"Two vanilla ice cream cones coming right up!"

The two incident resolvers would finally crashland on the island, sending the incident resolvers tumbling towards the ground, though this time Reimu was prepared than anything. Instead of tumbling she rolled and hopped on her two legs, managing to stick the landing and making herself proud as a result.

Though they didn't immediately go after the star rod piece that was supposedly located on thie very island, no they were taking a break for the time being, walking up towards the nearest ice cream vendor and asking for ice cream, with a low price of about 5 star coins they were able to pretty much get what they needed.

"So.. What brings you to Ice Cream Island and it's archipelago?" The ice cream vendor, a small penguin-like creature called Pengy, would attempt to strike a conversation with the Poppy Sis "Trying to have fun with the beaches?"

"Eheh.. Actually.." Before she was able to answer, the ruffles of bushes would grab both of their attention, turning towards the source of the sound to find a Waddle Doo sneaking up on Kirby who was resting on a sunlounger, where he got the shades from she's not really sure.

The Waddle Doo immediately pulled out a Hammer and whacked the poor puffball with it, catching him offguard and sending the one-eyed prankster running off giggling. Kirby would hop off from the sunlounger and look around for the perpetrator, confused and irritated

"Poyo?! Oy! Oyo!?"

"Ehh.." The miko finally spoke up "You see, we're here for a very specific reason, one regarding a current incident that is very much ongoing for the time being" She chuckled, feeling sorry for the Puffball who huffed and ate his ice cream instead which was sitting under the sun for minutes straight.

"Oh? Then-" The Pengy would gasp "Oooh! I've heard! You're the incident resolvers taht I've been hearing so much about! Channel PPP reported on you!" She said excitedly

"So it would seem" Reimu nodded "Well have you been getting any dreams lately?" She inquired

"Not really.. But I did have a nasty nightmare that left me shaking for hours" Reimu immediately raised an eyebrow at that, nightmares again.. So it would seem like the 'Nightmare' Marisa was talking about really has something to do with the incident "One moment you're just there sleeping and the next thing you're trapped in hours worth of nightmares! Oh the horror!" The Pengy cried dramatically, before she cleared her throat "I never had a goods night sleep after that, though when I tried sleeping again.. All I got was a restless sleep.."

"That's a shame.." She shook her head, she can relate as well.. She even had a nightmare before the whole incident kicked off. "Well you see.. The incident im talking about? People couldn't dream! Or so that's what Kirby over there was explaining to me on paper" She explained

"Ooh.." She brought a wing to her beak "Sounds like something's wrong with the Fountain of Dreams.. No wonder I couldn't sleep afterwards.."

"Wait you've heard of it?" Reimu asked

"Yeah? It's practically common knowledge around these parts" She shrugged "All we know is that the Fountain of Dreams gives us a good night's sleep, without it we are unable to sleep properly.. So to think that we couldn't dream because something is wrong.."

"Yeah, there really is something wrong after all" The shrine maiden sighed "The Star Rod got shattered, and so far me and Kirby are trying our best to recover the pieces.. And King Dedede's behind it all" She leaned in on the counter and sighed "But from what I have learned, there's more to the incident than I think.." She gave her ice cream a lick.. Ooh that vanilla taste is getting to her!

"Really complicated huh" The Pengy nodded solemnly, before grinning "Well then I'll wish you luck! But let me help you out this time because I think I know where your next star rod piece is.."

"Eh?"

"There was a shipment that came in earlier" She explained "It flew Dedede's flag I think.. And the people onboard sailed the ship towards that place over there" She pointed her wing at a building complex in the distance, a series of connected towers and walls almost like a fortress "It's supposed to be one big art exhibit museum but if that Dedede ship says anything, I think that's where you'll be heading!"

"I-.." She had no idea how to thank her.. "Ah.."

"Oh no need to thank me.. After all! You've got guts to resolve incidents in Dreamland! And I enjoy it when people do the public some well needed service" The penguin waved her thoughts off before smiling.

"T-thank you!" She finally smiled back, gaining the confidence to do so "We'll find a way to repay you once we're done-" At this moment Kirby ran towards Reimu, having finished his ice cream and ran towards the miko to accompany her, he looked back at the Pengy who has helped her so far

"Ooh please!" The penguin vendor shook her head, interrupting the shrine maiden "Keep the change to yourself, I don't need no help after all! Haha!"

