Chapter 16: Disaster Diary

It was the early hours of the evening in Dreamland. The sun was beginning to set, and there was peace and quiet. Just then, the door to the balcony of Castle Dedede was opened and out walked the masked swordsman, Meta Knight.

"Well, I really did enjoy those games of chess, but I have to get going now, Dedede." He said, jumping to the railing.

"Wha? Ya ain't gonna stay for dinner? The hell's the matter wit cha?" The king asked, following him out.

"My crew should be wondering where I am about now. Not only that, but I have to make a few arrangements to speak with my mentor."

"Do ya really need an appointment for something like that? Pretty sure she'd come here instantly if you told 'er or would be totes ecstatic 'bout a surprise visit."

The knight scoffed at that. "True, but it'd be a courtesy to plan with her beforehand. She's a busy woman, you know."

Considering she was one of the highest-ranking members within the Organization, the king couldn't deny that.

"Besides, I'm starting to get tired of constantly winning in our chess games."

"WELL, THAT'S 'CUZ YOU KEEP CHEATING, YA MISERABLE BLUEBERRY!"

"It's not cheating if you know the game well." The knight then transformed his cape into wings in a single fluid movement. "I should be going now. Goodbye, Dedede."

He then took off, leaving Dedede to watch him. The king plopped an arm on the railing and put his head in a free hand.

"Man, what's with that guy? He has so many problems, yet trying to get him to talk to anyone 'bout them is like pulling teeth." He then gave a slight shrug. "Eh... should be easy for that grape lady though, since that guy's such a momma's boy."

His frown grew the more he kept thinking about it.

"Still, we're friends, right? He has no problem talking to his mom, but he acts as if it's impossible to talk to me about anything! Like seriously what in the hell did I do to earn the cold shoulder from that punk?"

He quickly scoured through his memories and immediately came up with one possible result.

"Oh... right... that stupid tower..." He gave an awkward laugh. "No... no, that can't be it. He's way too suspicious of everything, ain't he? It's got to be something else, but..."

His mind kept going back.

A while ago, Dedede hatched, in his mind, a foolproof plan to defeat Kirby once and for all. The first step was to create a tower that Kirby would have to climb up, defeating many powerful enemies along the way. That was just part one, it was part two that was the most important: Convincing Meta Knight to help him. Simply put, in order for the tower to actually do anything Dedede wanted it to, some complex magecraft would need to be performed. Lacking the ability to use magecraft himself, the only person he could think of that would assist him with that was, of course, Meta Knight. Without the knight's assistance, he wouldn't be able to do anything. So, to do that, he sent the knight a letter detailing the plan. However, he did not receive a reply to it... until last month. Honestly, even the king was slightly surprised that such a gamble paid off. Though when he met up with the knight, something felt off. He seemed to be extremely on edge, like he could snap at any moment. At the time, however, Dedede didn't pay it any mind. If anything, Meta Knight seemed to be very compliant with his demands, which was perfect for the monarch. He planned on taking advantage of this sudden cooperativeness for as long as he could. First was to get the tower set up.

"Ok, so you know a ton of magecraft, right? Imma need to make it so that whoever enters the tower at the door on the first floor gets copied and appears on all the other floors! Then, I need ya to somehow create various arenas and traps to throw him off guard! This'll help wear Kirby down until he gets to the top and we beat 'em down!"

The knight didn't say anything for a moment. "...let me see if I remember the chants..."

The king looked confused. "Wha? Chants? Ya never needed 'em before. Why now?"

"Because this is more potent than the Rapid Casting I normally use."

Dedede then grinned and rubbed his hands together. "So, ya really do have a solution then!"

"Pipe down, I'm trying to remember the words."

Meta Knight walked over to the tower door and stood in front of it. He then took out his sword, Galaxia, and stabbed it into the floor in front of it.

"YO! WHAT YOU DOIN!? THAT'S A PERFECTLY GOOD FLOOR!"

