Kirby's Strange Life

You are Kirby, a pink puffball living in Dream Land. Recently, King Dedede suddenly vanished from his castle. You meet up with Meta Knight, and he informs you that the king is missing as well. He says there has been no sign of him since he left to go on patrol.

> "Do you have any idea what happened to King Dedede?"

"No."

Meta Knight looks at you for a moment before replying.

> "We should start looking for him, then."

"Yeah! We should!"

The three of you set off to search for King Dedede. As you walk through the forest, Meta Knight points out some strange trees.

> approach trees

"What are these things?"

Kirby turns around to look at them. They're like giant mushrooms, but they've got leaves instead of stems.

"They must be flowers... or maybe fruits..." Kirby thinks to himself.

> attempt to inhale them

"Huh? What's this thing?"

You try to grab one of the flowers, but it doesn't budge. The flower looks very odd, almost like a cross between a mushroom and an orange. It seems to glow slightly when lit by moonlight.

> venture further into the forest

You continue to explore the forest. Suddenly, something catches your eye. A small creature sits on top of a tree branch, staring at you with its eyes wide open. It's face resembles that of a child's, though its skin is pale and wrinkled.

> "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine."

It nods its head slowly, and then opens its mouth to reveal a long tongue. It licks the side of your face, causing you to wince. The creature continues to stare at you, before it closes its mouth and falls off the branch.

> catch it

You quickly catch the little creature, who immediately lets out a yelp. It begins to cry out in pain, which causes you to laugh.

"Well played."

> "Do you have any idea where King Dedede is?"

"No."

You shake your head.

"He's probably somewhere down here."

> "Down where?"

"That's up to you, kid."

You nod, and begin walking deeper into the woods. Soon after, you find yourself standing before a large castle. There's no sign of life inside either; there's just a single guard outside the door.

> "Bandana Dee, is that you?"

"Yes, that's me."

You turn to see Bandana Dee, the king of all monsters. He grins at you as he walks towards you. His body is covered in bandages, and his right arm has been replaced with a metal claw.

> "What happened to you? What's up with that metal arm?"

"My arm was broken by some idiot who thought I was a rat."

"Oh yeah? Well, I guess we'll never know now. Anyway, let's get going. We need to go back home."

> go back home and sleep

You walk back home, and you're exhausted from your journey. However, you decide to rest for tonight. You fall asleep shortly afterwards...

> wake up next morning

You awaken the next day, and realize that you've slept through the night. You sit up, confused about what time it is.

"Morning!" Bandana Dee smiles at you as he walks over to greet you.

> "Good morning, Bandana Dee."

"Hey! Good morning!"

You smile back, and continue on your way. Eventually, you arrive at the castle again. This time though, there are more guards than when you were last here. They look like they haven't bat an eye at you since yesterday.

> "Do any of you know what happened to King Dedede?"

"Nope."

You shrug, and continue on your way. Eventually, you reach the front doors of the castle. The guards open them up, and allow you entry. Inside the throne room sits King Dedede, sitting behind his desk.

> "There you are! Where did you run off to yesterday?"

"I ran away from my kingdom."

Dedede frowns, and looks at you. He raises an eyebrow, before speaking.


"Kid, if you really want to leave this place, then I suggest you do so now."
"But...

> "Why do you want me to leave? Did something bad happen?"

"No, nothing bad happened to you or anyone else. It's just that I have a rule that only one monster may live in my kingdom. As such, I'm not too fond of people trying to break the rules."
"So why did you send me out here?

> "You were missing all day yesterday, and I wanted to know what whas happening, and now I know."

"Well, I sent you out here because I wanted to make sure you didn't get hurt. That's why I had you come with me."
"But...

> "But what?"

"Look kid, I don't know anything about you. All I know is what's been told to me by my advisors and other monsters. So, if you want to stay here, then you better start telling me everything that happened yesterday."
"But...

> "I found some strange plants, found an odd creature, and met up with Bandana Dee. That's about it."

"Okay, okay. Whatever you say..."

You turn around and exit the throne room. You head towards where you left your bags earlier, but instead find yourself outside the castle gates. There are several soldiers stationed here, guarding the gate.

> "Could you let me through?"

The soldier looks at you, and nods.

"Alright, alright! Just go through the gate."

You nod slowly, and walk past the soldiers. A few moments later, you enter the gates of the castle. You see several soldiers standing guard here.

> walk out of the castle

You walk out of the castle, and down the road. Suddenly, you hear a voice call out to you.

"Hey Kid! What're ya doing out here?!"

A young man wearing a green shirt and blue jeans steps into view.

> "Who are you?"

"My name's D-Donkey!"

He smiles, and walks over to you. He takes a closer look at you, and says "You look different than when we last saw each other."

"Yeah...I think I was scared yesterday." You reply.

> "What brings you here all of a sudden?"

"I came to pick you up after school today. I heard you were having trouble getting along with your friends."

"Oh yeah, they got into a fight again yesterday. They always do that whenever I bring them here." You reply.

