Kirby: Mysterious Incident on the Pupupu Train! - Chapter 9: Protect Everyone!
Previous Chapter
Kirby continued to gather strength. His hands were numb, and he felt dizzy, but he didn’t let up. The Jet Copy Ability used stored power to attack enemies by headbutting and kicking into them. Kirby had used this Copy Ability several times before, but this was the first time he was using it to store so much power. Would he even be able to lift something as heavy as the train? He didn’t know. But Kirby didn’t hesitate.
“Strength… the strength… I need the strength…!”
The meteor gradually drew closer. He heard the driver speak through the communication device.
“A bit more… just a bit more, Mr. Kirby… Just a little…!”
Kirby clenched both his fists. He had only one chance. If he failed, there wouldn’t be enough time for him to store up strength. He heard tense breathing from the driver, who was staring intently at the screen. Then, it happened.
“Kirby, now!”
Kirby looked straight ahead and shouted.
“EXPLODINNNGGGGGG… JUMP!!”
The tank on his back blew out a tremendous flame. However, the Pupupu Train continued to travel on the tracks. There was no sign of it rising up. Kirby kept a straight face and yelled.
“TAAAHHHHH! JUMP! JUMP! JUMP!!"
He felt like he could hear the voices of everyone on the train.
“Do your best, Kirby!”
“Kirby! Kirby!”
Kirby opened his mouth wide.
“TAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!! I’M DOING IT!!”
The train slowly rose. The passengers were trembling and calling out to Kirby rom their rooms.
“Yes! Yes! Keep going, Kirby!”
“Ora ora ora ora!”
“Please do it!!”
Kirby put more and more effort into it.
“More and more! BIG, BIG BIG JUMP!”
The train left from the track at a steep angle and rushed through space towards the meteor.
Kirby continued to shout.
“Not yet! Not yet! TAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”
The train rose so fast that it barely grazed the meteor.
From the cabin, the driver shouted. “Good job, Mr. Kirby! Now for me to do my job! Just leave it to me!”
He checked the direction of the train and looked at the speedometer.
“Landing a jumping vehicle on the tracks is insane, but…”
The sparkling train tracks projected onto the screen and the driver shouted.
“It’s the job of a driver to protect the passengers! UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”
At that moment, there was a massive impact that caused the whole train to nearly flip over. The last car was hit by the meteor and destroyed. The driver went pale.
“We couldn’t dodge it…?! Then the passengers…!?”
At that moment, the conductor’s voice came through the speakers.
“This is the conductor. The cargo hold has been destroyed.”
“The passenger cars?! What about the passenger cars!?”
“The passenger cars are safe. I am currently checking on the passengers.”
“I see… don’t push yourself too hard.”
The driver let out a deep breath.
“The passenger car is safe! Only the freight car was damaged! Everyone is safe!”
He tightened his expression and gripped the lever.
“I must…protect! Protect the passengers!”
(SCREEEEECHHHHH)
With a roar, the Pupupu train landed on the stretched track and picked up speed.
~~~~~~~~
The conductor and maid called out as they made their way down the hallway of the passenger car.
“Is everyone safe? Are any of you injured?”
One after the other, the doors of each room opened up and the passengers peeked out.
“That was a massive tremor! I screamed when I thought we were gonna be hit by the meteor!”
“So the plan was a success and Kirby did it?”
“Yeah! A huge success!”
The conductor and maid gave a smile as cheers resounded.
“We’re safe! We’re safe!”
“Hooray! Let’s party!”
Within the uproar, Bandana Waddle Dee shouted.
“What about Kirby? We have to quickly help him out!”
Pushing aside the Waddle Dees, King Dedede appeared.
“Ow ow ow…I hit my head against the wall! Stupid Kirby, couldn’t he have been a bit more gentle with the jumping?!”
“Your highness…!”
“I’m gonna go complain. You all wait here.”
Dedede opened up the car window.
“I’ll join you.”
The voice came from Meta Knight. The two of them exited the window. Kirby was unconscious on top of the train with both of his hands still grasping the top of the train. His jet tank was cold after using up all the charge from it. King Dedede and Meta Knight landed next to him and called out.
“Are you really sleeping? Get up, Kirby!”
“You did well, Kirby. Thanks to you, everyone made it out safely.”
However, Kirby did not regain consciousness.
“Chef Kawasaki’s gonna make a whole feast for you.”
