The thing about being a hero is that darkness is always looming.
Kirby sat outside of his house, sword in hand and funny green hat on head.
Any second now, Dark Matter was going to strike, putting the whole town in danger.
Just like every day.
"Kirby, are you okay?" Tiff said as she walked by, "You seem upset."
Kirby had been glaring off into space for the past four hours. In the weeks that he'd been on Popstar, he noticed that when he beat the daily threat early on, he had the rest of the day to relax. Tiff, not knowing why he was doing this, turned to her brother.
"Tuff, I'm getting worried about him..." She whispered.
"Relax, sis!" Tuff said, reaching into his pocket, "I got this!" The little boy pulled a bag of pretzels out of his pocket, and shook it in front of Kirby. "Kirby, are ya hungry-"
Before Tuff could finish talking, Kirby jumped at the bag, slicing it open with his blade. Small, salty snacks began spilling from the hole onto the ground. The hungry, hungry hero sat down and began eating them off of the ground. Tiff sat down next to him and patted his back.
It was nice, relaxing with his friends. Maybe it was better to relax until a threat arrived. It wasn't like anything was going on today.
Suddenly, King Dedede's royal buggy drove directly up to Kirby's house, nearly running over the three children. The king opened the door of the buggy, and pointed directly at the pink puffball.
"Kirbeh!" He said, "You're invited to a royal party!"
The three children were flabbergasted, as Escargoon halfheartedly shot a confetti cannon upwards.
=====
*Theme Song Plays*
=====
Kirby looked at the confetti falling down on him. Tiff and Tuff were more focused on the fact that King Dedede had just nearly ran them over and invited them to a party. The king, undeterred, continued.
"That's right, a party at Castle Dedede! All just for you, Kirbeh!"
"What's the catch?" Tiff asked, ever suspicious.
"No catch!" Dedede said, handing Kirby a stack of invitations, "Consider it a thanks for saving me! So, here's some invitations for your friends! See you at 8!"
And with that, they drove off, coating the three of them in mud.
Kirby looked at the pieces of paper and realized something. Whenever Dark Matter attacked, it was usually in the middle of an important event. An event like a party at the castle.
Dark Matter was going to attack at the castle tonight.
Kirby counted the invitations. There were five of them. He'd better use them wisely.
=====
The castle could've been better. As King Dedede sat in the throne room, his eyes wandered over to the wall, which was still under construction. The attack yesterday nearly tore the whole place apart. Thankfully, for the employees, everyone except for construction workers, cleaners, and the royal court, had been given a leave of absence.
King Dedede sat in his throne, contemplating his life choices. Escargoon was standing next to the throne, being slightly disturbed by Marx's latest act. The jester, after some experimentation, had decided that physical comedy was the best way to entertain the king. The only thing wrong was how far he went.
"Is that safe?" Escargoon asked, as he watched him climb up a ladder, preparing to drop onto a sandwich.
"Eh, probably not, but I kinda wanna see how this goes!" King Dedede replied, as Marx jumped, landing in a grilled cheese sandwich.
"Tasty!" Marx said, licking his cheeks, which were covered in cheese and charcoal.
At that finishing touch, the king burst out laughing.
"Anyway, can we have a talk about this party for Kirby?" Escargoon asked, concerned, "Why does he need one, again?"
"He saved me from Dark Matter!" Dedede said, "And, if I'm gonna be honest, maybe I coulda treated him better. This just seemed right!"
"Something about Kirby is just rubbing me the wrong way!" The king's advisor groaned, "I just have a gut feeling that something's gonna go wrong tonight!"
"Well, I wouldn't worry about that!" Marx said, "Kirby's pretty powerful, but he also doesn't seem that bright! It's like buying an incredibly cold drink, but it's practically flavorless!"
At that joke, Escargoon let out a snicker, but it was too complex for King Dedede.
The king was too busy thinking about the party. What if something went wrong? Zero had disobeyed him before, it wasn't too outrageous to think something bad would happen. Dedede stood up and walked out of the throne room, leaving the two of them alone.
=====
Meta Knight couldn't believe what he was doing.
Here he was, standing on top of the fountain in Waddle Dee Town Square, glaring down on everyone, because a letter told him to. Alas, a Star Warrior helps those in need.
And, it gave him time to think about how to make amends with Kirby.
