I had this chapter scheduled for a February release but there were a lot of small revisions I had to do because I admittedly forgot I had teased part of what will happen here in the main story. Anyways, go and read this if you want to. With everything currently going on around the globe… it could be a nice way to fast forward time…
On another note... FANFICTION DOT NET FINALLY ADDED 'Elline' AND 'Claycia' AS CHARACTERS TO SEARCH FOR IN THE FILTERS. I MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE SENT AN EMAIL REQUEST TO THEM TO DO THIS SOMETIME IN FEBRUARY BUT REGARDLESS I'M HAPPY THIS HAPPENED AFTER 5 YEARS OF WAITING!
Hidden Chapter 3/13.5: The Sportle's Antics Part II
"EHEHEHEHEHEHEE… EEEEHEHEHEHEHE… EEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEEE…"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Thump* smash* pow*
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Elline abruptly woke up from her slumber and looked around the room, taking deep breathes as she processes where she is right now.
Her room in the mansion contains her pink bed that she's colored long ago and a small desk with writing and drawing utensils. In addition, her Secret Diary resides on the desk, closed and locked. By the desk is a canvas stand devoid of drawings. And on the wall next to her bed contains crude drawings of friends and locations from her previous adventure.
Everything in the room is normal.
"That nightmare again…" Elline shuddered. "Why do I keep getting it? And what are those sounds I hear in it? They sound familiar…"
The fairy turned to the wall and stared at two drawings of Kirby and Bandana Dee. The image of them always makes her happy however…
…looking at Kirby's portrait strangely reminisced her with a tinge of nostalgia, and it's not from her recent adventure…
Disregarding the thoughts, Elline flew out of her bed with her hair as neat as a paintbrush tip and over to her desk. She slowly opened the diary to an empty page.
"Anything to get my mind off of that nightmare…" she muttered before she put the tip of the pencil on the page. It took a few moments for her to actually write something because even a special magical paintbrush fairy with a clay sculptress as a mentor/friend/sister can suffer from artist block…
Claycia wanted to create a unique type of lifeform that's different than the cottas. But she didn't have a clear idea of a design, so she crafted whatever was on her mind while she sculpting Orange Woodlands. After I painted over it, we eventually witnessed the birth of the sportles.
The yellow variants (who I never saw until I climbed to the top of the Great Tree of Orange Woodlands) are very territorial but they are not wild or mean according to Claycia. She personally checked on them sometime after she returned to normal and told me everything about them. Anyways, they only become vicious when Dark Crafter reigned over the seven worlds. Even though Claycia didn't have a clear mind when she crafted them, she assumed that they'll overgrow their mindset and live with everyone else peacefully.
"They're still nowhere to be found…" Elline muttered out loud. "And the other cottas don't say a thing about them…"
As we were observing the newly painted landscape, we saw something pink catch our eye. And no, it wasn't Kirby. It was our first viewing of a sportle. A mischievous sportle who we eventually learned that she scares all the cottas who walk around Mushroom Hills with her various pranks that involve her stretching tentacles.
It did not take her long to notice Claycia and I watching her from afar. I was nervous when she was heading in our direction but Claycia was... smiling. She WANTED to meet the creature that she created... but I didn't because her behavior is so weird. So I didn't pay much attention to their conversation. I heard her name and I introduced myself but that was it. As the two talked to each other, I sneaked away without them noticing.
Later on in our journey, I wasn't thinking about Mimosa until we arrived in the world. But I assumed the bad happened due to everyone else on the seven worlds followed a horrible fate. That is, until she was following Bandana Dee and according to him, she saved him from falling off the waterfall.
Elline stopped writing and stared at the page she wrote in. Any more thoughts to put on the paper were shrouded in her mind. She then contemplated going back to sleep but…
"…the nightmare…" she shuddered. "I'm... I'm scared..."
She turned to an earlier page in her Secret Diary and began reading the contents she wrote and drew from a recent time...
As they climbed down the tree, they all noticed that the rainbow bridge was extended from the tree trunk and continued into the sky. Not too long later, they hit solid ground and followed the sportle to her burrow as the sun began to set...
"I'm never riding a gondola ever again." Bandana Dee moaned out loud. Kirby offered a sympathetic pat on his back, one that he gratefully accepted.
"Hopefully you won't need to, Bandana Dee. But… what if we come across a path where the only way across is by gondolas?" Elline asked while crossing her arms.
Beads of sweat formed on his back as the waddle dee struggled to think of a response. "I'll… uh… find a way across…" Bandana Dee shivered slightly as Elline flew close to him with narrowed eyes of skepticism.
"Have you fellows ever wondered about why there's so much water in the midsection of the giant tree?" Mimosa asked, apparently oblivious to the playful tension between Bandana Dee and Elline.
"Poyo." Kirby nodded.
"N-now that you mention it, it doesn't make any sense for there to be so much water built up in that giant tree." Bandana Dee said, thankful that the sportle changed the subject.
"Because that tree was modified into a tree fort by the dangle sloths with their leader's guidance." Mimosa replied. "They use the water inside for whatever they use it for so they don't ever need to go outside. Yet, those bozos do so anyways. But forget about that because we are here!"
True to her word, the trio and Mimosa arrived back in the open area surrounding Mimosa's burrow. Earlier, the place was bombarded with bomb explosions, destroying the surrounding fungi. Now, most of it has already grown back, as Mimosa stated after the incident.
The trio enters Mimosa's burrow for the second time today. Now that they weren't under pressure of being blown to bits, they could get a good look at the home. There wasn't much to the current room they are in. There is a single hallway that extends further inside which is something the trio didn't pay much attention to before.
