Deelila and Dee were both prepping themselves for a long sled ride. Deelila had to gather the Gaw Gaws it took her longer than she would've expected. They'd been doing nothing but constantly burrowing in the ground. Dee was almost considering just making the run before Deelila caught his attention.

"Are you ready? This might be a little bumpy."

"I don't care. As long as I get back to Dreamland!" With a forceful flick of the rope and a "mush!" the pair were off and out of the small town. It was midday when they left. Dee only hoped that maybe he'd make it back to Dreamland by sundown, his only priority was to figure out if Adeline and Ribbon were safe. What deterred him was that he was still shaken from his encounter with Dedede. The hammer flip was so powerful that all of his bones felt like jelly. He could barely hold a feather, let alone any weapon, which was completely out of the picture, considering that he didn't have any. He shook his head, discontent from the situation. He didn't want to keep brooding, but Deelila was focusing on keeping the Gaws on the path. If he were to distract her, the ride would only be longer. So, with nothing else to do, Dee solemnly sat on the sled, looking at the whites and blues across the ground, while also trying desperately to not fall off.

He'd constantly have the reminder of his bandana -or rather his lack of it- belonging to Adeline to patch her hand. He knew that Adeline couldn't do anything by herself and was extremely worried about anything that could happen to her. As much as he hated to admit it, she was defenseless without her paintings, and since the cut was so deep, it couldn't've healed in the couple of days they were apart. Adeline give me strength! Don't worry! I'll come back! Going back to his instincts, he was going to jump and start running, but he'd forgotten that the Gaw Sled was the fasting thing he had. So instead of dashing, he braced on Deelila's back and was hoping they'd make it soon. ...and that Adeline will be alright without me.

...

The cold winds were harsh on the Waddle Dees and Gaws. A blizzard of sorts had randomly struck the area and the Gaws were starting to get too cold to continue. They had to warm up and wait for the winds to subside.

"This is odd," Deelila said attempting to start a fire with the logwood she packed. "This area doesn't get blizzards. I travel through here all the time and not once have I seen anything like this before!" She successfully starts the fire and everyone had huddled around it for warmth. "I'm sorry sugar, but depending on how this weather acts, we might not make it by sundown." Dee's expression was immediately downcast.

"Great," he said having a hint of sarcasm. Deelila put a hand to his back, attempting to ease him.

"Ya never told me about this issue anyway. What happened?"

"Well it's kinda a long story and frankly I'm not sure if you're interested."

"Well it's not like we can go anywhere now," she said pointing at the sleeping Gaws. Dee sighed and decided to tell her about what happened.

It felt odd retelling everything that happened. Dee did feel better by talking about his problems to Deelila, but most of the feeling faded away as he started to talk about his painter companion. Deelila could tell he was upset, by his voice trembling -and not by the cold- her attempts to reassure him were futile. He didn't mean to be so standoff-ish towards her, but most of the time he had a solution for multiple problems, but this was on the problems he couldn't fix or decipher. And what worried him more was Kirby and The King's reign over Dreamland. They took it over like it was nothing and there was no telling what else they could do, both Dedede and Kirby are excellent fighters and forces to be reckoned with, and if that really was The Dark Matter that he was thinking of, he'd have to come up with the most ultimate plan to beat it. But so far, nothing came to mind.

The winds were getting harsher and louder. Debris was flying around and it was looking destructive. The Gaws had woke up and began to burrow deep underground. Dee and Deelila had hopped into their tunnels and they started to hide. The winds slowly subsided, but they could hear the sounds of footsteps. Heavy footsteps. Dee peered over and he saw a familiar face. Or at least a familiar mask.

He'd pop out of the snow and ran towards him. "Sir Meta Knight! I'm glad you're here! So much has happened and I-" Dee was interrupted as Meta Knight turned around and gave him a blank stare.

"Waddle Dee." He said, as cold as the snow he was standing on. "Where is Kirby? I don't have much time." He said, in a somewhat strained voice.

"I don't know. Are you here to help us?"

