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Kirby and his friends had found themselves in a beautiful garden area, a large contrast to the harsher terrains they encountered in the cave earlier.
The pink puffball was worried. He had no idea where they were, or how long they might have been down here. Marx and Gooey were heading on to pins and needles with each other, supposedly because of 'cave madness'. Kirby didn't exactly believe in the so called curse, but he was beginning to take some thought into it. Fumu and Bun must have noticed their absence by now, and the two were most likely worried at this point.
Kirby was mainly trying to keep the team together, Armin was keeping himself occupied by gazing at the pretty flowers around them, Gooey was alternating between providing optimism and butting heads with Marx. The little jester in question was currently waiting out his boredom by singing random lyrics.
"Ravioliiii is better than tortelliniiii…Because tortelliniiii…is shaped like eaaarsss!"
"Will you stop singing?! You've been doing that for an hour!" Gooey yelled.
Kirby sighed. To think that things were going so smoothly for a while…
"I'm just trying to keep myself entertained, you know?!" Marx shouted back.
"Oh, please! Look at your oddly shaped feet. That should keep you busy!"
Kirby turned around and frowned at Gooey. Mostly because he insulted Marx, but also because…
"Oh…well, your feet suit you nicely Kirby! They just look weird on him!"
"Hey, Hey, Hey! If that isn't the pot calling the kettle black then I don't know what is! You've got a pretty weird tongue for you to be pointing out my 'oddly shaped feet'!"
"When did we start talking about cooking utensils?! Anyway, at least my tongue is really useful! What do your feet do besides hold up your weak little body?" Gooey barked.
"Well, how about I show you!" Marx began to chase Gooey around with the intention of kicking the blue blob to kingdom come.
"Don't worry, Kirby. They'll get tired eventually." Armin stated.
"I hope so, poyo…"
-
The four eventually arrived in a room with three doors. Splitting up was out of the question, so they would have to enter one and hope for the best. It wasn't the most thought out plan, but it was a plan.
"I think we should go through the one on the left!" Gooey said.
"Well, if you say it's left, then it surely must be one of the other two that's correct!" Marx protested.
The two began to squabble once more, much to Kirby's increasing frustration.
"We're going this way, poyo!" Kirby yelled, pointing to the door on the right.
The clown and blob momentarily stopped their arguing in shock. Neither of them had heard Kirby raise his voice before. Unanimously, the group of four entered the door.
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The moment they entered the room, they fell into a cannon. Before any of them had time to register what was happening, the cannon fired. Kirby and his friends screamed in shock as they were shot into another canon, then they were fired from that one as well.
Kirby only had tome to grab a treasure chest from the floor as they were thrown into another cannon. After several series of cannons and more screaming, they finally landed in front of another door.
"We're…we're alive!" Gooey cheered. "We're alive! We're livers!"
"It's survivors, you idiot." Marx icily corrected.
"I'm not an idiot! The one who calls someone an idiot is the idiot!" The blue blob shouted.
"Uh, why don't we open that treasure chest?!" Armin suggested, much to Kirby's relief.
Inside was a Pegasus Wing. Satisfied with their find, they moved on to the next room. Kirby inhaled a Wheelie to turn into Wheel Kirby. After a short amount of walking, they were approached by a hostile green Bugzzy.
The three stood back as Kirby turned into a big pink Wheel and barreled into the enemy. The Bugzzy never saw it coming, and the impact was so strong it made him pass out. Kirby turned around, but couldn't stop rolling in Wheel form. Kirby hit something once again, only this time the recipient of the attack was a little blue blob.
Gooey was flung into a nearby pillar, and it collapsed onto the Dark Matter before he had time to get up.
"Gooey! Are you okay, poyo!" Kirby dug his friend out while Armin and Marx could only stare in absolute shock.
"Hot wings…" Gooey mumbled.
"Oh, he's delusional. Which isn't too far from the way he usually acts, you know?" Marx hummed.
"I heard that!" Gooey hopped up, once again continuing his argument with the little clown.
"Oh, look at that! Another treasure chest!" Armin stood between the two with a box in hand.
The two stopped their bickering to look inside the box and find a Raccoon doll. The two seemed calm once again for the time being, and they continued onward.
The next room was filled with water, much to their chagrin. They swam through the water, finding a treasure chest with a Shell Whistle inside. They entered the final door and they ended up…right where they started. They were back at the three doorways.
"This…this place is evil!" Gooey wailed.
"I'm not that surprised. In all honesty I was almost expecting it, you know?" Marx said blandly.
"So we just need to go into another door!" Armin stated.
