Kirby stretched his arms as he emerged into the sunlight.

"Ah," he sighed. "Finally out of that cave."

"Huray…" Ribbon said as she came out behind him, practically wobbling on her feet. Her face was tinged green.

"Uh, you okay, Ribbon?" he asked.

"Caves…" she whined. "Cannons… too many cannons… so… much… spinning… ulp!"

She slapped a hand to her mouth and curled an arm around her stomach, as her complexion went even greener.

"Oh yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "You, uh, get used to it after a while."

Ribbon swallowed back her nausea and frowned.

"I don't want to get 'used to it'," she groaned. "If I never see another cannon in my life it will be too soon!"

She turned away as another wave of nausea hit her. Kirby patted her back worriedly.

"You gonna be okay?" he asked.

"Y-yeah," she answered. "Just- ulp! G-give me a few minutes."

Kirby swiftly gathered her up in his arms.

"Wha!? Kirby!" she cried, red mixing with green on her cheeks.

"Sorry, Ribbon," he apologized as he walked forward. "We don't exactly have time."

The red was slowly overtaking the green.

'All things considered,' she thought. 'This isn't terrible.'


"I think we're catching up," Kirby said some time later.

The two had been working through Fine Fields with as much haste as possible. It was starting to become clear that 'fields' was a misnomer. The last hour consisted of a trek through a secret forest.

"How can you tell?" she asked.

Kirby hummed and adjusted the green stocking cap on his head.

"Call it an adventurer's hunch," he eventually said. He tapped his chin. "Feels like we're due for a boss fight," he mumbled under his breath.

Ribbon shrugged. As far as she was concerned, Kirby was the expert.

"It does feel like we're getting to the edge of the island," she said.

"Hopefully, we don't have to deal with any more trees," he grumbled.

Ribbon glanced back to the thinning forest behind them.

"Stupid waddle dees," he said with a pout. "You're supposed to yell 'timber' when you cut down a tree."

"Why were they even cutting down trees anyway?"

Kirby only shrugged.

"Who knows," he said. "Wild waddle dees are just kinda random."

Their conversation on the random nature of waddle dees was soon interrupted by a familiar shout.

"Get back here with His Majesty!"

"Y-yeah!"

"That was Bandee and Pinny!" Kirby cried. "Come on, Ribbon!"

"Right!"

The two soon entered a clearing full of flowers and saw their friends chasing the spider mage.

Kirby leapt forward, slashing at Taranza.

"You again!" he hissed.

He jumped back from Kirby's strike.

"Alright Bug!" Kirby said, adjusting his grip on his sword. "You're surrounded."

The spider glanced back to Bandanna Dee and Pin Stitch leveling weapons behind him.

"You're gonna pay for attacking Ribbon," Kirby growled.

Ribbon stood ready at his side. She trained the blaster on Taranza.

"Drop the King!" she called.

"Oh, yeah, that too!" Kirby added.

"Hmmph," Taranza scoffed. "You're wasting my time." He glared at Kirby. "And I told you, Pest! I'm a spider."

He shook his head.

"Since you're so insistent on toying with me," he said slyly. One of his hands raised and began to cast magic. "I'll give you a playmate."

"W-watch out!" Pinny yelled.

"Oh no you don't!" Kirby cried as he charged forward.

Taranza threw the magic orb down to the ground. The blast that emerged pushed Kirby back and forced Ribbon to shield her eyes.

When she was able to see again, she gasped. Taranza's magic hadn't been an attack but a spell he cast on a flower beneath him. The magic transformed the flower into a towering green tree with multi-colored flowers for leaves. Large black eyes glanced at them in confusion over a long pointed nose ending in a pink flower.

"Of course," Kirby sighed. "Of course it's a tree. Why is it always a tree?"

"Have fun with Flowery Woods!" Taranza cried as he flew away.

Said Flowery Woods seemed to focus on the sword in Kirby's hands. Its eyes narrowed and it let out a roar. It shook its canopy and let loose three flowers that spun towards Kirby like blades.

"Woah!" Kirby shouted as he deflected the first razor sharp flower.

"Kirby!" Bandanna Dee called.

"I got this!" he said, slashing through the second flower. "You guys go after DeDeDe!"

Bandanna Dee nodded.

"On it!" he said. "Come on Pin!"

"Eep! R-roger!"

Ribbon shot the third flower out of the air.

"I've got your back, Kirby!"

He nodded.

"Let's take it down!"

The tree spewed three familiar puffs of air from its mouth.

"Huh?" Kirby questioned as he dodged. "That's familiar."