"Welcome fellows, to my very own burrow, my cozy cave!" Mimosa exclaimed. "Allow me to give you three a tour!" The sportle clears her throat. "As you can see, this is the lobby. Nothing special here, just one couch large enough for the three of you to sit on together."
"Why are there buttons on these couch arms?" Bandana Dee asked.
"Oh those… press them to find out!" she chirped.
The waddle dee did exactly that. The result was instantaneous as two pairs of binoculars dropped from the ceiling. In shock, Bandana Dee turned to Mimosa who only kindly gestured him to look through one of them.
When Bandana Dee looked into them, he saw an overview of Mushroom Hills from a high up angle which means the periscope is hiding somewhere high by the waterfall.
"I have a lot of spare time to myself." The sportle shrugged. "I needed to stay constantly alert for those annoying sloths."
Elline looked into the other binoculars out of curiosity. Her view of the world is different from the waddle dee. She could see the forest on top of the cliff and the waterfall that follows the river into the giant tree.
"I even manage to get another view of my home from the tree. That's how I was able to spot you, Bandana Dee. If I wasn't on my binoculars, who knows what would have happened to you."
"It would have been a terrible fate for me." The waddle dee shivered at the thought.
"Now let's continue on with the tour!" Mimosa closed both binoculars simultaneously and pushed the trio ahead of her, much to their discomfort.
"There are two rooms facing each other in this hallway. Those are spare bed rooms I just happen to have for this occasion!"
The trio entered one of the rooms. This room had a single porch swing bed that's made out of rope. Then they went into the in the other one where there is a lone small table with a soft mat to sit on. There was also a single porch swing bed made out of rope.
"I like it! I'll be in this room." Bandana Dee announced after a quick look around.
"Good! I was going to lend you the other room with the swing but this works too. Kirby can have that room instead."
"Poyo!" Kirby nodded.
"Where will I sleep?" Elline asked.
"You… will sleep in the room just up ahead. Follow me."
The trio closes the doors and follows the wacky sportle. Not too far away, there is a lone room. The difference between this room and the previous two rooms is that this has a red blanket blind that conceals the entrance alongside a door. Mimosa opened the blanket blinds and revealed Elline's loaned room. This room has a chandelier and a pink couch that's perfect for sleeping. It also has a table large enough for her to use for her artwork.
The trio weren't surprised that Mimosa prepared a more exquisite room for Elline. They were surprised at the fact that she had everything planned from before they even met her.
Mimosa knew they had an unvoiced question. "I had these spare rooms made for if I ever have any sort of company here. It can get pretty lonely here sometimes." The sportle slightly shook her head at the thought. "I was prepared for the possibility of having Mis- ahem- Elline be in my burrow too."
"Even Mimosa feels obligated to express gratitude to Elline. Not on the level of the cottas though but still." Another thought crossed the waddle dee's mind. "Why didn't you call her 'Miss'?
"Now if you will stay here for the night, there are some rules you must follow." The sportle giggled gleefully, completely ignoring the question Bandana Dee asked her. Elline and Kirby bore a look of confusion while Bandana Dee suddenly looked really apprehensive.
Simultaneously, Mimosa brought out eight flashlights from hammerspace and juggled them in perfect sync. After a few seconds of showing off, she tossed them one by one into the air with some precision to make them land upside down on the ground side by side. Each color is different: green, yellow, indigo, blue, orange, red, purple and pink.
"Ta-daaa!" Mimosa exclaimed with eyes closed.
When the trio didn't respond with any noise, Mimosa opened her eyes and averted her gaze to them. They were in shock, yes, but confused to why she did this.
"…Is there a reason why I hear no clapping?" Mimosa mumbled, showing a rare sign of anger.
Bandana Dee spoke first after clearing his throat. "Well, you, uh, said you were going to tell us some rules to follow…"
The sportle blinked twice before making her mouth into the 'o' shape. "…Right, I was about to get to that. I was having too much fun with myself!" The trio sweat dropped instantly.
"Anyways! These are my special flashlights. You'll need them for when it gets dark later on. I'll loan you three of these… except…" the sportle picked up the pink flashlight and hid it behind her back. "…Not this one but any of the seven colors."
Elline chose the yellow one, Kirby chose the purple one and Bandana Dee chose the blue variant.
"Now then…" her voice and tone suddenly became serious. "If you somehow lose my special lights during your time here, then I'll show you the meaning of true pain! Got it?" she winked at the last sentence. The trio quickly nodded simultaneously. "Good! Now I go to my room. I'll be right back to tell you more things. Holler if you need anything!" With that, the sportle flew out of their sights and down the hall.
"Poyo…?" The puffball was already curious on where the sportle went.
"One thing's for sure, we better not lose these." Bandana Dee gulped. "Judging by how she enjoys using me like a ragdoll, I can't imagine what else she'll do to me..."
Since they had nothing else to do at the moment, the trio walked back at the living room and sat on the couch.
"The cottas were definitely referring Mimosa as the 'mysterious creature'. I'm sure of it." Bandana Dee thought out loud. "Now I see why the cottas are afraid of coming here."
"I was kind of scared too. But she isn't so bad after all. Just... misjudged..." The fairy thought. "…But what about Cyano?" Elline slowly became curious at her own question. "Actually… yeah… what about Cyano? How would he react to seeing Mimosa for the first time?"
Kirby got off the couch and stood in front of the two. "Poyo! Poyoyooo! Poyo!" Kirby imitated the cyan cotta and sportle first encounter in the best way he can. The basic idea is that Mimosa will appear out of nowhere and drag him somewhere after being acquitted with him.