The shrine maiden had to smile once more, turning towards Kirby who tilted his face "You heard that Kirby? She knows where the next Star Rod piece is.." At that, Kirby immediately raised a smile from his face and hopped in joy

And so they went off, waving goodbye at the ice cream vendor as they approached their next location in Ice Cream Island.

The start of their trek had gone unnoticed luckily as most of the Ice Cream Island denizens such as Scarfies had ignored them for the most part, though the only thing that was actively resisting them were coconuts of all things.

Eugh, she's already starting to hate coconuts and this moment is NOT helping her situation.

Whatever, the exploding coconuts was pretty much taken care of once they started straying from paths where palm trees grew coconuts in. The risk of them falling was high.

Kirby unknowingly gained another new ability along the way, having inhaled a Twister - a being that resembled these 'top' toys with yellow arms - and using said ability to wreck havoc amongst the attacking Ice Cream Island denizens.

Although Reimu was nearly knocked over by an attacking Twister by spinning around rapidly and creating a small tornado, she was able to dispatch the hostile top-like enemy with her gohei. Whacking it away with the swing of her weapon.

She would promptly reunite with Kirby who had ended his rampage, the two incident resolvers continuing on forward on their journey towards the massive art exhibit.

Though they would later on take another path through the Warp Star once again, sending the two incident resolvers at a relatively sandy location, a dune of sorts

What awaited there was a giant wheel like being that roared it's wheels.. A Grand Wheelie as their name suggests is a bigger and grander version of the relatively small Wheelie.

It tried running over Reimu, to which she would yelp and leap out of the way, rolling to a safer spot and retaliating throwing ofudas at the oversized wheel-like creature.

Of course the fight went without a problem as the Grand Wheelie was taken down in no less that five hits from Kirby and Reimu combined. With Kirby ejecting their previous ability and inhaling the giant Wheelie in curiosity, gaining an ability in which he donned a simple red cap.

He turned into a wheel and rolled away, leaving Reimu behind

"Wha- HEY KIRBY!"

...

After countless hours of traversing through the wilderness of Ice Cream Island, the incident resolver would make their way towards the edge of a coastal village, where the castle complex would reside and hopefully be where the next Star Rod piece is.

They've found themselves staring at a particular familiar figure however, who glanced to the side to reveal a mask that Reimu would recognize as

"Meta Knight.." She realized, narrowing her eyes

"So we meet again" He spoke "While I've aided you earlier, that doesn't mean that we're in friendly relations with you two however.."

"That doesn't explain why Kirby drew you shattering the Star Rod" She placed her hand on her hips, the other gripping on her gohei "From what I've seen so far you've been a very conflicting figure, can't really tell if you're an enemy or not"

"Is that so?" He didn't move from his spot just yet, but Reimu could see a sword emerging from the knight's cloak "Then perhaps a display of power would suffice, if you wish to recover the Star Rod into it's full potential.."

He threw away his cloak, and pointed his sword at both Reimu and Kirby, challenging them to whatever he was planning "Then you must prove yourself! Meta-Knights attack!"

"Gh!?" Both Kirby and Reimu would look around as countless Meta-Knights would rush in, with Meta Knight himself soon slipping away from the area afterwards. "So it's an ambush! Not trusting him was the right call!" She spoke out loud

"En garde then!" An Axe Knight would shout, the skull-like viking would run forwards and swing his axe down, making Reimu block it with a gohei of her own, as she struggled he would attempt to knock her down with a sweep of his foot which was soon met with Reimu using all her strength to push back the Axe Knight, right before she jabbed him in the face several times, knocking him away.

Kirby was also busy with the other Meta-Knights. Having been the reason why the Halberd sunk, most of the other Meta-Knights would focus on attempting to strike down Kirby as a Mace Knight, two Javelin Knights and an Axe Knight would rush in and attack.

only for them to get run over by Kirby's Wheel ability which made him turn into a wheel. They hadn't had the opportunity to retaliate that fast unfortunately and were knocked out of the field easily enough

Reimu was faring better, having resorted to throwing ofudas at the attacking Meta-Knights, she would blow up another Axe Knight who went in to try and cleave her in two by throwing his axe at her and making it come back boomerang-style.

"G-gah!" The Axe Knight stuttered before looking around and shouting "Retreat!"

The Meta Knights would soon gather themselves back up before retreating into the wilds, leaving the battlefield empty of any threats and making Reimu and Kirby safe once again, she sighed out a relief and sat down to rest

"Well that was an handful" She spoke "He said he wanted for us to prove ourselves right?" She asked

"Haai..." Kirby also sat down to rest, bringing out a bottle of energy drink and sipping on it as to recover "Mmm"

"Im guessing there'll be more of him testing us in the near future whicg will be.." She sighed and leaned into her hands, covering her face and groaning "It's gonna be one hell of an incident for us euugh.."

