Chapter Text
It was too late. Too late to leave the milk bottles out; too late to water the plants; too late to reasonably do anything. But even when it's late, late at night, it’s never too late for a weathered shepherd to swaddle his body with a quilt and rest his head.
Unfortunately, neither can calamity be late when it decides to rear its head.
Late into the night - nearly morning, the sound of baaing and braying shrieks filled the countryside air. It was a horrific sound, a choir of ovine cries.
Eschewing his quilt, the shepherd bolted through the door and tore for the hills, hearing the sound easily, even with his sleepy ears. His feet quickly brought him up over them, where he faced an even more horrific sight: Dozens of sheep, all in their death throes. Their woolly bodies writhed helplessly as they screamed.
It was still dark, but not too dark that he couldn’t see the way the winding silhouettes of long-bodied creatures glistened like glass in the moonlight. The beasts hissed with a cacophony of their own, spewing a wash of spit with a heavy, rattling breath. They pounced on the sheep, crawling over their thrashing forms as they dragged what they could of the weakened or dead away. It was as if roots tore from the earth to grab what they could, only for everything to die at the touch and melt in its grasp.
It was something straight out of a nightmare.
So horrified, so distraught the shepherd was, he ran away as soon as his feet functioned again.
He ran, and did not look back, not even when he reached the Blustergas household. He knocked upon the door with banging fists. After a moment of waiting, a figure opened the door: Mr. Len Blustergas, the house owner and town mayor, stood with an oil lamp in his hand and a sleeping cap on his head. The burning oil and the walrus mustache was a beacon in this horrid dream.
The Mayor took in his ashen face and harsh breaths and immediately ushered him in.
“My good cap, what has happened? Why are you up? What’s wrong?” The Mayor gently questioned him as his wife trotted down the stairs. Mrs. Blustergas’ beady peepers widened at the sight in their living room, and made for the kitchen to prepare tea as the couple worked to ease the distressed cappy.
So shaken was the shepherd, that he didn’t reply until an hour had passed, whereupon he muttered something about the sheep. The Mayor asked if he had had a nightmare.
“No…” he replied, slowly shaking his head. “It was too real to be a nightmare - something has happened to the sheep.” The shepherd shuddered.
“Mack, something happened to the flock?” Hana worriedly warbled.
“My sheep… what has happened to them?” Wondered the Mayor.
Mack was silent. It was almost too horrible to describe, but he managed to choke out a description of what happened.
“They wasted away… in seconds, they melted like ice, and their remains were dragged away! The screams…” the shepherd went silent again.
“I expect my shepherds to handle many things,” The Mayor said “But I would ask no cappy to live through such a tale.”
—————— ( ouo)/) ~* ——————
Early in the morning, a certain very small, very cute, very pink, very round, but most of all, very hungry small cute pink round batamon awoke.
His name was Kirby and he had a feeling that today was going to be wonderful. (Even if it’s just a Tuesday, it’s still a day unlike any other: not a Sunday; not a Thursday, but a Tuesday!) It was just a feeling he got, smiling up at his aunts as they greeted him with three pleased “Good morning Kirby!”’s.
Maybe that feeling was because just now, he decided he’d really like a tomato. And not just any tomato; a maxim tomato! A maximato!!!
Kirby, as always, said hello back to his aunts, hoping they wouldn’t notice that he went a bit quicker than he usually did.
He had food on the mind.
Rushing out the double-hung door as soon as it was polite, Kirby made his way down the path that wrapped around his home and led to Cappy Town. Though hungry, he did slow down to enjoy the scenery. Having a house next to the beach really was wonderful! He didn’t even need to make sandcastles, since his house had a castle for a hat! But, that didn’t mean he couldn’t make one every Sunday.
Kirby eventually found himself at the familiar door to the local convenience store. Opening the door, he was greeted with the sight and smell of food.
Cakes can be a little slice of heaven, so what does that make the place with the stuff for the cake? In Kirby’s opinion, it made it the entirety of heaven. But, as much as he enjoyed cake (especially strawberry shortcake), Kirby was here for tomatoes. A healthy boy eats his fruits and veggies, after all.
Wandering the aisles, however, Kirby was unable to find the fabled fruit.
Where was it? This was the produce section, wasn’t it? Kirby checked. Yes, those were fruits and veggies - but no tomatoes - maxim or otherwise.
“G’mornin, Kirby! Need help lookin for somethin?”
The pink, round batamon turned to the voice, finding Tuggle. It was Tuggle’s store after all.
“Mornin!” Kirby chirped, giving another Tuesday morning smile, “Maximato, please!”
The grocer’s brows slumped together like a confused rice dumping. “Kirby, tomatoes have been out of season for about two weeks now. Are you already out?”
Kirby’s cobalt blue eyes clouded over as his gaze drifted across the open, tomato-less store. That’s when Kirby realized today wasn’t just a Tuesday: today was also an October. October was full of crunchy leaves and pumpkins, but not juicy tomatoes.
No tomatoes...
No maximatos…
No reason to go on, I guess.
Kirby’s body, empty with emptiness, rent itself to the ground. It was with this dull perspective he realized his mouth would be as dry and flavorless as the lacquered wood floor he was now face down in. ‘ Is this where I die?’ He thought, ‘ On this floor that isn’t even a good kind of sour?’