> "I recently found some odd things in the forest the other day. I am going to investigate them today. You can tag along if you'd like."

"Sounds good to me. Thanks for coming out, I really appreciate it."

D-Donkey heads back inside his house, and you follow him inside. When he opens the door, there is a large wooden door on the right side of the front entrance.

> enter the door

You open the door, and find yourself in a small living area. On one wall sits a TV screen, which shows various news programs. The floor is covered with bookshelves filled with various literature.

> sit down and read a book

You sit down and begin reading a book. Soon, you feel sleepy.

"Kid? Are you tired yet?" D-Donkey asks.
"Nah, I'm fine." You reply. "So what brings you here anyway?

> "I'm looking for a place to settle down. It's been a long day."

"Hm, well I don't have any houses available anymore. If you need anything though, just ask."
"Thanks." You reply.
"Well then, let's get to it shall we?"

After finishing your book, you stand up and leave the living area.

> go back home

You head back home, and as soon as you exit the gate, you hear a loud noise from outside.

"What was that?" You ask.
"It sounded like an explosion or something." D-Donkey replies. "We should probably stay indoors until this passes by."

> "I think I can handle this. Stay inside, I'll check out what's going on."

You return to your room, and close the door. After checking the TV, you see that it has stopped showing any news programs. Instead, it shows static images of explosions and fireballs.

> "What's happening...?"

You turn off the TV, and try to sleep. However, you still feel tired.

"Hey Kid..." A voice calls out to you from behind.

You turn around slowly, only to see a young girl wearing a purple dress with white flowers on it standing before you.

> "Who are you?"

"My name is Suzy, and I live here with my parents." She says.

"How did you know where I lived?" You ask.

She smiles at you. "Because we're best friends!" she exclaims happily.

> "How can we be best friends? I've never even met you."

"Oh come on! We're best friends!"

You smile. "Okay, okay, I get it. So how do you know where I live?"

She looks confused for a moment, but then answers. "Because we're best friends!" she says again.

> "Could you let me sleep? I'm tired."

"Sure thing." She says.

You lay down on your bed, and fall asleep almost immediately.

> wake up the next day

The next morning, you wake up early and walk downstairs. As soon as you enter the living room, you notice that there's no one in sight.

"Where'd everyone go?" You ask.

There's silence for a moment, before D-Donkey speaks up.

> "Where has everyone gone off to?"

"They went to work." He responds.

You look around the living room, and realize that all of your furniture is gone. The walls are covered with dust, and you can barely make out some pieces of broken glass lying on the floor.

> "How long was I asleep?"

"A few hours." He replies.

You sit down on the couch, and look at the ceiling. It seems to have been painted over with graffiti.

> "What's happened while I was asleep? Everything seems so old and dusty now..."

"It's called time travel." He explains.

You sigh, and begin to wonder if you should go back home or not.

"So, what brings you here anyway?" You ask.

He shrugs his shoulders. "Just wandering around aimlessly."

> go outside

You decide to head outside. You walk through the front door, and find that everything is completely destroyed. There's a hole in the wall, and the ground is littered with broken items.

"This place used to be nice." You think as you continue walking through the house.

> "Something terrible must have happened here."

"I don't believe this... This isn't happening..." You say.

You turn the corner into the backyard, and see a large hole in the ground. It appears that someone had tried to dig a tunnel under it, only to end up destroying themselves instead.

> go to the castle

You walk towards the castle, which is still standing tall and intact. It seems like whoever destroyed it didn't bother to destroy its foundations either.

> "Can I speak with King Dedede?"

"Sure." He answers.

You approach the king, who stands by his throne. You kneel down to talk to him, but he doesn't even acknowledge your presence.

"Who are you?" He asks.

"My name is Red XIII." You reply.

> "What has been happening to Dream Land recently? Why is everything being destroyed?"

"Well, I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but we're currently having problems with the Naledi Empire."

"Oh? What do they want?"

You explain about how they've been trying to invade Dream Land for years now.

> "Is there any way we can stop them?"

"Yes, but it'll take more than just us. We need help from other worlds."

The king looks at you expectantly.

> "What do you mean by other worlds?"

"We have several worlds, but most of them aren't very friendly to each other. The only ones that seem to get along are those of the same world though."

"That makes sense. So why haven't you told me anything yet?"

> "How can we get help from these other worlds?"

"By joining forces with one another. That's where you come in."

The king nods. "Alright then, let's make plans to attack the Naledi Empire together!"

You nod in agreement. "Yeah! Let's do it!"

> You obtain the Hammer copy ability to fight back against the enemy. King Dedede and Meta Knight are fighting alongside you.

Suddenly, the door opens up. A man wearing a black suit walks out. His face is covered by a mask, so you can't tell if he's male or female.

"So, you made it." He says to you.
"Yes I did." You answer.

> "Who are you?"

"My name is Zanza." He replies.
"Zanza? Is that really your real name?" You ask.
"It is, yes." He responds.

