Yaaaaaay! I got a review! In less than five hours! Let's keep 'em coming, people, unless you want me to suffer emotional lacerations for the rest of my life! Well? Do you? (bursts into tears) WHY DOES EVERYONE HATE ME?

-----

The next day, which had one again required getting up at circa five in the morning, Ribbon had led the others into the middle of a very large city.

"Wow! This place is fantastic!" Kirby exclaimed.

"It's great," Ribbon muttered. "I need a coffee. You guys wait here and don't screw anything up while I'm gone. That means YOU, Ad."

"What?" Adeleine said innocently, trying to hide a chainsaw she had in her hand behind her back. Ribbon just groaned and flew off.

"Did you hear that?" Kirby said to the others once she was out of earshot. "She's getting a COFFEE! Who in their right mind drinks coffee at her age?"

"Maybe that's why she's so short," Adeleine observed, inconspicuously tossing the chainsaw away. "Anyway, I hope she doesn't really think there's a Crystal Shard around here. This place is huge."

"No kidding," said Kirby. "Well, I'm gonna get a newspaper and see if they're still offering a reward for us from last week."

"Oh yeah. I remember that," Adeleine said, grinning sheepishly. "Boy, I thought they'd never stop chasing us."

When Kirby returned a few minutes later, everyone sat down on a bench to read their favorite sections of the newspaper. In other words, Kirby threw most of it away while they all pored over the comics. After a little while, Waddle Dee happened to glance over his shoulder at one of the discarded sections of the paper, then did a double take. He snatched it up and started studying it closely.

"Hey, guys, look at this ad in the paper," he said.

"I'M IN THE PAPER?" Adeleine shrieked excitedly. "Where?"

"He meant look at the ADVERTISEMENT in the paper," said King Dedede, smacking her upside the head.

"Yeah, stupid," said Waddle Dee.

"Hey! I thought we were best friends!"

"We are, but it doesn't mean you're not stupid. Now check this out, you guys. They're advertising this hotel downtown called the Bayside Hotel. Doesn't it look cool?"

Everyone leaned over to look.

"Yeah, what about it?" asked Kirby.

"What about it! They've got a pool, a hot tub, massages, breakfast buffets. . . doesn't that sound like what Ribbon needs?"

"Who cares? As long as we can dump her somewhere for a few days, I say go for it!" said Adeleine.

"Ad, I think the point is that it's relaxing," Kirby informed her. "Maybe this way we can get Ribbon's blood pressure down to normal. Let me see that, Waddle Dee."

Kirby examined the advertisement for a long time. "Wow, this sounds perfect for her! And it says that for a limited time only, a three-day weekend stay for one person is only. . . SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS?"

"They're not gonna get a lot of business if they emphasize the price like that," Adeleine remarked.

"They didn't. That was just me being surprised. We can't afford this! We're all broke!"

"Aw, come on, Kirby, since when has legality ever been a problem for us?" Waddle Dee asked. "Besides, this isn't just for her. If she's gone, we get three whole days to ourselves! No Crystal Shards, no hiking all day long – and no getting up at five!"

"Imagine it," said Adeleine. "Sleeping in until seven-thirty! Maybe even eight!"

Everyone sighed dreamily.

"Yeah, you guys are absolutely right," Kirby agreed. "Ribbon needs this, and more importantly, so do we. Let's do it."

"Great," said King Dedede. "How do we get seven hundred dollars?"

"The same way we always get money," Kirby replied, casting a very sly grin at Adeleine.

"What?" she cried, looking panicked. "Ohhhhh no, Kirby! I already told you I was never doing that again!"

-----

Adeleine was standing by the side of a busy road, holding her paintbrush and pallette so that they were clearly visible. On the ground next to her was a sign reading "PLEASE GIVE".

"Oh, are you an artist?" asked a woman who was walking by. "You poor thing. Here, have ten dollars." And she dropped a bill into a small pile of money on the ground before leaving.

"This is the LAST TIME," Adeleine shouted behind her at Kirby, Waddle Dee, and King Dedede, who were all hiding behind a mailbox and finding it very difficult to keep their laughter under control. "And how many times do I have to tell people, NOT ALL ARTISTS ARE POOR!"

"You are," Waddle Dee reminded her.

"THAT'S BECAUSE I'M TEN YEARS OLD AND I DON'T HAVE A JOB!"

The three guys all just rolled their eyes and said something along the line of "Details, details."

"Hey, I'm warning you, you guys had better shut up!"

"Why?" asked Kirby.

"'Cause I've got a baseball bat! And those really hurt when you get hit on the head with one!"

"You don't have a baseball bat!" King Dedede objected, but at that very moment, Adeleine whipped out her easel and painted a picture of one. Instantly it turned into a real bat and fell right into her hands.

"I DO NOW, BIOTCHES!" she screamed and started chasing after the unfortunate other three. As she did so, a random shifty-eyed guy walked up to her unsupervised pile of money, quickly stuffed it into his pockets, and walked away whistling.

"What? Oh, crap!" Adeleine shouted as soon as she noticed. "Hey, punk, gimme that back!" The guy tried to run away, but Adeleine flung herself on top of him, knocking him to the ground, and started whacking the bejeezus out of him with her bat.

"Maybe we should just take out a loan next time," said Kirby.

-----

"Okay, guys, what's this all about?" asked Ribbon. It was later that morning, and everyone was leading her up a street. Kirby's hands were over her eyes.

"Just wait, Ribbon, you'll love it," he said. We got this just for you."

"But is this really important? We really should be working and. . . ." She sniffed. "Kirby, are you using rose petal scented hand lotion?"

"Okay, you can look!" Kirby said hastily, throwing his hands off her eyes as quickly as he could before hiding them behind his back..

"Scented hand lotion?" Adeleine exclaimed. "Geez, Kirby, I always looked upon you as an archetype of masculinity, but now. . . ."

Ribbon looked up in confusion. They were standing across the street from the Bayside Hotel.

"You guys got me a building?" she asked.

"No, Ribbon, it's a hotel!" said Kirby. "And we bought you a room there for three whole days – today, tomorrow, and Sunday!"

"YOU DID WHAT?" Ribbon yelled, not looking at all happy.

Adeleine rolled her eyes. "Oh, you're welcome, Ribbon. And no, I didn't have to do anything degrading or illegal to get that seven hundred dollars. Just ask the Poor Artists' Guild."

Ribbon ignored her completely. "Guys, I can't stay in a hotel all weekend! We've got a job! And I obviously can't trust all of you to do it yourselves! What were you all thinking! Do you even care about the fate of the universe? How dense are you, you – "

She went on ranting for several minutes more before Kirby finally got tired of it and clubbed her over the head.

"Kirby, I thought you liked her," King Dedede said in confusion as Kirby struggled to hold up the now-unconscious fairy.

"It's really more like a love-hate relationship," Kirby admitted.