The Fofa Factor

The Fofa Factor is the ninth episode of Kirby: Right Back At Ya!. It is notable for the first appearance of the Cutter ability, the first appearance of a Demon Beast with the ability to speak, and also giving a backstory to the characters Fololo and Falala.

Synopsis
Questions are asked about Lololo and Lalala's origins, since the two of them have been with Tiff and Tuff's family for as long as they remember, but Sir Ebrum and Lady Like who apparently know about the truth, decide to keep mum about it. Meanwhile, King Dedede's gets his latest cut-and-paste monster toy from Nightmare Enterprises, cause some trouble for themselves, and then decide to cause more trouble about Cappy Town. Kirby happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and ends up being split into two entities. Lololo and Lalala decide to run into the line of fire for once, if only for Kirby's sake, and they eventually find out the two Kirbys and themselves have more than a little in common thanks to Slice n' Splice.

Episode Summary
The episode starts off with King Dedede calling in Fololo and Falala into the Throne Room. King Dedede asks them to go to Mabel's and see how his fortune is. However, Escargoon stops them and says that there's no reason for both of them to go and that Fololo could accomplish the task alone. Fololo however states that he and Falala are a team and that they never go anywhere alone. King Dedede demands that they split up because he's the king and he gives the orders. However, the duo state that they only respond to Sir Ebrum and Lady Like. King Dedede threatens them that if they don't split up, both of them will be kicked out of the castle. Saddened, Fololo and Falala explain to Tiff what the king had ordered them to do. While complaining however, Tuff starts an argument with his mother, her saying that she is subtracting his allowance. Sir Ebrum explains that his mother was just kidding, but Lady Like tells him that they're his parents and that they should help him. However, Fololo and Falala overheard the conversation and Fololo asks where did he and Falala come from. Worriedly, Lady Like and Sir Ebrum conjure a false story on how a storm swept them here, but Tuff says that that's fake. Tiff asks where they really came from, but her mom tells her they found Fololo and Falala in the same place they found Tiff and Tuff. Tiff states that that's a bunch of bologna and that she wants to know the truth. Sir Ebrum then tells Tiff, Tuff, and Lololo and Lalala to go along with their business. Lady Like and Sir Ebrum, knowing this day would come, then reminisce about the day they met Fololo and Falala, when Tiff was still an infant. They were sitting outside in the castle gardens when suddenly, Fololo and Falala fell from nowhere. Sir Ebrum and Lady Like later found out that it came from a monster called Fofa who was split into two separate beings. They hoped that Tiff and Tuff would "never hear the name of Fofa", but unfortunately, Kirby heard the whole conversation and started saying the word "Fofa". Meanwhile, a Waddle Dee hands Escargoon a letter from the fortuneteller. The letter read: "'If you look for trouble, your trouble will double." It also states that Dedede is owes money for the fortune. He whacks Escargoon with a hammer and decides to order a monster from Nightmare Enterprises. Customer Service then tells Dedede that he has a great deal on a monster. He says that its name is Slice n' Splice and that it cuts its foes in two and mixes their parts. Customer Service says that to "preferred customers" they will throw in a how-to video and two free weapons. Escargoon reminds Dedede of his fortune, but Dedede ignores him and orders the monster anyway. Escargoon asks if they should watch the how-to video. Dedede agrees, but while Escargoon is putting the video in the VCR he sics Slice n’ Splice on Escargoon. Escargoon runs away, but runs into King Dedede which causes Slice n’ Splice to get them both. Dedede says that he feels sluggish while Escargoon says that he feels bloated. They look at their bodies and scream in terror to see that their heads have been mixed up.



Sir Ebrum and Lady Like hear this scream, but Sir Ebrum says that its just Dedede and Escargoon losing their heads over something. Sir Ebrum and Lady Like tape Kirby’s mouth shut so he won’t be able to say the word “Fofa”. Dedede and Escargoon take their new monster to Cappy Town so they could have some fun. Slice n’ Splice mixes up most of the Cappies with sheep, but he mixes Chief Bookem with Dedede’s body and Professor Curio’s with an ammonite shell and even mixes up Torkori and Rick. They leave in search of Kirby. Mayor Len Blustergas then demands Dedede to give them back their bodies. Escargoon bribes Dedede to give them their bodies back and to pursue Kirby instead. Meanwhile, Rick and Torkori encounter Tiff, Tuff, and Fololo and Falala, who notice the changes. Rick and Torkori explain that Dedede has ordered a new monster and that Kirby needs to stop it. Suddenly, Kirby comes out of nowhere with the tape still on his mouth. Dedede and Escargoon pull up with Slice n’ Splice just behind. Slice n’ Splice tries to slash Kirby with his moon rod, but Kirby jumps over him. However, Dedede counters Kirby’s jump by ramming his tank into him. This makes Kirby bounce off the car, rendering him vulnerable. With one slash, Slice n’ Splice slashes Kirby with the moon rod, causing him to be separated into two different beings!

