Huzzah! Another Kirby fic! I started this one a while ago then got stuck and then recently got the relevant ideas again to finish it. I downloaded Kirby's Adventure Wii/Kirby's Return to Dream Land last year and had a great time with it, especially as I was feeling pretty low at the time. This one looks at everybody's favourite idol! Reviews are appreciated as always. Enjoy!

The Other One

It was another beautiful night in Dream Land where one could view the countless, glittering stars in the clear, clean sky. As one of Popstar's moons shone brightly, bathing the land below in a silver glow while a light breeze stirred the fresh flowers, one could truly appreciate living in the serene environment that was Dream Land.

Bandana Dee, however, could not appreciate this tonight as he was inside one of the many rooms on the Lor Starcutter, desperately trying and failing to get some well-needed sleep.

The Waddle Dee scowled at the wall. The Lor Starcutter was a ship capable of crossing dimensions in the blink of an eye so he therefore expected the vessel to have something as sophisticated as air-conditioning on this warm night. He was more than certain of it in fact but looking at the knobs near the door, he didn't fancy accidentally setting off an alarm or something causing everyone to flee the ship and get very angry at him. Well, King Dedede certainly would; he never liked his sleep being disturbed at the best of times. Meta Knight would immediately assume they were under attack and be ready to slice something in half with Galaxia. Bandana Dee definitely didn't want to disturb the kingdom's premier knight that was for sure. And Kirby... well, Kirby would probably just sleep right through the commotion or come stumbling through the corridor rubbing sleep from his eyes. He'd feel guilty about waking Kirby up.

Sighing, Bandana Dee reluctantly got up – there was no point trying to sleep – and made his way out of the Lor Starcutter. He flopped down on the grass and stared upwards at the sparkling stars. He felt that he should have been exhausted; he and his friends had been extremely busy lately collecting Energy Spheres and locating ship parts for the Lor Starcutter, piloted by an off-worlder named Magolor hailing from the planet Halcandra.

Only a few days ago had he been playfully messing about with Kirby and King Dedede whilst Meta Knight observed close by when the vessel emerged from a star-shaped portal and plummeted to the ground losing all its vital parts on the way. True to form, when they all rushed over to inspect the damage, Kirby immediately offered to help the stranger as did Dedede much to Bandana Dee's pleasant surprise; the king normally wasn't one for helping others unless there was something in it for him. Meta Knight had also offered his support and together they sought to track down the ship's Energy Spheres whilst Magolor attempted to carry put repairs as best he could.

Bandana Dee had to admit to himself that when it came to adventuring, he was still somewhat a beginner and it came to something when he had to be schooled in the art by Kirby who was still a young child. It was highly embarrassing, Bandana Dee supposed, when you had to be helped out by a young child, particularly when one was currently being owned by a sentient tree.

"I don't know how those parts could have been scattered so far on Popstar but I guess one of them should be pretty close by, right?" Bandana Dee asked nervously as the group walked through a forest. He clutched his spear tightly and tried to ignore the large bruise he'd received earlier that day from an angry Broom Hatter. What kind of creature went around whacking others with a broom anyway?

"Magolor's technology is highly sophisticated so it managed to pinpoint the whereabouts of its oars to this area," Meta Knight answered. "Perhaps I should have similar technology installed for the Halberd in case it is ever broken up again." He directed his latter words to Kirby though the boy either didn't pick up on the meaningful hint or he was ignoring the warrior.

"Would that alien even share that techy stuff with you?" Dedede questioned.

"I would persuade him."

"Oh, I bet you would."

Bandana Dee quickly nodded in agreement. The knight was very good at persuading others. Being an extremely experienced warrior had quite a bit to do with that.

Bandana Dee caught up with Kirby who was merrily humming a tune to himself though thankfully just humming on account of what his singing was like. The pink puffball, who was currently wearing a fiery hat, saw the Waddle Dee and smiled. "How are you holding up?"