"Yes, but I can't talk for much longer..(groan). I suggest you leave the area." Meta Knight was attempting to fly away from the scene, but stopped midair and fell with a thud in the snow. Dee had run up to him in confusion but was launched back as Meta Knight rose to the ground and flew up with dark energy. His once yellow eyes, now black and demonic. Uh-oh.

Dee was unable to react to Meta Knight's speed as he lunged towards him with a single flap of his wings. He was defenseless. Dee would crash into the snow, piling it up behind him. The dangerous knight pinned him to the ground and held out his sword. Dee could see the look in his eyes. Expressionless, but for a split second, he was looking restraint. He loosened his grasp on Dee and he was able to break free from the attack. He tried his hardest to run and recollect himself, but running on snow proved to be difficult. He could barely manage to get one foot out of the snow. Losing his grace period, Dee was attacked again and was struck by Meta Knight's wings, once again crashing him towards the ground and sliding to hit his head on the sled. Meta Knight would use his iconic Mach Tornado to violently spin towards Dee and inadvertently create another blizzard with this attack. It was devastating and Dee couldn't see a single thing, being launched high into the air, to be kicked down by Meta Knight. The sled had fallen on top of him as well as all of the logged wood. As he pushed the sled off him, he'd grab one of the logs to hurl at Meta Knight and he slashed it effortlessly. He'd chuck another log only to get the same result. The winged warrior starting to menacingly walk towards Waddle Dee. The restraint was gone and his eyes were endless voids. Dee would continue to chuck wood to extend his life, by only a few seconds. As a hail mary, Dee would grab the axe that was in the back of the sled and throw it at Meta Knight's mask. He hadn't expected the metallic axe and the Galaxia was knocked out of his hand. The axe came back to Dee in a boomerang-like fashion and he caught it. In the blink of an eye, Meta Knight grabbed the Galaxia and flew towards Dee, readying for a life-ending slice of his blade...But Dee struck first. He'd slice Meta Knight with the axe as a last desperation attack. Meta Knight would freeze in his tracks. The black aura dissipated and his mask had cracked in two. Dee was heavily breathing as he saw Meta Knight's exposed face. Meta Knight had stood there silently, before eventually covering himself with his cape and disappearing into the sky. Dee managed to live another day, but as a trade-off, he was in no condition to do anything.

Deelila saw the whole fight unfold and manage to grab Dee before he fell into the snow. "Anyone?! Help!" Dee closed his eyes and slept. It was the only thing he could do after that. Deelila commanded one of the Gaw Gaws to burrow a small nest for Dee to stay in as well as be a guard for him. She would use the other four to make her way back to Turnip Tundra and possibly try and get medical help. As Bandana Dee slept, he'd continuously mumble in his sleep.

Adeline.
I'm sorry..
Be strong...

Sometime later, there were footsteps outside. And the intruder had entered the nest. The Gaw Gaw did everything it could to defend Dee, but it simply got kicked out of the way. The figure loomed over Bandana Dee and gave his ever so iconic blank stare. He saw his "best friend" rendered defenseless and hurt. "Give him the energy too..." The voice in his head told him. After putting his hands on him, Bandana Dee began to glow ominous energy and spring to life almost immediately. As he looked around, his perspective looked so warped. As he continued to look around he couldn't help but notice the one thing that caught his attention. Which was the other person that was in the room with him.

"...K-Kirby?"

The painter and the fairy made their way to the more mountainous area of Popstar in hopes of finding Dee. Adeline was slowly becoming more desperate by the minute, not to mention Ribbon was driving her up the wall with her rambling on about Kirby. Adeline's hints were overlooked and she didn't want to hurt her feelings, so she just endured it in the long run. Adeline was making her way towards Rutabaga Ridge a pretty infamous spot for its treacherous drops. Adeline was dreading venturing here, but she wouldn't know where else to go from there.

She hasn't really "walked" anywhere in a long time. She mostly hangs around Whispy's Woods or Green Greens, to mostly talk to Kirby and her other friends. The last time that she actually ventured out like this was when Ribbon first lost her shards so many years ago. Man, I'm getting old...Trying to ignore her slight age crisis she'd take note of one of the larger mountains in the center of the area and thought she'd be able to get a good look around for Dee. Normally, she'd use her Kracko painting to scale something that large. However, because of her decreased painting abilities, she didn't want to risk it. Though the air wasn't as humid as it was in Flooded Figs.