"Be quiet." Meta Knight replied in a cold, focused manner.

Slowly, he then began to trace various symbols that Dedede didn't know with his finger. He then began to chant in a language the king had never heard before.

"Damn, this is what that grape taught him?" He thought, noting how focused the knight was on his chanting.

In a few minutes, a magic circle quickly bound itself to the door and vanished. The knight, looking like he was done, returned Galaxia to his scabbard.

"It is completed."

The king nodded, but then looked at the door, frowning to see nothing was there.

"Ya sure? I don't see nothin' there."

"Yes, it's clearly there. You can try it for yourself if you're so desperate."

The king looked at the doorframe for a moment, thinking about trying it, but shook his head and shrugged, deciding to trust the knight's word on it.

"...so, what was that there language you was speaking in?"

"It's an ancient language my mentor taught me. It's called Htrea." Meta Knight said in a tone indicating that he had no desire to continue this conversation.

Either Dedede didn't notice it, or he didn't care, because he continued to speak. "Htrea? Where's that from? Oh, I got it! It's one of them ancient marshmallow languages, ain't it!"

Meta Knight didn't respond to that ridiculous statement and unfolded his wings. "Follow me, Dedede." He said as he took flight.

The king looked up in slight confusion. "Oh, uh...if this is gonna help us in the end, ok then!" He the puffed himself up and flew after him.

Soon they arrived at an open window and went through it.

"So why exactly couldn't we just use the stairs like normal people?"

"You requested a spell that made a copy of whoever walked through the entrance, didn't you? So, unless you'd like to have your own copies running around, don't complain."

"...oh, so you literally made a spell that will copy whoever enters the entrance door."

"That is what you wanted correct? I can undo the spell if needed." He said in a tone that sent shivers up Dedede's spine.

"No, no, no, it's perfect! Just as I wanted!" The king quickly replied.

The knight said nothing and only stabbed Galaxia into the ground again.

"So, this for the scenery changing trap stuff?" He received no response. "Aight, gotcha."

Yet again, Meta Knight began to trace symbols and chant in that unknown language. While his attitude was off-putting, Dedede couldn't deny he was happy that everything was going according to plan. He didn't know what was causing Meta Knight to act this way, but he didn't care at all. All he cared about was crushing Kirby for good. The constant beatings, the constant needing to be saved, the constant feeling of agony every time he lost to that punk, Kirby. He was absolutely sick of it! He gave an internal laugh.

"Just you wait, Kirby! We're gonna make ya regret ever being born!"

Well, that was the idea anyway. In hindsight, Dedede thought that should have never had gone through with this stupid plan.

"Man, I really screwed up, didn't I? I shoulda stopped the moment I saw him actin' like that..." The king grumbled, thinking back to the aftermath of his and Meta Knight's first battle against Kirby.

Their first battle happened on the third floor, and they lost, to the king's own frustration. Even more frustrating was the fact that Renya and Shinonome were both with the puff and his allies at the time. The king had sent them after the puff in order to distract him while they prepared for battle. He was probably too angry at the time, but now that he thought about it, that was probably the first real time he should've noticed that something was wrong.

Meta Knight silently punched the wall in anger, causing the room they were in to slightly shake.

"Oi, take it easy, will ya? You wanna destroy this tower?!" The king shouted before immediately noticing a feeling a danger emanating from the knight.

"Take it easy? In case you've forgotten, Dedede, you made us retreat from battle. You interrupted my clash with Kirby! You're lucky that I don't just destroy this tower here and now..." The way the knight was cold and fully of barely suppressed fury.

"You kiddin' me? That dumb blue slime was gonna take you out like the trash! How you gonna explain that!?"

Silence.

"...ya still got doubts don't ya?"

Meta Knight stared at Dedede, his eyes a piercing red, a color the king rarely saw from the knight. But he wasn't going to give up.

"Look, blueberry, I have no doubt Kirby is making his way here as fast as he can possibly go. Just be patient and you'll get what you want. Or are you afraid of him surpassing you? Are you just gonna let him walk all over you?"

