Here is the original first chapter of this story. Admittedly, I finished the rough draft of this chapter sometime before or after I released Kirby 64 in Another Dimension. I waited for so long because I'm not too confident on this chapter. Regardless of my internal thoughts, I have a promise to keep… and that is uploading this story.
Hidden Chapter 2/9.5: Painter's Lesson in the Sky Cotta Colony
The huge world of Blue Sky Palace intimidated me before. Even though I could fly, it usually feels like the entire sky is closing in on me…
Luckily I got used to it, right as Kirby, Bandana Dee and I entered the world. I was afraid they'd feel intimidated like I was when I saw this world but they were overjoyed at the beauty of it. It made me really happy seeing them enjoy the world Claycia and I created.
After some... separation issues, we ran into the Sky Cottas. I still have no idea why Claycia spared them. I try not to think too much about it because they were essential into helping us free Claycia from that Dark Matter jerk. Anyways, before we could continue on our quest, the Seventopia cruise ship appeared and began to pursue us!
Bastron chased us into a creaky old tower and tried to blast us away with its cannons. Thankfully, we found a canvas stand to transform Kirby into Kirby Rocket. Then, he fearlessly flew right into the monstrosity's insides and detonated a countdown by pressing a bossy switch. Kirby escaped before it could blow up and he returned to the spot I transformed him in.
But it wasn't over yet. Those pesky Grab Hands ambushed us as we crash landed. I couldn't do anything to fight them and neither could Bandana Dee. They could have nabbed Kirby and return to Claycia right there but… one of the cottas came to our rescue!
"By the way" Bandana Dee started. "What is your name?"
The cotta froze in place realizing that he never introduced himself properly.
"umm… Cyano…" he mumbled quietly.
"Cyano is your name?" Bandana Dee clarified.
"Yes." He replied. "My name is as strange as my entire shell. But that's not the point. The point is that I came here for my objective." The trio's eyes perked up.
"You didn't just come here to get the canvas stand... right?" Bandana Dee asked, trying to figure out this cotta's motives.
"Well, yes but actually... no?" Cyano responded by a headshake and remained silent.
"…But you saved us too…?" the waddle dee questioned when the cotta didn't elaborate further. "Like it was your mission or something."
"I... I didn't know you were going to be in trouble." Cyano and gazed towards Kirby. "Nor did I expect myself to do something to stop those t-t-terrifying hands from abducting Miss Elline's… friend."
"Point taken…" Bandana Dee shrugged.
"Poyo?" Kirby pointed to the canvas stand behind him.
Cyano nodded at the gesture. "Well... yes... my main objective was to retrieve the canvas stand for you, Miss Elline, so you can teach Kirby how to paint." Cyano paused momentarily. "If that ship never came, I hoped you'd stop the thunderstorms by now and then return back to the cloud for the night…"
Elline glanced at the sky and saw that the blue sky is slowly turning into a yellow sky. "We can still stay at your home since the sun is starting to set. And thanks for the reminder." Elline said with a genuine smile. "I do want to live up to my promise after all about teaching Kirby the basics of painting."
"Poyo! Poyo!" Kirby performed his signature stance in happiness.
"If that's the case Miss, then we'll head back now." Cyano walked over to the stand and lifted it with the top of his head at ease. Naturally, this earned blank stares from Kirby and Bandana Dee. "What… is it…?" the cotta blinked nervously.
Elline sensed the confusion and answered for them. "They've never seen you or any cotta carry large items so they were just surprised, that's all."
Cyano discernibly relaxed upon hearing this. Without another word, he walked past the trio on the path he traveled to reach them. The said trio followed him at a distance.
"What goes on in his mind?" Bandana Dee whispered to Elline out of the cotta's hearing.
"Beats me. He's a lot more… uh, mysterious than the other cottas and that's saying something." Elline admitted. "He's the only one who gave us his name. All the others are secretive about it because they think non-cottas won't understand their name meanings or something."
"Do you know all their names?" Bandana Dee curiously asked.
"Umm, I don't… b-but Claycia knows all of their names." Elline hesitantly replied.
As the band of four walked down a secret path that the cotta does not want them to share details about, Cyano began to think about his action in the tower.
"Those hands are terrifying... but I leapt into action without thinking. It just felt like it was the right thing to do yet…" Cyano sighed. "…I fought those hands and lived to tell my tale..." The cotta blankly looked up at the sky. "The other cottas may not believe me for saving Kirby but at least Miss Elline's friends won't under appreciate me."
Cyano glanced at the group behind them. They were too busy in their discussion that they didn't notice that the cotta turned around to stare at them.
"I want to know more about Miss Elline's friends better, especially Kirby. If Miss Elline thinks highly of him, then I want to hear Kirby's thoughts on her…"
The cotta's analytic eyes scanned to Bandana Dee.
"Then there's the bandana wearing guy. Something about his species, reminds me of our species. Maybe it's just me…"
The Sky Cottas watched the four of them walk towards them in triumph over Bastron. They instantly surrounded three of them in happiness offered hugs from all sides. Cyano used this opportunity to vanish from the crowd, despite having a large, visible item on his head.
"How… much… appreciation can they give?" Bandana Dee yelled loud enough for his other two friends to hear.
"Poyooo!" Kirby was overwhelmed by their excitement.
"The cottas can be overbearing at times." Elline said as she flew above their reach, much to their annoyance. "Luckily, a fairy girl like me can fly!"
"But… can you tell them to stop? Bandana Dee groaned.