Kirby’s eyes did not open.
“He didn’t wake up even though I said he was going to have a feast. This is serious…” Meta Knight said with worry.
“That’s not even trying! If you wanna wake up Kirby, here’s what you do!”
Dedede reached into his gown and pulled out a bright red maximum tomato.
Meta Knight was taken aback.
“Why would you bring that out here…?”
“It’s a king’s preference. Eat up, Kirby!”
He shoved the Maximum Tomato in front of Kirby’s mouth. Maximum Tomatoes are Kirby’s favorite food, so it caused him to instantly spring awake.
“Waah! A Maximum Tomato! Thank you for the food!”
Kirby suddenly gained a lot of energy, opened his mouth, and gulped the maximum tomato down. With an utterance of “good grief” from Meta Knight, he stood up.
~~~~~~~~
All the passengers gathered in the dining car for a huge party. Of course, it was a sweets party.
“I’ve made lots of cakes! They’re new recipes that I’m proud of! We’re celebrating the fact that we avoided the meteor, so everyone eat as much as you like!” Chef Kawasaki said with a shining face.
Cheers rose from the passengers.
“Hurray!”
“To commemorate the success of avoiding the meteor!”
While everyone was overjoyed, Captain Vul tried to quietly leave the dining car without being noticed, but was stopped by a concerned Chef Kawasaki.
“Where are you going, Captain Vul? Do you not want to participate in the sweets party?”
“…I have no right to participate in it.” He replied in a solemn voice. “I’ve caused everyone trouble. I’m returning to my room.”
Chef Kawasaki ran over to him. “You told the truth and returned the sugar, so that’s enough.”
“But...”
“What does everyone else think? Can Vul participate in the party?”
The chef looked around at everyone’s faces. The first person to raise their voice was Kirby.
“He can!” He shouted, raising both of his hands. “It’ll be more delicious if everyone eats together! Now come and sit down, Vul!”
The passengers looked at each other before responding.
“Well, him hiding the sugar was pretty awful…”
“He said he’s sorry, so I’ll forgive him.”
“It’s as Kirby said, sweets are better when eaten together!”
Similar comments rose up, but Vul’s face didn’t lighten up.
“…I’m glad that you say that, but… it’s humiliating as the captain of the Halberd…”
“Of course, you will have to be punished.” Meta Knight said.
“…I am prepared to accept it.”
“Starting tomorrow, you are forbidden from eating sweets.”
Vul, who had been hanging his head, shot up in shock. “No… sweets…?”
“It’ll also help with your diet so you can kill two birds with one stone.”
“Y… yeah…” Vul blinked. “But if I’m forbidden from eating sweets, then I can’t participate in the party today, right…?”
“Meta Knight said “tomorrow”. You can participate in the party today!” Chef Kawasaki said.
“B…but…!”
In response to Vul’s complex expression, the chef replied. “It’ll be fine. I made a lot of snacks that you can eat even if you are on a diet. I’ve made tofu cake, coconut milk agar, and other delicious dessert recipes that won’t make you fat!”
“…what?! Tofu cake… agar…!?”
Vul trembled as if he was struck by lightning.
“D…desserts like that exist…?!”
“Yeah! So you should participate in the party!”
“U… uu… you have my gratitude… thank you so much, Chef Kawasaki!”
“If that’s what you’ve decided, then let’s start right now! Cheers, everyone!” King Dedede said.
Everyone raised their glasses full of juice.
“Cheers! Cheers!”
“Thank you, Kirby, and to Capsule J2 as well!”
“I don’t remember much about what happened… but it was something amazing, right?” Capsule J2 said, embarrassed.
“Yeah, it was amazing!”
“It was thanks to you that Kirby was able to have enough strength to do it!”
“You’re the greatest!”
“It’s not just Kirby and Capsule J2 we should be grateful for, we should also thank the crew of the Pupupu Train. We would not be successful if it wasn’t for them.” Meta Knight said.
Everyone shouted in agreement.
“That’s right! Thank you, driver, conductor, and maid!”
“Snacks have been delivered to the cabin. I have a message from the driver. He said “Thank you very much for using the Pupupu Train. Although there was a slight incident, the train will continue its trip unhindered.”.” Bandana Waddle Dee said.
The passengers smiled and applauded.
