So this one is basically a continuation of "Lost and Found", this one will shift perspectives unlike the last one, but I mostly ended up focused on Dark Matter again (I'm trying to give him a redemption arc at least)
Regardless, I hope you'll enjoy this one.
TW: Trauma, abuse, sleep paralysis
Ever since their encounter in Iceberg a few years ago, Gooey had always hoped that he could apologize and explain everything to his brother. Once the two reunited underground, he was finally able to apologize. Not only that, he was happy that his brother finally knew who he truly was.
Unfortunately, his brother was in poor condition at the moment. Dedede carried the sick Dark Matter while Gooey clinged to the penguin's head. Like his brother, Gooey didn't leave completely unscathed. He had three wounds on his side and a bruise over his eye. Thankfully, Kirby covered the wounds with bandages. Gooey's brother, on the other hand, had a deep wound on his side. He was currently wrapped in Dedede's robe.
As for Kirby, he was still underground. Gooey was sure that his adoptive brother would be more than capable of taking care of himself, but even then it didn't stop him from worrying.
It didn't take long to get from underground to the castle. As soon as Dedede entered the castle, Waddle Doo and several Waddle Dees ran up to him, their faces were full of concern.
"Is everything all right, Sire?" asked the Waddle Doo.
"We were worried after you went after Dark Matter," said one of the Waddle Dees. He looked up and saw Gooey sitting on his head. "Oh, is he all right?"
"Gooey's fine, I can patch him up in a minute," Dedede told everyone. "But I AM gonna need you to find a doctor as soon as possible."
Just as Dedede said that, he lowered the robe and showed Dark Matter to everyone. Understandably, everyone was terrified. Gooey tightened his grip on Dedede's hat out of frustration.
"A-Are you sure you about this?" asked Waddle Doo. "I mean...this is Dark Matter, he could still be dangerous!"
"I don't care WHO he is, he's dyin' right now! So if you don't get someone to help him, then I'll go look myself!"
It went silent for a bit, one of the Waddle Dees tried to think. "Actually, Dr. Dee might be able to help."
"Has he ever taken care of a Dark Matter before?"
"Well it shouldn't be too different from taking care of Gooey..."
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Dedede said impatiently, "I need you to bring him over here RIGHT NOW!"
"Understood, Sire!" said one of the Waddle Dees as he left the castle.
"As for you," Dedede said as he looked down at Waddle Doo. He handed Dark Matter over to him, "I need you to keep him alive until that doctor gets here, all right?"
"Yes, sire!"
Waddle Doo began to drag Dark Matter upstairs, it didn't take long for another Waddle Dee to help. With everything settled, Dedede looked up at Gooey. "All right, now let's get you all patched up before you end up like him."
"But is brother gonna be OK?" Gooey asked with uncertainty.
"I'm sure he's gonna be fine," Dedede said confidently. "If he can survive Kirby, then I'm sure he can survive a little infection."
Gooey nodded, though he wasn't sure if Dedede really meant it or if was just saying that to calm him down. Regardless, he wasn't going to stop worrying anytime soon.
Dedede headed into the bathroom as soon as he headed upstairs, he placed Gooey in the sink and took the bandages off his side. Afterwards, he wiped the wounds with a wet cloth. It was only water, but it didn't stop Gooey from wincing and hissing.
"Calm down, we're almost done!" Dedede told Gooey. He tossed the cloth in a basket before he grabbed some bandages from the cabinet above the sink.
"...What are we gonna do, now?" Gooey asked as Dedede placed the new bandages on him. The penguin replied with a shrug. "Well, you could always go to bed."
"But I dun wanna go to bed right now," Gooey said as his eyes focused on Dedede. "What if something else happens?"
"...All right, then. How 'bout we hang out in my room, instead." Dedede offered. "We can play games until one of us gets tired."
Gooey nodded, his fins sprouted out of his body as he began to follow Dedede. As the duo went through the hall, Gooey could see a Waddle Dee lead another into one of the guest rooms. The Waddle Dee being lead wore glasses and a head mirror, he was the doctor the others talked about earlier.
Though it seemed like nothing happened yet, Gooey was still worried about his brother. Perhaps hanging out with Dedede might help take his mind off of it for now? From what he could tell, Dedede was on the same page. Once the duo reached the room, Dedede was able to find a board and place it on his table, it didn't take long for him to find the Chess Pieces, either.
After everything was set up Gooey sat at the table. He sat at the opposite side of Dedede. He didn't quite understand how to play this game. He knew that the pawns moved forward, but he wasn't sure where the other pieces moved. It didn't take long until he just sat there with a Chess piece in his mouth. It was a horse...or was it called a Knight? He couldn't remember...
"...You're s'posed to move it in an 'L' shape, Gooey."
"Oh...like this?" Gooey asked as he moved the horse knight to the opposite corner of the board.
"No, it's more like..." Dedede paused as his hand hovered over the piece, only to leave it be when he noticed the drool on it. "You know what? Forget it!"
Gooey grumbled as he dragged his tongue into his mouth, he winced as Dedede walked over to him and placed a hand over his wounds, though he knew the penguin meant no harm.
"...Sorry about that!" Dedede replied as he simply patted the top of his head. "I guess Chess ain't keepin' your mind off your brother, huh?"