As he said that, the cottas ended their appreciation and watched the trio anxiously.
Elline explained to them that they'll need a place to stay for the night, in which the cottas unanimously agreed for them to stay. They told them that there are two available guest rooms at the lowest floor and Elline should choose her roommate, if she wants one at all. She agreed to have Kirby be her roommate so they could have a room to paint. The cottas then welcomed the trio inside and toured the cloudy home.
The entire inside of the cotta cloud resembled a house's interior where clouds substitute for real walls and floors. The stairs they were climbing down led into a wide living room with tons of sofas and an inactive TV. The dining hall is by the TV but the door is closed. There are many rooms alongside the walls and hallways of the home. The cottas took the trio to their respective rented rooms at the end of a cloudy hallway. One room for Bandana Dee and the other is for Kirby and Elline.
The trio entered Kirby and Elline's room and looked around. It contained a couch, some art supplies such as pencils and crayons, and one large blue bed. The canvas stand is also in the room but there is no sign of the carrier who brought it here.
"You guys didn't have to make this room for me…" Elline blushed.
"Oh, but we must. We'll even have dinner later so don't forget." They said before departing, leaving Kirby, Elline and Bandana Dee alone.
"Sooo, what will you two do?" Elline asked her friends.
"I'm going to explore this cloudy home." Bandana Dee said. "We haven't had a chance to relax under a roof since this adventure started."
On the other hand, Kirby curled up on the fluffy floor. It wasn't a bed but it was so comfortable to his feet that he could not resist the temptation. His brain immediately turned off and his breathing became relaxed, suggesting that he fell asleep.
"The floor is not a bed, silly." Elline grinned as he smiled in his sleep. The fairy picked him up and placed him on the actual bed, which is probably less comfortable than the floor.
Bandana Dee walked to the door. "I'll catch you later then." Bandana Dee waved.
"Okie-dokie then. Let's meet up again later tonight at the dinner table." Elline waved back at the waddle dee as he departed.
The fairy turned her attention back to the sleeping puffball and flew closer to him. She thoughtfully watched him as he peacefully slept.
"I was hoping I could show him the basics now… but later!" She thought out loud. "At least, I can catch up on my secret diary." The fairy flew over to the couch on the other side of the room and pulled out her diary and pencil. She glanced at Kirby before giggling to herself.
When Bandana Dee was walking down the hallway, he got stopped by three particular green cottas. Two of them apparently wore respective three green chef hats while one had a blue chef hat, signifying that he's the lead chef. They wanted him to follow them into their cloudy kitchen so they can take note of his know his favorite foods. The waddle dee didn't mind what would be served to him and built up a conversation once they were in the kitchen.
"…And that's how Bastron was defeated." He proudly stated, the cottas applauded by stomping their feet lightly.
"So what's next?" one asked.
"Simple, we'll find out the cause of the storms you guys mentioned and we'll stop them." The waddle dee put an arm to his chest (or lack of, however) proudly.
"What about the other worlds?" another asked. "What will you guys do then?"
"Oh… I never thought of how many worlds are left…" Bandana Dee admitted.
"Before those storms blocked our path, we occasionally went to the next world to gather food supplies..."
"…And that's also a challenge on its own."
"What do you guys mean? Harvesting fruit off of a tree isn't hard. It's one of the easiest jobs I do back on Dreamland." Bandana Dee questioned.
"No, we're talking about the… ahem …mysterious creature… that likes to play pranks on us…"
Bandana Dee tilted his head in confusion. "Mysterious… creature…?"
"It begins when you are all alone in nature…"
"The forest world makes you lonely already, Ol… err… yeah, it-it's a lonely place because all the cottas vanished."
"Hold on, our fellow cottas didn't vanish. They just ran elsewhere because of their fear of that creature!"
"Guys, what are you talking about?" Bandana Dee asked on deaf ears.
"Of course they vanished! Haven't you noticed our numbers dwindling down and the number of those tan cottas increasing? I know this because we've been using less of our resources by the day!"
"How about we continue this argument on the stove to fuel our motivation?" The three cottas turn towards the bewildered waddle dee. "What would you like to have, Mr. Dee?"
"Oh, umm, I'll have whatever you have on the menu." Bandana Dee said quickly, too bewildered at their antics.
"And what of Kirby?" the blue hat asked. "What would he like to have?"
"We would ask but we can't enter the Mistress's room for reasons…" one said.
Bandana Dee raised his eyebrow. "Reasons such as…?"
"She's always liked her privacy when she draws something. During the construction period, a few of us once asked her to let us watch her draw pictures but she denied our proposals each time."
"That sounds like Elline alright. She's very protective of what she does. Speaking of her drawings, she's planning on teaching Kirby the basics of drawing."
"Ooh, really? I never thought she'd teach else anyone her skills. The boys and I would really want to witness this occasion!" The other two cottas nodded simultaneously.
Bandana Dee put a hand to where a chin would be and closed his eyes. "…Maybe, I could convince her to let you guys join me in watching?"
"That'll be amazing… if you can make it work, Mr. Dee."
"I'm sure it'll work." Bandana Dee reassured.
"Okay…" the led chef said. "Well, it's time for us to get back to work. It was nice talking to you."
"The pleasure is all mine… uh… w-what's your name again?"
To say asking that question is a mistake is an understatement.
The three cottas hissed at him like a snake and nearly pounced on him. The action caused him to jump back in surprise.
