Kirby: Triple Deluxe: Ribbon Road

by CodythekirbyusedPSItype

Summary:

There’s new content for Kirby Triple Deluxe. Download now?

 

Yes / No

 

Downloading…

 

Data Downloaded.

 

Launch Kirby Triple Deluxe?

 

Yes / No

 

New Mode unlocked: Ribbon Road.

 

Ribbon, the fairy from Ripple Star, is here. With her trusty crystal blaster, she’s got Kirby’s back. Go it alone or play with a friend as you enjoy this new side story to Kirby Triple Deluxe. Go Ribbon and Kirby! Save DeDeDe!

Chapter 1: Prologue

There’s new content for Kirby Triple Deluxe . Download now?

 

Yes / No

 

Downloading…

 

Data Downloaded.

 

Launch Kirby Triple Deluxe ?

 

Yes / No

 

New Mode unlocked: Ribbon Road.

 

Ribbon, the fairy from Ripple Star, is here. With her trusty crystal blaster, she’s got Kirby’s back. Go it alone or play with a friend as you enjoy this new side story to Kirby Triple Deluxe. Go Ribbon and Kirby! Save DeDeDe!

 

Play Prologue?

 

Yes / No

---

 

 

Kirby had a limited understanding of his own anatomy. His stomach was a literal pocket dimension, his body was also his head, and he had no hair. This was as far as his understanding went.

 

He could only assume that puffballs had a heart, or at least something similar, cause his just skipped a beat.

 

On top of that, it felt like he had an eel wriggling around in his stomach, which, on one hand, was literal, but he shouldn’t be able to feel them.

 

Then there was the fact that his face felt like it was way too close to a flaming Leo’s headdress.

 

Ultimately, it was a weird day.

 

---

It had started normal enough. Wake up, eat breakfast, visit the Dyna-blade chicks, have a second breakfast, then nap. All in all, nothing unusual.

 

Then he’d been woken up by the Halberd cruising through the sky. It’s destination: Castle DeDeDe.

 

Meta Knight didn’t often take the Halberd to Castle DeDeDe, prefering to fly there himself for any business. As such, Kirby thought he should check out what was going on.

 

“Hi DeDeDe, hi Bandana Dee,” he called as he entered the throne room. The king and his attendant stood in front of his throne.

 

“Hey, Kirby,” Dee called back. He waved, but stopped when DeDeDe glared at him.

 

“Hi, Meta,” Kirby said as he approached the knight’s position. Meta stood stoically facing the king. “You’re not trying to take over Dreamland again, are you?”

 

The mood in the room didn’t feel hostile, but Kirby could never get a good read on his mentor, so it was possible.

 

A sigh of relief escaped his mouth when Meta shook his head.

 

“Nothing so drastic this time,” he said. “Our ‘great king’ here has called for my assistance as a Star Warrior.”

 

“Yeah, so beat it, ya pest,” DeDeDe said, stomping his foot. “I’m doin’ royal work here.”

 

“Kirby stays,” Meta said. “He’s here as my apprentice. Now, what did you need?”

 

DeDeDe looked like he was gonna argue, but shook his head and sighed. 

 

“Alright, alright. Just keep your trap shut,” he growled. He slipped his hands behind his back, trying to appear more regal. “So I’ve been talkin’ with Queen Ripple of Ripple Star.”

 

Kirby giggled. “DeDeDe and Ripple sitting in a tree.”

 

“Shut up,” DeDeDe growled. A blush darkened his cheeks.

 

“K-I-S-S-I-”

 

“I said shut up!” he yelled, taking a swipe at Kirby.

 

Kirby jumped back to avoid the swipe, and kept singing.

 

“-N-”

 

“Kirby,” Meta scolded.

 

“Err, sorry, sir!”

 

Kirby stood at attention which DeDeDe used to actually land a swipe.

 

“Oww,” Kirby groaned.

 

“Are you two done?” 

 

“Uh, right,” DeDeDe coughed. “So as I was sayin’, I was talkin’ with Queen Ripple, and we got to talkin’ ‘bout some of the stuff we’ve had to deal with.”

 

“ I’ve had to deal with,” Kirby said under his breath.

 

“Kirby.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

“So I told her about the Dimensional Mirror, that thing with the Squeaks, Yin-Yarn, that kinda stuff.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I, uh, think I mighta’ spooked her a bit. Now she’s all worried that somethin’ will come outta nowhere and attack.”

 

He turned up his nose. “Normally I wouldn’t care, but Ripple Star is one of our most trusted allies. Anyway, she’s worried cause Ripple Star don’t got much of an army. So I said I’d talk to one of my most trusted knights and see if I could rig somethin’ up.”

 

Meta raised a brow. (though no one but the other three would be able to tell.)

 

“I’m not one of your knights anymore, DeDeDe.”

 

“Err, well, yeah,” he mumbled. “But you are doin’ that ‘knight of the people’ thing, right?” 

 

“Be that as it may, I will not be used in your attempts to woo another monarch.”

 

“That ain’t-” DeDeDe stopped himself and took a deep breath. “Look, I’m askin’ for a favor.” He grimaced on the word favor. “Just go to Ripple Star and talk ta Ripple. Work out some kinda patrol schedule, or somthin’.”

 

He turned from his audience to look out the window. “It’d be helpin’ both our kingdoms. Lately everythin’ we’ve had to deal with has been comin’ out of nowhere. Fact is we can’t just keep waitin’ for the big bads to come ta us.”

 

“I’ve been able to beat back everything so far,” Kirby voiced.

 

“Yah got lucky, puffball,” DeDeDe said, rounding on him. “Necrodeus destroyed you. Only reason yah won, is cause the jerk didn’t check if he’d really finished yah off.”

 

Kirby let out a sad ‘poyo’.

 

The king had a point. Necrodeus had known that he needed to take out Kirby and had tried to do so before taking over Dreamland. Only Kirby’s own will, his ‘Heroic Heart’, had saved him and revived him, albeit in a vastly less powerful state. It had been a long slog to gain enough power to put himself back together.

 

“You raise valid concerns,” Meta responded. “Very well. My crew and I will fly to Ripple Star. I will work out a patrol route with the Queen.”

 

DeDeDe sighed. “Thanks, Meta Knight. I… I… I owe yah.”

 

Meta chuckled at the King’s struggle to admit it. With a flick of his cape he walked back to the entrance.

 

“I shall make preparations to leave.”

 

“I got some things I’ll need yah to take.” He turned to his attendant. “Dee, have the waddle dees prepare the package.”

 

Kirby followed Meta out of the room. 

 

“I still think he’s doing this more for Queen Ripple,” he said out of earshot of the king.

 

“Most likely,” Meta said with a nod. “But if that makes him a better ruler, I see no reason not to indulge him.”

 

“Hey, Meta?” Kirby asked. “Can I come with you?”

 

“What if something happens?”

 

“I’m sure DeDeDe can handle it. Besides, I wanna go visit Ribbon. I haven’t seen her in forever.”

 

Which bugged him a bit, if he was honest. Though why was something he didn’t understand. There were other friends that he hadn’t seen for way longer than Ribbon. Gooey for one. The friendly glob of Dark Matter had gone on a journey to ‘find himself’ shortly after their fight against Zero. Kirby was kinda worried he’d gotten trapped in another bag. (the blob wasn’t all that smart).

 

Then there were his animal friends, Rick, Kine, and Coo. Far as Kirby knew, they were enjoying their lives. Kine was about to be a dad, Rick and Pick were on vacation, and Coo was… somewhere (He got postcards from him but the owl had very poor handwriting so Kirby wasn’t quite sure what he was up to.).

 

Adeline was off exploring the PoPoPo Islands, looking for inspiration. Kirby would have visited her, but she moved around so much, it was kinda hard to find her. 

 

But above all of his friends, he wanted to see Ribbon the most. It… confused him.

 

“Hmm,” Meta hummed.

 

“‘Sides, you need a guide, don’t you?”

 

“Very well,” he conceded. “We leave in an hour. Go pack your things. If you are not here by then, we will leave without you, understood?”

 

Kirby hopped into a salute. “Yes sir!” He then grinned and hugged the knight. “Thanks, Meta.”

 

Meta’s eyes turned green with amusement as Kirby ran to go pack.

---

 

 

It didn’t take him long to pack. When he returned, DeDeDe was handing Meta a note with the royal seal.

 

“This should get yah off on the right foot,” he said. “I’ll let her know what the Halberd looks like so yah don’t spook em.”

 

Meta nodded.

 

“Oh, one more thing.”

 

He turned away from Meta and called for Bandana Dee. Said attendant soon arrived carrying a wrapped box above his head.

 

“Need yah to pass this onto the Queen,” DeDeDe said with a slight blush. “Her birthday is comin’ up soon. I’d give it to her then, but, uh, I got a very busy schedule and won’t be able to.”

 

Kirby rolled his eyes. He figured Meta must have rolled his too, though with the mask it was hard to tell. What action he did display was a nod followed by a disgruntled sigh.

 

A waddle dee wearing a sailor hat (Sailor Dee, if Kirby remembered correctly.) walked up and took the box from Bandana Dee.

 

“Put that in the cargo bay,” Meta instructed.

 

“Yes, sir!” Sailor Dee responded, sounding rather feminin to Kirby.

 

It was hard to say whether Sailor Dee was a girl or just rather young as the differences between male and female waddle dees lie mostly in voice pitch and a few other small details Kirby was not privy to.

 

“Make sure ya tie that down,” DeDeDe barked. “There better not be a scratch on it when yah get to Ripple Star.”

 

“She will make sure it’s secured,” Meta said. “My crew is nothing if not compataint.”

 

“Well, that answers that,” Kirby thought. “Wonder why Bandana Dee is blushing though.”

 

“Let’s go, Kirby,” Meta said.

 

He turned towards the ship with a dramatic flair.

 

“Right,” Kirby said with a nod. “Bye DeDeDe, Bye Bandana Dee,”

 

Bandana Dee was the only one to wave back.

 

---

Kirby couldn’t help but grin as he entered the bridge of the Halberd. Despite his history with this ship, he’d never been on the bridge.

 

“Are we ready to launch?” Meta asked, entering just behind Kirby.

 

“Just doin’ the last few checks,” Captain Vul responded. “Can’t say I’m happy to have that ship wreckin’ puff aboard. We just barely salvaged the original Halberd after the last time he was here.”

 

“Worry not, Vul,” he said. “Kirby is here as my apprentice. Long as we give him no reason to, he won’t be destroying our ship.”

 

“Hah,” Vul squawked. “I’d just like to see him try and take down the new Battleship Halberd Ultra!”

 

Kirby ignored the squawking captain in favor of asking Axe Knight what he was doing.

 

“All cargo is secure, Sir!” Sailor Dee called as she entered.

 

Meta nodded. “Vul, prepare for launch.”

 

“Aye, aye.”

 

Vul proceeded to fiddle with the controls. Power hummed underneath their feet.

 

“Solar batteries charged,” Axe Knight called out.

 

“Core temperature nominal,” Mace Knight confirmed.

 

“All systems online,” Sailor Dee said. “We’re set for launch, Sir.”

 

Meta nodded. “Beginning countdown to launch.”

 

“Oh, oh,” Kirby said, waving his arms. “Can I do the countdown, Meta?”

 

Meta chuckled and swept out his hand in a gesture of ‘go ahead’.

 

Kirby’s grin grew.

 

“Launching in, 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!”

 

He pointed forward in a dramatic fashion.

 

“Battleship Halberd, to the stars!”

 

The ship took off with a massive jolt. It quickly left the atmosphere and settled into an easy flight path.

 

“At this speed, we should be arriving at Ripple Star in ten minutes,” Sailor Dee said.

 

“Wow,” Kirby cooed. “This thing is really cool when I don’t have to stop it. I should get my own ship, or maybe a fighting robot. That’d be cool.”

 

Meta nodded at his crew and turned to the exit.

 

“Kirby,” he called. “Come with me. We will use this time to see how your sword skills have improved.”

 

“Okay,” Kirby sighed.

 

---

“Attention, Sir Meta Knight, Kirby,” the intercom blared. “We are approaching Ripple Star.”

 

Kirby rubbed his head. Puffballs didn’t bruise but it still hurt. Meta had hit him over the head with the flat of his blade when he had over extended. Kirby’s base skill with a blade had improved but he doubted he’d ever meet Meta’s skill without using his copy ability.

 

“Very good, Kirby,” Meta said with a nod. “You have improved, but there are still things you could work on.”

 

Kirby handed the sword back to Meta and followed him out.

 

“It still feels weird to use it without my copy ability,” he said. “Like, I know the moves, but my body’s not used to them.”

 

“Yes,” Meta agreed. “But learning to not rely on your copy ability will serve you well.”

 

“Might be better to learn fighter moves,” Kirby pondered. “I mean, if I have a sword, why not just eat it?”

 

“Even so, it never hurts to have more options in combat.”

 

Kirby could see the point in that.

 

The two walked onto the bridge.

 

“Awaiting orders,” Sailor Dee said.

 

“Status report,” Meta called.

 

“We have settled into orbit around the planet,” Axe Knight responded.

 

“Communication?”

 

“Negative,” Mace Knight said. “There are no frequencies to hail.”

 

“No communications array?” Vul scoffed. “These people backwards?”

 

“The fairies were isolationist until recently,” Meta said. “Hold in orbit. Kirby and I will go down and find somewhere to land.”

 

“Aye,”

 

“I’ll call the Warp Star,” Kirby said, pulling out his phone.

Kirby guided the warp star through the atmosphere. Meta sat next to him, preferring to take the warp star over his own wings. Between his masked face, glowing eyes and bat wings, he tended to come off as rather intimidating. 

 

Kirby set the warp star down in the center plaza.

 

“Solid landing, Kirby,”

 

“Thanks,” Kirby said, rubbing the back of his head. “I’ve been practicing.” 

 

Fairies peeked out from their homes while the ones on the street gawked. It was clear they recognized Kirby, but not the other person.

 

“Hi, Ripple Star!” he called out to the plaza. “Don't mind us. Official Star Warrior business with the queen.”

 

His declaration did little to calm the crowd. Kirby just shrugged and pointed ahead.

 

“Come on, Meta. The palace is this way.”

 

Meta nodded and followed after.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the gates.

 

“H-halt,” the guard stuttered.

 

The green-haired fairy was practically shaking. Her helmet rattled against her skull as she nervously leveled a spear at them.

 

“Hi,” Kirby said cheerfully. “ I’m Kirby and this is Meta Knight. We’re here to see Queen Ripple.”

 

“D-do you h-ha-have proof?”

 

“Wha?”

 

“I believe she thinks you could be a copy or even possessed,” Meta suggested.

 

“What? Why?”

 

Meta met his question with an exasperated look.

 

“Oh, right,” he said sheepishly. “I guess you do come off kinda scary. Maybe if you take off your mas—”

 

“No.”

 

“Alright, sheesh,” he mumbled. “Uhm, oh maybe,”

 

Kirby quickly looked through his pocket dimension for a specific item. He materialized it in his hand.

 

“Will this work?” He asked as he held out his crystal shard.

 

The guard let out a sigh of relief. 

 

“It is you, Sir Kirby.”

 

“Sir?”

 

“And your companion must be a good person if the crystal shard didn’t react. Still,” she paused. “I can’t just let you in. The Queen has us buffing up security.”

 

Meta pulled out the letter with the Dreamland seal.

 

“I understand your concerns,” he said, handing her the letter. “However, King Dedede has sent us to discuss these security concerns. This letter should vouch for us.”

 

“Oh, you must be the emissaries the Queen was expecting,” she said, opening the letter. “Okay, this checks out. I should have expected Sir Kirby would come. Head on in.”

 

Kirby nodded.

 

“Come on, Meta.”

 

Meta chuckled softly as he followed the excitable puffball.

 

---

The Queen of Ripple Star smiled as they entered.

 

“Hello, Sir Kirby. What a pleasant surprise.”

 

“Hi, Queen Ripple.”

 

A grunt from Meta snapped Kirby into a more formal mindset. He shook his head and dipped into a bow.