“Kirby, what are you doing? You’re drooling all over my floor!”
Scolding himself, he closed his mouth as his eyes started to water, “Leave me to die! ”
“I can’t have you dying in my store, no one will come in it again!” Tuggle protested, hesitating to pick the pink child off his floor. “I have to sell my stock of Hallowe’en candy before it goes bad!”
Candy. The word rang in his head. There is hope.
In the end, Kirby went home with a small bag of candy, but a distinct lack of tomatoes.
He wasn’t ungrateful or anything! It was candy! But it just wasn’t tomatoes.
As Kirby toddled home, he heard some villagers mentioning something about sheep, but he was too stuck in his disappointment to pay it any mind.
—————— ( ouo)/) ~* ——————
Kirby sadly opened the double-hung door to the beach house. As always, he had to stand on his very tiptoes in order to reach even the lower handle, but he opened the bottom segment with practiced ease. Walking into the open room, Kirby was fully prepared to stew in bed and snack on bits of consolation candy under his covers when his vigilance halted him from bumping into a platinum white bush of hair standing just feet from the door.
“See? Back ‘cause he left on an empty tank.” The bush’s hand gestured to Kirby, and the bush turned to face him with the chipper appearance of a short, purple woman in a mauve tank top: his aunt, Amethyst.
“What’s up, little dude?” His aunt’s plump lips and round nose stretched and elongated into a drooping equine muzzle. “Got the long face because you forgot to hit the trough?”
Normally, the silly sight would have Kirby giggling, especially with how she proceeded to snort and whinny like the animal she was emulating, but Kirby just looked up at her, tearfully.
“No tomatoes…” he whined, his quiet, pitiful words barely sounding out past the tied pouch of hard candies in his paws.
“Sorry, but what was that?” A patient voice rang out from the kitchen.
Looking past Amethyst, Kirby saw two others at the counter, both easily more than twice his side. One was lithe and pale, looking over her birdish nose and watching him with motherly audience; the other was curvaceous and tanned ruddy, with her coppery visor centered towards him as well. These two were Pearl and Garnet, the certainly taller of Kirby’s aunts.
“He couldn’t find any tomatoes at the store.” Garnet spoke, her cubic, black perm swishing lightly as she tilted to address Pearl. Pearl often had the answer for things; when she didn’t, Garnet somehow did.
“Kirby,” Pearl said, “Didn’t you know? We bought the last of the season's maxim tomatoes the other week!” She looked confused.
“Yeah dude, they’re in the fridge — saved ‘em for you!” Amethyst chimed in, using her disappearing muzzle to gesture to the said appliance.
Kirby’s eyes widened. Abandoning the bag of candy, he rushed over to the fridge and flung open the door.
Inside, there was a bowl of maxim tomatoes, right on the bottom shelf! Maximatoes to the max!
They looked plump and juicy and perfectly ripe!
God exists, and He works in mysterious ways… and those ways are often mistaken for a vegetable.
Kirby had to restrain himself from inhaling them all — instead he grabbed the bowl, closed the fridge, and took a bite of the biggest, juiciest looking maximato. He may have even gotten the giant letter ‘M’ sticker in its entirety.
It burst in his mouth as his tiny fangs pierced it.
It. Was. Heaven.
Kirby squealed at the sweet, savory flavor. He turned to his trio of aunts with a mouthful of fruit and newer, happier tears in his eyes.
“F’anku!” He warbled.
Garnet smiled at the sight of his adorable gratitude. But Pearl, she admonished him for speaking with his mouth full.
“Now, Kirby, remember your manners! It is unsightly when you talk with food in your mouth…” She shuddered, pulling a handkerchief from the glowing cabochon and namesake embedded in her forehead.
Before his aunt could kneel down with her infamous fabric square in hand, Kirby gulped down the savory mouthful before speaking again.
“Thank you!” He said, clearer and with a wide, open-mouthed smile.
His tiny fangs glittered in the morning light, but not nearly as bright as the gemstone that was his tongue.
Especially since said gemstone began to glow!
Kirby, eyes closed in happiness, did not notice until his aunts made various noises of shock, whereupon his eyes flew open and he went cross-eyed looking for the source of the light.
Before he could “poyo” in surprise, there was a pop as the pink light coalesced into a form; a bright, shining shield!
All four members of the house stared in shock.
The shield, decorated with lovely spirals of rose petals and thorns dropped gently to the floor, making a soft sound against the wooden boards.
Pearl’s eyes glistened as she choked out a cry of “Rose’s shield! Oh my stars!”
“Sweet!” Amethyst blurted.
Garnet smiled widely. “I had a feeling that would happen.”
Kirby gaped at the shield at his feet, tomatoes mostly forgotten. Setting down the bowl on the floor, he picked it up.
It felt warm in his paws, like sunlight. Or starlight. Or maybe, a mother’s kiss? (Motherlight?)
His eyes twinkled with happiness.
“Wow!” He cried, awed by it.
He brandished it for a moment, trying out various poses. Garnet clapped appreciatively.
After a moment, however, the shield burst into a cloud of pink sparkles, disappearing completely.
“No…” Kirby pouted.