"OUr NaMEs ArE toO cOmPleX foR lIfE FoRMs sUcH as yOU! YoU AnD thE PEoPlE sEEing tHeSe wOrDs wiLL NeVeR UnDeRsTaNd wHy!" the led chef yelled angrily.
"Y-yeah, o-okay, I'll see you guys later…?" Bandana Dee gulped. Truthfully, he almost felt like laughing because their cute appearances negates their threat.
The three cottas dropped their threatening act and smiled warmly. "Yes, of course! See you soon, Mr. Dee!"
Bandana Dee shook his head at the quick change of expressions before leaving the kitchen. Cottas are very strange indeed. That includes a cyan cotta who was eavesdropping on the entire conversation.
Over the remainder of the day, Bandana Dee explored the cotta home. From what he learned from his conversations with the cottas, all the cottas came together and created their cloudy home from scratch. The blue cottas gathered the cloudy materials and softened them up for construction, while the green cottas pieced them together and blueprinted the interior and exterior. The blue cottas prefer to gather more resources while the green prefer to maintain the structure. This makes sure that everyone does their job in maintaining their current home. Supposedly, one of them had the most influence during the construction process but the cotta remained anonymous.
Meanwhile, Kirby is still sound-asleep with Elline lying next to him on the bed. Unlike her companion, she can't seem to get rest due to everything going on in her mind regarding Claycia and what she did to Bastron.
"How could she transform the Seventopia cruiser into a battleship in the way she did?" The fairy girl sighed and stood up. "Maybe I should see what's going on right now. It'd be nice to talk to the cottas about what's been happening since Claycia went crazy."
The three green cottas were working in the kitchen to prepare another dinner with their brethren even though some tensions are still high from earlier. But they claim that they work best under pressure or tension. The ingredients on the table are culminations of fruits and veggies with some meat on the side for protein, including unique light blue and light green eggplants. As they rummaged through the pile, one cotta realized that they're missing some fruit.
"Boss Shamorocka, We're out of—"
"Hush Olive!" Shamorocka silenced the lackey. "We don't want our guests to hear our real names!"
"But Boss, you just called Olive by his name." the other unnamed cotta said.
"Pear, be quiet or they'll hear us!" Olive said.
"Settle down you two, we'll just leave it as 'Green Chef Hat Cotta 1' or something. It'll be a lot better for… consistency." Shamorocka gulped nervously.
"Boss, what do you mean 'consistency'" Pear asked obliviously.
"Let's just say that we should, uh, 'remain unnamed' until a few days later where Miss Elline and her friends finish… their… adventure…" the cotta finished nervously, realizing that he spoke words in a forbidden context.
"Y'know… we shouldn't be talking about that type of spoilers here." Olive said after realizing the details of the scenario they are in.
"Why not? The people reading this text should know what will eventually happen, right?" Pear replied.
Olive raised an eyebrow to Pear. "And if they don't know…?"
"Then maybe…" Pear paused to think. "…Maybe they should read that twenty-three chapter long story first. Buuuuut, I think the author thinks very little of it due to how ideas came to him on the fly, which made it very disorganized or something like that to his eyes." He attempted to shrug.
"If the author had some negative thoughts about his story then it never should have been written. Maybe he should have written all the chapters beforehand and then publish them one by one on a weekly basis." Shamorocka voiced.
Olive stifled a laugh at the 'weekly basis' comment.
"Isn't that what he planned on doing or something?" Pear asked. Shamorocka shrugged in response.
"Wait but… if he did that…" Olive started. "It could have taken more than three years to publish everything. He could have lost interest while planning everything out. In fact, I… I don't think we'd even exist!"
The three chefs looked at each other nervously. Eventually, Shamorocka broke the silence.
"I-I've heard that the story was written solely because of one event he imagined that would occur in the actual game. Yet, it never came to be despite the various scenes that were implied in text and picture by Miss Elline herself." Shamorocka said in attempt to steer away from the dark road the conversation was heading towards.
"And what would that imagination be?" the two cottas asked with anticipation. The head chef shook his head in reply.
"You two boys are asking the wrong cotta. And even if you try to ask the author somehow, he wouldn't give a definitive answer. We'll just have to reread that story and find any subtle hints in the chapters."
"…Which brings us back to 'read that story before reading this story if you haven't already'" Pear concluded.
"Precisely. Anyways, back to work we go." Shamorocka said as he turned to his cooking pot. "Oh, and, I guess it'll be okay if we address each other by real names for now. Just don't let anyone else hear it or you'll answer to me. Understand?" the cotta hissed.
"Yes, boss!" Olive and Pear replied softly to the threat.
Elline peeked in just as they finished their little… discussion. As she watched from the door, one of the cottas spotted her. She quickly apologized for intruding and turned to fly away before being asked to come back. The cottas wanted to know what they desire to acquire for their servings later on so she eagerly began discussing.
"His favorite food is apples?" The three cottas asked in surprise.
"I think so. The last time I saw him with an apple was when he was staring at an uncolored apple. He looked very sad because he couldn't eat it." Elline recounted the past, now feeling somewhat guilty about not painting his fruit snack.
"Hmm…" Shamorocka mumbled.
"Uh, boss. We're fresh out of apples and getting more right now is impossible because of the storm cloud blocking our path." Olive said, still thinking about the minor discussion they had earlier.
"Oh, well, that's a bummer…" Elline looked down.
Pear stepped in. "On the bright side, we have all the ingredients for your favorite rainbow deluxe parfait."
