Kirby and his friends arrived on the planet Shiver Star. This star is covered in ice and snow. It appeared to be inhabited at one point, but something drove them away. The inhabitants left behind their buildings and factories that continued working despite their long absence.

"This place is like Iceberg, poyo!" Kirby said while picking up a handful of snow.

Dedede grimaced. "Don't remind me of that place. It was awful being under the control of that Dark Matter freak. Besides, it's cold here."

Adeleine raised an eyebrow. "But you're a penguin."

"So what? Do you have something against penguins?"

"No, I didn't mean…never mind." Adeleine sighed.

"Hey Dedede, poyo? Do you remember when you tried to get a cold on purpose? Because you didn't want the town to think you were stupid, poyo?"

Ribbon giggled. "Did that really happen?"

Adeleine snickered. "Dedede, you're a penguin! It doesn't work like that."

Dedede began to chase Kirby around the snowy landscape. "How do you even know that?! You were a toddler when that happened!"

The king of Dreamland packed some snow together into a neatly formed ball, then tossed it at Kirby. The pink puffball fell into the snow when the snowball impacted with the back of his head.

"Hey, Ribbon?" Waddle Dee fumbled with his arms. "How many more planets will we be traveling to?"

"We have to find all the crystal shards here, then we'll go to my home planet Ripple Star. That should be the last." Ribbon answered.

"Oh…" Waddle Dee sighed.

"Why? Do you want to go home? You can if you want to."

"No! It's not that…" Waddle Dee shook his head.

Part of Waddle Dee wanted this adventure to go on, to continue and get to stay with the group. After the adventure is over, he'll just be another Waddle Dee again. Just another Waddle Dee aimlessly roaming the fields of Dreamland looking for a purpose in life.

He didn't want to say goodbye.

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The first area of the frosty planet Shiver Star was a simple snowy landscape. It reminded Kirby of the times when it would snow in the town whenever an Ice Dragon was around.

Shiver Star was different though. This planet was naturally cold and snow fell according to it's climate. Dreamland was a warm climate that had never seen snow until the Ice Dragon arrived. He wondered what it would be like if it snowed there like it did on Shiver Star.

Kirby walked through the arctic land, looking behind every few minutes to see his footprints in the snow. He eventually stopped at a small mountain, then began to climb it's ladders.

At the top, Kirby was approached by Waddle Dee with a bobsled.

"Waddle Dee…you do remember what happened last time, poyo…" Kirby warned.

"This is different. The first ride was in a box on a flowing river with waterfalls. The last time was in a mine cart underground on a planet with no civilization." Waddle Dee patted his bobsled. "This time we're in a bobsled surrounded by gentle snow to cushion our fall!"

"Okay, poyo…" Kirby hopped behind Waddle Dee as the bobsled began it's descent down the mountain.

The ride went smoothly for a while.

"Hey Waddle Dee, poyo… There's been a question on Kirby's mind since the mine cart ride…"

"What is it, Kirby?"

"If Neo Star doesn't have any civilization, then how did a mine cart with tracks get there, poyo?"

"…That's a good question."

A large wooden post was in their path. Kirby and Waddle Dee grabbed the bobsled by it's sides and jumped over the post. Kirby tapped Waddle Dee's back and gave him a blank stare.

"This is safer! I know it is!"

The two were rapidly approaching an igloo. The two tried to jump over it, but sliced the top of the igloo off.

"I really hope someone didn't live there." Waddle Dee said as they jumped over another wooden post.

The two sailed over another igloo with a crystal shard embedded in the top. Kirby grabbed the shard as they hit the top of the igloo.

"If someone lives in those igloos, we're causing so much property damage…" Waddle Dee buried his face in his hands as they slid down the slope.

The bobsled hit a large rock and sent them tumbling out. Kirby was flung into a large igloo with snow tumbling over the entrance. Waddle Dee fell face first into the snow, his feet were up in the cold air.

Kirby observed his surroundings and noticed something frozen to the roof of the igloo. He could see a crystal shard inside the ice. Using his Fire ability, he turned into a fireball and melted the ice. Suddenly, a Giant Chilly attacked.

This Chilly looked similar to the Chilly that he befriended during the time it snowed in Dreamland. However, this one was malevolent. Kirby quickly defeated his frosty opponent and retrieved the crystal shard.

