(Set after the “Fright to the Finish” movie from Kirby! Right Back at Ya.)

It was a warm summer night in Cappy Town. Fireflies flitted about, the stars twinkled and winked at the townsfolk, and bullfrogs croaked loudly and splashed in the river. Tiffany Ebrum and her parents stood on the bridge outside of Cappy Town, watching the stars and commenting on how gorgeous the night sky was.

“A lovely night, my dear,” Sir Ebrum told his wife.

“Yes. I’ve never witnessed a more beautiful summer,” Lady Like replied.

Tiff did not reply. She merely gazed in silence at the water.

*   *   *   *

“Tonight, we stood on the bridge and watched the stars. They seemed to be smiling down on us. Often, I imagine the stars as angels, gazing down at us and guarding us, keeping us safe from all harm. Everywhere I go, I feel watched. . .but in a comforting way.”

Tiff closed her journal and snapped the lock shut. Placing the brightly colored book on her nightstand and setting the pen on top, she jumped off her bed and walked onto the balcony. There were the stars. . .watching over her just as she had written.

Tiff stood there a moment longer, thinking back over the events of the last few weeks. Recently, her town had been attacked by Destroya ships and had been wrecked to a pile of rubble. She and a few others volunteered to fight Nightmare in the Halberd, Meta Knight’s battleship. Unfortunately, the crew members had been trapped inside the fortress and were forced to abandon the Halberd. Tiff had been kidnapped by Dedede and Escargoon and then ended up in the hands of Nightmare. Luckily, young Kirby came to the rescue and defeated Nightmare with the Star Rod, the only thing the demon was susceptible to.

But now everything was back to normal. . .or was it?

Tiff knew everything ought to be back to normal, but deep down she knew it wasn’t. Something was off. Something was unbalanced. Something was not as it was supposed to be.

Dedede was acting strange, almost sick.

Escargoon was being sly and secretive.

Meta Knight was quieter than normal and never seemed to talk much anymore.

What was going on?

*   *   *   *

In the middle of the night, Tiff was awakened by a terrible scream. She sat bolt upright in bed, her eyes wide. The sound of running footsteps resounded out in the hallway, and she jumped out of bed and threw the door open. Several of the castle’s residents, including her parents, were hurrying past her room.

“Mom! Dad!” Tiff hollered, darting after them. “What’s going on? Who screamed?”

Lady Like skidded to a stop and stared at her daughter. “It sounded like the king, my dear. But we are not certain. We must check on him! Something could have happened!”

“Yeah, maybe he tripped over the toothpaste tube,” joked Tuff.

But Tiff didn’t laugh. She was beginning to feel fearful. She doubted Dedede would have screamed that loudly from so small an accident. . .What if something terrible had occurred?! Stepping up her pace a notch, she ran ahead of her [parents and flung open the king’s bedroom door.

He was not there!

“Oh!” Tiff cried out. “He’s gone!”

Lady Like and Sir Ebrum reached her side and gasped upon seeing the room empty. “B-But I heard him!” Lady exclaimed in disbelief. “I know he was in here. . .” Her voice trailed off when she noticed the balcony doors open. “Why are his doors open?”

Tiff began to get a bad feeling—a really bad feeling—as she walked into the room. She stepped onto the balcony and looked around, but there was nothing unusual. Then she looked over the edge of the railing. . .and spotted Dedede lying on the ground below, unconscious.

Tiff screamed at the top of her lungs, terrified at such a dreadful sight. She felt herself collapsing from shock. She felt someone’s hand grab her arm as she went down, and that was the last thing she remembered.

*   *   *   *

When Tiff awoke, she was lying across the foot of Dedede’s bed. She shook her head and sat up, staring at Dedede sleeping peacefully. She could clearly see how swollen his head look and how bruised his hands were. She shivered. Though she had never been very sympathetic toward the king, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

There was a tap on the door.

“Come in,” Tiff called softly so as not to disturb the king.

In entered little Ivene, Starmonia’s sister. Meta Knight and Starmonia were with him.

“Hi, guys,” Ivene whispered.

“Hello, Ivene.” Tiff sat up a little straighter. “What are you all doing?”

“We came to check on the king,” Meta Knight said shortly, as if it were completely obvious. Tiff frowned at his tone. Ivene’s brown eyes narrowed.

Just then, Dedede stirred and opened his eyes. He stared blankly at each of them. “Why are you all in my bedroom?”

Tiff sat down beside him. “We heard you scream last night,” she told him. “And then I found you on the ground. Did you fall off the balcony or did someone push you?” But how can anyone push him, she reasoned, if no one was there?

“Um, I don’t remember,” Dedede mumbled, reaching up to touch his head.

“Do you recall anything from last night?” Starmonia questioned.

Dedede frowned, trying to think. “I know I went to bed and then got up because I heard something on my balcony, but that’s it. I don’t recall anything else.”

Tiff dropped her eyes to the bedcovers, feeling very sorry for her king. As she raised her eyes to his face, she again caught side of his head. She shuddered. It looked awful. “Doesn’t your head hurt?” she inquired. “It’s swollen.”

Dedede shrugged. “I’m used to it,” he said. “After all, that’s not the first time something like this has happened to me.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Tiff in a very quiet tone.

Dedede suddenly seemed very uncomfortable. “I’m not certain you want to know.”

“Tell me anyway,” Tiff replied.

Dedede sighed. “Okay.” He looked up to the ceiling, as if trying to gain his memory. “I was born in this very castle nearly thirty years ago. My parents and my older brother and I were a very happy family for nearly twelve years. . .until my dad began to drink heavily.”