Both of the girls walked -more so Adeline- towards the enormous mountain and looked up it. It was a climb she could probably do, but it might take a while. As she was starting to scale the mountain a massive Rocky came hurtling down towards the ground, making Adeline jump out of her skin. She inspected the Rocky and it simply blinked before bowing and leaving the area. Good to know there had to be a group of Rockies up there.

As Adeline was scaling the mountain while Ribbon sat on her shoulder. She couldn't fly all the way up there, so that was the only thing she could do. Adeline was continuously looking up, praying a Rocky wouldn't fall on her face. If it did, she'd practically be in no condition to find Dee and it could lead to the massive destruction of Popstar. Talk about pressure. What sucked more was that she was still equipped with that Parasol, but she couldn't hold it over her head since she needs all of her support to climb the mountain and Ribbon was too tiny and weak to hold it over her head. Speaking of her, the only thing she was doing while she was climbing was talking about her "beloved Kirbykins"; Adeline tried to not make a big deal out of it, but it seemed like Ribbon could tell she was visibly upset and eventually stopped the conversation. Ribbon began to fidget on Adeline's shoulder much to her concern and she took a second to look at her.

"What's wrong?"

"I feel like I'm annoying you," she said twiddling her fingers as her pink hair covered her face. "I'm not really contributing to anything, am I? I'm just dead weight..."

"Well don't say that. You're providing morale! I couldn't get through this by myself!"

"Well you aren't really acting like it," she countered. Adeline frowned and continued to climb the mountain all the while, avoiding any Rockies that fell down.

"Well, it's not like I'm really any better. I can't even rely on many of my paintings to help since they all dissipate too quickly. And I'm nowhere near versed in using weapons outside of my paintbrush. It's tough, but just keep your spirits high. I know we'll be able to get through it together!" Ribbon's expression changed slightly and she gave a small smile to Adeline.

Not much time passed before Adeline noticed of Ribbon again. She wasn't squirming but had a somewhat troublesome look on her face.

"Hey, Ado?" She eventually pried.

"Ado? Uh yeah?"

"Do you think Kirby and Dee are alright? We haven't run into either of them in days. I'm especially worried about Kirby...I hope he's eating."

"Trust me, I'm sure he's still eating. But why are you so concerned about Kirby and not Dee or Rick?" Ribbon huffed and looked disgruntled.

"I love Kirby! Don't you think it hurts to see your lover possessed and attempting to hurt everyone you like including yourself?" Adeline winced. At least Dee was still "around". Somewhere...But Kirby was actively wreaking havoc on everyone and even attempted to attack both Adeline and Ribbon. "I know you like Waddle Dee too, but that's why I'm trying to not talk about him so much. Hearing how your best friend might be on the other side of Popstar or barely hanging on to his life isn't exactly something I'd wanna listen to if I were you."

"Well, I wouldn't want you to keep making yourself depressed over Kirby. Just stop talking about it. I'm trying to focus," Ribbon scoffed angrily.

The rest of the climb was silent for the girls.

It took the whole morning and most of the afternoon, but Adeline and Ribbon were now on top of the mountain. Waddle Dees aren't all too hard to spot. Most of them are red, orange, or very rarely a few multicolored ones. It's pretty easy to see something that colorful contrasting against the browns, greys, and blacks of the mountains and valleys. Adeline shielded her eyes from the sun and peered over the mountain tops to get a general view of the valley. Nothing. A few Galbos are perched on cliffs and some Pterans are soaring the air, but nothing stood out to her.

"Ribbon, could you fly up a little higher and see if you can spot anything unusual." She obliged, though her attitude told a different story.

She flew up and spun around in a circle trying to find anything, but to no avail. She dizzily flew back to Adeline and thudded on the ground shrugging her shoulders.