Kirby exited the igloo and jumped down the small slope to a frozen lake. He slid around on the icy surface, doing silly poses while spinning on the slippery lake. While he was imitating an ice skater, the pink puffball noticed something sparkling underneath the ice.

How was he supposed to get to it if the lake was frozen? If he melted the ice it still left the task of swimming through frigid water. Kirby looked to his left and noticed a large crack in the ice, large enough for him to jump in.

Kirby wished that Waddle Dee had found a submarine instead of a bobsled for this adventure.

Kirby sighed and plunged into the icy water. The cold pricked at his pink skin as he swam to the sparkling crystal shard. He grabbed it and quickly and swam back to the surface.

The Star Warrior continued on his way through the snowy land, dodging rocks that were hurled his way by the enemies that lived there. Finally, he came to the end of the area. He could rest for a bit.

The pink puffball sniffled. He couldn't get sick. Not now. He had to keep his promise to Ribbon and help her find all the shards. Even if he hadn't made the promise, finding the shards was still priority.

When Ribbon had crashed onto Pop Star, she told Kirby that three black blob creatures chased her and shattered the Crystal of Joy. Kirby and his friends already knew that Dark Matter was behind whatever was going on, however they didn't know the specifics.

"What do they want, poyo?" Kirby thought.

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Kirby thought for a moment what Dark Matter's possible motives could be. Meta Knight had told him that when facing the enemy, you needed to find out what they want. Then you needed to keep whatever it was away from them. If the enemy wanted it, then it must not be meant for them to have.

Usually Meta Knight's advice would confuse the young Star Warrior and give him a headache if he thought about it too long. This time it seemed to make sense in his head. Dark Matter had to have some sort of goal in mind if they tried to possess his friends.

However, the last time they attacked they were focused on Pop Star. After Kirby had saved his friends from their control, Dark Matter pretty much vanished. They haven't seen a single Dark Matter since they traveled the other planets in the Gamble Galaxy.

Maybe they didn't have as much order as they did before. The first time they appeared, the Dark Matter Swordsman possessed King Dedede and was defeated by the Rainbow Sword. Dark Matter Swordsman was alone at the time, most likely because he thought it would be a simple task.

After Kirby defeated Dark Matter Swordsman, a few months later Dedede was possessed again. That time there wasn't just one, but several Dark Matter with the common goal of taking over Pop Star.

The point was that all along Dark Matter wasn't alone. They had a superior giving them orders. Their superior was their very creator. Weren't they all exterminated besides Gooey when the Hyper Zone was destroyed? Shouldn't they have been destroyed along with…

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"Zero."

Kirby rapidly shook his head. He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about what happened to Zero. Kirby trembled at the memory.

"Kirby didn't mean to… Kirby didn't want to hurt Zero, poyo… Kirby had no choice!"

It wasn't fair. He didn't mean to kill Zero. He thought that if the Love-Love Stick spread positive emotions, then maybe Zero would be able to understand the concept of love. It didn't help him at all, only giving the creator of Dark Matter intense pain and agony.

Kirby shuddered. He could still see so clearly the horrific sight of Zero's body being slowly torn apart and disintegrating into nothing, only leaving a single red eye. He could still hear Zero's voice, telling him that happiness would only briefly alleviate his pain. That in the end, it would amount to nothing but pain and loneliness.

The young Star Warrior sat up from the snow and continued on his way.

He remembered what Coo had said about the Love-Love Stick. It was a super weapon that revolved around love and kindness.

In the end, Kirby killed Zero with kindness.

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The second area of Shiver Star was in the clouds of the sky. Kirby was propelled into the cloudy area by a Zebon. This place reminded him of Cloudy Park from his last adventure. The clouds were decorated with multicolored little stars and brightly colored crystals. This place seemed to have a carefree air to it as well.

Kirby walked along the puffy cloud land, hopping from one cloud to the next. He noticed a hole in one of the clouds. He looked down to see that there was another cloud underneath with a crystal shard on top. Kirby grabbed the shard and continued on his way.

He entered what appeared to be a tower made of clouds. He was hurled higher into the air by a Zebon, then even higher by another Zebon. Kirby was thrown into one more Zebon that threw him into a cloud. Kirby felt something sharp poke him in the back. It was a crystal shard. Kirby took the shard and was flung into the clouds above by another Zebon.