"Right, poyo! So we'll go in this one now!" Kirby entered the left door this time, along with his friends.
-
Kirby discarded his Wheel ability in exchange for the Jet ability. The team of four continued down the pathway until they stopped at three cannons. The first one didn't work, the second one took them to a treasure chest with an Xmas Tree, and the third sent them rocketing towards the clouds.
Kirby, Gooey, Marx, and Armin were now walking among the clouds. Gooey was dumbfounded.
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"H-How?! We…we were in a cave, now we're in the clouds! This makes no sense!" The blue blob shouted.
"If we're in the clouds, then all we need is to figure out a way to get down, you know?" Marx suggested.
"Ooo! I have an idea!" Gooey said excitedly.
"No! You're not doing it again, nope nope!" Marx backed away from the blob. "We'll just find a way down with Kirby's help."
"Nobody got time for that!" Gooey grabbed Marx with his tongue, then jumped off the cloud they were standing on.
Marx screamed as the two plummeted, gravity taking over. Kirby and Armin stood in shock, not expecting such an event to have taken place. They couldn't hear any screaming anymore.
"They're…they're gone…" Kirby gaped.
Armin suddenly perked up. "Hey…do you hear that?"
The pink puffball stopped his mourning to listen. He could hear faint and very familiar screaming.
"It's…it's getting closer!" Armin said astounded.
True to the Waddle Dee's words, the screaming was getting closer. Suddenly, a familiar blue blob and a petrified lavender jester appeared in front of them.
Marx hit the cloud face first. He was still screaming, but the cloud muffled the sound. Gooey landed on his back, his eyes were wide open in absolute disbelief.
"We're…we're still here…How do you jump off something and end up where you jumped?!" Gooey questioned stupefied.
Marx rose up from the cloud, silently making his way over to the blue blob. Kirby could almost see flames in the little clown's eyes.
"Now…now Marx…Let's be reasonable, poyo." Kirby stood in front of Marx, trying to ward off Marx's anger.
"Reasonable? Reasonable?! That one isn't being the slightest bit reasonable! This area isn't reasonable! This whole cave doesn't have the slightest bit of reason or consistency! So why should I have any reason either?!"
Marx's chest heaved after he finished his rant, his breathing becoming shallow. Kirby tried to give him a comforting hug, but the little jester hissed and jumped back.
"Why must lives always be placed in the hands of an idiiiioooot?!" Marx collapsed onto the clouds once again.
"Guys…we can't let this place get to us, poyo…" Kirby said sadly.
"I think it already has, Kirby." Armin stated.
"Hey, Hey, Hey. I just thought of something…" Marx hummed. "Kirby, why haven't you gone crazy like the rest of us, you know?"
"Or you, Armin?" Gooey asked. "Neither of you seem to be losing your marbles."
The truth was, Kirby was starting to lose it. He was starting to hear that voice that Armin spoke of, and he began to feel the same madness that Gooey and Marx were experiencing. However, he couldn't show it. He knew that if he gave in to the madness, everything would be lost.
The pink puffball had been trying to think of what Meta Knight would do in this situation, and Kirby decided that was trying to keep everyone sane and out of harm's way. Kirby had been doing well at the latter, but the former left much to be desired.
"Ah…I just try really hard to remember what's important, poyo…" Kirby answered.
"You saying that makes me want to try harder, Kirby!" Gooey beamed. "So what about you, Armin?"
"I've never understood why outsiders went crazy in this cave. I've lived here all my life and I've never felt crazy at all." Armin answered simply.
"Wow…you two make it seem so easy." Gooey said in awe.
"We won't get anywhere if we just stay here, poyo. Let's go on."
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Kirby transformed into Wing Kirby, then the four began their traveling amongst the clouds. Through their travels, they found Ramia's Scale, Kong's Barrel, and Shiny Bamboo. It seemed like they were really making some progress. They entered the last door in the clouds, only to end up…where they started again.
"HNNNG!" Gooey uttered sounds of frustration.
"We're going to die here…we're going to die here…" Marx whispered as if in a trance.
"But…but wait, poyo! There's only one door left!" Kirby pointed out.
"If there's only one door left, then it must be the right one!" Armin continued.
Gooey and Marx trudged behind the pink puffball, the two weren't even arguing anymore. This only worried the young Star Warrior further.
-
This area looked similar to the ruins of the planet Rock Star. Throughout their travels in the ruins section, they found a strange artifact that seemed to be made of golden triangles with a space in the middle. Apparently it was called 'the Triforce'. Maybe Curio would know what it was.