"Uhh, not bad I guess." He hoped so; he'd done training with Captain Waddle Doo and Dedede's Waddle Dee army and the captain would be pretty disappointed if he lacked endurance. Meta Knight occasionally oversaw them and Bandana Dee did not dare disappoint Meta Knight. "Just thinking why we run into so many enemies and–WAAAHH!"

Kirby winced as Bandana Dee was suddenly heavily smacked by a thick branch into another tree. "Whispy," he sighed. "Did you really have to do that? We're on a mission you know. Here we go again," he mumbled to himself as the ancient tree began dropping unusually large apples on the crew and blowing large air puffs.

"Hey! Nobody beats the king not even trees!" Dedede declared before charging ahead whilst brandishing his beloved hammer.

Meta Knight did not say anything. He frowned at this impediment to their quest but nonetheless charged up his sword ready to deliver a flurry of furious slashes.

Bandana Dee picked himself up from the ground albeit somewhat dazed. "I'm OK!" he called out to no-one in particular. "Jus–YAAAAAAHHH!" Now Bandana Dee was being pummelled by Whispy Woods, who suddenly seemed to have grown much bigger, as he dropped things that trees ought not to drop such as Gordos, Comos, Bronto Burts and Waddle Dees. "Waddle Dees? B-but I can't attack Waddle Dees!"

"You will have to if you are to be a true warrior!" Meta Knight said sharply. "It doesn't matter who your foe is, you will have to fight if you are to defend others."

"O-OK!"

Bandana Dee reckoned that he was pretty handy with a spear but he didn't get much chance to land a hit in when, with a loud cry, he was unexpectedly inhaled by Whispy Woods into a dark abyss. By the time he was spat back out, the fight was all but over and Kirby was happily holding the oars. He had to scrabble up on his feet as Kirby chased Dedede who had just snatched the oars with the intention of being the one to present them. Meta Knight gave a look that basically said 'give me strength'. The Waddle Dee sighed. He hoped the next big fight went better…

Bandana Dee wasn't quite sure why Kirby and Whispy Woods fought so often. How could one keep ending up fighting a tree anyway? But perhaps, Bandana Dee mused to himself, Kirby and Whispy Woods had an Understanding. Whispy Woods was more often than not the first large enemy that Kirby came across in heroic quests so perhaps Whispy Woods agreed to fight the pink hero as a warm-up session before he dealt with the more serious threats as a favour to the kingdom. What the lordly tree got out of it the Waddle Dee didn't know; maybe it just meant he wasn't beaten up by anybody else? Maybe he knew that Kirby was one of only a handful of people able to protect the planet and felt that offering himself as an opponent would help Kirby refresh his skills? In any case, Whispy Woods somehow often ended up holding something that Kirby needed and it would not do to just give it up because it wouldn't help Kirby in his later fights would it? Unless the tree was possessed or compromised in some other way in which case they had no choice but to fight anyway. It was just a theory but a very good theory. Probably.

Magolor was ecstatic when the crew brought back the oars, shaking Kirby's stubby hands up and down as he did when Kirby declared his offer to retrieve the parts. He also thanked Dedede and Meta Knight for their efforts. And Bandana Dee as well of course. Magolor was understandably impressed by the status of his helpers: Kirby as Dream Land and Popstar's courageous hero, Dedede the fabulous King of Dream Land, Meta Knight the strongest knight in the galaxy, and Bandana Dee the… the… the… um… assistant! Yes, their good friend and assistant and servant of King Dedede. He assumedly played an important role at Castle Dedede, right? The penguin king probably trusted him to do important things beyond getting coffee and stuff, right?

A hero, a king, a knight and a… servant? When put that way, Bandana Dee didn't sound especially impressive nor important not even to Bandana Dee himself.

Despite that, Magolor was friendly enough towards him. He showed them each a bedroom where they could rest after returning with more Energy Spheres. He talked a bit about Halcandra. He even had Ability Rooms for Kirby, not to mention Challenge Rooms though while it was obvious that the Ability Rooms were for Kirby only, Bandana Dee didn't understand why the Challenge Rooms were also only for Kirby. Was there some ulterior motive? Did Kirby need to do some training for some special purpose? Bandana Dee wasn't sure and he briefly wondered if Meta Knight had any suspicions of the alien because this was Meta Knight after all; he suspected most people most of the time. But if he did, he wasn't telling.