The pink puffball skipped across the small clouds above Shiver Star's icy landscape. He climbed a small tower of clouds to reach another layer of the area. He hopped over the holes in the clouds until he reached a small cloud cavern. Upon entering it, Kirby was ambushed by a Big Mopoo.

Kirby defeated the enemy with his Lightning Rod ability, created by combining the Needle and Spark abilities. After the Big Mopoo was defeated, it dropped a crystal shard. Kirby took the crystal and exited the area.

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The next area was what appeared to be a toy-themed mall or factory. Kirby rode colorful conveyor belts to the higher areas of the building. On the way up, he noticed a crystal shard on a shelf. Kirby floated to it and grabbed it before stepping onto the conveyor belt again.

He entered a light blue and white striped door that lead to an elevator. The pink puffball went through a few rooms with elevators leading to other rooms. The areas had toys scattered about, such as slides, jungle gyms, and blocks. If Kirby wasn't on an important mission, he probably would have stopped to play.

He arrived in one room with a circular pattern of red and blue flowers around the floor. As Kirby stopped to admire one of the flowers, a Big Pupa dropped from the ceiling. Kirby quickly fought and defeated the enemy, who dropped a crystal shard after it was felled.

In the next room, Kirby saw Adeleine behind a glass wall. The young artist waved at Kirby happily, then painted something on the glass's surface. The first picture was a peach, a cherry, then a lemon. Kirby scratched his head in confusion, not understanding what the meaning of the pictures were. Was she trying to create food for him?

Kirby shrugged at Adeleine, trying to give a signal hat he didn't know what to do. Adeleine pointed to the door to his right and waved. He was still confused, but entered the room as Adeleine advised.

The room had colorful walls like the rest of the building. On the floor were several buttons of different colors in order from red, brown, pink, green, purple, yellow, and orange. Kirby sat down for a moment. What did fruit have to do with colored buttons? A peach is pink, a cherry is red, and a lemon was yellow.

Kirby looked at the buttons, then stood up. First, he stood on the pink button, the red, then the yellow. Something fell from the ceiling and onto his head. It was a crystal shard.

The next room was filled with flowers of every hue and the one after that had several large blocks nearly squish him. The next room had a giant tank that Kirby swam through to reach the other side.

After going through an area with several large colored screws and gears, a room with a fridge and several star shaped televisions that only displayed static, and a round room with three cannons that were constantly firing at him, Kirby finally found the door that lead to the exit.

The only thing on Kirby's mind at that moment was why the people of Shiver Star would put cannons in a toy factory.

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Kirby and his friends were having lunch outside of the factory below a snowy cliff. The picnic blanket was somewhat useful until it began to soak up the moisture from the snow.

Kirby was eating watermelon while Ribbon had a few strawberries. Waddle Dee munched on a turkey sandwich next to Dedede, who was eating two chicken legs. Adeleine ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while she packed her canvas away for storage. The rest of the group never could figure out where she hid it whenever they had to move onward. Maybe she hides it in her beret?

"And this time, I didn't get hurt." Waddle Dee just finished his story about the bobsled.

"You still fell out of the sled, poyo." Kirby pointed out.

"I fell but nothing is hurt this time. The snow cushioned my fall."

Adeleine giggled, then turned to Dedede. "I still can't believe you tried to get a cold on purpose."

"The townspeople would have never let it go!" Dedede grumbled.

"Never let it go? Because of that rumor that idiots don't get colds?" Adeleine asked.

"I'm not an idiot!"

Adeleine chuckled. "We never said you were, but you're a penguin."

Dedede gaped, then crossed his arms. "I'm starting to think you have serious issues against penguins!"

At this point, Adeleine felt like face palming. She decided to leave the king be on the matter of his species.

"So you were the only one in the entire town that wasn't sick?" Ribbon asked.

"I got sick later."

Kirby popped up next to the king of Dreamland. "Because he ordered a Demon Beast to make him sick, poyo!"

Dedede responded to the puffball's antics by bonking him on the head with his fist. Kirby rubbed the sore spot and sat back down. Fumu had told Kirby to always be truthful when talking to someone, so why did Dedede have to hide the truth all the time?

"Just because your angry doesn't mean you get to take it out on Kirby!" Ribbon scolded. "He doesn't decide what the townspeople think of you."

