Chapter Text
The Forgotten Land had many unknown relics to the citizens of Dream Land. There was always a sense of whimsical discovery as Kirby and Bandee romped through the grassy plains, swam through the ocean with the taste of salt tingling on their tongues, rode the bygone rustic machines that seemed to be used for entertainment in a past life.
Even though there was no shortage of excitement within their past adventures together, the fact remained that this new world was thrilling and new. Though there had been space-time breaches and flora that pierced through the sky, this was rising up in Bandee’s ranks as his favorite journey (and not just because he got to adventure with Kirby. Alone. For once.)
From his mannerisms, Kirby seemed to feel similarly. The way his eyes brightened at the sight of new lands to conquer was simply mesmerizing. His excitement at romping around abandoned cities and chomping down on food never ceased to bring endless excitement into their journeys.
One such moment was when they waltzed into a building adorned with a circular logo similar to the wheel ability, Kirby’s eyes transformed from wonder into shock as they were ambushed by some stray Awoofies. Bandee tried to leap into action, but Kirby pushed a hand in front of his figure, preventing him from proceeding.
“I’ll do it!” Kirby’s voice rang out in the building before he sucked in a large breath, in the intent to defeat the enemies. No matter how fast they would run, the gaping black hole that was Kirby’s stomach was always inescapable.
During the scuffle, a giant, rustic piece of metal made its way into Kirby’s line of fire. There was an attempt by Bandee to warn Kirby of the incoming danger, but nothing seemed to phase Kirby as it collided with his mouth. Bandee could barely contain his reaction of horror as Kirby morphed his entire body into pliable dough in order to encase the entirety of the machine. He kept increasing his size more and more until he had finally engulfed it into oblivion, except…
Kirby became a car immediately after.
Or, at least, a being in control of a car by swallowing half of it with his entire body.
Bandee was still in shock from the whole ordeal, having never seen his friend swallow something so gigantic and have this sort of a reaction. Was this why Kirby had transformed and morphed into many different shapes when the first entered the land? It was like he was elastic, atretching himself to an insurmountable size.
“K-Kirby?!”
“Bwandwee…” Kirby’s voice was muffled by the giant CAR in his jaw, currently.
“Wh-What did you do????? Are you alright? Can you get it out???”
“Gwet on!” Kirby said, his small stubs wiggling towards himself (as much as they could- they were locked onto the side mirrors.)
“Uh… okay, Kirby.”
Bandee threw his spear onto his back and began climbing upon Kirby's… body. When he reached the top, he placed his two stubs on top of the vehicle and laid flat on his stomach. It was strange, Kirby still had a coherent, strong heartbeat, and despite the car adjusting the shape of his body, it still felt the same as it always has…
Once Bandee was settled, he affirmed, “Okay, Kirby… I’m go-”
In that instant, Kirby didn’t utter a word of affirmation himself, just began accelerating the vehicle (which was also himself?) Bandee could feel his legs dangle in the air as Kirby burst forward through cracked walls, rubble crumbling on top of his head. He recoiled in pain as Kirby refused to come to a complete halt, or take a single turn delicately.
“K-Kirbs!” Bandee wailed. Kirby refused to yield and continued forward, smacking into various walls and structures in the way. Enemies were being trampled, and so was Bandee’s head above the action.
There was a huge chasm in the ground in front of them, rapidly growing closer as Kirby continued. He didn’t seem to heed the warnings Bandee sputtered out as he crossed the gap. In lieu of a jump, the car rose above the intended trajectory, sailing over the gap with ease. With a swift movement, Kirby twisted the car into a drift and was able to stop his movement. He spat out the car quickly, and twisted his head around to face Bandee with a wide grin and proud attitude.
“See, Bandee? Everything’s fine!” Kirby said cheerfully. “Look, there’s even a warp star! Let’s keep going, Bandee!”
“Kirby… you need to stop being so reckless!” Bandee pleaded, stepping towards Kirby. “I understand that you’re so much stronger than I am, but I can take care of some things myself! You didn’t even listen to me because you were so focused on the goal.”
“Yes, but I knew we would be fine!” Kirby argued. “Look, you saw how cool it was, crashing into those walls! I destroyed ‘em, Bandee!”
“Just because you’ve been through other adventures doesn’t mean we can’t afford some sort of caution, Kirby!” Bandee raised his voice louder than he had anticipated, making Kirby take several steps back in shock. His blue eyes were dimming out of the terrible realization that he had screwed up.
Wordlessly, Kirby ran back to the blue vehicle and sucked it up once more, though this time refused to wait for Bandee. He took off further ahead, with a familiar yelling in the distance for him to come back, waving his arms in desperation.
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Bandee had no idea how to stop Kirby when he was in a state like this, so he knew his only choice was to follow the tire tracks the consumed car had left behind.
Using his spear as a makeshift propeller, Bandee continued to follow the trail, taking down any stray enemies that hadn’t already been smashed by Kirby’s vehicle. When he finally reached a dead end in the clearing where they had found the car in the first place, Bandee came face to face with a car that still had Kirby on top of it, sucking away at it like it was a delicate fruit bowl.
“Kirby!” Bandee said, relieved. “Are you alright?”
Silence.
“...”
Bandee approached the car Kirby had claimed and delicately pressed a stub to the rear view mirrors.
“Kirbs… I’m sorry for what I said. I was so worried about you when we got transported here, and now you’re acting so careless while everyone seems to be in danger. The other Waddle Dees, Meta Knight, the King… everyone needs us. I know you’ll get the job done regardless… you’re like the strongest person I’ve ever met. But… I want you to be safe, and stay out of danger too.”
Bandee looked down at the dirt as he gathered his words together, his face flushing a light pink coloration as each sentence flowed out of him.
“I know you don’t want me to get hurt either, but please… let me drive for a while.”
At that, Kirby let go of the vehicle he had attached himself to, hopped onto the ground and tumbled into Bandee’s arms with no hesitation. His stub found its place naturally in Bandee’s own, and he was welcomed with open arms.
After a moment, Kirby spoke again, blues back to their natural hue that Bandee felt himself get lost in.
“I don’t know how you’re going to drive without the copy ability, Bandee…”
“Well, I’m not going to be driving literally, you could say…”
“Huh? What did you mean the-”
Kirby didn’t have the opportunity to finish his sentence before Bandee scooped him up into his arms, and was being carried all the way back to the warp point they had advanced to previously. The orange stubs lifted Kirby up and onto Bandee’s back as he ran, throwing spears at anything that came remotely close to him.
“You know, this wouldn’t have been possible without the car!” Kirby said, a snarky tone in his voice.
“I’m aware, Kirbs. I think we work better together, anyway!” Bandee chimed earnestly, not even looking back at Kirby.
Kirby elected to ignore the deep pink that continued to flush his face as they pressed forward.