> "Alright. Can you help us fight these guys, Zanza?"

"Of course."

He turns around and leaves. You turn back to the two of them.

"I don't know much about this, but I think we should trust him." Meta Knight remarks.

> "We need all the help we can get."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be right here waiting for you both." Zanza says as he disappears into the shadows once again.

As soon as he was gone, Meta Knight raises his sword and charges forward towards the Naledi soldiers.

> You fight the soldiers too, using your hammer skills to help King Dedede, Meta Knight and Zanza fight the empire.

After defeating the Naledi soldiers, you find yourself surrounded by a lot of them. They seem to be armed with rifles and machine guns. You quickly realize that you won't be able to defeat all of them, so you decide to split up.

> continue to fight

You manage to kill a few of them before they reach you, but then you feel like something isn't quite right. It seems that you're not feeling as strong as when you fought the first group of Naledi soldiers.

Then, suddenly, the entire area goes dark.

> "What's happening to me?"

"I'm sorry, but your powers are weakening." Zanza says.
"Why?" You ask.
"Your body has been weakened by the battle, and your mind is still weak due to the darkness." Zanza explains.
"But I thought my powers were getting stronger."

> retreat and watch the battle from the sidelines

You retreat to the shadows and wait patiently for the battle to end. The three of you have defeated most of the enemies, but there are still some left. You see King Dedede and Meta Knight being attacked by more than a dozen soldiers at once.

"This is hopeless."

> heal yourself and get back into the fight

You immediately go to the nearest healing spot in an attempt to recover your strength. However, you're not successful in doing so. Instead, you begin to feel sick and dizzy. This doesn't last long though; eventually you regain consciousness and try to focus on what's going on around you.

> help them fight

The three of you gather up the weapons and shields that you've taken off of dead enemies and begin fighting. After a while, you notice that your own powers aren't working as well anymore. When you attack, it feels like lightning bolts are hitting your body instead of just smashing into it.

> "Not again..."

"It's nothing, just tired." Meta Knight says.
"Well, let's rest for awhile!" King Dedede adds.
You sit down and take a breather, but you're still feeling the effects of whatever it is that caused this weakness in your powers.

> "Do any of you feel weak like I do? It's like all of my strength suddenly vanished."

"No, none of us do." Meta Knight replies.
"That's odd...I don't think I felt anything like that when I fought the Empire."
"Maybe it wasn't enough for you to kill them all. Maybe you needed to destroy their very essence itself."

> "How do I do that?"

"Just keep attacking them. If you can't beat them, then maybe you should just leave them alone."

You look over at King Dedede who nods his head in agreement. You slowly stand up and walk towards the group of soldiers.

> attack them

You charge forward with your sword raised high above your head. You swing your blade and several of the soldiers fall to the ground, while others attempt to block or dodge out of the way.

> perform a spin attack

You quickly turn around and perform a spinning slash. Several of the soldiers stumble backwards, but they manage to block your attack and continue to attack you.

You finish off one soldier by slamming him into the ground repeatedly until he falls unconscious.

> fight the rest of the soldiers

You continue to fight the remaining soldiers and soon, you find yourself surrounded by dozens of them. They seem to be made up of men and women in their early twenties, but you doubt if they were born that young.

> call for backip from king dedede and meta knight

You call upon Meta Knight and King Dedede to back you up. The two of them appear before you, both holding spears in their hands.

"We need to run! We have no idea where these people came from, we might be attacked by more than we thought!"

> retreat temporarily

You immediately run away from the battle, but not before Meta Knight calls after you.

"Meta-kun! King-san! Run!" He shouts.

> all three retreat and hide

You and Meta Knight quickly flee from the battlefield, hiding behind some rocks. King Dedede follows suit and hides behind a rock as well.

The next few minutes are spent trying to figure out what exactly happened here. You search through your memories for any clues, but you find nothing.

> "Just why has all of this happened? Just a few days ago, it was business as usual, but now everything's getting ruined. Why did it have to be this way?"

"Well, I guess it's because I'm a hero and all..." Meta Knight says.

> "Why is the empire attacking Dream Land?"

"I don't know... It seems like there's been an increase in attacks lately. Maybe they're planning something big."
"What about the other kingdoms?"
"They haven't said anything yet, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

> "Is there any hope for us?"

"No, but we can at least take care of ourselves. We'll just have to keep our spirits up and do things that will make us feel alive."

"Okay then, let's get ready for battle."

> "We should rest a little bit longer, and then try to go back into battle."

You sit down on a nearby rock and rest for awhile. You think about how you've lost friends today, but you can only imagine how many others have died in the past. You also reflect on your own life and realize that it's probably coming to an end soon.

> "I think I'm ready. Let's go."

You stand up and head towards the castle. When you arrive, you see that it's completely destroyed. You can hear screams outside, which sounds like those of the citizens who live in Dream Land.

"Let's go inside!" Meta Knight exclaims.

