//------------------------------// // Tale 1, Part 1: Soccer With Two Kirbys // Story: Tales From The Omniverse // by Lucar //------------------------------// Beside Cappy Town’s big tree, Kirby caught the ball and passed it to Fololo who passed it to Iro who passed it to Tuff, and so on. The children were passing the ball to each other in a circle, often sending it too much to the left, right, or above, forcing them to run to catch it. Not far from them, Tiff was reading a book on a bench. On one such occasion where the ball was sent too far above, making Kirby run to catch it, the ball was instead caught by Dedede, causing Kirby to crash into his belly and bounce off to fall on his butt. “Oh! Thanks for the ball! Now, I think that I will keep it.” “Hey!” Tuff shouted. “Give back the ball!” “Nah. Finders keepers. Now it’s my ball and I’ll be the one playing with it. But if you want it back so badly, then how about you try to take it back by playing soccer? Me and my team of Waddle Dees against you and whoever you manage to recruit? Of course, I will totally win it and keep it while Kirby will cry in the mud. Eheheheheh!” Dedede walked away with the ball. “See you tomorrow at 10 am with whatever team of losers you will get!” He left behind quite a bunch of unhappy kids (and whatever were Fololo and Falala). “What do we do now?” Spikehead wondered. “We prepare for the match,” Tiff said. “We will have to find people who will agree to play for us. I will ask around town.” “I’m not sure if anyone will want to play against King Dedede,” Honey said. “Maybe if we find Knuckle Joe…” Fololo proposed. “He would still be only one player,” Honey countered. “Will you play, Tiff? You aren’t really the sportive type,” Tuff said to his sister. “I don’t know. If we don’t find enough players…” She was stopped from saying more as, suddenly, she saw a tear in the fabric of space open. Out of it came a white, wings, horned equine a bit smaller than Tuff, but bigger than Kirby. The children could only watch in wonder. “So, let’s see, where am I?” the equine said as she looked around before she spotted the children. Silence followed, especially when the equine spotted Kirby. Sweetie Void knew this could happen sooner or later, but meeting an alternate version of Kirby still took her by surprise and, for a moment, she wasn’t sure what to do. Thankfully, the first one who did something was the yellow skinned girl with the ponytail. Wait, three of these children (they were children, right? The girl and the boy beside her certainly were, but she had doubts for the others) were Cappies without their mushroom cap, and they had features that differentiated them, and one of them was even wearing clothes! And was that Lololo and Lalala flying beside them? Why were they so small? And last she remembered, Lololo and Lalala couldn’t fly. “Hello? Who are you?” the girl asked. “Uh. Hi. I’m Sweetie Void,” the filly answered. “Before you ask, I’m a visitor from another dimension. I explore universes.” “From another dimension?” all the kids repeated more or less excitedly. “That’s right! So, who are you?” The kids presented themselves. The girl with the ponytail was Tiff. The boy with orange skin and yellow and green hair hiding his eyes was her brother, Tuff. The Cappies were Honey (the only girl), Iro, and Spikehead. Lololo and Lalala were actually Fololo and Falala. And finally, there was Kirby. “Welcome to Cappy Town, in Dream Land,” Tiff said. “Let me guess.” Sweetie pointed at a big castle visible on top of a cliff. “This is Dedede’s castle?” Tiff was surprised. “Uh, yes. But how do you know?” “I lived in an alternate version of Dream Land for a bit. The castle doesn’t look the same, but, castle in Dream Land, immediately, I thought “Dedede”. I’m also friends with alternate Kirby who is actually smaller than your Kirby.” “That’s incredible!” Tiff exclaimed. “Do you know an alternate version of me?” “No. I never met alternate you. Not sure you even exist in that Dream Land. I never encountered your species.” “Oh.” Sweetie spotted an adult Cappy passing by. “And there are some differences, like Cappies. The adults aren’t that big in the other universe. They are actually about your size,” she said as she pointed at the three Cappies that were revealed to be really children. “And they wear mushroom caps and don’t have any features to differentiate them. And Kirby there is a bit smaller than this one, about half my size.” “Wow, that’s small!” Tuff said. “Now I’m curious to know what other differences there are