Right Back At Me! - Kirby Right Back At Ya Fanfiction

Dedede's Plan

 Escargon sidled up to the left of my throne, his silhouette barely visible under the dim glow of the chamber's flickering torches. His wide, bulbous eyes fixed on me, gleaming with that ever-present look of skepticism that irritated me to no end.

I couldn't help but snicker, my fingers twitching with anticipation. "Heh, those poor villagers won't know what hit 'em."

Just as my hand hovered over the ominous red button on my control panel, the silence was pierced by a familiar, wheezing voice—old, cracked, and dripping with misplaced concern.

"Sire... are you sure this is wise?"

Escargon. My ever-loyal—if perpetually pathetic—minion. He stood hunched, his dark form almost blending with the stone walls that loomed over us like the weight of my ambitions.

I waved him off with a dismissive flick of my wrist. "Pffh! I'm sure. Stop being such a worrywart!" My words echoed through the gigantic throne room, hollow, and yet they cut the air like a blade. Escargon flinched at my tone but held his ground, his eyes narrowing in rare defiance. For a moment, he glared—an odd sight from him—but the flash of defiance quickly crumbled into his usual fidgeting as the cold atmosphere seeped back into his bones.

"The last time you downloaded a Demon Beast," he rasped, his voice barely a whisper in the suffocating air, "it nearly tore you apart."

"Relax," I snapped, reclining in my throne as the cool leather creaked under me. Shadows danced across the walls, flickering like ghosts in the wake of the dimming light. "I have backup plans for that. This time, when I unleash this Demon Beast, those ungrateful villagers will be begging—no, pleading—to hail me as their savior!"

My fingers grazed the array of buttons on the control panel, their surface cold and smooth under my touch. The air around me seemed to hum with anticipation as I keyed in the password. "And if I remember correctly... 4869."

The throne room responded with a low, mechanical groan, the cold stone beneath us trembling as machinery rumbled to life. The control panel's lights blinked to attention, casting an eerie glow across the room. Escargon's shallow breathing filled the silence, his nerves palpable, as though the room itself held its breath.