It had only been a day since he told Kirby everything. About tricking the captain into helping him find Dark Matter's leader. About not bringing Kirby along because he was too young for a governmental conspiracy. About his suspicions towards King Dedede. Kirby didn't take it well, giving him the silent treatment. Surely, he could think of a way to-
"Poyo!"
Meta Knight looked down and saw Kirby, who was holding a piece of paper. Curious, he jumped down and snatched it from him.
You're invited to a party at Castle Dedede!
- His Highness, King Dedede
The king was inviting him to a party. After he had accused him of being the leader of Dark Matter. Granted, he didn't publicly announce it, but it still felt suspicious. Especially after what had just happened the day prior.
Still, that pink puff was looking at him with big, blue, starry eyes.
"Sorry, I'm a bit busy right now," Meta Knight said, carefully choosing his words.
At this, Kirby's face fell into a frown, and he walked away.
"Wait," The knight said, causing Kirby to turn around, "Are you invited?"
"Poyo!"
"Be careful, I can feel it, something big will happen tonight..." With that haunting message, Meta Knight jumped back up to the top of the fountain.
Kirby, shaken, walked away.
=====
King Dedede ran directly to his room, where he found three Waddle Dees, all wearing maid dresses, cleaning his room. One of them was fluffing his pillows, another was vacuuming, and the third one was dusting the counter. The dusting Waddle Dee maid stopped when she found something on the counter. It looked like the king's crown jewel.
"Hey, can I have that?" King Dedede said, pointing at Zero's fake jewel, "It's my backup!"
The maid shrugged and tossed it over to the king, who missed the catch, making it drop to the floor. He meekly picked it up and ran away.
Take notes, Sire. Don't keep the crown jewel where the maid service will find it.
"Shut your yapper!" Dedede whispered as he ran through the halls, "Do you even... Never mind that! I got a favor to ask!"
Ah, I had a feeling that it wouldn't be long until you needed my assistance! What would you like?
King Dedede went into the janitor's closet, which was fully rebuilt. "I need you to take a break!"
What?
"I need tonight's party to go smoothly! And I don't know if I can trust you! So, I'm gonna take matters into my own hands!"
Oh, you're going to use the gifts I gave you to fight him? That's great! The float and inhale are pretty powerful-
"No, I'm gonna use diplomatrocity!" The king tugged at his robe, "I'm gonna see for myself just how big of a threat Kirbeh really is!"
Zero didn't let King Dedede sense his nervousness.
Of course, Sire! I could use the time for some... self-improvement...
Having dealt with that, King Dedede walked out of the closet, proud as can be.
=====
Kirby glanced at the invitations he had left. He started with five, and then gave Tiff and Tuff each an invite. He needed one for himself, so he was down to two. He was going to give one to Meta Knight, but he declined it. That was especially bad, since he was sort of counting on him to help deal with the issue. Instead, all he got for his trouble was hurt feelings and anxiety.
Thankfully, he had a backup friend that could help him deal with any issues. Kirby sighed as he knocked on the door to the Royal Guard's Headquarters. Waddle Doo answered the door. He took one look outside and said, "Dan! It's for you!"
"Ugh, my name is Bandana Dee!" The captain said, "Respect. The. Bandana."
"Whatever you say, boss!" Waddle Doo then ran back over to the television, where Kirby could see that they were all playing a video game together.
"Sorry, Kirby. I can't work today," He said, "The squad and I are doing some team bonding, and if you trained with us, that would kinda break the flow that we have going on here."
"He means to say, 'This game is only four-player!'" Bandana Dee looked behind him to see Sailor Dee, who seemed curious about the invitations that Kirby was holding.
Kirby, as if sensing her interest, handed two invitations to the Waddle Dees. After reading it, Sailor Dee handed it back. Bandana Dee, on the other hand, just seemed reluctant.
"I mean, it's team bonding day, but it's not every day King Dedede throws a party," The poor guy seemed torn on what to do, "It'd be so rude of me to call it off to go to a party. But a party with the king must be amazing!"
"Then go tonight!" Sailor Dee said, much to the surprise of her brother, "We can do team bonding tomorrow, no biggie!"
"A-Are you sure?" Bandana Dee could hardly believe his ears(?), "I hate to be that guy, you know?"
"I mean, you were the guy who forced this on us with no notice..." Blade Knight said from the other room, "I had plans today!"