"Hmm… I don't know Kirby. I think even he would be scared to have someone immediately tower over him." Elline said.
"I think Kirby might be on to something but then again, Cyano is mysterious." Bandana Dee shrugged. The other two nodded.
The feeling of dread surrounds Cyano.
Not just because of his intuition predicting a possible imminent threat approaching the Sky Cotta Colony based on what he saw earlier in the day, but because he felt like he was just mentioned and even impersonated out of context.
"P-p-p-please… l-l-let it all be over… ahh-chuuu!" the cotta shivered in the corner of his lone room, by a secret exit known to one and only one.
The trio remained in place, thinking about all the events that have transpired. In particular, Elline began to think about the time they've spent on Green Valley to now. From how they fought and defeated Whispy Woods, to relaxing on the beach for a time to now relaxing in the home of a sportle after a few hours of journeying through Orange Woodland. Later on… they'll have to traverse through the inactive Red Volcano and then…
Elline's optimistic mood suddenly dropped.
"She probably thinks I'm a common species… which I am but… I'm special in my own way!" Bandana Dee puffed his chest out, spiking Elline's curiosity and pulling her out of her moody thoughts.
While those two began to converse, Kirby got off the couch and went down the hallway. He passed by Elline's room and continued deeper in until he reached the last room in the hallway. He could hear some sort of an argument leak from the slightly opened door. His curiosity allowed him to open the door into Mimosa's Secret Room (which has one large table with a chandelier hanging above it) and saw something he'd never thought he'd see.
There were not one but two pink sportles. Both share similar appearances to Mimosa but these clones had a singular eye, four tentacles and are roughly half the original's size. They didn't notice Kirby standing dumbfounded at the entrance because they were too caught up in their argument.
"Did you have to be THAT threatening to them!?" 1
"Of course I did, you know how long it took for me to find these flashlights!" 2
"I KNOW that but they don't KNOW that." 1
"Yeah they don't which is why I—" 2
"Poyo…?"
Both clones nervously turned to Kirby where the latter had a really confused look on his face. Wanting to avert the confusion, the two clones eyed each other and nodded.
"Hello Kirby!" The clones zoomed into his personal space before he could move. "We are one and the same and the same and the one! We share the same mind, speech, power, skills and charming looks but not the same idea! We're more mobile like this but our combined self is stronger and smarter and charming. We despise staying out like this because we despise each other, so we'll merge sooner than later! We only have each other for company and no one else but that's okay because pink should, can and will drive away anything threatening if your name starts with an M-I-M-O-S-A!"
Kirby blinked multiple times to process what just occurred in front of him. One moment, the clones were arguing with herself and the next moment she monologue perfectly in sync.
"Also…" The Mimosa clones flew in even closer in his intimate space and stared into his eyes. "…Promise to me that you'll never speak of this to anyone!"
"Okay…" he agreed with a moment's hesitation.
"Good! Now please leave, I was just discussing topics with myself!" Before Kirby could move, the two clones pushed him out of the door with their tentacles. Once he was thrown out, they shut and locked the door.
Kirby sat on the ground, in the position he landed on to contemplate the events that occurred.
"Okay, well, let's have a mutual agreement NOT to argue like this when we have guests over." 2
"Fine… only because we need to go harvest the fruits tonight." 1
"Oh yeah, let's go do that now!" she said at once.
The two clones merged into one and flew out of the burrow through a secret exit.
"Kirby you look like you saw a ghost." Elline remarked as the puffball appeared in the living room.
"Poyo!? No! No…!" the puffball rapidly shook his head.
"Kirby, is everything alright?" Elline inquired.
"Poyo!" he nodded quickly although too quickly for his liking.
"The little guy's fine. Right now, we got other business to do." Mimosa said from out of nowhere.
Elline and Bandana Dee nearly fell out of their seats at the surprise pop up. On the other hand, Kirby had beads of sweat on his face. And it worsened as the sportle looked at him care-freely. The other two didn't notice his dilemma because they weren't looking at the puffball.
"I missed the perfect window of forest foraging because of our little adventure today. So I'll make up the lost time with a six extra hands. All the hands 'round here total to fourteen, which is more than enough."
"You… didn't tell us what we'll do with our hands." Bandana Dee stated.
"Right!" the sportle laughed. "We go outside now and I'll show you then."
Kirby inwardly sighed in relief as they went outside. Now he doesn't need to worry about telling them what he saw. Unknown to him, the waddle dee and fairy still had the subject on the back of their minds and decided to ask him more about it later if they remember to.
"Now then…" Mimosa looked at the sky and noticed the sun is touching the horizon. "Your job is to help me forage for the fruit located on this world. That way, we have food on the table for a party tonight!" she said gleefully.
"A party?" Bandana Dee questioned.
"Oh, no, not a party. Just a meal to eat!" she clarified, much to the dismay of the trio.
"How do you know there will be something to find?" Elline asked, almost smirked at her own question.
"Because the fruits in this area grow back overnight, so I never run out of supplies. It's the perfect getaway for a vacation!" she chirped.
Elline smiled. "Claycia made sure that the food in Seventopia is plentiful when we were creating it. I'm glad it's working out for you."
"I'm glad too but we've wasted too much time." Mimosa extended her eight tentacles in eight different directions. "Split up and search for those fruits! Go, go, gooooo!"
The sudden command caused the trio to immediately split up without thinking. Kirby ran into a nearby bush and vanished, Elline flew behind the burrow and began her search there and Bandana Dee ran off towards the Great Tree.
