Chapter 15: Friendship Diary (Part 2)
Eventually, they reached the center of the fortress, where some kind of ritual seemed to be going on. The one performing said ritual was dressed in a white robe, hid face obscured by a hood. He seemed to be chanting something, but no one there could make it out or comprehend it. As they were about to approach him, they were suddenly stopped by several balls of lightning.
"Stop right there, pink one!" The attacker was then revealed to be Zan Partizanne. "I did not expect you to survive your visit to Jambastion. What's more, you somehow bested my darling Franny and Berge!"
"Oh, so that's what their names were..." Dedede grumbled.
"Your highness, this is no time for jokes..." Bandana whispered as the mage glared at them.
"However, your luck has run out. It is the dearest wish of Lord Hyness..." She readied her weapon. "THAT NO ONE INTERFERES!"
"Listen lady, we don't care about what your Hyness wants. The only desires of a highness that matters, are mine!" Dedede yelled back, getting his hammer. Almost immediately, this comment seemed to up the intensity of her attacks. "What? Don't like anyone insulting your boss? Well too bad! You punks made me mess up my castle among other things!"
"Your highness, you'll just make her madder!"
"So? Why should I care about that?" He asked, only to get blasted in the face by a lightning bolt.
"That's why."
The mage then sent a bolt of lightning at the currently unaware Bandana, only to wrapped in Taranza's web.
"You should also be careful."
"Sorry, Taranza."
"Don't worry, just be more careful." Taranza 's eyes widened when he heard the sound of webs being torn apart and instinctively dodged out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting blasted himself. "It seems this will be more difficult now thanks to Dedede..."
"And you're making it worse!"
Kirby jumped up, armed with a staff and knocked Zan to the ground for a brief moment. "Guys we're supposed to be fighting her, not each other!"
Bandana nodded in agreement. "He's right! Come on, guys!"
"Hey, I'm the king-"
"Dedede, quit talking and fight!" Kirby yelled, deadly serious. It was somehow more unnerving than an angry Meta Knight. So much so that it sent a chill down his spine. While he so wanted to argue, Dedede knew it would be pointless to do so.
"Fine, it's clobbering time!" He shouted, his hammer colliding with Zan's spear. The long fight continued on until the thunder general suddenly let out another thunder attack. Just as Taranza was about to be hit, it was blocked.
"Meta Sensei!...and Susie?" Kirby shouted both in relief and confusion.
"We'll talk about it later, Kirby. Right now, we need to finish Zan Partizanne off."
"If you buy me enough time, I have the perfect spell for this situation." Taranza spoke up.
Nodding at the mage, Kirby and Meta Knight rushed at Zan while Susie and Dedede attacked from a distance with laser blasts and tossed Gordos respectively. While Zan was without a doubt the strongest and most skilled of the Mage Generals, even she couldn't keep up with all of these adversaries. Seeing his chance Taranza launched a spell that wrapped Zan up in a spider web cocoon.
"You think this will keep me trapped!?" She said, sounding offended.
She attempted to break out of it with her electricity, but she soon found that it had no effect.
"These webs were made with the exact purpose of draining electricity. The more electricity you send out, the stronger the web will become. It's highly situational, but it gets the job done in this situation."
That was something that no one could deny, as it seemed like the general's power was draining quickly.
"Heeelp... Hy... ness..." Zan Partizanne uttered weakly.
The robed figure turned around upon hearing that, uttering a sound that sounded like "Juh?" before noticing the group behind him.
"What is this interference?"
The mysterious figure, who most likely was this Hyness guy that Dedede kept hearing about, started walking towards them, stopping at where Zan was.
"You... you seem to be in my way."
He then knocked Zan aside, also freeing her from the cocoon in the process, though that didn't seem to be his intent.
"Well then..." the priest uttered darkly. "It seems... we do not have enough energy... to revive our Dark Lord..."
He slowly began to approach them from his platform, sending a chill up the spines of everyone watching.
"Must we... allow ourselves... to fall... into oblivion?" He came to a sudden stop.