So yeah. As Bandana Dee sat on the grass, thinking to himself, he wondered if he was actually contributing anything to this quest. Maybe he was hindering them in some way. Maybe he just wasn't good enough.

"Ugh… so hot…" Bandana Dee groaned to himself as the crew traipsed through Raisin Ruins. As the sun mercilessly beat down on them, he was quite glad he had his bandana to at least partially protect him. King Dedede had his heavy robe, Meta Knight had his metal mask which was surely absorbing a lot of heat and Kirby had nothing at all unless he was utilising an ability which was, he had admit, most of the time. The pink hero now had a red Stetson and was carrying a whip which enabled him to grab items from tricky little passages that the others couldn't reach.

"Yeah…" Dedede panted. "When we get back to that there ship, you're gettin' me a cold drink, Bandana Dee."

"Y-yes, Great King!"

"Hmm, I'm sure Bandana Dee will have better things to do once we get back to the Lor Starcutter," Meta Knight said. The Waddle Dee automatically flinched upon seeing the knight's yellow eyes staring directly at him. "Your spear technique needs considerable improvement. Charging up your weapon is all very well and good but most of the time you would be quicker engaging in direct combat and bringing down the enemy with some solid strikes. It is far better you utilise the charging move for larger and most difficult enemies and even then, you would need to be wary about when the enemy attacks you. Also your spinning spear attack: fancy, yes, but inefficient except for flying enemies and even then you could dispose most of them with an upthrust. Watch out!"

Meta Knight roughly grabbed Bandana Dee who was too surprised to protest until he realised that he had been directly standing under a large rock trap. The crew were then forced to flee the massive, runaway boulder until they reached safer, higher ground. Meta Knight's eyes flashed in the direction of the Waddle Dee.

"You're not paying attention to your surroundings well enough," the knight spoke harshly. "This was also the case when we fought Whispy Woods and as an immobile opponent, he is far less of a challenge than most and one whom you should have little if any problems against. If you are not strong enough now, how will you cope with the more perilous areas of Popstar? I will also not have you risking our own safety if we have to cover for your weaknesses.

"We will train upon our return to the Lor Starcutter once we have retrieved the Energy Spheres from this area. I will hear no complaints," he added as Bandana Dee looked down and gave a small sigh. "If you do not train, how can you be expected to defend yourself and others? If you do not train, you will end up hurt, injured… or worse." Bandana Dee made a small noise. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes, sir!" Bandana Dee squeaked. Feeling the need to defend himself though, he added: "but I've done training with Captain Waddle Doo and the others, mind."

"If that's the state of the training, I shall have to discuss matters with your captain if the other Waddle Dees use similar techniques to yourself. Changes are evidently needed."

"Hey, you can't just charge in and make changes to my army!" Dedede protested. "That's my job!"

"One you've obviously not been involving yourself in much then," Meta Knight said coolly. "Insufficiency will only threaten the security of the kingdom and it is certainly not impossible that we will be invaded again either by a foreign army or highly-powered individual. Would you have us lacking defences? You should have been paying closer attention to this matter or would you rather lack a proper standing army?"

"Guys, um, can we talk elsewhere, please?" Kirby requested. "I think the next area's a little bit more dangerous. And those traps aren't always easy to spot, Meta."

As Meta Knight and Dedede continued to argue about the state of the latter's army with Meta Knight making pointed comparisons between his own forces and the king's, Bandana Dee thought: Am I really letting the side down? Sir Meta Knight thinks that because I'm not that strong, everyone else isn't either. I guess it's his job to point out these things but jeez, I wish he wasn't so scary about it.

Still, when Bandana Dee suddenly got swallowed by a random enemy once again, he had to admit that Meta Knight probably had a point.