"I am not an idiot! Kirby wasn't sick during that time either!" Dedede glared at Kirby. "Yeah, I found out that Fumu and Bun told you to act sick just so they could make me mad! So I guess we know who the idiot is."

This time Adeleine did face palm. "You couldn't catch a cold because you're a pengui-"

"I've had about enough of your issues against penguins! I'm a penguin, so that automatically makes me an idiot, huh?"

Adeleine was repeatedly face palming, trying to get her point across to the king while Ribbon was still berating Dedede for his treatment of Kirby earlier. Dedede was trying to keep up with both arguments at the same time. Meanwhile, all Kirby and Waddle Dee could do was watch the scene unfold.

"Besides, the Waddle Dees weren't sick either so I guess they're stupid too."

At that comment, Waddle Dee stopped eating and stared at the ground quietly.

"You went too far." Ribbon glared, then flew next to their upset companion.

Adeleine turned her attention to Waddle Dee. "It's okay Waddle Dee. I'm sure he didn't really mean it."

Ribbon scoffed. "I'm sure." Adeleine gave the fairy a stern look, signaling that this was more important than a petty argument.

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Dedede looked at Waddle Dee, who was trembling while making a small hiccup sound. In all of his time as king, he had never seen a Waddle Dee look so crestfallen.

He's seen them happy and giggling when they were eating or laughing, like the time he was hit with a pie in the face.

He's seen them diligently working without a complaint despite the heavy amount of chores they're given.

He's seen them angry, like after he cut their food supply because of how expensive feeding them was. The only time he's seen them angry as a matter of fact.

However, he hasn't seen a Waddle Dee sad before. There were never any tears or pitiful looks from them, no matter what he put them through. There weren't any that time he kicked them out because he ordered a robot servant from Holy Nightmare Enterprises. They weren't upset when he sold them to pay a debt to Customer Service, they came back to him on their own accord.

He's never seen someone look so heartbroken in his entire life, and that someone was Waddle Dee. Several uncomfortable moments of silence passed by, the only sound coming from any of them was the occasional hiccup noise from Waddle Dee.

Kirby turned his attention away from Waddle Dee briefly to look at Dedede. It wasn't a look of contempt or anger, neither a tearful or disappointed one. It was difficult to describe exactly what emotion Kirby was trying to drive into the king, but it wasn't negative.

Suddenly, Waddle Dee jumped up and let out a strangled half squeak half sob, then bolted away from the rest of the group. None of them knew a Waddle Dee could run so fast.

"Waddle Dee, wait! Come back!" Adeleine shouted. Waddle Dee only ran faster, only taking seconds until he was out of view.

Ribbon glared at the king, waiting for an explanation.

"He'll come back on his own when he's ready." Dedede replied. Ribbon shook her head in anger and flew next to Kirby.

Dedede looked at his reflection in a frozen puddle close to him. "He'll be back… right?"

Kirby and his remaining friends decided to search for Waddle Dee while searching for the crystal shards. Kirby would travel through the next area of Shiver Star while the others would go their own way. He really didn't want to leave them in the same group with so much animosity floating around, but it had to be done.

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The fourth area of Shiver Star was a massive factory. Unlike the area before, this factory reeked of danger. Kirby really hoped that Waddle Dee didn't wander through here.

Kirby descended down a ladder and into the factory. Going down the steps, he noticed a crystal shard behind a block. He destroyed the block with the Drill ability, created by combining the Stone and Needle abilities. The block crumbled open, allowing Kirby to grab the crystal shard.

The next room had a slow moving conveyor belt with heavy slamming sounds coming from further down the area. Dedede appeared and motioned for Kirby to climb on his back. Dedede didn't say a word or show any hostility towards the pink puffball. Kirby climbed on his back and they began their treacherous walk on the conveyor belt.

Dedede tore apart the metal doors that were blocking the path on their way. Suddenly a large hammer, far bigger than the king's, was slammed in front of them. Kirby and Dedede looked at each other for a moment and gulped.

The penguin king made his way through the conveyor belt's path, dodging the heavyweight hammers. When they finally reached the end of the conveyor belt's path, Dedede simply grabbed Kirby from his back and tossed him into the next room. However, it was a much weaker throw than when they were at Neo Star.