"No." It was extremely blunt.
"NO!" He sounded like a madman.
"No no no no no no! NONONONONONONONONO! NOOOOO, I SAAAAY!" With a sudden burst of rambling, Hyness shouted.
"We are the masters of a power driven to the far reaches of the universe, and we have but one desire! Can one such as you possibly fathom how dearly we have clung to this dream across the aeons? How could you! You couldn't! Never ever ever! We who once faced those who were in such fear of our power that they sealed us away and banished us to the edge of the galaxy! US! As if THAT loveliness wasn't enough, they tried to erase our very existence from history! RUDE! Only through our magic were we able to overcome their science and achieve great prosperity! We alone were responsible for stopping that repulsive nightmare of a galactic crisis, yet this is how you repay us! This won't stand! It won't be forgiven! It won't be forgotten! Never ever EVER! Those who called us mad, are you listening? You left us at the edge of the galaxy to be forgotten, then went along your merry way, probably living somewhere pretty and peaceful! But know this! Your future is a farce! You have none! We, masters of a matter most dark, vow to be restored, as told in the book of legend, which everyone thought was just a fairy tale! It WASN'T! We have already obtained the vessel that contains our Dark Lord, and he will soon awaken and shower us in compassion! Look! The vessel of our Dark Lord is filling up even as we speak! Now the time for his greatness to enter our world has come! Welcome to a new history! A new age! The age of awesome! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DARK LORD! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Grace us, Gloriously Dark Looooooord!" Hyness panted heavily due to that sudden outburst as the entire group only stared at him in confusion.
Dedede felt a migraine coming from just simply listening to these insane ramblings. Then he noticed Meta Knight tense up.
"Great, he probably knows something then."
Hyness seemed to glare at them. "You see it now... don't you?"
"See that you're off your rocker?" Dedede grumbled under his breath.
"Anyone who interrupts our revival ceremony... we must kindly ask that they... PLEASE DISAPPEAR FOREVER!"
"Alright I've had enough of this crap!" The king yelled as he punched the crazy Jamba leader across the room. "IF YA WANT US TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YA SAYIN' SPEAK SLOWER!"
When Hyness stood back up, his hood fell off, revealing his face underneath. To say that his appearance matched his unhinged personality would be an understatement. "Juh?" He uttered, as if he were trying to process what had just happened.
"Juh. JUH! JUHYAMBAVITRIGOKOPOKOJAAAH!"
Hyness was now freaking out, his body contorting randomly. Then he used a magic spell to summon Zan and the other two Mage Generals to him, but they all had dark energy surrounding them and glowing red eyes devoid of any personality. While spouting more incoherent ramblings, Hyness, using his magic, threw Zan's body at Susie and Taranza like a torpedo. Zan's body hit Taranza directly causing him to take most of the damage, but the resulting electric pulse hit Susie causing her blaster to short circuit, effectively taking the both of them out of the fight. Dedede tried smacking the priest with his hammer, but the hit was blocked by using Francisca as a shield. Bandana attempted to attack from behind, but was smacked aside by Hyness using Flamberge as a baseball bat. Meta Knight however was able get a clean hit on him, shortly followed by Kirby hitting him with a full power plasma shot with his plasma ability. The priest quickly teleported away and summoned his generals to him once again. What happened next surprised the group as Hyness formed the friend circle using his own body and the bodies of his minions.
"Two can play that game!" Kirby shouted.
The quartet looked at each other and came to a silent agreement. The four joined up and formed their own friend circle. The two circles smashed into each other, each struggling to crush the other. Though the quartets power proved to be superior as they broke Hyness's friend circle and ran him over.
"Alright we won!" The puff exclaimed with joy.
"Finally! See? Told ya there was nothing to be worried about. Alright, Bandana, let's go home. I'm tired and sore all over."
Suddenly, Meta Knight shouted. "Quickly, we have to detain him before it's-"
"Too late..." Hyness suddenly said.
Everyone turned towards the priest, who was dragging the bodies of the Three Mage Sisters to where the Jamba Heart is.