 

“Er, I mean, afternoon, your majesty,” he corrected.

 

“At ease, Sir Kirby,” she said with a giggle. She then turned to Meta Knight. “I assume you are the one DeDeDe sent?”

 

“Correct, your majesty,” he said with a nod. “I am Meta Knight, knight of Dreamland and Star Warrior.”

 

Meta wrapped his cape closer around him as he bowed.

 

“The Great King asked that I meet with you to discuss a potential patrol route. Kirby is here as my apprentice and guide.”

 

She nodded.

 

“Yes. DeDeDe has informed me about some of the things that have happened as of late. I’ll admit, it has spooked me a bit.” She pushed up her glasses.  “If we could establish a more stable line of communication and threat detection, it would put my heart at ease.”

 

The two continued talking while Kirby stood there. He wasn’t much for planning. Kirby was very much reactionary as opposed to preventative when it came to fighting. Not that he didn’t see the value in it, but in his mind there was only so much you could potentially plan for. Try to plan for everything and you just end up paranoid.

 

“Sir Kirby?”

 

The Queen’s call dragged him out of his head.

 

“Er, yes?”

 

A grunt from Meta.

 

“Your Majesty,” he amended.

 

“I would like to have Ribbon here for this. She is currently training in the courtyard. Would you mind retrieving her for me? I’m sure she would be delighted to see you.”

 

Kirby couldn’t help but grin. 

 

“I’m on it, Queen Ripp—”

 

Meta grunted again.

 

“Uh, I mean.” He cleared his throat and bowed. “As you wish, your majesty.”

 

“Don’t get distracted, Kirby.”

 

Kirby nodded and ran out of the room.

 

“Other way, Kirby,” Queen Ripple called.

 

As Kirby changed direction, Queen Ripple giggled and Meta sighed.

---

 The courtyard wasn't hard to find. When he arrived, he noticed that Ribbon was standing in the center with her eyes closed.

 

He quickly noted the targets set up around the courtyard.

 

“She's practicing,” he said softly. “Oh, this should be good.”

 

Ribbon had sent a few letters since he had left Ripple Star all those years ago. One letter had stated that she was practicing with the Crystal Blaster.

 

It seemed that Ribbon was the only fairy in the past hundred years that could even form the Crystal Blaster out of the Sacred Crystal. The fairies of Ripple Star were natural pacifists, so forming a weapon didn't come easily.

 

At some unseen signal, her eyes snapped open. The pendant around her neck glowed, summoning the blaster to her hand. She pivoted and blasted one target. She threw the blaster in the air and summoned another. The thrown blaster reverted to a crystal and floated next to her.

 

She turned and shot another target while the floating shard blasted another behind her. She formed another crystal sentry (Kirby's temporary name for the technique) and fired on more targets.

 

She flew up with a twirl, crystal shards spinning around her. When she reached a certain height she raised a hand. The spinning shards stopped and pointed outwards. Ribbon brought her hand down. The shards all let loose a blast. 

 

“Woah,” he breathed.

 

The sound caught Ribbon's attention. Their eyes locked.

 

“ Her eyes are really pretty,” he thought.

 

Before he could process where that thought came from, pain erupted from the top of his head and the world went black.

 

---

“I swear it was an accident!”

 

“It is alright, Miss Ribbon.”

 

The conversation was the first thing he registered when he came to. He blinked to try and clear the blurry images.

 

First thing he saw was Ribbon kneeled beside him. She seemed to be looking elsewhere though.

 

“I assure you, Kirby has taken much worse hits. He'll be fine.”

 

“Meta,” he registered but his eyes stayed locked on Ribbon.

 

“She's pretty,” he mumbled.

 

“Kirby?”

 

She turned back to him.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

Kirby nodded.

 

“Looks like she didn't hear me,” he thought. 

 

Though judging by the way Queen Ripple was trying to hold back giggles and the fond smirk Kirby could see in Meta's eyes, she'd been the only one that hadn't.

 

He jumped up and rubbed his head.

 

“I'm good,” he said. “But what hit me?”

 

Ribbon sheepishly rubbed her arm and pointed next to him.

 

It seemed one of the suspended targets had come loose.

 

“My... my aim was off,” she said with a massive blush. “I clipped the top of the target, and that caused it to fall.”

 

Kirby examined the target. It seemed less of a target and more like a log with a target painted on it.

 

“I assume there is a reason they have to be so thick?” Meta asked.

 

“Uhm, well, if I use regular targets, they, uh, kinda just explode.”

 

Kirby nodded sagely.

 

“I had that problem trying to practice laser. Can't work on your aim if you can’t see where you hit.”

 

She smiled at him and nodded. Her smile was soon replaced with a thoughtful look.

 

“But, Kirby, what are you doing here?” She quickly held up her hand and blushed.

 

“N-not that I'm not happy you're here,” she stuttered. “I'm so happy to see you again.”

 

She turned away slightly.

 

“I mean, I'm happy to see any of my friends.”

 

Queen Ripple soon stepped in.

 

“Ribbon,” she said. “Sir Kirby is here with Sir Meta Knight as the emissaries sent by King DeDeDe. ”

 

“The meeting about the security concerns!” Ribbon gasped. “I’m sorry, your Majesty. I completely lost track of time!”

 

“It’s alright, Ribbon,” the queen said with a giggle. “I’m not mad since you’re working hard to be Ripple Star's guardian. Just don’t make it a habit.”

 

Ribbon nodded.

 

“Your majesty,” Meta said, stepping forward. “Before we continue, I would like to have a few of my men with us. Is there a place where we could land our ship?”

 

The Queen put a finger to her chin. “Oh yes, your ship. Dedede mentioned it. There is an old air field behind the palace. It may be in a state of disrepair, though. We haven’t had use of it for centuries.”

 

“It should be satisfactory,” Meta said with a nod. “I will contact my men and have them land.”

 

The Queen smiled. “Right, I’ll prepare some tea. Kirby, Ribbon, would you two care to help me?”

 

“Of course, your majesty.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Meta sighed.”

 

“Er, I mean, at your service, your majesty.”

 

The two fairies giggled.

 

---

With the Halberd landed, Meta had Captain Vul and Sailor Dee join the meeting.

 

The Queen, along with Ribbon and Kirby, served tea.

 

"So," Meta said while taking a cup from Kirby. "King DeDeDe tells me that you have some concerns?"

 

"Yes," Queen Ripple began. She took a seat. "As I said, DeDeDe has been keeping me updated on what you dreamlanders have had to face."

 

Kirby drooled at the slice of cake Ribbon set in front of him. She giggled as she sat next to the queen.

 

Queen Ripple sat at the head of the table with Ribbon to her left. On the other side sat Meta Knight, with Vul and Sailor Dee to his right and Kirby to his left.

 

Ripple took a sip of tea.

 

"It seems Dreamland has been a hotbed of activity since we last met," she said, nodding to Kirby. "I hear you even died in this last encounter."

 

"W-what!" Ribbon gasped.

 

"Oh, ne'rodius," Kirby said through a mouth full of cake.

 

"Don't speak with your mouth full," Meta chided.

 

Kirby swallowed.

 

"Anyway, Necrodeus didn't kill me, he just destroyed me."

 

"How is that different!?" Ribbon fretted.

 

"Er, I got better."

 

He rubbed the back of his head.

 

"I just… kindda got split into a hundred mini-mes and had to work to sortta pull myself together."

 

"You're okay now, right?"

 

He nodded. "Yeah, pretty sure I got all my bits back."

 

"Kirby," Ribbon groaned.

 

"I would not worry too much, miss Ribbon," Meta said. "It was not the first time Kirby has been split apart."

 

"Yeah," Kirby agreed. "Before I went to the Mirror World, Meta split me into 4!"

 

"That was not me, Kirby. That was my mirror counterpart."

 

"Oh, yeah," he hummed. "He really did look like you."

 

"So you've said."

 

"Oh, and one time I got turned into ya-"

 

"There will be time to regale Ribbon later, Sir Kirby," Ripple said with a giggle.

 

(Ribbon's face was bright red as she imagined 4 Kirby's.)

 

"Err, right," Kirby said, with a nervous laugh. "Sorry Queen Ripple."

 

"It's alright, Sir Kirby."

 

Her mood turned tense again as she steepled her hands.

 

"Needless to say, Dreamland has gone through a lot, and while that danger has been dealt with before it could get to my people," she continued with a sigh. "It would be incredibly naive of me to assume that this luck will continue."

 

Her eyes glanced over to her aid, specifically the crystal hanging around Ribbon's neck.

 

"For a thousand years, we assumed ourselves protected from all danger by the Sacred Crystal." Her eyes closed as she let out a shudder.

 

"And that sense of safety was shattered by dark matter."

 

Kirby noticed that the queen seemed to have dark bags under her eyes.

 

' She probably has nightmares about being possessed,' he thought. ' I know DeDeDe still has a few.'

 

"Don't worry, Queen Ripple," he said, patting his chest. He looked at Ribbon. "Me and Ribbon took care of that jerk Zero 2."

 

Ribbon smiled and nodded at him.

 

"And I am eternally grateful for what you've done, Sir Kirby," she said. "But we can not always depend on someone else to save us should something else happen." She pointed to Ribbon. "Even with Ripple Star finally having a proper guardian after so long, I believe we should be proactive rather than reactive."

 

Meta hummed.

 

"I see," he said. "And what do you suggest?"

 

"I have a few requests," she began.

 

Ribbon grabbed a paper out of a file and handed it to her.

 

"The first is a formal request I would like you to take to King DeDeDe. It's a request for a more formal alliance between us and assistance in bringing our communications infrastructure to a more equal level."

 

She passed the letter across the table.

 

“Aye, sounds acceptable,” Vul said.

 

“I also have another request, for you specifically Sir Meta Knight,” she began. “Ripple Star needs to be able to stand on its own against threats. To that end, I would ask you for a favor. I have asked for volunteers. Should you agree, they will leave with you to receive training.”

 

She took a deep breath.

 

“I know I’m asking a lot,” she said, eyes downcast. “We do not have much to offer in compensation but-”

 

“There is no need, your Majesty,” Meta interrupted. “My men and I will train your fairy hopefuls.”

 

The queen let out a sigh of relief.

 

“Thank you, Sir Meta Knight,” she said, adjusting her glasses. “We are forever in your debt.”

 

With a nod, Ribbon pulled out a stack of papers and slid it across to Meta.

 

“This is a list of our volunteers, their names, weapon choices, and level of skill," she said.

 

Meta gave the list a cursory glance before passing it to Sailor Dee.

 

"How soon can they leave?" Vul asked.

 

"They can leave today if you would like. I would prefer to get them trained as soon as possible," Ripple responded.

 

"I will go gather them while you finalize things here, Queen Ripple," Ribbon said hopping up.

 

"You had best prepare yourself as well, Ribbon."

 

"Huh?"

 

Ripple smiled sheepishly at her.

 

"I need you to go with them," she explained. "To act as a representative."

 

Ribbon rubbed her arm nervously. 

 

"Are you sure, your majesty?" she asked. "If something happens-"

 

"You do not need the full crystal to summon the blaster, correct?"

 

"Well, yes, but-"

 

"If anything happens, the crystal will alert you," Ripple interrupted. "I know I am asking a lot, but the other volunteers will respond better if you accompany them."

 

Ribbon's eyes were downcast.

 

"This is great!" Kirby said, his eyes practically shining with excitement. "You didn't get to see much of Popstar the last time you were there. I can show you all the sights." He began counting points on his paws. "The sunset over the Orange Ocean, the stars from the top of Butter Building, even the Fountain of Dream!"

 

Kirby's excitement was infectious, drawing Ribbon out of her worries. She smiled at the puffball.

 

"Oh, I can introduce you to my other friends, like Rick, Kine, and Coo, Pitch and Nango, Chuchu, Gooey, err, if I can find him, oh, and maybe we can-”

 

“There will be plenty of time to plan your dates later,” Ripple teased.

 

“D-date,” Ribbon stuttered, her face heating up.

 

Kirby, meanwhile, didn’t even register what she said, his mind too busy planning all the things he was going to show her.

 

“So, are you willing to go to Dreamland, Ribbon?” the Queen asked.

 

Ribbon took a steadying breath and nodded at her.

 

“Yes, your majesty,” she said, a determined look in her eyes.

 

“Thank you, Ribbon.”

----------------------------------------------------------------

It took a few more hours to get everything finalized, but after gathering the volunteers and packing, Ribbon now stood outside the Halberd.

 

“Try not to overwork yourself,” she said to Ripple.

 

“Yes, Ribbon.”

 

“And don’t forget to eat regularly.”

 

“I know, Ribbon,”

 

“Oh and don’t-”

 

Whatever warning Ribbon was going to say was interrupted as Ripple swept her up in a tight hug.

 

“Oh, I’m gonna miss you so much,” Ripple blubbered, tears leaking from her eyes.

 

“I’m just your aid, Queen Ripple,” she said with a blush.

 

“You are not just my aid and you know it,” Ripple scoffed. “The only reason you’re not officially my daughter is because you won’t let me adopt you.”

 

Ribbon frowned. “Your majesty, I-”

 

“I know,” she said softly. “Your mother was a dear friend and I’m not trying to take her place, but I know she would want me to give you all the love she can’t anymore.”

 

She released Ribbon from the hug but kept her hands on her shoulders.

 

“Regardless of whether it’s official or not, just know I love you just as much as she did, okay?”

 

Ribbon’s own eyes had started to water as much as Ripple’s. She smiled softly.

 

“Okay.”

 

“Now, no tears, my dear,” she said hypocritically, as she wiped her eyes with her sleeves. “Be careful, watch over the others, train hard but don’t forget to relax too, and most importantly.” She leaned in close with a smirk and whispered. “Keep me updated on everything between you and Kirby.”

 

“R-ripple!” Ribbon cried.

 

Ripple laughed and pulled her into another hug.

 

“I’m just teasing,” she said. 

 

Ribbon sighed and reluctantly hugged her back.

 

“Ribbon!” Kirby yelled from across the field. “Come on! There’s a bunch of stuff I wanna show you.”

 

“Kirby!” Meta scolded. “Patience!”

 

The two separated with a laugh.

 

“Quite the odd pair, those two.”

 

“You said it,” Ribbon giggled.

 

“Excuse me, your majesty?”

 

Sailor Dee approached with a large box held over his head.

 

“Yes?”

 

“King DeDeDe sent this for you,” she said, setting the box down.

 

“Oh, how sweet of him,” she said, opening the box. “He sent me some maximum tomato plants. I was just saying I wanted to take up gardening.”

 

Ribbon rolled her eyes.

 

“Someone seems to be a fan of royal blue,” she mumbled.

 

“Oh, hush.”

 

Ribbon giggled at the light blush on the queen’s face.

 

“We’ll be departing in two minutes, Miss Ribbon,” Sailor Dee said, walking off.

 

“Alright,” Ripple said, dragging Ribbon into another hug. “One more hug. Call me as soon as you get to DeDeDe’s castle.”

 

Ribbon nodded.

 

Ripple released her from the hug and started pushing her towards the halberd.

 

“Now don’t keep Kirby and Sir Meta Knight waiting. Love you.”

 

Ribbon took a deep breath and boarded the Halberd. Like it or not, she would be living in Dreamland for a while.

 

Halfway up the boarding ramp, Kirby grabbed her hand and started to drag her inside.

 

“Wait, Kirby!”

 

“Come on, Ribbon! I can’t wait to get back to Popstar and show you everything!”

 

His excitement made her smile.

“I guess,” she thought. “It won’t be all bad.”

Chapter 2: Frolic With The Fairy Through Flowery Fields.

Within Castle DeDeDe, Ribbon snuggled into her bed.

 

“No, Kirby,” she mumbled in her sleep. “We have to share our wedding cake.”

 

Unfortunately, her pleasant dream of a hopeful future was brought to an end by her alarm clock. As she gained consciousness, she groaned into her pillow.

 

"Why do I always gotta wake up before the kiss!?"

 

She sighed and threw off the covers to start her day.