The two dodged more attacks. While Ribbon could get in a few shots to the main body, Kirby was repelled by attacks before he could get close.

"That's also familiar," he mumbled as he dodged a gordo that fell from the tree's branches.

"Kirby, watch out!"

Ribbon's cry alerted him to the giant root that tried to strike him.

He dodged with a dive and ended up next to Ribbon.

"Why's it so focused on me!?" he said through a pant.

"Stop calling me an 'it'!" the tree yelled.

The distinctly female voice caught the two off guard.

"What?" Ribbon whispered.

"I'm a girl, you rude pest!" Flowery Woods yelled.

"Er, sorry," Kirby said awkwardly. "I didn't kno-"

"How dare you," she continued to rant. "These beautiful flowers should have tipped you off!"

"I mean, maybe," Kirby argued. "But I didn't wanna assu-"

"Uhg!" she scoffed. "Rude and stupid!"

"Now, wait a minu-"

"Calling me an 'it' and you've been cutting down my friends!"

"Wait, what?"

"Those poor trees. I could hear their cries from here." She paused to use a leaf to wipe her eye.

"That wasn't me!" Kirby argued.

"Yeah!" Ribbon cried. "It was those waddle-"

"LIARS!" Flowery yelled. "I don't see anyone else with such a sharp blade around here!" She began to shake with anger. "You're rude and stupid and liars! That's IT!"

Against all logic, the flower tree jumped. Her roots which had been stuck in the ground retracted and extended as she began to spin like a helicopter.

"Oh, boy," Kirby said with a sigh.

"I'll smash you flat!"

"Wait, can't we talk this thro-"

"Duck!" Ribbon yelled as she tackled Kirby to the ground.

She summoned a shield around them as she pulled him close. The tree rocketed forward and would have hit them with her rapidly spinning roots if not for Ribbons shield deflecting her.

"Thanks, Ribbon," he said.

The duo quickly disentangled themselves and began to glance around.

"Where'd she go?" he asked.

Ribbon leveled her blaster as she searched for their foe.

"There!"

Flowery Woods flew over a nearby ravine and landed.

"Time to end this" she cried.

Kirby frowned.

"Okay," he said. "This is bugging me."

Ribbon's eyes widened as he sheathed his sword behind his back.

"Kirby! What-"

"Hold on a sec, Ribbon." He cupped his hands around his mouth. "HEY FLOWERY!" he yelled over the ravine. "ARE YOU RELATED TO WHISPY WOODS?"

Whatever attack Flowery was preparing petered out as she paused.

"Whispy Woods?"

Her demeanor completely changed as she let out a smile.

"You know Whispy?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah," Kirby responded. "Like practically my whole life."

"Kirby, what are you doing?" Ribbon frantically whispered.

"Trust me, Ribbon. On my mark, we end this."

Ribbon took a deep breath and summoned another blaster.

'Focus,' she told herself as she closed her eyes and crossed her arms in an x formation.

"Oh, what a small world," Flowery said with a giggle. "Whispy's my third cousin twice removed."

"No kidding?" Kirby said.

"Yes," she affirmed. "I'm surprised you recognize it. We don't really look alike."

"Er, just a guess," Kirby said slowly.

"How is that old oak anyway?"

'Wait, isn't Whispy an apple tree?' Ribbon thought. 'Focus, Ribbon!'

"Oh, you know," Kirby hummed. "Same old, same old. He's had a few dozen kids, gives me apples on occasion, assumes I'm responsible for whatever crisis happens in Dreamland and we fight, you know how it goes."

Flowery laughed.

"Oh, yes. Cousin Whispy and his assumptions."

"Must run in the family," Kirby mumbled under his breath.

Ribbon snickered.

"Oh, I simply must mention this at the next family reuni-"

She stilled.

"Now WAIT A MINUTE!" she cried. Her eyes narrowed at Kirby. "We're supposed to be fighting, not chatting!"

"We don't have to," Kirby offered. "I'd prefer it if we could end it here."

"Oh, I'll end it alright!"

The ground shook. Five massive roots emerged from the ground, all aimed at Kirby.

"Say goodnight, you pink punk!" she cried as she drew the roots back.

"Alright," Kirby sighed. "Your funeral. Now, Ribbon!"

As the roots moved to smash them like pancakes, Ribbon's eyes snapped open. Five blasts fired from her basters in the span of a second. Each blast impacted the roots with unerring accuracy, stopping them in their tracks.

"What?" Flowery cried.

"Nice one, Ribbon!" Kirby congratulated her. "My turn now."

He pulled his sword out and charged for a second.

