Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Within a week, plans of commercially-available paradise were underway. The King of Dreamland was so happy with the progress so far, that de issued a (mandatory) summons for all in dis court.

“What?! A boardwalk?!” Kirby gasped into his phone.

“It’s not even done yet, but Dedede is demanding everyone come today…” Fumu complained from the other end.

“Everyone?” Kirby wiggled, already imagining a huge boardwalk party and whatever that may entail. Mostly food.

“Well, everyone in the Royal Cabinet. Dad; Mom; and I think your dad was called.” Fumu huffed. “They’re dragging me and Bun along too.”

Kirby whipped towards the stairs that went up from his mezzanine to the small second floor that was his father’s room. “DAAAD! YOU’RE GOING TO THE BEACH?” he yelled, covering his phone with a paw so as not to deafen Fumu.

“Kirby, we live on a beach.” Meta Knight’s voice sounded through the wood paneling.

“NO, TO THE BOARDWALK!”

Kirby definitely didn’t hear his father whisper a Pearl-prohibited word, no sir. He did however hear his door open and close, and watched as his masked parent trod down the steps with a book closed under arm. Flustered green eyes met the questioning blue ones of a curious child.

“I– I forgot to mention that…” Meta Knight lied.

“Dad! Can I come?” Kirby grinned.

“It would be more tolerable with you there, Kirby…” Fumu’s voice came from the phone.

Meta Knight’s eyes flicked between the phone and his son.

“Is that Fumu?”

Kirby nodded. “Sir Ebrum is taking her and Bun to a boardwalk and she said you’re going too. Can I go… three?”

There was a moment’s pause, 

“If your friends will be there, I don’t see why I would say no.”

“Yay!” Kirby cheered. “I’ll see you there, Fumu!” he said, closing his flip phone soon after.

“The boardwalk is a good way away in East County. We won’t be there on time if we go on foot, and we can’t warp…” Meta Knight trailed off.

The blue knight turned, dramatically swishing his cape. “To the Halberd!” He enthused, only partially for the sake of his child.

—————— ( o u o )/) ~ * ——————

Meta Knight’s glove reached out and pressed a button against the wall. 

With a roar of motors, the hangar’s door pulled open, gradually letting the morning sun shine in and illuminate the father’s prized transport. It was a bulky thing painted silver and purple (a very yummy shade that reminded Kirby of grapes), with accents of gold and pink spread about.

Meta Knight turned to his son. “Kirby, time to board!”

Kirby saluted, then opened the passenger side door.

As he hopped in, Kirby was brimming with excitement. It was always nice to ride in his dad’s van!

Kirby belted himself in (all by himself!), while his dad did the same. 

Gently patting the steering wheel, Meta Knight asked his child if he was ready.

“Mmm-hmm!” Kirby hummed affirmatively.

The engine started with a smooth rumble. “Then we shall depart.” 

—————— ( o u o )/) ~ * ——————

Kirby pressed against the window as the fields of grass siding the road faded into a swath of sand. A once empty beach was now sprinkled with new sights. 

An array of piers began to trace the ocean’s edge, growing longer with each peg and board set along the coastline. Bungalows and large wooden frames were being erected by the pier and cliffside, overlooking the mid-morning waves. Construction workers were everywhere, with Bronto Burts ferrying tools and supplies as the Waddle Dees pulled and pushed and poured and hammered and sawed in every nook Kirby could lay his eyes on.

Before all this at the start of the beach’s slope was a little encampment of cars, some of which he had seen around Cappy Town or at Castle Dedede one time or another. It was there that the Halberd came to a stop, parking right next to a familiar 1987 Cappillac El Daedalea.

Kirby undid his seatbelt and pawed open the door to the Halberd . His rosy red paws made a soft thump as he exited the vehicle and landed in the sand.

He smiled to himself, enjoying the familiar sensation of warm grains of sand shifting under his feet.

“Kirby! Over here!” a young voice called, breaking him free of his appreciation of nature.

Kirby eagerly turned to see Bun, who was next to his sister Fumu and their parents. All of them gave a friendly wave, which Kirby returned as he waddled up to them, Meta Knight silently following.

“Fumu said you were comin’! I’m glad! You make these boring adult things so much easier, y’know?” The little boy commented. “Mom and Dad aren’t letting us play right now – they keep on saying we have to listen to what that stupid ol’ king’s gonna say… But with you here we can at least have some fun!” 

“That is if Dedede doesn’t do something weird again…” Fumu complained.

“Now, children…” Sir Ebrum chided. “I know Dis Majesty isn’t the most… insightful of people, but we simply must listen to him. It is our duty. You both can play with Kirby after the speech.” 

The cabinet minister winced at the sound of metal pipes clattering as they fell out of the grasp of an overencumbered Waddle Dee.

“That said,” he continued, glancing around at the piles of construction materials laid across the sand. “You should probably play in a… quieter section of the beach after this.” 

“Maybe we shouldn’t have brought the kids to a construction site.” Lady Like judged.

Her husband frowned. “The king implied it was in a more… finished state.” he attempted to defend himself. 

“I thought you are supposed to introduce children to creative outlets?” Kirby’s father asked.

Several pairs of eyes turned to him, unsure if he was joking.