Elline's eyes widened. "Ooh, yes! I can't wait!"
"The meal should be ready soon so make sure your other two friends are aware." The boss cotta said. Elline nodded cheerfully and left the kitchen.
Simultaneously, Kirby woke up from his nap. With a yawn and stretch, he took off from the room...
…Not before taking a glance at a brown book across from him. He rolled over to it and recognized who it belonged to.
"Elline…" he muttered.
The puffball respected her privacy and didn't touch the Secret Diary. Instead, he left the room with a skip in his step or "roll" in this scenario. As much as he wants to know how the fairy thinks about him, it's best for her to tell him those thoughts herself when the time comes.
Kirby walked through the halls and greeted passerby Sky Cottas. As he turned a corner that led to the main staircase, he bumped into a familiar cyan cotta.
"Poyo!" he greeted Cyano.
"Oh, Kirby…" he mumbled silently. "I was meaning to ask you something…"
"Poyo…?" he tilted his head in confusion.
"How do you feel… about Miss Elline?" he asked.
Kirby was silently thinking about the words that were processed in his head. How does he feel about her? He's her friend, right.
"I mean, it's okay if you have hidden feelings for her and don't want to say it." He carefreely stated. "A significant moment may occur if this is true."
With widened eyes, Kirby blushed slightly. Where was he going with this conversation? The puffball lightly shook his head to compose himself.
"Poyo…?" he mumbled.
"Well, okay then. That's all I needed to know." Cyano said before walking up the stairs, vanishing from sight. Kirby watched him leave with a dumb-folded expression, wondering what that was about.
The puffball didn't want to ponder on those thoughts. Instead, he turned around and began rolling to his next destination…
…Where Kirby and Elline happened to bump right into each other at the perfect scenario before he could head off into that said destination.
"Oh, Kirby. I didn't see you there. Sorry about that." She apologized.
"Poyo." He shook his head and accepted her apology. He pointed at her as if he was asking a question.
"Where was I going? I was going to tell you what some of the cottas told me." she replied. "You've been asleep for a few hours now. They're preparing our dinner and it's almost ready."
Kirby beamed at the news. But he had another question on his mind. The way he portrayed it is by pointing at her than at their guest room.
Elline felt as all the cottas' eyes were watching her through the walls upon seeing the gesture. "You want to spend time with me now? Not now. The cottas are almost done with the meal. If I teach you about painting now, we'll get interrupted and I don't want that to happen." Kirby blinked twice before he nodded in understanding.
"I'd love to spend some time with you any day of the week but there's something I need to do first." The surprisingly calm nature slowly diminished for some reason. "So, I'll… I'll see you tonight for our art date. Oh no, I did not just say that!?"
"Date…?" Kirby mumbled while tilting his head.
"Forget what I just said okay! I'll see you later!" Elline yelled before flying away rapidly with a red face, leaving Kirby alone… again.
Elline flew back into their guest room and brought out artist materials that'll be used for later.
"That was nerve-wracking…" She sighed in relief. "I just hope that nobody else heard what I said."
Kirby stared at the corridor where Elline flew through, now even more confused over what just happened.
"Date…" He mumbled while walking away.
"Hmm… that doesn't seem to be a significant moment for those two." Cyano thought from afar. "It looks like I'll have to observe them tonight."
A few minutes after that fiasco went underway, Kirby found himself exploring the cloudy mansion. Only one area was off limits to him and that is the kitchen. He childishly pouted at the action but he didn't let it cross him mind. Before leaving, he noticed that Bandana Dee was inside the kitchen, talking to the chefs about something. Regardless, he played and interacted with almost all the sky cottas in the mansion except one certain cyan cotta who Kirby really wanted to see.
And finally, dinnertime came around. There was a very long and narrow table in the living room that was enough to fit everyone. There were three seats that were designated for Kirby, Elline and Bandana Dee. The trio was the first ones to sit down there before all the other cottas sat in random seats.
The three cotta chefs provided their brethren with each of their plates filled with their favorite foods. When it came to the trio, each chef cotta gave out their plates one by one.
Elline was provided with none other than…
"Rainbow Deluxe Parfait! My favorite!" she squealed.
"Is that all you're having?" Bandana Dee asked.
"That's all I NEED!" she responded.
"Our Rainbow Deluxe Parfait is delicious and nutritious. It's essentially a full meal in a drink. We mixed the vanilla yogurt and cream with all our grinded fruits we have available, so naturally it used a lot of our resources. But we were more than happy to provide Miss Elline with her needs." Shamorocka said.
The other two green hat chefs walked to Bandana Dee and placed his meal in front of him.
"A hot dog, taco and hamburger?" The waddle dee questioned after seeing the three types of foods in front of him.
"Yeah, you told us that you didn't mind what you wanted to get so we just made you something simple. Three meals in one! Enjoy!" Shamorocka said.
Bandana Dee glanced at Elline who smiled and shrugged.
"Now I understand how the king feels when the waddle dees serve him the same food every day." Bandana Dee sighed. "Once we head back to Dreamland, I'll make His Majesty the best sushi ever made."
Lastly, there was Kirby who was waiting patiently. The meal provided to him was…
Elline, Bandana Dee, even Cyano and all the cottas gasped at what they saw on Kirby's plate.
"A maxim tomato!?" Bandana Dee said in shock.
The tomato was double the size of Kirby and it glowed in a very faint red aura.
