This here is a bit of a different chapter, something more original. I wanted to stray away from the constant battles of each and every chapter. Enjoy!
-Joost
Out There In The Dark
Chapter 6: Intermediate Solace
Kirby tossed and turned in the plush, pink bed of the guest room. The sheets, branded with a small, smiling heart, ruffled against his body as he struggled to sleep. Eventually, he awoke, still unable to get any rest.
"Kirby? Is everything alright?" Ribbon asked from the other side of the room.
Even though it had already been a week since 02's defeat, Kirby, Adeleine, Waddle Dee, and King Dedede had yet to leave Ripple Star and head home. Both them and the Queen thought they deserved some much-needed rest. Fighting and defeating Dark Matter was no small feat, and for Kirby, it was especially tiring.
"Poyo…" Kirby said dejectedly, turning to Ribbon's bed. The two shared a room, something a little taboo for a fairy, but she liked Kirby. She liked him quite a lot, so the Queen happily allowed it.
"Do you want a hug?" Ribbon asked, tilting her head. Kirby just nodded slowly, and the fairy rose from her bed and flew over to Kirby's, sitting on the sheets just next to him.
For the past few nights, Kirby was restless. The first day after Dark Star's collapse, he slept like an angel, but on the second night onwards, he was plagued by off-putting dreams and terrible nightmares. They either kept him awake or caused him to act unlike his usual self the following day. Lately he found that being with Ribbon during the night eased his wandering mind.
Ribbon reached out and rubbed Kirby's soft head, and in response, he wrapped his stubby arms around her and pulled her close for a better hug. The fairy, used to such actions by now, just chuckled as she and her very close friend embraced.
For a while the only thing that could be heard by either of them were each other's heartbeats, a tree branch scraping the window outside, and the light breeze. It was amazingly peaceful, but also unendingly quiet. Kirby had discovered that he was never fond of complete silence, finding it to be uncomfortable after a bit.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Ribbon asked after a few minutes.
Kirby looked the room for a moment, still holding onto Ribbon's waist. He sighed, then moved the blanket from himself and hopped off the bed. He collected the small handheld whiteboard and marker from the corner and came back, sitting next to Ribbon and starting to draw.
The marker squeaked worriedly as Kirby illustrated his lingering fears, Ribbon having a feeling she knew what it was. When the little pink puffball finally finished, he showed her. On the whiteboard was an oblong sphere with a single eye, with crudely drawn wings at its sides. 02.
Ribbon exhaled deeply and slumped back, frustrated. Not at Kirby, but at Dark Matter. From what she could tell, the species had been a thorn in Kirby's side for far too long. It caused him immense pain throughout its previous invasions, and even when it was gone, it still messed with him.
Kirby kept his eyes on the whiteboard, staring at the dark effigy. He thought about how much the darkness had really taken a toll on his life and the people around him. Dedede, before joining Kirby on the quest to finally beat Dark Matter, lived in fear. Rick, Kine, and Coo came out with a lingering distrust of others after the debacle at the Rainbow Isles. They soon overcame it, but for a while, they didn't like meeting new people. And then Gooey.
Gooey had gone into a sort of crisis a few months after the invasion, and he went out on his own to 'discover himself'. He used to be so keen on hiding his past from his friends and lying to himself about what he was, so much so that he tried to be like Kirby to an unhealthy degree. It finally got to be too much, and he decided to go out on a journey, alone. He didn't want to be accompanied by anyone, as it seemed to be the most personal decision he had ever made. Kirby still hadn't heard from him for months.
And now the most recent problem, the invasion of Ripple Star. Kirby felt that if it hadn't been for his interjection against Dark Matter in the first place, Ribbon's home would have never been under siege by 02. He deemed himself responsible for all that had happened.
Ribbon was busy analyzing Kirby's changing expressions. Her eyes scanned over Kirby's round body, but she made sure to focus on his own eyes. They looked glossed over, tired, and filled with regret. She inched closer to the star warrior and took the whiteboard, wiping off the picture of 02 and taking Kirby's paw.
"Kirby, you know that what happened here isn't your fault," Ribbon stated maturely. She found hints of what Kirby was thinking through how he held the board and marker, and that sorrowful look in his eyes.
The hero looked up to Ribbon and did his best to smile. He barely could. The overwhelming thoughts of the darkness wouldn't let him. Instead, he just began to weakly sniffle, and he buried his face into Ribbon's arms.
For what felt like a blissful eternity, Kirby and Ribbon shared each other's embrace. Barely audible sniffles resonated in the room, cut off from the rest of the castle. It was preferable, as Kirby never really expressed such strong emotions to many other people. Few had ever seen him cry, and something about the prospect made him never want it to happen.
After a while, the sniffles stopped and the two parted from each other. There, they just sat on the bed together, the idea of sleeping somewhat out of the question now.
"Want to get something to eat?" Ribbon asked, smiling at Kirby. Finally, the pink puffball perked up and he was eager to agree.
Leaving the room and sneaking down the hall, Kirby and Ribbon took care in not walking too loudly. The floors of the castle had a tendency to creak, and it threatened to disturb the others' sleep. On their way to the kitchen, the pair heard the hefty, trademark laughter of King Dedede. They gave each other a puzzled look before cautiously continuing.
As they neared their destination, the laughter came about again, and this time followed by a smoother voice. No, it wasn't possible, was it? Ribbon's eyes widened and she took Kirby's paw to quicken their pace.
"Not so loud, Dedede." The smooth voice said, a small giggle coming right after. Ribbon's desire to see what was going on grew as she and Kirby rounded the corner.