“Sir Meta Knight, you’re not wrong… but you are. ”

The conversation was cut off by the blasting sound of another engine. Before Kirby could guess that King Dedede was coming in on dis limousine, a gold-plated mechanical monster on two wheels soared past them. Everyone shielded their eyes from the chrome motorcycle that was driving donuts into the sand and reflecting the sun’s light everywhere. Kirby could barely make out the similarly armored and hazardously edged character at the handlebars.

“I see Sir Kibble has arrived as well,” Lady Like almost whimpered.

“Memu, honey, let us carry on.” her husband ushered. The pair hurriedly shuffled away, gently corralling Fumu and Bun by their shoulders.

“Kirby, let’s go.” Meta Knight whispered, offering his open palm. 

Kirby took the offered hand and turned his sight from the circling speeder. Dad always says: stay away from Sir Kibble.

As everyone made their way away from Sir Kibble, another engine roar blasted them – the telltale eight-cylindered sound of King Dedede’s limousine. VROOOM! The vehicle deafened those near as it swooped in front of Sir Kibble’s motorcycle and took the spotlight. Kirby could barely read the words HMS Eggshell blazoned in excessively-swirling black font on the side.

“Okay, the enturage has done its enturaging. Now cut the outrage!” Dedede bellowed, mispronouncing dis French.

“Yes, milord!” the boisterous voice of Sir Kibble caved, followed by a sudden silence and a thud.

There was a beat as Dedede and Escargoon observed their audience in the relative silence, before Escargoon cleared his throat phlegmily. “Thank you all for coming to the latest and greatest of Dis Majesty’s endeavors!”

The silence of the crowd was broken by the thunderous clapping of Governor Bright, who had inexplicably joined them.

“And what is the crown’s latest endeavor?” said a corpulent pink creature, fluttering over on blue wings with smaller Bronto Burts in his wake. “This seems to be nothing more than a littered yard.”

Escargoon’s eyestalk twitched. “It’s a work in progress , Burtomeister.”

“Isn’t it too early to celebrate?” Governor Cookie asked innocently, holding the hems of her kimono out of the sand as she skittered over.

“No! This is the Pre-Opening Celebration of the Dedede Resort and Boardwalk!” Dedede smiled beakily.

Governor Bright was still clapping.

Dedede waited a moment, glancing around as if expecting more people to applaud, but no one else said anything.

“Where are the colored women?” Dedede squinted.

“The Gems are occupied with an investigation, King Dedede,” Meta Knight said, ignoring as Governor Shine appeared, shoving at Governor Bright’s clapping hands.

“A dismal turnout, My Liege!” Shine called out towards the limo. “I would have done bounds more for you!”

“The stones have been set. There is nothing you can do,” Bright growled.

Dedede blinked. “Anyyyyyways… I guess they jus’ won’t get tah see the boardwalk. But all’a y’all will! Follow me!” He exited dis limo, dragging Escargoon casually behind dim.

With a collective sigh, the captive audience followed as the king led them across the sand.

“See, Kirby? This is going to blow,” huffed Bun.

“Bun. Language,” Lady Like chided.

Bun crossed his arms in a sulk.

The king and his snail ushered the crowd to a slightly more complete looking area. They trode a cobbled path of polished sandstones that ran between two rows of wooden kiosks. A troop of Waddle Dees nailing paneling and weaving thatch roofs together looked up and saluted the king. 

While everything had yet to be furnished, painted, or anything like that, it was coming along surprisingly nicely, at least for Dedede.

“It may look like a selfish pat on the back for the king, but The Dedede Resort and Boardwalk is an effort put forth by the crown which will encourage tourism, trade, and business! Resorts and boardwalks are where the money’s at nowadays!” Escargoon smirked.

“Oh! That makes sense!” Caterine praised genuinely.

“It sure does!” Governors Bright and Shine chorused.

“Ah, to travel,” Sir Ebrum noddeed nostalgically. “A flourishing tourist industry would do wonders for the kingdom’s economy!”

“With that kind of income from tourists, perhaps we could ease tax rates in the county?” Mayor Blustergas proposed optimistically.

“Moving on!” Escargoon slithered.

“I can’t wait to meet the new people!” Kirby whispered to Fumu and Bun.

Fumu’s frown lightened a bit. “I guess that would be nice.”

Escargoon shuffled the crowd towards where the sand met the pier, ignoring any protests or other comments. “As this resort is the brain hatchling of Dis Majesty, it is just that de be the one to lead the tour. King Dedede?...”

“So! As yall’s can see,” Dedede gestured, “Da boardwalk here has its walk all set up! Plenty of boards.”

The portly penguin placed dis flippers on the first plank, looking back triumphantly at the crowd.

His audience didn’t seem quite as enthused as he would like, however. 

Dedede frowned, and was about to encourage his subjects to cheer, when suddenly… an earthquake began to shake the beach! 

Everyone on the ground (aside from the stagnant forms of Bright and Shine) wobbled on their feet, a few falling over. As the tremor shook the area, several Waddle Dees fell as well, one of them even punching a small hole in a partially-finished roof as it slipped. Startled squeaking from below thankfully signaled it was ok.

“What happened?” asked a confused Governor Burtomeister as he fluttered in the air. 