“Hey, that was wicked, lil man!” Amethyst cried, giving Kirby a hearty pat on the back. Any plans for a second pat died quickly when he looked up at her, still frowning. “Don’t sweat it not lasting long,” she said, guessing Kirby’s insecurities. “You’ll figure it out!”
“The fact that you have successfully summoned a weapon — even for a moment — is a sign of great improvement.” Garnet stated.
Kirby still looked somewhat disheartened.
“Dad wasn’t here to see.”
Realization dawned on his aunts’ faces. For the whole spectacle, Kirby’s father was nowhere to be seen; he never even returned home last night, as he was stuck again with attendance in the king’s kangaroo court. Pearl knelt down to reach some semblance of his level, cupping his cheek in her handkerchief-draped hand. The soft fabric square brushed up against his fine pelt, gently wiping away tears (and tomato stains) from his face.
“While he wasn’t here for your first summon, I know he’ll be there to help you master it; we all will.”
That reassurance did it’s job, and a small crescent returned to Kirby’s lips. After twice folding the dirtied handkerchief, Pearl gave a bright smile of her own accompanied by a soft, succinct clap of her hands. “Regardless, I think this calls for a celebration; don’t you think so?”
“Yeah! I’ll go get ol’ M.K, and we can all drop by Kawasaki’s.” Amethyst proposed, her platinum hair adopting a slight feathery appearance.
Like a dog asked if they want to go on walkies, Kirby immediately perked up.
Kawasaki’s? With Dad? Of course!
With the squeal of an excited child, the screen door’s bottom half swung open like a sideways cat flap.
“Wait, Kirby! Kirby, this is a family outing!”
—————— ( ouo)/) ~* ——————
As Kirby swung his feet back and forth, so did his thoughts intermittently swing around his head.
Edamame? Naw, that’s more a Monday appetizer; Tuesday is tsukumono or tsukudani… I'll have the tsukumone, if not, the tsukudani!... No! The other way around.
“Thinking about what you’ll order?” Garnet’s dulcet tone prodded from his right.
Looking up at the tall maroon woman he was holding the hand of, Kirby gave a gentle nod.
“It’s a good habit to plan things ahead.” Pearl praised from his left.
Refueled with encouragement, Kirby put more momentum into his aunts’ arm swing, thinking to the syncope of his swaying feet.
‘Ahead’... the sun isn’t overhead; it’s still morning, so no big bowl dinners. Should anpans be the main course, or would rice and cold noodles be better? Crepes?
Kirby was pulled from his thoughts with a pair of “Morning, Kirby” from the passing cappy children, Iro and Honey. Kirby slipped his fingers from Garnet’s to wave at his friends… inadvertently pivoting along his shoulder, bumping into Pearl’s leg, and dropping to the ground.
“Ah! Kirby!” Pearl doted, “I know you’re eager, but please let us both know when you want down!”
The resilient Kirby hopped back to his feet, standing (a staggering 1 ft. 8 in.) tall on the cobblestone pathway… the cobblestone path right in front of Kawasaki’s! They were there!
Quickly rushing inside, eager to find a seat, he found that everywhere was vacant, except for one seat at a square table at the far side of the dinning area.
On the short-legged chair sat a larger, blue batamon, draped with an indigo tailcoat of a cape with a tri-pointed collar, held to his spherical body by the spaulders fitted to his shoulders. Plated gloves and a silver mask and concealed his face and hands, revealing only the light of his eyes through a shadowed, chevron eyehole. Aside from the lavender owl roosting on his head, this was the unmistakable sight of Meta Knight, proud warrior and father. His father!
Kirby launched himself, nubby paws outstretched, into his father’s mass. Meta Knight remained unmoved and unsurprised by the sudden projectile, but the bird on his head squawked an alerted “Hey!” Landing on the floor, Amethyst’s feathers reverted to hair and she transformed back into her regular shape. “Watch it!”
“You know you should ask before you hug, Kirby.” The armored batamon’s rich, accented voice sounded. If there was any tone of disapproval at the impulsive action, it was never conveyed as he hugged his son back.
“Sorry!” Kirby distractedly said as he nuzzled into his father’s hold. That would likely be the best they would get from him at the moment, hyper as he was.
“I can’t fault your bleeding heart for loving your father.” Meta Knight said with amusement.
“A little bird told me that you displayed a new power today, Kirby.” Even though he was still wearing his mask, Kirby could tell that his father was smiling, both because of his voice and the joyful blue tone his normally gold eyes took.
Kirby beamed up at him. “Poyeah!”
“Well, after we order, would you care to tell me about it?” His father prompted.
The pink batamon nodded, and parted from his father in order to take a seat.
The two tallest of the party squatted down onto a pair of inadequately-sized booths at the far side wall, closest to the table the three others sat at.
“Hey Saki-man!” Amethyst shouted into the kitchen once they were all settled.
Quickly, Kawasaki — the chef — came waddling up to the group. His orange face wore a dopey smile as he eagerly began to take their orders.
“Oh gosh, hello! What’s your orders, folks?” He happily questioned.
Garnet and Pearl passed on getting anything. Kawasaki was well accustomed to this, but still deflated slightly.
He promptly reinflated when coming to the table. All three were hearty eaters, and Kirby and Amethyst were frequent customers, so they were bound to make him money!