They stopped in another resting room, which must have meant that they were making progress. Marx and Gooey seemed to have their energy back, as they were back to bickering with each other. Kirby switched his ability for the Bomb Copy Ability, much to Marx's discomfort.
"Marx, what's wrong, poyo?" Kirby asked, noticing Marx inching away from him.
"Now you stay away from me! I don't want to be blown into oblivion, you know!"
"You're not afraid of a little firepower, are you?" Gooey asked mockingly.
"Hey, Hey, Hey! You're not afraid of my foot making contact with your backside, are you?" Marx snapped.
Kirby was getting tired of this tomfoolery. The pink puffball and Armin headed in the door, with the little jester and blue blob following closely behind.
Inside the room was a giant statue of a golem. It's face seemed to be frozen in a mocking smile.
"Wow, this thing is creepy!" Gooey stared, wincing slightly.
"This looks like one of those monsters made by mad scientists in the movies." Marx mused. "They would probably want to use your brain for the monster, Gooey."
"What?! Why mine?!" Gooey frowned.
"Because they would want a brain that hasn't been used yet." Marx smirked.
"…You are mean to me."
Marx stood on the golem's hand to get a better look. "Hey, Hey, Hey! I think I see a door over there!"
The others looked in the direction he was pointing to with his foot. Surely enough, there was a door that they might have missed if it hadn't been for the little jester's eyesight.
"Good job, Marx!" Armin said.
"I didn't even see that, poyo!"
Marx grinned, then suddenly the hand he was standing on began to tremble. He thought the hand must have been unable to support his weight. Only it wasn't that at all. The hand grabbed Marx and began to raise in the air. The little jester shrieked in fright.
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"Kirby, help! I-I'm scared!" The lavender jester squirmed in the golem's firm grip.
"Kirby, what are we gonna do?!" Armin began to panic.
"You put him down now!" Gooey yelled, charging for the golem.
The golem simply flicked the angry blob away, sending him crashing into the cave's wall.
"Gooey!" Kirby gasped. "Are you okay?"
"Where's the uh, leak mam?" Gooey mumbled.
"You…you hurt Gooey, poyo! You're scaring Marx! How dare you, poyo!" Kirby frowned, then held out one of the bombs.
Just when Kirby was about to throw the explosive, Wham Bam Rock held the hand with Marx in front of it's face. It was going to use Marx as a living shield. Kirby couldn't attack with his Bomb Copy Ability at the risk of gravely injuring Marx.
"RAAAH!" Gooey got up from his spot and charged towards Wham Bam Rock once again. The golem dropped a heavy rock on the blob's head, then flicked him again into the wall.
"Gooey, are you still alive?!" Armin yelled.
"FINLAND!"
"Armin, what am I going to do, poyo? I can't attack with this ability…" Kirby asked.
Wham Bam Rock raised his other hand and tried to squash both Kirby and Armin. The pink puffball grabbed the Waddle Dee and dove to safety. The impact of the hand smacking on the floor sent several rocks on the floor.
"Oh! I know what to do!" Armin stated. "Kirby, get rid of that ability and swallow one of those rocks!"
The young Star Warrior complied, and swallowed a rock to become Stone Kirby.
"Now what, poyo?"
"Well, I just thought you needed help getting another ability…"
"So you don't know how I can hit it, poyo?"
"Well…no."
Kirby face palmed. This was going to be more difficult than he thought.
Wham Bam Rock slammed his hand down again, almost hitting Armin and Kirby this time. Armin scurried out of the way, and Kirby raised his defenses.
"Hey, Hey, Hey! Kirby!" Marx called. "I got an idea! You see, every time it puts it's hand on the ground, it leaves it's hand open for attack, you know. Don't try to attack it's face! Go for it's hand!"
Kirby thought for a moment. Marx's plan actually seemed plausible. Kirby waited for the golem to bring his hand down, then he jumped in the air. Then transformed into a stone statue. The impact caused the hand to withdraw immediately.
Wham Bam Rock shook with anger, then quickly regained it's composure. The golem tried to grab the puffball with his hand, but found it's fingers crushed once again. The golem gritted it's stone teeth and slammed it's fist down. Kirby jumped on the hand again.
Wham Bam Rock was shaking and shuddering in pure rage, much to it's captive's discomfort.
"Ugh, I'm gonna be sick! Kirby, I can't take much more of this, you know! The world's going dark!" Marx's eyes rolled around dizzily.
"Hold on, Marx!" Kirby shouted, crushing another one of the stone golem's fingers.
Gooey teetered closer to the fight. "Yuh, Marp! Juh dun let gauh! Horld on tah yah haaat!"