Kirby weaved his way through several bush twigs in great haste. After reaching through one bush, he climbs into another to repeat the process. Eventually, he encountered the waterfall at the bottom of the cliff where a group of lost dangle sloths were regrouped at.
The puffball rolled to the water's edge to see the commotion. One sloth noticed the puffball and recognized him. Alerting the others, the dangle sloths glare at Kirby, making him stop and show a serious expression.
The sloths then charged at him simultaneously, hoping to pay him back for destroying their leader. Kirby moved slowly before picking up the pace and readied himself for a fight.
The growth of the various mushrooms and plants seem to be healthier than normal, based on the deeper red hue of the mushroom tops.
Which to say, it surprised Elline because something like this has never occurred in the world. What's even more interesting is the small crater that the plants and fungi surrounded. After looking at the crater, Elline put two and two together.
"This is where the treasure chest fell to." Elline muttered. "…Right by Mimosa's burrow too. She must have gotten a rude awakening." The fairy giggled at the thought before moving closer to examine the crater.
"When the star crashed, some of its energy spread out into the nearby area. Maybe that's why nature around here feels so… pure." She concluded.
The fairy pulled out the Indigo Star and admired it. Its color radiated like a pulse but the brightness is very low. "Kirby's planet color really is amazing…" Elline frowned to herself. "But… seeing all this…" Elline looked around the area one more. "…and witnessing what Claycia is doing…" she looked in the direction of Purple Fortress before sighing and putting away the marvel object.
Mimosa was flying above the mushroom heads while carrying some unique Seventopia fruit. As she hummed to herself, she noticed Elline staring at the crater where she found the treasure chest.
"There's so much on my mind." The fairy muttered. "Every time I think about Claycia, it makes me unsure about what to feel about all this."
"Elline? You found the crater where I found the crashed star?" The sportle landed in front of her with a neutral expression.
Elline wordlessly nodded. The trained eyes of the wild sportle noticed something was different about her creator.
"Is… there anything wrong?" Mimosa asked with genuine concern.
The tone of voice surprised Elline because it lacked the usual energy and mischievous tone it had. Still, she didn't want to bring it up because it is an admittedly nice change of pace to see her so passive and calm.
"I'm just thinking about things, that's all." Elline replied. Surprisingly, the sportle didn't press for a more engaging reply. Rather, she just nodded and looked up. "Anyways, the sun is setting soon so I need to find fruits for you." The fairy said before flying off into the bushes.
"How interesting…" The sportle thought. "She's just like Claycia when it comes to thinking. They stare off into space as if the solution will come to them." The sportle began moving to her burrow. "Though… in this case… the solution to whatever problem she has is someone who is pink and not me." Mimosa giggled lightly. "Little Kirby will do anything to make her happy, I'm sure of it."
The last dangle sloth fades into clay and dissolves. With a breath of relief, Kirby sits down near the water's edge to relax before he keeps going.
As his eyes scan the area for any more potential trouble, he notices a destroyed blue gondola on the other side of the river. The gondola is riddled with holes and the zip-line has been torn off. This is Bandana Dee's gondola that fell with him into this river.
As he looks over the damaged seat, he is instantly reminded of the times where he and at the time, Waddle Dee, would hop onto boats, mine carts and sleds to traverse areas quickly. It was never safe but the two always had a laugh at the end, much to the dismay of a certain pink haired fairy and human artist with a red beret who both didn't want them to ride those things. Besides, they always found a shard or two so the experience was totally worth it.
Even now, the experience with gondolas led them all to the second Star. Despite what Bandana Dee promised earlier about never wanting to ride these again, Kirby hopes that the waddle dee still had the thrill of the action from that last adventure when it came to vehicles such as this. The pair has had worse crashes than this. At least, he thinks so.
"Kirby…!" a familiar voice calls to him, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Poyo!" The puffball greeted Elline who simply waved back.
"Have you found anything, Kirby?" she asked.
The puffball responded by pointing at Bandana Dee's gondola right behind him.
"Bandana Dee's gondola..." she replied in surprise. "Well, I found the crater where the Star landed and the area around it blossomed with nature life."
Kirby widened his eyes in surprise.
"It's beautiful but…" Elline looked away sadly. Kirby noticed this of course. "Never mind that, we should… stick together and see what we could find, okay?"
"Poyo…" Kirby nodded and scratched the back of his head. Why did Elline seem less energetic than normal? She's usually talkative around him.
"Great! Let's… keep going." She replied as she flew ahead, with Kirby rolling after her.
Bandana Dee breathed in and out deeply, taking in the fresh air with every step. A nice stroll around the Mushroom Hills is just what he needed, especially after everything that happened today. The sun was very close to setting and the blanket of darkness was just about to cover the night sky. Still, there was plenty of light from the fading sunlight and stars above to make his flashlight not be used for now.
The waddle dee arrived at the rainbow bridge, which is right in front of the entrance to the Great Tree. As he observes the phenomenal beauty, a few yellow sportles observed him from the surrounding environment. They silently growled because they recognize that he was the intruder who aided the 'un-native pink thing' as they would call her in their tongue.
Once the sun set completely, they made their presence known to the waddle dee. They appeared in numbers from their hiding spots and surrounded him, growling intensely.
"Not these guys again…" Bandana Dee readied his spear. "Just don't let the spore touch me and I should be fine…"
"That's the way I think each time I fight them!" An all too familiar voice yelled. The yellow sportles growled even more, recognizing the being who said that.
Mimosa appeared from the sky and landed beside the waddle dee with her bouncing energy back. "There's something I forgot to mention to you about these sportles, little dee."
"And that is…" he asked. "Oh, and don't call me 'little'!"