"We couldn't think of anything else to make him too. Luckily, we still had this tomato back in the preserves. It's our last one we stored away, so we decided to give it to him to cater to his huge stomach. Since it has come to our knowledge that you destroyed Bastron, we decided to give you our greatest appreciation to you from us, the chef cottas." Shamorocka said heartfully. Kirby didn't respond as he was gazing at the vegetable/fruit with sparkling eyes.
"How did they know that it was technically Kirby who destroyed the ship?" Elline whispered to Bandana Dee.
"It came up when I was talking to them earlier." He whispered back.
"Enjoy your individual meals everyone! As usual, we put our hearts into making this for all of you!" The three chefs declared. All the cottas cheered and digged in.
Kirby's eyes showered in adoration as he took a bite of the delicate and juicy fruit/vegetable.
Elline's eyes did the same as she took a sip of her favorite drink.
Bandana Dee was satisfied with his food but he didn't experience true delicacies.
While everyone was eating, the three cotta chefs quietly approached the waddle dee and requested him to follow. No one paid attention to his sudden absence, unless you are a cyan cotta who decided to investigate.
"What did Miss Elline say back to you?" Shamorocka asked.
"She instantly said no while eyeing me suspiciously as if I'm intruding in her business. Which to be fair, I am but I'd never do this in any other circumstance."
The three chefs looked down in defeat. "Well, there goes our chance of watching Miss Elline draw in-person."
"Are you sure you're out of options?" Cyano spoke up, shocking Bandana Dee and the cottas.
"Wait, where did you come from?" Cyano appearing behind him was the last thing the waddle dee expected. Now he doesn't want to be thrown off by this cotta's strange antics again. "Where have you been all this time?"
"I've been busy picking the lock on the treasure chest. At this rate, I'll have it done by tomorrow." The cyan cotta replied sincerely.
"Oh, that's great then. But have you taken some sort of break? I mean, you can't have just been in your room the entire time we've been here… right?" the waddle dee questioned.
"If you want to watch Miss Elline, you should follow me after dinner." Cyano said, completely ignoring the question.
Bandana Dee blinked a few times at the sudden change of topics but he went along with it. "So where will we be going to?"
"To my room. It's right above Miss Elline's room, you could even see through the small holes on the ground."
"Wait but that room is empty." Shamorocka pointed out. "And you reside in there?"
"Half the time." The cyan cotta replied. "Other times I use it for when I do something, like building our rafts for sail in Indigo Ocean."
"So that's who made that raft which made me seasick." Bandana Dee thought before thinking of another question. "Why are you helping us anyways?"
All eyes were concentrated on Cyano, yet his expression remained completely neutral. It seemed like he was thinking really hard to say the next sentence.
"It's... for my own reasons." Cyano turned around and walked away. "Just make sure Miss Elline doesn't notice you guys acting suspicious, especially you, bandana guy, like she is now." The cotta warned without turning around and walked back to his seat.
Elline was indeed looking at her waddle dee friend strangely. Bandana Dee gulped in slight fear, knowing that she's going to wonder what he's been doing away from her and Kirby.
"A-anyways, we all should know the plan. Meet us at the kitchen once everyone is finished so our brethren, Cyano, will tell us what to do." Shamorocka declared.
The group nodded before leaving for other destinations. Cyano watched Bandana Dee sit back at his seat to address Elline.
"What were you up to, Bandana Dee?" Elline curiously asked.
"Those cottas were talking to me about my trusty spear." He lied.
"Hmm…" Elline narrowed her eyes at him, making the waddle dee slightly nervous.
"It's true, Miss." Elline and Bandana Dee's eyes diverted to Cyano who stood right behind them. "I've been wondering how often he practices his spearplay since I first saw him earlier today. And I hardly had a chance to ask him until now."
"Hmm… okay, if you say it then I trust your judgement, Cyano." Elline concluded. "But where have you been today? The other cottas seemed nervous about mentioning you and your habits. You're the only cotta who chooses to stay isolated from everyone else, which is strange on its own. Everyone else here loves having each other as company."
Cyano stared at her for a few seconds before walking away to his seat without a word. For a brief moment, Elline could have sworn that she saw some sadness in his eyes.
"Poyo…?" Kirby said, finally taking his eyes off of his plate to notice what was going on.
"Everything about him is strange, from his cyan color to his personality." Bandana Dee voiced his thoughts.
"I don't think I'll be able to figure him out for a long time." Elline admitted.
The cyan cotta gazed at his meal. It was a simple salad that was freshly cut from the greens of one of the worlds.
"Almost everyone is still a bit nervous around me. I don't blame them. It's not my fault that I have cyan skin." He thought to himself sadly. "I don't think there will be any person out there that will truly understand how different I feel."
The night sky in Blue Sky Palace is blanketed with many stars. Kirby and Elline stood in their room alongside the canvas stand Cyano brought back from the tower. The eager Kirby is holding a paintbrush that Elline lent him.
Elline smiled widely at this scenario. After being taught by Claycia all her life, it excited her that she became the teacher. And her student is someone who specifically asked her to teach him. The same student is someone who she considers her best friend and lo—someone she deeply cares for.
"So Kirby…" she paused to think. Up until this point, she only thought about teaching the puffball the basics but she never exactly thought of how to do that. In fact, she realized that she never taught anyone how to paint. All her basic skills were completely natural to her, so much so that explaining something easy is difficult.
"Poyo?" Kirby tilted his head, confused about her silence.
Elline snapped out of her thoughts and asked him a question that came on the whim. "Have you… ever painted something before?"