 

She and the other trainees had been in Dreamland for a month at this point. The training of the fairies had been sorted out to various teachers either among the Meta-knights or some of Kirby's friends. (And, boy, did he have a lot more friends than Ribbon thought.) 

 

The one showing the most progress was a green, curvy, haired fairy named Pin Stitch. (Pinny, among the group.) While usually a nervous, almost neurotic, individual, she had excelled in her training with Trident Knight and Javelin Knight. She was now utilizing everything she learned to master the spear under the direct supervision of Bandana Dee.

 

The other fairies were doing well in their training as well.

 

' I'll have to send a progress report soon, ' she thought as she walked (not flying, because she didn't want to crash while she was still waking up.) through the halls towards the bathroom. ' Pin is learning from Waddle- no, wait. Bandana Dee. Still getting used to that. And Lace is training under Kirby's friend Whippy. Patch is learning magic from Smirror. Who else? '

 

Ribbon's own training was going well. She didn't have a teacher, per say, but Kirby was giving her plenty of advice… when he wasn't dragging her across Dreamland to sight see.

 

She blushed as she thought about all the time she had spent with Kirby, all the places they had gone that had vague romantic implications.

 

' Maybe one day, Ribbon, ' she thought fondly.

 

Despite the two's similar ages, it was clear that she was the only one thinking romantically. Kirby was a care-free kid with no interest in romance.

 

She shrugged. Working as a queen's aide had matured her. (Mostly.) Her appointment as Ripple Star's guardian hadn't helped.

 

She glanced out a window as she passed through the empty halls.

 

"Huh," she mumbled. "Pretty view."

 

The sunlight streamed through the air, unobstructed by the clouds which would normally be above the castle.

 

She froze in her tracks.

 

"Wait," she breathed.

 

Her brain finally caught up to her.

 

"WHAT!" she screamed, rushing back to the window. 

 

Castle DeDeDe now hung high above Dreamland, suspended by large green vines or stalks.

 

"How did this happen?!"

 

A large crash sounded through the castle.

 

"That came from the throne room!" she gasped.

 

She took off down the hall.

 

"Who do ya think you are?" she heard DeDeDe grumpily ask.

 

"Who, me?" An unfamiliar voice said.

 

Ribbon entered the throne room. Waddle Dees wielding spears stood in front of the king, guarding him from the intruder.

 

Said intruder was some sort of floating creature in the visage of a spider. They gathered their six floating hands in a circle. Magic coalesced in their palms.

 

"Just a humble servant on an errand for his queen," the intruder, most likely male, said as he let loose the magic. The blast knocked the waddle dees away. The only one not knocked out quickly hid behind DeDeDe's throne.

 

DeDeDe gulped.

 

"But you may call me Taranza," the spider said. 

 

He began gathering energy again. Ribbon rushed forward placing herself infront of DeDeDe. She reached for the crystal around her neck, intent on summoning a shield.

 

Only to feel nothing.

 

' I'm still in my pajamas! ' she mentaly screeched. ' The crystal's still in my room! '

 

She brought her hands up to brace for the hit, when she was suddenly hefted up by the back of her night shirt and tossed aside. The impact with the floor knocked the breath out of her. When she was able to open her eyes, she saw DeDeDe passed out within a floating bubble.

 

"What's this?" Taranza asked, floating towards her. "Did one of those foolish fairies descend to warn their hero?" He narrowed his eyes and peered closer.

 

Ribbon scrambled to her feet.

 

"No," he mumbled. "You're different."

 

"BACK OFF!"

 

Taranza jumped back as a spear point descended on his former location.

 

Kirby spun the spear in his hands before leveling it at the spider mage.

 

"Touch her and we'll see just how unattached those hands are, you stupid bug!" he growled.

 

"Bug!?" Taranza blanched. "I'll have you know I'm a spider, you pink pest!"

 

"You could be a pokemon, for all I care!" He cried, beginning to charge. "You don't get to hurt my friends!"

 

"I don't have time for this," the mage sighed. He flicked out one of his hands, firing an orb of magic.

 

Kirby was unable to dodge. The strike knocked him back and made him drop the spear ability. Ribbon jumped into the air and caught him before he could hit the wall.

 

Taranza floated back to DeDeDe. He summoned magic threads and attached them to the sphere.

 

Ribbon settled Kirby back on the ground.

 

"Hey," Kirby called as the spider began to float out of the castle, DeDeDe in tow. "Get back here!"

 

He ran to the opening and shook his fist.

 

"I'm not done with you!"

 

"Ah! What happened in here!?" Bandana Dee cried as he entered, Pin shaking nervously behind him.

 

"This stupid spider guy came in here and hurt Ribbon!"

 

"Oh no!" Pin cried rushing over to her. "A-are you a-alright, commander?"

 

"I'm not a commander, Pinny," she said, rolling her eyes. "And I'm alright. The king kept me from getting too hurt."

 

"Oh, that's right," Kirby mumbled. He slapped a fist to his palm. "That spider guy also took DeDeDe."

 

"What!?" Bandana Dee yelled. He paced frantically. "This is terrible! I knew I should have made breakfast faster!"

 

"Settle down, Bandee," he said, turning away. "I'm going after him."

 

"Wait, Kirby," Ribbon called, before he could charge off. "I'm going with you."

 

"Are you sure, Ribbon?"

 

She nodded. "I made a stupid mistake, and DeDeDe paid the price." She frowned at the ground before narrowing her eyes and staring at Kirby determined. "Let me make up for it."

 

Kirby grinned.

 

"Alright, you and me and a new adventure," he said cheerfully. He turned back to Bandana Dee. "Bandee, you should go on ahead. Try and slow him down."

 

"Right," he said. He rushed towards the new exit. "Right. Come on, Pin Stitch!"

 

"Wah, m-me!?" She shook her head and saluted. "I-i m-mean, y-yes s-sir!"

 

Bandana Dee rushed out, Pin trailing reluctantly behind.

 

"Be right back," Ribbon said, rushing back to her room.

 

---

After changing into her day clothes and making sure the crystal was secured around her neck, her and Kirby charged up the stalk.

 

It wasn't long before they spotted a large shape in the clouds.

 

"Is that… an island?" Ribbon asked, squinting to try and see clearer.

 

"Cooollll!" Kirby cried. "I've seen a few floating islands before but I didn't know there were any this high up!"

 

"Kirby, look!"

 

Just a little ways up the stalk, the two could spot Bandana Dee and Pin, and even further up, just barely a speck against the blue sky, was Taranza.

 

"I see em!" Kirby says. "Looks like they're going to that island!" He dashed forward. "Come on, Ribbon."

 

"Right behind you!"

 

---

"Woah," Kirby cooed.

 

They'd finally made it to the island. Before them lay rolling fields of green grass and blooming flowers.

 

"It's so pretty up here," Ribbon said in awe.

 

"Hmm," he hummed, his arms crossed. "Think I'll call this place… Fine Fields. That seems like a good name."

 

Ribbon giggled.

 

"Sounds 'fine' to me."

 

Kirby laughed with her. As their giggles petered out, Kirby stepped forward.

 

"Alright," he said confidently. "Let's go get that spider guy and save DeDeDe! You ready, Ribbon?"

 

Ribbon took a steadying breath and summoned the blaster to her hand.

 

"Ready," she said with a nod.

Chapter 3: Fine Fields: Part 1

Pause:

 

Ribbon, Ripple Star’s guardian, has been training hard. Now it’s time to put it to the test. Use the crystal blaster to shoot, shield, and heal.

 

Moves:

 

A: Jump / Fairy Flight

 

↓+A: Slide

 

→→: Dash

 

↓↓ in midair : Quick Fall

 

L/R: Crystal Shield: Ribbon holds her crystal close as a bubble forms around her and prevents damage

 

L/R+↔↕: Dodge

 

L/R in midair : Air Dodge

 

B: Crystal Shot: Ribbon fires a shot from the crystal blaster. Blast can be charged up to three levels.

 

Hold B to charge and then release : Crystal Blast

 

Hold B longer before releasing : Crystal Nova Shot: Ribbon fires a charged shot that goes through enemies and explodes when it hits an object or wall.

 

While holding B press either ↕: Sharpshooter: Ribbon aims the shot.

 

↑ + B: Ascending Fairy Dance: Ribbon shoots upwards with a spin, energy crystals spinning around her

 

Press ↑ and hold B, and then release : Fairy Dance Crescendo: Ribbon ascends the same as Ascending Fairy Dance, and then, at the end of the rise, the crystals shoot out from Ribbon.

 

↓ + B: Fairy Retreat: Ribbon dives backwards in an arc, firing rapid shots from her crystal blaster.

 

Dash + B: Crystal Ride: Ribbon summons energy shaped like the main crystal and rides it forward. Plows through smaller enemies. If it hits a larger enemy, the crystal shatters, knocking Ribbon back.

 

Dash + B in midair : Fairy Dance Stride: Ribbon spins forward in the air, a group of crystals spinning around her.

 

↓ + B while in midair : Crystal Rainstorm: Ribbon flips upside down in the air, firing rapidly below her while spinning.

 

↓ then ↑ then hold B then release : Focus Shot: Ribbon closes her eyes and summons two blasters. As long as the button is held down, reticles will begin to appear on all on-screen enemies. When released, Ribbon will rapid-fire at all the enemies she locked on to. Can hit enemies in the foreground or background.

 

Hold X: Crystal Heal: Ribbon puts both hands on the crystal like a prayer. A soothing aura surrounds her and Kirby, healing them. Health recovered comes from food items collected when both players are at full health.

 

↑ + X: Crystal Sentry: Ribbon tosses her blaster up before summoning another one. Previous blaster becomes a crystal that floats close by and fires when Ribbon fires. Ribbon can summon two Sentries max but loses the ability to charge by one level for each.

 

↓ + X while Crystal Sentry is active : Dismiss: Ribbon re-absorbs any active Crystal Sentries back into her crystal.

 

Level: Fine Fields 1

 

Resume: Yes / No

 

---

Ribbon and Kirby worked their way through the now dubbed Fine Fields. The only opposition they had come across had been a few rouge waddle dees and a sword knight.

 

Right now, Ribbon was looking for a way past the wall in front of them while Kirby was cutting down grass with his sword ability.

 

“Hey, Ribbon,” he called as he ran towards her. “Look what I found!” 

 

He held up an object. Said object appeared to be a star-shaped ring with a silver chain leading to a-

 

“Is that… you?” Ribbon asked.

 

The flat object at the end of the chain appeared to be a stunning likeness of Kirby except for the fact it was a monochrome gray.

 

“Why is it gray?”

 

“I think it’s supposed to be a really young me, probably back when I first came to Popstar. It took a few years before my pink color came in.”

 

“Huh,” Ribbon said, tilting her head. “Why is there a keychain of you up here? Where’d you even find it?”

 

Kirby shrugged.

 

“Who knows? Maybe Master Hand put it here. He likes to leave things like this in Dreamland.” He pointed back towards the bushes he was messing with. “I found it when I was cutting down those plants.”

 

Ribbon was about to question why there was a keychain in a bush when she spotted something.

 

“Kirby, look,” she said, pointing at the object.

 

Kirby titled his head as he looked at the new object that definitely wasn’t there before.

 

“I think it’s a… warp star?” he asked.

 

It was certainly warp star like in shape, but unlike the warpstar, it consisted of a smaller, somewhat blunted star sitting in the center of a large star-shaped ring that occasionally spun around the smaller star.

 

“Maybe the warp star had babies?”

 

Ribbon raised a brow. “Can it… do that?”

 

Kirby shrugged. Warp stars occurred naturally in the universe but the one Kirby could call was tied to his own energy. This similar object had the same feeling, just smaller. He wouldn’t put it past his warp star. It seemed to have a mind of it’s own, often appearing where it thought it could help Kirby get past something.

 

“It must of been hiding in the grass,” he said. He turned back to her and grinned. “Let’s ride it!”

 

Ribbon gulped.

 

“Do we have to?”

 

Kirby had taken her on his warpstar a few times. While the flight had been enjoyable, she wasn’t a fan of Kirby’s landing strategy.

 

“I don’t see any other way to go,” he responded, already walking towards it. “Come on, Ribbon.”

 

“Okay,” she sighed. She grabbed onto the edge of the star next to Kirby.

 

“Just try not to crash it this tiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

 

She screamed as Kirby steered the warp star into the unknown.

 

---

The ride was, thankfully, rather short. Ribbon was unsure which direction they were going though as she had squeezed her eyes shut when they rocketed off.

 

The only warning Ribbon was given to their ride being over was the sudden lack of warp star to hold on to. The fairy was tossed into the air. She let out a squeak as she was quickly grabbed.

 

"Hey, Ribbon," Kirby said. "We're back on the ground."

 

She opened her eyes to find herself held in Kirby's arms. If she wasn't trying to push her heart back down her throat, she would have blushed. Kirby set her on her feet.

 

"Seriously Kirby," she scolded. "You need to learn to land."

 

He shrugged her off and started to move forward.

 

"Sorry, Ribbon. I'll try to be more careful."

 

'If I didn't know any better,' she thought with a pout. 'I'd say he was doing it on purpose just to catch me. She shook her head. ‘Yeah, right.'

 

With Kirby moving ahead, she was unable to catch the faint blush he was sporting.

 

' It’s weird, but I like holding her. '

 

The two proceed through the fields, coming across another keychain.

 

Ribbon's phone rang.

 

"Gah! It's Queen Ripple!" she said checking her caller ID.

 

She shouldn't have been so surprised. Queen Ripple always called Ribbon in the morning. It was a part of her morning routine ever since Ribbon had gotten the phone and Ripple Star had gotten a better communication infrastructure in place.

 

"H-hey Queen Ripple," she answered. "Uh, I'm a little busy right now. Can I call you back?"

 

"Does it have something to do with why DeDeDe hasn't texted me back. He usually gets back to me pretty quick."

 

"Uh, kinnda."

 

"Is it another crisis?! Has something happened to DeDeDe!?" She asked frantically.

 

"Calm down, your majesty," she said, trying to soothe her nerves. "Kirby and I are working on it." She quickly explained how Castle DeDeDe had been lifted into the sky and the subsequent DeDeDe-napping.

 

"Stalks lifting buildings into the sky and floating islands," the Queen mumbled. "Why does that sound familiar?"

 

"Hey, Ribbon!" Kirby called from up ahead. "Check this out!"

 

"Gotta go, your majesty," she said quickly.

 

"Alright, be careful and keep me posted."

 

"I will," she affirmed before hanging up.

 

She quickly found Kirby stopped in front of a large vine.

 

“Wooooooow,” she cooed.

 

Hanging from the end of the vine hung a red fruit encased in a slowly spinning yellow spiral. The drop-shaped fruit cast off a blue light.

 

“What is it?” she asked.

 

“Don’t know,” he said with a shrug.

 

Ribbon snapped a picture of it and sent it to Ripple.

 

“I’m gonna eat it.”

 

Ribbon blanched.

 

“What? Kirby, you can’t just eat random fruits,” she argued. “What if it’s poisonous?”

 

“I don’t think it is,” he said. He tilted his head in though. “Also it’s glowing. Glowing things tend to be good.”

 

“That’s not a good argume-”

 

Before Ribbon could finish her sentence, Kirby jumped up and pulled the mystery fruit from the vine.

 

“Woah,” he gasped. “This thing feels powerful.”

 

“Kirby, are you sure this is a good idea?” 

 

He grinned at her.

 

“Don’t worry, Ribbon.” He hefted the fruit over his head and tapped his chest. “Chef Kawasaki says I’ve got an Iron stomach. I’ll be fine.”

 

She sighed.

 

“Alright, but if it makes you sick, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

 

Kirby laughed and tossed the fruit up in the air.

 

“Bottoms up!” he cried, as he opened his mouth to catch the fruit.

 

He swallowed the fruit and froze.

 

“Kirby?” Ribbon asked. “Kirby, are you okay?”

 

She put a hand to his shoulder. A zing of warmth passed through her from the point of contact and settled in her chest.

 

“Wha-”

 

Before she could question it, she had to shield her eyes, as Kirby’s pink coloring literally exploded off him, like globs of paint.