Gooey looked down as he nodded. Sure, there used to be moments where his brother wasn't at his strongest, but even then he'd always find a way to bounce back to his normal self. But now? He wasn't too sure.
The duo played chess for a little while longer, though Dedede had to help Gooey a few times so he would understand which piece did what. It seemed like the game would go on forever, but eventually the door opened and Waddle Doo walked in.
"Sire?" Waddle Doo called out as he quietly opened the door. "We...we've got that Dark Matter all patched up, but I have to ask...do you REALLY think that it's a good idea to keep him here?"
"It'll be fine," Dedede assured him. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Kirby's already knocked some sense into him at this point."
"But what if he starts to cause trouble again?"
"Well, if he does, then...uh..." Dedede looked at Gooey for a moment before returning his attention to the Waddle Doo. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
"Understood, sire."
Gooey could understand why everyone here was so hesitant to help his brother. But even then, they couldn't just let him suffer. Heck, he was still surprised that Dedede was willing to let him stay at the castle after all he'd done. But like Kirby, the penguin had a heart of gold.
"Say, why don't you keep an eye on Dark Matter for the rest of the night?" Dedede asked. "I'm sure he'd love to see you as soon as he wakes up."
"But what about Kirby?" Gooey asked. "Shouldn't we wait for him?"
"He'll show up eventually," Dedede replied with a shrug. He didn't seem too worried.
...Then again, this was Kirby they were talking about. And besides, Gooey's brother would probably want SOME attention, right?
Gooey made his way out of Dedede's room and headed over to the guest room. He could see the Waddle Dees from earlier, they were chatting next to the door. One of them noticed Gooey and waved at him. "Hey, Gooey. Are you here to check on Dark Matter right now?"
Gooey nodded.
"Well please be careful with him," said the Waddle Dee doctor. "He's still recovering, so he needs to rest for a while."
"Yes, sir!" Gooey said before he slowly opened the door, his brother quietly slept in bed. He was curled up under a checkered blanket. There was even a wet cloth sitting over his eye.
"...Brother?" Gooey asked as he closed the door, he quietly hopped onto the bed. He formed an arm as he nudged him gently. "Are you feeling any better?"
His brother didn't respond, he felt unusually warm for a Dark Matter. Gooey tried to think. Whenever he got sick, Kirby would always stick with him until he got better. Whether it involved giving him food, telling him stories, or just spending time with him in general, Kirby would always try to make things less miserable for Gooey.
It had been a few years since Gooey spent any time with his brother, so he wasn't too sure what he could do to make him happy. But one thing he remembered was that his brother always liked talking to him, even if Gooey couldn't talk back at the time. Would his brother be able to hear him, though? Even while he was out cold?
...Well, it was worth a try...right?
"You know...I'm glad you dun have to hide anymore," Gooey said quietly. "There's so much of this world that I wanna show you. There's a lot of friends to meet, food to eat, and plenty of exploring to do. Doesn't that sound nice?"
As expected, his brother didn't respond. He gently nuzzled into his pillow as he started laying on his uninjured side. Gooey had to wonder how his brother was able to put up with his silence for so long.
Regardless, he was sure that his brother still would've liked the attention. Gooey curled up against him like he used to do back in their old home. But unlike then, Gooey also has Kirby with him now. Perhaps when he gets back, he might be able to help take care of Gooey's brother?
After all, Kirby was someone who'd give everybody a chance...right?
Gooey wasn't sure when he'd dozed off...but by the time he'd opened his eyes, it was already daytime. His brother was still trapped in a deep sleep, the cloth sitting over his eye had fallen beside him. Gooey picked it up and hopped off the bed. "Dun worry, Brother. I'll be right back."
As soon as Gooey opened the door, he could see Kirby sleeping outside. One of his arms rested on his face. Gooey tried to nudge him in order to wake him up.
"...Good morning, Gooey!" Kirby said as he sat up and yawned. Gooey stared at him with his eyes half-closed. "You coulda just slept in bed with us, you know."
"Well I didn't wanna bother your brother," Kirby said while rubbing his eyes. "By the way, is he awake?"
Gooey shook his head. "He's still sleeping, and I was gonna get him a wet cloth so his fever'll go down."
"Oh, maybe there's some medicine sitting around somewhere, too!" Kirby said while he tried to think.
"You mean that syrupy stuff you give me when I'm sick?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna go look for it right now!"
With that said, Kirby ran down the hall and headed into the bathroom. Gooey headed down there afterwards. Once he was there, he saw Kirby stand in the sink as he dug around in the medicine cabinet. There was so much stuff thrown onto the ground that it would probably upset Dedede, were he to walk in on them.
"I found it!"
As Kirby hopped out of the sink, Gooey started to climb it. He turned on the faucet and started getting the cloth wet. The duo headed back into the guest room, where Gooey placed the cloth over his brother's eye. Kirby placed a hand next to the cloth, he frowned as he noticed how warm Gooey's brother was.
"Do you know if he woke up, yet?" Kirby asked. Gooey shook his head. "He...hasn't woken up at all."
"Well, then...We can keep watching over him until he wakes up, OK?"
Gooey liked that idea. Although he knew that it would take a little while for his brother to wake up, Gooey was sure that he would get better soon. But for now, it was up to him and Kirby to take care of the older blob.
