So I finally have an idea for a story. I've wanted to write something that took place during Kirby 64, but I wasn't sure how I'd go about doing that since Gooey didn't have a role in the game at all.
But, something interesting to take note of is that the Dark Matter Trio don't really appear after you go through Popstar, so why not have Gooey bond with them?
This story is intended to be on the lighter side, so although angst will be involved there isn't going to be anything super serious involved (and if there is I'll probably leave some kind warning).
Anyway, I hope you'll like this one.
Gooey yawned as he crawled along the road, he was sure that he'd slept through most of the morning...if not all of it, he never very good at telling time.
Of course, Kirby was gone once again. He always took off whenever there was trouble, and though today didn't feel any different from any other day, there was a faint hint of darkness that Gooey could detect.
Perhaps one of his siblings decided to get revenge after Zero died a few years ago? But if that were the case, then something would've happened to the planet already. It didn't take long for Brother to cover the world in darkness, so it shouldn't be any different for any other sibling.
Still, that darkness that Gooey could sense meant that there was a sibling or two nearby, right? As he followed his senses, he found himself near Dedede's castle. Out here, Waddle Doo sat on top of a box for some reason.
"Hey!" Gooey yelled as he approached Waddle Doo. "What's going on?"
"Hm? Oh, hi Gooey!" Waddle Doo greeted. "We had a Dark Matter infiltrate the castle earlier, so I'm sitting here watching over them."
So there WAS a Dark Matter here!
"Is Dedede OK?" Gooey asked with concern.
"He's fine," Waddle Doo replied. "In fact, he just took off a little bit ago with Kirby, Adeleine, and one of the Waddle Dees."
So he took off, too? Whatever was going on, it must've been urgent.
"OK, so what happened to the Dark Matter?" Gooey asked. "Did they take off too?"
"Actually, they all decided to hide in here," Waddle Doo said as he patted the box. "I've been sitting out here since then because I don't want them to cause more trouble than they already did."
"Can I see them?" Gooey asked bluntly. Waddle Doo gave him a worried look, "Didn't you hear me? I told you they're all Dark Matter!"
"So am I," Gooey argued.
"...Good point, Waddle Doo replied. "I'll let you look, but you'd better make sure they don't escape!"
Gooey nodded as he gently opened the lid to peak inside. Although it was difficult to see at first, he could see three small Dark Matter curled up against each other. Most Dark Matter had rubbery skin when they weren't changing form. However, these three were almost cloud-like. There was a word for this kind of thing, right? It wasn't unique to just Dark Matter, either.
Every now and then, Zero would create a Dark Matter that was more cloud-like than the other siblings, they were usually very weak and died pretty quickly, so to hear that these guys somehow caused trouble earlier was interesting. Regardless, Gooey felt some kind of instinct while he was around these things. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted to protect them...
"Can I take them home?" Gooey asked quietly.
"I mean...I guess," Waddle Doo said, as if Gooey caught him off-guard. "but why?"
"Like I said, I'm a Dark Matter." Gooey replied. "so I can make sure they're not hurting anyone else, OK?'
After all, being a big brother shouldn't be too hard...right?
"If you insist," Waddle Doo replied. "Just don't let them out of your site, OK?"
Gooey nodded in response as he wrapped the box with his tongue and held it over himself. He waved to Waddle Doo as he made his way back home...
...Wait, which way was home again?
After he struggled to find his way back, Gooey made his way inside the house and placed the box down. When he looked inside again, he saw that the trio was still asleep.
He was curious about them, and since they didn't seem to have any older siblings to watch over them, it was only right for Gooey to take them under his metaphorical wing. And besides, it's not like their Zero was anywhere nearby, right?
One of the Dark Matter stretched as it woke up, it slowly turned its attention to Gooey as it opened its eye. Its eye was yellow, though Gooey noticed the blood vessels that surrounded it. Yep, these siblings were...well...they were "under cooked", as one would probably put it.
It cautiously floated around the house. Although it was difficult for the small Dark Matter to propel itself, it was still light enough to float in the air just fine without its fins.
"Good morning," Gooey said quietly. He was able to catch the Dark Matter's attention, it slowly floated towards him as it tried to examine him. Gooey was different from most Dark Matter, but thankfully this sibling didn't view him as an actual threat. It curled up against Gooey before it let out a quiet squeak.
Although half-asleep, one of the other siblings peaked outside of the box as if it were alerted to the squeak. It floated out of the box along with the other sibling to curl up against Gooey.
...So now what? Gooey wasn't used to having this kind of attention, he couldn't help but wonder if this was what Zero felt like surrounded by his own children.
Of course...such a thought gave Gooey a bitter taste in his mouth, he was nothing like Zero after all. Slowly, he grabbed his siblings one-by-one and brought them to bed. He closed the curtains, though the sun didn't bother them at all.
Sleep was more important to a Dark Matter than food, but even then it would be nice for these three to have something to eat. They just got here, after all.
Gooey had to think about it for a moment, maybe he could bring home a pizza? Kirby usually left some money around for Gooey to use whenever he left the house, so there had to be enough lying around for a pizza.
...Sure enough, Gooey found a bag of coins hidden under the bed. Getting the pizza was going to be quite the walk, but it should still be warm by the time he came back. With that in mind, he patted one of the Dark Matter and pulled the blanket over them.
"I'm gonna be right back, OK?"
Of course, none of the Dark Matter responded. Regardless, Gooey made his way out of the door and headed over to the nearest town. Just the thought of eating Pizza made Gooey drool, so he hopped along the dirt road with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. He hoped his siblings will enjoy it just as much as he would.