Kirby pointed with a fork to the menu, where it said “tsukudani”, and then to where it said “yakizakana”, his mouth already watering.
Amethyst closed her eyes, leaning back in her seat. “Just the usual!” With “the usual” being a bastardized imitation of cold soba consisting of a large plate of spaghetti topped with a little bit of every single spice in the spice drawer, and served with a cup of fryer grease.
Meta Knight simply ordered a breaded cutlet, and a stack of pancakes (with strawberries and whipped cream).
“Ah, good choices, good choices!” Kawasaki said. He swept away, apron swishing.
“So,” Meta Knight began, “What was this new achievement of yours?”
Kirby set down his fork so he could gesture without stabbing someone.
“I got a SHIELD!” He said, waving his arms in a circle to encapsulate it.
“A shield?” Meta Knight’s eyes gleamed. “What did it look like?”
“Roses!” Kirby simply explained.
“Hmm.” Meta Knight closed his eyes and leaned back in contemplation. “So that is another inheritance from your mother? It is a useful one to be sure.”
Kirby deflated slightly “But, it went away real quick…”
“That is what training is for, Kirby. Training and time. With experience and age you will master this skill.” Meta Knight patiently explained. “When I was your age, I wasn’t even halfway through my sword training.”
The gems, who had been letting the two have their conversation, began to chime in.
“All you need is your gut!” Amethyst exclaimed.
“I’d say Kirby needs to keep patience in mind.“ Pearl countered.
“Inner peace is key.” Garnet stated simply.
Kirby’s eyes darted between them.
“All good advice, but please don’t confuse Kirby.” Meta Knight said.
Suddenly, they all heard a fearful warble from Chef Kawasaki — not from the kitchens, but from the restaurant’s entrance. The blustering, mustard orange culinist was dwarfed and pushed aside by the corpulent form striding through the slide door.
The intruder was flourished with a dark periwinkle plumage swaddled in a sandy and golden tunic combo held together by a waistband of zigging red and yellow triangles that wrapped their girth like a drum. A red, white-trimmed cloak draped their arms and back, with a matching gold-brimmed beanie atop his head. Underneath the egg-like emblem at their forehead, dull, blue eyes squinted in a scouring frenzy.
“There!” A golden-gloved mit pointed at Kirby from across the room, causing heads that were previously staring at the King to snap to the pink batamon. A sickly-lavender snail the size of the forlorn chef slithered up behind the loud blue bird, accompanied by a troop of little, round Waddle Dees that marched in with blank, monkeyish faces and spears thrice their height.
“Get ‘im! Dat dere Kirby’s the source of all dis! I’m bettin’ mah money he got yer sheep!” The big bird crowed.
Mayor Blustergas, who managed to shuffle his way through the Waddle Dees, squawked with surprise and disbelief. “Kirby? Pardon me, King Dedede, but are you, um… mistaken?”
“Ah told ya, it’s ‘im! Who else got the power or appetite tah do all dat? Kirby a’ course!” The Penguin King insisted.
Duke Escargoon, ever loyal to the throne, was more than eager to bandwagon. “Yeah! Just look at him! He’s got this evil air about him! Sitting smugly!” The whiskered mollusk said from Dedede’s side, subtly shifting his shell to block the mayor’s path.
Kirby blinked.
“Oh gimme a break…” Amethyst groaned, rolling her eyes. She was frankly up to Pearl’s hairline with Escargoon.
“Now hold on a second here,” Pearl strode from her seat to behind Kirby’s chair, subconsciously digging her fingers into the wooden backboard. “What exactly are you saying, your majesty?”
“Ah’m sayin’ dat dere Kirby’s a mutton meltin’ murderer!” Dedede pointed again at the little pink puff. At the gesture, the Waddle Dees’ eager spears swayed forward like branches in the wind.
“What!” Pearl cried. She looked aghast at the concept.
“Wait, how did they get melted? ” Amethyst questioned.
“He regurgletated on ‘em! Obviously!” The king’s eyes rolled in exasperation.
““Regurgitated”, sire.” Escargoon corrected.
Dedede promptly bonked the advisor on the scalp, caving his skulless head in. “Just get ‘im!”
The Waddle Dees poured through the restaurant, spears held high as they quickly surrounded the family at the table and started to push inward.
“Now hold on!” Pearl demanded. The Waddle Dees’ advance halted. “Kirby would never do that!”
“Yeah! There’s no way Kirbs did that!” Amethyst cried.
“It’s really unlikely.” Garnet added.
“Then who exactly did?” Escargoon said sceptically.
“Perhaps it would be wise to further investigate the scene of the crime.” Meta Knight calmly interjected. “Has anyone been there since the attack?”
The Mayor twiddled his hands “Not exactly… Mack — the only witness — was so traumatized that we thought it was too dangerous to go.”
“Then the gems should investigate. We can all agree they are strong enough to handle whatever they may find, yes?” Meta Knight’s voice was steady and soothing to the ears of the nervous cappy.
“We’ll find the jerk who did this, and prove it totally wasn’t Kirby!” Amethyst shouted, pumping her fist. Her voice was grating and anxiety-inducing.
Dedede’s mouth opened, aimed to argue the purple lady, but Escargoon relented. “Fine! It’s your funeral!”