"Ah, good to know," Bandana Dee looked at the invitation again, "So, team bonding tomorrow, then?"
Everyone behind him murmured in agreement. The captain looked at Kirby, and said, "I'll be there, don't worry!" And with that, he closed the door, leaving Kirby outside. At least now, someone else would be there to help, should things go wrong. Still, he was feeling a bit nervous. Maybe it'd be nice to have someone who could help him calm down and stay relaxed. A lot had happened recently, and it felt like high-stakes adventures were happening constantly.
Relaxing would be nice.
=====
"Geez, Kirby!" Rick said, holding the invitation that Kirby had given him, "I'm honored! Course I'll be there!"
Kirby sighed. It felt as if a huge weight was lifted off of him. He had run all the way to Rick's home in the middle of Whispy Woods, just to offer him the invitation. Still, something ate away at him.
"Poyo..."
"What's wrong, mate?" Rick asked, noticing that his friend was feeling down, "You nervous?"
"Poyo!" Kirby tried to tell him about his worries of Dark Matter, but hamsters aren't very good at charades.
"Don't ya worry, Kirby!" Rick patted Kirby's head, trying to be comforting, "I'm sure that tonight will be fine!"
=====
Five hours later, with the sun almost setting, Meta Knight was still waiting on top of the fountain. He wasn't one to doubt the seriousness of the note, and he also wasn't one to waste a day of time. Although a crowd had started to form, the brave knight continued doing sit-ups on top of the fountain, not even being fazed by the flowing water.
At a certain point, people began to get bored and leave. Within another hour, he was completely alone and had shifted to pull-ups. Even when a purple owl had descended onto the nearby rooftop, Meta Knight wasn't fazed.
"Sir, what are you doing?" The owl yelled, angry at him for exercising on public property.
"I am training," Meta Knight replied simply, "I cannot let my body fall behind!"
"Do you have to do it here?" The bird looked around, "I'm pretty sure that this town has a gymnasium!"
"I was told to wait here because people need my help!" The knight lifted himself into a handstand, "A Star Warrior doesn't ignore a call!"
"Oh, you're a Star Warrior? Tell me more!" The owl seemed amazed, which was a reaction that Meta Knight was used to seeing, "Wait until I tell Tokkori that I met a real Star Warrior! Then, we'll see if he thinks I'm boring!"
Meta Knight chuckled, "What's your name, bird?"
"I'm Coo!" Coo hooted back, "What's yours?"
"Meta Knight," He replied, "It's a good thing you arrived, I was starting to get bored!"
"And I am looking for a story to tell!" Coo hooted excitedly, "Can I hear one?"
"If you insist!"
=====
Kirby walked outside of his house, where he saw Tiff and Tuff waiting for him. Bandana Dee was running behind them, and Rick was inside of Kirby's house, napping. According to what Rick had said earlier, the back of the paper said that they were to be picked up from Kirby's house. That was why his hamster friend had decided to stick around until sundown, he didn't want to walk all the way there with short notice.
"Bandana Dee, what are you wearing?" Tiff asked, looking at the Waddle Dee wearing a bow tie and a fancy bandana.
"If you must know, this is my party dress!" Bandana Dee said, flaunting his embroidered bandana, "I was going to wear it to the Superstar Awards, but that was when Meta Knight and I, well..."
"Broke into the castle?" Tiff finished his sentence.
"Yeah..." The little Waddle Dee sighed.
"How did you not get fired?" Tuff asked.
"Meta Knight tricked me, so Great King Dedede let me off easy." Bandana Dee looked back at the moonlit Waddle Dee Town, "Speaking of which, he was sitting on top of the fountain when I left, how long has he been there?"
"He's still up there?" Tuff asked in amazement, "Oh, Nova! I wanna see this!"
Before he could, they heard a car horn that sounded similar to Dreamland's national anthem. Escargoon came up, driving the royal buggy. Kirby walked outside, and Rick followed, surprising everyone there. In that moment, he realized that most of his friends hadn't met the hamster properly yet.
"How ya goin'?" Rick asked, "Name's Rick, I'm a friend!"
"Huh," Escargoon said, "Thought you would've asked Meta Knight instead. Not some giant hamster."
"Eh, let's just go!" Tuff said impatiently, "I'm getting hungry!"
"Alright, get in!" The snail pointed to the passenger seat, "Kirby gets the front seat."