Kirby knew that Ribbon had most likely given Dedede a rough time on their way. The pink puffball knew that Dedede wasn't a bad guy, he could just be hurtful without realizing the impact of his words or actions. Kirby hoped that Ribbon could realize this, but it wouldn't happen until they find Waddle Dee.

The next room included move conveyor belts that Kirby had to navigate through. On his way through, he noticed several large containers filled with some dark blue substance, and even more surprisingly, several living creatures.

What would have imprisoned these people and for why? Kirby thought that he should break open the containers to free them, but then a voice rang in the back of his head.

"Maybe they're in there because they want to be."

Kirby took one last look at the containers before entering the next room.

When he entered the next room, he noticed that it didn't have a floor. He figured it out after he fell down from the door onto a platform below. The platform was connected to a long thick chain held to the ceiling, while the platform itself was surrounded by lava.

Kirby was quickly ambushed by a Giant Burnis. He fought his opponent with his new ability, the Double-Bladed Laser Sword which was created by combining the Spark and Cutter abilities. Kirby floated to the ceiling and noticed a cage with a crystal shard inside. He destroyed the cage, took the shard, then traveled to the next room.

The next room was just an dangerous as the hammer room. Two giant steel walls were his only way to get across, and those walls continued to mash against each other. Whenever the walls would be closing in, Kirby dove to an empty space between them to avoid being squished.

Kirby escaped to the next room, instead of metal walls however, there were electric walls. He noticed a crystal shard in one area of the electric walls. He dashed to it, grabbed it, then quickly escaped the incoming wall.

Kirby successfully avoided every hazard presented to him, and escaped the factory of madness.

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Kirby entered the final area of Shiver Star, with still no sign of Waddle Dee anywhere. Kirby was prepared to fight the holder of the last shard in the area.

Suddenly, a robot appeared before Kirby. It had a white body with yellow and blue markings, as well as thin long arms. The robot named HR-H slammed his arms together trying to crush Kirby. The robot fired missiles at it's opponent then swung it's arm.

The pink puffball attacked with the Shuriken Bomb ability, dealing a great amount of damage to HR-H. After another round of missiles and smacking it's arms together, Kirby defeated HR-H.

At least that was what it seemed at first. The robot flew in front of Kirby and transformed into a snowmobile-like machine. It was a robot in disguise! HR-H, now HR-E, slowly rolled after Kirby. It would swing it's scissor-like arms at the Star Warrior and fire it's missiles from the back.

The pink puffball dodged each of it's attacks and threw his own in return. After HR-E's defeat, a crystal shard fell from it's engine. HR-E was now as quiet as the snow in Shiver Star.

The group of four gathered together in the snowy landscape with no traces of Waddle Dee. Ribbon was still angry at Dedede while the king in question didn't bother with retorting or yelling back. Adeleine and Kirby just wanted Waddle Dee to be safe and for everyone to get along again.

Then they noticed little footprints in the snow, still fresh. The group quickly followed the footprints, hoping they would lead them to their missing friend.

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Waddle Dee was exhausted, but continued to walk through the snow. His feet dragged, but he pressed onward to his limit. Thinking back to what made him run away in the first place, he wondered if he was being too sensitive.

He had been on the adventure of a lifetime with the hero of Pop Star, a fairy from another planet, a talented young artist, and the king of Dreamland. How many Waddle Dees will get to be apart of such an adventure?

Waddle Dee finally sat down to rest under a snowy cliff after his feet couldn't take any more. The reason why he had been so upset wasn't exactly Dedede's words, but being compared to every other Waddle Dee. Yes, he is a Waddle Dee and nothing would ever change that, but that doesn't mean that every Waddle Dee was exactly the same.

They were all different on the inside, despite looking similar on the outside. Even the Waddle Dees at the castle had differences. He didn't want to be talked about like he was just a Waddle Dee. He didn't want Waddle Dees to be 'just Waddle Dees'. He wanted each Waddle Dee to be their own Waddle Dee, not an object or simply a number of a species.

Maybe because all of his life he had only been seen as another Waddle Dee instead of Waddle Dee, Dedede's comment was what made it all spill over.

"But you are just another Waddle Dee…" He thought.

The painful truth was that his thoughts were correct. Waddle Dee wasn't special or extraordinary. He was lucky enough to go on a grand adventure and he messed it up by being too sensitive. As soon as Kirby and the others find him, if they were even looking, they most likely would send him back to Pop Star for being a nuisance.