“Tremors!” Mayor Blustergas sputtered, helping his wife to her foot.

Dedede looked at dis fallen subjects, sweating through his feathers.

“Uh… dat’s just tick-on-it activity!” (“Tectonic, sire.”)

“This is the third one today!” Governor Shine feigned fainting before sneering in Bright’s direction. “That’s what happens when you build on… unstable land. ”

Governor Bright was about to retort, when Escargoon (thankfully) interrupted.

“Do not worry! Dis Majesty will have dis top men scouring for the source of this shaking!” The snail declared.

“The Crystal Gems have been in search of what has been causing these tremors since they started,” Meta Knight snubbed. “I’m sure they’ll help whoever you have in mind?”

Escargoon didn’t answer, but his purple face did turn a tinge red.

“We don’t need their meddlin’!” Dedede snapped.

Just then, another tremor began to shake the land! It wasn’t much worse than the first, but a Waddle Dee did drop a paint can…

…directly on the king’s head! Dis face turned red with anger (and yellow with Delightful Moon #2).

“WHAT THA HELL ARE YA DOIN’?!?!” Dedede sputtered loudly. 

“Ah! Sorry! Sorry, Your Majesty!" The Waddle Dee flustered, waving its paws frantically in apology as the king fumed.

The crowd of onlookers suppressed their snickers as the now yellow penguin pulled out a large hammer from dis robes.

“Gimme a ladder!” De yelled to a pair of Waddle Dee workers, waving his hammer threateningly at the one on the roof. 

“Yes Sir!” 

“Eeek!”

Escargoon wiped a handkerchief to the globs on his shell. “The dry cleaning is coming out of your salary,” he hissed to a foreman before slithering after the king.

“And I suppose that concludes our tour…” Fumu snarked tiredly, as the king became thoroughly distracted.

The rest of the crowd began to disperse, wise to the knowledge that the crown would be busy for a while. 

Lady Like paused as she fell a small hand tug on her dress. “Mom, can we play in the sand a bit before we go back home?” Bun asked.

“Well…” Lady Like considered. “As long as you stay away from the construction, then yes.” 

“Yeah! C’mon sis, Kirby!” Bun began dragging his elder sibling towards the sea. 

“Hey, watch it Bun!”

“I’m going with Bun and Fumu, Dad!” Kirby yelled happily to Meta Knight, who had been watching, not even five feet away.

“Alright.” His father agreed.

The trio of adults watch as their offspring skipped off to play in the surf.

The peace was ruined when the large Bronto Burt huffed behind them. “Sir Ebrum? Could you tell this cappy this will just be another failed investment of His Majesty?”

Mayor Blustergas gasped. “On the contrary!”

—————— ( o u o )/) ~ * ——————

Kirby happily giggled as he kicked a bit of seafoam made by the tides. 

Visiting the beach was always a delight! Plenty of warm water, pretty seashells, and… spare nails?

What?

“Those Waddle Dees…” Fumu frowned, picking up a nail, “They’re usually good at cleaning up after themselves, but they keep leaving these around…”

Bun looked up from the sandcastle he and Kirby were mushing together, catching sight of the thin metal rod in his sister’s hand. “You found another one?” He perked up. “Put it in the moat. We’re making a spike pit in there.”

Fumu glanced over at him, “Didn’t King Dedede outlaw those?” 

“Mhm.” Kirby nodded, arranging more nails in a channel in the sand. 

“Hmm.” Fumu bent over to pick up yet another nail. “Regardless, we really should let the foreman know about this… We can’t leave these lying around!”

Bun groaned, “You’re always killing our fun!”

“Bun.” Fumu said sternly. “You don’t want to step on a nail and get tetanus, do you? Let’s go ask the foreman for a bucket to put these in.” She gestured to the nails.

“I got a bucket. Here you go.” Kirby smiled, offering a bucket printed with the king’s emblem and the text Dedede-molition & Construction .

“Why are you giving that to her?” Bun grumbled. “I don’t even know what tetniss is…”

“It’s an infection you get from metal.” She explained. “It can get really bad. Like “lose a limb” bad.”

Bun looked slightly unnerved. “H-how do you know that?”

Fumu suddenly had a far off look. “It isn’t worth reading the medical books Dr. Yabui has.” She shuddered, recalling the diagrams. Oh god, the diagrams…

She shook herself out of her thoughts. “Anyways, we don’t want anyone to get hurt, so let’s clean some of this up… Okay Bun? Kirby?”

The two reluctantly nodded and began depositing nails into the bucket.

The trio moved across the beach, sifting the sand for hidden nails.

“Stupid sis, turning playtime into clean time…” Bun mumbled, salty as the sea.

“I can hear yo–whoahp!” Fumu fell face first into the sand mid scolding. 

“You okay?” Bun asked.

Fumu sputtered sand off her lips, leering at a metal fin sticking out of the sand. Pulling at the offending object, the three stared dumbly at the Waddle Dee-sized claw hammer in Fumu’s hand.

“Are you kidding me? An entire hammer?! Urgh! I’m going to have a word with those darn Dees!” Fumu snarled and began to march towards the boardwalk.

“Let’s ask them for another bucket,” Kirby whispered to Bun, still thinking about their sand castle.