There they saw the Queen of Ripple Star and King Dedede, together, sharing a plate of cookies. They seemed to be sharing, letting the other take a bite of the cookie in their hand. The Queen wore a face that startled Ribbon. Her eyes were laid back and calm, a slight blush along her cheeks as she admired Dedede. Her dress, normally neat and tidy, was in disarray, hastily put on. Her hair was almost as disheveled as when the dark cloud appeared, but for all the wrong reasons.
Dedede, however, had a proud smile across his face. He looked at ease with the Queen, his normally brash and outgoing attitude washed away when in the presence of the Queen. His own robe was unkempt and wrinkly.
Then, the Queen noticed she and Dedede had company. Her eyes filled with horror and her smile vanished.
"Dedede!" The Queen gasped. The man in question looked at his lover, confused, before turning around.
"WAH! Uh-um!" Dedede made a similar shock-laden face as the Queen did and quickly stumbled, trying to figure out what to do. After a second, he just hid the plate behind his back and put on a nervous grin.
An uncomfortable silence lowered on the four as they all exchanged looks. Kirby was the most innocent, putting his paw to his chin and tilting his head. He was a smart boy, but when it came to more complex situations about certain subjects, he was like a child who accidentally walked into their parent's bedroom.
"D-Didn't know you two were up!" Dedede attempted to make some small talk, all the while the Queen covered her face with her sleeves, hating what Ribbon could possibly be thinking of her.
More awkward silence occurred before King Dedede reluctantly pulled the plate from behind him and gestured to Kirby. "I'm guessin' yall want this?"
Kirby's face became a big smile. He gladly took the whole plate and scurried off with Ribbon back to the bedroom, leaving a dissatisfied Dedede alone with the Queen. The regal people gazed back at each other for a moment before smiling.
"I believe we have some ice cream." The Queen said through a snort.
Back in the bedroom, Kirby and Ribbon shared the remaining plate of cookies and did their best to relax. Still a bit shaken and stirred by the sight of the Queen with Dedede, the fairy decided to take her mind off it by focusing more on her friend.
Ribbon leaned over and rested her head on Kirby, who in turn nuzzled a bit closer to her. The two enjoyed the moment for a long time, sounds of cookies crunching filling the lazy air. As the sun slowly began to rise beyond the hills and sunlight started to flood the room, Kirby left the bed again and looked out the window.
"Poyo," Kirby said, staring at the sky. He was thinking about home.
Ribbon left the bed as well and joined Kirby by the window. It took her a minute to figure out what her friend meant. Even as the sun's light gradually drowned out the twinkling specs across the galaxy, she could just faintly see what Kirby was looking at. Pop Star.
"Do you…" Ribbon paused, fearing what she was going to say. She swallowed her pride and continued. "Do you think it's time for you to head home?"
Kirby wasn't fond of the idea either, but he'd already spent so much time away. He worried that his friends would try to look for him and end up in trouble. He wondered if Gooey had returned, or if Meta Knight finally finished his extended leave. Regardless, it was time.
"Ribbon…" Kirby sighed, hugging the fairy again. He didn't want to leave Ripple Star, but he needed to.
"Come on, let's go wake up the others." Ribbon took Kirby's paw, grabbed the last cookie on the plate, and left the room with him.
The pair strolled down the halls, less careful with their steps this time, knocking on their friends' doors and telling them it was time to leave. Dedede was obviously the grumpiest about the situation, taking some extra time to say goodbye to the Queen before joining Kirby, Waddle Dee, and Adeleine outside.
The breeze outside of the castle was wonderful, and the Warp Star sat just meters away from the entrance. Adeleine's hair flowed in the wind as she enjoyed the scene. A number of fairies gathered to see them off, something that warmed her heart. Waddle Dee was more than ready to go home. Serving under King Dedede was actually quite fulfilling, and since he wasn't doing that, he was left confused for a bit.
When Dedede finally emerged from the castle, he looked glum. He kept his head down and sorrowfully walked over to the Warp Star. Kirby, still hanging out with Ribbon, noticed Dedede's mood right away.
"What? What do you want?" Dedede snapped at Kirby as soon as he approached. Kirby just sat next to him and looked at Ribbon. It was a hint, and the fairy picked up on it quickly.
"Oh Kirby!" Ribbon called, flying over to him. "When do you think you guys will visit us again?"
Dedede froze when Ribbon finished her sentence, and Kirby just smirked knowingly at her. The mighty king glanced at Kirby and his mind raced about when exactly they would be visiting Ripple Star again. The hero, happy that he brought Dedede out of a rut, got up and went to fetch Adeleine and Waddle Dee.
With all of his friends together by the Warp Star, Kirby was ready to head home. Except for one last thing he needed to do. Ribbon, who was doing an expert job hiding her emotions, wasn't prepared for what the hero did next.
Kirby reached into his pocket and pulled out his spare cell phone. He walked up to and gave it to Ribbon, who just looked at it, flabbergasted.
"Poyo!" Kirby cheered. He pointed to the 'call' button on the front of the device, right next to the rest of the buttons that operated the menus. Ribbon, not knowing what to do, just pressed it.
The phone's screen opened up to a list on contacts, most empty, except for one. The text read 'Kirby'. Ribbon pressed the 'Ok' button and then, Kirby's main phone began to ring.
"Poyo?" Kirby said as he answered. Ribbon was shocked at hearing both Kirby's voice from the phone and right in front of her. The line went dead as Kirby hung up and gave the fairy one final hug.
"Be careful out there, alright, Kirby? You don't have to worry about Dark Matter anymore," Ribbon said, fighting her own tears. Kirby just nodded and smiled as he hopped onto the Warp Star along with his friends.
With that, Kirby, Dedede, Adeleine, and Waddle Dee were off, heading back to Pop Star where they would bring the good news of Dark Matter's defeat. At least, that's what they thought.