Maybe things would have helped if he'd been a bit more, you know, useful, when Kirby had been collecting those crystal shards for that fairy Ribbon. Oh sure, he'd only got dragged into that adventure because that horrible Dark Matter had temporarily possessed him and, knowing how Kirby dealt with the enemy, he was quite glad he couldn't remember anything of the battle. Same with Dedede and Adeline. Least she had an excuse – she was only a painter. Dedede was a king with a powerful hammer and Bandana Dee was a fairly new recruit in his army. Maybe having the bandana would have helped that time; he had been out to get a new one when a Scarfy had mauled his old one. Oh come on, that was a pathetic excuse…

But anyway, Kirby had done pretty much all the fighting for that one as he had done for pretty much all of his previous adventures, fighting against Whispy Woods of course, some weird machine thing, a massive robot, the usual stuff. Bandana Dee had helped Kirby get through some areas by driving a mine cart.

Bandana Dee sighed again. This was getting even more pathetic. Driving a mine cart indeed; they practically drove themselves! The only part where an occupant needed to do something was make it jump over gaps! Kirby could have done that himself really; he picked up pretty much everything very fast anyway. Maybe Bandana Dee could have helped in the fighting or something but he probably would have got in the way and accidentally injured either of them or something. He was pretty much getting in the way now wasn't he?

Again, when they got back to the ship once again, Magolor was incredibly grateful and listened enthusiastically to their tales of adventure, admiring the hero, knight and king. And the other one. At least he'd spoken to Bandana Dee a couple of times. Asked him if he wanted tea or coffee, that kind of thing.

This was getting worse, huh?

Bandana Dee picked a few blades of grass, staring at nothing in particular, feeling very much down. He'd been running into all sorts of problems during this adventure. As if ordinary Dream Land wasn't enough, they had another dimension to deal with too.

"WE'RE BEING CHASED BY A BLACK HOLE!"

Bandana Dee, upon seeing a wall looking as if made from dark matter (not, you know, Dark Matter), immediately panicked and scarpered ahead. At least that was his intention. He'd bodily slammed into Dedede who was catapulted forward and left sprawling in the dark, purple environment. He also nearly slipped off the edge of a platform and would have fallen straight down had Kirby not grabbed him. Much to his embarrassment, Kirby had carried Bandana Dee some distance until he was forced to put him down to inhale some blocks.

"You OK?" Kirby asked. "That was a close one."

"Yeah, um, sorry about that." He then saw Dedede and Meta Knight race up with Dedede looking rather… annoyed to say the least. Maybe it would have been better if I did fall. "S-sorry, Great King!"

"Ya eejit! Do ya know how much this robe costs? Now I've gotta have it cleaned an' I bet I won't get time to clean it at that alien's spaceship. 'Course I leave you to do the cleanin' anyway so I guess it ain't too much of a problem."

"Never mind that," said Meta Knight coldly. He turned to the quivering Waddle Dee. "We nearly got caught in that encroaching dark matter and I do not want to find out what happens if we do end up in contact with it. Panicking will serve us no good and may be responsible for leading us into more danger. I have said this before and I will say it again: you are not paying attention to your surroundings well enough. Now–" Meta Knight swung his sword, causing Bandana Dee to jump, thinking it was aimed at him, but the beam of light that emitted from it went crashing into some blocks further ahead instead. "–if you want to be useful, clear the obstacles ahead of us. But if you fall, I will not be the one to catch you."

"Meta, it was an accident in the first place," Kirby protested. "Bandana's never really been involved in this kind of stuff before."

"I will not tolerate foolishness on this quest. We are already in enough danger as it is without adding more to it."

With that, Bandana Dee, desperate to make things up, raced ahead, glad to get away from the dark matter substance, and broke the obstacles with his spear. They noticed two Energy Spheres ahead of them and Bandana Dee was sure that as soon as they were grabbed, they'd be out of this freaky zone. Meta Knight, however, suddenly held him back and with good reason when it turned out to be a trap from a couple of Sphere Doomers.