between the two universes. You said that the other universe has a Dedede too but that he lives in a different castle?” “Yes. Give me a second so I can have a better look at the castle. I can’t see it well from here with the trees and houses in the way.” At that, Sweetie Void flew up, and a few seconds later, returned. “Yeah, the other Dedede castle definitely has no dome roof or towers and cone roofs. And I don’t see the windows looking like glaring eyes.” “A castle with windows that look like glaring eyes,” Spikehead said with a shudder. “Your Dedede sounds even meaner than ours.” Sweetie Void raised an eyebrow. “It’s just a style. He loves evil-looking castles. But in reality, Dedede is a softy. Why?” She glared. “Is your Dedede a problem?” “He stole our ball just a few minutes before you arrived!” Tuff exclaimed. “And then, he defied us to take it back by winning a soccer match against him!” “He probably wants to ridicule Kirby again,” Falala said. “He always tries to find new ways to humiliate him, and it looks like his current attempt is by winning a soccer match over him.” “His plots, at first, consisted of defeating Kirby, but eventually, they changed into plots to humiliate him, especially since he doesn’t have any more monsters to send,” Tiff said. “Also, he has an ego the size of the moon, he doesn’t care if he makes others suffer as long as he boosts it. He is also super selfish, violent, lazy…” “He is a big bully!” Tuff exclaimed. Sweetie Void groaned, rubbing her face. “Great. Your Dedede is still in his stage “steal everyone’s food to boost his own ego”. Yes, that is what my Dedede did at first before he mellowed down.” “Our Dedede never went that far!” Honey said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if he decides to do that one day,” Iro said. “I don’t think he will dare. Now that he doesn’t have his monsters anymore, Kirby would beat him to a pulp,” Tuff said. “Poyo!” the puffball exclaimed, agreeing. “Then why not just beat him up to get back your ball?” Sweetie Void questioned. “Using violence for just a ball, it would go a bit far, don’t you think? Especially if we can get it back in a non-violent way,” Tiff said. “True. You said he had monsters?” “Yes. He bought monsters from that company, Nightmare Enterprise, or N.M.E., and used them in his plots to harm Kirby or assert his control over Cappy Town, among others.” “Nightmare Enterprise? Wait, Nightmare… Anything to do with an evil wizard?” “eNeMeE, yes,” Tiff said. “You had him too?” “eNeMeE? We are talking about the same wizard, right? Blue cloak with stars and pauldrons? Helmet with long yellow horns? Shades?” “Yes, that’s eNeMeE,” Tiff confirmed. “Well, in the other universe, he was called Nightmare. Kirby killed him.” “Same for us.” “So Dedede worked for him?” “I wouldn’t say “worked”. He just bought the monsters. He was his client.” “Whoa. Nightmare, CEO of a monster-selling company, and Dedede, his client. That’s… certainly different. And why is Dedede still king if he caused so much trouble?” Tiff shrugged. “The Cappies are easily forgiving, and surprisingly, he can reveal a good side sometimes.” “Good. He still remains Dedede in the end. He is not really evil, just a jerk with a good heart. Well then, how about I help you win this soccer match?” “You will help us?” Tuff asked. “Of course! Well, I never played soccer, but I should be good.” “Even then, we will still need to find more players, and we aren’t sure if the Cappies will agree to play,” Tiff said. “That’s no problem. I have some friends that I’m sure will agree to play. When is the match?” “Tomorrow at 10am,” Fololo answered. “Who among you will play?” “Me!” Tuff shouted, raising his hand. “And Kirby too!” “And me, if I have no choice,” Tiff said. “So, with me, that leaves at least seven players. No problem,” Sweetie Void said. “Well, we have time, so how about you give me a tour of Cappy Town, and we can talk more about the differences between the two Dream Lands?” “Alright,” Tiff agreed. “And I will present you to everyone.” And so, Tiff, followed by the others, led Sweetie Void through the town, presenting her to the inhabitants like Chef Kawasaki, Chief Bookem, Mayor Len Blustergas, Gus, Biblio, and so on. At the end, the children separated, Kirby returned to his house, and Tiff and Tuff led Sweetie to the castle where they lived, taking the occasion to present her to their parents, Sir Ebrum and Lady Like. Tiff sighed. “If you want to spend the night here,  I will have to present you to Dedede.” “Ah, don’t worry, I