Fumu made her way, with Kirby and Bun following, to the nearest group of Waddle Dees and Bronto Burts, the score of workers buzzing and busying around as they erected frames for a new building. Kirby looked warily to the struggling quartet of Dees heaving a large wooden beam into place using pulleys and scaffolding.

“Hey!” Fumu barked. “ Heeey! ”

The sound of hammers and saws stopped as a few dozen eyes turned to face the eleven-year-old yelling at them.

“Miss Ebrum, you’re not wearing a hard hat,” one spoke up.

“Well, I should be; you guys are dropping things all over the place!” 

Some Dees began checking with each other and looking over the scaffolding for anything they dropped. Guilty looks began to wash over some of the Burts’ faces.

“Where’s the foreman here?” 

A Dee with a blue triangle sticker on her hard hat rose her hand. “The foreman’s not here, but I’m in charge of this building.” 

“Well tell the foreman you guys are dropping a bunch of nails in the sand!”

Kirby showed off the bucket to the troop, several dozen nails rattling inside. The Dees began chattering amongst themselves.

“Oh my, that’s quite a few.”

“I didn’t drop all that.” 

“Me neither. I’m using screws.”

The head Waddle Dee took the bucket and bowed apologetically. “I’m sorry, Miss Ebrum, but the king said we’re not liable for anyone getting hurt unless it's the king.”

“What do you mean? You can’t be “not liable” for something like this!” Fumu steamed.

“Well, at least no one’s hurt,” Not-Foreman Waddle Dee said resolutely, placing the bucket on a workbench.

As if summoned by the gods, another earthquake began.

Construction equipment rattled and Dees stumbled, the bucket of nails nearly toppling.

“Ack!! Watch out!” A nearby Waddle Dee called as a rope slipped from its grasp. The other rope was held firm, but the loose rope let the end of the support beam swing down the children’s way. Fumu and Bun froze as the hefty log’s shadow loomed above them. They closed their eyes with a wince, unwilling to see their own demise…

KERTHUNK!

The loud noise of the beam crashing against something rattled Fumu and Bun, but neither felt any pain. Instead, they opened their eyes to find everything rose-tinted as a shimmering pink bubble encapsulating them.

Kirby – possibly the source of the bubble – stood between them with his paws held up in a determined manner. 

“You guys ok?!” The puffball asked them with concern.

“I… I think so!” Fumu patted herself down, then checked Bun. “Y-yeah, we’re ok…”

Kirby smiled with obvious relief. 

“Wait…” Bun finally shook himself out of his shock. “Why are we in a bubble, though? Is this a new power?”

“Huh?” Kirby said dumbly, seeming to only then realize they were surrounded by pink.

He looked around. Indeed, the three of them were inside a smooth, pink orb.

Chattering, slightly muffled voices came from outside the bubble.

“What just happened?!” a Bronto Burt questioned.

“Are they okay?” asked a Dee, dangling from the loose rope by the ankle.

“I think I lost some of my lifespan…” The not-foreman croaked to herself.

“Whoa, it busted the log!” Bun exclaimed. The beam, still dangling from one rope, was splintered mid way.

Kirby blinked. I broke that? He processed looking over splinters in the sand. How much is this out of my allowance?

“It’s a good thing Kirby was here…” Fumu managed. She wrapped her arms around her friend.  “Thank you, Kirby.”

“Yeah, thanks Kirby! Uh, anyways, pop this thing and let’s get back to the castle.”

Kirby blanched. He didn’t know how he got this bubble here. How will it go?

The batamon reached a paw towards the bubble wall, a stubby white claw outreached. The ivory appendage slid against the bubble without so much as a scratch. Pressing his weight into his paw did nothing more than roll the ball enough to knock everyone in it off their feet.

“Watch your elbow, Bun!” Fumu complained.

Pulling his face from what was now down, Kirby flitted his tongue out, testing with a lick. It didn’t taste like soap. It tasted like a plate, or a bag of marbles.

“Kirby… you… don’t know how to pop it, do you?” Fumu deadpanned.

Reluctantly Kirby turned back to her and nodded.

One Waddle Dee waddled up with a hammer, tapping the clawed end against the translucent pink curvature. Instead of the bubble bursting with a pop of any volume, the hammer slid along the surface with a scrapping shrill before the metal chipped. The bubble was unblemished.

“Huh.” It commented.

Fumu frowned. “I don’t think trying to break it will work. Look, let’s get out of this construction and go find an adult to help us.”

The trio carefully began rolling the pink ball away from the barren frame and onto the boardwalk. 

“Sir Kibble’s got that mohawk thing, maybe that could pop this…” Bun mused

“No! You know dad’s rule about that guy!” Fumu insisted. “We need someone else.” 

“Why, hello children!” A deep voice called. The children turned to find the cyclopic visage of Captain Waddle Doo sitting at a table outside a just completed tiki bar.

“Waddle Doo! Can you help us?” Fumu asked. “Kirby summoned this bubble, but now he can’t make it go away!”

“It answered a summons, you say?” Captain Doo scratched his chin, his large eye appraising the large pink orb. “Have you asked it to go away or to stay around?”

Fumu’s hope and patience began to die. “It’s a bubble, you can’t just tell one to pop or not!”