He then heard faint mumbling before nearly being impaled by three icicles that were shot at him.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

"Let that be a warning to you, Dedede. I'll still fight alongside you, but don't push your luck any further than you already have."

"YO, BUT HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO USE ICE MAGIC!?"

"My mentor taught it to me, you idiot."

"Oh. Then why haven't you used it before?"

"I've never seen the need to." The knight's voice became more noticeably tense.

"Well, whatever. Anyway, you better win next time. Unless you're super desperate to keep being a loser." He taunted with a grin.

Present day Dedede slapped himself after remembering that conversation.

"Man, some friend I am. I'm freaking pathetic." He sighed as he slumped onto the banister. "And to think... it only went downhill from there... as we continued them battles, that guy got more and more troubling... so why didn't I notice it...?"

He was starting to have a hard time being alone with just his thoughts. Hopefully he could call one of his Waddle Dees to listen to him vent. Suddenly, his body froze. How could he even think of asking any of his Dees to help after what he did? Especially Bandana Dee. I mean, they had forgiven him for what he did but... he still didn't like the thought of asking one of them.

"Maybe... maybe Amaguchi...?" He uttered, desperately trying to convince himself.

Amaguchi was one of the few Waddle Dees that wasn't involved with the tower in any capacity, as he was away apparently visiting his girlfriend. Perhaps a non-biased perspective is what he needed?

"Yeah, I'll call Amaguchi then!" He nodded, convincing himself to make a call.

Dedede picked up his phone and called up Amaguchi.

"Yo, Guchi, can you come here real quick? ...you'll be here in ten minutes? Alright, I'll see ya then."

The king sighed in relief as he hung up, but that relief didn't last for long, as his feeling of uneasiness and regret came back full force.

"Ugh... the hell am I feeling like this?" He grumbled, though he already knew the answer.

He screwed up Meta Knight, but he wasn't the only one he wronged. He practically forced his servants to help him with this whole plan and there was only one who opposed him, Bandana Dee. During that, Bandana had fought alongside Kirby and at the time Dedede couldn't understand why his advisor was so against him. He wouldn't figure it out until it was too late. The more he thought about it, the more it tortured him.

"Hurry up, Amaguchi..."

No matter how much he begged, the thoughts kept bombarding him.

"Damn it, I'm the king! I shouldn't have to deal with this!"

He threw himself into his chair and began to slump as he thought back to the events that happened with the second match with Kirby as he hid his face in his hands.

"Gah, that stupid Magolor! Why is he even here!? Sure, I took some stuff from him, but those masks came from my home planet in the first place! He had no right keeping them away from me!"

He then felt an intense gaze falling upon him.

"'What's this about masks?" A cold voice asked.

Dedede turned around to see Meta Knight, his eyes still burning red.

"Uh... nothing! Forget you heard anything!"

"Talk." Was all he said in that tone of voice that made the king shiver.

"Fine, whatever. So, in order to help with the tower, I borrowed some stuff from Mags. Two items he had actually came from my birthplace. These two masks here."

Dedede then pulled out two masks, each of them emitting an eerie purple glow.

"By putting one on the user gets an intense boost of power. Or so the story goes anyway." The king explained, omitting the part where the masks also corrupt the user's mind and heart. If he revealed that information, Meta Knight might decide to leave or even destroy the masks themselves.

"...if that's the case, why didn't you pull them out during the battles we had?" The knight asked in a blunt fashion.

Dedede started to sweat and think of an excuse. In reality, he wanted to avoid being corrupted by the mask, if possible, but he couldn't tell Meta Knight that.

"Well, it's simple. Our final battle will be taking place on the roof, the setting sun shining down on us. The perfect location for a true final battle. What could be better than trouncing Kirby with our secret trump card in a scenario like that!?"

The knight became quiet and appeared to be thinking. After a few moments, he spoke up once more.