"They hate direct light… a lot." Mimosa flashed her five flashlights at any sportle she saw, blinding them instantly. Sooner than later, they exploded into the yellow spore dust. The remaining sportles scampered off before they became victims.
Mimosa cleared her throat. "In addition, the supplementary side effects of coming in contact with the yellow pollen or spore dust or whatever you wish to call it other than temporary blindness include nausea, trouble vomiting, stomach cramps… etc. etc."
Bandana Dee raised an eyebrow. "What you said sounds like it came from a script."
"I've heard those lines too many times somewhere but that's not the point!" Mimosa put away her flashlights. "You must be constantly vigilant! Always!" She emphasized that last point by lightly tapping him on his forehead, making him flinch slightly.
Bandana Dee blinked at the sudden change of topics, not including the fact that he's still bizarre by her unknown skill.
"These yellow sportles appear in numbers after sunset. It's not a problem for me since I stay in my burrow but they make a lot of annoying noise as time goes on, so I scare them away with flashlights. Speaking of which…" The sportle almost glared at the waddle dee. "Do you still have my flashlight?"
Bandana Dee quickly pulled it out and turned it on to show that it works.
"Good!" she chirped. "You're off the hook for now."
"What do you mean, 'for now'? Are you going to interrogate me even more sometime later?" Bandana Dee gulped.
"Doesn't matter! We'll talk more, later. There's a place up ahead that contains a bunch of wondrous Seventopian fruit."
"Where are we heading to?" the waddle dee clarified.
"It's around the tree. It shouldn't take too long to clear the rest of the yellow sportles so times-a-wastin!" Before Bandana Dee could protest, the sportle grabbed and held him before taking off into the woods.
"You know I can waaalk!" he moaned, much to the grin of the pink sportle.
Kirby and Elline returned to the burrow with their stash of fruits. Elline was surprised to see Kirby restrain himself from devouring it all.
"It doesn't seem like anyone's home yet." Elline said the obvious.
"Poyo!" Kirby agreed.
"Well Kirby, if you need anything, I'll be in my room…" The fairy flew off before Kirby could say anything.
Her actions started to worry Kirby now. Whenever she's around him, she'd always have something to say to him and he enjoyed that. But now, she's been distant from even him. She didn't try to make much of a conversation with him as they searched the area together.
Still, as much as it saddened him, he'd have to give her space. With a sigh, the puffball looked at the couch and pressed the button to drop the binoculars, then looked through them to see where the other two are.
Back outside, a certain waddle dee and a unique sportle continued their exploration of a small forest behind the Great Tree to gather more fruits. As Bandana Dee picked the last apple in the tree, he hears shuffling in the nearby bushes. With a gulp, he shines his flashlight on the bush which stopped moving before he did the action.
The waddle dee slowly backs up with his eyes peeled ahead, eventually backing up into something big and soft. Bandana Dee slowly turned around to see Mimosa who is upside down so they would be at literal eye level for whatever reason.
"Where are you going?" Mimosa asked somewhat suspiciously.
"No-nowhere…" he gulped. The sportle moved closer to him and stared at him intently.
The waddle dee knew that look in the short time he got to know the weird sportle. "What are you eyeing at this time?" Bandana Dee sighed. "You can see the flashlight in my hands."
"Can I borrow your spear again?" she asked quickly.
"No! Way!" Bandana Dee answered swiftly. "…At least you asked this time instead of swiping it."
"Aww, why not?" the sportle pleaded. She rotated her body by 180 degrees to be right side up again.
"Because it's my trusty spear that's made just for me and only me." he replied sternly.
"Okay well…" The sportle remained silent for a few seconds to think. "If I tell you my biggest secret, you hand me your spear? Deal? Okay good!"
"Wait, I didn't—"
"It's a lonely place here. Sometimes, I think the cottas and monsters are scared of my appearance. Which is why I think those dangle sloths would destroy a part of Mushroom Hills just to get rid of my home. It may not seem like a big deal because the mushrooms grow back the next day but… when we defeated their leader today, I can finally rest easy. Why? Because those buffoons won't come back, that's why!" She grinned after the last sentence. "So thanks you guys, for all your help. I really appreciate it!"
Bandana Dee blinked, still trying to process the information she just gave him. She randomly opened up to him and thanked him and his friends for what they did. Yet, a few seconds ago, she was acting wacky.
"What? You told me what was going on in YOUR mind so I should share something that went on in MY mind. I do really mean it, BanDee!"
Bandana Dee twitched his eye violently. He's felt annoyance from being called 'little', 'common', or 'Hat Goomba' but never felt any real anger because he's dealt with those remarks for a long time. And he's proven in the past that he is not any of those comments those offenders gossiped about him. However, this was different. "Don't… call… ever… me… that!" he hissed, making Mimosa wide eyed at his reaction. "Only... one... person… can... call... me... that!"
The sportle did everything in her power to keep her face stoic. Without trying too, she has crossed a line. "S-say… who is that one person, little dee?" Asking this was a gamble. Prying into the information of the person who calls him an admittedly cute nickname may not be the best choice. Yet it was a choice she was willing to risk.
The waddle dee relaxed and took a deep breath. "We haven't seen each other in a while. She's an artist like Elline."
"Other artists like Claycia and Elline exist?" The sportle replied with intrigue, in addition, smiling internally because her gamble paid off.
"Yeah, but Kirby has seen a lot of them in his adventures... hey why are you asking me all these questions?" The waddle dee narrowed his eyes at her.
"Well… simply… I don't know…" The sportle began to get nervous before another light bulb went off in her head. "Speaking of Elline, was she acting different than usual when you guys were sitting on my couch?
