Kirby and his animal friends arrived in Cloudy Park. This land was, as expected, mostly clouds. However, there were also mountains that reached up to Cloudy Park and buildings on the cloudy terrain.
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On the first path, the trio consisted of Kirby, Gooey and Rick. On their way through the clouds they stopped on a mountain to rest. Then they noticed some poor dirty flowers.
"They're Hibanamodokis." Gooey said. "The air has gotten so thick with the dark clouds around that they can't stay clean."
Kirby, Rick, and Gooey decided to clean the flowers. After the dark substance was taken from the flowers, they were now pink with a yellow center. The trio was awarded with a glittering Heart Star.
On the second path, Kirby and Gooey were accompanied by Pitch.
They had seen eye nor beak of Dreamland's king. Dedede was no where to be seen here either. They continued on through the clouds until they heard a cry for help. They saw a frantic mother hen.
"Hello, my name is Keko. My baby Piyo saw a balloon and when she got close to it the string wrapped around her foot and swept her away!"
"Hmm, I know how we can get Piyo down." Pitch said.
Kirby inhaled a nearby Spikey to turn into Needle Kirby.
"Here's what were going to do." Pitch told Keko. "Kirby is going to fly up to the balloon and when the spikes on his hat pop the balloon I'll catch Piyo."
It didn't take long to find Piyo. She was scared and crying for her mother. Kirby inhaled to inflate himself and waved his arms to fly. He approached the balloon and popped it with the needles. Pitch swept in and caught the baby chick on his back. The mother and daughter were reunited.
Piyo and Keko cried, this time with relief instead of fear. Gooey teared up a little and the trio was rewarded with a Heart Star.
On the third path, ChuChu took Pitch's place in the trio.
They were walking along on the cloudy path until they noticed a being made of three spheres the top sphere with the face was yellow. The bottom sphere on the left was blue and the one on the right was red.
"Ugh, since that dark cloud showed up, I can't see color to save my life." They grumbled.
"Is there anything we can do to help you?" ChuChu asked.
"I'm glad you three came along. My name is Tamasan. See these Gordos here? I have to catalogue their colors, but I've lost the ability to see colors since the dark cloud showed up."
Gooey shuddered. The closer they were to the dark clouds, the worse the effects were.
"It's okay, poyo. Kirby, Gooey, and ChuChu will help Tamasan." Kirby reassured Tamasan.
The three catalogued the colors of the gordos in a short amount of time.
"Thank you guys. I would have been stuck here waiting to see if my eyesight predicament would wear off if you hadn't shown up."
The trio was rewarded with a Heart Star for their trouble.
Fumu had been in the library for a while, researching what species Gooey could be. She didn't care what Bun said, something was suspicious about that blue blob.
Gooey seemed to have some knowledge of Dark Matter as far as she could tell. He would dodge and evade her questions and always went to Kirby first. He was hiding something, she knew it.
Suddenly, she heard the chime of the library door opening. Meta Knight had arrived with a pile of books to turn in. All of them seemed to be about mechanics.
"Sir Meta Knight? Where have you been?" She asked, somewhat annoyed at the knight's absence for the past few days.
The knight gave no response, he simply gazed at the several books Fumu had spread across the table.
Realizing the blue knight wasn't going to answer her question, she decided a different approach was best.
"Sir Meta Knight, do you think Kirby's friend might be dangerous?" Fumu asked.
"He hasn't shown any signs of hostility." Meta Knight replied.
"That's what Bun said! What if he tries to hurt Kirby?! What if it's too late to save him?" she growled.
The knight was silent for a moment. "Fumu, could it be that you're protective of Kirby?"
"What's that supposed to mean? Is it bad that I'm worried for his well being? That I don't want him to be brutally attacked?"
"No, it's natural to be worried. However, you can't hold his hand forever."
"You did the same thing. When the demon beasts were around, you were there to watch or help him when he needed it."
"When Kirby needed my help. I will not continue to supervise him if he doesn't need it or want it."
"Do you mean that Kirby doesn't want my help anymore? He doesn't want me around him anymore?" Fumu sniffled.
"No, he would never think that way about you. However, this constant feeling of his choices being questioned could have effects."
"So…what should I do?"
"Sometimes you need to blow on the flame, but sometimes the flame must be left alone so it can grow on it's own." Meta Knight walked to the checkout section with a new pile of books.
Meta Knight returned to the castle, books in hand pondering the conversation.
Considering that something dark was lurking in Dreamland, possibly more powerful than Dark Matter, could Kirby defeat this new darkness?
