Banana Babe Beach Blast
Author's Note: I suppose I should update this story again. Fans of the Kirby anime will recognize the salesman character that comes into play this chapter.
Chapter 4: Shovel Knight and the Sandcastle Building Contest
"Ugh, my head…"
King Dedede sat up beneath the shade of a palm tree, his head spinning with miniature Warp Stars. To his dismay, the tree didn't do anything to break his fall when Captain Falcon's Falcon Punch launched him over here. He found himself sitting on an isolated part of the beach next to a flock of beached Seagulls.
"Poyo! Poyo, poyo," came a familiar voice from nearby.
Dedede looked up to see Kirby playing in the sand, lifting up an upside-down bucket to reveal a perfect sandcastle dome. He cheered with excitement and began decorating his creation with various seashells and seaweed that had washed up on the shore.
"What do you think you're doing you little pincushion?" said Dedede as he waltzed up to Kirby. Kirby didn't seem to notice the arrogant king approach him, even in his unusual swimwear. The little Star Warrior continued to play, holding up two shells and deciding which one would look the best on top of the castle. "Hey, I'm talkin' to you!" Dedede lifted up a large foot and promptly stomped Kirby's castle into the sand. Kirby's eyes widened with shock as he watched his beautiful sandcastle crumble to nothing beneath Dedede's girth.
"P-Poyo…" he said disheartened. Small tears began to well up in his eyes.
"Listen up, Kirbeh," replied Dedede nonchalantly. "You's gots to tell me where the place is we came in." He gritted his teeth. "I gotta give that Captain Falcon a piece of my mind."
Indeed, he was feeling pretty salty about the whole Falcon Punch thing. Kirby however, didn't appear to be listening. When he locked eyes with Dedede, his sad face immediately turned into something that resembled pure rage. He next thing Dedede knew, Kirby had pulled out a hammer and straight up clubbed him into the air.
"Argh! Dangit!" cried Dedede as he sailed over the sand, landing several yards away. He quickly got up and armed himself with his own hammer. "That's it! I'm gonna clobber you! No more mister-"
He stopped himself when he noticed he was standing in front of a giant sign. The sign was very colorful, and appeared to be promoting some sort of contest, depicting a nice picture of a sandcastle with flags and seashells decorating its exterior.
"Banana Beach Sandcastle Building Contest," read Dedede aloud. "Try your hand at creating the biggest, bestest sandcastle and have it displayed at the local resort for years to come. Entries are free and the contest closes at the end of the day. Three winners will receive a year's supply of Spicy Curry as well as a trophy. Hmm…" He put a hand to his chin, glancing back at Kirby who appeared to be trying to salvage whatever was left of his sandcastle. "So Kirby thinks he has a chance at winning the contest eh?" Dedede's mouth slithered into a sinister grin. "Ha! I'll show him! I'm gonna make the biggest, bestest sandcastle on the beach! That'll teach the little puffball to mess with me!"
Dedede stood tall and triumphant, a smug look on his face as he imagined being showered with Spicy Curry and an awesome trophy. He didn't even like Spicy Curry that much, but hey, a contest was still a contest. Kirby's sandcastle wasn't even anything to boast about, so he figured he had a pretty good chance at winning this. Defeating Kirby in the contest ought to put that little rascal in his place for stepping out of line!
Kirby built a new tower and started decorating it again. He didn't notice Dedede laughing to himself nearby since he was having so much fun building a sandcastle.
Dedede quickly found a spot on the beach that was far from Kirby but close enough so that he could keep an eye on his progress. He didn't expect Kirby to come up with anything large or complex, thus he figured he was pretty much coming into this contest with zero competition.
"I can smell that trophy already!" exclaimed Dedede as he lifted a shovel and began filling a pail with sand. He filled it to the top in a matter of seconds and immediately flipped it upside-down to make a tower. Unfortunately, upon raising the upturned bucket, the sand he gathered collapsed into a pathetic heap. It didn't take the solid form like Kirby's castle was.