"Yeah, I get to whack stuff!" Dedede cheered and was happily the first to enter the fray.

Bandana Dee hung back a little, not sure of what to do and afraid of making another mistake. "Um, I'm really not sure, sh-shall I–YOW!" Bandana Dee yelped as a blast of energy crashed into him.

"Don't worry!" Kirby called out. "I've got this. I just need them to aim at me. I can probably spit them back at these things."

"If your companions are in danger, you must act quickly!" Meta Knight snapped at Bandana Dee. He sliced his sword straight across a Sphere Doomer making it scream. "In such battles, you rarely have the luxury to assess the situation for more than a few seconds, especially if you are on your own. Otherwise, you have little time to hesitate; you must act!"

Startled, Bandana Dee ran forward and at least managed to avoid the next attack. He may have landed a couple of blows himself. Maybe. Perhaps.

"Phew, got the Energy Spheres!" said Kirby after the battle. "Poor Magolor wouldn't have been able to get them back if he had to deal with this."

When the star-shaped portal opened, taking them back to Dream Land's normal dimension, Bandana Dee couldn't help but think he really wasn't doing very much to help. At all.

Maybe he wasn't cut out for this adventuring lark. Dream Land and the whole of Popstar, for all its beauty and splendour, was incredibly dangerous. Monsters were abound everywhere and no matter how many one disposed of, there were always more to take their place. There were numerous death traps hidden in the most innocuous of areas as well as many where one could plummet to their doom if they didn't watch their footing amongst crumbling rocks and numerous chasms.

Using Warp Stars was an excellent way to travel to various parts of the planet in no time at all but it required great skill to control the objects, something that Bandana Dee lacked so he had to sit on the same star as Kirby every time. Even then, they couldn't really use the Warp Stars to locate the Energy Spheres and ship parts and so had to travel on foot and finding these was not an easy task. Some of them were extremely well-hidden indeed. They couldn't really use Meta Knight's Halberd for the same reason either. No wonder the alien needed their help. And then when you went through all that only to then meet a gigantic, powerful monster ready to crush the life out of you…

Yeah, he was putting them in danger. Maybe it was best if he headed back to the castle and trained hard, protecting the surrounding area in the king's absence, and not have to quail under the piercing, yellow eyes of Meta Knight, that kind of thing. They'd understand, right? Kirby would understand, right?

He was running away.

There would be no easy way to do this but first things first, he'd write a letter and then get back home. No point delaying. Explain the situation, tell them they'd be better off without him, good luck, remember to eat three square meals a day if possible and remind the king to empty his pockets before putting his robe in the wash. That would do.

Would they be disappointed if he did go?

"Hey, Bandana!"

"Oh, Kirby!" Bandana Dee squeaked, surprised at hearing the pink puffball's voice. "What are doing out here?"

"Couldn't sleep," he said, stifling a yawn. "You?"

"Yeah, same here."

"I, uh, brought a couple of apples that Magolor left me. Do you want one?"

Magolor hadn't brought Bandana Dee any apples. Not that he'd expected it anyway. "Uh, yeah. Thanks, Kirby."

For a while, the two quietly ate their apples or as quiet as one could be with crunchy apples. Bandana Dee, trying to work up the courage, thought about telling Kirby his plans when the boy suddenly said: "It's nice out here isn't it?"

"I guess so," Bandana Dee answered. "At least now there aren't any monsters about."

Kirby nodded. "There is a lot at the moment in the kingdom but I don't really know why. Still, at least I don't have to deal with them all by myself this time."

"With Sir Meta Knight and Great King Dedede helping out, yeah, I guess so."

"Hey, you're helping out as well, Bandana."

Bandana Dee fiddled with his spear. "I'm not so sure about that, Kirby. I mean, you've heard what Sir Meta Knight's been saying, right. I think he is right though…"

"Meta can be tough on people," Kirby admitted. "Like, really tough. He won't tolerate people being lazy or anything like that. And he does have really high standards. But he'll help if he knows a person's trying their best and help them to be better warriors and the like, especially if he knows that it will make other people safer as well and helps a person defend themselves. I guess that's why he was mad at you before because he felt that you were putting yourself in danger. He actually does care."