"Waddle Dee, where are you?!" A voice that sounded like Adeleine's called out.

"Please come back, poyo!" That 'poyo' was Kirby's no doubt.

Waddle Dee could see Kirby pointing at his direction, and was soon surrounded by the group.

"Waddle Dee, are you hurt anywhere?" Adeleine asked.

"No, I'm not hurt. Tired, but not hurt."

Ribbon sighed with relief. "You're lucky he isn't hurt!" She yelled at Dedede.

Then another uproar started in the group. Ribbon was yelling at Dedede, Adeleine was yelling at Ribbon to stop, and Kirby was desperately trying to calm everyone down.

Waddle Dee just wanted them all to forget the incident and continue being friends, but he started this in the first place by running away.

Suddenly a rumble was heard above. Waddle Dee looked around nervously.

"Um…did anyone hear that scary noise…?" Waddle Dee's question fell on dead ears.

Another rumble sounded through the usually quiet snowy valley.

"Anyone… please tell me I'm the only one hearing that noise…" Waddle Dee's words were unheard.

A third rumble was heard with only Waddle Dee paying attention. He slowly looked up to see a giant boulder was perched above on the cliff. It was slowly inching closer to the edge, then fell from the cliff above. Where it was falling from, that meant that when it reached the ground it would hit…

"GREAT KING! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

Waddle Dee ran to the king, then pushed him with all the strength he possessed. Dedede was flung a surprising seven feet from where he stood. Dedede stood up to ask just what was wrong with Waddle Dee, then he saw the boulder come down.

All of them saw the boulder fall. A wave of snow was flung everywhere as they could only look in shock and horror. Nobody moved as the event that took place began to sink into their minds.

Kirby screamed when he finally came to terms with what had happened. They immediately rushed over to the boulder, apparently not believing what they had seen. They were afraid to look at what could be near the impacted area.

Much to their surprise, Waddle Dee was alive. However, the boulder had fallen directly on his left foot. Waddle Dee didn't move or say anything, he continued to stand at that spot without trying to remove his foot from the boulder's weight.

Dedede raced over to Waddle Dee, picked up the boulder, then chucked it a good distance from the group as if to say, "you've caused enough trouble here."

Waddle Dee continued to stand perfectly still, arms at his sides with a blank expression on his face.

"Waddle Dee…are you okay?" Adeleine asked slowly.

Waddle Dee still stood like a statue.

"Waddle Dee, are you o-"

"AACK!" Waddle Dee squeaked.

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All hostility from before was put on hold after Waddle Dee's injury. Adeleine painted some bandages for him while Kirby and Ribbon eased him onto a tree stump to sit down.

"Waddle Dee, we need to send you home." Ribbon said slowly.

"No! I don't want to leave! I'm sorry I'm trouble, but I really don't want to go home!" Waddle Dee protested.

"But this isn't a small bump on your head or a scrape on the cheek. You're really hurt this time! You can't walk on that!"

"Then I'll limp the rest of the way."

Ribbon put her tiny hands on her hips. "And what will you do if your other foot gets hurt?"

"Then I'll drag myself the rest of the way with my arms! If something happens to both of my arms, then I'll roll!"

Ribbon sighed. "You're determined to stay with us, aren't you?"

Waddle Dee nodded firmly. Dedede, after being quiet for so long, decided to speak up.

"I want to talk to him alone."

Ribbon gave a slight glare, then opened her mouth to speak.

"It's okay Ribbon. I want to speak with him too."

Ribbon paused for a moment, then flew out of hearing distance. Kirby and Adeleine followed afterward.

An uncomfortable silence followed until Dedede decided to speak first.

"Kid…I'm-"

"It's okay sire. There's no need to say anything."

"But you…you saved my life…" Dedede muttered. "Why?"

"Because…your life is worth saving."

Another silence followed.

"Kid, I need to know something. What was it that I said that hurt your feelings? Was it because of the idiot thing?"

"Yes…and no…"

"Yes and no? What's that supposed to mean?" The penguin king questioned.

"It's just… let me think…" Waddle Dee paused for a moment, then continued. "You know how you were upset because you thought Adeleine had issues with penguins?"

The king of Dreamland nodded.