Dedede turned to him, snarling, but the snail turned and whispered into the king’s earhole. “Sire, if what killed the sheep manages to get the Gems, they’ll be out of our hair!”
After a moment was taken to process this, the king’s toothy beak began to grin triumphantly.
“Alright! Y’all go doin’ yer investigating, while Meta Knight here does his job and guards tha townies. Dere complaining, saying dat dey “don’t feel safe” or whateva! Chop chop!” the regent ordered.
The three colorful women all got up and left through the parting orange sea of Dees, off to start their investigation and clear their ward’s (flimsily) tarnished name. Garnet led the trio through the door, with Pearl and Amethyst giving one last scrutinizing glance at King Dedede as they left.
“My apologies, Kawasaki, but I’m afraid we have to cancel our order.” Meta Knight spoke as he headed to the sliding door with his confused pink duckling in tow.
“And Sir Meta Knight?” The King’s golden mit blocked the masked batamon’s path. “Be sure ta keep watch on ya boyyy… ya hear?”
“Certainly, Your Majesty.” Meta Knight said. “I have no opposition to doing so.”
And so, Meta Knight and Kirby accompanied the mayor in their quest to relieve the rustled townsfolk. As they walked down Cappy Town’s cobbled path, Kirby wondered over what in the world King Dedede was talking about that made everyone forget celebratory brunch...
—————— ( ouo)/) ~* ——————
Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst wound their way around the path that led through the Blustergas estate and through the hills where the sheep perished. As they passed the surviving flock, an unpleasant smell — like arid smoke and death — greeted them as they approached the scene.
“Ew.” Amethyst commented quietly.
Cresting over the hill, they looked down upon a sea of melted sheep parts. Wool, blood, bones, and flesh were scattered across the grass. It was a gruesome sight.
Pearl looked nauseous. “‘Ew’ is right…” her hands wrapped round and squeezed her beakish nose shut.
The three of them walked closer to inspect the massacre.
Garnet crouched in front of a pile of bones and gently nudged them. They crumbled, even at the light touch.
Pearl walked over to look at the remains.
“Well, it certainly looks like a corrosive was the cause…” She commented. “This type of structural instability points to it, look at the marks left on the intact sections!”
Amethyst pointed out a particularly large patch of burnt grass. “Yeah, that’s definitely not from fire!”
Pearl turned to Garnet. “Have we encountered anything around here which uses strong acids or bases?”
“There was that sweaty lizard thing, remember?” Amethyst provided, “From the swamp with the mud monster?”
“The surviving flock.” Garnet interrupted. “They were closer a moment ago. They’ve run away.”
Suddenly, they heard a rattling hiss!
Turning to the source, they found behind them a large centipede as long as Garnet was tall. A verdant sheen marked the undersides of several dark olive segments as they disappeared into a bristly, cream-colored mane. Jutting from the center of the mane, blackened pincer-like jaws were held open, revealing a pool of chartreuse saliva and a bulging round eye in the throat. The insectoid monster reared up onto its hind sets of beetlish legs, letting out another hiss as spittle burnt holes into blades of grass.
The three sheep coroners adopted aggressive stances as more of the arthropedal creatures moved with a centipedal march and flanked the first’s sides. “Corrupted gems!” Pearl finally cried.
At her shout, the centipede-beetle hybrids lept into action, some scrambling directly for their targets with their many-legged, sinuous bodies, while the other half began to hiss louder as they welled up acid in their maws. The gemstones embedded in the bodies of the alert trio shone bright.
“Gems, dodge!” Garnet exclaimed. The glowing aura emitting from her palms seeped through her fingers and found physical form as bulking gauntlets that encased her fists. “They’re what burned through everything alright!”
The three dove into action, dodging the arc of the striking enemy. Pearl and Amethyst’s hands drew to the gems in their flesh, and pulled from their bright lights a glaive and whip respectively. Soon the battle was underway with a series of stabbing, slithering, snapping, strafing, spitting, smashing, and probably another alliterative action. More creatures poured from over the hills, attracted by the chaos. Their numbers were high, but the gems easily kept up, dodging the splatters of acid and snap of jaws as they responded with their own attacks.
Garnet crushed their heads with ease between her two gauntlets, Amethyst kept them distant and distracted with her whip, and Pearl stabbed quickly at their vitals. When defeated, each monster popped in a poof of smoke and light. But, as the battle neared its end, something odd was noticed.
“Hey!” Amethyst shouted to her friends after her whip popped a monster’s eye and rendered it to little, glittering nothings. “These centipede beetles, they’re poofing, but they aren’t dropping gems! What gives?”
“That’s odd!” Pearl said, flicking her wrist as a limp body slid off her spear and disappeared.
“Look!” Garnet exclaimed, drawing the other’s attention to the centipeetle locked in her grasp. The creature thrashed about, attempting to free itself from the fingers clamping around its shut mouth and midsection, as well the foot pinning its tail into the ground.
“Translucent, rough around the edges… these were just constructs.” She concluded before splitting its body over her knee. In the split-second of its remaining existence, the severed halves revealed a cloudy mass that faded in density towards the center. With that, the last of the constructs were poofed, leaving behind not a single gemstone in the surviving patches of grass.