Kirby thought for a moment. The only thing that came to his mind was him recoloring Heavy Lobster. Yet, he has witnessed different types of paintings and painters in his adventures. Such as two sorceresses who specialize in art or his only human artist friend who accompanied him and others throughout Gamble Galaxy in search of crystal shards.
"So… no then." Elline said after no response.
Kirby didn't respond but it almost seemed like he had something to say which caused Elline to sigh. This might have become a lot harder than she initially anticipated a few seconds ago. Her mind began to drift to what she could do for a beginner and she remembered how Claycia help fine tune her already surprisingly developed artist skills some time ago.
"Claycia." She thought before lightly shaking her head. "Okay, how about this." Elline said to get Kirby's attention. "How about you draw yourself? It should be easy for you." she suggested. "Just draw the circle, dot the eyes, add a great big smile and presto it's you!"
Kirby nodded and began drawing on the canvas. Elline immediately looked away from him. It's not that she didn't want to look at him, it's just that she'd rather see the finished product rather than watch a work-in-progress. Her eyes scanned the room around her, including the ceiling. The ceiling is strangely "bumpy" and Elline could have sworn she saw movement up there.
"Poyo." He announced as he finished the drawing, this snapped Elline out of her thoughts of the ceiling. The fairy flew over to it excitedly and widened her eyes at the result. For a beginner, he drew himself really well. However, the circle is far from smooth and his facial features and body parts were slightly out of place.
Anyone who didn't have a brain would laugh at the outcome. Elline on the other hand, smiled slightly. Seeing this image allowed her to get an idea of Kirby's drawing skills. Improving it will be easy to do!
"Okay, this is good." Kirby smiled brightly at her praise. "Now, do it again." He instantly frowned at her orders.
Elline didn't like the look he gave her. "D-d-don't get me wrong, this is great but if you want to improve, you have to repeat your drawings, starting with the simplest ones."
Convinced but still grumbled to himself, Kirby took the pencil and began drawing another circle on the same paper of the canvas. Elline analyzed his drawing movement.
She stopped him from moving to the eyes as he finished drawing the circle. The result of the circle is the same as the one before.
"Draw another one in place of this circle but hover the pencil above the paper, just enough to tap it." Elline said with a glint in her eye. Kirby looked at her confusingly. "Just do it. I know a way to help keep your circles stable." She winked.
"Okay…" he replied. He began to draw light circles around the dark one. After every cycle, he relaxed his arm to do the next one. For every circle drawn, he feels more accustomed to it. Both he and Elline are able to see the progress.
"Okay Kirby, you can stop." He did as what he was told and they both examined the paper. It was hard to tell because of all the overlapping circles but Kirby's circles were looking smoother than before.
Elline beamed at the fact that her plan is working so far. "Now try drawing yourself again. I won't watch you this time. Go for it!" she cheered.
"Poyo!" Kirby nodded and began drawing away. Elline flew back to her diary and wrote in it again. Once she stopped hearing the sound of a pencil on a paper, she looked up and flew back to Kirby's side.
The circle, while not perfect, is way, way smoother than the initial drawing. The skills carried over to his body parts. The sign of improvement shines above hitting perfection at the current time.
"Perfect! This is a great drawing, Kirby." Elline beamed at him, causing him to smile widely.
"Now then, how about you… uh…" She froze because she didn't think about what else she could have him do.
"Poyo." He pointed at her then to the portrait. Elline completely understood what he intended to do.
"Y-y-you want to draw me? I-I don't know about that…" she looked away nervously. "My shape is not as simple as a circle, you know?"
He smiled and faced the portrait. He readied a pencil and paintbrush on the empty paper before she could protest.
Elline glanced at her hands in embarrassment as Kirby took occasional glances at her for reference. She is so unsure of what to think of this but it was far too late to stop him. The good thing is that he's taken the initiative to draw something and learn more. The bad thing… is that she can't really think of a bad thing other than embarrassment. Once he placed the paintbrush to the side to signal that he is done, the fairy hesitantly flew over to the canvas to see the result.
Kirby presented a weird drawing of himself and Elline. Elline's hair was messy and all over the place. The eyes and mouth were misaligned and too much pink was drawn over her brooch. Despite the mess, what really caught her attention was his attempt at a background. Together, they were out on a grassy, sunny hill with some sort of messy-looking building in the far background. Even though she never talked about designing backgrounds or foregrounds, she could tell that he tried to create the three dimensional environment.
Elline's initial anxiety flushed away. She couldn't help but giggle after examining it for a while. "It's… great! You're a really good painter. I bet you will one day surpass me."
Kirby smiled widely at the praise she gave him.
"Now, it's my turn." She winked mischievously. "You drew me, now I'll draw you and more."
A few minutes later, Kirby witnessed a drawing of him standing in the middle of the portrait with a space background, alongside Elline and Bandana Dee. The seven worlds were lined up along the edges. The shadow of Claycia blended in the background of space.
Kirby was clearly flabbergasted at the result.
"What do you think? It's not my best work… I think. But I wanted to draw something like this for a while. The three of us, the seven worlds and… Claycia." She mentioned her name sadly but she kept her spirits up. "It's the perfect movie poster, I'd say."
"Draw more poyo." Kirby said, still flabbergasted.
"If you want me to, then I'll heed your wishes Kirby." Elline readied her pocket paintbrush.