Dedede didn't realize that in order to make a sandcastle, one had to add water to the sand in order to cement the minerals.
So he tried again, only to fail yet again. He tried once more, this time throwing in some rocks and some other random stuff he found in the sand nearby. It seemed like no matter what he added, the sandcastle towers would just sink back down into the ground. He was getting kind of agitated, and it only made his temper rise even further when he noticed that Kirby already had three perfect towers set up.
"Grr, this is so stupid!" cried King Dedede. He threw his shovel into the air and tossed his bucket aside like it was nothing. "There's gotta be an easier way to do this!"
He pulled out some kind of electronic communication device that he had been keeping in his pocket (waterproof of course) and turned it on. After a few seconds, the image of a man in a business suit and sunglasses could be seen onscreen with a cheesy grin on his face.
"Good afternoon Triple D!" said the man with a wave. "Long time no see! How's life on the beach treatin' ya?"
"It's sucks!" replied Dedede. "Kirby and I just entered a sandcastle building contest and he's already beating me!"
"Really? Our Kirby?" The man had a puzzle look on his face. "I wouldn't expect him to be that talented when it came to building."
"See for yourself!" Dedede put the device out in front of him, showing the man from Nightmare Enterprises what Kirby was doing. Kirby continued to decorate his creation with a cute smile on his face obliviously.
"You can't be serious, D," replied the salesman. "That little guy barely knows how to use a shovel."
"He knows something that I don't and it's ticking me off!" exclaimed Dedede. "You guys need to send me a monster pronto!"
"To clobber that there Kirby?"
"No! To beat that there Kirby in a sandcastle building contest!"
The salesman chuckled to himself. "You want us to send you a monster that can build sandcastles? Never thought I'd hear that one from you."
"You gotta have something!" cried Dedede. "Even if it's a bucket monster or a seashell monster, I don't care! Just send me something and make sure it knows how to lift a shovel!"
"Lift a shovel you say?" replied the man. "Hold on, let me check our catalogues." There was a series of humming and whistling coming from the man as he moved out of the camera view. Dedede sat on his butt watching Kirby reluctantly as he hoped for some kind of answer to his prayers. Eventually, the man returned. "Sorry Dedede, but it looks like you're out of luck. We just set our last sandcastle monster to some guy last week."
"You gotta be kidding me!"
"Ah, but don't fret!" The man raised an index finger. "I have the perfect solution to your little Kirby problem. I can get in contact with one of our freelance workers who happen to be in your area. He might be able to help you out, but it's going to cost you a bit more."
Dedede gritted his teeth. He didn't want to have to pay more money just for some contest, but if it meant showing up Kirby then he felt like he didn't have much of a choice. Besides, all the money he used to pay for these things usually came from the pockets of the Cappy Town taxpayers.
"How much is it gonna cost?" asked Dedede.
"Um, let's see…" replied the man as he punched some numbers into his calculator. "Given the fact that you still haven't paid us back yet for the past half a dozen or so monsters, your total comes out to… this." He showed Dedede the value on the calculator, almost giving him a heart attack as he stared at the absurdly large number.
"That's a lot of 0's…" muttered Dedede.
"Take it or leave it, D. The fate of this contest rests in your sweaty hands."
"Argh, fine! Just put it on my tab. I'll pay it all when I get back to Dreamland…"
"Pleasure doing business with you." The man retained his cheesy grin. "I'll give our guy a call and see if he's available. You should expect to see him very soon. Catch you on the flip side Triple D!" The man cut off the connection, the only thing on the screen being a rotating image of the N.M.E. logo.
"What did I just get myself into…" muttered Dedede, sliding the device back into his pocket. As reluctant as he was to ask Nightmare Enterprises for assistance, he didn't think he could live with himself if Kirby turned out being better at making sandcastles than him. This was his chance to prove himself and rub it all in the puffball's face! It gave him a purpose here while he was on vacation anyway. Who wants to spend their days lying in the water or under the sun getting a tan?
Vengeance was a dish best served with bananas.