The weary victors looked out on the wreckage. Some of the bones had been trampled, and weakened by the acid, had crumbled. Patches of grass were torn up by claws and others were burnt again. Surviving puffs of wool that had been flung into the air now settled.
“We’re going to have to find the projector.” Pearl announced after she brushed herself off.
“Yeah, but where is she?” Amethyst questioned.
“We should look in the direction they dragged the bodies.” Garnet decided.
“That’s right,” Amethyst agreed, “They’re taking back the munchies for their momma!”
Pearl sighed, “Corrupted or not, I’ll never understand why a Gem would want to gorge themselves…”
Their next course of action decided, they began to track the remains of the sheep. They had disturbed them somewhat, but it was easy enough to find where they led.
Following the trail of entrails, wool, and burnt grass patches, the gems found themselves at the edge of a forest.
The dense woods prevented them from seeing where the rest of the trail led.
“She’s in there? How are we going to find her?” Amethyst asked.
“With politeness!” Pearl knocked gently on one of the trees.
Around a stubby stump of a branch, the tree’s bark parted to make three holes to a darker ring inside. The holes, glistening over with an amberish film of sap, make the perfect facsimile of a face. “Yes?” It intoned warily.
“Have you or the others seen any monsters about? Particularly large, green ones that resemble centipedes, about as long as we are tall?” Pearl questioned, gesturing between Garnet and herself.
“I’m right here.” Amethyst grumbled shortly.
The tree jolted, its autumnal leaves rustling. “Why yes! If you’ll glance at my roots,” it’s roots twitched, “I was just burned something awful by one of them this morning! Not to mention, one particularly large one indeed has been hiding out deeper inside, according to the others.”
“Can you tell us where it is?” Pearl continued.
“No, I’m afraid it’s beyond the confines of the forest at the moment. We are unable to track it anymore beyond the fact it was last seen heading south.” The tree responded regretfully.
“Ah, dammit.” Amethyst pouted, slouching.
“Don’t swear.” Pearl chided.
“Barely a swear…” The purple gem mumbled.
“It’s still impolite.” The tree argued.
“A direction did more than suffice. Thank you for the information.” Pearl said, turning back to the tree.
The tree nodded, canopy swaying. It’s face faded away, sealed again by bark.
“Alright, Crystal Gems; let’s go.” Garnet said.
—————— ( ouo)/) ~* ——————
Kirby has spent a fair amount of his time with his father, and boy was he was grateful for that. There weren’t many times, however, that he could recall his father spending time with him during official work hours. He wasn’t sure how grateful he was for that, because honestly? Now might have been kind of boring. It might also be the lack of breakfast that spoiled his mood, though.
Meta Knight wasn’t the only member of the royal guard watching over Cappy Town today, as his uncles Sword and Blade were also watching over the townsfolk; the latter of which had brought bento boxes for him and Dad! So luckily, lunch wasn’t forgotten.
There was even more luck, as nothing monstrous had wandered into town (not counting King Dedede and Escargoon). Some of the cappies were still a bit on edge, but talk with the mayor was enough action for them.
“Mister Mayor! What happened to your sheep, is it handled?”
“I hope it is! I don’t want what ever did that going through my Nruff pens!”
“My chickens wouldn’t be able to handle the fright!”
“It’s okay! It’s okay, everyone!” The mayor assured, “King Dedede has assured me that he and his guard have the situation handled.”
“Watch it, Mayor!” The loitering Escargoon chided from the sidelines, “The king’s rightful pronouns are “de”, “dim”, and “dis”! If you want to keep your job, you will use them accordingly!”
“Oh! Uh, my apologies…” Blustergas nodded sheepishly, “The ding-- the king --de has things under control!”
“Yeah... his control. ” Gus muttered, only for a green whisker to brush his face.
“Dis control, mechanic!”
Said mechanic jerked back, making a face at the close proximity of the snail.
Watching the display, Kirby began to doubt his previous assumption that whatever the townsfolk were scared of, it wasn’t the king and dis royal advisor romping through town. As he tried to recall the king’s opinions of sheep, he was pulled from his thoughts by the lack of rice between his chopsticks.
“Kirby?” Meta Knight called as he set his own empty bento beside him. “Amethyst didn’t mention what happened to the rest of the maximatoes. You didn’t get ahead of yourself, did you?”
Kirby nodded. “I just had one.”
“That’s good,” His father commended, grouping the empty bento boxes together. “But to be honest, I was hoping to ask if you were willing to share a couple of your tomatoes with me.”
Kirby, recalling the exact place on the counter where the bowl was left, gave a bright smile as he imagined them where he was right now. “Okay!”
Kirby hopped off the bench and sped off back to the house.
Looking back at the crowd, Meta Knight watched as the royal advisor decided to dedicate his idle time to berating a Waddle Dee on it's spear-handling technique. The poor thing looked used to it, unfortunately. And to be even more honest, the knight was used to Escargoon’s behavior too.
“‘What are you doing, Meta Knight?’” Meta Knight mimed in a dull, yet humored tone. “You were supposed to watch your son — king’s orders!’”
He gave a small salute to the snail, who was preoccupied with nursing his thumb, recently and clumsily pricked on a spearhead.
“As you say, Escargoon.” He chuckled, excusing himself quietly as he followed after his son.