"Dang it. Well, I'm going to sit here and rest. I might try and make some food, but don't expect it to taste really good." Ribbon sat patiently for Adeline to prep her easel. As she did this, several Rockies walked over to her to see what she was doing. Ribbon started to slightly panic. Not all Rockies are hostile, but they will attempt to squish anyone they see. This would be bad, especially considering the fact that these Rockies were twice the size of Ribbon. Adeline was paying no attention to her and still setting up her canvas.

"Adeline, could you come and help me please?"

"In a moment. I'm almost finished setting this up."

"Yeah, but I need your help! L-like now!"

Adeline turned around and saw the group of Rockies attempting to jump up and squish the fragile fairy. With quick thinking, Adeline used her paintbrush and swatted most of them away, from her. It didn't do much besides get them wet and slightly annoyed. All of them then looked back at her and jumped down the mountain. Apparently, this wasn't exactly the safest area to be in.

"I can't set up here. There's too many threats around. I guess we'll have to figure something else out in terms of food." She looked around again and saw a lone apple tree in the distance. "I think if you were to fly over there, you could get the both of us some apples from that tree over there." Ribbon squinted and saw the tree she was talking about.

"I can try. It'll take a while to get there though," she said preparing to take off. Adeline nodded and she set off for the apple tree in the far distance. Adeline was still looking around to find Dee, paying no attention to Ribbon flying.

...

Ribbon was trying to be wary of her surroundings. She was actually flying higher than usual, just so she could avoid the Rockies. But because of that, she'd run into multiple Pterans that ended up giving her trouble. She had to rest her wings for a moment.

She sat on a tiny plateau on the side of a mountain. She hadn't realized that she landed near a Galbos's nest. She was hoping that it wouldn't be mad to perch there for only a moment, but the Galbos started to snarl at the fairy. Ribbon figured this was her time to leave, but her wings were too heavy and tired to lift her off the ground. The Galbos attacked by shoving her and bearing its teeth. The Galbos then splashed a large amount of water on her and pushed her off of the plateau. Ribbon was launched and tried to fly to at least decent her fall, but the water was so damp it made her wings heavier than she would've anticipated. She started to careen to the canyon floor and closed her eyes to brace for impact.

Fortunately for her, she managed to land on something soft and squishy. It felt familiar almost. Ribbon looked down to see that she had managed to land onto Kirby. She started to bawl uncountably. "Oh, Kirby!" She cried as she started to hug him. "You saved me!"

Kirby was looking unamused, not realizing what happened, his eyes were black and still filled with dark energy. Ribbon was none-the-wiser but was just relieved to see him. the passion made Kirby's expression change and he reverted back to his regular self. He started to embrace Ribbon, happy to see her again and hoping she wasn't hurt. Kirby broke away from the hug and started to speak to Ribbon, it seemed like he was trying to explain something.

"What is it?" Kirby starting trying to do multiple gestures to her. She was having some trouble comprehending him. "So. You're running from something?" He shook his head and started out by pointing at himself and then Ribbon. After that, he was starting to run in place with his arms flailing about. "So, I'm running from something?" He poyo'd in agreement. "Ooo! Is this a game?! Are we playing tag?" Kirby shook his head and sighed. "...So we're not playing tag." He frowned and facepalmed. He touched Ribbon and started to dash away from her quickly. "You liar!" She said playfully.

Kirby tried to not run too fast for her sake because he needed her to start running soon. Kirby slowed his running and Ribbon was able to tag Kirby. "Gotcha!" She started to giggle and Kirby started to chase her. As she was flying away and giggling she noticed Kirby's body swell up and glow. She was having too much fun to realize that he wasn't trying to fly after her, but was starting to get his evil energy. He'd chase after her quickly and Ribbon would notice and speed up her flying. She was swerving around multiple rocks and flying up into the air to make it more challenging for him. The possessed Kirby sprang up and flew after Ribbon. Thankfully, Kirby wasn't that fast of a flier, so Ribbon had an advantage over him. She'd continue to fly higher only for her to crash land into a Pteran and stagger to the ground. Kirby saw this as an opportunity to attack and he'd pounce on her.

