This story takes place on a boat sailing towards an island. On this boat were the famed Kirby and Ribbon who have just received an invitation to participate in a special sports tournament. Even though they didn't know who sent the letter they decided to pack up their bags and ship out since the letter said they'd be away for two weeks and they could use some time away from the house. Ribbon became excited and scurried inside the housing of the boat to find her best friend. Kirby was currently sleeping on a red couch; his green cap with the yellow visor was laid on the top of the sofa. Ribbon shook him continuously until he began to stir.
"Kirby! Get up! We're almost there!" She said as she shook him harder.
"Huh? Wha?" The pink hero moaned just barely escaping dream land. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up in the chair.
"We're almost to the island! Come take a look!" Ribbon told then walked to the doorway waiting for Kirby to follow. Kirby put on his green cap backwards making his tuft of pink hair slip through the hole, stood up and stretched releasing a long groan. After that he followed Ribbon to the bow and they gazed out to the sparkling blue sea.
"So, that's Dodgeball Island," acknowledged Kirby.
"Yep, so get ready Kirby; looks like we'll be there in just a few minutes." That's what they both did and after waiting for said minutes their boat finally reached the dock. Ribbon and Kirby stepped off the ship each with one suitcase. Kirby's was green and Ribbon's was red. They stared in amazement at all the themes there were: meadows, deserts, snow and even a sky theme to name a few. They walked in silence until they reached a giant white hotel with the words 'Gold Star Hotel' in giant gold letters a story up.
"Sounds fancy!" Ribbon commented.
"Sounds expensive..." Kirby assumed. They walked inside into the lobby that had red and brown carpet in diamond patterns and over that was a long red carpet leading from the door to the counter. A Chilly lady who was a pink snowwoman with a purple collar and gold bell and was wearing a brown sunhat. She waved for them to come to her. The duo came to her and she would have smiled, but like all Chillys she lacked a mouth.
"Hello, how may I help you two today?" She asked.
"Hello, I'm Ribbon and this is my best friend Kirby. We received these invitations in the mail and it told us to show these cards to the person behind the counter of this hotel," They both pulled out golden cards and showed them to the woman.
"Oh! You must be here for the Dodgeball Tournament! Just go through those doors and wait for someone to come and get you," She explained pointing to golden double doors behind her towards the right.
"Thank-you," Ribbon said as she and Kirby went through the golden doors. They were in a sky blue circular room decorated with white clouds; it also had a sky blue sofa along the walls. There was a blue door with a bathroom sign across from them and two blue circular windows across from each other on the left and right side. The duo saw their Waddle Dee friend Bumble sitting next to their other friend Minta.
Minta was a Keke meaning she had two pairs of ears, one set like Ribbon's and another set of purple cat-like ears on top of her head. She had chocolate brown skin, big purple eyes and short shoulder-length light blue hair. She wore a purple short-sleeve dress, white gloves and light blue shoes. She also had a purple broom with yellow bristles wrapped in the shape of a star strapped to her back. Bumble looked like any other Waddle Dee, but he had a blue bandana on his head sporting a picture of a honeycomb on the front. Also, instead of plain yellow shoes he had white tennis shoes and a gold spear with a silver point strapped to his back. Bumble had a blue and white suitcase underneath his feet while Minta had a purple suitcase under hers. The duo walked over to the two with friendly smiles.
"Hey Bumble!" Kirby greeted. Bumble nodded; he would have smiled, but he lacks a mouth. Ribbon went over to Minta and sat down next to her.
"So, I see you guys gotten invited too! I didn't know you played dodgeball," Ribbon said
"What? Girl, I played a lot of dodgeball. I used to play dodgeball to moment I could lift the ball," Minta stated with a chuckle.
"Well, we're dodgeball experts too! Right Ribbon?" Kirby said.
"You know it! The best of the best!" Ribbon cheered.
"We'll just have to see in the tournament, then," Bumble said.
"Actually, I wonder who's hosting this thing. Do you two know?" Kirby asked and they both shook their heads. "Mmm..."
"Were you the first to arrive?" Ribbon asked.
"Nah, Lololo and Lalala were here when we got here," answered Minta and gazed at the bathroom door.
"They're in the bathroom right now," Bumble finished. Kirby sat down next to Bumble as they all waited for more people to arrive. Suddenly, the bathroom door opened and Lololo and Lalala coming out laughing.
"Hey guys, long time no see!" Kirby greeted.