“Alas, they work in the opposite. I’ve found that no matter how much you ask for bubbles to stay, they always go and pop themselves in spite of your pleas.” Waddle Doo sighed, closing his eye wistfully.

“Are you okay, Sir?” Kirby asked, frankly concerned.

“I’m fine, Kirby.” Captain Doo looked back up. “Your affairs are of concern right now, not mine.”

The Doo hopped down from his chair, taking stumbling steps in a circle around the bubble, looking it up and down. “You tell me you summoned this bubble; how so?”

“A big log fell on us, but I came in and the bubble appeared, and the log didn’t fall on us because it protected us,” Kirby elaborated in one breath, complete with appropriate pantomiming.

“So this bubble appeared to protect you three. Does it feel like the bubble has served its purpose?” Captain Doo questioned.

Kirby thought this over for a second. He looked up to where the sun’s light glistened of the bubble, revering the pink construct from a new angle. Maybe it needed a thank you?

“Thank you Mr. Bubble for taking care of me and my friends! Arigatō gozaimasu! ” Kirby bowed to the bubble.

There was a moment of awkward silence save for the crash of gentle waves as Kirby held his pose.

“Perhaps it has an unfinished purpose...” Captain Doo mused.

The elder Ebrum child huffed. “Kirby made it, and he can unmake it. He just doesn’t know how .”

“I know!” Waddle Doo exclaimed, “Are you holding the left or right bumpers?”

Fumu stared blankly. 

Bun cocked his head. “... What? Bumpers?”

“Yeah, marked as “L” and “R”. Or maybe “ZL” and “ZR”?”

“Like my GameCube?” Kirby chirped.

“What are you talking about?!” Fumu fumed.

“I dunno. I just read it somewhere that said whatever those are, they’re important.” The Doo shrugged.

“Well, they’re not important! Not to this!” She snapped.

“Just use your sword to pop it!” Bun cried, exasperated.

Waddle Doo swiftly pulled his sword from its scabbard with a concerning amount of haste and clumsiness for the children’s tastes.

Without hesitation, the captain backed up and began a crooked lunge towards the bubble.

The children watched with varying levels of confusion as he inexpertly hacked and slashed at the shining pink orb, nearly falling over at times.

The Doo suddenly stopped.

“Why, I’ll be…” The captain trailed off as he studied the absolute lack of damage done to the bubble. He errantly tossed the blade to the side.

“Let me get something bigger,” he said, waddling back towards his seat. 

Their eyes trailing towards Waddle Doo’s table, it was only then that the children noticed sitting on top was a large brandy glass filled with a fruity blue liquid and garnished with lemon slices.

“That’s a big bowl…” Bun squeaked.

“Yeah, and it’s got good stuff! This is my second one.” Waddle Doo said cheerily, before heaving it over his head.

Fumu’s eyes widened. “Are you drunk?”

“Lady Like, I told you; I’ve only downed one!” Waddle Doo declared.

Fumu gave a sigh that carried all the pain an eleven-year old could muster in the face of an adult.

The inebriated captain seemed to take that as his cue to throw the bowl at the bubble, whereupon it shattered into a million pieces as it rained an azure cocktail in front of the children.

Kirby watched the pretty colors of the drink, tinted purple as it dripped down the pink surface.

The three children looked back to Waddle Doo, who was still standing on his chair with his eye screwed shut.

“Did it work, children?”

“We need someone else.”

—————— ( o u o )/) ~ * ——————

“The Dede-tiki Fruit Bar is up and running, Your Majesty,” chirped a Waddle Dee sporting a serving tray and a welt on the head. “Your mimosa.”

“Bout time.” The king grumbled, taking it in his new pair of gloves. “We need to get that Ketumatian barbeque goin’ too.”

A second Waddle Dee wearing a pineapple hat ran up, whispering in the first’s earhole and pointing down the boardwalk. 

“Excuse us, sirs,” they pardoned before waddling away.

“While you’re at that, tell them to get that grill goin’ or they’ll face a real grillin!” The king yelled around the wet washcloth cleaning dis beak. “Escargoon, get that outta my mouth! I’m tasting lead!”

The king’s slimy servant hastily apologized, taking the washcloth away.

Dedede still felt dirty, however, so de snatched the washcloth back, rubbing minute specks of paint off dimself. Escargoon in turn, took a second washcloth from the Waddle Dee polishing the king’s flippers. The sunchair rattled on the pier’s boards as another tremor rocked the beach. Snail and penguin winced as water splashed from Escargoon’s bucket onto the drying blue feathers of the king’s belly.

“Maybe I shoulda gone with Shine’s beach.” Dedede grumbled, dis washcloth wringing in dis fist. “Speaking of them; where has Bright gone off to?” 

“Governor Bright is over there, sire.” Escargoon pointed to a section of the beach. “For the last hour he’s been shoveling from the water the sand that Governor Shine is shoveling into the water.”

Dedede paused in dis preening. “Is… is one of them winnin’?”

Escargoon’s eyestalk squinted. “They’ve moved a bit up the beach, I think.”

Dedede glanced over at the beach where the two governors were squabbling. De watched, somewhat bored as one tackled the other, and they began drowning each other in the surf.

