Dream Land.
Renowned for its rather lackadaisical, carefree style of life, the region is primarily hailed as a beacon of hope for those who wished to live pleasant lives. Creatures of all shapes and sizes around the planet flock to this (rather un-)bustling civilization. From the largest beast to the tiniest Waddle Dee, the majority of Dream Land lived in harmony with others, keeping to themselves on the large variety of landmasses the region had to offer. Sunny plains, beautiful mountaintops, and of course, from wherever one could gaze at them from, the stars.
Vast, glimmering armadas of lights that went on for miles. One could get lost in them for hours, or at least until the somniferous view could take out another victim. Not many wondered what exactly they were, or what they could be. Just that they had them to look at, and that there were so, oh so many. It's said that when one sees a shooting star, that if you wish and dream hard enough-
SLAM
A low, annoyed voice grumbled, the sound of a book slamming filling the empty corridors of the throne room. Silence rang out for a few minutes, the low creaking of a large, almost gate-like door opening breaking it with a sharp edge.
"E-er, great king? Everything alright in there?" A voice squeaked. It was a tiny circular creature with nubs for arms(?) and feet, a Waddle Dee. This one in particular, however, was special. He had a special blue bandanna on his head, a cosmetic only associated with one figure throughout Dream Land; Bandanna Waddle Dee (or as the people refer to him, Bandanna Dee), lieutenant of the local monarchy. The creature stood anxiously, holding the large, almost drawbridge-sized door with both of his arms. "You, er, appear to be upset. Again."
The creature stared past the door, his large, dark eyes following the regal red carpet adorned on the floor. Several food stains adorned the carpet, followed by a large, almost ballroom-sized circular indent in the floor that he could swear hadn't been there before. Eyes hastily darting away from the distractions, Bandanna Dee finally got a good look at his boss; his king. The glimmering sheen of the golden throne, adorned with a large, red cushion the same hue as the carpet. As the Waddle Dee stared into the rather dim throne room, he finally caught a glimpse of a different red shape, belonging to the robe of the aforementioned great king, Dedede.
"I'm fine, Bandanna. Just reading something stupid." The plus-sized penguin grumbled. He lazily sat upon the throne, a slight look of annoyance on his face as he stared at his minion. On the King's lap lay an old, leather journal, one that Bandanna Dee didn't personally recognize. As of recently, the king of Dreamland had been in a strange, melancholic rut. While he was known for his typical lazy ruling style, Dedede was still a man (penguin?) of experience. He would often go on walks around the castle, or tinker with his large array of gadgets and mallet modifications he would always work on. However, like today, and most days for the past few months, the King just… Sat around. Was he planning something? Waiting for something? As Bandanna Dee had thoughts flowing through his brain, the tiny figure was startled by Dedede adjusting his position in his seat. the creaking of his throne booming throughout the corridor.
Dedede let out a slow groan, holding the leather book back up to his face again. If Bandanna Dee squinted, he could just barely read the words Traveler's Guide. The Waddle Dee looked up confusedly.
"Since when have you needed to know about your kingdom, sire?" The king's blue-bandanna-wearing buddy asked, slowly walking forwards towards his king. The penguin's eyes looked up at his right-hand man, a dreary glint shining within his dark pupils.
"Since I woke up this morning and found this old thing in the castle library. I thought I would just do some reading…" The King grumbled, slowly setting the book next to his throne. "Now what did you want, Dee?"
Reading was very odd for the penguin to partake in. Typically the library of Castle Dedede lay dormant, covered in a layer of dust. The king took no opportunities to read in front of others, except for a few engineering notebooks he kept in his workshop that lay separate from the collection of biographies and old encyclopedias that even the great King Dedede couldn't fully comprehend. Bandanna Dee personally found it particularly interesting, despite however many times the King complained and called him a nerd.
"I just came in to ask what you were feeling for breakfast today. I've got Doo and the boys on standby, if you're hungry, of course. I don't want to force-feed you, your highness!" Bandanna Dee smiled, Dedede rolling his eyes, a familiar fire returning to the King's previously dull eyes. His subjects always knew how to put him back into a good mood.
"There's never a time where I DON'T want food, buddy. How many times have I had to push it into your soft little skull?" The King chortled, rising from his throne with a slow, matured grunt as he slowly patrolled onto the outside balcony, hands wrapped together behind his back in a pondering position as he stared out onto the beautiful landscapes of Dream Land. "But yes, I would enjoy some of the finest pancakes in Dream Land, when you get the chance." He thoughtfully commented. Bandanna Dee nodded, waiting a minute too long for Dedede's liking to go get his meal started. The penguin cocked his head over his shoulder, softly glaring at his right hand with a twinge of curiosity, although he had a sneaking suspicion as to what was bugging his subordinate. "Something wrong, Bandanna?" He asked, slightly quieter.
Bandanna Dee squirmed as Dedede stared at him in pondering. Should he flat out just ask what was wrong? Should he bring up the glaring discrepancies with his King's normal morning routine of eating, sleeping, and occasionally tinkering with his hammer, or that he was doing the weird 'hands behind back' walk that he always did when he was cooking something up? Bandanna Dee was lost in his thoughts, almost so lost that he could barely hear Dedede grunt his name yet again.