Over time, Kirby watched in awe as she recreated some of the areas they've been through on paper such as the dry Yellow Dunes and exotic Blue Sky Palace. In each environment, she drew herself, Kirby and Bandana Dee exploring the region in a way that will match the canvas.
She eventually handed back the paintbrush to Kirby, claiming that there's no learning if you only watch. Elline instructed Kirby to draw the first thing that comes to his mind. As a result, he stood in front of the canvas to ponder. The fairy silently watched on from the corner, thinking about him.
Elline considered Kirby a great friend from the start because of what he went through for her. But she has yet to wonder who he really is. His "poyo" language makes it hard for her to know him well despite understanding him really well.
In the midst of her thoughts, she didn't realize that Kirby has drawn something on the canvas. It was only until the puffball dragged her to the portrait by hand was what got her attention. Of course, she blushed at the action.
There was a single red apple in the middle of the canvas. Elline had to blink a few times to realize that she sees what she sees.
"…May I ask why you drew this apple?" Elline scratched her head, expecting an answer.
Kirby silently stared at the portrait sadly. This apple was abruptly snatched from his hands from the effect of the Draining Light. And he swore to himself to not use his main abilities, such as his inhale, until he savors the taste of the specific fruit. But it's proving to be more difficult as they travel forward. Some enemies may require Kirby to break out of his own chains from here on out. It'll create a dilemma of whether or not if he would continue rolling like a bowling ball and using his physical strength of his attacks or become self-made transformations by eating his foes.
Elline was unaware of the turmoil going on in, but she thought that the apple is somehow important to him. She placed a hand onto his back and rubbed it in a circular motion to get his attention again. "Kirby, who are your other friends? A sweet guy like you would have more than just Bandana Dee back on Planet Popstar, right?"
The puffball finally broke his gaze from the hand drawn apple and stared at her in the eyes.
"Maybe you could draw them for me as a visual aid?" she asked sweetly.
Kirby nodded happily and began his drawing and coloring, already forgetting about the apple. It didn't take too long the design the two figures. One was holding a sword and looked similar to Kirby. Its eyes were obscured by a purple mask and it was apparently smiling in pride. The other is… an indescribable penguin-like creature.
Elline stood wide-eyed at the picture. To her, it was just scribbles of people she didn't know. It would be impossible for her to figure them out until they meet in person.
But he didn't stop there. Kirby continued by designing the background of his home, Dream Land. The area he was designing was Green Greens with Whispy Woods and the same messy looking castle in the far background which happens to be King Dedede's castle. Despite the poor drawing, she could perfectly understand the message Kirby was trying to convey. The fairy never got to experience Dreamland in full color. When she arrived, it was already a dead and lifeless land thanks to Claycia. When he finished, the puffball couldn't help but be sad that his home currently isn't the way he drew it.
Maybe one day, Elline would see Dreamland in its full color and spend time with Kirby there…
"Is that your home, bandana guy?" Cyano asked.
Shamorocka, Olive, Pear and Bandana Dee were spying on the duo through the various gaps in the bumpy cloudy ground. Cyano is more focused on picking the lock on the treasure chest but he checked in every once in a while.
"Yeah…" Bandana Dee responded sadly. "Right now, it's a dull and frozen wasteland. We're on this journey to restore our home and Seventopia."
"I'm sorry Kirby." Elline said truthfully, causing Kirby to be confused at her. "I could have stopped Claycia from draining the color of your home planet. But, I was too slow and foolish to do anything."
"Poyo…" Kirby mumbled. As if he said, "it's not your fault".
"Thank you, Kirby but it is my fault." Elline said. "If I noticed something was wrong back while we were sculpting Seventopia… then I…"
Elline felt a soft body wrap around her to stop her from talking. Knowing who it is, Elline returned the friendly gesture. She was able to calm down before any tears fell down her face.
"Yes… Kirby." She cooed. "We'll make things better for everyone. Tomorrow, we'll free the cottas from the thundercloud."
"Poyo!" Kirby said as he broke from the hug.
"Now, I think our lesson is over. You're a fast learner… yawn…"
"Poyoo…" Kirby yawned before he could intervene. He wanted to continue having fun with his friend. But both of them were tired and they needed the rest that is essential to saving Popstar and Seventopia.
"I hope we'll do this again Kirby. That was fun." She winked at him affectionately. Kirby slightly blushed in response. This didn't go unnoticed by the smiling fairy, giving her an idea.
"You know… there's something I've been meaning to give you, but I don't know if I want to wait…" she smiles mischievously and flies closer.
"She's not going to do it now…" Bandana Dee gasped and whispered.
"Will we witness what we think we will witness!?" Olive babbled.
"After this boring display… something exciting occurs!?" Pear mumbled.
"Quiet, you two!" Shamorocka scolded.
Elline slowly inched closer to Kirby who had his eyes wide open in surprise. Thoughts ran through each of their minds. In particular, Elline began having second thoughts about what she wants to do. This caused her to stop in the air and back away slowly,
"Poyo…?" Kirby was confused at what she was doing.
"Errm… sorry Kirby… I'm just tired. How about we go to sleep? We have another day tomorrow to reach Claycia." Elline moodily said as she flew to her bed to lay face down.
The oblivious Kirby shrugged before rolling to his bed. Upon contact of the bed, he instantly fell asleep.
On the other hand, Elline groaned in frustration. "Why did I hesitate? I could have given him something so nice…" Elline looked up from the cloudy mattress and over to the sleeping lovable pink puff. After a few moments, she smiled. "Maybe… another chance at another day. I hope that day will be soon."