“Huh, I didn’t know he could boil water…” De commented.

“Ugh! Put a shirt on!” a young voice suddenly called.

Dedede whipped dis head around, blinking as light glared in dis eyes. De put up a hand to shield dimself from the unexpected reflection.

When dis eyes adjusted, de lowered dis hand, revealing a large, pink…

“Why are you in a hamster ball?” Dedede said, baffled.

The children contained in said ball frowned.

“It’s a bubble!” Kirby chirped.

A smirk adopted Dedede’s face as de noticed the small batamon inside. Fumu and Bun grimaced as the fat shirtless body of the king wobbled over in a pair of swim trunks. 

De placed a hand on the bubble, and with swift jolts, rocked the ball back and forth, sending Kirby on his face and the Ebrum children on their rears.

“Heh heh heh!” De cackled at the batamon. “How’d you get in a thing like this?”

Kirby rolled onto his back and met dis eyes naïvely. “A big log fell on us, but I came in and the bubble—”

“Kirby!” Fumu shouted, scrambling against the wall, “He’s not going to help us! Get away from him.”

Dedede glared at the girl before dis gaze turned mischievously back towards dis reinforced sunchair.

“Hey Kirby? Ya ever played croquet?” Dedede said wickedly as de pulled out dis beloved hammer from beneath the seat.

THWACK

“WAAAAHHHHH!!!” The startled children cried as the bubble was sent flying over the Onion Ocean. The afternoon sun’s light glistened through it until several yards away, it hit the water with a resounding splash.

As the king guffawed at the fleeting glimpse de had of Kirby’s startled face, the duke slithered over by dis side startlingly fast for a gastropod.

“Sire, the cabinet minister’s children were in there!” Escargoon cried, aghast.

“Eh, those balls are made of plastic. They’ll float.” Dedede shrugged, leaning on dis mallet.

The “plastic ball” began to sink like a marble, the dazed faces of the children disappearing under the water. Soon, the entire orb was out of view. Only air bubbles signaled their continued existence.

Escargoon boggled. “ ...Sire. ” He whined.

“But they float!” The king said helplessly.

—————— ( o u o )/) ~ * ——————

The dinghy rocked when a purple Squishy was pulled from the water and latched onto the portside. Pulling the fishing hook out of its mouth, it spoke.

“Nothing but coral, P.”

“We just have to keep trying, Amethyst,” Pearl sighed as she spooled the fishing line back onto the rod. “If only there was an easier way to do this…”

Squishethyst turned to the boat’s other occupant. “Where’re we going now?” 

Garnet didn’t check the nautical chart with Pearl, instead staring off into the east.

“We might need to go back ashore.” Garnet declared nonchalantly.

Pearl looked up from the chart. “Why? Did something happen?”

Garnet was silent for a moment as Amethyst flopped into the boat, causing it to dip.

“Kirby may have found Spodumene.”

Pearl dropped the fishing rod on the floor, nearly hitting Amethyst on the mantle.

—————— ( o u o )/) ~ * ——————

As Kirby recollected himself, he quickly noticed something was amiss. Namely that they were underwater and descending at a worrying pace to the bottom of the ocean floor. Checking on the fellow occupants of the bubble, he found Bun gazing out into the open waters as Fumu craned her head up, watching the Onion Ocean’s surface rise away.

“Oh stars,” She whimpered,

“Look at the ocean. It’s so cool like this.” Bun amazed, pressing against the glassy surface.

“Cool!?” Fumu whipped towards her brother. “We’re going to run out of air if we don’t get out!”

The dread of that realization paled the boy’s face. 

Kirby had an inexplicable feeling that was incorrect and attempted to soothe his friends. 

“Don’t worry! It’s magic!” He waved his paws towards the panicked children.

“Magic? But that – that doesn’t necessarily mean we're safe!” Fumu worried.

“But I always want you safe, and I think my magic knows that!” Kirby smiled happily. “Me and my magic will protect you!”

Fumu and Bun stared at him, then looked at each other with a smile of their own. Despite the circumstances, they couldn't help but feel reassured by the batamon. Something about him always seemed to inspire them.

“Alright, so we have that helping us, but we have to somehow get to the surface… We can figure this out!” Fumu declared.

“Do you think maybe we needed those bumper things Waddle Doo was talking about?” Bun asked, only somewhat sarcastically.

“I’ll ask dad to get my GameCube controller.” Kirby suggested, procuring a little pink flip-phone.

Pulling the antenna out by its star-shaped topper, he held his phone up… then he held it up higher. Then he waddled around the bubble, presenting the device in different directions.

“...No signal.” 

Fumu and Bun stared blankly.

“So you’re telling me…” Bun began, “That we’re stuck underwater, with no one besides Dedede and Escargoon even knowing that we’re down here? …We’re doomed.”

Fumu bit her lip, then shook her head in denial. “No! There’s gotta be some way out of this! Maybe… 

“Your phone might not work this far down, but what if we managed to somehow get closer to the surface?” She pondered. “We’re not impossibly far down, or we’d hardly be able to see.”

Indeed, despite the water being somewhat dim at the depth they were currently at, they still had light, able to see the colorful fish and coral that surrounded them.