> storm the castle

You rush towards the front gate. Suddenly, you feel a sharp pain in your side. You look down and see that you've been stabbed with a spear. You stagger backwards, falling to one knee while Meta Knight rushes forward to help you up again.

> look around

You look around and see that the entire front wall of the castle has collapsed. The soldiers who were guarding it have either fallen or been killed by the collapsing walls. You can hear cries for help coming from within the ruins, but you don't dare approach them right now.

> heal yourself

You immediately begin healing yourself. You don't even stop to consider whether you should stay or leave.

"Meta Knight! What are you doing?!"

"It's okay, just hang in there." he replies.

> follow meta knight

You continue following meta knight through the rubble-filled streets. Eventually, you reach a large building made entirely out of wood. You enter and find yourself in what appears to be some sort of medical clinic. A lot of people are lying on the floor, but most aren't moving anymore.

> "Is anyone here?"

"Yes, but they're not moving."
"Where are all the soldiers? They must still be fighting somewhere.

> "Are any of the empire's soldiers in this building?"

"Well...yes, but..."
"Then why is everyone else dead?

> "What are we gonna do? Is there any way we can fight back?"

"There's no point in trying to fight back. We need to get out of here."

You turn around and walk away from the building. As you do so, you notice a soldier standing near a window looking out at the chaos outside. He looks exhausted and very tired.

> "What are you doing here?"

"I was sent here to check if anyone had escaped the castle. I didn't expect to find you though."

"Yeah, well we should probably split up. There might be more survivors in the sewers."

> go into the sewers

You head into the sewers. You soon come across a group of soldiers being attacked by several zombies. One of them shoots an arrow at the horde, which causes many of them to fall over and die instantly.

The other two soldiers run off, leaving you alone with another zombie.

> fight the zombie

You quickly stab the zombie multiple times before it manages to grab you. It bites your arm, causing you to scream in pain as you pull it free. You then kick the zombie away and try to run, but it grabs hold of your leg again and tries to drag you towards its brethren.

> slash the zombies away

You quickly slash the zombies' arms and legs off, killing them instantly. The rest of the horde begins to break down the door and attack you. You manage to kill one, but the others seem much stronger than that one was.

> "Where did all of these zombies come from!?"

"They were created when the city was destroyed. The undead plague has been spreading ever since. It seems like they've found a cure for it now, but I don't know how long that'll last."
"How do we escape?

> escape the sewers

You decide to escape the sewers. You begin running through the tunnels, where you eventually reach a large room filled with cages. In each cage sits a small child who is chained up inside them.

> free the children

You look around and see that most of the children have already been killed by the time you arrive. You hear a cry behind you and turn around to see a little girl with her hands bound tightly together. She screams in terror as she sees you approaching, but doesn't move from her spot.

> "It's okay, I'm here to help you. Take my hand."

You take her hand and lead her out of the room. When you finally exit the tunnel, you see a large open area on the other side. You walk forward and see a huge metal gate blocking your path. A sign hanging above says: "Zombie-Free Zone".

> "If we can get over this gate, we'll be safe from the horde."

You both walk forward and push the gate open. As you enter, you see a massive horde of zombies walking towards you. They're so fast, that even with your sword drawn, you barely feel their blades cutting into your flesh.

> "It was a trap! Run, I'll fend these guys off!"

You continue to run, but suddenly you feel something hit your back. You turn around and see a man holding a spear coming straight for you. He swings his weapon, but misses you completely as he hits the wall instead.

> fight him

You swing your sword at him, but miss. He swings again, but misses you once more. You keep swinging until he falls backwards onto the ground.

The horde is getting too big for you to handle alone, so you call upon some friends to help you.

> "Dedede, Meta Knight, I need your help!"

You call upon Dedede, Meta Knight and a few others to help you. You soon defeat the horde of zombies. Soon, you find yourself surrounded by dozens of corpses. You stand there looking at them for awhile before saying "I think I made a deal with death today."

> look around for any potential threats

You quickly look around for any possible threat. There are no other living creatures in sight, but then you notice a zombie crawling along the floor nearby. You slowly approach it and grab its arm, pulling it away from the wall.

> "Is the war finally over?"

"Yes," it replies. "We've won."

You nod and continue on your way.

> "We should all go home. Thank you for your help."

"No problem," you reply. "Let's go home now."

As you leave the castle, you see a group of soldiers standing outside. One of them approaches you and asks if everything went well. You tell him that it did and that they should be ready to march tomorrow morning.

> "We did it... I'm so glad."

"Yeah..." he responds. "Well let's get going."

> go home

You return to the castle and tell everyone what happened. The next day, you and your fellow heroes are called up to King Zarkon's throne room where you find him sitting on a golden chair.

> "Who are you?"

"My name is Lord Farquaad. And this is my son, Dedede."

Lord Farquaad looks like an old man compared to you, but he seems very excited about meeting you.

"What a surprise! My father sent me here to meet you."

> "Hello, Lord Farquaad. My name is Kirby."

"Kirby? That's not his real name, it's just one of many names he uses to refer to himself. It means 'little guy' in German.