"Aww..." Tuff said, before reluctantly hopping into the backseat with his sister. Bandana Dee and Rick joined them, with the latter taking up quite a bit of space. Meanwhile, Kirby had plenty of leg room for his non-legged body. The drive to the castle, though short, was nice and peaceful.
Kirby just hoped that the rest of the night was just as peaceful.
=====
"And then, with one final blow from Sir Arthur, Nightmare was gone, sealed away in a dimension of dreams!" Meta Knight said, with a grand flourish, "Even though I was on the battlefield below, I knew when the battle was won. All of the monsters, with their horrible master gone, went their own ways. We still deal with them occasionally, but they are no longer considered a major threat!"
"Oohoohoo!" Coo fluttered in excitement, "Your life must be so amazing!"
"Well, it was..." The knight slumped down in defeat.
"What happened?" Coo looked at him, feeling a bit sorry for him.
"I came here," Meta Knight quickly looked at his owl companion, "Not that there's anything wrong with this place, it's just that my life hasn't been the same since Kirby beat me. I am mostly over the fact that he doesn't want to leave, I mean, he's got some good people here. I just feel... inferior!"
"I mean, you did try to take over Dreamland-"
"Oh, Void! That was one time!" Meta Knight took a breath and calmed down, "But, you may be right. That's why I'm helping these people, to try redeeming myself!"
At that sentence, the knight remembered that the last time he had tried to help, he ended up betraying his new friends. Come to think about it, rarely did he put his friends interests above that of the common people. Granted, they mostly aligned, but on the off chance it didn't...
It suddenly made sense why Blade Knight ran away, why the Meta Knights disliked him-
Oh, Void! The Meta Knights!
They were still on The Halberd when it fell into Popstar's Ocean! Thinking back, there was a life raft missing from the supplies when he went back to salvage it, so they were probably fine. Still, he should look for them at some point.
But for now, he just had to wait...
=====
Kirby and his friends stepped out of the vehicle and approached the castle doors. None of them really knew what to expect inside. Especially Kirby, since he had only been to one other party in his short life. When Escargoon opened the door, they saw King Dedede, just standing there, like he'd just ran there in the last three seconds.
"Welcome, Kirbeh!" Dedede panted.
"Ahem," Bandana Dee, spiffy as can be, walked to the front of the group and kneeled, "We appreciate your invitations, Your Majesty!"
"Woah, calm down!" The king chuckled, "This ain't a formal event!"
As Dedede led them inside, Tiff smirked at the captain, who begrudgingly took off his bow tie and followed.
"This is exciting!" Tuff said to Kirby, "I've never seen much of the castle before, I wonder what the party room looks like!"
"The party room is under construction," Escargoon said, "So, it'll be in the throne room."
"The throne room?" Bandana Dee rushed to the front, "Is it really a good idea to have a party there? I mean, we could break something!"
"In the past week, there's been a jester contest and at least two battles in the throne room!" Escargoon said, exasperated, "I really don't think that it matters at this point!"
After some murmuring agreement, the throne room doors opened to reveal a room that was mostly moonlit, due to a gaping hole in the wall. All that was in the room was the royal throne and a ball pit. There were also tables set up with an assortment of snacks. It was a lot less glamorous than The Superstar Awards, but Kirby was fine with it.
His friends seemed fine with it, too. They immediately ran for the ball pit, full of childlike joy. Except for King Dedede, who walked out of the throne room like nobody would notice.
Kirby would've shrugged it off, but something about Meta Knight's warning from earlier stuck with him.
Be careful, I can feel it, something big will happen tonight...
He took one last look at his friends before sneaking after the king. If something big was going to happen, he had a feeling that Dedede would be the first to know.
=====
Tiff sighed. Ball pits are very nice for those with a childish demeanor, but to her and the captain? It just felt Meanwhile, Bandana Dee had gone into a nearby closet and found two foam bats. It was a little weird that he kept them so close to the throne, but it was Dedede's business, not his. Tiff looked around the room and got an idea.
Within a few minutes, they had set up a tournament. Standing on one of the tables, two opponents would use foam bats to try and knock each other in the ball pit below. The winner gets the snacks that were on the table. Tuff and Rick decided to join in the tournament, as well.