"Wow Kirby, you're really playful today," she said as she was pinned to the ground. She took a closer look at Kirby and started to panic again. Oh no! She had to figure something out, or else he'd hurt her! Weakness. Weakness...She looked around wherever she could and tried to spot anything to slow him. She couldn't do much though, due to her being pinned on the ground. Kirby didn't have many weaknesses or at least ones she could exploit now. Turmoil was on the fairy's face as Kirby was still on top of her, preparing some kind of attack. Or worse. An inhale. The thought spread to her head and she started to violently squirm around.

"Kirby! You can't eat me! I don't taste all that good!" She said hoping this would give her some kind of leeway but to no avail. She was struggling more and only made herself tired. Kirby saw her expression and smiled, he was ready to inhale. But before he did, he hesitated as he saw Ribbon start to sniffle. "Well." She said defeated. "If I'm going to die, I might as well die to you." She stopped her squirming and accepted her fate. Tears rolled down her cheeks and Kirby was looking very discontent, he was starting to restrain himself. He loosened his grip on Ribbon and was actively fighting with himself to stop. As he was fighting within himself, he heard Ribbon choke a sob and begin to softly cry. Kirby had gotten up from Ribbon, only to see her scamper away and shake in fear. He'd glance at her and the energy from his body would leave him.

He ran towards her and hugged her. "P-. Soy-. Sorry." He'd attempt to say as clearly as he could. Ribbon only started to sob harder and beat on Kirby's shoulder.

"You're scaring me! Stop it!" He let her go and Ribbon attempted to recollect herself. "Kirby. I can't tell if you're yourself anymore! It's troubling me!" He'd look downcast and attempt to walk away, but Ribbon called out to him. "No, just promise me that you won't hurt me. And if you do please just remember that I. That I-." He'd look at her again, but he could feel the energy build up inside of him again, this time it was stronger and he couldn't hold it back anymore.

"I love you." Ribbon attempted to fly away in fear, but the now possessed Kirby grabbed her by her wings and started to smash her against the ground. She laid on the ground and was in complete pain and could barely move her body. Kirby had held her to his face and looked at her weak expression. She softly opened her eyes and was face-to-face with Kirby. "Before you do anything to me. Please let me do this." She begged. He hesitated and obliged, he already thought she was weak, so what else could she do. Ribbon moved closer to Kirby and stared him in the face.

She then planted a soft kiss on his cheek before collapsing onto the floor. Kirby was taken aback and was paralyzed. He touched his cheek and reverted back to his regular self. The energy that was in his body had swelled up and forcefully exited. It was nothing but a dark cloud that hovered over him and had attempted to float up into the sky. Though with quick thinking, Kirby inhaled the cloud and spat it up as a Star Bullet. It collided with the mountain and completely evaporated into the air. It was over.

He looked over at Ribbon, with a worried expression and sat her up, hoping she'd come to. It looks like she fainted, Kirby would have to nurse her back to proper health. He picked her up and held her, walking out of the ridge. Not knowing where to go, he'd walk in a straight direction, hoping he'd end up somewhere where he could help her.

Night came and Adeline was still waiting for Ribbon. Something had to have happened to her. She'd grab a ride from a big Pteran and glide her way towards the apple tree, where she hoped to see Ribbon. She saw no one there. She'd climb up the tree and grab one of the apples. As she ate, she got out her easel and canvas and began painting the landscape. She thought about drawing an Ice Dragon to spar with, but all of the climbing was tiring and she needed to save her energy because, now she had to find Dee and Ribbon. Just her luck.

As she was painting she a figure overhead that was flying in the sky. As she was looking at it, it seemed like the figure noticed her as well and swooped down on her. With powerful flaps, they made their descent onto the tree. "Painter," he addressed.

"Knight." She retorted. "Have you seen Dee anywhere? I've been looking for him for ages!"

He hummed to himself and nodded. "He's in Turnip Tundra last I saw him. He actually ended up helping me a great deal."

"What did he do?" Meta Knight turned around and revealed his face to Adeline.