Meta Knight delved into the basement to hear several screams and loud screeching. He cautiously opened the door, anticipating a possible ambush.
Sailor Dee was holding his head, the loud noises increasing. "Sir Meta Knight dude sir! We were working on the inside of the Halberd! Then Sword pushed something and now it won't stop making that noise!"
Sword and Blade were frantically pushing buttons, trying to stop the obnoxious sirens.
"You're doing it wrong!" Sword yelled.
"I think you made it worse!" Blade tried screaming over the sirens.
The two knights immediately stood attentive when their superior stepped on board.
"Sir Meta Knight!" Both of the knights were embarrassed to be caught in such a helpless position.
Meta Knight simply walked up to the controls, pushed a small button once, then the sirens stopped altogether.
The two knaves and Sailor Dee breathed a sigh of relief. Where would they be without their glorious superior?
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On the fourth path, Kirby and Gooey were accompanied by Coo.
There was still no sign of the missing king. They continued onwards until they ran into a snowman-like creature.
"Hello, my name is Kagamimocchi. My friend Mikarin is missing. Could you find him?" He asked.
So the trio set off to find Mikarin. They traveled through the clouds until they stopped in a building. Then they saw someone they never expected to see again.
"Jumpershoot!" Kirby and Coo cried.
"Who?" Gooey asked, very confused.
"When Kirby was on his quest for the Rainbow Drops, that ruffian Jumpershoot abducted me twice!" Coo explained.
The battle proceeded similar to the last encounters. Jumpershoot tossed his sandal at Kirby. He inhaled the sandal and spit it back at Jumpershoot. He screeched angrily, then hopped off.
Kirby, Gooey, and Coo continued until they heard a small cry for help. The winds were strong, so Coo dived through the winds onto a high ledge.
Mikarin, a small tangerine-like creature, was high in the clouds. Mikarin hopped onto Coo's back and they flew down to safety. They escorted Mikarin to Kagamimocchi.
The trio was given a Heart Star for their help.
On the fifth path, The trio consisted of Kirby, Gooey, and Rick.
The three took this path because Rick's girlfriend lived around there.
"So, exactly why does your girlfriend live here? So high above the ground?" Gooey asked.
"I don't know? Because she wanted a change of scenery? Because she wanted to?" Rick answered, slightly annoyed.
Gooey chuckled. "Then I guess you could say…"
"Don't." Rick warned.
"That your girlfriend…"
"I said don't."
"Has her head in the clouds."
"Seriously? You seriously made that joke?" Rick whacked Gooey on the head in retaliation of the terrible pun.
Pick, Rick's girlfriend, lived on the high mountains of Cloudy Park. She looked similar to Rick except her fur was colored pink instead of orange and wore a large red bow on her head.
"Oh Rick, you showed up!" Pick said happily, hugging her boyfriend.
Rick blushed and returned the gesture. "Of course I would, but you know I can't stay long."
"Why? What's going on?"
"I'm sure you've noticed. The dark clouds are getting worse with each land we've traveled to."
Pick rubbed her paws together. "You're helping him? Kirby, I mean?"
"Yes, Dreamland's king is missing and I have a feeling that it's not a coincidence either."
Pick squeezed Rick. "You're so brave! Find the king and save Dreamland so we can spend more time together, okay?"
"I will. Don't worry about a thing. Kirby will return Dreamland to it's proper state. Then I'll be back."
The trio was given a Heart Star by Pick for a visit from her boyfriend.
On the sixth path, Rick returned to the others and was replaced by Nago.
The trio was walking along when they noticed a crying block creature.
"What's wrong?" Gooey asked, feeling a sense of déjà vu.
"My name is HB-007...I have all of these blocks…and I wanted to make a statue of myself…but then I realized something!"
Gooey sighed. "You realized you're terrible at sculpting?"
"Yeeeees!" HB-007 cried.
Gooey and Nago sighed, while Kirby kept his usual happy demeanor. The three finished the sculpture and were rewarded with a Heart Star.
Kirby and Gooey were reaching the far corner of Cloudy Park with still no sign of Dedede. The two were becoming slightly discouraged. They eventually stopped when they noticed a human girl painting on a canvas. She had short black hair above the shoulders and wore a green shirt and blue skirt along with a red beret.
She finally seemed to acknowledge the pair and turned around to face them. The girl had grey eyes, and for some reason appeared angry.
"Go away. I can't concentrate."
The two were taken aback, not expecting such hostility.
"We just need to pass through miss and-"
"I said go away. Go back the way you came."