"Poyo.." He spoke in a reassuring way "We saeve dreams! Need sleep!"

"Well you're right, we still have dreams to recover and save" She nodded before looking towards the coastal village in the distance, it's presence awaiting the two "So wanna continue on?"

"Hai!" He responded, downing the energy drink immediately and hopping back to his two feet, right before running off to which she would roll her eyes to and follow from behind.

...

Getting into the massive art exhibition castle was fairly easy enough, then again Reimu had to buy two tickets just for both Kirby and Reimu to enter the castle itself which was bad for her pockets. Another few coins down the drain which would've been used for something much useful.. Aw..

Hey at least the guy behind the counter wasn't grumpy enough to deny them the pass once they bought tickets, but he showed clear signs of sleep deprivation which was a sign that they still have to finish this incident as soon as possible

Anyway, they began to explore the art exhibit, with Reimu examining the various art pieces this place has to offer, and being awed by it. Kirby would do the same as he would be amazed by the various art pieces that were being presented

"Uwaaah!!" One of the art pieces were a sculpture of sorts, Reimu wasn't sure what it represented but hey at least it looked cool, however..

"Shh!" She reprimanded, this place was quiet and any loud sounds were unnecessary. She turning to look at the other art pieces when a particular corner caught her attention, that corner had sky paintings on the wall and ceiling, a beautiful representation of the skies that Dreamland had. Curious she began to follow the path before her with Kirby soon following from behind, also curious aswell.

They found themselves in a painter's room

A set of blank canvases would be seen in this particular room, with a being whose busy with said canvases, donning a cap with roller skates alongside detached arms and feet.. He was busy painting something

"Oh?" The painter spoke, turning his head towards the two "Why hello there! You here to see me paint?"

"Ah.. No.. I mean we're not here specifically to sightsee really" She shrugged "We're just here for something else"

"Oh! I see.. Then-" And his eyes landed on Kirby, who muttered a 'poyo' to the shrine maiden in confusion, immediately his gaze hardened and he turned his body around to face the two incident resolvers, now knowing who they really are "Oh, I've heard of you! You the guy that defeated Marisa huh?"

"Wh- how'd you know of that?" She spoke immediately, pointing her gohei at the painter until she realized one factor in particular "Meta Knight.. He told you didn't he?"

"Communications can get you places my dear friend! Now if you're here for the Star Rod piece..." He brought out a piece of the star rod from his hat and waved it around "Then that's a big no from me! King Dedede specifically gave me this for protection and im not letting some nobodies steal it from me!"

"Oh, then we have to fight you to get it back huh?"

"Indeed! You're gonna have to get it by force whethee you like it or not! If you're here to sightsee I can get by that, but the star rod piece is a no no!" He shook his head two times to his voice "So, not happening anytime now!"

"Humph!" And Kirby assumed a stance, with Reimu letting out a sigh as she positioned herself to be combat ready for a eventual fight

"If you aren't planning on giving it back, then we'll have to beat you up, we still have dreams to return to!"

"King Dedede entrusted me with this!" He shouted "Im Paint Roller and im not gonna let him down this time!"

The fight began shortly with the painter skating towards one of the canvases, before he drew out several figures at once, displaying his prowess at arts. When Reimu least expected it is that these paintings immediately came to life upon being finished, from a small waddle dee-sized painting of an outside world car to a baseball.

"E-eheh!?" Said life-like paintings would begin to rush at her upon the command of Paint Roller, to which Reimu and Kirby would retaliate back by either her gohei's or..

Kirby would immediately be struck by a flying baseball, sending him tumbling and losing his ability in the process. Hopping back into position he tried to inhale the bouncing ability star until he had to duck from another flying baseball, annoyed he inhaled said baseball and spat it at Paint Roller who was busy painting.

The painter would be knocked over by the force of the star projectile Kirby spat out, knocking over the canvas he was painting in and broke, this prompted Reimu to clear out the surrounding living paintings with her gohei before throwing ofudas at the Paint Roller.

The painter would stand back up and grip his head, looking down at the broken canvas in shock before feeling something paper-like slap onto his back "ah..?" curious he'd look behind him before the ofudas ignited and explode.

