Chapter Text
The first thing Cloudee had to do, apparently, now that they were friends with Kirby, was to say hi to their other friends. So, they were headed to the castle.
However, Bandee was the one that first suggested it. That way, maybe he could ask the Great King for advice later. It wasn’t very often that something like this happened, after all.
That is to say, never. Something like this never happened before.
Cloudee, on their part, was just very excited to meet some potential new friends.
Eventually they reached the castle.
Kirby and Bandee greeted the guards, and Cloudee waved at them. The guards were confused.
“Guys, this is Cloudee! Our new friend!”
“Yes, we… we meet them at little ways away from here. We don’t know where they came from, since they can’t talk.”
“Yep! And we’re taking them to see Dedede now!”
“Yes. Perhaps the Great King will know something. Or what to do in this situation.”
“Alright then. But…” One of the guards eyed the Bubble Rod. “…Is that a weapon?”
Cloudee shook their head. They didn’t think it was a weapon. Even if they were told they had to protect it from bad people… It didn’t mean it was a weapon, did it?
The guard didn’t seem convinced and looked at them with suspicion in their eyes.
Bandee could understand why they were suspicious. They were an unknown person that looked somewhat similar to them, didn’t talk, and had some kind of weapon. (Or not weapon. Either way it looked like one.) And yet, he truly didn’t think they had any bad intentions. He didn’t know why. It was just a hunch he had.
“Look, I know what you’re thinking… But I don’t believe they have any bad intentions. And the three of us are more than capable of stopping them if they do.”
The guard sighed.
“Alright.” Before pointing their spear at Cloudee. “You better not try anything funny.”
Cloudee nodded, before reaching out and touching it. And immediately taking away their hand after poking the pointy end. They didn’t press their hand on it, but it felt sharp and pointy, so it probably hurt.
The guard just stared at them, confused.
“Alright! Let’s go!”
Kirby took Cloudee’s hand and started taking them away into the castle. Cloudee waved goodbye to the guards as they went.
As they went through the castle, they couldn’t take their eyes off all the things inside. There was so much to see! The castle was full of light and interesting pictures. And weird stone people. Most of them all looked the same. And they didn’t move.
“These are statues. I do not recognize this face, but considering they are everywhere they must depict the ruler of this place.”
Cloudee stopped dead in their tracks, out of surprise. As soon as they recognized who it was, their eyes lit up, much to their companions’ confusion, since they were currently staring at a plain wall.
You’re back!
“Well, I never truly left. But I see you’ve already made new friends.”
They nodded excitedly, completely oblivious to the two people staring confusedly at them.
I have! They seem really nice so far! And now I’m gonna meet another friend! I hope they’re nice too!
Since they’re being brought to the ruler… Could they be wary of them? Suspicious? What if they have bad intentions? Although everything seems okay so far… Still…
“Remember to be careful. We do not know these people. Nor their objectives.”
Okay…
“Umm… Cloudee, what are you?” Bandee finally asked.
Cloudee turned toward him.
Silence.
“…Oh. Right.”
“Well, I don’t know why you find that wall interesting, but we need to go see Dedede now! Come on!”
Dedede… Apparently that was the friend they had to meet. They pointed at one of the statues.
“Yep, that’s him! Still don’t get why he has those statues though.”
Well, their friend said it was because he was the ruler. So maybe it was like a requirement. Maybe all rulers had statues.
They continued walking, until their friend spoke again.
“Next time I speak with you, try not to act like I am. You’ll only make them suspiscious.”
What do you mean?
“Well, it’s pretty weird for someone to talk with someone who isn’t there.”
Oh. They hadn’t really thought about that. But it’s true that unlike their two other friends, this one didn’t seem to have a body or something. She was just… there. They hadn’t really thought about it before, but-
“And try to go along with whatever these two say about your origins.”
But… Even if it isn’t true?
“Yes. I too dislike lying but you can’t really explain yourself. And it would only make you look more suspicious.”
Okay…
Eventually, they reached a really big and ornate door. Was their friend behind it?