"What, really?" said Bandana Dee glumly, not entirely sure if he could believe that and thinking that Kirby was just trying to see the good in people again.

"Sure!" Kirby said brightly. "It's part of the reason why he keeps training himself and me. I mean, I've definitely got better with my Copy Abilities recently. So the sessions can be really harsh at times but you'll be a lot better after them, trust me."

"You don't think Sir Meta Knight will forget about training me will you?" Bandana Dee asked hopefully. "What with running around getting Energy Spheres and ship parts and all that?"

"He never forgets training. Ever."

Bandana Dee sighed. He was definitely wasn't getting out of it then.

Kirby took another bite of the apple. "Hey, remember when we first met? That seems a long time ago now."

"The Megaton Punch Championship? How can I forget? I don't know what the king was really thinking when he set that up to be honest."

"I don't know either. Sometimes Dedede acts really nice and helps out like he's doing now and is friendly to me. Sometimes, he just wants to be a pain for no good reason and tries to challenge me or sets things up to humiliate me or something."

"Well, I could hardly have humiliated you," Bandana Dee scoffed. "I've only done that punching thing a couple of times and that was when I was just playing about with the other Dees. There was no chance I'd have beaten you. The king just threw me into the ring as a joke opponent really."

The pink puffball shifted about. "Well, you've just not had the practice and Dedede did stick in tougher opponents afterwards. I bet you could become really good if you put in the practice!"

"Maybe if I had your abilities…" Bandana Dee murmured.

There were times in which he wished he had Kirby's Copy Ability. The boy could swallow a range of opponents and then access their ability depending on what power they possessed like Stone, Water, Spark, you named it, Kirby could copy it. How on earth did he get such an ability anyway? And when he did copy something, he got total, instant recognition of the power in question and could use it with great expertise. That must have made things so easy! What on earth did Kirby need to do training for anyway? He had it made! He just needed to copy something and boom! Sorted! He didn't need to put in the hours like Bandana Dee and Bandana Dee was a failure anyway!

Well… maybe he was being a bit unfair to Kirby. He'd said himself that he'd improved on his Copy Abilities in making them more versatile so he could get much more out of a single ability than he ever could before. Presumably that's what Meta Knight had been helping him with. And having those powers in the first place meant that Kirby was pretty much obliged to save the world or whatever even if he was scared, even despite the danger, the stakes, and the evil involved. He had pretty much no choice in the matter though he always seemed cheery despite what he had to face. At least Bandana Dee didn't have to put up with that and he could be rest assured that Kirby would save the day if need be.

Still… having the abilities would have been pretty cool but that was something he was never going to get no matter how much training he put in.

Kirby laid back on the grass and made himself comfortable while staring into the sky. "I'm glad you guys are with me."

"Huh? Really?" said Bandana Dee in surprise. "Why?"

"Well, it means I'm not alone for once."

For once, huh? Bandana Dee thought with a touch of sadness, noting the turn of phrase.

"You know when I have to go on a quest to save something as I've done before? It gets really lonely and I sometimes wish there was someone with me just to talk to or just to be there. I guess adventuring on my own is OK and I probably don't notice it the same when it's really, really urgent, but it's nice to be with someone. With friends."

"Yeah…"

"I think, maybe when I'm on my own, I feel more pressure because there isn't a person encouraging me on the way or just being there. I know I had companions when I was in the mirror but it wasn't really the same since they were really me and I'd been split into four. Long story; I've mentioned it before. And a lot of my older friends have just gone... their separate ways. Like Rick and Coo and Kine. So anyway, you know when we had to get those crystal shards? It was really important and urgent but it felt nice having friends with me anyway."

"I didn't do much though…" Bandana Dee mumbled.

"But you were there," Kirby insisted. "And that makes all the difference to me. It gives me something to fight for. It just, I don't know, it makes me feel better I suppose."

