Can't be a story involving Dark Matter without Dedede...right?


Several days had gone by, and with each passing day Gooey started to feel better. The moment he felt better, he would stretch his fins and fly around, and to say he was grateful to Kirby and his friends would be an understatement.

Of course...Gooey didn't have his own house like Kirby did, nor did he have anywhere else to go, so he was free to stay at the house for as long as he liked. He would spend most of the day either sleeping or flying around. However, he didn't want to go outside during the day, and Kirby wasn't awake during the night, so as time went on, Gooey couldn't help but feel a little trapped inside the house.

It was morning, and Kirby was going to set out for the day. Gooey was still under the covers, as he was ready to sleep the day away again. It was all that he could do while he was here, but his eyes opened wide as he felt Kirby tug the blanket.

"Hey, wanna go for a walk with me?" Kirby asked, earning a strange look from Gooey...Though to be fair, he gave everyone strange looks with those wonky eyes of his.

"I thought that since you've been in here for so long, you'd wanna go outside for a change."

Although it would be nice to go outside with Kirby for once, Gooey couldn't help but worry about the big light. He looked back and forth between the window and Kirby, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to tell him this. Noticing his distress, Kirby crawled under the bed and quickly pulled out a white and red...sword? The handle was curved, and the "blade" opened into a more "round" shape at the top.

"It's a parasol," Kirby said while handing it over to Gooey. "It should help keep you out of the sun."

Gooey's eyes sparkled as he accepted the parasol, he didn't think that there was any other way to keep the sun off of his skin. But with this thing, he could go outside for as long as he wanted.

Kirby lead Gooey outside. The light was blinding at first, but Gooey was quickly mesmerized by all of the colors this world had to offer. He hadn't noticed before due to being sick and in pain, but there were so many greens, blues, and yellows that it was starting to make him feel dizzy. He had to wonder what his brother would think if he were to end up in this world. Would he enjoy it? Maybe he would.

Gooey stretched his fins as he began to hover. He struggled to hold the parasol over him at first, but he kept a strong enough grip to keep it from falling. He stayed close to Kirby as the duo kept moving, though he couldn't help but get distracted whenever something caught his attention. Along the way, he had seen orange creatures the size of Kirby, brown pillars with green growths at the top, and white...what were they called again? Sunflowers? He grabbed one and showed it to Kirby in an attempt to ask what it was.

"That's a flower," Kirby said. "Don't they have flowers where you live?"

No, although they were shaped like Gooey's siblings. He knew what a flower was at least, but what was a sunflower?

The duo paused as one of those orange creatures from earlier walked by with a box in his hands. Unlike the others, this one had a blue cloth over his head. Kirby ran towards the creature and gave him a curious look. "Hey, whatcha got there?"

"I could ask you the same thing," the creature said while he glanced at Gooey for a second. "Are you taking him to see King Dedede?"

"No...why?"

"Because it's his birthday today," the creature replied. For a moment, Kirby looked as if the creature attacked him. "I-...kinda forgot."

"Well, I'm sure he'd be happy to see his favorite rival regardless."

Gooey was confused, did Kirby have his own "King" like Lord Zero? And what was a "birthday?" He still had so much to learn about this place.

"Anyway, this is Gooey," Kirby told the creature. "And Gooey, this is my friend, Waddle Dee."

Waddle Dee waved at Gooey before he focused on holding the box. Whatever was in there looked like it was heavy. "So I'm guessing that he hasn't met King Dedede yet, huh?"

"Not yet," Kirby said. He brought Gooey closer to him and started whispering. "Dedede's a bit of a jerk, but he's not a bad guy when you get to know him."

Soon, the group had made their way to a big gathering. There were Waddle Dees everywhere. Not only that, there were boxes sitting on one end of the table while food was placed neatly on the other end. Gooey expected King Dedede to resemble Kirby or Waddle Dee, but instead the creature that stood out here the most had a blue body and a red cloak. He was talking to another Waddle Dee, though this one only had one eyeball. When the group made their way to the creature, he greeted them with a wave.

"Hey, Kirby...Did ya come to steal a piece of my cake?"

"Maybe I did," Kirby said with a smug look on his face. Dedede grinned as he sat up from the chair, "You've gotta fight me for it, first!"