"Well what do ya know? If it isn't Kirby!" Lalala said, "No surprise seeing him here."
"Hey guys, do you know who authorized this tournament?" Bumble asked.
"Authorized the tournament? Sorry, we don't know anything," Lalala stated, "If anyone I thought Kirby would know."
"How long are we gonna be waiting in here? I feel like I've been here for hours!" Lololo whined.
"It's only been fifteen minutes," Minta stated.
"Well, that's a long time to me!" Lololo claimed. Both Bumble and Kirby simply shook their heads when they all suddenly heard the lady outside arguing with some gentleman that they all knew.
"Sir! You cannot go through there without your admission card!" The lady warned clearly frustrated.
"Shut it you! If this guy can get in then so can me!" The man whose voice sounded like Dedede claimed.
"I told you to make sure you brought it!" Another man groaned that sounded like Escargoon.
"Sir! I will call in security to force you out!" the lady threatened. A raspberry was heard followed by a groan from Escargoon and a few seconds later the blue double doors opened with Escargoon coming in followed by Dedede.
"What's up!" Dedede yelled like he was hosting an award ceremony. His snail sidekick quickly sat down across from everyone else.
"King Dedede, what was going on out there?" Bumble asked.
"Man! That stupid girl tried to say I didn't belong here! I know I got an invite here! It's obvious!" Dedede complained.
"The invite clearly said to bring the gold card that came in the envelope! You could have at least brought the invitation!" argued Escargoon as he laid down on the couch.
"Ah! Shut up snail boy before I salt ya!" Dedede said. Suddenly, an extremely muscular Poppy Bro Senior came into the room and grabbed Dedede by the collar.
"Alright bub! You can't come in without an admission card! You're outta here!" the Poppy Bro Senior informed as he carried him out.
"Hey! Put me down! I am the King of Dreamland and I will not be treated like this!" Dedede growled punching and kicking.
"Too bad this is Ripple Star," Kirby stated. As Dedede kicked and punched his right glove slipped off his sweaty hand. Everyone groaned in disgust and held their 'noses' to protect themselves from the horrible odor that emitted from the glove. Escargoon noticed Dedede's gold card in the glove. He held his breath and quickly snatched the smelly card out of the glove.
"Hey guard! I found his card!" He declared shoving it in the Poppy Bro's face.
"Oh yeah! I forgot put it in my glove for safe keeping," Dedede recalled. The Poppy Bro's face turned a sickly green and he dropped Dedede.
"Okay! Okay! He has it!" He shouted pushing the card away. "I'll go tell the lady upfront," He bolted out of the room. Dedede stood up, placed his hands on his hips and laughed.
"Heh! Heh! Heh! I knew I brought that card! The Great King never forgets anything!" He claimed with great pride.
"Great now put your glove back on before we all get sick!" Ribbon ordered before she kicked it over to him, "For crying out loud, do you ever wash that thing?"
"And risk losing its lucky powers? No way sister!" Dedede said and he slipped his glove back on.
"My stars! I didn't think a glove could smell that bad!" Minta exclaimed.
"Shut up!" Dedede yelled. Kirby and Escargoon opened the two windows hoping the smell will escape them. After a few minutes Kirby other two friends Adeleine and Keeby came inside.
"Hi everybody!" Keeby greeted just like Dr. Nick from the Simpsons.
"Hi Keeby!" Everyone except Dedede and Escargoon greeted. Adeleine sat on the seat next to Escargoon.
"Hi Snaily!" She said.
"Don't call me Snaily!" Escargoon grumbled.
"Oh come on! You know you love that nickname!"
"Cool! Ade and Keeby got invited too! This tournament's gonna be really interesting!" Bumble said.
"Yeah! Especially, when Keeby and I win the whole thing!" Ade cheered.
"Don't get any ideas girlie!" Dedede said, "You may be good enough to be invited, but you'll never be good enough to beat the great King Dedede!"
"We'll see about that Blue Boy!" Ade shot back.
"Good thing those trees outside had bananas! I haven't eaten anything all day!" said Keeby as he took out a banana, peeled it and casually tossed the peel behind him.
"Keeby!" Minta scolded with her hands on her hips startling Keeby.
"What? What did I do?" Keeby questioned with his mouth full of banana.
"Pick up that banana peel before someone slips on it and gets hurt," She commanded. Keeby rolled his eyes.
"Oh c'mon! What kind of a dummy can slip on a banana peel and hurt themselves?" He debated, though he went to pick it up, but before he could the doors opened and Tuff came inside.