"An offering to our Dark Lord... perhaps if there is an offering... what should I... only one option remains..." he continued to ramble like a madman as he rushed up the stairs with the generals in tow. "Those who harbor the greatest of magic, I call upon you... make it so... accept my aid... I pledge myself to you... Dark Lord of Destruction..."
"Don't just stand there! Do something!" Dedede shouted to the others as he ran towards the stairs, breathing heavily from all the lighting bolts he took to the face earlier.
Meta Knight also quickly took flight, but they were all too late. Hyness quickly tossed the generals' body onto the Jamba Heart.
"I do this so that... our Dark Lord... may be rebooooorn..."
Just as the knight reached the top, Hyness himself jumped on to the Jamba Heart.
"Rise, Destroyer of Worlds! RISE, VOID TERMINA!"
With that shout, an overpoweringly dark energy radiated from the Jamba Heart as it dissolved into a cloud of darkness. There was a moment of stunned silence as everyone attempted to process what happened.
"Soooo... now what?" Kirby suddenly said, scratching his head.
Almost everyone seemed to glare at the puff as he said that and the king in particular could feel a vein burst in his head.
"Now what? NOW WHAT?! WHAT CAN WE DO!? WE'RE TOO LATE!" He shouted at him, furious to how blind the child was.
"Not necessarily." Meta Knight commented in his usual calm way.
"Blueberry, the destroyer of worlds has been reborn!"
"And we're still alive. If we can move, we can fight."
"That's all fine and dandy but how are we supposed to fight that thing!"
"I know how." Kirby said. He summoned the Friend Star, a Warp Star capable of harnessing the power of the riders and using it to fight.
"DO YOU WANT TO DIE?" Dedede yelled.
"I'd rather fight than do nothing. Whether it was Nightmare, Dark Matter or any other enemy I always tried my best. This time is no different."
The king stared at him, completely in disbelief. He could tell the kid was terrified, so why was he so calm? Was he that dumb and reckless? Or was he truly that brave? Suddenly, the quartet was surrounded by what appeared to be the Heart Spears.
"They appear to be resonating with us." The knight observed.
With this additional boost of strength, the Friend Star transformed.
"Star Allies Sparkler!" Kirby shouted.
"Came up with that on the spot?"
"You bet! Now, let's go save the universe!"
It didn't take long for them to discover what they were searching for. A large dark behemoth of a creature wearing golden gauntlets, black feathers around its torso and the most unsettling aspect, it's large white mask. This was without a doubt the destroyer of worlds, Void Termina. The sheer size of the creature alone sent shivers up the spines of Dedede and Bandana, while Kirby and Meta Knight managed to keep calm. Dedede had no idea how they did it, because he was barely able to stop himself from fainting. Void soon noticed the four heroes and wasted no time in showing off its power, punching the celestial ground and causing massive shockwaves.
"Hold on, everyone!"
Kirby cried out, using his years of experience with controlling a warp star to narrowly avoid the attacks. He then began to fire energy blasts at Void Termina, but they all bounced off it like they were nothing more than harmless pebbles. The being then jumped to directly attack the quartet, slamming on the ground with so much force that it sent them flying upwards. Void then used a sledgehammer punch to send them crashing into the ground. Then an eyeball appeared on its chest, appearing to be charging up for some kind of attack. Kirby started to send a barrage of blasts at it, eventually causing the eye to explode and the titan to stumble backwards. This pattern continued for a while. A weak spot would appear on Void's body and the puff would attack it while the others supplied him with energy. For a moment Dedede started to feel confident again as he saw the titan take visual damage. Kirby narrowly avoided each attack the titan launched and shot one fully powered blast at the mask, destroying the eye that appeared on it and causing the titan to fall forward, the mask coming off to reveal a black hole. The hole quickly absorbed the heroes, bringing them inside Void itself.
"Is everyone ok!?" Kirby shouted.
"We're fine over here!" Bandana spoke up, helping Dedede get up.
"I'm alright, Kirby."