> "No, it is my real name."

"Oh, OK. But why would my father send me here?"

You explain that you have been tasked with finding out who killed your family. He nods and says "Sounds like something we should know about."

> "Do you have any useful information for me?"

"I do, actually. A certain Baroness has been missing since before the Great War began."

The king frowns at you. "Baroness? What makes you think she was murdered?

> "I haven't seen her in a long time."

"She hasn't either. She left on business trip some years ago and never came back. We don't know anything else about her except that she had a husband named Hans who died several years ago."

The king sighs and shakes his head.

> "I can do this task later. I'll need a little bit of time to recover after the past few days.

"OK, OK. Let's talk about something else then."

Afterwards, you spend the rest of the day talking with Lord Farquaad and he tells you more about his life as a nobleman.

> "Very interesting."

He smiles and thanks you.

"I've heard all I need to about you, Lord Kirby. Thank you for helping us."

> "And thank you for helping me."

Lord Farquaad asks if you want to see his wife and daughter. They both look very tired so you agree.

When they arrive, you notice that they're both wearing strange armor made from some sort of dark metal.

> "Do you need any help?"

"Not really. Just be careful, they might attack you."

They nod and go off to their rooms. You follow them into their room where you find that they're both lying down on beds covered by what appears to be some kind of purple liquid.

> "What is this fluid?"

"It's blood. The blood of my children."

The king looks up from his book and stares at you. "Your...children?"

You shake your head. "No, no, no, no! This isn't possible!"

> "What happened to your children?"

"My son died when he was young. My daughter was taken away by the Empire during the war and never returned. I'm sorry."

The king's eyes widen and he begins to sweat profusely.

> "I'm sorry that you had to go through all of this... You likely won't have to go through any more turmoil now that we won the war."

"Yes, yes, I believe it will be safe here now. I hope you understand."

The king nods and says nothing else. He just lays there staring at the floor while you stand nearby looking down at him.

> "I think I've done all I need to do here. I'll be going home now."

"Of course. Goodbye."

You leave the king's chambers and walk towards the door. Suddenly, you hear a voice call out to you from behind you.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

> "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not doing anything wrong, but I don't like being followed around by someone who doesn't know me. Who are you?"

You turn around and stare at the man in front of you. He's dressed in a suit and has an eyepatch over one eye.

> "What is your name?"

"I am called Gannon. I'm a merchant and traveler."

Gannon nods as he continues walking forward. You continue to watch him until you reach the end of the hallway and then turn back around.

"So, who are you?"

> "I'm Kirby. I fought in the war and saved Dream Land. I'm trying to get back home."

Gannon stops walking and turns around to face you. His eyes are red and puffy. He grins evilly before continuing to speak.

"Well, I'm glad you came back...but I can tell that you're not really interested in getting home."

> "What are you talking about?"

"Dream Land. It's been years since anyone has heard from us. We were last seen leaving our home town in the middle of the night, heading to another land far away."
"A land far away?

> "What do you mean by that?"

"We were never able to return because our ship sank with most of the crew on board. We didn't even find out what became of them."

Kirby frowns as he continues to look at you. He takes a deep breath and exhales slowly.

> "I need to get back home. Is there anything I can use to make that easier, Gannon?"

"No, but if you help me out, I might give you something in exchange for helping me."

You nod and say "Okay..."

Gannon smiles and walks ahead of you. As soon as he reaches the end of the hall, he stops and looks back at you.

> "What do you need help with?"

"My family was killed when they attacked my village. My father, mother, brother and sister-in-law were slaughtered by those pirates. They took everything from me."

Gannon sighs deeply as he stares at you.

> "Do you need help fighting those pirates?"

"Yes. If we could just bring down that monster, maybe we'd have some peace again."

Gannon nods and says "Alright, I'll help you. But first, let me go back to my room so I can change into something more comfortable."

> "Okay. I'll wait here."

Gannon nods and begins to walk towards his room. You follow behind him as he goes through the door to his left. When he opens it up, you see a small bedroom with a single bed against the wall.

> look around

The room is very simple. There are no decorations or anything else that would draw attention to it. The only thing of note is a large chest against one wall which contains several empty bottles.

Gannon stands near the bed and looks at you.

> "Why did you bring me into this room?"

He pauses briefly and then answers.

"Because I want you to know why your family died."

You stare at him blankly for a moment before asking "How do you know that?

> ask Gannon for more info

"That's why I brought you in here. Look at me."

Gannon slowly turns his head and looks directly at you. His eyes seem to be filled with an emotion other than anger, fear or sadness. Something else entirely...

> "Could you tell me what you know about my family?"

"Of course. What else would I be doing right now?"

You continue to stare at him, not knowing how to respond.

> "What happened to my family?"

"Your father was killed during the attack on our village. Your mother tried to protect you, but she couldn't stop them from killing her husband. She fell backwards and hit her head on the ground, breaking her neck instantly. Her body didn't even move after that."