 

“Woah!” Kirby cried. “This is amazing!” He held up a hand and turned to Ribbon. “Check it out! I’m all rainbow-y now.”

 

Ribbon stared in shock. The colors of the rainbow fluctuated across Kirby’s skin.

 

He blinked at her.

 

“What’s with the new look?” he asked. “It’s a cute look on you.”

 

“What are you talking about, Kirby?”

 

He took out a phone and took a picture of her.

 

“Look,” he said, showing her the picture.

 

“Huh?” she gasped.

 

On the display was a picture of Ribbon with some noticeable changes. She glanced at her arms. Just like in the photo, vines spiraled up her arms and connected to the crystal around her neck. She grabbed at her hair where she could feel the flower petals threaded through it. The center of her bow now sported a cherry blossom in full bloom.

 

“What? How? Why?” she asked herself softly. 

 

Despite the new look, Ribbon found herself completely calm. The vines connected to her piece of the sacred crystal didn’t worry her. The petals in her hair and the flower on her bow simply felt like a part of her instead of an accessory.

 

‘ This… feels natural, ’ she thought. ‘ Like… a part of me I didn’t know existed has come to the surface. ’

 

“Are you okay?” Kirby asked.

 

Ribbon shook her head to clear her thoughts.

 

“I’m fine,” she said after a second. “ What about you?”

 

“I feel great!” he said. “I feel super charged. Like I could inhale an entire tree!” He gasped as his eyes widened. “Maybe I can!”

 

He dashed off to a tree in the distance.

 

“Wait, Kirby. What are yo-”

 

Kirby spread his feet and began to inhale. A massive gust of air ruffled the leaves, knocking some off and sending them into the black hole of Kirby’s stomach. The intensity of the gust increased. The tree bent, roots began to breach the surface, Kirby’s super inhale literally ripping it from the ground. There was a large cracking sound as the tree finally gave way. Kirby swallowed the tree easily.

 

“Awsome!” he cheered. “Did you see that, Ribbon! I’ve never inhaled something that big before!”

 

Ribbon stood slack jawed behind him.

 

“Maybe I can inhale something even bigger?”

 

He started running ahead.

 

“Come on, Ribbon!” he called. “We gotta test this out.”

 

Ribbon shook her head fiercely.

 

“So that’s kind of terrifying,” she whispered to herself as she chased after him.

 

---

Kirby’s experimenting with his new ‘Super Inhale’ actually turned out to be a positive. Upon Kirby’s destruction of a third tree, (it was actually three trees of various sizes.) they had found something hidden beneath it.

 

Ribbon cautiously picked it up.

 

“What is it?” Kirby asked at her side.

 

“I don’t know,” she said, running a hand over the strange flower shaped stone. It reminded her of a sunflower with its six golden petals surrounding a blue jewel. “But it feels… warm.”

 

She handed the stone to Kirby.

 

“Huh,” Kirby huffed. “You’re right. It’s like… taking a nap in the sunshine.”

 

She smiled at the comparison.

 

“We should collect as many of these sun stones as we can,” he said, tucking the newly dubbed item away. “I think they’re important.” He tapped his chest. “Let’s see if my new hypernova form can dig up any more.”

 

“Hypernova?”

 

“Yeah. It’s what I’m calling it,” he said, clearly proud of himself. “What do you think? I’m Hypernova Kirby!”

 

She giggled.

 

“I think it fits.”

 

The two continued on, Kirby’s new Hypernova form carving their way forward.

 

“Aw man,” Kirby whined.

 

They had indeed come across another sun stone. This one was stuck in a large stone cage. Said cage was perched on a ledge above them. Kirby had been able to drag it down with his inhale, but the cage survived the drop.

 

“How are we gonna get it out of there?” Kirby asked. “I guess bomb could get it out, but I can’t copy anything in Hypernova.”

 

“I could try blasting it,” Ribbon offered.

 

Kirby waved her forward.

 

“Go ahead. We’ve got nothing else to try.”

 

Ribbon summoned the blaster and fired. Unfortunately, she didn't notice the shape of the blaster was similar to a flower, nor did she notice the vines that extended from her waist and anchored her to the ground.

 

A huge rainbow blast fired out from the blaster, taking up most of the small cave they were in. The blast was so large that she would have been sent flying if she wasn't anchored.

 

The two stood in shock as the blast settled.

 

“Woah,” Kirby said softly.

 

“What was that!?” Ribbon cried.

 

“That was awesome!” he yelled, jumping up and down.

 

“That was insane!” she countered. “What happened to the crystal?! Is it because of the vines? What is happening to me?”

 

She stared worriedly at the flower shaped blaster in her hands.

 

“Ribbon, look,” Kirby called. “You got the sun stone out!”

 

He grabbed the sunstone.

 

“Ow! Hot! Hot! Hot!” he cried, tossing the sunstone between his hands. He slipped the stone away and blew on his hands.

 

"We're awesome!" he said with a smirk. "I can suck up anything and you can blast anything!"

 

"Kirby, I don't know if this is really a good thing."

 

Kirby turned to her.

 

"Aw, don't worry, Ribbon," he dismissed. "I get the feeling it's not permanent." He dashed past her with a grin. “Come on! Let’s see what else we can do!”

 

---

With a quick jaunt through some more fields, (and a rather quick fight with a trio of angry moles.) The duo found themselves at the entrance to an underground tunnel.

 

"Aww," Kirby whined. The oscillating rainbow that had covered his body minutes ago was beginning to fade back to his normal pink hue. "Bye bye Hypernova." He sighed. "No more super inhale."

 

Ribbon gave herself a pat down. Sure enough, her own mysterious form had faded. The only trace of it was the green vine that now replaced the string holding the crystal in place. She breathed a sigh of relief.

 

"I think I like you being pink better," she said with a smile.

 

"It is a cool color," he said with an air of fake smugness as he put his hands on his hips.

 

She giggled.

 

"Come on, Mr. Cool," she said with a shake of her head. "We still have to catch up."

 

"Yeah."

 

---

Despite it clearly being a cave, it was still rather green.

 

“Ring ring!” Kirby sang as he swung the twin bells in his hands.

 

Somewhat early into the cave the duo were attacked by a strange new foe. Said foe was a black blob with red feet wearing a winged bell. Kirby, after saying he was gonna call it a ‘ringle’, proceeded to do what Kirby is know to do.

 

“Having fun?” Ribbon asked as they walked into the new chamber.

 

Inhaling the ringle gave Kirby a new copy ability. Christening it Bell, the new ability gave Kirby a large gold bell emblazoned with a pink star. This bell was worn on Kirby’s head while he held two smaller gold bells in his hands.

 

“Ring, ring, ring!” he continued. “ That sound’s the bell that’s gonna knock you out!”

 

Ribbon flinched as he let out a particularly scratchy high note that echoed around the chamber.

 

‘ Hundreds of mastered skills at his command, ’ she thought. ‘ Singing is not one of them. ’

 

“Ring, ring, rin- Hey Ribbon, look!” 

 

He stopped his song to point at something in the cave.

 

At the center of the chamber, were two familiar weapons stuck in the ground.

 

“It’s Bandee’s spear!”

 

Ribbon nodded. “And Pinny’s needle.”

 

One of the first things that the fairy trainees were taught was to form weapons from their own energy. The byproduct of this was that the weapons tended to take on a new form based on the person who formed it. Pin Stich’s spear took on the appearance of a large sewing needle.

 

Said needle was stabbed into the ground at an angle forming an x with the Bandanna Dee’s spear. Sheltered underneath was a bubble that held a plate of pudding.

 

“Bandee left us a treat,” Kirby said with a grin. He stuffed the bubble into his mouth. “We’ll save this for later.”

 

“He also left us a note,” Ribbon said, picking up the parchment that lay beneath the bubble.

 

“Oh, what’s it say?” Kirby asked. “Every time someone sends me a letter, I can never read it.” He crossed his arms and pouted. “Meta uses too many big words, DeDeDe’s writing just looks like chicken scratch, and Bandee writes too small.”

 

She giggled as she opened the letter. She could kind of understand what Kirby was talking about. Bandana Dee’s writing was rather small making it hard to read, but Ribbon had been Queen Ripple’s aid for years. This was nothing compared to trying to puzzle out a memo the queen had written while not wearing her glasses.

 

“Dear Kirby and Ribbon,” she began. “Pinny and I are still in hot pursuit of his majesty. We’ll be leaving these spots and treats for you guys to lead you along. Pinny and I will be leaving scratches along the wall to help you get through the cave as fast as possible.”

 

“Follow the scratches, got it!” Kirby declared as he began to rush forward.

 

“P.S. Please be careful, as we encountered a Mr. Frosty ahead. We decided to sneak past it, but knowing you, Kirby, you won’t be able to.”

 

“Outta my way, Frosty!” came Kirby’s shout from further into the cave. The sound of Kirby’s bells echoed around the cave.

 

“Gah,” Ribbon cried. “Kirby! Wait up!”

  

Notes:

Here's part one of world one.

From this point, the Worlds are gonna be mostly the same except at certain points. I'm basically doing little snapshots of what Kirby and Ribbon come across.

To be honest I'm not sure this chapter is as good as what came before. I kinda struggled with it. But I'll keep forging on.

(Also Kirby and the Forgotten World... I f-ing love it!)

Till next time,
Cody, out!

Chapter 4: Tree Trouble

Kirby stretched his arms as he emerged into the sunlight.

 

"Ah," he sighed. "Finally out of that cave."

 

"Huray…" Ribbon said as she came out behind him, practically wobbling on her feet. Her face was tinged green.

 

"Uh, you okay, Ribbon?" he asked.

 

"Caves…" she whined. "Cannons… too many cannons… so… much… spinning… ulp!"

 

She slapped a hand to her mouth and curled an arm around her stomach, as her complexion went even greener.

 

"Oh yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "You, uh, get used to it after a while."

 

Ribbon swallowed back her nausea and frowned.

 

"I don't want to get 'used to it'," she groaned. "If I never see another cannon in my life it will be too soon!"

 

She turned away as another wave of nausea hit her. Kirby patted her back worriedly.

 

"You gonna be okay?" he asked.

 

"Y-yeah," she answered. "Just- ulp! G-give me a few minutes."

 

Kirby swiftly gathered her up in his arms.

 

"Wha!? Kirby!" she cried, red mixing with green on her cheeks.

 

"Sorry, Ribbon," he apologized as he walked forward. "We don't exactly have time."

 

The red was slowly overtaking the green.

 

‘ All things considered, ’ she thought. ‘ This isn’t terrible. ’

 

---

“I think we’re catching up,” Kirby said some time later.

 

The two had been working through Fine Fields with as much haste as possible. It was starting to become clear that ‘fields’ was a misnomer. The last hour consisted of a trek through a secret forest.

 

“How can you tell?” she asked.

 

Kirby hummed and adjusted the green stocking cap on his head.

 

“Call it an adventurer’s hunch,” he eventually said. He tapped his chin. “Feels like we’re due for a boss fight,” he mumbled under his breath.

 

Ribbon shrugged. As far as she was concerned, Kirby was the expert.

 

“It does feel like we’re getting to the edge of the island,” she said.

 

“Hopefully, we don’t have to deal with any more trees,” he grumbled.

 

Ribbon glanced back to the thinning forest behind them.

 

“Stupid waddle dees,” he said with a pout. “You’re supposed to yell ‘timber’ when you cut down a tree.”

 

“Why were they even cutting down trees anyway?”

 

Kirby only shrugged.

 

“Who knows,” he said. “Wild waddle dees are just kinda random.”

 

Their conversation on the random nature of waddle dees was soon interrupted by a familiar shout.

 

“Get back here with His Majesty!”

 

“Y-yeah!”

 

“That was Bandee and Pinny!” Kirby cried. “Come on, Ribbon!”

 

“Right!”

 

The two soon entered a clearing full of flowers and saw their friends chasing the spider mage.

 

Kirby leapt forward, slashing at Taranza.

 

“You again!” he hissed.

 

He jumped back from Kirby’s strike.

 

“Alright Bug!” Kirby said, adjusting his grip on his sword. “You’re surrounded.”

 

The spider glanced back to Bandanna Dee and Pin Stitch leveling weapons behind him.

 

“You’re gonna pay for attacking Ribbon,” Kirby growled.

 

Ribbon stood ready at his side. She trained the blaster on Taranza.

 

“Drop the King!” she called.

 

“Oh, yeah, that too!” Kirby added.

 

“Hmmph,” Taranza scoffed. “You’re wasting my time.” He glared at Kirby. “And I told you, Pest! I’m a spider.”

 

He shook his head.

 

“Since you’re so insistent on toying with me,” he said slyly. One of his hands raised and began to cast magic. “I’ll give you a playmate.”

 

“W-watch out!” Pinny yelled.

 

“Oh no you don’t!” Kirby cried as he charged forward.

 

Taranza threw the magic orb down to the ground. The blast that emerged pushed Kirby back and forced Ribbon to shield her eyes.

 

When she was able to see again, she gasped. Taranza’s magic hadn’t been an attack but a spell he cast on a flower beneath him. The magic transformed the flower into a towering green tree with multi-colored flowers for leaves. Large black eyes glanced at them in confusion over a long pointed nose ending in a pink flower.

 

“Of course,” Kirby sighed. “Of course it’s a tree. Why is it always a tree?”

 

“Have fun with Flowery Woods!” Taranza cried as he flew away.

 

Said Flowery Woods seemed to focus on the sword in Kirby’s hands. Its eyes narrowed and it let out a roar. It shook its canopy and let loose three flowers that spun towards Kirby like blades.

 

“Woah!” Kirby shouted as he deflected the first razor sharp flower.

 

“Kirby!” Bandanna Dee called.

 

“I got this!” he said, slashing through the second flower. “You guys go after DeDeDe!”

 

Bandanna Dee nodded.

 

“On it!” he said. “Come on Pin!”

 

“Eep! R-roger!”

 

Ribbon shot the third flower out of the air.

 

“I’ve got your back, Kirby!”

 

He nodded.

 

“Let’s take it down!”

 

The tree spewed three familiar puffs of air from its mouth.

 

“Huh?” Kirby questioned as he dodged. “That’s familiar.”

 

The two dodged more attacks. While Ribbon could get in a few shots to the main body, Kirby was repelled by attacks before he could get close.

 

“That’s also familiar,” he mumbled as he dodged a gordo that fell from the tree’s branches.

 

“Kirby, watch out!”

 

Ribbon’s cry alerted him to the giant root that tried to strike him.

 

He dodged with a dive and ended up next to Ribbon.

 

“Why’s it so focused on me!?” he said through a pant.

 

“Stop calling me an ‘it’!” the tree yelled.

 

The distinctly female voice caught the two off guard.

 

“What?” Ribbon whispered.

 

“I’m a girl, you rude pest!” Flowery Woods yelled.

 

“Er, sorry,” Kirby said awkwardly. “I didn’t kno-”

 

“How dare you,” she continued to rant. “These beautiful flowers should have tipped you off!”

 

“I mean, maybe,” Kirby argued. “But I didn’t wanna assu-”

 

“Uhg!” she scoffed. “Rude and stupid!”

 

“Now, wait a minu-”

 

“Calling me an ‘it’ and you’ve been cutting down my friends!”

 

“Wait, what?”

 

“Those poor trees. I could hear their cries from here.” She paused to use a leaf to wipe her eye.

 

“That wasn’t me!” Kirby argued.

 

“Yeah!” Ribbon cried. “It was those waddle-”

 

“LIARS!” Flowery yelled. “I don’t see anyone else with such a sharp blade around here!” She began to shake with anger. “You’re rude and stupid and liars! That’s IT!”

 

Against all logic, the flower tree jumped. Her roots which had been stuck in the ground retracted and extended as she began to spin like a helicopter.

 

“Oh, boy,” Kirby said with a sigh.

 

“I’ll smash you flat!”

 

“Wait, can’t we talk this thro-”

 

“Duck!” Ribbon yelled as she tackled Kirby to the ground.