"Well, I guess all I gotta do now is wait," said Dedede to himself, looking over at Kirby who was already beginning to stack his towers. He had achieved a second level already, kind of like a house of cards, only with sand. A part of his wall ended up crumbling to dust, but he didn't let it get the best of him. Kirby just continued to enjoy himself, oblivious to the fact that envious Dedede was watching his every move.
Suddenly, the ground beneath King Dedede began to shake. He quickly crawled out of the way as a hole in the sand began to form, while pebbles and other minerals shot up into the air as if some creature underground was making its way to the surface.
"What the heck is goin' on here!?" cried Dedede, scrambling to his feet. The commotion eventually ceased, and a small knight's helmet poked out of the hole.
"Greetings!" said the knight. "I presume you are the one known as 'D.D.D?'"
Dedede looked around, as if he thought the knight was talking to someone else.
"I'm King Dedede, yeah," replied Dedede, pointing a stubby thumb at himself.
"K-King!?" said the knight in shock. The knight jumped out of the sand, nimbly landing on his feet and crouching down on one knee. "Forgive me sire. I had no idea I was in the presence of royalty."
Dedede gave the knight a queer look; he wasn't used to being treated with such respect, especially from strangers. Why, most of the Smashers called him a bumbling idiot half the time, and more often than not he came off as a selfish jerk rather than a noble king.
Although, the formalities were nice to say the least.
The knight in particular was one of the weirdest ones Dedede had ever seen in his life. For starters, he was short, standing about as tall as Meta Knight. This included the two horns that protruded from the knight's blue helmet. He was dressed from head to toe in heavy armor that matched the color of his helmet. Instead of a sword, the character appeared to be wielding a shovel, something that no self-proclaimed knight would be caught dead carrying out in the open. He had something like a medieval accent when he spoke, and his voice sounded strong and projected from behind the helmet.
"Um… Yeah, that's right," said Dedede. "I'm royalty! And you have to obey me!"
"As you command, sire." The knight continued to keep his head down. "I am at your service."
"Ooh, I'm liking this already." Dedede had a sly grin on his face. "So I take it you're the guy they sent me?"
"Indeed, sire." The knight stood up. "I am a lone wanderer, a bringer of justice, and a bit of a treasure hunter!" The knight lifted up his shovel, posing heroically with it. "I am Sir Shovel Knight, the only knight in all the land daring enough to wield a spade before a blade!"
"Spade before a blade, eh?" chuckled Dedede. "Well, Shovel Knight, I think you're perfect."
"You do me too much honor, my liege." Shovel Knight took a bow. "Now, how shall I serve thee?"
Dedede started rubbing his hands together mischievously.
"Heheh. How about you start by buildin' me a castle?"
"A castle, sir?" replied Shovel Knight. "Why would I have to build you a castle if you are already a king?"
"Uh, I need another one! Yeah, that's it! A filthy rich king like me deserves more castles! Now, hop to it Shovel Knight!" He clapped his hands twice. "Build me a castle! Oh, but make it a sandcastle. I'm kind of trying to win a contest right now."
He gestured to the sign displaying the details on the sandcastle building contest. Shovel Knight looked over, skimming the description of what the contest entailed before giving a salute.
"Your wish is my command, sire!" he exclaimed. The next thing Dedede knew, Shovel Knight had grabbed a bucket and began pouring wet sand into it with his shovel. He moved at an incredible pace, dashing back and forth between the water and mainland to refill on water. He began stacking the sand towers, creating perfect and sturdy walls without leaving behind so much as a crack. In a matter of minutes, Dedede's castle was starting to take form, and it looked like it was actually going to take up a large portion of the beach.
"Excellent…" grinned Dedede. "That trophy is as good as mine. That beanbag Kirby won't know what hit him by the time we're done with this…"
Author's Note: This chapter is really just a setup for something that will be coming very soon (like, after the next chapter). I didn't expect to bring another non-Smash character into this, but whatever. I think it kind of adds to the charm of this story. Hope you guys enjoyed and I'll catch ya later!