“So we just have to climb up the seafloor?” Bun asked. “It’s kinda like underwater Monkey Ball, eh Kirby?”

“Super Monkey Ball!” Kirby giggled.

Fumu smiled fondly at the infectious excitement now bursting from the pink puff. “Let’s work together! I know we can do it!”

And with that, the trio began rolling the bubble up the underwater slope.

—————— ( o u o )/) ~ * ——————

Escargoon clutched the sides of his eyestalk. “Meta Knight’s going to kill us if he finds out we succeeded this time!”

Dedede’s gloves pulled the snail to face their owner. “Where’s Waddle Doo?!” the king rasped.

“I don’t know, sire!”

“Well, where’s Meta Knight then?!”

“I don’t know!”

The king’s eyes lolled about to the side in thought.

“... Sir Kibble?”

“I don’t– he’s digging his motorcycle out of the sand, sire.”

Dedede snapped his head in the knight’s direction.

“Kibble! Get yer keister here and think of something!”

“Yes, milord!?” Sir Kibble squealed as he sprinted across the sand.

Within seconds the little round knight was vaulting himself onto the boardwalk forehead first, landing with his bladed helmet embedded into the wood like a dart into a corkboard.

“Sire, he can’t think of something! He’s a moron!”

“Ack! Yer right!” Dedede wailed. “And Meta Knight’s gunna run that weird little sword of his through us if he finds out! I’ll be Dededeceased! ”

“And I’ll be Escar gone !” the snail cried back.

As the king and dis advisor hugged and sobbed, Sir Kibble’s focus wandered to the Waddle Dees walking the pier, carrying a supply crate of fishing rods to a fishing hut.

“Milord! I have an idea!”

—————— ( o u o )/) ~ * ——————

The bubble rolled and tumbled along the ledge, but thankfully the children were able to stop it before they could lose all their progress.

“Not again!” Bun cried out. “I told you to go left, Kirby!” 

“Sorry!” Kirby squeaked apologetically “I always forget which is which…”

“That’s okay, Kirby.” Fumu soothed. “Let’s try and see if you can get a signal again.”

The little pink ball pulled out his phone once more and held it aloft. Unfortunately, they were still too deep.

“I had it for a second last time…” Kirby pouted.

“Hmph. Maybe you need a new phone.” Bun scoffed. “When I get a phone, I’m getting a better one.”

“ Bun. ” Fumu growled. “Don’t be a jerk!”

“I’m not!” Bun grumbled as he laid his palms on the bubble’s wall. “Let’s just get going!”

“Bun, don’t just start moving like that!” Fumu gasped as her brother began pushing without her. “Slow down!”

“No! I’m sick of being down here!” Bun yelled, shoving at the bubble.

Unsurprisingly, this was when Fumu lost her footing and fell backwards, causing the magic orb to wobble. This destabilized Kirby, who bumped into Bun, who then pushed at the wrong angle…

…Sending the bubble tumbling over a ledge.

“BUN!!!” Fumu shrieked as they sank.

With a deep clink and a screech, they struck against a protuberance from the underwater crag.

Pulling himself up off his back, Kirby scoured for where they landed and from where they tumbled down. His eyes were drawn to the sight of what looked like a big, thick magenta-colored hose encased in glass. But then the hose wriggled, the purple splotches on it moving past at the large form pulled into a cavern.

“What is that thing!?” Bun cried out.

The enigmatic creature turned around in its tight burrow, directing its bulbous front toward the three. A crystalline chunk glowed a peachy orange from the back of its throat behind rings of glossy glassy teeth.

The gem monster roared at her intruders, echoing within Kirby’s bubble as the water rippled towards them. Fumu and Bun covered their ears and contributed with screams of their own. Her eyeless head lunged towards them, pressing misshapen lips that tapered off into tentacles against the bubble and latched on. The outermost ring of sharp teeth ground harshly against the barrier as the tendrils squeezed, but not so much as a scratch was made.

The children screamed as their bubble rocked and was pulled up in the water.

The circular maw undulated out and in, seeking to gain every inch it could around the pink curvature. A glossy mucus smeared and slimed over the bubble that was too large and defiant to be devoured. The monster tilted her head back, as if the reared pose would will them to fall into her throat.

“I love you guys!” Kirby cried, just in case.

The gem’s desperate teeth clenched, creaking and scraping until with a loud noise, their points chipped and the bubble slipped. The release of pressure shot the children up and through the water like an underwater cannonball.

—————— ( o u o )/) ~ * ——————

A small fleet of rowboats were out in the water, each manned by Waddle Dees armed with fishing rods.

“Did you get them yet?” A Dee called out to a neighbor.

“No! Just another Blipper!” They responded, throwing a round red fish back into the blue.

Escargoon nervously wrung a washcloth in his hands as he caught the sight of Sir Kibble waving from a decidedly empty boat.

“If Meta Knight asks, Kibble’s the reason they went down there,” The snail warbled.

Before the king could work on dis alibi, the sand beneath them rumbled and the boats rocked in sudden waves. With a deep groan from below, the pink bubble of children burst from the water and overhead the rescue fisherdees.

“We’re alive!” Dedede and Escargoon cried, hugging each other in elation.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHH–OOF!!!” screamed the kids as the bubble landed roughly on the shoreline, miraculously not breaking their necks a third time that day.