 

She summoned a shield around them as she pulled him close. The tree rocketed forward and would have hit them with her rapidly spinning roots if not for Ribbons shield deflecting her.

 

“Thanks, Ribbon,” he said.

 

The duo quickly disentangled themselves and began to glance around.

 

“Where’d she go?” he asked.

 

Ribbon leveled her blaster as she searched for their foe.

 

“There!”

 

Flowery Woods flew over a nearby ravine and landed.

 

“Time to end this” she cried.

 

Kirby frowned.

 

“Okay,” he said. “This is bugging me.”

 

Ribbon’s eyes widened as he sheathed his sword behind his back.

 

“Kirby! What-”

 

“Hold on a sec, Ribbon.” He cupped his hands around his mouth. “HEY FLOWERY!” he yelled over the ravine. “ARE YOU RELATED TO WHISPY WOODS?”

 

Whatever attack Flowery was preparing petered out as she paused.

 

“Whispy Woods?”

 

Her demeanor completely changed as she let out a smile.

 

“You know Whispy?” she asked.

 

“Oh, yeah,” Kirby responded. “Like practically my whole life.”

 

“Kirby, what are you doing?” Ribbon frantically whispered.

 

“Trust me, Ribbon. On my mark, we end this.”

 

Ribbon took a deep breath and summoned another blaster.

 

‘Focus, ’ she told herself as she closed her eyes and crossed her arms in an x formation.

 

“Oh, what a small world,” Flowery said with a giggle. “Whispy’s my third cousin twice removed.”

 

“No kidding?” Kirby said.

 

“Yes,” she affirmed. “I’m surprised you recognize it. We don’t really look alike.”

 

“Er, just a guess,” Kirby said slowly.

 

“How is that old oak anyway?”

 

‘ Wait, isn’t Whispy an apple tree? ’ Ribbon thought. ‘ Focus, Ribbon! ’

 

“Oh, you know,” Kirby hummed. “Same old, same old. He’s had a few dozen kids, gives me apples on occasion, assumes I’m responsible for whatever crisis happens in Dreamland and we fight, you know how it goes.”

 

Flowery laughed.

 

“Oh, yes. Cousin Whispy and his assumptions.”

 

“Must run in the family,” Kirby mumbled under his breath.

 

Ribbon snickered.

 

“Oh, I simply must mention this at the next family reuni-”

 

She stilled.

 

“Now WAIT A MINUTE!” she cried. Her eyes narrowed at Kirby. “We’re supposed to be fighting, not chatting!”  

 

"We don’t have to,” Kirby offered. “I’d prefer it if we could end it here.”

 

“Oh, I’ll end it alright!”

 

The ground shook. Five massive roots emerged from the ground, all aimed at Kirby.

 

“Say goodnight, you pink punk!” she cried as she drew the roots back.

 

“Alright,” Kirby sighed. “Your funeral. Now, Ribbon!”

 

As the roots moved to smash them like pancakes, Ribbon’s eyes snapped open. Five blasts fired from her basters in the span of a second. Each blast impacted the roots with unerring accuracy, stopping them in their tracks.

 

“What?” Flowery cried.

 

“Nice one, Ribbon!” Kirby congratulated her. “My turn now.”

 

He pulled his sword out and charged for a second.

 

“Ascending Spin Attack!” he called out. His spin attack carried him upwards and cut through the roots like butter.

 

“Link taught me that one,” he said with a smirk. “NOW TRY THIS ONE ON FOR SIZE!”

 

Energy coalesced around Kirby’s sword as he held it straight up above his head. The energy soon formed a large phantom blade around the sword, tripling its length.

 

“Wa-wait!” Flowery cried, her entire trunk shaking in fear. “We-we can talk about this!”

 

“Too late! Super Sword Strike!”

 

He swung the blade diagonally down.

 

“NOOOOOOO!” Flowery yelled in pain as the blade sliced through.

 

Energy collected in her body before it exploded, sending the flowery tree flying straight up in the air. She soon slammed back down, hitting the ground with such force that the ground tilted.

 

Kirby hit the ground face down and bounced. The hat atop his head slowly shimmered and disappeared, taking his sword with it.

 

“Kirby!” Ribbon cried as she approached him.

 

“Uhg,” he said, pulling himself into a sitting position. “Could have stuck the landing better.”

 

She smiled.

 

“I’ll give you a nine for the move, but I’ll have to take away two points for the landing,” she joked.

 

“So a seven? I’ll take it!”

 

The two laughed.

 

“So what was that anyway?” she asked.

 

“Something Meta’s been helping me with,” he said as he stood up. “We’ve been trying to remake the Ultra Abilities since all the Ultra Essences disappeared.” He sighed. “That’s as far as we got, though. It’s not as big as Ultra Sword and it basically uses all of the copy essence.” He grinned at her. “Still it worked good as a finisher.”

 

“I’ll say,” she agreed.

 

The two turned to their defeated foe. Flowery Woods, sniffling as sappy tears flowed from her eyes, cried softly.

 

“I feel kinda bad,” Ribbon said softly. “It was just a misunderstanding.”

 

“Yeah,” Kirby agreed, just as soft. He narrowed his eyes. “So let’s fix it.”

 

He floated over the ravine with Ribbon following.

 

“A-are you here to finish me off?” Flowery blubbered as they approached. “Were my friends and family not enough for you?”

 

Kirby rolled his eyes and pulled a bottle out.

 

“Herbicide?!” she cried. “How cruel! Is this really how my 5 years of life end? You fiends! You dastardly-”

 

“Will you stop that!” Kirby said as he shoved the bottle opening into her mouth. “It’s just a super soda we found.” He turned to Ribbon with a smirk. “So dramatic.”

 

Flowery’s eyes widened before closing in delight. A pleased hum followed as she swallowed the healthy treat. A green glow surrounded her for a second.

 

“You… healed me?” she said skeptically. “Why would you…”

 

“We were trying to tell you earlier,” Ribbon said. “Kirby wasn’t the one cutting down trees. It was a bunch of Waddle Dees with axes. Kirby didn’t even have his sword until we got out of the forest.”

 

“Yeah,” Kirby said with a nod. “I was testing out that new beetle ability.”

 

“So…” she said slowly. “It was a… misunderstanding?”

 

Ribbon and Kirby nodded.

 

Flowery slumped.

 

“Oh, how embarrassing!” she cried. “I’m so sorry you two. I made assumptions. Oh, I’m as bad as Cousin Whispy!”

 

“It’s okay,” Kirby comforted. “I never hold it against Whispy, so I’m not gonna hold it against you.”

 

“Thank you… Oh, I never even learned your names.”

 

“I’m Ribbon.”

 

“And I’m Kirby. Nice to meet you, Flowery Woods.”

 

“Oh, so you’re the Kirby that Cousin Whispy talks about.” The tree raised a brow. “I must say you’re… not what I expected.”

 

Kirby sighed. “Yeah… I get that a lot.”

 

Ribbon giggled and patted his back.

 

“Thank you, Kirby and Ribbon,” she said. “Still, I wish I had something to make it up to you.”

Her eyes light up. “Oh, I know!”

 

She shook her leaves and dropped an object in front of them.

 

“I don’t know what it is, but it sure is pretty.”

 

“Wooooowww,” the two said in awe.

 

“It’s like a sun stone!” Kirby exclaimed.

 

“Yeah,” Ribbon agreed. “But bigger.”

 

The object looked like a regular sunstone but embedded in a bigger blue jewel with a large golden ring with 4 large points and four small points.

 

Kirby put the larger sunstone away.

 

“Thanks Flowery.”

 

Ribbon gasped.

 

“Kirby! We should hurry! We still have to catch up to Bandanna Dee and Pinny!”

 

“Gah! You’re right!” Kirby said with a jump.

 

“Sorry, Flowery,” Ribbon apologized. “But we really need to go.”

 

“Yeah,” Kirby said.

 

The two turned away and began to charge off.

 

“Bye Flowery!” Kirby said, waving over his shoulder.

 

“Take care of yourself!” Ribbon called.

 

“Good bye, you two!” Flowery said, waving her leaves. “Good luck on your journey.”

 

As the two ran out of sight, Flowery let out a happy sigh.

 

“What a cute couple.”

 

  

Chapter 5: Intermission 1

Let it be known that Queen Ripple, sixth ruler of Ripple Star and fourth queen, had complete faith in Ribbon, Ripple Star's current guardian, wielder of the Sacred Crystal, and one of the heroes of the Dark Matter Incursion. However, it must also be stated that Satin, (a name she hadn't used since her coronation and ascension to the throne many years ago.) best friend to Ribbon's mother Ruffle, was worried for her surrogate daughter.

 

' I expected this to happen, ' she thought. 'It was a risk, and I knew that. '

 

Dreamland, despite Kirby, Meta Knight, and DeDeDe's best efforts, was a hotbed of activity. There was always going to be a chance that Ribbon (and the other fairies) would be swept up in some sort of crisis.

 

' She's with Kirby, ' she reminded herself. ' And Ribbon is strong in her own right. '

 

"Your majesty?" Ripple's temporary aid asked.

 

She glanced at the red-haired boy, a fairy named Felt that usually helped Ribbon in her duties as Queen's Aide, and smiled.

 

"I'm fine, Felt," she said.

 

She turned back to her work and frowned. With her mind fraught with worry over Ribbon and DeDeDe, it was unlikely she was going to get any work done.

 

She sighed and stood up from her desk.

 

"I'm going to take a walk around the palace," she announced.

 

"Er, yes ma'am," Felt nervously answered. "Would you like an escort?"

 

"No, thank you," she said, shaking her head. "Gather any files I'll need for my meetings today, okay Felt?"

 

Felt saluted. He normally helped Ribbon with gathering files so he was a little more confident with this task.

 

"Yes, your majesty."

 

Ripple smiled and proceeded to walk out of her study.

 

Her smile lessened as she walked through the castle halls. She trusted Ribbon wholeheartedly, and she definitely trusted Kirby, so she really should have stopped worrying. But she couldn't, no matter how hard she tried. There was also the fact that something about the floating islands and giant stalks and glowing fruits was tickling something in her brain, but she just couldn't remember.

 

She sighed.

 

"How would you handle this, Ruffle?" she asked herself softly.

 

She missed her friend and former aide dearly. The loss of Ruffle may have been five years ago, but Ripple doubted it would ever stop hurting. It was only exacerbated by how much Ripple could see of her friend in her current aide. Everyday, Ribbon reminded her so much of the girl’s mother. The way she would approach a problem was the same as Ruffle did, with determination and intelligence. There was also the fact that Ribbon, just like Ruffle had been, was just as much of a nuisance about reminding Ripple to take care of herself.

 

She snorted.

 

"She definitely got that from you."

 

While her looks were more from her father, what with her pink hair and round face, Ribbon's personality was so much like her mother… at least when it came to her work as Queen's aid.

 

"Though, she acts more like her father when it comes to a certain puffball."

 

Ripple smiled sadly.

 

Oh, how much she wished Ruffle was still alive. There was no doubt in her mind that the two of them would be having a squealing fit with how cute Kirby and Ribbon were.

 

Her phone beeped.

 

She chuckled as she opened the message Ribbon sent her.

 

"Case and point," she said with a smirk.

 

Along with a message telling of the duo's progress, Ribbon had also sent a photo (or 'selfie' as the kids called it) of her and Kirby, though it looked like Kirby was the one who took it, as one of his arms was extended out of frame while the other was wrapped around Ribbon's shoulder. The two had to get quite close to both fit in frame and it was clear that the proximity was causing the dusting of pink on Ribbon’s cheeks. Despite this she still smiled brightly.

 

"She's as bad as her dad."

 

When it came to her crush, Ribbon was definitely her father's daughter. Honestly, the way the two acted, so oblivious to each other yet obvious to everyone else, reminded Ripple of her dear friends. The way that Ruffle was so confident and unaware as she discussed legends with a blushing-

 

Her eyes widened as her mind recalled a conversation she had once overheard.

 

"Come on," Ruffle said with a chuckle. "Are you joking?"

 

"I'm not," her companion stated. "It's called the Dream Stalk. All the old timers talk about how it will bring us a hero if we're ever in trouble."

 

"You really believe that, Fox?"

 

"Oh, yeah," he said confidently. "I know it's real, Ruff."

 

"So you've seen it?"

 

"Er, well, no, not personally…"

 

"So it's a legend?"

 

"All legends have a grain of truth."

 

Ruffle laughed.

 

"Let's continue this as we walk. I gotta get Sat these files."

 

"No way," she whispered.

 

Ripple turned around and took flight, rushing to her room. She made a beeline for her closet and pulled out a specific box. From the box, she pulled out a book.

 

"Ruffle's diary," she said reverently as she ran a hand over the cover. The simple leather bound book had a short message scrawled across its cover. It stated ‘Ruffle’s Private Thoughts. Do Not Open! (This means you Satin, ya nosey!)’

 

She wanted to give this to Ribbon when she got back. She clasped her hands together in a prayer.

 

"I'm sorry, Ruff," she apologized. "I don't want to do this, but I have to be sure. Please forgive me!"

 

Ripple was not a fighter. She couldn't throw a punch. She couldn't wield a weapon. But what she could do is try to get Ribbon information.

 

‘Our girl needs info, and we may just have it,’ she thought. With a deep breath and her prayer said, she steeled herself and opened the book. ‘It's entirely possible your daughter may have stumbled upon Foxglove's home!'

Chapter 6: Sweethearts In a Sweet Land!

Ribbon finalized her message and sent it off to the queen.

 

“I think I see them,” Kirby said as he stood on the edge of the Island. He shielded his eyes from the sun and stared out at the sea of clouds.

 

Ribbon came up beside him and also looked out. She could just make out Pin Stitch, barely a spec in the sky, carrying Bandanna Dee.

 

“They’re heading to the next island,” she pointed out.

 

“Looks like we’re gonna have to fly.”

 

Just as Ribbon was about to agree and begin to carry Kirby, a bright flash interrupted her.

 

“Wha? Hey!” she heard Kirby gasp. “The Grand Sunstone!”

 

The so-called ‘Grand Sunstone’ had somehow escaped Kirby’s grasp and soared into the sky, spinning around as it flew.

 

“What’s it doing?” Ribbon asked.

 

“I don’t kno-”

 

The island shook, nearly knocking Kirby off the island, if it weren’t for Ribbon grabbing him.

 

“Thanks, Ribbon.”

 

“Kirby! Look!” she gasped.

 

The giant vine that had lifted Castle DeDeDe into the sky started to grow, twisting further into the sky. It eventually settled next to the other floating island farther up. The shaking settled and the Grand Sunstone floated back into Kirby’s hands.

 

“Huh,” he hummed. He put the object away and smiled. “So that’s what it does.”

 

“Least we can walk there now,” Ribbon said.

 

“You mean I can walk,” he sassed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you not flying.”

 

“ I’m a fairy,” she said, flicking a strand of hair over her shoulder with a smirk. “It’s what we do.”

 

“Lucky,” he pouted. “I wish I had wings. Meta says I might get them when I’m older.”

 

He sighed before narrowing his eyes. With a nod, he jumped onto the stalk and started to run to the new island.

 

“Come on, Ribbon,” he called.

 

“Right behind you!”

 

---

“Woah” Ribbon said in amazement. “It’s all desserts.”

 

“Lollipop Land, “ Kirby whispered.

 

“Uh, Kirby, you’re drooling.”

 

“It’s beautiful,” he whispered, ignoring her. “I’ve never seen something so wonderful.”

 

Ribbon rolled her eyes. All around them seemed to be sweets. The entire island looked like a loaded-down cake. Cookie ground, biscuit trees, arches containing layers of cream, bushes made of frosting, all of it a dream for someone with a sweet tooth.

 

“I know it’s a dream come true,” Ribbon said, trying to get him back on track. “But we have to catch up with Pinny and Bandanna Dee.”

 

Kirby shook his head and wiped his mouth.

 

“You’re right,” he said. His eyes drifted over to an upright biscuit half buried in the ground. “But first a snack.”

 

“Kirby!” she scolded as Kirby jumped up and chomped down on the biscuit. “We don’t have time!”

