Soon, the group left the castle and made their way back down from Cloudy Park. As the group made their way down, Gooey held onto Pick's phone. He was talking to Rick.
"So, did you find the treasure?" Rick asked.
"Yeah, but it wasn't as big as I thought it'd be," Gooey said as he looked at the crystals he'd gathered earlier. "After that, ended up going to Dark Castle."
"Hey, it's better than nothing." Rick said contentedly. "Did you have fun at least?"
"...I guess so, yeah." Gooey replied. "I think my siblings had fun, too."
"That's good, maybe that was the real treasure all along?"
Was it really? Because if it was, Gooey would say it was worth it. He was able to bring his siblings on an adventure, which he was sure that they were grateful for. Plus, they got to know a little more about Gooey in the process...though Gooey wished he could know a little more about his siblings, though he was sure that day would come soon.
Perhaps he could do something with the crystals he obtained? At least that way they had something to remember this adventure by? He would have to work on that as soon as possible. But for now, it was best to take the trio home. Once Gooey found the warp star he used to get here, they were all headed back home.
The next couple of days had been pretty easy-going. During the day, Gooey would spend a lot of time playing with the trio. But once night time came around, Gooey would work on turning the crystals into Jewelry.
Of course, he did have to ask for Rick and Pick's help at first, but once the crystals were on the string, Gooey would place the beads into the necklace. One had blue beads, one had red beads, and one had yellow beads.
Soon, he was able to finish the necklaces. He planned on giving them to the trio the next morning. But when that morning came, the trio was gone.
As he noticed this, Gooey hopped out of bed and looked around. The first place he looked for was under the bed. "Guys?"
None of them were there, maybe they were in the fireplace? "Rimuru? Are you in there?"
No answer. Gooey searched through as much of the house as he could. And when he couldn't find the trio, he headed outside in order to search for them. He looked through as much of the Grass Lands as he could, but he couldn't find them. Where else could they have gone?
Gooey sat down as he tried to think. Cloudy Park and Dark Castle were too far from here, so they couldn't have gone there on their own. And while he could sense other Dark Matter in the Grass Lands, they weren't the siblings Gooey was looking for. So for now, all he could do was sit there and think about where the trio flew away to.
"Hey, Gooey!" Rick said cheerfully.
"...Hey," Gooey said quietly.
"What's wrong?" Rick asked. "Did something happen?"
Gooey replied with a nod. "My siblings disappeared."
"Oh..."
Rick tried to think of something, anything to cheer Gooey up.
"Well...maybe they thought it was time for them to find their old home."
"But what if they dun find it."
"I'm sure they will," Rick said happily. "And since you helped take care of them, I'm sure they'll find you again soon."
Gooey nodded. The bitter feeling was still there, but as Rick said, maybe he'll find the trio again someday.
Just then, a flower-shaped ship crashed nearby, which caused the duo to jump. Waddle Dee was the first one to crawl out as soon as it opened, Ado crawled out not long after that.
"Yeah, maybe I should drive this thing next time," Dedede said bitterly.
"I still got us home, didn't I?" Kirby argued.
"Er...Hi, guys!" Rick greeted as he gained the group's attention. Gooey hopped excitedly as he raced towards the group.
"Kirby!"
"Gooey!" Kirby excitedly yelled back. He raced towards Gooey and hugged him.
"You'll never believe what just happened!" the boys yelled in unison. They could tell that there was so much they wanted to tell each other.
"So after we fought Miracle Matter, we fixed the crystal and all of this dark energy came outta the Fairy Queen! And then, we went to this darker planet and found Zero...or I think it was Zero."
"But how?" Gooey asked with confusion. "He almost took me down with him, remember?"
Kirby replied with a shrug. "I dunno, but he...definitely wasn't alive, either. He had a halo and everything."
"Hm..."
Kirby and Gooey sat on top of a picnic blanket. For the past few minutes, Kirby was telling Gooey everything that had happened since he left Popstar. From what Gooey could pick up, another girl named Ribbon was involved and she needed help to collect Crystal Shards. The trio was also responsible for breaking the crystal in the first place. Not only that, Zero(?) and Lord Miracle were the ones who decided to invade Ripple Star in the first place, but why invade such a dangerous planet to begin with?
"So what about you?" Kirby asked. "How'd everything go since we left?"
"Well..." Gooey tried to recollect all that had happened, though it took him a minute to do so. "Waddle Doo had those three Dark Matter you mentioned earlier, and I decided to take care of them. I wouldn't say they were bad, just curious...But if their Zero really was my Zero, then that really would make us siblings, huh?"
"Yeah, but you'd still take care of them even if they weren't, right?"
"Of course!" Gooey responded. "It didn't matter where they came from, just as long as they had someone to look after them!"
"So what exactly did you do with 'em?" Dedede asked as he jabbed Gooey with his elbow. He held an empty bone in his hand from the meat he was eating.
"Well, I was taking care of 'em," Gooey explained. "We'd play around, and we even went to Cloudy Park for a little bit. They did cause a little trouble, but I liked having them around."
"You know, I bet they liked having you around, too." Kirby said happily. "So the next time they come back, they'll at least have someone they look forward to seeing."
Yeah, it was just like what Rick said before. And hearing this even from Kirby's mouth, Gooey was full of hope that he'd see the trio again soon.
It had been weeks since then, Gooey and Kirby had gone back to living their lives. They weren't sure how long this would last, but it was good to enjoy the peace while they could.
Gooey was curled up against Kirby like usual. He wasn't sure when his next adventure would start, so it was nice to enjoy his company whenever he could.
There was a knock on the door, Kirby sat up as he rubbed his eyes. "What time is it..."
"I dunno," Gooey said, refusing to get up. Kirby groaned as he hopped off of the bed and headed towards the door. As he opened it, Gooey could see a small fairy at the door. The Fairy had pink hair and a red dress.
"Kirby!" The Fairy said excitedly. "I knew I'd find you here!"
"Hi, Ribbon!" Kirby replied, mirroring the Fairy's excitement. "I didn't think I'd see you so soon."
"Well...a few things happened, and- OH!"
Just then, three familiar blobs raced inside and tackled Gooey. It seemed like they just started to gain color, but Gooey could still recognize them regardless.
"So where'd these guys come from?" Kirby asked.
"It's...a long story. They usually don't like to wander far from home, but they REALLY wanted to come with me today."
"OK, but then why'd you come over?" Kirby asked.
"Because...uh..." Ribbon's face turned red as she spoke quietly. "I just really wanted to see you, that's all."
Gooey couldn't say he knew what happened during Kirby's last adventure, but he was sure he would get to know Ribbon with time. But right now, he was happy to be reunited with the trio, even if it was for a short visit. Gooey nuzzled against Rimuru while the other two nuzzled against Gooey's face.
"Welcome back, guys."
Although they couldn't talk, the trio felt welcomed nonetheless. There was something else that Gooey wanted to do right now, but he couldn't remember what it was.
...That's right, he still needed to give them those crystals! Gooey hopped out of bed and pulled the crystals out from underneath. He placed each one around each Dark Matter. They were pretty big, but all three of them were determined to keep them from falling. Rimuro even caught their crystal with their mouth before it fell.
"I'm really glad you like them" Gooey said happily. The trio was happy to received them. As Gooey continued to bond with his siblings, Kirby and Ribbon couldn't help but watch.
"So he's your roommate, huh?"
"Yep!"
"Huh...I'm surprised that he can handle being around Dark Matter like that."
"Believe me, there's a big reason why," Kirby told her. Regardless, Gooey looked happy, and he was sure his siblings were just as happy as he was.