Kirby crushed the hand one final time, initiating several sparks to fly from the golem. Wham Bam Rock was defeated, the other hand crumbled apart. Kirby tried to catch the falling jester, only for his efforts to be in vain. Marx fell on his face on the cold hard floor.
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"Krrbeh…" Marx said, his voice slightly muffled.
"Yes, poyo?" Kirby responded worriedly, Armin and Gooey surrounding the little clown.
Marx raised his head up, looking at Kirby with big impossibly cute eyes. "I-I wanna go home…"
Kirby internally gasped. Marx said he wanted to go home. Marx was a traveler, so that meant…
The pink puffball picked up the lavender child by the hat and squeezed him happily. Marx weakly struggled in Kirby's grip.
"Weh! You're touching me! You touched my hat! I said no touching the awesome hat, you know?!"
Kirby put down the little jester, much to Marx's relief. Gooey hopped over to Marx, his head finally clear of the trauma.
"Marx, I thought you were gonna diiiieee!" Gooey blubbered in relief.
"And after all the yelling and the shouting and the insults…you still wanted to save me?" Marx asked, taken aback.
"Of course! We're friends! You may have gotten on my nerves, but I don't want anything bad to happen to you!"
Marx frowned slightly then thought. "These Dreamlanders are so painfully naïve…but…they are quite friendly though...it's a nice change of pace..."
-
The four headed through the door to their left, they were in another mine cart area. For the first time on this wild adventure, there wasn't any screaming, any hostile glances…there was just silence. Not the awkward kind of silence, but the peaceful sort.
Once the ride had ended, they could see light streaming from above. They could hear a voice.
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"Kirby! Kiiirby!" It was a young girl's voice.
"Fumu! Fumu, poyo!" Kirby yelled.
The yelling stopped. "Kirby? Where are you? I hear you, but I don't see you."
"Hey, Hey, Hey! Madam Fortress Mommy! We're down here!" Marx called out.
"…Marx? You're down there too?"
"Me too! Gooey is also here!" The blob shouted.
"Hold on! I'll call the Warp Star!"
A few moments later, the Warp Star dove into the cave, then resurfaced moments later with Kirby, Gooey, Marx, and Armin.
"I'm so glad you all are safe!" Fumu pulled Kirby in a hug, then grew serious.
"How did you end up down there and what happened?"
Then everyone started talking at once.
"Fell in a cave! Nobody got time for that! Combustible Lemons! Screeeeech! FINLAND!"
Those were the only words Fumu could make out of the jumble of dialogue.
"Never mind! Kirby can tell me the full story later and…who are you?" She asked, looking at Armin who was currently distracted.
"Is…is this what the surface looks like? Is this air? Is this surface world grass?!" Armin fell on the grassy terrain and rolled around in glee.
"Can…can we get him a job at the castle, poyo?" Kirby asked hopefully.
"I suppose so…" Fumu continued to stare at the ecstatic Waddle Dee rolling on the ground.
Gooey suddenly perked up. "Hey wait! Let's show her the treasure we found!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing to excitedly open Kirby's backpack, only to gasp when they noticed the giant rip at the bottom.
"Everything…" Marx nearly sobbed. "Everything fell out…we got nothing out of this adventure."
Fumu was even more confused at this point.
"Sure we did!" Gooey said, a light suddenly beaming down on him from above.
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"Treasure isn't the important thing at all! Our friendship is the best treasure in the world! We helped a lonely Waddle Dee see the outside world and we're all much closer because of this experience! The important thing is, we grew a little on this quest and everyone is safe!"
Kirby and Armin beamed, but Marx frowned. "Still, the treasure would have been kind of useful, you know."
Then Gooey gasped. "Hey guys…I just remembered something."
Then the blue blob produced a cell phone from somewhere, much to their shock. "It turns out, I had this with me the whole time! Isn't that crazy that I remembered that just now?"
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The little jester gritted his teeth.. He huffed and puffed, anger rising with each passing second. Just when everyone was about to tell Gooey to run, Marx suddenly deflated.
"…You know what? Forget this. I'm going on a nice long walk away from this...this insane tomfoolery."
Marx stomped off with Kirby following behind, much to Fumu's amusement.
"Wait, poyo! I'll go with you Marx, so you don't have to be alone! Don't be mad!"
Author's Note: Well, that's a wrap. I've successfully finished this portion of the story, so now we can go back to the plot...or can we? What will our next chapter hold for us? Just so you know, Armin will become a recurring character. He's going to get a job at the castle and maybe it'll get him used to society.