a royal knight, it is my duty to make sure my king is alright and Dreamland is safe. Who would I be if I don't do that?" Meta Knight steps up.

Susie sighs. "You guys obviously suck at plans, so leave things to me."

A very good sign! No weapons out, no shouting; everything is fine! Everybody agrees!"

Susie faces Magolor. "Is that ship of yours alright?"

Chapter Text

The King takes in a deep breath and admires everything around him. His mind was finally cleared once he took a step outside.

Well, almost cleared.

The boy next to him was talking endlessly as they were on the path that leads to the town.

"-You should have seen their faces when Whispy popped out right in front of them! They were launched into the sky and just like that Whispy Woods was immediately restored! That golf course is now six feet under and Whispy still stands strong to this day!"

At this point Dedede had lost track of what the boy was rambling about. One story was about a fake haunting, the other was probably about monster figurines, and this one he had no clue. His mind automatically blocked out the speech in favor of his own thoughts.

"So what do you think? Pretty exciting planet huh?"

"Uh-huh, yeah." Was all he could muster.

"Speaking of Whispy, he'll go crazy once he finds out there's TWO Dededes! After we go around town we can visit the forest and you might be able to catch a glimpse of Dynablade if we travel far enough-"

Dedede stops in his path. "Tiff, was it?"

"Tuff."

"Yeah yeah. I know you're excited but let's try and take things slowly. Y'know first time here and all."

Tuff nods his head.

"So, today you can show me around town, and then tomorrow you can take me to the woods. Deal?"

Tuff lowers his head. "But what of you're not here tomorrow? It's not everyday you get to see a real life double of somebody and show off to everyone."

Dedede hesitates for a moment. "Well...Considering my situation I might be here for a while..."

He looks back at Tuff, who had an assumed look of hope and sadness.

(I come for a relaxing walk only to be taken on a tour and put on a pedestal for everyone to see...)

He sighs. "Alright. After the town we take a QUICK stroll around Whispy Woods. Emphasis on quick."

The boy jumps in delight.

"AWESOME! Maybe then we'll have time for lunch, but I hope my family's not going to Kawasaki's this time. You have a Kawasaki right? What is his cooking like is it....."

A nap sounds really good right about now.

-----

He was immediately greeted with a handshake from both the mayor and the local police officer. Both were nervous handshakes to say the least.

"Greetings your Highness! I'm glad to see you've calmed down and came back to Cappytown with a more clear mind!" Mayor Blustergas plasters on a grin.

"Uuuh, thank you...?" Was that a positive statement? He wasn't too sure.

"You know, I've seen some very unusual things happen in my town, but double Dededes are quite shocking!"

Chief Bookem chuckles. "And considering the fact that no one likes you 'round here, I can confidently say that it's a bad--OOF!"

Mayor Blustergas harshly elbows the cop in the stomach.

"What he means to say is it's, uh, very unfortunate that you stumbled across a town with such a disliking towards you."

Dedede awkwardly nods.

"Anywho, let's get you acquainted with Cappytown, shall we? I'm sure you already know who I am, and beside me stands the local sheriff, Chief Bookem."

The first place they stop at is Kawasaki's. Upon entering, Kawasaki scrambles in the kitchen when he sees who stands at the entryway. The very noticeable hole was still in the wall, but the once messy trail following it was now clean. Dedede winces. He'll make sure to help fix that later.

"Here you can see our only restaurant that serves dishes with only the freshest of ingredients!" Blustergas smiles. "And it's even run by one person, whom you already know too, I guess."

Tuff gags. "Our Kawasaki may serve fresh ingredients, but the food here sure doesn't taste fresh at all!"

The chief nudges Dedede's arm. "If I were you, I'd just stay at the castle if you want somethin' to eat."

They continue their tour onto Tuggle's grocery store. The mayor smiles. "Just wait and see what they have on for sale today!"

-----

For a town with so many insane stories, it seemed too quaint, too homey. Everyone was nice, despite giving him a nasty look. While on the tour he was bumped into once or twice by the gas station guy, Gus.
Guess he really has a grudge against him.

At this point Dedede's already seen the whole town. The chief and mayor had left him to wonder and Tuff has just been dragging him wherever he went, telling him extra information about the town and stories that go along with that info.

It was also at this point where random cappy children would start to follow the king out of curiosity. Some were confused on whether or not it was their king, which would explain their rather generous distance.

However, three children stuck out of the crowd; two boys and one girl. One of the boys had on a hat and a shirt, the other had a spikey ponytail and the girl had two pigtails.

They started to catch up with Tuff, the trio whispering in disbelief.

"Tuff why are you walking with the other king?" The girl asks.

Tuff laughs. "Cause he needs a tour of the town, duh!"

The kid with the hat stares straight into his eyes. "It's Dedede! Why be so buddy buddy with him?"

"Cause he's not like our Dedede! He's not loud or obnoxious or...I mean he's a little weird but not a bully! He even says please and thank you!"

The kids then moves from Tuff to the king, observing him with blank eyes.

"Are those scars fake?" Asks one, pointing to his neck.

Dedede shakes his head. "No, they are real and they cannot be taken off."

"Why do you sound like that?"

"Cause I do."

"If you're an opposite how come you're still super fat?"

"Wow, okay uh-"

"Are you the news reporter for your channel DDD?"

"Channel what now."

"Hey, why is your hammer so big?" the girl asks, pointing to the weapon that sits on Dedede's shoulder.

The King takes the hammer off of his shoulders, now holding it with both hands. "There's a jet inside of it, that's why."

Everyone mumurs. the spikey haired kid crosses his arms. "Yeah right. Prove it. How can a jet fit inside of a hammer?"

Dedede sighs and takes a few steps back from the curious crowd of kids surrounding him, now lowering in volume to observe. He pauses then swings the weapon back over his shoulder. With that, electricity shoots up from the handle and opens up the hammer with a whir, revealing a jet. blue flames shoot out from the front while the back stays unchanged. The young crowd awes. A couple of onlookers gasp at the sight.

Immediately Dedede shifts the hammer back to its original form, not wanting to cause any harm to himself or anyone else.

In the blink of an eye the children surround him once more, soon grabbing the attention of other cappies nearby.

Tuff zips around the king clearly impressed by the simple action.

"WOAH THAT'S SO COOL! HOW'D YOU DO THAT!?"

"OUR Dedede doesn't have a hammer like that!"

Dedede smirks. "Y'all impressed? It's something I made myself."

Their jaws drop. Tuff points towards the hammer. "YOU built THAT?!"

He nods. "It was originally a little tinkering project but then I decided just to make it a full on weapon."

The kid with the hat tilts his head. "What else can you do?"

Dedede pauses for a moment. A bold glint twinkles in his eyes.

"Have y'all ever seen a penguin fly?"