In the room above, the cottas and Bandana Dee were stunned in silence.
"I… wish more could have happened." Shamorocka said.
"Seriously! Especially since the artwork was so boring…" Pear moaned, earning annoyed looks from everyone but Cyano.
"Boring is a bit of a stretch." Olive countered. "It's ART. Now that I think about it, drawing something shouldn't be the most fun thing to do."
"Hey guys, let's talk about this tomorrow. We're in another cotta's room after all." Shamorocka gestured to Cyano who was staring at the treasure chest.
Taking the cue, the cottas began leaving. Bandana Dee stayed. He nodded to the three chefs and watched them depart.
Cyano didn't turn around to wave at the cottas for some reason. Then again, Cyano is the most distinct cotta Bandana Dee has ever seen so far.
"Hey Cyano?" To Bandana Dee's surprise, he turned to face him and awaited his question. "Why did you help us like this?" He asked, before clarifying. "I'm not just talking about watching Elline teach Kirby. I'm talking about back in the tower where the Grab Hands appeared. You were the only cotta that came to our rescue."
The cotta was taken back by the thoughtful question. Bandana Dee could see his facial expression slightly change as he tried to word his response. "I… I don't know. I just… I just felt like I needed to help the mistress. It's probably the same reason to how I was the one who saw the chest fall from the sky, or why I journeyed to Indigo Ocean to hide and lock it and why I'm picking the same lock on this chest. Other cottas offered to help but I... declined because it's something I feel like I should do by myself. And besides... you guys seem to care about me a lot."
"Oh, that's… great." Bandana Dee said. "So, what are you going to do next?"
"Hmm…" Cyano mumbled. "I asked Kirby a question earlier, and then I learned about you right now. So I'll want to ask Miss Elline a question tomorrow."
"Wait, what did you learn from me?" Bandana Dee asked?
"You take action." Cyano vaguely replied.
"Wait what?"
"It's getting late, bandana guy. You should go." Cyano began pushing him out with his head. To Bandana Dee's surprise, he's pretty strong for his size. Once he was shoved out, Cyano closed the door softly and locked it.
The waddle dee scratched his head for a bit before departing.
"Miss…"
"-line"
Elline woke up from the bed and looked around. Kirby wasn't in the room, much to her surprise and Cyano is patiently standing by the bed's edge. Curious about why he's in here, she silently motioned him to speak.
"We've opened the chest, Miss Elline. Now we need you guys to see what's inside." He announced.
Elline's eyes perked up. "That's great! I'm excited to see it!"
The pair walked out of the room. But before they could get far, Cyano wanted to ask Elline something.
"What do you think… about Kirby?" he asked in a carefree manner.
"Not this again…" Elline blushed in a beet red. "Uh… well… I…?"
"What do you think about Kirby?" Cyano repeated.
"I care about him because he's my friend!" she yelled. "Now let's go please."
"Yes, Mistress." He replied in a cryptic tone.
Luckily, no one else heard them… except Bandana Dee and the three cotta chefs who were laughing hard and quietly in the hallway. Elline, Cyano and Kirby from elsewhere joined the company and walked towards the entrance.
"So friends care about each other and understand each other." The cyan cotta thought. "Kirby is someone Miss Elline cares for and Kirby clearly cares for her back. Bandana Dee is another good friend of theirs who always takes action to be noticed. I like that about him. I… I want a friend with all these qualities. That friend would understand my differences more than anyone…"
"Hey guys, what's so funny!?" Elline asked in an angered manner.
Cyano and the chef cottas were walking alongside the trio in the hallway. Bandana Dee and the chef cottas were snickering suspiciously, making her uncomfortable.
"Oh, it's nothing at all, Miss." Shamorocka quickly pointed out
"No need to worry." Olive and Pear said.
"But there IS a need to worry. It's making me feel… nervous and suspicious." She mumbled.
"There's nothing to be nervous about, Elline." Bandana Dee jumped in. "I was just telling them about … some things." Bandana Dee inwardly panicked at the trap he set himself in.
"And what are those 'things'!?" she eyed him suspiciously.
"Uh, well I was telling them about you're amazing artistic skills and… how nice you look throughout our adventure." The waddle dee stuttered.
Kirby, who was humming a familiar tune to himself, turned to the waddle dee in interest but didn't say a word.
Despite her clear blush, Elline ignored his compliments. "You guys are hiding something."
Now the cottas and Bandana Dee were beginning to lose their cool. Cyano figured that Elline would catch on sooner than later.
"We're almost at the entrance, Miss Elline." Cyano announced as if he was oblivious to the tense situation.
Bandana Dee sighed in relief. Elline glared at him before turning to Cyano.
Shamorocka whispered in the waddle dee's ear. "At least you didn't blow our cover, but now she's got her eye on you."
Bandana Dee giggled. "Not for long. I've teased her a few times before and she got over it quickly..." After a moment of thought, his eyes became wide. "Then again, something good or bad always happens sometime after my teasing which makes her… forget..."
Originally, I was going to append this to Stars and Storms. The reason why I didn't is because I didn't want to slow down the plot of the main story just for this event so I decided to make a separate chapter for it… roughly three years later.
The mix of ideas and web tangled plot must be evident all over this chapter. Regardless, I'm glad it is done for. It was one of the hardest chapters to write, hence why it never came out on time. (To be fair, when do I follow my set deadlines?)
Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! 2020 is the beginning of a new decade so let's all make it count!