—————— ( ouo)/) ~* ——————
As experienced as the Crystal Gems were, monsters still sometimes got away from them. It was — as Amethyst would put it — a bummer every time they failed. Not just because of their own pride, but because of the fact that it endangered others; everything they vowed to protect. There the three were, feeling defeated as they followed a lost lead, trudging the thin eastern beach that led back to their home.
“There is only so much ‘south’ this thing could have gone.” Garnet grumbled as the three neared the end of the peninsula.
“Maybe it went into the ocean?” Pearl proposed, looking off into the waters lit a gentle salmon by the now-setting sun.
“Pfft! We’d have a bunch of fish floaters if it did.” Amethyst scoffed, grimly imagining a school of fish meeting the same fate as the Blustergas sheep.
“Such a dangerous gem shouldn’t be left unbubbled,” asserted Garnet. “We’re going to have to continue the search through the night.”
“We could stay in the field, in case they go for the remaining sheep. Or maybe?...” Pearl pondered, “Garnet, back in the trees, could we have found some tracks?
“Maybe,” Garnet agreed, adjusting her visor. “Whatever you’re looking for, it’s always in the last place you look.”
“Well son of a bitch, why did that place have to be up there! ”
Garnet and Pearl’s heads turn to follow where Amethyst was pointing, meeting the top of the colossal sculpture that adorned their temple’s cliffside. Crawling across the sweeping stone hair of the statue, was a lengthy form that outmatched all the other centipeetles they had encountered.
It’s body stretched the length of the temple’s arm, and could’ve wrapped around it’s wrist thrice over. A ridge of translucent, lime facets lined the backs of the corrupted gem’s dozen segments, each hexagonal shape meters wide, and every leg rivaling Garnet’s in size.
The creamy mane that was a bristly shrub on the constructs was a wild, silky tree canopy on the original. The jagged trapjaw was large enough to hold five sheep in their entirety, but any such hypothetical sheep would’ve dissolved in seconds in her caustic drool. Luminescent green muscles and salivary glands lined the interior of the beak, drawing all the way into the back of the centipeetle’s gaping maw, where there was a single, giant, yellow-tinged eye with a beady green speck of a pupil flicking about.
She very quickly spotted the Crystal Gems below. Her eye narrowed and she let out a deafening screech, which reverberated across the beach and ended with a long hiss. It was a sound that felt instinctively wrong.
The gems immediately pulled out their weapons from their gleaming gemstones again. “That’s the mother!” Pearl yelled.
The three stood their ground as the centipeetle wound back down the statue as fast as she could (surprisingly quick for a creature her size) and made her way to them. Still, they had plenty of time to mentally prepare by the time she reached them and they began to clash.
The battle commenced, with the four combatants grunting, hissing, and gasping as they dodged, lunged, and swiped.
The Crystal Gems found themselves against a much tougher opponent, despite their advantage in numbers this time.
“She’s more agile than the others!” Garnet commented as she attempted to punch the corrupted gem, failing when she drew up and away.
“She’s-- ugh! --pretty strong too!” Amethyst commented as the mother’s tail slammed into her.
“But not out of our league!” Pearl cheered them on as she managed to lunge up to jab at the centipeetle’s face, scraping along the carapace of its jaw and causing it to recoil and overbalance, toppling backwards.
She fell with a loud thud and a spray of sand, which the gems had to shield themselves from.
“Alright! Take that!” Amethyst cheered.
But before she and the others could close in and finish her off, the beast jolted and lumbered back upright!
As soon as she was steady on her many legs, the mother centipeetle lunged for the group again, forcing them to scatter.
There was a fury in her eye and a frenzy in her attacks and as she snapped at them, acid dripping in large quantities from her jaws. The dangerous spittle flew as she attacked.
This would be the sight that would meet anyone who reared over the hill path leading down to the beach. In this moment, the maximato-retrieving Kirby would be that anyone. The young batamon’s eyes widened at his guardians’ predicament, and rosy red feet sent him dashing down the sandy path laddered with wooden planks. Kirby was panicked, he wasn’t sure of what to do, but regardless he bolted towards the Crystal Gems, anxious to help. Pearl’s cry of “Kirby, no!” halted him, however.
“We can handle this! You stay safe!” She called over, having noticed him even as she struggled with holding snapping jaws away with her spear. The owner of said jaw was literally frothing with agitation, and acid dripped down along the length of the spear, causing Pearl’s hands to falter.
A heavy punch from Garnet saved her, but the beast got right back up, madder than ever. Hissing, the centipeetle’s head whipped in an arc, spraying out a stream of acid across the beach.
“Take cover!” Garnet cried out. She and the gems ducked behind a carved stone hand embedded in the beach. Their granite knuckles sizzled underneath the corrosive onslaught.
Kirby watched worriedly as his aunts hid. The little batamon bit his lip. He knew his aunts could handle it, but this was anxiety-inducing!
The monster hacked another douse of saliva at the sculpture fragment, the chartreuse hazard beginning to pool at the base faster than the sand could dissolve or absorb it. Pungent fumes filled the salty air as the shrinking fingers began to look like a mitten. Kirby could see that soon, at this current rate of unending attack, their cover would be reduced to nothing!
Kirby ran for them, planning on distracting the corrupted gem. He let out a big “POYO!” waving his arms and stomping his feet. The sound was loud for his size, even over the hissing of the waves of acid and ocean water.