"...very well."

Then he turned back to silently look out at the scenery. Dedede only stared.

"Imma go get a snack now. You want something?"

As expected, nothing but silence. Though it wasn't just any normal silence, it was the kind that tended to unnerve the king.

"Aight, then. Holler if ya want something." He said before walking off.

"What is with that guy? He's acting odd. Well... odder than usual. Ah well, at least I still have his strength on my side." Dedede then looked at the masks. "You two are going to be my ticket to victory."

However, the most... troubling thing occurred when they were about to fight one last time. As they were waiting for Kirby and his group to approach, Dedede had noticed that Meta Knight's actions had become somewhat... robotic. His aura was completely cold, and he barely even spoke. It reminded him of the first time they met, but much worse. It was like he was a completely different person, consumed by the desire to crush his enemies. Noting this, the king decided to initiate a conversation.

"Yo, uh... blueberry? You ok? You don't really seem too hot right now."

Without warning, Meta Knight teleported in front of Dedede, his sword in hand and pointed towards his chest.

"Woah, ever heard of personal space!?"

No response.

"H-hey... what you doin' with that there sword?"

Still no response.

"Look, man, I get you're pissed, I am, too. But we still got those masks. Now, instead of directing that sword at me, how 'bout you direct it at Kirby instead?"

More silence. However, the knight then lowered his blade and went back to staring at the scenery as he wrapped his cape around himself once more.

"Geez... what's his problem?" The king grumbled. "Does losing piss him off that much? I mean, I guess I can't really blame him seeing as I made this tower in the first place. Ah well, as long as Kirby gets what's coming to him."

He shrugged and then gave a laugh.

In the present day, Dedede then thought about Meta Knight's behavior during that time.

"Robotic... barely speaking... that aura... wait, wasn't he like that when he was possessed by that there Jamba Heart?" He grumbled. "No wait... he was like that against that Jam-whatever ice chick as well..."

The king had seen him like that a few times and going off rumors he's heard about Meta Knight's past, he called it the "soldier mode", where the only thing the knight cares about is eliminating his target, regardless of who the target is. It wasn't confirmed until he remembered a single conversation they had during the whole Jamba Heart incident

. "...that mindset used to be my default state of mind when I was a soldier working for The Organization. I've since discarded it, but I can revert to it at times." It was at this moment that the king then remembered what that one specific condition was: "Mainly when I'm under heavy amounts of stress.".

Dedede's eyes widened.

"Wait, did I force him back into that form? No, no, it can't be right! It's all Kirby's fault!" The king uttered, desperately trying to convince himself, but it clearly wasn't working.

"I didn't remember a thing about that at the time, right? So, it's not my fault because I didn't know!"

He gave a slightly nervous chuckle.

"By that logic, all of that can't be my fault, right? RIGHT?!"

Dedede looked behind him to see Amaguchi silently standing in front of the door.

"Ah! How long have you been there?"

"I just got here a minute ago." The Waddle Dee bluntly replied.

"So, you heard everything then?"

"With the whole Buddy Fighters Tower thing? Yeah, Renya explained everything to me when I got back."

The king then gave a sigh, slightly thankful that he didn't have to explain that. "Alright then, that makes this somewhat easier. I need to get your opinion on something."

"Ok, what is it?" The Dee tilted his head in questioning.

The king gave a deep sigh in attempt to process his thoughts fully. "You mind if I vent to you for a bit... no, if I just ask you a question?"

"It's why I came here." The Waddle Dee shrugged.

"Ok, so you know everything that happened at Buddy Fighters Tower, right? As someone without any bias towards the incident, what is your opinion on it?"

The Waddle Dee looked at Dedede straight in the eye. "You won't get mad at what I have to say?"

"Not at all! That's why I said I wanted your unbiased opinion on it as someone who wasn't there. Let me know your honest thoughts!"

Amaguchi let out a deep sigh, as if taking the extra time to prepare his thoughts, before he then gave a glare directly at the king.