The first battle was between Tuff and Bandana Dee. The Waddle Dee decided to thrust, but then twist it into a slash to throw his foe off. Tuff had already dodged the first hit, so the second was meaningless. Thankfully, the little boy aimed way too high to hit him, so performing a low sweep and knocking him on his bottom was easy. From there, it was just one good swing to the head and Bandana Dee had won.
Tiff and Rick were up next. However, the second Rick took a step closer, the table collapsed under their weight! Tiff had leapt out of danger the first chance she got, but Rick just fell straight into the plastic pit.
They were going to need another table.
=====
Meta Knight continued doing exercises even when the waxing crescent moon had begun to shine its light over Waddle Dee Town. His concentration could not, and would not be broken.
Until Coo stated, "Are you sure that the note wasn't, you know, a prank?"
Meta Knight stopped. He hadn't considered that. He might've just wasted his whole day, waiting for someone seeking his help, and the someone didn't even exist! That thought was like running salt into a warrior's open cut (a torture technique outlawed in seven galaxies). He was furious.
"Why that little-" Meta Knight growled, "No puedo esperar a que alguien traduzca esto!"
Although Coo couldn't understand his rant, he felt bad for the knight. That being said, he had a feeling that Star Warriors were dangerous when angry. So, he took off, hopeful that he would calm down, and worried about keeping his head.
As Meta Knight panted, trying to calm himself down, he heard something from the bushes below.
"Caw caw!" He heard, before a pebble hit him in the back of the head. Meta Knight swung his sword, slicing the next pebble in half. He could barely make out a face in the darkness, but he jumped down, holding Galaxia mere inches from the face.
"This had better be good!" Meta Knight growled.
"Let's talk somewhere private..." The knight recognized the voice immediately. It was Sailor Waddle Dee. What was she doing while her captain was away?
Although he was upset, he followed her down a dark alleyway, not really worried about being kidnapped because he'd win. She led him to a dumpster, which had a hole underneath it. The two of them dropped down, covering it back up with a piece of concrete, and landed on a mattress. All that was down there was a table and a light, illuminating Waddle Doo and Blade Knight.
"Welcome to the resistance." Sailor Dee said, nodding at Meta Knight.
=====
Kirby tiptoed around the corner, making sure that King Dedede didn't see him. Eventually, after a few corners, the pink hero found the king talking to Marx.
"Is it in place?" He heard Dedede say.
"Yes, it'll go off in about three minutes!" Marx cackled, "Ohohoh! What a blast! I can't wait to see how everyone reacts!"
"Perfect!" King Dedede chuckled, "And I got the goods! They'll be here soon enough!"
Kirby made sure to keep his mouth shut as he dashed away to the throne room!
=====
"What do you mean, 'resistance'?" Meta Knight asked, "What are you resisting?"
"Well, King Dedede does seem pretty nice, but I'm sure that you may have noticed one problem..." Blade Knight said, "He's an idiot."
"And that would be inconvenient, but overall fine! A dumb king that has good intentions!" Sailor Dee swung her nubs around innocently, "But I have reason to believe that King Dedede may be behind Dark Matter!"
"Ugh, been there, done that!" Meta Knight groaned, "He got possessed just yesterday! It can't be him, which throws off the whole theory I was going with!"
"And did he get possessed before or after you shared this theory?" Waddle Doo asked.
He had a valid point. King Dedede only got possessed after he shared his thoughts with Bandana Dee. If Dark Matter had heard them, and then King Dedede ordered them to possess him...
It was possible, but there were other leads to chase. It would be wise to not make any risky decisions.
"Let me guess," Meta Knight asked, "You want me to join your ragtag group of misfits?"
"Yeah, but you can't tell anyone!" Waddle Doo said.
"Especially not my brother!" Sailor Dee said, "He's nice, but he's just too naive and loyal to the king!"
"I'll think about it," The knight said, "I won't tell anyone, but I can't guarantee that I'll join!"
Before anyone could stop him, he warped out.
=====
Kirby charged through the doors of the throne room, waving his arms wildly in an attempt to convince his friends to run. However, it seemed that his friends were going through something on their own, judging by the wild scene in front of him.
Above the ball pit, which was moved to the center of the room, there were two tables, meeting it the middle. On one side of the makeshift bridge, there was Bandana Dee, who was practicing his swinging with a foam sword. On the other side was Tiff, who was preparing for something with Tuff. Next to Kirby, in a chair, was Rick.
"Hey, mate!" He said, "Wanna watch this with me?"