"Well, you also said that Adeleine was grouping you together with other penguins and calling all penguins idiots. That obviously isn't true."

"So…?" Dedede was trying to understand what Waddle Dee was telling him.

"So I don't want to be just another stupid Waddle Dee, like you don't want to be an idiot penguin."

Suddenly, the king understood what Waddle Dee was explaining. Waddle Dee wasn't just another Waddle Dee. Any Waddle Dee wasn't just another Waddle Dee, the same as he wasn't just a penguin. He was Dedede.

"I get it now. Your not just a Waddle Dee, and I'm not just a penguin. I'm Dedede, the penguin king of Dreamland, and you're Waddle Dee the Waddle Dee of…the fields of waddle?" Dedede gave an awkward grin.

"Yes! I'm Waddle Dee! I'm not just a number! I'm a resident of Dreamland!"

"Kid… I didn't mean to…hurt your feelings. I'm saying this now because I can't say this in front of everyone else. Sometimes I say things when I'm angry that I don't think about before it's said."

"We all do…" A voice came from behind Dedede.

Ribbon floated next to the two. "I said some things I didn't think through as well."

Dedede quickly transitioned back to his normal self. "Um…sure…"

Ribbon wasn't fooled. "Both of us said some unkind things. I think we both regret them."

"I think we should just forget anything said then and go back to adventure stuff." Dedede proposed.

"I agree!" Waddle Dee said.

"Me too." Ribbon answered.

Much to Kirby and Adeleine's relief, everyone was friends again. They could finally get back on track to the problem at hand.

The group of friends gazed upon the nearly completed Crystal of Joy.

"This is it…we're going to my home planet Ripple Star." Ribbon said excitedly. "It's known as the planet of Love and Kindness among the Gamble Galaxy."

Ribbon tapped the Crystal of Joy to open the portal. A blinding light came from the crystal.

"You'll love it there! Our people are friendly and we have a beautiful queen!" Ribbon rambled, clasping her hands together.

"You have a beautiful queen?" Dedede leaned closer in interest.

"Yes, our Queen Mary is the most kind and gentle ruler in the entire Gamble Galaxy!"

The way Ribbon was hyping about her planet only made the group more excited to go. Ripple Star seemed like such a kind and friendly place where anyone was welcome. The light from the crystal faded, revealing the image of Ripple Star.

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Only it didn't look like the planet Ribbon remembered. It's once bright pink surface was now coated in a black substance. It was as if the planet was dying, the black substance creating a cancerous appearance to Ripple Star.

Ribbon's face fell in anguish at the deteriorating state of her beloved planet. She could feel tears forming in her eyes.

"No! We're too late and it's all my fault! They've taken over…" Ribbon sunk to the snow covered ground and pounded her tiny fists into it.

"My queen…I've failed our beloved Queen Mary…What could they have done to her?" Ribbon sniffled.

Dedede stood next to the crying fairy. "Hey…we're gonna fix this mess, kick those Dark Matter freaks out, and save your queen."

Ribbon looked up at the king, surprised by his sudden change in attitude.

Adeleine kneeled next to their fairy friend. "Don't worry. We'll find the rest of the shards. We won't let them win."

Waddle Dee rubbed the back of his head. "I may have an injured foot, but I'm not letting it stop me. I'll keep going even if I have to roll myself the rest of the way."

Kirby gave a warm smile to Ribbon. "Everything will be okay now, poyo. You're not alone."

Ribbon floated in front of the portal, then returned a joyful smile.

"We can…we can stop this together. We'll save Ripple Star!"

"Let's go stop Dark Matter, poyo!" Kirby motioned for the others to follow.

He was about to jump into the portal, but slipped and fell on the snow. Dedede, Adeleine, and Waddle Dee leaped on Kirby and into the portal. Kirby was face down in the snow and trampled by his other companions.

Ribbon floated to Kirby and struggled with picking him up.

"You didn't leave me behind, so I'm not leaving you." Ribbon whispered.

Kirby blushed as Ribbon lifted him and they flew into the portal to Ripple Star.

They would find out what Dark Matter wanted, then defeat them once and for all.

Author's Note: There's a lot of character development in this chapter. Waddle Dee, what a trooper! He's got an injured foot and he's still going for it. Truly a Waddle Dee of Waddle Dees. He's not going to let anything bring him down. I think Dedede is warming up to him.