"Ascending Spin Attack!" he called out. His spin attack carried him upwards and cut through the roots like butter.

"Link taught me that one," he said with a smirk. "NOW TRY THIS ONE ON FOR SIZE!"

Energy coalesced around Kirby's sword as he held it straight up above his head. The energy soon formed a large phantom blade around the sword, tripling its length.

"Wa-wait!" Flowery cried, her entire trunk shaking in fear. "We-we can talk about this!"

"Too late! Super Sword Strike!"

He swung the blade diagonally down.

"NOOOOOOO!" Flowery yelled in pain as the blade sliced through.

Energy collected in her body before it exploded, sending the flowery tree flying straight up in the air. She soon slammed back down, hitting the ground with such force that the ground tilted.

Kirby hit the ground face down and bounced. The hat atop his head slowly shimmered and disappeared, taking his sword with it.

"Kirby!" Ribbon cried as she approached him.

"Uhg," he said, pulling himself into a sitting position. "Could have stuck the landing better."

She smiled.

"I'll give you a nine for the move, but I'll have to take away two points for the landing," she joked.

"So a seven? I'll take it!"

The two laughed.

"So what was that anyway?" she asked.

"Something Meta's been helping me with," he said as he stood up. "We've been trying to remake the Ultra Abilities since all the Ultra Essences disappeared." He sighed. "That's as far as we got, though. It's not as big as Ultra Sword and it basically uses all of the copy essence." He grinned at her. "Still it worked good as a finisher."

"I'll say," she agreed.

The two turned to their defeated foe. Flowery Woods, sniffling as sappy tears flowed from her eyes, cried softly.

"I feel kinda bad," Ribbon said softly. "It was just a misunderstanding."

"Yeah," Kirby agreed, just as soft. He narrowed his eyes. "So let's fix it."

He floated over the ravine with Ribbon following.

"A-are you here to finish me off?" Flowery blubbered as they approached. "Were my friends and family not enough for you?"

Kirby rolled his eyes and pulled a bottle out.

"Herbicide?!" she cried. "How cruel! Is this really how my 5 years of life end? You fiends! You dastardly-"

"Will you stop that!" Kirby said as he shoved the bottle opening into her mouth. "It's just a super soda we found." He turned to Ribbon with a smirk. "So dramatic."

Flowery's eyes widened before closing in delight. A pleased hum followed as she swallowed the healthy treat. A green glow surrounded her for a second.

"You… healed me?" she said skeptically. "Why would you…"

"We were trying to tell you earlier," Ribbon said. "Kirby wasn't the one cutting down trees. It was a bunch of Waddle Dees with axes. Kirby didn't even have his sword until we got out of the forest."

"Yeah," Kirby said with a nod. "I was testing out that new beetle ability."

"So…" she said slowly. "It was a… misunderstanding?"

Ribbon and Kirby nodded.

Flowery slumped.

"Oh, how embarrassing!" she cried. "I'm so sorry you two. I made assumptions. Oh, I'm as bad as Cousin Whispy!"

"It's okay," Kirby comforted. "I never hold it against Whispy, so I'm not gonna hold it against you."

"Thank you… Oh, I never even learned your names."

"I'm Ribbon."

"And I'm Kirby. Nice to meet you, Flowery Woods."

"Oh, so you're the Kirby that Cousin Whispy talks about." The tree raised a brow. "I must say you're… not what I expected."

Kirby sighed. "Yeah… I get that a lot."

Ribbon giggled and patted his back.

"Thank you, Kirby and Ribbon," she said. "Still, I wish I had something to make it up to you."

Her eyes light up. "Oh, I know!"

She shook her leaves and dropped an object in front of them.

"I don't know what it is, but it sure is pretty."

"Wooooowww," the two said in awe.

"It's like a sun stone!" Kirby exclaimed.

"Yeah," Ribbon agreed. "But bigger."

The object looked like a regular sunstone but embedded in a bigger blue jewel with a large golden ring with 4 large points and four small points.

Kirby put the larger sunstone away.

"Thanks Flowery."

Ribbon gasped.

"Kirby! We should hurry! We still have to catch up to Bandanna Dee and Pinny!"

"Gah! You're right!" Kirby said with a jump.

"Sorry, Flowery," Ribbon apologized. "But we really need to go."

"Yeah," Kirby said.

The two turned away and began to charge off.

"Bye Flowery!" Kirby said, waving over his shoulder.

"Take care of yourself!" Ribbon called.

"Good bye, you two!" Flowery said, waving her leaves. "Good luck on your journey."

As the two ran out of sight, Flowery let out a happy sigh.

"What a cute couple."