Chapter Text
KIRBY'S DREAM LAND - DREAM LAND: GREEN GREENS
Music Inspiration: Green Greens / The Adventure Begins
The very fabric of reality screamed a silent, agonizing note. One moment, the Marvel Heroes—a whirlwind of cosmic, high-tech, and mystic energy—was dealing with yet another spat of Timestream Entanglement. The next, they weren't. Instead of the familiar, fractured Marvel dimensions, they were shredded into a cascade of light and thunder, hurled into a universe that felt... vibrant, cartoony, and impossibly dense with toys.
Kirby clung to his Warp Star, his pink form a determined blur. Cradled awkwardly but securely in his stubby arms was the utterly bewildered form of Jeff the Land Shark. Behind them, an apocalypse painted in pristine, blinding white light unfurled. Galeem, the spherical harbinger, had released its omnicidal blast. Every hero, every villain, every Fighter from Super Smash Bros. was caught, their bodies dissolving into ethereal copies—Spirits—to serve the new god of light.
They were the last.
It wasn't luck. It was the frantic, last-second intervention of a desperate, unseen force. In a flash of emerald energy, the powerful cosmic entity, Galacta, realizing the scope of Galeem's power, had managed a truly chaotic maneuver. She'd opened a series of barely-there, shimmering pocket dimensions across the combined Smash universe, scattering the captured Fighters just before their complete dissolution. Then, with a desperate surge of energy, she tore open a small, unstable nexus—a portal to an entirely different dimension—and shoved the tiny pink puffball and the bewildered land shark through.
The Warp Star zipped through the shimmering tear, propelled by cosmic forces, sheer panic, and a desperate desire for survival.
The journey was rough. The Warp Star, usually a smooth, celestial surfboard, spun violently through the cosmic currents.
Kirby let out a string of high-pitched, panicked "Poyos! Poyos! POYOOO!" The sound was a mix of terror, motion sickness, and determination.
Jeff the Land Shark, bundled like a very confused, scaly baby, just gripped Kirby's robes with his little fin-hands and issued a low, guttural, utterly distressed "Mrrr! Mrrr! MRRRR!" He hated traveling this fast, and he especially hated it when the sky was screaming.
The warp star shattered not with a bang, but with a fwoomp, depositing its two passengers in a heap amidst the cheerful, checkerboard hills of Green Greens. A small plume of smoke rose from the impact crater, smelling faintly of cosmic sugar.
Kirby and Jeff tumbled off the star and skidded to a stop in a meadow of impossible, cartoonish green. Giant, cheerful, yellow stars and rainbows dotted the landscape. Enormous, perfectly spherical trees stood tall, their leaves rustling a happy tune. A clear blue sky arched overhead. A looping, cheerful, eight-bit-esque melody immediately began playing in the air.
Dream Land, specifically Green Greens.
"Poyooooo..." Kirby groaned, shaking the stars from his eyes. He sat up, his round, pink body bouncing slightly. Home. The familiar sight of the rolling green landscapes, the whimsical trees, and the distant, blocky castles of Dream Land should have been a comfort. But a deep, instinctual tremor ran through his puffy core.
"Mrrr?"
A nudge from a cold, rough snout brought his attention to his companion. Jeff the Land Shark, a small, finned creature of cosmic origin, blinked his wide, black eyes. He sniffed the air, then the grass, then took an experimental nibble of a nearby Waddle Dee-shaped bush. He scrunched his face up and spat it out, chuffing in disapproval.
Kirby instantly recognized the familiar, welcoming, safe sight. He jumped up, brushing off the grass, and let out a triumphant, relieved "Poyo!" pointing a stubby arm around. This is my home! We made it!
Jeff, understanding the tone if not the words, simply tilted his head. He took a single look around him:
-
Massive trees with faces and a Waddle Doo stopped to look at him before it waddled past.
-
The ground seemed to gently curve into a perfectly rendered horizon line.
-
And the music!
Jeff tilted his head. He sniffed the air, then turned a wide, baffled stare to Kirby. He then waddled over to a nearby apple, sniffed it, and then, with a surprising chomp, devoured it, core and all. He let out a satisfied "Mrrrp!"
Kirby was about to chide his new friend for eating the scenery (they'll do that later) when he felt it again: a bad feeling in the air, a static hum that set his nerves on edge. He looked up. The sky, usually a perfect, cartoon blue, was… torn. A jagged scar of shimmering, oppressive light split the heavens, and through it, Kirby could see a horrifying, eye-filled entity of pure radiance. From the tear, dark, lumpy forms began to drop, landing with heavy thuds.
Primids. Subspace Emissary Primids.
Kirby’s big eyes widened. He remembered this. Why were they here? He had thought they were defeated so long ago, unless Galeem resurrected them. Then Kirby also remembered. The light. The capture. The utter defeat of every single fighter, from Mario to Link. He’d been the only one to escape then, and it seemed he was one of the only ones to escape now, albeit with a plus-one.
Jeff stopped his culinary investigation. His playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a low, guttural growl. He planted his tiny feet, his dorsal fin stiffening, and bared his teeth at the approaching horde of shadowy minions. He may have been a confused tourist moments ago, but he was, first and foremost, a hero’s companion. And heroes fight.
Kirby felt a surge of determination. He puffed out his cheeks, his body tensing. He was scared, yes, but he was also Kirby, the Star Warrior. He’d faced down world-eaters before.
He looked at Jeff, who met his gaze with fierce, simple loyalty. They were two simple-minded creatures in a universe gone mad, united by circumstance and a shared, unshakeable purpose: save everyone.
Then, Jeff did something unexpected. He turned and nudged Kirby with his snout, then crouched low, offering his back.
Kirby’s eyes lit up. "Poyo!" he exclaimed, a smile breaking across his face. He clambered onto Jeff’s back, his stubby legs barely wrapping around the shark’s middle.
With a powerful kick of his hind legs, Jeff the Land Shark shot forward, a blur of pink and grey across the idyllic hills. Kirby held on tight, a tiny, pink knight on a shark-steed, charging headlong into an army of light and shadow. The fate of two rosters, entangled by time and saved by a cosmic teenager, now rested on the most unlikely of duos.
Their grand, multiversal adventure had begun, and it started with a battle cry of "Poyo!" and a determined "Mrrr!" as they plowed through the first wave of Primids, a whirlwind of suction and sharp teeth against the forces of Galeem.
The Timestream had certainly thrown the Rivals off their game, but Jeff the Land Shark—the only Marvel representative that had escaped—had just landed in a world far stranger and more saccharine than he could have ever imagined. The rest of them, scattered across this new, strange Smash multiverse, were in for a much rougher landing.