"I was possessed by dark energy and he was able to reveal my weakness. As I flew away, I was able to battle the energy in its purest form and won." He'd turn around again and flash his cape. "If it weren't for him, I'd be attacking you right now." He'd attempt to take off, but Adeline stopped him.

"Wait! Can you train me?" She asked. Meta Knight turned around quickly and hopped from the tree.

"What would I train you for? Your paintings do all the attacking for you."

"That's the thing. I want to learn how to use a weapon. My paintings aren't as reliable anymore and I need to fight this energy." He'd glance at her and notice the bandana on her head. He gave an amusing chuckle and oblige.

"It's late. But that's the perfect time to train. Many of the inhabitants are asleep, so there's no worry of interference. I can also see that you have a sheath for a Parasol, it's respectable to start off with that instead of a sword, many of the techniques are similar." He explained. Adeline was listening intently and put aside her painting equipment. "In order to control your weapon, you must feel its energy. When you're able to use the weapon's energy to its fullest potential, then you'll be able to master all of the techniques. If you could, please paint me something I could fight."

Adeline changed the canvas and painted her trusty Ice Dragon. It stood there and was able to be a guinea pig to Meta Knight's training. "Now, watch what I do." He'd ready the Galaxia and the Ice Dragon had turned towards Meta Knight. He hummed to himself and then struck the painted dragon. It spilt into two with relative ease and exploded into goopy paint. "It's about having focus and not overextending yourself. You can't be too open when using any weapon, especially a Parasol. They're very difficult to use properly, but they can be a great asset when fighting a group of enemies or trying to remain defensive."

The whole night, Meta Knight harped on the importance of keeping focus with the weapon, while also showing her advanced techniques. It was starting to become morning and Adeline had absorbed the hours of information he gave her. "If you just keep practicing you will excel with the Parasol." He was about to take off again but saw Adeline hesitate as he was going to take off.

"Can you stay with me? I still want to train. And I don't trust being by myself like this." She added. Meta Knight nodded.

"There's not much I can really do outside of trying to defeat this Dark Matter presence. So I will aid you. But keep in mind, that you'll be the one doing most of the fighting. Just so you'll get your training in."

"That sounds like a good compromise." Meta Knight nodded and stood next to Adeline as she stored her equipment with her. It was always a mystery to him, where she'd keep it all.

As she finished storing her equipment, they both headed out of Rutabaga Ridge trying to make their way towards Turnip Tundra, hoping that Dee would be there. Adeline then realized how scattered everyone was. Dee was by himself, Kirby and Dedede weren't anywhere to be found, Ribbon had to be by herself, and Rick was just gone. At least now Adeline was paired up with Meta Knight, so she had a mentor and some protection.

Thanks for reading! Reviews and Criticism are appreciated!

A/n: A little bit of a longer chapter than usual. Expect some more chapters in the future (obviously!). I actually ended up getting out of school, so now I can update these a lot more frequently. Besides that, there's not much I had to note here! I just hope you all are having a good day and enjoy reading these!

Enemy Index:

Rocky is one of the most well-known and oldest Kirby enemies. Rockies are giant rocks with knotted headbands that fall from large heights in an attempt to squish anyone. In the games, they tend to do a decent amount of damage. They're a nuisance to deal with in most vertical levels.

A Galbos is a reptilian-like creature that's limbless and rather round. They're usually pretty hostile towards anything that steps in their territory, not being afraid to attack by either head butting or spraying water/fire from their mouths. Their water/fire variants are color-coded. (Blue, water. Red, fire.)

A Pteran is an enemy that's really been in two games, Kirby's Dreamland 3 and Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. They're purple little winged dinosaurs that soar across large gaps. They don't really attack and are usually peaceful. They're most prevalent in cloudy or mountainous areas and will bump into Kirby if he flies into them. In Kirby 64, he's able to hold one overhead and fly with it. They make good gliders!

The Star Bullet is not an "enemy", but it's the official name of the projectile Kirby can shoot out after he's inhaled something. They also appear next to bosses after they do a powerful attack. In the older games, they used to damage Kirby, but now they're just there to provide ammo to Kirby. Not many people know that the star Kirby shoots out has a proper name so I thought it'd be interesting to list here.