The king dusted himself off and looked around at his new surroundings. His conclusion, the inside of a God of destruction was disgusting. He also saw the bodies of those Jamba freaks, a sight he couldn't help but chuckle at. Another thing he saw was a large sphere that resembled a shell made of flesh, another thing he found disgusting.
"That must be its heart, or at the very least, its core. Everyone, get ready to attack it!" Meta Knight commanded.
Wasting no time, everyone attacked it with no mercy, causing it to break apart revealing some type of figure, but before Dedede could make it out and say an epic one liner towards it, he and the others, including the bodies of Hyness and the three generals were spit out of its body.
Once outside they safely landed on the Star Allies Sparkler, ready to face off with the titan once more. Suddenly, Void's body started to change. Its arms transformed into gigantic wings and its lower body becoming something akin to a tail. Void took flight and charged at the group with immense speed, catching everyone off guard. In this form Void was even more terrifying, launching shards of ice and bolts of lightning among other incredibly painful attacks. Dedede himself got hit full force by Void's lightning. He genuinely felt like was going to die, but he had to be strong. If he gave up now, Kirby would run out of energy and the universe would be doomed. Thankfully, Kirby was able to exploit the same weakness as before and shot down multiple eyes. After a few close calls, Void's body crashed down, its mask fell off and the group went it one more time.
What the group now saw inside the god of destruction's body shocked them, Kirby and Meta Knight both especially. Where the core used to be was now a large, pinkish sphere with a face that looked exactly like Kirby's. The puff froze, not quite sure of what exactly he was witnessing. Dedede was also confused. Why did a God of destruction look just like his rival? Was Void a Star Warrior? Or was Void and Kirby somehow related in a different way? Out of the corner of his eye, the king could see tears of fear and confusion forming in Kirby's eyes. For the longest time he wanted to see Kirby cry, but right now at this very moment, he decided it was a terrible sight. Dedede gritted his teeth in anger, no one made his rival cry, except for him. What Void was didn't matter at the moment, all that mattered right now was destroying it.
"Kirby, we-"
"I know, Meta-sensei. This is our final battle." Kirby said, trying to sound like his usual cheerful self but the king knew it was an act. An act he used himself multiple times in his life.
Void's face changed from an innocent look into a twisted smile, sending out a strange wave of energy that hit everyone. While it didn't seem to have an effect on Kirby, it was affecting everyone else. Dedede started to feel like how he did when he was under the effect of the Jamba Heart. His vison started to warp, his memories of his precious servants and those he held dear were being replaced with Void. Before he could be fully taken over by its influence, Kirby threw out a Friend Heart at him and the others, freeing them from the being. For a moment, the being itself seemed taken aback by that action, as if the idea of someone completely breaking its influence like was unbelievable. Then that damn smile came back, and Void sent spikes from his body out, impaling Dedede who used his body as a shield to protect Kirby.
"Dedede!"
"Don'tcha worry about me, kid! Just kill that thing quick!"
That thing in question was still laughing and then transformed into a new shape, resembling Dark Matter of all things. He was really starting that thing even more now. Void started to fire large beams of energy that Meta Knight went to block, preventing the beams from getting closer to Kirby.
"Kirby, while its eye is open. Go!"
With tears in his eyes, Kirby nodded and channeled all of his electricity into his fist. He ran at Void and as soon as the laser beam ended, Kirby slammed his fist into Void, electrocuting it from the inside out. With a violent scream, Void sent everyone outside of its body.
Back on the Star Sparkler, Kirby was preparing himself for what was about to happen. There was clearly something else coming. He was correct, as Void's true body came out of the titan and glared at them. It fired one final blast of energy, with Kirby doing the same. The two beams clashed, but slowly Kirby's beam began to inch closer to Void. As the moments went by, Dedede could swear that he saw the images of all of Kirby's friends and allies, a sight that strangely made him happy. Though he couldn't explain why. Upon seeing this, the king felt compelled to say one thing.
"GO KIRBY!"