> "That's awful..."

"It is. It's horrible. And it shouldn't happen to anyone."

You nod silently and try to think of something else to say. After all, you're still trying to process everything that has happened today.

> "Are the pirates and the attack on Dream Land related in any way?"

"No. They attacked us because they wanted to get rid of someone who could possibly challenge their authority. That's why they targeted us."

You pause for a moment and then reply "So, what do you want me to do?

> cont

"I don't know what you want me to do exactly. But I'm sure you must have some idea of how things should go down."

You nod again and begin to speak. "Can we talk about this later?

> "I really want to settle down at home, Gannon."

"Hmm, yes. Of course you do. I can understand that.

> "Could you let me leave and go home, please?"

"Sure, whatever you need to do."

You walk out of the room and towards your bedroom. As soon as you open the door, Gannon quickly grabs you by the arm and throws you back against the wall.

> "Augh! What are you doing!?"

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Just put me down!"

He grabs your wrist and begins twisting it painfully while he continues to yell at you.

> "Let go of me, Gannon!"

"Oh no, you won't! You'll never give up control of your life to me!"

He releases your hand and begins punching you in the face repeatedly. He punches so hard that his fist actually goes through the wall behind you.

> fight back against Gannon

You grab one of his hands with both of yours and slam him into the wall several times. The pain is excruciating, but you continue to push him away from you until he falls off the side of the bed.

Gannon looks at you with surprise and anger.

> "I shouldn't have trusted you so easily. Get out of my way, right now!"

You grab one of his legs and pull him backwards. He tries to kick you, but you manage to keep him off-balance long enough for him to fall over onto the floor.

"What the hell are you going to do next?!" he yells angrily.

> "I'm going to escape from you. I'll make sure you never catch me."

"Ha ha! Oh, you will? Well good luck with that!"

You stand up and run out of the room. In fact, you're running all over the place. It takes a few minutes before you finally get to your front porch where you hide behind a tree.

> keep hiding

The moment you hear footsteps coming toward the house, you immediately jump up and start running around the corner of your house.

When you peek out from behind the tree, you see a man wearing black clothing standing there.

> carefully take a peek

His eyes are bloodshot and his hair is disheveled. His clothes look dirty and tattered. He's obviously been sleeping here most of the day, because he doesn't seem to be awake yet when you sneak up on him.

> sneak past the man

You slowly creep forward and then suddenly turn around.

"Whoa, slow down," he says. "Are you really okay?"

> "I almost got killed in this very castle. I can't fully trust anyone I don't already know at the moment. I need to get back to my house as soon as I can."

"Well, if you think so..."

You quickly slip out the door and head back home. As soon as you enter the front door, you hear a voice calling out to you.

"Hey! Who are you?"

> "I'm Kirby. This is my house. Who are you?"

"Kirby, I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. I didn't mean anything by it. My name is Paul and this is my brother John."

"Okay...well I guess we should probably talk later, but for now could you just leave us alone?"

> "I would like to be alone in my house. Could you please leave?"

"Of course. We'll be gone in a minute."

A moment passes and then they come back out of nowhere. They knock on the door, but you don't answer it. Instead, you walk towards your bedroom and close the door completely.

> "I need to get some sleep..."

You lay down on your bed and close your eyes. The next morning, you wake up early and go through your routine again. When you finish, you feel tired again.

> "Yesterday really was just a series of exhausting events."

You sit in your chair and sigh.

"So...what did you do today?"

"Nothing much. I went to school, played video games with my friends, ate breakfast at McDonalds and then went home."

> go outside

You walk out of your room and into the hallway. There's no one else around. You look all over the place, but nothing seems different than yesterday.

"Maybe something has changed since yesterday..." you think to yourself.

> go out of the house

You start walking towards the street. Suddenly, you stop and look behind you. A shadow appears from behind a wall. It looks like a ghost, but its not quite right either. Its face isn't human looking or even human-like enough to be called a ghost.

> "What are you...?"

You ask the figure in an odd tone.

"Wha...?" it asks back.

It doesn't respond to your question, but instead turns around and walks away. You follow after it, which takes you to another part of town where there's a large park nearby.

> "Hey, why did you run away from me? Who are you?"

The ghost doesn't reply to your question, but instead turns around and runs off again. You follow after it, which takes you to another part of town where there's a large park nearby.

"Why are you following me?"

"Because I have unfinished business with you."

> "What do you mean by unfinished business?"

"Well, I've been haunting your house ever since you left here last night. Why did you leave? Did someone hurt you?"

You look around and see that there aren't any other ghosts in the area.

> "I just wanted some fresh air. After the past few days, I really needed it."

"Hah! That's so pathetic!"

You turn around and head back inside your house. As soon as you enter, you hear a loud noise coming from upstairs. You quickly open the door and find that it's broken open and several pieces of furniture lie scattered about the floor.

> "Oh, give me a break..."

You stand still for a moment and try to calm yourself.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to scare you..."