"I saw her suddenly become sad out of the corner of my eye. But I didn't think much about it because of my other thoughts." Bandana Dee said after a moment of deliberation.
"Yeah… it could screw up my… ideas of getting those two together." Mimosa chuckled.
The waddle dee instantly knew what she meant. "It could still happen you know." Mimosa eyed him to make him continue. "Elline likes to think about things when no one is looking or is alone. That could mean… way late at night."
"Awww… but I have to get my rest for the next day… no fair…" Mimosa pouted. "There's always next time… maybe…"
"Maybe… what?"
"Maybe… we should head back right now and show off our stash!" The sportle grabbed the waddle dee again, much to his discomfort and flew off. "With all our food items, I'll pick out what we'll eat for dinner."
I really wasn't in the best of moods earlier but I do eventually join Kirby on the couch and I talk to him about Orange Woodland's ecosystem. I also try to ask him about what he saw down the corridor earlier but like before, he seals his mouth.
Mimosa eventually appeared into the burrow while holding a green-faced Bandana Dee upside down then dropped him like a ragdoll once she noticed Kirby and me relaxing on the couch.
Anyways, she made all of us to follow her to the party room as she would call it. Then she dumped the stash of fruits and mushrooms we all brought back onto the table.
We were all hungry, yes, but this nature was totally different than how the Sky Cottas handled serving food. It didn't matter too much to us though, especially Kirby, who began to gobble up the meal like the silly glutton he is. There was plenty for all of us, he made sure of that. Though, I found it strange that Kirby went out of his way to not eat the apples on the table.
Still though, his gluttony always makes me laugh. I love him so much… as a... friend… Teehee.
Kirby pulled out the flashlight loaned to him and placed it on the table. Before he could even blink, a pink tentacle swiped it out of his vision and had it hung on the chandelier, alongside the remaining flashlights.
"Good, Kirby. You still have my flashlight." Mimosa said before slightly glaring at him. "If you lost it, I wouldn't be very happy with you…"
Kirby could only tilt his head at her response. Bandana Dee gulped twice and Elline blinked out of curiosity.
We had a great time though. Even though things are happy now, I can't imagine how tomorrow would be. In fact, it's all I was thinking about. I didn't think anyone notices me getting distant at the time…
"Poyo…" Kirby cooed, completely stuffed.
"You said it. Those fruits are tasty!" Bandana Dee said.
"You have a better cherry-picking eye than me." Mimosa said.
"It's a trait I pick up from years of experience in nature!" the waddle dee proclaimed.
"Well, you have to tell me those tricks sometime. No use hoarding it all for yourself." Mimosa said.
"I thought I told you everything earlier?"
"YOU thought? Don't you mean, 'Yes, I have any more tips to share!'?" Mimosa leaned in.
"…Nothing comes to mind… I'll don't think I'll think of something later." Bandana Dee shrugged.
Elline stood up after being silent for so long. "You and Bandana Dee really got a good harvest. My tummy is about to burst. There's something I need to get from my room, so I'll be right back."
"Hmm… what's on her mind? What do you think Kirby?" Mimosa turned to him.
"Poyo…" Kirby shrugged and looked sad.
"I figured as much." She said. Before the sportle could ask or rather… interrogate Kirby, the puffball yawned for a few seconds and stared at the entrance. Elline came right back to her seat with her diary behind her back. Right as she sat down, Kirby stood up and left.
"It's pretty late and he's exhausted." Bandana Dee clarified before she could say anything.
Elline pouted childishly. "No fair, there was something I wanted to ask him about and I wasn't able to due to… well… stuff…"
Mimosa smirked, now she'll interrogate her instead. "And what kind of stuff did you want to ask him about…?" Truthfully, she wanted to ask about what's been on her mind but priorities are priorities.
"Umm…" she blushed. "Just… about something… about… his uh…"
"His… what?" The sportle leaned in.
"His… his… origins…!" she said half-heartedly.
"Uh-huh…" Mimosa said sarcastically.
"It's… true." She half lied again. "I mean, where did he come from?"
"In Elline's defense…" Bandana Dee started. "I don't know of Kirby's origins as well. He and I became best friends long after he first arrived on Dreamland."
"S-see?" she gestured to the waddle dee. "Kirby has a huge mystery around him and I want to unravel that!"
"Hmm…" Mimosa nodded to herself, while crossing her upper tentacles like they were arms. "Okay, you convinced me on that." The sportle quickly uncrossed her upper tentacles. "Well, no, you didn't actually. But what you said did open up floodgates for a detective to solve. And that detective's name is Mistress Elline."
"D-did… you just call her 'Mistress', like the cottas?" Bandana Dee gasped. Mimosa instantly went pale.
"Umm… a-a-a-anyways, you all need to wake up early tomorrow so it's time to go to sleep now! Chop, chop! To your rooms, soldiers!" Despite it being a command, the sportle flew out of the party room and vanished, leaving a chuckling Bandana Dee and a deep in thought Elline.
"She's not wrong. I'll be going to bed too. Good night, Elline." Bandana Dee got off his seat and walked into the hallway.
Once she was sure they were gone, Elline put her Secret Diary on the table and stared at the cover. Eventually, she stood up and flew to Kirby's room, whose door is wide open. The fairy peeked in and watched him peacefully sleep, which made her smile.
"He looks so peaceful… so cute…" she thought before leaving the room and closing the door. Kirby slowly opened one eye immediately upon hearing the sound of a door closing.