He, Meta Knight, Bandana and the spirits of every Star Ally shouted at once, giving Kirby the energy he needed to end this fight once and for all. With one last push, Void was consumed by Kirby's beam and was completely vaporized. The destroyer of worlds was now no more. However, the impact also triggered an explosion, sending asteroids towards the group. While this wasn't a major problem, the explosion was quickly gaining on them until it finally consumed them.
When Dedede regained consciousness again, he noticed that he was still in space.
"...Did we win? Like, for real?"
He looked around to see Bandana moving towards him.
"Your highness, are you ok?"
"Well, my body is sore, and I feel like I've lost at least twenty years off my life, but yeah, I'm ok."
"Oh, that's at least good."
"What about you, Bandana? You look ready to collapse at any minute."
"I'm tired but more than happy to be alive!"
"As you should, we somehow survived an actual God. Speaking of, where's the other two?"
The Waddle Dee pointed to his side to show that Meta Knight was already moving towards Kirby and the duo began to follow him. Upon reaching his location, the king pointed towards a bright and shining planet. It was Popstar. With a quiet nod from his companions, the knight gave a quick pinch to one of the child's cheeks.
"Ouch!"
Kirby then pouted and looked like he was about to complain to them when he suddenly seemed to realize what had happened. Then he noticed where they were and saw their home planet. As if knowing their location, the Warp Star suddenly arrived, and Kirby motioned them to hop on. Finally, they would be returning home.
Once they landed Kirby immediately took off to be by himself, an action that was very unusual for him. Before either Dedede or Bandana could say anything to him, Meta Knight took off after him.
The king stared for a moment and then shrugged. "Well, I guess we'll just head back to the castle for now. Man, I'm beat!"
"Your majesty, shouldn't we follow after them?"
"Nah, the blueberry's the only one who can handle that."
Before the Dee could protest, the king picked him up and began to carry him back to the castle. On the way, he noticed how slow he was becoming and pulled out a cell phone. "Yeah, I think we need a ride..."
"Good thing I'm here then." A familiar, somewhat sad voice said.
Turning around he saw Taranza sitting in the star jet he mentioned before.
The king grinned. "Heh! Good to see you made it back safely!"
"I left not too long after you left to fight. Something strange happened during my escape though. For a brief moment I could swear I was standing alongside you during the fight." "Huh... that is strange." "Very, speaking of, where is Kirby?"
"He... ran off the moment we landed." Bandana replied.
"Ran off?"
"He went home to take a nap. Come on, Bandana, no need to make it sound serious." Dedede said, not wanting anyone to interrupt Kirby and Meta Knight's conversation.
However, the mage seemed to look a bit doubtful.
"Look, I'll tell you later. Just promise me you'll let his mentor handle it."
Taranza wanted to protest, as he wanted to help one of the people that helped him deal with his depression. But he knew Meta Knight was probably better equipped for this.
"Alright. So, you two need a ride?"
"Yup. I can barely walk anymore, and Bandana needs treatment ASAP."
The mage nodded and pressed a button that transformed the jet into a car. "Come aboard the Spider-Mobile, everyone. Next stop, your castle."
The king grinned and instantly got in.
"Spider-Mobile?" Bandana questioned.
"Don't question it! We're getting to the castle faster!"
"Ok..." The Dee tried to say, but fell down, unconscious. The king simply picked him up, intending to carry him.
"Will he be ok?" Taranza asked in concern.
"He should be as long as we get him treated soon."
"Then I'll go as fast as I can."
"...Hey, how you hitting the gas pedal without any feet?"
"Magic."
"...fair enough."
Without another word, Taranza sped up and in less than five minutes the group made it to the castle.
Almost immediately, Dedede took Bandana to the infirmary. It was also a good chance to check to see if he had wounds himself.
"... your majesty, I'll be blunt. It's a miracle you're even able to walk. Almost all of your bones has been either cracked or broken." The head doctor Waddle Dee told him.
"...really? I don't feel nothin'."
"That's why it's a miracle. Logically, you shouldn't even be able to move or even talk."