A voice suddenly speaks from above you. It sounds like its male and is probably the same person who broke open your door earlier.

> "Are you that ghost I spoke to earlier?"

You nod. The ghost looks down at you and smiles.

"Good, good, now get out of my house before I kick your ass."

> the ghost leaves

You sit on the ground and wait for the next thing to happen.

> "Maybe my life is finally back to normal. That would make me happy."

You smile and shake your head.

"No, no, it's not that simple. My life is never going to be normal again."

Suddenly, you feel something hit your shoulder.

> "What now?"

You look up and see a man standing over you. He has long black hair and wears a trench coat. His eyes seem to be filled with hatred, but he doesn't show it. Instead, he stares at you intently.

"Who are you?"

> "I'm Kirby. Who are you? How did you get into my house?"

Kirby shrugs his shoulders.

"It was an accident. We were both playing hide-and-seek when I fell asleep and accidentally woke you up."

He then points to himself and laughs.

"Now come on, let's go home."

> go home

You walk slowly towards Kirby, but he stops you.

"Hey, don't go yet. I have more questions for you."

He continues walking ahead while continuing to stare at you. Suddenly, he grabs your arm and pulls you closer to him.

> "Why are you calling yourself by my name? I'm Kirby, you still haven't told me who you are?"

Kirby gives a small chuckle.

"Well, if you're going to keep calling me 'Kirby', then I'll call myself that too."




"So what do you want to know?"

> "What is even happening anymore? Nothing makes sense anymore."

Kirby sighs and shakes his head.
"Look, I don't know why this is happening. All I know is that we've been separated for so long that I can barely remember anything about you other than your name."

> "We knew each other in the past?"

Kirby nods.
"Yeah, we used to play games together as kids. We had so much fun doing those things."
"That's all I remember..."
"But...but there was more to us than just our childhood memories."

> "I suppose we were friends way back."

Kirby looks down and sighs.

"Yes, yes, I guess we were friends way back. But I think that friendship changed when I found out you were alive."
"What happened?

> "Did you think I've been dead this whole time? I've cut it very close, especially these past few days, but I'm still alive and kicking."

Kirby looks up at you with tears in his eyes.
"My God, I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"
"Forget it."
"Please, please don't kill me! I didn't mean any harm to you!

> "What are you talking about!? I'm not going to hurt you!"

Kirby turns away from you and begins to cry.
"No, no, no... I'm sorry Kirby. It wasn't my intention to hurt you or anyone else. I just wanted to talk about how we once played games together as children.

> "Why are you so remorseful all of a sudden? You haven't done anything wrong."

Kirby stands up and walks over to the wall. He takes a deep breath and starts sobbing again.

> "Everything's fine. You can calm down now. Please stop crying..."

Kirby sits down on the ground and wipes his face.
"It's true, everything isn't fine right now."
"Is that right?"
"Yes, everything is fine. I'm sorry for being so sad lately.

> "It's okay. Sometimes you just get emotional, and I totally understand."

"Thank you, thank you. I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome."

> "It's getting late. I should probably go to sleep, and you should find your home too."

"Okay."
"Good night."

> sleep

The next day, Kirby goes to work and gets along well with everyone. Everyone seems happy he's here. You have a lot of free time though, so you decide to take some time off from adventuring.

> "I haven't seen Bandana Dee in a while. I should go talk to him."

You walk into the forest and see Bandana Dee sitting by himself.
"Hey, Bandana Dee."
"Hello, Kirby."
"How did you know I was coming here?

> "How have you been lately, Bandana Dee?"

Bandana Dee smiles.
"Well, I've been doing pretty good considering what happened last time I went out."
"Last time?

> "What happened last time?"

Bandana Dee looks at you, then back to you.
"It was a long story. I'll tell you when we're alone."
"Alright, thanks."
"Don't mention it," he says and leaves.

> go somewhere else

You head back to the city where you meet up with Kirby. He tells you about how he got lost in the woods, but eventually found his way out.

> "Another Kirby? How many clones of me are there?"

"There are five of us, actually. We call ourselves the Five-Man Bandit Clones."
"Five?"
"Yeah, we're all clones of Kirby. The fifth one is called Bandana Dee and she's my girlfriend.

> "Bandana Dee has been a clone of me all this time!?"

Kirby laughs.
"No, no, that's not true! She doesn't even look like me!"
"Then who is?"
"That would be her boyfriend Bandana Dee."
"Oh...well I guess they must be clones of each other..."

> "This is getting weirder by the second..."

You ask Kirby if he knows anything about the Bandana Dee and Bandana Dee's boyfriends.
"Nothing really, except they both live in a house near here."
"A house?

> "Why have all of these clones been appearing lately?"

"We don't know for sure, but we think they were probably born from an egg laid by a woman who had sex with someone else before giving birth to them."
"Wait, didn't that happen once before?

> "Let me get this straight... Clones of me and Bandana Dee hatched from eggs, and now they're all showing up in Dream Land? What is even going on anymore!?"