“It’s not just the crew of the train, but I’d also like to thank York. He carefully wrapped a blanket around me so I didn’t get hurt.” Waddle Doo said.
“Same here. That guy went to each cabin one by one to make sure all the passengers were safe. I don’t like him, but I’d like to thank him anyway.” Bonkers added.
Everyone saw York sitting in the corner of the room.
The maid spoke up. “I’m really glad that no one was hurt, president. President… um… president?”
Even when he was called out to, York didn’t respond. In contrast to the joyful passengers, he seemed devastated, not even participating in the cheers and just mumbling to himself.
“The cargo hold… it took so much effort to collect those slumbercumbers…!”
Hearing this, King Dedede threw his head back. “Too bad for you. Your moneymaking scheme has collapsed!”
“…”
“That means you can’t do anything bad!”
York was completely depressed and continued to talk to himself.
“But… there’s one box… only the box that was carried to the kitchen was safe…”
No one was listening to his monologue anymore. Everyone was smiling and chatting as they ate the cakes that were brought in one after another. However, Meta Knight was the only one staring at him with sharp eyes.
Like most characters you encounter in the Kirby franchise, Capsule J is both an adversary and an ally for the players. Capsule-J made it's first and only appearance in 1996's Kirby Super Star. If inhaled by Kirby, the pink poof copies their jet ability.
In 2008, a remake of Capsule-J's debut game, Kirby Super Star Ultra was released. While this remake brings back all of the copy abilities from the original version including jet, Capsule-J doesn't make an appearance.
So then how does Kirby acquire the jet ability in Super Star Ultra? Enter, Capsule-J2. Capsule-J2 most assuredly replaces Capsule-J because of the latter's resemblance to Konami's Twin Bee character.
Capsule-J comes from a different era of video games where titles like The Revenge of Shinobi would outright copy designs from well known characters like the Terminator, Batman, Godzilla, Spider-Man and Rambo.
Three years after his debut, Capsule-J2 would reappear in Kirby Mass Attack. Five years after that, a third jet character, Capsule J3, would appear in 2016's Kirby∶ Planet Robobot.
This tidbit from WiKirby.com may give us a clue as to why Hal Laboratory felt the need to reintroduce yet another "Capsule" character∶
In Kirby Super Star Ultra, the internal filename for Capsule J2 is "capsulej", suggesting that Capsule J2 may have replaced Capsule J late in development. Additionally, it appears that Capsule J2's sprites used Capsule J as a base, since the lower half of it resembles an edited version of the original sprite. In Kirby∶ Mass Attack, its file specifies "j2".
So, it may be that HAL Laboratory was never satisfied with J2's appearance because they might've been quickly thrown together midway through development.
As such, when it came time to model a 3D character with the jet ability for Planet Robobot, they opted to outright replace J2 with J3. This is all just speculation on my part, though!
Kirby: Mysterious Incident on the Pupupu Train! - Chapter 8: The Pupupu Train's Great Pinch!
Previous Chapter
Everyone stood speechless. The only person who spoke was York.
“Th… that’s not possible… he’s the greatest driver in the galaxy…!”
“There’s no mistake about it, since this comes from the driver himself! We will soon collide with the meteor!” The conductor replied in a strong tone.
“Soon…!?”
York fell onto the sofa, seeming to have fainted again.
“We can do something, can’t we?! But how…!? I got it! Meta Knight! Evacuate all the passengers to your battleship!” King Dedede shouted.
“The Halberd is anchored in Dream Land. It won’t get here in time.” Meta Knight answered in a dark voice.
“Kuh… well… isn’t there any other option…!?”
“Destroy the meteor! We just gotta wreck it before it can crash into us!” Knuckle Joe shouted.
“Sounds like a great plan, Knuckle Joe! I’ll be the one to go then! It’ll take a single hit from my hammer!” Bonkers said.
“If we’re talking about hammers, then I’m up! Just leave it all to me!” Dedede shouted, having cheered up.
“…that’s right! Kirby, inhale me!” Burning Leo yelled.
Kirby blinked in response to that sudden outburst.
“Huh?”
“That way, you’ll be able to use the Fire Copy Ability! The strong flames will be able to burn the meteor!”
The other passengers also began to raise their voices.
“Inhale me! My freezing breath can freeze the meteor!”
“No way! My bomb throw can destroy it!”
“Incorrect! My kunai shuriken split the meteor in two!”