Tiff’s eyes widened.

“From that moment on, we were afraid of him. He was loud and brusque and rough with us. He even threatened to burn my mom in her room when she was asleep. He almost followed through with that plan, but one of the servants stopped him. He was tried a few days later and was executed.”

Tiff placed a comforting hand on Dedede’s.

“My mom was heartbroken over my father’s death. She died one night while in bed. No one knows how she died—whether she poisoned herself or died of a broken heart—but she did die. My brother and I were cared for by the servants.”

“So where does your head injury come in?” Tiff gently asked.

Dedede didn’t look at her when he spoke. “It was a summer evening. My father, as was his usual habit, drank heavily. He came after me when I was up in the turret and accused me of being thoughtless and disobedient to his rules. I didn’t have any idea what he was talking about. I tried to get away from him, but he grabbed me and pushed me out the window of the turret. I hit the water, striking my head on a large rock. . .and then all went black.”

Tiff put her hand over her mouth. “Oh, how awful,” she whispered. “What happened?”

“I woke up. . .” The words came out in a choked whisper. “. . .but I couldn’t see anything.”

“Why not?” Ivene asked.

“I was temporarily blinded by my head striking the rock.” Dedede raised his head, tears streaming down his face, his body trembling. “I never forgave him for that.”

Tiff gasped. She didn’t know what to say. She felt heartbroken for her king. She had never known he had had such a bad life. Maybe that’s why he behaves the way he does, she thought sadly.

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Tiff said softly, her own eyes filling with tears. “I had no idea.” Impulsively, she wrapped her arms around him and embraced him. He buried his face in her shoulder, sobbing. Ivene let out her breath slowly. Starmonia’s face remained unmoved, but her eyes glimmered with a light of sorrow. Meta Knight kept his head down.

“Why is it so easy for one to hurt you,” Dedede cried, “but it’s harder to forgive the one who’s wronged you?”

Tiff was shocked by his question, and in truth, she had no answer. She had never been able to figure that out herself. “I don’t know,” she replied, “but Dedede. . .” She drew back and looked into his blue eyes. “. . .it’s not about the other person. It’s about how we respond to the ones who have wronged us.”

Dedede looked away from her, fighting to catch his breath.

“Hope still walks with us all, Dedede,” Tiff said, “even when we’re in the darkest of moods. Even when we’re in the most desperate place in our lives. Even when we feel as if we can’t go on, as if we have no purpose.”

Then little Ivene began to sing softly:

“Joy still comes in the morning
Hope still walks with the hurting
If you’re still alive and breathing
Praise the Lord!
Don’t stop dancing and dreaming
There’s still good news worth repeating
So lift your head and keep singing
Praise the Lord!”

Tiff turned and stared at the child for a moment. Then a smile lit up her face. “Ivene, you’ve hit on it!” she declared.

“Hit on what?” Ivene asked, confused.

“The perfect song for the occasion!”

“Occasion? What occasion?” Ivene demanded.

“The place where we are right here and now!” Tiff said. “Why don’t you, Starmonia, and I sing it together? We know the words.”

So they all began to sing together, in voices that blended harmoniously:

“What holds your heart?
What stirs your soul?
What matters come to mind?
The cares you keep,
The thoughts you think,
It’s not all wasted time.

Seek and you will find:

Joy still comes in the morning
Hope still walks with the hurting
If you’re still alive and breathing
Praise the Lord!
Don’t stop dancing and dreaming
There’s still good news worth repeating
So lift your head and keep singing
Praise the Lord!”

Dedede listened intently as the girls’ lusty voices sang together.

“The years roll by,
We wonder why
We lost our way from home.
Our Father finds
The child inside
We left for growing old.

Awake, awake, awake my soul!

Joy still comes in the morning
Hope still walks with the hurting
If you’re still alive and breathing
Praise the Lord!
Don’t stop dancing and dreaming
There’s still good news worth repeating
So lift your head and keep singing
Praise the Lord!”

Ivene and Tiff sang the outside lyrics while Starmonia sang the parentheses.

“Let everything, let everything
Let everything praise the Lord (Let everything)
In the working (Let everything), in the waiting (Let everything praise the Lord)
Let it praise the Lord (Let everything)
In the blessing (Let everything), in the breaking (Let everything praise the Lord)
Come on, praise the Lord (Let everything)
In the dying (Let everything), the rising (Let everything praise the Lord)
Let it praise the Lord (Let everything, let everything, let everything praise the Lord)
Let it praise the Lord (Let everything, let everything, let everything praise the Lord)
Praise the Lord!”

Then all three sang the chorus together.

“Joy still comes in the morning,
Hope still walks with the hurting,
If you’re still alive and breathing,
Praise the Lord!
Don’t stop dancing and dreaming, (Don’t stop dancing)
There’s still good news worth repeating, (Sun is shining)
So lift your head and keep singing, (Shining)
Praise the Lord!
Joy still comes in the morning, (Ohh)
Hope still walks with the hurting,
If you’re still alive and breathing, (Oh)
Praise the Lord!
Don’t stop dancing and dreaming, (Don’t stop dancing)
There’s still good news worth repeating, (News worth repeating)
So lift your head and keep singing,
Praise the Lord!”

“Praise the Lord we’re alive!” Ivene declared, then giggled with joy.

_____________________

Note: “Alive and Breathing was written by Matt Maher and Elle Limebear and was released on October 10, 2019. All credit goes to them.