"Poyo?" Kirby was mildly intrigued.
"The winner of this gets food. But then again, we need some way to pass the time before the surprise in three minutes!"
Three minutes? Kirby looked at the clock. The second hand wasn't moving. So, if no seconds were passing, then they had all the time in the world!
Bandana Dee and Tiff stood on either side of the table bridge, swords drawn. Tuff ran over to Rick and Kirby to watch the battle with them. The pink puff was incredibly invested, as he hadn't seen how the game works.
Which means that he wasn't as surprised to see Tiff run the opposite direction when Bandana Dee charged her.
"Hey, what the heck!" Bandana Dee shouted after her.
"Only rule is, 'don't get knocked into the ball pit'!" Tiff shrugged, "This is legal!"
"Some rules are unspoken, Tiff!" The Waddle Dee ran after her, swinging his sword.
"If they're unspoken, then how do I know what they are?" She asked, "Shouldn't the rules in place be clearer?"
"It's usually common sense!" He retaliated, thrusting the foam sword as if it was a spear.
"So what?" She said, blocking both his attack and his words, "Rules are up to interpretation by the people, and if they aren't made clear enough, then someone is bound to interpret them wrong!"
"Well, I-" With one smack, he went flying into the ball pit. The conversation was just a distraction. Of course! He should've known better.
Kirby applauded the match with his friends, because it seemed like the nice thing to do. He really needed some time to just relax and enjoy life.
And then the doorbell rang.
"Oh, hey!" He heard King Dedede from the hallway, "The surprise is here!"
Kirby looked at the clock like it had just doomed all of Dreamland (In case you were wondering why Kirby's staring into your soul at the start of the episode, this is why). He bolted for the door, but Dedede opened it first, and he was holding what looked like a large box. Instinct kicked in and he kicked the boxes out of his hand.
Which spilled three cheese pizzas onto the floor.
"Kirbeh!" The king was furious about the wasted food, "What the hey-hey!"
"Yeah, that wasn't cool!" Tuff said, joining him.
This couldn't be right! King Dedede was just ordering pizza? The young Star Warrior back towards the open wall. Something wasn't adding up.
"Well, at least we still got that!" Dedede sighed pointing behind Kirby.
As Kirby looked back, he heard a sharp whistle. Lights of varying colors shot up into the sky, where they exploded into something that was quite the show. He couldn't make out much, but he could see his name, lighting up the starry night.
So, the king was planning to give him food and a show. He looked back at his friends.
"Poyo..." he whimpered, apologetically.
Tiff sat down next to him. He expected some kind of reprimanding, but she put her arm around him.
"You're scared, aren't you?" She said, surprising him with how accurate she was, "I get it. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't expect something to go wrong tonight!"
Kirby sighed and leaned closer to her.
"Don't worry, it's fine!" Bandana Dee joined the two of them, "We'll order another few pizzas, my treat!"
"It's all cool, Kirby!" Tuff joined the group, "We're always here if you need to talk!"
"We're all friends, mate!" Rick walked up and sat down next to the captain.
The tears began flowing from Kirby like a sparkling waterfall. He didn't know what he was feeling. Happy? Sad? Scared? Warm? Relieved? Or some mixture of it all? It didn't matter. Nobody seemed to mind.
=====
King Dedede watched the whole scene from the doorway. He walked away, glancing at the broken clock. The way Kirby backed up, he was like an animal, threatened by the constant peril that he was in. It looked rough.
The king got to the janitors closet, making sure that it was empty, before pulling out Zero's crystal.
How was the party?
"Hey, Zero," He said, "Do you think that we might've spooked him a bit much?"
What do you mean, Sire?
"What if he's as scared of us as we are of him!" Dedede stroked his third chin, "That just makes some kinda circular thing! Uh, whatcha call it? A loop!"
Why would he be scared of us? He's the one who always wins!
"I kinda get it!" The king rubbed the back of his head, "Just cuz I always succeed in the diplomatic department doesn't mean that being king isn't stressful! Maybe being Kirbeh is also stressful!"
What are you saying? Do you want to stop going after him?
"I don't know..."
A moment of silence passed.
Tell you what, I'll continue my break while you decide! If necessary, I will come back, stronger than ever!
"Yeah," King Dedede put the gem back in his pocket and walked out of the closet, mumbling to himself, "Yeah, that ought to work!"