"Huh? Oh nothing, just another weird thing happening around here."
"Strange things are always going on around here."
"So you're saying that there are multiple people in your body?

> "I don't think the clones have anything to do with me."

"They might have something to do with you, but they aren't necessarily YOU. They could be copies of yourself or they could be the real you trapped inside some sort of computer program."
"But why would anyone want to kidnap me?

> "Why can't my life just be normal for while...?"

"Because as far as we know, you've never left your room. That means you're the only person who can control the clones."
"Well what am I supposed to do?

> "How do I control these clones?"

"It's pretty simple really. All you need to do is tell them what to do."
"What does that mean exactly?

> "So I just tell them what to do, and they'll follow my command just like that?"

"Yes, it sounds easy enough, but unfortunately it isn't that simple. It takes concentration and practice to become good at controlling them."
"Okay then how do I control them?

> "Thanks for your help. I really need to get some rest... this all feels like a fever dream."

"Hmm, yes it does. Well I suppose I should go now. Good night."

You leave Kirby's office and head back home where you find that everything is still the same.

> sleep

Sleep comes easily to you. You fall asleep right away and wake up feeling refreshed. You decide to check on the other Dreamers in your group.

Kirby's sleeping face stares at you from his computer screen.

> "Maybe today will actually be normal."

"Yeah, maybe today will actually be normal..." You mutter to yourself.

The next morning you wake up and see that Kirby has already checked on everyone else. He looks up from his monitor and smiles when he sees you standing there.

"Hey! Wakey wakey!"

> "Morning, other me."

"Morning, other me."

He nods and heads off to check on the others. You sit down at your desk and begin typing away at your laptop. The first thing you type is:

"Hello?"

> "Is anyone there?"

"Hello?"
"Are you there? Is anyone out there?"
"Um, no. Not really."
"Then who are you?"
"My name is Kirby. I'm one of the Dreamers here."

> "Yet another clone. Of course..."

"I don't think so..."
"No, I mean are you sure? Because if not, then who are you?"
"Oh. Um... well... I'm sorry to have bothered you, but I was looking for someone named Alice."
"Alice? Oh. Okay then."

> "I don't know anyone named Alice, but maybe someone else does. You should ask around Dream Land to see if anyone knows her.

You log off and continue to look through the Dream World for any sign of Alice. Eventually you come across an old woman sitting by herself in a field. She seems very lonely and sad. When she notices you, she quickly runs away as fast as possible before you can speak with her.

> follow the old woman

You walk over to the old woman and start talking to her. She tells you about her life. Her name is Alice and she lives in Dream Land.

> "Hello Alice. I know someone who was looking for you."

"Hello Alice. I know someone who was looking for you."
"Well, that's good to hear. What did they want?"
"They wanted me to tell them where you were."
"Where do they want me to go?"
"To Dream Land.

> "They wanted to know where you were."

"Yes, yes, I know where you're going. They said they wanted to meet you there."
"What happened after that?"
"Nothing much. They just left me alone again.

> "Well, I'll make sure to tell the person looking for you that I found you. See you later."

"See you later."

She leaves and you return to your computer screen. A few minutes pass and you get a message from Kirby. It reads:

Kirby: Hey, it's me! Come back to Dream Land! We need all the help we can get!

> "Oh no, what happened?"

"Oh no, what happened?"

Kirby: Well, I didn't get to talk to you when you came back. So I thought I'd try again now that you've got some more friends. Go into Dream Land and find Alice! If anything happens, let me know!

> "I already found her. She was in the park."

"I already found her. She was in the park."

Kirby: Great! Now go to Dream Land and find Alice!

> "I already found her... Dude, are you a broken record?"

"I already found her... Dude, are you a broken record?"

Kirby: Yeah, yeah, I know. Anyway, I guess we should be getting home soon. Good luck on your quest. Bye!

> You log off the site and go to sleep.

You log off the site and go to sleep. The next day comes and goes without another message from Kirby. As night falls you realize he must have been lying low or something because this isn't even his usual avatar. He looks like a completely different person entirely.

> "Did you change your profile picture?"

"Did you change your profile picture?"

Kirby: Nah, I'm not a liar. I was just having fun with it. Besides, if you really want to know, I went to Dream Land and found Alice.

> "Good. Now you can stop bugging me about it."

"Good. Now you can stop bugging me about it."

Kirby: Okay then, bye!

You log off the site and go to sleep once more.

> The next day, you feel confident everything is as normal as possible.

The next morning you wake up feeling confident everything is as normal as possible. The only thing that has changed is your avatar. Your old one had a lot of fans so you decided to keep it, but now you don't care at all.

> "Finally, a normal day where nothing out of the ordinary happens. Just what I needed."

Finally, a normal day where nothing out of the ordinary happens. Just what I needed.

> Your life is finally back to normal. The clones have started disappearing lately, and Dream Land is back to normal. Everything's good again. The end.

Your life is finally back to normal. The clones have started disappearing lately, and Dream Land is back to normal. Everything's good again. The end.