Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

     Kine sighed, slumping down on the pillow he was sitting on. This vacation to Patch Land hadn’t been as exciting as he’d hoped. He glanced across the room, eyes resting on his friends, who were talking with each other about the day’s activities. They were staying in Kirby’s apartment in Patch Land, which was currently a little crowded from the amount of people there. Aside from Kine himself, Kirby had invited the rest of his animal friends and Gooey. The amount of people was a little overwhelming.

     Kirby, who had noticed Kine looking at them, motioned for him to come over. He got up and went, and saw that Kirby was offering him some kind of travel brochure for Patch Land. It had a big map of the place, with sections describing the different areas in detail. One in particular caught his attention. 

     He looked at Ocean Land on the map, taking in the detail of the area. It looked beautiful, and was the perfect place for Kine to stretch his flippers. He smiled a little, and turned his attention back to Kirby. “Do you mind if I go off on my own for a little bit? I want to check this place out”. Kirby nodded, turning back to the rest of their friends to let them know. 

     Kine slipped out the door, adjusting his eyes to the afternoon light shining down on Quilty Square. He felt the warmth of the sunlight on his yarn body. It felt nice, and he wondered why he hadn’t gone out sooner. He made his way through the different worlds, passing through Space Land and Snow Land. Finally, he reached his destination. 

     The heat of Ocean Land was a little disorienting after Snow Land’s cold, making Kine feel a little dizzy. He decided to hop into the water to cool off a little. He jumped in, his splash sending cascades of sequin bubbles out all around him. He poked his head out, letting the breeze pass over him. It was nice. Since most of his friends weren’t as good at swimming as he was, he rarely had as much time to go to the beach as he’d like. Kine wondered what was underneath the water though, so he dove back under.

     The ocean was beautiful. He gazed at the strands of yarn seaweed flowing with the waves. It was kind of hypnotic. But poking out from the seaweed was something strange. It looked almost like wood, but that didn’t make sense. Why would there be polished wood underneath the ocean? It was probably just a rock. Still, something drew him closer to investigate. 

     He swam up to the seaweed and got a better look at the object. It was a long wooden handle, tangled in the seaweed. Was it attached to something? Kine grabbed it, tugging it away. It was a giant knitting needle. He noticed another one a few meters away, and grabbed that one too. What were knitting needles doing in a world already made of yarn? He pondered this, pulling them up to the surface so he could investigate in the sunlight. Shaking beads of water off of himself, he put the needles down onto the soft sand. 

     Suddenly, the knitting needles began to move on their own. Oh no! Kine trembled, remembering what Kirby had told him about not messing with magical artifacts. Quivering, he watched as the needles drew themselves upwards, resting roughly vertically once they were done. Then, they began to knit something. Kine saw the yarn move and weave itself into the shape of.. a man?

Chapter Text

     Yin Yarn opened his eye. He blinked, adjusting to the feeling of having a body again. Looking down, the sorcerer noticed something strange. Sitting in front of him, terrified, was a blue yarn fish. Taken aback, Yin Yarn examined the fish. Whoever they were, they were gorgeous. Unfortunately, the fish was currently in shock. “Y-you!” spluttered the fish, “You’re that guy Yin Yarn! Kirby told me about you!”

     “Yes, I am,” the yarn man replied simply, “Who are you?”

     “Y-you tried to take over Dream Land! I’m not telling you anything until you explain yourself!” said Kine. He was trying to keep his composure, but his words clearly portrayed his nervousness.

     “That’s right,” confirmed Yin Yarn. “I messed up. Bad.” He felt sick to his stomach, remembering what had happened. He’d gathered the strength to turn Dream Land to yarn, but had been stopped by that pink thing, the one who looked like Prince Fluff. He never really had a plan beyond ‘take over Dream Land’, so it was clear why he was so easily defeated. Yin Yarn had never known what he wanted. He felt lost in life, unsure where he needed to go, what he needed to do.

     “I didn’t know that you were still alive. What happened after Kirby defeated you? They told me they thought you died,” Kine said, curious.

     This made Yin Yarn think. How long had it been? How long had he been trapped under the waters of Ocean Land? 

     “What year is it?!” demanded Yin Yarn. He was afraid of what the answer might be.

     Hesitantly, Kine answered. “It’s 2021,” answered the fish, clearly still nervous about being in the presence of the yarn sorcerer.

     “2021?!!” exploded Yin Yarn, “THAT MEANS I’VE BEEN GONE FOR ELEVEN YEARS!”. He was clearly shocked. “I need a minute, sorry.”

     Kine felt conflicted. On one hand, this was the same man who had turned him and all his friends into yarn years ago and tried to control them. On the other hand, he seemed to be genuinely remorseful for his actions, and at the moment looked incredibly distressed. Tentatively, he reached a fin out, patting the yarn-man on the back.