"So what would you have done if it was just you helping out Magolor?" Bandana Dee asked, thinking to himself that Kirby never really talked about himself this way before.

"I'd have still helped him out of course because he obviously needed help after having his ship crash like that. It would have taken longer to get the pieces but I'd have probably gotten them all in the end. But it just feels more nice, more fun with having you guys around and I don't have to worry as much because while I try to look out for you, you all look out for me too."

"I don't know, Kirby," Bandana Dee sighed, wondering if he could get to his point now. Damn, he'd probably feel guilty about mentioning it now though. "I think I'm more of a hindrance than a help. I nearly got the king caught in that black hole the other day and the less said about that chomping monster, the better. I've been thinking that I might be better going home and training or something rather than getting in the way…"

"Oh, please don't go, Bandana!" Kirby suddenly cried. He sat up and held his friend's hands. "I don't think you're a hindrance at all! You're being really helpful! You're as much a part of the team as the rest of us! And you're a great friend!"

"You're just saying that to be nice," said Bandana Dee, feeling a little embarrassed even though he knew Kirby's touchy-feely nature well. "But you're always the nice one."

"Oh, come on! What about when we were in White Wafers? Dedede would have slipped off that ice numerous times if you hadn't been there to grab him!"

"I just kinda pulled on his robe. It was no big deal. He'd have probably floated up anyway."

"But he might not have been able to if he then got hit by a monster. And then when we were fighting Bonkers, you slipped past his defences and landed some really good blows and helped us defeat him!"

"Yeah, well, maybe. I doubt you guys would have had much trouble though."

"But then that would have tired us out more and then that might have put us in danger later. And having a spear underwater is really useful! And before you say it, I know Meta and Dedede have their sword and hammer but a spear is easier to use underwater and I don't always have a suitable ability to use underwater so having a spear is really good."

"If you say so," Bandana Dee shrugged. "Anything else?"

"What about Goriath?"

"Oh, yeah…"

There were a couple of things to be said about White Wafers. One was that it was certainly beautiful, especially when the sunlight hit the landscape just right. The other was that it was absolutely freezing.

Dedede walked on smugly with his thick robe while Meta Knight told himself that he was immune to the cold because he damn well wasn't going to show weakness in any way, shape or form. Bandana Dee felt pretty warm after the running about he did to retrieve an Energy Sphere hanging precariously near the edge of some icy ledge and he had his beloved bandana trapping some heat anyway. Poor Kirby, however, was shivering with the bitter cold.

"Hey, uh, Kirby, you can have my bandana for a while if you like," the Waddle Dee said, seeing Kirby chattering. "It'll keep the top of your head warm."

"Th-thanks, but I might lose it or s-something when I get an ability."

"Oh, OK. Um, well, when we get back, I'll definitely make you a hot chocolate with the works. Whipped cream, marshmallows, a flake, that kind of thing. It's really good with a hint of chilli as well I'll have you know."

"Th-that s-sounds g-g-great. Mmm, wish I c-could have it now. My st-stomach's rumbling…"

"You should have said so earlier! Look, I've got a couple of doughnuts on me. Have them while you've got chance."

"D-don't you n-need one?"

"I'm fine; I'm in pretty good health. Look, you can't turn down food. Just eat the things already before the king decides to nab them himself."

"Thanks, Bandana…"

As Kirby ate the doughnuts, Bandana Dee walked a little ahead and made absolutely sure to watch his surroundings for any monsters, traps, pits, whatever. There were a couple of instances in which he informed the group about sharp-looking icicles and large groups of monsters which they ideally wanted to avoid. Though Meta Knight didn't say anything, he seemed to nod to himself though what that signified Bandana Dee didn't know.

"Um, guys?" Bandana Dee said after a while. "I don't know about you but this next bit feels… a little dangerous if you know what I mean. Maybe we should go a bit more slowly?"

"Indeed," said Meta Knight. "Who knows what lies ahead?"