can deal with Dedede.” They found Dedede eating, a giant purple snail at his side. If Sweetie remembered correctly what she was told during the tour, his name was Escargoon. Dedede saw Tiff and immediately looked annoyed. “Oh, it’s you. What do you want? Oh, let me guess, you are giving up the match tomorrow because you found nobody to play with you!” Sweetie Void was taken off guard by his Southern accent. “You wish, Dedede! I’m here to present Sweetie Void to you. She will help us in tomorrow’s match, and she wishes to remain in the castle tonight.” Dedede raised an eyebrow. Escargoon was the one who responded before he could. “And why would Dedede let someone who will play against him remain in his castle?” Sweetie Void grinned at him. “Well, he is letting Tiff remain despite the fact that she is against him.” Escargoon frowned. “Ah, good point.” Dedede snorted. “Well you know what? I will be a good sport. I will let her remain in the castle. Because it won’t change anything for tomorrow, I will still beat Kirby in the match.” “That’s so nice of you, King Dedede,” Sweetie Void said. “By the way, who are you? Where do you come from?” Dedede asked. “Like Tiff said, I’m Sweetie Void, visitor from another dimension.” “WHAT?!” both Dedede and Escargoon yelled. Dedede almost toppled his chair. “I come from a place called Equestria. I’m an alicorn pony. And yes, I’m just a filly, but I love exploring other dimensions. I developed a taste for adventure, you see.” “I see…” Dedede said slowly, gawking at Sweetie Void. “So I hope that you don’t mind that I help Kirby. It will be fun to play soccer. I will also bring friends.” “Uh, well, that’s no problem. Like I said, that won’t change the outcome.” Sweetie smirked at that. “Well then, as long as we have fun, that’s alright, but I will still do my best.” “Yeah yeah. By the way, Escargoon here will be the referee,” Dedede informed. “What?!” Tiff exclaimed. “He is not a neutral party! He will be on your side! He-he will allow you to cheat!” Dedede put a hand on his chest, looking hurt. “Moi? Cheating? I would never!” “I will be an exemplary referee,” Escargoon said. “Cheating won’t be allowed under my eyes. I promise.” Dedede pointed at Escargoon. “See?” Tiff gave an “I’m watching you” stare before stomping out of the room, grumbling that she didn’t believe it, that something was up. Sweetie Void followed her. Once they were left alone, Dedede and Escargoon looked at each other, then cackled. The night passed and morning came. Early, Sweetie left the universe to go search her friends for the match. Dedede made his Waddle Dees build a soccer field not far of Cappy Town, stands included, and ordered everyone in town to come watch it so they could witness his greatness. His team of Waddle Dees was already here, ready to start the match. A few minutes before the match would start, Sweetie Void arrived with her friends, which revealed to be Kirby, Dedede, Bandana Dee, Knuckle Joe, Rick, Marx, Adeleine, Daroach, and Void. Broom Sunglasses, Cape Knight, Meta Knight, Galacta Knight, the animals, Gooey, Ribbon, Yin and Yarn, Elline, Claycia, Dark Meta Knight, and the lieutenants of the Squeak Squad were also present but won’t play. Local Dedede made big eyes upon seeing his counterpart and Kirby. “What the-?!” “Everyone,” Sweetie began. “I present to you my friends from an alternate version of Dream Land.” She then presented everyone. Local Dedede pointed at his counterpart, who was a lot smaller than him. “You are playing with Kirby?” Dedede smirked. “That’s right. We work very well together.” Local Dedede gawked at him. Meanwhile, the two Kirbys looked at each other, then both waved and said, “Hiii!” Local Meta Knight was also here and, upon seeing his counterpart, Dark Meta Knight, and Galacta Knight, immediately asked them in duels which they agreed. Sweetie Void did a double take at local Meta Knight’s Spanish accent. “Are you Star Warriors too?” he asked Dark Meta Knight and Galacta Knight. “Whatever they are, we aren’t,” Galacta Knight answered. “Or I guess we are?” he suddenly wondered. “If our group had a name, I suppose that this is what we would be called.” All eyes then turned on Void once the locals finally remarked him. A bigger Kirby? Void waved at them. “Hello. I’m Kirby’s father. Nice to meet all of you. I will be in the reserve.” Jaws dropped, and local Kirby shouted, “Poyo?!” Sweetie grinned. “Also, he is a God.” Jaws dropped even lower. “In the other universe, Kirby has a father who is a God?!” Tiff exclaimed. Void glared