The king scoffed. "It'll take a lot more than that to take me out!"
"Your majesty, no need for the bravado." The doctor said as he lightly tapped Dedede's shoulder, and he yelled in pain.
"AAAGHHH! THE HELL, DOC!?"
"That's exactly what I'm talking about. Now, we're going to have to perform immediate surgery on you."
"I don't need no damn surgery! I'm fine!"
The Waddle Dee looked annoyed and then lightly tapped his other shoulder.
"AAAAGHHH! STOP DOING THAT!"
"Then you need surgery, your highness."
"So, I just need some food and I'll be fine!"
Then the Waddle Dee lightly tapped his stomach.
"I SAID STOP, DOCTORS ARE SUPPOSED TO HEAL NOT HURT!"
"I don't think there's any way you can eat without pain in your condition, your majesty."
"I CAN ALWAYS EAT!"
"Sorry. your majesty, but I'm going to have you go to sleep now."
"LIKE HELL YOU WILL!"
"Nurse, prepare the sleeping gas."
His assistant nodded.
"I don't need sleep!"
"It's not about what you need. It's about what I need in order to fix your body, unless you want to live in a body cast for the rest of your life."
"I won't need that either!"
"Taranza, would you mind giving us a hand?"
The mage nodded and webbed Dedede's mouth shut.
"Thank you. Now help us put him to sleep."
"I don't see what you need me for. You have the sleeping gas already."
"Keeping him from moving too much."
"Right." Taranza placed his arms on the king as gently as possible.
"Alright, we're going to be giving him the sleeping gas now."
Dedede tried to struggle but it was impossible to avoid being put to sleep. In a short time, he simply submitted to the sleeping gas.
"It's incredible how stubborn he is. Especially when it comes to himself."
"Indeed. That's just how he's always been."
"I wonder where he gets it from. Anyway, I should be heading back to Floralia. I need to make sure the damage done there isn't too bad. Give the king and Bandana my regards when they wake up."
"Will do. Take care, Taranza."
The spider nodded and left, leaving the doctor, the nurse and the soon to be operated on Dedede alone.
"Alright, let's get started."
When Dedede came to, he found himself laying in a hospital bed, thankfully not strapped down to it. His body felt incredibly groggy, however.
"Ugh... what happened...?"
"You were asleep for ten hours while I worked on fixing your body. Don't try moving around immediately, give yourself time to become fully aware of your surroundings first. We don't want you breaking anymore bones now do we?" The doctor told him.
"I thought I told you I didn't need it!"
"Are you really trying to claim you know better than your doctor?" He replied in a dark tone of voice that made even Dedede flinch in fear. "Anyway, we've put your bed next to Bandana, so you can at least talk to him while you're recovering."
"Uhh... alright." Dedede said, unhappy with being confined to bed.
The doctor sighed. "Well, you'll have all the time you want to relax and eat now, your highness."
"I'd rather do that in my throne."
"Firstly, that's ill advised. Secondly, your throne was destroyed earlier when you hulked out."
That's right. He completely forgot that his castle was destroyed earlier.
"Anyway, I'll leave you two alone. Dedede, don't do anything reckless. You might be the king but right now you are my patient."
"Fiiinee..." He grumbled.
After the doctor left the room, he turned to Bandana.
"How you feeling?"
"Oh, I'm fine. They said my injuries weren't that bad, actually."
"Then why you still here and not sleeping in your own room?"
"I wanted to keep you company."
Dedede smiled. "Always putting me over yourself. I appreciate it, Bandana, but it must have been boring just sitting here, watching me sleep."
"Oh no, I brought plenty of books to read while I wait."
"Well, thank you."
"So what would you like to talk about, your highness?"
"Bandana, I just woke up. I have no thoughts in my head."
"Then do you want to have something to eat? I think Yakushiji is making some yummy chicken tortilla soup tonight."
"Yeah, I'm starving."
"Ok, they should be delivering it soon."
"Really? Well... good timing then."
The Waddle Dee nodded.