"Nah, I jus' wanna get out of here!" Dedede cried as Bandana Dee silently praised the heavens for the highly rare instance in that Dream Land's premier knight actually agreed with him.

As it was, Bandana Dee's caution was a good thing as a giant monster suddenly burst from the ice and snow – a yeti-like creature named Goriath.

"I'll jus' use my hammer an–WHUMPH!" Dedede was suddenly buried under a pile of heavy snow and Kirby yelped as he was punched by one of Goriath's very long arms. Bandana Dee only just managed to avoid a powerful flurry of snowballs and Meta Knight was, well, Meta Knight. He managed to take off just before the ice beneath them shattered though Bandana Dee was quite proud that he managed to land on his feet rather than face-planting the ice.

"I've g-got this!" he stammered as he got himself into position to land an attack. This was a good opportunity to throw a triple spear while the monster was distracted, especially as it seemed especially dangerous to approach this one close. Goriath roared as each spear struck home. The attack was quickly followed by Meta Knight's determined slashes though even he caught a pounding off the angry monster.

Dedede was walloped once again and was left groaning against the wall of ice. Bandana Dee helped his liege up and said: "Look on the bright side, Great King: if we get hit a lot, at least we have all this ice to help the swelling go down."

"Yeah, real medic aren't you?" Dedede grumbled. "Now lemme jus' punt you against this monster. You'll get a few extra hits in."

"WAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"Dedede! We do not throw friends against monsters such as these!" Kirby snapped. "You could hurt him!"

Bandana Dee got tangled up in Goriath's hair which had suddenly turned golden. Thinking this was the best opportunity for attack he was going to get, he started stabbing the monster with his spear until he was thrown off.

"Bandana! Are you OK?"

"I feel a bit dizzy but–watch out, Kirby!"

Bandana Dee bowled Kirby over before he was stabbed by a series of incredibly sharp icicles. Both slid along the ice and hastily tried to get back up. Bandana Dee was up first and was therefore able to block a furious punch towards Kirby. This meant, of course, he took the full brunt of the attack.

"By dose!"

Now angry, Bandana Dee ran forwards wielding his spear determined to finish the battle quickly. He attacked as rapidly as he could and kept a mental awareness as to the dangerous surroundings including the fragile ice until the monster plummeted off the edge, squealing, and they were rewarded with the emblem.

"Good."

Good that they got the emblem or good the battle was finished? Or maybe Bandana Dee was good? Meta Knight didn't explain things right away.

"Thanks, Bandana," said a smiling Kirby.

Either way, the Waddle Dee was glad he managed to help his teammates in his battle much more this time. Who knows? The next battle could be even better.

"Yeah," said Bandana Dee. "I guess I did help out that time.

"See?" Kirby grinned. "And that hot chocolate was really good too."

"OK, OK, you've won me over," the Waddle Dee admitted. "The king probably wouldn't know what to do without me anyway."

"Yeah. And let's be honest, much as I just said before how it's great having friends with me, Meta and Dedede can argue a bit but you're pretty good as a peacemaker. And I can talk to you without things being awkward at any time."

"So my services are needed after all!" Bandana Dee cheered giving a mock bow.

"Sure! And Bandana, if you ever need any help, just ask me. I don't mind giving you tips or helping you battle or anything like that. And I won't be as tough as Meta Knight, I promise!"

Bandana Dee laughed. He felt much better about himself. Perhaps he was an asset to the team after all. "Thanks, Kirby, I appreciate that."

"Are you tired by the way? I'm not so I was thinking of going to the Ninja Dojo. Do you wanna come?"

"Well… OK. I'm not going to get to sleep now anyway. In that case, you can help me with my shuriken-throwing skills. But no Ninja Ability!"

"What? Oh, come on!"

Laughing, Bandana Dee picked up his spear and let Kirby chase after him back to the Lor Starcutter, knowing that whatever happened, he would always have at least one good friend to back him up, whatever the case may be.

"So, Bandana, are you ready for this adventure?"

"To return the colours to Dream Land and Seventopia? Well, I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Let's go!"