Everyone was desperately trying to get through this great problem.
“Let’s go, Kirby!” Meta Knight said.
“Huh? Do you want me to inhale you, Meta Knight?”
“That’s not what I mean! Let’s go to the cabin!”
“The cabin…”
“I want to talk to the driver. I’d like to hear his opinion on what would be the best way to destroy the meteor.”
Upon saying that, Meta Knight flipped his cape back and left the dining car.
“I got it!”
“Wait! I’m going with you!”
Kirby and King Dedede quickly followed after Meta Knight.
~~~~~~~~
The driver stared at the screen with large drops of sweat on his forehead. However, the distance of the meteor was gradually shrinking.
“…there’s nothing that can be done… there’s no time left… what should I do… what should I do…?”
As he grumbled, he heard a voice from behind him.
“What can we do to avoid the meteor?”
It was Meta Knight.
“I’m thinking of how to do that! Don’t interrupt me!” The driver shouted.
“Kirby can probably help with it.”
“Mr. Kirby can?”
The driver looked back.
“No way, can he drive?”
“Nope!” Kirby replied in a serious voice. “I can’t drive a train!”
The driver sighed and turned to face forward again.
“Then leave. I’d like to concentrate.”
“But I might be able to destroy the meteor!”
“What did you say…?”
The driver turned around again and stared doubtfully at Kirby.
“How can you destroy a giant meteor like that? If you destroy it, you can’t do it without breaking into hundreds of pieces!”
He pointed to the screen. On it was the approaching meteor, the Pupupu Train, and the tracks.
“It’s bigger than I imagined. Even someone as grand as me can’t do it… it’s even impossible for Kirby with a Copy Ability…” Dedede growled aloud.
Kirby raised his eyes and looked at the screen. It was just as the driver and King Dedede said. Even if he tried with all his might, destroying a meteor as big as this one would be impossible. Plus, the distance between it and the Pupupu Train was getting shorter and shorter…!
“I can’t use Hammer… I can’t use Fighter… I can’t burn it with Fire… same with Ice…”
Hearing Kirby’s mumbling, the driver spoke with an impatient voice.
“Anyway, I’ll do my best to solve it. I’d like to concentrate, so please leave me be.”
But Kirby did not move. He was staring so hard at the screen, as if he could be sucked into it.
“Can’t use Ninja… nor Cutter… Sword…”
“Mr. Kirby, please….!”
Meta Knight softly grabbed Kirby’s hand. “Let’s go, Kirby. The driver is desperately trying to figure out a way to stop this, and we don’t want to interrupt him.”
Dedede also spoke up. “Let’s go back to the dining car. Everyone’s probably worried if I’m not there.”
However, Kirby did not move.
“Beam can’t… Mic can’t… Wheel can’t… none of those…”
The meteor grew closer. Kirby let out a gasp.
“I got it…if we can’t destroy the meteor… how about we jump over it?!” Kirby shouted, his voice as bouncy as he was.
The driver was dumbfounded. “…huh? Just what do you…?”
“We jump over it! We rush towards the meteor, and BOING!”
The driver shook his head. “What are you saying…?”
“That’s it.” Meta Knight raised his voice. “That just might be able to help. Kirby, do you know how to make it jump?”
“I’m gonna lift the train!” Kirby replied with a cheerful voice. “And then I’m gonna jump with all my might! Just as the meteor is about to collide, I’ll jump!”
“There’s no way you’d be able to do that. Do you know how much power you’d need…?” The driver asked with a troubled look.
But then King Dedede spoke up. “…there’s a better chance with that than destroying the meteor.”
“Right?!”
“Driver, would you mind lending Kirby your strength?” Meta Knight said.
“Huh?”
Meta Knight advanced to look at the screen.
“Just before the meteor hits the tracks, we make it float. And then when we avoid collision, we return it to the line.” It had sounded like his voice regained its strength. “Kirby will be the one to make the train float. Your job will be to stabilize the car body when it returns to the track. Do you think you can do that?”
“What…what are you…?” The driver was stunned. “Make the train float…? How…?”
“I’ll do my best and carry the train! What do you think!?” Kirby answered happily.
“Can… can you… really do something like that…”
The driver stared at Kirby. When he saw his straight face, he let out a sigh and glanced towards the screen. At that moment, the meteor was getting closer and closer.