"So, what do you think of that Void thing, Bandana?"
Instantly, the Waddle Dee looked troubled. "What is there to say other than "horrifying"? You've seen its face... it looked like... Kirby...!"
"Yeah, that's something I was thinking about. Was it pure coincidence, or is there a connection between the two?"
"...honestly, I don't know."
"Well in my opinion, it's just a coincidence. And even if it ain't, it doesn't matter. I know my rival. He's hyper, loud, childish and nauseatingly sweet. He definitely ain't no demon god thing."
The Dee nodded in agreement. "You're right... there's no way Kirby can be like that thing."
"Well, yeah. But I have a feeling he won't see it that way, at least not immediately."
"That's probably why he ran off earlier. Or at least partially... I can imagine he's not taking all of it well." Bandana sighed. "Ugh... I wish we could do more to help him!"
"That's what the blueberry is for. He understands the kid better than we ever could."
"I know, but I can't help but wish that we could do more to help him!"
"Then go hang out with him tomorrow."
The Waddle Dee blinked, but then gave a smile. "Of course! That should help him!"
"Duh. All that there needs is companionship. As we saw, he's got a crap ton of friends."
"Would you like to join us tomorrow if you're able to, your highness?"
"I doubt the doc is gonna let me leave anytime soon."
"Maybe we can come visit?"
Before Dedede could speak, the doctor spoke from outside the room.
"No visitors!"
"...oh, never mind then."
"Nah, you can visit." Dedede said in a voice that made the doctor back down. "Just don't be loud about it, got it?"
"Understood." The Dee nodded.
"Good, my head is still pounding from all that. Oh yeah, where's Spider-Boy?"
"He returned to Florilia to assess the damage there from what the doctors said."
"Well that makes sense. Wish he coulda stayed though."
"Yeah, but if Florilia isn't that bad, he might come back."
"Maybe, you never know with him."
The Dee leaned back in his bed. "You think Sir Meta Knight is doing ok?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, the thing with his mom. I'm sure he's fine now. Call it instinct."
Bandana gave a smile. "I don't doubt that."
"You better not. Now, mind telling me why you stabbed me so hard when I was possessed?"
The Waddle Dee seemed to jump. "Um... I couldn't really hold back while I'm panicking..."
"...Fine, I'll accept that answer. For now anyway."
Bandana nodded.
"I know this is rich coming from me, but do you need anger management, Bandana? You've seem on edge lately."
"...if I'm being honest, probably. I've been feeling a lot more stressed recently."
"Then take a vacation, no one's stopping you."
"I will when you're fully recovered. I know you'll get very bored if I'm not around."
"You're darn right about that."
Suddenly, the chefs entered with dinner.
"Finally, I'm starving!"
"We understand, your highness. We gave both of you double portions for tonight." Yakushiji said as she walked in.
"We also have a nice cheesecake for dessert."
"Thank you kindly. Now gimme please!"
"Yes, your highness." The Waddle Dees said as they handed over the food.
Dedede gladly took it and started eating as fast as he could, much to everyone's amusement. Meanwhile, Bandana took his time with eating his food.
In almost an instant, the king was already done with his food.
"Man, that was good, but now I'm feeling sleepy again."
"Alright, get some sleep, your highness."
"You, too, Bandana, I see you struggling to stay awake."
The Waddle Dee yawned and sank underneath his covers. Dedede smiled, glad that this long, exhausting day was finally over. There was only one thing still on his mind, however.
"...How do I make my muscles so huge again?"
"You have to exercise, your highness." Yakushiji replied.
"Since when can you read minds!?"
"I can't. I just know that look."
"Gah... whatever. Just let me sleep!"
"Understood, your highness. Have a good sleep." She bowed as she exited with the other Waddle Dees.
"Finally, some peace and quiet." Dedede thought to himself as he drifted off into sleep.
And thus was the end of the Star Allies arc. By the time I get this out, Kirby and the Forgotten Land should be out already so you all might be wondering if that will be its own chapter of this series. Well, as of right now, I don't plan on adapting it.