"Then in that case. What you did was incredibly stupid. Your actions could have resulted in both Kirby and Bandana's deaths, not to mention the horrible effect all of this has had on Meta Knight's mental state. You used a man who was dealing with some pretty nasty mental issues and took advantage of that. If Kirby wasn't so strong, there would be blood on your hands... no, both of your hands, but there's no doubt all of it would be on yours in the worst-case scenario."

Dedede blinked in shock, unable to respond to what he just heard. Yes, he didn't expect Amaguchi to say anything good about the incident, but the way he spoke about it was just so... uncharacteristically angry, to say the least. The Dee captain was usually very calm and laid back, but the way he spoke was very scolding and angry.

"Don't think I'm done just yet, oh no, I'm just getting started. I get it, you're tired of constantly being beaten by Kirby. However, that doesn't give you the right to take advantage of everyone around you. Bandana fought against you for that very reason. He wanted to stop you from making a horrible mistake, but you were too focused on your petty revenge plot to notice. Then there's the masks, those things that you knew would drive you both crazy, but you put it on anyway and tricked Meta Knight into doing the same. Because of that Bandana is stuck in bed recovering from the beating YOU INFLICTED ON HIM! IF WAS THERE, YOU BET YOUR ASS THAT I WOULD'VE JOINED BANDANA IN FIGHTING AGAINST YOU!"

After all of that, Amaguchi took a moment to breathe, now panting from anger. Honestly, Dedede couldn't even think after hearing all of that. He simply had no idea what to say.

"Is... is that all?"

"I could keep going but we'd just be going around in circles at that point. Look, your majesty, you royally screwed up. But it's not too late to fix things."

"Y... ya think I don't know that already?" The king uttered, finally able to fully process his words once more.

"You wanted me to speak, so I'm gonna speak. Anyway, you've already made steps into fixing this situation, right? Like how you got Meta Knight to see our psychiatrist. How you managed that, I have no idea."

"...well, the first time was after that whole thing with the Haltmann works company, so I think that at least got 'im at least a bit used to talking 'bout his problems to someone that ain't that grape lady mentor of his."

However, considering his conversation with the knight earlier, it was more than likely that talking with Kurabe about what happened would be the better option when it came to the whole Buddy Fighters Tower thing.

"And you already promised to get better for Bandana's sake, right? Heck, you've practically been treating him like royalty while he's recovering."

"Yeah, 'cuz he deserves it." Dedede said folding his arms, his mind going back to the aftermath of the final battle.

During this, the king was forced to put on the evil mask, giving him incredible power. However, that power caused him to go ballistic on his opponent at the time, and his opponent then was Bandana Dee. Bandana was able to destroy the mask but, in the process, almost lost his life.

During that battle, Bandana kept trying to get through to Dedede, fighting with both his spear and his words.

"Your majesty! Please stop this! This isn't like you!"

"Shut up! Ya really expect me to quit now, after everything I've been through!? I'm gonna crush Kirby and I'll crush you too if you keep getting in my way!"

The king smashed his hammer into the Waddle Dee, sending him flying. Bandana was slowly losing consciousness but refused to give up. With the last of his strength, the Dee tossed his spear, hitting Dedede's mask straight on and destroying it.

"Thank... goodness..." Bandana uttered dully as he fell unconscious, unmoving and unable to breath.

Suddenly, Dedede felt himself get punched in the stomach.

"Agh! Yo, Guchi, what was that for?"

"To snap you out of it. Instead of dwelling on that, think about the promise you made when you talked with Meta Knight."

The king took a moment to think back to what he was told as the knight held his hand out to him...

"Get up, be the king he deserves, and make it up to him."