"Good afternoon PEOPLES!" He addressed and then slipped on the said peel. He slid on the ooze of the peel straight into the bathroom door on the opposite side. The reason he didn't go through was because he had to pull to get inside. "My face..." He groaned before he pulled his face from the door and dizzily sat down on the floor.
"Tuff!" called a girl who revealed to be his older sister Tiff. "I told you to always look before you step."
"I can't believe those brats got invited! And here I thought this was a tournament for skilled players," Dedede groaned and soon after Tiff and Tuff's entrance the door opened again revealing Marx who was holding the door open for Drawcia. Marx had white gloves hands floating at his sides that acted like his hands.
"And that's why I don't go into fast food joints," Marx explained to Drawcia, "You just don't know what they're gonna do to your food." He turned towards everyone.
"KIRBY!" Marx roared in shock and anger seeing his arch-rival.
"MARX!" Kirby boomed back getting into a fighting stance.
"RIBBON!" Drawcia stormed menacingly glaring at the pink-haired fairy.
"DRAWCIA!" Ribbon growled.
"BUMBLE!" Bumble cheered jumping high in the air.
"Bumble!" They scolded all at the bandanna-wearer. He walked back to a seat next to Minta.
"What are you doing here Marx! Steal someone else's invite!" Kirby accused as he crossed his arms and glared at the wizard.
"Actually punkball, Drawcia and I received invitations to attend this tournament!" Marx stated in a smart tone also with his arms crossed.
"Really? So, you gonna ruin our fun like because you have a miserable life?"
"You gonna show off and act like you own the sport because you're a douche?"
Bumble sprung up between them, "What am I doing here? Being insanely handsome as usual!"
"Bumble!" The two nagged.
Bumble walked back to his seat grumbling, "It's always the handsome guys! Always the handsome ones!"
"And Drawcia's with you too?" Ribbon asked, "Man, I guess misery really does love company."
"Shut up you stupid glamourize bug!" Drawcia shouted, "You're gonna stop talking about my boyfriend if you know what's good for you!"
"Hubba WHA!" Dedede yelled in shock.
"This clown-looking circus freak is your boyfriend?" Kirby asked.
"This clueless villainess with a bad taste in art is your girlfriend?" Ribbon asked.
"And this strong, fast, and very skilled waddle dee is your fierce competitor!" Bumble claimed flexing and throwing punches and kicks.
"Bumble!" They all scolded again before Marx picked up Bumble by the bandanna and threw him into the bathroom door.
"My face..." Bumble groaned.
"Oh Bumble..." Minta sighed covering her eyes and shaking her head. Her cat ears also drooped.
"C'mon Kirby, you knew that it'd be likely you'd meet some past foes," Lololo said, "Look at me!"
"Well, you and Lalala aren't really evil. Plus, do you know how many foes I've beaten in my day?" Kirby exclaimed, "I didn't think out of all the foes in the world it would be these two chumps!"
"You think I'm happy about this? I came to this tournament just so I can have some fun with my girlfriend, but seeing your face just ruins everything!" Marx whined.
"C'mon baby! It's not ruined! Think of it this way; we can still have a good time crushing Kirby and Ribbon in the tournament!" Drawcia explained. Marx's face lit up.
"Oh! You're absolutely right Drawcia! There's nothing I love more than a good ol' puffball stomping! Okay Kirby, we'll play nice, but only because you'll be dead meat when this competition starts!" Marx sneered getting his face into Kirby's.
"Fine by me Marx! Fine by me!" Kirby agreed.
"By the way, who's hosting this thing anyway?" Drawcia asked.
"That's what we're trying to figure out," Escargoon informed. Another duo came in and this duo was known as Meta Knight and Galacta Knight.
"AAAAAAAAAH!" Bumble screamed, "Galacta Knight! She's gonna kill us all and steal our souls to keep herself looking young and beautiful! Ruuuun for your liiiives!" Bumble bolted towards the bathroom, but crashed headfirst into the door because he had to pull in order to get in. Bumble dizzily sat on the ground and gazed at the circling stars.
"What is wrong with him?" Meta Knight asked.
"I think Marx threw him into the bathroom door too hard," Minta stated.
"Hey, he was annoying," Marx claimed. Galacta Knight used this time to explain herself.