Afterwards, we all decided to go to bed when Kirby fell asleep first. Mimosa and Bandana Dee went to their rooms to sleep but I stayed awake. Kirby looks so cute when he sleeps. I could watch him all night but I need my rest too.
Any time there are things on my mind during the night, I go to an open clearing and look towards the stars. It always keeps me calm. Since Bandana Dee and Mimosa took care of all the monsters that would gather at night, it is completely safe. The Orange Woodlands night sky is a beautiful sight too. The sky helps clear my troubled mind about Claycia and her actions.
In the past two times I've briefly stargazed on this adventure, everyone is asleep and tonight is no exception… or that's what I thought. This time, someone I wasn't expecting joins me…
Elline flew down the hallway as silent as her wings can be. She assumed that everyone would be in deep sleep after the events of today. She moved through the living room and to the entrance door. The fairy opened the door, slipped through and closed it quietly, hoping that the door creaks didn't cause too much noise.
Unknown to her, a figure was watching her from the shadow. He was on the verge of falling back asleep too, since it is so late at night and he had no idea when she would come. His eyes scanned the door, leaving him with one objective.
He saw Elline sitting on the top of a red mushroom in front of him. Despite some inner protest, he floated up there and landed a good distance behind her. The fairy was lost in her thoughts so she couldn't notice or hear him approaching.
"We're almost there, Claycia." Kirby heard her say to herself. "My friends and I will stop you before something bad happens. Even if that means…"
"Hi… Elline…" Kirby said slowly, causing the fairy to become startled.
"Waah!? Kirby!?" she turned around instantly. "What are you doing here? I thought no one would follow me."
"Sorry… poyo" he said with guilt before turning back.
"Wait..!" she called out to halt him in his tracks. "Umm… it's okay, actually. You… you can stay with me, Kirby."
Kirby turned back around fully and smiled. She motioned him to sit by her by tapping the area next to her. The puffball didn't hesitate to walk over and sit by the fairy. Once he was settled, Elline focused her gaze back into the starry sky.
"…I really like to stargaze by myself. It helps me wash away my worries and think about the good things. And it's been really helpful, especially after what we found out today about what Claycia is doing." Elline said. Kirby turned to her to listen more.
"Before Seventopia, Claycia and I were roaming the galaxy in search of a home for not just us but for all the wandering travelers in the galaxy. Eventually, we decided to create our own planetary system. Considering how we went practically everywhere since I joined her, I'm surprised it took us this long to use our own powers to create life…"
"mmm…" Kirby hummed, lost in his thoughts.
"You know… I don't think I told you about the Claycia I knew or the reason why we created Seventopia, did I?"
Kirby shook his head and prompted her to continue.
"You see, Claycia's past is a mystery to me. She never talks or thinks about it. Instead, she looks towards tomorrow. I believe that mindset is what allowed Seventopia to be what it is now. In her own words, she told me this, 'The worlds of the future will cast a rainbow of hope after the gloomy rainstorm of the past ends. From there, A Rainbow Tale will be told for the people of tomorrow.'"
Kirby was awestruck by the quote. Elline didn't notice his expression as she continued speaking while looking at the stars.
"Claycia always likes to discover new things and learn about them. Because of this, Claycia has imbued mysterious powers over Seventopia and she knows the secrets of all of them for the most part."
"Mysteries poyo?"
"Yeah! For instance, one incredible mystery of Seventopia would be the rainbow bridges that link all the worlds together. They could never be destroyed; only taken down temporary until they are restores them. Yet, it takes two or three minutes to walk on the bridge to the next planet. The planets are further apart from each than you realize. You would have to see it from outside the Seventopia system to really see how far each planet is from each other." The fairy turns back to Kirby with a wide smile. "Did you notice the lack of a sun near Seventopia, yet there are days and nights on all the planets?" she gushed. "I could tell you the secret to that but that won't be fair. Teehee."
Kirby smiled subtly. It seems like talking about the past has brought her back from her gloomy mood. Ironically, she was just talking about how Claycia would rather move forward to create a bright future after leaving behind the gloomy past.
"...Claycia is a clay sculptress whose curiosity is the size of our entire galaxy. She just loves exploring or investigating ideas and topics she doesn't know about." Elline smiled. "If there's something she's never seen before, she'll examine it and recreate it with her clay if needed. She did this plenty of times when we were roaming the galaxy in search of a home. After all the travelling, we realized that there are many other life forms that were in our shoes of being homeless and there was no one to step up and create a home for everyone. No one, until Claycia took the spot…"
Despite being so invested in her story, Kirby's tired mind somehow wandered to his lost apple in Dreamland. Elline continued to talk without looking at him, eventually gazing the night sky, where the exhausted puffball slowly followed her gaze.
"Do you see that hazy red world over there, Kirby? That's the world we'll be at next." Elline pointed. "Once we make it past there, we'll be at the very end of our journey…"
"Poyo…" Kirby said.
"But… as selfish as it is to say this, I don't want our journey to end. I enjoy travelling with you and Bandana Dee. You especially…"
"I do… too… poyo…" Kirby mumbled in an exhausted manner.
"That's sweet of you, Kirby." she blushed and remained silent.
The two spent the next few minutes in silence, looking up at the countless stars. During that time, Elline was thinking about how to continue the conversation to the sleepy puffball next to her.
"Kirby do you know where you came from?" she asked.
This question alerted Kirby, snapping him out of dream state. In response, he pointed at the sky. Specifically, Kirby is pointing at the many sparkling stars.
"You… came from the stars above?" she asked bewilderingly. The puffball nodded and turned to her, as if he was pressing her on why she asked the question.