Honestly, the way the knight said it, he couldn't reject it at all. That knight's charisma was much more potent than he thought, it was a bit scary actually. In fact, that made him realize something about himself. Out of the four main fighters, he was the weakest. Perhaps not physically, but emotionally and mentally. Kirby and Bandana did all they could to snap them out of it. Even Meta Knight, who was emotionally troubled at the time, quickly realized and understood his mistakes. Dedede though? He was the last to show any amount of emotional maturity. He was pathetically weak and because of that, he almost killed his best servant. No, his best friend. He scowled deeply.

"Ugh... what am I gonna dooooo?"

He got punched in the stomach again.

"Enough with the self-loathing, your highness!" Amaguchi shouted.

This time, the king collapsed to the floor from the sudden burst of pain.

"AGH! OH NOVA, THAT HURT! FOR PETE'S SAKE, GUCHI, AGH!"

"You deserve it. Now get up and march to Bandana right now. You haven't actually spoken more than a few words to him since that day, haven't you?"

Dedede wanted to deny it, but he absolutely couldn't if he were to be completely honest. He remembered hadn't spoken to Bandana in a whole month due to guilt about this entire incident. While he wanted to directly apologize to him multiple times, he just felt too guilty to directly face him or even say a thing to him.

"I don't deserve to..."

Another punch.

"How are you going to make it up to him if you refuse to even look at him!?"

"I'LL DO IT WHEN I'M MENTALLY PREPARED, OK!?"

"And when's that? A month from now? Two months? A year? The longer you wait, the worse it'll get, you know."

"...tomorrow...?"

Another punch.

"NOW."

"ALRIGHT I'M GOING! I'M GOING! JUST STOP PUNCHING ME FOR NOVA'S SAKE! AGH!"

He crawled over to the nearby table and pulled himself up with a slightly pained moan before starting to limp out of the room.

As Dedede walked down the hallway, he felt himself being watched by Amaguchi.

"You can stop staring at me, y'know?"

"Not until you get into Bandana's room."

The king then sighed, noting that the Dee was brandishing his spear towards him.

"Fine, fine. Just put that thing away, will ya?"

"Not until you reach the door."

Grumbling along the way, Dedede walked as fast as he could. It continued until he reached his advisor's room.

"Alright, I'm here. Can you put away that spear now?"

"Get in."

"ALRIGHT, I'M GOING IN!" He shouted before opening the door and slamming it.

It took only a single moment for the king to fully realize what had just happened. He was now in Bandana's room and there was no escape now. Bandana, who was still confined to his bed, turned at looked at the king, but said nothing. The king looked back at the Waddle Dee and gave a heavy sigh.

"Hey, Bandana, how are things?" He asked awkwardly.

Bandana just kept looking at him.

"...not in the mood to talk, I see." He uttered.

While he couldn't blame him for it, this silence wouldn't help him at all.

"Be the king he deserves." That phrase kept echoing through his head. "But what I'm a supposed to do?" He thought to himself.

No, he knew what at least the first thing he was supposed to do was. It was to say the thing he had been meaning to say since that day.

"Bandana, I'm..." Dedede gritted his teeth. "I'm sorry!"

The Waddle Dee silently blinked in a surprised manner, as if himself noting that this was something the king wasn't used to saying.

Dedede decided to continue. "I messed up. I let my stupid ego consume me and I did nothing to stop it. If only I had listened to you, none of this woulda happened. I... I almost killed my best friend, and I cannot possibly make it up to you. I realize that but, I still want to try!"

The Waddle Dee continued to stare.

"...your highness, are you...?"

"Yes, I'm crying what about it!?"

Bandana seemed like he genuinely didn't know what to say or do. "Your majesty, I'm still furious at you, but I'm willing to give you another chance."

"Nuh-uh! If you don't think I deserve it, I don't wanna hear it!"

"Listen to what I'm actually saying!" The normally timid Dee shouted. "I said I'm still furious, I didn't say anything about not deserving it!"

Dedede backed up in surprise.

"I'm your royal advisor, aren't I? Then why don't you try listening to me for once instead of doing everything yourself!?"

