The house everyone had entered was barely big enough for all of them to fit in. Some of the kirbies weren’t the most comfortable with that, but all managed to find a place for them and directed their attention to Kirby. The pink puffball was in the far-most side of the house, standing on a log, so he could see everyone without having to fly or stretch himself.
“Eighteen, nineteen… Twenty!” He stopped looking around, and celebrated. “Alright, so everyone really is here!”
“Of course,” Percy said. “Yan and I made sure that everyone would come.”
“And I’m glad you two did! Thanks so much!”
“You’re welcome…” Percy changed to a more serious expression. “But now, before you start, may I ask…”
“Ah…” Kirby also completely changed his expression, and became embarrassed. “You see…”
“Yes, I saw you eating a tomato.” Percy looked disappointed. “You were off to gather food for everyone, but you swore you wouldn’t eat anything…”
Kirby got annoyed. “And ok, I’m sorry that I ate that tomato! But that was all I ate, I promise!”
“Kirby, I trust you, but…”
“But what?!” Kirby was really bothered by Percy’s suspicion, but he didn’t know what to do. But that’s when he suddenly remembered something. “Oh, hey, Daisy!”
“Yes?” she responded quickly.
“You were with me, with all the food, you can tell Percy! I didn’t eat anything other than that tomato, right?”
Daisy thought for a second, and said, “Well, I can’t say that for sure.”
“What?!” Kirby was shocked. “But you were there! You say it all!”
“I did not. I told you I was there to examine the bushes behind the house, so that was all I paid attention to. And by the time I was done, you were eating the tomato.”
Kirby was speechless. He could not believe it: how could someone be right next to a pile of food, and just not pay attention to it? He could not understand such a reality, as he couldn’t imagine himself doing that under any circumstances. But after thinking about it more carefully, he realized he had to accept that was what Daisy did, as it seemed true based on what he had heard about her; she was very different to him in that aspect. But what now? Without her to vouch for his actions, what could he do? That’s when he remembered…
“Oh, hey, Grace, you were also there!” Kirby looked at Grace, who just happened to be right next to Daisy. “Can you tell Percy that I only ate that tomato?”
However, no reply followed from Grace, nor did her expression change at all. She was alive and breathing, but just didn’t seem to react to Kirby’s question.
“Huh, Grace?” Kirby waved at her. “Are you there? Popstar to Grace!”
“Don’t bother with it, Kirby,” said Daisy. “Grace doesn’t like to speak. It’s a long story, but just know you likely won’t ever hear her talk.”
“Huh… If you say so…” Kirby couldn’t fully understand it, but that certainly wasn’t the first time he heard something he thought was absurd, so he decided to just accept it.
“Kirby, I’m sorry,” Percy spoke up. “I shouldn’t have doubted you like that. If you said you only ate one tomato, I believe that. It’s just…”
“Oh, don’t worry Percy.” Kirby looked at him. “I also didn’t need to get all defensive and get these two, who barely know me, to defend me…”
“As long as you gathered enough food, it should be all good. And besides, this meeting is still yours, so I will pass the touch to you once again.”
“Ah, of course, the meeting!” Kirby remembered, and got in position. “Ahem, I would like to start! Is everyone listening?”
What followed Kirby’s question was multiple “Yes!” Not all kirbies had been paying attention up until then, but others nearby called their attention to now focus on Kirby. Once he realized everyone was looking at him, Kirby started.
“Alright! So, introductions first, although I suspect most of you know me already.” Kirby striked a pose. “My name is Kirby! People call me Popstar’s hero, but, really, I’m just another ordinary guy at heart. I love meeting new people and making new friends, and I also love a good snack!” Kirby looked around, looking at every single kirby that was there with him. “Now I would like to hear a bit about you!”
Suddenly, the room was filled with multiple voices. About half of the kirbies started to talk, introducing each other. Kirby realized his mistake, and jumped right in, screaming, “ALRIGHT, ONE AT A TIME!” and they all stopped in shock.
“Kirby…” Yan interrupted, before anyone else could speak up. “I think it’s best for you to mention why you organized this meeting in the first place, as I believe after that introductions would make the most sense.”
Kirby stopped to think about what Yan had just said, and he agreed, “Oh, you’re right Yan! Ah,” he directed his vision to all of them, “sorry about that, y’all! You can introduce each other soon. Before that, I want to explain why I called you all here.”
Kirby took a deep breath, and organized his thoughts. He was ready to start explaining his current dilemma, and what it had to do with all those kirbies he had invited.
“Alright, so first things first: I don’t know where you all came from! My species is very rare, and for all my life I’ve only known nine other kirbies. But then one day my best friend went on a long trip, and he cut it short because he saw you all and had to go back to report it to me.” Kirby couldn’t stop walking around, in a thoughtful position. “But that’s not all! You’re also different, and…”
“Different?” Clare interrupted Kirby. “How are we different?”
“Ah, that’s easy,” Kirby said. “It seems you all have permanent Copy Abilities!”
Kirby then noticed most of the kirbies’ expressions turned into utter confusion. Some started to whisper to each other, as if they had no idea what Kirby was talking about. Kirby realized that, and had to ask, “Wait… You all know what a Copy Ability is, right?”
“Nope,” said one of them.
“Nah,” said another.
“Never heard of that,” said yet another.
That was the consensus of them all: no one in that room other than Kirby knew what a Copy Ability was. Kirby was completely shocked. He thought, “Kirbies who have no idea what a Copy Ability is… What madness is this?!” He shook his head, and realized something, “I mean, fair enough, they also suddenly exist and have permanent Copy Abilities… So I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“Alright everyone,” he finally spoke up again, “let me explain that quickly, then you can also understand why I find you all different.” He stopped for a couple seconds, trying to figure out how to explain something so second nature to him. Thankfully for him, it wasn’t hard, and so he started, “I, and other kirbies, can inhale certain creatures and objects, and when we swallow them, we copy their powers. We call each set of powers a ‘Copy Ability’. They for most part give us a hat too. So, for example,” Kirby pointed at Clare, “you have the Ice Ability, while you,” he pointed at Anny, who was next to her, “have Mirror. And you all in this room currently have one, even if you are realizing just now. But… These transformations are temporary. We can’t keep Copy Abilities forever: we lose them after being hurt badly, discarding them, and most importantly in your case: sleeping.” Kirby took a quick breath, and continued, “There is no way any of you could have kept your Abilities for so long, it’s just not possible. And from what my friend told me about you, you can’t change your Abilities either.”
“Indeed,” Daisy spoke up, “all you’re explaining so far seems to match my experience and Grace’s. We just assumed that was the nature of our species all this time. We never realized that normally kirbies copy abilities like that. Interesting.”
“But… It’s so odd…” Kirby shook his head yet again: remembering all that made him completely stumped. “You’re different…”
“Why?” Natty asked. “Why are we different?”
“That…” Kirby closed his eyes. “That is why I called you all for this meeting. Because I don’t know the answer to that.”
“And this must be a sign of something bigger,” Kirby thought. “And I will find out what that is.”
20 Times Kirby! 