Gooey panicked as he hid behind Kirby. He'd been in a few fights with his siblings before, And when his siblings got angry nobody was able to leave unscathed. Even his brother had a temper that rivaled the rest of their siblings, so seeing him fight against their siblings was never a good sight. And once Lord Zero got involved...well, it barely ended without some kind of punishment.

"Hey, is something wrong?" asked Dedede as he walked around the table, only to step back as Gooey dropped to the floor to defend himself. Kirby patted his back, "He probably thinks you're gonna hurt him."

"But I don't even know this kid," Dedede replied. He scratched his head as he tried to think, "Do you think he might've...gone through some tough times before comin' here?"

"I dunno," Kirby replied. "He can't talk, so it's not like I could ask him to explain it either."

"Well...How about we settle this somewhere else while your friend watches over my party?" Dedede suggested. He took some cake from the table and handed it over to Gooey. "I'll even pay him in advance."

Gooey wasn't worried about himself, he was worried about Kirby. He gave his friend a worried look as if he were telling him not to go through with it, should he end up a mess like his own brother after a fight. Unfortunately, it didn't look like Kirby was going to back down.

"We'll be back before you know it, OK?" Kirby said before he began to follow Dedede. As they left the party, several other Waddle Dees began to follow them. So now, Gooey was sitting on the ground. He started grabbing chunks out of the cake and absorbing them. He still didn't understand the appeal of "eating" in the first place, but the other Waddle Dees happily absorbed their food, so the least he could do was be polite.

Waddle Dee placed his present on the table and grabbed a piece of cake before sitting next to Gooey. He gave the Dark Matter a reassuring pat on the back. "I know you're probably worried about Kirby, but he'll be fine. Besides, those two mostly just fight for the fun of it at this point."

Ah, so their "fights" were more like training, then? Perhaps Dedede wanted to show Kirby how to do something new? Compared to Gooey, Kirby must've been the perfect pupil when it came to training. He could probably even wield a sword like Gooey's brother.

"So...where did you come from, Gooey?" Waddle Dee asked. Gooey looked up at the sky, though he still held his parasol over himself.

"Oh, you came from the sky?" Waddle Dee asked. Gooey nodded, he was thankful that Waddle Dee got it right.

"I get it, so you're like Kirby when he first came to Popstar," Waddle Dee said as he absorbed a piece of his cake. Gooey's eyes widened in disbelief, so Kirby wasn't from this world? And what about Meta Knight? Did he come from the same world as Kirby? Were they banished from their home, too? There were so many questions going through Gooey's head that he wasn't even sure if - or how - he was going to ask them all.

"You see, nobody knows where any of Kirby's species came from. But when he first came to Popstar, he wanted to know everything about all the people that lived here...well, that and the food. He didn't get along with everybody at first, especially not our beloved King. But after trying to make Dream Land a better place, everyone eventually warmed up to him. Even King Dedede likes to spend time with him every once in a while."

But why would anyone hate Kirby? From the short amount of time that Gooey had known him, he was always willing to help out whenever he could.

Soon, Kirby and Dedede returned to the party. Based on Dedede's defeated look, it was safe to assume that Kirby won their "fight".

"So, how're you still holdin' up?" Dedede asked.

"We're fine," Waddle Dee replied. "We were just talking. So about the fight-"

"I lost," Dedede said bitterly. "But...I guess I can't be too mad. I got to fight Kirby today, so there's that."

Speaking of which, Kirby was already at the table. He grabbed the biggest piece of cake he could find before he quickly inhaled it. Gooey scooted towards Kirby and stared at him with...Admiration? Curiosity? Hope? He wasn't too sure, himself.

"Did...you do something to him, Waddle Dee?" Kirby asked as he placed a hand on Gooey's back.

"Well...we were mostly talking about you while you were gone," Waddle Dee said.

Kirby hummed quietly as he looked down at Gooey. "I guess we could talk about my adventures another time. Right now, we have a birthday to celebrate."

Right, there was still a birthday going on. But still, Gooey couldn't help but wonder...How did Kirby get used to living on Popstar to begin with? Did he ever miss his old home? Was he defective, too? Or maybe he was sent here for a different reason? Whatever the case may be, Gooey was happy to know that he wasn't alone in this world. Perhaps one day, he could be more like Kirby as well?