"Sorry I scared you! I'm not gonna kill anyone. I could never kill an innocent person. I'm here because Meta Knight asked me to be his partner in this Dodgeball Tournament. I don't know why everyone thinks I'm evil. I was seal away, because of my power not my morals." She stated.
"Wow!" Meta Knight chuckled, "This room sure is filled with people, but that doesn't mean this room is filled with skill!"
Kirby laughed, "Don't underestimate any of us buddy. It'll make the defeat that much easier to handle."
"I'm gonna win this whole thing! You better believe it!" Marx gloated.
"Please! You guys might as well just give up now! There's no way I'm gonna lose!" Minta claimed.
"You'll definitely remember this sexy face when I take home that trophy!" Dedede cheered.
"This competition is gonna get real interesting!" Keeby told Ade.
"Oh yeah! This is gonna be better than cable!" Ade claimed.
Suddenly, the ceiling of the room opened up and floor rose like an elevator.
"What the heck is going on!" Escargoon squealed. This lasted for a few seconds they reached the top of the hotel. Everyone stepped off the elevator and gazed at all the attractions on Dodgeball Island in the evening glow.
"You like what ya see?" said a female voice. Everyone turned behind them to see girl hovering above them using her wings. This girl wore a black long-sleeved shirt, a black skirt stopping at her knees, white socks and white shoes. She also had brown skin, big light purple eyes, purple bat-like wings, a long skinny black tail and black hair made one big ponytail reaching to her waist with one long bang on each side of her face. The ponytail was made with white scrunchy. She was the same height as Dedede. The girl smiled revealing a pair of pearly white and very sharp fangs which gave everyone a startle.
"Greeting everyone, I am Scarlet and I will be your host for Ripple Star's Dodgeball Tournament," The girl answered in a French accent.
"You're...uh..." Kirby began.
"A vampire? Yes, why? You don't have a problem with vampires, do you?" Scarlet asked with a glare. Kirby raised her hands up and a sweat drop appeared on his head.
"No, no...it's just...I thought vampires hated sunlight," Kirby said.
Scarlet blew a raspberry, crossed her arms and said, "Stupid mortals, spreading rumors about things they know nothing about. Vampires are not killed by sunlight. Most vampires hate sunlight not because they're vampires, but because they aren't used to it. Most vampires are born and raised in dark places like Watermelon Woods, but I grew up in the Danish Desert which happens to be a very sunny place. I've been exposed to the sun all the time and I haven't exploded into ashes once!"
"So, you're the hostess!" Dedede asked in surprise. Scarlet flew down to the building.
"That's right! I'm hosting this entire thing! You'll spend the next two weeks on this island participating in a dodgeball tournament to win trophies! This won't just test your individual skills, but also your skills as a team player. You all have been divided into eight teams of two and will remain in these teams for the rest of your visit. I'll go over the teams and player types now!" Scarlet told as she took out a clipboard.
All-around: Balance of power, speed and technique. (A)
Powerful: Strong to overpower opponents. (P)
Speedy: Fast-moving to avoid the opposition. (S)
Technical: Precise and tricky to confuse opponents. (T)
Team 1: Ribbon (A) & Kirby (A)
Team 2: Minta (T) & Bumble (T)
Team 3: Adeleine (A) & Keeby (A)
Team 4: King Dedede (P) & Escargoon (T)
Team 5: Tiff (S) & Tuff (P)
Team 6: Lololo (S) & Lalala (P)
Team 7: Meta Knight (S) & Galacta Knight (T)
Team 8: Drawcia (P) & Marx (S)
"I'm certain you all are satisfied with your teams," Scarlet assumed.
"I guess..." Escargoon mumbled.
"What do you mean 'I guess...'?" Dedede asked.
"You each have your own rooms that you will share with your teammate. Go downstairs to the lobby to get your room key and make sure you don't lose it because you won't be given a replacement one. Now, get a good night's sleep because the Dodgeball Tournament starts tomorrow at noon!" Scarlet reported before she flew off.
"Mwahahahahaha! Get ready Kirby because I plan to slam dunk you into the ground tomorrow!" Marx taunted as he slapped Kirby's hat off his head. Marx and Drawcia used the special elevator to go back down. The rest took the normal elevator back down.
"This should be fun, right Bumble?" Minta asked.
"Yeah! We'll show 'em all why I'm named Bumble, because I dance like a bee and sting like one too!" Bumble cheered throwing a hand in the air.
"Are you ready Kirby?" Ribbon asked.
"You bet! Let's go!" Kirby shouted.