Once the group was ready, they all threw themselves into the water. The cold sensation felt like a slap to Gooey's face, but there had to be something down here. Otherwise, he would've came here for nothing.
Oddly enough, the lake seemed like it got brighter and brighter as Gooey went deeper with his siblings. Even at the very bottom, the lake glowed an even brighter orange than it did from the surface. The glowing light seemingly swam around the group in circles. Rimuro was curious enough to gather some of the light, they would even go as far as to try and eat it despite Gooey's attempt to stop them.
Some of that light sat on Gooey for a moment before it swam away to join its brethren, that was when Gooey realized that the "light" was made up of glowing bugs...shrimp, right? Were they really even bugs?
Well, whatever. Aside from the shrimp, there was something else that had caught Gooey's attention. There were some crystals down here, they were red and purple like the ones back in Gooey's old home, though they were much smaller. Surely, these couldn't be the treasure...could they?
...Still, it was better than nothing. He gathered a few of the crystals before he headed back to the surface, it didn't take long for the trio to follow him back as well.
As he thought, the crystals he gathered gave him the same warm feeling he'd get from the crystals back home. If he had to guess, they either formed when Brother attacked or when Zero attacked. Of course, the trio wouldn't understand any of this...would they? Though by Popstar's standards, they should only be a few years old.
Come to think of it, though, they could've been around for less time than that. But they couldn't share the same Zero as Gooey...right? After all, Zero was dead. But that didn't explain why the trio looked the way that they looked.
Rimuru lightly tapped Gooey on the head. They gave him a worried expression, it was as if to ask if Gooey was OK.
"Oh...I'm fine," Gooey said quietly. "We got the treasure, but now what?"
The trio looked around, it seemed like they weren't quite done with their adventure yet. There were a few places they could go from here, such as Sand Canyon and Iceberg. At the very least, Gooey wouldn't mind exploring Sand Canyon again.
Of course, there was another place that wasn't too far from here. It was a floating purple castle that floated high up in the sky, the one that Brother created during his attack on Popstar...Dark Castle.
Unfortunately for Gooey, his siblings couldn't stop staring at the castle.
"You dun wanna go there, do ya?" Gooey asked with uncertainty, though the trio couldn't stop staring. Admittedly, Gooey hadn't been to the castle since that incident. However, he doubted that his brother would be there anyway, since it seemed like he was leaving Cloudy Park a while ago. Perhaps the castle was why Brother came back here in the first place?
"...If we go there, you promise you'll stick with me, right?"
One by one, the triplets began to nod. Rimuru landed on top of Gooey as the others hovered near him.
"OK, here goes nothin'."
Gooey sprouted his fins as he began to hover. Although his heart pounded like crazy, he began to make his way over to the castle. Brother wasn't there, and the group wasn't in any danger. And yet, just thinking about going to a place like this made Gooey nervous.
He just hoped that he would be fine after this.
Unlike the last time Gooey had been here, the castle was completely empty. In fact, it looked like it was falling apart in some areas.
Regardless, Gooey made his way through the castle. He remembered that there were plenty of traps here, some of which almost crushed everyone the last time he was here. But like the rest of the castle, they were falling apart and completely useless.
Rimuru held onto Gooey as he glanced at a wall covered with spikes. The other two didn't really feel welcome, either, as Rimura and Rimuro stayed close to Gooey as well. Gooey remembered feeling the same way when he first came to this castle. He had his friends with him, sure, but this place was scary back then. In a way, it still was.
Eventually, the group made their way to the highest point of the castle. He could remember the fear he felt upon coming up here, as well as the absolute betrayal he felt when he found out that Brother was behind the incident. While he wasn't as angry with Brother as he was back then, just being here was enough to make Gooey's blood boil.
"Hm?" Gooey looked up at Rimuru as he tapped his back. From the looks of it, they could feel Gooey's anger as well.
"...Sorry, but I dun come here for a reason," Gooey said as he hopped on the wall. Rimura and Rimuro landed next to him. From the very top of the castle, they could see most of Dream Land. They could see the Grass Lands, Ripple Field, Iceberg...They could even see the Float Islands and Dedede's Castle in the distance. It was an amazing view, though Gooey was certain that Brother wanted to watch Popstar drown in darkness while he was up here. He could imagine his brother watching as the sky turned dark, he could still remember the angry aura that lingered here. Just thinking about it made Gooey feel angry, too.
But his siblings didn't understand it. They weren't here when the incident happened, so they wouldn't understand why Gooey felt so bitter up here. They at least deserved some kind of explanation for this place.
"...Listen, I know you wouldn't know this, but my brother was the one who made the castle." Gooey explained. "He used to be really nice, in fact he was the nicest sibling back home...But at some point he got really angry. Dedede always says it wasn't my fault, but I still think Brother snapped because of me."
As they heard Gooey's story, Rimura and Rimuro curled up next to him. He wasn't sure if they understood him, but they were at least willing to listen to him.
"...From what I'm told, Brother was in so much pain that he wanted to share it with everyone else. I dunno what your life was like before you came here, but I hope none of you ever have to go through what me and Brother went through. In a way, it feels like we're still going through it..."
The trio looked at each other for a moment before they turned their attention to Gooey. Was there something they knew that Gooey didn't know? Or perhaps they could understand Gooey after all?
Regardless, it was nice to have them around. And when he ignored the reason why the castle was made, it was easier to enjoy the view they had of Dream Land. Perhaps the group could go on another adventure once Kirby came back? After all, there was so much more to this world that Gooey was willing to show them. He was sure that the trio would love it.