Dedede tells Slice n' Splice to keep on slicing the Kirbys until they've been "kirbliterated". However, Fololo and Falala don't allow this and grab the Kirbys and then flee into the castle. With further inspection, Fololo notices that the Kirbys look just like him and his sister and that the female even has the same ribbon as Falala. They sigh and say that at least the Kirbys know where they came from. Suddenly, they hear Slice n' Splice and Dedede coming up the stairs. Fololo says that they need to split up in order not to get caught. Reluctantly, his sister agrees and they each take a Kirby and go in different directions. Dedede and Slice n' Splice follow Fololo while Escargoon follows Falala. Fololo hides on the roof hoping that Dedede and Slice n' Splice won't find him, but the green Kirby falls off the roof. Fololo quickly catches him, before Dedede can see him. Unfortunately though, Slice n' Splice saw them and attempted to slash them with the moon rod. Fololo quickly dodges and Slice n' Spice ends up splitting Dedede in two. The chase continues with Escargoon following Fololo and Dedede and Slice n' Splice following Falala. The chase continues throughout the whole castle, from the halls to the rooftops and Fololo and Falala hiding behind a golden Dedede statue. However, the statue falls on Dedede, knocking him out. Escargoon and Slice n' Splice however, have cornered the group, leaving them nowhere to run. As Slice n' Splice is about to slash the group with his rod, he suddenly remembers who Fololo and Falala are. He says that they are Fofa!



Slice n' Splice then tells the duo about their background. He states that he cut Fofa in two because Nightmare had told them so. When given to King Dedede, he threw them out of the castle and into the garden. This is when Sir Ebrum and Lady Like took care of Fololo and Falala. After Slice n' Splice's story, Fololo and Falala rejoice as they found out their origin. However, they didn't notice that King Dedede regained consciousness. Dedede tries to grab the Kirbys while Slice n' Splice fought Fololo and Falala. However, Escargoon cornered the Kirbys but Tiff and Tuff, who noticed the fight, kicked Escargoon with unfathomable speed, knocking him out! Slice n' Splice, however, loses his balance and is knocked down by Fololo and Falala who manage to steal the sun rod. Tiff, Tuff, Fololo and Falala and the Kirbys manage to run to the top of the castle, where Fololo and Falala manage to put the two Kirbys back together. However, Slice n' Splice emerges from the stairs. Tiff tells Kirby to inhale the monster. Slice n' Splice struggles to hold onto the moon rod. He tells Kirby that if he wants it, he could have it; Slice n' Splice tries to slash Kirby with an aerial attack. However, Kirby stops inhaling causing Slice n' Splice to fall down and lose the grip of his moon rod. Kirby sucks up the moon rod and becomes Cutter Kirby, whom Meta Knight explains. Cutter Kirby grabs the cutter on his back and throws it at Slice n' Splice. Slice n' Splice evades it, but it boomerangs back and severs his left arm. Kirby finishes off Slice n' Splice with a final cutter, completely cutting him in half. After the fight is over, Torkori and Rick ask Kirby if they could put them back to normal. Kirby throws his cutter at them and Tiff uses the sun rod to revert them to their old selves. Right when Fololo and Falala were about to become one again, Slice n' Splices body exploded, destroying the sun rod too. Dedede and Escargoon start crying. The episode ends with Fololo and Falala saying that even though they have two separate bodies, they have one heart.

Changes in the Dub

 * The scene where Tiff, Fololo, and Falala, are standing outside was slightly shortened in the dub; the slightly longer part in the original version had Lady Like ask Tuff if he's finished studying (both of them are offscreen), which got cut.

Trivia

 * Slice n' Splice is one of the few Demon beasts known to speak without possessing someone.
 * Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright, bosses from the Kirby games, make cameos in this episode as the rods wielded by Slice n' Splice.
 * The Fortune Teller's warning: "If you go looking for trouble, then your trouble will double." sounds similar to Team Rocket's lines from Pokemon, a show that was also dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment (and also based on a Nintendo franchise).
 * During the chasing scene in Dedede's castle, it has been made like that you can see 2 (In one short part, even 3!) of the same character at the same time!
 * Fofa is one of the few monsters Kirby never defeats, mainly because Fofa was sliced into Fololo and Falala and sent to Dedede before Kirby came to Dream Land. (Kirby wouldn't have a real reason to, anyway).
 * This episode makes an allusion to a famous Scooby-Doo chase scene that is shown on many TV shows.