at Sweetie who smiled innocently, then he said, “Treat me as if you never heard that. I’m here to have fun with my son.” Escargoon was sweating, but he showed a watch around his arm. “It’s 10am. We should get in position to start the match.” Everyone agreed and moved into position. Without surprise, local Dedede placed himself in the center of the field, ready to receive the ball from a Waddle Dee so he will lead the offensive. Meanwhile, three more Waddle Dees went midfield, two forward, and three in defense, plus the goalie obviously. In the opposite team, after a bit of talk, Sweetie Void, Dream Universe Kirby, Tuff, and Daroach went midfield. Local Kirby, Knuckle Joe, Rick, and Marx went defense. Bandana Dee and Adeleine went forward. And Dedede went goalie, to local Dedede’s surprise. “You are playing second fiddle to them?!” “My size will be more useful here!” Local Dedede didn’t look happy at all. “A Dedede should lead the charge!” “At least, I’m playing smart.” … … “Wait a minute! Are you implying…?!” Dedede guffawed. Meanwhile, the ones who weren’t playing went on the stands. Local Meta Knight went to sit beside his counterpart. “What can you tell me about your friends?” Meta Knight chuckled. “They never played soccer, so I expect a very chaotic match. But they are all very strong and have good teamwork so I’m not worried about their chances of victory. Dedede won’t let the ball pass. Marx will traumatize any poor Waddle Dee getting in his way. Daroach will be too fast to follow. And then there are Sweetie Void and Kirby who are in a league of their own. Prepare for a good show, and pity your Dedede.” The whistle sounded, and Dedede received the ball. He immediately ran toward the goal only to have the ball stolen by Sweetie Void who passed it to Daroach who eventually attempted to dribble past a Waddle Dee a bit awkwardly, not used yet to kick a ball. Thankfully for him, the Waddle Dee was just as awkward and attempted to kick the ball only to end on his butt, allowing him to continue. Only to be body tackled from the side by another Waddle Dee. But no whistle sounded. “Hey! That’s foul!” Tuff yelled only to see that Escargoon had his back turned and he was whistling. “Cheater!” “Cheating? What cheating? As long as the referee doesn’t see anything, there is no cheating,” local Dedede said smugly. From the reserve bench, Tiff fumed. “Grrrrr! I knew something like that would happen! No cheating under his eyes, of course! If he doesn’t look…!” At her side, Void said, “Don’t worry. I’m sure that our time will counter that.” Meanwhile, a Waddle Dee got the ball, then passed to another Waddle Dee who then passed to local Dedede who ran and barreled through local Kirby (not getting a whistle, obviously) before he kicked the ball at the goal. Dedede stopped it without problem. He then threw it at Marx who began to walk on it to make it roll. He moved left and right to avoid Waddle Dees until he was stopped by a wall of three Waddle Dees. Then, he got down from the ball and passed it to Kirby who kicked, from the middle of the field. The ball was sent toward the goal like a cannonball and went right through the net, leaving a hole and a poor goalie who looked at it in horror. The ball was thankfully stopped by a shield from Sweetie Void before it could hit someone on the stands. Escargoon was reluctant to whistle, but he did so anyway, after staring in shock at Kirby for several seconds. “1-0 for Kirby’s team!” “As expected,” Meta Knight said. “That’s not surprising. If our Kirby can send a giant frying pan flying around the sun, your Kirby can turn the ball into a cannonball,” local Meta Knight said with a chuckle. Meta Knight looked at his counterpart. “Your Kirby did what?!” The match resumed with local Dedede possessing the ball. Sweetie Void was about to take the ball again only for Dedede to ‘trip’ and fall right toward her. “Eep!” Thankfully, she teleported away. However, the ball went away and was caught by local Kirby who passed it to Tuff who passed it to Bandana Dee. He ran a bit, dribbling a Waddle Dee, before he kicked the ball. The goalie jumped to intercept it, but he was just too small to reach it and the ball landed in the net. Escargoon whistled. “2-0!” Local Dedede was seething. Once the match resumed, he ran with the ball, took out his hammer, and hit Sweetie Void before she could steal the ball, of course not getting a whistle. Local Dedede continued running and hit the ball with his hammer before Marx, sending the ball to the goal only to be stopped