"Dee, buddy, you're spacing out again. You good?" King Dedede grumbled, now turning around to look at his subject with a slightly worried expression. Bandanna Dee snapped back into it, the small, marshmallow-like critter whipping back into its alert, sentry-like behavior.
"A-apologies for worrying you, great king! E-erm, but if I may-" Bandanna Dee mumbled, twiddling his small nubby arms nervously. He was very readable, Dedede had noticed. It was important to have that honestly next to him, the King thought, who was currently staring at his minion with an almost animal-like curiosity.
"A-are YOU good, your majesty?" the Waddle Dee squeaked.
The King's robust figure deflated very slightly. Perhaps that honesty deserved a small bonk on the head now and then, now that he had thought about it.
Bandanna Waddle Dee quickly flailed his arms, the poor minion beginning to stammer in explanation. "D-don't take that as a bad thing! Er, I mean, maybe you should, but I don't know if anything IS wrong and if-"
Dedede held up his hand silently, the Waddle Dee slowly calming down, both his hands and his explanation stopping in time with the King's order. Dedede took a few steps forwards, getting on one of his knees to get into eye contact with his goon, a now sympathetic look in the great king's eye.
"Listen bud, I've just… got a lot to think about." He mumbled after a minute or two. "With the weird Jamba-vasion a few months ago, then the Haltmann Works invasion a few months before that… And now that I think about it, the abduction up the dreamstalk a few months before THAT…" Dedede paused, sort of rubbing his beak in self-reflection. "Man, Dream Land hasn't caught a break recently." He quietly mumbled. The self-made king of said Dream Land looked back up at Bandanna Dee, a look of determination on his face.
"These… Setbacks have all affected my Kingly duties, as you can see. But to help stop these setbacks, I have my own… Personal projects. For the peace of Dreamland, of course." the King continued, a long face plastered on his beak as he explained, turning back around to stare at the sun, which was slowly rising over the donut-shaped hills and pinwheel trees that were scattered across the green greens of his kingdom. The King let out a slow sigh.
"Are you not confident in this new one, sire?" Bandanna Waddle Dee asked quietly. King Dedede turned around, suddenly grunting as he walked towards his minion again, a confident smirk on his face.
"Not confident? Me?!" The great king boomed, clenching his right hand into a fist. He playfully pounded his chest, giving the Waddle Dee a grin. "Course' I'm confident! Just gotta… Work out some kinks." He said in a lower tone. Bandanna noticed the King's eyes following the carpet just as he had, the curiosity building with each passing minute of silence that filled the room. Just as he had worked up the courage to ask another question, a large hand was gently placed on his head.
"Listen, when it's ready, I'll show you. I always do." Dedede sighed as he scratched the back of his head. "But until then, I need some grub to keep my brain working!" He laughed heartily, the hand on Bandanna Dee's head lightly patting his back, gently motioning towards the large door that separated the throne room from the rest of the castle. His subordinate swiftly nodded, his curiosities being second to his great king's will.
"I'm on it, your majesty! We'll make you pancakes so good, Kirby'll drop by and steal them!" The Waddle Dee joked, a slight smirk appearing on the King's face.
"Don't jinx it." Dedede snorted, watching Bandanna Waddle Dee run out the door, satisfied with the discussion. He slowly sighed, turning back around as he lifted a corner of the large, sprawling carpet, unfurling the large, self-adorned carpet. A large, mechanical disk lay on the floor in front of Dedede's throne, ancient scrawlings adorning the rim of the cold, dark steel used for the rest of the design. The King thoughtfully sighed, and slowly stroked the bottom of his beak, pulling a screwdriver out from his robe as he knelt to inspect the strange creation hidden under the King's carpet.
"Maybe dreams can come true." He quietly mumbled, the quiet sound of tools working leaking out into the quiet atmosphere of the throne room.
X HOUR(S?) LATER
Bandanna Dee, accompanied by a few of his fellow waddle dees, were making their way back towards the throne room. Dedede was a big eater, so there were 3 gigantic stacks of pancakes being escorted down the large hallways of Castle Dedede. It was strange, Bandanna Dee thought. Normally King Dedede was one to wander the halls, at least casually once or twice a day. Despite his abrasive exterior and recent lackadaisical behavior, Dedede was still often seen coddling his Waddle Dees and keeping up with the goings-on from his occasional patrols that he sent out to ensure that everything in Dream Land was going smoothly. But today, at least, it appeared that the King has just remained in his throne room.
Whatever, the head Waddle Dee thought to himself. The giant door looked precisely the way he had left it, shut just enough so that one could easily nudge it open if needed. It typically wasn't, however, because the Waddle Dees all knew to never disturb the King, especially while he was planning. He wasn't a wrathful King like he had been nearly a decade ago, but his anger could intimidate, and as non-confrontational creatures normally, the Waddle Dees just didn't bother.