There was a beat of silence as the disorientated children lay in the orb partially embedded in the sand, before it burst with an almost comedic pop.

As they groaned in pain, Dedede and Escargoon skipped in circles gleefully.

The king and snail’s celebrations were cut short however by another loud rumble.

Waves trembled and with a great crashing sound, a long sea beast burst out of the surf, flinging itself upon the beach.

“KRAKEN!!!” a distraught Waddle Dee wailed, causing all their friends to frantically attempt to paddle away.

The “kraken” (more of an eel or a worm than anything else) dug into the sand as it writhed in a blind rage. Sand and grit was sent flying as it rampaged.

Kirby was the first to recover, pulling Fumu and Bun up so the three of them could run away from the beast as the panicked King Dedede and Escargoon were already doing. The worm monster wailed before diving mouth-first into the wet sand at the shoreline.

“Kirby, we need to get away from that thing!” Fumu shouted as Kirby ran..

“Get dad!” Kirby replied as he set them down a distance away. “We’re Crystal Gems; we stop gems like her!”

The pink batamon started darting towards the boardwalk before Fumu could interject. 

“Kirby! Wait!”

Running across the planks, Kirby kept a good distance as he scouted the worm’s borehole and the trail of uplifted sand that disappeared under the wood. He turned to look at the unfinished row of buildings along the boardwalk, keeping an eye out for a hammer or a saw or anything amongst the construction. He needed a weapon, something to inhale…

Kirby’s planning was interrupted when the worm burst out from under the boards of the walk, sending splinters and chunks of planks in the air as she breached. He caught a glimpse of a piece of board heading his way before it nailed him in the forehead and sent him rolling like a pink bowling ball into a now-abandoned construction site. 

The dazed child shook the stars from his vision, whereupon he registered himself laying among a half-tumbled-over collection of paint cans.

Paint.

Taking a bucket of Sangria Red in his paws, Kirby poured the opaque red liquid into his mouth where it sucked into the pink gemstone in his tongue like water down a drain. Rosy glowing fibers sprouted from his fur, growing and weaving together into a beret, decorated with a star-shaped pin that popped into existence. Setting the emptied paint bucket down, he found a paintbrush between his fingers.

“We have an artist Kirby in the family now,” a memory of his father spoke.

An inline of little green wheels popped out of the now metal soles of Kirby’s feet as he kicked off, rolling over the pier’s planks to the gem monster.

She was looming over a turned over umbrella and sun chair, chewing around the paint-stained robes of King Dedede. 

“Hey! That’s Dedede’s!” he scolded.

The gem didn’t listen, and instead continued munching on the size-thirty fabric.

Kirby huffed and made a skating start down the wooden boards. The little batamon jumped and grabbed the king’s clothes with spare fingers.

“Stop it!” he barked, whipping his brush at the worm’s tentacles as she whipped him around. “De’ll be mad!”

The gem monster only responded with a growl and further shakes of her head.

Eventually, the fabric gave way with a loud ripping noise, sending Kirby tumbling once more.

As Kirby recovered, the angry gem grave a groaning roar and prepared it’s lunge.

Artist Kirby waved his brush at the beast as he stumbled upright. Paint splattered across the face of the gem, causing it to rear back, startled. However, she soon recovered, and lunged once more, undeterred.

As he panicked and leapt away, Kirby realized the monster did not have eyes to blind.

The wheels of Kirby’s roller skates spun like mad as he fled down the boardwalk, gem in pursuit. The monster dove in and out of the sand as she followed, crashing through the wood of the boards with ease.

Kirby nervously looked around as he skated for safety.

Nothing but unfishished buildings…! Wait! His eyes widened, and he swerved towards a particularly precariously set up building. 

“Come and get me!” He cried out towards the gem as he ducked into the construction site. 

The gem roared back, eager to follow him. Shelunged, only to crash into the walls – which immediately came down upon her head.

Having managed to dart outside in time, Kirby whipped out a blank canvas and began quickly painting – all while the gem thrashed her way free of the rubble.

White, grey, and yellow – add some blue and red too, aaannnnd – DONE!

Just in time, too! The worm emerged from the collapsed building, intent on turning poor Kirby into her next meal…

– Only to immediately get BLASTED by a lightning strike – courtesy of a rather sloppily drawn rendition of Kracko. 

The gem spasmed as the cloud from Meta Knight's stories poured a storm’s worth of very real electricity into her body and collapsed into a poof of smoke. 

Tink, tink, TINK! The now inert gem clattered against the pile of debris, before landing neatly in the sand.

As Kirby panted, the animated drawing of Kracko just stared lifelessly, before it too disappeared as Kirby dropped his ability. It had been a pale imitation, but it got the job done!

“KIRBY!!!” a familiar voice called.

Kirby turned to face Pearl, who recoiled at the stream of red paint dripping down the boy’s mouth and chin.

“We’re too late,” Garnet surmised.

Kirby wiped at his mouth, but this only spread it across his cheek and paw. “I ate paint again. Can you help me clean up?”

Pearl clutched at her nonexistent heart as she bent over in relief.

—————— *~ (\(>u<)/) ~* ——————

To Be Continued