“…I understand. I’ll believe in Mr. Kirby. It doesn’t matter how heavy the car is, I’ll make sure it gets stabilized when it returns to the track.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Let’s work together. Take this if you need to speak to me.”
The driver handed Kirby a small device.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a communication device. Put it on and you’ll be able to talk to me. Let’s talk to each other and match up our timings.”
“Okay!”
Kirby ran off enthusiastically towards the dining car.
~~~~~~~~
“Do your best! Hang in there!” Kirby jumped into the dining car shouting.
The passengers there, who had been looking at each other with worried looks, heard Kirby’s voice and shouted back.
“Kirby, do you have a plan!?”
“I’m ready to go! Now, inhale me, Kirby!”
“Get outta here, you won’t help! Inhale me, Kirby!”
The passengers surrounded Kirby.
Kirby shouted. “Capsule J2, please lend me your strength!”
“…huh?”
Capsule J2, who had been behind everyone, was surprised. He wasn’t as strong as Bonkers or Knuckle Joe, which was why he thought that it wasn’t his place to get involved and kept quiet about being inhaled.
“Me? But why…?”
“We’re gonna use a jet to jump over the shooting star!”
Kirby raised both his hands.
“Jump over a shooting star…I have no idea what you mean but… ok, as long as I can help! Inhale me, Kirby!” Capsule J2 said in a bewildered manner.
“Thank you, Capsule J2!”
Kirby opened his mouth and took a deep inhaling breath. Capsule J2 flew through the air and into Kirby’s mouth. Immediately, his form changed. He now had a jet-like helmet on his head and a jet tank on his back. This was the Jet Ability, which allowed him to fly! …but upon seeing Kirby’s form, the other passengers complained.
“Capsule J2? The Jet Copy Ability?”
“There’s no strength! It won’t do anything against the meteor!”
“You really should’ve inhaled me, Kirby!”
Kirby shook off what everyone was saying and opened the window to the dining car as everyone hurried to stop him.
“Hold it! What are you doing, Kirby?!”
“Don’t you know that there’s no way that Jet is gonna destroy the meteor…?!”
“Nope! Everything will be fine!”
Kirby kicked the window frame and jumped out into the infinite space!
~~~~~~~~
The meteor was gradually approaching. Kirby stood crouched down on the front of the train, just above the cabin. He took a deep breath and reached down to the edges of the vehicle, and clenched onto it with both hands.
“Give me your power… give me your power…”
Little by little, Kirby’s face turned red.
~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, inside the car, Meta Knight gave out instructions.
“This isn’t good. Everyone, return to your rooms and prepare for impact.”
“Got it!”
Everyone returned to their rooms. The maid woke up York.
“President, this isn’t a place you should sleep. Return to your room for your own safety!”
York slowly opened his eyes. “For… my own safety…? Wh-what have I awoken to…?”
He didn’t seem to understand what was going on. He shook his head with a blank expression.
“What happened? What about the meteor…?”
“We’re going to jump.” Meta Knight answered.
“Huh? Going to… jump… over it…?”
“There’s no time to explain. Return to your room. As a countermeasure, wrap yourself in a blanket and fix it to something so it won’t blow away.”
“I’ll go help the guest. There are some spare blankets we can hand out!” The maid said.
“Please do. Then ensure your own safety when you are done helping them.”
“Understood!”
As the maid was going to leave, she was called out to by York.
“W-wait! Hold it!”
“President, please protect yourself! You are as important as the guests! Now, please excuse me.” The maid replied sharply and turned around.
York wobbled as he walked. “It’s better if we split up. You take the passengers in the back of the train, and I’ll take care of the ones in the front.”
“Understood!”
The maid and York both ran out of the dining car.
“That York, I thought he would be the type to push away his customers in regards for his own safety over others, but it seems I was wrong.” Axe Knight uttered, surprised.
“He got involved with smuggling due to the prospect of money making, but maybe he’s a hard worker at heart.” Trident Knight said.
“No matter how hard he works, I can’t forgive him for trying to make money off such dangerous vegetables. I absolutely hate it!” Javelin Knight said.
Vul was the last to speak. “There’s no time to chat. We’ve also got to return to our room and keep ourselves safe!”
“Yes, sir!”
Hearing Captain Vul’s taut voice for the first time in a while put the Meta Knights in high spirits and they ran at full speed down the hallway.
