The warship's serpent figurehead bobbed like a rubber ducky in a bathtub, its crew stumbling as the sea jiggled beneath them like cosmic jelly. Captain Razorfin, a mountain of scars and spite, gripped the mast with claws that could crack diamonds, but even his ship lurched and wobbled as the bouncy waves slapped its hull with playful PLAPS that sounded like applause at a circus gone wild. "What unholy madness is this?!" he roared, his tricorn hat flopping like a pancake as the deck buckled beneath his boots. Through his spyglass, he watched Solace Isle bounce like a trampoline planet, trees wiggling like noodles in a windstorm, and a white-haired lunatic grinning so hard the very air seemed to giggle.
Back on the island, Sunny's feet couldn't stay still—they bounced and tapped like they had minds of their own, his whole body swaying to some invisible rhythm that made the ground pulse like a giant drum. "WAHAHAHA! This feeling!" he shouted, throwing his arms wide as his grin stretched impossibly wider, making the air shimmer like heat waves on a dance floor. "It's like music in my bones!" He started moving—not walking, not running, but BOUNCING in wild, looping spirals that sent shockwaves of joy rippling across the village. His feet slapped the rubbery ground with THUMP-BOING-THUMP rhythms that made the trees sway like backup dancers, their branches clapping together with woody applause.
The villagers gasped as Sunny spun, his white hair whirling like a tornado made of starlight, and suddenly his body started to STRETCH—not just his limbs this time, but ALL of him, inflating like the world's happiest balloon. "WHOA!" he laughed, shooting up ten feet, twenty feet, thirty feet tall, his vest stretching like taffy but somehow staying together, his shorts ballooning but never tearing. His giant feet made the ground BOOM with each bounce, sending villagers flying through the air with delighted shrieks, their chains now completely forgotten as flower petals that danced around them like confetti at the universe's wildest party.
"I'M A DANCING GIANT!" Sunny bellowed, his voice so booming it made the clouds giggle and the waves in the harbor slap their rubbery sides like they were clapping. He threw his massive arms out, spinning like a colossal top, and the entire island wobbled beneath him like a plate balanced on a stick. His shadow danced across the village, but instead of being dark, it glowed with warm golden light that made everyone it touched burst into uncontrollable giggles.
Kaya, still clutching her star-shaped map that kept trying to bounce out of her hands, stared up at the towering teenager with her jaw hanging open like a broken gate. "HE'S ENORMOUS!" she squeaked, her voice tiny compared to his earth-shaking laughter. The ground beneath her feet bounced so hard she went flying, spinning through the air like a leaf in a hurricane, her dark hair with its star-shaped shells whipping around her face.
That's when Sunny's giant eyes spotted her tumbling through the sky, and his grin somehow got even BIGGER. "STAR GIRL!" he boomed, his voice making the statue of Nika wobble and seem to chuckle along. With one massive, stretchy hand that moved like liquid lightning, he scooped Kaya right out of the air with a WHOOSH that sent her spinning into his palm like she was riding the world's bounciest roller coaster.
"AAAAHHHHH!" she screamed, but her terror was already melting into something else—something wild and warm and absolutely bonkers—as Sunny lifted her up, up, UP to the very top of his head, where his white hair bounced like a cloud made of springs. She landed with a soft BOING, her star map finally behaving as she found herself perched like a tiny navigator on the crown of a laughing giant.
"Best view in the house!" Sunny boomed, his voice making her whole body vibrate like a tuning fork, but somehow it felt incredible, like being inside the world's most joyful earthquake. From up here, she could see EVERYTHING—the bouncy village below looking like a toy set, the jiggling sea stretching to the horizon, the warship bobbing helplessly in the rubbery waves, and in the distance, more ships appearing on the horizon like angry dots that hadn't gotten the memo about the party.
"You're completely INSANE!" Kaya yelled down at him, but she was grinning now too, her fear evaporating like morning mist as Sunny's joy infected her like the most wonderful disease in existence. His hair bounced beneath her, soft and springy, and she found herself laughing as she watched the world wobble and dance around them.
"WAHAHAHA! INSANE'S THE BEST WAY TO BE!" Sunny boomed back, and then he started REALLY dancing—giant footsteps that made the whole island bounce like a trampoline, his massive arms swinging in wild circles that sent gusts of giggling air across the village. Every step was a BOOM-BOING that launched villagers skyward with cheers of delight, every arm swing created wind that made the trees dance even harder, their rubbery trunks twisting into impossible spirals.
The old woman who'd been freed from her chains bounced past on a spring that used to be her cane, cackling like a witch who'd discovered the secret to eternal fun. "I haven't felt this alive in DECADES!" she shrieked, doing a backflip that would've made an acrobat jealous. A group of kids had linked arms and were bouncing in a chain, their laughter creating visible ripples in the air that made flowers bloom wherever they landed.
Sunny spun faster, his giant form creating a whirlwind of pure joy, and Kaya felt her star map—now behaving perfectly—spread out in the wind like a flag of adventure. "The whole world can see us!" she shouted, pointing at the approaching warships. "They're coming! The Tyrant Kings' entire fleet!"
"PERFECT!" Sunny boomed, his dance getting even more wild, his giant feet creating rhythmic earthquakes that made the sea bounce like a liquid trampoline. "More friends for the party! Let's show 'em how to REALLY have fun!" He leaped—actually LEAPED—his giant form soaring through the air like a mountain that had learned to fly, and when he landed, the impact sent a wave of bouncy energy across the entire island that made every single thing—rocks, trees, buildings, people—launch into the air in perfect synchronization.
For one impossible moment, the entire island was airborne, spinning and laughing and bouncing in the sky, with Sunny at the center like the happiest giant in existence, his white hair streaming like a banner of pure joy, and Kaya on his head, her star map finally showing her exactly where she belonged—at the heart of the wildest adventure the New World had ever seen.
The approaching fleet's cannons fired, but the bouncy air turned their cannonballs into rubber balls that bounced harmlessly off the island's surface with cheerful BOINGS, adding to the rhythm of Sunny's cosmic dance. Even the sky seemed to be laughing, clouds swirling into spiral shapes that matched the pattern of his hair.
"This is it!" Kaya shouted, her voice finally matching his volume of pure excitement. "This is what I've been looking for! Not just stars—but the craziest star of all!" She threw her arms wide, her star map flying like a kite behind them as Sunny's laughter shook the heavens and made the entire New World wobble with joy.
The dance was just getting started.