Kirby tried to reason with the young artist. "Kirby and Gooey need to go this way, poyo."
"Have you not been listening to me?! My name is Ado, and I said to leave!" Ado hid behind her cloud canvas and began painting an Ice Dragon. To their surprise, the painting sprung to life and attacked them.
The Ice Dragon threw a block of ice in their direction. Kirby inhaled the ice, prepared to turn into Ice Kirby. However, he could not transform.
The Ice Dragon spewed it's icy breath, weakening Kirby and Gooey. Then it threw two ice blocks. Kirby and Gooey inhaled the ice blocks then spewed them back at the Ice Dragon. The creature returned to paint once more.
Ado came out from behind her canvas and angrily painted something else. Sweet Stuff leaped from the canvas to attack the duo. Sweet Stuff created a star beam and fired it at Kirby. He inhaled it with ease and repelled it. Sweet Stuff bounced around the clouds and fired two stars. Kirby and Gooey inhaled them and attacked Sweet Stuff. The painting melted to the ground.
The young artist growled from behind the canvas and painted Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright. The painting doubles tried to corner Kirby and Gooey. Mr. Bright flung a fireball at Kirby, who inhaled it and sent it to Mr. Shine.
Mr. Shine returned to the air while Mr. Shine hovered close to the ground. Mr. Shine threw a crescent blade at Gooey. He dodged the attack, then inhaled and spit towards Mr. Bright.
Mr. Shine had returned to his paint form, while Mr. Bright flew erratically. The painting produced several fireballs, some hitting the duo. Kirby and Gooey inhaled the projectiles and fired them at Mr. Shine. Both had become nothing but paint.
Ado stepped out from behind the canvas to furiously paint another familiar enemy. Kracko flew from the canvas and chased Kirby and Gooey down, attempting to strike them with lightning. Kirby inhaled a piece of cloud and spit it in Kracko's eye.
The angry cloud painting chased Kirby with lightning bolts raining down. Gooey inhaled another cloud and fired it at the living painting's eye. Kracko floated to the ground, meeting the same fate as the paintings before.
Ado had finally lost her patience and ran from behind the canvas, swinging her large paintbrush blindly at Kirby. The pink puffball simply crouched down and the artist tripped over him. She rolled and tumbled a short distance, defeated at last.
The Heart Stars they had collected floated into the air, pulling the black clouds apart. The area was cleansed of it's dark and dreary possession.
Ado slowly rose to her feet and faced the two.
"Uhnn…what happened?" Ado rubbed her head.
Kirby carefully approached the girl. "Does Ado remember anything, poyo?"
"Not much. I came to Cloudy Park to practice my painting, but then everything got dark and I felt very angry. It was like something took over and forced me to fight."
Ado walked over to her canvas and began to paint. Then she whirled the painting around to show a picture of Kirby and Gooey. Thankfully, this time her art remained sedentary.
Ado smiled. "Then I was saved by a pink puffball and a friendly blue blob."
Gooey stared at the painting. "The pink puffball is Kirby and that devilishly handsome blob is named Gooey."
Kirby then remembered why they were here in the first place. "Poyo. Has Ado seen a penguin? A floating penguin, poyo?"
"A floating penguin?" Ado's hand went to her chin in thought. "I think so! He went that direction. To Iceberg."
"Poyo! That's where Kirby and Gooey must go, poyo!"
"Be careful if your really going that way. It's very cold and I've heard Iceberg is dangerous around the area your going." Ado warned.
"Kirby and Gooey have to, poyo! Have to save Dreamland!"
"Okay, if you really want to go I won't stand in your way. Just know that the creatures there aren't pushovers like me."
Kirby and Gooey actually thought that her painted minions put up a good fight, but they knew she didn't want to fight in the first place.
Ado approached the duo and gave them a gentle squeeze. "I'll never forget you two. If anyone can stop this mess and save Dreamland, it would be you."
Kirby and Gooey returned her hug and set off to Iceberg. They knew it would be dangerous, but they had no choice. Dreamland must be saved from whatever has appeared and King Dedede must be found.
Gooey had made several friends over the course of this adventure. Ado really believed in the two, and Kirby truly thought of him as a friend. A best friend. Would Kirby still be friends with him if he knew what Gooey really was? The guilt was eating him alive, but he had to press forward.
Gooey sighed and thought to himself.
"Kirby doesn't have to know…"
Author's Note: Next chapter is going to be pretty dark. I mean it, it's been sunshine and unicorns for the most part, but next chapter we see the dark side of the Kirby series. Gooey is definitely hiding something.