 

Kirby froze with the biscuit half in his mouth.

 

“Kirby?”

 

“‘’I’ ‘ould ‘omon oo ‘is!” he cried through the cookie.

 

“Kirby, I can’t understand you with your mouth full.”

 

He popped his mouth off the cookie, hanging off the top with one hand and turned to her with tears in his eyes.

 

“This isn’t Lollipop Land!” he cried. “It’s a land of lies! It’s all fake.”

 

He accentuated his point by kicking the biscuit, which produced a loud metallic clang. He dropped down and buried his face into Ribbons shoulder.

 

“Who would do something so evil?” he blubbered. “Why, Ribbon, why!?”

 

“Uh, there, there,” Ribbon awkwardly said, patting his back.

 

There was a low rumble. Ribbon’s eyes widened as the source crested over the hill.

 

“Uh, Kirby,” she said, frantically. “I know you’re really sad right now, but we need to move.”

 

“Right,” he said, separating and wiping his tears. “We gotta catch up to DeDeDe and that spider.”

 

“Uh, no. Well, yes but-”

 

She forced him to turn around. He blinked.

 

“Is… is that a candy tank?”

 

“Yes!”

 

*BOOM!*

 

“Is that candy tank shooting jawbreakers at us!?”

 

“YES!”

 

“Run!” Kirby shouted.

 

---

“I hate this place,” Kirby panted from his position face down on the ground. “I hate it so much.”

 

“Ditto,” Ribbon said tiredly. She lay flat on her back, arms spread out.

 

The two had been able to escape the tank by dropping it down a pit.

 

“The cookies aren't real,” Kirby said as he pushed himself onto his arms. “And there’s candy tanks that fire jawbreakers and they look soooooo goooooood but they EXPLODE!”

 

He finally pushed himself to his feet and slowly stumbled forward.

 

“That’s it,” he mumbled fiercely. “I’m finding one of those fruits and destroying this place.”

 

“Kirby-”

 

“Destroying it!”

 

Ribbon laid her head back down and sighed. She couldn’t exactly fault him at this point.

 

---

“What is this place?” Ribbon asked.

 

After their brush with the tank, the two, eager not to have a repeat of the event, ducked into a cave. They soon found a ladder and descended into a large room. The walls all looked to be made from toy blocks and puzzle pieces of vibrant colors.

 

“It,” Kirby said as they made their way forward. “Looks kinda like a factory.”

 

“Made from toy blocks?” Ribbon asked. “And what could they be making?” 

 

Kirby shrugged.

 

“Beats me,” he said, adjusting his new archer hat.

 

The two worked their way through the toy-like factory, passing by large pools of water and childish-looking gears. After a long dive through a watery tunnel, they finally found what Kirby was looking for.

 

“Uhg, note to self,” she grumbled while wringing out her hair. “Next adventure, wear a swimsuit underneath my dress.”

 

She was just wringing out her dress when she heard Kirby cry out in joy.

 

"Yes! I knew we'd find one!" he yelled out in glee. "Ribbon! I found one of those fruits!"

 

"Give me a minute, Kirby," she said.

 

She grasped the crystal and closed her eyes. A bubble soon swelled from the crystal and engulfed her. A neat trick she had figured out was that she could use the crystal's shield to force water out of her clothes.

 

She soon popped the bubble. Water splashed to the ground around her.

 

"Ah, much better," she said smoothing down her dress.

 

"Neat trick."

 

Kirby stood nearby, holding the glowing fruit.

 

"It certainly comes in handy."

 

He grinned and held the fruit up.

 

"Ready?"

 

"I guess," she sighed. 

 

"Hypernova Kirby and Blossom Mode Ribbon, here we come!"

 

She raised a brow. 

 

"Blossom Mode?"

 

"Yeah," he said excitedly. "Cause you get those cherry blossom petals in your hair."

 

She shook her head fondly.

 

"Alright," she chuckled. "Blossom Mode Ribbon it is."

 

Kirby smiled and tossed the fruit into his mouth. Just like before, his pink color exploded off of him.

 

He looked over his oscillating rainbow colored limbs with a grin.

 

"Wait," he questioned. "You're still the same?"

 

Ribbon glanced at her arms. No vines snaked their way down them.

 

"Huh?" she hummed. "Last time it happened when I touched you."

 

Kirby tapped her arm. That familiar zing traveled through her.

 

"There it is," Kirby cheered.

 

' Yep, ' she thought. ' This still feels right. '

 

"Onward!" he declared, marching forward.

 

---

Their trek through the factory continued with Kirby using his super inhale to move oversized toy trucks and large laser shooting blocks.

 

"Look, I'm sorry," she said to the face on the block.

 

Eyes like gears were twisted in such a way to imitate a sad frown.

 

"It's just, you're shooting lasers up a ladder we need to take," she continues.

 

"I don't think it's actually alive, Ribbon," Kirby said, jogging up to her side. "I think it's just like that."

 

"Are you sure?" she asked. "It's angry face changed when you dragged it into the corner."

 

"Weeeeeellllll," he drawled. His head twisted this way and that as he stared at the laser block. "Maybe? I don't know."

 

He shrugged and patted the block on the side.

 

"Sorry," he said. "We'll move you back if we have time, but we're in a hurry."

 

Ribbon nodded and followed Kirby up the ladder.

 

The two peeked their heads out of the hatch.

 

"A tube?" Kirby asked. "And a dead end."

 

Ribbon glanced down the other way, where a strange whooshing sound was echoing.

 

Her eyes widened.

 

"Duck!" she cried.

 

"Like the bird?"

 

"No!" she screamed, yanking Kirby back down the ladder.

 

A missile screeched over their heads.

 

"Oh," he said awkwardly. "Duck, like the action. My bad."

 

Ribbon shook her head with a smile.

 

Kirby tapped his chin.

 

"Missiles, lasers? This is a weapons factory!"

 

"Looks like it," she said.

 

Kirby jumped out of her arms and back onto the ladder.

 

"Alright, let's try this again. I'll block, you blast."

 

She nodded.

Chapter 7: Ghost And Specters And Haunted Paintings

Summary:

The duo continue through Lollipop Land. Ribbon's worst fears are proven true, Kirby messes with Taranza again and Kirby's past deeds come back to haunt him.

"We… (huff) really need, uhg," Ribbon panted as she emerged from the cave. "To stop (gasp!) going into caves!"

 

Kirby followed behind her, enjoying one of the treats Bandee and Pinny left them.

 

"It wasn't that bad," he argued.

 

She turned to glare at him.

 

"In the past half hour we've been shot at with missles, lasers, and arrows, almost crushed three times, and dodged a myriad of other traps."

 

Kirby adjusted his ninja headband nervously.

 

"I mean, yeah…" he mumbled. "But we're alive and we're out of that factory."

 

Ribbon stared at him for a second before sighing. She couldn't exactly fault him too much. Kirby had been going on adventures like this for most of his life. This was only Ribbon's second adventure. Kirby was used to this, she was not.

 

She ran a hand through her hair, idly removing wilted flower petals left over from 'Blossom Mode'.

 

The two had had a rather tricky trip through the underground factory. After they had dealt with the multiple missile launchers, they were then accosted by spring-loaded hands trying to push them off the path or crush them. Then, after dodging though all of that, the duo were almost crushed by falling walls.

 

She blushed as the memory of her panicking and hugging Kirby for dear life came back to her. With her eyes clamped shut and screaming her head off, it had taken Kirby a minute to inform her that, no, they weren't dead. Kirby, being a quick and clever puffball, had navigated them into a position where the wall ultimately missed them. Turned out that, in Ribbon's panic, she'd missed that there was a rather large hole in the wall.

 

Ribbon did better on the next two falling walls, although her heart just about stopped when Kirby was nearly crushed by the third wall trying to get to a key.

 

After that were some puzzles involving a mad rush while carrying an actual ticking time bomb.

 

"Hey, Ribbon, look!" Kirby called, drawing her out of her reflection. He pointed towards a large structure up the hill.

 

"Is that a circus tent?"

 

Kirby's eyes sparkled.

 

"A circus!" he cried, running towards it. "Sounds like fun! Come on, Ribbon!"

 

"Wha? Wait, Kirby!"

 

---

Ribbon shivered as they entered. While the tent had looked fun and inviting on the outside, inside was dark and creepy.

 

"Oooh," Kirby cooed. "Spooky."

 

"I don't like this," Ribbon mumbled.

 

"Spooky, creepy, circus." He gasped. "It must be a ghost circus!"

 

"Heh, ghost circus," Ribbon said with a nervous laugh. "G-good thing ghosts aren't real."

 

"Hmm, what do you mean?" Kirby asked. "Ghosts are real."

 

Ribbons face went pale.

 

"What?" she squeaked.

 

"I've fought plenty of ghosts," he said with a shrug. "I've even been a ghost. That was fun."

 

"G-g-ghost are r-real?" she stuttered.

 

Kirby nodded.

 

She took a deep breath.

 

"O-okay, this has been enlightening," she said frantically as she turned towards the door they had entered from. "But there is no reason for us to go through this. We have to get the king back."

 

She reached for the door handle, only for it to disappear in a puff of smoke.

 

She froze, her eyes wide.

 

"Huh. Guess we're stuck in here," Kirby stated.

 

"W-w-we-we're s-stuck in h-h-here?" she whispered to herself.

 

Her hands began to shake. A clammy sweat began to form on her brow.

 

She’d always hated ghost stories. When she was younger, she had gone to a sleep-over with some of the other ‘palace kids’ (I.e. the kids of all the live-in palace employees.). One of the older kids had the brilliant idea to tell ghost stories. The story, one about a ghost within the palace, had scared her so bad, she’d spent the next week barricaded in her room every night. Her mom eventually told her that ghosts were not real so she had nothing to fear in the palace.

 

Now Kirby was telling her, so casually, that ghosts were, in fact, real.

 

“Ribbon? You okay?”

 

He reached out and tapped her arm.

 

“AAAAAAAHHHHH!” she screamed. “I hate ghosts! Why!? We didn’t need to come in here! Why did you drag me in here!”

 

“Ribbon.”

 

“Now we’re trapped in here! With the ghosts!”

 

“Ribbon!”

 

“What do we do!? Let me out!”

 

“RIBBON!”

 

He spun her around to face him, pinning her arms to her side.

 

“Its gonna be alright,” he said softly. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”

 

She sniffed through her tears.

 

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” he said, turning away from her. His guilty eyes turned to the ground. “But I swear on my honor as a Star Warrior, I’ll get you out of here,” he proclaimed, as his gaze hardened and turned back to her. He smiled. “So deep breaths and stick close.”

 

She took his advice and wiped her tears.

 

“R-right,” she said with a shudder. “W-we stick together.”

 

“Exactly,” he said. “We’re partners. We’ve got each other’s back. If you can’t handle ghosts, then leave it to me.” He held out a hand. 

 

She gripped the crystal and took his hand.

 

“Thank you, Kirby,” she said.

 

“No problem, Ribbon. I’ve got you,” he responded. He turned towards the rest of the tent. “Let’s go.”

---

Making their way through the tent was easier said than done. The entire place was covered in mirrors, producing a maze. Kirby had been grumbling for the past five minutes.

 

"Can't believe that stupid gate took my copy ability!"

 

Ribbon wasn't paying much attention to his whinging. She was rather busy jumping at every minor sound. The duo's first encounter with an enemy had truly spooked her. (Not that her nerves weren't already fried.) Said enemy was invisible and the only reason Kirby had seen it had been because it could be seen in the mirror.

 

"We're almost out, Ribbon," Kirby said, trying to soothe her. "I can feel it."

 

"O-okay," she mumbled.

 

A couple false floors, a few traps and some more power stealing arches later they had made it out.

 

Ribbon let out a shaky sigh of relief as she felt the sunlight on her face.

 

"Finally," she breathed. "Please, no more spooky circuses."

 

Kirby awkwardly shrugged. "Uh, well," he began. "In my experience, things like that tend to repeat once or twice."

 

"Nooooo," she moaned.

 

"Sorry, Ribbon," he said. "But remember what I said." He patted himself on (what was essentially his equivalent of) the chest. "We're partners in this. I'll take whatever you can't handle. And I can handle a lot."

 

He paused.

 

"Unless it's caterpillars," he mumbled with a shudder. "Can't do caterpillars."

 

Ribbon raised a brow.

 

"You've fought a literal being of nightmares made manifest, the embodiment of all negative feelings in the galaxy, and who knows what else, and that's what you're afraid of?"

 

"They're creepy, okay!" he cried, flapping his arms up and down. "And they're icky and gross and when I was little, one fell on my head when I was trying to get apples and it was scary!"

 

Ribbon tried to hold back, but the fact that her hero, her crush, was afraid of something so simple like a caterpillar, was funny to her. She laughed.

 

"Ribbon," he whined.

 

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," she said through giggles.

 

She wiped a tear from her eye and held out her hand.

 

"If you promise to deal with the spooky ghost, I'll deal with the creepy caterpillars."

 

"Deal!" he agreed.

 

They shook hands before Ribbon dragged Kirby into a hug.

 

"Thank you, Kirby," she said softly. "I needed that."

 

"No prob," he replied. "You're my friend. I care about you."

 

She hugged him tighter to hide her blush.

 

"Anyway," Kirby started.

 

"Right," she said, pulling away. "We'd best get moving. King won't save himself."

 

Kirby frowned and tapped his chin.

 

"I mean, he might? But then I gotta listen to him complain. 'Why weren't ya faster, puffball!'"

 

"That's a pretty accurate impression," she complimented.

 

"Thanks."

 

The two turned to stare at what could only be described as a mountain path leading to-

 

"Kirby," Ribbon began. "Is that-"

 

"A creepy looking mansion on top of a hill?" he interrupted. "Yep."

 

She sighed.

 

"What are the chances we have to go in there?" she asked, a noticeable plea in her voice.

 

"Weeeelllll," Kirby started.

 

There was a sudden crash as something flew through the window of the mansion.

 

"That was Bandanna's spear, wasn't it?" she said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

 

"Yeah," he said with a sigh.

 

Ribbon steeled herself with a deep breath and nodded.

 

"Alright," she breathed. "Let's save the king!"

 

With a nod from Kirby, the two charged ahead.

 

---

"You two," Taranza growled as he batted away one of Pin Stitch's needles. "Are annoyingly persistent!"

 

"They're not the only ones, ya bug!"

 

"Kirby! Ribbon!" Bandana Dee cried. "You caught up."

 

"Thanks to you two marking a path," Ribbon said as she took aim at the spider mage.

 

"Now listen here, you pink pest!" Taranza cried. " I've told you before I'm a spi-"

 

He froze before his entire body drooped.

 

"You… you're doing that on purpose, aren't you?"

 

Kirby smirked.

 

"Maybe," he said with a shrug. "What are ya gonna do about it?"

 

"Oh, I'll show you!"

 

He fired off a wave of magic that flew over their heads and impacted a curtain.

 

"Wha," Kirby mumbled. "What were you aiming at?"

 

"You know," he began with a dark chuckle. "They say that this hovel belonged to a very special artist, one who created a painting of two sisters separated at birth.”

 

The curtains began to shake as something rattled behind them. Ribbon put her back to Kirby and trained her blaster on the thing behind the curtains.

 

“She’s been asleep here for a while,” Taranza continued. “If I were asleep that long I’d be a little… cranky.”

 

The rattling increased. Suddenly, they burst open.

 

“Duck!” Ribbon yelled, dragging Kirby down as something soared over their head.

 

“So long, pest,” the spider mage called as he flew off.

 

“Hey,” Kirby called as he tried to chase after him, only to be blocked by the new combatant.

 

“Shoot!” he growled.

 

“Bandee, Pinny!” Ribbon called.

 

“On it!” Bandana Dee answered.

 

“Be careful you two!” Pinny said as she picked up Bandee and weaved past the mysterious foe.

 

Kirby glared at the figure.

 

“Huh?” he mumbled. His glare switched to an inquisitive stare. “Drawcia?”

