Kirby and the Rod of Darkness
Chapter 27: An Eggs-traordinary Easter (Easter Special!)
The day when Kirby and friends returned to the Lor happened to be the day before Easter. While Magolor, Taranza, and Susie were working together trying to locate the mysterious gem, Kirby was distracted by something else...and for once, it wasn't food. He ran into the main room excitedly and declared, "I just learned an interesting fact about Bun!" In his hand was a book he'd been reading about Popstar's wildlife.
The others looked back from where they stood in front of the computer. "Bun? Does it taste like cinnamon?" Magolor guessed.
Kirby laughed. "No! Bun is a creature that lives on Popstar. See?" He turned the book around to show his friends a picture of a large reddish rabbit-like creature before continuing. "All the Buns I've met were mean-they picked me up with their ears and tossed me like a baseball!" While he was saying this he tried to imitate a Bun, which caused him to throw the book at the floor, so he paused briefly to retrieve it. "But I just read that there are nice ones too-they throw Easter eggs around for people to find on the night before Easter!"
"I hope the eggs are hard-boiled," Susie remarked after Kirby's explanation was finished.
"And I hope they don't hit anyone in the head," Taranza added.
Before this discussion could go any further the ship's computer beeped. Magolor turned to check its screen. "Aha! It looks like the gem we're looking for is over in Prism Plains," he observed, "That's not far from here!"
After a short trip the Lor arrived at Prism Plains. When its four passengers first came outside, they couldn't help but take a moment to admire the beautiful scenery surrounding them. This place was absolutely gorgeous, with green grass and colorful flowers swaying gently in the breeze. Forests, lakes, and mountains could be seen in the distance, and a rainbow was visible in the blue sky. "Look at that!" Magolor commented, "Spring is in the air...and on the ground!"
"The flowers are so lovely!" Susie said, viewing the array of flowers surrounding her. She picked one with pretty pink petals and placed it in her hair, making her look ready for spring. After doing this, she noticed Magolor and Taranza staring in her direction and thought to herself, Hee hee! My beauty has them speechless!
However, it was not Susie the two wizards were gazing at; it was a glistening object moving by in the distance. "I thought I saw something sparkly over there!" Magolor said to Taranza.
"I saw it too," the spider answered, "It could be that yellow gem!" With that, both of them began to run after it. Susie wasn't very happy, but she followed them.
Kirby, meanwhile, hadn't paid any attention to what was going on because he had his eye on something else. There was a tree covered in delicious apples nearby, and the hungry hero couldn't stop himself from inhaling every one of them. Once he'd done this, he looked around and realized he was alone. "Magolor? Taranza? Susie? Oh no, they must have run off without me!" He wanted to find them but he didn't have any idea where they went, so he just ran straight ahead until he caught sight of a familiar artist sitting by a lake. "Hey, Adeleine!" he called out to her.
"Hi Kirby!" she waved as Kirby stopped in front of her.
Kirby noticed Adeleine was doing something different from her usual work. Instead of painting on a canvas she was painting small oval-shaped objects, but they didn't look like eggs. "What are you doing?" he asked her.
"Painting Easter stones for my friends," she answered, "Easter eggs are nice, but you only get to admire them for a short time before you eat them. I like to paint rocks instead, so they can be enjoyed for a long time."
"That's a great idea!" Kirby said excitedly, "Can I paint some too? I want to make some for my friends!"
"Of course!" Adeleine stood up, took a canvas out of nowhere, and painted an Artist Copy Essence which then became real. Kirby used it to become Artist Kirby, which made his paintings look a lot like Adeleine's (normally he wasn't much of an artist).
Kirby was eager to get to work. He decided to make some "Easter stones" for Magolor, Taranza, and Susie first, since he could easily give them one on Easter morning. He thought about what each of them liked and decorated the rocks accordingly. He painted the Lor and Gem Apples on a blue rock for Magolor, the Dreamstalk and spiderwebs on a green one for Taranza, and the Business Suit and music notes on a pink one for Susie. But before he could even think about making any for his other friends, his three allies ran past. Suddenly reminded of his mission, he jumped to his feet. "Oh, I forgot I was supposed to be helping those three!" he exclaimed, "See you later, Adeleine!" He quickly stuck his painted stones under his hat and ran off.
Magolor, Taranza, and Susie were still chasing after the mysterious jewel, which was proving to be difficult to catch. "I wish that thing would sit still for a minute!" Taranza grumbled.
At that moment Kirby caught up with the rest of his team. "Hi-yah!" he shouted, lunging forward and smacking the gem with his paintbrush; the shiny object was covered in paint as it fell to the ground. Pleased with his accomplishment, Kirby raised his paintbrush in victory. "Strongest paintbrush in the world!" he declared, but his accomplishment didn't last long. The gemstone then lifted off the ground and started to drift away again. Everyone tried to grab it but it was moving too fast for them. "Oh no! It's getting away again!" Kirby cried out.
All of a sudden something happened which no one was expecting. A Bun, who had witnessed the whole thing, emerged from a wooded area nearby and scurried after the runaway jewel. When it caught up with the item it grabbed it with one ear, turned, and tossed it back to Kirby, who caught it. He was elated. "Thank you!" he called out to the Bun as he waved to it. The rabbit-like creature smiled and hopped up and down a few times, looking pleased before it went back into the woods.
"So there really are friendly Buns out there," Magolor said, "even if they don't taste like cinnamon."
Once Kirby and company returned to the Lor, they placed the yellow gem securely in the capsule the Dream Rod was previously in, and the rest of the day went smoothly. The next morning, it was Easter. Kirby was very excited to go egg hunting, but first he wanted to eat breakfast and give Magolor, Taranza, and Susie their gifts. "Happy Easter, everyone!" he said cheerfully as he presented each of them with a hand-painted stone, "I made these for you. Since they're rocks instead of eggs, you can enjoy them for a long time!"
The others admired his work, thinking about how much thought and effort he must have put into each one. "Aww, that's really sweet of you, Pinky," Susie said in reply, "Thank you. They're wonderful!"
Kirby had a big smile on his face. "You're welcome." He picked up his Easter basket and eagerly rushed outside. "Now I'm gonna go hunt for Easter eggs!"
Magolor, Taranza, and Susie stood outside the Lor and watched Kirby run about in search of colorful eggs. He found some hidden in bushes, on tree branches, behind logs and rocks, and even on the ship's deck. After a little while, he approached his pals with a full basket and a very satisfied expression. "Wow! Look how many Easter eggs I found!" he told them, "Those friendly Buns really do hide a lot of them!" He then ate every egg in his basket in one gulp. "Delicious!" he grinned.
The others couldn't help but be amused by Kirby's completely unsurprising reaction. "And here I thought we'd have eggs for breakfast tomorrow," Taranza commented.
"Oh well," Magolor added, "At least we have Gem Apples."
"Don't forget the ice cream!" Susie chimed in. As all four of them went back inside, a Bun watched them from behind a nearby tree with a smile before it scampered away. It was an egg-cellent Easter for everyone!
Have a happy Easter!