Bandanna Waddle dee held open the door for his subordinates, the three other Waddle Dees walking in with their small skyline of pancakes. Their leader followed them in, the mood of the four Waddle Dees turning to that of pure terror as the plates carrying the pancakes hit the floor, the shattering followed by a deep silence amongst the King's subjects.
Dedede's throne room was trashed. It was as if a hurricane had set its center point directly in the middle of the King's quarters. The drapes were trashed, the balcony window smashed. It was a horrifying sight.
"G….Great King?" Bandanna Waddle Dee shakily mumbled, taking a few nervous steps backward as he looked outside the door, waving to a passing Waddle Dee in a specific motion. Immediately the Waddle Dee nodded, tossing Bandanna a few spears. It wasn't his own, but it would do just fine for whatever had presumably attacked the great king of Dream Land. He slowly trudged forwards, his fellow Waddle Dees now also armed with spears as the three began to investigate the strange scene.
What looked like torn, smashed-up bits of glass were strewn around, scattered like ashes to the wind in a raging fire. This was one fire that was certainly spreading, especially in the mind of the poor bandanna-clad warrior. What had happened? Where was King Dedede?
What stood out to Bandanna Waddle Dee was that in the middle of the throne room, where there had once been a carpet, there was a strange, humongous device on the floor. It didn't look like the King's normal technologies, nor did it look like any of Meta Knight's. He hadn't seen anything like it, strange symbols scrawled along the rims of the almost plate-shaped, yet ballroom-sized metal object.
"waitaminute."
Ballroom-sized…
Bandanna Dee let out a gasp. Just like a swing from the great king's mallet, it had just hit him. "This was the object that was lying under King Dedede's carpet! This must have been what he was working on!" He cried to his fellow Waddle Dees. The three other servants slowly looked amongst each other. To back this up, Bandanna Dee circled the device slowly, picking up the King's trusty screwdriver. He had used that screwdriver to develop his favorite mechanical hammer, all of the Waddle Dees knew he wouldn't just let it lie out on the floor like some common trash.
"Well, that's great and all… But that means…?" One Waddle Dee slowly mumbled, still staring at the collateral caused by whatever strange experiment the King had done.
"Well, it means… Uh." Their leader mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. He wasn't great at thinking on the spot. It was then that something had caught his attention. It was the leather book that Dedede had been reading earlier that morning, sitting opened, pages-down on the floor. Slowly walking over to the King's throne, Bandanna Dee inspected the book, specifically reading the page that it, well, Dedede had presumably been left on before whatever had occurred.
The Origins of Dream Land.
As far as the origins of Dream Land go, there are many mysteries surrounding the strange, paradise-like land. Rumors and folklore speak of long-forgotten civilizations, great weapons, and extraordinary warriors and beasts all developed by a great civilization, known only as the Ancients. These Ancients were said to be masters of science and magic, developing great machines that denizens of the universe today wish upon; the magical star rod that grants Dream Land the dreams and slumber of immense satisfaction that the peaceful land is known for.
Bandanna Waddle Dee was astounded. He knew Dream Land's history was one more often than not covered in mystery, but this was beyond a whole new level. The star rod? Machines of wish-granting capability? How was he only just hearing of this?
They were said to have been able to cut through the stars themselves and sealed away the greatest warriors. There was only one thing that stopped the Ancients-themselves. Or at least, that's what is speculated on today. Others claim that something of their creation destroyed them, or even something beyond the all-powerful ancient's power that could have taken them out. Despite common knowledge saying otherwise, the technologies and magics developed by the ancients were vast. Even today, creations developed by the old civilization are being dug up, ancient writings scrawled along with them as shown-
Bandanna Dee almost let out a yell when he saw the included picture. Whatever the device that was dug up didn't matter to him, it was the strange symbols in the photo that were scrawled onto the machine that made the Waddle Dee realize what he was getting himself into. The symbols matched up almost exactly with a few of the symbols on the strange device that the Great King had likely been muddling with before his disappearance. Whatever Dedede had done, he had muddled with technology that these Ancients had developed, and Bandanna Dee had no idea where to even start with his new goal of getting the great king back.
"So, uh, what are we going to do? Is that thing going to take us now, too?" A Waddle Dee asked, tapping its foot against the ground as he stared at the device nervously. Bandanna Waddle Dee sweat slightly. He knew that if the King were to ever leave, it would be his job to lead the Waddle Dees until either Dedede were to get back, or they would leave it to one of the knights if they both had to leave. But this time was different. This time he was alone. Sword and Blade knight had just recently left with their master on some training quest, and he knew that Kirby, despite his best friend always being willing to help, would have no idea what to do with this strange machine.
"K-keep your spears trained on that… Device." He mumbled, shakily tapping the butt-end of the spear onto the ground. The other two nodded, but the one that was talking prior to the order looked anxious.
"And what are YOU going to do?" He asked. Bandanna Dee nervously rubbed the back of his head, slowly sighing. He had just thought of someone who could help. He had never personally discussed anything of the sorts with him, but right now it was his only shot.
"I'm-I'm going to go ring up Meta Knight."
The Room went silent as Bandanna Waddle Dee nervously left the throne room, the only thing keeping the large room from complete silence being the spring breeze.