 

The new figure was similar to Kirby’s old foe, between the wide brimmed wizard hat, the limbless body, and the yellow eyes on an otherwise featureless face, but there were plenty of differences, too. Where Drawcia had one (visible) eye, this foe had two. Where Drawcia had straight purple hair, this person had curly pink hair. Drawcia wore a purple cloak with motes of blue and yellow at the ends. This person wore a red cloak with a fluffy, red lining. This person also had two, visible ‘legs’ resembling paint covered, split bristles.

 

“I am Paintra!” she proudly proclaimed. “I will have my revenge on this world.”

 

Kirby settled into a battle stance.

 

“Let’s do this, Ribbon!”

 

“Right behind you!”

 

Paintra let out a battle cry and fired three glowing balls from her legs.

 

Ribbon blocked the attack with her crystal shield.

 

Paintra changed tactics. Charging in, she flailed her 'legs', swiping them at Kirby.

 

"Whoa," he cried ducking under the first strike. "Ribbon, up top!"

 

"Right!"

 

As Kirby slid under the second sweeping 'kick', Ribbon leapt up and over their foe. She flipped upside down with a second blaster in hand and rained shots across Paintra's body, before being caught by Kirby on the other side.

 

“Nice,” he complimented as he set her down.

 

“Thank you,” she said with a curtsy.

 

Paintra growled.

 

She flew up and with another swipe of her legs, dissapeared.

 

“Where'd she-”

 

Before Kirby could finish, the duo were surrounded by what looked to be a paper screen.

 

“What is she doing?”

 

“Stay calm,” Kirby called. He put his back to Ribbon's and pulled out two kunai. “She's trying to get the drop on us. Eyes up, ears open. Focus and we’ll hit her when we dodge.”

 

“Got it.”

 

The two kept silent, the only sound permeating the room was the rustling of the screen and Paintra's occasional chuckle.

 

“On my left!” Kirby called, just before Paintra charged through the screen.

 

The two dove apart, the painted sorceress flying past them.

 

“My front!” Ribbon cried.

 

Ribbon ducked down as Paintra passed over her.

 

Kirby backflipped over her instead, throwing a few kunai as he did so, and landing next to Ribbon.

 

“We gotta knock her down,” Kirby growled. He could just make out Paintra lining up another pass. He held out his paw to her. “Ready.”

 

Ribbon nodded and grabbed his paw.

 

As soon as Paintra charged, Kirby spun and threw Ribbon at the charging foe. Ribbon twirled as she flew, spreading crystal shards around her. The spinning crystals were enough to knock Paintra off her flight path.

 

The screen, now looking more like swiss cheese, disappeared.

 

“So you pest are tough,” Paintra growled. “Fine. It's time for a little art exhibition!”

 

She swung her legs again. Three canvases appeared.

 

“Is that… Landia?” Kirby asked.

 

“They look almost real,” Ribbon gasped.

 

Indeed, painted on the canvas was a rather realistic painting of the guardian dragon. And then it moved.

 

“Yeah,” Kirby sighed. “Should have figured.”

 

“Look out!” Ribbon cried.

 

The dragon emerged from the first canvas and charged. The two rolled out of the way.

 

“Here comes the second!” Kirby warned.

 

This one flew forth spewing flames. They dodged out of the way only to end up in the supposed path of the third dragon.

 

“This one looks different,” Ribbon said.

 

Kirby narrowed his eyes at the third painting. While painted just as well as the other two, it didn't seem quite as real.

 

“And I bet I know why,” he growled.

 

Kirby charged forward. He reached back for the hilt of his katana. Stopping just in front of the canvas, he swung the sword.

 

“Quadshock!” he called as he transitioned into a second swing.

 

The first swing sliced through the painting, while the second summoned waves of energy that spiked up to hit Paintra just behind the painting.

 

“Ahhgggg! YOU PEST!” Paintra screamed. “I'll squash you flat!”

 

“Bring it on!” Kirby taunted. “I beat Drawcia with less. I know I can beat you!”

 

Paintra froze.

 

“D-drawcia!?” She stuttered. “You… you beat her?”

 

Kirby winced.

 

“Uhh,” he floundered. “Y-yes?”

 

“You beat my sister…” she said in shock. Shock soon gave way to anger as her eyes narrowed into a glare. “You. You beat my sister. You hurt my sister! You hurt DRAWCIA! I'LL GRIND YOU INTO PASTE AND PAINT THE WALLS WITH IT!”

 

“That's not good,” Kirby mumbled.

 

“Kirby,” Ribbon said nervously. “Maybe don't taunt the paint sorceress with the fact you beat her sister.

 

“Yeah, I, uh, might have messed up a bit.”

 

Paintra let out a guttural scream. Power surged around her.

 

“I'LL END YOU WHERE YOU STAND!”

 

“Really not goo-AH” Kirby cried out as she charged.

 

Ribbon fired off a few shots over his head, but they did nothing to differ her charge.

 

The battle raged on. Paintra summoned more paint constructs, fired faster balls of magic, and tried to ram into them. The duo were able to  withstand the assault but it was wearing them down.

 

“She's super aggressive,” Ribbon said.

 

“Of course she has a rage mode,” Kirby grumbled.

 

“A what?” Ribbon asked.

 

Before Kirby could answer, Paintra surrounded them with another canvas.

 

“Okay,” Kirby said calmly. “I got an idea on how to finish this.”

 

“All ears,” Ribbon said, back to back with him to look for Paintra’s charge.

 

“It needs some set up though,” Kirby said. “Can you distract her?”

 

“I’ll try.”

 

“Good,” Kirby said. “Oh, and don’t freak out.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Duck!”

 

Ribbon heeded Kirby’s warning and ducked down as Paintra surged overhead.

 

Kirby didn’t. As Paintra’s charge hit, he disappeared in a burst of smoke and strangely enough cherry blossoms.

 

“Hah!” the sorceress cheered. “That was for you, sister!”

 

Ribbon stared in shock. Her charge had completely atamized Kirby? That didn’t make sense. He had seemed a little winded but not that much.

 

‘ Oh, and don’t freak out, ’ her mind repeated.

 

It was then that she noticed a log where Kirby disappeared from.

 

‘ Ohhhhh, ’ she realized. ‘ Ninja, right. ’

 

Ribbon took a deep breath and steadied herself.

 

“And now for you, you pixie pe-”

 

“Fairy,” Ribbon growled.

 

“What,” Paintra asked. The fairy’s anger threw her off.

 

“I am a fairy, not a pixie!” Ribbon asserted. “Pixies are totally different from fairies.”

 

“... In what way?”

 

“W-what- What way!?” Ribbon said as she bristled. “Did you really ask that!?”

 

Paintra rolled her eyes.

 

“I fail to see the difference,” she said.

 

“So you're a speciesist,” Ribbon said hotly.

 

“What?” Paintra said with a flinch. “No, I am not.”

 

She closed her eyes and tilted her head back.

 

“I can not be a speciesist,” she stated petulantly. “I hate all species and races equally.”

 

“That doesn’t make it better,” Ribbon cried. “What if people thought that you were a-a…” She wracked her brain for a comparison. “A… A paint roller!”

 

“That is ridiculous,” Paintra cried. “I am nothing like a paint roller. We are completely different!”

 

“So are fairies and pixies!”

 

“…and what, pray tell, makes a fairy different from a pixie?” she asked, her eyes narrowed.

 

“Pixies have a slightly shorter wingspan, slightly longer legs, and a different gender ratio.”

 

“… by how much.”

 

Ribbon crossed her arms in annoyance.

 

“Maybe you’ve been trapped in that painting for too long,” she said hotly. “Otherwise you’d know that a fairy’s wingspan is longer by about 2 centimeters, the legs by ten nanometers, and that pixies have a gender ratio of male/female at 49.9 to 50.1, whereas fairies are a fifty-fifty male/female split.”

 

“... You can not be serious.”

 

“Of course, I’m serious!” Ribbon cried. “To call a fairy a pixie or vice versa is a grievous insult!”

 

Paintra once again got haughty.

 

“Well then, it’s a good thing that you're my enemy and thus I don’t care if you find that insulting.”

 

“You’re a jerk!”

 

“That’s just how I was painted.”

 

“That doesn’t mean you need to be rude!”

 

“Oh, enough of this,” Paintra growled. “Pixie, fairy, it doesn’t matter. When I’m through with you, you’ll be nothing but a paint stain on the floor.”

 

“Nice last words,” Kirby taunted as he reappeared behind her in a burst of smoke. “But It’ll be you that’s the paint stain. Ribbon! Over the top!”

 

As Ribbon flew up to shower Paintra with crystal shots, Kirby concentrated.

 

‘ Okay, Kirby, ’ he thought, pulling out four senbon needles wrapped in seals, ‘ Remember what Zelda, er, Sheik? Zeleik? They are the same person. Gah! Focus! Sheik said throwing a needle is different from a kunai. Make it one fluid arc. ’ 

 

He let loose the four needles towards Paintra and pulled out a paper fan.

 

“SECRET STAR WARRIOR NINJA TECHNIQUE!” he yelled as he swung the fan. “Hidden Cuts of the Sakura Winds!”

 

The fan kicked up the wind and flower petals. Paintra was soon surrounded by a whirlwind of petals. The four needles Kirby threw flashed and multiplied, getting caught in the wind and impacting against Paintra. Ribbon, meanwhile, was kept aloft by the winds and given more spin. As she twirled, she let loose a torrent of shots.

 

Kirby held his paws together in an approximation of a hand sign, feeding as much of his power into the move as he could. His ninja helm began to slowly dissolve as he resorted to sacrificing it to keep the storm going.

 

Paintra screamed as she was assaulted by the storm of needles and energy shots. The storm let loose one final gale as Kirby’s helm disappeared. Ribbon completed her arc and landed next to Kirby. She leveled her blaster at Paintra.

 

Paintra slowly floated to the ground.

 

“I j-just…” she stuttered as she fell. Her body began to glow. “W-w-wanted to… to s-s-see her… again.”

 

Kirby slowly approached her.

 

“I’m sorry, Paintra,” he said softly. “She’s already gone.”

 

“Someh-how, I… already… knew…”

 

With that, she dissolved into a puddle of paint, gleaming grand sunstone sitting in the middle of it

 

Kirby stared into the puddle after pocketing the sunstone.

 

“Kirby?” Ribbon asked. She’d never seen the puffball so… somber before. “Are you okay?”

 

Kirby took a deep breath.

 

“Keep fighting for that one day,” he reminded himself. The words were advice given by Meta Knight.

 

‘ I know it’s tough, ’ he remembered him saying. ‘ Despite all your power, all your talent, you won’t be able to save everyone. And that is why you must keep going, because as long as you fight on, as long as you keep fighting, keep trying to save everyone, then one day you will, and that will make it all worth it. ’

 

With those words of hope ringing in his head, he turned back to Ribbon with his usual smile.

 

“I’m alright, Ribbon,” he answered. “Come on. We gotta try to catch up.”

 

Ribbon followed him to the only other exit from the studio. She glanced back to the puddle before they left.

 

“You know,” she said sadly. “Wherever some like her goes after this, I hope she gets to meet her sister again.”

Kirby’s smile softened.

 

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Me too.”

 

The door led to some sort of small seating room. There was a small fireplace with a picture above the mantle. The picture was of a man, clearly human, holding a small girl. Both had smiles on their faces. But it caught Ribbons attention because the girl looked familiar.

 

“Wait, is that Adeline?”

 

“Huh,” Kirby breathed as he looked at the painting. “Could be. Might be Ado, though.”

 

“Ado?”

 

“Adeline’s brother/ paint copy. Or…” he trailed off in thought. “Is it Adeline that’s the paint copy?”

 

“What?” Ribbon fumbled.

 

“Oh, wait, I remember now. They don’t know.”

 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

 

Kirby shrugged. 

 

“Uh something about an accident with their dad’s super special magic paint and a self portrait as the opposite gender.” He tapped his chin, trying to remember. “And both of their memories are so clear to that point that neither of them are sure who’s the original.” he shook his head. “Adeline can explain it better, but I wouldn’t ask. Makes both of them have a, gah, what’s it called, exponential crisis?”

 

“Existential crisis?”

 

“That’s it,” he exclaimed. He looked back at the painting. “But I definitely think that’s their dad.”

 

He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the painting.

 

“I’ll text her and let her know we found this place.”

 

He frowned as he looked at his phone.

 

“Not a lot of reception up here,” he mumbled. “Let’s see if we can get better reception at the edge of the island.”

 

“And if we can see Bandana Dee and Pin Stitch?” she reminded him.

 

“Oh, yeah,” he chuckled. “That, too.”

 

---

“Hey, Ribbon,” Kirby asked as they finally exited the mansion. “I meant to ask, all that stuff about fairies and pixies, is that true.

 

“Nah,” Ribbon said. “Fairy and Pixie are interchangeable on Ripplestar. Just kinda depends on what province you’re from.” She smirked. “I just wanted to keep her talking.”

 

Kirby chuckled.

 

“That was smart.”

 

“I am the assistant to a rather scatterbrained queen,” she said, putting a hand to her chest proudly. “I have to be smart.”

 

“I gonna tell her you said that,” Kirby teased.

 

“Please don’t.”

 

“Texting her now.”

 

“Kirby,” she warned.

 

“Oh yeah, no service.”

 

Ribbon breathed a sigh of relief. It was common knowledge that the Queen of the Fairies could be quite scatterbrained, but she was still royalty. You don’t go and say that to her face. (or text her that.)

 

“I’ll send it when we get to the edge of the island,” he said, jogging forward.

 

“Kirby, No!”

 

“Maybe if you can catch me I’ll delete it,” he called over his shoulder as he started sprinting.

 

“Gah! Get back here Puffball!” she cried as she took off after him.

Notes:

This chapter includes a little head canon of mine. Said head canon is that one of the Ads (Aka Adeline and Ado) is a paint copy come to life through a combination of powers and some very special paint while trying to do an opposite gender self portrait and neither of them know who it is.

The part of this head canon I left out (cause there wasn't any way to organically bring it up.) is that their father said it didn't matter who came first, they're both his children. This, while calming Ado, actually caused Adeline (who is the smarter of the two.) to think that maybe they are both paint creations, since she can't remember ever having a mom or their dad ever mentioning one. She doesn't want to ask Ado if he remembers a mom, cause that either confirms her theory, or, if he does and she doesn't, lends credibility to her being the paint copy of Ado.

Neither option is something she wants to think about so she buries it deeeeeeeeeppppp down and neeeeeeever mentions it.

(Regardless of HOW they came to be Adeline and Ado are as much human as humans can be in Kirby's universe, even if their conception was rather artificial.)

Next up: Another intermission.

(I'll, uh... try to get it out a little faster than this one...)

Chapter 8: Intermission 2

Summary:

Ripple reads Ruffle's diary and cries.

It took about six more prayers, (mostly just begging Ruffle to not smite her from the great beyond. She swears she's got a good reason, please!) but Ripple finally opened the book to a random page.

 

Dear Diary,

 

This might be my last entry.

 

“Noooooo,” she softly groaned. She checked the date and… yep, sure enough, dated just three days before her death.

 

The fact that she’d opened to the exact middle and landed on Ruffle’s last entry hurt .

 

“This should be filled with more than this,” she said, trying to hold back tears.

 

Ruffle was a victim of an pandemic that had swept over Ripple Star about seven years into Ripple’s tenure as queen. Despite all the protections afforded to fairy kind by the Sacred Crystal and their own biology, they could still get sick. The outbreak, a sickness best described as a supercharged flu, was given the name the Speckle Flu, due to it causing speckled spots on an infected fairy’s wings.

 

Ripple had been put under so much stress, dealing with relief efforts, organizing a plan, assuring her people, and she’d had to do it without the help of her best friend and aide.

 

And then it had taken her forever.

 

“You should have had more time,” she sobbed. “You deserved more time.”

 

Maybe that’s why she hadn’t turned away from this entry yet.

 

Despite the Speckled Flu overtaking the planet, casualties had been rather low, (Though admittedly an unprecedented amount for fairy history.) mostly the elderly and the very young, or those with compromised immune systems.

 

Which made Ruffle's death an outlier.