The king gave a bitter laugh. "Yeah, but do really deserve someone like you as an advisor? Like... man, after all that, I rather you just up and quit. Just... go somewhere else and go live an actually happy and peaceful life..."

Dedede was then punched by Bandana who then started to cough violently, still not fully healed.

"I said listen to me, didn't I? Or was that promise you made just some empty lie? You promised to be a deserving king, so start acting like it!"

The king stared, stunned. "Wait, I don't remember ever mentioning that to you, who told you?"

"Meta Knight did a few days after what happened. Since then, I've been waiting for you to come talk to me directly."

"Well... um... I just couldn't bring myself to talk to you... but that ain't no excuse, I know."

"Then take it back."

Dedede looked confused. "Take what back?"

"What you said about wanting me to leave. Take it back."

"Even if I don't deserve someone like you?"

"Your majesty, do you know why we've been loyal to you for all these years? Because we trust and respect you. If you weren't worthy of us, then why are all of us so adamant about staying by your side?"

"Yeah, I know that's what the other Waddle Dees think, but what about you? You really didn't need to become my advisor! You could've just stayed with your mom and pops in the Crescent Kingdom!"

"Dedede." Bandana said, instantly catching Dedede's attention. "You said it yourself. I'm your best friend. Perhaps life would be a lot easier if I stayed with my parents. But the difference is that I wouldn't be happy there. I'm happy here in Dreamland, with you."

The king silently blinked. "Do...do you really mean that...?"

"Have I ever lied before?"

"N... no..."

"Then why are you acting like I'm lying?"

"Because I just don't think I'm worthy of someone like you being my advisor! Don't ya get that!?" He stamped his foot angrily.

"The king doesn't decide if he's worthy, that's the job of his servants. So, please listen to me when I say that there's no one I'd rather serve than you."

Without another word, the Waddle Dee was scooped up in a hug.

"...thank you so much... and I'm sorry." Dedede said. While simple words for many, it was completely alien to the greedy king. While still pained and tearing up, Bandana put some energy in to hugging him back.

After a few minutes, Bandana spoke up.

"Your majesty, from now on, I want you to put your rivalry with Kirby on hold. At least for a while."

"Y-yeah, whatever ya say, Bandana." The king quickly responded, seemingly not knowing what the Waddle Dee just said.

"I'm being serious. I don't want you fighting with Kirby. It's not because I'm friends with him, but because if this keeps up, you'll end up seriously hurting yourself." Bandana said.

Dedede knew that he wasn't talking about getting hurt physically. "...I understand, Bandana."

"Good..." With that said, Bandana immediately fell asleep.

"Poor guy musta pushed himself too hard. Not that I can blame him."

Without another word, the king gently laid Bandana down and tucked him in. He then took off his robe and laid it over him. The nurses would probably be in soon to check on him. Wanting to stay out of the way of them, he decided to go outside and wait on the balcony, where he was immediately approached by Amaguchi.

"So, how'd it go?"

"It... it went well, I think." He replied with a sigh.

"You need to quit thinking. I'll ask you again and I want you to reply with a yes or a no. Did it go well?"

"Yeah, it did."

"Good. Now if you excuse me, I have a date to get ready for. Later, your kingliness."

"Yeah, you have fun, Amaguchi." He replied with a slight wave.

Dedede then thought about Meta Knight again, and his plan to go visit his mentor in a few days.

"...maybe I should go visit home as well..."

It was at that point that the king realized hadn't been home or talked to any of his family in a long time.

"...Maybe a real king can give me some advice."

Probably after Bandana recovered at least. He would more than likely want to meet his parents again. Dedede looked back at Bandana's room, a sad smile forming on his face.

"I promise that I'll keep my promise, my old friend."

After writing Another Voyage, I do not think I will ever do a proper adaption of Kirby Fighters 2.

I will also come clean and say that I had actually written this chapter fairly early in this story's existence. More specifically, I was under a lot of stress and pressure while writing it. That's probably why the tone might feel a bit different compared to previous ones.