Chapter Twenty:

Meeting of Kings

Across the land, not so far, far away, the esteemed royal hobo known as King Bob Bobowski was conducting his duties as he invited his newly-arriving guests into the halls of his grand castle. The final preparations for his ball were in order, and, among the attendees, Bowser and his band were arriving with their instruments all polished and ready.

King Bob's face was alit with glee. This party wouldn't just be balling, it would be splendid, one of the most splendid events that a king like him could ever organize. Everything felt right in the kingdom, aside from the fact the inhabitants were being observed by a sinister fairy godmother.

Oh, and that fairy godmother was the insane entertainer; Mr. Puzzles. But despite that detail, the fine people in Bob's kingdom and beyond his sect of land were in the best of moods.

The hooded hobo king bowed his head courteously to a pair of royal-robed Goombas, greeting them as they entered his castle. Bob turned from his door, watching as Bowser's band set up their instruments, and gazed at his finely-decorated castle hall.

Once all the guests had settled in, the party would commence, and he looked forward to the music and all of the dancing.

He looked back to the door to resume greeting guests. Right as a tall twin-tentacled Octarian from the allegedly underground realm of Tentekeel Kingdom entered with a pair of Octo-Ball Octarians, one of Bob's Toad attendants approached the hobo.

"Excuse me, sir." The attendant said, "Your guest from the Minion nation wants to speak with you."

"Ah, YeS. The MiNiOn KiNg." Bob lit up a little, "I pReSuMe He WaItS oN tHe ToWeR. TeLl BoWsEr AnD tHe BoYs To KeEp ThE gUeStS oCcUpIeD wHiLe I dIsCuSs VeRy, VeRy, VeRy ImPoRtAnT mAtTeRs WiTh A fElLoW mOnArCh."

The Toad nodded, then he headed for the sound stage, and Bob summoned one of his Koopa assistants, asked him to handle the matter of seeing the guests in, and headed for the stairs. Halfway through the hall, the hobo king took the time to greet a Garo from the Terminian kingdom of Ninjakana.

In that brief moment they made eye contact, Bob wondered why he felt a strong connection with his guest. Sure, Garos were cool, but the hobo king felt as though he could have been one of them in a previous life.

Bob headed up the winding flight of stairs, slowly and surely, all the way to the door that lead the way onto the castle tower. The sunlight greeted him, along with a blue sky, and the view of the greenery that surrounded his domain. And there, wearing a royal red-white robe, and a gold crown, was the King of the Minion Nation.

"King Bob!" The Minion King exclaimed happily.

Bob chuckled as the yellow monarch ran in and hugged him. "GrEeTiNgS fElLoW kInG." The hobo declared, "WhAt Is It YoU wAnTeD tO sEe Me AbOuT?"

"Banana!" The Minion held up the famous yellow fruit that his kind liked to eat, it had been on his belt under his robe for some time. Bob took the banana and ate it, then he raised his sword as though he was giving a thumbs up.

"VeRy TaStY, My FrIeNd." He said, "A kInD TrIbUtE fRoM yOuR pEoPlE. BuT tHaT iSn'T tHe MaIn ReAsOn WhY yOu SuMmOnEd Me Up HeRe, Am I cOrReCt?"

Bob's guest began prattling off something in Minion speak, a language that was pretty hard to understand, even though the Minions could speak a level of English. After a moment, the Minion grunted and threw up his arms while gesturing to himself and proclaimed, "KING BOB!"

The Minion wasn't talking about the hooded hobo who was known as King Bob. It was very known that "Bob" was a common name throughout the lands, and, as Bob knew, his guest's name was also Bob. And, since Minion Bob had issues telling his counterpart about the important matter, he decided to declare his name as those were easy English words.

"YeS, We GeT tHe JoKe. LOL!" Bob laughed, "Is ThErE sOmEoNe WhO cAn TrAnSlAtE eVeRyThInG eLsE yOu ArE tRyInG tO sAy?"

Cue the appearance of Mr. Puzzles from thin air, sporting his fairy wings.

"Allow me to translate, your highness." Mr. Puzzles said in a jolly manner with a smile on his face, "King Bob the Minion, what important matter did you summon King Bob Bobowski for? Aside from that delicious banana you offered to him.

Minion Bob started speaking again, and this time, Mr. Puzzles began to translate; "I came to you, O' Kind King Bob Bobowski, because of another recent Rabbid incursion that left half of our crops dry, sparking panic amongst my people. We would appreciate it if we received supplies that would give us an advantage against those wacked carrot-craving bunnies."

"GoOdNeSs Me." Bob commented, "I sAy tHaT tHe RaBbID cRiSiS iS qUiTe CoNcErNiNg, eSpEcIAlLy WhEn ThEy'Ve MaDe A fEw RaIdS oN mY lAnDs As WeLl. FeAr NoT, KiNg BoB. I wIlL sEe ToO iT tHaT yOu ReCiEvE tHe NeCeSsArY sUpPlIeS yOu NeEd. MeAnWhIlE, I wIlL sEnD a LeTtEr tO tHe RaBbId KiNg, AnD hAvE a WoRd WiTh HiM aS sOoN aS pOsSiBlE."

"King Bob!" Minion Bob hugged King Bobowski in a delighted manner, and Mr. Puzzles made his exit, warping back to his studio to continue observing the activities until his next scene, while King Bob Bobowski concluded his business with Minion King Bob.

It was time for Princess SMG3 to arrive for the ball, which needed it's main host...