"It's just that… I don't know where I came from." Elline clarified. "The last thing I remember about myself is waking up in a cave on the Planet HalfMoon. Even Claycia doesn't have much of a clue. She told me that she found me unconscious in a dangerous area and brought me to safety."
"Poyo…" Kirby mumbled, remembering the planet as clear as day. It was the last planet he traversed through before going to NOVA in an attempt to wish for the Popstar sun and moon to stop fighting each other. It is the most dangerous planet in the Popstar system. He can only wonder why Claycia was there in the first place…
"Yet, I remember having a nightmare before I woke up. All I could hear was laughter and screeching in my ears and it was scary." Elline mumbled.
The nightmare she mentioned surprised Kirby. He has encountered nightmares plenty of times before, even fighting a living version of a nightmare at one point early on in his life on Popstar. It was always a foreshadowing to something much bigger later. Perhaps the laughter represents Claycia's evil laughter. Even though he never heard Claycia speak, this theory made some sense to him.
A few more minutes pass as Elline gazes at the stars. Suddenly, she remembered what she was going to give to Kirby back in the great tree, which causes her to blush. "Um Kirby, there was something I wanted to give you back in the tree… hey, are you listening!?"
The puffball was sound asleep beside her. Despite an anger tick mark appearing on the back of her head, Elline knew she couldn't at angry at the cute puffball. It IS really late after all and they need plenty of rest for tomorrow's Red Volcano adventure. Still, this won't stop Elline from giving him the gift she promised even though she wouldn't be able to see his reaction.
The fairy looked around the area first to see if Mimosa or Bandana Dee weren't spying on her before she makes a move…
The fairy lightly kissed Kirby's cheek, her cheeks burning red. "You've done so much for me. Thank you, my hero."
It was a… great time for the two of us. We talked and talked… for some time. How long? I wasn't keeping track of time. I… lost myself in my talk with him. Just being outside with him is enough for comfort. I even gave him a gift that I don't want to say here. But… I wonder…
Kirby wakes up to his empty stomach grumbling and looks around. Somehow, he was back inside his temporary room. Not thinking too much about it, the puffball stood up and rolled into the party room. To his surprise, he saw Elline sound asleep on the table, with her diary next to her and wide open. Curiously, he picks it up and reads over the adventure and thoughts from today through the fairy's perspective. Normally, he wouldn't go into another person's business… but this book interested him because his name is constantly mentioned.
I wonder if Claycia and I will be friends again. I have my doubts... But when I'm with Kirby, I can do anything! So maybe it can happen. I can only hope… yet hope is what's keeping us going right now!
His face lit up but he smiled nonetheless. After all they've been through, he knows that Elline is depending on him and Kirby has to show her that he has the strength to help her. He closes the diary and places it back on the fairy's lap. He could hear her muttering his name and Claycia in her sleep. He then left the party room, no longer feeling hungry. Now he returns to bed with a familiar feeling inside him that he hasn't felt since the last time Kirby saw… her…
"Wow, Elline. You're looking more chipper than yesterday!" Mimosa said. "You were very gloomy. Did something happen overnight?"
"I was… sad…?" Elline asked, purposely acting confused so they won't ask more questions.
"Yeah, you weren't your usual self before we settled in for the night here." Bandana Dee added.
"Hmm…" Elline stole a glance at Kirby, before looking to the ground. "I have no idea." She brushed it off, yet Mimosa's observant eyes caught the act and she smirked internally.
"Anyways, I've done my part in helping." Mimosa smiled mischievously. "Whatever is wrong with Claycia can be fixed by your three."
"Right, and that means that it's time for us to go." Elline chirped.
The trio began walking on the bridge.
"Also, Elline…" Before she could speak, Elline got pulled towards the sportle.
"You and Kirby definitely ARE a perfect match don't you think." Mimiosa whispered out of hearing of Kirby and Bandana Dee. The pair looked to each other in confusion at what was going on. "If he was able to snap you out of gloominess last night then—"
"I don't… He's not… c-c-can you let me go!?" Elline blushed angrily.
"Oh sure, have fun out there! And take good care of my flashlight too!" The sportle pushed her right back to where the boys are standing at. With a sigh, the trio turned to wave at her while travelling backwards. Mimosa waved back gleefully until they stopped and turned back around.
The sportle watched the trio disappear in the sky with a smile. Once they disappeared, she turns and flies back where they came from. She passed through each tall mushroom with grace and ease.
"Time for my daily dose of observation of the forest!" the sportle chirped as she flew up the cliff and disappeared into the trees. She rustled through the bushes and settled on her favorite hidden spot that the author will not mention through text. In this spot, Mimosa kept a watchful eye throughout the quiet forest and remained there for a few hours.
"Ugh… I'm so booorrreed…!" Mimosa mused with a yawn. "It's been a long time since I last saw a Sky Cotta…" The sportle blinked twice and realized something. "Actually, it's been a while since I've seen ANY of the other cotta types. I wonder what happened to them."
Mimosa floated into the sunlight, looked to the orange skies and shut her eyes. She let the warm sunlight and miniature winds bask over her.
"Hmm... something just doesn't seem right…" The sportle concluded with slight worry. "Someone might need my help in a few minutes from now…"
The beginning of the decade started off pretty bad… but this isn't the time or place to talk about that…
So far, we've been reading Elline's entries that describe the past. This time, we start off in the present and I show a glimpse of what's been going on since Seventopia has been restored. Maybe I'll show more of the present later on... who knows...
Timeline-wise, if we only consider the intro of this chapter, Planet Robobot should be occurring either before, now, or after this chapter… then long afterwards will be Star Allies… hmm…
Anyways, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, so go figure.