"EEYAAAH!" A cloud of black smoke enveloped the painter, right before he tried to clear it out with his hands, he was still standing "G-guh! Rude! I shall paint you losing to me after this!" And he skated away to a corridor

"Hey come back here!" The miko shouted

"Naiyo!" Kirby exclaimed

Both of them would begin to run, catching up with the skatingPaint Roller who looked at his back and gawked at the running incident resolvers "y-yikes!" He shouted, skating towards the nearest spare canvas and painted a small cloud on it, immediately the drawn cloud would emerge from the canvas and began casting down lightning bolts at the two.

"Ah!" Reimu dashed to the side to avoid being struck by a lightning bolt and as for Kirby? he hopped upwards and inhaled the cloud, gulping it down and gaining the Spark Ability once again.

"Uwai!" He shouted in awe, right before he continued on following Paint Roller

Paint Roller would begin skating down the sky-painted corridor, painting on several empty canvases and letting them at Reimu and Marisa, of course clearing them was easy as a piece of cake

Though there was one painting that surprised Kirby as a replica of him emerged from one of the canvases, attempting to collide with one of the incident resolvers trying to catch up with Paint Roller.

That painting of Kirby was zapped, and launched to the wall by a set of explosive ofudas

"Awh! I thought it would work like him! Guess I need my skills honed!"

But before he would do anything, he yelped and ducked as another set of ofudas were thrown at him, the ofudas would stick to the wall and Paint Roller would look at said ofudas..

They began glowing

Immediately Paint Roller knew what would happen, and skated away as fast as possible, the ofudas would explode and leave behind a crater on the wall.

Inspired he began painting on another canvas that he found while traversing the corridor, two replicas of Reimu's ofudas would be seen flying out of the paintinga nd homed in on the shrine maiden.

She gritted her teeth and leaped away, letting the ofudas stick on the floor and explode, she was starting to get tired of this fight anyway "The star rod piece! Give it back!"

"Not this time!"

And immediately Reimu had an idea, rushing towards the nearest empty canvas, and smashed it with her gohei

"NO! NOT THE CANVASES!" In a state of panic, Paint Roller would began painting several parasols, each parasols would spin and fly, diving towards Reimu.

As Reimu whacked away the incoming parasols, Kirby would take the chance to get near Paint Roller and BEGAN ZAPPING at the magical painter, who twitched and convulsed at the feeling of electricity coursing through his body

"AAGHSSGAHAGAAG.." Kirby stopped, and Paint Roller would collapse to the floor, letting go of his only paintbrush.. He struggled to try and get up as Kirby stepped out of the way "P-please.." He spoke

Reimu looked at the painter, her gohei was already raised and is preparing to destroy another canvas "Please what?"

"Not the canvas.. I need these to draw on.." He pleaded, grabbing ahold of his paint brush.

"Then give us the star rod piece" She sighed, glancing to her side as Kirby stepped towards where she is "Im not cruel enough to give you an ultimatum but it'll be easier for the both of us if you just hand it over" And then she outstretched her hand

The painter would look up at the two before sighing in defeat, grabbing his cap and presenting it at the two "Alright fine, I surrender.. Ouch.."

Reimu would waddle forward and look into the cap, seeing a star rod piece inside she would grab it out from the camp and smiled at the piece, Kirby immediately brightened up at the sight of said star rod piece and brought out his own.

Almost immediately the two pieces would gravitate towards one another, the star piece on Reimu's hand would let go, startling the shrine maiden. The two star rod pieces would immediately connect with one another, mending cracks and damages on the two pieces and finally merge together, forming a quarterly-fixed star rod in it's place

Almost immediately Kirby happily hopped towards Reimu and pulled her in, shocking Reimu as Kirby would proceed to dance, pulling Reimu alongside his choreographed dance.

What followed next was a daze, with Reimu somehow looking at herself as she unconsciously followed along the dance, but as embarrassing as it seemed, Reimu somehow felt.. warm inside.

Once the dance was done however with Reimu somehow posing with Kirby, her face immediately fell and she covered her face with her hands as fast as possible, the embarrassment of doing a dance like that kicking in and punching Reimu's emotional state

"Y-you!"

"Haha.." He instead chuckled

"HEY WHAT'S GOING UP ON THERE?" A voice echoed out from afar as the three people in the corridor immediately looked around their surroundings.

This place was a mess, from scorch marks on the floor to craters and paint markings on the floor..

"Im blaming you guys for this" Paint Roller immediately spoke from the floor, rolling his eyes

"Not my fault you didn't hand over the star rod piece earlier" She retorted.

All three ended up being kicked out of the art exhibit museum.