 

Ruffle was one of the strongest people she knew. She should have been able to kick the sickness.

 

So why did she not?

 

For years, Ripple had always felt guilt over the loss of her best friend, her sister. There must have been something she missed, some overlooked detail, something Ruffle didn't tell her.

 

So she read on through the tears.

 

I'm in my second week of Speckled Flu. Doctors say this is when it's at its peak and the most contagious. I haven't seen Ribbon in days. Probably for the best. I'm not getting her sick just cause I miss her. I know she's okay though. Sat's been taking care of her. I may not trust her to handle anything more than a butter knife (and even that may be pushing it.)

 

Ripple let out a watery laugh.

 

“You and Ribbon are so rude to me.”

 

But I know I can trust her with my little blossom.

 

Doctors are saying that if I get through this week, I'll be in the home stretch.

 

But I…

 

There was a large ink spot there, likely Ruffle leaving the pen on the page too long as she contemplated her words.

 

Don't think I'll make it.

 

You know how I've said that sometimes I get these ‘flashes’, strange feelings of regret, love, fondness? I think their Foxgloves feelings.

 

I remember this old story that Satin loved when we were kids. It was about this prince and princess that fell in love. That their hearts were bound together, so they'd never feel apart.

 

It's an old fairy legend, but as Fox was always fond of telling me, all legends have a grain of truth in them.

 

“Fox and Ruffle had a soul bond!?”

 

She would have squealed if not for the somber mood of the journal.

 

Sat would probably lose it if I told her me and Fox were ‘soul mates’. She loves all that romance stuff.

 

But, I think that's where those flashes come from. Fox's feelings are coming to me so I know he's out there.

 

But there's this issue. I haven't felt him at all this week.

 

She gasped. 

 

“No, no, no no no nonono.” she pleaded.

 

See, in the story, the prince left for this battle and died. The princess was left weak from their bond severing. She slept for three days and had a fever.

 

I think that's what's happening to me. Doctors think the flu is just hitting me extra hard, but I know.

 

The writing was starting to get wobbly and evidence of dried tears littered the page.

 

I know why I'm so weak. I know Foxglove is de-

 

The word she'd started writing was crossed out.

 

Foxglove is gone. I won't ever see him again.

 

“Oh, Ruff…”

 

I don't want to die. Fox may be gone but I still have Ribbon. I still have that little piece of him still here. I still have Satin, my sister. I DON'T WANT TO DIE YET!

 

But I don't think I'll make it…

 

It is taking everything I have right now just to keep writing. I'm so weak and tired. I don't want to give up yet.

 

But I may not get a choice.

 

Satin, if you're reading this, first off, rude,

 

She couldn't help but laugh, even as her glasses fogged up with tears.

 

But I'm sorry I didn't tell you. You would probably divert all resources to save one little aide. I'm not worth that.

 

“Ruffle, of course you were worth that! You're my sister.”

 

And I know what you're gonna say ‘Ruffle, of course you’re worth that! You're my sister’ but you have a duty to your people first. You're a great queen, Sat. They need you more than you need me.

 

Just take care of Ribbon for me. Be the mother I can't. I know you'll raise her right.

 

And, Ribbon, if you're reading this, I'm so sorry, my little blossom. I'm sorry I won't get to see the fairy you grow up to be, but I'm so proud of you and I know you'll go on to do amazing things. I love you and even if your dad can't be here to say it himself, know that he loves you, too. I know that for a fact.

 

Take care of Satin for me, okay, Ribbon. I know she's a handful most days, but you got this.

 

Love you both,

 

Ruffle.

Notes:

Thought about tacking on a scene I had with Kirby and Ribbon getting to the next island, but that will be for next chapter. I want the intermissions to be for characters that aren't Kirby and Ribbon.

Just wanna say, no, Ruffle didn't go "oh, husbands dead. Guess I'll die'. Her body gave out before her will did.

Chapter 9: Old Odyssey

Summary:

A new world, a flower driven memory, and a discusion of parents.

“Woah!” Kirby gasped as he ran up the stalk towards the next island. “Look at all the mountains!”

 

As the duo crested the stalk, both stopped to admire the beauty of the landscape.

 

Wild flowers grew rampant in the various valleys. Paths snaked their way around almost carrot-like rock formations. A tall peak with smaller mountains around it stood at the very center of the island. On that peak sat what looked to be a stone fortress.

 

“Wow,” Ribbon breathed. “It all looks so old… untouched.”

 

“Hmmmm,” he hummed, tapping his chin. He then nodded to himself.

 

“I got it,” he declared. “Old Odyssey.”

 

“What?”

 

“That's what we'll call this place,” he said pointing out towards the mountains. “Meta Knight told me it's an old word for adventure. These mountains are old. We're on an adventure. Old Odyssey.”

 

“I guess that makes sense,” Ribbon mumbled, her head tilted in confusion.

 

“There's no ‘guessing’, Ribbon,” he said with his paws on his ‘hips’. “It makes perfect sense.”

 

With the name of the new zone dealt with, Kirby stood on the tips of his feet and shaded his eyes with his paw.

 

“Now where'd that buggy mage get off to?” he mumbled as his eyes swept the scenery.

 

Ribbon started to look as well, but was soon distracted by a certain plant growing along the edges of the mountain path. The stem of the plant rose straight up. All along it were red bell-like flowers.

 

Ribbon approached it with a small smile and pulled out her phone.

 

“Whatcha doing, Ribbon?” Kirby asked as she snapped a picture.

 

“Ah, sorry, Kirby,” she said, putting her phone away. “I just wanted a picture of this flower. I never thought I'd see one in the wild on Popstar.”

 

Kirby tapped a paw to his mouth and tilted his head as he looked at it.

 

“I don't think I've ever seen a flower like that before.”

 

She smiled and started down the path. Kirby followed

 

“It's called a Foxglove. There's a small section in the Queen's garden that has a few of them.” Her smile dimmed. “My… my mom planted them.”

 

Kirby held out a paw which Ribbon took.

 

“They were her favorite,” she explained. “She said they reminded her of my dad.”

 

“Your dad?” Kirby asked. “You've talked about your mom a bit.”

 

That ‘bit’ had mostly been explaining that Queen Ripple was basically a pseudo-aunt slash mother figure to Ribbon and that her real mom was gone.

 

“Never heard you talk about your dad though.”

 

She shrugged.

 

“There's not much to tell,” she said softly. “I never knew him. He disappeared before I was born.” She sighed. “Mom kept telling me that he would have loved me and one day he'd find his way back to us. She was so sure of that fact. Queen Ripple seemed to believe that, too. Meanwhile, everyone around us would whisper how sad it was that he left Mom to care for me by herself.”

 

They let silence linger for a moment. Ribbon reflected on the little thing about her father that her mom and the Queen let slip, things like her having his face, how he was obsessed with legends, his back and forths with her mom.

 

“And what do you think?”

 

She glanced at Kirby, before staring up at the sky with a contemplative frown.

 

“I'm not sure. I've never really cared or given it much thought. I had my mom and the Queen. That was enough.”

 

The silence reigned for another moment.

 

“What's it like?” he asked softly.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Having a mom?”

 

Ribbon's frown grew.

 

“Did you… not have a mom?” she asked. “Do puffballs not have parents?”

 

Kirby let out a slurred ‘I don't know.’ and shrugged.

 

“Meta Knight and DeDeDe say I just kinda showed up one day,” he said, still staring straight ahead. “Living by myself in Dreamland is… all I've ever known.”

 

He stared up into the sky for a second.

 

“I've never really wondered where I came from. Dreamland’s always felt like home, like where I'm supposed to be. And I've never really thought about if I have parents or not.” He shrugged again. “Just curious… I guess.”

 

Ribbon frowned. She stared up at the sky trying to find the words.

 

“It's hard to explain,” she started. “Mom was… my teacher, my caretaker. I loved her and she loved me.”

 

Kirby glanced at her.

 

“The one thing I remember most about having a mom,” she said wispily. “was that if I was ever having a bad day, or was sad or scared, I could go to her and she’d make me feel safe.”

 

She smiled sadly.

 

“Sorry. I'm probably not explaining this right.”

 

Kirby shook his head.

 

“No,” he said softly. “I think I get it.”

 

He stared up at the sky, a thoughtful frown on his face.

 

“There's this… dream I have sometimes,” he began. “Or maybe… It's a memory. In it, I'm really young. I'm still gray and I'm small.”

 

He chuckled.

 

“Well, smaller.”

 

He shook his head.

 

“But anyway, I'm sitting on someone's lap,” he continued. “ And they’ve got these really big sleeves and they’re pitch black with bright yellow stars that I keep reaching for. And they turn me to face them.” He stared out into the distance. “I can never remember their face when I wake up, just that they have bright yellow hair with two ribbons threaded through them, red and white. And they say something to me and in that moment… I feel… loved, cared for… safe… like you said.”

 

He smiled softly. “Maybe that person is my mom.” He shrugged. “Maybe it’s something the Star Rod cooked up for me, who knows.”

 

He laughed and grinned at her. “Maybe that’s why I’ve never felt the need for parents or wondered about them, cause I’ve got that dream.”

 

She met his eyes and smiled.

 

“Maybe,” she whispered.

 

 They stared at each other for a moment longer before they both blushed.

 

“Uh, we should, should prolly get moving,” Kirby mumbled.

 

“Y-yeah,” Ribbon stuttered out. “But, um, I kinda need m-my hand back?”

 

Kirby stared down at their joined hands for a second before letting go like he’d been burned.

 

“Uh, sorry about that!” he cried as he turned away. “Hey, what’s that over there?”

 

He didn’t even give her time to look before he was running towards the distance.

 

Ribbon shook her head and held her hand to her chest.

 

“Silly puffball,” she mumbled fondly.

 

---

“Uhg. That stupid spider is gonna be tough to spot with all these mountains,” Kirby grumbled. “At this rate, we'll lose ‘em.”

 

Ribbon nodded and crossed her arms in thought.

 

“We should focus on getting to higher ground,” she suggested. “Bandanna Dee and Pin Stitch are still on his tail. Hopefully, they can slow him down.”

 

“They've been doing good at that so far,” Kirby agreed. “Well, if our focus is higher ground…”

 

He pointed dramatically ahead, directly at the top of the mountain fortress.

 

“Then there's no higher ground than that fortress!”

 

Ribbon frowned at it.

 

“Do we really need to climb up that high?” She complained. “I hate mountain climbing.”

 

Kirby raised a brow at her.

 

“What do you mean climbing? You fly!”

 

She crossed her arms in a huff.

 

“Mountains are colder and have thinner air. One: I hate the cold and, and two: thinner air means I have to use more energy to keep afloat.” She turned to him with narrowed eyes. “Why do you think I've been walking since we got here?”

 

“I had wondered about that,” he mumbled. “Well, uh, I could carry you?”

 

She blushed and turned away.

 

“W-we don't n-need to go that far,” she stuttered, before clearing her throat. “I'm just asking if we really need to go that high?”

 

Kirby crossed his arms in thought.

 

“Well, you said it yourself, we should get to higher ground. That's the highest ground here.” He uncrossed his arms and shrugged. “If we can spot them before we get up there, then we won't have to, but until then our best bet is to make our way there.”

 

Ribbon couldn't find a flaw in his logic, but she wasn't exactly happy about it.

 

“Fine,” she grumbled. “But I'm going to be grumpy about it the whole time.”

 

Kirby hid his giggle behind his paw.

 

“Oh, c’mon Ribs,” he said, throwing an arm around her. “It won't be that bad.”

 

---

The massive train swept by, nearly taking Kirby and Ribbon in its wake.

 

“Thanks, Ribbon,” he said from his position on the ground where Ribbon had pulled him out of the way of the incoming train. “That train came out of nowhere!”

 

“‘Nowhere’?” she scoffed. “Kirby, the waddle dee driving it, was hanging off the whistle's pull cord. You can hear that thing a mile off!”

 

“Er, I guess I didn't notice…”

 

She sighed.

 

“I can see more tracks ahead. Just pay attention this time.”

 

Kirby got up and dusted himself off. He wouldn't look her in the eye, clearly embarrassed.

 

“Y-yeah,” he mumbled. “I'll do that.”

 

Ribbon shook her head.

 

‘This puffball's gonna give me a heart attack,’ she thought despairingly.

 

“Why are there even trains here anyway?” he asked.

 

“It looked like they were moving logs,” she supplied. “Wonder if it's connected to the lumberjack dees we saw in Flowery Fields?”

 

“Who knows,” Kirby grumbled with the shake of his head. “Wild dees just do whatever they want. Anyway, we'd better get moving.”

 

“Right,” she breathed.

Paying attention, as it turned out, wasn't as much help as Ribbon thought. The last three trains they had crossed had done nothing to slow down and, in fact, it seemed to her that they were speeding up.

 

“They're not using the whistle as a warning,” Kirby panted. “They’re using it as a warcry.”

 

“They're actively trying to hit us,” she whined.

 

The two were trying to catch their breath (mostly due to the fact that their journey to this point had been facilitated by cannons and cannon travel still made Ribbon nauseous.) in an alcove in the canyon wall, one that was hiding another keychain. Both had their backs to the wall, leaning against each other.

 

“Okay,” Kirby panted. “Gettin’ annoyed again.”

 

“Hypernova?”

 

He nodded.

 

“Hypernova,” he confirmed. “Let's see how those trains like a one way trip to my stomach.”

 

‘Who knew Kirby could be vindictive.’ she thought.

 

Kirby got up.

 

“C’mon, Ribbon. Let's find us one of those glowy fruits,” he declared as he stood up.

 

---

The magical fruit that gave them such powerful new abilities turned out to not even be a stone’s throw away from their location. The transformation to Hypernova Kirby and Blossom Mode Ribbon was basically routine at this point.

 

“Hehe,” Kirby chuckled. “Try and hit me now, trains!”

 

From there, their journey forward was almost trivial, with Kirby sucking up any wayward train they came across, (which did nab them a sunstone.) and Ribbon blasting a set of weirdly aggressive birds out of the sky.  (No clue why they attacked.)

 

The power-up fizzled out soon after, just as they reached A canyon full of floating rocks and carrot shaped pillars.

 

“Looks like we're back to basics” Kirby sighed.

 

“Yeah,” Ribbon agreed, shaking petals out of her hair.

 

She shivered as a gust of air blasted through.

 

“You okay?” Kirby asked.

 

“How are you not starting to get cold?”

 

He shrugged.

 

Hot, cold, its never really bothered me,” he started. “Except lava, that's too hot even for a hot-head.”

 

She shivered again.

 

“I should have brought my coat,” she grumbled.

 

Kirby tapped his chin.

 

“Oh, yeah!” he exclaimed.

 

Offering no explanation, Kirby reached into his pocket dimension and pulled out a bundle of cloth.

 

It never failed to surprise her that Kirby could just pull anything he swallowed out of thin air, but more surprising this time was what exactly he was presenting her with.

 

She blinked.

 

“Is that my coat and boots?”

 

He nodded, a huge smile on his face.

 

“And your cape and gloves,” he added. “Remember, you asked me to hold on to them when we were planning to go stargazing from the top of Butter Building.”

 

“Oh, right,” she hummed. “But then that thing in Cappy Town happened.”

 

Kirby frowned and rolled his eyes.

 

“Took us all day to deal with it so we never ended up going.” He blushed and looked away. “Afterward, I, uh, kinnda forgot to give you these back.”

 

“Well, it's a good thing you didn't,” Ribbon said with a giggle. “Pretty convenient now.”

 

Kirby smiled brightly as she took the clothes.

 

She sighed with relief as she settled the cape over her wings. The red, fur lined, clothing would keep her wings warm but still let her use them. Underneath, she wore a white coat with a red zigzag along the bottom and gold buttons. Her black boots slipped on easily over her shoes and her red mittens still let her easily hold and use the crystal blaster.

 

“Better,” she said.

 

Kirby nodded.

 

“Well, now that you're warmed up, let's get going!”

 

---

[Item get: Ribbon Skin: Snow Fairy!]

Pause on the map screen to toggle Ribbon's cold weather gear!