“Alright. I’m gonna see if the king’s busy and if he isn’t then we can-”
But Kirby had already opened the door.
“Hey Dedede! Are you there?”
There was in fact someone there.
Said someone was currently eating… something. Cloudee wasn’t sure what it was. But hey, each unknown someone was a potential new friend! They waved at the stranger.
“I’m in the middle of lunch. This better be important.” Before he finally noticed the strangely Waddle Dee shaped stranger that was currently waving at them.
“This is Cloudee! Our new friend!”
He looked at the stranger who was still waving at them.
“Cloudee? Are they a Waddle Dee or something?” A pause. “I don’t remember ever seeing one like that before…”
Huh oh. Is this the suspicious their friend was talking about?
“Well? What’s your business here anyway?”
Cloudee just stared at them. Silence.
“Oh yeah, they… don’t seem to be able to talk.” Bandee clarified.
Well that’s convenient, he thought.
“How do you know who they are if they can’t even talk?”
“Well, when we asked where they came from they pointed at the clouds so that’s how we knew! And then I thought of calling them Cloudee since they’re like a Waddle Dee from the clouds and they liked it so that’s what we call them now!”
Wait, that’s where my name comes from? Cloud Waddle Dee?
“Well, Cloudee.” Dedede stood up and walked over to them, and that’s when they realized they were really big, actually. And kinda intimidating. “Is what Kirby said true? Are you a Waddle Dee that comes from the sky?”
They thought about what their friend said and nodded. They didn’t really want to lie but… Well, they didn’t really know what else to say anyway. Or not say.
“You know, that’s pretty weird. Usually Waddle Dees are orange, not blue. In fact, it’s the first time I ever saw a blue one.”
Oh no.
They froze.
“Well, we know that Waddle Dees can sometimes evolve depending on their habitat.”
“Oh yeah! Like the Sectra Dees in Floralia!”
“But the King is right. Even then, it’s still pretty suspicious. And even though I don’t think Cloudee has any bad intentions… I still think it’d be smart to keep an eye on them. Especially since they seem to be kinda lost here…” Bandee understood why the other would be suspicious of them. However, this felt like a good compromise. Especially since he’d be able to help Cloudee that way. “What do you think?”
“Mmm… You know what? That might be a good idea. Alright.”
Dedede turned toward them.
“From now on, you’ll be staying in the castle, and we’ll make sure you aren’t going to do anything fishy.”
“I don’t know if that’s really necessary…” Kirby turned toward them. “Are you okay with that, Cloudee?”
Well, it’s not like they had anywhere else to go anyway.
“Yes, it might be smart to accept for now.”
Cloudee nodded.
“Perfect! Bandee, you’ll be in charge of keeping an eye of them.”
“Me? Are you sure?”
“Yes. I trust you’ll be able to fight them if they cause trouble.”
Cloudee frowned. They weren’t planning on causing trouble… But they understood.
“Aww, don’t worry! I’ll help too!”
Kirby gave them a little pat on the back.
They smiled.
“Well then. If that’s all, I’m gonna go back to my lunch.”
“Oh right! Sorry for interrupting you Great King! We’ll leave now!”
And Bandee lead then out of the room so they could let the king eat in peace.
Well, this wasn’t so bad! I got a place to sleep now!
“Yes, it… could’ve gone worse. I’m glad to see they seem to be willing to trust you for now. We’ll need to make sure not to draw anymore suspicion.”
Yep!
Yeah! They… still felt a bit bad for lying, but… this wasn’t so bad! Hopefully it would keep being like that!
“You know, seeing all that food made me really hungry…”
“Of course it did.” But there was something fond in Bandee’s voice when he said it. “Although I have to admit I am starting to get hungry too…”
“Well, let’s go eat then! You too Cloudee!”
Eating? Right… People needed to eat. So maybe they needed to eat as well? They didn’t know. They never needed to eat as a cloud. They didn’t feel hungry either. Though… what did being hungry even feel like? Since food went inside, then it probably had something to do with the inside. But what?
But Cloudee couldn’t really ask all these questions, and their friend said nothing, so they simply nodded and followed their two new friends.