again by his counterpart. Dedede smirked. “So we use our weapons now?” He took out his hammer and hit the ball which traversed the whole field and entered the opposite goal. Escargoon whistled. However, he said, “Weapons are forbidden! Penalty for King Dedede’s team!” Dedede glared at Escargoon. “Now he does his job.” Of course, local Dedede was the one doing the penalty, but the ball was stopped yet again by his counterpart. Dedede threw the ball right away at Rick who ran and dribbled a Waddle Dee before he kicked the ball to the right. The ball was intercepted by Marx who passed it to Sweetie Void who kicked the ball, getting a goal. “3-0!” The match resumed, local Dedede was running with the ball. This time, he tried to avoid Sweetie Void only to be stolen by local Kirby who passed the ball to Knuckle Joe who passed the ball to Daroach who passed the ball to Adeleine only for her to be tackled by a Waddle Dee. Another Waddle Dee caught the ball and began to run with it. Sweetie Void suddenly blindfolded Escargoon. “Hey! What is it?” The Waddle Dee and the ball were inhaled by Kirby. He spat them and kicked the ball right away toward the goal. Sweetie Void removed the blindfold, allowing Escargoon to see the goal. Before he could say the score, local Dedede said, “Foul! Kirby inhaled the ball and the player!” “You have no proof!” Sweetie Void shouted back. “Right, everyone?” Everyone in her team agreed that Kirby didn’t inhale the ball and the player. Despite that, Escargoon whistled and shouted, “Foul!” Sweetie Void groaned. “I tried.” A Waddle Dee kicked the ball toward Dedede only to be intercepted by Tuff who ran a bit before he passed the ball to Bandana Dee who scored a goal. “4-0!” Local Dedede was bouncing in rage. He ran with the ball, passed it to a Waddle Dee, only for the Waddle Dee to eventually be scared by Marx making a face, causing him to drop on his back with an arm on his heart, pale. Marx took the ball and passed it to Rick who headbutted the ball to Tuff only for him to be tackled by a Waddle Dee. Sweetie Void teleported to the ball and kicked it high. Kirby teleported to it and kicked it toward the goal, scoring. All the locals stared at Kirby, Escargoon eventually whistling and shouting, “5-0” “He can teleport… without an Ability?!” local Dedede exclaimed. “That’s awesome!” Tuff shouted. “Actually, it was the ESP Ability. Kirby can shift between all the Abilities he got to this point at will. Void trained him,” Sweetie Void informed. The thought of a Kirby being able to change Ability at will horrified local Dedede. Meanwhile, local Kirby looked at his counterpart in awe. “Did I hear that right? Your Kirby can change Ability at will?” local Meta Knight asked in shock. “Yes,” all the visitors around him answered (except the animals). After that, local Meta Knight was deep in thought. Could his Kirby learn to do that too? The match resumed with Dedede running with the ball in his hands, making sure that Sweetie Void and Kirby couldn’t take it, only to trip on… nothing? Making him drop the ball. Behind him, Sweetie Void whistled innocently. “What have you done?” he yelled at her. “Nothing. No way I could reach you from where I was behind you.” While Dedede was busy yelling at Sweetie Void, local Kirby got the ball and dribbled all the way to the middle of the field before he kicked, sending the ball toward the goal and scoring, like his counterpart. “6-0!” The match resumed only for local Dedede to hit the ball with the hammer right away, sending it toward the goal. However, the ball was intercepted by Sweetie Void with a headbutt, sending the wall toward Daroach who passed to Adeleine who finished painting something. The next instant, she was surrounded by a wall, stopping a Waddle Dee from tackling her, and she left an opening to allow her to kick the ball and score a goal. “7-0!” “Wait! We are allowing that?” local Dedede exclaimed. “Nothing in the rules is against putting a wall to stop someone from tackling you,” Adeleine said. The match resumed, Dedede ran with the ball under one arm and used his hammer to keep the others away before he placed the ball before he eventually hit the ball with the hammer toward the goal only for it to be stopped by Dedede. He was ready to kick the ball to the other side of the field when he saw something in the sky. “What is… Wait… Is that…?” Questioningly, the others looked up at the sky and saw… a cloud of darkness approaching. Sweetie Void gasped, then groaned. “Dark Matter. Come on, we were having so much fun.”