The monster stopped her spitting, startled. Her single eye turned in its socket, landing on Kirby. Her jaws inched closer, narrowing her eye with odd, chitinous eyelids. Luckily for his one-track mind, attention was drawn away from his endangered aunts.
Kirby squinted back, attempting to summon his new shield. The monster ignored his useless squinting and shifted her legs to meet him dead on.
Unfortunately for his one-track mind, it almost physically pained him remembering he hadn’t thought out step two, especially now that his attempts at summoning had failed.
Ever reasonable, Kirby panicked, abandoned his efforts, and managed to dodge the strike of tree-sized trapjaws.
“Kirby!” Pearl bloodcurdled, peeking out from behind the mangled sculpture (which was more blob than hand).
Poor Kirby ran as fast as his little rosy paws could carry him as the corrupted gem chased him in circles around the beach.
The monster kept lunging for him, clicking with frustration and segmented footsteps.
“Kirby! Inhale!” A voice called.
Instinctively, Kirby obeyed the call, opening his mouth wide. Below his lungs and diaphragm, a familiar core within him pulled in on itself, drawing a vacuum into his cherry-red maw. Salty sea air drew itself in, and only fleeting streams of light escaping. For a split second, Kirby saw the bright packaging of batteries before they vanished into his open mouth.
A tingling energy coursed through his little round body; from where he should feel paralyzed and sickened, he felt envigored and beyond alive. He could taste an acidic saliva of his own in his mouth, and his fangs coating over in a chalky potash. The fine fur on his body stood green and erect as they gave off the smell of a waxy, metallic tarnish. He could feel an interlocking chain of zinc and manganese wrapped around the crown of his head, and sense countless chemical reactions bursting from within the headband. The cyan jewel embedded in the front felt like an intimately familiar fifth limb as it oscillated hyperly from in its frame, sending matching arcs of electricity coursing across his scalp.
“Spark Kirby!” The owner of the voice called — Meta Knight! He must have heard the fight too, Kirby thought.
“Poyamp!” Kirby eagerly responded to his father’s commentary
Beady eyes, now green, turned back to the giant centipeedle. The corrupted gem, having momentarily recoiled at the batamon’s vibrant transformation, resumed an offensive, predatory posture. The two verdant powerhouse were obstacles in each other’s wake.
The lengthy olive carapace bent into a towering, cobra-like arch. This rearing strike gave Kirby enough time to amp up a level of charge. Powerful yet so merciful, Kirby wanted to poof it quickly and humanely. Acids and bases colliding and conflicting within his body, the swarming magnitude of electrons steadily increased until the beast made its decision to strike.
As the giant, acid-laden trapjaw began their downward arc to the beach soil, an energetic flick of Spark Kirby’s foot sent him flying out of the lethal path, soaring diagonal to the centipeetle’s side. There, milliseconds into his airtime, he released the remaining majority of his charge as a bright bolt of lightning into the corrupted gem’s side.
The blast met truer than true, splintering and arcing around the insectoid form. The mane frazzled and the legs twitched as electricity coursed through the fibers and crystalline muscles, forcing the body to writhe. The beak, open in a shriek, had traveling arcs jumping between teeth in an odd, beetle-like Jacob’s Ladder. Just when it started to appear as if its flesh was splitting and flaking off, the arthopedal body exploded into a splinter of crystal sinew and flakes that evaporated into a minty mist.
Kirby bungled his landing, shocked by his display, and began to wonder if he overdid his attack. He watched, enamored, as something solid fell from the dissipating cloud, landing with a soft tinkle and crunching of sand. Scrambling over to the solitary debris, Kirby found a sphere of a gemstone half his size.
It was perfectly round and an opaque, lime pool of color. A wrought iron ring wrapped around its circumference, except for a segment where the ends of the ring bent away and coiled back in, creating a smaller circle in the middle of the equator. For a gem, it certainly looked like an eyeball.
As Kirby carefully felt it over with paws, finding a faint uncanny resemblance to unripened watermelons, the gems came out of hiding. Pearl came rushing forth, picking up her baby, ignoring her hair frizzing as she held him.
“Yo! That was cool!” Amethyst cried, banishing her whip to gesticulate her praises.
Garnet crouched down to the cabochon nesting in the sand, and formed a small pink bubble around it. Tapping the top of it, it teleported away to safety.
“But I didn’t make a shield!” Kirby pouted as, with a soft twinkle, the band around his head vanished and his pelt returned to its pink color.
“You have just begun using that ability.” Meta Knight stated matter-of-factly, his cloak making a trail in the sand as he walked up to the rest of them. “Remember when you first got Spark? You could barely gather charge — now look at you, you knocked out an opponent several times your size in a single shot.”
A twinkle of realization adorned Kirby’s eyes. His toes wiggled and he puffed up in pride from within Pearl’s arms. Happy kicks dying down, he suddenly grinned cheekily, “Celebration?” He inquired. “I’ve been good!”
The gems and his father laughed — of course he’d been missing the food he was promised!
“You got it, lil man!” Amethyst said, ruffling his fur fondly.
Kirby smiled brightly, thinking of katsudon.
—————— *~ (\(>u<)/) ~* ——————
To Be Continued